Explore the
AWAKENED YOUR SPIRITUAL GUIDE FALL 2026
EXPLORE EQUAL NIGHT THE RIVER AND THE RUDDER WHAT THE TREES ALREADY KNOW I BOUGHT A SINGING BOWL - NOW WHAT?
SALT
FROM ANCIENT TRADITION TO MODERN HALOTHERAPY
Explore the
AWAKENED Editor-in-Chief
LISA K. ADAMS With a lifetime of spiritual experiences after finding my own way in the dark, I created Explore the Awakened as an extension of the Milky Way Collective online community, infused with Holy Fire Reiki energy to help light the way for your own spiritual journey. This is your guide to Explore the Awakened in northeast Wisconsin. Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Algoma, and Green Bay near the shores of Lake Michigan are home to a variety of healing modalities, including Reiki, human design, quantum healing hypnosis, hydrotherapy, halotherapy, psychic mediumship, intuitives, and even more wellness services. If you’re on the path, I’m here to light the way. Welcome to the Explore the Awakened community! Copy Editor
SARA BIREN Sara Biren writes stories from the Northwoods with heart, humor, and happy ever afters. The author of adult and young adult contemporary romance, she earned an MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and has more than two decades of experience as a freelance editor. Until recently a lifelong Minnesotan, Sara now lives in Wisconsin along the Lake Michigan lakeshore. If she’s not reading, writing, or watching hockey or football, you’ll most likely find her at a concert with her husband and kids or hiking the Ice Age Trail.
DISCLAIMER The information provided in this magazine is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice, including but not limited to medical, legal, financial, or psychological advice. For any health, legal, financial, or psychological concerns, please consult with a qualified professional. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented in this magazine. Any links to third-party websites or services are provided for convenience only; we do not endorse any specific products or services. You are solely responsible for any actions you take or decisions you make based on the content of this magazine. We are not liable for any damages, losses, or injuries that may arise from your use of this magazine or reliance on its content. All content in this magazine, including but not limited to text, images, and graphics, is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws.
@exploretheawakened exploretheawakened.com connect@exploretheawakened.com
PO Box 173 Manitowoc, WI 54221
TABLE of CONTENTS
EVENTS page 43
SALT From ancient tradition to modern halotherapy, this is a deep dive into salt from Tammie Trippler of Meridian Wellness and Awakened Lakeshore.
25
EQUAL NIGHT The fall equinox is an ideal time to reflect on the endings we skip past and develop a practice for the changing season by Marcy Keuler of Coiler Collective.
37
THE RIVER AND THE RUDDER What Kototama Inochi Medicine teaches us about flowing through life rather than fighting it by Scott Bartell, L.Ac. of 7 Stones Acupuncture & Wellness.
20
WHAT THE TREES ALREADY KNOW A personal story from psychic medium Heather LaFond about grief, loss, and the lesson of letting go demonstrated by the trees during this season.
15
I BOUGHT A SINGING BOWL - NOW WHAT? If you’ve never really known what to do with your singing bowl, Gina Armstrong of Balance on Buffalo has a little advice for you to make the most of it.
09
EXPLORE MORE AUTUMN CARD READING
05
A TRAUMA-INFORMED, NERVOUS-SYSTEM CENTERED WOMEN’S RETREAT
06
GROUNDING
14
SKINCARE MYTHS I USED TO BELIEVE, TOO
31
RECOMMENDATIONS: SETTLE INTO THE SEASON
34
THE HOME THAT HOLDS SPACE
35
ASTROLOGY CORNER: AWAKENING TO YOURSELF
40
LOOKING INWARD: FREE TO BE
46
FULL MOON RELEASE
48
EXPLORE YOUR SPIRITUALITY FROM THE SAFETY OF OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY
MILKY WAY
Collective HEALING MODALITIES
SPIRITUAL PRACTITIONERS
LISA KAY’S MILKY WAY BLOG
Explore a variety of
A collection of stars to
Blog featuring personal
spiritual healing modalities
guide you along on your
stories about one soul’s
from Astrology and
own spiritual journey.
journey on the spiritual
Channeling to Mediumship.
path.
COMPLIMENTARY MEDITATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
WISDOM FROM THE STARS
This morning meditation is
Recommendations for
These are short channeled
intended to go along with
online resources, books
messages for the
your own Reiki self-healing
and products, as well as
collective.
practice.
spiritual services.
MILKYWAYCOLLECTIVE.COM
EDITOR’Snotes Art © clintspencer via Canva.com
slow down and reflect
As the summer season has flown by, I find myself nearly tripping over the threshold of this slower season waiting for us. And by the looks of the content submitted for this season’s magazine, I am not alone. Several contributors have shared personal stories about their own lessons they are walking through and the tools they use to navigate these difficult times. Following the potent eclipse season, I was also presented with a big life lesson to move through (again) and felt called to share that story here as well. Let this be your reminder that you don’t have to have everything figured out. Even spiritual practitioners who have been doing this work for years or decades are also faced with challenging times, revisit old wounds, and need to find a way to move forward regardless. The most important thing is to watch and listen for those signs that there is something more to excavate. Whether it’s a triggering moment, the passing of a loved one, or a big life change, these experiences are calling you to slow down and reflect. Take the time to sit with your feelings and when you’re ready, look for the tools that call to you and put them to use in your own life. It is my hope that you’ll find the right tool for you in this moment among these pages.
lisa k. adams FALL 2026 | 04
a seasonal
CARD READING
Submitted by Theresa Kronforst, Moments with Theresa
Happy autumn!
The second card, Lighten Your Load, serves as a gentle reminder that there may still be a
As we slow down from the energy of summer
few things you’re carrying that were never
and turn our faces toward a new season, we’re
yours to hold. Whether it’s guilt, expectations,
met with a beautiful reminder: Your efforts
old patterns, or responsibilities that no longer
have not gone unnoticed. This season invites
belong to you, this season asks you to release
you to recognize just how much you’ve grown
them with compassion.
and honor the work you’ve done throughout the year.
Once you do, the final card—Freedom—shows us what’s waiting on the other side. Freedom
The first card that came through was
isn’t just about having fewer burdens; it’s
Confidence. I feel like the summer months
about creating space for joy, peace, new
asked many of us to do some deep inner work
opportunities, and living more fully as your
—healing old wounds, releasing outdated
authentic self.
beliefs, and letting go of conversations or stories that no longer serve us. While that
This autumn, trust yourself. Honor how far
process wasn’t always easy, it has prepared us
you’ve come, let go of what weighs you down,
for what’s next.
and step into the freedom that’s been waiting for you all along.
Now, as we step into the crisp energy of autumn, we’re being invited to move forward
With love,
with a renewed sense of confidence. Not
Theresa
because life is suddenly perfect, but because we’ve become stronger, wiser, and more grounded through what we’ve experienced.
05 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED 05
MOMENTS WITH THERESA 2221 Lincoln Ave. Two Rivers, WI @momentswiththeresa
A TRAUMA-INFORMED, NERVOUS-SYSTEM CENTERED
women’s retreat JUNE 10 -13, 2027 | HAMPTONVILLE, NC AT WELL OF MERCY
Submitted by Theresa Falvey-Hunt
There is a younger part of you still waiting to be met. Not fixed. Not pushed. Not rushed. Held. HELD is a four-day immersive retreat designed to gently reconnect you with your inner child through safety, regulation, play, and compassionate re-parenting. Set within the quiet sanctuary of the Well of Mercy in Hamptonville, North Carolina, this sacred space offers spiritual hospitality, stillness, and respite from daily demands — exactly what your nervous system has been craving.
FALL 2026 | 06
THIS RETREAT IS FOR YOU IF... You are high-functioning… but internally exhausted You carry grief or childhood wounds that still show up in your reactions You’re tired of being triggered and calling it “just stress” You long to feel safe in your own body You are always the strong one — rarely the one being held You want healing that is gentle, not aggressive You crave softness and play without guilt WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE Guided meditation + inner inquiry Compassionate re-parenting journaling RESET Breathwork Sound healing for integration Gentle yoga + nervous system regulation practices Experiential inner child activities rooted in safety + play Hands-on sensory exploration to reawaken joy and embodied presence A fire releasing ceremony Spacious personal time for rest and reflection Nourishing food to support your body and nervous system Intentional community with women who understand
EVERYTHING IS TRAUMA-INFORMED. EVERYTHING IS INVITATIONAL. SAFETY FIRST. ALWAYS. 07 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
WHAT YOU’LL WALK AWAY WITH A regulated nervous system (not just insight) Tools to self-soothe and self-lead Less reactivity, more grounded response A felt sense of safety in your body Deeper self-compassion Permission to soften A renewed relationship with your inner child A stronger connection to your spiritual center
YOU WILL NOT LEAVE CRACKED OPEN. YOU WILL LEAVE INTEGRATED. CO-FACILITATED BY: Theresa Falvey-Hunt, owner of State of Grace LLC, Life | Grief Coach, RESET Breathwork Facilitator. Walking with women through life’s thresholds—grief, change, rebirth-offering grounded support, nervous system care, and sacred spaces to rest, heal, and step into what’s next. Becky Hoffmann, OTD, OTR/L Founder, InSync Occupational Therapy & Wellness LLC. Helping individuals reconnect with their nervous systems through sensory-informed, natural approaches to wellness. Total Investment $1,200 Your $500 deposit secures your spot. Venmo Theresa here: @Theresa-Falvey-Hunt For the woman who knows she’s ready. FALL 2026 | 08
I BOUGHT A SINGING BOWL-
now what ?
Submitted by Gina Armstrong, Balance on Buffalo | Photography by Alyssa Li Photography
Somewhere in your home, there’s a singing bowl. Maybe you bought it in a shop that smelled of incense. Maybe it came from a late-night scroll that ended in an “add to cart” you don’t quite remember. Or maybe someone gave it to you years ago, and it has been sitting on a shelf ever since, beautiful and a little mysterious, faintly gathering dust. If you’ve admired it, tapped it once or twice, and never really known what to do with it after that, you are in wonderful company. Most people don’t. There is nothing wrong with a bowl that has only ever been admired. But it does have a secret. It has been holding out on you. You likely came to it for the sound, that warm, lingering tone that has carried meditation and chanting for centuries. That alone is a gift, and reason enough to love it. Yet many bowls hold a second gift, one that is easy to miss until someone points to it: vibration. Sound is the part you hear. Vibration is the part you feel, and it happens to be a language your body has known all along. 09 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
THIS IS NOT A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
Two playful ways to explore that:
We tend to pick up a singing bowl expecting it
Fill it with water. Pour it about three-quarters
to behave like a piano or a flute, one clear note full, set it on something soft, and tap it gently we can arrange into a tune. A bowl won’t
with a padded mallet. Watch the surface. Some
cooperate, and that is exactly what makes it
bowls send fine, shivering patterns racing
interesting.
across the water, and if you tap a little harder, they leap up and spit like a tiny fountain.
When you tap a good bowl, it doesn’t give you
Others answer more softly. Either way, it is
a single pure tone. It gives you a whole field of
mesmerizing, and it is also the best lesson in
tones at once, a dozen or more frequencies
“gentle wins” you will ever get, because you
layered together, shifting and rolling as the
can see with your own eyes how a soft tap
sound unfolds. There is no melody in there, no
does far more beautiful things than a hard one.
harmony in the tidy mathematical sense, no
And here is the part that stays with me: Your
rhythm. It is closer to the sound of the
body is roughly seventy percent water. When
everyday world, wind moving through trees,
you watch the water in the bowl come alive,
water over stones, a room full of quiet voices,
you are looking at a small window into what a
except gathered up and offered back to you
vibrating bowl can do inside you, those same
in a form you can actually settle into. Think of
waves moving quietly through your own
it as a kind of chaotic harmony: all that
tissues, wherever the sound reaches.
everyday complexity, organized just enough that the body can receive it instead of bracing against it. I have come to love that the body isn’t built to relax into a perfect, sterile tone. It relaxes into something that sounds alive. That is what a bowl gives you. GETTING TO KNOW YOUR BOWL No two of these bowls are quite the same. They are made for different things, too. Some are prized for their beautiful sound, some especially for their vibration (the therapeutic bowls used in bodywork are crafted for exactly this), and many for a bit of both. Some sing gorgeously to the ear. Others send a deep hum you can feel travel right up your arm. Part of the joy of starting to play is simply discovering what yours likes to do, and there is no wrong answer, only your bowl being itself. FALL 2026 | 10
Feel for the bloom. Rest the bowl on your
nervous system every time you touch it, which
open palm while you play it, and notice how
is why, more than anything, it ends up
the tone behaves. Does it bloom, opening up,
teaching you. Softer than you think. Slower
holding for a long, even while, then fading
than you think.
smoothly? Can you feel the vibration climbing up into your hand as much as you hear it? Or
The rim rub is the other way, the long,
does its gift live more in the sound than in the
sustained tone you hear in films and spas. Hold
buzz? There is no wrong answer here, either.
the mallet like a pen, press the side against the
You are simply getting acquainted.
outside rim, and trace slow, even circles, as if stirring a very patient pot. Keep steady
Whatever you discover, there is a practice here
pressure and a steady speed, and it will catch
for you. If your bowl turns out to be more of a
and begin to hum. And yes, the awful screech
singer than a rumbler, lean into the listening
the first few times is completely normal. It only
practices below and enjoy its voice. If it carries
means you are going too fast or too lightly.
a strong vibration, rest it on your body and
Ease in, and it smooths out. Consider it your
follow where that vibration travels. Neither is
initiation.
better; they are simply different doorways in. And if playing with it leaves you curious for
SMALL PRACTICES FOR YOURSELF
more, a fuller vibration, a deeper sense of what sound is doing in the body, follow that
Here are four small practices, sorted by what
curiosity. It is often the very thread that leads
your bowl does best. None of them needs to be
people toward learning this work more deeply.
earned or done perfectly. Each is simply a quiet way to spend two or three minutes coming
HOW TO WAKE IT UP
home to yourself.
There are two ways to play, and I would start
If your bowl carries a strong vibration
with the first. In your hands. Rest the bowl on one open The tap. Rest the bowl on your flat, open palm palm, or balance it on your fingertips with them or on a small cushion. Take the softest mallet
spread just slightly so it can still ring, and play
you have and give the outside a gentle,
softly and steadily for a few minutes. Feel the
unhurried tap, then stop and simply listen. Let
vibration travel up through your hand and into
the tone rise and fade all the way to nothing. Most people rush right past that fade. Don’t. The fade is where the magic lives. Here is something I remind every student: The tap is not a command you give the bowl. It is an invitation. A tense hand makes a tense sound. A hurried hand makes a thin one. The bowl will faithfully report the state of your 11 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
your arm. Then set it down and notice whether
A tone to bookend your day. Let the bowl
that hand feels different from the other,
mark your mornings and evenings. One clear
warmer, buzzier, more awake. That is the
tap to open the day, one to close it. Each time,
vibration doing its quiet work, and it is about
follow the sound all the way down to nothing
the simplest kind thing you can do for yourself
before you move on. Over time your body
on a hard afternoon. (The same is lovely with
learns the cue, and the tone becomes a small
the bowl resting against the soles of your feet,
doorway between one part of your life and the
or even floating in your bath, where the
next.
vibration spreads through the water and all around you.)
A FEW PRACTICAL NOTES
On your belly, at the end of the day. Lie
If you ever rest the bowl on bare skin and it
down, rest the bowl on your lower belly, and
feels cold, warm it first with a few minutes near
tap it slowly, letting each tone fade completely
a heating pad or a warm water bottle, and
before the next. If you stay with it, you will feel check the temperature before it touches you. the vibration rise and fall with your own
Keep it somewhere it won’t get knocked to the
breathing, in on the inhale, softening on the
floor, because a dented bowl loses its voice.
exhale. Night after night, there is something
Dust it with a soft, dry cloth. And please don’t
about this that quietly walks you back into your get tangled in all the online rules about the one own body. It is my favorite way to end a day.
correct way to hold it, strike it, or face it. Some of that is a lovely tradition, and some of it is
If your bowl is more of a singer
just noise.
The listening reset. Find a quiet spot, and if it One thing worth saying plainly: Sound and feels right, close your eyes, since sight tends to vibration are powerful. Used gently, they can crowd out hearing. Tap the bowl once and give
help coax the body out of fight-or-flight and
the sound your whole attention until you
into the parasympathetic state, the “rest and
honestly cannot hear it anymore. Then stay in
restore” mode where we soften, settle, and
the silence a moment longer. Silence is not the
return to ourselves. That is a real gift, and it
absence of sound; it is where listening begins.
deserves the same care you would give
Thirty seconds of this can gather a scattered
anything powerful. So stay curious, let comfort
mind back together.
lead, ease off any spot that doesn’t feel quite right, and skip resting a bowl directly over something like a pacemaker. THE ONLY THING YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW For yourself, a singing bowl isn’t something you need to master. Mastery matters when you’re using it in a therapeutic setting with FALL 2026 | 12
clients; that is a different craft, learned with care. But on your own, there is nothing to perfect. It is simply an invitation to slow down for a minute and let your body remember something it already knows how to do, which is to receive. You don’t have to get it right. You only have to get curious. So go find it. Take it down from the shelf, wipe away the dust, and give it one gentle tap, then close your eyes and notice what happens. That is the beginning. Two minutes is enough. Your bowl has been waiting for you to discover that it was never just an ornament. It was an invitation all along.
BALANCE ON BUFFALO SOUNDSPACEUSA Manitowoc, WI balanceonbuffalo.com 920-684-8880 info@balanceonbuffalo.com
GINA L. ARMSTRONG, LMT Gina Armstrong is a full-time Licensed Massage Therapist and the creator of the SoundBody Method, developed over two decades of study and teaching, including years as an instructor for the Peter Hess Institute in Germany. She is also the founder of Balance on Buffalo, an awardwinning wellness center in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Curious to go deeper? Gina’s next SoundBody Method training is October 16–18. Use code FALL100 for $100 off. Learn more at balanceonbuffalo.com. 13 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
GROUNDING Submitted by Michelle Poole, Reclaim Balance, LLC Art © Alexey Demidov via Canva.com
Grounding is a powerful, energetic practice that connects us deeply with the earth! Everything around us is energy — the plants, trees, grass, animals, birds, and humans alike. The earth itself carries a subtle energetic current, and when we connect physically with it through bare skin, this energy flows through us. Our bodies crave this vital exchange, completing an energetic circuit that allows us to release negative ions, which can help reduce inflammation, stress, physical discomfort, and anxiety.
Pets that spend time outdoors also help us ground. When we touch or pet them, we share
Grounding is simple and cumulative — the
in their direct connection to the earth.
more often you practice, the stronger the benefits. You can ground yourself by walking
Scientific studies increasingly recognize
barefoot on grass or beaches, or in water,
grounding’s positive effects on the body and its
gardening with bare hands, or lying in the
systems. We are intrinsically part of this planet,
grass on a sunny day. Water is especially
just like plants and animals, and the earth’s
grounding.
energy is essential for a healthy, vibrant life.
Nature offers many ways to ground. Trees, with For a deeper dive into grounding research, their deep roots, channel the earth’s energy
check out "The Earth Prescription" by Laura
through their branches and leaves. Simply
Koniver, MD, which explores the science and
leaning against a tree or touching its leaves can benefits of this practice in detail. It’s a highly ground you, with longer contact providing
recommended read for anyone interested in
greater benefits.
enhancing their wellbeing through grounding.
Green Bay, WI reclaimbalanceenergysoundtherapy.com FALL 2026 | 14
WHAT THE
trees
ALREADY KNOW Submitted by Heather LaFond | Art © Truecreatives, mmac72, mvburling via Canva.com
There is something about autumn that feels like I was there when my dad went into cardiac an exhale. The air changes, the days grow
arrest. I called 911 and watched as EMTs
shorter, and the noise of summer begins to
worked for roughly forty minutes trying to
soften. Slowly, almost effortlessly, the trees
bring him back. There are experiences that
begin to let go.
divide your life into a before and an after. This was one of them.
They do not fight to keep every leaf. They release what they can no longer carry into the
I am a Psychic Medium. I have spent years
season ahead, draw their energy inward, and
connecting people with their loved ones in
return to their roots. Nature reminds us every
Spirit and helping them understand that
year that change, release, rest, and even death physical death does not mean the end of our are not separate from life. They are part of it.
connection. But in that moment, I was not experiencing his death as a medium.
I have been thinking about that a lot lately because this year, I have been living through
I was his daughter.
my own season of falling away. Grief does not care what you know. It does not Some of what I have released, I chose.
care how spiritual you are, how many tools you
Relationships changed. Identities shifted. In
have, or how deeply you believe in life
February, I left the security of my full-time job
after death. Knowing that consciousness
to step fully into the spiritual and healing work
continues does not mean you stop missing the
I knew I was being called to do.
physical person.
Then, on May 15, my dad died suddenly and
I can believe with every part of me that my dad
unexpectedly.
is still here and still wish I could hear his physical voice. I can communicate with him
Sometimes we willingly release the leaf.
and still wish I could hug him. I can know that
Sometimes we know something has completed
he did not simply cease to exist and still grieve
its season, even while part of us desperately
the life I thought we had more time to live
wants to hold on. And sometimes life rips
together.
something from our hands that we never would have chosen to release. 15 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
We do not have to choose between grieving someone and continuing our relationship with them. Both can be true. Since my dad died, I have experienced moments that have only deepened what I already believed about life after death. One of those moments involved a record player turning itself on when no one had touched it. Experiences like that are not always dramatic. Often, they are subtle, personal, and specific enough that something inside of you recognizes the person you love before your analytical mind has time to explain it away. But connection is not only found in signs from Spirit. Sometimes it lives in the ordinary things someone left behind. I have a distressed antique dresser that makes me think of my dad every time I look at it. I bought it specifically because I loved its worn, imperfect character. My dad, trying to be helpful, decided it needed a little touching up. So he painted part of it. The wrong color. At the time, I laughed and shook my head. It was one of the last projects he worked on before he died, and now that mismatched paint is something I would not change for anything. Grief has a way of making ordinary things sacred. A dresser is no longer just a dresser. A song is no longer just a song. Their handwriting, their favorite chair, something they fixed—or tried to fix—their jokes, quirks, and even the things that once drove you crazy become reminders that this person was here. FALL 2026 | 16
We stay connected to the people we love not
Sometimes we simply do not know why.
only through signs from Spirit, but through the fingerprints they left all over our lives.
Sometimes our work is not to understand everything that happened. Sometimes our work
Autumn teaches us about release, but I think
is to allow ourselves to be changed by it.
we sometimes romanticize letting go. We hear phrases like “release what no longer serves
Look at what a tree does when autumn arrives.
you” so often that we can make it sound easy.
Its energy begins moving inward, toward its
Light the candle. Write the thing down. Burn it.
roots. It does not immediately try to grow new
Move on.
leaves. It honors the season it is actually in.
But sometimes letting go hurts like hell.
Maybe we could learn something from that.
Sometimes you know something needs to end
We live in a world that is constantly pushing us
and still do not want it to. Sometimes you
forward. Do more. Fix it. Get over it. Move on.
grieve people who have died, and sometimes
Stay positive. But there are seasons when
you grieve people who are still alive. We grieve
moving forward is not what we need.
relationships, dreams, careers, identities, and
Sometimes we need to go deeper.
futures we thought we were going to have. Grief has taught me that healing is not oneNot everything we release was wrong.
dimensional because grief is not onedimensional. It touches the body, the mind, the
A tree does not release its leaves because the
heart, our energy and our spirit. It can show up
leaves were bad. The season simply changed.
as exhaustion, looping thoughts, anger, sadness, numbness, or a deep longing to know:
Not every relationship that ends was a mistake. Where did they go? Are they okay? Are they Not every version of ourselves we outgrow
still with me?
needs to be judged. And not everything we lose needs to be wrapped in a neat spiritual
This has deepened the way I understand the
explanation about why it had to happen.
work I do. I do not believe we can mindset our
17 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
way through everything, and I do not believe
For years, I have watched people recognize
we should spiritually bypass pain by trying to
their loved ones through the evidence and
find a positive meaning for every terrible thing
messages that come through in a mediumship
that happens.
reading. I have watched tears turn into laughter when a personality, memory, or
Sometimes healing means tending to the body
ridiculous little detail comes forward that
and nervous system. Sometimes it means
means nothing to me but everything to them.
looking at subconscious beliefs and patterns. Sometimes it involves energy work. Sometimes it means sitting with grief rather than trying to fix it. And sometimes healing includes discovering that a relationship we thought we had lost is still available to us in a different form.
I UNDERSTOOD WHY THOSE MOMENTS MATTERED.
Losing my dad did not change what I believed
We stay connected to the people we love not
about life after death. It changed why I care so
only through signs from Spirit, but through the
deeply about helping others experience that
fingerprints they left all over our lives.
connection for themselves. It also gave me a deeper understanding of what it means to sit
Now I understand them as a daughter who
on the other side of the table.
wants one more conversation, one more sign, one more moment of, Dad, are you there? My father’s death did not give me my gift, but it has given me an even deeper understanding of why that gift matters so damn much. It has also strengthened my desire to help people understand that connection with Spirit is not reserved for psychic mediums. Our loved ones may already be communicating with us in ways we do not recognize because we have been taught to dismiss the subtle, question our intuition, or explain away what we cannot logically understand. Maybe the question is not always, “Why haven’t they given me a sign?” Maybe sometimes we need to ask, “Have I become quiet enough to notice how they might already be speaking?” FALL 2026 | 18
Perhaps that is another gift autumn offers us.
important growth happening within us cannot
As the outside world begins to quiet, we are
be seen because it is happening underground,
invited to quiet ourselves, too. To slow down.
at the roots.
Turn inward. Listen differently. Notice what becomes audible when we stop filling every
I still miss my dad. I am still grieving him. And
empty space with noise.
I am still connected to him.
So this fall, maybe instead of asking what you
Those truths do not cancel each other out.
should be doing next, ask yourself something
They exist together.
different. Maybe that is what the trees already know: Letting go does not always mean losing the
What season am I actually in?
connection. Sometimes it means learning a What am I still trying to hold together?
new way to hold it, a new way to listen, and a new way to love.
What needs my attention beneath the surface? This autumn, perhaps the trees are inviting us And what if I stopped demanding that I bloom
to do what they have always done. Slow down.
when my soul is asking me to go inward?
Turn inward. Tend to our roots. Honor what was. Grieve what is gone. Notice what remains.
We are not meant to be in spring all the time. There are seasons for becoming and seasons
And trust that love, like nature, has a
for grieving. Seasons for releasing and seasons
remarkable way of changing form without ever
for resting. There are seasons when the most
truly disappearing.
with love
HEATHER LaFOND HEATHER LaFOND Heather LaFond is a Psychic Medium, Shamanic Energy
Therapist,
Hypnotherapist, Practitioner,
and
NLP
Reiki
Master,
&
Timeline
Intuition
Coach
Certified Therapy based
in
Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She is the author of Rise & Roar: Unleash Your Inner Power and the creator of the You ARE Intuitive Immersion.
@inspired_ medium heather@heatherlafond.com HeatherLaFond.com 920-973-1977 19 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
the river and the rudder
WHAT KOTOTAMA INOCHI MEDICINE TEACHES US ABOUT FLOWING THROUGH LIFE RATHER THAN FIGHTING IT Submitted by Scott Bartell, 7 Stones Acupuncture & Wellness Art © Greg Snell, Theo Mousset, Jahoo Clouseau via Canva.com
On the morning of September 6, 2010, I drove away from my home in Sugarloaf, Colorado, for the last time. The Four Mile Canyon Fire was moving through Boulder County. One hundred and sixty-nine homes burned that day. Mine was one of them. I left with my cat, my dog, my school books, and whatever happened to be in my Jeep. Everything else I owned stayed behind. The next day, I went to graduate school for acupuncture in a daze. I didn't yet know whether my house was still standing. I found out that afternoon through a voicemail from a neighbor. I remember walking into one of my classes and telling the teaching assistant what had happened. His response stopped me cold. "How exciting," he said. "What a wonderful thing to have happen." I walked away from that conversation more stunned than I already was. Irked, confused, not entirely sure I had heard him correctly. He couldn't have been more right. It would take me weeks to begin to understand why. FALL 2026 | 20
INTO THE DARK The weeks that followed were some of the darkest of my life. My dog and I were living out of a hotel suite. The thoughts that moved through my mind during those weeks scared me. Not because they were unfamiliar to darkness in general, but because they were mine. I had not known that kind of darkness lived in me. That discovery shook something loose that I am not sure I could have found any other way. At some point in those weeks, without being able to name it as it was happening, I entered a state of complete surrender. Not giving up. Not defeat. Surrender in the truest sense of the word: a release of the grip I had been keeping on how things were supposed to go. And something extraordinary happened.
THE MANTRA THAT FOUND ME
Whatever I needed would appear out of
Somewhere in those weeks, when I finally
seemingly nowhere. I would think of something stopped fighting the darkness I had discovered I needed to replace and then immediately
in myself and allowed myself to simply look at
forget it in the fog of shock, and then the next
it, a mantra came to me.
day someone would show up at my door with exactly that thing, or I would be invited
I am, but I choose not to be.
somewhere and what I needed would be waiting. For ten to twelve weeks this continued. What I am is the darkness that lives within me. I was eventually offered a free place to stay for Not a darkness that is foreign or accidental. A twenty months.
darkness that is mine, native to my nature, as real as anything else I carry. What I choose not
I was in flow. Not from a healthy place — I
to be is someone who acts from that place, who
want to be clear about that. I was in flow
feeds it, who lets it steer.
because I had nothing left to hold onto. Surrender had been forced upon me by
Many Native American traditions carry a
circumstance. But it was the first time in my
version of this teaching. There are two wolves
life I had experienced what it actually felt like
within every person — one of light, one of
to move through the world that way, and I
darkness. Both are real. Both are alive. The one
never forgot it.
that grows is the one you feed.
21 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
What I came to understand in the aftermath of that fire is that the answer is not to kill the dark wolf. Denying the darkness within you is a denial of yourself, and a denial of self is its own kind of violence. The darkness informs me. It is part of what makes me whole. But it does not get to make my choices. This is what I came to call the 51/49 rule. I am 51 percent light and 49 percent darkness. I live informed by both. I choose from one. That small majority — that single percentage point of intention — is everything. It is not the absence of struggle. It is not the pretense of perfect peace. It is simply the daily, conscious decision about which wolf carries more of the weight.
WHAT KOTOTAMA INOCHI TEACHES ABOUT FLOW Kototama Inochi Medicine is a Japanese lineage of acupuncture that understands the human being as an integrated whole — body, mind, and spirit as a single living system. At the center of this medicine is the idea that the body already knows how to heal itself. Our role as practitioners is not to force correction but to invite the system back into the conditions where balance is possible. What I have come to understand, both through the medicine and through my own life, is that this is not only a clinical philosophy. It is a philosophy of being. When we are in flow — truly in it, from a healthy and conscious place — something interesting happens to the way life moves. Decisions that once felt agonizing become clear. Needs that seemed impossible to meet find their way to resolution. The road appears wherever you feel led to steer. You are still driving, still choosing, still fully present and responsible for your direction. But you are no longer white-knuckling the wheel against a current that seems determined to take you somewhere you don't want to go. This is not mysticism, though it can feel like it. It is what happens when the nervous system is no longer burning its resources on protection that is no longer needed. When the body is not in a constant state of guarding, the system's energy is freed for something else. For clarity. For creativity. For the quiet intelligence that has been trying to get your attention all along.
FALL 2026 | 22
Flow is not a destination. It is a state of
Kototama Inochi Medicine supports this second
relationship — with your own system, with the
kind of flow by helping the nervous system find
moment you are in, and with the life you are
its way to a state where the body is no longer
moving through.
running its old protective programs unnecessarily. When the system comes out of
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FORCED FLOW AND CHOSEN FLOW
chronic activation, when the guard comes down because there is nothing to guard against, something opens. The grip softens. Not because you decided to let go, but because the body finally remembered it was safe to.
What the fire taught me is that there are two ways to arrive at surrender.
This is what I witness on the treatment table every week. Not just symptoms resolving.
The first is the way I arrived at it in 2010.
People returning to themselves. The places
Everything is stripped away. There is nothing
where they have been holding — the jaw, the
left to hold. The grip releases because the
shoulders, the gut, the chest — begin to
hands are empty. This is flow born from loss,
release. And in that release, something that
and it is real and it works, but it is not
looks a lot like flow begins to move again.
sustainable because it requires destruction to produce the opening. The second is harder and rarer and more valuable. It is the choice to release the grip before life forces your hands open. To flow not because you have lost everything but because you have understood something. To move through the world with an open hand rather than a clenched fist, not out of passivity or resignation but out of trust. Trust that the road will be there. Trust that the river knows where it is going. Trust that your job is to bring full presence and conscious intention to the steering, and then to let the current carry you. 23 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
THE 51/49 PRACTICE I want to offer something practical to carry with you from this article, because philosophy without practice is only half the work. The 51/49 rule is not a permanent achievement. It is a daily practice of noticing. Where is the balance sitting today? Which wolf has been fed more this week? Not with judgment, but with honest curiosity. When you find yourself in reaction, gripping the wheel, fighting the current — that is not failure.
That is information. The darkness has gotten a
relationship with impermanence that most of
little more than its share. The nervous system
us spend our whole lives trying to avoid.
is in protection. Something has been triggered that feels older than today.
He was right. The fire was one of the most important things that ever happened to me.
The practice is simply to notice, and then to
Not because loss is good. But because what
make one small choice from the 51 percent.
came through the opening it created — the
Not a dramatic gesture. Not a declaration. Just
flow state, the mantra, the 51/49
a small redirection. A breath. A moment of
understanding, the beginning of a conscious
honesty. A choice to respond rather than react. relationship with my own darkness — none of that would have arrived the same way through Over time, with support for the system that
any other door.
underlies the choice, that redirection becomes easier. Not because the darkness diminishes.
I did not choose the fire. But I chose what to
Because the light gets steadier.
do with what it left behind.
WHAT THE T.A. KNEW
That, in the end, is all any of us are ever really
I have thought about that teaching assistant
left with. Choosing which wolf to feed.
everything and see opportunity rather than
there.
doing. Choosing what to do with what we are
many times since 2010. How extraordinary it is Choosing to steer the car with the knowing that wherever we feel called to go, the road will be to look at someone who has just lost tragedy. How that kind of vision requires a
Come tell me your story.
7 STONES ACUPUNCTURE & WELLNESS 7stonesacupuncture.com sevenstones.acupuncture@gmail.com INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ACUPUNCTURE & LIFE MEDICINE iaalm.org
Scott Bartell is a licensed acupuncturist and the owner of 7 Stones Acupuncture & Wellness in Cascade, Wisconsin. His practice is grounded in Kototama Inochi Medicine, a rare Japanese lineage of acupuncture that treats the whole person — body, mind, and spirit. He can be reached at 7stonesacupuncture.com or (262) 622-3602. FALL 2026 | 24
SALT Submitted by Tammie Trippler, Meridian Wellness and Awakened Lakeshore Cover Art © serikbaib via Canva.com
Salt is something most of us encounter every
A DISCOVERY DEEP UNDERGROUND
day, yet its story reaches far beyond the
During the 1800s, mining was notoriously
kitchen. For thousands of years, salt has been
difficult work, particularly for the respiratory
valued for preserving food, cleansing, bathing,
system. Miners working underground were
and supporting health and wellness. It was
regularly exposed to dust, debris, and other
once so valuable that salt trade routes helped
airborne particles, and respiratory illness was
shape communities and economies, and access common among many mining populations. Yet to salt was considered essential to daily life.
a Polish physician named Dr. Feliks Boczkowski began noticing something unusual among
Salt’s significance extends beyond its practical
workers at the Wieliczka Salt Mine near
uses. Across cultures and generations, it has
Kraków, Poland.
held an important place in wellness, ritual, and spiritual practice. Salt has been associated with Boczkowski served as a physician to the salt purification, protection, cleansing,
miners and observed that they seemed to
preservation, and renewal, making our
experience fewer respiratory problems than
connection with this seemingly simple mineral
might be expected among people spending
both ancient and remarkably diverse.
their working lives underground. This was especially interesting because of the
Today, salt continues to have a place in
environment in which they worked. Rather
wellness through halotherapy, commonly
than breathing the coal dust and other
known as dry salt therapy. While the beautiful
contaminants associated with many mines,
salt rooms and salt caves we see today may
these workers spent their days within the
feel like a relatively new wellness experience,
unique microclimate of a salt mine.
the story behind halotherapy reaches back nearly two centuries to an unexpected
Boczkowski became interested in whether that
observation deep within a salt mine in Poland.
environment might explain what he was
25 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
from ancient tradition to modern halotherapy observing. He studied the conditions within the
Modern dry salt therapy typically uses a
mine and believed that its salt-rich air and
machine called a halogenerator.
underground microclimate could have
Pharmaceutical grade sodium chloride is placed
beneficial effects on respiratory health. In
inside the machine, ground into extremely fine
1843, he published his observations about the
dry particles, and dispersed into the air of a
therapeutic potential of the Wieliczka salt and
salt room or chamber. As a person relaxes and
brine environment, helping establish an early
breathes normally, the microscopic salt
foundation for the use of salt-mine
particles are inhaled into the respiratory tract,
environments for wellness.
while other particles naturally settle onto exposed skin.
His work contributed to what became known as speleotherapy, a practice in which people
This is also what distinguishes active
spend time in the microclimate of natural
halotherapy from simply sitting in a room
caves or salt mines. Over time, underground
decorated with salt. Himalayan salt walls, salt
salt environments in Central and Eastern
bricks, and salt lamps can create a beautiful
Europe became destinations for people seeking
and relaxing atmosphere, but the
support for respiratory health. The Wieliczka
halogenerator is what produces the dry salt
Salt Mine itself would eventually become home
aerosol used in halotherapy. It allows fine salt
to an underground health resort, continuing a
particles to circulate throughout the room
story that began with Boczkowski’s
during the session, recreating an important
observations generations earlier.
aspect of the salt-rich environments that first inspired the practice.
FROM SALT MINES TO MODERN SALT ROOMS
HOW DOES HALOTHERAPY WORK?
Of course, traveling underground into a salt
One of salt’s important characteristics is that it
mine isn’t an accessible wellness practice for
is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts water.
most people. Eventually, methods were
When microscopic dry salt particles are
developed to recreate an important feature of
inhaled, they come into contact with the
the salt-mine environment above ground,
respiratory tract and airway secretions. This
leading to modern halotherapy. The word
interaction is one reason dry salt therapy is
comes from the Greek halos, meaning salt.
used to support mucus clearance and overall respiratory wellness. FALL 2026 | 26
The salt may help loosen and thin mucus and
Perhaps one of the most appealing things
secretions, making them easier for the body’s
about halotherapy is how little is required
natural clearance mechanisms to move out of
during a session. There is no special breathing
the airways. People often seek halotherapy
technique to learn and nothing that needs to
when experiencing congestion or looking for
be applied or taken. The halogenerator creates
complementary support for their sinuses and
the dry salt environment while the person
respiratory system. Many people who use
simply relaxes and breathes.
halotherapy report feeling that their breathing is more open, congestion is reduced, or mucus
SALT AND THE SKIN
is easier to clear following sessions.
The respiratory system isn’t the only part of the body exposed to salt during a session. As
Dry salt is also valued for its cleansing
microscopic salt particles circulate through the
properties and has been studied for its
room, some naturally settle onto exposed skin.
potential anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial
This has led many people to incorporate
effects. Halotherapy is used by people seeking
halotherapy into their wellness routines for
support for concerns such as seasonal
skin health as well.
allergies, sinus congestion, asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory conditions. Individual
Salt has cleansing, absorbent, and exfoliating
experiences vary, but respiratory wellness
properties, and dry salt therapy may help
remains one of the primary reasons people are
support the skin’s natural processes while
drawn to dry salt therapy today.
helping clear surface impurities. People seek halotherapy as complementary support for a variety of skin concerns, including eczema, psoriasis, acne, and irritation. Because the salt is dispersed through the air, the experience is noninvasive—the particles simply come into contact with exposed skin while the person relaxes. Our use of salt for the skin certainly isn’t new. Mineral-rich waters, saltwater bathing, soaking salts, and salt-based skin treatments have been used across cultures and generations. Halotherapy offers another way of experiencing salt, using microscopic dry particles rather than salt dissolved in water. THE WELLNESS OF SIMPLY BEING STILL There is another part of the salt room experience that has little to do with the
27 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
microscopic particles circulating through the air. For a period of time, you are given an opportunity to stop. There are no errands to run, emails to answer, notifications to check, or tasks demanding your attention. Modern life keeps many of us in an almost constant state of stimulation. Phones, work, family responsibilities, schedules, and the expectation that we should always be doing something can make genuine periods of quiet surprisingly rare. Intentionally creating time for rest, slower breathing, and reduced stimulation gives the mind and body an opportunity to settle. A halotherapy session naturally creates space for that experience. Some people meditate or practice breathwork, while others read, listen to quiet music, close their eyes, or simply sit. There is no right way to use the time, and sometimes having permission to do absolutely nothing is exactly what we need. We often think about wellness in terms of what we need to do next. We add another practice, appointment, supplement, exercise routine, or task to an already long list. Yet wellness can also mean creating space where nothing is expected of us and allowing ourselves an opportunity to rest, breathe, and reconnect. SALT AS A SPIRITUAL ELEMENT Salt’s connection to human well-being began long before anyone used the word halotherapy. Throughout history, salt has carried spiritual and symbolic meaning in many cultures and traditions. While individual beliefs and practices vary, salt has frequently been associated with cleansing, purification, protection, preservation, and renewal.
Salt has been used in cleansing rituals, baths, blessings, ceremonies, and practices intended to purify people or spaces. In some traditions, it has been used symbolically to establish boundaries or protection, while in others it has been incorporated into religious ceremonies and sacred practices. A substance capable of preserving something physically became, in many cultures, a meaningful symbol of protection, purity, and permanence. For those who approach wellness from an energetic or spiritual perspective, these ancient associations can add another dimension to a modern salt therapy session. Time in a salt room can become intentional space for meditation, prayer, reflection, grounding, FALL 2026 | 28
releasing what no longer serves us, or setting
natural salt-mine environments into a modern,
an intention. The physical experience of salt
accessible wellness space.
and its symbolic association with cleansing can exist together, allowing each person to
There is something especially fitting about
experience the space in a way that feels
giving an old vault a new purpose. A space
meaningful to them.
once designed to safeguard things considered valuable now offers a place to make time for
A salt session does not have to be spiritual to
something else of value—our own well-being.
be meaningful. One person may enter because they are interested in respiratory wellness,
Within those walls, an idea that began with
another may be seeking support for their skin,
observations in the salt mines of nineteenth-
and someone else may simply need quiet after
century Poland has found its way to a small
a long week. For another person, those same
community along the shores of Lake Michigan.
minutes may become sacred time to reconnect with themselves.
The Salt Vault is one example of how halotherapy itself has evolved. What once
FROM POLAND TO TWO RIVERS
required entering a natural salt mine can now
Nearly two centuries after Boczkowski’s
be experienced in wellness centers and salt
observations deep within the Wieliczka Salt
rooms in communities around the world, while
Mine, the practice he helped inspire can now be still drawing inspiration from the salt-rich experienced in salt rooms around the world.
environments that gave rise to the practice.
One such space is The Salt Vault at Awakened
The locations may look very different, but the
Lakeshore in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, where
simple act of sitting within a dry salt
modern halotherapy has found a particularly
environment connects modern halotherapy with
unique home. True to its name, The Salt Vault
a history that began generations ago.
was created inside the original bank vault of the building that Awakened Lakeshore now
ANCIENT SALT, MODERN WELLNESS
occupies.
Nearly two centuries have passed since Dr. Feliks Boczkowski looked at the miners working
During a session in The Salt Vault, a
beneath Wieliczka and became curious about
halogenerator grinds 99.99 percent pure
their respiratory health. His observations in the
pharmaceutical grade sodium chloride into
1800s helped begin a journey from natural salt
microscopic dry salt particles and disperses
mines and speleotherapy to the modern
them throughout the room, where they are
halotherapy rooms available today. What
inhaled into the respiratory system and
started deep underground in Poland has
naturally settle onto exposed skin. Guests can
evolved into a wellness practice now
settle in, get comfortable, breathe normally,
experienced in salt rooms around the world,
and allow themselves time away from the
from large cities and wellness destinations to
demands waiting outside the vault door. The
communities such as Two Rivers, Wisconsin.
process brings the concept that originated in 29 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
Yet the larger story of salt is much older than halotherapy. For thousands of years, humans have harvested it, traded it, preserved food with it, bathed in it, incorporated it into wellness practices, and given it spiritual meaning. Few natural elements have remained so consistently woven into human life while taking on so many different roles. Perhaps that is what makes salt especially interesting within holistic wellness. It can be approached physically, historically, symbolically, or spiritually, and those perspectives do not have to compete with one another. We can appreciate how dry salt interacts with the respiratory system and skin while also appreciating the experience of entering a quiet space and intentionally leaving the outside world behind.
TAMMIE TRIPLER Tammie is the founder of Meridian Wellness and Awakened Lakeshore in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Through Reiki, reflexology, sound immersion, and Human Design, she supports others in navigating their own
In a culture that constantly asks us to move faster, accomplish more, and stay connected to everything around us, there is something
path of awareness and alignment. Her approach is grounded, practical, and centered on helping people reconnect with themselves in real, sustainable ways.
powerful about choosing to stop for a while. A salt room offers an opportunity to breathe, rest, become quiet, and make space for ourselves in a way that can be surprisingly difficult to do in everyday life. Maybe that is one reason an ancient mineral
MERIDIAN WELLNESS meridianwi.com
continues to find a place in modern wellness. From the salt mines of Poland to salt rooms around the world—and even a former bank vault in Two Rivers—the setting may have changed considerably over the past two centuries, but the invitation remains beautifully simple:
BREATHE, REST, AND MAKE SPACE FOR RENEWAL.
AWAKENED LAKESHORE awakenedlakeshore.com 2221 Lincoln Ave | Two Rivers, WI FALL 2026 | 30
skincare myths
I USED TO BELIEVE, TOO Submitted by Jessica Maxwell, Elevate Your Glow | Cover Art © Sandra Dans via Canva.com
For years, I thought I understood my skin. Being oily and blemish-prone, I assumed the answer was to dry it out, cover it up, and get rid of the oil. I would put on makeup only to start blotting it off shortly afterward. Talk about a lot of time, money, and makeup ending up on a tissue! Eventually, I learned some of the things I believed about skincare weren’t helping at all. Skincare can be confusing. We hear advice from friends, social media, advertising, and ever-changing trends. But understanding what your skin actually needs can change how you care for it. Here are five skincare myths I once believed. MYTH #1: OILY SKIN DOESN’T NEED MOISTURE Oil and hydration aren't the same. Your skin can produce plenty of oil and still be dehydrated, meaning it lacks water. This was definitely a “Wait...WHAT?” moment for this formerly oily girl. Stripping away oil with harsh or drying products can disrupt your skin's natural 31 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
balance. Instead, look for lightweight hydration removes daily oil, dirt, makeup, and buildup, that helps manage excess oil and minimize the
while an exfoliator removes dead skin cells.
appearance of pores without leaving skin
And as we age, our natural renewal process
greasy.
slows, allowing those cells to linger and leave skin looking dull, dry, or uneven.
Sometimes oily skin doesn't need less moisture —it needs the right kind. For me, choosing
More elbow grease is definitely NOT the
L'BRI products designed for my skin type and
answer. Aggressive scrubbing can irritate your
ingredients like aloe vera and hyaluronic acid to skin's protective barrier, especially if you have support hydration made a difference. I went
active acne.
from what I jokingly call “deep-fry French fry grease” to a healthier-looking, radiant glow.
Gentle exfoliation one to two times a week helps reveal fresher-looking skin, allows
MYTH #2:
moisturizers and serums to work more
USING ONLY WATER CLEANS MY SKIN
effectively, and creates a smoother canvas for
A splash of water and you're good to go, right?
makeup.
If only skincare were that easy! MYTH #4: Your face collects a lot throughout the day—oil, MORE PRODUCTS MEAN BETTER RESULTS sweat, pollution, sunscreen, makeup, and
With so many serums, creams, masks, and
whatever transfers from your hands. Water can trending ingredients, skincare can quickly rinse away some surface debris, but it isn't
become overwhelming. The good news? Your
enough to effectively remove it all.
skin doesn’t need everything—it just needs the right kind of support.
Think about it—would you expect water alone to clean your teeth? Your skin deserves a little
Start with the basics: Cleanse, balance, and
more than water, too.
moisturize morning and night. Then add targeted products based on your goals: more
A gentle cleanser helps remove daily buildup
hydration, brighter-looking skin, softer-looking
without stripping your skin's natural moisture.
lines, or clearer skin.
And yes—even without makeup, cleansing morning and night still matters.
Your goals should determine your products— not the latest trend.
MYTH #3: SCRUBBING MY CLEANSER
MYTH #5:
COUNTS AS EXFOLIATING
ALL SKINCARE INGREDIENTS ARE
I used to think scrubbing a little harder while
BASICALLY THE SAME
cleansing meant I was exfoliating, too. Two
The front of a bottle tells you what a product
steps in one—sounds efficient, right?
promises. The ingredient list tells you what's actually inside.
Turns out, they have different jobs. A cleanser FALL 2026 | 32
What's the first ingredient? What's providing hydration? Are there harsh sulfates, synthetic fragrances, or other ingredients you prefer to avoid? L'BRI uses Aloe Barbadensis Miller as the first ingredient in its skincare products rather than water. Aloe helps replenish moisture, support hydration, and soothe healthy-looking skin. You don't need to become an ingredient expert overnight. Simply becoming more curious about what you're putting on your skin is a
JESSICA MAXWELL 2013
great place to start. UNDERSTANDING YOUR SKIN CHANGES EVERYTHING The biggest change in my skin didn't come from covering it up, drying it out, or fighting against it. It came from understanding what it needed and choosing products that supported it. As my skin changed, so did my confidence. Instead of layering on makeup only to blot it
JESSICA MAXWELL 2026
away shortly after, I now feel confident wearing less—and most days, none at all. Healthy-looking skin isn't about perfection. It's about understanding and supporting the skin you're in. READY TO ELEVATE YOUR GLOW? If you're not sure what your skin needs or want help creating a simple routine that works for you, I'd love to help. Mention this article and receive 10% off your order, and I'll help you create a routine based on your skin and goals.
33 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
Call or text 920-418-3284 jmaxlbri@gmail.com Facebook VIP Group @jmaxlbriVIP linktr.ee/jmax
SETTLE INTO THE SEASON By Lisa K. Adams, Photography from Gaia’s Moon & Sun Apothecary
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THE HOME THAT HOLDS SPACE Submitted by Jennifer Glandt, Resonant Spaces Art © Truecreatives via Canva.com
Chances are, you have heard the phrase
and then released. Ignoring and burying them
“holding space.” In 1960, psychoanalyst
over time often leads to their expression
Donald Winnicott first coined the term
through physical disease.
“holding environment” to refer to the space/environment that parents create to
Feng Shui is all about creating a living
secure their child’s development. More
environment that holds space for you. You do
recently, the term has come to describe being
not need to Feng Shui the entire home at one
supportive of someone in their time of
time. When you are feeling stressed, the goal
emotional need; to be there for them without
is to minimize pressure and not add to it. Start
any judgement and without rushing to find a
small.
“fix” or “cure.” FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO CREATE A Holding space in this context is all about people SPACE THAT HOLDS YOU, YOUR OWN being there for one another. However, our
PRIVATE SANCTUARY.
homes are quite literally “holding space” for us
Start with just one small room or area–a
all the time. If you take the time to connect
corner, window seat, a she-shed.
and build a relationship with your home, it will
Use soft curtains or a room divider to create
reciprocate! Holding space emotionally means
boundaries that define this space from the
being a non-judgmental witness. A home
rest of the room.
holding space provides a stable physical
Make sure that you are seated in a
container where you can process feelings
command position. This means that you
without sensory overload or chaos. Your
have a solid wall to your back and can see
physical space is the container which holds
anyone or anything coming toward you. In
you. When your body feels safe, secure, and
other words, you can’t be startled or caught
relaxed–when it feels held and supported–then
off guard. This is your safe zone.
you in turn can hold space for and fully process
Arrange the furniture so that the space feels
the feelings and emotions inside. People often
nest-like and protected.
try to avoid dwelling on difficult emotions.
The goal is for this space to be very yin. Yin
However, they need to be recognized, fully felt,
is soft, so think carpet or throw rug, pillows, and blankets (perhaps weighted).
35 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
YOUR SENSES SHOULD BE SOOTHED.
ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS
USE GROUNDING SENSORY DETAILS.
AND STRESS TRIGGERS.
Instead of overhead lights, use floor or
Give yourself a peaceful view of the yard or
table lamps, candles, fairy lights.
meaningful artwork.
Use a sound machine for gentle, natural
Minimize clutter in this immediate space.
sounds or soft music.
You should be able to relax without the
Invest in small instruments to give yourself
visual reminder of chores to be done
a sound bath (chimes, singing bowls, bells,
distracting you.
tuning forks).
Along the same line, make sure this space
If you are so inclined, sing, hum, do
doesn’t contain objects that create stress.
breathwork.
This could be a gift you keep out of
Use aromatherapy (candles, incense,
obligation or from someone with whom you
essential oils).
have a strained relationship.
Drink a cup of warm tea or water with
Keep your phone and electronics outside of
lemon and honey.
this space and ideally turned off.
If you like using tactile tools such as a
Decide on an allotted amount of time and
stress ball, a worry stone, or a heating pad,
set a timer or use a meditation candle
keep them at hand.
(choose burn times of 30 minutes or one or
Consider using practices like reflexology,
two hours) to remove the distraction of
acupressure points, or a qigong facial
checking the time.
massage. As when holding space for another person, the value and healing are in the non-effort–no judgement, no fixing, no doing. If you struggle to simply sit and BE with your feelings, make sure that your activity is meditative and not something that requires exertion, not something that demands anything of you. Action is YANG, being is YIN. The container is YIN. It holds space. Let your home hold space for you.
RESONANT SPACES resonantspaces.net Facebook @resonantspacesllc Instagram @resonant_spaces_feng_shui FALL 2026 | 36
EQUAL NIGHT On the fall equinox THE ENDINGS WE SKIP PAST AND A REFLECTION PRACTICE FOR THE TURNING Submitted by Marcy Keuler, Coiler Collective Art © Sergey Nivens via Canva.com
Think for a minute about how much we have
No ceremony. No casserole. Usually we start
built around beginnings.
the next thing and hope the last one goes away on its own.
We gave one of them an entire holiday. Resolutions. Word of the year. Vision boards,
It usually doesn't.
clean slates, fresh starts, the first of the month, Monday morning. Graduations,
GRIEF AND DESIRE,
housewarmings, ribbon cuttings, and baby
IN THE SAME MOMENT
showers. When something opens, we know
Here is what I see most often in my work.
exactly what to do. We show up with food. Someone makes a change they wanted. They Now think about what we've built
chose it. They worked toward it, sometimes for
around endings.
years. And then the sadness arrives, right on schedule, and they read it as evidence that
There's a funeral or a celebration of life. That's
they got it wrong.
more or less the whole list. They didn't get it wrong. What they're feeling is We generally dismiss most endings. The job
the ending they didn’t anticipate.
you left on purpose. The friendship that thinned out without a single argument. The
Grief and desire can live in the same moment.
version of yourself you outgrew. The house
Excitement and loss show up together more
you sold to people who will paint over the
often than they do apart. This is one of the
pencil marks on the door frame. The role you
most consistent things I encounter in myself
carried for twenty years that quietly stopped
and in nearly every person I work with. It isn't
being true.
a malfunction. It's what it feels like to be
37 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
someone who is gaining and losing at the
out of politeness. Everything is visibly,
same time, which is what every real change
unapologetically letting go, while at the same
actually is.
time pulling what matters back down into the root, out of sight, for later.
Unfortunately, when you don’t acknowledge an ending, it doesn’t go away. Usually it goes
Nothing about autumn pretends that beginning
underground and comes back sideways. A
and ending are separate events. It does both
mood you can't trace to anything. Resistance
at once, out in the open, without a story about
to something harmless. An irritation that
what it's supposed to mean.
doesn't match the size of its cause. Grief you skip doesn't disappear; it shows up when you
A REFLECTION FOR THE TURNING
least expect it.
Here is a simple practice to give space to our endings.
I've watched what happens when someone finally acknowledges the ending out loud. That
FIRST, NAME WHAT'S ENDING.
part of my life is over. Not tragically, factually.
Not what's broken. Not what needs fixing.
Their whole body changes; shoulders drop, the
What's over, even if it ended well, even if you
jaw releases. Our bodies know before we do.
chose it, even if you're mostly relieved. What ended this year that I moved past too
That's what naming an ending does. It isn't
quickly?
wallowing. It's setting something down that
What am I still carrying that's already
you've been holding without noticing
finished?
the weight.
What did I choose that I'm still a little sad about?
WHAT THE EQUINOX ACTUALLY DOES
What did I lose that nobody else noticed?
This is why fall is the right season for reflection.
Write them down. Then leave them there. Don't reframe them into lessons, don't hunt for
On the evening of September 22 this year, the
the silver lining, don't explain to yourself
sun crosses the celestial equator heading
why it was for the best. The ending
south. That's the equinox. The word is Latin,
gets its own page. This is harder
aequus and nox, equal night. Light and dark
than it sounds, because we are so
come very nearly even, everywhere on Earth,
trained to rush to the meaning.
at the same moment. If it feels right, mark one of Here's the part I find genuinely moving. Dark
them in some small way. Say
and light. Night and day. Endings and
it out loud in your kitchen.
beginnings are equal.
Tell one person. Take it on a walk without trying to
Fall doesn't hide the losing part. The leaves
solve it. Cut something
don't come down discreetly at night when no
back in the garden.
one's watching. The garden doesn't tidy itself FALL 2026 | 38
THEN, AND ONLY THEN, LOOK AT WHAT
visible, and because it arrives whether or not
HAS SPACE TO GROW.
you're ready. But it isn't the only time, and
What did I learn that I didn't want to learn?
you're allowed to do it as often as you need.
Where did I feel most like myself? Not most productive, most myself. What has this ending actually made room for? What do I want to be true a few months from now, not a resolution, just something I'd recognize if I saw it?
You can begin again in March. You can begin again the week after you already began. EQUAL NIGHT The equinox will pass in a single evening,
That order matters more than the questions do. Reaching for what's next before you've acknowledged what's over is how people end up rebuilding the same thing they just left. DO IT BADLY, AND DO IT OFTEN You don't need thirty quiet minutes and a beautiful notebook to do this (but I completely understand if you want the notebook!). The back of an envelope works. Ten minutes in the car before you go into the house works. Saying it out loud works.
whether or not anyone marks it. Light and dark, even for a moment, and then the long lean toward winter. You could let it pass. We usually do. Or you could take that evening, or any evening near it, and give something the ending it never got. A simple sentence out loud: That's over, and it mattered. Nature teaches us that each season is needed. To grow, we have to let go. We have to go
If you write one entry and then nothing for three weeks, nothing is broken. You pick it up again. That's the whole method. And none of this belongs to September. Some people do a version of it on the first of every month. Others at the end of a quarter. Some do it on their birthday, or whenever a book changes their mind about something. The turn of a season is a useful prompt because it's
dormant. Letting go is not the opposite of growth; it’s the first step. Whatever you name this month - the thing that's over, the thing you set down, the thing nobody threw you a party for - you aren't only closing something. You're clearing ground. You're getting ready to grow. Then you give it the winter. That part isn't waiting. It’s the work beginning.
COILER COLLECTIVE Leadership, Coaching, and Personal Transformation marcy@coilercollective.com MARCY KEULER, COILER COLLECTIVE Marcy Keuler is a Board Certified Coach and writer based in Kiel, Wisconsin. She works with people navigating leadership transitions, career reinvention, and retirement - and believes purpose has a habit of turning up in the places we weren't looking. She writes fiction and memoir, gardens, and is building a community of people who believe in spirituality's capacity to heal.
39 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
ASTROLOGY CORNER:
awakening to yourself
THE STORY YOU'VE BEEN LIVING Are you living from old programming or your authentic self? Submitted by Laura Lee Lotto, Astrologer, Author, Intuitive Coach Photography by Sondersweet Photography
Have you ever found yourself caught in a
What is really happening is that we are making
reaction, only to wonder why you're stuck in
decisions from an old version of ourselves, one
that same old groove?
that doesn't support where we are going or who we are working to become. Imagine trying
Maybe it was a sharp word to a loved one or
to run today's software on a DOS computer
another "yes" when your insides were
from the 1980s. The computer isn't broken. It's
screaming "no." It might be that familiar habit
simply running an operating system that was
of prioritizing everyone else while your own
designed for a different time.
self-worth takes a back seat, despite your best intentions to change your dance.
Many of us are doing the same thing emotionally. Running and growing a business in
The truth is, most people aren't actually
2026 using an old DOS computer from the
engaging with the now. They're simply
1980s simply wouldn't work. The programming
operating from an out-of-date internal
is out of date for where society is today.
operating system. I believe many people are in need of an Humans are an interesting lot. Most of them
upgrade in their identity to match the changing
tend to stick with old programmed patterns, no
energy around them. We can all see that
matter how many shifts or tricks that are
society is changing rapidly. It's as if the tempo
attempted to get out of that well-worn rut.
of the music has shifted from a slow waltz to a
Almost all of our challenges come down to
fast-paced foxtrot. If we're still dancing the
these patterns… The ones we have picked up
waltz while the music has changed, it creates
from childhood, watching the adults in our
conflict because what is playing internally no
lives, and making decisions based on what they longer matches the rhythm of the world around did or didn’t do. These patterns can be helpful
us. From an astrological perspective, we're
at times, even protecting us. But mostly, the
experiencing a rare period of planetary change,
responses we have don’t actually fit the
one that invites us to update not only how we
situation at hand and can lead to a whole
live, but also how we see ourselves.
sordid mess. FALL 2026 | 40
This is where astrology becomes far more than
notice that the book I’ve “been working on
predictions or personality descriptions. Your
forever and getting nowhere” will now have
birth chart becomes a mirror. It helps you
shifted into a first draft and will be ready for
recognize the stories you've been living, the
edits. Because I made a tiny change one
gifts you've overlooked, and the places where
Sunday to not stay home in the rut I’ve gotten
life is inviting you to grow. It teaches you why
into. My identity will become more and more
you are reluctant to shift into the foxtrot and
an “author” as I finish and publish that book.
what to do about it. Because, like it or not, we
This habit will become a strong muscle and will
are in an “new era,” as many astrologers like
increase and improve my self-worth and
to say.
leadership ability and skills. All of this will happen because I made a shift. The funny
What does a “new era” mean, anyway?
thing is, no one looking at me in the coffee
It means that it has been hundreds of years
shop would think anything remarkable had
since we have seen the planets in the signs
happened that day. I was simply writing. But
they have moved into this past year. No one in
internally, I had voted for a different future.
our lifetime or lifetimes of those we’ve known (think grandma and grandpa) have
From an astrological perspective, the timing
experienced this kind of energy, or this type of
isn’t random. For me, I am experiencing a
“dance music.” In order to live in this new era,
major “shake-up” right now in my own birth
we must adjust our own frequency, and the
chart. Uranus is in the sky and is exactly
way we identify and how we make moves.
opposite my own natal Uranus - which is a situation (also called a transit) that happens to
Another way I like to describe this is becoming
us all in our mid-40s. It is meant to “wake us
authentic. Living in a way where you make
up” to our authentic self. It’s meant to “strike
micro decisions that align with a new version
us like lightning” to let us know what we are all
of yourself.
done tolerating and putting off. This is happening for me in Gemini and Sagittarius;
It’s always little decisions, too… Instead of
the two signs that deal with writing, publishing,
staying home on Sunday and grumbling about
and teaching… all things I’m shifting more and
housework and managing the little kids, I made more into. Heck, it’s not every day you decide a change to come to a quiet cafe and write.
to open a publishing company and book writing
This micro change and two-hour period will
program, but here I am!
shift the trajectory of how I see myself, how I show up and how I identify. Will it happen all at Our birth chart is this beautiful tool, like a once? Will I announce a “New Me” on Monday?
living document that breathes in ebbs and
Nope!
flows. I love to describe it to clients as a piece of sheet music given by God. Some movements
I will, however, add to this behavior this week
are quiet and reflective, others bold and
and find another day to sneak away to write for chaotic. It has rests, crescendos, and two hours. Then I’ll carve out more time one
decrescendos. Learning about yourself deeply
morning when I wake up early. Suddenly, I’ll
through the lens of this living map is one of the
41 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
best things you can do for yourself and your personal growth. It will show you where the ruts are and what programming needs to be let go and surrendered… and the timing of it all, too! By ignoring this amazing map, we can easily stay in the old, unhelpful programming and repeated patterns. This affects everything from damaging relationships that need to grow, to drying up or slowing down the way money comes in for you. I tell my clients frequently that the question isn't, "Who am I supposed to become?" Perhaps, the better question is, "What old story am I finally ready to stop living?" Change rarely begins with dramatic reinventions. More often, it begins with one quiet decision, one honest conversation, one afternoon spent writing in a coffee shop instead of staying stuck in the familiar, grumbling in frustration. We awaken to ourselves one small choice at a time. What choice are you making today to step into your authenticity?
ALTERNATIVE WELLNESS SERVICES Algoma, Wisconsin lauraleelotto.com
Laura Lee Lotto is an astrologer, author, intuitive coach, and founder of Alternative Wellness Services. Through astrology, writing, and personal development, she helps people better understand themselves, break free from limiting patterns, and step into a more authentic life. Laura Lee is also the co-founder of Soul Seed Collective Publishing and the Journey to the Soul writing program, where she empowers women to write, publish, and share their stories with the world. She lives on a small homestead in Algoma, Wisconsin with her husband, five children, and a lively collection of farm animals.
FALL 2026 | 42
EVENTS RETURN TO YOURSELF THIS SEASON AND CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY Art © Alliance Images, SummerGlow, Valiphotos, Alohalika, agsandrew via Canva.com Events are subject to change. Verify details directly with businesses.
SEPT 9
SEPT 11-19
SEPT 18
SOPHIA CIRCLE JOURNEYS SERIES @Awakened Lakeshore
SEKHEM ALL-LOVE RETREAT @Dodgeville, WI
SOUNDS OF HIMALAYA: MEDITATIVE SOUND @SoundSpace USA
The Sophia Code® is a modern Mystery School blueprint for accepting your sovereign divinity through the heart of the Divine Feminine Christ consciousness. 13-week session $427
A deeply transformative 8day retreat with Patrick Zeigler, founder of Sekhem All-Love, and host Kathy Milanowski in a nature-filled setting to support deep inner work and connection.
A meditative sound experience with ShamaahS, featuring Sitarist Mark Ilaug. Let the sound carry you as you relax, explore inward, and reconnect with your inner awareness.
awakenedlakeshore.com
wisconsinreiki.com
soundspaceusa.com
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
SEPT 19
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM QUANTUM HYPNOSIS HEALING WITH HEATHER TUCKER BEYOND THE SESSION @Fox Cities Wellness Center Hear inspiring healing stories. Ask your questions. Experience the peace of a guided meditation enhanced by the beautiful sounds of live crystal singing bowls with Heather Tucker & Miranda Pollnow. This event was created to bring together both past clients and those who are curious about exploring Quantum Healing. foxcitieswellnesscenter.org
43 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
SEPT 20
SEPT 23
SEPT 26
EXPAND YOUR SPIRITUAL SELF @Golden Light Healing
GOOD BUFFALO “VIBRATION OF THE EARTH CONCERT @Fox Cities Wellness Center
WELLNESS, MIND, & SPIRIT FAIR @Carriage House
Connect to your spirit guides, establish and enhance your intuitive gifts, and strengthen your confidence in yourself with Matt Schmidt and Whitney Heuvelmans. $133 (includes lunch)
Allow yourself to be transported by the soothing and inspirational sounds of Good Buffalo’s ancient relaxing flutes, which cleanse negative energy from mind and body. $35
Step into a day of connection, healing, and inspiration. This heartcentered gathering brings together practitioners, creators, and seekers to nourish your mind, body, and spirit.
mattschmidtqh.com
foxcitieswellnesscenter.com
wisconsinreiki.com
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
SEPT 19
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM FALL EQUINOX FESTIVAL @Ancient Hearts Collective, Janesville As the season turns to autum, gather at the threshold between light and dark to honor the Fall Equinox and the turning of the seasons. This is a time to pause, give thanks, and gently release what you’re ready to leave behind. Eight unique experiences, one unforgettable afternoon. Check-in begins at 12:30pm. $33-$77 givebutter.com/fall_equinox_festival
OCT 4 & NOV 1
OCT 13
OCT 24
AN AWAKENED GATHERING @Awakened Lakeshore
ADVANCED SPIRITUAL TECHNIQUES @Golden Light Healing
AUTUMN MARKET & FAMILY DAY @SoundSpace USA
A free, welcoming space to come together with likeminded people for connection, conversation, and community. Come as you are and bring whatever is on your heart or mind.
Ready to move beyond oracle cards and pendulums? This is the event you’ve been waiting for! Join Matt Schmidt and Whitney Heuvelmans as they share techniques they use regularly to navigate the game of life. $40
Bring the whole family for a day of fall fun with free kids activity area, popcorn, trick-or-treating, wellness & metaphysical demos, costume fun and prizes for kids and adults, food and drink, and more.
awakenedlakeshore.com
mattschmidtqh.com
soundspaceusa.com
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
FALL 2026 | 44
NOV 12 - 15 THE WOMAN YOU CAME HERE TO BE RETREAT @Trempealeau, Wisconsin This retreat is about shedding the layers of conditioning, self-doubt, people-pleasing, perfectionism, and old survival patterns that keep you from fully embodying your truth, power, and purpose. Over three immersive days under the bluffs along the Mississippi River, you’ll be guided through a powerful blend of healing modalities, intuitive guidance, and meaningful connection with other growth-oriented women. myelevatedlifecoaching.com
NOV 6
NOV 12
NOV 21
SONGS OF REMEMBERANCE: A KIRTAN GATHERING @Awakened Lakeshore
WITH LOVE FROM SPIRIT @Golden Light Healing
NUMEROLOGY WORKSHOP WITH DIANE BLOOM @Golden Light Healing
A joyful practice of calland-response chanting — invites us into a meditative, heart-opening state, reminding us of our deep connection with one another and the universe. $15 donation appreciated.
Join Psychic Medium Heather LaFond for an intimate evening of spirit connection in a space that has long been a place of deep spiritual growth, transformation, and awakening. $44
Learn the basics of numerology so you’re able to understand and write charts of your own for friends and family. This class is not only informative, but fun as well! Lunch included. $222
awakenedlakeshore.com
heatherlafond.com
goldenlighthealing.net
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
NOV 13 - 15
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM AWAKENING THE MEDIUM WITHIN @SoundSpace USA This immersive three-day experience is designed for beginners who feel called to explore evidential mediumship in a grounded, supportive environment. You’ll learn how Spirit communicates, strengthen your connection with your own Spirit team, understand the difference between intuition and mediumship, and begin delivering meaningful evidence and messages with confidence. heatherlafond.com
45 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
LOOKING INWARD
free to be Submitted by Jessica Clayborn, Inward Path Counseling Art © MilanMarkovic via Canva.com Headshot by miss lady jane studios
I try to look for themes in my life, to listen and to see the commonalities as they present. Usually, it revolves around some sort of lesson I am supposed to learn. Lately, the common theme has been the concept of freedom. I found myself thinking about the definition of freedom. My definition of it and how it pertains to my life may be very different than how others define freedom. In fact, one of my friends was wearing a shirt that spoke about freedom: “If you think you love freedom, but you don’t care if it applies to everyone, what you actually love is privilege.” Just a reminder of how divided we all seem to be, how some of us overlook inequality in our nation. Or how most of us are just too distracted to even notice what other people might be going through. The television, social media, podcasts, audiobooks, YouTube videos, streaming channels – all promise you a way to feel different about your actual life and your freedom. FALL 2026 | 46
We can easily become so distracted that we lose sight of what it means to be free. Is it because we are free to have our own opinions without the threat of persecution? And do we really have freedom to express our opinions? How do we know how much of our opinion is real versus how much of it is a result of all the algorithms being thrown at us on a daily basis? I titled this article based on a song I recall from my childhood, “Free to be you and me.” But are we free to be ourselves? Or are there places where we know we can’t wear certain clothes, or freely speak our minds? Does this freedom include all of us? Or do some of us still have to hide parts of ourselves for our own safety? Are there circumstances, even in America, where we are not completely free? Many of the people I work with consider being on probation as not being completely free. Many of the people I work with who are placed on a commitment do not consider themselves to be completely free. Or is freedom simply a state of mind? That even when on probation or under a commitment, we recognize the freedoms we have and embrace those freedoms instead of focusing on our limitations. We allow our minds to focus on what is directly in front of us, to act mindfully, and to embrace each moment for what it is. For me, I like to think that even if some of my freedoms are limited, no one can control my thoughts, and my reality can be whatever I want it to be. 47 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
INWARD PATH COUNSELING 615 S. 8th St., Ste. 240A Sheboygan, WI inwardpathcounseling.com Jessica Clayborn, MA, LPC, SAC-IT, utilizes a variety of therapeutic approaches, including Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, MindfulnessBased Relapse Prevention, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, while remaining trauma-informed. She specializes in Couples Counseling and Substance Abuse Counseling, working collaboratively with you to develop a trusting and safe environment that builds on your strengths. Jessica is also a certified yoga instructor and a member of the American Counseling Association.
full moon
RELEASE
By Lisa K. Adams | Art © ofc pictures via Canva.com
As of this writing, I find myself stepping into a
enough” wound. At first, I would react
brand-new me. Or at least I’m hoping that I’m
impulsively with anger when triggered. Which is
stepping into a brand new me. Yesterday was
pretty much the definition of being triggered.
the full moon and lunar eclipse and I was primed for a really big release.
Because I’ve been doing this work for awhile now, I quickly became aware of why I was
On the cusp of this potent transitional time, I
being triggered. And with that awareness, the
explained to someone that I don’t always do a
reactions began to soften outwardly, but
full moon release ceremony, but I do it often
started seeping deeper into me. It has been
enough that it is definitely a pattern. The
penetrating every fiber of my being. Nothing I
deciding factor, I would say, isn’t really up to
do is good enough. Nobody cares. Why bother?
me. Sometimes the moon waxes and wanes and my life keeps on moving forward without
This is one of those deep wounds that has been
my attention. But sometimes I can feel
with me for a very long time. Back in 2018
something building, bubbling below the surface, when I started my healing journey, I became that is begging me to finally let it go.
aware that my father being OCD had taught me that I couldn’t do anything right. No matter
This one was a doozy because I’ve been aware
how I did something, it wasn’t exactly the way
of this lesson trying to come through for a long
he would have done it. With that level of
time, maybe even a full year. I became aware
awareness, the perfectionism I had struggled
that I had moved myself into a situation that
with in the corporate world began to soften.
was continually triggering my “I’m not good FALL 2026 | 48
I also grew up with a mother who struggles
burn the paper no matter the weather outside
with unworthiness, and during my healing
in Wisconsin. I crumpled up the page, lit it on
process, I discovered I’m an empath and I
fire, and watched it burn through to ash.
actually absorbed my mother’s beliefs as my own on multiple levels. Over the years, I’ve
Because it was the eclipse, I parked myself
learned tools to help shield myself from picking
outside under the full moon to soak up the
up other people’s emotions, and started daily
energy and let the moon wash away all that
rituals to release anything that I did pick up
was no longer serving me. Once I had observed
along the way. And I’m getting better at
the complete eclipse cover, I headed back
noticing what is mine and what is not when an
inside and washed the ash down my kitchen
emotion rushes through me.
sink and sighed, settling into my new skin.
The eclipse window really put me through the
I’m planning to spend the weekend taking care
wringer, though. On several occasions, I fell
of my physical vessel, drinking plenty of water,
right into the deep end when those feelings of
getting plenty of sleep, and nurturing the new
unworthiness rushed in. I couldn’t hold back
part of myself that needs to take root. My next
the tears and once they started, I swirled
step is to write out what I want to become after
deeper and deeper into the unworthiness
this portal of rapid change, uncertainty, and
whirlpool. Why am I so broken that I can’t heal
heightened emotional energy. The eclipse
this aspect of myself? I’ve already done so
window showed me the necessary life shift that
much work in this arena.
needed to happen, and I’m counting on its potency to accelerate the needed growth in this
Spoiler alert, if you’re new to spiritual work and ending and new beginning. healing… everything is cyclical. You are never “healed,” because the work is never done. There is always more to excavate and a deeper understanding constantly unfolding. So the
Lisa K. Adams is a spiritual
lessons I’ve walked through before keep
creative, Holy Fire Reiki Master.
coming back in new and interesting ways to
After a lifetime of seeking
offer me deeper understanding of myself and deeper healing. Fun, right?
meaning, and trying an abundance of spiritual modalities for herself, she is here to light the way on your spiritual path.
Enter the full Sturgeon Moon on August 27. One of my practices is to write out everything I can think of that I’m ready to release. This full moon’s release revolved around unworthiness from every angle that I could think of. I filled the front and back of a page of note paper and ended with “I release you. I release you. I release you,” and “So be it. It is done.” I purchased a small burn bowl so I can safely 49 | EXPLORE THE AWAKENED
LISA K. ADAMS
Creative
LISA K. ADAMS CREATIVE Manitowoc, WI lisakadamscreative.com
CONNECT Connect with others on the spiritual path in the online community. The Explore the Awakened Facebook group provides spiritual and healing resources in northeast Wisconsin and beyond. Whether you're newly awakened or a seasoned spiritual seeker, we hope to light the way on your spiritual journey from the shores of Lake Michigan.
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WINTER ISSUE RELEASED: DECEMBER 1, 2026
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Cover Photography by Lisa K. Adams
EXPLORE THE AWAKENED FALL 2026
LISA K. ADAMS
Creative
By Lisa K. Adams Creative PO Box 173 | Manitowoc, WI 54221 exploretheawakened.com connect@exploretheawakened.com @exploretheawakened