Grandmother's Gathering for Gitchigaaming on Madeline Island

I take a deep breath as I think and feel for where to start in sharing about this remarkable experience. Remarkable doesn't do justice, no words really can and yet I am compelled to make an effort as it is to be shared.

Forty-eight Elder women from 12 states gathered on Madeline Island August 12th-15th in appreciation of Gitchigaaming (Lake Superior) and in celebration of Elder Women wisdom. Ah, I am sighing again. Those of you who participated understand why. The experience touched a very deep place in our hearts, in our spirits. Moved us at our very core. It was beautiful, they were beautiful, the Lake was beautiful, the community that attended the Inter-generational Day were beautiful. I think you are catching on...

We gathered in intimate talking circles each day where we focused our intention and attention on our connection with Lake Superior (and or other sacred bodies of water that were precious to us), our connection with the water within our bodies and how water is the life force connecting all of us with one another and the earth. We expressed our appreciation for one another and The Lake through the process of Gifting. We visited Lake Superior everyday, each day in a different way. We engaged in sacred ceremony and we listened. We listened. We listened. We listened to one another, to the earth, to the water. We listened to the water, we loved the water, we held her and she us. And we shared the wisdom gifted to us with one another and the community of people that gathered on the Inter-generational day. Something big happened that day and each day we gathered, something big is still happening and it is vitality, it is joy, it is truth, it is beauty, it is cooperation, it is love, it is love, it is love.

Please join me at the Duluth Holistic Health Expo at the DECC in October where I will share in greater detail the impact this gathering had on me and on others, the wisdom that came forward during the Inter-generational day and the gifts that continue to unfold in the wake of the wave that we co-created with Lake Superior, with the Earth, Spirit and our hearts. Discover the power of your thoughts, words, feelings and intention and how you can put them into service for your greatest good and for that of the water. Thank you, thank you, thank you...Erin

Sound Healing Intensive and the Day of Toning

Wow! I can't believe how quickly summer has flowed. Do you feel that too? It has been incredible! I experienced so much personal growth and transformation. I feel like the plant growing in my kitchen. It is sooo very tall right now, one of its branches boldly reaching ever higher. Okay, beginning to sound like Star Trek, but seriously that is how I feel. Why? I think a great deal has to do with the people I have met this summer and the experiences that we shared. Remember back in July~ I invited you to join me in the 2010 Day of Toning for Personal and Planetary Healing? Did you have a chance to do that? If so, please respond with your experience, I'd love to hear from you.

For those of you who missed that invite, I engaged in a 9 Day Sound Healing Intensive this summer in Loveland Colorado with Sound Healing Master Jonathan Goldman and 90 spectacular beings from 14 countries. It was amazing! The Day of Toning occurred midway through our training. We really worked our way up to this day, preparing emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically without even knowing we were doing so- yeah, Jonathan is that good. We began each day at 7am with meditation and toning and we did not end our day until 10 pm. I am buzzing just thinking about it! We really co-created a strong net of light for one another and our planet.

The night before our Day of Toning, several of us joined Jim Albani, Day of Toning Mastermind, in helping to prepare the space. Ready for this all of you Gregg Bradden and Quantum Physics fans, Jim had created life size sacred geometrical forms that participants could sit inside of and meditate. I have to say that I was blown away by each of them, they really held their own unique essence and within them, I journeyed deep and went places that I have never been. But, what really transformed our space was the creation of a Vesica Pisces out of dried corn kernels. A Vesica Pisces is a form created from 2 concentric circles, it is a sacred formation that is found in several spiritual and religious traditions around the world.

On the Day of Toning, we all entered the room cleansed by sage and our intention. We committed, before entering, to surrender our emotional blocks to spirit, to trust the process and share in gratitude for the experience and for all things. We essentially committed to making room for more love and light to flow through us not only for our own personal healing, but for a greater purpose~ for planetary healing. And the thing is, everyone of us~ 90 diverse individuals from around the world had offered a cosmic YES! when they committed to attending the Intensive, their cosmic YES! was for that greater purpose, it was for the planet. It was a YES! to this evolutionary impulse that, on that day especially, was driving our very being. And with our toning the heart chakra vowel sound "Ah" for 12 continuous hours, with this intention of surrender, trust and gratitude partnered with the visualization of a planet that was healthy and well in every way, we co-created magic together.

If you have never been in a room with 90 people toning love from their hearts for 12 hours, well~ the best I can do with words is state that it was like being in a room full of angels singing. The harmonics and overtones that were created lifted us and the earth in a dynamic flow of light. It was the closest feeling I have ever had to unity consciousness. I did not know everyone's story and in the space we co-created, we let go of our stories and allowed truth to flow. I can't talk about it without tears and apparently I am unable to write about it without tears too. Phew... I opened in my awareness a new sense of possibility for humanity. If this group of 90 people, speaking different languages, with different belief systems and faiths could co-create such an incredible experience together in such a short time, what could we do if even 10,000 people embraced the sacred vowel sounds and created a practice of toning them for their personal transformation and for that of the planet? I have shivers all over, as I know it is possible!

I will be sharing some of Jonathan's teachings and my experiences with toning in an Introduction to Toning the Sacred Vowel Sounds Workshop in November. Details coming soon. Come and explore with me!

Want to join others in toning or learn about how the 2009 Day of Toning affected Global Consciousness? Check out Jonathan's Temple of Sacred Sound at http://www.healingsounds.com/sounds/wshdResults2009.asp

"Trust yourself, then you will know how to live." Goethe

I just returned from a wonderful vacation in Costa Rica. I traveled with my husband of 4 friends . No one had cell phone or watch! For 16 days I allowed myself time to just be, with no concept of time or "shoulds" that occupy my daily thoughts. Without any concept of time I found myself more present in my experiences. Some days I would wake at the crack of dawn by the loud sounds of the rain forest and other days I would sleep soundly into the early afternoon soothed and lulled into a deep sleep by the same loud rain forest birds and rain.
At my last Yoga Teacher Training at Yoga North we were given the homework assignment of being the observer of our life rather than the doer. The timing was perfect! With no other obligations other than watching myself create my reality I was able to grow the awareness of my True Self that lies within. One foundation of Yogic thought is Satya or Truthfullness. In Deborah Adele's book The Yama's and Niyama's, Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice she explains that when we silence and distort ourselves, we begin to lose our lust for life and look for other things to fulfill us. That by living the life that cries to be lived from the depth of our being frees up a lot of energy and vitality. Suppressing our True Self and that life takes a lot of our life energy just in the managing of the pretending.
I think of my niece who can't help but start dancing and shaking when ever she hears a song with good groove. She's not concerned with what others will think or how she'll look, she just moves freely and happily. She's only two years old, and I think how wonderful it would be if we all stayed in touch with our Self like her.
I got very curios on this trip of what would happen if I just let my true essence loose, rather than trying to mold it into something I've been taught "should" be. What I found is that I'm really good at molding myself and letting my True Self shine through takes a lot of observation. I also found that when I would allow my Self to shine I was free of a lot of second guessing and discontent which allowed more time for enjoyment and content.
"Trust yourself, then you will know how to live." Goethe. I've always like this quote but never really understood it's depth until I started allowing myself to trust myself.
I encourage you to play with this idea for the next week. Every time you hear yourself say "should" or someone says it to you, take pause to contemplate and observe. It's pretty fun!

Namaste,
Jodi

Valentine's Day ~ Give love

"For love's the greatest healer to be found." Willie Nelson

Valentine's Day is here! The day we spread love far and wide expressing our admiration for those who bring joy to our lives.
Love is the foundation for Reiki and Quantum-Touch healing. When we think of those people who enrich our lives or remember fond memories that make us smile we are filled with love. Thinking positive thoughts heightens your immune system by causing the nervous system to shift into the healing/rest response and out of the stress response.
Healing begins with our thoughts and contributes greatly to how we feel daily. To play with this awareness try the following exercise. Find a quiet place where you can sit for 5 minutes. Close your eyes and begin breathing in and out through your nose. Think about what you're grateful for. Notice how you feel, soaking in the sensations for a couple of minutes. Then think of stressors in your life. Just do this for a minute, and notice how you feel. Then end by feeling gratitude again! What did you notice? How did you feel?
If you would like to learn more join us for Community Meditations. We explore the power of our thoughts, learn relaxation and meditation techniques that can support you in enjoying better health, happiness, and vitality. If you are interested and this time doesn't work for you let us know your suggestions! We're also available for on-sight meditations and presentations!
"Where there is great love there are always miracles."-Will Cather

Community Healing Meditations
Wednesdays 12-12:30 pm
Deep Peace Wellness Studio
$5 suggested donation

In gratitude,
Erin and Jodi

Positive Intentions

Positive Intentions
January 20th is right around the corner. The world will be watching or listening to the historic event of Barack Obama being inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. He faces many great opportunities ahead.
While you are watching this event with others around our great country and earth, we encourage you to listen with and open heart and open mind.
Community seems to be a prominent call in our lives, our city, and our country right now. As we move forward with our new leaders let us do so as a community. Sacrifices must and will be made. Change will and needs to be made by all of us. As citizens of this great country and city we need to step up to the plate and support our leaders by pitching in and doing our part.
Gandhi said "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Next time you find yourself and others around you evaluating the choices our leaders are making, we encourage you to think about this simple, yet profound statement. Now is the time to come together and support our leaders. Positive change takes a community.
To our fearless leaders President Obama and Mayor Ness, we support you in your challenging opportunities and offer our support, as we know you hold the greatest good of our community in your heart.

Giving back...

This is a picture of my sister's kids. Collin (left), Eliana, and Alec (right). My sister and her husband adopted Collin from Romania. He lived in an orphanage for the first 3 years of his life. He had a pretty rough beginning to his life. I had the great fortune to go with my sis to Romania to bring Collin home. I saw the orphanage where he once lived. It was heart breaking. They are grossly under staffed. They use 2 wash cloths for all the children. One to wipe all their faces and one to wipe all their bums. There is not enough staff to hold the babies and they're often left in their cribs all day. Romania is a very poor country with extremely limited resources for the thousands of forgotten children. My sister's family gave Collin the gift of a loving family, food, and opportunity he never would have experienced otherwise. We are so blessed to have Collin in our lives. Every time I think of Collin I'm reminded of this, but can't help to think of all the many, many children left behind. Millions of children that will never know a loving touch, a parent or mentor to help them make their way in this complicated world, left to fend for themselves without any skills, support, or family. Opportunity will never exist in their vocabulary. I look at Collin and see a young boy with the world at his finger tips. I can't help to think of the thousands of children I saw begging in the streets in Bucharest for any kindness someone might give so they can put some food in their empty belly or scavenge for some shoes to protect their feet through the long winter.

My mom gave Collin a pair of snow boots for his first Christmas with our family. He opened the package and hugged the boots! Then he put them on elated and content. Of course, not thinking of or looking for the many other packages under the tree with his name on them. Meanwhile the other cousins were opening and discarding package after package. That was one of the many lessons in gratitude that Collin has taught our family. He still carries this innate gratitude with him today, always showing unconditional appreciation and love to us.

Have I tugged on your heart strings enough? Consider giving to a charity for those less fortunate. If you would like to learn more about how to help the children in Romania I encourage you to visit http://www.bridgeoflove.net/ This is a foundation to help Orphans in Romania. My sister personally knows the people who run this foundation. So be comforted knowing that your money truly does reach your chosen child. Often we think of little ones, but there are so many teenagers that need help too! So, so many.

A few years ago we decided among some good friends of ours to sponsor a child through a charity rather than give each other gifts. We've been doing this for 3 years now. It's amazing how much we've been able to help another with our money and at the same time relieve some of the holiday giving stress.

This year my husband's family has decided to do the same thing. Rather than buying gifts for each other, we're taking the money we would have spent on each other and donating to a crisis nursery in Arizona where my sister-in-law works. I've found that this has started some great conversations of gratitude in the family, and again, I don't have to waste hours wondering among items produced in China figuring out which one to purchase for them.

In this time, when people are talking recession and how hard things have been it's a great reality check. Sure money is more tight than in the past, but I never have to think about how I'm going to put food on the table or figure out how to get through the winter with out shoes! Next time your in a big department store trying to figure out what to buy those on your list that don't need anything, consider this option. There are so many in need locally and globally.

If this doesn't quite speak to you then give of your time.

And the race is on...

Christmas is on it's way. I guess in many ways it's already here. For the days leading up to the big day we would like to share with you some holiday gift giving ideas that cost little to nothing monetarily, and hopefully mean quite a bit to the loved one's in your life.

In my family we have a tradition we call the 12 days of Christmas. Twelve days before the 25th we choose a person or family in the community and leave an anonymous gift for them each day until Dec. 25th.

Yes, this can be an investment if you choose. It's really fun to get creative and not spend a lot of money. How about baking or giving a nice loaf of bread, or any kind of food? Other ideas I like are poems or inspiring quotes, pictures, socks, scarves, gloves, a journal, or playing cards. There are so many ideas. If you have kids, then your craft options are endless.

I love this, because it is so much fun to be sneaky and watch your chosen receivers ponder over who in the world is thinking of them. I find that the actual gift doesn't really matter. The fact that someone is thinking of them means the very most.

Maybe you don't want to commit to 12 days. Maybe one day suits you better or a random act of kindness. Maybe you go to a rest home one day and give out hugs! That's a good one! The possibilities are as endless as joy you and your receiver will feel.

I remember one time I was walking through the parking lot to a grocery store and a person that appeared to be homeless passed in front of me and his bag of belongings broke, so I gave him my canvas grocery bags. The bewilderment on his face was great.

May your heart be filled with kindness in this giving season.

Jodi