I’ve been on the road, on the go, for something over five weeks now.  I’ve lost count.  I left my old home on about June 20 and I’ve been staying with old friends, new friends, people I’ve never met in real life, and in hotels, ever since.  And I am tired.  I’ve landed for the week in a nice house about 3000 miles from my old home, a temporary spot still some distance from my eventual landing place across the border into Canada, and I’m tired.  It’s been a frenetic pace of working, meeting/greeting, driving, always the push to the next place and the next set of wonderful people, and now that I have the opportunity to rest I am taking it.  I am welded to the couch.  It’s highly recommended, and this is why: Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not an easy thing, this losing weight gig. Since I started in January, I’ve dropped about 20 pounds in total. This coming week, the trainer and I are about to measure the inches, which will give a true picture as to where I’m at. Last time we checked was April and I had lost 9 inches. Considering the way my pants hang down like those punk kids in the mall, (not that I go out in public that way) I’m thinking I’m in for some really good news.

Like I said, it isn’t easy. When I used to smoke, cigarettes weighed heavily on my mind. When I would have another, how many I had left, how good the current one made me feel, did I have to stop on the way home to buy more, you get the picture.

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I’m lucky enough this week to be visiting a place where there is a beach not too far away.  A beach that’s not too crowded, not too hot, and, well, it’s a BEACH.  And I’ve been finding time to take walks there, meditate there, or simply watch the hypnotic waves.  And I noticed how much joy I got from simply being in a place outside my normal frame of experience, and how that made me pay attention to the little things that added up to make the big thing that was this joyful beach experience.

Kids know all about how to make the small moments add up to joy. I love how there’s absolute delight in ice cream, a cookie, or an interesting rock.  Until a certain age there’s no judgment about relative worth of interesting rocks vs ice cream (well, maybe that one starts early); all things, especially new things, are joyful.  It’s hard for us to remember what it’s like when everything is new and wonderful and even a little mysterious, but we can train ourselves to look at our present lives that way. Read the rest of this entry »

According to Time, “nearly half of Americans are concerned they may get sick from eating contaminated food and are avoiding items they normally would buy, an Associated Press -Ipsos poll has found.”

The salmonella outbreak in tomatoes and previous contaminated beef scares have consumers who took the poll in favor of a tracing system that will tell them where their food is coming from.
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Face it, we’re all busy and too often, some of us order out from the local Thai or Chinese food joint or pack the family up and head to dinner. I don’t know about your family but a trip to Boston Pizza usually costs us around $70 for the 4 of us and take-out Thai food around $50. We were doing each of these things about once a week, which added up to a whopping $480 a MONTH! That’s a lot of bills!

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One the things I thought about while my mind wandered when I was supposed to be meditating this past week was food.  And amongst the wistful loving thoughts about garlic prawns, something I was unlikely to taste for a long time, were thoughts about not only what to eat but how to eat.

How to eat?  You put something in your mouth and eat it, right?

Yes, but eating could be an experience on a whole new level, one that will make the food taste better and become more meaningful not only a physical level but on a spiritual level.  Here’s how: Read the rest of this entry »

Boy do I wish I knew how to lose belly fat in less time than what it’s taking me.

I’ve been going to the gym regularly since January and I have lost at least 5-6 inches off my waist. Yet I still battle the mid-section bulge.

It’s common, I know.

So I went in search of things that are supposed to help. Once I got past all the spammy links, here’s what I found. I’m trying them ALL. (Yes, I’m insane, why do you ask)

1) Spinning. Not spin class, though that might help too, but spinning, like a child. I know it sounds silly, but this website claims that working your way up to 200 spins a day (clockwise only, ladies) - in intervals of no more than 20 spins at a time, resting for 60 seconds in between, will help you lose weight. Yeah, I’m not convinced, but I’m trying it.

2) Walking. This one is obviously good for you and surprisingly, all the running I’ve been doing is not changing me as quickly as one would think. I’ve recently slowed to a walk and done sprint training rather than doing long steady runs. I was stuck on a plateau for about a month and this seems to have helped. Walking uphill is even better. Aim for at least 30 minutes every day.

3) Hindu Squats. I’ve been doing these for 3 days and let me tell you - THEY ARE HARD (so they better work!). I’m up to 110. What you do is squat up and down as fast as possible while touching your finger tips to the ground during each repetition. Your goal should be to do 100 repetitions in 5 minutes. Once you can do that, increase to 200 repetitions in 10 minutes.

4) Cycling. I prefer outdoors because there are more hills and being outside is my thing. You can also use the ones at the gym - just don’t pick the ones with the back rest - pick one that looks like a real bike or join a spin class.

5) Jumping rope. Not my favorite but jumping rope for 20-30 minutes provides a complete body workout.

Of course, there are many factors that affect weight. Eat right, keep moving and ditch the booze and cigarettes. Find ways to lower your stress levels too as your body will hang on to fat if you’re stressed.

Good luck and as always, please share any tips in the comments!

By the time you read this I’ll be deep in the throes of a ten-day meditation retreat.  That’s ten days, ten hours a day, of meditating.

Great, you’re thinking, she must meditate a lot.

Well, no.  Like, practically never.  So I am terrified (in some ways, exhilarated in others) by the prospect of having to sit still and meditate for Ten. Days.  Ten hours each day.  And no talking.  Did I mention that?  Yeah, this is in silence.  Again:  terrified.

While this is a little, um, dramatic for most, maybe you’d like to know five ways you can incorporate a little entirely painless meditation into your life. Read the rest of this entry »