Calling all women...

There's only three spaces left in the 2017-18 Kamaria Circle...  Is one of those seats yours?  Here's three easy ways to tell: #1:  You're ready for your next level  Life is pretty good, but it's time for an upgrade.  Maybe you want to get your financial or relationship house in order.   Maybe you need to step your parenting game up.  Or maybe that promotion or career change is calling you louder and louder.  We'll support you every step of the way until your vision becomes your reality. #2  The world is waiting for your gift With all of the madness going on in the world, more than ever, we need women of purpose and substance to stand fully in their power.  You are a women of influence- your mental, spiritual, and emotional wholeness matters.  Your life matters.  And what you plan to birth into the world through the Kamaria Circle will not only impact you, but also your family, community, or even the world.   Let us be the midwives for your vision. #3  You believe in magic Not rabbit-out-of-the-hat magic, but the real magic that happens when your intentions, desires and actions all line up.  In the Kamaria Circle, we work with the subtle body, chakras, astrology and the elements to activate that 90% of our brain that we don't use every day.  We'll learn practical tools and how to work the magic that is our birthright.   So if you believe in magic, you'll be in good company! In this 6-month course, you will learn concrete tools to awaken your creative genius, manifest your intentions, tap into your inner resources, and actualize your purpose. You'll learn how to understand the subtle messages of your body and dreams,  align yourself with abundance,  and lead from the Sacred Feminine. You'll gain deeper self-awareness as you work with flower essences and learn practical tools to upgrade your life.  We are a community of women who support one another as we live on purpose and stand in power.  We are committed to making ripples in the current world tide.  JOIN US! www.OceansandRivers.Com/kamaria-circle

Are you Neo-Ancient? 7 Ways to Tell

Forget all this talk about Millennials, Generation Xers, and Baby Boomers.  These  crazy times call for the ones I've been affectionately calling Neo-Ancients.  As confusion, worry and fear run rampant, the Neo-Ancients can be found gathering our inner resources as we prepare for assertive, clear and directed action.  Here are seven clues you just might be part of our tribe:

1) Solstices and Equinoxes are your holidays

Maybe you go all out with fasting, cleansing, meditating and aligning with your intentions at the change of of each season. Or maybe your body takes care of it for you by giving you seasonal cold or fatigue at these cross points.  Either way, the Summer and Winter solstices and the Autumn and Spring equinoxes hold special meaning for you.   Interestingly enough, many popular holidays tend to fall around these powerful shifts in the balance of Yin & Yang.  At this time of year, festive lights and candles for remind us of the return of the Sun after six months of increasingly long nights.   If the solstices and equinoxes facilitate physical, emotional or spiritual shifts in your life, you might be Neo-ancient.

2) You are more than your Sun Sign

When most people think of astrology, they think of the sign that aligns with the month in which they were born.  They may even refer to the daily horoscope for entertainment, or you might feel a particular kinship with those who share your sign (big up to all the scorpios in the house!  heeeeyyyyyy!)  Neo-ancients know that the natal birth chart is more than just really fun insight- it's a map of human psychology. Each planet position gives archetypal insight an aspect of our psyche, as well as what we most need to feel like our authentic selves.  So if your answer to "What's you sign?" sounds like mine:  "I'm a Scorpio sun with a Libra Moon and Venus, Mars in Scorpio,  and Gemini rising...", you might be Neo-ancient.

3) Your schedule is cosmic 

You don't just set your intentions and goals on a monthly basis, but you pay attention to the fluctuations between Yin and Yang as you plan your year.  You know active force, Yang,  is at its height in summer, as well as during full moons. You know that stillness and reflection, the Yin, are amplified in the winter and during new moons.  And the happenings of Mercury Schmercury have on more than one occasion affected your plans.   If your schedule is cosmic, you might be Neo-ancient. 

4) You take care of your subtle body

Neo-ancients understand that health is not just physical- it's emotional, mental and spiritual as well. While conventional medicine is about 500 years old, it's really a baby when compared to many of the ancient healing systems that considered the physical, etheric, astral and spiritual planes.  Acupuncture, for example,  is a 2000+ year old medicine that's now gaining popularity in the West for its success treating muscular pain and fertility. In my practice, we honor the Shamanic lineage out of which acupuncture emerges.  This means we're not only attending to the physical body, but also attending to heartache, lack of inspiration, confusion, anxiety, depression and any of the myriad ways we might be out of alignment with the unfolding of our path, our Tao.   We use earth medicine such as flower essences, essential oils, gemstones and herbs to facilitate inner and outer shifts.  If you believe that health is about more than being "free from disease",  you might be Neo-ancient.

5) You're etherically sensitive 

Photo Credit: NASA

Speaking of the subtle body, the etheric body is the first layer of the subtle body.  It can be likened to an electromagnetic sheath that envelops our physical form.  It's the aspect of the subtle body that gets charged when you 'feel' someone staring at you, your back hurts cuz it's cold outside, or your knee acts up every time it rains.  Our electromagnetic bodies are in close synergy with the electromagnetic poles of the earth, and etherically sensitive folks are often affected by full and new moons and
changes of seasons.  Because our emotions live mostly in our etheric body, etherically sensitive folks tend to be very empathic- and can often sense when someone is feeling angry or sad even if their words indicate otherwise.  Being in crowds of can upset the nervous system of etherically sensitive folks, who might need to spend some time decompressing alone after lots of interaction with others.  If any of this sounds like you, you might be Neo-ancient.

6) Synchronicity has meaning
Neo-ancients know that there is no such thing as a coincidence.  Every moment has the potential to answer a question that was posed with intention (or inadvertently) to the Universe.   We are constantly  reminded that we are not physical beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a physical experience.  A random song that's stuck in our head that carries a potent message.  Being in the right place at exactly the right time.  The friend you were thinking of that happens to call at that moment.  The person on the train that catches your eye.  The billboard you never noticed before that carries a special message today, just for you.   Neo-ancients find a way to live in the meaning and magic of it all.  It's like that quote from the book Conversations with God, when God tells the author to look for her in:

"...the words to the next song you hear.  The information in the next article you read.  The story line of the next movie your watch. The chance utterance of the next person you meet.  Or the whisper of the next river, the next ocean, the next breeze that crosses your ear….”

If you have ever experienced the magic of synchronicity, you might be Neo-ancient.

7) You believe in it all

You consider yourself "spiritual" instead of "religious".  You grew up on the Bible and can drop a Proverbs quote at a moment's notice, and know all 12 signs of the zodiac.   Or you can recite the original, modified, or personalized declarations of Ma'at. You have gained wisdom from the I Ching, Yogic philosophy, the Secret, the Buddha, Earthseed scripture, Nature and/or your Highest Self in meditation.  You light candles for your ancestors and pour libation.  An Ifa reading once transformed- or saved- your life. Quantum physics has your mind blown. On top of that, you're a magic manifestress.  You believe in it all, because all is one.  If your heart can hold yes/and instead of either/or in your spiritual practice, you are definitely Neo-ancient.

Join our "Vibe Tribe" this Winter Solstice!

The Yi in Me: Where Heaven Meets Earth

Today is the 14th day of my 30-day hot yoga challenge.  And on day 14, I feel like a superwoman. 

Let me rewind for a second. It's not the yoga that has me soaring. Ok... it IS partly the yoga.  My back feels lengthened and tall. Instead of slumping my shoulders, I'm walking with my heart extended forward-  vulnerable, exposed and unafraid. I can actually feel

energy in parts of my body that were once numb and uninhabited.  Even my ovaries are talking.  

But more then the yummy goodness I feel from the yoga practice, there's the extraordinary joy I've discovered that comes with my intentions and my actions being in alignment.The self-satisfaction of following through with doing exactly what I said I would do and honoring my commitment to myself.  And that, my friends, is what the ancient Taoists called the Yi. 

Every element in Chinese Medicine has a spiritual component, and the spirit of the Earth Element is called the Yi. The glyph for the Yi is both poetic and powerful.  It depicts a heart with a musical note above it, asking us, "Are we singing the song of our hearts?"The Yi resides at the horizon of the earth, and is responsible for making sure our inspiration from heaven is empowered and animated with the energies of the earth. It's that crucial link that I often bypass when I am trying to manifest something. 

This... or That? Another way to do business...

This year Oceans & Rivers celebrates her 6th anniversary!  When I launched O&R back in 2010, I knew two things:  1) I wanted to help women step into the fullness of their lives, and 2) I wanted to create a lifestyle that gave me the flexibility to be there for my daughter in her most important moments.  (I also knew I wasn't quite cut out for working for other people, but that's another blog post...) 

  

What I found out was that most small businesses fail within the first five years.  I had flirted with being one of those statistics many times over.  I remember being so overwhelmed that I seriously considered giving it all up to work at Target- which seemed, quite honestly, a less stressful, more lucrative, and more stable work life.   I dreamed about the simplicity of red shirts and khaki pants. 

Elemental Alchemy of the Wood Element

If you're wondering why you haven't gotten a newsletter in a while,  it's because I've been truly honoring the winter season and the Water element.  Water brings us deep within, conserving our resources and gifting us with reflection and introspection. Believe me, I have been deep in those waters! 

  

But today is a new day!  Though it may not seem entirely like Spring outside,  you can feel a hint of warmth in the air and the winds of change. With it comes the Wood Element- bringing with it energy, movement and expression.  

In Chinese Medicine and Taoist philosophy, each season belongs to an element, and each element has a host of mental, physical, emotional associations.  It is through these associations that we come to understand the infinite connection between ourselves and the natural world, between ourselves and the cosmos. 

 

Wood Element Associations:

Season: Spring

Color: Green

Organs: Liver, Gallbladder

Phase: the beginning; youth

Energetic: Upward

Direction: East

Emotional polarity: Anger vs. Satisfaction/Contentment

Gifts: Benevolence, Vision, Skillful means, Creativity, Imagination, Ingenuity

Resonant Archetypes: the Warrior, the Visionary, Herukhuti, Oya, the Green Man, Nature spirits, Aries, Mars 

   

  

 The Wood element rises up out of the depths of Yin (Water) and directs us towards the highest expression of Yang (Fire).  After the Spring Equinox, where Yin and Yang are equal, Wood marks the point in the cycle where the organic world becomes more Yang than Yin.     

 

How does this play out for us?  In so many ways!  Check out this short vid I created on the Elemental Alchemy of Wood, and learn how the Wood Element manifests in our emotions, our psyche, and our everyday lives:

Don't forget to schedule your 'Spring Tune-Up session' for acupuncture, essential oils and flower essences to support you this Spring. Plus, stay tuned for articles, workshops, and new online courses to learn more about the Elemental Alchemy of Wood!  

Mountain Pride Flower Essence: The Spiritual Warrior

Mountain Pride Flower Essence: 
Archetype of the Spiritual Warrior

Positive qualities: Forthright masculine energy; warrior-like spirituality which confronts and transforms
 
Patterns of imbalance: Vacillation and withdrawal in the face of challenge; lack of assertiveness, inability to take a stand for one's convictions

(from The Flower Essence Repertory by Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz)

Planetary Influences:  Mars, Sun

Elemental Alchemy:  Wood, Fire




Mountain Pride flower essence is the archetype of the spiritual warrior, the one who fights for justice, speaks truth, and is able to take a stand in and for the world.


I could be writing about Mountain Pride now, in the aftermath of the so-called Trayvon Martin trial (which begs the question, why was Trayvon Martin the one on trial? but I digress...), or I could be writing this at any random point in time.  Why?  Because injustices against humanity are happening everyday, in every corner of the world.