I lost a very dear friend a couple of weeks ago – my oldest and dearest friend.
For a child who was often bullied, abused, and rejected, her friendship was a safe haven and great blessing that was so deeply needed and cherished by me.
We’d been friends since the age of 13, and she was the one who first drew me onto the spiritual path and opened my mind and heart to mysticism.
There are kindred souls who weave themselves inextricably into the fabric of our lives – they join us on our path, and no matter how far some may stray, they never leave us.
Until they do.
I know many of us have lost people in the past year, and many more are carrying a sense of grief from all that has happened, and continues to happen, in this world.
In many ways grief in such a tender and sacred thing. We carry it with us like a fragile egg that breaks over and over again with a deep in-welling, and then outpouring, of pain and emotion.
Read original article at: Krista Mitchell ~ Crystal Healing Support for Loss & Grief
I am writing this on the evening of the full harvest moon—it is shining bright in the night sky just over the treetops. We are also celebrating the Autumnal Equinox. I know that fall is here by the feeling in the air—cooler nights—and needing to grab that extra blanket; the smells are different—moist, earthy, and leafy; the departure of the hummingbirds since the jewelweed blooms are fading; the slowing down of plant growth in the garden and the ripening of others—herbs are maturing, flowers are showing off their last hurrahs, and many plants are producing seeds. It is time for gathering the bounty and celebrating the harvest!
I had what seemed like a simple question: How and why did cardamom, the spice native to southern India, become such an essential and beloved baking spice in snowy Scandinavia? I have Swedish ancestry, and absolutely love cardamom bread and other baked goods made with cardamom. In Scandinavian culture, cardamom often represents comfort and home and family and holiday treats–similar to how we in the U.S. view cinnamon, perhaps. (Of course, cinnamon is also of South Asian origin!) I started with some hazy knowledge of the history of the spice trade–that cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, and ginger spread throughout the world from their places of origin via complex trade routes over the course of many centuries, contributing to the rise and fall of various empires and economies. But I was curious why cardamom, in particular, took root in Scandinavia of all places. Researching that question took…
Paths I Walk 
You must be logged in to post a comment.