Village Wellness Talks (FREE!)

Join me in welcoming Tracey Tief, to our next Wellness Talk: Non-Toxic Living!

July 3rd from 7-8pm

The Village Healing Centre, 240 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto Downstairs studio

NO RSVP Necessary! See you there!

 

Non-Toxic Living

We will discuss common household cleaning, bath, baby and beauty products that can easily be replaced with healthful products you can make yourself, or buy locally.

There's so much that's said to be bad for you, and bad for the environment, but who do you believe, and where do you start? Don't worry; be healthy! From phthalates and plastics, to parabens and PCBs, we'll discuss the toxins that commonly plague us in our environment and about simple, immediate solutions that will benefit our health and our planet. 

You'll come away with your own list of easy, life enhancing changes you can start making today, and the information you need to make healthy decisions for you and your family. Please feel free bring along some of your favorite personal care products and find out what really lies within!

Presenter: Tracey TieF, Certified Natural Health Practitioner

I enjoy working with people who are interested in learning how to heal and who are seeking alternatives to pharmaceutically-driven health care. I seek to restore mental, physical and spiritual health and natural beauty to my clients through health counselling, coaching, hypnotherapy and by making and making available and teaching people how to make wholesome health and beauty products.

 www.AnarresHealth.ca, www.NaturalContraception.ca, 

www.FemCap.info, www.Contragel.info

Solar Eclipse Reiki Meditation

Each month I offer a pay-what-you-can Reiki Meditation Technique session at the Village Healing Centre. If you are interested in attending future Meditation sessions, please feel free to contact me for dates at melanie@korechanges.com. 

I wanted to share this month's meditation techniques, as combined, they are great for clearing and charging, and work well with today's solar eclipse.



The Energies of the Solar Eclipse
A solar eclipse brings the sun's vitality into the lunar void of possibility. The solar eclipse reveals what needs to be resolved or released in service of our highest good, and cracks the seed open of a major new beginning.

About the Meditations
The meditation begins with the "Reiki Meditation" by Hiroshi Doi, as practiced in Gendai Reiki Ho. We begin each class with this technique, to increase our sensitivity and connection to source. 

Following the Reiki Meditation, we moved into "Hatsurei Ho" - a shoden or okuden technique, practiced by the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. Other versions are taught in a number of other Reiki lines as well. This method cleanses the body using energy, in turn allowing for a greater flow of energy through the body. Cleansing and clearing is particularly well times on new moons, although it can of course be done at any time. Literally, it translates to:

Hatsu – to generate
Rei – spirit
Ho – method

Each of these meditations are available in a variety of formats online and in a few books as well. I personally like the Reiki Sourcebook  by Bronwein and Frans Stiene, which has had excellent reviews by beginners and masters alike.
 
Gassho

Gassho means to put the hands together. It signifies the oneness of Buddha and all beings. It also expresses reverence and gratitude.The palms of both hands are placed together with the fingers and thumbs extended. Both elbows should be fairly close to the body and the hands should be at mid-chest level. To bow during the gassho, the hands should be held steady, while the body is bent forward from the hips and then back to the upright position. Gassho is the natural expression of reverence and gratitude.
 
Reciting Waka
You'll note that in the Hatsurei Ho Meditation, there is a mention to "recite waka written by the Meiji Emporor". Waka is a form of poetry with a history that extending back over a thousand years, and Usui recommended that his students recite Waka as a first step to spiritual work. Many of the ancient poems were written by Emperors, 100,000 of which were written by Emperor Meiji, known as the "Sage of Poetry".

For this meditation, you can select from a range of Waka written by Emporer Meiji, or you can create your own to incorporate the power and symbolism of your cleansing and new beginning. I used an online Waka Workbook to create my own for today (written below), and suggest you do the same to help it be more meaningful for you!

Solar Eclipse Waka Meditaton

Dark Moon eclipses
Apollo's shine clears, renews.
Quiet alignment,
Inner spiral brings the charge
and cracks the seed of fresh starts.

REIKI MEDITATION

1. Close your eyes. Reach your hands up to the sky with both hands facing each other (forming a funnel shape), contacting the universe. Feel the connection to Reiki and feel the energy moving through you and surrounding you. 
2. Bring your hands down in front of your face in the gassho position. Keep your fingers straight and the tip of your middle finger at the height of your third eye. Feel the energy moving through the whole body. Breathe naturally while imagining you are breathing through your hands. Continue for a while and relax. 
3. Raise the non-dominant hand into the air and place your dominant hand, facing up, on your lap. Feel the energy coming in through your non-dominant hand and out through your dominant hand. 
4. Bring your non-dominant hand down into your lap with the dominant hand. 
5. Feel the universal love and energy for as long as you like. 
6. End in Gassho.

HATSUREI HO TECHNIQUE 

1. Sit in seiza and gassho – to center the mind and set intent. Close your eyes. (to learn about Seiza, see James Deacon's Reiki Pages)
2. Recite waka written by Meiji Emporor 
3. a. Place your right hand on the left shoulder where the collar bone and shoulder meet. Breathe in and on the out breath sweep diagonally down from the left shoulder to the right hip.
   b. On the in breath place your left hand on the right shoulder and on the out breath sweep down diagonally from the right shoulder to the left hip.
   Breathe in returning your right hand to the left shoulder and on the out breath sweep diagonally down from the left shoulder to the right hip. 
4. a. With the left elbow against your side and with your arm horizontal to the ground, place your right-hand on the left forearm. Breathe in and on the out breath sweep downward along the arm to the fingertips.
   b. With the right elbow against your side and your right arm horizontal to the ground, place your left hand on the right forearm. Breathe in and on the out breath sweep down along the arm to the fingertips.
   c. Breathe in and with the left elbow against your side and with your arm horizontal to the ground, place your right hand on the left forearm. On the out breath sweep down along the arm to the fingertips. 
5. Place your hands in your lap, palms facing upwards. 
6. With each in breath feel the energy coming in through the nose, moving down to the hara and filling the body with energy. 
7. On the out breath expand the energy out of the body, through your skin and continue to expand the energy out into your surroundings. 
8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 until finished. The exercise may take anywhere from 5 minutes to half an hour. If you begin to feel dizzy then finish the exercise and slowly build on the amount of practice time. 
9. Place your hands in the gassho position. Focus on your hara. On the in breath begin to bring the energy into your hands. Feel the energy move along your arms, down through your body and into the hara. 
10. On the out breath visualize energy moving from the hara back up through the body and then to the arms and out through the hands. 
11. Repeat steps 9 & 10 until finished. The exercise may take anywhere from 5 minutes to half and hour. If you begin to feel dizzy then finish the exercise and slowly build on the amount of practice time. 
12. Recite the 5 precepts. 
13. Gassho – give thanks.

Monthly Wellness Talks @ VHC (FREE)!

Since last August, I've had the pleasure of being apart of the Village Healing Centre (VHC) on Roncesvalles Avenue, and have really enjoyed connecting with new clients and other practitioners from the community. To build more of these connections and take advantage of the fantastic space available at the Village Healing Centre, I'm working with practitioners from the VHC and throughout the City of Toronto to provide monthly "Wellness Talks" beginning May 1 (7-8pm on the first Tuesday of every month). The talks are free, engaging, and give participants the opportunity to learn more about different modalities.

Below is a snapshot of the talks coming up for May, June, and July. If you would like to participate as a presenter or would like to learn more about a particular modality, please let me know: melanie@korechanges.com

May 1: Spring Clean Your Psyche

Description: Spring is a time to renew, refresh and detoxify; ourselves and our environments. We can do this given the right tools and techniques. But detoxifying needs to happen at energetic levels as well as physical or emotional - they are all connected. This workshop will guide you through the basics of clearing negative energies from everywhere they are; in and around us.

Presented by Deirdre Norman
Deirdre has for over 20 years worked with her clients to cleanse their homes, offices and personal space. It's easier than you think. www.tinkerwoman.com


June 5: The Path Within Presents: Get a Life!

Description:

·      2 KEY SECRETS that will Change your Life Forever!

·      The 4 MAIN GOALS of the Path Within™ Program

·      Create Happiness and Fulfillment in your Life

·      Learn how the Mastery of Your own Thoughts and Behaviours have Immediate and Positive Affect on your Life Goals!

·      Learn to make timely decisions which drive your progress towards Your Personal Growth and True Happiness

·      Design a NEW Blueprint of YOUR Future and Start Living it NOW

·      Live Your Life on Your Terms

The GET A LIFE Presentations are based on almost 25 years of proven techniques, research and Anthony’s Path Within™ Program

Presented by Anthony Santen, M.Ht. C.I. MPWP NC

Anthony is the author of The Path Within™ Program, a unique coaching and personal transformation program dedicated to enabling people, wanting to lead a life with meaningful goals and desires.  His goal is to help individuals discover their innermost desires for personal growth and fulfillment, overcome depression and embody the changes in all aspects of their lives. www.pathwithin.com

July: Non-Toxic Living
Description: 

We will discuss common household cleaning, bath, baby and beauty products that can easily be replaced with healthful products you can make yourself, or buy locally.

There's so much that's said to be bad for you, and bad for the environment, but who do you believe, and where do you start? Don't worry; be healthy! From phthalates and plastics, to parabens and PCBs, we'll discuss the toxins that commonly plague us in our environment and about simple, immediate solutions that will benefit our health and our planet. 

You'll come away with your own list of easy, life enhancing changes you can start making today, and the information you need to make healthy decisions for you and your family. Please feel free bring along some of your favorite personal care products and find out what really lies within!

Presenter: Tracey TieF, Certified Natural Health Practitioner

I enjoy working with people who are interested in learning how to heal and who are seeking alternatives to pharmaceutically-driven health care. I seek to restore mental, physical and spiritual health and natural beauty to my clients through health counselling, coaching, hypnotherapy and by making and making available and teaching people how to make wholesome health and beauty products. www.AnarresHealth.ca, www.NaturalContraception.ca, www.FemCap.info, www.Contragel.info

Mandalas for Community

Two professional astrologers have asked me to create a Scorpio mandala for a publication they have in the works, and I immediately accepted the honour.  Certainly not an expert in mandalas, I feel excited and humbled as I consider the gates, layers, lessons and aspirations of the zodiac sign dominating my natal chart. What's more, I've been itching for a creative project and the timing couldn't be more perfect.

For those unfamiliar, "mandala" is Sanskrit for "circle" or "whole world", and is a visual representation of a whole composed of many interrelated parts. It is the system that emerges out of the rhythm, harmony, and interplay of opposing forces, and has a rich history in Buddhist/ Hindu meditation, with later appearances in Jungian psychology as a representation of the Cosmos' relation to the Self.

As I delve into this project, I naturally expand to consider its applications for communities and organizations, and have been delighted to discover that the mandala has been used extensively in:

• Socio-political systems and institutional systems (Gram Mandala is used for political and administration structures and systems in India, for instance)
• Architecture (Vastu Shastra), 
• Community development (The Mandala Project Workshops, and Mandala Community Weaving with Sarah Haskell),  and 
• Theory development (Theory of Integral Nursing).   

In terms of organizational systems, I found a wordy piece on "The Tensegrity Mandala", but was surprised when I did not see more of it in organizational planning circles, and strategic planning processes. I personally think it would be a great process for discussing and clarifying membership, tensions, practices, values, goals, mission, and vision. The world seems steeped in process models and maps, so I thought the mandala would have found a natural application here. Imagine, for instance, if the mandala concept was used to capture one of the many strategic planning models out there.

Community Mandala, Roberts Creek BC

Imagine applying a particular strategic planning model/process within our city's healing arts community, to create a healthy community mandala which wove the practices of multiple modalities into one cohesive healing vision. I'm sure its only a matter of time :)

After all, check out the community mandala created out in Roberts Creek, and this blog that speaks to Mandala Community Gardening!

Seriously though. Explore the links and consider the uses of the mandala in your life, your family, your collaborations, and your disciplines. If you'd like to check out Mandala Workshops offered in Toronto, I've listed a few here, the last offering mandala artwork and mandala meditations to explore:

• Big Heart Studio
• Blue Lotus Art Studio
• Soaring Heart Wellness
• New World Creations

Enjoy the journey, and wish me luck!

------
How it went....

Well, the Mandalas were such a transformative journey! Doing one mandala lead to my doing a couple more, and each was such an interesting inward process. I do believe I'll continue the journey and work on other zodiac mandalas because there was just so much to gain personally from each one.

Here are the creations that manifested :)

SCORPIO MANDALA

TAURUS MANDALA

AQUARIUS MANDALA