Small Business Saturday at Beaches Green Market

I’ll have all your immunity and cold and flu season needs today at the #beachesgreenmarket at Jarboe Park in Neptune Beach from 2-5p today! #farmersmarket #shoplocal #smallbusinesssaturday

I’ll have samples of this lovely Immunity-tea as well as Elderberry Syrup, Cold and Flu Tincture, Eucalyptus Chest Rub, Fire Cider Tonic and lots of other lovely herbal goodness to keep you and your loved ones well this holiday season. Come on out and see for yourself! #herbalist #immunity #herballove #plantmedicine #herbalmedicine #themanifestnest

PS look at this amazing tea cup made by my traveling potter friends @journeying_jacksons What a lovely surprise gift. #grateful #pottery #fulltimervers

I’ve Seen the Cosmic Joke and it’s Hilarious!

I had an amazing experience at breath-work this evening, and I wanted to share. I had a total flip of my consciousness.

It made me so incredibly grateful for my amazingly beautiful life. Every last second of it. The bad, but more importantly the good.

I have been so focused on accepting and healing the negative things that have happened to me, I’ve created a pattern that doesn’t completely love, accept and feel grateful for all the beautiful positives in my life.

I’ve actually felt shame and guilt for things like finding love and having a financially stable life. I actually create stress, overwhelm and struggles just to remain in this pattern!

I felt like I couldn’t really be present with the positive things in my life because it felt like a betrayal to my family, my childhood in poverty, my friends who are still struggling, or haven’t found love or any number of things. My present joy betrayed my whole life.

It’s like a switch was flipped in my mind tonight. I laughed uncontrollably and cried at the beauty and absurdity of it all. I truly felt like I saw the cosmic joke.

It was like being at the top of a mountain and instead of looking down at the beautiful landscape, I could look down on my whole life and see the whole thing as immensely, awe inspiringly beautiful. All the negative. All the good. Every moment preparing me for each next moment.

I realized that I’ve always been flowing with life, but it’s like I fell off a cosmic ship and straight into a body of humanity soup and instead of calmly assessing my situation and finding my equilibrium, I’ve been flailing. Almost drowning myself in my own absurd struggle dance.

If only I could stop, be present, accept everything just as it is and float! That’s the thing. That is it. That is surrender. I surrender to the flow!

I’m done healing the past and accepting the negative. I truly feel I’ve done my work there.

In that moment of breath tonight I stopped flailing.

It is now my intention to float.

I will now learn to love and accept and truly be grateful for who I am, where I’m at, who is in my life, my material possessions, my opportunities, my privilege, my struggles, my body, fucking everything!!!!

I sit here under the light of the full moon—just days after we’ve shifted into the darkening side of the eclipse, and now I can see the light so much more brightly in all that I’ve previously perceived as dark or negative.

My deepest gratitude to every being who has touched my life in anyway. I thank all that energy for helping me through my flailing period.

It is now my intention to allow my life to flow with ease. The flow is always there. We all feel it, I now turn to accepting the flow, the journey, the pull.

I know I will occasionally flail, but I will now see clearly the absurdity of it and laugh uncontrollably at my own genius ability to create a reality of comfort that I have grown out of. It’s absurd to find comfort in flailing but it is so incredibly normal for me, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this.

I will ween myself from struggle, reach out for the help I know always arrives, and stay open to this view I’ve seen from my own personal mountaintop under the light of the moon.

I’ve seen the true immense beauty of my life and that is something I cannot unsee!!!

May each and every one of you find a view high enough to see your life for the beautiful miracle that it truly is!

💛🌙✨

The Acceptance of Imperfection

This summer has been a deep time of healing, resting, transforming and integrating for me. So much has been shifting and changing! I’ve made so much room within myself for growth and expansion both personally and professionally, and I am incredibly proud of the work that I have done to get where I am.

And yet, there has been so much that has been neglected, as I shifted my focus to do this work. For instance this blog, my newsletter, my appearance at markets, and the Boo Radley garden I’ve allowed to go wild this summer.

Nevertheless, I have found so much satisfaction in my ability to let these things that are so important to me go wild and be put aside. My ability to honor the cycles of attention that are essential for my growth have been beautifully mirrored to me through the neglect of my garden.

These natural cycles of what we give our attention to are so often discarded in hopes of attaining perfection or at least a false cultivation of perfection through social media and only showing people our best sides. We often spread ourselves too thin trying to be everything to everyone and keep up the appearance of perfection. And yet, what actually suffers is our own health, wellbeing, and vitality– the things that deeply connect us to our inner soul voice and our wildness.

Therefore, I proudly share with you my wild, imperfect  garden, the reflection of my wild, imperfect self, full of native weeds, grasses, random volunteer plants and the immense amount of wildlife and insects that called this terrain home for the summer. I am pretty certain the fairies and nature spirits were also happy to call this wild place home.

I share this with the hope that you too will find room to neglect something seemingly important to you, and allow it to go wild, as you do the work you need to take care of yourself, or allow yourself to rest, or if for no other reason than to release a wee bit of that imaginary control that we impose on the chaotic, wild, ride we call life.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the healing powers this summer has brought about! Have you been making room for things to go a bit wild? Have you been making space and clearing old patterns and blocks in order to make room for new growth?  Has this summer gifted you with tenacious amounts of healing and transformation? Just comment below to share your thoughts with me. 

New Moon Women’s Gathering—This Saturday

The next New Moon is upon us, and I am already feeling the Leo Eclipse energy, not to mention all the retrogrades!

Aside from the powerful astrology and energy that is already  being felt and is affecting us, I want to make note of few changes that have been made for this upcoming New Moon Women’s Gathering.

First, there is a price change. Tickets are now $20 in advance and $25 day of the event. Thank you to all the beautiful and generous women in our circle that encouraged me to raise these prices to better honor the hard work and attention that is put into making this event the magical gathering it has become.

You can buy your tickets at this link here.

I also want to make note that there is a generous scholarship fund that has been created to assist those women who may only be able to pay partial or need full assistance to come to this event. To donate to this event click here. To use this scholarship please contact me here.

Second, we will only have a social soup and tea time for 30 minutes. The event will still begin at 6p, but we will promptly open our ritual circle at 6:30p (instead of the old 7p). This really only affects a few people who come a bit late, knowing that there is time to do so. So, please arrive promptly at 6p to help the event go smoothly and honor everyone’s time.

I hope to see many of you Saturday, to set intentions, create deep connection with other women, and be a part of a ritual that goes back to antiquity.

The Manifest Nest will NOT be at The Beaches Green Market today!

Sorry for any inconvenience, but I will not be at the Beaches Green Market today, although it is still happening, so get yourself out there and support your local farmers and artisans!

If you need something from me, I will be available by appointment to get you your herbal needs. So call, text or email me and we can arrange a time for you to come by.

I will be at the Midweek Market in Atlantic Beach, Wednesday, May 23rd from 3-6pm, so maybe I will see you there.

Again, I apologize for any inconvenience, and I hope you have a beautiful weekend.

 

 

Making Calendula Balm Class

There is still time to sign up for tomorrow’s Making Calendula Balm Class. Come and learn about this wonderful healing plant, and leave with a lovely and incredibly healing calendula balm that you made yourself!

Here’s a bit more about the class below!

Calendula is a beautiful, edible flower, that has so many amazing medicinal qualities – it is an herb everyone should know a little something about!

In this class we will be making one of the most versatile and healing balms in the herbalist’s medicine chest.

Calendula is known for its amazing ability to promote cell repair and growth – helping it to quickly and effectively heal wounds. It is antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory, making it great to use on burns, bruises, sores, cuts, scrapes, rashes and skin infections. It is particularly effective for slow-healing wounds and skin ulcers.

This herb is not only strong, but it is also gentle. It is an excellent balm for new mom’s as it is very effective and safe as a nipple cream, as well as having a myriad of uses for baby, such as cradle cap and diaper rash.

Calendula balm is truly an herbal remedy no one should be without.

You will leave this class with your own 2oz tin of Calendula Balm, as well as a small jar of calendula infusing in olive oil to make another batch in the future.

Space is limited so sign up HERE today!

Class cost: $35 including tax and materials

When: Saturday, April 21, 2018

What Time: 1pm to 3pm

Where: The Manifest Nest, 805 Amberjack Ln. Atlantic Beach, FL 32233

Class size: 8 people

Teacher: Heather Sheppard

For more information or questions please call Heather Sheppard at 808-782-5406 or email themanifestnest@gmail.com

REFUND POLICY:

A full refund will be given if you cancel at least 48 hours in advance, or if the event is cancelled.

If you cancel within 48 hours your fee can be transferred to the next Herbal Class that is held. It can only be transferred to the very next event and cannot be transferred more than once.

No refunds or transfers for same day cancellations.

Special Event Thursday at Omnisara Labyrinth & Gardens!

Exploring Herbal Tea: Labyrinth Walk & Bring Your Own Picnic Lunch

Thursday, April 12th from 11am to 1pm

At this event The Manifest Nest will be providing some lovely herbal tea to share, while discussing the benefits of incorporating herbal teas into our everyday lives, and the benefits of doing so in a mindful way.

Join Constance Frankenberg and Heather Sheppard, herbalist at The Manifest Nest, for a bring your own picnic lunch, open labyrinth walk, and information on herbal tea.

Bring your lunch and join other interested members of the Omnisara labyrinth community as they enjoy a day of exploring herbal tea, good conversation, and a relaxed meal together.

$5 Suggested Donation
No RSVP is required for this event.

Omnisara Labyrinth & Gardens,
414 Third Avenue North, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250

Please contact Constance Frankenberg at 1.800.588.3659 with any questions.

Spring Equinox Blessings

Hello friends,

I wanted to write a quick note sharing my love and blessings with you for this beautiful Spring Equinox.

Many of us here in Florida have been having some crazy storming weather, and much of the south has been under tornado warnings. My prayers of love and protection go out to each of you. And at the same time many up north are having more snow dumped on them as I write this so I also send prayers of love and protection to each of them as they move through the snow.

However, I wanted to honor today by reminding each of you to take note of the seasons, no matter the weather, as it is a pattern of light and dark. Today that light and dark is in a place of balance.

To honor that in your everyday life I recommend you take a moment to see where the sunsets in the sky, and tomorrow notice where it comes up. Make this a daily ritual. It will bring you insight into the natural rhythms of this beautiful universe we live in and connect you to nature in a mindful way.

Kind thoughts,

Heather– xoxo

 

 

It’s a beautiful day for the Farmer’s Market!

It is a amazingly gorgeous day today! A stark change from the cold and windy Saturdays past.

Come on out to the Beaches Green Market at Jarboe Park in Neptune Beach from 2-5p.

I have all your health and wellness needs! A fresh batch of Elderberry Syrup, Immuni-Tea, and Anti-Inflammatory Tea. As well as other lovely herbal needs.

 

New Moon Women’s Gathering Tonight!

Tonight we will be gathering together to set our intentions under the Aquarius New Moon Solar Eclipse!

The theme is One Door Closes and Another Door Opens!

There’s still room and a bit of time to sign up! Go to New Moon Women’s Gathering to get your tickets before it’s too late!