In high school, I’d been set free to take French classes at the university. Waiting in the library to be picked up, I wandered and read. On a physical level I was hungry for more than stories. I didn’t eat much breakfast and found the atmosphere at school non-conducive to lunch. Like many students locked into what seemed an alien rhythm, I existed in a tattered state.
Ashes in Art Glass: Encapsulating the Spirit of Remembrance
One local artist has found a way to etch a world of fleeting moments into eternal beauty. Nestled in a studio in Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown district, Chris Nordin, the creative mastermind behind the business Ashes in Art Glass, breathes life into the ethereal by transforming the ashes of loved ones into stunning, sculptural remembrance pieces. At the core of this artistry lies a poignant convergence—the intersection of grief and craftsmanship--where glass encases the essence of a human spirit.
Folk Song Jam Along— Singing and Playing Just for Joy
A half hour before the six o’clock start time of the monthly Folk Song Jam Along, there were already about a half dozen people in the program room at the Westgate Branch of the Ann Arbor District Library. Song leaders Lori Fithian and Jean Chorazyczewski greeted early arrivals at the door and chatted with familiar regulars. There were about fifty chairs facing the large pull-down screen at the front of the long rectangular room. Fithian had set her Mac laptop, complete with purple case, on the lectern on one side of the screen, and Chorazyczewski’s Yamaha electric keyboard rested on its stand near the other side.
Quietly Noticing
I stood about twenty feet away from my two-year-old waiting to push her on a swing or do a count down while she hyped herself up to glide down a slide. I had just gotten done with a three-mile run with her in a stroller at the loop at Hudson Mills. The only way we get through these runs is a lot of snacks and the promise of playground time, and I was ready for the playground time. To me, playground time is a time that I don’t have to keep my brain on high alert. Rinoa would play and I would catch my breath and not have to figure out how to run, push, grab, and unwrap a snack all at once as I had been doing for thirty minutes prior.
Bringing Warmth: Grief as an Anti-Racist Practice
Harriet Tubman stares at me as I approach her. I am walking in the forest behind the high school with my dogs. It is an early spring morning, the sun lighting the sky but not yet risen, trees leafless, robin and cardinal calls in my ears. In 2020, art appeared in the forest: a colorful banded ACAB (for “All Cops are Bastards” used by a variety of groups, both racist and anti-racist) sign, Toni Morrison’s portrait printed on sheet metal and Harriet, in orange and green. While Toni is gone, the others remain, and I greet them as I pass, Harriet in particular. Her eyes reach through time to touch my heart and depending on what is happening in the world, I feel her gaze as accusing, patient, angry, vulnerable, or shocked.
What’s New at Crazy Wisdom, Winter 2024
Many people in southeastern Michigan will be excited to know that after being closed since February 15, 2022, Crazy Wisdom Bookstore reopened on December 1, 2023 under the same ownership of Bill Zirinsky and Ruth Schekter, the couple who have shepherded the store forward over the last 30+ years.
Demystifying the Magic
When I was in early grade school, I lived in a modest ranch home in a downriver neighborhood. One evening while lying in bed in my room, I felt compelled to look out my window which faced our backyard. As I stood on my bed and looked out, the sky in the distance looked ominous. The dark clouds certainly meant a storm was coming. I loved storms (still do!), so I watched, fascinated by the swirling colors of the clouds.
Kindred Conversations: Ebony Evans and Chris Huang
It is said that we all have a book in us. As an avid reader, book reviewer, and book club leader, Ebony Evans has actively encouraged a lot of those books into being. Her book club, EyeCU Reading and Chatting Club, has over 2000 members online with impressive outreach and impact in the literary sphere. Evans discovered in previous book clubs that the participants weren’t really there to read, they were catty and talked about each other. It became clear that she was looking for something distinct. So, she created it herself.
A Gift of Clairvoyance and Psychometry
When a small Santa Claus ornament was handed to me by a friend, the vision hit me immediately: An adult male, only in his 30s, suffered a severe heart event that stopped him in his tracks. He was so discouraged that he could no longer live his life as he intended. As a young husband in the late 1940s, he loved his wife and daughter dearly but couldn’t provide for them as he longed to do. That is what I told the owner of the ornament, Lori, who confirmed my accuracy. She went on to say that her mother became the breadwinner and Lori, who was quite young at the time, had to grow up quickly to help the family. I then told Lori additional information that she wasn’t previously aware of but was useful to her.
Green Burial: From Stardust to Soil
On a cloudy afternoon this past winter, as we stood in the muted, gray light of our kitchen, I said to my wife, “When I die, just put me in the ground, maybe wrapped in a shroud—or in a pine box, or something like that—and let nature do its thing.”
Finding a Deep Rooted Sense of Being: Plant Hallucinogens and the Modern World
For centuries, people have gazed at the night sky with a sense of wonder, attempting to comprehend the mysteries of the cosmos in relation to their own existence. Not that long ago, communities would gather around a communal fire, exchanging insights and challenges while seeking wisdom from their tribal elders.
The Power of Ancestry and Personal Discovery
My sister Lisa and I often joke about our rabbit hole research inquiries. The thrill of the potential finds keeps us searching. What started as separate hobbies eventually merged to combine into writing local history as well as GENMEMS (genealogical memoirs and house histories) for clients. Lisa summed up her genealogy enthusiasm by saying, “It’s like a puzzle, or mystery, to see how everything connects or impacts each other.” That connectivity is what we all need to take a closer look at to understand our inherited (yet transformable) tendencies, how we can gather strength from our ancestors’ stories, and finally, how to keep descendants and future communities in our conscious decision-making.
Community Acupuncture: A Synergy of Healing & Community: A Conversation with Evan Lebow-Wolf, Cheryl Wong & Kiersten DeWitt of Ann Arbor Community Acupuncture
Community acupuncture, on the other hand, offers a sustainable and fiscally sensible solution to treating as many people as efficiently and effectively as possible. Evan Lebow-Wolf, co-founder of Ann Arbor Community Acupuncture (AACA), told me briefly about the difference between community acupuncture and private acupuncture. When I asked him whether he feels like there is anything missing in the community acupuncture approach that is available in private acupuncture sessions, he replied with a firm and resolute “no.”
Lovingkindness in Action: A Visit to the Arab-American Museum
I stared at the man silhouetted against the murky gray December sky. Strings of blue and white lights arched skyward as he placed them over the turquoise tiled sign announcing in Arabic and English Arab American National Museum. Walking under the lights felt like a metaphor for the threshold I crossed as I entered the building. I stepped into an atrium that reminded me of dun stone buildings and courtyards, sunnier climates, and warm weather clothes. I breathed in, tuning into my body and the stream of sensations.
Out of My Comfort Zone: Answering the Call to Rest
At the beginning of this year, I did what many of us do when preparing for another trip around the sun. I set about visioning, but also taking real stock and looking at the reality of the health of my enterprises, my finances, and my body. My approach to the known challenges, I decided, was to bring in freshness of perspective, make some pivots, and then put my head down and work it. My retail business and its educational programming are currently at a critical juncture, and they really needed my undivided attention and energy. Therefore, plans for personal development (i.e, retreats, trainings, coaching), travel, or casual socializing were put on hold. I felt good about this plan. I love my work. I want my business to thrive, and I needed a big turnaround in terms of finances. So, I grabbed my oar. However, a naughty word kept creeping into my thoughts…Sabbatical.*
Tantre Farm Honeybee Nut Festival A Fall Celebration of Nature’s Bounty
If you’re looking for a fun, free, educational, and delicious way to celebrate fall, the Third Annual Tantre Farm Honeybee Nut Festival in Ann Arbor is the place to be on Sunday Ocotber 8th.
In Pursuit of the More Perfect Apple at Amrita Farms
Amrita Farms is the only organic apple orchard within over a 50-mile radius for U-Pick apples. The farm was started 27 years ago, on a 54-acre parcel, in order to combine sustainable farming and education in pursuit of an eco-friendly lifestyle. The owner’s first initiative was to help mother nature by planting several hundred evergreens. The farm struggled since its start to find its identity, milling through multiple products with a revenue stream not taking root because of the clay soil. Kymal, known in business circles as a serial entrepreneur, refused to accept failure
Book Review: A Lantern in the Dark: Navigate Life’s Crossroads with Story, Ritual, and Sacred Astrology
Danielle Blackwood meets readers at life’s crossroads–a space of “betwixt and between”–where she guides and inspires through story, ritual, and sacred astrology. Infused with myth, folklore, and the hidden wisdom in stories, A Lantern in the Dark, provides insights to readers of varying ages and stages of life while they stand at a juncture often riddled with confusion, dilemma, and restlessness.
Out of My Comfort Zone: Sometimes I Fall: The Discomfort of Asking
In response to your kind inquiry, ‘Would you be interested in writing?,’ right off the bat, I’ve been transported a few miles, to the outskirts of the town of Discomfort. I stare at its welcome sign. Founded: at the beginning of human time. Population: countless.
Astrologically Speaking: Sheer Lunacy: The Moon’s Journey Through the Zodiac Signs
While the sun reflects our personality, the moon reflects our emotional self. It can reflect the mother archetype and how we are cared for as well as how we nurture. It can also represent the health of the entire body. This means our feelings or how we react to things can be more steady, less intense or more amplified depending on where the moon is.
