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Transformative journeys on Crete island

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About the author

Ildiko Berecz is an intuitive mentor, coach and holistic therapist who is passionate about sharing her inspiring personal stories from behind the mountains of Crete island, while being on the road, searching and experiencing, capturing, collecting, distilling, making herbal preparations, blending botanical perfume and more. She offers her insights of authentic approach and humble practices for better understanding and appreciation of nature, herbal remedies and awareness of trustworthy natural applications in our self-development and everyday life practices. More about Ildiko’s extensive life-changing work at ildikoberecz.com

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I hope you enjoy Essential Reflections taking you on amazing Aromatic Journeys. I am passionate about offering them to the world, so please do spread the love by sharing my journal with friends, colleagues or family, whoever might need some inspiration. And if you want to support my dedicated work, you can join me for an imaginary cup of tea! ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ will process your donation that is kindly appreciated. Thank you!

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Recent Posts

Yarrow – A Journey Home
Extractions and Distractions – A Survival Guide For Aromatic Living in Lockdown – Part 2
Extractions and Distractions – A Survival Guide For Aromatic Living in Lockdown – Part 1
Melissa  – Life is beautiful, isn’t it?
Stand By Me With Your Aromas

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Photography & text ©️ Ildiko Berecz of Essential Reflections, unless stated otherwise. Please do not use the pictures without prior written permission. If you wish to republish any of my reflections, get in touch, and/or link back respectfully to the original post. Content on this website is based on personal experience and provided for informational or educational purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for advice from a physician or healthcare professional.

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Completing the wild-growing Salvia fruticosa (syn.

Completing the wild-growing Salvia fruticosa (syn. Salvia triloba) series with a full-body image. Well, full body of the shrub!!! 😉 For me being by her side is just to enjoy her company, receive blessings as well as to offer myself as a company for a short while... and eventually, be a benchmark in order for you to get some ideas about the size of this charming Sage companion.💜

Wishing you a week of clarity to carry on what you meant to be doing! May the wisdom of the Sage Mage be with us all! 🌿
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#essentialreflections #crete #lifechanging #unknown #holistic #aromatherapy #artisandistillery #alchemist #lifetransformation #awakening #awareness #sage #love #intuition #salvia #plantmedicine #plants #herbal #fieldtrips #mentorship

Here we go with the lovely lilac-coloured flowers!

Here we go with the lovely lilac-coloured flowers! After the beautiful arrangements of the leaves in close-up the other day, preceded by the unusual, insect-created globose stem galls, we are almost complete by featuring the parts that characterise this delightful wild plant Salvia fruticosa. I thought it's a nice journey around to familiarise better with this aromatic medicinal plant widespread all over Crete. The area of East Crete is especially richly covered, wherever I go, I am truly amazed! 🌿
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#essentialreflections #crete #lifechanging #unknown #holistic #aromatherapy #artisandistillery #alchemist #lifetransformation #awakening #awareness #sage #love #intuition #salvia #plantmedicine #plants #herbal #fieldtrips #mentorship

Second picture from last weeks captures: the leave

Second picture from last weeks captures: the leaves are sticky and I made some lovely smudge sticks... but what I really wanted to show you this time is those gorgeous stem galls! Created by insects, and supposedly a real treat for kids here on Crete, this nice delicacy is eaten raw or sugar-coated!
Lollipop by nature! 🌿
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#essentialreflections #crete #lifechanging #unknown #holistic #aromatherapy #artisandistillery #alchemist #lifetransformation #awakening #awareness #sage #love #intuition #salvia #plantmedicine #plants #herbal #fieldtrips #mentorship

Welcome February! Are we in the mood enjoying what

Welcome February! Are we in the mood enjoying what winter means (unless you are in the summery part of the globe right now), or ready to move transitioning into the next chapter of the year? ☀️

I'm in a playful mood, and thought to share this capture reflecting on the beauty we are surrounded with. More parts of the same plants are coming up. You can make your suggestions what it is?! 🌿😜

With love,
Ildiko
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#essentialreflections #crete #lifechanging #unknown #holistic #aromatherapy #artisandistillery #alchemist #lifetransformation #awakening #awareness #sage #love #intuition #salvia #plantmedicine #plants #herbal #fieldtrips #mentorship

Here I am with my 'green shopping bag'. Winter on

Here I am with my 'green shopping bag'. Winter on Crete is currently at its most beautiful phase with lots of sun and occasional nurturing rainfalls watering the land. While in the city this time of the year you go out for the best sales, I thought to invite you for some window-shopping to our fields! 🤓

Today in this huge green shopping bag you will find olive leaves, leftovers from olive oil production, that we collected from the local olive oil factory. Also, we have many new arrivals, including more citruses like kumquat and bergamot, as well as my favourite Cretan sage variety Salvia pomifera, and local wild yarrow (Achillea cretica). 🌿

Some of the best gifts we receive (and give) are from amongst our local community and plant friends! Most of our aromatic plants have their very own story and involve a lot of dirty work and field research. And if you are longing to spend more time with the plants, be aware of the side effects: the more time you are out there in nature connecting with the plant world, the less you may want to come back to 'normal' life, shopping bags and online affairs. 💚

Of course, the efforts I make to go online and share this all with you is because I deeply believe that both the experiences and the side effects that come from interacting with Nature is the greatest antidote for the experiences and side effects gained from what is called 'normal life' out there in the world. 🙃

Be well, and keep walking in Nature! 🌿

With love,
Ildiko

A portrait of a beautiful butterfly. Looking at th

A portrait of a beautiful butterfly. Looking at them flying around is light and angelic. Then facing up close and personal, what a different personality it suggests, isn't it? Oh those beautiful perspectives! 😍
Have a wonderful day out there! ☀️🌿
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#essentialreflections #crete #lifechanging #unknown #holistic #aromatherapy #artisandistillery #alchemist #lifetransformation #awakening #awareness #rose #love #intuition #butterfly #plantmedicine #plants #herbal #fieldtrips #mentorship

Budding Bergamot 💗 A wannabe tree from our arom

Budding Bergamot 💗 A wannabe tree from our aromatic fields, a really small sapling that we had planted 3 months ago. Looking more like a thin skeleton and for several weeks we thought it was fighting for survival. As a concerned mother, I have kept caressing her my with hopeful heart, and gently whispered encouraging kindness into her aura to get by. Until finally she started to sing and say hello the most amazing way. 💝

The first flower just opened itself, looking incredibly beautiful. What is amazing that while citrus flowers such as lemon, mandarin and orange have rather delicate petals, these bergamot petals are rather meaty, thick and surprisingly 'hard' contrary to their subtle look. 🌸

Oh, am I too much into aesthetics? Yes, they also smell amazing! Come and try! 😜
PS: My transformative aromatic journeys will continue in 2023... Set your intentions now and Find Yourself on Crete soon!
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#essentialreflections #crete #lifechanging #unknown #holistic #aromatherapy #artisandistillery #alchemist #lifetransformation #awakening #awareness #rose #love #intuition #damascena #plantmedicine #plants #herbal #fieldtrips #mentorship

Just for the records, 2 days ago we spotted the fi

Just for the records, 2 days ago we spotted the first Cistus flower of the winter! Always an ecstatic moment to be around and be lost in the genuine beauty of this flower. Hello Crete, love you eternally! 💗

This year I distilled the leaves in the first days of November, and it came with a hydrosol slightly showing the sweetness of the resin. A characteristic that I was missing from my distillations in the previous years. All of my efforts earlier had produced something magical as a healing liquid and that was truly great and lovely, and for everyone's appreciation, however, to my perception these distillates were rather earthy and not sweet at all. So this time, my happiness factor has raised again! 🌸

The late autumn distilled Cistus creticus hydrosol is available in the Essential Reflections discovery packs with a beautiful selection of hydrosols from my artisan distillations. For details and ordering please get in touch. 🐝
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#essentialreflections #crete #lifechanging #unknown #holistic #aromatherapy #artisandistillery #alchemist #lifetransformation #awakening #awareness #rose #cistus #labdanum #love #intuition #hydrosol #plantmedicine #plants #herbal #fieldtrips #mentorship

We have just re-visited one of our rose fields tha

We have just re-visited one of our rose fields that gets less attention at the moment... and look at what we have found on these magical lands in Crete! Like Santa arrived with a bag of roses and gently spread them around to be amazingly pretty. 🌹

Ok, to be fair with ourselves too, six weeks ago we started pruning and taking care of them, and these blossoms are the gifts of these efforts. And a little refreshing rain helped too, thank you.
🙏💝🌹
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#essentialreflections #crete #lifechanging #unknown #holistic #aromatherapy #artisandistillery #alchemist #lifetransformation #awakening #awareness #rose #love #intuition #damascena #plantmedicine #plants #herbal #fieldtrips #mentorship

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