I wasn’t always “crunchy” (the current term for hippy-like). I grew up in San Diego, CA with a religious Christian upbringing but I secretly and not-so-secretly acted out as a rebel. I was not a stranger to pre-packaged boxes and pouches of “food” becoming what was served as dinner, often with the help of Chef Mic(rowave). If I had a headache, anxiety, or any ailment I knew of a pill to treat it.
Speaking of headaches, I have a past of suffering from debilitating migraines for several years. I changed my sales jobs to different sales jobs, thinking maybe the environment was contributing. Was it the fluorescent lights? The computer screens? The recirculated air? The high pressure? Eventually I left the sales field and tried a gig as a Pharmacy Tech. The stress was decreased but my headaches got worse. I had more days with a migraine than without them. Specialists put me on all sorts of different medications and ran tests to no avail. The pain was so debilitating that my work attendance suffered throughout the different settings, and I eventually had to quit the workforce and take leave on disability. I was dependent on hard-core prescription narcotics just to manage the pain. It was a lonely, dark, and extremely depressing time. Fortunately, my husband supported me financially and emotionally.
As my world was closing in on me, I decided I needed a change. A big one. It was time for me to relocate somewhere with forests. The trees, rivers, lakes, and mountains were beckoning me. My time living in San Diego had come to an end. I attempted to move away before only to return. My husband agreed to leave our life behind, and we settled on moving to Portland. As soon as we visited, I knew the Pacific Northwest was my home.
Gradually, the headaches lessened. Then I cut out gluten and they improved even more. I removed the pain meds and pharmaceuticals from my daily regimen. I was hiking, reading, took up knitting and running, and became the healthiest version of myself I had ever been up to that point of my life.
Less than a year after we moved, I unexpectedly got pregnant. I had always thought of my body as being weak and “damaged”, and it was a surprise to me that I was actually fertile. We planned on NOT having kids! I was quite content with my fur babies and wondered how in the world I would love a baby. (Seriously hilarious to me in hind-sight.) I was horrified about the thought of birth, contemplating an elective c-section to remove my baby. **fast-forward through a 180 degree turn and end at the beautiful natural water birth of my firstborn son, birth-story to be shared at another time.
The changing point started to happen during that pregnancy, I started questioning everything. What I was putting in my body, what I was putting on my body. Starting to see how everything is connected. The migraines were non-existent, thank you hormones! And then my mom died, after battling a variety of immune disorders for 14 years. It was devastating to experience half-way through my pregnancy. But it woke me up even more.
I learned that I also have the genetic predisposition of autoimmune disease and started working with a naturopath to do everything I can to prevent that fate. I removed foods that cause inflammation and that I have sensitivity to from my diet. She introduced me to holistic support through herbal remedies, flower essences, and natural practices. I stocked up on essential oils from a reputable brand. My hunger for a natural life grew and I started replacing every-day items bought from a store and making my own: toothpaste, sunscreen, body butter, diaper cream, and insect repellent to name a few.
I continued on this path, learning more along the way, and my family grew. I became the mother of two. We sold our Portland home, again I convinced my husband to trust in my intuition, and we found a lovely home in the wooded foothills of Mt. Hood. When the snow melted after we moved in, I discovered medicinal herbs surrounding me in our gardens and have been diving into the herbal knowledge of our ancestors. Birds kept flying into our windows and dying, which led me to learn reiki. Reiki has helped in my healing and now I wish to share that with others. My plant path led me to my ancestral healing path and one thing continues to lead to another. I have an insatiable hunger to learn more and am curious about what is next.
The “old” version of me is a memory I can hardly recognize anymore. This way of being connected with the Earth and rooted in the ways of our Ancestors feels so natural to me, it feels as if this is how I have been all along. I know now that this is who I am, who I am meant to be, the life I am meant to live, and I am supposed to share my journey.
My old ways didn’t work for me and my body was literally screaming at me to make a change. So I did. And I continue to reevaluate and listen closely to what else I can release that doesn’t serve me. There’s always another layer to shed, making more room to grow into the best version of myself as possible. It’s never too late to start over.
Earth Star Healing Arts 