What the holidays are all about...

"There is a Buddhist saying that the biggest cause of suffering is the socially induced hallucination of the seperate self.  Such a self does not exist.  You are an individual only as a result of a confluence of relationships."  -- Deepak Chopra

Brit Climbs a Mountain

Hope

Have you ever felt like your throat is about to burst because you have something to say but you can't even wrap your mind around it?  Well this is how I feel in this moment.  I just finished a weekend of aromatherapy training.  It was the most life-changing learning experience I've encountered in my life thus far.  I guess I just want to take a moment to tell the world, or more realistically the 2.5 people that read this, that THERE IS HOPE.  You may have to travel around the world, and carry pains that stretch you to a breaking point, and trudge a journey with sharp winds opposing every step, and even walk through Hell itself…BUT there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.  I am grateful for the hope that was infused into my life today.  I know it was a gift from God and an answer to countless prayers.  God never leaves us alone, even though it may feel like it when our limits are stretched.   Hope is light and light is God.     

Anger

This morning I was reading a book called "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron.  Cameron honors the fact that everyone has an artist within; it’s just a matter of unlocking the creative flow.  Her profound insights are one of the many things that inspire me to keep up this blog.  Today I was re-reading a section on anger.  I thought to myself that everyone needs to hear what she has to say.  I feel that I will create a mess if I try to rephrase her words, so here it is, straight from the book:
"Anger is fuel.  We feel it and we want to do something...But we are nice people, and what we do with our anger is stuff it, deny it, bury it, block it, hide it, lie about it, medicate it, muffle it, ignore it.  We do everything but listen to it."
She then says, "Anger is meant to be acted upon.  It is not meant to be acted out.  Anger points the direction.  We are meant to use anger as fuel to take the actions we need to move where our anger points us.  With a little thought, we can usually translate the message that our anger is sending us."
Then Cameron talks about how feeling anger, usually makes us feel even more angry that we feel angry.  She says this is because anger marks the death of an old part of us.  "It tells us we are being reborn, and birthing hurts.  The hurt makes us angry.  Anger is the firestorm that signals the death of our old life.  Anger is the fuel that propels us into our new one.  Anger is a tool, not a master."
"Anger is our friend...a very, very loyal friend.  It always tells us when we have been betrayed.  It will always tell us when we have betrayed ourselves.  It will always tell us that it is time to act in our own best interests.  Anger is not the action itself.  It is action's invitation.”

Please take a moment to watch this...

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

The Heart of Life Is Good - part 2

It's late and I should be in bed, but I can't sleep. This week has been a roller coaster. I keep thinking about a photo I captured several months ago while lying in the grass. In that moment, my glasses were off, so I was practically blind. I began to think about how my near-sightedness only allowed me to clearly focus on the blades of grass in my face. Everything else was a blur, yet I could still make out the beauty of the surrounding scene. It dawned on me that such is life. Life is good when we embrace and focus on the blades of grass poking in our face, yet still see beauty and hope in the scene as a whole. Yes indeed, the heart of life is good.

The Heart of Life is Good

Recently, I’ve been thinking about these words from a John Mayer song, “Fear is a friend who’s misunderstood.” Life often requires us to take a step out of our comfort zone in order to progress. I will be the first to admit that I naturally tend to put up resistance whenever I feel my comfort zone is threatened. Then I fall into denial mode. And then, eventually, I give myself a good kick in the pants. A friend once told me, “A kick in the pants is still a step forward.” However, that’s not always very comforting when you’re knocked on the ground with a sore behind. Anyways, today I was taking a stomp through the snow. Literally, stomping. Don’t get me wrong, I truly appreciated the beauty of the white winter wonderland. However, due to present circumstances in my life, I feel my comfort zone is being threatened. I’m now at the part where I give myself a kick in the pants, and stomping through the snow seemed to make it feel better. I arrived on an unplowed section of road which nobody had walked through yet. As I took a few steps into this undefined territory, I thought to myself, “Self, why do you fear certain aspects of the future so much? The future is unknown! It doesn’t even exist yet!” Then all these “yes, but…” statements surfaced. Instead of denying them, like I have before, I acknowledged each one as a real fear for me. Then as I continued to walk, I befriended each fear, by attaching it to my faith. Faith in God’s unique plan for me. I am so grateful for the gentle guidance He abundantly gives me upon my humility and willingness to listen. His ways are always more simple and more efficient than anything I could ever construct on my own. Without Him, I am just a girl…with lots of fears.

first snow!

Ancient indigenous cultures respected winter as a time for reflection and contemplation. We Alaskans must need a lot of that! In high school, I was not a fan of winter, but today as the first snowflakes of the season fell on my face, I couldn’t help but giggle like a little girl. I’ve learned to embrace the season. I love giving myself permission to slow down and cozy up in the warmth of the indoors. And my discovery of the fleece-lined “hobo mitten” has been the key to survival of the time I spend outdoors. I highly recommend investing in a pair!

for the beauty of the earth

Mother Earth never ceases to amaze me. Today at church we were singing "All Creatures of Our God and King". I couldn't stop smiling as I reflected on the glorious day I spent outside yesterday. It began in fog and ended with a perfect sunset. Blessed.

Superbugs vs. Essential Oils

I just returned from an aromatherapy training in Salt Lake. It was jam packed with so much valuable information; I don’t know where to start. I know the big issue people are concerned about during this season is the flu virus, especially the swine flu virus. In our training, we learned about the evolution of superbugs, such as the H1N1 virus that causes swine flu. I could go into a whole scientific explanation, but basically this virus is what I like to call a “smart conniving germ”. Alexandria Brighton, the presenting Master Aromatherapist at this training taught:
Penicillin was first commercially used in 1945. Only one year later, 14 percent of the staph bacteria were resistant to penicillin. By 1950, 59% were resistant and by 1995 this figure rose to 95%. By 1999, 54 years after the initial commercial production of antibiotics, the first staph strain that was resistant to ALL known antibiotics infected its first 3 people. As crazy as it may sound, germs are a lot like us. They do whatever it takes to survive. Over the years germs have developed more sophisticated responses to the defense mechanisms we put up against them like drugs, antibacterial products, etc. The more we threaten them, the more resistance they build and weave into their DNA. This vicious cycle has created a raging war that our bodies struggle to fight. However, I have good news! I have seen this good news work in my own life and the lives of my loved ones. Over the past couple weeks, several of my family members have had swine flu. We immediately responded with essential oils and their recovery time has been a maximum of two days!
Essential oils are collected from plants around the world that exhibit healing properties. The oil is basically the “life blood” of the plant. While man-made drugs have only a few active ingredients, an essential oil has over 350 identified compounds that work synergistically together to assist our body in fighting infection and dis-ease. I feel one of the most beautiful things about essential oils is that they are God-made, consisting of the same materials that our bodies are made up of. Pure essential oils communicate in the same language as our bodies and therefore offer a more effective and safer alternative to pharmaceuticals…AND there are no side affects!
You’ll want to be really careful in choosing a company to purchase essential oils from. The labeling laws in the United States require that a “pure” essential oil contains at least 50% pure plant matter, the rest can be a filler. If you are interested in learning more please email me at giliamgirl@gmail.com.
In this day and age, I personally believe that it is pertinent to look outside the box when it comes to health. Everything has its place and I respect the place of traditional and alternative practitioners alike. However, ultimately the responsibility lands on your plate. YOU are the expert of YOUR body! What works for me, doesn’t always work for everyone else, but I still feel moved to share the things that I have learned which bring a greater sense of well-being to my life. Given afterwich Give.

Pumpkin Reminiscing

I keep getting requests for this recipe, so I decided to share with all. Typing this post triggered memories from my study abroad in Australia. When our group of 28 girls and 2 guys were not traveling around the country, I made this recipe at least once a week. It was like a small piece of home. In the Aussie supermarket, they sell these big chucks of "pumpkin" all year round, which I later came to find were actually squash, but I won't be the one to break the news :) We rode our hot pink bikes to the "shops" and carried the goods back on our handlebars. Everything was different in Australia. I remember when I returned home, it was the hardest adjustment. The Australians live their life in a way that was so foreign to me, but I grew to LOVE. They take time to savor life. Returning back to America and immediately jumping back into school and work was a huge cultural shock and challenge. I fought to find balance. Little changes made a big difference though…like taking a walk everyday. It’s been three years now since my time in Australia. I still take a walk everyday; rain, shine, snow, and even 30 below. One of our leaders in Australia said, “There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad preparation.” My daily walks give me renewal and vitality. I love walking with others, but most of the time I walk by myself. It’s a time for me to connect with God, to unload my frustrations, and to find peace. I may never be able to fully embody the Aussie lifestyle, but I am so grateful for the little lessons I brought home, which help me to savor the gift of life. Cheers mate!

Pumpkin Muffins

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sugar (I use raw cane sugar)
2 eggs
1 cup shredded pumpkin/squash or canned pumpkin
1 1/3 cup flour (I use whole grain flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix wet ingredients, then add dry ingredients. Pour into greased or lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 15-20 min, or until knife comes out clean. Makes about 12 muffins. For added delight, frost with cream cheese frosting:

8 oz cream cheese
1 cube butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
drizzle of milk
optional: orange zest

The Middle of Nowhere, Home

This past weekend I had the opportunity of escaping into the great Alaskan wilderness. One of my favorite things in the whole world is backpacking. I love trekking to a spot in the middle of nowhere carrying on my back the bare necessities of life. They say home is where the heart is. If that’s the case, then I definitely found in
the middle of nowhere, home.

transitions

"the only constant in life is change"

check this out, very interesting

http://www.meridianmagazine.com/healthyoutlook/090901evil.html

sistas!

This morning I am grateful for family. My sisters and I had a sleepover last night.
Well, we are actually still in the middle of it…I am just the early bird. In this early morning stillness, I’ve been thinking about how all the cares of the whole world just seem to fade away when I get to share moments, laughs, and genuine smiles with the people I love most…my family. I feel so blessed that God created this beautiful gift for us to fight life’s battles together with. There are hard moments, I can attest to that. But in this moment, my heart is full of gratitude for the good times that overflow enough to make the hard times disappear.

fall stillness

Yesterday I went for a bike ride. I brought my camera along to capture the beauty of my favorite season…autumn. The vibrant colors of the leaves and plants were incredible. I loved watching the wind blow the leaves through the air. I found a spot on the trail where I was hoping to capture the dancing leaves. The wind was still. I sat there for a long time, just waiting for the wind to pick up. Nothing. I grew impatient and decided to take a shot when the next biker rode past and made the leaves on the ground blow. Nobody came. Finally after waiting too long, I looked across the bike path and saw this pond in the woods. I walked over and saw a beautiful reflection of the scene I was surrounded by. To me, the vantage point from the still water pond was better than leaf dancing. I took a moment to embrace the beauty and snapped several shots. As I rode my bike home, I thought about how I kept waiting for the wind to create a beautiful scene for me, when there was already beauty waiting to be captured in the stillness of the pond. Then I thought to myself how I often get so focused on something that I miss the beauty that is already inherently apart of life. I feel that all too often in life, we scramble to find or create meaning through some means outside ourselves…or we just sit around waiting for it to arrive on our doorstep. However, true meaning and beauty is found when we take a moment to step off the treadmill of life and appreciate the small and simple things. In this moment, I am grateful for the lesson I learned from the stillness of a pond.