Hello May

The 1st day of May has long been valued as an important day to welcome and celebrate the shift in seasons. In the Northern Hemisphere it marks Spring in flow. The Celts called this day Beltane. By this time of year, it was lighter longer. The 1st day of May divided the year in half between the light and dark phases. Fire was very symbolic to the festival to represent the light after/in the darkness, rejuvenation of the Earth, and a season of fertility. The Romans invaded the British Isles, which planted the seeds of the celebration and beliefs of Floralia. The rituals were to honor the goddess of flowers; Flora. These ideals of Beltane and Floralia came together to create many of the May Day festivities we still see today. In Medieval times, the Maypole dance became an important part of festivals. It was thought to also symbolize rejuvenation and fertility. Being out dancing in the sunlight in the square marked the shift of a season blooming in energy. The pole and the dance of weaving the ribbons around the pole, wreaths, and baskets were definitely symbolic of this energy.

We now have a number or rituals and festivals to mark the season. Some still practice the roots of these ideals and some simply welcome spring. Everyone has their own way of celebrating the shift into this season. Whatever your flow may be, take a little time today to acknowledge the flowers and nature. Welcome and celebrate the light! I know with the current state of our world, things may feel off or gloomy, but the energy of spring is still within us and all around us when we look closely. Even though these are odd times, the energy is still in the air. Life is often about shifting and adapting. This Spring definitely requires us to work to find our flow in this new norm. Allow yourself to feel these vibes, but do your best to create good vibes and share the light!

In upcoming months and workshops, we will be expanding on this concept of creative healing and hopefully hosting some art therapy sessions. Meanwhile, today, I would like for you to reflect on the nature of creative healing. It is not about expectations or perfectionism. It is about the authentic experience of allowing the world within to co-create the world all around. It is a journey of discovery and development. Piece by piece things come together to create the moment.

We often talk about in #dailyroots and all Root & Flow lessons about the concept of how our vibes co-create our worlds. Our world within connects with the world all around to shape our reality. There are many methods for understanding and practicing this concept. Reiki is one method to practice this concept. It originated in Japan in the 1920s through the ideals and teachings of Mikao Usui. Reiki is a technique to channel and connect with the energy flowing within each of us and the world as a whole. Learn more about Reiki: Here

Any that know us, know we like to Nerd Out and today is a day we definitely like to honor that!!! This awesome handmade air planter was a great way to bring in the day!!! Check out at Anson Design Co on Etsy: here

We also love nerding out with healthy food. Check out one of our go to recipes:

-kale

-quinoa

-cannellini beans

-sun-dried tomatoes

-artichokes

-optional: olives

Steps: Boil the quinoa. Saute everything else with a little bit of garlic and black pepper. Use a splash of the oils from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. Once the quinoa boils and everything else is sauteed - mix together & enjoy!!!!

An important part of understanding Holistic Wellness is learning about stored, blocked, and damaged energy. Chakras are very important for doing so. The Sacral Chakra is our center of creating our life flow. This center stores and shapes our identity and our deepest instincts and perceptions of self. It is sacred and authentic to how we co-create our life flow. Learning how to deal with stored energy and constructively channel and release this energy is vital for the wellness journey. Learn more about Sacral Healing & the Sacral Chakra in upcoming blog posts!!!

Let the water wash over you! Connecting our feet to the Earth is so important for staying grounded and feeling connected. Water is powerful and healing. After all, we are mostly made of water; our world within and all around. When we are lacking a connection to water, we can feel very depleted and anxious about survival. With the state of our world in quarantine, it may be more difficult to put your toes in the sand and let the waves wash over you. An important resource of survival is creativity. If you are at home and have access, a few things you can do to still create these healing experiences and rituals is:

a. create a foot soak or b. create a mini indoor sand pit by using containers big enough for your feet or even a mini pool.

However, if you have access to a private little place in nature. This is a great time to take a little self-healing time to connect to nature.

Side note: these shoes are made from recycled yoga mats!!!

This is a side of me I am normally very guarded about. However, this Scorpio Full Moon and my Sacral Healing journey I have long been on has me feeling all the vibes of instincts, intuition, and mood of the Sacral Chakra; the center of creativity, sensuality, and identity. All Chakra centers are powerful and vulnerable, but because this center is so deeply personal, the experiences that shape the energy of this center have the potential to deeply damage the perception of self. On the opposite side of that, positive experiences can nurture the ideals of self and creativity. When this Chakra is open and balanced, life flows and blooms from within. When we feel secure and connected to this Chakra, we allow ourselves to create our world from within and we cut ties to the needs of outside validation.

In these pictures, I am close to 7 months pregnant. Getting pregnant was a long, raw, human journey of Sacral Healing. I struggled with Endometriosis and stored life experiences that made this Chakra center feel very broken and damaged. However, I knew true healing and my perception of self had to come from within, which is not an easy journey when you feel your worth has been drained or is lacking in many ways. However, I had a passion for life that I was not willing to give up on (even though there were many times I wanted to and nearly fully gave into the pain of life). This passion kept me digging deeper and deeper to exist in the present pain, to keep rising from it, to heal, shift, and transform my life one piece, one moment at a time. My goal was to feel whole before becoming a mother. Even though becoming a mother was something I personally felt was so vital to my purpose, I never wanted to put pressure on it and I never wanted my partner or my child(ren) to feel those pressures of that fulfillment. The more I felt whole, the more the doors began to open (at least my perception and my ability to see them did). Becoming a mother is one of the proudest journeys of my life and a role that I feel is the most important to my life flow, but there are still many layers to my identity. Society often pushes the narrative, that we need others to feel whole. On the other side of that, the narrative that contradicts that is also pushed; that we “lose pieces of our self and our life when we get married or have children”. Neither of these should be true. When we have the expectations that we need others to feel whole it puts pressure on our self and others to meet that as soon as possible. It is a root of stress and anxiety. Measuring up or keeping up with the “timeline” and “standards” of society are often an illusion. Losing parts of self when we connect or combine our flow with others should also not be a pushed narrative, because entering these stages of life are about gaining new and valuable features of our life flow. It does not erase who we once were; it adds to it. It is a matter of perception. Sure, life will be different, our priorities will be different, and we will have to share our time and energy more. However, if we dwell on the way life once was and all that we lost instead of gained, then it will leave you in a mountain of regrets or at least make others feel like you regret your choices and that they are an inconvenience to you. If this is the way you truly feel, then you need to be accountable for your choices and carve a path to positively deal with these issues and find a constructive way to resolve it rather than dragging others along to make them feel guilty or responsible for your time and energy. The journey of the Whole Self has to come from within.

I am not losing parts of myself as I enter motherhood; I am shifting, evolving, and gaining. I am a mother, but my identity still has many roles and layers. It is my responsibility to feel good in my mind, body, and soul! Being a mother is my most important purpose, but not my only purpose. My priorities will shift and have shifted, but I am responsible for how I balance, share, and restore my energy. I am whole. I am responsible for this wholeness. Others and experiences add to my life flow and expand this wholeness. Others and experiences need energy from my life flow and I must be accountable for preparing and restoring the energy. The Whole Self is not a one time thing; it is a series of being fully present. It is embracing life in its entirety. The perception and definition of being whole evolves as I shift through the phases of life.

With this Scorpio Full Moon water is a very important element. Water is always important, but you may find yourself craving more water or the desire to be close to water during this full moon. Scorpio is a water sign. It is a sign of ancient Roots & Rhythms. It has strong instincts of survival. Water can be intimidating. Water can be healing. Learning how to channel and flow with this energy is very important. Tonight, reflect on how water intimidates and heals you.

Today’s #coffeeandcrystals activity is an Art Therapy activity. Deco your space with mantras. It can be to simply write something on a piece of paper or paint something. Let your creative wings fly. Let your soul pour out. It’s not about what it looks like; “if it’s good enough”. “Good enough” is simply a matter of perception. What matters is the experience and the intentions. Being “good enough” as we often talk about, is about releasing expectations. The purpose of this activity is not about the results or the way something looks. It is about the healing properties of this process. The journey and the insight that comes with allowing yourself to be free to discover and develop your voice and vibe through your art.

This is the first Mother’s Day in a long time, I did not feel the ache of not having children. For years, I have been working on that concept of feeling whole like I shared above. However, before I came to terms with that concept there were many times I felt like pieces of me were missing. I felt incomplete. I felt broken. I felt heartache. However, whether we feel whole or not, we are allowed to celebrate our life and we are allowed to mourn parts of our life; that is a part of being human. So even after coming to terms with the concept of being “whole” and the years prior this Mother’s Day and being pregnant, I celebrated all the things I was grateful for and I allowed myself to feel the ache of things I was mourning. Mourning is not only about the things from the past that are no longer a part of our present life flow, but it can be the things we long for in the future. Even when we are still empowered by hope that the future will one day be our present, we are still allowed to feel the ache of what is not yet in our life. We can feel whole while allowing ourselves to also feel what we miss. What matters is finding the balance; not allowing the sorrow and ache to fully consume us and the things we are presently grateful for.

A shout-out to this picture: my mom can relate to my struggle and journey of becoming a mother, because of our story with Endometriosis. It took her nearly 15 years to bring me into this world. Ironically, we were both 32 when our dream of becoming a mother came true. If you have been following the Root & Flow lessons, you know we often reference the concept of synchronicity, so save this little note in your mind. We will be sharing the insight and synchronicity of our journeys another time on the Laugh with Carol and Seeds of our Soul Blogs.

This picture is also a shout-out to being a pet mom. As much as I care for my fur-babies, they have equally been the best healers and care-takers to my life flow.

I also consider Mother’s Day a shout-out to all forms of motherhood. Yes, being a mother to a child, a pet, or in a role of motherly influence are each very different, but each role matters. I see you plant moms, pet moms, aunts, teachers, and all moms.

Synchronicity is a topic we often talk about like I mentioned above. Numerology and the concept of timing are important factors of this topic, but many other things also shape the alignment and perception of this. Before digging in, I just want to plant a few seeds of thought. One is to think about the possibility of possibilities. It is important to be rooted to what you believe in, but it is also important to keep an open mind. We live in a vast universe. Try to be mindful when being rooted to beliefs is coming from the ego self and over-powering the intuition and the needs of the soul. We may limit or be complacent with our power to co-create our world when we do this. This opens the door to the next seed of thought: think about all the things that came together to bring a single moment into existence and alignment. Try not to label this with defined beliefs, because it circles back to the point of limiting or being complacent with our own power of accountability and perception. Learn more on Energy Roots in upcoming posts!

I normally have activity suggestions to Empower Every Hour, but today, it is simply about expressing yourself! Unplug & explore things that lift your energy and empower you! It may be simply walking out into the sunlight, trying a hobby you have not tried, starting a new exercise routine, etc. Stay safe! Stay well! Be mindful of the importance of not only your wellness, but how your wellness impacts the world around you! Also, even if you are not directly feeling the effects of the state of the world, be mindful of how so many are. Taking care of your world within is the first and most important step to helping take care of the world all around. It’s a state of mind! Making conscious, mindful choices is where a new path begins.

When we cultivate mindful and conscious roots at home in our minds, bodies, souls, and dwelling spaces, they continue to grow out into the world. Each one of us have the power to be a positive resource for making this world a better place!!!

These 3 C’s are so important for Core Care! Even though this is a Saplings’ feature, it is not just a topic for children. It is a concept we are all a work in progress with. We all could use more doses of compassion, creativity, and consciousness with how we treat ourselves and one another! This is just a simple post to plant the seed of thought of 3C’s. Stay tuned for more posts and activities with this feature soon!

In Inner Power & Energy Roots, we talk a lot about the layers of self and the natural ebb and flow of life and emotions. The “Darker Side” of self and the phases of the moon and life are topics and states of feeling emotions that use to be brushed off, avoided, or pushed with fear propaganda. However, darkness exist in life and in each one of us. Life can be difficult and painful. Admitting that is not weakness! It requires a lot of strength to not just brush off, try to over-medicate it to ignore it, or give into the fear. It takes a lot of energy and strength to face it. To create alone time to work on one’s own roots and flow of life takes so much strength. It is easier to keep pushing it off or to look around to the outside world to find all the reasons why something is wrong. However, that only causes more problems or a steady path of blindly walking through life. When we give into this unconscious behavior, we miss out on the opportunities to make things better; to reflect, release, and resonate. When we accept accountability for our “darkness”, we are able to open the doors to the things we have been deflecting or trying to escape. This journey is often where the “missing pieces” are discovered. When we avoid the “darkness”, the “tough stuff”, the “deep stuff”, we are missing out on big chunks of time, reality, and life. “Through the Fog there is Beauty” is a feature on the Root & Flow Blog where we will continue to post regarding this topic.

Note: Demo Delayed

Quick thought for the day: A big “trick” I learned for eating healthy is to not make a food choice until I released enough energy that my body craved the “healthy things” to replace it. Example: When I have worked out really hard or participated in more physical activities than a normal day, then the more I naturally crave hydration, refreshing, light foods, and the less I eat. I over-eat or choose heavier foods when I am sitting around more (even if I am working). When we are sitting, we get those “hanging-out” vibes and our mind convinces us to just give into the food. However, even if you live a busy and active life if you have formed patterns around convenience, then the mind is programmed to just give into the usual vs what you may need. Whereas, when we have pushed our body to its limits, it is begging us for the right energy sources and our brain has more energy to make conscious choices. Creating healthy routines was not an overnight thing, it has been an ongoing, evolving journey! Stay tuned for more on this topic & eventual demos!!!

Vibes: Gratitude and Love for All the Little Things

As we often talk about, life is about perspective. Life can be a Sea of Chaos, but even when we are surrounded by stress, it is important to Calm the Sea Within. To be present in those moments that have the power to nurture the soul.

Early mornings

Vibrant, nutritious food

Cat cuddles

Digging in the dirt

DIY

painting

Life is often a matter of learning how to make the best of things, even when things are difficult or not going as planned. “ A little more kindness, and a little less judgement”. We must be patient and compassionate with ourselves, our journey, others, and the flow of natural timing and the universe.

This is an ongoing series on the Root & Flow Blog. The thought for today’s #dailyroots is how a relationship is not about “completing one another”. We are each whole individuals with a powerful mind, body, and soul. It is important to work towards understanding and empowering the whole self before establishing relationships.

✨The Journey of the Whole Self & shifting into the Higher Self has to come from Within✨ ! Mantra: “I complete me. I am the circle of life. Everything else are roots & branches that nurture a mutual flow for the circle of life to continue to grow. “

Society often pushes the narrative that we are not whole individuals: that we must have a spouse or children to make us feel whole. This factor pushes & pressures people to place so many expectations on themselves & others. It keeps us looking outside of ourselves for enrichment, validation, & worth. We give into false ideals about our self. Our reality is shaped by our thoughts. The answers we need to become "whole" are within us. "Whole" is what we are when we embrace the entirety of our life journey & how we are fully present in each moment.

Being whole is not a one time thing. It is a series of shifting with the flow of life; always a work in progress. It is a matter of being fully present and how we define our “wholeness” in that one moment and bring our conscious energy forward. We are not just the yin or just the yang. We are each the yin and yang of our relationship with the world within and all around. We are our life flow. We bring our life flow together with others. Even though we are a part of those dynamics, the collective of the Earth as a whole, we are each our own flow. However, it is important to understand this is not a free pass to skip out on the roots and branches you have made relationship commitments to. It is important to prioritize self-work, but part of that self-work should be finding the balance in being accountable for the circles of life you are a part of.

 There is a big difference between relationship accountability & expectations. Each person in the relationship; a family, a partnership, a team, has to be committed to the journey of self-work. One must have a relationship with the inner self to be conscious of how their flow influences or is influenced by the dynamics. Each person has to continue to root through all the pieces of life to try to put them together in a way that makes them feel whole. Devin and I believe: "we can be each other's purpose, but we can't be each other's answer". When we do the work to nurture our own minds, bodies, and souls, then we are able to take accountability for our own path while eliminating expectations. There is a big difference between depending on one another and learning how to flow with one another. In any partnership or relationship dynamic, you should be able to depend on one another, but it is a constant work in progress to figure out how to best flow with one another.

This is an essential root topic on our blogs and in our workshops: RELEASE EXPECTATIONS! Value experience over expectations! When we cling too tightly to expectations it keeps us from being in the present and being conscious of the flow. It is important to have goals and be accountable for the actions to meet the goals, but when we place expectations on ourselves or others, sometimes it does not fit reality of what we or someone else is experiencing or needs to experience.

Exploring the world is a great adventure! Traveling is important, but so is exploring the world from your own home! There is so much to be discovered in nature, books, conversations, stories, games, etc. It does not have to be a grand adventure to the other-side of the world to learn about it, especially now that many of us have access to more resources than ever. Today, listen to the trees, open a book, reach out to someone who knows something about something you want to know more about, try new music and try to connect with the message, etc. Try a new recipe from a different culture and do some research on the roots of it. There are so many ways we can open our minds to adventure.

Welcome to Gemini Season😊

Gemini Season is from May 21 - June 21. This is an air sign ruled by the Throat Chakra. This week we’ll take a brief look at Gemini vibes. Check out the chart above for a quick overview.

Note: I normally use my own images and create them into the #dailyroots pics, but this week some of the pics are stock photos from my subscription at picmonkey.

Sometimes before we know how to put things into words or understand how to share our vibes, we need time to process it all; rest with your story. This also connects back to: RELEASE EXPECTATIONS! Life is about the organic experience. As much as we try to control it by creating plans and timelines, we often end up in uncharted territory, because life is about experiences. Whether they are things we have been through time and time again or are on a completely new path, there is always so much to process and understand. Life is about perceptions and how we adapt to it in our consciousness. Every day is a new day and every day we are a new version of who we are. We are not less. We are more. One more day is another chapter in our journal. Some days are simple, with a few thoughts and vibes to add to our life experience, while other days are life-changing. “Getting through” the day or a major life experience should not come with a deadline of when to process it by or an expectation guide on how to. Those vibes, new thoughts, new experiences will forever be a part of our journey, our story. The impact of it will come in waves. There will be times we relive it and it feels like it was yesterday and times it feels like another lifetime ago. There will be times it evokes emotion and times it is just passes right through us. There will be times we thought we had closed the chapter, but then a new experience opens the door to a new perspective on an old experience. This is the circle of organic life. This is being a conscious human. This is the ebb and flow of reality and emotions.

Live demo delayed: in the hospital! Thankfully, I’m ok, baby is ok, but was a scary day!

Topic note for today: No Space Between Us: It’s a State of Mind! The general idea is: even when we are miles apart or having to social distance, there are ways we can still nurture the human relationship and the relationship of the world within to the world all around!!! Stay tuned for more on this topic at a later time!!!

In theme with keeping it simple and reducing my lesson plans with things I have going on at the moment: Today, is National Creativity Day: Do something crafty, creative!!! Remember, release expectations, go with the flow, be present, have fun!!! It’s about the experience, the laughs, the good vibes: not if it turned out “right” or “looks good”!! My nephew and I made a dinosaur egg cake recently, stay tuned for the idea on the Saplings’ blog soon!!!

Good vibes to you this morning! Summer is in the air!! There are lots of shifts going on in our world and in our lives. These can be difficult, but some things about life are simple. It is important to create time to honor those simple moments, so we can handle all the big, challenging moments. When we take time to appreciate the simple, sacred flow of life, we restore our balance. When we do not create this time, then we may find our energy levels burnt out from dwelling on all that is wrong or hard. Even if we take time to “relax”. Sometimes relaxing is not restoring the balance. Sometimes relaxing is just pressing pause on what is heavy on our souls. We have to connect to our world within and all around to truly restore the flow and balance in our mind, body, and soul. Today, try to create time for alone time and family time to connect with this energy. Sometimes, alone time means getting up at 5a.m. for sunrise yoga, but being out with the sunrise and the gentleness of the Earth waking up is so nourishing. Even if you do not do a yoga flow, simply lay on the mat, be grounded to the Earth, and look up and all around at life in flow. It’s also important to do this as a family each day; unplug, connect, practice patience and gratitude, be mindful of the world within and all around. Whether it’s a walk, a yoga flow, or a conversation or story circle, we need those simple moments to help us connect and restore our energy. In those simple moments, we will discover our patience, gratitude, and purpose. Peace, Love, & Good Vibes to All!!!