Spring Cleaning & Challenge

Spring cleaning our homes seems a daunting task if we are not an overall organized person.

We make lists, we make plans, we plant, we work, we stand back to see our creation.

I try and spring clean every year. It ends up turning into a process that once started, sometimes seems hard to continue, even begin or stop. Emotions are attached to things for me, and so I ponder a little too long on things that should be easy to let go of. I might need it, it has served me, it is comfortable, will I miss it, not having it may change me! Fear sets in and anxiety too. They are just things I tell myself... temporal, temporary THINGS. I realize some of these things don't serve me. I release them. I feel lighter, I breathe a cleansing breathe. Sometimes I later feel anxiety letting them go, and I dig back in that garbage bag to find them and hold them close again. But the more I let go of the things that do not serve me, the better I feel and I start to love the feeling of freedom and lightness more than I loved the things.

Apply this principle to our emotions and those things we carry around with us that weigh us spiritually and emotionally down. They are just things or memories of things. They do not serve us. They stop us. They are roadblocks, briar patches and pits that slow us down on our journey to greatness. They are barriers to happiness, peace, and rest. Sometimes we feel like we can let them go. We place them in the garbage bag. We feel naked, a little exposed. They served a purpose, if only to stop us from having to be who we were meant to be. They had become comfortable, even though the comfort was not real. So, we may choose to dig through that bag and get them back out. Or, we can CHOOSE to let them go, and enjoy the freedom and peace more than the false comfort they brought.

Release, surrender.... all those things that are not who you are. Doubt, false beliefs, fears, anxieties. Let them go, slowly if you must. Be that caterpillar. Build your cocoon. With each thing you release, your cocoon gets stronger, inter-woven, sustainable, comfortable. Then climb inside this new place you have created by letting go all that you did not need. Snuggle into it. Feel the walls, feel the warmth, like a swaddled newborn who feels secure, unconditionally loved, appreciated, full. Stay until you are ready, stretch and grow and when you choose to emerge, look at who you are now. You look younger, you feel better, you are not perfect, but that is not the purpose. You know who you are, you begin to take stock and note what you like about you, life, friends, family, instead of filing away the hurts, angst and pain. Life is new. It is not free from pain or trouble, but with new eyes you face the challenges. With new wings, you fly more easily through life.

Spring Cleaning Challenge- Let go of the things that are not serving you. Meditate, pray, do yoga,Tai Chi, energy work, sit quietly and observe the things you can change. You will be amazed at the power that brings. Realizing YOU can change it. You can! Because you are powerful, and a beloved creature of divinity!

I believe in you and I believe in who you want to be. We are here to help each other. I believe in that.

Painting by my favorite artist- Sulamith Wulfing

Change of the Season congestion

Spring has sprung and so have the mulberries..here. Itchy eyes, crackly throat, "snuffed" up nose as my 5 year old says. It can be misery. One of my favorite things for this is a nice steam. Be careful, it's hot, but oh so nice. These essential oils are known for their abilities to relieve congestion, open up bronchials and nasal passages and also hydrate them.

Boil a pot of water on the stove. Turn stove off, remove pot and let it steam a minute. Add these oils, stir with spoon:

10 drops eucalyptus essential oil
5 drops ginger essential oil
5 drops lemon essential oil

Put a towel over your head and pot-close eyes
Hold yourface about 18 inches from the water and breathe in through your nose, exhaling through your mouth.* Do this for 5-10 minutes or until you feel done.

*again, steam is very hot, so be careful. If you start to feel light headed, take a breather of fresh air and resume.

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill.

Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.

Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench.

Care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.

The only path to serenity.

-Tao Te Ching

Baby Wash

Who does not love that new baby smell? I think I sniffed so hard with this baby I sniffed it all away! It is sweet and beautiful and makes you want to nuzzle them all day long! Babies have very fragile skin, and don't really need more than water to be clean. However, with the boom of body care products babies are inundated with chemical laden soaps, lotions, etc.. It may say lavender on it, but if it is a mass produced big name product, I guarantee you that the lavender is synthetic- meaning lab produced. I used to teach a 2 hour class on this, so I could go on and on, but I won't. A really great site for looking up what is in your body care products is this one...http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/. Type in what products you are using, and see what is truly in them, and if there is anything to worry about.

I use very simple things on my babies. I use essential oils, salves, herb infused oils and just carrier oils as well. Even though I make my own lotion, I do not use that on their skin until they are least a year old. One of my very favorite recipes is below, and is so easy and yummy, I think all babies should use it!



Baby Body Wash Bags

Summary:
Use these wash bags as a gentle soap-free cleanser for baby.

Ingredients:

Muslin bags
Lavender bud powder*
Chamomile flower powder*
Colloidal oatmeal*
A few drops of olive oil
1-2 drops lavender essential oil
(You can also add a few pure soap shavings if you like- I also like to add powdered milk or buttermilk)

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Fill muslin bags halfway, keep remainder in glass bottle. When bathing baby, get the bag wet in the warm bath water and squeeze gently as you wash baby's skin and hair.** Rinse. Can also be left in bathwater to create a nice soothing bath.

( **this works especially well for skin rashes and cradle cap)

* To powder herbs, use a mortal and pestle, food processor, magic bullet or coffee grinder. Colloidal oatmeal literally is just oatmeal that is ground into a powder. It release more of it's good nutrients and oat milk when ground.

Quote: Control

“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.”

-Brian Tracy

Quote-Great people and everyone else...

"The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next.

The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing."
~Michael E. Gerber

January AND February as Pregnancy and Birth Month!

I have been enjoying the sweet softness of my baby boy and just soaking in this special time of newbornhood, so I declare January and February as Pregnancy and Birth months!

This pregnancy experience has been the most different for me. I was barely 21 when I had my first child, my youngest children are 5 1/2 year old twins, I have changed a lot mentally and physically over the past year, etc... So this pregnancy, I was 33/34, & there was only one baby!

Because I know my gestational years are winding down with the addition of our 5th child, I really felt so grateful for this opportunity to have another baby, to enjoy those sweet newborn weeks and the excitement and joy that comes along with it. So, my focus will be on how you can increase your joy during pregnancy and birth.

Tip #1-Take time to rub your belly and talk to your baby. It really is so important. When at one of my prenatals with my midwife, she was checking the baby's heart rate and we heard the rhythm pitter-patter that had become so familiar. At that moment, my baby stuck his little bum out as far as he could. I rubbed it gently as I had so many times, and his heartbeat shot up to a very comfortable and excited rate. He knew me! He knew my touch and it showed.

Pick out or make a special oil blend for your belly, and use it! Every night after my bath, I would give my belly a good massage with one of my oils. I enjoyed it so much and felt this connection with my baby as well. I did feel a slight disconnect at the beginning of my pregnancy because I was so busy with life and my other 4. This was a wonderful way to pay attention to THIS pregnancy and this baby.

Here are my favorite oils for massage you can purchase:

Cocoa Mango Belly Oil- Made with wonderful carrier oils that soothe the skin, and the most heavenly scent of cocoa butter and citrus oils. It smells like chocolate covered oranges on a warm summer day. My husband always commented that it made him hungry!
http://www.supersalve.com/oils.html

Angel Oil-Extra Virgin Olive Oil with infused with Lobelia root and Lavender essential oil. This is fantastic if your stretch marks hurt or itch as well. Awesome stuff and you can use it on baby as well!
http://herbalogie.com/

These oils are also relatively inexpensive. I have seen belly oils out there for around $100! Yikes! Even looking at the ingredients, you could easily make them yourself for a fraction of that cost. So, just a word to the wise, don't overspend on belly oils that promise a certain result.

One of my favorite belly balm recipes is this one from MotherNature.com:

Pregnant Belly Oil

4 400-International Unit vitamin E capsules4 ounces almond (or any light vegetable) oil
½ ounce cocoa butter (available in drugstores)
15 drops lavender essential oil

Pop open the vitamin E capsules and squirt contents into almond oil. Heat mixture in a saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa butter. After cocoa butter melts, remove mixture from heat and let cool. Add essential oil and stir to blend. Massage the oil on your belly— or get someone to do it for you—at least once a day, or as often as you like.

You can also infuse lavender buds or any herb into extra virgin olive oil, scent it with your favorite essential oil and amazingly have your very own easy to make belly oil.

Don't be afraid to experiment. Infused oils are one of the easiest herbal preparations you can make. Here's to a beautiful belly and baby!

(find out how to infuse oils here-http://desertroselv.blogspot.com/2008/07/summer-soothers-tip-1.html)