Ecuador Spirit Essence Set 2 Release and GIVE AWAY

In 2017, Jen returned to Ecuador for another amazing adventure in the Andes and Amazon. While there, she co-created this set of 16 Spirit Essences. These Spirit Essences can assist in accessing wisdom and guidance, clearing what is no longer in service, and helping you to embrace your power and gifts.  Many of these Plants are traditional Shamanic Plants of Ecuador and as such are great journeying Essences.

We are excited to unveil these Spirit Essences!!! Click here to read more about them. 

We love to share our Essences and we love to support your dreams. Therefore to celebrate, we are offering a Give Away of one complete set!!

There are several ways in which you can enter the drawing:

• Purchase the complete Ecuador Spirit Essence Set 2 (20 entries)

• Purchase a single Essence from this set (1 entry)

• Share our Facebook post about the set and tell us what you are dreaming of (1 entry)

• Comment on our Facebook post, telling us what you are dreaming of (1 entry)

• Comment on our Instagram post saying what you are dreaming of (1 entry)

• Comment on this blog post telling us what you are dreaming of (1 entry)

• Email Jen at jen@brigidsway.com and tell her what you are dreaming about (1 entry)

Drawing ends at midnight EST on April 1, 2019 (Jen’s Birthday). One winner will be drawn randomly. Note- if you are the winner and already purchased the set, you will have the option of choosing another Brigid’s Way Spirit Essence Set.

Plus get 20% off the Ecuador Spirit Essence Set 2 from now until midnight EST April 15, 2019. Enter code ECUADOR2 at checkout.

Email jen@brigidsway.com with any questions.

Red Ti Spirit Essence

Red Ti Spirit Essence

I HEAR NATURE'S VOICE

This Essence connects you to the Plant and Elemental Worlds. By aligning the Human World with the Nature Spirit World, it acts as a translator to ease communication and help Humans receive messages from the Plants, Elementals and Nature Spirits. It protects you while doing deep work. Part of the Kauai Set.

Blackberry Lily Spirit Essence

Blackberry Lily Spirit Essence I AM A HEALTHY SEXUAL BEING

Blackberry Lily helps one recover from sexual abuse. Clears the trauma and heals the effects; allowing one to have healthy, sexual experiences free of fear. Supports the 2nd Chakra.

This Essence has helped many people reclaim their lives after experiencing sexual abuse (often many years prior). With the MeToo movement, I keep thinking how many more could benefit. Order it here

I also keep thinking of Male Fern Spirit Essence. I AM THE PHOENIX RISING

Heals the wounds of patriarchy and religion. Through Phoenix energy, helps you find nourishment and strength among the ruins by connecting to ancient Sacred wisdom.

Patriarchy has limited us all, though we can rise above it, heal our wounds, and embrace our true potentials.

Our SALE continues! Select Brigid's Way Spirit Essences 50% off while supplies last. Visit our shop to see availability.

Motherwort Part 2: Balancing the Masculine and Feminine

I wrote about Motherwort several months ago. Motherwort is one of the Plants that I have been working/playing with for my Plant Spirit Healing Apprenticeship. The more time I share with her, the deeper our relationship grows, and the more I learn. I have always thought that she is a wonderful and rich plant with so many uses. I mentioned earlier that I use the Flower Essence to help with boundaries, to express things that need to be said, to help with Anxiety and bring one back to the center, and to help discern what the real issues are.

Motherwort is a Heart protector. She also helps women going through menopause/peri-menopause, among many other gifts.

What she recently taught me is that she is a great balancer. Motherwort is particularly helpful to balance Masculine/Feminine. So for women (and men) whose feminine/nurturing sides are too strong, she can help you stand up for yourself and be strong. For men (and women) whose masculine sides are too strong, she can help you soften and be more nurturing. (I should mention that since Motherwort is an excellent Heart Plant, she helps to bring this balance with Heart energy.) To me, this is her most important gift and why I believe she is so important now.

We all know that our world is changing and our world needs to change. One of the major areas of change is to bring more feminine energy into our society. I’m not saying that women are better than men. But, for too long, we have lived in a male-dominated warring, destructive, constrictive society, which has not served anyone: not Nature, not women, not children, and definitely not men.

It is time that the patriarchal paradigm shifts and we bring the Feminine energy, so that there is balance. I believe that Motherwort can help us do this.

You might ask, How? Well, first of all, for those of you who have space, Plant her. Now, know that she is generous in all aspects, so she does spread. If you can, sit with her, spend time with her, dream with her, love her. Get to know her. If you are feeling out of balance, call on her. She recommended that I infuse Honey with her. Motherwort is bitter; therefore, the sweetness of the honey will help to add to her balancing effect. Yes, you can take her Flower Essence, tincture, and tea. Of course, while you spend time with her, recognize the areas of your life that need balancing.

Healing the Culture of Pain

I have spent a good portion of this year reflecting on pain and pain medication.  In one of my classes this summer, David Dalton shared his observations of working with people in pain.  He said that whenever a person tries to suppress the pain with pain medication, the level of pain will rise to surpass the medication.  For those of us, who know people with chronic pain, we can see the profound simplicity in this statement.  How many times does someone get a cortisone shot and feel really good for awhile and then the pain is greater, long before the shot is supposed to wear off?  Or how many people are constantly increasing their medications or switching to stronger ones because the medicine is just not doing the job anymore? Of course this is what happens.  Why?  Because the physical pain is a symptom of a larger issue.  So suppressing the symptom, does not heal the situation.  In fact, it exacerbates it.  Our subconscious will not let this continue and so it will increase the physical pain, until the underlying issue is healed.  Many allopathic doctors, as well as, our pharmaceutical industry, do not recognize that the pain is a symptom.  They simply try to eliminate it.  Which then starts the cycle of increasing pain, increasing medication.

And so where does this never-ending cycle lead us?  In my case, it has left me heart-broken and brother-less.  My brother had a very large, sensitive heart.  He felt everyone’s pain and internalized it as his own.  Early on in his life, he learned that he could self-medicate the pain through alcohol and drugs.  (In my opinion, addiction is based on the desire to escape pain, trauma, etc.)  This past year, my brother had an operation and another instance where there was considerable physical pain.  The doctors prescribed him oxycodone both times.  He quickly became “addicted” to oxycodone and fatally combined it with alcohol.  (I use the quotes, because his doctor told him that he was not really addicted.)

For those of you who don’t know what oxycodone (aka OxyContin) is, it is an opiate or narcotic that is prescribed for pain.  It is extremely addictive.  It has also been a presence in the news lately because of the amount of deaths among those who use it.  Yet the use of this drug has drastically increased, Americans consuming the majority of it.  Why?  Well, clearly we are a culture in pain.  As you can tell, I have a very personal reason for wanting to stop this cycle and I now feel its time to share my desire.

Why are we a culture of pain?  Well, I’m sure we can discuss this for ages and like everything there are many reasons.  Though I think one of the biggest is that we are not living the lives that we want.  I feel as a nation, we are disconnected from Nature and our true, Wild Selves.  We have gone too far from ourselves, yet there is still that shining Light in us that is trying to call us Home.

(I would like to digress for a minute.  I feel pulled to say that I recognize that pain can occur for a simple reason, we stubbed our toe or had a surgery, etc.  While part of me wants to acknowledge that, a bigger part of me is questioning if that is where the pain stops.  I admit the pain is created by the stubbed toe or the surgery, but is that the original source?  I know for myself, that when I have stubbed my toe before, I was not being mindful and paying attention to my surroundings.  So I’m not completely, ready to discount the acute pain as not having a deeper connection to our subconscious.  Though, in general I’m talking about chronic pain.)

So what can we do for pain?  I think the very first step is to acknowledge it and try to get to the root of the problem.  This often takes time and help from others.  A good place to start is by journalling and paying attention to our dreams (Ah, this is what this season is about?!).  Of course, working with a good therapist is wonderful also.  (I stress good, because the wrong therapist can be detrimental to our healing.  Trust your instincts.)  Spend plenty of time in nature.  Plants have a way of bringing us back into balance.  Plus, they help us remember our Wild Selves and guide us on our path.  Breathe, deep, full breaths.  Oxygen affects our pain threshold.  Nourish yourself (physically, emotionally, and spiritually).  I, of course, recommend seeing a Flower Essence practitioner.  Flower Essences can be a valuable tool at this time.  They can serve multiple purposes.  Depending on what is chosen, they can help to strengthen the person, help bring to the surface the underlying issue, help us see through the problem, help us clear the problem (particularly if it is trauma) from our system, help us to re-create ourselves, and more.  Many of us have seen David Dalton’s Teasel set be helpful for those in pain.  This is the basis of what I use for Lyme.  However, we are constantly finding more uses for it.  My intuition tells me that the Teasel is not suppressing the pain like medications do, but helps to release it from our system, often makes it easier for us to understand the underlying issue, helps us clear it from our bodies, and I think it also reminds our cells of health, helping them to return to their natural-state.

These suggestions do not mean that you will never experience pain.  Quite the opposite.  Pain is an inevitable part of life.  But just like joy, we need to really feel pain and acknowledge it for what it is or what it is showing us.  The pain of losing a brother (or other loved one) is incredible.  Yet, it shows the depth of Love that is there.  I would not trade the Love to avoid the anguish and so I will embrace it and honor it.  While I can no longer guide my brother through his pain, I sincerely hope that I can help others.

Motherwort

Motherwort is an amazing Plant.  She is used for so many things.  I with her as an herb and as a Flower Essence.  In fact, she is one of the Essences that I use the most. One of my first herb teachers, Susan Hess from Farm at Coventry, taught me that Motherwort is for any time you want your mother’s arms around you.  She shared with us that it is also for when you want your arms around your child.  I love those images and they have stuck with me.

Motherwort has these beautiful, sweet little flowers; however, when her seeds develop she gets very prickly (or protective).  This physicality is a good description of how I work with her as a Flower Essence.  Motherwort Flower Essence is protective and strengthening.  She helps us with our boundaries.  So often, our boundaries are weak or two expansive.  So we say yes, when we really want to say no.  Or we allow people to treat us in ways that aren’t healthy.  Motherwort helps us to change this and to create healthy boundaries.

Why am I sharing this Essence with you now?  Well, for two reasons.  First, as I mentioned previously, I have a new garden this year.  Several Plants have become guardians of this garden (Ragweed was the most insistent and visual; however, that is a story for another time.)  This fall as I was working, I discovered that Motherwort was voluntarily growing all along the outer rim of my garden.  To me this was another example of Plants’ sense of humor and another reason for gratitude.  As I spent more time with her, it was evident that I needed to share her with you.

I also chose this time because we are heading into the holidays and big family celebrations.  I know that families are wonderful and tend to push our buttons (and our boundaries).  So I thought Motherwort may help you at those prickly times.