January 2019 Newsletter

Hello Wonderful Ones!
Happy New Year!! We hope 2019 brings you mindful experiences that evolve and honour your relationship to body, mind and spirit and connect you to the true calling of the world around you; the honouring of the earth and all her inhabitants.

The numerology of this year is THREE (2+0+1+9 = 12 , 1+2 = 3). Although we can give endless cultural and belief system representations to the number 3, according to crystalinks.com, Three is the first number to which the meaning "all" was given. It is The Triad, being the number of the whole as it contains the beginning, a middle and an end. The power of three is universal and is the tripartite nature of the world as heaven, earth, and waters. It is human as body, soul and spirit. During the holidays Tom and I continued to make a move away from the traditional (i.e. commercial and super stressful) aspects of the holidays. We even noticed our emerging adult kids were happier to spend time with each other rather than partaking in the crazed buying of gifts and over-consumption of food. For the last 8 years, Tom and I have steered clear of social gatherings for New Year's Eve and instead stayed home to cook an intentional meal, move through 108 sun salutations and be meditating at midnight. Although we did not exactly follow that plan this year, we did do something similar. We were very intentional about our time - knowing that the way we welcomed in the new year and the days flanking it was setting the scene for how this year will go. So, we spent time planning Plant Alchemy's vision for the year ahead, organizing and cleaning our home, and getting outside for a mindful a walk in our favorite neighbourhood wetlands. Now we are excited to bring you up to date on what we have been influenced by of late and what we are bringing to you for 2019!!

You probably know this situation - the one where you can't find anything of substance to watch, but somehow you find yourself mindlessly consuming programs that amount to junk food for the mind. Although Tom and I enjoy entertainment just for the entertainment value, we also thirst for viewing with purpose and with the intent of learning. I was thrilled to come across the Netflix original, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. I was enamored from the very beginning. Not only is Marie Kondo absolutely adorable, but her method of approach for decluttering and organizing your home mirrors mindfulness concepts that we both live by and can still learn from. Marie teaches her clients to keep material possessions in your life that are necessary and spark joy for you and to let go of the rest. I love this!

Although there are numerous mindfulness living lessons to adopt from this show, my other favourite concept was to connect to your house. I have always connected to the people and objects in my house, but I am not sure I really connected with my actual house the way Marie teaches. Upon reflection, I learned that this may be based on the idea that Tom and I have always rented and not owned our homes. Although Tom and I have been grateful from day one about the beautiful property we live on, it seems that I have been waiting for the time we owned a home to really connect with the dwelling itself. I realize now the shortcoming of this previously unconscious notion. When I looked closer I realized that the level of happiness I have about my home was unconsciously being affected by the thought that we must own a home in order to feel fulfilled, secure or any other number of attachments and false beliefs. I am now making a conscious effort to connect to our beautiful property and our home studio, but also to the actual home itself. If you are looking for some inspiration for appreciating life, your relationships and your material existence I recommend spending some time with Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.

There are so many great teachers to be inspired by and learn from. Tom and I love to sit on any given night of the week and listen to an awakening talk by Alan Watts, Terence McKenna, Leo Gura, Rupert Sheldrake, or a podcast by Joe Rogan, Tim Ferriss, or many others. Lately though, Ram Dass has had our ears and our hearts enraptured. He is so wise, humourous and so approachable. We just listened to a recording of Ram Dass' lecture - The Advanced Course on YouTube last night, and I have to say there are several gems that one could hear a thousand times and extrapolate new meaning each time. This is a lecture he gave back in 1993, but it blew my mind to realize how much more poignant his messages and perspectives are in relationship to the world we live in today.

The large segment of the message centers around the fact that we suffer when there is an imbalance between our inner truth and the way we lead our lives. This problem is getting worse, not better. It is echoed in the hatred, sickness, poverty, corporate greed and addictions we see. The only answer is to awaken the self and make different choices. This is not a straight-line journey, nor is it formulaic, but it is a choice we have - to keep trying to get it right with every decision we make. If you are interested in listening to something thought-provoking, refreshingly upbeat, and eye opening to the human condition, l recommend you listen to Ram Dass - The Advanced Course.

I have a lot of books, articles, and blogs on the go, but the one that currently holds my attention most is a reread of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. After long procrastinating on the purchase of the book, I happen to pick up a copy one summer on my annual mother/daughter trip to Stratford, ON. Upon reading it I couldn't believe that I had waited so long to dive into the pages of this transformational work of literature. I loved reading the journey of the Sheppard Santiago, the help he received from a Gypsy, a King and an Alchemist as he traveled from Spain to Egypt in search of a treasure of unknown nature. Santiago learned to connect to his heart to help him through many learned lessons like: a) recognizing the good in things, b) living in the present, c) life is interesting when you have a dream, d) everyone learns differently, e) become better than you are, f) follow your heart - wherever your heart is, there you will find the treasure. Perhaps the most widely known quote from The Alchemist is this: "When you want something all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it". Tom and I believe in this to our cores. This is why we have continued to grow Plant Alchemy.
For all the lessons Santiago learned, and many more, we wish with all our hearts to teach optimal living through plant medicines and mindfulness to help change the frequency of thought, alter the harmonics of matter and apply the element of love to create a desired result.
If you've yet to read it, or you want to reacquaint yourself, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. is a quick read and one you will be happy you took the time to engage with.

With so much mindless crap on the web and no shortage of ass-clowns posting their opinions, it can be hard to zero in on the good influences and teachers available to us. Sometimes we just feel plain ol' too tired to engage with lengthy involved books, lectures etc. Whether we know it or not, our media habits influence and shape our lives, perceptions, actions, and ultimately, our character. When sharing some of the influences I found helpful, a few years ago, our younger son Yosuf shared one of his own. Yosuf was pumped about recounting a bonding and character-building day his school had had for the grade 11's. As he told us about the day's activities, he mentioned a video they had watched by a spoken word poet, Prince EA. Upon his recommendation I looked him up. I was hooked!

His messages are deep, but skillfully sculpted into short videos using analogy, metaphors, and mindfulness concepts to help foster growth mindsets in the (young and older alike) folk who are drawn to him. His message for 2019 packs a thoughtful punch as it shines light on how we hold ourselves back and sell ourselves short. He reminds us that Character is the ability to carry out a resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed and encourages viewers to be Fully and Authentically YOU! If you're looking to connect our youth to influences that foster a growth mindset and mindful character development, I recommend you check out Prince Ea's YouTube video New Year, New M ... Stop together with your kids, students, family and friends - especially our younger folks - or even better yet, try to get 3 generations together to view one of his videos and have a discussion about the teachings afterwards as a family.