Please follow my new blog:

laurenroseburke.tumblr.com

or twitter: @MsLaurenBurke

for updates !

xxx

Stress Less

I have always found dealing with stress particularly challenging. Sure it's easy to live a stress free existence when everything is working out, but how you feel when the chips are down is a better indication of your ability to deal with stress.

For me, stress manifests itself in a physical way: my skin breaks out, my hair becomes thin and frizzy, my digestive system pretty much packs up shop, I am tired, irritable and prone to snapping at anyone in a 10km radius... I also worry about the long term implications of this stress, such as prolonged insomnia, diabetes, heart conditions, high blood pressure and headaches.

Dealing with stress is easier said than done, but there are some key techniques to keep in mind during stressful periods to help alleviate some of the grief and help set you on the right path...

1.  Meditation
The most fundamental technique used for managing stress and relieving anxiety is meditation. This can be as simple as sitting alone in a quiet place and focusing on your breath. Try a 'breathing square': breathe in for three seconds, hold for three seconds, breathe out for three seconds, pause for three seconds and repeat. You can also try repeating a mantra or affirmation to yourself, allowing the words to wash over you, try "I am calm, I am in control"

2. Diet
In stressful situations the last thing your body needs is blood sugar spikes caused by high g.i. and sugary foods - opt for fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains such as oats, grainy bread and rice, nuts, lean proteins, low fat dairy and eggs. These natural foods will stabilise blood sugars and leave you feeling settled and in control

3. Go for a walk
Getting outside and going for a nice, leisurely walk in nature can be a great way to clear your mind and reduce your overall stress levels. For an added bonus walk with a friend that you can talk to or confide in or better yet a dog - an instant pick me up is seeing a furry friend, tail wagging happy to see you!

4. Take a shower and make a herbal tea
When I have had a bad day, nothing feels better than jumping in a nice hot shower and literally washing the day away! Settle down with a good book and a herbal tea - make time for yourself!

5. Pamper yourself
Apply a face mask, a hair treatment and give yourself a manicure - these little things can make you feel much better and help you to forget about the stresses of your day!

6. Comfort Foods
Yes, comfort foods. We all have our favourites and can use an indulgent treat from time to time. The key is to use this treat effectively - don't blow it on cheap chocolates or biscuits; make it special! Try some Lindt dark chocolate balls (yes, you can tell yourself that you are getting an antioxidant fix!) or try cocoa nibs, natures special chocolate surprise. Opt for Greek yoghurt with berries and agave syrup (natural sweetener from a cactus plant). Try Chef Kate McAloon's healthy treat, a Raw Chocolate Torte with Coconut Nut Crust!

We all suffer from stress, but if we try and master these techniques when our stress levels are low, we will be able to implement them quickly and effectively when stress kicks in!!

How do you manage stress?

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

That Summer Glow

As we approach our Australian summer, we automatically get into ready mode: playful prints, colourful clothes and accessories, and natural hair and make up. The only problem is if your hair and skin isn't as ready as you are to be au naturale summer may be met with more fear than excitement!

So take this as your springtime warning! Take charge of what is going in you body and on your skin to prep your body for the upcoming summer season!

1. Increase your intake of water - flush the toxins out of your body! Aim for 2-3 litres per day
2. Increase you in take of fresh fruits and vegetables - in every way you can! Raw, steamed or lightly sauteed is best! Tip: if I am needing to up my intake I find that juicing is a great way to bump up my fruit and veggie count for the day!
3. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen! - Yes the Aussie sun is tough on our skin! Slather on some SPF30+ every morning in order to protect yourself from the damaging rays! Tip: I love to use coconut scented sunscreen, which is a tropical treat for the everyday :)
4. Organic, chemical free moisturiser - your skin is your largest organ, and absorbs everything that it encounters! Just as you fill your body with organic produce, do you skin the same service and prevent chemicals blocking your pores and damaging your skins sensitive outer layers
5. Wash your face morning and night with a warm cloth to ensure that all the grit and grime from the day is not spending the night sinking into your skin and you wake up feeling fresh!

Follow these tips and you will have summer skin ready in no time!

How do you prepare for summer?

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Your Daily Superfood

Superfoods are ... well, super. They make you feel like a supermodel and give you the strength and endurance of Superman! However, all this is superfluous (sorry, I had to) if you can't incorporate superfoods into your daily regime without being a real inconvenience then you cannot harness their awesome powers!! So here are a few ways that I sneak superfoods into my day...

* Sprinkle into your porridge, muesli, smoothie or cereal - Maca powder, Acai berries, Goji berries, Cacao, Chia seeds
* Add to your smoothie or fresh vegetable/green juice - Spirulina, Wheatgrass
* Add to your trail mix/nuts - Inca berries, Goji berries

Make sure, as with all great foods, you are getting a good variety and not concentrating on just one. I like to split my superfoods up into different categories and have one a day:
Berries: Goji, Acai, Inca
Greens and Powders: Spirulina, Wheatgrass, Maca
Seeds: Chia seed, Linseed/Flaxseed

This way I am ensuring a great spread of nutrients and also that I don't get bored by having the same foods everyday! Remember too much of anything is never a good thing!

How do you incorporate superfoods into your diet?

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Mmm.. Muesli and A Carrot Zinger - the breakfast of champions!

The thing I love about muesli is just how versatile it is -- I have never made it the same way twice!
I love to mix crunchy nuts and seeds with yummy raw oats! This is my current mix, my favourite combination so far!

In a big jar mix together:

2 cups raw oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pepitas
1 cup LSA
1 cup linseed meal (for extra omega-3's!)
1 cup crushed nuts -- walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pecans and cashew are great!
1 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup psyllium husk
1/4 cup lecithin  granules

There is no better way to start the day!! I generally wake up to a bowl of muesli topped with fresh fruit salad, a sprinkle of Acai berries and a big dollop of biodynamic, natural yoghurt and a fresh carrot zinger juice!

Carrot Zinger Juice:

Juice:
1 carrot
1 stick ginger
1 tsp spirulina

Fruit, veggies, whole grains, natural yoghurt and packed full of protein -- yuuuum! :)

How do you like to start your day?

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Mind Body Green Posts

I have written some articles for wonderful website Mind Body Green - the go to guide for yoga and wellness! Please have a read and share on Facebook by clicking 'like' if you like it!! :)

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/wc/lauren-burke

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Protein Tahini-Grain Balls

My fridge is filled with containers of cooked beans, lentils, quinoa, brown rice, nuts, seeds and vegetables ready to be thrown together for a wonderful, healthy lunchtime salad!

So as noon rolled around and my stomach began to grumble, I walked over to the fridge began to feel drawn to the grains and lentils I had cooked up yesterday. Over the weekend, I saw some incredible rice balls in a vegan cookbook and have been craving them ever since - but my excitement at the high protein grain container I had brimming with a mix of yellow, red and black quinoa and amaranth was too much to pass up -- so I grabbed a range of ingredients, experimented and what followed was pure protein bliss!!

A Bowl of Mixed Yum!

Ingredients:
1 cup grain of choice (cooked)
1/2 cup lentils (cooked)
1/3 cup tahini
1 carrot, grated
1/4 cup pumpkin, sesame and/or sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dulse flakes
1 tablespoon miso paste


Mix all these ingredients together in a bowl and form into little ping pong sized balls. Heat a fry pan over  medium heat and cook the balls for a few minutes until toasted and heated through.

Serve on a bed of spinach with veggie salad or steamed greens and top with tahini-miso sauce and a sprinkling of toasted seeds

Tahini-Miso Sauce:
1/4 cup tahini

Although the 'balls' didn't last long
when they met with Mr Fork...

1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon miso
1 tablespoon ume vinegar

Delicious, healthy and packed with more protein than Vin Diesel!!

And PLUS! I made some extra balls and put them in the fridge and they doubled as a yummy snack straight out of the fridge when I got home from work -- yum :)

Please let me know what you think, it's a new recipe and any suggestions/comments are very welcome! :)

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Gran-oh yeah!-la

The crunch. The nuttiness. The health benefits. The deliciousness. The completely innocent guilty pleasure. Yes my friends, I am talking about granola - or as I like to call it, gran - oh yes please I would love some more of this tasty delight - la. But that's a bit of a mouthful...  What else is a bit of a mouthful is granola! And try and not have to many mouthfuls of this little beauty! Impossible!

Lauren's Nutty Crunch Granola

Dry Ingredients

1 Cup raw Buckwheat Groats (or what I like to refer to as my little Buckwheat Gloats because, let's face it, if I were a buckwheat I would gloat too...)
1 Cup Raw Oats
1 Cup each of your choice of raw nuts -- I used cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts and walnuts
1 Cup of your choice of raw seeds -- sunflowers, pepitas, sesames are all yummy additions!
1 Cup of dried fruits -- gojis, raisins, cranberries -- whatever takes your fancy! My only suggestion is to try and buy ones without added sugar or preservatives!
A touch of real salt

I blitzed these together in my food processor on a low pulse so that they blended together and chopped up but were still in big enough pieces that they could be separated - so depending on how chunky you like your granola chop your ingredients to your desired size!

Then top with...
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup (the real stuff only!)
1/2 Cup almond butter
1/2 Cup oil of your choice -- I used Macadamia oil to echo the nuts and seeds that are in the granola, however any healthy relatively flavourless oil will work fine!

Mix and add more wet ingredients if desired

Spread onto your baking dish, and bake at 180 degrees (Celsius) for 40-60 minutes, depending on your oven.

Remove and enjoy with your favourite milk and fresh fruits... If you can wait that long... Mine never seems to make it to the bowl before I begin gobbling it up...

These crunchy granola pieces also make great snacks! Pop in a bag or container and take them with you as a great, healthy, satisfying snack to keep you powering along in between meals!



Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Super-asana

One a month, my yoga teacher hosts an advanced Vinyasa class on a Friday night -- my favourite night of the month! I got home from uni quite late befor class last night and needed something nutritious to power me through without being heavy on my stomach -- and thus my Superfood smoothie was born!!

Add to your blender:
A good handful of greens (I used spinach and kale)
A cup of your favourite soy, nut, rice or coconut milk
A scoop of Spirulina and wheatgrass powder
A spoonful of Acai berries
A banana (preferably organic)
A cup of berries -- I used some yummy blueberries
A handful of goji berries
A spoonful of almond butter
Two scoops of your choice of protein powder (I used a mix of Sunwarrior Rice Protein and Pea Protein!)

Blitz and serve :)

Jam packed with protein, fibre and more antioxidants than dollars in Donald Trumps bank account -- it's no wonder I was able to master some of the more advanced asanas that I would usually only watch others perform in awe and admiration! And let me assure you it will be the most amazing coloured smoothie you will ever drink in your life! And it tastes even better!!

Please let me know what you think, and any additions you make! :)

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Live Baby Live!

For dinner tonight I felt like something light but satisfying! I have recently been looking into Dr D'Adamo's "Eating For Your Blood Type" theory and have been very intrigued by what he has to say. While I don't believe in specifically cutting out any particular food groups, I have begun to see the similarities between the Blood Type A dietary guidelines and how I select my own food -- a focus on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, soy products, nuts and seeds. I decided to play around with some of the suggestions of Dr D'Adamo and some of the recipes that I found in the Candle Cafe Cookbook (a wonderful resource for vegans and meat eaters alike) and created a "live stir-fry" for dinner which proved to be very, very delicious!

For noodles, slice zucchini, squash and carrots with a mandolin or very sharp knife into thin strips that resemble noodles and set aside. Next, cut up any veggies that you like into nice chunks (I used broccoli, Brussels sprouts, onion, cauliflower and kale)  and scatter over the top of the 'noodles'. Then top with fresh edamame beans, pumpkin seeds, arame (or your choice of rehydrated seaweed) and a sauce made out of miso paste and tamari -- simple, quick, healthful and -- most importantly - delicious!!

Enjoy!

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

p.s. go to http://www.dadamo.com/ to learn more about Dr D'Adamo and his philosophy and definitley visit http://www.candlecafe.com for wonderful recipes, cooking ideas and to ogle at the deliciousness that they create!!

My Green Monster

I love Angela Liddon.

She is inspiring. She is risk-taking. She is hilarious. She is clever. She is a vegan goddess.
I have been following Angela through her website http://ohsheglows.com/ for a long time now, and have tried and tested many of her delicious recipes time and time again!

Angela is famous for her "Green Monster" -- her version of a green smoothie -- and encourages her followers to experiment with their own combinations and create their own unique "monster" [go to http://greenmonstermovement.com/ to learn more!]

This is my Green Monster, a combination of my favourite smoothie ingredients blitzed to perfection which creates a yummy, healing, nourishing breakfast smoothie!

My Green Monster:
1 cup milk (soy, almond, rice)
2 cups spinach or kale
1 frozen banana (creamy perfection)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (although sometimes I change this for strawberries or raspberries)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon linseed meal
A handful of raw almonds
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 tablespoon goji berries
A little pinch of cinnamon

Blitz in a blender, and serve!


I hope this does Angela proud!!

Experiment with your own "Green Monsters" and have a look at Angela's recipes, they are a wonderful way to introduce yourself to vegan food without sacrificing any flavour!! And while you are at it, have a look through Angela's website. Her honesty is so refreshing, and her approach to creating a balance in your lifestyle of healthy eating and exercise is so real! She is a wonderful woman, and reading her blog is one of the best things I have ever done! I go back at least 5 times a day!! Read her story, try some of her recipes and create your own green monster -- your body with thank you, and you will positively glo!

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Layered Mi-So-Yummy Dinner!

After what has been a very long, cold, wet week in Sydney I was in the mood for something soothing and satisfying for dinner tonight to warm me up!! I made up my plate combination as I went along, but looking back it really does make perfect sense!

I constructed it in layers and will be describing it in the same way (and hence the name layered mi-so-yummy dinner) but the layering is really in reference to the preparation. The beauty of this recipe is that it is  so versatile and can adapt to any grains, proteins and vegetables you have in your cupboard!

1. Vegetable Layer
Stem whatever vegetable you like -- I chose some kale, Brussel Sprouts and zucchini

2. Tofu Layer
Sautee a sliced brown onion until tender, then add tofu cubed and grill until golden brown

3. Grain-Seaweed-Miso Layer
Cook up whatever grain you like -- brown rice, wild rice, barley, quinoa, millet - until tender. Notice the water level -- when there is around five minutes to go in the cooking add some seaweed of your choice (is used arame and wakame) to rehydrate in the water. Finally, take the grain and seaweed mix off the heat and stir in a few tablespoons of miso paste

Layer the steamed vegetables in a bowl, topped with the tofu, onions and grain-seaweed-miso mix, coriander, some tamari roasted seeds and a drizzle of both tamari and sesame oil

Easy, healthy, warming, nourishing and delicious!!

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Miso Porridge - a savoury way to start a cold winters day!

Sometimes the traditional 'sweet' breakfast foods of berries, fruits and honeyed cereals are not what you may feel like on a cold winters morning. When it's cold and rainy outside nothing soothes me more than a savoury grain based porridge! Everyone knows the healing, smoothing benefits of miso -- and who says you have to wait until dinner to enjoy?

I like to start the morning with whatever grains I have left over from the night before; brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, barley to name a few - and make a delicious savoury porridge!

Start off by sautéing a sliced brown onion and your choice of diced vegetable (I have use carrot, zuchinni or spinach most often) in a saucepan for a few minutes until tender, then add two cups of water and a cup of your choice of grain and simmer until heated through and the water has soaked into the grain to desired consistency. In the final minutes of cooking, add one tablespoon of miso paste and stir through to dissolve - this will make the porridge creamy and delicious! Serve topped with torn toasted nori and toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Yum!!!!

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Winter Wonderland

After a beautiful time spent in the heat and sunshine of a New York City summer, I have returned home to a very, very cold Sydney winter. While I have only been home for a little over a day, I can already feel my body calling to be filled with seasonal winter foods and it is only right that I honour my body and investigate its seasonal needs. A core principle of a macrobiotic and conscious lifestyle is the concept of 'seasonal eating' - using fresh, in season produce prepared in a method with flavours that best nourish your body for whatever season it is facing.

Today, in honour of the cool wintery day that it is I thought it seemed only appropriate to share with you some helpful tips on how to best honour your body and its needs during the winter months...

In winter our body burns energy fighting off the cold, and bringing in warmth to the core of our being. We can help our body along in this through our eating habits - opting for warming cooking methods such as casseroles, stews and soups are great ways to warm your body from the inside. The foods we choose to put in our dishes are essentially what will ensure our body is nourished and ready to fight off nasty winter colds - wholegrains such as barley and millet are a great way to do this! Also look for dark leafy greens, root vegetables such as sweet potato, turnips, parsnips and pumpkin, legumes and use dark miso, tamari and sea vegetables as healthful and healing winter foods. Dry skin is a common winter ailment, so it is a good idea to use good quality oils in cooking to moisten your skin - my favourites are olive oil, sesame oil and coconut oil! Nuts are a great way to include essential fats in your body, and a nice way to include these in winter is by roasting raw mixed nuts in an oven and serving them warm and toasty drizzled with tamari.

Our skin is our largest organ, so as it dries out in winter we must also remember to keep our other organs and joints lubricated as well - and the best way to do this is through yoga. It is natural to want to be inside when outdoors is cold and windy so to ensure that you don't lose your practice invest in a great yoga DVD that can be done from the comfort of your own home and (best of all) in your favourite tracksuit pants and sloppy joe!!

SEASONAL (TR)EATS:
Fabulous Fruits: apples, pears, kiwis, passion fruits, quince, avocados, lemons and limes
Vivacious Veggies: broccoli, Brussel sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, turnips, parsnips, sweet potato, pumplin, leek, artichokes and kale

Honour what you need to get your body, mind and spirit through winter and remember: spring is just around the corner!

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Going Loco for Peacoco!

Peanut Butter is unashamedly my favourite thing on this planet! I love to eat it on toast with honey, as a dip with fruit, smeared over a banana, in a smoothie - any which way I can!

As you would expect, one of my favourite recipes is satay sauce and I have spent many, many days and nights modifying recipes until I came to what I call the ultimate satay sauce: pea(nut) coco(nut) satay or PEACOCO! Satay's remind me of tropical holidays and always transport me to beautiful beaches in Thailand or Bali stilling under a tree in a hammock watching the sun glisten on the clear water. Naturally, the addition of coconut milk to the recipe not only made it taste wonderful but also brought forward even more the delicious nuttiness of the peanuts and the smell of the salt water from the tropical beach paradise!

So here, my beautiful friends, is my recipe for my favourite satay sauce - although it does come with a warning: this will become a staple in your house for adults and children alike so beware! Never use if unwanted guests are over for dinner because they will never, ever leave!!

You will need:
1/2 cup good quality peanut butter (translation: the ingredients list should read 'peanuts.' period.
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup tamari (you can use soy if you like, but I would recommend tamari for flavour and your belly's wellbeing)
1/4 cup lemon juice and brown rice vinegar mixed together (i.e. a good splosh of brown rice vinegar and a good squeeze of a fresh lemon)
1 minced garlic clove
1 tablespoon of minced fresh ginger
1 red chilli (optional! I love hot food so I use one good birds eye chilli, but the recipe is just as good without chilli at all! You can decide based on your mood/audience)
A little squeeze of honey (again, optional but I find it rounds out the sharp vinegar and lemon nicely)
A handful of fresh mint and coriander

Blitz your ingredients in a blender until smooth and serve either at room temperature as a dipping sauce with fresh cut up veggies and tofu on skewers or transfer to a saucepan and heat slowly over a low flame constantly stirring until heated through if you prefer your sauce warmed. Pour over a bowl of steamed kale and quinoa/brown rice and top with toasted crushed peanuts or pepitas - absolutely incredible!

Can you hear the hammock calling?

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

A beautiful thought...

"I crossed the street to walk in the sunshine." 

— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love.)






What a beautiful way to brighten your day.


Love and light, 
Lauren xxx

Warming Peanut Butter Breakfast

Is it me, or is this winter colder than most? I know that when I am feeling the cold and have to get up early for work in the morning there is only one thing to warm me up from the inside out and give me the courage to step out of my toasty house into the wintery world outside!

I am a peanut butter enthusiast!! I love it crunchy, smooth any which way -- but most of all I like it ORGANIC AND WITHOUT ANY ADDITIVES! That is my only deal breaker in my peanut butter relationship! To me, peanut butter porridge just makes sense!! Warm, filling and a great way to start your day!

Add to a saucepan:
1/2 Cup Oats -- real oats please! None of this 'instant' nonsense!
1 Cup your favourite milk -- soy, almond or rice
Over medium heat and let it simmer for 5 or so minutes, until part of the liquid has absorbed.

Spoon in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and a pinch of cinnamon and stir to combine. Continue cooking until your porridge has reached your desired consistency.

Pour your mixture into a bowl and top with a sliced banana and a sprinkle of chia seeds.

Delicious, healthful and warming -- yum yum!!


Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Decisions, decisions...

What should I do?

A big question which every being on this planet will at one time or another ask themselves. When facing a crossroads where do you turn for guidance? Friends? Family? The flip of a coin? While all these options will give you an answer, you are the one who has to live with the ramifications, so why not listen to what you have to say?

Sounds simple in theory, but in practice this can become quite difficult. Even though there is only one person that you must answer to, there are many different parts of you that want to have a say! Your body loves to chime in and give its two cents about what your cells need, which may be in direct contrast to what your spiritual being is asking of you. Then your have to deal with your intellectual perspective who always has something interesting to say, and toss in your social self and creative self, and you have the recipe for complete confusion!

So what can we do about this?

Trying to listen to all of yourself at once will leave you feeling confused, frustrated and as if you are in your own personal episode of The View. So create a quiet space - maybe for you that's outside, in your room, on a bench at a park, wherever you feel at peace. Sit, breathe and be present in your surroundings. Once you are ready, create a circle of trust with yourself and get out your talking stick. One by one hear what each part of you has to say. Let yourself express your fears, hesitations and concerns. Remember that no one part of you is more important or valuable than another. Each part of you needs to be happy otherwise a balance will not be achieved. Listen to what every self has to say and let your decision resonate with you for a while. Sit on it, see how it feels - could you live with this decision? How will it impact you in 10 minutes? 10 hours? 10 days? 10 months?

While everyone will have an opinion on decisions you make as little or large as they may be, it is you who has to live with the outcome - so simply ask yourself! You will know the right answer, if you just take some time to listen to what you - all of you - has to say..

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Teach me! Teach me!

The world is full of wonderful yoga teachers who lead their yogi's and yogini's into the realm of eternal happiness :)

There are some really wonderful yoga teachers out there, and I have personally found it very inspiring to track their journey into yoga superstardom and follow where they are at in their own practice. Below are some wonderful teachers who I have turned to along the way and that may be a source of encouragement, inspiration and wonder for you as well!

Kathryn Budig www.kathrynbudig.com
The ultimate. This women is a goddess on earth, and I love her more than anything!

Rainbeau Mars www.rainbeaumars.com
Anyone whose about me reads "yes that is her real name" has to be awesome!! This girl is phenomenal!

Tara Stiles www.tarastiles.com
Deepak Chopra's personal yoga instructor - enough said...

Tiffany Cruikshank www.tiffanyyoga.com
Fantastic in mixing yoga practice with holistic medicine


Explore, read their blogs and find one who inspires you in your own journey :)



Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Eliminate the Negative

I sleep with a small collection of books next to my bed. I adore reading - the mere thought of reading a great book sends chills up my spine - but it takes quite a book to be placed in the prestigious position next to my bed. This spot is reserved only for the 

crème de la crème 

of the literary world. Books that have not only changed my life, but changed my life's journey.



Today, the book I wanted to quote from sits firmly beside my bed. It is a book that was given to me by my mother as a way of saying "yes Lauren, you are normal, we all get a bit muddled up sometimes" and it has saved me during many a distraught morning, anxious evening and sleepless night.


This book is called You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay. It explores the idea that we have control over our destiny - a novel idea, isn't it? - and that by changing our thought patterns and approach to all situations and confrontations, be they good or bad, we can drastically alter the outcome of our lives.


The quote I wanted to share with you today comes from the second chapter of the book, which looks to identify and change problems that occur within our own lives from our own viewpoint,

"It is safe to look within"

The first time I read that line, I had to repeat it ten or eleven times before I started to realise why it was making me uncomfortable. "It is safe to look within." Safe. Safe. Safe? What does she mean by safe? How do I define safety? Surely to a small child safety means looking both ways before crossing the street and not talking to strangers. To a teenager safety is wearing a helmut when skateboarding (and occasionally when teenage girls wear high heels..) To an adult safety is indicating at a round-a-bout and wearing gloves when touching dangerous chemicals. 


Safety implies that there is some form of harm that we must be protected from. Surely there is not harm in looking outside of yourself for answers? It's very difficult to get yourself to a place where you can search deep inside for answers, so isn't that what we need protection from? We find shelter in shying away from asking the tough questions, but if you can face the biggest demon of them all, yourself, and ask him these questions to his face is there anything you can't do?


Take some time to find a quiet place, relax and think about what's bothering you - it may be a work or family problem, your partner, a friend, health concerns or financial woes - why is it concerning you? What exactly are you worried will happen? Think about the statements that you are associating with your problem, and note the use of any negative words "can't", "shouldn't", "don't" -- meditate on these for a while, and start to transform them into positives "can", "should", "do!" Repeat these to yourself, and you will find that the negative associations will start to slip away. It's ok if these feelings begin to creep back, just refocus, centre yourself and find your positive phrases again.


Put your hard hat on guys, we are going in(side)


Love and light,
Lauren xxx




http://www.amazon.com/You-Heal-Your-Life-Gift/dp/1561706280/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307712571&sr=8-1