Heather Sanderson's Blog, page 6

Raspberry and Bear by Carrie Anderson

Photo by Sofía Rabassa on Pexels.com

Wild Raspberry blooms here, in the spring. A delicate white flower protected by the fuzzy embrace of prickly thorns. A halo of red for Raspberry.

By summer, the berries beckon with a sweet earthy scent and a deep merlot color.

In the ripeness of the berries one can taste the woods. There’s a distant memory, not quite tangible, just outside our peripheral vision. This berry it’s the taste of the wildness that connects us.

The juice lingers on the tongue and beckons us to sit down with Raspberry. In the shade of a nearby tree we spend time together, Raspberry and I.  We share a secluded solitude that nourishes my soul. 

Wild Raspberry is a snapshot of hot summer days.  As children, we walk along the dusty back roads and pick the berries. Our fingers turn red as the berry juice bursts and we continue down a path that leads nowhere, but anywhere else, as long as it’s not home. We walk, getting covered in dirty dust, drunk on berry sugar.  We dream of our future with Raspberry trailing along and keeping pace.

At the end of summer, Raspberry lingers on with a headiness that entices with the early scent of decay. In between spring and summer, Raspberry does not wither away and fade with sun. She stands strong in the cold.

Becoming myself, shedding the tight outer idea of self my parents created for me, leads me to move away from the closeness of Raspberry. She doesn’t grow here in my city.

She’s not shy and she’s not reclusive. I can easily find her on any trail, path, or along a meadow.

Raspberry even greets me in the in-between. She calls me, while my eyes are closed. She sings, not a siren song, but a lullaby. I walk towards her and she opens herself up so that we can greet each other like true friends.  I glide into her and am greeted by a soft milky white viscous fluid that is her life force. I am carried to her home.

Raspberry awaits. She glows like a luminescent Luna Moth. She’s pearlescent, she’s like the grandmother to Mother of Pearl.  She has wings, folded upon her back, she wears a cap that covers her head. She is at once, all the colors, but subdued and lit from within. She reminds me of an ethereal Art Deco painting of an ephemeral beauty, almost translucent.

She explains that she wears a crown of thorns to protect herself. Without the thorns, she would not have survived the thirst and hunger of all that await to feast upon her. She would have, long ago, been stripped bare and left to die. The thorns fight for her and battle the greed of others. Raspberry understands there is a delicate balance between self-reliance and thriving alongside others. She extends her delicate fingers, with her offering of berries.

She shares with me a story of how she learned the lesson of needing to give to others and not become hardened and hidden behind her thorns.

Long ago, one summer, a bear cub approached Raspberry, and grabbed at her. It cried as the thorns pierced its soft paw. The cub bled upon Raspberry and ran off to leave her alone. Winter came and she did not see the cub. Spring arrived with the news that there were no new Raspberry plants. She had hurt the cub and he had told his family. They stopped eating the berries and without them, her seeds were not dispersed.

So, she sang her song for the cub, now a young bear. He came with his parents. She wanted the bears to enjoy her offerings, but she had been so worried about her fragile state that she had feared being crushed by the cub. So, she attacked. She asked the bears to come to her again, with thicken pads, to taste her fruit and allow her to flourish. She would nourish them with her red color, a reminder for the blood that was spilled when she had only thought of herself and not been aware of her role in the forest.

Raspberry will not give up her crown of thorns. She needs her armor to protect her from those that would take without asking. Raspberry knows she is sought, and she wishes to share her sweetness.  She gives herself freely when she is treated with care.

Carrie Anderson is a Reiki Master, Plant Spirit Intuitive Consultant, Animal Death Doula, author and sometimes Yoga Instructor. She created her own energy healing called, Green Wisdom Reiki, that blends Reiki with Plants, Animals, and Fungi and has a book of writings titled, Reiki in Nature. She is an author for Reiki Rays and a writer for Witch Magazine and was honored to be a speaker for Reiki Rays Global Summit in 2021. She has been the guest Meditation Script Writer and Meditation Guide for the past several years for their annual Global Summit. Her hobbies include crocheting art with vintage yarns, spending time with her family and her elderly rescue dog. Carrie is guided by her deep respect and honor for Earth in all of her work and life. You can find out more at her website, www.caresreiki.com and follow her on Instagram at @caresreiki and @ladycrochety.                                                                                

Full Moon + Writing With The Plants Workshop

Happy Full Moon!

Yesterday was a very full day with many different commitments. Perhaps you can relate? As I was rushing to get ready for a dance class in the city the water dish I filled for the cat I was tending to spilt on my jeans. No problem. Then the water bottle I had filled and put in my bag for class wasn’t done up properly and by the time I got to the subway my shoes, cash, hat, all soaked through. 

I laughed. 

Sad, of course, to not be able to wear my dance shoes, but not a big deal. 

A former version of me would have not laughed. It may have felt like a big deal. The daily interactions we have, and how we enter into a relationship with them, speaks to oh so very much of our health, psychology, mindset, state of being. None of it right or wrong, of course…and, just as water shapes the land around us, it also shapes our inner landscape. The ebbs and flows, tidal waves, rivers that our emotions and energy ride upon–the fluid body.

This morning I laughed more, realizing it’s the full moon!

I laughed because water tables and tides rise on the full moon. Everything is heightened at this time, including our emotional bodies (and responses to ourselves and others we encounter). And I laughed because the water around me yesterday was rising! It found a way to rise, even in the concrete confines of New York City where the sacred rivers that the original people of this land knew still flow way beneath the streets. Even from my water bottle. 

I laughed because this was a good reminder for me to remember the elements are always present and have their own power. A reminder to honor that power and to work with it.

If you are curious about additional ways to connect with your own watery ways, join us for our last Zoom yoga nidra class of this session tonight at 7:15 pm EST, and check out the plant/tree books that have particular affinity for the moon and water. They are Dreaming with Mugwort (also available in Spanish) and Dreaming with Willow. Water is also often associated with creativity and the new book Creative Being: A Conversation with Gérome Barry is coming out on the Spring Equinox (March 20th!) so stay tuned for more on that or pre-order your copy today!

You can also join me for a Writing with the Plants: A Virtual Workshop, coming your way on March 25th! 

Photo credit: Stuart Garber of HeadRest Healing Arts, artwork by Justin Winslow taken at the opening of Blended Beings: The Exhibition, curated by Janet Morgan and Susanna Plotnick with ArtFront Galleries.

Top 15 Majestic Wisdom Books of February

The most popular books in February 2023 were:

Dreaming with Mugwort Building the Future Now Through Reiki Dreaming with Spruce Dreaming with Birch Dreaming with Oak Dreaming with Willow Yoga Nidra for Everyday Life Dreaming with Redwood Dreaming with Rhubarb Nature Sanctuary for the Future Envisioning New Ecosystems Soñando con la Artemisa Dreaming with Nettle Dreaming with Elder Dreaming with Heather

Thank you for reading and dreaming with the plants and The Future is Possible series. For a list of all available and upcoming titles, click here.

Top 10 Majestic Wisdom Books of January

The most popular books in January 2023 were:

Dreaming with Rhubarb Dreaming with Mugwort Dreaming with Nettle Building the Future Now Through Reiki Dreaming with Trillium Dreaming with Lavender Dreaming with Willow Dreaming with Rosemary Dreaming with Violet Rêver avec la lavande

Thank you for reading and dreaming with the plants and The Future is Possible series. For a list of all available and upcoming titles, click here.

Dreaming with Rhubarb + The Return of the Light

Last night I noticed that the sunlight lingered slightly longer. Here in the wintery north it has been grey, snowy, or rainy across many lands. We hear and talk a lot about this time being one of hibernation, staying inward, dreaming, resting and those are all valuable parts of life. They can also lead to feelings of desolation, hopelessness, tap into pools of depression, or any other range of sensations in the body, mind and spirit. 

How do you find the balance? 

So much in the “healing arts” is about not clinging–knowing that everything is temporary and will come and go. At the same time we are active participants in choosing what to accept and when, what works for us, and when we are able to, making decisions and changes. Inventing, innovating, iterating. 

It’s a dance for sure and one that constantly evolves as our circumstances, relationships, and own inner landscape change from one minute to the next.

I stopped before writing this sentence and my heart smiled as I felt into the energy of Rhubarb and her new book, Dreaming with Rhubarb: A Plant Spirit Short Read which launches today on the first new moon of 2023!

My heart softened to think of Rhubarb’s hardy energy calling upon me to write this book. She first appeared, as if tapping me on the shoulder, over a year ago and I said no. Then she became insistent in October of last year, so I started to write and I’m so happy I did.

This is the first plant spirit book to come out in 15 months! I had thought the “Dreaming with the Plants” series was complete, but book number 22 wanted to come into the world. Not only was it a delightful process, it reawakened a light in my heart–one that became a bit buried. Even as I call upon it now, the light in my heart bumps up against some internal debris before glowing. Yet, once it glows, I feel radiant and have a sense of confirmation in the process. I feel connected again to the plants and to myself. Something I forget, even after so much practice and training. We all forget sometimes, I imagine. 

Forgetting this feels akin to loss. In every possible way.

So thank you, Rhubarb, for helping me remember my way and my heart’s path. Perhaps she can help you too! 

Rhubarb holds the energy of enterprise–collaborating often with humans to create new industry and support entrepreneurial endeavors, whatever they may be. Her spirit will ensure that you continue to have faith in yourself as you move through the cycles of “failure” and “success” and even sheds light on redefining those concepts.

To read more about how to work with Rhubarb, as well as her spirit, folklore, medicine, and to go on a journey with her, consider buying her book via the links below:

eBook available for Amazon Kindle (device, app or laptop):

US, CA, UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, NL, JP, BR, MX, AU, IN

Paperback available:

US, CA, UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, JP, AU, NL, SE, PL

What makes your heart glow? Do you spend time resting in that light? Or write it off?

As we approach Imbolc at the beginning of February we can also honor the return of the natural light here in the north! This is the midway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. So if you draw upon that external energy for support, it’s shifting and the light is returning. To honor this, I’m offering my first in-person workshop in three years (almost to the day!) on February 5th: Return of the Light, which will focus on Imbolc, Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra. More information visit the events page or register via this link.

I hope you are receiving the nourishment you need at this moment and that these offerings can add in some way to your own heart’s journey.

The light in me sees and honors the light in you.

With love and magic.

Top 22 Majestic Wisdom Books of 2022

Do you ever forget that everything that you do first started out with not really knowing how? I do! Facebook kindly reminded me on December 30th that it was one year ago to the day when I started writing a new kind of book.

At that time, I had no idea how the book, Envisioning New Ecosystems: A Conversation with Stewart Hoyt would come together. Yet, as one section was birthed into reality, formed and solid, the rest followed. Then a new series of books was born. The Future is Possible series emerged in 2022 and from those early, tentative seeds, now has four books in the world and more on the way. Now, writing these books is a part of what I do, as if I always have. While each one brings good problem-solving and thoughts for me to work through, the foundation is now strong.

I forgot the timing of this first chapter—a new year seed planted. The seed was planted, tended to, supported and, throughout the year, became sustained.

What seeds are you planting this winter? And what supports do you need to help them grow?

If you seek additional resources, this year’s Top 22 Majestic Wisdom Books of 2022 are filled with all kinds of ways to help you nurture yourself, your creativity, intuition, and discover (and cultivate) connection. It’s my hope that they help you remember your magic and bring it into the world.

The 22 most popular books of 2022 are:

Dreaming with Mugwort Building the Future Now Through Reiki: A Conversation with Nathalie Biermanns Dreaming with Nettle Dreaming with Lavender Dreaming with Rosemary Dreaming with Willow Envisioning New Ecosystems: A Conversation with Stewart Hoyt Holding Space to Heal: A Conversation with Holly Ramey Dreaming with Violet Dreaming with Redwood Dreaming with Dandelion Yoga Nidra for Everyday Life Dreaming with Hawthorn Dreaming with Holly Dreaming with Oak Dreaming with Sunflower Dreaming with Birch Dreaming with Apple Dreaming with Elder Dreaming with Red Clover Dreaming with Heather Dreaming with Sumac

Thank you for reading and dreaming with the plants and imagining the infinite possibilities of the world. It truly is a dream come true to share these works with you.

For a list of all available and upcoming titles, click here and you can sign up for my newsletter over at www.journeythroughyoga.com to join classes, workshops, and hear about new book releases. 2023 has a bunch of new projects already in the works!

Top 15 Majestic Wisdom Books of December

The most popular books in December 2022 were:

Dreaming with Mugwort Dreaming with Dandelion Holding Space to Heal Dreaming with Lavender Nature Sanctuary for the Future Dreaming with Violet Dreaming with Nettle Dreaming with Holly Dreaming with Rosemary Building the Future Now Through Reiki Dreaming with Willow Dreaming with Redwood Dreaming with Spruce Soñando con la Artemisa Yoga Nidra for Everyday Life

Thank you for reading and dreaming with the plants and The Future is Possible series. For a list of all available and upcoming titles, click here.

Happy Solstice + Rebalancing + New Nature Sanctuary Book

Happy Solstice! 

Here in the north, we’re honoring the longest night and in the south, the longest day–a peak or a valley (however you may look at it) of the ongoing cycles of seasons, time, connection, of which we are all a part. This can sometimes feel like coming to  the edge of an extreme before turning back and going the other way, returning to a center, and then finding another extreme. A key component of any healing modality is to find balance. And then to find it again. Nothing is static and even balance changes as we change, as the seasons change, as the environment changes. Balance one day may be grieving whereas another day it may mean dreaming with the plants or working really hard in your job or taking care of another.

Balance is not a fixed state, but a dynamic condition, and one that we step into afresh again and again and again…

What does balance look like for you today? For the ecosystems of which you are a part? Be it a family structure, a work system, and/or the plants, animals and energies that are in your village, town, or city. 

The new book (launching today!!), Nature Sanctuary for the Future: A Conversation with Marina Levitina considers these questions and more! In it you will hear about the vision and creation of Lough Grainey Nature Sanctuary (located in county Clare, Ireland), meet the land herself, hear about re-wilding and nature restoration, the essential role of women in healing with the land, unique education for children (and adults) that Marina has developed in concert with the land, and the rich history, legend, and connection to ancient goddesses of this very special place.

There are also exercises for you to try as you explore your own belief systems around nature, the world we live in, and possibilities for the future. As you read you can also imagine what a project of this kind does to help facilitate balance on an individual and collective level. 

While this book was inspired by a podcast episode from two years ago, the conversation has been completely updated and includes many new sections to aid in your journey of discovery, thought, and action. 25% of each sale will be donated to Lough Grainey Nature Sanctuary to aid in their efforts of regenerating, rebalancing, and healing with the land.

To get your copy or read more:

eBook available for Amazon Kindle (device, app or laptop):

US, CA, UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, NL, JP, BR, MX, AU, IN

Paperback available:

US, CA, UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, JP, AU, NL, SE, PL

What if the future is entirely up to us to co-create and build? Are people equipped to think beyond the fatalistic mindset of worst-case scenarios and the tendency to imagine the end of the world as the only option that lies ahead? What if the future is actually possible? From envisioning new ecosystems to nature conservation to building new ways of being through creativity, and healing arts and sciences, each short book in The Future is Possible series incorporates wise ways of living for modern times.

These books are designed to bring you into conversations on the many ways humans can grow, learn, heal, inspire, and embody a future where all beings not only survive on the planet, but thrive. They also include activities you can try, commitments to make, and ways to take what you read off the page and bring it into the world. As we shift in consciousness, these short reads empower the belief that the future is, indeed, possible and it starts now, with you.

There are four books available and two coming out in 2023! See the whole list here.

Top 10 Majestic Wisdom Books of November

The most popular books in November 2022 were:

Dreaming with Mugwort Envisioning New Ecosystems Soñando con la Artemisa Yoga Nidra for Everyday Life Dreaming with Rosemary Holding Space to Heal Dreaming with Willow Dreaming with Dandelion Dreaming with Holly Dreaming with Red Clover

Thank you for reading and dreaming with the plants and The Future is Possible series. For a list of all available and upcoming titles, click here.

Top 25 Majestic Wisdom Books of All Time

Preparing your holiday gift list and need something unique for the curious, healing-focused, or plant people in your life? Here are the all-time top 25 Majestic Wisdom books for you to choose from!

The 25 Majestic Wisdom books of all time are:

Dreaming with Mugwort Dreaming with Nettle Sister, Dreaming with Dandelion Dreaming with Hawthorn Dreaming with Lavender Dreaming with Oak Dreaming with Violet Dreaming with Rosemary Loving Kindness for Everyday Life Dreaming with Redwood Dreaming with Holly Dreaming with Willow Yoga Nidra for Everyday Life Building the Future Now Through Reiki Dreaming with Birch Dreaming with Sunflower Dreaming with Red Clover Dreaming with Apple Dreaming with Heather Envisioning New Ecosystems Dreaming with Trillium Dreaming with Elder Understanding Reiki Dreaming with Sumac

Thank you for reading and dreaming with the plants and all of this writing. It truly is a dream come true to share these works with you. Together, the future is possible!

For a list of all available and upcoming titles, click here.