Love is in the air!

I recently spent a glorious sunny morning making hydrosols from the Roman Chamomile (anthemis

Roman Chamomile

nobilis) and rose-scented geranium (perlagonium graveolens) harvested from my garden.

I love the fact that even in the deep winter I will be able to go to my very own Apothecary Store and bring out amazing therapeutic waters to use at home, in the office and with clients.

I use the hydrosols in a diffuser to create a calm, soothing atmosphere in my treatment rooms, it is also wonderful to use in a spray for an anxious child.

One client kept the lavender hydrosol mist spray I made for her in the car for the school pick up, creating a calm space for the kids to off-load stress.  It's proved so popular all her children now have their own bottles - and one has all her friends at school asking for some!  I love the fact that children are discovering the gentle power of natural aids to well-being.

My 'Muji' Diffuser

Another client going through chemo uses her hydrosol spray to settle her when she feels fearful and has found it also  helps her with the nausea.

Being a big advocate of the power of dreams, I've also blended a Sleep Mist to help create a relaxing, calm environment for deep sleep.

Hydrosols can be added to lotions, skin products (rosewater face mask!), soaps and laundry. These therapeutic waters are gentle and safe to use with children and babies. plus they can be used in food dishes and even cocktails (quite keen on trying the martini recipe I've found)!  I'm also having fun at the moment researching and developing products for babies in anticipation of my first grandchild!

The Apothecary is open!

They used to be thought of as the by-product of making essential oils and were often disregarded as waste after harvesting the oil that gathered on the surface of the water.  Recent research however, along with some ancient texts has confirmed the healing properties in the water soluble aromatic compounds contained in the plants.

Making hydrosols from my own chemical-free plants is one of my favourite things to do in the world.  As I watch the process unfold and breathe in the amazing aroma of each distillation I am filled with gratitude and wonder for the natural world.

So when you come to the Relationship Training Centre, you'll know by the gentle aroma that love really is in the air!

The truth is....deep down, I'm really shallow.

About 10 years ago I read an amazing book called 'The Women's Book of Dreams' and woke up to the hidden potential of the dream state.

Since then I've not only been on a great dreaming journey, learning different ways to access and harness this creative part of the mind and helping clients get in touch with their own powerful hidden resources, this year I've also established The Dream Apothecary, providing products to help people reconnect with the power of their dreams.  

One of things that has always intrigued me is lucid dreaming,  a state of consciousness where you become aware that you are dreaming and yet stay in the dream.  It has been part of the Buddhist dream yoga practise for thousands of years and Charlie Morley's wonderful new book Dreams of Awakening - Lucid Dreaming the Mindfulness of Dream and Sleep, brings a playful, yet heartfelt and spiritual approach to learning this ancient art.

New blend, new fabric

I had been working on a new blend of herbs for my Dream Pillows  so last night, aided by the lovely new aroma, I dropped into a deep dream state and had my first lucid dream!

In the dream I was in a changing room feeling confined and suddenly had the thought 'I am dreaming'.  I remembered what the book said to do when this moment arrived and did some of the checks to confirm that I was in fact dreaming.  

As soon as I confirmed it to myself it was a bit like being told you have three wishes - I know knew I had the power to change my experience of the dream and to work in a deep part of my mind.   

Dear reader, do you know the deep, profound and spiritual thing I did?  I said to myself 'Great, if I'm lucid dreaming then when I come out of the changing room and look in the mirror, I'll be a size 10'.

I may need to do more work on my dream yoga.

Dream Apothecary products will be on sale at Godalming Independent Market, 30th November and Grenville Hall, Droxford, 1st Dec. Or contact me to buy your Dream gifts for Christmas.

Still Here

I have been known to sink a few glasses of wine in my time and whilst my new passion has a link with alcohol, I am using it for a different kind of therapeutic water.

Here is a photo of my new baby having her first outing.  She is a 10L Alembic copper still and is the mothership for production of wonderful aromatic, healing waters called Hydrosols (also known as hydrolats or therapeutic waters).  You've no doubt heard of Rose water, Lavender water, even Orangeflower water - whilst they have wonderful, evocative names they can often just be made from water with a chemical fragrance added to give it a nice smell.  A hydrosol is made through a distillation process and contains the therapeutic compounds of the plants, they can be used as safe, gentle aids to health and well-being.

I had some lovely Rose Hydrosol in my apothecary store, which I use to make the Sleep Mist for the Dream Apothecary.  Daughter no2 came down from London recently and was immediately hit with hayfever.  I gave her a small spray bottle of the hydrosol and told her to spray it in her face and breathe it in.  The sneezing stopped immediately, her eyes stopped streaming and immediately the madly itchy throat was soothed.  Brilliant.  Now she has it nearby at all times - plus the fact that it is also a wonderful skin tonic and soothes her complexion is an added bonus!

My first home product was Lavender Hydrosol. OMG! The aroma in my kitchen was so intoxicating I  kept expecting the swarms of bees and butterflies to invade.  Also the fact that the lavender was harvested just outside my kitchen door and moved a mere 6 feet indoors for distillation means this lovely, therapeutic water has a teeny tiny carbon footprint - so is good for the earth as well as body and soul!

I often supply my clients with Hydrosols and aromatic blends of essential oils to help support them in managing stress and anxiety.  This batch, however, is being used in my diffusers at the office and home, filling the air with the gentle aroma and allowing the therapeutic properties to create a calming, welcoming atmosphere
.

If Maud could speak, what stories would she tell?

Maud by Will Millar

Say hello to Maud.  She is an elegant lady of about 90yrs of age.  She has worked hard all her life making and mending for the family.  Put out to 'pasture' she was found gathering dust in a junk shop, brought home, given a little love and is now as good as new.

Dear Maud is very environmentally friendly, needing nothing other than a little human endeavour to deliver wonderful even stitching and reliably produce fine pieces of sewing.

Now Maud - and her sisters - are going to get a new lease of life.  They are going to Zambia where they will help women learn new skills.  These women will not only be able to then earn money to feed and educate their children, they will develop confidence and self-worth and other valuable skills to help them with their families.

The Dream Apothecary donate a percentage of proceeds to inspirational charitable projects that make a difference to children’s lives.  Products will be for sale on Saturday,  June 15th at Godalming Independent Market.   Come and say hi and share your dreams.

Waking up to the power of dreams.

I have a tiny new venture with a very big dream.

Dream Journals

Years ago I came upon an old Native American recipe for a Dream Pillow, a blend of herbs put into a cotton bag and kept on or near your pillow at night.  The aromatic and energetic healing properties of the ingredients are believed to open up the dreaming state.  I really wanted to make one for myself.

In Ancient Greece dream hospitals were considered sacred temples where Priest-Physicians would administer to people seeking dream therapy for physical, psychological or spiritual ailments.  The patients could receive a combination of physical, herbal and spiritual medicine to prepare them for a dream visit from the gentle god of healing, Asklepios.

For 5000 years Chinese medicine has understood the relationship between dreams, illness and wellbeing, and today there are still any indigenous cultures and shamanic traditions working with dreaming as a source of wisdom and healing.

I had worked for years with dreams, not just mine but those of my clients; I know how important they are as a window into the interior world. When our dreams are blocked, our spirit hurts, creating stress and anguish.  Dreaming helps to process complex emotions and to lower stress and anxiety. I wanted to find ways to work more consciously with this deep part of the creative mind, to help access dreams more readily and harness the power of a hidden but vital resource.

Toward the end of last year I finally managed to source the organic, ethically harvested herbs I needed for the blend, I learnt to sew, found some lovely fabric in my favourite shop and set to.

Dream Pillows

The first month with my Dream Pillow I slept deeper than I have ever done before.  It was like I had fallen into a deep hidden space within myself.  Although my dreams weren't amazing, and I wasn't exactly experiencing altered states or time traveling, I did feel a deep level of comfort and welcome from the aroma of the herbs and every night  was like was being tucked into a secret and mysterious state of consciousness.  I became much more aware of the dream space I was falling into.

'Dreaming isn't just what happens during sleep; dreaming is waking up to sources of guidance, healing and creativity beyond the reach of the everyday mind.' Robert Moss

Dreams are a hidden gateway to the soul.  Lack of sleep is a problem, but a lack of dreams - a disaster.  Dreams work on many levels to help us manifest our highest potential - if we know how to connect with them and work with them.  I began to see that the pillows could be a gentle way to help people have easier access to their inner world, to understand the process they are going through and harness the wisdom, creativity and healing resources that are held in the unconscious mind.

Ever the willing guinea pigs,  I made some for my family and they started to report back about deep sleep and interesting dreams.   I then made some for a wider circle of family and friends and when I had my Women's Christmas party the lovely women were each given a Dream Pillow along with bottles of Sleep Mist I had made - a spray of Rosewater and essential oils to 'clear' the room and create a calm space for dreaming.

Sleep Mist

A group of us have since been meeting each month in a Dream Circle, sharing and paying witness to each other's dreams.  Whilst it is hard to quantify the shift, I know for myself that I have started to access not just deeper levels of creativity but also the confidence to explore this part of myself and to give it true expression.

Over the past year many Dream Pillows have gone far and wide into the world.  I see an imaginary world map with lighted candles indicating the places where dreamers are waking up to the power of dreaming.  Some have found them a great aid when travelling - a little bit of home on a plane or in a hotel room.  Children of divorced parents have been given two Dream Pillows - one for each bed - enjoying a comforting aroma of 'home' wherever bedtime is.

Then people started asking if they could buy them for the teenager stressed with exams, as a comfort for the sick grandparent, for a heartbroken friend, to support an exhausted carer, for a child at boarding school,  a loved one who was struggling to cope with life.  Some gave them as gifts to friends so that together they could begin explore the dream world.  So many lovely gifts were sent out to people - a wonderful, aromatic gesture of love and care that moved between the waking and dreaming world.  It felt amazing to be part of this gentle revolution!

I realised this movement could also be part of something even bigger - something that helped other people's dreams come true - and The Dream Apothecary was born.

Along with some lovely friends we're making products and donating a percentage of the proceeds to projects that help support women and children around the world.   I love the idea that each time someone lays their head down to sleep next to a Dream Pillow they become part of a great Dream Weave and are helping to make many more dreams to come true.


Like I said, its a tiny little venture with a very big dream.

May you, too, have Sweet Dreams.


Dream Product photos by Will Millar