This ongoing column features upcoming events within our Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti and surrounding areas’ Mind-Body-Spirit communities, new (during the past year) practitioners and holistic businesses, as well as new offerings by established practitioners and holistic businesses.

New & Upcoming Community Events

Saturday, June 14th from 6 to 8 p.m.: Yoga Serves Community Vegetarian Potluck. Gather together with others involved in the yoga community (RussaYog, Ann Arbor School of Yoga, The Yoga Room and Kundalini Yoga) to plan community service strategies to address hunger, the environment, youth welfare and the arts. “Our goal is to bridge and unite and to serve with joy.” RSVP to Billie Wahlen at (734) 276-6520 or starbillie@gmail.com by Wednesday, June 11th. Potluck is free. Donations requested only for future event advertising.

Monday through Friday, July 7th to 11th from 10 a.m. to noon in Brighton, Michigan: Music, Foreign Language and Yoga Camp for Children and Adults. Dr. Aurore Adamkiewicz, ND, will be hosting this week-long day camp for adults and children ages five and older at her yoga studio. She e-mailed, “Please sign up early, as this is a love donation camp and is limited to ten children and ten adults.” Visit her website at www.beyondnaturalmedicine.com to watch the AMHC video program and learn about her exciting new yoga program. Aurore can be contacted at (248) 444-6627 or aurore@beyondnaturalmedicine.com.

Friday through Sunday, May 2nd, 3rd and 4th: Spring Renewal, a Kundalini Yoga Retreat at Song of the Morning Retreat Center (www.goldenlotus.org) in Vanderbilt, MI, offered by Billie Wahlen, who has been teaching kundalini yoga since 2004 and currently teaches a weekly kundalini yoga class on Thursdays from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at A2 Yoga (www.a2yoga.com). According to Billie in his e-mail, kundalini yoga, which “is at least 6000 years old,” “incorporates gentle stretching as well as energetic aerobic workout with breath coordination” and “helps those who practice it to reduce and manage stress effectively, to stay emotionally
balanced, as well as physically and mentally strong.” The $180 retreat fee includes vegetarian food, two nights lodging in beautiful domes and all classes and workshops during this event, including gong meditations, sacred mantras and mudras, celestial communication, pranayama and many others. Massage therapy available for an additional $70. Registration and deposit by April 28th. Contact Billie at starbillie@gmail.com or (734) 276-6520 or see www.MichiganKundaliniYoga.com.

Starting May 3rd and offered throughout May in Ann Arbor and Detroit: Dr. Nibodhi Haas, certified Traditional Naturopath and Ayurvedic Lifestyle and Health Consultant, invites those interested in a preventative health check-up or to address acute or chronic illnesses to attend a session while he is here in May. In India he is a licensed Doctor of Alternative Medicine and runs a non-profit clinic at Amritapuri ashram, the home of Amma, a well-known saint and humanitarian, who will be visiting Michigan in November. Dr. Haas has over 15 years of experience in guiding people to greater well-being. In addition to his deep knowledge of Ayurveda and Naturopathy, he is trained in Chinese medicine and is a certified clinical nutritional counselor, yoga therapist, massage therapist, and he practices a variety of other healing modalities, all of which are incorporated into his lifestyle consultations. He has worked with clients throughout Asia, Europe, Australia and America, and his extensive knowledge of natural healing provides a diverse yet personally tailored path towards wellness.
Each lifestyle consultation unites the traditions of Ayurveda and Naturopathy to address chronic or acute healthcare concerns or as a preventative check-up. An extensive report is given to each client explaining the state of the organs, bodily systems and conditions underlying symptoms, based on pulse/tongue evaluations and iridology, a diagnostic study of the eyes. Comprehensive dietary, nutritional, herbal and lifestyle plans will be personally designed for each client over many months. Dr. Haas also makes himself available for questions via e-mail. The aim of each session is to give clients a deeper understanding of their state of health and to provide tools to enable the client to create greater well-being. Sessions for new clients are $120/hour. Please register in advance, as sessions fill quickly. Call Laura (313) 247-6220 or e-mail ammashakti108@yahoo.com to register.

May 10th: 2nd Annual Vision Builders’ 5K Run & Walk at Hudson Mills Metropark in Dexter is being sponsored by Lotus Gardenscapes, Inc. (located at 7005 Jackson Road). According to the website www.visionbuilders5K.org, “All proceeds from the race will benefit Vision Builders’ work providing education, housing, medical care and other needed services to underprivileged children in remote Himalayan areas.” This is a cause very close to the hearts of co-owners of the design, installation and landscaping firm sponsoring the race, Lotus Gardenscapes, Inc., co-owned by Traven Pelletier and Guido Kettler. As Traven wrote me via e-mail, “Vision Builders is one of our favorite charities and one that both Guido and I have volunteered for. Guido has done work at the orphanage in Golok, China [formerly Tibet and lives there part of the year], and I have done work at the Pemako School in Arunachal Pradesh, India.” For info on the 5K, see www.firstgiving.com/lotusg.
When I stopped by Lotus’ offices to interview Traven, a robust man in his thirties with a profound respect for the interconnection of all living things, he summed up what he tries to live by with his staff and clients, “I want to inspire people towards their full creative potential. I’ve shifted my attitude and realize that I’m serving these people.” For information on Lotus Gardenscapes, Inc.: Elemental Design and Installation, call Traven at (734) 761-8888 or e-mail tpelletier@lotusgardenscapes.com or see
www.lotusgardenscapes.com.

Saturday, May 31st and Sunday, June 1st 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. plus, Thursday, July 31st from 6 to 8 p.m. OR Saturday, July 12th and Sunday, July 13th from noon to 4:30 p.m., plus Thursday, September 11th 6 to 8 p.m.: Trauma Recovery and Homeopathy Seminar with Dr. LaRene Dell, BS, ND. After working as a nurse for many years, Dr. Dell graduated in 1991 from Bastyr University’s College of Naturopathic Medicine in Seattle. She earned a clinical doctorate degree with a specialization in counseling certification in trauma recovery and has practiced and taught shiatsu, myofascial bodywork, macrobiotic nutrition, constitutional homeopathy and interdimensional meditation in Seattle, Santa Fe and now in Michigan since 1999. The Trauma Recovery and Homeopathy Seminar is “an inspiring three-part workshop for personal restoration and use of homeopathic medicine. This course is open to adults who have experienced any type of trauma and want to uncover a deeper path to inner healing.” A phone screening and confidentiality statement is required before registration for the seminar. Cost: $130-$190 sliding scale, including written materials. Group size limited to eight adults. Call Dr. Dell at (734) 945-5767.
I met with Dr. LaRene Dell at Crazy Wisdom Tearoom in January. She is a handsome woman with a depth of strength and compassion. I felt I was in the presence of a Wise One. In the course of our interview, we discussed many topics, but one thing stood out, her high regard for her clients and natural healing. “My job is to observe and assess what is being expressed. My perspective is one of understanding how earlier traumas can invade the psyche and create illnesses later in adults.” She added, “if someone is dealing with trauma but does not want to talk about it, I’m non-invasive. It’s a matter of deep respect.” Dr. Dell specializes in holistic family care for adults and children, as well as small pets. Office hours are by appointment; first comprehensive visit is $130, hourly fees are $70. Her office is located at 306 Miles Street in Historic Depot Town, Ypsilanti.
Dr. Dell, ND, is also teaching several three-part sessions this summer in Interdimensional Consciousness Training (ICT). According to Dr. Dell, “Interdimensional Consciousness gives us a powerful personal relationship to the realm of Spirit beyond our usual awareness. With training to use our minds as vehicles between dimensions, we can perceive all that is unseen in the third dimension. We can learn to travel safely past our external limits as well as more deeply into our inner worlds. With a practiced interdimensional ability, everyone can access profound peace, physical healing, increased vibrational energy, spiritual guides and Divine answers to the Soul’s questions.” Cost: $95 for three-part course, including handbook: intensive one-day also available at $85. Classes open to all ages sixteen and over. No meditation experience is needed. Call Dr. Dell at (734) 945-5767 for more information.

Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in the Crazy Wisdom Community Room, professional tarot reader and intuitive William LeTourneau facilitates the Life Circle: Psychic Development and Energy Group. William is also a Reiki master and an artist, who creates spiritual art focusing on the past lives, future and Higher Selves of his clients. He is originally from Michigan and has lived in the Pittsburgh area, reading at several locations there, including Journeys of Life, a metaphysical bookstore with a focus somewhat similar to Crazy Wisdom. I was delighted to chat with William at the Crazy Wisdom Tearoom in January.
William is a striking man in his late thirties with a mane of dark, curly hair and an aura of ancient, Native wisdom. When he moved to Adrian last year, he wanted to create a community of like-souled people interested in meeting for in-depth discussions and practices of psychic and other body-mind-spirit modalities. “The group becomes not just talking about or philosophy, but doing exercises to break through the walls of self doubt that inhibits people.” After introductions William usually facilitates a grounding and aligning ritual and then guided meditations for the group, about which he said, tongue-in-cheek, “I feel it’s a success if I, at least, get them to relax and leave behind the mundane world without falling asleep.” At that point members of the group bring different metaphysical topics to discuss and experience; past groups have explored such topics as energy work, Norse runes and tarot, to name just a few.
The Life Circle: Psychic Development and Energy Group is open to anyone interested in spiritual growth and inquiry. As William clarified, “We don’t heal or fix anybody. That person heals themselves. Giving them a place, a safe and sacred place, to work out their baggage, is what the circle is about.” People can join in and come regularly or whenever they can make it; $10 requested donation. Contact William at temperancespiritart@comcast.net or cell # (412) 708-1831 or see his website at www.temperancespiritart.home.comcast.net for more information.

New & New-to-This-Area Practitioners & Holistic Businesses

Lynn Burns, BA, CHC, AADP, is a certified Health Counselor and owner of Inspired to Health, which she started in fall 2006. She offers one-on-one consultations, as well as small group wellness workshops, phone counseling sessions and health food store tours. In 2008 she began offering a corporate lecture series on health-related topics, such as “Stress Relief and Boosting Your Immune System,” “Eating for Energy and Eating on the Run” and “Beyond Food: the Key to Weight Loss,” among several others. She also plans on teaching healthy cooking classes in the near future. Lynn was born and raised in Ann Arbor, graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with degrees in PR/Communication and Education, and is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York and a certified Health Counselor through Columbia University. She now works in both Ann Arbor and New York.
Later, when we met at the Crazy Wisdom Community Room, I was immediately struck by how organized yet easy-going Lynn was. She was fit and looked to be in her late-thirties, and she was eloquent about her health and wellness practice. “I don’t put people on diets,” she stated. “I really help guide them to listen to their own bodies. Your body, given half a chance, will heal itself.” We discussed the obvious roles of nutrition and exercise, but Lynn also focuses holistically on the whole person’s personal and professional lives––career, relationships and spiritual beliefs––as she tailors wellness programs to meet each client’s needs, including considering such factors as blood type, cultural background and ancestry. “What I try to do is introduce healthier habits. Healthy habits crowd out the other less healthy habits. Small changes end up adding up. It’s a matter of making new habits in your life. Together we create an individualized program.” Contact Lynn at (734) 260-7989 or inspired2health@comcast.net and see her website at www.inspired2health.com to sign up for her free newsletter and for more information.

Laura Davidson opened Beloved Spirit Energy Health and Healing Center on November 11, 2007 at 670 Main Street in Plymouth. She is a Brennan Healing Sciences® Practitioner and Reiki Master and utilizes an energy bed, brought by special permission from the healing center of John of God in Brazil, and Migun-brand thermal infra-red beds to support her healing work. The center is also a venue for guest speakers and special events. According to her biography, Laura has had “a lifetime interest in Esoteric studies and healing modalities.” She is also mother to a grown son and daughter and travels frequently to Brazil and other places where Spirit calls her. Her professional background includes “in-depth Esoteric healing, DNA re-patterning, Lightbody work, Cranio-Sacral studies, Aromatherapy and Gem therapies.” She was born in Detroit and grew up in Toledo, living for a time in Manchester, Connecticut, then became a Reiki Master in February 2002. She trained for four years through the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, graduating in 2006.
I first met Laura in person at Crazy Wisdom Tearoom and, later, I visited her center in Plymouth. Each time, her open-hearted and positive spirit impressed me. “I’m a bridge. I would like nothing better than to support messages to empower people to bring them into their personal alignment to the work they’re meant to do,” she told me. “You impart change when you heal and change yourself. Your contribution impacts and heals the collective whole.” Laura’s energy healing work is unique, in that she is trained in several modalities to meet the individual needs of each client, helping to adjust, clear and balance the client’s energy systems to promote natural self-healing. She also teaches programs in Reiki I and II.
When I visited her at the center, I could feel a shift in energy as I walked over the threshold. There was what I can only describe as lightness filling the space, which had little to do with the winter sunshine streaming through the windows. As it happened, Laura said the energy bed was turned on and that the Vogel crystals, suspended over a massage table, amplify energy and pulsate light that corresponds to each chakra. When I lay down on the table under the suspended crystals, there was a simultaneously energizing, yet peaceful feeling of release and relaxation. Laura stood at my feet much of the time, and I could sense an untying of tight places, an opening up and interconnections being made. Laura later explained that she works independently and in unison with the energy bed and that her intention is to “complete, ground and amplify the whole healing.” In addition to energy healing therapies, workshops and events, Laura also offers guided tours to John of God in Brazil. Call Laura at (734) 476-9555; e-mail her at laura@belovedspirit.com and check out her website at www.belovedspirit.com.

Keith Cini, M.S.O.M., Dipl.Ac., is a licensed acupuncturist opening his new practice, Integrative Acupuncture (located at 2311 East Stadium Blvd. Suite 107), this summer. He received an MS degree in Oriental Medicine from Southwest Acupuncture College located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is a member of the National Certification Committee on Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and the Michigan Acupuncture Association. Keith graduated from Hillsdale College in Michigan, then spent a decade living in New York City, where he opened the Heaven and Earth Healing Arts Center, providing tai chi, qigong, yoga and meditation.
Keith’s experiences as an acupuncturist are varied. He has worked in women’s health clinics, HIV support clinics, and domestic violence shelters. He has also collaborated with psychotherapists, working with special needs children and their families, and he has worked alongside medical doctors and physical therapists in hospital settings. In addition to his fieldwork, Keith has traveled to Japan, Italy and China to further his studies. He wrote via e-mail, “I weave all of these experiences together into a holistic practice and look forward to sharing traditional Chinese medicine with the community. I am currently accepting appointments with the aim of treating patients as successfully, efficiently and economically as possible.” Contact Keith at his office (734) 929-0367 or cell (505) 577-0185 or see www.integrativeacupuncture.info.

Molly Ann Indura, Healing Guide and Teacher of BeTheLight.org, offers intuitive readings and healing facilitation by appointment and at the Crazy Wisdom Tearoom on Fridays from 7-10 p.m., and she is now also the exclusive dealer of Egyptian Healing Rods in Michigan. “These authentically produced rods are charged in a 72-foot pyramid for twelve days, permanently altering their molecular structure.” According to Molly’s e-mail, “The Rods are powerful ascension tools that very quickly clear and balance your meridian and chakra systems, stimulate psychic abilities and raise your energy.” For more information on the different types available, contact Molly at (734) 417-8317 or mollyannindura@hotmail.com; to purchase online: www.BeTheLight.org/catalog.

New Offerings by Established Practitioners & Holistic Businesses

The Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth created a new center and sanctuary in November 2006 (located past Briarwood Mall off State Street at 704 Airport Road near Zingerman’s Bakehouse and the Motel 6) and is celebrating 10 years of interfaith service, inquiry and community in 2008. According to their welcome letter, “We describe ourselves as an Omni-Denominational Center. We seek the truth that is found in all spiritual paths, and we celebrate that truth. There is no truth here that is greater than any other truth. We honor the spirit that is present in all forms of spiritual practice. We have no creeds or required beliefs. Interfaith Center offers the opportunity to follow your heart, with others who are doing the same.” Their spiritual leader, Minister David T. Bell, who prefers simply to be called Dave, was ordained as an Interfaith Minister through the New Seminary in New York in January 1998 and represents the center at the Interfaith Round Table, made up of thirty-five religious and spiritual groups. He grew up in suburban Detroit, was a lawyer for a time and raised a family with his wife, Judy. He was a licensed Unity Teacher and is also a carpenter and builder by avocation. I had been meaning to connect with this group for my own spiritual reasons. Then I received an inquiry forwarded by my editor from an Interfaith Center member, Amy Garber, who is serving to promote the center’s work and outreach efforts, asking if Crazy Wisdom would be interested in coming to the center and learning more about what they do. Divine timing.
The Interfaith Center is in an industrial section of town, but the sanctuary and center are quiet and lovely, transformed from a boat storage garage into a sacred space by the carpentry and decorating skills of several of its members. I was delighted to have an opportunity to meet Dave and Amy at the center one winter afternoon. Dave was dressed casually in jeans and a brown wool sweater, had a laid-back manner and loved to tell stories. Amy was wearing red slacks and a black sweater. She was organized, with an information packet ready for me, kind and friendly. There was a coat rack extending along one wall and a central open space with several round tables covered in colorful tablecloths, as if set up for a potluck or family gathering. The walls displayed art from diverse regions, and one piece that caught my eye was what looked like a batik of a dancer from India. Dave and Amy gave me a quick tour of the rest of the center, showing me the browsing and lending library, the children’s education area, the still-to-be-completed kitchen, and the sanctuary itself.
I sensed a shift in energy as we walked into the sanctuary, a feeling of being uplifted and fully awake, like being out in cold weather but without the discomfort. The sanctuary is a room large enough for over a hundred people to be seated comfortably in a semicircle around a hand-painted mural of a lotus rising from water into earth and air. Most Sundays they have approximately 60-70 members attending. Dave and Amy informed me that the mural was painted by a fellow member, Vivian Sanders, who had never painted a mural before or received any formal training in painting, but who felt called to do it with Divine guidance. Dave and other members had added the lotus-shaped window and glass-block side windows to the building to allow in natural light. There was also an intricate stained glass mosaic, created by member Lucie Nisson, which showed a lit flame ascending through water, earth and air. According to their brochure printed on violet paper, their logo, composed of a lighted candle in front of a lotus blossom, and their motto, “Be a light unto the world,” reflect the members’ goal of spiritual growth and collectively bringing light to darkness.
Dave and Amy then invited me out to lunch at Mark’s Coney Island restaurant not far away, where we had a chance to sit down, get something to eat and chat a bit more. “What we’ve discovered is that there are core spiritual principles that are part of all of the world’s spiritual traditions,” Dave explained, then added, “We have some core principles we talk about, but we try not to be dogmatic about those. You’re as likely to hear something from the Bhagavad Gita as the Bible. We use sacred texts both ancient and contemporary.” The Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth offers a free monthly newsletter, Interfaith Inspirer, as well as many programs and events, including youth education programs, A Course in Miracles (ACIM) study group, David Hawkins study group, Peace Generator meditations, occasional spiritual movies, visiting speakers and Café 704 coffee house events that feature local artists monthly. Summer events currently scheduled include: Sunday, May 4th: “Song Sermon” conducted by musicians Laz and Helen Slomovits and Lori Fithian, followed by a Cinco de Mayo potluck lunch. Saturday, May 31st: spiritual movie night.
Saturday, June 7th: benefit concert for the center. Sunday services are offered each week from 10:45 a.m. to noon with time for conversation and camaraderie after the service. As Dave eloquently said in closing, “Our whole reason for being is to create an atmosphere and an energy that supports and nurtures individual and collective rediscovery of the Truth of our Being.” Call Dave at (734) 327-0270 or e-mail at dave@interfaithspirit.org or visit on the web at www.interfaithspirit.org.

Carolyn Anderson-Fermann, founder of Simply Organized LifeSM, has been offering organizational services and coaching to individuals and families independently and through the Ann Arbor Public School’s Rec & Ed programs (www.aareced.com) for over three years now. Starting in January 2008, she began presenting corporate talks and seminars on organization to local businesses. Carolyn grew up near Grand Rapids and currently lives in Dexter. She had a corporate background in the auto industry, but when her father passed away in 2006, she was inspired to take her part-time organizing business full-time, in order to help others live clutter-free, more organized lives.
All too often, clients have tried to get organized on their own before calling her, investing in books, containers and time-saving devices that end up in closets or the garage and create more clutter. “I don’t believe that it’s products that make you organized,” Carolyn explained in an interview over the phone. “It’s learned habits that help you get organized.” Therefore, she helps clients assess what it is they want in their lives, what they are currently experiencing and doing and then helps them to better organize their time, space and belongings in order to align with their ideal lives.
Carolyn is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (www.napo.net) and a member of the Southeast Michigan Chapter (www.napomichigan.com), serving as Director of Professional Development from 2005 to 2007. She specializes in organizational consulting and relocation services. “It takes courage for clients to call. I think that there’s a tipping point that happens, something that happens in their lives, that makes them decide, ‘This is enough. I need someone to help me get organized.’” Sometimes there is a death in the family; sometimes it’s a divorce or a move to a new home. Sometimes it is a business expansion or reorganization. In any case, Carolyn feels a connection to her clients through this meaningful work. “I feel called to do this,” she said. “Hands down, it’s the transformations that inspire me.” Contact Carolyn at (734) 646-4177 or info@simplyorganizedlife.com. You can also sign up for a free monthly e-newsletter and find more information at her website and blog at www.simplyorganizedlife.com.

Theresa Miller has been a professional healer and spiritual channel of Jesus and the Holy Spirit for over eight years in West Bloomfield. She just launched her new website www.forgiveandawaken.com in 2007 and completed her new book and home study course with CDs in 2008 entitled, The End of Suffering: The Transformational Miracle of True Forgiveness, and she is looking for a publisher. About a year ago, I first saw a flyer of Theresa’s and was drawn to it. Although it was color-printed on plain white paper, nothing fancy, it seemed somehow illuminated on the bulletin board. The words “forgive and awaken” also resonated with me. Later, in the new year, I received an e-mail out of the blue from Theresa, announcing the launch of her new website, just as I was about to call her to ask more about what it is she does and to set up a time to talk. Synchronicity.
We met at the Crazy Wisdom tearoom in early February, and one of the first things I noticed about Theresa was that, though she was physically petite and youthful in appearance at the age of forty-three, her presence felt expansive and joyful to me. Like many of the spiritual intuitives I’ve interviewed for Crazy Wisdom, Theresa didn’t take herself too seriously, and she was open about her own early challenges, raising two children on her own, work, family and personal relationships that didn’t work out as she had planned. She also explained how these experiences helped her to open and receive God’s and her own forgiveness and acceptance of her life mission. “As I’ve been guided to heal myself and made headway in my own life, I’ve been guided to help others.” She smiled at me and said, “Suffering is created by our own beliefs. We really already have the key in our back pockets to free ourselves from suffering.”
Theresa helps others to forgive and awaken in a straight-forward five-step process: 1) Accept total accountability for your life because you are the Creator of all of your realities; 2) Your false beliefs of unworthiness create suffering; You have to forgive yourself; 3) Be willing to ask your Higher Self to help you forgive yourself unconditionally by reciting a forgiveness prayer with intention; 4) Trust the process as it unfolds over time; and 5) Align your consciousness with what you really want to experience (i.e. love, abundance, joy, etc…) in order to manifest. “The lesson is always to forgive and love ourselves.” Theresa concluded, “What seems to be the key thing of all is getting to a point of being willing to surrender our will to be in service to God’s will as it expresses through our unique soul’s purpose in this lifetime. Once we really understand this gesture is the source of true power, our lives transform very, very quickly.” Contact Theresa at radiantheart2001@yahoo.com or (248) 890-8968 or see her website at www.forgiveandawaken.com.

Laura J. Shope, creator and founder in 2008 of the Blue Fire Institute for Sustaining Energy, Awareness, Renewal, Transformation and Healing, has a passion for Service. When I met her at Crazy Wisdom tearoom, her energy, confidence and diverse experience impressed me. Laura is a certified life coach through the Academy for Coach Training (www.coachtraining.com) and Clarity International (www.getclarity.com), a white belt teacher of Nia at A2 Yoga and a certified eco-broker and realtor with Prudential (www.ecoLaura.com). She grew up in Ann Arbor, then moved to Seattle for a decade, where she taught and worked as a career counselor for adults in transition with the non-profit Centerpoint. She is now back in A2 with her family.
Laura describes Blue Fire Institute in her business definition as “a sustainable life services organization that provides coaching and consulting services and experiential programs designed to promote optimal individual, business and community growth and longevity through the physical and energetic alignment of mind/body/spirit, spaces and systems.” She explained, “The essence of the work that I do is bringing people to Being in this moment and creating from there, as if anything is possible. I describe it as a vision-based coaching process that uses energy as a clue to lots of different things: What inspires you? What drains you?” Awareness is at the core of her work. She said, “I love the idea of integrating different methods, processes and developing the inner relationship between those and providing the experience for people to learn something about themselves.” You can reach Laura at (734) 646-6374 or LauraShope@BlueFireInstitute.com. www.BlueFireInstitute.com.

Janene Ternes of Prayer in Motion, LLC, was invited in 2007 to work with the REJ Foundation at NEW Center, which helps keep youth out of prison by offering training programs on forgiveness to families, and she was invited to offer programs at the Weber Center in Adrian, MI. She has been a Commissioned Spiritual Director in the Catholic tradition through the Manresa Jesuit Retreat House since 2003, but she has an Interfaith approach to her classes and workshops, which emphasize “praying through movement” in order to “experience a deeper connection with God.” She has also worked with a multitude of groups, including those with a spiritual or religious focus, at women’s retreats and events, and since 2006 she has been working with mentally challenged adults, as well as in assisted living care settings for the elderly.
When I met Janene at Crazy Wisdom Tearoom, I felt an instant connection with her. She is petite, almost the same height as myself, lean and lithe and looked to be in her forties. She has a peaceful presence and is one of those compassionate and loving people you feel at ease with, as if you’ve known them in many lifetimes and could trust them because they, too, have come through tremendous pain and adversity and have chosen to love. In fact, as I later discovered during our conversation, Janene came to do what she does because of life-altering events in 1999, the death of her husband due to cancer, loss of her job due to downsizing and her subsequent crisis of faith and deep depression. “About 1-1/2 years after his death, I was miserable enough to do something about it. I took a ballet class,” she said. “When I began to move to the music, I felt a feeling I couldn’t at first recognize. It was joy, and I hadn’t felt joy for so long.”
Six months later, when she visited one of her mentors, Pastor Jim McDougall at Saint Francis of Assisi Church, he asked her if she was ready to fulfill her calling to become a Spiritual Director. She began the two-year internship, but she struggled with her doubts and fears, until a five-day silent retreat at the end of her training, in which she received an epiphany. As she was packing and about to leave her house, a voice said, “Take your ballet shoes.” She ignored it a couple of times and finally did pack them. At the retreat she was a little embarrassed to admit that she would dance in private next to the boiler room, thinking that maybe it wasn’t exactly the “right” thing to do at a silent retreat. She later admitted this to the retreat director, Marian Love, who, rather than admonishing Janene, let her know that she was actually engaging in a very legitimate form of prayer. Throughout the retreat she lent Janene a CD player in order to practice this physical communion with God. Later Janene was called to teach at a women’s retreat and started getting requests from other groups out of the blue. “I’ve lost so much. My husband, my job, my past income, but doing what I’m meant to do, following God’s call to Service, I’ve never been happier.”
Janene describes Prayer in Motion in the following way, “I use simple, everyday movements to reinforce the message of the prayer, involving the body along with the mind and spirit.” It is a form of physical meditation, in which “The movement becomes like a mantra, focusing the prayer and pushing out distractions.” She has seen amazing growth in many of her workshop participants, especially those who have mobility issues, physical and/or emotional pain. “I continually see people more able to engage emotionally in their prayer when movement is added. Prayer goes from an intellectual exercise to an enlightening experience.”
Contact Janene at (734) 429-7754 or PrayerInMotionJT@aol.com or see her website at www.prayer-in-motion.com.

Correction:
Keleigh Lee, MFA, e-mailed that the price and amount of time listed for her services were incorrect in the last issue. Belly Beautiful Henna sessions last 2 hours and cost $90. Reach Keleigh at (734) 218-0348 or keleigh@BellyBeautifulHenna.com or see her website at
www.BellyBeautifulHenna.com.

Please note that the “What’s New” column is part of the editorial (it is not paid advertising, and not part of that side of the paper) side of the Crazy Wisdom Community Journal, and the editors may or may not include what you submit. Whether the editors include material or not will depend on space considerations, as well as other editorial issues, such as the need for high resolution jpgs and the overall mix of stories included in the “What’s New in the Community” column in a given issue.

If you would like to submit information to be considered for this column, please e-mail communitynews@crazywisdom.net or drop off or mail to the store: Attn: What’s New in the Community, 114 South Main, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. The firm deadline for submissions for the next issue (September to December 2008) is July 1st, 2008.

©2008 Crazy Wisdom