Artistic Handmade Gifts For Christmas

Creativity has been a profound part of my holistic wellness all my life.  I enjoy every moment of my creativity.  I love to cook, write, and make earrings.  I love working with my hands and the more creative I can be, the better.  I have shared many aspects of my creative life that keep me well and balanced, but the one aspect of my creativity I haven't talked much about is my love of making beaded jewelry.  I opened my Etsy shop about five years ago when I discovered that I can turn a hobby that I did mostly for therapy and relaxation into a nice part time cottage industry business.  I have about 30 pairs in my shop now and each pair is unique and a lovely reflection of my love of nature and the colorful world we live in and enjoy everyday.  At first, I was making earrings using some pretty plastic beads I had bought at a craft store.  

Then, I began to learn about semi-precious stones, like malachite, lapis lazuli, and amethyst, and their wonderful magical healing powers, and my focus shifted.  I'm very intuitive and sensitive and when I wear amethyst, one of my favorite healing stones, I can feel its healing earthy grounding energy and I feel protected and relaxed.  I have read that semi-precious stones are alive and can help the earth and people who wear them.  I know in my heart that this is true and this is why I enjoy wearing them and working with them for my holistic wearable art.  I now have more than half a dozen lovely pairs of earrings that contain semi-precious stone beads and I carefully designed each pair to inspire, contribute to healing wellness, and help the wearer feel relaxed and beautiful. 

At the moment, I am having a special clearance sale for Christmas until Thanksgiving where I'm clearing out all my plastic beaded earrings and I have significantly reduced the prices.  After I have sold all those earrings, my focus will be on semi-precious, glass, and recycled.  As a holistic earth steward, my preference is to work with materials that are nontoxic, earth friendly, and recyclable and required a minimal carbon footprint to manufacture and produce.  I also have some lovely earrings that are made from recycled computer circuit board.   But those are also a one time creation because my husband and I no longer collect computer circuit boards.  We shifted our focus so when those earrings are all sold, I won't be making any more.  

Something very healing and magical happens when I gather my semi-precious stone beads and design lovely earrings and then I see the finished product.  My first reaction is that they are too lovely to wear and I'd prefer to just hang them on a curtain or lamp shade and admire them.  But, I do have bills to pay and expenses and I need to take care of my family, so, I am doing my best to sell my earrings to take care of our needs.  I am doing the work I love and I would love the money to follow.  As this Holiday Season approaches, I am asking you to find it in your heart that instead of continuing along the same consumerism approach that most people take when shopping for gifts for your family and friends, please think about me, a hard working indie artist, and make a loving contribution to my creative business.  I take great care in the packaging and shipping of all orders and I treat all my customers with kindness, respect, and care.  The more orders I receive, the happier I will be, and the more I will be able to buy more beautiful materials to make more beautiful earrings and necklaces to match.

A portion of all sales will be donated to help Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the largest no kill animal sanctuary in the USA, and Natural Resources Defense Counsel, an organization working hard to educate the public about the fragile eco systems and the importance of conservation and protecting our clean air and the wildlife.  I am including a few images in this post of my lovely earrings so you can see samples of my wearable art and you can see some beautiful gift ideas.  I invite you to visit my Etsy shop and browse around and please feel free to send me an email or private convo with any questions you may have.  I appreciate your interest and I look forward to hearing from you very soon.  Please click this link to see my lovely Etsy shop.  https://www.etsy.com/shop/HolisticEarthGems

Much Love Gratitude Blessings,
Dayna

Earth Friendly Organic Halloween Makeup

Next to Christmas and Thanksgiving, Halloween is one of the most celebrated honored holidays of the year. It never ceases to amaze me how many people get into the spirit of the holiday and enjoy the festivities. 2,000 years ago, Halloween was a very sacred holiday celebrated by the Celtic people in the ancient British Isles. It was a holiday celebrated by Druids, Witches and Wiccan Covens, Fairies, Elves, and various other Celtic Tribes. On All Hallows' Eve, as it was called back then, the Druids would go from door to door holding an empty basket asking for fruit and whatever treats the residents would give them. Later in the evening, everyone would gather together in a festival, dancing, singing, playing, and enjoying the foods they were given.

Many centuries later, Halloween is still a celebrated holiday, but today things have drastically changed. People still enjoy wearing costumes, pretending to be their alter ego. They also enjoy going door to door saying, "trick or treat" and asking for sweet treats, but the tradition has vastly changed. Halloween is probably one of the most expensive holidays. As soon as the summer begins to fade, stores begin stocking up for Halloween and the Christmas Holiday Season. Throughout the store, you’ll see the regular merchandise combined with racks upon racks of new Halloween paraphernalia.

One of the biggest traditions of Halloween is the wild and elaborate costumes people design. Many people go with the traditional Angels, Ghosts, Devils, and Superheroes, while others opt for outlandish costumes, portraying celebrities in Hollywood. The costumes are usually cute, colorful, and beautiful and the makeup is a process all to its own. Dressing up and playing make believe, pretending to be someone or something else for a day is fun and exciting. It is a beautiful way to express the inner child. The problem is that the makeup and hair goo that is used to complement the costumes is usually toxic, smelly, and very harmful to the health. It’s fun to dress up and wear wild and zany colorful makeup and create funny wild hairdos that get attention. But when these products contain toxic petrochemicals, the fun disappears.

I remember attending Halloween parties with friends and I always had a great time dressing up and checking out everyone’s getup. We always had such a great time trying to guess what someone was supposed to be and admiring the elaborate costume designs. Unfortunately, there was also a down side. Each person had bright or dark colorful thick makeup on and colorful hairspray with funky silver and gold streams sticking out of their hair. As soon as I would get close to someone, I would have trouble breathing, would start coughing, and I’d make a mad dash for the bathroom. At first, I thought I was crazy and I couldn’t understand what was wrong until years later.

When my husband and I began learning about holistic natural living, we began to question and analyze all the holidays. We were invited to a couple parties, but we started turning down invitations. I was no longer interested in wearing funky or sexy costumes with wacky colorful makeup because I couldn’t find anything fun that was non-toxic. All those crazy facial makeup applicators and the silver and gold aerosol junk you put in the hair are permeated with toxic petrochemicals. That shiny silver and gold stuff that you use to draw lines and decorations around your eyes and on your cheeks is filled with petroleum, potentially toxic food dyes, and horrible fragrance.

Those petrochemicals contain coal tar, the same smelly toxic chemicals that are used to pave roads and repair leaky roofs. Essentially, you’re putting gasoline on your face and in your hair! If you find this gross and appalling, then you’re paying attention. It’s cheap and massively distributed to all cheap dollar stores and can make people very ill. The fumes from the adulterated scented products pollute the air, groundwater, and wildlife.

If you want to have fun and get dressed up in some wild funky colorful costumes and makeup, opt for something that is safe enough to eat. Aubrey Organics and Aveda make some beautiful makeup, including some playful, funky, wild colors. There’s no reason that you can’t have fun in a non-toxic earth friendly manner. Pure organic plant essences are safer for the environment and the recycled packaging they come in can either be reused or recycled. The cheap inexpensive little makeup applicators you find in the bargain stores are better off ignored.

A really good way to enjoy Halloween and the Holiday Season is to make your own nontoxic earth-friendly makeup and check out some books with some good nontoxic tips. This Halloween, make a strong statement that tells the world that you genuinely care about Mother Earth and all Her Beautiful Creatures. Show the world that  you are no longer willing to patronize those companies that only care about profit margin, even if it means polluting the environment.

The best thing we can do to correct this horrible problem is to become avid strict label readers and vote with our wallets.  Say “No” to greedy multi-nationals! Say “Yes” to organic, green, earth friendly conscious companies that care about Mother Earth, the humans, and the animals. Eat, live, shop, and be Green! Shopping at your local health food store and purchasing only those products and items that are 100% green, organic, and earth friendly, nontoxic is the best thing people can do to contribute to a cleaner greener Earth and reduce our footprint upon Mother Earth.  

To learn more about how to enjoy an organic Halloween and other wonderful Holidays, please check out my website, NotPerfume:  www.notperfume.com/book.html and learn how to green your beauty and cosmetics and be more kind and loving to your skin.

Special Holiday Season Bonus Offer For My Tasty Herbal Vegan Cookbook

I want to post a gentle reminder that when you buy my delicious vegan cookbook today, you will receive 2 special Bonuses – a magical healing soup recipe that has been in my family for years and has helped us stay well and a wonderful ebook with great tips about healthy eating and a delicious menu guide – a total value of $70.00. Also, for a limited time, I lowered the price a little bit from the original price, which was $18.11 to $14.44 to help you get through the Holiday Season + when you subscribe today for my Organic Wise Mama Newsletter at my blog: bodyearthself.blogspot.com, you will receive some extra special recipes and other goodies. Tasty Herbal Vegan Kitchen cookbook is now published <3 u=""> Remember, my cookbook is in ebook format in pdf to be downloaded and viewed on your computer. Please post your comments here with any questions you may have and send me an email to permadeva@yahoo.com. You can also follow me on Twitter – notperfume.

Holistic Wellness Selfcare is Vital for Life

Self-care has become a vital necessity in my life.  Self-care is not just about everyday living and survival.  It's more than having the strength and energy to get through my day and cope with all of life's challenges.  I prepare delicious healthy meals so I feel good and healthy throughout the day and week. I drink healthy clean water so that I stay hydrated and stay well.  I get plenty of rest and meditate so that I stay well and centered and grounded and I have the physical and mental energy I need to take care of myself and my wonderful beautiful family.  I never truly understood self-care until the day I became a Mother and I truly understood the need for me to take extra tender loving great care of me.  Self-care is exactly as it sounds.  It is a very important wonderful daily process of giving myself the extra gentle tender loving care, love, and respect I need.  It includes everything, including how I brush my hair and my teeth, how I bathe, keeping my indoor air clean and healthy, and enjoying a lot of much needed laughter and loving, tender, caring, cuddles with my dear, sweet, wonderful husband, our adorable beautiful toddler son, and our adorable, sweet, cuddly two cats, our furry baby furry friends.  I am very thankful that at my age today of 45 years, I maintained and kept to my important conscious healthy decisions to treat my body like a temple and keep it healthy and happy.  

There is no coincidence that I feel and look the way I do at 45 years.  I am a healthy nonsmoker, nondrinker, I am a holistic herbalist and I don't even take over the counter bigpharma meds for anything.  I prefer to meditate and rest instead of consuming caffeine.  I'm green and organic from head to  toe.  I am not bragging.  I am very thankful, blessed, and happy for all my important healthy life lessons of wisdom.  I invite you to join me on this journey of holistic self-care healing wellness and you can start by following me on Twitter and Facebook and joining my FREE Organic Wise Mama Newsletter for great #tips #organic #holistic #selfcare #vegan #recipes #foodie #gifts.  Just sign up on the right-hand side of my blog here to the right on the top and enter your name and your email address to receive your special holistic healing self-care gifts.  Please share my newsletter and my blog with your friends.

Much Love Gratitude Blessings Peace,
Dayna

Holistic Healing Self Care for Mamas

This Mother's Day, I made a strong effort to take extra good care of myself.  My holistic, healing, self-care routine is extra important to me as a Mother of a very active toddler.  My holistic, healing, self-care has always been important to me, but seeing now that Motherhood is a full-time job and a lot of work, it is of the utmost importance to me to stay well and feel good.    This is why I make sure to stay well hydrated, rested, nourished, and enjoy as much healing laughter and calming relaxation as I can.  I've been a meditator for 20 years and it has literally saved my life in many ways.  I'm a passionate believer in being caffeine-free for many reasons and the most important reason is I do not believe in any stimulants.  When I feel tired, I get extra rest or I take a nice soothing hot soak in the bathtub.  I also enjoy soothing healing organic essential oils, like sandalwood and sweet orange, to help me feel rejuvenated and relaxed.  It's true what is said that a healthy Mama is a happy Mama.  

All children need their parents to be healthy, happy, comfortable, and well and it's our personal responsibility to make sure we stay well.    I always make sure to be silent and still and listen to my Inner Voice, my Intuition, that guides and protect me 24/7, and I always listen quietly during my meditation.  I'm also a holistic herbalist and I am a firm believer in treating my body like a temple.  I thankfully attribute my vibrant youthfulness to a very healthy sane lifestyle and I'm very thankful for the wise choices I make everyday, including not putting anything synthetic and toxic in or on my body.  My beautiful adorable son depends on me for love and care and he needs his Mama to be healthy and happy.  I also need to be a healthy example to follow so that when he's older, he will see his Mama as a healthy, strong, happy woman and he will understand the invaluable importance of holistic, healing, self-care.

Delicious vegan treat for your Easter Spring celebration

A special vegan recipe treat for my friends to celebrate and enjoy a compassionate healthy vegan Easter. Happy Spring!

A delicious recipe from my soon to be published vegan cookbook - enjoy!
 Philly Sheeze Steak Sub Sandwich
1 large whole wheat baguette, cut in 1/2 in the middle and then sliced in 2
2 small handfuls of Daiya vegan cheddar sheeze shreds
6 slices Tofurky philly sheeze steak style flavor

Instructions:   Gently and evenly spread the vegan sheeze shreds on the baguette until it's covered well.  Lightly toast the sheezy baguette for 15 minutes or until lightly brown and the sheeze has melted.  This is a delicious hearty snack.  Serve and Enjoy!

My holistic beauty

When it comes to smelling and looking good, my approach is keep it simple, holistic, healthy, and organic.  I'm a very simple down-to-earth woman and I prefer to keep my beauty and personal care regimen simple and down-to-earth.  When I begin my day, I splash my face with cool water, drink a cup of spring water, and do a little facial yoga to keep my facial muscles healthy and comfortable.  When I shower, I use organic lavender castile soap and rinse my face under the shower.  I comb my wet hair and allow my hair to dry naturally.  I wear makeup only on special occasions, but when I do, I wear a little translucent foundation powder, a little blush, eye shadow, and lipstick that is all organic and botanical.  Sometimes, I just wear a little lipstick and absorb some Vitamin D from the sun, allowing the warmth to make my cheeks naturally rosy.  

When my skin feels itchy, dry, or uncomfortable, I gently massage the uncomfortable areas with a teaspoon of organic unrefined sesame oil.  When I want to smell lovely and feel good, I pour a drop of organic sandalwood oil on my wrists, ankles, and neck.  I'm grateful for the lovely gifts Mother Nature gives me.  If we could all learn to be grateful for the lovely gifts Mother Nature gives us and simplify our lives, perhaps we could learn to appreciate what we have and be happy without trying to make unnecessary dramatic painful changes to our appearance.

Special Giveaway Offer for my Vegan Cookbook

I am very excited about publishing my delicious vegan cookbook. I was all set to publish it before tomorrow, the Great American Meatout, but instead, for certain, I will be publishing it before Earth Day, a very important day that Honors the Earth and all the beautiful beings, animal and human, who inhabit the planet. As a special way to Honor and celebrate Earth Day, when you subscribe to my Organic Wise Mama newsletter, I will add you to my mailing list. I will be notified via e-mail when you subscribe and when my vegan cookbook is published, those who subscribe between now and Earth Day will be the first to be notified of the publication of the cookbook. I would like to remind everybody that I'm still offering everybody a chance to get a copy of my cookbook, valued at $18, by referring 5 or more friends or family who make a verified purchase for a limited time. I am also offering for those who may not have 5 or more a 20% discount, but only to the first 100 who order. After that, it will be available for the regular price. I also would like to mention that 10% of all sales will be donated to charity.

When I began dating my husband 23 years ago, we had a big challenge between us. Although he wasn't vegetarian yet, he had abstained from eating red meat for years and I was very carnivorous. Initially, I didn't think it would be a problem, but after a few dates, it became an obvious problem. One night, we went out for dinner to a burger coffee shop. He ordered a salad and fries. I ordered a greasy burger with everything on it. Needless to say, he felt very uncomfortable and very repulsed.

Although he didn't say anything at first, I could tell from his body language and facial expressions that he was anything but happy. Being the mainstream person I was, I was unaware, so I didn't grab a clue. He was very gentle, but firm and emotional in the way he expressed his disdain for my eating habits. After several bites and somewhat enjoying my meal, somehow, I no longer had an appetite for what I was eating. In fact, for the first time in my life, I was repulsed by it. Growing up with a meat and potatoes fast food and convenience food type mentality, I was suddenly very confused and felt emotionally vulnerable. I didn't know what to do.

For the first time in my life, I was with a special loving friend who appeared to be more enlightened than I was. He was exposed to information and lifestyles that I never knew about. At the end of the meal, he explained the importance of a meatless diet and explained that there were people all over the world who were vegetarian for many reasons. I felt lost, confused and weird. I also felt grateful for the knowledge he was giving me. Then he said something that scared me, but made me think. He expressed that he'd been off of red meat for years now and wanted to be with someone who cared about their health and the animals. He felt very uncomfortable with my carnivorous ways and made it very clear in a gentle firm way that he didn't want to see me again if I continued this way of eating. At first, I thought he was pretentious and audacious for saying this. But then I took a step back, looked at the situation objectively, and realized he was doing me a big favor and had a good heart. Here was a wonderful person who was kind, intelligent, very cute, who cared about me and was attracted to me. He wasn't telling me to cut my hair, change my appearance, or change my personality. He was simply asking me to give up the meat.

I tried it for a week and wow, I felt great! I didn't feel ill, tired, or sick. In fact, I felt wonderful and glad to be alive! That was it! That date with him and that week of going meatless changed the course of my life. My family was less than thrilled, but that didn't matter to me. All that mattered was that I was going out with a sensible intelligent person who loved and cared about me and wanted me to be healthy; what a crime. After that, it wasn't terribly difficult to go completely vegetarian and then, vegan. It's opened up my world to a whole new way of eating and thinking and today I can't even conceive of another way of living!

Unfortunately, this new found decision somehow began to complicate my life, instead of making it simpler. I had hoped for some support or a reaction of pleasant surprise when I announced my decision to my Mother and grandmother. Instead, they looked at me as though I had lost mind and expressed their chagrin. First, my grandmother asked me if I was serious and stated that young little girls like me needed their protein and would become weak and frail if they didn't eat their meat. They both asked me if it was because my new boyfriend had suggested it. Although I told them he had influenced my decision, I assured them that I made the decision on my own volition.

There were incidents at work and even more incidents with my family. I'm sorry to say my journey to this point of my life has not been easy, but I haven't allowed any comments or criticisms to deter me. I've tried many times to help my family understand, but I have given up on the idea and decided to accept it and let it go. Today, I am healthier and more vibrant than I've ever been. As of this moment, have not had to visit a physician. Little did I know that a few years later, the next step I would take would be to go vegan and today, my dear husband and I have been vegan for 23 years. My hope is that more people will wake up and realize the truth that the media doesn't want revealed. Until then, turn off your television, listen to something uplifting and meaningful and read!

Organic Wise Mama

As an eco, holistic, wise Mama in the 21st Century, I cannot unknow what I know to be true.  I am thankful to have a beautiful, healthy, happy, baby son and a wonderful dear husband, and it pains me to have to be a fighter in such a toxic world, yet I do it because it is my responsibility as a Mother, an Earth Steward, and a citizen of Earth.  The day I learned that my adorable beautiful three year old toddler son is autistic, my heart sank and I cried for hours in disbelief and heart-break.  Thankfully, he is very healthy and strong and happy and he has tremendous potential for learning, growing, and developing.  He is very playful and sweet and he has the most wonderful laugh and smile; I love to smile and laugh with him.  Thankfully, I think for myself and I know in my heart and Soul what is true and I know for a fact that this polluted toxic world we live in is the cause for my dear sweet son's autism.  The combination of all the toxic synthetic fragrance I was exposed to when I was pregnant, during my painful 18-hour labor, and all the toxic pollution exposure to synthetic perfumes, chemtrails, and vehicle emissions thereafter is a toxic soup that will make anyone sick, especially sensitive people like myself and my dear son. 
 

I'm trying to write this without crying, but it's very difficult to do that with what I know.  I try not to spend hours focused on the problem, feeling distraught about it.  I feel very angry and heart-broken that my child's future has been robbed.  But the good news is that strong, passionate, devoted, eco, holistic, warrior Mamas like me still have a fighting chance to make a positive difference and it can be done.  Nothing is impossible.  In addition to making our own healthy sensible choices in our personal lives that affect Mother Earth, we also have the power to help our friends make sensible healthy wise choices.  It's very simple.  If you know someone who is using commercial detergent that you know is toxic and is going to pollute the groundwater and make their family sick, lovingly show them how to replace it with 1 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar.  Lovingly show them how to make their cosmetics healthy and organic and vote with their wallets. 
 

While the problem seems insurmountable, all it takes is the willingness and desire to make the right choice and help each other.  There is no reason for any of us to suffer needlessly.  If we truly want to stop the greedy corporations from robbing our future and destroying life on Earth, we must make the change now and vote with our wallets.  Our children depend on us to make healthy wise choices and educate others to do the same.  Our children have the right to breathe clean air; we all share the same right.  We can do this and we must do this now. Please join me in making simple healthy sensible choices that are healthy, green, nontoxic, and organic, and are compassionate to Mother Earth.

Imagine A World

Imagine a world with such beautiful peace and quiet that  we don't need special places or holidays to enjoy the beautiful musical sounds of nature.  Imagine a world where the air is so clean and healthy and fresh that non-profit organizations can focus their time and energy on praising the citizens for their wonderful positive contributions and peace and love are healing the world and there is no need to ask for it.  Imagine a world where the animals are respected, loved, cared for, are acknowledged and known as our loving sweet wonderful friends and there is no need to fight inexhaustible for their protection.  Imagine a beautiful world where the paradigm is peaceful and loving and corporate greed no longer exists and no longer has a suffocating rein on society and its citizens.  Imagine a world where men and women love and respect each other and communicate in a healthy manner.  

This world can be real and it is possible with faith, trust, respect, and voting with our wallets.  The reason why this world hasn't come into existence yet or returned is because the citizens have given their power away to the corporations who are pillaging and exploiting Mother Earth and all her beautiful beings and children.  The first step toward peace and respect and gentleness is two-fold.  The first part is going vegetarian and enjoying the healthy plant foods and herbs that grow in the ground.  The second part is going completely holistic and herbal.  The Hundredth Monkey effect is real and true and is very powerful and empowering and healing when used in a positive manner.  Ken Keyes envisioned a world of positive social change through word of mouth.  It is possible.

Overfishing is Harmful to the Oceans

I'd like to share a few thoughts about eating a healthy vegetarian diet vs. eating fish.  Many holistic doctors are saying that we humans need to eat fish to get plenty of omega-3 because plant foods don't have enough to meet our needs.  First of all, this is not correct because many vegetarians eat a very healthy diet, including avocados, hemp seeds and granola, nuts, seeds, rice, and various other plant foods. Second, if people continue to believe this, all the beautiful oceans will be over-fished and the dolphins and whales that we care so much about and love and work hard to protect won't have any more food because people are taking it from them for their own personal needs.  Unless people live in a region where they cannot grow food and fish is their only source of food, there is no reason to eat fish.  Plant foods contain all the vital nutrients that we humans need to be healthy and it's very important that we help each other adapt a healthy vegetarian diet because the ecology is very delicate and depends on us for its protection and conservation.  We health minded eco warriors have as much business eating fish as we do meat.  Think about it.  We wouldn't slaughter a helpless a cow to eat it.  Why is it so easy to slaughter a poor fish who has a face, who has a mother, who has a family, just because it lives in water?  It still feels.  It's still a living breathing being.  This truly is a sad double standard when it comes to protecting endangered species.

(Image Courtesy of pictures.infoob.com)

Aloe Vera Is A Healing Plant For The Skin

Aloe very gel is my favorite healing plant for its moisturizing properties and it does wonders to protect my skin and my baby's skin.  I've been using aloe very gel for many years to keep my skin healthy and hydrated.  It's very gentle and healing when I use it to heal my wounds, bites, and skin irritations.  I love the way it makes my skin feel.  I keep a fresh aloe plant on hand at home so I have it for all my needs and I feel especially thankful to have it for emergencies.  I am very thankful to Mother Nature for providing this wonderful healing plant.  One of the things I love about it is that it's odorless.  I love many herbal aromas but it's not always necessary for an herb to be aromatic to be healing.  One thing I recommend to anyone reading this blog post is when shopping for personal care products for your family, especially for your children, please make sure the products you buy contain a lot of aloe vera in them.  Earth Mama Angel Baby® products are my favorites and they all contain aloe.  Aloe is very cleansing and makes a wonderful astringent.  It's also very healing to mend skin burns.  Aloe is a healthy nontoxic plant that everyone should have in their home. 

Earth Mama Angel Baby® Gifts

                                          (Image Courtesy of freedigitalphotos.com)