Look for The Well Woman on facebook.  Since my website got a bad virus I will be using facebook for any announcements etc.  Namaste Ginger

WINTER AND THE WATER ELEMENT

The Winter season is represented by the Water element, which can bring deep introspection leading to the birth of new ideas. It is water that refreshes us when it is necessary to stop and rest, review what we have done, and begin again. The Water element allows us to flow and gracefully navigate through good and bad times.
It’s a time for going within and becoming more comfortable in your own skin. One of the fundamental pillars of Feng Shui is the five element theory. The five elements or phases- Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water - encompass all the phenomena of nature.

　

The element of Water plays a major role in expanding our vision of what can be. It guides us toward contemplating a future of new possibilities. When the Water element is unbalanced we become remote, uncommunicative and fearful. We can go into either extreme of a paranoid or defeatist attitude affecting our general demeanor. An awareness of these principles can lead to becoming more self possessed, original and insightful.

THE WATER ELEMENT ALSO RELATES TO OUR BONES IN CHINESE MEDICINE.

I WILL BE GIVING A 30 MIN LECTURE ON HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BONES AT MY OFFICE’S OPEN HOUSE FEB.22ND FROM 12-5
GO TO www.neckbackandbeyond.com to see the details of this event

5 Simple things to heal the heart of community

This comes from writings of Parker Palmer a Quaker Elder and the founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal


We the People called American democracy into being. We can call it back to wellbeing only as we heal our own distrust, divisions and fear, and restore our civic community. That's a big task. But all of us can contribute to it by doing simple things in our everyday lives. Here are some examples. If none of them work for you, imagine something that will. Remember that most big problems are solved with a million small actions.

1. Go downtown, or to the mall, turn off your cell phone or your iPod, and don't let the crowd blur out. Instead, do some focused people-watching. Notice the faces, body language, and behavior of the people passing by. Imagine their life stories. Practice empathy. Enjoy diversity. Remember we are all in this together.
2. If you use public transportation, or frequent a coffee shop or cafe, start a conversation with a stranger that might move from a comment on the weather to a question about something in the news. But instead of agreeing or disagreeing with what he or she tells you, ask questions that draw him or her out. Play the role of "roving reporter" whose purpose is not to tell others what you think but to find out how they see the world. Most people want a sense that someone sees and hears them. Be that someone.
3. If new folks move into your neighborhood, introduce yourself. Tell them you want your neighborhood to be a place where people watch out for each other. Give them your phone number, and invite them to call if there is something you might help with, like keeping an eye on their house while they are gone. A caring neighborhood is next-door democracy.
4. If you know someone who holds political beliefs different from yours, tell them that you learn by listening, not arguing, and ask them about the experiences that led to their convictions. Ask questions that take them behind their opinions to the real-life stories about people and events that helped shape what they believe. Don't comment, just listen and learn. The more you know about another person's story, the harder it is to dislike or distrust them.
5. If you hear something hateful being said about people of certain backgrounds or beliefs, don't get into a dog fight. Tell the speaker that you find what he or she said personally hurtful. Say that you value everyone's humanity and find it painful to live in a world where we tear each other down rather than build each other up. Tell them you want a world where we can all say to each other, "Welcome to the human race!"

THE THIN VEIL BETWEEN YOU AND THE ETERNAL

The concept of thin places comes from Celtic mythology. Peter Gomes, a Harvard theologian, writes: (photo by Sarah Blanton)

“There is in Celtic mythology the notion of 'thin places' in the universe where the visible and the invisible world come into their closest proximity. To seek such places is the vocation of the wise and the good — and for those that find them, the clearest communication between the temporal and eternal. Mountains and rivers are particularly favored as thin places marking invariably as they do, the horizontal and perpendicular frontiers. But perhaps the ultimate of these thin places in the human condition are the experiences people are likely to have as they encounter suffering, joy, and mystery.

Since nature is my touchstone for the sense of spirit and transformative beauty, I have experienced these places where the veil between myself and the non physical world of spirit is very thin. It is those places where your breathe is taken away and you know you are in the presence of something larger than yourself. One of those places was on the very distance isle of Iona in Scotland.

In the midst of all the upheaval around us I hope we can all at least close our eyes in meditation and take ourselves to these places imprinted on our memories.  Better yet, go to one of those places and let its gift of beauty
transform you in the moment.  Namaste  Ginger

A Piece on Gratitude

"Bath into the Light"
Credit: Martin Gommel License: Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”

The Heart Breaks Open.......

The Heart breaks open until it stays open to life  - a hard thing to do in the face of such loss, violence and cruelty  in the world. In much of my "wisdom" readings, I see this concept over and over again.
I know as I have aged so many of my shields to ward off the pain are disinegrating and my heart breaks over and over again is more unprotected. It has been said that keeping the heart open is the only way beauty and love can enter and the only way compassion and solace can be offered to those wounded and needy souls. 

This morning a friend forwarded me pictures of a beautiful, young couple prior to his deployment
and dismemeberment.  He may not be whole in body, but their love has survived and her comittment
to him is even stronger. As I scroll thru these pictures my heart is breaking once again and any small-minded problems I may have fall away in the face of this kind of open-hearted love.  May we all keep our hearts open in this new year ahead and replace the fear and anger with love and trust. Namaste to all.  Ginger

opening the heart with gratitude

https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?feature=player_embedded&v=nj2ofrX7jAk

Waiting - Just being present

At the beginning of my morning meditation, I start by reading a passage from one of my favorite writer's
Mark Nepo.  Here is an excerpt from this morning's:

At times life seems an enormous waiting room with no destination, in which some walk stiffly to and fro, waiting for the pain to stop. Others wait for something good to happen. Still others fear that something bad will begin. The driven plan while they wait. I am each of them.

It is such a struggle-has always been-for each of us to settle deep enough into the wait, into the weight till we discover that there's nowhere to go.

Perhaps the greatest challenge, once fully awake, is to drop all reaching and simply open like a clam waiting in the deep until life in all its guises floods through the half-closed center that is us.

Then God enters us like a brilliant stone falling in a lake, and the past ripples behind us and the future ripples before us and we are breathing in eternity.

           as you enter your day, try not to reach for life, try not to leave or arrive, try to let life enter you.

Is this really spring?

Spring is the season for reemergence; moving up and out; a very strong energy to begin again. Everything that was hidden begins to break ground and open. Nature is our model as a deeply buried seeds crack open and reach for the light. The many shades of green,yellow and pinks are everywhere and we want to throw off our heavy winter protection and put on our lighter and brighter selves to match the world around us.

Since the climate this winter was so mild, we may not have had enough time to go inward and

cultivate the energy needed to reemerge. The reemergence was not gradual as everything burst open at once and the pollen flew in great abundance. Are we being asked to move along our path more quickly? This accelerated energy can feel overwhelming for some of us as nature buffets us back and forth between spring to the heavy heat of summer from one day to the next. Since we can do nothing about mother nature's whims, honor your own personal energy and timing to reemerge. Namaste Ginger

All Hearts Are One

If you place two living heart cells from different people in a

Petrie dish, they will in time find and maintain a third and

common beat - Molly Vass

Wishing that everyday was Valentine's Day; the day of expressing

our Love for another I wanted to share (paraphrase) some thoughts on our connection to every sentient being from one of my most favorite writers- Mark Nepo from The Book of Awakening.

This biological fact holds the secret of all relationship. It is cellular proof that beneath any resistance we might pose and beyond all attempts that

fall short , there is in the very nature of life itself some essential joining force. This inborn ability to find and enliven a common beat is the miracle of love. This force is what makes compassion possible, even probable. If two cells can find the common pulse beneath everything, how much more can full hearts feel when we stop fighting how our hearts want to join. It is then that we find both the strength and peace that come from our hearts beating in unison with all that is alive.

The Energy of Winter
Making friends with Silence and the Art of
Listening
　
Life slows down during the winter. We tend to stay close to home.
The Earth invites us to rest in silence and solitude. She encourages us to draw
from the well of collective wisdom during this season or retreat.
The three months of winter are called the period of closing and storing.
Water freezes and the Earth cracks open. We are wise to retire early and
rise later in the morning, waiting for the rising of the sun.The
Chinese medical model sees Winter as a time to go deeply into one ‘s
self, meditating, finding the silence within.It is being in harmony
with the season of gestation and regeneration.
Water is the element of winter and its vast reservoir of creativity, love
and compassion holds all possibilities. In this reservoir the truth resides.
The creative source provides all life, nourishment, rest and restoration.
Listening deeply in this place, the silence soothes and restores us, allowing
the truth of our oneness with all sentient beings to open our hearts. It
is listening that dissolves the obstacles that keep us separate from one
another and the whole of all life.
It is by listening that we become like a womb, fully receptive to the unknown
willing to wait, to allow the gestation and manifestation of the creative truth.
I give you my listening and you speak your life... and together we bring
forth the world in peace.

finding the video of the last post

I am told that clicking on the URL gets you no where. So here is my suggestion to view it.
Go to www.vimeo.com and search for The Great Bell Chant. Please post comments to let me know if you can view it. Ginger

A Blessed and Peaceful New Year

I want to share this beautiful video that calls forth the best of humankind. May we each cultivate and share the best of ourselves. Namaste Ginger




URL:http.//vimeo.com/6518109

Meditation and the Body/Mind connection

Every Sunday morning if I get up early enough I listen to a radio show on my local NPR station.
called Being with Krista Tippet. You can also listen to this program on line. I love radio; especially intelligent and mind opening discussions and stories. The following is an interview withe Arthur Zajonc who is a physics professor at Ameherst College in MA. He has been a contempative; a early meditator before the west began widely focusing on the eastern form. He studied Rudolph Steiner's work in the early days. He was diagnosed with Parkinsons a year ago and the following quote from the interview addresses this. Since I have a brother with Parkinsons, I was very interested.
"There are two main types of meditation and both of them are part of my life, which one is a concentration and the other is what I call open awareness. It's a very open presence. In the concentration phase, tremors actually worsened. You have a line of poetry or from scripture or an image and you bring your full undivided single-pointed attention to that content. But as we're straining mentally to do that, the hand begins to tremor more. And then when you release the image and become very still and quiet and open yourself wide, the hand slowly calms to the point where indeed your whole body feels at ease and the tremor disappears. Interesting… I can see that the mind and the body are so delicately attuned to one another that these practices affect the Parkinson's state itself. … So here's the question I pose to myself. Is it possible to be alive, active in the world, and yet have such calm, such kind of inner openness and presence that one can lead a life, at least in part, that is an expression of that quality of meditative quiescence that's on the one hand quite alert and on the other hand, completely at ease, completely at rest. … And I'll keep you posted as to whether that comes out all right or not."

Murmuration video

http://vimeo.com/31158841

Check out this "startling" natural phenomena. Isn't nature

Seasonal Wisdom - Autumn/Fall

"Going with the flow" does not come natural to our western culture. Honoring the seasons as a source of how to live life is a deeply rooted part of eastern cultures. Autumn is about letting go
just as the trees begin to let go of their leaves.
A time to ready ourselves for resting thru the
cold months.
The Five Element Theory of Chinese Medicine
reveals how mother nature (the macrocosm)
shows up in our daily lives (the microcosm).
Each season is represented by a pair of organ
system. In autumn/fall it is the lungs and large
intestine. They are both about exchange and elimination. The lg int. is well understood as the elimination of waste (a letting go). The lungs
are about the exchange of chi/prana thru our breathe. If you listen to how people's voices sound you may also understand what may be out of balance in their body. Here are some of the sounds that may reveal the imbalance needing attention. Sighing or a weepy sound The
taste they may be craving might be spicy. It make sense for smokers or people with breathing issues as it dilates airways to bring in more air.

This is a small taste of the multi-layered facets of this theory. I will try to do a blog for the season as they come up.
Nature is food for the soul with its cycle of growth, abundance and beauty, decay and compost.
And then, new life. Watching the cycles and feeling and understanding the changes will help
us to reap the rewards it offers. Namaste Ginger the picture is called pink autumn girl by Nuttpukki.

I want to share something I read by Thomas A O'Kane who is a world traveler who speaks of the planet in transition; a planet trying to give birth to a greater consciousness.

The Center Must Hold

In our personal lives times of great transition are marked by deep uncertainly, fear, anger, grief, disillusionment, even despair. This can be balanced by the sense of a new calling filled with possibilities, hope, growth, dreams, expansion and a revivified life. During such passages we are asked to wait, listen, and stay connected to our soul while not clinging to the old identity or grasping onto a premature way of escaping. Imagine this condition magnified billions of times throughout the planet.

Given what is occurring throughout humanity we should not be surprised to find these conditions mirrored in our lives and all around us. It is a naive form of specialness to expect that because we are on a personal spiritual journey that we will not be affected by the state of the planet in crisis. The great gift of spirituality is that it offers us, through various traditions, a body of proven teaching and practices that will aid us in holding our own center.

Namaste

This was referred to me by Wm. to Wm Int'l and I thought you would be interested in tuning in.
I believe it starts tonight (10/11) and is a 5 part series that will air every Tues. nite thru Nov. 8th.

This Tuesday, tune in to PBS for an exciting television event you won't want to miss!
Women, War & Peace, a new PBS production, will take an in-depth look at the role of women in some of the most war-torn countries on earth. Women for Women International participants know the daily struggles that come with war only too well, and the series will provide a spotlight on two of the countries in which we work

Just to let you know I will be presenting the following class at two locations:

Sat. Oct 29th @3445 Preservation Dr. Fairfax,VA (off Pickett Rd.)-10am-noon Cost. $35

Sat. Nov. 5th @ 55 Lower Ct. Strasburg, VA 10am-noon Cost. $35

NOURISHING BODY AND SOUL
WITH COLOR and SOUND

Look around you... we are immersed in color .... nature, our clothes, our homes and even on line. We are told to eat deeply colored foods for their rich nutrient value.

Listen...sound permeates our daily lives. Often it is harsh and jarring; for many they are
"plugged in" all day.

In this class we will explore these two profound facets of life for their capacity to heal and
bring our body and soul into balance. The harmony and beauty of these two vibarations will
be explored using:

..... colored lights, color swatches, and color breathing meditation
into the chakras.

..... the sound of tibetian bowls and bells, the vibration of Acutonics
tuning forks and chanting The Biji Mantras.

to register send a check to Ginger Joy, 55 Lower Ct. Strasburg, VA 22657

For information on my work/practice go to www.thewellwoman.net
or e-mail me at gj42@comcast.net

Sisters

The picture of the two sweet beauties to your right are sisters and they love each other (most of the time). As I age, my sisters have become more important to my well being and I want to be in contact with them often. Coming from a large Irish/Italian Catholic family, I have 4 sisters.
One sister in particular is my phone sister. She is not really interested in e-mail. She is a great listener and we share a lot. When I talk to her, it feels like I am journaling - from my heart,mind,mouth to her ears. She affirms and cajoles. She has my mother's Irish wit. As a young girl her tonque was sharp and cutting. Now she edits more. We all (including my two bros) have survived many losses. One of our main survival mechanisms is that we are "doers".Couch potatoes do not like hanging around us for too long. And we are communicators. A dear and quick-witted friend sums us up this way "The M...... girls; never an unspoken thought. And so it is.