A River Between

Last May, I was in a minor car accident where I was rear-ended. I suffered some mild-moderate whiplash, and for six months I went 20 or more times EACH to a chiropractor, acupuncturist, and massage therapist. The experience of healing was wonderful. Of all the things I did, acupuncture provided me the best relaxation results for my neck.

I stopped my claim with my auto insurance about two months ago, and at times I still feel neck stiffness and the “aches and pains” after this accident. But more recently, I’ve been working with meditation and self-guided breathwork and imagery.

Last week I went three times to the Northfield Buddhist Meditation Center’s evening meditation from 5:30pm - 6pm. I’ve now begun to REALLY feel a difference in my neck, and how I can now clear my mind to allow my neck muscles to relax. The best part is that it is FREE (you can donate money too)!

Seriously though, I’m glad to have found a new tool to help my body through some of its troubles. I realize how much during the day that I am just “doing” something, and I never give myself time to just sit and “not do.” I’m learning to really enjoy the silent spaces around activities more, as then they stick out as individual moments, and they have a lot more meaning.

I have a feeling that meditation is going to become a frequent activity. Just typing about it has my neck feeling more “airy” and light. I just thought I would share.

So, if you haven’t tried it, find a meditation center near you, get some relaxation tapes, etc. Take some time from “doing” and just BE.

My friend Marcea Frasier recently started her own small business making handcrafted soaps, lotions, creams, and makeup. Using all natural, organic, and non-toxic ingredients, she makes masterpieces! I’d given some of her soaps as gifts over the holidays, but most recently, I have begun selling her soap out of my Uptown Minneapolis massage office.

Check out my posting on A Peaceful Touch about Marcea’s soap!

Shake it up!

Originally uploaded by holisticgeek

Yet another creation! A few nights ago I decided to try making my own shampoo. I modified a recipe found in the book, Earthly Bodies and Heavenly Hair, by Dina Falconi. It was a simple recipe that called for an herbal infusion, castile soap, olive oil, and essential oils.

I had many of the supplies needed, so I bought a large 32 oz bottle of Dr Bronner’s Hemp Castile Soap (the baby/unscented kind) for $13. This will probably make about 8 batches of shampoo, making each 20 oz batch cost about $1.63! Shampoo for a year for only $13.00! I love it.

I have a flickr photoset with instructions and pictures of how I made the shampoo. Enjoy!

Out of the oven

Originally uploaded by holisticgeek.

Michael and I have been trying our hand at making more things at home rather than buying pre-packaged food and personal products all of the time. Last week, Michael found this great recipe on VegWeb for making granola, and he tried it out.

I was the photographer, and Michael the crafter, and the granola…OH SO GOOD!!!

Michael also determined that buying all the ingredients in bulk and making his own granola was approximately ONE THIRD the price if he would have purchased pre-made granola, even when sold in bulk!

More photos and the entire process are in a set of photos on my flickr.

Try the recipe if you like, and enjoy! I think ours is almost gone.

Time to make more!

This weekend I am in Madison, WI, where I attended the 2nd annual Unschooling Conference, sponsored by H.O.M.E. All I can say is “What a conference!” Coming to meet so many wonderful people has been a great re-charge of my spirit. Unschooling has many forms, but can generally be characterized as the development of complete autodidactic, or self-directed learning. Unschoolers reject “schools” and imposed curriculum and structures, to allow students and people to learn from their own interests, goals, and passions.

The Village School of Northfield was an “unschool” where children were free to study what they wanted, when they wanted, and how they wanted. Here’s a link to a previous posting about The Village School.

At the Unschooling Conference I was able to meet some very wonderfully creative and passionate people - many of whom were parents who unschool their own children.

Here is a general summary of my experience:
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