tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23083751108629771622024-03-12T22:34:28.748-07:00Plant Journeysa sojourn of healing plants, medicine ways, & nature connectionAnandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.comBlogger311125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-70996347707366581792013-09-14T13:18:00.000-07:002013-09-14T13:21:51.621-07:00The Apothecary's Apprentice: Meet Kizzi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Greetings sweet readers! </div>
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I'm elated to welcome my new work-study apprentice. Won't you help me give her a warm entrance into the wild & witchy world of plant potions?</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-17bUU1tp54A/UjSFxbgP0xI/AAAAAAAAEf8/bO4_bBGfgig/s1600/Kizzy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-17bUU1tp54A/UjSFxbgP0xI/AAAAAAAAEf8/bO4_bBGfgig/s320/Kizzy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's been a while since I've had a one-on-one apprentice. 2001, if I remember right. Timing was divine for Kizzi to arrive and I'm grateful for the blessing! I'm in great need of a helping hand here in my <a href="http://amritaapothecary.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">apothecary</a> as things have quite grown over the last year and it's a bit more than I can handle all by myself.</div>
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I'm feeling ready to give herbal knowledge in a personal and reciprocal context, and ready for some spunky wonderful company to banter with. </div>
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Meet Miss Kizzi - a bright and grounded young lady whom I met through North Star a couple of years ago. </div>
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With a passion for self-sufficiency and connection to her body, she fiercely embodies her Virgo nature. Arriving not a moment late - but rather early - to our first day (of course this would be Friday the 13th) she sits smiling on the steps with a witchy novel and ready boots. </div>
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She comes with notes already! Notes on basic preparations, and a few recipes. </div>
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Elderberry syrup - yes, this is the perfect place to start. </div>
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Since product making will be delayed a few days, we have time to play and cover some foundations. We simmer the elderberry and spice elixir, she explores the jars of dried herbs to invent her own infusion blend, and we jar up some dried comfrey. We make a fresh mugwort tincture too.</div>
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Our last hour, we walked along the back road by the horse fields. The roses brambled along the fences and the foliage of grapes and clematis are showing signs of cool nights. We touched on elder, yarrow, chickweed, linden trees, and admired the pretty turtleheads in flower.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jjNk3Ubd3oI/UjSYipcCyuI/AAAAAAAAEgw/pf1m_Ye51x8/s1600/turtlehead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jjNk3Ubd3oI/UjSYipcCyuI/AAAAAAAAEgw/pf1m_Ye51x8/s320/turtlehead.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Talking is rich and easy and woven, and the curiosity fuels me. She tells me bits about her interesting life and I appreciate both her openness and her opinions. She's interested in daily self-care herbalism, women's health, as well as field medicine for traveling and wilderness trips. Her college courses in botany and the human body will be very compatible with her plant knowledge. She may even dabble in a little aromatherapy or perfumery .. who knows ;)</div>
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Welcoming a new chapter, welcoming in the continuation of our plant lineage! </div>
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Blessed be the medicines and joys of our Earth, all our relations, and to the blessings of divine good timing. I am grateful. </div>
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If you have a wise word or a special welcoming for Kizzi, please feel free to comment on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PlantJourneys" target="_blank">facebook page</a> </div>
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Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-69233159869363009472013-08-20T07:30:00.000-07:002013-08-20T07:30:00.319-07:00Botanical Beauty; Summer Plant Journeys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Incredibly ripe elderberries</div>
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Sultry aromatics</div>
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Tall reaching blue vervain</div>
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Moonlit tulsi gathering</div>
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Perfumery intensive</div>
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Basil gathering</div>
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Healing hyssop</div>
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Stocking seasonal favorites; Mead</div>
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Happy bees, happy bee balm</div>
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Putting up dried rose buds from the beach</div>
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Kids' Great Hollow bff reunion</div>
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Ice cream!</div>
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Jumping into rivers</div>
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(that one's a little too high for me - but the girl loved it as you can see :)</div>
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A good year for St. Johnswort flowers</div>
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and for soaking up the wild waters (it was *hot*)</div>
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and it was a good summer for some seriously beautiful creative time: </div>
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...Victorialand perfume compact; patchouli, ylang ylang, spice.</div>
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Now .... off to the Women's Herbal Conference! </div>
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ahhh summer </div>
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<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-10236041504193366912013-06-06T12:46:00.000-07:002013-06-06T12:46:02.342-07:00JUNE ~ Aromatic Muse Perfume 6.6.13 ~ Under the Linden Tree<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~ JUNE ~</div>
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Amrita Aromatics'</div>
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Aromatic Muse Perfume</div>
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6.6.13</div>
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<i>Inspired by....</i></div>
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Linden trees</div>
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River basking</div>
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Water flowing through rocks</div>
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The color green. Beach glass. Warm grass.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRo_c2hcFCk1lJ-nbjQ6-9DW7J1nmXCDllRqxowljLvSVhyphenhyphenEGFiYS9dOzVcxMSYbG2kJ5xoO1brwQwEOpiAsZVbc3kVHWYOClbXWqvq4hAvEeZ04E4Gkkyg22LtxLCg6OAtRdGcVpDE4/s1600/June+-+perfume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRo_c2hcFCk1lJ-nbjQ6-9DW7J1nmXCDllRqxowljLvSVhyphenhyphenEGFiYS9dOzVcxMSYbG2kJ5xoO1brwQwEOpiAsZVbc3kVHWYOClbXWqvq4hAvEeZ04E4Gkkyg22LtxLCg6OAtRdGcVpDE4/s320/June+-+perfume.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Old style stationery</div>
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Cherry flowers and woods</div>
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Irrepressible sunlight</div>
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Paradox. </div>
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Negative and positive space. </div>
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Gemini. </div>
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Balance.</div>
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~ JUNE ~</div>
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Under the Linden Trees, in the river, at the edge of the woods.</div>
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Featured Notes:<br /></div>
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<i>Crown: </i>Lime, Ginger Lily, Rosewood</div>
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<i>Heart: </i>Linden, Champa, Labdanum, </div>
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<i>Root: </i>Agarwood, Vanilla, Orris, Oakmoss</div>
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<i>{with other botanical essences, carried in a small amount of coconut oil}<br /></i></div>
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Available:</div>
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through the <a href="http://amritaapothecary.blogspot.com/p/amrita-aromatics-presents-aromatic-muse.html" target="_blank">Aromatic Muse</a> membership ( only until June 20 or while supplies last)</div>
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or singly<a href="http://www.poppyswap.com/detail.asp?id=6112" target="_blank"> in the shop</a></div>
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Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-81346625253571087702013-05-14T19:54:00.000-07:002013-05-14T20:49:10.598-07:00Full Flower Moon, The Little Things, Self Care<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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May is in full flower.<br />
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The lilacs are in honey. The honeysuckle's in oil, the dandelion infusion is done. The violets have dried on my work island into tiny little curly blue jewels. <br />
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The nettles are getting taller, and the cleavers is celebrating. Celandine spots the roads with yellow, and apple blossoms are everywhere. The Lady's Slipper orchids have begun. The black cherry tree flowers are minutes away from opening. Everything is humming with life. <br />
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It's been a busy time for me, but not too busy. I am finding a good rhythm lately and am so grateful for the warmer weather, singing frogs, and time in nature. Things will shift again soon as my kids are almost finished with programming and will launch into summertime spontaneity and short burst camps and such. I can't wait to get myself into the river water.<br />
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I'm finding rooting in my not-as-new location (now here 2 1/2 years.) I see people I know at the market, I don't get lost (as often), and I'm finding a sense of belonging and community that I hope will grow and deepen. <br />
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The cycles of my plant allies are reliable sources of daily replenishment, of course. This week I'm putting together my Lady's Slipper Ring membership herbals and they are full of flowers and nectar and the healing that bubbles in our spirit when we experience beauty. <br />
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My first <a href="http://amritaapothecary.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Aromatic Muse</a> perfume (FloraLuna) departed to their first new Queens already. I'm incredibly inspired by this journey and have begun concocting something unique for June, while soaking up the glamorous FloraLuna in the meantime. It is so.... womanly. mm<br />
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Taking care of ourselves is so important, and having beautiful, earthly, sensory conduits for self-care catalyzes cell-response, sensory pleasure responses, immune system functions, positive memories associated with self-love, and creates a biological connection to feeling good without attachment to collateral. Self care first - then achievement becomes enabled. Although I teach this, I am still a student in daily practice. I must be deliberate and devoted to moments of time carved out for my health and well being. <br />
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Here are some snapshots of my pleasure medicine as of late .... <br />
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what beauty and pleasure restores you?</div>
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<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-41282314896095552332013-04-18T18:45:00.000-07:002013-04-18T18:45:52.935-07:00Herbal Inspirations <div style="text-align: center;">
INSPIRATIONS</div>
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What's inspiring me this week....</div>
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Willow</div>
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the yellow explosions across the land</div>
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the tiny baby leaves</div>
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the flowers that arrive before the leaves,</div>
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like coltsfoot</div>
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and forsythia</div>
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Medicine</div>
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Bitters, barks, and beauty</div>
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Sweet and fresh smells,</div>
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that heal the skin and spirit</div>
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white sage</div>
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blue chamomile,</div>
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bulgarian lavender</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZXpciAXQ2os/UXCdh79xMrI/AAAAAAAAEM8/cfjQWr-i7Hw/s1600/Sophia+Oil+no+label.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZXpciAXQ2os/UXCdh79xMrI/AAAAAAAAEM8/cfjQWr-i7Hw/s320/Sophia+Oil+no+label.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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creativity</div>
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and service</div>
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offered in pretty bottles</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cT0gwPYzjTI/UXCdYi0-y8I/AAAAAAAAEMw/1klBSE1hds0/s1600/Sophia+Oil2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cT0gwPYzjTI/UXCdYi0-y8I/AAAAAAAAEMw/1klBSE1hds0/s320/Sophia+Oil2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Women taking good care of themselves</div>
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taking longer walks in the cattails,</div>
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daughters romping in the fields</div>
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bringing home feathers</div>
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Poetry, naps, and journals.</div>
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frogs. eagles. herons.</div>
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yawning.</div>
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<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-42510906143931201642013-03-12T09:26:00.000-07:002013-03-12T09:26:55.798-07:00DIY: FIRST AID SET -for out of the country travel!-<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>TRAVELER'S FIRST AID KIT </u></span></h2>
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- Party of 15 - to Nicaragua - March, 2013 -</div>
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*<b>fine print</b>* - This is not a first aid training, or an herbal training. This is simply to show what is packed in the kit. You take all responsibility for the contents and use of this information.</div>
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**This especially does not cover severe emergency protocols, ie; broken bones, eye injuries, CPR, anaphylaxis, seizures, concussion, or any other medical emergency that should be tended by a medic. Always know your emergency contacts!</div>
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Resources for first aid training can be found at the very end of the article.</div>
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**</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3xHCq0oQsyc/UT9RPgXl8RI/AAAAAAAAELc/i2geKfQB_s0/s1600/Poplar+buds+at+river+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3xHCq0oQsyc/UT9RPgXl8RI/AAAAAAAAELc/i2geKfQB_s0/s320/Poplar+buds+at+river+2013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh Great Spirit,</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am the woman walking in the fields</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">collecting plants to heal the people.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I give thanks to this plant</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and I have faith with all my heart</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That this plant will heal the sickness of the people.</span></b></div>
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~ <i>Gathering prayer of Belize</i> ~</div>
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We started with a workshop</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M10DF59O9zU/UT3kr5i4BVI/AAAAAAAAEKs/FIO3U0NuC6o/s1600/First+Aid+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M10DF59O9zU/UT3kr5i4BVI/AAAAAAAAEKs/FIO3U0NuC6o/s320/First+Aid+table.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Where we discussed the possible hazards, and basic first aid protocols.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x9jh7LwJjIs/UT3z3ZeXXaI/AAAAAAAAELM/cku0SmuH3xc/s1600/NS+First+Aid+Workshop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x9jh7LwJjIs/UT3z3ZeXXaI/AAAAAAAAELM/cku0SmuH3xc/s320/NS+First+Aid+Workshop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Together, we made a super-sticky spruce resin salve, and a tincture they named 'after-bug care' which contained 3 kinds of Artemesia and a little Rue. Sweet Annie (<i>Artemisia annua</i>) is specific for malaria, so we made this the primary ingredient, backed up by Mugwort (<i>A. vulgaris</i>) and Wormwood</div>
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(<i>A. absinthium</i>). Rue (<i>Ruta graveolens)</i> is a well loved anti-venom and anti-parasitic, so we added a bit of that too.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AW_46rkhbnY/UTofFMcNBeI/AAAAAAAAEJU/yPkyOLmoOvw/s1600/Spruce+Resin+balm+and+Vector-Venom+tincture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AW_46rkhbnY/UTofFMcNBeI/AAAAAAAAEJU/yPkyOLmoOvw/s320/Spruce+Resin+balm+and+Vector-Venom+tincture.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We discussed Chewing Herbs, and their effectiveness, ease and versatility for travel.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LcDnVvupYY8/UTofOwsDQQI/AAAAAAAAEJc/JCHsa_4nrzI/s1600/Chewing+herbs2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LcDnVvupYY8/UTofOwsDQQI/AAAAAAAAEJc/JCHsa_4nrzI/s320/Chewing+herbs2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I packed them up together, one pouch for each traveler. Clove, Licorice, & Osha.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DOfbD1DqNk8/UTofOwv4hQI/AAAAAAAAEJg/i5RYXZ_p4lg/s1600/Chewing+Herbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DOfbD1DqNk8/UTofOwv4hQI/AAAAAAAAEJg/i5RYXZ_p4lg/s320/Chewing+Herbs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After our super-fun workshop where we donned bandanna fashions and fumbled with rubber glove removal, as well as tasted various elixirs both candylike and heinous, I got busy assembling the full kit.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EtzFn2YSr5Q/UTogTHxwxTI/AAAAAAAAEJs/Mb4rDi7SVGs/s1600/FIRST+AID+SET+Travelers+-+assembling+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EtzFn2YSr5Q/UTogTHxwxTI/AAAAAAAAEJs/Mb4rDi7SVGs/s320/FIRST+AID+SET+Travelers+-+assembling+2013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The goals of the kit were several: </div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) Lightweight enough to carry - so I used primarily plastic 1/2 oz tincture bottles.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) Address all of the circumstances the group brought up in class, and traditional ones necessary.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) Be well organized, accessible, and efficient to use.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) Be incredibly versatile, so each herbal packed can serve at least a few purposes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5) Be theft-resistant - proper sizes so no trouble at the airport, and of the major sets, there are 2, packed with different travelers - so if one suitcase is lost or stolen, there will be another kit sufficient.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6) Be non-breakable and non-meltable, it's hot there. </span></li>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8O1sU-tWnNI/UT3lKqgnjNI/AAAAAAAAEK0/8WLYdm4ys_Q/s1600/NS+Stove+building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8O1sU-tWnNI/UT3lKqgnjNI/AAAAAAAAEK0/8WLYdm4ys_Q/s320/NS+Stove+building.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The team (13 teens and two adults) from <a href="http://northstarteens.org/" target="_blank">North Star</a> have been working together for months - practicing Spanish, learning stove building techniques, understanding travel responsibilities and logistics, fundraising, learning how to obtain a passport, insurance, and proper items to pack. </div>
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They've also done team building initiatives with seasoned Outward Bound Mentor, Pandora. Who was seriously spectacular and fierce.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b87_D821fOA/UT3lKxDBczI/AAAAAAAAEK8/juD7PO0qGXA/s1600/NS+Team+Building+withPandora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b87_D821fOA/UT3lKxDBczI/AAAAAAAAEK8/juD7PO0qGXA/s320/NS+Team+Building+withPandora.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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They've spent time also learning about the landscape, the climate of Nicaragua, and some of the Native culture and daily life of the people. They've each done a research project on something specific. My daughter studied the bugs, which are not only fascinating, but also a wee bit scary!</div>
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So ... for the final outcome, here is the full contents of the kit. If you are traveling with a group, you can use the following documents to help you assemble your own, or reduce/adjust to your own needs for the size or location of your adventure.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XgJSoE3ucGU/UTpCPKKnClI/AAAAAAAAEJ8/aZNr_m2wNA0/s1600/First+Aid+Cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XgJSoE3ucGU/UTpCPKKnClI/AAAAAAAAEJ8/aZNr_m2wNA0/s320/First+Aid+Cards.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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These INFO CARDS, to go into the 3 main baggies. I laminated them for waterproofing, and then paired them together into what seemed logical herbal/sanitary overlap. Click to download & print:</div>
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(*note: cards not organized how the bags are - I made them first :)</div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KWlntuBd7X40Ump7S9UTJ7iS4X44SI2sS7DvUlHv6ew/edit" target="_blank">VECTORS/VENOMS, WOUNDS</a></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YnW34R0rO1nzVLEFsfzW-e2LNbdlXcICwsoR4yLU1F0/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">BURNS, SOFT TISSUE INJURY</a></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_dNljHos9DOEFAMJYUx3ZOZLJQU3Rd2pcpQriM3L_ho/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">FEAR/ANXIETY/INSOMNIA, FOOD POISONING</a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aEuqEqnVXf0/UTv-3JgKp7I/AAAAAAAAEKM/hrH_EKTOyZU/s1600/First+Aid+Cards+laminated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aEuqEqnVXf0/UTv-3JgKp7I/AAAAAAAAEKM/hrH_EKTOyZU/s320/First+Aid+Cards+laminated.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then I took stock of all the contents, and packed them up into their thematic baggies.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BhetkyzSfKI/UT3kEHPCBVI/AAAAAAAAEKc/bJ9ZHg2p0ZI/s1600/First+Aid+Kit+singles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BhetkyzSfKI/UT3kEHPCBVI/AAAAAAAAEKc/bJ9ZHg2p0ZI/s320/First+Aid+Kit+singles.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U_4fx067-wMXVJ3UFVlxi3fWbDWHMZopF9Kv-S9I_54/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">MASTER INGREDIENT LIST</a></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EHYOU0AyI-0tbWPJ6DKwqIHEPs3po8AWSPiIJRZe0xc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">MASTER LIST OF WHAT IS IN EACH BAG</a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KWX9G20mBDI/UT3kENveZjI/AAAAAAAAEKg/X-XNAPkz4Z0/s1600/Jitterbug+Perfume+first+aid+kit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KWX9G20mBDI/UT3kENveZjI/AAAAAAAAEKg/X-XNAPkz4Z0/s320/Jitterbug+Perfume+first+aid+kit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And a little Jitterbug Perfume Oil - aka bugs don't like this smell and it's good for those of you who like patchouli and get a headache from too much rose-geranium. Alas, you still must bring and use deet, so I hear.</div>
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<b><u>Bug Essential Oil Blend: </u></b></div>
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Cedarwood 3 parts, Patchouli 1 part, and a touch of vetiver and mugwort, with a little jojoba oil. I did put these in little 1/4 oz glass roll on bottles, as essential oils really need to be in glass.</div>
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Here are the ingredients for a few of the other combinations found in the kit: </div>
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<b><u>Burn Dressing</u></b></div>
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to a 2 1/2 oz bottle, color coded cap blue:</div>
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Aloe Vera Gel, Rose Hydrosol, Witch Hazel Hydrosol, equal parts.</div>
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St Johnswort tincture, about a tablespoon</div>
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Lavender essential oil 6 drops</div>
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Blue Chamomile essential oil 6 drops</div>
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Helichrysm essential oil 6 drops</div>
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<b><u>Wound Wash</u></b></div>
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to a 2 1/2 oz bottle, color coded cap green:</div>
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Yarrow tincture, 2 parts</div>
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St. Johnswort tincture 1 part, </div>
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Witch Hazel hydrosol 1 part</div>
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essential oils of Lavender & Blue Chamomile (7 drops ea)</div>
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<b>Alien Elixir:</b> (aka random fears)</div>
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Equal Parts Skullcap and Passionflower tincture</div>
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<b><u>Panacea III - Traveller's Insurance essential oil blend </u></b></div>
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<i>10 ml glass eo bottle</i></div>
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(this blend is a proprietary recipe, but I will offer the ingredients and you can either create your own version or commission an essential oil practitioner to. Summer and fall I usually have it for sale.)</div>
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contains: <span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pure Essential Oils of Eucalyptus, Lavender, Roman Chamomile,</span></div>
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<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Peppermint, Blue Chamomile, White Sage. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So, here they go! Geared up, and ready for a transformational adventure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It's been a great honor and joy for me to do this project, both as an herbalist, and a mom. In addition it has fulfilled my goal in giving something this year - the first time I've made a philanthropic goal, and what better way to start that tradition in my work. I look forward to most of the medicines being unneeded, but also look forward to hearing what was successfully utilized.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, I ship my open heart off to Central America, and hope it returns to me still beating strong, maybe even stronger.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you to <a href="http://northstarteens.org/" target="_blank">North Star</a> for being a truly remarkable place for teens to flourish, and to all of our friends and family that supported my daughter in making this dream come true - from donations, to gifts of colorful bandannas, and help with everything inbetween.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It takes a village.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">~~~~~~~</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(now if you need some comic releif after the sap I just poured on you, here is North Star's rendition of the Harlem Shake!)</span></i></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/i1A3V3pft6w" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<u><b>FIRST AID RESOURCES:</b></u></div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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<a href="http://www.soloschools.com/" target="_blank">SOLO Wilderness First Aid Certification</a> (manual seen in second photo)</div>
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<a href="http://www.7song.com/" target="_blank">HERBAL 1st AID training with Sevensong</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.herbfirstaid.com/standby_pages/13006" target="_blank">HERBFirstAID online course, add your name for future enrollment</a></div>
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( I receive no compensation for these endorsements - they are my personal recommendation)</div>
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travel smart, travel safe!</div>
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xoxo</div>
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Ananda</div>
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Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-65353062119251238292013-02-18T09:15:00.000-08:002013-02-18T09:15:36.157-08:00Anticipation Milk: February<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eLLpNljWL6g/UR_CWCuc9iI/AAAAAAAAEBU/70IWpV5cTEQ/s1600/Leap+Day+Snow!+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eLLpNljWL6g/UR_CWCuc9iI/AAAAAAAAEBU/70IWpV5cTEQ/s320/Leap+Day+Snow!+010.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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This month, February, seems the most pregnant of all. Quiet in gestation, yet loud in longing. The sun glares at us in daggers of razor light, bouncing off the stark white snow mirrors. Seeds of ideas vibrate with moisture and swell with readiness, yet cannot burst forth until the thaw.<br />
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February cultivates a kind of sharp anticipation. Buzzing under the tree bark is the impatient flow of maple sap, the first sweetness of the day. With the holiday of Eros, wounds of old love ache arthritically like a once broken bone, and the desire for intimacy and companionship are magnified.<br />
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Songbirds return, as if to midwife the Elm flowers and Fiddleheads. Poplar branches surrender to the winds, dripping with vanilla pearls. Eagles return, Falcons scream, clouds paint. February freezes and melts and freezes and melts, and all the dreams of gardens and foraging and feasting on the earth's bounty become wild in our heads!<br />
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Thaw the berries form last year's pickins, eat them up in thanks for what is to come. Soon we will be scrambling to keep up. For now, we sit in the cave of winter's womb, sipping anticipation.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f3lq3jomC3U/USJYoLIwoTI/AAAAAAAAECU/-v3lWu-_jG4/s1600/October+Snow+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f3lq3jomC3U/USJYoLIwoTI/AAAAAAAAECU/-v3lWu-_jG4/s320/October+Snow+047.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Pierce the cold with </i></div>
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<u><b>Vedic Roots & Spices Milk Brew:</b></u></div>
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Set out a medium sized non-reactive pot.<br />
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For every 4 oz mug of <u>water</u>, add the following dried herbs:<br />
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<ul>
<li>1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon chips</li>
<li>1 heaping teaspoon dandelion root</li>
<li>1/2 teaspoon burdock root </li>
<li>1/4 teaspoon chaga</li>
<li>1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder</li>
<li>1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder</li>
<li>1 pinch black pepper</li>
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Keep your herbs and water just below a simmer for 30 minutes, covered. Then add <u>whole milk</u>, at the same quantity you added of water.<br />
Continue to let brew just under a simmer for another 15-20 minutes.<br />
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Ladle out a mug at a time (strain through a tea strainer), and <u>add a small dollop of: </u>Ghee, grass fed or cultured butter, or virgin coconut oil.<br />
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This is a variation on traditional Ayurvedic milk with ghee, which warms, nourishes, and lubricates all faculties of the body. It's a brew I speak of often; in the summer with rose petal jam, in the fall with more spices. And especially for children, elderly, athletes, undernourished/overworked, and new mamas.<br />
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February is extremely dry here in New England. Many folks come down with bloody noses, sinus infections, and severe head colds. Keeping the body well lubricated and our digestion tip-top with bitters and aromatics, strongly supports our immune system during these bitter weeks.<br />
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So does cuddling.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SBzuhh7HmLA/USJgXXwFtVI/AAAAAAAAEDU/Vym3rzIIUJA/s1600/Veda+Milk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SBzuhh7HmLA/USJgXXwFtVI/AAAAAAAAEDU/Vym3rzIIUJA/s320/Veda+Milk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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xoxo<br /><br />
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<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-58908690453534824202013-02-12T11:56:00.000-08:002013-02-12T12:46:07.785-08:00Dear Hormones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dear Hormones,<br />
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I hear you.<br />
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Thank you for reminding me that I can feel way beyond reason.<br />
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Thank you for reminding me that I am worth nourishment, tea, cream, and honey.<br />
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I hear your needs for warm touch, moments of respite, and deep breath.<br />
I hear your needs for tissues and tears.<br />
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I am listening, even when I'm busy. Sometimes I need to accomplish something that depends on me before I can rest for soup. Sometimes my children need me more than I need a nap. Sometimes I need you to understand that people are not trying to hurt my feelings, or piss me off. I know you feel through a magnifying glass, and that is o.k., as long as we both know that I have choices, and can choose to be calm if I think something isn't as dramatic as it may seem to you.<br />
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I love you and am here to steward my body temple. Thank you for communicating, for asking for what you need. It keeps me real. Keeps me connected.<br />
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Here,<br />
take my red scarf, and touches of Sandalwood and Rose. We go together, you and me. I bring your wisdom to my work and art, while you poke at me with your ancient reminders to go within and be quiet.<br />
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But listen here, you can't make mayhem out of simple daily struggles. They are normal, small.<br />
Just remind me that I feel, and that will be enough.<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
me<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dvny20NV9Y4/URqbVsiZHEI/AAAAAAAAD_U/t2Efyw1TOMI/s1600/Cream+and+blossoms+075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dvny20NV9Y4/URqbVsiZHEI/AAAAAAAAD_U/t2Efyw1TOMI/s320/Cream+and+blossoms+075.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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~~~~~~~~~~</div>
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<u>Wild Ride Moon Tea</u></div>
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~<i>One pot of water, about 2 quarts</i></div>
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<i>bring to just below simmer</i></div>
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<i>Add the following dried herbs</i></div>
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<i>~~</i></div>
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<i>~One heaping teaspoon roses</i></div>
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<i>~1/4 cup red clover blossoms</i></div>
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<i>~1/4 cup linden leaf/flower</i></div>
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<i>~1/4 cup passionflower or skullcap</i></div>
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<i>~1 teaspoon kava kava</i></div>
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<i>~1 teaspoon marshmallow root</i></div>
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<i>~1 teaspoon cramp bark</i></div>
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<i>~dried cherries as desired</i></div>
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<i>~1/2 teaspoon stevia</i></div>
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<i>~~~~~</i></div>
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<i>Keep gently warming for 30-50 minutes, covered. </i></div>
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<i>Strain out single cups to sip as needed.</i></div>
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<i>Serve with cream & honey if desired.</i></div>
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<i>Breathe, Rub Belly, Hug.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>xoxo</i></div>
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Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-81877718413221225462013-02-05T21:20:00.001-08:002013-02-06T07:14:18.722-08:00Alchemy Seeks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Plants.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rmuVi8cAQjI/URJzCBLDzdI/AAAAAAAAD-I/LuQEwD00xlk/s1600/mullein+goddess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rmuVi8cAQjI/URJzCBLDzdI/AAAAAAAAD-I/LuQEwD00xlk/s320/mullein+goddess.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bBAJkZsHDUQ/URHkHckqL1I/AAAAAAAAD64/kQhw5QtTVXo/s1600/Goddess_O_Ixchel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bBAJkZsHDUQ/URHkHckqL1I/AAAAAAAAD64/kQhw5QtTVXo/s320/Goddess_O_Ixchel.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
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They make me think, create, feel. Grow.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qmLe3cJnR30/URHkN7SPNwI/AAAAAAAAD7A/1oq-hOQGJEU/s1600/Crushed+rubies+testing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qmLe3cJnR30/URHkN7SPNwI/AAAAAAAAD7A/1oq-hOQGJEU/s320/Crushed+rubies+testing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The get me going.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vth5s0HCmKY/URHkSQ9sz9I/AAAAAAAAD7I/w_qrEkhKT5o/s1600/Lakshmi+Line+Feb'13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vth5s0HCmKY/URHkSQ9sz9I/AAAAAAAAD7I/w_qrEkhKT5o/s320/Lakshmi+Line+Feb'13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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both within and without</div>
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and in so many ways are my muse.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hIEEqQcQfdk/URHk98ZIsZI/AAAAAAAAD7Y/_c_bXKF2_7w/s1600/Lakshmi+line2+Feb'13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hIEEqQcQfdk/URHk98ZIsZI/AAAAAAAAD7Y/_c_bXKF2_7w/s320/Lakshmi+line2+Feb'13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Inside all of these seemingly indoors kind of bottles,</div>
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paper designs,</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xC-58zoGov4/URHk-kzyq2I/AAAAAAAAD7k/D0o93fD1Yjg/s1600/Lanchakon_-_032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xC-58zoGov4/URHk-kzyq2I/AAAAAAAAD7k/D0o93fD1Yjg/s320/Lanchakon_-_032.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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and handmade wearables,</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gtVXxIAvgbo/URHk_K2FW5I/AAAAAAAAD7o/zcELvmNE6Ls/s1600/Lip+Balm+Trio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gtVXxIAvgbo/URHk_K2FW5I/AAAAAAAAD7o/zcELvmNE6Ls/s320/Lip+Balm+Trio.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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is a piece of wild.</div>
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A piece of stone, water, green, air, cloud, soil, sun, mineral, molten, fire.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kVeRL5vCblY/URHk_38VOPI/AAAAAAAAD7w/JLLyBDsn6_w/s1600/smoke+and+fir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kVeRL5vCblY/URHk_38VOPI/AAAAAAAAD7w/JLLyBDsn6_w/s320/smoke+and+fir.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Alchemy stirs elements</div>
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with emotion</div>
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with intention</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c3f0sX7B4yQ/URHk_Rq-v8I/AAAAAAAAD70/YdtvPGeBMao/s1600/Smoked+Coffee+Kiss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c3f0sX7B4yQ/URHk_Rq-v8I/AAAAAAAAD70/YdtvPGeBMao/s320/Smoked+Coffee+Kiss.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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and imprints upon the cells a kind of open magic.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xcLsCqSX6qM/URHk_kXwduI/AAAAAAAAD74/peUalXjRi0Q/s1600/me,+winter+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xcLsCqSX6qM/URHk_kXwduI/AAAAAAAAD74/peUalXjRi0Q/s320/me,+winter+2013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Alchemy seeks in the corners of the commonplace, and the vastness of the feral lands. Most of all it seeks </div>
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in-between.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oHJzTuWTPBQ/URHlIQBfwKI/AAAAAAAAD8M/iGwkxdu76tk/s1600/spruce+pond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oHJzTuWTPBQ/URHlIQBfwKI/AAAAAAAAD8M/iGwkxdu76tk/s320/spruce+pond.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZgFojr8t5zU/URHnaeJhztI/AAAAAAAAD9M/8KvtNgCGSOA/s1600/Resin,+Sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZgFojr8t5zU/URHnaeJhztI/AAAAAAAAD9M/8KvtNgCGSOA/s320/Resin,+Sun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-58826719656887497212013-01-31T09:28:00.000-08:002013-01-31T09:28:47.256-08:00Announcing: Free Sample Issue of Plant Healer Magazine!<div style="text-align: center;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>A Gorgeous and Generous Offering to our Community, from <a href="http://bearmedicineherbals.com/phmsample.html" target="_blank">Kiva Rose and the Anima Lifeways School</a>. I personally recommend making sure you have every single issue of this historic (and growing) collection of plant medicine knowledge, practice, and art.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Enjoy! --Love, Ananda</em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Announcing:</em>
<strong>A Free Sample Issue of Plant Healer Magazine</strong>
PDF Download Gift </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">140 Pages, 20 Complete Articles, Over 250 Illustrations</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<em>“Plant Healer is amazing... the most beautiful magazine I’ve ever seen, bar none!” </em> <strong> -Phyllis Light</strong>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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</strong></div>
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<a href="http://animacenter.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Sample-Issue-cover-72dpi.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-3632" height="700" src="http://animacenter.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Sample-Issue-cover-72dpi.jpg" title="Plant Healer Magazine www.PlantHealerMagazine.com" width="540" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Plant Healer Magazine Free Sample - www.PlantHealerMagazine.com</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
-----------------</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We’re giving away a free 140 pages long Plant Healer Magazine Sample – the size of a small book! Those of you who subscribe, will have already read the 20 articles that appear in their entirety here, but now the rest of you can get also get a feel for the “Magazine Different”... while taking advantage of this gift of valuable information for anyone interested in herbalism, wildcrafting or foraging articles:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Jesse Wolf Hardin: For The Love of Plant Lovers </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Choosing An Herbal School </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Herbal School Directory </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Paul Bergner: Critical Thinking For The Herbalist </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Phyllis Light: Tree of Life </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Rebecca Altman: In Defense of The Quick-Fix </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Stories of The Herbal Resurgence Rendezvous </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Herbalism On The Frontier: J. I. Lighthall</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Art of Plant Healer: Ernst Haeckel </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Herbalpreneurship & Making a Business Plan </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Kristin Brown: Make Your Own Herbal First-Aid Kit </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Jesse Wolf Hardin: Finding Your Path in Herbalism </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Matthew Wood: The Lymph/Immune System </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Juliet Blankespoor: Growing Medicinal Herbs in Containers </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sam Thayer: Wild Rice </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Loba: Harvesting & Drying Wild Plants </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Susun Weed: Edible Seeds </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Robin Rose Bennett: Everything is Medicine </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Kiva Rose: Exploring Traditional Models of the Healer’s Practice</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Please help yourself to this PDF download, and share it with others. Unlike the Plant Healer subscriber download codes, this link in unmonitored and free for all.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Free Download:</strong></div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>"This is the first publication I've seen in my 38-year career that captures the wild diversity of herbalism in North America while still reflecting excellence and high-level practice... points of view from many regions, traditions, and schools of thought.. for the practicing herbalist from entry level to advanced, inclusively." </em> <strong> -Paul Bergner</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Plant Healer Described</strong></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
If you didn’t already know, Plant Healer is the largest, most comprehensive publication ever created for the herbalist and forager communities, a quarterly PDF over 250 pages per issue long, a yearly total of over 1,000 full color pages covering the practice, history, culture and art of folk herbalism as well as wild foods foraging. Plant Healer combines cutting edge science with heartful intuitive practice, practical skills that enable and personal stories that inspire. Enjoy a diverse range of articles on everything from botany and cultivation to wildcrafting and traditional foods recipes, from diagnostics and treatments to coverage of regulations and the history of herbalism, from herbs for expecting mothers and tools for starting an herbal business, to plant art and herbalist fiction. Contributors include:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Paul Bergner, Matthew Wood, Kiva Rose, Phyllis Light, Jim McDonald, 7Song, Sam Thayer, Loba,
David Hoffman, Susun Weed, Christa Sinadinos, Juliet Blankespoor, Sam Coffman, Robin Rose Bennett, Sean Donahue, Rebecca Altman, Rosemary Gladstar, Christophe Bernard, Henriette Kress, Kristine Brown, Virginia Adi, Wendy Petty, Mélanie Pulla, Traci Picard, Darcey Blue French, Renee Davis, Susan Leopold, Sabrina Lutes, Catherine Skipper, Sarah Baldwin, Sophia Rose, Katheryn Langelier, Charles “Doc” Garcia, Kiva and Wolf... and many, many more.</div>
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<strong>Plant Healer Advertising</strong></div>
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Plant Healer Magazine provides unique advertising opportunities for businesses, schools and causes we support, reaching a focused and impassioned readership of thousands that includes professional practitioners as well as herb loving consumers. Ad space is also available separately in the Plant Healer Annual book series. For full details please go to the website and download the Plant Healer Media Kit.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Submitting Your Work to Plant Healer</strong></div>
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We encourage submissions of compelling artwork and photography, as well as of quality, previously unpublished articles for any of Plant Healer’s many departments. For full details please go to the website and download the Submission Guidelines.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
To subscribe, advertise in, or submit you work to Plant Healer, please go the appropriate pages on the website: </div>
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<strong>www.PlantHealerMagazine.com</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>------------
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>To Download Your Free Magazine, Click On:</strong></div>
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<strong><a href="http://bit.ly/14wVyLs">Plant Healer Sample Issue</a>
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<em><strong>(Please be so kind as to RePost and Share <a href="http://bearmedicineherbals.com/phmsample.html" target="_blank">this announcement.</a>.. thank you!)</strong></em></div>
Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-68834041450900487332013-01-21T14:19:00.000-08:002013-01-21T14:19:16.541-08:00The Portal of the Senses<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Kunstler Script'; font-size: 24pt;">The Portal of the Senses<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Kunstler Script'; font-size: 24pt;">Romancing the Plants<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">~~~~~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4s0wJkW_4faFJmaosSOu2OdK1z2t39FUQTjNGrz-7yGoHJq5ob4-ojr5qNUMkyI5WAD4Xr5OhzeqsuOgupp-Q_Zs7kcSIS4DoTAqfMoGW99ZBml2JrVsTebiAFIjLAFnoy7LkdIB_haw/s1600/Medicine+Woman+Altar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4s0wJkW_4faFJmaosSOu2OdK1z2t39FUQTjNGrz-7yGoHJq5ob4-ojr5qNUMkyI5WAD4Xr5OhzeqsuOgupp-Q_Zs7kcSIS4DoTAqfMoGW99ZBml2JrVsTebiAFIjLAFnoy7LkdIB_haw/s320/Medicine+Woman+Altar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Footlight MT Light, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I can’t seem to keep
my nose out of anything. I smell my friends, my kitchen mugs, my mail, my cat …..
I may as well have born with whiskers. My sense of smell is on equal footing
with the rest of my senses. Even though it </span></span><span style="font-family: Footlight MT Light, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">doesn't</span></span><span style="font-family: Footlight MT Light, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> drive my car or find my keys
when they’re lost, they are without a doubt navigating me through life. <span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As I kneel by the
cold rushing river with the newly warmed rays of sun beating down on my
winter skin, I let the world enter my body. I deeply Inhale the effervescence
of the humid air, I feel the resins lured from the bark by the warmth and reach
wide from the tree trunks as if to court the fairies with their perfume, the
earthly expressions of the moment speak to me in a wordless language. I am
touched by the elements; the air in my eyelashes, the moss warming in my hand,
the humming of stone, the secrets of the soil. Animated in my nerves is the
life force of the land. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVMaRvzPwKf-nxExhb6RIrsk-lNZcl2AZjt22jZBRw03RuYtE9mzeUnKJwULIwZvQ7ODQvXtMWdiccP2WXvin1f-hpMnh3qhw3y29_X0Ai10fSbuqvoxqgJK1avaNgfJoPj2NfFtVi1c/s1600/Motherwort+in+winter,+leaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVMaRvzPwKf-nxExhb6RIrsk-lNZcl2AZjt22jZBRw03RuYtE9mzeUnKJwULIwZvQ7ODQvXtMWdiccP2WXvin1f-hpMnh3qhw3y29_X0Ai10fSbuqvoxqgJK1avaNgfJoPj2NfFtVi1c/s320/Motherwort+in+winter,+leaf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Footlight MT Light, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">My pulse, perhaps
synchronizing with the memories of drums or churning of magma. My iron blood
hears stories in the rocks. Medicine drips, milky and bitter, from collected
stems, sticking </span></span><span style="font-family: Footlight MT Light, serif;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">unapologetically</span></span><span style="font-family: Footlight MT Light, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> to my fingers. Cleavers tags along on my hem,
while thorns give warning to slow down. Soggy leaves hide waking pupa. It still
might snow. It would be a cruel thing for the fruit trees, but humbling yet
again for us two-leggeds with the curse of hubris. In the meantime, my mouth gives
health orders: green, yellow, sharp, salty,
sour and bitter! I listen. I eat. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In the same way my
eyes feast on flowers and my skin drinks in rivers, my skin dessert is touch
and my emotions ride the waves of ecstasy through plant oils. Delicate honeyed
Elder flowers, sexy Jasmine absolute, the enlightenment of Rose attar, and the
seduction of a good, dark patchouli. I’m servant to the muse and the nuance of
emotional evocation. Goddesses call to me, stories write themselves, images
dance in my mind. My heart pumps and moves closer to the little bottles of
heaven, asking for more. More linden, more fir, more amber. Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rapture of the
senses lets me sink. Beyond the forces of duty, of chore, of old wounds.
Sinking like a shaman’s journey down a wet root into a sacred spring where the
wise woman waits. She touches my throat with her herbal wand, invites me to
rest my burdens in the salty pool. Gems and singing minerals glisten as I
breathe. I breathe in the memories of Juniper. The touch of tulsi on my arms
and legs. The splash of the water ceremony and lingering smoke of palo santo. Memories
of Artemisia bundles and blue glass bowls and women shivering and hugging and
laughing. Sandalwood oil soft on my feet helps me stand. I’m wrapped in a warm
flax blanket and handed a blank book, with a wooden pencil. In my portal,
through my senses, I am taught, healed, loved, touched, safe, connected, and
ripe with possibility. Experience becomes play, skill flirts with luck, and joy
sneaks up on me often. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hLdMQavcGoc2LbkiYV5VkxwBsAlhE6nd3qrH_BUtwjlsQFFo9mVOC-gZ367JFFaF3Igt8ed91RTT-xmOuwBseJ8IiNLtgsMDSsXYBl00PF5gkAnXZGEB5T4_tPWQ8Wbks0fEo3_D9wo/s1600/Tea+Time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hLdMQavcGoc2LbkiYV5VkxwBsAlhE6nd3qrH_BUtwjlsQFFo9mVOC-gZ367JFFaF3Igt8ed91RTT-xmOuwBseJ8IiNLtgsMDSsXYBl00PF5gkAnXZGEB5T4_tPWQ8Wbks0fEo3_D9wo/s320/Tea+Time.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p> ~~~</o:p></div>
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<o:p>xo</o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p>Ananda</o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p>~~~~~~~~~</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p>For pleasure medicine or a sensory journey of your own, see my new botanical perfumes at my Aromatic Apothecary:</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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Ambrette</span></div>
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Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-29328101336259733362013-01-07T09:16:00.001-08:002013-01-08T08:38:25.701-08:00Grit, Glamour, and Staying Grounded Through the Evolution of Personal Dharma.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yjOdT926bbI/UOr7cO44e-I/AAAAAAAAD04/DKIWvKqQ5r4/s1600/Rose+harvest+w+Nana+May+28.2012+092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yjOdT926bbI/UOr7cO44e-I/AAAAAAAAD04/DKIWvKqQ5r4/s320/Rose+harvest+w+Nana+May+28.2012+092.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I always smell roses when my mom is thinking of me.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~~~</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had the pleasure</span> of a two hour tea date alone with my Mama yesterday. This is a rare delicacy of time.<br />
<br />
We seated ourselves at a rustic table inside a posh little Noho cafe and displayed African Elixir tea, ginger beer, carrot cake, and feta laden Greek salad in front of us.<br />
<br />
My mom and I can't spend much time on small talk. It's boring. We go right to the gritty stuff in life. I love that about her - us.<br />
<br />
Most of you know already that my Mama is my first herbal mentor. You can skip this paragraph if you've heard my story before. She began training me when I was very young - encapsulating chaparral powder and hoarding stevia before they were banned from the shelves. I have real-time vivid memories of these experiences which are very much based in my olfactory sense. She taught me how to use bitters for clearing up acne, how to do abhyanga. How to do Maya abdominal self massage and herbs for womb care. She helped midwife my children into the world and counseled me through marital and parental bumps. She taught me transcendental meditation, how to make nourishing soup, kombucha, creams, salves, how to talk with plant spirits, and most of what I know at my bone-deep levels about herbal medicine, potion crafting, and self-care. We continue to teach and inspire each other.<br />
<br />
So here we sit, me at 37 and her: ageless. Her unruly red curls light up her emerald green eyes and mischievous yet honest smile. I spill my current thoughts as she listens, nods, laughs. I kvetch about not knowing the next step in my work, and about the uncertainties of life. She reminds me that our Dharma isn't always a one-terrain path ... that we can have three or four or more. That often they even seem 'different' but are actually evolutions of itself, blossoming through time. What was once my Dharma may or may not still look the same as it did, but it is not discarded or useless or disconnected. It was the previous terrain on my very own path - not separate.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma" target="_blank">Wikipedia says this about Dharma</a> "<i>As well as referring to Law in the universal or abstract sense dharma designates those behaviours considered necessary for the maintenance of the natural order of things.[2] Therefore dharma may encompass ideas such as duty,[3] vocation, religion and everything that is considered correct, proper or decent behaviour</i>."<br />
<br />
While Wiki's description seems to infer some degree of martyrdom, my take on it is that Dharma is about us aligning with our most whole sense of purpose and love in life, and are in alignment with our truth, values, and daily actions and spiritual practices. It is not a destination but a flow and a practice of decisions.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perhaps the "mid-life crisis</span>" time is an opportunity to see where your longing is leading you. Where you have left off and want to pick up. Where you are going and whether you re-commit, or change course, or integrate.<br />
<br />
What castles have I built? Are they strong? Beautiful? Functional?<br />
<br />
Have I considered my happiness enough?<br />
<br />
Am I joyful and satisfied with the results of difficult sacrifices I have made - for my family, my children.... ?<br />
<br />
Do I experience love in my life every day?<br />
<br />
Do I see myself embracing a future deserving of my energy?<br />
<br />
~~<br />
At first, when my Mama asked me (of my work evolution questionings) what in my heart spoke of my truth, my Dharma? .... I answered that I do not know, because I am living a life of choice that is not my first Dharma. That I must be deliberate because of this, and often times this is not a heart-intuitive process at all, but a heart-logical one.<br />
<br />
Yet that is absurdity. All my accidents and my choices - even the most heart wrenchingly devastatingly difficult ones - have been rooted in Dharma. And my life is steeped in it even when I have not noticed. When I remember the hours/days I spent as a child contemplating the scent value of every product in one store, and staying up till 2am handcrafting magical herbal medicine pouches for every single girl in my class, it wasn't much less time than I spent dancing or journaling. These are the threads that make up me. And they weave ... different colors, different times, different textures.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Women are shapeshifters</span>. Our titles are fluid, grounded, gritty, and glamorous. One day <i>mother, vomit cleaner, poop changer</i> - another day <i>inspirer, herbalist, soup maker</i>. Another ... <i>artist, lover, dancer, community leader</i>.<br />
<br />
These are our fibers .... you are woven of silk and nettle and polyester and wool. I am too. I cannot expect every day to feel like the silk I wove when I was 12, or the nettle I wove clumsily at 22. And I cannot be scared to try the new fibers I see in my life.<br />
<br />
Some have resisted seeing me move (away from more simple or common herbal products - which often times *should* cost as much as aromatic items or are one in the same as I often make) into my erogenous zone as an aromatic herbalist (do I *dare* call myself a perfumer?)<br />
<br />
Yes I dare.<br />
<br />
This doesn't make me less of an herbalist or more of a bitch. It makes me happy. It wakes me up in the morning.<br />
<br />
Will I get some flack from the perfumery community? Possibly. But will I give myself less flack? Definitely.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some may wonder</span> why I don't teach plants and ID and more practical kinds of stuff. (I have. And I'm complete with that at the moment. And I'd prefer to assist you in making your own yarrow & comfrey simples because that's home herbalism - I don't need to sell you that, frankly. My blog continues to offer plentiful ways to make things at home.)<br />
<br />
I'm interested in expressive and <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">personal</span> and sensory art. That's always been my lens and my medium. I like the abstract, mysterious, and metaphorical. I like expressing in words but much more than that, expressing what is beyond the capacity of words. I also like dirt and moss and what is feelably real.<br />
<br />
Mostly my circumference of community totally gets it, and to be honest most of my fears are me talking to myself. I've had constructive feedback, but pretty close to nothing I would consider threatening or negative. (knock on wood), and primarily the responses I receive are beamingly gorgeous! I am grateful.<br />
<br />
So, to dialogue with my own conscience .... I'm not leaving my gritty, dirt worshiping, weedy ways behind for the glamour of elitist perfumery..... I am doing what I fucking love more that anything in life - <i>in this moment - </i>and yet something that I've always done all along in one way or another as I look back through my life and creations, my aromatherapy work, my potions & plant obsessions. I'm simply daring to step into it more deliberately, more transparently, with more devotion. And it weaves beautifully in complimentary contrast to the other things I've done, been, do, and may become again someday. For now, I'm choreographing stories through my senses, stirring magic up with cordials and unguents, taking good care of the women in my memberships, and considering my goals in a much broader capacity for the near and distant future. And I'm still picking weeds on my walks and doing push ups and plies by moonlight.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While we as plant healers</span> need not be formally hitched to letters on our names or whatever you consider to be oppressive licensure .... what we do need is to<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> take ourselves seriously</span>. Consider ourselves as really, legitimately, women with the capacity to be autonomous - creatively and financially.<br />
<br />
I am following the muse, evolving, we are evolving.<br />
<br />
It is edgy, it is beautiful, and it need not be tame or status quo.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">May your path</span> always be guided by your heart compass, fierce commitment, and sensory wisdom.<br />
<br />
And thanks, Mama, for your indelible love, inquiring ways, and generous teaching. You inspire me to be the best me I can be, and admire the best in others.<br />
<br />
--Ananda<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7DaQIvo7Lfw/UOr1mR3jhCI/AAAAAAAADz8/v8KGFc8QbGo/s1600/Nana+Locket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7DaQIvo7Lfw/UOr1mR3jhCI/AAAAAAAADz8/v8KGFc8QbGo/s320/Nana+Locket.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">~~~~~~~</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For luscious aromatic herbal treasures, come visit my online Lair: <a href="http://www.poppyswap.com/shop/amritaapothecary" target="_blank">Amrita Apothecary</a></span></i></span></div>
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<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-41335425355855630262013-01-01T09:02:00.001-08:002013-01-01T09:02:35.314-08:00Welcome 2013 - Discount code for Amrita Apothecary <br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Edwardian Script ITC'; font-size: 26pt;">Welcome<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Colonna MT'; font-size: 20pt;">New Sun of 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">~~~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lnfbMM_yUCw/UOMWQZiZFOI/AAAAAAAADyc/91xVHzE9cSU/s1600/Altar+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lnfbMM_yUCw/UOMWQZiZFOI/AAAAAAAADyc/91xVHzE9cSU/s320/Altar+2013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The
song of each season<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">threads together the
notes of the next<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">-the winds to the seeds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">-the berries to the fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">-the flesh to the embryo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We sing in the sun!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">lighting our way again<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Step into step we forge
on<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">not so slow as to be lost<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">not so fast as to miss
the nectar and nuance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Just right so our
footprints are whole<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">and our way be remembered<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">by those who join us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">On the wings of samaras<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">we release our heartful directions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">into the elements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">....peace. joy. plenty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">....love. health.
resolution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">....clarity. belonging.
understanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">....safety. passion.
connection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We all wish on the same
wind<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">the same stars<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">the same moon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">and walk together in the
same forest<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">drink and swim in the
same water<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">climb the same mountain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">yet our expressions are a
spectacular<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">kaleidoscope<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">of diversity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">and symbiosis<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">and potential<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">waiting to paint the new
landscape<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">of the new year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">May your colors be bright
and true,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">May your needs be met,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">May your sadnesses be
soothed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">May your hope be indelible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">May
our collective gratitude<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">transform
invisible pains in our culture<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">and
plant them as healing flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">in
our gardens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Footlight MT Light', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">~Happy
New Year~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Edwardian Script ITC'; font-size: 22pt;">Beauty
Blessings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Edwardian Script ITC'; font-size: 22pt;">with
love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Edwardian Script ITC'; font-size: 22pt;">Ananda<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Colonna MT'; font-size: 16pt;">Plant Journeys<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Colonna MT'; font-size: 16pt;">Amrita
Apothecary<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Colonna MT"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> ~~~~</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Colonna MT"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>My gift to you</b>, to welcome in the new year with senses awake, body engaged, and heart connected to the earth - </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Colonna MT"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><u>Enjoy a 25% discount</u> for anything in my shop, just for the next 24 hours. </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Colonna MT'; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Colonna MT'; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Use code <b>BLISS2013 </b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Bitstream Charter, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.96666717529297px;">at</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Bitstream Charter, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.96666717529297px;"><a href="http://www.poppyswap.com/shop/amritaapothecary" target="_blank"><b>Amrita Apothecary </b></a></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
xoxo</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ryhob3k_EWs/UOMWlphpG1I/AAAAAAAADyk/1x9D-oxha3E/s1600/sages+pics+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ryhob3k_EWs/UOMWlphpG1I/AAAAAAAADyk/1x9D-oxha3E/s320/sages+pics+020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-15890601299417614992012-12-17T09:38:00.000-08:002012-12-17T09:38:59.733-08:00Conifer Tree Potions (Solstice Medicine - or How to use your Christmas Tree)<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Solstice Medicine <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Colonna MT"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">~ Conifer Tree Potions ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Solstice / Christmas trees can be timely medicine, and a
way to bring the magic of your tree to further purpose and honor. If your tree isn't sprayed or somehow compromised, you can easily make a cabinet full of
wonderful healing treasures from it, to give as gifts (ask your tree provider
for clipping scraps!) or as winter medicines. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FkT31FC7nwk/UM9M3A24k1I/AAAAAAAADv8/RYPsNJJQqbk/s1600/White+Fir+Elixir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FkT31FC7nwk/UM9M3A24k1I/AAAAAAAADv8/RYPsNJJQqbk/s320/White+Fir+Elixir.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Elixir</u> </b></div>
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Elixirs are simple and a medicine easy to savor and enjoy over
time. I spend the most part of elixir creating being with the plant; carefully gathering the
plant and preparing if for medicine; which might be taking leaves from stems, plucking tiny flowers, clipping needles, or carving bark from twigs. This, to me, is where the
culmination of magic and intention is created. By the time I place the charmed
plant material in the jar and soak it with spirits and honey, everything is
potent with goodness. Then it’s just a matter of letting the osmosis do
its part over the next 4-6 weeks before decanting. </div>
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Conifer needles are rewarding to craft with in the winter;
bringing crisp warmth and circulatory support for the lungs and body as a
whole. Conifers make exceptional expectorants and additions to cough syrups.</div>
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To make an elixir, fill a quart size jar full with fresh
pine, spruce, or fir needles and a few twigs. Feel free to add some resin drops
if you have collected those too. They are common to find on white pine cones –
you can pluck off the shingles with spots of resin and add them. Next, fill
your jar ¾ of the way up with your preferred alcohol, (drinkable – do not use
rubbing alcohol!). Fill the remainder of the jar with a good quality raw/local
honey. Add a tight fitting lid, and shake every so often. Be sure to label and
date it!! </div>
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To decant, simply pour through a muslin or cheesecloth lined
strainer into a clean glass bowl or pyrex, and pour into your favorite
apothecary bottles. </div>
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This will keep indefinitely if stored out of light and heat.
</div>
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If you have also made a ginger or mint preparation, they
make a very fine pair. </div>
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<b><u>Spice Mix/Rub</u><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Juniper, fir needles, pine needles, and various flavorful
shrubs that are less popular (like spice bush) make very lovely nuances to
cooking and pay homage to the local landscape. </div>
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First, you’ll want to let your needles dry. Place the whole
twigs in a paper bag or cardboard box for about a week. When the needles are
dry, they will effortlessly fall from the twigs. </div>
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Collect the needles, leaving behind ones that have yellowed.
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<u>Combine in a bowl: </u></div>
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2 parts:</div>
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Conifer needles<br />
Rosemary leaves<br />
Juniper berries<br />
Salt Crystals<br />
Peppercorns, cracked if you like</div>
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1 part:</div>
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Lavender flowers<br />
Sage leaves, crumbled<br />
Orange peel bits</div>
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Options for further refinement of purpose might be</div>
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– chili, garlic, and
paprika for a meat rub<br />
– allspice, coriander, and clove for a
corned beef or pickling mix<br />
– dried onion, dried mushrooms,
astragalus, and seaweed for a soup stock/ bone broth making blend. <br />
--play! </div>
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Mix it all together, and place in little baggies or spice
jars, with a label an idea for how to use it.</div>
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You can use a suribachi to refine the blend if you like, or
you can offer a gift of the spice blend <i>with
</i> a suribachi, and inspire the chef in
someone you love. </div>
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This spice blend is delicious as an infused vinegar – start some
now and it will be ready for your holiday feasting! It also makes a wonderful gravy or stuffing
flavor. Any way you might use <i>herbs de provence</i>, you can use your conifer spice
blend.<br />
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<b><u>Infused oil</u></b> </div>
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If you know me, I don’t have to tell you how much I love making tree oils and
tree balms. White fir being among my ultimate favorites, Yule time is a good
excuse to make a batch. </div>
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First, I let the twigs wilt for a day or so. Then, I pack a
jar with needles and twigs (same as I would with the above elixir instructions).
Then, cover the plant material with a good quality oil; olive, jojoba, or
coconut (warm to melt coconut oil). Add a lid, place inside a
paper or canvas bag, and put in a warm spot – near a radiator, wood stove,
boiler, or heating vent. <u>Be sure to not create a fire hazard</u>. Let infuse
for 1-4 weeks, strain and enjoy as an elegant culinary oil or a medicinal skin care oil. Whit
fir needles (<i>Abies concolor</i>) are my favorite so far, for their strong orangey
aroma and utter deliciousness. <br />
<br />
You can then use your oils to create salves, by melting in just enough beeswax to thicken it. You can also find my<b> <a href="http://www.poppyswap.com/detail.asp?id=5160" target="_blank">Tree Medicine Salve set in the shop</a> </b>right now (<u>but there are only a few</u>):<br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.poppyswap.com/detail.asp?id=5160" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QUtvfjts5tU/UM9UlWwdxhI/AAAAAAAADxg/iBF38mCpOYo/s320/Tree+Salve+Solstice+Collection2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Wild Forest Incense</u></b> </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6CnW2TquF9M/UM9P7DfonGI/AAAAAAAADwM/gMXw9oV4TDk/s1600/Wild+Insence,+Smudge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6CnW2TquF9M/UM9P7DfonGI/AAAAAAAADwM/gMXw9oV4TDk/s320/Wild+Insence,+Smudge.jpg" width="320" /></a>Loose incense is simple, beautiful, and rewarding. Blend your conifer needles
(and some small broken up twig pieces) with your favorite fragrant coal herbs.
Roses, White Sage, Sweetgrass, Pine resin tears, Cinnamon, Lavender, Rosemary, Frankincense,
Copal, Myrrh, and Artemisia are all beautiful choices. </div>
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Mix together your blend, emphasizing the notes you wish to
be stronger by using more of that herb. I generally try my blend a few times on
a smoldering coal and adjust of needed before I decide if it is to my standards. </div>
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Package however you like, with a little instruction note and
a roll of self-lighting charcoals and a ceramic incense dish. Wrap some matches and a smudge feather as
gifts to make it extra special, or make this for your own circle time.</div>
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If you're feeling adventurous, you can go for a more complex, Kyphi style incense. <a href="http://bearmedicineherbals.com/incense.html" target="_blank">Kiva Rose offers a helpful article on the process here. </a></div>
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And of course, you can always make a smudge wand:<br />
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Bundle up your twigs and wrap with natural string, hang and let dry in a ventilated area for about two weeks, out of direct sun or heat. </div>
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<b><u>Infused Butter/Ghee
</u></b> </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GLLDDUT9Rew/UM9T2R6ybnI/AAAAAAAADxQ/fgZztcOl8Tw/s1600/NOV+GHEE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GLLDDUT9Rew/UM9T2R6ybnI/AAAAAAAADxQ/fgZztcOl8Tw/s200/NOV+GHEE.jpg" width="200" /></a>Conifer needles make a delicious ghee. Simply warm the
ghee over low heat, and stir in your fresh (1/2 day wilted) needles. Cover,
leaving just a crack open at the side of the lid. Let infuse warm for about 8
hours. Strain and jar, letting cool to solid before capping. </div>
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You can do the same thing to flavor your local pig lard,
beef tallow, bear fat, or bacon fat for extra special cooking adventures. This
makes an awesome gift for the hunter, primitive skills folk, or outdoorsman in
your life.<br />
<br />
If you have good
clean deer tallow, it makes an incredibly beautiful natural salve when herbally
infused.<br />
<br />
For butter, chop fresh needles and sage leaves, stir into warmed butter, and when cool, roll into logs using parchment paper. You can also make decorative butter pats using candy molds. Refrigerate these herbal butters, and be sure your needles are not too bitter and not too hard to chew. </div>
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<b><u>Healing Needle Honey<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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To make a tree needle honey, simply fill your quart sized
jar half way full with fresh needles. *taste* your needles to get a feel for
the strength and bitterness! Fill your jar with good honey, and <b><u>each day invert the jar</u></b> so the
honey completely saturates the needles. If this step is missed, your honey
could either mold or ferment. If done properly, your infused honey will last
you all year long (or longer) whether you choose to strain it or not.
Personally I rarely strain my honeys. I like the crystalline herb leaves and
petals, and add them to my tea as well. When I've gotten all the honey I can, I
use the rest to brew a nice strong pot of tea or syrup, or I freeze it to use
over time. </div>
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Tree needle honey is beautiful for everyday use, but
especially helpful for the lungs when expectoration and loosening of congestion
is needed. It is mildly stimulating to the mucosa and would be less desirable
for an extremely dry condition. In that case, I would first use demulcents, and
then a small amount of the tree needle honey. </div>
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<b><u>Conifer Shrub <o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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A shrub or oxymel is a mixture of vinegar and honey that is
infused with herbs. It’s a traditional preparation (common in the Appalachia
region). It makes a great gift and a very nice remedy for coughs, colds, and
the flu. It’s awesome in salad dressing and sparkly beverages! Shrubs are a
world of herbal fun and extremely easy to make. </div>
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Fill your quart or half gallon sized jar 1/3 of the way with
plant material, dried or fresh. </div>
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For example: <br />
1 part Tree needles<br />
1 Part Orange peel<br />
1 Part Elderberries</div>
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Cover the herbs well with good honey. You want to stay
around the 1/3 amount of your total … unless you like your oxymel really sweet. </div>
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<br />
Fill the rest of the way with apple cider vinegar, or other favorite naturally
fermented vinegar (avoid distilled vinegars like white vinegar.) Cover and
infuse for 5-20 days. Strain if you wish. <a href="http://plantjourneys.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-quickie-easy-oxymel-recipe.html" target="_blank">We like to make individual bottlesfor gifts. </a></div>
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If you have homemade vinegar, or home harvested honey, that’s really special! <br />
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<b><u>Nourishing Needle
Vinegar<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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Vinegar is a deeply nutritious preparation used for food and
medicine. Vinegar withdraws all of the minerals from our plant friends and is
excellent for our bone health, digestive health, and circulation. Tree needle
vinegar is unique and wildly flavorful! </div>
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First, make sure you have tasted your needles. Add less if
they are very bitter, more if they are less bitter.<br />
Fill your jar 1/8 to 1/4 way full with needles, fresh. Fill to the top with good
vinegar, and let infuse 3-6 weeks. <u>Use a plastic lid,</u> or on with a
rubber gasket, as metal will rust. </div>
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Conifer needle vinegar can also be packed with items you
wish to brine …. Hard boiled eggs, Olives, Carrots, Burdock roots, Turnips, or
Beets – just add them to the jar before you pour the vinegar. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sf73cds5yiU/UM9L8A57yEI/AAAAAAAADvs/LRjXVhNZtsY/s1600/Juniper+Ridge+w+Darcey+11-21-11+101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sf73cds5yiU/UM9L8A57yEI/AAAAAAAADvs/LRjXVhNZtsY/s320/Juniper+Ridge+w+Darcey+11-21-11+101.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Juniper & Pine Needle Gin<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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Juniper – Pine gin, with a pinch of mugwort and lavender. Mmmmm
a very classy gift indeed. How about an herbal smoking blend and a corn cob pipe
with that? How about a fancy flask or a witchy spirits glass? <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TtiZvMlaNvU/UM9Mntnc3jI/AAAAAAAADv0/-aXmPpN5tCk/s1600/Glencairn_Whisky_Glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TtiZvMlaNvU/UM9Mntnc3jI/AAAAAAAADv0/-aXmPpN5tCk/s200/Glencairn_Whisky_Glass.jpg" width="116" /></a></div>
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<u>To Make: </u></div>
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Fill your jar (yep, your 1 quart jar again ;) <br />
- 2/3 cup Juniper berries<br />
- 2/3 cup fresh conifer needles<br />
- 1 tablespoon allspice berries<br />
- pinch of grated nutmeg, pepper, or cardamom if desired.<br />
- pinch of mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris, or Artemisia absinthium)<br />
-Cover with your favorite Gin or Scotch<br />
-Lid and label<br />
-Keep out of reach of children and away from fire hazard areas! </div>
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Let extract for at least a week. If you’re in a time crunch,
make in individual bottles so you can leave the herbs in, simply label it with
a “ready by” date for the recipient. Chances are it will be potent even after a
few days. </div>
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<b><u>Potpourri without
Chemicals<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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Mix in a bowl:<br />
Conifer needles (the majority quantity)<br />
Rose petals<br />
Sage leaves<br />
Lavender flowers<br />
Bay leaves, Sweet gale, or Eaucalyptus leaves.<br />
Bark pieces, small … oak, paper birch, or shagbark hickory, if you like to
gather these. <br />
Acorn caps, dry.<br />
Moss – Spanish moss is often available at craft stores, or you can use locally
gathered beard moss or common stringy mosses (please be careful not to harvest
anything at risk)</div>
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Drip into your mix, essential oils: <br />
20 - 40 drops pine needle and/or Juniper berry<br />
20 - 40 drops Cedar wood<br />
10 - 20 drops Oakmoss absolute (highly viscous, be aware)<br />
20 – 40 Orange essential oil if desired. </div>
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<br />
Mix with a metal or glass spoon, and place in decorate bowls, glasses, or
sachets wherever you like. Play with the amount of essential oils - this is a forgiving recipe and you have all
the room in the world to use less or more, and other oils you might wish to
try. </div>
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If you have extra essential oils you want to use, consider
saturating some of the moss with it, and placing it in a tight container with a
stack of stationery to create beautiful scented paper, and keep until Valentine
’s Day or the moment you’re moved to write a love letter. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div>
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<b><u>Bath Bags<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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Fill a muslin bag with equal parts conifer needles, roses,
and peppermint. Add to your bath as it fills for a gentle healing tub for kids
and adults alike. For a bedtime blend, use lavender, chamomile, hops, or
jasmine in place of the mint. Oatmeal is a very nice addition as well. </div>
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Tea Blends - Try my Black Forest Chai Recipe From my recent archives: </div>
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<b>BLACK FOREST CHAI</b></div>
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<i>An intense herbal brew for your days hiding in the Cave.</i></div>
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Into a pot on the stove or wood stove, add 2 to 3 quarts filtered or well water. </div>
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<u>Add: </u></div>
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~ 1, One inch sized root of Osha, dried.</div>
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~ One tablespoon Smoked black tea, such as Lapsang Souchong, or a roasted Mate</div>
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~ 1 tablespoon Licorice root</div>
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~ 1 tablespoon Cardamom seeds</div>
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~ 1-2 tablespoons Ginger, fresh minced</div>
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~ 1-2 Springs freshly gathered conifer twigs with needles (spruce, fir, or pine)</div>
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~ 1 handful fresh Black Birch twigs cut into 1 inch bits</div>
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~ 5-10 Juniper berries</div>
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~ One inch piece dried mushroom (chaga, reishi, or shitake) if desired</div>
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~ grated Nutmeg to taste</div>
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~ Black Peppercorns as desired</div>
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~ 1 Handful of your favorite nuts; walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts work well)</div>
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<u>Directions:</u> Gently simmer all ingredients for 30-45 minutes (longer will make it stronger). When ready, ladle out cupfuls as you desire, into your favorite mug. Add cream and honey and herbal elixirs as desired. Enjoy.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y7QnLKu_Wao/UJ_ITtmRP-I/AAAAAAAADm8/0GgbRj7e7HI/s1600/NOV+Mug+o+Chai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y7QnLKu_Wao/UJ_ITtmRP-I/AAAAAAAADm8/0GgbRj7e7HI/s200/NOV+Mug+o+Chai.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Ornaments</u></b><br />
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Using candy molds, sprinkle bits of needles and petals into each one, and pour over with melted beeswax. When partially cooled but still soft, use a toothpick to poke holes for string.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uOUPiNQu5PA/UM9J-IlxS5I/AAAAAAAADvU/kq7nuePq168/s1600/Ornaments+herbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uOUPiNQu5PA/UM9J-IlxS5I/AAAAAAAADvU/kq7nuePq168/s320/Ornaments+herbs.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q8PrLlTA1QY/UM9KO7KgEuI/AAAAAAAADvc/-0F6KHAtQh4/s1600/9bf5e93a47c411e28ed022000a1fbc58_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q8PrLlTA1QY/UM9KO7KgEuI/AAAAAAAADvc/-0F6KHAtQh4/s320/9bf5e93a47c411e28ed022000a1fbc58_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Syrup</u></b><br />
<br />
If you're in the mood to make a pine syrup, you can reference my previous article <a href="http://plantjourneys.blogspot.com/2011/11/herbal-simple-syrups-easy-delicious.html" target="_blank">on the process HERE</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h5ogyhl1sCg/UM9K1qCLR5I/AAAAAAAADvk/FMbdVgGraeg/s1600/Pine+Syrup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h5ogyhl1sCg/UM9K1qCLR5I/AAAAAAAADvk/FMbdVgGraeg/s320/Pine+Syrup.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Share with us *your* favorite way to make goodies from your Yule tree! Leave a comment below, or come play on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PlantJourneys?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook</a><br />
<br />
And remember to check out the <a href="http://www.poppyswap.com/shop/amritaapothecary)" target="_blank">Apothecary</a> before it's too late to order - right now it's stocked with limited edition botanical perfumes, aromatherapy/elixir support, dreaming goddess night cream, and tree medicine balms.....<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.poppyswap.com/detail.asp?id=5115" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRX_w-GVMXHPwryD6FQbsWldikLtxk02goDkl6H7wuKM9Y8tQFhXnIObNb2vEnEw-Y6lYdYiZbtyMrC3nV6u1XD9yIrAzjZ46EeIhpBG3r3CBx1qiZgu0SjlaMqrRSYuUtF6ouUgGElzE/s320/NymphPicBest.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.poppyswap.com/detail.asp?id=5115" target="_blank">~ Nymphaea ~ Honey Lotus Botanical Perfume Solid ~ Lt'd Ed. 2012 ~</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Blessings to you on this paradox holiday.....<br />
<br />
<i>Love,<br />Ananda</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-15755590403825744772012-12-04T21:33:00.000-08:002012-12-05T08:14:05.552-08:00NYMPHAEA ~ New Perfume Solid from Amrita Apothecary<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDazWDc8Me7Zc2TxZ7v7YO4N76PctChXyUX-Z3lQ9znSMqkJMgfqSFIcHWmW_ibIyN15L8EX5Uaxusf7ZtSi5nciBrZxc7RfoGUBuQg7vEUvaePeoRCn7rANPfbiUgmt_HWuEkRaf1khU/s1600/Nymphaea_Lotus_-_Lotus_Flower_(1878)_-_TIMEA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDazWDc8Me7Zc2TxZ7v7YO4N76PctChXyUX-Z3lQ9znSMqkJMgfqSFIcHWmW_ibIyN15L8EX5Uaxusf7ZtSi5nciBrZxc7RfoGUBuQg7vEUvaePeoRCn7rANPfbiUgmt_HWuEkRaf1khU/s320/Nymphaea_Lotus_-_Lotus_Flower_(1878)_-_TIMEA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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HONEY LOTUS PERFUME SOLID</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Castellar","serif";">~ Nymphaea ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Castellar","serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A Lingering Aromatic for Biophilic Goddesses and
Dancing Skin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Andalus; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">For Women who wander
somewhere between the Water Nymphs, Circus Silks, Garden Witches, Harps, Operas,
Faery Lore, and Plant Addiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Andalus; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">~~~~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Opening: <o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Clementine, Mandarin, Coriander, Roman Chamomile<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Heart: <o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Beeswax, Jasmine Grandiflorum, Orange Blossom, White Lotus<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Base Notes: <o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Cocoa, Peru Balsam, Himalayan Cedar, Jasmine Sambac.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRX_w-GVMXHPwryD6FQbsWldikLtxk02goDkl6H7wuKM9Y8tQFhXnIObNb2vEnEw-Y6lYdYiZbtyMrC3nV6u1XD9yIrAzjZ46EeIhpBG3r3CBx1qiZgu0SjlaMqrRSYuUtF6ouUgGElzE/s1600/NymphPicBest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRX_w-GVMXHPwryD6FQbsWldikLtxk02goDkl6H7wuKM9Y8tQFhXnIObNb2vEnEw-Y6lYdYiZbtyMrC3nV6u1XD9yIrAzjZ46EeIhpBG3r3CBx1qiZgu0SjlaMqrRSYuUtF6ouUgGElzE/s320/NymphPicBest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Nymphaea is a decidedly feminine botanical
perfume balm, carefully handcrafted and poured into a hand carved rosewood box.
Concretes, attars, absolutes and oils are blended perfectly to illuminate the
sweetness and round floral exaltation of Jasmine and Neroli, with none of the
frequently unpleasant and aromatic conflicts of these two commanding flower queens.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Soft and gentle yet with beautiful holding power,
Nymphaea lingers like a sensory dream ~ recalling visions of water lily
encounters, romantic interludes under moonlit Jasmine vines, divinely joyful
moments of belonging, and gracefully entwines the worlds of flower erotica and
human devotion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">While each note plays an integral role in the
perfume composition, they are there to hold, melt, highlight, and enrich the
relationship of Jasmine and Neroli, the principal notes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MnoGu-g9h2F1qGeulb2dmeMW3rfwv4AoYw7-y2McENddt6STusyS9zWAh88n98Q9WH6n5PXTFxWoyw0L3HLE7KjnHPI_BpaLX18E28Rw-hjP56Q0aceOvMKjozWKCtzZma0Cgw1Eix4/s1600/Nymphaea+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MnoGu-g9h2F1qGeulb2dmeMW3rfwv4AoYw7-y2McENddt6STusyS9zWAh88n98Q9WH6n5PXTFxWoyw0L3HLE7KjnHPI_BpaLX18E28Rw-hjP56Q0aceOvMKjozWKCtzZma0Cgw1Eix4/s320/Nymphaea+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout; position: relative; z-index: -1;"><span style="height: 286px; left: 0px; left: 7px; position: absolute; top: -22px; width: 182px;"><img alt="Nymphaea_Nelumno_-_Lotus_Flower_-_with_Fruit_(1878)_-_TIMEA.jpg" height="286" src="file:///C:/Users/Ananda/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_0" width="182" /></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Things to do while wearing Nymphaea….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Take a ballet class<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dream<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Wander in the fog<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Kiss<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Look closely at wild moss<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Sip hot Cocoa<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Write a love letter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Crochet with silk & wool<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Make Vanilla extract<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Go Ice Skating<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Listen to Loreena McKennet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Play Chess<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Read Jitterbug Perfume<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Plant Narcissus<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Paint with pastels<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Schedule a massage<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Make herbal honeys<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">~~~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Blends well with: Chandra, Mead, Consort, A Vacation.</span><span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">~~~~~~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Colonna MT"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">An Aromatic Treasure </span><span style="font-family: "Edwardian Script ITC"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">by</span><span style="font-family: "Colonna MT"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Amrita Apothecary<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />2012</span><span style="font-family: "Castellar","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Footlight MT Light","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Available in <a href="http://www.poppyswap.com/detail.asp?id=5115" target="_blank">the Shop</a></span></div>
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~~</div>
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Love,</div>
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<i>Ananda</i></div>
<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-26649066736374349232012-12-03T16:24:00.002-08:002012-12-03T16:24:28.196-08:00I Hate Christmas. That's My Truth.<div style="text-align: center;">
December 3, 2012</div>
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Dear Diary,</div>
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I hate Christmas.</div>
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I hate the lights, the fake cinnamon smells they blast at the store entrances, I hate the pressure, I hate the deadlines. </div>
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I hate the feeling of a monumental annual failure. I hate the sugar overload, the ugly colored cookies, and the snow.</div>
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I especially hate the songs. Every last tinny jingle.</div>
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That's my truth. </div>
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This is not an inspiring post,</div>
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or a post that suggests you should feel any other way than you do.</div>
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It's a post that is about truth.</div>
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Unedited, radical, shameless truth.</div>
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I hate Christmas.</div>
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And it's ok if you do, too. Or not.</div>
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This year, while I know I must and will go along and try to make some things go well for my family and I, I wish for myself a place of solace on Solstice. </div>
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I ask for a bonfire, ceremony, special people, hot tea with strong herbs, and a moment of magickal stillness in the newborn sunrays.</div>
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I wish for a moment of intimacy with nature. A moment to say thank you. A moment to touch the moss and smell the bark. To put acorns in my pocket.</div>
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I wish for a chance to model truth and simple spiritual connection for my children.</div>
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My hope for you is that you dare to ask for what you really want.</div>
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Love,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ananda</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pNh75zfZTfE/UL1BlKHw-AI/AAAAAAAADsM/MV32Jox2mkw/s1600/Birch+poly3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pNh75zfZTfE/UL1BlKHw-AI/AAAAAAAADsM/MV32Jox2mkw/s320/Birch+poly3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-1406711743381614732012-11-25T13:29:00.000-08:002012-11-25T13:29:07.485-08:00Bah-Humbug! (Transformational Tools for your Holidays!) Journal activities, Herbs, Foods, and Smells to Help You<br />
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This past week my girlfriend and I had an enlightening
conversation about Thanksgiving. Each of us where sharing what challenges us
the most; what we were afraid of, what made us feel rotten, and what kind of
behavior by others ruins our day. </div>
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I found us saying things like “I wish I had more help with
the planning and preparation of the food so I was less resentful”, “I don’t
want to have to answer to anybody about my personal life if I’m not ready, but
I don’t want them to feel pushed away, either”, “I’m worried about political
differences coming up” and “I feel exhausted at the end, not filled up and all
happy like we’re told we should feel. I want to actually feel nourished and
full of gratitude, not like: ‘thank God that’s over!’”</div>
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After we vented a bit, we started asking some questions
instead, and low and behold we started coming up with miraculous ways to
approach the coming holidays with a lot more self-awareness and intention, and
less attachment to how others decide to use the day. <br /></div>
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This is an incredibly self-protective and freeing
experience! And although I've personally done a *lot* of inner work around
dealing with winter and the holidays, but this conversation was especially
helpful and insightful.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So, in light of the fast-approaching Yule tide, I come here
today to offer a similar journey for you, as well as herbal and aroma allies.
For my apothecary members I always approach things holistically this way
(including inquiry based journaling/mindset methods, sensory engagement, and
herbal nourishment) so that the healing happens from multiple facets and is
integrated more completely. I invite you to tackle things with this in mind as
well.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The more my friend and I talked about <i>what we wanted</i> and complained less about what we didn’t want, the
more clearly we were able to see the potential to enjoy our holiday more, even
within the given circumstances.</div>
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<br /></div>
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However, it is good to get all the complaints on the table,
as they can help us navigate. So….lay it all out, my friend, with reckless
honesty:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bD98kUrvRQY/ULKKNMT2j9I/AAAAAAAADps/WVzqeQZsZjM/s1600/Recipes,+old+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bD98kUrvRQY/ULKKNMT2j9I/AAAAAAAADps/WVzqeQZsZjM/s200/Recipes,+old+012.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<u>What are my biggest, most anxiety producing complaints
about the holiday? <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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1.</div>
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<br /></div>
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2.</div>
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<br /></div>
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3.</div>
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4.</div>
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5.</div>
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{Awesome, good job <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>}
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<br /></div>
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<u>Next, Go slowly <i>through
each </i>of your above frustrations and ask these questions:<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Is this an experience I’m capable of changing? <br /><br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Does the change need to happen externally,
involving others?<br /><br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Is there a change in me, internally, that would
help? What is that? Compassion, forgiveness, or a shift in expectations? </div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Do I contribute to this issue in any way?<br /><br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->What personal boundaries can I set for myself
around this issue? (e.g.; Getting more rest? Not answering questions I don’t
feel comfortable with? Not engaging in feeling victimized or falling prey to
passive aggressive behavior?<br /><br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->6.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->In what ways can I ask for help & support
from my loved ones in regards to this issue?<br /> </div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->7.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->How can I better prepare for this potential
experience, manage it if it occurs, or help prevent it?<br /><br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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{Woot! Feels good so far, yes? Are you surprised by anything
so far?}<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<u>Next, we need to shift the focus to what we <i>do desire. <o:p></o:p></i></u></div>
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<u><i><br /></i></u></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ9AbpBvN_g/ULKKmCv1pKI/AAAAAAAADp0/YsNAyHiT9f4/s1600/Red+Tent+FEB2012,+Cat+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ9AbpBvN_g/ULKKmCv1pKI/AAAAAAAADp0/YsNAyHiT9f4/s200/Red+Tent+FEB2012,+Cat+047.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->What would each of these experiences look and
feel like to you, if they were expressed in the positive? <br />
<i>For example, if your #1 fear was
listening to your children fight, it might look like two siblings enjoying each
other’s company.</i><br />
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<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->What <i>do I
want </i>out of a holy-day? How do I want to feel before, during, and after? <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><i>3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal;"> </span></i><!--[endif]-->What
are some ways my ideals can be fed and supported??<br />
<br />
<i>Brainstorm specific ideas around this –
the more specific you are the more likely it is to happen, whether because you
take action, or something becomes more energetically possible through the magic
of your intentions. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Super! We’re well on our way to a transformed holiday
experience. In addition to the above specific
problem-solving inquiries, we can arm ourselves with some general ideas as
well. These are three of my favorite pattern interrupters that I use the most
often.<br /><br /></div>
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<i>~In this moment, I can
choose peace. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>~In this moment, what
can I do differently?<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>~Even though I feel _____
(angry, hurt, etc) I can choose to shift things by acting out of love.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By claiming more ownership over the emotional choices,
vocabulary we use, and the physical activity choices we have, and by creating a
plethora of options for ourselves, we can shift out of feeling victimized and
begin to foster a sense of self-protection, groundedness, and hope that the
coming days, meant to be most sacred, generous, and fulfilling, actually can be
just that. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<u><b>The nourishing feast: </b></u></div>
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<u><b><br /></b></u></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XTf763kING0/ULKJ1Y0iOjI/AAAAAAAADpk/tw5HSIV_BGM/s1600/Thanksgiving+Feast+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XTf763kING0/ULKJ1Y0iOjI/AAAAAAAADpk/tw5HSIV_BGM/s320/Thanksgiving+Feast+2012.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<u><b><br /></b><br /><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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Oh the food! Yummy, yummy food, and lots of it! Meant to be
a gleeful celebration of bounty, of course, this can instead be the source of
much misery for many, whether it is days in the kitchen laboring over the
perfect meringue, a tender bird, or peeling endless potatoes – worrying about
eating too much and gaining weight, fearing the dish washing task, or simply
feeling like crap afterwards.<br /><br /></div>
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Whatever the food brings up for you, we can apply a few
small tweaks for aid.<br /><br /></div>
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--Ditch the MSG. This means no “Mr.Gravy” thickener, and no
poor quality brand dressings or seasoning packets. MSG can cause severe
inflammation, instigate over-eating, and provide mega-headaches. They are just
no good party poopers. (<i>Monosodium
Glutamate</i>) is known for its trouble making and is better off left out of
the meal.<br /><br /></div>
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--Change from soda. UGH! There are so many excellent sparkly
options nowadays. Corn syrup and artificial flavor/color is a holiday’s bad
news. Don’t go there. Especially if you have volatile parent/kid pairs in the
family, or any diabetics. This might feel like an epic change for some – but remember
that we can focus on what we are <i>adding </i>instead
of subtracting to help us all adapt and enjoy.<br /><br /></div>
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--ADD Lots of digestive aids! At least an hour before the
main meal, take a little something each ten or twenty minutes to stoke your
digestive fire. There are many options you have no excuse to avoid this
essential action.<br /> <br /><br />
Ginger root, Lemon Juice, Fennel Seeds, Apple Cider Vinegar, black pepper &
cinnamon chai, Turmeric root, bitters such as Dandelion root tincture, Artemisia
tincture, and Goldenrod tincture can all help ready the digestion. Fermented
foods as an appetizer and condiment are one of my very favorite (and delicious)
ways to support digestion. Homemade sauerkraut, kimchi, or pickled vegetables
are a fantastic way to support those in your family who may not be so
interested in your herbal concoctions.<br /><br /><br /><i> <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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--Have honey available. For those who might decide to use
honey instead of sugar in their coffee or tea. Yay! (Then dessert will be more
relaxed)<br /><br /></div>
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--Ask for help!!!! Call up your inner queen and do some delegating.
People who stand around waiting to do something, actually do want to help. But
if they are in someone else’s kitchen, they would do well with some helpful
directions. Guys who retreat to the football game are, more often than not, willing
to help if you’re willing to ask.<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tsVKRjZI_XI/ULKK4vfrKDI/AAAAAAAADp8/BvlUtGYJTJE/s1600/Ginger+berry+Lemon+Oxymel+077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tsVKRjZI_XI/ULKK4vfrKDI/AAAAAAAADp8/BvlUtGYJTJE/s320/Ginger+berry+Lemon+Oxymel+077.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<u><b>And, last but not least, Aroma-allies.</b><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hDTWLT9RAgo/ULKI13AG2zI/AAAAAAAADpc/aldC_P-Is78/s1600/Fortress+Samples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hDTWLT9RAgo/ULKI13AG2zI/AAAAAAAADpc/aldC_P-Is78/s320/Fortress+Samples.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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If you’re hosting, and you usually burn Yankee or similarly
scented candles consider not. These candles can contribute to migraines,
nausea, mood swings, and mysterious maladies galore. They are packed with
dangerous fragrance chemicals like z-estrogens that can wreak havoc.<br /><br /></div>
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Natural aromas in the house are inviting … cider, stuffing,
garlic … these are the smells that help us feel welcome, stimulate salivation,
and cultivate memories (without side effects). If you do wish for candles, try
ones with natural essential oils of orange or cinnamon for a gentler ambiance. You can also choose unscented candles and use an aromatherapy diffuser with the following essential oils.<br /><br /></div>
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If you keep a cupboard of essential oils, you can make
yourself a helpful blend. One of my favorite
for Yule time is Roman Chamomile. Wildly herbaceous & floral/fruity, this
almost apple-like chamomile oil is incredibly uplifting and anti-depressant.
Roman Chamomile is excellent for those who tend to feel brooding, argue beyond
the point of reason, and get ‘hot headed’ or stubborn. It is also somewhat
expensive – but also strong. Diluted in carrier oil at about 2-4 drops of
essential oil to 1/3 ounce carrier oil, you can apply it or smell it as
frequently as you like.<br /><br /></div>
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If you prefer something more grounded and rooty, you might
find Vetiver essential oil to be helpful. It is excellent for those who abhor
traveling, tend to feel nervous or insecure, or feel as though they need
thicker skin. It is one of the strongest essential oils and will be plenty
effective at a dilution of 1 drop in 1/3 ounce of carrier oil.<br /><br /></div>
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You might enjoy a trip to your local natural food store to
smell an array of essential oils and determine which one makes you feel most
relaxed and happy.<br /><br /></div>
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~~~<br /><br /></div>
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However you choose to support yourself this holy-day season,
may it be nourishing, joyful, and bring you closer to the ones you love. <br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Blissful Blessings,</div>
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Ananda</div>
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<br /></div>
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~~~~~~~~~~</div>
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~~~~~~~~</div>
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~~~~~</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
~~</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
NEW</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
in the Apothecary (and more to come in the next week, stay tuned!!!)</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>FORTRESS</b></div>
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~Resins & Roses~</div>
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Botanical Perfume</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
click here:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.poppyswap.com/detail.asp?id=5008&n=FORTRESS--Resins--Roses-Botanical-Perfume-Oil" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bp5PX-kfHJ8/ULKIlfKazzI/AAAAAAAADpU/7BIn2I03ffA/s400/Fortress+in+pouch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-5581355110100116802012-11-21T09:53:00.000-08:002012-11-21T09:53:09.040-08:00Pomegranate Elixir Recipe (Homemade Shirley-Temple for Grown-ups!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vVUANan8Gl8/UK0PxTcE5MI/AAAAAAAADoc/MQzgWk-N4os/s1600/pome8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vVUANan8Gl8/UK0PxTcE5MI/AAAAAAAADoc/MQzgWk-N4os/s320/pome8.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Pomegranates are so sexy.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dOOTBtFCM3E/UK0PwkS9dfI/AAAAAAAADoU/cXmLyVGu568/s1600/pome7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dOOTBtFCM3E/UK0PwkS9dfI/AAAAAAAADoU/cXmLyVGu568/s320/pome7.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Totally irresistible</div>
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-je0Y_NDBrPA/UK0PvjB5smI/AAAAAAAADoM/4bXUmzBp0j4/s1600/pome6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-je0Y_NDBrPA/UK0PvjB5smI/AAAAAAAADoM/4bXUmzBp0j4/s320/pome6.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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and incredibly delicious!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7NVm1aZCJrM/UK0PuB9cKjI/AAAAAAAADn8/wjNhBjrqG10/s1600/pome+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7NVm1aZCJrM/UK0PuB9cKjI/AAAAAAAADn8/wjNhBjrqG10/s320/pome+4.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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And of you've got a couple extra, you can make a DeLuscious, frothy pomegranate beverage.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
--Seeds of 2 pomegranates (organic if possible)</div>
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--put the seeds into a mason jar</div>
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--fill up to 3/4 of the height of the seeds with brandy or your favorite sipping liquor</div>
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--fill the rest of the space to meet the top of the seeds with local raw honey</div>
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--pour it all into a food processor</div>
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--add other twists if you like: lime juice, vanilla extract, or nutmeg sprinkles</div>
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<br /></div>
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{My Lady's Slipper Ring Members are receiving a Pomegranate Bitters special blend with wildcrafted herbs added <3 p="p"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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Sift through a strainer to remove the seeds, pour over ice (or CAKE) and enjoy.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SJE-l2yCirg/UK0PuxQ-S7I/AAAAAAAADoE/1i-wZIqGh6E/s1600/pome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SJE-l2yCirg/UK0PuxQ-S7I/AAAAAAAADoE/1i-wZIqGh6E/s320/pome.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Happy Wild Gratitude Day!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Love,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ananda</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~~~~~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
PS - New Artisan Aromatics and Sacred Herbals are up in the shop!! Support Mamas and Artists and Herbalists!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.poppyswap.com/shop/amritaapothecary" target="_blank">AMRITA APOTHECARY</a></div>
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Pleasure Medicine </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</3></div>
Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-20583601992974226562012-11-07T09:57:00.000-08:002012-11-11T08:01:48.607-08:00Black Forest Chai Recipe, Cave Poetry, and Important Apothecary Changes (Action Required)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~~~</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y7QnLKu_Wao/UJ_ITtmRP-I/AAAAAAAADm8/0GgbRj7e7HI/s1600/NOV+Mug+o+Chai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y7QnLKu_Wao/UJ_ITtmRP-I/AAAAAAAADm8/0GgbRj7e7HI/s320/NOV+Mug+o+Chai.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b><i>~~~~~~</i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b><i>Cave Poetry</i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Razor sharp is the air this morning. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Indicative of a true winter's day, the sky is solemn and brooding. </div>
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<br /></div>
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All warmth is withheld, and joy must be sought created, or remembered. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I take solace in welcoming the cave time. </div>
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<br /></div>
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In the darkness is fertile possibility.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the silence comes the ancestral answers.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the smell of the heady, dank earth,</div>
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<br /></div>
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we are granted the chance to take back our body.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UbfjCUKt6eY/UJqFQO9lmBI/AAAAAAAADlE/sL2YEcOwmdQ/s1600/NOV+Water+Forest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UbfjCUKt6eY/UJqFQO9lmBI/AAAAAAAADlE/sL2YEcOwmdQ/s320/NOV+Water+Forest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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In our cave time we adorn!</div>
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<br /></div>
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We draw red ochre on the walls</div>
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<br /></div>
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of our igneous hideouts</div>
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<br /></div>
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We butter our lips with roses and fat.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Smoke curls through time</div>
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<br /></div>
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Scenting our blankets and cloaks.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZQRw3QCOCoE/UJqFF9ucuTI/AAAAAAAADjs/RKWUhMGXU84/s1600/Cocoa+Rose+Lipe+Butter+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZQRw3QCOCoE/UJqFF9ucuTI/AAAAAAAADjs/RKWUhMGXU84/s320/Cocoa+Rose+Lipe+Butter+closeup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Libations in blood colored liquids are poured</div>
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<br /></div>
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Invoking dreams and visions.</div>
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fpVxAit8y2c/UJqFGluHL8I/AAAAAAAADj0/ben5_B0zFmA/s1600/NOV+Black+Forest+Elixir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fpVxAit8y2c/UJqFGluHL8I/AAAAAAAADj0/ben5_B0zFmA/s320/NOV+Black+Forest+Elixir.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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The light comes to us from within our forest bodies, </div>
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<br /></div>
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our bellies of love and water,</div>
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<br /></div>
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our breasts of milk and sweetness,</div>
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<br /></div>
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our minds of flowers and kaleidoscope minerals.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PB6dgwWLOVo/UJqFHUyk37I/AAAAAAAADj4/tSRTjh6R-Yk/s1600/NOV+Forest+Light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PB6dgwWLOVo/UJqFHUyk37I/AAAAAAAADj4/tSRTjh6R-Yk/s320/NOV+Forest+Light.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Goddesses visit us in our cavern.</div>
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They give us gifts of dances and beauty and order.</div>
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They command from us our greatness, our fearless femininity.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TsP-SPFID14/UJqFIUt8g3I/AAAAAAAADkA/k4CWyS3Qp9w/s1600/NOV+Freya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TsP-SPFID14/UJqFIUt8g3I/AAAAAAAADkA/k4CWyS3Qp9w/s320/NOV+Freya.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As the world outside our cave</div>
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turns to ice</div>
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and incubates the seeds</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-whXsmYrTAn0/UJqFJNSIsiI/AAAAAAAADkM/d3Ur88i1wAc/s1600/NOV+Frosted+Farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-whXsmYrTAn0/UJqFJNSIsiI/AAAAAAAADkM/d3Ur88i1wAc/s320/NOV+Frosted+Farm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We gestate our creative forces</div>
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and conjure powerful destinations</div>
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We render ghee from butter,</div>
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we render love from pain</div>
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we render forgiveness from anger</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3OWRwrWoLVs/UJqFKqpp-2I/AAAAAAAADkU/AjBtlN9-54s/s1600/NOV+GHEE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3OWRwrWoLVs/UJqFKqpp-2I/AAAAAAAADkU/AjBtlN9-54s/s320/NOV+GHEE.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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and we turn our inner blossoms</div>
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into seeds with wings</div>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
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~~~</div>
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~</div>
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Dearest Reader</div>
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Thank you for coming along these plant journeys. I know that even though you're here, reading something I have typed, this is really *your* journey. Your way of reconnecting to the earth beneath your feet, to the trees in your own forest, and to the senses tingling and talking throughout your body. </div>
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I'm incredibly grateful to be somehow a part of that for you. </div>
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I give gratitude for you and your divine nature. </div>
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There are a few changes around here in an effort to serve you better, if you are a reader, patron, or ally, please be sure to read this thoroughly. </div>
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As you may know it has been an extraordinary year for me.</div>
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I'm entering my second year of offering my Pleasure Medicine Apothecary Membership/Home study course (the Lady's Slipper Ring) and I have grown and learned <i>a lot</i> from the journey. </div>
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I have made an impressive collection of herbals through the process, which I am very proud of. Below is my Botanical Aromatherapy Perfume Archive for the year (Oct 2011 - Oct 2012) It now rests on my abundance/gratitude altar. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n7QvpG4ptrA/UJqFMxjXDOI/AAAAAAAADks/FghkiW44W0c/s1600/NOV+Perfume+archive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n7QvpG4ptrA/UJqFMxjXDOI/AAAAAAAADks/FghkiW44W0c/s320/NOV+Perfume+archive.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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What I've noticed, is that there are two groups that I serve, and while there is quite a bit of overlap, there is also some divide. </div>
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Some of you come for this:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VLL711RRezU/UJqFO924JqI/AAAAAAAADk0/qriDxpnt6y4/s1600/NOV+Spruce+basket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VLL711RRezU/UJqFO924JqI/AAAAAAAADk0/qriDxpnt6y4/s320/NOV+Spruce+basket.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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and some of you come for this: </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o_kXmbrVjpI/UJqFPcpnw7I/AAAAAAAADk8/h_3XmsBfUWw/s1600/NOV+Vasalisa+small+tins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o_kXmbrVjpI/UJqFPcpnw7I/AAAAAAAADk8/h_3XmsBfUWw/s320/NOV+Vasalisa+small+tins.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And sometimes I just want to talk about this:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--goL2zRJm2w/UJqFRZ2Q8jI/AAAAAAAADlM/F0dBTMHH_z0/s1600/Olives+in+hand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--goL2zRJm2w/UJqFRZ2Q8jI/AAAAAAAADlM/F0dBTMHH_z0/s320/Olives+in+hand.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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or this:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3ie_vCoLolE/UJqD8b91_8I/AAAAAAAADjk/cy2ufJZuZ1U/s1600/Norway+Spruce+PiceaAbies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3ie_vCoLolE/UJqD8b91_8I/AAAAAAAADjk/cy2ufJZuZ1U/s1600/Norway+Spruce+PiceaAbies.jpg" /></a></div>
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Does that make sense? </div>
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<b>So, to serve you better, take these actions:</b> </div>
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<b>1)</b> If you want to connect mostly about plants, nature, and earth based musings, please continue to be a part of this blog, and the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PlantJourneys?fref=ts" target="_blank">Plant Journeys facebook page</a>. You will still receive Apothecary offerings and updates on a semi-regular basis, but it will remain primarily a plants, life, and food-based forum for me.</div>
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<b>2)</b> If you're mostly here for my Artisan Herbals, Lady's Slipper Ring annual membership, pain killer salve, elixirs and products, or because you're into beautiful apothecary musings and sexy pictures of red wine and freshly poured magic potions, then the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AmritaApothecary?skip_nax_wizard=true" target="_blank">NEW Amrita Apothecary facebook Page is the click to like</a> to stay connected to all of my creative endeavors and product offerings. <u>In the future - THIS is where I will be posting first come first serve offerings such as night owl discounts, early bird specials, and OOAK leftovers from special projects.</u> So, if you love my products, this is the place to be. If you're not interested in hearing about my offerings, this is <i>not </i>the place to be.</div>
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In this way, I sincerely hope to continue serving you in the ways more specific to the reasons you visit me, and in the ways that connect you with nature and your body most directly.</div>
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In gratitude and beauty blessings,</div>
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Ananda</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AE5jXj1sPZQ/UJ_KhS4XTWI/AAAAAAAADnE/aMspMZzE5yw/s1600/Lady's+Slipper+Hike+May+24+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AE5jXj1sPZQ/UJ_KhS4XTWI/AAAAAAAADnE/aMspMZzE5yw/s200/Lady's+Slipper+Hike+May+24+036.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>PS</i> - Thank you to everyone who has enrolled in this year's Ladys' Slipper Ring! I am diving deep to upgrade the home study content, going far into the forest to dig you rich roots, and working tirelessly on ideas for your coming herbal treasures. It's going to be a delicious ride. </div>
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If any of you were hoping to come along, it's not (but almost!) too late! I have <u>TWO SPACES LEFT</u> - but they will only be here until November 12, when I will lock the doors on the program until September 2013. </div>
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<b>For more information, <a href="http://amritaapothecary.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">go HERE</a></b></div>
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<b>BLACK FOREST CHAI</b></div>
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<i>An intense herbal brew for your days hiding in the Cave.</i></div>
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Into a pot on the stove or wood stove, add 2 to 3 quarts filtered or well water. </div>
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<u>Add: </u></div>
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~ 1, One inch sized root of Osha, dried.</div>
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~ One tablespoon Smoked black tea, such as Lapsang Souchong, or a roasted Mate</div>
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~ 1 tablespoon Licorice root</div>
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~ 1 tablespoon Cardamom seeds</div>
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~ 1-2 tablespoons Ginger, fresh minced</div>
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~ 1-2 Springs freshly gathered conifer twigs with needles (spruce, fir, or pine)</div>
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~ 1 handful fresh Black Birch twigs cut into 1 inch bits</div>
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~ 5-10 Juniper berries</div>
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~ One inch piece dried mushroom (chaga, reishi, or shitake) if desired</div>
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~ grated Nutmeg to taste</div>
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~ Black Peppercorns as desired</div>
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~ 1 Handful of your favorite nuts; walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts work well)</div>
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<u>Directions:</u> Gently simmer all ingredients for 30-45 minutes (longer will make it stronger). When ready, ladle out cupfuls as you desire, into your favorite mug. Add cream and honey and herbal elixirs as desired. Enjoy.</div>
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xo</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IvKqR_KObys/UJsFC29v3GI/AAAAAAAADmE/B1iOuWAvuEM/s1600/Black+Forest+Chai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IvKqR_KObys/UJsFC29v3GI/AAAAAAAADmE/B1iOuWAvuEM/s320/Black+Forest+Chai.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FhJLjVvdtBE/SveFr1WCPoI/AAAAAAAACXc/5g1SbbTpcD8/s1600/Hickory+Nut+Harvest+050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FhJLjVvdtBE/SveFr1WCPoI/AAAAAAAACXc/5g1SbbTpcD8/s320/Hickory+Nut+Harvest+050.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><u>Credits: </u></i></div>
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<i><u><br /></u></i></div>
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Inspirations for Black Forest Chai come from the following:</div>
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My <a href="http://plantjourneys.blogspot.com/2009/11/hooked-on-hickory.html" target="_blank">Hickory Nut Adventures and Wild Woman's Forest Brew</a> </div>
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My Sweet Friend, Herbalist <a href="http://blueturtlebotanicals.blogspot.com/p/about-darcey-blue.html" target="_blank">Darcey Blue</a>, who successfully got me addicted to smoked tea.</div>
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Kiva Rose's <a href="http://bearmedicineherbals.com/november-blogparty.html" target="_blank">Wild Woodlands Morning Brew </a>Recipe mmm</div>
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And of course, <i>my body</i>, who says - "Give me quiet, give me tea." </div>
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And I must obey. </div>
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~~~</div>
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<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-58917751401527481072012-10-27T12:23:00.000-07:002012-10-27T12:23:23.602-07:00Samhain Altar: Offering to our Ancestors.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A1sJHDRQ-cQ/UIwrjD9ejZI/AAAAAAAADik/ROTOy1M_aIE/s1600/October+Chalice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A1sJHDRQ-cQ/UIwrjD9ejZI/AAAAAAAADik/ROTOy1M_aIE/s320/October+Chalice.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The moon is waxing<br />
The air is hanging in a Samhain suspense.<br />
The wind is quickening<br />
all energies condensing invisibly,<br />
palpably,<br />
electric.<br />
<br />
An eerie glow twinkles from the last golden leaves,<br />
decending like a flock of lifeless butterflies.<br />
The trees brace themselves,<br />
sinking down into gravity,<br />
Humming with flexible resin.<br />
<br />
There is a hurricane headed.<br />
<br />
A real one in the air, from the ocean,<br />
and one inside many of our souls.<br />
<br />
The days of the dead,<br />
with a full moon,<br />
seems perfect.<br />
Our ancestors are pissed. We have ravaged the land<br />
and each other<br />
Without much care.<br />
We have ignored ancient laws and common decency.<br />
<br />
And when the veil thins, they can speak to us again.<br />
Throwing branches, flooding our plains,<br />
thrashing with bolts of lightning.<br />
<br />
If I were an ancestor I'd be ready<br />
to yell too. I'd call down to Earth daughters<br />
and sons<br />
and all hearts:<br />
<br />
"LISTEN"<br />
<br />
Our storms are the same.<br />
We cry in tears of grief and loss<br />
We sob - flooded and drenched<br />
with longing<br />
for wholeness and reclamation<br />
dying to bring back our limbs, our roots,<br />
our loved ones.<br />
Our lovers and our bees,<br />
our waters and our wombs,<br />
our milk and our breasts wrought with poisons<br />
<br />
We are dying to be one again, or separately together.<br />
<br />
What are our ancestors asking of us?<br />
What, by their massive tantrum,<br />
are we asked to mother.<br />
<br />
Have we let ourselves be the storm, enough?<br />
Grief is a turbulent, cold river<br />
winding and leading to forever<br />
but different in temperature as it flows.<br />
<br />
Tears, our human tears,<br />
are filled with hormones and pain relief<br />
Just as the sea is filled with kelp and stingers and teeth<br />
and magnificent depth.<br />
<br />
My ancestors are asking me to be both gentle and fierce<br />
To ask the plants for help at the same time I give seeds and tears to the soil.<br />
They are asking me to share my gifts of healing and sensuality and connection,<br />
and to ask others the hard questions, too.<br />
To be a role model for a new/old way.<br />
They ask me to be a devoted mother,<br />
and to prepare bone broths and root brews and oil medicines.<br />
And pray to the trees.<br />
<br />
What would your ancestors ask of you today,<br />
sweet one,<br />
if he or she,<br />
were sipping mugwort and sweet fern tea<br />
over candlelight,<br />
with you.<br />
?<br />
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<br />
<i>Offering gratitude for my beloveds today, in honor of the coming storm, the coming sacred day of the dead. To my teachers, mentors, changemakers, mothers, cross dressers, beauty-dancers. </i><br />
<i>I offer sage, osha, copal, cedar, lavender to you. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Grandfather, you made sweet wine and a family of hearts.</i><br />
<i>Grandmother, your fingers danced with music and you asked nothing less than excellence</i><br />
<i>Grandfather, you were trapped in a bad time to be such a feeling man, when you could have better served as a Shakespeare actor.</i><br />
<i>Grandmother, you raised powerful women from your caring. You passed down your golden heart. </i><br />
<i>Grandmother, you danced a wild edge of wellness and crazy, and with your flagrant beauty, you taught us, too.</i><br />
<i>Ancestors before my Grandparents, I hear your pulse in my blood, I see your glory in the land. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Blessed be your wisdom and gifts, newly understood, newly ignited, newly creative in this precarious, auspicious world. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>A-ho.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<i><br /></i>
<i>Offerings for honoring our lineage....</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>herbs;</i><br />
Mugwort<br />
Bloodroot<br />
Balm of Gilead<br />
Osha<br />
Copal<br />
Palo Santo<br />
Juniper<br />
Acorns<br />
Roses<br />
Ferns<br />
Redwood<br />
Ginkgo<br />
Amber<br />
Seeds<br />
<br />
<i>feathers;</i><br />
Owl<br />
Raven<br />
Vulture<br />
Chicken<br />
Turkey<br />
Pheasant<br />
<br />
<i>bones;</i><br />
Cow<br />
Salmon<br />
Turkey<br />
Whale<br />
Antlers<br />
Snake skin<br />
Frog skin<br />
Deer skin<br />
<br />
<i>mineral;</i><br />
Salt<br />
Crystals<br />
Seaweed<br />
Shells<br />
Family Jewelry<br />
Diamonds<br />
Amber<br />
Prehnite<br />
Rose Quartz<br />
Hematite<br />
<br />
<i>liquid;</i><br />
tears<br />
ocean or river water<br />
wine<br />
mead<br />
herbal brew<br />
cider<br />
herbal beer<br />
cream<br />
honey<br />
herbal elixir<br />
herbal tincture<br />
herbal oil<br />
<br />
<i>herbs for grief/heart:</i><br />
Rose<br />
Lavender<br />
Tulsi<br />
Valerian<br />
Kava<br />
Poppy<br />
Hawthorn<br />
Rose of Sharon<br />
Motherwort<br />
Mugwort<br />
<br />
<i>essential oils for grief/heart</i><br />
Vetiver<br />
Sandalwood<br />
Rose<br />
Cinnamon<br />
Basil<br />
Lavender<br />
Ylang Ylang<br />
Clary Sage<br />
Cedar<br />
Palo Santo<br />
Violet<br />
Oakmoss<br />
<br />
~~~~~<br />
<i>May you know peace in your heart, may you know wholeness underneath grief, may you know love as the center. </i><br />
<i>~~~~~</i><br />
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~~~~~~~~~~</div>
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~~~</div>
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~Blessed Be~</div>
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<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-20686326502465379732012-10-14T20:01:00.000-07:002012-10-16T07:05:18.799-07:00Herbs for Our Elders ~ Returning Nourishment, Reclaiming Lineage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Caring for our elders is a reciprocity of life. It is a return and a gratitude of nourishment, compassion, listening, and love.<br />
<br />
It is also a way for us to grow our hearts and become more whole as humans.<br />
<br />
I say this as a novice really. My experience of helping those in difficulty or challenging health are not as many as a lot of people. But they are meaningful and thought provoking. And challenging as an herbalist.<br />
<br />
I am learning as I go.<br />
<br />
What I am noticing so far is that loved ones in a health crisis want powerful help - but deeply need comfort.<br />
<br />
This can prove challenging for us who are bringing drastically different foods or teas to the table and expecting results <i>and </i>palatable joy.<br />
<br />
Just as working with anyone who desires health and wholeness and is seeking change to get there, we have to meet the runner at the starting line, and offer compassion at each step. This can mean starting with the very simple basics - which should also be the top priorities.<br />
<br />
One important priority for elders is that in a state of depletion, we cannot ask the body to detoxify. This is my philosophy all the way around, actually, but it's critical to remember this for our elders because making the mistake of detoxing without deep nourishment can be extremely harmful. Their bodies simply <i>do not have the resources to support detoxification.</i> Their bodies can decide on their own volition when to let go of old, when it is nourished deeply enough with the good stuff. Nourishment will enable natural rejuvenation.<br />
<br />
So, my tactic is to go deep, and go simple.<br />
<br />
My husband left this morning with a jar of bone broth and the herbs to add to a pot of simmering water.<br />
<br />
The idea is to nourish at the deepest level: the cells. The blood and bones. And to do that we need something that is essential to the body's most native structures and delivered in a way that will be assimilated in earnest by all digestive functions (that may still be working)<br />
<br />
This means minerals and water and it must be cooked and it must be both plant and animal.<br />
<br />
Thus, bone broth (happy grass fed organic and local marrow bones), and herbal infusion.<br />
<br />
No, I'm not a scientist (maybe your cringing and busting my chops for not having scientific footnotes. Please go somewhere else if that is what you want.) I'm someone who has used herbs her entire life and has never been on prescription or OTC drugs. I've never taken antibiotics. I'm 37 and comparatively I'm damn healthy, and so are my kids. I'm someone who believes in the food and medicine traditions of our lineage and puts them to good use.<br />
<br />
This past couple generation of elders has been robbed. They've been sold wonder bread and told their homemade pickles are a nuisance. They've been given student loans from their kids that rob them of time with their family. They've been fed kool-aid instead of afternoon tea and their health is suffering for it.<br />
<br />
This pains me. Our most valuable community members, our mentors, our wise women and wise men are stripped of their initiation rites and mentoring roles, and instead shoved into ticky tacky little boxes.<br />
Alone, and without their food and medicine heritage. Without their gardens, without their heirs, without their health and dignity, and often times without their purpose.<br />
<br />
Maybe offering a bowl of bone broth, a hug, and a mug of reishi-astragalus decoction won't change the world, but it might reconnect our elders with a sense of belonging, a feeling of solace, and a remembering of how the world was meant to be. It just might change their life, no matter how much of it is left.<br />
<br />
I'm grateful for the wisdom and commitment of our teachers and elders. They know cool stuff about life if we just stop our phones and listen.<br />
~~~~~~~~~~~<br />
<br />
<b><u>Seasoned Mineral Bone Stock</u></b> {from <a href="http://amritaapothecary.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lady's Slipper Ring </a>Moon 8}<br />
<br />
Into a stock pot or crock pot, add:<br />
<br />
~ 10 ish chicken bones, or 4-5 beef bones with marrow (approximately) or use the whole carcass of a roast chicken, skin & gelatin & giblets and all<br />
~ 6-8 cloves fresh garlic<br />
~ 2 Tbsp vinegar or ½ of a fresh lemon with peel<br />
~ 2 Tbsp salt (you may desire more later)<br />
~ 1 Tbsp black peppercorns, whole<br />
~ 3 bay leaves<br />
~ ½ of an onion<br />
~ Chunks of celery & carrots as desired<br />
~ 1 tsp each: dried thyme, basil, oregano<br />
~ 6-10 mushrooms<br />
~ 1 inch chunk ginger root, fresh, sliced<br />
~ 3 slices of dried astragalus root<br />
~ 1 Tbsp of seaweed<br />
~ 1 beet, in chunks<br />
~ Water, filtered or well, to fill pot ¾ way full, leaving room for later additions.<br />
<br />
Water should be filtered or good clean well water.
Gently, at barely a simmer and covered, let your bone stock cook for at least 18-24 hours.<br />
<br />
When rich and ready, you can choose to simply add the vegetables you wish, and fish out bones/skin as you enjoy your meal (usually very easy), or you may choose to ladle it out and pour through a strainer and then make your desired soup with the strained stock, or freeze it for later use (excellent gift for an expecting mother!)<br />
<br />
You may also wish to simply leave it as is, scooping out bowls as desired and enjoying the simplicity of it. Any which way, it’s versatile, easy, delicious, and intensely nutritive.
*If you’re friendly with a farmer or butcher and you can also get chicken feet – this is traditionally used in the making of a densely nutritious stock. The gelatin rendered from the feet nourishes tendons, ligaments, nails, hair, skin, and other vital functions and structures of the body. It is also something remiss from most modern diets. You’ll also notice that the gelatin will coagulate on the top of the liquid when cooled, and help preserve the stock for longer by keeping air out.
Bones and veggie scraps can easily be collected from suppers and stored in the freezer until ready to use.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Bone Deep Decoction</u></b><br />
<br />
For a decoction, add the following herbs to a crock pot or stove pot and let cook, just below a simmer, for at least 30 minutes. Water can be added for three rounds with the same herbs within a 36 hour period.<br />
<br />
For an infusion, add the following herbs to a half-gallon mason jar, cover with boiled water, add a lid, and let sit overnight. Strain & sip the entire contents over the course of two days, make again.<br />
<br />
~Astragalus - 2 long strips or 4 short of dried root.<br />
~Licorice - 2-4 medium strips<br />
~Red Clover Blossom - 1/2 cup<br />
~Oatstraw - 1/2 cup<br />
~Nettle leaf - 1/2 cup<br />
~Reishi mushroom - 4 1-2 inch chunks<br />
~Mugwort - 1-2 Tblsp<br />
~Linden - 1/2 cup<br />
<br />
Since this infusion is relatively bland, you can also add it to soups and foods instead of water. You can also do that with the above bone broth.<br />
<br />
~~<br />
If we can offer our sweet elders just these two bone deep offerings, we will be giving them great gifts. Simplicity, comfort, ease, and the ability to make and replicate the healthy blood cells they need.<br />
<br />
And while you're at it ... everyone in the room should have a bowl and mug too - you can't take care of others if you're not taking care of you.<br />
<br />
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Love,<br />
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Ananda<br />
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<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-11818776394778374572012-10-08T08:06:00.001-07:002012-10-08T08:09:55.746-07:00Gaia's Cold Shoulder: Coping With Winter, Nourishing for SADness (a mini-anthology of remedies)<div style="text-align: center;">
It's that time again</div>
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I'm sure you've noticed.</div>
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When the leaves flutter from the bark </div>
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and the skies lilt. </div>
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Do you have a sit spot to visit? </div>
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Have you claimed a favorite tree to befriend for the cold season? </div>
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Are you making steamy hot soup? </div>
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Do you have a support system?</div>
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If you are anything like me (or how I was for most of my life) you might be crankily bracing yourself for the worst. Once you are forced to put your wool socks on (while everyone is talking about how stinkin' "cozy" they are and what sweater they'll knit next) you are grumbling in agony and despair. The coming of winter feels like a loss - of half your year, of your sanity, of your enjoyment of life, all the green and flowering friends you have frolicked with all summer. Dammit. *just* when you finally got that glowing olive tan, you've got to put on a long sleeved shirt! Hmph.<br />
<br />
It's like a dark curtain descending upon you and all you want to do is sleep until spring.<br />
<br />
Right? I know. It sucks.<br />
<br />
I know deep inside you wish you could be all cheery and gleeful and excited about going out to pick apples on a crisp day or planning a holiday meal with your family.<br />
<br />
But if even the mere thought of skiing or Christmas or snow makes you want to hurl, I feel ya. You're not crazy or dark or disturbed. You're a perfectly beautiful, normal, feeling human. And not alone.<br />
<br />
If you're bundled up and warm enough to hang out with me a little longer here at this keyboard (grab the fingerless gloves and some tea, ok?) I'd love to share with you a mini-anthology of winter highlights that have helped me bond more deeply with my New England land and make deeper peace with the Seasons.<br />
<br />
By sharing, I simply offer up any of these as possibles for you to try - as warming distractions, challenging initiatives, invitations to deeper Earth Intimacy, fun explorations ...... but most of all, to offer a glimmer of possible peace with the "w" word.<br />
<br />
I'm not entirely there .... but there are more things in winter that now I actually look forward to. One of my first winter allies was the Cottonwood Tree:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://plantjourneys.blogspot.com/2009/03/gifts-of-cottonwood.html" target="_blank">COTTONWOOD TREE ALLY</a><br />
<br />
Scaling down on Holiday Expectations was a biggie:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://plantjourneys.blogspot.com/2010/12/gifting-season-underbelly-of-yuletime.html" target="_blank">THE UNDERBELLY OF YULE</a><br />
<br />
And an Article I wrote for Plant Healer Magazine<br />
<br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwYC55uyFlNINUI3X095U0FmRFE" target="_blank">GAIA'S COLD SHOULDER - The Betrayal and Loyalty of Winter</a><br />
<br />
Using Art to transform pain to ease, ugly to beautiful .... with my camera!<br />
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<a href="http://plantjourneys.blogspot.com/2011/04/aspen.html" target="_blank">PHOTOGRAPHING ASPEN TREES</a><br />
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May your seasonal toolbag be full, dear one.<br />
<br />
-------------------------------<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Please note: All writing is copyright Ananda Wilson and may be circulated online in it's original link carrier (Plant Journeys.com) or linked to from another website with credit and captions or quotes, but may otherwise not be copied, reproduced, distributed or reprinted in any manner without express written permission of the author. Thank you for respecting my writing and intellectual property. May it serve you well.</i></span><br />
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<i>~~~~</i></div>
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Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-48744283884341230292012-10-04T07:51:00.000-07:002012-10-04T09:07:49.430-07:00What Nourishes You Most Deeply? Are You Listening? (Four keys and four herbs for October transitions)<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>I Know The Way You Can Get </i></b></div>
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I know the way you can get </div>
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When you have not had a drink of Love: </div>
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Your face hardens,
Your sweet muscles cramp. </div>
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Children become concerned </div>
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About a strange look that appears in your eyes </div>
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Which even begins to worry your own mirror </div>
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And nose. </div>
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Squirrels and birds sense your sadness</div>
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And call an important conference in a tall tree. </div>
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They decide which secret code to chant </div>
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To help your mind and soul. </div>
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--Hafiz, excerpt</div>
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Did your heat come on this morning? Did you feed the wood stove?<br />
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Mine came on for the first time of the season. I smelled the metallic air when I woke, and I knew to grab socks and a sweater.<br />
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There was a misty haze of cold dew along the fields, and a quietness of busy people slightly more withdrawn.<br />
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The poetry of the horizon speaks of geese pushing time and of leaves blushing red and setting sail.<br />
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There is much work of medicine and magic to be done, still.<br />
I feel the stirring of our ancestors asking more of us, and the longing of the Earth for more response-ability.<br />
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I watch the squirrel heed these laws every time he digs to bury a nut.<br />
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Nature calls us to heed rhythms.<br />
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Are you listening? What do you hear?<br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Four Keys and Four Herbs for October Transitions:</u></b></span><br />
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<b>Temperature:</b><br />
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How is the temperature in your body? Do you wake feeling cold, hot, or uncomfortably mixed? What do you do support your comfort?<br />
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<u><i>Ginger</i></u><br />
Ginger root helps to warm our circulation and regulate our 'triple heater', making temperature adaptation easier for our bodies. Instead of hot cocoa, try a cup of gently simmered fresh ginger root, with a little bit of honey. Or, make ginger root hot cocoa :)<br />
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<b>Daylight and Moonlight:</b><br />
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How is your rest & activity feeling? Are you sleepier or more energized than you were in the summer?<br />
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<u><i>Seaweed</i></u><br />
Seaweed is mineral rich giving our bodies the ability to be fully awake, and fully asleep, at the appropriate times. Seaweed is also brimming with both lunar and solar energies .... as it is fed by the sun and nourished by the moon and her watery tides. As perhaps the fastest growing vegetation in the world, seaweed feeds our wholeness and ability to be strong during periods of growth and change.<br />
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<b>Your muse:</b><br />
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How is your creative self? Engaged, disowned, tired, longing or restless? Your sense of divine connectedness to your life and your daily expressions of self? Your time for self care and reflection, meditation, or nourishing touch?<br />
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<u><i>Cardamom</i></u><br />
Cardamom is just sensual. It's sweet and spicy, gentle and strong, loving and clear. Cardamom in my warm milk, on my warm apple compote, or in a spicy soup, cardamom just makes me feel inspired. I often combine it with my other favorite muse herbs like Damiana and Kava Kava, but on her own she can re-awaken the imagination and playful self. When our senses and our mind are both playing, we can experience intense creative satiation.<br />
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<b>Your footing:</b><br />
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Do you feel steady, sure footed, and solid? Or frail and precarious? Are you the river, or are you the glass bottle floating down the river, headed for rapids? What is the message in your glass bottle, waiting to be freed, so that you may flow?<br />
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<u><i>Burdock</i></u><br />
Burdock to me is a water root. Dug from the wet earth and cooked in soups we are centered deeply in our water-bone humanness. We become grounded, centered, yet not stagnant. Burdock root nourishes our ability to be stable in our bodies, in our truth-speaking, and in our hearts.<br />
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<b>Perhaps you open</b> my newsletter or blog expecting to be more formally taught about herbs.<br />
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By now you've probably realized that isn't entirely how I roll.<br />
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I could teach you about just herbs, but if you don't have the willingness to listen to your body, herbs aren't going to do much.<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't teach answers, I teach questions.</span></i><br />
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I give possibility and options and resources and <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">catalysts</span> .... the answers belong to you. Answers can change over time.<br />
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And <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">our bodies</span> are part of nature. In listening to nature, we hear our bodies. In listening to our bodies, we hear nature.<br />
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In being honest about our senses, intuitions, impulses, and callings, we access a deep and perhaps ancestral strength that can empower our lives in profound and meaningful ways.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My wish for you is to continually have access to, and connection with, your true source.</span><br />
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May you have a blessed day, dear one.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ready to embark on an intentional journey of self discovery and pleasure medicine?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Testimonials:</span></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #741b47;">~ The Unburdened Basket ~</span></u></b></div>
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"<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Lady’s Slipper Ring</span> entered my life during a time of loss and much change. As an older woman, I was confident in my beliefs and values though occasionally struggled with aligning them in all aspects of my life. I have always been a frugal person and seldom indulged in things that I considered unnecessary. And I am a craft-woman’s nightmare: I am the consumer who appreciates the product but then goes home and makes it myself.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I seemed an unlikely candidate</span> for the LSR but with so much change in my life, I felt a bit untethered and felt that I needed to nourish, to care for myself during this difficult time. So I signed up and almost immediately started regretting my indulgence (where do we learn such thinking?)</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Until I received</span> the first month’s materials and herbal goodies… <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The content is thoughtful and challenging</span>; each month I was asked to consider just how empowered I am on the inside. Are my beliefs and actions aligned? What do I truly know to be true about myself? How do I perceive my place in this complex world? How much do I trust myself, my values, my intuition? In addition, multiple resources are offered for future pondering. Working through each month’s topic was just that – work. Some topics were easier than others;<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> all of them contributed to a deeper appreciation of my gifts and me</span>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My reward each month</span> came in a small box that fit perfectly into my mailbox. Even in my best DIY attempts, I doubt that I could replicate the unique creams, balms, oils, elixirs and perfumes. Ananda’s unique approach to scents and taste delighted me each month. She truly offers an artisan approach to her creations, and I quickly developed a ritual of sitting, sniffing, tasting, and massaging the products immediately upon their arrival.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ananda’s wisdom and love are expressed</span> throughout the LSR program. I am moving forward with renewed energy and know that I will continue to return to the content on those days when defeat seems to be looming. During this past year of incredible change in my life, the LSR proved to be a very wise investment in myself. A luxury for so many women…self-care is seldom on our To-Do list. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Lady's Slipper Ring is a wonderful reminder of why it needs to be at the top of our lists.</span></div>
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Thanks,</div>
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Sue"</div>
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<a href="http://www.thewitheredherb.com/" target="_blank">The Withered Herb</a> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>The Power of Choice, the Power of Decision</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"I am not the type to "splurge"</span> on self-care but somehow I just knew from the second I heard about it that Ananda's Lady's Slipper Ring would be a powerful investment for me. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By taking this year long course I have transformed</span> a lot of my self-care habits and shifted my priorities to taking better care of myself. I love the new relationship I have formed with nourishment and self-care and <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love the end result of being less stressed and finding more joy in my every day life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Plus, just getting that incredible package of treasures</span> each month was a beautiful experience within itself. <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ananda makes some of the best herbal products I've ever experienced!</span> Self-care and nourishment are some of our most powerful tools for health and longevity, I am really grateful that I prioritized these qualities in my life through the Lady's Slipper Ring."</div>
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~Rosalee de la Forȇt</div>
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<a href="http://methowvalleyherbs.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Methow Valley Herbs </a></div>
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Beauty Blessings,</div>
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<i>Ananda</i></div>
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Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-34505581114880055222012-09-26T20:01:00.000-07:002012-09-26T20:01:34.801-07:00The Spectrum and the Spiral (and a FREE sneak peek at the Lady's Slipper home study content!)<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;"><i>Actually I think one of the best preventative medicines for the immune system is connecting to the rhythms of the seasons. I felt fall the morning of August 1. There is a deeper calendar in our bodies that lets us know what we need to do to keep ourselves strong and resilient. This is the learning we do as a tribe of re-connectors; plant medicine people, real food makers, and self-employed artists. We give ourselves the room to be gut-led, weather-led, cycle led. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;"><i>In this context, herbs seldom fail to work with us.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;"><i>~~~~~~~~~~~</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><i>Greetings and happy Autumn, friends!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;">Here, the air in the morning calls the mist down from the mountains, the dew sparkles across the knotweed, and the lilting sun is gentle only 'till noon. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;">Then it's hot for a fleeting couple of hours; just the window of opportunity needed to collect the wild plants I need for medicine making. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;">I've already begun harvesting some roots, and soon will be sassafras, autumn olive and rose hips. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><i>~~</i></span></div>
<span style="color: #1e110c;"><i><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">Are you feeling the season? What does it smell like, taste like, sound like? Our senses are reliable informants. </span></i></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0vuS28CCmss/UGO4wV1RZ6I/AAAAAAAADfo/HSIvrNAKxD0/s1600/Evening+primrose+yr1+Roots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0vuS28CCmss/UGO4wV1RZ6I/AAAAAAAADfo/HSIvrNAKxD0/s320/Evening+primrose+yr1+Roots.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slippery Evening Primrose Roots</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">Most of my work in life is based on two philosophies. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">The Spectrum, and the Spiral. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">This is, like the doshas and the humors and the 5 element theory, a general direction of understanding in which I can draw insight from. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">The tendency of the spectrum is a kind of holistic polarity, whereby seemingly opposing energies can be harmonized to create homeostasis.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">A simple example might be the idea of spicy ginger helping a cold stagnant cough, or the dancer's attitude: where each of the far reaching points of the body are in direct relationship with the center, and both must be equally tended in order to achieve a steady balance and moment of beauty. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">The tendency of the spiral represents all of natural law within the elusive span of time. It's sort of a quantum knowing that we repeat patterns of growth that are similar or same, yet in the moment of time it occurs, it is completely unique; never to be expressed that exact same way again.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">The spiral occurs in our lives when we recognize an experience, or a season, a taste, or a feeling. It occurs in our body as it continually regenerates, and it occurs in our perspectives and outlooks on life as we mature and ripen. We walk the spiral and expand each time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">I say all this not just to evangelize my new-agey ideas, but to offer a way of walking through life with poetic stride, as each challenge comes our way and asks us to become more of ourselves. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">This is the context in which I offer the herbal lifeways taught and activated within the Lady's Slipper Ring Membership. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">Herbs sometimes work on their own. Personal growth sometimes works on its own. However, as we see in the spectrum of polarities, Internal and External work can transform and empower us most deeply and effectively when they are both engaged simultaneously.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><i><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mBEvGWS2it8/UGO5ekS9_hI/AAAAAAAADf4/LwmUb7YvJhs/s1600/Passionflower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mBEvGWS2it8/UGO5ekS9_hI/AAAAAAAADf4/LwmUb7YvJhs/s320/Passionflower.jpg" width="287" /></a></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">Why enroll in the Lady's Slipper Ring? Well, really that is an answer only you can determine. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;">If there is even a small voice inside you, calling you to become more deeply connected to your senses, your intuition, your body's innate wisdom, then I sincerely invite you along this delicious journey. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><i><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;"><b>Here is an offering to you - an excerpt from the home study components!</b></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1e110c;"><i><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gNbpzz-nIj8/UGO54978ddI/AAAAAAAADgA/FmMGW_jZrx4/s1600/Poke+berry+heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gNbpzz-nIj8/UGO54978ddI/AAAAAAAADgA/FmMGW_jZrx4/s320/Poke+berry+heart.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></span></div>
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<i>Remember, though, that this is out of context of the membership spiral, and it will be a spoiler for that month! </i></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwYC55uyFlNIVGF6WU1qN2xMeEU" target="_blank">CLICK HERE for the Moon Seven Invitations</a><span id="goog_809263394"></span><span id="goog_809263395"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwYC55uyFlNIRUkzTmRTczFyV1E" target="_blank">and CLICK HERE for the Moon Seven Potions</a></div>
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Need another little incentive?</div>
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~~Pay in full members get one month FREE</div>
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~~Enrollments before October 14 receive a free welcome gift! </div>
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~~All completing members receive a handmade Lady's Slipper ceramic pendent as a completion gift in the last month. </div>
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~~Free Issues of the famed Herbal Roots Zine, to enrich your home apothecary and plant knowledge</div>
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~~But of course, YOU and your richer, more empowered and luscious self will be the biggest reward of all. </div>
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<b><a href="http://amritaapothecary.blogspot.com/2011/10/pleasure-medicine-self-care-herbal.html" target="_blank">Welcome! </a></b></div>
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<a href="http://amritaapothecary.blogspot.com/2011/10/pleasure-medicine-self-care-herbal.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K8IDFhqLSuo/UGPAxTweOPI/AAAAAAAADgI/BTj5e8HyBNE/s320/Roses+in+Sept.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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With Love,</div>
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<i>Ananda</i></div>
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Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308375110862977162.post-81078403682830958772012-09-20T08:06:00.000-07:002012-09-20T08:06:29.057-07:00Passionflower Tale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ch3_Sk9ZoKQ/UFslfoqzYYI/AAAAAAAADfY/9xqIZQo4Vgo/s1600/Passionflower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ch3_Sk9ZoKQ/UFslfoqzYYI/AAAAAAAADfY/9xqIZQo4Vgo/s320/Passionflower.jpg" width="287" /></a></div>
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Yesterday I read a book.</div>
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Sometimes I can do that, you know, sit down and read the whole thing in a short amount of time.</div>
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Sometimes it's because I took a speed reading course as a kid, </div>
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and sometimes it's just because it's a really good book and I am blessed/cursed with three hours in a parking lot while my kids are in their programs. </div>
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In this case it was the latter. </div>
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It's a pretty little book by the wonderful Shakti Gawain, called Creating True Prosperity. I knew it would be a book more about mindset than money, (are they different, really?) which is why I got it. I like to feed my brain with good perspectives and techniques.</div>
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At the same time, I can't seem to get passionflower out of my head. the image of this sexy, decadent flower and it's unusually sweet-putrid-overripe odd tasting leaves have just twined their way into my psyche. It seems to be a plant that, although climbs with skill and logic, blossoms with reckless abandon; a perfect expression straight from the heart of the plant.</div>
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This is the thing about being directly with the plants, it's really the same as reading a book except it's wordless and full of touch. You get the whole story, the details, the nuances, the tones. You get the past present and future if you watch them grow and fruit.</div>
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And then the story becomes you.</div>
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With the droplets from the tincture bottle or the sipping of tea, suddenly the chapters include you, and the legacy continues. </div>
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As I wrapped the vines around my neck - which was the easiest way to carry them after harvesting from the lattice - my system relaxed into joy. My muscles released tension, and my heart beat peacefully. The peculiar taste of the leaves was intensely comforting; slightly warm, soft, mothering, moistening, strong and steady. </div>
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I chewed it slowly and invited it into my body.</div>
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It was welcomed company.</div>
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Like a best friend who comes over with soup and a helping hand.</div>
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Or a wise word at just the right moment.</div>
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And a reminder of worthiness and value and the intertwining of nature and humans.</div>
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What does the book have to do with anything?</div>
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It's the part where the brain has to re-learn how to be of service to the heart, to the body's wisdom.</div>
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Good books and wise wisdom train the brain, while the plants retrain the physiology.</div>
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Together, they are a powerful pair, capable of interrupting trigger patterns, tantrums, regressions, rage, abusive language, relationship glitches, and can hold your hand through the dark places.</div>
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These are the passionvine tendrils that hold us up long enough to blossom, knowing that the friction needed to burst into bloom is always a mating of polarities.</div>
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Passionflower.</div>
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Passion.</div>
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Flower.</div>
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Your passion</div>
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your flowering.</div>
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~~~</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">copyright Ananda Wilson</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">PlantJourneys.com</span></div>
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<i>To learn with me, enroll in the <a href="http://amritaapothecary.blogspot.com/2011/10/pleasure-medicine-self-care-herbal.html" target="_blank">Lady's Slipper Ring home study course and herbal membership!</a> </i></div>
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<i>Empowerment through self inquiry, plus Pleasure Medicine through exquisite handcrafted herbal products delivered right to your doorstep every month! </i></div>
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<br />Anandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12082303853835512978noreply@blogger.com0