Meditation

“And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being.” – Black Elk

Earth, Teach Me
Earth teach me quiet – as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering – as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility – as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring – as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage – as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation – as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom – as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance – as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal – as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself – as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness – as dry fields weep with rain.
– An Ute Prayer

Gratitude

Here is one of the meditations from The Healing Rhythms Program. It’s Great! Go here for more info.

April’s Full Moon

This month’s full moon is often referred to as Full Flower Moon, Seed Moon, Growing Moon, and Wind Moon. It’s a great time to celebrate new beginnings and also a time to stop planning, and start doing. Take all those ideas you’ve been thinking about and make them happen.

Plant your dreams and watch them grow . . .

“She leaned against the ancient stone archway and slowed her heartbeat, relaxing into the deep silence hovering over the ancient ruins.

Slowly the stones began to whisper and their voices turned into a dance of wind moving through the ancient ruins, swirling upwards as a mist began to rise from the stone floor. The curling mist moved towards her as she began to chant softly.

Beneath her the stones grew warm and glowed softly as the moon hung suspended overhead like a silver orb casting pools of light and shadow everywhere. She breathed in deeply opening herself to the power of the glowing stones. “Hear me ancestors of this place, I call to you to awaken from your deep sleep to dance with me beneath the light of the full moon,” she said. She turned and began to dance.”   . . .  Rose Arizmendi – The Deep Magic of Gaia

Everyday Goddessing  is about sharing magical techniques and sacred wisdom with other beautiful Goddess women. I believe that within every woman there is a goddess, a wise woman, beautiful, creative, powerful, with a deep soul, and that everything we need and are looking for is already inside  each of us. – Rose Arizmendi

Infused Herbal Oils

Today I used the last of my facial oil and when I went to replenish my bottle, I discovered I was out of my favorite infused herbal flower oil. It was definitely time to make some more!

I use the old simpler’s method for making my herbal preparations. I prefer this method because it’s easy and the way it’s been done by folk herbalists for hundreds of years.

The whole process of growing my own herbs or collecting what I need from a local herb store is very enjoyable for me. I like making my own tincture preparations instead of going to the store and buying them off the shelf, never mind the fact that I save a lot of money by doing this. I also make my own facial oils, creams, skin toners, facial cleansers and herbal masks for the same reason.

How to make my herbal flower infused oil

• Fill a clean, dry jar half way with dried organic calendula flowers, rose petals, and lavender flowers.
• Pour the menstrum (olive oil) over the flowers. Fill the jar to the top, making sure the olive oil completely covers the dried flowers. Seal with a tight fitting lid.
• Place the container in a dry, warm dark place. Let the oil & flowers macerate for six weeks.
• Place your jar in a bowl to collect any seepage.
• When it’s ready,  strain the oil into a clean dry jar. Squeeze the saturated herbal flowers, extracting as much of the remaining oil as you can.
• Store the oil in a cool dark place.

I use this infused oil to clean and moisturize my face daily. I apply a teaspoon or so of the oil to my face and massage it gently into my forehead, cheeks, chin, then wipe it off with a warm damp wash cloth. I follow this with a herbal infused witch hazel toner, and repeat this process daily in the morning and before bedtime.

Olive oil has been used for centuries to nourish and moisturize the skin and it’s been one of my favorite for years.

Monday

The video below is an Interfaith Performance Collaboration of sacred dance, music and poetry created and directed by Miriam Peretz. Absolutely Breathtaking!

“The journey in between what you once were and who you are now becoming is where the dance of life really takes place.” – Barbara De Angelis

“Inside me there is a dancer. Inside this middle-aged body of a housewife there is a dancer. Don’t laugh. I have danced with sunflowers in sandy September fields with fruit trees each spring, blossoms in my hair at the lake’s edge in winter where tall grass and thin reeds wobble on pointed toes in the wind and in summer with the sea where anyone can find the dancer inside. Don’t laugh. Barefoot, arms outstretched, palms raised to the sky, to the birds, to the clouds, to God, who choreographed it all, I danced. I knew every step and the waves stood up and bowed.” – Elaine Christensen