One doesn’t truly know the value of something until it is missing from one’s life. Going without and having to work for things brings out the true value in them. Living off of the grid, or even just spending time off of it now and then, can really have a positive impact.
Soap is incredibly amazing and useful. There are many ways to make your own homemade soaps and shampoos, but do you know there are plants out there that do most of the work for you? Some people prefer to make or buy lye to make their soaps, but working with lye in its pure form can be dangerous if not handled properly.
But, fear not: I am not simply referring to the flowers out there that add scents to the soaps. Instead, I am talking about raw fresh soap straight out of nature. In this article, I will teach you about a few plants that can be used to scrub up with.
What is your wild side?
It's the part of you that belongs in nature, not sitting in front of a computer all day.
It's the part of you that wants to frolic in meadows with the wind tousling your hair.
It's the part of you that lives underneath the soil and blooms with the spring air, blossoming into a creature of pure beauty.
If you long to reconnect with this side of you, there's no shame in it. Here are some fun, simple ways to embrace your inner wild child. The best part? None of them cost money.
No matter how happy-go-lucky you may be, bad days still happen to the best of us, but you must not let these natural occurrences get the best of you. Instead of letting life’s minor irritations make you moody, immerse yourself in some of these positive activities that will quickly turn that frown upside down! Occasionally waking up on the “wrong side” of the bed is unavoidable, if unfortunate, but, with a few tips on what to do, you can keep it from ruining your whole day.
Pickling a portion of your garden’s fruits and vegetables allows you to bring farm fresh food to the table ALL year . Pickling for preservation may be one of the oldest methods of preserving food, as it traces back to the B.C. time period.
We are ever so often our own worst enemies. It is in the very nature of human beings to contradict ourselves. We get in the way of that which we most deeply desire, and for this reason we live in a state of conflict. We are all a walking paradox in our own right. Perhaps in bringing light to this issue we can move beyond it, and in that come to actualize ourselves as one unified force of consciousness.
Why do we get in our own way?
Long before the compass was created by humans, people used nature to find their way around the lands and across the waters. Sailors still use a special instrument called a sextant to navigate the seas. The sextant is designed to measure the angle of the stars above the horizon to find accurate direction and position in terms of the latitude and longitude. Before the sextant was used, Vikings used Sun Stones similar to a sundial that helped them maintain a proper course.
Summer can be one of the most amazing times of year to go foraging, especially if you’ve never been before. There is so much food available for the picking in the summer months that it is hard to be disappointed; it’s almost a guarantee that you will find something tasty wherever you are.
Think Ayurveda, and you may start thinking about herbs and medicinal concoctions used to stave off diseases. Well, true, to a point. But that’s not the sole and whole of Ayurveda. Instead, Ayurveda, first and foremost, is a lifestyle, a way of life. The word Ayurveda in itself can be translated as life science – in effect, Ayurveda is a set of principles to live your life by, not just recipes of herbal concoctions to drive away that cold.
The arrival of the Spring Equinox is very exciting for foragers. We watch as the snow begins to melt away, looking for any signs of plant life. Our eyes scan looking for bright baby green shoots and any sign of blooming color.
Spring’s bounty can be incredible if you know what to look for and where to find it. As we walk through spring’s edibles, I will show you some of the more basic plants to locate, identify, and harvest. It is difficult to choose just a few to fit within these pages, because there are books’ worth of information on the food in different areas.