In a Nutshell: The Mind Key Community at large

Saturday was Mind Key's very first Festival, and despite the rain it was a fabulous way to ring in the summer.  A lot of programs were cancelled due to the downpour and overall resulting mayhem.  I know a lot of people didn't turn out because the weather was just miserable... but our members were there, and in the end it turned out to be a fantastic networking event.  To those of you who did weather the storm to get a massage, healing, and a cupcake thank you!  Our musicians and our artists who had their work showcased in the Anthology thank you too.  We're hoping to have our next festival later this summer or in early September.  We will keep you posted, of course.

We did learn one thing (and I'm not talking about getting an event tent for the next festival... although we may consider it), and that's that monthly meetings among members and friends might not be such a bad idea.  We all had a good time and learned a lot from each other.  We shall keep you, our readers--the Mind Key Community at large--appraised of our first venture so that you may join us and take advantage of fantastic deals for readings, healings, artwork and jewelry items at these meetings.  They will also be a great place to socialize, network and learn more about Mind Key, our members and what we can do for you.

Interested in taking part in our next festival?  Want to build your brand or get greater exposure for your business or art?  Mind Key is looking for fresh energy, and new creativity.  Please check out "What it means to be a Mind Key member" to learn more about joining our team.

You can also meet some of our members and see what they're all about and what Mind Key has done for them.

Meet Vera--Shamanic readings and reiki healing
Meet Dina--A baker with a passion for unique creative, tasty and accessible sweets for all
Meet Joani--Massage therapist and intuitive healer with a focus on sports medicine and oncology massage

Writers and artists looking to build their following and get more paid work.  Check out what our writers have been doing and consider being a part of our team.  Email danielle@mindkey.me to learn more: "Meet the Mind Key writing team"


Thanks as always for being a part of our Community.  Here's the rundown for the last two weeks worth of blogs in case you missed anything.  Come back this week as we write in gratitude for our teachers and students.

What it means to be a Mind Key member

Meet Vera
Meet Dina
Meet Joani

Meet the Mind Key writing team
About the Midsummer Festival
Start your own Ghost Hunting Group

 

This week on the blog:

the teacher student connection.
Share your story HERE

The Mind Key Community: Meet Joani

Joani O'Driscoll

As a massage therapist, Joan O’Driscoll is trained in sports medicine and is oncology massage certified. Clients looking for healing and relief from cancer treatment seek out her gentle touch, and those looking to compliment their sports and fitness regime recognize her talent for finding trouble spots and treating them accordingly.

In addition to her training and talents as a massage healer, Joan is also undergoing schooling to become a naturopathic doctor.

Diana Gibson says, "Joani O'Driscoll has helped me to recover from strenuous physical activity. Because of her massages I am able to recover faster and improve my athletic performance. She is highly knowledgeable about the human body and has the unique ability to make her client feel euphoria and complete total relaxation. I've been to other massage therapists before but having since met Joani and experiencing her healing massages no other massage therapist will do. She is amazing." I highly recommend her!!

Joan has been a Reiki Master for 18 years, and she utilizes these skills through her massage work. Through her ability to intuitively feel out what a person needs, Joan offers healing energy through her massage.  The energy work that threads through the physical medicine is in part what defines her as a healer.

"Joani is amazing at massage and healing, spirit, body and soul," client Mary said.

Each session is a unique experience as Joan is led toward using the best practical techniques for each individual. The beauty of this is how it happens seamlessly not only during her healing massage, but in most of her daily interactions as well.

“When someone walks out of my room and I’ve made a difference in their life, there’s no words, no money no anything that could better make me feel that this is my purpose,” Joan said.

Joan credits her experience and intuition with allowing her to connect to her clients and craft a unique experience for each client for every visit.  Given the Mind Key focus, Joan sees spirituality as a fact that you see healing taking place in the mind, body and spirit.  That spirituality plays a role for all of us seeking and administering healing therapies.

Meet Joani and an opportunity to experience her healing touch at the Mind Key Midsummer Festival this Saturday in Ringwood, NJ.

Sweet Sweet Wonderland: Meet Dina

Sweet Sweet Wonderland is a family owned specialty bakery in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.  They offer a seasonal selection of baked goods from their signature cupcakes to their  brownies, cookies, cake pops, cakes, pies and more… all as delectable to the palate as they are to the eye.


Founder and lead baker, culinary artist Dina Gilmartin first realized that she had a need to bake while taking a Home Economics class in High School.  Not only was she at the top of her class, but she also received a award for outstanding ability in the culinary arts.  She was going to school for early childhood education, but her work was so exceptional that they allowed her to accept this monetary prize that was generally awarded to students in the culinary field.

Baking connects Dina with her creative side.  She has been baking for many years, and always strives for beauty, flavor and uniqueness in her creations, whether it’s crafting a Drunken Leprechaun, root beer float cupcake, or snickerdoodle cookies.   Even before opening the bakery this past year, baking for others gave Dina a place and a connection to her community.

Not a natural risk taker, Dina, who works as a registered nurse by day, decided to open the bakery after becoming inundated with orders from friends and colleagues at work. 

“I wanted to share my creations with the world,” she said.

Today her bakery is a place where people can go for what she calls a "small piece of heaven.”

Dina’s favorite part is seeing the excitement her baked goods create in others.


“The best is when someone said to me, ‘I was having a really bad day until I ate one of your  cupcakes,’” Dina said.  “It’s an escape for just a moment.  No matter how bad their day is going.”


As a mother of two young girls Dina prides herself on providing quality baked goods that aren’t full of preservatives, and offering options that are allergen and gluten free whenever possible so all children can taste the joy of a sweet sweet wonderland.

To Dina spirituality means connecting with her inner peace, and her creations certainly seems to come from a place of inner peace and beauty.

Find Dina in Northern NJ this weekend at the Mind Key Midsummer Festival.  She will have a wide assortment of cupcakes and cookies, decorate-your-own-cupcake activity for the kids, and her brand new creation inspired by Charla's winning poem from Charlapalooza last month.

 

What does it mean to be a Mind Key Member?

Are you looking to push your work or business into the next stage?  Trying to build a website or bring more attention to your existing online presence? Sell more product or find new clients? Have you wanted to share what you do with photos, video, and articles, but don’t know where to start?

Mind Key wants to help bring the vision and collaboration of what it means to be connected, and to help you do the same.

This is an opportunity for health professionals, artists, writers, businesses, practitioners and the people interested in their work to fulfill their resolutions to become more involved, build their following, and create an online and physical presence.

Mind Key is about living a passionate life that is creative, whole, and connected

If you feel this defines you or any aspect of your work, this is a excellent opportunity to get your artwork, business or practice, and vision exposed the way you want.

As a member of the Mind Key Community you will get advertising and exposure across the Mind Key website and all physical Community locations.  You will have the opportunity to share your work and your vision in blogs, videos, online photo galleries, as well as exposure to your events in our online calendar.  You will get your own listing on the Mind Key Community page, a drop down box with a direct link to your site, and site building assistance if you need. Writers and artists receive frequent information and support for getting their work published in quality and paying markets.

In the physical world there will be ample opportunities for exposure, networking and sales at festivals, networking events and day and weekend retreats.  There are also opportunities throughout the year to receive excellent rates on classes and workshops to help you build your business and art.  Additionally, Mind Key is dedicated to actively working with you to sell your product or service via an online shopping cart, the Mind Key gift certificate program, our growing online store, as well as through live-chat sales assistance. Artists and writers have an opportunity to be published in our Anthology series (click HERE to see our first edition).

Mind Key is a place for discovering health and personal growth - via the individual pathways that work best for each individual.  Our site and our events are the key to discovering that pathway within.  To do that, we are hoping for a chance to show the world who you are, what you do best, and how you found your way.

Mind Key is a place for people to grow and come together as a community.  We have members from across the globe that benefit from our services.  We are looking into building more physical events nation-wide, but even if you do not live close enough to attend, we always promote our members and their materials for promotion and sale at our events.

In this age of instant communication on social media, Mind Key is able to facilitate your personal growth, no matter where you are.

If you are interested in learning more, please visit our website, or contact Danielle@MindKey.me for to set up a time to talk about how Mind Key can work for you.

Signing up for our newsletter (click HERE) will provide weekly emails with information on who we are, what we do, and how we work together to help our members and the community at large.

Also consider stopping by the Mind Key Midsummer Festival next Saturday, June 20th to see some of our members, learn more about us, and enjoy a day of family-friendly fun.  We will be offering special prizes and giveaways for those interested in becoming a Member.

Come join our growing community and see what Mind Key can do for you!

The Mind Key Writing Team

I wanted to take a moment to talk about the Mind Key writing team.

Many of you have been wondering why we’ve been focused on writing games, contests, and stories.  What does this have to do with healing, or discovering my personal path, you ask?

It’s a good question.  And luckily I have an answer for you.

Writers and artists are the distillers and the synthesizers of information.  Whether through painting,

Brian Froud's "The Piper"

music, dance, or the written word, we take the information in our brains, the energy and emotions that affect our bodies and our souls, and we translate them into material that makes sense to the rest of humanity.  This creative ability is something we all possess, but we express it differently.  In other words, it is not a unique talent, but through our individual expression of it we have an opportunity to learn from each other. 

More so, in sharing our feelings, our experiences, and yes, the ability to have fun, creative and competitive through our talents, we’re honing them so that we can better create… anything.  Through creative endeavors we create what we want in our lives.

The Mind Key writers have been pivotal in the growth of the Mind Key Community on many levels.  They are creating the content that people discover online, with every click on Facebook, every visit to the website and every hit on the blog.  Not only that, but with each word they write, they are pouring into it their vision of what this community can be.

I value their work so much for this. In putting their belief behind this Project, they are building a platform where every single member can do the same. 

This is why we have combined with our artists and photographers to create an Anthology that we feel truly encompasses all that Mind Key is—a place to imagine, and thereby create, our future.  As you read through this beautifully dreamy book you will become inspired to create the world of your dreams, too.

Remember, Mind Key is a community… it is comprised of members of diverse talents and perspectives.  It encompasses all the people who support us, and everyone who stops by to read and contribute to our work, whether with a like, a comment, or a share (virtually or in the real world!). 

We are all a team… and right now our team is led by all of our supporters and Members, most especially our writers who are behind the scenes taking the dreams they have for Mind Key and for their lives and weaving it into reality in the blog, on the website, in the Anthology, and in social media.  It’s truly amazing.

So thank you for supporting them.  For playing our games, for voting for our work, checking out our books, for showing us that you get it too… even if you’re not sure how it all fits together just yet.

Trust us… we’re not entirely sure how yet either… but we know we have vision, and the more we create, the more those visions meld into something whole and beautiful that extends far beyond the Mind Key Members and into the world at large too.

Visit writers Danielle Rose and Tara Ann Lesko at the Mind Key Midsummer Festival on Saturday, June 20th.





Many thanks to our writers:
Editor, Charla Dury
Tamara Rokicki
Tara Ann Lesko
Rebecca Godina
Vera Ann Remes

Meet the Community -- Vera Remes and Raven Reiki

Vera Ann Remes

White Raven by Dana Bree

Reiki Master and Certified Angel Card reader, Vera Remes, began Raven Reiki after completing courses at Michael Harner's Foundation for Shamanistic Studies and with Sandra Ingerman on Shamanic Journeying for  Guidance and Healing.  She proceeded to combine nuances of shamanic journeying, music, drumming, crystals and psychic intuition to the Usui Reiki she was taught, creating a modality of healing she dubbed “Raven Reiki.”

In addition to these modalities, Vera is also certified to perform past life regressions and future life progressions - each intended to bring greater insight and enlightenment on your path and in healing and achieving goals and dreams.

As a special needs teacher turned lawyer who rode horses for a local sheriff’s department in her spare time, Vera began her spiritual journey upon retiring when she became a registered therapeutic riding instructor.

“When I started expanding my horizons to include a pursuit of psychic development, Reiki and shamanic studies, my life really came alive,” Vera said. “I now wake up each morning glad to be alive and with a desire to help people with their physical, spiritual and emotional health issues.”

Vera began developing her psychic abilities, and during her journey into shamanism she became a drum circle facilitator.  She now organizes regular drum circles and guided journeys of self-discovery.   She was introduced to Reiki by fellow Mind Key member, Reiki Ruth, who also served with her at the local sheriff’s department.

Through her intuition and prayers Vera structures her angel and shaman card readings to include spiritual counseling and individualized healing at the end of each session.  Vera is continually discovering new ways to serve her clients and the community.

She is an H3 Energy Healing Therapist, balancing the body, mind and spirit through Divine Earth Energy, auric healing, intuitive, vibrational and visualization healing, aura cleansing, chakra balancing, color, light and sound therapy. H3 Energy Healing takes place at the quantum level (consciousness) where the body, mind and spirit are one.

Drum Circle fun

She also organizes monthly drum circles that often include clearings, healings and a guided meditation--based upon the participants and their interests.  She can be found live on the air on Among the Realms Radio every Wednesday at 7pm Eastern.

Among the Realms at Trinity Metaphysical

“While I belong to the larger whole, I hope I can offer my clients unique therapies and guidance.  My contacts in the field of healing continue to lead me to acquire new skills and hone those I already have.”

Today with the constant support of her husband and twin flame, Vera is in a place of continually raising her vibration.  Since undertaking her spiritual journey she feel more connected to Spirit than ever.

“I felt a calling to heal long ago which I did not pursue until I retired.  I feel like I am finally content,” Vera said.

Find Vera at the Mind Key Midsummer Festival next Saturday, June 20th where she will be giving Shaman readings, leading a drum circle, and talking about her work and her part in the Mind Key Community.

Discover Vera:

www.mindkey.me/drumcircles

Healing Drum Circles

Vera on Psychics

Vera's path of self-discovery

Raven Reiki at Autumn Lights

Meet the Community: Danielle Rose

We each have the ability to 

change our life, 
create our future, 
heal ourselves,
and achieve our dreams.

Danielle Rose is many things, but conventional is not one of them.  She identifies herself as a writer, herbalist, intuitive reader and faerie healer, but she's so much more.

"I've been talking to trees and faeries ever since I could remember," Danielle says. Her connection to the fae and to nature has taken her down life's path less traveled.

Danielle grew up in a dark place.  "I don't really remember much about my childhood anymore, probably because I've blocked a lot of it out," Danielle says.  In a family plagued by emotional abuse, Danielle turned to her connection to nature and to her writing and journaling as a way to actually heal.

"This was a huge breakthrough for me.  I realized that journaling was more than a record of my day, but a way to work through issues...  "As a result of this emotional breakthrough, Danielle began to write Mind Key the novel.

"The intention of Mind Key [the novel]," says Danielle, "was to help young girls, those struggling the way I was as a kid (or not...) to discover that they have magic inside to overcome everything." The novel is very much a mirror of Danielle's life.  Her main character, Noelle Ricci "...relies on her creative talents, her ability to dream, and a healthy dose of belief to fight battles in both the physical and spiritual realms."

As she wrote, Danielle discovered that the faeries were with her.  "...they were making themselves known on the pages as I wrote."  The strong connection between the fae and nature led her to learn energy work alongside Dr. Jim, the Tree Whisperer and herbalism apprenticing Robin Rose Bennett.

"I used to think that I walked in two worlds - or maybe walked with one foot in each at the same time...  but in learning with Robin and Jim, I can clearly see that the world I imagine, is the REAL world, or at least half of it.

While giving faerie readings as an intuitive reader, Danielle focuses where the fae guide her and on the needs of those who come to her.  The person may need spiritual, emotional or even physical guidance, but Danielle firmly believes in the ability within each of us to heal ourselves with help from the energy and bountiful goodness of nature.

Danielle chose the life of a writer long ago, beginning her career as a journalist fill-in beat reporter in 2005 for the Suburban Trends.  After grinding it out, gaining some contacts and experience, she transitioned to the Living section where she was able to pitch her own ideas for stories.  Many story pitches revolved around family and health as a new mom at the time, and under the guidance of editor Gene Myers she ended up with a regular column called “The Health Nut”. 

“My favorite part of writing the Health Nut was the mini-series “Getting to know your Food” that ran as part of the column,” Danielle said.  She was able to delve into laws governing certain foods and share what she discovered. “The idea was to use it as a guideline for consumers who really want to know what’s in their food and where it’s coming from.”  Danielle also had a recipe column called "The Well StockedPantry” which focused on recipes that could be made on-the-run with items in your own pantry.

Today Danielle doesn't write as much for the paper, choosing instead to put most of her writing efforts into the novel, Trade Magazines and building the Mind Key Project, which sprang up as a direct result of her work on "Mind Key" the Novel.  

As a mom of two girls, Danielle is perpetually on the go, but she’s always focused on what she has found most important, homemade family dinners, playing outside and reading.  “I've been reading my favorite chapter books aloud since my youngest was about six months old," she said.  "Today, both of my girls adore all of my favorites and that means the world to me.”

Danielle has been chosen as a finalist for the “When Words Count” novel contest where she will pitch "Mind Key" the novel to an agent, publisher and publicist with a chance to earn a $150,000.00 traditional publishing contract.  To learn more about this adventure and donate to her success, click below.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mind-key-a-novel-about-magic-and-self-discovery/x/10734824#/story

Also, Danielle is currently working on a Mind Key Anthology.  A beautiful, full-color 8 ½ x 11” coffee table book, combining art and writing from your beloved Mind Key artists and writers.  Books are still available for pre-order by contacting Danielle today at danielle@mindkey.me.

In a Nutshell: Meet the Community

Last week, we met several new members of the Mind Key Community.

In Meet the Community: Dr. Kevin Hall, Dr. Kevin talks about his views on his health modalities.  “There are people that looked up at the starts and just saw stars, then there are those that looked up and saw constellations,” Kevin said.  “I’m a constellation seer.”  Read more about Dr. Hall on his website, Do Well Be Well.



In Bringing Visions to Life: The Dream art of Dana Bree, we got to know artist and graphic/website designer Dana Bree.  “I have always loved to make art, draw and paint what I see in real life as well as give voice and image to my dreams,” Dana said. “I have always had a very active, colorful and memorable dream life.  I seem to be moving in more interesting circles and vibrations these days and it is reflected in my happiness and my art.”




We met Sarah Loukos.  “I can’t read your mind,” she says. But as an empath, she can energetically read the emotional signals each person’s body and aura transmits. In The Mind Key Community: Meet Sarah, we learn that Sarah's been a practicing psychic for 22 years.  She's is also a novice
medium and is certified in Buddhist Meditation, trained in Kauai, Hawaii under the guidance of Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami.



Tara Ann Lesko is another Mind Key Community member featured this week in Meet The Community: Tara Ann Lesko.  A talented
writer, teacher, tutor, poet and artist, Tara says, “When I am not working, I do everything in my power to wrap my life around art, music, and literature. Those outlets for disconnection are what helps me reconnect to what identifies me, beyond what I do for a living.”

More bio and an excerpt of Tara's writing can be found at About The Golden Skillet and The Juice Box Incident - An excerpt from The Golden Skillet

This week, your Mind Key writers will be exploring the connection of parallel, past and future lives.  Make sure you stay tuned for the great writing!

Read more about the Community:

Meet the Community: Dr. Kevin Hall
 Do Well Be Well

Bringing Visions to Life: The Dream art of Dana Bree
dana-dreamart.com

The Mind Key Community: Meet Sarah
Sarah Loukos

Meet The Community: Tara Ann Lesko
About The Golden Skillet
The Juice Box Incident - An excerpt from The Golden Skillet
by Tara Ann Lesko

Meet the Community: Tara Ann Lesko

“I live my life between my ears.”

Tara Ann Lesko

Tara Ann Lesko

In sixth grade Mind Key writer Tara Ann Lesko’s elementary school librarian asked the class to write a story based off a picture prompt of a dove that looked like it was flying off the page.  What ensued was a story about a motherless girl who watched the doves on her wallpaper disappear one by one, until one day she saw them flying outside her window. 

Tara’s story brought her teacher to tears. 

“[Writing has] been who I am ever since,” Tara said.  “It’s defining of who I am.”

A teacher and tutor of English, Tara admits that she was a writer first and last.  “My identity is comprised of poetry and prose,” Tara said.

This is what she loves to do, and she is good at it. She delves into her interest through creative non-fiction and essays, and her poetry has been published in literary magazines. Tara also expresses her creative talents in drawing, painting, collage, jewelry making, photography and outdoor pursuits such as biking, all of which she says makes life more fulfilling than watching TV.

“I have known since childhood that I needed and wanted an unordinary existence,” Tara said. “I knew I would never escape the mundaneness of life, but I always knew I wanted something bigger and better than the usual school-work-sleep routine.”

Most of Tara’s evenings are spent completing work she’s taken home.  She also teaches college classes at night.  To her being connected is more about disconnecting from the day-to-day grind, and the arts are her way of doing that.
 
“When I am not working, I do everything in my power to wrap my life around art, music, and literature,” Tara said. “Those outlets for disconnection are what helps me reconnect to what identifies me, beyond what I do for a living.”

 Although she identifies herself as a spiritual person, Tara makes it clear that her sense of spiritual connection through organized religion has been minimal.  She has identified herself as Christian, but without becoming baptized or “born again.”  Instead she is compelled by more metaphysical incarnations of spirituality, like chakra healing, crystals, meditation, yoga, angels, and oracles to name a few.

“For me, spirituality is something I have never seen as a concrete thing although Lord knows I have tried to solidly connect to a higher power… I believe in a God. I have faith in him or her and pray my thanks and my requests, certainly not as often as I should…. My mind is open, but too open to identify [spirituality] as any one thing.”

One of Tara's Collages

For Tara writing combines her creative endeavors with her spiritual beliefs, as is clearly seen in her memoir in progress: “The Golden Skillet,” a story about how food shapes our experiences and our perspective.

“I am someone who continues to battle with depression, anxiety, and panic attacks despite the positive turns I have taken in recent years,” Tara said. “Spirituality and creativity are necessary for me to stay balanced, focused, and breathing.”

Stay tuned this weekend as we share more about Tara Ann Lesko.  She is one of Mind Key’s authors,  the winner of April’s “Minute Novel” contest, and her work will be featured in "The Mind Key Project: An Anthology," publishing this June.  Her writings can be found on Mind Key's blog as well as linked to at www.mindkey.me/tara.

We will be sharing more of her art, as well as her book her on the blog over the next two days.

Bringing Visions to Life: The Dream art of Dana Bree

Dana Bree, photo by Trix Rosen 

Web, logo and marketing graphics designer Dana Bree is also a painter of the fantastic and surreal.  Her dreams have always intrigued her with questions of alternate realities, past and future lives, and our present course.

“I have always loved to make art, draw and paint what I see in real life as well as give voice and image to my dreams,” Dana said. “I have always had a very active, colorful and memorable dream life.”

As an artist, Dana believes that a connection to, and an opportunity to discover new things with like minded individuals is essential to her health, happiness, and creative progress.

“This has also allowed me to move forward into metaphysical realms with healing and helping others as well as myself,” Dana said.

Dana studied graphic design and painting at Ohio University, and worked as an assistant art director with a local television station in West Virginia for a time.  Her travels then took her New York City to work with NBC news where she and her team won an EMMY for outstanding design, and later CBS television. After recognizing corporate life wasn’t hers, Dana became a freelancer, then formed a small design group before taking a huge move to Zimbabwe with her husband where they ran Bumi Hills Safari Lodge on Lake Kariba.

The animals, insects, reptiles, birds and people of Zimbabwe became great inspiration for Dana’s imagination and art.

Later they spent four years managing a fishing and diving resort on a small island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mozambique where Dana learned to dive and made jewelry from the shells and pearls plucked from the reef right in front of the hotel.

After five years in Africa, Dana returned to New York City where she refreshed her computer skills and design experience, later moving to the woods of Pennsylvania where the quiet and serenity could support her art.  She continues to design logos, marketing materials and websites for clients across the US, including work and consulting with the Mind Key Project.

“Concerning website design, a lot of people are afraid of their own visions,” Dana said.  “I can help with this and get you started and more self confident in presenting yourself and ideas to the community and world at large in your website.”

Dana’s metaphysical and spiritual education began in 2012 when she became a trained paranormal investigator.  Psychic development classes at Trinity Metaphysical Center in Hamburg, NJ further intensified her natural talent and understanding of mediumship and psychic phenomena. 

“This has been so much fun and so satisfying to my soul that I feel like I am entering a new dimension of my life.”

To Dana, the definition of spirituality is in constant evolution as she discovers new ways of “being, seeing, dreaming and feeling and knowing that all possibilities are a limitless state of being,” she said.

Dana has also has undergone basic shaman training with The Michael Harner School of Shamanism, which she called a “very, very high-powered experience,” and she continues her studies in shamanistic practices and participate in regular drum circles.

“I seem to be moving in more interesting circles and vibrations these days and it is reflected in my happiness and my art.”

Meet Charla

Charlapalooza is OPEN FOR VOTES!

The poems are written, and the voting is open...

Now read about the Mind Key member, editor and all-around amazing woman who started this crazy train, then continue scrolling to vote for your favorite poems.

Mother, blogger, cyclist, travel enthusiast, accountant and writer, Charla Dury blogs about her experience in humanity.  Whether fact, fiction, poetry or creative nonfiction, Charla’s writing brings out the human experience in each of us.

“We are all part of one big human family and can relate to each other on multiple levels,” Charla said.  “It doesn’t have to be only skin deep.”

One of the most profound reasons Charla blogs is to bring back a sense of community and connectedness that is often lost in the world of technology.

“In this day and age when we’re all only a touch/click away, I feel like we lose ‘touch’ with the world around us,” Charla said.  “We only post the good on Facebook.  My blog can sometimes not be so positive.  I try to be real.”

This is perhaps more important now than ever.  To keep herself connected, Charla participates in her kids’ activities whenever possible, gets in touch with her environment by bicycling, and builds an connected community online through her blog. 

“Connections are an important part of the human experience.  Humans crave (and need) to be connected to each other, to the environment and to community.”

To Charla, spirituality is just another connection to the peacefulness inside herself.

“I believe in a higher power.  Someone/thing that guides the world.  And I believe in doing all we can to be kind now, not because it will get us anywhere now or later, but because that is what’s right.”

Inspired by the global community of the myspace days, Charla’s blog began as a source of balance and introspection.

“Back in ye old Myspace days I had a blog and I connected with so many people. I realized that I wasn’t alone and didn’t have to feel alone in my singularity, in my uniqueness.  We can be unique and still connect with people around us.  It’s not like we become the same by sharing life experiences.”

 Many of her friends have younger children, but not as many with older kids, who have different issues - teenagers, kids that have moved out, and dealing with the balance of being both a parent and an adult at this time, spurring her current blog, Charla’s Neverending Journey, to be about family issues, especially those with older kids.

The Dury Family

But it’s more than that.  As a teen mom, Charla never had the time to discover herself, and blogging about her experiences as both a mother and an individual is part of that journey.

“That constant journey of discovery and trying to figure out who the hell you are and what you want to be and what you want to do and I think that’s really hard.”

That difficulty is part of the reason why her blog covers a variety of topics.  Perhaps the one undertone that runs through them all is finding time each day, however small, to do something for herself.  In her search of a community that understands the difficulties of being a younger parent of older kids, she has created one in her blog.

“I blog so that I and other people won’t feel alone in our circumstance,” Charla said.  “A sense of community.  Everyone has something that they connect with people about.  The blog is about what people get from it, connecting on different planes and different issues.  How everybody no matter the circumstance can connect.”

Check out Charla’s brainchild (and baby), Charlapalooza, where the world suggests topics, and Charla and a competitor (in this case, Danielle Rose) write poems about them.

READ MORE ON CHARLAPALOOZA:
 
Mind Key on Charlapalooza

Charla's blog on Charlapalooza
by Charla Dury

Charla's musings: The origins of Charlapalooza and what it means to me
by Charla Dury

Charlapalooza Memories
by Rebecca Godina

How Charlapalooza Rocked my world
by Danielle Rose

Meet Charla: Charla Dury's Mind Key Introduction
by Danielle Rose

Link to Charlapalooza:
https://fs22.formsite.com/mindkey/form1/index.html