Green smoothies make my knees happy

A few years ago, I went to a seminar led by Victoria Boutenko. Overnight, this woman converted her family to a raw vegan diet as an extreme measure to cure her family of a variety of illnesses. She touts the benefits of adding a single green smoothie to one's existing diet. Since I heard Victoria speak and sampled my first green smoothie, my life has never been the same.

Over the past two weeks, I have started my day with a green smoothie. For those of you who are hearing about this for the first time, a green smoothie is a blender drink that usually consists of fruit and leafy greens.

Most nights, my family and I have a big green salad with our dinner, but there is something magical that happens when you puree leafy greens in a blender that's even better!

For most people, me included, we are not able to digest and absorb all the fantastic nutrients in greens that we would eat in a salad for example. Blending them up is a great way to get all these healthful nutrients into our bloodstream for quick distribution throughout the body.
I am beyond excited about the results I'm experiencing after only 2 weeks of daily green smoothies. The first and most exciting surprise is the improved health of my knee joints. Typically my knees make an unsettling crunching sound when I go up and down stairs. I'm even cautious about squatting, for fear one of my knees will give out. Lately I've noticed that the crunching sound has diminished and even disappears when I use the stairs. My joints feel stronger and I have more confidence when doing yoga poses that I typically avoid because of my knees. I was at the park with my girls tonight and I kept smiling as I thought, I've got new knees!!!

I have more energy!
My head usually hits the pillow at 10pm and I'm out like a light. Lately I feel I have energy to spare.

My craving for sweets has dropped significantly as well.

I'm so pumped up about the results so far, I'm motivated more than ever to continue on. There are a few other health related issues I'd like to clear up and I'm eager to reach my vision of optimal health.

I believe each one of us has the potential to feel better than we ever have in our lives.
I love knowing that the sky is the limit when it comes to health.
How good do you want to feel?

Check out Victoria Boutenko's website for answers to all your green smoothie questions.

http://greensmoothiesblog.com/

Feel the fear and do it anyway

I can't hold back who I naturally am. No one can. 

I've heard it said that, trying to hold back your true self is like pushing a beach ball into the water, it will always come up.

It's a lot of work to stifle one's true nature.

 

So I go from one extreme to the other. 

 

For months at a time I'll do what comes naturally; channeling, talking to spirit, sensing energy around me and all sorts of clairsentient type stuff.

 

Then all of a sudden, I will shut it all off.

 

I pretend like none of that stuff actually happened.

 

Who am I anyway? What do I know? This isn't normal.

 

The thing is, it is getting more difficult to push that beach ball down into the water. I'm tired. I'm also scared. What is going to happen when I let everything float to the surface? 

 

What am I capable of? 

 

We hold ourselves back don't we?

 

The words, feel the fear and do it anyway, keep popping in my head.

 

We all have something inside yearning to reach the light. We get insecure; we judge ourselves and question our own existence. We push it back down where no one can see it. Maybe we get brave and let some of it slip through the cracks. 

 

I've come to recognize when I need to take action in the direction of my deepest desires - two things happen simultaneously. 

One, I feel like a piece of me might die if I take that next step forward; and two, I feel like a piece of me might die if I stay where I am.

What do I do?

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

This is going to be exciting!



 

Are we having fun yet?

My dad asks me on a regular basis, "Are we having fun yet?"
He's referring to life and all the cool things that happen in this magical Universe.

I'm like a little kid when my dad and I get talking.

I bounce on my feet waiting in anticipation of his car door opening so I can launch into my most recent story of synchronicity and manifestation.

As we walk up the driveway toward my house, barely a hello exchanged, I start on my rant.

"You are not going to believe this! Something so cool happened to me today!"

Walking beside him like a puppy, I continue, "This morning I had a thought - and it came true!"

He listened to my whole story. I playfully slap my dad on the arm waiting for his reaction. He gives me a big grin.

I continued, "You're not going to believe what else happened! This morning I thought, I really need to get the ducts cleaned."

My dad is very patient and he listens with great interest as if I found a UFO in the backyard.

"Not even 2 hours go by and a duct cleaning company calls me randomly from the phonebook and asks if they can come by and give me a quote - How cool is that?!" I say in one breath.

My dad laughs and looks at me with knowing eyes.

We spend the rest of the afternoon talking about how the Universe is within us and how we create our reality. We talk about life as if it's a candy shop.

We often ask each other; "What do you want?" 
I wave my hand around in a magical wand sort of way and say "Poof!" We both smile.

Once upon a time my dad was diagnosed with cancer (Non-hodgkins lymphoma). It seems so odd to associate him with the idea of cancer, probably because he doesn't. He's pretty nonchalant about the idea. He doesn't give it much attention. Sure he gets nervous when a regular check-up shows that his lymph nodes have swelled up. More often than not though, we are celebrating the reports that have his oncologist scratching her head in disbelief.

Now it's my dad's turn to share his stories of manifestation.
I can hear the smile in his voice over the phone when he tells me; "My check-up went really well! My lymph nodes are unusually small for someone with cancer."

I'm smiling right now as I recall this recent conversation.

Dad often jokes; "I'm going to die of something, but it probably won't be cancer."

Is it the dandelion roots he digs up in the backyard and adds to his stir fries? Is it the meditation he does before he falls asleep? Is it his green smoothies?

Maybe.

Maybe it's his excitement about life. He loves life. He loves living! He has a great atitude too. I can't remember the last time I heard him complain about something.

Often my dad says, "I'm so rich." He's talking about his family, his friends and this cool life experience.

What we put our attention on, grows.

What do you want?

Wave your magic wand.

Poof!

My awesome and crappy painting

Lately I've been doing some artwork - acrylic on canvas.

I'm pissed off.

I just finished an abstract 8x11 and I want to cry.

Here's my internal dialogue:
Why did I pick that colour? It's ugly. Maybe someone will like it - I sure as hell don't. I just wasted my time. It was so pretty, then I messed it up. I hate this. Why am I even doing this? Maybe I'll get famous. If I could just figure out how to put the right colours together, then it might be worthy of showing it off.

Funny, I keep walking by my artwork, hoping it will change, hoping I'll love it all of a sudden. As I was painting and swirling and mixing colours, I couldn't stop my mind from wondering if someone else would like it. Part of me felt that it wasn't worth doing if another person wasn't going to love it.

The thing is, the process of creating my painting was so much fun. I almost cried happy tears as I experienced feelings of sheer joy and satisfaction. It wasn't until I brought the idea of someone else into the mix, that I got all pissy.

It's a process.

I want to do more. I want to get to a place where I let my creativity flow through me without holding back, without questioning whether it's right or wrong.

At the end of one of my yoga DVDs, the instructor says, self-acceptance is one of the highest practices.
Yeah, and it's one of the most difficult!

Tears of joy over the Ramen Noodle boy

This afternoon, I was reading about the International Children's Games coming to Windsor, Ontario and I got all choked up. Tears welled up in my eyes and my heart felt big in my chest. I could feel the love that surrounds this event. So many volunteers, coaches and parents from across the globe are coming together to support children moving in the direction of their passion. This is big! Even as I write, I'm getting a better sense of the energy that is shifting and pulsating as the event draws nearer.

This is newsworthy! This is what we should be bringing up in conversation.

It's easy to remember the house fire or major traffic accident on the morning news, but is that what we want to take with us through our day? Is that the energy we want flowing through us? Some people may think I'm naive and choosing an unrealistic view of the world when I look to the positive events and ignore the opposite. I used to think so. 

I skip the criminal nabbing update in the local newspaper. The radio gets turned off when a terrible news story hits the airwaves. This stuff just doesn't feel right in my body when I hear or read it.

I choose television programs that make me feel good. Just the other day I was overwhelmed by a breathtaking performance by Mitsi Dancing School on America's Got Talent. To be honest, I was shocked at my emotional reaction. I had no control over the tears filling my eyes. My heart was deeply connected to their energy and presence. Even more surprising, was my reaction to an episode of How it's Made. They were showing how Ramen Noodle Soups were manufactured. There was this guy; his job was to keep the Styrofoam bowls stacked high in one of the machines. He had the biggest smile on his face as he took a stack of bowls from a box and loaded them onto the hopper. I could feel the pride he had for his role in the process. He had passion! I connected with his heart-expanding energy and it overtook me!

Three awesome realizations I'm having as I remember these heart-opening moments:

1. When you live your passion, when you are happy doing something you love - others benefit!

2. Your passion can be anything, in any moment! It can last a lifetime or a second.

3. We are all connected. When your heart fills and expands with love energy, the entire Universe shifts!

It takes practice moving in the direction of love and passion.

 

It may not appear productive to linger an extra 10 seconds at your car door, enjoying the breeze on your neck, before you get in. But I can tell you this, I can get more accomplished sitting outside the mall with tears of joy streaming down my face, as I recognize each person's awesomeness as they pass by, then I can in hours upon hours of thinking, planning and doing!

 

This knowledge is becoming more deeply embedded in me every day. 

 

I wish you a day of at least one moment of heart-opening bliss, for in that moment, you will move mountains!

Relief from anxiety - praying the rosary

Wowsers - what a week of major anxiety! I'm just now feeling like a normal human being again.
I've never experienced anything like this before. I was sensitive to everything! It was like having a migraine without the headache part of it. Every sound made my skin crawl. I was in panic over the idea of someone, mostly my husband or girls, getting too close to me. I didn't want to be touched, breathed on, or looked at. My heart was beating fast and I was on the verge of tears for 3 days.
I tried to fall asleep at night using breathing techniques, Reiki and meditation - nothing worked. The next day I was exhausted.

I decided on a new plan.

I'm going to pray the rosary.

First, a little history. I was brought up Roman Catholic. I went through a mild rebellion after University and sought out alternative ideas. Part of it was sheer interest and another part of me was angry about the fear-based ideas I learned in school. To this day I still worry the skies will darken, fires will burst up all around my house and the devil disguised as my loved ones will be clamoring at the door, begging to be let in.

I've made peace with Catholicism. I take what I need from it - whatever feels good.

I used to pray the rosary when I was a kid. I'd cozy up in bed and say as many Hail Marys and Our Fathers as I could before I fell asleep. One night, I was 14 years old at the time, I even committed to staying awake and praying the whole thing. To superpower the experience, I dedicated each prayer to someone I loved. Then something happened.

My rosary turned gold!

I freaked out!

I don't even think I told my parents. I figured no one would believe me anyway.

This rosary has remained in my bedside table over the years, often untouched. I pulled it out the other night and let the rhythm of the prayers ease my mind and relax me. I prayed for myself. Each prayer was a shower of love onto me. I saw love pour down on me as I prayed. I projected love onto past and future versions of myself. It was a wonderfully comforting and reassuring experience.

That night, I slept fantastically.

My anxiety has dissipated and I've been rockin' the rosary for the past 3 nights.

The other day I was on the road and pulled up behind a car.
The bumper sticker read: Pray the rosary.

I love how the Universe works!

Manifesting salads and parking spots

I spend a lot of time letting my thoughts run amuck. My mind reels out of control and before I know it, I'm on the verge of an anxiety attack. I reach for my Rescue Remedy spray and give myself two squirts on the tongue. What brought this on? What was I thinking about that led me down this spiral of heart pounding panic? I don't know. I don't know because I wasn't paying attention. I let my life live me. I was "asleep".

I am waking up though.

I can pick the thoughts that enter my consciousness!

When I select my thoughts with intention, I can create my life the way I want it to be.

Lately I've been practicing Segment Intending. I stop at various points in my day and ask myself, how do I want this to go? It takes me about 20 seconds to think about how I want to feel and what I would really like to have happen in the next chunk of time. 

Here's an example:

As I drive to the grocery store, I take a moment to think about my intentions for dinner.

How do I want dinner time to go?
I want an array of salads! It's too hot to cook. I want it to be easy and fun for the whole family. Healthy would be a bonus too.

I roll into a full parking lot and score the closest spot to the door. As I push my girls in the cart through the aisles, I spot exactly what I dreamed up! A tray of 4 different cold salads. I have never seen anything like this before. Fantastic! At the checkout, my 5 year-old puts all the groceries on the belt and even helps pack the bags - I didn't even have to ask her.

So how come last week, both kids were screaming and hanging from the cart by their toes? Why did I get a grumpy cashier? Why did I have to circle the store 4 time because I kept forgetting things?

I didn't set my intention. I put my thoughts and feelings on automatic pilot.

Getting what I wanted at the grocery store may not sound like a magnificant feat, but for me, living a day in a good mood is 1000X better than living it in a bad mood. When we feel good, we attract more of the same. When we complain, we get more things to complain about.

Try setting an intention now. How do you want to feel in the next hour or so of your life? It doesn't matter if you are leaving for an appointment, making dinner or cleaning the toilets. Do you want it to feel easy, breezy? How about simple and fun? Engaging and exciting maybe! Quiet and restorative might fit the bill.

It's up to you!

Everything is up to you.

You are a creator!

 

Writing and bird poop

One way to let your creativity flow is to write. Stick with me on this one. I used to laugh at people who wrote in journals. Secretly I was scared to do it. Number one, I was worried that someone would find and read my innermost thoughts and feelings. Secondly, I thought writing wouldn't be any more productive than just thinking my thoughts. Boy was I wrong.
I got myself a plain ol' spiral ring notebook, not those fancy journals at Chapters, because then I have to write all pretty and come up with something really fantastic to journal about. Then I just started writing. I put pen to paper and let my pen move. I have a zillion thoughts in my head, so I just kept moving my pen.

Try it! See what happens if you just start writing. No topic, no expectations, just write. It really helps to open up your intuitive side.

Here's what happened when I sat and wrote whatever came to mind in about 1 minute. I was shocked at what came out. I didn't edit it. I'm sure there are probably rules associated with this type of writing, but who cares - it felt awesome flowing it out of my brain and onto the paper. No rules!

Where would I be if I was a chicken?
Eating gravel or dust.
Mites are gross, they look like sand.
Sandy beaches and balmy breezes, that's what I seeses.
Seas are grand oceans and sand is gritty,
like walking in a tunnel under the city.
The salt falls from the ceiling and it hurts your knees when you are kneeling.
Knees get gritty and crunchy sore,
it's like a sting I want no more.
More ease and flow with each step I take,
I want that and that is what I shall make.
It's like making pizza, this life we live.
Make your own, order it by phone.
Toppings are endless, some are fresh, others are canned.
Eat it up. Enjoy a glass of wine.
Someday you'll realize, it's all been just fine.

If you wrote something cool - I want to read it - honestly. Even if the only thing that landed on your paper was bird poop - take a picture and send it to me!

I am who I am

It's so easy to seek validation and love outside of ourselves. I can do all sorts of things to make others happy, but I'm not as easily pleased. I have super high expectations of myself and I often leave the job of being loved to other people. I realized that when I feed on the compliments, the "good job, Kelly" and the "you are so awesome", I run out of sustenance quickly. If I'm not careful, I unknowingly go out to seek more approval to get that high feeling again.

I want to cultivate my own source of love. I have an unending supply of love, energy and wellness inside. I am pure love. It's within me, I just don't tap into it.

The other day I tried to see myself as God does. I want to see myself through the lens of love.
As I raised my voice and ordered my girls to "hurry up, we've got to go now or we'll be late!!!", it was hard to see love and perfection. When I was grumpy before dinner because I'm hungry and I should know better and eat a late afternoon snack so I don't blow my top - I struggled to see myself as a being of love.

A friend of mine reminded me of the lyrics to Popeye's song: I'm Popeye the sailor man, I am what I am and that's all what I am, I'm Popeye the sailor man.
I modified this a bit and my mantra as of late is: I am who I am. It has been freeing to say the least. As I say this to myself, it brings me a sense of acceptance. As I begin to accept myself in all situations, good or bad, I allow that stream of love within me to flow again.

Feelings - The language of the Universe

When I woke up this morning, the first thought I had was - I am not going to the gym today. This thought was 15% grogginess and 85% gut feeling.

It's really hard to undo all the programming I've received during the span of my life, like: exercise X number of times a week, eat this, be nice, push hard, stand up, sit down....
It's not that I've been given wrong advice or poor examples to live by, it's just that I am shifting into a more feeling based way of living and hard and fast rules and blanket guidelines just don't seem to fit in my unique experience.

My dad taught me to trust my feelings. Since I was little he always said, "Kelly, one day you are going to get a feeling and you will need to make a decision." In his dad way, he was trying to tell me to get the hell out of a situation if something dangerous was going down. He was trying to protect me. I finally understand him now that I have my own children. I realize that statements like "Don't talk to strangers", "Hide" and "Run" are not going to keep me or my girls safe. What IS going to keep us safe is to rely on our own feelings in any given situation. A stranger might be someone's saving grace in a terrible situation. Every situation is different and we must trust what we think is best for us in that moment. This is true when we decide to have pancakes instead of a smoothie for breakfast. It's true when we decide to push ourselves harder than ever before at the gym or on a run, instead of taking it easy. And tomorrow when you wake up and your body is telling you to have a smoothie and take a nap, well, that's true too!
How can we possibly know every infinite detail of our Universe in any given moment and then use our brain to figure out what we should do? I've always been taught to gather as much information as I can before I make my final decision. Should I buy a Ninja blender or a Vitamix? Sometimes I become paralyzed in the details and end up doing nothing at all!
You know what is a whole lot faster than reading dozens of reviews online before buying a new camera? Use the language of the Universe - your emotions!
Try it. Hold your vitamins, your phone or your old comfy t-shirt in your hands. Be quiet and tune into your feelings. How do you feel when you are connected with this object? What thoughts arise and what emotions come up as these thoughts pass through your mind?
The only thing that matters, are your emotions. We live in an energy based Universe. We are all made up of energy and you are either in alignment and attracting something or you are not. Your emotions tell you if you are in or out of sync with something. Your emotional guidance system will lead you in the right direction every time! Your emotions and gut feelings line you up with the food, medicine, situations and people that you need in your life in any given moment.

So I am practicing NOT doing what I THINK I SHOULD do. Instead, I am cultivating my inner emotional guidance system and learning to trust what I feel is the right thing for me, in the unique and never to be replicated moments in my life.

I miss my sub

When I got a bonus from my first real job after graduating from University, I knew exactly what I was going to spend it on - a sub-woofer for my car. I felt pretty cool when the technician who installed it said there weren't too many girls getting a 10" Alpine speaker and Rockford Fosgate amp. for the trunk of of their car. I was a hip hop queen! I rolled my windows down (that's right no electric windows on my Mazda Protegé) and cranked my music so I could feel the bass through my whole body. I loved it!
But alas, my life has changed a bit since my 20s and the back of my vehicle now contains 2 car seats, a yoga mat and lots of beach sand and cheerios. I wouldn't trade that for anything, although maybe I could squeeze in a new sound system when the girls get older and I'm not so worried about damaging their eardrums.
Today I feel fantastic! The blue skies make me want to sing and dance. Everything is wonderful - today. I know to ride the waves. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I know that I have a very strong influence on the life I live and create for myself.
We've got to ejoy life and live each day as our true selves.
Maybe I'll get dreadlocks in my hair, I've wanted to do that for over a decade. Or maybe that's just my craving to really let my true self come through - to show everyone, look, here I am! I was here all along and now I'm ready to show you who I really am.
I saw you all driving home from work, making dinner, walking around...
We are all here together, to make it fun and worthwhile.
I just want you - the real you.
I just want me - the real me.

Guilty

I feel it in my gut. The guilt is big and heavy and travels all the way up into my throat. I almost feel like I could be sick. It's so uncomfortable I have to hold myself back from getting off the couch.
I feel guilty for doing nothing!
I'm not committing a mortal sin here, I'm just resting, but it feels like I'm committing a crime.
Guilt is self punishment, so I obviously view my current couch sitting activity as the worst way possible to spend time. I could be making dinner while my daughter naps! There is laundry to do. The list goes on.
I want to feel comfortable and joyous when I do what my body-mind needs. I'm getting better at listening to and reacting to those cues, but still I doubt. Logic takes over and I start to judge myself and poo-poo my emotional guidance system. By linking in to my emotions and my intuition - magic happens! It's scary just leaping out into my day with no plan. Sometimes I start driving down the road with a list of errands to run in my mind. When I feel a strong and good attraction to one in particular, I go in that direction. Sometimes it makes no sense to drive out of my way to get groceries, or arrive at a store before it opens, but I'm learning to trust. When I trust my gut and my intuition, things magically work out. I get what I'm asking for in record time. Things manifest super fast!
 I'm learning the language and laws of the universe. It's all about energy and attraction. It's all here inside of me. This is so exciting!