Can you tell what this is?

When I saw this, it reminded me of neural pathways in the brain. It's actually a photo of a tree turned laterally. This is the kind of pathway you would see that would include learning that is now automatic, or a skill like riding a bike or tying your shoe, or a habit (good or bad). The more something is repeated, the more it is reinforced, and the faster reaction from stimulus to response.

Next week is Eric Jensen's Learning Brain Expo in San Francisco. Eric is a leader in the field of Brain-based Learning. I was supposed to be presenting at this, but will be on the road with John Morgan Seminars instead. Anyway, if you're a teacher or parent or person, you may want to check it out. It will be a fun-filled, super-packed conference with all-things-learning. While I'm not teaching in the classroom anymore, the training I received from Eric was invaluable. When you understand how the brain works, it gives a different perspective into behaviour, psychology, marketing, etc. AWESOME stuff!

Day of Rest

I woke up this morning saying, "God did not put me on the planet for this." The "this" could be any number of things. And then I heard:

God put you here to shine your light. How you do that is entirely up to you.

Oh. Could you be more specific?

You get to choose where, the circumstances, with whom and how brightly you shine.

Hehhh...This is where I put my cowgirl hat on and say, "Dang it! Dang that free will!" It's all very Conversations-with-God, don't you think? When you shine your light, the darkness disappears and Truth is revealed. And the Truth shall set you free.

Tiddley Pum

Even tho this is my blog, I try to leave personal things and family members out since they don't ask to be in here. I'm especially careful about posting photos of children that aren't mine, and I only post ones that are vague where you couldn't pick them out in a line-up. And I have a photographer friend who said if you photograph a person from the back, you don't need a release. She takes pictures for istock, so it must be true!

Anyway, it's my niece's b-day this weekend, and this cute Winnie-the-Pooh outfit has been through the fam. It was a bit chilly that day and when my brother was looking for M's coat, Mum handed him this. Oh, great, Mum. Something easy to get her in and out of, said my brother. M's got quite the vocab and is terribly bright. On the other hand, I have video of her blowing spit-bubbles on my mother's window at Xmas time. Hilarious. If I get permission, perhaps I'll share it sometime. She's clutching on to what I would call her blankie, except she calls it "my tie dye." It goes everywhere with her. So sweet.

What Will People Think?

I was chatting with Mum last night and she had 3 back-to-back funerals to attend. On her way home, she said she was thinking she really should clean out her drawers and cupboards because if something happened to her, what would people think?

I suppose funerals lead one to such deep and profound contemplation.

Now, you have to know my mother. Her “mess” is another person’s “tidy” or “clean.” Growing up, “doing the dishes” meant essentially cleaning the whole kitchen. There was an invisible checklist beyond washing dishes: clear/clean table, clear/clean counters, scrub stove, sweep floor, clean out sink after washing dishes, empty strainer, rinse sponge & washcloth and place properly to dry, and take out trash. That’s a proper job. And if one of those things was missing, there was the Well. You haven’t done a proper job, then, have you? [Note: Read all Mum quotes with English accent—rather like Mary Poppins, who was also practically perfect in every way].

We were sitting having tea one day and she was musing to herself, “I really should clean out my gutters.” I can honestly say I have NEVER had that thought. Ever. Even if my gutters were sprouting trees.

Once I arrived at Mum’s while on my cell phone talking to John. There she was, up on the roof. “Mum. What are you doing on the roof?” And John says, “She’s on the roof? Of course she is. She’s your mother.” Cleaning gutters.

But at least this roof is one story. Her previous house was an old Victorian that she renovated from the basement up. Three stories. I called one day and left a message and when she called back, she blithely said, “Sorry I couldn’t get to the phone. I was up on the roof.” This was a few years ago, so she was only 68 at the time. I said, “Mum, what were you doing up on the roof?” And here it comes:

Well. I want to paint it. But it’s terribly dirty. So I had to take the vacuum—

Woah-woah-woah! Vacuum?

Well. I tried sweeping it with a broom, but it just didn’t get it clean enough. And I cAHn't paint dirt. But the vaccuum worked quite nicely.

So this is why it’s v. amusing to me that she is worried about messy drawers. And of course we all have great fun at her expense doing various imitations. Did you take a toothbrush and clean behind the picture frames? No? Well. You haven’t done a proper job then, have you? Did you take a Q-tip and clean around the knobby things on the blender? You get the idea. Some of my sibs are more obsessive than others. I listened to my sister musing the way Mum does as she said, “I really should get in there and clean out my pantry.” Ah, that’s a mother’s daughter. I, on the other hand, am prolly the only one that can leave dishes in the sink. Oops, out of tea cups, time to do the dishes. I’m kidding. No, I’m not. Yes, I am. Not really.

I am sure there are other Martha Stewarts out there who might be shocked-and-appalled that you might have a junk drawer. Oh, you're living on the wild side now. What will people think? That worries her, but roof vacuuming doesn't. Go figure.

On the phone all daaaaaaay...

It's the busy season here at John Morgan Seminars. People are motivated to stop smoking and lose weight and I'm doing my best to make that happen by bringing a seminar to [insert your town here]. However, while my voice hasn't reached the raspiness of Rue Lalenska with all my yakkity-yak-on-the-phone (yet) it hasn't left me much time in Blog Land. And I still have a new year's newsletter to finish--preferably while the year is still new, right? Didn't I promise helpful relaxation tips and spa recipes? Mmmm...yeah, I could use some of those right about now.

So here's my quote-for-the-day from that great philosopher Denzel Washington & one of my favourite actors:

Do what you have to do so you can do what you want to.

Blog Worthiness

Well. I did promise to post everyday--except the day is almost done. And I'm not feeling too terribly inspired. And I've got nothin' v. blog-worthy. Sorry. Is this where I start the Blogger's Cliche: sorry-I've-not-posted-lately....but I will spare you. And I'm sending you over to You Tube to watch v. cute puppies because how could you not SMILE when you see this? I'll be back tomorrow with something a bit...more. :-) H.

My Weight Loss Story

In yesterday's post I promised more about my weight loss. One of my sisters, known in our family as The Tactless One, said to me at Xmas, "What have you lost? Like 60 pounds?" I don't know because I didn't weigh myself. I think it's about 40 or 50 pounds, but I hadn't been on a scale so I don't know what my start weight was and it's prolly more. I just went on pant size. So I started from the stretchy-XL's (size 18-ish, I think) and v. gradually moved down to size 10.

Here are the components to returning my body to balance:

MOVEMENT:
When I was younger I took ballet, aerobics, etc. Then I became v. ill with debilitating migraines for a few years. It was a long road back to health and wellness. Thanks to getting Brimhalled, along with acupuncture from my husband, I am back among the living. However, during that time, I had stopped all activity because it was just exhausting. I walked my labyrinth, which was the extent of my exercise.

Lack of movement + hormonal imbalance + yummy cheesecake + STRESS = weight gain.

I was never a gym rat and even tho I had memberships, I never went. Yeah, I was one of those. Now you couldn't pay me to go to a gym: the noise, the bright lights, the sweaty people, the smells...Eeewww! But as Bruce Lipton says, Movement is life. So it was a matter of finding my kind of movement. And then I discovered YOGA. Like Columbus discovered America, but still. THANK GOD.

Have you ever met Yoga People? People used to assume I was into yoga years before I was because I meditate. But I never got the Yoga Thing--those people with their yoga mats on vacation. They get that LOOK when they talk about yoga--you know, the Yoga Trance.

And THEN I went to Yoga East. And I got it. I'm one of those people now! What I appreciate about yoga is that it goes beyond physical exercise and works on all levels of the body-mind-spirit. MY kinda exercise! I'm more flexible than I ever was even when I was dancing, I'm stronger and have more stamina. Yoga helped not just with the physical exercise part, but it REALLY helped with all the stress I was under at the time. I remember Sharon Cameron was leading a particular pose and as I was holding it, I was thinking, I love you SO MUCH. Um, except that I said it out loud. Oops. But it was so true. If you're ever on Kent Island in Maryland, GO! You will be WELCOMED with open arms by everyone there.

MIND/BODY/HYPNOSIS
I continued listening to my CD every night with the intention of being conscious of what my body wants to eat, and how it wants to exercise. I focused on being healthy, vital, and energetic.

FOOD,NUTRITION, ETC.
Whenever anyone asks about "diet," Dr. Brimhall recommends The Schwarzbein Principle. My chiro-friend Catherine does as well for helping balancing hormones, people with diabetes, and women going through menopause. Dr. Schwarzbein helps patients reverse their diabetes and they also lose weight in the process. So it's a great resource and it was one of my influences.

I have a rule for myself that I won't eat anything I don't love. I never ate fast food to begin with and I don't drink sodas. It's not real food to me and it warps the taste buds. However, my weakness was pasta and pizza and donuts and cheesecake and ice cream. We have Celiac's disease in my family. It's the inability to digest gluten (found in wheat, barley, rye). While I tested negative for it (YAY, me!) the doctor said I have an extreme allergy to wheat. So if I get a stray bread crumb, I'll be OK (unlike a Celiac). But often with food allergies, you crave the very thing you're allergic to. If I cared enough, I could get it Brimhalled with their allergy elimination technique (which I would definitely do if it were life-threatening). But I thought I'd try wheat-elimination for a month and see if I noticed any difference. I felt so much more energetic and I wasn't so bloated and I dropped a pant size. Plus, I didn't have cravings. And I noticed that once I stopped eating wheat, I also stopped eating sugar (as in donuts, ice cream, etc).

Another thing I gave up (and this is a running joke in my family) : coffee. Are you drinking coffee, not drinking coffee, what? is the standard question I get when anyone's brewing. I drink tea, with a bit of honey, and organic milk.

Here's what I do eat:

• lots of vegetables, and raw for the most part in the warmer months.
• Beans. I like to sprout them and then they go in a salad, soup, stirfry. V. yummy. I've got some mystery beans from an Indian grocery that are AWESOME! But you can sprout any kind: lentils, black beans, etc.
• Hummus--great with veggies, on salad, with rice.
• I'm not a strict vegetarian, I'll eat Alaskan salmon (NOT farm-raised) & sardines for those essential fatty acids we all need.
• Nuts. I make my own trail mix with nuts, gogi berries, etc. from The Apple Cottage.
• For carbs: sweet potatoes, rice and plantains (SO yummy)!
• Oils: I use mostly olive oil and coconut oil (especially for cooking). There's some misinformation about coconut oil, but you can read more info on the benefits here. I also use it on steamed veggies.
• Total Green is an AWESOME green drink that Dr. Brimhall created. You have to get it through a Brimhall doc or someone who uses Nutriwest neutriceuticals. Packed with vitamins, minerals, protein, etc., it can be used as a meal replacement. I don't like breakfast, so I make a shake. In the summer time I make a smoothie with frozen fruit. I also buy rip bananas and cut them into pieces and freeze them. They give an ice-cream consistency to it and make it v. yummy. In the wintertime, I don't like cold things, so I just mix it with water. Yes, it's that good--to me, at least! I always travel with it so that if there's nothing to eat at a restaurant, at least I have trail mix and Total Green. And especially if I'm at a Brimhall seminar with Dr. Doesn't-Give-Breaks, I can keep my blood sugar stable.
• For sweets: trail mix, fresh fruit, bananas, and I LOVE plantains. I boil them and mash them like potatoes and add a bit of cocunut butter.
• In the winter time I like warm foods and hot tea and I LOVE soup. So I make lentil soup & pumpkin soup & veggie soup, etc. I've also done a bit of GF baking. When it first got cold, I started eating oatmeal (a no-no for Celiacs, but I seemed to be OK with it) except that I went up a pant size in a month. So I stopped eating it. For hot cereal I eat cream of rice occasionally. YUM. But mostly I just have Total Green in the a.m.
• In addition to food, I take my Nutriwest supplements as prescribed by the docs. These have been part of what gave me my life back when I was so ill, and I continue to take enzymes, probiotics, and a multi-vitamin.

So that's basically what I did to lose the weight and how I maintain it. It took about a year. I will look for some good chubby-before and now-after photos for another post. One last note: There are all sorts of reasons we gain weight, and I was not limited to one. There was a huge emotional component that I dealt with and that I am sparing you from. Suffice to say, one of the reasons we crave sweets is when we are missing other sweet things in our lives. In addition, I am hard-pressed to think of many women I know who don't have some sort of body-image issue. It is not limited to weight-gain, either. One of the keys is to stop the battle with yourself and accept where and who you are right now. And give up the idea that there is a perfect size or shape or age. Cut yourself some slack. To paraphrase a song: If you can't have the body you'd love, then love the one you're in. Right now. LTS: Life's too short to struggle. And if you want some help with that, go check out John Morgan's I Love My Body. Ah, because now, at the age of 43, I really do.