Many of you know I love Gabby Bernstein, I've been a loyal student of hers since discovering her in the summer of 2013.  She has changed my life and I am so grateful.

This summer Gabby turned me on toRuby Warthington, a one time features editor at the UK Sunday Times, she had a spiritual awakening a few years back and has been on an incredible exploratory journey!

Ruby is the author of a terrific book Material Girl, Mystical World which came out this year and runs a groovy website called The Numinous.  Ruby coined the phrase "the now age" and seems to have a key role in bringing our parents hippie dippy "new age" methods into our current digital life with ease. 

I listened to Ruby's book while on my long drives and really got into it, so much so I purchased a hard copy as well, I wanted to see the methods for reading tarot, taking cleansing salt baths and other cool rituals she had been speaking to me about for all those hours.

If "the now age" speaks to you, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Ruby's book, I put an Amazon link below and also sign up for her newsletters on The Numinous.  This girl is on fire. 

In four days I leave for summer camp in the Adirondack Mountains, it's called Soul Camp. I haven't been to camp in over almost 30 years, I have done a lot of trainings, workshops and classes that have taken me in a camp-like setting in the past 20 years, I haven't actually gone to summer camp since the 1980s.

When my friends ask me what type of camp this is I explain what I know so far...it's a place were I get to do all my favorite activities: yoga, meditation, spiritual growth work, paddle boarding and meeting new people.

I also will be taking the 10 hour drive to camp by myself from Detroit, hopefully getting out of my head a bit along the way.  

The past few days I've been thinking about my childhood camp experiences, which I look back fondly at, then I remembered my fear of not knowing anyone at this camp and taking this journey alone. I also remember that my parents sent me to summer camp by myself without knowing anyone my entire childhood and I lived, I thrived and I am still friends with some of those people today.  
Not too bad I would say.

I'm excited about camp, new journeys and new friends.  Excitement and fear have similar reactions to our bodies via our central nervous system, we only need to acknowledge that fact and then decipher which feeling is actually coming up for us.  

​Excitement is overwhelmingly winning over fear for me today.

MONDAY THE ECLIPSE IS COMING!!! It's been 38 years since our last total eclipse, don't miss it!
Plan ahead and find yourself some NASA approved viewing glasses so you don't damage your eyes (see link below).

Ready for the eclipse on August 21? An eclipse is a rare phenomenon that you don’t want to miss, but it’s critical that you plan ahead and ensure you have the right materials to protect your eyes and view the eclipse safely: https://goo.gl/gTozbd

I get it, you are probably rolling your eyes at the title of this post. No judgement on your judgement, it seems like any responsible adult would be heading to the dentist twice a year for cleanings and maintenance. That wasn't me until recently.

It's not because I am gross and don't brush my teeth, actually on a weekly basis strangers comment on how nice and white my teeth are (it's natural), the truth is I am a recovering alcoholic covered in fear, a lot of fear, especially of the dentist.

It's been over 8 years since I picked up a drink and my life is, for the better. I really was living in a giant hole filled with fear for years. As a child I wasn't taken to the dentist often because we couldn't afford it, and honestly the adults in charge of me weren't very responsible either, it took me over 4 years to get my braces off! Dentistry avoidance!

Then came the major trauma, around 19-20 years of age I had all four wisdom teeth extracted while I was awake, several of them were impacted, my dental insurance was so bad I couldn't afford to pay to be put under during the procedure. That dentist broke an adjacent molar in the process! I was so completely traumatized by that experience I still haven't properly fixed the tooth yet (it's been 25 years!), it has caused so many issues in my life and I've had root canal because of it too!

FEAR! STRESS! ANXIETY!

Today I go to a lovely kind dentist twice a year. It took me 3 years to finally agree to have her replace the toxic metal fillings I had in my mouth (I did two today, and two will be replaced in September). She asked me if I do meditation, we spoke about a guru she follows and she reminded me how stress, fear and anxiety play a huge part in our dental health which can hurt our overall health.

Then I meditated listening to India Arie, the doctor began and the whole process took less than 30 minutes.

I feel really positive about my experience today, I'm a strong sober woman, addressing her health both physically and mentally. Breathe deep, dental work too shall pass.

Oh and I didn't even use any Novocaine ;)

I am so excited to attend Soul Camp in 3 weeks in the Adirondack Mountains! 
It's like "Camp Oprah" come join us!
Click this link for more details https://soul.camp/shanon-chaiken