Get out of your mind - The Reason Why Modern Society is stressed

We all know that feeling of rushing through our day, disconnected, unfocused, feeling behind on our to do list and stressed out of our minds. In fact, I believe that last saying “stressed out of our minds”is not used properly to describe this situation. When we are stressed we are actually very much into our minds, in fact so much that we believe we are our minds and our identity is the content of our minds. This identification and the absence from the present moment are two things that tend to cause lots of stress in the body.

The key to elimination of this stress, is to bring awareness and attention to the #PRSNT moment. In this moment it is nothing to fear, nothing to be stressed about, because stress and fear belongs to the ego and the ego simply can’t live here. The ego feeds on thoughts and identification, labeling, drama, future and past. In the present, time doesn’t even exist, because this is the only moment that is. It doesn’t need time. Time is future and past. The ego likes time and tries to tell you you are sooo busy and have no time.

So, next “time” you are running around, stressed and crazy, stop yourself & take a second to tune in with your breath. The breath lives in the moment so you can always trust that it will help calm you. It’s like an inner GPS for peacefulness.

EASY TIPS YOU CAN DO TO BRING YOURSELF INTO THE PRSNT MOMENT

• If you extend your exhales and make them about twice as long as your inhales you will notice the instant benefits that happens due to a neurological switch of your nervous system.

• Extended exhale triggers the relaxation part of the nervous system and is a great way to channel peacefulness.

• You can’t be present and stressed at the same time.

• You will not feel chaos when you are peaceful.

• Embrace this moment & reconnect with who you truly are. Then, as you keep going with your day and feel stress arise, return to the Prsnt moment with your breath as a guide

5 Ways To Use Fresh Herbs

I love and enjoy the process of planting from seed to full grown flower or harvest. Bringing my presence into this process is beautiful because it connects me to the natural world in such a special way. Reaping the benefits of what we plant is like an added gift. Life and gardening is quite similar. We plant seeds. Water & nurture. Love & give patience. Let go. And then, suddenly, we get to harvest the fruits of our labor of love. But, we need to give our attention and presence to each step along the way. And accept and love it just as it is. The fruits are equal to short moments of pleasure, that eventually will be gone (eaten) Then, the cycle starts over again.

Fresh herbs like rosemary, basil, sage, oregano and thyme have been abundant lately and I am integrating them into different recipes. We have planted our herbs in alignment with permaculture principles in zone 1 so they are easy to access. I love to snip off the herbs straight from the raised garden bed and mix and match into my meals. Below are some ideas for ways I like to integrate the herbs. I am not a vegan. Nor am I a carnivore. I actually work to not label myself as anything that my ego easily can take and turn into separation from others. I like to eat plant based and avocado is often present in my choice of plant fat. Coconut tortillas (found these on amazon) are so yummy and I use these to substitute for bread. When my body is asking for more carbs, I source for sourdough bread (the real kind http://www.pragerbrothers.com

Brussel Sprouts and farm potatoes with fresh rosemary & cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

Okra Bowl with sauerkraut, avocado, sweet potato and farmers market lettuce topped with garden herbs

Farm Egg and avocado sourdough toast with garden herbs

Heirloom tomato and avocado sourdough toast with garden basil, thyme and oregano, garden chili, roasted garlic and drizzled with olive oil

Farm Egg on coconut tortilla, radish and fresh oregano and thyme (my friend has chickens and quail and these are amazing. So different than the store)

URBAN PERMACULTURE

I loooove and enjoy the process of planting from seed to full grown flower or harvest. Bringing my presence into this process is beautiful because it connects me to the natural world in such a special way. Reaping the benefits of what we plant is like an added gift. Life and gardening is quite similar. We plant seeds. Water & nurture. Love & give patience. Let go. And then, suddenly, we get to harvest the fruits of our labor of love. But, we need to give our attention and presence to each step along the way. And accept and love it just as it is. The fruits are equal to short moments of pleasure, that eventually will be gone (eaten) Then, the cycle starts over again. We humans have everything in common with nature. We just tend to forget sometimes. During winter time we bundle up to protect ourselves from the cold and hide as we prepare for lighter times to come. When spring comes, we shed our layers, gain color and start blooming like we are born a new. We are connected to everything and there are no walls separating us. Our primary purpose is not what we do, but to Be fully PRSNT in what we choose to do.

Farming and gardening brings me into the now so easily. Its a meditative act where I connect with the plants and myself. I have been practicing permaculture since I earned my permaculture design certificate back in 2014. It´s such a beautiful approach to gardening, landscaping, farming and more. I use principles from permaculture in my day to day life. Getting to grow the food I eat is such a beautiful bond. What we eat becomes a part of our presence, energy, spirit, footprint and essentially our performance, I have become such a big fan of eating clean and supporting good practices. My dream and goal is to be able to live and eat mostly straight off the land. 

HEALTH & WELLNESS

"The way I think, move, behave, eat... will influence my life & the people around me profoundly"

PERMACULTURE GARDENING I ABUNDANT HARVEST

Permaculture design is a system of assembling conceptual, material, and strategic components in a pattern which functions to benefit life in all its forms. The philosophy behind permaculture is one of working with, rather than against, nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless action; of looking at systems in all their functions, rather than asking only one yield of them; and allowing systems to demonstrate their own evolutions. (SOURCE: https://permaculturenews.org/what-is-permaculture/)

Red onions from our recent harvest. We pulled, cut and picked our dinner fresh out of the soil and the trees

Lilikoi from our recent harvest. We picked these from the ground as the fall when ripe

Red onions from our recent harvest. We pulled, cut and picked our dinner fresh out of the soil and the trees

Lilikoi is also called passionfruit.. We picked these from the ground as the fall when ripe