Delicious Procrastination

I had a few things on today's list that just weren't resonating. Know what I mean? Since they weren't time sensitive I chose to procrastinate and modify yet another cookie recipe to make these wonders...

Hempy Cardamom Cacao Nib Cookies
Makes about 2.5 dozen cookies (though, let's face it, it all depends on your choice of cookie size)
Preheat oven to 375ºF

Cream:
1 cup of virgin coconut oil
Add gradually and beat until creamy:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
Beat in:
2 eggs
1 generous teaspoon vanilla extract
Sift together and stir in:
2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cardamom powder (or more!)
Stir in:
1 cup cacao nibs
1/2 cup hemp seeds
Drop the batter from a tablespoon, well apart, on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake about 13 minutes. Cool on a rack and then... enJOY!

Use organic (and fair trade) ingredients as much as you possibly can. It's not just good for your body, it's good for our environment, our world community and our collective future.

Peace.

Waiting for Gaia's Vernal Thaw

Beautiful, unpredictable March, the month that ushers in the vernal equinox, the solar portal of spring... I experience mixed feelings as spring approaches. I mourn the loss of winter's long, dark, solitary hibernation and nights lingering by the warmth and glow of an evening fire. I celebrate the increasing pace of seed-starting, harvesting, opened doors and windows, and the decline of wood-burning dust. Already, strolling around my little acre, currently void of snow (or mostly), I've begun harvesting garlic mustard and onion grass, I see the cleavers and chickweed sprouting, motherwort reemerging, along with Egyptian onions, and a host of others that simply wait for the snow to melt. I'm still waiting for the first signs of the nettle, and remind myself that it's still early. So while I wait for the fullness of Gaia's vernal thaw, I'll be planting my own garden... starting and tending to the seedlings that will nourish and sustain me for months and years ahead.  In. Deed.  Indeed. ::nods:: Peace.

Of Being Human

Some days an aspect of our world can turn upside down and throw us off our center. For me, this was one of those days. Granted, it was of my own making; the result of good intentions fueled by deeply rooted business protocol focused on the customer. All the same, my choices were in error. The only details that matter are these:

A little meditation and heART journaling was my Medicine for clarity.

I made a mistake.

And I shall do my best to learn from it, and not repeat it.

This is the best part of being human.

I hope your day is rich in lessons rooted in humanity.

Peace.

Communion with the First Seedlings

The alliums are sprouting - three kinds of heirloom onions, and one variety of leek.

So they came upstairs to visit the sun, to get a drink, and to share some time and space with me before heading back to their basement shelf and their artificial sunlight. I assured them that it wouldn't be long before they head to the greenhouse. They seemed pleased with that news! Me too.

These little sprouts are my signal to Know that it's time to start some other seeds. I'll likely start another flat of the same, plus a few kale and Brussel spouts before the month is over. But for today and in the meantime, I'll cherish the promise of spring that rises with these little seedlings. And I'll cherish the promise of spring that it rises in me.

Peace.

Truth Standing

This intentional, focused Truth Standing that I spoke of in my last post, The Journey to Elemental Truths, is proving to be most challenging, indeed.

Truth Standing, as I'm lovingly calling this practice of being true to mySelf, first and foremost, and consistently acting on those Truths in my daily life, is simple when we're solitary. It's when we interact with our tribe, passively or actively, that flies buzz around the healing ointment of Truth Standing.

What I'm learning, again and with growing clarity, is that there's more than one way to shoo the flies from the ointment in order to maintain the solidly rooted and erect posture needed for Truth Standing integrity, even in harsh environments.

Winter's Daucus carota, the wild carrot better known as Queen Anne's Lace has reminded me of the roots and posture as well as the noble seeds which are protected within the structure of Truth Standing... when we're True to it.

So I'll be speaking more Truth, more clearly, more often in the coming days, and taking actions to keep it rooted through the challenges, to stand tall in it, and carry my seeds forward into the mystery of the future. The future of my dreams.

Dream it. Do it. Make it manifest.

Peace.

The Journey to Elemental Truths

Standing in our Truth and speaking it is vital to our healthy evolution.
It creates fertile ground for sinking our roots.
It enables us to conceive, consider, craft and convey with comfort.
It inspires us to reach and act on our passions.
It nourishes, hydrates and bathes our spirit.
It holds us true to who we are and to our purpose.

And yet it is a challenge, make no mistake, even when we've been at it for some time. I've grown comfortable in expressing my Truth, though it wasn't always easy. In fact, it was hard. Still is sometimes. First I had to explore the shadows and light of mySelf to be certain of my own honesty. Then I had to begin sharing... with my mother, which was, quite possibly, my greatest life challenge, and most important one, and one in which I had twenty years of sustained and stormy practice. I feel I've evolved to a place where speaking my Truth is simply something I do... yet, at times, it's not without continued challenge and more - still more - growing pains.

Nonetheless, I feel I've grown to be quite comfortable with the practice, the journey.

Folks who know me best, know that when I feel someone has crossed a line, I address it, swiftly, candidly, face-to-face (whenever possible) with as much compassion as I can muster. In all but the rarest occasions the results are positive, with interpersonal opportunities that blossom as a result. Yet there are those cases where Truth (mine or theirs) is simply not welcome, not ripe. And in these instances I step back, remaining as open as possible, yet creating space. Sometimes, plenty of it. Know what I mean?

Then there's those other moments, where I speak my Truth, as clearly, candidly and concisely as I can and I'm simply not heard... and I can grasp that. It's the ripe thing again. It's those other moments where what is heard is not what I conveyed. Not. Even. Close. These are the challenges that most perplex me, and its the flavor of challenge that I'm sinking deep into now. May the journey be kind to me and teach me what I need to Know, that my roots may sink ever deeper, that the clouds may pass to reveal the Light I seek.

Peace.

Studio Play

Today is a studio day, which means both apothecary play and paint play. But first, I'll have to finish tidying up from Thursday evening's Renal System class. Once the ol' workbench is cleared I can tend to some measuring and packaging for clients, and continue some tweaks and taste testing for a couple beverage blends with which I've been toying.

I have several finished Nature inspired collage pieces to make ready to hang, and available to potential buyers. And I'm looking forward to adding another layer or two to add to this canvas. 

I'm sure to be adding to this large canvas as well, continuing to work with peace amid chaos... in a tangible, colorful, meditative way. As we all should be. Right?

Peace.

Journey's Landscape

Today marks a thing that many of us blog-folk call our blogiversary. For me, it all started in 2004 on a long-ago format that could barely handle text. Twelve years ago.

In that opening entry I wrote: No telling where this may lead. For me, herbs encompass one day, spiritual guidance the next, shamanic journeys another, maybe time spent with Nature, or drumming, and so on . . . you get the idea. To me, this diversity is at the heart of the people's medicine. We have choices. We have the will to learn about them. We have the power to choose. And we have the right to change! 

Silly words. Filled with the Wisdom of the Fool that inspires me, leads me, pushes me... is me. Still. I reflect on these aging words, wrinkled and sagging, and consider just how little and just how much has changed in this measure of reality. I reflect on the journey's landscape...  on what I've witnessed... from angles all my own.

In this moment, this eternal present we share right now, I feel infinitely grateful, and challenged... pissed off at feeling so pissed off about so much... and ready to continue the healing path... with or without you. Your choice.

And across the landscape I hear the echo: No telling where this may lead. Still.

Peace.