nourishment

inspiring women, nourishment, Redfox Retreats

Magic and Miracles

October 7, 2013

“Magic and miracles happen everywhere I go.” – Me

After never having much success with affirmations, a few months ago I started an experiment. Instead of reciting affirmations that my lizard brain could disagree with, I started noticing magic and miracles. If for any reason I noticed beauty or love or nature or whimsy or if I was delighted in any way, I would say, “Magic and miracles happen everywhere I go!”

And of course, as I had already seen proof, my brain would have to believe it.

After a few months, I slowly changed my tactic. Every now and then I would slip in a little, “Magic and miracles happen everywhere I go,” when I hadn’t actually seen anything. Then my brain would have to actively look for proof that it was true, because if previous experience was anything to go by, it must be true.

And now?

Magic and miracles happen absolutely everywhere I go!

You want proof?

How about getting to spend 5 days with two of my best friends and an amazing circle of women? Try being witness to bravery and honesty and openness and deep soul sharing. How about releasing and manifesting and cackling and dancing under the stars? How about unlimited – and I do mean unlimited – cake?

And if that wasn’t enough, proof looks like crayons and markers and candles and crystals and journals and love – SO. MUCH. LOVE. – all overseen by a green velvet buddha and a tiny plastic fox.

Proof is in the divine guidance that told us to open the door and hold the space – because that is all we did –

and then magic and miracles happened.

Magic and miracles happen everywhere I go.

What would happen if you believed it too?

emotions, grief, nourishment

Eating for Comfort

November 9, 2012

“What you don’t let begin can never end.” – Geneen Roth

I watched myself do it. That in itself was a revelation.

I had just spent 8 days either being frantic with worry, supporting my husband and his Mom as they processed their grief, holding down the supporting role, doing some work from home or trying to suppress my need to organise and plan. By the 9th day, when they were with the funeral director, and I was on my own for an hour, I had hit overwhelm.

And that is when I watched myself do it.

The tension had built in me until I could hardly breathe, and I felt compelled to go into the nearest shop. Making a beeline to the fridge, I found one of my favourite little gluten free cakes. Mostly made of ground almonds and cinnamon, and dusted with icing sugar, it is usually a treat and a complete delight to eat. Delight, however, was not what I was looking for.

Barely waiting to get outside the door, I had the package opened and the cake eaten before I had gone ten steps.

I felt better. There was the moment of numbness. There was the moment of relief. There was the moment, the briefest moment, where I felt a little release. The tension and pain lifted for a moment and I could actually breathe again.

Normally the next moment would have been filled with regret, self loathing, frustration or disgust.

But something deep inside of me seems to have shifted. Even while the cake was being eaten, there was a small part of me standing outside myself, understanding what was going on. I could see my small self needing love and comfort and peace, and looking for it in the only way she knew how at the time. The extreme situation had called for an extreme reaction, and food was easier and more acceptable than a temper tantrum or tears right there in the street. I knew all of that, and I was able to see myself with love.

I’m not sure if this calm watcher will last or whether it will move deep enough to help me choose the right kind of nourishment in times of extreme need. What I do know is that the more I look at the world and the more I see the narrative behind the action, the more convinced I am that the power to change ourselves and our world lies in the stories we tell.

Healing begins when we tell a different story.

bbc, food, inspiring women, nourishment

January 19, 2010

“Whenever you are sincerely pleased you are nourished” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

polaroid by Susannah Conway

We must have said it a dozen times over the weekend. The word ‘nourished’ tripped off of our tongues accompanied by gratitude and love. It amazes me how little we focus on nourishing ourselves – on checking in, creating meals with love, buying the best ingredients we can afford, sitting down together with thanks and awareness for our blessings – and either ignore our needs, or focus on the needs of others.

I came from a family that used to say Grace before dinner. In today’s increasingly secular western world it is a rare thing to still find someone saying a prayer over their meal. As I was sitting at our table on Saturday I felt the urge to say a word of thanks. I was overwhelmed by the effort that had gone into the meal. I wanted to say thank you to Leonie for cooking it, to the farmers for growing it, to the spirit of the plants and the animals that gave their life for it and for my friends who were sharing it with me. When you stop to think about how food gets to you, it is really quite incredible. We are so blessed.

I made a decision that day to try and remember to experience food in a more sacred way and to begin to be more consciously grateful for it. It’s quite hard at times. My piece of toast in the morning doesn’t get the same attention as a plate full of food, but it all takes practice. I firmly believe that gratitude is never wasted. I might not say a traditional prayer over my dinner, but if I can keep conscious as I eat it, I hope I can experience grace.

nourishment

Magic and Miracles

“Magic and miracles happen everywhere I go.” – Me

Eating for Comfort

“What you don’t let begin can never end.” – Geneen Roth

Nourishment

“Whenever you are sincerely pleased you are nourished” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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