The Wonderful Benefits Of Japanese Knotweed

While the anti-cancer and brain-healing Resveratrol is found in grapes, blueberries, peanuts, cashews. cocoa powder, and wine, this powerful antioxidant is wildly abundant (more than grapes) in Japanese Knotweed. Resveratrol is unusually powerful and a natural phenol, found in a unique group of micronutrients with antioxidant properties. This puts Knotweed in an elite class of supremely healing and helpful herbs. In recent years, it’s become a vital medicinal, culinary, and ceremonial herb throughout Korea, China, and Japan, and within several spiritual communities in the United States and Europe.

This beautiful green and white plant is also as fertile as a mule. When planted among other vegetation, Japanese Knotweed becomes invasive and ravages the land, often consuming neighboring crops. Because it’s also difficult to eradicate, some folks consider this herb an enemy. Japanese Knotweed is also known as Itadori tea. The Japanese word itadori can be translated as “remove pain.” It’s used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine. Meanwhile, when foraged in the wild, its young stems are edible, albeit sour, with a flavor reminiscent of rhubarb. The plant can be found in 39 of the 50 United States.

Japanese Knotweed Is A Natural Laxative

Infused within its cells is a bowel regulator known as Emodin, which makes Japanese Knotweed an excellent, natural laxative. Emodin also turns the weed into an effective healer of stomach ailments, cramps, and bloating, and gastrointestinal issues, like constipation. Unfortunately, many herbalists and distributors of the herb use processes that maximize the Resveratrol, while reducing the amount of Emodin in the final product.

Click to read “The Herb Purslane Is A Nutritional Powerhouse“

Let’s Get To The Full List of Benefits!

Japanese Knotweed has a variety of reported benefits, including:

Cancer Management: Given the immense immune effects of Resveratrol, and because Japanese Knotweed is proving itself powerful, separate from Resveratrol, many studies are reporting how powerful and effective the weed is when administered to cancer patients and those with autoimmune disorders. Even the NIH has reported that Japanese Knotweed has clear positive biological effects on human cells.
Improves brain health and memory: The plant-derived polyphenol Resveratrol has been reported to help the brain heal and experience a degree of age-reversal.
Improves cognitive performance: Regular consumption of Japanese Knotweed can enhance cerebrovascular function. In other words, it can help you be more clear, focused, and productive.
Improves mood: if you’d like to take a slight edge off of your personality, this powerful weed can improve your mood, attitude, and mindset.
Neutralizes free radicals: Free radicals are unstable atoms that can damage cells, which can cause or trigger disease and aging. When free redials overwhelm our bodies, our systems can fail and we can experience oxidative stress. Japanese Knotweed can help reduce the effects of free radicals and improve the human body’s ability to heal itself.
Modulates blood pressure: Japanese Knotweed has a positive impact on your arteries and blood flow. With less strain and blockages, our cardiac health improves. When these things improve, other aspects of the body improve as well. The weed also helps to prevent blood clots.
Reduces constipation, bloating, and cramps: Because of the Emodin in Japanese Knotweeds, it can help to ease most challenges occurring in your stomach.
Helps to heal respiratory infections: indigenous peoples have been using Japanese Knotweed to treat many ailments, including respiratory, lung, and other infections.
Regulates insulin levels: Because it moderates and balances insulin levels in the blood, Japanese Knotweed can promote healthy blood sugar levels.
Improved absorption of Vitamins A and C. Japanese Knotweed also contains potassium, zinc, phosphorus, and manganese.
Potentially increases testosterone
Improvers estrogen metabolism and may reduce the risk of breast cancer
Reduces reactions to hay fever
Reduces acne and improves skin health
Reduces inflammation
It has a positive effect on blood fats
Shows potential in fights against viruses and bacteria

Additionally, Japanese Knotweed helps to slow the processes related to aging, and to establish healthy blood vessel function, improved nerve and liver function, and improved cardiovascular and heart health.

Warning To Knotweed Lovers

As with every delicious indulgence in our lives, Japanese Knotweed comes with a few alarms. If you consume too much of it, you could easily experience negative reactions. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

If you’re anemic, Japanese Knotweed might not be safe for you.
It might interact (that’s not a good thing) with a few prescription drugs and popular supplements.
High doses can be harmful. Even small doses can be harmful to certain people.
The long-term effects related to consuming Japanese Knotweed are unknown.

If you’re excited about diving into Japanese Knotweed, consult with a nutritionist, Ayurvedic practitioner, or herbal remedy consultant.

If you’re into foraging for herbs in the nearby wilderness, keep in mind that Japanese Knotweed has a few doppelgängers, including Bindweed, Himalayan Balsam (Knotweed and Honeysuckle too!), Bamboo, Broad-leaved Dock, Russian Vine, and Lilac. When hunting for nutritional herbs, it’s always best to have a slew of images of the herb so you can be certain when bringing your collected herbs home.

As with all things found in the forest, be careful to remove clinging vines and flowers that attach themselves to your favorite herbs. You’ll also want to clean your herbs before creating your tinctures and teas. You can submerge them in warm water with a little apple cider vinegar for an hour or so – then they’re good to go!

It’s always a great time to explore what our beautiful planet is growing for us. Making tinctures, salves, and teas is relatively simple, and it feels so good to work with the Earth’s gifts to heal ourselves and our loved ones. Wishing you all good health, happy hearts, and expanded spirits!

May 30, 2020March 27, 2024

Apocalyptic Prophecies From The Most Popular Religions

The end of world prophecies — Alas, the end of the world is not knowable. Sorry. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

“The Apocalypse is not something which is coming. The Apocalypse has arrived in major portions of the planet, and it’s only because we live within a bubble of incredible privilege and social insulation that we still have the luxury of anticipating the Apocalypse.”

— Terence McKenna

There are many religions and cultures that tout profound and mysterious “holy” books including apocalyptic prophecies. The most enduring of these tomes are the Bible and Quran, the most powerful and influential books birthed in recent history. These beloved testaments represent the beliefs of an almost unfathomable number of Christians, Jews, and Muslims throughout the world.

Although these sacred scriptures are authoritative in their entirety, many devotees take the writings with grains of salt or focus on excerpts, which include the Torah (Tawrat), Zabur (Psalms), and Gospels of Christ (Injil).

Also, there are many related and adjunct writings that have not been fully approved by these popular religions. These include the Catholic Apocrypha, The Latin Vulgate and Septuagint, The Muslim Scrolls of Abraham and Moses, and the Gnostic (unabridged) Gospels, featuring the confronting Gospel of Mary and suggestive Gospel of Peace.

“The probability of apocalypse soon cannot be realistically estimated, but it is surely too high for any sane person to contemplate with equanimity.”

— Noam Chomsky

How Have Apocalyptic Prophecies Played Out So Far?

Some of the most popular and feared chapters in these hallowed volumes refer almost exclusively to apocalyptic prophecies and events, the end of the world as we know it. They outline specific details about how a Messiah or Devil will appear and how the world we’ve come to love will be destroyed or reborn:

Books of Revelations, Daniel, Jubilees, Esdras, Isaiah, Malachi, Micah, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, Thessalonians, Haggai, Amos, Lamentations, Hosea, Nahum, Elija, and Elisha.
Apocalypses of Abraham, Adam, Baruch, Daniel, Elijah, Ezra, Gabriel, Lamech, Enock, Moses, Sedrach, Zephaniah, Zerubbabel, James, Galias, Pseudo-Methodius, Paul, Peter, Samuel, Stephen, and Thomas
The Aramaic Apocalypse
The Apocalypse of the Seven Heavens
The Book of Mormon

Whether the apocalyptic prophecies in these books are already etched into the stones of destiny or are merely twisted projections written by delusional cultists as fictional prose, these writings outline a long list of incredible events that many have believed to be the future playbook of humankind.

“We all love after-the-bomb stories. If we didn’t, why would there be so many of them? There’s something attractive about all those people being gone, about wandering in a depopulated world, scrounging cans of Campbell’s pork and beans, defending one’s family from marauders. But some secret part of us thinks it would be good to survive. All those other folks will die. That’s what after-the-bomb stories are all about.”

― John Varley

The Mother-List Of Apocalyptic Prophecies

Here is a sampling of the most popular and alarming apocalyptic predictions by the world’s most popular religions, philosophers, zealots, and psychics:

Based on the dimensions of Noah’s arc, Christ will return in A.D. 500
The end of the world will occur 666 years after the rise of Islam in A.D. 618
The European plague is the beginning of the end of times
For his “rapture,” Christ will call the faithful back to heaven, without warning
Christ or a similar Messiah will return to Earth and establish a peaceful kingdom, known as the Millennium (or opening of the 7th Seal)
After Christ’s reign, the Antichrist will come to Earth and persecute all Christians
The Earth will experience devastation and a complete reboot before 2033
World wars and unimaginable weapons will kill millions of people over a century
The spiritual battle, known as Armageddon, will give rise to the Antichrist and a slew of horrendous, natural disasters
The world will end in 2800 B.C.
The world will end in 1666 with a fire in London or in 1524 with a flood in Germany

Christ will return, and the world will end by 1844

Israel will be redeemed and supported, and eventually command the planet
Israel’s enemies will wipe it from the face of the Earth
Your social security number is the “mark of the beast,” and denies you resurrection in Christ
A mysterious, Babylonian, one-world system and religion will emerge in the end of times and present false notions of Christ (believed to be the New Age Movement)
Many new religions will emerge and encourage people to believe they are each the eternal God
America is the new Zion, loved and protected by God, and built to become God’s “new Israel,” protected by Him as the only significant nation on Earth
Christian nations will condemn and crush all Islamic nations
Islamic nations will condemn and decimate all Christian nations
Native cultures on many continents will be hunted, enslaved, and eventually eradicated
Two saviors will emerge, one will embody the light and one will emanate only darkness
The world’s most powerful nation (possibly the United States) will break international treaties and laws, initiate wars, and command an empire, which will give birth to the Antichrist and make way for his darkness
Years after Hitler’s death, hatred and greed will once again emerge as the basis for several nationalistic religions, which will inspire the truly devoted into a profound spiritual awakening
Earth will collide with the planet Nibiru in 2012, causing a physical and spiritual transformation for all living beings on Earth
The world will end in 1954, 1960, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2020, 2021, between 2028 and 2033, or after 2060, due to an asteroid or series of fireballs thrust from the heavens
By 2025, the leaders of the New World Order (NWO) will have amassed total control of all infrastructure, politics, climates, armies, and human life, and reveal themselves as the backbone to the world’s economies
Beginning in 2039, the melted polar ice caps will cause flooding, and there will be massive starvation due to uncontrolled population growth
By 2040, a variety of alien species (from other planets and galaxies) will make themselves known and teach us about the true origins and history of planet Earth
The Earth will become a slave-state with the sole mission of supporting non-biological Beings and robots
Several companies will continue to thrive through the ages, thousands of years into the future, including IBM and McDonalds
Before 2050, every human being will be chipped with an RFID
Before 2075, every chipped human being will be managed, mentally controlled, and emotionally influenced by a global electronic monitoring system
Before 2100, salt-water fish will become extinct, except those that are able to adapt
At some point within the next 200 years, the universe will begin to reverse its expansion, which will cause time and gravity also to reverse
In 8000 years, the human race will either be extinct or unrecognizable

In 20 billion years, the universe’s atoms will have adopted new attributes, including no longer being able to contain their electrons (The Big Rip)

“The contraction of the universe with reversal of time and gravity will commence the beginning of the end, which will last for thousands and possibly millions of years. We will be removed from the regressing effects of reversed time as we come back alive in our own time. We will then be taken across many dimensions beyond this universe. A beautiful natural mechanism that is based on the laws of physics will cause all that to happen. This real end has nothing to do with wishful thinking and predictions of priests or shamans.”

— Dr. M.H. Kahn

The World’s Apocalyptic Religions, Movements, and Cults

Whether it’s born from a religious testament, a real prophet, the teachings of a short-lived, fear-based cult, or a vision from someone with an overactive imagination, most apocalyptic prophecies never see the light of day.

When a religious leader promotes a date for the end of the world, their organization sees a rise in membership and revenue. While it’s misguided and dangerous, predicting the Apocalypse is good business.

Here are a few more of the world’s religions, movements, thinkers, and troublemakers that have apocalyptic prophecies, outcomes, and events, and promoted catastrophe-based ideologies:

The Crusaders
The Assyrian Empire
The Baha’i Faith
Theosophists and Helen Blavatsky
Naziism
Mayan calendar enthusiasts
Branch Davidians and David Koresh
Seventh-Day Adventists and their many off-shoot cults
Fans of The Jupiter Effect
Believers in Haley’s Comet
Millerites and William Miller
Utopianism
Nostradamus
The New Age Movement
Church Universal And Triumphant, and Elizabeth Clare Prophet
William Branham And The Faith-Healing Movement
The Fifth Monarchists
The Anabaptists
Concerned Christians and Monte Kim Miller
Johannes Stöffler
Elohim City, Robert G. Millar, and John Millar
Botticelli and Girolamo Savonarola
Jehovah’s Witnesses and Charles Taze Russell
Mormons And The Church Of Latter-Day Saints, and Joseph Smith
Planet Xsters
The Seekers, The Guardians, and Dorothy Martin
God’s Salvation Church and Hon-Ming Chen
The Movement For The Restoration Of The Ten Commandments Of God, Credonia Mwerinde, and Joseph Kibwetere
Dami Mission, Lee Jong Rim, and Lee Dap-gye
Wilbur Glennism
Heaven’s Gate and Marshall Applewhite
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Exotheology and Marshall Vian Summers
The Order of the Solar Temple, Joseph Di Mambro, and Luc Jouret
Zoroastrians
Established King and Wu Yangming
Pagans
Norse Mythology and Ragnarök

“Our Earth is degenerate in these latter days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; every man wants to write a book and the end of the world is evidently approaching.”

— Assyrian tablet, 2800 B.C.

The Truth About The Universe

The universe is a wild frontier and system built upon a limitless number of electric, magnetic and chaotic anomalies, all occurring in once instance, within multiple trajectories, and in a host of realms, all affecting each other. Given the temporary nature of our lives, and the eternal nature of conscious matter, human beings, in our current forms, are rather inconsequential.

Time does not exist. It’s a construct that helps us make sense of the madness. When the end comes, it will most likely be the result of a depressed, overworked, and sleepy, military technician. While misinterpreting a weapon’s cleaning instructions from an out-dated manual, he’ll pop a donut in his mouth, spill his coffee on the red button, and this iteration of reality will conclude.

May 29, 2020February 2, 2023

Empathy vs Intuition: What’s the Difference?

Empathy vs. Intuition: How Can You Tell?

Embodying the pain of others is different than sensing the properties, conditions, and experience of the pain. Let’s have a look at Empathy vs Intuition in this article.

What is Intuition?

Intuition is an ability or gift whereby one or more of your senses inspires an awareness about a potential trajectory or event. For example, you might have a gut (physical) feeling or an image (spiritual sense) that someone will call you or that an impending decision will work out in your favor.

What is Empathy?

Empathy is the ability to consider, fully encompass, embody, or sense a person’s or group’s feelings, either in-person, within your soul tribe or family, or remotely. Empathy might emerge as a full-body experience where you can literally feel the sadness or grief of another person. In the case of feeling somebody else’s anger, empathy might appear as a rash or upset stomach. The overriding feeling of empathy is equal to the feelings of the other person.

How Psychics Use Empathy vs. Intuition

The challenge for Intuitives and Psychics, who focus primarily on extracting information from a projected timeline or reality, is integrating empathy and compassion when they are helping others and themselves. The challenge for Empaths is to refrain from taking things personally when we feel or absorb energy from others.

Many Empaths, Intuitives, and Psychics have compassion and are kind people, but some highly sensitive people use the victim position/identity to take things too personally and to create self-pity, attention or drama, rather than use their gifts toward self-realization, healing, and light.

Because these types of gifts can be challenging, all sensitives should pray, chant mantras, do healing and light rituals, help the poor, refrain from alcohol, pot, and other drugs – and regularly clear their energies. Doing so helps us be earnest and true servants to our own evolution and the evolution of others.

Sending this with love and light!

Check out The Empath Oath – it’s awesome!

May 29, 2020February 2, 2023

Amma: The Loving, Hugging, Humanitarian Saint

Amma, the remarkable, unmatched Hugging Saint. A personal photo (yup, that’s me!). Do not use.

As of the date of this article, Amma has hugged attendees to her programs over 40 million times. Her free events attract thousands upon thousands of people, often taking place in football stadiums. In the early days, when 50 or 60 people were in attendance, Amma was known as “Ammaji” or “Ammachi.”

It was 1990 when I first met Amma. She was seated on a tattered, cushioned chair in the center of a small, basement room in The African-Methodist Episcopal Church in Central Square, Cambridge, MA.

The moment I walked into the room, I was so profoundly struck by Amma’s light and presence that I fell to my knees and bowed to her. I spent the rest of the day sobbing in absolute bliss, happily crouched in a corner. In addition to a few Swamis and helpers, there were less than ten other people in the room.

While indulging my tears, Amma caught my eye and invited me to her chair. I was so nervous, I could barely speak. I walked toward her, awkward and self-conscious as if it were my first time walking. I bowed and she immediately took my hand, then gently bent me across her lap.

Amma then gently rubbed my body from head to toe while I cried. She massaged my scalp and forehead and patted my spine. Amma even squeezed my ears and tussled my hair. It felt as though I were embraced by the most loving bundle of light.

After 20 minutes of her healing touch, Amma lifted my head with her soft hands and pressed her cheek and lips against my ear. She lovingly whispered Sanskrit mantras to me as I absorbed every morsel of her love.

“Pure Love Transcends The Body. It Is Between Hearts. It Has Nothing To Do With Bodies.”
— Amma (Amma.org)

During this timeframe of my life, I was the host of a popular children’s TV show with fantasies of fame running through my head. After meeting Amma, my heart expanded and I changed my approach to my career and every other aspect of my life. Amidst all of my faults and challenges, Amma helped me blossom in ways that I could never have imagined.

During the years to come, Amma would ask me to open her retreats and events with spiritual comedy shows. It was lovely to sit near Amma’s chair and deliver playful lectures and videos about the hilarious things that happen within spiritual communities.

“I don’t see if it is a man or a woman. I don’t see anyone different from my own self. A continuous stream of love flows from me to all of creation. This is my inborn nature. The duty of a doctor is to treat patients. In the same way, my duty is to console those who are suffering.”

— Amma (Amma.org)

Amma’s Birth And Family

Amma, an enlightened master, was born as Sudhamani (bright, precious gem) Idamannel on September 27th, 1953, in Kerala, India. Devotees call her Amma, although she is also known as Mātā Amritānandamayī Devī, an incarnation and embodiment of The Divine Mother. Amma’s ashram, Amritapuri, is in Kerala, India.

Amma was born into a family of fishermen with six siblings, most of whom did not understand her or treat her with kindness. Amma’s commitment to her divine path is what eventually inspired every member of her family to embrace her as the Divine Mother.

Witnesses of her birth say that Amma was born without tears and with a sweet smile on her face. She was reported to have been born with bluish skin, reminiscent of stories Krishna. Even though her skin soon turned to brown, many believe Amma to be an incarnation of Krishna. From age 5 onward, Amma spent most of her time in devotional prayer.

Known as “The Hugging Saint,” Amma tours the world continually, holding free programs in multiple cities on every continent. In the hotels she inhabits, Amma rejects all comfort and sleeps on the floor (requesting that all beds and pillows be removed). She barely eats, yet will hug thousands of attendees, often for longer than 24 hours at one sitting. Amma’s darshan, or blessing, comes in the form of hugs and gentle, loving whispers during the embrace.

Amma offers mantras to those who request them, and she makes herself available to people who have life-or-death questions.

“I am not interested in making believers by showing miracles; I am here to help you find the real truth, and to find liberation of the Self (Soul) through the realization of your eternal nature.”
— Amma (Amma.org)

Amma’s Mission: Hospitals, Housing, Tsunami Relief & More

Amma’s international missions, Mata Amritanandamayi Math (MAM) and Mata Amritanandamayi Mission Trust, help millions of people around the world.

In addition to spiritual education, these organizations have a long, successful record of helping the poor and uplifting humanity. She has garnered hundreds of millions of dollars in donations for disaster relief, healthcare for the poor, the environment, global hunger, and education for financially strained students.

The primary missions of Amma’s organizations are to promote activities of selfless service. The idea is based on her teachings around karma yoga, which encourages everyone to help those who are less fortunate as a prayer.

Thousands of people around the world volunteer for Amma’s organizations. This includes monastics, students, and householders (married and/or with children), who come from a long list of religions, races, creeds and ideologies.

When you attend Amma’s events, you’ll hear about her mission, “Embracing the World.” All of Amma’s charitable organizations work under this premise and title.

Ranked as the #1 private India university, Amma’s Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, is an accredited university that offers degrees in Arts & Sciences, Chemistry, Biotech, Business, Education, Engineering, Nursing, Medicine, Ayurveda, and more. Students can also learn meditation, Sanskrit and yoga.

Here are a few highlights from a long list of Amma’s unique, humanitarian accomplishments:

Awarded over 100,000 scholarships to help disadvantaged people and the many families stricken with farmer suicide
MAM’s university, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, a 5-campus system, teaches nanotechnology, biotechnology, robotics, and satellite-enabled software solutions. Amma says that their goal is “To harness the power of modern technology to provide the effect of targeted aid to communities and individuals in crisis.”
Built four charitable hospitals that serve the poor and disadvantaged
Established the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre (AIMS) and several HIV/AIDS care centers. The AIMS hospitals and related programs have 1,300 beds, a medical college with 400-beds, and a 210-bed Intensive Care Facility. They’ve served over 5.5 million patients since 1998.
Amma’s MAM funds and manages over 47 grammar schools with an education that integrates spiritual and universal values
MAM is part of the “United Nations Billion Tree Campaign” and has actively planted over 1 million trees around the world
Amma’s SREE program and her over 5000 self-help groups serve over 100,000 women to improve their lives and support their families
Built over 200,000 homes for the poor
Raised and gave over $50 million to earthquake, tsunami and hurricane relief
Awarded over 60,000 microloans to help families improve their living conditions, careers, health, and businesses
Established nine tailoring schools and furnished them with over 2000 sewing machines
Educated over 500 students in pursuit of their driver’s licenses to become bus, truck and taxi drivers
Educated hundreds of young people in a variety of trades, including mobile phone and TV/VCR repair, plumbing, fashion design, and bag manufacturing/production
Her Amrita Nidhi financial-aid program is giving out pensions to over 100,000 widows, and physically and mentally disadvantaged individuals
Build four elderly-care homes, equipped with community prayer, ceremony and function halls
Amma’s AYUDH helps young people integrate spiritual and universal values into their lives, as she teaches them ways they can help the elderly, homeless and disadvantaged
Built two homes that continually help hundreds of children with food, housing, and education

There are many other services, functions, and organizations that Amma and her MAM manage or fund across the globe. Her mission represents one of the most profound humanitarian efforts in history.

Amma’s Miracles

Amma began performing miracles very early in life, including licking the sores of lepers which healed them of their debilitating disease. While she does not place emphasis on these miracles, there are many confirmed stories circulating throughout India.

During her early life and beyond, Amma was known to be extraordinarily generous and compassionate with the lower classes in society, her most impoverished neighbors, and all of the nearby animals. She would regularly forsake her own hunger and give her food to hungry cows and goats. To many, Amma was the miracle that saved their livestock and families.

Amma would also give her family’s belongings to those in need. Even as a young girl, Amma would spontaneously hug others with the hope of comforting them.

“If we penetrate deeply into all aspects and all areas of life, we will find that hidden behind everything is love. We will discover that love is the force, the power, and inspiration behind every word and every action. This applies to all people, irrespective of race, caste, creed, sect, religion, or of what work people do.”
— Amma (Amma.org)

Amma Quotes

“Children, love can accomplish anything and everything. Love can cure diseases. Love can heal wounded hearts and transform human minds. Through love, one can overcome all obstacles. Love can help us renounce all physical, mental and intellectual tensions and thereby bring peace and happiness.”
“True worship of God is rendering help to those who are suffering.”
“Different people will think different things – that is the nature of the world. People have the right to have faith or not to have faith.”
“For me, everything in creation is God, there is nothing but God. Every single object is a wonder for me.”
“Only when human beings are able to perceive and acknowledge the Self in each other can there be real peace.”
“All I am concerned with is what positive I can do.”
“Compassion is Consciousness expressed through your actions and words. Compassion is the art of non-hurting. Compassion cannot hurt. Compassion cannot hurt anyone because compassion is Consciousness manifested. Consciousness cannot hurt anyone. Just as the sky cannot hurt anyone and space cannot hurt anyone, the manifestation of Consciousness, compassion, cannot hurt anyone. One who has compassion can only be compassionate.”

Amritapuri: Amma’s Home Ashram

Amma began hugging people at her home in her early teens, and more regularly as spiritual disciples took residence on her family’s property. Amma says that when people would share their troubles with her, she would listen, share advice and then hug them.

This loving ritual eventually became part of Amma’s blessing which new seekers can experience when they visit Amma. By lovingly embracing others, Amma is absorbing a measure of pain in the world, which heals hearts and helps humanity.

Amma’s home ashram, Amritapuri, is in Kerala, India, which is also Amma’s primary residence. There are only a few weeks throughout the year when Amma is not touring the world and therefore resides at Amritapuri. Her original tiny temple is still in perfect working order and often used for Pujas and Homas, ceremonies of light and love.

When visiting the ashram, you’ll find inexpensive accommodations akin to a youth hostel, delicious and affordable vegetarian meals, free spiritual education, and free programs where attendees are invited to receive Amma’s special darshan in the form of a hug.

Mornings at Amritapuri begin long before dawn, when men and women chant in separate halls. If you walk near Amma’s main temple, you can find the sweet spot between the two halls, where you’ll be drenched in waterfalls of chants occurring on either side of you. It’s a profound experience. Visitors are always welcome to attend as fellow-chanters.

Spiritual ceremonies in the forms of Pujas and Homas are performed daily, and can be of benefit to individuals, families, friends, and loved ones. If you have a personal prayer, need or desire for help, healing or cleansing, Amma’s Pujas and Homas can be ordered through her website.

Amma’s Awards And Honors

It seems that every year Amma and her organizations are recognized for their tireless efforts to serve humanity. Here is the most current list of their remarkable achievements:

1993: Named “President of the Hindu Faith,” at The Parliament of the World’s Religions 100th Anniversary
1993: Hindu of the Year, by Hinduism Today
1995: Address at The Interfaith Celebrations, 50th anniversary of the UN
1998: Care & Share International Humanitarian of the Year Award
2000: Keynote speaker at the Millennium World Peace Summit, UN General Assembly
2002: Karma Yogi of the Year, by Yoga Journal
2002: Gandhi-King Award for Non-Violence
2005: Mahavir Mahatma Award
2005: Centenary Legendary Award of the International Rotarians
2006: James Parks Morton Interfaith Award
2006: The Philosopher Saint Sri Jnaneswara World Peace Prize
2007: Le Prix Cinéma Vérité
2008: Mahavir Mahatma Award
2008: Keynote at the Summit of the Global Peace Initiative of Women
2010: Honorary Doctorate, The State University of New York
2012: Amma in the Top 100 Most Spiritually Influential, Living People
2013: 1st Annual Award, Vishwaretna Purskar (Gem of the World Award), by Hindu Parliament
2013: Proclamation by the State of Michigan, declaring Amma to be a true citizen of the world for her worldwide charitable works
2014: One of the 50 most powerful women religious leaders, by Huffington Post
2014: Kavithilakam Pandit Karuppan Award
2014: Participated with the first coalition of Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist leaders (including Amma) to sign a shared commitment against modern-day slavery and human trafficking under the direction of The Global Freedom Network
2015: Keynote at The United Nations Academic Impact Conference
2015: Medal of Honor, by Ms. Evie Evangelou, Fashion 4 Development
2015: Special Envoy for the Protection of the Planet in the Summit of Conscience for the Climate in Paris, by French President Francois Hollande
2015: Golden Goody Award (Oscar for Social Good) for Amma’s Worldwide Humanitarian Charities

Amma’s Titles, Roles And Positions

While Amma is hugging people, you’ll often see her Swamis hand her a variety of cell phones. I often wondered why – until I realized that Amma is the CEO of a variety of missions.

Here are Amma’s primary roles and positions in organizations that serve millions of people across the globe:

Founder and Chairperson, Mata Amṛtānandamayī Math
Founder, Embracing the World
Chancellor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University
Founder, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS Hospital)
Parliament of the World’s Religions, International Advisory committee member
President, Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary celebration committee
Member, Elijah Interfaith Institute Board of World Religious Leaders

Other Divine Mothers

Mother Meera is also known as an embodiment of The Divine Mother. Born in 1960, Mother Meera can be found touring the world giving visitors her loving blessing. This free transmission of Light, Love, and Grace is Mother’s gift to the world. Mother Meera once said, “The whole purpose of my work is in the calling down of the Paramatman Light and in helping people. For this I came – to open your hearts to the Light.” You can visit MotherMeera.org to learn more.

Sri KarunaMayi has spent her life immersed in prayer and is known for her embodiment of Divine Motherly Love, which she readily shares with all of creation, including people, animals, and plants. Karunamayi has said, “Where there is selfishness, love will not manifest, and where there is love, there is no room for selfishness.” You can learn more at her website here.

Both of these embodiments of divine love regularly tour the world, shedding their eternal light on all walks of life.

Attacks And Allegations

While there have been a few physical attacks and negative statements toward Amma, none have materialized relevant corroboration or material evidence. In the one or two public cases, every accuser recanted their stories and apologized directly to Amma and her organizations.

Despite occasional harsh treatment toward her, Amma repeatedly says that she forgives and loves all of them. Concerning one disgruntled devotee, Amma said, “Even now, Amma is only filled with love for that daughter. I am praying that virtue and goodness come. Time will shine forth the truth.”

“All those who are born will die one day. I am going ahead keeping this reality in mind. I will carry on. I will continue to give darshan to the devotees coming here to meet me.”
— Amma (Amma.org)

Books & Documentaries About Amma

There are hundreds of books written by Amma and her disciples, which can be found on her website at amma.org. Here are the television programs and documentaries that feature Amma and her remarkable work:

River Of Love, 1999
BBC’s Weird Weekends, “Indian Gurus,” 2000
Darshan: The Embrace, 2005
In God’s Name, 2007
Science of Compassion: A Documentary on Amma, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, 2016

“There is always a lack of love. It has always been Amma’s wish that her life should become love and compassion itself. My sole mission is to love and serve one and all.”
— Amma (Amma.org)

Living With A Master

When traveling to or residing at Amma’s ashrams, everyone works as volunteers in service to the poor and disadvantaged. A volunteer might stay for a few weeks or up to several years, and possibly longer. Some people come to Amma’s ashrams to enter into periods of prayer and meditation.

Many of Amma’s devotees spend half their time working in their home cities and then travel in spurts to volunteer for Amma’s organizations, all of which serve humanity. Some devotees have portable businesses that allow them to work when needed, travel with Amma at her programs around the world, and volunteer regularly to help others.

It’s exhilarating to be around Amma, and it’s always of benefit to serve others through her karma yogi programs. As always, Amma encourages her followers and visitors to continually seek ways to serve others, no matter where they live.

Amma continually tours the world and can be found traveling throughout the United States and Canada from May through early August every year. Amma’s unique bookstore and vegan cafe travel are always a lovely and nourishing part of her programs. Admission is always free, although it’s recommended that you arrive early.

May 28, 2020February 2, 2023

Do Jesus, Dionysius, Krishna, And Mithras Share The Same Life Story?

Krishna and Radha – A Shutterstock Licensed Image

Whether you’re a Christian, Buddhist, Pagan, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, New-Ager, Atheist, Zoroastrian, or Planetary Alienist, you’ve somehow been privy to the story of Jesus. While Christians like Catholics and Baptists might not agree on the procedures required to celebrate and worship Christ, they agree on these aspects of the Christian narrative:

When Jesus’ mother conceived Him, She was a virgin. An angel announced the birth.
Upon his birth, wise men and shepherds visited Jesus and his family. They were guided to a remote manger by the constellations.
At a young age, Jesus had an unusual thirst for spiritual matters and a powerful command of his birth religion.
Throughout his life, Jesus taught about love, faith, hope, devotion, and justice.
He performed many miracles, including healing lepers and casting out demons.
Jesus defined himself as the Son of God and was assumed to be omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.
He defined the nature of God to be a trinity, comprised of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
He often claimed, “I am the Resurrection,” and promised to cleanse the world of sin.
Jesus gave many lectures and had a core group of disciples who spread his teachings.
He was known to be loving, meek, and merciful, and he forgave his enemies.
Jesus was criticized for associating with society’s outcasts and sinners.
He withdrew to the desert to confront all aspects of the universe within Himself.
Before being betrayed, Jesus held the last supper for his dearest disciples.
His teachings threatened old religious doctrine and fearful politicians, which resulted in Jesus being captured and crucified.
After Jesus died, he rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples.

Click to read Amma: The Loving, Hugging, Humanitarian Saint

“After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.”

— Luke 2:46-47

The Life Story of Krishna

What’s surprising is that most of these story elements are also found in Krishna’s narrative. While some might assume that the early Christians stole from the older Hindu religion, it’s fair to say that when the divine births a master, He or She knows that some aspects of the narrative are vital for inspiring devotion to divine love and light. Also, all masters are born from the same cloth, the same mysterious force, and the same eternal consciousness. It might be said that focusing on the narrative detracts from the embodiment of the teachings.

Many other religions claim Christianity stole their stories. Some of the ancient writings on parchments and stone indeed point to this possibility. Regardless, much of the evidence has been poorly constructed and presented. It’s incorrect to say that early Christians and propagandistic writers did not steal from this sacred religion, it’s just that, when considering traditional academic procedures, it’s not apparent.

In all things, our devotion and beliefs are personal, and therefore, sacred. While claiming theft might seem justified, it’s also a distraction. With positivity and focus, we can deepen our devotion to our chosen Gods, refrain from judgment, and circumvent our egos.

No worthy God has a penchant for sustaining a vendetta, ego, or attitude. As all precepts are illusions, details are merely dust.

Horus The Child and The Cult of Isis

Most of the writings that equate Horus The Younger with Jesus were written by comparative religion enthusiasts who often referenced the writings of other enthusiasts, most of whom are from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. While compelling on first-read, the thrust of this research does not stem from accredited religious figures, Egyptologists, or biblical scholars. This could limit its credibility.

While the narratives around Horus The Child and his mother Isis are fascinating and potentially illuminating, there are few proven similarities to the story of Jesus. The research on this topic is vague. Some of it points to teachings assumed to have been birthed in the City of Atlantis. It might be that the writings that promote the connection between Horus and Jesus are born from hopes rather than qualified scholarship.

The original narrative of Horus the Younger, very different from Horus the Elder, featured a powerful Sun God who commanded the elements from the sky. He was the protector of those who suffered affliction and pain. Often depicted in the arms of his mother, Isis, the imagery most likely had a substantial influence on Christian iconography in the forms of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child. While there are many other reported similarities, they may or may not be bonafide.

There is a vast array of conflicting information on this subject, found in libraries and on the web. Because of this, our religious beliefs must stem from the core of our beings and the centers of our devotional hearts.

Mithraism life story

Mithra is known as the God Sun, and some have claimed him to be the mediator between God and humanity. Sadly, anti-Christian writers may have sought to defame the religion, hoping to victimize their unique God. Other writers, especially those who lived during the years 100-500 AD, such as Justin Martyr, Athenagoras of Athens, and Clement of Alexandria, wanted to remove the stigmas against Christianity in support of making it a legal religion.

While Mithraic writings may have pointed to the notion of salvation, they were most likely based in Zoroastrian principles around man’s participation in the cosmic struggle of a magnificent creation opposing the eternal forces of evil. Other purported similarities between Christ and Mithra have mainly been dismissed, including shared December 25th births, a water-miracle, and the mark of the cross.

Dionysius and Jesus life story

The culture and religion around Dionysius were born from a philosophical form of Hedonism. While Jesus may have been the true vine of divine love, Dionysius was literally referred to as the God of Grapes, and therefore wine. While both Gods were traveling teachers, performers of miracles, riders of symbolic donkeys, and then murdered, this is where the similarities end.

Summary

Regardless of what you believe, your God is whomever you elevate above yourself. With a little faith, Horus, Dionysius, and Krishna could certainly protect you from the perils of this world and the demons within your nature.

In all religions, the details are sketchy. We’ll never know when or how Christ, Mithra, or the other Gods-in-Human-Form were born. Since all of their narratives were written many years after their deaths, we can only assume their stories were born from combinations of divine intervention, subjective truths, mythology, and hope. While we can love them and honor them, we might never know the truth of their physical lives and purpose. It might also be true that the details are unimportant.

The prevailing truth of our lives is that the divine can spring forth and lovingly envelop our spirits in an instant. She can birth a master from a vibrant flower or a ray of sunlight. He can conjure realities and spacetime trajectories that appear to last forever, yet only last a moment.

There are many ways to connect with a loving, divine master. Given their eternal, non-egoistic natures, they probably don’t care which name you call them. Whether it’s Shiva, Saraswati, Aphrodite, Ares, Sol, Tristan, Dolya, Gabrielle, Isolde, Khepri, Koko, or Lena, because they were either born from light or elevated by human consciousness, their vibrations are bright, beneficial, and eternal.

There are many types of Gods and masters. There are living masters, birthed/deceased Gods, and divine Beings that solely live within the other realms. It is up to each of us to command our divinity, bow to the eternal light, and remain humble in our pursuit of perpetual resurrection.

May 28, 2020February 2, 2023

How Essential Oils Can Help You Heal And Evolve

Essential Oils can heal you. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

Our bodies yearn to connect with the earth and the elements. Even the latest research points to the fact that we feel better when we surround ourselves with natural surroundings or allow nature to envelop us. While we came from dust, it’s dirt, trees, rivers, and vast sky that gently nudge us from depression to happiness.

The more we learn about how the natural elements at our fingertips can help us, the more choices we’ll have to improve our attitudes and states-of-mind when we feel disconnected, lost, confused, or negatively impacted by a life-event.

“I believe that for every illness or ailment known to man, that God has a plant out here that will heal it. We just need to keep discovering the properties for natural healing.” ― Vannoy Gentles Fite

What Are Essential Oils?

Essential Oils are some of the loveliest substances found on planet earth, extracted from nature’s most beautiful living-Beings: plants and flowers! The most popular scents include Lavender, Peppermint, Frankincense, Orange, Ylang-ylang, Patchouli, and many others.

Most essential oils are extracted through the process of steam-distillation, also known as hydrodistillation. The process begins when the botanicals are packed into an enclosed compartment within a pressurized still. Water is boiled, and steam pressurizes the plant’s material. This results in the extraction and release of the plants’ aromatic and bioactive compounds into the steam. This vapor is a combination of water and scented oil, which are condensed during the final stages of the process. After the byproduct is cooled, it’s bottled and labeled as our favorite essential oils.

Click to read “The Herb Purslane Is A Nutritional Powerhouse“

Other production processes include cold pressing (CP) and microwave-accelerated distillation (MAD). According to several studies, yet currently less widespread, microwave-acceleration and cold-pressing result in faster extraction times, cleaner production, larger yields, and potentially essential oils of higher quality. However, these processes may reduce the vibrational frequency of the oils. It also might be likely, in terms of application, benefits, and improvements, there are very few differences.

Only you know what will improve your connection to your nature and the universe. The most impactful results and research will stem from experimenting and learning by and for yourself.

Essential Oil Companies

There are many producers of essential oils. Most of them tend to market their oils using contrived, incentive-based structures like MLMs (multi-level marketing organizations) and misleading, hype-based lingo like “We produce the only farm-to-home organic oils.” It’s all baloney.

Once you cut through the weeds, you understand that essential oils are part of your birthright. You don’t need a membership card to invite these powerful fragrances into your life. Through mindful intention and research, you can attract quality, affordable essential oil product lines into your life.

“It doesn’t get much greener than essential oils: when used correctly, they are among Mother Nature’s most potent remedies.” ― Amy Leigh Mercree

How To Use Essential Oils

Essential oils can be used in a variety of ways, most notably to improve your feelings about life, others, and yourself. You can add drops of oils to your liquid soap, massage oil, and in some cases, beverages. You can place a few drops on your fingers and massage the oils into your temples, chakras, wrists, and tops of your feet (the places where your skin is thinnest or nearest to a vein).

While most Essential Oil packaging states that these oils should not be consumed, many people ignore this and do it anyway. Use your best judgment. I believe that ingesting a few drops of essential oils (ones that we love dearly) can only improve our states-of-mind and vibrations.

Use essential oils in rituals and prayers. Hold a bottle of your favorite Essential Oil in the palms of our hands and pray for someone to receive its attributes. Use oils to anoint the sick and bless your loved ones. You can also use essential oils to protect specific aspects of our life and health.

Before using an essential oil, I hold it in the palm of my hand, and I pray for it to achieve its highest possible vibration. I ask that the universe extend this vibration to those in need. Sometimes, I’ll use different combinations of oils to improve my energy levels and feelings. I’ll place a few drops in the palms of my hands, rub my hands together, then press my hands against my face. I’ll take five deep breaths through the nose and immediately feel an upward shift.

A Heart-Clearing Ritual With Essential Oils

One of my favorite rituals involving essential oils is to use specific oils to cleanse each chakra. Here’s how to heal your heart chakra:

Use rose oil to unwind (counterclockwise) your heart chakra and then peppermint oil to rewind the chakra (clockwise).
Place a few drops of rose oil on your fingertips.
Reach under my shirt, press your fingers onto your skin, at the location of your heart chakra.
Move your fingers in a counterclockwise direction, making a small circle.
For a few minutes, breathe white light and love into the center of your heart.
When you’re ready, place peppermint oil on your fingertips and do the same in a clockwise direction.
When done, rub your hands together and press them against your face. Breathe deeply for a minute or so.

There is an unlimited number of ways to use essential oils to improve your health, heart, mind, overall wellbeing, and connection to our divine universe.

“Labeled apothecary bottles filled with raw material oils lined the risers: flowers, resins, leaves, woods, mosses, spices, herbs, seeds, grains, roots, bark, and fruit. From the animal kingdom came fixatives: civet, musk, and ambergris. The absolutes, the resinoids, the essential oils.” ― Jan Moran

Essential Oils That Can Improve Your Attitude and Vibration

Here are some of the more popular essential oils and a few of their attributes. While this list might help get you started, you will always be the best judge of something’s value and specific use.

Sandalwood

Feel more grounded, reduce your internalization of external stressors, know yourself more deeply, and improve your general awareness.

Sage

Connect with your emotions, feel more accepting of yourself and others, be more connected to your surroundings, and achieve a relaxed state of mind.

Pine

Feel more energized and improve your mental clarity.

Pink Grapefruit

Improve your mood, increase your connection to your desires, and be more open to up-leveling your patterns.

Jasmine

Build a bridge between your mind and heart, release the effects of minor upsets, and recall how sweet life can be.

Tangerine

Purify your blood, boost your metabolism, and use this oil as an antiseptic.

Orange

Increase the level of activity in your life, feel more cheerful, and celebrate positivity.

Lavender

Feel more peaceful, reduce inflammation, heal minor burns, reduce anxiety, depression, and insomnia, and cure your restlessness.

Lemon

Cleanse your liver, heal your adrenals, improve your energy level, and feel more rejuvenated.

Rose

Open yourself to more love and heart-centered beauty, connect with the universal Divine Mother, and improve your peacefulness before bedtime.

Ylang Ylang

Improve your connection to grounded masculinity, improve your self-confidence and sex drive, and relieve a broken heart.

Peppermint

Stimulate your mind and heart for an awakening or rebirth.

Patchouli

Let go of the past, feel more connected to others in the present moment, and move forward with a clear resolution.

Bergamot

Calm your emotions, reduce activity, and enjoy the sweetness of life.

Cinnamon

Reduce inflammation, breathe more deeply, create internal space and flow, and connect more intimately with yourself and others.

Frankincense

Reduce fear and anxiety, open your heart, improve concentration, and be more creative.

Chamomile

Relieve feelings of anger, worry, or anxiety; add feelings of joy and calm to your daily life.

Myrrh

Enhance your ability to meditate, forgive, and connect with the divine.

There are hundreds of plants being distilled into essential oils. You have so man choices! Also, since tincture bottles are inexpensive, you can customize a personal blend of the essential oils that inspire you most.

To create a custom blend, place 100 drops of several favorite oils into a small tincture bottle. You can make it more robust by adding carrier oils, including single uses or combinations of Coconut, Argan, Brahmi, Jojoba, Olive, Avocado, Grapeseed, and Moringa oils.

Use essential oils to improve your relationships, business pursuits, health, intuition, and reality. These oils are your subtle-body friends. You can even talk with them and ask them how they can help you. Chances are, they’ll answer you.

While we are each alone in the universe, we can enhance our connections with eternal consciousness and divine by connecting with nature and inviting nature-born products into our lives. This might include essential oils, Bach Flower Remedies, candles, wood-burning fireplaces, cotton sheets, hemp clothing, bamboo comforters, and anything else of nature that appears to you.

As you seek to improve your mind, heart, and health, consider embracing and exploring essential oils to invite feelings of peace, joy, and abundance.

May 27, 2020February 2, 2023

How Sage And Similar Herbs Help Us Extinguish Toxins And Heal

Nature has given us an abundance of healing plants and minerals, more than we’ll ever need. The Earth, which also sources life from its sister realms, is flush with life. We have yet to discover some of its most unique lifeforms. If we’re conscious and proactive, we can continue to benefit from the ancient plant knowledge that is still accessible to us. In this article, you will know how herbs help us extinguish toxins and heal.

The premise is simple: we can restore ourselves using tinctures, herbs, and supplements born from the Earth’s wildlife. Whether it’s to remove toxins, treat organs, extinguish tumors, or find a more profound peacefulness, the trees, plants, flowers, and shrubs nearest to you might hold the secrets to your recovery and detoxification. At the very least, they might expunge some of the toxins that negatively impact our minds, hearts, and immune systems.

Living on Earth is not easy. Society has developed in such a way that it has become a complex contradiction. It builds infrastructures that support living, but it rarely nurtures or promotes life. To counterbalance this, we can foster a symbiotic connection with nature, not only to extract medicinal value but to create mindful bridges. You might consider caressing your favorite plant, cleaning her leaves with love, and verbally telling her how much you love her. Also, when you see a little creature flying in the sky, pour your heart toward his soul.

“There’s an herb for every system, every organ, every gland, and every tissue of your body. Mother nature has put medicine in our food.” — Bob Marley

While we might be limited in a variety of ways, all lifeforms can find power by uniting, protecting, and feeding each other. It’s in this way that the herbs growing on our planet are reaching out to us. They are the embodiment of life’s desire to expand and connect. They rise toward the sun with one mission: serve all life and give all living-Beings what they need to live, thrive, heal, and survive.

Click here to book your live session with Paul Wagner

Here are some of the most potent and nutritious herbs, in various forms, that can help you relax, extinguish toxins, and heal what ails you:

Detoxifying Herbs To Burn

By burning specific herbs, we can cleanse our home, clear our chakras, and reach out to the heavens in prayer. We can also use the burning of plants to remove harmful bacteria and other antagonists from our bodies and environments. Here is a list of some of the most potent, burnable herbs for detoxing:

Sage, White Sage, and Desert Sage/Rose
Cedar, Pine, Aspen, and Blue Spruce
Mugwort
Rosemary
Clove
Lilac
Frankincense
Lemongrass
Eucalyptus
Bay Leaf
Usnea (also known as Old Man’s Beard)
You might also consider burning Lavender, Peppermint, Spearmint, Calendula, and Palo Santo.

Many cultures use these herbs to clean their homes, places of work, physical and spiritual bodies, and chakras. They are regularly used during individual and communal prayers, rituals, pujas, and other divinely inspired rites. Native Americans and Pagans use Sage, Cedar, and Pine for spiritual purification, inclusion in medicine bundles and amulets, and to invite divine-Beings to participate in sacred ceremonies.

Scientists have observed that when burned, Sage disinfects the air by killing a significant amount of airborne bacterias. It also releases negative ions, which remove pollen, mold spores, bacteria, viruses, and other allergies from the air. Negative ions have another powerful benefit: they increase our levels of serotonin, which is proven to reduce depression, stress, and feelings of detachment from others. Seratonin also boosts energy levels, improves workflow, and increases creativity.

To safely burn these herbs, consider using an Abalone shell. These former homes of sea snakes and mollusks are the perfect containers for burning small amounts of herbs for any occasion.

A Prayer When Smudging Your Home

When burning sage and using the smoke to heal your home and body, you might recite this prayer:

Gentle and beautiful Sage

Infused with light and healing properties

Born from the original love

We ask that you purify our hearts, bodies, and home

Please dissolve all negativity and extinguish all toxins

Let your smoke and scent rise to the heavens

And be calling to all light-Beings

May they bless our home and the hearts of all who enter

Mitakuye Oyoasin, for all our relations

Detoxifying Herbs As Food

We’re lucky to have access to a variety of spices and foods that can have anti-inflammatory effects and expunge the body of toxins. When consumed properly, the items on this partial list can help you with detoxification and healing in a variety of ways:

Turmeric and Curcumin
Dandelion root – also potent as a supplement
Cilantro
Wood ear mushrooms
Garlic – also useful as a supplement
Blueberries, Apples, and Lemons
Spirulina, Chlorella, and Wheatgrass
Beets
Ginger
Green, Rose, Peppermint, Chamomile, Lavender, and Red Clover Teas

You can add these foods and spices to salads, smoothies, and other meals, and combine them for miraculous effects. As with all things that you venture to consume, do the proper research, start with small quantities, and be aware of how each item affects you. Pay attention to potential allergic reactions along the way.

Detoxifying Herbs As Supplements, Tinctures, and Essential Oils

These cleansing herbs open the heart, invite peacefulness, and help us release toxins. This list is specific to supplements, tinctures, and essential oils, which you can also make at home.

Rose
Clove
Lemongrass
Cinnamon
Ashwagandha
Gotu Kola
Nettle
Red Clover
St. John’s Wart
Valerian
Lemon Balm
Lemon Verbena
Schisandra (also known as Magnolia Berry and Five-Flavor Berry)
You might also consider researching the benefits of Kava, California Poppy, Burdock, Lavender, and Passionflower.
Milk Thistle, Marshmallow Root, Parsley, Beetroot, and Ginger are potent herbs that can detox your liver.

Because of their individual and combined potency, be very careful with how and when you take these herbs, knowing their potential side effects. When seeking to do deep cleanses, always consult a doctor, Nurse Practitioner, or certified nutritionist.

To make herbalist supplements in pill and powder forms, copy the ingredients from popular brands. You can buy inexpensive measuring and production tools for home use that won’t break your budget. It’s incredible how simple it is to make capsules. For tinctures, soak your herbs for a few weeks in a jar full of alcohol or vinegar. This process releases the plant’s active compounds and its most beneficial nutrients. You can then pour the results into small tincture bottles and heal yourself a few drops at a time.

While the above are partial lists, they’re a good start in the pursuit of a cleanser for your home, body, and spirit. You’ll notice that Lavender shows up on all the lists – it’s because our bodies respond quickly and peacefully to Lavender.

Click to read “How Essential Oils Can Help You Heal And Evolve”

It’s one of the only herbs whose smell immediately calms our nervous systems into beautiful stillness and well-being. This type of relaxation has immense health benefits that can improve our immune systems, lymphatic system, and digestive system while creating unsuitable environments for toxins, harmful bacteria, free radicals, and viruses.

Keep in mind that evil corporations and government entities seek to block our rights to Earth’s bounty. As such, there is always a chance we could lose at least partial access to what constitutes our divine right. If we educate ourselves along the way, we can learn to grow, cook, and activate herbs to heal ourselves, and our families, friends, society, and Earth.

As you lovingly wander this planet, learning about its magnificence, endeavor to love and defend all of Earth’s creatures, plants, minerals, soils, waters, and other lifeforms. They are you, and you are them. There is no “other.”

May 26, 2020February 2, 2023

Transformation Rituals and Ceremonies

Seek Transformation Through Prayerful Ritual and Ceremony

When we create the space and time to connect with the deepest parts of ourselves, we honor the ancient’s teachings and most enduring tribal traditions found on every continent on Earth. By committing to this deepening, we awaken our cores and establish trajectories leading to healing and transformation. To begin, we need only glance in the direction of our divine natures. In this article, you will know about the prayerful ritual.

With heart-centered intention and thoughtful action, we can clear the dust that clouds our souls’ perceptions and connectivity. Regardless of how lost or confused, we believe ourselves to be, in every moment there exists the potential for clarity. While it might feel daunting, even impossible, you have the power to reconnect with your deepest Self and the eternal consciousness. In the process of seeking our soul’s illumination, we improve our perceptions, vibrations, and the ability to feel nurtured by our realities.

When we seek divine clarity, we find many gifts:

Answers to our deepest questions
Changes in our perceptions
Changes in dynamics
Awakened potentialities
The ability to forgive and truly let-go
Improved awareness of our talents, attributes and personal magic
Lessened projection, fewer expectations, and more acceptance
Reduction in our attachments to self-limiting societal and religious constructs
Less desire to delude ourselves
Deepened humility
Increased connectivity and joy
Expanded abilities around creating and sustaining empowered lives

Schedule a ritual training session with Paul: HERE

This powerful, intimate experience involves a beautiful, life-changing ritual,

book-ended by two profound and intuitive sessions with Paul.

Paul’s Experience with Transformation Rituals

Seven Arrows, Changing the Book of Life, Vision Quest, Sweat Lodge, and Medicine Wheel are ancient rituals that lead to connection and liberation. Paul spent many years learning Native American rituals under the guidance of Lakota elders and shamans. Traveling throughout India and China, seated at the feet of enlightened masters, Paul learned the ceremonies and traditions that our ancient elders created to help us heal and awaken.

Open your heart and heal through ritual. You’ll LOVE it.

May 24, 2020March 27, 2024

How Authenticity Leads to Happiness

Authenticity has been on a long, tough road in pursuit of its place in the world. It began as impulses within raw, wild beasts. It wandered through forests and wilderness for many millennia. After merging with consciousness and connecting with the intentions of all living beings in all the realms, authenticity became bold and brazen.

For some, authenticity has involved secret knowledge and clandestine pursuits. For others, it has been used as a tool to manifest power and control. Over time, authenticity matured, nurtured itself, and found its most enduring and profound calling as the homing-beacon for people who have lost their way.

“Only the truth of who you are, if realized, will set you free.”

— Eckhart Tolle

What Is Authenticity?

Authenticity is a pure encounter with our core selves. It occurs in the present moment, without pretense. Its purpose is to serve our expressiveness and self-awareness. It does this by initiating experiences and absorbing the related energetic fascia. While it is continually evolving, our authentic nature is always available to us.

When we are not conscious of the ramifications of our temporary selves, we might deny ourselves authenticity and the complete experience of our natures. While social norms tend to oppress us, we always have the option to commit to returning to authenticity.

During this new era of social over-responsibility and political confusion, authenticity has found itself in a quandary. While its pure expression might confuse, offend, or harm others, it remains a living force that requires continual exploration and pronouncement.

To fulfill its purpose, authenticity must experience itself in some form without oppression. It must be permitted to know itself and give rise to its impulses, without judgment. While not all authentic selves are peaceful or benign, they must be allowed to live.

Authenticity is not only a strategic path toward self-awareness and personal evolution; it’s the key to living a full life. As life gives birth to itself without judgment, so must we.

“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

The Pathway To Authenticity

Some of us are living powerfully authentic lives. We live from and through the electricity that pours through us. We remain connected to our core nature in all activities and relationships. Those who have lost touch with themselves might only need to be reminded that they are inauthentic. Others might require a process to walk them back home. While no path is perfect or precise enough to meet every mindset and need, here is a step-by-step list of how you might achieve greater authenticity in your life.

Honesty
While it’s become socially acceptable to deny ourselves realistic public identities, there is nothing more important than being honest, especially when in dialogue with our inner spirits. When we experience genuine acknowledgments of our natures, at least within our thoughts, intentions, and prayers, we open doorways to healing, accountability, clarity, and transformation. Honesty also saves us energy and gives us the most stable foundation for enduring success and happiness.

Self-Worth and Self-Approval
We are not all great Mahatmas, but this does not preclude us from beckoning the eternal light and bathing in it. And while we might be able to request a miracle and immediately experience it, we must begin by accepting that we are worthy. In pursuit of our evolution, we do not need to approve of our transgressions. They are in the past and the past is a canceled check. It does not exist. We do not require approval or forgiveness from others. We focus on ourselves and on our desires to become new and drenched in the light of the universe.

Self-Evaluation
Under the umbrella of an approved self, we can joyfully venture into self-evaluation. If we engage humility and other nurturing attitudes, we can source the areas of our personhood that are most in need of change. By acknowledging our shortcomings, we can choose to improve them.

Self-Confrontation
After objectively evaluating ourselves, the next step is to speak clearly within ourselves about each aspect. With a focused, inner dialogue, we can reduce our stubbornness, dissolve some of our more indelible self-identities, and venture toward transformation.

Make Adjustments
While intentions are mighty little angels, without action, they are merely hopes. Making personal adjustments to our thoughts, ideologies, behaviors, commitments, loyalties, and relationships can take some time. It might be helpful to make gradual adjustments so that all of your most endearing aspects can remain in-step with your revised life-trajectory.

Create A Unique Living-Process
Once you’ve established your challenges and potential changes, it’s vital to adjust your operational plans. The processes and procedures you’ll want to change might involve habits, environments, hobbies, jobs, careers, relationships, and schedules. With a clear and executable plan, we can achieve almost anything.

Commit To Yourself
The most difficult thing for most of us is making a commitment to regularly uplift and honor ourselves. It’s not always easy. To ensure that we stay on our path, we might adhere to a strict schedule of self-validating practices like meditation or journal writing. We might also hire a coach, therapist, or engage a few friends in a homespun support group.

Encourage And Celebrate Yourself
We are all creatures of habit. When we make even the smallest adjustments, it’s crucial that we validate ourselves. While we should refrain from self-worship, each of us is unique and in need of specific forms of encouragement. Explore the styles of encouragement and celebration that feel most nurturing to you. Add these modalities to your daily routine and social schedule. It’s in this way that we engage the universe to support our new paths and achievements.

“As I began to love myself. I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living my own truth. Today I know this is authenticity.” — Charlie Chaplin

Achieving Happiness

While happiness might be overrated and contentment preferable, we always have a choice to pursue a desired emotion. In this pursuit, everything changes. When we’re intentional about our emotional states, we increase our chances of improving our vibrations.

Being authentic with ourselves invites forces and Beings from every realm to come to our aid. Our authenticity is the most magnetic part of us. By relinquishing temporary and outdated self-identities, and by focusing on the reality of who we are, we give birth to nuances that can protect our pathways to achieve the life-states that we desire most.

To begin, tend toward selfishness and give yourself all the room you need to nurture, awaken, and experience your authentic self. Peek into the nooks and crannies of your desires and personas. Ask for guidance to fully know yourself when you need it. After learning more about who you are and nurturing yourself for a while, the chances are good that you’ll tend toward wanting to help others. It’s through measured and focused selfishness that we can achieve fertile and stable selflessness.

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”

— E.E. Cummings

Always be yourself. Whether you feel a well of sadness in a grocery store or a burst of joy in a park, find safe and healthy ways to let it all out. If expressing your emerging emotions is dangerous to others, find ways to transmute the toxic aspects within your being so that you can move toward being self-expressed. It might be that meditation can assist you in becoming fully present. It might also be that meditation is your crutch.

To become authentic and whole, you can choose to embody a combination of gentility and ruthlessness. You might be hiding from your biggest disappointments or most enraging life events. You might be using them to create victim-minded or lower-chakra personality traits, thereby reducing your vibration to sub-par frequencies. You might be missing out on 90% of who you are.

Step boldly into the wilderness that resides within you. Consider performing sacred ceremonies and rituals to assist you in your rebirth. Remain hopeful and prayerful. In all things, continually embrace your divinity and all the beautiful aspects inherent in your birthright.