Valuing Paths Less Traveled

Seeker's Psychology

Euclid implies the straightest path between two points is also the quickest, but psychology offers very different testimony. I've learned some unusual life lessons by treading the vast, uniquely beautiful southern California acres of Lucky Six Farms. Case in point: threading my way through the thick, often thorny brush so typical of the high desert landscape. How should we go about finding the best paths to our most important goals? Often, when my interest has been aroused by a particularly striking geological formation or topographic vantage point, I've trusted the seemingly ironclad conclusions of plane geometry and sought to reach the place via the most direct trails. At first blush, this approach certainly seems to be sober, clear-eyed, rational, and eminently sensible, given the wilderness of rough terrain dotted by spiny undergrowth separating me from my ultimate destination. Yet psychology wins over math almost every time.

Desert Psychology Is Subtle

How can I draw such a peculiar conclusion? Indigenous intelligences which blazed those trails understood that paths obvious to travelers would be equally clear to predators. So, in terms of desert psychology subtlety is a cardinal virtue while transparency can be a deadly sin. From my more mundane position, I've found what appears as the shortest, most obvious route usually proves to be nothing but a dead end. Thus, after a taxing series of laborious trials and errors, I find that the quickest, least precarious way is one that initially seemed quite obscure or even nonexistent. In much the same way, although we may long to experience the full benefit of energetic purification, we hesitate to make use of venerable yet unfamiliar aids like White Sage essential oil, hydrosol, or smudge sticks.

Lessons From Natural Psychology

The potent White Sage lovingly grown and harvested in the imposing shadow of Madre Grande monastery manifests its assistance via a number of little-known but amazingly effective products. By taking just a bit of extra time to travel the paths each one of them opens, it becomes possible to approach an empowering luminance with surprising ease.

Healing with White Sage

     
                                                                By Monica Maghiar
                                           

         
       White sage is one of the most sacred plants to Native Americans. For centuries, it has been used in folk medicine as well as in religious and healing rituals. Today, white sage is used by people that are interested in natural remedies, alternative medicine practitioners, artisans for: soaps, candles and lotions making and everybody else that wishes to cleanse homes and people of bad energy or influences. The native belief is that all ceremonies, tribal or private, must be entered into with a good heart so that we can pray, sing, walk, dance and live in a clean, sacred, honest  manner.


   Physical Healing - Feel Your Roots

   Make a tea using dry white sage whole leaves. Add to a cup of hot water and let it sit for at least four minutes. This tea can be used to treat stomach troubles, arthritis and headaches. It has also shown to lessen the painful effects of heavy menstruation, but should not be used by pregnant or nursing mothers as it can also decrease lactation production.

   Add a couple of dry or fresh leaves to a bottle of water. Use purified, filtered or mineral water for better results. Close the bottle and let it sit so the healing properties of the sage mix in with the water. This can be used as a day-to-day drink or given to those who are recuperating from an illness as a tonic. Adding lemon and xylitol makes it very refreshing.

  Put a dry or fresh leaf in between your teeth and cheek and let it soak to soothe a sore throat. Make sure you use organically grown sage. Don't swallow the leaf. Instead, replace it with a new one when it feels like there's no flavor or juice left. Leaves are also good to chew on when one fights heatstroke.
   Mash fresh or dry leaves and mix them with water to create a paste. Wrap it using a cheesecloth and use it as a poultice over sore muscles, skin eruptions and rashes. You can also use it on the forehead to lower fevers, or on the lower stomach to relieve menstrual cramps. Leave the poultice in place until it has dried or cooled, or until the symptoms have subsided. Reapply the poultice as necessary, using a fresh cloth and fresh herbal preparation every time.

   Crush and add dry or fresh leaves to boiling water. Remove from the source of heat and let it steep for at least one hour for use as a soaples shampoo, dye and hair straightener.


    Spiritual Healing - Tread lightly

   White sage has been used by the Native Americans for thousands of years in order to primarily heal the spirit, which they believe in turn aids to the body’s ability to function properly.
   Use a white sage smudge cone or smudge wand and fire to burn the end so it starts smoking. Walk from room to room, making sure the smoke reaches every corner. Use a cleansing prayer or make up one yourself. Think about asking the bad energy to leave the area and ask for protection and peace to come over it. When cleansing a room, light a smudge cone and leave it in a corner to burn off.
Keep the room closed so the smoke doesn't wander out, but make sure the wand or cone is placed on a heart burner or clay surface to prevent fires and to protect your furniture and upholstery. White sage has a pleasant sweet aroma, so you won't need to air the room afterwards. The smoke attaches itself to negative energy. As the smoke clears it takes the negative energy with it, releasing it to regenerate into something more positive. Tests have also shown that the smoke of burning sage literally changes the ionization polarity of the air.
   Smudging is very effective when you've been feeling depressed, angry, resentful or unwell or after you have had an argument with someone. When this is the case, your entire energy field will require cleansing. At times it will be possible for you to perform this ritual for yourself, with the use of a lit white sage smudge wand. At other times you may detect the need for some assistance, both in terms of spiritual intuition and because it can be tricky to sweep the smoke over the entire outline of your body, front and back, head to toe. In a sympathetically conducted ritual, your helper will gather the smoke with their hand and draw it into the perimeter of your body. Special attention will be given to areas of stress and unbalance so that cleansing and protection can be experienced.

   Use the plant to the highest of your abilities, showing with all your power, gratitude and respect for the benefits that you receive. Try to apply the same attitude in relationship with yourself, others and the world.

   Follow your bliss!

  All the wonderful products that you might need to create the suggested herbal experiences can be found at our online store at http://luckysixfarms.com

Morning Surprise at Lucky Six Farm

Morning Surprise at Lucky Six Farm

 

By Corey Hale

It’s harvest time. Our White Sage has reached its peak potential, the time when the leaves are most aromatic and plump. The healing oils will soon fill the Sun Center with their aura cleansing properties. The beauty of the morning dazzles us as we gather at sunrise to begin.

The White Sage grown and harvested here, while common to this area of Southern California, is still a rare find in its cultivation and distillation. Located high in the mountains east of San Diego, CA., overseen by the monks of Madre Grande Monastery whose continuation is our mission, each plant is tenderly cared for on pesticide-free land, handpicked, and only organically composted.

Our most exciting news this first day of harvest is the discovery of a bird’s nest cradled into the sweet-smelling arms of a mature plant. The amazing protective properties of White Sage extending beyond the spiritual and metaphysical world in order to weave a velvety green cocoon of sparkling, sun-drenched branches around the nest, keeping it safe during last night’s crazy storm.

Back to the dazzling morning… 

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