Every day, I now try to find at least 15 minutes of time just to be with me.   I use this time to journal, meditate, or simply have a cup of tea and think about all the things I’m grateful for in my life.  It’s a good practice to get into - just taking in the beauty that surrounds you and quietly saying “thank you” in your mind, is enough positive energy to create a shift in your daily routine. Being thankful opens up your being up to receiving even more pleasures to be thankful for, and soon you are in automatic receiving mode even as you are going about your daily business of the day.   

As I’m writing this, I’m watching the sunrise through the windy trees and it looks like a blanket of gold rising up to greet me.  This is one of the many gifts I will receive today, as I am open to receiving joy in it’s many ways, even in the smallest of things.  I trust that as my day moves forward, I will continue to be blessed with enlightenment and love.  It’s what I expect.  

Do something for yourself today and find joy in the practice of it.  Even if it’s just a reflection, or a moment, take that glimpse in time to be with yourself completely and just listen to your inner dialogue.  What is it telling you?  Is it simply a feeling that you have? Practice being with you! It’s really difficult to turn off the outside world and quiet the mind, isn’t it?  The more you practice, however, the easier it becomes, and soon what you will see unfolding is a deeper sense of your intuition.  You’ll be thinking less and knowing more! That’s how it is when you get in touch with that loving part of you that is pure, divine love.  Embrace yourself today with a hug and loving words, and watch the many miracles unfold!

With Love,

Jacquellyne

 As a business owner and mother of 3, I’m often asked, “How do you do find time to do it all?”   With juggling everyone’s schedules, making meals for special diets, and running a full time body care business, it doesn’t always leave a lot of time for “me” at the end of the day.  What I have found to be an absolute must in order for me to stay balanced,  is to carve out time just before going to bed, so that I can have my tea and write in my journal with my Big Dipper candle burning beside me.     It’s important to set a nurturing environment in the evening as you begin to wind down and settle in for rest. During this time it’s easy to slip into processing the happenings of the day coupled with the to do lists of tomorrow, so I find that having a candle lit with a warm cup of tea next to me helps to keep me on track and in the present moment.   If I find myself drifting, I pull back to my writing with making a list of things I am grateful for in my life.  This not only pulls my focus back inward, but it launches me into a state of appreciation and gratitude that fills my entire room.   It sets the energy for peace and joy in a space where my body will be recharging all night long while I sleep.     It’s just like filling a bucket with water - what you put in is what you get out.    This is how life works - invest in positive thoughts, and a positive lifestyle is what will invest in you!   It’s that simple.

Recently I met up with a local colleague of mine who runs a successful soap making business and we were discussing the importance of purchasing our materials as local and possible.  She suggested I give one of her local suppliers a call, so I followed her advice and found myself on the road to Lancaster to pick up some supplies.   The long/short of it is, I picked up the incorrect 50lb bag of materials, and didn’t realize my error until I had gotten home.  In a panic, I called my new supplier at 6pm and left a message letting them know that I needed to switch the bag out immediately to keep up with our tight production schedule for the following day.    No sooner did I hang up the phone, the supplier called me right back and said he would personally deliver the correct bag of product to me by 8am the next morning - a one hour drive for him.  Now THAT is priceless!  

My Top 5 Reasons to buy Local: 

1.  Flexibility: Chances are Local producers are willing to work with you to meet any special requests or needs you may have.

2.   Finances: Keeping the exchange of money within our local population helps our community to continue to advance and sustain itself.  Buying Local often provides you with more cost effective buying options.

3.  Freshness & Quality:  The amount of nutrition you get from food that is freshly harvested can be 5 times greater than something that was harvested over a week before it gets to your table.  There is also no need for heavy preservatives.

4.  Environment: Think about what is involved to ship something across the country, and even across the world!   Fuel, energy, packaging material, processing, processing, processing!

5.  The Back Story: When you buy local, you look your suppliers directly in eye, and get to know the story of how they live, why they do what they do, and the standards they support.  This creates the personal “experience” that we all enjoy when shopping and it keeps us deeply connected to our community. 

Peace and Blessings,

Jacquellyne

The choices we make for our family today have a vital impact on the decisions we are faced with as we age.   From the foods we eat, to the way we spend our leisure time, all of these choices will inevitably impact our future, so why not take the time to become more informed?   Your skin is your largest organ, and when you are in the shower or bath, your pores open up and your body absorbs the chemicals in your water as well as the toxins in your body care products.     If you think about it, it’s kind of like a chemical cocktail and you are the bartender of choice - so what’s it going to be?   

The choices we make for our family today, have a vital impact on the decisions we are faced with as we age.   From the foods we eat, to the way we spend our leisure time, all of these choices will inevitably impact our future, so why not take the time to become more informed?   Your skin is your largest organ, and when you are in the shower or bath, your pores open up and your body absorbs the chemicals in your water as well as the toxins in your body care products.     If you think about it, it’s kind of like a chemical cocktail and you are the bartender of choice - so what’s it going to be?    

Choosing body care products that are derived from all natural, plant based ingredients with minimal packaging, is a strong, healthy choice for your family.   We are all continually exposed to toxins 24hrs a day, and there is only so much your liver can handle as it is in a continuous detoxification mode.     I often ask people if I give them 2 choices of body care products - one with known cancer causing chemicals that smells great and looks beautiful in the plastic bottle OR one that can provide healing effects with plant based organic extracts and may require you to clean your shower a little more often -   you would be surprised at how many people stop and think about the choice, and weigh the pros and cons.  

Some recent quotes: “ But I like how clean the bottle is in my shower and it doesn’t leave any soap scum....the blue gel is nice to shave with too,”  “I can’t use that natural stuff - it just doesn’t make me feel as clean,”  “It’s too expensive,”  “ I love to buy pretty soap bars and use them as decoration in my powder room.”    

Of course you also have your more “informed” consumer who says, “ I’m recovering from a serious illness and I can ONLY use natural products NOW,”  “Yes, my son has eczema and we were forced to switch to a natural soap brand.”  And my recent favorite: "Do have any soap that smells like Bubble Gum? My kids would love that....”  

So...although I share these comments in jest, the call I’m making to consumers is to take a little time, read your labels and USE NATURAL PRODUCTS!!  Here is a general rule of thumb: if a product contains more than 10 ingredients, 6 of which you can’t read, just move on!   If I may paraphrase a quote from an amazing woman who inspires me - Dr. Terri Wahls, MD: “You have a choice - do you want to pay a little more for it now? Because if not, you are inevitably going to pay for it later, so the choice is yours!” 

Peace and Blessings - 

Jacquellyne