My heart goes out to Boston, my thoughts and resilience are with Venezuela, my spirit gathers strength with Amnesty International for there is much to do in this world.

My heart goes out to Boston, to everyone who participated, from runners to supporters, from individuals to families... I think of you. The world thinks of you.

My thoughts and resilience are with Venezuela, where elections were held a few days ago and the layers of corruption have yet again taken over the process of democracy.

I am inspired by those who extend their hand in the midst of chaos, those who keep on advocating for a just world, where human rights are met for one and all. In the midst of it all, these stories rise to the top, and I thank you for being a ray of sunshine on dark days. We stand for those who may not have the opportunity or freedom to stand, we speak for those who may not have the opportunity or freedom to speak, we act for those we may not have the opportunity or freedom to act, for themselves, their children, their country.

There is a quote by the Dalai Lama the XIV that I would like to share with you...

“There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.’ No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.”

Hope carries us through. I believe Hope combined with Action has the power to change each and everyone of us, our immediate community and the world at large.

My spirit gathers strength with Amnesty International.. and that was really my blog today, but I just couldn't let the two previous events go unspoken. This is my second year participating in Amnesty International's Canadian Yoga Day. A day to raise funds for Women's Human Rights. 

I am a strong advocate of human rights, where does this feeling or need to act come from? For me it comes from growing up in Caracas, Venezuela and, as a child and young adult, baring witness to one to many violations of human rights. It comes from my work as a photojournalist seeking justice in my heart, trying to raise awareness about current social-political situations and baring witness to the unthinkable. Today, as a mother of 3, having found some peace within myself with the fact that the I may not be able to bring justice to every situation I encounter, but I can focus on educating my children so that they can become shiny just beings with open hearts. I can take part in creating awareness in my own community, from human rights to the local food movement, I can participate in events like Yoga Day were my efforts have a direct influence on someone else's life for the better.

So come on out for Amnesty International Yoga Day Marathon !! Come for one class, stay for all!

If you are on lands far away, you can still help and participate... you can donate! you can create your own event! Ask your Yoga Studio to get involved! Spread the goods and make it a world wide event! Actually you can create any event you want as a fundraiser for Nasrin... go on... gather your hope along with your action.. its time! Post it... what event will you create? what event will you participate... anything from Potlucks to Yoga! keep it simple, the canvas is yours... It would be fun to see what you come up to.... take some pics and post them up.. lets see if we can go around the world with this one! 

In Loving Memory of those who lead with a golden heart...

I had finally sat down after a long break away from the computer to write about Spring and about releasing the 'someting old' to invite something new.... when we heard the news.. news that make you stop in your tracks, feel a low thump on your heart, deeply appreciate every second that we have and begin to grasp at the fact that we don't have all the answers for the way things happen, that life is more complex and intricate and fragile (if I may) than we would like to think.

I know a lot of you who read this blog are part of our community and are already dealing with the news. On friday morning, the Dunsmuir family passed away in their house due to a fire. Details are not clear, but what is clear is the loss that we all feel.

In our community the Dunsmuirs were the golden heart that lead the way to heart felt interactions, that gave the community strength, courage, and compassion.  Mrs. Dunsmuir was the Director of the Queensville Montessori Academy up until 2010, where our kids attended school. A small school full of humanity, openness, universal thinking and awareness. It was an extention of home.  It was full of heart, love, integrity, respect and devotion.

I believe that as we interact with one another a small part of ourselves gets left behind, I see it as a gift, an inspiration, a blessing. Mrs. Dunsmuir's blessing that will always be a part of me was her golden heart, for when one leads life with a golden heart, there is a different resonance to one's actions, words, thoughts, there is a different quality to our life. She walked her talk with a smile.

I would like to honour and dedicate this meditation to the Dunsmuir family (parents, Kevin and Jennifer, teenage sons, Robert and Cameron.). To David, their other son who was away at University. and to the community at large.

When we meditate we align ourselves and connect with universal energy, we connect with the source, and we connect with our environment and the people that surround us. For all of you in our community, this meditation is for us to feel connected with the blessings they gave to us. For those of you who perhaps never met the Dunsmuirs, this meditation is for connecting with the blessings and inspirations others have left for you and for leading your life with a golden heart.



The Connection and Golden Heart Meditation

1. Close your eyes and sit in a comfortable position. Breathe, deeply, a few times.

2. Begin to feel your body relax and let go of the stresses it feels.
Focus on your head, and feel your head relax as you gently exhale.
Focus on your face, and feel you face relax as you gently exhale.
Focus on your neck, and feel your neck relax as you gently exhale.
Go through your whole body. Neck, shoulders, arms, hands. Chest, upper abdomen, lower abdomen, organs. Hips, legs, knees, ankles, feet.

3. Come back to your breath. Focus on your breath for 5 rounds of inhalation and exhalation.

4. As you inhale, visualize a beam of golden light entering your heart chakra. Feel its radiance, warmth and love. Feel it filling up your heart chakra (upper chest) with golden light. Continue to be aware of your breath as you feel the golden light begin to travel freely all over your body, bringing along with it radiance, warmth, love, support. Connect with the blessings and inspirations others have left for you. Feel the beauty of life, feel the grace of a helping hand, feel the warmth and the depth of your own heart. Feel this golden light bring in new, fresh, vital energy into your body. Begin to feel refreshed. Begin to feel the lightness of your body as if a huge weight has been lifted of your shoulders. Feel the lightness and love in your heart.

5. Now visualize the golden energy flowing from your heart into the hearts of those around you, into your environment, into loved ones far away and into strangers nearby. This golden energy expands from your heart outwards into the world. Take some time to experience this flow of energy.

6. Come back to your breath. Come back to feeling the golden energy in your heart chakra and filling your whole body with it. Feel the gratitude in your heart for the blessings and inspirations others have given us and for the time shared together. Allow this gratitude to carry your own golden heart into the world. Focus on the inhale and the exhale a few times and then softly open your eyes.

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"When my tears come, I breathe deeply and rest. I know I am swimming in a hallowed stream where many have gone before. I am not alone, crazy or having a nervous breakdown..... My heart is at work, my soul is awake. "- Mary Margaret Funk. (Thoughts Matter: The Practice of a Spiritual Life)

Recipe for something BLUE: Balance those free radicals with Blueberry power!

Yes indeed Happy Day after Valentines! May your heart continue to feel warmth everyday, and your life be surrounded by love, always.

So here is a recipe to nurture our bodies from the inside out and perhaps help our bodies deal with the extra sweets from yesterday! Something BLUE to start the day, full of antioxidants that help our bodies fight the free-radicals in our bodies.

Yes indeed BLUEBERRIES are in my mind today, they protect  the heart and the brain, they boost memory, they help fight aging, and disease causing free radicals.

What exactly are FREE RADICALS you ask? well well, they are single atoms or groups of atoms, with an odd number of electrons. They are unstable and they go about in the body stealing electrons from other cells to gain stability, creating new free radicals along the way. They are responsible for cell damage. They have the potential to cause DNA damage and organ damage. As well, free radicals damage produced by excess of free radicals is believed to be associated with cancer.

Now, our bodies produce free radicals as part of our metabolism process, to neutralize viruses and bacteria, but the numbers of free radicals produced in these cases are what our bodies can handle. They can be easily neutralized by a diet high in fruits and vegetables, specifically foods rich in ANTIOXIDANTS,  and lifestyle.

When we experience physical and emotional stress, when exposed to environmental pollution, radiation, industrial chemicals, cigarette smoke, herbicides (used in our food production), processed foods, consumption of drugs (recreational and prescription), the presence of free radicals in our bodies can become excessive which as you read, can lead to all kinds of trouble.

The solution is easy. Find ways to manage your stress (exercise, yoga & meditation are great options!) and eat a diet filled with foods that are rich in antioxidants, vitamin C and vitamin E... some examples are berries, grapes, broccoli, garlic, tomatoes, and green tea. Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, with a lot of raw power I might add, will take care of those free radicals dancing around in your body which will of course lead to more happy days ahead...

So roundabout we go to our friends the BLUEBERRIES...

RECIPE FOR SOMETHING BLUE: Balance those free radicals Blueberry Smoothie

1 1/2 cups of Hado water, spring water or good source water
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 bananas
2 TBSP raw almond butter
1 TSP raw honey
1 TBSP hemp seeds
1 TBSP Sea vegetable powder (spirulina, chorella, or any combination powder). IF you are new to them start them slow as they can be cleansing if you are not used to them. So start with 1 TSP and build your way up.

note_ I don't use frozen fruit in the winter, as the smoothie becomes to cooling for me, but in the summer I will even freeze bananas to add them to the smoothies!


Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend well, and shazam! you got your 'balance those free radicals power' ready to work for you!!!!! Sip slowly and enjoy!

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Quote of the Day
"We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it"- John Lennon

Brr.. honey it's cold outside! Its time to warm the heart up..

What better time to connect with the energy of Love than when its -10C outside and the mother Snow Fall, right?

It's time to open our hearts and warm them up!

It's time to connect with Love, it's time to share the goods and as importantly it's time to receive them back tenfold! I believe if we follow through with our intentions, if we hold them present in our mind through our day, if we commit to ourselves to pursue them, to pursue inner peace, love, happiness whatever it is you wish to pursue...  if we continue to show up...  IT happens. IT comes to us. IT fills our lives and our hearts until there only is room for IT.

So to celebrate whatever IT means to you in this cold February month I want to share a few things in hope of offering warmth and love to your hearts.... ready? of course you are...

so here we go..

Something borrowed, 

something blue, 

something old, 

something new, 

something rawllygood!

SOMETHING BORROWED: INSPIRATION

I would have to say one of the best things I borrow is inspiration. People, Things, Doings that keep me going, that bring a smile to my face, and the feeling of peace to my heart. Its quite easy to go through our days in autopilot mode. I have been there plenty of days.. but what happens when we take the time to do things differently?. When we start the day by reading something that inspires us, when we start the day with a warm embrace, when we go the extra mile for a stranger nearby, the day just simply seems to be a better day...

A few of my favourite borrowed inspirations are:

books by the Dalai Lama
Raw Food cookbooks (I just love them too much!)
dreaming of playing in my Garden when spring comes around!
Chanting music by Brenda McMorrow to meditate with
Singing Bowls music by Darren Austin Hall
Deepak Chopra
Kriss Carr
Caroline Dupont
Ananda Yoga Studios
Art Galleries
anything that makes me stop, breathe and smile!

RECIPE WITH SOMETHING BORROWED:  Homemade KOMBUCHA (Fermented Tea Drink)

Kombucha is a brew of fermented tea that is jam packed with probiotics, it alkalizes the body, it is high in antioxidants, and it is believed to aid in digestions, improve metabolism, and detoxify the liver. I love it when the list of goodness is long... 

There are many ways of making Kombucha, but to start it one must have a Scoby starter, you can either borrow one or buy one.. I personally believe in the power of passing on the goodness, and the goodness of a Kombucha Scoby came to me from my friend Kim. A Scoby is the spore that ferments the tea, and during the process of fermentation it gets bigger filling up the top of your glass jar (if you do it that way). The process of fermentation can last anywhere between 10- 14 days depending on your conditions (how cold/hot/dark/light your environment is). The Scoby spore itself is not to be consumed, but rather kept in about an inch of the fermented tea and to be used in your next batch of Kombucha. If you are brewing more Kombucha for your next batch, you can always cut a Scoby and divide it for your next batches (as always, one must thank it first for the love it is brewing for our bodies! then cut, and pass it on to your next batch or to your dear friend who can't believe you have gonne wild and have 19 jars of Kombucha brewing at the same time!). Yeap, got a bit too excited there... I am in my experimental brewing phase! ha.

Anyway back to the real thing... the shorter your brewing time, the sweeter the Kombucha will be. The longer your leave it to Brew the more Sour it will get... It's a beautiful thing! It's really up to you. 

Once the Kombucha has brewed, transfer the fermented brew onto a clean glass jar and store in the fridge. Leave the Scoby spore in the previous glass jar with at least 1 inch of brew (a cup of brew would be wonderful! -if you are making a large batch that you can offer a cup to your Scoby). Scobys DONT like the fridge:) 

What is that I heard? How much Kombucha to drink? Start slow. Everyone is different. Some people can do 4 oz of Kombucha, for some 1oz is enough until their bodies get used to its superpowers! Now that being said Homemade Kombucha is quite different than store bought Kombucha... try it out!

Now here is how to make Kombucha :

For a 1 liter (4 cup) brew you will need:

 *Sterile glass jars (wide mouth works best) or glass containers to fit the amount of tea volume you will be brewing. Write your love & gratitude dedication to your Kombucha prior to filling the jars up... kind of easier to do.

*A piece of cloth or folded paper towel to cover the mouth of the jar or top of you container (no cheesecloth, the thread is too loose and fruit flies might come to see what is happening in your town!)

*1 large elastic band to secure the cheesecloth or folded paper towel

*4 cups of spring water (good quality water, no tap water please

*1/2 cup organic (if possible) cane sugar or RAW organic honey

*2 bags or 2 TSPN of tea (Oolong, Green, White, Black, Ginger, and so on)

(any herbal tea can be used for flavour, my suggestion is that you keep the tea clean and free of additives. READ your tea labels, you might be surprised to see a few too many non recognizable- not so- friendly "friends" in there. )

* a borrowed (now adopted) Scoby spore and starter liquid (the inch, hopefully few inches your scoby is happily swimming in)

* heaps and bounds of Love & Gratitude, and I will show you why!

Bring the water to boil. 

Remove from heat. 

Let it cool down and add the sugar, and mix it up until dissolved. If you are using RAW honey it is best to let the water cool down to lukewarm temperature before adding the RAW honey. 

Add the tea bags or loose tea (you will have to strain or use a reusable tea bag for the loose tea). Let it steep for at least 10 minutes (depends how strong you like your brews, so have fun and experiment with it). 

Remove tea bags or filter out leaves.

Let it cool down to room temperature.

Pour into your glass container or jar (S!)

Add the Scoby spore and started liquid.

Cover with the cloth of folded paper towel. Secure with elastic band.

Leave to ferment at room temperature, covered and out of the light for 10 -14 days. Now sometimes your Kombucha can be ready in as little as 7 days! So keep checking it and tasting it until you get an idea of your Kombucha's synergestic environmental cosmic dance! Remember it's alive and brewing.. 

Now I had said before that I was gonna show you why I am so into the heaps and bounds of Love & Gratitude... a few months ago I wrote about HADO WATER and the power of prayer and intention to change molecular structures. So I decided to experiment a bit.. ok ok  A LOT! with my Kombucha. I decided I was gonna brew Kombucha and give it to my friends as a Holiday gift.. as a way of passing on the goodness.... So I made labels that had an image of the photograph of a water molecule that was exposed with the prayer & intention of LOVE & GRATITUDE as well as goodness wishes. I then placed the Kombucha near some quartz stones... now I had a lot of jars going.. and there were a few that I didn't put the label on.... and guess what!!!! YEA! The LOVE & GRATITUDE Kombuchas placed by the Quartz stones had the most beautiful Scobies!!! White and even all around, thick and lovely!
The ones that were not totally beside the stones where nice but not shinning beauties if you know what I mean, the ones without the label where sad looking, deformed, miserable beings!

There you go.... AMAZING! 

See it for your selves:

Love & Gratitude Shining Beauty Kombucha placed by a clear quartz stone.

Sad looking, deformed Kombucha (sorry I threw out the mouldy ones faster than I could think 'Hey lets write about it!', but you can just imagine it.)







Have fun with it! If you live around my area, I will be happy to share scobies with you! For those on far away lands.. check with your health stores or health practitioners, you might be happily surprised!

Now stay tunned for something BLUE! it will soon be coming to you....
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Quote of the Day
"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love." - Mother Teresa
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Farewell Agave.. Farewell.. Hello Queen Bee..

Farewell Agave.. Farewell.. Hello Queen Bee

I know you are sweet and presented as nice

I know you are sold as healthy but are far from it

I know you ain't raw allthough you try

I know you mess around with my blood sugar and perhaps yours

I know you are used and misused world widely across the RAW world

I know it's just time to move on...

Man oh man, why does it have to be used EVERYWHERE!!!!! ahhh!

Agave is one of the best Advertising triumphs ever pulled on us, the public. You may not be as reactive to it as I am, but in the long run, it will catch up with you. So buyer beware.

Here is an article by Jonny Bowden, PHD, C.N.S that fully explains what Agave is and its dangers...

Debunking the Blue Agave Myth

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-jonny-bowden/debunking-the-blue-agave_b_450144.html

Oh my sweet innocent Blue Agave, sure you are sweet, but not so innocent after all. 

So what are the options out there, if you choose to be RAW but don't want to use Agave. 

First, well there is RAW Honey (preferable organic & wild). Raw Honey is jammed packed with live enzymes. It is a top superfood and is a great source for concentrated nutrition. It is rich in minerals, antioxidants, probiotics, enzymes and is one of the highest vibration foods!! It has antibacterial properties and some wild honey's have been shown to be anti fungal, anti viral properties as well. Check around your area, you might be surprised to find a lovely organic & wild Bee keeper near you. 

Second, there are Dates (Medjool Dates are a great option. Note- most pitted dates (and ready to use in baking dates) are heated to be pitted, so they are not technically Raw, nor would they give you the goodness and nourishment they can give.)

Third, there are Raw Sugar Cane Crystals. They are sun dried sugar cane crystals and do not undergo the same degree of processing that refined sugar does. They retain most of the nutrients found in raw organic sugar cane. Note- I have not used them very much, so I am not to recommend them as much as Raw Honey and Dates, but I think they are worth experimenting with.

So go on, get the sweet thing going.. have fun in the kitchen, share the sweets with those you love!

And to get you inspired and ready for February.. (yes, its coming, all too soon to a life near you!) here is a lovely recipe that just doesn't last at my house...

Chocolate Superpower Sweet Lovers Halvah 

1 cup raw sesame seeds, hulled

1 TBSP raw cacao powder

1 TBSP Spirulina, Chlorella, or Sea Vegetable Blend (I use Schinoussa Sea Vegetables)

dash of cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/4 cup raw, organic & wild honey

2 TBSP raw tahini 

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract or powder (I like to use powder and stay away from the glycerine and alcohol content of the extract)

Extra raw cacao powder or raw sesame seeds for dipping.

Put the sesame seeds in a food processor and blend until you have made a medium - coarse meal. Transfer the seed meal to a large bowl. Add the powder ingredients (raw cacao powder, Sea Vegs., Vanilla, cinnamon, salt) and whisk together. Then add the remaining ingredients and knead teh 'dough' using your hands. Break off bits of dough and from into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Dip balls into extra sesame seeds. Store the Chocolate Superpower Halvah in the fridge in a tightly sealed container to allow ingredients and tastes to blend.

Getting creative with sweet loves: you can literally add ANYTHING to this recipe and make a great tasting dessert with it! ANYTHING in my world are things like Hemps Seeds, Goji Berries, Inca Berries, Bee Pollen, Coconut flakes, and so on... 1TBSP at a time.

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Quote of the Day

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dewof little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed." - Kahlil Gibran 

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Book I recommend

"Eat Raw, Eat Well." by Doug McNish

 

Happy Happy 1 year Anniversary!!! Time flyes when you are having fun!

Hello Happiness... how are you today?

Well, well I (the Rawllygood blog) turn one today!!!! yeepers! One year of writing with an open heart, often at times, brief at others, but one year has passed since I first made the commitment to my self to do the 40 day Juice Feast in conjunction with the 40 day meditation. And a lot has happened in a year!! One year of healing, exploring, learning, deep breathing, chellation, family times, seeing dear friends times, connecting with new like minded people, liver cleansing, yoga, back to the matt, back to the sun, back to me and sharing it back with you !

Well, Happy 1 year !

To celebrate this joyous wonderful day I would like to share a song by the Dave Mathews Band, that we at our house just love, yes the kids rock to it!! It inspires me to dream and do the things I do, to feel much gratitude for all that I/ we (humans) have dared to do, to feel gratitude for the opportunity to do more and to contribute and support this world to change, to be conscious of my actions and the effect and power they can have.... it's time for you and me and ours to use our potentials and to inspire the next generation to act! So here it goes, the song is GAUCHO.

"Gaucho"

With fire to keep us warm
and tools we made from rocks and bones
A roof over your head
and walls to keep you safe in bed
There must be more than this
So God was born 
and we in his image of fear and love
looked down upon from up above

We gotta do much more than believe
if we really wanna change things
We gotta do much more than believe
if we wanna see the world change

We crossed the oceans wide
built cities to the sky oh Lord
Looked up and we were flying
but will we not survive ourselves

We gotta do much more than believe 
if we wanna see the world change
We gotta do much more than believe 
if we really wanna change things
We gotta do much more than believe
go on try it, go on try it
We gotta do much more than believe 
if we wanna see the world change

What will I say to my baby
Let me show you a movie
we landed a man on the moon
Now you could never believe it
ya we could do anything
We flew to the stars and back
down to the ground hard

Please wake up
Please wake up
Please wake up

[Children singing]
We gotta do much more than believe
if we really wanna change things
We gotta do much more than believe
if we really wanna change things
We gotta do much more than believe 
if we really wanna change things
We gotta do much more than believe 
if we really wanna change things
We gotta do much more than believe 
if we really wanna change things

[Children and Dave singing]
We gotta do much more than believe 
go on try it, go on try it
We gotta do much more than believe 
if we really wanna change things
We gotta do much more than believe 
go on try it, go on try it
We gotta do much more than believe
if we wanna see the world change

Oh my little baby
let me show you this movie
You know we landed a man on the moon
I know it's hard to imagine
but we could do anything
under the stars.

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Quote of the Day
"In the end these things matter most:
How well did you love?
How well did you live?
How deeply did you let go?" - Gautama Buddha

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Announcements
The Winter Feast for the Soul, 40 minutes a day of meditation for 40 days starts today!!

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Book I recommend
LifeFood Recipe Book, Living on Life Force by Annie Padden Jubb and David Jubb.

My wishes for you...

Well, first things first. Happy New Year! a bit late I know.. but my wishes were with you as we celebrated and accepted the comings of the New Year! Life has been busy with everyone at home and I haven't had a chance to sit my bottom down to write. I have missed it. You see, I write to the great unknown out there, but I also write to the very well known in here, and it feels good.

May it bring many blessings to you and your loved ones, may it be filled with laughter and love, may it be filled with radiant health and the gift of joy, may it bring forth the realization of your most heart felt and desired dreams and may it bring you closer to Spirit.

Now that the wheels of the New Year are well under way and the pressure of the famous last 'resolutions' is off, perhaps a more realistic and compasionate look at the year past is possible, perhaps a more honest look within your heart at what you want to bring forth in your life this year is also possible. I find for myself, I have so many dreams and desires in so many directions it's just hard to keep up with all of them! simply impossible, yet I dream away, yet I plant seeds that perhaps will take years to grow and harvest.. yet I feel the heartfelt desire to bring it on, and let things happen and find the balance between living lightly on this earth and grounding deep roots for my breath to spread.

Here are a few of my Resolutions, some are big, some are small... all take inspiration in the creative potential that life has to manifest the seeds we plant.

1.- Be more present (even when I dream!). Be more realistic of where I am at, of the circumstances that are my current reality.

2.- Become a more positive gardener of my mind-garden. Become very aware and conscious of the seeds I am planting today. TODAY is my future in the making. NOW matters more than what I sometimes consciously accept. Focus on the positive, make it grow, nurture and nourish it to the point there is simply no room left for the negative.

3.- Do more things that FEEL GOOD. Yes we all have duties and responsibilities, but often we (i) get lost in them and in taking care of everyone around us (me). And all though, that feels good, it is not the same  as finding things that make me feel really good with an open heart about this beautiful life, away from duties and responsibilities...

4.- Meditate on a daily basis. Deeply connect with nature and Spirit. Have breathing time. Quiet time. Rejuvenation time.

5.- Nourish my heart and listen to the voice within. I don't know about you, but I have periods of great intuition and I have periods of where has my intuition gone?. So nourishing my heart and staying more connected to it is something I want to pursue this year.

6.-Eat Rawllygood Nourishing Deliscious Foods, and of course, share them with you!

7.-Do something totally new to me.  (Nope I can't pull it out of the bag yet!)

8.- I could keep going on, but I think I will stop right here.....

What is your revised version of your plan for this year! I got lots of details to sort out, and lots of details to write down... but I like the element of surprise and organic brewing (if you can call it that) in my life.

Whatever it is, make it honest, make it real, feel it within your heart, take off the family/community pressure 'cause really this is about you and your sense of self, your growth, your ride.

I wish for you days filled with bliss, days filled with rain to wash away what you no longer need and to bring new energy into your lives, days filled with earth supporting your feet, days filled with wind carrying you to soaring heights, days filled with the fire of love, lots and lots of love, and last but not least, days filled with the vibration of your breath reaching every corner of your being.


On that note...
Here is a recipe for a Glass of Bliss Smoothie shall you need it on your many wonderful days ahead.

Glass of Bliss Smoothie

1 banana
3 Tbsp of Raw Cacao Nibs
2 Tbsp of fresh mint leafs (or more for a more minty flavour)
3 dates
1 (or 2) droppers of Marine Phytoplancton
1/2 tsp Schinoussa SeaVegetable Powder
1 tsp hemp seeds
2 cups of nut mylk of your choice (almond is nice and sweet)  or water (Hado water even better! or Almond mylk made with Hado water!)
Pinch of sea salt

Blend it all up, you want to have some of the Cacao Nibs chunks in there. Yum.
Note: my body doesn't need large amounts of protein. So the amounts of SeaVegetables and Hemps seeds are little. If you find your body does well with more, by all means up it up!
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Quote of the Day
"I wish for you the wisdom to live only in present time, pursue only what gives you joy and the awareness of how useful these two choices are. And one more: Let compassion to yourself and specially to others, be always in your thinking and in your actions." CZ 
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Announcements
The 40 day meditation practice that started all this is coming up again. It is called "AWinter Feast for the Soul". Starts on January 15th. It is a wonderful way of connecting to the community at large and to experiment with different paths of meditation, and be supported along the way.
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Book I recommend
"Nourishing Wisdom", a mind-body approach to nutrition and Well-Being, by Marc David.
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