Ember Orange
Ember Orange Fire Stroll With Me.. “I must admire your skill. You are so gracefully insane.” ~ Anne Sexton So I don’t know what you did this past weekend… but I went on a retr...
Ember Orange
Fire Stroll With Me..“I must admire your skill. You are so gracefully insane.” ~ Anne Sexton So I don’t know what you did this past weekend… but I went on a retreat in the woods of Western, MA and walked on hot coals. Because that’s a perfectly normal thing to do. And since naked bungee jumping is out of the question (gravity is bad enough but in reverse?—no thanks)…I figured strolling the coals would be a fun alternative. But let me back up a little. A group of women were invited to participate in this pilot program for a 5-Element retreat, optional firewalk included. It sounded intriguing, terrifying and weird—naturally I accepted. I’ve always been a bit of a pyro anyway…who among us is immune to the mesmerizing beauty or nurturing comfort of a blazing fire? Fire is such a magnificent force and part of our daily collective lexicon. Whether used to describe passion or action when someone is “fired up”, “aflame with desire”, having a “fire in one’s belly”, or being “on fire” for something… there is an undeniable pull to the orange angel-demon that can be used destructively, as we’ve seen in the California fires, or motivationally, sparking one to manifest their dreams in a tangible worldly way. We call our soulmates our “twin flame”, use a torch to kick off the Olympic games, burn up with fever when our bodies are fighting bacteria or viruses, we get ‘fired’ from a job, our eulogies start and end with ashes, we blush with heat when embarrassed and our cheeks blaze red, we goodnaturedly tease each other in competitions “You’re toast!” and when someone’s on a roll we cheer: “Now you’re cookin’!” In the zodiac I am a fire sign, an Aries, and at times I have definitely had a fiery temperament, the flip side of which is burnout…the cold ash of disappointment when the last coal extinguishes whether in a relationship or job—when the spark is gone…it can be difficult to rekindle. But spiritually, fire is a cleansing and purifying agent that transforms, transmutes and translates emotion into action. Letting go of the past by writing down intentions to release old, stuck patterns and then burning them in ritualistic fashion is an enormously purging and freeing experience. Walking on a sixteen foot stretch of hot coals, 600-1200 degrees Fahrenheit to be exact…is to the layperson an extremely nutty and dangerous thing to do. When I told people I was going to be doing this I got quite a range of reactions—mostly fear-based, a few curious and some downright disdainful. “Good luck with that.” was the overall tone from most. As in…there she goes again…always pushing the envelope and taking bizarre risks. But to the spiritual seeker, visionaries, mystics, shamans and now to many CEOs and motivational types like Tony Robbins, it is not simply an exercise to ‘conquer’ one’s fears or just something to do for the hipness factor of saying that you did it. It is much more than that. It’s a personal and sacred rite of passage. Of surrendering. Allowing. And sure—I’ll admit the bragging rights are cool, too. But that is not the only reason I did it. I did it because I feel like I’m turning a significant corner in my life and I felt it was appropriate to mark that somehow. Under a clear and cold starlit sky, as the fire blazed higher and higher—speaking its crackling/hissing whispers and embers danced swirling towards the heavens, I realized something important about how I approach the daily challenges of my life. I did the coal walk three times (after the fire died down but the glowing coals were primed and ready) and each time I walked differently and for different reasons. The first time…I did it ‘to get it over with’…I walked for everyone and anyone who has ever felt crazy. I walked declaring that ‘sane is a four letter word'. The second time, I walked for all of my family members—those both alive and the ones who’ve passed over, this time I walked a little slower wanting to be as much in the moment as possible but still a bit scared of getting burned. The third and final time…I walked for the book www.lipstickandthongbook.com, its place in the world, and for me and my place in the world. This was more of a stroll. I wanted to prolong the experience and this time—I was feeling more confident. I want to carry that coal stroll feeling of being safe, loved and whole into my life more and more. That mind-full-ness, the soul expansion and the courage to take on whatever heat or ashes life brings. I am thrilled and amazed to report I did not burn my feet. Not even the tiniest blister. I can honestly say they have felt hotter walking on beach sand that’s been heated by the summer sun. After the whole thing was over, I had never felt such a sense of peaceful interconnectedness to the universe at large except when playing with my niece or nephew. It was and is one of the best things I’ve ever done. One woman did get a small blister or ‘firekiss’. And then a funny thing happened this morning. I took a sip of my coffee and ending up making out with Juan Valdez in my own scalding version of a firekiss. I had gulped it down not mindfully at all, and burned my tongue and the roof of my mouth. Thanks, JUAN. I guess fire still has a few things to teach me. And I am more than willing to learn. For more info about firewalking, 5-Element retreats and acupuncture check here: http://cabotshores.com/cape-breton/vacations-retreats/wellness/acupuncture About the Author www.lipstickandthongbook.com |
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Using Herbs For Christmas
holiday arrangements with dried and preserved materials always look especially beautiful at Christmas and other holiday times. We all a greater effort for special occasions and they want our houses to look particularly warm and welcoming. Since there has been many places and see this season festive, this is a good opportunity to give something a little unusual.
dried herbs mix well with traditional Christmas decorations such as pineapples, nuts and cinnamon. Golden poppy head mixed with bunches of roses, marjoram, purple, golden and dark cones tapes are striking burgundy plaid. In many cases, reasonably sized groups of grass are much more powerful than the individual aerosols, which give a much weaker effect.
Ivory Candles natural beeswax blend with most color schemes and give an elegant traditional style agreement. Welcoming flowers and scents are a sure way to make guests feel at home and comfortable. A note of caution, however: by its very nature, dried materials are a fire hazard, and if you is arranging with candles that light up, should not be left unattended. Make sure candles are well above the layout and hit out and replace for once to burn too close to the foliage. Dried flower arrangements should not be placed too close to open fires, where sparks can ignite them. Apart from this problem with the fire, the only danger seems to be other cats, who love dried flowers and foliage, at best. Includes a bunch of dried herbs, especially Jasmine, in a deal and probably can guarantee a good cabaret while cat breeds around ripping the agreement to pieces!
Herbs on the Tree Christmas
There are several points in the Christmas tree where you can get a deal herbal wreaths and small herbal and foliage to add the aroma of natural pine tree. pine cones decorated with bunches of herbs and ribbons to hang on the tree, and miniature baskets tied with dried herbs holiday gold cord and a touch unusual perfumes. Because there are so many family gatherings at this time of year, why not make some decorations for the tree as gift of family?
Thumbnail Sacks
A bag of miniature herbs can be made from a piece of burlap or jute 6x2 inches. Fold in half along the longest edge, knitted with two side seams. Turn right out supporting, are filled with strong-smelling dried herbs and tie with a band elastic. Then decorate the bag with a red or green, miniature pineapples and some holly.
Stockings Full of Herbs
socks small or tights can be cut from any material of cotton with a festive color scheme or pattern. Cut two equal pieces and sew round the edges, leaving the cap open. If you sew with a contrasting thread, for example green holly in red cloth, no matter whether the items can be displayed as part of the design. On the other hand, can place two pieces of material right sides together and sew with cotton to match, then carefully turn the average from the inside out. This is more difficult, but it looks neater. Then fill the half, with the smell of dried herbs, point at the top. The media can be decorated with festive bits and pieces such as miniature cones sprayed with gold and holly berries.
Little Balls of herbs
Small spheres of polystyrene, 1 inch in diameter, can be do herbal decorations for Christmas trees. Cover with a latex adhesive solution, softened a bit so that it is easier to implement. Dip these balls dried lavender or stick-based heads of flowering plants, like oregano or marjoram, all about the balls and the tiny seat belts. A set of beads in shades of misty lilac and gray-green, trimmed with narrow bands of pale pink, looks very delicate and rare.
Christmas wreaths and garlands
A bounty of herbs and dried flowers hanging from a mantel or around a door is a lovely way to welcome your guests. If you have the time and patience, you can make one for a friend and give it as a wonderful surprise before Christmas. Placement based unusual foliage plants or flowers in a festive wreath gives extra points of interest. Cones and berries are a necessity for a traditional look, either left in their natural colors or gold. small kumquats could be, because they are more sensitive than oranges. Tartan ribbons and bouquets of lavender, laurel, holly, rosemary and sage are complemented by bright red bunches of roses, peonies, cream and pink carnations. can dry flowers arrangements to look as lovely as fresh and last longer distance.
However, it should sound another warning note on the provisions mantelpiece. Take care very firmly set the loot through the mantelpiece, such as dried flowers and open fires do not mix and only takes seconds for an agreement to fall into the dying embers of a fire and melted away.
Make a booty or Garland
Although garlands something that requires much time, or garlands are not too difficult to make. Measure the length of the decoration required and cut a piece of rope or cable that measure color, plus 4 inches for the loops at either end. Choose your combination of ingredients (it takes more than you think), including some tapes, something bulky, such as pine cones and a selection of foliage or spruce Holly to form the basis of the spoils.
Wire all ingredients in small bunches of about 3 inches long with thin florist wire. Make a lot of clusters of each type of ingredient. Pine cones are connected by inserting the end of a cable medium strength in the balance and then wrapped around the cone, leaving a wire stem to the crown.
Taking the length of wire, is 2 inches at each end and the cable to the main cable to make a strong bond. Start with a piece of feathery foliage, and with a fine half the piece de resistance wire, connect the cable. trim the excess wire once the group is united. Continue along the cable with a new piece of cable for each cluster and the reduction of unnecessary cables each time. Upon reaching half the length of the string, in turn clusters in effect Instead the opposite direction. You may need extra cable very short bunches in the center to fill out a little, or, alternatively, you can get a gun glue again!
About the Author
To find out how to grow and use herbs, visit the authors blog.