Prevention, Medicine and Magic

I had my first experiences with shamanic practices around 3 years old. I had already had the necessary wounding, a major burn, a near fall from the top of a tree from which I was rescued, and a near drowning in our pond, from which I saved myself. I spent quite a bit of time by myself outside and a lot of that was in our “woods” which was a tiny patch of trees, and stumps, but to me seemed vast. I met my first best friend in my back yard, her name was Mint. The bush was huge, to me, and clung to the side or our white house. I loved Mint, and would go see her each day and lean my face into the center of her foliage and breathe in deeply. When I began learning about yoga, plant spirit medicine, devas and magic I realized that this relationship was my initiation and still remains powerful medicine for me. I keep a bottle of mint essential oil with me at all times as a cure for everything. Mint medicine is powerful and quick. Later in life I have become aquainted with Lavender medicine and work with the devas for her and the bees that love her so much. All of the mediterranean herbs are powerful medicine and if taken regularly in food, inspired (breathed in) through the volital oils, or simply chewed you will have powerful antioxidant effects that balance and protect against illness. Plant herbs in your garden and spend less time symptomatic. Even having them nearby prevents “bad” energetic vibes. Just as they ward off insects and some animals (like deer) they can ward off unwanted bacteria and viruses too. The trend right now in using oregano oil for all sorts of cures. Devas love relating with humans, and the connection can be more real than the unreality of many or our worldly experiences. Make friends with one herb in particular and you will have a friend for life.

Is Your Yoga or Exercise Practice a Regime?

Athletes, runners, weight lifters, and yogis, I must ask you a few questions.  What is your motivation?  When you are practicing, running, and training to your limits, are you motivated by self love of self hatred?  You may say, “I am looking after my body” or “I am getting in shape and that is self love”  and this my very well be true.  And the opposite may be true as well.  If you are motivated by a voice inside that says anything like “you are not good as you are, you need to lose weight, get in shape” etc. then you are pushing from a place of what I call “body domination”.  Body domination is a form of identification with an unloving part of self located in the mind.  Usually in a yoga setting we train ourselves to move out of mind and into body.  Yet this unloving voice is sneaky and can be speaking so quietly that you may not even know it is the source of your pushing to be something other than the beautiful presence you already are.  Even in a yoga setting, and we see this more and more in the media, there is a mainstream goal of looking good.  I will now give you a good reason to move away from this form of self hatred, a reason that I hope out weighs the voice of body domination –  listening to the voice of self love, of “body support”, and identification in the present moment as body, is the way to true well being, health, youthful radiance, balance, stamina, and magnetic beauty.  Is this a program you can get behind?  Self love is like a beacon, and a light that warms up a room, and it is infectious to those in its glow.  When we have this light turned on, we are accepting and even in love with our flaws, our unique expression of our infinite self.  We lose the motivation to be something else and drop into the flow of present time experience.  This is how we can evolve into recognizing our true form, and this is why we practice yoga, to be the embodiment of the light of divine love.