nakedjen

Life is merely a fracas on an unmapped terrain, and the universe a geometry stricken with epilepsy.

Hello my name is Jennifer and I am an Epileptic. 

I do not think that is a surprise to any of you.  I feel compelled to share, though, that while epilepsy has been a very present part of my daily life for the last (wow...it really has been 16 years!) sixteen years, it still feels strange to me to identify as someone with epilepsy.

I am, though, an epileptic despite my own reluctance to admit it.

Actually, I do admit it and acknowledge it and at one point realized that the way through my seizures and towards better health was to actually embrace them and integrate them as part of me.  So this business of not identifying says a whole lot about me, I suppose, as someone who also just has difficulty, still, sorting out exactly who she really is in this world.  It's a constant journey for me, as I know it is for so many of us.  Who am I?

I learned yesterday that November is National Epilepsy Awareness month and this is the month that is dedicated to better education and awareness and even funding for epilepsy research. Our brains are interesting and fascinating and there are a myriad of types of seizures and just as many ways that have been found to treat them. One in one hundred Americans have epilepsy so you can just imagine how very many treatment plans have been devised by the neurologists who help all of us!

I am not seizure free, as we know.  I am treating my own seizures, these days, with a combination of alternative remedies and two different medications that I've found I can tolerate, but that I take at what my neurologist considers to be homeopathic dosages.  Of course, it is working "well enough", but the goal is to be seizure free as it is for all epilepsy patients. 

I'm sharing all of this because I know that the face of epilepsy isn't one that is easily recognized and it feels important to add my own to help increase awareness, understanding and acceptance of all of us who live with epilepsy.

Epilepsy doesn't define me, but it is a part of my life.

I am Jennifer and I am an epileptic, but I also am so very, very much more. 

 

berceuse

Those of you who have packed your life into the small boxes that will carry the most important bits and pieces and then waved goodbye to the place you've called home for nearly half your life will understand exactly what I am about to say.  Those of you who may not have had life turn upside down and shake you by your ankles and leave you searching for the spare bits that might remind you of who you really are may decide that what I'm about to say is all just more melancholy navel gazing.  Whomever you may be, whatever journey your own life has taken, I can't help but think that there's a part of all of our hearts that get squeezed, that we give for the thrill of giving, that grow attached to the place we call home.

I've called many places home.  Too many places, perhaps.  My own heart, though, always gave and was given and grew attached to a few too many beautiful souls in each place which made the extraction process, the moving along, the leaving just a little harder each time that time came.

When I drove away from Santa Cruz that cold December day, with the gray waves of the Pacific crashing hard on my favorite dog beach, the redwoods reaching higher, it felt, in a salute to my departure, I left behind not only, of course, the very people who knew me best and held my own heart gently, but I also left behind the community of healers who had kept my body, quite literally, walking with my dogs on this planet.

Shannon Lynn Brown was my massage therapist.  Scratch that.  Shannon Lynn Brown was my therapist who gave me incredibly intuitive and healing massage.   The most beautiful thing I can say about her massages is that when you're touched by Shannon she just knows, she just does, exactly what you need, exactly how much to give you, and exactly how to make everything all better. 

It was no surprise to me, truthfully, that Shannon decided that she should create the ideal music for massage therapy.  She's always considering the whole body and the whole experience and because she is also always learning, herself, and is also an accomplished cellist, it just made perfect sense to those of us who truly know her, that she'd create some adult lullabies for those who really need them most.

Her new CD is now available for purchase and it is just lovely.  I am currently using it as part of my own daily yoga practice and I have to say it offers the perfect calm for my own mind, but also for Buddha and Stella.  They seem to love it, too.  It's a huge win when I can have music that provides a calming influence for all of us.  It's like we're all living together in an ashram here.  We may be far from the crashing waves on our favorite beach, but this music has us totally blissed out.

Next week, the dogs and I will be back in Santa Cruz for a short visit.  A visit that includes a long overdue massage with Shannon (and my professor is getting one, too!) and a chance to receive the gift of touch that I know only she can really give.  The music, her intuitive touch, her heart all just combine to make sure that everything, every little thing, is always just so much better.  Always.

Ready? Set? Go!!

There is so very much that I wish to chat with all of you about, but first we had a contest. We did. 

The winners were chosen by the little widget from Random.Org and it turns out that Stephanie and Stardustdawn will each get the teas for their dogs.  But, remember, you're all going to receive a sample of Honest Kitchen Food (and they have a new, completely grain free food coming in September for both Cats and Dogs) and so if you get an email from me asking you for your mailing address it is simply so I can get the information to Honest Kitchen so you all can get your FREE STUFF!  So please don't think I'm sending you porn.  This time, it's not!

Meanwhile, though, I feel like I'm about to burst at the seems with all the goings on and things I want to talk to all of you about because there's good and there's bad and there's funny and there's sad and it feels like I haven't typed with my fingers flying across a keyboard just to share the words swirling inside my head in so long that my head now resembles a hornets nest that was designed by Tim Burton with help from Edward Scissorhands.  Who, yes, I realize is the darling OF Tim Burton, but he has the Scissorhands!  There are missing bits and pieces you see.  It is his design.  Courtesy of Mr. Burton.  All swirling somewhere above my neck where a head is supposed to be. 

That's me. If you were to see a photo.  There isn't one.  Use your very beautiful and active imaginations.

Let's leave you with a list.  Of the topics to come.  Just, so, you know, there's something to at least keep us all honest and perhaps maybe you all want to write the blog posts instead?  There's a thought.  At this point, given the Tim Burton Hornets Nest state of my head, you all might do a far better job.  You're all brilliant writers!  Here, have a go!

• Eating Raw and Yoga Every Day
• Cherry and Sasparilla Kombucha
• Guerrilla Drive-In ~ Salt Lake City style
• There's Enough Phish for a Feast
• Google Is Trying To Kill Me
• If I'm Not Nakedjen, Then Who Am I?

Ready

Now We Are Six

When Buddha and Stella chose me to be their dog mama, I made a conscious decision that they would eat the very best food possible.  While they spent their first eight weeks growing up with their brothers and sisters, I was determined to find them a human grade dog food that best matched the food that I had been making for Clyde for the final years of his life.  I was convinced, honestly, that the reason Clyde lived for as long as he did was because he ate a 100% organic diet that I cooked especially for him every single day. 

I knew, though, that with two dogs, coming into my life as puppies, that I needed a better solution.

I found a lot of really excellent available dog foods, but in one way or another, none of them really seemed to add up to exactly what I wanted for the dogs.

Then I found The Honest Kitchen. 

The dog food from Honest Kitchen is food with a real conscience.  It is 100% human-grade, with ingredients like free-range sustainably farmed chicken, ground organic flaxseed, sea kelp, and organic fair-trade quinoa.  It was, truthfully, a food I could feel 100% comfortable about feeding to my dogs.  It's dehydrated, so to make it for the dogs, I just have to add warm water, mix it in their bowls, and give it time to rehydrate.   Buddha and Stella are a bit wacky about it and Stella will go so far as to lick the bowls twice just to be sure that she's gotten all the goodness.

I can never say enough good things about this food, but the proof is in my dogs.  They have shiny coats, startling white teeth and they're just truly healthy.  And, today, they are six.

Honest Kitchen has just added two new medicinal teas to their line of supplements for pets.  I can share that a certain Master Herbalist that we know helped them to develop these particular teas and a certain Stella Blue was also specifically helpful in testing out their effectiveness.  Stella is always ready to help her animal sisters and brothers.

Quiet Tea™ is made from human-grade Oatstraw, Chamomile, Passionflower, Skullcap and Valerian root. It's designed to help promote calmness and alleviate anxiety, tension and excitability during stressful or over-stimulating situations caused by factors such as separation, thunderstorms, travel or events. It's suitable for both dogs and cats. 

 

Quiet Tea saved our lives, all four of them, over the 4th of July holiday.  It is magic for Buddha, truthfully.  A dose of this and he completely forgets that the bombs are bursting in air.

 

Easy Peesy Tea™ contains human-grade Horsetail, Cleavers, Couch grass, Nettle and Marshmallow root. It's intended to help support normal healthy functioning of the urinary tract, including bladder control and the alleviation of urinary irritation. It's suitable for both dogs and cats. 

 

While we don't have bladder control issues here at the moment, I know dogs who do and this tea has worked really well for them.

 

In celebration of their sixth birthday, Buddha and Stella want to give presents to all of you.  For every person who leaves me a comment telling me about their pet and that they've LIKED Honest Kitchen on Facebook, they'll receive a free trial size of The Honest Kitchen dog or cat food.  Your choice. 

 

Plus, two people will be chosen at random to receive the Quiet Tea and the Easy Peesy Tea. 

 

So, leave us a comment.  Or two.  Or seven if you've got seven dogs and cats. 

 

It's Buddha and Stella's birthday and they really want to celebrate with each and every one of you and your beautiful fur creatures, too.

 

 

100% Pure Love

Remember last summer when I thought I was absolutely going to just fall over and die, perish even, because they had removed my beloved Kombucha from the shelves of all the stores?  How I went into a true spiral of depression?  How Emily Gilmore told me that I was an addict, that I shouldn't have such a visceral reaction to a juice, that I was surely an alcoholic because I needed my daily 4:00 p.m. fix every single day or I just did not feel like myself?

It was a long and awful drought of a life without my special elixir while the FDA and the makers of kombucha sorted out the ins and outs and details and I was kind of like a rabid dog in my quest to find it.  In Oregon, while I was at the fair, there were home brewed versions available that I purchased and carried back with me to Utah like some sort of bootlegger during the prohibition and then there were all kinds of crazy rumors that you could get Kombucha here and there and everywhere else but in Utah and in late October, just as I was ready to pack up my dogs and move us part and parcel back to California where I was certain I could get my magic juice, on the very day I had made this declaration truthfully, I walked into Whole Foods here in Salt Lake City and it was as if choirs of Mormon angels were singing choruses of hallelujah because the refrigerator shelves were literally sagging from the weight of the multiple bottles of GT Dave's kombucha that had somehow miraculously reappeared.

God truly does work in mysterious ways.

The truth of the matter is that GT Dave's, the maker of my favorite kombucha, had to reformulate their magic potions and what was inside the bottle no longer was quite exactly the same as what used to be inside the bottle.  Now, psychologically, I was oh so grateful to be holding and drinking my daily bottle of elixir that I tried to convince my physical body that it was all just exactly the same.  My physical body, though, can not be fooled so easily.  

The good news, though, is that I am one very resourceful and determined naked girl who happens to also not be afraid to ask a lot of questions and ask the universe to help her to find the answers she really needs.

The answer, in this case, turned out to be right in my own kitchen.  I just started brewing my very own kombucha.  I happen to be (sometimes even I forget) a master herbalist and a person who actually understands the medicinal benefits of tea.  I owned my own organic medicinal tea business for the last five years.  Kombucha is nothing more than fermented tea.  It turns out, actually, that I've not only been able to make some pretty magical kick-ass delicious kombucha that my body truly loves and appreciates, but I also have been able to apply my own herbal wisdom and create some brews that are truly medicinal for the specific needs of my own body, as well.  I've only shared it with friends, so far, and I'm not sure how I could possibly grow this to share with all of you, but I'd really love to be able to do so.  Dreamsweet Kombucha feels like such a beautiful possibility.

GT Dave originally brewed kombucha to help his own mother's battle with breast cancer.  He started in his mother's kitchen and he had no business plan and only wanted to provide the gift of kombucha with anyone who might benefit from it. It was quite successful for her and his promise is to provide the freshest, purest, and most potent kombucha available.  (Sounds like a little company like Dreamsweet, doesn't it?) I know that's still his promise, even now, despite the very long and intrusive fingers of the FDA getting all complicit in the special bottles of organic and raw kombucha he provides.  Which is why, honestly, I'm very honored to be a part of his relaunch and reintroduction of his products back to a public that, well, already loves and adores him.

Now appearing on ENLIGHTENED bottles of GT Dave's SYNERGY Kombucha at a health food store near you, Nakedjen, The Beet Fairy.

As I said, I've always believed there's magic in those bottles.  Somehow, honestly, I can't think of a better place for a naked beet fairy to be. 

P.S.  Buddha and Stella are trying to win a vacation! If you've read this far, can you be a dear and go LIKE them in their effort?

 

 

When Your Head Hurts

When your head hurts, it is difficult to write a coherent sentence. When your own dogs bark, at the people passing by the windows, it feels as if you're now wearing a helmet fashioned by a futuristic dominatrix with ice picks that pierce your brain in varying degrees of spiteful pain.

When your head hurts, it's very difficult to find your words. They float in pictures, holograms, just there, beyond the edges of your peripheral vision, but the moment you turn to grab them, they vanish and you're left with gibberish on your tongue.

When your head hurts, your left eye goes blind. The room fills with a cacophony of day-glo splashed swirling sperm with gnashing teeth that you're certain are ready to consume you completely whole.

When you head hurts, the bathroom floor feels like a cradle created of cool comfort.

When your head hurts, decapitation sometimes seems like a really valid option.

When your head hurts, the tell-tale beat of your own heart is deafening in your own ears.  It's turned up past eleven. 

When your head hurts, the magical acupuncturist angel, with her expertly placed needles, needs to be on speed-dial. 

When your head hurts, you need to breathe deeply, find your grace, and give thanks for the reminder that you are, in fact, truly alive.

 

You are Invited to the Festival...

I have told anyone who asks (or who will listen) that the only reason I live in Utah is because of Sundance.  It's absolutely true.  Sundance and I are like lovers who can not get enough of one another and I am really passionate about that little independent film festival.  Those who know the underbelly of Sundance just spit out their martini, but for me Sundance will always be about the discovery of that film, that one special film, that small independent film, that I would otherwise might not have seen and the truly remarkable and extraordinary stories that are shared with me in the flickering darkness over the course of ten days in January. 

I'm a girl who loves film, but especially the truly heartfelt and sometimes untellable tales.  There's a special part of my heart reserved for the filmmakers who are willing to risk everything to tell me the story that no one else dares to tell.  I celebrate them whenever I get the chance, but I get a really grand chance every January at Sundance.

So exactly how does a person who is so enamoured with films, who wants to absolutely soak up every single opportunity offered, who is determined to see at least 40 films and attend the parties and who will talk talk talk (oh, yes, I am quite the talker) with everyone she meets at every possible moment truly going to survive? 

I'm asked a lot about the best way to festival.  Here's how I do it.  Please know, honestly, this is just how I do it.  I'm a naked girl who funds all of this all by herself.  I don't have a movie studio funding my trip.  I don't have a sponsor or a trust fund.  I'm just a girl, like you, who happens to love to celebrate her birthday in a movie theatre.  With lots of other people!

TIMBUK2 BAG

It seems crazy to begin this list with a messenger bag, but that bag is KEY to survival at Sundance.  I did just use the word survival, but the way I festival is similar to a marathon.  Preparation is key.  It really is.  A look inside my bag will reveal the following: 

A copy of the Sundance Film Catalog ~ This is really helpful, especially while standing in line, so you can quickly read about the film you're about to see and remember why you chose that ticket and what stars/producers/directors are attached.  Plus, 9 times out of 10, it turns out that the person standing in line with me NEEDS to refer to the catalog to sort out some conflict or figure out what his next film is going to be.  It's nice to be helpful and share!

A MOLESKINE:  I always have a moleskine notebook in my bag, but especially during Sundance.  I use it for writing notes about the films as I see them for blogging/recaps and also for any other notes that I might need for myself.  I can't recommend a Moleskine enough.  Really.  Mine are like bibles of my life.  I also have the printed calendars (posted previously) of my entire Sundance schedule inside the Moleskine for a quick reference should I need them. 

A Filter For Good water bottle:  Park City is at a higher altitude than even Salt Lake City and it is really important to stay hydrated.  I am a big fan of FILTER FOR GOOD and gladly carry my refillable bottle which, honestly, gets filled at least five times throughout each day. 

Fingerless gloves and a wool hat:  You never know when the weather in Park City is going to go from sunny to snowy.  I always have gloves and a wool hat in my bag.  Just.In.Case.  Always. 

CLYDE'S COOKIES, PROBARS and Tangerines:  Yes, Clyde's cookies and tangerines.  Why?  Because there are literally times when I have just 15 minutes (this is NOT advised) between screenings and there's no time to eat.  Also, because I'm a vegan, there's not always things I can EAT available easily in the many venues where the films are being screened.  While I know it is possible to eat in Park City as a vegan, the waits at a lot of the restaurants can be much too long and it is best to just have sustainable options right in my own bag.  I made the choice to make CLYDE'S COOKIES this year because I realized that Sundance is a FESTIVAL.  Perhaps I can continue my vegan outreach and share my cookies with some of my new film friends?  You never know.  At least I know I'll be able to eat.

COFFEE COZY:  Yes, I'm that girl who has her own coffee cozy.  I am also that girl who does drink a LOT of coffee.  Espresso, actually.  Java Cow & Bakery in Park City has organic coffee on tap and is a convenient stop right on Main Street in between screenings.  The win here is that while I'm waiting in line, I can eat one of my cookies from my stash. Fed and caffeinated for the midnight screenings and I'm good to go!

Herbal Tincture:  This is my own herbal concoction much like EMERGEN-C.  I just like mine much better.  I will probably take a "shot" of this every single day even if I'm not feeling I need it just to boost my immune system.  Sundance is legendary for folks getting SICK during the festival.  I'm staying healthy.

Hand Sanitizer:  For exactly the same reasons I have the Herbal Tincture, I have the hand sanitizer.  No germs.

Biz Cards: These are important! You never know who you might end up sitting next to or who you might meet while you're talk, talk, talking in the wait list line for all those films.  Or at the parties.  Or just wandering up Main Street. 

Sunblock, lip balm, and Altoids:  I never go outside in Utah without sun block.  Ever.  End of story.  Lip balm is key in the winter.  Altoids are helpful when you're drinking gazillion gallons of coffee. Just saying.

Aspirin:  Yes. Sometimes even the most mighty of festival veterans get a headache.  Aspirin helps. 

Glitter: I'm Nakedjen. Do I really need to explain?  Own your glitter.

Finally, my BLACKBERRY.  Of course we all know that my little Blackberry will be lost or forgotten or left on the bus probably, oh, tomorrow.  But let's just pretend that I have it.  That I'll be tweeting some fun updates about the festival @nakedjen, okay?!

Now with all that in my TIMBUK2 bag, I also have my Film Festival credential and all my tickets, as well.  The Festival Pass though is around my neck.  Pretty much always because it gives me access into everything festival related.  Like the music performances, the talks and the parties!

If you do not have a pass, it is still absolutely possible to have a fabulous festival experience.  In fact, if you do not have a single ticket to a single film at this very moment, it is still completely possible to have a fabulous festival experience. 

Here's how.

Day of Ticket Sales

Every single morning the Festival releases a limited number of tickets to many of the screenings happening that day at all the screening locations.  If you are paying attention, this can be a really great way to get a ticket to a film you really want to see.  I've managed to see some ABSOLUTELY SOLD OUT films at Sundance this way, but again, you have to really be paying attention and it is a first come, first served basis and tickets are only sold at the box offices when they open beginning at 8 a.m.  Some folks get there and line up as early as 3:00 a.m. but it is a whole other opportunity for meeting and chatting with people (and we know I love to meet and chat with people) so I just consider it part of the festival experience.

Wait List

In addition to the tickets released each morning, the wait list can be a great way to see a film that is otherwise SOLD OUT.  In fact, I can share a nearly 100% success rate with my WAIT LIST ticket attempts at Sundance.  You need to arrive at the theatre screening your film at least two hours before the actual screening.  At that time you'll receive a WAIT LIST number guaranteeing you a place in line (not necessarily a ticket) and will be told when to come back to get in line.  This is great because you don't have to just hang out for two hours "waiting".  However, what I've found that at least hanging out for a bit can be beneficial.  Again, I love to chat to everyone and there have been many times where I've ended up chatting to the director or producer of the film I'm hoping to see and have been given tickets.  For free!  Definitely worth it. 

If that doesn't happen, when you come back and get in line according to your wait-list number, you will then be allowed into the theatre, just before screening time, based upon seat availability.  Sundance does not like to screen a film to anything but a FULL HOUSE, so if there's an empty seat, you'll be sold a ticket.  Wait list tickets are $15 and are cash only!

New Frontier

Where art, film, performance and technology all intersect, the New Frontier offers all kinds of fantastic ways to experience emerging artists (and established ones) in really exciting ways.  I love the New Frontier and find myself revisiting it often through out the festival.  This year it has a new location in the Miners Hospital which is very close to the Library Theatre.  One of the films that I'm seeing, !Women Art Revolution has an installation here, as well.  RAW/WAR is a live, user-generated, community-curated video archive that documents the achievements of women artists.  It is an ongoing collaborative project where participants enter an interactive environment to upload new material and use Wii-powered virtual flashlights to illuminate invisible histories. 

That's just one of the many installations.  James Franco returns this year with his own installation called Three's Company ~ The Drama.  The good news is that this year the New Frontier can be experienced both in Park City and in Salt Lake City.  Our Art Center is also hosting many of the installations through out the festival.

Music Cafe

From Friday, January 21 until Friday January 28 every day has a full line-up of free music performances courtesy of Sundance and ASCAP.  I'm especially excited to see the Secret Sisters and Danko Jones this year.  Also, A TRIBE CALLED QUEST will be having their own party in celebration of their film (and performing) and Lou Reed will be performing at the Sundance House.  There's also the BMI Snowball happening on Wednesday night featuring Robert Rudolph and the Family Band.

Parties

There's no shortage of parties at Sundance.  There are all the official parties and then there are all the parties associated with all the films (and their premieres) and then there are all the OTHER parties that happen just because certain studios and brands are in Park City specifically for the festival and want to woo the right people.  You can party like a real movie star if you know when to show up.  The thing about the parties is this:  It isn't difficult to get in or to go, but there are a lot of them that once you're inside you really find yourself thinking, "Really, this is it?!" Part of that is because most every party at Sundance is about the sale.  There are deals being worked every single minute.  This is part of the reason people are here, after all.  It isn't just to have passionate film festival folks see their films.  It is about having everyone in the world see their films.  Distribution has to happen.  For that, you need a sale.  And so, shop talk.  At the parties.  All night long.

Chow Truck

I need to give a shout out and mention of the Chow Truck.  Sue, who owns the Chow Truck, is a gift to all of us who live in Salt Lake City and the Chow Truck will be parked at Miners Hospital for the duration of the festival.  Her food is so delicious and fresh and fast!  This is not your standard chow truck fare.  It's akin to asian street food with a real upscale gourmet twist.  I'm excited that she'll be there.  The Chow Truck is a truly viable option when you've got a short time in between films. 

SLEEP and YOGA

Yes, sleep.  And yoga.  If you're sleeping through all those magical films then did you really SEE them?  No.  So making sure you get at least a few hours sleep each night is important.  Say no to the invite to a late night drink in the Film-maker's Lodge and GO TO BED.  You're also going to be sitting.  A lot.  So start your day with 15 minutes of sun salutations.  Your lower back will thank me.  Promise.

Now, everyone?  Go and have one fabulous and special festival.  And share with me your best moments and your favorite films.  I definitely want to know. 

 

 

 

 

Super-glue Love

December 12 Prompt

Author: Patrick Reynolds
The Knowledge Workers Survival Guide
@patrickcantype

Prompt: Body integration. This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn't mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?

I’ve had more seizures this year than most.  I have stopped counting, stopped worrying about them, truthfully.  I know I’m supposed to have surgery as an option to perhaps make my brain better, but it is just that, an option, with no guarantee and I can’t bring myself to go through the required battery of tests to get all of that sorted.

Many of you who just read that probably are thinking I deserve the seizures and migraines because, well, I won’t even continue on the medically recommended path that might make things better.   You may be right.

This isn’t your brain, though, or your life.  It’s mine.  At the moment, this is the only brain I have and while I nod in agreement with my neurologist when he tells me that my quality of life is compromised, somehow, I also make my own special deals with myself that I’m making it all work, with all the crazy things I do each day to keep my feet on this planet, that I’m doing okay, I’m not really suffering and, well, I’m still here. 

The thing is all those seizures have caused me to be even less integrated than usual if I could ever, truly claim I was integrated at all.  I'm not sure I even know what that looks like for those of you who have experienced it. I’m already bi-polar.  The seizing storms of my brain only make things that much more curious.  Life inside my head is always a party, but I can’t exactly promise that you’d want an invitation.

My body, my mind, all the various parts of me are most certainly not a cohesive one.  I’m uncertain, quite truthfully, if they ever can or will be?  I also am quite certain that I am absolutely at peace with that notion.  This, this me, this one splattered here in front of you, is the only me I have ever known and it is this me that I have always loved.  

Those moments of super-glue love, those are my moments.  I have them. I definitely do. I'd love to have lots and lots more.

Infused with Love

December 6 Prompt

Author: Gretchen Rubin
The Happiness Project
@gretchenrubin

Prompt: Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

 

It is no secret that I make organic medicinal teas and tinctures.  I had a business selling them, globally, that I made the heart-wrenching decision to close last Thanksgiving.  That decision seemed like a prudent one, at the time.

I had no idea how much I would truly miss it.

These were not just your average teas that you buy off the shelf, but specially crafted blends made especially for each individual client.  What that means, exactly, is that I spent time getting to know each person, as best I could, what they really needed, what special need they were trying to address and then crafting a very specific herbal remedy specifically for them.

It was challenging and it was heart warming and a gift to me.  Every single time.

I still make the teas for friends and family that ask me directly to do so. I made three very special blends last week for one friend who tracked me down and asked for something for various members of her family. 

I only use the very freshest and best 100% organic herbs in my teas.  I think, honestly, this is one reason they work so well.  The other reason, I believe, is that they truly are unique blends custom-crafted for each individual.  No two blends are exactly the same.  Plus, well, there’s all that love that goes into it.

If you’re reading and you’d like your own special blend of organic goodness for a specific health challenge that you may have, feel free to email me and ask me about it.  Together, we can try to sort it out.  If I can’t help you, I will do my best to find you another alternative health practitioner in your area who can. 

I’m not jumping back into Dreamsweet Organics full-time, per se, but I know that I feel far more useful when I’m truly giving back to the world.  So this is my first step in that direction.

 

That Space Between The Earth and Sky

December 4 Prompt

Author: Jeff Davis
The Journey from the Center to the Page
@JeffreyDavis108

Prompt: Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

Every single morning, at precisely 5:00 a.m., no matter the weather, no matter the day of the week, no matter what time I may have gone to bed the evening before, Buddha finds his way to my bedside, puts his nose to my nose and nudges me awake.  At the exact same moment, Stella's tail starts her rhythmic THUMP, THUMP, THUMP across the bedcovers.  If my eyes do not open and I do not place my two feet on the floor within 30 seconds of this puppy love alarm, there is a very ecstatic nudge from Stella as she uses all of her 100 pounds to shove my body toward the edge of the bed and Buddha starts in with his own version of french kisses. 

It's quite the way to greet the morning. Every.single.day.

Once I'm verticle, both dogs, as if trained by some oh so sage wise yogi, bow to me simultaneously in perfect downward dog poses. I can never help myself and always remark, "Oh, what beautiful downward dogs!" and this results in more tail wags, and a repeat performance.  While the dogs do their yoga, I'm guessing at the weather and searching for appropriate dog-walking clothes.  It doesn't matter what might greet us on the other side of our front door, the morning walk is sacrosanct, a pact between me and the big black dogs. 

There's a wonder, a meditative quiet, a peace and place for real gratitude in that space between earth and sky where dogs and their humans gently share their hearts before the sun rises.

That hour, of them, of me, of us traversing the city streets and alleyways and parks and school yards with my mind unfettered and the dogs unleashed celebrating the joy of a squeaky ball caught mid-flight and the sound of their eight paws galloping across the grass glittering with frozen dew always passes far too quickly. 

I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world.  It is the wonder of it all that has, absolutely, saved my life.