Tracy Sage King

This Aquarius Full Moon is wow. In Moonshine tonight and tomorrow night, we are clearing all that’s in the way of self-expression, truth-telling, and breaking out of the status quo to create new.

Aroma and crystals for tonight’s Moonshine event. Using the Capricorn Full Moon to clear what’s keeping us from sharing our unique gifts. Aroma: Rosemary, Lemon, Bergamot. Stones: Golden Quartz and Yellow Fluorite. (I hold events every New and Full Moon—next Moonshine is in two weeks)

From Wednesday’s Solar Plexus Workshop and Sound Spa. Participants learned about and blended their own crystals and aromas for the Sound Spa. Only 4 spots for the Sacral on 8/23 and Root on 9/7.

Don’t Give In To Cynicism. This a welcome reminder from the delightful and profound @rainnwilson. You might be wondering why the guy best known for portraying Dwight Schrute on the hit television series “The Office” is here to wax lyrical about matters spiritual—but the truth is that Rainn is a deep reservoir of wisdom who has more than earned a position of authority on matters ethereal. He is the co-founder of the media company SoulPancake, which focused on content related to the human experience and positive social change. He co-hosted the podcast Metaphysical Milkshake with Reza Azlan, a must-listen series that dives into the deep end of topics religious and mystical. And he is the author of the new book “Soul Boom: Why We Need A Spiritual Revolution” which is all about addressing today’s greatest issues with faith. Today we discuss Rainn’s Bahá’í faith, his conception of the divine, the importance of finding meaning in life, the positives (and negatives) of religious belief, how to build a movement of change, finding the sacred in our everyday lives, and why the solutions to the existential problems we currently face require a spiritual revolution. This conversation is an equal parts fun and profound call to awaken our spiritual selves and engage in a deeper, more meaningful experience of the world around us. I hope you learn as much as I did. ✌🏽🌱 -Rich

Anti-aging is not a beauty standard.

This is a side by side of two women gracing the front covers of two well known magazines.

The one on the right we all know is Martha Stewart, age 81. The one on the left is Apo Whang-Od, age 106, a tribal tattooist in a remote province in the Philippines.

There seems to be an unwritten rule which equates beauty with youngness. In an interview, Martha Stewart told the reporter she credits her organic, home-grown, farm-to-table eating, yoga, and actively healthy lifestyle to her youthfulness. While that’s an admirable journey for her, let’s not forget the amount of privilege that kind of lifestyle requires.

On the left is Apo Whang-Od, who is a 106-year-old tribal tattooist in the Philippines. The wisdom she carries in every forehead wrinkle and frown line is stunning. Her eyes are glass, reflecting back all that she’s witnessed over a century of lived experiences. Her tattoos a reminder of the ancestors she seeks to honor.

Both women are beautiful in their own right. But I wish we as women didn’t play into this idea that we have to look younger—and thinner—in order to fit some unrealistic beauty standard which will grant us acceptance and relevance in the world around us.

I’m writing this for any woman who, like me, may have had a punched-gut reaction to seeing an octogenarian in a swimsuit on the cover of a magazine looking more like a woman in her forties or fifties: Anti-aging is not a beauty standard.

There IS beauty in wrinkles, and saggy skin, and drooping breasts. These are markers of a life hard fought for and well lived. It seems odd to try and erase these battle scars.

So while I applaud Martha for her fortunate body, carefully curated procedures, and pristinely styled makeup, I also applaud Whang-Od for what others may perceive as imperfections.

Anti-aging is not a beauty standard.
Authenticity is.

Listen to one of the largest trees in the world A sound artist set out to capture the acoustic wonder of a famed swath of quaking aspens. It's one of the largest trees on the planet, known as Pando.

my brain and
heart divorced

a decade ago

over who was
to blame about
how big of a mess
I have become

eventually,
they couldn't be
in the same room
with each other

now my head and heart
share custody of me

I stay with my brain
during the week

and my heart
gets me on weekends

they never speak to one another

- instead, they give me
the same note to pass
to each other every week

and their notes they
send to one another always
says the same thing:

"This is all your fault"

on Sundays
my heart complains
about how my
head has let me down
in the past

and on Wednesday
my head lists all
of the times my
heart has screwed
things up for me
in the future

they blame each
other for the
state of my life

there's been a lot
of yelling - and crying

so,

lately, I've been
spending a lot of
time with my gut

who serves as my
unofficial therapist

most nights, I sneak out of the
window in my ribcage

and slide down my spine
and collapse on my
gut's plush leather chair
that's always open for me

~ and I just sit sit sit sit
until the sun comes up

last evening,
my gut asked me
if I was having a hard
time being caught
between my heart
and my head

I nodded

I said I didn't know
if I could live with
either of them anymore

"my heart is always sad about
something that happened yesterday
while my head is always worried
about something that may happen tomorrow,"
I lamented

my gut squeezed my hand

"I just can't live with
my mistakes of the past
or my anxiety about the future,"
I sighed

my gut smiled and said:

"in that case,
you should
go stay with your
lungs for a while,"

I was confused
- the look on my face gave it away

"if you are exhausted about
your heart's obsession with
the fixed past and your mind's focus
on the uncertain future

your lungs are the perfect place for you

there is no yesterday in your lungs
there is no tomorrow there either

there is only now
there is only inhale
there is only exhale
there is only this moment

there is only breath

and in that breath
you can rest while your
heart and head work
their relationship out."

this morning,
while my brain
was busy reading
tea leaves

and while my
heart was staring
at old photographs

I packed a little
bag and walked
to the door of
my lungs

before I could even knock
she opened the door
with a smile and as
a gust of air embraced me
she said

"what took you so long?"

~ john roedel (johnroedel.com)

It's not too late!
Research shows that experience gifts are more valued than physical gifts. Give the gift of an amazing experience—Sound Spas, Private Sessions, Meditation 101 Classes—there’s so much to choose from. Let them choose with a gift card! We will take great care of your friend or loved one. ⁠
⁠
⁠

Research shows that experience gifts are more valued than physical gifts. Give the gift of an amazing experience—Sound Spas, Private Sessions, Meditation 101 Classes—there’s so much to choose from. Let them choose with a gift card! We will take great care of your friend or loved one. ⁠
⁠
⁠

Sound Spa experiences, Private Sessions, crystals, jewelry, and meditation space décor—there’s so much to choose from. So, let them choose! We will take great care of your friend or loved one.
Sound + Crystals + Customization