Let us not forget what is holy

Holy wow! September and October have just flown by filled with lots of travel, harvest season, meeting new people, making new connections, autumn house chores, beginning prep for my annual migration to Baja, foraging and prep of foraged fall foods...and in all of this, making space to remember what is holy.

You know, the holy things, of taking time to slow down, watch the shifting aspects of the fall light, taste the bounty that is coming in, feel and embrace the ending of one cycle that leads to the beginning of another.

It's easy in the busyness that is fall to forget the spaces in between.

This is one of the benefits of growing and harvesting holy basil or tulsi.

Each year I grow a crop of holy basil for personal teas and to make into the dual extract that goes into the Rise Adaptogenic Elixir.

Dual extract?

Yes.

This is the most potent way to reap the benefits of the full spectrum of holy basil's phytonutrient content.

The fresh plant material is first made into a strong infusion in water and then removed to begin the extraction process in alcohol. This way all the water soluble and alcohol soluble properties make their way into Rise Elixir.

But I digress.

I could purchase holy basil in bulk for these purposes from one of the great herb companies like Frontier or Mountain Rose. I love supporting those folks!

However, this would remove this aspect of connection with the plant that is as healing for me as it is for those who it finds its way to through Rise Elixir.

There is a ritual of harvest that allows me the space to dial all the things back a notch, create moments of appreciating the delicate light purple of the petals accented by a striking orange/yellow stamens...to receive the aromatherapy benefits of a nose full of terpenes...and to honor the life cycle of this medicine, this plant ally and all the adaptogenic support she offers us.

Ritual grounds and calms us which is actually really important in the fall as the air changes and the Vata Dosha is stirred, which if left ungrounded can lead to struggles with solid direct movement, anxiety and nervousness.

So as the low angle autumn light highlights the reds, yellows and oranges of the tree people let us remember that everything cycles and let us not forget what is holy.