I'm so excited to be doing a new series on the Natural Rhythms YouTube Channel called 21st Century Priestess where I interview people about their spiritual journeys and how they got to where they are today. This week, my interview was with Annette Pederson. Annette intuitively felt the call of the priestess through her connection to working with animals, specifically big cats. In this video she shares that story and how that connection led her through the Alchemical Creation Priestess Process to reclaiming the sacredness of drumming. In joy! Hey Journal Goddesses! I thought it would be fun to share one of the practices I like to do to honor 'Dee at age __". While I haven't always used the Elemental Forces of Creation for this, it does help me to get guidance from every realm of creation and integrate the blessings of another year of life in a beautiful way! Grab your journal and join me! The great thing about this practice is that it can be used during any transition time in life. This is really helpful when there were big lessons you learned and you want to be a bit more concise with what came out of that. See you next time!
Live Intentionally, Dionne As I mentioned last week, I'm sick and tired of being stuck in one place by fear and I'm determined to do something about it. I'm not attempting to wipe out my fears or ignore them but I can see how they've been holding me back from using my voice. Instead of letting them continue to go unchecked, I'm letting them guide me to take more calculated risks. Case in point, on Facebook, I've been posting links to resources to help further the discussion of race in a positive way. Because even though I've been luckier than most black people I've known and haven't experienced as much, racism is still something I deal with it whether I talk about it or not. I still have to teach my children how to love the skin they're in in the face of people who would try to make them feel shame and less than because of it. And I have to prepare myself for the hard conversations I'll have to have to armor my young biracial son with as he moves into manhood and out into the world. So as often as spirit moves me, I'm going to talk about it. In case you don't follow me on Facebook here's the cliffnotes version of a recent example of the work to be done. I posted a link explaining why saying 'All Lives Matter' in response to Black Lives Matter is like kicking someone in the face. A friend of a friend 'didn't get it' and after attempts were made by others to help her get it (via other links and sharing their understanding), she showed her true colors; she didn't really care because she felt blacks have more privileges (her last comment being a sarcastic reference to "United White College Fund"). How did my work with the elements support me in this case? Well, had I not been actively engaged in a weekly practice of elemental connection via the Elemental Forces of Creation Oracle and my daily practice of saying good morning to the elements and asking for their guidance and support throughout my interactions, I would have fallen back on default. I would have taken personally the comments of someone I don't know and allowed this stranger dull my fiery radiance. I would have allowed what she was broadcasting over the air waves to affect the way I think and feel about myself. I would have become depressed and maybe even angry at feeling like a victim. I would have shrunk away from standing in my own power. I would have been afraid to speak up again. But that is not the case. I chose to remain sovereign, standing firm in my own power. The choice I make daily is to hold onto the vision I have of myself and follow my own spirit filled guidance. Allowing my radiance to light the way, I choose to write you about this without an emotional charge. Don't get me wrong, I definitely was angered by her words. But because I held an uplifted vibration, God/Goddess/All That Is sent me confirmation that the Universe has my back. This confirmation came in the form of other Facebook friends chiming in to put Ms. Sassypants in check and using their power of unfriending. The elements support me in my inner world which affected and shaped my actions and the support I recieved on the outer world. Today I invite you to do 3 things: 1. Start making a daily connection with the elements with a simple prayer of gratitude. Say "Good Morning ...! Thank you for..." filling in the blank with each element + adding what you're grateful for with each. (if you need additional support in developing a daily spiritual practice check out Honor this Day) 2. Really pay attention to what's being broadcasted in the places (both online and off) you most frequent and be mindful of what you're broadcasting as well. Are things being said that make you uncomfortable or aren't in alignment with who you are and what you want in your life? Consider what actions you need to take in order to be more in alignment and act accordingly. 3. Take good care of yourself as you make the adjustments. Change is hard enough without you beating up on yourself. Love~ Dionne Throughout December I'm Kickin' it Old Skool with Jamie Ridler, Sharon Ridler and a wonderful group of creatives! We're having loads of fun remembering when blogging was just that...fun! Join us any time! ![]() Taking a look back to the beginning of this blog today. I've been blogging here since 2011. I remember what a huge step out setting up this website and blog felt. I had opened my livejournal up for comments when I started participating in Jamie's Wishcasting Wednesday in September of 2010 and this space felt as though I was walking down the street naked! As I re-read this first post I can see how cautious I was trying to be by just writing observations of what was happening around me and a bit of Tea Priestess knowledge. I remember this as a time of discovering my identity after my mom's passing and my adjustment to being the matriarch of memories for my family of origin. I didn't share that part as much at first and I remember comparing my blog harshly to some of my favorites who had been blogging more publicly. Tea Time with Dionne 3/14/2011 Spring day temperatures with utterly scrumptious warmth are coaxing people out of their homes to go for leisurely strolls absorbing the joy of being outdoors. Of course with the warmth, I've started turning my garden soil in my mind and trying to decide what herbs for tea I'd like to grow this year. Tisane is an infusion made from any herbs that do no specifically carry the camellia sinensis or 'tea' plant in it. Around this Tea Priestess' household one tisane that is always grown is least 2 (though often many more) kinds of mint. Mint is part of the Lamiaceae family of herbs which includes other culinary favorites as basil, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, thyme, lavender, and perilla. Associated with the Greek God Pluto (aka Hades), mint is said to have such healing properties as to ease problems like nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, headaches, stomach upset and baby colic (I have personally used mint for these problems and have had great success...your mileage may vary) I have found peppermint (mentha piperita) and lemon balm (melissa officinalis) to be easy to grow and particularly lovely to snap off a few leaves of each, throw them into a cup and brew a stomach soothing draft of lemon mint tea or to add them to a salad or fresh fruit as a surprise burst of flavor. These sisters do particularly well in pots so even if you live in an apartment you could grow either of these in a window box garden. If you have the luxury of planting outdoors, I would highly advise potting mint as it tends to be an invasive ground cover when planted directly into Mama Gaia. Check out your favorite garden store or farmer's market as you may be blessed with other flavors of mint including orange, pineapple, apple and chocolate!! As things start to warm up in my part of the world, be sure to check my photo stream as I will post pictures of my herb garden as it grows. ![]() Looking at this post again today I feel such compassion for 2011 me trying so hard to find her way. And I can see how much I've grown in my confidence of sharing myself and my gifts online. It also makes me very happy to note that though much has changed since I started this space (the name of my site was originally sacred space tea dates!) there is one thing that remains the same. I am a Tea Priestess offering the wisdom, comfort and connection to the elements and the divine feminine through the magic of tea. It's not just a lofty title...it's part of who I am and who I was born to be. ![]() "Your relationship with yourself is the most important relationship you have in life. The primary relationship to self determines your level of self-esteem. With low self-esteem, life can seem hard and difficult. As your regard and respect for your self increases, your perception of your life is likely to improve. With increased self-esteem, you are better able to uplift and enjoy your life." © Lisa Michaels I'm a huge self love fangirl. I absolutely adore myself more and more every day. My relationship to myself wasn't always this glorious. I learned early on being in relationship is a continual practice of learning to grow in love, compassion and companionship. I've been asked many times for the ways I use to improve my self-esteem and it always boils down to these three keys: 1. Monitor self talk We all have those thoughts that run through our minds daily and we often do pay attention to them. But some of those thoughts could be sabotaging your relationship with yourself. Notice how you're using your 'I am' spell. Hw does saying things such as "I am too old, too slow, never gonna get this, etc" feel in your body compared to "I am really good at this, I am willing to do what it takes to get this" ? Whether consciously or unconsciously your body takes those words in and lowers or elevates your self esteem accordingly. If you're having trouble clearing and redirecting your 'I am' spell you may need additional support and I glad to help. Learning to listen to the way you talk about you will change your relationship with yourself. 2. Ask empowering questions. Empowering questions leave you feeling uplifted and ready to take action. Disempowering questions zap you of energy. Instead of beating yourself up by thinking 'why am I not taking better care of my self ? or 'I should take better care of myself" ask "How can I care for myself emotionally, spiritually, mentally and physically today?" then listen to your body for the answers. As I tuned into that question today I came up with some emotional clearing that needed to happen so I plan to have a good cry by watching a favorite tear jerking movies, followed by some meditational journaling ( I write letters to Goddess then listen for her answers), I'm teaching myself to play the penny whistle (mental) and I'll either go for a walk or put on some of my favorite songs and dance in my house for 15-20 minutes (physical). With those answers in place I set an alarm on my phone's calendar for each of them to be completed today. Staying with empowering self care questions enlivens you. 3. Celebrate what's going right It's easy to get lost in the midst of to do lists that never seem to empty themselves and see these as evidents of not enough. Why not shift the perspective to not only see what going right but to celebrate it as well? Celebrating even the tiniest bit of forward momentum can make a huge difference in the way you feel about yourself. Did you season a meal to perfection? Remember to take out the garbage before it overflowed? Got that one pressing thing done? Remembered your resuable water bottle as you walked out the door? Perhaps you can celebrate by buying yourself flowers, diving into your craft stash just for fun or blessing yourself. All things you do deserve celebration because they are just right for you. Your Turn!Share some of the ways you use to grow your relationship with yourself in the comments. I'd love to know how you fall in love with yourself!
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Blessings!I'm Dionne, a Natural Rhythms Creation Coach and Elemental Forces of Creation Oracle Reader. I teach people how to tune into to the power of the elements and rhythms of nature to design a life they love I WRITE:
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