La’au Lapa’au | DIY RECIPE OF THE MONTH: ORGANIC BUG REPELLENT

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

It’s that time of year for patio-chillin’, outdoor grillin’, and camping adventures. When you are looking for something that isn’t laden with chemicals that will keep the pesky insects away, try this DIY Bug Repellent.

I sometimes change up the essential oils I use, but following the lead of many other home-made bug spray recipes, find this blend to be the best in practice (and smells fantastic!). The oil you don’t want to skip is the Citronella because of its power to keep the buzzing at bay.

As with all Essential Oils (EO), test on sensitive skin first to make sure you don’t have any adverse reactions and avoid eyes.

(Added bonus, I sometimes steep rosemary and lavender in my water and witch hazel mix, store in the fridge for a few days before adding to the blend for added oomph!)

THIS MONTHS RECIPE: BUG REPELLENT

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

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Energy Update | July 12, 2020

Take back what is yours. You have a choice to decide what you give your mental and emotional energy to. You decide to tune in and allow it to live within you when you can just be an observer of the situations that test your patience. You might be working on yourself and evolving past the dramas that once pulled you in. There’s certain situations that return to test your evolution, but it’s not about anyone else. It’s about how much you have worked on yourself and how much it no longer affects you. When we’re learning to master our inner self we can see clearly what triggers us and those situations are the ones that require us to grow. So be thankful when things come up because you now know how to work through it instead of overreacting and overthinking it. Mastering yourself is an everyday experience that helps you get better at being the best you. You’ll realize you no longer have the energy to play along or react so easily. You find yourself investing your time in what adds value into your life. Your focus becomes about living a more enriched life because anything else is draining your precious life force. Ask yourself is it even worth giving my precious life force to something that happened in the past? To someone who doesn’t deserve it? To a situation you outgrew? Remember, your attention and your focus is your power. The scenarios you overthink and constantly replay aren’t evolving you. Stop the self-judgment and just forgive yourself. Decide now that you’re going to better manage your energy. You’re going to think, feel, and do what evolves you. You’re going to make peace with what has happened and what you can’t change. Starting today you’re going to take your power back by consciously deciding what you feed your energy. Don’t allow anyone to thrive off of you feeling low or down about yourself. You have the power to manage your mental and inner world which will reflect how you handle everyday life. Be very patient with yourself. You’re evolving and learning. Things will get more clear for you.

La’au Lapa’au | Adulteration of English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) Essential Oil

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Citation (JAMA style): Bejar E. Adulteration of English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oil. Botanical Adulterants Prevention Bulletin. Austin, TX: ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program; 2020.

The main goal of this bulletin is to provide timely information and/or updates on issues of adulteration and mislabeling of essential oil (EO) of English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill) in particular with lavandin (Lavandula × intermedia Emeric ex Loisel, syn. Lavandula angustifolia Mill. × Lavandula latifolia Medik.), spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia Medik.), linalool and linalyl acetate- rich EOs, terpenes, and synthetic chemicals.

This bulletin may serve as a guide for quality control personnel, the international herbal products, cosmetic, and essential oil industries, and the extended natural products community in general. It is also intended to present a summary of the scientific data and methods on the occurrence of species substitution, adulteration, the market situation, and economic and…

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La’au Lapa’au | Crafting Herbal Extracts…. – My Herbal Adventures…

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

I shared Anne’s email with you and a bit of her website for she is my herbalist, my go-to for tinctures, extracts, balms, etc. I have complete trust in her expertise, the products she endeavors to create, her passion, and drive. I am honored and pleased to introduce you to Anne, my herbalist, and friend.

By the way, here is the link to Anne’s shop…

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnesBackyardHerbal

by aspiringherbalist

I have now been crafting herbal extracts, mainly; Tinctures, Glycerites, Vinegars & Skincare Oil infusions, for 4 years now. Even though I am no expert and consider myself a novice, I have learned a new lesson every year. As I learn and read and discover new ways of determining how to best create a plant extract that is both effective & well-rounded, I also have to consider its flavor, consistency and taste. I have experimented with different combinations of solvents over the…

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Daily Words of the Buddha for July 08, 2020

Pāli Word a Day for July 08, 2020
anāsasāna — an + āsasāna = not + wishing, desiring, longing = not longing after anything

Pāpañce puriso kayirā,
na naṃ kayirā punappunaṃ.
Na tamhi chandaṃ kayirātha,
dukkho pāpassa uccayo.

Should a person commit evil,
let one not do it again and again.
Let one not find pleasure therein,
for painful is the accumulation of evil.

Dhammapada 9.117
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Energy Update | July 7, 2020

If you knew right now 100% that everything is being aligned, connected, and drawn to you, would you even be worried or even for a second overthinking it? No, you would just trust, believe, and be in an expecting state. You would know that the order you put in with the universe or what you intended is already yours. You would feel like it’s complete. You would be smiling. This is a powerful state to be in. An expectancy state. A trusting state. A state of real strong faith that it’s is already done. Look at your vision as a something being packaged and made its way to you. All the pieces you ordered is all being together. We must start transcending from feeling smallness to owning greatness. You must be assertive with your vision. You must claim it. You manifest because you have already convinced yourself that you deserve greatness. This sense that you are worthy makes it even more fun because it’s an energy state that “you have finally claimed what’s rightfully yours!” So be more confident today knowing that within you, you have eased up, relaxed, and trusted that your wildest dreams is currently being packaged and making its way to you. This will shift how you feel through out the day. This will ignite a familiar power within you that lets you know everything is okay, that you can keep going forward confidently. It’s all about how you trust. It’s all about owning the completion, arrival, and success of your vision now. You are greatness right now. You are successful right now. You are a blessing and a miracle right now. You are complete right now. You are loved and loving right now. It’s already done!

Daily Words of the Buddha for July 04, 2020

Pāli Word a Day for July 04, 2020
janatā — a collection of people (“human-kind”), congregation, gathering; people, folk

Māvamaññetha pāpassa, “Na mantaṃ āgamissati.”
Udabindunipātena, udakumbhopi pūrati.
Bālo pūrati pāpassa, thokaṃ thokampi ācinaṃ.

Think not lightly of evil, saying, “It will not come to me.”
Drop by drop is the water pot filled.
Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by little,
fills oneself with evil.

Dhammapada 9.121
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita

Alchemy | Banana Brandy – Making Ugandan Waragi (Moonshine)

We prepare Ugandan Waragi (War Gin) a distilled spirit of banana wine.

For more info on the distillation process check out our other new video https://youtu.be/RKzL2tM3qBc

Note that in some states it is illegal to distill ethanol unless you obtain a permit.

VICE video link: https://youtu.be/zL3UHF5SlEU

Correction: I made a mistake in the conversion of teaspoons/tablespoons into milliliters. Please use the tsp/tbsp guidelines of the addition of the amylase and the yeast.

Astrology | 4th of July Full Moon Eclipse

Susan Levitt's avatarSusan Levitt

july 4 fireworks

July 4 2020 at 9:44 pm PDT is a full Moon in Capricorn, with a lunar eclipse at 9:32 pm PDT. This is the third and final eclipse of the summer. Eclipses are an absence of light when the shadow is seen, the time for what is hidden to come to light.

Earth sign Capricorn rules the 10th house of material wealth, career, and status in society. Capricorn Moon is time to focus on practical matters of health, finances, and work. Capricorn also rules societal structures, government, and global wealth.

The eclipsed full Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto are all in Capricorn, and all three planets are retrograde adding intensity. So blended together are strongly felt emotional issues with the eclipsed Moon, opportunity for change with Jupiter, structural foundation issues with Saturn, and power and wealth challenges with Pluto.

The eclipsed full Moon is opposite the Sun and Mercury in…

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