Joyful  Connections
 
Volume II, Issue III                                                                                      April, 2009
In This Issue
Workshops & Classes
Events
Welcome Friends
Love Expanding
Mother Willow
Food for Thought
Quick Links
Join our list
Join Our Mailing List
Workshops & Classes
Reiki 
Usui Reiki - All Levels
As Requested
 
Usui Reiki - Level I
Prerequisite: None
May - date TBD
$150
 
Karuna Reiki - Master Levels I & II
As requested
Prerequisite: Reiki Master Certification
$500
 
Lightarian Reiki
One-on-One as requested
Prerequisite: Reiki Master Certification
$100
 
Animal Communication
Opening, Understanding, 
& Listening
Summer 09
$75
 
Sound Intentions: Liberation!
Come and learn how to put Sound to work for you and be prepared for magical transformation. 
April 18 - 10 to 5
In Camino
 
More info is available on the calendar page.
Events
The Arcturians
Closure
Channeled by Lynda Marinics
The Arcturians will be discussing reasons for choosing particular paths, info regarding other life times and how they relate to now, & answering personal questions.
April 5 - 2 to 5
$25
 
Peoples' Pipe/Healing Circle
Come and enjoy a ceremonial-type gathering in sacred circle in Herald. 
April 12 - 10:30
After, we will share a healthy potluck meal together.
Suggested Donation:
$10 - $25 
 
Meditation with Deva's Gift Singing Bowls
April 19 - 10:00 am
Sacred You! Ministry
Cosmic Cafe
594 Main Street
Placerville, 95667
 
 Singing Bowl
 
More info is available on the calendar page.

Welcome Friends!
Supercalifragalisticexpialidocious! 
The sun is shining, the North wind has slowed to a breeze, and it is warming up again. Temperatures here in Herald have been in the mid to high 70s if you can believe it. We even took our motorcycles out for a spin on Saturday. Heavenly!
 
As always, please enjoy all or part of this newletter. If you have comments, suggestions, written contributions, or questions; just send them along to my email address.
 
Enjoy!
 
Namaste'
KimE 
 
Feel free to forward this eNewsletter to your friends and colleagues!
Love Expanding
Spring Gratitude  
Spring! I can see why so much has been written about Spring. What a truly amazing season Spring is. 
 
This year, I have had the pleasure of noticing Spring with open eyes.  
 
I felt the stirrings of Spring in February with a buzzing of energy just below the surface of the earth. My body began to quicken ever so slightly as my senses tuned toward the awakening season. It felt like a deep yawn and a luxurious stretch after a long satisfying sleep. mmmmm, delicious.
 
The sense of awakening went on for some time before there was any physical evidence of new life. At first, there was only the slight promise of budding trees. I could feel them, energetically, just below the surface - waiting. And then in time with the rains and Spring 09the warming rays of the sun, there was a swelling on the branches. And time again before the smallest buds were recognizable. Now the blooms and leaves are abundant.
 
This process has taken weeks, at least 6, and Spring is still in her infancy.
 
Why then does it usually feel like Spring is an immediate bursting forth of new life that appears like magic out of nowhere? Like going to sleep on Christmas eve and waking up Christmas morning with presents under the tree from Santa. 
 
Spring 09For me, the sad answer to that question is: because I was too busy to notice. I simply did not pay attention. I took Spring for granted. I rushed along doing my life oblivious to the natural world around me until it shouted out with such color and splendor that I could not ignore it. And then I wondered, when did the tree get so many leaves? Did the blossoms on the cherry tree just pop out this morning? Where did those tulips and freezias come from? When did this all happen and where was I?
 
And now I know. It happened while I was sleeping. Sleeping through the days when Mother Earth was awakening in preparation for Spring. Sleeping as the fire of life was stirring beneath each day bringing forth new and subtle changes in the natural world around me. Sleeping through the delight and joy as each plant began to bud with life. I slept through the miracle of life and the Love that brought it all into being! 
 
I feel like an ungrateful child who has been taking something precious for granted. Who through my own self-involvement, has been unconscious to the Love growing and expanding all around me. 
 
Spring 09And yet, I know this human life of mine is a journey of remembering. Remembering that I too am Love growing and expanding. The natural world is an ever-present reminder of the Love that brought us all into being. I just needed to open my eyes and my heart to see it.
 
I am deeply grateful for open eyes that "see" Spring and Love expanding in every physical shape and color imaginable.
Mother Willow
Spring 09
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sitting majestically behind the blooming cherry tree, Mother Willow began budding in February. The frost was not yet over and I worried that she would be damaged. As you can see, she survived rather well and is now bigger and more beautiful than ever!
Food for Thought
Stones on Stumps   
My husband, Steve Wilson, was invited to participate in a private sculpture show on Saturday, March 28. The event was held at the Oakwilde Ranch Sculpture Park in Burston, CA, about 30 miles east of Stockton in the Sierra foothills.  It is a 52 acre parcel of rolling hills and mighty Oaks that serve as a natural canvas to celebrate the relationship between art and nature through sculpture.
 
The sculpture exhibit was nestled amongst a stand of trees several hundred yards just southwest of the main gathering area. Several trees within this area had been cut down, however, the varying sizes of stumps had been left in place and used as natural pedestals to display the sculptures. (Steve's sculpture "Daedalus").
 
Steve had been to the property before and took me on a tour to see some of the large sculptures that had been placed in the park. I was really taken with the gentle way the property is being developed. Clearing of old brush and tree trimming was done with great care revealing the natural beauty of the land. Nothing bull-dozed, no ripping, leveling, or shredding. There were no signs of humans forcing or beating the land into submission. It was a pleasure to be there and I felt pleasure emanating from a land that has been honored.
 
We were well on our tour walking up a very steep hill stopping from time to time to enjoy the view before continuing on. At the next stopping point further up the hill, was a small grove of trees. I noticed a sign dubbing the area "Outer Limits." I looked beyond the sign and there at the peak of the hill were many stones seemingly floating in air. As I looked closer, I could see the stones sitting on top of stumps - the same sort that had been used to display the sculpture exhibit. Stones on StumpsFrom their vantage point, the stones had a clear view of the valley below.
 
I stared for a moment taking in the "sculpture" and then noticed the stones on stumps formed a circle with a small clearing of grass in the center.
 
My breath caught in my chest as a small gasp escaped my lips. I was inexorably drawn to the stones, the Outer Limits as it were. Almost immediately I could feel great joy emanating from the stones. I moved closer to the circle and the joy increased. I told Steve, "Oh, these stones are so happy! There is so much joy in them, so much excitement to be honored in such a way. They are literally singing." And then my eyes filled with tears and I just opened myself to their joy, their Love, and their wonder. I just wanted to stay there, sitting in the center of those stone beings, smoking the Pipe, and playing my flute. What a wonder and a privilege it would be to sit among these beautiful beings.
 
I am inspired to take even more care with the land I live on. Imagine how the world would change if we each took more care with the land we live on...
 
For more pictures of the Oakwilde Ranch, please click here.