I thought I'd post again about my podcast!

This time I'm in a Yurt in Sandstone, Minnesota at around midnight-1am.  Reflections on moving to Minneapolis, two great songs to share, and a meditation poem called Labyrinth.

Enjoy!

http://www.northerndruid.net/northern-druid-podcast-3/

More news from the North Woods, Irish song for you cat-lovers, and a Robert Frost Meditation.

http://www.northerndruid.net/northern-druid-podcast-2/

 Enjoy!

Scott Schumacher
Duluth, MN

Ahh.. It's so comfortable being here in this space.   I've missed it.

I thought I'd share what I've been working on.  Many of you may or may not know that I'm a graduate student in Human Development, and get to write my own curriculum of independent study work.  I've written things like this before, and I've always been talking as if wanting something to happen in the future, like my own "vision" for what a new kind of educational program for holistic healers could look like, if there were a school or "unschool" kind of learning community.

Back a few months ago, I wrote a practicum into my graduate studies where I would observe and interact with students at The Village School of Northfield, in Northfield, MN.  The Village School was a democratic charter school, k-12, where the students were completely free to determine the course of their days.  They studied what they wanted, when they wanted, and how they wanted.  

My experience with this wonderful and ambitious community changed my outlook on education, and exposed in front of me, the failing of our education system to allow and foster transformation of self.  A 17-year old girl could read a book all day, every day, if she wanted, and had bosted reading 200 books in a year.  A 16-year old boy showed me his passport with nine different country stamps.  I saw seven-year-olds skiing fearlessly down hills.  A visually impaired young woman creating the most heartfelt art.  A fourth grader was doing an impromptu survey to see if the school could experiment with a week of no electronic devices.  This was a typical day in this wonderful community.

In 1998 I began my core learning in Massage and Bodywork in Minneapolis, from teachers who spoke of "Esalen Massage" as being one of the most truly beautiful modalities on Earth.  I've always approached massage and touch from a very "whole person" perspective, that one can never quantify the connections between mind-body-spirit, nor can we ever be disconnected from healing in the world.  They are all living and breathing, growing and changing, morphing and blossoming beings.  From the time I set foot in a classroom for massage, I took it all in, yet always longed for something deeper - something that held incredible meaning and synthesis.  I wanted to learn as much about myself and my connection with others, the earth, and the sacred in all things, while learning about something as beautiful and intimate as touch.

I left the massage school after their initial "Massage Practitioner" program of 240 hours, and went on to study Acupressure, Aromatherapy, Reflexology, and Reiki.  I believed that all bodywork was energy work, no matter the modality, and no matter the "label" or copyright spin that was placed upon it.  Of course, much of this learning took place between now and then, and now after 6 years of working part-time as a massage therapist, much of my learning and focus is synthesizing again.  I'm integrating so much into the "whole" with all of what I learn.