Creating and sustaining a love-filled relationship

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Most of us long for a healthy, happy love relationship. After all, love is the most precious gift any of us can give or receive. Yet, half of marriages end in divorce and we all know couples who stay married but aren't truly happy. The challenge to create and sustain a healthy, loving relationship is immense. My journey to true love took 45 years. Through personal experience and the experience of hundreds of clients, I've learned a lot about the barriers to love that we unknowingly … [Read more...]

Author Events

February 6 -- Cristina Norcross (www.FirkinFiction.com) of Oconomowoc, WI, will celebrate the release of her third book, Unsung Love Songs, at 7 p.m. at The Artavina Gallery, 378 Main St., Waukesha, WI. This collection of poems celebrates the quiet, everyday moments of love and how the recognition of this deep, abiding calmness can be the heart's biggest flourish of all. Cristina Norcross will give a reading from her new book following live music by Nick Scholz and Shino Ishioka. Intermission … [Read more...]

The ‘We’

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There are three of us in my marriage -- me, my wife and the "We." My wife and I cherish the presence of this third entity, the "We," which forms the triangle of our relationship. Its presence, as "our life," requires that both of us attend to its health. I advocate the acquiring of this "We" for every person, in any type of relationship. Relationships are wondrous and complex structures shaping human beings from womb to grave. Housing the challenges of life, relationships provide … [Read more...]

Twin pillars of relationship

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Every relationship is an echo of the soul's relationship with Source, the foundation of existence and love. Existence as a finite being only happens in relationship to the Divine. Our relationships with each other reflect that reality. When we see the Divine in ourselves and others, we affirm our own existence. When we see others as of significance only in relationship to our own needs or wants, then we ultimately affirm the conditionality of our own existence. Such a relationship is not … [Read more...]

New caregiving resource grows out of family tragedies

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"An illness, accident or act of violence can change a family's life forever." That's how Kay Sauck felt after watching her father descend into Alzheimer's and then witnessing the aftermath of an intruder's brutal beating of her elderly in-laws. Through her own family's frantic search for information and resources, Sauck realized the complexity of the family caregiver's world. "Caring for loved ones and losing loved ones is the part of life that has no step-by-step manual," Sauck said. "We … [Read more...]

Spiritual Freedom

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In our search for the seemingly elusive higher consciousness we find that no matter how far we've come, we learn how far we have yet to travel. Stumbling and falling along our journey often will cause pain to varying degrees. Many times we may feel grief because of the ending of a relationship, a financial burden requiring aggressive resolution, or just simply growing away from what you once knew. These things can be rather difficult, but they are needed for our continued progression as we are … [Read more...]

Pleasure-producing relationships

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All relationships can be pleasurable when we know how to generate happiness regardless of what others say and do. Love and prosperity are self-generated, because we are love and prosperity. Because we are love, we do not and cannot get love from anyone, but when we are around people who like us, it is easier to be ourselves (which is love). Once we are Self-realized, we are in a constant state of love. We are being ourselves under any and all circumstances, even when others dislike or … [Read more...]

News from the Edge

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CALDWELL, NJ The Holistic Moms Network (HMN), a non-profit organization dedicated to creating supportive communities of holistic-minded parents, announced a partnership with Wellness Possibilities, a national online directory of trusted, holistic wellness practitioners and service providers. HMN members are now automatically enrolled in the Wellness Possibilities Wellness Club at no extra cost. The Wellness Club provides Wellness Possibilities users with savings and discounts on a wide range of … [Read more...]

Compassion in Healing: Blessing what ails us

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In our zeal to clarify and heal ourselves, we sometimes forget that what we feel no longer suits us may indeed at one time have been a blessing to us. Releasing any energies or issues is dependent on our ability to truly come into a state of compassion toward whatever we are releasing. Coming into a state of compassion requires a lack of judgment towards ourselves, as well as what we are releasing, and any other people or circumstances related to the energies or issues we are releasing. When … [Read more...]

Finding Depth In Our Shallow Surroundings

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We are slowly disappearing. It seems like every aspect of our existence is getting more and more shallow each year as we continue to forget our true selves. We move further away from truth as we desperately grasp at illusions to fill our artificial, inner voids. If you want proof of this, simply walk through any public place -- I'll use a grocery store as an example -- and begin to notice how distant we've become from each other. Eye contact is now taboo, and it's common to exchange hollow, … [Read more...]

New owners keep whole-grain spirit alive

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The same great, savory blend of whole grain goodness with a dusting of old-fashioned bakery hospitality is warming the dinner tables of Woodbury, MN, but with some new faces at the helm. Local residents Bob and Natasha Fleischman have taken the reins of the Great Harvest Bread Co. bakery. The couple has increased the whole-grain product line and created a contagiously happy bakery atmosphere. The Fleischmans hope to spread the importance of whole-grain nutrition along with a fun-loving spirit of … [Read more...]

Your birthright: a joyful sexuality

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Can you imagine what it would be like to have your sexuality be a source of joy and aliveness? To lovingly connect with a beloved with reverence, presence and delight? To have a vibrant sexual relationship with yourself that gives you more energy, vitality and zest for life? For many, these ideas are far from their reality. Often sexuality is burdened with shame, embarrassment, guilt and even pain, rather than being a source of pleasure and joy. I saw a Matt Groenig cartoon once that summed … [Read more...]

Our Psychic Experiences

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Everyone encounters psychic experiences in their life, sooner or later. All of us are born with it. Developing this awareness does not mean we have to learn something totally new. We just have to open to our inner self and unfold the existing ability. Our consciousness and social circle allows us to recognize our talents or makes us suppress or even fear them as something "un-normal," "un-real" or scary. Our immediate family is the first to suppress our abilities in childhood. Based on their … [Read more...]

The Currency of Love

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I've often said I'd like to write a book and it would just contain one word: Love. That word says everything. In fact, it's worth more than a thousand words, and that's why it's so easy to misunderstand. For most people, it's easy to give love, it is easy to take love, but so many people rarely allow themselves to receive love. To open your heart, to let someone -- everyone -- love you, and to accept it into your heart, mind, body and soul is to receive love. It's especially hard for people … [Read more...]

Embracing Stillness as Key to Conscious Living

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Embracing stillness, we commune with the divine light of love and peace that is so pure and natural for us. Here is where we gain our clarity and creative insights -- and realize our mission and service in the world. At the OASIS Center for Conscious Living, the guiding principles for Conscious Living are described within the acronym for O.A.S.I.S. -- Oneness, Awakening, Stillness, Inspiration and Simplicity. The goal of the "OASIS Experience" process is to become whole, happy and … [Read more...]