Chamomile Rinse:

Put 1 handful of loose, organic Chamomile tea in a pot and add about 500 ml of filtered water.

Put the lid on and bring the water almost to a boil.

Turn the temperature down and simmer for 15-20 min.

Strain the herbs.

Pour the infusion on your head at the end of your shower and let it remain in your hair (don't rinse).

Calendula Flower Infusion:

Put 2 handfuls of whole Calendula flowers in a pot and add about 1 liter of good water.

Put the lid on and bring the water almost to a boil.

Turn the temperature down and simmer for 15-20 min.

Leave the herbs in the pot and strain as you drink.

Drink 3 cups a day (can be mixed with Dandelion tea).

Herbal Tincture:

Ingredients: Hawthorne Berry, Hibiscus Flower, Rose Hip, Bilberry, Sage Leaf, Passionflower, Catnip, Wormwood, Skullcap, Rose Petal, Licorice Root, Mullein Leaf, Oak Leaf, Local Honey

Flower Essences: Morning Glory, Dandelion, Tobacco, Atzekium Cactus

Menstruum: Artisanal Medronho

Dosage: About 1/2 dropper 2-3 times daily for 3 months.

Kambo & Bufo Journey:

30 days of journeying with Kambo and Bufo (alternating). Blindfolded, laying down with shamanic drumming (any drumming you like that is meant to alter your brainwaves into a trance state). Sink into your body, set the mind aside and call in the spirit of the medicine. Ask for any guidance or message they may have for you. Remain open and receptive to all sensory input (this is not cerebral, the mind can sit quiet and take a break for the journey). Thank the Bufo or Kambo and take notes at the end of the journey.

Dreamwork:

Record your dreams as soon as you wake up. Go over your dreams and write down the parts that stand out and any associations (pick the first 3 words that come to mind without thinking about it) you have with those aspects (i.e. horse = freedom, power, adventure). Use this as a decoding method.

Dream questions:

• What environment was I in?
• Was is dark or light?
• How did I feel, what was the general tone of the dream?
• Did anything strongly captures my attention (colors, people, objects, etc)
• Was I an observer or partaking in the dream?
• Was I myself or someone else?
• Who was in the dream and what aspects of myself does that person reflect?
• Did this feel like a regular dream or did it have a different essence?

Plant Sentience Practice - Blue Lotus 30 Days:

• Drink a cup of Blue Lotus tea just before you meditate (1 flower can be infused in about a liter of water (same method as the other herbal infusions) and sipped on over the course of a few days).
• Invite the spirit of Blue Lotus into your meditation (can also be done as a journey, blindfolded with drumming).
• Remain open and receptive to all sensory input.
• Thank Blue Lotus when you are done and take notes of anything you noticed (even if very subtle)

* Blue Lotus is also great to drink before sleep for dreamwork. Placing a flower under your pillow is good as well.


The Language of Signs

This is a game you can play to connect with any being in non-physical form. Choose a sign that reminds you of the one you want to connect with and ask them to manifest this sign for you to make their presence known. Make it something that you wouldn't ordinarily see. An example would be your experiences with the Joker card or seeing dragon formations in the sky. You can choose 2 things to arrive in tandem to make it even more obvious due to the unlikelihood of it. The sign doesn't have to arrive in literal form either - it may arrive in the form of a photo, statue, painting, etc. For your father, choose something that is meaningful in relationship to him. It could also be a song, number series, animal, etc. Be creative and communicate with him about it.

Inner Smile - Nourishing the Organs

KIDNEYS

Energetics: deep wisdom, connection, serenity, trust, gentleness | fear, anxiety

Color: Deep blue

Sound: Tchwaay

• Rub your palms together quickly to generate heat.
• Place your palms over your kidneys, located on either side of the lower ribcage/the small of the back.
• Take a moment to attune to the kidneys, bathing them with an inner smile of acknowledgment and appreciation. It helps to understand how they serve your body.
• Imagine permeating your kidneys with a serene blue light - use your inner eye to connect with them. Follow your energy as it moves deeper into the kidneys and keep your awareness there.
• Breathe in through your nose, taking in the essence of wisdom and tranquility, while channeling that feeling through your hands and into the kidneys. After awhile the words don't matter so much, it's more about cultivating the essence of these words and flooding that energy into the kidneys.
• Exhale out the mouth making the "Tchwaay" sound, while releasing feelings of fear and worry.
• Maintain the inner smile for the whole practice.
• Repeat a few cycles until you feel complete.

HEART

Energetics: compassion, kindness, patience, warmth | cruelty, callousness, spite

Color: Soft flame

Sound : Haaah

• Rub your palms together quickly to generate heat.
• Place your palms over your heart, located slightly to the left side of center sternum
• Take a moment to attune to the heart, bathing it with an inner smile of acknowledgment and appreciation - attuning with the heartbeat.
• Imagine permeating your heart with a soft flame - use your inner eye to connect. Follow your energy as it moves deeper into the heart and keep your awareness there.
• Breathe in through your nose, taking in the essence of kindness, gratitude and compassion while channeling that feeling through your hands and into the heart. After awhile the words don't matter so much, it's more about cultivating the essence of these words and flooding that energy into the heart.
• Exhale out the mouth making the "haaaah" sound, while releasing any feelings of cruelty, jealousy, spite, etc.
• Maintain the inner smile for the whole practice.
• Repeat a few cycles until you feel complete.

LIVER

Energetics: growth, benevolence, expansion, generosity, full potential | anger, frustration, irritability

Color: Green

Sound : Tshoo

• Rub your palms together quickly to generate heat.
• Place your palms over your liver, located to the right side of lower rib cage
• Take a moment to attune to the liver, bathing it with an inner smile of acknowledgment and appreciation.
• Imagine permeating your liver with green light - use your inner eye to connect. Follow your energy as it moves deeper into the liver and keep your awareness there.
• Breathe in through your nose, taking in the essence of benevolence, expansion, and generosity while channeling that feeling through your hands and into the liver. After awhile the words don't matter so much, it's more about cultivating the essence of these words and flooding that energy into the liver.
• Exhale out the mouth making the "tshoo" sound, while releasing any feelings of anger, frustration and irritability.
• Maintain the inner smile for the whole practice.
• Repeat a few cycles until you feel complete.

LUNGS

Energetics: Courage, confidence, healthy sense of pride | Sadness, grief

Color: White Light

Sound : Sssss

• Rub your palms together quickly to generate heat.
• Place your palms over your lungs, located to the both sides of the chest
• Take a moment to attune to the lungs and your breathe, bathing them with an inner smile of acknowledgment and appreciation.
• Imagine permeating your lungs with pure white light - use your inner eye to connect. Follow your energy as it moves deeper into the lungs and keep your awareness there.
• Breathe in through your nose, taking in the essence of courage and confidence while channeling that feeling through your hands and into the lungs. After awhile the words don't matter so much, it's more about cultivating the essence of these words and flooding that energy into the lungs.
• Exhale out the mouth making the "Ssss" sound, while releasing any feelings of grief and sadness.
• Maintain the inner smile for the whole practice.
• Repeat a few cycles until you feel complete.

SPLEEN

Energetics: Receptivity, relaxation (capacity to digest) | Anxiety, tension (looping thoughts)

Color: Gold / yellow

Sound : Huuuu

• Rub your palms together quickly to generate heat.
• Place your palms over your spleen, located to the left side of lower rib cage
• Take a moment to attune to the spleen, bathing it with an inner smile of acknowledgment and appreciation.
• Imagine permeating your spleen with golden yellow sunlight - use your inner eye to connect. Follow your energy as it moves deeper into the spleen and keep your awareness there.
• Breathe in through your nose, taking in the essence of calm relaxation while channeling that feeling through your hands and into the spleen. After awhile the words don't matter so much, it's more about cultivating the essence of these words and flooding that energy into the spleen.
• Exhale out the mouth making the "huuuu" sound, while releasing any feelings of anxiety and worry.
• Maintain the inner smile for the whole practice.
• Repeat a few cycles until you feel complete.

FULL INNER SMILE ORGAN MEDITATION

Spend a couple minutes with each organ. As you begin to deepen the inner smile practice, take it a step further and begin opening up communication with each organ. This is done from a space of intuitive reception and deep listening. The thinking mind can be set aside.
Ask each organ if there is anything it needs, remain open to non-logical input (images, sensations, visions, etc). Ask how you can better support it and if there is anything it wants to communicate with you. Be patient, it may take time to cultivate communication and this depth of relationship with your body.

Coffee Substitutes

• Chicory Root
• Carob
• Roasted Barley or Rye
• Dandelion Root

I'd say play around with mixing some of these up to see what flavor you like (Chicory has the most coffee-like taste), carob is good to mix in because it is one of the few herbs that helps hydrate the body (a demulcent).

If you wanna get fancy, MUD/WTR is a blend of cacao (has a little caffeine) + Ayurvedic herbs and functional mushrooms.

Elimination

• Caffeine
• Sugar - A litte raw honey or molasses is ok
• Synthetic ingredients/chemicals of any kind including skincare and toothpaste
• Dairy - ghee is ok, good for high heat cooking
• Seed oils - stick to cold-pressed oils such as olive, avocado or coconut (coconut oil is good for high heat cooking , the others are best raw)

Food for Dampness in the Spleen

• Light, lean proteins (chicken, fish, turkey)
• Barley
• Millet
• Wild rice
• Brown rice (organic only - brown rice tends to have a lot of pesticides)
• Steamed vegetables: pumpkin, squash, carrots, parsnips, green beans, fennel, leaks, daikon radish
• Warming spices: Ginger (fresh, not powdered - powdered is too hot for the liver), cinnamon, cardamom, rosemary, thyme, oregano)
• Legumes: lentils, aduki beans, sprouted mung beans
• Fermented foods (miso and sauerkraut are good, avoid overly greasy or salty fermented foods)

Foods to Tonify Spleen Qi

• Sweet potatoes
• Buckwheat
• Squash
• Chicken
• Bone Broth
• Eggs (only prepared without fats, *eat in moderation when there is extreme spleen dampness*. They are generally helpful for the spleen, liver and heart)

Foods to Cool Tonify Liver Qi

• Leafy and bitter greens: Dandelion greens, mustard greens, arugula, spinach and kale (these 2 only cooked/steamed)
• Beets
• Citrus fruits (in moderation as not to agitate the dampness in spleen)
• Green tea (high quality and only steep 2-3 minutes or as instructed - green tea should be nutty, not bitter and is relatively low in caffeine when prepared properly).
• Peppermint tea
• Cruciferous veggies: Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbage
• Chlorella
• Seaweed

(note: If the spleen has damp heat, chlorella and seaweed are fine - if it's damp and cold, they should be avoided. Ask your acupuncturist about whether they see heat or cold (this is apparent on the tongue - cold looks white and filmy, heat looks slightly yellowish or red)

Foods to Tonify Heart Qi

• Quinoa
• Berries (all types)
• Apples
• Hawthorn Berry
• Chinese Dates and Goji Berries (great in broths, teas and stews)
• Red foods in general
• Lean beef in moderation (too much can hinder liver and spleen)
• Chicken liver
• Dark leafy greens
• Beets
• Black beans
• Olive oil
• Walnuts
• Avocado (in moderation with spleen dampness and paired with warming foods)

Foods to Avoid

• Dairy
• Cold or raw foods - salads, raw veggies, smoothies, etc
• Cold beverages
• Fried, greasy foods
• Sugar and refined carbs
• Extra spicy foods (agitates the liver)
• Coconut in all forms - it's very cooling and agitates spleen dampness. Can be good to clear liver and heart heat, but not if there is weakness. So, no more adrenal cocktails for now.
• Bananas (dampen spleen)
• Alcohol (weakens the liver qi)

Overall think fresh, whole foods that are local and in season. Keep it simple. Mainly eating protein and enough veggies to help balance and digest the protein. Eat seasonal fruits in whole form instead of juices for the most part. Fruit is best eaten on an empty stomach. Carbs are best eaten separate from protein. Also water/fluids are best consumed separate from food. Give yourself about 30 minutes after drinking to eat (unless it's something light and watery like fruit), then wait about 2 hours after eating a meal to drink again (depends on how heavy the meal was, the idea is not to dilute stomach acid while digesting - work with the body)


Meal Suggestions

Breakfast
High protein and nutrient dense breakfast eaten while stomach qi is the highest between about 2-4 hours after dawn (ideally before 9am)

• Eggs and steamed veggies with buckwheat bread
• Meat stew
• Bone broth with millet and veggies
• Black sesame hummus (recipe below) with avocado, steamed spinach and buckwheat bread.

Lunch
Have lunch when the sun is at it's peak (high digestive fire). This is a good time for your big steak meal. If you can't find quality greens, skip em. What would be ideal is if you got your hands on jars of good fermented veggies and ate a big scoop of those as close as possible to your meal out. Otherwise do your best to find farm fresh, organic restaurants.

Dinner
Keep dinner on the light side and eat around sunset. You'll have to feel it out so that your not still digesting food when you sleep, and not feeling hungry either.


Easy Travel Recipes

Hummus
(if you have a blender)

1 can/jar of organic beans (black, kidney, aduki are good)
Heaping scoop of black sesame tahini (black sesame is great for the kidneys, regular is fine if you can't find the black)
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
Lemon to taste
Sea salt (or miso paste) and pepper to taste.
Optional additions (handful of fresh cilantro or parsley, steamed spinach, avocado, tomato or any steamed veggies you fancy)

Toss everything in a blender and good to go.