Very often I am asked what do I mean when I ask folks to bring an "eco-friendly offering" to the land or to Spirit when attending my journey circles or medicine gatherings. Making offerings of love & gratitude is an important part of my practice. I make them during every walk in nature, during times of duress, when I feel helpless against the atrocities of the world or when I am full up with appreciation for the blessings of life. Here is a wee time with me at the Squamish River, talking about and making offerings. I hope this can help answer questions and I invite you to join the many of us who are loving up the world.
Enjoy this beautiful day!

Ahhh yes! Working with an altar can become a juicy, tangible way of working in our personal spiritual practice. They bring us a physical place to tend to. It works with the powerful subtlety of symbols directly speaking to our subconscious. On a left-brained, scientific side of things, an altar brings together electromagnetic frequencies of items and the energetics of thought, intention and emotion - to generate a specific vibration - which in turn affects the world around us and our physical, emotional and etheric bodies.
Nice huh!
Let's look at a couple things before we consider how many altars we might want:

• An altar is created with careful energetic intention on a designated area.
• The items used could be thought of as energetic or spiritual ‘power houses’ such as specific crystals, images of deities or photos of deceased relatives, stones from significant and relevant places, plant medicines and dried herbs, all of which carry or support the intention.
• These power houses are placed with deliberate care, in an arrangement of some significance, or harmonious pattern.
• Altars can be created for many reasons, some examples are: 
  ~ self healing & development
  ~ to honour and work with the qualities of a deity, season, totem, power animal etc 
  ~ to facilitate prosperity
  ~ calling in a harmonious relationship
  ~ supporting a desired outcome of a situation
  ~ to help remedy an illness
  ~ change the feel of a living space

An altar brings the individual energies of the objects together with your intention, to create a unified energy source that keeps “working” on its purpose once it has been set. We can think of it like turning on a 100w light bulb with the light emanating and filling the room. Power on! Yet like a bright light, generally we don't want to leave it turned on ALL the time. Times of rest are needed, of peace filled soft light, like turning off that light bulb when not in use; or resting our body after an energetic workout routine. There may come a time where the energy begins to feel “stale” where smudging and cleansing the altar items will bring a freshness to the energy, but if we are carefully tuned in, we can feel when the need for re-charging, refreshing, or simply a break from the constant affect an altar can have on our living space is needed. A rhythm of working and resting is good spiritual and energetic maintenance. Rest times provide us an avenue for integrating the work being done. We can create this rest by periodically laying a cloth over it, or by fully dismantling it when it's no longer actively being tended to and worked with.

Ahhh summertime soul-work season is upon us! So many exciting, deep, fun, and powerful opportunities for collective yet also personal healing work. Solstice celebrations, fire ceremonies, the Conscious Goddess Festival, workshops, vision quests, plant spirit experiences, spiral dances, labyrinth walks... yummmm! Such good stuff! and yet... afterwards...
What happens after?

After such moving and personal healing work, after our heart-felt connections and tribe building, we head home. Back to our mundane world of jobs, spouses, kids, emails, bills, television, grocery store lighting, facebook trolls, rigid scheduling or simply home alone to more solitary and solo lives...alone. Yet you just had this powerful, earth shattering internal experience! and these two worlds may feel like separate realities that really have a hard time even coming close to meeting. You might feel irritated, discombobulated, frustrated, having strange dreams, or simply dying to convey your amazing insights to others who can't fathom its depth. You might even just forget - like a lost dream upon waking.

This time of Integration is often considered the hardest part of any initiatory or deep healing work.
I can tell you from my experiences as a brainwave technician, as well as my personal development, and field of shamanic practice - this happens much more often than is desirable. It happens in the realms of medical, mental health, spirituality, alternative therapies, and training schools - this western workshop mentality has forgotten how to hold people all the way through to the other side of Integration. There is a lack of guidance and support for people working to bring their new gifts, healing and insights into their regular lives. (and actually the personal process often starts BEFORE the event!)
Here are some tips to support this sensitive and important time:

• Take time if possible before jumping right back into work, parenting, or obligations. A couple/few days if at all possible. A few hours at bare minimum.
• Avoid dense energy situations like watching the news, being near people who challenge you, too much time with electronics like your cell or computer, don't tackle your taxes right away or read that email from your ex. Honour this time to complete what has already begun within you.
• Lots of water! Drink it, bathe in it, swim in it - cleanse and clear inside and out, keep this work flowing smoothly.
• Eat light & clean. Take it easy on caffeine and red meat for a time and re-introduce gently.
• STAY CONNECTED to those who attended with you, to your mentors, teachers, or the host of the event. Reach out, share, ask for support, tell stories, keep it real and alive while also nurturing and honouring your day-to- day challenges with bringing the medicine forward into your usual life.
• Journal, blog, write stream of consciousness style, create art, record your dreams, downloads and inspirations as soon after your experience as possible and for as long as they continue to unfold. This not only helps track your developments but these acts also have an integration process as your internal world is brought out into the 'ordinary' world. And this is the idea right? To bring the changes within you out into your life and community :)
• Dance, yoga, tai chi, breath work, hiking - this keeps energy moving and fresh. There is trouble when we fall stagnant in our energy fields, especially while our spiritual lives are full on shifting and moving. A cue this is the remedy? When you really don't want to. Feel low, frustrated and totally not like dancing? Just push through and begin - once you step into this energetic way of working and lose yourself to the music - Voila!
• Spend time in nature. Just BE not Do. Allow your body to harmonize with the balancing forces of the elements. This is old wisdom, but science too tells us the earth radiates a healing frequency. Ground. Sit with the trees. Let the river bring flow and clear debris. Sit with the calm of a pond. Enjoy the wind clearing your mind and body of tension.
• Observe any omens or signs to support integrating your experience. Synchronicities? Animal encounters? Cloud formations that look like something? Fortuitous happenings? Its all Spirit telling you you are supported, and keeping dialogue open. Watch for messages.
• Keep up your personal spiritual practice. Whatever that is. Journey. Pray. Create Shrines. Chant. Don't have one? Find one. If you need help with that - please reach out to me, or your trusted mentors, teachers, pastors, rabbis, or medicine people.
• REST - did I say that already? Yah. Cuz it's important. Really important.

Any feelings of discombobulation, frustration or chaotic life circumstance upon your return home is totally normal - sometimes it even means you are perfectly right on track! (and if you are all blissed out and smooth sailing that is super awesome too of course!). You may be presented with lots of opportunities that test your ability to forge a new path instead of falling into old habits. After such big soul-work it is not uncommon to hear stories of people quitting dysfunctional jobs or leaving abusive partners. When one has come into a balanced and healed state, anything less in life can become intolerable. On the flip-side, this sort of work is exactly what may be needed to bring you and your lover closer than ever, more content with your life, at peace, and ready to be the eye of calm in any storm life brings you.

We talk a lot about building relationships with the land, connecting to nature, establishing a place where you listen to the trees whisper wisdom, invite the river to cleanse your heart, draw on the strength of stones...but what happens when you have to say goodbye? When you move and leave your shrines, fae, elementals, and place of solace behind? When a land is no longer accessible to you, here are a few steps of my leaving process.

This post is written for The Conscious Goddess Festival - the many faces of the Goddess, in Squamish this June 24 - 26.
As women, we embody different aspects of the Goddess at different times, in certain situations, as we cycle through the month, and phases of life. We have the sweet maiden self, the fierce warrior, a nurturing mothering side, hot sexy vixen, wise, wise crone, so many! There are times we plunge so deep into darkness we fear being lost forever, and times so filled with love and light it bursts from our bodies that simply can't contain it all.

The medicine wheel is a powerful and rich teaching. A compass to orient and guide us. One culturally inclusive wheel that easily demonstrates this wisdom, is of our seasons. It is always the same. Repeating. From the dark, inward stillness of Winter always comes the sweet birthing Spring with an expanse of possibilities.  The heat and activity of full Summer action gently shifts into the harvests of Autumn, where the inward focus returns to us with the shortening days. Looking at these energies at play around the wheel of the year, the many faces of the Goddess can be harmoniously placed.

I invite you to explore the Goddesses of your cultural heritage, and the feminine deities or archetypes you are drawn to and create your own personal medicine wheel of the Goddess. Let's begin together:

1. On a piece of paper draw a big circle and mark off North at the top, East on the right, South on the bottom and West on the left.
2. In the place of the North, let your mind wander to the aspects of winter - stormy, cold, dark, the plants have all returned to the earth, the people have all returned into their homes against the elements. The old and the frail may die. Animals hibernate. We dream. We rest. There is an inward focus. Now we can look at Goddesses that embody these qualities and find one that resonates within you. This is a great opportunity to "slow cook" this sacred work. Take your time to identify who holds these aspects best for you. Here are a few to get the inspiration flowing....
   ~ Kali is a Hindu Goddess of power, destruction, and she is associated with darkness. A definite warrior unafraid to purge what is no longer supporting her.
   ~ An Cailleach is a Celtic deity. She is a crone who rules during winter. She also has a destroyer aspect to make way for new beginnings or patterns.
   ~ Hel is a Norse Goddess of death and rules the realm of the dead. When it is time for something to die in your life, the North holds this space for you.
   ~ Breksta from Lithuania protects people from sunset to sunrise and is the Goddess of dreams. The long nights of winter can be perilous yet is the place of the very first inspirations of manifestation. The dream realm.
3. The East is often associated with spring. New projects, fresh air, births, clear thinking, the dawn after the long night. What else comes to mind when you imagine yourself in spring? How do you feel? Now seek out feminine deities that hold those qualities such as...
   ~ Persephone of Greek mythology who is associated with spring as well as the fertility of vegetation. She is young and each year emerges from the depths of hardship into the light.
   ~ Bridgit is a Patron Saint and Celtic Goddess who takes over from An Cailleach in the death/rebirth cycle. She is called on by midwives, poets, and smiths for her healing skills and creative inspiration.
   ~ Ostara is also a Celtic Goddess of Spring with her symbols being incorporated into Easter celebrations. Coloured eggs and white rabbits are sacred representations of fertility, birth and Springtime.
4. In the place of the South we find Summer in full swing. Everyone is out of doors, full of action, doing and adventuring. It's hot, passionate, and so very uplifting to our spirits. The Sun is charging our gardens and our bodies with vitality. Which Goddesses fit this exuberance?
   ~ Áine is an Irish Goddess of Summer, wealth, love and sovereignty, with rule over the crops and the power to grant and remove a man's right to rule the land.
   ~ Athena from Greek mythology is a Goddess of wisdom, courage, law and justice, strength, strategy, and is highly skilled in the arts.
   ~ Malina comes to us from the Inuit and is known for her passion, great courage and immense beauty.
5. The West is where we find the elements of Autumn, a time when the last harvest is brought in, we look back and take stock of lessons we learned from, and those we didn't. We begin to ready for the energy to spiral inward again and let go of/let die the elements in life that don't support us. This is a time for "reaping what has been sown"
   ~ Autumnus a Roman personification of autumn, representing the abundance of nature and the time of harvest.
   ~ The Corn Mother of the First Nations who brings abundance and healing.
   ~ Demeter, the Greek counterpart to Persephone, is a harvest Goddess in charge of growing, preserving and harvesting of grain.
   ~ Pachamama, the Inkan earth mother most certainly looks after the nourishment of the natural realm
   ~ Isis from Egypt taught women to grind corn and was associated with floods that brought nutrients, nourishment and provisions.
   
6. On your paper you may wish to write in the qualities of the directions, you might draw or print & paste images of the Goddesses you choose. You might find symbols representing each speaks best to you. Find a way to visually represent your medicine wheel.
   
7. Feel out where you are on the wheel. Who are you embodying? Who is bringing medicine to continue around the wheel? This is an excellent tool while moving through a challenge or spiritual process.
   

I invite you to dive in and read the stories of these Goddesses listed here and also those who call to you. We find kinship and resonance when we can identify with the experiences and characteristics of another. By following the medicine wheel we can see which elements are coming next. What natural energies the seasons bring us through the cycle of a year. Using the wheel we can feel supported in leaving aspects of ourselves behind while inviting in the next. We can honour the many faces of the Goddess within us as we move into different phases of life, cycles of the month, and rise to meet the adventures life brings to us.
If you would like more support around how to use your medicine wheel, more can be found HERE
I hope you will join us at The Conscious Goddess Festival this June! I will be holding the Saturday morning ceremony and leading us through a heart centered exercise of connecting with the energies written about in this article. Find information and tickets HERE!

Healers of the soul, bean feasa, medicine people. western shamanists, animists and certain energy workers often speak of “medicine” in ways that are sometimes confusing to us. Usually when we think of medicine we think of a prescription a doctor gives us or an over the counter pharmaceutical to ingest. So what does it mean when we hear our alternative health practitioner speak of the medicine of a cherry blossom or of a garden snake? What healing alchemy could they possibly mean?

Many alternative health and spiritual practitioners work with energetic fields and spiritual consciousness, bringing harmony and balance to our lives with the aid of our natural world. Examples of disharmony in these realms would be the tension one can feel in a room after an argument has taken place or a sense the person we are talking to isn’t being “present”, or has a jittery nervous energy. In these cases, the medicine is not drawing on a chemical compound interacting with our physical body as with medical medicines, but instead it draws on the energetic and spiritual qualities for an ability to restore a healthy balance within our emotional, spiritual and then in turn, sometimes our physical health improves as well.

Let’s think of some of the qualities cherry blossoms bring us. Softness. Beauty. Sweetness. Gentleness. They are delicate and uplift our spirits after a long hard winter. These qualities make for a sweet remedy to any residual hard feelings after an argument. A shamanist when seeking to bring balance may have the spirit of cherry blossom come through to be applied in a variety of ways. We can bring a bouquet of cherry blossoms into our home, swish them in our water cup to create a flower essence, we can sit under a tree while the breeze snows petals around us on the wind or even visit the spirit of cherry blossoms in a meditation or shamanic journey.

Now what about a garden snake? What healing qualities might be found here for the ungrounded, anxious person? Let’s think about snakes for a minute. They are belly to the earth grounded, their skin shedding makes them experts at releasing what they have outgrown, they are acutely aware of their surroundings with a tendency to rest in complete stillness and without wasting energy on useless movement. These aspects all would help balance out an ungrounded person. If a garden snake came to the shamanic practitioner in their journey and brought these medicines, they could be integrated over time by practicing these qualities, perhaps by walking barefoot or lying on the earth, finding ways to release and let go of situations that bring anxiety, and taking time to be still in the sun.

Other times we may hear spiritual healers speak about “being in the medicine” and again this has a different meaning. In this case it is usually a reference to undergoing a process of deconstruction followed by growth that is being supported by a conscious personal spiritual practice. A sort of “what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger” type experience. Outwardly it may look like a personal crisis such as the end of a relationship, loss of a job, death of a loved one, maybe mental or physical illness. Inwardly, there is an element of mindfully moving through it, drawing on all the spiritual and energetic supports one has available. Prayer, meditation, energy healing, plant medicines, journeys, vision quests, yoga, dance, making offerings, dream work, journaling, intention setting, following our cultural spirituality, all the aspects of our personal practice - this is being in the medicine. When balance has been restored and health regained, we often find we have reached a better place than previously imagined, stronger, and having learned valuable life lessons. A new and healthier relationship has been found, or a more satisfying job, even renewed physical health and strength.

A lovely exercise to try is to identify an area where you feel out of balance, or that you could use some support with. It might be a weary heart, a difficult relationship with a co-worker or racing thoughts at bedtime. Find your symptom situation, and set an intention to notice a natural remedy of energetic or spiritual medicine as you go for a nature walk, sit in a garden or meditate. See what catches your eye, stands out or appears in a dream or meditation. It may be an animal, plant, stone, clouds, wind, warm sunshine, rain drops, bird song - be open to the many forms it may come to you. Then relax and sit with the idea of the remedy until the medicinal qualities become apparent. You could journal stream of conscious style or research information, or simply tap into your inner knowing. Then allow a method of connecting to this medicine come to you. If you need some support in this area, here are 7 ways to cultivate a relationship with spiritual medicine, in this article or you may choose to book a soul restoration session with me. To learn more about my practice and how we can facilitate well-being together, visit www.3foldbalance.com for sessions & journey circle information and www.returntoreverence.ca for our year long immersion programs

​* Edited in 2022 to update language and links.

A medicine wheel is a concept in many shamanic and nature influenced cultures and spiritual lineages, used as a map to orient oneself. It allows you to experience the energies (or medicine) present in each direction. It shows you where you are, what phase you just came from, and what awaits you. The aspects of each direction varies by culture and within that, vary by lineage and within that, sometimes varying by individual - but the general concept appears universal. A repeating cycle to get one's bearings and to move through.  This has been one of the most powerful teachings I have received - it greatly influences my life and my practice.

The idea is to use your Medicine Wheel to help you mindfully move with the natural energies present at any given time as opposed to struggling against unknown forces. To be able to work with the natural rhythms of the world in a medicinal way.  A supportive and healing way. Knowing when it is time to let things rest, or when it is time to rally the troops. When it's time to sow seeds, and when to harvest your efforts. If the natural world around you is slowing down, you may find it more frustrating to be ramping up and pushing ideas forward. But if you wait until the phase with latent energy dedicated to new growth and action, you may find your projects flows effortlessly. You can apply a Medicine Wheel to any aspect of your life, be it your age, your creative process, your spiritual practice, a challenge, or your emotional stages. Generally one moves clockwise around a wheel, this way when "feeling lost" or disoriented, you can find what stage you are at, know what has been completed and see what is coming next. Looking at the Seasonal Medicine Wheel above can be very helpful to begin with as we are so familiar with the repeating seasons of the year. Trees give us a perfect example to follow. In winter they have no leaves, their branches are quiet, sap slows, they lay dormant with their life force energy deep down into the earth. With springtime, tree energy begins to quicken. New shoots, fresh blossoms, birds return with joyous song. There is growth. Summer sees branches full of leaves turned toward the sun, full of life, energy, bearing sweet fruit. Children climb and play in and around. Animals visit and nibble. It's busy and there is a vibrant energy. Come Autumn this energy begins to retreat. Energy dedicated to leaves are no longer the priority. They grow dry with lack of vitality and are released from the places they've known, and become mulchy goodness for something else. Sap begins to slow with the cold. And the energy has returned from the outermost edges and vibrancy, back deep down into the center. Now.... think of all that but with a baby conceived, birthed, growing from maturity into eldership, and finally released back into the mystery where we came from. Now try it with the creative process of a project or idea. See the flow?
Some cycles are faster moving, like the Moon. Instead of a 365 day wheel its only 28. There are many many who align their actions and orient their internal realm to work in synchronicity with the moon. This moon pulls the mighty ocean tides, affects women's menstruation (ehem...moontime) biodynamic farmers pay close attention to this energy, and you may notice that neighbourhoods, people in public places, children and even your sleeping patterns are affected as well. The Medicine Wheel of the Day gives us even faster cycles of rest and activity.

Each direction of each wheel holds a plethora of aspects related to that phase that all have a natural flow to them. It is that direction's "medicine" and it's available to you! Looking at the samples here of the Seasons, the Lunar, and the Menstrual, you might find similarities among them all.  You can get a sense of being able to amalgamate all three into one. 
You might find you can identify where cultural deities that you work with would sit. Kali? An Cailleach? Kwan Yin? How about Totem Animals? Solstices and Equinoxes? Elements?
Meditate, journey, consult and find or create a wheel that you can identify with, something meaningful.
As I mentioned above, many cultures and lineages have different Medicine Wheels steeped in tradition and history. I encourage you to look into your heritage, find an elder, research and see if there is a natural resonance there within you.  If you notice the tops (or the North) of my examples, you will find a certain similar energy represented there among them all, but your research may show those energies sit in a different direction.  You may also find some people start in the East while others start in the North or South. This is the beauty of diversity. This is where you find your Medicine Wheel.

Do you have an affinity for a particular herb?
Have you been drawn to certain crystals?
Maybe you collect rocks that always seem to catch your eye.
These are each invitations to cultivate a relationship with these beings and their unique medicines. Perhaps you have already studied a bit or have begun to work with them and want to take things deeper.
There are a good number of methods that you can gradually get to know your new allies with or dive right into a full immersion experience. Here are a few of my favorites.
Dreaming:
Take a fresh sprig of the plant, a crystal or the stone you want to work with and place it under your pillow (or inside the pillowcase if you are worried about losing it) Thank them for sharing information in your dreamtime. This may come through directly where you meet the spirit and have a lucid dream of asking questions or being shown energies and how to work together, or it may come through as an indirect influence of metaphor where meanings reveal themselves over time.
Ritual Bath:
Depending on the type of crystal or plant (watching for toxicity or dissolving) having an ritual bath is a lovely way to immerse yourself in the energetic medicine of your new ally, especially if you are sensitive to energy. Rose quartz, amethyst, lavender, rosemary, or stones from special places are all wonderful to bathe with. This isn't a "get-clean" kind of bath, it's a quiet time to feel subtle energy. Light a candle, do some mindful breathing, meditate, and allow yourself to notice how you feel, invite these energies into your thoughts and see how they shift.
Make a tea or water:
Again using caution around potentially toxic plants and crystals if using a direct method, or stick to an indirect method to be safest - you can transfer the energy of your new friend into teas or waters and bring these medicines right into your body. A direct method is one where the plant/crystal/stone has been washed then placed directly into your water cup, or if a plant it can be brewed as a tea. Some safe crystals for this are rose quartz, clear quartz, or non-irradiated citrine. Generally some safe plants are lemonbalm, lavender, or red-belted polypore (of course I need to advise consulting a professional for any contradictions with existing medical conditions).  An indirect method involves placing your item into a flat bottomed glass, then placing this glass into a bowl that has been semi-filled with water. Your item never gets wet, but will infuse the water surrounding the glass with its energy. Again, being thankful and respectful of the gifts being shared with you. This indirect method is safe to use for any plant, crystal or stone. If you are very sensitive you may only need a couple drops of your water or tea to feel its effects, you might choose to sip all of it slowly over the day, or you may wish to drink much over a few days.
'Shamanic' Journey or Meditation:
If you have learned the shamanic technique of journeying, or if you have a meditation practice suitable, you may glean a lot of information by visiting the spirit of the plant/crystal/stone that you are working with. You can ask for a healing, for guidance on how to work further with them, thank them for showing you just what the medicine they are offering is and importantly how you can reciprocate in the relationship.
Wearing:
Tuck your stone, plant or crystal into your pocket, into a medicine pouch around your neck, find or make a pendant where it touches your skin (some plants like Devil's Club can be dried and made into beads) In this way you are in constant contact with the medicine, the energies of this helper. Skin to skin or simply in your energy field, there will be a conversation happening as you move through your day.
Mesa/Lia Mala/Crane Bag/Medicine Bundle:
Some shamanists or medicine people carry a Mesa, Lia Mala, Crane Bag or other Medicine Bundle. If you have one of these, tucking a new stone, crystal, or part of a plant into the folds is a nice gentle way of bringing their medicine into yours. If it is right to do so, you might add this piece fully inside to work more deeply, to alter the harmony already present, and to stay as a longer term influence. Each lineage will have differing ways of working with your medicine hearth so you may want to consult an elder for guidance around this.
Saining/Sacred Smoke/Smudging:
Some plants, even certain fungi, are beautiful to cleanse and bless with while burning. You may already know how buffalo sage brings about a different cleansing than tobacco or palo santo, but you might also find rowan berries become your go-to for protection while lavender opens the door to your Ancestors. You may find that some plants instantly connect you to different healing work, helpers, or area of focus than others. Over harvesting of certain popular herbs gives us an extra nudge to look local and to our cultural heritages. What is naturally growing in abundance around you? What might your great-great-great-grandmother have burned? I have been sweetly surprised to learn certain plants coming to me have a long history of being added to sacred smoke rituals. I had been working with fomitopsis pinicola for about 20 years before I discovered some First Nations used it during smudge rituals. This knowledge deepened my respect for this powerful healing ally. Oh! how I love working in these ways!

Remember, we don't just ask and take from our human or animal friends, we also care for them and support them when they need it. The same is true for our plant, crystal or stone friends. We are entering into a spiritual relationship, they may become sacred objects and part of your medicine basket, we need to always treat them with respect and honour. Never leaving them laying around or placed directly on the floor, cleansing and recharging them with moon or sun light, salt, the running water of a clear stream, or by saining. Feed them offerings, whisper your gratitude, sing to them, wrap them in special cloth or place them on your altar. This is a special and personal friendship :)

*Update* February 21 2016
6 months in - and LOOK! Full disclosure, I haven't been loving my rice quite as often as I did in the beginning, but it definitely is still white and fairly fluffy while the ignored rice is completely manky beyond mank. (These are the same jars, I just had to re-write the details on from all the handling.) Sometimes I bring them to the workshops and gatherings that I host to demonstrate first hand just how powerful our intentions are right before we meditate on radiating love into the world, before we bless water, or before we create medicine bundles. Whenever you think you are just one small person trying to make a difference in the big wide world, remember this image and know you are actually making a big difference. Better yet, cook up your own rice and really really KNOW it!
Man, one day I'm going to have to open these jars to clean them out - ugh! haha

*Update* July 18 2016
​WOW! We have made it to 11 months! I admit the last number of months I actually stopped loving the Love Rice :( I had grown accustomed to bringing these jars to workshops and journey circles to demonstrate the power of our intentions, emotions and before engaging in Transfiguration work. Interestingly, I noticed some folks were drawn to shake these jars as they looked at them. At one gathering however the individual white grains of rice were shook into a mush ball. I felt like the experiment was over and procrastinated at opening the jars to wash them out ('cuz I mean... look at that really manky one!) I tucked them back into the cupboard and thought about my reaction to the situation. Then I noticed something... despite the Love Rice being a mush ball it was still white, and it was still white even after weeks and months of not actively loving it anymore. The effect of having been loved for over half a year had a lasting impact. It didn't just rot right away. What a powerful revelation! What a release of pressure to adhere to strict and rigid thought patterns and habits! It's okay if we sometimes fall off the wagon and into self doubt, or have our inner critic speak up periodically - the effects of our loving intentions are lasting! Below is a photo of the rice jars at 11 months old. At 1 year - August 15th I will take one last photo and brave the emptying out process with 5 sticks of Nag Champa burning <3 I really encourage you to try this at home. Show your friends, kids, blog about it - we need such strong lessons in mindfulness and love in the world.