trusting salt, dreams to future self, hibiscus
hi everyone. it’s been a while.
i spent most of the recent months doing swim training in the pool by my gym and spending less time in the ocean. about two weeks ago when i had some really bad back pain and then some digestive issues causing intense stomach pain and bloating i heard myself being called back to the water.
i started to swim again but had actually solidified the commitment to get back into the water after talking to a friend and she reminded me and even encouraged me to sit with myself, my ideas, my deadlines, my projects and my healing ( from back and stomach) with ease and slowness.
in january of 2023, i set out with the intention to incorporate more ease into my daily steps this year and to course correct whenever i found myself rushing or demanding urgency from myself or others. to slow down and to communicate with others that my responses and movements will be slower this year - and moving forward.
yet shortly before this conversation with a friend i found myself in a whirlwind of fast movements, urgent demands of myself and from others and a general sense of stress, depression, unease and sadness. that conversation with my friend was not only a course correction but a true lifesaver. and helped me to remember that in addition to the other tools and medicines that i use to manage these feelings that the ocean has always been a guide around trust and ease.
knowing to allow myself to float, knowing to not overexert or resist current to the point of exhaustion and the power of moving slowly while talking with the water.
my first visit back to the ocean consisted of floating, play, lightly swimming back and forth along the shoreline, super slow and easy and relaxed backstroke and making friends in the water.
my next visit felt similar and it made me feel excited to try to train and do laps in the ocean.
on my following visit to the water, i went to swim laps with a friend and it was our first time swimming together and so we were mapping out our plan as we warmed up by walking up and down the shore together.
when we got into the water i felt excited and started to move quickly - after about 150 meters of swimming i noticed that i was feeling scared and tired. the waves were choppy and the current felt strong and i had also noticed that i drifted into the break of the water. i would stop and then begin to move again, but i couldn’t tell if i was actually making forward progress and i decided to float on my back for a moment to calm down. i saw my friend looking around for me. i swam over to him, we paused and he reminded me to take it slow. we made it to the other side of the beach and got out of the water and began to walk. he asked me if felt okay and how my energy levels were and he reminded me that our ocean time was not a race. and that moving with ease and with the trust of my slow movements would be helpful.
we reached the other end of the beach, got in the water and swam across again.
this swim felt easeful, fun and i felt less tired at the end of it.
we once again got out and walked along the beach re-counting how the swim felt for each of us. he decided to go and and get food and i got back in and swam - i ran into some friend and did some swim drills with them.
i left the beach feeling energized and grateful.
the swim experience felt so in line with my friends guidance and the intentions that i set last week and today when i went to the water i was able to challenge myself to swim for longer while moving with easeful intention and patience with myself, even with all of the current shifts and the rain.
grateful and excited to be swimming in the ocean again.
the new moon in aries is tomorrow. i love aries energy, in fact some of my closest and dearest loved ones have prominent aries positions in their charts!
i’ve been reading a lot about how because of all of the transits and the shifts in signs at the beginning of the year. and because of the shift into aquarius that pluto is embarking on as well as saturns shift that a lot of us needed a lot of rest from january up until now. now that it is the astrological new year i have found that in the conversations that i am having with those close to me in proximity and heart and in what i’m reading that many of us are feeling an energetic momentum at this moment.
most of the herbs that i have been taking over the recent months have been supportive of the slow down period, but as the aries new moon approaches i have been in conversation with the following plants:
oatstraw - y’all already know i loooove oatstraw and write about it in almost every newsletter. oatstraw is a nervine, I am working with this plant to support ease within my nervous system, it is anti anxiety and contains mucilage. I am using plants that have sweet and watery ( mucilage) properties to encourage calm, ease and to nurture my inner waters.
rose -another of my loves - for self softness and self love work, for heart opening heart deepening and opening up to the magic of everyday heart work.
rue ( aruda, arruda) - i have been using rue in herbal baths for protection and financial abundance. rue has a cooling and sweet energy and a sweet fragrance as well. when doing baths with rue, i do not pour the rue over my head, i use it from the shoulders down - this way of using it was passed to me from a friend who learned this method of working with rue from her grandmother. my herbal baths usually consist of me pouring herbal waters over myself in the shower.
hibiscus - i love hibiscus tea so much, lately i’ve been drinking it before bed ( despite it being a diuretic) i love it so much that i don’t mind that it makes me have to get up to pee in the middle of the night. hibiscus is sour, sweet, bitter, cool, anti bacterial, anti inflammatory and a sedative. hibiscus plant has it’s origin on the continent of Africa and i have encountered it being prepared in so many beautiful ways throughout the African diaspora. because of it’s connection to the diaspora, i like to use it for lineage and dream recall work as well.
what herbs have you been drinking?
episode 4 of the dream suppport hotline aired last month and this episode feels so special and dear to my heart. within this episode i shared some of the dream messages that have come to me over the years alongside music and sounds that i love.
the aries new moon episode of the dream suppport hotline will air next sunday! excited to interpret dreams and share those dream symbols with you.
i am truly excited to receive and listen to more dreams, and if you know of any Black folks who need support with dreams please pass the word along about this space to share dreams! thank you for your support :)
dreams can be called in to u.s. number: 843-940-8285
or you can email a voice memo ( 7 minute limit) in to: dream.suppport.line@gmail.com
thank you for reading i appreciate your support! <3