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Fall is my favorite time of year.  Every summer, right around the end of August, I start getting that itch, that nagging feeling that I’m ready for the seasons to change. I do love all of the seasons and celebrate the coming and going of each one but for me there’s something extra special about Fall. I love everything about that time of year- the beauty in the colors of the changing leaves, the smell of mulled apple cider on cool evenings, the sound of honking geese as they fly south for the winter, and that warm snuggly feeling you get when you put your favorite sweater on for the first time that season.  It feels like a magical time to me when we finally get a reprieve from the long hot summer.

Spiritually, one of my favorite things about this change of seasons is the Fall Equinox and the rituals that are associated with it. I believe, as many others do, that the Fall Equinox is the true Thanksgiving.  It is the time of the harvest and a time to look back on the past year and reflect on what we have experienced and learned.  It is a time of gratitude and abundance. The equinox is the perfect time to release excess baggage or stagnant energy you may be carrying so that you can start the new year (November 1) with a clean slate.

There are a number of rituals that can be done during this time and, being that I own a holistic bath products company, one of my personal favorites is a ritual bath or shower. Unfortunately most people on most days don’t really think about their bath or shower- except to think they need one. I think that people would be much happier in general and certainly happier with their bodies if they were more mindful and thoughtful during their bathing time. What we are thinking about during that very personal time can have a great impact on our physical and emotional well-being.  There is much more to go into on this topic but we’ll save that for another time.  For now let’s focus on what we should be doing for the Fall Equinox.  There are many good resources available that can guide you on rituals for your house and home but again, we’re going to focus on a bathing ritual.

I do this ritual the day before the official Equinox day.  I do this so that I can focus on other rituals and celebrations related to my home and family on the day of the actual Equinox.  Because this is the time to reflect on all of my actions (and inactions) and experiences over the past year I light a candle and spend some time sitting quietly and thinking of all that has come to pass since the last Fall Equinox. I think about the lessons I have learned and those that I am still working on.  I try to pay close attention to any negative thoughts or energy I may have.  I also try to think about the seeds that I want to sow in the spring, the lessons and adventures I want to take on in the coming year. When I feel like I have gone over the past year and my experiences and taken note of any negative thoughts and energy I want to be rid of I get into the shower.  I actually prefer a shower to a bath for this particular ritual because once I am in the shower I take all of those negative thoughts and energy and I visualize them being washed away as the water washes over me.  I see them swirling down the drain, away from and out of me. When I feel that my etheric body has been cleansed I move on to my physical body.  For this particular ritual I use the White Light soap from our Celestial Farms product line.  This soap has a clear quartz crystal embedded in it which is useful here because clear quartz enhances energy by absorbing and balancing it- which is exactly what we want at this time- absorbing (negative energy) and balancing (equinox literally means equal night or  balance).  I wash my body with the soap (and the embedded crystal) from head to toe, all the while thanking the Universe for all that I have and all that I am. Since I am bathing I pay particular attention to my body and I say things out loud such as, “I am thankful for the body I have been given in this life. I am grateful for all that is has done for me and I treat it with love and respect”. I also take a few moments to give thanks for my family and friends, for the life that I have and for the coming year.  Once I have rinsed the soap from my body I use the White Light Dead Sea Salt Scrub where I gently exfoliate and purify my body with the therapeutic energy of the Dead Sea.  The salt scrub also has a clear quartz crystal in it so I know I’m doing even more to absorb negative energy and keep myself balanced.  Once I have rinsed the salt scrub off I am ready to get out of the shower.  As I towel myself off I visualize myself surrounded in a blanket of White Light and I say out loud, “I am surrounded by Pure White Light and all that happens, happens for good”.

And remember it’s Thanksgiving so give thanks and live abundantly!

Next time we’ll talk about the importance of positive thinking while bathing.

More About Niki Fountain….

Serene Bath & Body was the vision of its owner and founder, Niki Fountain. As a young woman, Niki, like many girls her age, found herself with a poor body image and did not treat her body with the love and respect it deserved. One surefire way to lift her spirits when feeling down was shopping for and using sumptuous soaps and lotions. Nothing felt better than indulging in a little luxury (even if, while in college, the checkbook didn’t agree). The act of bathing with a wonderfully smelling soap and finishing with a silky smooth lotion created a sense of peace and well being. Through the years Niki was able to overcome her body issues and realized that everyone, especially young women, needed to learn to care for and respect their bodies- physical and otherwise. She wanted them to experience the same indulgence and feeling of serenity that she felt while caring for her body. This is what inspired Serene Bath & Body. She wanted to create products that would help young girls and women learn to love their bodies and treat them well by using high quality products that nourish the body, the mind, the spirit and the soul. Niki earned her Masters Degree in hydrogeology and has a professional background in developing and perfecting soaps. She spent several years in a university laboratory as a hydrogeologist developing soap formulations to be used to “clean-up” chemicals that had been spilled into groundwater. She has been applying this experience and knowledge ever since while working in the environmental industry, cleaning up sites that have been contaminated with chemicals. She has since taken this knowledge and experience and applied it to developing and perfecting formulations of soaps for people. Additionally, being a geologist, she is intimately familiar with crystals and gemstones and both their physical and metaphysical properties. She uses this knowledge while creating new formulations for Celestial Farms that include various combinations of bath products with the appropriate crystals to obtain an array of desired outcomes (relaxation, invigoration, aura cleansing, etc). More info at: theserenestore.com

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