Stay focused

Getting my body back - Day 137

As I did my lunges today during my workout routine, I was painfully reminded of the importance of staying focused and not allowing my mind to drift off onto other things. I don't particularly like lunges because I feel very awkward doing them. Practicing perfect form is essential at this stage for me in order to avoid injury. In my distracted state of mind, I got into the lunge position and felt a sharp pain in my knee. I sat down immediately and opened myself to the healing energy of love. My knee was okay and I resumed to my other workout.

We can only get the best out of every moment when we stay focused on the present. If we are looking in the past, no matter how wonderful it may have been, or dreaming about the future, if we are not mentally engaged in what we are currently doing we'd miss the golden opportunity that the present moment has to offer.

Have you ever stopped to think about when you have an accident or make a mistake what you were thinking about at the time? Many errors occur when we're rushing to get something else done or our minds are preoccupied at the moment.

When we stay focused on the current activity we have more control over what's occurring and could take necessary actions to avoid errors and avert accidents. Being preoccupied causes us to miss the subtle warnings and instructions of inner wisdom.

How do we stay focused?

Decision

When we make a firm decision to stay focused on whatever it is we're doing, we become more consciously aware of our thoughts so that we're able to bring ourselves back to the current activity when we drift off.

Practice

At first, it may seem like you constantly have to remind yourself to stay focused, but if you're persistent in your practice of being focused it becomes less difficult over time.


Daily reminder

Posting a 'Stay focused' sign on your computer or on your refrigerator will serve as a conscious, as well as, a subconscious reminder during the day. At times when we make decisions to adopt a new habit, we tend to forget. A little sticky note posted in a prominent place will help you stay on track.

Be in the moment as much as you can and experience fresh new ideas and enjoyment of life.

Fuelling words: I remind myself daily to stay focused on the current workout to reap the benefits of each movement.

Workout - walking, weight training

Finally, a book that really will teach you how to eliminate issues in your life!

I wanted to share this book, Shift: A Woman’s Guide to Transformation, (for MEN, too) with you because it seems like we finally have a manual for ridding ourselves of nagging issues that never go away . . . those issues that creep into our quiet minds and trouble us endlessly and wreak havoc on our health. This book offers easy solutions and if you go to the website, you can get a sample chapter and view a video on EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique (a healing technique you can do yourself by tapping acupuncture points) – which actually works! Here's more:

Shift: A Woman’s Guide to Transformation (for men, too) was created by Tracy Latz, M.D. and Marion Ross, Ph.D. following repeated requests to share in written form the information they had been teaching for 6 years. Prior to using these tools on anyone else, they used them to shift their own lives. Tracy transformed anxiety & stress and an acute physical issue; while Marion used the techniques to transform chronic physical pain and an inner restlessness. Their system is a discussion of the 12 self-sabotaging obstacles that we all unwittingly place in our path followed by a menu of easy-to-use techniques for removal of each issue blocking your path. Tracy and Marion do not want you to struggle as they did to find the 12 Keys that they discovered! They share their solutions with the sincere intent of assisting you so that you too can Shift Your Life- only quicker than they did!

Bernie Siegel, M.D., a retired general/pediatric surgeon (& author of Love, Medicine & Miracles) heard about Shift: A Woman’s Guide to Transformation and offered to write the foreword for the book. He says: “The lessons to be learned from this book are age old but reframed in ways that are easy to incorporate and appropriate to our lifestyle today … cancer patients who display a survivor personality, exceed expectations and more often survive when no one gives them any hope…It is easier to have coaches and guides to help you on the path to transformation and this book can do that for you.”

Shift is a melding of Chinese medicine, cognitive behavioral therapy, guided meditation, and energy psychology. This book can be used as an intensive personal healing journey and a reference guide to be consulted whenever a specific issue arises.

Drs. Latz and Ross give bullet points at the end of each chapter to show you how to most rapidly dissolve the obstacle in your life along with examples of how others have shifted their lives using these tools. If you're truly serious about changing any long-established habits of emotional patterns/thoughts that have kept you STUCK, then you are ready for Shift: A Woman’s Guide to Transformation - Shift Your Life today! Learn more: http://tinyurl.com/okupgs

Besides more than $8500 in downloadable bonuses (ebooks, MP3s, courses, articles, coaching and more) donated by their friends & colleagues who so strongly support the book, the authors are offering a cash contest for the best Tales of Shift with $250 as the top prize! Check it out! http://tinyurl.com/okupgs

Baby Weights?

Getting my body back - Day 136

I started my workout today and here I am getting into the swing of things. Just when I began to do my weight training, baby Roxella decided that she wants mommy. What was I to do? Guess who became my new set of weights? Yep, you guessed it - Ms. Roxella. So I traded in my dumbbells for baby weights. She was quite pleased just to be in mommy's arms and really enjoyed the up and down movements. As a matter of fact, she's heavier than my weights which made my workout a bit more challenging and fun, as well.

We need to be open to embrace life at any stage of the game. Everyday has new and interesting experiences and we only get the best out of it when we let go of our rigid mindset and open our minds for adventures. Sometimes we get fixed in our routines that we lose the spontaneity of life, and then we become bored of the monotony and lose our zest for life's explorations.

So exactly how do we deprogram ourselves from such rigid mindset to embrace spontaneity?

Let go

Plan your schedule, work your plan and let go of the outcome. It is in the letting go that we are open to peacefully embrace the small miracles each day holds. And as we let go, we allow the Spirit to enhance our day in ways we would never have thought possible or would have orchestrated.

Know that all good comes to me

Know and expect that everything in your life will work out for your good no matter how awful they may seem at the moment.

A year ago I was driving into the city to take a course. It was the last day of the course and I was late. I began feeling panicky inside and immediately I felt the wisdom - Calm down, just relax. So I adopted a mindset of peace. When I got there, I was looking for a parking spot at the parking meters. I found a spot, got out of the vehicle and was about to put money into the meter. To my surprise, the parking meter had enough money in it to cover me for the entire day. I was grateful and thankful for this miracle that I had that day.

But it didn't stop there, after the class I went to do some shopping before I headed home and when I got to the store I had to pay another parking meter. You guessed it, there was also money left in the meter, enough to cover me for the duration of the time in the store with some time left over when I left.

When we relax into the moment and allow things to unfold we give ourselves the permission to experience the flow of the Spirit.

Fuellings words: I leave my mind open to embrace the beauty and wonder each day holds.

Workout: walking, step exercise, weight training

The difference between glance, look and seek

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 118

We have some very interesting conversations with our children and it is amazing the lessons we learn as we teach them.

Our eldest daughter was looking all over the house for one of her books. She kept asking if anyone had seen it. She had left the book in one of the rooms and when she went back to get it, it was gone. One of her sisters had put the book down in a box when she was doing something in the room. Her sister found the book and gave to her. I asked her if she had really looked for the book or if she just glanced around and did not bother to look further than what was on the surface. So I began to explain the difference between glancing, looking and seeking.

See, when you glance at something, you are just taking a quick look. With a glance you take in as much information as you can for that split second put you still miss a lot. When you look, you spend more time paying attention to what you are looking at and take in more details. However, when you seek, you are digging deeper than surface. You are investigating further into what you are looking at. I explained that if you just walked into the room and glanced around, you are not going to find what you are looking for. If you looked and did not find the book, you should have gone deeper, seek further. Instead of just looking around, lift things up; look down in the box, think of other possible places the book could have been placed.

There is a vital lesson to learn from this. Sometimes we treat our spirituality in the same way and fail to find what it is we desire to experience in our relationship with our Source. Instead of seeking, going deeper into the soil of the Spirit, asking questions and waiting for answers, we simply brush on by, take a quick glance. Or, we may decide to pay a little more attention than just giving to the Spirit a quick glance but soon after we stop looking and move on to something else.

But if we decide to search the depth of the Spirit to find the answers we are looking for, without fail, we will find - we will never be disappointed. When we put the time in to digging deeper into the soil of the Spirit, we receive the help we need and the wisdom we need to find what we desire. While we are seeking, digging deeper, it is amazing the other things we may find in the process. Have you ever been looking for something and ended up finding things that you were looking for a long time ago but could not be found?

That is what happens when you seek, when you go further into the realm of your own spirituality. We find things we overlooked many times and learn truths which were hidden from us before.

If at first you don't succeed, keep trying 'til you do!

Getting my body back - Day 135

One of my 14-Day Body Sculpting Workout routine involves dumbbell lunges - an exercise move where you step forward with the right foot, bend the knee and lower your body, then you switch to the other side. I don't particularly like this exercise, I've always kind of skipped it in the past and now it's back to confront me again. I find the movement a bit uncomfortable and strenuous. At first, I was about to just skip it, then I thought, you know what, if I don't try it and keep practicing it how will I perfect it? So I decided that even if it was 3 or 4 reps that I did, it would be better than none and if I kept it up I could increase the reps, perfect the move and strengthen my legs.

Many times we don't give things a fair chance for various reasons. Mine was because the move felt awkward and I couldn't get it right. Others may have reasons because of fears, but whatever it is, we need to confront our issues, and look it straight in the face and do the very best we can do, until we get it right.

When we start anything new we may feel a bit wobbly, like when we're riding a bicycle, but as long as we know the correct form, the right way to do what we're doing, and we keep practicing, we get better. If at first you don't succeed, keep trying 'til you do. With determination and persistence, we can achieve anything we set out to do and it would be worth it when we reach the finish line.

Years ago when I first started working in the insurance industry as a secretary I was being trained as a dicta typist. I had to figure out what the adjuster was saying on the tapes and at the same time try to type what was being said. The typing part was okay, but I had a difficult time understanding what was said. Many times I had to ask my trainer to help me which sometimes made me feel like I was being a bother.

My first week was awful. But I persevered and worked really hard until I had perfected it. This later on became second nature to me. As a matter of fact, I became a trainer, as well, and was branded the name, years later at another insurance company, lightning fingers. This skill paved the way for me to get this job opening at the other company because when I went for the interview and they tested me and the person that did the testing reported to the boss that I was very fast - I found that out after I got the job.

When we couple persistence and determination, we could go places and reach heights we may not have initially thought of as being possible, and doors open up in ways that we were not able to see when we first start out.

Fuelling words: I am persistent and determined to master whatever goal I set out to achieve.

Workout: walking, jogging, step exercise, weight training

Position yourself for your season

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 117

Seasons come and seasons go and just as we move through this physical seasonal cycle, we also have a time cycle in our personal lives. There's a time for planting and a time for reaping and we need to recognize when it is time to plant in order to reap our harvest. We need to recognize when our opportunity has come.

Sometimes opportunities show up in unlikely places, people and events and we need the wisdom to seize them when they arrive, relinquish all prejudices and embrace our moment. But how can we embrace something that we've mentally rejected? We defeat our own selves when we set up stipulations of when, where and how, and the very thing that we're looking for or expecting is staring us right in the face.

We position ourselves by being open to which ever channel the Spirit uses to bring our desire. When we stay in tuned with the Spirit, we'll recognize the opportunity as it comes to us because we would have received that inner prompting to look closer and through the eyes of the Spirit. Then our eyes would be opened to see the golden opportunity unveiled in front of us.

When I first met my husband, I didn't recognize that the answer to my prayer was standing right in front of me with a big smile because I had this idea in my head of how things should be. It was only when I let go of my personal petty objections that I could see clearly that my moment had come. When I said, "God, I let go and allow you to do what you think best," is when my miracle occurred, easily and effortlessly. As a result, I was positioned at the right place and the right time when he was passing by again and he asked me out to lunch - we've been together ever since.

Have your desire, release all your hang-ups and allow the Spirit of the Universe to position you for your season of receiving.

Keep your focus

Getting my body back - Day 134

Today is Day 2 of 'The 14-Day Body Sculpting Workout'. It was much cooler this morning, so I had to put on my comfy sweater and head out for my walk. By the time I was done I was feeling nice and toasty. I usually hibernate for the winter but I've decided to get out of my comfort zone and begun making plans to keep up with my outdoor workout - burrr!! It feels really good going out for the morning fresh air.

I completed my step exercise and then on to my weight training. I'm really working on keeping my form. This is really important to prevent injury. In addition to keep form, I'm keeping focused on the muscles I'm working on and contracting them, as well, to maximize my results.

Sometimes when we are working on a task we can become so distracted that our mind is not on what we're doing. When we do this, we miss the essence of the moment. It's the same with food. There are so many things we do that distract us even while we're eating. I have the habit of eating in front of my computer; something I've developed from having my own office in the corporate world. However, I try to keep my focus on the flavour of the food, especially when my husband cooks which is like, uhm, 99% of the time - God bless him. But his meals are jammed packed with mouth-watering explosive flavours which make portion control next to impossible, but I really try.

When we're distracted we're not consciously engaged in the experience of the flavour of the food or mentally engaged with the visualization process of weight training which makes a big impact on the results we're getting. As we're focused on what we're doing at the time, we are open for new ideas and we can actively affect the way we feel and make adjustments when something is not going right.

Keep the focus on whatever you're doing so you can better channel your energies into your activity.

Fuelling words: I am focused on my current activity that I may reap full benefit from it.

Workout: walking, jogging, step exercises, weight training

Dream your dream

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 116

I was recently having a conversation with our 7 year old daughter. She said that her dream is to go into the city to find her husband when she grows up. I told her that when she got older she may not feel the same way, and besides, we may not be living here at that time. I also said to her, "Dream your dream, but also allow things to unfold as you get older."

Dad was in another room and overheard the conversation and came out and advised her that the beauty of a dream is that you can go anywhere you desire to and be whatever you desire to be and you don't have to settle for re-runs when you can have a new flick - moment by moment.

Whatever you desire to do, know that you have the freedom to do it; the ball is in your court. You just have to decide that this is what you are going to do, start with the inspired thought of what you feel in your heart that you can do and move forward in that direction. You don't have to settle for the re-runs of past failures and disappointments and live them over and over, you can decide to begin again, today.

You never know where your dreams will lead you no matter what age you are. I recall when I was a little bit older that my daughter that I decided that when I grew up I'd like to work in an office, I'd also like to be a teacher and when I had my children, I'd like to work from home. Yes, I've done them all. It's amazing the seeds you can put into your heart and how they grow, blossom and bear fruit and manifest in your physical reality.

So as I said to my daughter - dream your dreams and allow them to unfold in time. But choose carefully and let the Spirit of God organize them and bring them into your life at the right time.

Persistence - the key to goal attainment

Getting my body back - Day 133

So, I'm off and running with day 1 of the 14-day body sculpture workout, beginning with my walking, step climbing and weight training. I'm really making sure that I get my form right and moving between lighter weights to heavier weights depending on the exercise and the amount of reps.

I'm still working on my push ups, though. I could do the full length push ups but can't do as many reps, so I do knee push ups, still working the chest but getting more reps in. It's been a great workout and I feel great, too. One of the reasons, I believe, is because I've been doing the weight training before so it's easier to make the transition and not have to start at the newbie level.

As with anything you embark on, you need to stay focused on your goals, one day at a time, and be persistent. Persistent is the key to attaining any goal. One of the things I'm reminded of that I tend to forget sometimes is to focus on and contract the muscles as I work them.

I love weight training because of the benefits I get long after the exercise workout is over. Weight training works the muscles and continues to help burn fat throughout the day and into the night, and more importantly, tighten those areas that are being pulled down by gravity, if you know what I mean.

I'm taking my routine to the next level where I'm redesigning and sculpting my body into the way I desire it to be.

Fuelling words: I am persistent in achieving my goal. I use different methods but my focus remains constant.

Workout: walking, step exercise, weight training.

Thank your way through disappointments

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 115

We began uprooting our corn stalks. The corn didn't do very well; they were very small and given the amount that we had planted and how they were growing, we really expected to have a greater and healthier yield. However, in spite of the size, the corns we harvested were very sweet. And for the first time ever, we've tried eating them raw. We've always had cooked corn; either boiled or roasted but never raw, and surprisingly, it was quite tasty. I've actually done a little research after this to see if other people are actually eating it raw and I come across some interesting recipes to try with raw corn as part of a salad.

Despite our disappointment with our corn, we're still thankful; thankful for the opportunity to be able to grow corn in the first place, the valuable lessons learned during this time and the opportunity to discover that we can actually eat them raw. In addition to this, we are very grateful that a lot of our other crops gave a good yield.

We could have continued to focus on our disappointment, but what good would that have done? We can't change the past; it's already done and over with. We're trying to find out why our crop was not a huge success and once we get the information then we'd be prepared for the next time we decide to grow corn again.

We learn from our errors and keep moving on. When we find ourselves dwelling on our disappointment, we shift our conversation and thinking and begin to be thankful for what we have now.

When we put ourselves in the mind frame of thankfulness, we are sending out positive energy to the Universe and we begin to attract that positive energy back to ourselves and open the door for the flow of the goodness of God's Spirit energy to move into and through our lives.

Thanking your way through disappointments causes you to see the good in the adversity and focus on the good that we still have in our lives despite the setbacks.

Look for avenues to improve and expand

Getting my body back - Day 132

I'm always keeping my options open to optimize my workout program. I came across this interesting book from our local public library - The Body Sculpting Bible for Women - the way to practical perfection by James Villepigue and Hugo Rivera. This book also features the 14-day body sculpting workout.

The 14-day workout does not promise a quick fix ideal weight program but a 14 day time frame for performing a set of exercises and then change the workout. During those 14 days your body begins to adjust to the new routine and therefore lessen the effectiveness of your workout.

I have already been doing some of these weight training exercises, but this gives me an opportunity to fine tune my repetitions and also provides great advice and tips to getting better results.

So, in addition to my walking and step training, starting tomorrow, I'll be including these workouts. I'm still going over their meal plan to see what adjustments I could make to my own.

We never grow if we settle for where we are. We must always look for ways to improve and keep getting better even after we see major improvements. A river never stops flowing; it's in constant motion - refreshing itself moment by moment, day by day. Once movement slows down to the point of becoming stagnant it creates a recipe for pollution and disease. Similarly, we invite negative results when we stop learning and growing.

Whatever goal you're working on, keep looking for ways to be better at what you're doing and after you've done it better, keeping looking for new avenues to improve or expand and do that better, as well.

Fuelling words: I open my mind for new ideas of improvement and expansion that I may be the best that I can be.

Workout: walking

It's my birthday!

Today is my birthday. When I was a little girl, I was so excited about opening my birthday present; I couldn't wait for my birthday to come. Now that I'm older, my kids are more excited about my birthday than I am.

Birthdays have taken on a different phase and meaning for me; it's all about family. I could hear the little whispers as the kids try to make a birthday cake without me knowing - as a matter of fact they made not one but three. The gifts are coming out; from books to ornaments and handmade necklaces. How much love is that, huh?

So I share my lovely family with you on my special day.

Me and baby Roxella

Lee - the love of my life and the wind beneath my wings.

Our eldest daughter, Shenelle

Grace - my workout challenger

Tammy - the artist

Lisalee harvesting cucumber from her garden

Alexandria Princess Victoria

Joshua - our big boy and miracle son

Our little princess - Roxella - just practicing to stand

The more the merrier and tons of fun. Lots of little feet, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We thank God for our special family and for the opportunity, privilege and honour to be chosen to be their parents. Their wisdom inspires us and their love warms our hearts. We are so blessed with God's abundance.

Perhaps your family is not as large as ours. It's not in the quantity but in the quality of the love shared. You have been blessed, whether it's one or even two. We have 7 different lives through which God has chosen to express his essence of love to us -7 pairs of eyes through which the warmth of His Unconditional Love has been packaged and brought to earth to heal our hearts. Their love has no conditions, stipulations or expectations; just pure love - the place where we need to return and rest.

Our Father awaits our return as we surrender all our hurts, mistakes, hang-ups and everything that has drawn us away from the center of our nature of Unconditional Love.

The Circle of Life

Salmon run is here.

My husband and kids took this picture of this Coho salmon at the river.

We're still waiting for our squash to mature. Two young ones are coming along nicely. Hope they do well in cooler weather.

We're waiting for this squash to come to full maturity.





We've cleared out all the cucumbers. A little at a time, everything's going back to the way we started.

Everything has a time and a season. The season of planting has come and gone and now it is time to harvest. It is also salmon season where these salmon begin to spawn and then die.

We all have a purpose to which we are assigned and an allotted time on earth to fulfill it. Neither plants nor fish waste their time, and with this in mind, we need to use every moment possible in fulfilling what we came to earth to do.

Sometimes our day to day purpose may vary in different seasons of our lives. For example, there was a time before I had children when my focus was on other aspects of spiritual growth. Now that I have children, I nurture them and impart this knowledge and wisdom to them. The time will come when they will no longer need my care in the same capacity. I will still continue to be there for them for guidance but my role would have changed somewhat. The time that I spent with them would then be used for other things.

Seasons in our lives come and go and some things remain constant within that season - change. Change brings many fresh ideas and hidden gems of wisdom -some, we take for granted. The key is paying attention and ask, "What is the lesson here that I need to know." We miss so much when our minds are so wrapped up with our personal issues and even though the answer is staring us right in the face, we are so blinded by these problems that we miss the lesson along with the solution.

Many things we learned over the summer are not things we are unfamiliar with. The difference is this time, we were paying close attention and as a result a new level of spiritual awareness and growth has been achieved.

Slow down and take a closer look at your life as if with a magnifying glass and as you go through your daily activities, each day has its precious treasures waiting for you to extract so that you can move to the next level.

Today is your day to embrace change and flow with the circle of life.

Apples galore!

The apple trees that bore a lot of fruit last year didn't bear as much this year, however, the ones that didn't do so well last year were pruned back in late fall last year and early spring. They did really well this year.

This crab apple tasted really good. I loved coming out every morning and eating a few just before I began my exercise routine - good energy boost.

We thought these were also crab apples, but we found out recently that they're called flowering crab from Japan. We don't eat them but they make pretty good jam and a good substitute for cranberry sauce. Instead of using cranberry sauce with turkey, this makes quite a good combination.

Looking at the apples on tree, it doesn't seem like a whole lot until we begin to pick them.

We're waiting for the first frost to begin to enjoy these apples. Apparently they love the cooler weather; that's when they're the sweetest.

Some of the flowering crabs harvested (in the basket), crab apples in the back with plum prunes.

Harvest basket - a little bit of everything with a jar of jam from the flowering crab. Jams come in really handy over the winter. They're the first thing to go before the winter gets into full swing.

Garden pictures- lovable carrots & fresh salad

Our garden produced some interesting shaped carrots. No matter, we still enjoy their freshness. Lesson learned from these delightful orange veges; it doesn't matter what a person looks like on the outside, we all have the essence of beauty inside of us. If we could overlook the obvious flaws in each other, only then can we enjoy another person's sweet flavour.

These carrots were all chopped and bagged in ziploc bags and put in the freezer for the winter.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions and apples.

Put them all together - and voila - fresh homegrown garden salad.

Just absolutely delicious. No, I didn't make this. My husband was at his finest once again. Welcome to Chef Lee's kitchen!

Sharing pictures of our garden fun - Garden visitors

Grasshopper hidden among the rose bush leaves.

Bee sucking nectar from the zinnia.

California poppies - they love lots of sunshine and their petals open wide when the days are hot.

Four o'clock flowers don't care for too much heat. They love to stay nice and cool.

More Four o'clock flowers.

Zinnia's are such beautiful flowers. They're not soft to the touch but very attract to look at.




















Butterfly posing on the zinnia.

Turn adversity into a time of thanksgiving

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 114

Today, we harvested the remainder of our cucumbers and uprooted the vines. Some of the cucumbers were still young but we'd rather pick them now before the coolness gets to them further as it did with some of the small ones that began to turn yellow. The soil was turned over and a hole dug for the vines to become compost for next season.

When you begin to see progress in your life and you're faced with adversity, do the best you can with what you have and be thankful for the good times and for what you have left over. When you turn adversity into a time of thanksgiving and focus on the good that you still have in your life these adverse conditions will not be able to yank on your heart strings and keep you from moving forward.

As the seasons of your life change and adversity presents conditions that prevent you from completing what you were doing or continuing to do what you were doing, let gratitude be your mindset. Use the positive memories to prepare and nourish the soil of your heart until the danger of frost has passed and your season comes in again.

Over the winter we may use the garden area as a skating rink for the children.

Be open for creative ideas. Never rest in the valley of despair but look at every changing of the season as an opportunity for new beginnings and greater opportunities.

The law of giving and receiving - Part 5 - You are the river bed

Getting my body back -Day 131

Feel like you're giving and giving but not receiving in return? Maybe you're looking in the wrong place to receive. Your Source is not rested in the arms of the manifested but rooted in the soil of the Spirit who is your Source.

A river bed is always open to the flow of receiving and giving water. There's no difference between the two, giving and receiving - it's a continuous flow. It's all in the openness of the bed and the level of freedom from debris that determines the freshness and consistent movement of the water flow. The wider and deeper the river bed the greater the capacity to receive and give water.

Look to God for the reward on your giving, but more so, be consciously aware that you are the river bed that the water flows through and as the river bed, as long as you remain open, your Source of life of Living Water will always flow to you. Looking to the banks to keep you flowing is a sure way to stop the flow. As a river bed is open to the water and clear of debris, so you must be open to receive and to give. You are the river bed. Your Source is the water.

Take the emphasis off your looking to the limited, which is external sources and focus on the limitless which is within - the Unlimited Source.

As you make your request to God, release the outcome and focus on giving that the channel to your receiving will be open through your giving.

Fuelling words: I am the river bed. God is the abundant supply that flows through me. I have all I need for I am one with infinite supply.

Workout: endurance exercise, stretching, weight lifting, walking, gardening

Let go of the outcome

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 113

As we observed our garden, we took mental note of the plants that did well at harvest time and the ones that didn't do so well. Some plants, like our corn, started off great but didn't produce as well as we expected. They germinated really well but the actual corns were small.

One of the things we observed was that the plants we cared the most about didn't do as well as we had hoped and the ones that we just gave a try, like the Swiss chards, flourished in abundance.

As we compared our physical garden with our life garden, we noted that the things we let go the outcome of seemed to work out with such ease and effortlessly than those things we really desired and wanted badly enough. Only when we released the outcome and didn't hold on to them so much in our minds that we began to see our desires manifested.

When we hold on to things that matter the most as we try to make it work or cause it to happen, we are in control of the helm and we are not releasing it into the hands of God to work things out on our behalf. It is at that moment when we let go of the control and of the outcome that we see the results we desire manifested. When we hold on, we become disappointed when things don't work out as we planned.

We may not know all the different ways things can work out in our favour and we don't always know what is best for us. Therefore as the Spirit is our senior partner, we ask for what we desire, we make our decision and set our intentions but the final outcome and the timing of the outcome we release from our minds and allow the Universe to work on our behalf to bring about the best possible solutions or manifestation. You never know when something better is up ahead.

The law of giving and receiving - Part 4 - Go deep within

Getting my body back - Day 130

When you go inward, you give yourself to your Source and as you give yourself you receive in exchange Spirit's guidance and all the attributes that belong to the Spirit. The deeper you go the more open you are to the flow of the life of the Spirit moving in and through you and out to others.

When you go deep within and connect with the Spirit, you are open to receive more so you could give more. You are receiving on a spiritual plain that affects all areas of your life and moves you to a higher level of service and connection to others.

It is in that exchange in giving your attention to Spirit that you are given Spirit attributes that transform your life. As you give your attention to the Spirit, your focus is not on you but on Spirit and the depth of Spirit's personality and love. At this point, you are wide open and in alignment with the Universal law of giving that you may receive.

The scriptures say that it is better to give than to receive. Because as you are giving, your heart, mind and emotions are all in a positive energy vibration. When you are focusing only on receiving, your focus is on you and therefore you are closed. It takes both sides of the spectrum of giving and receiving to work in order to create balance and continue the flow. As you go deep within and are giving yourself to the Spirit, you are wide open and in this mode of openness you are also receiving, as well.

When we gave to our neighbours some of the vegetables from our garden, we were not looking to get anything from them. But because we were open in our giving we were in the same positive energy frequency of the Spirit, and the Universe - God, responded to our desire for watermelon.

While you are busy giving yourself to the Spirit and in turn giving to others, your request are answered as the Universe goes into active motion and set up circumstances, people and events to act on your behalf. Focus on giving, go deep within and give yourself to the Spirit so you can receive to give of yourself to others and as you give to others, all that you desire will come to you easily and effortlessly.

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Fuelling words: I am open and willing to give to others and in this giving I am also open to receiving.

Workout: walking

Get out of your comfort zone!

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 112

As if locked in a trance, both our dogs were fixated on something in one of the apple trees in the yard. We observed a squirrel in the tree attempting to make an escape from the dogs. As it tried to jump to the cedar tree close by, it fell to the ground and both dogs scampered after it. It barely escaped from their grasp as it quickly ran back up the apple tree.

Later today, I saw the squirrel jump the cedar, apple and Rowan berry trees. It climbed down the wooden post and walked along the metal fence which blocked in our dogs and jumped down to the grass in an attempt to make its escape. The dogs chased after it and it scurried up the fence back into the Rowan berry tree and then the cedar tree - trapped once again in its safety zone.

What the squirrel failed to understand was that the dogs couldn't go pass the fence and had it just kept running once it got down on the grass, it would have been completely free to go where ever it wanted to.

Many people remain in their comfort zones afraid to leave because of fear. They stay even though danger lurks and they're afraid. They'd rather take the risk of being scared and remain in their comfort zone than facing the fear head on and move to safety despite the impending danger.

I could see that the squirrel was completely safe, but until it was willing to take the risk to keep moving forward in spite of the dogs, it would remain trapped in the comfort zone of the trees. It was safe there but it was not free - not free to go and come as it pleases. Every attempt the squirrel made to leave was interrupted by the attack of the dogs and as a result of fear it ran back up the tree.

How many times have you attempted to come out of your comfort zone but have been paralyzed by fear only to retreat into your shell? Face the fear, look it square in the face and keep moving forward to safety. For your comfort zone is only there to keep you bound and limited and not experience total freedom but only a facade of safety. In your comfort zone, you cannot truly be you. You are boxed in and before long it will stifle the life out of you.

Once you make the decision to go forward, you'd soon realize that the thing you feared could not hurt you because there was real no real danger in the first place; only a 'shadow of death' trying to hold you hostage.

It takes great courage to get out of the comfort zone but no more than staying in. You are free. Go forward out of your comfort zone and live in freedom.

The law of giving and receiving - Part 3 - Be open to receive

Getting my body back - Day 129

It is important that when we give we are also open to receive. When we are not open to receive we close the flow and therefore stop what we're expecting to come into our lives.

If my baby is unwilling to drink the milk when I give it to her, the milk supply becomes backed up and causes me tremendous discomfort. Sometimes the breast can become so full it makes it difficult for baby to latch on and drink the milk.

If we are giving but are not open to receive, what we're expecting to come into our lives cannot come because we're not open to receive through the channels the Universe has chosen to bring our desire.

We shared some of our harvest from our garden with some of our neighbours. However, our new set of watermelon that started out so good are being affected by the cooler weather. I was really hoping that we would have had some watermelon for the season and thought that maybe we would purchase a couple from the store. Today, one of our neighbours was given two watermelons and decided to give us one of them.

When we are willing to share with others, we open the door for good things to come back into our lives. We weren't expecting anything in return, but the law of the Universe brought us our desire to have watermelon this summer. After all, what's summer without watermelon, huh?

We gratefully received it. We could have said, "No, it's okay, we don't need it," or "You didn't have to do that." If we did, we would have been shutting the door and the flow of giving and receiving and stopping the other person from receiving what they desire as well.

A river that flows freely benefits all people, and similarly, a river that is dammed up affects all, as well. This is also true in giving and receiving. When we give to others it not only benefits us but others as well, whether or not we're aware of who the individuals that are benefiting from it. The reverse is also true. Withholding takes away from those who need to be blessed.

Fuelling words: I give but I am also open to receive to keep the circular flow of goodness coming into and flowing through my life.

Workout: endurance exercises, walking

Are you uprooting your dreams?

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 111

When we first began to sow the seeds in our garden, our 7 year old daughter was so excited she decided to get her own little spot to grow her own garden. She uprooted some flowers from around the yard and transplanted them into her garden.

The next day she uprooted the flowers and planted them into another spot. Every time she planted she'd uproot them and plant them again. This was her way of being active and keep the excitement of gardening alive. She was told that if she keeps uprooting them, how will they get a chance to grow.

She insisted that she wanted to sow some seeds. We decided to give her cucumber and watermelon seeds and made sure that she didn't uproot them. Today, she has a very beautiful garden and had a great yield from the cucumbers. The watermelons started out really well but the coolness started getting to them.

Many times dreams are uprooted when we change our minds from what we initially set out to do. Sometimes impatience has a big part to play when we don't see things going or growing the way we expect them to. Then we uproot our plans in our thoughts, words and actions.

Our daughter did learn that the only way she was going to see her garden grow was by leaving the seeds and plants in the ground and allowing them to grow naturally as she tended them - weeding and watering them.

If we give up and uproot our dreams, we'd never know the harvest we could have had if we just did our part and allow things to turn out naturally.

The law of giving and receiving - Part 2 - Give of yourself

Getting my body back - Day 128

Go to Part 1 if you haven't read it as yet.

When I breast feed my baby, I'm giving milk from a source that's within my body. The more she nurses, the more milk is supplied from the source.

As we give of ourselves the more of what we need to give is supplied to us. We open the channels of our lives - our gifts, talents and abilities - for a fresh supply to enter in. The issue is not so much as in the thing you're giving but in the heart of the giver.

Giving can be expressed through many avenues but it all comes from one place and that's inside of you. The extent to which you give all depends on who you are and how open you are to receiving. If you give thinking about how much you will have left, you would hesitate in your giving and not give freely what you initially thought you should have given to another. In doing so, you are blocking the flow of your own personal receiving.

Instead of holding back on your giving, release it knowing that your supply freely flows through and in you. The Source of your supply is constantly flowing in abundance to satisfy all you need and could never be exhausted.

When we change in our thinking and open our minds to the abundance of the Spirit, we cease to live in fear of loss and lack and begin to live in connection with the Spirit and freely receive the abundance of life.

Whenever you're not receiving in any particular area of your life, check to see what area you have not been freely giving, where you can increase your giving and where there's a blockage that's stopping you from receiving. The scripture says that whatever we sow that we shall also reap and that we reap in accordance to the amount that we sow. Increase your seeds of giving in all areas of your life and harvest the abundance of your giving.

Fuelling words: I give healthy foods to my body that I may reap a healthy body in return. I exercise so that my body will be strong and remain in healthy working order.

Workout: endurance exercises, weight lifting, walking, jogging

Thrive in the midst of adversity

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 110

The weather has gotten much cooler now, especially at nights, and its beginning to affect some of our flowers and vegetables. The larger squash are doing very well, but some of the young ones have turned yellow and are falling off the vine. The cucumbers in the main vegetable garden have given a great yield but some of the younger ones are also turning yellow. On the other hand, our 7 year old daughter had started her own cucumber garden and they are doing quite well, even the younger ones are holding up to the cooler weather.

Many of us handle adversity in different ways and our tolerance varies depending on the level of the severity of the adversity. When we face adversity, we begin to show signs of intolerance at our breaking point - frustration, annoyance, fear etc. But when the roots of our inner being are anchored deep in the soil of the Spirit, we become like evergreens; fresh, tall and strong regardless of the external conditions.

As we stay connected to our Source and allow the warmth of love to keep our hearts soft and tender, we begin to see and approach life differently. Whatever situation we encounter, we are not shaken because we know that we will come through. Therefore, we stand strong and patiently await the day when our outward experience has fully aligned itself with the inward favourable conditions of the heart. As a matter of fact, we find rest, peace and joy so that we can truly thrive in the midst of adversity.

The law of giving and receiving - Part 1

Getting my body back - Day 127

I had blocked breast duct over the weekend and if you've breastfed a baby you'd know how painful this is, if you've ever experienced it. For the guys who are reading this, just bear with me, there's a good lesson here regardless of gender.

A blocked duct can occur when baby does not completely empty the breast on feeding. The milk pools in one of the milk ducts and blocks the milk flow. So here I was, feeling cold chills and a bit feverish as I climbed into bed. Yes, these are couple of the symptoms. When I woke up the next morning, I got a hot water bottle and applied it to the area to loosen things up, remove the block and get the flow happening again. I put the baby into different feeding positions to clear the block.

As I was sitting in my quiet zone, I questioned why I was experiencing this. Yes, I did explain why a blocked duct occurs but I was looking at something deeper here. Sometimes things come to us in natural forms which are avenues for us to glean deeper spiritual wisdom that simplifies certain principles for us, if we're paying attention when they arrive. I thought that if this is a blockage, what's the deeper meaning here?

Every time baby feeds, Mother Nature has ensured that the milk is released from the milk duct down through the nipples to baby's mouth. The more the baby sucks the more milk is produced. When baby reduces feeds the milk supply lowers.

The law of giving and receiving says, "The more we give, the more we receive." Our receiving is in direct relation to our giving. It may not always come back in the same form as we gave it, but it does come back to us. If we keep our channel of giving open, we will always receive freely as we have given. The opposite is always true, we hurt ourselves and block our receiving, whether we are consciously aware of it or not, by our withholding and not giving out all that we can give.

I've been giving milk to my baby but she was not completely emptying out the breast, and as a result of that, the milk remained and formed a blockage. The very thing that we did not completely give out, when it is in our power to give freely and completely can turn out to be the thing that blocks our receiving.

Whenever we have opportunity to give, we need to give all that we can to help another and do not withhold that which we know we should give. If you feel that you're not receiving, check your giving and begin by paying attention and applying the warmth of love to loosen up the blockage and get things flowing.

Fuelling words: I open my channels of giving that I may freely receive.

Workout: weight lifting, walking, jogging, endurance exercise

Hindrances to coming out of your bud

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 109

The blossoms come before the bud and sometimes many of these buds never make it to the next stage due to varied reasons. One of them is a result of adverse weather conditions and others may be due to improper care or lack of water. Whatever the reason, they never reach their full potential of blossoming.

Similarly, with our lives, we may be faced with many different issues that hinder us from coming into full bloom. But the main issue is usually based on fear which expresses itself in many different ways.

Hindrances to coming out of your bud

1) Fear of Success

Sometimes when faced with the possibility of achieving success fear of success grips the heart - fear of having a lot of money may cripple a person from coming out of their bud. Therefore, they shrink inwardly and stop the emerging process of blossoming from occurring.

2) Fear of Attention

Flowers in full bloom draw attention, not only of insects - bees and butterflies - but also of people; we like to admire and smell these beauties. Some people are afraid of all the attention, sometimes due to an inferiority complex that makes them think that they're not good enough or undeserving of such attention. Ever noticed flowers? They never care whether anyone approve or not or if they deserve to bloom or not. They do what is natural for them - bloom.

3) Fear of being ridiculed

Some people are afraid to succeed because of fear of being ridiculed by their family or friends. "Who do you think you are?" or "Who are you trying to play?" or "You think you're better than us?" or " You can't hold on the all that success because you're nothing but a loser." Flowers, even if they're growing among weeds, still do what they do naturally - bloom.

4) Insecurity

Fear brings insecurity and if a person is insecure, the fear of losing what they have may overwhelm them to the point of making them become afraid of blossoming.

Flowers have no problem displaying their beauty. They're not showing off. It is their nature to allow love to set them free to bloom. It is also in your nature to bloom where you are - in your family, your community and your world.

Flowers bloom right in your back yard and so should you. Bloom where you are and let the bees and butterflies find your sweet nectar and call their friends.

Lay aside your fears and allow your natural beauty to emerge from within and allowing you to shine and in the process, let others share in your beauty, as well.

Creating change that lasts - Part 5 - Go with the flow

Getting my body back - Day 126

In our determination to creating change that lasts, we must also learn to go with the flow of the moment. It is great to be focused and being focused brings us closer to our goal. But we must also be sensitive enough to recognize when a change in the flow has come and just move with it.

It rained all day yesterday and I couldn't go out to do my normal workout routine. Instead of getting all out of sorts, which would have been quite silly, I decided to slow the pace down and learned some deep breathing techniques from my husband. The movements were small but more control and concentrated on particular body areas while focusing on our breathing.

Today, the weather was much better so I got back to my walking and jogging, but instead of doing weight training, we went into the garden, did some weeding and pruning - not what I had originally planned but I just let go and went with the flow. Even though I could feel my muscles working with all the bending, it was still peaceful and relaxing.

The benefits to going with the flow are, for the most part, quite rewarding than the alternative - struggle, stress and frustration. I could have just continued on to my weight training but as we entered the garden, one thing led to another. We began pulling up some of the carrots, transplanting the thyme, weeding and pruning, and at the same time, we were having quite an inspiring conversation about the connection between us and the Spirit.

When you go with the flow anything is possible because you're not just moving on your own time schedule, you've put yourself in the flow of the Spirit to work with you to bring about your desire with ease and less effort.

If we allow ourselves to become stuck in a rut - this is the way that I've always done it - and never leave allowance for new creative and inspirational methods, how could we know a better way, or better yet, a more relaxed, stress-free way of living?

Learning to go with the flow sounds easy, and it is, once we've let go of our wanting to do things the way we've always done them and move along in with the fresh flow of the Stream of Life.

Fuellings words: I plan my routine and work my plan, but I keep an open mind and go with the flow, knowing that the rewards are greater when I'm moving easily and effortlessly with the Flow of the Stream of Life.

Workout: walking, jogging, gardening

Allow the natural process of blossoming to occur in your life

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 108

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom - Anais Nin

During the growth stage of plants, before the blossoms come the bud - it is the natural process. There is a time period - the budding stage before the flower emerges - if the flower remains trapped inside the bud, its beauty is withheld, not only from us, but from the flowers and bees that rely on it to open so they can drink the nectar. If the flower does not emerge from the bud, the pollination process cannot begin. The cycle of life is interrupted. The risk, indeed, is more painful to remain as a bud than to blossom.

You must also make the decision and allow the natural process of blossoming to occur in your life with your innate abilities, talents and unique personality. You are needed by the bees and butterflies, those others that rely on you for their survival. Hindering the emerging of your blossoms is not only detrimental to you but also to those around you, and you are withholding that which is vital for your survival and the continuation of the cycle - your part of the cycle of life.

As buds open a little at a time, flowers fully emerge out of them with ease - naturally and effortlessly.

Your natural abilities and personality emerge as you lay aside resistance to allow the world to see you for who you are. When you lay aside all pretenses and remove the mask and walls that keep out the world, you free yourself from all entanglement to enjoy the rays of the sun - the warmth of love, and you allow others to partake of the natural essence, innate flavour and outward beauty of you.

Creating change that lasts - Part 4 - Internalize & Practice

Getting body back - Day 125

With so much information at our finger tips, why is it sometimes we seem to still struggle to create change that lasts even though there's so much 'how to's' at our disposal? Whether we have gathered information on the internet or from a sermon at church, it seems that so many struggle with the same issues over and over again.

There are two aspects we need to look at when we're creating change that lasts - internalize and practice. It's one thing to read the information, and perhaps mentally know it, but it's another thing to live it and allow it to become a part of us.

Internalize

With our lives moving at such a fast pace at times, we need to slow down enough to absorb the information we already have. We need to take out the notes and really meditate and internalize them until they become a part of us, not just words on a paper written by someone else - their experience, but we need to own them as our experience. When we internalize the information, these words take root in our hearts, becoming a part of us as living words in our lives - a living manifestation.

When the information we receive become a part of us, they change the way we think and begin to transform us from the inside out. We meditate or think about these words over and over.

Practice

Change is not always easy, and like anything else we desire to master, we must practice and practice until we adapt a new daily habit and way of being.

No matter what change you desire to experience, whether it is to love more, get to your ideal weight or start a new business venture, practicing new habits is the way to achieving success - practice changing your perspective of life, situations and others, practice forgiveness and love, practice positive thinking.

It is great that we have access to much information, but this could lead to information overload and pose a situation where we have too much information that leaves our heads spinning and not being able to connect the dots.

Take the information you need now and begin to meditate, to think about these things and put into practice what you've learned that they may take root and anchor you.

Fuelling words: I meditate on information that is applicable to me and I put them into practice to allow them to take root in my life and create change that lasts.

Workout: slow down the pace to smaller more controlled movements, weight lifting, deep breathing exercises

Everything has a season

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 107

The time is now winding down for our garden as we come closer to the fall season. The cucumber vines and leaves are starting to turn yellow. Even though the season for growing our vegetables will soon end some plants are still awaiting their season. Poppies and marigolds bloom in the summer, however, daffodils bloom in later winter, early spring.

Everything has a season and so do we. When we look over our lives, we can see the changes we've gone through over the years. From kindergarten, to elementary school, to high school, to college, to university and out to the work force - all these changes and seasons occurring in our lives one after the other.

We see the different phases of our growth. But even though those times have come and gone, there are still so many phases for us to go and grow. One thing for sure, is that we need to enjoy those moments that we have - enjoy the now. Many times we live our lives looking forward to the next thing and miss the gem in the present moment. We become so wrapped up in a future that's not here now, that once we get to the 'future' that we're anticipating it's not as spectacular as we thought it would have been and then we regret the past and what we missed out on.

While we have our garden, we'll enjoy the work, the lessons, and the fruit. We'll use this time to live in the moment and enjoy this precious time. Not only do we enjoy growing the garden, but the time we spent together with our children, teaching them and sharing our joyful memories when we were kids and also learning with them as we observe nature in all of its changing splendour.

It's great to dream about the future and there's a time for that, as well. But more importantly, the present is all we have right now. Even when we've moved forward in time to what we call the future, which has now become our present, we must find the joy in the present, not at a future date because the future date is now - the present time and opportunity to choose whether we will make the most of it or keep dreaming about what will be.

The present is all we have to create the future through our thinking, so why not enjoy the present, see the joy in right now so that the future which will become the present will be filled with joy in the right now. We could do nothing in the future just as we could do nothing in the past. Our time and our season to make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others, is now - in the way we think, now, in the actions we do, now.

Once we do these things now, our future will be brighter because we will be filled with joy and appreciation no matter what. We have learned to accept now as now and live now to the fullest. If now is the only season you have, which it is, how do you think you should spend it?