Just Be...

100,000 Thai Theravada Monks in meditation for peace and in prayer to ease the suffering of the world. Thailand.2012.

Greetings Shining Stars! It is our greatest wish that your holiday celebrations are love-filled and bring you all the joy and bliss that is your birthright. Winter is the time to go within. We can look to nature for guidance; animals hibernate, vegetation lies dormant, the earth is resting and restoring herself. I like to think of winter as a long and luxurious savasana, restorative and deliciously deserved! In stillness, we receive the full benefits of the work we have put in. They say it is the most important pose of all. While the holidays often bring much external activity, if we give ourselves the gift of quietude and introspection just for a few minutes a day, and start anchoring this as a daily practice, when we are called to engage with the outer world, we do so from a much more grounded and solid place and we utilize our energy in more effective ways.

This year at Winter Solstice, I participated in a dear friend’s medicine wheel ceremony. We were twelve gathered respectfully and with revery to anchor our solstice intentions.  As we were saged before entering the wheel, the question posed to each of us was “what are you willing to release?”  I invite each of you to meditate on this as the year comes to a close. Turn inwards, connect with your truest and highest self, and contemplate this question so that with the return of the light, a space for what you wish to embrace and devote yourself to can start to reveal itself.

This is a great time to journal, make a vision board, meditate, give voice to your inner muse, breathe, ponder, wonder, walk in nature, pray, be grateful, rest, do nothing, smile inwardly, do (or don’t do) things that bring you into alignment with the seasons. This puts us in touch with our inner knowing and opens us up to guidance from our higher self. I find that when I devote myself to more internal pursuits, I have more clarity, focus, and discernment. My life seems more balanced, I am less likely to be ‘off-kilter’. Decisions become effortless and my energy has a sense of containment. I encourage you to just be in the darkness, rest in the fallow earth, just a few minutes a day can be life-changing!

I offer you this simple exercise to release what no longer serves your highest good.

Stand on the Earth. Feel your feet firmly planted and held by the Earth. Imagine that you have roots like a tree extending from the soles of your feet deep down into the Earth. Ground these roots into the Earth’s core. Then simply scan your body and your energy field and intend that anything that is not of the highest vibration to drain out and away from you through your root system. You don’t even need to name it or attach story to it. Simply release, let go, and breathe that energy into the Earth. You can see it as golden light entering the Earth as pure potential energy to be recycled and transmuted into nutrients to feed the Earth. Do this a few times if it feels appropriate or until you feel an energetic shift. Feel your weight on the Earth. These roots are your grounding cord and can serve both as a release method and a filling method to bring energy back into your body.

Once the release is complete, and reverse the process. Bring your awareness back to your feet and intend that the roots pull up and into your entire system the qualities of grounding, solidness, support, nourishment, balance, steadfastness.  Like a thirsty plant soak up all these wonderful qualities, feel youreself becoming restored at a cellular level. You can also open up your crown chakra and allow this energy to flow up and out of your crown bathing your entire aura as it washes over you like a waterfall of light.

When we attend to our connection with the Earth and Nature, shifts happen on all levels. I invite you to try this and see what evolves for you!

With blessings of gratitude~Claudia

Back to School Essences

It’s that time of the year when the solar energy of summer begins to wane, classes start up, and the onset of autumn turns our internal rhythms toward introspection and reflection. According to Traditional Chinese medicine, the season of autumn is associated with the element of Metal, which governs organization, order, communication, the mind, setting limits, and protecting boundaries. Thus we naturally downshift from an active physicality that accompanies the fiery energy of summer and begin to quiet down. As we turn inward, we are called to return to source, harvesting what we have sewn.

Back to School Essences
Keynotes: Integration of Knowledge

                                                                             

 I am offering two new remedies which are particularly useful for the return to our studies. 

“Focus and Ease in Learning” is designed to help improve mental focus, keep thoughts on track, and minimize a wandering mind when engaged with the learning process. My intention for this formula is that learning can be creative, playful and fun!

“Focus and Ease in Learning” is for those who are easily distracted when it comes to focusing their attention on a single goal or pursuit. This remedy is for clarity and mental steadfastness. When we approach learning from a place of ease, effortlessness, and fun we are more readily able to absorb, integrate, and retain new information.

“Higher Learning” is for tapping into source knowledge and connecting with our inner authority. This remedy joins the qualities of “Focus and Ease in Learning” with the potential to access deeper levels of learning at a cellular level.

When our head and heart is in alignment information that comes in sticks. Why? Because we are inviting in knowledge that our entire system is excited about. We are not making distinctions between logic and intuition but rather using both sets of tools, engaging both hemispheres of the brain. Therefore information is assimilated into our entire being. This requires grounding and being open to the channels of communication within ourselves so that the inner teacher can be heard. May you go forth confidently and discover new worlds of mastery!

To manifest a higher skill level in the learning and integration of your goals be they Calculus, French, Salsa dancing, cooking, or a more esoteric pursuit, try one of these formulas. When the process is connected to Divine consciousness, it becomes a journey of remembering. Have fun~ It’s never too late to learn!

Both formulas available in dropper or spray. Spray formula contains essential oils that help with focus and clarity.

"[This combination] is amazing. I used the Focus and Ease in Learning & Higher Learning in all my studies and when I took my final and got 106/100 :) Feeling also like they are keeping me calm & centered in the chaos of stuff I can't control." SL, Astrologer, Student

Shamanism and The Journey
Next class 10/13 in Half Moon Bay
Next class 8/11 11-4
Sunday 6/9 11-4, San Francisco, special co-taught session, $75-100 sliding scale


Curious about shamanism and want to know more? This workshop is for discovering what shamanism is about, and for learning to journey. Journeying is an altered state, which can be accessed by listening to drumming or other rhythmic percussion. It gives us the ability to receive direct guidance and healing, find answers, and release limiting beliefs. No prior experience is necessary to take this workshop.

During the workshop, we’ll spend some time talking about what shamanism is, and how it fits into today’s world. Then, you’ll dive right in and learn to journey. We could talk for days, but that’s not half as much fun as experiencing it for yourself. You will first journey to meet your Power Animal, and we’ll do a second journey as well, to be determined depending on the group. Some of the questions you have now, you’ll see they answer themselves – you will know you’re not making it up, and you will be able to practice on your own afterwards, should you choose to.

Class is co-taught by Moria, a shamanic practitioner and teacher who does healing work on the etheric / spiritual levels, and Claudia, an energy healer / body worker and flower essence practitioner. Their complementary perspectives show two of the many ways shamanic practice can inform and express in a modern world.

Bring a bag lunch, notebook, eye pillow or bandanna and a rattle if you have one.
Email compostmentis (at) volcano (dot) net or call Moria at 209-489-3271 to sign up and receive location information.

About Moria
I believe that everything has Spirit, and we are all connected. I love this Earth that we live on, and I am committed to minding and mending the webs – both physical and energetic – that connect and feed us all. I believe it is important for each of us to live our whole, authentic self in balanced relationship with the energies of our worlds. I follow this path with an open heart, and the path follows me as well.

About Claudia
I believe that as we move toward living in reciprocity with the natural world, our channels of awareness start opening. We start to reconnect with inner sight, inner knowing and start to listen with our hearts. We become aware that everything is alive, the trees, the rocks, the wind. When this happens our world expands, we move into responding to life from our Divinity and connection rather than separation. When we practice this way of being, we enter the flow of life and stop swimming against the tide.

“Out of clutter, find simplicity.” Albert Einstein

Did you know that the first Earth Day was initially proposed to be celebrated on Spring Equinox ? In honor of both Earth Day and the onset of Spring, Stars in Jars is offering a combo  pack that will support the release of obstacles, be they physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. Two essence remedies divinely paired as “Clear Path” will be your allies in this undertaking. The first essence, “Clear the Clutter”, is particularly useful in sweeping away the dust bunnies, whether on your desk or in your mental arena. Clutter impedes the flow of energy and can contribute to feelings of overwhelm and depletion. This essence creates a clear path to a more harmonious life.  It brings gentle awareness to the root causes of why we hold on to things that no longer serve our highest good. When our awareness grows, we are able to implement a shift which can lead to changing habits and outworn patterns. The spray when used on its own is excellent for space clearing. Now that you have cleared the way, you may need a little support in focusing your efforts. The second remedy in the pairing is called “Get it Done”. This essence will be your cheerleader and help you see that project through to its completion.

So if you are still challenged by that pile of clothes in your closet, tax extensions, or even that New Year’s resolution that still hasn’t quite gotten under way, this one’s for you! We invite you to ride the Earth’s rhythms and access the vital energy available to us all with the onset of springtime, longer days, and the warmer weather. May your path be clear and may your goals manifest with ease and in alignment with your highest Self.

May your year be filled with Magic~

Happy 2013, Star-lettes!
I want to share a mystical experience I had during a holiday camping trip down to Baja California. I had packed along essence making tools as I usually do during travel, and on Christmas day was called to make an essence which would embody the energies of the magical place we had set up camp for a few days -- a remote cove on the Sea of Cortez known as Agua Verde. The presence of the indeginous people still palpable in the air; cave paintings lending clues to a rich and spirit-filled culture; turquoise water surrounding us as all manner of sea birds danced and fished.

We camped on a deserted beach with mountains on both sides, at the end of a two-and-half hour dirt road. I set out to make an environmental essence here with the intention of gathering the peaceful feeling of home, contentment, and safety that I had been experiencing. During the day I received messages that this essence could be helpful for letting go, relaxing into one’s core, and connecting with the peace already within. That evening as I was about to gather the essence, I was instructed to let it sit overnight: the moon was full and the stars bright, and it felt important to have the energies of the night infuse the essence. I placed it in the center of a circle of stones I had created earlier that week. 

The presence of spirits was strong in the air that night; I had that tingling feeling, almost electric and of unknowable origin. I was both alert and deeply entranced during dream time. I awoke before sunrise, and, heading for the circle of stones in the morning mist, I noticed a different quality in the air. I can’t say what exactly happened. The circle and my offerings of shell and bone remained intact, but where the bottle had rested, there was now only it’s imprint in the sand. The bottle was gone.

I didn’t question it, I was not disappointed, nor was I confused. I had the inner knowing that this was perfect. I smiled as I walked away from the circle of stones and spiral of starfish, shells and rocks. Offering a prayer of thanks for the opportunity to lend a hand in co-creating an essence with the land, its spirits, devas and elementals. It was clear that it was made for them and to be inherited by them. I share this experience as it was the ultimate teaching in letting go and a beautiful reminder that we truly are in reciprocity with nature and that the spiritual world will communicate with us, if only we open the door. I am so grateful to be part of this magic and wish you all a happy year. May you hold the mystery and energy of Agua Verde in your heart. Many blessings~Claudia

To honor all the “Aguas” that have gifted me their energies over the years, I am offering a compilation of collected waters. These waters have come from over 25 different sources far and wide, spanning from Chalice Well in England, Mt. Shasta, Yosemite, Ireland, azure lakes in Mexico, glaciers in Canada, Chile and Argentina, crystalline pools sacred to the Maori in New Zealand, Hawaiian waterfalls, and various sacred springs honored by indigenous peoples of the southwest. Sacred Waters of the World is for external use only and is complemented by a refreshing combination of essential oils. It can also be sold sans scent.  Sacred Waters of the World is  recommended for those who work with water, spirits of land, and the old ones in healing ceremony and for anyone who wishes to commune with the the energies of Yemaya and Oshun. Order Sacred Waters of the World HERE