Mindful Acts In the Making

What does being mindful mean to you? For some it is paying attention and for others it is being focused. For me it means to be aware of everything that is going on inside and outside of me. Let me share a few examples of mindfulness. I am aware of the blue sky and the chirping birds and the dew soaking into my sneakers as I cross the grass in the morning to smell the blooming flowers in the backyard. I am aware of the smile lines forming at the corners of your eyes as you listen to a song on the radio that invokes memories from when you were a teenager. I am aware of the sense of joy that relaxes through my body when I pull into the driveway after returning from a trip away from home. This awareness is in the energy that we are all a part of. It is all around us and in all things. Our minds are very busy. Studies show we have as many as 60,000 thoughts each day! To be mindful we have to quiet our mind. It is beneath these thousands and thousands of thoughts that our inner peace resides. Within that peace rests our mindfulness. We find in that peace a place of pause. We find enough time and space to embrace the blue sky, the birds, the dew, the smiles, and the joy. We can be present with these glorious gifts that Spirit sends our way throughout our day.

We all have the ability to quiet our minds. It takes intention and practice. Starting small is best. Allow a few minutes a day where you bring mindfulness to the moment. Just be present with what you are observing. If other thoughts enter, sweep them away. If you are watching the sunset, enjoying the wispy clouds, the pastel colors the sun has painted across the sky and the golden rays sinking beneath the horizon and you suddenly think about calling your son’s teacher about an assignment…sweep that thought away and revisit the sunset. Assess how you feel as you watch the setting sun. How is your body responding? How are the birds and other creatures responding? How is the light shifting? Stay in the moment as long as you can. Each time you do this you will find it gets a bit easier and easier. You may find you begin to look forward to it. You may find you turn to this practice at times when your thoughts are overwhelming and getting the better of you. Patience and practice. Your mind works so very hard all day long. Being mindful gives it a moment of graceful pause. And your body and spirit take delight in this space of awareness.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

The Power for Tomorrow

We live in a society where people are applauded for standing out above the rest. This gives one the perception that anything that is not exceptional is less than. Yet, how many of us live moments that look like a script from an award winning television show, or with a golden award hanging around our neck or or awaken to thunderous applause. Many are caught up in a game of competition. This type of living brings many of my clients to my door asking me, “What do I do with the rest of my life?” They are looking for a special vision, an important mission, a unique calling. They feel inadequate without this. What they are missing is that they are looking to others, looking outside of themselves, and comparing and contrasting their life with others for the answer.

The answer is not outside of them, but instead it is within them. That is where the call lives. It takes great courage to be able to BE with this. It takes understanding and inner strength to release the need to be better than others. It takes understanding that all one needs to be is the best that they can be at any given moment.

This allows us to let go of the need to think about what others are thinking or saying about us. It gives us the room and the grace to live by our own principles. We develop a courage to ask ourselves growth producing questions. It allows room for us to explore and discover new concepts and see how they fit with who we are.

How you choose to view the life you have right now, how you choose to live it, to be with it and to explore it is the greatest indicator of how exceptional you truly are. So many people live lives of judgment and opinions of others. To refrain from this practice and to instead place the energy and focus on their own lives is where inner truth resides. Being authentic with our self and practicing this authenticity daily gives power to our tomorrows.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

The Vegan Foodie

Oh the ripe tomato! How succulent and sweet! I climbed back into my car giddy with excitement and anticipation. I had just stopped by my neighbor’s small farm stand and made a purchase of six pounds of the most beautiful red orbs. These along with shiny green jalapeno and perfumed cilantro and the beauty of the red onions I also purchased would be the deliciousness of the fresh garden salsa I would soon be making. Being vegan suits me. I am a real foodie! Most people think that vegans, vegetarians and any other non meat-eating group cannot proudly hold that title. I beg to differ! My palate recognizes the subtlety of flavors. Daily I review recipes for the next meal. My weekly menus include enough variety and flavors that the Culinary Institute would be tickled. I love to experiment and try new foods and food combinations. And I am a processed food snob!

While I am compassionate to animals and honor their place here on this earth, it is not the eating of animals that offends me so much as the mistreatment of them, the slaughtering methods used and the ignorance of the consumer about this. It is so easy to be a meat eater when you can go to your local store and purchase neatly wrapped ground meat on a Styrofoam plate, as opposed to having to look it in the eye as it is slaughtered or trudge through the smells and sights that come after that.

I am also a vegan because of all the health benefits that are publicly out there for everyone to know, but still we ignore for the most part. Studies have shown us that the main reason for the obesity epidemic and the increase of disease in the United States is due to our consumption of processed foods, the amount of animal protein we put on our plates, that even a savory food like spaghetti sauce has sugar as it’s second or third ingredient, that we consume more milk products than a family of young calves and that most people eat very few fresh fruits or vegetables a day. No, french fries do not count!

I have had people tell me that they would like to try being vegan or a vegetarian but they are afraid that everything will be tasteless and boring. Or they are fearful that they will have to live on beans and rice. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Last night’s dinner was homemade grilled spinach “alfredo” pizza! Amazing! The night before, red quinoa pilaf with Vidalia onions, green bell peppers, and crimini mushrooms with roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts on the side! Flavor, flavor, flavor! We have treated ourselves for the past two nights with homemade brown rice and pecan pudding made with coconut milk. Yum! None of these dishes required any more work to prepare than if I had made “traditional” recipes. (If you want the recipes, let me know!)

So, yes, I do believe you can be a vegan foodie! I know you can eat a healthy diet that is full of variety and flavor. I welcome you to try any of my recipes and put them to a test. Then, let’s talk! Until then, reserve your judgment and meet me at the farmer’s stand and we can discuss what to make with the bunches of rainbow chard he just harvested!

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

A Sacred Clearing

Don’t you feel wonderful when you have taken a cluttered table or corner in your home and sorted through it and cleaned it up? Humans have sought cleanliness of their living space, both physically and energetically, throughout time. The word hygiene comes from Hygeia, the Greek goddess of health and cleanliness. Throughout history, we have had a longstanding relationship with our land and the life that evolved there. Even today we appreciate having harmony with our land and seek to manifest peace within our home. There is an ancient tradition of house clearing that evolved in Ireland and Britain and it holds, even today, strong spiritual traditions. This “clearing” actually is a shamanic practice of bringing balance, respect and communication with the spirit realm. The shaman listens to what the message is from the spirits of the land and/or the home.

Looking to shamanic practice, how does one clear their land or home? The first and most important step is to listen; listen and bear witness to the land’s story, the story of the ancestors who sat upon this land before us, and as we listen we sit without judgment and only bring awareness to whatever message we receive. We pay close attention to what we feel, see and know. Pay attention to waterways around the land. These were once believed to be the nervous system of Earth as they allow for energetic communication throughout the body of Earth.

Sometimes we may feel we are communicating with spirits of the land or of the home itself. Offering respect to these spirits as well as honoring what they bring to the land is important. Sometimes a Shaman is needed to come to the property to act as a practitioner to the clearing process. It is through their role that a healing can occur and a honoring and respect of the connection to all those who live or have lived on this land being a part of the whole with the land.

The land, its ancestors, the spirits who hold it energetically to them and those who now wish to reside there can all coexist in harmony and in respect. The honoring of the union of all this, the healing or release of whatever is cluttering the path of this alignment, the remembrance of the history and the celebration of the life unfolding creates a balance and a blessed space for one to live in and create a homestead upon.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade