“Ego says, ‘Once everything falls into place, I’ll feel peace.’
Spirit says, ‘Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place.’” ~Marianne Williamson
- photo by Carolynn April 2014

"Your very own inner wisdom should be valued more than any other and will always guide you in the direction you need to travel.


 Throughout our lives, we will encounter individuals who presume to know what is best for us. The insights they offer cannot compare, however, with the powers of awareness and discernment that already exist within us. From birth we are blessed with wisdom that cannot be learned or unlearned. It exists whether or not we acknowledge it because it is a gift given to us by a loving universe before we chose to experience existence on the earthly plane. Yet for all its permanence, it is vital that we value and honor this incredible element of the self. It is when we do not use our inborn wisdom that we begin to doubt our personal truths and are driven to outside sources of information because we are afraid. What we know to be true in our hearts is invariably true, and we discover how intensely beautiful and useful self-trust can be when we recognize the power of our wisdom.

 Inner wisdom is not subject to the influences of the outside world, which means that it will never demand that we surrender our free will or counsel us to act in opposition to our values. We benefit from this inspiration when we open ourselves to it, letting go of the false notion that we are less qualified than others to determine our fate. The wisdom inside of us is the source of our discernment and our ability to identify blessings in disguise. When we are unsure of who to trust, how to respond, or what we require, the answers lie in our inner wisdom. It knows where we are going and understands where we are coming from, taking this into account though it is not a product of experience but rather a piece of our connection to the universal mind.

 In the whole of your existence, no force you will ever encounter will contribute as much to your ability to do what you need to do and be who you want to be as your natural wisdom. Through it, you reveal your growing consciousness to the greater source and discover the true extent of your strength. If you heed this wisdom with conviction and confidence, the patterns, people, and fears that held you back will be dismantled, paving the way for you to fulfill your truest potential. " - M. Taylor

 
"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