A New Paradigm - BODY BELIEF

Yes, Yes, YES!

“Every choice moves us closer to or farther away from something. Where are your choices taking your life? What do your behaviors demonstrate that you are saying yes or no to in life?” -- Eric Allenbaugh

Yesterday, my daughter signed us up for a 5k walk on New Years' Day in Seattle.  I was happy to say "yes"!  It is the Commitment Day 01.01.13 5K.  This is an organized effort happening in 30 cities across the US encouraging people to make a commitment to their health.  Check it out.

When I said YES to this idea it got me thinking.  Saying yes to health is a great idea.  

The first lesson I have been writing about in my new Body Belief book is "Surrender the Diet Mentality".  We have been taught, through years of dieting, to say "no" to things.  No to bread, no to chocolate, no to eating after 6pm, no to fat, no to carbs, no to sugar, . . . .   The diet mentality is all about keeping yourself from eating certain foods and sticking with a diet that is filled with foods you are not necessarily thrilled to eat.  The whole diet mentality is based on the philosophy - you are doing something wrong, and you must make it right. It is based on restriction, not expansion.

This morning I was listening to a talk by David Wolfe, a health activist.  He talked about how important it is to connect with what makes us feel good.  Because if we feel good then we attract more things to feel good about.  If we eat with joy, then we will have more joy.  Like attracts like.  If we fuel out bodies with food that is healthy and stuff we love, than we will attract feeling more healthy and happy.  Great concept. I am sure he didn't mean eating bags full of Oreo's, but who knows.  Deprivation only creates more feelings of lack and suffering, and we know where that leads!

So this started me thinking about chocolate.  I love chocolate, but I usually forbid myself from having it (I say I'm allergic), but then I'll have some and I get hooked and just can't seem to stop eating it.  Which then makes me feel bad physically and mentally and then I go back on the wagon and quit eating it, and the cycle continues.  But, what if I said yes to chocolate and gave up the battle?  What if I could eat it and not feel guilty or remorseful?  Could I say "yes" to chocolate and not go insane? 

David Wolfe is a huge proponent of cacao beans - the base of all chocolate products.  In it's natural state it is loaded with good nutrition and all kinds of health benefits. He has even written a book about it called Naked Chocolate. They key here is NAKED - chocolate in it's most natural form.  He insists that eating cacao is good for you and you can eat all you want!  Just eliminate all the harmful sugars and chemicals. Interesting. 

I decided to say YES to chocolate and downloaded one of his recipes for a Cinnamon Chocolate Bar. This is a raw food recipe, with all heathy ingredients.  I'm going for it.  Since I have decided that I must be my own student of Body Belief, this is in alignment with my first lesson.  Release the diet mentality and open my mind to a new way of thinking about everything.  The old way sure didn't work.  If I can redesign my relationship with chocolate, than anything is possible!  I am off to the store to buy the ingredients and I am going to say YES to chocolate.  I am going to say YES to the great feeling I have when I eat chocolate.  It makes me happy.  (Love those endorphins!) And if I can make something that is good for me and makes me happy - then hurray for me!  It just takes looking at things in a different light and being open to the YES!

Let the experiment begin!

Make the Connection!

mono·cul·ture : the cultivation or growth of a single crop or organism especially on agricultural or forest land

Yesterday I watched a movie called Fresh.  It was another food awareness movie, about monoculture farming versus natural farming practices and how bad monoculture is for our future.  I enjoy these movies, although it is quite depressing and continually shocking.  There is a part of me that wants this information and recognizes that if I want to see change, that I have to be part of the change.  As one person, I can act by how I spend my money, food choices, and my sharing information with others.  Do I want to eat food that has been grown in that mono-culture environment, where disease is  the result and plants and animals become maladaptive?   No, I don't.

After watching the film I had that excited feeling -- motivated, eager to make changes, ready to make a plan and take on the crusade in my life.  Then, I walked into the kitchen, opened the freezer and unconsciously reached for a left over gingerbread shake I had brought home from Red Robin.  What?!  I knew it was made with milk that came from cows that were fed growth hormones and antibiotics to off set the results of the mono-culture farming. Cows that are given hormone cocktails in order to keep them in the milking cycle.  They had been feed corn and corn byproducts that were grown in fields of genetically modified corn seed, and sprayed with insecticides.  Not to mention, cows digestive system were never made to digest corn or corn products.  Eating corn makes their stomaches start to rot and more drugs are needed to keep them alive to keep pumping their milk. But, the end product - this yummy holiday treat - a gingerbread shake, with whipped cream and a ginger snap cookie top top looked and tasted so good.  How could I resist. 

My good sense prevailed and I went off to bed without eating the shake (but it's still in the freezer).  All night I was having dreams of animals and struggle, farmers and baby piglets, plants and worms.  Sometime early in the morning I heard a voice, at first it was faint, then it got louder and louder, until it woke me.  It was telling me "Make the CONNECTION!"  I bolted up and looked at the clock, 5:38am.

Make the connection.  Interesting.  Part of my life long struggle has to do with making the connection.  It is really about the Law of Cause and Effect. If A happens than B results.  Changing the result has always been something I have been chasing, but I never want to start at "A", the cause.  Some where deep inside I know that the voice from my dream is speaking a truth I really need to hear.  My actions keep getting the same results.  If I want different results, I have to change my actions!

To be a food activist, I have to change my relationship with food.  To change my relationship with food, I have to think about it before I eat it, not after.  I need to understand it at a deeper level.  Making such a drastic change, takes some thought and understanding.  Am I ready to give up mono-culture produced food, go organic, spend the time required to investigate and research where my food comes from?  Not to mention, the time it takes to shop and prepare. Is this about making a social statement?  Is it about treating my body with respect and honoring my own humanity and humanity in general?  Is it about becoming conscious - a conscious consumer, conscious to my body's needs, conscious of a higher divine order?  Kris Carr, author of Crazy Sexy Diet, says "If our body is a temple, than our mouth is the alter."  Ummmm.

Where does this all led me?  I am thinking today about my commitment to the environment, sustainable agriculture, animals as a food source and how big this issue is on so many levels.  In the movie, Michael Pollan spoke about how over the past 50 years the number of companies controlling the food production in the US has shrunk from thousands to less than five.  Five (and soon to be three) major corporations have total and absolute control over the food production in our county.  That was shocking information!   That information alone makes me want to start a revolution! (Or join one already started!)  There is just so much wrong with our current system that it is overwhelming.  Sorting it all out, and making a decision about how I can approach it as one person, is making my head hurt.         

For today I have more questions than answers.  I know the voice that spoke to me this morning is speaking a truth I need to hear.  I am open to making the connection.  What ever that looks like for me.  

I'll keep you posted about what I discover.

Green Juice - Vitality in a Glass

Liquid Sunshine!

It's been a couple of weeks since I had my morning green juice and I have missed my routine. But I didn't fully realize how much I missed it until I had some this morning! Wow, I feel great today - full of energy and inspiration. So much better than I have been feeling. And it all came from a glass of juice. Life force energy!

Today's juice was a combination of what I could find in the frig - carrots, celery, spinach, cucumber, green apple and half of a lemon. I put it all through my wonderful Breville Juice Fountain and then poured it into a glass, added a straw and went to my office, sat in my comfy chair, listened to some great music and sipped my juice. I followed it up with a steaming cup of hot water with a squeeze of lemon. Then I started my day.

Later this afternoon, I suddenly realized I was buzzing around getting so much done and I felt so energetic. It dawned on me that I had started my day with juice. Such a simple thing that makes such a big difference.

I went to my favorite market today and stocked up on fresh veggies and I'm all ready for tomorrow! If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it!

In the spirit of green power, Cindy


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Awakening to the Secret Code of Your Mind

Through the flow of synchronicity yesterday I came across a book by Darren R. Weissman called Awakening to the Secret Code of Your Mind.  This morning I started reading it and already know that it is going to be on the top 10 list of those books that I am going to recall, quote and recommend, and I am only on the first chapter.

It starts with a quote from another of my top 10 authors, Gregg Braden.

". . . . we live in an interactive reality where we change the world around us by changing what happens inside of us while we're watching--that is, our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs . .  . From the healing of disease, to the length of our lives, to the success of our careers and relationships, everything that we experience as 'life' is directly linked to what we believe." 

This book explores the concepts of beliefs and how they shape our current reality - and that has been a study area of mine for years.  In 2007 I began working on a book and workshop format called Body Belief - exploring our relationship between our thoughts (and beliefs) and our physical body and what stops us from connecting with our innate body wisdom.  Recently I have begun working on and updating this project, I just can't let it go.  And I know this book has come to me at this time to support me in this process. 

Weissman writes, "When you find yourself stuck in a pattern--repeatedly reacting to a life experience in a negative or painful way-- it's a sign that the energy moving you is motivated by survival and protection rather than your present circumstances.  The LifeLine Law of Transformation and Creation states: Emotions transform energy; energy creates movement; movement is change; and change is the essence of life.  More than the fear of death, it's the fear of change that keeps people stuck in a cycle of self-destruction and self-defeat.  When you're able to embrace change, follow your heart, and go with the flow, you're emotionally flowing through life, and life is emotionally flowing through you."

And, the biggest thing that keeps us stuck in the old pattern - our beliefs.  Can't wait to read more and uncover and discover more about getting unstuck!

In the spirit of change, Cindy

What Makes You Come Alive?

A friend of mine from Ohio posted this on Facebook this morning.

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.            - Howard Thurman

I was lying in bed, not ready to get up and face the chilly morning, so I grabbed my phone and did my morning check- emails, eBay auctions and new Facebook posts.  When I read this quote it hit me like a ton of bricks.  This is what I have been feeling for months (years).  I have an aliveness that is springing forth that can't be stopped.  It brings me joy and comfort and sense of purpose.  But sometimes, well a lot of times, I stop it - put a cap on it. It is a method of self sabotage.  And this morning I saw that clearly.  

There should be nothing stopping me from doing what makes me come alive!  That is what life is about - that is what makes the difference between really living and just going through the motions.  

I am grateful for this mornings reminder!  There is no greater gift to give the world, the community,  friends and family than truly coming alive!  It is through your aliveness that you fulfill your mission and shine your light!  That is where the magic is!  That is what life is all about!

So today - ask yourself what makes you come alive and start doing more of that!  That's what I am going to do!

In the spirit of aliveness,  Cindy

The Story of the Little Cow

I just finished reading “The Walk” by Richard Paul Evans and this story was at the end of the book.  It made me think about my own life and the ways I am holding myself back, and I thought I would share it with you.  

The Little Cow

“A Master of Wisdom was walking through the countryside with his apprentice when they came to a small, disheveled shack on a meager piece of farmland. ‘See this poor family,’ said the Master. ‘Go see if they will share with us their food.’ ‘But we have plenty,’ said the apprentice.

 The Master said, ‘Do as I say.’ The obedient apprentice went to the home. The good farmer and his wife, surrounded by their seven children, came to the door. Their clothes were dirty and in tatters. ‘Fair greetings,’ said the apprentice. ‘My Master and I are sojourners and want for food. I've come to see if you have any to share.’

The farmer said, ‘we have little, but what we have we will share.’ He walked away, and then returned with a small piece of cheese and a crust of bread. ‘I am sorry, but we don't have much.’ The apprentice did not want to take their food but did as he had been instructed. ‘Thank you. Your sacrifice is great.’

‘Life is difficult,’ the farmer said, ‘but we get by. And in spite of our poverty, we do have one great blessing.’ ‘What blessing is that?’ asked the apprentice. ‘We have a little cow. She provides us milk and cheese, which we eat or sell in the marketplace. It is not much but she provides enough for us to live on.’

The apprentice went back to his Master with the meager rations and reported what he had learned about the farmer’s plight. The Master of Wisdom said, ‘I am pleased to hear of their generosity, but I am greatly sorrowed by their circumstance. Before we leave this place, I have one more task for you.’

‘Speak, Master.’

‘Return to the shack and bring back their cow.’

The apprentice did not know why, but he knew his Master to be merciful and wise, so he did as he was told. When he returned with the cow, he said to his Master, ‘I have done as you commanded. Now what is it that you would do with this cow?’

‘See yonder cliffs? Take the cow to the highest crest and push her over.’ The apprentice was stunned. ‘But Master...’

‘Do as I say.’ The apprentice sorrowfully obeyed. When he had completed his task, the Master and his apprentice went on their way.

Over the next years, the apprentice grew in mercy and wisdom. But every time he thought back on the visit to the poor farmer's family, he felt a pang of guilt. One day he decided to go back to the farmer and apologize for what he had done. But when he arrived at the farm, the small shack was gone.

Instead there was a large, fenced villa.

‘Oh no,’ he cried. ‘The poor family who was here was driven out by my evil deed.’ Determined to learn what had become of the family, he went to the villa and pounded on its great door. A servant answered the door.

‘I would like to speak to the master of the house,’ he said. ‘As you wish,’ said the servant. A moment later a smiling, well-dressed man greeted the apprentice.

‘How may I serve you?’ the wealthy man asked. ‘Pardon me, Sir, but could you tell me what has become of the family who once lived on this land but is no more?’ ‘I do not know what you speak of,’ the man replied. ‘My family has lived on this land for three generations.’

The apprentice looked at him quizzically. ‘Many years ago I walked through this valley, where I met a farmer and his seven children. But they were very poor and lived in a small shack.

‘Oh,’ the man said smiling, ‘that was my family. But my children have all grown now and have their own estates.’

The apprentice was astonished. ‘But you are no longer poor. What happened?’

‘God works in mysterious ways,’ the man said, smiling. ‘We had this little cow that provided us with the slimmest of necessities, enough to survive but little more.

“We suffered but expected no more from life. Then, one day, our little cow wandered off and fell over a cliff. We knew that we would be ruined without her, so we did everything we could to survive. Only then did we discover that we had greater power and abilities than we possibly imagined and never would have found as long as we relied on that cow. What a great blessing from Heaven to have lost our little cow.”

• - - - - - - - - - - - 

Sometimes we get stuck in the smallness of a situation and can’t see the possibilities because feeling safe is more important.  Is there a little cow in your life?  Are you holding yourself back from living a bigger life?  Growth and change usually come when we get out of our comfort zone!

A Retreat Into the Woods

Sometimes you just need a change of scenery.  A retreat from everyday life, a change of environment.  It really makes a difference.

This week I did just that.  We rented a little cottage in the mountains near Big Bear Lake.  The elevation is around 8,000 feet - the air was thin, the trees were tall and green (pine trees that smelled so good) and the sky and the lake were amazing shades of blue.  It was the total opposite of my normal life in the dry, flat desert (it has it’s own beauty!)  The contrast is part of the makings of a good retreat.  

Most of my life I have had an affinity with the mountains, not sure why, but I know I feel it within my soul.  A deep connection that brings me a sense of inner peace.  This time was no exception.  With the addition of the little cottage in the giant pines with the lake just steps away, I was in a state of bliss.  Well, not right away, it took a while to acclimate.  Time for my deeper sense to recognize I was taking time to connect with nature.  It made me realize that a good retreat from life has to be at least 2 nights away, even better if it’s a week!  It takes some time to unfold into it, to let go of all the real life things that are keeping the mind preoccupied.  Letting go and relaxing takes a while.

After checking-in and unpacking, I went to sit by the lake, on the sandy little patch of sunny beach just a few steps away from tree shaded cottage.  The air was so fresh, the sky so clear and blue and in the distance I could hear the hum of a boat out on the lake.  I took a few deep breaths in, then exhaled and let my body and mind empty - like letting the air out of a balloon.  I stayed there for a while, soaking in the peace and beauty -- allowing it to wash over me.  What a wonderful feeling.  

When planning for this trip I knew I wanted to keep it simple and pay attention to living in the present moment.  I decided to bring my sketch book and watercolors - activities that I enjoy deeply and never make the time for and also bring me into focus with the “now”.  Being in this wonderful natural setting inspired me and painting kept me present.  This is part of a retreat that I enjoy most - freedom, relaxation and time to express myself.

Over the next two nights and three days I allowed myself the pleasures of relaxation, creative expression, walks in nature, quiet contemplation and wonderful food.  Jeff and I listened to a few chapters of “The Untethered Soul” an audio book by Michael A. Singer. (It’s awesome, I highly recommend it!).  And that helped bring some enlightenment to our little retreat and taught us even more about the importance of being fully present.  Just the right setting for opening our minds and hearts to his beautiful words of wisdom.

What a glorious time, I feel renewed.  

If you are thinking about planning a get-away, stop thinking and just DO IT!  If you don’t think you have the time or money, than stop thinking that!  Make the time and spend the money - it will pay for itself in the peace it gives you.  If you need to get away alone - than stop making excuses and go for it!  Make some reservations at a place totally different that your normal environment, pack light and take off!  You won’t even understand how much you need it until you actually do it!  What's stopping you! 

When was the last time you planned a personal retreat?  Tell me abut it.

Are You A Preoccupied Multi Tasker?

Most Sunday mornings I get on my computer and tune into Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith at Agape International and watch his service on live streaming video.  This morning I tuned in and moved the live streaming screen to the side of my monitor and started checking my email and doing other things on the computer.  I thought I would just listen while I was getting other things done.  The music was great, than the announcements and affirmations came next -- I was responding to emails, deleting junk mail, texting a friend, thinking about a million things I wanted to do today.  Then I realized something.

This is how I live my life.  Never really being fully present to the thing I am doing, but multi-tasking.  I always have about three things going at once, and thinking about the next thing I want to do.  Taking time to do “just one thing” somehow seems like a waste of time.  But this morning I realized I was not being fully present for anything I was doing!  With grace, the gift of the present moment presented itself to me.

I turned off my computer.  I picked up my iPad and my headphones and found  my way to the comfy chair in my office and logged on to the Agape Service.  I put in my earbuds, put my legs up on the ottoman, stretched back, took a deep breath, relaxed and allowed myself to become present.  It took me a few minutes, but I began to feel like I was right there with them in church.  My focus was clear and I began to hear each word of the sermon and knew Rev. Michael had a message for me today.  And I was here - present - ready to hear it.

I heard him say “What are you preoccupied with?  What is keeping you from recognizing that you ARE light and love. If you are not seeing yourself as light and love --then you’re preoccupied.”  Was he watching me through my computer?

Next he talked about our preoccupation with the mental clutter of our lives - worries about what others think of us, if we are following our purpose, if we are doing the right thing, getting caught up in the craziness of life,  not to mention listening to the voice that keeps telling us we are “not enough”.   He challenged us to “throw off the shackles of the mind!”   Because beneath all the mental clutter and distraction is all that we desire, already with-in us.  Love, peace, abundance, joy!

He suggested that we set aside our desires and the endless search for what we “want” and instead ask “What does God want to flow through me”!  What is the gift I have to bring to this world.  If we can just set back and open ourselves to it, the flow will begin to take over our lives and the next thing you know you'll have embraced the possibility of your own greatness!  And the vision for your life will become clear, and along with that love, peace, abundance and joy!  The simple act of being present, surrendering to the wisdom that is already inside and then allowing it to unfold.  What a beautiful message!

All it takes it awareness--being present with the oneness of source and allowing the good within to pull you forward toward your a vision!  It requires letting go of preoccupation.  It means doing one thing at a time, staying in the present moment.  I read a quote some years ago that said,  “The only language God speaks is silence.”  In order for us to allow the flow to come through us, we have to find that silence and connect with it.

What a lesson for me today.  May the gift of being present follow me though the next few days, the next few weeks and months, through my surrender to the flow while I discover what God wants to unfold in my life.  May I be present.

What gratitude I have for the moment of grace this morning that awakened me to becoming present.  Divine intervention!

Are you a multi-tasker?  How do you find time to be present?  Tell me about it.

The Answer Is Inside

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key. - Lyrics from Already Gone, The Eagles

Over the years of the evolution of my spiritual growth I have had huge insights and incredible growth in so many ways.  But there have been other areas where I have only seen brief glimpses of the habits and behaviors that are getting in the way of my joy.  These visions have been brief and kind of blurry.  But, with each glimpse I am able to see a little more clearly what stands in my way.   However, I have either not been willing to see it fully or the timing wasn’t right for me to change some of these behaviors or habits.

Tony Robbins call these behaviors or habits --life rituals.  A ritual is defined as“a series of actions or type of behavior regularly and invariably followed by someone”.  That’s what I have! Some of these rituals are good and some not so good.  And it’s not just “one” thing -- one behavior.  It is the series of actions that keeps it so engrained.  The habit is reinforced with the arrangement of the behaviors - a cluster of habits. 

A couple of nights ago I had the opportunity to get a bigger glimpse of a tired old ritual that I keep repeating.  A wise friend pointed out to me that I have to stop looking for the answers outside of myself.  She said “The solution is in you!  You can’t buy the solution!” (Book, courses, classes, teachers etc.)  At that moment I had the clarity that at other times seemed so blurry.  This was it, a piece of my own puzzle--a ritual that I kept repeating that is not serving me.  Always seeking the next book, teacher, tool, etc. to help solve some “problem”.  Hoping that I would hear just the right words that would wake me up and connect all the dots and I would live forever in a blissed out state!  Who am I kidding!

Over the past 20 years I have read, explored, experienced, visited, attended, listened to thoughts and ideas from all areas of metaphysics, self-help, motivational, quantum physics, law of attraction, and spiritual teachings and teachers.  I can quote many of them as easily as I can say my own name.   This was my journey--I am a seeker.  And this journey has enlightened me and expanded my consciousness exponentially.  But at some point it is time to take the knowledge and use it!  What I suddenly realized (with the help of my friends) is that to keep seeking is a mis-guided search for an answer to heal what I perceived as broken.  The missing link, the “golden ring”, the one insight that would set me free.  

The truth--I am already free!  I just didn’t allow myself to see it.  The answer to all my questions, the solutions to all my “problems”, the harmony and peace I seek are already in side of me.  Honestly, I already knew this, but I wasn’t ready to hear it. It’s like when you hear something that you have heard a hundred times before, but suddenly you hear it like you haven’t heard it before.  This was the time for me to hear this big truth.

Time to set aside the seeking and take a look inside.  Allow the answers to my big questions to unfold naturally.  I have all the tools I need.  As a matter of fact, I have a big tool box filled with years and years of accumulated wisdom and awesome techniques to draw from any time I choose.  Not to mention, my own internal guidance system that I was born with!

Today, I am clearing my desk of the stack of books I have been waiting to read, deleting from my email the 21 Day Program I joined to learn more about EFT, putting away my list of goals and things to do.  Today, I am taking time to be still and get re-acquainted with my own brilliance.  It is going to take some time, but it begins in the silence of not doing, but just being.

Sometimes the longest journey is the one from the intellect (the brain) to the heart (our connection to source).   A big THANK YOU to my Mastermind group for helping me find the way to my heart!

Have you been looking outside yourself for the answers?  Tell me about it.