Finding Balance at the Whole Life Expo

By Christine Stoesser

The Whole Life Expo might want to consider a bigger venue next year. At least that's what I was thinking as I made my way though the swarming crowds of the GTA's health-conscious – there were quite a few of us.

The Expo, which just completed its 24th annual run on Sunday, featured over 200 booths, 75 lecturers, and thousands of interested onlookers. Samples of the latest health foods, supplements and drinks abounded, leaving me almost too full to purchase a healthy lunch from one of the participating eateries such as Camros or Live. A cup of Girlnola, a handful of kale chips, help yourself fountain-style hemp milk, gelatin-free gummi bears, gluten-free cupcakes – just a few examples of samples I was asked to try (and was only too happy to oblige).

There were tarot readers, intriguing new exercise machines, masseuses of every distinction, booths selling organic skin-care products, photographs which read the colour of your aura, and beautiful fair-trade jewelry from Africa.

But what puts the “whole” in this expo, in my opinion, are the lectures which take place simultaneously throughout the three-day event, adding information and interest to all the shopping and sampling.

One such lecture was Sandra Moon Dancer's address on Saturday entitled "Empowering the Business Goddess Within You." Moon Dancer, a shaman, and founder of energy healing centre Circlewisdom in Roncesvalles, was approached by the Expo to speak on her approach to business. The lecture, attended by males and females alike, contained a message that every businesswoman should hear: "If every woman on this planet were living her passion, then the earth's energy would be rebalanced,” she said.

Sandra Moon Dancer was quick to admit that she is no financial expert. "I approach the business world as a shaman,” she said. "I approach the business world with the spirit." She confessed that she initially had trouble with the idea of lecturing on money and business, but after some reflection, she saw how important this message could be, particularly for artists, who sometimes view a big paycheque as "selling out.”

"All money is, is how you choose to exchange your energy," she explained. Sandra Moon Dancer actually teaches a workshop entitled "Money is My Friend," the next one taking place in January. She uses the law of attraction to explain this friendship: "If money is not your friend,” she asked, "are you attracting it into your life?"

Sandra Moon Dancer, who holds a Masters of Health Sciences from the University of Toronto, has studied feng shui in China and Tibet, and has provided the Toronto community with energy healing services for over 20 years. At the Expo, she offered a tidbit of ancient Eastern wisdom on how to maximize financial potential with a little bit of spatial awareness. According to feng shui, as you walk into your office/work space, pay special attention to the back left corner: that’s the financial energy field of your office. “If the energy there is not fresh and open,” says Sandra Moon Dancer, “then your business is going to be stagnating.”

Some more of Sandra Moon Dancer's tips for empowering your business include:

- Start every day with gratitude.
- Be aware what your needs are. Be aware of the first thoughts that come into your head in the morning.
- Be aware of your language. It will shift your emotional body.
- Create a vision board, and write down on it everything that makes you excited.
- Envision and envision. Then move away from the dream world into the practical, but hold the focus.

She maintains that with awareness, finding your passion, synonymous with your soul’s purpose, is inherent in everyone. “It’s very simple; do what makes you feel good,” she said. “Everything in your life, you are co-creating.”

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