3 Point Turn…..Life Changes

I can’t always say in what order my life has changed. Over the years so many things – incidents, situations, even a spoken word, has had occasion to rock my world. 

Often to the core.

But, there are those very few times in life, when I made a decision or found myself in a particular predicament, where I had no choice but to discover for myself exactly what I am made of.

And I have done that, time and again.

Looking back as I often do at this time of year, I can remember times when I have not felt as strong in myself as I do right now. Or times when I really doubted I could see something through to the very end.

These were the situations that held onto me and kept me back. 

I had a tendency to be surrounded by people who left me feeling fearful and doubtful and for years I would blame myself for a lack of will power, an inability to stay the course or self-sabotage. 

Yet, when I distanced myself from these groups of people and the mind-set that went along with them, well I found my own mind and the rest quickly became history. Because, I finally had the energy, the courage and the fortitude to make the necessary changes to my life. 

In my reflections at this time, I see strong patterns of change throughout this past decade in particular where I have made significant shifts in my thinking or mindset around certain expectations (placed on my by society, others, myself?)- which resulted in profound change in the path I am on.

Perhaps it’s as simple as making the choice, seeing it through – sticking with that new energy and then forging ahead on this new-found road. 

One of the most significant decisions I (we) made as a family was to move away from modern chemical methods of treating and dealing with sickness and health. In its’ place I committed to completely adhering to all natural means of creating and maintaining health and healing.

Since the premise of any life altering, world changing shift is the fact that you don’t go back – you keep moving forward no matter what happens…..this decision pushed all of my buttons and of course I had to deal with everything that came my way, naturally.

Working my way through the fear and ill health of cancer with only my intuition to guide my healing process gave me hope, courage and a profound new respect for the powerhouse of healing stored deep within my body cells.

Another monumental shift occurred when in keeping with my no drug or chemical intervention framework a few years later, I knew I would be having my baby at home in a free birth. You can read the story for yourself here– but even 7 years on from that time, I have to say it changed me forever.

I gave birth to some part of me that day, an elemental force that had not existed on this planet in nearly forever. Perhaps not since my first incarnation before the shock of life’s hardships in this physical dimension took a toll and seared their way onto my soul.

Taking the birth of my child into my own hands – thus avoiding another surgery and MRSA infection, potential harm to myself and my baby, not to mention the indignity of it all – taught me one more thing about myself; life has a force all of it’s own and when we allow it, the living of it takes over.

Lastly, we took the decision to go it on our own without seeking, searching for or believing we needed money or jobs from sources other then what we created ourselves. Cutting ties that bound us to this just over broke endlessness, which left us feeling useless and in despair most of the time. 

It was hard to feel motivated on emptiness…..so a truer sense of sustainable living was what we were after - we had to sustain ourselves with no outside help.

After all, we have education, training, many skills and brains that work (LOL), so why not find it in ourselves to make our own way in this world and stop the forced slavery of following someone else’s dream or worse, losing your dreams to nothingness. 

Should be easy, right? Not! Besides, at the end of the day, we didn’t feel we had a choice….backed into a corner by the recession sorts out the reality on the ground in short order. 

Come out fighting or die trying!

Not one part of any of these changes, was an easy decision or a comfortable situation to find oneself in with a family in tow – at least not in the beginning. However, like all the other intuitive, life altering leanings in my life, it is working out, we are moving forward and I am happier then before.

Perhaps, I am happier then I have ever been because I have taken back some measure of control – finally steering my own ship. Here’s hoping for smooth sailing and warm seas….

April

Sailing Camp - Glandore 

5 Things to Do Today….

There are so many simple little things you can be doing each and every day to make yourself feel healthier, better and to keep mind/body/spirit together….I have listed a few of my favourite places to start…..

1. Go homemade with an item you would usually buy. Make your own pot of jam (cook an apple, 2 peaches and handful of strawberries, juice of 1 lemon, ½ cup water, until thick, no sugar or pectin needed). If you have a food processor roast 1 cup of raw almonds and make an almond nut butter – cheaper and tastes far better than shop bought. Or search online for recipes for homemade versions of mayonnaise, mustard, chutneys and preserves – they taste far better and you feel such a sense of accomplishment from making your own.

2. Cook a meal from scratch   - no tins, no packets – a meal entirely from fresh produce and wholesome ingredients. You might start with jasmine rice, stir-fry of fresh greens, beans, onion, garlic, leek and grated carrot, small piece of grilled or baked fish to top the meal off. Add some of your homemade mustard made into a sauce…

3. Choose a day to fast! Get some clean spring water, lemons (organic are better) and clear herbal teas (not the fruit kind). Once you finish your last meal of the day, get into fast mode while you only take in water, lemon juice and clear liquid herbal teas for the following full 24 hours. It’s like putting your car in the garage for a tune-up, give your digestion a mini break, repair can take place, and you will feel great. There are many of us who have adopted this as part of a regular week with healthy results (lower cholesterol, normal blood pressure, regulated blood sugar etc.)

4. Exercise in shorter sessions or bursts of 5, 10 to 15 minutes two or three times over a full day. You will not only feel better, fresher and more engaged in your activities you will also oxygenate your brain more frequently (great for students, writers, busy moms!) and feel stronger. It may be far easier to exercise in shorter time intervals throughout the day then one long session. Try it, exercising this way keeps your routine fresh and there are only benefits to be gained.

5. If you don’t have this already, create a sacred space at home or in your garden. This may be a place where you have your favourite books, candles, precious mementoes, incense – it could be a table, comfy chair or a shelf. If you have one already, give it a revamp, clear out the old energy and create some changes with fresh flowers, a new candle, or a new location. Then sit and enjoy a cup of herbal tea as you write in your new journal….

April 

Getting On With Living….

Today I am fasting again….however, it was nice to eat loads (read way too much!) over the Christmas holidays and equally nice to be experimenting, cooking and tasting the rich seasonal foods on offer. Life really does revolve around food and eating in this house!

But, that's all behind us now, so, getting back to today. I felt is was time to get this month started for me on yet another footing (self care is paramount) and I am doing a bit of a fast. At the moment, I am not sure how long I will fast this time around. Perhaps a week or two – or maybe longer, I like to take these things one day at a time whenever I can.

Already today I had my first little detox challenge…..I started feeling achy and sinusy as if I was coming down with a cold (like the one the kids had 2 weeks ago!). And my first thought was to just go back to bed….but alas, that isn’t really an option.

I just followed my instincts (or a very strong intuition in my case) and mixed up some of my Apple Cider Vinegar into my fermented Rebel Juice and sipped on that for the rest of the morning. By the time I realized I was feeling back to myself, the juice was gone and I had been busy with all my chores around the place.

It works so quickly!

And now here I am with quite a few things done including 2 mini workouts and still marveling that I am feeling much better – and glad I never went back to bed. The moral of the story here seems to be – to never underestimate the healing power of your body when given the right ingredients.

In this case it was my own apple cider vinegar and fermented beetroot juice – it packs a powerful anti-oxidant punch as well as provides nourishing probiotics for the gut. Because our immune system is gut mediated (if your tummy isn’t working, your immune system is compromised) all we need to do is boost ourselves from the inside with beneficial organisms….

Then they do the work for us. 

When I think back to how I used to treat myself when I felt low, poorly or even completely under the weather – well, needless to say, it was a world apart from where I am today. I would often just ignore symptoms or worse, just push them down with a pain reliever and carry on.

If I have learned anything about health, healing and detox over these many years living this close to nature and in tune with my body, it’s this; when you are gentle with your body and provide natural, equally gentle means of healing, you only have to walk down this road once. 

Pushing something down or aside, simply means it will pop back up to be dealt with on another day and perhaps be far worse then what you started with.  Best to face up to whateveritis that’s around us on the day and provide our body with what it needs (nutrients, herbs, probiotics, exercise, quiet time, laughter, detox) to move forward – then we can get on with living our lives. 

And that’s what we are doing here, right?

April