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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Meditation is More Than You Think: Eight-Week Class

Starting on February 5 and running through March 26, The Center for Spiritual Living Princeton will be presenting an eight-week meditation class from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday evenings. Participants will learn what meditation is and its purpose, discover the many benefits of meditation and what helps or hinders meditating. They will also explore and experience the eight basic types of meditation in order to determine which ones work for each individual’s personality and lifestyle. Topics include styles like color and guided imagery, tone, breathing, movement, writing and chanting.

As Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, explains, “If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind, there are few.”

                The Center for Spiritual Living Princeton is a spiritual community, focused on supporting each other on their individual paths of spiritual awakening.

Course cost: $160; guest drop-in $20. Location: 812 State Rd., Ste. 220, Princeton. For more information, call Karen Kushner at 609-924-8422, email [email protected] or visit CSLPrinceton.org.

Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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