Originally from a Nordic background, with a broad life experience of many years in many countries, 
cultures and ways of life in the world, I now reside with my family on the Central Coast. Leading up 
to this point, my life can be reviewed in chapters with different contents and meeting the right 
people or teachers for me at the right time, learning new skills, opening up channels and expanding 
my understanding of the world and universe I find myself in and the interaction between the living 
beings in it and the universal web of life they are part of.  
From an academic (albeit vivacious) world into entering the world of healing and therapy through 
CranioSacral work, nearly ten years ago, my life took an unexpected turn. A new and wondrous 
world opened up to me, a world I was not aware existed before. This therapy is really healing art 
with foundations in science, very detailed anatomy, physiology, embryology, all the subtle and more 
physical systems of the body, energy, mystery, psychodynamics  and the innate wisdom of the 
body/consciousness itself.  The bodies I worked with responded from the first day in unimaginable 
ways, which were simply inconceivable from an academic point of view, and I was hooked straight 
away. It was as if someone had pushed a button and my world and I were transformed overnight.  So 
much mystery unfolding at the slightest thought and touch, it was like a fairytale - and it still is!  
The deeper understanding of the layers and overtones, colours, shapes and patterns of how our life 
forms exist, interact and impact on each other (all living beings) and our environment of all levels 
keeps unfolding and expanding for every day that I live and experience in this way. Through the 
interaction and continued exploration with my wonderful teachers, mentors, distinguished 
colleagues and eager students and with the continued guidance and teachings of my spiritual 
teachers and mentors, both living here in our world and beyond, I am constantly finding myself at 
the frontier of healing, integration, spiritual growth and expanded understanding of the greater life 
and the process of becoming more conscious. 
I have always had a love and special connection with animals, both domestic and wild. Many years in 
Africa gave me the opportunity to be close to both. I have had horses in my life in one way or 
another for most of my life. I studied and performed Equine Sports Massage with great success for 
several years, mainly in the racing industry, then undertook more studies in equine medicine and 
biomechanics while applying the CranioSacral principles in the equine world. This was followed by 
more studies, this time in the canine medicine and massage field to gain more understanding of the 
canine specifics for treating dogs.  
It is my sincere wish to guide and hold the space for others to start expanding their awareness, 
experience the world and the creatures in it from this expanded viewpoint, interact and bring into 
balance, not only their own bodies, lives and life path and those of people's individual companions 
among the animal kingdom, but also to aid the greater process of evolution of the human and 
animal kingdoms into higher realms. 
I do this by teaching and sharing my experience and understanding as an evolved form of 
CranioSacral Therapy, which is Biodynamic and Multidimensional in its character, at the institute 
which I have founded, Stillness Institute. I teach courses and Diploma series in Equine and Canine 
CranioSacral Therapy as well as postgraduate courses for CranioSacral Therapists (Human Diploma) 
who wish to expand their horizons. Stillness Institute has been teaching this form of CranioSacral 
Therapy for several years overseas, endorsed by their CranioSacral Association and with very high 
reviews from the leading CranioSacral Institute over there.  
 Stillness Institute also offers sessions of Multidimensional CranioSacral Therapy for humans (adults, 
children and babies) and animals such as horses and dogs as well as 4H (2 therapists with 1 client) 
sessions for humans or animals, which greatly enhances and speeds up the individual's inherent 
treatment plan and personal development.   

For further info: click here


 
Veronica's  spiritual path recommenced after a diagnosis of lupus had her taking personal responsibility for her own wellness and consequently her reconnection with Spirit.
The road was long and rocky with many side tracks but eventually leading to being taught Angelic Reiki.
This higher vibration healing which is delivered by the Angelic realms along with the Ascended Masters and Galactic Beings has reconnected her to her Higher self, her personal relationship with God and her own Ascension process.
Her passion now is to share her journey so that others can find encouragement in finding their lifes purpose. Through her teaching of Angelic Reiki she sees Miracles everyday and knows you can too!
She will explain the origins of Angelic Reiki and will do a group healing for everyone in attendance to experience this beautiful energy.

Veronica Rawlinson
Founder of Spiritus Festivale
Angelic Reiki Master Healer Teacher
Workshop Facilitator
Events Co-ordinator


M: 0408 288 554
e:gemstar1157@hotmail.com
e:veronicarawlinson@gmail.com




Energy Intuitive and Author of A New Chapter Dana Mrkich is an inspirational writer, speaker and teacher working with people all over the world with her empowering Soul Sessions, Talks and Workshops. Carrying the vision of a new reality ever since she can remember, Dana's life focus has been to help people remember who they really are so that together we can create the best possible reality for ourselves and the planet.  She is the former host of radio shows TruthSeeker and Visioning the Dream Awake, and creator of e-course Create a Life you Love. Dana is a passionate advocate for truth-based, empowering media and committed to the merging of consciousness with action in all arenas socially and globally. She was a panellist at the 2005 World Peace Congress in Italy with her talk Creating a New Reality. www.danamrkich.com

It's a day like any other as you head off to your co operative parenting group. Today it's being held at someone's house, and on your arrival your toddler quickly makes their way towards the backyard to join the other children. You put your younger one down on the rug with the older babies and make yourself a coffee (you know your friend's kitchen as well as your own by now!) before joining the adults.
Most are gathered around outside enjoying the sunshine and the sight of their children running through the sprinklers-today's activity is 'water play'-while the 2 supervising parents watch over the children.
When it's time for afternoon tea the children make their way to the table which has been filled with plates of food that each family has brought. There's a selection of fresh fruit, savoury muffins and other homemade goodies and the children eagerly help themselves before wandering back outside for another dose of play and learning.
Some of the younger children take their afternoon nap inside and a couple choose to have some quiet time and play with puzzles near the parents. A friend hands her baby-filled sling over to you as she heads inside for a nap, and another mother heads out the door to run some errands whilst you all keep an eye on her little one. You sit back and pull out your novel, glancing up after a while to see children giggling at one another, delighted by the big puddles they've made. You put down your book to join them and end up enjoying a few big belly laughs yourself.
Before you know it its 5 o'clock and once again you've thoroughly enjoyed yourself and are looking forward to tomorrow's gathering at the park. On your way home you remember that tonight you're heading out to see a movie with your partner whilst one of the group's parents watches your children - part of the co op babysitting initiative which allows you to both save money and get out one evening a week.
As you put your worn-out and very contented children to bed that evening, you offer up a prayer off gratitude for your fantastic parenting group, wondering how on earth you ever did it alone and feeling extremely blessed that parenting is once again the joyful and supported experience that you imagined it would be when you first became pregnant.
To most home-based parents this story probably sounds like a fairy tale taking place in a far off land. But this kind of scenario, far from being the stuff of fantasy, is a very real possibility with the re emergence of co operative parenting groups around the country.
Many home-based parents are fed up with the frustration, exhaustion and financial burden associated with raising their children alone and without enough real, practical support. Another point of frustration for many parents is, due to the need to manage chores, finances and child-rearing alone, parents are being massively short-changed; mothers and fathers are missing out on the enjoyment and pleasure that parenthood can bring.
Rather than being just a 'job perk' for a lucky few, feelings of pleasure and other emotional rewards are an extremely important part of every parenting experience, and their absence can have detrimental effects on the health of both parents and children. A parent's enjoyment of their young is nature's ingenious way of protecting children, as it is these positive feelings that drive a parent to want to be with their child and passionately commit to their early nurturing.  
But the enjoyment and pleasure of parenting can only be maintained in a situation where a parent is supported by other people in their community and afforded regular opportunities to replenish themselves and fulfil their own needs. These needs include emotional nourishment, mental stimulation, social interaction and regular creative outlets, and if left unfulfilled can be devastating for parent-child bonding and negatively affect children's mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
So it's no wonder that many parents whose own experiences lack these healthy daily doses of enjoyment and pleasure question how long they can endure the emotional, physical and financial strain of raising their children alone before their own wellbeing suffers to the point of breakdown.
Many parenting experts and child psychologists are now praising the benefits of 'cooperative parenting groups'. Essentially a return to the not-so-distant past when local networks of relatives, friends and other 'allo-parents' banded together and assumed the task of raising children together, these groups provide the ideal environment for children and parents to flourish.
Robin Grille, a father, psychologist, parenting educator and author of Heart to Heart Parenting supports the cooperative parenting movement, explaining that when we as parents feel emotionally supported the way we perceive our children changes, benefiting everyone.
Grille goes on to praise the benefits of cooperative parenting, describing it as Nature's design for humans. In his opinion many common parenting problems arise when we stray from this design, 'Cooperative parenting is the natural inoculation against depression, postnatal depression, anxiety, attentional and behavioural disorders, and a broad range of social ills'.
In the context of the ongoing and controversial 'Child Care Debate', I believe that rather than being 'anti child care', co operative parenting initiatives first and foremost allow parents to make a more empowered choice between caring for their own children and electing to utilise outside care on a part time or full time basis. Merely using the concept of cooperative parenting as fuel to fan the Child Care Debate only serves to take the focus away from the real burning issue, which is the lack of a real choice for parents wanting to raise their children from home.
The fact that those parents who wish to raise their children themselves often have to do so at the risk of their own mental, emotional and physical health is evidence of a severe lack of healthy parenting options, as well as a national shame. As Robin Grille puts it, 'The fact that affluent societies such as Australia force mothers to choose between their own happiness and that of their children is a disgrace and puts at risk the health of the nation'.
In more parent-friendly countries like Sweden, where there is generous maternity leave and more realistic financial support for parents, parents are able to make a more empowered decision about early care for their children. Many parents in Sweden elect to raise their children from home, utilising initiatives such as open pre schools and shorter working hours.
So rather than ask Australian parents to continue making impossible choices, perhaps we should ask them what they really need in order to raise their children in the way they best see fit. Is parent-child separation brought about by lack of a healthy alternative what a parent who wishes to be at home with their children really needs, or would something else be more helpful? Child Care may offer these parents one or two days per week to themselves so they can better get through the remaining five or six with their child, but this band-aid solution (in these cases) doesn't address the deeper issues of a lack of healthy options for parents who want to raise their children themselves.
Cooperative parenting groups are one very real option for these parents.
The re-emergence of local community groups that together take on the task of raising children is a beacon of light for many a parent who at the end of a long day of has collapsed on the couch, head in hands, wondering just how long they can maintain the gruelling, unnatural, lonely task of parenting alone... and if the price of their own wellbeing and sanity is really worth it.
Co operative parenting groups are a positive and enlightened step in the right direction towards giving parents a real choice about how they want to raise their children. These groups also afford children the opportunity to be with the people who can most thoroughly and expertly fulfil their early childhood requirements for love and affection, their parents.

Lisa Mount is a university-trained naturopath and stay-at-home mum who runs TRIBES, a cooperative parenting initiative that connects and supports home-based parents and encourages the sharing and trading of resources such as toys, clothes, babysitting and creative skills and services.

Central Coast Tribes now has a website! centralcoasttribes.ning.com
 
Here you can set up your own profile page and connect with parents on the Central Coast. The Tribes coordinator will help locate and settle you into your own Tribes group and from there, its up to you and your members what type of parenting group you want to create together! (although the Tribes coordinator can definantly offer support and suggestions to help you get started).
 
You can chat online, post blogs, and invite other parents to join. The Website also allows you to swap and trade childrens toys, clothes and books, offer and obtain skills and services, and even find a babysitter. These sales and purchases are all carried out using the virtual 'Hearts' currency, making this a no-cash trading system. This aims to relieve financial strain on young families, support our enviornment by re-using pre-loved items and encourage communication and networking amoungst the wider Tribes community (outside of your local group).
 
As the Tribes community grows and member numbers increase, resources will be added to the site relating to different aspects of parenting, as well as offering support to the local Tribe groups. Local supportive practitioners will also feature on the site, offering their expertise and support to families via articles, discussions, talks and other services.
 
As the Tribes website has just been launched and is currently looking for interested parents, membership and website access is free until the end of the year. You will also recieve a welcome pack containing instructions on how to get started, tips for getting your own group up and running & as a special bonus to the first 50 people to join, a cranio-sacral treatment session discount voucher.
 
So if you're interested in being part of a local parenting group with a difference, as well as the online Tribes community, visit the website now and take advantage of 6 months of free play and networking!

For more info contact Lisa at cc_tribes@hotmail.com or phone 0410 412 396

The key to raising healthy, positive Indigo or Crystal children is to help them become aware of their energy functioning and to recognize when their finely tuned systems are ungrounded and disorganized. Indigo and Crystal children who are "spaced out" and totally in their head instead of tuned into information from their body will more easily pick up negative energy in their auric field and physical body. If they live for a long time in a disconnected state they will feel emotionally numb or highly reactive with no clue as to why their emotions are so overwhelming. Eating an unhealthy "junk food" diet, spending hours in front of a TV or playing mindless video or computer games may be a way that your child maintains their disconnection from uncomfortable feelings.

As a parent of sensitive Indigo or Crystal children, there are many things you can do to help your child become more grounded and energetically balanced. Since Indigo and Crystal children often mirror your energetic state, staying calm and emotionally balanced yourself will help your child to remain energetically present and in control of their emotions. It is essential to encourage and assist them to take time every day to tune into their body's energy and to release any negative energy they may have picked up while at school or from others with whom they may have come into contact. Practicing energy-balancing techniques every day with your child will help them to be more in tune with their body and to recognize when they need an energy clearing. Some simple Brain Gym exercises will also help to balance their energy and switch out of the stress mode, thereby allowing them once again to think with their whole brain.

Finally, the physical health of Indigos and Crystals is an important component of their overall well-being. Since their energy system is so finely tuned, developing healthy eating patterns is particularly important in supporting a healthy immune system. Many Indigos and Crystals suffer from food and chemical allergies, and it is especially important to help them recognize what sugar, chemical, preservatives, trans-fats and other forms of food toxins do to their physical and energetic system. Checking for hidden food and chemical allergies is also important in helping your child achieve a balanced energetic state. Because they are more difficult to digest, common foods such as wheat, dairy or corn may create toxins in your child's body and brain that can lead to behavioral difficulties and reduced ability to think and learn.

One way for Clearing and Balancing Your Child's Energy:

The way we breathe has a huge impact on how grounded we feel. Shallow-chest breathing throws our nervous system into the stress mode. Make a game out of having your child take slow, deep breaths as he focuses on different parts of his body. Can he imagine breathing through the bottom of his feet, his heart center, top of his head or his stomach? As he focuses on different areas of his body, can he visualize any stress or negative energy leaving his body as he exhales? (Our breath moves energy!)

More techniques for energy clearing and balancing coming soon!