DandeLion Grove

As the fall winds down in the northern hemisphere and the daylight dwindles a little more each day, it's easy to get caught up in the sadness that the darkness seems to bring. We are hard-wired to the seasons, and at this time of year, we can feel more tired and overwhelmed, challenges seems bigger than ever, and we just want to snuggle up in our caves and hide. The dark nights seem to remind us of our darkness inside...the pain, loneliness, busy-ness of our lives, etc. I think we forget sometimes that we have the strength and power within us to handle anything that comes our way. We often look outside ourselves for the answers to our problems, when really, we are the ones who hold the solution. We ARE the Light in the darkness, for ourselves and one another. We are so much more amazing than we think and so much stronger than we may feel. We truly are capable of great wonders. And if we join together, we can really make miracles happen! So just for today, I ask that you do th

Many folks take up a daily gratitude practice during the month of November, which is a great thing to remind us of what's really important in life. It can bring us back into our heart space, allowing us to feel love and compassion for ourselves and others. I love this! I've found that the month of December can be more problematic, however. The gratitude we build up in November somehow comes to a grinding halt in December. We can get overwhelmed with the winter holidays and the busy-ness that those festivities cause. I know I've had many, many, moments in Decembers where my heart was not filled with joy and love and all those things that are supposed to be part of this holiday season. Instead, I felt trampled by stress and expectations and it was just not fun. To help me refocus this year, I'd like follow on the heels of the month of gratitude with a challenge for the month of December. Loving Kindness Month! No matter what your culture or spiritual path

The world is a bit of a tangled mess right now, so I thought I'd send out a little peace, love & sunshine. My thoughts go out to the many in this world who are suffering in so many ways. Let us come together for a brief moment, open our hearts, and allow love and compassion to flow, guiding our thoughts, words, and actions...just for this moment. We can lean on one another for support and reach deep down to where we connect at our roots - the place where we are all truly woven together as one. May Love Prevail...

The ups and downs are part of the journey of our lives, but there are times when we get handed something absolutely awful, usually on top of a bunch of other overwhelming things at the same time. It can feel like we are literally breaking, feeling cracked and vulnerable. We don't know where to turn, lost as to why things happened the way they did, wondering if and when we'll "recover", and finally trying to figure out how to move forward.  Life is a broad spectrum, filled with utter joy, brutal loss and pain, and everything in-between. There is no experience of true happiness without the depths of sadness. During times of extended sadness and uncertainty, we have to be wary of the seductive path of living shallowly in order to avoid pain, for that path comes with its own pain and loss. There is an emptiness that resides on that path, which all too many of us fill with alcohol, drugs, food, electronics or some other addiction. We try to feed our bodies and minds w

When I embarked on the journey of becoming an Herbalist, I didn't realize how much I would learn about medicine, myself, and life. This journey has taught me to re-align with nature, more deeply than ever before.  Above all, I've learned how to slow down and be patient, and that it's important to  listen. We are constantly guided in this life. We are always given clues, signs, and messages of what can help us be whole and well. We just don't always see or hear them.  Healing is more than just taking medicine. Medicine is more than taking something into our bodies to heal an ailment. Many things can be our medicine, but I've found the healing that comes from other living beings to be the most effective. Within each disease, injury, or illness, there is more going on than something physical. If we treat a physical ailment with only a physical remedy, the healing is incomplete. I have found that  the most powerful healing always seems to come from one

I don't know about anyone else, but I find it easy to get overwhelmed when there are several big projects or events in my life coalescing at the same time, and they're all really important. Today is one of those days, so I pulled out my copy of The Reiki Principles  by Dr. Miako Usui to help me center and get to a positive state of mind: Just for today, I will not worry. Just for today, I will not anger. Just for today, I will be grateful. Just for today, I will do my work honestly. Just for today, I will be kind to every living being.   And another little mantra that I've been repeating all morning to help me stay out of worry: Here's hoping you have an inspired and productive day filled with peace of mind, knowing that you have all that you need to fulfill your hopes and dreams! Love & Light, Sue

Over the past couple months, I've been yearning for a retreat, feeling the need to spend a few days outside in the heart of nature, un-tethered to electronics, obligations, and expectations. And t hough I'm a Naturalist, I'll confess that I'm not a lover of spiders and I surely don't care for mosquitoes and ticks. But the insights that come when we take time outside and immerse ourselves in our natural world can be enlightening, and worth stepping out of our comfort zone for a few days.  I finally had the chance last weekend to spend five days immersed in the foothills of the Allegheny mountains. There were long hills to climb, meadows to sunbathe in, a pristine water hole for swimming, clear night skies unburdened by light pollution , and other gentle and like-minded folk to spend time with. There were opportunities to play hand drums, learn Native American drumming and chants from a Lakota singer, and be a part of a community where it was safe to be yourself

I've come to terms with something important about myself. I am an outdoor person and I need to live according to the seasons.  I know the rules of blogging state that you should blog regularly in order to keep an audience interested.  I get that, I really do.  At the same time, I get who I am, and in the active outdoor season, I don't belong inside on the computer. I belong outdoors...teaching, growing, harvesting plants, learning, and being submerged in our natural world at its peak. (I would also argue that all humans should be outside at this time because we're hard-wired to our natural world). So, I thought I'd share a little about what's going on out there and what I've been doing. I hope you'll take some time to get outside, drink in the sunshine, breathe in the fresh air, and appreciate the abundance that the summer brings... Mandala made with a friend at Cape Henlopen. We created it on the summer solstice in gratitude and love for al

Today I walked a labyrinth to clear my head and heart. It's amazing what happens when we allow ourselves a few moments of silence.  Rain threatened, but held off while I circled around, close to the center and then back out again. Along the way, I came across a few things in the path. There may be obstacles in our way, but they give us the chance to tap into our creativity and find ways around. Sometimes we may feel as if we've lost a part of ourselves. An egg reminded me of new possibilities. And we are always filled with all we need. In the end, we will come back to our center, and we are never alone. The curves are just part of life's colorful journey...the lessons and the blessings for our growth.

Some days, it feels like we're trying to chase down something elusive. But today, I was part of an actual wild goose chase. When I arrived for my work shift at Ashland Nature Center this morning, I discovered that a wayward gosling had followed around one of our school groups on their morning hike. They tried to leave him down in the marsh, where he would be most likely to be found by his parents, but the little one stuck like glue to the group and finished the hike with them. He dined on the fresh plants surrounding the lodge while they ate their breakfast inside. Gosling! Since I was leading the next program down in the marsh, I took the gosling with us and hoped to leave him there. I asked the students to refrain from talking to or touching the goose, as he needed to stay wild. There was no sign of any adult geese in the marsh or the creek, much to my disappointment. The gosling contentedly swam around, munching on duckweed while we explored the marsh. As we t

Since it's Mother's Day, it seems appropriate to honor all facets of creation. Mothers bring life and love into this world in so many ways, and an idea popped into my head this evening that I'd like to share, as I think it could be a worthy project to manifest some good in this world. I've been inspired to create a "Dream Garden" in a corner of my yard. I'm inviting others to add their dreams to this sacred space, and we'll tend it with love together. Click the link below to my newsletter for more information... Dream Garden Newsletter Sweet Dreams! Love & Light, Sue

Life is a deep, deep pool. If we're only willing to skim the top for fear of having to occasionally skim the bottom, we'll miss all the glorious heart-filling stuff in between. Sometimes we get to experience the various depths in a short span of time, where the clear and brilliant breath-taking moments are quickly followed by a time of uncertainty and fear, stranded in murky waters, where we feel choked and overwhelmed.  This was my past weekend. I volunteered at the last minute to chaperone my middle-school daughter's 4-day choir competition trip to Boston since another chaperone had to withdraw. I admit I was a little nervous, as the itinerary was ambitious, and to be in charge of someone else's children in a city where bombings had occurred the week before was a bit...intimidating. Despite my nervousness, I felt compelled to step up. So I jumped blindly into the pool, not knowing how deep it was going to be or if the waters were clear or turbulent.

I just returned from a restorative vacation with my family, visiting some friends in California who have been inviting us for over a decade to come visit. I'm struggling a bit with the re-entry this time, more so than usual. We had amazing excursions in places of pure, natural wonder. We had the privilege to stay in Santa Cruz, a place of immense beauty where cliffs meet the sea, colorful sea stars and anemones can be found clinging to rocks during low tide, playful sea lions call to one another and sun themselves on the pier, and a rich culture of eccentricities is summed up in the motto of "Keep Santa Cruz Weird".  Vegetarian diners are designed to fool the tourist, with window displays advertising "burgers, fries, and shakes" and looking like something out of the 50's. Vegetarian fare is just fine, as long as that's what you're expecting. If not, then it's just pretty dang funny when you suddenly notice that the word "chick

T his is just a quick little post written a fter a l ong - but life- affirming day of creating, scheduling , and l istening to stunn i n g , talent ed local middle and high school kids play heart -filling musi c for three hours at a publ ic venue. A hhhh-mazing day. I'm blis s fully exhausted and not quite up to spilling out a full post, so this one is  literally holding space till tomorrow or the next day. The first post people see should no longer be about V alentine's day . (Seriously. I'm way be hind. Sorry ' bout that). But I don't like to waste people's time, so here's a little thought from me to you... You are amazing, lovable, compassionate, kind-hearted, and talented in so many ways. Some of them you may have not discovered just yet, some aspects you may have forgotten about. Look at yourself in the mirror and smile, because you are so needed and wanted here in this world. You...as you are...in all your glory and your faul