RedEssences

What an honour it was to hold my very first Aromatic Circle.

For years, I have loved being part of circles like these, but I had never created one of my own. This time, everything aligned—especially my energy.

I felt deeply guided to lead this special moment.

I was touched by every participant and humbled by their trust, curiosity, openness, and kindness. Together, we created a space where it felt safe to be vulnerable, to slow down, and simply be.

“Through the power of our sense of smell—our oldest and most primal sense—we invited our nervous systems to slow down, allowing our bodies to gently return to a state of balance and presence.”

We gave ourselves permission to pause, to listen to our inner guidance, to release a little of the weight we had been carrying, to bring more clarity to our thoughts, and to receive the words our hearts had been longing to hear.

It was a beautiful reminder that sometimes the greatest gift we can give ourselves is simply the space to reconnect.

I left feeling incredibly light, grateful, and inspired.

One phrase stayed with me throughout the evening:

“This was needed.”

Those words touched me deeply and confirmed exactly why I felt called to create the Aromatic Circle.

This is only the beginning, and I can’t wait to welcome many more circles in the months ahead.

Reconnect with Yourself. One Breath at a Time.

Recently, I took myself on a date.

Nothing extravagant. Just a few hours alone as an act of self-care, with no agenda, responsibilities, or anyone else’s needs to tend to.

I wandered, sat with a coffee, journaled, and simply allowed myself to be.

What surprised me most was how uncomfortable it felt at first.

My mind wanted to be productive.
To tick something off my list.
To make the time “useful.”

But as I slowed down, something shifted.

My shoulders softened.
My breath deepened.
Ideas began to flow.
Questions I had been carrying suddenly had space to be heard.

I remembered something I first learned from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: the importance of taking yourself on an “Artist Date.”

A date with yourself.
A space to nurture your creativity, curiosity, and inner world.

Because creativity isn’t just painting, writing, or making music.

Creativity is how we live.

It’s how we cook a meal, tend a garden, move our bodies, solve problems, build relationships, and create a life that feels aligned with who we truly are.

The truth is, I think many of us are longing for more inspiration, but we rarely give ourselves the space to receive it.

We’re so busy consuming, doing, giving, and achieving that we forget to spend time with the person creating it all.

Ourselves.

One thing I’ve come to realize is that self-care is one of the most creative acts we can practice.

When we care for ourselves intentionally, we create the conditions for new ideas, deeper clarity, and a more authentic expression of who we are.

So this is your reminder—and mine.

Schedule a date with yourself.

Take a walk.
Visit a bookstore.
Sit by the water.
Try something you’ve been curious about.

No goal.
No outcome.
Just space.

You may be surprised by what is waiting for you when you finally slow down enough to listen. ✨

Have you ever taken yourself on an Artist Date? I’d love to hear what you did. 📸 🙏

I am amazed by our beautiful Melissa herb this spring. This year, it has gifted us the most beautiful, strong, and harmonious leaves. All the rain we received over winter gave it exactly what it needed to become so healthy and generous.

Lately, I’ve been adding Melissa herb to my evening tea and deeply enjoying its soothing, calming benefits. Recent studies have shown that Melissa essential oil may help support healthy blood pressure, which is something I’ve been needing these days. Hormonal shifts have increased my blood pressure, so alongside other things I’m doing to support balance, Melissa brings the gentle calm I need.

Melissa essential oil is also known as the Oil of Light, and it is incredibly powerful. It has a very low yield—requiring a vast amount of leaves to produce just a few drops—which is why this oil is so precious and expensive.

Its magic lies in its ability to reveal what has been hidden. Be prepared for moments of disturbance or uncomfortable feelings as it helps clear away the dust, the rust, the old. It is an essential oil to work with respectfully and intentionally each time you use it.

I have practiced microdosing with Melissa (using micro drops on the roof of my mouth several times throughout the day with intention), and the results have been astonishing. Sometimes it takes days before I notice a change; other times, only hours before I feel a shift and clarity comes in.

Whatever your intention is, I trust you will feel its powerful resonance.

Some of the experiences I’ve had include a surge of emotions—sadness, disappointment, overwhelm, irritation, questions of worthiness, even withdrawal. Yet once the clearing is underway, there can be a profound sense of contentment, relief, satisfaction, joy, peace, clarity, weightlessness, and calm.

We are all different, so these experiences will be unique to each of us.

Be patient, trust the process, and allow Melissa to help unlock the wisdom within.

Letting go of my “old self” — she has expired.

This landed so clearly for me this morning during meditation.

Lately, I have been feeling drained, tired, unmotivated, and disconnected from passion. And for a while, I kept wondering what was wrong with me. Why I couldn’t seem to ignite the same fire, the same drive, the same energy that used to move me so naturally.

But this morning, I realized something deeper:

What used to excite me no longer does — not because something is wrong, but because I have changed.

Trying to force myself back into an old identity has only created more resistance, more numbness, and more inner friction. I’ve been asking a version of me that has already expired to come back online. But that version is no longer alive.

And that truth is uncomfortable.

Because part of me still wants to operate from what used to work, what used to feel easy, what once created results — even when it was no longer aligned. My comfort zone wants to resurrect the familiar. It wants to reactivate the part of me that pushed, performed, and made things happen no matter what.

But she is gone.

The rebellious part of me — the one who wanted to do things her way, in her timing, driven by force and fire — has completed her role.

And the version of me that is emerging now wants something entirely different.

She craves discipline.
She craves consistency.
She craves organization, devotion, and real human connection.

And yet, I am still learning how to trust her.

I am still adjusting to the fact that this new version of me is not a loss — she is an upgrade. She is preparing me for the years ahead. She is asking me to build a life, a rhythm, and a way of being that can truly sustain me.

Today, instead of forcing myself into productivity, I chose to do something I genuinely wanted to do.

I went into the garden.

I reorganized, planted flowers, touched the earth, and let my hands get dirty. A part of me felt guilty, thinking I should be doing something more productive, more work-focused, more “useful.”

But then I realized: this was useful.

I needed the grounding of the earth to reconnect to myself.
I needed beauty.
I needed spaciousness.
I needed to nourish my spirit before asking creativity to return.

And sure enough, once I felt settled and fulfilled, I found myself naturally wanting to work — outside, in the company of birdsong, with fresh air on my skin and a quiet sense of energy moving through me again.

Not forced.
Not manufactured.
But alive.

And here is what surprised me most:

The parts of me I thought were “missing” were actually just waiting for the right conditions.

My consistency and discipline were rewarded with a strong, energizing workout.
My need for organization was met through meaningful, aligned work calls.

At the start of the day, I truly didn’t think I would accomplish anything.

And yet… I did.

Not by forcing,
but by listening first.

There is so much power in taking time in the morning to reflect:
Where am I, really?
What do I need today?
Where do I want to place my focus?

That simple pause can shift the entire trajectory of your day —
from unsatisfying and heavy…
to grounded, aligned, and deeply rewarding.

By accepting that my old self has moved on, I can begin to honor the wisdom of who is emerging now.

And maybe this is what growth really looks like:
not becoming someone else,
but releasing who we no longer are,
so we can meet ourselves more fully.

Step by step.
With more clarity.
More alignment.
And more grace.

This weekend was meant to be about celebrating Valentine’s Day and cheering Roger on for his half marathon. Instead, life invited me into stillness as I nursed myself back to health.

I missed the beautiful room Roger had booked in Barcelona for our little getaway… and some fun meals with friends.

But I live in the camp that life happens for me. So I stayed open.

My body went into a full mucus party — lungs and sinuses congested, back and legs aching, head pounding. For 24 hours I felt like an alien in my own body.

Mucus can be the body’s soft way of releasing what the heart hasn’t had words for.
A gentle clearing.
A dissolving of what once needed protection.

The one place I found some relief was the bath.
Warm water softening the tension… holding me.
I added Epsom salt with Ravintsara and Melissa essential oils and oh my — the perfect duo for me.

I kept working with these two powerhouses:
Melissa under the tongue, Ravintsara on my temples, the back of my neck, and chest.
And slowly… relief arrived.

It still amazes me, the power of these magical oils.
I heard the whisper of Ravintsara and followed the intuition. It felt like exactly what I needed to clear stagnant, closed energy in my chest.

No big surprise after the past events.
My heart had tightened, and life was asking it to soften again.

Nothing happens by mistake.
My body needed that pause — a sacred clearing, a release of what was ready to move.

I’m deeply grateful for the years of learning and attuning, for knowing how to listen when the body speaks.

Melissa brought light back where it had dimmed.
And slowly… I felt life flowing through me again. ✨