"hey girl, i like your pants!"

- a chick on the subway declares to one of our heroines in Candace Bushnells book Lipstick Jungle.

wouldn't it be a nicer place if we more often gave each other a verbal thumbs-up?

i often miss the moment, think to myself, damn i should have said how nice he looked, or how lovely her voice was. maybe it's shyness, praps laziness. as australians, does it come from our too-far-in-the-past-to-actually-be-blameworthy early english occupation?

because it's really nice to receive a complement, gives you validation, makes you smile.

praps it's all part of learning to live together - god knows we need to.

so let's work on this together. let's every day tell one person you appreciate their hair style or their fit body, let them know when they've done a wonderful job or shown you some kindness, when they've let you in in traffic, or held open a door, when their eyes sparkle or their pants look hot, whatever.

go boldly, have some fun, make the world a sweeter, cheerier place. please.

the expression of our souls purpose

re yesterdays blog and desideratas use of the term 'career' - exquisite ms zenfacial sent me her perfect way of describing the word 'career':

"the expression of our soul purposes expression"

dreamweavers

wow! just spent a couple of hours in the company of two very beautiful positive women, nutting out a concept for a future collaborative venture - what a buzz!

empowered and motivated i've raced home, and after a qwik kitchen whip-a-round grilling organic chicken and steaming leek for dinner, i've jumped on-line to blog.

i've realized that i shine when i have a little project boiling away (not being a kitchen kinda-girl, i don't get my creative rocks off in the kitchen, for me grilled chicken and leek, grilled fish and veges and salads are the extent of my culinary skill). but i like to create stuff, always have. i make birthday cards, i write, i re-fashion clothes, you get the picture. i love to create with creative people. a couple of weeks ago, i had the enviable opportunity to work yet again with an incredibly creative 'sound explorer' karim sai of caravan.

it's like creativity is the v-power in your everyday life. without our dreams and endeavors, life seems a little dull. in the prose poem desiderata it says:

" Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time".

i take the use of the word 'career' to mean individual 'gifts' or hobbies, not just work or your job.

we all have interests in different areas, we all have individual skills that when practised not only grow into expertise but in the doing of them we find happiness, contentment, life outside of time, a very human expression of being. no other being on the planet can create as we can, dream into being.

everything you see around you has been dreamed into being. thought about, figured out, acted upon and physically created.

for utopia on earth we can together create; weave some dreams, live your life in it's most beautiful expression.

the power to say no

if you're an australian reading this you're probably aware of the sexual harassment case - a young woman suing her boss, that's about to go to court.

the way i live is to try and learn lessons from all ‘happenings’. from an injured leg to a tsunami, i see them as opportunities for spiritual growth, personal freedom, a better world. i try to remove judgment and with an open heart and mind come to understand what the 'happening' has to teach me.

this case has made me realize that it is australian law that the onus is on the perpetrator to gage the response of the other person as to whether or not what they have said or done is inappropriate. this means that it’s up to the person who is experiencing the act to SAY SOMETHING. i have never felt i could.

some people are way cooler than me, they are witty, confident even blaze with their message of “back off”. in the same situation i am horrified. it freezes me and i end up going along with it all, afterwards feeling small and dumb.

this ‘happening’ for me was revelatory. i MUST perk up and voice my feelings even if at first it comes out all wrong, i’ll get better. the responsibility is on me as it is on all of us, to create a more cohesive world.

the situation may not call for intervention from other parties, all it calls for is the power to say no.

just do it

i don't often feel mournful about the passing of time. it's a dead-end situation. but mournful i felt today that i'm in my 40s not 20s.

i guess it was brought on because tomorrow i am doing a session with a beautiful woman in her early 20s who wants to "tone and lengthen". how do i best convey to her that she's perfect just the way she is - everyone is at her age.

but i remember me then, i thought my hips were chunky, it's all i'd see when i looked at myself, now i notice the slight sag of my inner thigh skin. when does it end?

i know at 60 i'll look back at myself at 40 and think "i was a bit of alright", and at 80 do the same again for me at 60. on and on.

but i know i get kinder, i see me with more compassionate eyes. i see my strong body cause i live in it well, and i see the real me closer to the surface - able to experience a richer life. these are results of my thoughts and actions of now.

it's never too late to reflect to the world your wholesome life choices. start making them now. it's never too late to begin a truce with your body. do nice stuff, take care of yourself, if nothing else at the end of your day, soak in epsom salts, or plain old cooking salt, add some essential oils (lavender's sold in supermarkets and pharmacys everywhere) and spend time in the bath clearing and cleansing your mind, body and spirit of crap you don't need.

make your life less of a struggle, do it for you now, do it for the you in 20 years time. just do it.

A quote I read today...

"The key to developing a beautiful physical appearance is to start from the inside out by clearing away physical and emotional toxins."
- Anne Louise Gittleman

Water anyone?

Age Power!

So I've been reading this fab book called AGE POWER - the revolutionary path to natural high-tech rejuvenation, by Leslie Kenton.

I've been folding pages over as indication of information I want to return to and remember. No kidding, a third of the book is now folded.

One chapter titled 'Green Supreme' is about stuff most of us are already aware of like 'green foods regenerate and rejuvenate your body, they are powerful angi-agers', but the folded page holds the following gem: 'Seed Power' - 'The seeds of broccoli contain 60 times the levels of sulphoraphane - the most widely acclaimed phytonutrient in the war against cancer and ageing - than broccoli itself'. Here's the best bit - 'buy packets of broccoli seeds, add springwater to germanate, let them grow 5-12 days before harvesting at their zenith (the moment the young internodal tissues start to elongate to form a stem).

Inexpensive fresh foods of phenomenal health-enhancing value, right there in your kitchen!'

Too easy, what are you waiting for?!

dhamma diva!

two weeks into my return from a 10-day vipassana meditation stint, my eyes are still twinkling.

it was freezing, it was fustrating and it was very very worthy.

if you ever need clarity about a situation happening in your life, i can highly recommend a sojourn at one of these wonderful centres which are located in most countries, world over.

apart from learning and practising mediatation 7 hrs (yep!) a day, you spend a good deal of time trying to gently redirect your mind away from the constant flow of life experiences stored within.

i figured out how to shoot my dvd (happening tonight!), had a startling experiential realization that i am not my outward personality, slept deeply, ate delicious vegetarian meals and armed myself with an incredible mediation practise which, so proud of myself, i have continued, twice a day (30-40mins) since arriving home.

it makes me calm and cool and confident (you may snigger, but it does), it makes me smile and laugh easily, it makes me feel i am achieving something extra special everyday.

try it...

Vipassana Meditation Website: www.dhamma.org
Homepage of the organization which offers Vipassana Meditation courses as taught by S.N. Goenka.

sending metta, xk

When you're happy and you know it...

I can hear you clapping! YAY!
Instead of poor-me-ing through your day, clap your hands. That's right, every time you catch yourself thinking, speaking or feeling negative - clap your hands. Try it, just for an experiment to see what happens, i dare you...

do what’s in front of you

Do you ever feel like a loser? sorry to ask, it’s not something people do often are and most would not readily admit to it.

But i do and the other day my gorgeous make-up artist friend did. so maybe we all do, some days. our consumer society thrives on us feeling this way - ‘go and buy more to feel better, look better, be better’.

So to share my motto in such times: “do what’s in front of you”.
don’t question or judge, do the dishes, slip on trainers and walk out the door (and around the park), I guarantee the feeling will pass.
to quote a piece of universal wisdom “this too shall pass”.

sum total

The following is borrowed from Germain Greer in her book ‘The Change’:

“A grown woman should not have to masquerade as a girl in order to remain in the land of the living. The result of capitulation to pressure to do just that, has resulted in a gallery of grotesque, whose pathetic attempts are the staple of our gossip magazines.”

Strong stuff but I agree.

I love using natural oils on my skin, a natural exfoliant every couple of days. I get a little sun while exercising some mornings or in the late afternoon, at times wearing sunscreen, sometimes just a cap. I don’t wear make-up unless I have to. For the majority, healthy food is my staple though I do enjoy yummy things, my line is that they keep me sweet. Lots of yoga and swim here and there and two long walks a week, plus drinking lots of water. I will not abide negative self-talk, complaining or ‘poor me’ attitudes. My life is filled with love – my partner, family, friends. I make it my mission to relax, rest and sleep well.

All of these things make up what I look like.

Lately some women have been telling me how with this cream or that treatment I could minimize my wrinkles and make me look better. They might, I could.

But here’s my experiment: I’ll stick with natural products and let others make their own choices to puncture, inject, cut etc; We’ll reconvene in five years and compare.

For what it’s worth, my current unisex skin care regime:

Organic Rosehip oil rocks as a facial moisturizer, assisting skin renewal and resilience. For mature skin mix 5 drop of essential Rose oil to 20mls of Rosehip. Emu and coconut oils are wonderful as body moisturizers, absorbed best after a warm shower. Through the day spray Evian or other water spray to hydrate your face, paw-paw ointment rejuvenates lips. Wash with a face washer sprinkled with a few drops of essential lavender.

I’ll probably glance at my reflection a couple of times throughout the day but I will not dwell on trying to find out what is wrong with how I look.

I am the sum total of my actions, my face and body reflections of how I live.

Double Down Dog

Welcome to my new years resolution – a blog update each week.

The end of 2009 brought grandkids to one of my dear clients’ home. With great respect I observed their unwavering patience as two year old Cloe joined our morning yoga sessions, bringing with her a myriad of musical toys, endless “whys” and that sweetest cheeky-joy children are filled with.

True yoga was practised as we continually brought the focus back to our positions and our attention back to our breath. The disruptions a joy-filled two year old brings, required we deepen our commitment to our practise and though challenging, I’m quite sure there wasn’t a happier downward facing dog pose being practised in Sydney each morning.

Led by witnessing the endless warmth of Mr and Mrs D’s love shown to their grandchildren, I embraced the challenge of teaching these sessions and was experientially reminded that in the path to serenity, acceptance and patience are essential.