Castles, Gargoyles, and Healing Rhythms

Returning to the Castle. Celebrating 30 Years with NIU at the Witches & Wellness Expo

There are moments in life when the past and present meet in a way that feels almost magical.

For me, July 11 - 12, 2026, is one of those moments.

I'll be a vendor at the Witches & Wellness Expo, held inside the iconic castle-like Altgeld Hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. The expo brings together holistic practitioners, intuitive readers, educators, artisans, and wellness professionals for a weekend centered on healing, learning, curiosity, and community. Whether you're just beginning your wellness journey or have been walking this path for years, it's designed to be a welcoming place to explore.

For me, this event is about much more than setting up a booth.

This year also marks 30 years of working as a contractor with Northern Illinois University. Since 1996, I've had the privilege of serving this campus in many different ways. At one point, my office was in the building next door to Altgeld Hall, and over the years I was often assigned projects inside this remarkable building.

Every time I walked through its heavy doors, climbed its staircases, or admired its stone architecture, I felt like I had stepped into another time.

Altgeld Hall isn't simply another university building.

Built in 1899, it has become one of NIU's most recognizable landmarks. Its castle-inspired architecture, towers, and stonework give it an atmosphere unlike anywhere else on campus. Even the entrance carries history. Castle Drive has served as the formal gateway to NIU's campus since the building first opened. During NIU's Centennial celebration in 1995, a new stone gateway was dedicated on the 100th anniversary of the laying of Altgeld Hall's cornerstone, honoring generations of students, faculty, staff, and visitors who have crossed onto campus through that historic entrance.

Like every old castle, Altgeld Hall has its stories.

One of my favorites is the local folklore surrounding the stone gargoyle that now rests in the garden. According to campus legend, lightning struck the gargoyle during a thunderstorm, knocking it from the building. After it happened again, the decision was made to leave it on the ground and create a garden around it rather than return it to its perch. Whether every detail has been polished by years of storytelling or not, the gargoyle has become part of the personality of the campus, a reminder that history is often carried forward through the stories people choose to keep telling.

Perhaps that's one reason this venue feels like such a beautiful home for the Witches & Wellness Expo.

History, folklore, imagination, curiosity, healing, and community all meet inside these walls.

As I celebrate three decades connected to NIU, I also find myself celebrating something else: the evolution of my own work.

Today, I guide visionaries in rewiring their nervous systems through neuroscience, sound, movement, imagination, and Human Design de-conditioning. My work has grown into what I simply think of as creating containers; spaces where people can safely reconnect with themselves.

Throughout the weekend, I'll be bringing my sound and movement equipment and offering demonstrations that introduce visitors to the power of Somatic, Hypnotic, and Ecstatic Dance.

These aren't performances.

They're invitations.

An invitation to notice your breath.

To become aware of your body's signals.

To experience rhythm as regulation.

To discover how intentional movement and sound can create moments of presence in a world that rarely slows down.

Again and again, I've witnessed something remarkable happen when people are given permission to listen inward. The nervous system begins to soften. Creativity awakens. Imagination returns. People remember that healing doesn't always begin with thinking harder, it often begins with feeling safer.

That's the kind of space I hope to create at my booth.

Whether you stay for five minutes or fifty, my intention is that you leave feeling just a little more connected to yourself than when you arrived.

If you visit the expo, I hope you'll take time to wander the halls of Altgeld Hall, admire its architecture, explore the vendors, attend a lecture, and maybe even stop by to experience one of my demonstrations.

Sometimes healing begins with a conversation.

Sometimes it begins with a single breath.

Sometimes it begins inside a castle with a fallen gargoyle quietly resting in a garden, reminding us that even what has fallen can become part of something beautiful.

I'm deeply grateful to be returning to a place that has been woven into my professional life for thirty years.

And I'm even more grateful to share this next chapter there.

I look forward to seeing you at the Witches & Wellness Expo on July 11–12.

Come curious.

Come exactly as you are.

Let's create a little more presence, rhythm, and community, together.

Get your tickets HERE