From the category archives:

Healing

Spirit Sunday: Elder Inspiration

by Joanna on January 22, 2012 · 6 comments

in Healing,Personal Growth,Spirit Sunday

My friend Maia from julia warr on Vimeo.

Shot in Fire Island, New York, this film (4min. 23 sec) captures the secrets of eternal youth as Maia Helles, a Russian ballet dancer turns 95 but still remains resolutely independent, healthy and as fit as a forty year old. Made by Julia Warr, artist and film maker met Maia on a plane 4 years ago and became utterly convinced by the benefits of her daily exercise routine, which Maia perfected, together with her Mother, over 60 years ago, long before exercise classes were ever invented. (2011).  Film by Julia Warr, Music by Lola Perrin

Thanks to Elaine Nichols for pointing this out to me!

 

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Shutting Down to Hear the Silence

by Joanna on July 8, 2011 · 4 comments

in Creativity,Healing,Personal Growth

Gaian Tarot 4 of WaterThere are times when it’s perfectly OK to shut down for a little while.

Sometimes the well just needs to be replenished from that deep underground spring.

You may have noticed, dear Reader, that I’ve been pretty scarce around this blog lately.  I haven’t been keeping up with my regular features like Spirit Sunday or Weekly Wisdom, although I have managed to get Wordless Wednesday up.

I have to be okay with that.

Part of my phone conversation with Beth Owl’s Daughter the other day found its way into her blog post here. I’m one of the folks she mentions who has reached a point of shutting down and putting things on hold for a little while.

Some people call it “taking a digital sabbatical.”  So I might call it that, except that I’m not completely offline.

I’m still popping up on Facebook most days, which feels kind of like a town square to me, and I’m posting the 78-Day-Card-a-Day-Countdown cards here.

But I’m feeling like my well is empty when it comes to coming up with brilliant, scintillating blog posts. And so, instead, we have this silence.

And what a lovely silence it is.

My silence is filled with:

  • Sitting in the sunlight, admiring ferns and flowers
  • Dancing 5Rhythms at a local studio a couple of times a week
  • Sketching in my sketchbook
  • Writing by hand (gasp!) in my notebook journal
  • Putting out cream for the faeries each morning
  • Laughing with my girlfriends
  • Communing with the Green Ones
  • Going down to the bay to watch the sunsets

How long ’til I’m back with regular blog posts?  I honestly don’t know.  It could be tomorrow.  It could be mid-August.

I know I’ll be back.  And in the meantime . . .  consider shutting down a little bit yourself.

What is your silence filled with?

Blessed be.

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Listening to the Earth: A Council of the Elements

by Joanna on June 30, 2011 · 2 comments

in Global Community,Healing,Nature,Spiritual Practice

Gaian Tarot Two of AirFree Teleseminar on Tuesday July 12th!

Listening to the Earth: A Council of the Elements, Inspired by Tarot Imagery

Please join me and my friends James Wells, Bev Haskins, Andrea Mathieson and Jeannette McCullough on this free teleseminar for an experiential look at the elements of Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit, especially as they appear in decks like the Gaian Tarot.

How might the tarot be a means of listening to Gaia’s whispers, cries, and laughter?

What is the deeper, larger reason for us to listen to these elements of Nature?

We invite you to join us for this call — part meditation, part teaching, part conversation — held in the sacred circle we create in the ethers between our telephone and computer lines.

Have any tarot deck with you when you call in — the Gaian, if you have one. If you don’t have a deck, no worries. Just have a symbol of each of the four elements plus Spirit with you during the call.

This teleseminar will give you just a hint of what you’ll experience during the Gaian Tarot Retreat this coming October in southern Ontario, Canada.  Whether or not you plan to join us then, we look forward to having you on this call.

Tuesday, July 12th, 5PM Pacific / 8PM Eastern
To join us on the call, call this number:(206) 701-8388
Conference ID: 528955#

(Check for local dial-in numbers here, including Canada:
http://www.instantteleseminar.com/local/)

To Skype in (audio only), dial ”joinconference” from your Skype dial pad and enter the conference ID. Click here to watch video instructions on how to Skype in to a live call.

Or, to listen in online, click this link:
http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=20815986

Pass it on! Please invite your friends to join in!

 

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First Aid with Wild Herbs, Part 5 (Celebrating Plants in the Springtime)

by Joanna on April 15, 2011 · 0 comments

in Healing,Herbs,Living Green,Wheel of the Year

Gaian Tarot Gardener (Empress)

The Gardener from the Gaian Tarot

Treating Toothaches & Other Topical Pain, Irritated Skin, Insect Infestation, Stings, Insomnia, Stress, Melancholy and Low Energy

Guest post by Chris Chisholm

This is the fifth in a series of five articles that Celebrate Plants in the Springtime, written by my good friend and naturalist Chris Chisholm (founder of Wolf Camp and Wolf College).

In my last article, I described how to understand the classification of plants, the difference between the “monocot” and “dicot” classes of the flowering plant division, and some details about monocots.  In this, my final article in the series, I will conclude with how to identify flowering plant families, before giving away the last secrets from my wilderness first aid apothecary.

Dicots

It’s important to point out that many plants, including trees, that don’t seem to “flower” are, in fact, flowering plants in the dicot class, right along with the many garden and wild flowers we commonly think of.   Also, you need to know that North American plants in the dicot class are divided into sub-classes including aster, rose, mallow, pink, witch hazel, and magnolia. [click to continue…]

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First Aid with Wild Herbs, Part 4 (Celebrating Plants in the Springtime)

by Joanna on April 1, 2011 · 3 comments

in Healing,Herbs,Living Green,Wheel of the Year

Gaian Tarot Three of Earth

Three of Earth from the Gaian Tarot

Treating Dehydration, Electrolyte Sickness, Heat Exhaustion, Constipation, Stomach Aches, Coughs and Fungal Infections

Guest post by Chris Chisholm

This is the fourth in a series of five articles that Celebrate Plants in the Springtime, written by my good friend and naturalist Chris Chisholm (founder of Wolf Camp and Wolf College).

I hope you’ve enjoyed my first three articles, and maybe you’ve even given some thought to choosing an herbal medicine “niche” to focus on.  For those who missed my previous articles, I’ll catch you up with a reminder that my own niche is to focus on wild plants which can help me in the wilderness, especially in case of first aid response.

In my last article, I detailed identification of the conifer division of the plant kingdom.  In this article, before discussing more plants in my wilderness first aid apothecary, I will talk about identifying the “flowering plant” division with credits to the book Botany in a Day by Thomas J. Elpel.

[click to continue…]

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Spirit Sunday: Earth Hour 2011

March 27, 2011

What did you do for Earth Hour?

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Why You Should Always Trust the Cards

March 25, 2011

Do you ever draw a complete blank when you turn up a card in a reading?  You might even think to yourself: “Well that card is just wrong. Let me put it back and pull another.” It happens to all of us . . . A few weeks ago an artist friend of mine asked [...]

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First Aid with Wild Herbs, Part 3 (Celebrating Plants in the Springtime)

March 17, 2011

Treating Anemia, Diarrhea, Bleeding, Allergies, Asthma, Toxins, Bacteria & Viruses Guest post by Chris Chisholm This is the third in a series of five articles that Celebrate Plants in the Springtime, written by my good friend and naturalist Chris Chisholm (founder of Wolf Camp and Wolf College). As I mention in the first two parts of of [...]

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You’re Invited to a Healing Tele-Circle

February 9, 2011

The Gaian Tarot Circle is hosting a Healing Circle on Saturday, February 12th, on the phone and online, and you’re invited. Several GTC members are facing health crises, and we started a special forum in the circle where prayers and healing energy can be exchanged.  But I wanted to take it up a notch by [...]

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