Sunset in the Wishseeds

Listening:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFHwg6aNKy0

Pareidolia

Welp, it has been forever since I posted; can you tell I am building a house?  Lots of the things I used to do, and plan to get back to, have fallen to the wayside in order to focus on this massive project.  It's an interesting phase in life, a all-encompassing hiatus, sorta like getting a degree or having a newborn.

Nonetheless, I just had a much-needed vacation and went to Georgia for the American Herbalist Guild Symposium and also got to explore some of the surrounding mountains of the Chattahochee National Forest.  It's gorgeous down there!  The vibrant, yet gentle, light and color of the changing leaves soothed my soul.  I want to share a few of the highlights here; may they soothe you too.

First, a minute-long video for you to pause and take a deep breath and center yourself.
This was taken near a large waterfall which you will hear.  Just breathe as you watch; that is all you need to do.  Let the water wash away your tensions, your cares fall away with the leaves.

"Tension is who you think you should be.  

Relaxation is who you are." 

- Chinese Proverb

“You drown not by falling into a river, 

but by staying submerged in it.”

- Paulo Coelho

"I planted my self in the middle of a great many Glasses full of Dew, tied fast about me, upon which the Sun so violently darted his Rays, that the Heat, which attracted them, as it does the thickest Clouds, carried me up so high, that at length I found my self above the middle Region of the Air."
 - Cyrano de Bergerac

Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding 

that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. 

The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.” 

- Terry Tempest Williams

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, 

but in having new eyes."

 - Marcel Proust  

“A Woman in harmony with her spirit

is like a river flowing.

She goes where she will without pretense 

and arrives at her destination

prepared to be herself

and only herself ” - Maya Angelou

“The most common form of despair is not being who you are.” 

― Søren Kierkegaard

“Omnia mutantur, nihil interit”
(Everything changes, nothing perishes)
― Ovid, Metamorphoses  

“Trees are sanctuaries. 

Whoever knows how to speak to them, 

whoever knows how to listen to them, 

can learn the truth. 

They do not preach learning and precepts, 

they preach, 

undeterred by particulars, 

the ancient law of life.”
-Hermann Hesse, 'Wandering'

“Poetry is what happens when nothing else can.” 
― Charles Bukowski

“Whether you try too hard to fit in 

or you try too hard to stand out, 

it is of equal consequence: 

you exhaust your significance.” 

― Criss Jami

“your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.” 

― Charles Bukowski, "The Laughing Heart."  from 'Betting on the Muse'

Breathe, the path awaits your presence...

Black Cats, Super Novas, and Flux

The Road before me
tree-lined, meadow-flanked
and upheld by blue mountains
that shift and fade
to blue sky.

My Mind before me
expansive as sky
clouds roll by
I watch
Truth beheld intermingling,

twinkling like pinpoints
of starlight exposed.
Sky goes dark
then one can see 
what could not be seen in daylight.

It alludes, best seen
when not looking directly
simply being
shows it all,
gives it all.

Like the mountain I sit, though moving.

The Universe casts her spell 
upon me
Knows Herself through me
holds opposites at one time.

The convoluted truth touches our skin
but briefly 
and is gone.
Transfigured.
A black cat in the night
eyes twinkling.

'Tumultuous Acquisition'

 

 "The sign of a soul awake is outrage."

 - James Hillman

~

A Breathing Meditation

Get into a comfortable position, spine straight, but not rigid.  Can be sitting or laying (if you won't fall asleep).  Can be in a chair or on the floor.  Bring your thoughts to your breath, and keep bringing your attention back to your breath when it wanders.  No judgment on the wandering, just notice and bring back.
 

In Breath:
Born Anew,
Out Breath:
and We Die,
In Breath:
Born Anew,
Out Breath:
and We Die,
In Breath:
Born Anew,
Out Breath:
and We Die,...
(continue this for as long as you will, 5 minutes, 30... until you rest in the ever-present NOW,
and the fleeting nature of our existence becomes all you are - nothing -
along with the knowing that YOU ARE EVERYTHING).
In Breath:
Born Anew,
Out Breath:
and We Die,
In Breath:
Born Anew,
Out Breath:
and We Die,
In Breath:
Born Anew,
Out Breath:
and We Die,In Breath:
Born Anew,
Out Breath:
and We Die,
In Breath:
Born Anew,
Out Breath:
and We Die,...
And the Birth and Death that is This Lifetime
Is but a Breath of a Greater Lifetime. 
A Lifetime where We Are the Mountain.

 

A Break in the Rain, A Walk in the Woods - Photo Journal

If you aren't able to get out in Nature at this moment,

may these picture suffice,

bringing you the beauty and solace this walk did for me.

Alder Reflections

It was pouring all morning then this afternoon I noticed it stopped and suddenly the sun came out.  I went outside to bring in firewood, and the raindrops sparkling on everything like gems drew me out for a longer perusal.











On my way down the mountain (I live on a small ridge in the Appalachias of northern Virginia), I stopped at the hives and checked on them as I am wont to do whenever I am near.  I noticed a bee at an entrance with its tongue out getting water from a rain drop.  :)  It's too cold and wet for them to actually leave the hive.

Goodness, I love that green color.

I brave gentle rain to stay out I am enjoying myself so much; it being warm enough in February for this is the new normal.  I'm not even dressed all that warm (sweater and scarf); am a bit cold, but less than a mile from home.

Happy Moss

I went to my most regular woodland sit spot,

the place where when I go there I feel like I am coming home,

home unto myself.  The Self that is everything and nothing at once.

Where the flowing waters wash my spirit clean.

Microcosm within Macrocosm

Tiny fungal start

As soon as I came in from my couple-hour-ramble-through-the-woods it started absolutely pouring, a full-on deluge.  I feel I am on the "right" schedule when my timing is this impeccable.  I was not dressed to be caught out in it; but I was in the moment and willing to take the chance.

 

"Come forth into the light of things; let nature be your teacher"

- Wordsworth

 

This Sycamore tree in the next picture is such a great example of strength and perseverance. Over years the stream has flooded and carved out the earth that used to hold its roots, but still it remains out in the open, exposed and only half supported, but still full of life.

Seeming to sit, perched in the air.

Witch's Butter Brewing

Now that I am constructing this blog, it has turned into a thunder storm with crashes and flashes right outside the window.  This has happened the past couple of winters, but never in my life before, thunderstorms in winter.  "The times they are a changin'."

I am sad to see that there are areas of these woods where the ground, the fertile seedbed of tomorrow, is covered with the invasive Bittersweet berries/seeds (picture above).  This plant was not noticeably here when I moved here over 18 years ago and now it pervades.  It is not readily edible or medicinal, being more on the poison end of the spectrum and wild life does not seem to favor it.  I hope it's not the next Kudzu, because it'd be worse - at least Kudzu is a great edible/medicinal plant.  This next picture shows Sycamore seeds - a beloved tree and one of my first tattoos.

 “I only went out for a walk 

and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, 

for going out, I found, was really going in.”

- ​John Muir

Lake Rorschach

A language as old as these hills

 Update:  The thunderstorm resulted in losing electricity mid-blog, and for 5 hours.  This always drives home how much I/we rely on electricity.  Candles were lit and books read!

'Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out'

"Do not try to save the whole world
or do anything grandiose.
Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life
and wait there patiently,
until the song that is your life
falls into your own cupped hands
and you recognize and greet it.
Only then will you know how to give yourself
to this world
so worthy of rescue."

- Martha Postlewaite

'Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out' 2015

*Limited Edition* Collaged Tea Tins filled with Planetary Chai - For Sale...

Help to support my art and herbal work, and this website...

Artwork for your kitchen!

It's that time of year again...  I've made a handful of one-of-a-kind collaged tins for sale.  These make a special decoration for your kitchen or your tea cabinet, or a unique gift.

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'Cosmic Mudra'

SOLD - see others available below...
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Traditionally, I fill these recycled tea tins with my herbal, caffeine-free chai blend that includes herbs from many different healing traditions including Western, Traditional Chinese, and Ayurvedic.
It supports digestion, tastes delightfully spicy, and can be mixed with hot water, black tea, milk, or even apple juice or wine.  You can find out more about this blend or order it by itself here.
The collaged tins are $45 each filled with tea.

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'Wonder Dog'

Order here:

 

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I'm also happy to fill the tin with a different tea blend; I make many of these, such as ones for:
Colds and Flus
Relax
Sleep
Lymph Support
Just leave me a note on paypal when you order if you'd like something different.

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'Inner Journey'

Sold - see others available...

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'The Buzz'

SOLD - see others available...

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'Sea Star'

Order here:

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I will also do custom tins for you, with a two week lead time prior to shipping, just give me a theme!

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 *If you are buying several Ravenwind Botanica products at one time, whether the same item or not, you can save substantially on shipping as I will ship it all together, please inquire and we'll get the payment set up right for you.  :)  You can click on 'Ravenwind Botanica' in the list to the right to see all products available.  Thanks for supporting my work.