Lifestyle

What being alive means to me, but with style.

How To Use Essential Oils At Home

Lifestyle

Anyone who has looked up healthy alternatives to household cleaners, beauty supplies and more has come across essential oils. Something that I love about essential oils is that they contain anywhere from 80-99% terpenes, the smelly little compounds that help provide influence in effect in the cannabis flower. Yeah, you heard me right! Essential oils, in my opinion, are the great bridge for cannabis to the rest of society.

Going out and buying tons of oils without knowing how to use them, however, is probably not the best idea for someone on a budget. In our house, we have essential oil recipes to replace homemade cleaners and a few styles of diffuser. I’ve compiled the ways I use my essential oils here in this lovely list. Do remember that without Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap, most of this wouldn’t be possible. If you’re looking for a gateway into making your own dish soap, body wash, face wash, and more; invest in a big ole bottle of  castile soap.

Vinegar-based Disinfectant

This is a tricky one since some people have a deep aversion to the aroma of vinegar. Even with essential oils added, the vinegar smell can be prominent. There are a few different recipes out there on the internet but most will use essential oils, Dr. Bronners, hot water, and vinegar. I like to keep mine labeled with the entire list of oils so anyone rifling through my cleaning supplies knows what they’re looking at.

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Laundry Refresher

Ever left the laundry in the washing machine too long and had it smell a little wonky? Instead of running the washer again I’ve been putting some tea tree essential oil onto my wool dryer balls and running them altogether. It’s a great way to save yourself time, energy, and water for those forgotten loads.

‘Febreze-style’ Spray

One day we were hanging out sitting on the carpet together and all of a sudden there it was. The aroma of pets was just hanging there around us, emanating from the floor. To combat the smell but keep the pets we cooked up some refreshing spray using tea tree, sage, & other oils alongside baking soda and water. It works like a charm!

Aromatherapy, Duh!

Of course, the most common way to enjoy the power of essential oils is with aromatherapy. I have two styles of diffusers. One is made of soapstone and uses a tea light to heat the oil infused water.  If you also have dogs and cats as roommates be sure to look up which oils are toxic to animals before diffusing.

 

These are my common and easy ways to use essential oils around the house. I add them in tons of products but these are where they are doing the most work for the product. How do you use essential oils in your house? Let me know in the comments.

 

 

 

 

 

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Holy Grail Kush by Budwise

Lifestyle

[Kosher Kush x OG #18][90% INDICA]

Holy Grail Kush is a strain that delivers what the name implies, the golden cup of Indicas. The mostly Indica strain has rightfully won the Cannabis Cup in both 2011 and 2012 and acquired the first ever perfect score in 2011. The bud delivers a solid Kush structure with big, dense, chunky nuggets. In this review, we’re talking about a phenotype grown by the Spokane i502 cannabis company Budwise. Budwise uses organic style practices and all but their grams are sold in jars to stay fresh.

 

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This one is pungent and effective, but the buds are more of a combination. Buds appear a bit sparse on the stem to the naked eye but are actually quite dense where the flower has populated. It smells spicily of musk with a fresh, lemon undertone. Upon inhalation prepare to be reminded of the taste of every designer OG running through California you have loved… mixed together. The Holy nugget can be grown both in and outdoor with a flowering time of 63-70 days.

After medicating prepare to feel immediate ocular relief that generates towards your temples while slowly trickling down your spine. This is a medical cannabis strain that it delivers a deep and long-lasting pain relief to the entire body. Mental relaxation is imminent but do be prepared for slight possibilities of paranoia while your anxiety melts away. After about five minutes medicating through smoking, there will be noticeable muscle tension relief and that familiar dry, red eye. Grab some eye drops for this one! Holy Grail Kush has been used to provide relief from nausea, pain, anxiety, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis & fibromyalgia. This strain is not for the novice smoker, it can make you extremely tired and it is advised to medicate wisely and in moderation.

Header image is taken from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The Remedy To THC-Induced Anxiety

Cannabis, Lifestyle

THC-induced anxiety isn’t fun, but don’t throw away those nugs just yet.

It’s true, certain cannabis cultivars tend to give me anxiety. Unfortunately, despite my experience in the convoluted world of strain names every once in awhile I will end up with a strain that has me rocking back and forth trying to figure out an argument that I had in 2011. In a world where taxes have us spending a pretty penny on quality cannabis products, we can’t just throw away our flowers. For those of us on a budget we simply have to make it work, but how?

To tone down the anxiety, it is pretty much a given that I turn to Cannabidiol (CBD). In this case an edible option would technically work, but the time period between ingesting and the onset of effects is far longer than smoking. This means that we would have to eat the CBD edibles or hemp oil anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour before we smoke the anxiety-inducing strain. Instead of trying to be high and also have an exceptional concept of time, think of getting CBD-rich cannabis flowers instead.

If we can get our hands on a CBD cultivar that is 2:1 CBD to THC we can actually mix it with the other flowers that have been giving us trouble. Until we find out which terpenes are aggravators of our anxiety AND we have readily available terpene tests; from here we have to do some trial and error. I like to put equal parts of each strain in my grinder and test it in a place where I feel safe and comfortable (in case the ratio isn’t quite right and an anxiety attack comes). For those still feeling anxious, add more CBD. People that might want more psychoactive, play up the THC cultivar. To keep track of these mixtures, it is a good idea to keep a journal of our use. Goldleaf Journals just came out with a tasting journal that can work great for this purpose.

Also, please remember that there are other ways to deal with anxiety; whether it comes from cannabis or not. When a panic attack starts to swirl in I generally brew a cup of tea, get on my yoga mat, and/or go out into nature. My favorite CBD-rich strain for reducing anxious feelings? Harlequin. For all time. Yes, I’ve tried ACDC and Charlotte’s Web. I’ve had Cannatonic, Shark Shock, and Sour Tsunami. Harlequin is my jam.

God Has No Religion, People Do

Lifestyle, Religion

As a pathway to God religion is one of the most useful tools for the human soul, but sometimes we get lost within the labels and lose our connection to divinity.

Raised Catholic until soccer took over my Sundays I didn’t find organized religion again until high school. Eventually, I chose to party over being a devout Christian at that age, I’m not the type of human that is able to do both. The party morphed over the years and eventually hit a downward spiral until I was about 25 and met an exceptionally abusive man. He never hit me, he just constantly called me a whore, slut, and other generally belittling names so that I believed that I could never do better. Eventually, I moved back in with my parents after that last fight had me cowering in the corner digging my own nails into my arms.

I continued dating him and to ensure that he didn’t scream at me and then dump me I basically hung out in my room alone. Desperate for human interaction I found that church was the only place that I could go without him losing it. What I found there wasn’t just a solid group of women to spend time with, it was a pathway to God. With continued bible study, prayer, and sermons I was able to realize that I didn’t need a negative relationship in my life and was able to let go. But the problem was that I didn’t have a concrete belief in some of the things that other people in church wholeheartedly believed. I just don’t find it factual that Jesus was literally a mystical son of God sent to Earth but I dug the metaphor. The continued fellowship and guidance from some key ladies in my life kept me at that home church until I made my next move to Arizona.

When I moved to Flagstaff, Arizona I didn’t find a new church since work sort of took over my life. I also had some doubts about my faith and where my faith was really channeling. Before I began my disaster relationship I had deeply studied the Buddhist and Pagan philosophies through various books and self-study. Since that was another thing that the man had hated about me my studies had become a sort of fantasy secret, but living in Flagstaff reconnected me to those roots. After trudging through the muck towards self-love and working on enjoying being alone I met cowboyfriend, an amazingly weird little Pagan cowboy snowboarder pirate. He literally makes no sense and it is one of my most favorite things. It gave me hope that I can be whatever I want, that a religious label is meaningless to me in my understanding of God.

A recent conversation with my older brother made me fully accept that I am not a Christian, the doctrine simply doesn’t jive with me. The reason that I enjoyed being Christian is that for once in my life people weren’t scared of me, they saw me as normal and our social interactions were more comfortable. Recently I read somewhere that God doesn’t have religion, people do. This felt so right to me and I started wondering why religion is in place in every modern society of people. It is obviously important to human societies all over the world and that is because it provides us with a pathway to God, who is the same entity over and over again no matter what book we’re reading. I feel fresh with this new understanding, where I once sat in a fog I now feel that without labels I can actually sit at Gods feet. I understand this isn’t a new idea but it is a newly solidified understanding in my own mind, and with that comes peace.

I know this is such a sensitive topic, but these are my feelings and thoughts on the matter. Since it had been so long since I shared with you guys I decided to share what’s been on my mind lately and I am doing so with the utmost respect to other’s beliefs.

 

Natural Path Silver Wings Colloidal Silver for Immune Support

Going Green, Lifestyle

You heard right, I said pharmaceutical grade Colloidal Silver to help support your immune system. Colloidal silver is a dietary supplement in the form of an amber colored liquid which contains various mixtures of ultra pure water and ultra fine silver particles. There is a man who took daily supplements of colloidal silver and turned blue, but the label itself says not to exceed 2 tsp per day after a two week period. So it looks like that guy just didn’t read the label, silver is safe to take but I’d recommend it at times when you feel a cold really coming on and not as a daily supplement like Gingko Biloba or Echinacea.

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When I reached out the Natural Path Silver Wings I didn’t know they’d send me so many amazing products. They have made it easy for anyone to have colloidal silver in their bathroom cabinet between the brand’s bottles of various PPM in liquid tincture form and even a healing topical line with one type of ointment for moisture and one meant to dry skin out. I’ve been researching and boning up on how to properly use this item and the time finally approached. We went out to dinner in the teeny tiny town that we call home and our waitress very clearly had a coldy flu-ey thing. She was sniffling and coughing and had a stuffed up voice; the nice person in me let it slide but the passive aggressive person in me made notes to take tons of precautions to avoid getting sick.

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Aside from making special tea blends with elderberry syrup the next couple of days I decided to break into the Natural Path Silver Wings and see what the fuss was all about. I’m going to start off by saying that I’m a seasoned veteran when it comes to yucky tinctures but colloidal silver has quite it’s own breed of yuckiness, I will preface this with the fact that I was taking 500ppm. The metallic taste hangs on just for a bit before melting away. But after having the sniffles and starting to feel scratchy in my throat it felt well worth it. My sniffles were completely gone the next day with just 1 tsp dosage, but I’m a person who eats a lot of veg and takes pretty good care of themselves. If you have a more compromised immune system I’d recommend following the bottle’s recommend 1 tsp twice a day. I’d use this product again, it’s a better alternative to getting sick and then getting high for three days on over the counter medication.

What’s In My Cup? All-Around Feel Better Tea

Lifestyle, What's In My Cup?

This jam packed cup of tea does feature a lot of different herbs compared to my other blends but I take feeling better pretty seriously. When I feel a cold coming on or have a nagging tummy ache I almost always turn to tea. This cup is meant to build up the immune system, open a closed heart, stimulate circulation, ease a stomach cramp or ache, and reduce headache pain.

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As with all natural remedies, one cup of tea is a small piece of what it takes for strong physical health. Make sure to make this tea for one or two days and get plenty of water otherwise to help the cells of the body do their work. I’d also recommend upping the veggie intake, the best bet is to add one nutrient dense vegetable to each of our three meals for a day or so. Now for the fun stuff.

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1 tsp dried elder flower

1/2 tsp dried purple echinacea

1/4 tsp dried rose hips

1/4 tsp dried hibiscus

1/2 dried peppermint

1 tsp Elderberry syrup

Put all of the dry ingredients into a tea ball and place into a big ol’ mug. Pour at least 6 ounces of boiling, not tepid, water over the tea ball. Pour the Elderberry syrup into the cup at this time and give it a couple of good stirs. Let the aromas of these flowers and herbs wash over our senses as you settle in to let the mug cool. Steep about 15 minutes, hibiscus can be too sour when oversteeped so be aware of a changing scent with long steeping.

While enjoying your cup sit with the mantra: I am strong.

 

 

RainbowOPTX Solar Plexus Chakra Balancing Sunglasses

Empath Education, how to, Lifestyle, Religion

For a long time now I’ve been very intrigued by the chakra system, specifically the role that colors play in chakra healing. Chakra means wheel in sanskrit which refers to the rotation of the energy center. This rotation takes place at the energy frequency that relates to a specific color. These chakra wheels are placed up the spine from the perineum to the crown of the head and progress in rainbow order.

Each vortex of spinning energy conducts a frequency that works off of specific physiological and neurological systems in the body. Chakras can be overactive, underachieve, and even blocked completely; this will mess up the flow of energy through the body.  Balancing the chakras can be as easy as changing the music we listen to, the food we eat, and even the clothes we wear. When we wear one color quite a bit, that could mean that we have overactive energy in that vortex. Similarly, if we want to charge a chakra it’s ideal to add more of the corresponding color to our wardrobe.

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The idea of wearing colored glasses to charge the chakra system isn’t a new one, but it is  an ingenious one. Chakra charging by looking at the entire world through that color is a powerful way to accomplish a task that generally takes a long, slow investment of time. RainbowOPTX understands this power and has created super cute sunglasses that are also meant to charge our chakra systems empowering us to change for the better. Lately I’ve been starting my own business and have been really scared to just DO IT, so the yellow ‘I Do’ frames from RainbowOPTX felt like the best way to go.

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For Fall I’m pairing my RainbowOPTX Round Yellow specs with my Patagonia beanie, vintage bomber jacket, and vintage band tees.

I’ve been wearing them for almost exactly a month and in that time I have completely turned around my finances and started to be on top of my work for the first time since I went freelance full time. That kind of power is a big step for me in this venture, and I can’t help but chalk some of it up to these frames that are meant to charge the Solar Plexus chakra. Yellow is meant to stimulate our mental faculties and help us maintain a happy, open outlook on the world. Balancing this chakra helps us to open ourselves to a zest for life making these glasses useful for those who suffer from depression. This accessory can help awaken our optimism, our confidence, and our happiness while also making everything just look super upbeat and happy. I loved wearing them and a girl at the gas station actually exclaimed, “Those are sick glasses!!” which made me feel happy.

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I also chose the Violet glasses and will write up on those later in the month. For now I’m stoked on these cute yellow ones. Which RainbowOPTX glasses would you choose? Do you believe in chakra healing? Tell me everything in the comments.

Herb Spotlight: Greater Celandine

Lifestyle

Before we even launch in, be sure you’re working with greater celandine and not lesser celandine, not because of the nomenclature but mostly because all of this information is pertaining to greater celandine. This flower is a member of the poppy family and the whole thing emits a thick orange juice that can be applied topically for a number of ailments. The flowering plants are best picked when the sun is in Leo and the moon is in Aries.

Scientific Name: Chelidonium majus [aka: kenningwort, swallowwort]

Magickal Stats: Elementally water, ruled by the Sun

Parts Used: entire flower, plucked when in flower and dried

Improves Function Of:celgre43-l

  • Liver & Gallbladder
  • Digestive tract

Aides In Relieving Symptoms of:

  • Ringworm, worts & corns
  • Upset stomach & loss of appetite
  • Toothache
  • Eczema & itchy skin diseases

Assists Spiritually With:

  • Deflect entrapment & unwrongful imprisonment
  • Helps with visionary work

How Does It Work?

Results show that celandine inspires bile production which is why it can clear the liver and gallbladder of blockages as well as help with digestive issues. Some studies even show that celandine can kill cancer cells.

What Do I Do With It?

The juice of the flower can remove warts, corns and ringworm and help sore eyes and when mixed with sulfur can cure itch. Boil lard and the roots together to create an ointment to relieve all of these issues. Also simply mix the juice with vinegar for warts and corns. Make a tea from the leaves and flowers for issues of the stomach.  Use in a bath or a meditation pillow to aide in visionary work. Add to an amulet, incense or as a bath herb to deflect unfair imprisonment.

 

Herb Spotlight: Angelica Root for Cough & Cold

Lifestyle

WARNING: Pregnant women should consult with a doctor before ingesting angelica is it can induce a miscarriage.

I have a couple of older jars of dry herbs on my shelf that I deemed noteworthy before later forgetting what exactly they were good for. In herbal magic Angelica root is the herb of Archangel Michael and is used to expel demons and bad energy. The herb itself, in my case I use the dried root.

Scientific Name: Angelica archangelica [aka archangel, master root]

Magickal Stats: Elementally fire, ruled by the sun

Parts Used: dried root, fruit, shoots

Improves Function Of: Angelica.jpg

  • Digestive System
  • Lungs
  • Sex drive

Aides in Relieving Symptoms Of:

  • Gout
  • Nerve pain
  • Premature ejaculation
  • Cough, Cold & Breathing issues
  • Flatulence
  • Menstrual Cramps & inducing period
  • Arthritis & Inflammatory issues

Assists Spiritually With:

  • Having visions of a guardian or karmic path
  • Cleaning the atmosphere
  • Expelling evil & exorcism

How Does It Work? 

Angelica contains aromatic digestive bitters that can help with so many gut derived issues like flatulence, loss of appetite and menstrual cramps. It is also a great choice for colds because it can help expel phlegm while also clearing up breathing issues, coughs and colds. Applied topically, Angelica can cut back on nerve pain and premature ejaculation with it’s numbing effects.

What Do I Do With It?

When I work with this herb I make a tea with it, it is a bit thicker with a sweet flavor but it can also be put into a topical balm or lotion to help with nerve and joint pains. Burn the flowers, roots and/or stems to inspire ourselves to see our karmic path, it will also inspire healing and the exorcism of evil in any space or person.

Great Tips for Mercury Retrograde

Empath Education, Existentialism, Relationships

Originally posted on Witches Of The Craft®: ? ? ? ? ? Mercury Retrograde Dos and Don’ts Keep moving forward while Mercury moves backward By Maria DeSimone Videos, Mercury Retrograde, Astrology There is one golden rule when it comes to Mercury Retrograde phases. Interestingly enough, it’s grammatical. If you can commit this simple tenet to…

via Mercury Retrograde Dos and Don’ts — ravenhawks’ magazine