Hooked on Moxa

I got hooked on Moxa when I spent a summer at the Naturapaths getting NAET treatments. Every night they burned Moxa to cleanse their offices and the scent came to be associated with their offices but also it just smelled good to me.

Several years later I bought a small Moxa burner (called a Gu Pan Holder) and a package of smokeless Moxa from an Accupuncture supplier and I occasionally burn it in my office. I notice it really reduces my stress levels and while it's hard to describe why - it leaves me feeling very satisfied in a long term way. After I burn it the whole house is redolent with Moxa and, for me, it causes a recurring inward smile.


Moxa, made of the herb Mugwort, is used extensively in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet and Mongolia. It's ground up and then processed into a shape that looks like a fat, squat stick of incense which is then burned.

Chinese medicine uses mugwort to stimulate blood flow and to protect against dampness and cold. It's sometimes used with acupuncture or in a similar way as accupuncture, but without the needles. The Moxa burner is placed directly on the relevant meridian points. It is said to add new energy to the body.

Native American Indians consider mugwort a sacred plant of spiritual healing and sprigs of it can be found included in smudge sticks.

Old European lore records mugwort being place under pillows to provoke dreams.


I bought my burner and pack of 200 moxa sticks at Acu-Market for around $8.00.

Freedom, Liberty and Justice for all this Christmas

I want everyone to get along but I also want everyone to be against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I want them to be vegetarian, and to respect President Obama and despise Bush, McCain and Palin.

Or is that what I want?

I think what I really want is to live side by side with others who may not believe what I believe but who will accept there is reason behind my being against war and any kind of needless killing, whether it be human or animal. I believe the world needs idealists - and I certainly was created as one! If i try to run and hide from that - it just sneaks back and bites me in the ass. The older I get the harder it bites.

I understand there are arguments and that I don't have all the answers but I still have to be true to what's in my heart like all people do. Like everyone, the more I feel people understand where I'm coming from the "better" and more comfortable I feel, but lately I don't feel comfortable, I feel terrible. I feel the sharp line between "conservatives" and "liberals", "republicans" and "democrats" as a biting pain, it cuts my heart in a way very reminiscent of the heartbreaks I felt when I first fell in love and understood what true love really entails.

I can't believe 30,000 troops are being sent to Afghanistan and that we still can't wake up to how wrong it is to kill families: mothers, grandmas, children, fathers, brothers in other countries just because they practice a different religion or aren't American or because we want what they have. These are our fellow human beings and there is no logic, no fear, nothing anywhere that makes it OK for us to kill each other! But there I go again....

It's hard not to band together with those who share the same comfort zones and to feel that everyone else is an "alien." As an idealist I'm in the unfortunate position of not being able to just move on as if all of the hate and fear flying around doesn't effect us all. I believe in love and I believe every one of us is connected.

On that note, I don't usually get a Christmas tree because I don't like the idea of chopping down a perfectly good tree just to stick it in the house for a few weeks and then throw it into landfill a few weeks later .

I lived for several years in a Cottonwood grove and throughout my life have had very real relationships with living trees. So for me, not for you, for me....buying a live tree this year is meaningful and sums up what the holiday is all about. I've already picked where I will plant my Aleppo Pine in the backyard next year. For now, he is beautifully adorned and blessing our living room. Alot of the ornaments are handmade by my mom who is a Republican and supports war and who is the number one person who never let's me give up on those who are so very different than me in every way but who I love completely.

Love wins in the end every time but how much sweeter could it be if we gave each other freedom and liberty and justice too.