hippie chick :: summer revival

Weeks Four & Five: Moods & Meditations

Ah, lavender.

Lovely lavender.

As I make my way 

down this path of

natural body care

I've stumbled upon

the fact that

 self-care

is closely linked

To be clear

I am a learner on this

journey

a true newbie to the world of

essential oils

their uses

their properties

that go far beyond just

smelling good

They have the power to

heal

kill bacteria and viruses

clean

alter mood

and, yes...

smell good while doing it.

With this knowledge

one becomes somewhat of an

alchemist

combining ingredients 

while mindful of

the power they hold.

Lavender

has held a prominent position

this past week

as I prepared to do the one thing

that most people dread...

public speaking.

Or in my case

public singing.

When I was asked if I could

 lead worship

at church on a Sunday

while the rest of the group

was vacationing

I grappled

 for an excuse

 hoping to have pre-existing plans

but found myself nodding my head instead 

and saying...

yes.

I sing and strum for

God alone

in my living room and He

is always happy with my songs

but

people are...

well,

that's when it hit me 

and I told myself 

"these are my people...

and they will be forgiving and understanding

if I mess up"

Those words

that thought 

continually crept into my brain

reminding me

reassuring me

that I could do this

In those moments

when the butterflies threatened

to flutter in a panic

I would say those words and turn to

yoga and lavender

meditation and breathing...

 prayer.

It is nearly impossible for me

to separate

meditation and song

from my 

prayer life

When on the mat

the asanas

the breathing 

the rhythm

come together in much the same way

and as I lie in corpse pose

with a lavender eye mask 

to block any light

and enhance the effect

positive thoughts

flow in 

negative out

and I leave 

feeling calm and refreshed

I knew the calming effect of lavender

but recently learned of

Stephanie Tourles

recommendation of taking several

deep inhalations 

directly from the bottle

to calm nervous jitters

I went a step further

the day of praise

dabbing it on my wrists

for a sniff as needed

and a reminder

that 

all would be well.

Peaceful.

The best way to describe

my state of being

on Sunday morning.

Not only leading worship song

with Heidi, the keyboardist

and Dan, the backup singer

but being

in

worship.

And so this journey

takes me to

wonderful destinations

down interesting side roads

discovering unexpected gems

along the way.

To which I am compelled 

 to say...

Amen.