Water is believed to be affected by words because of their vibration. Dr. Emoto has experimented over many years on ice crystals, freezing water in the lab and then examining crystals formed, viewing them and photographing them under the microscope.
Since then, many people have tried out the water and rice word experiment. Here I designed a flower and water experiment.
This was set up in my Apothecary Shop in the store window on the north side, with no direct sun.
Sample Progress Photo from the On Location Set up from our Healing Muse Apothecary:
“Dr. Masaru Emoto, a Japanese water researcher, showed that water altered it’s structure based on the words and sounds being played. Here we test the simple words above. Look at each plant and say or think the word in front of it”.
Check out this double-blind experiment on ice crystals: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16979104/ From 2006. Double-blind test of the effects of distant intention on water crystal formation. Dean Radin 1, Gail Hayssen, Masaru Emoto, Takashige Kizu
EXPERIMENT – WORDS HAVE POWER (IN WATER)
Objective:
To test what effect, if any, single words printed on signs will have on flowers in water
Experiment Requirements (for replicating original set up)
North Facing Store Window
White Giant Chrysanthemum Flowers
8-10” high clear vases
Bottled water for vases
6 word signs printed on yardstick (LOVE, FEAR, PEACE, ANGER, WAR, JOY)
Directions and Explanation of experiment place in window for easy access
Did you know that April is the perfect month to run a fool’s errand? The obvious April fool’s day demands a prank or two from each of us. But this feisty and dicey month can make fools of us, in all the days. A fool’s errand: that’s April Fools.
The term ‘a fool’s errand’ dates all the way back to the mid 16th century, where it was used to define a “sleeveless errand” [ John Heywood’s dictionary published in 1563].
You see? Sleeveless!
Remember that time you set out on a sunny warm April day, with your short sleeves, or even more optimistic sleeveless top, and the sudden April showers turned into a full on blizzard?
April Fools…drags on.
Yes, you and me both:
going out on a fool’s errand. I would like to say ‘only in Canada’ does this unpredictable weather shift happen, however, such weather events, as they are called now, span the entire world.
Let us band together. United, we can get through this month’s storms! With the ongoing capricious USA tariffs, our hasty national election at month’s end and the ever growing uncertainty of spring weather patterns, I dare say, this entire month shall be renamed a ‘fool’s errand’.
Together, we can get through it.
How?
I share with you a simple road map of coming together.
First, take a walk on the wild side, in your short sleeves if you dare. April 4th is the official ‘Walk to Work Day’. Truth be told, many of us live too far from work to walk there, but we can carpool and consider walking to a friend’s meet up or even walk to dinner after work.
APRIL FOOLS – ROAD MAP
You can make this holiday event work for your feet, your heart health and grow your community. On the heel’s of your extra walk is April 7th – World Health Day. Started by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1950, World Health Day marks the beginning of an international awareness campaign that brings to light one health issue each year.
2025 – A YEAR OF APRIL FOOLS
This year with so many changes, their 2025 mission appropriately focuses on healthy mothers and babies, acknowledging they are “the foundation of healthy families and communities, helping ensure hopeful futures for us all.” Supporting the health of mothers and children everywhere helps us all.
We can all start at home and work our way out into the community. And, that leads us to celebrating our great mother earth on Earth Day, April 22nd. Did you know this year marks the 25 year anniversary of Earth Day and is still to this day, the largest secular day of protest in the world? Indeed, this is a community worth growing each and every day.
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.” — William Blake
By participating in any of these community celebrations, you decidedly avoid running a fool’s errand and choose wise action instead. That’s something to be proud of on Earth Day.
Lastly, end of the month our fate is sealed on April 28th election day. Whether a fool or wise wo/man be, remains to be seen. Don’t fret. Vote. Decide and take action. Then, clear your head with a must visit to High Park. (plan here)
The most beautiful part of April is just around the corner. End of this month and well into May, the Sakura Cherry blossoms will be at their peak spring bloom. Your April journey concludes here. Find a bench near the blossoming trees and pat yourself on the back. You’ve made it through the April fool’s journey. Not ready for more adventures? Take a break, read here.
BAND TOGETHER
This April, let us get together with our family, friends, open hearts, on strolls in the park, at bbqs and picnics on the porch, in journeys exploring what our beautiful Canadian land has to offer and grow our community and spirit.
If we must run a ‘fool’s errand’, may it be one that is full of hope.
“Spring has its own secret and it’s called hope; hope for better days.” – Joyce Meyer
Heavy clumps of melting snow plummeted from shingled roofs, on my walk along the slippery sidewalk. Nearby evergreens bowed wearily under the weight of their captive snow. Record snowfalls buried us knee deep this past February. But the big melt is coming and so is spring, I thought. Getting lost and found this spring is refreshing…
Big Melt is Coming
I was lost in thought, when a sloppy glob of slush hit me on the head and brought me back to reality. I realized everything is lost and found, not just me in my thoughts.
In the fall, nature may seem lost but then is found again. As the trees stand barren, the land feels empty. Earth grows cold and dark.
Time passes and the loss of autumn is reborn this spring.
The warmth is coming; it is inevitable. Spring is almost here and she brings us new life. Despite the late-winter blustery winds and the snow covered branches, buds grow quietly, determined. In no time at all, they break through to the warmth of the spring sun. March rallies new found hope in hearts worn down by the cold, dark nights of winter.
This is a month of beginnings.
However many trees lose leaves, no matter what branches break in the winter winds and how many garden plants may have wilted away, many more are returning. Nature grows more each spring. We cannot stop her. She is robust and determined in her emergence.
This graceful life lesson of all that exists, is understated and so often overlooked.
Life is expanding.
We are expanding with every breath. My gentle nudge to every client is: ‘No Breath is Ever Wasted’. Thus, no step is in vain.
Every step we take is the right step along our path. We are of nature. And, nature is all that is. As the snowdrops reveal their slender white caps through the late winter snow, we are reminded to accept what is. Accept it why? Because ‘what is’ is continually transforming and growing. What is today, is no longer tomorrow. Know this fundamental truth: our biggest challenge is to choose our direction. Spring, the season of re-birth, supports us in setting a new goal, naturally.
– your new direction begins now –
But which way do you grow?
Are you a meadow or a forest? Perhaps, you are learning another language or growing a family? You can’t grow everything at once. After all, even nature only grows in one direction at a time: first roots below then plants above. Simple, no?
The Green Goddess – Original Art by Kathleen Burke This spring, Kathleen Burke (link here) is exhibiting her Goddess Series at Blind River Art Show, 2025
Do this Spring Exercise to enhance your mind and body connection.
First, decide what five plants or animals grab your attention? Then, choose what you find interesting about each one. Without a doubt, there is a connection and life lesson there for you. Every lesson on your path is like a day in the season of your life. Ask yourself a question. Instantly your mind starts to figure out the answer. The trick is to take time. Now, sit with the question long enough (at least a few breaths, ideally longer!), as if you are thawing from a winter of rest. The question of direction is like planting a seed in the garden. At this moment, you truly are in charge of your destiny.
What will you plant? What will your grow with your mind, with your heart?
You have the ability, the skills, the experience and resources to grow in any direction you choose. No matter how small a change you make, it creates a world of difference in your life. Remember the Chinese proverb: a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (Lao Tau, Tao Te Ching) You may be inspired by the migration of the monarch butterflies as you spot the first butterfly of the season. This could mean you are ready for big migrations. Perhaps the returning hummingbirds catch your eye. Some Indigenous cultures view hummingbirds as good luck, harbingers of joy and love. It may be a sign to open your heart to joy of life this season. Whatever the lesson may be, know that is there just for you.
I found this lesson for spring in a little free library: The only true exile is the writer who lives in his own country. -- Julio Cortazar
You are right on time.
“A tree as great as a man’s embrace springs from a small shoot; A terrace nine stories high begins with a pile of earth; A journey of a thousand miles starts under one’s feet.” — Tao Te Ching Chapter 64
I wrote this article for March Health Column of the South Etobicoke News 2025.
Learn how to grow your mind and body connection with mindful journalling:
Between the valentine cinnamon hearts, gold and red dragons of Chinese New Year and family weekend getaways, there is a little known and seldom celebrated personal getaway to indulge in this winter: Adult Time-Out.
This month, I invite you to discover this simple yet effective healing technique. Save yourself from undue stress, winter blahs and even work burnout.
Take a time out today.
Embrace space, the final frontier. The word ‘final’ may seem so final. You are right. It is. As a healthy, mature adult, you surely recognize that certain times in your life you must take a step back, if you want to keep moving forward. You need a break. Hit pause on life. Embracing this moment of space in time is not about watching back to back episodes of Star Trek. Nor is it about day dreaming of flying through space on the Starship Enterprise, discovering galaxies. Embracing space is the act of embracing emptiness, quietude and solitude in your day. It is you welcoming down time. It is an intentional lack of programming and complete disconnect from the world around you, at least for a short period of time.
But what is space?
Madhya is a Sanskrit word that references the pause or the space between something, like the breath. Learn more about Madhya here.
Can you follow your breath to the end? No. There is no end. Yet, at some point, your inhalation stops and exhalation begins. How does that happen? There must be a pause.
But where is the pause?
There must be a proverbial end to the inhalation of breath. The pause, a moment of moving from inhaling to exhaling, is a moment of opportunity. It is where life is limitless. This moment can be a millisecond, several seconds, up to even three minutes in length. Very experienced divers can deep-dive for five minutes (or longer) underwater, before surfacing for their next breath. (explore deep-diving perspectives here) That is a long pause indeed. We don’t have to take is so far! Just a short increase of pausing 10-15 seconds between inhalation and exhalation and repeating this for five minutes will do. Put a timer on and give it a go. That’s about ten breaths total. It’s so simple, anyone can do it.
This space between two actions, such as in-breath and out-breath, is your personal escape.
It is you choosing an opportunity for deep relaxation, solace, healing and direct stress reduction. Embracing a longer pause in any activity or between activities can shift you from serving to thriving. It can promote a sense of well-being and offers you control over your environment – your body. After all, you are in charge of your breath, the errands in your day and the number of activities on your calendar.
Since it may seem daunting to reduce events on your social, work or family calendars this February, start with a short time-out instead.
Your time is YOUR TIME.
Your Adult time out can be as simple as ten minutes in a quiet room, focusing only on the sound of your breath and slowing down your breaths to five breaths per minute. In 2018, a systematic review in the journal of Frontiers of Human Science, was titled: How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life. This review of the included studies on breath work, concluded that voluntarily slowing down the breath “increased comfort, relaxation, pleasantness, vigor and alertness, and reduced symptoms of arousal, anxiety, depression, anger, and confusion.”
In summary, Adult Time-Out is good for you.
Slowing down and allowing more space between your actions directly improves your quality of life. Just taking a handful of deep breaths, in a time-out (yes, you can even sit in the corner if you want to) can reduce your anxiety and help you get through a tough day. If you need more proof, read the latest article in Salk News, November 19, 2024: “Neuroscientists discover how the brain slows anxious breathing”. In between ski trips, Costco shopping hauls and running errands, find yourself a little nook hideaway and indulge in a self-imposed Adult Time-Out. It’s good for you.
“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.”
– Etty Hillesum, An Interrupted Life: The Diaries 1941-1943, 1983
Is your life in the fast lane? related blog-read next
Letting go…of leaves, hurtful habits, outdated patterns, failed beliefs, old ways of thinking.
Fall lessons.
Season for Change – Leaves are falling. Trees are letting go.
The winds of change are here. Fall is perhaps my favourite season to enjoy watching change in action: it is so colourful.
Autumn leaves on forested hillsides and in ravines are so pleasing and inviting. Fall hiking on Ontario trails is breathtaking and invigorating. William Cullen Bryant writes:
‘Autumn…the year’s last, loveliest smile’
(Or does he? When researching this quote, I discovered that it was his brother, John H Bryant, who actually wrote the poem “The Indian Summer” with that line.)
Lesson I learned?
go to the source always, to find the truth in life. Coincidentally, Willam Cullen Bryant’s poetry, with themes of nature and changes in life, has been described as a metaphor for truth. I can’t think of a better way to spend a fall day than brewing a hot cup of apple cider, wrapped up in my favourite sweater and reading a few stanzas of poetry about the beauty of nature that surrounds me. Great place to read more of William Cullen Bryant’s poetry is here
Yes, this is the perfect time of year to don your favourite sweater, clean out your closet, embrace the change in weather and adopt a slower pace in your life. Can you do that?
I’ve noticed that at times I struggle with change.
Letting go and ‘turning over a new leaf’ is scary. I watch the change unfold in nature and see how I forget to trust this process. Maybe you are the same. Maybe you have worked really hard at building something or learning a way to live and changing that is just overwhelming.
It is in our nature to hold on to what we have found, created, built and not want to let go.
– Healing Muse
3 main ways in which we hold on:
With our physical hands, we hold on to tangible items we need, want or love such as homes, cars, clothes, food, mementos, gifts, art and everything in between.
We hold on with our minds to beliefs, patterns, habits, rules and past teachings.
And, of course, we all hold on to feelings, experiences, memories in our body, in our heart and mind. All of this holding is natural. It has allowed us to explore new lands, create evolving societies and built communities.
Watch my vlog exercise on 3 steps to intentional change:
So why bother ‘turning over a new leaf’ this season?
Does it help in any way? Yes, it does. Change with the seasons. Connecting with the energy of fall allows you to practice letting go of outdated patterns, discard clothes you don’t need, declutter a home overrun with ‘stuff’ and even release old hurts, anger, sadness, or grief, from your tired heart. When you embrace change with intention, it puts you in the driver’s seat.
Welcome something new, such as learning a new language, beginning a new friendship or test a new way of going to work. This builds a stronger body and mind.
Choosing this change
allows you more control
feeling this sense of control has been shown to reduce your stress and anxiety (related to change)
allows you to set the pace
brings you into harmony with life
See this season of change as empowering.
Invite Autumn with all her brilliant colours to remind you what change offers: a multitude of options, new paths, heart-warming experiences, sensory richness and growth. True, letting go of anything can be painful. What we have in our life matters. What changes, like the seasons, is the purpose, the support, the structure and even the meaning of what we have in our life.
Keep Shifting – Letting Go opens you up to growth and expansion
Unlike nature, we forget to keep shifting. We forget the necessity of daily change. We do the same things for days, weeks, maybe even years. Go back to the lessons of nature, at least once a season. Start today. Observe her changes. Watch. Breathe in this change. Taking time to introspect and invite changes into your own life. This practice is helpful, healing, strengthening and invaluable to moving forward.
As your feet crunch along the sidewalks littered with fallen leaves, know in your heart that all that matters and all that is important remains with you. Like the trees shedding leaves, you only need to let go of small bits and pieces. The moment you do, new life begins to germinate in your heart, mind and body.
“Growth and comfort do not coexist.” — Ginni Rometty
Spring Colors are Good for You – Look for them this spring.
Let’s go. Spring into Colour this season; it’s good for you! Spring is a time of growing new roots, new shoots and strength. Nature provides a unique energy to support you. In spring time, the foliage, the flowers and the landscape are expanding in vibrant energy. This feeds us like a mountain spring feeding into a river along the mountain side. Trust this process. We are not aside from nature: we are nature. That’s why spring colors are so good for you, your body, your heart and mind.
Plan a hike in search of spring colours, as you get active in the warmer days ahead. After our mild, but drab winter, surely you are ready for a burst of colour and the aromatic hint of fresh blooms in the air.
This season embrace spring blooms
The colours and aromas that surround you offer a vibrant and intoxicating rising energy flow much needed after a dreary winter season. It’s also a sure fire way to boost your wellbeing.
Your guide to colours in nature is below!
Farmer’s Almanac is forecasting greater showers than usual this spring, so expect your garden blooms to be more showy than ever. With mild temperatures and plenty of rain this spring, colourful blooms are bound to be plentiful.
By the way, when spotting Coltsfoot, remember this herbal, medicinal yellow flower is the first to appear on the forest floors and tends to grow nears streams and wetlands. On your next woodland hike, impress your friends by announcing ‘I sense water is near’ the moment you spot a patch of Coltsfoot (Tsussilago farfara) growing in the distance.
Spring Bulbs & Ontario Blooms in Color
For some Ontarians, spring blooms such as crocuses and snowdrops may have appeared early this year since there was no snow until now! The dump of spring snow we received was the ultimate April fools wasn’t it?
That’s just fine with the parade of April and May flowers to come. Peony, Magnolia and Sakura blossom lovers: revel in the magnificent blooms that arise from rainy spring days. However, I would argue that the most beautiful blooms of spring are Azaleas and Rhododendrons. Rhododendrons bloom especially well after they have received a few weeks of rain, affirming the phrase ‘April showers bring May flowers’.
With more than 10000 species in the Rhododendron genus, you are sure to find a stunning, colourful variety that you can’t resist adding into your garden.
Patio and Balcony Spring Colours
In case your garden is non-existent due to condo or apartment constraints, or brown thumb syndrome (Brown thumb syndrome is easily overcome by simply hanging out with a few gardener friends on the regular…Ok, I just made up that condition, but it could be a thing), plan a date on your calendar to visit a local conservatory in the GTA. Our local, Centennial Park Conservatory is a warm, inviting and delightful place to stroll on any day.
It’s open 365 days of the year. You can visit anytime.
If the Farmer’s Almanac prediction of ‘plenty of spring rain’ proves to be true, walking through a covered greenhouse, conservatory or arboretum is the perfect way to enjoy of spring day in search of colour.
Centennial Park Conservatory is a spring must-see. The conservatory building contains three sections: main greenhouse with tropical plants and wonderful tropical temperatures, South wing with arid, dessert, warm loving plants (perfect for Arizona weather lovers) and the North wing that showcases seasonal designs and stunning colour displays. As a master gardener, you are sure to be inspired on your next visit to your neighbourhood conservatory. If you are a ‘budding’ gardener, guaranteed you will be awed by the sheer abundance of plants and colour that coexist together in a professional planting.
Not used to seeking out spring blooms and colours?
Searching out something out of the ordinary is good for your brain. Furthermore, it is exceptionally good for problem solving. Get smarter this spring! In Entrepreneur Magazine (MAR 29, 2023), Amy M. Chambers notes the first hack to embrace in problem solving is to step away. Go on.
Distance yourself…
from a life challenge at hand, by devoting time to an outing completely unrelated to your dilemma. Heading out for a garden walk or a woodland hike (Rouge Valley anyone?) can guarantee you a better solution than sitting in the office. Thus, exploring Allan Gardens (another wonderful Toronto Conservatory) is not just about finding colourful blooms. It is also about taking time away from everyday problems.
Get outside!
Hike some of 1500 km+ of the Bruce Trail (did you know it is Canada’s oldest marked trail system?) Explore the vast grounds of the Toronto Botanical Gardens and their enchanting ‘native spring ephemeral wildflower.’
Or getaway on your lunch hour, if you’re in Etobicoke, to nearby James Gardens. No matter where you go, welcome the colours of spring into your day. Allow them to bring joy into your heart and a smile to your face. This is best part of spring.
“Spring is far more than just a changing of seasons; it’s a rebirth of the spirit.”
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” — Joseph Campbell
Spring is the birth, the beginning of a new season. It is the beginning of a new story and life cycle. What is the beginning of you? Was it your birthday? What is your origin story?
For us, spring can be a beginning, a fresh start much the same way it is for our gardens, a blade of grass or baby chicks waiting to hatch.
But before we take on a new growth, it’s wise to revisit our origin. Take a moment to see the path that got you here.
Was your path difficult? Or was it light and easy?
What is worth noting from your journeys? Where the lessons valuable?
As you explore your path, you honour your origin story.
In film and television the origin story is the backstory and summary of experiences that reveal how a character or group of people become a protagonist or antagonist. You are the protagonist in the story of your life. As spring approaches, use this energy to initiate a new stage in your life and begin an new life cycle.
Spring can beckon our spiritual rebirth, emotional and energetic upgrade and mind awakening. You are the lead in your story. As a result, you have the right to choose which way you grow this season.
Birth of all things and your origin story.
East versus West.
In many cultures, your birth determines your life story. Your physical origin, where you were born and when you were born is essential to your identity. In Asia, your birth year and birth sign as well as your family ancestry are tethered to you for life. The stars’ configuration and your astral chart is a template of your strengths, weaknesses and your life journey. Thus, you are your ancestors and so much more.
Do you embrace these origins?
Your life story is closely tied to nature, heavens and the earth that your success is determined (at least in part) by these ties. According to Astrology, all origins depend on time. Asian or Chinese Astrology is Vedic based: defined by nature. Western Astrology is based on the 12 months of the year and follows the seasons.
Our Spring Equinox is heralded as the beginning of a new energy cycle.
The Chinese Zodiac signs are noted in records as early as 5th century BC (Zhan Guo Dynasty). But the Western Zodiac signs and astrological system was also incorporated into Asian disciplines and philosophies as early as 700 AD (Tang Dynasty).
Both systems use time and the cycle of nature to offer insight into what was and what will be. They have been in our modern world for a long time.
Is your destiny written in the stars?
Beginnings and You
Societies around the world celebrate beginnings in a variety of ways. Often, you may hear of a caste celebrating a rite of passage that has no relation to the calendar. You may welcome a 100 beginnings in a lifetime.
In some tribes and cultures, accomplishing a task such as hunting a buffalo successfully, completing a walkabout or reaching a pinnacle point in your life, marks you worthy of a feast. You are honoured with a community celebration.
As part of some extreme mystical sects and monasteries steeped in ancient practices, you may be buried alive (to survive the darkness within and without for 24 hrs) and thus be initiated into a new birth, before you can take your vows. In the Western world, a candle on a birthday cake is often our most welcome annual ‘birth celebration’.
No matter the culture or practice of our origin, we have options on how and when we choose our next beginning. We continually add layers and revising our origin story.
March to a new story.
Springtime is a wonderful time to explore this rebirth, renewal and a chosen new beginning.
Ready to use this season to create afresh?
Create a new story, where you are hero and leader empowered with wisdom, strength and vitality. Why not choose a tabula rasa? Start in a new direction. It’s time you brush off the remnants of yesterday.
Allow spring showers to bloom colourful flowers in your heart’s garden. As spring does naturally, rise up with the earlier morning sun and adopt a new mindfulness practice.
Celebrations to start you off.
Celebrating spring, from a traditional St. Patrick’s Day green pint of beer or painting your face with green Shamrocks, to dancing under the moon during spring equinox, the gardens of spring await you.
Nature is always waiting. Go see her. Walk barefoot in the forest (yes, safety first and look for a clear path or meadow!) Join the many people that celebrate a new cycle and spring in these ways.
Always on time.
But we can choose to celebrate a beginning and ‘new origin of us’ each morning, each hour, every minute. Our cells are constantly dividing, and our body is continually producing new, genetic material and new cells to keep us ticking. This fast cycle allows for the quickest and easiest way to practice rewriting our origin story at any moment we choose.
In the words of Naomi Judd (and many others), “Your body hears everything your mind says.”
What you feel, think and say, your body hears and builds within. The most valuable lesson and invitation of spring may be that we choose to recognize we can grow at any level, at any time. After all, you are growing right now.
Since we are continually renewing, our spiritual birth and rebirth, our story of origin is constantly evolving. When we zoom far out over across ancestry of time and our generations, we see our story of origin is something deeply profound. It is interconnected with very many people in our lives and never fully defined.
Breath Expands
Our story is responds to every breath, to every step, to every path we take. We are the lead character choosing our next adventure. Since there is nothing but our own path, we are always on time to our destiny. We have but this moment to begin again. Spring is simply a vibrant, growing, colourful reminder of our very nature. Inhale and welcome this profound truth. As Jim Kwik writes in his book ‘Limitless’, you are limitless the moment you realize you are always growing and expanding. See the choices before you are unlimited.
With spring in your step, start on your next journey and let me know where it takes you.
Monika Meulman – Your Intuitive Living Guide Online Intuitive Healing Sessions Available email to book: store@healingmuse.com
To make room in your mind to create from your heart. When your mind and heart are friends, beautiful events unfold in your life.
“All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness.” — Eckhart Tolle
Meditate. When?
Anytime you have a spare 5 minutes.
Sit. Walk. Rest. Eat. In meditation.
Meditate. How?
Pick a point of interest. Sunrise. Cactus. Your cat. A tree.
Look at it gently and breathe.
“If you want to understand Zen easily, just be mindless, wherever you are, twenty-four hours a day, until you spontaneously merge with the Way. This is what an ancient worthy called ‘the mind not touching things, the steps not placed anywhere.’ ” (Ying-an)
Through meditation you see how…
your mind is to be taught and instructed
While your heart is to be opened and shared
your body is to be moved
and your spirit is to be honoured
Or, count breaths in and out slowly.
Put a timer on to give your mind comfort knowing you will not get ‘stuck’ in meditation or ‘forget to live the rest of your life’ or run late for work.
#thatsit #inspiredliving with the #healingmuse
Need help deciphering your way in life and living mindfully? Book a session
Online, aromatherapy, self guided course. Contact me for more details here
Excerpt from Course modules:
Learn meditation practices to increase mindfulness, reduce stress, improve life balance,
Utilizing the strength and instant power and connection with essential oil aromatics. Teach connection between breath, aromatic use, and mindful focus for increasing healing long term effects and provide practitioners with a multidisciplinary tool to teach clients home coping and home healing methods.
Provide guidance and system for introducing meditation practice and aromatic blending into the practitioner’s healing modalities.
(written for South Etobicoke News, February 2024 Natural Health and Wellness Column)
Heat up this Winter
The coldest day of the year is usually in February and this year is no exception, according to Farmer’s Almanac. When celebrating Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year, Family Day or just good old Groundhog Day (hoping for early spring anyone?), turn up the heat naturally! To cope with this extra long (that’s right Leap Year!) month, take on the February ‘Turn up the Heat’ challenge.
Did you know that February 29th is celebrated as National Time Refund Day? All your Pisces friends finally get an extra day in their birthday sign to celebrate. On the flip side, who can we blame for adding another day to our winter? With winter dragging on, it is all the more reason to learn how to turn up the heat in our body, the way nature intended.
Heat up, how?
How can you increase your internal heat this winter? And, in turn successfully take on the ‘Turn up the Heat’ challenge?
hot chilies can do the trick – heat up your body in a tasty way!
Heat up this Winter – Way UP
The fastest way to turn up your thermostat is to exercise. But before you groan and dismiss this sage advice, read on. Exercise can be a brisk walk outdoors – yes outdoors. The cold air does the body good. Add on extra steps by skipping the escalator or elevator and do stairs instead. Regular exercise stimulates heat in the body.
You don’t have to become a gym rat.
Just get off the warm, cozy sofa and get all your steps in. Your body generates heat from exercise, any exercise. If you add in some weights, you can increase your metabolism 5 to 15 times your resting metabolic rate. This ‘burn’ continues for several hours in your body, which means you feel warmer overall AND you are also burning more calories. It’s really win-win if you plan on celebrating this month’s festivities with a night out!
Ready to embrace a more radical approach? You could go all in and embrace the coldest month in the coldest way possible: ice baths. Take the polar dip to the next level and dip into a bathtub full of cold water and ice once a week. It may be time for you to join all the Wim Hof lovers out there. Plunging your body into an ice bath or just tolerating a cold shower for 2 minutes activates your brown fat thermostat and turns up the heat. This heat lasts for several hours and help your brown fat respond better and faster. Set the timer and just do it.
Time is on your side. Put the timer on and do it.
Or avoid the agony of freezing baths and…get hotter naturally by creating healthy fat in your body. That’s right I just said make more fat! Choose brown fat. Your body actually contains a very small percentage of brown fat compared to white fat, yet the brown fat (also called brown adipose tissue) is needed to help you stay warm. It is activated in cold temperatures. Studies also suggest that fruits like apples and dried fruits can stimulate the production of brown adipose fat – though the jury is still out on this one. What if…there is another way to reduce white fat and make it more ‘productive’. Read on.
Enhance your thermoregulation in the most enjoyable way: eat your heat. If you have not yet enjoyed Winterlicious, the annual Toronto Festival of Winter Dining is the perfect venue for you. With over 200 restaurants across the GTA offering Prix Fixe (a complete meal at a set price) between January 26 to February 8, there’s no time to lose.
Your Mission is..
Your mission is to turn up your heat by selecting at least 3 restaurants that offer hot, spicy, well seasoned foods! You know, this is a sure fire-way (pun intended) to beat the winter blahs, speed through February and enjoy every moment. For all the foodies out there, you are encouraged to hashtag your favourite Winterlicious meals with #LiciousTO. By the way, February 4th is officially National Homemade soup day. Your bonus health challenge this month is to find a favourite new eatery that serves up the best ‘homemade’ style soup with chilies , cayenne or ginger. Ginger Pho anyone?
Thermogenics anyone?
Spices that heat up your body are called thermogenic. Whether you eat them in a Piquant Pad Thai or enjoy them in a Spicy Matcha Latte, they help your body produce heat through metabolic stimulation. Though there is no magic potion to help you lose weight, increasing thermogenic foods in your diet, combined with regular exercise is the powerhouse combo this February. Hot on the heels of well-intentioned January resolutions, this can be your hottest and healthiest month if you choose wisely. Start with these top heat inducing spices in your every day diet: black pepper, cayenne, ginger, cumin and turmeric.
Need more convincing to spice up your life? Some studies have shown that green tea and spicy chilies (and other foods with capsaicin) may activate thermogenesis or trigger fat oxidation. Oxidation is the browning of white fat. Combine regular exercise with spicy meals and your January resolution to be healthier is guaranteed to be a success.
Turn up the heat and you will have winter beat in no time at all. Let me know how your February ‘Turn up the Heat’ challenge turns out. Email me at monika@healingmuse.com with your experience.
“He who controls the spice controls the universe.” — Frank Herbert
“Black pepper is necessary to absorb the key antioxidants in most spices and foods..” — Steven Gundry
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Monika Meulman Intuitive Living Guide – Online Intuitive Healing Sessions Living Zen Workshops @healingmuse
Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness. – Bertrand Russell
Ready to dive into the divine growth of spring?
What is Intuitive Healing?
A meditation based support session designed to invite Inspired Healing on every level. Together, we welcome intentional living and loving, personal acceptance in love, kindness, compassion, and peace within. I have been practicing and developing my body reading skills for over 25 years. I utilize the energetics and plant medicine of reflexology, aromatherapy, meditative breath, body balance and structure, body language in movement, flow and sound.
We can connect online or in-person (locations vary with my travel itinerary every season)
6 SERIES – 6X 1 Hour ONLINE Intuitive Healing Sessions * SAVE $105
$795 + HST
6 SERIES – 6X 1 Hour IN-PERSON Intuitive Healing Sessions * SAVE $205
$1295 + HST
In an Intuitive Healing Session:
You are guided to see better with all your senses
Your body, heart and mind learn to speak well together
We go over the language of your body, heart and mind
Every step of your journey is connected for you
A recording of your session is provided for future learning
A series of homework exercises is provided based on our Exploratory Session time together
You receive a 4-6 week homework study plan to keep learning and expanding your heart, body and mind connection.
Intuitive Healing Discoveries Include One or More of the following:
Body Awareness
breath & space, expansion, how breath opens closed spaces
water = movement & flow, how water promotes changes and helps us move through difficulty and promotes growth
pain = talk & speech of our body, it is our native language which allows us to communicate clearly within our body
The Safety – Fat Storage Our body creates fat for so many reasons and is vital to our survival in many ways
body = map of life, 3 dimensions view, assessment of how our experiences work in our 3 dimensional physical space
Heart Awareness
love vs fear = expansion vs contraction, how do we use these, how do we see them, how we ignore them or forget about them
awareness = responsibility, once we know something not acting on it, when action is required creates destructive patterns in our body, in our lives,
intimacy = awareness + action, taking action on knowledge, wisdom and awareness creates a deep connection within us and also a deep connection to our outside world, our bodies, other living beings.
Road blocks = come as screaming pain, numbness, recurring traumas, must follow Maslow’s guide for basic survival, then move upward to higher satisfaction levels of learning
Safety Zones = FAT, fat loss, toxin storage, exposure, surrender, allowing, comfort, the truth in needing.
Mind Awareness
Balance = work & play, mind, body & spirit, external vs internal worlds
Moving Forward = building passion, building desire, creating goals, practicing discipline, establishing new patterns & habits, compassion growth to self
101 ways to practice self-care, body reading, life balance tips. ex. red lights pauses, long lines, sitting & waiting, wrong orders
Changes – physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, how to deal with them
Rest vs Action – when to act & give, when to rest & receive
Resistance vs Flow – when to work with pressure, when to step aside
