WRITINGS
Self-Care at Home
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Going to the gym, walking in nature, having a massage or facial, treating yourself to a nice meal, socializing with friends are all examples of self-care.
What happens when you can’t go out and your social exposure, or your budget, is limited? Practice at home! [read how] |
Soul Food: Nourishing the One Self, YOURSELF. A list
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These are not meant to be read and discarded. Each is to be mulled and savored. Let your soul speak to you as you sit with each idea. Practice whichever speaks the loudest. Start simply and see what happens.
[read more] |
Winter's Invitation
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With Winter, a slow cold descends. It quiets our energy, if we let it, inviting us into the stillness of a dark night. When the land is flattened and the trees exposed, there is a certain kind of clarity that is revealed, a sharpness that illuminates contrast and allows things to come into lucid focus.
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Winter: Darkness, Dreamtime, and Shadows
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Dark and shadow, they dance with light. Beautiful and magical, even if this much darkness can be challenging, the dark season is a call to slow down and look inward. When we let ourselves be held by its nurturing presence, darkness helps us see things we don’t notice in the light.
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Ode to Oats
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Up until fairly recently (I'm embarrassed to admit), I considered oatmeal a rather bland and boring choice for breakfast. The thick, milky porridge - gruel - seemed more like punishment than pleasure. Derelict orphanages and abusive nannies immediately came to mind. As with many other things, I came to discover that my judgment of this grain was quite mistaken.
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Swimming on Land
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Perhaps I was seeking the internal fluidity I feel lacking lately that could explain this thought, as my feet first connected with earth, "Will I see a red eft on the path today?" A rather random notion, surprising me. I had not encountered any red efts since the wet weather in June; days when I would walk as the rain danced around me - cleansing, renewing rain. No, the earth has been dry, cinnamon rising in clouds as I've dug in my garden.
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Mud Puddles as Spiritual Teachers
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Mud puddles. Murky, dirty, odiferous, mosquito breeding grounds. Seemingly insignificant. Unnoteworthy. Prosaic. Something we see but don't see. Usually something to avoid (unless you are a child for whom they become delicious temptations and quite magical). Who knows if because of a certain light, or my own state of being in that moment, but my perspective shifted ever so slightly, and I was hit with a new way of seeing....
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Message from the Jays
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The jays have been calling all day; not just their feathers that I've been finding along my path, but also the birds themselves. Calling out and swooping in front of me as I walk through the woods. They beckon, alerting me to a message they hold and wish to share.
Neither of these birds feels fear, a noteworthy trait, one which I wish I could learn, although I'm not certain that fearlessness can be learned. |
Walk Lightly Upon the Earth (a poem)
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Walk lightly upon the earth
Each step a prayer. Hands folded in reverence for all that is all that was all that will be... |
Sing Up the Dawn
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The shortest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere) is approaching, and the longest night. The word solstice comes from the Latin sol stetit, “sun stands still,” and, for a brief moment, it seems to do so as we reach a turning point. Once we pass through the longest night, dawn marks the return of an infant light, light’s rebirth, murmuring the promise of new life to come.
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Elderberries - Potent Medicine Against Colds & Flu
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Elderberries come from the Elder tree (sambucus nigra), whose name alone conveys its truth: the elder tree is truly ancient. Vestiges of the elder’s existence have been found at Stone Age sites and the tree is still believed magical and holy. The Elder's flowers, berries, and leaves are all used as various medicinals.
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Forming A Relationship With Your Land
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The earth is alive and it speaks to us. We have forgotten how to listen. This may be why we can come to feel so estranged from our selves, alienated from what truly matters, and lost in our doings.
A simple way to easily reconnect with yourself and begin to listen to the earth is to get to know your land... |
How Refusing to Be Tamed Led Me to My Prayer Tree
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There is a corner of my yard that refuses to be tamed, although I cannot tell you why. While other areas have willingly lent themselves to gentle domestication, this one area remains overgrown and, well, wild.
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Prayer Trees
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Once when I was walking a ridge in the desert of New Mexico at twilight, with the great sky above me and the dry earth underfoot, I was struck by the realization that we are bridges between heaven and earth, perhaps a physical manifestation of both.
Even more so, trees are a true bridge... |
A Time of New Beginnings
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Halloween, or Samhain (pronounced SOW-een, meaning "summer's end" in Irish), as it was originally known, marks the beginning of the Wheel of the Year. It is a holy time, lasting for the three days between October 31st and November 2nd. This time belongs to neither the land of the living nor of the dead, but to both the time of endings and the time of beginnings, suspended outside our realm of secular time and elemental laws.
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Walking Back to Myself
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Nature offers a truth - a purity and directness - that is often obscured in my everyday life. It is reawakened in me as I walk outdoors. Almost nothing grounds me the way walking does. My feet on the earth, I come into my body with each step. The rhythmic movement of walking in nature invites connection, drawing me - the me that had become lost in my head - back into my physical being-ness.
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KEEPING STRONG AT THE ADVENT OF SPRING - Also true for fall!
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We're in the home stretch now. Our bodies have been taxed over the past few months, fighting germs, staying warm, maintaining our health. While Spring weather may be right around the corner - hopefully - Winter is still very much present. At this time, it becomes particularly important to keep our immune systems strong by giving them needed support.
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BUILDING FIRE : The HA Breath
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The HA breath is considered outward, creative, and expressive; by doing it, we release stagnant energy as well as tension. It is also a productive way to release anger, since it dispels excess energy pent up in the body, creating space for new, fresh air to come in.
The combination of sound and movement in this exercise has a stimulating and warming effect on our bodies and is helpful whenever we are feeling cold or sluggish... [read] |
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CALM THE WHIRLING DERVISH OF ANXIETY
We have all felt, at one time or another, anxious about something - whether it be facing a new challenge, doing something beyond our comfort zone, the pressure of juggling too many things, or having to perform in front of a group of people. Whatever the cause of the anxiety, we know the feeling in our bodies and minds: quickened pulse, shallow ... [read] |
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HURT YOUR BACK? Steps to Follow to Feel Better & Heal Well
I've been seeing a lot of people with back pain lately - even my daughter hurt her back! Did you know the most frequent cause of back pain is muscle strain? You may have injured your back from overuse (too much running up and down hills), twisting (great tennis backhand or golf swing, but there's a price), or lifting (using your back and not your legs.... [read ] |
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FEELING STRESSED? 5 Simple Techniques for Immediate Relief
We all feel stress. For some, it is mild and fleeting – that momentary awareness that you have too much to do and not enough time to do it all – while for others, it is a more pervasive condition... [read] |
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OUT OF YOUR MIND: Stepping into Creativity
Expressing our creativity is, perhaps, one of our most basic needs. After all, creation is the initial impulse that sets all things in motion. Creativity is, fundamentally, a miraculous gift, one that imbues our lives with wonder, challenge, well-being, and calm. [read more] |
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LAND OF LACK (or not doing/being/having enough)
How often do you say, “I don’t have enough time,” “I didn’t get enough sleep," “I’m not doing enough,” “I don’t have enough money,” etc.? If you are like me, it may be quite a bit, maybe more often than you would like to admit. Welcome to the Land of Lack. [read more] |
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PAIN IN THE NECK?
Maybe you slept funny. Or were on your computer or phone too long. Whatever the cause, neck pain is not only annoying and aggravating, it can lead to upper back pain, tight shoulders, poor posture, and headaches. Simple stretching and strengthening exercises can relieve the pain. [read more] |
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ROUNDED SHOULDERS SYNDROME (i.e. bad posture)
Many of us have a bit of the rounded shoulders syndrome. Often this is caused by all of the activities we perform with our arms out in front of us – driving, working, texting, etc. Our muscles tighten in the front and overstretch in the back; this becomes our “normal” carriage. [read more] |
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WANT TO ADD SOME SPICE TO YOUR LIFE? Try Getting Curious
Curiosity is a gateway to meaning and joy, leading us straight to our hobbies, interests, passions. Once you pass through this gateway, you elevate yourself from the rigidity and stagnation of certainty and open yourself to possibility & mystery. [read more] |
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7 WAYS TO START YOUR DAY WITH SELF-CARE
There's a lot of talk lately about the importance of having a morning routine. While I know its benefits are immeasurable (and in fact once had a very diligent, directed, and fulfilling morning routine), I somehow had gotten out of the habit. Then I started to pay attention. [read more] |
