Change, Trust, Love

Change, Trust, Love

We are in the midst of major change as a new President of the United States takes office. Change is an interesting thing. We often say that we want it. We want a new job, a new car, or even a new partner. Sometimes we even dream of running away and leaving this life behind (and sometimes we do that). However, when the change is not something we are controlling, we tend to get frightened, we numb, we freeze, or we get angry. We do this even when we are getting what we wanted such as, we lose the job we’ve been wanting to leave. Here’s the thing, life is change. Change is the essence of life. When we breathe we are exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide. We continuously bring in nutrients, change them, and excrete waste. If we stop these exchanges, we stress our bodies, until the point of death. Though, even death is change in action.

As Michael J. Roads writes, “One factor is very clear and constant; we live on a planet of perpetual change. As immortal, metaphysical Beings, we deliberately incarnate into mortal physical bodies for the very factor of conscious, spiritual growth. We cannot change and remain the same, obviously! The fact that we physically incarnate onto a planet of powerful Change, aware that all Nature is ever-changing, and yet remain so resistant to change in our personal lives is surely the greatest paradox of humanity.” (from Through the Eyes of Love: Book Three)

If change is constant, perpetual, and necessary than the challenge for us is how we meet change. When we resist change, we crystallize energy which blocks the flow in our bodies and our outer worlds. This blockage creates stagnation. What happens when there is a block? Think of a dam. The water builds up behind it, as the water builds up, the pressure builds up. If there is not a way for the pressure to be released (or the energy captured), the pressure will eventually get so great that it bursts through the dam creating enormous havoc. The same is true when we become resistant and crystallize. Change MUST occur. If we do not allow change, the energy builds up until chaos reigns. Sometimes we refer to this as the energetic 2x4 to the head.

Besides chaos, resisting change also prevents us from our soul growth. My mantra lately has been “Change and Trust. Change and Trust.” This is for good reason. When we are willing to change and be flexible even in small ways, we are trusting. Resisting change is acting in fear or not trusting. What I have come to learn (and continue to remind myself) is that the more I trust: the closer I am to my Soul path, the more the world opens to me, the more synchronicity and magic I experience.

As much as part of me wants to go back to bed and hide under the covers or stomp my feet on the ground and say, “NO! NO!! NO!!!!”, I know that this is my challenge, our challenge, to rise up, trust, and change. Does that mean that we shall change to be hateful people? No, that’s the unseen and pervasive part of my mantra, Love.

Our ultimate challenge in this life is to Love; to be Love; to meet every moment, every Being, every problem with Love; to choose Love. As Jonathan Goldman writes, “When you step across the boundary of consciousness as you leave your body, there is only one criterion for how you did in this lifetime, one lens of evaluation: How much love did you receive and pass on? Regardless of whatever words you used, whatever you did with your time and will on earth, whatever you manifested on the material level, all that matters is how you served the great plan to put love in the driver’s seat.” (from Gift of the Body)

So you see it is easy, meet change with grace and Trust and choose Love as our guiding force. I know I can hear the reactions, “Oh, yeah so easy!” It is. Love is easy. Growth is easy. It is our human conditioning that makes it difficult. We buy into the illusion that anything worthwhile must be difficult and so we make it so. (Trust me, I’m fully aware of this, I have consciously chosen the more difficult path time and time again in my life.) In Truth, we can just as easily choose to learn our lessons with ease.

Think of Water. Water follows the path of least resistance and does what Water needs to do, bringing Life and change wherever ki goes. We are Water. We too can follow that path. And when we forget, lose our way, or feel overwhelmed, the Plants and other guides are there to help us.

Just remember, when in doubt:

CHOOSE LOVE!

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The image is a detail of a Healing Landscape created for the Inauguration, sending my prayers out for Love and Compassion to be our center as we create a better world.

Flower Essences to Navigate Anxiety, Stress and the Changes Ahead

We are living during a great time of change. I can feel the frenetic energy, which seems to have been building for quite some time. While change is ultimately beneficial, it often is accompanied by anxiety and stress. We know that anxiety and stress cause many health crises. How many books are written to help us reduce our stress and worries? How many talk shows are there? Yet, we continue to lead our fast paced lives.

As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, we need to make lifestyle changes. Fortunately, Flower Essences can help us make these changes. There are many Essences that can help with anxiety and stress; however, I think Blue Vervain, Eastern Hemlock, and Motherwort are particularly important for our changes ahead.

One note, these Essences are great for getting to the root of the stress and bringing sustaining relief and support for change. In an acute situation: an anxiety attack, an accident, a major injury, a stressful meeting, etc, I would (and do) use Bach’s Rescue Remedy. I carry this on me wherever I go and have a bottle in the car. I have seen it prevent people from going into shock after major injuries. Rescue Remedy comes in different forms, my preference is the spray as it is quick and easy to use.

Blue Vervain

Blue Vervain is my number one choice for a person suffering from anxiety. This essence is great for people who are doing too much, always on the go, always doing for everyone else, or who can’t sit still. Blue Vervain helps people who are “wound too tight”, who look like they are about to spring or burst.

We believe that Blue Vervain activates our Blue Channel. Simply put, we have the 7 major chakras. These are connected by a red channel and a blue channel. The red channel is moving upwards and helps to fire all the chakras, to get them moving faster. The blue channel is moving downwards and helps to calm the chakras. As you can imagine in our society, many people have very active red channels. Blue Vervain helps to calm this and bring the chakras into balance.

What I notice is that Blue Vervain is like a breath of fresh air. It gives a person the ability to take a pause and relax. During this time, she realizes how much better and more peaceful she feels; which then encourages her to make the lifestyle changes necessary to remain in this calmer place.

In general, I give an Essence to a person for a 3-5 week cycle, normally I feel that is enough time. Sometimes, we may revisit an Essence down the road. However, I often use Blue Vervain for several cycles. Rarely do I give Blue Vervain to a person for 1 cycle and not revisit ki. People often have very strong reactions to Blue Vervain. In this instance, strong is positive. They return feeling like a new person, or more appropriately, like their true selves. They feel stronger, happier, and calmer.

Eastern Hemlock

Eastern Hemlock is the Flower Essence to help with transition and change. Hemlock is the state tree of Pennsylvania. I first got to know him, when we built our straw-bale house. We chose to use him to enclose our foundation and as the ceiling in our bedrooms. Now, I live in a house made out of hemlock posts and beams. I love to look at him. He is so beautiful and strong. I constantly see figures and faces in his beams. While I love his wood, the tree is even more beautiful. He is slow growing and lives for a long time, up to 800 years! Imagine the wisdom contained in the Hemlock.

All Tree Essences have an affinity for the root chakra. They give support, strength, and protection. The Eastern Hemlock adds his wisdom to help us move through all forms of change. It can be a concrete change like switching a job. Or more abstract such as the planetary changes we are experiencing. Whatever the change, Eastern Hemlock can offer support.

Motherwort

Motherwort is an incredible herb. She is one of the first herbs that I started working with when I seriously began my herbal path. Even though I have been working with her for many years, I am constantly learning more of her gifts. She is amazing.

Motherwort’s form greatly describes her use to help with stress. For the non-herbie, she is a fairly non-descript, green plant. Her flowers form on tall spires. The flowers are small and pinkish-purplish. On close inspection they are amazingly beautiful. Motherwort’s signature is that she is gentle and soft until her flowers and seeds appear, then her spires become very spiky. She becomes the mother protecting her babies.

It is this edginess, this fierceness that makes her Flower Essence so wonderful. Motherwort Flower Essence helps us with our boundaries. Often when we are stressed, we are doing more than we want or should be doing. We are saying yes, when we don’t want to. What Motherwort does is helps us to strengthen our boundaries and learn that it is okay to say no. She helps us to fight for ourselves.

When we suffer from anxiety, often we feel disconnected, like we are all over the place. Motherwort helps to bring ourselves back together and gives us that strong protective place around us. I believe she gives us the ability to know what OUR problems and OUR requirements really are. Which helps one to feel centered.

As I said, there are many Essences that can help with stress and anxiety. These are the Essences that I think are helpful for the anxiety surrounding our planetary changes. Of course, if you have anxiety or want support to make lifestyle changes, I recommend meeting with a Flower Essence Practitioner or other healer.