Julie A Carda

Feelings: Buried Alive Never Die

2010-03-11T08:00:00.001-06:00

Feelings: Buried Alive Never Die by Karol K. Truman

Karol Truman not only tells you why you feel the way you feel, but how these feelings all started. She then goes on to tell you how YOU can easily transform these undesirable feelings so that they no longer hinder your growth. What a gift!

The Last Ghost Dance

2010-03-10T08:00:00.006-06:00

The Last Ghost Dance: A Guide for Earth Mages by Brooke Medicine Eagle

"Brooke invites all those who love Mother Earth to claim their new roles as Earth Mages. Mage is a word that conveys the magic now within reach as we work toward the ascendant renewal of our world. In times past, magic was practiced secretly by only a unique few. At last the time has come for each of us to become Earth magicians-to enter committed circles and use our powerful spiritual technologies to become truly evolved human beings."

Healing Wise

2010-03-09T08:00:00.005-06:00

Healing Wise: Wise Woman Herbal by Susun S. Weed

Healing Wise nourishes. Healing Wise springs from love. Healing Wise flows through compassion. Healing Wise is a natural as birth, as certain as death. Healing Wise is the joy of the individual and the strength of the community.

If you think the only health care options are the established, scientific way, and alternative methods, it is because the third-an intuitive, individualized way, the unique Wise Woman way-is invisible.

Healing Wise is done with the eyes. Healing Wise is done by hand. Healing Wise is charged with meaning. Healing Wise is in tune with the seasons. Healing Wise is wholing and holy. Healing Wise is letting go. Healing Wise is timing.

Lazaris: The Sacred Journey

2010-03-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

The Sacred Journey: You and Your Higher Self by Lazaris

"As you grow weary of wondering when the New Age will begin,you will decide it already did!"

~Lazaris

Plant Spirit Medicine

2010-03-07T18:53:00.001-06:00

Plant Spirit Medicine by Eliot Cowan

This classic best-seller explores an old shamanic form of healing that uses the spirits of plants. It combines ancient shamanic techniques with the medical philosophies of China, Tibet, India and West Africa. Plant Spirit Medicine is the quintessential introduction to a field about which little is known or written. It provides knowledge, insight and a proven method that enables you to contact plant spirits for healing. A wonderful, intuitive and spiritual approach to holistic healing!

The Green Pharmacy

2010-03-06T18:35:00.004-06:00

The Green Pharmacy by James A Duke, Ph.D.

Thousands of safe, natural remedies lie untapped in jungles, forests and herbal gardens throughout the world. Now America's foremost authority on medicinal plants and herbs shares his knowledge of these hidden reserves of healing power. The Green Pharmacy is a tour de force by the world's leading authority on the herbal healing traditions...a treasure house of practical advice for the newcomer and pearls of wisdom for the herbal practitioner.

Animal-Speak

2010-03-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

Animal-Speak: The Spiritual and Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small

by Ted Andrews

The animal world has much to teach us. Some animals are experts at survival and adaptation, some never get cancer, some embody strength and courage while others exude playfulness. Animals remind us of the potential we can unfold, but before we can learn from them, we must first be able to speak with them.

Now, for perhaps the first time ever, myth and fact are combined in a manner that will teach you how to speak and understand the language of the animals in your life. Animal-Speak helps you meet and work with animals as totems and spirits-by learning the language of their behaviors within the physical world. It provides techniques for reading signs and omens in nature so you can open to higher perceptions and even prophecy. It reveals the hidden, mythical, and realistic roles of 45 animals, 60 birds, 8 insects and 6 reptiles.

Animals will become a part of you, revealing to you the majesty and divine in all life. They will restore your childlike wonder of the world and strengthen your belief in magic, dreams and possibilities.

Earthway

2010-03-04T08:00:00.001-06:00

I like the controversy behind this book. Makes me ask, are we not all one people?

Earthway: A Native American Visionary's Path to Total Mind, Body, and Spirit Health by Mary Summer Rain

"A new decade is upon us, the last of this century. Our eyes, minds and hearts have at long last returned to the earth: its environment and our own healthful survival as we walk and breathe upon it. The precious knowledge of the Native Americans has long been mistaken as magic or myth. But the truth of the native way is simple and strong. This is a chance to change our relationship with ourselves and our earth, to embrace a less complicated, more satisfying way to live. This is Earthway."

Dancing the Dream

2010-03-03T20:58:00.003-06:00

Dancing the Dream: The Seven Sacred Paths of Human Transformation by Jamie Sams

"Widely recognized as one of the foremost teachers of Native American wisdom, Jamie Sams reveals the seven sacred paths of human spiritual development and explains how exploring each path leads to shifts in our personal relationships with the earth, our loved ones, friends and communities, and most important, our own spiritual selves. As part of a profound awakening process, these paths help us heal the past, shed fear of the future, and focus on being aware and fully present in our daily lives. Ultimately, we discover that we are indeed dancing the dream."

The result of nearly twenty-five years of intensive study
with two Native American dreaming societies,
Dancing the Dream draws our attention to the f
our directions of the Medicine Wheel
(East, South, West, and North) and the three unseen
directions - Above, Below, and Within - and explains how
each of these seven directions represents a specific path on
the spiritiual journey. In the East, we encounter the first
stirrings of the spirit; in the South, the healing of relationships;
in the West, we work to build self-esteem; in the North,
we learn wisdom and the opening of the heart; Above
represents the world of spirit; Below, the earth; Within,
full awareness of the present moment.

Most people will walk these paths in sequence. Some will
never make it through all seven. Many will continue to move
forward but continue to double back on earlier paths until
they get things right. But for those willing to walk all seven
paths, there is the great reward of being able to see the world
with the soaring vision of an eagle, fully aware and present to
meet life's challenges with vision, wisdom, and purpose.

Love is in the Earth

2010-03-02T08:00:00.022-06:00

Love is in the Earth: A Kaleidoscope of Crystals by Melody

"The reference book describing the metaphysical properties of the mineral kingdom. Said to be the 'most comprehensive volume addressing the metaphysical properties of the mineral kingdom.' This book is meant to take the reader on an intimate journey into the subtle realms of crystal energy, providing for an adventure into the avant-garde and assisting one in developing a loving affinity with crystals."

My Library Shelf

2010-03-01T08:00:00.001-06:00

During the month of March, I will feature a book from my personal library. There will be a brief bit of information, a quote or two, a link to the author and place of purchase. I hope you enjoy the eclectic collection.

Just a Dream Away

2010-02-22T08:00:00.002-06:00

Just a dream away. In the uncertainty of the times, the Olympics offer a moment of uplifting emotion. Isn't this type of self-discipline, desire, and passion a flame of hope for all? It was captured well in this 1984 Sarajevo Olympic song tribute by John Denver. Click for a song reminder.

A Winter Restoration Thought

2010-02-21T08:30:00.001-06:00

Time to nurture the dream seeds.

Dream BIG.

It's easy.

Inspired Reflection

2010-02-20T08:38:00.001-06:00

Look into the eyes of another person and here reflected back is the masterpiece of co-creation. Perfect--continually flowing with love from the source of all creation.

Let us care for our masterpiece with the tenderness and compassion imbued by our willingness to receive and live out our fullness.

Dancing With the Mountains

2010-02-19T08:09:00.004-06:00

Above is a photo of my eldest son caressing the side of mountain. If you love the mountains you'll enjoy this classic bit of John Denver. If you're into the thrill of the 2010 Olympic skiing, you'll love the film footage. Check out this YouTube for a little lift to your day.

Staying Present in the Face of Grief

2010-02-14T08:00:00.001-06:00

Awaken each day and ask:

Where would you have me go?

What would you have me do?

What should I say?

And to whom?

Joseph Campbell Quote

2010-02-13T18:42:00.000-06:00

It is only by going down into the abyss

that we recover the treasures of life.

Where you stumble there lies your treasure.

The very cave you are afraid to enter

turns out to be the source of

what your are looking for.

~Joseph Campbell~

Dagara Grief Technique

2010-02-09T20:00:00.001-06:00

To weep is to make less the depth of grief.

~William Shakespeare, King Henry the Sixth

Sobonfu Some teaches the importance of tears and the importance of someone bearing witness to those tears. In the western world our instincts are to offer kind soothing touch to ease away or shut off the tears. The Dagara way is to allow the grieving person an opportunity to cry without physical interference. Touch can shut down the tears that are ready to flow or flowing. During her Dagara grief rituals, Sobonfu demonstrates different grieving body language that would require the support person to intervene with touch. The touch is specific to the ritual. Done correctly, it will not shut down the emotional release. Sobonfu's calendar for grief ritual in the United States is listed on her website.

Recount One's Grief

2010-02-08T14:26:00.000-06:00

One often calms one's grief by recounting it.

~Pierre Corneille~

In these times of rapid change, finding the time to really listen to people is an invaluable source of comfort for us and others. We need not solve or resolve, but rather hold others with compassion. Allow the stories to unfold, be recounted, so the healing journey can progress.

Shock and Testing part of grief phases

2010-02-07T14:20:00.001-06:00

In my research I came across a list of grief phases that includes two more than the Kubler-Ross version. I like this broken out version. For more detail follow the link.

Source: Hospice Foundation of America

• Shock stage: Initial paralysis at hearing the bad news.

• Denial stage: Trying to avoid the inevitable.

• Anger stage: Frustrated outpouring of bottled-up emotion.

• Bargaining stage: Seeking in vain for a way out.

• Depression stage: Final realization of the inevitable.

• Testing stage: Seeking realistic solutions.

• Acceptance stage: Finally finding the way forward.

Quote for Grief

2010-02-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

What soap is for the body, tears are for the soul.

~Jewish Proverb~

Problems with Grief Phases

2010-02-05T21:50:00.002-06:00

While searching for websites with information on grief, I came across one which explains outcomes of the grief process. "A common problem with the phases of the grief cycle is that people can get stuck in one phase. Thus a person may become stuck in denial, never moving on from the position of not accepting the inevitable future. When it happens, they still keep on denying it, such as the person who has lost their job still going into the city only to sit on a park bench all day.

Getting stuck in denial is common in 'cool' cultures (such as in Britain, particularly Southern England) where expressing anger is not acceptable. The person may feel that anger, but may then repress it, bottling it up inside.
Likewise, a person may be stuck in permanent anger (which is itself a form of flight from reality) or repeated bargaining. It is more difficult to get stuck in active states than in passivity, and getting stuck in depression is perhaps a more common ailment." Read more on this topic.

Quote for Grief Reflection

2010-02-04T21:37:00.000-06:00

If you're going through hell, keep going. ~Winston Churchill

Phases involved in Grief

2010-02-03T14:46:00.001-06:00

Although there are many theories about the emotional path grief takes most grief therapists agree about the general phases involved.

Denial: “This can’t be happening to me.”

Anger: “Why is this happening? Who is to blame?”

Bargaining: “Make this not happen, and in return I will____.”

Depression: “I’m too sad to do anything.”

Acceptance: “I’m at peace with what happened.”

Keep in mind these phases don’t have to take a set order. Grieving can be very much like a roller coaster full of ups, downs, highs and lows.

Grief a Human Response to loss

2010-02-02T11:24:00.001-06:00

Grief is the human response to loss of many kinds. Grief is the emotion felt when something or someone of great import and love is taken away. Although grief is most commonly associated with death, it can actually be a response to other loss.

Examples of such loss are: a relationship breakup, loss of health, loss of a job, loss of financial stability, a miscarriage, death of a pet, loss of a dream, concern over a loved one’s serious illness, loss of friendship, loss of safety after a trauma, loss of a job, retiring from a job, loss of a way of life, moving from home, concern for earth and global strife. Generally, the more significant the loss for a person, the more intense the emotional outpouring of the grief.

Have you experienced grief? What have you done with the emotional response?