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.  

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.

Castor oil has been a household health remedy for centuries.  And it still should be a staple in your home medicine cabinet.  Here's why:  It is super inexpensive and works wonders in the body both internally and externally.  I recommend finding a good quality cold-pressed castor oil to use and pour it in a beautiful glass bottle.  It is an oil that deserves a high seat of respect and admiration.

Castor oil is a pale, yellow vegetable oil derived from the castor bean seed (Ricinus Communis) in its purest form. It is an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant oil which has been used for centuries for its therapeutic and medicinal benefits. It strengthens the immune system and is a wonderful healer.

It is believed that most of castor oil's benefits are derived from its high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids. Although it has a strong and rather unpleasant taste, castor oil is used in many everyday products including cosmetics, soaps, massage oils and medicines.

The history of castor oil goes back a long way, with Ancient Egyptians allegedly using it for their lamps around 4000 BC. Greek travelers like Herodotus recorded that the Egyptians also used it as an ointment. Cleopatra reportedly used it for brightening the whites of her eyes. Over the years, castor oil has earned a phenomenal reputation for being a laxative, cathartic, and purgative medicine.

1.  Helps with Arthritis: the anti-inflammatory properties of castor oil make it very helpful in relieving pain from arthritic joints, nerve inflammations and sore muscles.  A little goes a long way.  Use it as a massage oil and rub it on the body where you feel pain.

3.  Healthy Bowels : it is a very strong laxative, and typically what this oil is known for healing.  Take a teaspoon of castor oil in the morning will be extremely effective.  Mixing it with some juice like orange or cranberry is nicer.  Just don't overdose on it.  If nothing has "moved" after 3 days, then it's best to seek another remedy.

2.  Wrinkles Be-Gone : apply castor oil directly to the skin for a shimmery glow. This oil helps eliminate and prevent wrinkles.  It is a natural emollient that penetrates the skin and helps stimulate the production of collagen and elastin which softens and hydrates the skin. Wow!  Like yes, for real! 

4.  Hair Growth : massage castor oil into affected areas of balding or thinness on the scalp every day to stimulate natural hair growth.  This technique also works with eyebrows and eyelashes.  Just use a few drops for the smaller areas around the face.

5.  Sleep Better : rub castor oil into your feet at night before you go to bed and your sleep will be much deeper and sounder.  You can also rub some oil on your eyelids and temples.

To learn more about the many beautiful uses of Castor Oil, visit CastorOil.org.

You can add delicious and delightful essential oils to the castor oil when using it for external use.  Great oils to use for many different purposes include Frankincense, Rosemary, Lavender and Oregano. 

To learn more about essential oils or to build your own collection of high quality therapeutic grade oils, visit Oil of the Day. 

… and it is a "holiday" that creates mixed emotions and expectations for many of us.  Personally, Valentine's Day is one of my favorite days because it is a reminder to love everything and everyone, and to honor our connection to love and be loved.  

I guess you could call me a a kind of love gangster!

One of my "get real with life" mentors is Danielle Laporte.  

She inspired this "love gangster" practice based on her Desire Map work. 

Here's a practice to do at the end of each day: 

As you lay in your bed wandering off to sacred dream land, ask yourself, 

"How do I wish to Ultimately feel?" 

You will want to choose an aspect of your day to focus on : body, work, relationship, home, spirit, etc.

And go there….wherever that place takes you.  Do you wish to feel held, acknowledged, nourished, passionate, sexy, playful, radiant.  You name it.  Go there!  

And then create experiences in your day that allow those feelings you desire to take shape.


Want to know more about the Desire Map?


Some of the feelings that most often radiate through my spirit are qualities of warmth, grace, passion, soft, sweet and sexy. 

I take small moments in my day to make sure that those qualities are nurtured.  And, one of the ways I conjure experiences for myself daily is through essential oils.  

The scent and quality of certified pure therapeutic grade essential oils are amazing and incredibly healing.

One of my favorites is doTERRA's Whisper.  Whisper is a delicious blend of my favorite oils : ylang yang flower, vetiver root, cinnamon bark, jasmine flower absolute, rose flower, Hawaiian sandalwood, bergamot peel, patchouli leaf, cocoa bean absolute and vanilla bean absolute all based in fractionated coconut oil.  Pure Yum!!! 

Whisper works harmoniously with each person's unique chemistry and I personally love it as an everyday oil. It's intoxicating and also incredibly calming and nourishing.

Another one of my favorite perfume lines that uses essential oils is The Goddess Line. 

The oils are named after deities and they are all so gorgeous.  Simply divine. 

Lastly, another amazing blend that is absolutely exquisite is Young Living's  Lady Sclareol™. 

This blend was designed as a fragrance and is made of essential oils : clary sage, jasmine, vetiver, ylang ylang, Idaho blue spruce, spearmint, hinoki, geranium, Royal Hawaiian sandalwood, orange, Spanish sage, coriander and bergamot. 

A beguiling and alluring blend of most of my favorite essential oils!

Pure seduction!

Wishing you a day of sacred love … today and everyday.  You are loved!!!!