Accept the spiritual fitness challenge
By Nancy B. Loughlin
Published in News Press on June 20, 2017

 You can be spiritually sick, or you can be spiritually fit.

It’s your choice.

You are spiritually sick if you feel isolated, like an oddity in this world.  You are resentful and bitter due to your life experiences and current circumstances. You are a stranger to yourself. Continue reading →

Check your inner Big Brother
By Nancy B. Loughlin
Published in News Press on June 27, 2017 

We need to be free to say what’s on our minds.

That isn’t always the case.

In the United States, as long as we aren’t threatening people, our comments generally do not result in jail time.

Yet, when The Powers That Be can’t suppress, often, the mob will raise its pitchforks and detonate a dose of playground justice.

The oppressor can be either the government or the public. To the victim, the distinction between the two is trivial.  Both oppressors have chilling effects.  Both oppressors can inflict hardship: emotional, professional, physical and financial.

Both are powerful jailers regardless if the imprisonment is behind bars or via social ostracism.

We live, indeed, under the tyranny of the majority. Continue reading →

Creating your own sacred spaces
By Nancy B. Loughlin
Published in News Press on June 13, 2017

Altars aren’t just for churches.

We all create sacred spaces, and we do it instinctively.

Whenever we set our tables for a meal with friends and family; when we make our beds daily with mindfully chosen linens; when we light candles around a bathtub, rose petals floating on the water; when we tend our gardens, these are all sacred spaces.

The only element necessary for creating a sacred space is intention, according to reiki master Pam Bzoch.  Pam recently hosted a workshop for creating sacred spaces at Mystical Moon, Bonita Springs.

“Whenever we cluster photographs, bring together crystals and candles, or sit around the fire, on some level we are inviting that sacred energy into our space,” she said.

The purposes for a sacred space are almost limitless:  commune with the divine, heal relationships, create health, celebrate yourself, celebrate transitions or open your life to love. Continue reading →

Side-stretch meditation: when life throws you a curveball
By Nancy B. Loughlin
Published in News Press on June 6, 2017 

Meghan Pullaro and Heather Holland of Yoga Tribe, Fort Myers, demonstrate the Side Stretch Meditation. Yoga Tribe will be offering teacher training soon!

You know what they say about the best-laid plans.  They often go awry.

You can collapse in a heap of despair since your perfect strategies blew up in your face.  You had aspirations for career advancement (you got fired) or personal growth (you picked the wrong teachers) or romantic happiness (you got dumped).

Or, not.  Just because life tipped you over doesn’t mean you have to go back to the drawing board.  Know where you stand, affirm your goal and your intention, and stay grounded. All you have to do is accommodate and explore the plot twist. Continue reading →