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Health

Mind KEY / Health (Page 3)

Getting outdoors: Your March Checklist

by Allelia Cesa, a Fall 2016 graduate of William Paterson University, NJ If embraced, March can be a time of a great renewal of one’s mind, spirit and soul. In nature, everything that had died or turned off in the winter starts to come back. Babies are born, flowers reappear, and everything returns to life. You, too, can join the flowers and come back to life by getting outdoors. The Mind Key Community offers their perspective on being outside, and why they find solace in the great outdoors.   The outdoors as a source of creative and spiritual renewal   [caption id="attachment_5570" align="alignleft" width="250"] Gardening allows Amy to see other possibilities in her designs[/caption] Despite being an artist inspired by nature, Amy Cousin of Amy Cousin Jewelry said renewal is an important...

flowers

March’s issue: Renewal, a recipe for achievement and growth

Renewal marks a change in our lives. It means to start anew, freshen up lifestyles, ideals, ways of thinking and even our relationships. Sometimes we can become stuck in broken connections or repeating patterns. Renewal becomes an opportunity to shed the skin of old and to become the person you were meant to be. There’s no better time to do this than when the earth is doing the same. In spring, we revel in the scent of fresh air, the sound of birds singing and the wonder of nature being reborn. After the hibernation of winter, spring is (excuse the pun) a breath of fresh air. It’s easy to allow the new energy to envelop us and take us with it.  And why shouldn't we allow it?  We...

sexual dysfunction is usually stemmed in spirituality and energy issues

Sexual dysfunction: A physical or energetic representation of health?

by Dr. Lisa Avila [caption id="attachment_5543" align="alignright" width="244"] To truly express our sexuality, we must release any latent judgements we may have been conditioned to believe about what’s acceptable or unacceptable sexually. Art by Sean David Wright[/caption] When I first read this quote by Caroline Myss, one of my earlier teachers and mentors, I didn't know what to do with it. Most of my life has been devoted to finding the root causes of what ails the body and the mind. As a healthcare practitioner, I found endless opportunities to explore the validity of the above quote. Later in my career, I spent time exploring the bridges between physical discomfort, emotional/spiritual distress, and body chemistry balance. In examining sexual dysfunction, I learned that the interplay between sex...

monogamy and std testing are not mutually exclusive

STDs—Don’t let your long-term relationship fool you

by Melissa Casiano, student writer at William Paterson University, NJ Everyone understands the importance of getting tested regularly for sexually transmitted diseases. However, the discussion is usually associated with couples who are starting out, people who are sexually “free,” or when people are suspicious of their partner. Veteran couples, on the other hand, tend to forget about sexual health altogether, due to the fact that they trust their partner and haven’t been with anyone else. Monogamy and STD testing don't normally go hand-in-hand, but the landscape on this might change.   Why get tested? ​According to the CDC, symptoms sometimes take years to appear for some sexually transmitted Diseases (STDs), and because some diseases, such as herpes, can sometimes be mistaken for other conditions. Many couples get tested once...

Intimacy and wellness: Your relationship with sex

[caption id="attachment_5499" align="alignright" width="300"] relationships are an interesting dynamic of health, emotion, spirituality, and our perception of the world. Image by JoAnna Schillaci[/caption] Sex affects, and is affected by, our health, our personal belief systems and our relationship with those we love most.  This interplay makes sex not only a pivotal player in any intimate relationship—but also one of the most talked about relationship topics within our society.  At the same time, sexual intimacy is rarely a subject discussed with much depth. This week, The Daily Key strives to break the boundaries of the sex conversation. We are going deeper with discussions on how the relationship with our health, our beliefs, and our cultural upbringing affects our sexuality as individuals, and as a society. To launch the discussion, Ojanae...

better sleep means better health

How many all-nighters are too many–your relationship with sleep

By Mary Thorpe, Fall 2016 graduate of William Paterson University, N.J. As a young adult, I am told to enjoy college, because it, “doesn’t get much better than this.” The advice, however, prompts me to think the opposite: stress, hard times, and lack of sleep associated with the college years. Stress and sleep have a delicate relationship. Getting better sleep can go a long way in alleviating the affects extreme stress and sleep deprivation can have on mental health. Stress and sleep in college students Studies from the 2015 National College Health Assessment show that 30% of college students felt stress had a negative impact on their academic performance. A whopping 85% said that they have felt “overwhelmed by all they had to do” within the last twelve...

positivity is all attitude

Changing your relationship with the world: The Power of Positivity

by Paola Scaduto, Mind Key intern and Fall 2016 graduate of William Paterson University, N.J. Are you happy? Do you have good energy around you and do positive situations occur for you? Are you depressed? Do you feel like your negative feelings might result in negative situations? Positivity is important for not only us, but for those around us. Self-help gurus talk about manifestation In his book, “The Light in the Heart,” Roy T. Bennett writes, “The more you feed your mind with positive thoughts, the more you can attract great things in your life.” Barbara Frederickson writes in her landmark paper that negative emotions are when extreme, prolonged or contextually inappropriate behaviors, “produce many grave problems for individuals and society, ranging from phobias and anxiety disorders, aggression and...

marginalized-- Susan Jacoby

Overcoming helplessness in a victimized world

by Dr. Lisa Avila In chiropractic school, a teacher I liked very much mentioned that he found people came into the office in clusters—a cluster of people with shoulder issues, a cluster of low back pain issues, a cluster of digestion issues. One year into private practice, I had already seen this to be true.   Recently, the cluster of issues presenting is people feeling marginalized. This trend has persisted every day since last summer, so much so that it has been hard to ignore. Some have used that word, marginalized, and some have used similar words that convey the same message. Some have cried, and some have been very angry. And everyone, all of them, have brought up random moments of being abused within their personal histories.   Imagine?...

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Not Waiting for Life: Embracing your detour

If anyone can be considered an ‘expert’ at making lemonade, it’s Mind Key’s extraordinary affiliate, Amy Oestreicher. She took the incredibly sour lemons life gave her at the age of 18, and turned them into a sweet adventure that has not only allowed her to achieve her dreams, but to become a stronger woman than she ever imagined.  As someone who hated the idea of waiting, she learned that embracing each moment meant never having to wait again. Today, Amy teaches others to embrace “detourism” as a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer, speaker, award-winning actress and playwright. Here, she shares the tale of her personal detour, and how it changed her life. ******************* Amy's Story I’m the youngest kid in my family, and with two doting parents and...

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Time heals all wounds? A romantic sentiment

Featured photo courtesy of Carlie Currier Article by Dr. Lisa Avila The idea that time heals all wounds is a lovely, almost romantic sentiment. The suggestion is that distance from the event, in the form of time, is all that is required to heal a broken heart or other form of betrayal. The reality is that I have not seen this to be the truth. Time and distance from a wound merely help take the sting out of it. The wound moves from acute, which can be thought of as a sharp pain, to chronic, which may be thought of as a dull throbbing pain. That is not healing anything. It is merely moving one's emotional pain from one category to another. If it never really resolves into a...

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Living on Reiki Time – Nonlinear Time

It was Reiki that introduced me to the concept that time is not linear, or as I like to call it, Reiki time. I started to allow for the possibility that time is actually a continuum when I was introduced to the distance healing concept of Reiki Level Two.  I tell my clients that Reiki Healing knows no time, space or distance. The time continuum represents a continuous flow of energy. It contains all the events that have ever happened, are happening in this moment, or will ever happen. I fervently believe this concept, but really never expected that I would experience it physically.  Being spiritual, I am able to believe without physical proof. Little did I know I would actually experience nonlinear time during a healing with a...

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January is Stress Reduction Month with Dr. Doni

  Happy New Year from Dr. Doni! First, let me wish you a happy and healthy 2017! I do hope you had a wonderful holiday season. I love the holidays. I love the cooking, the eating, giving presents and spending time with my loved ones. But I also know the holidays can be a STRESSFUL time for many. By the time the New Year rolls around, we might feel a bit drained once the excitement dies down: We may feel like we ate too much, drank too much, or just plain did too much. We may have eaten foods that increase leaky gut and throw of blood sugar levels. We may have stayed up late and slept less than usual. We may have loved seeing our friends and...

January’s Issue: Time – How do you view it?

[caption id="attachment_5204" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Time is a clock in the sand begging to be overlooked - It's only a "thing" if we make it one.[/caption] We depend on time for everything. We are so conditioned to run on or by it, that there's a sense of jealousy or confusion for those who don't know or care. But what is time? We as a society measure it in linear terms. We adhere to this linear definition so tightly that we find it difficult to even be open to a different interpretation. How do we find the time to do all that we hope? Can we manifest more, or bend it? What does it mean to "spend our time wisely” and why is it so important to "stop to...

Reflections of 2016 – The Mind Key Community

[caption id="attachment_5168" align="alignright" width="225"] Photo of the Rhode Island sunset courtesy of Carlie Currier[/caption] The Mind Key Project has been blessed to receive so much light and energy from our community of members, readers and practitioners this year as we built a platform for health, wellness and happiness that may just change the world. What a ride 2016 has been!  If your journey has been anything like ours (and I know most of yours have been), it’s been a year of struggle, strife, and incredible growth.  Rest assured, even if you don’t see the personal growth you’ve undergone, it’s there! Members of our community have shared their reflections of the past year, and their vision of growth.  We hope that, based on our posts on the importance of...

Book by Barbara Steingas

Radiance Coaching with Barbara Steingas

From inspirational author and speaker to radiant life coach and reiki healer, Barbara Steingas incorporates her own life experiences in all she does. Barbara’s battle with, and eventual triumph over, Crohn’s disease, an immune disorder of the intestinal tract, revealed the optimal path for her own health by utilizing physical, emotional, mental and spiritual strategies. Barbara believes life path involves  sharing those strategies with her clients.     Barbara’s inspirational self-help books include; Solving the Crohn’s and Colitis Puzzle, The Healing Puzzle and Germans are Funny, Too!  Her one-on-one coaching sessions mirror the tips and tricks from her books, leading her clients down their own paths toward enlightenment.  Depending on the session, Barbara can also perform reiki healing and crystal chakra balancing, an intuitive transfer of healing energy....

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December Issue: Connection

[caption id="attachment_4933" align="alignleft" width="241"] Photo courtesy of JoAnna Schillaci[/caption] This month's theme is connection.  We're going to talk about about how we work together as a community to remain connected--how we connect with others, with those we love, with the world around us. The holidays are a time when we work so hard toward a sense of connection while at the same time often feeling completely disconnected. As your resource for everything health and happiness, Mind Key believes that the idea of connection, whether to each other, to spirit, or to ourselves, is essential. That’s why we’ve devoted this month to spotlighting members of our community that offer resources via products and services that promote all forms of connection. As you peruse this month’s spotlights, utilize your...

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November in a Nutshell

By Carlie Currie In honor of Mind Key’s third anthology, Tempest: Life Upturned, the theme of November has focused on riding out the storms of our lives that can brew during this season. Although this time of year is often seen as a preparation for the happiness of holidays, it can often bring about stress and turbulence. However, sometimes a sense of misdirection can lead us to learning more about ourselves and can be an opportunity for growth. The first theme of this month was mental health awareness. In Tamara’s article, “Art Therapy to Treat Mental Illness” art therapy is used as a creative outlet to cope with mental illness and stress. In addition, her article “How Mental Illness Affects Family Dynamics,” discusses the impact of...

Advice on coping with loss

Yesterday, Paola Scaduto shared an intensely personal story of loss.  We wanted to follow that up with some advice we've found on grief counseling websites.  The loss of a loved one, no matter the circumstance, is painful and shouldn't be dealt with alone.   Take care of yourself This Help Guide offers the following advice for taking care of yourself: Look after your physical health. Face your feelings. Keep yourself busy. Do things you love. Stay focused and continue your daily life. Don’t let anyone tell you how to feel, and don’t tell yourself how to feel either. Plan ahead for grief “triggers” such as anniversaries, milestones and holidays. “If you’re sharing a holiday or lifecycle event with other relatives, talk to them ahead of time...

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The stressed out teen – tips for destressing your high school student

By Rebecca Pall Chances are, if one were to ask a high schooler how they were feeling, the number one answer would be that dreaded, eight letter word: stressed.  With stress comes anxiety and nervousness as well.  In today’s day and age, school and social issues aren't the only things that can add to the stress load of students.   One of the things that can lead to stress for high school teenagers is, on the non-academic side, social standing.  At the age of 14-19, children feel that they have to be superior by fitting into a crowd.  If they don’t do what a certain group of people are doing, then they could be seen as unfit, or unqualified to be with a certain group of people....

Harvesting Weeds For Fall Health

I never used to like autumn.  I’ve always been more of a spring girl. Watching the world come alive, and singing with the energy of the earth… I’m in my glory! Lately though, I’m learning how beneficial reaping the harvest can be, both physically and spiritually.  Whether I’m watching the October rains turn our August-faded lawns green again, walking a mountain path, or sitting on the beach in my hoodie, debating a swim, there’s so much life waiting for us to share in the bounty and I’m learning to sit quietly and reflect in the cooling days and appreciate all I’ve done in the warmer seasons so that I can reap their benefit all winter long. What grows is often what we need, so I’d like...

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NanoWrimo – Letting Your Vision Grow

October is a month of traditions, whether it’s celebrating a harvest festival or Halloween activities.  But Harvesting is also another way to reap the seeds we sow in our own journey, honing the talents and skills that make us who we are.  Writers all over the world look at November, also known in the noveling world as National Novel Writing Month (or the otherwise cryptic, NaNoWriMo) with anticipation, using October as a chance to gear up for one of the greatest writing challenges of all. NaNoWriMo.org writes: National November Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun and creative writing challenge starting on November 1st and ending November 30th.  The goal is to write 50,000 words in just one month.  Sounds fun, crazy, intensive, and highly rewarding?  Well, it is....

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Harvest: A Human Connection

By Tamara Rockiki Harvest festivals are representative of our own personal growth, and the need to share our successes. They center around abundance and community, and in this day and age of limited face-to-face connection, they remind us of the importance of celebrating that which we’ve done to get us where we are. This week, as an inspiration to share and grow from our personal harvests, we will be sharing stories of harvest traditions around the world, such as the olive harvest festival which has been celebrated in the township of Magione, Italy, since 2001.   Stephanie Spavento of the The Perpetual Explorer writes that this festival takes place on November 23rd, in conjunction with the feast of St. Clement, the patron saint of metalworkers and blacksmiths.  It celebrates the...

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Harvesting Wisdom From People We’ve Lost

Recently, my husband’s great aunt passed away after a long bout with a painful cancer. Kim was a wonderful woman and her wry wit and comforting presence will be missed at every family gathering.  Her love and pride in our family was something that I cherished.  Kim had been part of my life for almost thirty years and her presence in our lives taught me many things. Kim devoted her life to supporting the mental and emotional health of troubled teens across the nation.  A spiritual person from a young age, Kim gravitated toward spiritual people from all faiths. She eventually settled in southern Colorado, cultivating a close connection to the Native American community. While working with teenagers on the reservation there, Kim’s faith was deepened to...

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Working With Intuition, Not Fear

By Carlie Currier   October is a time for harvesting. Nourished by the warmth of the sun, summer was a time for growth within. While sowing the seeds of our goals, we thought deeply about what we wanted to manifest within our lives. Now the season of fall calls for a new phase in our growth--the fruition of our dreams into reality. However, we need to be aware of exactly what we’re harvesting. Ghosts and demons also come out in October. Are  we allowing our higher selves to shine through so we can reach our full potential, or, are we letting the superstitions and phobias of our past dictate us? Maybe some of us are still allowing skeletons to hide inside the closets of our comfort zones. Is...

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Find Your Untapped Potential

Do you ever wonder about your true calling?  Do you yearn for something more but just don’t know what? Each of us is equipped with unique talents and skills.  Finding our true calling is a journey. It’s not always easy to realize what we’re meant to do in life.  In her blog post, “Untapped Potential: Finding Your Talent”, Mind Key member, Tamara Rokicki, shares her journey in pursuing her passion.  It doesn't have to be as complicated as we make it.  Life presents our talents in many ways, whether it’s a simple hobby that rescues us from the mundane or in the way we inspire others. As the warmer weather winds down, and the days grow shorter, we naturally begin to harvest our skills and lessons from the experiences of the past...

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Why Child-Driven Learning Works

Imagine a school where children choose their own lessons, and are motivated and enthusiastic to learn. Sounds like a parent’s fantastical utopia, doesn’t it? Sugata Mitra, founder of the Hole-in-the-Wall experiment and Minimally Invasive Education, doesn’t think so.  He discovered that through the use of learning centers, children were able to learn and thrive on their own, without the input of teachers. Many untraditional schools such as some Montessori and Waldorf schools utilize this concept of child-driven learning, as do many homeschooling families.  Child-driven education is also the defining characteristic of unschooling. Photo Credit: Shelby Sheene Shelby Sheene, mother of three unschooled children in Tampa Bay, Florida, says, “Unschooling is a method that embraces the idea that children want to learn. It is basically learning through life and...

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What Is Aquarian Sadhana

What is Aquarian Sadhana? By Shantprem Kaur “Wait, five A M?”  I clarify as the beautiful woman all in white nods. “Uh, are you sure it’s not five PM?” I question hopefully. She smiles her angelic smile “Yes, I’m sure.” Yeah right, I think to myself. You’ll never find me doing that. But, at 5 am the next morning I find myself awake and motivated by curiosity. I wander down the hall of the retreat center beckoned by a quiet murmuring.  I crack the door, slide through the dimly lit room, and settle into the quiet chanting. A peace envelopes me and I know I am onboard for the next two and a half hours....

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The Many Benefits Of Yoga

Yoga is a worldwide practice that helps people connect with their body and mind.  Statistic Brain reports that over 15 million Americans practice yoga regularly. Malia Bradshaw is one of them.  A certified yoga instructor, writer, and mental health advocate, she is one of the many people relying on the benefits of yoga.  When she started experiencing anxiety attacks she found that yoga not only helped her body, but also her mind. She says, “I needed a way in which I could move my body, but also calm my anxiety.  Yoga was the perfect combination of a very physically challenging practice, but also a spiritual practice.”   Yoga improves stress and anxiety by slowing down the breathing and heart rates, while also being a significant GABA booster.  Emily Deans, MD,...

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You’re Important

You’re important.   You’re important to your family, to your co-workers and to your circle of friends.  The most important person who should know your importance, however,  is you. If you don’t know that you’re important, and treat yourself that way, it can create mental and emotional stress and age you prematurely. Do you treat yourself like you’re important?  I didn’t for a long time.   For what seems like forever, I put myself second.  Second to my children, to my husband, to the rest of my family’s needs.  I didn’t speak up, I deferred to them.  Not that I didn’t have an opinion and talk about it, but I never gave my opinions, my emotions, my health the same weight as I gave everyone else’s.  Here’s an example. Years...

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Urgent Message About Watering From Glenwild Water Center

With the Autumnal Equinox last week, we need to switch our gardening mindset to winter preparation.  With these tips from Glenwild Garden Center about watering your new trees and shrubs, your lawn and garden should be in good shape for the coming seasons. Issue No. 163 September 16, 2016 URGENT MESSAGE ABOUT WATERING!   This is most critical for anyone who has planted any shrub, tree or perennial any time recently (This year especially)!   The soil dryness is at critical levels for established plants as well, but if you have planted anything this year, (or for a tree, the last 3 years) you need to deeply water your plants.  That means: Use a soaker hose, or put the nozzle or end of the hose on the ground next to the trunk...

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Emotion Freedom Technique (Tapping) Can Be A RoadMap For Success

As a spiritual counselor or healer, you are continually faced with clients who will not or cannot change the patterns that are making themselves sick physically, emotionally or spiritually. I am reminded of a client who always verbally says how sick she is.  I have told her, as others have, that changing the pattern of negative speak to positive affirmations of good health would better serve her.  Saying “my” illness puts that notion of ownership into the ether that, once out there, is hard to dispel...

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Connect The Dots – Old Habits & New Patterns

September has been all about change.  The change of seasons, back to school time changes, making changes in our lives and recognizing changes that need to be made.  We've had so much great content this month, its hard to choose which blog posts to highlight here. At the beginning of the month we focused on National Yoga Month with a great series of introduction snapshots to Mind Key Affiliate Thames Street Yoga, staring with a profile of the owner, Kyla Rose Maher.  Check out what Kyla had to say about her wonderful instructors.  Each "snapshot" provides bios for two of the great and varied yoga instructors at Thames Street Yoga. Gentle Instructors for a Creative Workout, Holding Space for Growth, Devotion and Energy as a Spiritual Path and Running with Instructors. We also heard from Lisa...

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Communication: More Than Just You And Me

Since before the time we learn to talk, we are taught that in order for life to flow easy you must talk to people, communicate. All relationships depend on communication. Every relationship is different and requires different means of communication, but communication nonetheless. Good communication is essential for the healthy relationships we crave. Herbalist and author of “The Gift of Healing Herbs,” Robin Rose Bennett agrees. "Communication is the essential key to healthy relationships,” she said. “And healthy relationships are the key to a truly good, joyful life.” Spiritual Healer, Vera Ann Remes says she “depend[s] on spiritual and energetic interactions with [her] clients to tell [her] their needs and how to help them. When [she] scan a client’s body [she] feel the cold spots and vibrations that denote pain or...

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You Are A Star In An Otherwise Bleak World

Taraleigh embodies exactly what we believe in here at Mind Key.  She has made music her life, and has made the leap to allowing that life to fully support her in every way. She's done this by allowing her personal energy to work for her, rather than against her.  When we do what we love, and live authentically, we are asking the energy of the universe to bring more of that into our life. As humans, we hide behind masks and allow those masks define us...

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The Energy of Peace & Manifestation

Manifestation is the process of manipulating energy in such a way that we first create and surround ourselves in the vibration what we want and then allow the universe to bring the physical manifestation of that vibration to us. That’s why visualization is such a powerful tool.  Visualization allows us to see what we want--the clearer we see it, feel it, sense it, the stronger the vibration we create.  That created vibration then has the ability to draw that which we desire to us in a very real way.   Visualization works best when it’s directed solely at oneself. In other words, a visualization board made to achieve a promotion or new home is inevitably more likely to come to pass than one made for world peace,...

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Connecting The Energetic Dots

This month we discussed the energy of the things we do to our body and how it can change us as well as so-called coincidences that led to life-changing events. Energy is everywhere and there seemed to be so much energy of change in August, we wanted to share it all with you.  There were so many events in each of our areas, Rhode Island, NY/NJ Highlands area, Denver Metro area in Colorado and our newest location, Mind Key Florida.  Events, whether they specifically mention energy or not, can connect with energy because, like I said, its everywhere and everything. Creative energy, be it  photo manipulation by Elisabeth Ladwig in The Making of Time Capsule or Marisa Goudy's The Energy between writer and reader talking about the bond between writer and reader....

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Forest bathing as a way to heal

Using the energy of the forest to heal

 by Vera Remes We are well aware that the rain forests, often referred to as Nature’s Medicine Cabinet, contain plants from which medicines are derived.  Some 120 prescription drugs sold worldwide today are known to contain ingredients derived directly from rain forest plants. According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, more than two-thirds of all medicines found to have cancer-fighting properties come from rain forest plants. Examples abound. Ingredients obtained and synthesized from a now-extinct periwinkle plant found only in Madagascar (until deforestation wiped it out) have increased the chances of survival for children with leukemia from 20 percent to 80 percent. Even the air and smells of the forest have been known to have healing properties, as proven by the popularity and efficacy of a Japanese...

Vertical Gardening with the Rodale Institute – Snapshot

  Grow up, not out Vertical Garden! Build your growspace   Vertical Gardening in Urban Environments     Many urban centers across the U.S. have been labeled as "food deserts" where city residents do not have access to local, fresh produce. Food is transported to city centers by the truckloads from miles away, oftentimes arriving close to or past their expiration and in questionable condition. As a result, city residents, who account for 81% of the U.S. population, are provided with low quality produce. Urban gardening and farming has risen in the last decade. However, increasing green spaces and food production in urban environments is not without challenges and risks.  Rodale Institute has designed a number of prototypes for vertical gardening called "Growing Towers." Advantages of using growing towers include creating space vertically...

Parenting – the ultimate adventure in paying it forward

  When you become a parent, either by nature or nurture, you wipe its butt just like your parent wiped yours.  We feed the child, clothe them and teach them by our actions, watching as the milestones pass.  We kiss boo boos, worry about them, lose sleep and hope for their future. We follow in the footsteps of every parent, not just our own.  The actions we remember as perceived parenting missteps from our own childhood, we're sure to do differently if we can resist the pull of history and genetics which, at times, might be too strong. No handbooks come with a new baby.  They should.  Every piece of advice ever given should come with each new child as downloadable content, straight to your brain.  Kind of like Neo learned Kung...

Giving Back through Taboo Words – Guest Blog by Jessica McWhirt

Today, guest Blogger Jessica McWhirt, shares how it feels to give back to the community through the empowering performance of this collection of risqué monologues. *************************************As the word “vagina” broke from my lips, the audience’s eyes widened a little, mouths opened slightly, and wine-filled glasses hung midair awaiting my next words. Even though my words make my audience recoil in their chairs, I know we’re creating awareness. It’s not easy to hear taboo subjects, let alone repeat forbidden words in front of 600 eyes. My Vagina Monologues cast and the hundreds of casts throughout the world swallow uncomfortable topics and silences to raise awareness of violence against women. The money we raise from these performances goes directly to an organization that works to end violence against women within...

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Moments with Dad

Dads give so much for their families.  This Father's Day, we're giving back by sharing our favorite Dad moments and the best Dad advice. What are your favorite fathering moments? Here are some fond memories from our Mind Key Community via Facebook. "One of my favorite things - sitting in the backyard on a summer afternoon, listening to the Yankees on the radio with my dad...

The tragedy in Orlando

  Photo credit to Yahoo.com (here) We at Mind Key grieve for all of the lives touched by the mass shooting at Pulse, an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, FL over the weekend.  Fifty lives, including the shooter's, were lost and fifty-three people remain wounded and hospitalized, some fighting for their lives.  Living in the Denver metro area in Colorado, I have borne witness to several local mass tragedies, starting with the shooting at Columbine High School (about 6 miles from my home), and most recently with the Aurora Theater shooting, which is near where our oldest son lives.  I know the sheer panic of wondering if someone you know has been affected, hurt, or even killed by acts of terror like this.  Photo thanks to Kara Bedard (via Facebook here) As...

Global Event – Kylan Fischer Yoga Retreat

  “Sun-Kissed Yoga Bliss” Retreat   to be Offered at CostaBaja™ Resort and Spa Experience Blindfolded Yoga, SUP Yoga and More with Kylan Fischer Chicago, IL -  One of the nation’s most popular yoga instructors, Kylan Fischer, will host a five-day wellness retreat for those seeking to unwind from everyday stresses and find their bliss.  The retreat will be offered July 25-29, 2016, at the spectacular CostaBaja Resort and Spa, an all-inclusive property just 10 minutes south of downtown La Paz, the capital of Mexico’s Baja California. “Treat yourself to this opportunity to sweat it out, let it go and relax,” offered Kylan. “This tropical getaway enables you to detox from deadlines and dreary daily routines. You’ll feel the exhilaration and pride of gently pushing your yoga practice to new...

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Putting together your healing puzzle pieces

            When I was initially diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease about thirty years ago at age twenty-two, I had no idea this was the start of my life’s purpose. Although, it would take me some time, many years in fact, to realize this.  Had I known from the beginning, I would have kept a detailed diary so I could share more of the specifics of what I was going through, the ups and downs, all the things I tried that worked and didn’t work, etc., but I was so ill and just wanting to survive that I didn’t have the energy or where with all to keep a written record.             However, I remember enough to share the top strategies I used physically, mentally/emotionally & spiritually that...

Mind Key: Giving back to the community at large

In June's Mind Key Issue we will be sharing stories of giving back and paying it forward. Sometimes this is referred to as karma, but we prefer to look at it simply as energy.  We receive what we put out, which is why the best way to change the world is by changing your personal world.  This creates an incredible ripple effect that touches the lives of others, who then pay the good energy forward.  Not only that, but it raises your individual vibration so that you attract more of what you give into the world back to yourself. I like to compare this to the phenomenon of love.  No matter how much love you give, it never diminishes, only grows.  Giving back works the same way. We feel fulfilled and...

Connect the Dots – Release and Detox

  May’s Mind Key Issue was Release and Detox   Release verb re·lease ri-ˈlēs   : to stop holding (someone or something) : to allow (a substance) to enter the air, water, soil, etc. Detox noun, often attributive de·tox ˈdē-ˌtäks, di-ˈtäks   : special treatment that helps a person to stop using drugs or alcohol : to remove a poisonous or harmful substance from (something) There are so many types of and ways to detox or release.  You can go literal with it and physically release clutter in your home or office or toxins from your body.  Or you can go figurative with frustration, stress, anger, preconceived notions, and societal expectations.    Detox is a word and a concept that is bandied around a lot on the internet as a way to “clean out” your system and...

5 Products that could save you from a hangover – Tips and Tricks

Good timing with Memorial weekend at hand, here are some hangover remedies we found to help you though that AM slump. ******************** Hangovers are nature’s not-so-friendly reminder that too much of a good thing isn’t always all that grand. Even so, we’re not ones to let that deter us from enjoying our glasses of Sauvignon Blanc, or imbibing an Old Fashioned. And while there may be a ton of do-it-yourself remedies out there to help you beat the aftermath of a night out, sometimes you’re in need of something a little stronger, and more formulaic, than some greasy food and a Gatorade. When that’s the case, here are the products that will let you have your wine and drink it, too. Prime There’s no reason that a (really) fun...

Letting Go with Oracle and the written word

Professionally, I am a teacher. That is how I pay my rent. How much teaching is done by my own volition? I am not sure sometimes. However, I am sure that leading others to writing as a primary source of detox is the best kind of teaching I can do. As a writer, artist, educator, and participant of the Mind Key project, my purpose has leaned more toward helping others find the stories they need to tell. As resistant as some may be, every single person has a story in words, pictures, or song. Once the creative outlet is found, we can let go of everything else which feels the need to hold us back. Creativity is an integral part of connectedness and restructuring, and some...

The things our body holds

The things we hold onto—emotions, hatred, old patterns—they hold onto us in very physical ways. A sample photo of a somatoemotional release session About six years ago I began to understand this truth while experiencing Somatoemotional Release, a type of body work (like massage or chiropractic work) based on the inherent memory of body tissue.  In other words, you may have physically healed from a trauma (such as a fall or impact) but the tissue retains the memory of the injury.  This can cause muscles around the traumatized area to tense as if they still needed to protect the injured tissue.  Since the body has essentially healed from the actual injury, Somatoemotional Release allows the body to release that trauma so everything else can relax and realign. Much...

Listen to your elders

In talking about release and surrender of thoughts and things that don't serve you this month, I'm reminded of a conversation I had with my grandma a few months ago.  We were talking about my frustration concerning my "weight loss journey".  I put it in quotations because...

Meditation for Release and Forgiveness

    I will release all the negative thoughts and moments that I have experienced in my life Making way to my path of light before me I ask my soul Only to hold the love And walk forward in love only Forget what you are walking from But remember what you are walking to Forgiveness   *************************** Thoughts to Awaken the Spirit Kathleen Santora teaches meditations and self-healing through the understanding of one’s own personal energy. A spiritual healer for the past 30 years, Kathleen began trance healing later when she became aware that angels were working with her during healings. She has since learned to step back and allow her angels to come forward and work through her. ...

Being your own best friend

  I consider myself a team player.  But what do you do when you don't have a team? The people I was friendly with years ago all rode horses and were volunteers in sheriff’s department mounted unit. The depended upon one another, sometimes for their very existence.  Until the advent of a new regime in that department, we were like brothers and sisters who could fight among ourselves, but provide a unified front against the onslaught of others.   After the new regime, we were torn apart.  I’ve been looking for that same team feeling for years now.   Maybe the world has changed, but finding a team to play on isn’t easy.  As we all know, true friends are hard to find, maybe impossible. As good a friend as...

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Let it in–Acceptance of Opportunities

The above meme might seem cliche, but this month's theme of release can come in many forms.  One thing that you can release are preconceived notions of who you are and what you can or can't do.  Until you're faced with a situation, there's no way to know.  I say this because recently, my husband and I had the unthinkable happen. Danielle and me in NYC.  I was on the phone with the travel company. We planned our 20th anniversary dream trip to Europe.  We were going to visit Budapest, Hungary and Prague, Czech Republic.  It was going to be incredibly romantic, walking and biking everywhere together, hand in hand (not on the bikes). We were going to go on planned tours and explore on our own and...

Simple steps for avoiding a detox

In today's culture, detox seems to be the go-to for almost any health concern.  And why not?  We are often overwhelmed and so overloaded, that the idea of "letting go" of it all seems incredibly appealing. However, sometimes a detox isn't the answer.  Oftentimes, there are simple solutions that require a more gentle letting go--such as releasing old paradigms and emotional patterns. Lack of sleep For those who are tired and have trouble falling asleep, I recommend leaving computers, cellphones and televisions out of the bedroom. When you get into bed at night and you are ready for sleep, do nothing except relax and settle your body down;  the stimulation to the pituitary and pineal gland from the screen lights is not one that is conducive to a state of relaxation. For those...

Rhinebeck, NY Event- Collaborating with Nature Workshop June 3-5

Sometimes letting go means letting go of our old ways of healing. This fabulous workshop, happens only once a year.  In it, you will learn how to let go of your old ways of thinking, recognizing that you CAN heal the environment, and at the same time heal yourself. WORKSHOP  Collaborating with Nature: Experience Mutual Healing Between Trees and You! June 3rd to 5th, 2016 Click HERE for more info and to register.   Collaborating with Nature: Mutual Healing Between Trees and People The Two-Way Street for All to Flourish on Earth  ·     Exchange mutual healing: Give Tree Whispers - Receive trees' life-force-based transmissions.  ·     Enjoy profound intuitive and sensory encounters with Trees and other Nature Beings. ·     Experience Earth, Air, Fire, and Water as interactive forces or elemental Beings.   ·     Move from "me" to "we" with 5 steps...

Deep breathing for detox and release

When I was in college in the early 1980’s, I learned one of the most valuable life lessons in one of my Physical Therapy classes. The professor taught us about how to breathe in deeply by expanding our diaphragms at the lower part of our chest areas. I believe we were studying about pulmonary (lung) conditions at the time. Our professor told us how many people, especially women, breathe shallowly from their upper chest. More women he said because of them being self-conscious about not wanting their belly’s to expand making them look heavier. In response to his urging, I placed my hand on my lower chest about my belly-button area to assist me in feeling my diaphragm expand allowing me to breathe more deeply. By deep...

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The release of motherhood

I suppose life is always a pattern of gaining and releasing.  But there's something special about the release of a mother.  As a mother we are always releasing something of ourselves, of our children.  We are always letting go. Motherhood changes everything! First we let go of the experiences of youth in order to become and nurture a pregnancy.  We let go of our office or workout room, of the clothes in our closet, of the foods we once loved, of our ideas of exercise.  This is even before the baby arrives. Then the baby does arrive, and we are filled and blessed and joyous at this change.  We let go of our work, Friday nights out, our relationships as we knew them, healthy habits, sleep.  We release...

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Coloring for stress relief

Have you seen the coloring books for sale touting "Stress Relief," "Coloring for Adults" or "Zen Feeling?"  I have.  I asked for one for Christmas last year and I love it. There are times when I have come home from work stressed out. After dinner I give myself permission to block out my family and focus instead on creation.  I can't say that what I create is life changing, because it's not.  But just the power over creativity, the choice of colors and mediums (pencils or pens or markers) gives me a feeling of contentment.  There is so much swirling in my world, so many pieces for which I grasp, but this one, I can embrace and conquer.  This one thing is mine and mine only. And I...

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The Impossibility of Letting Go

The Mind Key Theme this month is letting go, and as I sit here contemplating what to say on the subject, I realize that I’m totally clueless. I tend to focus, you see. OK, not focus. Obsess. If something has my attention, I will dissect the subject thoroughly. I will twist it this way and that, hold it under a microscope, analyze it, catalog it, rip it apart, put it back together again. On the other hand, if it doesn’t have my attention, it zips right over my head before I realize it’s there. So, if I can harness my laser-like focus only on things beneficial to me, then the poisonous would just slip away, right?  The thing is, I don’t get to choose what attracts...

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