Finding Peace
What in your life are you avoiding right now? Notice the energy that this feeling creates in your body. See if you can drop the urge to change whatever this thing is and just accept it for what it is (even if just for a moment) and send it love. Notice the energetic shift that this creates. Let us find peace in our lives by fully accepting what is in front of us instead of resisting and avoiding what is. When we are looking at our lives through the lens of fear, we create feelings of suffering and want things to be different, but through the lens of love, we remove the veil of illusion and everything feels lighter and just as it should be. This way of viewing things takes a little more conscious effort as we are collectively programmed for fear but this is not normal even though we've grown to believe that it is. Love is real, fear is not. In what ways can you be more loving and accepting of your life?
Gearing Up for RENEWAL in 2015 with Homemade SHRUBS & SCRUBS!!!
To Make: Combine all ingredients except apple cider vinegar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once a simmer is reached, lower heat and continue to simmer for an additional 10 mins. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour mixture into a quart-sized glass jar and add 1 C of cider vinegar. Shake and let sit at room temperature for 2 days. To use, simply strain the mixture and enjoy!
Smell the roses much? Why not now?
Can anyone else believe that it is Mid July? It’s so cliché but isn’t it crazy how quickly time flies? A summer on Martha’s Vineyard feels like the blink of an eye. It feels like time moves much faster when we let stress get the best of us and when we get so caught up in our day-to-day work that we forget to make time to stop and appreciate the moment. The past few summers I’ve spent here I have “forgotten” to do just that. Really, I just wasn’t making the choice to slow down amidst the chaos. Summers would have me bogged down and overwhelmed. These days I still have a long to do list but if I go about my to do list with a more relaxed, “vacation” mentality, time seems to slow down and I have more fun in the process. Our perception creates our reality. Ky and I receive comments all the time now such as “you guys must be running around like crazy.” Yes, there is a lot of “running” around or as I like to call it “bopping” around because bopping around is more fun than running around. Running around seems chaotic and stressful. We’re making a stand this year to fully enjoy ourselves and soak up the beauty that Martha’s Vineyard summers provide. It feels good to make time to stop and smell the roses and just breathe throughout the day. Here’s to a fun summer, we’ve got so much left to go!
Are you willing to experiment?
By Bennett
You know what I think is really cool? When you throw all of your beliefs about food out the window and start over. It’s a pretty refreshing feeling. To lift all of the sometimes limiting beliefs I have about what I like, what I don’t like, what makes me feel good and what makes me feel bad, and start over. I know for me, my body is affected differently from season to season by what I consume. This time of year I can tolerate gluten much easier and I am not as affected by alcohol either. It’s always refreshing when things change like that because I begin to question my food again and go back into the experimental zone. It’s a reassuring reminder to me that everything is connected and that we are all connected to the seasonal, ever-changing cycle of nature. This past week I have been paying close attention to my sometimes restricted and conditioned thoughts. I notice how it makes my body feel tense and try to let the thought go and relax in my body again. I’ve been carrying this same practice into my thoughts around food. I’m letting myself experiment more and changing thought patterns about what I tend to think is “good” or “bad” for me. Because in my opinion, nothing is really “bad” unless you really think that it is. If you are eating with guilt, you will ingest that emotion. I find that the more relaxed I am around food and the choices I make, the easier it is for me to digest and metabolize my meal or snack. It can be a little unsettling at first but do you find yourself in this same experimental place from time to time? Share your thoughts below!
Do you feel the need to cleanse?
This time of year I always get the urge to cleanse. I feel
like the idea of cleansing can either be really exciting for people or it can
cause anxiety and overwhelm. I encourage you to not be overwhelmed by the idea.
Simply put a cleanse is just an intentional simplification of your diet. It
gives your body a chance to rejuvenate when we simplify or lighten the load of
what we are consuming. When we give our digestion a break our body has more
energy to focus on deeper processes of cell rejuvenation, invigorating us on a
deeper level. Some people like to do juice fasts, some people like to eat raw
fruits and veggies for a week or a cleanse can be as simple as choosing one
food group, like meat for example, and excluding meat from your diet from a
week or however long you choose. Personally I am choosing to exclude meat,
dairy, wheat, sugars and alcohol from my diet for the next week. I will be
drinking green smoothies and juices and eating a whole foods meal like quinoa,
kale, veggies and beans once a day.
I always feel so much more energized and clear after I cleanse. I feel like it really helps get my creative juices flowing and helps me develop more focus. Some people choose to simply drink more water in a given day to help cleanse. I think any awareness you bring to making your diet a little healthier and a little cleaner is better than nothing.
Amazing transformations can happen when you cleanse. I’ll give you an extreme but attainable example. I saw a documentary this weekend at the Chilmark Film Festival called “May I Be Frank.” The film was about an Italian man from Brooklyn named Frank. He weighed close to 300 pounds, had hepatitis C, was on a slew of medications and was very depressed amongst many health concerns. As fate would have it he ended up at an organic, raw vegan café in San Francisco while on a trip. They have a “question of the day” at this particular restaurant and this day the waiter asked Frank “what is one thing you want to do before you die?” Frank answered that he wanted to fall in love one more time before he died but he was scared that he never would because no one would love him because he didn’t even love himself. After getting to know the staff they decided to make a film on Frank to document the change from his typical S.A.D. (standard American diet) to a clean, raw vegan diet. To make a really long story short, Frank lost about 150 pounds, cleared up his hepitatis C, mended all of his broken relationships with family by clearing up his anger, fell in love with his current, smoking hot wife, and tours the world educating people on health and reminding people that anything is possible. Sometimes all it takes is a little change in our routine to help us gain perspective on the areas of our lives that need more attention. I encourage you to bring a little more attention to eating a little cleaner and lighter this week in celebration of Spring, the perfect time for renewal. Have you ever cleansed before? If so, please share your experiences. If this is your first time please share your feelings on the topic below!
Bennett
Have you found the "perfect" diet for yourself? Does it even exist?
Is this true for you? Have you figured it all out? I dare you to question your beliefs around food. In the food world, it seems that we believe everything we hear before actually testing it out ourselves. We hear “eat more protein” and we adopt this new eating behavior without even realizing the affect it has on us or thinking twice about it. Nothing ever stays the same, our bodies are constantly changing. A certain way of eating might have worked for you for a period of time in your life, and then as your body changed and/or your environment changed you may have found that your old ways of eating no longer sustained you. This is the key to finding what works best for you…to be in tune and aware of your body’s calls for something different (especially if you live in a place with seasons). It doesn’t mean we have to get frustrated or beat ourselves up, it just is the way it is, and if we can learn to go with the flow we will find less resistance and dis-ease…in all areas of our lives. Every single person or body on this earth is different, so one person might need to eat more meat than another person, some people don’t need to eat any meat, some people need more fat, some people need less fat, some people like to be marathon runners and some people like to walk and do yoga. It’s truly about finding what works best for you and realizing that the more rigid we become around food, the more disconnected we become from what our body really desires. Play around with different foods, experiment, HAVE FUN with it! Use your energy levels, your digestion and your moods to help guide you to the perfect diet for your body, at this point in time. Have you found that your diet has changed over time? How does it make you feel? Are you resistant to the changes? (I know I can be.) Please share your thoughts below!
Bennett
Does the quality of your food effect the quality of your life?
In the past, I didn’t have a true concept of what it meant to live healthily. My idea of being healthy was to be skinny. I think that this is a common misconception for a lot of people, especially women. I thought the less food I ate the better. And when I did eat, I had feelings of guilt and shame surrounding my mealtimes, which were few and far between. During this part of my life, I was also feeling depressed and anxious. I wasn’t fully expressing myself. I didn’t experience a lot of joy in my life…and if I did it was in a fleeting, unsustainable fashion. What I’ve learned since beginning my studies in holistic nutrition is that our relationship with food is indicative of our relationship with our life. Once I learned what foods worked for me (as it’s different for each person), I began nourishing myself with nutrient dense whole foods. That is, food that hasn’t been processed and stripped of all nutrients (like many canned or processed foods that come in a package). I began spending most of my time in the grocery store in the produce section. I realized this is where the real food lives! These are the foods that make my body and soul thrive. As I began to give myself permission to enjoy foods that fueled me (eating for fuel+enjoyment is the ultimate eating experience), I began to experience states of pure bliss in my life. I began not only seeking the highest quality food possible but also the highest quality life experiences possible. This is when my love affair with SUPERFOODS like raw cacao began. I thought “Why not feed myself with the healthiest foods out there? What’s stopping me?” The quality of foods that I choose to eat is a mirror of the quality of experiences I have in my life now. I want nothing but the most fulfilling, highest vibration food and life experiences because you only live once. Why not love yourself enough to take really good care of yourself? Have you experienced a shift in the way you eat and the quality of your life? Please share with us below.
Bennett
