Eat Real: Would you eat playdough?

Remember preschool? The kid that ate glue? Well, he wasn't that far off. I remember Brian B. He ate crayons too. Hey, we all have our thing, right? I had a fear of using the bathrooms at school and peed all over myself in first grade. Talk about getting over yourself - quick!

Anyway, the glue thing... flour and water make glue. Our blood is more than 83% water, our brain is over 75% water and what's one of the biggest toxins out there? White flour! White flour has been stripped of all of it's vital nutrients, bleached and then has added vitamins (chemicals) added to it to 'enrich' it because there's nothing but gluten left! Eat enough of it, coupled with water and the massive amounts of chemicalized, processed 'salt' and you're left with a body of playdough.

This point was illustrated in my class today as I handed out pieces of homemade playdough. The recipe is flour, water, salt and cream of tartar. We are the water the food we eat is flour, salt and cream of tartar. The recipe clearly states "not for ingestion". Sure, not in that form, but all the ingredients end up in our body anyway and congeal. This coagulation contributes to blocked energy. Blocked energy manifests as pain, depression, brain fog. Now, I'm sure there are scientific facts out there to prove or disprove my theory, but I don't have them now. What I do have is common sense and so do you. I don't need a scientist or a commercial to tell me what I already know and see on a daily basis. Neither do you. White flour is not real food. Table salt is chemically altered. My body is mostly water. You do the math.

How do we avoid this mess?
Master cooking at home
Using whole grain flours like spelt, quinoa, coconut, and rice
Drink water
Choose high quality, unprocessed sea salt like Celtic or Himalayan Sea Salt.
(You can read more about healthy salt from my 2009 post: All Salt is Not the Same.)

My intention is to permanently change your relationship with your body and food. I hope I've given you something to think about today. And in the meantime, here's our playdough recipe - that's about the only thing worth making with the enriched, bleached flour!

Playdough recipe
2 cups flour
2 cups water
1 cup salt
4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tbsp. cooking oil
food coloring

Mix dry ingredients in large saucepan. Add oil, water and food coloring. Cook on medium heat until mixture pulls away from the pan (stir continuously). Knead slightly on waxed paper. Keep in airtight container.

Eat Real: Body Energetics and Food

This is a personal experiment conducted using Aura Imaging Camera Technology. I'm so EXCITED about this! It's part of the workshop I'm hosting on Sunday. More information on the workshop can be found here: www.meetup.com/Eat-Real

A baseline of my energetic field is documented in fig. 1. By the colors of red and orange, you can see a grounded field. In fig. 2, I am holding an organic, granny smith apple. Notice how my upper chakras are activated in the solar plexus and heart area with the colors of gold and green. In fig. 3, I am holding a conventional apple. The size of the apple has doubled. What is truly interesting to me is that the higher chakras continue to be activated. In this case, the blue/throat and purple/third eye chakras. In the final image, fig. 4, I am holding candy canes. Notice how the lower chakras are activated, or go back to baseline.

Aura technology helps define the emotional state of a person. My hypothesis is this - the apple, which hangs from a tree, activates the higher chakras and in doing so, raises the body's vibration. If the higher chakras have to do with spiritual enlightenment, then one can draw a correlation between what we eat allowing a closer connection to the Holy Spirit and, ultimately, to God.

Just by holding the food, my energetic signature changed. Now, just imagine eating the food. If the emotional, energetic signature of a body can be changed by bringing that food into your area, it can change the quantum signature of your cells. You are what you eat! Think about that the next time you reach for the candy canes! (I know I will!)

Wishing you peace on the beautiful January day...

Photography by Joy Ayscue of the Conscious Healing Initiative. You can contact her through her website: www.consciousjoy.org

Eat Real: Recipe for Life

I've been thinking all day about this and as I'm working on a design project tonight, it all came together...

This is what I've figured out and thought I would share. After all the reading, classes, talking, defining myself - this is the recipe I've discovered for a fulfilling, peaceful existence...

1. Acceptance of self (So, this is it, warts and all)
2. Love of self (I love me, warts and all)
3. Approval of self (Hey, my warts look pretty good!)
4. Being true to oneself (What? You want me to hide my warts?! I don't think so.)
5. Step aside (Breathe, forget it, release, forgive, move on)
6. Allow God in (It would be nice if ________ happened. Thy will be done.)
7. Follow the guidance (The Angels will show you and you will know.)
8. Respond with integrity (You will know if you are in integrity by how good you feel.)

We are individuals and each of us has our own measure for each of these steps. What works for me, may or may not work for you. The secret ingredient is this - it's o.k. It's o.k. to be different and it's o.k. for the other person to be different. We are unique. Just observe yourself and others without judgment.

As we help each other remember who we really are, all we can do is present opportunities to learn who we are from each other. What I like, what I don't like, what feels right, what doesn't - it's all a way for us to figure out who we are! That's what it means, "judge not for lest ye be judged". It's not about judging, it's about observing, presenting opportunities to grow and loving ourselves in spite of it all - just as God loves us!

Everything already is as it should be! Here's my little ego realization - I've been trying to define myself and I'm already defined. Nothing and everything has changed. I'm still a designer - whether it's as a mom and wife or for logos and marketing campaigns, reiki or health counseling - my profession is to support others in defining themselves and empowering them to bring forth a true, beautiful representation of themselves to the world. In doing so, I do it for myself as well.

Yeah, I know, you were looking for a food article. Something you can eat - well, print this out and eat it. It might be the best thing I've figured out yet. Ha! In the meantime, give yourself a head start and EAT REAL FOOD, drink water, exercise, laugh, and sleep. This is a major component of LOVING yourself.

Be Real: Peace

"God is concerned about healing the body, cleansing the soul, and perfecting the spirit to save the whole person from sin and dysfunction.*
The Old Testament uses one word to embody this - Shalom. It is translated as peace, prosperity or welfare. The idea points to the abundant life of joy, fullness, health, blessing and friendship with God. It means to be physically well, emotionally sound, and spiritually whole. When God is central to life, life hangs together. Alienation and antagonism are ended with harmony in an aggressive world and serenity in an anxious mind. Without it there is no peace."

This quote reminds me of integrity. A big word over the past 2 weeks. A friend recently enlightened me with this, "You are either above or below the integrity line and your feelings are indicators of where you are". You must remain true and honor your integrity - what is right for you. It is that simple. If you don't honor your integrity, you don't honor God, for you are a piece of God. To have inner peace, one must be at peace with who, what and where you are. There is strength in surrender. Surrender to God and what already IS. The ego can distract you with the past or the future, when all that matters is NOW. Everything you can think of or do already is. Truly, if you can see it, feel it, taste it - it is. Just stop trying and let it come.

"I want..." is the ego. "Wouldn't it be nice if..." is the Spirit. I often say this to God, "God, I'd love for (fill in the blank) to happen and if it's in my best and highest good, please deliver it or show me the way." He always does - just remain open to who and what he delivers. It is always in the best and highest good. What's best and highest for you is also for me. We can't have one without the other.

This is one more example of who important it is to take care of yourself first, before anyone else, including the kids. If you are in a state of peace, everyone else will be as well. If you're not, well, you know the rest...

Take today to plan something just for you - not you and your spouse - JUST YOU! Plan 1 hour for you in the coming week to honor yourself in a real and tangible way. Read a book, take a bath, take a walk - just honor yourself for 1 hour. As you honor yourself, you honor God. Take care of yourself - you are fare too important not to!

* click on quote to see source

Eat Real: Dangerous Influence

My kids were high last night and you know exactly what I mean. And I mean exactly what I said. It's become clear to me why last night was a spiral of insanity. What caused it - me, my ego - using judgement instead of discernment. The ego manifests, God provides.

It was support your school and buy a lollipop day. My older two bought each a pop and one for the 3 yr old. It all seemed innocent enough - that was until the oldest got in quite a bit of trouble with a teacher after school. The teacher wrote me and included the words "disrespectful and had to be removed from the class twice." That's something every mom wants to hear - right? Yes, I'm kidding. This from a kid that won't kill bugs because he doesn't want to hurt them. It was totally out of character.

Anyway, he was in a funk the rest of the night. The younger two were slap stick silly out of control. There was no reasoning with any of them. I was yelling my head off, making threats, my husband was flabbergasted. It was literally as if they had all been possessed! They were.

It has only occurred to me now what happened. They don't eat lollipops like that on a regular basis - if was full of chemicals, colors, artificial junk. The male species does not metabolize toxins the same way as the female and it usually comes out in their behavior. It certainly did with mine. Now, you could say I'm blaming or making too much out of a lollipop. That was what my ego was telling me in allowing them to have it. I really thought it was no big deal until I saw them all hung over this morning.

This experience has proven to me, once more the importance of vigilance and how food (or the product masquerading as food) affects the body and the quality of life. Quality tanked last night.
We are back on track today. It's a new day!

Refined sugar lowers the immune system for at least 5 hours after being ingested. It means that the body is only operating at 50% capacity if a foreign invader decides to invade. With a lowered white cell count, the body's ability to fight infection is impaired. Add to that the chemicals included in processing this sweet treat and you have a deadly combination. "Chlorine bleach is used in processing and when combined with organic compounds (us) it converts to Dioxin - a lethal chemical." (click on sentence to see resource)

Thursday night (Jan. 20) I'm teaching a class in healthy eating and we are focusing on sugar. The intention is to teach others the tools to discern for themselves what helps or hinders their body. By giving others this information, you can choose to use judgment or discernment in choosing your experience.

Be Real: Full Steam Ahead - (not)

I'm sure I've mentioned the fact that I am the mother to 3 boys. The youngest is 3yrs old. He's in a big train phase as were his brothers at this age. Needless to say, we have an abundance of train sets. You name it, a grandparent has bought it. Some are old, some are new. We even found a really good YouTube train channel. The funny thing is, he always wants the train he doesn't have. Does that ring true for you? It has for me this past 2 weeks.

The ego is always looking for more - looking for love in all the wrong places. The poor thing is just trying it's best, it really is. However, this search for more is endless because God's Abundance is endless. There is ALWAYS more. As is illustrated with the trains. And the funny thing is, what we have seems to never be enough! The duality is maddening. So here's the thing, I can (we can) make ourselves crazy for the quest for more of what we already have or be grateful for the abundance of what we already have.

This cold snap has sent my ego into a confused state and, in my case, it reaches out - trying to do more when what my body really needs is to STOP. We are in a symbiotic relationship with the human, we must abide by human, physical needs. When the body is uncomfortable, the whole being becomes distracted by physicality. The ego thinks 'it has it all under control' - and when it figures out it doesn't, it tries even harder! The best medicine - let it go and don't try. Just be.

Have you ever heard of Maslow's hierarchy of needs? It's a theory in psychology published in 1943 by Abraham Maslow. Basically, if the basic needs of the human are not met, it cannot evolve to higher consciousness. So if we start at the bottom and work our way up this is what it looks like: physiological, safety, love, esteem, self-actualization. It very closely resembles the chakra system of: root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye and crown. In both examples, if the bottom needs are not properly addressed, the top levels of consciousness are unattainable or dysfunctional.

If you are familiar with Traditional Chinese Medicine, it states that the cold weather is yin (cold) and the body must balance it with yang (heat). The body will balance itself by craving heavier, warmer foods, by staying in and bundling up, by sleeping. Do you see why you don't feel like going out? It's completely natural. However, if you listen to your physical needs and allow them to 'be', the natural cycles of the earth and it's weather won't affect you. This is something I've personally been learning this fall and winter.

This is what it comes down to for me - instead of going full steam ahead and pushing myself and getting sick, I promise to honor my body no matter what my ego may be telling me. It's still important to exercise and eat right and get outside, but all of this in moderation. Balance, neutrality or a complacent existence of duality is what we all strive for. The soul feels loving, kind, exciting and beautiful. The ego can feel diminishing, lack and judgemental. By allowing yourself to be in the place of NOW, the the ego quiets down and knows that it is enough.

It means loving yourself right now for who you are - even if you have your pj's on at 3pm on a Wednesday with 5 different train sets out around the house!

Eat Real: You're Already Perfect

Yes, it's true. This is one step on the journey to remembering your perfection. Look at you - you are incredible! You are beautiful, handsome, smart, successful... just fill in the blank! You are a perfect child of God.

As we evolve, our consciousness expands and we are led down the path to realizing our truth by remembering who we really are. We are luminous beings encapsulated in human bodies. Our bodies require care and attention. That is part of the challenge - learning to love ourselves enough to give our bodies what they need so our spirit can flow freely from them.

Everything is energy. Everything we allow in or on our bodies affects our existence. We each have a unique energy signature and our food is no different. We can choose to put food that is in harmony with our energy into our bodies and allow our spirit to soar, or we can choose to keep ourselves in a prison of a body and mind that hurts. By allowing your body the right energy, you can free your spirit and follow your soul's path.

There is nothing wrong with you or anyone else. Sound surprised? It's true. How many people begin the New Year by making resolutions? Make sure they're not restrictions through deprivation. That will just backfire - we’ve all been there. We take a vow to lose weight, exercise more or spend more time with our family. We start the year with great intentions, but then we quickly relapse into old habits. Why is it so hard to stick to those New Year’s resolutions? The faulty thinking is that there is something wrong with us when we are perfect already. What if you could approach each day as a new day and make a contract with yourself to live your best life - for you and no one but you?!

Here are some ways you can make your intentions a reality this year:

1. Write down your intentions and keep them in a visible place, like taped to you bedroom mirror, the dashboard of your car or the wall in your office.

2. Get to the source of whatever is holding you back. Consider your relationships - are they stressing you out? What is causing you to eat a pint of ice cream every night? Ar you stressed at your job and feel too tired to exercise after work? It's so much easier to tackle the root of the behavior and address it immediately in order to accomplish your goals.

3. Be clear about what your life would look like once you achieve your goal. If you resolve to go to the gym more, how will this benefit you? Get connected to the result of your action and you will be more likely to stick with your plan.

4. Take the pressure off yourself. You don't need to join a gym to realize your goals. Just go outside and walk. Start jumping rope in your living room. Just start moving!

5. Share your resolutions with others. Hold each other accountable for achieving your goals. The buddy system works wonders for keeping you on track.

6. Reward yourself. If your intention is to lose weight and you lose 1 pound a week - get a massage, indulge in a bath, buy a new book - but whatever you do, don't reward yourself with a scone. That's something I used to do all the time! I saw food as a reward - rethink it and recognize it as fuel and not as a treat.

Big changes do not require big leaps, but small consistent changes over time. Permanent change always happens gradually than through a big restrictive plan. Allow yourself to reach your goals, one step at a time.

True life is lived when tiny changes occur. - Leo Tolstoy