I discovered the beauty of tea from my grandmother and my mother.  

Each morning as I was growing up I watched the morning ritual of pouring tea.  

It was a typical tradition : boil the water, grab the tea bag and put it in the mug, pour the water and sit.  They would sip and sit and sip and sit.  

Sometimes my grandmother would see the birds out of the window and make a comment.  Sometimes my mother would look out into the distance and smile.  

Words were not often spoken.  Nothing seemed to be happening.  

In reflection, however,  I witnessed a routine each morning that I have come to know as their own version of contemplative meditation.  

Meditation can take many forms.  And one of my favorite paths of meditation is found in an ancient practice called the Tea Ceremony.

The essence of the Tea Ceremony is to be fully present to your Self and to the process of preparation, pouring and sharing tea.  It is with an open-heart and mindful attention that we serve for the benefit of ourselves and of others.

It is a kind of meditation in action.  And it is a way to bring attention and intention into your daily routine and make it a shared experience, as well as a solo endeavor.  

One of the most delightful things about a Tea Ceremony is that it can be created for your Self or with others and so, the meditation becomes a process of expansion and spaciousness.  A shared experience for guest and host.

Each moment is unique and transient. There is only one moment – this moment. It will never occur again in this way.

Whether you are preparing tea for yourself or for others, it is an opportunity to celebrate the moment and care for yourself and others. 

See the magic in what is ordinary. 

This magic is always available to us when we slow down, pay attention to our ordinary experience and allow ourselves to simply be.

To bring extra joy to my personal tea ceremony, each month I receive a beautiful package of tea, a gift and a magazine about tea from the Global Tea Hut, a tea community in Taiwan, China.  

This month's gift was about honoring the Year of the Sheep and it's lessons on abundance.  And in the spirit of sharing, I share this process with You.

I always look forward to this subscription ~ more than any other mail I receive each month.  The magazine is incredibly thoughtful and educational and insightful.  

The gifts each month are surprisingly generous and the tea is amazing.  

You can subscribe, too, and be a part of the community that serves others so kindly.

In the meantime, whether you are a tea or coffee drinker, please remember to sit, breathe and be still.

Want to learn more about tea + meditation, check out mydailyom.com.  

The labyrinth is an ancient pattern found in many cultures around the world.  Labyrinth designs were found on pottery, tablets and tiles that date as far back at 5000 years.  Many patterns are based on spirals and circles mirrored in nature.  In Native American tradition, the labyrinth is identical to the Medicine Wheel and Man in the Maze.  The Celts described the labyrinth as the Never Ending Circle.  It is also known as the Khabala in mystical Judaism.  One feature labyrinths have in common is that they have one path that winds in a circuitous way to the center.

The pattern has been walked by millions of people of all culture for many reasons.  The labyrinth is a red place set aside to reflect, look within, pray and negotiate new behavior.  They rhythm of walking, placing one foot in front of the other, empties the mind, relaxes the body and refreshes the spirit.  Follow the page your body wants to go.  The labyrinth can be walked in four stages.  If you encounter other people walking the same path, simply allow them to pass.  Walk the labyrinth with your body and rest your mind.

Remember
Before walking the labyrinth, take time in gratitude to be thankful for your life.  Bless the people in your life.  If there's a specific event or situation troubling you, bring it to mind and form a healing question.

Release
This is the time to quiet the mind, let go of the mind chatter and release your troubles.  Open your heart to feel whatever it might feel.  Become aware of your breathing.  Take slow breaths.  Relax and move at your own pace.

Receive
Stand or sit in the center.  This is the place of reflection.  Pause and stay as long as you like.  Open yourself to your higher power.  Listen to that small inner voice.  In the safety of the labyrinth have a heart-to-heart talk with yourself.
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Return
Walking out of the labyrinth.  When you are ready, begin walking out the same path you followed in.  Walking out, integration of your experience happens.  Experience the sense of well-being, healing, excitement, calm or peace.

When walking a labyrinth, the inner voice wakes up.  It may be encouraging, surprising, hopeful, doubtful, eager, pessimistic, judgmental and wondrous. Stepping into the labyrinth, we see our thoughts for what they are in that moment, but also the patterning of our thoughts in new situations.  Walking the labyrinth becomes a mirror of our mind and an insight into what we may be seeking. Steps along the path are symbolic of people and events in our life.  And as one foot is put in front of the other, we are reminded of a bigger presence in our lives that has set our course for us.  All we have to do is follow the path and make choices along the way.  Stay present and allow for what to be, to be and to be a part of the co-creative process of our lives.  Part of the process of walking the labyrinth is about being ready to release whatever comes up for us and to receive what awaits us.  There is a glimpse into understanding flow and force as we move forward trusting the path and at the same time wondering if we are moving in the right direction towards the goal:  the center.  Arriving at the center, there is the pause, the reflection and the awareness that the way back is the same way through. We recount the steps back to the beginning and know the place where we started with fresh eyes.  

During the intensive period of the quarantine, somewhere in mid-April, I realized that my general state of happiness and feeling of peace-in-mind, and overall sense of hope, was grounded in my ability to remain disciplined to everyday activities. I acknowledged and observed that the simple daily habits that have been integrated into my life as rhythms and rituals brought great joy, purpose and structure to my days.
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Discipline often conjures thoughts of restriction or control or regulation and all of these definitions for discipline can lead us to feel that discipline can be stifling, limiting or punishing, but I have found that discipline has played an instrumental role in my creativity and success in the simplest of ways.  

Discipline offers a kind of comfort. Personally, I create best when I have a structure and timeline.  I show up with clarity when I feel organized and prepared.  And when I don't know where to go or how to do or what is happening, I rest in those places of uncertainty and wait.  I practice patience.  I wait for the message or the meaning or the purpose that will propel me to the next step.  In the meantime, I keep the simple tasks and habits of structure with a discipline of consistency to continue moving forward and not get stuck along the journey.  Within this idea of discipline and structure is another interpretation of the "joy being in the journey" and "trusting the process" that is unfolding.  I remain present and do what is necessary in the moment and take care of what I can with the utmost attention and intention.

Long ago, I recreated my daily chores into games and shifted my childhood perspective of what I was required to do to get something else towards the mindset of creating an environment or experience to greet the friend or visitor that would come see me that day.  I always imagined that someone was going to come play with me on that day and I wanted to be ready for them when they arrived.  That paradigm shift from my childhood ingrained a habit in my mind and developed the idea to be ready and available for whatever the day will bring.  This worldview has remained a key component to my capacity to be available for almost any opportunity that presents itself in any moment.  Success is where opportunity meets preparedness. And so it goes.

For example, as long as I can remember, shortly after waking up I make my bed.  Every day.  I make my bed.  It's one of the first things I do to create order and ease in my day.  From there, all things in the first quarter of my day (which is marked approximately from 6a until 12pm) unfold in a series of events that I consciously attend to with slight randomness to keep my habits mindful. That too, is a practice of awareness.  

In other words, my mornings are not a mindless series of events.  Things take place with a more ritualized intention and the organized structure then marks "starting the day":  there is water to boil, candles to light, offerings to make, incense to burn, Japa meditation and yoga practice to roll through, breakfast to eat, Bianca to walk, shower to cleanse, journal to reflect and whatever else arises in the moment that fills the space with mindfulness.  I greet the day with respect and renewal, as well as curiosity.  I feel ready and connected.

During quarantine, I also created new habits and made new commitments to myself to keep myself on a schedule that would allow for rest, play, work and plenty of downtime that is essential for the creative mind and soul to flourish.  Sleep is important and routinized sleep is very good for the body and mind.  Timers on my lights that clicked off by 10pm created the reminder to "go to bed" instead of binge watch Netflix series until midnight or keep going on the puzzle that could wait another day.  I moved my phone charging to another room so that I could properly prepare for dreamtime and not surf the news or zone out on scrolling through Instagram believing that I was researching that one new idea or catching up on the day.  These small changes created huge shifts for my well-being.  It takes discipline to make movements in a new direction and stick to it for a period of time to see if it is helpful.  

I have come to accept that my successes in my life have been greatly contributed to the capacity for me to remain disciplined, commit to consistency and allow for the magic and flow to happen within all the space that it is created within that kind of structure. Identifying these elements of design have been incredibly liberating and empowering and helpful to understand how I create extraordinary moments in an ordinary day.

And so, this is an ode to you, dear Discipline:

Thank you for serving so well.  
The grounding that is provided through support, correction and protection
allows for the flight and flow of creativity and possibility to soar.
I am incredibly grateful for the education and direction.  
And I am more resilient and accepting of all that can be.
​May it be so.

​I'm a self-care junkie and taking care of myself has always been a priority.  I have found that when I feel organized, beautiful and prepared for anything that I'm available and present for other people. 

With so many people working from home and feeling isolated and not connecting with others physically, I've witnessed a common theme: people are not preparing for their day as they would if they had a place to go and meet people.  I was surprised to hear this.  Showing up for yourself and preparing for your day is the most important thing you can do.  Especially right now.  Everyday.  No matter what.  Get it together for Yourself, so you can be available for others.  As they advise on airplanes, when we once traveled, in case of an unlikely emergency, put your mask on before assisting others.  

The morning my grandfather asked me if I wanted to come next door with him to visit with the Brown's was one of the most poignant days of my life.  I always wondered why Pop would get up so early and get ready for his day and make his bed and do his calisthenics and listen to his radio and look up at the window and prepare himself the way he did and all before 5am.  That morning, I learned.

I've always been an early riser and as a little girl I would often find my grandfather up before sunrise, too.  I was fortunate to have spent a lot of time with my grandparents as a young child.  I was at their home almost every weekend from the time I was two years old until my early teenage years.  As a young girl, I would often find my grandfather up before sunrise, too, and I would visit with him in his woodshed tucked away in a little space adjacent to his bedroom.  My grandparents lived in separate quarters in their home.  The main living area and three bedrooms and bath were on the entrance level of the house.  Here is where my grandmother's master bedroom and the two smaller bedrooms and bath were located, as well as the living room, dining room and separate walk-in kitchen.  My grandfather lived downstairs off of the "club room".  He had his own bath the size of something you might find in a medium sized powerboat or larger RV camper, a master bedroom the same size as the one upstairs that was build out beside the backyard shed, and a secret wood shop-like room tucked away in the corner of the bedroom that was probably designed to be a larger walk-in closet.  I loved that room.

I can still smell the scent of wooddust and cedar and Old Spice cologne mixed with a particular note of buckwheat yeastiness and sweet tobacco from his pipe.  The sound of the transistor radio crackling as the airwaves strain to connect.  It was typically set to the talk radio channel.  It was not ever clear what my grandfather did in that room, but he sure liked sitting there on the tall metal stool looking up at the little window that peeked up to reveal the ground level of the neighbors driveway.  He tinkered and listened and waited.  

First thing in the morning, I would pad my way from the upstairs bedroom I shared with my aunt to visit the bathroom and then walk down the hallway, through the living room past the fireplace, around the dining room and through the swinging kitchen doors to the basement door.  Carefully walking down the slippery wooden stairs to the club room, I wondered if Pop Pop was awake yet.  The time would have been about 5am and sure enough the bathroom would have been steamed from his shower, the little pull cord light next to his single brass post bed was on and the radio would crackle in the near distance luring me towards the secret spot where my grandfather would sit.  Every time I arrived it was like the first time for my grandfather.  He would spin around and welcome me with open arms with a big smile and say, "Steffie!  You're awake!  Good morning!" and he would pick me up and set me on his lap and then I, too, would listen and look and wait.

I learned in time that my grandfather was enjoying his early morning quiet time when the world seemed most at peace.  The radio served as company but he rarely was paying any attention to the words of the commentator.  Every now and again he would grunt at something political, but mostly I think he actually found the crackling of the connection and the cadence of the voices to be soothing and comforting.  He was also waiting for Farmer Brown to awaken, his friend from next door, who was a good twenty years or more older than my grandfather.  Pop would visit with Farmer Brown almost every day that I can recall and when he went next door, I typically would return upstairs to play. My grandmother and aunt were typically still sleeping.

We had this morning ritual for years.  And then one day, things changed.  

​Pop asked me if I wanted to go next door to meet Farmer Brown.  I was probably seven or eight years old by this time.  

Farmer Brown was like a cartoon character to me that I watched from a distance. He didn't seem to enjoy children very much or be very friendly and so I kept my distance.  I would see him walk around the yard and sit on the porch in his wooden rocking chair and spit tobacco all day long hidden by the willow tree that separated the houses.  His hat sat low on his brow and he was austere and private. He mostly kept to himself.  But my grandfather had quite a liking for him and they were very good friends.  

Looking back now, I think it's mostly my grandfather's incorrigible friendliness coupled with consistency and genuine kindness and generosity that kept that relationship alive.  My grandfather enjoyed getting to know different people and hearing their stories. Farmer Brown was the perfect candidate for Pop. I can hear him laugh now in the echoes of my heart as he shared at the dinner table a story in history that Farmer Brown told him.  

I followed him to the kitchen where he packaged up some meats and buckwheat pancakes.  He offered me his hand and we trotted next door.  I was a little anxious but excited to be on this adventure, and I was also still in my sleepwear of tights and t-shirt.  Pop double tapped on the front door before entering.  He'd clearly been here before many times. We entered a somber living room and then walked towards the kitchen, a short walk along the hallway, which opened into a bustling bright room of life and activity.  Pop lit up like a Christmas tree as he greeted Mrs. Betty and Farmer Brown and presented his offerings.  Everyone was so happy to see each other, breakfast was being cooked and coffee was being enjoyed as if it was liquid gold. This ritual happened every weekend for as long as I can remember.  And each time, each moment, my grandfather visited, it was like the first time and the last time.  Unwaveringly exuberant and consistent. 

Not only did I enjoy my very first cup of coffee with cream and sugar that morning, I also learned what it meant to take care of yourself, prepare, be ready, be patient and then serve other people.  Farmer Brown looked forward to my grandfather's visit every weekend until the day he died.  It was a relationship embedded with a foundation of showing up and being available under all circumstances that spanned nearly two decades. Some of our own family traditions also stemmed from this relationship.  

I remember as I sat at the kitchen bar watching all of this community the rest of the neighborhood slept.  I, too, was still in my pajamas and in that little kitchen an entire world opened up to me.  A world of friendship, kindness, connection, community, capacity, possibility and hope.  I, too, had shown up every morning that I stayed at my grandparent's home and visited my grandfather in his secret woodshop. And after a period of time, I was invited to join him for the next phase of community.  I learned.  He got ready and prepared himself and waited for the opportunity to serve others.  That system never failed him.  And after that day, before I would come downstairs to visit him, I, too, would prepare myself and be ready for whatever the day might bring.  This system has not failed me since..

​Yesterday was unexpectedly emotional.  My body was more charged than days before.  I woke with a longing in my heart and a compassionate sadness pulsing through my body.  I've felt this before and called it nostalgia.  It feels a little different now and I cannot quite pinpoint a label for it. The closest thing I can call it is "trapped resolve". It's a combined energy of allowance and acceptance and frustration and impatience.  

The sensations continued all day and in waves.  Some hours in the day were less charged than others.  I practiced presence and awareness without trying to do anything about them.  I simply felt them and continued with the activities of my day.  I breathed deeper than usual and I was productive.  

And then, later in the afternoon, when I went to call my family, my phone had automatically created several photo memories.  I was compelled to look at them and scrolled through the pictures and my heart skipped more beats than I expected.  I could feel a strong wave of emotion channeling. And this time, the longing and sadness pulled me deeper towards a combined feeling of gratitude and grief.  

I started to cry and I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the time I took in my life to travel and connect with people I love....even when I felt that it wasn't good timing or I didn't have enough money to do it.  Somehow, somewhere I knew in my heart that the most important memories in my lifetime would be the moments I spent showing up for the people I loved and who mattered to me most.  Grief for the moments that I don't know when or how these moments will ever happen again. I cried some more and just listened.  

Things are getting very quiet now. I am remembering stories and times.  Memories are flooding through and I recall. 

I visited the home of Williams Wordsworth in the Lake District of the United Kingdom.  It was the summer before I was studying abroad and attending the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Keble College, Oxford University.  I adored the Romantic poets in British Literature: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Blake and Shelley.  They inspired me and seeing where they gathered and wrote was important for me.  I'm such a sensory junkie.  I need to see, taste, touch, smell, feel to have a full experience.  The Lake District was a gorgeous place with beautiful vistas of rolling hills and blue water and trees and this sense of animal and fairy magic, if you believe in those kinds of things.  Beatrix Potter's home was also here. 

That fall semester in 1989, when I studied in Oxford, was life changing in a profound way and the time I spent in London planted the seeds for me to take root in New York City three years later. As much as I loved the charming and idyllic countryside, the energy and vibration of the city was alluring for me.  

New York City was my home and heart from 1992 until 2016.  Lady Liberty, I have a love letter for you.  That's for another day. 

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

​In all honesty, I am very much an extroverted introvert and prefer to be more reclusive and quiet and private than you might think.  I need lots of time to process things and I'm better at sharing myself when I have had lots of downtime.  

When I was living in New York, my processing time was limited and my downtime was distracted and after 24 years in the city, I wanted to create something new for my Self.  I had felt that I had stopped growing and evolving in New York City. I wanted nature, and I wanted something else. What that something else was exactly was to be determined.  But, one thing was clear: my future Self was calling me forth and I listened.

So, after a period of time of exploration in seeking that "something else" with intentional vision quests to find the right next spot including✈️ trips to Vermont, Florida, Washington, Texas, Belize, and Puerto Rico, I found my happy place and moved to the Northern California coast, bought a Treehouse and started a new career in wine sales.  Most of this you may know, and there are so many stories to laugh and cry about during the last 4 years since I've moved to California. It was NOT a light undertaking on ANY level, but, those stories are for another time.

For now, in this moment, I am dramatically shifting, again, and It's time, for me, perhaps for all of us, to come out of my place of comfort and hiding, and stretch past my constructed boundaries, to connect and help.  My heart and soul thrives on serving others and being purposeful.  
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Our personal and global healing for ourselves, for each other, for our communities and society depend on our compassionate and kind solidarity.  I hear John Lennon in my head singing, "Come together!  Right now!  Over me!"  and I imagine the song being about Mother Earth. I've been wondering what the revolution of our times would look like and, it seems, here it is.  

This feels like a massive awakening of consciousness and compassion for all sentient beings. We're in an epic storm and how we weather through it will be another story for sharing.  It's been brewing for decades and the waves are huge. Who seems prepared to ride them?  The artists, philosophers, teachers, healers, and creators, who have been waiting and praying and preparing for this time for decades. I am witnessing with awe and wonder and curiosity at the beauty and hope and transformation. It's like surfers who have patiently been wading in the ocean and, at last, the time as come to be fully expressed and ride this tsunami-like wave of vibration.

For some, this time is a great gift and for others it is a bad dream.  The reality is here. The future is now.  I've always said that "retro is the new wave", meaning that there would be a time that we would all retreat and renew and recalibrate. 

The future is Now.

And so what do we do besides wax poetic or sit in states of panic watching the dreadful news or watch Netflix movies?  

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I look forward to seeing you in one of my LIVE virtual yoga classes via Zoom.  

Click here to sign up for the class offered through March 31 or you can schedule a personal session. New class schedule starts April 1.  

​Visit stephanieculen.com for more information.

If you want to be a part of its evolution, please fill out this survey and tell me how I can help you.

Tales from the Treehouse

Stephanie Culen here! Tales from the Tree House continues. I am excited to share with you today something that I hope will inspire you. 

As many of you know, I recently moved to Northern California which I absolutely love. It's stunningly beautiful here and being surrounded by nature has been a true gift. I'm gratefully overwhelmed with the lessons of these trees that I live amongst. But that really is a whole other story.

Since I've been here, I've met amazing people and seen gorgeous places and I share my story of how I landed in Guerneville from Avenue A in Manhattan with anyone who asks.  It's a great story, but that too is another Tale!  Anyway...there seems to be one question that keeps arising from other people. And that question is "Stephanie, so what's your secret to life?" They're asking me my secret to staying youthful, staying happy, staying connected and I'm here to share them with you. 

What some of you may NOT know is that I had a dream when I was 20 years old to turn 25 years old in New York City. At that time I had just returned from studying abroad in Oxford and I had a vision for myself. That dream came true and I turned 25 in New York City at 265 Lafayette St in what is now called Nolita. Back then it was pretty much Gotti GangsterVille. But really that's a whole other Tale, as well. A couple of years ago, I had a dream I wanted to turn 48 years old on a vineyard. This past November that dream came true.

With this Tale is not about manifesting dreams. At least not exactly directly. Because what most people here focus on when I tell them my story is that they can't believe I'm 48 years old. I find it kind of funny that that's the place they go but They want to know. And so here it goes.

The short answer good old-fashioned self care. So what does good old-fashioned self care look like? Well, let's explore. Ready? I'm only going to give you 5 secrets.  There are more. There,s always more! But five is enough to get you started. Ok, Here we go!

Here are my top 5 secrets: 

First, and these are not in any particular order. Number one : sleep. Solid sleep is essential for your well being. If you are not getting enough sound, uninterrupted sleep, let's figure out how to make that happen for you. 

Second, drink lots of water : good clean water. At least a gallon a day. That's 8 glasses of 8 ounces, by the way!

Third, eat plenty of oils. Oh my goodness : fats are your friend! Fish oils, avocados, coconut oil, nuts, butters, FATS!!!!! Please make sure you get enough oils in your system. They are super important to the body's overall functioning like oil in your car!

OK we have two more secrets to go! Number four: process your emotions. Do whatever it takes (journaling, therapy, movement, talking, crying, meditating, whatever works) to figure out your anger, your sadness, your fears, your frustrations, your hangups, your jealousies, your issues : your AFFLICTIONS! Figure them out!!!!! Own them. They are a part of you and then Release them! And THEN :::: Part 2 of Secret Number 4 : forgive yourself every day! It's a big one.

OK number five. Wow OK number five. There's some other big ones on the list, but let's say number five is laughter : smile and laugh often ... knock knock....who's there? come up with a joke make it funny. Life is absolutely humorous and our darkest moments when looked at from various perspectives can sometimes be quite comical. It takes some time to see the comedy within the tragedy, but give it a try every now and again. Laugh at yourself and laugh WITH others. 

So these seem doable, yes? Were they what you expected?

OK. I'm gonna give you a bonus secret.  I could say sex is pretty important and IT IS a secret and IT IS important but we get can often get hung up on the sex thing. Make sex a priority, for sure, but sex can look like a lot of different things and I pull embracing SENSUALITY under the sex secret, but that's a whole different Tale too! 

I could say meditation. That's super important. I could say spending time with Nature. Oh yay. That's a big One! I could say move your body everyday. That's really important. I could say Be Kind and Polite. Manners and grace go such a long way. Or Gratitude practices. Goodness Yes to Gratitude. I could say Faith in a process bigger than you can see or feel or taste. Yeahhhhhh. Ok. Ok. I think I got it. 

Here's the bonus secret : Ready?

Study your Language and Love yourself. Language is thought made into sounds of Action. Study your speech and you will learn your mind and then love yourself and speak to yourself (and others) as you would your loving child and remember that you are smart, important, super special and powerful, as is everyone around you. 

So that's it! My five secrets (wink wink) to living a happy, healthy, holistic and adventurous life. 

I do hope that Tales from the Treehouse inspire you. You can let me know on Facebook or Instagram. Also, please share with others too. Spread the Love!

And, if you want to work with me One-on-One you can email me directly at[email protected]. I offer private yoga instruction, Reiki transmissions and inspirational relationship coaching both in person and on-line. My time with you is always live, however, and not recorded or downloadable. I believe in PRESENCE!
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Okey dokes. Signing off! Love love! Wishing you an AMAZING day!

I discovered iMovie on my iPad and it's been so much fun exploring different elements and aspects of life to share in different ways of mood and temperament that come together in harmony.  This is my second insta-film.  Hope you enjoy it!

This insta-film is about my dear friend, Pitango.  

We met in 2010 on Prince Street where he sold his rings. He was a street vendor there for 20 years and I walked by him for 20 years before I actually "saw" him.  When we met, it was a friendship from the soul and heart that will last forever.  

He is a great teacher of life and love and laughter. 

This is the best practice I know to be done on a daily basis or as often as you can remember.  It has worked wonders in my life and I notice a considerable difference to my personal well-being and to the way my days unfold when I practice these four steps with attention and intention.  Happy planting!

1.  Make a decision of what you wish to have or want to happen for yourself.  
It should be one short sentence. 

Examples : 
"I want an amazing place to live."  "I want a healthy body." I want a loving partner." 
"I want to travel more." 
 "I want help with my business."  "I want more money." 

Be specific and exact.

This step is called Shi in Tibetan.  It basically means "basis".

2.  Find someone who wants something similar to what you want.  
Make a plan to help them get what they wish.

Example :
"I will ask my friend who shares my same desire if she wants to have tea.  
I will listen and see how I can support their desire and give counsel and ideas as they arise.  

This step is called Sampa in Tibetan.  It basically means "intention" or "state of mind".

This work is based on teachings by Geshe Michael Roach and the Diamond Cutter Institute. 

Please share!

I wasn't always a health nut or a yoga "guru".  As a matter of fact, I was a really sick kid. 

From the time I was a baby, I have suffered from allergies and asthma.  Except I was not diagnosed with these conditions until I was about 9 years old. 

Every Spring and every Fall, my mother was told by our family physician that I had bronchitis.  I was put on heavy duty antibiotics for weeks at a time.  Antibiotics my mother came to understand many years later, adults should only be on for a maximum of 3-5 days.  I missed weeks of school every year, stuck in bed watching I Love Lucy and Bewitched and I never really felt "sick". 

It was a kind of nightmare. 

I wanted to play in the leaves in the Fall and smell all the flowers in the Spring. I missed out on Halloween trick-or-treating and fun country flower-picking and frolicking events in the Spring. Every year, it was the same old tune.  


Until one day, my mother, who worked at a hospital bumped into the Allergy Specialist.  Then things started to change for me.

She made an appointment with the Ear, Nose and Throat specialists at the hospital and I started allergy testing. In the 70's allergy testing consisted of making tiny scratches on your back (all over of your back) and putting tiny drops of live allergens onto the scratches. If there was a reaction on the skin, then you were allergic. Guess what happened next?

I was the poster child for allergies! It turned out that I was basically allergic to EVERYTHING enviromental and almost everything animal (especially cats, dogs and horses). And not only was I allergic, I was 10 times the normal patient...whatever THAT meant. As a child, I took it to mean : I had been sufferig for a long time unnecessarily.

And so a new cycle began for me. Oe that included allergy shot 2 times a week and a whole new paradigm of nutrition, supplemeents and education.

As my mom took in all this new information, our lives and circumstances started to make a whole lot more sense.

There was a reason I was getting "sick" and it was allergies. I was allergic to feathers, dust, mold, grass, dogs, cats, horses...you name it...I was allergic to it.

I remember the first morning I ate my cereal before school and I could actually breathe and eat with my mouth shut for the first time. I was 9 years old. Before that, eating was challenging especially when I was trying to follow manners and "eat with your mouth shut." You see, I always wanted to do the right thing but I really struggled with simple tasks. And now not only could I breath and eat simultaneously, I could TASTE food and flavors. WOW!!!!!

It was around this time in my life that I was introducted to my step-father's sister, and then things got really interesting. My step-aunt also had her own existential health crisis and she was a advocate for macrobiotics and all things natural. She was seen as a strange lady who cooked all her own food and brought along with her (outside of the home) all of these teas and tinctures and oils and many other "weird" concoctions for her health and well-being.

As everybody else was making fun of her, I was watching and learning. I believed she had the information and knowledge that I needed to be healthy and grow. She taught me yoga exercises and massage techniques and Qi Gong movements that would be helpful for my asthma. She taught me about foods that created phlegm and discomfort and foods that were better for my body. She tuaght me about cooking and spices and herbs and it was a huge awakening. I was buying everything she was offering. I was ten years old.

At that time my mission was to get healthy and feel better so that I could hang and play with my friends, go to school and not get behind on readings and homework and be "normal" like everybody else. 


Little did I know, this was the beginning of my life's purpose : to learn how to heal myself and help others learn how to do the same.

Since I was ten years old, I have learned supreme self-care because I know the value in being healthy and staying healthy. And as a very small child, I made a secret vow to myself to do whatever I could to keep myself out of hospitals, to stay off of pharmaceuticals, to stay out of a sick bed and to be out in the world : laughing, loving and living.

This commitment I made to myself remains true to this day and my wish is to help others learn how to help themsleves throgh the many techniques and options that are available today that include the disciplines I have known to be of service to me: yoga, reiki, nutrition, meditation, creativity, movement, and essential oils.

There is a time and place for doctors and hospitals and Western medicine. And I am totally in favor of the dedication of our modern world and its advances in medicine. However, I also have experienced that many chronic conditions can best be served through a variety of healing paradigms and that our bodies are powerful and capable of doing the work. Being well-informed and curious and inquisitive about what works for each one of us and what doesn't takes patience, persistence, and presence. Paying attention to what is working and what is not and knowing when to seek Western counsel and when to seek alternative methods and when to combine the two pardigms.

It's up to you. Always. To make the choices for your body and healing. Gather the information and feel out what is best for you. And remember, that was works for somebody else may not work for you and vice versa. Perhaps it is why there are so many different options to explore and it can be comfusing. Using your intuition about what might be best for you and feeling your body and how it works is a really good start.

I love you. 
And care so much about you and what happens to you. 
Please take supremely good care of yourself. 
It's important.

What is Tumeric?

Turmeric is a popular spice in India used for curries and mustards.  It is a deep yellow, earthy spice.

Studies have shown that curcumin, a compound found in turmeric that gives it the dark yellow color, may block cancer growth and decrease tumor size. In addition, turmeric naturally detoxifies the liver. 

One of the most comprehensive summaries of turmeric studies to date was published by the respected ethnobotanist James A. Duke, Phd., in the October, 2007 issue of Alternative & Complementary Therapies, and summarized in the July, 2008, issue of the American Botanical Council publication, HerbClip.  

I suffer from inflammation in my joints, also known as arthritis.  I have found adding a dropper full of turmeric tincture to a glass of water each morning to be an extremely helpful additive to my daily routine to ease my suffering naturally.  

I have known turmeric to be a helpful anti-inflammatory and I've also known people who have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and cancer and when they used turmeric, their symptoms were alleviated.

I did some more digging about the medicinal benefits of turmeric.  And you may be surprised at the many uses of this gorgeous spice!

Here's what I found.

Read about the statistics of this study on Dr. Weil's blog. They are astonishing!

How To Use Turmeric

1.  Tinctures ~ I love Banyan Botanicals Turmeric Tincture and use it daily.  It's very helpful.

2.  Teas ~ Here is Dr. Weil's version of turmeric tea as well as information about useful studies of the benefits of the spice.

3.  Tablets ~ There are also extracts in tablet and capsule form available in health food stores.  Please ask a homeopath or naturopath the best way for you to take tablets.  

And, of course, eating more yummy curried dishes is a great way to add more turmeric to your meals.

P.S.  Here is another wonderful article on the remarkable uses of turmeric that also includes skin, beauty and health treatments.  

Happy reading!  Please share! xoxo

The Reiki Precepts are a code of ethics that Mikao Usui, the founder of the Reiki lineage felt were important and essential to invite harmony and happiness into our daily rhythms.  They can be used as a reminder for intentional living and open to your thoughts and heart to receive blessings and create a bridge between how you experience life and how you envision your life to be experienced.  

Here's your invitation to harmony and healing in a daily affirmation practice.