Conscious Family Giveaway #8

As stated in a previous post, this month is dedicated to the Conscious Family. And, as I stated prior, we will be having some fun giveaways during April.

Giveaway #1 can be found here
Giveaway #2 can be found here
Giveaway #3 can be found here
Giveaway #4 can be found here
Giveaway #5 can be found here
Giveaway #6 can be found here
Giveaway #7 can be found here

Alexis owns Worts and Cunning Apothecary. She  was happy to hear about our event and is a lovely shop owner who understands conscious choices, as it is evident in her product line. :) It was wonderful reading her interview answers and I enjoyed getting to know her a little more in the process. I'd like to introduce to you, Alexis:

When looking back at little me and tracing the path that has led me to becoming an herbalist, I often think of two important and formative events in my life. The first involved my ever-expanding identity politics which included identifying for many years as a koala bear. On a fateful family vacation to New Zealand I had the opportunity to hold a koala bear (you know, cuz wild animals and children are meant to snuggle) and realized immediately that the koala bear was kin. I proceeded to ride my tricycle around our neighborhood eating leaves of the trees and learning about the properties of plants (which ones were poisonous, which ones stung, which ones tasted sweet) through my koala girl escapades. A relationship with the plant world had truly begun and was further developed by my additional identity as a psychic mutant who was brewing a super potion in toy buckets in her backyard fort. Both of these habits – eating plantlife and brewing them in buckets – continued to evolve over the years, I dare say, matured, and led me to realize that one of my callings in life was to serve my community as an herbalist. So an herbalist I became and I am continuously becoming.

Worts + Cunning Apothecary started as a way for me to not only share herbal remedies that I have been creating for my family, friends, and community, but also was the first step towards building a sliding-scale health cooperative with other health practitioners. While Worts + Cunning Apothecary is still a wee business, it is supported by a big vision and lots of passion for serving the health needs of whatever community I find myself in.

As you’ve probably begun to suspect [from the above] I was a kid who dedicated a lot of energy to developing the fine muscle of imagination. I was born in Southern California, moved to Japan for my formative years, and then back to California. Living abroad has shaped the way that I perceive the world as well as living in the multicultural communities of California. Diversity has always been a given in my life, not a quota. It wasn’t until I moved to areas of the country that consider themselves to be less diverse that I began to better appreciate the experience I had of growing up in a world of complicated, cross-cultural identities. Such an environment allowed me greater room to stretch and grow even though at the time I was often seen as the “weird” and not the most *ahem* popular kid in the school. Today, I am someone who relishes in the complicated, delights in the simple, and practices keeping open to all the ways we choose to identify ourselves. Working with plants is a constant practice of exploring perception, questioning it, and ultimately learning to listen with more than just the funny things aside our head.

Important moments for me have always been the ones in which I feel like a veil has been pulled back or something falls away to reveal a deeper, if often simpler, connection to that which dwells between, beyond, and within us. There was a point a few years back when the economy was nose-diving, jobs were scarce, and I was still pretty fresh out of college when I realized that I was not built to work behind a desk every day from 9-5. Koala bears don’t care for florescent lights and mutants have low tolerances for sassy copy machines.

Looking back at my early childhood career choices (mission specialist on a space shuttle to Mars, private investigator, Amazon warrior) I realized that I always imagined myself running my own business (often with super-powered allies) and recognizing my kinship for the green realm, I began my studies as an herbalist. While I am still working other jobs to pay the bills and support my love who is becoming a midwife, these are extra-curricular activities, and will eventually fall away as the Apothecary grows. It’s a pretty darn lovely place to be in.

Plants are our allies in healing and so I have developed and continue to develop the Apothecary in ways that affirms our relationship to the green world, seeking to be part of re-enchanting the world, not exploiting the gifts of the earth. As a Pagan who believes in both the immanence and transcendence of divinity, I seek to treat the earth, the air, the fire, the water of our universe as I would treat a beloved. I still have a way to go in creating a carbon-neutral company, but I feel confident in the foundation I have built that is invested in sustainable practices.

The Apothecary is a quirky place and I hope that those who visit feel invited in to a world of herbal medicine that is sometimes simple and always a bit mysterious. For me, herbal medicine is one of many ways for folks to participate into their own healing. Our green allies don’t heal us, they heal with us and that is a profound shift in understanding the ways that we achieve and maintain health. Herbal medicine is also an excellent way to drink lots and lots of lovely cups of tea - always a good thing in my book.

And just a little 'non business'

I was raised on a healthy dose of sci-fi thanks to my Dad and Grandpa and one of my favorite movies of all time is The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. There is really no way to properly describe this movie or my continued implausible hope that they will eventually make a sequel. Buckaroo Banzai is a good visual representation of the bizarre (or true?) ways I found myself imagining the universe and the way I might fit in to it. The closing scene, complete with a montage of “check us out, we’re so cool” walking, is a visual genre we left behind in the 80s, but we can always hope for a revival.

 As you've probably noticed, she is not just an awesome herbalist, but a really wonderful writer! She owns a blog here, and she is in the process of building an independent website here.

THE GIVEAWAY
Alexis is offering one lucky reader a Pregnancy Tea Blend Trio! It is such a neat gift. Her trio is comprised of Budding (pays special attention to building up nutrients in the body and relieving morning sickness), Blooming (brings in herbs that are especially strengthening and tone to the uterus, as well as calming herbs like Chamomile, to regulate and sustain energy levels.), and Blossoming (continues to tone the uterus and also includes herbs to help bring milk and the development of colostrum).

This gift is worth over $25. So, whose going to win it?!

RULES FOR ENTERING:
To enter, you MUST complete #1 on the list. After that, feel free to enter as many additional times as you would like (#2-#5) and in any particular order you so choose. You must leave an additional comment for each entry for it to be valid. Please don't forget to leave me some way to get in contact with you if you are the winner.

1. Like Worts and Cunning's Facebook page, leave a comment on her wall saying that I sent you, and come back/comment here to let me know you did. :)
   
2. Like my Facebook Page, then come back and let me know you have. If you are already a liker, let me know. :)
   
3. Go visit her blog, then both leave a comment on her blog saying hi AND leave a comment here telling me what you learned/liked/etc.. from her posts.
4. Share this giveaway on your own Facebook wall, tagging my or Worts and Cunning's FB pages, then come back here and comment, letting me know you did. 
   
5. Go to her etsy shop and browse around, come back here and let me know what item you like the most.
    

Entries must be received by May 5th at midnight. Drawing will occur in that first week of May. Good luck!!!