Let Your Life Bloom

Going grainless

45 days and counting.

After having continuous ups and downs, I decided to take inventory of what I was eating and how it was affecting me. My body is extremely good at giving clues about what worked and what didn't. I found that within a half hour or so of eating, my emotional, mental, and/or physical state would be profoundly affected.

In fact, almost every time I ate, I would feel physically sluggish, mentally in a fog, emotionally cranky, and even stranger - I felt unbelievably lonely and depressed. This was very odd for me, as I generally lean more towards the hopeful, people oriented, the sun is shining kind of mentality. What was the common denominator in all meals?

Grains.

Bread. Rice. Flour. Pasta. Quinoa. Tortillas. Barley. Millet. Muffins. Pancakes. Occasionally pizza. Salad dressings (yes, some even have grain flours in them). The list goes on.

How to not get what you want

Here is a list of the top five things you can do to not get what you want. Take note, you may already be doing them.

Focus on what you don't want
I mean, really think about it, hard. It's even better if you stress, obsess, and worry about each and every last detail. The key to this is to keep returning to what you don't want like a broken record. That will take you to what you don't want faster than you can imagine. Share what you don't want to happen with friends, then everyone can feel bad, together. It's great fun.

Hey baby, what's your SOI?

No, not your sign. Your SOI. It's the new pickup line, coming soon to a bar near you. Or it should be. What is this SOI, and how dare it replace that old standby?!

Structure Of Interpretation.

Yes, you read correctly. Structure Of Interpretation. I know you're still wondering, WHAT is that? Structure Of Interpretation is fancy coaching language for how you think about things. In other words:

• Your lens of perception (another fancy coaching term)
• How you understand yourself, others, and the world.
• Your thoughts and beliefs about life in general, and the experiences you have, in particular.
• What something means to you.
• Your judgment of a situation.

See, everyone has their own way of interpreting what they experience, whether it's an interaction with another, a thought in your own head, or something that just happens. We all have opinions about the way we think things are and the way we think things should be. There's nothing wrong with an opinion, nor is there with a judgment.

Where we get into muddy water is when attachment enters the picture. Some people get so attached to the notion that their way is THE way that it hinders their relationships, work, communication skills, and more. Others take it to a different extreme, so adamant that their perception of reality is right that it is the only one they end up seeing and paying attention to.

Grocery shopping on the farm

I've always had a thing for food. Hours have been spent in stores, roaming the aisles, dreaming of potential meals, admiring the variety. Like a meditation, except with a bigger dent in the checkbook - especially given my obsession with all things organic. They (those experts) say - for health, shop the perimeters of the store, where the produce is. That way you avoid the processed foods in the middle.

This year, I decided to do it differently.

As of 4 weeks ago, Paul and I have become farmers. Taking it a step beyond signing up for our local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), we chose to do a work trade instead. And let me tell you, each row of turnips, radishes, spinach, kale, lettuce, bok choy, dill, green onions, beets, mixed salad greens, arugula, and chard are supersized and flavorful. 

The Genie Affirms You

Last Halloween, I was a genie. I carried around a gravy bowl with wishes that people got to choose from (at the post office, the grocery store, work, etc.). The reactions were surprising, yet seemed to be an accurate reflection of the people themselves.

A big heaping o' contentment

Anyone familiar with the "think a happy thought and all will be well" movement?

I am. In fact, I was one of their biggest proponents, until I, well, didn't feel happy. And for the life of me, couldn't feel the happy even if it slapped me in the face and shook me upside down until all the change fell out of my pockets. The happy also tried to track me down with love, hugs, and warm squishy things, to no avail.

I didn't get it. It had worked before. It was easy. I thought a happy thought, and all was well. I experienced it. I swear. It worked...until it didn't.

This is when I got one of the most valuable lessons of my life. Maybe you're not supposed to be happy all the time. Maybe it's ok to feel other things besides happy. And maybe, happiness is a wee bit overrated. It took me awhile to get this one, because, truthfully, I prefer the happy to the not. That is, until I discovered...

Why wait?

This has been a reoccurring question in my head for the past month. It usually makes its rounds, popping up every few months when I get a burst of inspiration or get reminded of a larger perspective of life or somehow I end up close to death, like recently:

Warning - This is one of those stories that is going to make me look particularly foolish. Yet, I have to believe that it happened for a reason (it's the only way I can justify a truly stupid mistake).

And so the story begins...

A little 5am sunshine

Welcome, welcome good people of the internet. It's 5am, and I have no idea what I'm doing awake at such an hour. These things happen sometimes. I always thought it a Disney myth that birds sing as the sun rises. I have now confirmed this as a reality - the birds are chirping away as light is making it's way over the Sierra Nevada range.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Vanessa. I have two cats and a husband that keep me in check. And I also have this thing - a life calling, if you will - that is now apparently deciding to keep me up all night so I can spread a message of good cheer and probably other important things that I could tell you if I was awake enough to remember.

Here is a preview of what's to come on this blog and I feel it's so important to share with you:

Health. Intuition. Coaching. (ooh, ah, color)

What do the three have to do with each other?