Where Digestion Begins - Jodh Kaur

Deep listening

5/19/2020

When you listen deeply, what do you hear?
When you go deep within, what do you witness?
When you are quiet with yourself, what do you feel?

Allow yourself to be still. Hear your thoughts, feel your feeling, notice what you are experiencing. Get quiet. Be with yourself.
When you are with others, offer space for sharing, listening, expressing and be-ing with each other.

Compassion

5/15/2020

Compassion is everything.
For yourself.
For others.
For healing.
For the planet.

More on anxiety

5/13/2020

Anxiety inhibits problem solving.
When you are worried, you are less likely to find positive solutions.

If you CAN change something, problem solve and take action.
If you can't change it, it isn't worth worry about.

Close your eyes, inhale deeply and stiffen every muscle in your body like the tin man.
Hold for 20 seconds.
Then exhale and relax, become like the scarecrow with relaxed breath and body.
Repeat this exercise.
Bring your focus back to your task at hand with a calmer mind and relaxed body.

How to be present

5/12/2020

Uncertainty delivers us the opportunity to be present.

The next time your thoughts are spinning or you are feeling anxious, angry or worried, here are 4 simple steps to bring yourself into the present moment (as a matter of fact, go ahead and try them now 😉):

1. STOP and take a long deep breath in (through your nose). Bring the breath down past your diaphragm, feel the belly then ribcage expand. Now slowly exhale through your nose. Feel the chest drop down and gently draw the navel back toward your spine - exhale completely.
2. Close your eyes and take 2 more long deep breaths.
3. Open your eyes and engage your senses. Immediately identify something you can hear, see, taste, touch and smell. No need to over think it, just name what you are sensing.
4. Close your eyes and take 1-3 more long deep breaths.

You can practice this exercise anywhere at anytime. Engaging in your breath helps you to slow your mind, stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and the vagus nerve bringing a wash of calm and wellbeing. Engaging your 5 senses roots you in the here and now, brings you out of your head & thoughts and connects you with the beauty & life around you. If you are feeling overwhelmed you may feel like your senses have dulled. Engaging the senses again will reinvigorate them and allow you to feel more connected, restored and alive.

The purpose of karma yoga

5/11/2020

Karma yoga has unfortunately been described as service, but it is not so. It is a way of undoing the impressions that you have gathered. If you can joyfully involve yourself in any activity, that is karma yoga. If you do it with great effort, only karma will come, no yoga will happen!
Generally it is through various activities that you perform that you get entangled and enmeshed with life. But if the activity becomes a process of liberation instead of entanglement, it is karma yoga. Whether it is work or walking on the street or talking to someone, the nature of the activity is not important. When you do something only because it is needed, where it does not mean anything to you but you are capable of involving yourself as if that is your life, it transforms you and action becomes liberating.
—Sadguru

Mornings

5/8/2020

Mornings are all about me. I take my time in the morning to nourish myself with self-care. I wake up early to do this, but it's worth it as it gives me the time I need to be with myself and my thoughts, to have some peace and to work on myself. I start with yoga and meditation. My pup Ollie is always by my side and our cat Cody recently started lying on my lap during meditation. I love having their presence during this time of morning. I end by journaling and after my practice, I feed our animals and then take Ollie out. If he is up for a walk we go for a long walk, but often he isn't so I return him home and head out on my own. I have been loving my morning walks and I use this time for mindfulness, observation and reflection. I also like this time to listen to an audio book or podcast which helps me set my mind for the day. Once I return home, I may have a little breakfast, depends how I feel, and then I start work. By the time I start my day, I have often spent 3-4 hours pouring into myself which allows my jaw to soften, allows me time with my breath and my thoughts and allows me to be able to serve others as I have already served myself.

Crispy Tofu

5/7/2020

I saw a recipe for crispy pan fried tofu and I had everything on hand except the breadcrumbs. I noticed she used panko which are always so good for making fried food nice and crispy. What I did have was some sesame sticks from Trader Joes. They were going stale so I thought they would be perfect to grind up and use as breadcrumbs. Oh my was this good!

I made a simple batter with 1/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup water seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, mushroom powder and onion powder. After whisking this together, I dropped my tofu slices in and gave them a nice coating. On a separate plate, I had the ground sesame sticks (used my mini food processor for this) and a little bit of flour to stretch it. I gave the battered tofu a nice coating of the sesame sticks and then pan fried in a good bit of sesame oil. After a few minutes on each side, they were crisp and golden brown. I removed and sprinkled with salt and ate on top of pasta.

It's too bad I'm out of these sesame sticks because this is my new favorite way to enjoy tofu! I will have some of the leftovers in a wrap with Franks red hot and some vegan ranch. YUM.

Becoming

5/6/2020

Years ago, when I was in my early 20s, I did a brave thing and became an adult. I initiated some of the most difficult conversations of my life with my parents. It was scary. They did not approve of choices I was making in my life. I was heartbroken. But I realized that this was my life to live and if I wanted to be happy and feel contentment, I needed to listen to my heart and make the choices that I wanted to make despite the consequences. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was becoming my own person and it was empowering. It was the beginning of forging my own path in life. Making "strange" unconventional choices, being the "weird" one, the black sheep. And then I found a community of black sheep filled with others who understood my choices and who made similar ones. It feels good to walk your own path but it feels even better when you turn and see others walking with you.

Forgiveness

5/4/2020

Reasons forgiving yourself is hard:

You can justify the actions of others, but not your own.
You still feel guilty, regardless of what others say.
You cannot accept failure.
You have to live with yourself.
You cannot escape your past.
You can give grace, but you cannot receive it.
You couldn't possibly pay for what you did.
You feel it is your duty to punish yourself.
Your mind will not stop replaying the incident.
You don't feel worthy of forgiveness.
You don't believe others and God have really forgiven you.
You refuse to forgive others.
You simply don't know how.

But you need to forgive yourself so that you can finish the circle of forgiveness, so that you can be successful and reach your full potential.

This was excerpted from Forgiveness... the Ultimate Miracle by Paul J. Meyer

Action conquers fear

4/30/2020

I just read this message - Action conquers fear. Taking action puts us in motion and allows us to be and feel purposeful. I was having a conversation with client who experiences anxiety, but uses that anxiety as a catalyst to propel her into thoughtful action. That action moves her out of anxiety into a productive space. It can be scary to take that action, but thinking about it and dwelling in the what if's are often far more frightening.

When the time is upon you, start and the pressure will be off.