Welcome! The Rise of The Natural Arts

Aug 07, 13 Welcome! The Rise of The Natural Arts

Posted by in Blog, Lifestyle

As technological advances sweep through society, there is a counter-balance rising up to match it.  Its been described by the sophisticated as a ‘cultural backlash’ or in spiritual terms as a ‘shift in consciousness’, but whatever name you give it – the results are obvious.  One-by-one people are feeling a calling and a pull back towards a more earthly rhythm.  They are heeding a call back to The Natural Arts. The Natural Arts are activities that feed, nurture and repair.  As much as Facebook and Twitter might ‘connect’ us technologically, the Natural Arts are practices that ‘reconnect’ us naturally to our inner selves, to the earth and to one another.  Gardening, yoga, meditation, expressive arts, and energy healing are all examples from The Natural Arts movement that are seeing a sharp statistical increase in popularity.  The people who are rediscovering these art forms are themselves finding islands of peace in an otherwise loud and chaotic world. Each of us probably now knows someone who has left the ‘corporate world’ to devote more time to one of these inward pursuits.   There are people in our neighbourhoods who are smuggling egg laying chickens into their backyards, drying their laundry on outside lines and hiking through conservation areas.  We are buying less ‘things’ and instead we are travelling, attending workshops, taking classes and creating.  From the simple to the life-altering the Natural Arts are offering us something that artificial economies and shiny products cannot.  They are putting energy back into us instead of taking it out.This re-fuelling is addictive.  It feels so good to be full, and awake and present.  And we are realizing that with some re-prioritizing we can feel like this all the time!  The Natural Arts Movement can quickly become a lifestyle.  As you perform more aspects of your life with a sense of artistry, appreciation and consciousness you will feel this inflow of energy and life continually.  But for the movement to be successful as a lifestyle, we MUST come to rely on...

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Parents Share Their Autism Story At Holistic Approaches Seminar

Jul 08, 13 Parents Share Their Autism Story At Holistic Approaches Seminar

Posted by in Blog, Health & Wellness, Lifestyle

John and Anna Van Dyk are parents of a young son with Autism.  During this spring’s Seminar: Holistic Approaches: Autism, they shared their personal story – which you can watch below.  I highly recommend watching it, as their experiences seeking ‘help’ for their child, beautifully reflected many of the themes that emerged during the seminar. When many health and wellness practitioners work with patients, they do so holistically.  Holistic means that they treat the ‘whole person’.  So instead of giving medicine to terminate a symptom, practitioners seek out root causes, examining everything from emotions to environment to family habits.  This creates lasting health and more positive change.  But how can this kind of approach help children with Autism? As many of the practitioners at the seminar pointed out – Autism is not a ‘disease’ that can be ‘cured’ with medicine.  So, ‘treating’ children with Autism is more about working with ‘whole people’ and learning to see children with Autism as ‘whole’.  Practitioners who work from this philosophy can offer parents more than just treatments.  They can help them find peace. According to John and Anna, it was after seeing meditation expert, and founder of The New Earth’s Children Centre,  Michelle LeRoy that they were able to experience their own shift, learning to accept their son instead of cure him.  They found it amazing that throughout all their attempts to change their child, what they really needed to change was themselves.  After this personal reflection, they found that acceptance of their son’s difference put them on the path towards repairing a relationship they hadn’t realized was broken. Practitioner Marcela Grant as well as a number of other presenters at the seminar spoke at length about the emotional sensitivity of Autistic children.  Marcela proposed that children pick up on their parents complex emotions with incredible accuracy.  Many autistic children feel the frustration and disappointment in their parents and it is this dissonance that can actually become a basis for many communication problems.  Anna speaks to this in...

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