dinner

There is this thought

that the more we wake up

the more joy infiltrates

the more bliss dominates

but how am I to believe this?

I eat

my dinner

and watch

my family

laugh, and drink

and make silly jokes

and I feel how much I love them, how much I fear this moment

to change

so it's easier to block it out, find something wrong

than to let my heart swell and break with the truth

that the love in this moment of laughter and health

is more than my little heart can hold

or my eyes can see

and so they fill

with tears

of discomfort

of fear

that this moment will pass today

or someday forever

be gone

from my lense

my glove

my table.

My children

chubby-cheeked, sweet eyed and sassy

My husband, strong and willed, optimistic

my skin clothed and hearth warm

that the need in my belly, should it not be filled

with this I could die

loveless, empty

void of blessing or luck

or worse

robbed of what beauty had given me so generously

right now in this moment

as they laugh and eat

my attachment grips me

tight

and I run

to the bathroom where mirrors are small

enough to avoid

and far where small sounds of weeping cannot

be heard and the cloth

of tissues can sweep away the open wounds of my strangling love

dumping me in the lap of the moment

revealing pain as truth and love

as duality. Moment as short.

Children as miracle. Husband mortal. Self;

permeable.

Belonging

I never thought

the moment would come

"Oh shit" I said

inside my head

as my heart grew from grinch to grin

and water swelled

in my eyes.

I squeezed the steering wheel

as I felt the white pines

watching me

and the juniper listening,

celebrating

with frosty bitter blue fruit

jewels on her boughs

and the white birches reach, drinking

in the January sun while it lasts

as the bald eagles cavort

and the jagged mountain sides pour

with thick still ice

While I drove down

interstate 84

West

with my children in the car

and the smell of this particular place

and time

in my nose,

Home

landed in me.

I'm here.

This land is me. My body

responds now

to it's changing light

the curvy hipped roads

and gazelle winter trees

The decent of Autumn

and revelation of summer

Her greenery, her cycles

my teacher.

I never thought

the moment would come

when Connecticut called me

home

and I would accept.

Yet in the time it took

for the next snowflake

to melt on the hood

of my red Saturn

(which is terrible in snow)

the spirit of this land

thawed my icy heart

as my mind sped

a film in my head

and showed me visions

of all the plants I've come to know

and trees I've wept upon

and rivers carrying my prayers

roots and nuts that are now

my hair, my skin

the hills who hold my walk

the rocks who tell my story

and the collective of

that movie

surrounded by the people keeping

me loved.

"Oh shit"

I thought

"It's here?

Not Tennessee? Or Virginia? Or

Asheville North Carolina? Costa Rica?"

No

She says

at least not right now.

You are here

with me

you are here

come in.

Herbal Love Elixirs by Darcey Blue and Sean Donahue! Just in time for the holidays!

Love Elixirs from Brigid's Well Bring the warmth of love and the heat of passion into the heart of winter with these special limited edition elixirs blended from organic and ethically wildcrafted herbs by Darcey Blue French and Sean Donahue. We have crafted three amazing potions sure to delight the senses and enrich the body, heart and soul with feelings of love, passion and delight. Each elixir was made with a specific intention, and is infused with flower essences, herbal tinctures, spices, and raw honey. You may choose a set of all three elixirs to be used as your needs, feelings and goals transform, for $40 plus shipping. Single elixirs are $15 each, plus shipping. They come attractively packaged for gifting. We invite you to indulge your senses, and feed your passion with our love potions! There is a limited quantity of these luscious treats, so order early! Blossoming Heart Elixir- Ashwaganda, Rose, Vanilla Bean, Cardamom, Raw Honey & Rose water. Lady Slipper and Basil flower essences. Let the gentle power of the Rose open your heart to blossoming. Inner Fire Elixir- Hawthorn, Damiana, Cinnamon, Chile, Chocolate, Raspberry and Raw Honey. Lady Slipper, Hibiscus and Basil flower essences. To stir the fires of passion and love in body, mind and soul, gets your heart pumping and your blood moving. Blissful Heart Elixir- Ashwaganda, Milky Oats, Lavender, Damiana, Raspberry, and Raw Honey. Lady Slipper and Basil flower essence. Release your cares and worries and relax into the sweet bliss that lets love and passion flow. Set of all three elixirs, 1 oz each - $40, plus shipping Single elixir of any variety, 1 oz - $15 plus shipping Please contact us via e mail to order these special treats! shamana.flora@gmail.com Payment accepted by Paypal, Money Order, Check

White Pine Oblation

Your Magesty

I am listening.

I am at your service.

Guide me right for healing.

What lovely cones you bear,

with jewels ancient and glossy.

What fragrant sweet perfume you wear,

your needles sewn with care.

You are regal, yet humble,

a forest sorceress.

You heal and feed,

and soothe every need,

A ministree, you are.

My Queen,

I see the peace in your arms

as you stroke the winters chill

as you caress away the ills.

I feel the cure in my throat

as a tingly coat

and a balm to my every wound.

Your spell casting gaze

and owl hiding ways

I honor and offer you praise.

May I speak for you, touch for you

weave a fancy tale

for you, lead me through

the labyrinth of troubles

with your color of emerald;

a poultice on my soul.

I am listening, speak

whisper, to me through your shape,

body, sap, seeds, and needle. Roots like

lovers to rocks and branches like whirling dervishes

reaching yet bowing

floating yet steadfast

ever green yet evolving

prehistoric yet prophecy,

Commanding presence and quest,

seeker and song.

I am listening, opening, to you

My Emerald Queen.

Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference - Registration Open!

Announcing (please post and forward):

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

for the Sept 17-19

TRADITIONS IN WESTERN HERBALISM CONFERENCE

Expanded to 3 Full Days of Classes!

Discount Early Sprout Registration: $250

The first 100 Registrants to request them (just email Kiva) will also receive the following bonus gifts:

Signed Limited Edition “Medicine Woman” color art print by Jesse Wolf Hardin ($35 value)
Foundational Elements in Traditional Western Herbalism Ebook by Kiva Rose ($15 value)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW

Featuring:

Rosemary Gladstar • Kiva Rose • Paul Bergner • Phyllis Hogan • Jesse Wolf Hardin • Matthew Wood • Jim McDonald • Howie Brounstein • Phyllis Light • Charles Garcia • Donna Chesner • CoreyPine Shane • Pam Hyde-Nakai • Darcey Blue French • Monica Rude • John Gallagher …and more!

Friday & Saturday Night Concerts

Two nights of deeply inspirited music and heart-welling celebration featuring

Arborea & R.I.S.E. (formerly Rising Appalachia)

Location

The TWHC takes place N.W. of Santa Fe, New Mexico at the enchanting Ghost Ranch, onetime home of artist Georgia O’Keefe and now a relaxed conference center surrounded by beautiful open spaces and sculptured crimson hills.

Classes & Schedule

There will be 3 FULL days of 30 or more in-depth classes Saturday and Sunday, presented by the 20 or so teachers, each 1.5 to 4 hours in length, including hands-on workshops and native plant walks. Specific conditions will be addressed, as well as energetics, diagnostics, preparations and formulas, cutting edge discoveries, ethics and spirituality, the role of the community healer, and plant and habitat conservation.

For more information go to the

Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference Website

or

REGISTER HERE NOW

Thank you for sharing this with others…

Landing

There's an ember in my soul

smouldering with sweetgrass

and red cedar

stoking me onward

keeping me breathing

There's a mist in my song

gifted to me

by velvet leaf and translucent idea

A mountain in my eyes

melting snow and staring down detonators

making mistakes

missing the roots growing before them

within them

There's a forest on my skin breathing

mushrooms in and branches out

of slippery mossed rock body under sky

over ancestors and between worlds

There are ferns in my back curving

perfectly into cliffs over hemlocks under laughing

rolling children in between times and moments

alive with river rushing thrill and trill and hoot

and loam

There's leaves in my trees and toes

akin to evergreen joy

under whispering bark above nut covered ground in

between gifts

Invisible Quiet

I walked out on the land today.
I asked the apple tree for some advise about my work.
I walked up under the Douglas fir trees and greeted the burdock,
who’s leaves are almost invisible now.
I collected a few evergreen branches to feed to my goats.
I looked down at the beautiful beech leaves on the ground,
amber and glistening from rain.
I looked up at the majestic cedar.
Outside, I was quiet and slow.
Witnessing, listening, feeling.
Inside, I am working through,
continuing, calling, crafting, journeying, writing,
emailing, dreaming, intending, and affirming.
My inner world is very busy right now creating.
My outer world is gently being.
I was reminded by my walk out onto the earth,
that the gentle slow and low energy of this new moon day,
can nurture me best outside. I will follow earth’s energy inward,
and work diligently on the inside.
And I will allow myself to notice the
invisible quiet of the earth on the outside.

May it be in Beauty.