Be Real: Fast & Furious

So, I had this post all planned. It was going to be on the benefits of peaches. But then I sat down to write and something else came through. So, as I write this post, know that I'm going by the seat of my pants...

Today, I ran a 5K with a dear friend. I watched her give birth - to herself. She is the mother of 4 and is reclaiming her identity. Two months ago, she started training to run 3 miles. A mutual friend in our community who runs marathons offered to coach her and would have run with her today if she could. This same coach showed me how to run 3 years ago. And, today, God gave me an opportunity to give back to both of them by supporting the new runner by running with her in this race . I felt the beauty of karma.

My friend is going through a transformation. She is learning how to surrender to the Universe (God) and to push herself into uncertain territory. Is it uncomfortable? Yes. Is it scary? Yes. But she did it and now she can say she ran a 5K. There is growth in uncertainty. We are taught by the Law of Attraction to follow the good feeling, but what if you don't feel a good feeling, but are stuck between "feeling stuck and unhappy" and being scared? The good feeling is not obvious. You choose the scared even if it does not feel good because it lifts you closer to the good feeling on the scale of emotions. If you've ever given birth, you know it hurts. She hurt today. I remember that same hurt. She doubted her ability. I remember that doubt. It's an old friend to many of us. And, when she finished, she cried with relief. The tears of love and joy, are from a heart which surrendered to God a little more today.

Two weeks ago when she asked me to run with her and said yes, I thought, "OK God, let's do it." I haven't run in some time, and thought maybe I should see if I still could. That day I ran 3 miles in 28 minutes. The only reason I can fathom the ability to make that time is because I asked the Angels to be with me and lift me up. It was God showing me to give it over to Him. I was literally carried. He showed me how easy it is when you just trust and are open to allowing.

Here's the fast and furious part. It's been a busy two weeks with school starting and adjusting to the schedule. My soul communicated through my body, to me, in the language of a light cold. The message - SLOW DOWN! OK, but don't you get everything that needs to get done!? I'm running a race, for Pete's sake! The reply was congestion and a cough. Ha! Concern set in - would I still be able to run? Was God's plan different than I thought? Today, the static in my head was quieted when I heard Him tell me all would be well.

Let me tell you - I didn't blow my nose once. My breathing was completely clear, not a cough and we finished in 45 minutes. The course was beautiful and hilly. My friend was scared and excited. It didn't matter how fast we finished, just that we did finish. That was the goal. Knowing time did not matter allowed me to enjoy the moment and forget myself. I felt completely surrendered to the flow of the Universe. It wasn't me running with her, it was Him. God took over my body. There were Angels around us. In fact, I could hardly even feel my body. I was even singing. My friend gave birth to herself today, I died to myself in order to live for His Greater Purpose.

So, I challenge you - Where is your comfort zone? How can you move past it to attain a goal you've been dreaming about? How can you give birth to yourself? How can you give of yourself in order to live for God's Will? Or, to say it another way - How can you surrender to the flow of the Universe and just be in this moment?

Be Real: Right Now

"The past is history, the future is a mystery, but today is a gift - that's why they call it the present. So cherish every minute of it." - Elvis Stojiko

My brother and I were talking this month. We have the same disease. It's the disease of "what's next". We are both addicted to education, certification, tests, you name it - if it has to do with higher education and knowledge, we are the first ones in line. You might think, that's odd, but you've come to know that I just might be a little odd and I'm OK with that. I know you love me! This is childhood programming at it's height. My parents, especially my father would drill into us the importance of education. Guess it stuck. I'm 40 now and still love school.

My brother has a BS in public health, a MPH in international public health, a BA in nursing and is a registered RN with Yale-New Haven Hospital. Most recently, he's been promoted to manager on the floor. We are so happy for him! I was talking to him about how this year of school for me is ending and how I've been looking at what's next - Master Herbalist, ND, MDiv, PhD. We came to the conclusion that it's fun to look at what's next, but that we should not define ourselves by it. Right now, this moment is all that matters and instead of 'looking' for what's next, we will allow 'what's next' to find us. This allows him and me to stay focused in the present. My kids encourage me to be present - thank God!

I offer this to you for use in your own life. We can make ourselves crazy looking for what's next whether that is a problem we are preparing for, a mountain we want to climb, a run we want to train for or we can just focus on what is happening right now and allow the opportunities to find us. Still set your goals, still dream big, yet keep fine tuning your craft for the next right step is right now. You, me, he is an expert in this moment.

After talking with him, I've decided a process was needed so that I can live in the moment yet still continue to set and meet goals. Yes, I know a process for living in the moment. How OCD can you get? Got a few hours?! Ha!

Living in the Moment Process (the short version) :
1. Make a list. A list of what you'd like to do, be, experience, have.
2. Break that list down into today - what's most important to accomplish today.
3. Divide the list in two - one side for you, one side for God.
4. Give your side completely to God. (menu exercise from Abraham Hicks Law of Attraction)
5. Look at your list for today, this week, this month and prioritize it by what's practical and what is really desired.
6. Start at #1 on your list and pick a time during the day to do it. Or, if you're like me with 3 kids home - pray that God and the Angels will line up that time during the day to do it!

Or you can take the 'screw it' method... don't think, just do and leave the rest to God. Pretty simple.

Our natural state of being is joy. Lists can take the pressure off and get the noise out of the mind so that we can be in the moment and experience the joy.

Be the best you can be right now as you are, where you are, with those around you. Now, you're an expert.

Eat Real: Ocean Vegetables

Ocean vegetables - what's that? Vegetables grow in the sea and we call it seaweed. I can hear you now. "Is she actually suggesting I eat seaweed?" Yes, I am. This is one of nature's purest and most potent foods. If Westerners could grasp the idea that food created in nature actually serves a purpose in our body, the rates of heart disease, diabetes and a whole host of other conditions would cease to exist.

Seaweed has long been used in Asian traditions as a staple food. The people of Okinawa have had the longest, healthiest life spans of anyone on this Earth. In addition to a diet low in animal protein, their diet is high in sea vegetables. Now, if they can only stave off the affects of the West, which are infiltrating their society, they could maintain that level of health far into the future. However, fast food, processed and refined food in shiny packages is like a bad virus our culture is spreading throughout the world. I'll save that topic for another day!

The many benefits of seaweed include:
A high mineral content, including iodine which is essential for proper endocrine function. In some cases, it's been shown to contain sufficient amounts of all minerals including calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc in addition to iodine.

Includes many trace elements and vitamins including vitamin A as beta-carotene, B1, B2, B6, niacin, vitamin C, panthothenic acid, folic acid and trace amounts of B12.

Seaweed cleanses the body of toxins. The varieties high in alginic acid bind with heavy metals and eliminate them from the body. Arame, hijiki, kombu and wakame are the best varieties for this type of cleansing.

All varieties are capable of promoting healthy skin, warming the body and enriching the blood.

It is an effective food for killing yeast in the body.

Eating it on a regular basis contributes to an overall feeling of contentment. (I can testify to this!)

Hijiki Salad
1 cup hijiki
5 cups water
1 yellow or red chopped pepper
4 chopped scallions
1 chopped carrot
1/2 cup fresh corn kernals
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. umeboshi vinegar
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 tbsp. fresh ginger juice

Directions:
Soak hijiki in water for 20 min. Whisk together oil, vinegar, garlic and ginger juice. Rinse hijiki and add to chopped vegetables. Pour dressing over salad, toss and serve. Serves 4. Arame also works beautifully with this recipe.

Be Real: 40

So, I had a birthday this summer. Got me to thinking about the number and it's significance. Turns out 40 is quite a popular number. Here are a few references:

1. A time of testing, a period of renewal
2. Completeness
3. Preparation, penance, purification
4. Forty measures of water purify a person
5. Forty days of rain purified the world
6. Moses was purified during 40 days on Mount Sinai
7. Jesus walked the desert and fasted for 40 days
8. It's a symbol of birth, rebirth and change
9. According to the Talmud, it is said that 40 days after conception the soul enters the body
10. Neural activity begins at 40 days for a fetus

This is offered as an opportunity for us all to look at age as a marker, an opportunity of what lies ahead, not what is left behind. Not what's ending, but what's beginning. It feels like a wake up call. There is a certain peace and understanding that comes with reaching this number that I recall experiencing at 20 and 30. With each decade, more understanding, more life is under my belt. I still feel young, like there is so much more to learn.

I wonder if, after 40 years, my soul is completely in my body. There is a feeling of completeness and contentment - not that I'm done living, but that I have everything I need to move forward fully in life.

My goal is to live to be at least 200 years old. And to be vibrant and healthy to serve God's Will the whole time. So, if I'm only 40 - that's still young compared to 200!

It's all perspective baby.

Be Real: Unrestricted Access

I took the kids fishing on vacation. My husband was suppose to be with us, but at the last minute, was called into work. So, here I am at the beach with 3 little boys. We had a great time! One of our goals was to go fishing on a boat, so I set up a charter with a local company. Easy peasy, right?

The night before our trip, we were called and told it was overbooked, so we could not be on the charter. We were scheduled to leave the next day. Needless to say, the kids were disappointed. So, we sent up our prayers and asked God, if it is YOUR will, let us go fishing.

I woke up the next morning with the resolve that we would go to the boat regardless and 'pretend' we didn't receive the call. Just play dumb basically and see if we could get on. We did! We were on the boat and ready to go, but there were 4 old, heavy men on the dock who were not happy. Now, I could have said, "Oh well, tough for them", but as I looked at who was on the boat I saw how we did not seem to fit in. It was full of old, heavy men. And one on the dock pulled out a wad of 100 dollar bills just to show his 'interest' in going.

I heard the angels say, "You don't belong here today. Do you understand why now?" I did. We asked if we they were available for the following day and gracefully exited the boat. So, we show up the following day and the only other people on the boat are a mother with her 3 boys who were vacationing without their dad because of work. Hum, sound familiar? It was a sunny, beautiful day and the hotel gave us a complimentary late check out because our plans were changed. It all worked out.

No one else on the boat knew of our phone call or our circumstances. I was given the opportunity to 'see' what would happen and we did. The energy wasn't perfect for our trip on the first day, but it couldn't have been more perfect on Tuesday! God, the Universe, lined it all up and all we had to do was follow the energy and stay in the flow instead of fighting it.

It was beautiful to have this lesson taught so easily and gracefully. God knows what's best for you whether you know it or not. Whether you know why or not. All we have to do is relax, trust and go with the flow - literally. We are always answered when we ask. And we are always given the best answer.

This experience has brought a new level of understanding and surrender to my life. Just ask, trust and be grateful. Have faith. Faith, to me, is believing all will and is perfect no matter the circumstances or the perspective. It's knowing all is already good. It's knowing God knows better for us than we know ourselves, so why fight it? Just state the desire, follow the feeling in your gut and allow yourself to be led.

Remove disbelief in God's power and fear dissolves... then we experience unrestricted access.

Be Real: The Art of Mindfulness

Be mindful. I've heard this before and had no idea what it meant, until now.

Watch what you say or think. Be mindful with your words, for they are prayers... I've spent the better part of this summer reading about spiritual practices - including Eastern and Western religions. What I've found to be most fascinating is the Buddist practice of mindfulness. I actually made it half way through one of my books and had to put it down because I wasn't getting it. Then, the Holy Spirit led me to a used book store and I found a book about How to be Happy. Now I get it.

Mindfulness is nothing more than watching your thoughts as an observer in your own mind. You watch your thinking instead of taking part in it. It's as if you are disconnected from the thought and watching it as an entity on it's own. When you can separate yourself from the thought, you can see it for what it is and decide if it's worth pursuing. The beauty of this is that you don't have to stop negative thoughts, just watch them and realize it's nothing more than a bad channel you can change. Like static on a radio station, negative thoughts just cloud full connection with Divinity.

As I've been able to watch my own thoughts, doubts, low moods and high moods, I've been able to see myself separate from them. I can partake in life and let the uncertainty, any low self-confidence, and self-doubt be where it is and just walk away from it. It's like watching a trailer for a bad movie and saying, "I really don't want to watch that show" and flipping the channel. You can look at the thought and ask if it serves you or not. Some people love misery, some don't. Just look at it and don't be defined by it.

The Law of Attraction states that what we think, we become or we invite into our reality. For some time, I had been policing my thoughts and just 'canceling' any negative ones until one day, I fell into a terrible mood and had no idea why. I was doing everything right - what gives!? Well, I had fallen into defining myself completely on the fact that good thoughts mean I'm connected to God and well, bad thoughts mean I'm not. This is true to an extent, but diffusing the negativity was something different. When beginning to look at the thought as an observer, I was able to say - "Hey, that might be true, but it might not be also. I choose to err on the side of optimisim and let it go." The negative thought is just an erroneous belief system that requires release or reprogramming.

When it comes down to it, this life is relative reality. Where we come from is absolute reality. If this is just relative, we don't have to get caught up in the drama. We can look at the negative thoughts and realize these are just areas that are mistaken in their perception of the blessings in this life. Then we can cancel them out and choose the higher thought and speak the higher words.

Be joyful. That is your natural state. Anything less is a distraction...

Eat Real: Blueberries for the Brain

This little berry is a powerhouse of nutrition and healing. Something so simple, yet so powerful. You don't have to go to the Amazonian Rain Forest to get it either. It's right at the farmer's market and in season right now.

We are always looking to try something new and exciting in the middle of summer. Just like the middle of winter, we feel a little trapped by the heat. The kids have spent the last week getting to know some old books and new shows on TV. Instead of baking, we've decided to try visiting the farmer's market to see what's in season and do a little experimenting on our own.

What we noticed is that there are A LOT of blueberries out there. In fact, my kids have eaten so many, I'm waiting for one of them to turn into an Umpa Lumpa! They are so sweet, tasty and juicy right now. Go get yourself a pint or four!

Blueberries are powerful for a number of reasons, the main one being antioxidants. Vitamin 'P' as it's called refers to flavonoids. These are compounds that reside in plants naturally and give the plant and its fruit, medicinal properties. These compounds are what protect the plant and its fruit naturally. It's no wonder why it can protect us as well. All we have to do is eat it! The more colorful the food, the more flavonoids present. Within the flavonoid group is a category called polyphenols. Polyphenols protect the brain by preventing oxidative stress. This fruit is also part of a group of flavonoids call proanthocyanidins. "This group has the ability to protect both the watery and fatty parts of the brain against damage from some environmental toxins." Michelle Schoffro Cook, ND

This berry has greater concentration and antioxidant properties than just vitamins C and E alone. Blueberries are also anti-inflammatory. Inappropriate amounts of inflammation in the body contribute to pain and degeneration. Following an anti-inflammatory diet which includes blueberries can remedy pain in as little as 3 days.

Inflammation, cognitive ability and aging skin are directly related to an overabundance of free radicals in the system. Free radicals can be any toxin, environmental, emotional, or nutritional. The more antioxidants we ingest, the better chance our body has of protecting and regenerating itself from free-radical damage.

Quick Blueberry Smoothie:
1 bag frozen mango
1 bag frozen blueberries
1 tbsp. agave nectar
1/2 cup apple juice

Blend all in a blender and serve immediately or, freeze and use as a sorbet.

Uses for Blueberries:
Toss them on salads
Make blueberry pancakes
Make Smoothies or Sorbets
Put them on top of oatmeal
or my personal favorite - by the handful!

Health Benefits:
They are a natural diuretic - helping summer water weight disappear. (I ate a ton while pregnant in the summer - works wonders!)
Help restore and improve cognitive function.
Slows vision loss.
Helps lower cholesterol
Helps with digestive issues

Hope you are enjoying the summer and staying cool!