Facets of Healing

  My feed over on Instagram delivered a wonderful profile with a continuing saga of the artist's adventures ...  Hannah posted about a taking much needed camping trip, which turned into a sodden disaster - and wrote that they hung their 'cloutie flags' upon setting up camp in Cornwall.  Clooties by a sacred well I guessed she meant small cloth prayer flags or banners, and found this when I looked it up: The Scots word ‘clootie’ means ‘cloth’ and this term can also be found in use in the famous Scottish dessert, the ‘clootie dumpling’. The ‘cloots’ of the clootie well are scraps of cloth hung from trees surrounding a sacred well or spring. These sources of clean water have been places of healing for millennia. Traditionally, the well would be visited at special times of the year, such as Beltane, the May Day festival of Spring, or when someone needed a cure for an illness. The well would draw people from across the local area, a social pilgrimage, each taking their...

Tapping creative process can be a powerful way to work with trauma of all sorts. My massage mentor Jeanne Christensen compared our therapeutic work to peeling an onion, one layer at a time, to get to the core.  Medicine Basket Creating a safe container is one of the keys to gently working through layers.  I like to allow time to sit back with my journal/ do metacognitive drawing for process. It's good to verbalize that we will only go as deep as we're ready to process, and don't need to unpack it all at once.  The Intentional Creativity container is already structured in ways that support safety and healing for any issues we and our beloveds come with.   I often begin with basic grounding, imagining my roots going into the earth, and letting any feelings that arise drop down like compost. I keep tea or water handy (await from my paintbrush!) and remind myself to breathe.  In this  Tedx clip  ,  Dr Thelma Bryant affirms the healing powe...

  We had a great RT circle call today, where we did a fusion of the Color of Healing process I learned in a massage workshop 39 years ago, the practice from a recent PRISMA practioner session with Dr Mary Mccrystal, and added neurolines at the end! Several participants had recent surgeries, some had chronic pain or other Health issues, and one had a massage earlier in the day, which often leaves her sore!  We Began with a body centered meditation and breath, noticing our bodies and areas of discomfort. Focus of the opening reading was Joy, and our RT inquiry was to share name and land acknowledgment, then something that brought joy/ they were grateful for. Then I introduced the practice: Color of Healing 🌟 with eyes closed, choose the first color ⭐ We drew the simple 'gingerbread style body outline first, then areas in pain/ needing attention 🌟 with that first or another intuitive color, drew a reverb/ energy field around the body, and I mentioned the African Healer Eric Vor...

 Being human is a dance of finding balance between our connections and our own unique spark, our place and purpose. In Okinawa, home of more centenarians than most other areas of the globe, discovering one's purpose is a key factor to well being, and is called Ikigai. When we align with our values and purpose, we are more content in good times, and resilient in times of stress. This in turn leads to enhanced health.  Other factors that promote well being and healing include enjoying a mainly whole foods diet (with a preponderance of local foods, fresh when possible), moving throughout the day, spending time outside, connections with friends and family, and engaging in creative pursuits.   For nearly 40 years I've been engaged in Healing Arts as a Licensed Massage Therapist, and added many complimentary tools to my Medicine Basket, including Reiki, Lightwork, shamanic teachings, Qigong, Tai Chi and Breema; and harmonic healing - including both therapeutic harp and Tun...