12.27.2010

Natural progression

I wish I had it together enough to have blogged about my focus on "natural" throughout the year and not just a couple posts. I'm proud to say that I've actually kept up with it though and am very happy with the changes I've made! I have noticed that there has been an unconscious progression. From a focus on outer action to a focus on inner action. All of these things were in play throughout the year but there always seemed to be a main focus and the progression is interesting to me.

The beginning of the year, my main focus was on outer actions like recycling/composting better, using recycled toilet paper, car mileage improvement, getting rid of plastic, buying less plastic, less single use plastic items, bringing another plant into the house (which died as I don't have a green thumb), getting rid of the microwave, etc.

The main focus turned to beauty/body care products which is still an outer action but closer to the body. I looked at the products I use and started eliminating chemicals and toxins. I started making my own deodorant and tooth powder which both surprisingly work awesome! The thing I have had the most trouble with is my hair. I've tried using the soap my husband makes- no good for my hair but works great for the girls. I tried the "no 'poo" method of using baking soda and apple cider vinegar but wasn't completely happy with it. The vinegar is the PERFECT conditioner- I will never go back to any other conditioner as this leaves hair shiny and tangle-free but the baking soda wasn't completely what I was looking for in a wash. Next I tried an all natural dish soap that claimed it was good for hair too but it dried mine out. I found a natural shampoo made from soapnuts (a kind of berry that has soap properties and is often used in raw form for laundry) from Naturoli. I *LOVE* this stuff but it's way expensive. Stretching it by only washing my hair every other day and by using baking soda now and then works well. They also have a highly concentrated laundry soap that works great too. I think part of the trouble with finding good natural options for cleaning my hair is due to needing some kind of gel/mousse for my wild curls (thus having to wash out the stickiness) and having very hard water. After trying a couple natural gels/mousses, I found a good one by Alba Botanica.

The focus on body products flowed into an inner focus on what we eat. This really needs its own post because I have learned so much this year that is increasing my family's health. We were soo sick this last winter with cold after flu after cold. I knew that something needed changed. After looking at our diet that I thought was so healthy, I decided to look into other various diets including raw food, alkaline, and gluten free. I gleaned great things from all of them but it wasn't until I found GNOWFGLINS and her ecourses that I finally KNEW I found what I had been looking for. I will hopefully write more about this soon!

Lately I find my focus turning even more inward. I want to really know myself, define who I am, what I want out of life, and my beliefs, improve my abilities, work on my weaknesses, and grow as a human on my walk of life. Through this desire, I have found my "focus word" for this coming year: Evolution.

Evolution: any process of formation or growth; development. A process of continuous change from a lower, unsatisfactory to a higher, improved state.

I plan on doing lots of journaling and art journaling this new year. I've started already. :)

12.05.2010

Influence from the sky.


Stars and planets move across the sky, in a methodical dance, energetically interacting with each other, influencing the Earth in magical ways. This influence is so fascinating that it has been studied and revered for ages.

I never was one that was interested in astrology. I didn't looked up my horoscope and didn't know what all the fuss was about. In the last few years, I've found the reason for this lack of interest was due to lack of knowledge and understanding on my part. I used to scoff at the idea of the stars having any influence on our lives but after being more in touch with the idea of everything being made of energy and having an influence on everything else around, I am no longer scoffing. If the moon's energy can have such an effect on the tides of the ocean and the sap in trees, if the Earth's energy can pull apples off trees to the ground, if my thoughts (which too are energy) can have such an effect on everything around me, then the stars' energies can also have a great impact on the Earth and Her inhabitants.

Astrology has been a interest of mine lately. Admittedly, I'm far from understanding all its terminology and interpretations, leaving my head spinning with wonder. It started with birth charts. Human personality and psychology has always been a curiosity to me. I love a good personality quiz that explains our inner workings and astrology is beyond the ultimate personality quiz! The full map of the sky (which includes so much more than just your sun sign) at the exact place and time of birth can tell you so much about yourself!

But this isn't the reason for this blog post. The making of the personality at birth isn't the only influence the stars have. Certain alignments of planets, constellations, and stars have an impact on our everyday lives. The horoscope you find in a magazine or newspaper is a watered down version of this. There's a lot more energetic influence than just our sun sign.

An awesome website that goes into great detail about these alignments and influences and how different ones work together is www.darkstarastrology.com. Their explanations of current events and the astrology behind them is fascinating. Like in this post, they talk about the Lunar eclipse conjunct Pluto (back in June) and what events have occurred in the past around similar alignments. I confess I don't know what a lot of the terminology means- conjunct, square, trine, opposite, sextile but thankfully I don't have to to gain knowledge from this website.

There have been some major alignments this year and some major events that have gone along with them. The above post mentioned the Cardinal Grand Cross-it's one of the most powerful alignments of our time; we've had earthquakes, volcanoes, social and political unrest, economic challenges, the oil spill, etc to go with it. It's definitely been an eventful couple years. The last similar Grand Cross in history just happened to be around the time of the Great Depression.

There can be a lot of fear and doom and gloom surrounding alignments like this but it doesn't need to. It's a time of change and progress. If we are aware, open, and flexible, we can use this energy for our own personal evolution. We can use the sky's beautiful energetic influence for good!