Visit hear.say brewing + theater in Ann Arbor — where craft beer, improv comedy, live music, and community connection thrive. Owner Tony DeRosa blends West Coast-inspired brews with quirky shows in a welcoming biergarten. Family- and dog-friendly spot for laughter and pints!
Being Seen
Discover how a compassionate teacher can transform lives. Katherine Munter shares a moving story of mentorship, overcoming shame, healing from trauma, and paying it forward — inspired by Carl Jung's wisdom on the understanding heart in teaching. Who inspired you?
Advertisers Highlight, January 2026, Week #3
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The Schvitz Detroit: Historic Bathhouse Revival & Wellness Oasis
Discover The Schvitz, Detroit's historic bathhouse since 1930. Revived by funeral director Paddy Lynch, this North End landmark offers saunas, steam baths, cold plunges, and communal wellness in a storied space once tied to Jewish immigrants and the Purple Gang. Unwind in an inclusive urban oasis.
Catalpa Flowers and Steadfast Branches
This night, I climbed through the dark of my confusion to somewhere near the top quarter of the tree. I braced myself to sit on one branch, hooked my foot, and hugged the main trunk. It was solid but I could just make out a slight sway. I relinquished my human decision-making to a simple “just hold on”—something I’d later find out was a common moment (or phase) for most of humanity.
The Art of Rest: 10 Tips for Winter Rejuvenation
Winter invites us inward. As colder days settle over the landscape (especially here in Michigan), everything takes on a slower pace. Trees conserve energy. Animals burrow and rest. The air itself encourages stillness. As every living thing knows, true rest isn’t laziness, it’s nourishment. Winter gives us permission to soften, restore, and rebuild energy before spring arrives. Thankfully, there are so many lovely ways to incorporate rest and relaxation into your everyday routine.
Crazy Wisdom Kids: The Moon & Me
The moon has a way of catching a child’s eye. It lingers above treetops, follows the car home, disappears for a few nights, then returns—quiet, steady, familiar. For parents, it’s a reminder to pause, to notice, and to reconnect with something simple yet deeply grounding: the rhythm of nature itself.
White Lotus Farms Café: Bread, Beauty, and Belonging— Extending the Spirit of the Farm into the Heart of the Community
The buzz had been building for months about White Lotus Farms opening a Café, and by the time you’re reading this, it is open.
Family Grimoires: Not Just For the Rich, Famous, or “Evil”
Folklore customs as well as generational practices for healing, heartbreak, and dealings with the mystical still abound. However, oral tradition of teaching family wisdom is dwindling, and family “books” for many have been reduced to genealogy charts and possibly a Bible in which obituaries or birth announcements are stuffed.
Kindred Conversations with Hilary Nichols-- The Poet and the Philosopher:The marriage of Erin Zindle and Ross Huff
When two of the most talented and prolific musicians in Ann Arbor come together, the synergy of sound and sentiment is too beautiful to miss. “We’ve been writing words and melodies to express our love story in all of its depth and magic, with the goal of sharing it with you, our dearest ones, as we celebrate our union together.”
Ann Arbor’s Zen Buddhist Temple Prepares for a New Era
As we enter the late 2020s, the American Zen community is preparing for a changing of the guard. With many of today’s Western Zen teachers trained during the 1960s and 1970s, temples and teaching centers across the country are preparing to hand leadership to a new generation of students and enter a new era of American Zen Buddhism. For the first time, the leaders will be largely Western people who were taught by other Westerners in the late 20th century--not Westerners who were taught directly by Zen teachers from Asia.
Jeff Parness and the Sanctuary at Hope Farms— How to Transform Loss into Hope and Healing
Jeff Parness is full of stories; entertaining, detailed, and animated. But this story is about Parness and his newly built home in Ann Arbor. “This property saved my life. It was the clouds,” he told me. “I found this property as I was storm chasing.”
Ojibwe Speaks: Stacie Sheldon and the Revitalization of Anishinaabemowin
Twenty years ago, Stacie Sheldon and Margaret Noodin founded the website ojibwe.net in Ann Arbor, beginning the hard work of revitalizing Anishinaabemowin language, speakers, and culture. Their work is part of greater regional shift, which in 2025 saw Detroit’s first pow wow in thirty years, a major exhibit open at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the arrival of Ann Arbor District Library’s mascot, Akako G. Shins (“little groundhog” in Ojibwe).
The Weaves that Blind, Bind, and Possibly Create Dis-ease: A Review of Fabric Frequency and Lore Since the Exodus
It came over me one morning. I dressed, and undressed, and redressed several times. Shirts and pants I had worn many times suddenly made me feel claustrophobic. The colors were good, the styles attractive. This wasn’t a “what do I want to wear?” indecisive moment. No, it was as if every shirt and pair of pants I tried, I felt like my skin couldn’t breathe—that I couldn’t breathe (and not because I had strawberry shortcake with morning coffee). I pulled at the necklines, the thighs, the abdomen. I fidgeted. I could feel confused grumpiness setting in.
Redefining the Mental Health Experience — A Conversation with Kerry Biskelonis, Founder of Reset Body and Mind
You might miss Reset Brain and Body while cruising up Packard. Next door to the Cobblestone Farm, the business lives in a cozy brown building nestled back among the trees. Kerry Biskelonis, Founder and Managing Director, explained, “All of our offices are located within green space. It’s very important to have trees, to have natural light and access to outdoors, because connecting to nature is how we feel better; It’s always quiet, like an oasis, so you won’t find us in a high rise.”
Balance Chakras to Build Confidence in Kids
The subtle energy system has always been integral to humanity’s weave of existence. Though the media tends to focus on seven major chakras in the Hindu/yogic tradition, there is commonality across Cherokee, Incan, Pueblo, Tibetan Buddhist, and Sufi Muslim mysticism beliefs to name just a few. That being understood, there are major and minor chakras throughout the body—at every joint, nerve bundle, palms of the hands, souls of the feet, nipples, and more.
A Miracle Led the Way--A Talk With Naturopath, Dr. Dennis Cousino
Dr. Dennis Cousino, ND, HHP, CFT of Dynamic Health lets us in on a journey of pain, faith, and healing in his own life—an experience that can only be described as miraculous. Dr. Dennis Cousino was raised in Tecumseh, MI and stil lives in the area with his wife and three boys. He completed his Naturopathic Doctorate at the First University of Naturopathy and has been practicing for 15 years specializing in chronic digestive and adrenal disorders.
Chandra Mitchel: Shepherding Crazy Wisdom Bookstore into its Next Era
A few months ago, in June 2025, Bill Zirinsky and Ruth Schekter licensed Chandra Mitchel, and her partner, Jon Rothenberg, to run Crazy Wisdom Bookstore, selling them the retail inventory, and leasing to them the bookstore’s first floor and lower level.
The Buzz on Protecting Pollinators Through the Winter
During the spring and summer there is always a lot of buzz around pollinators, their habitats, and how to support them. But did you know you can continue to support your backyard friends in the fall and winter as well? Through a few simple steps you can continue to provide for your local pollinators as the weather turns cold. By offering them housing during the snowy winter months you can guarantee they’ll return to your gardens the following year. It’s a win for everyone!
Kindred Conversations with Hilary Nichols--featuring Jamall Bufford
As the Director of Washtenaw My Brother’s Keeper (WMBK), Jamall Bufford makes a powerful impression of warmth and conviction. “Everyone sees his heart,” his colleague Justin Harper said. “Jamall is a great person. It is easy to work with him because he is a good listener, a team player, and completely true to his convictions. When someone has those qualities, a lot of great things can happen.”
