authentic: of undisputed origin; genuine.

This is a pretty big buzz-word these days in the mindfulness/wellness/intentional living crowd. Living authentically. What exactly does that mean? Being honest? Maybe. Being true to yourself? Closer. To me it is something that I have really struggled with 98% of my life. I was always such a people pleaser and wanted everyone around me to like me, that I wasn’t always ME. I didn’t express my feelings when I was upset or sad. I did things or acted a certain way to not rock the boat.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized 2 things:
1~Hiding who you are is being dishonest.
2~You aren’t responsible for other people’s feelings and their opinion of you is not your business.

Think about all the ways you are not being authentic to yourself. Whether it is towards your family and friends, your customers or employers, society at large. Changing who you are or not honoring yourself does no one any good.

This week, I started noticing that still today I am not being fully authentic. Mainly in my work. My passion is plant medicine. Wild herbs that grow around me in unadulterated states. Working with them from dirt to medicine is my truth. Not being true to myself would be using exotic plants and essential oils. NOT THAT THEY ARE BAD OR WRONG-but that they do not resonate with me on any level whatsoever. BUT. My customers and society at large are huge fans of essential oils. And with so many people and companies selling them and using them, I felt like I needed to be a source that I know people are getting SAFE products with mindful direction. But every time, I still feel like I am lying. Because I am not connected on a deeper level with them like I am my plants. Yes~I know essential oils are derived from plants. But my medicine is that the sum of its parts are greater than the whole. I don’t want to use just one specific component because all the components work synergistically with each other in perfect harmony. Recommending an essential oil product and using them in my medicine is not authentic to me. I want to make my customers and clients happy, but not at my expense.

So, once my rollers sell out, I will not be restocking them. I can refer you to amazing aromatherapists who are more connected to essential oils and hope you form great relationships with them!

Please feel free to use the code AUTHENTIC at checkout if you are interested in purchasing any rollers before they are gone to receive a lovely discount. Essential Oils

It’s pretty typical that as the calendar year turns a page, I would write about renewal. We can’t NOT think about change, goals, and starting anew during this time.

Personally, I do not create resolutions. They are rarely sustainable or achieved. I also don’t set goals or benchmarks. They tend to be quantifiable which means there is an endpoint.  I set intentions. Intentions are long-lasting ideals of how you want your life to manifest.  A few of my intentions are:

• having a home and business management system in place to hold space for calm, creativity, and organization;
• building a sustainable garden to provide nourishing foods for my family;
• creating the opportunities to be able to travel and vacation; and
• reflecting what I teach by maintaining optimal health.

The fourth intention is what I am speaking on today. Here are my current challenges: emotional eating, stress eating, and the use of stimulants-well, one stimulant. Coffee. I LOVE coffee. Like, irrationally. I make 3 French Presses a day which translates to about 6-9 cups of coffee. THIS IS NOT HEALTHY. How can I talk to my clients and customers about taking care of their bodies by reducing stress and stimulants when I don’t? How can I give lectures on fatigue and adrenal health when I don’t ensure that I’m doing everything *I* can to model it?

The negative effects of regular use of coffee are pretty well known-I am mainly concerned about the addiction aspect and the contribution to chronic fatigue.

I won’t call this a resolution to quit coffee. I won’t make a goal to be caffeine free by XX date. I will say that my intention is to manifest a healthy body by only using nourishing foods and herbs daily, and only using stimulating and sedating herbs and foods when indicated. Am I there yet? No. I have a cup of coffee sitting right next to me. But, I do have a game plan.

• I am creating a nourishing blend of herbs that I can replace my early morning warm beverage with.
• I will drink my nourishing herbal infusions daily.
• I will get at least 7 hours of restful sleep a night.
• I will be gentle with myself when I find myself with a dirty chai in hand from the local coffee shop.

All in all, I’m excited to go on this journey. If you are needing some guidance for any various health related or life related issues, I would love to talk! I am doing free 10 minute consults right now. If you feel that you need something more in depth, we can schedule a longer  intuitive plant medicine consultation. Even though I face my own struggles, I would honored to help guide you through yours.

This has been an amazing year of change and growth! After a slight adventure last winter in the Midwest, we returned home to the south to put down roots.

There is definitely a magic to this area. Ancient and deep. Magnetic. We seem to be in the sweet spot of South Carolina~not too far north to hit the red clay, but not too close to the coast to have all the sand in the soil. Nature flourishes in the heat and remains steadfast in our mild winters.

Getting a bit real for a moment~I jumped into pulling Wild Earth Herbals out of a part time hobby job into a full blow sustainable business by the skin of my teeth. It was a do it now or it will never come to be moment. So, I took the plunge. With a paltry amount of savings (I think I had 1 month’s rent banked) I decided that I would not get a ‘real job’ and focus all my energy in creating this amazing business. And I really hate calling it a business. Because it’s a way of life. And I want it to become a way of life for my community. To be able to create your own plant medicine-to go into your backyard and make a meal out of ‘weeds’ is such an empowering feat. I want to share it with the world!

My goal for 2017 was to be able to sustain my little family on the sales of my products. And I have done that for the past 8 months. Sometimes just barely-but the rent was always paid, and we always had food on the table.

I’m challenging myself to surpass that goal. But, I’m doing it a little differently.

1-I have worked like a dog this year. Some days from 6am to midnight.

2-I took next to zero time for self care. What kind of healer am I to talk to others about nourishing their bodies when I don’t?

3-I did the bare minimum regarding making connection in the community.

Looking forward~

1-My best week this year (yes, it was a 4 figure week-I’m most proud of that!) will be the starting point for 2018. My goal is to make that my baseline and double it by midsummer solstice. I will NOT do this by working harder-but smarter.

2-I will ensure that I am nourished and cared for. I will continue to expand my heart center and build on the tribe that is forming here.

3-I will branch out into the communities surrounding me and create connection with those around me.

My intentions are to have the product sales become more self propelled and the production be handled by apprentices and eventually employees. Leaving room for me to focus more energy on classes, consultations, workshops, and sacred circles.

2017 was about breaking through the walls and removing what no longer served me: doubt, fear, toxic relationships. Heading into 2018 is birth. creation. transformation. alchemy.