Transforming Tension into Creativity; The Power of the Mussel

In my part of the world, Mussels are a pretty common shellfish. When you are beachcombing, the mussel shell is not considered one of the "real treasures" and often gets tossed aside because it is so common. I have however, seen a lot of crafts that used mussel shells and am reminded of a few rainy day camp craft activities that always seemed to involve the mussel shell, glue, and whatever else just happened to be around. Take a mussel shell, a piece of driftwood, two of those rolling eye buttons from craft stores, a couple of pieces of felt, and enough glue and you'll have a treasure that some mother will keep forever!

In season, mussels are one of the cheaper shell fish to buy and most restuarants have their own "house special" variety- often served as an appetizer. All you need is a bit of butter, onion, garlic, and mushrooms in a big pot. Then you pour in a bottle of beer or some white wine and when it's boiling you put in the washed mussels (shell and all). When the shells open up in the steam,  you have a really good feed.

It turns out mussels have a connection to the second chakra, gall bladder, and creativity, according to Sabina Pettitt in "Energy Medicine, Healing from Kingdoms of Nature". 

The outside of the mussel shell is pretty dark- usually black with a bit of dark purple mixed in. It's a rough exterior and it's often covered with dark seaweed. But the inside of the shell is a total contrast. It's quite translucent, almost a pearly white with shades of pink, light blue, and violet. Sabina Pettitt writes that the outside of the shell corresponds to the energy of anger or tension, and the inside is that anger transformed into radiance. When anger, irrititability and frustration  is stored up we "wear it" on the outside, often resulting in stiff neck and shoulders. Hold enough of it in, and you end up with headaches, and dizziness from all that stored tension. Mussels resonate with the gall bladder which, in chinese medicine is responsible for making decisions and wise judgements. Blocked gall bladder energy is tight and controllling, a self destructive, judging type energy. Interestingly, gall baldder problems are often felt in the shoulder area- a meridian connection. According to Pettitt, that type of restriction in the neck and gall bladder meridan also creates an energy blockage between the heart and the mind.

The second chakra is our centre of creativity and sexual expression. Oriah Mountain Dreamer in, "What We Ache For", writes that she believes we need to feel and express our creativity in order to feel fully alive.She defines that sexual expression as a spiritual connection to ourselves. Oriah writes that "Doing creative work allows us to follow the thread of what we ache for into a deeper life, offering a way to cultivate a life of making love to the world." That sounds like second chakra work to me.

So, the lesson from the mussle shell is to transform what you carry on the outside into what you really want to express from the inside. It's about allowing that transformation to be expressed in creative ways. I figure there are a number of ways to do this and you can take your pick.

You can go eat a bowl of mussles and see if you feel more relaxed and more creative. Better yet, you can create your own recipe- measurments don't have to be exact, and if you use wine, there is likely a glass or two left over that might aid your creativity as well.

Sabina Pettitt deals with essence therapy. So if you don't want to eat mussels, you can use the essence to enhance healing and transformation. I haven't used these, so I can't recommend them first hand, but I'll be doing some more research. In the meantime you can check them out for yourself at http://www.pacificessences.com/seaess.html

Finally, maybe it's just a good day to sit down with a glue gun, some empty mussel shells colllected from the beach, and left over craft supplies. See what you can create. Pretend you're at camp  making a present for your mother or someone that loves you unconditionally.  That way, all judgement is released- whatever you create will be cherished just because you made it.

Have fun being you.

Alternative Healing for Pets: Getting Started with Bach Flowers

One of the many advantages of alternative healing methods is that what works for people also works for pets and vice versa. In many cases you don't even have to change the dosage or learn new protocols, symptoms, or indications.

In fact, some people find their way to alternative therapies having first tried them on their animals. Humans  put so much thinking into things it can be hard to figure out if you've just experienced a relief of symptoms because you "thought" you would see a benefit, or because the remedy actually worked. Most people figure that placebo effect is eliminated when treating animals. If you see symptoms or behavior improve, it's because of the remedy, not because the animal thought the remedy would work. Hmm... I'm not always sure about that. But I do think it doesn't matter why a remedy works- just that it does.

If you're thinking about trying alternative strategies for the animals in your life, the easiest place to start may be with Bach Flower remedies. Bach Flower remedies offer gentle, subtle healing of emotions that can at the same time, produce dramatic results. Animals respond well to Bach Flowers, perhaps because they often carry less baggage or layers of emotions than humans. Which is not to say they experience any less dramatic or less intense emotions- just that the layers can often be lifted quicker.

You choose the remedies for pets the same way you choose them for people. Dogs that are afraid of thunder storms for instance might respond well to Mimulus or Rock Rose. Horses that are demanding at feeding times might benefit from Impatiens. Dogs that are overally agressive might benefit from Vine, Vervain or Holly.  Any animal that attacks might respond to Cherry Plum.

Bach Flower essences are meant to be used in a "try this at home" strategy. You can choose which essences you feel are right for your pet and administer them in food, water or directly in their mouth  (if it's safe for both of you to do this!). Trust me, it's easier to get some drops of liquid in there than it is to try to "encourage" a reluctant animal to swallow that little pill! Many animals in fact, eagerly take the remedies. Maybe they like the brandy in them, but I think they feel the vibrational energy and know this is a good thing for them.  You won't hurt your pet if you have chosen the wrong remedy. You won't see any adverse reactions, you just won't see the benefits you're hoping for. It's safe to experiment. There are a number of books out there to help you sort through which remedies would work best for your pet.  "Bach Flower Remedies for Animals" by Stefan Ball and Judy Howard is a great one and a good place to start. "Emotional Healing for Horses and Ponies" by Stefan Ball, Heather Simpson, and Judy Howard is another good one. You can order these publications and others, directly from the Bach Centre at http://www.bachcentre.com/

The trick to finding the right remedies for your pets is clearing your own perceptions away. Animals often absorb the emotions of their humans and project that back. So when you  look at the pet, you see ourself and your own emotions in there. Then you add a few more interpretations to the mix. You might see fear and interpret it as anger, giving Holly when it fact it's Mimulus that would be more helpful. Sometimes you just can't trust that your interpretations are accurate and you put too much thinking into the choices.

When I do animal consultations http://www.pixiedusthealing.com/include/healing_essences.htmI don't ask a lot of questions from the owners. I find the less I know the better. I'd rather get the story directly from the source, the animal. As part of the consult, I provide the owner with a "write-up" of why I chose the essences I did. When I first started emailing those write-ups, I braced myself for the reaction, thinking owners would think I had totally "lost it". I've yet to experience that reaction. What I got  was more along the lines of "I knew that, I just couldn't believe it".

Like the woman who had this feeling that her cat was "stalking" her. It was true. He was having a tough time deciding if he wanted to be a domestic cat or a wild tiger. He was practicing both! He was stalking her. Not only did the remedies help but she learned to open the curtains carefully, stopped sneaking up on him, and let him know that she wasn't going to be his next meal in any dimension!

The dog that would suddenly "turn" on her buddies and be agressive, really just needed some Beech. The noises and jumping around and barking of others all the time really "got on her nerves" and sometimes she'd just had enough. The Beech helped. The owner felt the same way. Now they find some "time out" together and go off on quiet walks just the two of them to get away from the madness. They both occasionally take Beech.

Almost every time I do an animal consultation I get the response, "Do you think I could take the remedy too?"  The answer to that is always "Yes". Another benefit for starting out with Bach Flowers. I think this is particularly true when using Rescue Remedy. If you think your pet could use a dose of Rescue Remedy, go ahead and give it, but take some yourself first. Sometimes it's hard to figure out who had the emotions first- you or your pet, but if you are in a close relationship, there's a good chance you're both experiencing some of the same "stuff". It really doesn't matter "who started it first"!

I believe our animals come to us for a reason.  Maybe that reason is to help us heal! Breathe in, breathe out and enjoy the journey!

Animal Signs: Wild Horse

Horses have always been a part of my life. As a child I craved horse contact. It wasn't so much about riding, although I enjoyed that too, it was about having the connection, just being close to them. As an adult, I choose to have horses in my life. They just feel like a necessary part of my world.

It is not surprising to me that the Wild Horse is a totem animal. Daniel Mapel in, "Into The Heart of the Wild", describes the wild horse as "a tonic of the heart". He writes that the horse nurtures our sense of loving openness, belonging, and connection with others. Mapel recommends the essence for those that have "lost heart", need to mend a broken heart, or have been emotionally hurt.

The horse has a strong connection to the heart chakra. That's the chakra that resonnates with love for both self and others. It's focused on empathy and true unconditional compassion. An unbalanced heart chakra is sometimes expressed in narcissiam, bitterness or arrogance. There are foods and bach flowers to aid an unbalanced heart chakra. http://pixiedusthealing.blogspot.com/2011/02/foods-for-heart-chakra.html

Issues with the heart chakra often result in unclear boundaries. That type of love that is either all-consuming, or not nuturing enough. Perhaps this is where the horse comes in. Horses are very clear on boundaries. They are very in tune with their environment and the laws of nature. In the wild, they are prey, not predators, so they have to be very aware of whether or not you are friend or foe. They don't take relationships lightly. You have to earn the trust of a horse, but once you have it, it's a connection like no other.

You can't fake it with a horse- at least not a wild one. They sense your fear, and know if you're trying to trick them. They also know if you really love them.

It might not just be the heart chakra that responds to the horse. Perhaps, the horse, as an animal sign, points to that opening and balancing of the high heart. http://pixiedusthealing.blogspot.com/2010/11/malachite-for-high-heart-healing.html Horses quite frequently "go off" to another dimension even while they remain very rooted in the present place, alert for danger. They are good day dreamers and can be standing in the sun, not really here, yet the slightest sign of danger can have them rocketing off. I think they understand the high heart abilities to connect with something far beyond our earthly boundaries. Perhaps their sense of boundaries isn't anything near what we would think. Perhaps they are helping us connect with that universal love.

If you feel drawn to the energy of horses, it might be that you just need that heart chakra connection. Allow that energy to support you in the journey. If you're lucky enough to be able to get close to a hors, breathe in their scent. In my mind, there is nothing that smells better than the scent of a horses' skin, and not much that feels better than the touch of their nose against your face. Enjoy the connection. Feel the love. Allow the journey.

Email Subscription to Pixie Dust Healing Blog

I've just added a new feature on my blog called an email subscription. On the top left area of the blog you'll see a blank square and the button "submit". If you type in your email address and submit, you verify your email and you'll receive an email in your inbox titled "FeedBurner Email Subscription". You follow that email link to confirm and presto- done!

Then any time I add a new post to the blog you'll automatically get that post in your inbox. Although I usually post something every day from Monday to Friday, I'm pretty erratic with the timing. This way you don't have to check in, only to find nothing new posted.

This doesn't cost you anything. I've tried it on one of my own email addresses and nothing blew up! I won't do anything with your email- trust me- I don't know how!!!

If this does, or doesn't work, post a comment please!

Getting Started with Perelandra Essences

I have been using Perelandra essences both personally and with clients for quite awhile now and I often mention them in my blog posts. You can find all posts that pertain to them by using the search button at the top of the blog and typing in Perelandra. (I've just added this feature to the blog site so if you use it and it works - or doesn't, please send me a comment to let me know!) I did realize however, that it might be helpful to have a basic "Perelandra 101" post to explain the essences and their use. Before I do that, I should start with the caveat that this is my interpretation and explanation. If you want to do your own research direct from the source (and I encourage you to do that) go to the Perelandra website www.perelandra-ltd.comYou can also order all of the products directly from their site.

I'm not sure how I first found Perelandra essences. They were yet another one of those things that just "came to me". I started by reading Machaelle Small Wright's books. Machaelle is the founder /co-creator of the Perelandra essences and her story in itself is fascinating. I was hooked!

Perelandra essences are both very simple and very complex. For me at least, Perelandra was something I had to "feel" my way through and discover a piece at a time. I'm still learning and trying to sort it all out.

Like Bach Flower essences, Perelandra essences are created by using a vibrationalor electrical energy from nature. This energy is infused into water and a preservative in a very natural and gentle way. Both Bach Flowers and Perelandra use alcohol as the main preservative. Both also offer the essences preserved in vinegar if you have an aversion to alcohol.

The Perelandra essences differ from Bach flowers in that they are not just taken from flowers. The materials are not found in the wild in the same fashion that Dr. Bach used. Machaelle Small Wright works with nature to create the essences in the garden she maintains for these purposes. The creation part of the process is something that is complex for the rest of us to understand I think, but simple for Machaelle. And if you can separate your need for scientific explanation and allow yourself to feel the power of the essences you'll be able to accept that the process "just is" and "just works". If you want more explanation, Machaelle has written lots of books on the subject and she doesn't try to hide any information or keep the process secret in any way. If it's within your understanding you're welcome to the information, but you don't have to understand it to have it work for you. I like that.

Perelandra started out as a gardening process. Machaelle grew some really great vegetables and flowers in what should have been pretty poor conditions because she listened to nature. Perelandra can still be a gardening tool if you want to use it that way. There are workbooks on how to use the Perelandra process to improve your soil and garden. There is an Emergency Trauma Solution (ETS) Plus for Soil remedy and a Soil Balancing Kit as well. Machaelle has developed protocols on how to use these materials for your garden. This isn't like buying a bag of fertilizer though. You will have to become involved. It's not about buying something from someone else that will fix your issues. It's about using the experience gained from Perelandra to find your own way. There is lots of help from the Perelandra help line, the books, and email support if you need it along the way, but you will have to do some work. Did I mention you have to be involved?

Along her remarkable journey, Machaelle starting developing essences that were helpful for her health, and turns out, for the rest of us as well. That's the line of healing essences for humans and pets. As a new set of essences were developed, Perelandra made them available to everyone else. There are 5 different sets of essences. They include: The Rose essences, The Perelandra Garden essences, The Rose essences II, the Nature Program essences, and the Soul Ray essences.

Dr. Bach created Bach flowers in a similar fashion. He started out with the twelve healers, then added four helpers, then another three helpers and then another nineteen were added after that. If you weren't following along, you would just know of the 38 essences and consider them all equally important for different issues. I think the Perelandra line is very similar. We are seeing the developmental layers of creation.

The 5 sets of individual essences are used to help "balance, stabilize and repair specific electrical circuits in the human body". They are based on the principle that when your electrical circuits are compromised, illness and issues can result.

But that's not all... Machaelle kept creating. While the individual essences may be required for specific and sudden needs, she also recognized the need to provide daily balance or support to specific body systems. For this there is a line of Microbial Balancing Solutions (MBP Balancing Solutions). These solutions are combinations created specially for each of 13 body systems (ex. cardiovascular, cell, digestive, reproductive). These solutions are taken either once or twice a day depending on your need. They are safe for adults, children and pets. The bottles are labeled with how many drops to take (between 4 and 8 drops). Just as with Bach Flowers, Perelandra MBP solutions don't "fix" your body. They allow your body to repair itself and function properly.

There is a Perelandra emergency solution that is much the same idea as the Bach Flower Rescue Remedy. Emergency Trauma Solution (ETS) Plus for humans helps with acute emergency situations. There is also an ETS Plus for Animals. These solutions are taken as required. The label suggests 10-12 drops every 3-5 minutes for the first 20 minutes after trauma.

So with all these options (and a few more that I didn't get into), how do you figure out what's for you? This is another one of those simple and complex pieces.

Perelandra is quite different from Bach Flowers in regards to selection. You don't match a description to your feelings or complaints to use perelandra. Instead, selection of the essences is based on kinesiology. There are a lot of different methods of using kinesiology. In an earlier post I outlined the Perelandra suggestion http://pixiedusthealing.blogspot.com/2010/10/kinesiologymuscle-testing.html

It doesn't get any easier than kinesiolgoy in order to identify what you need, but this is also a pretty difficult concept for people to get around. It doesn't feel as "scientific" as research and reading and matching a complaint to a remedy. It isn't about someone else telling you what you need to take. It goes back to that dreaded - personal involvement piece! Hmmm...

For some people, I think kinesiology feels like "who doo voo doo" magic and that's perhaps frightening. It's worth getting past that fear though...

If you're still lost and don't know where to start, can't quite get into kinesiology and need some "proof first", start with a bottle of ETS Plus. If you have pets, start with a bottle of ETS Plus for animals. Keep it close to you and the next time you have a stressful incident, traumatic event, or "bad feeling"- try it. Then come back and read this blog again and check into Perelandra for other things. Ease into the process slowly by starting with ETS Plus. Feel your way through it.

There are similarities and differences between Bach Flowers and Perelandra that can make it confusing to figure out which you should turn to if you try to think too hard. If you feel your way through it, you'll find there are times when your issues are very "emotion based". For me, that feels like a Bach Flower remedy. There are other times when issues feel a bit "out of this world", deeper or higher than emotions, perhaps more of a spirit level. For me, that feels like a time to consider Perelandra. I haven't replaced Bach Flowers with Perelandra. Not at all. Instead, I see Perelandra as yet another tool that can help me, and others, through the journey as we adjust to changes from within and without.

Enjoy the journey!

Help for "Holding Pattern"

Have you been experiencing that "holding pattern" feeling lately? It's the sensation that you are circling the airport, going around and around in a somewhat circular pattern without quite getting the go ahead to land on target. It can be a little dizzying, a little nauseating, and sometimes downright frustrating up there!

Maybe summertime is a bit of a holding pattern for nature. Spring is a pretty busy time with new growth all around us.It's a time for planting seeds and planning gardens. In the fall, we see a lot of changes again and we prepare for winter. Harvests are brought in, fruits and vegetables are canned and stored, and we get ready to ride out the storms. But summer just "is". At least, to the naked eye. In fact, all those seeds that were sown in the spring are actually growing right now, it's just that it's happening below the surface and not a lot you need to do, or can do, at this point. I'm not much of a gardener, so maybe that's not a good analogy. Perhaps I am supposed to be doing something that I'm not, but it seems like at this point, I'm just watching potatoes and tomatoes (my only "crops") grow, while nature does its thing underneath the surface, and above, in the form of sun, rain, and room to grow.

We look forward to summertime. There are songs, and poems written about the "lazy, hazy days of summer". We talk about the relaxation of summertime at the beach, or the backyard, or the pool deck. In the cold of winter we dream about the gentle breezes of summertime. In spring we can't wait for the days to get warmer and in the fall we lament, at least a little, the end of the summer season. And yet...

Perhaps we are not wired very well for that "holding pattern" of summer. The waiting to land period is not always that peaceful. We don't always use that extra down time to the best of our advantage. We worry about whether we choose the right airline, we wonder if we packed the right things, or if in fact, our luggage even made it onto the plane. We think about which gate we might be arriving at and worry we might get lost in the airport, the relatives might or might not be waiting for us, and we might not really be prepared for the change in altitude and scenery.

If you find yourself in an uncomfortable holding pattern, there are some essences that might help.

If you feel like you are in fact flying the plane, but you can't make the decision which runway you should land on, the Bach Flower Wild Oat might be the essence for you. Wild Oat can help provide a clear picture of what path you should take and you can use this time to ready yourself for the journey ahead.

If you feel like the pilot of this darn thing is just way to slow and not forceful enough to demand clearance to land, the Bach Flower Impatiens might be the essence for you. Impatiens can help you settle in to "lazy" days. It can help provide you the patience to soothe your sense of "too little time" so that you can relax into life, and the circling pattern a bit more. It might help you finish reading that last chapter in your book before you land, grab your carry on, and run off to be first in line to pick up your rental car.

If you have been trying to organize everybody on the plane in an effort to overtake the cockpit and demand the pilot land this thing, the Bach Flower Vervain might be the essence for you. It's helpful if your mind is racing ahead of you. If you find yourself drumming up projects just for the sake of "achieving", Vervain might be the essence for you.

From the Perelandra series, Ambassador might be a good essence to test as a potential to help you work through the sense of holding pattern. Ambassador has to do with your relationship as a part of the whole. Ambassador helps shift your position so that you can see how your pattern of movement fits into the larger pattern of the universe. Maybe you just need to switch to a window seat and enjoy the view!

Finally, if all this aviation talk has got you feeling like you're moving backward instead of forward, well, mercury is in retrograde again and will be in that pattern from August 2nd to the 26th apparently. All the more reason to return your seat to the upright position, fasten your seat belt, close you eyes and just peacefully wait for the landing secure in the knowledge that the pilot and the control tower know exactly what they are doing.

Book Review: the Help

I read a very entertaining and thought provoking book over the weekend called "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. I'm a bit late to the bandwagon again as, not only is this a New York Times Bestseller, it's already been made into a motion picture. Better late than never.

This novel is set in the deep American south in the 60's and 70's. It's a book about writing a book. The characters are a mix of black maids and privileged white folk that aren't supposed to mix despite the fact that they are incredibly interwoven. One of the socialites decides she wants to write about the stories of the lives of her friends' maids. It's a dangerous undertaking for everyone. And everyone in this book has some kind of barrier. For some, it's being black in a world where power is maintained tightly and fearfully by white people. The white women are also suppressed. Girls are encouraged, if not forced, to be all they can be in order to "catch a good (i.e. rich and powerful) man. Their barriers are the the need to maintain a facade, and a social order.

There are many themes that run through this book. One of them, and perhaps the central one, is the love that crosses those boundaries. It's the story of how many white children in that place and era were brought up, loved, and cherished by black women. And that love was reciprocated, at least until the children grew up and stopped being "color-blind".

The lives described are told from the perspective and language of the people that lived them. That's where the book really shines, in my opinion. When I read the book, I gained just a piece of perspective that was new to me. There was nothing in the book that was familiar to me. There were no childhood reminders, no looking back and remembering something similar, no triggers. Instead, I was transported into lives and lifestyles I have only ever read about from someone else's perspective.

There are more than two sides to this story. The book doesn't judge in a lot of instances, or if it does, it measures all actions with the same stick. It just "tells it like it is", or was.

This book really celebrates the power of the written word. These women embark on a writing project in order to bring change to their world. They understand the power of writing and that's what makes them both hopeful and fearful at the same time.

I believe that part of the power of books is that when you read, you change your perspective. A book as well written as "The Help" encourages you to enter at least part of the life of that character and feel the world as they do. The dialogue in this book is written as the characters spoke. I found in parts, as a foreigner, I had to read it slowly in order to understand. And I did start to understand for just a brief moment, a piece of what life might have been like.

Although it's a fantastic testament to the author and the book that this has been made into a movie, I think it's sort of sad that it has. I don't think movies have quite the power of books. When you read a book you don't argue with the character from your perspective- you become the character. When you read, their thoughts are in your head. When you watch, it's your thoughts interpreting their actions. No where near the same impact for me. When you watch a movie you can choose to look at the rose or the thorn on the rose. A good camera person can certainly focus your attention, but you can still choose to look away. When you read a book, you don't even know if the rose has a thorn or not unless the character tells you. That's perspective.

This is a book about understanding others and the lives they have lead. The characters all realize a great deal about the "other side" as they work through their project. In 1970, Joe South wrote and sung, "Walk a Mile in My Shoes". Since then it has become a popular saying to express the thought that before you judge, criticize or understand someone you really have to see the world from their perspective- live their life. I think it would be much more enlightening if you read their memoirs.

If I walk in your shoes, it's still my feet, my legs and my eyes. If I read your thoughts I might have just a brief glimpse into your perspective without my own judgement. And Kathryn Stockett seems to have woven a the memoirs of a couple of key characters together to make for a fantastic glimpse at that part of the world, at that time, for those lives.

I think there is important information here that is told in an entertaining, often humerous way and that will make a good movie. By making a movie out of the book the audience that hears the message increases and that's a good thing as well. I just hope that, if you are a reader, you read the book first and allow yourself to "be" the characters.