lavender salts

It's no secret I've been absent from the blog-sphere lately. Maybe I'll write a post about everything that's been happening to me. Maybe I won't and I'll just keep putting one foot in front of the other and pick up where I left off. But I do promise to do more worthwhile things, and that will lead to more blog posts!

I decided to take a bath with some lavender salts today. I ran the water as hot as I could. My shoulders and hips have been tense and I knew a steaming bath would melt some of that away. And it was there that I had an interesting experience with duality; the opposing, complimenting forces that define and drive life. This is how it happened: The water was hot, steaming. I was drinking a cup of hot tea. At first, I felt wonderful. My hips relaxed, my shoulders relaxed, the warm liquid passing from my mouth to my belly relaxed me. After some time, I started to feel a little panicky. [Note to self: next time when sipping hot tea in a hot bath, take drinking water]. I felt uncomfortable and decided to run some cold water. COLD water. Sitting in the hot bath with a cold flow sent a rush through my body. I let my legs cool off, then I sat with my back to the stream and let my back and hips enjoy the revitalizing flow. At first I was hesitant to try that, I thought my body would go into some kind of shock and I'd regret running the cold water. But I was wrong. The hot water melted my tensions, washed them away. The cold water took me to a place of clarity and strength.

And I realized that the challenge I'm experiencing is just a manifestation of the duality of life. Hot and cold. Sun and moon. Summer and winter. Everything about life is a process and a cycle. What I'm experiencing is no different. No matter what happens next, I need to stay balanced. I know this hard time will end and the cycle will lead me to a place of happiness and peace.

Source

my personal message

So back in May [or whenever it was... honestly my judgement of time is all muddled from this summer semester] I signed up for the Trust 30 writing prompts inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance. When I signed up I knew I wouldn't have much time to dedicate to this project because of school. But I love writing and I already participate in quite a bit of self-reflection. It's just never been prompted before. I thought it might be fun. I saved all of the prompts for the day I'd finally have some time to answer them. Well, I guess I started today. I woke up early this morning and answered about 3 of them. I might not be able to answer any more for another 2 weeks, or I might do some more tomorrow-- who knows.

This is the one I'd like to share today.

Your Personal Message (by Eric Handler)

To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is burning deep inside of you? If you could spread your personal message RIGHT NOW to 1 million people, what would you say?

   Eliminate negative thoughts and emotions; don’t contribute to the cruelty of the world; every confused, angry, hurtful, negative thought fuels the ill feelings surrounding us; in order to stop negative emotions globally we must first stop them personally.

   Practice mindfulness; become aware of even the quietest stirrings in your being and in the earth; become one with the earth—learn to cultivate food, and honor and protect nature; be honest in all thoughts, even the “scary” ones you “shouldn’t” think about—especially those; practice love; above all else, practice acceptance for the things that can’t be changed.