Blog

Ah Youth...

I have recently been reminded that I am an adult with adult "problems" and responsibilities. This isn't a bad thing. I've also been reminded what it is like to be young and to have your whole life ahead of you. Perspective is a good thing and you can't have it without a few life experiences under your belt. It's great to be have a youthful vision and not be hampered by all of those pesky experiences that may hold us back as we get older.

I have been reminded of where I was when I was 24. What I was doing, where I was going. It was an exciting time in my life. I was making decisions, asserting my individuality, paying bills, moving across the country with my dog to go back to school, and following my passion and my dreams. No one could tell me what to do. I was determined and ambitious and it was for the best.

Now I'm almost 20 years older and still doing many of the same things, but with a bit more of a background story. For better or worse I have a foundation. There have been relationships, parties, fun, joy, excitement, and newness. There have been many places I have lived, lots of roommates, and lots of travel. There has been illness, recovery, depression, poverty, and more illness. There have been a lot of friends and a few enemies. That is the beginning of a journey. They say it takes about 10 years to master a profession; how long does it take to master life?

0 Comments

Hypnotherapy

I wrote last time about wanting to change beliefs and that I was planning to try hypnotherapy. Many people will use this for smoking cessation or over eating. There are as many applications as there are people. I went to see if I could resolve some negative belief patterns without years of therapy. I would say the jury is still out on that one, but I did find it helpful.

I went to see Bette Epstein at Heartsong Hypnotherapy in Dallas. I met her through her dowsing classes and my curiosity was piqued when she mentioned she also practiced hypnotherapy. Bette's appointments are 2 hours long, about an hour and a half is spent in traditional talk therapy. We talked about what I was there for and what results I was seeking. She had a lot of personal experience with my particular subject. After we talked she asked me to sit in a recliner and get comfortable and she hypnotized me. Was I hypnotized? Did it take? I was very relaxed and she spoke to me, I was not asleep, I was aware of what was happening. I don't know that I have results I can measure.

0 Comments

Thought Patterns That Limit Success

I have a number of thought patterns that I know don't serve me. They have inevitably come with life experiences, and while consciously I know they are not true they still reside in my subconscious. I know I'm not the only one; I see it every day. What we believe consciously or subconsciously will permeate our reality and how we experience life.

I want to change my perception. I want to confront these embedded thought patterns and change them so that I can do a better job at living my life and be the best I can be. I want to progress to a place where I can move past these limiting beliefs and take a genuine compliment, know I'm good enough, be satisfied with my appearance, and allow genuine recognition to be accepted.

I know I could go to a Psychologist or a counselor, but I am going to try to get at the root of the matter by going directly to my subconscious and reverse or erase these limiting thought patterns. I am going to try Hypnotherapy. While I am aware that many people consider Hypnotherapy quackery, I personally believe in going to the root of the problem if at all possible. I believe healing can come in many different avenues and not one thing works for everyone. I want to know for myself if it is possible, and I will be sharing my results in a future blog post.

If you have had success using Hypnotherapy to tackle a problem I would love to hear from you!

0 Comments

Chocolate: What You Don't Know

I recently taught a class on chocolate, which I've been wanting to do for a long time, and in the process did some research. I learned that a chocolate bar is pretty much a miracle. That we can get chocolate for the price we do - even for a premium bar is relatively cheap - especially considering the amount of labor that goes into the production. After the class I read an article that gave more information on the why it is so cheap and was disheartened with the information.

As in many other industries in third world countries that produce luxury products for consumer driven countries "Slavery, child labor, kidnapping, injuries from unsafe working conditions, beatings and, at its worst, murder, are all in the mix." http://www.care2.com/greenliving/fair-trade-chocolate-a-myth.html#ixzz2L07TbjOf Growing the trees is a lengthy process, and when they are mature enough to begin producing pods they must be harvested by hand to prevent damage to the trees. The pods are then processed by hand and in the best circumstances take a bout 5 - 7 days to get to a point where the beans are ready to be dried for storage. Every step affects the quality and flavor. It is all hand labor.

0 Comments

Foot Reflexology - a fine line between pleasure and pain

I have friends that swear by Chinese Foot Massage and so sometimes I go along. According to Chinese medicine and reflexology there is a belief about the macro in the micro. What this means is that in various smaller or micro parts of our body like the face, ears, hands, and feet we find areas that correlate back to other larger or macro areas of the body such as our eyes, ears, lungs, heart, stomach, intestines, kidneys, and sex organs. In a Chinese foot massage they combine an accupressure massage focusing on some accupuncture points on the organ meridians and reflexology.

0 Comments

Learning to Dowse with Bette Epstein

I really don't remember how wanting to learn to dowse came up for me. I remember my mom had a pendulum at one point, but don't remember seeing her use it. I had some conversations with my brother a couple of times about pendulums and how to use them. I lived out in Ashland, Oregon a few years ago when I got my pendulum and have used it off and on. When I lived out there I looked into the American Society of Dowsers, but never got around to following up with them.

For some reason this New Year it came up for me again and I started looking for a teacher in Dallas and I found Bette Epstein. I contacted Bette through the American Society of Dowsers website here, but you can also find her website here and learn about her story and what she does. Apparently there used to be a very large group experienced dowsers that would meet once a month, but no longer.

0 Comments

The January Garden

This month I started a year long CSA with Garden Inspirations. They teach you to garden through the year. I have a couple of years of gardening under my belt, but thought this is a great opportunity to learn more, get organic produce, and get to know some new people. It's really nice to be working with others doing this work as I usually do most of it alone at home. We drew for different areas to garden and had choices of vertical garden, square foot garden, and I got the hay bale garden!

I had never heard of a hay bale garden. It's 4 bales of hay assembled in a cube with a hole in the middle and filled with soil, topped off with compost in the center and over the tops of the bales. You then plant in the center and water the bales for 10 days. They begin to break down and you can plant in the bales. As they decompose you get more rich compost. Very excited to be learning this.

0 Comments

Success - Support Marilyn and the DFW Truck Farm!

Marilyn Simmons of Garden Inspirations asked me if I would sponsor her with her goal of losing 60 lbs for her 60th birthday. She is doing it in conjunction with the DFW Truck Farm Fun Run and will walk the course. I'm so proud of Marilyn for taking steps to improve her health. She wants to live a long healthy life and she's not just thinking about it or talking about; it she is taking action and getting help. She is getting support from family and friends with exercise; people are walking with her. I helped her with a plan to make better choices with her food and she is getting help with cooking foods on the plan because she has a busy schedule.

Success is so much easier to come by when we have the support of our friends and family. Marilyn has been on the plan for less than 2 weeks and has lost 15 lbs; that is an amazing start to her goal. She's a quarter of the way to her goal already. She made the commitment and is enjoying the success. If you would like to sponsor Marilyn, all proceeds go to the Truck Farm, you can join her by meeting up and walking during the week and/or you can sponsor her weight lost starting at $1.00 per pound up to her 60 pounds! There's a lot of interest, email now to join in on the fun!! FARMGIRLS@gardeninspriations-tx.com Subject: Challenge.

0 Comments

What I'm Eating: Curry and Recipe

Curry or curry powder is mainly a Western notion. Many Eastern countries use a variety of spice mixtures called masalas to season foods and they are influenced by national or regional cultural tradition, religious practice, and to some extent, family preference. I don't have a problem using curry powder when I'm in a hurry though and want a highly seasoned and generally warming meal. Many of the spices used in commercial curry powders have a warming energy such as cinnamon, mustard, garlic, and cayenne to name a few on my bottle. These spices and herbs also have properties which help to nourish our health. Making your own has it's own benefits among them fresher taste, but like I said when I'm in a hurry I'll reach for the bottle.

You can find different varieties, hot, mild, Pondicherry, etc. Find one you like. I'm using Simply Organic Curry Powder I got at Whole Foods right now and I was using an old Pondicherry mix - a Whole Foods brand someone gave me. It was delicious, if I could find it again I would use it. If you don't want to invest in a whole bottle and try a few check out the bulk section at Whole Foods or Central Market and see what they have available. It might even get you making your own masalas!

Here's what I have been eating - and love it for breakfast.

Lisa's Breakfast Curry with Poached Eggs

olive oil

1/4 jalapeno, sliced

2 - 3 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1t curry powder

0 Comments

My Winter Garden

I orderd my seeds a little late this year, but have a some new sources I'm excited to share with you. I ordered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and Horizon Herbs this year.They are both dedicated to bringing heirloom, rare. and non gmo seeds to market.

I am getting some really unusual seeds this year to try out in the garden. From Baker Creek I ordered Beurre de Rocquencourt Bush Wax Beans which were reviewed as being very good tasting (better than green beans), Dragon Tongue Beans which I planted last year - they are easy to grow and I liked them a lot - I'll probably stagger the planting of these so I can get more, Sugar Ann Snap Peas - mmmm, fresh snap peas!, 2 types of eggplant - I like the Chinese varieties I'll be trying Ma-zu and Ping Tung, a spined cucumber that is supposed to taste like a tropical fruit called African Horned Cucumber, a winter squash from Georgia called a Candy Roaster Squash - supposed to be good in pies and roasted, and some sour spring greens for soup and it's also supposed to be a good spring tonic herb and paracitacide - Sorrel.

0 Comments

Blog

Pages