Although I escaped it quite a few years ago, my single friends tell me that the dating world can be quite a task to navigate. Rife with plenty of pitfalls from never hearing back from someone you were interested in being practically or literally stalked by someone you are not interested in, it’s quite hard to strike the right balance. Not to mention the existential quandary of whether that special soul, with whom you can share unique chemistry and relationship, will ever find their way to you or you to them.

It’s true, our human nature dictates us to crave connection, intimacy, and love. Yet many people go about it blindly and with little self-awareness or clear intention. Conscious dating is a philosophy, you could say, in which you bring the same mindfulness you cultivate in meditation, yoga, self-healing, or other spiritual practices, and weave it into your dating life.

By showing up prepared with self-awareness and some important interpersonal...

Ayahuasca is a psychedelic brew that is made from the leaves of the Psychotria Viridis shrub and with the stalks of the banisteriopsis caapi vine. It is used in Northern South America and Brazil as a sacred brew for religious and spiritual communities. A lot of people today go on retreat so they can take ayahuasca as a way to open their minds, heal trauma and addictions and some just want to have the experience.

How it is Made

A shaman is an experienced healer who will make the ayahuasca brew and lead the ayahuasca ceremonies. They clean and smash the banisteriopsis caapi vine before they boil it so they can get all the medicinal components. They then prepare the brew by boiling the leaves of plants in water. When the shaman is happy with how the brew is, they will remove the water and keep it so just the plant material is left behind. This process will be repeated until it is a highly concentrated liquid. Then it is cooled and strained to remove anything that shouldn’t be...

"I'm tired of this! You never help without being asked. I always have to nag you to get you to do any housework. You make me feel like a maid!" I fumed as I relayed my anger and hurt for what felt like the thousandth time. It wasn't the only thing about which we fought. Finances, disciplining our child, and the list could go on. My husband left the room irritated and dismayed, and I retired to the bedroom alone, feeling guilty, frustrated, and quite frankly, hopeless.

As a self-help and do-it-myself enthusiast, I had already spent years focusing on improving myself and my life. Yet through no amount of books or classes had I thus far been able to get myself to change my habitual behavior. I felt utterly trapped in negative cycles of relating to the people I loved the most. Blaming, ranting, bargaining. These communication tactics always resulted in me feeling guilty and disappointed. Nothing changed from these interactions, and my self-regard was damaged. The...

Let's face it; sex fascinates us. Though religious institutions routinely condemn the pleasures of sexuality and educational institutions seem to ignore sex almost altogether, nothing deters humankind from our preoccupation with sex. 25% of search engine requests are related to sex, 35% of downloads on the internet are pornography, and 40 million Americans say they regularly visit porn sights. You may hear 'pornography' and think only of men. Think again. One-third of all internet porn users are women. Both sexes have sex on the mind.

Yet, in a time where the saturation of technology allows us immediate access to titillating video and visual content, is it truly satisfying? Can we find what we are looking for in a strip club, a magazine, or a one night stand? The quest for pleasure is natural and compelling. While it is easy to find the physical outlet of orgasm through mechanical devices or as a pornography spectator, and even during sex, we might be missing something...

In the last bleak and wet days of winter before the break of spring, we look forward to the exchange of confectionary treats, fancy heart-shaped notes of affection and, perhaps a dinner date with someone special. Valentine's Day passes under the radar of our scrutiny as merely another holiday celebration to punctuate the year. Yet, the origins of this celebration go into a far deeper past than we imagine, weaving through medieval Europe and straight back to pagan ritual practices of the pre- Christian Romans.  

Early Pagan Origins of Valentine's Day

Catholic priests and saints have long associated Valentine's Day with love and the exchange of affection, yet Roman pre-Christian rites and observances predate even those of the church. As with many modern holidays that exist as Christianizations of older pagan practices, Christian and Catholic institutions used the celebration of a saint to blend with and, ultimately, usurp the pagan version of the holiday.  

At the beginning of a romantic relationship, you may not be able to get enough of your lover. New romances are often characterized by an intense desire to be together. The thrill of creating love relationships is in closing space between the self and the other person. The desire to explore the mysterious unknown of another being is one of the greatest joys in life. As human beings, the desire for intimacy is a magnetic pull.

Once a relationship begins, the need to form and maintain clear boundaries becomes more pronounced. Many people struggle with the distinction between themself and the other person because they may be confused about the value of appropriate boundaries. The feeling of love and closeness for the other person may hinder the ability to create clear and cohesive boundaries.  

Dr. Ryan Howes, a clinical psychologist from California, describes boundaries as "the line where I end and, someone else begins...Without any line, the distinction becomes...

Did you know that if you have blocks in your sexual energy, you are going to have blocks in your creative energy?

 The two go hand in hand. 

And when I talk about sexual energy free-flowing, this doesn’t mean you have to be having sex all the time. 

Sexual energy is a force; it is a pulse moving through us; it is essentially our life force energy. The energy responsible for keeping us feeling youthful, alive, healthy & happy. To allow this energy to free flow simply means having a clear vessel (body) for it to flow through.

The majority of us are only living at a small percent of our potential. 

Unlocking our sexual energy is the key to unlocking our greatest potential, our creator potential. 

Our sexual energy is the same energy that creates life itself, and when it is not creating life itself, we must ask - what else are we creating in our lives? Are we creating a life of unconscious destructive behaviors, or are we creating a...

.: That Leo Full Moon "Feathered Expressions" :.

On February 9th we will experience the second Full Moon of 2020.  The first was a Lunar Eclipse, so with this one, there will be no dragons involved (Rahu & Ketu/The Nodes of the Moon).  It will be at the 20th degree of Leo and it's exactly at 7:33 am UT.  As is the case with all Full Moons, we must first understand where the lunation began.  Context is everything.

This lunation began on January 24th at the 4th degree of Aquarius.  An important degree in the Great Wheel because all the planets currently restructuring reality in Capricorn will be crossing it in the months to come.  Saturn will be the first when he moves into Aquarius in late March.  Then Jupiter at years end.  Pluto won't plug into this electricity until 2023, but still, it's a place where the entire "Boneyard" is headed.  Most importantly, the "once-in-every-twenty year" conjunction between Jupiter & Saturn will...

“A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks.” –Richard Bach

We’ve all experienced- firsthand or as witnessed the meeting of a soulmate and the joy, fulfillment, and pleasure that accompanies it. With the soulmate relationship, there is a magnetism of attraction, an understanding of one another, and a deep bond that forms. Soul mates can be romantic, platonic, or familial. Soulmate relationships can also end. What then is a twin flame? Many people may equate them to be the same type of relationship, but through more than mere nuance, they are not the same.

The twin flame takes on a distinct role and importance as well as relating to the timeline of our soul differently. Let’s take a deeper look at what the two things are and some signs that you may have met your twin flame.

Soul Mates vs. Twin Flames

Each of us exists as a spark of the divine light, as we branched off into the experience of physical reality,...

Many of our most loved and cherished modern holidays and seasonal festivities harken back to the ancient peoples of Europe- particularly the Celtic people. Celebrations finding their origins in ancestral Europe include Yule and Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, May Day, and the list goes on. One lesser-known celebration of significance to the Celtic tribes is known as Imbolc. The word means ‘in the womb’ or Oimelc, meaning ‘ewe’s milk,’ about the birth of the first new livestock signaling the beginning of spring and initiating a time of relief at the returning light of the sun, a source of sustenance precious and sacred to the ancients.

The Celtic Wheel of the Year

The Celtic year revolved around two major themes of significance; the alignment of the sun relative to the Earth and the phases of the agricultural process of sowing, planting, harvesting, and resting. In those times, everyday life and survival depended...