Living with awareness...

Of what is going on around me.

Instances of time and shifts in mood and momentum.

Feeling just a little bit anxious at this transition of starting to push out of my comfort zone to grow beyond my fears.

What are your fears? Mine is public speaking...and yet, I have a desire to help people make more conscious decisions about food, thoughts and life balance. So - I have to get out of my comfort zone if I want to reach lots of people right?

So, with this little fear I am trying a few different mental tricks which have worked in the past (more for helping me get to sleep when I am anxious.).

The first is mentally (or I could do this physically too!) writing down on a large letter size piece of paper all my fears which are preventing me from moving forward, taking my time to be thorough and get it all on there. I then scrunch that paper up into a tight wad, using all my strength (physically or with imagination) I launch that ball as far into the distance as I can, beyond the boundaries of the universe where it can no longer bother me (or you could just throw it into a nearby fire with the same result :)

Or I can address the fears head on - to that end I have signed up (and paid for, eek!) - for a course which will tackle my public speaking issues over a weekend and teach me tips and tricks to own my speaking space and project myself with confidence and has been highly recommended by a friend. I'm also often re-writing my mental script - day and night I am picturing myself as a strong, creative, interesting public speaker who turns challenges into opportunities...this course is a necessary investment to my future because I have big possibilities brewing and I want to stamp out my fears along the way....

So that is my initial approach, I will let you know how it goes in a few weeks!!

In the Beginning...

This is me.

I love the mountains. I love working hard to get to the top - and soaking up the vista, wondering at these ancient landforms that have seen countless generations pass.

Over the years I have become vulnerable to negativity, scandal, sensationalism, status quo and ego - just like many other people. But this year, I am fuelling myself differently -

I am feeding my mind,
                                     feeding my body,
                                                                 feeding my soul -

all that is positive - as much as I can....AND

                                                                 trying to share the love, share the energy.

For my mind that means turning off the news - scandalalous you say! I may not know what is going on and which celebrity is the latest to be a passing star, I may not be tuning in to the latest airline crash and all the speculation that goes with it....but I think I will be okay. Instead I will tune into inspirational tv and radio, enjoy some music to dance to, be motivated by others stories. I can catch up on the news by asking my husband if there is anything important I should know about (yes, there are many many things going on which are important but at the end of the day we need to prioritize what we can change).

For my body that means feeding it with nutrient dense foods. Let it be known that this is not a 100% strict "diet", it is doing everything I can at least every other day to be healthy - but allowing myself to ENJOY the occasional indulgence (after all, "occasional" equals highly enjoyable). I have read many many books on nutrition and tried to work out what is best for my body. For the main part I have settled on a mostly paleo approach because this works for me - for now. Life is ever-changing so who's to say I won't be vegan in ten years??? Never say never. Oh, and obviously moving my body is big on the agenda - I have a goal to set the world record for the 99 year old freestyle in the pool so I have to keep my mobility and fitness up in preparation :)

For my soul, I pursue growth. Learning about what life means to me. Much of this comes from reading...but then again a lot comes from living in the moment and noticing that which i would have overlooked before.

I also want to see what happens when I set intentions to be open to people and their worlds, value everyone's uniqueness...and try to share some positive energy with them.

So that's it....let's see where this goes!