Good morning and welcome to Green Tea Conversations, a new radio show that delves into the pages of Natural Awakenings Magazine to bring you local experts who share their progressive ideas and the latest information and insights so you can lead your best life. I'm your host, Candi Broeffle publisher, the Twin Cities edition of Natural Awakenings Magazine, and I've had the honor to meet hundreds of highly qualified professionals in the areas of natural medicine, sustainable living, and healthy relationships, and I wanted to find a way to help them expand their reach, to share their expertise.

 

Green Tea Conversations is our vehicle to do just that. Today is our very first show, our inaugural show if you will, and we decided the best way to introduce you to the show in what it will consist of is to introduce you to Natural Awakenings Magazine and one of the people behind it. Natural Awakenings is an education and informational magazine dedicated to providing cutting-edge information about natural health, personal growth, integrative medicine, creative expression and sustainability. Every month. We also provide our readers local and national articles on fitness, raising healthy kids, natural pet, care-conscious eating, green living and inspiration, along with local news briefs and so much more.

 

Our goal is to educate and inform our readers and then connect them with local businesses who are offering the products, services and events that will help them to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle. We are a free publication fully funded by our advertisers. You may have seen Natural Awakenings as you travel to other States, and that's because the Twin Cities Edition is part of a national magazine franchise that is published in over 70 markets nationwide and in Puerto Rico. The local magazine is distributed in over 400 locations throughout the Twin Cities, including health food stores, fitness centers, coffee shops, restaurants, healthcare facilities, public libraries, and basically, wherever you free publications are generally found.

 

You can also read it online by going to NaturalTwinCities.com. Well, there's no one better are more important to the magazine than my first guest, Jackie Flaherty. Jackie is the original owner and publisher of Natural Awakenings and introduced the magazine to the Twin Cities back in 2012. I purchased the magazine from Jackie in October 2017, and since then, Jackie has been my mentor, my confidant and I'm happy to say, my friend, welcome to the show, Jackie.

 

Thanks, Candi.

 

Over the past year, I can't say enough how grateful I am to you that you set up Natural Awakenings so well and I was able to come in and just start publishing with absolutely no experience. I've been so impressed how you establish all of the needed components to grow the magazine, including hiring the top-quality professionals that you have working with the printer and the distribution company. I look at all the things I had to learn just to get the magazine in place, and I'm in Ah with all the things you had to do to build it up for the ground up.

 

So tell me, what was it that made you decide to start a magazine?

 

Well, I was looking for something I could be passionate about. The job that I was at at the time was it paid well? It was close to home, and I enjoyed working with the people there. However, there was no passion I couldn't get in the zone. I would look around me with the people that I was working with and they'd have their headphones on. They'd get in the zone, just programming and web developing and doing what they loved. And there was no place to go for me.

 

And I thought I need to find something else. So while I was researching what I could do, I happened to read a copy of Natural Awakenings magazine online, and I just enjoyed reading it. And I thought that was really good. And I went and I read some other copies. And then I happened to see that it was a franchise. And, I immediately checked and crossed my fingers that Minneapolis edition wasn't out yet, which I couldn't believe it had been because I'd never seen it. I had only seen it online and it wasn't.

 

So I researched what I had to do with a company, the Natural Awakenings franchise in Florida. And then I talked to my husband and that was a couple months process. It was a big leap for both of us financially and how to do everything. And then I left my full-time job and August of 2011 and started the process and the franchise. It was so perfect because they were so helpful. They had everything templated of what to do. And they had a lot of guides and the other publishers.

 

So it wasn't just me out there doing it on my own. It was learning through them and getting guidance and everything. Yeah.

 

You've really become kind of part of the family as part of that franchise family. And they have been very helpful to me as well. So what do you what were some of you, your previous experience that helped you to be able to know how to publish a magazine?

 

Sure. Well, I had an English degree, a bachelor's degree, and then I had a master's in communications. And I worked many years in a bookstore with the management training, leadership. So I think I was really good at looking at the big picture and seeing what needed to be done. And then I wasn't afraid to roll up my sleeves and put some elbow grease in there and do whatever job needed to be done until I could find somebody else to take over and do that job, whether it's delivering the magazines or writing the articles.

 

So I had the writing background, the management management background. And then I think just the overall vision of seeing what it could be and what it could do in the community.

 

So did you do most of the work yourself? In the beginning, you said training.

 

I had a graphic designer, but a lot of distributing was myself and retired friend of ours, my husband and myself. So we did all the delivery, so setting I set them all up and then the other guy would go there. I would go there.

 

But that's pretty impressive because that is a lot of work. When was it that you first started then kind of developing the relationships with distributors?

 

When I left my job in August 2011 and I went to training and then I came back and started making calls for advertisers and stopping in businesses. So I had about six months where I wasn't publishing yet because I was learning and researching advertisers, meeting with them and getting everything set up for my first issue, which didn't come out until March of 2012, was the April issue because I wasn't printing a monthly magazine. Then it gave me a lot of time to go out there and do all of this stuff that needed to be done.

 

So what skills were you able to draw from your previous experience.

 

Networking and like I said before, management and leadership and just seeing what needed to be done and also a lot of project management tackling one thing at a time. And the biggest thing, of course, was finding advertisers, because without them there would not be a magazine. So connecting with them and finding the words to relate to them of how they could use the magazine to promote themselves as an expert in their field and what their business can offer the readers.

 

That must have been a little challenging, though, in the beginning, to talk to advertisers about a magazine that doesn't get it.

 

Yes, it was.

 

And that they should jump on board.

 

Exactly. Thankfully, thankfully, some people had heard about it. They'd seen the magazine in other areas again, that's the franchise part coming into play. And then when I went to the training, wherever we went at the time, other publishers brought copies of their magazine. So I was able to use some of those as an example of my future magazine. They could look in Boston or Miami and see what actually the field, the magazine and see what was in there, the types of articles and everything.

 

I mean, I cannot tell you enough how impressed I am by that, because honestly walking into this and myself not having any experience, there's so much to learn. And you had everything set up so nicely. And the whole time I'm thinking and I know I talked to a gentleman who just bought a franchise as well in Washington, DC when that was already established, and we talked about how in the world would you do this for the bottom from the ground floor? It just seems like a pretty just an incredible tasks to have to take on.

 

Yes.

 

So what particular knowledge did you have that you found most useful in the journey.

 

I would say being able to connect with people and just being a good listener and seeing what their needs were not really going in there with a little bit here. How can I help you whether it was through the magazine or not, just maybe giving them guidance and other people had met, maybe somebody who could help them more than the magazine could help them. So definitely networking was a huge factor, just getting the word out about the magazine as well as finding potential contributors.

 

And you said that was like six months of networking prior to even 30 prior.

 

Even published, joining the Chamber of Commerce and the Holistic Chamber of Commerce. When that was created here in Minnesota, and as well as women's groups and green groups, green drinks and other or just all kinds of networking groups.

 

So it sounds like you really kind of focused your efforts on where you want it to be. As far as the networking groups that you went to, you didn't just do it broad and wide. You got very focused and understood who your client was, right?

 

Yes.

And that's always something that's really important for small business owners is to really be able to understand that, to be able to understand who it is that they're reaching. And how do you get out there to do that? Too often we kind of go broad and wide, and you really want to look at that focus. Was there any particular group that you found most helpful to you?

 

There were a few. The Holistic Chamber of Minnesota definitely was very helpful. And I was able to start with that group when they first started and was on a leadership team to help them develop the group as well as the resources that they offered. And the expos that I attended, like the Healthy Life Expo that Media Max does a couple of times a year just meeting people, working with them. Rick in the other guy as well as ten-day

 

Expo guys.

 

The Expo guys. Yeah. The Expo guys and the meeting, the people, the other exhibitors that were there.

 

One of the first people I met were from another magazine and and SchaOn worked for them, and I can't remember the other Gal's name, and they embraced me. They said, we're so glad at other publications here, and that was very eye-opening, and I felt welcoming and positive. And I knew I was on the right path when that happened.

 

That is always nice when you get people who are just really supportive. And I do find that in this community it isn't highly competitive. Well, we're talking to Jackie Flirty, the original publisher of Natural Awakenings Twin Cities magazine. And when we come back, we're going to find out about some of the most interesting people she worked with and what she found most surprising. For more information or to read Natural Awakenings online, visit NaturalTwinCities.com. You can find a podcast of the show on our website at AM950 website, on iTunes and anywhere you get your podcast, you're listening to Green Tea Conversations on AM950, The Progressive Voice of Minnesota. And we will be right back.

 

Welcome back to Green Tea Conversations, where we delve into the pages of Natural Awakenings magazine and talk to the experts who share their expertise on natural health with you. I'm your host, Candi Broeffle, and today in our inaugural show, I'm talking with Jackie Flaherty, the original publisher of Natural Awakenings A, and she's been sharing her experiences and starting the magazine nearly seven years ago.

 

Thank you for being with us today, Jackie.

 

Thank you.

 

Over the past year that I've owned the magazine, I've learned about so many unique and interesting modalities services and products that are available to us and was completely really. I was completely unaware about them prior to meeting the advertisers. So I'm curious in your time with the magazine, what are some of the more unique products and services that you learned about?

 

There are so many there's a whole world out there of stuff we do not know. Some of the ones that comes immediately to mind are Reiki, cranial-sacral therapy, limp massage, herbalist, which I'd heard about but never thought I would go to one. But I did. I went to many of these, and now I have a team of people that if something goes wrong, I can go see them. Also Kinesiology, which is testing your own body's knowledge and asking yourself questions a certain way and getting the answer that way.

 

So let's talk a little bit about some of those.

 

Okay.

 

So I've heard of break I've had re-done before. And so what can you tell us about Reiki? For people who are not aware of it.

 

I like to describe it, Reiki, as a massage for your etheric field. You know, we're all vibrational energy and we know our physical body, but then we have that physical body is surrounded by an etheric body. And when you get a how I think of Reiki massage, and I'm not an expert or a practitioner, but it's just like they combine your etheric field with your physical field, and they just smooth things out. And there's maybe some stuck energy that you had from that you might not even be conscious of.

 

It could be from a childhood event. Or maybe you are because it was very traumatic. You might be aware of it. And Reike is something that can help remove some of the layers that are going around to protect that no longer

Serving you.

 

Exactly correct. Yeah.

 

Okay. Great. And I always found it was interesting when I've had Reiki done how certain times, especially if I'm under a lot of stress, or I have a lot of worry that I'm working with that. I'm trying to resolve how heated it feels, even though they're not touching you many times some people do touch. But most of the reiki that I've had done has been the non-touched type Reiki, but you can still feel the heat of having them doing their work over you.

 

And you can feel yourself becoming more grounded and connected, I think, too, especially as you've had it done more than one time because your first time is like you're not sure what to expect, but after you've been to a few of them, then you just get more comfortable with what's going on.

 

So what about lymphatic massage?

 

Yes. Joyce Sobotta specifically does lymphatic massage for the breasts because your lymph system just needs to move through that. And you hear often when people get cancer, specifically breast cancer, they check the lymph nodes to see what's going on. And so with lymphatic massage again, my layman's understanding is that they move the limp around to get movement and help them expel the stuff that they no longer need and not carry it around and become painful or become magnets for cancer or other inflammation types of medicine.

 

And that is actually something that is done traditionally in Chinese medicine as well. I know my massage therapist is from China, one of the massage therapists that I go to, and she was always talking to me about doing lymphatic massage. It's something that they practice a lot there. And she was always so surprised that we don't do more of it here in the US. But with Joyce, you mentioned Joyce Sobotta, who who has a product called Healthy Girls Breast Oils. And what can you tell us about that? That's part of what you can use in that.

Right? Yes. With Joyce, she lost her sister to breast cancer, and she went on a mission to find out what she could do to help herself but also help other women who just didn't have the knowledge or the tools to help prevent breast cancer. So she started looking at essential oils, and in the end, developed her own with sense and mixture of what each one carries. And then she created the website and she goes around and does lectures and educates women. And now she's going to start doing podcasts and courses and really just do more to get the word out there.

 

And we'll be having her on our show here in a few months. I'm sure she has so much that she can share with us. So Natural Awakenings features both national and local articles, and the content is, in my opinion, exceptional. So what are some of the articles that stood out for you or had the biggest impact on you?

 

There are a couple that come to mind. The first one is actually a story I want to share at my daughter's work. She works in an office building with, I don't know, 100, 150 people, and she would bring the magazine there for me, and people would pick it up. And this one gentleman, probably middle-aged. He would tell her every single month I go through here and I look for an article that just doesn't interest me. Page, page, page. And he goes to it with a challenge to himself to find one that he doesn't stop and read.

 

And that has never happened. Not that he reads the whole magazine, but that he always finds something worth finding in the magazine. So that.

 

Was really cool.

 

Isn't that great? Yes. And the other I forgot the question.

 

An article that stood out for you or that you particularly.

 

Forest bathing is one of my favorite. Yeah. Since that's a Japanese philosophy where you go into nature and you just let nature embrace you and you embrace nature and walking through forests or any nature facility and just becoming. What I found out either in the article or afterwards was that like waterfalls in nature, they have negative ions, which are good when you think of taking a shower or a waterfall-like Niagara Falls or any moving water. The rain shower, they help release negative ions into the air, and your body grabs onto those, and it helps you fight free radicals and other inflammation in your body.

 

Just uses them naturally to help keep you healthy.

 

My grandpa used to always have a thing to me, which was nature when it rains, it's nature's way of cleansing itself. And so also tell us that when we cried, it was our way of cleansing our souls. So I always thought that was kind of nice. So give us an example of something you learned during your time working with the local experts that you didn't know before publishing the magazine.

 

I would say kinesiology I did not know about. I maybe had heard the term before, but again, that's where you hold an arm out and then somebody will say, Just say something that's not true, and they can easily push your arm down. And if you say something that is true, your arm hold strong and it cannot be pushed down in my chiropractor uses this when she checks with me as she makes adjustments to see if my body needs this adjustment or that adjustment or something else outside of her services.

 

And then she zone in on what that is. But just using the wisdom of your body to find out what that is.

 

Isn't that great? Yeah. So we are talking with Jackie Flaherty, the original publisher of Natural Awakenings Twin Cities magazine. And when we come back, we're going to find out about some of the challenges Jackie faced and the lessons she learned and what she's up to. Now. To read Natural Awakenings online, visit NaturalTwinCities.com. You can find a podcast to the show on our website at AM950radio.Com on iTunes or anywhere you get your podcast. You're listening to Green Tea Conversations on AM950 The Progressive Voice of Minnesota will be back in just a bit.

 

Welcome back to Green Tea Conversations, where we delve into the pages of Natural Awakenings magazine and talk to the experts who share their expertise on natural help with you. I'm your host, Candi Broeffle. And today I'm talking with Jackie Flaherty, the original publisher of Natural Awakenings magazine, and she's been sharing her experiences in starting the magazine back nearly seven years ago. So once again, thank you for being with us today, Jackie.

 

Sure, Candi.

 

And when we left, we were talking about I was asking you some questions about some of the things that you've learned. And I was curious now as to what things changed in your own life as a result of what you've learned as a publisher of the magazine.

 

Quite a few things, actually. I do daily meditation now a couple of different kinds, and I have a wealth of practitioners I can see for different things. Went to my husband and I went on vacation last February to the Honduras Roatan, and we came back, and I had a bite, a bug by that, I didn't know that I had. And it was inflammation. I was growing up and I got sick, sick, sick. And I went to the ER and and then everything passed. You know, it was bad.

 

And then I got better by the time you get out of there. But then the next day, I went to my chiropractor, and he said, yeah, you had been bitten by an injectant. And some things are off Kilter. And I was going to fly again in a few days after that. And he was able to work through the rest of it. So I wouldn't inflame while I was on an airplane. And I just trusted the process so much and the work that he did. And the Western medicine, they were just reacting to the

Symptoms,

 

Exactly the symptoms. And they never got to the cause. Yes. That's not to say Western medicine is bad. It just didn't find out in that situation what was going on. But yet they were the first people I went to

 

Right

 

 Because I was in extreme pain, and I wanted it fixed.

 

They were able to help you with some of your symptoms that you had and alleviate that. But good. So you were able to. And that's really what Natural Awakenings is all about, isn't it? It's looking at what are the complimentary things that we can do that we can bring into our own health care. And so you did just that you were able to integrate it, the chiropractic care into your regular medical care.

Yes. And then I went to the cranial Sacro therapist that I see regularly, too. And she could tell that my inner organs, she said, we're still vibrating from the trauma caused by the pain that had went through. And so she did some calming down of that because I wasn't feeling that at that point. But she was sensitive to that.

 

And then how did you feel as a result of having both of those done.

 

So much better. Yeah. And I thought, what are those poor people do who don't have any of this? Yes. It's hard. So educating people is so important in knowing what their options are and that there's more that they can do.

 

I think it's so interesting. I know for myself as I meet people, I'm probably spending more money than I'm making.

 

Yeah.

 

That's a publisher, the magazine because I want to try everything. Everything is so interesting and just so inspiring to see the people who do this work are very passionate about what it is that they do. When you start to talk to them, you just start to see, wow, this could really make a difference in my life as well. So it is fun, though, getting to try all the different things and getting to be a customer of our clients. You published the magazine for a long time for nearly seven years, or you did for seven years.

 

What is it that you've missed most in the last year that you haven't been publishing?

 

Connecting to the people and meeting new people through the magazine. One of the things I would do regularly with go to Expos and part of my favorite thing at the expos that people would come up to the table that the magazine was laid out at, and they'd say, oh, I love this magazine. And every single time I would say, I love hearing that because so many people still haven't heard of the magazine or don't know what it's all about, maybe they see it in passing. So when you connect with those people who just love it and get it and they're so appreciative, I miss running into those people and getting that type of feedback.

 

Yeah, it is great. And I always love talking to the readers when they come up or new people who haven't seen it before, and I always tell them, Well, you may not have seen it before, but now that you've seen it, you'll see it everywhere. It has become part of your particular identification.

 

Exactly.

 

So what are you most proud of that you accomplished with the magazine?

 

I would say just starting it in the beginning, having the support of my husband and our friends, and going down that path of starting this new business and seeing what it could do and what it could be. And even though after five or six years, it wasn't a right fit for me anymore. And it took me a long time to come to that conclusion because it was just such a part of my identity. But once it did and I could let it go, it's like it was in the right place at the right time.

 

But now I'm moving on and and it all worked out wonderfully as it often does.

 

So creativity is an important part not only in our professional success but also in our mental and physical health. How do you express your creativity?

 

I do a lot to express my creativity. Mostly I write, but I also like mind maps. I try to do at least once a week, a power hour where I just sit down with a notebook and come up with different ideas. One person that I've read his book, he suggested to do come up with ten ideas a day because it's not about making money. Mean, that could be a side product. But really, it's about the ideas that generate what makes the money. And if you can exercise that muscle of just creating new ideas big or small, every day, you start seeing possibilities where there were not possibilities before.

 

Oh, I love that.

 

Yeah.

 

And that's so important, because once you start to exercise that ability, that ability to really envision what is possible or to see new ways of doing things, it just opens up so many other things for you.

 

Right.

Share with us a challenge that you face while you were publishing the magazine and how you overcame it.

 

Well, there were a few. The last one took me a while, and it was to sell the magazine. So it was first just sitting with myself because I didn't want to do it. I didn't know what I would do, and it didn't feel right. But it was life telling me it was right before I knew it was right. And then once I made the decision that, yes, that's what I was going to do. Natural awakenings often brings in people and partners to help you with different things, and they have weekly phone calls you can call in and listen to or participate with.

 

And this one coach. I'm not sure if I'll get the name right. So there was a coach of two people. They had a coaching company, and I really resonated with what they said. So I decide. Talked to my husband and said, I'd like to hire them to help me prepare the magazine to put it for sale. And I did. And they were wonderful. They kept me focus, and I liked having that accountability with somebody who I resonated with because I've worked with other people that I didn't.

 

And it's just a chore. And then it worked. And he guided me through having my first Expo, and that was part of preparing the magazine for sale. So it seemed like it was extra work. But in the end, it brought more money to the magazine and more attention to the magazine. And it was a positive experience overall. And he was a wonderful guy to have through the entire thing. Plus, I had experience doing it on a smaller level. So it wasn't all new to me to do something that big, but it all work together and came after about nine months.

 

It all came together and happened.

 

So it's really interesting that you bring up the Expo because we just finished the Expo in November, and we had the second annual.

 

Right.

 

And it really was one of the things that resonated with me so much when we were looking at purchasing the magazine is that this was a part of it as well, that there would be this opportunity. Why don't you tell us a little bit about what your Shining Life Expo was and what your original vision for it was?

 

Sure. As I mentioned earlier, I've been to a lot of expose as part of only the magazine, and some of them are just wonderful. And some were okay. And I talked to other publishers who also did their expos. And what I liked was having a venue where you could bring in the public and they could be exposed to all these different people, not only at their tables, where they could talk and interact with people, but that they would have workshops for 60 minutes long, and people at no charge could go sit and listen to an expert was something that intrigued them.

 

And so having ongoing workshops all day long and then food fair and different exhibitors showing what they could do. So at the first one, we had Laurie Wanda doing sound in a special room where she did sound healing.

 

Really neat.

 

Yeah, I didn't make it in there, but I was glad that she was there. And we also had book publishers and just a wide variety of mainstream people promoting their product, but also some of the more, I guess, esoteric stuff that maybe a lot of the public wasn't familiar with.

 

So it's just a nice way to gradually be exposed to something new and different that might help and your path, your journey.

 

I find that working with the advertisers and working with our collaborators on the magazine, they just really have such a desire to serve people. And that was the thing that really came through in both the original Expo, the first Expo that you did, and then again this year, they come in and they come in to serve us an open heart. And I think that is felt by the people who come through because they really just enjoy being a big being a part of it. We had people who came in at 10:00 in the morning and they were there all day and they were taking part in everything, which is great.

 

That's what we wanted to see as people read Natural Awakenings. They'll find articles on self-care and living in balance. Those are some topics that we talk about a lot. So what did you do as a small business owner, it's always hard to understand balance. So what did you do to actually help give yourself self-care?

 

I went to workshops regularly. That it that appeal to me. I started doing, although I don't do it as much anymore, but I started doing Chigong and yoga and yoga. I'm now getting back into doing again. But that was definitely something that was part of my self-care. Then and just taking time for yourself each week, whether it's to go to a spa treatment or do a self manicure or something where you just know that this is just as important as anything else I might do.

 

On a spiritual level. What do you think with your purpose and starting and growing the magazine?

 

Connecting me to the wonderful practitioners that I met? It's too many to even. Well, I guess I could list him here if I had an hour, but I got to write them all down to make sure I didn't miss anybody. So definitely the advancements I've made with my vibrational energy and the importance of keeping that positive and high and meditating every day, which I kind of knew about before, but I wasn't a good practitioner of doing it daily, and now I just have a simple ten minute one that I really like to do, and I feel connected when I do it and getting grounded.

 

And when meeting some of these practitioners, you don't realize how off-kilter you are until they point something out and you're like, oh, yeah, that makes sense. And then you fix it. So being grounded is something I've definitely become much better at just grounding myself in 1 minute with some deep breathing and some imagination and working on the chakras which people who aren't there don't get it. They just hear this talk, but it's really a thing. It's all energy, and we're balls of energy and keeping our ball healthy and vibrant and bright and helping to inspire others is all important.

 

Thank you so much. When we come back, we're going to talk about what it is that you're going to be doing next and what's upcoming with Natural Awakenings, A Natural Awakenings and Green Tea Conversations to read an online edition of Natural Awakenings or to check out our online calendar of events, visit NaturalTwinCities.com. You are listening to Green Tea Conversations on AM950 Progressive Voice of Minnesota, and we'll be right back.

 

Welcome back. Green Tea Conversations, where we delve into the pages of Natural Awakenings magazine and talk to the experts who share their expertise on natural health with you.

 

I'm Candi Broeffle, and today we're talking with Jackie Flaherty, the original publisher of Natural Awakenings magazine. We've been talking a lot about what you learned and some of the challenges that you had, one of the things that I'm curious about and especially because there's so many people who will be listening to us who are small business owners themselves. What was one of the surprising things you discovered about being a small business owner that you didn't know before?

 

Some of it. I kind of knew that you're in charge of all of your time. And so knowing what your high-value activities are and focusing your time on them was one of my big wake up because it's easy to fill the date or working on that important stuff stuff that you want to do or it was fun to do. But it's not always so easy to work on the high-value items. And so I started getting up and doing those first, knowing what they were and just being more productive that way because I got smarter.

 

It always seems like for people who are not small business owners like you have, you have so much control of your time. And you're so lucky because you don't have to do anything. But really, we work really long hours, right?

 

Yeah. So that's the problem with something you love because you want to do better. You want to do more, you see all this potential and you put in the time, but it's always calling to you because you're driven by it and you're passionate about it. That can be a danger.

 

So speaking of passion, what is it that you're passionate about today? What's on the horizon for you now that you are moving on to bigger things?

 

Yes. Well, it's no surprise that it's going to be another magazine. I have been working on this for quite a while, actually, before Natural Awakenings. It was a plan in my head, but it wasn't fulfilled, you know, it wasn't true, all worked out. And so now I've been working it out, what that will look like. And so what it is. I love writing. I love writing letters and sending mail. And the magazine is all about. It's called letters and journals, and it's about Journal keeping and day planners and office supplies and writing letters and mails and stamps and postmarks and all kinds of things like that.

 

And people think that people don't write letters anymore because of the Internet and email and telephone. But that's not true. They do.

 

They do. And as somebody who absolutely loves office supplies and loves planners, I think I've already bought three this year. The challenge for me is actually putting anything in my planner, but I love to have them and think that I'm going to be so organized. But that sounds really interesting. And so when it comes to with the journals and letters, going back to letter writing is really something that we can do for ourselves. It's something that we've kind of lost that art or it seems like we have.

 

But do you think that's really too true?

 

For many people? It is. But so many people say I don't write letters anymore. They never wrote letters before. So there's that. But yes, people don't. They don't write letters like they used to, but they still write letters. And new people are finding this their importance of letters and how soothing and calming it is and how much you can cheer up somebody just to get a letter, whether they need cheering up or not.

 

It makes such a big difference in people's lives. I look back to when I was young and we would wait by the mail in order to see what was going to becoming. Well, thank you so much for being with us today. Jackie, on this show, I want to have you stay here with me for a few minutes. I'm going to talk about some things that are coming up here in just a minute. But it really has been a pleasure to have you on the show. And I appreciate your still being my mentor as I go into the first radio show and that you were so willing to be a part of it.

 

So thank you so much.

 

I'm glad to help. But see, he was a fitting ending to do it this way.

 

Thank you. I wanted to share with people a little bit about who I am and how I came across Natural Awakenings myself. I have a friend who I purchased the magazine with last year. Her name is Dr. Jodi Jenadi, and she is a communications expert professor in a nationally known speaker. When we purchased magazine, Jodi's business was rapidly growing, and soon after we purchased it just really exploded for her. And so she knew that her schedule is not going to allow her ample time to really focus on growing the magazine with me.

 

We came to an agreement and I became the sole owner of Natural Awakenings, which I'm really excited about and so grateful to Jody for taking a leap of faith with me. I know without a doubt that this is not something I would have done on my own. I had no experience in publishing, and I had never had any inkling that this was where I would end up. So her encouraging words of and I have to say she said this to me many times. Well, really, how hard can it be? Gave me the courage to really move forward.

 

And so I feel I do feel that my purpose in life is to help others fulfill their purpose of life. I'm not someone you would expect to own a health magazine. I'm overweight. I don't lead an exercise group, but I'm learning and improving every day. And that's what Natural Awakenings and Green Tea Conversations is all about. It's for everyone, whether you are beginning your wellness journey or if you've already reached any of your personal goals, there's something here for everyone. The one thing I've learned as an educator and a lifelong learner is that no matter how much we already know, there's still so much learning to do.

 

So what can you expect from Green Tea Conversations in the next few weeks? Well, next week I'll be interviewing Carrigan Curtis of Carrigan Curtis Design Build. Carrigan is a residential designer and licensed general contractor with an extensive education and green building and bio geometry and is also a certified building biology advocate. She'll be sharing with us her own health journey and will give us some valuable information on the hazards that may be in our own homes and what we can do to mitigate them. On January 20, we'll be talking with Annette Rugolo, who has just released her new book entitled Soul Will Whisper, Releasing Lost Souls, and that will be sharing her experiences in Dowsing and Space Clearing and how you can energetically heal your home.

 

So if you're in the market to buy a new home or if your lease is ending and you'll soon be moving into a new rental unit, or if you're struggling with an unknown illness or unease, you won't want to miss these two shows because they'll be able to really help you in that journey. Each week  I'll also share some upcoming events that you may be interested in attending to expand your knowledge and aid in your health journey. This week, I want to let you know about the Midwest Women's Herbal Conference, which is being held May 31 through June 2 in Almond, Wisconsin.

 

This annual conference is a transformational experience where you'll learn to deepen your knowledge of plants, plant medicine, herbal wisdom, permaculture, and more. Early bird rates are available until January 14, so you want to go in and purchase your tickets right away. So visit MidwestWomen'sHerbal.Com for more info information and to register. Thank you for joining our conversation today as we awaken to natural Health, I'd also like to once again thank my guest, Jackie Flarherty for being with me on this journey for the inaugural Soul of Green Tea Conversations and to read an online edition of Natural Awakenings or to check out our complete online calendar events, visit NaturalTwinCities.Com.

You can find a podcast of the show on our website, AM950radio.Com on iTunes, or anywhere you get your podcasts. You've been listening to Green Tea Conversations on AM950 the Progressive Voice of Minnesota and I'm wishing you a lovely day!