green sunscreen

found this article in my inbox to blog about and am finally getting to it. It is entirely relevant though since it's still summer :D

"Broccoli may outperform sunblock

By Rick Weiss

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — George H.W. Bush: Call your dermatologist.

New research suggests broccoli, the vegetable that the former president famously demonized as inedible, can prevent the damage from ultraviolet light that often leads to skin cancer. And as Bush would surely appreciate, he would not even have to eat it.

In tests on people and hairless mice, a green smear of broccoli-sprout extract blocked the potentially cancer-causing damage usually inflicted by sunlight and showed potential advantages over sunscreens.

The product is still in early stages of development. Among other issues to be worked out is how best to remove the extract's green pigments, which do not contribute to its protective effects and would give users a temporary Martian complexion.

But scientists said the research represents a significant advance because the extract works not by screening out the sun's rays — which has the downside of blocking sun-induced vitamin D production — but by turning on the body's natural cancer-fighting machinery. Once stimulated, those mechanisms work for days, long after the extract is washed away."

middle of the night ponderings

maybe it's because it is 1:30 in the morning but for some reason this makes perfect sense right now

Exerpt from OSHO.com newsletter

"Confusion is a great opportunity. The problem with people who are not confused is great — they think they know, and they know not. The people who believe that they have clarity are really in great trouble; their clarity is very superficial. In fact they know nothing of clarity; what they call clarity is just stupidity.

Idiots are very very clear...clear in the sense that they do not have the intelligence to feel confusion.

To feel confusion needs great intelligence.

Only the intelligent ones feel confusion; otherwise the mediocre go on moving in life, smiling, laughing, accumulating money, struggling for more power and fame. If you see them you will feel a little jealous; they look so confident, they even look happy.

If they are succeeding, if their money is increasing and their power is increasing and their fame is growing, you will feel a little jealous. You are so confused and they are so clear about their life; they have a direction, they have a goal, they know how to attain it, and they are managing, they are already achieving, they are climbing the ladder. And you are just standing there, confused about what to do, what not to do, what is right and what is wrong. But this has always been so; the mediocre remains certain. It is only for the more intelligent to feel confusion, chaos.

Confusion is a great opportunity. It simply says that through the mind there is no way. If you are really confused you are blessed. Now something is possible, something immensely valuable; you are on the verge. If you are utterly confused, that means the mind has failed; now the mind can no longer supply any certainty to you."

staying young

I was reading a magazine while waiting for my massage today and there was a tidbit of an article about 3 ways to stay young, by Dr Oz. I was delighted to say that reflexology provides all three!

1) Reduce Stress. Reflexology does this by giving you a whole hour to just be. It also stimulates brain wave activity similar to deep meditation, so the body, mind and spirit enter a deep renewal period and recharge. Frequent session of reflexology (about 1 per month) help to teach your body how to relax and maintain that relaxation and adaptability much like bio-feedback training.

2) Increase Sleep. I always tell clients on their first session that I will take their snoring as a compliment. Reflexology is like a major power recharge. A study several years ago found that a 1 hour session of reflexology was like the equivalent of 8 hours of sleep, your body can really respond to this amazing work! Find yourself working long hours trying to meet a deadline, take an hour out to recharge both body and brain. It will save you years of your life.

3) Decrease Toxicity. It is estimated that we are exposed to hundreds of toxins per day. YIKES! Several of those toxins settle in the feet due to gravity and decreased circulation. Reflexology helps remove toxins from your system by stimulating circulation, and gently balancing all your organs through their reflexive points.

To wrap up reflexology not only makes you feels great but it actually makes you younger :D in a round about kinda way!

the art of abundance

abundance what a magical word a-bun-dance can't you just visualize your breakfast rolls dancing with joy at being lathered with butter and eaten with large cups of tea.

silliness aside... I have just been re-exposed to my limiting beliefs around abundance, money and receiving.

As part of a magical group of amazing self employed women I was given the opportunity to read a secret new document centering around these concepts.

I walked away with so much hope in my heart and so much appreciation for my abilities as a service provider. I am finally getting it through my thick skull about how I really can help more people in more profound ways if I truly take remarkable care of myself first. At the core of this is working through beliefs that cause me to undercharge for the work that I do.

So get ready world Amy the person is separating herself from Amy the business and she's gonna clean house and create some seriously amazing things for her clients.

Look soon for some beautiful packages that are designed to create a truly unique healing experience and transform your life while providing stress relief!
I can't wait! and what an amazing time of year to be growing, so in alignment with the magic of summer.

Want to know more? check out Mikelann my magical guide of money here:
Womens Earning Institute
blog
this ebook will be available later on so subscribe to her newsletter for great monthly articles and updates on this book that will transform the way you do money.

PS my new mantra is "I am now open to receiving" especially some yummy a-bun-dance with butter please :D

exercise

do you ever wish someone else could exercise for you and you would get all the benefits?

i'm just sitting here knowing i need to go to the gym and not wanting to disrupt my very snuggly cats nor put in the effort to actually move.

there are just days where it is difficult to be motivated. in my rational brain i know that i will feel so much better after... alright, alright... here i go.

sorry kitties.

saying YES by saying NO

These past few weeks have been a little manic. I am finishing up one job and trying to recover momentum in my reflexology practice while building the awareness that I do tarot reading.

In the midst of all the commitments and housework and gardening I ran across something that made my head spin and my body perk up and pay attention.

I saw an activity in that requires you to say No to every invitation you receive for the next two days. This is to get you into the practice of artfully being able to say no. I believe the reason you have to say no to everything at first is so you can begin to pause before answering and from the pause decide if the activity is of interest.

From this pause and momentary check in with body and breath you can begin to truly say YES to life and the opportunities that really resonate with you.

so let's practice:

Hey do you have a minute? No, I'm really busy right now please send me an email or voice mail
Do you want to....? No, right now I'm a it overwhelmed but what about in a few days
Can you....? I'd like to but I am crunched for time can you email it so I can look at it later or go ask so-in-so

See you can be courteous while saying no. It is great practice, and you don't have to miss out on any opportunities just ask them to get you the details and make the decision later. Our instant reaction is often YES when faced with a request. We are by nature wanting to ease other peoples burdens and help out, often to the detriment of ourselves. This leads to mis-directed anger and resentment. Stop playing the victim and learn to say No first, then gather details and make an informed decision after.

Remember your body NEVER lies. Listen to it so you can say YES with lightness and strength. I have noticed a huge increase in my energy from playing with this activity, I hope you do too. And feel free to use me as a sounding board, I'd love to hear you say NO :D

what I want

I just found myself responding to a friends inquiry and felt the need to share as someone else out there in this big world might relate.

How do I know what I want?

Well this is a very difficult answer for me. Here is what I know. I know that when I get confused, angry or freaked out that I am not asking for what I want. Unfortunately this reaction usually has a negative effect on the person with me and I end up pushing them away and getting exactly what I don't want yet somehow think I deserve.

I had a hard childhood (we all did), I grew up in a emotionally needy yet detached family who had sever money issues and believe they would a) never get ahead and b) were haunted by familial beliefs of poverty and self denial. It has taken me 10 years of therapy just to be able to begin to identify these issues and start to move on them.

So how am I starting to understand what I want. I smile... I can help but smile when I see something or think about it. I feel peaceful (versus the butterflies I get when I state something I think I should want, or am offer something i don't want). When I have identified something I really want and start to think about how to get to it or obtain it things fall into place, the universe conspires to give it to me in strange and beautiful ways. And the most difficult one. I hurt... and I cry a lot... why? Because of the years that I have denied myself? No mainly because it hurts acutely to come back and love yourself enough to give it to yourself. So when the hurt is almost unbearable and I find myself smiling and crying at the exact same time I know I am in the exact perfect place and that I have begun to heal one more piece.

Imagination and Failure

JK Rowlings Harvard Commencement Speech

a most important movie

I love having a spouse who is a film composer. It gives me the chance to go to film festivals! I have got to see several in the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) but on Tuesday we went to a show at (STIFF) Seattle's True Independent Film Festival.

We went because a short Eric had written music for was showing :D

The feature we saw after was incredible. Anyone in the US who can vote needs to see it. It will piss you off and hopefully make enough people stop being apathetic and stand up and take back this country. It talks about the last two elections, and that's all I'm going to say. Here is the website. Check it out... attend a screening if you can. Order a dvd and host a gathering. I have to say that the best thing about this film is at the end it gives you solutions to the problem so you still leave angry but with a possible solution in hand.

Uncounted The Movie.com

musings

it has been brought to my attention several times this week of the beauty of being a human. what is so beautiful about it both authors wrote, in very different ways, is the ability to make mistakes.

it is so wonderful to have it pointed out to me in such a blatant and deliberate way that i am here not to be perfect, but instead to be perfectly capable of messing up. this drive to not succumb to our human nature-mistakes-leads many of us on a life of order, predictability and ultimately dissatisfaction in the end.

the last few weeks have been a roller coaster of self doubt, depression, and fear. it has not escaped my notice that the universes is pulling me out of this funk by asking me to embrace these parts of myself and daring me to show up in ways that may allow me to fall on my face or may allow me to spread my wings a little further.

today i stood at my back door an marveled at the breathtaking beauty contained out there. i am truly lucky to have a small home with an incredible view of puget sound and the olympic mountains. the sky was high clouds covering all but allowing muted sunlight to filter through, what was so incredible was the calmness of the water and the blue-ness of the mountains and her foothills, the white snow and the soft yellows of sun peeking through the cold grays and whites of the different layers of clouds. it took my breath away.

i wondered if anyone else was looking outside and saw this incredible sight, and if it moved them.

the mountains have so much time on this earth to learn lessons of patience, self love and mastery. they can afford to make many mistakes, to learn, to risk, as they will be around to change and do things differently. we can take that approach as well. it doesn't matter if we are here 60 or 100 years. what matters is if we have lived during those short years. if we were willing to give up everything to become greater than we were before. i don't know if i will always be able to say "yes" to life. in fact i know i won't be able to, i just have to look back on these last two weeks. what i do know is that i have continuously come back to myself time and again and said "yes" and that, is all that counts. it matters not how many times you run away. all that matters is that you return. and so you prove that you are human and therefore perfect in every way imaginable because you are alive and able to mess up and willing to return to face yourself. to love yourself by choosing your imperfect, fallible, self.

compost

being self employed is surely becoming the most hazardous thing i have ever done. my time is divided into a myriad of "Things to do" "Things that I should do" and "Things that must be done yesterday."


in amidst all the internal chaos are two cats, a house, a giant yard, laundry and dinner. oh yeah and a husband. how'd i forget him?

what am i slowly but surely learning? that every thing counts and that all my failures need to be relegated to the realm of compost. yes compost, that luscious black squishy dirt that feeds plants vital nutrients, keeps their roots warm in the winter and wet in the summer. no plant can thrive without this decaying material made of bit of paper, food, leaves and lots of small bug like things. when i look back, i find much fertile fodder all in small piles... what a delightful and more healthy way to look at these piles. instead of being embarrassed, ashamed or repelled by the failure i can back up, laugh a little and sprinkle it hardily onto everything i see.

if i can shift my perspective just this little bit i can see that yes, life is full of shit, and what a delightful thing to roll up your sleeves, dig your shovel in and hide your own pile under the skirt of your newest success, because that pile fed that success just like compost hides at the base of every healthy plant.

so in addition to the mantra
chop wood, carry water
achieve enlightenment
chop wood, carry water

i will add:
shovel shit
achieve enlightenment
spread compost