Where does music begin? When you’re a musician, the search is inward. David Magumba realized that, “Beyond inspiration, you do the work. You make it happen. As a songwriter, that is the effort I am making right now.”
Amy Garber — Promoting Holistic and Psychic Realms for a Quarter of a Century
The Ann Arbor Holistic Psychic Fair became the largest of its type in Michigan as it gave a common arena for holistic practitioners and psychic intuitives to assemble in a mutually respected village for one or two days. Many of the practitioners highlighted in Crazy Wisdom articles have had booths, done readings, or attended informative lectures through these fairs.
Conscious Parenting: Meditation For Breakfast
I’m really good at anger; I always have been. The fight response in my threat system is ready to launch. If I wanted to slip back into my old baseline of anger in that moment, I had plenty of reasons to: I was in a rush, I was hungry, I was feeling unappreciated for the things I didn’t forget to do for my sons, I was feeling vulnerable at my son’s implication that my best wasn’t enough, and I was feeling blamed for “ruining” my son’s morning routine.
Stronger Relationships - Healthier Pets
Science has identified that the relationship between a pet and their family is mutually beneficial. Controlled research in anthrozoology has proved that pets can buffer stress, lower heart rate and blood pressure, give social support, help you stay in shape, and prevent certain types of sickness.
Astrologically Speaking: The Solar and Lunar Eclipses of 2022 & 2023
This fall season we will experience two eclipses: The first will be a partial solar eclipse on October 25th in the sign of Scorpio, followed by a total lunar eclipse on November 8th in the sign of Taurus.
Hand Crafting: A Jolly Old Elf
Bring a little magic into your holiday season with this jolly old elf. Made from scraps of wool felt and a bit of ribbon from your stash, he’ll be adorable hanging from your Yule tree, decorating a package, or pinned to your lapel.
Changing Our Minds--Kindness, Clarity, and Insight
Kindness, Clarity, and Insight is a collection of talks that the Tibetan Buddhist Dalai Lama gave in the USA and Canada more than forty years ago. With this and later books, the Dalai Lama brought Tibetan Buddhism and the situation in Tibet into prominent international awareness; he went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
Healers of Ann Arbor: Psychologist Christi Bemister—Healing Trauma and Chronic Pain
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone in chronic pain, myself, who doesn’t have a history with trauma,” Christi Bemister said as she opened up a weekend retreat on trauma and chronic pain. The retreat covered the work of healing the mind and body together through the Realization Process created by Judith Blackstone. “They’re very intricately related, because chronic pain is actually a brain issue versus simply a physiological one. It’s a very complex issue,” she added.
Crazy Wisdom Kids in the Community--Country Fall Festivals
I’m excited to explore kids’ events with you that are waiting just outside of Ann Arbor. Perfect for this new phase of expansion of the Journal are the fall festivals around Washtenaw County. You can get outside with your kids, eat a caramel apple, and relax in nature for a day of family fun.
Green Living: Bring Your Own Container, Leave with a New Way to Live
It is a song many of us sing every day: the last swipe of lotion on a dry day leaves a container empty; the final drizzle of olive oil escapes the bottle and sizzles on the pan; the old water kettle stops boiling; it is time to throw it all out and start over with something new.
Tell Every Amazing Lady These Five Lessons
I am a T.E.A.L. survivor. T.E.A.L.® stands for Tell Every Amazing Lady about ovarian cancer. It is an organization (and national movement) started to help women identify signs and symptoms and urge them to seek medical help in its early stages, because ovarian cancer is often overlooked until it is too late. When it declares itself with debilitating symptoms, usually in stage III or IV, the prognosis is poor, so in an attempt to get the information out there, I share my cautionary tale.
Out of My Comfort Zone: Living Outside My Comfort Zone
Upon reflecting on “a single time” that I have moved outside of my zone of comfort, I am somewhat stumped. I realized while considering this topic that I virtually live outside of my comfort zone. My life is what I call “living on a prayer.” I work in the healing industry and have been a self-employed woman for well over 20 years of my 23 years of healing service.
Cooking with Lisa
Lisa Viger Gotte is a Chelsea resident passionate about plant-based cuisine and loves showing others how simple, delicious, healthy, and joyful it can be. A vegan diet improved her own physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and she’s seen it do the same in others! She is also an artist, cookbook author, MSVA Vegan Life Coach, and RYT 200 yoga teacher. You can learn more about her and find more tasty recipes at planted365.com.
Pulling Weeds in Crow, Montana
I was viscerally aware, that the United States of America, with the help of the Supreme Court, has broken every single treaty it signed with our indigenous siblings. The Supreme Court recently has upended environmental law. Fire season in the dry, western states has begun. I think about Jackie Whisperstep and the fragility of her house given the heartiness of the weeds that grow too near it. And I long to go back, to stand with those to whom we made promises we did not keep.
Great Tastes in Local Food--Fall 2022
A takeout counter in the back of a party store is not where I expected to find amazing vegan food. But there I was, standing in Lakeside Party Shoppe, located a stone’s throw from the shores of glistening Whitmore Lake, waiting to pick up my order from Eli’s Blazin Wings + Pizza.
Leaps of Faith: Brighton Light House
You read it right. Brighton Light House (BLH) is three words. That’s because, unlike a “lighthouse,” BLH is not a cautionary beacon on a rocky shoreline—a vision that may have come to mind at first glance. Rather, the light radiating from BLH is one that beckons the community toward it with the sole purpose of providing space for individuals to find, nurture, and shine their own light.
Fall Book Reviews: Rules of Estrangement and Finding the Mother Tree
Dr. Joshua Coleman visits a subject of vulnerability and sensitivity in nature in Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties & How to Heal the Conflict. His expertise as a trusted psychologist and his personal experience with the silent epidemic known as estrangement guide readers through this compelling book. While popular opinion typically sways to one side, favoring the estranged child, Dr. Coleman looks at each situation through an objective lens carefully drawing information from all sides.
Leaps of Faith: Arogyaveda
At the end of a quiet lane, I found the building where Pradeepa Ryasam invited me to meet her. I had asked if she could share her experience as a new business owner offering holistic wellness services at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. As I walked toward the building, I noticed rabbit footprints in the new snow, and several birds greeted me before Ryasam had a chance to open the door to introduce herself.
Random Acts of Kindness: Kindness is Always Possible! Join the Kindness Revolution
I think most people would agree that the pandemic has made a lot of things that we used to take for granted much more complicated. For example: every time I go grocery shopping now, I feel I am putting my health at risk. Because of staffing shortages, I know I’m probably going to have to wait in line for a long time and end up in a DIY check-out lane—and those machines, for whatever reason, hate me. They spew out a constant stream of commands and demands that I can never understand. If I had any feelings of peace and harmony when I entered the store, I know they will be gone by the time I leave.
Sustainable Health: Enhancing Detoxification-- A Path to Lifelong Wellness
The idea of enhancing detoxification to improve health has been known and practiced in the natural healthcare community for decades. Herbs, saunas, activated charcoal, juicing, and body wraps are just a few of the ways practitioners and patients have sought to rid the body of toxins and waste more efficiently. These different approaches have gone in and out of fashion, and with the advent of social media you can find any number of people claiming they’ve got the perfect shake, supplement, or potion for everyone to achieve a cleaner body. Let’s face it, some of them are scams, but the theory is sound—help the body detoxify and you’ll have more energy, clearer skin, better bowel elimination, and avoid chronic illness later in life.
