Low-Carb Eating Plan

Ok, it’s official! As of November 1, I’m going back on a low-carb eating plan.  Even though I love sweets, it just has to be.  Menopause and a slower metabolism is working against me these days.  I walk a mile every morning but I know it has to be supplemented with a low-carb lifestyle.  I drink plenty of water already and I don’t drink soft drinks anymore. They’re all loaded with high fructose corn syrup anyway.  Ugh!

The last time I did this, I lost 25 lbs. and several pant sizes.  Being a size 12 now seems so foreign to me.  Oh, well.  Wish me luck!  I’ll take any great recipes or words of encouragement 🙂

Male Menopause

So how come when women hit menopause we have to put up with weight gain, hot flashes and cranky “episodes” and men get to date younger women and ride motorcycles?  In my next life, I must come back as a man.  (I think I’ve been one in a previous lifetime).

Looking Good; Feeling Good

Many people have made a comment on my skin lately.  Actually I’ve received six compliments on my skin in the past few weeks.  As a woman past 60, it sure makes me feel good!

But the reason I say this is that I started using a coconut oil moisturizer on my skin and then apply a tinted moisturize on top of that.  I use Aveeno but there are others in lots of price ranges.  Aveeno is about $15 for their tinted version.  It looks good and feels good.  I was using the Philosophy brand but it’s about twice the price.

Living in the desert has taught me (at my age) that any “make-up” just sits in my wrinkles and it looks awful.  I don’t care who makes it or how much it costs; it’s all the same when it comes to wrinkles.

So I started exploring what to do.  My search led me to actively applying the coconut oil that I cook with to my face as an overnight moisturizer.  To some I’m sure it sounds crazy, but it sure works; just make sure not to use too much.  If you do, you can always blot some off.

The company where I buy my coconut oil is Tropical Traditions and they are simply a marvelous company.  Their products are top-notch and their customer service is outstanding.  Plus they give some great coupons for lots of their products.

Recently I found that they have coconut oil based moisturizers in lotion and in cream formulas.  I got both and I am so hooked.  And I love the fact that I don’t have to wear foundation anymore.

The other thing I like to do is start my day with positive messages.  Here’s one of the sources I use:  Enlightened Messages.  They also have some pretty cool meditation downloads.  Personally I do my best at meditation when it’s a guided one.  Theirs are superb!

Namaste!

Let Go of Dis-Ease

Is there anyone in your life who complains of physical ailments?  If so, maybe it’s time to NOT engage in that kind of conversation with them anymore.  I just read an article that says that what we profess tends to manifest itself if done on a consistent basis.  I truly believe that.  I think we could literally talk ourselves into being sick.

I am exposed to that kind of conversation quite often with my mother.  I love my mother.  It’s just that when we talk from now on, I believe I’ll simply try and point out what’s good in her life when she starts to spew the negativity.  My goal is to hold her in the highest light, picturing her as being perfectly healthy – physically and emotionally.  This will take some effort on my part but it’s worth it.

When I was processing this picture a few months ago, I was thinking of her.

Namaste!

 

The Gang of Six

When my brother died last year, I thought that as each day passed it would get easier. Well, some days it was easier. Some days I was in denial. Some days I still am. Sometimes the phone will ring and for a fleeting moment, I’ll expect to see his name come up on the caller ID. It never does. He’s gone and I know it intellectually. At the heart level, I sure wish he was still here. There is so much I would have told him. We still had some “getting to know you better” conversations to have but didn’t get to.

So last year I joined a grief support group that was hosted by the hospice where he died. It is a wonderful, heart-centered organization that is staffed by people who understand completely what grief is. And yet they know it’s different for everyone.

There were six of us in the group that I attended. All were widows or widowers except for me who had lost a sibling. One of the widowers not only lost his wife but had lost his daughter to the war in Iraq.

Because of the grief that we shared we all became like a family, understanding each others need to just BE at times and at other times to share our stories about our loved ones without being told “you shouldn’t feel that way.” It honestly became very clear to me what a gift these people are and that we all came together for a reason – for the highest good of all concerned.

The group ended in September (officially) but we all decided to keep coming together once a month to stay in each others lives as the friends and confidantes that we have become. I trust them. We all trust each other.

Yesterday we met for the first of our monthly get-togethers and as I sat with “The Gang of Six” I realized just how much of a gift I have received from them. I hope my presence is a gift to them as well.

Namaste!

Stating Intentions

This is a re-post of something (from the Intenders Handbook) that I believe is wonderful about stating our intentions. Have you ever noticed the power of your words? I know someone that, when I ask how he is, he says “not too bad.” Notice how negative that is? What if he got into the habit of saying, “great” or “terrific.” Might change things for him somewhat.

THAT WHICH YOU ARE REACHING TOWARD IS REACHING OUT TOWARD YOU.

The intention process is just about as simple as it can be. All you have to do is say “I intend” and then follow up with whatever it is that you desire. It could be anything. You could intend to have a new coat for yourself or you could intend for world peace. Since there are no limits on what you can think about, there are no limits on what you can intend!

For me, I get up every morning and I intend to have a great day. I intend fun and laughter. I intend that I am in perfect health – rejuvenated, aligned, balanced, and feeling physically great all of the time. I intend that I am always guided, guarded, and protected. These are a few of the general intentions that I start with everyday and then I look around at my life to see what I am needing. If the old wheelbarrow just broke, I’d intend that I have a new one. If the computer decided to go on the fritz, I’d intend that it gets fixed. I don’t leave anything out because there’s no reason to hold back!

I like to make a few intentions each day about my personal traits. Sometimes I intend that I am a more compassionate person; or I intend that I’m more kind or gentle. And sometimes, especially when there are a lot of dramas going on all around me, I intend that I see everyone in their highest light and every event from its highest point of view. That way, I’m able to observe all of the sorrow and suffering in the world and still remain uplifted. I intend that I remember that it doesn’t do anybody any good to drop down into someone else’s challenges and become troubled or sad along with them. It’s much better to set an example by staying happy and cheerful.

After intending for things like this for awhile, I take a closer look at the world at large and make a few intentions for it too. For example, I intend that men, women, and children everywhere experience grace. And I intend that peace and harmony blossom all across the land. And I intend that this Earth is living in its highest light, and that, within our environment, the air we breathe is clean and crisp; the water everywhere is crystal clear and delicious; the soil is abundant with lush growth and beautiful fruit is dripping from the trees; the animals are honored and respected; and people all over the world are happy and smiling because they’re being given everything that they need!

And, last but not least, I intend that all of my thoughts, words, and deeds serve the highest and best good of the Universe, myself, and everyone everywhere.

So be it and so it is!

(From The Intenders Handbook)

How to Simplify Your Life

There are probably hundreds of books and thousands of articles about the topic of simplifying your life.  You could:

• get rid of all the clutter in your house, your dorm room, your apartment, your garage, your car . . . any place that has too much “stuff”
• dump all the extraneous emails that you think you might come back to later (oh yeah, I’ve been there)
• take all those little post-it notes, phone numbers, ideas, chicken scratches and put them all into a nice little spiral bound notebook
• throw away those receipts from 10 years ago that were supporting documents for your income tax return (ugh!)
• clear off all the crap that’s under those gazillion refrigerator magnets on your fridge
• and best of all . . .

Just say NO! to all those people in your life who want you to do what you don’t really want to do.

Way too simple, huh?

 

 

 

 

 

Namaste!

Unbridled Anger vs. Unlimited Love

Which one would you choose?  Unbridled anger or unlimited love?  Which emotion makes you feel better?

Many people are angry about what’s going on around the world and I can understand that.  We’re in two middle Eastern countries fighting a war that is absolutely stupid in my opinion.  One country is all about the oil and the other country is all about the drug money from the poppy fields.  And people are dying for this?

But getting pissed off about all of this and more isn’t going to solve it.  Being pissed off just makes us part of the problem; not part of the solution . . . unless we do something about it.  And there are many things we can do.  I’m not going to give a list of what we can do here.  We’re all intelligent adults so start figuring it out.  If we have to be told what to do, that makes us sheeple.  I, for one, have had enough of that.

My only suggestion (even though I said I wasn’t going to give any) is to picture the end result that you want, i.e., peace, prosperity for all, love, etc.  We have to “be” the change we want to see.

Thank you, God, for helping me to know that all that I seek is coming to me now.  Thank you, God, for allowing me to feel, right now, the peace that comes with gratitude for what is, replacing the yearning for what is not.  Thanking you for bringing me the understanding that from the Is-ness comes all that is now not, but will surely be.  Let me stay, then, in the Is-ness. ~ Neale Donald Walsh

Namaste!

Ghouls and a Goblin

In preparation for Halloween and the full Hunter’s moon tonight, I took the artistic liberty of altering some photos of my special “peeps.”

They’re really NOT this creepy-looking in real life.  The Hunter’s Moon is tonight.  What is the Hunter’s moon?  October’s Full Moon is called the “Hunter’s Moon” or sometimes the “Blood Moon” or “Sanguine Moon”. It is the first Full Moon after the Harvest Moon (the Full Moon nearest the Autumnal equinox) and it gets its name from hunters who tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead.

Number Sequences

For the past few months I’ve noticed that many times when I look at a clock there’s number sequences.  Like 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44, 5:55.  Then there’s the other ones I’ve noticed . . . 10:11, 11:11, 11:12, etc.  It’s absolutely bizarre how this happens for a couple of days in a row and then I don’t see them at all for a while.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who is experiencing this.  I feel like it has something to do with the energy waves hitting our planet right now.  It’s seeming like a good time to clean things out; you know, all the “stuff” I’ve accumulated . . . again.  I’m not a hoarder by any means, OMG, but I do have a lot of things around here that others could use if I would just get off my butt, collect it all and donate it.  Hmmm . . . think I’ll make that my project for next week.

Until next post . . . namaste!