Creating your own wedding can be incredibly complicated, confusing, and frustrating. That said, any ‘wonderful wedding’ experience simply does not happen without a lot of careful planning, and the rewards for creating your own can be immense.
Some interesting facts about Tamoxifen and breast cancer recurrence:
In 2009
211,731 women were diagnosed w/ BC
40,676 died
In 2011 (approx)
230,480 diagnosed
39,520 died
In 2012 (approx)
232,340 diagnosed
39,620 died
Loke wyscely on golde erly at morwe [morning]
Yat day fro feures it schall ye borwe:
Ye odour of ye golde is good to smelle.’
~ Macer’s Herbal
Calendula (Calendula officinalis) will always be a summer flower for me — her bright colors and radiant shape reflects that of the sun. Petals in hues from light lemon to deep orange adorn her flowers, opening in the morning, following the sun’s journey across the sky, and closing as dusk sets in. She is also a flower of contradictions: despite her solar connections, she blooms monthly, often with the new moon.
Recently I had the pleasure of visiting Ireland, land of my ancestors. While there, I specifically visited a number of sacred places, looking to immerse myself in the land’s rich history of spirituality. The one I was most looking forward to visiting was Brigid’s Well.
Vinegar infused with a variety of herbs makes a wonderful addition to your health regime. The word vinegar comes from the French vin aigre, which means “sour wine.” When air is exposed to fermented liquid, bacterial activity occurs and the result is acetic acid or sour vinegar. These are different from culinary vinegar in that the long infusion time allows the medicinal benefits of the herbs to move into the liquid, in the culinary version, its just the flavor.
Crime. Recession. Terrorism. Tsunamis. Unemployment. In our times — the so-called digital age – the messages we see and hear every day, all around us, are scary. We are constantly being exposed to disturbing stories and images and it can feel overwhelming.
The primary problem lies with us: we are so used to our negative thinking that we are rarely aware when we are doing it. Stop and think for a moment: how often do you say to yourself “how fat George has grown” or “I can’t believe Jane still does <fill in the blank>”? I ask this as someone who had one of the most critical and judgmental thought patterns I’ve ever encountered. Nor am I perfect now — I do still engage in those old patterns from time to time; I just do it much less.
You hear it all the time, from everyone you know: “I’m so stressed.” “I feel overwhelmed.” “I can’t get caught up.” Stress is the defining characteristic of the 21st century, and sometimes it seems impossible to manage, which creates more stress — I call it the negative feedback loop of DOOM. When we are stressed we usually feel helpless and out of control of our life.
Do not despair! There are simple things we can do to break the feedback loop of doom and reduce the stress — even dissipate it completely.
Bucket List Items Already Achieved
Last week I created a Bucket List of things I still want to achieve. As promised, here are the things I’ve already accomplished in my lifetime, all 187 of them:
We don’t do grief.
~Joan Didion
For most of us, talking about how we feel is difficult, and doubly so when we are grieving. We are in pain, often combined from sorrow and anger to varying levels, and we are alienated from others because of that pain. We may feel guilty, with lots of unfinished business we didn’t have time to take care of in our relationship. Or we may not feel much of anything at all; it’s too distant. People avoid us, or are deeply awkward in our presence. Social niceties encourage us to make it easier on them, which is exhausting, so instead we project a sense of calm, or of not needing sympathy, or of having ‘moved on’ – as if the death of our mother or father was a minor part of our lives.
Having cancer is like no other experience we ever encounter, and it is a remarkably unique process despite having so many similarities. Based on personal experience, there are a number of herbs (including flower essences, and essential oils) that support a person going through the cancer experience, including chemotherapy.