A River Between

I’ll be out of the office this week, as I’m traveling to Madison, WI for a workshop in Core Zero Balancing. Zero Balancing is a bodywork technique that facilitates the harmony of the body’s energy system with that of its structural system of muscle and bone. I’ve always been fascinated by the integration of these types of Eastern approaches to health and well-being. Adding another modality to my repertoire that integrates “energy healing” with more structural touch seems to be a logical integration to the bodywork I am doing already.

There are also a few other things I’m hoping to do while in Madison. I’ll no doubt be hanging out at Motherfools Coffeehouse, one of my favorite places to go in the midwest. Plus, I’ve found a meditation center to go to and a Reiki sharing event!

I’m hoping that Madison’s “snow situation” doesn’t continue while I’m visiting. I’ve heard that they’ve experienced more than TWICE the average snowfall for a typical winter this year.

I may be blogging some of my experiences while in Madison, so stay tuned!

I will return on March 3rd! Send good energies for little or no snow!

Junebug

Originally uploaded by holisticgeek

You know, I have been so delinquent in writing about our new puppy, Junebug. My apologies everyone!

Junebug came into our lives just a little before the Christmas holidays, just barely 4 months old. She was rescued in Texas, and came to be fostered in Minnesota by Michael’s co-worker, Joey, at the food co-op. Apparently she was the runt of her litter, and is a Terrier-mix-of-who-knows-what!

Having a dog now has been a great experience. The experience has been both challenging and joyous, often switching between these extremes within any given few moments. Lot’s of questions and issues come up when two “leftists in love” raise a pet.

What do we feed her? We’re vegetarian and vegan. Do we feed her an all veg diet or give her meat? Should animals needlessly suffer just for our pet’s food?

What kind of vet do we want? Can we raise a more “holistic” dog, and be both well-informed and provide for her best interests?

Can we train her in a non-violent way? What is the right balance between letting her be a puppy, and training her to be “obediant” (we really dislike that word - ‘obediant’)?

She’s coming up on six months now (the 27th), and we think we’ve found a great holistic vet clinic. She’ll need a rabies shot (it’s the law in Minnesota…hmm..not a fan of vaccinations), and we’ve found a clinic that has safer mercury-free vaccines. Her baby teeth are falling out like mad, and we see now, everyday, how she’s growing into a more mellow, affectionate, and very aware creature.

She now sleeps in our bed, and I seem to have less of a blanket to cover myself with her atop the covers. She knows the words “kisses”, “sit”, “stay”,”car”, and the normal cues of “thank you!”, “No”, and “hey!”

Michael has more photos in his flickr from the first week we fostered her, before deciding to keep her.