Spring Cleaning and Castor Oil Packs

As spring makes itself present, many of us are cleaning up our yards, cleaning out closets, packing away winter clothing and bringing out the short sleeves and light weight jackets. For me it always feels good to get my home ready for the new season. I can feel it in my body when it has been cleaned up, unused or broken items removed, walls washed, frig cleaned out, and patio furniture spray washed and ready for use. I feel like I walk lighter on my feet once it has been finished. So if we clean out our houses, what about cleaning out our bodies, our spirits home? Along with eating more fruits and veggies and drinking plenty of water, I often turn to castor oil packs in the spring to clean out my inner workings... I find it to be one of the best self care treatments I can do on a regular basis to improve my own health. Castor oil, applied topically to the abdomen, is absorbed through the skin directly into the lymphatic fluid. It thins the lymphatic fluid and promotes its circulation throughout the body with special attention to the liver, spleen, and intestines. Our lymphatic system (our bodies “sewer system”) absorbs dead cells, functional immune complexes, and debris from all over the body and brings it to the liver and spleen for filtering. When our lymphatic system becomes slow and stagnant it effects digestion and "gut" immunity leading to inefficient bowel movements, susceptibility to viruses, and worsening food sensitivities. Castor Oil is an "old fashioned" remedy which improves circulation to the vital organs and can correct the aforementioned processes. Its easy to do, not that expensive, and has no known side-effects. I will often do it 3 to 4 nights in a row, once a month, to keep my insides working well. I also find that it helps alleviate back aches, stomach aches, and headaches when done regularly. To do a castor oil pack you will, of course, need castor oil. I highly recommend cold pressed organic, since it is absorbed into your system, you really don't want added chemicals or pesticides... right?? Next cut a piece of cotton flannel (I usually recommend that it not be colored, as the dye will also be absorbed through the process of castor oil pack). Find an old towel or t-shirt (which you will need to prevent staining your sheets or the couch if you do it while resting on your couch). And last but not least a hot water bottle, heating pad, or microwavable bean bag. Procedure Pour approximately 1-2 tablespoons of Castor Oil to your cotton flannel and apply onto the upper right quadrant of your abdomen, just under the ribcage (location of liver). Place your old towel or t-shirt over the flannel to keep any excess oil from touching your sheets. Place heat source on top of the towel. Temperature should be high enough for you to feel the warmth on your skin but not get burned. Relax for 30-45 minutes while your skin absorbs the oil. This is a nice ritual to do before going to sleep, while reading or relaxing in bed, or watching a movie. You can keep a container next to the bed so that when you are ready to go to sleep it is easy to drop all materials into the container without getting out of bed. You can keep the flannel in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and re-use it for all four nights. Be sure to take it out about an hour before you plan to use it again so that it is does not freeze your tummy when applied again. Happy spring cleaning! Be well, Janet

What did you want to be when you grow up?

A few years ago, I was interviewed by a local high school student because I was a business owner in the community. One of the questions was "Did you always want to do massage and be a business owner" and "What did you want to be when you grew up"? This morning as I send my stepson off to school the question arose in my mind again, but this time I was thinking of him. High school. So much pressure to decide what you want to do and be... I can't imagine having to go back there... So here is what I shared with the student a few years ago, and I share it again for all the high schoolers who are being expected to choose their life careers when their life is so young here on the planet... When I was a teen all I wanted to do was be a Mom. I imagined my children. I imagined how they would smell all clean from a bath, and wrapped in snuggly blankets. I chose names for my imaginary children. I even imagined one boy and one girl. With that said, I had my first child at 20. I often felt that I was looked down on by my peers who went off to college to party and live off their parents (my assumption). I had my second child when I was 27, when many of my friends from high school were just beginning their careers or starting serious relationships. During that time between when I had my first and second child I had a dog who had lots of health problems. So I got a part time job (on top of my full time job) so that I could learn about dogs and could better care for my own. When I was about 28 I figured out that I had some intuitive skills, I could anticipate what someone needed before they expressed it verbally. So I used that skill and worked in a small testing laboratory. I started out as receptionist, then took classes because I was interested in people so learning about human resources was right up my alley. After a few years I was given the responsibility of heading up the HR department. As the company grew and my children were getting older and really needing their Mom at home after-school and for chaffeauring, I stepped down from HR and worked part time, assisting the new HR Manager which was really a fun job. When I was 35 I had some very serious health issues so I began learning about alternatives that could help me get well without the recommended surgery and medications that were being offered by main stream medicine. Within a year, I was off all meds and the heart condition I was diagnosed with miraculously was gone. So when I had my car accident in 2001 it was only natural that I would again look for ways to help myself, and Massage was it. After attending massage school, graduating and getting licensed I started my own business. Again I used my intuitive skills, listening closely to my clients about their health issues and their needs, and started looking into further education. I have taken many certification programs and use all of them as needed. A few years ago I began wondering about teaching, so I started sharing information with clients about energy medicine. Balance for the self! As I continue to wonder about teaching, once again the Universe is presenting me with opportunities! This summer I am holding energy and assisting at Meridian Massage Institute and have been asked by my M.D. to sit on a panel of healers to assist in the shift of health care in my local area... So, as you can see, What did you want to be when you grew up, was really not something I could have answered in high school. I have always just allowed my dreams to come. Although it was not always easy, as my brothers and sister all have Master's Degrees and work "regular jobs". I was always the odd one in the bunch. Can I say I am happier than others? I don't know. But I am happy for myself. And that my friends is all that really matters... So high schoolers, and parents of high schoolers, lighten up. Enjoy the ride. Listen to your heart. And it will all be alright!! Namaste, Janet

challenging authority?

Someone recently said to me "well he's just doing what we taught him to do, challenge authority". This sentence has been popping up in my conscious thoughts so I sat with it. Here's what I came up with... To challenge authority means (to me) when you are asked to participate in something that is illegal, immoral, or hurtful to another, then standing up and saying NO to that action. This is honorable, and it is imperative to the whole. BUT... if at work (or school for those in school since that is their work/job at this time) you are asked to do your job, do what you have been hired to do (or do work that is asked of you in school) then it is an equal exchange of energy and not doing it is NOT challenging authority. It is okay for your boss or teacher to ask of you what was agreed to upon your hire (or your enrollment in school). It is not a bad thing to understand that sometimes we may not always like what it is we are being asked to do. It may be boring, or you may have had a night of no sleep, or you may be distracted with personal challenges, etc. In most jobs (school) if you are honest about what is happening for you, you and have a conversation with your boss / teacher, often times another solution can be agreed upon, if the reason for not doing what is asked is valid... BUT just saying "no I don't want to" or "I don't feel like it" is often times not acceptable. Imagine how you would feel if you hired a contractor (or any other service person) to do a job. You agreed to what was to be done, how much it would cost, and the time frame it would take to get it done. And then when they were half way through they just decided they didn't feel like finishing. It probably wouldn't feel good, it may even cause some anger to well up inside of you. BUT if that service person came to you and explained that something was happening for them, and the time frame had changed due to circumstances beyond their immediate control, then you may actually feel empathy and would be able to sit down and work out another solution to the agreed upon exchange. So if challenging authority is about standing up for those who have no voice, or protecting the land or the water or the community then I say YES!!! BUT if challenging authority is an excuse to be whiny or lazy, and you use it to not do something you may not like doing than it can feel obnoxious to the person you are having the exchange with. And there are NATURAL CONSEQUENCES for this behavior. If its at work, you may lose your job. If its at school, you may have no weekend privledges at home. And if you don't like the natural consequences, then change the behavior that is causing them. Its all up to you. Period. Thanks for listening, my rant is done...

The silly workings of the mind

I love when I remember to pay attention to the pause in between... In between each breath, in between words, in between thoughts, in between actions... In between. This theme has come up for me (and many I know) alot lately. In between jobs, in between kids, in between relationships, in between life and death and so on... For me the in between has been in my own thoughts, and what is programmed as "right and wrong" and what actually is... Recently my husbands teenage son has come to live with us full time. My husband and his ex-wife (his son's Mom) have co-parented for many years, their son has lived with my husband full time on and off over his life, and they have been able to work it out where if one of them has more than the other one, the one with more takes responsibility at that point. This is such a beautiful thing and I am so glad it has worked for them. And I really want to make it clear that the issue is mine, there is no right or wrong and I know that to be true. I am sharing because I am sure that many folks have the same internal struggles but really don't know how to talk about it in a way that is ok for all involved. So I shall attempt it: My MIND says She should..., we should..., he should..., that's not right..., what about... Of course you can fill in the blanks in many ways, and those are not really the important part of the story for me, the story is that my MIND wants to control the situation with "shoulds" and "should nots". That's the thing with the mind. It has been fed a story about what is right, what is not, how we should respond, how others should behave, and then there's the fear of how are we gonna do this financially, I mean really, a teen boy EATS alot (big sigh). Anyone else know what I am talking about? Ok if you do, then you realize that these thoughts pop up randomly and then they take hold and act like the energizer bunny... they keep on ticking! And its WORK to get them to let go. And the WORK is WORTH IT!! When my thoughts become un-loving or judgemental of self or another, I pop open my tool box to bring me back to myself! I know about energy and the energy body and how to balance, I use mantra's, meditation, writing in a journal (or blogging) to open the cork so the bottle doesn't blow, I have the accessibility of the woods, know how to breathe deep and have surrounded myself with relationships that bring me back to whats love and whats not. So, if you are having thoughts of right and wrong, or looking at how another is living their life and think "if only they did blah blah blah, then I suggest you STOP. STOP the mind. Check into the heart. And if you don't know how, then ask someone who might be able to guide you. And really don't take it too seriously, its just the silly mind after all and your heart is much more powerful, you just have to learn what it feels like and how to let go of everything you've been taught about life ~ yup, that's all, that's what's on my "mind" today! Be well and happy! It is a choice!!

Circle in the woods!

Getting aquainted with my new surroundings I have come across a place in the woods that looks like it is perfect for ceremony and ritual! It is a perfect circle where no trees have grown, surrounded by old pines and deep enough in the woods that anything other than "woods noises" can be heard. This past weekend My husband and sons cut me a path to the circle. This didn't mean cutting live trees, it was cutting up the trees that had fallen, it was as if the path was already there just waiting for me! So today I am gonna pay a visit to the circle and sit and ask what exactly she wants of me. What the woods would like to have as part of THEIR home! I can't wait to see hear what they ask of me. And then I am excited to put into action the information that is entrusted to me!! Namaste y'all!!

The Good Red Road and my message from Aniiyah

Today I met with a dear friend who I have known for a number of years, and with whom I worked closely with in 2007 and 2008 to bring the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers to Groton, NY. After The Grandmothers came and went my friend and I drifted apart due to miles and work responsibilities and life in general. Over the past year she has been working in her area with a number of other folks learning from a Lakota Grandmother Sweatlodge ceremony and other Red Road (native american) traditions and ceremony. My friend had invited me last year to be part of the group in training, but it didn't fit into my schedule. I was disappointed but as always, I trust the Universe, and I know that what ever is for my highest good flows easily and effortlessly into my life and time opens up to allow for it. Today as we were talking and she was so exuberantly sharing the new information and talking about the good red road, I remembered a vision I had had a while back (which was another reason why I knew the Universe had not opened for me to participate in the training a year ago). This vision I share came to me, where else, but in the shower... (water seems to open that channel up for me). As I was showering I kept seeing my Great Grandmother, Marey (Indian name Aniiyah) who was Blackfoot Indian. She was talking to me, but I couldn't make out her words clearly... Maybe I had water in my ears, who knows, but all I could hear was the cadence to her words. The rhythm felt very familiar. Once I stepped out of the tub, I bent over to dry my hair with the towel and it suddenly was long (my hair in this world was short). I was drying LONG HAIR. What the... I dropped my towel and stood up quickly and it felt like long wet hair had slapped my back and was dripping down to the floor. (This all was happening in slow motion) I went over to the the mirror and when I looked into the mirror my eyes were looking back at me, but my face was wrinkled and very tan, and my hair was long and salt and pepper colored. I blinked a few times, and then heard myself saying (but it didn't sound exactly like me, my words were coming out like cadence... da daa daa da daa daa da da). What I heard was "The Red Road is a good road, and although you have my blood, red blood, it is not your road this time. You walk many roads, you know many ways and you are a connector. Learn about ALL roads, that is why you are here". Even now as I share this with you I am brought back to how it felt to be looking at myself, but seeing my Great Grandmother. Visions, which in the logical society, are poo poohed, are very real! The ancestors speak to us all the time. That world, the unseen world, is very much active and alive and available to help us if we quiet down and listen. That, my friends is the real challenge. Quieting down. We are bombarded with so much stimuli that we forget who we really are. Why we are really here. And what we can do while we are here!! So, as I give thanks to my friend and her whole group for learning and bringing information to us, I also give thanks to all the Ancestors. Especially To Aniiyah who is always with me, who's voice is clear and who's blood runs through my veins, and reminds me of what is REAL, whether seen or unseen with the human eyes!

Unscrewed

Isn't self reflection interesting? Amazing how when you pay attention to the body, self reflection is just the next "logical" step... So, if you have been following my blog for a few years you are aware that about 2 1/2 years ago a relationship that I invested time, lots of money, and heart into ended abruptly (in my eyes) and not in a pretty way. Shortly afterwards, I broke my ankle (trimalleolar fracture with dislocation, with so much swelling they couldn't do surgery for almost a month. This landed me on the couch and out of work for about 3 months. I had lots of ugly feelings to work through, and if you know the metaphysical work of Louise Hays ankle, accidents, and swelling represent the ability to receive pleasure, inability to speak up for the self, anger, and clogged painful thinking. All three applied to me at that point. The gift was that I had 3 months to do nothing except breathe, pray, read, examine my own feelings, and watch the world go by (summer to fall, which was gorgeous!). I was so grateful for the time to process as I was very angry. I felt betrayed, I felt like a "fool" for trusting, and I had invested all my money in anothers' education and home that I had absolutely nothing to live on. Once again the Universe supplied. I had clients purchase gift certificates to be used when I was healed, I received medicaid which covered the cost of surgery, and I had a very understanding landlord who allowed me to run a tab to be paid in the future. Folks brought me food (and what a beautiful selection!), and the young man next door (who I have grown to think of as a son) took my dogs out and brought me dog food. I was in awe of the generosity and support of my community. That in itself was a huge gift. Anyway, recently my ex has come up in a number of conversations, folks wondering about what I think of him, would I recommend him, etc. Then on fb his picture appeared on a friends wall and I was shocked at my response (internal). I was furious that he looked happy. This surprised me as I thought I had really processed the whole thing two years earlier. Then, last week two of the screws in my ankle began working their way out so I went to see the doctor and yes indeed they needed to be removed. Wow, was that ever my body talking to me or what. Amazing the correlation between my thoughts and my physical body. And my body was telling me it was time to really let go of the "screws". It was telling me I am ready. I don't need that energy... So this morning I did some "work" wishing him well. Praying that his family is filled with abundance, that his estranged relationship with his children is healed, that his heart is whole and that whatever our karma was is now fulfilled. I only share this because I know we all have those "ouchy" places in ourselves. All humans if they live on this earth have been disappointed, lied to, hurt, abandoned, used, and kicked around. AND the only way to heal those wounds is to EXAMINE YOUR OWN HEART, YOUR OWN INTERNAL LANDSCAPE, AND OWN SOME KIND OF SPIRITUAL PRACTICE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO LET GO AND LOVE AGAIN. Its not easy, its not always pretty what we see inside ourselves, and it can take time (like 2 years...), but it is surely worth it. I now feel released. I feel ready to not only be "unscrewed" in my head and heart, but in my body too!! Once again, thanks be to the Universe and the amazing life experience that has been my most wonderful teacher! Namaste y'all!!