It's interesting to me how we have a disconnect with what food actually does for our body. We eat to allow each cell in our body to perform the function it's supposed to and to replicate in a healthy manor. We don't eat to satisfy some emotional need, well, we do, but that not why we get hungry. Food is ingested, broken down into vitamins and minerals and distributed to the body.
When we ingest foreign ingredients like preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners, pesticides, food coloring, etc. the body doesn't know what to do with it. It either stores these things in our fat, continuing to cause us problems, or treats it like the enemy.
While studies may show small amounts of these ingredients might not cause problems, these are ingested in large amounts by being in everything we eat that is processed in some way.
The solution? Eat real food, unprocessed, like mother nature intended! It's really not that hard! As we stop eating processed foods, our taste adjusts and we start to appreciate how wonderful real food tastes!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
What you see in others your see in yourself
I'm reading the book by Debbie Ford, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers. She talks about how we need to look at ourselves when we see something we don't like in others. Ugh! It's so hard!
I was fussing about a camper this weekend that brought their barky dog who annoyed everyone, I'm sure, with it's incessent barking. I was thinking, "I'd NEVER do that!". But after some thought I did have to admit that I have been an irresposible dog owner before! Drats!
The fact is, we all have the capability of anything, depending on our experiences and how we react to them. If we haven't walked in someone else's shoes, we really can't know for sure how we would be.
Just think about it the next time you are quick to judge someone else, maybe there is a lesson in it for you! Especially the people who just drive you crazy!!!
I was fussing about a camper this weekend that brought their barky dog who annoyed everyone, I'm sure, with it's incessent barking. I was thinking, "I'd NEVER do that!". But after some thought I did have to admit that I have been an irresposible dog owner before! Drats!
The fact is, we all have the capability of anything, depending on our experiences and how we react to them. If we haven't walked in someone else's shoes, we really can't know for sure how we would be.
Just think about it the next time you are quick to judge someone else, maybe there is a lesson in it for you! Especially the people who just drive you crazy!!!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Determination to grow
The good thing about being in a slump is coming out of it! It seems the down times are when I gather strength again to push forward towards being more of who I really am. I'm more willing to let go of ego and fear, to get more centered, to listen more to my inner voice.
As I've said before, its one thing to read all the self help books on the planet and another to actually do the work!
For me that means taking the time to meditate, or right now do Qigong and Tai Chi. Taking the time to quiet my mind and body, tuning into my body, releasing all the tension created by all those negative thoughts, releasing the stress from looking at all I don't have and focusing on the here and now.
Today the sun is shining, my son and I are heading out for a bike ride and I'm hosting a booth at the Earth Day Festival tomorrow and doing a drum circle at the end of the event! Even the weather seems to be cooperating, the prediction of rain is now pushed back until Sunday!
I have a roof over my shoulders, food on the table and my kids are well taken care of.
Letting go of the drama allows me to focus on me and the changes I need to make instead of someone else or something else that I want to change.
Louise Hay, in the foreword of Robert Holden's book Be Happy!: Release the Power of Happiness in YOU
"I love learning. I know that the week I leave the planet I will be enrolled in a new course learning something new."
I feel the same, I'm a student of life, determined to learn the lessons. Don't ever let anyone put you down for always wanting to learn something new.
If you find yourself in the same position time after time, the same job situation, the same relationship issues, the same feelings, then you are to look at yourself and learn the lesson! It's been that way for me anyway.
When the familiar negative feelings start to grow inside you, catch yourself and stop, be quiet, look at what is causing the situation. Make a note, if the message isn't clear now, it will be in time. Keep making notes!
When the positive feeling start to grow, take note, remember to create more of those moments!
Blessings!
Amy
As I've said before, its one thing to read all the self help books on the planet and another to actually do the work!
For me that means taking the time to meditate, or right now do Qigong and Tai Chi. Taking the time to quiet my mind and body, tuning into my body, releasing all the tension created by all those negative thoughts, releasing the stress from looking at all I don't have and focusing on the here and now.
Today the sun is shining, my son and I are heading out for a bike ride and I'm hosting a booth at the Earth Day Festival tomorrow and doing a drum circle at the end of the event! Even the weather seems to be cooperating, the prediction of rain is now pushed back until Sunday!
I have a roof over my shoulders, food on the table and my kids are well taken care of.
Letting go of the drama allows me to focus on me and the changes I need to make instead of someone else or something else that I want to change.
Louise Hay, in the foreword of Robert Holden's book Be Happy!: Release the Power of Happiness in YOU
"I love learning. I know that the week I leave the planet I will be enrolled in a new course learning something new."I feel the same, I'm a student of life, determined to learn the lessons. Don't ever let anyone put you down for always wanting to learn something new.
If you find yourself in the same position time after time, the same job situation, the same relationship issues, the same feelings, then you are to look at yourself and learn the lesson! It's been that way for me anyway.
When the familiar negative feelings start to grow inside you, catch yourself and stop, be quiet, look at what is causing the situation. Make a note, if the message isn't clear now, it will be in time. Keep making notes!
When the positive feeling start to grow, take note, remember to create more of those moments!
Blessings!
Amy
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Happiness Now
Wow! I just finished the online, live Lesson 1 in Be Happy by Robert Holden through Hay House Radio. It was amazing! I mentioned this program in a previous blog.
Okay, I'm going to take you through a few exercises... have paper and pen ready...
Take a deep breath and relax, let your intuition guide you...
Happiness is... (write it down) repeat 10 times and write each answer down.
Real Happiness is... (write it down) repeat 10 times and write each answer down.
This can be emotional... hang in there.
Okay, take another deep breath... then answer these questions.
What have you learned about happiness from your life...
What is my life asking me to learn about happiness right now?
What is the ultimate soul lesson about happiness that I am to learn?
How well have you learned those lessons?
Okay, the point is that life will keep trying to teach us lessons and until we learn them, we will keep repeating those situations that are trying to teach us the lessons. We will find ourselves in the same type of relationships, we will find us in the same type of jobs, with the same type of bosses, in they same type of financial situations, etc.
Pretty much, happiness is experiencing our true selves, and sharing happiness with others. When we look to some future circumstances for happiness to arrive, we are missing out on the true happiness of living in the moment. Happiness is now. It's how we see what is happening right now.
More money, different life circumstances, better education will not make you happier! The best predictor of future happiness is how happy you are now! Everyone can be happy!
So there you have it. Rober Holden's part 1 of an 8 part series on Happiness Now! Click for more info. Happiness Now!
You can purchase the book and the rest of the series.
The series consists of logging in to Hay House and clicking the link for the Hay House Radio program. Once you purchase it, it will show up when you log in. It's 2 hours each. Yep, a lot. I loved listening to Robert and trust his expertise. He is a PhD in psychology. I look forward to the next session. He uses live callers for sample exercises.
So, bottom line. Happiness is a choice, it's already with you, you just have to stop all the excuses and be still and be yourself. Appreciate the good parts of you, accept the bad parts and live in the now. Quit waiting for things to get better. Make it good now!
Earth Day is coming up. Take a moment and think about all the things the earth provides for us and what would happen to us if we don't take care if it!
Better yet, step outside and look around. Take another deep breath and be still. Listen, feel, appreciate, love.....
Peace!
Amy
Okay, I'm going to take you through a few exercises... have paper and pen ready...
Take a deep breath and relax, let your intuition guide you...
Happiness is... (write it down) repeat 10 times and write each answer down.
Real Happiness is... (write it down) repeat 10 times and write each answer down.
This can be emotional... hang in there.
Okay, take another deep breath... then answer these questions.
What have you learned about happiness from your life...
What is my life asking me to learn about happiness right now?
What is the ultimate soul lesson about happiness that I am to learn?
How well have you learned those lessons?
Okay, the point is that life will keep trying to teach us lessons and until we learn them, we will keep repeating those situations that are trying to teach us the lessons. We will find ourselves in the same type of relationships, we will find us in the same type of jobs, with the same type of bosses, in they same type of financial situations, etc.
Pretty much, happiness is experiencing our true selves, and sharing happiness with others. When we look to some future circumstances for happiness to arrive, we are missing out on the true happiness of living in the moment. Happiness is now. It's how we see what is happening right now.
More money, different life circumstances, better education will not make you happier! The best predictor of future happiness is how happy you are now! Everyone can be happy!
So there you have it. Rober Holden's part 1 of an 8 part series on Happiness Now! Click for more info. Happiness Now!
The series consists of logging in to Hay House and clicking the link for the Hay House Radio program. Once you purchase it, it will show up when you log in. It's 2 hours each. Yep, a lot. I loved listening to Robert and trust his expertise. He is a PhD in psychology. I look forward to the next session. He uses live callers for sample exercises.
So, bottom line. Happiness is a choice, it's already with you, you just have to stop all the excuses and be still and be yourself. Appreciate the good parts of you, accept the bad parts and live in the now. Quit waiting for things to get better. Make it good now!
Earth Day is coming up. Take a moment and think about all the things the earth provides for us and what would happen to us if we don't take care if it!
Better yet, step outside and look around. Take another deep breath and be still. Listen, feel, appreciate, love.....
Peace!
Amy
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
How to Meditate
There are many meditation methods, here is what I like to do.
Begin by sitting comfortably with the back straight, some portion of your body on the floor. Think about increasing the space between each vertabre. Make the small of your back flat like you were sitting up against a wall.
Take 3 deep breaths:
Exhale completely, where your stomach pushes in, releasing all air in your lungs. Now, when you take your next breath, you will start by filling up your diaphragm in the stomach area first, then enlarging your ribcage and filling the lungs completely.
When you breath in, imagine clean, fresh, healing energy filling your body. When you exhale, imagine all the toxins in your body, including all stress, negative feelings, bad food, chemicals you have been in contact with, etc., all leaving your body out the bottom of your feet. Whoosh! Out they go!
Now breath normally. Feel where the air hits your nose, at the nostrils, inside your nose, at the back of your throat. Just focus on that. When thoughts enter your mind, and they will, just allow them to drift away and come back to your breathing.
Relax, enjoy feeling calm and still for as long as you can. Start with short periods if you need to, 10 minutes a day, slowly increasing.
Before you get up and get moving again, take a minute to listen to your body, what is it telling you? Imagine that peaceful, calm feeling being with you to some extent all during your day.
At the end of the day, take note of how your day went. For a real boost, journal 5 things you are grateful for!
More on meditation later...
Blessings!
Amy
Begin by sitting comfortably with the back straight, some portion of your body on the floor. Think about increasing the space between each vertabre. Make the small of your back flat like you were sitting up against a wall.
Take 3 deep breaths:
Exhale completely, where your stomach pushes in, releasing all air in your lungs. Now, when you take your next breath, you will start by filling up your diaphragm in the stomach area first, then enlarging your ribcage and filling the lungs completely.
When you breath in, imagine clean, fresh, healing energy filling your body. When you exhale, imagine all the toxins in your body, including all stress, negative feelings, bad food, chemicals you have been in contact with, etc., all leaving your body out the bottom of your feet. Whoosh! Out they go!
Now breath normally. Feel where the air hits your nose, at the nostrils, inside your nose, at the back of your throat. Just focus on that. When thoughts enter your mind, and they will, just allow them to drift away and come back to your breathing.
Relax, enjoy feeling calm and still for as long as you can. Start with short periods if you need to, 10 minutes a day, slowly increasing.
Before you get up and get moving again, take a minute to listen to your body, what is it telling you? Imagine that peaceful, calm feeling being with you to some extent all during your day.
At the end of the day, take note of how your day went. For a real boost, journal 5 things you are grateful for!
More on meditation later...
Blessings!
Amy
Friday, April 10, 2009
Making changes, starting with Meditation
So, how do we start to make changes in our life? A great place to start is mediation. It helps our minds stop and learn to focus internally. Healing begins within.
I'm always surprised at how taking a few minutes at the beginning of my day can set the tone for the whole day. I've set the intention for my day to be peaceful and calm. Practice brings about slow change.
It helped me to have a program to follow.
Matt Clarkson offers several great programs on meditation and Qigong. They go beyond just how to meditate, but includes wise insights on becoming more centered. You can get started with a free email course on meditation at : Free Program After signing up, go ahead and take a few minutes to listen to the mp3 meditation session to get a sense of what to expect. He is also offering discounts at this time for the full programs.
Meditation takes practice and commitment. How much do you want to change? Start slowly, just 5 -10 minutes per day at first. I find once I get started, I don't want to stop! So, the hardest part is taking the time to sit down and be still.
Our brains actually develop new neuropathways that are like cutting new paths through the forest. The more we travel the path, the easier it becomes!
This is your day, make the most of it!
Amy
I'm always surprised at how taking a few minutes at the beginning of my day can set the tone for the whole day. I've set the intention for my day to be peaceful and calm. Practice brings about slow change.
It helped me to have a program to follow.
Matt Clarkson offers several great programs on meditation and Qigong. They go beyond just how to meditate, but includes wise insights on becoming more centered. You can get started with a free email course on meditation at : Free Program After signing up, go ahead and take a few minutes to listen to the mp3 meditation session to get a sense of what to expect. He is also offering discounts at this time for the full programs.
Meditation takes practice and commitment. How much do you want to change? Start slowly, just 5 -10 minutes per day at first. I find once I get started, I don't want to stop! So, the hardest part is taking the time to sit down and be still.
Our brains actually develop new neuropathways that are like cutting new paths through the forest. The more we travel the path, the easier it becomes!
This is your day, make the most of it!
Amy
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Tree of Life?
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