As of July 1, 2009, my private practice space will be located at 709 Bethlehem Pike, rear (in the ECOLibra office), Erdenheim, PA 19038.  I'm excited about this shift because it puts me closer to Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy and Philadelphia where many of you (my clients) live and work!  The office is easy to find, and only about 15 minutes away from my current office space.  So starting today, June 8th, when you next schedule an appointment I'll be booking you into the new office space which I'm sharing with Katryn Lavanture of ECOLibra. 

For those of you wondering about why I would leave a place as wonderful and worthwhile as the Resiliency Center, rest assured I'm not!  While my office will no longer be there, I will still be a member of the Center, and I'll be working with several other members to create Professional Development Seminars, as well as continuing to offer workshops there.

Look for the nifty "moving" postcard I'll be sending all of you who have been my clients.  There's a very nice special offer....

I'm looking forward to welcoming you to this new space!

Tracie 

I'm reading Biomimicry by Janine Benyus.  The subtitle is "Innovation Inspired by Nature".  I was inspired to pick this book up again by the recent news stories about the Copenhagen Climate Conference.  "Biomimicry is a new science (the book was written in 1997) that studies nature's models and then imitates or takes inspiration from these designs and process to solve human problems."   I'm fascinated by this idea because it makes so much sense.  Ecosystems have had billions of years to figure out what works and what doesn't in order to sustain life for all membes of that ecosystem.  What better teachers could we have?  Here are some of the ideas that emerge as pivotal, according to Benyus:

• Nature runs on sunlight.
• Nature uses only the energy it needs.
• Nature fits form to function.
• Nature recycles everything.
• Nature rewards cooperation.
• Nature banks on diversity.
• Nature demands local expertise.
• Nature curbs excesses from within.
• Nature taps the power of limits. 

Just some food for thought as you ease into your week after the holiday weekend.

Peace....Tracie

I haven't had much time to post here in the past month because I've been fully occupied midwifing New Way Community Sanctuary into existence with my co-creator Katryn Lavanture.  Here's the press release we just sent out to local papers...

New Way Community Sanctuary, a holistic walk-in stress-reduction, relaxation, and wellness clinic, has opened at 709 Bethlehem Pike, Erdenheim.  Katryn Lavanture, M.A. and Tracie Nichols, M.A. have created a space for the community to have access to easily affordable, individualized alternative health services in a communal setting.  Sessions include sound healing, Reiki, nurturing touch, gemstone therapy, essential oils and more, and are 35 minutes in length for only $20-$35 based on a sliding scale.  Sanctuary hours are Mondays 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Wednesdays 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., and first Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  Feel free to walk in, or make an appointment. Call 267-738-9501 or 215-527-5457, email info@newwaysanctuary, or check out our website at www.newwaysanctuary.com.

This is a unique approach to providing alternative wellness services that emerges out of the community service minded ethics of Katryn Lavanture and Tracie Nichols. The focus of New Way Community Sanctuary is to be affordable and truly accessible – yes, you can actually walk in for a session, so that more members of the community have access to nurturing, stress-reducing care that leaves them with immediate results.
 Tracie is an educator, nationally certified massage therapist, aromatherapist and energy therapist with over 18 years of experience providing these services in an individual setting.  She is passionate about creating a sustainable business which serves the community, supports the environment, and contributes to her family's well being.  Katryn is a Holistic Therapist and Ecopsychologist who integrates energy medicine with psychotherapy, as well as sound healing with tuning forks and Tibetan bowls. She has been in private practice for 22 years.  

So come see us!  And yes, I'm definitely still seeing private clients to do the depth work so many of us need....

Peace,

Tracie

With the media broadcasting fear hourly, how do we choose our responses to the information we receive, rather than reacting?  While common sense responses like washing hands, eating well, getting the rest your body needs, and generally caring for yourself so your immune system is resilient make sense.  Some reactions don't, and they can actually hurt.

A friend who runs an international university program based in in Yuma, AZ, right on the Mexican border emailed me with his experience of the Swine Flu publicity.  "Adding to the hysteria, I hear right wing (representatives) using the Swine Flu thing to further spread fear and hatred toward Mexicans.  "Isn't it a shame we don't have secure borders?" they lament.  Funny.  And some Mexican friends I know are certain that the virus was manufactured in the US to kill them." 

He included the following quote from a conversation between Andrew Cohen and Ken Wilbur at EnlightenNext:
 
WILBER: At times like these, our spiritual practice becomes essential. We have to develop a heightened awareness of our own internal mechanisms and of what can throw us back into a contracted, survivalist mode. That’s really important, because there are some very serious survival issues right now. We might not make it as a species. And being able to watch yourself contract in the face of that is a supreme teacher. It’s a chance to really learn how you allow the survivalist mode to knock you out of your true self and your already-free awareness.

COHEN: Yes. And the reason it’s so important is that it isn’t just our feeling experience that contracts; it’s our perspectives and our values. We fall out of touch with that which is higher, that which has inherent glory, and we contract into a very fearful orientation to life. Often, those who are able to really make a difference in times like these are those who are able to see global events and crises in the biggest developmental context—to see it all as part of a larger process, which itself is indestructible. Never losing touch with that perspective is critical, because when we lose touch with the bigger perspective, we lose touch with the best part of ourselves.

Responding thoughtfully, wisely, with compassion, to situations as they arise benefits everyone, including you.

Peace,

Tracie

I'm so excited to be part of a wonderful new collaboration with Katryn Lavanture of EcoLibra.  Katryn is a gifted EarthKeeper, Ecopsychologist, Sound & Energy Healer, and a truly lovely person.  We are crafting several juicy, fun, experiential workshops, as well as some beautiful and potent vibrational essences.

Co-creating with Katryn is offering me the opportunity to deepen the offerings and services of TTN Therapeutics.  I have a deeply held belief in living a sustainable life, and supporting my clients into that same balanced way of being.  Katryn's expertise in the field of Ecopsychology, as well as her years of experience as a healer, form an inspiring synergy with my own expertise in affective bodywork, plant medicines, intuitive energy therapies and transformative learning theory.  

So come share a workshop with us!   On April 24th we are offering Using Flower Essences and Essential Oils to Enhance our Connection to Nature and Earth from 6:30 -8:30, and on May 16th we are offering If the Land You Life on Could Talk from 10: a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  Email or call to let me know you are coming!

Spring blessings,

Tracie