Hippie talk: less doing and more being

October marks the beginning of the holiday season for many people and with that comes lots of things that need to be done. There are Halloween costumes to make or buy, decorations to be displayed and candy to be purchased. The same goes for those who celebrate Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The November and December holidays often include extra family and friends in the home which sparks a whole host of things to be done. While cleaning, decorating, buying or making gifts and cooking, we can get caught up in being human doings and forget that we are human beings.

Sarah Rose, owner of Healthy Hippie Trading Co., located in the Old Town area of Tehachapi, is no stranger to this dilemma.

"Between running the Hippie, helping my husband with his business, John the Plumber, and doing the preliminary work to getting the café started, my day is all about things that need to be done," she says. "The second my eyes open, the mental list of what needs to be done starts running."

To counter this habit of jumping right into list making and executing the tasks, Sarah has embraced a few practices.

"I start first thing in the morning, before I even get out of bed, by placing my hand on my heart and simply saying the words, 'I am loving awareness.' When time permits, I will pull an oracle card from my deck at home. I think of oracle cards as 'Thought For the Day' cards," she adds. "Taking 20 minutes to sit quietly, enjoying a hot cup of tea while I simply stay focused on the present moment is one variation of meditation that I do and it helps remind me that I am a human being not a human doing. Meditation is simply the act of being present, not letting your thoughts dwell on the past or run off to the future. It doesn't have to be a big production. I like the saying that prayer is talking to God while mediation is listening."

Another step that Sarah is finding helpful is burning sage, palo santo wood or sweetgrass.

"There are physical as well as spiritual reasons that I do this," she explains. "White Sage has extracts that exhibit antimicrobial properties plus it calms the nervous system. While carrying the smoking sage around the space I am very present. Sometimes it takes conscious effort to not be thinking about what I need to do next, especially if I'm doing this at the store, but I always feel so much better afterward. Our customers frequently comment how calm they feel upon entering the store as well."

After burning the sage, Sarah will either follow up by burning a stick of palo santo wood or sweetgrass. Both are used to attract good energy.

"Sweetgrass is just one of the many plants considered sacred by Native Americans and is given as a gift." Sarah says. "Tradition says it is the hair of the Mother Earth and considered a gift from the Creator. With that in mind, we will gift anyone who comes into the store and mentions this article, a braid of sweetgrass. No purchase necessary."

To receive your gift of sweetgrass, head over to the Hippie, located at 20418 Brian Way in Old Town Tehachapi.