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Cooperation Kindness and Peace

Posted on April 30, 2020 | Leave a comment

It has been an entire month of staying home for me. Major unexpected life change. Surprisingly, I have been okay, but I wouldn’t call it fun. Seems we’re all searching for a new normal, and the answer is not forthcoming with much uncertainty still on the horizon.

I will use my voice here to encourage cooperation, kindness and peace. In my limited interactions with people this month, I’ve seen plenty of the unpleasant side of humanity. In the age of information, we now have a culture of armchair critics and experts who feel their knowledge gained from social media or the news is enough to warrant their incessant judgement of others. Believing that you know better than everyone else is a sign of ego leading the way. No one has any experience in handling a global pandemic, caused by a virus with some semblance to the common cold with potential lethal effects, so logically, people with education in this field, doctors and scientists need to be the leaders to interpret the situation. Of course there will be differing opinions with the ideal being discussion and collaboration.

I’m about to enter practice in traditional chinese medicine, which is considered as alternative health. I will declare that I believe in integrated medicine that would be the purpose of advancement of human knowledge-to learn and create innovative solutions, with collaboration being most effective. We all have a choice every moment to take a step towards being peaceful.

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Acceptance, gratitude, love, reflection and intention

Posted on December 28, 2019 | Leave a comment

As 2019 comes to a close it is natural to take some time to reflect on all that has happened this year and decade in the movie of your life. In order to grow and evolve, acceptance of the present moment is necessary. In that acceptance we can find gratitude and love for all that we have. With reflection we may find there are things to change and let go of: the end of a year is the perfect time to clean up and let go. In preparation for a new year, we can come to a state of intention which is loving, kind, beautiful, creative, expansive, infinitely abundant and receptive (to quote Wayne Dyer The Power of Intention)

Best wishes for a fresh start to a new decade of making life good-

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Follow Your Bliss

Posted on November 28, 2019 | Leave a comment

Follow your bliss is an often repeated line and for good reason. We all need a compass to guide us and the question is what do we use as the compass?

A couple months ago I shared this quote with a friend:

If one advances confidently in the direction of his own dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours

Thoreau (I found it in a Wayne Dyer book)

My friend referenced a quote with similar meaning by Joseph Campbell, so I read the book the Power of Myth and came across:

Q: Do you ever have this sense when you are following your bliss, as I have at moments, of being helped by hidden hands? 

A: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as the result of invisible hands coming all the time-namely that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. 

What is the bliss to follow? It is yours to know. I believe it is your own inspiration that you are guided to by following your inner knowing. It may not seem known to you yet, and it is a constant process in meditation to feel, hear, know, and see your inner compass. Your dreams can be guiding feelings.

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Mental Health

Posted on October 31, 2019 | Leave a comment

This month, it came to mind many times how important it is to monitor and maintain our mental health. How can that be done? The practice of meditation gives us an opportunity to observe ourselves and our thoughts. If our thoughts are habitually negative, repetitive, obsessive or generally stuck on a loop(in the past or future)-it requires change, and the change may require the assistance of a professional should it prove challenging to make the change on our own.

Earlier this month, I heard the song Electric Love by BORNS and right away I thought of Gary Glitter Rock and Roll. I made a playlist with songs that had a similar drum and guitar line for my cycle class. In checking the song credits, I learned that Rock and Roll was featured in the movie Joker (which I had plans to see as soon as I learned I had just missed the premiere in Italy) and there was backlash due to Glitter being in jail for pedophile crimes. Glitter’s crimes were news to me and there is the view that his music should not be played, as that supports a pedophile in earning royalties. I had already made and shared the playlist for my class so I decided to go ahead and use the opportunity to raise awareness of the issues to child abuse and mental health, as we need every one to pitch in to improve the human condition.

I saw Joker last week and felt it was a well done film that provided a view of mental illness. There is a scene where Joaquin Phoenix in his brilliant performance as Arthur Fleck/Joker tells his social worker ‘all I have are negative thoughts’. While it is not possible to have only positive thoughts, it is an important practice for us to watch the nature of our thoughts and thinking:

Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”

The above quote is credited to Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu and there are similar versions in the words of others. The practice is the same, we need to monitor our thoughts and thinking to steer in a healthy direction for our mental health.

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What kind of a human do you want to be?

Posted on August 26, 2019 | Leave a comment

A couple summers ago I took on the challenge of ‘you need a trainer’ from an awesome trainer J.S. The sessions were at a gym where they measured your body composition as a marker for progress. It was uncomfortable getting on a scale that ‘analyzed’ your fat content with an extremely lean trainer and I am a fit person myself! I was reminded that we are all so much more than a measure of percentages of muscle, fat, and bone. I posed the question to myself, if I were to assign percentages, what kind of a human do I want to be?

I want to be 72% Wonder Woman, 7% ridiculous 7 year old kid and the remaining 21% is always up for development and evolution. Having a concept of what you stand for as a human being is actually very important, as it will clarify your dreams/purpose, which will inspire you on how to lead your life on a daily basis. Once you know who you really are and what you want to become, then all the various challenges you face in life can be seen as various tests of character and strength.

Ps. 7 year olds are among the most enthusiastic humans I’ve seen, so great to keep our inner child alive and well

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Recipe: Homemade granola bars

Posted on July 31, 2019 | Leave a comment

I have been buying granola bars the past year or so to throw into my bag as a quick snack between meals in my busy schedule. The best part of the granola bars is it comes in a wrapper and is fairly indestructible, otherwise it felt like they could be healthier and more satisfying.

I looked at many recipes and decided to try the one from Oh She Glows, as the recipes do work. I made some modifications, adding a little honey makes for a sweeter bar, so here is an easy recipe for nutritious homemade granola bars:

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats

3 very ripe bananas mashed

8 pitted dates chopped

Honey to taste if more sweetness is desired

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of sea salt

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup walnut or pecan pieces

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish or pan with coconut oil.

In a large bowl, mash bananas and add dates, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Stir in oats until well combined. Fold in pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins, nuts and chocolate chips. Pat mixture into baking dish. Use a spatula to smooth out to even thickness.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly brown. Let cool and cut into squares or bars. Store in an airtight container or freeze wrapped in desired airtight packaging. Enjoy on the go!

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Recipe: Gluten Free Banana Bread

Posted on March 30, 2019 | Leave a comment

Recently a client gave me a piece of her favourite banana bread. Her absolute favourite recipe after many years of baking. Truly outstanding. She was kind enough to share the recipe and it comes all the way from Australia! I went to try the recipe and had eaten enough wheat in recent times, so I tried making it gluten free. First it was dry, then I forgot xanthan gum and on the third attempt, replacing the walnuts with chocolate chips, it turned out amazing! Here is the recipe, be sure to use mini loaf pans, the smaller volume increases odds of success, as gluten free baking can be finicky. Also check for doneness sooner than you think, as this banana bread goes dry very quickly while baking.

1 3/4 cups gluten free flour blend (I used millet, chickpea, sorghum, rice, banana and teff flour, more types of flour is better)

1.5-2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3-4 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients. In another medium bowl, mash bananas then whisk together with sugar, eggs and melted butter. Fold dry ingredients into the banana mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into 3-4 greased mini loaf pans. Bake for 20-30 minutes, checking for doneness at 15 min. Tops will be cracked, if a fork comes out sticky, the loaves can sit in the oven that is off for a few extra minutes to finish cooking. Enjoy at room temperature and store in an airtight container.

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Last thoughts of the Day

Posted on January 31, 2019 | Leave a comment

I recently read a Wayne Dyer book called Wishes Fulfilled. From this book I am now inspired to read Neville Goddard.

One concept I put into practice from the book is to be aware or mindful of the last thoughts I have before drifting off to sleep. From what I understand, 95% of our behaviour is unconscious(Subliminal-Leonard Mlodinow) and the few minutes before we drift off to sleep are the bridge between our conscious and unconscious mind. We can choose to have more positive thoughts so we have a more peaceful sleep, feel better upon waking and have a better experience in life by participating in creating our reality. We can steer our unconscious mind towards who we want to be and how we want to feel rather than doubt, rumination and worry.

I have just started practicing this concept and I can share that feels like a special form of meditation to simultaneously steer your mind towards a more positive realm, such as envisioning who you want to be and how you want to feel and participate in the letting go process of falling asleep at the same time. I have really enjoyed it so far. I am reminded of the practice of yoga nidra, however, this process I enjoy a lot more, as I allow sleep to happen. In yoga nidra, there is the thought that one must stay at the edge of sleep and wakefulness(I fall asleep most of the time!)

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2018 reflections

Posted on December 31, 2018 | Leave a comment

The start of 2018 brought to mind the concept and practice of gratitude. I practiced something of a gratitude journal and after some time realized gratitude is more of an attitude, a frame of mind, a form of consciousness. With the continual practice of placing focus on a more positive frame of mind, I noticed being grateful helps build strength towards being inspired.

As the sun sets on 2018, I’m taking stock of all the amazing things that happened and all that I learned. The challenging experiences I take note and consider how I can improve and learn. Every challenge in life is a test of what you really stand for-

Tomorrow, the first day of the year, I’ll take extra time to meditate and reflect on my intentions for 2019. Happy new year!

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Real Magic

Posted on October 31, 2018 | Leave a comment

I celebrated my birthday recently by choosing a Wayne Dyer book for myself. I chose Real Magic and I have been loving the book. Essentially the message is we can experience real magic in our lives by choosing to align with our invisible spiritual selves first and foremost. Another way to understand this is to develop our intuition and use it to guide us.

Intuition is visible and invisible information experienced in the body as sensations that guide us. The discernment and application of knowledge through all of our senses and mind in combination with any extra information we perceive/sense is the effective use of intuition. Our first impressions are quite useful as a marker of our intuition. Be it a person or life situation, using our first impression as guidance can be helpful.

I discussed crystal balls and tarot cards at my last yoga class. I believe these are tools that can be used as guidance for yourself. We cannot know the future, however, we can clarify what our intentions are, which will guide us in the right direction. Developing your intuition through trusting it and taking appropriate action guides your spiritual growth to help you find the best path for yourself.

 

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