So we are just about in March and it is my birthday next week! We have had an unbelievable amount of rain...unprecedented. Poor families, particularly in the South of England have had flood water up to their living room ceilings. It must be traumatic to say the least.

I am just in the middle of reading a biography on Alice Herz-Sommer. A phenomenal woman who was not just an amazing pianist but also an incredible example of a human being.

She actually passed away a couple of days ago at the age of 110. She was a survivor of the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp where she was sent along with her husband and young son because of their Jewish origins. Alice practiced piano every day for three hours (more in her younger years) up until her death and believed that optimism was the key to life.

Watch this video to truly understand why this woman is such an inspiration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LManGeoEbDk

The Hobbit

Watched The Hobbit and as I'd not heard great things about the film, I wasn't expecting much. But, I loved it, maybe just a little less fighting but apart from that it was fantastic. Martin Freeman is a joy to watch and every shot was like a painting, the light and the images truly delightful. I adored Bilbo Baggins hobbit house...I could live in a house like that. But it seems I'm not the only one as some guy in Pennsylvania felt the same way so he had his own Hobbit House built:

Wisely, the owner is very quiet about the location of his house so that tourists can’t come and visit it. All we know is that the Hobbit house is tucked away somewhere in Chester Country, Pennsylvania. The architecture team are now working on a similar project in Tasmania. Everyone wants a Hobbit house and it’s easy to see why.

Happy New Year

Here we are in 2014, Happy New Year to you all.
Every New Years Eve, my husband and I open the sealed envelopes containing our determinations for that year. We look at what we have achieved and what has improved and then we write new ones for the coming year. We discussed how pleased we were that we had a taken the big step forward that we had a been striving for, for the last four or five years. So feel very optimistic about the future. Life isn't easy and you can work so hard and not have a lot to show for it and then suddenly progress bursts through. But it can be very frustrating when all your efforts don't seem to be having any effect and I suppose that is where you have to 'trust in life' and what ever belief or faith that enables you to do that will make it an easier and less painful process.
I have had the following points for over a year now. I have no idea where they came from so if anyone knows their source, please let me know. Here they are:

Physical well being is inseparable from emotional well being. Happy
people are healthy people. The wisdom traditions of the world tell us
that happiness does not depend on what you have, but on who you are. As
we begin the New Year, it may be worthwhile to reflect on what really
creates happiness in us. The following ten keys may give us some
insight.

1. Listen to your body's wisdom, which expresses itself through signals
of comfort and discomfort. When choosing a certain behavior, ask your
body, How do you feel about this? If your body sends a signal of
physical or emotional distress, watch out. If your body sends a signal
of comfort and eagerness, proceed.

2. Live in the present, for it is the only moment you have. Keep your
attention on what is here and now; look for the fullness in every
moment. Accept what comes to you totally and completely so that you can
appreciate it, learn from it, and then let it go. The present is as it
should be. It reflects infinite laws of Nature that have brought you
this exact thought, this exact physical response. This moment is as it
is because the universe is as it is. Don't struggle against the
infinite scheme of things; instead, be at one with it.

3. Take time to be silent, to meditate, to quiet the internal dialogue.
In moments of silence, realize that you are recontacting your source of
pure awareness. Pay attention to your inner life so that you can be
guided by intuition rather than externally imposed interpretations of
what is or isn't good for you.

4. Relinquish your need for external approval. You alone are the judge
of your worth, and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself,
no matter what anyone else thinks. There is great freedom in this
realization.

5. When you find yourself reacting with anger or opposition to any
person or circumstance, realize that you are only struggling with
yourself. Putting up resistance is the response of defenses created by
old hurts. When you relinquish this anger, you will be healing yourself
and cooperating with the flow of the universe.

6. Know that the world 'out there' reflects your reality 'in here.' The
people you react to most strongly, whether with love or hate, are
projections of your inner world. What you most hate is what you most
deny in yourself. What you most love is what you most wish for in
yourself. Use the mirror of relationships to guide your evolution. The
goal is total self-knowledge. When you achieve that, what you most want
will automatically be there, and what you most dislike will disappear.

7. Shed the burden of judgment and you will feel much lighter. Judgment
imposes right and wrong on situations that just are. Everything can be
understood and forgiven, but when you judge, you cut off understanding
and shut down the process of learning to love. In judging others, you
reflect your lack of self-acceptance. Remember that every person you
forgive adds to your self-love.

8. Don't contaminate your body with toxins, either through food, drink,
or toxic emotions. Your body is more than a life-support system. It is
the vehicle that will carry you on the journey of your evolution. The
health of every cell directly contributes to your state of well being,
because every cell is a point of awareness within the field of
awareness that is you.

9. Replace fear-motivated behavior with love-motivated behavior. Fear
is the product of memory, which dwells in the past. Remembering what hurt
us before, we direct our energies toward making certain that an old
hurt will not repeat itself. But trying to impose the past on the present
will never wipe out the threat of being hurt. That happens only when
you find the security of your own being, which is love. Motivated by the
truth inside you, you can face any threat because your inner strength
is invulnerable to fear.

10. Understand that the physical world is just a mirror of a deeper
intelligence. Intelligence is the invisible organizer of all matter and
energy, and since a portion of this intelligence resides in you, you
share in the organizing power of the cosmos. Because you are
inseparably linked to everything, you cannot afford to foul the planet's
air and water. But at a deeper level, you cannot afford to live with a toxic
mind, because every thought makes an impression on the whole field of
intelligence. Living in balance and purity is the highest good for you
and the Earth.

Oh my word. I have not written in so long. I've decided to really expand this blog into all areas. I want to share anything that 'makes life better'. Funnier, happier more everything. So lets start with a joke:

The Past, Present and Future walk into a bar. It was intense.

There is an alternative: The Past, Present and Future walk into a bar. It was tense. Which one do you think is funnier??

Anyway, I do want to get back into my blog so hope to write very soon.

Day 112

Hello! It's been a while but all is fine, well great actually. We have a heat wave at the moment which I am loving. I love the sunny weather and could quite happily have it all year around. Also juices in this weather are fantastic. I have managed to change my eating habits and pretty much sustain my weight which is great. So have kept this up for over three months now and I feel and look so much better. I hardly ever get down, I can get into my size 8 and 10 clothes again. I'm sleeping brilliantly too and I've been so well. The congestion in my head has all but disappeared and my ears don't block up or ring anymore. I haven't had any fizzy sodas for months. It's a miracle how at last I've managed to crack it. Predominately, I'll have a juice or two most days. Some days I'll include a big salad. Other days I'll have some cake I've baked but the next day I will stick to juices. I am so much happier on this diet or way of eating, I should call it. So am off on holiday next week. I want to lose another half a stone possibly another stone but I am going to see what I look like after a half stone loss, anything more than that may not look too good. Will see .

Day 48

Haven' written for a bit but all's good!
My eating is transforming and so is my physical appearance. I've lost over one and half a stone and I feel like this is the way I basically want to eat for the rest of my life. I have been struggling with this for soooo long and I finally feel things are changing. It's been a very tough few years but things are definitely shifting in all areas and I really feel proud of myself in how I've dealt with things. It's not what happens to you but how you deal with it that makes you who you are and I've had a lot to deal with, which is why my eating got so difficult and the weight started piling on. I've averted a disaster as far as my health is concerned too...it was like a time bomb ready to go off anytime soon.
We went to Zoo yesterday with Jakes little friend and had a wonderful time. We saw tigers close up in the new Tiger Territory, languid lions dozing in the sunshine, frolicking zebras, majestic giraffes, snuffling hogs, lounging lizards, crazy monkeys and beautiful parrots and peacocks...oh it was wonderful and the boys loved it. I wasn't too well as have had quite a bad chest infection for the last few days, heaven knows why? But I was so excited about taking the boys to the zoo, I hardly noticed it. Just about to eat some raw garlic and have been drinking hot lemon juice so that should cure it as I don't like to go on antibiotics if I can help it. I'm watching my temperature which has been fine but that is the only circumstance in which I would go on the anti's, same for my son.
Gosh, I've just eaten the two cloves of raw garlic and I'm not sure if I 'm going to be able to keep them down, this should cure.
I made a nice juice yesterday and added another super-powder called Spirulina that I bought a few days ago. Very nice.

                                                         

Day 36

Well things are going well. I seem to have changed something as my attitude to food has transformed. There have been biscuits and temptations all around but it is just not a problem for me. My body is changing and I feel really good. I've lost over a stone and I think I'M slowly clearing out my system. Here is another juice idea if you want to try it:

                                                         'Everything's Peachy

handful of white grapes
Spinach
4 carrots
2 oranges
1 Granny Smith apple
2 peaches
1 avocado
Handful of strawberries
Teaspoon of maca
Teaspoon of wheat germ