Vegetarian Comfort Food

I have reached this point in becoming a vegetarian where I want comfort food but I do not like the traditional forms of comfort food. The deep fried and covered in chocolate make me feel happy when I taste them at first bite, but the further I chew the less I like what I am eating. I have been learning to cook new things with different combinations as I am not really into the substituting this veggie and that veggie in the place of meats or pastas. Yes pastas. I know they are not considered meat, but my body does not feel filled or fulfilled when I eat it. I can feel the food weigh down into my body. It is interesting becoming a spiritual vegetarian. I did not decide to start this journey life handed it to me. I had been transmuting energy and really facing myself working through each of my chakra points for 2 years. I was cleansing what kept me from my goals, facing my fears and really balancing my chakras so I can be the person I want to be. I am not quite there yet, but I am a long way from where I started. When I reached my heart chakra my spirit started to reject meat. It will be a year in July. I have had some meat throughout the year, that which my spirit would allow me to have on occasion. Lately I have made the transition from eating pasta to replace meat to eating more veggies in their own dish. The meal I share with you today feeds my soul, my body, and my mind. I feel complete on every level. Feeling complete I feel balanced and full and content and I have really good energy considering I have slept all of 3 hours last night and it is 6 pm here in South Korea.

I am not quite sure what to call this meal, but it is a veggie stew with cauliflower mashed potatoes and Quinoa.

I started by sauteing cabbage and onions in coconut oil. I added one package of Lipton Onion Soup to it once the cabbage and onions began to get a little see through. I continued to cook them for a little longer to my desired consistency.

Next I took it off the stove and covered it so that the heat could stay inside. I then cut up two potatoes into cubes and added them with baby carrots to spaghetti sauce. I added water to the spaghetti sauce and let the carrots and potatoes boil to my desired softness.

While this was cooking I started to bowl my cauliflower. The recipe for the cauliflower mashed potatoes can be found on food network. I did not use the chicken bullion.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mock-garlic-mashed-potatoes-recipe.html

 After my cauliflower was ready I finished making it into mashed potatoes. It was about this time the potatoes and carrots were cooked so I added flour to the mix to make it more gravy like. And I also started the Quinoa.

When the gravy for the potatoes had a little bit of time to thicken I added the mixture to my cabbage and onions.

Finally the Quinoa was ready and I piled everything in layers starting with the Quinoa on the bottom and the cauliflower mashed potatoes on top of it.

Finally I layered the veggie stew on top of it all and sat down in my quiet house and had a moment of peace with my food!

Vegetarian Style Quesadillas Simple Recipe

My son is in a transition from being a child to a young adult. I think it is important for everyone to know how to take care of themselves independently and cooking is the greatest skill I can teach him. Like many of us he is at that point where it seems burdensome to have to cook a big meal and he also does not really know what goes together. I let him get in there and find his way around the kitchen but when he starts eating cereal instead of cooking I know its time for me to step in. Today I showed him this simple recipe that can feed him healthy food that he can cook. It is great because he will have the meat portion of this meal in abundance and can eat from it for many meals. My son has started becoming vegetarian because it is a transition I have made and the lack of animal meats in the house has influenced him. I still make animal meat for my family if they want it as this is my journey and not theirs, but they have followed suit. So when I mention meat I am talking about the hearty portions of food that we eat. We hear the word meat used in vegetables and fruits. It is the part of the fruit or vegetable that is under the shell or skin that is edible. I have used pictures for this recipe because that is just how easy it is to create.I have added a little potato salad as the side for this meal. You can make it on the stove or in the microwave. Heat up for between 1-1 1/2 minutes in the microwave just enough to melt the cheese and heat the meat.

Happy Eating!

Kinetics of Retrogrades....featuring Upcoming Mercury Retrograde

There is a lot of buzz about planetary retrogrades and how or why they affect us here on earth. Some say that retrogrades are a bunch of bologna. This is far from true so I have moved to Kinetic Science to explain this wonderful energy to you. The planets are in a kinetic alignment continuously moving in a pattern. One affecting the other. Kinetic energy affects our lives on many levels it is energy that is continuously moving and is cycled by one energy connecting with another to create movement. Many people have read my stuff or attended my classes so this will be a little redundant but I have to write this in here for the people who have not had the experience. To begin to understand Kinetic energy many times it will be described using the person peddling a bicycle. The transference of force energy from the person to the pedal that creates motion is known as the kinetic energy. Kinetic energy continues to happen on a deeper level inside our bodies with our atoms and molecules and then on a larger level with the planets.

We know and feel the earth spinning although we have become use to the speed we still know that the earth spins at 1,040 miles per hour. As the planets are in line with each other. When one planet slows down and begins to move at a rate so slow that it feels as if it is moving backwards. I like to compare this to two cars going down the highway together at the same rate of speed when the other car goes from 70 to 30 in just a few seconds we feel a pull on our energy and it throws us off balance for only a moment. This is the same thing that happens when a planet goes retrograde. We feel the pull of the energy as the planet slows down and send things off balance. The planets are aligned much like the chakra points in our bodies each one set a a vibration based on its distance it causes a different affect on what happens here on earth when the planet retrogrades.

Our ancestors knew how each planet affected us based on information passed to them by people who visited our planet and communicated with them. This sounds crazy, but not so crazy if you read the information from our ancestors. They had knowledge of the planets coming from the external portions of space into our solar system. They could describe the planets but never had they been to them. Even if you look at the nights sky we still need a 3-4 inch telescope with lenses to begin to see the planet Mars. Yet according to history telescopes were not invented until the 1600s between Galileo and Lipperhay.

All this aside lets talk about the upcoming Mercury Retrograde. Mercury is the planet of communication this is why we feel the Mercury retrograde more than any other. In relation to the chakras Mercury would be the throat chakra. The throat chakra is very important as it is the central point in our energetic bodies that communicates everything. A retrograde is also a time of cleansing. In its negative influence you are able to get rid of cycles and patterns you do not need. You may have found yourself rather upset about something you would not have been upset about. Sit and mediate with this. This is what is coming for you to work with during this retrograde. If you choose to ignore it, it will only grow worse over time. Retrogrades are a time of deep reflection. They pull up whatever we need to work on and even if we are not willing to cleanse life is always naturally balancing us. So you will go through it even if you don't want to. The difference will be in the energy that you are putting into the changes that are coming. Retrogrades are also the most potent in change energy. So what ever the base energy you are putting into it will be the energy that becomes your garden (so to speak) when it is over. This is why it is best to voluntarily work with the energy and through the problem. You have the universe on your side so let it guide you! Keep yourself at peace and love when you can. And honor your emotions in a positive light when you need to express them during this time. This will help you to plant positive energy into the negative void and create a positive outcome. This is known as transmutating the energy. You get the opportunity to make that which is negative a positive.

So here is the forecast I put together for people during this retrograde period. Always honor yourself and life:

Everyone who is feeling the shake ups and tremors it is about that time Mercury Retrograde is coming. This is a time when it is best to face yourself and find the greatest of patience. Things will get fun in ways that we do not like or expect but hold tight to your love and peace it will be what creates the ground that will support you through. And when you are through it, this will be the energy that will set the tone that will become the changes that are coming with this time in life. Retrograde lasts June 7-July 1. So why are you feeling this now? We are in a waning cycle which is all about cleansings which ends on May 28th. This will be the height of cleansing power. Then we begin to move into the waxing period in which energies build. Retrograde energy also starts to flow between 7-14 days before the actual retrograde in order to prepare for the retrograde coming. This is a good time to sit with the things that have been holding you back and to give them over to a higher power. In this giving you are giving permission to the universe to help you cleanse them and bring in new and positive energy. As you do this it is known as tying your energy into the retrograde. This is the energy that the retrograde will focus on. It will help you to feel less shaken and stirred as the retrograde moves through its cycles. You have amazing Full Moon energy coming up on June 12th which can be used to fuel and ground life into the positive things you have been working on. We are also moving from Taurus to Gemini in this retrograde and then from Gemini into Cancer towards the end. This shows that the time will get chaotic, but it will end in a positive energy. Hold strong to who you are and you will find a positive way through!

4 leaf....5 leaf....6 leaf clovers.....

I just had a rare and beautiful experience! Today was a really lucky day! I found a 4 leaf clover, a 5 leaf clover & a 6 leaf clover in that order. I was baffled so I looked up the meaning. Four leaf clover is luck. A leaf clover is extra good luck and attracting money. And a 6 leaf clover attracts fame. Don't know all these things will happen but it was really cool! I had to share this with the world! :) 

Early Release of the June 2014 Holistic Newsletter!

Where to start when developing your spiritual energy.........

I always start everyone in the same place with the same set of meditations when developing your spiritual energy. While your higher self will always guide you to the right place many people have not learned to listen to their higher self and need some direction on where to start. Everything seems so complicated and there is so much information out there, but where do you begin. I like to begin with you! We start with the root chakra and meditate with its energy for a full month. This is not 30 days it is just the month. You start July 1st and end the last day in July. I know the months are not even, but this is a great practice to get into to help break up the monotony we are use to. It prepares us to understand that energy is not on a regular schedule and while there is some consistency in nature we begin to understand that life is about being able to be fluid. I like to start people with a basic pendulum meditation that they practice every day for the month. You sit with the pendulum and think only about the chakra point you are in for that month. We begin with the root chakra for one month, then the sacral, next the solar plexus, then the heart, next the throat, then the third eye, and finally the crown. This takes us 7 months to get through. Each month we begin to get stronger and deeper into energy. As we work with each chakra point we start by just feeling what is going on in that chakra point. What thoughts come to you as you think of this chakra point? This will tell you the types of energy or memories you have stored in it. You may find memories that make you angry or thoughts that bring you to unrest. When you find these feel peace. Come to balance with them. This is what you will need to work through to bring this chakra point to balance. Also when you feel the energy in this chakra point feel how the energy flows through it. Are there parts that feel blocked or hurt (the pain reveals blocks). You want the energy to flow freely and balanced. Use the color from each chakra point to cleanse and balance your energy. The pendulum will deepen your connection to the movement in each chakra point as it reacts to the energy flow. I like the pendulum because it makes you feel more connected to your energy on a physical level and we stop thinking of energy as an invisible force. When you see the pendulum move while you are the one holding it and you are not physically moving you begin to realize just how powerful your energy is!

After the seven chakras and getting to know you on a deeper level you then transition to getting to know life for the next 5 months. You work in the five elements just as you worked in your chakras (1) earth, (2) air, (3) fire, (4) water, and (5) spirit. This will give you the best ground basis for working with energy and knowing energy. You will understand how it flows inside of you and in the rest of the world as well. It is in the time it takes, a year and a day that you will take the full voyage of changing your thoughts and opening your minds eye!

Brain Activation Meditation

When we first begin to work with our chakras and energy there is a simple exercise that will help us to develop our brain muscles. Since we haven't been working with all the parts of our brain some of the brain is under exercised. The brain is a muscle just like the muscles on your body, but instead of picking up things the brain transmits electrical volts of information to the entire body and receives the electrical information back as well. As we begin to work with the chakra energy we are pushing more electrical information through our brain as well as using other parts of our brain that we have ignored. The deeper I get into meditation and my spirit the more I notice the use of my brain just behind my crown in the top portion of my head. My third eye or frontal lobe also gets more use as well. This can cause fatigue and aching. Practicing the brain meditation at least once a day when you start and then at your own discretion after it has been developed will help to keep your brain from feeling the overload from use and extra energy.

The brain meditation is a simple, easy meditation in which we deepen our awareness into our brains. We feel each portion of our brain through the use of thought. As we think of a portion of our brain the brain muscle responds accordingly to the section we are thinking of. I like to use pictures from time to time, and especially in the beginning. The pictures help us to see parts of our brains that we would never think of. The brain is deeper and more complex than most of us know. I have included pictures of the brain from many different points of view to give you the most complete exercise you can have. You can chose which pictures you want to work with on which days, and how long you want to work with them. Be gentle as you think of each of these places in your brain. Become more aware of the power of your thoughts and the amount of energy you are transmitting with each of them. Think from a gentle power, an intermediate power and then a forceful power to see how you react to yourself. Once you have created this reservoir of knowledge you can then feel how much power you put out in thinking normally. You may be over powering your energy on a daily basis or under powering it. Be gentle when you feel each portion of your brain. Thinking harder will not make your brain stronger than when you think gently. Exercising your brain is not like exercising your body. The power comes in learning to control the energy as it flows through your mind. As you learn this you will learn to control where it flows as well. Strength comes from learning to be balanced in both peace and strength. To be fluid like the wind. Energy is a mixture of air and water if you try to force it you will not be able to control it. If you flow with it and become one with it you will be able to change the directions. The more you try to force this energy the more grounded you become you become denser and less fluid. The more you flow with it the more sparse your energy becomes allowing you to change the channel of flow just with the power of thinking it.

Simple Muscle Meditation for Stress Release

There are many meditations, but I love the simple meditations that allow me to destress during times when life is hectic. This meditation is simple. Keep in mind that meditation is the method for creating a deeper level of mental awareness. In mental meditations we work with becoming more aware of our actions. When we become stressed our body's have a natural muscular response of tensing up. There are two points of the body that are the central control of this stress when wanting to release it, your hands and your tongue. When we are stressed our natural body response of muscle tension our hands will close into fists and our tongue will press strongly against the roof of our mouth. Our muscles also have memory response so when we do not take the time to destress from a stressful situation our muscles will stay in the same position they were in when we were stressed. This makes the body continue to respond to life as if you were still stressed even though the situation you are in is relaxing and peaceful.

First we start with the breath. Breathe in and breathe out from your diaphragm about 5 times. Each time allowing your body to fall deeper into relaxations. If you are in public you can do this through your nose. Be gentle with your breaths and you will not attract extra attention. Let go of the place you are at. You disconnect your energy from everything else. This can be done and you can still pay attention to the meeting or concert or any activity you are in. We do not need to be fully alert with our energy or our muscles to respond. You will notice that when you disconnect and relax a little that you can take more of what is going on into your consciousness with better retention as well. You will also notice that your response will be quicker because you are more prepared to respond from a state of peace than you are from a state of tension.

As you breathe feel your hands and tongue and how they are being held. Open your hands slowly and see if they stay open on their own or if you have to work to keep them open. If you have to work to keep them open use the breath to relax your hands and feel the tension flow out until they are relaxed. With your breath you can now check your tongue. How does it sit in your mouth? Your tongue should be loosely hanging in your mouth. If this feels weird at first it is because you are use to being constantly tense. It may tickle a little at first to separate your tongue from the roof of your mouth. As you do this you will feel the other muscles in your body relax. Your jaw will become less tense, your shoulders will relax, and breathing will become easier and more natural.

Another great time to practice this meditation is in bed and throughout the night. Many times we will tense as we sleep causing us to have hard sleep, or less sleep, or no sleep at all.  This is a simple mediation that will help you sleep better at night and function better during the day!

The healing of my body with castor oil

Another interesting tidbit I learned to help with pain this week is castor oil packs. I cannot find direct castor oil out here as of yet, but I have found the hair & scalp conditioner which can also be applied to my body. I was so fed up with my swelling in my hip and having to lay around on ice for up to 8 hours just to get swelling relief at times that I began to research other methods...holistic methods. This led me to finding out how castor oil helps detox and reduce swelling while promoting healing. I sat on this information for months as I needed to feel safe to use it. It is a huge jump we take from being on synthetics to trusting everything that we have been taught to be afraid of. But after so many years of pain you begin to think a little differently. I have loved how the herbs have helped get my autoimmune system balanced and the swelling has been reduced, but I have not been able to fully get the pain out of my hip all the time. And it continues to reoccur when I do. So I said to myself life only gives you answers try it. I have used it on my hair and I am still alive and ok and it has been on my scalp and my brain still works why not try it on my hips. Within minutes of applying the pain was fading and within about 10 minutes it was gone! I did some extra research and found this website that I think is pretty interesting as it talks about all sides of castor oil! I have also used it on my shoulders, ankle, and knee which have been bothering me and had the same results! Still learning down this road, but what I have learned so far has been very beneficial and healing!

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/28/castor-oil-to-treat-health-conditions.aspx

The journey to healing the mind, body & spirit.......

I am in the middle of a fasting I started last night. I did a full fast for 24 hours and then decided to do a partial fast for the next two days to see how my body does with the fibro. I felt my spirit strongly tonight as the food settled inside of me. My spirit felt sad and hurt and angry from both this life and many before it. My spirit is crying out for love to heal. I started healing my mind (ages 21 to 28), then my body (chakra works for 2.5 years), now it is time to take time to heal my spirit. I have been feeling strong blocks on trying to get things done where I use to be more productive. But as I have just finished my chakra works as of last month ending in my crown chakra I now realize that my blocks are because I cannot just work with two of the three parts of me. I thought that working on my body using energy was balancing my soul, but that was only one part of it. And I only realize it now how the process of healing had to go. I now know why life brought me here to seclusion. I would have never sat with myself if I was still in the states. I am always taking care of others. I love it, it fulfills me to watch people discover how amazing they really are, to see that light of love for themselves radiate throughout their mind, body and spirit makes my life feel strong in meaning. But as a healer we have to learn to take time for ourselves. I did not know how much healing I needed right now as well. I have learned that the most positive personality, acceptance and forgiveness are just one part of it. And while I have learned over the years to love myself deeply it was only parts of me that were receiving it fully. So now I start of the final healing journey of healing myself, my spirit. It is time to be with me and love my soul so that it may be cleansed and be free!

On this journey the secret lies in my breath it is the food that I feed my soul. I have to learn to breath properly all the time. This is something I have been working with for many years and while I am better at it I am not perfect yet. As I sit here and right this I notice that my breath is much more loving and kind as a breathe where before I just breathed to bring in oxygen as a automatic response to living. My meditations will focus on the way I breathe and how I hold my body as I breathe. I let go of tension and feel peace. After so many years of stress my body's natural breathing state has been tense and forced. This is why my soul is in so much pain and needs healing. I demand so much from my soul and do not give it the love it needs or deserves. I think I do, but my actions show differently. My intentions and thoughts are always to love myself, but my actions need to be the same.

The Power of Your Breath!

We do not often consider the power of our breath, but it has a great impact on our mental, physical and spiritual health! Sleep apnea, migraines, body and joint aches, tense & stressed muscles, and many other ailments can be healed or lessened through the breath. I was at the doctor the other day and we were talking about sleep apnea and how it can cause pain as the muscles are not being oxygenated. I went to bed that night and noticed that my arms were tingling and my hands were numb. This had been happening for about three nights. I said to myself lets breath properly while I sleep. Then I did proper breathing exercises (gently breathing from the diaphragm) as I fell asleep. Not only did I stop waking up with my arms tingling and my hands numb, but the pain I was having in my hips and lower back was gone. I began trying the exercise of focusing on how much I breathe and is it proper breathing through out the day. I realized that I do not breathe very much at all, and when I do it is very shallow. This is an everyday and night practice now because I have to train my body to breathe properly. I know this will take time as it takes time for us to create any new habit. But I have noticed I am not as fatigued or in as much pain when I breathe properly and this makes me want to continue to practice something so simple as my breath!

Pain Relief Meditation

This is a deep meditation that can take some practice to be able to do. It requires you to be able to sit in complete silence and peace with your pain. You start with the breath. It is the breath that will take away the pain. When we are in pain our breathing tends to shallow and we also do not breath as much. You will find yourself holding your breath. This is a natural reaction of the body when it is in pain because the oxygen going to the muscles increases the circulation and cause the pain to amplify. But over time the lack of oxygen causes more pain. This is because our muscles are not getting enough oxygen to support our circulation system which results in our immune system not being able to help naturally heal us as well. The breath will be difficult at first to master especially because you are in pain. The second hardest part to master is the peaceful state of internal being that you have to remain at. When you start breathing properly during this meditation you will become energized it is up to you to allow this energy to gently balance into peace so that you can promote healing. The energized energy is a distraction a natural avoidance response because you are working to heal a part of you that is in pain. You do not focus on the area of pain when starting this meditation you focus on your breath at all times and peace. You begin in your brain and work your way down through every muscle in your body all the way down to your toes. You do not rush through this. This will take time and the first 100 times through it you will probably fall asleep at some point. This is natural and normal! Do not get frustrated with yourself. The ultimate goal is to be at peace and harmony with yourself on every level!

A proper breath comes from your diaphragm. As you breathe in your stomach will get larger. As you breathe out your stomach will get smaller. Be gentle as you breathe do not take hard breaths. Be at peace as you breathe. You will find that some places hurt as you breathe as if there are blocks that you are moving through. These are energy blocks. Do not try to power through them this will only make them grow stronger. You must focus on the peace and allow them to relax away! This is like if I have a hurt emotion I do not want someone being mean to me I want someone being nice to me. Your energy is hurt, be nice to it! Love it! Love you!!!

Holistic Times Newsletter First Edition March 2014

http://celestialazul.com/index.php?p=newsletter

How to Make 5 minute Porridge

The biggest lie/excuse we tell ourselves when starting the path of healthy living is "I do not have the time". Many of our favorite stuff only takes minutes to make. We feel that if we are waiting in McDonald's for 5-15 minutes in line that we got our food fast because we did not have to put the effort into cooking it. I have found over the years that I actually spend more time waiting for food that is not good for me than I take in cooking the food that is healthy for me. I also started to learn that there is much more to eating than time. I have noticed that since leaving McDonald's food alone except in emergency situation (such as I am out and cannot get home to cook & have to eat before my sugar levels drop. And then only eating a salad or a yogurt) my body feels a lot better! Food has gained more value than simply the stuff I fill my body with when it is hungry. It has begun to become what I enjoy both while I am eating it and afterwards! In this I have been spending more time getting to understand how food goes together. I like to spend one day a week cooking larger meals and then dividing them in Tupperware so that I can eat it throughout the week. I will spend 2-3 minutes heating up my food that is healthy rather than standing in line for 5-15 minutes for food that will make me feel unhealthy!

This is a bit of an introduction to get to my 5 minute porridge recipe but this is how I came to learn about how to make 5 minute porridge. It is a really simple process and I enjoy my oatmeal every morning! First I add water, sea salt and the oatmeal to the pot. I turn it on a medium heat. When the water comes to a boil your oatmeal will turn instantly to porridge texture. I stir and turn off the heat. Then I add organic raw sugar, raisins, dried fruits (cost about $1-$2 a bag), and almonds. My husband loves to add a teaspoon of peanut butter and melt it into his. My son loves it without the almonds and several different dried fruits like blueberries, pomegranate, and cherries. Make it to your liking! One of the great things about learning to eat healthy is rediscovering your taste buds and getting away from the common foods or turning the common foods into exceptional foods! Experiment & Enjoy!!!!!