This document discusses using creativity and spirituality to heal from within. It introduces the author's mission to encourage others to explore and use their gifts as a means of healing. The author has educational backgrounds in art, social services, and substance abuse and is currently pursuing a PhD in health and wellness. The author's blog combines meals, music, art and spirituality as different ways to heal internally. An example is provided of an Italian pasta dish paired with music and reflections on the author's Italian roots and a childhood spiritual experience.

1. HEAL FROM WITHIN We all need to be creative. We all need pleasantries. When you combine art, music, food, and spirituality, you begin to HEAL FROM WITHIN

2. MY VISION

3. MY MISSION MY MISSION IS TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO UNWRAP THEIR GIFTS, EXAMINE THEM, ENJOY THEM, AND USE THEM. MY MISSION IS TO EXPLORE THE USE OF CREATIVITY AS A MEANS OF HEALING FROM WITHIN

4. A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME *I am on an adventure and I invite you to come along! FIRST MY CREDENTIALS I started out my educational journey to get a degree in Fine Art. I changed majors during my B.A. from art to Child Family & Community Services. I continued my education many years later for a Masters degree in Alcohol & Substance Abuse. Currently I am on my latest adventure: To get my PhD in Psychology with a concentration in Health & Wellness. So Welcome! You are invited on this journey as I explore true health and wellness, that which comes from within “Healing From Within “ is my motto and the name of my blog.

5. SPIRITUALITY RELAX IT’S A JOURNEY OF PEACE & CONTENTMENT, NOT A LIST OF RULES AND CONSTRAINTS THERE ARE NO STRUCTURED BUILDINGS IN SPIRITUALITY TIPS BUILD A GOOD FOUNDATION A. SOMETIMES OLD STRUCTURES ARE DILAPIDATED, OUTDATED, FALLING APART, OR JUST SIMPLY DO NOT MEET PERSONAL NEEDS B. SOMETIMES WE HAVE LEFTOVER RELIGIOSITY THAT WE CAN’T LIVE UP TO, OR DON’T WANT TO LIVE UP TO C. SEEK, LEARN, OPEN UP, START ANEW WITH YOUR CHOICE OF BUILDING MATERIALS

6. MUSIC HAVE YOU EVER SAID THAT YOU CAN’T GET THAT TUNE OUT OF YOUR HEAD? SCENES OF MOVIES ARE SET TO MUSIC FOR A REASON DISCOVER YOUR PERSONAL “SCORE” FOR EACH MEAL, MOMENT, AND SCENE OF YOUR LIFE DISCOVER THE BALLAD OF YOUR LIFE ♫♪♫♫♪

7. ART ART IS BEAUTY ART IS SERENITY ART IS ANY MODE OF PLEASANTRY TO THE VIEWER, LISTENER, TASTER, INDULGER DO YOU GROW FLOWERS?, PLANTS?, TREES? DO YOU PAINT, DRAW, OR DOODLE? DO YOU BUILD HOUSES, BUILDINGS, OR OTHER THINGS? DO YOU HAVE RELATIONSHIPS?...YOU ARE AN ARTIST IN ALL FORMS

8. FOOD FOOD IS THE SUSTENANCE OF LIFE. WATER IS A NECESSITY STOP!!! LISTEN TO YOUR THIRST; FEEL YOUR HUNGER FOOD IS INTIMATELY CONNECTED TO YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT YOUR BODY BEGIN A NEW FOUNDATION OF AWARENESS OF YOUR TRUE THIRST AND HUNGER, AND THEN HYDRATE AND FEED ACCORDINGLY

9. HEAL FROM WITHIN BLOG MY BLOG COMBINES MEALS WITH SPIRITUALITY, MUSIC, AND ART. MY HOPE IS THAT YOU TRY EACH PORTION OF THE COMBINATION AT SOME POINT IN YOUR BUSY WEEK. ENJOY!!!!!!!

10. MY ITALIAN HERITAGE MEAL: PASTA FAZUL MARTINO STYLE ART: THE MONA LISA/DA VINCI http://www.historyofpaintings.com/leonardo-da-vinci-art-gallery.html MUSIC: http://youtu.be/mURZQNpKiLQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69O4PXzAQ5Y SPIRITUALITY: MY ITALIAN ROOTS

11. PASTA FAZUL MARTINO STYLE The thought behind this dish is to combine your leftover beans with your leftover pasta. If you just want to make it from scratch that’s perfectly good too. This is the way I like it: Brown some red onions with some garlic. Add a pound of cooked tomatoes (I prefer organically grown), some oregano and parsley, and ORECCHIETTE, or any other pasta you like. I love to add the cannelini beans with mine. Brown some Italian sausage, drain and mix into the dish If you get the opportunity, listen to Dean Martin sing about pasta fazul in “That’s Amore” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69O4PXzAQ5Y Mangiapaisano

12. MY ITALIAN SPIRITUAL ROOTS I was raised Roman Catholic, and I veered heavily from it during my life; trying out other ways, other religions, and others’ belief systems. But the most important thing I want to share on this blog is my own spiritual experience. Laying on the ground in the back yard of our home when I was a mere 4 years old, I looked up in the sky and there was a corporeal vision, concrete, fully formed and in color, of the SACRED HEART, and next to it the VIRGIN MARY. Both of these things are from my Catholic heritage. I gazed at it for a long time, turning away, blinking, and covering my eyes and looking once again; yet it remained. I ran in to get my parents and my father came out but did not see what I saw. I tried desperately to point it out to him, but to no avail. It was years later that I remembered this vision once again. The SACRED HEART. The sacred heart symbolizes the love of Jesus. There is a rich history surrounding those whose devotion was to the sacred heart of Jesus (Catholic Encyclopedia). The impact of recalling once again, this vision, infuses me with further awareness to be dutiful to a calling of devotion for what Jesus stands for. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. I consider myself liberated from organized, structured religion, and am more mystical in faith than anything. Yet Love is the greatest command, and I can be grateful today that I had parents who inculcated spiritual values in me from birth.