“Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.”

~Theodore Roethke, 20th-Century American poet

Some of you may be aware that, as an herbalist, I prefer self-healing to westernized medicine. Of course I do not advocate skipping immediate medical treatment in cases of extreme illness or emergency, but I feel that all intuition and common sense has vacated the local doctor’s office and gone searching for greener pastures.

For acute illness I do often suggest an herbal or vitamin remedy. They may not always taste like a dream but the results can be seen within about 24 hours and the illness or ailment is often sent packing much faster than the over-the-counter, knock-yourself-out-and-forget-about-it, type of remedies that we are all used to taking.

How do herbs heal? They work on a chemical level to correct any imbalances in our various physical systems and also to kick-start those functions whose sluggishness most likely led to the infection, sickness, etc…

Yet, as I have mentioned here on the blog in the past, all things are made up of light and all light is energy. So the purest and most subtle form of healing the human body, or any living thing for that matter, is energy.

There are many forms of energy healing, the most important one being thought. The power of positive thought has been expounded upon ad nauseum lately, but it cannot be over-emphasized.

My own preferred form of energy healing, for it pleasant effects, is the use of flower remedies. (Because energy signatures are universal, the essences are also great for use on animals for their healing.)

Flower remedies, most famously those of Dr. Bach, are a liquid containing the energy signature, or essence, of the flower from one or more plants.

Flower remedies can be made from the flowers of vegetables, trees, herbs, wildflowers and even the decorative garden flowers that we all know and love.

These simple essential healing remedies are made by infusing pure water with the blossoms in the noonday sunlight. Although I use the light cast during various astronomically and astrological phenomena, noonday sunlight is the most common method of creating flower remedies.

The light beams directly onto your vessel, passing through a floating layer of flowers and carrying their energies into the water.

Once the flowers are skimmed off, the energy water (or Mother Essence) is then cut or diluted using a preservative such as vinegar or brandy.

Some healers then ship the product as is, I prefer to bless or “activate” the essence for healing by stating the properties of the flower or flowers aloud and asking the universe to help it carry out its higher purpose within the life and body of the end user.

The properties of each flower are not made up quickly by some creative mind, but instead come from the energy experiences of test users around the world, from ancient healing knowledge that has been passed down, by looking at the physical design of the plant (often the shape of flowers tells you quite clearly what their usage is) and also from herbalism. Often the herbal use is related in some way to the energetic use of the same plant.

Though they most certainly can heal major physical ailments over time, the most pronounced effects of flower remedies come when used for emotional, spiritual and psychological healing.

I have used them for psychic development, youthfulness and vitality, all with great results. They have been prescribed with positive effect for depression, self-esteem, bravery and stronger will power.

The flower remedy treatment formula, usually a combination essence made specifically for the ailments and needs of the client based on their own answers to some brief questions, can be mixed using a variety of intuitive and research methods.

My general approach is to read the clients answers, get a sense of appropriate remedies based on my own personal experience and then to channel additional suggestions for remedies from my guides.

The end result is a subtle but highly attuned energy essence that benefits the whole person as opposed to focusing narrowly on one desired outcome. This is most beneficial since sickness creates many locales of imbalance and does not operate solely on the element or “symptom” that we have come to notice in ourself.

Flower remedies can also be taken as a solo essence, right from the original dosage bottle. This helps to treat more acute symptoms that come on more suddenly or have built up to an unmanageable level over time.

I have used this single remedy approach quite successfully on myself for treating a feeling of getting old, getting more tired and feeling less energy. Within just a few days that shine in my eyes had returned and my skin looked younger. The essence was Elderflower.

I have also seen this method used for swollen joints, arthritis, stress and panic attacks.

By locating a flower essence practitioner you can get access to your own custom blend of flower remedy, designed to alleviate long-term illness and readjust hormone, energy and mental imbalances in order to bring you to your best possible health.

Please consider doing some research yourself on these wonderful healing essences, the gifts of the universe for our souls. Please incorporate them into your life however you can for I truly believe that healing is meant to be subtle and natural, not harsh and chemical.

Best of Health to You All!

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
~Martin Luther King Jr., American Clergyman, Activist & Civil Rights Leader

Reiki, a form of energy healing that began in Japan, has changed my life. It’s subtle and loving ways are still transforming my relationship with life and the world, months after my first exposure to it. Many of you probably know that it cleanses and opens chakras and the aura, but it can do so much more. For me it has birthed greater self-awareness, peacefulness and physical health in ways that I would not have imagined. It works with you, who you are inside and in essence, and then offers you (okay kicks you in the bum with…) the opportunity to take greater responsibility for your body, mind and soul. It finds its way into your relationships and thought processes, slowly bringing you more into alignment with the divine source of all things and asking you if you might like to live fully, feeling that divinity every day. My answer is, yes, please!

For several years now, nearly a decade even, I have been having little synchronicities come in to my life that revolve in some way around Reiki. Sometimes it is just someone I know getting a treatment or overhearing someone in a café talking about Reiki, but always the mention of it seems to tweak something in my mind, somethings that says, “You should look into that. You should learn to give Reiki to others.” As this has occurred to me numerous times, I eventually attempted to get a Reiki Level 1 attunement. It was scheduled and fell through. I tried again more than a year later and that time I, myself, had to cancel. Weird. But, though I still wanted to make it happen, it fell to the back of my mind and there got trampled by other things in life.

What I have learned now, looking back on it, is that Reiki gets passed through different lineages and in different ways. You don’t want to get an attunement from just anybody. You want to get it from someone with the right kind of energy and mindset. It is also very important that you be at an open energetic state in your own life, because Reiki attunement realigns things in your own mind and heart…this can be a bumpy ride or an inspiring one, but you will most certainly be changed forever on the other side of it. Sometimes, when we are seeking Reiki, things are just not synched up enough yet. It will happen for you when the time is best.

My “happening” finally occurred in May of this year. It was everything I hoped it would be, surrounded by a magical group of people, healthy food, crystals, music and sunlight. I felt embraced, connected and loved. I was opened and learning occurred. So much joy and ease was in that space. Two lovely, talented ladies each gave me a Level 1 attunement that day and I still feel sisterly love with them and for them ever since. I am so grateful that I waited. That I took this time for me. That it was memorably the first day away from my new son, that my husband and son made sacrifices so it could become my new way. That the ladies made generous offers and traded energies with me. Such an amazing gift and just at the time in my life when I really needed a shift, a rebirth.

I am not saying that the way Reiki was given to me is the way that it can be, or should be, for everyone. My only point here is that what we need and when we need it will unfold in it’s own time. Reiki, as raw universal flow, cannot and simply will not be pushed or forced. That is the nature and beauty of Reiki. You don’t need to direct it or will it onward in order for it to heal…it is health, it is light and will flow to the dark and to the illness of its own accord. Blessings and love, gentleness and light. Period.

For me it came in and shone a light on my mental self, the inner beliefs and compromises which had been part of my thinking, especially about myself, for so long that I had forgotten how they ever started in the first place. They had become unconscious stumbling blocks, accepted and assumed and as real as a stone wall. There were parts of life and the world that were not even open to me as possibilities because the past energies I carried with me had already made me blind to them. There was a solid, dusty picture frame in which I lived and anything not contained within the frame was therefore inaccessible to me.

Somehow, in the weeks following the Reiki attunement, things in my environment and things in my mind shifted in ways that had me looking more deeply at crutches and comforts that I had clung to for years and years on my journey and also at new barriers that I assumed to exist because of my new role in motherhood. What Reiki asked me was, “Is it all true? Is it all valid? Is it all serving your highest good? If not, can you do more to change it then simply sitting back and complaining about it?” I assure you that these were some of the most profound changes in my own thinking that I have ever undergone. They rocked me to my core, gently, but still, I was rocked.

Within a couple of months I had learned to give Reiki, not just for physical healing, but for calming others and bringing them toward their own inner peace. It helped me immensely during the final illness of our beloved cat Forrest, to be able to soothe his discomfort by giving him Reiki. Reiki was also simultaneously helping our household as we attempted to teach our infant son, Thoreau, to sleep through the night. I would lay beside his crib and send him calming Reiki whenever he awoke at night. Both transitions are complete now, but without the help of Reiki I do not think that either event would be remembered as being so imbued with love, connection and acceptance. Reiki blesses life with a sort of gentleness, a subtle and constant joy that, if you live in mindfulness, is tangible and real to you.

Also, in the month immediately following my introduction to Reiki, I became inspired about my own physical & mental health. Yes, I have spent much of the past 5 years as a meditating vegetarian, I have occasionally given up gluten and dairy and I have shed some unhealthy weight. But, very little of this was self-motivated. I did these things to make others proud, to make others happy. Where was I in all of this? That is what I began to ask myself. What I needed was physical activity, I decided, and a higher self-esteem. And, surprisingly, this time it happened so easily, so effortlessly. I wanted to be active. I wanted to meditate and do affirmations. I wanted to make a promise to myself and stick with it. “Wow! That is something new,” I thought. So I went with it, creating a 79-day fitness plan for myself and becoming a long-distance walker virtually overnight. I joined a 40-day Global Sadhana and began saying the words from my heart instead of just my head. All of these things became so simple to sustain, because Reiki told me that I was finally being who I really am. And that feels good, very good. No need to question it or where the motivation might have come from…I am changing coal for diamonds here!

The thing about Reiki is that you often think that you are getting it just for yourself. You get a treatment or an attunement and you do this from a necessarily selfish place…like going to get a massage. That is something you aren’t doing for anyone else, just yourself. Well, one’s initial approach to Reiki is often the same. What I have found in the aftermath, though, is that Reiki doesn’t stop there. It has blessed my mind and my body, my home and my family in so many magical and practical ways that I found you cannot keep it to yourself. You really want to pass it on, to share the love. This is why I had to start offering Reiki healing to others, in-person or at a distance. It is not possible to sit with all of this peace and universal love and not be filled with a desire that everyone, everywhere could feel its effects in their own lives. “My cup runneth over,” as the Psalm goes.

I am presently in the process of creating a divinely inspired “body doll” which my guides have suggested I make, using natural materials, affirmations, healing herbs and crystals at each chakra point, with an added silk “aura.” Anyone who feels the urge to contribute crystals to this doll, feel free to send them my way, their energy would be much appreciated. The purpose of the doll is to focus the intention and energy on the corresponding chakras in the person being healed, no matter how physically far away they may be. Reiki, as an energy healing modality, knows no distance. It originates from, and travels within, the divine space of all things, the world between worlds. In that world, as in this, we are all one, all connected. Time is non-existent there and love is the highest vibration, permeating everything. Energy transfer is instantaneous.

These days my every moment in my life is somehow filled with Reiki, whether it be in my writing, my dealings with my son & husband, in my shopping or my cooking. The Reiki magic is indeed gentle, but so very real in its presence. I have studied magic and ritual in a few other forms, but the magic of Reiki energy is that it just is. It does not need bells or whistles to call it out of hiding or to psyche you up for conducting it. This is similar to the All, the Universal Source that we all come from. It is present in us in our low moments and our high ones, filling us with divine creativity and inspiration. We do not have to worship it in order for it to grace us, we are always graced with it. All that we need to do is to become aware of it and let it flow. No membership card needed.

I do actively try to tune in to Reiki every day and to increase my vibration so that I may be filled with more of it. I allow it to whisper to me in moments when I would have previously gotten stressed-out or distracted. It helps me to stop old patterns before they actually arise, instead of getting carried away on a roller coaster ride and only then realizing what pattern I was repeating. In short, the mindfulness of Reiki in my life has broken several of my deeply-ingrained patterns and taught me about who I truly am, divine and loving. I also continue doing self-treatments, as is suggested for all practitioners, so that I can feel the loving grace and be cleansed in my own etheric body. It is this that brings an easier smile to my face and makes healing others possible.

The words and intention of Reiki are my waking ritual now. Each morning I stand before my bedroom window, look at the trees and the sunrise and recite the Reiki affirmations, with deliberate intention.

Just for today, I will be free from anger.
Just for today, I will be free from worry.
Just for today, I will be humble.
Just for today, I will do good in my work.
Just for today, I will be kind to all living creatures.
In this way, I invite happiness.

These words really have helped shift my focus, giving me the positive intention to be a better “me” every day and also leaving me the freedom to not be that person, if I so choose. We are all saint and sinner, Reiki doesn’t ask you pretend otherwise. But we are all in charge of our own happiness and healing, that is what Reiki seeks to remind you.

The world truly is filled with joy and opportunity, community and acceptance. Reiki can clear the fog of indifference from our eyes and open us to this truth in a very real way. It is given from the Universe for all to tap into and utilize. One touch, one affirmation, one attunement can bring it to your fingertips and empower you to empower others. If you feel at all drawn to Reiki, I recommend learning more about it, taking a healing or attunement, and allowing it deeper into your life. May you be blessed on you journey.

“Only that in you which is me can hear what I’m saying.”
~ Ram Dass, Spiritual Teacher and Author

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This article is a repost from our old blog – originally dated April 2008.
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At present I am reading the book Compassion in Action by Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush.

It was a book that I bought simply because I wanted to read some Ram Dass and could not find his classic Be Here Now at any local shoppes.

But, despite my initial supposition that it was a book I did not need and would not particularly like, it turns out that I was very wrong on both points.

In a very unassuming way Ram Dass, sixties spiritual guru, public speaker and renown all-around caring guy, explains his own self-righteousness and stand-offishness in his past work.

He details, with humility, his confusion at how to truly implement, in a practical way, the advice and teachings that he was offered by his own guru, Maharajji Neem Karoli Baba. He talks about being caught up in his own feelings about his spiritual progress and not realizing that he was mentally putting himself at a distance (and often above) others who were less enlightened.

Opening up his heart to the path of service to others has helped him to see his knowledge and his approach to others as truly connecting tools.

The book gently guides those of us who feel a spiritual calling, but still want to know where the money comes from, to look at the oneness that makes us the same as other people, instead of the spiritual uniqueness that makes us work in separateness.

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All I can say is: “Wow!”

I have not even finished the book yet, a book that I was only reading to bide my time until Be Here Now arrives on my doorstep, and it has already changed something that I thought was unchangeable in me.

For several years now I have struggled with my own desire to use my hard-won spiritual lessons as the basis for my career. To be self-employed in something that I thought of as a positive field.

And yet I was constantly struggling with my desire to only deal with, or only surround myself with, people who I felt were at the same (or at least a similar) level of awareness.

It was an internal battle. One that caused me much frustration and self-defeating thought. How could I be so spiritual and yet be having these exclusionary feelings towards other human beings? How could I be so conceited?

Now, in just a few short chapters, I realize that it is okay. It is not that unreasonable. Many other, perhaps wiser, spiritual folks than myself have had similar feelings and fallen into similar traps.

When we remember our oneness, how we are all part of the same spiritual stuff and each here for learning our own lessons and teaching lessons to others, it becomes easier to be in this world, but not of this world. It is possible to be on your path to awareness and still get your hands dirty in the real world. That is why you’re here, isn’t it, to make a difference?

The spiritual path being an essentially solitary one at times, by necessity, we can often end up overindulging in our “uniqueness.” We are reading and meditating and studying in order to grasp our “oneness”, but end up believing it theoretically while forgetting to implement it practically.

In just the past few days I have felt more strongly my connection to others and my desire to alleviate the sufferings in this world than I have ever felt it before.

And implementing it has been so freeing.

Now I understand, more than theoretically, the saying about providing value to the world and having faith that the money will follow. If your are doing what you do out of a genuine desire to better peoples lives, then reward is inevitable. If you are doing it for the money, get used to disappointment.

I don’t know about you, but I definitely need to read and implement some more of this book.

Namaste, Ram Dass.

“The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love.”
~Hubert H. Humphrey

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This article is a repost from our old blog – originally dated May 2008.
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At present the universe has blown me to Britain, ostensibly to write my first book manuscript, but in actuality it is for so much more. Some of my strongest past life occurrences happened here and I have memories here from this life as well.

The country is green and lush and offers many opportunities for being in a remote place, communing with yourself and nature.

And so, settling down for now in beautiful, spiritual Glastonbury, I find myself not writing a book as much as healing.

The energies here have propelled me to heal wounds that, until recently, I did not even know existed, both present and past life.

And it has not been SO difficult to face, not as hard and harrowing as one might expect. I feel that the Earth energies here and the help of my guides has made the process as smooth, and relatively painless, as it can be.

Of course, there will likely come releases of energy and awareness and belief patterns that may not be so easy. But that time is not now.

Still, for now, the process is flowing smoothly and I must assume that it is happening because it needs to, in order to allow my book to manifest.

As part of this healing journey, which I had not expected to be taking, I had a private shamanic healing session. This was my experience:

The shamanic healer, who is female but called by the name of Jay (like a British jaybird,) is based here in Glastonbury at the Bridget Healing Centre.

Her voice and appearance are both gentle and calming, which is why I chose her the minute that I met her. (They also have another shamanic healer named Kestrel, whom I’ve never met.)

Jay was very understanding about the situations that I explained to her and did not think me weird. Most people in Glastonbury are open to spiritual and unseen topics and DO NOT think me weird. Trust me when I say that this is unique to any place or people that I have ever known.

At the time of our session she had me take off my shoes and spoke sweetly and kindly to me as we prepared for the healing. She led me to a beautiful and sunny room that was robin’s egg blue. (I had been seeing boatloads of robins everywhere, so this was very interesting to me.)

The room had been prepared with drums, chimes and smudge sticks. There was a nice, hydraulic table (similar to a massage table) that I laid on, face-up.

I then closed my eyes and Jay began chanting and drumming.

Though there was noise in the street below, she introduced the idea that it was all part of the healing session and that only whatever energies I most needed would permeate the space.

During this hour long session I passed through many emotions and levels of energy.

Jay often spoke in tongues and mumbled under her breath. I got the visual of old grandmother tribal leaders hovering over me in a dark hut. Being a spirit channel, none of this bothered me. I actually found the feeling of it all to be quite familiar.

Many times I felt that it was not just she and I, but a whole room full of people who were there. There were so many guides, both hers and mine, as well as elementals and a couple of wise spirits.

I could sense tribesmen of some kind all there chanting and dancing for my healing.

At least twice I felt her tug something, perhaps an energy blockage, out of my aura and actually felt the pull on a physical level. This action immediately let in more light to my energy field.

At the end she asked me to wait until she left the room to open my eyes. She brought me a glass of water and we spoke softly for a few minutes.

She told me of the guides that she had seen for me, of what energy repair she had done and how my energy now felt to her. I left the place with a genuine spring in my step, and just the energy buzz lasted for several days.

I would say that it was the most gentle, effective and moving healing that I have EVER had.

The key is in reading the healer before choosing one, in being able to fully trust not only their abilities but their integrity. Once you have that, you can allow all manner of things to be released from you.

I feel like some things that had needed to go for a long time have dissipated greatly. I also feel like some things that had been missing, for an even longer time, have finally returned.

Thanks Jay!!!

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Readers can find out more about Shamanic healing from the International Society of Shamanic Practitioners or search for a healer in their area by checking this extensive, but non-complete, list.

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