News

Judy Bernard a Licensed Acutonics teacher and senior faculty member travels extensively with her gongs. She shared this recent adventure with us. "About a year ago I moved to Nashville, Tennessee, not a place I’d given much thought to or even wanted to visit. We were brought here by my Beloved’s work, and after finding a place to live I began to research things to do in the area. I was really pleased to discover the Nashville Chooses Peace Festival. None of our belongings had arrived yet, no gongs to create a booth, so I decided to volunteer and have fun. I met the most amazingly kindhearted group of people that have become my best friends here. I must say Nashville is the kindest city I have ever been too. I had found my pod!"

With the approach of summer, the time of the fire element, the energy of our hearts is at its highest potential. What better time to enhance our understanding of and connection to the spirit and field of the heart. It is said that the heart spirit, the shen, is a spark of the fire of heaven that is bestowed on us by the stars when we are born. In the Chinese, Vedic and Hebrew traditions it is known that this spirit resides in the center of the heart. The shen guides the heavenly spark into expression of our purist potential. It is the seat of inspiration, insight, awareness and compassion.

The heavenly given or original qi is said to be retained and to linger in the “Source Points”. Ordinarily they are thought of as points that provide exceptional access to the channel and organ with which they are associated. Some Chinese medicine references say that the source points of the yin organs tonify the energy of the organ and source points of the yang organs expel pathogens, or release excess in the body.

Mars represents the Warrior archetype. This archetype possesses the capacity for combativeness, ambition, self-preservation (will and ability to survival) and getting what you want. Mars is the personification of Yang energy, the masculine, and sexual energy. It fuels the energy for competition, drive, ego and taking action. Mars is the energy we use when we project ourselves, and our personal power out into the world.

This article by Donna Carey, LAc, and Ellen F. Franklin, PhD, tell us that “Rooster’s arrival heralds a wake up call for the world.” Yes, we are ripe for a wake-up call, especially after the shenanigans of the Monkey. Carey and Franklin give us an overview of Rooster energy and lore, and how the rooster has been regarded in myth and across cultures. As they remind us, “we must greet the dawn with an awareness of how much there is to accomplish, and with the energy to move forward, regardless of the obstacles.”

Do you feel upset by the news? Feel impotent and fearful? Perhaps you feel like Kali or Jupiter – wrathful and prone to flinging thunderbolts? It is inspiring to see so many Americans awake and active in defending our Constitution. My favorite bumper sticker from years ago was, “If you are not outraged, you are not paying attention”. Whether you are feeling empowered and ready to become an activist or feeling like you would rather stay home, lock the doors and pull the covers up, this protocol is for you. We are all one…really. The adage “Divide and Conquer” is very important here. It has worked as a way to govern and conquer throughout history. To avoid this: Stay connected to one another and remember our common humanity, rather than our many differences. We are stronger than that.

In the current climate of uncertainty and upheaval, the ability to trust and allow the flow of the universe to provide inspiration for movement beyond the experience of outer reality has been extraordinarily challenging. Much of what we see at the root of our clients concerns is a kind of fear that seems to come from a disconnection from their own sense of well-being and instinctual power. This sometimes manifests clearly as fear but often as a kind of hypervigelance or an exaggerated need for control.

I have been invited back to offer a new pre-conference program at the 2017 International Energy Psychology Conference, which will be held in San Antonio, Texas. I will be teaching a new one-day, pre-conference seminar, on Thursday, May 18, The Eight Extraordinary Vessels a Gateway to Emotional Health and Consciousness. This is a great opportunity to deepen your understanding of the psycho-spiritual use of the vessels. The full conference dates are May 18-22.

Greek mythology tells us that Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, in deep mourning over the abduction of her beloved daughter Persephone by Hades, caused the earth to be frozen and barren. A deal was struck with Hades to allow Persephone to leave the underworld for two thirds of the year, and during this time Demeter allows the plants and crops to flourish. Each year as Persephone returns to Hades the earth experiences winter.

Nearly nineteen years ago, our holistic vet suggested that, since we were acupuncturists, it would be useful for us to do regular acupuncture treatments to help address the persistent digestive imbalance that our Standard Poodle puppy, Jazz was experiencing. We studied references for point location in animals and mapped out a treatment plan based on the pattern of the imbalance.