Recently our local community center was closed as the property lease was up and the landlord chose to go a different route. One of the women in our group gifted the group with a new center today. She located a property for sale and purchased it and devoted a portion of the space to our group. No bosses, no leaders. Just a peer group of equals.
Today she opened it to the group to join her in cleansing and blessing the new space. All women who came brought a gift for the new space (totally unplanned) and we called circle and had conversation and let the negative energy out and the positive energy in.
I am looking forward to the opportunities to grow in this space and share experiences with such a diverse group.
We started to discuss changes that can be made to the space - tile, paint, gardening, furniture, décor. Simple is going to be good and I love that there is an expectation that there will be many paths represented.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Sugar Scrub! Making of an uplifting morning moment.
Sugar scrubs are good for exfoliation and can be scented in so many wonderful ways. Sugar is preferable over salt scrubs for regular use as salt is much more abrasive. Salt scrubs are good for use occasionally on very dry skin.
The scrub I made is meant to be uplifting in nature to be a nice morning wakeup during shower time.
2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup almond oil (great for skin hydration)
8 drops peppermint oil
8 drops orange oil
Mix oil into sugar slowly to create the right consistency.
Peppermint essential oil is very strong and must be diluted. It can help alleviate tension headaches and migraines. Astringent in nature when applied to the skin as well as refreshing. From a spiritual side it is purifying and healing.
Orange essential oil is a natural pick me up. Good for reducing anxiety and improving symptoms of depression. Pagans recognize the highly uplifting nature of orange oil as well and seek to use the smell and the light topical application to improve moods. Must be mixed with a carrier oil.
The scrub I made is meant to be uplifting in nature to be a nice morning wakeup during shower time.
2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup almond oil (great for skin hydration)
8 drops peppermint oil
8 drops orange oil
Mix oil into sugar slowly to create the right consistency.
Peppermint essential oil is very strong and must be diluted. It can help alleviate tension headaches and migraines. Astringent in nature when applied to the skin as well as refreshing. From a spiritual side it is purifying and healing.
Orange essential oil is a natural pick me up. Good for reducing anxiety and improving symptoms of depression. Pagans recognize the highly uplifting nature of orange oil as well and seek to use the smell and the light topical application to improve moods. Must be mixed with a carrier oil.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Who doesn't love a fizzy bath bomb?
In preparation for Christmas and Yule (catering to all my holidays!) I decided to make a batch of awesome fizzy bath bombs. First time I have ever made one and they were so easy! Never will I pay crazy costs for them again when mine are better anyway.
To make you need the following basic ingredients:
They smell amazing and I am so tempted to keep one for myself! I may just make another batch.
Please keep in mind that I am not a doctor and I researched all my information on the internet and made decisions based on that information.
To make you need the following basic ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of oil (any nice carrier oil would probably work just fine: avocado, almond, coconut, olive, grapeseed, etc - I used avocado because the oil is great for skin elasticity and hydration and that is perfect for a luxurious bath)
- 1/2 cup of cornstarch
- 1 cup of baking soda
- 1 cup of citric acid
- essential oils (8 drops is good but I used a little more)
- My batch - I chose a relaxing blend since baths tend to be something I do at night before bed.
- 8 drops of lavender essential oil (food grade). Because it can be applied neat (straight up) it is safer to add a little more. Lavender is a healing herb in general. It is good for calming nerves and releasing tension, relieving pain (works great on minor burns), disinfecting skin. It has a lovely smell too.
- 4 drops of jasmine essential oil. Jasmine is an antidepressant and an antiseptic (amongst many other things like romance), and it smells wonderful!
- 3 drops of frankincense essential oil. Frankincense is a tree resin and is healing, purifying, anxiety reducing, and uplifting so it reduces depression. It also boosts the energy of the other oils so you get a super boost.
They smell amazing and I am so tempted to keep one for myself! I may just make another batch.
Please keep in mind that I am not a doctor and I researched all my information on the internet and made decisions based on that information.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
How I found my path
When I was young my father was a deacon of a Presbyterian Christian church. We went to church on Wednesday evening, Sunday morning, and Sunday evening. I was enrolled in the small private school that the church had. We did evangelizing on Saturday mornings after pancake breakfast. So I was in church every day of the week. All our friends were members of the church. Total immersion.
As I started learning to read and going through school my father made me read books on John the Baptist and Peter and Paul...I don't remember the details on those books, just that I had to read them between 6-8 years old and the content was for adults. Very heavy reads for my young mind.
I even remember once when I learned the lords prayer and got to go to the local amusement park and one night I forgot some of the words and got punished for it.
My father is a good man, he always meant the best.
Around the age of 11 there was a falling out with the church, I didn't know the details until recently (28 years later). When that happened all church ended - I changed to public school, we stopped going to church (amazing how much time that freed up), we even stopped praying at the dinner table and at bedtime. We never saw our friends again...completely cut off.
Turns out we were excommunicated for not tithing enough and for drinking beer. Silly church rules. My dad had to feed a family and pay bills and believed if water was turned into wine then beer should be allowed. He can even point out the locations in the bible where alcohol was consumed and allowed.
Over the years I tinkered with religion and different churches. Non denominational, Episcopalian (my spouses religion), and Presbyterian again. Never liked any of the churches I explored or the commitment required. Instead I forged my own path, I made decisions for myself regarding how I conducted myself in all aspects of my life. I made moral and ethical decisions. I chose to be honest, to work hard, to treat people with respect, and on and on.
Recently a good friend gave me a new word - Pagan. Not something I had heard before which may sound strange. But she was Pagan and I looked into it because I was curious as to what that meant. And accidentally Pagan is what I realized I was just in lifestyle. At least from a basic perspective.
So I dug in - research, lifestyle changes, cementing choices in my life, making new lifestyle decisions, giving into the 'fun' aspect of worship and collecting an assortment of tools to aid in my spiritual path.
Eclectic Pagan is the official term if I had to call myself something. Nearing the end of my first year and a day now - I still have so much to learn and so much more to practice. I am drawn to Wicca and Buddhism. I love Eastern philosophy and Western philosophy. I read about Christians and Muslims too because to know the differences strengthens my beliefs.
I learn the rules to guide my life and practice them regularly. And sometimes it is so hard. Negativity in the media and at work, setbacks in life - all that drags you down into a pit of despair if you let it. But keeping my mind on my spiritual growth keeps me from sinking into that muck much better than not having it in my life.
One of the biggest things I have learned is that my path is my own and it's perfect for me. But it is my own and no one else is on my path but me. We all have our own path and that...is just the way it is supposed to be....it is okay.
As I started learning to read and going through school my father made me read books on John the Baptist and Peter and Paul...I don't remember the details on those books, just that I had to read them between 6-8 years old and the content was for adults. Very heavy reads for my young mind.
I even remember once when I learned the lords prayer and got to go to the local amusement park and one night I forgot some of the words and got punished for it.
My father is a good man, he always meant the best.
Around the age of 11 there was a falling out with the church, I didn't know the details until recently (28 years later). When that happened all church ended - I changed to public school, we stopped going to church (amazing how much time that freed up), we even stopped praying at the dinner table and at bedtime. We never saw our friends again...completely cut off.
Turns out we were excommunicated for not tithing enough and for drinking beer. Silly church rules. My dad had to feed a family and pay bills and believed if water was turned into wine then beer should be allowed. He can even point out the locations in the bible where alcohol was consumed and allowed.
Over the years I tinkered with religion and different churches. Non denominational, Episcopalian (my spouses religion), and Presbyterian again. Never liked any of the churches I explored or the commitment required. Instead I forged my own path, I made decisions for myself regarding how I conducted myself in all aspects of my life. I made moral and ethical decisions. I chose to be honest, to work hard, to treat people with respect, and on and on.
Recently a good friend gave me a new word - Pagan. Not something I had heard before which may sound strange. But she was Pagan and I looked into it because I was curious as to what that meant. And accidentally Pagan is what I realized I was just in lifestyle. At least from a basic perspective.
So I dug in - research, lifestyle changes, cementing choices in my life, making new lifestyle decisions, giving into the 'fun' aspect of worship and collecting an assortment of tools to aid in my spiritual path.
Eclectic Pagan is the official term if I had to call myself something. Nearing the end of my first year and a day now - I still have so much to learn and so much more to practice. I am drawn to Wicca and Buddhism. I love Eastern philosophy and Western philosophy. I read about Christians and Muslims too because to know the differences strengthens my beliefs.
I learn the rules to guide my life and practice them regularly. And sometimes it is so hard. Negativity in the media and at work, setbacks in life - all that drags you down into a pit of despair if you let it. But keeping my mind on my spiritual growth keeps me from sinking into that muck much better than not having it in my life.
One of the biggest things I have learned is that my path is my own and it's perfect for me. But it is my own and no one else is on my path but me. We all have our own path and that...is just the way it is supposed to be....it is okay.
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