winter solstice wisdom

Winter Solstice is the birthday of the Sun and of the year.

It is a time when we experience the greatest darkness, when the hours of darkness are so much greater than the hours of daylight.

It is within this time of greatest darkness that the Light of the World is reborn, for now the hours of daylight will begin to grow and the hours of darkness will lessen.

Danu the Mother Goddess

It is at Winter Solstice that the truth of our Oneness is most evident, for the darkness that we face is our own darkness and aloneness.

The Light becomes most precious as we realize that it is through the Light that we come to love and appreciate each other.

~ Cathy Pagano, Stories of the Earth:  8 Tales of the Wheel of the Year. 'Winter Solstice'.

Integrative Sound & Music Training

Sound Healing is an exciting Energy Medicine approach developed by Dr. John Beaulieu. 

It integrates energy healing, systems science, molecular research, spiritual wisdom, and use of tuning forks to calibrate the nervous system, stimulate trigger points, and align our posture to visual harmonics. 

Mindful listening, postural analysis, exploration of sonic intervals, and five-element evaluation using voice and movement patterns are foundational to the class. 

The sound methods we will cover include the use of Pythagorean tuning forks, Otto (osteophonic) tuning forks, five-element music, and voice analysis. 

Dr. Beaulieu will also share relevant stories and clinical evidence he has accrued during his thirty-three years of practice.

A Two-Day Workshop
Saturday & Sunday, December 15 – December 16, 2018
December 15, 2018, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
December 16, 2018, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Additional class:
Friday, December 14, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Human TuneIn™ Sound Healing Event with John Beaulieu and Friends
Click here to register

These programs can be taken individually or as part of the Integrative Sound & Music Training program.  

Christmas tradition & worship

“On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven swans a-swimming.” 

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, courage, knowledge, reverence, and wonder or awe. 

Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Folio from Walters manuscript W.171 (15th century)

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, these gifts "complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them."

• Wisdom is considered the first and the greatest of the gifts. It acts upon both the intellect and the will. According to St. Bernard, it both illumines the mind and instills an attraction to the divine. Adolphe Tanquerey OP explained the difference between the gift of wisdom and that of understanding: "The latter is a view taken by the mind, while the former is an experience undergone by the heart; one is light, the other love, and so they unite and complete one another." A wise and loving heart is the perfection of the theological virtue of charity.

• Understanding helps one relate all truths to one's supernatural purpose; it further illuminates one's understanding of Sacred Scripture; and it assists us to understand the significance of religious ritual. This all gives us a profound appreciation for God’s providence.

• Counsel functions as a sort of supernatural intuition, to enable a person to judge promptly and rightly, especially in difficult situations. It perfects the cardinal virtue of prudence. While prudence operates in accord with reason as enlightened by faith, the gift of counsel operates under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to illuminate the will of God. 

• Fortitude or courage: Aquinas takes its meaning to also encompass endurance. Joseph J. Rickaby describes it as a willingness to stand up for what is right in the sight of God, even if it means accepting rejection, verbal abuse, or physical harm. The gift of fortitude allows people the firmness of mind that is required both in doing good and in enduring evil. It is the perfection of the cardinal virtue of the same name. 

• Knowledge: The gift of knowledge allows one, as far as is humanly possible, to see things from God's perspective. It “allows us to perceive the greatness of God and his love for his creatures” through creation. 

• Piety or reverence: A person with reverence recognizes his total reliance on God and comes before God with humility, trust, and love. Thomas Aquinas says that piety perfects the virtue of religion, which is an aspect of the virtue of justice, in that it accords to God that which is due to God. In a series of talks on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis said that piety is a recognition of "...our belonging to God, our deep bond with him, a relationship that gives meaning to our whole life and keeps us resolute, in communion with him, even during the most difficult and troubled moments”. Francis goes on: "Piety is not mere outward religiosity; it is that genuine religious spirit which makes us turn to the Father as his children and to grow in our love for others, seeing them as our brothers and sisters."

• Fear of the Lord or wonder (or awe): With the gift of fear of the Lord, one is made aware of the glory and majesty of God. At a June 2014 general audience Pope Francis said that it “is no servile fear, but rather a joyful awareness of God’s grandeur and a grateful realization that only in him do our hearts find true peace”. A person with wonder and awe knows that God is the perfection of all one desires. This gift is described by Aquinas as a fear of separating oneself from God. He describes the gift as a "filial fear," like a child's fear of offending his father, rather than a "servile fear," that is, a fear of punishment. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is the perfection of the theological virtue of hope.

advent season starts today

Advent season starts today. What better time to resurrect this fallow blog? Two years after I had stopped and moved on to other interests, it is time to return.

The Latin word adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, (/pəˈruːziə/; Greek: παρουσία) meaning presence, arrival, or official visit.

Christians commonly use Advent to refer to the Second Coming of Christ. The season anticipates the Messiah's arrival from these different perspectives:

1. in the flesh in Bethlehem,
2. in our hearts daily, and
3. in glory at the end of time.

Celebrating Advent typically involves a season of prayer, fasting, and repentance, followed by anticipation, hope, and joy.

It is customary to put up Christmas decorations at this time. Advent also marks the beginning of the Western liturgical year.

Time for me to reboot this blog. This officially marks my renewed commitment as a holistic healer. Sharing what blessing and grace I receive with our online community or anyone interested.