healing

Fiddling – ND #118

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Tonight’s Sky – Photo: L. Weikel

Fiddling

I just watched Ali Velshi reporting from Lviv, Ukraine, as he stands in for Rachel Maddow on her eponymous show. I’m struggling to come up with something – anything – I can write that doesn’t make me feel like I’m fiddling while Rome burns. Ali was reporting on the utter carnage (war crimes) perpetrated by Russian soldiers in Bucha, a suburb of Kiev, and the reality is devastating.

It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that such atrocities are happening right now, as we live and breathe and move on with our lives. I’m conflicted, knowing that vast numbers of Russian soldiers didn’t even know they were spearheading a war; indeed, many thought they were either heading into a training mission or they would be greeted with flowers, as liberators, by the people of Ukraine. I’m conflicted because most of these conscripted youths probably cannot comprehend the reality they discovered, especially the ferocity of the Ukrainians.

So what level of insanity and barbarity had to overtake these soldiers to cause them to commit the atrocities that are being discovered?

No Silver Lining

When hearing that on the fences outside the homes where people were brutally raped and murdered signs were taped that simply said, “We are peaceful people,” one can only surmise that the soldiers were overcome with some sort of psychosis. Literally, they had to have devolved into insanity.

This is all the more apparent when one considers that there is no way to physically distinguish between a Ukrainian person and a Russian person. These soldiers, therefore, committed these heinous acts on people indistinguishable from their own friends and families.

I’m not in any way saying that it’s ok to butcher people who physically appear different from us. I just know that autocrats and dictators cultivate hatred of anyone who appears ‘other’ to us. Separation, blame, vilification of anyone different than us, they’re all tactics to separate us from each other, from our shared humanity.

This whole situation is forcing us to confront the grim reality that there truly are – and never will be – any winners in this situation. (If we were paying attention, we knew from the very beginning that all of this was unfolding as a result of one man’s egotistical attempt to impose his dream of a ‘reunited Russia’ on Ukraine.) How do we even begin to comprehend how completely different life was six weeks ago for so many or that any of this could happen in the 21st century.

No More?

There is nothing to celebrate (even if the ferocity of the Ukrainians’ hearts does bring a measure of pride and hope). There isn’t a single silver lining. I’d like to think the nauseating images we’re seeing would lead the world to unite and say, “NO MORE. We said ‘never again’ after WWII and we meant it!”

But alas, our hearts continue breaking every single moment this barbarity continues.

We must find a way to change our trajectory or no one will survive. (Our bodies may survive, but our hearts and souls will be crushed.) We must find a way. We must somehow create a silver lining – for our future generations, if nothing else. We must find a way to heal humanity.

Embedded Smile – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+118)

Roar – Day 1049

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Roar of the Whitewater – Photo: L. Weikel

Roar

Once I finally crossed everything off my list today, I finally allowed myself to sit on a massive slab in the middle of the creek. The volume of water coursing downstream was significantly less than yesterday, yet its roar continues to be deafening.

Every once in a while it’s deeply satisfying to find one’s self ensconced in the midst of so much noise. There’s no easy way to discern if anyone is trying to get your attention. In fact, unless movement catches your eye, it’s almost impossible to know whether anyone else is even around you. Instead, there’s this ‘white (water) noise’ pouring into your ears.

Layers of Flow – Photo: L. Weikel

It Takes Me a While

It actually takes me a while before I fully settle down and allow myself to just be with the relentless sound of the creek.

I eventually succeeded, but now I’m finding myself feeling like I left myself at the creek. I’m profoundly tired. Tired right down to my bones. It’s probably all the emotional upheaval of the past week.

It’s hard to believe it was only last week at this time when I heard a noise erupt from Spartacus that I thought was a massive and very peculiar sounding fart – but which I now strongly suspect was something bursting inside him.

It’s thoughts like these that are curiously similar to the swirls and eddies of the creek that I witnessed quite close to where I was sitting. If I let myself dwell too long on that weird sound then my feelings get stuck in a shallow little vortex that is hard to escape.

And that’s when I realize once more how brilliant it is to just succumb to Mother Earth’s healing ministrations.

She makes the creek loud enough to drown out the thoughts on purpose.

And when I re-emerge from my perch on the slab, I feel different.

Swirls and Eddies – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-62)

Hot and Humid Week – Day 1006

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IX – Hermit – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

Hot and Humid Week

Here’s something pretty interesting that just happened. As I sat down to write this evening, I felt a nudge to pull a card from Ellen Lorenzi-Prince’s Tarot of the Crone deck. It’s been an oppressively hot and humid week, and weather like this is exhausting in and of itself. Add to that any personally stressful or tough emotional stuff one might be ‘weathering’ and inspiration might best be sought outside of oneself.

I’ve mentioned before that I love this deck and yet I haven’t worked with it for a while. As with anything, I go through spates of working with one deck or another. There are about six decks I own that I go back to again and again. Others, while they may look good or have cool artwork or imagery, just never seem to click into a deep, reliable groove with me. I tend to cultivate relationships with the decks that speak to me.

Looks Familiar

So when I chose a card (and looked at the bottom card for context) for tonight’s post, I thought it looked familiar. In fact, it felt like the pair, working in tandem, felt familiar.

Doing a quick search I was surprised (but not surprised) to see that I’d chosen this exact same PAIR of cards back on June 9th. Only I chose the Hermit on top (as the main card) this time, with the 9 of Cups providing the ‘healing’ foundation.

Well, here we are. Last time, I chose the 9 of Cups as the main card for us to focus upon. Healing. How appropriate. With the Hermit card underneath providing the foundation upon which to heal.

This time it would appear this Hermit/Wise Woman has us continuing to consciously separate ourselves for a time from the intensity and insanity of society. Hmmm. Wisdom indeed.

One interesting synchronicity I discovered when I read my post from the last time these cards appeared together? I chose them during the last oppressive heat wave we endured – the one that started our summer ‘early.’ Tarot decks are comprised of 78 cards and I tend to shuffle relentlessly and bordering on the obsessive. So their appearance in reverse positions is…notable. And my title in that post? “Our Collective Feelings.”

Here are the images and passages of those two cards again. Apparently they require our considered reflection yet again:

IX – Hermit

“I speak

No one listens

But I know what I know

The Hermit is a bag lady rejected by and rejecting comfortable society. She stands on the street of a faceless city, her own face exposed and eloquent. Her dress is a blue that recalls the depths of ocean and sky and the boundlessness that lies beyond their shallow edges. She carries her bags in both hands because she’s learned that balance gives her endurance. She is alone but her isolation is the result not the goal of her journey. Where she goes, others cannot follow. She seeks the mystery at the core of life, at the core of herself. She looks for the magic that exists even in the most artificial environment. She seeks answers to questions that have not yet been born.
The Hermit says look to yourself for the answers, look into the worlds inside you and the uncharted realms within, behind and beyond the ordinary. There are secrets only you are meant to discover and truths only you can divine.”

9 of Cups – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

Nine of Cups ~ Healing

“I am the Many and One

I am whole who has been broken

I am the power of redemption

I am the renewal of creation

Two unusual beings, with ribbons of red life spiraling through the serene lavender of their skin-like cloaks, touch and twist and merge in the creation of something wonderful, whole and new. The Nine of Cups represents healing of the heart and soul: when what has been separated comes together again, when feeling flows free and true, when you are aligned with your greatest good, when you become more than you believed you could. The authenticity of your self is not subsumed by bonds with others, but is enhanced through acting with integrity and love.”

(T-105)

Our Collective Feelings – Day 940

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9 of Cups – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

Our Collective Feelings

If you’re feeling edgy or antsy, I want you to know you’re not alone. Not by a long shot. If you feel like you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop or perhaps sense some inchoate dread percolating just under the surface, you’ve got company. And the weather – I swear, it’s mirroring the reality of what so many of us are experiencing emotionally. The heat of summer is here too soon. It’s breaking records. And the humidity is oppressive, plain and simple. Our collective feelings are on display for all of us to enjoy.

Realizing we’re not in this alone can be helpful. There is comfort in shared concern.

I decided to ask the Crone to share some wisdom with us tonight. Of course, I’m referring to my Tarot of the Crone deck by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince.

As usual, my question was straightforward: What is our best strategy to navigate what we’re about to encounter?

I chose the 9 of Cups, with the IX Hermit underneath, giving the entire situation context.

The first thing I notice is that both cards are 9s, which generally represent completion and endings. And we’ve had this card appear to us before (last July).

Nine of Cups ~ Healing

“I am the Many and One

I am whole who has been broken

I am the power of redemption

I am the renewal of creation

Two unusual beings, with ribbons of red life spiraling through the serene lavender of their skin-like cloaks, touch and twist and merge in the creation of something wonderful, whole and new. The Nine of Cups represents healing of the heart and soul: when what has been separated comes together again, when feeling flows free and true, when you are aligned with your greatest good, when you become more than you believed you could. The authenticity of your self is not subsumed by bonds with others, but is enhanced through acting with integrity and love.”

Underneath this card that’s enticing us to embrace a state of healing is the Hermit card. I love the perspective on this card that the author/creator gives us:

IX – Hermit – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

IX – Hermit

“I speak

No one listens

But I know what I know

The Hermit is a bag lady rejected by and rejecting comfortable society. She stands on the street of a faceless city, her own face exposed and eloquent. Her dress is a blue that recalls the depths of ocean and sky and the boundlessness that lies beyond their shallow edges. She carries her bags in both hands because she’s learned that balance gives her endurance. She is alone but her isolation is the result not the goal of her journey. Where she goes, others cannot follow. She seeks the mystery at the core of life, at the core of herself. She looks for the magic that exists even in the most artificial environment. She seeks answers to questions that have not yet been born.
The Hermit says look to yourself for the answers, look into the worlds inside you and the uncharted realms within, behind and beyond the ordinary. There are secrets only you are meant to discover and truths only you can divine.”

My Take

We’re all in this together, and if we recognize the power of our interdependence, we can heal the pain, discord, and chaos we’re creating. Yet we’re each responsible for our own perspective, as well as the decisions that flow from how we interpret all that’s occurring around us. This is a time for all of us to step up and take responsibility for ourselves and, yes, each other.

We can do this. It’s time to end the insanity. But in order to achieve a state of healing we need to sit alone with ourselves and take an honest look at what lies within our core – each one of us, individually. It’s time to discover the secrets we’ve been hiding from ourselves. Only then can we move forward together.

(T-171)

Remember to Heal – Day 800

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Photo: L. Weikel

Remember to Heal

No, I’m not suggesting that you’ve forgotten that you need to heal something you’ve put on the back burner. The title I chose for tonight’s post is a reminder of the words President-elect Biden used early this evening when he and Vice President-elect Harris, along with their spouses, paid tribute to the over 400,000 people who’ve lost their lives to Covid-19 over the past year. We must remember to heal. The crux of his speech was that healing cannot take place without embracing our memories and allowing ourselves to feel. We must remember in order to heal.

When we sustain the loss of someone we love and cherish, it can feel like we’ve been burned. We shy away from the flame. We don’t want to go there again. It hurts too much.

But the truth of life and love is that we cannot separate our emotions. It’s impossible to parse out only the so-called ‘good’ feelings and emotions and simultaneously refuse the existence of the harder, more painful ones. You simply cannot have one without the other. They truly are two sides of the same coin.

Yet We Try

Just because the pain comes with the joy, the delight comes with the sorrow, doesn’t mean we won’t try to separate them. Of course we will – at least, most of us will try. As humans, that seems to be our default nature.

And that’s pretty much been our national reaction to this pandemic up to this point. There’s been a denial by many of the devastating loss. The deaths – so many, so staggeringly predictable, yet callously rejected as true. And the utter loneliness in which so many were forced to endure these losses.

Now, We Remember

This evening we were finally given permission to acknowledge the losses many of us, and so very many of our brothers and sisters, have sustained – and are enduring at this very moment. We remember. We know. We acknowledge the truth of our love, our relationships, our heartbreak, our loss.

Now, we start to heal.

(T-311)

Window of Orange – Day 751

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Weighted Blanket – Photo: L. Weikel

Window of Orange

Karl and I took a walk today in what I would consider late afternoon. It was early for us, but we sensed the shift in temperature from yesterday and didn’t want to get even colder walking in the dark. From the look of the clouds, the potential for precipitation was significant – at least a possible snow squall – although my Weather Channel app said otherwise. (We both felt some flakes sweep our cheeks, but they never attained the momentum of even a decent flurry.) Covering the sky with billowing shades of dark slate gray tinged with the slightest edges of purplish black and ashy white, the cloudbank felt like a weighted blanket. But there – far across the miles of fields and farms and forests – a window of orange light appeared.

It almost looked contrived, as if we were in some sort of huge space ship and a rectangular door on the far horizon whisked aside, opening with a swish just like in Star Trek.

While I took a photo of the rectangular doorway of light that appeared, I was definitely more interested in trying to capture the magnificence and personality of the dark, swirling threat of pent up weather-rage manifesting before us. The darkness felt familiar. The light of the sunset peeking through that doorway felt like a false promise. It’s hard to explain.

“Window” closer up – Photo: L. Weikel

Evolution of the Sunset

We watched the cloud cover and setting sun dance with each other and sort themselves out as we walked. By the time we got home, a significant portion of cloud cover had either dissipated or moved on.

The moon rose, powerful and so clear, like the beam of a klieg light. Noticing this full-on brilliance gave me pause when I again contemplated the moon that had awakened us at the very moment of its fullest expression. Perhaps her brilliance was so great that she’d appeared brighter than expected even though she was being eclipsed by the Earth and traveling through her shadow.

Where to place my attention? – Photo: L. Weikel

Starry Night

I came inside from doing my Perelandra Biodiversity Project process right before starting this post. It’s the 1st day of December and, as I’ve written about many other times, the first of every month is the day people from all over the world take about five minutes out of their lives to consciously join in the effort to shift the energy of the land or property over which they have control (own, rent, have authority over) in order to combat the effects of climate change.

It’s a simple process, a means of having a brief chit-chat with the Spirits of the land on which you live during which you show them you are aware of climate change and how the stress of it may be resulting in loss or extinction of biodiversity. It’s a tiny opportunity to communicate appreciation of Nature and express a willingness to co-create a healed environment.

I was moved almost to tears as I engaged in this conversation. (I tend to talk a bit more after reciting the ten or so words the actual process calls for. I enjoy expressing gratitude and asking if there’s anything else I can do to show it.) The stars were blinking in the cold clear air and it seemed almost too great a leap from the weighted blanket of dark and ominous clouds that had hung over our heads only hours earlier.

I’m not even sure what it is I was marveling at as I stood on the edge of the porch and chatted with the Spirits of our land. Perhaps it was the astonishing rapidity with which everything can change.

That’s where the door cracks open to invite miracles into our lives. Realizing that everything can change – <<snap>> – just that fast.

Photo: L. Weikel

(T-360)

Catch My Breath – Day 682

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Tohickon – Near and Far – Photo: L. Weikel

Catch My Breath

I had to stop at my sanctuary today. As so many of you know, Tohickon Creek is one of my primary sources of healing and solace. I feel love within its flow. My heart knows peace when I allow my eyes to drink in her yielding ripples. So in spite of the myriad obligations on my ‘to do’ list today, I physically took myself to this font of life in order to catch my breath.

The daily onslaught never ceases. We’re bombarded with outrageous conduct and insane accusations about institutions that we know are safe, reliable, and trustworthy. We’re gaslit and fear-stoked relentlessly in a cynical attempt to delegitimize our trust in the foundations of our society so that – finally admitted to out loud today – he can simply ‘remain’ in power.

Tohickon – ripples – Photo: L. Weikel

Here It Is

In case you missed it, if you want to know what the Trump Republican game plan actually is this election season, you must read this article. Everyone needs to read this article because we must hunker down now and prepare a game plan. Proceeding as if this is anything close to a normal year and a normal election cycle is utterly insane and irresponsible.

Everything is at stake.

Meanwhile, Breonna Taylor is treated as if she never existed or, perhaps more accurately, her life didn’t matter. At all. As I saw one person put it, the grand jury in Louisville valued the drywall of her neighbors more than Breonna’s very life.

But as I mentioned in my post the other day, it is essential that we take care of ourselves and prepare. If the way I felt today – and the way I think I saw so many of the people I love and care about (I’m looking at all of you, in one way or another) feeling today – is any indication, we must redouble our efforts to feed our souls.

Now is the time for us to do whatever it is that brings us peace. And no, I don’t mean numbing ourselves, tempting as that may be. Because that stresses our bodies. Numbing ourselves ultimately breaks down our immune systems – and let’s face it, we need to be beefing those babies up. Why? Because WINTER IS COMING – in every sense of that phrase.

Until you can get yourself to your version of my Tohickon, I share these photos with you. Drink them in. Let them nourish and sustain your soul.

We need to stay alert, pay attention, but most importantly, take care of ourselves and each other.

Tohickon – Peaceful Reflection – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-429)

Temperance – Day 526

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Clouds 20 April 2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

Temperance

I opened Sacred Space this evening before making tonight’s selection on our behalf. As can be seen from the title to this post, I chose the Temperance card. The deck I was drawn to this evening is The Wild Unknown Tarot* by Kim Krans.

As usual, the intention I set was simply to receive a message or guidance for us to contemplate for the next few days, something for us to ponder and interpret for ourselves individually, as well as applied to ‘us’ in a much broader, inclusive sense. I asked that this message be a guiding factor for until I’m ‘told’ to check in again, for our next message, via another oracle.

I’m sure you’ll all be relieved to know that not only did I not imbibe this evening, I also happen to be fasting today. So, hey you guys – you’re getting a really clean pick!

Ha. I joke, but it’s true. There is a clarity that can be perceived on a bunch of levels when I refrain from eating for a day. The re-set of my system feels good. Hmm. I wonder if it’s sort of like rebooting my laptop. I never thought of it that way before, but the analogy doesn’t feel that far off.

The ‘Main’ Choice

The primary card I chose tonight, as mentioned above, was Temperance. It’s quite beautiful, as you can see. I encourage you to examine the card in detail and allow yourself to pay attention to what pops out to you. Allow your intuition to run ‘wild.’ Perhaps notice how the image makes you feel. Whatever ‘definition’ you personally bring to Temperance is important to note for yourself.

But in order to give you a framework for interpreting the card/message on your own, I like to provide you with the creator of the deck’s interpretation, which is as follows:

Temperance – The Wild Unknown Tarot

Temperance – XIV – Healing, Renewal

“The great blue heron remains calm and peaceful as she blends the opposing elements of fire and water. The temperance card asks you to be a moderator much like the heron. Focus on cooperation and compromise. If you’ve been excessive with one aspect of your life, practice self restraint and moderation now. You’ll find a new sense of healing and balance from bringing a little harmony back into your life.”

Personally, I was surprised by this card because Blue Heron has a starring role. The Medicine Card I chose for myself today was – you guessed it – Blue Heron (albeit reversed).

‘Underneath’ Card – 7 of Swords

 

I got the sense that I was supposed to employ what I call the “Weikel Way” to my card pick tonight – which simply means that I make the primary choice, and then look to see what card is on the bottom of the deck. I like to use the bottom card as a foundation or contextualizing card – perhaps giving a sense of ‘what else’ needs to be considered, what lies ‘beneath’ our experience of the main card.

Again, look at the artwork of this card and allow your intuition to help you pay attention to the details that may hold special meaning for you. Following is the author’s interpretation:

Seven of Swords – The Wild Unknown Tarot

Seven of Swords – Secrecy, Self Interest

“Six swords hang in plain view while the seventh is tucked under the sly fox’s tail. So goes the story of the seven of swords…a secret is being kept. Either you’re the keeper or the kept-from, and it’s time to identify which. Deceit and avoidance linger in the air. Face the cause of secrecy or risk ostracizing yourself.”

Lots to Contemplate

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this is quite a rich message. The application of both cards to both our own personal lives and what’s happening to us on a national and even global level definitely worthy of our attention (if we’re honest with ourselves and want to receive the message).

Of course, I’m hoping this will spur each of us to engage in some self-reflection and inner dialogue on how both of these cards might have some application to what we’re experiencing in our own lives at the moment.

They also may give us some insight into what’s unfolding on a macro level, too.

Seems to me we’re being asked to find a new balance. There’s probably a lot of deception that’s taking place right now – underneath everything – that may have caused what we’re experiencing on both a personal and a global level. It’s important, in striving to find a new balance, to see if we can honestly figure out how we may have been lying to ourselves about some things. And yeah – maybe we’ve been sold a bill of goods for quite a while now, too.

*affiliate link

(T-585)

Global Meditation – Day 508

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Photo: L. Weikel

Global Meditation

The other day I mentioned the Biodiversity Project I participate in every 1st day of the month. It’s a simple activity that uses only 10 drops of something called Essence of Perelandra and calls upon Nature to use those drops and the power of intention to come into a state of balance vis-à-vis climate change.

I want everyone to know that I do not gain a single thing by suggesting you join me in this endeavor. I don’t receive any recognition or remuneration from Perelandra. (They don’t even know I am promoting them and their products.) The only reason I encourage you to check out their website, the gardens, their operation as a whole, and how it got started is because I find it fascinating, supportive of my own health, deeply ecologically sound, and respectful of Mother Earth and Nature.

I suggested you take the five minutes to engage in the Biodiversity Project because it is something tangible that we can all do to make a difference.

Saturday, April 4th, 2020

Which leads me to another activity that you can choose to embrace: a global meditation this Saturday, April 4th. The aim of the organizers is to have 1 million people sitting quietly and focusing their attention on and “anchor in the energies of Peace, Harmony, Abundance, Freedom, Healing, and the most positive Ascension Timeline imaginable.”

Lofty, but certainly admirable, energies to be welcoming into our collective imagination and consciousness.

The organizers are requesting that we engage in this group meditation at exactly the same time around the globe, specifically, 10:45 p.m. EST for 20 minutes. As I’m typing this, it occurs to me that they almost certainly mean DST, and simply didn’t realize that by April 4th Daylight Savings Time would’ve kicked in.

There are specific instructions which you can find here. My intention, however, will be simply to focus on those qualities I listed above manifesting here on Earth for the highest good of Mother Earth and all her children, including us (humanity).

I want to be clear: I do not necessarily ascribe to some of the concepts put forth by the organizers of this event. Indeed, some of what is written seems a bit ‘out there’ and conspiratorial for my taste. As always, I suggest you use your discernment.

But the idea of getting as many people as possible to quiet their minds and focus their intentions on raising their consciousness, calling forth those qualities of Peace, Harmony, Abundance, Freedom, and Healing, feels useful, hopeful, and potentially quite powerful. Hence, I don’t think we should ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater.’

I remember when Karl and I participated in the “Harmonic Convergence,” a similar world-wide consciousness raising gathering back in 1987. The celestial event that prompted that global effort took place during the daytime here in Pennsylvania and I remember we sat outside in the sun on the towpath beside the Delaware River.

At 10:45 p.m. this Saturday evening, when Pluto and Jupiter ‘conjunct,’ I will be tucked inside my home, giving Mother Earth and all of us who live upon her 20 minutes of my own peace of mind, focus, love, and attention.

I’ll give it a chance – who knows what the power of potentially a million others with the same intention can do to effect change? It’s worth a try.

(T-603)

Special Event Announcement – Day 107

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Special Event Announcement                                  

As March roars toward us at lightning speed, I’m excited to announce a special event that’s coming in May.

The long weekend of May 16th– 19th, 2019, I will be co-presenting a truly unique retreat with my colleague and friend, Wendy Warner, M.D., in the Appalachians of western North Carolina. The program is geared specifically toward physicians and other healthcare practitioners who might be curious about bringing shamanic work into their practice.

Some Background on Wendy Warner, MD

Wendy is a board certified ObGyn who spent 14 years in a conventional practice and eventually started investigating integrative holistic medicine as a means of being more effective in her work.  She learned botanical medicine and energy work initially, as those things spoke to her. Eventually, she began teaching for the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine (the original certifying body in Integrative Medicine); she also served as President of the Board.  Since then, she has also become faculty for the Institute for Functional Medicine.

In 2004, Wendy left her conventional practice and opened her current office, Medicine in Balance. There she practices integrative functional medicine, with a strong emphasis on botanicals and energy medicine. She shares space with a number of other providers so that our patients will have access to a panoply of therapies. These range from acupuncture, osteopathic manipulation and shin tai, to Rubenfeld synergy and  – you guessed it – shamanic healing.

Upon opening her practice, Wendy loved how much more effective integrative holistic medicine is for chronic illness.  And yet, there were (and are) those patients who are tough. The ones where you fix one issue and, months later, something else pops up.  You fix that and yet another issue arises.  We’ve jokingly referred to this as the “whack a mole” syndrome. She was frustrated.

A Doctor, A Lawyer, and a Shaman Meet in a Bar…

Although Wendy and I have known each other since 2001, we initially met in the context of her service as a board member of our local Planned Parenthood and mine as that organization’s Director of Development.

Sensing a kindred spirit, I confided in Wendy that I was engaging in an in-depth study of shamanic healing techniques, she encouraged me to contact her when I was ready to offer my services to the community. (To be honest, I laughed when she suggested this to me. In 2004, I couldn’t imagine I would be providing shamanic work to complete strangers in connection to a medical practice!)

Well – let that be a lesson!

Never Say Never

Our collaboration on behalf of her patients began in 2008, and overall, the results have been exciting, gratifying, and remarkable. Wendy recognizes that, sometimes, the best solution to a patient’s issues is attending to imbalances manifesting in their energy fields and the depths from which those imbalances are sourced. That’s where my work comes in. Together, we have witnessed some truly amazing and remarkable shifts in patients’ healing journeys.

There are precious few, if any, medical practices in our country that offer the depth and breadth of care and attention to patients’ needs as provided by Medicine in Balance. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity that Wendy and her vision and open-minded approach to healing has provided me to be of service to our community.

Medicine in Balance – One of a Kind

It is precisely because Medicine in Balance is so unique that Wendy and I are offering this retreat. We are excited to share our experiences in bringing the most ancient of healing modalities to a modern, 21stcentury medical practice.

I’ve posted the details of this retreat on the Events page of my website. I would love it if you would consider sharing this blog post, or if you see it on FB, sharing it there – and tagging your friends or family members who are in the healing professions. Of course, if you are a physician or other healing professional – join us!

If you think you know any doctors or medical practitioners (and think outside the box here, too: dentists would also benefit enormously) who might be interested in exploring this work, please feel free to contact me for flyers or brochures. FYI, I make that comment about dentists because I actually have worked on people who were presenting with mouth and teeth issues that were baffling both physicians and dentists…and met with success in getting to the ‘root’ of their issues.

Finally, the setting will be exquisite: the private retreat center known as Amadell, which is located in the great Appalachian mountains of western North Carolina. One thing I know for sure: we’ll nurture the physicians’ souls that weekend, and that has to be a good thing for everyone.

(T-1004)