November/December 2006 NW Newsmakers
Community News

A New Song in Town at Unity of Beaverton

Alan Peterson has joined Unity of Beaverton as music ministry coordinator. As a singer and songwriter on keyboard and guitar, Peterson's music is uplifting as well as humorous and thought-provoking.

"As a child of the 1960s, I experienced the growth of singer/songwriters like Dylan and Lennon and McCartney, where music did more than entertain, but defined a generation," says Peterson.

Peterson's Pacific Northwest roots have defined his musical style. "I have experienced and learned to appreciate some of the best that Mother Earth has to offer and I continue to incorporate my love for the environment in all of my work," he says.

Experience Unity of Beaverton's unique blend of music at Sunday 9:30 a.m services. Visit www.unityofbeaverton.org or www.alanpeterson.net.

Healing Art Studio Monkey-Style

The 100th Monkey Studio in Portland provides a supportive creative environment for artists young and old, including instructional workshops, after-school groups, a senior art studio and a gallery. The studio was created by Beth Ann Short, an art therapy specialist, and Joy Leising, an active member on the Zimbabwe Artist Project Board.

The 100th Monkey Studio believes that self-expression is vital in our daily lives. Art is a powerful tool for creating positive change. Art combines verbal and non-verbal communication, opening new pathways for learning. Using both types of communication also promotes the use of the left and right brain hemispheres. Art encourages appropriate risk-taking and creativity in thought, expanding one's learning potential beyond the traditional academic modes of learning (linear, verbal, sequential and fact-oriented). Art in a group setting reduces social anxiety, increases positive self-thought and empathy, leading to a freer expression of feelings and self that would normally be ignored and kept inside.

The studio is located at 110 SE 16th Ave. in Portland. Visit www.the100thmonkeystudio.com.

Tanks for the Memories: Common Ground Floatation Center

The Common Ground Floatation Center is a welcoming womb found in the earth in NE Portland.

Common Ground offers floatation tanks enclosed in a sensory deprivation environment. The floatation tanks are seven by four feet with ten inches of water and eight hundred pounds of Epsom salt. The floating experience reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and heart rate, relaxes muscles, alleviates pain, and opens up the right brain hemisphere where creativity and inspiration arise.

John Lilly, author of Tanks for the Memories: Floatation Tank Talks, invented the sensory deprivation tanks

"All the average person has to do is to get into the tank in the darkness and silence and float around until he realizes he is programming everything that is happening inside his head. You are free of the physical world at that point and anything can happen inside your head because everything is governed by the laws of thought rather than the laws of the external world," writes Lilly.

"I went through an experience in which another person I knew apparently joined me in the dark silent environment of the tank. I could actually see, feel and hear her. At other times I apparently tuned in on networks of communication from other civilizations in other galaxies. I experienced parking my body and traveling to different places."

The Common Ground Floatation Center experience includes massage, steam or sauna, and floatation. The center is located at 2917 NE Everett St. in Portland. Call 503-232-6161 for details.