What do you think of when you think of pumpkins? Most think of fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving treats. What do I think of? Australia.
Australia? Yeah, that’s right Australia. You see I have this problem where I connect culture and food. It becomes an imprinted memory that engulfs my senses with the pleasure traveling. I moved to Australia (the first time) in 2005 and studied abroad at Griffith University in the Gold Coast. It’s the place where I rebirthed into a new soul and began to understand the connection between food, energy and wellbeing. I think of Australia everyday, especially when I think of pumpkin. Why? It was the first time that I did not associate this vegetable to a holiday. Pumpkin was, and is, a part of their year round diet. It was popular and a rooted part of culinary culture before the pumpkin craze hit Starbucks and Whole Foods. In Australia, I first tried pumpkin as a soup and as part of appetizer offerings. And with each concoction, I fell in love with the taste of health benefits of pumpkin. Years later, now living in Germany, I associate pumpkin to my European and Australian travels. While living in Germany, pumpkin is an essential vegetable in the German culture. No restaurant or café exists without serving “Kürbissuppe” on his or her menu at least once every season. To say the least, I love pumpkin and order it every time it is on the menu. This recipe is probably one of the easiest pumpkin soups to make. Part of Mind Body Spirit Food cooking philosophy is that I try to ingredients closest to nature and create simple and affordable meals. In this recipe, I used real pumpkin. You can use any type of pumpkin and still create a delicious soup. It’s perfect for using the leftover “insides” of your Jack-O-Lantern. If you live in Germany, I buy pumpkin from the Turkish stores – “kürbis gehackt” – that are quartered pumpkin. You can try this with canned pumpkin, but the flavors and texture may differ. Also, in Germany they do not sell premade broth so everything is made with water and bouillon. You can certainly use premade vegetable broth in replace of the water and bouillon. Anyways, back to the soup. Pumpkin soup is the perfect soul-warming food to eat during the fall months or better yet on Halloween after a cold night of trick-or-treating. Plus, as we all know pumpkin is much healthier than the candy. J If you love fresh, home cooked soup dashed with a hint of TLC look no further than this Pumpkin Curry Soup. Isn't it amazing how nature compliments each other with bright & vibrant food that uplifts the soul? I leave you with a message of what the German’s say – Einfach, Gut & Günstig – or as we say: Simple, Good and Delicious. 
Pumpkin Curry Soup (Kürbiscurrysuppe) Prep Time: 7 Minutes Cook Time: 20-25 Minutes Total Time: 27-32 Minutes Serves: 2-3 Ingredients: 3 cups pumpkin, hacked or diced and steamed (or canned pumpkin) 1 large shallot (or 1 small onion) 1 garlic clove 1.5 tbsp olive oil 2 ¼ cup water with ½ bouillon cube (500ml) (or use vegetable broth) 3-4 tbsp coconut milk from the can* (see notes) 1 tsp salt ½ tsp cumin 1/8 tsp curry (I used mild curry powder) Pinch of nutmeg and pepper Directions: Prep the pumpkin, onion and garlic. You will puree this so big chunks are okay. Cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add the pumpkin, mix and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the water, bouillon cube and spices* (*see note) and cook on a low boil/simmer until the pumpkin is soft. You should be able to spear the pumpkin with a fork or knife. Once soft, remove from heat and puree the soup with a food processor or a hand immersion blender. Once pureed transfer to the pot and adjust any spices if needed. This is a mild curry so if you want more “kick” add more curry. *Note: You can either add all spices at once or just cook with the salt and pepper. Or once the soup is in the food processor, you can add the cumin, curry and nutmeg there. Also, if you want a creamier soup add more coconut milk. I use just under 1/4 cup (1/4 cup = 4 tbsp) so the soup is creamy without the coconut overpowering the pumpkin and curry flavor. A general rule of thumb for soup is that it tastes better after 24-hours because the spices have time to settle and become potent. Isn't it amazing how nature compliments each other with bright and vibrant colors? And for those who want to make it a ghoulishly scary soup – you still can – Happy Halloween! 
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Let's face it, we are all programmed differently. Our parent's, peers, culture, country and media influences how we think, perceive and dream. Some see life as a glass half full, others view life as the glass half empty. We will all experience rough patches and that is okay as we grow from the hard times. But, those who constantly fester negativity need to retrain their brain to see the light in life. Whether you battle a negative mindset, or try to avoid negative people, here are plenty of quotes to overcome negativity.         I spent the last day in the Lagos meandering the Cliffside trails and wondering about the purpose of life. My last day in the Lagos was a new beginning for me. It was the day I published my memoir, Finding Om_. The power of the ocean gave me strength to believe that I can be the writer I always dreamed of. On the beach, I stared at the cliffs in awe about human existence. Embedded in the rocks were millions of years of stone and shells. Exposed in the rock were seashell fossils that put my life into perspective – I am like a grain of sand, just one piece of the puzzle to this complex world that we live in.
I received a massage a day prior from the In Light Yoga Studio located in Old Town. The owner, an Austrian lady, Karuna, is highly gifted in massage. She tunes the body with energy and very few times in my life was I pain free – mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I felt as if I floated into a new body of existence and I did not understand the meaning of pain, suffering and immorality. She encouraged me to come to this healing event. Since I published my book I thought I could use some extra angel juice and decided to attend. And boy, I was glad that I did. The healer, Yulia, opened her session with her life story. She was a Portuguese woman who was born and raised in Mozambique, Africa. She explained that she came from a family of mediums and had her first spiritual experience at the age of six. She was gifted with a message that she would help heal the world. Not able to rationalize her experience, she was told to keep her experience quiet as she would “look crazy” as these things were not accepted in those years. She went on with life working in human resources and later opened her own HR firm that consulted for various large companies. Although successful, she still had medium and spiritual-like experiences that she “put to the side.” She then developed small intestinal cancer and healed it at the age of 33 without western medicine. Thus, she healed herself naturally. She told the class that during her healing she was given two choices. 1. To pursue her soul’s mission as a healer or 2. Ignore her mission and trade her life for not pursuing her “job.” In simple terms, the spirit world sent her soul to heal the planet. Since she ignored the many signs about her intuition and healing ability, the universe forewarned her that if she would not do her job she would not survive. But, a large part of her healing was to accept her gift and the need to share it with the world. Now, death and disease is another discussion, but for Yulia the cancer was her wake up call and she accepted her psychic gifts and abilities. She quit her HR gig and listened to her intuition. Her intuition sent her to places around the world to space clear energy center and ancient civilization. She would spend four of five months connecting, communicating and clearing lands. She would spend much of her time in Mayan cultures and at the Egyptian pyramids where she once lived three lives. Her attraction to these places ran deep, but helped “stuck,” and pieces of one’s, souls heal and move to the spirit world. Today, Yulia continues to heal people and the planet. When she mentioned this I could not help but tear. Death is a hard concept to rationalize. But in order for something or someone (your spirit) to leave the planet, the being must die. I’ve had my concepts about illness and disease whiplashed by the medical community, but deep down Yulia’s story reassured that some diseases manifest for spiritual reasons. Her intelligence and wisdom communicated through her words and story proved that she understood life from a different perspective. I could remember ever since I started writing in high school I knew this was something I wanted to pursue. Thanks to Yulia’s story, it provided the strength to recognize that we all have gifts and should share it with the world.  If you rummage the Internet, you’ll find plenty of articles on why authors should self-publish, but nothing about why you should support self-published authors. Publishing is a tough and competitive industry. But, thanks to self-publishing authors have the ability to share their creativity with the world. Those who are not familiar with the business aspect can discover the what, why and how to better support self-published author.
Countless Hours of Creativity & Sacrifice Those who love to write are passionate about writing, creativity and their production. Even if they are not the most grammatically tuned writer, they write with love and passion. My memoir, Finding Om, took over two and a half years to produce. Of course, there were a couple lapses where I took eight weeks from writing, but those “off moments” were spent in reflection on how to produce a better memoir. To many consumers, writing sounds like a lavish dream where one sits in a beautiful garden and taps away at the laptop. Although many writers have spent time in inspirational settings, most writers must face the hard reality of life. I can only speak from my experience, but I began writing my book while working a full-time job with a long commute. Ten hours of my day were dedicated to that job, which left my mind free of stress on weekends and before work. I gave up my social life and became dedicated to writing. Eventually, (I didn’t like my FT job anyway) I found a job where I could work around 30 hours per week, which left more time for creativity. But, with the weekly hours and wage per hour reduction, my life completely changed. Life became highly budget conscious in order to sustain ever-increasing rent in Seattle. Unless an author has a book advance from a mainstream publishing agency, authors must sacrifice something – time, budget or both in order to produce their work. Seriously, Loads of Time While living in Europe, I began my second book where I am focusing on vegan cooking. I worked as a vegan cook in college and I enjoyed the experience. That skill came alive while having to feed two people and two cats off of a small research stipend. Some recipes I’ve made for years, but most were new creations for the book. The above meal and image took about six to eight hours of work to produce one photograph. For most recipes you have to buy the ingredients, test them between one to three times (if the flavor is not right), think about staging, buy appropriate dishware/flowers, stage the dishware, photograph the food (I never thought photographing bread or pasta would take about 1 hour) and then eventually edit the image. So what sounds dreamy, does take a lot of time, money and creativity. Most authors’ I’ve spoke with say it takes about two years to produce one book. Value of Their Work One day in Hannover’s Old Town, a quirky-looking gentleman approached me as I photographed one of my meals. Fast-forwarding the conversation, he said that he wrote a Sci-Fi novel a couple years ago. Excited, I asked him if he was going to self-publish his work or find an editor. He said that he once had a publisher interested in his manuscript, but demanded a story change and to omit one of the characters. Long story short, he decided not to go with the traditional route as he could not morally “change” his book. As a full-time gardener he claimed that after he pays for rent, food etc. he has about 40 Euros in the bank each month. For him self-publishing is not an option. His dream was to become a writer, but fell short because of ethics and budget (which leads to the next point). But for those who do not understand the publishing world, any author who publishes with a mainstream company does not have 100% control of their work. The editors and marketing team will think and brainstorm on how they think the story can sell. So this means changes to the author’s plots, characters, ideas etc. When an author self-publishes, he or she is in control of his or her own authentic work. Authors Invest Their Own Money & Marketing Today, many self-publishing companies offer services to prospective authors. During my time of quoting companies, some companies pitched a contract for $12,000 for editing, book design and distribution. Plus, any self-published author markets his or her own book. No self-published company offers marketing, unless the author chooses to pay an additional fee. So not only do authors spend years of unpaid hours writing, he or she does invest their own money for production and marketing. Most do it for the passion not the paycheck. But you get authentic creativity and endless dedication for those who will pay to have their work published. Authors are Better Compensated Let’s face it. No one expects to work for free. We all have bills to pay and mouths to feed. Over the last year I researched the publishing market. During this time, I read blog posts and attended various workshops. Many authors and business people encourage authors to self-publish. Why? Because authors are better compensated and the traditional methods are squeezing royalty rates BIG TIME. In the traditional realm, it is common that an author earns 7-10%, possibly 10-15% if they are a successful, multiple-book writer. If you do the math you know the earnings are peanuts, but with a team of people backing them up they can sell a lot of books. Many self-publishers earn better royalties – something everyone deserves from hardwork. You Support a Small Business Today’s business world is a battle between the small business and corporations. Small businesses cannot compete with corporate prices. The same is true with publishing. A major company that purchases 250,000 print copies will get large discounts and can sell 300+ page books for under $15.00. Self-published authors who use print on demand unfortunately cannot compete with big time publishers. BUT you are supporting a small and local business. Self-published authors are essentially running their own small business. It’s like buying organic peanut butter at your local health food store versus the all-natural Smucker’s sold at the big box grocery market. The health food store can’t get better wholesale prices because the quantity is too low. You may pay a little extra, but you know that money goes toward supporting someone living his or her dreams.  Photo courtesy of goyapaz.com Is that specific person in your life a soul mate? Or a twin flame? How do you know the difference? Some use the words interchangeably but the most important thing is to not over rationalize if the person is a mate or a flame.
Before we begin, the one thing to recognize is that with the growth and popularity of “new age” concepts they become “trends” rather than known for its sacred meaning. I may not have all the answers for you, but will lead you to additional resources that you may find helpful. Soul Mate A soul mate is a deep, spiritual connection that can be a friend, family member, lover or acquaintance. Both people can have many traits in common as well as differences. The person “gets you” and both people are riding the wavelength or frequency. The connection is deep and both people enjoy being around each other. It’s not as light and airy as a typical relationship. Universal signs may present themselves when meeting each other and like a magnet there is something attracting you to the person. It may feel like you’ve known each other for a long time or there is a sense of comfort that you do not feel with “ordinary” people. A soul mate is balancing. In simple terms, if looking at a chart of the chakras, one person may be more stable and rooted from the bottom three chakras where the other person is stronger in the intuitive and upper three to four chakras. This makes the union complete and balanced in all areas of our energy centers. So, it is possible that one soul mate is more logical, practical and stable where the other is more spiritual, intuitive and spacey. A soul mate too can have physical looks or markings that remind you of your past. For example, the person can have the same features as your past lover(s) that show a progression for the meeting with this being. Twin Flame Many people have their own theory on this topic. Several months ago, I watched a video from a lady who researched math and geometry as part of her PhD. Her discussion about twin flames said that many people claim it’s the “one soul split into two.” Although this can be true, she mentioned that with the law of math and geometry, what doesn’t make it possible for God or the universe to split that soul into fours or eights? So, is it possible to have to four or 8 twin flames on the planet? From my experience, a twin flame is more of that “mirror” image. So if like staring at yourself in the mirror, you’ll most likely enjoy your twin flame. Universal signs will boom as large as the “big bang” and you’ll experience deeper gut and bodily feelings. There are more ironic signs such as if you like white rabbits, the person may have a white rabbit tattooed on their body. Thanks to karma, you both will be working on your own lessons that have similar stories. For example, both people may have had abusive parents or work in the same career field. You can also have the same career goals. For example, you both may want to open an Italian café that grows olive trees in the courtyard. There will be differences between both people, but there will be no other place you’d rather be than with your twin flame. A twin flame relationship is serious. You both signed up for this lesson to increase humanity’s frequency and it’s your duty to figure “it out.” Like soul mates, not every twin flame will be with each other romantically, but having a mature approach to life and separating spousal infidelity (if married) will benefit humanity. Some claim this is your other half, and certainly time “will stop” when with each other. But time also stops with soul mates. To easily note, both are deep, meaningful connections, but usually twin flames present something more of the same whether its birth mark locations, upbringing or career choices. Have you met a soul mate and/or a twin flame? If so, MBSF would love to hear what you have to say and how you compare and contrast soul mates versus twin flames. I recommend the following link to discover more about the sacred love of twin flames: https://www.youtube.com/user/goldraytwinflames  Photo Courtesy of whitegadget.com In my recent post, I spoke about visitation dreams and why these dreams occur. I wanted to share two powerful visitation dreams that I received from my uncle. Both were important in my life and in my spiritual development. Visitation One On June 9, 2012 I sat with a new friend in a coffee shop in Lower Queen Anne. I received a phone call from an unknown Cleveland number. My instinct wanted to answer the phone, btu I did not want to be rude so I ignored the couple calls. My friend went to the bathroom and I saw an email that said “READ ASAP.” I ignored the email until several hours later. I got an email from my uncle’s friend who said to call the Westlake Police Department ASAP. My gut dropped and I knew something was wrong with my uncle. I thought maybe he did something stupid like drink and drive and needed bailed out of jail. The officer on the phone stated, “I am sorry to inform you but Martin Kovar is dead. It looks like a suicide and we are investigating the scene. He seems to have been dead for a week.” Suicide is sad. Suicide is intense. Suicide wrecks and fucks the living’s mental state harder than one can imagine. For five days straight I did nothing but cry, wonder and worry. At this point in my life, I worked a job that paid fantastic money for fitness and offered the best health insurance in the state. But, my boss was a nightmare and harassed his staff and me everyday. Every day I cried in the car on the way to work as just crossing the city lines felt like a black hole that sucked my soul into a burning hot cauldron of hell. To say the least, I was down in the dumps after his death. About a week after his death, I had a visitation dream from him. It was very intense and included his two pet snakes. This dream I did not particularly remember all the details, but I awoke suddenly with the words, “celebrate life.” For years, I wanted to create a website, but did not know how to brand myself. Because of his death and this insight from the dream, I moved forward with my goal. Several months later, I made a mistake at work that my boss used against me saying I “committed a conflict of interest” scenario. I made a YouTube video about a workout that I was going to offer at the fitness center, but uploaded the video on my website. My boss disliked me because I would not succumb to his threats. My inner-warrior shined and we did not get along in the work place. I had strong convictions about my website and brand because it was spiritual to me. At this time, I also mentored with a talented fitness professional who is one of the biggest leaders in the fitness industry. When I got the notice that the fitness center wanted to “release me from my duties” my anticipated last day of work could have been November 7th, which was the also the birthdate of my mentor. I took this as a sign that I was on the right path to something bigger and better and to release all fears about money. Visitation Two On the night of June 18-19, 2015 I encountered another visitation dream from my uncle. At this point, I had thoughts about undergoing past life hypnotherapy and connecting deeper to the spiritual world. I wanted to know who I was and “see” life on the other side. I don’t know why, but this stuff fascinates me. I lucid dream on a regular basis and my uncle was on my mind recently due to his “death anniversary.” Without knowing, I had a dream where I was living in Germany, but my apartment was in Seattle. I sat at the kitchen table to write and then got up to go to the closet. I opened the door and my uncle appeared out of the closet. He looked the same as I remembered him, but a bit older. I was so happy and elated to see him. Between the two dreams I consulted a powerful psychic who clarified the answers I sought regarding his death. I was not scared and I had a laundry list of questions. I kept saying, “I can’t believe this is real. This is not a dream.” He kept mumbling about stuff, but I became curious to know about the after life. I asked him if there was a heaven and a God. He confirmed and said that when you leave your body God holds your hand and welcomes you to heaven. Fascinated, I kept asking questions, “Are there such things as angels? And spirit guides?” He replied, “Oh yes, angels and spirit guides are very real and they do exist.” I replied, “I can’t wait to tell people about this and dad will be so happy to see you again.” I remembered getting said because I could not see him in the awake state. He said, “You know I’m okay. It had to happen. Stop being sad about my death.” Deep down I knew he was okay, but something inside of me wanted to overcome my happiness with sadness. Because well, suicide is sad and human life is precious. I asked him about his pet snake that was still alive after his death and after our conversation he seemed sad or anxious and disappeared for a bit. The dream continued and my husband, dad and sister appeared in the room. I said, “I can’t wait for you to see Uncle Marty again. Just be patient, I promise he’ll reappear.” Out of the closet, my uncle appeared and sat at the kitchen table. I turned to my family and said, “I can’t believe this. This is real right? This is not a dream, right?” We all turned to each other, and they were stunned at what they saw. My dad replied, “This is definitely real. This is not a dream. I can’t believe this.” I think they were shocked but the feelings I felt were that, “okay okay, she’s right with her spiritual beliefs.” When it was time for him to go, he disappeared into thin air and my dream continued. I think the dream served many purposes. One was to say “hello,” but allow me to connect to the spiritual world. I knew after a decade of “finding myself” I felt ready for this next step. I share these examples because these dreams played a purpose at different stages of my life. Even if a soul visits to resolve issues, it’s for you and the soul’s highest good. If you’d like to share a visitation dream, please do so in the comment box. Also, if you are a dream expert and would like to provide insight to my examples, I welcome any comments.  Photo Courtesy of www.whitegadget.com If you ask a psychologist what they think of dreams their logical and rational opinion will differ from the opinions of a spiritual person. Dreams are incredible insights that bridge the gap of communication between the spirit and the material world. But, there is a noticeable difference between a regular dream and a visitation dream.
What is a visitation dream? A visitation dream is a hyper-intensive dream where a deceased soul or loved one visits you in the dream. People who experience a visitation dream claim the dream’s intensity feels real and can remember vivid details. Some may disregard the dream as nothing special, but those who are open and not fearful of the experience can find answers, closure or insight to that soul or their life. Why do visitations happen in a dream? Visitations occur in our sleeping state because the five senses and ego are at rest. This allows us to tap into our sixth sense and intuition in order to allow for these communications to happen. In the waking state, many people disconnect to their spirit and block receiving intuitive information. Plus, most people who cannot define their relationship with the “Source” would “freak out” and are not open to hearing messages or seeing visuals. Why do these dreams occur? These dreams occur for various reasons and at any time. Visitation dreams occur for several reasons such as: -A loved one recently past. They “show up” in the dream to notify the living being that his or her soul is okay. -A soul needs closure and needs to communicate their feelings to answer or resolve something that happened during their physical life. -A soul visits you to inform you of a problem or clue to living a better life. Often when we are lost in life the spirit world shows up to direct us to the “right” path. Or the soul is there to provide comfort and love during a rough time to assure you that everything will be okay. -A soul may visit just to visit. If they’ve been on your mind a soul may pop up to show their presence or strengthen your memories of them. This also occurs for those who are grieving. The soul wants you to know that they are okay. What do I do after the dream? Depending on your level of comfort, it is important to write down the dream. This is beneficial when looking back at your spiritual growth. The second is to analyze the dream. Were there key insights or assurances to questions you’ve had? Can your mind rest knowing that your loved one is okay? Humans are complex beings and our layers of emotions get jumbled with the ego. Being open to visitations during the sleeping state progresses you to having signs and signals from past loved one during the waking state. Some souls visit to show you that there is life after death where others return as a spirit guide. The answer is within you and your intuition. Only you can interpret the meaning of the dream and their presence. If you’d like to share your visitation dream, please do so in the comment box. Click here to read about two intense and vivid visitation dreams that I have had about my late uncle.  Photo Courtesy of Pinterest.com The mind is like a box of nuts, you can enjoy them one by one with a smile on your face or over-analyze the texture, shape and taste of every nut. In simple terms, overthinking, rationalizing and analyzing every detail in life can lead you to the nut house.
First, I am the queen of overanalyzing. Overthinking has led my mind into deep and dark places, which is why I fled to India to find sanity at a yoga sanctuary. I cover the nitty gritty details in my memoir, Finding Om, but my mind bounces between the light and airy aspects of life to the deep watery trenches of questions. I’m a genetic concoction of two cultures that I love including the “no worries” Australian and “logical and rational” German where I think and think and think until my mind blows a gasket. I guess that’s part of the deal as being a Gemini ascendant (in Vedic astrology). Because I know this, I must care for my mind and be cognizant that I can overthink details.I pretty much live my personal life as a laid-back, "go with the flow" person because in the past I've overthought life details until my eyelids twitched. It's part why I am forever thankful for living in Australia at 20 because their culture broke my neurotic thinking patterns. When I moved to Germany, I “studied” various spiritual and non-spiritual people. How are some spiritual people I know constantly struggling in areas of life? And how are some non-believers in anything-cosmic flow with ease and abundance? Some of this has to do with the person’s vibration, and some of this maybe part of the life we signed up for, but my friend once said, “I think one problem with many spiritual people is that they overthink things too much. They worry too much about what negative forces attached them and overanalyze every sign and detail.” I, as they say in German, “made a pause,” and reflected on this information. I looked at my own present and past situations and found validity in his answer. I tested myself and stopped overthinking certain things. And ironically, situations flowed with better ease. Sometimes we get caught up in tiny details and forget the bigger picture. I notice this a lot in the dating world where people “freak out” because the guy or girl returned a text message hours later. Overthinking is overdriving common sense, logic and creativity. I feel that many work situations over-analyze details and people want an explanation for everything. What if there is no explanation? Fixating on the smaller details ignores the bigger details. In the above example about text messages, if I am in a creative zone I do not look at my phone or email and return the message when I can give my full attention to the message. Maybe the person you are dating is similar? Long-term overthinking leads to a destructive path of worry, fear and eventually anxiety. When anxiety strikes, panic attacks trigger the body with chaos because you overanalyze one’s silence or the cause of something. It digs a deeper ditch and is harder to crawl out of that mindset. What can you do to help with over thinking? It’s not easy, but there are ways out of the black hole. First, challenge your beliefs and thoughts. If your boss didn’t talk to you, an overanalyze may think he or she did something wrong or has poor work performance. Do you think your actions or words affect your life? One way to battle this is to think of other situations until you fully know the answer. Maybe your boss has personal issues? Maybe he trusts you to be independent and not check in all the time? Next, redirecting your attention to something else benefits your mind. When you see yourself start to analyze a situation, think or focus on something else. Also, write what you want in life. If you feel stuck at a dead end job, write what you want such as, “I want a job that is meaningful to my beliefs and engages my mind.” Mindfulness is one of the world’s most powerful tools. Once you develop mindful techniques you will notice that your brain is not on autopilot when stewing issues and problems. Mindful meditation is one example of how to retrain your brain. To sign off, I leave you with this – “The unexamined life is not worth living.” - Socrates When was the last time you took a vacation? Are you stuck behind a desk for 12 hours per day? Are you so busy that you can't breathe? These quotes are to inspire you to live your life. Not tomorrow, not today, but right now. We all have dreams and goals to accomplish in this life, but when you put that one-percent effort you are inching your way forward to living your life, goals and dreams. Some quotes you may recognize, other quotes were jokes made by friends in regards to working too much. So, how do you want to live your life?        After years of presenting continuing education courses to fitness professionals, we often talk about the palate. When presenting, I find the topic of food as the most interesting, but challenging as everyone has their own opinion on how to eat.
Many fitness professionals eat healthy and can’t understand why their clients choose a certain type of food. As the presenter, I replied, “Please raise your hand if you have an extremely clean and healthy diet.” Everyone raised his or her hand. I then said, “How many of you can taste the chemicals when you eat something “bad” such as diet coke or something processed like chips and candy.” Most raised their hand (because still many fitness professionals slug diet pop because there are no calories). The one vegan lady in the class nodded her head in agreement and said, “Oh my god, you’re right. I can even tell the difference between homemade and store bought almond milk. I never buy the store stuff.” I replied, “So if you can taste every chemical-laden food. What do you think your clients taste? If their palate is bombarded with sugary and poor-fat foods, no wonder why they think a salad is the most boring meal on earth. It has no taste or satiety that the brain is craving unless its covered with croutons, cheese and milk-based dressings. This means it’s time for palate change.” How do I change my palate? There are many strategies and methods to doing this. On average, a taste bud’s life span is 10 to 11 days. Taste buds do not die. The cells regenerate. This is noticeable after burning your tongue where it takes several days to gain your original taste. The best option is adopt a gradual change. Very few people can drastically switch from an unhealthy to a healthy diet. I coach an “Add, Replace, Eliminate” method. This means adding fruits and vegetables to the diet without changing anything. An example would be adding vegetables to your pasta or burger. The next step would be to replace. Are there are healthier versions of what you eat? The final step is to eliminate. This means eliminating things that no longer serve your highest good. This does not mean you can’t ever eat cheese and chocolate again, but it depends on where you are at mentally and physically in your present stage of life. Some people who have adverse health effects from dairy choose to eliminate dairy completely or eat it on occasion. No coach or person can choose your lifestyle. It is up to you on how you want to live your life. I will share a personal example of how my palate reacts to coffee. For many years, I bounced between drinking only coffee and tea. I moved to Seattle as only a tea-drinker, but eventually got caught up in the espresso lifestyle. After two and a half years of drinking coffee, I became Reiki certified and my physiology began to change. I felt uplifted and vibrant. Along with this change, I noticed effects from coffee. My stomach burned and I developed heartburn. The coffee jitters became worse along with my breath. I only noticed these problems when I consumed coffee. Some days I switched to drinking chai tea bags and the symptoms went away. For a couple weeks, I bounced between coffee and tea. I knew it was time to eliminate coffee since my symptoms returned. I will continue this story in another blog, but this is an example of how eliminating a food served my highest good and health. |
AuthorElizabeth Rae Kovar M.A. is Author of her memoir, Finding Om and is a Fitness Trainer, Yogi, Reiki Master, Presenter and Lover of Life. To view her portfolio please visit www.elizabethkovar.com 
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