cherry blossom - olivier rasir, oli

colour lifts our spirits

our home has been a very neutral space - muted tones, lots of white, for some years now.

three weeks ago mum and dad lent me a coloured kiln rug - quite large, all vivid pink, purple, orange and green. it sparked something in me, a thirst for colour and almost overnight our living space began to change.

a hot pink coffee table in an op shop wouldn't let me leave without it, oli proud and businesslike bustled in with a fab and sexy fluro green and pink painting he'd just whipped up in his studio and promptly hung it on our living room wall. i fell in love with a purple dot painting by Roslyn Napaljarri that we added to our entryway. the white bookcase was replaced with orange cubes one-on-top-of-the-other. plants on our balcony are starting to flower...

Spring is here!!

once a model, always a model

it's not just that i'm still modelling, 25 years and counting, that i'm into the third day of a grapefruit fast.

it's because i have a sore and swollen knee that's been x-rayed proving there is nothing broken - it's just inflamed and fat in modelling parlance.

the local GP pronounced "arthritis" promptly eliciting anti-inflammatory drugs.

research on the net tells me that arthritis is an umbrella term for more than 100 different conditions effecting our musculoskeletal system and caused from a build up of oxidised rubbish in our bodies, and over-use.

i'd never change things to not win gold, silver and bronze medals at state athletics that i did as a kid, and i loved playing saturday morning netball throughout my teens, plus i make living teaching yoga, so what's a girl to do...but suck it up.

and i have been...grapefruit juice for two-and-a-half days now.

grapefruit contains the anti-inflammatory and skin-cleansing enzyme bromelian. they are the mildest citrus fruit in acid content and have strong antiseptic and mucus-dissolving properties, they are also mild in sugar content.

raw foods guru David Wolfe says

"How To cut Cellulite Fast - Drink only fresh grapefruit juice or simply eat only grapefruits for three days."

yeah well, summers coming up and did i mention that i'm still a model.

a funny thing

pain - sure doesn't feel funny

but have you ever realised when you have a sore something-or-other, that the moment you laugh and joke with a mate, your pain's gone - you've forgotten about it, it has ceased to exist in those moments.

Shigeaki Hinohara Japan's 97-year-old physician educator says

“Pain is mysterious, and having fun is the best way to forget it. If a child has a toothache, and you start playing a game together, he or she immediately forgets the pain. Hospitals must cater to the basic need of patients: We all want to have fun. At St. Luke's we have music and animal therapies, and art classes”.

i think that's the message here - pain or no pain, the more laughter, music, creativity (and a puppy) we have in our lives - the happier we are.

nurture your neighbours

i have the most lovely neighbour a girl could ever wish for - seriously.

we have each others keys. when she's away i water her plants, when i'm away she waters mine. we take care of each others laundry when it looks like rain or there's a queue for the machines. if i haven't seen her in awhile i'll check that she's ok. we pass on books, we always have time for a quick catchup when we meet on the stairs. i can count on her for anything. she's awesome. she's made living where i do, lovely.

for twenty years i've lived in many different places and this is my first experience of true neighbourliness - i love it though it does make me wonder 'was it me?', all those years, making no effort! How uncool, how unfriendly, How Embarrassing!! because i must take half the responsibility, it takes two.

i encourage you, for a happier life to nurture your neighbours

THANKYOU NICOLE X

mess it up!

free it up

forget the 'right' way of looking imposed on you by know-it-all advertising telling you how to have perfect this and that.

i dare you, just once, to forgo brushing your hair, try wearing pyjama pants on the street - think up something to undo or not do, experience punk - it feels so naughty, childish and FREE!

namaste

when we start to live with a belief in the energetic nature of all that is, it makes it easier to have an experiential awareness of it.

spending time in thailand each year frees me to make the beautiful mudra 'namaste' with almost every interaction.

do it for a moment - bring your hands to a prayer-like position in front of your heart. drop your awareness into your heart and bring to mind the feelings of respect, well-wishing, honesty and integrity. how does that make you feel - is it something like peace?

if you feel a bit funny doing it physically, do it mentally. send the energy of honestly wishing others well, from a place of respect and self integrity to all who cross your path.

partake in a peace experiment,


namaste.

less like a rat on a wheel

'just flow with the river of life' - my motto for the last two weeks

periodically i have lived like this, on holidays, travelling, and on occasion in everyday life; but i made a strong resolve two weeks ago to abide by this premise always. i have been sticking to it (except for last thursday morning, when i spazzed about buying real estate for security - then had a shower and quickly got over it).

we run around needing to make money out of this or that activity. the wise and wonderful Shri T. Krishnamacharya says

"We look at ours affairs as business ventures and think only in terms of profit and loss". This attitude is becoming an obstacle to our spiritual progress".

emails were returned a week after receiving them, some phone calls too. the stressed feeling i get from charging around trying to be better and build a fortune has dissipated, leaving me feeling calmer, more relaxed about where i am right now. i feel less like a rat on a wheel.