The Sling Diaries, Vol. IV // Everything Shines: Dreams

During my seventh month of pregnancy I found out it was possible for Luna to be having dream activity during her sleeping states. There were so many things that amazed me during that sacred time of carrying life, but I remember with such clarity the awe and wonder I felt at this notion of our unborn daughter, asleep and dreaming in my womb. What possible sorts of magic could those dreams be made of? Oscar and I talked ideas of a new earth, celestial beings, rainbow dancing, all the mysterious intricacies of starlight. We waited in great anticipation for her arrival and for the arrival of those heavenly dreams, wondering what kind of impact and influence they would bring, always hoping to be able to guide her through knowing and understanding herself through this process and ritual of sleep.

All throughout ancient civilization, we see recorded in our history this incredible respect and reverence for dreams, their meanings, and their link to the spiritual world. The Bible references dreams or visions and their guidance over seven hundred times. Priests residing in original Grecian and Egyptian temples were actually dream interpreters and people would come to them whenever looking for insight into the symbolism of their dream life, and the actions suggested to take thereafter. The significance of dreaming only began to fade as cultures developed and a line was drawn between the mystical and religious. It became a subject of avid interest again when Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams in 1900, and modern psychology has since that time come up with countless ways of analyzing and deciphering dreams, but none of them go back to the type of magic we envision when we think of our sweet Luna dreaming.

We wish for nothing less than for her, and ourselves, to see angels in our dreams, to hear the voice of God gently speak, to be guided by the great mystery. The city too often sang the modern song that turned down the mystic tone on dreams of old, and we moved into the mountains to give this desire for spiritual dreaming the space to blossom and grow. We moved into the mountains to attune ourselves to silence, to become sensitive to what our bodies and spirits need, to understand the quiet dance of nature, the secret of ancient ways. We moved into the mountains to remember the feeling of moonlight, to relearn the language of the wind, to see the signs in the sky. I am thankful for this land we together explore by day and the bed we share by night. May our guided dreams lead us only to deeper, greater, richer things.

 

 

This post is part of the Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries. I'm wearing a simple silk sling in sandstone. All photos were taken around our home by the amazing Cori Jean. Luna actually fell asleep in her sling (which she rarely does nowadays) as soon as we were done with taking these. Pretty perfect for a post on dreams! Thanks so much for following along. We love you and hope you have a happy Monday!

The Joy Of Propagating

Good morning and happy Friday! It's always so wonderful and exciting to share these blog posts and today is no exception. I've been planning this one for a little while now, which has really given me the time to contemplate the subject to even greater depths, and WOWWW... What is up with P L A N T S?! Really, truly, just amazing. Not only are they some of the most beautiful things on earth, plants actually improve the quality of our air by purifying it, increasing oxygen levels, and removing toxic pollutants. On a mental level, they reduce stress and encourage the release of endorphins and other happy hormones. If two plants are grown in the exact same conditions, except you talk to one on a daily basis and not the other, the plant you talk to will actually grow stronger and faster, therefore completely creating the possibility for emotional and spiritual connections to also be established between plants and ourselves. God has truly created such a beautiful and precise way for all of the natural world to support and rely on each other, in such a magnificent exchange of nurturing and care.

Like so many people out there who have discovered this wonderful connection in their own way, it has become a necessity to now have plants surrounding and filling our house. And lots of them! This can quickly become an expensive interest, but it doesn't have to. Today I want to talk about one super easy way to multiple your green space without spending a dime, through the simple act of propagation. It's also one of the best ways to make gifts for your family and friends! When you breed a plant from the parent stock, it's called propagating. One simple way propagation can be done is by taking a cutting from one plant in order to make another. If you've ever wondered how this is done, I'm going to show you step-by-step how this amazingly fun and interesting process works! 

1. To start with, you're going to need a parent plant. There are dozens of plants - including succulents, herbs, vegetables and more, that you can do this with. I'm showing examples of two common houseplants, which are also very resilient and easy to grow for those looking for a good plant to start off with, if you're new to this! 

Chlorophytum Comosum - Spider Plant

Philodendron Hederaceum - Heart-Leafed Plant

2. The spider plant grows very obvious "babies" that can be gently pulled off the vine. For the heart-leafed philodendron, and most other plants, you want to make an angled-cutting just below a leaf node, the brown bumps that look like little roots.

3. Place your cuttings in water so at least a few inches of the new stock is submerged. Keep in a sunny spot and watch in awe as your cuttings develop a root system of their own! This can literally happen overnight, or may take a few weeks, depending on the type of plant.

4. Once the roots have grown to about an inch or longer, plant into a pot with soil and voila! A new member of the family!  

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did writing it. Plants really bring so much joy, excitement, energy and healing! Hopefully you're now feeling encouraged to get creative and see what new forms of life you can help cultivate and spread. Sending lots of love and warm hugs from our Hive to yours!

Six Months With Luna Cove

2 Days Old

Sweet Lotus Moon

Today we are so happy to be celebrating six months with our sweet little moon! Starting a family has been such a challenging honor and joy. We are grateful for the opportunity it has been, and continues to be! The most common advice we hear as new parents is to make every moment with our children count, as they just seem to grow up so fast. We're starting to understand that this really is true and the other day we were reflecting on how many changes we've seen take place in Luna and who she has become over the course of just six months. So amazing! Luna is a bright, happy little baby, with a huge capacity for patience, joy and love. Always flashing smiles and offering up affection, she is incredibly alert and attentive to the world around her, taking great interest in eye contact, laughter, and genuinely connecting with the people she encounters. Luna fusses only to communicate her needs and true crying is reserved for when something genuinely painful occurs. Her ability to pick up on and understand moods is amazing and she shows such a great awareness for feelings and intuition, as all babies do. We try to nurture this in her as much as possible, consistently going out of our way to provide her with the most calm and peaceful environment at all times, in an effort to honor her developing body and spirit. Such a privilege it has been to be her parents and to share in this wonderful process of growth! 

All of the decisions we've made since she was born follow in the same frequency of energy that we applied to how we brought her into this world, in what we felt was the most gentle way possible. Having her by ourselves in the comfort of our own little apartment and keeping her attached to the placenta through the tradition of Lotus Birth, was the best experience we could have asked for. Her posture towards life is special and unique for babies we typically see here in the US, but we do not think it is a miracle or a one-off chance by any means! We credit so much of her demeanor to the influence of the decisions we've made, especially those that challenge the status quo. Birth and parenting have, in general, become very complicated and corporate matters, more often than not dictated and controlled by a system that discourages intuition and does not operate from a place of love or heart-centeredness. Most of the behaviors seen in children these days are a result of being brought into the world and raised through this type of system. The picture of birth and parenting that we typically see represented is far from the beauty and power that this creative process innately contains or has the potential to be. One way we can start to heal our earth is by healing attitudes and practices around birth and parenting, empowering families to really take this sacred experience into their own hands. We hope to be a catalyst for this change by how we live as a family, and already we feel so grateful for how Luna has influenced and blessed this world with her presence. We celebrate you today, Miss Luna Cove Castro, for every precious moment you have been in our lives, and all of the joyful moments to come!

A Foxy Girl And Her Father

Sitting Up!

Flower Child

Until just the other day I had completely forgotten that we recorded video during labor. We had planned to film her birth, but the camera was abandoned at some point during our long adventure with her, and so these few minutes are all we have. It's not much, but it was so special for us to discover we had it, and we thought it would be fun to share it all with you as a little glimpse into what our experience was like. And of course to celebrate Luna being six months earthside! This was taken 16 hours into labor, 12 hours before she was actually born. A long and wild journey, indeed! You can really get an idea of just how tiny and city-congested our apartment was. (Yes, that is an airplane going overhead at minute 5:30!) Such special memories. It was a joy and an honor to give birth to this beautiful baby and I look forward to the day I will be blessed to do it again. You can read Luna's birth story and more about our Lotus Birth experience here and here. We hope you enjoy and have such a wonderful Sunday! We send thoughts of love and encouragement from our hive to yours.

 

If you didn't have a natural birth, it's never too late to start natural parenting! Gentle birth, gentle mothering by Sarah Buckley is a great resource to start with for those interested in more on the subject.
     

Lavender Honey Lemonade // Raw Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

Being a southern california native, winter does not equal cold in my vocabulary. So when it reached almost 80 degrees last week in the middle of December, it seemed all too reasonable to whip up a batch of lemonade so often left for warmer months. We've been experimenting with cleaner eating (no sugar, dairy, wheat, etc.) here in our hive, and since Oscar and I both have a sweet tooth to boot, I've been looking for healthy substitutes to replace our overly-processed "treats". Being major chocolate lovers, I was ecstatic to find out that before adding all the white sugar and milk, chocolate is actually good for you. Really good for you! Raw cacao is full of antioxidants, magnesium, calcium, and essential, heart-healthy fat. It also promotes healthy digestion, circulation, and can enhance mental and physical clarity. Honestly, if I would have known it was so easy to make, I would have started years ago! Lemon is a timeless refresher, cleanser, and detoxifier, while lavender holds the spotlight for being one of the most calming, soothing scents in the world. Add the perfect balance of honey sweetness, and you are in for a serious treat. The following recipes are simple, quick, and sure to please everyone, without the added heaviness of refined sugar and dairy. Plus, the taste is out of this world! Please enjoy and we hope you're having a wonderful season of winter love. 

Lavender Honey Lemonade

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup raw honey (can add more or less depending on sweetness preference)
• 1 cup water (for the lavender)
• 1 cup lemon juice (from 4-6 lemons)
• 3 or 4 cups of water (for diluting)
• 2 tablespoons dried lavender flowers

Directions:

1. Bring 1 cup of water to boil, remove from heat and add lavender. Use a reusable tea steeper if available. Cover and allow to steep for 10 minutes.
2. Juice 4-6 lemons. 
3. Strain lavender flowers (if a tea steeper was not used) and stir in honey to the hot lavender water.
4. Combine the juice and the lavender-honey water with 3-4 cups of cold water, depending on desired strength. Refrigerate for a few hours for the best taste.
5. Serve with ice and lemon slices.

Raw Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup raw cacao powder
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar/maple syrup (use 4 tablespoons for a sweeter chocolate)
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/4 teaspoon nutritional yeast (optional - gives more of a "Reese's" taste, if that's your thing!)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Combine cacao powder and choice of syrup in a mixing bowl.
2. Melt coconut oil over VERY low heat and add to cacao powder and syrup immediately after all pieces have melted, whisk together until smooth.
3. Fill 12 muffin tins with liners and portion a small spoonful of the chocolate into each, spread it out so it covers the bottom and a little bit of the sides. This will be the bottom layer of your cup. If chocolate is too thick to spread, whisk in a bit more melted coconut oil.
4. Allow to harden in freezer for 10-15 minutes.
5. Mix almond butter, nutritional yeast (if desired), vanilla extract and salt. Once the bottom layer of chocolate has hardened, remove from freezer and add a small spoonful of the almond butter mix, then use a spoon to cover with another layer of chocolate. Return to freezer for 10-15 then enjoy! 
6. Store in freezer for best taste! These babies melt fast. 

Depending on how thick or thin you want your cups, you may need to make another batch of chocolate. These portions would work well for a thin cup, which I would recommend. I made ours pretty thick and it was almost too much to handle! 

If we don't post again in 2013, we look forward to seeing you again next year! Lots of love and hugs from our hive to yours. May this new year be full of magic and wonder for all!