Summer Garden

This year we did not buy a truckload of organic compost for the garden and I definitely have seen the difference in production. However, we still have plenty. Loving my summer garden.

With Brave Wings She Flies!

WITH BRAVE WINGS SHE FLIES!

It's been almost a year since I left the church I had been a part of for close to 20 years. With all the courage I could muster, I walked out of the inner world of protocol, dogma and dictation and out into a world of uncertainty and misgiving. I waited for the sky to fall, for the serpent to bite, for the wrath of God to shake his finger at me and claim me a heretic doomed for hell's fires. Every slip away from the rules and regulations I had so faithfully adhered to, was followed by accusations that I was the devil's advocate and would soon be "seven times worse than before."

It wasn't a hasty nor a light decision. It began a few years prior, when in a desperate cry for relief from a monotonous, insipid life, I began to pray that God would take every ounce of religious spirit out of me and to help me to be a proper representative of him. Over the years, the splits, fighting, hurt and drama I had witnessed at church and in the religious world at large, I knew God could not be the instigator of it all. I was so discouraged and let down. I could not envision the entire world being locked down in this systematic way of living. Though I knew the world at large has great needs, this routine was not the answer.

I read several books by different women who were involved in religious cults. I saw the same fears of leaving, of God's wrath, of being the only way to heaven used on each one of these women. It opened my eyes to the manipulation of fear, and I saw that what was holding me to that church was no longer a love for Christ and his work; Somewhere along the way, that had been lost in all the do's and dont's and the complete take over of my life. I knew I was no longer happy there, that I was dying inside and they did not have the solution. And I knew that the only thing that was continuing to hold me there, was fear.

In the mean time, God was working so gently within my heart, calling me closer to him and giving me my wings. I read a book titled Half The Sky written by two journalist who traveled to several countries and witnessed the violation and oppression of women and young girls in developing countries. The stories in this book were absolutely horrific; A complete paradigm shift was going on inside of me. Little by little God began to rock my world so severely and I knew I needed to leave religion behind me.

One day it dawned upon me that these women were in countries and/or positions where they had no say about what was being done them. I thought about all the religious oppression world wide where torture and blood shed awaits any who would dare question the system. And here I was in AMERICA- the land of the FREE choosing OPPRESSION! I knew at that moment that this was not just about me. My freedom was about every man, woman and child out there who have no rights. My freedom was not to be taken lightly. My freedom was their HOPE!

One day I saw a vision of myself. I was in a large cage, curled up in a ball, crying. The door of the cage was wide open but I was too terrified to leave, because I believed the serpent waited without to devour me. Then God spoke to me and told me to use my wings and fly away.

It took a great amount of courage to leave flying straight towards my deepest fear. But the day I flew away, a great load lifted off of me and I knew, I had just taken my first step towards TRUE FREEDOM!- That freedom that comes from within, that nothing in this world can ever steal away- that freedom of KNOWING I have wings, and God is the wind beneath them, and that nothing could ever separate me from him. The day I walked away, was the beginning of my personal inner freedom;

Thank God for America- May God bless her. May she rise up and hold the freedom she still has left. May she continue to hold a scepter of HOPE out to the world.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Summer Evening Walk

Went on a evening walk with my sister and two daughters. A warm summer breeze swept across our faces and carried our laughter and chatter into the mystical California sunset. The birds  flittered along with us, happy to be a part of our merriment. The end of the road opened into golden fields. For a moment, time stood still and we were a part of eternal glory.

Do More Of It!

Embarking On a Healing Journey

Part 1 

Why heal?

Part 2

Beginning to Build Your Personal Power

Part 3

Finding Your Voice

Morning Meditation with LizAnn

Part 1

Getting the Body Ready

Part 2

Relaxing and Clearing Your Mind

Part 3

Gratitude and Positive Intentions

Eighty Year Old Woman Dances the Salsa!

Eighty-year-old Nico, dances the Salsa on Britain's Got Talent. What and inspiring example that age never has to be a factor in living life to the fullest!

Your Amazing Just the Way You Are!

All you lovely ladies out there; play this for yourself, and sing it to yourself all day long, because you are 

AMAZING!

Just the way you are!!!!

Be Your Own Best Friend

Healing requires a commitment to becoming your own best friend. This is not as easy as it sounds. When the wounds are touched and the pain begins to surface, you may surprised to find self-sabotage on board that you never realized was there. You may be surprised at what you have externalized and accepted about yourself. When it comes time to offer yourself nurturing, you may find a real struggle going on within. It will be a challenge to say the least. But sooner or later you will learn, that no one knows you like yourself. No one understands what it was like better than you. And no one but you can administer instinctively, the right medicine for healing. Practice being your own best friend. Pay attention to how you talk to yourself, how you treat yourself especially when you have a need. Ask yourself, "If I had a friend hanging around that treated me this same way, would they be my friend for long?"

Start treating yourself as if you are the BEST friend anyone could ever have!

Creating Space for Healing

"Empty pockets of space can feel intimidating, but they are an integral part in healing . . . "

Last evening I was planting onion sets in my garden. They came in big clumps that had to be broken apart before I could put them into the ground:

Each onion set needs it own personal space in order to grow into its full potential. If I tried to plant them altogether, none of them would have the space they needed to grow and reach their highest potential. 

This demonstrates the same concept of creating our own personal space. We too need that space to grow and experience our fullest and highest potential. 

Spring Cleaning 3 & All or Nothing Thinking

All-or-nothing thinking affects so many who have been through childhood abuse. Learning to recognize it working in your life and creating more space for yourself can be great tools in overcoming the pendulum swing that results from this. Stay tuned for more videos on this subject.

Joining the 14 day bikini body challenge

So tomorrow I am going to jump in with Kristina and try the 14 day fully raw bikini body challenge. Of coarse, my body definitely is in need of more than 14 days to look decent in a bikini. LOL! However, its not the bikini I am aiming for so much as the challenge to stay on a good, healthy, fully raw diet for 14 consecutive days, and to see how I feel at the end of it all.
I have not been on the scale for awhile, but tomorrow I will weigh in, and then I will weigh again at the end and see if I shed any weight. Here we go...

Spring Cleaning and Self Nurturing

With this past semester now behind me, and summer vacation before me, I am in the mood to get in and get this house to SPARKLE! Follow along and we will get the job done as well as pep up our spirits with a little self-nurturing!

Yoga With Adriene

Check out yoga with Adriene. She's charming, relaxing, inviting- the experience is like practicing yoga with a positive, uplifting friend! She has many free Youtube videos from 20 minute yoga for complete beginners, 6 minute yoga for abs, to 1 hour total body workouts. Feeling stretched! Feeling inspired!

YOGA WITH ADRIENE

Through the Eyes of a Child

"There is joy and wonder every where when you see the world through the eyes of a child."