Spiritual Counseling, Flower Essence Aromatherapy, Art and Healing by Sheryl Karas

We Are the 99% (song) posted by Occupy Boston

2011-10-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

Trying Out the Handmadeology Brand Exercise for Mama Love Flower Essence Aromatherapy

2011-10-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

Handmadeology is a craft professional's blog offering tips and suggestions for having a successful business. Today they asked people to consider how they would define themselves if they took away every specific product in their shop. They listed three phrases to get started and something in it appealed to me. The phrases are:

•My single most important intention for having this business is…(this is your mission)

•My secret personality quirks are…(hint: these are those things about you that seem to come up often in a conversation or you find friends calling on you for)

•Describe a time in your business when you felt the most alive or vibrant…

Okay, here it goes.

My single most important intention for having this business is wanting to bring relatively low cost, powerful, safe and effective tools to people for their health and well-being with a specific focus on how mental and spiritual attitude affects the emotional and physical. I don't believe this is ALL health is about. I think diet and exercise and not getting hit by cars or flying projectiles at peaceful demonstrations helps, too! But I have found enormous benefits from working on the emotional and mental levels for my physical well-being at times in my life when I couldn't afford the typical and ineffective medical approaches to the same problems. Even doctors say that as much as 90% of the concerns people see them for are caused by or exacerbated by stress. And studies show that people with a strong spiritual focus don't get sick as often and recover quicker when they do. So that's what my Mama Love business is all about.

My secret personality quirks are… hmm, are they really so secret? Friends call on me the most for listening and advice. And not just (or even typically) psychic/intuitive advice! Long before I was willing to come out of the closet about that one, I was the person in any setting people turned to to get help and clarity about things bothering them. So it's a natural tie-in to my flower essence aromatherapy work to offer healing sessions and flower essence consultation, too.
Another quirk coming out strongly these days is a political one. Call it the Libran Sword of Justice (I'm an October baby) but I really get steamed about anything that interferes with the health and well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. The soaring cost of medical care, combined with a very poorly regulated insurance industry, is a big part of the bankrupting of America. Add insult to injury by attempting to over-regulate traditional herbal remedies and methods people have used to take care of themselves for hundreds of years and you have one very pissed off Mama Love! If something should happen where flower essence and aromatherapy products come under the gun, my brand would not be affected because I would switch to educating people as to how to grow their own medicine chest and make use of it safely and effectively in their own backyard. (And I'm not talking about marijuana here either -- I'm not a user... although... what's wrong with using it for healing is beyond me!)

Describe a time in your business when you felt the most alive or vibrant… sigh! Alright. Before I started my business I was writing a book about flower essences and developing ways to help people learn to use them effectively (including a flower essence self-awareness deck that I still haven't finished). Then I got all caught up in "making a living" and all my focus turned to marketing. I grew my business to the point of having my products in more than a dozen stores across the country and had dreams of being the Bert's Bees of flower essence therapy. Then the recession hit and that was all she wrote. Half my wholesale accounts went out of business. The other half cut way back and I'm pretty much back where I started only worse because now my day job barely pays my rent.

I know from a lot of experience that attempting to make a living as a writer pretty much sucks (financially) unless you somehow win the jackpot so going back to the idea of writing a book and such is a bit demoralizing. But I'll be thinking about the possibilities.

Good exercise to get me thinking today!

By the way the name of my Etsy shop has recently changed. It's no longer MamaLovePerfume. Instead it's MamaLoveHealing which more accurately reflects what I do.

My main website, Mama Love Products, remains the same.

Socialists and Lesbians, Occupy Slogan

2011-10-24T01:32:00.000-07:00

Calling Every Protester A Socialist Is Like... by paulnsheryl

Not that there's anything wrong with being a Socialist! Or a lesbian.

Protest Apron

2011-10-24T01:28:00.001-07:00

TAX THE RICH We Don't Want To Have To Eat Them by paulnsheryl

The Movement Occupying Around the World!

2011-10-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

Occupation Protests in the United States

Growing Occupations in Europe


Madrid, Spain

Standing Together 99% Strong

2011-10-16T00:53:00.000-07:00

Find at more at Occupy Together. org.

We're Offering Everyone Our Book for Free!

2011-10-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

I guess it would be hard to miss how focused I've been on the 99% Movement. I feel quite personally affected by this and what has led up to it. In fact, it's all in the book Paul and I wrote called "Waking Up in the Great Recession Mormon Desert." Paul and I feel so strongly about the immense importance of this that we want to give away the download version of the book for free. Get yours here and feel free to send it far and wide: http://www.healingcommunication.com/WAKING_UP_FILE.html

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Our book, "Waking Up in the Great Recession Mormon Desert" is a memoir. Following a series of recession-related miscalculations, it follows the two of us, a spiritual counseling and healing team, from our original home in the beautiful New Age, ultra-progressive town of Santa Cruz, CA to the unspeakably plain eastern Arizona desert. The timing is immediately after the election of Barack Obama and the passage of Proposition 8 and we coincidentally and inadvertently find ourselves in an ultra-conservative Republican Mormon community. The result is at turns poignant and funny and eventually leads to a spiritual wake-up call that shows the importance of connecting the political and the personal in our task of developing spiritually on the planet.

In the conventional world of physical book publishing this one might be described as Michael Moore meets Deepak Chopra if the story was told by a female blogger like Julie Powell (Julie, Julia). The book touches on issues millions of Americans have been going through—losing a job, a business, a home, facing bankruptcy. But it is also a story about choosing to live a creative, purpose-driven life, being guided by faith, and finding one's voice in a world that calls out for an end to polarity, injustice and hate. Ultimately, it is about community and reclaiming one’s connection to the greater whole.

By the way, some really cool people reviewed an advance copy of this book and said some really great things about it. Take a look:

"WAKING UP is a fascinating account of two seekers trying to find sense and sanity in our contemporary world, which often seems deliberately designed to make people crazy. The lessons they learn can help anyone find balance in our chaotic culture." ~ Larry Dossey, MD, author of HEALING WORDS and THE POWER OF PREMONITIONS

“This book is a winner. It has everything a good book should have: suspense, excitement, pathos, joy, laughter—-lots of laughter—and great characters you care about and can genuinely root for! And it's non-fiction! But what it has most is love and wisdom. Profound, heart-opening love and wisdom. It is hands down one of the best books on spirituality and its role in meeting the challenges of our time that I have read. And did I say that it's funny, too? Be good to yourself and read this book. Be good to your friends and buy them a copy.” ~ David Spangler, author of FACING THE FUTURE and SUBTLE WORLDS: AN EXPLORER'S FIELD NOTES.

"WAKING UP explores the trials and triumphs of living a creative, purpose driven life combined with an exploration of the political polarities present in current society. Skillfully written as both personal and political, the story of this couple 's healing points to the resolution that just might help us all." ~ Frederic Luskin, Ph.D., author of FORGIVE FOR GOOD

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The print version is still available for sale as are Kindle and Nook versions. The version we offer for free is a pdf with full color photographs and artwork. Please share it widely!

In Solidarity with Those Brave Enough to Stand Up and Let Their Voices Be Heard

2011-10-12T00:49:00.000-07:00

Find at more at Occupy Together. org.

Occupy Together

2011-10-10T00:47:00.000-07:00

Find at more at Occupy Together. org.

The Occupy Movement Has Congressman Peter King Scared

2011-10-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

Apparently, it's working! Help counter the expected assault on the people's movement. Spread the news about what really going on!

Why Occupy?

2011-10-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Shut Off Fox News - Find Out What's Going On in Your Hometown

2011-10-08T00:43:00.000-07:00

Find at more at Occupy Together. org.

Occupy Worldwide

2011-10-06T00:41:00.000-07:00

Find at more at Occupy Together. org.

The Occupy Movement Is About US (the rest of us)

2011-10-04T00:38:00.000-07:00

Find at more at Occupy Together. org.

Freedom Dance on Wall Street

2011-10-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

No More Silent Majority

2011-10-02T00:35:00.000-07:00

Find at more at Occupy Together. org.

Music for the Revolution?

2011-10-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

Pele Juju, a band that used to be based in Santa Cruz, CA, came to my mind tonight.

If the Revolution Isn't Televised the other 99% Will Video and Spread It Anyway

2011-10-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

If 50 Tea Partiers held a picnic the news media would be there. This is New York city yesterday!

Occupy Our Democracy

2011-10-01T00:19:00.000-07:00

The revolution is spreading. 95 cities in the U.S. and 15 cities around the world have joined the movement to stand up to corporate greed and take back our democracy. Find at more at Occupy Together. org.

Saint Jerry Garcia Grateful Dead Novena Prayer Candle

2011-09-26T00:41:00.000-07:00

Something new in my Etsy shop!

Do you worship at the altar of Saint Jerry? Or perhaps you'd like to celebrate the Day of the Dead Grateful Dead style. Either way, this unscented 8" tall white wax votive candle is made for you.

Featuring my own artwork printed on glossy label stock with the following prayer written on the side:

"Reach out your hand if your cup be empty.
If your cup is full may it be again.
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men."

Want one? You'll find it here.

Interested in other prayer candles? Visit this section of my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MamaLovePerfume?section_id=10472279

Rally on Wall Street Deserves Attention

2011-09-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, Virginia, there is a protest going on! Wall Street, THIS weekend.

<br><br>Wa

Occupy Wall Street Protests in Full Swing

2011-09-17T23:55:00.000-07:00

Despite lack of coverage by major news channels there IS a protest by 10s of thousands of people on Wall Street right now. It's nonviolent and peaceful but determined. This first video shows some of the numbers of people there today but there's no useful sound. The second video is almost laughable in that it's SO peaceful they're all staying on the sidewalk! But the sound is good. They're chanting "We are the 99%" and "Pay Your Share!"

Claiming the Change -- An Excerpt from "Waking Up in the Great Recession Mormon Desert"

2011-09-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from our latest book...

Claiming the Change

Everything changes. That's a Buddhist tenet I've never felt very good about. Change isn't a favorite thing of mine to negotiate. But lately change is what we all need, what the Obama administration was elected to provide, and what many of us may be pinning all our hopes and dreams upon.

Yesterday I was walking with Paul down one of the country roads close to our house. It's quiet here. Paul wrote about the natural quieting down this creates in our lives and how it helps one look at the contents of one's thoughts in a recent blog. I got a great illustration of how that works while on this walk.

At first I enjoyed the scenery, the pleasant weather, and my optimistic point of view. “How nice it is to walk out here.” I thought. But then I had another, more insidious, thought process come in. “Oh, it's nice enough now. But what if this is where you had to stay forever? What if you and Paul never get out of this situation? How would you feel about this landscape then? Wouldn't it be boring to do this day in and day out?”

I immediately felt frightened, desperate, and almost completely miserable. . . and then caught myself. “Look at what happened here!” I thought. I went from happy and content to miserably discontent within the shortest time imaginable and NOTHING had changed except my point of view. My rogue thoughts had almost ruined my day but I decided to choose another way.

I experimented with other thoughts: “Maybe we'll love it here and will want to stay. Maybe we'll go. Everything changes. Why would I think this couldn't change, too? Maybe, I won't even want it to!”

Forever is a limiting point of view. The present moment always contains the seeds of change. Paul warns me that trying to predict the future, or worrying about it based on the false predictions my fear-based mindset would try to create, is a foolish thing to do. The best way to predict the future is to claim it. “Claim it” is the phrase my guidance insisted on when I was writing this sentence. I had planned to say “create it” but that’s not good enough. We need to insist on what we want to create. To intend it so firmly we believe it is our birthright. To claim it means “This is mine. This belongs to me and I deserve to have it!”

Waking Up in the Great Recession Mormon Desert is available directly from Paul and me here.

Psychedelic Sunflower Digital Mixed Media

2011-09-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest addition to the Etsy shop I share with Paul. This is a photograph of a sunflower I have never been satisfied with. This time I decided to really go to town with it: layering effects using multiple filters in Photoshop, tweaking the color balance enormously, adding color where none existed, adding lighting and texture, and finally just drawing and painting on top of the whole thing. Then I had what I wanted. And it was very satisfying to bring more of the artist out into the forefront instead of just insisting on doing it the "easy", less time-consuming way.

Peep and the Boys Revisited

2011-09-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

I like the brush strokes that can be seen in the details. Can't decide whether I like the program for wider views. I'll have to see one of these printed out large to be able to tell, I think. And for some reason Blogger is cropping the right side of all of these. Not sure what to do about that either.