Well, I was so busy this fall that I skipped a month of updates.
I have had a wonderful time visiting with friends all over the U.S., and I have begun a certification course in CranioSacral Therapy that will have me in Orlando, FL, eight times in the next two years. I am really excited!
On the home front, I have decanted and sampled some fabulous tincture, oxymel, elixir and infused oil of Goldenrod!!! She was quite magnificent this year and her medicine is divine! I will share more (and some pics) in a later post.
This post is light on pics, but heavy on gratitude. I was asked to create a ritual to connect with Mother Earth, and I thought I would post it here. If you would like to use this little ceremony, let me know; I would love to join my intentions with yours as we strengthen right relationship with her.
Earth Harmony Ritual
We earth children love our Mother, and while we give back to her through feeding our animal siblings, planting trees, recycling and many other wonderful activities, we also have a deep need to connect with her on a spirit level. This ritual has been created in the hope that you will be inspired, in your own creative way, to connect with our Mother through your senses, through ritual and through intention.
Deep Peace~
Dana
Take time to walk outside. Visit your yard, a park, your favorite sit spot, or any place that calls to you. Walk slowly… mindfully… with a heart of meditation, and engage your senses. Take a few steps, stop, and look around you. Notice what is on the ground as you walk softly on the earth. Before you return to your home, notice a gift that has been left for you. It may be a leaf, an acorn, a feather, a stone, pine needles, etc. Give gratitude and, when you return home, place this gift on your altar (or in a place that is meaningful to you). Do this exercise several times, and accumulate gifts from Mother.
When you feel you have collected enough material, sit with these items and allow Spirit to tell you what to do with them. You can create something biodegradable with them or you may simply arrange them in a way that is meaningful to you. Let your creativity and intuition guide you.
After creating your piece or arrangement, infuse it with intentions of your choice: love, healing, balance, peace, nourishment, etc… you may do this one time or over a period of several days.
Finally, take your special gift and return it to Mother Earth, asking that she be nourished with your offering. Visualize her accepting and harmonizing with your intentions. Give gratitude.
~And so it is.
Ever in her service,
Dana
My Wolf Baby
You made me ( is simpler to blame you
) turn round and look at just this thing that you describe, on the table behind me. On the top of all of this are papers, bits of emergencies that I can’t seem to wish to attend to, but placed in prominence with hopes I’ll be prodded to do so. I can’t safely light the candle, nor use the sage, sweet grass, cedar and rosemary. I can’t clear any of my stones, many of which have been flung off of my person onto this mess, which used to be my grateful praying place, hoping to be cleaned. The really ‘goofy’ thing is, I created this space for working. I created this space for grounding. I created this space because it helped me to be clear, reduce overload…looking at it now is funny but not. I have guilt over the entire thing. I fear cleaning it. I fear not cleaning it. My head latches onto the dysfunction(hotly labeled) that says oh now you never really needed to go thru these steps in the first place, you should just do it without. Anxiety bites! So does not feeling grounded.
Also, I have a question or a thought, not sure which. The items on my table came to me as these gifts or things that I noticed that ‘felt’ right at the time. Either they do not have that feeling anymore, or they are ‘ruined’ by the grooze energies from the stuffs. When I do clean the space up. It doesn’t have that energy that it did. To me, the gifts cannot be thrown away. Part of me feels this would be disrespect. Another part says, well, when you clean and clear other parts of the house you find new cures and new spaces and get immediate feedback of that feels right that does NOT, so put it back. What do you think about my words? How do you get rid of altar type things, properly? What if I make a mistake?!?! omg!!! (wow, I should type these things outloud more often, they make me laugh at me!)
Psst–I do not have this angst when I make a circle outside for a purpose and use ‘gifts’ for that, I clean the space after and put the natural ingredients in the center of one of my plants outside. Same with any sage or sweetgrass ash.
Blame away, darlin! LOL Ahhhh… yes, the sacred messes. I have some of those, too. I am looking at one in particular right now on my desk. Hold on a sec. *1 hour later*… Okay, you inspired me to clean my corner of the world. LOL Thanks! It feels much better now.
I know how anxiety and fear feel. ((hug)) And I know that grounding techniques help me with that a lot. I can also relate to those items that feel right at the time and then the energy changes for one reason or another. Is it the item? Is it me? Did I do something wrong? Did I not respect my gift enough?
*shrug*
Sometimes I think that, while something has a very meaningful purpose in our lives/experiences at one time, when we change, we recognize that an item feels different… then we question ourselves unfairly. Sometimes feeling different impressions simply means that an item has fulfilled its purpose in our lives and it is now time to gift it forward. And sometimes it just needs a little ceremony and a little love, and you will find this piece is just as important to you as before it became part of the clutter.
I suggest you bite the bullet and clean your space. Take those items that meant something significant to you and place them elsewhere. Then go to them and sit with them individually. Spend time with those items. If you feel that they are meant to move on to benefit another, then that is great. If you find a piece still has great meaning and energetic value to you, then give it a place of honor and work with it again.
Have a beautiful day, sweet friend.
~Giving thanks for you, Dana~
ha!
I knew before I hit the post that you’d tell me to clear it all and then sit with each one, to talk to it…and wait till I could hear it
we so fuuuuuuuuuuunny!!
(oie, I had to make a blog out of the rest of my comment!)
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