Month: August 2020

There is nothing more beautiful than appreciating the gift of life that we have each day. When I wake up, my first thought is reminding myself to be grateful for the gift of living another day and honoring that life force within me, which is so miraculous. We all need to do this more – engaging in a conscious connection to the miracle of our lives. It’s spectacular and needs to be celebrated each day. Nothing matters more in this life than honoring ourselves, our loved ones, our communities, and our Earth.

This leads me to what this blog post is all about: how water is the source of life and how the cultural phenomena of mermaids are a reflection of how we subconsciously (or consciously) recognize that connection. Water is sacred to me and it should be sacred to all of us. We don’t think of it enough, but we are united in the need for water being the most essential part of what allows us to survive and thrive in this lifetime. There is so much to love about water. Not only does it nourish our bodies, it cleanses our bodies, and even being near to it or hearing the sounds of water is good for our health and spirit. Mind, body, and soul… water is life.

Since I am a San Francisco Bay Area native, I am all too familiar with the trend of people attending Burning Man. To me, there is no worse way to dishonor our life force. I understand the experience is spiritually meaningful to people, but I see it mainly as a commercialized “trend experience” where people thoughtlessly go. I personally do not plan on ever attending, because I know in my heart that a dry, dusty desert festival is not honoring our life experience as being close to water does. Water is where all life emerges from. Let us all remember that, act with intention to honor that, and be sure to ensure a sustainable future in protecting water. May this be a reminder to you that recognizing the ‘simple joys’ of life are actually the most profound.

Crystals can serve many purposes. From jewelry to decoration to facial rollers and Gua Sha (the heart in middle is intended as a Gua Sha facial massager), these gemstones can uplift the spirit and bring its owner a deeper sense of spiritual health. To me, they are not just a ‘Millennial Fad.’ When I was a little girl I loved the crystals that I collected and knew that they were special. Now, I always have a rose quartz frog as a paper holder on my desk and a shell filled with crystals that I look at throughout the day, which I find to be spiritually uplifting. I sometimes meditate with a rose quartz in hand. If you also find crystals uplifting, but have yet to familiarize yourself about the benefits of crystals, the task for you is identifying which crystals speak to you and why.

For me, my three favorite crystal types are Labradorite, Rose Quartz, and Clear Quartz. I’ve included the meaning/symbolism of the three below. Furthermore, there are numerous crystals that you can identify with beyond those colors: there is Amethyst, Tiger Eye, Citrine, Jasper, Obsidian… There is something for everyone! It may not be the ascribed meaning to a certain crystal that speaks to you, rather the color or shape that speaks to you, and that’s totally fine!

There is a special connection between your Zodiac sign, the moon, and your birthstone. However, that can be your jumping off point in how your learn about which crystals speak to you. There are myriad reasons why you may connect well with a particular stone(s). Crystals are meant to help your cleanse, refresh, and center your energies, so that can be any combination of stones for you.

I think you can’t go wrong when you start familiarizing yourself more with crystals, there is only good to be had with nature’s wondrous gifts. Ideally, a deeper sense of appreciation and connectedness to your life force will be part of your journey with identifying your favorite crystals. Enjoy your gemstone journey!

Labradorite

Labradorite is considered a tremendously spiritual stone, especially helpful for people who tend to overwork. It helps an individual regain energy while aiding the body and spirit in healing itself. In the metaphysical world, labradorite is considered one of the most powerful protectors. The gemstone creates a shield for auras and protects against negativity of the world. Labradorite is said to temper the negativity within ourselves as well. Labradorite is known for its changing colors, so it is no surprise this gemstone is known as a stone of transformation, enhancing strength of will and inner worth. The gemstone labradorite is said to stimulate the throat chakra. Though not associated with any zodiac sign, supposedly the sign of Cancer is especially drawn to labradorite.

Rose Quartz

Rose Quartz is the stone of universal love.  It restores trust and harmony in relationships, encouraging unconditional love.  Rose Quartz purifies and opens the heart at all levels to promote love, self-love, friendship, deep inner healing and feelings of peace.  Calming and reassuring, it helps to comfort in times of grief.  Rose Quartz dispels negativity and protects against environmental pollution, replacing it with loving vibes.  It encourages self forgiveness and acceptance invoking self trust and self worth.

Clear Quartz

Clear Quartz is the most popular and versatile healing stone of all the crystals. It is the most powerful healing stone thought to be able to work on any condition. It is known as the stone of power and amplifies any energy or intention. It is said to protects against negativity, connecting you to your higher self. Clear Quartz is known as the “master healer” and will amplify energy and thought, as well as the effect of other crystals.  It absorbs, stores, releases and regulates energy.  It balances and revitalises the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual planes.  It aids concentration and unlocks memory.  Stimulates the immune system and brings the body into balance.  Clear Quartz (Crystal Quartz, Rock Crystal) harmonizes all the chakras and aligns the subtle bodies.

“Love lights up the cells.”

Horst Rechelbacher

To me, there is nothing ‘cooler’ than appreciating natural beauty, experiencing the beauty of nature, and understanding you can be a responsible citizen of the world: integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into beauty is the way of a sustainable future — beauty is nature, nature is beauty… For Horst Rechelbacher, the late founder of Aveda, he understood this integration and created wonderful products that truly improve the health and wellbeing of people. Creating products that do this begins with understanding how our spirit, our understanding of how love drives us, can be molded into our reality: when we practice meditation and yoga, when we find our chakras more centered, we live more joy filled and happy lives as a result. This allows us to create wonderful things that brings more beauty into the world, because beauty truly does come from within. Horst knew this himself.

Growing up, I have had a special connection to this man who I never met and who passed away in 2014. My mother is from the same hometown as Horst: Klagenfurt, Austria. There is a special connection that I feel to him because I understand where he comes from. The only hair products I knew as a child were from Aveda. My mother loved to use the Aveda Brilliant humectant hair product, and to this day, the smell of that hair product immediately reminds me of my childhood and smelling my mother’s hair. Since I was passionate about learning about the benefits of natural beauty that Aveda espouses, I did a school project about Aveda and learned all about Horst Rechelbacher when I was a young girl. I studied how his understanding of plants, aromatherapy, holistic and natural medicine about apothecaries because his mother owned an apothecary in Klagenfurt all shaped what would become a giant brand, Aveda. Aveda is now owned by The Estee Lauder Companies as of 1997. Horst sold it for $300 million.

I attribute much of Horst’s successes to three things: 1) He was a product of the wonderful vocational training programs that Austria has to offer, which Horst began to attend at the age of 14. 2) He is a product of all of his learnings about plants from his mother who owned an apothecary in Klagenfurt which focuses on holistic and all natural health treatments. 3) He kept his spirit open to change: when the fast paced life of being a celebrity hair stylist began to wear on him in his twenties, he decided to reinvision the life he wanted to lead… which led him to study Ayurveda in India. In Sanskrit, the word Ayurveda means “The Science of Life.” This combination of factors with Horst’s energy and talents ultimately shaped Horst into creating such a brilliant brand as Aveda.

Horst Rechelbacher changed the face of beauty as we know it because he brought the concept of nature and beauty to market and pioneered the entire natural beauty industry. He also is a pioneer for the intersection of CSR and capital markets because beauty and nature intersect so beautifully. His niche in natural beauty unlocked a truth: responsible corporate activity helps preserve the integrity of Earth, nature and humans. We have so much to thank Horst for and there is still so much work ahead in many industries, which he paved the way for, and we must thank him for.

We all have a vision for our lives and sometimes our visions can feel unattainable. This is where positive thinking, goal setting, and a strategy to achieving your goals with the proper tools can take your far. A positive solutions-oriented mindset coupled with an adaptable strategy, you can achieve that vision! Your vision begins with writing it down. Write down your goals. This will take you far as it’s the first step in making your vision a reality. My entire life, I have loved making collages. It’s something I enjoyed in school for my art classes, but I have been creating collages since I was a little girl and gluing pictures into my diaries. I continue to believe in the power of having a vision and achieving it because I know it works.

People I have worked with often call me “Pollyanna” as I bring a positive mindset and outlook to most aspects of my life. I find that ironic because I had never heard of the character when I was growing up! About a year ago, I stumbled into a rare copy of the book from the 1940’s that was in a giveaway box in my neighborhood… The illustration of a woman on the cover of it has similar features to me. It was a fun reminder that a “Pollyanna” outlook can be powerful… when realistically applied. You can achieve anything you put your mind to.

Strategies For You

1. Write down your goals.
2. Create a plan on how to achieve your goals and stick to it. This can often become incremental and there will be subsets of goals – this is good! Remember to be realistic about how you can work towards your vision, while also having a holistic view of the results you want.
3. Celebrate some of your ‘baby steps’ towards your goals. Make sure to celebrate how far you have come, but remember not to get too sidetracked along the way! Recommit to your vision as often as possible to keep it relevant.
4. Adjust your sails when needed. The direction of your ship may change due unforeseen circumstances (this will happen!), so be sure that you can adapt, understanding any barriers to your vision and how willing you are to make sacrifices for your vision.

Tools To Achieve Your Vision

• Vision Board: Being visual about the images that you have associated with your goal is helpful — it’s top of mind and you can place your vision board somewhere close to where you sleep, so you can see it first thing when you wake up. The process of creating a vision board can take a few days. Write down the images that you generally want to see and start looking for them in magazines etc. You can start laying out the cut outs onto a poster board before you start gluing. I love vision boards and believe they can be powerful.

• Positive Affirmations or “Power Thoughts” as the pioneer of positive affirmations, Louise L. Hay, branded them. You can find many empowering books from Hay House Publishing or you can also reference my friend Natalie Glebova’s empowerment handbook, I Am Winning. It’s incredible what we can tell ourselves which can hold us back — i.e. along the lines of “I’m not good enough” thoughts can create barriers for yourself, when there are none! You have the power to change how you think.

• SMART Goal Structure: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely (Natalie Glebova used this methodology to reach her Miss Universe title!). You can structure all of your goals using this plan (you can download templates online) to help you along the way. I have used the SMART goal template both in my professional and personal life to achieve outcomes in a timely manner.

• Healthy lifestyle: relax and sleep well. All too often, when working to achieve our goals, people can easily neglect something so essential in helping us optimize our bodies – proper relaxation and getting good sleep each night. Perhaps a phrase made iconic from the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, it’s unfair to neglect our bodies for short term outcomes – our bodies need proper rest, so don’t underestimate how lack of good rest can you hold you back from performing at your best in life. This is invaluable in allowing our bodies to stay healthy. We should all commit to maintaining healthy lifestyles that prioritize good nutrition, a love of exercise (Our bodies were literally made to move! For me, taking a good walk even makes me feel brainier), and learning how to relax and maintain a good sleep schedule. This is essential in giving you the energy you need!