Category: natural health

The Release of My New Podcast: Garden Goth!!

Happy Full Moon!!
The Release of My New Podcast: Garden Goth!!

Garden Goth • A podcast on Anchor

Garden Goth | Podcast on Spotify

Garden Goth is hosted by Christina Wilke-Burbach PhD and produced by Mead Public Library. A new episode will be released every other Friday. Garden Goth is a 3-segment podcast that focuses on the duality of life and death. Segment 1 (Memento Vivere) focuses on living a big and bold life to the fullest. Segment 2 (Memento Mori) explores the darker and less understood side of life through gothic gardening, gothic philosophy, gothic music, and other taboo and stigmatized things people might fear, not have exposure to, and misunderstand. Segment 3 focuses on gardening, horticulture, sustainability, and land conservation. Christina Wilke-Burbach PhD is an Herbalist, Certified Aromatherapist, Master Gardener, President of the Sheboygan County Master Gardeners and is on the Board of Directors, project chair of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center Indoor Gardens, a member of the American Herbalist Guild, a member of The American Botanical Council, botanical artist, and specializes in Heirloom plants and Gothic Gardening (black/dark plants and dramatic/bold design). Christina works in the realm of Spiritual Psychology. She has a PhD in Health Psychology, Training in Transpersonal Psychology, a Masters in Clinical Psychology, a Bachelors in Anthropology, a Bachelors in Psychology, and is an ordained minister. Christina has been involved in the Goth, Industrial, Electronic, and underground music scenes for over 25 years. 

February 2020: As Above, So Below. Plants & Spirituality

As Above, So Below. Plants & Spirituality.
By Christina Wilke-Burbach PhD, RMT, CA
Mind, Soul, and Self LLC
mindsoulandself.com

Christina in the Glass Gallery at JMKAC

You may be wondering why a holistic healing and spirituality business offers so many plant and gardening classes. Let me explain to you why…..

As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul…”― Hermes Trismegistus

This is my favorite quote. It deeply resonates with me for a number of reasons. The concept implies that the cosmos is linked to nature and that the microcosm and the macrocosm are connected. We are divine and the divine is us. The earth is a mirror of the larger universe. One way I personally interpret this quote is that we can connect to the divine through nature. Plants and Spirituality. Spirituality is a personal and individual practice of developing one’s inner reality/inner path. Spirituality is feeling like a whole and complete person with meaning and purpose. It’s searching inside yourself for the answer. It is an inner path enabling you to discover the true essence of your being; the deepest values, morals, and meanings by which you live. It’s a feeling as if there is something greater than yourself; a higher power or a higher being, nature or the cosmos. You feel that you are more than just a physical body. You feel connected to others and to your surroundings. Spirituality is often experienced as a source of inspiration or orientation in life.

Nature has been an incredible teacher to me in developing and deepening my spirituality. Nature is my church. A beautiful sunset is a mystical experience. Admiring beautiful plants and flowers inspires me. Walking through the forest, I feel so connected and a part of something much greater than myself. Caring for a garden; watching it grow; harvesting it; then making food or medicine or art from those same plants I grew gives my life so much purpose and meaning.  I am both a creator and a caretaker. Humans forget that we too are nature. When we get out of sync with the natural rhythms, the seasons, and earth’s creations we can feel existential emptiness. Being attentive to the cycles of nature can impact your spiritual, physical, and emotional health for the better.

The human/plant connection can be traced back all the way to prehistory (the time before writing systems were developed). We find that different cultures around the world, for thousands and thousands of years, have been utilizing plants as medicine, for fun, for ritual, for divination, for altered consciousness, for decoration, for food, for clothing, for art, and for aroma/perfumery. Plants are and have always been the principal form and oldest form of medicine for the majority of the world, since the beginning of time. Several diverse lines of evidence indicate that medicinal plants represent the most widespread form of medication. The use of herbal medicines has been documented for over 6000 years. Anthropologists and archeologists have found evidence that prehistoric man took medicinal plants and botanicals to cure health problems. In addition to using plants for medicine, the act of gardening and caring for plants can also improve all areas of your life and wellbeing…physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially. Spending time outside is good for our bodies and our minds. Research has shown gardening can help us: connect to others, connect to nature, connect to something greater than ourselves, help us be in the present moment, reduce stress and depression, improve mood, provide us with exercise and fresh air, and helps us reach higher states of consciousness through mindfulness. Plants are amazing!

My mother and grandfather were both avid gardeners. I grew up a little girl among the flowers. I started my professional and personal journey into holistic healing over 20 years ago with aromatherapy and essential oils. I then evolved into an herbalist and more recently, a gardener. I had a spiritual awakening in 2005. At that time, I lived on a 200-acre farm in the middle of nowhere. That time immersed in nature changed my life. I am a Certified Aromatherapist, Herbalist, Natural Perfumer, have Wisconsin Master Gardener Training and a PhD in Health Psychology with 22 years of higher education and experience in psychology, spirituality, holistic healing, and natural health. I am a Member of the American Botanical Council, I am the Project Chair of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center Indoor Garden, I teach Continuing Education Gardening Classes at University of Wisconsin Green Bay, I am a Botanical Artist, and a supporter of organic farming and non–GMOS. My business-Mind, Soul, and Self LLC believes plants are essential to spirituality and holistic healing. Enhance your spirituality, connection to nature, and holistic healing abilities. Join me for upcoming gardening, botanical healing, and herbal medicine classes in 2020! Click on the name of the event for more info:

Holistic Healing with Herbs Certificate Series starts April 18, 2020.

Earth Day Event: Miniature Indoor Upcycled Garden. Saturday April 25, 2020 from 2pm to 5:30pm

Gardening 101. Sunday May 3, 2020 from 9am to 12pm

Gardening 102. Sunday May 3, 2020 from 1pm to 4pm

Mini Indoor Garden Workshop. May 7, 2020 from 5:30pm to 8pm at JMKAC

Family Gardening Workshop June 4, 2020 from 6pm to 8pm at UWGB: Sheboygan Campus

 

Ok….now to the Photoblog…..

February 2020 Photoblog: Care for yourself while caring for mother earth! Connect to the divine by connecting to nature! It’s hard for me to put all of this into words, so let me show you with pictures:

**All photos are the property of Christina Wilke-Burbach. All rights reserved ***

My PhotoBlog: I have come to understand, true ways to heal spiritually, psychologically and emotionally are non-verbal: through art, music, movement, meditative states, and bodywork/energy work. The language of the soul/psyche is symbols, images, colors, vibrations, sensations, and patterns; we communicate this non-verbally. I have been on an incredible personal growth journey of my own the past few years into the world of art. I have become very involved with John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) in Sheboygan, WI. I am the chair of the JMKAC Indoor Gardens, a member of the Friends of the Arts Council, and a museum docent (teacher/tour guide). I try to take a new art class every month. I started joining my artist husband in his art studio to paint and experiment with making art. Coincidentally, my old office space was located in an art gallery and my current office space is in an entire building of art studios. My preferred social media has become Instagram. I try to post a new photograph every day. I have enjoyed experimenting with art and photography as ways to express myself. So I have decided to have a photoblog to complement this personal and professional journey that I am on.

May 2019: May Flowers

May 2019: May Flowers
Art, Music, and TranscenDANCE
By Christina Wilke-Burbach PhD, RMT, CA
Mind, Soul, and Self LLC
mindsoulandself.com

2019 is a journey into the world of non-verbal healing and personal growth here at Mind, Soul, and Self LLC. I have come to understand, true ways to heal spiritually, psychologically and emotionally are non-verbal: through art, music, movement, meditative states, and bodywork/energy work. The language of the soul/psyche is symbols, images, colors, vibrations, sensations, and patterns; we communicate this non-verbally.

I have been on an incredible personal growth journey of my own the past few years into the world of art. I have become very involved with John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) in Sheboygan, WI. I am the chair of the JMKAC Indoor Gardens, a member of the Friends of the Arts Council, and a museum docent (teacher/tour guide). I try to take a new art class every month. I started joining my artist husband in his art studio to paint and experiment with making art. Coincidentally, my old office space was located in an art gallery and my current office space is in an entire building of art studios. My preferred social media has become Instagram. I try to post a new photograph every day. I have enjoyed experimenting with art and photography as ways to express myself. So I have decided to have a photo blog this year to complement this personal and professional journey that I am on. I just recently had a revelation regarding my photography and am working on a project I hope to release later this year. 

As a Master Gardener/Herbalist/Natural Perfumer, naturally, much of my photography inspiration is plants, trees, and flowers. Nature is the greatest work of art. I find so much beauty in the sky, water, and land. In animals and botanicals. I feel closer to the divine when I am surrounded by nature. As above, so below. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year because nature wakes up from her winter slumber. Animals come out of hibernation and all the blossoms and blooms of new life. The days get longer and warmer. Its a time of growth and positivity. I find it as gorgeous as it is inspiring because we forget that we humans are nature too. We are not separate from nature. We are a part of nature. When we consider ourselves distanced from the sun, moon, stars, birds, bees, and the trees it can lead to feeling unbalanced, depressed, and ungrounded. We too ebb and flow with the cycles of nature whether we realize it or not.

“Spring is a time of outward growth, not only in nature but in us as well. Spring is a great time to look at the goals you’ve set for yourself for the year and to plan them out so you can move forward to meet them. It’s also a time of renewed energy. Paying attention to the rhythms of the seasons can help us to feel more stable and centered as a person. It can also help us see ourselves as part of the bigger picture of nature where everything is working together synergistically. These things can help us to focus and live more mindfully during the coming season. Being attentive to the cycles of nature can impact your physical and emotional health for the better.” Meagan Visser

Below are pictures of my May Flowers in my own personal garden. As you view them, contemplate if you live a life in flow with the cycles of nature. How can you take the energy and new growth of springtime and use it as a catalyst to blossom in your own life?

 

**All photos are the property of Christina Wilke-Burbach. All rights reserved ***

The term “healer”

“A healer is not someone that you go to for healing. A healer is someone that triggers within you, your own ability to heal yourself.” ~unknown

 

Those who have taken classes with me or have worked with me know that I am not a fan of the term “healer.” I think it encourages the “magic wand syndrome” in which others come to us expecting to miraculously be healed or cured. When you use the term “healer,” to me, it implies healing is a passive process in which the health care practitioner does all the work. The locus of control is shifted externally instead of internally. With healing, the only one who can heal you is yourself. Ultimately, it up to you to take responsibility for your own health and well-being, your thoughts, your lifestyle, and your diet. In order to heal and improve health, YOU NEED to be willing to change and make modifications to your lifestyle.  As a practitioner, I definitely prefer to use the terms “healing facilitator” or “wellness coach/cheerleader.” Our job is to empower our clients and give them the tools and coping skills to change their own life.

Love and Light,

~Dr. Christina Wilke-Burbach ~