Ahhh, patchouli.
Patchouli patchouli, why dost thou torment me so? I love the tender way your pronunciation rolls off my tongue, and yet your odor offends my dearest sensibilities. What is that about? I want to like you, but no. No I don’t.
I’m starting to reconsider the small bottle of Healing Essential Oils I have purchased, seeing as I am now being bombarded by a strong and ancient belief system brought about by- you guessed it- patchouli.
Early on, I started to eschew anything that resembled hippie dippy, new agey, or woo-woo-esque, in favor of a more conservative view with traditional Christian values backed up by a good strong work ethic. At some point I distilled all my stilted beliefs about that hippie world– it’s lazy, ineffectual, weird, dirty, unreal, wrong– into the scent we call patchouli. And now, that sweet parfum is my trigger.
So, yes, I am fairly new to Woo. Nope, I’m lying. I was born Woo. As we all are when we believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy and magical creatures and fantastical lands and that truly anything is possible.
At some point, I (like many of us) was rudely awakened by society, culture, religion, and “very important people” who told me that No- that’s not actually the case- there’s no Easter Bunny and you’re a fool to believe in anything you can’t see and yes dreams are good, but don’t go crazy. At some point, the conservative kool-aid is drunk and you can’t remember how to get back to that free-loving radically awesome dream magnet Self you once effortlessly possessed.
So, hang on— let’s do a little test:
How Woo are You?
I’m going to say a few words here and I want you to just witness what happens to your physical body as I list them out… Chakras, Third Eye, Theta Healing, Ayurveda, Crystal Magic, Aura Cleansing, Psychic Reading, Tarot, Intuition, Shamanic, Spiritual, Meditation, Astral Projection.
Ha HAAA! Wasn’t that fun?! Is your skin crawling with discomfort yet? I know there are some of you out there who are being seriously challenged right now. It’s cool. Feel that.
I don’t adhere to believing in all of the above, and I sure as hell ain’t asking you to believe in any of it either. What I will ask of you is this— Find out what is true for you in your heart of hearts and believe that. Challenge your ways of thinking about the universe. Be open and curious. That is how you grow.
Investigate triggers like patchouli. Find out why they take you to uncomfortable places and question whether that belief is serving you or keeping you small.
I, myself, have come back around to Woo. I haven’t gone full Woo, but I’ve definitely incorporated more Woo into my life. I’ve done it because I like it. It makes me feel good and supported and powerful.
I find it fascinating that somehow we’re okay with the idea that we can talk to Aunt Betty through a tiny metallic rectangle 5,000 miles away, but we refuse to acknowledge the presence of unseen forces that offer us a way to heal, connect, grow, access truth, and realize dreams.
Very interesting… but I digress.
I’m going to say something here, and it’s super powerful, so I want you to really lean in so you you can hear it.
You Know.
Did you hear it? Here it is again.
You Know.
Deep deep down, you know what you need, you know what feeds you, you know what to do, you know who you are, you know what you want, you know how to get it. Let that deep inner Knowing be your gauge of just how much Woo is good for you.
If it bolsters you to wear purple, do yoga, believe you were a three toed sloth in a past life— I say, fabulous. Go there.
But if you are piling on the Woo in a desperate attempt to make yourself whole or holy or special or connected, you are missing the point. You are already and have always been holy and connected. Even without the dreads and sandalwood incense. You’re already there.
I know, I know, crazy right? It feels like when Dorothy finds out she had the power all along and all she had to do was click her ruby slippers together and recite that homey mantra. Why didn’t someone just tell her that at the beginning of the show? Well, because then she’d miss out on all the trippy lollipop guild dudes and the flying monkeys and talking lions and floaty-headed pyrotechnical wizards. Talk about Woo.
Woo or no, let us all agree that you are the sole captain of your incredible journey and should you choose to fill your sails with the heady aroma of patchouli, you do so willingly and within your power because you have consulted your inner Wizard and she has deemed that for you, patchouli feels like home and freedom and truth and love.
As for me, I will decline my patchouli powers and head straight for the ruby slippers. That’s way more my style. That and floaty-headed pyrotechnical wizards. I mean, c'mon. So cool.