Self-Portraits of Father Sun Through the Eyes of Desert Medicines

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Aloha fellow travelers of the pathless path!!!

I just realized I have too many passions...with such limited time. I'll have to integrate them all in one.

So...this is what you get when you cross photography, wild-crafting, botany, hiking, sun-gazing, and philosophy.

The soft and dreamy Apache Plume

The Apaches collected the roots of the Apache plume, that scraggly-looking roadside shrub with pink feathery plumes that blooms several times over the summer.

After digging out the root of the plant, they used it to make a poultice for soaking sore muscles. A mild tea from some of the powdered root proved effective for treating coughs and flatulence.

The Hopi made a tonic from strong tea, said to prevent thinning hair. A rinse made from the steeped leaves is used as a hair rinse to promote growth of the hair. Ironic that the seed pods look like flowing hair?

I had the epiphany that laughter was light, and light was laughter, and that this was the secret of the universe.
~Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch

Light and laughter sure are potent medicines.

This Mesquite lady reaches her arms out to cradle and caress you.

Mesquite trees have long been used by native people of the southwest for food, medicine, beverages, glue, hair dye, firewood, construction material, and furniture making.

We love to harvest her pods in the Summer. You can mill them into a powder if you're feeling it, but I just like to chew the pods, suck out all the sweetness, and spit out the fiber.

Sun setting on red yucca!!! Red Yucca is a favored treat of the hummingbirds around here.

I love the practice of sungazing for so many reasons.

Firstly, it invites me to take in more of the visual spectrum of colors. Which is so soothing to the nervous system.

Secondly, I get to slow down and deliberately anchor myself in feeling...instead of thinking. This prepares my brain for waking or sleeping in a state of relaxation, creativity, and gratitude.

Thirdly, it puts me into a state of be-ing...not doing...receiving as a form of giving. This is difficult for many of us in this modern time-based, productivity-obsessed world.

Fourthly, I am invited to appreciate the intelligence of nature...to notice how the plants, insects, and animals respond to changes in the trajectory of the sun in the sky. I never paid any attention to that before.

This is another yucca variety called "hairy" yucca. Reminds me of an 80's rocker hairdo!!!

The petals are delicious!!!

This photo makes me think about self-transformation. And how we must be willing to step outside of our comfort zone in order to grow and evolve.

Integrative change doesn't involve changing who you are. That is fixed. The path of integrative change leads you to a shift in your experience of life...and requires discomfort and surrender. If you are attached to any outcome or expectations...you will be stalled by resistance.

With attention and intention you will see through the discomfort as a harbinger for authentic transformation. Each emotional upset, becomes an opportunity to soften, feel, and grow our deepest roots.

We take responsibility for the quality of our experience for the sake of personal and collective evolution.

Inspired by "A Walk Through the Presence Process", by Michael Brown.

Check out this video for more on authentic transformation.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=4465s&v=cFahpNW9M3U

The famous sun-gazer "HRM" (whose pineal gland was found to be larger than average) recommends practicing sun-gazing daily for at least an entire year to fully activate the pineal gland.

A phenomenon, that is just starting to be studied more, is sun-gazing effects on the EM frequencies of the brain. In this documentary, Matthew Wilcox actually asks a scientist to study his brain while sungazing using an EEG.

What he found was an increase in coherence, theta, alpha, and gamma frequencies...similar to what is seen in studies of Buddhist monks.

Pretty cool right???

I sat in my favorite tree today and watched the sun-rise. Felt my heart beating, the same heart that beats in all of you...the cosmic heart.

This is a practice I have come to really treasure. Especially when I feel ungrounded or confused. It always comforts me and gives me a bigger perspective. It is entheogenic medicine in that way.

It's something I did all the time as a child...intuitively I guess. My favorite tree was a huge old mulberry tree.

I can close my eyes and remember so much detail about that tree.

Did anyone else have a favorite tree to climb as a child?

In me all life is one: There is no separation and no demarcation of other. The nuances of vision may vary as may our individual perceptions, as every leaf has a different view of the same picture. But every leaf relies on the same sap to give it life and is nowhere separated. But in each leaf is its own exaltation."

~Lakota teaching from Kimberly Glaser

Sending you all CareBear rays of love and light on this precious day!!!

Aloha,

Pachee

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