Elm St Castle Weekend Sessions: djembe love

Making the most of our wonderful home and along with our cura te ipsum path...we decided to start spending time with some of the influential people in our lives and clear the space for expansion, education and understanding on our own terms. Studying the things we want to, with those who are willing to teach us.

Installation numero uno: Djembe making with Kyle Neidig

Our first guest was a long time friend of mine, the one and only mr. Kyle Neidig <3 musician, artisan, cat-whisper, & chef extraordinaire!  For more about Kyle, see his bio below.

I was always in awe of those who could play djembes- with such beauty and power,  and at various times I theorized about getting one but lacked the motivation to actually go through with it. Plus I knew if I had one,  I wanted to make it myself, making the task that much more daunting. I knew eternalinnersmile and morganalafay shared this desire- we had casually mentioned it from time to time but without any real plans...

Then, at  the new england's women's herbal conference, Mz. Amani and the heartbeats were beyond words- so captivating, majestic, and primal. They were the spark that ignited our lingering desires into what was now a fiery need-  a need to satisify our primal right to build, grown and heal through drumming- NOW. It was decided, the time had come...

Learn to See the Wold Anew

“You cannot solve a problem from the 

same consciousness that created it.

 You must learn to see the world anew.”

The Only Dance There Is

A few years ago, I was intrigued by the cover of this book (not knowing who Ram Dass was) and pulled it off the shelf at my grandmother house. She let me keep it but it fell into the abyss that is my '"want-to-read section" of my library.   After slowly reading Be Here Now over the past year, I recently picked this back up and am finding it so relavent to my (our) life (lives).   I understand why  and am grateful for our world of synchronicity and why i chose to wait and read his thoughts on the dance that is the evolution of consciousness now.
excerpts from a  Ram Dass in The Only Dance There Is

The only thing you have to offer another human being, ever, is your own state of being...but everything you do, wheather your cooking food or doing therapy or being a student or wheather your a lover, you are only doing your own being, you are only manifesting how evolved a consciousness you are, thats what your doing with other human beings. Thats the only dance there is! 6
Since i understand that as man up-levels his own consciousness, he sees more creative solutions to the one he is solving. 42
The truth is everywhere. Wherever you are, it's right where you are, when you can see it. And you can see it through whatever vehicle you are working with, you can  f r e e  yourself from certain attachments that keep you from  s e e i n g  it. The scientist doesn't stop being a scientist, nor anybody stop being anything. You find how do things to yourself which allow you to find the truth where you are at that moment. I'd say we never find out anything new; we just remember it.  54

HIGHLY recommend Be Here Now.

Ital is Vital, and Other Lessons from da Jamaican Bush

Ital is Vital, and Other Lessons from da Jamaican Bush

Article I wrote for The Mercurial about my trips to Jamaica :)

DC Federal Legislative: Support Naturopathic Medicine!!!

On Monday May 2, 165 naturopathic doctors and students will swarm Capitol Hill and meet with almost 200 Members of Congress. Carrying the message that naturopathic medicine can play a significant role in “Curing the Crisis Called Health Care.”  


YOU CAN SUPPORT US AND OUR EFFORT to gain federal recognition of naturopathic doctors by participating today as a 'virtual lobbyist,' using Capwiz to write your Senators and Representative.  Let your Members of Congress know that the high educational standards for naturopathic medicine warrant equity in access to loans, scholarships and residencies.
Click Here to be a virtual lobbyist  :)


What are we fighting for exactly? On the federal level, we are simply looking for  equity. 

• NDs are graduates from accredited institutions equivalent to those in conventional med school. 
• NDs must successfully pass board exams administered by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners as well. 
• The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME) accreditation standards are recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.  
• Naturopathic Medical programs consist of at least 4 years, 4,100 hours of study and 1,200 direct patient contact clock hours.   
• An ND degree is classified on par with MD and DO as a First-Professional Degree under Doctorate-Professional (Clinical). 

Why? FOR THE PATIENTS.  There is an increasingly daunting demand for primary care physicians and NDs can help fill that void. We have an estimated 5,000 practicing NDs in 20 different states. Our seven accredited schools in North America graduate between 400-500 primary care doctors as NDs every year. Studies show that medically under served areas diminish when we get licensure in a state. 


One step towards this is amending the Public Health Service Act so we have access to the same loans, scholarships and residency opportunities as our conventional colleagues. 

equal work. equal education. equal cost. equal debt...equal RECOGNITION. 

Heres some more links on Naturopathic Medicine-

• Naturopathic Medicine in the Princeton Reviews Top 168 Medical Schools
• ND overview
• Naturopathic Health Care Option from Gradsource.com

Great Naturopathic Videos

I just stumbled upon these great Naturopathic videos- perfect for students or patients!

The Naturopathic Perspective

Also- Congratulations to North Dakota for passing ND licensure!!

Homeopathy Rebuttle

Homeopathy...the great debate...
Everyone seems to have an opinion on homeopathy. It is one of the most controversial aspects of the "alternative" medicine world and often under attack by all the "real scientists" out there.

Here is nice rebuttal to the recent mass homeopathic overdose attempt that was aimed to prove homeopathy doesn't work. Of course, this entire ploy overlooked the fact that- we know that you can not overdose on homeopathic remedies, thats kinda the point...its one of the great benefits of using them.  Just because allopathic medicines are so toxic that taking simply one pill too many can kill you, does not mean all medicines are. It is the same sort of critique that most natural medicine is faced with. These "real scientists" need to adapt their mode of evaluation to the substance they are testing- you can't compare apples to oranges and expect the same results.

Homeopathy Rebuttal