Stress & Kindness

Stress - While it cannot be avoided, please do all that you can to minimise it in your life. I am learning how stress literally kills right now. Sometimes we encounter people who really need to step out of their own way, they confuse the issues, make resolution harder than it has to be, perhaps they not always mindful before acting, speaking or typing. Maybe sometimes that is us, because sometimes, we all just lose it. These are all self-sabotaging behaviours, which typically manifest during stress. I cannot over-emphasise yoga for stress management. Even going once a week will provide you great benefits over time. You will learn breathwork, breathing techniques that increase lung capacity but also will aid as a cue for you when needed. You will also learn amazing self control! My PM work was very enjoyable for me, overall. But, there were times when the typical length of the day was too much or a person or situation was. Let calm rule you. It's perfectly ok to step inside and shut the door of a break-out room and primal scream if you must. I needed to do this just the once in 26 years at Sprint and over a completely unrealistic situation I had been placed in, that I could not get myself out of. But I never lost my cool in front of the group. To share this story a bit further, in case is resonates with and helps you, I had been placed on a new team of people who, while I had been there, fully vetted and known to be an excellent PM, these particular people never had worked with me before. The work-load, and the folks on this project made the situation untenable. There were layoffs and stress was exceedingly high. I resolved to be kind. It was all that I could do. When insults flew, I was kind. Someone actually asked if I was stupid. In meetings with the folks I supported, they would ask me to provide status and proceed to talk over me. Team-mates came in unshowered, there was no time for cleanliness. Some folks did not keep working as hard on their personal time as I did and were let go; it was considered their fault. It was never that there was far too much work on everyone's plate. People in the situation causing unnecessary chaos weren't managed down. A team-mate lost 4 of their molars, due to stress, grinding the teeth. Molars are forever gone once gone. There were divorces born of this time and illness. My mother was going through Chemo and Radiation. I could not be there for her during the daily commutes to radiation so I found rides for her to treatment by way of the Cancer Society volunteers. And I worked 7 days a week, all holidays and 12+ hour days for over a year being kind. It was bloody hard being kind, but I maintained kindness in every email, every sentence out of my mouth. This act was the only one, other than of course getting my work done, that I had any control over. In an effort to help spread kindness and minimise the onslaught of completely unnecessary emails (I was getting 400-800 a day) I placed the query: Is it helpful, is it necessary, is it kind into my signature line. In an effort to manage down my hours, I also noted my hours too (7a-4p). In all my years there, I had never taken 2 weeks off together at once before, but I was breaking apart and knew I needed to go on holiday. An individual who was hostile, took over my base while I went out for 1 full week of training followed directly by 2 weeks of vacation. I was hoping for a friendly to take on my base but hostile spoke right up demanding my base. I didn't know what was going to hit me when I returned, but I had to have the break. This was in 2007 and I was laid off in 2016. This was the epicentre of unbearable pain, unbearable odds. When I returned to work, there was a new level of respect given, eyes opened to exactly what was going on in my base. Every product was ordered correctly. Every communication accurate and current. My work was found to be flawless and on track. I assumed I would be laid off, but suddenly things got immensely better for me. Whether it is work, family or personality driven, all of us experience stressful times. Know that if managed correctly, these times should be temporary. IF they are longer in term, there is a management issue somewhere. My takeaway from this time of fire is twofold: 1) always act in kindness, never lose your cool in front of people. Right or wrong, folks will always remember your wig out if you have a double geared hissy fit in front of them. You don't want that visual following you around later. You also don't want to be known as cruel, snarky, or unstable, so be kind. This doesn't mean you don't protect yourself and stand up for yourself, where you can, but do so in a way that is 'professional' offered in kindness. 2) Document Everything - I have been a documentation specialist for decades now, but this situation really brought home the need for managing by fact not emotion and retaining a documentation trail on everything. At the end of the day, it will be kindness, composure and a level head, followed by all the back up docs you've culled, that wins the day. And It will ultimately shine the light of truth on anyone intentionally doing you harm.

Veganism & Protein etc.

There are some things I hear repeatedly by people when I tell them I am mostly vegan, a bit vegetarian (no milk but some cheese) and focused on raw food. Because we've all been taught that for protein, we need dairy and meat, and most of us were brought up primarily on cooked and processed foods, we don't think about the bioavailability of the vitamins, the minerals, the protein or that cooking anything above 118 Fahrenheit, cooks the enzymes out as well as much of the vitamins. This doesn't always mean for you, that you must never eat cooked food again, or ever touch meat. What I am encouraging is for you to try segueing into a more plant-centric diet, and reduce the cooked foods so that at least 1/2 of your meals are raw. Buy only organic or wild produce, grow your own wherever possible and grow a variety of sprouts and eat them daily. Below is a link with great information and links to purchase some tested and reviewed by me sprouting options. Now, about protein - typical 4oz chicken breast has 28 grams of protein. Sprouted Lentils (4oz) have 25g. We are not living in the same world we had in the 1950's. Our world is entirely polluted. It needs our help to reduce meat consumption because the land used causes soil erosion and the water used is wasteful. The feces, chemicals and all else utilised by factory farming methods is destroying our planet. Even if you do not care that the animals are mistreated, abused, sick, and very unhappy living unnaturally in cramped quarters, not allowed to be themselves at all, think about the unhappiness you are ingesting along with the chemicals and other crap given to the poor creature. It is not a healthy way for any and all concerned. So if you eat meat, go organic, do your level best to buy meat from more humane sources and reduce consumption to 2 days per week or one day. My husband and I had 'meat friday' a few years back where that was our one day each week to enjoy a nice steak etc. Now I let him eat the steak knowing I am causing less harm to others and myself. I have been on this track since February, reducing/eliminating sugars, meat, dairy, growing my own sprouts and I fit far better in my clothes and people keep telling me my skin tone is fabulous and that I have lost weight. But I can tell you that I have gotten healthier, stronger, more resilient.

The Toxic Come On

This morning I padded down to my office and found an email advertising a link for IT Cosmetics.  Clicking on the link, they had a before and after picture of a lady with and without the makeup and a very easy to navigate way to add product to your cart and check out.  Not one place explained how the ingredients worked or what the ingredients were.  Of course I wrote them personally.  I find our bombardment of toxic stew, with more chemicals created annually, and the cosmetic industry (as well as Government oversight etc) an embarrassment to our intelligence.  We are the only species that actively destroys itself, lies about it, pretends to be a friend when really we have an end game not in your best interest and all for the feeling we have somehow gotten the upper hand, we have reached into your wallet!  How ridiculous and how mean.

Everybody wants your money.  In fact, I also want some of your money; I write this blog, I rep for a certified organic skin, home and body care line  https://www.miessence.com/puretemple/en/category/1/skincare
and what I do here in this blog is review products where I include helpful links for you, but also, when you purchase from one of my links, I get a tiny commission.  You don't pay more, but I get rewarded for providing you impetus to purchase something.    I began this blog, this mission, along with my own personal journey toward detox.  There was so much I didn't know and as I learned, I wanted a place to share knowledge.  There are ways to get glowing and gorgeous, to beautify your home, polish the floor or table-tops, wash your clothes and avoid toxins in the process.  Much of my learning came by trial and error, observation and finally by sinking thousands into official training.  My aim is to help us all detox by learning and understanding how and what to avoid and look for, as well as provide products I know work well and are free of as much crap as possible.

Going clean is a process.  Don't beat yourself up about this, just take your baby steps and keep going, keep getting better at it.  Believe me, I have purchased what I thought was an 'organic' eye or hand cream, only to find it had PEG or Triclosan or some shit in it that's bad for you.

What I write about and review here, I have vetted. The Miessence products are all certified organic and are terrific products with yummy planty smells.  I personally am a cosmetic whore, I am not entirely true to any one line.  I like to try new stuff and have my old stand-bys.  So assuming you are the same way, I encourage you to search for things where you get full disclosure on ingredients.  Don't buy anything that doesn't provide this, that is a red flag.

And I learned very recently that while I have always preferred natural fibre clothing, it is really far more important than I ever knew before.  The skin absorbs 60% of what it comes into contact with. The finishes and toxins are all over the place.  Polyester is made from the petroleum industry and is toxic.  Synthetic fibers over heat the body which can lead to tumors.  For conventionally grown cotton, One third of a pound of pesticides and chemical fertilizers go into growing just one non-organic T-shirt.  Then there are bleaches, dyes and finishes. Sadly, most of the chemicals remain throughout the life of the garment, wash after wash and end up in a landfill later.

If you find you have alot of bad stuff in your life, clear your closets, and medicine cabinets and start fresh.  Post comments on how your life has changed, any progress your health makes, I'd love to hear about it.  I am also here for any questions you have too.

Peace.

Re-gaining Balance For Peace & Healing

This book, Meditations on Intention and Being, by Rolf Gates, is a great book to help bring peace, thought and mindfulness to your daily life.

Imbalance - Our world is in chaos, from air, water and soil pollution, the growing need for more, from money to things,  to how governments protect corporate interests rather than the people who created it (and allow it to still be).  We give up our power, become complacent in what is rather than what should be, what can be.  This election, I watched, mouth agape, as people voted out of fear rather than voting for who they really wanted in office.  I heard things like "Jill Stein will never win" for example.  I am not here to argue party, I am here to make a comment on what I witnessed, that is all.  :)  The point is that I heard this comment made from several people I knew that really wanted Stein in office.  So why didn't they vote for her then?  Because she wouldn't win was the answer back to my question.  I have been called pompous, nieve and stupid over this but I am going to say this once more:  When we make a choice NOT to do something, NOT to vote where our heart is or whatever we are NOT doing, we by that act, that inaction, make it so!  Stein (or anybody else) would win if the majority voted and that is fact.  We had 4 parties to choose from.  Is it not truth that if the majority of people out there voting, chose to vote for, say, Jill Stein, that she would somehow not win the election?  Does it really matter than she didn't make the primaries if people hearts changed about the two running?  I know this election was a hot mess and I simply wanted Jill personally because she didn't have a bunch of weeds she was coming in with, and her platform was about what, to my mind, matters the most, our earth, saving it, getting corporations out of bed with Government, being  kind, ethical and fair to all people and animals.

Politics aside, apply what I just said to anything you choose.  We have got to make the choice to make it so.  To effect change, we must choose it.    From the top down, we are no longer balanced.  The good news is that we can still shape ourselves and our family and friends by what we choose to model, how we choose to live each and every day.   and neither are we. 

 From the top down, we are no longer balanced.  The good news is that we can still shape ourselves and our family and friends by what we choose to model, how we choose to live each and every day.   and neither are we. 

Many of us do not fully grasp our imbalances until injury occurs.  Yoga is fabulous for helping to awaken mindfulness to the imbalances all of us have, finding what side of our body (and brain) are dominate, adjusting ourselves so that we don't grasp the hands or cross the legs exactly the same each time or to simply be aware that in the similarity of a pose, each day we are different in it.  and neither are we. 

Yoga is not just for stick figures or the super flexible, my friends, I am a robust individual and do yoga regularly.  Whatever your size or shape, yoga is for you.  You just need to find the right form, and always honor your body.  Growing up, I learned to fight with my body rather than embrace it, which is silly when you think about it, but that is what most of us do.  We are never happy and thankful for long with what our shape is or age is or anything, always picking at the imperfection.  Give yourself love and compassion and space and time to heal.  Do this for you because you matter.  When you come from a place of strength, you can share that strength with others and help life them up too.  and neither are we. 

The holidays (holy days) are a divine time where the old year is closing out and the New Year is unfolding before us.  Not everybody is excited about this.  But I ask, what really are the alternatives?  I must age, therefore, I celebrate my birthdays!  Why the hell not?  Does it not beat the alternative of 6 feet under?  Celebrate your life and time here.  Enjoy these small moments of time and joy, whether that is a page of meditation on the book suggested above, sitting by the fire on a cool evening with friends or hanging out with your cat.  You being here right now is a miracle.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Chanuka, etc and have a very prosperous and joyful New Year!  Be Blessed.

Gift Giving For the Vegan Or Wanna Be Vegan

Many people are getting hip to incorporating more natural foods into their diet and learning to be mindful of toxins in skincare, clothing and household products.

This holiday season, give the gift of pure potent certified organic skin, home and body care.  The link to my website for Miessence products is below.
miessence.com/puretemple/en/category/1/skincare

Or if you have a loved one that could use assistance with plant-based diet best practices, setting up their kitchen and tutorial to sprout and juice and eat healthy, purchase a 2-hour session with me.  You can be a vegan and still eat junk food and even if you are trying to eat healthfully, there are ways to juice and supplement to provide

My website here is full of healthy tips, recipes and information.  But sometimes you need personal guidance.  As a Plant-Based Health Consultant, that is what I am here for.  You can be a vegan and still eat junk food and even if you are trying to eat healthfully, there are ways to juice and supplement to provide you the best nutrition.

IMMUNITY BOOSTING ELERBERRY SYRUP

IMMUNITY

You can find or forage this tasty berry, and concoct a natural and reasonably priced syrup, proven to shorten the duration of a cold or virus.  The recipe is below, however, If you’re too sick to make a bottle, there are store-bought versions like Honey Gardens Elderberry Syrup, $22.44,  pictured above.  There are other products as well however, you should always go organic to avoid pesticides and herbicides.  The last thing you need when ill, is more toxins.

I made a double batch of this stuff last year and will be once again cooking this brew in my kitchen over the next week-end.  It’s good to just have it on hand because you or someone you know will soon wake up chilled and feverish. Medical research has shown that taking an elderberry-based tincture within the first 48 hours of a virus’ onset can shorten the duration of symptoms by as much as four days.  And you want to have this stuff at the ready because when you are feeling puny is not the time to be trying to make it, even though its pretty easy to cook a batch up!  The taste is yummy.  Last year, I had friends who weren’t sick trying to get a nip of it.  Keep a stockpile of this syrup on hand for whenever illness strikes. It tastes way better than the cherry-flavored stuff, it’s all natural, and in under an hour you can make a batch large enough to keep you and your family healthy all winter long. Or if you’re too sick to make a bottle, there are store-bought versions like Urban Moonshine’s Herbal Immune Zoom that are quite nice, too.

If you are ready to batch up your personal stockpile of this syrup, I would suggest going all organic with the ingredients.  I have included links for the elderberries too.

I use Frontier Organic Elderberries, in the 1lb size, pack of 2 so I had enough on hand for now and later.  Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is abundant across North American, and its berries can be foraged from the wild across much of the United States.  I prefer to do my foraging on Amazon.

Elderberry Elixir Recipe – Makes 1 quart  (I prefer to double my recipe up and give out some to friends and family)  On this note, I still used only 1 cup of Vodka for a double batch and yes it still had a lot of kick to it! So adjust at will here.  I chose vodka for a clean taste but brandy could also be nice.

1 cups dry or fresh elderberries

2 cups water

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 cup 40 percent alcohol

1 cup raw local honey

1 quart size canning jar

Small bottles for dispensing

1. In a large saucepan, combine the water, elderberries, ginger. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, then simmer for 20 minutes. Press and strain elderberry-ginger mixture into a quart-size canning jar. Stir in 1 cup honey and 1 cup alcohol to preserve the mixture. Shake well to mix. Divide into smaller containers, if you like. The elderberry elixir will keep in the refrigerator for 6 months.
2. At the first signs of a cold or flu, take 2 tablespoons of elderberry every hour for up to 5 days.

Following Through

A friend of mine is a Project Manager.  Her husband is far less organised. Things have sat in boxes, in the way of traffic and in the way of beautifying her home, for decades. There have been numerous promises to follow through.  When we fail to follow through, we disrespect both ourselves and the person we made the goal with.  When everything boils down, time is the ultimate gift we give both ourselves and those we love.  We spend our time and our money on who and what we love.

Life moves swiftly onward and as most of us are used to creating busy work in our days and planning ahead, it can be easy to lose the moment.  It can also be all too easy to fill ourselves up so much with stuff, with the dust of the day, that we have no time to breath or change direction, or see a friend.

Creating To Do lists are one of my favourite things to do!  Firstly, it solidifies plans.  You can delight and feel great about checking things off as done.  it keeps you on track, from writing a letter to a friend, to having lunch to joining a meeting, it's all there.  But another cool thing about lists is that they reach another area of the brain and help make it so.  I created a to-do list for a lovely needy historic home and then that list got filed away.  A decade later, I came upon it once more and delighted in the fact that every single item on that list, from redoing the hardwoods to remodelling the bathroom, to landscape lighting got taken care of.

Following through is the ultimate act of love.  When you can trust your own words, that means a whole lot because you can then trust yourself.  Giving yourself weight, respect and significance of meaning what you say and saying what you mean is the very essence of love and self-respect.

Call it branding. In fact, there is a great article "Brand You" that I read a long time ago on this very topic.  As we go about living life, we are actually creating our brand.  Who and what do you stand for?  When people think of you, what would be the very first things to come to mind?  Honouring yourself begins with following through on commitments, both to yourself and to others.  This can also include following through in abusive situations, with managing your personal boundaries. We teach people daily how we wish to be treated by how and what we allow into our lives and by the boundaries we set with them.  We are empowered to gently but firmly maintain those boundaries from anyone who disrespects them and us.  If you find yourself in a situation where you have failed to follow through on your best life then know that you are empowered to change this now.

With 2017 looming large, get pen and pad out and start planning your follow through today.

Find me also here:http://puretemple.org/

BEGINNING TRANSFORMATIONAL HABITS

Whenever you decide to make changes in your life, particularly big ones, you are going to face some opposition, both inside yourself as well as some conflict around you, even from well-meaning friends and loved ones.  The thing to understand is that most of what we do every day, is done out of habit, out of the existing neuronets our brain has created as a way to simplify our day to day.  When you change those habits, whether it is quitting smoking, walking daily, or drinking less coffee or wine, your brain is really there for you, but the hurdle is going to be the 21 days you must suffer through as your brain remaps itself to your new way of thinking and being.  Whenever you are doing something good and wholesome for yourself, you are on the right track because that goodness comes from a place of respect for who you are inside.  You are showing that you respect and value you. You cannot truly value and respect anybody else until you begin with you.  Start your journey and be transformed.

Best Organic Body Scrubs

Scrubbing the body helps you detox through the largest organ of the body; your skin.  You take in vitamin D from the sun and absorb what you put on your skin.  When you sweat, you eschew toxins and cleans the body.  Dry brushing is terrific before the bath to prep the skin (as well as hit hard to reach spots on the back for example).  I did some serious sun damage so I have been doing peels and scrubs for 20 years now.  Because organic and natural safe non toxic products are a big biological impact, you will only see things of that nature here.

Firstly, as I note in my about me page, I am a Plant-Based Lifestyle Consultant.  Dovetailing with that, I rep for Miessence, an all organic skin, home and body care line.  The link is below and I am available for any suggestions or questions you have.  There are great scrubs available in the

DRY BRUSHING – Helps flush the skin, bring new blood to the surface and is perfect right before a nice detoxing soak.  This brush, the Bemodst Dry Skin Body Brush,  is the same that I use at home, with natural wood and bristles that feel nice and tingly on the skin. It comes with a handle to reach the back and is a terrific price.

After your dry brushing, you are ready for the next step, scrubbing on damp skin.

There is a great scrub available in the miessence product line and the stuff ships super fast!  But I also use Giovanni and other organic products too so I want to share those with you here so you can make decisions about what floats your boat. https://www.miessence.com/puretemple/en/category/1/skincareDarling Salt Glow is an eco-conscious body scrub made from environment-saving salt sourced from the troubled Murray-Darling Basin in Australia.  Before you say you don’t care, remember, we are all one, all connected.    Blended with deeply moisturizing coconut oil, clove and citrus, it’s especially perfect for fall and winter time when you want to feel a bit more nurtured and toasty.  You can get the Darling Salt Glow in a nice 3 pack for $124.00, but there are also discounts applied (and free shipping) based upon your spend level.  You can see that prior to solidifying your check out and make any changes. The line has very good tinted moisturizers with SPF and mascara as well as other stuff I use daily but that is another topic.

First up from Amazon (I adore Amazon, you can buy almost anything) is First Botany Arabica Coffee Scrub which not only has that cup o joe wake me up delightfully aroma, but has been voted ‘Best Acne, Anti Cellulite and Stretch Mark treatment, Spider Vein Therapy for Varicose Veins & Eczema’ and I have no argument for all that.

If you are more of a cacao person, next up is the ever delightful Giovanni Hot Chocolate Sugar Scrub, which is divine.  Slightly warming and the aroma is intoxicating for those of us who crave dark chocolate.  You can click on the coloured ink to get shopping. I selected the 5 pack but you could buy just one.  The 5 pack is a great price and trust, you will use this stuff up fast…because it is that great.  While I type this, I actually have it on my desk huffing it.  Maybe I have a problem.  No, this stuff just rocks.

Next, also from Giovanni,  is the Giovanni Cool Mint Lemonade which is a salt scrub that is equally intoxicating.  It is aromatherapy with the scent filling the shower.  I live in Dallas, and it gets bloody hot but mainly hot and humid here.  I use this in bulk in the summers. So in other words, all year round.   It’s perfect after gardening, getting stuck in traffic, whenever you need a serious chill.  In fact, this stuff is so chilling, I have even had to add hot water into my tub.  Impressively cooling.    I have this product on autoship.

Greenscape Salt Scrub (In any of their scents) gets high marks for both scent and a larger (19.4 oz) size.  The link above gets you Rose and this one here is Greenscape Lavender.

Lastly is the Abra Grapefruit and Juniper scrub.  Juniper is known for its’ purifying properties, except apparently when made into gin, which is tasty but not healthy so be careful.  But in the scrub, my friend, you are safe to imbibe.  Who doesn’t love the fresh scent of Juniper berries?  (We use the berries in stews and sauces, by the way.)

So with the holidays coming, and with most of us planning to imbibe a wee bit, this is the perfect time to stock up on scrubs to get you glowing!

Dreams - Try Hard Not To Get Them Squished

Dreams get squished in the most amazing ways if we are not careful.  In school, I was a gymnast and ran track.  I ran faster than anybody in my school in any grade.  Every year I won the Presidents Physical Fitness award and in my 20’s I ran 5 or so miles daily at the nice UTD track in Richardson. After repeated comments on the track about my ‘great pace’ I was clocked doing 4 minute miles.  I did not realize until in my 50’s, in sharing memories with  a friend who absolutely refused to believe my 4 minute mile story, stating that it just was not possible, that it was actually something perhaps rare and special.  

My family never made any big deal out of my physical abilities.  Instead, my mother took me along with her to fat spas to help me lose weight that I didn’t have to lose at the time.  Where is she now when I need this?   In grade school a teacher talked to my adopted mother about putting me in a special music program because of my voice.  Mother asked me to sing for her and when I did, she smiled and explained that while my song was pretty, there would always be someone better.   No matter how I did in anything, there was always someone better. Thusly, I have spent my life downplaying how good I might be at my job or anything else and always questioning my validity.  I learned after meeting my birth family, several years ago, that music runs in the blood,  as does athleticism, with most of the men being fire chiefs and my aunt being a professional singer.  Try hard not to get your dreams squished. Even if you never find out why, trust that they are there for reasons that you need to pursue.

Beginning Transformational Habits

Whenever you decide to make changes in your life, particularly big ones, you are going to face some opposition, both inside yourself as well as some conflict around you, even from well-meaning friends and loved ones.  The thing to understand is that most of what we do every day, is done out of habit, out of the existing neuronets our brain has created as a way to simplify our day to day.  When you change those habits, whether it is quitting smoking, walking daily, or drinking less coffee or wine, your brain is really there for you, but the hurdle is going to be the 21 days you must suffer through as your brain remaps itself to your new way of thinking and being.  Whenever you are doing something good and wholesome for yourself, you are on the right track because that goodness comes from a place of respect for who you are inside.  You are showing that you respect and value you. You cannot truly value and respect anybody else until you begin with you.  Start your journey and be transformed.

Discord When Seeking Peace

Recently, on nextdoor.com, in trying, for free mind you, to assist my lovely neighbors by providing some groovy health tips, I was hit with such negativity and actual slander from strangers, that it astounded me. 

The primary abuse came from an alleged personal trainer.  I say alleged as one would assume a personal trainer worth the salt in his sweat would require a modicum of training, certainly enough to have grasped at least 85% of what I was saying, such as how sugar and sodas and too much protein can put your body into glycation and age you.

It did not matter where I studied, I was crap because my 'product' that I was selling was my body of knowledge.  And I wasn't selling anything at all, I was providing what I felt to be useful or interesting information for free, stuff that I had either just learned or had reconfirmed for me in a recent seminar and I was excited to share it out.

Where did all that anger, miss-direction and fear of what they didn't know come from?  Kind words were twisted and people who didn't bother to visit my link and read about my experience slammed me.  I had no training, I was not accredited, I was stupid, white trash and practicing witch-craft, oh and the product I am selling is crap.

I have deactivated my Nextdoor.com account, but the reason I bring the story up is that sometimes, we live in discord when peace will give us extended (and a far better quality) life.  And, as we see here in the situation noted above, even when we are actively embracing living in peace, things happen that catch us unawares.

Sometimes we are bursting with energy and a great thought, truth or topic we wish to share and it hurts a lot when our spirit of joy is squashed down.  It can be quite shocking how badly a great message can end up received and many times through no fault of your own, with the words chosen with care, a smile in your heart and a twinkle in your eye.

When I provide great knowledge that helps someone gain peace in their lives, a client, for example, that tastes their first green juice and hires me to help them set up their kitchen for a plant based diet, seeing their radiance and peace gives me a boost right back. 

I am building a business as a plant based Lifestyle Consultant. So while I would still provide free information, it does mean that in an attempt to spread the word faster, I am on various pages and in various circles, trying to build my practice. 

 Sometimes we step out in faith, in love and give.  And sometimes, rather than feeling that love right back, we reach out in love to others and it backfricken fires.  But it's all good.  You are still a value add and somebody still admires and loves you, just not those people. 

Watch for affirmations!  I do not believe in accidents.  I don't know all the whys and what nots, but I do take things to be clues as to which way, for my future, should I now move?  Hit with such insult and anger, I was dejected, hurt and re-thinking my reasons for being a lifestyle consultant.  Maybe I should just rescue animals instead of people, animals are far more emotionally intelligent and  grateful.  So I walked my dog and this neighbor who was not on Nextdoor, who didn't read my post and didn't know I was a plant based lifestyle consultant, came out of her house and began discussing the very things I had just posted the other day!  Then she handed me the article from the Wall Street Journal about it!  Coincidence?  I don't believe in such! 

Perhaps I'll stay at this work a little while longer.

By the way, if you are seeking peace, yoga & meditation cannot be beat.  I highly recommend this book.  I read alot of books and pass them forward.  This is one I hold on to and refer to often.  Baron Baptiste trained my original yoga trainer and I love his style.  Baron's book, 40 Days To Personal Revolution, is filled with great information.  

Namaste

Easy Sprout Reviewed Along With iPlant & Appetiser Tray Modalities

The Easy Sprout sprouter is a great and simple way to grow sprouts.  Now that I have finally bought and used it, I am so glad I did.  My favourite sprout for this sprouter is mung beans.  But of course, this product is versatile and you can grow a variety in it.

Before the Hippocrates Life Transformation training, I knew I wanted to reduce meat, to go back to a mostly vegetarian diet and, to be honest, mostly vegan.  I wanted this to spare the animal abuses inherent in the dairy and meat industry.    What I did not anticipate was that sprouts would be (or should be) half of every meal!  My mouth flew open, literally, when they termed organic produce, such as cucumbers, or salad, 'condiments'.

 Thinking about it all, it makes sense.  We humans have so corrupted and depleted our soils, our air and water, that the organic produce we raise now, has far less nutrition in it than it once did.  IF you compost, do compost tea and grow your own veggies, that is the very best, but it is still hard to stay completely away from the grocery store.  There are seasons and space requirements for growing.  I live in a big city and July and August are too hot for many things to grow well.

Sprouts can be grown year round on your kitchen counter!  And they are delicious!  I do a variety and recently branched out to growing mung beans.  I have (and adore) the iPlant sprouter.  But for mung beans, which like pressure when growing, I use the Easy Sprout.  Once the mungs have sprouted, I fill up the 2nd cup this sprouter comes with and set that on top of the mungs for the pressure they love.  It makes them nice and crispy crunchy!  IF you are new to mung beans, warning! They expand!  When I first sprouted them, I used 2 cups of those bad boys and ended up with a kitchen invasion.  There were so many sprouts!  I was putting them in my green juices, in stir fries, on salads, in the dogs food, giving them away...the easy sprouter does far more than mungs, it's equally great for garbanzos or pretty much any sprout you want to try but essentially for the smaller sprouts,  such things as broccoli, radish, onion and garlic sprouts, I use the iPlant.

For sunflower sprouts and pea shoots,  as well as wheat and barley grasses, I use an 8 sectioned catering appetizer tray, which has a section for ice that is perfect for adding water and the Sea-90 liquid fertilizer into, in order to grow hydroponically.   The fertilizer is used on the sunflowers, the pea shoots and the wheat grass as each of them grows longer roots and takes longer to mature enough to eat.  I did not want to deal with soil when growing those sprouts so I mix in the minerals they need (and that feed me) into the water.

Depending upon how serious you are with your sprouts, my recommendation is to begin with the easy sprout if you are just starting out and then migrate to the iPlant.  I have the double decker one (see my earlier post reviewing it!) and I have sprouts literally going at all times, at various stages, between the easy sprouter, the iPlant and the trays.  My goal is to have 50% of all meals be sprouts or consume 2-4 cups daily.  This means a lot of sprouting!

What people don't tell you is that the body gets less hungry when it is fed proper nutrition and that sprouts have more protein, vitamins and minerals than the SAD (Standard American Diet) many of us were brought up on.  The benefit here is shedding excess weight, vibrant health and skin, daily miracles, my friends!

Sprout on!

Eating When You Aren't Hungry or 'Empty Stomach Syndrome' & Body Effects From Over Consumption

TV ads make us want to eat all of the time.  The system is really out to get us.  But it is important to understand that the 'Full' feeling actually means we have overshot and dined on too much at once. We should, instead, be looking to feel pleasantly satisfied.

But another culprit to our culture here in America, is eating too often.  The body has a process it goes through in order to render the food (fuel) we take in, into usable energy.

But my tummy feels empty!  An empty stomach only signals you that the first stage of digestion has been completed.  Whenever you eat, a significant portion of the body's energy, switches over from whatever it was working on, to now digesting your meal.

Your body goes through 3 stages: Digestion, assimilation, and Elimination.  Although some assimilation and elimination might have happened by the time your belly feels empty, a large portion of the processes behind that meal, have not yet occurred.

Per Hippocrates Health Institute, when you eat a new meal when your body has not yet fully processed the prior one, you unduly stress and compromise your body because it has not yet finished its task on the last meal and you have just added another job that requires immediate commencement.

Your body must now deal with both meals which cause the processes for both to be incomplete.  Eating too soon creates added waste and stress and decomposed food the body never had the time to complete, creating a favorable environment for bacteria, viruses, parasites, unhealthy cells, etc.

It is important to remain mindful of true hunger pains, of when your body is really calling out for fuel.  In this way, you honor the cycles of your body and encourage the very best health.

Plant Based Kitchen Consultations & Organic Skin & Body Care Sales & Facials!

From our lip balm to our hand lotion, from what we apply in our yard or spray on topically to control bugs, to what we eat, it is important to be mindful of what we ingest and apply topically and to reduce exposure, always go organic. There are tens of thousands of chemicals that have never been studied for their effect on human health or our planet and this list is growing rapidly. 

As an Alternative Plant Based Diet Consultant, I help folks set up their kitchens to migrate toward a raw plant driven diet. This includes Juicer reviews, food processor and sprouting tips along with plant based supplement guidance. 

Every day we get polluted, and that's before we pour the next martini. :) It is important that we consciously clean our bodies out on a daily basis and equally important that we minimize toxic exposures. 

While this applies to men, I mean, y'all have skin too, the typical woman applies 8-12 products every morning before she walks out the door. 

Please contact me if you would like to know more about scheduling a consultation to help you and your family incorporate a vegan lifestyle or for Dallas area, a free facial to learn more about these yummy, good for you products. 

For the Dallas Tx area, facial Parties may be scheduled for me to come to your home and walk you and a group of your friends though a fantastic SPA facial and its many benefits or you can schedule with me one on one. 

Visit my blog for health tips & great plant based lifestyle information http://puretemple.org/ 

Below is for the skincare I am an independent rep for. For those interested, there are opportunities to shop as well as become an independent rep for Miessence. Respect the planet and yourself, inside and out.

https://www.miessence.com/puretemple/en/...

Super Angel & Omega Juicer & The Difference Between Juicing & Blending

Pictured above is my Super Angel Deluxe.  I had a Breville prior which is going into the garage sale this Friday and I want to explain the reasons why and the differences in the juicer methodology as well as the difference between juicing and blending.

What you want is to get as much of the mineral and vitamin content  (and live enzymes) out of your food so that you fully feed the needs of your body.  I find it interesting how things always get back to nature or closely imitating it as we find what actually works the best.

We will review Centrifugal, Masticating and Triturating juicers here.  The machine pictured above (green ink to link you to view more details and purchase) is the only solid stainless steel triturating machine on the market today for the home kitchen.  Triturating (twin gears) run slower (82 RPM) which allows for the best retention of enzymes and nutrients.  As you go faster, you lose content quality.  This is what I have in my kitchen and I chose this link (green ink) as this is the best price which also includes the Juice Bible book too.

Masticating machines, Omega 8005/8006 series, the Champion brand juicers - have a single gear to crush and 'chew' the leafy greens & veggies.  The Omega, and you have to give props for any machine that comes in Purple or Acid Green, is a great machine overall.  My concern is that it has plastic parts.  But for $300.00, free shipping and a 15 year warranty, and did I mention colours?  What a deal!  What a flying scream of a deal, really.  The Champion I have the same plastics issue with.  But it comes in a few colours and a 10 year limited warranty.  For $295.00 it is a great buy.

Centrifugal machines, like the Breville Juice Fountain series, spin the food at high revolutions. They are a lot faster and you may end up, at best, with 70% of your vitamins & minerals and the juice tastes great.  I bought the Breville before I gained further knowledge.  So this is knowledge I would like to pass on to you.  The issue with the speed is that it causes your produce to oxidise rapidly.  If you are just trying things out and don't want to invest alot right now, this machine will set you back $147.94 and free shipping. To my mind, if you are going to spend more on the Breville's higher end versions, which are higher speed, then you are far better off buying a masticating machine so that you retain more of your enzymes, vitamins and minerals.

To my mind, if you are going to spend more on the Breville's higher end versions, which are even higher speed, meaning higher oxidisation, then you are far better off buying a masticating machine so that you retain more of your enzymes, vitamins and minerals.

I tend to be a 'one and done' person.  I like things of quality, things of beauty and function where I can sit back and enjoy them for many decades to come and perhaps never repeat purchase again.  While the Breville is a solidly built machine, I bought the Breville before I gained further knowledge.  So this post is about sharing knowledge with you.

The Super Angel twin gear juicer, $1658.00 is a substantial chunk of change.  But there are no breakable parts!  Zero Plastic!  It has a 10-year warranty on the motor, 5-year wear and tear.  This machine has zero colour, it is all about the business.  But I love the easy clean up ad seriousness of the machine, it is very well designed and gosh, it ought to be!  A big bonus is this machine extracts 20-30% more juice too!  The entire thing is quality all .304 stainless steel construction and anti-bacterial.  The slow speed ensures low shock and minimal oxidation.  This is something I can will to somebody like the old Kirby vacuums.  The Super Angel performs masterfully juicing wheatgrass, sprouts, herbs, leafy greens, vegetable and fruits.  You can order the optional/additional Grinding (screen) Housing for making nut butters, baby food, frozen sorbets, etc.

Having had a few juicers in my time, I can share with you that Angel makes great juice, exemplary taste, texture and vitamin, mineral and enzyme retention and you'll end up with approximately 95% of your food.             It is designed for easy of operation, efficiency, reliability and longevity. The Super Angel performs masterfully juicing wheatgrass, sprouts, herbs, leafy greens, vegetable and fruits.

The Angel is designed for easy of operation, efficiency, reliability and longevity. The Super Angel performs masterfully juicing wheatgrass, sprouts, herbs, leafy greens, vegetable and fruits.

And so when I began my journey, I was very curious what the difference was, between juicing and blending.  Wouldn't blending be healthier as it is more of the produce etc.  A blender whirls the whole fruit together.  As a blender is high-speed, you will encounter nutritional loss.  With a juicer, you are removing the pulp, so your body doesn't have to work as hard to digest it.  This makes it great in the morning as a detox agent, and to get minerals and vitamins and enzymes into your system fast because your body doesnt have to work to process it.

My favourite green juice right now is 1 cucumber, half a 'head' of celery, a cup of whatever sprouts I have on hand, (mung or sunflower or pea sprouts) a bunch of fresh wheat grass, turmeric root or ginger root and half a bunch of cilantro.

Whatever machine you choose for your kitchen, I wish you happy juicing, here's to your health!

Super Angel & Omega Juicer & The Difference Between Juicing & Blending

Pictured above is my Super Angel Deluxe.  I had a Breville prior which is going into the garage sale this Friday and I want to explain the reasons why and the differences in the juicer methodology as well as the difference between juicing and blending.

What you want is to get as much of the mineral and vitamin content  (and live enzymes) out of your food so that you fully feed the needs of your body.  I find it interesting how things always get back to nature or closely imitating it as we find what actually works the best.

We will review Centrifugal, Masticating and Triturating juicers here.  The machine pictured above (green ink to link you to view more details and purchase) is the only solid stainless steel triturating machine on the market today for the home kitchen.  Triturating (twin gears) run slower (82 RPM) which allows for the best retention of enzymes and nutrients.  As you go faster, you lose content quality.  This is what I have in my kitchen and I chose this link (green ink) as this is the best price which also includes the Juice Bible book too.

Masticating machines, Omega 8005/8006 series, the Champion brand juicers - have a single gear to crush and 'chew' the leafy greens & veggies.  The Omega, and you have to give props for any machine that comes in Purple or Acid Green, is a great machine overall.  My concern is that it has plastic parts.  But for $300.00, free shipping and a 15 year warranty, and did I mention colours?  What a deal!  What a flying scream of a deal, really.  The Champion I have the same plastics issue with.  But it comes in a few colours and a 10 year limited warranty.  For $295.00 it is a great buy.

Centrifugal machines, like the Breville Juice Fountain series, spin the food at high revolutions. They are a lot faster and you may end up, at best, with 70% of your vitamins & minerals and the juice tastes great.  I bought the Breville before I gained further knowledge.  So this is knowledge I would like to pass on to you.  The issue with the speed is that it causes your produce to oxidise rapidly.  If you are just trying things out and don't want to invest alot right now, this machine will set you back $147.94 and free shipping. To my mind, if you are going to spend more on the Breville's higher end versions, which are higher speed, then you are far better off buying a masticating machine so that you retain more of your enzymes, vitamins and minerals.

To my mind, if you are going to spend more on the Breville's higher end versions, which are even higher speed, meaning higher oxidisation, then you are far better off buying a masticating machine so that you retain more of your enzymes, vitamins and minerals.

I tend to be a 'one and done' person.  I like things of quality, things of beauty and function where I can sit back and enjoy them for many decades to come and perhaps never repeat purchase again.  While the Breville is a solidly built machine, I bought the Breville before I gained further knowledge.  So this post is about sharing knowledge with you.

The Super Angel twin gear juicer, $1658.00 is a substantial chunk of change.  But there are no breakable parts!  Zero Plastic!  It has a 10-year warranty on the motor, 5-year wear and tear.  This machine has zero colour, it is all about the business.  But I love the easy clean up ad seriousness of the machine, it is very well designed and gosh, it ought to be!  A big bonus is this machine extracts 20-30% more juice too!  The entire thing is quality all .304 stainless steel construction and anti-bacterial.  The slow speed ensures low shock and minimal oxidation.  This is something I can will to somebody like the old Kirby vacuums.  The Super Angel performs masterfully juicing wheatgrass, sprouts, herbs, leafy greens, vegetable and fruits.  You can order the optional/additional Grinding (screen) Housing for making nut butters, baby food, frozen sorbets, etc.

Having had a few juicers in my time, I can share with you that Angel makes great juice, exemplary taste, texture and vitamin, mineral and enzyme retention and you'll end up with approximately 95% of your food.             It is designed for easy of operation, efficiency, reliability and longevity. The Super Angel performs masterfully juicing wheatgrass, sprouts, herbs, leafy greens, vegetable and fruits.

The Angel is designed for easy of operation, efficiency, reliability and longevity. The Super Angel performs masterfully juicing wheatgrass, sprouts, herbs, leafy greens, vegetable and fruits.

And so when I began my journey, I was very curious what the difference was, between juicing and blending.  Wouldn't blending be healthier as it is more of the produce etc.  A blender whirls the whole fruit together.  As a blender is high-speed, you will encounter nutritional loss.  With a juicer, you are removing the pulp, so your body doesn't have to work as hard to digest it.  This makes it great in the morning as a detox agent, and to get minerals and vitamins and enzymes into your system fast because your body doesnt have to work to process it.

My favourite green juice right now is 1 cucumber, half a 'head' of celery, a cup of whatever sprouts I have on hand, (mung or sunflower or pea sprouts) a bunch of fresh wheat grass, turmeric root or ginger root and half a bunch of cilantro.

Whatever machine you choose for your kitchen, I wish you happy juicing, here's to your health!

LABOR DAY MESSAGE – GOING VEGAN

Happy Labor Day! Always taking the holistic and natural approach to health, going organic decades ago, 12+ hour days left little time to delve into anything else too deeply.  While I dispensed advice to anybody that would listen, my primary focus was on remaining as healthy myself as possible as the job was very stressful and I had little time for much else other than work.

 

With this gift of time, I want to share out what I know, mitigate suffering, both of our health and downstream.   With the loss of my employment, Hippocrates Health Institute, whom I had been tracking for decades, offered an online training and I jumped into it with both feet. I didn’t realize how far down the rabbit hole I was going to go until I went.

 

I went organic originally for health reasons (no toxins and produce with more vitamins and minerals) but also because I felt the animals involved in making the milk, the cheese, the meat, were better cared for. I advocated folks to reduce meat to 2 days a week and reduce further from there to lighten our foot- print, live sustainably.  Eating meat at every meal is not sustainable, nor is it healthy.

It was during this time off that I had time to learn far more about the meat and dairy industry as a whole and not just about the already shunned factory farms.  Years ago, I had watched Food Inc and I knew better than to support factory farming methods.  But the sad truth is that most farms have adopted these sick methods and even at its very best, the industry is cruel.  When we dine on dairy, it is not surplus milk this comes from, as I had been told (and perhaps it was true then) it was when I was a kid.  The calves are taken away at birth, the males routinely killed, the females are given powdered milk.  They have such a strong desire for them mum and to suckle, that they lick each others’ faces, essentially french kissing each other for comfort.  Their lives, their nature is simply ignored for profits.  

 

Dairy has a substance, casein, which is carcinogenic.  Goat milk has far less of it, by the way.  But jumping on the goat milk bandwagon causes further suffering there. 

 

When we talk about milk and meat, cooking anything above 118 kills off all the natural enzymes and much of the vitamins and minerals.  Unless you have a farming source, your milk is pasteurised, which means it is denatured.   This is why Hippocrates promotes a raw diet, with at least 50% of your meal to be raw and anything cooked, to be limited and cooked as little as possible.

Factory farming is not sustainable. The buildings jam-packed with creatures living hellish unnatural lives, creating cesspool lakes which become environmental toxins that run off into our water supply and soil erosion removing minerals from our soils, affect all earthlings.

 

All of us are accountable for how we vote with our wallet. I am not asking that you go vegetarian or vegan, well, actually I am, but this can also be done in small steps. Just reducing your meat consumption, reducing or removing milk from your table, greatly helps us shift off of cruelty and ill health and toward a sustainable future.

 

Nut milks can be purchased, however, making them at home means they are not pasteurized, and it is so easy to do!  See my blog for how to.

 

The truth that the meat and dairy industry doesn’t want you to know, is that plant based proteins and such things as wheat grass, sprouts, sea algae, such as spirulina, are far heftier in bio-available proteins that the body easily recognizes because we were never meant to eat meat to begin with.  Perhaps there were ancient times of famine which drove us to do eat meat but certainly today, we no longer have a need, we act purely by choice and this choice is causing suffering and ruining our planet.

 

If you are currently vegan,  your contribution is a gift to the planet and your own health.  If you are consuming meat and dairy, then you should understand how your choices are affecting the creatures, the industry, and our world.

For those of you who partake, my ask is that you know your source, that it be sourced as humanely as possible.  While it is true that there is no right way to do a wrong thing, at least in this way, you are walking a better path.  Now I ask that you reduce consumption to 2 days a week to start and reduce further from there.

Since poultry is the hardest most cruelly hit target, you could begin there with scratching chicken off your grocery list. For eggs, there are healthier substitutes but another option is to get your eggs from a neighbor, go out on nextdoor.com and see who may be selling in your area.
Looking online and at some vegan cookbooks will really help you get creative in the kitchen and it can be fun to learn!

When I worked, my husband did all the cooking. Boiling water had me tongue tied. But with the aid of some great recipes and patience, I have created some delightful and animal free, pain-free recipes that are more healthful and sustainable.

If you are a meat eater, try looking at it as an unhealthy treat, because that is truly what it is. And it causes suffering even with the best case scenarios. These animals do not want to die. We force death upon them. And their deaths are entirely unnecessary. The land could be put to far better use growing organic vegetables.

With so many diseases, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, not to mention the superbugs caused by factory farm conditions,  it is high time that we take back ownership of our health. Nobody truly is ever going to do that for you. Instead, they give you a pill for this, a pill for that which toxifies the body and causes other health problems, never treating the underlying concern.  Big pharma is now tied at the hip with Western Medicine and it’s all a money-making machine, rarely in your health’s best interest.

In short, we were meant to live long and vibrantly healthy lives.  The choice is up to us and with each choice we vote with our wallet.  We vote for cruel meat and dairy industry and ill health (for them and us) or we support companies who promote great health.

I am asking for us all to be mindful of our choices and how those choices affect others and ourselves too.