Tag Archives: wellbeing

Eight Ingredients for Better Health

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Image from healthycare-tutorials.blogspot.com

To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.  Buddha

Our bodies are the vehicle for our Souls. By honouring and looking after our physical vehicle we are then much better able to access and work with our mental and spiritual gifts.

There are eight practical, proven and simple things that we can do or include in our lives each day in order to help build up energy within our bodies, and to maintain our physical health and vitality.  This is not rocket science – it is fundamental and basic information.  Yes, what I am about to share sounds like what your Nana might have told you (in fact, my Nana told me).  Yes, it works!!!

These ‘miracle’ ingredients for a long and healthy life are:

  1. Water
  2. Sleep
  3. Fresh Air
  4. Clean and Nourishing Food
  5. Movement
  6. Spiritual Health
  7. Love
  8. Self Control

Let’s explore each of these eight vital ingredients in more detail.


1.  Water

Drink plenty of fresh, clean water.

Image by ecowoman.net

Suggestions:  For best results take your water at room temperature to minimise pressure on your internal organs which would otherwise have to heat the water up before using it.  Keep a bottle of water with you at all times, even beside your bed.  Often residual low level fatigue is the result of chronic dehydration.  For even better results, write positive words and affirmations on your water bottle.  If you suffer from dizziness or low blood pressure, add a small pinch of celtic salt to your water bottle.  This will help restore the electrolyte balance within your body and assist with the uptake of water and oxygen by your body’s cells.

2.  Sleep

Get adequate (what your body really needs, not what you let it have!) sleep.

Image by ALAMY

Suggestions:  Most of us need a minimum of eight hours, and sometimes more if we are fighting off an infection, healing, growing or changing.   Did you know that most of the western world’s adult population is sleep deprived?  Since the introduction of the electric light bulb, and then television, adults have been slowly eroding their hours of quiet time and sleep during the evening hours.  Where we once had a few hours of quiet talk, or reading, or other gentle and relaxing activities to wind down before sleep, we now have over-stimulation from television.  We sleep from one to four hours less per night on average than our physical body requires.  The artificial light we are exposed to during the day in offices and shopping centres, and at night in our own homes reduces chemical and hormonal input from our bodies that would ordinarily prepare us for sleep.  We lose our natural sleep rhythms.  This sort of prolonged sleep deprivation, where you get substandard sleep or inadequate sleep takes some months to recover from, and prevents the body from healing, solving problems and spiritual connection during the sleeping hours.

To improve sleep, get some exposure to natural full-spectrum sunlight every day.  (Don’t wear sunglasses as this changes the spectrum of the sun’s rays.) Twenty minutes would be a minimum.  Don’t go to bed immediately after a big meal.  Let the digestion process have around two hours first to get started so that your sleep is not compromised.  If this is hard to do, eat earlier, or make your main meal lunch so that you are only digesting light food at night time.  Keep your bedroom quiet, dark and well ventilated.  Take at least half an hour before sleep to wind down.  Don’t do this in front of the television!  Take a shower, read a book, listen to music, meditate, make love.  You may also want to remove electro-magnetic radiation from the bedroom, or at least get rid of electrical appliances beside, behind or under the bed.  Lavender essential oil aids relaxation and sleep.  In winter keep your feet warm, or have a warm shower just before going to be so that you don’t get into bed cold.

3.  Fresh Air

Oxygen and clean air is vital to our well being on every level.

Image by shutterstock – naldzgraphics.net

Suggestions:  Get out into the fresh air and sunshine each day.  Oxygen is vital for our well being.  Sunshine is important for providing vitamin D. Use good posture to enable you to breathe deeply and to avoid shallow breathing.  Take several slow, deliberate deep breaths a few times a day to recharge and re-oxygenate your blood.  Make sure that your home, office and bedroom are well ventilated, with a good flow of natural air.  Don’t spend all of your time in air-conditioning, and if you do use an air-conditioner keep it well maintained.  Minimise dust and mould in your environment.  Avoid exposure to chemicals, especially within your home.  Don’t exercise on busy roads.

4.  Clean and Nourishing Food

Food is both fuel and medicine for our bodies.  Our bodies are the direct result of the quality of nutrition that we put into them.  Eat regularly to maintain a good supply of fuel to your brain and body.

Image from toptenzlists.com

Suggestions:  Food is best when it is freshly prepared, chemical free, and made with love.  Blessing your food, and eating in a relaxed environment really does make a difference.  Favour a plant-based diet, with the inclusion of good quality fats and proteins. Choose organic meats and free range chickens, and wild caught seafoods.  Grass fed beef has the same essential fatty acid ratio as fish – grain fed beef does not, and is not nearly as good for you.  Make sure you get a good range of fresh vegetables each day – these can also be eaten as juice.  Fruit is better taken as a whole food than as a juice so that you can minimise your concentrated sugar intake.  Eat fruit and vegetables in season.  Out of season food has often had to travel a long way to get to you, and will have lost a lot of its vital energy and goodness.  Nuts and seeds are good, and so are whole grains.  Naturally fermented foods such as yoghurt, keffir and so on are also good for your gut health.  If a food has a prolonged shelf life, it will also have little life force.

Reduce and avoid food that is mass produced, fast food, or high in sugars, salts, stimulants (such as caffeine) fats and flour.  Avoid artificial colours and additives.  Eat when you’re hungry, and pay attention to when and why you eat so that you can identify and manage emotional eating – where we eat for comfort or entertainment rather than because our body needs fuel.  Sharing a meal with a friend or family member is always a good way to reduce stress.  Don’t eat in front of television, and don’t eat when you are upset.  Always calm down before eating.  Different bodies prefer different diet variations – if necessary find a good natural therapist or dietician to help you with your food choices.  Listen to your body – it will soon tell you what it does and doesn’t like.  In times of stress or illness, it may be necessary to take additional supplements of vitamins, minerals and/or herbs.  Seek help if you need it.

5.  Movement

Our bodies were designed to move.  They must be moved, nurtured and stretched on a daily basis.  Movement allows the internal organs to function well, it keeps joints lubricated, circulates blood, oxygen and lymph within our bodies, and helps us to stay supple, strong and mobile.

Image from healthwise-everythinghealth.blogspot.com.au

Suggestion:  Movement helps decrease obesity, depression and a host of other ills.  The longer we go without movement, the more difficult movement becomes.  Find some exercises that you enjoy, and try to become active at work and home.  Learn some basic stretching, and if you want to understand and nourish the physical body on an even higher level, learn yoga, tai chi or qi gong.  Movement was never just about going to a gym, although you might enjoy this.  Movement is also about walking, surfing, lawn bowls, stretching, swimming on a hot day, skiing in winter, dancing anytime, gardening, housework, fencing, playing with children or animals, chasing your lover around the bedroom, building, creating, self expression and pure joy.  It can also be about the discipline of a martial art or practice such as yoga, or about the fun of teamwork playing footie, cricket, tennis doubles, or tug-of-war.  Not so bad after all, is it?

6.  Spiritual Health

Those people who have an active faith, and who practice regular connection with that faith have better physical health and longevity, lower stress levels, faster healing, greater rates of ‘unusual and unexpected’ recoveries and greater levels of personal acceptance and satisfaction.

Painting by Goro Fujita

Suggestion:  Spirituality isn’t about going to church, although for some people that can be an important focus of their faith.  It means taking time to talk with God and your Guides, Angels and Loved Ones who’ve passed over.  It’s about having a connection to the earth and all living things.  Some people do this through listening to music, some people do this through creating art, and some people do this through going for a walk in nature.  How you find your Soul, and talk with your God is up to you.  Spiritual Health is about making time to go within, through prayer, meditation and self reflection.  And doing these things as a normal part of your daily routine.  Take time to learn about your spirituality, to read and share and grow your faith.  Take time to practice your connection.  Use spiritual tools, and give and receive spiritual energy.  Pray for yourself and others on a regular basis.  It is also powerful to meet with like-minded people to share the experience.  This can be through worship, group meditations, sharing healings and readings, attending festivals and workshops, or even just holding hands together before a meal.

7.  Love

Love is fundamental to the human spirit.  We need to learn to give and to receive love, and to do this daily!  Love is the most powerful energy in the Universe.

Image from www.soupornuts.com

Suggestion:  Self love and self care top this list.  This includes treating ourselves well, and surrounding ourselves with energies that uplift and support us.  We all need someone to love.  Family, friends, partners, even animals.  We need to be able to actively demonstrate love through our thoughts, actions and intentions.  It is also important that we open ourselves up to receive love as well.  This is often much harder to do, than to love others.  Become involved in helping others.  Use your spiritual faith to help you find ways to express Love in the World.

8.  Self Control

Self control is a conscious development of our will.  It is the voice of our wise self, and it becomes stronger and easier to identify the more we use it.  Self control allows us to stay true to who we are, and to what we know is good for us.

Image from arabia.msn.com

Suggestions:  Self control requires self trust, and self love.  If we come home from work feeling tired, it is easy to eat junk food and forgo exercise.  Self control is the wise and caring voice within us that urges us to eat something healthy, to take the dog for a walk, or to say ‘no’ to a second helping of dessert.  It is often difficult to exert any self control if we have not worked with this part of us for a long time.  When self control is not exercised, our inner critic – the ego, can make us feel very unhappy and inadequate.  This fuels low self esteem and can make the lack of self control even worse.  Our wise self whispers, “eat a salad and some fish” and we then need to exercise our self control to enable this to happen.  If instead we eat toast with jam, and a bowl of ice-cream, the ego will chastise us.  Your self talk might then sound like this: “Oh, you are so fat and weak.  You might as well eat another bowl of ice-cream.”  And so you do, and end up feeling worse about yourself, and believing that you have no will power.  If your self control is weak, start with small promises that you make and then keep with yourself.  As you fulfil each promise, this will strengthen your self control by building your sense of worth and self confidence.  If you slip back, be kind with yourself and just start again.

Journal Activity: Revisit each of the eight ingredients of good health.  For each ingredient, write down one small step that you could take in the next few days to strengthen that area within your own life.  Make sure the actions you want to take are small, measurable and achievable so that you can continue to strengthen your wellbeing, self belief and self control!

Advice for strong people who aren’t coping…

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Image from vectorgraphic.com

Strong people are used to coping. They are used to leading.  They are used to taking charge.  Strong people are able to put their own hurt and exhaustion aside when others rely them, or the job needs to get done. They are not good at sharing their pain or asking for help.

You know who I mean. They front up to life each day, often with a smile on their face, and you’d never know how tough it is for them to keep doing that. The single parent juggling two jobs and an impossible ex. The husband living with a wife with severe depression. The mum whose child has an addiction issue; the oncologist who doles out bad news all day; the person with a mountain of debt and a health problem; the teacher motivating kids who come from homes where no-one cares; the manager running a department fraught with problems and no end in sight; the short-handed team trying to meet a crazy deadline; the calm poised person who turns up to work each day, but who goes home to loneliness or a horrid family or spouse.

When strong people keep coping (or appearing to cope) with life’s pain and hardships, it’s easy for others to make demands on you.  They see you standing strong, and they forget what you have been through, what you are going through, what lies ahead of you. They keep looking to you for leadership.

Image from kolorkube.com

And the truth is, most strong people can keep on functioning, even when they feel dead inside, completely broken, and in the deepest despair.

Strong people were built to cope, and when you aren’t coping (even though no-one may know that), it is vital that you get some time out, find some support, or make some decisions that help you move back to your natural state of strength.

When you are a strong and capable person, you shine brightly.  That’s why people turn to you, follow you, ask for your advice. And often when people are leaning on you for strength, they want and need you to be who you always portray yourself as, who you’ve always been for them.  Even if you are affected by the same issue, it’s likely they won’t see how exacting this toll has been on you.

Image from photostock.com

Sometimes, it’s because you hide it so well.

Sometimes it’s because people don’t even realise that you might hurt, that you might need help yourself.

Sometimes it’s because needy people, in their own world of hurt, have no idea that you might be suffering too.

So, my strong friend – look after you. Withdraw if you must, regroup, find your feet. Close the door to others if there is nothing left within you to give. Little birds must sometime fly, no matter how reluctant they may be to leave your nest.

Often some time for self-nurture or a break away from the stress is all you’ll need before you are refreshed and ready to carry on.

Image from freedigitalphotos.net

But you might need greater support, a counsellor, a change of scenery, an ending…

If you do, then seek that support or change. Life is too short and precious to live it on your knees.

Do what gives you relief. Value yourself as much as you value the wants and needs of others.
I hope you find strong arms to support you.  Sometimes that’s family – or friends can often be that support where family fail to measure up.

But I have found over time, as have many of my own dear friends, that there are times when we walk alone except for God.  And that is how we find that strength within that helps us understand that we really can deal with anything life throws at us, no matter how awful or frightening or abhorrent, and that no matter how we might not like it, we can and do deal with it the best we know how, which is always all we are ever asked to do.

As a strong person you’re a bright light in the world for so many gloomy and frightened souls, so many stuck or lonely or directionless beings.  It is your choice to be that bright light, but it is also your calling – you can’t help but be who you are.  When you are the teacher, when you are the Colonel, the Queen, the leader, when you are the one at the front of the class, everyone else looks to you.  They don’t see you as a person any more, they see you as Teacher, Healer, Captain, Wise Woman, Father, Madam Muse.  And you ARE all those things.

But you’re also the person they won’t or can’t acknowledge.  The person who is tired and frightened and battle weary.  They need to see you strong because seeing you strong gives them faith and hope that their own lives will be okay somehow.  When you are championing them, you are helping them to know that there is a light within themselves.  You give them hope to believe in themselves.  It is only after, when they have found their own light within that they will be able to acknowledge your darkness, and your humanity.

Image from freedigitalphotos.net

I know you have the strength to get through this too. It’s okay if you need to pull back for a while. Resting and healing will help you to keep shining one day when you’re ready to be that thing again.

It’s a tough act, being a responsible grown up amongst so many who are still finding their feet.  I’m sending all love your way, and including you in my prayers and meditations. ♥

A Cup of Tea and Comfort…

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Living and working as a psychic can be quite draining, although I love what I do. It’s not dissimilar to any other ‘caring’ profession, where you are totally focused on the needs of others, in a way that leaves little time for yourself.

I’ve learned that the best way to avoid burnout for me is to work for a few intense days in a row and then have a complete break from clients for a time. And one of the ways I often celebrate finishing my work week is with a visit to Queenies Teahouse, at Nundah Village in Brisbane.

It’s the perfect place for nurture and soul food. From the moment you push open the door with its tinkling bell you can feel yourself begin to unwind. Smiling staff greet you and usher you to crisp linen’d tables, and soon you’ll find yourself cradling a small tasting cup of one of their delightful teas as you peruse the menu.

A visit to Queenies is like a step back in time, where the worries of the world stop at the front door.  In the background the gentle strains of music your grandmother might have listened to – all the old jazz and blues greats, and the sounds of yesteryear – soothe and unfrazzle your senses.  Gorgeous smells waft from the kitchen.

This is no coffee shop with its clatter and noise, laptops and mobile phones. Here you find friends chatting, generations of families catching up over a pot of tea, and individuals having a moment’s respite from their daily madness – a sort of ‘tea and tasties’ meditation for one.

The teas are sublime and there are so many to choose from. There are two full menu pages devoted to the tea selection, with the sorts of descriptions usually reserved for wine lists.

The herbal tea and green tea varieties are as extensive as the black teas, and they always arrive at your table perfectly brewed, or refreshingly iced.

And have I mentioned the food…

Everything is made fresh in the Queenies kitchen – examples include the daintiest of ribbon sandwiches, creamy risotto, savoury mince (that is right up there with my late grandmother’s), exquisite cakes, coconut ice, and of course cupcakes and scones to die for…

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday a friend and I enjoyed ribbon sandwiches and a pot of Creme Brulee Tea, followed by something sweet.

For me, the most moist and delicious gluten-free orange and almond cake, with its own little shotglass of orange syrup and a perfect ball of chocolate ganache of swooning quality…

For my friend, the baked cheesecake with its spicy gingernut biscuit crust and heavenly berry topping…

The menu has all the traditional high tea favourites, and is also vegetarian and gluten-free friendly. And there are lovely treats to take home –  a sachet or two of your favourite tea, a pretty teapot or tea-towel, or perhaps a tiny tea set for the small people in your life.

My wonderful friend, the poet Carly-Jay Metcalfe was moved to poetry by yesterday’s outing.  You can read about it here.

In fact, I was so inspired that I am planning to book the place out and have a Sunday Function here one day soon, where we can combine Soul Food, Spirituality, Blessings and Poetry over a lovely lunch and a good cup of tea with like-minded souls. Stay tuned for details!

Fall down seven times, stand up eight…

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Australian Soldier at Gallipoli WWI. Image from awm.gov.au

This post is dedicated to the members of our Defence Forces, Emergency Services and their families, past and present, and to everyone who is facing hardship, no matter it’s nature.

There is something that many people don’t know about courage. Something most people don’t know about strength, and resilience…

We usually only find these qualities in ourselves when we’re already on our knees.

There is no need for it when things are going well. When we are in flow and life is good, the gifts at our core are hidden from view.

So you won’t know you have it in you until the day you need it.

Image from thumbpress.com

Life is never all smoothing sailing.  The good times don’t prepare us for the bad.

But I promise you, when it gets hard, if you dig deep you’ll find that there is a place inside you you didn’t know was there.  A place of courage and grace and steely determination.  A place of valour and a drive to stand up and keep going, even when you don’t know how, even when you don’t know if standing back up is actually possible yet.

But you can’t win at life when you’re on your knees. You can’t win if you give up. Victory might be around the next corner.  Or the next.

The Japanese proverb, Fall down seven times, stand up eight... speaks to the heart of this.

Image by mgl23 at tumblr

You can be your own hero.

The choices you make today determine who you will be tomorrow.

Trust that it’s within you.

Pick yourself up.  Keep going.  Grow…

Image by Serena from weheartit.com

The gifts of childhood often come wrapped in ugly paper…

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Justin Bieber wrapping paper – image from hellogiggles.com

I know, I know. Everyone blames everything on childhood. It’s a therapist’s favourite playground.

I’m revisiting childhood with you today. Why? 2012 is a fantastic year for personal growth and for letting go of what no longer serves us.  These pains from our past can be really old wounds,  but they are still worth healing. So much energy gets bound up in this sort of pain and it can prevent us from thriving. (In case you missed it, I blogged about letting go and how emotions impact your health recently.  Click on the blue links to go visit!)

Firstly, let’s get one thing clear –  I believe that we choose our parents. (want some proof?  check out my blog about it here) I can hear some of you suck in your breath at that. But think about it for a minute. Our parents are our first teachers in life. Their influence will profoundly impact our development. We are all souls, who had consciousness before we came into this lifetime. And we’ve made choices in our parents that we believe will give us our best opportunity for growth in a particular area. So instead of getting stuck in blame, or repeating old patterns, I’m asking you to step into a new place of understanding about your childhood, and to claim the gifts that were left for you there.  Not to condone bad parenting.  Not to approve of things done to you.  But to set you free from the energy of the past. That’s what forgiveness is all about.

As a psychic I have come to recognise three major groups of parents.  One is not better than another.  (Okay, the first category pretty much sucks.  Fortunately this is the proportionately the smallest group) They each offer different learning experiences. You may end up with two types of parents in the one house. Often, if we’ve been parented in one way, we will actively chose to raise our own family in a different way.  The three broad groups are:

1. Parents who teach us through neglect, abandonment, cruelty or absence.

Bad Parenting image by Chris Jordan

This can be the hardest group for us to resign ourselves to. The downside of this is that we might need to deal with those acts of neglect, cruelty and abandonment.  We might get caught up in a spiral of fear and self-doubt; needing to please others at all costs, endlessly putting others before ourselves, always worrying about breaking rules or getting into trouble. We may turn to substances or behaviours to numb our pain.

But there are great gifts here. We might become perfectionists or high achievers, driven to gain the love or approval or attention of our parents. It can set us up for patterns of excellence and striving throughout life. We may end up with great maturity and ability to handle responsibility from a young age. It can shape great leaders, make you entrepreneurial, a survivor, deeply self-reliant. It can encourage empathy and compassion, that in time can allow us to be the healer or counsellor for others. Needing to retreat into our imagination may shape you as a brilliant writer, artist, poet, musician. Pain breaks the bubble and lets us see life through a different lense.

This is harsh soil for a young one, but it can grow great strong souls, souls with resilience and courage and hope.

2. Playdough and Poo Parents

These parents often wanted children of their own from a very young age, and love having children.  They are deeply engaged with the whole process of pregnancy and early childhood. They will make a safe nest, and you may well be the centre of their universe. For a time.

But within their house is an expectation that you will take flight early. They’ll be there for you with sport and school functions and all those things that mark the progression through childhood, and they’ll start to step away as you move through adolescence, or as another child comes along.  It will be up to you to make decisions about your future.  By sixteen they’ll usually be backing away if they haven’t started to already, although your basic needs (food, shelter, love) will still be met.  They’ll have taken your training wheels off.  They’ll keep loving you, you’ll still be welcome at Christmas or Easter, and especially if you create grandchildren, but from now on it will be up to you. Their job is done.  They raised you, and then kicked you out of the nest, often when you had very few feathers!

This type of parenting gives you early security and an ability to find your feet, although it can be a confusing time when you leave the nest. Your parents won’t exert much influence over your education or adult life, and this enables you to make up your own mind about who you are and what direction you wish to seek in life. (yes, some of this is called learning by making mistakes!)  When you’re out on your own early in life you must learn to trust yourself and your own judgement. It can create great opportunities for early maturity, and for following a very individual path, or for getting on and creating your own path, family and stability early in life.

3.  Elders and Shapers

Working Mother © Jake Wyman, All Rights Reserved

These parents often find it hard to adjust to young children, because they have lives and careers of their own. They love their kids, don’t get me wrong. They will worry incessantly about whether they are doing parenting ‘right’.  They may not be tuckshop mums or fathers group dads, and that can make children feel neglected when other parents (playdough and poo parents usually) have higher visibility and involvement in those early years.

These parents see their job as lifelong.  They will continue to love and worry about their children, and to be there to shape and advise their kids through adolescence; with career directions, marriage, buying assets, going into business, problems, or having children of your own. They will still be an influence in their children’s lives to the end of their own.

Their greatest gift is in giving their children long term stability, and showing their children that it is important to have your own individual path and interests. They will encourage their  children to seek a path for themselves and to find lives that utilise their talents, gifts and passions.  There will be an emphasis for their own children on career or life path, and on making sound choices in life. They may be strict as parents, but less so as grandparents.

We may not appreciate this type of parent until we get older. They won’t be the ‘fun’ parents’.  They will be the ones with rules and boundaries and expectations about school and how we conduct ourselves in life.  But we will also choose these parents if we have strong desires around education, values and being supported and directed for the longer term. And we will maintain relationships with them throughout our lives, using their wise counsel and loving support to guide our own decisions.

Elders and Shapers often parent others as well, by being a supportive influence in the community, workplace, or with the friends of their own family.

Where to from here?

Take some time and reflect on the sort of parenting you have known.  Not to cast blame, but to better understand who you are, and why you are the way you are.  Look past the ugly wrapping paper and see what gifts you’ve been given to work with.  You are stronger than you know. There is no need to react to today in the same way you did when you were a child. Forgive the past, and step into the fullness of who you are.  It’s been no accident.  No co-incidence. The wounds of the past can run deep, but they can also be healed. Get help to heal the past if you need to, so that all you take into the future are the lessons and not the pain.

You are worthy and beautiful, with something unique to offer this world.  You are who you are BECAUSE of where you’ve been. Because of what you know, and where you’ve been, you are empowered to make better choices – ones that reflect YOUR values and ethics, ones that support all the things YOU believe in.  Wishing you peace <3

How to do a walking meditation

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Do you have trouble trying to meditate? There is a powerful meditation practice you could try that involves movement. It’s one of my favourites – walking meditation.

Go outdoors. Stand still and have an awareness of your body.  If you like, clasp your hands in front of or behind your body. Lift your right foot, noticing the weight of your leg and how your balance adjusts. Think to yourself ‘right’ as your foot touches the ground.  As your left leg lifts up notice the change in balance.  Feel the movement as your foot leaves the ground and as it reconnects with the earth.  Think ‘left’.  As you become more advanced you may wish to choose other words such as ‘peace’ and ‘love’ or ‘wellness’ and ‘abundance’.

Walk slowly and mindfully for ten minutes, being aware of each deliberate step, and of the world around you. Be aware of the ground beneath your feet. Be aware of the changes in your body’s balance and of how you feel.  To finish the meditation stop, stand still and take a minute or two in that place, gently breathing and being aware of your body in stillness.

Moving meditation will also help you to be calmer and more attentive in seated meditation.  Enjoy!

Here’s a great example of a walking meditation – the music is a bit trippy but you’ll get the idea…

Baba Ganoush Dip Recipe – Easy!

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One of the things I love about living on a farm is being able to walk out into the garden, take a few ingredients, and turn them into fresh fast food. Today I’m making Baba Ganoush - a garlicky middle eastern eggplant dip, from today’s harvest.

There is an eggplant bush hidden at the back of my compost area.  It must have sprung up from some withered seedlings that I didn’t think would make it, so I’d donated them back to the compost where this one happily took root and grew.  I plucked three fat fruit from it on my morning walk.

The bush lemon down by the dam is also covered in fruit, so I picked a few of those too.  I love the sweetness of these lumpy looking lemons, and it’s like harvesting golden treasure as I duck the big thorns on its branches.

There’s the garlic I harvested a few weeks ago still hanging up to dry near the laundry, and plenty of parsley growing by the bathroom door. With a little effort I can make some baba ganoush to enjoy this week. It’s so easy – maybe you’d like to try it too.  This is a totally adjustable recipe , depending on how much you want to make, and how strong you like your flavours.

Baba Ganoush Recipe

Ingredients: Two big fat eggplants, or several smaller ones.  Lemon ( I used the juice of one).  Garlic (I used four cloves, but you may find that excessive).  Parsley (about half a cup).  Cumin (teaspoon). Tahini (3 tablespoons).  Salt and Pepper.

Drop the whole eggplant onto a grill or over a gas flame until the skin chars.  You could also cut them in half and place under a hot grill for the same effect.  This imparts a lovely smoky flavour.  Then cut eggplant in half, if you haven’t yet, place cut side down on some baking paper on a flat tray, and pop into a moderate (180 degree) oven for about 30 minutes until the fruit is baked and soft.  Let it cool a little.

(You can mash all of this by hand for a chunky texture, but I’m in a hurry so I’m going to whizz it up in my food processor.)

Scoop flesh into processor, and add some parsley and a clove of garlic. If you don’t like a lot of garlic go gently here.  I’m mad on it so I bunged in 3 big cloves.  Pulse until roughly combined.  Add some lemon juice (start with half a lemon and adjust to taste) and a few big tablespoons of tahini.  Sprinkle in a dash of salt and pepper, and a small quantity of cumin.  Whizz to combine, and then taste.  Add extra of anything you think it might need.

My bush lemon was quite sweet so I adjusted this with a dash of white balsalmic vinegar.

Serve this with a  drizzle of olive oil over it if you’re being traditional.  It’s terrific with pita bread or sourdough, crackers or crudites. Enjoy!

PS.  29 Jan 2012 – have just made a modified version of this, substituting macadamia paste for the tahini, coriander (cilantro) for the parsley, and adding a sprinkle of chilli flakes.  Result: scrummo!

Living authentically in 2012

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Most people I know who are ruled by ‘time’ (days governed by clocks, diaries, and heavy scheduling) are disconnected from themselves, each other, and the natural world.  Work, rush and worry occupy every space in their lives.  There is never enough time!  And that feeling of ‘running out of time’ always leads to pressure, stress, exhaustion and depression.  Does that sound like you?

In 2012, you can change how you relate to time by changing how you relate to the world around you.  In this place of flow and grace, you’ll find a natural rhythm and a calm wisdom that guides you towards making better choices, so that your life feels rich instead of fleeting.  When we honour our connection to the world around us, and to the people, places and activities that matter to us, our relationship to time changes – we get out of our heads and back into our bodies and our hearts.  We begin to live more authentically.  An authentic life is a life that is deliberate, aware and filled with meaning.

 

So how do you get started?  Find a spare few hours, and a quiet space, and then answer these simple questions.  Write your responses in a journal, where you can refer back to them, or expand on them at a later date.  What you are trying to discover is what matters most to you.

(Image by nuchylee – thank you!)

 

Cherished Dreams: Is there anything you’ve always wanted to do or become, or a place you want to visit, or an activity you want to try?  If it’s something you have already dabbled at, but there’s not enough space in your life for that thing right now, add some stars beside it!

Health and Lifestyle:  Health matters.  Without it, life becomes that much harder, our options fewer.  What do you know you need to do to have better health?  I’m not just talking good nutrition and exercise.  Maybe you need to get rid of credit card debt so you can sleep at night, maybe it’s time to move, or change jobs, or make other changes so that you have the time, the resources, the support and the inner happiness to embrace living healthily, and to have longevity to get done all the things that you love to do.

Place:  Where does your heart sing?  Inner city, wild coastlines, small towns, mountains?  Art galleries, op shops, concerts and cafes.  If you can’t live there, can you visit?  Can you find a way to include some of that energy in your life this year?

 

Nature:  Nature matters.  Spending time outdoors, sunshine, standing barefoot on sand and grass, walking in the rain, sitting under a tree, eating fresh food, gardening, caring for animals, listening to the birds – all of these things heal us and help us.  We are all interconnected, and part of the greater whole.  How much time do you spend in nature?

Heart Space:  Who matters to you?  Family, friends, lovers, people who share your interests?  Relationships and interaction enrich our lives, and help us to grow, to heal, and to be uplifted.  Life is nothing without love.  We all need support, and we all have wisdom to share with others.

Heart Purpose: Using our talents and gifts gives us emotional satisfaction.  It might be paid work, or the pay might be measured in satisfaction rather than money.  It might not even be your day job – you’ll know this work by how it makes you feel: you’d do it even if you weren’t getting paid.

Fun Stuff:  Surfing, eating mangoes, cryptic crosswords, travelling, music, garage sales, entertaining, reading, napping in hammocks.  This is the magic of life, and often these pleasures are quite ordinary, and easy to include in our day, or our year.

By making small windows of time for what really matters in our life – an hour for the gym, one night a week for art class, family dinner at the table instead of in front of tv, weekends camping or exploring the inner city – life’s texture begins to change and we begin living with integrity and authenticity.  These simple actions are a solid beginning. – and they can be world changing.  2012 – honour the energy of change, starting with yourself!

If you missed it yesterday, I also uploaded a simple guided meditation to help anchor you into the positive energies of 2012.  Wishing you every happiness, and an abundance of health, love, soul growth, creativity and good fortune for the coming year.  Love and Light, Nicole xx

(this image of Love and Light by moomsabuy)

Recognising burnout – 10 tips for a better 2012

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Are you one of the walking dead?  I’m not talking zombies here and some strange mutant virus.  I’m referring to burnout – that life sapping condition that affects us mentally, physically and emotionally.

How do you know if you’re burning out, or already there?

 

Take some time today, and ask yourself honestly – how are you feeling?  Is the way you are living sustainable, or killing you…  I trust that in your heart you already know the answer to that one, so tune in and see what your heart is telling you. If things are rosy, I wish you well.  Good for you!  If things aren’t quite the way you’d like them to be, read on. Maybe we can help turn this around for you.

Tip 1:  Get more sleep.  Sounds obvious doesn’t it, but many of us end up on that slippery slope to burnout because we are cramming too many things into the day. If we get  just one hour less sleep a night, we build up a sleep debt. Sleep deprivation means our bodies don’t have the time they need to repair and attend to physical and psychological housekeeping. Our immune systems weaken, we lose our creative edge and our ability to respond to stress, we become irritable and intolerant, eat more, have weaker digestion, difficulties with memory and cognitive function. Our coping ability rapidly deteriorates.

Protect your health by ensuring you get enough sleep. Turn off the TV or computer and go to bed an hour earlier. Avoid caffeine late in the day and drink herbal teas that relax and calm. More sleep tips here.

 

Tip 2:  Free up your dance card.  It’s so easy to overcommit – especially if you’re a pleaser or a fixer. Drop what you can, delegate whatever is practical, extend deadlines if possible and take measures to simplify things. Clearing some space in your life gives you room to breathe, it buys you time to play catch-up in the energy stakes.  You may want to do this as a temporary measure, but for many people, once they become accustomed to a simplified life, they can’t return to the craziness that got them to the place of burnout in the first place.  More ideas on freeing up your schedule here.

Tip 3:  Hobbies that are joyful and engaging – There is no point in a life that is all work and no play. Hobbies can be both an outlet for creativity and a form of moving meditation. They give you an interest outside of your work and personal relationships, and enrich your life in many ways.  Whether it is knitting, beer brewing, ballroom dancing, writing or gardening, hobbies reconnect you with yourself.  They can also help you connect to like-minded people, expanding your circles of friendship and support.  If you can carve out a small time each week for a regular date with your hobby, your stress levels will begin to drop. One of my favourite things is working on my novel over breakfast in a favourite cafe!

Tip 4:  Clear boundaries – Saying ‘no’ is a life-saving technique.  One of the biggest contributors to burnout is an inability to set clear boundaries with work and other people’s problems. Be firm about working hours, especially if you work for yourself. If you are constantly working long hours, you need to re-evaluate your situation. Charge fairly for your time (ie don’t undersell yourself!), and don’t allow people who don’t value your time or abilities to waste yours! If  you are constantly drained by certain relationships in your life, back away a little, and set some parameters around your ability to be available for them.  You may need to drop some relationships entirely.  If workplaces don’t respect your boundaries, look for somewhere new! If friends won’t respect your boundaries, or are constantly negative or unsupportive, move on.  A handy guide for being assertive.

Tip 5:  Emotional and energetic support.  Sometimes we get so busy that our support network – friends and family – become neglected and drop away. If we are stressed and tired we are often poor company, and are irritable and critical in ways that aren’t reflective of who we truly are, or how we really feel. Take some time to renew friendships and relationships, especially if you have a partner. Relationships that aren’t nurtured may die when they didn’t need to. If you love someone, value and nurture that relationship. If necessary, seek a counsellor.  Massage, reiki, pranic healing, acupuncture, reflexology – there are so many wonderful healing modalities on offer that support and re-energise us.  Go with what you are drawn to. Invest some time and energy in supporting yourself to get back to balance.

Tip 6: Eat for energy and health.  Sadly, one of the first things to go when people become stressed and too busy is good eating habits. Make sure you are including plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, proteins and good fats in your diet. Drink lots of water, and cut down on fried food, take-out, sugar and refined carbs. Caffeine and energy drinks will tax exhausted adrenals even further. It may be worth taking some dietary supplements or herbs to help you back to health. Naturopaths, nutritionalists, Traditional Chinese Medicine or Ayurvedic practitioners could help. Putting better fuel into your body leads to better energy!  Food matters. Great info here.

Tip 7: Be Wholistic – Exercise is important. Move your body. Where you can, get into nature and spend some time there. Meditation, Yoga, Tai Chi and Qi Gong are all practices that work on the mind and spirit as well as the body.They help create a raft of calm in your life, easing tension and encouraging flow of energy. Even five minutes a day will begin to make a difference. This is a great easy morning yoga routine.

Tip 8:  Eliminate energy drains – Energy drains can be relationships (See Tip 4), debt, or things that are creating pressure because they don’t get done.  Bite the bullet and sort them out. Get your tax squared away. Have the conversation about the difficult thing. Say sorry. Work out a repayment plan. Fix what needs fixing. End what needs ending. Sort out your house, your desk, your computer. Get help if you need it.  You’ll feel a whole lot better with the weight of these things off your back!  Tips on clearing clutter.

Tip Nine: Work that works for you.  Get your head right about work. If you know your job is killing you, work out why (it might be you – saying yes to everything, no clear boundaries, not enough support) and then reassess.  If necessary, find another job. If you are unhappy at work because it’s not what you want to do with your life, begin to see your job as what I call a Pizza Hut job – the job you do while you are becoming something else. Let the job you have pay the bills but not define you.  Instead, find some study, or begin work on your own thing outside of this job, and let that new energy define you, while your old job merely supports you.  Sometimes it’s just a matter of adjusting your thinking.  Life is too short not to use your gifts and follow your passion – but sometimes we need a job to support us while we become a writer, an actor, a rocket scientist, or a professional mountain climber. And sometimes our passion will only pay in personal satisfaction, so you may actually need that Pizza Hut job to fund the dream.

Tip 10: Down Time. We all need it. Chunks of unstructured time, where we have no plans, no expectations, no pressure.  It might be a Sunday afternoon nap, a wander through a bookshop or a park, a weekend away, a proper holiday.  If you are really broken, your down time might need to be filled with hammocks and pillows, and siestas.  Or sleep-the-day-away weekends.  That’s okay too.  If your body needs to sleep, honour that.  Stop pushing – rest first. Plan adventures; small ones, longer ones, crazy once-in-a-lifetime ones.  Half the fun of the trip is in the planning. Down time gives us the balance we need to enjoy life to the full, and to be revitalised for the rest of the journey.

I’ll be doing a series of meditations coming into 2012, focussing on healing the patterns that cause physical, emotional and spiritual burnout. I’ll include you in them. My intention is that in 2012 you return to balance, with healthy habits and attitudes, an abundance of energy and creativity, and a joyful outlook on life. Know that you are Loved ♥