It's October...

I think that the Fall season has always been my favorite... with the months of September, then October, come new beginnings: a new school year (wearing favorite sweaters & boots), autumn gardens of squash & pumpkins, Fall's equinox, the ushering in of The Holidays and thoughts of gift-giving... (need holiday decor & gift ideas? see SweetPea & Violets' Gift Gallery)
Even though I so love and enjoy the season and coming holidays, it is also a time that I, as do many, occasionally deal with bouts of depression. Despite all of the festivities, it is so very common that one often feels overwhelmed with all that "needs to be done" - as well as an engulfing sense of lonliness. Yes, I have my family all around me, and yet I tend to still feel so completely on my own and isolated. The "kids" are all grown up and doing their own things. I often feel left to my own devices (not a bad thing, generally) and without someone special of my own to share the laughter and merriment with. Do I need someone to share these things with? Maybe not... but, it would be so much more... fun... to share it all. Throughout their childhood years, I always gave all I had to make sure my children would have funny memories to recall. The costumes (both made by me and bought upon occasion), the few get-togethers or parties that I actually managed to put together, the school parades and festivities... I did these things on my own, without benefit of a "partner's" assistance, support, participation. Thus, the resultant sadness, the lonliness. These experiences didn't quite live up to my... expectations. You know, those envisioned fantasies of blissful married life. My life, my married life of those years, was far from blissful.
And, yet, I perservered. I kept it up, hoping, hoping... for what, I don't really know. I suppose for what should have been and wasn't.

I have admittedly abandoned that mode of thinking in the past few years. Still deal with the sadness, but know that I do indeed have the power to make it different, make what I envision a reality. Working on that... It is where the aromatherapy and meditation comes in, I suppose. I've learned to deal with emotive responses and control how I react to given circumstances or events with meditative practice and essential oils. It helps, it really does!! Not that I'm perfect - far from it! Still so very much to learn... and I am learning, every single day. I want to share what I learn, the skills developing. I want to give back and help...

That's where my websites come in to play... I've used these websites to fulfill the need to give, to help, to create. They've been my resource, my implement through which I have both gained and made available usable knowledge. At SweetPea and Violets one finds the tools - essential oils, accessories, candles, books, even links to other resources - to utilize in helping oneself, in growing and evolving emotionally, spiritually. At Cottage Craft Creations, SweetPea's sister site, one finds the art and craftwork that, I believe, rounds it all out. After all, healing and creation kind of goes hand-in-hand, doesn't it? And, I do indeed feel the energy buzzing through me when I am creating - whether it's the hands-on of clay sculpting, drawing and painting, writing, or the needles clicking with the making of each new knitted or crocheted hat, scarf, sweater or baby afghan...

That said, I'd like to share a bit of poetry by a favorite unknown writer:

Preparation

What is needed, what is wanted

To purge the meek and save the strong,
what we need is a loving song,
to grab our axes with one hand,
and swing down harder than the land:

The vessel of which will hold our blood,
and the lungs that will help breathe out loud,
the feet that will climb over teeth,
and the warmth that will deny penetration;

the link that will lower into the dark,
the air that will consume our thirst,
the life of fire's wrath,
and the tune of wind's shout;

the extension of man's hand,
laid deep in nothing's mouth,
taken farther with one word,
defied again not by riddle;

tome's of wisdom far begotten,
chests of fear far departed,
logic represented,
never left in solid question;

if none are present with the coming lesson,
we will be undone at the seams,
lest there be another attribute,
of which will be allowed to lead...

This is not what we want...
simply what we need.

- Odin Cult

...a bit more on Meditation

I've been studying more of the meditation techniques, as described through the e-newsletters I receive from The Meditation Expert. I admit, I am a novice at this - it takes a lot of work and concentration to empty the mind of all thoughts (we've all seen, I'm sure, the funny commercials of Ellen DeGeneres attempting to meditate) to just breathe deeply and... be, for however long at a time. It does help to concentrate on the breathing - sort of like when a woman is focusing on her breathing when in labor (which I did during natural childbirth!)... You are just focusing on each breath, each inhalation, each exhalation. Slowly. Slowly. It's interesting how... relaxed one becomes during this practice. No thoughts. Just breathing.
I do like to have a complementary music CD playing simultaneously - whether or not it's actually distracting... I don't think so. I have several favorites, among them "Anjali" by Michael Mandrell and Benji Wertheimer, "Still Chillin'" by Gabrielle Roth, and, of course "Music as Medicine" by Nawang Khechog & R. Carlos Nakai (you can find this one at CD Universe, by the way). "Kismet" by Aurah is another good one. I also just love the music by Larisa Stow & the Shakti Tribe - I find her music more exciting and prayerful than meditative, though.
...to continue...
I persist with the meditation practice, always looking (hoping) for a follow-through of those generated feelings of well-being that is the result of each "session". I think that the particular essential oil blends that I assemble and utilize during these meditations have their effect on me, my emotive state, as well. I come away feeling more empowered, somehow... more hopeful regarding any given situation or circumstance that has been prayed about or meditated on - and, yes, I do sort of combine the prayer/meditation in a silent (for me, effective) manner... results come. Not always the results I would expect or hope for, admittedly, but always results in keeping with what I actually require - whether I am aware of that or not. Knowledge, understanding, always comes around.
I realise that I am such a novice, an infant, in this... I have read that it takes years to reach particular stages of meditative prowess - and I believe it. I believe one needs a teacher, a Master to guide through the basic steps of meditation, whether that be via one's religion or other resources such as The Meditation Expert, that I found and am so enthusiastic about. Perhaps one would read, study, practice with and through these guides and still come to one's own conclusions on technique and assists - such as incense and essential oils or complementary music such as that from Sounds True (where one can find those awesome sounds I mentioned above - "Music as Medicine", "Anjali", etc...) or even from independent online alternative music stations...
I am on such a path... how did I get here? I don't quite know. But, I happily continue...

...thoughts on aromatherapy

I've known of (been familiar with) the term "aromatherapy" for a long while, since the late 1980s, in fact. Of course, aromatherapy, itself, goes way back farther than that. Wisewomen and medicine men and women of old practiced exactly that, if calling it by another name at the time. The art of aromatherapy is fascinating - knowing herbs by sight, touch, smell; knowing the properties of any particular plant or flower. Knowing what part of each plant to use - leaves, flowers, roots - and the resulting benefits of each (again, whether by use of tea, poultice, or collected oil essence). Fascinating. I never tire of reading up on the subject overall, or of delving into particular methodologies.
What first came across my path was a sheaf of photocopied pages from an old book. I read about the different herbs, their properties, their origination and habitats, the uses of each. Peppermint leaves crushed into a paste to clean the teeth and tongue - or even the use of a twig to clean between the teeth - and this before the advent of tooth paste and brushes! A rinse of rosemary to cleanse one's scalp and hair. Lemon for lightening. Creating colognes from lavender, rose petals, orange zest and a bit of alcohol. Or men's cologne with bay leaves, spices, and rum.
Aromatherapy practice consists of beauty treatments: skincare, bodycare, haircare - inside and out (with caution and the knowledge of an educated practitioner, please!). It includes treatments (use of herbs in teas or inhaled essential oil essences) that alter our moods and emotions. Oils are used in massage therapy to ease body aches and promote both relaxation and healing. And through each of these methodologies, aromatherapy heals the whole person - body, mind, and spirit.
Imagine how long aromatherapy has been around - our prehistoric ancestors watched and learned from nature around them. And passed it on to us.
My favorite aspect of aromatherapy is discovering essential oils particular aromas and properties and finding those that are complementary in order to create a really terrific blend.
I first began blending, quite by accident, in the store where I worked. At the time, I was only concerned that it smell great! In the end, my first blend not only smelled terrific, I had concocted a blend that, when inhaled, one couldn't help but feel uplifted, better. I liked that effect. I liked that customers commented positively on the aroma filling the store. It was 2 years later before I reproduced the blend to sell it. I have it for sale, now, at my website SweetPea & Violets.
A delicious blend of orange, lavender and white clover (hard to find, folks!) I call it Irish Morning. I am working on others, including a "signature fragrance" - something that is the epitome of what I want others to understand what SweetPea & Violets is all about.
Just a note, here - I am not a practicing herbalist or aromatherapist. I am an aspiring aromatherapist. I am working on certification, a degree in holistic theology, as well, even as I write this. But, I am not prepared to offer advice, other than a recommendation to one who may be more qualified than I. What I do here, in my writing, as well as through my website as I create products or just sell safely ready-made product, is offer to share what I know and what I am learning. That aspiration is what inspired me to create my other website: Your Well-Lived Life - to be able to share and to point interested readers toward those other sources and/or sites that I believe will be of help and growth. So, there you are.

For those interested, I've completed the SweetPea & Violets website newsletter, which will shortly be sent out. Showcased a few really good items: promoting the Terra Nova products, and, of course, the candles. Added a few notes regarding the gifts that I have offered in the past, as well as a link to a gift catalog found on my Gift Gallery page. Made those all-important updates to my Etsy site: SweetPea16.etsy.com which will hopefully result in a little bit of positive feedback - and maybe even a sale or two!

In the meantime, I keep up with my studies, my work, my art. I've begun the writing, again (thank you my Adlandpro , Salespider and StartUp Nation community friends for inspiring me to commit to a blog - though I did heartily resist)
More to come...