#Salt Therapy Los Angeles

[griffinclubca]

Private Event Space Los Angeles 

Are you looking for a private event space in Los Angeles? Discover the perfect venue for your special occasion at Griffin Club Los Angeles. Our versatile and elegant spaces provide the ideal backdrop for weddings, corporate events, or social gatherings. Create unforgettable memories at our premier event destination. 

[keithlederhaus]

Keith Lederhaus

I was born on November 21, 1983, to my parents, Janet Marie Lederhaus and Scott Charles Lederhaus. It was at St. Joseph’s Hospital in the City of Orange, CA. I am a quadruplet, which is to say I was born with 3 others, Eric Scott Lederhaus, Jeffrey Allen Lederhaus, and Kate Marie Lederhaus. My mother was taking fertility drugs at the time as it was difficult for her to get pregnant naturally. As is often the case in this situation, she had multiples. We are fraternal, and are all still healthy and alive (as we were quite premature; I was 2 lbs 9 oz as a newborn). It was required that we stay in incubators for a period of time before we were safe to go home. My parents were surprised when my mother got pregnant with my younger sister, Jenna Rose Lederhaus, on August 14, 1985. So I have a total of 2 brothers and 2 sisters. We grew up in Southern California. Specifically, a city called Claremont, which is about an hour east of Los Angeles; also known as the “Inland Empire”. My father is a retired brain surgeon, and he practiced from about the early 80’s until he retired in about 2018ish. My mother worked as a nurse, but eventually stopped working to take care of and raise all of us. My siblings and I all went to the same schools together, even up through undergrad. I went to Claremont High School from 1998 through 2002. I performed well in school and my fondest memories come from running on the cross county and track and field team, where I developed my love for running that I enjoy today. After high school, and for reasons still unknown to me, my siblings and I (including my younger sister a year later) went to the same college – UCSB (University of California, Santa Barbara). We were there from 2002 through 2006. I earned my bachelor's degree in Psychology. It was after college that my siblings and I finally parted out own ways. I moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2006. The reason I moved there was because a job in “wilderness therapy” was recommended to me. I worked as a staff at a program that tried to support and rehabilitate adolescents who experienced a range of mental health, behavioral, or substance abuse issues. I would live out in the woods every other week, and work with rotating staff teams to support these teenagers during their time in the program (usually 3-4 months). After a couple years working in wilderness therapy and later a residential treatment program, I decided to go back to school to get my master’s degree in social work. I was accepted to the University of Utah and was enrolled in the program from 2008 to 2010. I lived in Utah for most of my 20s, from 2006 through 2012. My love for running grew as I enjoyed running on various trails or mountain ranges throughout the beautiful state. I started to sign up for more races as I started to run with friends who were interested in the same - long, grueling but gorgeous running. After graduate school I worked for a therapeutic boarding school and later a substance abuse rehabilitation program with teenagers as an intern social worker. I did that for a couple of years before I decided to move back to California to be closer to my family. *This is where things take a negative turn, and it relates to why I am requesting your services. I am happy to elaborate more on that if you’d like, but it doesn’t make for a positive bio. I spent a couple years in southern California, but eventually made my way up to the Bay Area, where I have lived since 2014.

[angelenohq]

in the city of angels.

NAME: Diana "Kirby" Aguero FACE CLAIM: Camila Morrone AGE & DATE OF BIRTH: 26 & January 13th, 1997 HOMETOWN: Encinitas, California TIME IN LOS ANGELES: Six years NEIGHBORHOOD: Santa Monica OCCUPATION: Former pro-surfer, part time bartender

biography.

trigger warning: injury

Her parents, if you couldn’t tell, were major nerds back in the day. Enough so that they chose to name their daughter over their favorite superhero and then gave her a Nintendo character middle name. As much it baffles her now, it is only made worse by the fact that they began to just call her Kirby which ended up sticking and led her to live out her life known only as Kirby. She avidly avoids wearing pink because of it. The small family of three lived in a tiny house in Encinitas, a two minute walk from the beach, as her father worked as a computer engineer and her mother, an orthodontist. Her first memories are out in the water, the salt spraying in her eyes, as her father taught her to surf. She was hooked almost instantly. Her free time, after school and on the weekends, were either spent in the water or at the home of some of the other beach kids, watching surfing videos. Every surf competition that came to town saw Kirby pushing through the crowds so she could get the best view, her own board never more than ten feet away. She had the advantage of living in a part of the world with some of the best surfs and by having parents more than willing to indulge her.

The junior leagues got to know her name pretty quickly, as Kirby knew that her best bet was to take advantage of the fact that the internet was currently on the rise. She made sure her best bits were uploaded wherever she could find, so that by the time her pro career started just after her fourteenth birthday, Kirby was already on people’s radar. She began traveling to all the California meets, then the Hawaii ones, on her parents’ dime and she honestly had never felt so glad that her mother put metal in peoples’ mouths or that her dad fiddled with hard drives all day, just so she could feel the water beneath her fingers. However, at sixteen, they didn’t even need to back her with their money as Kirby found herself accepting multiple sponsorships, appearing on surf magazine covers, doing benefit comps. Her parents, bless them, made sure that the money she made was always put safely away for her, knowing that she’d have use for it later. How right they were.

Just after eighteen, Kirby set her sights on becoming a world champ. It was hard enough being a woman in the sport but with her goal to be the best in the whole world, regardless of gender, people tended to dismiss her. Kirby refused to let that stop her. She had a phenomenal team backing her, one that got her to every meet around the world and boosted her social media presence so she wasn’t just the surf girl - she was the surf girl. It helped that she was actually a force to be reckoned with. She surfed Nazaré for goodness sake. It was 2018, she was the most followed surfer on Instagram, she had just covered Sports Illustrated, the WSL championship title was in her goddamn grasp and she’d only be a year older than Kelly Slater when he won his (and he was her ultimate hero) when it happened. A freak accident, thrown off her board, hitting her back on the edge of a very sharp rock, and she nearly drowned. When she woke up three days later, in a brace, in a hospital room, Kirby knew it was over.

She was miserable for the year following. Her parents had moved into her old beach apartment (no, literally, it was on the beach, her back doors opened to sand) while she worked to recover in physical therapy. While her doctor had said she was more than welcome to go back out into the water, he advised against hardcore training as she once had done. Her career was done and she seemed to darken a bit. It took her nearly the whole year to even approach the tide. When she finally made it out onto the water, one early morning, sitting there as the sun rose, she sobbed for over an hour. That day, she came back to the apartment and told her parents she had to sell it. She couldn’t live there anymore ⏤ the sound of the crashing waves once brought her peace but now just served as a reminder. Kirby downgraded to a small apartment above a boutique in Santa Monica and while she’s kept her social media following, especially with her dry humor that mixes with her desire to cope with her trauma through jokes, Kirby has mostly kept herself out of the way from the surf world. Last year, she took a job as a part time bartender at a club in WeHo.

Realistically, she doesn’t have to work ever again but the need to have some structure in her life forced her out of the house. She’s happy … ish, nowadays, but when she closes her eyes at night, she can still feel the water beneath her fingertips sometimes.

[bonheal-acupuncture]

Bonheal Acupuncture

At Bonheal Acupuncture we believe that the future of medicine must follow the direction of the people being served. In urban areas, specifically Los Angeles, we have seen increasing incidences of stress-related disease, outpaced only by the increasing costs of healthcare.

We know there is a powerful supplemental role Eastern medicine can play in this equation with the potential to improve millions of lives and it is our hope that Western audiences are ready to embrace the integration of traditional healing practices into their wider world and culture of medicine in the United States.

Acupuncture Treatment and other Eastern medicines give us the opportunity to prevent stress-related diseases before they become chronic and debilitating and to increase the quality of life for our patients. We believe that incorporating this ancient healing wisdom with cutting-edge modern medical technology and practices is key to unlocking a much healthier and happier population. We want to provide this for our whole community and make it as accessible as possible which is why quality care and affordability must go hand-in-hand.

At Bonheal Hanbaang we offer Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine, Herbal Medicine, Salt-Mica Detox, BioFeedback Analysis and BH Wave Therapy.

[transenbyconfessions]

Does anyone know where I can find therapists who are trans? I’ve tried seeing cis counselors but they never know the answers to my questions and can’t relate to my issues.

This article links to a ton of databases and other resources for finding queer and queer-affirming therapists. Content warning for SA and suicidal ideation mentions in the main part of the article. If you ctrl+F and search for “Trevor” it’ll jump down to the list, but I’ll also copypaste the list under the cut

The Psychology Today database seems great. There’s a ton of filters, including showing only therapists who identify as LGBT+, and the gender option lets you see only non-binary therapists. Prices and accepted insurance are also listed and filterable.

If you feel like you may harm yourself or someone else or otherwise feel like you’re in immediate danger, don’t wait to find an LGBTQ+ or -affirming therapist — see a doctor, go to the emergency room, or call an LGBTQ+ crisis hotline, like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255), The Trevor Project (866-488-7386, for LGBTQ+ youth ages 13-24), The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender National Hotline (888-843-4564), or the Trans Lifeline (877-565-8860).

There are some national directories of LGBTQ+ and -affirming therapists you may want to begin your search with. Psychology Today is one of the most thorough national listings of mental health professionals, and has filters to narrow your search by the therapist’s identity, modality, and other classifications. The National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network lists LGBTQ+ POC therapists across the country. Organizations like GLMA (previously known as the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association), AGLP (The Association of LGBTQ+ Psychiatrists), and others have national listings of queer and queer-affirming mental health professionals, though they may not be fully up to date.

Some local LGBTQ+ mental health organizations exist, and may provide a more thorough listing if you live in a city served by one — New York City has Lighthouse and Manhattan Alternative; San Francisco has Gaylesta; Utah/Salt Lake City have The LGBTQ-Affirmative Psychotherapist Guild of Utah; and Kansas City has The LGBT-Affirmative Therapists Guild. You may wish to search to see if you live in an area with a similar group.

Often, local LGBTQ+ centers have staff therapists trained to work with the LGBTQ+ community, or can refer you to local therapists who can. The Los Angeles LGBT Center, Chicago’s Center on Halstead, Denver’s The Center on Colfax, Nevada’s The Center, and others can help connect you with local mental health resources. Your state likely has an LGBTQ+ center that can help connect you with mental health professionals near you. Many cities also have LGBTQ+ group therapy practices that specifically serve the queer community; these are for- or not-for-profit organizations of professionals specifically dedicated to helping queer clients, like the Seattle Counseling Service, InstaSpectrum Counseling in Chicago, Atlanta’s Pride Mind, and others.

[lastsonlost]

Even with a grain of salt,

what the ever loving holy fuck!

A 16-year-old boy being held at a Los Angeles County juvenile hall developed enlarged breasts after he was prescribed estrogen to treat a behavioral disorder, a move that baffled doctors who said the treatment defied medical logic, according to a lawsuit filed last month.

The teen, whose identity is being withheld because of his age, was diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder, or ODD, two days after he was arrested and housed at Eastlake Juvenile Hall in June 2019, the lawsuit said. Medical records reviewed by The Times show that the teen’s testosterone levels were “slightly high” when the doctor who diagnosed him prescribed daily doses of estrogen.

Estrogen regulates the development of female sexual characteristics and reproduction. Men produce the hormone at much lower levels.

After taking approximately 13 daily doses of the hormone, the teen was diagnosed with gynecomastia, defined as the enlargement or swelling of breast tissue in males whose estrogen level is too high, medical records show.

ODD, a behavioral condition that is sometimes suffered by patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is normally treated with therapy, said James McGough, a professor of clinical psychiatry at UCLA.

“Estrogen is not a treatment for ODD. I can’t be more emphatic about that,” McGough said. “You won’t find a reference anywhere that supports the use of estrogen for ODD.”

The lawsuit described the treatment as “experimental.” The doctor who prescribed the estrogen, Danny Wang, could not be reached for comment.

Los Angeles County’s juvenile detention facilities are overseen by the Probation Department. Medical needs are provided by Juvenile Court Health Services, which falls under the county Department of Health Services. In an e-mail, a Department of Health Services representative confirmed that Wang has been employed by the county since 2012 but declined to comment on his current status with the agency, describing it as a “confidential personnel matter.” The department declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The suit — which names as defendants the county, Wang and David Oh, medical director of Juvenile Court Health Services — alleges medical battery and negligence

Probation officials and the teen’s attorney, Wesley Ouchi, declined to say why he was in custody. Ouchi said the boy, now 17, was released in April and will require surgery to treat the physical issues he developed as a result of the estrogen treatment.

Wang prescribed a daily regimen of 2 milligrams of estrogen to be taken in pill form, according to medical records. The boy’s parents were not aware that he had been diagnosed with ODD or was undergoing treatment until late July 2019. Doctors said the treatments should not have been carried out without the parents’ consent.

The boy’s father, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his son’s identity, said he found out about the estrogen pills when he visited the juvenile hall one weekend last July.

“When I found out they were giving him the pill, I was like, why didn’t they ask me? When I found out what kind of pill was it, I was like, this is terrible,” the father said. “He’s only 16, and they were forcing him to take it.”

The father said he later confronted Oh, the medical director, over the phone. Oh admitted that Wang had made “a mistake,” the father said. The health services representative declined to comment on Oh’s alleged remark due to the ongoing litigation.

The treatments stopped last July, after the teen began to complain of negative side effects and refused medication, records show. Prior to that, Ouchi said, his client felt compelled to take the pills because he feared that disobeying Wang would have a detrimental effect on his pending criminal case.

Reports from probation officers about a youth’s time in custody can carry significant weight at sentencing hearings, and the teen’s case had not been adjudicated at the time Wang prescribed him the estrogen, Ouchi said.

Ouchi also alleges the boy was bullied by other youths in custody once his gynecomastia symptoms developed.

“As a teenager, he felt self-conscious already,” Ouchi said. “Going through these changes made it a lot more traumatic for him.”

Sara Coffey, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Oklahoma State University, said ODD is normally diagnosed in children between the ages of 6 and 12. Children diagnosed with the disorder often struggle with authority, in school or in social settings. Common treatments include family therapy or medications that have had success in aiding juveniles with ADHD, including Ritalin and Adderall.

Using hormones to treat ODD might actually worsen the situation, Coffey said.

“The other concern I have, as a psychiatrist, is that we know hormones play a role in mood,” she said. “If his mood got disrupted, that could only further complicate things.”

Estrogen is normally stocked at L.A. County juvenile facilities for use as part of hormone therapy for contraception and treatment of gender dysphoria, according to the health services representative.

The boy’s father said the hormone therapy has had a long-term effect on his son, who now scares easily and has become antisocial.

“He’s like a different person. He just wants to be in his room, and he don’t come out for nothing, all day in his room,” the father said. “He was never like that.”

And people wonder why I'm so critical of California.

Also I'm gonna leave this here.

People swear we live in the handmaid’s tale. But I don’t see anyone trying to fix women the way they’re trying to fix men.

[volkswagonblues]

I wish you would write a fic about piandao and jeong jeong, like just anything about them but i'd read the SHIT out of the modern au you told me about where they bicker about politics

SO. This is the WORST time to be writing 1.5k of fiction about a modern (well, 90′s) AU starring two dudes who have never even spoken to each other in canon, but uh, the world is awful and I consider creating rarepair content a form of self-care, so here we go.

The context for this is of course, JJ is second-generation Korean-American from LA, Piandao is a foreign student from Taiwan pursuing a doctorate in the US. The year is 1993 and ideas about race, activism, the term “Asian-American” are all up in the air. We are one year post the ‘92 L.A. race riots and four years away from antiretroviral therapy becoming the new treatment standard for HIV. The AIDS crisis is in full swing, as it has been since the 80′s. Welcome to America.

--

“Jujube”

The week after his appendectomy, Piandao is up and moving around by the end of the third day, a full four days ahead of schedule. His shoulder aches, the scar on his stomach hurts, but still, he is up and moving, even though Jeong Jeong rolls his eyes when he catches him walking up and down the length of his bedroom, working the muscles that are suffering more from being bed-bound than from surgery. 

Jeong Jeong, underneath the surly exterior, is a surprisingly maternal caretaker. Piandao has no appetite for anything flavourful in the first few days, which the nurses said was normal. So for every meal since he’s back from the hospital, Jeong Jeong cooks him a bowl of porridge and does it with a degree of care that Piandao honestly did not know he possessed. Piandao wouldn’t have minded just plain white rice and water, but Jeong Jeong, in his typical Jeong Jeong-fashion, disagreed. He spends a long time in Piandao’s kitchen every morning, making what he claims is the superior (ie, Korean) juk that his mother makes, but is really exactly similar to the zhou Piandao is used to back home, only it’s made by an angry Korean man swearing at the morning cable news, taking only occasional breaks to bemoan the sad state of Asian grocery stores in Midwest college towns.

“I’m feeling well enough to cook,” Piandao says on the morning of his fourth day home. “JJ, relax. You don’t have to do everything around here.”

Jeong Jeong looks up from his work: crushing sesame seeds in a plastic bag with the back of a soup spoon. “Shut the fuck up,” he says easily.

“I can at least wash the dishes—“

“I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to Bill Ritter.”

Piandao looks at the television in the corner. A news show was on, some Sunday morning thing he doesn’t remember seeing before. Currently, it was showing them three glossy-looking American hosts sitting on glossy-looking American couches. A man in a beige suit was saying something very earnest about the President and Haiti and also taxes. Piandao guesses that he’s Bill Ritter.

“Fucking Clinton already retracting on his fucking word,” Jeong Jeong mutters, then smashes the spoon down with ferocious force; in their plastic bag, the sesame seeds die and ascend to paste in an instant.

Piandao bites back a smile. He switches the channel: ads now, more glossy Americans driving glossy American cars, big and square. The ad changes: a family of four arriving at a motel, everything even bigger and squarer than the previous one. The mother in a big square jacket; the father smile with big square teeth. The kids chatter in excited tones: We’re so happy to be at Holiday Inn Express! Then Piandao hits the off button, and the American family disappears; the screen puckers up into dark silence again.

He slowly feels his way into the kitchen instead. He rather watch Jeong Jeong cook.

On the stove, the porridge bubbles. Jeong Jeong adds the pounded sesame and gives it a stir, then adds more sugar, then milk. He ladles it into two bowls and brings it over to the kitchen table, which is also the living room table, which is also Piandao’s desk where he grades students’ lab reports and corrects exams. There were a few back issues of various astrophysics journals still stacked there; Jeong Jeong puts them to use as coasters. Volume 10, issue 4 of Space Science Review goes to Piandao’s bowl; the special Winter 1992 edition of Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics to Jeong Jeong. Piandao, trailing behind him, brings the spoons. They sit down, knees almost touching.

“How is it?” asks Jeong Jeong.

Piandao blows on his spoon and takes in a mouthful. “Not bad,” he says. “Although it’ll be better with some – I don’t know the word – but those little red fruits.”

“Jujubes,” says Jeong Jeong, and then: “Fuck off, be grateful for what you’ve got. You know how long it took me to even locate some sesame seeds in a Salt Lake City grocery store?”

Sunday morning slants in from between the slats of the crooked window blinds. In the sharp angle of the light, his features look different: the sun picks out the bronze-ish tint in his dark hair, makes the shell of his ear glow pink and red. In front of him, the steam from the porridge unfurls in delicate, thin grey spirals.

Piandao put his spoon down. “I’m glad you’re here,” he says. “You really didn’t have to. The plane ticket from Los Angeles must have been expensive.”

A shrug. “Couldn’t let you die alone in Utah, of all places.”

“It was just an appendectomy. How much did you pay for the flight? I can…I can pay you back, the university gives me a stipend, I can afford it.”

Jeong Jeong sets his spoon down too, picks up the bowls and takes them over to rinse in the sink.

“When I got the call from the secretary,” he says, not looking up from the dish sponge. “She didn’t say what happened. She just said, please can you be informed that Mr. Liu has been taken to the hospital for a medical emergency, she had just gone down the list of his emergency contact numbers and you happened to be the first one who picked up, and then she hung up. I barely got the name of the hospital out of her before she did. Nothing more. I called back and got a busy line. And then I thought – I started thinking – I didn’t know what I was thinking. I got scared. I just came back from SF that day – I went to see Johnny and Gene at the General, and when I got back in and the phone rang and the woman said you were sick too…I don’t know.”

The bowls, scrubbed to death, are getting beyond clean. Jeong Jeong throws the sponge down, where it lands with a wet smack.

“I know you’re not like me,“ he adds wretchedly. “I mean, I know you’re not a homosexual. And besides: fucking Utah? Of all places? I knew it was probably nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” Piandao says.

Jeong Jeong stabs a finger in his direction. “But don’t you dare pay me back though. Don’t you even try that shit on me. I will actually punch you if you try.”

Piandao says nothing. He pictures the cramped kitchenette of Jeong Jeong’s apartment off Hoover Street, with its ugly green plastic phone duct-taped to the wall, opposite to the grimy stove and the eternal stacks of takeout containers and the Proud Berkley Grad of ’87 fridge magnet that Piandao had bought him as a joke, when Jeong Jeong finally carried through on his threats and really dropped out, for good this time. He pictures Jeong Jeong stumbling back in fron the hospital, exhausted, and then accepting a long-distance call from Utah anyways.

Jeong Jeong had taken the call and flew out the very next morning. He had came in such a hurry that he brought nothing with him other than the clothes he was wearing and a backpack full of California oranges, because he had some idea that vitamin C was vital to every patient’s recovery, no matter the ailment. He had come to Piandao.

Times like this, Piandao wishes his English is better. Even now, after five years in this country, he has no way to express how he feels, right now, standing in the doorway of his kitchen while Jeong Jeong slams dishes and utensils back into their drawers, shoulders hunched over. Something hot and formless is coursing through his chest, but Piandao can’t shape it. He can’t forge the thing into words.

Perhaps there’s no words at all for this in English. Not in Chinese, either, and not in Korean. There are no words for this in any language in the world.

So Piandao reaches out instead. He touches a hand to the curve of Jeong Jeong’s back, and when Jeong Jeong looks over, questioning, he clears his throat and says:

“I liked it. The zhou.”

“You mean juk,” Jeong Jeong corrects him, as contrary as ever.

“Alright, the juk. It was very good.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not shitting me?”

“No. I should call your mother, tell her what a good chef her son is becoming.”

“Fuck off,” Jeong Jeong says, but he smiles anyways.

Piandao smiles back. His hand is still where he put it, resting on Jeong Jeong’s back, and he does not move it away. This, also – this is an unspoken message, but not for forever. Already Piandao can see the shape of it in his future. Something was unfurling between them, as delicate as steam, as marvellous as light.

[d-criss-news]

The actor Darren Criss, 32, has a lot to say about grooming, diet, fitness and, most important, sleep. Mr. Criss, a San Francisco native who lives in Los Angeles, is so obsessed with sleep that he times it to REM cycles. He has also started a men’s grooming site, the Motley, with the siblings Matthew and Madison Ruggieri, and has just introduced a unisex skin care line called Onekind. Here, Mr. Criss, who is in the war drama “Midway” and is filming “Hollywood,” the new Ryan Murphy Netflix show scheduled for release next year, explains his personal care routine.

Fully Groomed

I have a lot of cleansers, but honestly, this is the one category where I feel like you just need to get your face clean. You use a bar of soap, and as long as it does the job, it’s O.K. Then I use Port Products Sol Defense SPF moisturizer. Then, morning and night, I put onRecipe for Men Under Eye Gel.

For night, I’m biased toward my own products. I do the Onekind Midnight Magic serum — there’s retinol in there — and I use that in tandem with Onekind Dream Cream. Every two days or so, I do the Urth Botanical Resurfacing Mask. I love a lot of their products. I also have the Urth Antioxidant Face Complex. It’s like taking your face to the spa.

The Perfect Shave

I have to shave every day for “Hollywood,” the show I’m on, and it’s really tough on the skin. I have to pay attention to the length of my stubble and the kind of blade I use. If I have a few days’ growth, I like the Executive blades from Dollar Shave Club.

But if it’s a day’s stubble, I’m using a safety razor. That’s because razor burn comes from multiple blades and multiple tiny cuts. I’m trying to minimize that by the number of the blades and also how big the blade is.

I use a hot towel to warm up the stubble. I also try to use really hot water to warm up the blade. Lock Stock & Barrel makes a really great shave oil.

One of the most important things, though, is the Urth Post Shave Elixir. I have buckets of it. If I don’t have it, I’m in a panic. I recommend it to anyone. I recommend it to my wife after she shaves her legs. I guarantee you maybe five people in the world care this much about shaving.

The Eastern Medicine Thing

I know it’s a hippie-dippy thing, but I’m a fan of oil pulling. I take a big dip out of a jar of coconut oil and swish that around my mouth. It sounds gross, and it is kind of gross. It’s supposed to pull bacteria out of my mouth.

I think it’s an Eastern medicine kind of thing — let’s face it, they’ve been ahead of everything on this front for millenniums. Someone recommended it to me years ago, and then when I was doing “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway, I was literally making out with strangers every night. I did anything I could do to clean my mouth — it was more for their benefit and less for mine.

Sleep King

I’m really militant about sleeping for certain lengths of time. I’ve been doing this for years and years: I make sure I sleep in increments of 90 minutes. It takes me about 10 to 15 minutes to fall asleep and then the 90 minutes to complete a good REM cycle. So, for example, I’d rather get three hours of sleep than four hours.

You know those days when you wake up and you feel really good even though you didn’t really get a lot of sleep? That’s hitting the REM cycle. Or you sleep for a long time, but you wake up in the middle of a REM cycle and your whole day feels awful? I avoid that like the plague. Of course, there are a lot of variables — what you ate, how much you drank — but I try to have my sleep evenly timed out.

A Timed Diet

I’ve been into health and food ever since I was maybe 12 or 13. I was fascinated by the idea that food is fuel in this very nonintellectual way. You need carbs to do this and protein to do that. How it’s translated today is that you see that the digestive system is directly related to everything else. It’s not a subsidiary component.

So I time the way I eat. I don’t mean I’m timing while I’m eating, but you know how if you have dinner plans at 8 with friends? Well, then you don’t eat as much during the day so you’ll have an appetite and enjoy a meal out. I take the same approach with every activitythroughout the day.

If I’m working, the snacks and the doughnuts are all lying around, and I have to be careful of that. Otherwise I’ll feel strung out and tired. I try not to eat three hours before bed, but if I’m hungry, I might have a low-glycemic snack. I’m not going to have a carnitas burrito.

Then one of my biggest life hacks: I’m a huge chia seed person. If chia seed was a brand, I’d be repping them so hard. I soak chia seeds overnight and then do chia seeds and matcha in the morning. They’re the ancient form of good things.

Becoming a Fitness Fiend

I got heavily into fitness in my late 20s. Now I’m a certifiable fitness rat. I work out like I used to play video games. It’s competitive and fun. It’s also meditative. For me it’s really about the cardiovascular benefits and general well-being. If my body is a little more toned, that’s a super-bonus.

When I first started, that entry point was hard to find. I was completely allergic to the bro-y gym culture. “Get swoll, dude!” The thing that changed my life was P90X. I’ve never met him, but Tony Horton is the biggest dweeb in fitness.

I was too embarrassed to go to the gym, and I didn’t want to work out in a public space, and here was a guy who was making the dumbest dad jokes. This guy was all right. I knew this guy from high school.

I now love the social aspect of working out. I have maybe six or seven friends on rotation, and instead of going out, we do a workout class together. It might be H.I.I.T., a Pilates reformer class or yoga. I try to change it up as much as possible. I want to confuse my muscles.

I also love Training Mate in Los Angeles. It’s by these goofy Australians. They’re super-fun and funny. When I’m in New York, Refine is my jam. Fhitting Room is really great.

Making Time for Recovery

A lot of people don’t know how to keep their muscles healthy. They need to do the recovery. Physical therapy is really nice, but it’s expensive. I believe in rolling out the muscles, and that just takes some time. Also, cryotherapy is incredible.

You can do other things, like an Epsom salt bath, and I’m a big fan of the steam shower if you can get access to one. I do it at night too, as it helps me relax before going to sleep.

[griffinclubca]

Country Club in Los Angeles

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[bluboothalassophile]

Preparations for the End

There’s this complexity to the world that most of the world doesn’t see she supposed. It felt like a one on one battle between good versus evil; with evil frequently outnumbering the good in these one on one battles. The encounters were violent, volatile, and dangerous, with so few who were genuinely in the fight.

Their world; though on the same plane of existence as the mortal realm, but it did not have the aid of the Justice League, or the Titans or Young Justice.

The world they lived in was isolating, it was numbing, it was meant for solitude, which terrified her as she saw her end coming.

“So, let me get this straight, you’re going to map out the world I showed you too, that I introduced you to?” he demanded as he came to sit down in the lobby. The Mill House; which had taken to calling itself the House of Mystery, was where they had come to after being discharged from her latest appointment with her oncologist; who had been passionately pushing her to consent to therapy, chemo, alternative, genetic, she had refused all of them just as passionately. She and Constantine went to keep up with her tumor growth.

“Yes,” she nodded.

“You are a feisty one, but you cannot see everything.”

“I’m not… Constantine there’s more to this world than we know and when I’m gone you cannot fight it alone,” Zed said as she accepted the tea, he offered her.

“I have help.”

“Zatanna hates you, she won’t let Zachary near you, Swamp Thing is defender of the green, not humanity, and Fate would only help you if the Four Horsemen were knocking on your door and killing you. Madame Xandu would run away the moment she even saw you coming.” Zed said. “You only have Chas. And the Adams aren’t part of this, they are suppliers of materials needed.”

“And what do you think this will do? I live in this world, I know the players,” Constantine snapped.

“No, you know what we’re up against, not the players on our side past you.”

“This is my world Zed.”

“And you are naïve, I have been searching,” she said.

“Searching?”

“Yeah, get he sketch book on the third shelf, fourth one, between the grimoire, and Hamlet,” she said.

“Zed,” he rolled his eyes.

“I’ve been working on a map because I know you won’t actively look unless I make you.”

“Zed,” he hissed.

“¡Maldita sea Constantino! ¡Obtén el maldito libro ahora mismo!”

“I’m going!”

“Good, now come here,” she ordered as he grabbed it and took the crouch beside her.

“Fine,” he sighed.

“Look, I don’t know how this world works outside of what we do, but there are others doing work like us,” she said.

“There’s humans,” she opened the book to a pair of men she had drawn. The men were tall, standing by a ’67 Chevy Impala, one had long haggy hair, the other had piercing green eyes, both with chiseled features, and hard poker faces. “I believe they call themselves Hunters, they possess no actual Magical abilities, they’re humans who have sorted out human shortcuts to magical problems. Salting and burning ghost bones, speaking Latin for exorcisms, iron against ghosts, silver tests for werewolves, killing Vampires, ghouls, and other monsters.”

“That’s odd, who do they work for?”

“From what I’ve seen, they are solitary, they have few home bases, very coordinated, but also very independent, they don’t trust Magical beings, or Magic. Your best bet are these brothers; they are Winchesters I believe; I have drawn this rifle a thousand times when I search for information on them. They work with an Angel, not like Manny, a Seraphim, I think Cassiel, and an angel child I think, I cannot find a name for him though.

“There are also witches, a lot more than Zatanna and Fate,” she said as she flipped the pages past the images of what Hunters she had seen. “There are many. Different types, different heritages create different types of magic. But a common theme between the cultures is rare siblings of three, Charmed Ones as they are called. It’s a rare phenomenon. Mostly these witches, outside of Covens, are solitary, they can be either forces of good or evil, it depends on witch and their personal beliefs.

“There is one family that stands out, they reside in San Francisco, over a Magic Nexis. They live together, three sisters, they have families, also Charmed ones, three sets of children. Also, the eldest sister, her spouse is not human. I do not know what he is, but I think they’re angels, good ones, like guardians, not like… not like Manny, not Fallen.

“There’s schools, John, full schools, I’ve seen these amazing schools, for Magic, for the supernatural, for kids like me, kids with abilities. They’re not freaks or metas, they are welcomed, and it’s beautiful, amazing, all these kids, safe from cults, or abuse, they can learn, make choices, it’s amazing. Beautiful, and this is not something Zatanna can touch.

“There’s also the Angels, all of them, they’ve started walking amongst us, it’s amazing. They are still divine, and they don’t belong here, but something happened, I don’t know what, but last year, that meteor shower, it was them, they all are here, and I’ve drawn as many faces and wings as I could see, they aren’t all Fallen John, they aren’t all like Manny. Lucifer is in Los Angeles, he is with a demon called Mazikeen, they work in a club called Lux. He’s not evil, John, he’s not, I don’t know what he is, but they aren’t evil.

“There’s so much, I’ve learned more about our world than you could imagine, and it’s not all bad. There are Alchemists, Sorcerers, Voodoo Priests who aren’t like Papa Midnight, Hunters, Witches, Creatures, Clairvoyants, Vampires, Werewolves, Gods, Godesses, Spirits, Ghosts, Warlocks, it’s a lot, and the world is so much more diverse than you thinking we’re flukes.

“The Originals, as I’ve learned they’re called, are the Original Witches, Vampires, and Werewolf bloodlines, they reside in New Orleans, even founded it, you might need them. There’s a lot, I’ve drawn what I’ve seen in the books, John.”

“Zed none of this matters, the supernatural it does not interact with the mortal world.”

“I know, Hunters take care of the ones who rouse too much suspicion.”

“And it’s not like any of this will help, there is no back up,” Constantine started. Zed dropped her book on the last page and Constantine stared dumbly at it. “Who’s that?”

“I don’t know, but she’s a linchpin, Constantine, between the mortal world and the supernatural. You find her, Constantine and she’ll save us all.”

Zed smiled at the girl, the woman really.

Her hair was long, straight inky black, her eyes were sharp and dark, her skin pale as ivory, her face etched in proud lines, unyielding, apathetic, her features a strange mix of many but stood out as proud and even commanding. The woman held herself like a queen, regal, proud, yet there was this deep sorrow in her eyes. A woman, who despite her young age had lived more than enough hells to never recount it. Zed had never seen the woman’s identity or hints to a name, only seen the girl walk through the shadows and punch a god in the face. The power she had witnessed in the girl, the power she radiated when Zed managed to see her, was a one she had never seen. Not even from the Gods she had seen.

This was the woman, who did not love Constantine, she was not John’s Epiphany, but this woman would save more than the world. She would salvage and save John’s soul.

“Zed none of this will matter,” he sighed.

“I’ve seen it all, and when the time comes, you’re going to be looking through the books. It will all make sense when the time is right,” she promised.

“You’re not dying Zed.”

“I am, and you will not stop it. This is the end I want. I will not be alone,” she promised as she grabbed his hand. “No estaré solo, porque estarás conmigo mientras abrazo a la Muerte como nuestro amante mutuo.”

“Stop with the Spanish love, I cannot understand a word you’re saying,” he sighed.

“Doesn’t matter,” she smiled. “This is my choice and my end, and this is the end I want John. I don’t want chemo to steal me from you, or our friends, and I don’t want to be my own ghost. I will fight with you in this fight until my bitter end,” she promised.

“You’ll tell me the moment something is off, and you will not be in any battles, and you will do the healer’s regiment of potions and remmedees, I will not lose you before the end. You’re…” he stopped.

She smiled a bit as she took his hand in hers. “I’m here until the bitter end,” she promised.

[love-can-be-as-cold-as-grave]

Chapter 29 - Into the Night, You and I Torn and Broken

[Los Angeles]

Liv watched as her therapists eyes lingered upon her black suitcase, black coat draped overtop, next to her feet. She shuffled uncomfortably from where she sat across the ebony skinned woman.

The therapist, wearing a grey pantsuit, placed her hands over the small notepad she had been writing in during the start of the session, switching her eyes back to Liv as she sensed her restlessness. "Do you have another work trip?"

Liv crossed her legs. She was dressed in travel attire, black leggings, an oversized black nirvana t-shirt, a light wash jean jacket, black Dr. Martens, and her hair in two braids that spilled over her shoulders and down her chest. She had told herself a few years back when she had returned to therapy that she would never miss a session, and although she had her flight to Helsinki in three hours, here she was, diligently attending the session. It was her first since the news of the gig however, and although she’d come to be very open with her therapist, the subject still made her uncomfortable. She uncrossed her legs. “I do yes, in Finland.”

The therapist adjusted her cat-eye glasses, making a note, the soft sound of pencil on paper filling the otherwise quiet office. “Finland?” The womans calm eyes looked up at Liv questioningly. “Is this the first time you are returning to Finland since your last encounter with the singer?”

Liv looked down at her hands, trying not to bite down on her lower lip. “It is. I uh, I’m actually going there to work with him, and the rest of his band.”

The sounds of writing echoed again as the therapist continued her note-taking. “How are you feeling about returning there, and re-connecting with him?”

Liv let out a small sigh, looking up into the dark browns of her therapists eyes. “It’s strange, I don’t feel this worrying dread I felt the last time I was there, nor am I scared to talk to him. I even called him first. It’s almost like, like I’m relieved.”

The therapist tucked a curl out of her eyes, raising an inquisitive brow. “Relieved?”

Liv shuffled in her seat, the leather couch squeaking beneath her. “Yeah. It’s like, I’m happy that there can be this normalcy, and that,” She paused, trying to find the right words to describe exactly how she’d been feeling since the phone call with Ville, “it’s like I’m happy that we’ve moved on enough that we can talk like, like, well maybe not old friends, but at least like colleagues, that we can hold a normal conversation.”

The therapist nodded her head slightly before leaning forward, her elbows resting on her knees. “Liv, it is very mature and thoughtful of you to feel that way. Not many people achieve that level of personal growth enough to ever accept talking or seeing their ex, especially a first love. I’d like to ask though, what exactly is it about being able to reconnect as friends that makes you feel relieved? Have you been feeling anxious?”

Liv shook her head, interlacing her fingers on her lap. “No, I don’t think so. It’s more, it’s like that time in my life had its ups and downs, but it was really important for me, and through the years I’ve had to alienate those thoughts and memories because of what happened between Vi, the singer and myself, and now that I feel like we’re in good places, I guess I was relieved because now I can mentally return to that time, I can feel this wholeness again. Does that make sense?”

The therapist leaned back, “It does Liv, and the fact that you can recognize that, like I’ve noted, shows serious personal growth. I must say, I am really impressed with the level of personal reflection you have been discussing in our past few sessions.” Liv gave a small smile, she knew they both were aware how long it had taken her to get to that point. The therapist glanced at the thin silver watch on her wrist. “I know we only have a few more minutes, and as I can see, you need to be heading to the airport, but I’d like to ask, in the past you’ve described Finland and the singer as triggers for you, how do you plan on handling these triggers during the course of your time there?”

Shit, Liv thought, biting down on the soft skin of her lower lip, I hadn’t really thought of that. “Uhh, well, as we’ve talked about in the past I am quick to get emotional, so I guess if I am triggered I will take a few minutes to collect myself and my thoughts to make sure what I’m thinking and feeling is in fact rational?” She gave a small nervous chuckle and shrugged.

*****

[March 4th, 2017, Rovaniemi, Finland]

“You look absolutely ridiculous in that thing” Sirii chuckled as she tried to keep up with Liv as she pushed their airport trolley rapidly along towards the exit of the Rovaniemi airport where they had just touched down. The trolley was loaded up with their personal suitcases along with all of Liv’s photography equipment.

Liv rolled her eyes, “It’s the dead of winter here, I refuse to become a Liv popsicle!” Her small frame looked comically twice its size in the large black parka she had purchased in preparation for the weather in Lapland. She’d been warned by Seppo that she should come prepared, and that any shots of the band outside had to be done thoughtfully, lest they freeze in the outfits that had been picked out for them.

Sirii laughed, “You Americans, I guess your winters aren’t as bad?” Sirii herself wore her usually puffy black jacket, a large grey knitted scarf around her neck, pixie haircut poking out in all directions. Slung over her shoulder was a small black backpack.

“Yeah..no.” She said curtly, her mind too focused on racing to the exit of the building where their ride to the cabin awaited. Their flight had been delayed by half an hour due to turbulence, and with terrible cell phone service in the area they had been unable to warn their whoever was picking them up that they would be late. Sirii was struggling to keep up with the speedy pace.

Finally they spotted the exit and raced out. Outside the sky was light grey with cloud coverage, the kind of clouds heavy with snow. Around the front of the airport were the slushy and dirty remains of heavy snowfall but in the distance Liv could see the deep layers of pristine white covering nearby trees. Clutching the trolley she stood on her tippy toes, black Dr. Martens protecting her feet from the slush, and searched around for the beat up red van she had been told would be picking them up.

Her eyes caught the movement of a waving hand. Attached to that hand was a familiar frame. “Mige!” She yelled, unable to help herself. Leaving the trolley and Sirii Liv raced across the salted walkway towards him. He waited for her, arms outstretched. He wore a green parka and black pants, beard as wild as ever, head covered beneath an orange beanie. She practically knocked him over as she ran into his arms, enveloping him in a bear hug.

His chest rumbled, and belly shook as he let out a deep chortle. “Aww zombie fucker, I missed you!”

Liv pulled back, playful punching him in the gut, “I am never going to live that down am I!” She put her hands on her hips with mock annoyance, cheeks flushed from the cold.

Mige shrugged, cheeks swelling with a smile, “Nope!”

Liv rolled her eyes, “Great!” She noticed puffs of condensation escaping her mouth as she spoke, man it really is freezing out here. She felt the sting on her bare hands and quickly tucked them into her pockets. With her elbow she gave Mige a nudge, “How the heck have you been?”

He stepped to the back of the van as Sirii approached with the overloaded trolley and opened up the doors. “Oh you know, same old. A little excited to start working on some side projects I’ve got lined up once our tour is done. Excited to work with you again!” He began grabbing items off the trolley and carefully tucking them in to the back of the van.

Liv smiled, throwing an arm around Sirii, “I am too. Speaking of work, this is Sirii my wonderful assistant and partner.”

Mige put the last of the items in to the back and shut the van doors with a loud thud and stretched out his hand for Mige to shake. “Wonderful to meet you, you can call me Mige.”

Sirii tried containing her smile as she gave Mige a quick and firm shake, a little too speechless to respond. 

Mige rolled back the side door of the van ceremoniously. "Your carriage awaits ladies."

Liv bowed, smirking, "Why thank you kind sir." She beckoned Sirii to go in first then quickly shuffled in behind her, praying the van had heating.

Inside was the musky smell of a well used vehicle, the heat making a low and welcoming hum. In the driver's seat sat a man that looked to be in his thirties, his long curly hair spilling over his shoulders, mingling with the full beard masking half his face. He smiled at Liv and Sirii through the rearview mirror.

Mige slammed the door shut and buckled his seatbelt before turning to look back at the girls as the van pulled off the curb. "Ladies, this is Kosmo our wonderful drummer and driver and baker. Kosmo, this is the lovely Liv and her assistant Sirii."

"Hei" He stuck out one hand in a quick wave before focusing on the road ahead, merging on to a small highway.

Mige leaned back, getting comfortable for the long drive, Liv followed his lead, unzipping her parka and stretching out her legs. She stole a glance at Sirii who began digging in her purse for something. "I didn't know you two would be the ones picking us up."

Mige scratched his beard, "oh yeah, Kosmo has family up here. Actually the cabin Seppo found belongs to his family, so he's familiar with the uh terrain."

"From the pictures Seppo sent it looks really beautiful. This is going to a fun shoot, fun but cold." She cracked a smile as she rubbed her hands together, trying to get rid of the tingle in her fingertips from the sudden change from cold to hot.

"I brought up some whiskey and kaakao, what you Americans call hot chocolate." Kosmo smiled as he carefully steered the wheel through the thick slush on the road. 

They'd now turned on to a quieter winding road, no buildings in sight, just the road ahead and lush forest closing in from both sides. Liv gazed out of the fogged up car window in the little spot she had wiped condensation away. The scenery along the road was like a scene right out of a christmas card, the beautiful evergreens standing tall against the pale skies, snow enveloping each tree in white sprinkles, as if it had been painted on. She again beamed to herself with excitement at the prospect of such beautiful scenery as her backdrop for the shoot.

The rest of the car ride was spent in comfortable silence and it wasn't long before the van came to a stop.

Liv rubbed the window with her sleeve and beamed as she looked out. They'd parked in a small driveway in front of the most idealistic cabin Liv had ever seen. It was one of those cabins you could imagine seeing on TV, built of logs, two stories, small stairs leading up to a little covered patio. A little door but large windows peering back from behind the blanket of snow covering the entire scene. On either side, like guard towers were two large evergreens, practically ready to be strung up with lights and ornaments in their wintery glory.

The two men were quick to hop out of the van, their boots crunching on the fresh, untrodden snow. Liv pulled back the door and slid out, pulling the hood of her parka over her head, completely awestruck by the scenery. Don’t see this in California, she smiled to herself before hurrying to the back of the van to help unload luggage and gear, her mind barely able to focus on the task at hand.

After a few phone calls with Seppo and a creative director with Metal Hammer her idea of a shoot in Lapland was greenlit, but the shoot and short interview had been turned into a feature length article focusing in depth on how the band felt about the break-up and subsequent final tour. She was also to focus on their down times and relationships with one another, their moments of peace and comradery, all done over the course of two days and one night. It would be the longest and most in depth interview and article they would ever participate in and although Liv was nervous at the idea of properly putting into words the life of her extraordinary friends, she was glad to be the one to tell their story.

"The rest of the guys are out grabbing supplies from town." Mige said as he unlocked the front door, carrying a few bundles of Livs photography equipment.

Everyone followed in behind them, each welcoming the comfortable warmth of the cabin. Inside was an assault of color, greens, blues, and reds on the curtains, throws, and furniture, eased by the warm mahogany of wooden accenting everywhere else. I could live out the rest of my days here, Liv thought as she rolled her suitcase past the large fireplace and towards the stairs where Mige said she would be sharing a room with Sirii.

Luggage was unloaded and photography equipment stowed away. Kosmo began preparing for some large feast in the kitchen, Siiri helping him delightfully as she chatted away, filling the silence of his shyness.

Liv and Mige had sat down at the dining room table, a large window looking out towards the forested backyard of the cabin, the glow of snow illuminating their tame game of chess. A small voice recorder sat on the table next to them, a small green light glowing from the side.

“I’ll miss the cramped tour buses hearing every little thing in the dead of night,” Mige let out a low rumble of laughter as he moved his pawn. “There’s something about being in a well known band though, fans expect the same sound and the same songs at every show.” He shrugged, a small sadness in his eyes. “And we’re old. Gas couldn’t handle things like he used to.”

Liv looked from Mige to the chessboard, “Do things feel different without him?” She made a threatening move on the board.

Mige scratched his beard, “Of course. We’re all like brothers at this point. Kosmo is great, we’ve known him for a while, but it’s not the same.” He rested his chin in his hand, pondering his next move, “Anyways, we’re old fucks, we want a change.” He smiled suddenly, and just like that Liv’s queen had fallen. “Check mate!” He smiled triumphantly.

She gave a sarcastic bow before her gaze trailed off out the window.

She focused back on Mige, “What’s your fondest memory over these twenty odd years of recording and touring?” She began re-setting the board, eyes occasionally darting back out the window.

Mige smiled to himself, eyes looking off, aglaze with memories. “Touring for Love Metal was an experience I’ll never forget. It was like, like the college days of being a band. We got up to so much shit, we drank so much shit, met so many people. And that was when we were really close with Bam. He actually asked about you when I bumped into him in Hells a few months ago. I told him about the breakup and he actually asked if you were gonna do any press for it. Then that got me thinking, and the rest is history!”

Liv’s mouth popped open with surprise. Bam set this up? Bam suggested I do this? She shook her head, closing her mouth, braids tossling side to side. “What?” That man is like, he’s like a twisted fairy god jackass.

Mige scratched the back of his head smirking, "Yeah Bam seems to just do that. I'm glad though," he reached out across the chessboard and lay his hand overtop of Livs, "I'm really happy you agreed to come, it means a lot to all of us. Anyways," he retreated his hand, "enough of that. Go, get out of here, go outside. You’ve been staring out that damn thing this whole time like a sex addict in a porn shop. You have plenty of time to interview me later, go out, enjoy the freezing woods!” Mige got up and tossed Liv her black parka which she’d draped over the back of the couch.

She caught it smirking, I do need to scout some spots for tomorrow. “You sure?”

Mige rolled his eyes, “Yeah yeah yeah, someone needs to make sure Kosmo and Sirii are actually getting stuff done in there and not just flirting.” He shot Liv a wink before disappearing in to the kitchen.

As soon as he was out of sight Liv quickly stood up and slipped on her coat, running over to her martens and digging in her carry on bag for her gloves. There was a back door near the dining room that led out to the serene scenery behind the cabin. As soon as Liv stepped out she could feel the cold as if it had penetrated right in to her bones, right okay so make sure the guys are well dressed. She shut the door behind her, gripping the railing of the back stairs and walking out into the thick snow. The snow was entirely undisturbed, glistening in the grey glow of day. A few towering trees peppered the backyard before condensing in to thicker woods. Her feet began leading her forward. The should be standing in a more secluded area, like a meadow, with the trees surrounding them, or a clearing. Around her was a peaceful quiet, only birds periodically chirping in excited melodies, and the crunch crunch crunch of her footsteps carving a path in the thick snow. She approached a drooping branch, heavy with snow and gave it a flick, watching as the snow slumped off on the ground in a heavy heap. She meandered onward, looking around as the trees began getting closer and closer until she saw it, a break in the woods and beyond it a small clearing.

“People have gotten lost and frozen out in these would you know.”

His deep, raspy voice sparked tingles of recognition that radiated throughout her body like a lightning strike in the sky. All at once it felt like he was saying everything he'd ever said to her, from You better not, to, bye, and every time he'd said her name in between. She let out a foggy breath. The last time I heard that voice I’d broken his heart, she closed her eyes briefly remember the agonizing voicemail he had left her. She’d listened to it many times that same year before finally deleting it on new years eve, determined to start her year afresh.

She didn’t shake. Her heart didn’t race. She didn’t brace herself for an onslaught of emotion. His voice didn’t rattle her to the core. She simply turned around, a hesitant smile on her lips.

Like his voice ignited the flame of recognition, so did setting eyes in him, after so long. An uncomfortable smile in the hospital, a sweat grin on stage, the confused and amazed eyes in that polaroid of him sitting on the tour bus steps. But also anger, words spitting out at her with poison.

He stood about three yards away, looking entirely comfortable in the snow. He looked exactly as he always did, a black hoodie under a black sports coat, hands tucked into the pockets, black jeans, black Dr. Martens, a black scarf wrapped around his neck, and a black beanie covering his long curls. His cheeks were flushed from the cold, a small layer of hair on his chin and upper lip. He had a timid smile on his lips. 

She pointed lightheartedly at the trail of her footprints in the snow, “I’ve got my own theseus type marker.”

Ville took a couple of steps forward. “Am I supposed to be the minotaur or the princess in this scenario?”

She tried gauging his reaction, trying to find something in his countenance that gave away what she really saw there, the expression of someone happy to see a friend. She gave a small shrug, “Depends, do you have cloven hooves I can’t see?”

A low chuckle range out of his lips, his smile catching in his eyes. He beckoned for her to follow him as he started to turn around, “Come, the rest of the guys are excited to see you.”

She strode forward, catching up with him and matching his slow pace. This is weird, she thought, remembering Marcus words. Weird but nice. Still a little uncomfortable being in his presence she made sure to keep some sort of distance as she walked next to him. “Did they send you out to fetch me?” She couldn’t meet his eyes, it was too intimate, so she looked down at the snow.

He interlaced his fingers behind his back, eyes mimicking hers as they fixated on the powdery snow beneath. "Knowing you'd make us be out here tomorrow, none of them wished to brave the cold now."

They reached the door and he held it open for her, standing far enough away so that when she stepped forward in to the warm confounds of the cabin, there was no chance she'd brush past him.

"Liv!" Linde had his elbow resting on Burtons shoulder as they stood behind the couch, glasses of whiskey in hand, chatting with Mige and Sirii.

Liv flashed a bright smile and dropped the hood off her head. "You guys don't look a day over 100!"

They both rolled their eyes and gave her warm half hugs.

Burton fiddled with his goatee, smirking. "You've come for our funeral then eh?"

Putting away her parka in a small closet Liv turned back to her old friends, heart swelling with happiness that she was trying to contain. "I suppose I am." She glanced over as a streak of motion caught her eye, Ville jokingly made the sign of the cross.

Kosmo peeked his head out of the kitchen, hair tied up in a bun, a large kitchen knife clutched in one hand, a plane green apron full of stains wrapped around him. "You can talk later, first we feast!"

***

His eyes briefly left the chessboard to rest on Liv. She sat, cross legged, back to the crackling fire, voice recorder resting in her outstretched hand as she chatted softly with Linde who sat in the loveseat nearest to her. On the couch sat Kosmo and Sirii, looking through the photographs Liv had taken during dinner. Burton read a book from the other loveseat, a glass of whiskey in his free hand. Across from Ville sat Mige, still pondering his next move. 

It was strange, seeing her there, amongst his friends and colleagues in such a homey and domestic setting. It was strange because it was as if she’d always been there. It was as if time hadn’t passed, as if this scene could have happened four years ago. But in a way, it still felt very different.

Leading up to the day, helping the guys peruse the aisles of the grocery store, he'd wondered exactly how he'd react when he saw her. A phone call is one thing. Imagining how you'd react is one thing. But being there, in their physical presence, having your body inches from the body you'd held, caressed, comforted, pleasured, is a whole other story. The reaction is physical, instinctual, and no pre-thinking can change what will really happen once you see them again.

He’d spotted her in the trees, looking around with wonder, otherworldly, just as she’d always been. She was the same in that respect, ethereal and lively; a forest nymph, But as she’d turned around he spotted the difference. It was in her eyes, the slightest difference there. Something he hadn’t immediately been able to put his finger on, until he finally realized, the tragedy, it was gone. The pain he’d once seen in those beautiful eyes no longer shone through like a knife among diamonds. He’d thought he was crazy, to see something like this, something others would never spot, but it was there nonetheless. To him she would always be that tragically beautiful young woman carried away on a gurney that fate compelled him to speak with, however that person no longer existed, and that realization had shaken him. He’d kept a calm and collected contenance, but within he couldn’t help but be surprised. She was the same Liv, but then again, she wasn’t.

This is what he now pondered, stealing glances at her from across the room with curiosity, what changed?

Suddenly Mige’s booming voice broke through Ville’s reverie. “So Liv, is Sirii your work partner or your partner partner? Did you finally turn the tide?”

Liv gaped from her position on the floor, snickers coming from Burton, Linde raising a questioning brow, Kosmo and Sirii sharing a similar expression of embarrassment. Ville watched everyone's reactions with amusement. 

“Well?” Linde laughed, sitting up straighter in his seat.

Liv threw up her hands with exasperation, “My work partner obviously! You guys!” She rolled her eyes.

Ville snickered to himself, remembering a night long ago of drinking games.

“She’s dating a model, why would she date me!” Sirii joked, getting up off the couch to hand Liv back her camera.

Oh.

Well of course she is.

He moved a piece on the board then shifted in his chair to face the room. “How did you two meet?” Is that inappropriate? A past love asking about a new one? It’s not wrong to show interest in her life though, we’re friends, right?

Liv switched the recorder off, shuffling uncomfortably where she sat, a small blush creeping across her cheeks. "We met at a photoshoot for a clothing line. It's not really the type of work I'm used to but it was a favor for a friend."

Models are on one or the other side of the spectrum. Either crazy or mellow. I wonder which her fellow is.

"Well you tell him to treat you right or else your big brothers will need to have a word with him." Mige growled jokingly before he quickly took Villes queen and stood up. "I think I'm going to get some beauty sleep. Kosmo, thank you for the wonderful reindeer stew."

Kosmo nodded as he too got up, waving goodnight to everyone. With the couch free Burton began preparing his bed. Linde quietly slipped out of the room for bed as Sirii took Livs hand and helped her up off the ground. The two women mumbled their goodnights.

He watched her go up the stairs, wondering when exactly she would be interviewing him, whether he was last on purpose.

"Luulen, että minun pitäisi päästä ulos makuuhuoneestasi? (I suppose I should get out of your bedroom?)" He said to Burton as he stood, the wooden chair creaking as he did so.

Burton smirked as he finished sliding a pillowcase over two couch pillows. "Ellet halua liittyä minuun (Unless you'd like to join me)"

Ville rolled his eyes and began to ascend the stairs, yelling out behind him, "En ole niin epätoivoinen lämmin sänkyyn! (I'm not that desperate for a warm bed!)"

From upstairs rang the muffled yell of Mige from his bedroom, "Älä ole huolissani, että olen täällä! (Don't worry, I'm here for that!)

***

He opened one eye, staring out the crack in his bedroom door and down the hall where the incessant snoring was coming from. He pulled the covers over his head, grumbling to himself before suddenly throwing them off. I should be used to this by now, he mused as he began putting on layers of clothing over his nightwear.

He pulled the door open with a creek and crept over to Mige and Kosmos room, unsure who's snoring was louder, and gently shut the door, hoping to spare the rest of the cabin his suffering. He tiptoed downstairs, trying not to wake Burton, and grabbed his coat, shuffling in the pockets for his Marlboros and a lighter as he made for the back patio. The only sound his soft breathing and the dying crackles of the fire in the hearth.

The freezing night assaulted him instantly as he slipped outside, quickly closing the door behind him.

"Can't sleep either?"

He jumped, scared half to death by her voice. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to slow his heart from the scare, before trying to see her in the dark.

She sat curled up, knees tucked up to her chest, on an outdoor couch, large blanket drowning her frame but for her face, a dim orange glow indicating a cigarette sticking from between her lips. "Sorry," she whispered with an amused voice.

He looked at the empty space beside her, unsure whether it was a good idea to be so close to her, what's there to be scared of, he thought, fingers fiddling with the lighter in his hands. He took a seat next to her, quickly lighting a cigarette to warm himself. "Why are you sitting in the dark?"

He realized he'd been uncomfortably leaning forward, so he sat back, trying to ease himself as he felt his fingers begin to numb.

[Music Recommendation:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxrf4ZzzrA8  ]

Liv inhaled deeply, the sizzle of her cigarette making a low glow. "In LA there are too many lights. There's no darkness anymore in the world, except here."

He shook his head to himself, fighting a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips, she never ceases to surprise me. He stole a glance her way and their eyes locked for a brief moment in the glow of the shining moon as the clouds began to break. They looked away. 

The silence rang heavy in the midnight air before Liv finally spoke. "Look I, I feel like I should apologize for the way I acted the last time we saw each other. It wasn’t fair to you. I should have expressed how I was feeling." She paused, looking out at the snow, taking a drag of her cigarette. "I uh, I realize now I did that a lot when we were together, keep my thoughts my own. I projected my insecurities a lot on to you during a time in my life when there was too much turmoil."

He sat, surprised, marlboro almost falling from his lips. He wanted to protest, to tell her there was no need for any of this now, but hearing it, really hearing it coming from her lips he realized he'd wanted this, this discussion, it was necessary, and it would be untruthful to say he hadn't thought of the exact words he'd express if he saw her again. It was the final stake in to the coffin of their love, and now it could be buried. "Thank you for saying that." He searched the words, wanting to say what he needed to. "Liv, I, I use to think about this, after you left, after the nebulous of anger dissipated. I thought hard, and more objectively than I had ever done before reflecting on past relationships, and yes you were insecure, and yes we were terrible at communicating with one another, but the truth dar.. Liv is that I was controlling. I wasn't myself, I was selfish, I tried telling you what to do, how to live your life, I tried telling you what you wanted. I thought perhaps I knew better I suppose, but I was wrong, terribly terribly wrong. We were toxic, and I do not blame you for leaving." He paused, focusing hard on the trees in the distance. "I shouldn't have asked you to stay." His words trailed off in a whisper, an incredible relief blooming within him at being able to say it, finally say it.

She fiddled with the end of her braid, thoughts behind her eyes. "You know, it took me a long time and therapy to realize that, everything you've said, and to even come to terms with it all." She let out a heavy sigh. Her words stung him. They hit the glued together shards of his heart because not only did she know exactly how he felt, tormented musings by candlelight in his personal studio, fingers growing rougher as they strummed his acoustic, the rhythm of his tears helping him grow. But he also hurt because he could only imagine what it had taken her. It was selfish, it was inappropriate, but he wanted to reach out and hold her, hold her as a twin heart that knows her sorrow. But he stopped himself, putting his cigarette out and lighting another, listening eagerly as Liv continued. "I'm grateful though."

"Every love lost teaches us something…" He whispered, watching the moonlight twinkling upon the snow, the words terribly inadequate but all he could manage in the moment, his mind drowning in memory.

Liv shook her head, shuffling her body so that her back leaned against the armrest, body facing Ville. "I don't think that's just it though. It teaches us about ourselves, at least, that's what I learned. You've loved and lost more than me, you'd know more." The smoke billowed around her as she exhaled. Her eyes panned over him quickly before unwrapping herself and throwing half the blanket over him, keeping her distance still.

He welcomed it, the warmth, the chill of night had begun to creep in to his bones. "It does, you're right. That's the takeaway, that's the last remnants of that dying star of love. Eventually their name doesn't pass through your mind. Eventually the happy memories stop plaguing you. Eventually you stop wondering how they are. And then suddenly you stop dreaming about them, and it's as if the only thing that remains of that relationship is what you've learned, taken away, and as you've said, what you've also learned about yourself."

Liv nodded silently beside him, fingers tucked mostly in to her sleeves, holding the cigarette to her lips.

Suddenly a flicker of light illuminated the sky in undulating streaks of greens, pinks, and yellows.

"Revontulet" Ville whispered with awe.

Liv stood, letting the blanket slip off of her shoulders so she could get a better view. She clutched at the railing of the small porch, her back to Ville as she stared upwards with wonder. A silence filled the air as they both sat, mesmerized by the natural phenomena, both minds digesting their conversation, the first open and honest one they'd ever had. 

Liv turned around, she was shivering. "I should try and sleep." Ville watched as she grabbed hold of the doorknob but paused, twisting her body to face him. "Would you do it all over again?"

Would I? Would I torture myself and her like that again? Would I be accomplice to her and mine own breakdowns again? "That is a difficult question to answer." She has no idea, no idea at all how difficult. "I, I'm not sure. What I do know Liv is that moving on from what we had took everything from me. It was the most difficult thing I've ever had to go through, and although I did not spiral into drugs as I had in the past, I spiraled nonetheless. But I wouldn't be the man I am without it, without what we had, and without you." He flashed her a weak smile, hoping she would appreciate his vulnerable honesty, all of it. He shrugged, his heart feeling lighter and lighter as the northern lights danced across his features. "I like who I am now, and I like who you are now too. We're better for it."

She nodded, smiling to herself and gently pulled the door open, her frame disappearing behind the door before suddenly reappearing, glints of green bouncing off of her eyes. "Ville?"

"Hmm?" 

"I like you too." 

[rory-aradia]

United States Metaphysical Shop Masterlist

Here is a list I have created of the above-mentioned stores using multiple sources including Aminos, personal experience and research, word of mouth, forums, and Facebook groups. To submit a store to this list please PM me or send an email to goodwicce@gmail.com!

Please include:

Name:

Address:

Phone Number:

Website:

Other: (any other miscellaneous information you think people should know about the store)

Note: I will make a separate post for Etsy stores/online shops without a physical retail location. Once posted, I will edit this post so you can find that by clicking a link here. 

My personal favorites are starred as such.*

Arizona

Name: Dry River Witches collective

Address: 414 EAST 7TH STREET, TUCSON, AZ, 85705,

Phone Number: 520-861-7020

Website: N/A

Other: Specializes in hoodoo, voodoo, tarot and feminism focus

  Name: Fantasia Crystals

Address: 5108 N 7th St, Phoenix, AZ 85014

Phone Number: (602) 265-4065

Website: https://www.fantasiacrystals.com

Other: Lots of classes and networking opportunities

 Name: Jan Ross New Age Books & Gifts

Address: 4239 W Thunderbird Rd #2, Phoenix, AZ 85053

Phone Number: (602) 841-4933

Website: http://www.janrossnewagebooksandgifts.com

Other: Lots of divination readings

 Name: Crystal Magic

Address: 2978 AZ-89A Sedona, AZ

Phone Number: N/A

Website: https://www.crystalmagic.com

Other: Huge store with an amazing selection of crystals, incense, and other tools. An entirely separate section of hundreds of books and tarot and oracle decks.

 Name: Tree of Life Metaphysical

Address: 1515 N Gilbert Rd #D112, Gilbert, AZ 85234

Phone Number: (480) 284-4705

Website: https://treeoflifemetaphysical.com/

Arkansas

Name: Atomic Squid

Address: 1410 E Main St, Russellville, Arkansas, 72801

Phone Number: (479) 968-3337

Other: Gems, Candles, Wands, Accessories, Altar Accessories, Books, Incenses and Sage, and plants.

California

Name: Everitt’s Minerals

Address: 54300 N Circle Dr., Idyllwild, CA 92549

Phone Number: (951) 659-7075

Website: https://everittsminerals.com

Other: N/A

 Name: Enchantations

Address: 2160 Winchester Blvd, Campbell, CA 95008

Phone Number: 408.508.5900

Website: http://www.enchantations.com/

Other: An actual witchcraft shop (not just metaphysical) and actually owned by witches.

 Name: House of Intuition

Address: Echo Park Location is located at 2237 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026. For additional locations please see their website.

Phone Number: 213-413-8300

Website: https://houseofintuitionla.com

Other: The store provides healing services, readings even through a phone call, classes and workshops. They also have a monthly moon box subscription and Zodiac birthday boxes.

 Name: The dragon and the rose

Address: N Grand Ave k, Santa Ana, CA 92705

Phone Number: (714) 569-0100 2424

Website: https://www.thedragonandtherose.com/  

Other: Stones & Crystals, Herbs, Essential Oils, divination tools, candles, incense, altar statuary, books, CLASSES, etc. they are well-stocked and have just about anything. They’re really kind and their customer service is very nice and helpful!

 Name: Alexandria II

Address: 170 S. Lake Ave. #100 Pasadena, CA 91101

Phone Number: https://www.alexandria2.com

Other: Has a large selection of books possibly best in LA for that, crystals, psychic readings, and metaphysical supplies, etc.

Connecticut

Name: Mondazzi Book and Bead

Address: 570 Hayden Station Road, Windsor, CT 06095

Phone Number: (860) 285-0538

Website: www.Mondazzi.com

Other: Thousands of crystals, jewelry, altar tools, candles, herbs, salt lamps, books, tarot, decor, furniture, and beads. They also have a salt room and host classes on Wicca, yoga, and jewelry making.

Delaware

Name: Finding Avalon*

Address: 102 S Main St, Camden Wyoming, DE 19934

Phone Number: 302-697-9729

Website: https://www.findingavalon.org

Other: Has a palm and tarot reader every weekend, a bi-weekly meditation group, and offers personalized appointments for Reiki, Wellness consulting, and assistance with your fitness goals (The Healing Garden at Finding Avalon). Sells everything a witch/Wiccan would need from books to crystals to jewelry to affordable ($20 range) classes on Wicca, Shamanism, Female Empowerment, Paganism, Runes, the Occult, and more. Has a great atmosphere and sells delicious hot and cold organic teas and coffee so you can sip while you shop. Oh, and an adorable black shop cat named Fiona!

 Name: Buddhas and Beads

Address: 2134, 232 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

Phone Number: 302-227-6004

Website: https://buddhas-and-beads.business.site/

Other: N/A

 Name: Inspirit Studios*

Address: 190 Dogwood Drive, Magnolia, DE 19962

Phone Number: 302-222-4804

Website: https://www.inspiritstudios.com/

Other: Offers Intuitive healing through a variety of holistic modalities for the support of physical wellbeing and spiritual growth. Owned by Anita Brown, an Intuitive healer, Reiki Master/Teacher, Meditation Instructor and seeker whose goal is to offer natural, holistic  therapies such as Reiki, Aromatherapy, herbals, sound and crystal work, and meditation as a way to encourage healing and to support you on your spiritual journey. They also offer classes and workshops in the areas of Reiki, Shamanism, meditation and chakra work.

 Name: Mandie’s Magical Marketplace

Address: 818 Kings Hwy, Lewes, DE 19958

Phone Number: 302-858-3859

Website: https://mandiesmagicalreadings.com/ and mandiesmagicalmarketplace.org

Other: A shop run by a medium and psychic who offers classes of that nature and sells a wide array of magical items. Holds monthly Full Moon Gatherings on Lewes Beach.

 Name: Crystal Underground

Address: 149 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

Phone Number: 302-727-8228

Website: https://www.crystalunderground.com/

Other: A 30+-year-old crystal shop with a knowledgeable owner.

Florida

Name: My Cauldron

Address: 210 S Spring Garden Ave, DeLand, FL 32720

Phone Number: 1-386-624-7000

Website: No website.

Other: Crystals, Tarot, Incense, Deity Figures, Wands, Books, Jewelry

 Name: The Purple Lotus

Address: 106 St. George St., St. Augustine, Florida AND 35 San Marco St., Augustine, Florida

Phone Number: 904-295-8876

Website: thepurplelotusshop.com

Other: 2 locations one (on St. George St) is much smaller than the other both have the the same assortment of things, but the larger location does have a broader selection of items. Starting July 2018 there will also be classes and workshops at the larger (San Marco) location.

 Name: Spiritual Uplifts

Address: 2186 Park Avenue Suite 102, Orange Park, Florida 32073

Phone Number: N/A

Website: www.spiritualuplifts.com

Other: This shop specializes in crystals, Tarot cards, psychic readings, energy healings, weekly classes on witchcraft and other occult knowledge.

 Name: Spellbound Gemz-Jewelz & Beyond

Address: 120 FL-13, Saint John’s, Florida 32259

Phone Number: N/A

Website: On Facebook only.

Other: Specializes in crystals, tapestries, oils, Tarot readings.

 Name: Midnight Sun

Address: 1055 Park Street, Jacksonville, Florida 32204

Website: midnightsunimports.net

Other: Specializes in incense, singing bowls, books, jewelry, clothing, home decor, unique crystals, custom items

 Name: Earth Gifts

Address: 1951 Stimson Street, Jacksonville, Florida 32210

Phone Number: N/A

Website: earthgifts.com

Other: Specializes in herbs, statues, necklaces, pendulums, books, art, crystals

 Name: Gypsy Apothecary Herb & Metaphysical Shoppe

Address: 3540 S Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32806.

Phone Number: (407) 745-5805.

Website: http://www.gypsyherbshop.com

Other: N/A

 Name: Avalon

Address: 1211 Hillcrest St, Orlando, FL 32803

Phone Number: (407) 895-7439

Website: http://www.avalonbeyond.com

Other: N/A

 Name: Spiral Circle

Address: 750 N Thornton Ave, Orlando, FL 32803

Phone Number: (407) 894-9854

Website: spiralcircle.com

Other: N/A

 Name: The Caudron’s Corner

Address: 1721 9th Street West, Bradenton, FL, 34205

Phone Number: (941)-800-9393

Website: https://www.thecauldronscorner.com/

Other: They have an awesome herb collection and also give classes in Wicca.

 Name: Five Sisters

Address: 8805 SW 132nd St, Miami, FL 33176

Phone Number: (786) 250-4170

Website: http://www.fivesisters.com

Other: Metaphysical store with weekly classes and events

 Name: Creative Energy

Address: 780 W New Haven Ave, Melbourne, FL 32901

Phone Number: +13219526789

Website: https://m.facebook.com/creativenergymelbourne/

Other: They have everything except herbs. You can find crystals, Oracle and Tarot cards, wands, fairies, books, cauldrons, Sage, etc. they have the surge invited by section so if you looking for something from week our presidents and there's a whole shelf dedicated to it. If you're looking for fairies there's an entire shelf dedicated to fairies, and so and so...

 Name: The Triskele Cove Jacksonville

Address: 10300 Southside Blvd #1090B, Jacksonville, FL 32256

Phone Number: N/A

Website: https://m.facebook.com/TheTriskeleCoveJax/

Other: Metaphysical supply store located in the Avenues Mall

 Name: Crystal Garden

Address: 2610 N Federal Hwy, Boynton Beach, FL  33435

Phone Number: +1 (561) 369-2836

Website: Thecrystalgarden.com

Other: Jewelry, essential oils, crystals and gemstones, chimes, books, decks and spoken audio, aromatic mists

 Name: Expedito Enlightenment Center

Address: 4047 Okeechobee Blvd, Habitat Plaza #129, West Palm Beach, FL 33409

Phone Number: 561-682-0955

Website: botanicasanexpedito.com

Other: Vast selection of candles, spiritual oils, herbs, spiritual baths, spiritual sprays, bath salts, religious articles, spiritual books, statues, and crystals from around the world.

 Name: Mama Jo's Sunshine Herbals

Address: 1300 Pine Tree Dr # 3, Indian Harbour Beach, FL 32937

Phone Number: N/A

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

Georgia

Name: WhiteOak Art Designs

Address: 11661 Commerce Rd, Athens, GA 30607

Phone Number: (706) 362-2517

Website: http://whiteoak-art-designs-more.business.site

Other: You can get a tarot reading here, and they specialize in herbs and altar tools.

 Name: Simple Strands

Address: 115 Merchants Square, Cumming, GA 30040

Phone Number: (770) 781-2283

Website: http://www.simplestrands.com

Other: N/A

 Name: The Open Mind Center

Address: 1575 Old Alabama Road, #213, Roswell, GA, 30076

Phone Number: N/A

Website: www.theopenmindcenter.com

Other: Yoga Studio, Metaphysical/Reiki Shop, Sells crystals/stones, tarot, candles/incense, natural salts, and essential oils. Offers psychic readings, yoga, reiki, classes and workshops, coaching, massages, and wellness services.

 Name: Sun, Moon & Stars

Address: 120 Clarksville Plaza, Unit A, Clarksville, GA 30523

Phone Number: (706)754-5417

Website: www.sunmoonandstars.net

Other: They sell crystals/stones, candles and holders, incense and burners, essential oils, bulk herbs, natural health/beauty products, tarot and Oracle cards (new and used), books (new and used), jewelry, statuary, decor, many other metaphysical/spiritual supplies, and local artisans' consignment items. They offer Tarot, Rune, Tea Leaf, and Oracle readings, workshops and classes, custom herb and oil blending, and clergy services.

 Name: The Triskele Cove Savannah

Address: 7804 Abercorn Extension, Savannah, Georgia 31406

Phone Number: N/A

Website: https://m.facebook.com/TheTriskeleCoveSavannah/

Other: Metaphysical supply store kiosk located in Oglethorpe Mall.

 Name: Cosmic Corner

Address: 905 Abercorn Street, Savannah, GA 31401

Phone Number: N/A

Website: https://www.cosmiccornersavannah.com/

Other: Metaphysical supply store.

 Name: Brighter Day

Address: 1102 Bull Street, Savannah, Ga 31401

Phone Number: N/A

Website: http://www.brighterdayfoods.com/

Other: Health food store that sells witchy things such as essential oils, smudge sticks and an array of herbs (literally the only place I've seen in person that sells dragons blood resin).

 Name: Phoenix & Dragon Bookstore

Address: 5531 Roswell Rd NE, Sandy Springs, GA 30342

Phone Number: 404-255-5207

Website: N/A

Other: Tarot readings, massages, candles, books, statues, sprays, jewelry, crystals, and best of all - shop cats!

 Name: Forever And A Day LLC,

Address: 7830 GA-92, Woodstock, GA 30189

Phone Number: 770-516-6969

Website: N/A

Other: Statues, crystals, tarot readings, psychic fairs, salt cave.

Illinois

Name: Enlightened Balance Chakra Spa 

Address: 30 N. Williams St. F Crystal Lake, IL 60014

Phone Number: N/A

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: Pandoras Box

Address: 1100 Derby St. Pekin, IL 61554

Phone Number: N/A

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: Evolve

Address: 54 N. Williams St. Crystal Lake, IL 60014

Phone Number: N/A

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: Alchemy Arts Occult Supply 

Address: 1203 W. Bryn Mawr Ave, Chicago, IL 60660 

Phone Number: (773) 769-4970

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: Sincerely the Craft

Address: 22 E. Main St. Belleville IL 62220

Phone Number: N/A

Website: N/A

Other: Metaphysical. Occult. Esoteric. Spiritual. Crystals. Tarot Reading. Herbs. Incense.  Candles.

Indiana

Name: All My Relations

Address: 7218 Rockville Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46214.

Phone Number: (317) 227-3925.

Website: http://allmyrelationsindy.com/

Other: They specialize in crystals and have a HUGE selection as well as having jewelry, candles, books, and other items typical in metaphysical shops. They also, do readings of different kinds, offer a variety of classes and small groups, and have pitch-in celebrations for the solstices and equinoxes.

 Name: Elderberry Tree House Shoppe

Address: 7714 Lima Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46818

Phone Number: (260)489-6707.

Website: N/A

Other: Amazing customer service and a knowledgeable owner.

 Name: The Pride

Address: 6823 Indianapolis Blvd, Hammond, Indiana

Phone Number: 219.844.2244

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: Castle-Brooks Spiritual Supply

Address: 713 Main St., Lafayette, IN 47901

Phone Number: (765) 420-8082

Website: N/A

Other: The store feels very peaceful. Great selection of crystals, statues, components, some books. Very knowledgeable and helpful staff who will order any book you want.

 Name: Von’s Book Shop

Address: 315 State St., West Lafayette, IN 47906

Phone Number: (765) 743-1915

Website: N/A

Other: Not nominally a metaphysical store, but has tons of crystals, jewelry, statues, and books in that genre.

 Name: Amused Clothing

Address: 316 1/2 W State St., West Lafayette, IN 47906

Phone Number: N/A

Website: N/A

Other: Not nominally a metaphysical store but has a huge selection of individual incense types. Cool vibe.

Iowa

Name: Om

Address: 105 S. Linn St Iowa City IA 52240

Phone: (319) 358-1282

Website: http://infiniteomgifts.com

Other: N/A

Kansas

Name: The Energy Within KC

Address: 7807 W 151st Street, Overland Park, Kansas

Phone Number: (913) 296-8412

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: Into the Mystic

Address: 5727 Johnson Dr, Mission, KS 66202

Phone Number: +1 913-766-9906

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

Louisiana

Name: The Peace of Mind Center

Address: 3722 Youree Dr., Shreveport, LA 71105

Phone Number: 318-219-8344

Website: https://thepeaceofmindcenter.com/

Other: N/A

 Name: Coyote Moon Crystals & Gifts

Address: 1938 Perkins Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Phone Number: N/A

Website: http://coyotemoonbr.com/

Other: They’re very affordable for someone on a budget and the store is kept smelling amazing.

 Name: Earth Odyssey

Address: 306 Charles St., New Orleans, LA

Phone Number: 504.581.1348

Website: http://www.earthodysseynola.com

Other: Specializes in crystals and jewelry, but does offer psychic readings.

Maine

Name: Enchanted Herbs and Teas

Address: 48 Maine St, Waterville, Maine 04901

Phone Number: 207-860-0318

Website: https://enchantedherbsmaine.com

Other: Offers Tarot and Oracle readings, Tea Leaf readings, Reiki, hypnosis, psychic healing, sells loose leaf personally blended teas, herbs, stones, and candles, as well as other assorted goodies.

 Name: Dragon Star Creations

Address: 45 Cottage St, Sanford, ME 04073

Phone Number: N/A

Website: https://dragonstarcreationsonline.com/

Other: Regular shop items as well as some clothing and decoration items. They also occasionally host events where people can come together and cast spells, get tarot readings, and even get massages. The shop owner is very friendly

Maryland

Name: India Emporium

Address:  107 S Baltimore Ave, Ocean City, Maryland 21842\

Phone Number: 

Website: https://www.facebook.com/OCIndiaEmporium/

Other: Not a metaphysical shop per se, but definitely in the same realm. Affordable incense, beautiful jewelry, essential oils and perfumes made by the owner. Lovely atmosphere.   Name: The Smile Herb Shop

Address: 4908 Berwyn Rd, College Park, MD 20740

Phone Number: (301) 474-8791

Website: https://www.smileherb.com

Other: Comfy shop offering an array of herbal supplements, teas & holistic items plus garden plants

Name: Earthly Elements

Address:  33 N Market St, Frederick, MD 21701

Phone Number: (301) 631-5511

Website: http://www.earthlyrocks.com

Other: Earthly Elements strives to be an old style Rock Shop carrying a large variety of mineral specimens, crystals, gemstones, fossils, metaphysical stones, as well as unique gifts.

Name: The Turning Wheel

Address: 7942 Belair Rd, Baltimore, MD 21236

Phone Number: (410) 882-8060

Website: https://www.facebook.com/The-Turning-Wheel-Bookstore-101532546680197/

Other: Everything Metaphysical Bookstore for the Witch in you. Everything from crystals to Norse items.

Name:  Crystals, Candles, & Cauldrons

Address: 927 W 36th St, Baltimore, MD 21211

Phone Number: (410) 467-4111

Website: https://www.wiccancrystal.com

Other: Unique shop with a curated collection of mystical wares, such as incense, tarot cards & wind chimes.

Name: Black Cat Curiosities Art and Antiques

Address: 24 Harrison St., Easton, Maryland

Phone Number: (410) 924-4436

Website: https://www.facebook.com/theblackcateaston/

Other: N/A

Name: The Crystal Fox

Address: 311 Main Street, Laurel, Maryland 20707

Phone Number: 301-317-1980

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

Massachusetts

Name: Atlantic Spice Co.

Address: 2 Shore Rd, North Truro MA 02652

Phone Number: (800) 316-7965 and (508) 487-6100

Website: www.atlanticspice.com

Other: N/A

 Name: Mystik Moon

Address: 244 Commercial St, Provincetown MA

Phone Number: 508-487-6006

Website: https://mystikmoon.com

Other: N/A

 Name: Shop Therapy

Address: 288 Commercial St, Provincetown MA

Phone Number: 508-487-9387

Website: https://www.shoptherapy.com

Other: N/A

 Name: Buddha Beads

Address: 2390 US-6, Eastham, MA

Phone Number: 774-207-0105

Website: ttps://www.facebook.com/pg/BuddhabobsCapecod/

Other: N/A

 Name: Earth House

Address: 121 Rt 6A, Orleans MA 02653

Phone Number: 508-240-0257

Website: https://www.earthhouse.com

Other: N/A

 Name: Instant Karma

Address: 547 Main St, Hyannis, MA 02601

Phone Number: 508-827-4212

Website: www.instantkarmahyannis.com/home.html

Other: N/A

 Name: Seven Stars

Address: 731 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Phone Number: (617) 547-1317

Website: No website.

Other: Its half bookstore half crystal shop. They have books on every religion or philosophy you could think of, they sell crystals and tarot and a bunch of miscellaneous magic tools behind the cashier. The staff is super lovely and its a calm atmosphere.

 Name: New Moon Gifts

Address: 5 Cheshire Rd, Pittsfield, MA, 01201. (Allendale Shopping Center)

Phone Number: N/A

Website: https://m.facebook.com/newmoongiftshop/

Other: It has crystals, smudges, incense, cauldrons, mortars, herbs, candles, Wiccan charms, spells, BOS's (as per my request), essential oils, and totems, to name a few things. Most of the stuff there is above 5 dollars, but the incense is 25 cents per stick.

Michigan

Name: Coyote Wisdom

Address: 2442 N. Grand River Ave., Lansing, MI 48906

Phone Number: 517-323-1707

Website: www.coyotewisdomstore.com

Other: They have a loyalty card for a discount and first timers get to draw from a grab bag of goodies like crystals.

 Name: Glow Fish Studios

Address: 2840 Biddle Ave Wyandotte, MI  48192 United States

Phone Number: (734) 552-6323

Website: glowfishstudios.com

Other: Specializes in crystals and tarot.

 Name: Kokopelli’s Korner

Address: 111 east grand river, Howell, Michigan

Phone Number: N/A

Website: http://www.kokopelliskorner.com/

Other: Offers crystals, jewelry, tarot cards, incense, tea, herbs, etc. Owner is amazing.

 Name: Boston Tea Room

Address, Ferndale 224 west nine miles rode Ferndale MI

Phone Number: 248-548-1415

Website: N/A

Other: Offers a wide variety of crystals tarot and palm reading, salts, and candles and herbs and incenses, figures and free tea

Minnesota

Name: Enchanted Boutique

Address: 4074 White Bear Ave N, White Bear Lake, MN 55110

Phone Number: (651) 600-3769

Website: enchantedboutiquemn.com

Other: N/A

 Name: Eye of Horus Metaphysical

Address: 910 W Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55408

Phone Number: (612) 872-1292

Website: eyeofhorus.biz

Other: N/A

 Name: Magus Books & Herbs

Address:1848 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418

Phone Number: (612) 379-7669

Website: magusbooks.com

Other: They recently moved places so if you are looking for a place on google maps and can't find it, that is why. There are tarot, home things, incense, other cards, books, jewelry, witchy tools, statues, essential oils, herbs, crystals and talismans of different cultures.

 Name: The Wellness Circle

Address: 7094 Lake Dr, Lino Lakes, MN 55014

Phone Number: (612) 871-5622

Website: thewellnesscircle.vpweb.com

Other: This one specifically is less of a witchy-centered store and more about health and healing in general. They have a chiropractic person, they offer yoga, acupuncture, massages, natural healing, intuitive readings, hypnosis, and aromatherapy.

 Name: The Chakra House

Address: 1620 7th St W, St Paul, MN 55102

Phone Number: (651) 493-2586

Website: thechakrahousemn.com

Other: This house/shop submitter would rate more than 5/5 stars. You can get a bunch of services there and it is just starting to grow. It offers tarot readings, AMAZING aura readings, crystals, rock lamps, oils, candles, and books. I personally got my aura read there for around 45$ and it is worth the money. The the reader is absolutely an angel. You get a picture of your aura around your head, and then around your body, in addition, it talks about your chakras and what you could work on to improve them individually. It is wonderful.

 Name: Divine Time

Address: 14555 S Robert Trail, Rosemount, MN 55068

Phone Number: (612) 961-7879

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

Missouri

Name: Aquarius

Address: 3936 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64111

Phone Number: +1 816-931-6303

Website: http://www.aquariusbooks.com

Other: N/A

Nebraska

Name: Euphoria

Address: 4139 O Street, Lincoln, NE. 68510

Phone Number: 402-488-8853

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

Nevada

Name: Crystal Alley Emporium

Address: 2841 N. Green Valley Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89178

Phone Number: 702-434-7626

Website: http://www.crystalalleyemporium.com

Other: N/A

New Hampshire

Name: New Day Metaphysical

Address. 9 Madbury Rd, Suite 103, Durham, NH 03824

Phone Number: (781) 724-8447

Website: https://newdaymetaphysical.gosite.com

Other: This store has a nice variety of altar supplies and various herbs/oils/etc and provide tarot readings.

 Name: Scallops Mineral and Shells (Market St. Location)

Address: 93 Market St., Portsmouth, NH 03801

Phone Number: (603) 828-2044

Website: https://www.scallopsmineralandshell.com

Other: A wide selection of crystals, gems, fossils, and basically any fancy rock you can think of in lots of different cuts and shapes. They also carry jewelry and some other items such as books and tarot decks.

New Jersey

Name: Goddess in Eden

Address: 282 Bloomfield Ave, Verona, NJ 07044

Phone Number: 973-919-3600

Website: N/A

Other: It’s a regular metaphysical shop that also offers classes and has a psychic.

 Name: The Gem Mine

Address: 65 Westwood Ave, Westwood, NJ 07675

Phone Number: 201-722-8676

Website: N/A

Other: Crystal shop, but the staff is also knowledgeable of their metaphysical properties.

 Name: Rocky’s Crystals and Minerals

Address: 559 Bloomfield Ave, Montclair, NJ

Phone Number: N/A

Website: https://www.rockyscrystalsonline.com

Other: Large selection of high-quality crystals and jewelry for decent prices, and a wide selection of reiki candles, as well as some dried herbs and other useful items. They provide tons of information on every product in their store.

New Mexico

Name: Abitha's Metaphysical Shop

Address: 2231 Wyoming Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87112

Phone Number: (505) 262-0401

Website: https://www.abithas.us

A a family-owned and operated shop that specializes in purpose oils, incense, and ritual herbs. Other: With over 1,200 blends of oils, and 30 years of magickal herbalist experience to create custom spell kits, fixed candles, and ritual herbs to help the seeker along their path.  They also carry a variety of crystals and stones, wands and foci, runes and pendulums, altar cloths and athames, tarot and oracle decks.

(Upstate) New York

Name: Bramble

Address: 118 W Green St., Ithaca, NY 14850

​Phone Number: (607) 379-0113

Website: http://www.brambleithaca.com/

Other: Community Herbalism store with dried herbs, tinctures, balms, sage, and community classes.

 Name: Crossroads Gifts & Wellness

Address: 131 & 133 Jay St, Schenectady, NY 12305

Phone Number: +1 518-357-8366

Website: http://www.crossroadsgallery.com

Other: N/A

 Name: The Magic Moon

Address: 15 Phila St, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

Phone Number: +1 518-583-2488

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: Mythic Treasures

Address: 274 Goodman St N # B127, Rochester, NY 14607

Phone Number: N/A

Website: https://www.mythictreasures.com/

Other: N/A

 Name: Epiphanies

Address: 215 East Ridge Road, Rochester, NY 14621

Phone Number: N/A

Website: http://epiphanies.business.site/

Other: N/A

 Name: Mystic Moon

Address: 115 Park Ave, Rochester, NY 14607

Phone Number: N/A

Website: http://www.mysticmoononpark.com/

Other: N/A

 Name: Spirit & Crystal Connections

Address: 714 University Ave, Rochester, NY 14607

Phone Number: N/A

Website: http://spirit-crystal-connections.business.site/

Other: N/A

 Name: Psychic Thyme

Address: 1460 Lyell Ave, Rochester, NY 14606

Phone Number: N/A

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: High winds Herbs

Address: Campbell Hill Rd, Middleburgh, NY

Phone Number: (518)827-4030

Website: highwindsherbs.com

Other: Specializes in herbs; smoking, medicinal, magickal, tea, resin, ethnobotanicals

 Name: It’s Called Herbal Magick, Inc.

Address: 402 West Ave., Lockport, NY  14094

Phone Number: +1 (716) 439-5144

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

New York City

Manhattan

 Name: Flower Power Herbs and Roots, Inc.

Address: 406 East 9th St., New York, N.Y. 10009

Phone Number: 212-982-6664

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: Rock Star Crystals*

Address: 146 W 126th St, New York NY 10001

Phone Number: 212-675-3065

Website: http://rockstarcrystalsmanhattan.com/

Other: Gemstones, Jewelry, Fossils, Meteorites, Shells and Metaphysical Tools. The person who runs the store is extremely knowledgeable and happily assists with any needs you might have. Came here even before converting to Paganism and fell in love. A tiny but beautiful shop I came upon by happenstance.

 Name: Enchantments

Address: 424 E 9th St., New York, NY

Phone Number: (212)-228-4394

Website: enchantmentsinnyc.com

Other: Offers a small selection of books, tarot/oracle decks, incense, herbs, custom candles, and more.

 Name: Namaste Bookshop

Address: 2 W 14th St., New York, NY

Phone Number: (212)-645-0141

Website: NamasteBookshop.com

Other: Specializes in crystals and books. A wide array of tarot/oracle cards. Candles, jewelry, incense and more. In-store readings.

 Name: Stick, Stone, & Bone*

Address: 113 Christopher St, New York, NY 10014

Phone Number: 212-807-7024

Website: www.stickstonebone.com

Other: N/A

 Brooklyn

 Name: Catland Books*

Address: 987 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Phone Number: 718-418-9393

Website: catlandbooks.com

Other: Offers great books and wares for all experience levels.

 Name: Ruby’s House of Crystals

Address: 119 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Phone Number: N/A

Website: rubyshouseofcrystals.com

Other: N/A

 Queens

 N/A

 Bronx

 N/A

 Staten Island

 Name: East Meets West*

Address: 2655 Richmond Ave, Staten Island, NY 10314 (Staten Island Mall)

Phone Number: 718-494-3064

Website: https://www.eastmeetswestusa.com/

Other: Nice little metaphysical shop in the mall.

 Name: Magic Moon Sisters*

Address: 4116 Hylan Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10308

Phone Number: 718-948-3006

Website: magicmoonsisters.com

Other: A metaphysical shop run by two women – one with Native American Lineage and one with a Celtic background - that offers magickal and spiritual wares, classes, and spiritual healing of all kinds.

 Name: Mystikal Wonders

Address: 451 Jewett Ave, Staten Island, NY 10302

Phone Number: 718-816-1234

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

North Carolina

Name: Dancing Moon Books & Gifts

Address: 1840 Wake Forest Rd, Raleigh, NC 27608

Phone Number: (919) 833-8081

Website: dancingmoonraleigh.com

Other: Has plenty of crystals, incense, candles, and books. They host readers and have classes in the house as well.

 Name: The Holy Rose

Address: 311 Blake St, Raleigh, NC 27601

Phone Number: (919) 803-5787

Website: theholyrose.com

Other: Must be 18+ to enter the shop. They card at the door. They have lots of crystals, candles, incense, and books.

 Name: Mystic Elements

Address: 4403 Park Avenue, Wilmington, NC

Phone Number: (910) 799 1001

Website: mysticelements.com

Other: This is a great, locally-owned shop that carries crystals, sage, tarot cards, and more! It has statues for many different religions/cultures and has a wide variety of incense.

 Name: Crystal Visions

Address: 5426 Asheville Hwy., Hendersonville, NC 28791

Phone Number: (828) 687-1193

Website: http://crystalvisionsbooks.com/

Other: Crystal Visions is a Sanctuary for the Spiritual Seeker, providing resources for transformation and growth including books, music. crystals, jewelry and more.  Serving the Greater Asheville, NC community since 1989.

 Name: Raven and Crone

Address: 555 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC, 28804

Phone Number: (828) 424-7868

Website: www.ashevilleravenandcrone.com

Other: N/A

Ohio

Name: Book of Shadows

Address: 1100 Clarendon Rd., Canton, Ohio 44710

Phone Number: 330-451-6083

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: The Dragon’s Mantle

Address: 962 Kenmore Blvd., Akron, Ohio 44314

Phone Number: 330-687-5654

Website: https://dagonsmantle.webs.com/

Other: Host all kinds of classes and host parties and ritual for every sabbat. Great prices and very smart people.

 Name: Once In A Blue Moon

Address: 4348 Monroe St Toledo, OH  43606 United States.

Phone Number: 1 (419) 810-1478.

Website: https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Shopping---Retail/Once-In-A-Blue-Moon-246088728797706/

Other: N/A

 Name: Whatever Works Wellness Center

Address: 7433 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236

Phone Number: 513.791.9428

Website: http://www.whateverworkswellness.com

Other: They have a very organized selection of crystals and also offer sheets that list the meanings and are very reasonably priced. They also have books, teas, and some herbs and oils.

Oklahoma

Name: Spiritual Rose

Address: 2929 S Harvard Ave, Tulsa, OK 74114

Phone Number: (918)779-4131

Other: A small store owned by a friendly couple. You can ask them any question and they are super nice and very helpful! They offer classes in Wicca and do small get-togethers on Tuesdays.

Oregon

Name: The Crystal Mirror

Address: 189 Liberty Street Northeast B5, Salem, OR 97301

Phone Number: +1 971-240-0862

Website: https://sites.google.com/site/thecrystalmirroronline/

Other: N/A

 Name: By Candlelight & Conjure

Address: 410 Pine St NE, Salem, OR 97301

Phone Number: +1 971-388-9373

Website: https://m.facebook.com/pg/candlelightandconjure/about/

Other: N/A

Pennsylvania

Name: Shooting For The Moon

Address: 6247 Rte 209 Stroudsburg PA 18360

Phone Number: 570 992 0943

Website: www.shootingforthemoon.com

Other: They have 6-week classes including herbology, tarot, and planetary magick. There are also full moon ceremonies and Sabbats

 Name: Garland of Letters

Address: 527 South St, Philadelphia, PA 19147

Phone Number: (215) 923-5946

Website: N/A

Other: New Age/pagan bookstore with crystals, incense, candles, tarot decks, yoga classes, and more.

 Name: juju

Address: 6739 Reynolds St, Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Phone Number: +1 814-460-1538

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: Sparkledragon’s Magical Emporium

Address: 2120 Broadway Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  15216

Phone Number: N/A

Website: N/A

Other: Specialized in crystals, books, and curiosities.

 Name: Journey's of Life

Address: 810 Bellefonte Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  15232

Phone Number: N/A

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: Crystal Wand

Address: 529 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg PA 17325

Phone Number: 717-420-5637

Website: www.crystalwandinpa.com

Other: N/A

Name: Heaven & Nature Store

Address: 3972 Jonestown Road, Harrisburg PA 17109

Phone Number: 717-545-0204

Website: heavenandnaturestore.com

Other: N/A

South Carolina

Name: Serenity at Sunset

Address: 321 E Main St., Pickens, SC  29671

Phone Number: (864) 878-9973

Website: http://www.serenityatsunset.com/

Other: Books, oracle cards, art, jewelry, orgon, malas, crystals, candles, natural care products, bags, tapestries & more! We still carry feather smudge wands, sacred herbs, and smokeless sprays - custom order options available. A beautiful serene meditation center available for your peaceful practice. A library & tea room for you to relax, read and ruminate!

 Name: Earth's Elements

Address: 220 E. Main St., Walhalla, South Carolina 29691

Phone Number: (864) 916-4001

Website: http://earthselements.co/

Other: They offer handcrafted bath and body products like soaps, salves, and lip balms, shampoo and conditioners and lotions, herbs, healing stones, gemstone jewelry, natural teas and Essential Oils.

 Name: Nyla Beans

Address: 1523 N Pleasantburg[EG1]  Dr., Greenville, SC  29609

Phone Number: (864) 292-5529

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Nyla-Beans-185261374846000/

Other: Eclectic shop, featuring handcrafted gifts and jewelry, fair trade items, and bohemian, casual, and festival clothing. We also carry crystals, incense, and metaphysical items.

Tennessee

Name: Spiritual Awakenings/We 3 Witches

Address: 3694 West Market Street Johnson City, TN 37604

Phone Number: N/A

Website: https://www.facebook.com/SpiritualAwakeningsJC

Other: Handfasting rituals to offering tea leaf readings, oracle readings, tarot readings, Etc. They host various events that can be found through their site. They sell crystals, full moon water, incense, candles, spells of various kinds already prepared for you with instructions on how to do them, journals to create; grimoires, dream journals, and book of shadows.

 Name: Valhalla’s Gate

Address: 209 Dover Rd., Clarksville Tennessee 37042

Phone Number: N/A

Website: Valhallasgatetn.com

Other: N/A

 Name: Cosmic Connections

Address: 1701 Portland Avenue, Nashville Tennessee 37212

Phone Number: N/A

Website: yourcosmicconnections.com

Other: N/A

 Name: Yellow Sky Emporium

Address: 1313 Rocky Hill Road, Knoxville, TN 37919

Phone Number: (865)560-8894

Website: https://www.yellowskyemporium.com/

Other: N/A

Texas

Name: The Magick Cauldron

Address: 2424 Montrose Blvd., Houston, Texas 77006

Phone Number: 713.523.0069

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

 Name: Hearth Wisdom Store

Address: 3901 W. Arkansas Lane Suite 118, Arlington, Texas 76016

Phone Number: 682-323-5085

Website: www.hearthwisdomstore.com

Other: Very welcoming and knowledgeable staff. They sell a variety of books, bags, jars, spells, crystals/stones, furniture, clothing, accessories, and have an amazing herb, incense, and candle selection. They also have tarot decks and multiple other divination methods. HWS also hold events and classes on certain days, as well as rituals for all.

Vermont

Name: Moonshadows Gifts For The Spirit

Address: 72 N Main St., Saint Albans, VT  05478

Phone Number: +1 (802) 524-6758

Website: N/A

Other: This store sells everything for the Witch/Wiccan/Pagan! They have tons of crystals, crystal balls, books, incense, herbs, cauldrons, chalices, motor and pestles, pendulums, tarot cards, personal learning sessions, and so much more!

Washington

Name: Lotus of the Moon

1386 Jadwin Ave., Richland, Washington

Phone Number: (509) 940-7460

Website: N/A

Other: Spiritual store. Also offer services, educational opportunities, and yoga

 Name: Zenith Supplies

Address: 6300 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Phone Number: (800) 735-7217 or (206) 525-7997

Website: https://zenithsupplies.com/

Other: If you want it they most likely have it, from tarot to crystals to essential oils and much more.

 Name: Life Keys Energy

Address: 1700 SE Mile Hill Dr #240, Port Orchard, WA

Phone Number:

Website: http://lifekeysenergy.com

 Other: It's a witch owned yoga and reiki studio that also sells an ever growing amount of holistic items like bath salts/bath tea, Palo Santos, bracelets, and mandalas.

 Name: Wonders Of The World

Address: 621 W Mallon Ave, Spokane WA. 99201

Phone Number: (509) 328 - 6890 and (509) 325 - 2867

Website: wondersoftheworldinc.com

Other: They have a large selection of crystals, medium-sized figurines of greek deities, medium-sized figurines of dragons, and much more!

 Name: Crescent Moon Gifts

Address: 2502 6th Ave., Tacoma, WA  98406

Phone Number: +1 (253) 572-8339

Website: crescentmoongifts.com

Other: Tarot, crystals, herbs, pendulums, candles, statuettes, ritual tools ... the the list goes on and on.

Wisconsin

Name: House of Magick

Address: 4726 S Packard Ave., Cudahy WI 53110-1430

Phone Number: (414) 294-3444

Website: N/A

Other: N/A

Virginia

Name: Aquarian Book Shop

Address: 3519 Ellwood Avenue, Richmond, VA 23221-2722

Phone Number: (804) 353-5575

Website: N/A

Other: The store includes crystals, candles, clothing, books, statues, and more. Also hosts classes, tarot readings, and has an apothecary and healing center.

 Name: Crystal Cottage

Address: 4320 Electric Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24018.

Phone Number: 5407766861

Website: crystalcottage.com

Other: They mostly specialize in crystals but also carry some overtly Wiccan items, incense, candles, etc.

 Name: Mountain Mystic Trading Co.

Address: 215 South St., Front Royal, Virginia

Phone Number: N/A

Website: https://www.mountainmystic.com

Other: N/A

 Name: 13 Magickal Moons

Address: 440 Mill St., Occoquan, VA 22125

Phone Number: (703) 495-5135

Website: www.13magickalmoons.com

Other: This is a cute shop, with lots of crystals, herbs, jewelry, and homemade candles—plus, two shop cats. The owner does tarot readings. (Somewhat hectic as the owner’s small kids are often around, but still a good shop.)

 Name: Sacred Circle Books

Address: 919 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314

Phone Number: (703) 299-9309

Website: N/A

Other: Great selection of books, also has crystals, herbs, tarot cards, statues, and jewelry. A huge amount of community events and offers reiki, psychic/tarot readings, and classes/workshops. Has a binder with a list of everyone who does mystical stuff for the whole area.

[marta51l0817-blog]

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At period of publication, PRC CBD Review it was unknown simply how much marijuana Octomom consumes as well as often. Is actually using medical marijuana to treat anxiety, even though specifics are unknown. Every person also unknown if Octomom is in therapy on her behalf anxiety.

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[mythicalsecretsanta]

Cookie Crisis (T)

This gift is for: Ellie (AKA @elliefcutie)

Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy this, I really loved writing it. Hope your 2019 brings you only the best things!

A note on the rating/content. It’s rated G but they are drinking alcohol so I put it as T…idk E seemed like overkill. anyway, tw drinking. It’s platonic love with a whiff of Rhink. nothing remotely explicit or sexual though.

From your Secret Santa, Liz (AKA @mythicaliz)

Link to AO3 or read below:

As much as he loved his peace and quiet, Rhett also loved when his house was bustling with the chaos of both pairs of the Mclaughlin and Neal boys. It was two days before Christmas and both families were enjoying their dose of pre-Christmas excitement. Christy had made an emergency trip back to North Carolina to help after her father had broken his leg. She’d been there for three weeks and was due home the next evening, just in time for Christmas. Link and Lily were home, baking cookies for her church youth group’s Christmas eve party.  It was the first Christmas both families would be in Los Angeles and they were all looking forward to building new family traditions. It was nine pm, dinner was long over, the younger boys were in bed and the older pair played video games in the basement.

Rhett walked into the rec room and placed a bowl of popcorn and two cans of Mello Yello on the side table, and left unnoticed by the two teenage boys. Rhett leaned against the door jam and watched them, their figures, silhouetted by the flashing video game on the TV. Locke sat on the sofa, his gangly awkward body reminded Rhett’s of his own at his age. Some parts too tall already, other parts still somewhat boyish. Lincoln sat on the floor beside Locke. Every day he looked more and more like his father and Rhett couldn’t help but enjoy seeing his best friend grow up right before his eyes all over again.

“Get ‘em!” Lincoln shouted as he and Locke worked in tandem to take down the boss they were fighting. Victorious, they high fived and Lincoln flopped down on the couch beside Locke. The video game beaten and forgotten, the conversation turned to a girl in Lincoln’s class that he liked. Rhett wanted desperately to hear what horrible advice Locke was going to give Lincoln, but instead he decided to give the boys their privacy.

Rhett headed up stars, past Shepard’s room. Shep and Lando had gone to bed an hour ago but he still heard fits of giggles coming from the room. He cracked the door open and the pair were under Shepard’s comforter with a flashlight, telling silly stories and making eachother giggle. Rhett closed the door and couldn’t help but grin.

He felt a slim arm wrap around his waist in a sideways hug.

“You love having them here, don’t ya?” Jessie said as she gave him a squeeze.

“Yeah. It brings back a lot of good memories I have with Link. I’m glad our boys get to have them too.”

“You’re so lucky to have him,” she said as she rested her head on his arm.

“Yeah, y’know I was talking in therapy how it’s taken me so long to admit how important Link is to me. I mean.. I…uh…”

“You love him. And I love that you love him,” Jessie responded.

Rhett’s phone rang and he dug it out of his pocket. “Speak of the devil,” he said as he pulled away from Jessie, pacing up and down the hall as he took the call.

“The kids are fine, Link… oh no what’s going on… okay okay slow down brother, what do you need?”

Rhett sighed and looked up at Jessie, his hand cupped over the receiver and whispered, “You okay to handle the boys on your own? Link’s in a jam.”

Jessie rolled her eyes and nodded.

“I’ll be right over,” he said into the phone and hung up.

“Everything alright?” Jessie asked.

“Yeah, Link’s neighbour, y’know Elise? Her husband is out of town and her son’s appendix burst, she’s at the hospital with him and Lily’s emergency babysitting the two younger kids, which leaves Link to have to make a hundred gingerbread cookies for tomorrow and he’s in a state.”

“Oh gosh, don’t let that man bake!” Jessie said with a grin.

“I’d better get over there before the damn house burns down. Don’t wait up,” he said as he kissed her on the cheek and ran downstairs.

The drive to Link’s was a breeze, he could do it in his sleep. Two left turns, down to the end of the cul de sac. Easy. But it was already nine thirty. Normally he’d be watching something on Netflix with Jessie, thinking about going to bed. But he knew he had a long night ahead of him.

He pushed Link’s front door open and entered the foyer where he hung up his jacket.

“DANGIT!” Link exclaimed with a clatter of pans from the kitchen.

Rhett ran in to see Link holding his hand around his red wrist, eyes full of tears as he cursed up a storm.

Rhett grabbed Link’s hand a thrust it under the faucet which he turned as cold as it would go. He held Link’s hand there for a moment until Link nodded. Rhett got a clean tea towel from the drawer and some ice from the fridge. He balled the ice up in the towel, turned off the water, and held the ice to Link’s wrist.

“Better?” Rhett aked.

“Yeah, thanks,” Link sighed. “I was taking a pan of cookies out and hit the upper rack with my wrist.”

“Well, on the bright side, you only broke one cookie and they look pretty good!,” Rhett said as he picked up half of a broken gingerbread man. He blew on it for a few seconds and then took a large chomp out of the cookie. His eyes crossed a little as he looked around for something to spit it into.

“Oh come on! They can’t be that bad!” Link said as Rhett retched into a garbage can.

“Salty…” he whispered, “So salty!” Rhett chugged a glass of water. “Why so salty?!”

“No, that’s not right, there’s only a teaspoon of salt, lemme taste,” Link said, grabbing the cookie Rhett had taken a bite of.

“Nuh-uh,” Link said as he spit his out too.

“You must have mixed up the salt and sugar,” Rhett replied as he chugged another glass.

“Gosh this is hopeless!” Link replied.”Christy has everything in these unmarked bins, I don’t know what’s what! I’m workin’ blind here!”

“Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do,” Rhett said as he smoothed out his beard. “Where’s your recipe?”

Link pointed to a stained piece of paper on the counter.

Rhett muttered to himself as he read the recipe. “This seems straightforward enough. I’m gonna order all new ingredients, get them sent over by Postmates, so we know what everything is.” He pulled out his phone and ordered what they needed along with a few other items he deemed essential.

“Okay, while we wait, I’m gonna clean up so we can start with all clean utensils. First, lemme see your wrist.”

Link sheepishly pulled back the ice bag, and Rhett pressed his index finger on the burn.

“Ouch, Rhett,” Link said softly.

“It’s still hot, put the ice back on. You sit down. Maybe put some music on?”

“Alexa, play Merle Haggard’s Christmas Present,” Link said to the speaker on the kitchen counter.

Merle’s soothing voice began singing, “If We Make it Through December.” Rhett sang along as he filled the sink with soapy water and threw measuring cups and mixing bowls in. He took a cloth and wiped down the large marble kitchen island and swept the floor. In no time the kitchen was sparkling and the Postmates guy had arrived with their order. Link unpacked the bags. Flour, sugar, icing sugar, butter, baking powder, molasses, pasteurized egg whites, cream of tartar, spices, eggs, vanilla, milk, parchment paper, a glass jug of eggnog, and a bottle of rum.

“Really?” Link said, gesturing to the rum and eggnog.

“Look, it’s gonna be a long night, and we’re in need of some good old Christmas cheer,” Rhett said with a grin as he grabbed two glasses from the cupboard.

“I meant really? Rum? Were southern boys, we drink bourbon,” Link said as he pulled a bottle of Southern Comfort out of a high cabinet and handed it to Rhett. “Besides, I had a bad experience with rum once. Remember in college?”

“I remember, you were rough!” Rhett laughed as he poured them both a spiked eggnog and held out his glass. “Dink it,” he said.

“And sink it,” Link said, reluctantly clinked glasses and drank.

Rhett read through the recipe again, muttering to himself. “Alright, doctor, two sticks of butter,” he said, with an outstretched palm.

“Doctor?” Link said as he began to peel the wrapping off the butter.

“STAT!” Rhett said with a grin.

“Alright, doctor,” Link rolled his eyes as he handed the butter off to Rhett.

A few minutes later Rhett shut off the stand mixer and scraped the dough into a ball which he placed on a well floured counter.  He shaped it into a disk and reached for the rolling pin.

“Wait!” Link exclaimed, “Quality control!”

Rhett pinched off a small ball of dough and threw it to Link who popped it in his mouth. A bright grin broke out on his face.

“Good?” Rhett asked as he pulled off a taste for himself. Link nodded.

Rhett rolled out the dough in long strokes until it was the perfect thickness. He tentatively pressed the cookie cutter into the dough. He pulled it up, relieved to see a perfect impression of the gingerbread man in the dough. His tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth as he slid a spatula under the raw cookie and delicately placed it on the parchment lined sheet. “Phew!” he said, “One down, ninety-nine to go.”

“This is gonna take forever,” Link sighed.

“You keep cutting these out, and I’ll start the next batch of dough,” he said as he tossed the cookie cutter to Link. Before he began the next bach he topped off both of their drinks. Link was right, it was going to be a long night.

Link cut out as many men as he could from the dough then balled up the scraps to reroll it to make more. He pressed the dough into a disk and began to roll it out again with the large wooden rolling pin. “Ugh!” he said as he struggled.

Rhett turned off the stand mixer and moved over to assist Link. “Here, we need to flour your rolling pin so it doesn’t stick,” Rhett said as he reached around Link and held the handle, his hand over Link’s as he liberally applied flour to the pin. He slid his hands past Link’s waist and guided Link’s hands over the handles of the pins and showed him how much pressure to apply and how to get a smooth, even surface. His beard bristled against Link’s ear as he softly said, “Easy now.”

“Like this, Rhett?” Link almost whispered.

“Perfect,” Rhett replied. He couldn’t help but notice how naturally they fit together. How his height allowed him to see clearly over Link’s shoulder, how his arms fit around Link’s slim waist and how their fingers intertwined over the handles of the rolling pin. “You got it,” he said as he pulled his hands away and returned to the mixer.

“How do you know this stuff anyway?” Link asked as he pushed up his glasses with a floured hand. “It’s not like you bake.”

“Nah, but I do watch way too many hours of Food Network,” Rhett said with a wink as he turned out a second batch of dough.

A few minutes later the first batch of cookies were ready to come out of the oven. “Let me do it, I don’t want you to burn yerself again,” Rhett said as he grabbed the oven mitt from Link. Slowly he pulled them out of the oven and placed them on the stove top. “What d’ya think?” He asked.

“They smell great!” Link said cheerfully, “But I don’t know if they’re done?”

“Remember what Josh said? If they look browned they’ll be burnt. Let’s leave them a few minutes to firm up. In the meantime we’ve earned ourselves another drink!”

Link poured this time and quickly they’d downed another spiked eggnog. The cookies cooled and Rhett picked one up. He broke it in half with a satisfying snap and handed half to Link. They both took a bite and grinned at each other at the delicious result.

They developed a system, Rhett made the dough, Link rolled it out and cut it, Rhett pulled them out of the oven and transferred them to cooling racks and they started over again, pausing for another boozy eggnog in between each batch. Soon, all the cookies were done baking and they had over a hundred gingerbread men in front of them to be decorated.

Link poured various candies and sprinkles into small bowls while Rhett mixed up a batch of royal icing. He spooned the thick white cream into a pastry bag, picked it up, and began to pipe decorations onto the first cookie. He squeezed the bag and the icing shot out quicker than he anticipated.

“Arghhhh,” he exclaimed. Link turned around from washing dishes at the sink and grabbed Rhett’s hand, pulling it up to his mouth and licked the icing that was dripping down the side of Rhett’s hand and his wrist.

“Did you really just do that?!” Rhett said, tears forming as he doubled over in laughter.

“Whut ihs thusss?” Link tried to speak with a mouthful of thick icing.

“Mostly egg whites,” Rhett said, laughing even harder.

“Ugh,” Link said as he spat the icing into the garbage and drained his glass of eggnog.

“You licked me!”

“Well, it seemed like the most reasonable thing to do at the time,” Link replied with a toothy grin.

“Gosh you’d think after thirty five years I would have seen that coming.”

“What can I say, Rhett, I’m full of surprises!”

Rhett washed his hands and picked up the icing to try again. This time, with a more delicate touch, he was able to get better control and pipe icing onto various candies which Link affixed to the gingerbread men to dress them up. Gumdrop buttons, silver ball eyes, licorice scarves. They looked adorable. Homemade, very homemade, but adorable.

Two hours and a few more drinks later, they were almost done. Link’s hips swayed along to Merle singing, My Favourite Memory. “There’s a million good times I could dwell on, but you are my favourite memory of all,” he sang as he washed the last few dishes.

“There’s a million good day dreams to dream on, but, baby, you’re my favourite memory of all,” Rhett sang as he decorated the last two gingerbread men. Theses ones were different than the others. One had icing abs and spiky icing hair, the other glasses and cross hatched icing plaid pants. “Look Link, it’s us,” Rhett grinned as he held up the two gingerbread men.

“Well, ain’t we cute,” Link said as he shut off the tap.

“You wanna eat me, or you?” Rhett asked, holding out the cookies.

“Ha! I’m not sure how to answer that? You I guess?” Link said, taking the Rhett cookie.

“Why’d you pick me?” Rhett said as he bit the head off the Link cookie.

“I dunno, practice for the apocalypse I guess when I’ll have to cannibalize you?” Link grinned as he ate a foot. “Dang these are good. Thank you for all your help, Rhett,” he said. “Crap it’s two in the mornin’. We can leave the rest of the dishes till tomorrow. I just remembered the guest room has no clean sheets right now. You wanna sleep on the couch or with me?”

“You, I guess. Be like our sleepovers we used to have ‘round Christmas time as kids.”

Link yawned and nodded. The pair made their way upstairs. Rhett had a toothbrush in the spare room from times when he’d be there working late so he brushed his teeth and washed his face. He pulled off his jeans and sweatshirt and padded down the plush hallway carpeted in his boxers and black v-neck t-shirt. He crawled into bed and assumed the usual rigid position he took when sleeping with Link, flat on his back to minimize contact.

A few minutes later, after completing his rigorous nighttime routine, Link crawled into bed. “Night brother, thanks again, you really saved me. I just want this Christmas to be so special. Our first Christmas in Los Angeles and all.”

“Happy to help. Hey… Link… ” Rhett whispered but before he could say what he wanted to, Link began to lightly snore.

A few minutes later Link’s arm was around Rhett’s waist, as he slept with reckless abandon. Normally Rhett would gently reposition Link’s arm so they weren’t cuddling. Maybe it was all the bourbon, or the Christmas spirit, or just the fact that he’d finally admitted to himself how important to him Link was, but he left it there.

For so many years of bed sharing he’d always fought Link’s touch but there was a niceness to it. This was their first Christmas away from home, but here, with his grey haired best friend nuzzling into his chest, he knew home wasn’t North Carolina, or Los Angeles or anywhere in between. Link was his home.

He sighed and breathed in the unmistakably earthy, clean smell that defined Link,and the lingering smell of molasses and bourbon. It was almost more intoxicating than the alcohol. For the first time he let his arm wrap around Link’s back and pull him closer. He swore he could feel Link’s lips curled into a smile against his chest as Link sighed contently and snuggled deeper. Rhett smiled too as he drifted off to sleep with his best friend in his arms.

Rhett woke up with the sun streaming through the California shutters in Link’s bedroom. It took him a few to seconds to remember he was at Link’s and it was Link wrapped up in his arms, a leg casually thrown over his, Link’s grey hair a mess under Rhett’s chin. Rhett smiled and gave Link a gentle squeeze. Maybe if things had gone differently in high school or college, or maybe if they’d grown up somewhere other than rural North Carolina, this would be how he would wake up every day, with Link in his arms. But that would be another Rhett in another universe. He was just grateful for all the things he did have. To be able to spend all day with Link, to build a business and live their childhood dreams.

“Hey,” Link said softly. He looked up at Rhett, his eyes impossibly blue without his glasses. “Uh, sorry for all the cuddling… awkward,” Link said as he pulled his leg off Rhett’s.

“No worries,” Rhett said, his arms still wrapped around Link.

“Wanna go get breakfast at the diner? My treat for all your help?” Link asked.

“Sure, can… can we stay here a little while longer?” Rhett asked.

“Sure, brother,” Link said, his head rested on Rhett’s chest again. “Hey Rhett, it’s Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, Link. Love you, brother,” he said as he gave Link a squeeze.

“Love you too, Rhett,” Link replied as his arm wrapped around his waist again, with a knowing squeeze. In a few hours the kids would come home, and Link would go to the airport to pick up Christy. There would be church and presents and Christmas excitement, but right now it was just Rhett and Link. They closed their eyes and both dozed off again, stealing one more hour together.

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New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/how-to-find-your-drishti-in-times-of-uncertainty/

How to Find Your Drishti in Times of Uncertainty

Any type of drishti will ultimately have you experiencing two of the eight limbs of yoga described by Patanjali.

Balance has never been my strong suit. As a child, my vestibular system was so off kilter, I spontaneously fell off stools and chairs like a pint-sized barfly after last call. Walking through doorways was like threading a needle. Physical therapy helped, but the gangly coltishness of adolescence made for another round of clumsy bumps and bruises.

When I got into yoga in my teens and twenties, it was a relief when my teachers asked us to find drishti—a fixed point against which to orient my body and mind while trying to stick tricky balance poses such as Natarajasana (Lord of the Dance Pose), Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana (Revolved Half Moon Pose), and Vrksasana (Tree Pose). Finding an external concentration point made it easier to keep my body steady and stable. Or at the very least, it made it easier to detect when I was about to tip over.

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See also See More Clearly By Practicing Drishti

As an adult, I struggled to find balance of a different sort. I was as lacking in emotional equilibrium as I had been in grace as a child. My twenties were a murky gyre of unsuitable men, anxiety, depression, and more whiskey than I’d like to admit. It wasn’t that I lacked focus—I simply couldn’t seem to find the right thing to fix my ambitions upon. Every wobble, whether in love or work or family life, made me doubt myself a little more.

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A few years ago, I visited Los Angeles for the first time as an adult. At 28-years-old, I wasn’t just wobbling, I was reeling, fresh off the revelation that I had been assaulted a decade ago. My career and fortune had taken a sudden left turn, and I left marketing to begin writing full time. I was a raw nerve, loose on the Venice boardwalk, trying to find some sense of equilibrium. One night I found myself drawn to the water. Under the light of a full moon, I waded into the Pacific and let the warm salt water lap against my legs, then my hips. The pull I felt had nothing to do with riptides or undertow. Instead I was compelled by something that came from within.

The Three Types of Drishti

Drishti isn’t just a matter of finding an external point against which to balance your body. There are several different types recommended for various yoga practices and poses: 

1. Nasagra drishti

Nasagra drishti is focus on the tip of the nose, and it may come in handy during backbends or forward folds. 

2. Hastagre drishti

Hastagre drishti (focus on your hand in front of you) is lovely in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I) or Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose). 

3. Bhrumadhya drishti

Bhrumadhya drishti is the most inward facing, in which you focus on your own third eye.

See also 4 Ways to Improve Your Drishti (Gaze) and Deepen Your Practice

Any type of drishti will ultimately have you experiencing two of the eight limbs of yoga described by Patanjali. One is dharana (steadiness or concentration) and the other is pratyahara (controlled withdrawal). The goal of softly focusing your gaze—whether on the tip of your nose or on a spot on the wall across the room—is actually to draw your attention inward. You look beyond your body in order to withdraw into it. Your spirit becomes grounded through the act of surrendering to your own instability.

Ever since that first night in Los Angeles, I find myself drawn to the Pacific at moments of great transition. Last year, I wanted to flee the anniversary of a yuletide breakup that had marred the holidays. I booked a flight to San Francisco and spent Christmas morning sitting on a piece of driftwood at Ocean Beach, watching the surfers patiently bobbing on the small, ruffled waves, popping up to balance on their boards whenever a big curl came through.

This past April, a dear friend came to visit me at my new home in Portland, Oregon. She and I went through twin years of loss in 2017: Breakups, professional setbacks, and domestic frustrations. Both of us were trying to recalibrate our lives to a new normal.

See also Find Focus with Drishti — Leah Cullis Shows You How

Hannah had never seen the Pacific, so I drove her out to Haystack Rock one chilly, gray afternoon. We walked up and down Cannon Beach, buffeted by rivers of wind that carved winding paths through the loose, dry sand. We contemplated the ways in which our own lives had been radically reshaped by unpredictable forces. Deeply and utterly, we felt the kernels of ourselves within the tides of chaos.

Right now, writing by the Pacific, overlooking the Santa Monica Pier, I feel another sea change coming on. Old pieces of me are washing and wearing away. But practice has taught me what I need to do to prepare, to weather this tipping point. Up and down the West Coast, I know now where to find my focus, my drishti, a sense of continuity. There is stability in the Pacific’s constant motion. There is certainty in its immutable changes. Of this I am certain: the same is true of myself.

See also Master Class: How to Incorporate Drishti Into Vinyasa Flow

About our author

Meghan O’Dea is a writer, world traveler, and life-long learner who hopes to visit all seven continents with pen and paper in tow. Her work has been featured in the Washington Post, Fortune, and more. Learn more at meghanodea.com.

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Fun social questions

#Fun social questions tv

Q: Hotazel, a town with a name that sounds like “hot as hell,” is located in which country? Q: The company Nintendo was founded in what year?Ī: A 1889 (Strange but true! Nintendo began not as a video game company, but as a playing card company.) Team building quiz questions

#Fun social questions tv

Q: Before settling on the title “Friends” the famous 90’s TV show went by which name? Q: In 2012, Ikea trended online after a picture of what kind of animal was spotted and photographed in one of its stores? Q: This word is an animal, a city in NY, and also a verb that means to overawe or intimidate. Q: Eric Arthur Blair is the real name of the famous author who went by which pen name? Q: This Egyptian deity is most commonly depicted with the body of a woman and the head of a cat. Q: According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the certified hottest pepper in the world is what? Q: Which actor owned a pet deer named Pippin and a dog named Mr Famous? Q: Besides humans, which is the only other mammal that has been observed deliberately seeking out spicy food? Q: This famous Hollywood starlet is known as “the mother of WiFi,” because in addition to acting in dozens of films, she also co-invented a frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication later used as the basis of wireless internet. Q: Citizens of 19th Century Ireland carved jack-o-lanterns not out of pumpkins, but out of which vegetable? Q: What is the national animal of Scotland? Q: The phenomenon known as the “Gruen transfer” relates to the feeling of being lost in which location? Seuss created which children’s classic?Ī. Q: When challenged to write a book using no more than 50 words, Dr. Q: Prince Florian is the name of the Prince from which Disney Movie? Q: The southern equivalent of the Northern Lights goes by what name?Ī: D Aurora Australis Trivia questions for work happy hours Q: The Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships take place in which country? Q: Hippotherapy is not the act of using hippos for therapy or giving therapy to hippos, but rather, a therapeutic process using which animal? Q: The ball in badminton, also known as a bird or birdie, is formally called what? Q: This Japanese aesthetic revolves around accepting the impermanence and imperfections of worldly things. Q: Considered Bollywood royalty, this Indian actor consistently ranks among the top three spots of the richest celebrities in the world. Earthly Pioneering Creation of TravelersĪ: B Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow Experimental Prototype Community of TomorrowĬ. Exceptional Pioneering Community of Todayī. Q: Disney’s EPCOT is an acronym for what?Ī. Q: The song “I Will Always Love You,” was popularized by Whitney Houston, but written by which artist? Louis MO, Lake Placid NY, Los Angeles CA, Squaw Valley CA, Atlanta GA, Salt Lake City UT The House of Lannister and The House of StarkĪ: A The House of York and the House of Lancaster The House of Tudor and the House of Yorkĭ. The House of Normandy and the House of TudorĬ. The House of York and the House of Lancasterī. Q: The War of the Roses was fought between which English Royal Families?Ī. Q: This country’s currency, called the Rand, features images of Africa’s “Big Five” animals on the notes:īonus Q: What are the “Big Five” animals of Africa?Ī: Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Elephant And African Buffalo I Love You, Real Love, And I Love Her, All My Loving, She Loves You Name 5.Ī: She Loves You, Love Me Do, All You Need Is Love, Can’t Buy Me Love, P.S. Q: There are 9 charted Beatles songs that contain the word “love” (or some variation of the word love) in the title. Q: A shiver is the collective term for which type of animal? Q: The birthday paradox states that in a group of 23 random people, there is a _% chance of at least one shared birthday.

work from home trivia questions and answers.

You can use these prompts in icebreaker games, question games, virtual happy hour games, and video call games. These questions are similar to trivia topics. For example, “which automobile manufacturer was the first to celebrate ten years of business? Answer: Oldsmobile.” The purpose of these prompts is to give team members an opportunity to show their smarts, keep groups engaged and attentive during work and meetings, and provide an easy and fun team building experience. Team trivia questions for work meetings are prompts to use in quiz challenges. You found our list of team trivia questions & answers for work meetings.