Today, I would like to start our holistic living journey from something easy, handy and arty – home made cleaning and skin care products. 

You might wonder: “Why we trouble self to make them at home while we can buy them in supermarkets, shops or online?” Well, the first answer is – it’s so much fun and so much cheaper! Hand-making your cosmetic and cleaning products is like running a magic camp. You get to choose the ingredients; you can control how you make it and how you finish with it. It’s all your call; it is empowering! You know exactly what are in the products which you and your loved ones use daily. Handcrafting is also a great opportunity to practice mindfulness. When your mind and hands are fully engaged with this creative process, you are more likely to be present and mindful. Of course, another important reason for this is to cut down unnecessary, nasty chemicals that harm ourselves and our environment. Our planet has already suffered from those disturbing chemicals in all earthy systems, air, soil, rivers, ground water and oceans, as well as inside of our bodies. By hand making home products, we can at least contribute a small part to sustain our planet.   

I started to be interested in homemaking products from 2013 while my son, Linos was born. Like many other mothers, the concern of baby’s health motivated me into more organic, eco-friendly and environmental responsive products. However, reading through many those products’ comprehensive ingredient lists made me longing for more simple and organic options. Sailed from there, soap was the first thing I ever conquered. Then, lotion, lip balm, cleaning spray, cleaning scrum, candles, bath fizz balls, dish wash detergent, dish wash powder, and washing liquid, they all come along easily. I now happily and proudly said Goodbye to those products in supermarkets. The excitement and joy in this process is beyond description. But most important message here is that it is not difficult at all, and everyone can do it at home!

 First generation of home made soaps, looking a bit rough and chunky yet lovely

Special winter cream in which coconut oil, shear butter, olive oil and beeswax happily embraced

A small "Gang" of make-it-all-at-home is in action

There are so many of us consider self as a “victim” of anxiety nowadays. First of all, being anxious, worried and panic is a part of natural reactions to environmental stresses. It is normal and we all experience them. Yet, when the frequency and degrees of anxiety becomes overwhelming, it is time that one should look into it. There must be millions of readings about anxiety, from its causes to how to treat it, from scientific reasoning to spiritual guides. Here, I would like to offer an easy guideline of what to do to begin our understanding of anxiety with:

1. Close your eyes and deep breathe. Focus on your breath solely. Pay full attention to the air travelling inward and outward of your body. Follow the air that travels into your physical body: nose, throat, lungs, abdomen… feel the fresh air in all the parts of your body.
2. Open your eyes and find an object to focus on. It could be anything, but some beautiful objects may be more tempting, such as a plant, or just a flower /leaf, painting, vase, and candle. It can also be a book, pencil, or your own hand. Pay fullest attention to the thing, see into all the details, and fully engage with it.
3. By now, your mind should has been slow down and produces much less destructive thoughts that causing negative emotions. And now you can go back to the troubling situation but in a different way – a detached way. Watch your thoughts and feel your emotions, but do not judge or condemn, just acknowledge them. Being there for yourself and witnessing how you think, feel and experience physically, intellectually and emotionally.
4. It is usually helpful to write your thoughts and emotions down as well. Whiting down is a good way to unload your pains and burdens. Sometimes, a good resolution may pop up when you doing this comprehensive review.
5. Talk to someone that truly values you. Similar to writing-it-down, talking is an effective way to review and reflect the situation and eventually let go of the burden. More importantly, the love, care and sincere attention from your listener will be the most powerful healing energy to you.
6. For long term, become a watcher or witness of your thoughts and emotions. If we look through the whole matter more carefully, you will find that it is not the situation troubles you, it is how you perceive it that making trouble. The exact same situation may be totally fine to someone else. And each of your reactions has its reasoning and history behind it. Once you reach this realisation, you have stepped in towards the true liberation from all burdens. Practice more of being a watcher of your own thoughts and reactions to things, people and situations. Understand yourself better and truly, see the patterns of your reactions and behaviours, and be there for yourself. But remember, do not judge, do not deny or fight with your thoughts and feelings, just be with them and accept them fully. By understanding and accepting them fully, you may start to connect with your inner peace – the true being of you.             

Holistic living is to live in the whole with self, people around you, the environment and the wider world. It may sound abstract, but it simply means having a big picture in mind, in which we, others, all living and non-living things, as well as the planet are all interconnected. Our earth is not a machine, but an organic caring mother. A holistic lifestyle seeks harmony and peace within self, humanity and earth. It reveals a truth that everything we do affects our lives, others and the planet. It then leads to an empowering life approach, in which we are responsible for what we create.

Every thought and every action matters.  It is believed by some that when we cry, we take away somebody else’s tears; when we heal, that energy also heals those around us and people that we haven’t met. Just like defined in classical physics, the energy we create is infinite, there is no end, only transformation. When we think of following a holistic lifestyle, there are few major elements to consider:

• Care for our Physical, Emotional, Intellectual & Spiritual Bodies
• Living in harmony with our environment
• Living by earthly and universal cycles

For each element, there are lots to explore; I will walk you through gradually.