Sustainable & Creative Living
I recently attended a Young Living workshop in my community with my mom and sister. I didn’t really know what to expect other than a sales pitch about essential oils. We were pleasantly surprised to not only thoroughly enjoy the woman delivering the Young Living “sales pitch” but to also be so drawn in by the way this woman spoke about her journey through discovering the Young Living Essential Oils brand. [Read more…]
What do you do when you’re having a stressful day? Where do you go? What do you want?
Lately, I’ve been noticing energy everywhere I go. When I walk into a house or a room I notice it – the positive or negative vibes from people or a space. Sometimes there are really calm and relaxing energies and other times I’ve encountered negative energies. It’s hard when you find yourself in a place with negative vibes because you just want to get away from it. It creates a sense of uneasiness or even stress. [Read more…]
A couple of weeks ago, I was standing in line at Publix chatting with the young cashier and bagger as they rang up my groceries. I made a comment about needing to hurry up and put up my Christmas decorations. The cashier told us that her family decorated the tree on Christmas Eve. “Decorating the tree on Christmas Eve was more traditional when I was little,” I told her.
I’d like to say that I decided right then that I would slow down the decorating process and focus on really enjoying it, not just crossing it off the list–but that’s not what happened. The truth is that I just wasn’t in the mood for rushing and stressing, so I gradually decided that I wouldn’t. As I gave up worrying about when and how fast all the Christmas preparations got done, it was easier to enjoy what I was doing and become more mindful in the process. If there’s ever a time to practice mindfulness, it’s definitely at Christmastime!
Aromatherapy is one of my favorite methods of stress relief. It never fails to lift my spirits. It’s also simple, quick, and effective. Scents can impact our mood and emotions so powerfully because they travel directly to the part of the brain (deep limbic system) where they’re processed. Our other senses don’t operate this way. Since I’m a very busy person, like everyone else these days, things that work are my favorite things.
