Before our embodiment, I imagine we were traversing endless passageways and landscapes of time/space. Living other lives as other names in other places and following the ways of the culture, our ancestors, and the tug in our hearts. If you believe in past lives, that is.
I do.
Most of us will do the kitchen-made masks and massage creams but may stay away from essential oils—believing them to be too potent to use on the skin. That is a mistake. If used correctly, essential oils can prove to be a natural, organic and skin-nourishing tactic in aging gracefully without showing much of it on your skin!
Recently, a client was hauling it very quickly down a hill on his road bicycle and took a trip over the handlebars. Unfortunately, spandex doesn’t do much to protect the skin and he wound up with some pretty nasty road rashes, something most cyclists are familiar with (or may be at some point if not yet).
While castor oil is no “wonder drug” to take all your hair problems away, it is an oil that’s high in nutrients and can add life to locks devoid of moisture, nutrition, and shine.
Swimmer’s Ear, also known as Otitis externa, is pretty common during the summer months simply because more people are in and around water. Swimmer’s ear is actually an infection that occurs in the outer ear canal running from your eardrum to the outside of your head. The infection is typically brought on when water enters the ear and becomes trapped inside of the ear canal.
Powerfully minty-fresh with a cool distinctive fragrance, peppermint oil is quickly becoming one of the most versatile essential oils in the world. The rapidly growing perennial plant native to Europe and Asia supports a wide range of health benefits due to the nutrient-rich compounds present in peppermint leaves.
Sandalwood refers to wood from trees in the genus Santalum. Sandalwood trees grow in India, Asia, and places like Hawaii. There are many types of wood that have desirable fragrances such as cedar and cherry trees but the scent of those trees fades pretty quickly compared to the sandalwood. The sweet, warm, woody, and soft scent of sandalwood stays strong for decades. Sandalwood’s sweet aroma has been around and highly valued for many centuries.
More than termites, rats, and wasps, Argentine ants might actually be the worst pests in the world. Based on their size alone, they might appear innocuous: worker ants are between 1.6 and 2.8 mm long, while queens are no bigger than 6.4 mm. Despite their tiny size, they’re major disruptors of native ant species. While they’ve only lived in the United States for little more than 120 years, they can be found across the nation with large populations in moderate climates like Southern California.
Lighting a bundle of sage, the shaman, oracle, priestess, healer wafts the thick smoke of the quick-burning leaves in order to purify the space, open up psychic channels and prepare the way for deeper issues to be addressed. As the smoke clears, so too does the heaviness that was present before its igniting. All that was unclean is now clean, and negative energies cease in the space for the true work to begin.
Preparing to step onto the stage, butterflies in my stomach, fear seeking to grip my frame, I reach for a vial of ginger essential oil stashed in my purse pocket. Dropping a few drops into the palm of my hand and rubbing it gently, inhaling the essence, I can immediately feel a sense of shifting. My feet plant more firmly into the ground and my spine straightens. Suddenly, overcome with confidence, preparing for this moment, I find myself elevated into the state of empowerment I know is normal for me, and I step onto the stage.