On Being Superior

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self."--Ernest Heminingway

That guy, I think he was onto something...some make the effort to be the best, to be perfect, or to be humble...(and for clarification, not being humble doesn't equate to a detour to arrogance)...What if you targeting to be more of you, was easier than being the best or humbling yourself to prove a point? Who are you trying to appeal to? What are you judging yourself for? 

if you can recognize that you don't need this definition as some homing beacon so that people recognize you as part of their tribe, you may find yourself in the expanse of infinite being.

If you can allow the idea that each of these states and attempts takes you away from you being you, what would you choose?

Doing what works for me.

Hi. This is me, me being me. And that's all there is to it. And I thought my hair looked a bit more "normal" than what I see on this picture....but that's okay, because I am simply just doing me, and that has worked for as long as I've been able to create a sound from my mouth.

However, I didn't always know this. It seems that at 43, I am finally taking cues from my own self love that is growing and developing. In fact I could really refer to it more as self-gratitude. Some of the things I've done to make my life better has also made me more grateful for my life. 

For example, I got rid of the idea of having this conventional home. Now I am ready to buy a house, and the most reasonable move for me to make now, is to find something that fits the way my life demands it go. My home needs to have a space for creating, healing, cooking, laughing, loving, and sleeping. It also has to look clean and beautiful while maintaining a sense of space and order. I no longer can see myself living in a space I would choose not to keep free and clear.

Some would say that I didn't make the choice to buy when I "should" have. What I realize now is that I could not have done this any other way but through my own way. It works for me. 

Basil and Ginger oils, on healing

I have begun using ginger and basil oils, and I am about to put them in the diffuser right now. I am so excited that these oils are creating a pathway for change for me. I really feel that the oils are going to be the best investment so far, as they build a pathway to many levels of healing for me and others. as I have used the bars in conjunction with the oils, it seems to be the perfect complement to create advancement for the person I am working on. I wonder if I use basil on my fingertips while I am running the access bars. I am thinking this may be the perfect complement to assisting shifts.

Whipped Body Butters, no melting.

Here are three great body butters that whipped up fast and easy, with no melting required. 

Coconut oil and lanolin oil 

Ivory whipped Shea butter and olive oil

Cupuacu butter and almond oil

One of the greatest things about whipped body butter is that it is lump free. That's right. You don't have to sit there and proceed to soften the butter in order to get to the smoothing and spreading process. Plus the other advantage is that you see putting a little bit of another oil helps to gently change the consistency of the butter. 

Having said that, coconut oil really is a quality base when blending butters because of its flexibility.  I've never had to use beeswax in butter because the butter stands up well, keeps form and smooth texture.

In this most recent blend I've used a spoon of lanolin. I thought this oil greatly assisted spreadability. I've blended coconut oil with cocoa butter and it makes a stiff butter. Plus you have to melt the cocoa butter. I Will try using less next time. Either way it feels like a cream for a range of skin types but mostly normal to dry. I scented it with geranium and grapefruit essential oil from doTERRA. Helps to calm, balance hormones and eliminate cellulite. I am a believer of grapefruit being a tool for weight loss. Apparently the Slim and Sassy blend agrees with us, as it can be found formulated in that blend. 

Ivory whipped Shea with olive oil was a very rich and thick creation. I see it as a night cream or one for very dry skin, or even as just a foot cream. Actually I stuck my fingers in the mixture and I love it. Maybe it's not as thick as I remember. As it warms it sinks right into my skin.  Anyway I put several essential oils in: cassia, balance, holiday joy and though I think that's it, there could be something missing from this list ...

As far as just simply amazing is  concerned, the rich, creamy and smooth cupuacu butter mixed with almond oil seems to be hands down the best blend that doesn't involve melting. I'm thoroughly impressed with what I was able to turn out.

My mom, nieces and sisters all received a basket for Christmas with tea and butter. So far my mom reports that it's some of the best butter she has ever tried, because it goes in.

Of Food and Feelings on a Next Level Basis.

As we explore in more depth the annamayakosha, we begin to recognize the sensation of hunger and thirst striking more meaning in this dense, tissue-ridden body of experiences. The annamaya contains way more than just food and water, tissues and blood and organs. It contains an entire system of the way the body processes that edible information. What are you telling your body as you choose to down that cheesecake? What does your body say back to you as it translates the cheesecake's message? How does the body disseminate that information? It sounds funny when it is said in this manner, but when it really starts to count, is how the message plays out over time.

Here are a few ways to think more deeply about the annamayakosha and how food informs us of our current state. How many times in the past month have you thought of meditating on that sandwich and bag of potato chips you ate, that you felt "badly" about for the past month?

• sthula (Physical) — In which taste and weight of food is realized.

• sukshma (Subtle) — In which properties and impact of food are felt.

• kaaran (Causal) — In which samskaras of food are preserved. Roots of many physical deformities lie in annamaya kosha.

Sthula is the physical sensation of eating the food: the smell, the taste, the mouth feel, the sensual experience of eating the food. How empty you are before, and how satisfied you are after, is the sthula.

Sukshma (subtle) How filling is it? Was it what my heart desired? Was it everything I hoped it would be? Did it do the job? Did it satisfy all of the emotional lacking that I was going through? Did it ring true to what life has taught me about eating this? How is my pocketbook affected? how is my internal environment affected? How is my external environment affected? What will my friends think about what I just ate? How did it impact my family and friends' and society's view of me? How did eating this affect the society at large? Is it GMO? Organic? Free range? Right for my body and blood type or diet regimen? Did it make me fatter or skinnier? Who's watching? Did I eat the right thing for them so that they will either be proud of me or learn from me? Did their decisions on who I am impact my plate?

Kaaran (causal) Am I really making this choice to eat this or is this the choice of my friends/family/environment/generation/genetics? How am I traumatized or triggered by my food choices? What damage has my food already played a part in creating for me? What part can I play in destroying all the reasons why the food is or is not part of my waking reality?

More on this later. Please send me your thoughts and impressions when you are ready to digest this material, pun intended, and we can dialogue about how this relates to your innermost needs and how food can play a role in creating more stagnation or more freedom.

Blessings,

Connie

So your soul walks into this contract...

...and doesn't bother to let on that it has a plan, until you decide to answer the small, nagging itch, the gentle whisper urging you to listen, the increasingly turbulent winds pushing you closer to your goal. 

So what is it when a person feels out of place, or that very strange events are happening around every choice they make? What about those moments when one realizes that a way of living takes precedence over all else, and suddenly takes over? What noise can't be dulled? What thoughts won't die, and become an indelible part of the psyche? Or how about when there is this dream that frequently recurs, even though other choices have been its exact opposite?

The soul makes this agreement before earth school begins. It wants you to remember who you are. It tries to hint at who you are, your whole life, until you listen. Some say it is God's plan. Some say it is Divine design. Caroline Myss coins it a sacred contract. Some call it the infinite abundance of the Universe. Access Consciousness method simply calls it, choice. 

When we come to this moment of realization that the very thing we are is the thing we always have been, and that there is no progress without struggle, we then understand what we have been, and were always, meant to be.

Stay in Your Lane.

I was sitting here, reflecting on my week of healthy living, and I can tell you of all my joys and miseries of the week, as this was a full one. One of the lessons I gleaned from being so aware in the last few days, was about how essential oils build the metabolic fuel, how invaluable citrus oils seem to be in my life, how program consistency always improves my game, supplements help to also enhance my performance, my body's natural potential for excellence, and how doing what comes intuitively, is still working for me. 

Sometimes asking too many questions drives me into a flurry of other people's way of doing things, which isn't always best for me. So I have to listen to the voices inside my head, and if they tell me to listen to someone else, I will. That still, small inner voice says and holds all keys to my success in this world.

So should I go out and do what others are doing? Should I pick up the latest fad? Am I doing what works for me? Then I should stick to that.