A Word About Beauty

(warning: there’s some profanity in this one, and it’s a bit ranty!)

Dear Balanced Souls…I come to you today feeling a whole mix of emotions about the Dove Real Beauty campaign.  Have you seen the video?

If you haven’t, or don’t want to, here is a quick description: women go into a room, separated by a curtain from a guy who (they don’t know this at first) is sketching them.  They describe themselves, and then someone else, who has met them once, describes them to make a second portrait.  Then the women are brought back, and shown the portraits side by side, and most of them (or at least the ones  the video focuses on) show that most of us do not realize how beautiful we are.

So I was moved, because I had been having a day of feeling not-so-beautiful, and thought that other women should be reminded of this fact: we are so much more beautiful than we think. I posted the video on my Facebook profile.

And then, the shit hit the fan.

A friend of mine reposted, with an angry rant, about how this video implies that beautiful is the most important thing a woman can be, that if we are beautiful, then we can have “normal” lives, that the fact  that a man was used to sketch these women, to show them their beauty, implies that we need to be told from the outside that we are beautiful…and on and on and on.

Now, folks, this is the thing of it: I KNOW that beauty is not the Most Important Thing, but (excuse the profanity) FUCK, sometimes it feels like life happens more EASILY when I feel beautiful.  When I feel that way (which isn’t entirely about LOOKS, by the by), I am more confident, I am more exuberant. I am more productive, and have an easier time connecting with others.  And to think that a large corporation like Dove even WANTS to appeal to all lifestyles and types of women is RIDICULOUS: they have a target audience they market to, and they are doing a pretty damn good job. (Just like…I dunno, EVERY other successful brand out there.)   I am one of those skinny, young, white women the ad was aimed toward, and it irritated me beyond belief that I should be judged for that (by this person’s rant). That people might assume that because I have an athletic build, my mother’s cheek bones, and fairly clear skin, that I walk around on a cloud of beauty, never judging mySelf harshly, feeling gorgeous all the time is beyond irritating.  Not for the first time, and most likely not for the last, I felt as though I was being attacked for being straight, middle class, liking to get dolled up, and in a monogamous relationship. I know EXACTLY how lucky I am, and I do not take ONE DAY for granted…but I don’t judge others for lifestyle choices they make, and I’d rather not be judged. C’est la vie, I suppose. Sometime La Vie just makes me cringe.

And I get it: the video targets white ladies who aren’t more than 40 years old, and really, we are more diverse than that.  Yep, the ad has a certain amount of insensitivity, but HELLO!!!! SINCE WHEN do we expect advertisements to be FAIR, and UNBIASED? And really, when I look at this video, I feel like saying, “It’s a really good try.” Dove has other ads that include women of lots of colors, shapes, sizes and ages: all beautiful, all in white undies.  : ) I’m pretty sure that all large companies do “yucky big company things”, but hec, at least this one is trying to get what is MEANT to be a positive message out there.

Give the ladies who want to be Beautiful a damn break. It’s not bad. It’s not BAD to want to feel lovely!

Beauty is NOT only skin deep: it is how our bodies feel, how they move. Beauty, REAL Beauty, is Authenticity.  It is a MILLION things, including dirty feet, wrinkly skin, loving hands, and strong shoulders. It is curves and rolls and cellulite and sweatpants and un-shaved armpits and bedhead. I can honestly think of nothing more beautiful than my love when he wakes up, his eyes crinkly with sleepy seeds, his hair a tangle on the pillow next to mine.  A dear friend of mine says “Life is a beautiful mess, and I am in love with it.” And you know what? She’s right.  I would argue that Beauty IS actually really important, because it is a vibration of Yes, of allowing, of abundance, of competence.

When we look in the mirror, we can see our entire lives as they play across our bodies, our faces, our skin.  We can acknowledge that there is MORE than these parts to us, and the More is where the Beauty lies.  It is the Grace of us, it is the Breath of us, it is the part of us that stops to marvel at daffodils and lilacs. Beauty is a culmination of all these parts, and changes as we get to know others, and ourSelves, on  deepening levels.

I happen know some seriously gorgeous women.  I am honored to be a part of a group of powerful, self-realizing souls, who look vastly different from each other, because they ARE, and each is Shining, Brilliant, and living deliciously, the Life she chooses.  This is what is beautiful: how each of these women feeds me differently: from talking about Hemingway and Kingsolver, to laughing at raunchy jokes, from offering hugs when no words are needed, to inspiring the next step with in-depth conversations…these women are incredibly Beautiful.  Not just by my biased standards, but by society’s…

Deep breath. This was my Lion’s Roar in defense of  a Desire for Beauty, the Right to Feel Beautiful, and my own Little Girl who sometimes feels drab, not up to snuff, and simply common.

I  think I got it all out.

Let’s stop judging each other.  Let’s not make each other feel bad for wanting to feel “thin” or “bright” or “beautiful”… these are just states that can be achieved in thousands of ways, every day. Judging someone for wanting to feel beautiful is a waste of energy that we COULD put into really Loving each other.

How about, instead of bickering about an ad-campaign, we light a candle and send prayers to all the parts of the world that are hurting, and come together in Beauty, in Love, in Compassion, for just a minute.

There is no definition of beauty, but when you can see someone’s spirit coming through, something unexplainable, that’s beautiful to me.
Liv Tyler

May we all know Beauty, witness it everywhere, first in ourSelves.

Love, blessings, and plenty of freedom,

-R

Related articles

• Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches…with a Manly Twist (curiousfridays.wordpress.com)
• Dove Real Beauty Sketches…a beautiful thing! (lowsugarlowcarbslongruns.wordpress.com)
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What do you see? (positivepastry.com)

 

In Defense of the Sacred Male

Hey Loves

It should come as no secret that I am pro-Sacred Feminine.  Hec, I’m even a plain ol’ Feminist! Have I talked about it much? For those of you new to following me, first of all, Welcome! and secondly: I grew up in a Jewish home, held furiously to those beliefs until college, when I began a yoga practice, which eventually led to my exploration of the Divine Feminine.  I am not, nor have I considered mySelf at any moment to be, anti-male.

And I wanted to share some praise of the Sacred Masculine this morning, because I have recently seen, on several Facebook pages I thought were pro-everyone, some ridiculous anti-male stuff, that I would like to address.  First of all: blaming men, as a collective, does not get us anywhere, except for staying stuck in our blame.  We can acknowledge that there are cycles, that after a Matriarchal way of life was honored, the natural ebb was to swing towards Patriarchy.  Why is this bad? It wasn’t, it was just to the other side of the scale, another imbalance, that has lead to this moment in time, when things are beginning to Balance out again.

And after they Balance, and male and female are treated with equal reverence for a few thousand years, another shift will take place. Maybe we will evolve further, into a higher vibration (without physical bodies as we know them perhaps?) Or maybe, we will cycle through, again, and the Matriarchy will re-emerge on top. It does not matter.

I find that people who demonize men, who want someone to blame for the mess of things, are missing the bigger picture.  The ones who demonize and judge are stuck: truthfully, we are all stuck, because we are all (or let’s say, the vast majority) holding a set of morals and beliefs about the world, about suffering, about the way things “should be” that we try to impose, or on some level want to impose, on those around us.  It’s natural, but it’s not always helpful.

How much do we focus on problems in this country, instead of solutions? How often is news bad; are we dwelling on the Lack, on the Stuck, on the Conflict, rather than what is going well? These issues are not male or female, but a lot of the time, those aspects get brought in, as ways to further divide and place blame.

Feh.

Enough of it.

How about, we as strong women, and gentle-men, give each other a damn break once in awhile?

Here is what is Beautiful about the Male component of the world: It Gets Things Done. It Simplifies.  It GIVES.  It Focuses.  The Sacred Masculine takes the murky, intense, somewhat messy-emotional world of Sacred Feminine and Organizes it, which makes it USEFUL, and PERTINENT to the world.  Without the Sacred Masculine, the Divine Feminine is stuck, dreaming, going around in circles of potential and spinning her wheels.

And here is what I LOVE the most: in both Male and Female pantheons, there are BOTH feminine and masculine aspects named and personified. I am not going to list names of gods and goddesses here, because that seems a bit exhaustive to me.  But I will say, that Jesus was about as gentle and compassionate (Lamb of God, anyone?) as you can get, and Ganesha guards the doorway to the Great Mother, and his love is so warm and friendly, it feels like a grandmother’s kitchen.  On the flip side, do not make Kali angry, or challenge Athena in battle.  Kali’s anger is seething, waiting to annihilate anyone trying to destroy those she loves so well. Like a big Mama Bear: do not cross that path.

We, as a culture, assign gender roles and assume “masculine” and “feminine” traits look a certain way, in everyone.  I think these roles are changing, and the boundaries are being pushed in a way that has not been allowed in previous moments of our history. I am with a man who not only helps me think things through, taking me out of an initial overwhelming emotional experience, but who also has one of the most sensitive hearts I have ever encountered.

There are things in me: my aggression, my unwillingness to get stuck, my ability to set goals and achieve them, that are more traditionally masculine traits.  I was recently called a Go-Getter, which I almost laughed at, because so much of what I do is draw pixies, watch Woody Allen movies, and take naps.  But hey, I am awesome at motivating mySelf and others, and I am great when something needs to be decided on, or acted on.  (My partner, actually, is not, and this drives me a little crazy. In our relationship, I am the one who hates how long shopping takes and he likes to browse.)

So here is what I praise: the Masculine aspect of All Things, in Balance with the Feminine.  I do NOT blame men for issues this world is facing, I don’t blame anyone…except maybe human nature.  I praise and welcome this active, delicious, fun aspect of mySelf, the part that loves to MOVE and be Productive.  In my world, the Feminine is the Potential of All things: She is Receptive, Wise, Eternal, and Safe, and Connecting.  The Masculine is Acting, Moving, Changing, Expressing.  It is Offering, and sometimes Boundary-making (which I love, and think many women could own more strongly), Individualizing and Destroying.

The play of these two forces brings about the world we live in and the planes of existence we engage in.  It flavors the processes of life, of evolution and of community.

I am grateful to be swept in this Lila. I am grateful for both aspects as they express themselves in the world.  I am grateful that Balance is being restored. I am even grateful for the Patriarchy that we are evolving out of. It is right and it is time and I will help this shift come. No matter what it takes.

Blessings, ease, and laughter,

R

 

Moon Cycles and Being a Grown Up

Hey Lovelies.  I know I said I would be writing more often…and it hasn’t happened. The thing is, is that I only want to write when I am passionate about something, and feel like “Oh my Goodness if I don’t share this, I’ll explode” sort of thing.

So yeah. My practice has been totally EXPLODING over the past couple of weeks: I am seeing about double the amount of patients that I was a month ago, and I LOVE it.  I love new people understanding chiropractic care. I love nutritional counseling work. I love educating people, and supporting them, and being someone they call for a “second opinion”.  I love being a Grown Up Pixie Business Owner.  But wow, it can be intense in the energy it requires.  And that’s all Good, too!  I am happy to take care of mySelf, to make sure I have quiet down-time and can just Sit when I need to.  I love my bed even more than I used to…and I used to really love it a whole lot.

BUT! I ALSO noticed that when I am riding the Ebb and Flow of my moon cycle (read: menstrual cycle) that there are times of the month when my energy wanes, in a BIG way, and the practice energy wanes as well!

So this started to concern me a bit. Yeah, to scare me some.  All the marketing, all the networking, all the growth in the business lies on This Girl’s  shoulders.  And I have strong shoulders.  I love my shoulders. I am enough.  But what was this Ebb of patients showing up for their appointments (people would cancel, simply not show up, reschedule, etc) as soon as the apana (downward pulling energy) of my moontime kicked in?  How on earth was I supposed to pay bills when every month, I had almost a week off?

Feh. Had to think on it a bit.

And I had been listening to good ol’ Abraham Hicks….and I started to just….let go….of worrying about it.  I just sorta noticed that any moment of Contrast (experiencing something OTHER than what I want) was simply breeding stronger Desire in me.  I started to see, that NO ONE can be active all the time, and if they are…well…let’s just say I know too many issues that arise from chronic stress to want  to go down that street in my business.

The HUGE shift came when I recognized just how darn important Receiving was and is.  And there is an ART to how we receive, how we open ourSelves UP to the Universe and LET the GOOD flow IN.  It’s something to really sit with: how do I, as a woman, as a chiropractor, as a pixie, how do I sit and allow AWESOMENESS into my world?

It turns out that I (just like everyone else out  there) had it planted in me (by society, religion, culture…everyone) that Life is Hard Work, and that the Harder I Work, and The More I Suffer, the Bigger the Rewards.  yuuuuuuuuck

Being a successful, grown-up pixie was not something I wanted to engage in.  In my HEAD (which is the only place that matters, right?) being Successful, Grown Up and a Business Owner meant giving up freedom, not being able to play, and not being able to create.  So I am letting those misconceptions GO.  How?

By feeling fantastic as much as possible. Part of this is really learning and examining how to gracefully receive the benefits of all the seeds I plant in active networking and marketing.

Part of this is learning to Honor, on a very deep level, what my energy needs are.

There is a woman who I really respect out there, who helps women build their lives and businesses up to their dreams and highest desires.  Really cool, right? But she said something that I don’t agree with: that we must Always Be Marketing in order to succeed.  YUCK.  That idea has truth to it, but in my Real Life, there are plenty of days that  I do NOT want to reach out to ANYONE, let alone answer the phone!

but….

are there ways to cheat the system?

Well, yes. Of COURSE there are! Hahahahaha! Introverts can do it, too!!

So here is how I am balancing My Active and Passive energy times, and NO LONGER freaking out when  I am in Receptive Mode (which is how I now lovingly refer to moon time, or feeling like I have nothing to give):

1. I schedule NO MORE than 4 Active Networking meetings a month.  I try to make sure that the week I am Flowing, that I have NO outside commitments except patients, but sometimes that doesn’t happen.  That’s my limit: 4 is about 1/week, and that I can handle.  More than that? “Sorry, my plate is full.  Next month I am not booked up yet.”

how empowering.

2. I make sure that the times I KNOW will be Low-Energy, that I have a newsletter or flyer or something PASSIVE  in terms of marketing and networking happening.  I type things up and schedule them to send (bless that feature, Mailchimp. I heart you.)

3. I have a couple of bulletin boards that let me put up my specials, which usually run for 2 months at a time.  I go put up new stuff when I am in the area (I never make a special trip) and when I have the energy and time, I brainstorm more ideas and put more flyers and whatnot together!

4. When I am in Receptive Mode, I make SURE that I have plenty of time to myself.  I may not work as much on my website (or at all), I may write lists of things to do, but not plan on doing any of them until I am ready, and I make sure to nap and take my supplements.

5. When I experience a challenge, negative emotion, or conflict, I DO NOT FREAK OUT.  I stopped that.  Mostly. I mean, hello….there’s still some emotional process that I allow to move through…but really,  I start focusing on things that make me feel great, or that are already working very well, and I sort of ignore the issue that’s causing me trouble until I see a solution, or can come back to it with fresh eyes.

 

I hope that some of you can identify with this shift, this learning, and this challenge that I have been processing.  Please feel free to leave OTHER great ways of dealing with Low Energy Days, just for life in general, or in how you work WITH that energy rather than against it!

Love, ease, and massive blessings

R

 

 

Returns of Spring, and me!

OOOOOh my Goddess, lovelies…how I have MISSED you!

I am SO very grateful to be writing again.  For awhile there, I was having my heart burst open by life and simply needed to ride waves, integrate information, and get back to Center. All delicious. All good.

So the FIRST thing I want to share is that I am detoxing, but only little by little! I know that awhile back, I posted on how to detox without going crazy, but I thought you might like a little real-life example.

Here is what I’m doing:

1. I added in my Every Day Detox Tea by Traditional Medicinals.  Every day I am at the office, I drink a couple of cups of this, or roasted dandelion tea.  Delicious. Liver support. Warm and lovely.

2. I started drinking chia water every morning after I workout.  Or, most mornings. I mix 1 T chia seeds into about 16 oz. water, with 1 t lemon juice and 1 t tart cherry juice concentrate.  I love this combo, but just the lemon is awesome.

NEXT! I am cutting out caffeine.

exhale. It’s really time.

Then (and I feel like I am ready to do these things NOW, but Passover is happening and I want to not worry over what I am eating too much at the Seders) I will cut out sugar and alcohol, for anywhere from 1 week to 3 weeks.  It all depends on how  I feel.

I will also be adding in a second green juice a day (so, one in the late morning PLUS one with or FOR dinner) to really get my nutrients and move stuff through.

The rest of my food? Well, probably vegetarian with very few animal products.  Probably no dairy, but we buy eggs from very happy chickens, and I love them.

This way of cleansing is supposed to be gentle, and sustainable….not an intense detox that makes us feel awful.  I will probably lose a bit of weight, though that’s not my main goal.  My goal is to get my system a rest and a period of balanced Self Care.  I want to sleep better. I want to have fewer menstrual symptoms.  I want to be less irritable.  Those are signs in my life that I need a cleanse, hence the official Declaration of Intentions!

 

NOW.  What else to share? I am reading Anodea Judith‘s Creating on Purpose, and I am LOVING it.  I am really taking my time here, to work through these lessons and exercises using the chakra map as my guide.  Fantastic, really. Go get a copy if you like to make your life awesome.

 

I have also been listening to bunches of Abraham Hicks stuff.  Have you gone there yet? It’s another voice, telling us that priority ONE should be feeling Good, or, as Good as we can at any given moment.  Abraham talks through Esther Hicks, so it’s really a fantastic thing to experience and watch.  PLEASE go check it out.  Go listen, right here, and see what happens to your heart and your life.  Powerful. Good.

I actually just watched the “Military Man” video that is posted there, was reminded of True, and needed a few moments to feel the beauty of It.

Aah, and back to you, to writing. My heart is Full. I am enjoying success. I am enjoying courage. I am enjoying Love, not just with the Partner I am choosing, but with strangers, with girl friends all over the country, with family of blood and spirit. I am enjoying Love.

And Contrast. A word about Contrast.  For my whole life, at least, what  I remember of it, I have not allowed mySelf to really ENJOY the moments of feeling really terrible.  The HIGHEST contrast….when what we WANT is the OPPOSITE of Where We Are.

Contrast breeds Desire. Contrast makes us understand what we want. Contrast makes us want to take action, no matter how tiny, even to begin at the thought-process level.  Contrast makes Life.  It is the Chaos of the Divine Mother: terrifying and demanding, discerning and uncomfortable but ALL, all, all in the name of Life.

We came here to live it. We came to be blown away by the variety of experiences available to us. Why turn away, why judge or demonize or shun any part of us?  All parts are PARTS: to be understood, used, released.  Perfection in the Contrast. I’m not so afraid of the storm, these days.

This is all Abraham stuff, and it is affecting me so Deeply that I can’t stop talking about it or practicing it.

What else can I share? Only that I am happy to be writing again.  More Goddess Pages, recipes and fun ideas to come. I have missed you.

Blessings and Ease

R

 

Related articles

• Abraham Hicks – Are There Spiritual Forces With Us? (ascendingstarseed.wordpress.com)
• Abraham Hicks – The Biggest Missing Piece – 7 March 2013 (lucas2012infos.wordpress.com)
• The Abraham-Hicks revelation about the Afterlife (barefairy.wordpress.com)
• Doubleshot of Abraham-Hicks ~ Negative Entities On The Other Side and He Worries About the World … (ascendingstarseed.wordpress.com)
• Chia Seeds (perthrawfoodies.wordpress.com)
• Abraham: NO GAIN IN PAIN – Esther & Jerry Hicks (opiaterehab.org)
• Chilled Chia Power Porridge: Gluten free porridge #1 (healtherella.wordpress.com)
• Healthy Chia Seed Detox Drink (healthnutnutrition.wordpress.com)
• Imbolc; half way to Spring Equinox (evonnesmulders.wordpress.com)
• True Health Food & A New Recipe: Chia Seed Parfait (anazaharia.com)

 

Self Soothing or Self Nurturing?

Namaste’ Balanced Souls!

This past week has been an emotional one for me, a moment of “ebb” and “wane” in the patterns of ebb and flow, wax and wane.

Last weekend, I was wrestling with what had been coming up for me.  Over and over in the recent past, my Selfish Nature has been in the Driver’s Seat.  Obligations, miscommunications, words spoken without care….over and over, bringing quick emotional responses (thank you, menstrual cycle, for making things so much more emotion-Full each month) and lengthy apologies, or maybe berating mySelf for not being as, well, clear, as I thought I was.  When all the mirrors are reflecting the same things, I can’t blame them.  Gotta look INSIDE….and figure out what to change.

So my Love and I had a major conversation, that happened in lots of parts, and he lit the way for me…like he does, with his sweet Patience and Presence, for me to process.  I voiced my main struggle: “I am trying to balance out nurturing mySelf and taking mySelf, while still being attentive to the needs of those around me.  I WANT to be everything for everyone, all the time…but I know that I can’t! So I try to just take care of mySelf, and then attend as well as I can to what is in front of me.”

“I see that you are trying to do that, ” he said, tentatively, “but I think  that sometimes you confused Self Care with Self Soothing.”

Oh.

Just like the other Discerning Earth in my life, he offered a moment of Truth with peace and ease.  So remarkably different from the way I find truth, and therefore, so very effective for me.

Oh.

Self Soothing…things that I do, I mean that we ALL do, that make us feel good temporarily but don’t actually help me process anything.  Watching old movies, knitting (for me), eating popcorn for dinner, staying in my PJ’s all day…you can see where this is going.  The lethargy that happens to us ALL, that precludes Action, and actual Process.  These things are not Bad Things, really, but we DO need to stay aware that we are in that space, and not actively processing.

I also think that we can be processing subconsciously during these “passive” processes, and REALLY don’t want to imply that there is no place for them in how we operate in the world.  We just need to be clear about what we are achieving when we are in this pattern.

Self Care: the things that can be done that actually change us…that actually help us process and progress out of something, or into something New.  Things like amping movement and exercise (how many studies do we need to see to really understand that Movement = health?), making art, meditating, writing in a journal, getting our hands dirty in the earth or another project.  The list goes on and on (remember that Tool Box we created so long ago? yeah, that) and looks a bit different for everyone.

And for me, these Tools are JUST as valid as the Self Soothing stuff, and nourish me in very different ways.

I am so grateful for my Dear’s inSight…it often stops me in my tracks.  He has no idea how he helps me shift and change.  With that ONE statement, something inside me decided it was time to get BACK into self CARE, and move out of the lethargy a little bit.

And what do you know? Things changed.  Lots of Stuff came up for me, but I actively processed it, am STILL processing it.  It feels empowering now, rather than overwhelming, simply because I have shifted my Seat.

And so, I hope that this little lesson that I am working on can help you with your’s.  I hope that if you have been experiencing Stuckness, that maybe you can examine it NOW and see how just a little bit of Self CARE will make all the difference.

Bright Blessings, all.

-R

Related articles

• Unconditional Love: The Prequel (confidentparentsconfidentkids.org)
• how i nurture my mothering spirit – leanne (motheringspirit.wordpress.com)
• Your Subpersonalities (coreonnewenergyenglish.wordpress.com)
• Soothing Empowerment Video (soulsoothinsounds.wordpress.com)
• Taking Care of Yourself When You’re Depressed (psychcentral.com)
• Nurturing Self Care (toddlohenry.com)
• Crystals for Highly Sensitive People (cauldronsandcupcakes.com)
• Whispers & Dancing & Beauty (lyssmarieblog.wordpress.com)
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Happy Hearts

Hello Hello dear Balanced Souls!

A year ago, I wrote a Valentine’s Day post  about how the day is more about remembering those I have loved and lost, rather than spending time bemoaning or celebrating my relationship status of the moment.

I have been carrying this flag for quite some time.  The person that I lost, who ignited this shift in how I view this holiday, has been present in dreams, radio songs, and thought-processes (as in, “What would G do?”) for the past couple of weeks.  I have felt him, and his love, deeply, and perfectly, and had more tears this year than I normally shed.

As I step into this day, however, and get ready for a weekend spent with one of the most important Men in my life, I am light(er)-hearted than I have been in years past.  For some reason, the Remembering has come early, and I am more easily made to laugh, loved, and softer around the edges that I sometimes develop around this time of year.  Maybe it’s because I am finally In a Love that I know will not go anywhere, or I have let go of G in some way I had not processed before.  Or, maybe, he is loving me, laughing, and helping me move on from wherever his spirit is residing these days. Whatever it is, it’s not Nothing, and I am grateful for it.

I am more open to letting Love, in all its forms, into my life.  I was stuck, for some years, in an idea of what Love was, and how it would change me.  I have let this go…mostly

I am learning how to balance Independence with Partnership and Equality.  I am learning to balance my own needs and assumptions about the world’s workings with those of another, and I am happy to do so.  When we are honest with ourSelves, I feel that we are ALWAYS in relationship…with EVERYTHING, and we are always learning to balance all sorts of opposites and universes.

We play a thousand roles each day.  How many of those roles are our hearts invested in?

This Valentine’s Day, I would encourage you to explore and witness where the Love and Balance are working (or not!) in your life.  These two forces feed and foster one another.  The more we love ourSelves, the easier our time of Balancing all Roles and experiences in our lives. The more we take time to Balance each duality we face, and take care of ourSelves, the easier it becomes to give and receive Love.  How does this process look for you?

Bless it, for it is a perfect expression, as are You, of All That Is

Deep Love, and belly Laughter,

-R

Related articles

• Tough Love (toughchik.wordpress.com)
• Prevent the Valentine’s Day Blues (tylatimes.com)
• Why Valentine’s Day Is No Excuse to Be Bitter (poutperfection.com)
• Nontraditional Valentine’s Day (healthyheels.wordpress.com)
• How To Have A DIY Valentine’s Day (ellepottsie.com)
• How to survive Valentines Day (reallyclueless.wordpress.com)

 

How to Detox without the Commitment

Hey lovely Balanced Souls!

If you haven’t explored the Pagan calendar and feast days, I would suggest that you give it a bit of energy and time.  Why? Well, it is a tradition that honors and focuses on the cycles of the earth and the elements, full of a beautiful lexicon to understand and integrate as we search for understanding our Mystery.  I find that as I tune into, and become more sensitive to these patterns, that Paganism holds space for my experience and says, “Yes, that is valid, and here is why.”  It’s a rich, beautiful place to draw from, and connect to.  It need not shake the ground beneath your FaithFull Feet….although it might just another open door from my Heart to your’s.

According to the Pagan calendar, spring has begun.  Imbolc, which was on the Feb 1/2,  is the moment in the year when we are between the winter solstice and spring equinox in the Northern hemisphere, and the tiniest seeds of potential are planted in us.  The light is returning, and the air has moments of smelling like Growth.  There are lots of ways to honor Imbolc, and Brigid, the Goddess associated with this turning.

My favorite, and what feels extremely natural to me, is to cleanse, gently, during the weeks following Imbolc.  Now, there are a-plenty of ways to cleanse.  Usually I find mySelf breaking a fast because my will leaves the party.  If I am abstaining from sugar, I’ll go buy a cookie, and damned if it isn’t the most delicious thing I have ever tasted.

Harumph.  This stumbling block is one that I am done with, as much as anyone can say that, and have it be true

But! I DO have a different way of detoxing that seems to be working pretty nicely for me, and I hope to stick with it for the next week or two.

I ADD certain things into my diet, and “cleanse” during certain hours of the day.  Outside of those hours, I am not thinking “oh man, I am detoxing so I need to deprive mySelf,” but rather, “Hey I can keep it clean or find something that nourishes this craving, rather than try to get away from it.”

Turns out, when I stop fighting mySelf, things like “clean” eating are really easy!

Here is what I have added: 

Water with lemon in it, in the morning and evening.

Detox tea 1-2 cups a day

Detox bath or foot soaks (in Epsom salt and nice hot water)

Raw fruit and veggies, especially before 1 pm.

I chose to block the hours of waking until 1 pm for my “cleanse” and that is when I do the majority of my movement, green juicing, supplement-taking and the like.  Then, the rest of the day, I eat: protein and vegetables, mostly, but I don’t deny myself anything.  I don’t “stay away” from stuff, except Excess.  Cleansing is becoming more about moderation and really Listening, rather than dictating to my body what it gets, and when.  I have been staying away from processed foods, in general, but that’s natural for me.

If you tend to eat a lot of processed foods, then simply cutting them all out and learning to cook whole foods will help you immensely, and become its own kind of “cleanse” when you do it for an extended period of time.

I also take in extra greens: chlorella, chlorophyll, and tinctures that support liver function, like dandelion and milk thistle.  I prefer tinctures because they are really easy for the body to absorb, but a good quality supplement will work, too.

When I do these things, I am automatically paying more attention, and noticing what makes me feel Vibrant, versus Bogged Down.

I also try to move my body and get warm every day.  Sometimes, it’s yoga with lots of twists and long holds.  Other days, it’s good ol’ squats and push-ups, or floor Pilates. It’s still chilly in the northeast right now, so my desire to go walking in nature wanes.  I am blessed to live in a place that has a yoga room, with sunshine that streams in during the morning hours.  HELLO RADIANCE!  I go in  there, move around, give thanks, and kick up my metabolism.

You don’t need that, though…just move a little bit! Run the stairs, use your own body weight, and look on pinterest or youtube for ideas.

I also Cleanse toxic emotions as much as I can.  I really amp up the gratitude and expressions of Love during this time, when I can.  Don’t get me wrong….I still get grouchy!  But rather than let it soil a chunk of time, I apologize, hug, and move on.  I try to focus on feeling Good…or really, Amazing, as much as possible.

So there ya go….start Loving yourSelf and letting go of the old stuff, by adding things that truly make you feel Wonderfully Authentic.

Enjoy!

I wish you Blessings, ease, and plenty of sunlight

R

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