Rhythm / Devotion is a series of interviews intended to illuminate the connection to ritual & rhythm in our daily lives. This series explores the intimacy of routine, the magic of the ordinary, & how these small acts of devotion set the stage for larger workings in the world ~
What is your name & where are you in the world?
My name is Mindy Stock! I’m currently residing in a little 1960’s camper, in a small grove on a 43 acre queer land project, which used to be an old horse farm, on the unceded and ancestral lands of the Narragansett, Nipmuc, Pokanoket, and Wampanoag people, AKA Rhode Island .
How do you define yourself & your work?
I don’t dare define myself, but I have my hands in many pots at once, so I’ll define a couple of those:
For the last 12 years, I’ve embodied the moniker Virusse to create lush pop music, using electronics and my voice. The sound is beat-heavy, as I came to music production through drumming, and full of swirling synth melodies blossoming out of the Providence noise scene which raised me with a taste for the obnoxious and gritty.
I came to the realization this year that I have no aspirations for this project other than expressing myself and connecting with community, which was so liberating to clarify in this time of hi-gloss self-promotion. I’ve been considering changing my name due to… you know, the virus. I’ve been toying with the name Terraine, as a joke about germ theory vs. terrain theory, but sticking with Virusse for now.
I’ve also been cultivating a healing practice under the name Sea Song Root throughout my 20s and 30s which has taken on different shapes over the years. It began as a journey to heal my heaping pile of illnesses when the modern medical approach left me with no other options but to turn to the plants and ancient knowledge. It then became a project where I’d make herbal products and give them to friends as I learned from teachers and the plants themselves, then turned more professional following some “proper schooling,” with an online business and consultations… but that imploded because that model is not sustainable for me! As my work with the plants became more about the psycho/spiritual, I found myself longing for a way to connect clients with the spirit of the plants without having to manufacture a product. I wanted to provide the opportunity for humans to restore their direct connection with the divine. I now work as a shamanic practitioner one on one with clients, and this is where I shall stay for a while I believe. This practice is what I have been looking for all my life.
Will you walk us through what a day in your life looks like? Begin with how you greet the morning & guide us until you close off the day in the eve ~
My mornings have been real sweet lately. I share my little camper with my elder pup, Ella, and my partner, E. E has been on this wacky schedule ever since the sun began setting earlier, which has him going to be VERY EARLY and getting up VERY EARLY. This is wonderful for me and Ella because we eventually get to stretch out and have the whole bed to ourselves, and when we wake up, E has already stoked the wood stove, made coffee and breakfast! I feel spoiled these days!
So I get up, throw some warm rags on, take a brisk walk up the hill to where the chickens live, do chicken chores (I love chatting with these ladies), then take the longer path with the nice view back to the little grove I live in. As the sun slowly rises over the trees, I enjoy the company of Ella and E, drink chai with some raw milk, eat buckwheat pancakes with lots of butter and maple syrup, eggs and if I’m feeling extra decadent – some steak! I then light some sage, sweet fern or juniper to cleanse the space and myself. My morning cleansing is as follows: I call in my compassionate helping spirits: my Power Animals, my benevolent blood-line ancestors, the benevolent spirits of the land, the fae + the people of the sidhe, the spirits of the 5 directions (East, South, West, North and Center). I usually feel them with me: my Power Animals close, and the supportive hands of my ancestors against my skin. Their power with me, I circle the sacred smoke around my torso three times praying with each revolution, “May I be blessed and cleansed, may I be blessed and cleansed, may I be blessed and cleansed.” Imagining “God” as the healing golden light that flows through everything, I hold the burning herbs out to the stated directions as I recite the following Irish folk prayer: “God above me. God below me. God before me. God to the right of me. God behind me. God to the left of me. God within me.” I close my prayers with these intentions: “May I walk the path of right alignment today and each day. May no harm come to me and may I do no harm to others. Amen.”
During the week, I nanny for little babies, which has been such illuminating and sustaining work. These kids are so cool, hanging out with these little ones feels as close as it gets to hanging out with the fae. I’ve learned so much about how to witness others and allow them to just BE while providing support and nurturance when needed. Thus, I spend a lot of time thinking about codependency and its insidious pervasiveness in all interactions between all ages. Interestingly, caring for babies has informed the way I interact with and care for the lost soul parts of clients in my shamanic work. The creative energy it takes to negotiate with children is often the same energy it takes to negotiate with spirits. My two “jobs” feel very connected in a lot of ways.
On non-nanny days, I love to work on food projects like making ferments, broth and herbal treats. I also use this time to do my more in-depth spirit work, as well as client sessions. Yesterday, I had back2back client sessions, which had me deep with spirit from 10am-5pm. It left me with the peaceful, soft exhaustion that comes from hours spent ocean swimming.
These days, dinner is VERY EARLY and ends up looking like “meat-on-pan” with some fermented vegetables, as we have an outdoor kitchen that runs on propane, and cooking grains uses too much fuel. Dessert is apples with yogurt and honey!
More chicken chores (kiss the girls goodnight).
Before bed, I like to make a bowl of chamomile and lavender tea that I will first steam my face with, then I wash my face and body with the aromatic brew. Sometimes I’ll top it off with some St. Joan’s wort body oil. This all leaves me feeling very calm and protected for my nighttime cleansing journey. I tend to be a bit of an energetic sponge, so journeying at the end of the day to cleanse myself of anything I may have picked up feels invaluable. I also call my power back to me and ask for my light to be restored. I fall asleep and it all begins again!
You are a musician, writer, herbalist, & shamanic practitioner ~ how do you prepare yourself &/or your space to enter into these practices? That’s funny, I’ve never thought of myself as a writer. I do love to write poetry, but it feels more connected to the channeling of spirit I surrender to when working with herbs or my shamanic practice. I just operate as a conduit for whatever needs to move through, be it words, song, an herbal remedy or energetic healing. I prepare by taking care of the little mundane parts of life so that the space is clear for spirit to move through. So that could look like staying hydrated and fed, keeping up with the spirits of the land, my ancestors and other allies, making sure my social life is calm and not dominating my thoughts, keeping a clean house. I just focus on keeping the instrument tuned, you know? So it can just be picked up and played whenever inspiration comes knocking.
What do you do/not do if you are feeling stuck around your work?
Feeling stuck around my work usually looks like an energetic inflexibility – a resistance to connecting with spirit or moving my body, stubbornness, crankiness. My astrological chart is heavily Capricorn dominated so I’m prone to a dry, stiff irritability if I fall out of balance.
I first address this in the physical realm by making sure I am well hydrated. Get some fluids in there to create some softness and fluidity! I may employ some demulcent herbs like marshmallow or licorice to assist in the softening. Once I feel the resistance move, I make sure to stretch (especially my sides), dance, sing, move my body and express myself.
Next, I work in the emotional realm – am I trying to hide anything from myself? I’ve found that when I am stuck musically and lyrically, it is because I am subconsciously attempting to convince myself that things are FINE when they are NOT. Once I get real with myself, stop tamping down my truth and allow the emotions to flow, the creative floodgates open. It is no coincidence that most of my songs are about love life troubles, hah!
Finally, I feel able to reconnect with the spirit realm, and once there I can tend to any spiritual imbalances and set myself on the right path forward. The key is to keep up with my spiritual practice so that the imbalance doesn’t manifest in the first place, but sometimes life just has other plans…
Do you have a movement practice?
I like to get at least one long walk in each day, whether it’s strapping a baby to me and mushroom hunting in the big beautiful park, or taking a twilight stroll with Ella and E. It’s so important for me to ground in this way, to send all the cerebral swirls down through my body to connect with the earth.
I also love dancing and yoga, but I wouldn’t consider them a practice. More of a spur of the moment affair. My buddy N just started teaching me the Tai Chi 24 form and I am in love with this practice. I’m not experienced enough yet to do the whole set, but I’ve been practicing each move individually to get them down. My current obsession is Cloud Hands and you can often find me cloud-handing my way back and forth across the grove!
What does structure mean to you, or what is your philosophy around ritual/routine?
Structure, ugh! Okay, for all you astro-heads out there, I have a 6 planet Capricorn stellium in the 6th house and a Virgo moon, so structure should be my everything but it has been one of the biggest struggles in my life. Rather than trying to force structure and then beating myself up when it inevitably falls apart, I have set up my daily life in a way that feels sort of like a Montessouri classroom. I have all these tools and play things available to me, within easy grasp, and can reach for them when I feel inspired to do so. I let my inner child lead the way and usually we can get things done.
What are you listening to, reading, or watching these days?
I just started reading If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie, which I’m really loving, and I have a couple of books in rotation that I reach for when I need a change of pace: the Complete Stories of Clarice Lispector, and First and Last Notebooks of Simone Weil. The last novel I read, Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, had me absolutely gripped! It’s about growing up, filled with spirits, being a bridge and portal to the spirit world, a subject so close to me that I never thought I would just casually read about it one day. Listening to a lot of Pharoh Sanders, Loretta Lynn, and those two new Taylor Swift songs that are on the radio at the moment and have simply captured my heart, despite myself.
I haven’t been watching much, but E and I just finished "Happy People: A Year in the Taiga," a Werner Herzog documentary following Siberian trappers through the seasons. (I loved the dogs.)
Any last words of wisdom?
Let go whenever possible. Let go of your side of an inconsequential argument, “winning” is not worth it. Let go of that person who couldn’t give you the love you wanted. Let go of the tension in your shoulders--it is not even yours to carry. Let go of your definitions and expectations of your body, your mind, ego, heart. Let go of control. Just set it all down and watch how it moves on its own. Watch how it interacts with the world without your control. Allow curiosity to surprise you!
How can we find your work?
I have a website: SeaSongRoot.com where you can find my offerings and a little blog. You can sign up for my newsletter there as well! I also have an instagram @Sea_Song_Root. Thanks for reading <333
Thank you so much, Mindy, for your beautiful work in this world & for sharing your rhythm devotion with us ~
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I connect the plant essence of Sweetgrass as a beautiful companion to Mindy Stock, her rhythm/devotion, & her work in the world.
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I made my Sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata) essence in the gardens outside of my apothecary studio in Raleigh, NC in the afternoon, during Lùnastal or the first of August in 2020. This essence was made with a small braid of Sweetgrass that I sung to as I wove it together, facing west.
Sweetgrass is a fragrant member of the Poaceae--the grass family, which is considered to be the most integral source of the world's (dietary) energy supply. Sweetgrass has long been considered a healing & sacred plant by the Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains & Canadian Prairies, as well as in Scandinavia & Europe. The botanical name says it all: Hierochloe meaning "holy grass" & odorata meaning "fragrant."
This is an essence that gently weaves us into deeper communion with our lives & with all of Life--with the earth, its rhythms, cycles, seasons, & even its pain. Sweetgrass essence helps us to integrate it all & to more fully embody the wisdom gained from living, from the stories that the earth tells us everyday. In this way, it brings us into a more conscious & intentional relationship with the earth & all the creatures & elements upon it. This essence helps us to better know the soil, sky, flame, waters, spirit... it teaches us gratitude & gentleness.
Sweetgrass essence can help us to find presence & accept our place within the ever-weaving strands of time. Especially helpful for when we are in the throws of life or celebrating its joys, Sweetgrass essence helps us to recognize that everything is part of a larger plan, so we can learn to trust the moment: to release control to a greater source.
Sweetgrass reminds us that all of time is interwoven. Our past informs our present informs our future. All things lead into one another, from birth to death. It brings us into communion & ceremony with all that is, was, & will be. Thus, I find Sweetgrass to be a potent & generous essence to work with around birth & death, especially. The time of beginnings which help us to set intention for what is to come; the time of endings which help us to reflect & honor the life that was.
Clearing, harmonizing, lovely. Sweetgrass is lighthearted: it lightens the heart, it can lift the spirit, & yet it remains aware of the great seriousness of things. This essence brings a sense of fluidity & continuity to us, helping us to let go & to receive, to trust & accept, to share our song.
Call on Sweetgrass essence to help you integrate big changes & the little ones; to find & maintain a reverent connection with the earth; to be in conversation with the unseen threads of the world; to clear yourself before/after ritual; to honor your unique place & gift in the tapestry of life.
I always recommend leaving an offering of Sweetgrass essence to ecological places/environments in need of a blessing, attention, restoration, renewal, or protection.
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Find a bottle of Sweetgrass plant essence for yourself or a loved one here ~
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