Loving Yourself to Wholeness
Bright white and beautiful – that’s the landscape outside my window today. We are snowed in. The highway has been closed for the most part of two days. Blessed be, this is the time to rest and rejuvenate.
These are such trying times. Like every family, we have a rainbow of perspectives from a nurse to a handful of Catholics to atheists and a Christian Science-minded Witch. Zinc, Vitamin D and C, says Western Medicine and so we gulp down our supplements. The holidays were not what was expected, but neither were they ruined.
I tested positive for Covid on Christmas Eve. My sons found out they had been exposed the night before my birthday on December 23, and though they tested negative, we decided to not to see each other and yet it seems we could have been together after all. I applied chamomile-infused oil on my warm tummy in concentric circles to ease the nausea, while Joey drove back up to the mountains to isolate.
My symptoms ran a mild Covid spectrum for 48 hours then subsided into a quiet restfulness. Joey worked 16 hours in the blizzard last night and saved a father and son whose car was stuck in the white-out.
CalTrans Capers are Superheroes in the Eastern Sierra. Photo from LA Times.
If Covid has taught me anything, it is that life owes us nothing. No one deserves Covid, no one is to blame or be shamed for letting the burr of this dis-ease attach to our body. We are not going to get our perfect holidays, or the concert and we may even lose our health or lives at any moment. We must be grateful for every mundane moment we have. This normality of life is what is Divine. We are spiritual beings in a human condition shining our light upon the world. There is no competition or hoops to jump through. When we indulge in life’s simplicities and smallest blessings, we will find peace. The connection you yearn for is within yourself.
“You are the closest to God, Great Spirit, Goddess that you will ever be. ”
Nature teaches us to indulge in the present moment, for within a day or maybe more, everything will change. The snow melts, the shoots reach for the sun, flowers blossom and leaves fall, round and round: change is the only constant. Instead of grumbling about the missed celebrations, truncated family time, I thought about my favorite lessons from my Alanon sponsor: frustration tolerance. Actually, she was telling me that I needed to teach my sons frustration tolerance, such as when they didn’t make the soccer team or missed an exciting party because they were sick. One day, parents will fall from grace and children will see us as human, and we want them to accept us. Frustration tolerance is the key to happiness regardless of how something appears.
This week between Christmas and New Years has always been my favorite because no one is working! The collective consciousness has finally gotten off the treadmill and it permeates my aura like the snow blanketing the earth outside. Finally, there is nothing to do. Finally, we can just be ourselves with nothing to prove and no where to go. This nothingness is Divine. When you grant yourself self-care, this is a loving act for the Godself.
Ritual Herbalism is the chapter I am working on this week of my new book, Box of Magick. My connection to the One Love is strengthened when I turn to plant allies who are also connected to the Divine Light. Essentially, I am asking for help of the Divine in the form of herbs, trees, flowers, and roots.
Recently I have been working to improve my relationship with Cannabis and heal decades of wounds. I partake and judge myself. I praise its health benefits and think sourly on the lives ruined by association with “marijuana.” To further my healing, I wrote about Cannabis for my next article in my Herbal Journey’s column for Sage Woman Magazine.
To judge Nature is to judge ourselves – and that is not self-care.
I love today’s meditation from Kerri Connor’s book, 420 Meditations: Enhance your Spiritual Practice with Cannabis because it includes a sensory experience with my favorite fruit: the orange. Growing up in Orange County, this fruit splashes me with thoughts of sunshine, health and wholeness - days of playing outside in perpetual 72 degrees with a golden glow that feeds me strength and nourishes my soul. This is how we heal: we focus on the wholeness of our being and the hope and joy in the world that unites you, me, and every living thing.
December 27 , 420 Meditations
Got the munchies: Oranges
After dosing, get into your comfy spot and set a bowl of orange slices right by you. This meditation is going to focus on your taste buds. And other sensations. Keep your eyes closed so that you are not relying on your sense of sight. Use your sense of smell to take in the scent of each slice before you eat it. Pay extreme attention to what you are doing as you take a bite. Feel your teeth sink into the orange.
Experience the textures and flavor, singling them out as much as possible. Take your time and enjoy the orange. Use this type of meditation for anything you are eating for a fuller, richer connection with your food.
For the last three days I have been giving myself herbal facial steams as a method of reducing the possibility of infection while Covid passes through me. I have used a combination of lavender, eucalyptus and rose geranium essential oils from New Directions Aromatics (a great company recommended by my friend Stacey Lazzara, Artisan Perfumer & Founder, Jade Daisy Perfumes), and dried calendula from Oshala Farm. I have discovered a self-care routine that I absolutely love as it reduces my stress and makes me feel the herbal medicine deep within my lungs. As anxiety leaves my body, I am getting stronger. The endorphins build upon each other until I felt better and better. Today is for me. Every day is for me and you.
Remember, we don’t have to be perfect to be Divine.
We just need to be present to the blessings that come with each day.
JAMIE’S FACIAL STEAM STEPS
Supplies: towel to drape over your head, a favorite bowl (preferably handmade ceramic), one essential oil and/or and handful of dried or fresh herbs, timer, trivet for your pot.
Goal: Get the first steam that releases from your plant allies to get the highest benefit and breathe deeply of its medicines into your sinus cavities and respiratory system.
Pour 6-8 drops of one essential oil in the bottom of a glass or ceramic bowl. You can add dried herbs or flowers, must be pesticide free.
Bring 3-4 cups of water to a near boil. If it boils, let it cool 30 seconds.
Pour water into bowl.
Quickly set pot on trivet, set timer for 10 minutes, cover your head with the towel and lean as far into the steaming water as you can manage.
Practice 360 breathing, where you expand your lungs from front to side to back to side.
Envision the plant, whether lavender or eucalyptus or orange or your favorite herbal ally, sending its healing energy throughout your body and lighting up in your head, throat and chest with Divine Light.
FACIAL STEAM BENEFITS originally posted on Ascension Kitchen
They cleanse the skin: the steam causes your face to sweat, allowing impurities in the skin to be released. The volatiles in the herbs and essential oils also have antiseptic and antibacterial action against acne. You could follow your steam up with a clay mask to further help draw out any debris.
They hydrate and promote circulation: again, because they induce sweating. The compounds in herbs such as calendula and chamomile are also incredibly soothing and moistening. Guaranteed you’ll finish with a glow!
They’re anti-aging: this is in part due to the enhanced blood flow to the face, and in part due to the antioxidant activity of some of the herbs and oils. Geranium, sandalwood and frankincense essential oils deserve a mention here, as they help promote the renewal of skin cells. They calm the nervous system: particularly when you’re using herbs and or essential oils like chamomile and lavender – this is a beautiful way to help manage stress and help you relax.
If you tend to have dry, mature, sensitive, red or inflamed skin, then the category of herbs most valuable to you will be those that contain constituents that are slightly cooling, softening, and moistening. Think calendula, chamomile, rose, lavender, and comfrey (ALL of these can easily be grown in your garden).
If you have oily skin, you’ll want to seek out herbs that have an astringent property. This means they help tighten and draw the tissues together, shrinking pores in the process. Think rose, rosemary, red raspberry leaf and sage.
Often with oily skin, comes acne or blackheads. For this you’ll want herbs that are antiseptic, antibacterial and cleansing. Think tea tree (or in New Zealand – Manuka), eucalyptus, peppermint and rosemary. If you have combination skin, you can use a mixture of herbs, but calendula, chamomile and rose would be my top picks. Lemon peel is something you can add no matter the skin type – it’s energising and invigorating and makes for such a lovely addition.
