"Often it takes something major to wake us up as we struggle to maintain an illusion of control.

 In life, most of us want things to go to the places we have envisioned ourselves going. We have plans and visions, some of them divinely inspired, that we want to see through to completion. We want to be happy, successful, and healthy, all of which are perfectly natural and perfectly human. So when life takes us to places we didn’t consciously want to go, we often feel as if something has gone wrong, or we must have made a mistake somewhere along the line, or any number of other disheartening possibilities. This is just life’s way of taking us to a place we need to go for reasons that go deeper than our own ability to reason. These hard knocks and trials are designed to shed light on our unconscious workings and deepen our experience of reality.

 Often it takes something major to wake us up, to shake us loose from our ego’s grip as it struggles to maintain an illusion of control. It is loss of control more than anything else that humbles us and enables us to see the big picture. It reminds us that the key to the universe lies in what we do not know, and what we do know is a small fraction of the great mystery in which we live. This awareness softens and lightens us, as we release our resistance to what is. Another gift gleaned from going to these seemingly undesirable places is that, in our response to difficulty, we can see all the patterns and unresolved emotional baggage that stand in the way of our unconditional joyfulness. Joy exists within us independently of whether things go our way or not. And when we don’t feel it, we can trust that we will find it if we are willing to surrender to the situation, moving through it as we move through our difficult feelings.

 We can take our inspiration from any fairy tale that finds its central character lost in a dark wood, frightened and alone. We know that the journey through the wood provides its own kind of beauty and richness. On the other side, we will emerge transformed, lighter and brighter, braver and more confident for having moved through that darkness. "
- M.Taylor

Home is where my heart is most open & fullest with love, light,  happiness, gratitude, peace, warmth, calmness. Home is where this all comes together & time stands still. Home is where this all happens and  where my sons, my friendships (new &old) I reunite with; where I meet all my spirits & soulmates of lives past & present. Home is all this filled with UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

- Carolynn Younghusband, Owner, Director, Healer, May 18, 2014

“Not all those who wander are lost.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

Artwork by Peter Westermann

In a country where coffee is served countless times a day and tastes so good, it's hard to imagine waking up to 1 more drink.  However, the ancient Indian healing tradition of Ayurveda recommends rising to a glass of lukewarm lemon or lime water.

Drinking a glass of warm lemon water before breakfast will not only give you a citric energy boost, it is also packed with health benefits that will make you wonder why you haven't been doing this your whole life.

This Ayurvedic ritual originated to eliminate 'ama' or toxins in the gastro-intestinal tract.  It eases digestion, purifies the liver, is said to lower blood pressure, reduces phlegm & has an overall alkalizing effect, which makes your body more resistant to all types of diseases.  If you need to raise your pH, you can drink lemon water before all meals.  Lemons are also high in potassium, calcium & magnesium.

If you are interested & serious about improving your health with this cheap & simple remedy, get some lemons & start tomorrow! Use 1 lemon per glass of lukewarm water AND try to drink it about 1 hour before having breakfast. NOTE: Because citrus is said to damage tooth enamel, it is recommended to use a straw to drink the lemon water.

"Owls are patient messengers, bringers of information and the holders of wisdom and capable of seeing the unseen.


 For as long as humankind has recognized animals as teachers, wise men and women have recognized traits worthy of respect in both wild and domestic creatures. The cultural and spiritual significance of certain animals transcends geographical boundaries, unifying disparate peoples. Not so the majestic and mysterious owl, which has over many millennia served as the focal point of numerous contradictory beliefs. Though owls have been regarded with awe and fascination, they have also inadvertently served as agents of fear. Since owls are nocturnal, human-owl encounters tended to occur at night and likely when the bird was swooping silently down to earth to grapple with prey. Yet even as some shied away from the owl, calling it an agent of darkness, others recognized the depths of awareness in beautiful owl’s eyes.

 In the classical Greek tradition, an owl could often be found perched on the shoulder of Athena, goddess of wisdom, while owls could ward off bad luck in Roman lore. It is in Native American mythos, however, that the owl attains its own unique identity. Owls are patient messengers, bringers of information and the holders of wisdom, and they are capable of seeing the unseen. With their keen eyesight, they can glance into the soul to discern meaning and motive, and they are totems of truth. Unlike our distant forebears, we may never encounter an owl in the wild, but we can nonetheless internalize the wisdom of the owl by attuning ourselves to its most venerable qualities. Fully integrating the medicine of the owl into spiritual existence is a matter of considering how we might open ourselves more fully to the wisdom that can be found in the larger universe.

 Should you find your efforts blocked as you commune with the owl, remember that it was not always revered as an icon of wisdom. This denizen of the nighttime has overcome many prejudices in its long association with humankind. To reveal those hidden elements of the self that impact your life for better or for worse, you must often make your way through the darkest parts of your soul as if you yourself are the nocturnal hunter. There is indeed darkness both inside the self and outside the self, but like the owl you can transcend it by drawing nourishment from the insights you receive when you penetrate it. "
-  by Madisyn Taylor

"If we don't change what isn't working in our lives, we will continually have the same day over and over again.
 We have all had the experience of realizing that something in our lives is not working. This knowledge can come as a sudden realization or a nagging feeling of doubt that grows stronger, waking us up to the fact that something needs to change. Some people have a tendency to act rashly and make sweeping changes before even understanding what the problem is. Other people fear change, so they live with the uncomfortable awareness that something needs to shift but won’t do anything about it. Between these two extreme responses lies a middle way that can help us powerfully and gracefully change what isn’t working in our lives.

 The first step is remembering that your life is made up of parts that belong to an interconnected whole. Changing one thing can change everything. Because of this, small changes often have a big effect. Sometimes much bigger changes are necessary, but the only way to know for sure is to take the time to really understand the problem. Examine your life as an entirety—your work, your relationships, where you live—and determine what specifically is not functioning the way you would like. Once you have figured out the problem, write it down on a piece of paper. For example, “I am not happy with my relationship” or “I don’t like my apartment.” The next step is to figure out the adjustment you would like to make and how you can go about making this change. If you are unhappy with your relationship because you spend too much or not enough time with your partner, you may want to discuss this problem with them and come up with a compromise. On the other hand, if you realize your rela! tionship is not working to such a degree that it needs to end, begin working through that process. Writing down the truth can be a powerful catalyst for change.

 The key to making changes that work is to accept the necessity of change as part of life. As we change, we may find it necessary to fine-tune our relationships, work, and living situations. Our lives are living, breathing entities that reflect our dynamic selves." 
 - by Madisyn Taylor  

Photo - Carolynn Younghusband, April 2014