Impressions of Peace

“We all live together
We belong together
This Mother Earth and I

All this song will always be
Better by reason
God's clear light
Make sure you feel this life
Flow all inside of you now

All this song will always be
Better by children
Let them sing
For always be the Light

It's another day
It's another way
It's another feeling in my heart

So if ever there's a question
So in part there is an answer
Remember that it's always in the heart of you

To begin this conversation
So intent to get the level
In everything your sacred life is going through”

Lyrics by Jon Anderson - Earth Mother Earth

I love the autumn months and for me there is no more beautiful time to be alive in northeast Ohio. I spend my days picking apples, walking in beautiful places, smelling the windfall apples and the fresh grapes that are everywhere this time of the year. I ride a most beautiful horse and we take to the trails on wings jumping the logs in our path, greedily eating the last of the precious berries that are clinging to the vines. The trees are resplendent with their cloaks of plum, rose and gold while acorns bounce playfully from the great oaks that have been my companions for my entire entire life. Fresh pumpkins are everywhere and the harvest is full, rich and abundant. This I take for granted as if it will always be here and yet this year I am brutally aware that time is passing quickly, that every moment is precious.

This is the beginning of my 50th year. For the first time in my life I haven’t known where the path is. I am no longer a child and I don’t remember when that happened. My body is changing, my son is grown, my own mother is recently gone. My world is changing and I feel it in my bones in a such a way that it that I am completely unsettled and yet my life is good, very very good. However there is a lingering question in my heart as to what’s next and sometimes I have felt very very afraid. I have been much quieter than usual, trying to still the cacophony of thoughts banging against the walls of my brain.

Yesterday, I received a package from Roxana Villa of Roxana Illuminated Perfumes. I knew that it would contain a sample of her newest perfume to be released on September the 21st in honor of The United Nations International Day of Peace. I was thrilled to receive it but only later did I really find out why.

I opened the bottle and took a very deep sniff. It was beautiful and very sweet with a tinge of something toasty and satisfying like the fragrance of rich earth , freshly mown hay and tobacco drying in the sun. There was an element of fire woven through it , yet I also sensed notes that were cooling and luscious, full of the dancing energies that only a true botanical perfume can possess. I put some on and drove out to the barn as it was turning towards dusk and I just had the sense of something big, but I didn’t know what. Maybe it's silly, but I do believe in magic, truly I do.

I saddled my horse and as we headed into the woods I felt a shiver run down my spine amazed as I looked up to see a very large bird flying low and fast through the trees. I was intrigued, we kept moving forward as he flew in front of us and yet I couldn’t truly see him. There is only one bird that flies through the forest without a sound and I longed to see him. We continued cantering down the trail but then I stopped and looked directly up and to the right of me. There high in the tree sat a barred owl, eyes unblinking and round with a chest full of the most beautiful feathers that I have ever seen.... a being of absolute and profound power. Suddenly I began to cry and I told him silently of everything , I shared my pain utterly and completely. We stared at each other for quite some time and then something told me that it was time to move on, but as I trotted away I heard the gift in his call...”Remember... Remember ... Remember”.

Suddenly I was filled with laughter recalling the wonder of my life and all of it’s sweetness. Suddenly the pain became part of it all and something to be cherished, just another simple part of the continuing circle of my life. Life is meant to be lived in every moment and by always letting those that you love know exactly how you feel about them.

We speak of peace on earth, we speak of peace between men. I believe that the word means something different and precious to everyone of us and I wonder, how can there be peace between us all if we have not found it in ourselves , if we’re not willing to go into our own dark places to fight long and hard for it? How can we cherish the lives of others if we don’t do the same for our own lives ? How can we possibly save our planet if we're too afraid to save ourselves? I want to believe with my whole being that peace truly does begin deep from within and then spirals outward touching everyone that you meet. I truly believe that we can be our own miracles.

All of Roxana’s perfumes are beautiful, but this precious expression of peace is particularly powerful and utterly lovely. I do not know the individual notes of this perfume and my heart prefers it this way. She has given it no name, focusing instead on the universal symbol of peace, preferring for each of us to be personally inspired without the preconception that a name could bring.

There is something in the alchemy of this perfume that is a shamanic template for personal power, a prayer for the fullest flowering of human expression and a wish for peace between us all. It is my fondest hope that you will feel moved to experience it's magic for yourself.

Roxana will be giving a portion of the proceeds from each of the 7 gram liquid perfume flacons and solid compacts to the POE (Project Peace on Earth) organization to facilitate their vision of a global prayer concert for Peace.Please be sure to visit Roxana's Journal for a chance to win a sample of the glorious new liquid perfume or one of the adorable mini solids in the new fragrance.

For more information:
Roxana Illuminated Perfume
http://www.illuminatedperfume.etsy.com
http://journal.illuminatedperfume.com


Project Peace on Earth
http://www.project-peaceonearth.org

http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org

Please enjoy the beautiful words of others who are writing today to honor this lovely expression of peace:

Bitter Grace Notes: http://bittergracenotes.blogspot.com
Cleveland Fragrance Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/x-5804-Cleveland-Fragrance-Examiner
Portland Fragrance Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/x-4780-Portland-Fragrance-Examiner
Roxana Illuminated Perfume: http://journal.illuminatedperfume.com
Indie Perfume: http://indieperfumes.blogspot.com
Memory and Desire: http://memoryanddesire.typepad.com
Perfume Shrine: http://www.perfumeshrine.com
Perfume Smellin' Things: http://perfumesmellinthings.blogspot.com
Scent hive: http://scenthive.wordpress.com
The Non-Blonde: http://thenonblonde.blogspot.com

Perfume Image courtesy of Roxana Villa

"Peace Has Begun" by Greg Spalenka