Are Your ((People)) Making You Healthy?

I am looking forward to an uplifting and soul connecting weekend in Colorado with two of my favorite people! -- This quote is a gentle reminder of the impact you can make in a persons life, just appreciating who they are, no matter the differences. And without fail, my best friend and brother make me feel this way... like I can move mountains!!

It inspired me to share this, in today's blog, because health is so much more than just eating healthy and exercising. It's our mental health. And there are so many layers to our mental health.

Are you surrounding yourself with people who build you UP or tear you DOWN?

Do your people have a POSITIVE or NEGATIVE outlook on life and the world around them?

Also having gratitude in everything, is just another nugget to investing in a healthy lifestyle.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to visit my best friend, who is like a sister to me. And my brother, who is my best friend.

Love,
Elizabeth 

"What (((ONE))) piece of advice would you give to your younger self?"

When Benjamin Korsi proposed this question on LinkedIn - "What one piece of advice would you give to your younger self?" It took me a second to really capture that ONE thing. 

Here it is ... "Elizabeth, Meditate Daily." 

I must tag these people because they have been apart of this! 

Tasha Oldham (for sharing Dina Proctor's Story of Madly Chasing Peace), Kim Colegrove for your incredible depth of knowledge in mindfulness and for Calm and Headspace for keeping meditation simple and achievable! 

Sources:
Tasha Oldham of My Story Inc.
Dina Proctor, Author of Madly Chasing Peace
Kim Colegrove, Kansas City Meditation and Mindfulness
Calm, Meditation App
Headspace, Meditation App

The Pretty Liar ... Me

Here is a layer I have been peeling away for years. It's this thing called perception. A pretty little liar. A distraction. Who I thought I wanted to be. 

I remember me, the young girl at age 15, with a BURNING desire to do something with my life. Move hundreds of miles away from my mom. I wanted more.  I promise you this, it was a force that was much stronger than the words "you can't do it". 

But my desire, that divine intuition, got tangled up with lies. And I started to move in this different direction - a perception. I started to believe the desire to want more with my life, was to be MORE successful, to have MORE. 

MORE was the lie. 

Lies aren't delivered to your door, with a big note that says, Look at me, I'm the lie you just told yourself, the perception you want to believe, a fantasy called the future, the distraction from all the shiny things,  or the lie on the end of a musical note, being sang in the words "I love you" from the man later asking me, "Will you marry me?"  

No, it's not that easy. I bought into it. I still buy a front row seat now & again.

I've taken the time to realize that at the end of the day - the only person lying to me, is ME.

And as I have been emptying myself, not in the two days I started writing about it, but in the past few years I've started to do my own inner work, I'm seeing THE TRUTH.

I've wondered if there really is a difference between our real world and the story in The Hunger Games.

Do you ever feel like one of those made up people from the capitol; eating it up, drinking it up, thinking I need to be entertained to enjoy life?

I am returning the package. The lies. I don't want my money back. I want my LIFE back. Maybe so I can find my life's purpose.

I'm ready for shit to get real.

Let the New Year Begin ... Emptying Myself

I came across this quote during my meditation a month back and it immediately struck a cord. Have you ever heard, seen,  or read something that was like being reunited with a long lost friend? This was like being reacquainted to the core of my soul. And I know it is a huge part in my new journey. Here is to the emptiness of everything. 

"The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything." ~Buddha

My 13 for 2013 ... Ground Breaking

Pinterest 

The Number 13 is a Karmic Number. Number 13 is the number of upheaval, so that new ground can be broken.  

The number 13 has great power. If this power is used for selfish purposes, it will bring destruction of the self, and in turn, this will bring dis-ease and illnesses.  

Adapting to change gracefully will bring out the strength of the 13 vibration, and decrease any potential for the negative. 13's are traditionalists, hard workers and organizers. 

The vibration and meaning of number 13.

1) Do Nothing. Literally be okay with doing nothing and do it well. I am a busy body. I feel like if I am not thinking, doing, creating, cleaning, mothering, talking, texting, planning, and so on and so forth  … then I am nothing. I think I have this topsy-turvy. Maybe when I am doing nothing, I can enjoy the simple things. Elizabeth, STOP doing!

2) Learn to meditate and do this regularly. You may be surprised to know this but in 2002 I went to school to be a wellness consultant, learning about the benefits of meditation and how it reduces stress. Yet, it wasn't until 12 years later it would become a key tool in my wellness journey.

3) Get my reading on! When I was a kid, if I wasn't playing, you'd find a book in my hand. I was devastated when we had to move and leave all of my stuff behind. By stuff, I mean a box full of books. I am in love with a great story.

4) Find peace. I am nowhere where I was a few years ago, thank God. But I want to really embrace finding peace. It's the least expensive thing I can give myself but priceless. This is my only life and I want to enjoy every second.

5) Hush little baby don't say a word. In the book by Dawna Markova it reads, “Nomathemba’s rhythm of speaking is completely different than you Yanks. She won’t talk until we slow down and leave some space so what one person has said can be absorbed before the next person chimes in.” Pretty powerful right? Makes you want to think before you speak. 

6) Live life. It sounds a bit overused right? Maybe it's lost it's impact because you see it on t-shirts, hats and bumper stickers. But when you stop and do nothing, you see things differently. You're not rushing to the next moment or event or plan.

Why I stopped Chasing Happiness, TheChangeBlog.com

7) Laugh often. Well, for those who know me … this really comes naturally but I think as I start to embrace all of the above, I will find new things to find joy. It's like Buddy the Elf from the movie Elf, "I like smiling, smiling's my favorite." Well, I like laughing … usually laughing at myself. :)

8) Take a compliment. Say thank you and soak up the power of what is being complimented. Just the other day a friend says to me that I have great skin. And my response was,  What, are you looking here …  as I point out a pesky pimple. Let's practice this as we move to #9, Thank You!

9) Try new things. I recently took up learning to hula hoop. My daughter, age 5, who out of nowhere, picks up a hula hoop and showed me up big time!! So I thought here is something I need to learn. And in the past few days, I am getting the swing of it! 

10) Love fully. Before you start cheering me on to become a modern version of desperately seeking susan, in search for a man, let me be clear … I am happy right where I am. The past few years have been amazing! I love, love, love being single. What I mean is learning to love myself fully. I want to love myself for who I am today. Because I am the best version of myself that I have ever been in my life and that is pretty damn rewarding.

11) Surround myself with positive people and add value to their lives.

12) Learn when to let go of people who are sucking life from you. That's a tough one. And honestly, I can see where I lost a few friends during a toxic time in my life.

13) Wash, Rinse, Repeat