Are you ready for Success in 2015? Are you Ready for a Kick-Start?

Success in 2015

I know my husband is going to be successful. Click here to read more...Success in 2015

Wishing you a Healthy Happy Holiday!

Wishing you a Healthy Happy Holiday! Click here for my gift to you!

What can the movie Maleficent, Love & Play teach us?

What can Maleficent, Love & Play teach us?

I was on my to Cancun last week for the first vacation that my husband and I have taken alone in 6 years.  One thing I know for sure, and preach often, is the importance of rest and repair.  Sometimes it is hard to practice, especially if you are used to working and your healthy ego is fueled by a sense of success and accomplishment.

I surrendered to play as I watched the movie Maleficent with my husband (who has no trouble with play). Now I feel renewed energy to write, something that I love to do, but don’t always give myself permission to dedicate the time and discipline to do. I so loved the messages from this movie! 

First message, from Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), “Don’t believe the fairytales and everything everyone tells you.”  I agree, as written in a previous blogpost titled,  Rethink Everything. There are always two sides to every story.  This is why one of my favorite Broadway shows is still Wicked; I have seen it in three different cities.  We are neither good nor bad, we are both.  When we get stuck in one belief, in one dogma, at best, we feel there is a battle or internal struggle to overcome; at worst, we end in war where everyone loses.

As I said in my book, “What you focus on is what you get” which is why we will always lose the war. This is true for the war on cancer and the war on drugs, as proven by rising rates despite the billions we pour into the effort. When we demonize ourselves, and our enemies we only increase the conflict.   Love heals cancers, addictions and broken hearts.

How do we best heal ourselves? We recognize that we are neither good, nor evil, we are both. We are human, each of us have the capacity for great good as well as great evil. If World War II taught us anything, it should have taught us this.  When we deny these feelings in ourselves, we deny our humanity. 

When we deny the capacity for both imperfection and evil within us all, in order to support this false belief, we must demonize others.  We are then blinded by our “position” by our dogma. Also, when we see others as evil or wrong, it creates suffering. 

Instead, if we view others as neither good nor bad, we can surrender the need to change them, and fall back on the only thing we have control over, which is our own free will. 

We can choose to love or we can choose to hate. We can choose greatness or we can chose evil.  When you choose to take personal responsibility for your thoughts and our actions, only then can you realize how you create your own reality.  When you let go of the need for perfection, you will begin to practice compassion for yourself, and you can surrender the need to control others.  This allows you the freedom to focus on your self, the only person you can possibly change.  Listen to your body, to your discomfort and view dis-ease as a messenger, not good or bad, but as a logical consequence of the need for a course correction.  This is how to turn fear into curiosity.  This is when and how you determine where it is that you want to go.  This can be fun and empowering.

King Stefan’s greed (fear of not having enough) caused him to wound Maleficent. Malefiicent’s hurt, anger, and rage caused her to cast the spell on Aurora.  She did not believe in true love, as her heart had been broken, neither did King Stefan, which is why she cast the spell that could only be broken by “true love’s kiss”.

What no one counted on was the power of love.  Neither the King nor Maleficent knew how the love of an innocent child could warm and mend even the worst wounds of the heart. 

When we care for a child, like our beloved pets, we model unconditional, trusting love. Maleficent discovered how a child could love her even when she didn’t love herself.   We also witness the power of play and laughter to warm the heart and the spirit.  The ability to chose to see the best in others and to act in faith, to do the right thing and believe that when we break down our walls the universe will provide what we need. This includes both the painful lessons that tell us where we don’t want to go and the joy that ensues from following your heart.

Yes, Aurora was right. It is time to question everything and then rewrite the script towards love (of self) and empowerment!

Carpe Diem

Thanksgiving Thoughts, Recipes & Black Friday Offers!

What is it that you really want this year? Is there one thing that will make your heart sing? For some of us, we really do not want or need more things.  Maybe there is one thing that will make your life easier, or make you feel sexier, or have more confidence or feel more loved?

In reality, don’t we all want more connection, love, peace and joy?  Isn’t that what the holidays are really all about?  If this is so, then why are we all so stressed out this time of year?  I love to give. I identify myself as a giver and a healer. (Although I really don’t heal anyone, I just guide and support you on how to heal yourself).  But often, as in the case with givers and healers, we are so busy giving that we lose connection with ourselves.  Or we end up giving more than we have.  Do you have a hard time putting yourself and your own needs as a priority?  Do you let all of the small things crowd out the really big important things and then feel exhausted, burned out or or even resentful?  I know this all too well.  I used to go to bed with a migraine headache on holidays.  The expectations are so high for the perfect meal and the perfect gifts as if they are a reflection of who we are.  There is so much pressure to consume, from spending money to overindulging in sugar, and alcohol to be “Merry”.  It is no wonder that we are all addicts.  Yes, I said the taboo word, we are all certainly addicted to sugar and I believe that is where most dis-ease begins, in the gut.  I have a whole lecture series on the new medicine of how this is now proven by both ancient medicine as well as new functional medicine. Fortunately, we don’t have to give up sweetness to overcome this and thrive.

This year I have the privilege to bring healthy food and recipes to several events to demonstrate how we can be kind, loving and nourishing to ourselves as well to our taste buds!  Food is the foundation for health and can either be energizing and life affirming or lead to diets, deprivation and death.  Yesterday, I catered food for a wonderful sound-healing event with Jim & Ashley Cash from the band Woven Green and Ana Medina from Awe Healing Arts. I brought raw vegan pumpkin pie (that really is to LIVE for!), raw cranberry sauce, “better than tuna” wraps and pumpkin chia pudding.  I had one man say that he was allergic to gluten, dairy, soy and corn and was forced into a Paleo diet and begged me to buy the pie right there!  It really is that sinfully delicious.  And easy, fun and fast to make, no baking required! I have enclosed the recipes below so you can enjoy them for Thanksgiving.  

These recipes use dates instead of processed sugar. The Fiber in whole natural food helps to slow the absorption and effect of sugar in the bloodstream and insulin secretion.  High insulin secretion not only leads to many diseases, it also leads to an increase wrinkles and aging! 

Mark your calendars for December 21^st for a Winter Solstice Celebration @ 4pm at the Unity Church of Chantilly, VA for another sound healing event.   I will also be doing a healthy food demo for The Amen Clinics 25^th Anniversary Open House and will be on the local TV show, Lets Talk Live News Channel 8, December 15th talking about how to use food as medicine to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Stay tuned because I bet it is not what you think!  I’ll talk more about that in the coming weeks.

So what is it that you really want this holiday season? Is it more peace and joy or maybe just a little more energy?  So how about a gift of health for you or your loved ones? I have several offerings this season. 

1.     First, in honor of BLACK FRIDAY, I will offer 25% discount for my 21 Day online Kickstart to Wellness Program to start Monday, January 5^th. 

2.     Of course my book Savvy Secrets is also a great holiday gift with more recipes for living and you can purchase it now on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=savvy+secrets+in+books

3.     The ultimate gift to you of course, is one to one coaching.  I will also honor 25% off for those who purchase this on Black Friday. If you have been thinking about this, now is the time to honor yourself, get the support you need to prioritize you and your goals. Schedule a Discovery Call now: http://www.carpediemwellness.org

Please know that I am so very grateful for those reading my blogs and for any feedback, comments or referrals you may have. Witnessing your personal and professional transformations keeps me energized and inspired! Thank you!

These recipes are from my friend Luzy Perez from classes we’ve taught together. She also offers sprouting and raw food classes:

Raw Pumpkin Pie

Crust:

1 Cup Dates

2 Cups Pecans (soaked overnight)

Pinch Salt

The Pecans should be soaked overnight and the dates soaked for 20 minutes.  Combine in food processor and pulse until mixed evenly.  Press into a glass pie plate.

Filling:

2 cups pumpkin meat, peeled, seeded, chopped

1 Cup Dates soaked for 20 minutes and drained

½ Cup Almond Butter

½ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp cardamom, 2 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp cloves, 1tsp ginger root, grated, fresh

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree.  Spoon filling into crust and serve.  Refrigerate to get a firmer pie.

Cranberry Sauce

So simple and delicious, Why would you ever open a can of cranberry sauce again?

INGREDIENTS

2 Cups Fresh Cranberries

1 Cup dates, pitted

1 Apple, cored and quartered

1 Orange, peeled, seeded, quartered. Zest saved for 1 tsp orange zest

In a food processor, process cranberries, apple, orange, orange zest and dates only until blended, but chunky.

Health note: For those with gastric ulcers, cranberry juice has been shown to help resolve H.pylori infection the same way it does for bladder infections by prohibiting adherence to the stomach and bladder walls.  Overgrowth of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori can cause gastritis as well as weaken the stomach lining leading to intestinal permeability or “leaky gut” creating all kinds of disease.  Be sure to buy organic and unsweetened cranberry juice as sugar feeds the bad bacteria in our gut as well as causing spikes in insulin.

Happy Thanksgiving and Carpe Diem!

You only have this day and this moment to live life to its fullest.

Lisa