Everyday Bliss For Women In Leadership

As regular readers may have noticed, the name of this blog has changed from “Garden of the Growing Green” to “Sage Wisdom”. With a new year shortly upon us, a refocusing is in order. Sage has always been special to me. When I was in training with the Missouri medicine man Corliss “d” deLarm, we burnt sage continually in purification and sacred ceremonies. The sage plant has a wisdom to it that is special and unique. Its smoke or essential oil purifies and makes sacred everything it touches. It is our American equivalent of the Eastern church’s frankincense and myrrh.

Herbs2000.com, a great site for herbal information has this to say: “Sage is one of the most valued herbs of antiquity. Sage is highly antiseptic, an excellent remedy for colds, fevers and sore throats and should be taken at the first signs of any respiratory infections. Sage relieves tonsilitis, bronchitis, asthma, catarrh, and sinusitis. Its astringent and expectorant properties help expel phlegm from the chest and reduce catarrh. The tea can be used in inhalation to disinfect the airways. Sage will enhance the immune system and help to prevent infections and auto-immune problems.” Visit the entry on Sage (and scroll down below the advertisements) to read the entire article on the many, many properties of this wonderful herb.

Secondly, as I have grown older, I’ve passed the Motherhood stage into the stage that shamanic cultures refer to as “Saging”, meaning to wax in wisdom. What a wonderful way to look at the way we age - instead of putting down the older wo/man for their loss of youth, to regard them as the storehouse of accumulated wisdom and experience that they are. I am at the very beginning of this journey, and will continue joyfully sharing with you what I’ve found that works, what I’ve learned and all the short-cuts and tips I know that can help you.

So welcome to “Sage Wisdom”, a place of clarity, learning and occasional introspection.

Enjoy!

Click Here For A HTML Merry Christmas from myself, my hubby the Spark-Spittin’ Fire Mage and our 3 Wise-Kitties Anoushka, Tashi-Claire and El Biscuito. The kitties had a happy time with the wrappers on their presents and we got to sleep in, be lazy and eat turkey with homemade cornbread stuffing (Mom’s recipe!) so it’s been a wonderful day. Hope yours was the same! For those of you who aren’t having such a great time and tend towards depression at this time of year, I’m reprinting a great article from The Catalyst that might help you out:

How To Get Happy When You’re SAD: Beating Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Got the ?Holiday Blues?? Moderate to intense depression related to Seasonal Affective Disorder resulting from the low spectrum of light during the winter leaves thousands emotionally disabled. So disabled, they are unable to live fully or see the riches abundant in their own lives. Outside-In’s light-therapy research website on SAD reports: “Researchers have proved that bright light makes a difference to the brain chemistry, although the exact means by which sufferers are affected is not yet known. It is not a psychosomatic or imaginary illness. As the cause is lack of bright light, the treatment is to be in bright light every day by using a light box or a similar bright light therapy device. Going to a brightly-lit climate, whether skiing or somewhere hot, is also a cure. The preferred level of daily light is about as bright as a spring morning on a clear day.” (http://www.outsidein.co.uk/sadinfo.htm ) If you suffer from depression, compulsions, feeling lousy, seasonal Scroogishness or just an “I hate the holidays” feeling, you may have Seasonal Affective Disorder. If you live in or can get to a temperate climate during the winter, take every opportunity to expose yourself to the sun daily for one or two hours.
Read the rest of this entry »

In the last year, I’ve become a bit of an I-Village junkie. Depsite the preponderance of advertising, they have good, useable women’s communities and valuable information for everyone. In one of their recent newsletters they listed a number of links to quizzes, evaluations and help lists for those who suffer with holiday stress. I’m passing them on to you, just in case your holiday isn’t going so well. So before you queue up for that “Last Shopping Day” before Christmas and get a sour stomach just thinking about the usual family disagreements, get a handle on the stress before it takes a bit out of you. Check out these links and…relax!

Evaluating your Holiday Stress Levels

Prescriptions for Dealing with Stress You Already Have

Preventing Stress in the First Place

Evaluate your Emotional Health on 4 axes: Anxiety, Stress, Depression & Grief

Handle Holiday Stress FOR GOOD

Mantra for the Month: Relax!

Click here for a Happy Solstice!

(click above!) It’s the holidays, and with 2004 soon upon us, high time for a change. Here’s to a new start and a waxing of the Sun’s light into the new year. (Don’t forget to vist again and catch the New Year’s entry for a great way to get a jump start on your goals for 2004!) In case you don’t know about Winter Solstice, here’s the beginnings of an explanation from the good folks at Religious Tolerance.org:

“The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5 degree tilt of the earth’s axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, it points in a fixed direction continuously — towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime and low in the sky during winter. The time of the year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. This is called the summer solstice, and is typically on JUN-21 — the first day of summer. “Solstice” is derived from two Latin words: “sol” meaning sun, and “sistere,” to cause to stand still. The lowest elevation occurs about DEC-21 and is the winter solstice — the first day of winter, when the night time hours are maximum.

In pre-historic times, winter was a very difficult time for Aboriginal people in the northern latitudes. The growing season had ended and the tribe had to live off of stored food and whatever animals they could catch. The people would be troubled as the life-giving sun sank lower in the sky each noon. They feared that it would eventually disappear and leave them in permanent darkness and extreme cold. After the winter solstice, they would have reason to celebrate as they saw the sun rising and strengthening once more. Although many months of cold weather remained before spring, they took heart that the return of the warm season was inevitable. The concept of birth and or death/rebirth became associated with the winter solstice. The Aboriginal people had no elaborate instruments to detect the solstice. But they were able to notice a slight elevation of the sun’s path within a few days after the solstice — perhaps by DEC-25. Celebrations were often timed for about the 25th.” - Religious Tolerance.org

This is but a small portion of a fantastic article on the way Winter Solstice is celebrated in different cultures - read the whole thing here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/winter_solstice.htm

Much Love and Blessings of Increasing Light To You!