It's Natural: ​From the scent of flowers and cut/broken stems, branches, leaves, and roots to the vapors emitted during plant respiration, wildlife, livestock, and our companion animals are naturally and regularly exposed to the complex organic compounds found in essential oils (oils are derived from nature itself). Animals also frequently consume the same compounds found in 100% pure, therapeutic-grade EO.
Read the full piece here. Source: Brainz Magazine

I had a guttural reaction to something I saw this morning and while it was first about what I saw, a Truth deep within spoke: “I have to be more ME, authentically me.” Even the dark, silly, swearing, beautiful, magnetic, kick-your-fucking-ass, victim, survivor, thriver, me. The voice gently asked "Where am I not being fully me?"

I am angry. I deserve to be angry (hurt child, teen, even adult). Release it all or just let it Be (wise me). "Somewhere in between me" has tears of anger and frustration, joy and gratitude. To others it make no sense. That is fine. 

Why? Because I can only ever be Me, and you only ever YOU. Not so and so’s sister or daughter, employee, friend. While all that is true on some level, I am separate, as are you. We are each individuals. No one else has ever walked my path or will. Just like you will only ever be the one to live the Life you are living.

Someone else's may be close. But, we walk it alone. Yes, I believe. I believe in God - in and all around me and all things. I believe in angels and guides, all of the magic, awe and wonder.

In the end, this body holds me. When it passes, I, too, shall pass this phase. To where and what? I don't know - something dramatically better I pray. Peaceful. Safe. 

We are triggered when we don’t feel peaceful or safe. Yes, it can look like jealousy, feel like anger, etc. In the end, it is simply the smallest child within us scared out of their spirits and minds.

You can preach every mantra to this child. Say every loving word ever spoken to her/him. But, BUT, until that child feels safe…they are just words. 

Until the nervous system can dump out of the storm of trauma responses, the words are as hollow as a dead tree branch.

What does all this mean? It means everything comes back to FEELING safe in our own bodies and minds. Period. All the locks in the world, all the mantras and manifestation check-lists are SHIT unless you/I/we can soothe our systems enough to let the love and wisdom sink-in.

And, that safety doesn’t come from people saying “I’m trauma-informed…do this!” Or, “Tony Robbins has lived through hell, look at how well he’s doing now…” or “You need to try harder, do more, hustle, pick yourself-up by the bootstraps,” or even “Reset your nervous system. Take a deep breath, soak in the tub, ground.”

First, as much as it sucks, first... you need to be in the shit. In the pit. AND TO KNOW YOU ARE IN THE PIT. TO FEEL the scary feelings and start to know you can be okay in the shit storm....here and now. (AKA - this is now, not then).

That the hormones are real, but what they are telling you may not be factual in this time and space…in this instant…

But, I gotta say - it takes a lot of work off-line, when you are in a safe space, to be able to have the capacity to become aware of the “being triggered” and let the awareness be the hope that leads you home to yourself. 

It comes in relationship. With your Self and trusted other souls. People have to EARN that level of trust. These are souls who respect your boundaries enough to give you space to feel all the shit and stand beside you.

Not to save you. Not to heal you. Not to even protect you. But, to simply love you and reflect back to you that you are not only safe, right in this moment, but that you are magnificent.

Magnificent as a creation. As someone who survived the unsurvivable. Magnificent in all your chaos, creativity and calm. 

And, here’s the fuck-shit of life, you’re going to realize that one of your triggers is the actual art of healing itself.

That peace, safety, calmness, joy, good things happening can be as much a trigger as the horrible…only, without any background knowledge of how to cope with the good.

See, we know how to deal with the bad. Freeze…keep your mouth shut, hide (whether in a room, or in the rooms inside your mind). Run. Get the hell outta of the house, relationship, life…before it kills you.

But the good, the good... That never lasted long. So, when it starts to - how do you deal with that shit? When is the other shoe going to fall? When is the person going to yell, leave, hit?

When is your boss going to suddenly decide you’re too much, too ambitious, too little, too something - and fire you or force you out?

The goal, the goal is not to let go of the past and forgive. You may have to say “fuck that shit” and just move on/let it be. The Goal dear ones is so much more profound that than…

The goal is to be able to enjoy the peace, safety, love and abundance life has waiting for us. 

The point is to be able to be at peace with the feelings of horror even when they come from something wonderful. 

The HOPE is to settle into peace more quickly, effectively, efficiently, no matter what wave you are riding in a given moment, the crest of bliss or the rolling thunder down under the spray.

Oh, to be able to relish it all without the “fix” — the panic, fear, freeze, blow-up the relationship, use food, sex, drugs, etc. To BE. 

TO BE. That, that is the freedom we seek. To cry openly in ecstasy as well as in grief. 

To trust that we can live not confined in the cage of raging hormones of trauma, but in the ebb and flow of Life. Then, what a wonderful world it will be. 

That probably grabbed your attention! I know what you've heard, read, been told by vets, breeders, family, friends, rescues, etc., but garlic is not toxic to dogs.

But, like the poor poinsettia plant mistakenly labeled toxic to children and animals, garlic has gotten a bad-rap. (Research in the 1990s dispelled that myth, so here I am working to dispel the myth about garlic).

The confusion results primarily because garlic is part of the Allium family, along with onions, shallots, leeks and chives, and one study done in 2000.

The Allium family contains sulfur-based compounds, n-propyldisulfide, as well as small amounts of thiosulfate, which, when ingested in large quantities over an extended period of time, could lead to anemia or death. Farmers found this out in the 1930s when feeding onions to livestock like cows and seeing signs of toxicity.

But, is it really bad to feed your dog garlic? No. So, how'd we get here?

The panic began with a study published in 2000. In the published results researchers noted that while the dogs in the study never showed outward signs of toxicity, there was an effect on red blood cells, and “We believe that foods containing garlic should be avoided for use in dogs.”

To understand the dynamics here, however, we have to look more closely at the Hokkaido University study. First, it was conducted with a total of eight mixed-breed dogs. Four receiving a garlic extract and four receiving water. Blood work and other tests were conducted over the course of 30 days, including before, during and after administration of the extracts.

The four dogs receiving the garlic were given 1.25ml of garlic extract per kg of body weight every day for seven days straight; the equivalent of 5g of whole garlic/kg, or 1.2 teaspoons, once a day for seven days. The other four dogs received water. 

Since I'm not great with math, I kept reading and found an article noting that 1.25ml of extract per kg of body weight for seven days would be the equivalent of a 40 pound pup ingesting 20 cloves of garlic. 

My thoughts on this study are too many to mention. To start, WOW, that's a LOT of garlic. Then, my background had me questioning the use of extracts as they are  typically considered more potent than whole, raw herbs/plants a like a clove of garlic simply because the whole plant contains other compounds plus fiber.

Next, the abstract I found wasn't clear if the garlic was extracted using water or alcohol, which could alter the impact/results. (We typically avoid using alcohol extracts with animals and children...because it contains alcohol). 

All this to say that, in the end, the study did more harm than good because it scared many of us away from incorporating garlic into our canines' healthy lifestyle where it can:

• Enhance circulation; including lymphatic 
• Assist with the body's natural detoxification processes
• Help prevent blood clots
• Reduce cholesterol build-up
• Help prevent formation of tumors
• Boots immunity 

Garlic is also antibiotic, anti-fungal and anti-parasitic; lowers blood sugar and cholesterol and can be used as a natural flea/tick repellent!

The sulfur in garlic is excreted through your dog's skin, helping drive those buggers away. Plus, the healthier your companion (see bullets above), the less likely they are to get infestations of anytype.

At this point, you should be realizing that you've been mislead and it's probably time to add a little spice to your dog's diet!

So, how do you get started? Low quantities introduced slowly!

In her book The Complete Herbal Book for the Dog, Juliette de Bairacli Levy suggests the following dosages:

• 10 to 15 pounds – ½ clove
• 20 to 40 pounds – 1 clove
• 45 to 70 pounds – 2 cloves
• 75 to 90 pounds – 2½ cloves
• 100 pounds and over – 3 cloves

Since cloves can vary in size and weight, it's probably easier to use these standardized measurements set forth by the National Research Council (for chopped, raw garlic): 

• 5 lbs: ⅙ tsp
• 10 lbs: ⅓ tsp
• 15 lbs: ½ tsp
• 20 lbs: ⅔ tsp
• 30 lbs: 1 tsp

Like the poor poinsettia plant mistakenly labeled toxic to children and animals, garlic has gotten a bad-rap. (Research in the 1990s dispelled that myth, so here I am working to dispel the myth about garlic).

You can help dispel the myths by sharing this piece with your loved ones and safely incorporating garlic into your canine's diet! 

​PS - If you don't believe any of this, you can trust that I fed my beloved Sir. Duncan McDougle garlic for most of his 18+ years on the planet. No, his breath wasn't always fresh, but he remained feisty and active til the end. 

Questions about incorporating holistic health practices into your canine's care? Email me at: [email protected]. 

From air fresheners to candles, birds are especially sensitive to toxins in the home. For years, this had many avian aficionados avoiding EO. But, that’s not necessary!

​Since birds have very delicate skin and coating their feathers with EO could be harmful, the best ways to safely introduce EO is through misting/spritzing or diffusing oils around them.

​Learn more in this free, downloadable PDF: PPBirds

We’re so often told forgiveness is the key to freedom. 

Or, to “just let go”. 

I’ve spent the better parts of 40+ years working on healing a litnay of challenges from early childhood sexual abuse and familial alcoholism, to physical abuse at the hands of a sibling and numerous injuries, illnesses that allopathic medicine couldn’t “fix”.

Something I feel confident of, also backed by ancient modalities, spiritual practices and, more recently, science: trauma is stored in our bodies. 

It is passed down from generation to generation not only by learning poor coping skills, being trained not to see options/lack of awareness of something “different” and modeling less than useful behaviors, but in our very DNA.

I can honestly say I’ve worked HARD to forgive, to let go, to heal. 

Counseling. Trauma therapy. Self-help groups, books and retreats. Studying herbs, nutrition, essential oils, psychology, communications and more. Yoga, exercise, breastwork, acupuncture, chiropractic, etc.

And, today, I’m settling on this: LET IT BE.

If we could forgive or let go, we would. 

Sure, maybe not all of us, but most of us. 

We’d LOVE to be able to pull out every strand of pain, every fiber of anger, wavelength of rage, frustration. The deep GRIEF, WOUNDEDNESS, hurt, sorrow. 

To have the abandonment leave our hearts, minds and bodies forever. 

To feel like our soul is whole. To not have that hidden and lingering impression of something stolen from us that everyone else on earth has…

We’ve literally given up our health first to keep the secrets, then lost our families and friends for telling them. 

All in attempt to heal.

We’ve been ridiculed, called liars, abandoned, excluded, isolated, hurt (physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually) for not only speaking up, attempting to change, heal and survive — but because of WHO WE ARE.

Because we are different. 

Different from both our family because we are working to heal AND from society because we don’t have the tools or genetic make-up that others with less/different ancestry and experiences do. 

To deny this fundamental aspect of trauma is to deny us our hearts, souls, strength… our essence. ​

People will say “you are trapped in victimhood.” 

To quote my dad “No shit Sherlock”….how can we NOT be when it is a response WIRED into our minds and CODED into our DNA?

“Gandhi survived his challenges and forgave, you can too…that lady who lost her arm in a shark attack turned it into gold…and…and…and…”

While well-meaning, what it feels like to folks in a fog of chemicals triggered bodily responses, ones they might not even be fully cognizant of, is more victim blaming. 

And, on many levels it is.

Especially, if we do not fully know someone’s story. 

An assumption that someone is not living up to their potential is still a judgement that can carry a hefty weight for those of us working to find balance.

You may assume we are needing to ‘rebalance,’ but what I’m saying is many of us never felt balance. 

Never felt safety. Peace. Not at fundamental core levels.

So, the “pick yourself up by the bootstraps” approach may be a nice game we can play (and many of us have only known this our entire lives) is simply another notch on the side of trauma on our scoreboard of life.

That’s not to say I don’t believe in accountability. I do. But, hell, many of us have been accountable for not only ourselves, but our entire family and family systems throughout our lives.

My point in sharing all this, well, there are probably many. But, for now, I just want anyone who cannot fathom the path to forgiveness, all of us whose path to “letting go” is riddled with grasping on, to realize both phrases are highly inaccurate.

The point we are aiming for is PEACE. 

And, peace may be very different place for you than for me, based on our unique circumstances.

Here, we acknowledge our growth and our limitations, not as another failed attempt to meet society’s, our family or friends’ standards, but to settle into new sensations, beliefs, hopes, dreams.

The foreign territory of learning to feel safe when life is going well. That perhaps, just perhaps, this time…the other shoe will NOT drop. 

To create NEW chemical responses.

And, when the old chemical freight train courses uncontrollably through our bodies, to pause, breathe and LET IT BE. 

That’s it. 

Let it Be. 

Let YOURSELF BE. 

Allow the hate, rage, hurt, anger, mis-takes along your path. Allow the seeming unending grief, pain, jabs and triggering.

To sit in that sea of chemicals understanding (as best we can) what it is and popping our noses up like a manatee, dolphin or whale, to catch a breath. 

My trauma, YOUR trauma, literally is a wound trying to heal….on so many levels.

When the scab is “picked-at” (aka you are triggered), your body is trying to help save you by dumping all those intense hormones we call “fight, flight, freeze and fawn.”

Your system calls it “survival” and “normal”…life. 

So, like the sore on your skin that itches, breaks open occasionally as it heals, we Let It Be when it comes to the scratchy, red, swollen pain of our emotional, physical, psychological, spiritual trauma.

You don’t need my permission to Let It Be, but you have it if you want it. 

If you’d like some support as you work to create a body, mind, spirit that can hold health and wellbeing, I’m here to help. [email protected]

I weep in gratitude for what I have and frustration for what I want
I sigh in despair and awe at life
I am baffled by how far I’ve come and how far I’ve yet to go
I am weary, worn, drained…yet the scent of trees, the sight of snow and touch of love sustain me eternally 
How can I, we, be both flawed and whole
This is pure mystery to me, waiting merely to unfold 
​~mag