mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Rue
April 18, 2013
— 3 Comments
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- guarding the gate
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- in bloom
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- rue aloe tobacco
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- rue and prickly pear
Ruta Graveolens is a medicinal and magical herb. It has meaning for the Pope as well as for Central American shamans. The herb of grace, as it is known, has been used for centuries to guard or protect entrances. The Catholic church uses the plant rue to sprinkle holy water. Shamans use it for bathing and ceremony. Bathing with it can be especially effective as a liberation. It is mentioned in the Bible, in Shakespeare, and in Ethiopian cooking. The smell is pungent and bitter, the flowers yellow and bright. I use this plant to guard the back entrance of my garden. It is spreading and doing an excellent job of keeping things safe.
Flowers Speak Louder than Bombs
April 16, 2013
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- Prickly pear
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- wild tobacco
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- iris
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- dwarf pomegranate
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- foxglove
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- iris
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- rose
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- iris
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- cactus
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- rose
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- rose
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- Columbine
Powerful voice of reason, the garden
The calming fleeting beauty of flowers and trees
Brushstrokes of genius, music of color and urgency
Soothe the mind and heal the body
Drinking Color, Tasting Light
April 14, 2013
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- iris
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- Mexican Bird of Paradise
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- snapdragon
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- poppies
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- poppy, iris
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- in the sun
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- honeysuckle essence
Taste with your eyes, smell with your feet.
Take in the story with all our might
While there is color, while there is light.
Dreamtime reorders sensuality
In living color.
Honeysuckle for Harmony
April 13, 2013
— 1 Comment
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- honeysuckle
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- honeysuckle
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- twin honeysuckle
My favorite flower essence is made from the honeysuckle flower. As children this flower may have been part of our regular enchantment with nature. Most of us were taught how to pull the stamen down and suck the nectar out of the flower for fun and some insect style nutrition. I have two large plants that supply fragrance like crazy. I make and drink fresh essence from the flowers in mass qualities. It tastes like it smells, and the emotional remedy it supplies is deep release from past experiences. It is both edible and drinkable. It has been used for centuries medicinally. You can’t go wrong with honeysuckle, even if you just sit next to it an breathe. It is a happiness plant. The flowers start white and turn yellow as they age.
Flower Poem
April 11, 2013
— 8 Comments
poppy
bee on orange blossom
white orchid spray
foxglove snapdragon
orchids
fairy duster
Yucca
rose Virgin of Guadalupe
rosebud
penstemon
Life blooms before our eyes daily.
The colors saturate the background of our set.
Our bodies also color the landscape, and change it.
We paint our story in a range of colors we have learned from nature.
Flowers speak volumes, directly to our emotions.
Wellness Account
April 3, 2013
Paying attention is the first step to wellness. Our individual health is like a bank account. We deposit good constitution and healthy habits such as whole fresh food and solid rest. When things go wrong it is impossible to tell which check has overdrawn the account. If you take out more than you put in this will always be the result. Rather that be too crazy about diagnosis and specific remedies, a good overview can help sort out the most crucial from the unimportant. How and why do you use your own resources to damage your health?
Our bodies consist of an advanced bundle of cells and energy connected to create this network of life, feeling and emotion. We are a conduit to something fantastic and sometimes unimaginable; a Responsive Universe…. Our bodies are our best friends. We need to listen to our bodies signals – wellness is the only true focus. Are you listening?
Please check out my latest article published at MindBodyGreen which focuses on listening to our bodies and how we can positively respond to those signals…
Do You Listen To Your Body’s Signals?
John C. Bader
About the Book: www.responsiveuniverse.com
Now Available: Amazon Barnes & Noble
Cycles of Rebirth
March 30, 2013
— 6 Comments
Aesculapius
I: And the crown? Solve the riddle of the crown for me!”
Soul Bird: “The crown and serpent are opposites, and are one. Did you not see the serpent that crowned the head of the crucified?”
I: “What, I don’t understand you.”
Soul Bird: “What words did the crown bring you?
“Love never ends”-that is the mystery of the crown and the serpent.” ~Carl Jung; Red Book.
Carl Jung was the son of a reform minister who grappled with his own religion throughout his life. He had high aspirations and did some deep Dante style soul searching. His final spiritual expression was the Red Book, published after his death. In it he links symbols to deeper meaning. He was a student not only of mythology and history, but also of the ancient sciences. He studied the astrologers and the work of the alchemists to find clues to the collective consciousness as it has passed down through history. He was interested in Kundalini, the serpent coiled at the base of the energetic spine.
During the time of Christ the GrecoRoman god of healing Aesculapius was still popular. Cures and diagnosis in the cult of this demi god involved dreams and dream healing. His symbol, and indeed his assistants in healing temples, were the snakes. They were deemed to be powerful psychics. The symbol of the snake as natural healer was traded for the image of snake, the temptation of Eve, which got everyone thrown out of the Garden of Eden, reptiles included. We are not sure who lives there now..
If you have dreams of crowns or serpents, pay special attention. Something may be attempting rebirth within your soul.
Dreams and Dreamers
March 22, 2013
— 5 Comments
Your dreams are personal and they arise from the collective unconscious as well as your own. We all share a foundation of unknown mythology that our ancestors built into our beliefs. We share, and sometimes rebel against, cultural practices and teachings. To deeply analyze our own psychological types dream work is necessary. The setting and the characters portrayed in dreams are metaphorical players in our spiritual lives. Deeper understanding of our own unconscious leads to better understanding and appreciation for all of life.
There has been an attempt to hijack the word dream and turn it into a house or a car, or that illusive American Dream. The big consumer consciousness promotes purchases of certain items in order to fulfill a dream. It also spotlights outer image as the key to dreaminess. I think it is important to note that marketing experts use the personality types to design ad campaigns and sales persons use them to craft the appropriate pitch for the prospect. The archetype technique is being used strategically to manipulate you and your dreams. If you submit willingly you will buy a lot of stuff with dubious dream fulfillment. Take the reigns, gentle reader. Design your own dreamscapes and accept no substitutes.
The Prince Archetype
March 21, 2013
— 4 Comments
In literature and mythology the prince is an archetypal figure. In drama or our lives the prince represents one who must take the mysterious and trying journey to become king. His dark shadow companion is the wanderer, who never accepts reposnsibility and continues to avoid the dignity and responsibility of his royal inheritance. They look a bit like William and Harry, honestly. The prince can be charming or dark in his presentation. He may complete his journey and become king, but there is no guarantee.
Carl Jung identified 4 masculine archetypes, and made the assertion that to be whole man must be in touch with all of them. He also explained the bi-polar potential inherent in each character. They are described as shadow and positive qualities. The soul embarks on an epic journey to mature on earth. The heroes and Prince Charmings of our lives have lessons to teach as well as to learn. When you think of this archetype who pops into your thoughts? Americans have some pretty wild versions of the prince from Disney to the artist formerly and once again known as Prince. How do we know when our American prince becomes a king? tricky..
Botanical Break
March 21, 2013
— 2 Comments
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- orchid in the butterfly house
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- butterfly
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- queen owl butterfly
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- orchid
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- orchid
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- butterfly magic
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- orchid
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- orchid
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- butterfly on orchid
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- butterly
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- orchid
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- butterfly
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- aloe
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- aloe blooms
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- sahuaro
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- garden ship
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- penstamen
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- Poppy
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- poppy with bee
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- aloe
A trip to the botanical garden refreshes the spirit and gives a natural buzz to the day. I love to visit the butterfly house to see what they are doing. Today the orchids made me very happy.
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