The 23^rd annual Chincoteague Blueberry Festival held last week-end was the largest fine arts and crafts event on the Eastern shore of Virginia with exhibitors from 10 states including local artists. The net profits from blueberry sales were donated to the Chincoteague Police Department.

The event hosted live music, pony rides and face painting for children, and a variety of blueberry confections. The vendors offered a variety of wares including oil paintings, photography, woodcarving, jewelry, quilts, clothing, wind chimes, and much more.

Be sure to catch it next year.

http://www.chincoteagueblueberryfestival.com/index.php/2009/10/27/discover-the-annual-chincoteague-blueberry-festival/

Tai Chi is a system of circular, flowing movements based on martial arts. It used by people of all ages as a graceful, meditative exercise. 

Regular practice of this ancient art promotes health, strength, confidence, longevity, and peace of mind. It has been noted that T’ai Chi practitioners live 30% longer than non-practitioner.

Tai Chi has been shown to increase balance control that results in a reduction of falls, especially among the elderly.  Studies show it is effective for arthritis and pain, osteoporosis, strength and flexibility.

Research has also found Tai Chi to be equivalent to moderate aerobic exercise, but it is much easier on the body. The health benefits of practicing tai chi are many.  Tai Chi can reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, and can also improve cardiovascular functioning and the capacity of the immune system.

Master Jingshan Tang is President and founder of the Oriental Fitness Institute, LLC located in Philadelphia. In addition to offering a broad range of classes and programs at the Fitness Institute, Master Tang is active throughout the Philadelphia/New Jersey region, delivering specialized workshops and demonstrations. Master Tang is a phenomenal teacher known for his sense of humor, patience with children, and in providing the expertise for adults who are serious in expanding their skills.

http://www.orientalfitnessinstitute.com/about_jingshan_tang.htm

Reflexology is a natural healing technique that works on specific pressure points on the feet. This technique is based on the premise that reflex areas on the feet correspond with all body parts. The feet are like a microcosmic map of the body’s organs and glands. So by applying pressure to relevant reflex points, one can stimulate good health to the entire body. It can help improve relaxation, promote peaceful sleep, eliminate toxins, increase energy and perk up circulation. I recently had a session with Catherine Carter. After ten minutes of receiving gentle pressure on points of my left foot, I felt relaxed and peaceful. At the end of the session I felt completely rejuvenated.

www.continuumwellness.org.

If you love the mysterious ocean, you can find a treasure tucked away in Pocomoke City, Maryland. Old Neptune’s Bookshop is the only maritime bookstore on the Eastern Delmarva Peninsula with contemporary, rare, and out of print books. This shop has over 3000 books with topics pertaining to the sea, or areas around the sea, ranging from fishermen to sea creatures. You can spend hours browsing the numerous books containing information on bottom glass sponges to Elephant slides of Coney Island. And you can also find curios and DVD’s related to the beach. Bookseller, Robert Richards will chat with you about local history of Chincoteague, Assateague or Pokemoke or recommend literature or poetry inspired by the ocean. Catch him before he goes surfing. The store hours are 9AM -2PM or by appointment 410-957-0518. 203 2^nd Street in Pocomoke City, MD.

This past Saturday I took part in Philadelphia’s “Art in the Open” project. Giovanni Casadei taught a landscape painting class in the a la prima style. This method teaches to finish an oil painting in one sitting. Bartram’s Gardens provided the perfect setting for numerous inspirational views of gardens, ponds, the cityscape and the river. Even though the temperature was in the eighties, being outdoors was a lovely experience.

Here’s some photo’s of Giovanni demonstrating the a la prima technique.

Reishi mushrooms have been used in Oriental Medicine for thousands of years to regulate the immune system and restore health. They are also known to help lower  blood pressure and alleviate allergies. Taken as a nutritional supplement, they help the body’s organs to function at optimal levels and thereby help prevent disease and maintain good health. They are non-toxic and can be consumed without harmful side effects.

You may want to consult your doctor before taking any supplement, especially if you are taking any medications. In the marketplace, their powders are sold to make tonics, tea, or soup.

Here’s what they look like growing wild.

This year I witnessed the annual Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby held on Saturday May 22^nd. The goal of the competition is to make the wackiest, most interesting, fun contraption, as opposed to winning a race. The Derby resembled parade floats on bicycles, with individual riders or group collaborations on an artistic theme.

Apparently, Kinetic Sculpture Competitions have been taking place all over the world since 1969. The Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby, started in 2007, is a celebration of the creativity and sustainable living that runs rampant in the Kensington and Fishtown area in Philadelphia.

To learn more go to http://www.kinetickensington.org/

Our reiki group went on a “weed walk” last Sunday to discover some medicinal plants growing right in the city. If you ask a shaman or traditional herbal healer how she/he knows about the medicinal properties of an herb, the response usually is, “I’ve learned everything from the plant.”

While this may sound strange, many traditional American herbalists teach “Talking to Plants.” I experienced this technique while studying with Susun Weed, author of Healing Wise, taking workshops at the Green Nations Gathering, and while apprenticing with a shaman in Peru.

If you can accept the Gaia concept, that the earth is an alive, living being, it’s easy to tap into the intelligence of Nature. It’s a matter of quieting your mind, being observant, and knowing how to ask questions.

When talking to plants, being perceptive is the key to getting results. You can gather information by noticing:

If the plant has flowers, what colors are they? What chakra or energy center do they relate to?

Do the leaves have a particular shape? Do they look like a heart, kidney or lungs?

 What kind of environment do they grow in? Are they living on distressed land where a delicate plant couldn’t survive?

Do they seem friendly or look poisonous or threatening?

Befriending the plant kingdom can open a whole new world. Our reiki class includes learning about medicinal herbs that are growing in your back yard. For information http://www.djunaverse.com/workshops.php

As a trained hypnotherapist, reiki master, and shaman, I have incorporated the therapeutic qualities of plants in my healing sessions. I have been using flower essences as healing helpers since the mid eighties and have had outstanding results.

I have found that preparing a remedy for the client to take home accelerates the healing process by supporting changes in old automatic emotional responses and outworn belief systems. The essences can help shift negative personality traits and attitudes into positive ones.

Dr. Edward Bach, a British physician, and scientist pioneered the development of the system using thirty-eight flowers in the 1930’s. Since then American companies, such as FES have researched and developed new essences using native plants.

When you think about it, flowers have always been used to express our emotions. We use them at weddings, celebrations and holidays to express our joy. Sending flowers on Valentine’s Day sends a message of love. A home-delivered bouquet can express congratulations or an apology. A vase of flowers next to a person in a hospital bed sends a wish to recover. A spray sent to a funeral supports our grief and mourning.  

Bach discovered that each flower could help a specific emotional or mental condition. What gives them their healing potency is the flowers’ subtle energy. Flowers are picked at the peak of their blossoming and put in glass containers holding distilled water for about three hours while exposed to sunlight. The flowers are then discarded, and the water preserved in brandy. The water’s molecular structure is charged and imprinted with the soul pattern of the flowers’ vibrational essence.  It is this ‘plant signature’ that heals.

The essences can enhance one’s inner experiences, help release emotional trauma and self-defeating thought patterns and clear up other problems such as indecision, fear, mental exhaustion, hopelessness, and more. They are non-toxic, and non-addictive and can be used with other medications. It is better to take small amounts of a flower essence over a longer period of time for best results as opposed to taking all at once. Four drops, four times a day is an average dosage. Essences are taken under the tongue, in a glass of water or can be rubbed behind your earlobes.

On Mother’s Day I visited our community garden and found three powerful healers in full bloom.

Bleeding Heart can help release co-dependent emotional attachments, and help one re-align to Source.

Clematis helps those who space out and daydream too much, become more focused and present.

 Iris brings creative inspiration.

Read more about how flower essences can help you in Karmic Healing. http://www.djunaverse.com/books.php

Since time immemorial humanity has recognized and used medicinal plants not just as a source of healing but as a source of inspiration. Mankind inspired by infinite wisdom has discovered the intrinsic interrelationship between man and the environment which is evident in certain cultures which have succeeded in establishing these lines of communication. The sacred teacher plants are living beings which can transmit with their spirits  energy and wisdom to other living beings. The existence of the sacred teacher plants is related to life itself and employed correctly inspire wisdom through dreams, visions, revelations, images, perceptions and intuitions.

Ancestral Ritual of the Sages.

The Shipibo-Conibo performed the ritual “Merrayabo tsinquitash rao jihuiqui behuacani” which consists of healing by sacred teacher plants using ancestral knowledge. This ritual was performed in 2006 after 60 years, and the Ancestral Universal  School of  Shipibo- Conibo Sages from the Peruvian Amazon “Chonon Rawa” have since seen the necessity of continuing this ritual on a yearly basis. In our times the ritual has become more eloquent due to the call of the plants as a result of their growing extinction and by the the progressive destruction of the Amazonian forest which threatens the continuity of the ancestral wisdom.

The presence of all the brothers and sisters of this important ritual with sacred teacher plants will help to send the message from our Mother Earth and our ancestors to the whole world of the need to preserve the natural springs of energy which give life to life and serve to sustain future generations.

Healing by the Sacred Teacher Plants

Invitation

We have the pleasure to invite you to participate in the Ritual Ceremony “ Healing of the sacred teacher plants” organised by the Ancestral Universal School of the Shipibo- Conibo sages fo the Peruvian Amazon “ Chonon Rawa” and the Ecological Reserve community ISA SINA which will take place on the 14th to the 20th August 2010, dedicated to the Sacred teacher plants in the Shipibo ecological reserve community ISA SINA in Ucayali –Peru, with the aim of helping to heal our Mother Earth  from the degradation of the environment, the pollution and the extinctions of life.  For this transcendental event we have chosen the site of extraordinary natural beauty ISA SINA Auwhich is 50 minutes walk from the village of Nueva Betania.

Travel

-By air: Commercial airlines from Lima – Pucallpa (approx. 50 minutes flight)

 Approx. cost $90.00

Reception

After confirmation of booking, the days for arrival to Pucallpa will be 13^th and 14^th August. If coming by air, you will be welcomed by us at the city airport and transport will be arranged to your hotel. We would be grateful if  you could kindly inform us of your date of arrival, flight number and number in your party one month in advance so we can make the reservation in good time as places are limited.

Programme

Day 1

13^th and 14^th August

-       2pm Reception of the participants in Pucallpa airport with transport to accommodation.

-       In the afternoon time to purchase any personal items from town if desired.

Day 2

15^th August

-       6:30 am Breakfast and then leaving Pucallpa by boat upriver to the natural ecological reserve ISA SINA

-       Welcome greeting song on arrival at the village of Nueva Betania.

-       50 minute walk to the ecological reserve ISA SINA.

-       2:30 lunch

-       5pm dinner

-       Greeting to the lake -Lagarto Cocha at the foot of the ecological reserve ISA SINA and bonfire welcome, song and dance.

-       Purification bath with energising plants of the jungle.

Day 3

August 16^th Commencement of Ceremony

-       morning purification bathing with energising plants of the jungle.

-       7am -8am breakfast

-       9am Inauguration of Ceremony:

-       Welcome speech by the Academic Director of the School

-       Thanks and outline fo the Ceremony of the Sacred teacher plants.

-       Inauguration and opening of the ritual by the president of the Universal Ancestral School of Shipibo- Conibo Sages of the Peruvian Amazon “Chonon Rawa”.

-       Song and dance ritual to the Sacred teacher plants “Nihue Rao” presented by a group of  elder maestras of the school.

-       Ritual at the foot of the Sacred teacher plant “Shihuahuaco” 10:30am – 12:30 pm

-       Lunch 1pm

-       Rest at the foot of the lake in hammocks.

-       Herbal bathing for equilibrium and harmonization of energies 5pm

-       Ritual of permission for the ceremony with Ayahuasca for equilibrium and harmonization fo the mind, spirit and body of the participants, directed by the Maestro elder Jose who has 80 yrs of experience.

Day 4

August 17^th

-       8am -9 am Breakfast

-       Conference on medicinal plants

-       1pm rest and lunch

-       3- 5pm Cultural recreation

-       5:30 pm Herbal bathing with aromatic plants (Basil, Rosa sisa,  

Sharomashillo)

-       6:30 dinner and rest.

Day 5

August 18^th

-       7-8am Breakfast.

-       9-12:30 pm – ritual to the Sacred teacher plant “Renaco” directed by Maestros of the School.

-       1pm lunch

-       5:30 pm Herbal bathing with aromatic plants (Basil, Rosa sisa,  

Sharomashillo)

-       8:30 Ayahuasca Ceremony directed by an elder Maestra of the School.

Day 6

August 19^th – Central day of the Ceremony

-       7-8am Breakfast.

-       9-12:30 pm Ritual to the Sacred teacher plant “Catahua” directed by Maestros of the School.

-       1pm lunch

-       3- 5pm Cultural recreation

-       5:30 pm Herbal bathing with aromatic plants (Basil, Rosa sisa,   

Sharomashillo)

-       7:30pm Baptism with a Shipibo name to each participant and offering of a present.

-       8:30pm Main Ayahuasca ceremony directed by Merraya (Sage) Maestros –Chonon Rahua, Soy Bita, Inin Beso with  33 yrs experience.

Day 7

August 20^th

-       7am Breakfast

-       Farewell and transport to Pucallpa.

Cost

The cost of participation is S/. 2. 000.00 Nuevo soles (about $704 US dollars) for each person which incluyes the following:

-       2 days of accommodation in Pucallpa.

-       Food

-       River transport Pucallpa – ISASINA – Pucallpa.

-       6 days and 5 nights accommodation in ISASINA.

-       Herbal bathing

-       3 Ayahuasca ceremonies

-       3 Rituals to Sacred teacher plants

-       Cultural recreation (dance, singing etc)

-       Activities as outlined in the programme

To confirm your booking,  it will be necessary to pay a  50 percent deposit at least 30 days before arrival in Lima/Pucallpa.

Each additional night in ISA SINA if desired would cost S/. 200.00.

For more information and to confirm your booking please contact us through the following email addresses:

schoolchamaneshipibos@gmail.com / shamaneshipibos@yahoo.es

lawisaac@doctors.org.uk  (native English speaker)

We await you with much love!

¡¡¡Bekanwe nokon noi kaibobo!!!

Pucallpa, March 2010

Additional information http://allianceshipibo.jimdo.com/

Boots cost : 25 soles

Mosquito net: 30 soles