In the waning days of October with it’s emphasis on All Hallows Eve and the immediately following All Souls and All Saints Days, there are certainly more than enough energies afoot to pull our attention to our own dearly departed. There are customs in the Orient that actually ascribe to some beautiful traditions in the days, months or even years that follow the death of a beloved. These ceremonies can also bring the family back together as well as give everyone an opportunity to fully focus on their ancestors both in the past and the present.
In my mind, one of the most reverential and sweet tradition also mirrors the Jewish tradition of the “unveiling” in so much as it happens a year to the day after a loved one has passed. On that day, according to Eastern lore, a lamp is left burning on the grave of the deceased. Echoing some Mexican traditions of bringing bright fire, big meals and happy memories to the graveyard on Halloween, this custom from the East advises a burning candle under a glass dome or hurricane ‘lamp’ would be the best tool to take to the gravesite to mark this one year anniversary while allowing the soul to soar into the light and on to eternal glory. Other cultures and other traditions hold that on any anniversary of a special someone’s death, the family members should each draw a rendition of their ancestor, whether from memory or even from old photos and then should put their picture into a red envelope. Three days later they can burn the red envelope with their own prayer and blessing and then should believe that their wishes are being carried to their loved ones on the wings of these sacred smoke signals.
This month, while out tricking and treating why not also take some time to remember all of your departed loved ones with some special ceremonies and wishes of your own. This symbolic Instant Message is sure to garner a big and blessed response.
Permalink
I was speaking with one of my really good friends this morning about her weekend. She had phoned last week to say that she had to fly out to Ohio for her mother’s emergency brain surgery this past Saturday. Her mother is 86. Her dad died a few years back and this trip was troubling at best.
Well, her mom came through the surgery with higher than flying colors and is already out of the hospital. My friend Jeanne is a little the worse for wear though. Already back at her high profile position at one of the biggest booksellers in the world, when asked how SHE was doing after all this, she shared that due to a rare ear condition she felt like her head was “under water” all the time. Her eustation tubes are congenitally and constantly clogged and, therefore, so are her ears. She said that both wings up and landing while on the plane were excruciating. I can TOTALLY relate!
I have terrible ear problems on planes when the altitude changes and almost always forget to take a decongestant before I travel. Jeanne’s problem, though, is different.
Most of us who experience “plane ear” will, at one point or another, hear a sort of “pop” in our ears post landing and then will go about our daily lives. Jeanne is still walking around feeling like she is under water. I told her about the few holistic remedies that I have both embraced and enacted with legions of clients, especially those parents who are really reticent to put the proverbial tubes into their infant’s aching ears.
The gold standard of ear ache and infection is to put ten drops of true lavender essential oil on a half of a sterile cotton ball and stick the oil side of the cotton into the ear and leave it there for at least three hours. If there is any water, infection or other foreign element in the canal, it will be drawn up into the cotton ball itself. Change out the cotton with fresh lavender oil until the ache abates. This really and truly does work.
Jeanne, however, is allergic to lavender.
In her case I told her what I have recommended to scores of other clients. Go to any natural health food store and find some garlic oil. That’s right, Rachael Ray, I said garlic oil. Now, however is easiest, warm the garlic oil and then put three drops into the affected ear. Continue to do this every 6-8 hours for three days and the entire problem should be healed. Did you hear that? I said entirely healed!!
Jeanne is heading out to get that oil and start this protocol today. I will let you know whether she had the same success that many others have had and will hope that soon she feels like her head is finally above water and on dry land, exactly where it should be.
As the Sun rose across my morning television screen this morning, I thought that I might blog something today about Hillary and her apparent end to the seemingly never-ending race for a nod from all dem SUPER delegates. But, then I reminded myself about that old axiom regarding sharing sentiments involving either politics or religion. So, of course, then I thought that I would write about Jesus and Hillary. But, with Oprah’s crowning of Obama as a sort of Second Coming, well, I think the media already beat me to it, so, I guess I’ll write today about the good fortune coin cure.
The wha????
See, a few days ago one of those daily tips that I write for iVillage.com must have mentioned the good fortune coins. The reason I say this is because inside the past few days I have received an onslaught of emails asking what they are and where they can be found. Now, remember, I write those tips months and months in advance and usually try best to match the energy of the day with something really proactive and, (of course!), empowered, that anyone can do to not only take some serious advantage of that day’s astro energies but also to just make their life a better place to be in general. Clever ain’t I?
Well, starting at the end of last week, there were a lot of emails over in my info box that were all asking the same question; what are the good fortune coins and where can we get them? I knew I must have recommended using this surefire cure for some good reason or another, because, well, this single cure can quickly turn your life around. Seen it and heard it a thousand times before, so, really confident in sharing the wealth. And obviously did that in some iVillage tip. Okay, so, back to sharing the wealth…literally: Simply stated, there is a gold standard in Feng Shui fortune invitations and it involves taking three actual old Chinese coins or modern reproduction of same to stimulate money, abundance and love Chi! These Chinese coins are round with a square hole in the center symbolizing the fusion of Heaven and Earth. Coins, in any culture and in many traditions, are widely used as prosperity symbols. When three (or six) of these specific Chinese coins are tied together with red ribbon, string or thread, there is an instant magnification of that aforementioned luck. Now, when three of these coins, facing four character side out (these coins have inscriptions on them, one side has two characters on it and the other has four) are tied together with red ribbon that links them with special-meaning knots, then, my friend, you have the potent and powerful prosperity enhancer called, okay, all together now, The Good Fortune Coin Cure. They can go in your wallet or get placed on your phone. On your computer, your fax or even your printer (to double your abundance) these coins promise fabulous fortune and a whole lot of luck wherever they end up. But, that said, the most auspicious place to hang this little blockbuster of booty is on the back of the handle of your front entryway door. Whatever door is considered the ‘front door’ to your house, these coins should be hung around the inside handle on that back of that door. An energetic enhancer that actually begs big fortunes and luck come in and stay awhile. And then they do.
You can probably find these coins on thousands of Feng Shui product sites that stretch across the web. But I think its better if you make them yourselves because then, as you are tying the coins together, you can infuse them with your own powerful intentions at same time. Or, you can wait until my website is back up and running and order them from us. I know the integrity of those coins but can’t speak for anyone else’s. Look, you can go to any Oriental store in any mall in the world and get three reproduction Chinese coins and tie them together with red ribbon. And then hang them on your front door and wait for the fabulousness to start.
And maybe, just maybe, I should have sent a set to Hillary for her to carry on the campaign trail. Let me see if I can find Tammy and have her send some right away. That way we’ll know for sure that what’s next for this former First Lady will be second to nothing and better than anything she could have ever hoped for. And we wish her all the best!
Last night my little boy had a migraine. At least I’m pretty sure that’s what it was. I was all set to blog my first recipe post this morning, but, can’t seem to shake the night’s events away, so I figure I would write about torturous Thursday night first and then come back to the magical, mystical and oh so delish salsa recipe chop chop. That said, here’s more about the little scare for big Mom.
About half past six last night my pre-teen son comes into the kitchen and announces that he’s having trouble “seeing.” I swear, that’s what little Helen Keller came in and said; “Mom, there’s something wrong with my eyes and I can’t see.” Knowing his penchant for the dramatic, I had to quickly weigh the severity of the situation. He didn’t seem too concerned himself but did see fit to stand in front of me with his left hand smack in front of his face only to tell me that when he held his hand like that he could “only see every other finger.”
Hmmm. Looking at me for some sort of grown up explanation, I stood pouring my blood orange juice into two fingers of Grey Goose. And coolly diagnosed with the usual: “puberty.” “But, Mom, my fingers keep disappearing and if I turn it this way, I can only see part of my hand.”
Okay Harry Potter, I thought, the train for Hogwarts is probably pulling out of Station 9 and ¾ right now and if you hurry you might just make it! Or, you could go back and finish your homework while I try to figure this all out. (All of this conversation was going on in my head while something painful was brewing in his.)
He did return to his homework at my computer but only for about five minutes before I heard this GIANT, and I mean GIANT, yelp from my office. I ran to see what was up and there he was, this little crying copper-headed boy, slumped over my desk, holding his hurting head, just crying and crying and crying. He was in big pain. Now, I was worried.
I got him up, took him to my bed and snuggled him up with a toddy of Motrin and a few sips of cold Coke. I remembered from some training somewhere that caffeine constricts the blood vessels during a bad headache and has been proven to help mitigate a migraine. Now, at this point mind you, I still wasn’t sure that’s what was happening but the complaints about blurry vision almost immediately followed by a jackhammer going off in his brain pretty much spelled it out. I was just waiting for him to tell me he felt any sort of nausea before I was sure. That happened about twenty seconds after the first Motrin dose, as he lay spread eagle across my five hundred thread count Egyptian cotton sheets (yet another remnant from the old life) informing that he was “gonna puke in the bed, MOM!” Oh, good, as long as it’s pink bubblegum flavored Motrin mixed with ebony cola that comes out, we’ll all be just fine. He didn’t get sick, though. (Good lad; I’ve taught him well.)
I also knew to put ice on the back of the neck. What I forgot was that the ice should go back of the neck, on the forehead stretching all the way to both temples WHILE feet are in a warm water bath with two cups Epsom salts. The idea here is that the ice helps the pressure from the headache and the warm salty water foot bath pulls the pain out. I remembered something about almonds in there ,too, but couldn’t quite recall what exactly. I looked it up this morning and there’s something in the nut, probably laetrile, that helps ease the pain of a migraine. Heads up: Eat twelve almonds slowly to head off a headache.
Anyway, an hour after the mountain of Motrin he still wasn’t much better. I kept changing the cool cloth at the front and the back of his hammering head, and also turned out every light I could find, while pushing the air conditioning down into meat-storing temperatures. After cutting up an adult style pain reliever that I had (hey, I had surgery in November and that was only like what eight years ago, of course I still need painkillers!), and giving him a quarter of one of my pills, he FINALLY fell asleep. But not before I missed the Ugly Betty finale and only just half-caught that Dale got the boot on Top Chef after restaurant wars. Of course, I was only catching these snippets (Daniel has a French son, so does my brother Bob, what a coincidence!), while I was refreshing the ice packing.
After a really good night sleep (THANK YOU TYLENOL WITH CODEINE!), he woke up good as new, but he’s still home from school today. And, of course, I can’t stop thinking about what in the world would cause a healthy and happy 6th grade boy to get a migraine?
Oh, right, puberty!
XML Feeds
