Day 3 of writing and yoga and hooray for sproutings of all kinds! This post is going to include pictures, to satisfy my (and your) visual cravings. I’ve got seedlings and roots coming out of my ears. Okay, not really, but it feels that way! It feels SO satisfying to be putting things in the dirt, watching them work their way out of the soil and up toward the sun, as they grow in height and strength. And to be consuming mostly plants feels awesome! I can’t believe it, really. I was raised by a health nut not-so-strict-vegetarian, but this really feels different to me. Somehow, it is much more “whole” as I’m involved in every part of the cycle. The seeding. Planting/germinating. Watering. Growing. Harvesting. Beautifying. Preparing. Consuming. Composting. Feeding the soil. Planting seeds. And on it goes. There is a sense of completion, contentment, a fullness. The transfer of energy from me to the plant and vice versa is amazing! Its something you just have to experience for yourself to understand.

Green eggs!

I have been experimenting with different dishes and vegetables. Three nights ago I made my classic chicken lemongrass soup. Two nights ago I made scrambled eggs over sauteed kang kung with avocado and carrots. Last night I tried kelp noodles for the first time, chopped up with cucumber and green sprouts mixed with a little apple cider vinegar and wheat-free tamari sauce. Also made some guacamole and had some carrots and corn chips on the side. This morning we had green eggs! I scrambled eggs with a little bit of liquid chlorophyll mixed in and the boys got cinnamon butter toast, while I had mine with romain lettuce and carrots. Lunch for me today was romaine lettuce with chicken, avocado, sprouts and cucumber with apple cider vinegar and olive oil. I’ve had some coconut water, water with powdered moringa in it… I need to figure out some kind of reliable and hefty snack.

Scrambled Kang Kung & Eggs with Carrots & Avocado

Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps

I’ll be experimenting with some of the Body Ecology Diet recipes this weekend. I want to try to do some purees and make more things that my kids will eat. They have been eating more vegetables than ever, just because they are offered so often. A little bit of greens here, a bite of carrot there, etc. I’m realizing how much it adds up. Something I really want to figure out and play with is what to put in their preschool lunchbags. I’ve at least been adding to their usual peanut butter and jelly sandwich and applesauce. I’ve been throwing in baby carrots (since my recent discovery at my parents’ house that my littlest one will eat them…after so long of refusing!). Got any other ideas? I need to find some kind of “green” bread recipe. My kids eat a lot of bread (I’m really missing it right now).

Chakra Recipes Cookbook by Miro

Changing the way I’ve been eating has me feeling lighter. Cleaner. Full of life. Of course, I’ve only been keeping up the changes for a short time now, but if I feel this great about it now, I can’t wait to see how I feel in a few months, or a year from now! Many resources have been popping up around me, including a friend & yoga instructor named Miro. She is a wonderful woman who has published a book called Chakra Recipes, and many of the recipes are great for what I’m doing right now! She has beautiful artwork in the book as well. It is just a lovely creation and it inspires me every time I flip through it. The recipes are very simple, with minimal ingredients, and much versatility. A few of them I have to adapt a little bit to fit more in line with Body Ecology, but its easy. We have a couple of copies for sale at Nuts & Grains for $25.

Something I really look forward to is having most of the veggies that we eat come from our garden! I know it’ll take time, but I’m already so excited about all my little lettuce, cucumber and zucchini sprouts. The kids are having a lot of fun watching the difference in the sprouts even from when we see them in the morning to when we get home in the afternoon. They’ve been talking about sunflowers a lot lately, so when I saw the seed packets, I knew we’d get them and grow them. Plus, I just noticed yesterday when I was look at my treasure map, that I’ve got sunflowers on there!

Kang Kung rooted in a vase!

Zucchini seedling

Our future salad

Speaking of my treasure map, I took it out of the closet (because its too big for me to put it anywhere else for now!) and set it up on the couch. I did my yoga yesterday afternoon and was really feeling connected with my breathing, my body, my surroundings. I felt very grounded, yet with that divine connection that you just can’t explain. The minute you try to explain it, it fades. All I can say is that I felt all the inspiration I was breathing in. And when I was finished I looked at my treasure map and suddenly so many things on there clicked in a new way. I was seeing how certain things were unfolding and I am just blown away by the power of treasure maps! And it really is just that. A map of treasures. A guide to your desires. A visual reminder of your passions, goals, or things that came to you intuitively (even if they make no sense for awhile). I recommend making a treasure map to anyone, at anytime (even though there are some very beneficial and auspicious times to make one!). I hadn’t looked at it for about a month or so, and I can’t believe how much on it is manifesting…in the areas of health, healing, BREATHING, fresh, clean, simple, back to the earth, fun, energy, vitality, flowers, gardening, and more!

A happy mess...

I am truly blessed. The universe is always conspiring toward my highest good and I just love it all to pieces.

Well folks, thats a grand total of  1050 words, so I’m out!

Behold! My 2010 Treasure Map! It turned out huge. Two poster boards worth of treasure mappin’ magic! I don’t even have anywhere to put it. It won’t fit where my last map was, and the only two spaces in my house where it would fit, I don’t want it displayed there. So for now, I have no idea where it will live, but I knew this one had to be big. Especially to accomodate my “breathing space” in the center.

This year is huge. I can feel it. And yet, it all comes back to my word of the year, BREATHE. So simple, essential and effective. So much going on, but in the center, I am breathing. At peace. Pure freedom. It is my body’s number one function that gives the life force to all the rest. And this year, loving and nurturing my body is a huge focus for me. I am aiming at reaching new heights in energy, strength, flexibility, and just feeling ALIVE. I want to feel genuinely healthy, not the “I’m trying to be healthy, yet I’m not really feeling it” kind of healthy.

Another focus of mine this year is to transform my relationship with myself as a mother and a woman, and finding the balance between the roles I play in my life. While on the surface, my relationship with my kids may seem great, there are many changes that I would love to make, and there’s no better time than NOW.

Of course, it may be obvious just taking one look at my map, but I am surrounding myself with nature, plants, flowers, fairies, magic, love, respect, fun and laughter while on this journey.

This year I am going to get a handle on my finances and keeping everything organized and well documented. I want to get clear about my business and where I’m going with it.

How am I going to do ALL of this?? I have no idea. But I am going to keep my number one focus in my heart the whole time: BREATHE… No matter what happens this year, I am going to spend a lot of time breathing, back to my center, so that I can more clearly follow my intuition.

Did you make a treasure map during the Aries new moon? If not, you can still make one! The Aries new moon has a profound energy to it that gets these maps done, but you can create on of these any time of the year, and in any variation that you prefer! Just remember to have fun and do what your heart tells you.

Clearing out the old to make room for the new!

Spring is in the air and it is almost Treasure Mapping time!

In conjunction with my New Moon Creative Challenge, I am also simultaneously DECLUTTERING! It’s time to clear out the old, broken, worn-out, unused, stagnant energy in order to allow in fresh new energy into my life! The easiest and most tangible way to do this is to declutter your home! I am committing to 2 days a week of decluttering, though I am hoping to plug away bit by bit each day.

You don’t have to do it all in one fell swoop! Pick one little thing, like ONE shelf in ONE cabinet. Or maybe your sock drawer. Or your handbag. Don’t feel pressured to “get it all done in time”, just do what you can, when you can, and TRUST that it is all in perfect timing just the way it is!

ANY decluttering is better than no decluttering!

My current Treasure Map from this past year

So what is a Treasure Map, you may be wondering? It is basically a vision board, a collage of things that appeal to you, whether it be your goals, desires, dreams, feelings you want to manifest for the year, or whatever looks good when you see it! People do all different kinds of treasure maps. There’s the basic collage style, made from magazine cutouts and pictures. Some have painted their’s, others create one on the computer using digital images. I’ve seen some done in a sort of scrapbook journal way and then some even put together a basic movie or slideshow format!  The possibilities are endless. Myself, I am currently favoring the traditional collage style.

Treasure Mapping is most efficiently done during the Aries New Moon of the year, which occurs on April 14th this year. This is because it is the astrological new year, and the Aries new moon brings a fresh new energy of action, setting goals, clarifying dreams, and planting the seeds for what we desire. It is pretty important to not jump the gun and do your map before April 14th, as you really want to utilize the energy that comes during the new moon itself. In fact, I do little to no planning either, I let the energy take me where it will on those couple days of the new moon (technically you get until the next new moon, but the energy in those first couple days is awesome!)

So while we don’t do much to prepare for the actual maps, we can definitely be clearing things out. It is hard to have clarity about where you want to go in life when you have a lot of stagnant old energy laying around in the form of clutter!

To read more about the energy of this New Moon in Pisces leading up to Treasure Mapping time, you can read Tracy Cook’s awesome article HERE

I Am Alchemy “Create Your Own Treasure Map”

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