Eat Real: It's Halloween!

Everyday during October, this is what I hear: "What day is Halloween? When is Mum coming? I want to be (fill in the blank) for Halloween!"

Everyday, what the kids want to be for Halloween changes. My mother, Mum, flies here to make their costumes. Yes, you heard that right. Apparently, it's her 'thing'. So, needless to say, the kids really can be whatever they want. Imagine, getting to be anything you want with no limits!? That's how we should all look at life.

The kids design their costumes and it can change up to the day we actually buy the fabric and she sits down to sew. Pretty amazing. This is a blessing we thank God for.

The next thing I hear from people is: "How do you handle all the candy with the kids?" That has been a slightly sticky issue and I've found only one answer that makes most of us happy. They eat ALL THEY WANT when they get home! There are a few caveats, though - no gummy anything as this causes diarrhea in our house. So that goes in the favorite Uncle pile for my brother-in-law or gets recycled back into what we give out at our house. The second is - they can trade out 2 pieces of what they received for a special treat I have for them. I'll go out and buy organic, dried fruit leathers and trade them for the candy.

It's the best solution I've come up with so far. They usually end up eating about 3 pieces because the feel so sick. The rest goes into a zip lock bag for a once a week treat after school on Fridays. Dad usually helps them eat some of it - go figure.

Our dentist told us, "It's not how much candy a kid eats, it's how often they eat it that affects their health." He told us of a study where having regular sugar intake increases the risk of cavities and it's better to let them have it all at one time than to make a regular habit of eating these 'treats'. So far, so good.

The dentist's statement segways perfectly into what I've been sharing. Do a little GOOD for your body everyday and it adds up to a positive outcome. Do a little BAD for your body each day and it can accumulate to a negative outcome.

Have a wonderful holiday! Love yourself for where you are right now, because you are a Divine Creation!

Eat Real: Keep it Simple

We were born seemingly naked, yet full of Universal knowledge. We have innate intelligence. We know everything, we are just remembering it.

Eating healthy and making healthy choices doesn't have to be complex. That is the ego making it harder than it needs to be. Here are some simple steps that make a big difference...

Eat more fruit and vegetables
Drink more water
Move your body
Practice gratitude
Practice silence
Go outside

Eat more fruit and vegetables. As you eat more healthy, filling, nutrient rich food, your body will be less hungry and more satisfied. It's that simple. Constant hunger is a sign the body is lacking nutrients. When you feed it real food, it's less hungry. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". There's more truth to that statement than anyone realizes...

Drink more water. We are mostly water. Our planet is mostly water. Water conducts electricity. Electricity is energy. We are energy. So, water gives us the capacity to move energy. As you drink more water, you are allowing your energy to flow. The more water you drink, the more energy you have.

Move your body. Exercise in any way, shape or form you can do it is better than no exercise at all. So what if it's not in a gym and you don't have the perfect clothes or sneakers. Just move! Your body will thank you. Exercise moves the lymph and the blood. It brings oxygen to the body. It detoxifies the body. It brings peace to the mind.

Practice gratitude. The more thankful we are for what we have, the less we focus on what we don't have. A friend just told me how she is writing gratitude statements for 5 things a day. This is a good practice for all of us. Thinking, writing and acting in this way creates new synapses in the brain and reprograms us to think in a higher vibration.

Silence. Turn off the TV, put away the phone, get off the computer (ha!). Sit in utter silence for 1 minute and work up to 10 or 20 minutes. You'll be amazed at the peace you will achieve over time. As a mother of 3 boys, silence is like gold in this house!

Go outside. Thank God for the outside! Again, with 3 boys, we might go crazy if we stayed in all the time. When we start to feel overwhelmed, grumpy, out of balance, we go outside. It is grounding and calming. The air we breathe, the dirt we dig - all of it is soothing. We are part of the earth. Our bodies are part of nature - not above it or below it, but part of it. As soon as we honor that, balance returns.

Above all, remember, it need not be complex! Life is a simple as we want it to be. I send you peace, love and joy! Have a wonderful weekend! Namaste.

Eat Real: Living Seasonally - Honor your Connection to the Earth (and it's food!)

I'm guessing you heard the furnace turn on in the past week. I know I heard it and felt it at mine. One of my sons has an issue with the change from warm to cold. He would rather it stay warm year round. Getting him to wear long pants and covered shoes can be a challenge. He really would live in shorts, t-shirts and crocs 365 days of the year! My guess is he'll end up living somewhere tropical...

The change in seasons is natural. Unfortunately, we forget, much like my son, that we are part of the Earth and need to allow our adaptation to the seasons. We transform, much like the caterpillar in the cocoon or the leaves dropping leaves... it's time to allow our transformation inward.

When the weather starts to get colder, we start to turn inward and contract. You may feel like you want to stay in and sleep. Expansion can be felt when the sun is out and the air is warm. A pattern of 'going in' and 'coming out' takes place. It can be confusing, especially in September and October when we experience warm days and cold days. It seems people are grumpy or 'under their rock' so to speak and then a sunny day happens along and we all crawl out for a little warmth.

What's important is honoring the seasons and our body's connection to it. We can do this through the foods we eat and the lifestyle changes we make. By accepting the changes, moving with them instead of against them, we honor our connection to God.

Start with eating seasonal, local food. Fall is a great time to focus on foods that promote the production of body fluids. Food that will lubricate the body. Because of the cooler, dryer air, our bodies need to balance it out with warmer, moister foods. By encouraging the balance, we can prevent illness and mental distress. It's really OK to stay in when you feel like it. It's the body's way of getting ready for the winter cold that is coming.

List of food for the autumn:
pineapple
apple
grapefruit
lemon
lily bulb
mushrooms
nuts or seeds
pear
lotus root
pumpkin
honey
soy milk
dairy products (if you can digest them)
squash
brussel sprouts
figs
grapes
sweet potatoes

Soup is a great way to help the transition between seasons. It's mainly fluid, full of vegetables and easy to digest. Our favorite soups are minestrone and chicken. Here's our minestrone recipe: (adapted from Food Network)

Minestrone Soup
3 cups reduced sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can of white cannelloni beans or navy beans - drained
1 cup chopped onion
2 chopped carrots
1 chopped celery stalk
1 chopped zucchini
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen spinach
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried sage
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. salt & pepper

Directions: In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients, cover and cook on high 3-4 hrs. Combine with pasta, rice or millet if desired.

Be Real: Ego & Soul (part 3) - Vocabulary

Now that we have a basic understanding of the roles of the ego and the soul, lets move onto the vocabulary of negative emotion that God has been teaching me. Once I started understanding what my perceived negative emotions were and what they meant, it showed me the programs in my ego that I was ready to release.

The soul, mind and body may seem seperate, but are united as one inside the body and work with each other. The liver, heart, speen, lungs and kidneys are the 5 major yin organs. If one of them is sick, it will breatk the harmony among all of them.* The following details lower vibrational thoughts and feelings and links them to these organs.

This is what I've come to understand...
Joy = heart
Fear = kidneys
Anger = liver/stomach/spleen
Anxiety = lungs/large intestine
Worry/pensiveness = spleen
Grief/sadness = lungs

Fear keeps us in our bodies. The ego is fear. Once the body is without pain it dies. Now stay with me here - the ego is fear and it is part of our body. The ego also wants enlightenment which is love of itself. When we fear for our safety it is an alarm for survival of the ego and body. When the ego learns that we choose our experiences, there are no victims, and blame is an illusion it can recognize that there is nothing but love left. All there is - is love, love, love. OK, that's not to say that the soul this body is carrying has not brought stuff with it from other lifetimes. It has. The ego is new and doesn't understand this. However, it can be taught to integrate and heal those experiences from those lifetimes in order to have an enjoyable experience this time.

The blessing is to recognize the fear and ask if it is valid in this lifetime. If it is not, it may be from another lifetime the soul brings with it or from being instilled as parental programming during childhood. Fear has it's own vibration. The mission is to reprogram the fear by understanding it and then allowing it to be released. Our bodies can be reprogrammed just like a computer to release the beliefs and patterns that do not serve us to carry out our soul's work. All the other 'negative feelings' we perceive come from fear. The only real emotion is LOVE because that is from God. Fear is an illusion.

Jealousy - The ego sees stuff as love. It is also a way to define yourself in a state of lack. If someone has more stuff, the ego concludes they have more love. Usually the ego wants to know what that person knows because it assumes they must know more because they have more stuff (i.e. love). Bless the situation and know that we are all on our own journey. No one is better or less. We all have our lessons to learn in this lifetime. Bless the people or person and yourself for you do not really know what their lesson is. This life is for you to learn your lesson, and them to learn theirs.

Anger directed outward is a projection of dissatisfaction with ourselves. Usually its because the ego doesn't understand. It's having a temper tantrum like a child. Anger directed inward can take the form of depression. It's a repression of our true feelings and not voicing our truth gracefully and honestly. First we repress our truth by denying our true feelings, then we repress it by not communicating it outward. The feelings get locked away and bottled up. The top pops and it comes out. We all get angry, it is a natural, healthy way to release the energy. It's when we've developed an unhealthy habit of anger directed at others, ourselves or when we understand anger as love where professional help is required. We have shut off the God flow by not thinking we are worthy enough or perpetuating a process of 'never getting what I want' in life.

Guilt is wanting approval, wanting confirmation of thoughts, to get ourselves to behave differently - basically looking for love in all the wrong places and creating chaos! The next time you feel guilty about something, do you say 'I should have'? If so, there in lies the clue - should. Change the question to 'I could have'. Now, look back on the situation and say 'did I really want to'? It's OK to say no I didn't or yes I did. Either answer is correct and now you have identified what you want to experience the next time an opportunity presents itself. You have a clearer picture of what you want or don't want! See how cool this is? Honor yourself first and then you can honor others with love.

Self-doubt shows us obstacles to overcome. We create fear about our power to achieve what it is that we want. This fear can be broken down into pieces. What is it that is really standing in our way? Make a list. If you can think it or see it, you can do it. It's not the fear that we can't achieve, it's the fear that we can! For when we realize we can, we realize our responsibility and the power of our soul. Give it to God and all you have to do is show up. Make a list of what you can physically do and give the rest to Him. Don't worry, He'll take care of it!

Worry is a tool. Worry is a way to manifest what we don't want in our lives. Abraham Hicks teachings are that worry is manifesting what we don't want to happen. But, I choose to look at it as another tool God has given us in our Emotional Guidance System. By consciously being aware of what it is I worry about, I can choose the opposite. It is a quick way to manifest what I do want by being shown exactly what I don't want. So, instead of thinking the worst will happen, I can visualize the best to happen! Just daydream it. This also breaks the cycle of ignorance. Now, we become consciously responsible for our thoughts and what manifests from them.

Anxiety is not trusting the flow of life, which means the flow of God. It is a trust and control issue. It's when worry has not been recognized for the tool it is and has gotten out of hand. Again, think of it another way... what if this is the huge stop sign in the energetic field of life standing out at you or me telling us, literally to STOP. Stop what we are doing and reevaluate what is working and what is not. In my experience, anxiety has been a time of transformation. An opportunity to change my thought patterns and habits. A time to look honestly at my life and listen to what God is telling me. He is literally screaming His head off at this point. If we pay attention to the signs that came before anxiety, we could save ourselves alot of trouble. But, like any child, we test our limits. In learning our limits, we can allow our evolution to occur naturally without forcing it or denying it.

Each of these things shows us how to love ourselves more. These feelings show the work that needs to be done to ascend to a higher love vibration- to allow the God, which is in all of us, to flow. Good feelings = God flow, Bad feelings = Block of God's Flow. We are all God. All of it, everything has a soul. He is always in us and flowing, we just have to allow Him.

These feeling are just tools - they give us insight into ourselves. They are signs that we've forgotten the God in us and need to find a way to remember by choosing the higher thought.

Once you realize that you have all the God power in YOURSELF, you can choose the higher thought, the better feeling, the love!

* The Power of Soul, by Dr. Zhi Gang Sha

Be Real: Intuition - Following the Soul Path

My goal this past month has been to develop and trust my intuition. God has given me plenty of opportunities to do so. What I've discovered is that I don't need to know the why of a situation, I only have to trust how it feels. Same with relationships, I just have to trust the feeling.

In learning to trust my intuition, the first thing I learned is what is ego and what is spirit. Intuition is communication from the soul. The soul is telling your body and mind, through feelings, pain or actual signs if something or someone is on your path or if the situation is a distraction. On the flip side, it can also tell you when something is really right for your path. In learning our intuition, it becomes easy to honor your soul and choose which direction you want to go in life.

No longer is the choice difficult. It's really simple if we allow ourselves to listen. The soul is easy, the ego is difficult. The soul trusts and the ego needs justification. The soul is here to enlighten the ego. It is the experiencer of this illusion. Our egos keep us in our bodies and our bodies are the costumes the soul wears to experience this life. The better condition we keep our bodies (costumes) in, the easier it is for the soul to carry through with it's mission. Eat real, exercise, slow down and enjoy life...

Anyway, I kept thinking, "Wow, look at all these opportunities God is giving me - I can and will do all of them. This is incredible." Then, a hesitation would pop up, or my back or hip would ache. Then confusion would set in. "Why would God present this opportunity if I wasn't suppose to do it? Why am I hurting or in conflict?" God is great and the Universe is ever expanding, so lots of wonderful opportunities will be presented on a regular basis. The trick is to listen to your body and the feelings from it with detachment. In doing this, you can understand the communication from your soul. In learning this, you get closer to understanding what it is you are here to do.

Sometimes I get the messages in my head or pictures. Sometimes, it's pain or a feeling. If I honor the very first thought or feeling, I'm following my intuition. What I learned though, living in this society is to 'push through it' - to ignore those feelings. This is a pattern of behavior that doesn't serve. In order to follow the good feeling, I have to listen to what my soul is communicating through the language of intuition. The messages ARE messages from God, my guides and the angels sent by God. They all point me in the direction of my highest good.

There is a wonderful book called Trust Your Vibes, by Sonia Choquette. In it, she talks about how to learn your intuition, develop and trust it. The steps are simple. This is a gift ALL of us possess. We just need to slow down long enough to honor it. Since it's from God - all I have to do is show up and God will do the rest.

This is my intention: "At the moment of choice, give me immediate clarity to know if it's from Soul or Self. Allow me to remain in touch with my Soul through the day and to know when it's for my highest good. Clear, complete instructions are communicated from God or the emissaries sent from God and I listen and understand them."

In these past few weeks, I've learned so much and continue to learn more everyday. I'm surrounded by beautiful souls that have shown me my path and give my experience validation. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all give ourselves the freedom to live life from the good feeling?

Eat Real: Probiotics

Probiotics are another supplement my family uses on a regular basis. We all take them every day, sometimes twice a day. Currently we are using a brand by Jarrow called Jarro-Dophilus EPS.

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria. The name means 'pro-life'. Our bodies are actually more bacteria than cells. We've been taught that bacteria is bad or unclean. Well, I've got news for you. You are bacteria!

I first discovered these products about 4 years ago when my son had roto-virus. If anyone has had this, you know what I'm talking about. He was hospitalized twice for it because of dehydration. He just couldn't stop pooping and vomiting. The doctors recommended probiotics to help reestablish his gut flora. The strands usually start out with the name "lactobacillus or bifidobacteria. For instance, one strand is lactobacillus acidophilus. Another is lactobacillus casei or bifidobacterium bifidum. See how the strands are identified?

There are tiny little hairs in our intestines called villi. These villi absorb nutrients into our intestinal lining and then the nutrients pass through the lining into our blood. Using probiotics helps to lengthen the villi. In doing so, the intestine is stronger and better able to absorb nutrients. The other wonderful thing about probiotics is that when more good bacteria is in the intestine, there is less room for the bad bacteria. So we stay healthy more often and recover more quickly from illnesses. The University of Michigan is one of the nation's leaders in probiotic research and have studied the immune system response to probiotics. Check it out if you want more detail.

You can get probiotics through supplements which are usually refrigerated or in foods. Some foods that have probiotics are yogurt, keifer, kombucha, saurkraut, tempeh. The bacteria is sensitive to pH, heat, humidity and oxygen. Also, if you think, "Wow, I eat yogurt, I'm already getting them" - think again. If you're eating yogurt for the probiotics make sure it has more than two strands of bacteria. The two main ones are just 'starter' for the yogurt to culture and really don't add too much of a benefit to our gut flora. There should be as many strands of probiotic cultures in it to reap the true benefits.

Be Real: Follow the Light

Death is transformation. Our ego thinks it is the end, but it is just another beginning. Birth is a transformation. Our soul knows this because it has chosen to come to this world and be transformed. It chooses the opportunity to transform so that it can learn and grow and one way it can do that is through the experience of it's life here. We let the dark go and choose to follow the light.

We die a little every day and this is a good thing. We allow old thoughts and patterns of behavior to die away and make room for the new, higher thought that will bring us closer to the God in each of us. We are all pieces of the same whole. And in allowing the old, limiting beliefs to die, we transform ourselves everyday.

September has been a huge transformation time for me. My old self would have looked at all the blessings I've experienced as 'challenges'. However, in receiving all of these blessings, I've been able to grow in a big way. All I had to do was get out of my own way and let it happen. I've learned from the experience if it was one that no longer served me and redefined the role I want to play in the upcoming show. For all of this is a show, it's play. We can make it up as we go along. We don't need a plan for we already have one. We just need to follow it and remember who we are along the way.

Change is death and this is fascinating to me because it is a choice. It's a choice at a soul level. The soul is ready to transform again. The ego is not always aware of what the soul chooses, but in the end, the soul is the boss. Some death can be avoided. In taking care of our body, our emotions and our spiritual selves on a regular basis, we prolong our lives and allow our soul to carry out its mission. However, one has to choose on a conscious level to participate. It is not to be judged, it is what it is. When it's time to go, so be it!

We choose to look at experiences as blessings or challenges. To learn from or to suffer from. Which do you choose in your life? When we get out of our own way, we allow God to show us the way. All we have to do is show up. Nothing 'needs to get done', we don't have to 'make it happen'. Just do it and show up. Follow the signs and the good feeling signs mean your soul is driving the car and the bad feeling signs mean your 'self' is driving the car. I don't know about you, but I like the good feeling!

Guidance from the Self can be punishing - this is doubt in God. Guidance from the Spirit, or Soul is easy - this is trust in God. Even daisies face the sun. Be like the daisy and allow the light to guide you...