Native to Australia, the Bottle Tree is extremely resilient to disease, fire and the chaotic effects of city life. It also gets its name because if you open a hole in the trunk and press that point, you can obtain drinking water. With beautiful fluttering leaves and understated rainbow flowers, its essence magnifies energy, vitality and clarity of thinking. It helps the physical body release toxins from pollution, while dissolving old emotions and softening habits and patterns.
I remember visiting the Mahabodhi Stupa one night – I’d stopped to listen to a group of nuns singing the most enchanting melodies together. They each carried a big drum and methodically moved it from side to side. The following day, I took a day trip, walking several hours through dusty villages to get to a place called Mahakala Cave ...
It’s me again ~ Alan! Thought I'd hop on to tell you a little about our trip to Asia. It's so easy to take our health and happiness for granted, especially with the excitement of travel and moving through many time zones. After flying for 14 hours from LAX to Taipei, and continuing on to Bangkok overnight, landing in Bodhgaya … India seemed like the long-awaited arrival to our destination!
I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to share about our trip to Asia. I guess because it grabbed my heart so hard and … I needed time to integrate. I think back to the first time I went to Bodhgaya, India in 2003. I arrived at the Mahabodhi Stupa and promptly broke down in sobs. It was the oddest sensation, as if I suddenly understood why I always felt like I never fit in anywhere growing up. I became acutely aware of the familiarity of this place and how it felt like ‘home’. I heard myself think: It’s been so long since I’ve been here, coupled with a strange unfamiliar grief at the passing of time ...
Purple Pea flower grows prolifically in South Carolina. Indicated for when we feel we must endure discomfort in order to avoid abandonment or ruffling feathers, it helps us attain a state of safety and protection. We’re more able to be open and voice our concerns. We can take care of ourselves without the need for external validation. Purple Pea dissolves our expectations of getting hurt and magnifies our ability to experience pleasure.
The Orange Fringed Orchid grows in the forests of the Eastern United States. Its essence dissolves fear of conflict, anger and shame. It helps us maintain a sense of strength, calm and even humor, when dodging the bullet of someone’s anger. We can be fearless, despite fierce speech or rage directed at us. Old patterns of distress with authority figures unravel. Our boundaries are firm; anger no longer affects us and we can advocate for ourselves and others.
Chaparral, also known as Creosote Bush, is one of the most celebrated plants in the Sonoran desert. All desert natives are familiar with the scent; after a rain, the air fills with the scent of the Chaparral leaves. As a medicinal plant, its cleansing and detoxifying powers are unsurpassed. As a flower essence, it dissolves ancient feelings of loneliness, and the belief that in order to be a healer or lead a spiritual life, we must do it alone. It encourages us to access our own inner wisdom, stillness and knowingness, and find the deeper meaning behind everything.
Among the hundreds of exquisite Camellia flowers, the Speckled Camellia is a variety of Japanese Camellia with a huge multicolored blossom. Its flower essence dissolves fatigue, drowsiness and mental fog. If we have a desire to slump or slouch, it opens up the energy in our spine for better posture. It deepens our breathing and brings in more vitality, energy and cheerfulness.
If you’re doing some holiday shopping or indulging in a little treat for yourself, here are some fun ideas!
Rosemary is an aromatic evergreen shrub known for its culinary and medicinal benefits. Celebrated as far back as 5000 BC, Rosemary was found on stone tablets. The Rosemary flower essence boosts mental clarity, sharpens analytical mental processes and enhances our psychic abilities. It dissolves confusion and fogginess and helps us tap into our intuition and inner wisdom with greater accuracy. We’re more able to have more confidence in our ability to see and perceive with acuity.
There is a side of doing these Flowerlounge events that most would never guess. It can be super challenging. There’s something about making a deep wish to benefit humanity, that makes these trips … breathtaking. Tear-jerking. Heart-warming. Pacifying. At times it brings us to our knees with devotion. Other times it brings us to our knees because we’re incapacitated physically or emotionally.