As cultures around the world gather to celebrate our ancestors in autumn, we can consider our own small rituals, such as making incense.
I love small rituals. Having lived out of a backpack for most of my twenties and still traveling a lot in my thirties, small yet potent packages of transportable sweetness help me create a sense of belonging no matter where I land. On most adventures, I commune with the landscape of my inner and outer terrain with my traveling trifecta of tea, journal, and incense.
You can create a traveling incense box from upcycled matchboxes or mint tins. Consider adding:
- Matches or lighter
- Small incense holder
- Other aromatic incense plants, such as sages, cedar, or palo santo
- A meaningful poem or picture
Walk, bike, or drive to a special spot outdoors. Bring a little tea, incense, and perhaps some poetry. Laozi's “Dao De Jing” (老子道德經) is perfect. Sit solo, or with a friend. Watch the landscape, sip tea, and savor aromas. Meditate on dancing smoke, commune with your ancestors and the spirits of the land, and wiggle your toes. Feed your free and easy wanderer self with beauty and breathe.
Read more about how to...
Labrador tea (Rhododendron columbianum, Ericaceae). Sierra Nevada, CA
Coming up
- ✨Acupressure Meditations✨ class at Ema's Herbs by donation. 10/8, 3-4 pm
- Samhain Ecstatic Dance at Bodhi Salt with community-DJ Karlos Benavides! 10/20
- Ojai Herbal Symposium in Ojai, CA and online. Offering 12 CEUs for acupuncturists! 11/11 - 11/12
- Elemental Creativity at Green Gulch Farm— art, movement, and meditation with Zen Monk Fu Schroeder, Art Monk Abbess Suiko McCall, and me! 11/29 - 12/3
- The Five Elements of Yoga & Chinese Medicine retreat at Esalen with Paula Wild and me, 12/11 - 12/15
Recommendations
- Facial Guasha tutorial, my newest blog & video for Mountain Rose Herbs
- Ketamine Assisted Therapy Training with Horizon Healing, two weekends in November
- Upcoming Tea Talks interview with Robin Rose Bennett, author of the upcoming Green Witch's Pocket Book Of Wisdom! (Releasing 10/31)
- Celebrate your ancestors with Waves of Grief, a free year-round Ocean & Surf Therapy program. Second Sundays at Solimar with Dr. Anna of Hydrotheory
❤️ With gratitude,
acupuncture . herbs . yoga
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