The Smell of Elicriso

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Art for Housewives

elicriso

Via CARDBOARD RETABLOS

Took my first walk past Livadia yesterday.  Actually, a walk to Krios had been planned but my walking partner couldn’t make it.  And I prefer not to walk alone in isolated places. Not anymore.

It was about 20 meters past the last bathing establishment that I smelled it—a smell so strong that it sent me into a state of déjà vu. Elicriso. A scent so full of memories, of happy memories.  My first reaction was to pick it and hold it near my nose as I walked.  But I am trying hard to control the urge of appropriating the material as a means of dragging a magical moment into the future so I just walked on.

My memory is like a overflowing closet.  Cluttered.  And often invasive. So, I tell myself, a moment must remain just that.  A moment.  But the moment has lasted a day and the smell of elicriso is still in my nose.

Elicriso’s aroma was unknown to me before living in Tuscany that’s why I still call it elicriso instead of its name in English, helichrysum (its name comes from the Greek words helisso meaning “to turn around” and chryros meaning “gold”).  The dried flowers can be used to make sachet bags as I often use to do.  But recently I learned that, as an essential oil, helichrysum does wonders.  Used for hundreds of years in Africa, it helps in reducing muscle tension, joint pain and is effective in treating wounds and bug bites. Helichrysum also helps stimulate cell regeneration meaning that it can help ageing skin regain some of its elasticity. So, if I learn how to transform it into an essental oil, I may soon be picking it again.  But this time for a different reason!

Because it takes so many flowers to make it, helichrysum essential oil is very expensive. Generally, essential oils are made by means of a water and steam distillation process but go HERE for a very simple method of making helichrysum oil by macerating the flowers in macadamia oil.

helichrysum

helichrysum italicum

p.s. After seeing an ad for Helichrysum Tincture, it seemed like  trying to make  my own was a good idea as tinctures are fairly simple to make.  However, I must do more research first as I’ve read that helichrysum essential oil cannot be taken internally–don’t know about it in the form of a tincture.

Making Tinctures+   How to Make an Herbal Tincture + All about tinctures + Helichrysum Tea Benefits + Tips for Growing Helichrysum

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUNNY!

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Art for Housewives

5 June 1982

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Cleopatra and Aloe Vera

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Art for Housewives

My mom used to keep a pot of aloe vera on the front porch. It was there in case of burns generally related to cooking accidents. I have already written about aloe but am doing so again because of its importance.

Experiment for the month:  wash my face and hair primarily with aloe vera (aloe can make alot of lather!)  For the face, some olive oil especially around the eyes.  And since my hair is so fine, a rinse with white vinegar.

washclothface cloth–cut up wash cloth to use in  place of cotton balls

Aloe is a healing plant with so much to offer. It can be used for cuts, insect bites and damaged skin tissues (aloe vera seemingly is the only thing known to heal atomic burns) because aloe produces fibroblast cells that manufacture collagen. Aloe vera can also be used internally (try putting it in a smoothie). So many commercial products are now using this plant but its power has been known for at least 4,000 years. The Bible refers to aloe calling it the “bitter herb.” Marco Polo writes of its magical powers. Even Mahatma Gandhi called it a “secret force” that helped him when fasting.

Cleopatra who, by the way, was Greek and not Egyptian, applied aloe vera to her skin on a daily basis.  She also outlined her eyes with black kohl, applied blush to her cleavage to make her breasts look rounder and used perfumes made of rose and cinnamon (Cleo liked perfume so much that Marc Anthony gave her a perfume factory).

Cleopatra and Aloe Vera by Cynthia KorzekwaTo meet Cesare, she had herself rolled up in a carpet which was then unfurled in front of him.  How could the middle-aged Roman not be impressed?

I, too, have a middle-aged Roman to impress.  That’s why I use aloe vera every day!

For more related links, go HERE.

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Mick Jagger’s Throat Chakra

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Art for Housewives

"Jerry Hall and I"

 Muy Marcottage dress “Jerry Hall & I” via M’Arte: Jerry Hall and I have 3 things in common including our fondness for the poetry of Wendy Cope.

One cold February night, I became a Born Again Rolling Stones Fan. Alone in my studio and needing some animation,  I put on the Stone’s 40 LICKS TOUR DVD. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard it but, for some still unknown reason, that night listening to the Stones was like a mystical experience. Well, maybe mystical isn’t exactly the right word but I do remembering thinking as I watched them: Hey man, just how old are these dudes?  And that was the beginning of  The Quest–an intense desire to know how, after all the years of A Heavy Duty Rock’n Roll Life Style, they were still alive, healthy and playing with so much Energy.

We often talk about energy but what is it anyway? After much research via internet and Amazon, I’ve come to the conclusion that energy is simply whatever it takes to make you move.

The absence of energy is a result of blockage. If you’re blocked, you simply don’t move.  But the progress regarding these studies will be posted in the future.  For now, I would like to briefly focus on Mick Jagger and his throat chakra.

mick jagger detail

Chakras are centers of energy, located on the midline of the body. There are seven of them, and they govern our psychological properties. The chakras located on the lower part of our body are our instinctual side, the highest ones our mental side.

One of the seven chakras is that of the throat also known as the Vishuddha chakra. Obviously, it is related to the concept of communication and self-expression.  So what does this have to do with Mick Jagger?  Well, during My Quest, I came across two different versions of Mick Jagger singing “No Expectations” and found the Older Mick sounding so much better than the Younger Mick. The difference was such that I wondered what had happened in the meantime. After more research and reflection, I came to the conclusion that the change was a result of Mick opening up his throat chakra.

mick jagger detail

More research led me to an article re: otolaryngologist , Dr. Brian Hands, who has won worldwide recognition for having helped many singers regain control over their voice. Dr. Hands says that 85% of the time when singers come to him for help, the main problem is that of personal anxiety.  And anxiety affects the voice.  Dr.Hands thus, to work on the voice, works on the throat chakra. Because anxiety impairs and blocks expression.

To see what I mean about Mick’s voice change, listen to his version of “No Expectations” in 1973 then listen to his version of “No Expectations” in 2003.

mick jagger detail

Many energy healers, to heal the throat chakra, suggest wearing necklaces with approriate gems (generally blue in color) meant to heal. For example: turquoise, lapis and aquamarine.

So why not make your throat happy and wear a necklace!

marisa ramirez necklace

Marisa Ramirez’ necklace (recycled headphones)

robin ayres necklace

Robin Ayres necklace

iris bodemer necklace

Iris Bodemer necklace

joanne haywood

Joannne Haywood necklace

I have taken advantage of Marisa Ramirez’ very addictive Tumblr for most links.  Thanks Marisa!

for more related links go HERE

expectationsMuy Marcottage dress “Expectations” inspired by Rolling Stones’ “No Expectations” worn by the artist Carine Lègeret

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Dream Mending on Paros

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Art for Housewives

balcony sewing

While on Paros, I often spend the afternoons on my balcony sewing while I listen  to lectures on Youtube.  Yesterday I listened to Mental Control of the Energy Fields of the Body by Manly P. Hall.

Manly Palmer Hall (1901 –1990) was a Canadian-born author and mystic. In 1928, at the age of 27, he published The Secret Teachings of All Ages , to this day, one of the most popular introductions to esoteric traditions. However, my interest in Manly Hall is based on his studies re: magnetic fields and not his esoteric teachings per se. And Hall got my attention when he said that “Dreams are sustained by magnetic energies.” But not all magnetic energies are positive.

Here on Paros, I dream much more and with greater intensity. Other city dwellers who spend their summers on the island have told me the same thing. So why is this so? Obviously, feeling more relaxed, one is inclined to sleep better.  But there’s more to it than this.

Anywhere electricity is used, an electromagnetic  field will be created. Exposure to  these fields has a biological effect on human cells.  It also has an effect on the way we sleep.  Exposure to them can deplete our melatonin, essential for a good night’s rest (that’s why bedrooms should be as free as possible of anything electric). Without a doubt, there is much more artificial electromagnetic field activity in Rome, the city where I live most of the time, than there is here on Paros. And, being away from all this electromagnetic frenzy, is the main reason my dreamlife is  now so animated.

Dream mending, basically, is the process of decluttering the surrounding electromagnetic field  so that you can sleep in such a way as to repair and intensify your dream activity.

Why are sleeping and dreaming so important?  In her book, The Twenty-four Hour Mind: The Role of Sleep and Dreaming in Our Emotional Lives,  sleep researcher Rosalind D. Cartwright says that dreaming is a mechanism for regulating negative emotions and that lack of deep sleep can lead to depression.

Dreams are about emotions and, to quote Cartwright: What is carried forward from waking hours into sleep are recent experiences that have an emotional component, often those that were negative in tone but not noticed at the time or not fully resolved.

So, if you don’t sleep, you don’t dream.  And if you don’t dream, you miss out on resolving alot of emotional conflict.  Furthermore, dreams, claims Cartwright: are the result of the interconnectedness of new experience with that already stored in memory networks. But memory is never a precise duplicate of the original; instead, it is a continuing act of creation. Dream images are the product of that creation.

Irving Penn 

Irving Penn’s Girl in Bed, 1949 via

For related links, go HERE.

p.s. Wireless, Chemtrails And You, Environmental exposures to artificial EMFs can interact with fundamental biological processes in the human body…Just two minutes on a cell phone, or sitting near a wireless computer router or portable phone cradle, shorts-circuits the electrical ion activity powering the blood-brain barrier.

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