In this new column, we’ll embark on a journey of holistic exploration, delving into ancient practices and unraveling the enigmas of existence. Whether you’re a seasoned enthusiast or a curious newcomer, this column offers a platform for deepening your understanding and expanding your consciousness.
Cultivating Connection: The Power of Community Gardens
A community garden is like a little shared oasis, a special spot where folks from all walks of life come together to grow delicious veggies, fragrant herbs, and beautiful flowers. It becomes a green sanctuary, where members roll up their sleeves, dig in the dirt, and let nature work its magic. Often organic, community gardens help promote soil health and community connection as much as they do delicious, locally grown food.
A Shamanic View of Ancestors: The Power Within
In shamanism, ancestors are a source of great personal power and support that one may call upon to enrich one’s growth, to gain wisdom, and to manifest one’s highest good.
Caring for An Aging Parent: It’s Complex
A lot of family caregivers are part of the “sandwich generation,” tasked with caring for their own children or grandchildren, and an ageing parent simultaneously. This life transition can trigger grief reactions for the caregiver and the aging parent.
Craft Column: Porcupine Glasses Case
I don’t know about you, but I am constantly misplacing my sunglasses in my bag. I eventually find them, and inevitably the lenses are scratched. I’m determined not to let this happen this summer, so I made a cute little glasses case to help protect them. I made this case on my machine, but you could hand sew it as well.
Book Review: obsessive intrusive magical thinking by Marianne Eloise
Obsessive Intrusive Magical Thinking by Marianne Eloise is a raw and compelling exploration of the author’s journey through the labyrinth of neurodiversity. Eloise candidly invites readers into the intimate corridors of her mind, offering a poignant and authentic account of living with intrusive thoughts, and the relentless pursuit of magical thinking.
My Life Has Been Shaped by Antisemitism
I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t aware of antisemitism (not surprising for one who comes from a family with a history like mine. More about that later.) What’s been startling to me lately is recognizing that, until a few years ago, I never thought of myself as a possible target of antisemitism. An interaction with my father twenty-five years ago accurately describes how I have felt for most of my life in America.
Astrologically Speaking: Taking it Personally, the Inner Planets
In astrology, the three planets closest to earth—Mercury, Venus, and Mars—are known as the inner planets, or personal planets. These three planets, along with the Earth, are all in the same neighborhood, and affect us personally.
Motherhood as a ReVillaging Rite of Passage
Almost four years into my personal journey into motherhood, I have learned that some of my challenges are wildly common. Near-constant sensory and logistical overwhelm, deconstructing of (well-intended) pre-baby idealism, hard-to-communicate grief and resentments, and the occasional dose of blinding hot rage or anxiety. My journey has also been, however, a powerful invitation to a rite of passage through and beyond what author Beth Berry calls “Motherwhelm.”
Holler Fest: A Happy, Hoppin' Place
Ann Arbor does summer well. This town comes alive with outdoor music from June to September, but each summer the local musicians and music lovers know that to wind-up the summer, Holler Fest is the place to be.
Imagine Fitness & Yoga: Getting and Staying Fit with Support and Community
It is not surprising that Dr. Farah got the idea for the name of the fitness and yoga center while on a long run. After all, he has been an athlete and a fitness enthusiast for most of his life. He has run competitive distance races, including more than 100 marathons for decades—19 of them in the famed Boston Marathon. (For several years and last summer at age 79, he ran the Crim which is a 10-mile race in Flint.) He’s also been a sailor, a skier, snowshoer, and bicyclist, and has been leading fitness classes at Imagine Fitness and Yoga ever since it opened in the summer of 2015, less than a year after he got the idea.
Spiedo with Love
Brad Greenhill bought a vertical rotisserie on a whim. As the owner of the James Beard nominated “Best New Restaurant” Detroit’s Takoi, Greenhill wanted to experiment with spit roasting meats. He had the notion that once a new location became available, he might branch out. Last October, along with his team, executive chef Michael Goldberg and General Manager Matthew Ferreira, Greenhil did just that.
The Magnolia Blooms Spoke
I had three big dreams for my adult life: to be married, to have one more child planned within a marriage, and to live at a location that was within walking distance to most necessities. In the winter of 2020, I had a deep soulful conversation with my reflection
Weedy Wisdom for the Curious Forager: Common Wild Plants to Nourish Your Body & Soul by Rebecca Randall Gilbert
Weedy Wisdom for the Curious Forager is a delightful exploration into the world of foraging, offering readers a unique and insightful perspective on the often-overlooked treasures found in nature’s backyard. Authored by Rebecca Randall Gilbert, the book is a comprehensive guide that helps beginner and advanced foragers embrace the bounty of wild plants and discover the hidden gems under their noses.
The Wisdom of Depression
If you would have told me eight years ago that my depression held wisdom and had something to teach me, I would have thought you were crazy. Like driving down Main Street on game day crazy. That's because I was smack in what I call my "Dead Decade." From age 18-28, I was depressed, and I mean depressed. I was certain depression was the worst thing to ever happen to me because it had destroyed my life, sabotaged my promising professional career as the lead singer of a rock band, and left me in ruins.
Rhythm: Good for What Ails You
Can you recall a moment with a group of people having the time of your life? What memory pops up first? Is it a sports event when you were all cheering, or dancing at a wedding, or maybe in a club when your favorite tune played? Did your experience include some kind of rhythm, or let’s name it “pulse,” that was pulling you all together? Most likely you weren’t even aware something else might be happening. You just thought you were having fun. If you think you don’t have rhythm, spoiler alert, you do!
Stories from the Farm— Sheep: Our Sweet Wooly Babies
For as long as I can remember, February has always been synonymous with sheep. This comes from my lifetime on farms and from stories passed down by ancestors that I’ve never met, yet whose tales live on through the generations of Celtic folklore. One of my favorite folktales is of Cailleach, the divine winter hag of the Isles. Cailleach created the landscape using her basket of stones and her hammer. She would clash and fight for control of the seasons with Brìghde, the goddess of summer.
Namaste, Katie: Our Spring 2024 Yoga Column
What a phenomenal intention for this year! My intention for this year is Restore, which has required a lot of attention, and of course, intention. Both of our intentions can take so many shapes and forms, and it looks like for your question we can combine them! A beautiful restorative posture that helps the hips in so many ways is our Ananda Balasana, or Happy Baby.
We Don’t Talk About Bruno
Mental illness, however, remains stigmatized in much the same way as being sexually assaulted. Both carry a sense of shame, often imposed by an unspoken judgment that implies the illness or injury could have been prevented if only the victim had done something differently. This makes it difficult to have honest conversations with survivors of sexual violence and those who live with mental illness. This inability to have open and compassionate conversations often leaves the one carrying the pain feeling even more isolated and unjustly ashamed.
Stalker: A Spiritual Film in the Eyes of an Atheist
My son, an enthusiastic fan of classic cinema, once tried to convince my mother to let him watch a movie called Stalker before he went to bed. Being a sensible woman, she refused to allow her eight-year-old grandson to watch a film with such a foreboding title. He tried to explain to her that “stalker” in this context didn’t mean a dangerous and unwanted follower, but instead described a guide through a magical area called the Zone wherein lies a room that grants wishes. My poor mother again refused him as this explanation made little sense and sounded made up on the spot.
