What the World Needs Now...

IS YOU.

I'm going to be completely honest and transparent.   This blog was supposed to be a celebration about the upcoming Magic & Medicine flower essence training happening this weekend.  I love flower essences... LOVE them.   I am REALLY excited about the training.  So, I was going to write a blog about the difference between flower essences and essential oils, and I was going to share stories of the profound shifts they facilitate.  

But everytime I went to write, I kept seeing images of Alton Sterling's son weeping.  

I couldn't write.  My excitement felt inappropriate, and I started feeling despondent.  sad.  angry.  distracted. powerless.  unexpected tears would well up.  As my heart wept for humanity, I felt even more disconnected from my purpose.  

In my practice, so many came in yesterday feeling the same way.   Eyes slightly glazed over, distracted and unable to focus.  Some felt almost numb, while others' muscles tensed in a hyper-viligent state of fight or flight.   Secondary trauma, which is the emotional duress that results when an individual witnesses the firsthand trauma experiences of another,  is REAL. 

I remember reading somewhere that when a mouse dies on a trap, it energetically sends out a message to its fellow mice colony so they can avoid the same trap.  A telepathic "don't eat the peanut butter!" of sorts, which is why you have to keep switching the bait.   

I believe that we as humans are no different.  I believe when one of us is affected by crimes of hate, we ALL are.  We receive the message- yes through social media, but also deep in our bodies.  

The question is:  how do we stop eating the peanut butter?  

There are no easy answers, but I personally always turn to flower essences when my heart is aching. When my mind needs clarity.  When my soul needs solace.   Here's whats in my medicine cabinet right now:

Star of Bethlehem Flower Essence:  For any type of shock and trauma, Star of Bethlehem flower essence helps to reconnect the body and spirit for a sense of renewed wholeness.

Borage Flower Essence: Creates a sense of buoyancy in the heart when it is weighted by grief or disappointment.

Mountain Pride Flower Essence:  Helps us respond to injustice with clarity and conviction, while staying connected to our soul purpose.  

As I slowly, gently and lovingly come back to myself, I am reminded of my purpose. I am reminded that this ancient medicine is needed in times like this.   I am inspired to be an agent for change, and allowing space for RIGHT ACTION to reveal itself. 

May each and everyone of us find the connection between our personal purpose, and the soul of the world.  We are the ones we've been waiting for.  

Welcome Wood Element

Can you feel it in the air?   Spring has Sprung...  and though the weather in New York has been a little shifty, we can definitely feel the currents of warmth and the welcome of the Wood Element.

The Wood Element represents change, and brings with it the capacity for evolution and self-actualization.  Feeling frustrated at work?  Blame the Wood Element, daring you to dream bigger and to take a stand for more.  Feeling irritable or tense?  That's the Wood Element, asking you to acknowledge what's not working in your life, and motivating  you to make changes.   Feeling particularly politically charged up?  That's also the Wood Element, calling for the unobstructed freedom of each and everyone.

Which brings me to my favorite Wood Element quote:

A flower doesn't ask for it's share of the Sun, it just grows instinctively toward the light.

May this Spring season find us all growing instinctively toward the highest expression of ourselves, without the need for permission or validation.  May we find ourselves with the courage and flexibility to push through (or navigate around) anything that's blocking our light.

This month we've got exciting happenings to honor the Wood Element...  The Awakening Women's Retreat in the Catskills will help you dig deep into your truest self and awaken new possibilities.  The In My Element Business Intensive will help you step confidently into your entrepreneurial dreams.   New Moon Namaste and Moonifestations will introduce you tools (and flower essences) to support you as you tap into the abundance within and around you.

 Let's all reach for the Sun, shall we?  There's more than enough room for ALL of us.

Awakening to Sensuality...

Last year I had the honor of attending a Soul Sistah Series Yoni & You event, which was fabulous! Who knew that tucked away in the busy streets of midtown was a little oasis where you can indulge all of your senses?!? During my yoni steam, I was brought plates of strawberries and watermelon.  I rested in a dry sauna whose stone walls made me feel like I was entering the Red Tent, and soaked in ginger and lemon baths.

Then I rested in a quiet meditation room where I bawled like a baby for about an hour. All of that cleansing released deep wells of emotions that had been waiting to erupt:  I mourned the loss of 5,000 pictures and memories from when my computer crashed, taking with it the sweet memories from a failed union.  I cried out the alternating frustration, rage, and loneliness of single-mamahood.   I cried at the fact that I was in a beautiful space, surrounded by beautiful people, and crying.  And when the tears finally- finally! - dried up,  I slept like I was in a coma. 

Rewind.  Weeks before the event,  and the Soul Sistah Series team interviewed me about my fave flower essences for women in the pursuit of pleasure.  You have to laugh at the irony- being called in as an expert on pleasure, but instead hysterically crying.  You just can't make this stuff up.

What I realized is this.   Our sensuality, as well as our capacity for intimacy, joy and pleasure reside in our Root and Sacral chakras.  But guess what else lives there? ALL of our emotions. Not some, and not just the 'bad' ones.   ALL of them.  Over the years I've learned that when I suppress any negative emotion- anger, fear, insecurity- my libido takes a nose dive.  Taking with it my capacity pleasure and creativity.  

The truth is, we don't have to "learn" pleasure.  We're born with the capacity to experience the erotic and the joy of simply being alive.  Which is why my favorite flowers for pleasure are not simply feel good flowers.   Instead, the flowers essences for love and intimacy speak to what lies beneath- the thoughts, beliefs and feelings that must be addressed so that our natural capacity for pleasure can emerge unobstructed. 

I hope you join me this month as we remove the barriers to love, intimacy, and creativity.    At New Moon Namaste, we'll intimately engage our senses and activate our Sacral Chakras through the sexiest yoga flow ever. And at Ebb & Flow all month, we'll dance in Fire and Water. 

Wherever you go this month, may you be surrounded by love.  And check out the vid below with my fave flower essences for intimacy and sensuality!

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

Is Harvest Moon for You? Here's How to Tell:

I wish I Could...

I think I Can...

Don't Mind if I Do!

If your thinking about the Harvest Moon Retreat sounded something like that, then I can't wait to see you in the Catskills!   I literally can't wait for the cooling breeze and the autumn trees...  

But if you're still in the I wish I could phase, here are some ways to tell if the Harvest Moon Retreat is exactly what you need:

1.  This is you on the first day of school:

This summer I took on an extra, unpaid job as my daughter's personal assistant.  Responsibilities included coordinating transportation to and from camp, scheduling playdates, and

programming fun summer activities.   So...  I join mamas across the country in celebration of back-to-school, which means I can get a little bit back-to-me.

 

2. You're ready for CHANGE

Maybe you need small micro-adjustments, or maybe you need a whole life overhaul.  The Autumn Equinox welcomes in the Metal Element- the season of transformation- and the ideal time for creating new schedules, new habits, and new routines.  At the Harvest Moon Retreat, we'll be taking time, taking stock, and taking charge.  Let me help you Find Your Flow!