Soaking up some rays and getting some Vitamin D is a great way to self-nurture - even in the winter!

There are so many powerful ways we can Love our selves free from all limiting thoughts, attitudes, behaviors and patterns. Each step we take is so very worthwhile. Nurturing – which is SO different from self-medication, is loving and Love will always be the healer.

Our method of releasing EVERY thing that we don’t enjoy in our lives is the Love Method. We apply Love and the upset dissolves and resolves. Love shifts every appearance of something unlike itself into expressions of Love.

One of the simplest ways I’ve learned to nurture myself that relates to food and diet is that I am very mindful of not getting over-hungry and letting my blood sugar drop. My friend, Jesse Brune calls it “hangry.” It’s how you feel when you get so hungry that you begin to feel irritable.

Make an extra effort to be loving to yourself. It’s easy to carry nutritious snacks with you in your bag or your car. Bags of nuts or even trail mix (no peanuts) are perfect.

Everyone hears so much about drinking more water, yet lots of people don’t drink enough water. If you’re constipated, you might really just be in need of considerably more water. When you’re more hydrated you’re less likely to have emotional upsets and your also much less likely to eat too much. Many people eat too much and too often for their bodies needs simply because they’re actually thirsty.

It’s been extremely valuable to me to learn how to nurture myself with food rather than medicate with food. I’ve noticed that everything in my life – yes, EVERYTHING in my life has changed because of my loving myself. Because I love myself, I don’t usually overeat. Overeating leaves me feeling stupefied and uncomfortable and that’s not kind and loving to myself.

Consider giving yourself the same care that you would give a young child that you were responsible for, and that you dearly loved.

If you were responsible for the care and feeding of a young child would you:

• give them so many things to do that they felt overwhelmed?
• feed them junk food that left them feeling physically unstable?
• not allow them to get enough sleep? Keep them up late watching mindless television?
• medicate them until they passed out and then yell at them for doing that?
• deprive them of enough water to help them feel balanced?

You wouldn’t mistreat someone you love.
So, it stands to reason that making a real effort to actively be loving to yourself, “sweetheart, darling,” that you’ll begin to blossom and transform.

Be willing to pay close attention to when you’re disregarding yourself, being dishonoring or disrespectful to yourself, and when you’re mistreating your body. Being more mindful is itself being loving.

One way to stay on track is to have a buddy and/or to make use of our facebook group. With a buddy, if you’re someone who texts, as many people do these days, you can do our Pray & Clear together. As a way of being more accountable and feeling more connected, you can take pictures of everything you’re eating in a day and text them to each other. If you make the agreement to text the pictures to each other, it can be a fun way to keep track of what you’re eating – and it will make you think twice or three times about whether or not you really would like to eat something at that time. Give it a go if it feels like it would be fun for you!

Loving ourselves IS a spiritual practice. Find some ONE thing you can do each day, that’s an extra effort. It might be a small thing that makes a real difference, like massaging your feet with moisturizer while you watch tv or putting on some fun music and dancing around your kitchen while you do the dishes!

Spiritual practice SAVES time that would otherwise be spent in suffering.
Invest in spiritual practice rather than in suffering.
It’s that simple.

Here are some simple, no cost self-nurturing things that I really enjoy and do often:

• going for a swim in the ocean or just watching the waves
• gazing at the moon and stars
• being still and listening to the birds
• sipping a cup of tea and being contemplating gratefully
• exercising
• taking a bath with sea salt and essential oils
• smudging my home
• watching the sun rise
• going to bed early
• listening to music
• stretching on my yoga mat
• catch some rays and some Vitamin D – even on a chilly winter day – if the sun’s out!

Often times we make things seem so big and insurmountable. If we have a house full of clutter we will avoid doing anything rather than just beginning and gaining some momentum. It’s the same with our self-loving choices. We go into overwhelm so fast that we immediately reach out for something to self-medicate with. Baby steps are still steps.

You can get there from here with baby steps.
If you’d like to have more Love in your life – BE the Love of your life!

Please remember you don’t have to give up anything important – we’re actually RECLAIMING our JOY and that IS important. We traded poor habits and ego identification for happiness and Joy! We’re getting our life back!

If you’re challenged abstain from certain foods and beverages, if you feel bothered by it, frustrated or upset by the thought of doing without, or even if you feel the cravings are too intense, consider this:

Nothing tastes as good as Joy feels!

Please share your insights, breakthroughs and prayer requests in our facebook group. It’s a loving and compassionate space for all of us. The posting has been SO meaningful and very HELPFUL!

Here’s a great smoothie recipe!

CARROT CAKE SMOOTHIE
Adapted from Diet, Dessert and Dogs
2-6 leaves spinach leaves
1 large carrot, steamed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
. cup fresh or frozen pineapple chunks
1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoon raw walnut pieces
1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
7-10 drops plain or vanilla stevia liquid, to your taste
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened almond, rice or hemp milk

Other additions:
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tablespoon ground flax seed

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until perfectly smooth, scraping down sides a couple of times if necessary (for a cold smoothie, add 2-3 ice cubes). Pour into a large glass and garnish with a sprinkle more cinnamon, if desired.

Enjoy!

If you’re finding what I’m sharing to be helpful won’t you please share at facebook and twitter to let others know? Thank you!

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