Vitamin D3 Absorbsion

I was watching this video from Dr. Mercola and I took his advice and noticed a REAL difference in my skin.

In this video he talks about HOW your skin absorbs vitamin D3 from the sun and how sunlight filtered through window glass actually prevents you from absorbing vitamin D.

He recommends you shower less because your skin needs 24 to 48 hours to absorb the D after sun exposure. I started only washing my whole body every other day. My skin hasn't erupted in acne since I stopped washing it so much!

Jealousy and Joy

As a child I was taught that one of the ten commandments was:
Exodus 20:17
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

I always wondered, "How can I know what I want if I don't see it somewhere else first and decide I want it?"

Today, I had a lesson in this concept of old.

This morning I found out that my friend K and her husband sold their house. It's a house they bought cheap, remodeled BIG TIME and have had up for sale for a while now. We also have a house like that. Our first home we bought dirt cheap, remodeled BIG TIME and refinanced. Then we used the $$ for the down payment on our current home in order to lock in a ridiculously low interest rate.

Our old house has been for sale for over a year now. I'm relaxed in the idea that, when the right person comes along, the house will sell. I'm in no hurry, but I'd like to pull it off the bill roster.

It suddenly occurred to me today, seemingly out of nowhere, that a few years ago, hearing that their house had sold when mine hadn't would've down right pissed me off. I'd have been angry and most likely acted out in some kind of passive aggressive way.

But that's not the case now. It didn't even occur to me to have those thoughts. I was immediately THRILLED for them and became their cheering section from my laptop as I was reading the email. I am excited for them. I wish them so much more happiness than I can express! I'm so grateful to be at this point in my life.

Being happy for the accomplishments of others and wishing them the same blessings you seek for yourself is the key to having anything you want. You see what you want.... but you know that just because THEY have it doesn't mean you can't have it too!!

I still have knee jerk reaction sometimes, but they're sure a lot less than they used to be. It's funny how ALL of your thinking changes when you take on an abundant mindset. Abundance is everywhere and available to everyone! Someone else vibrating in harmony with and attracting their own abundance does not now and will never, EVER mean there's now not enough for you! There's a never ending supply of abundance. Never ending!!! God has no limits. God/The Universe is boundless abundance. No one can ever get your share but you baby!!

I have to stop myself in mid reaction and remind myself of what I know to be true. I'm happy that I can recognize my "sins" (missing of the point) as they happen now instead of going back in my mind and realizing too late. But it's never really too late. If you can identify it, even if it's late, you make it more likely to be caught sooner next time!

Do you get knee jerk jealousy? What do you do to kick the Jealousy Monster?

Telling a Better Story vs Accepting What Is

The other day, Ash and I were talking about the difference between;

1. Accepting where you currently ARE in life in order to turn in the direction of your desired intent.

And

2. Constantly telling the story the way you WANT it to be in order to turn things around by maintaining your good vibes.

There's a big difference between those two approaches and if you're thinking that one is the way to go while the other is just a bad idea, you're right. But are you sure you know which way will get you where you want to be?

Many of the current day gurus like Abraham-Hicks and Dr. Wayne Dyer tell us to ignore what IS and focus on telling the story of what we WANT in our lives. I believe many people CAN'T do this because they feel like they're lying and many people fail with this approach because they ARE lying.

You can't lie to yourself. You already know the truth as you see it. You can't SEE your truth and deny it's there and lie to yourself. You can lie to EVERYONE else if you want to, but your subconscious is way too quick for that.

"But if I admit what's wrong with my life, I'll get more of it and that's not what I want."

The Universe is like an all knowing GPS device. There you are in your car driving down a highway going in the wrong direction. You want directions from your GPS system to get turned around and on a different highway. First, disable the tracking in your car so the GPS doesn't know where you are currently located. Then tell it what highway you want to be on, and affirm that you're already ON that highway with everything you say.

That would SO not get you anywhere good.

You need to say "I AM HERE!" and then say "I WANT TO BE THERE!"

It's not admitting what IS that holds you back from where you want to be. The thing that holds you back is your strong FEELINGS about what IS.

The balance is accepting what currently IS with as much surrender as you can muster. After all, why resist the current moment? The current moment already IS. Resistance implies you can change it by denial.

Surrendering to the current situation doesn't mean admitting defeat either. It simply means that you say, "Okay... This is what's happening now." Then you put your focus on your desired outcome and say, "Where do I go from here?"

You'll be guided. All you have to do it stay awake! Asking the Universe things like "Where do I go from here?" can unleash a mild trickle or a flood. It really depends on how relaxed and happy you stay and your level of faith. You must have faith. Know that you're deserving of what you want and that the Universe is sending you signs always.

Remember, no athlete ever got stronger by denying that they had a weakened area. No addict ever recovered by denying the existence of their addiction.

It's truly imperative to know where you currently stand in order to move in the direction you want to move it.

Coming New Moon ~ Knowing What You Want

Namaste'!

The weather men are calling for SUNNY skies and 57 tomorrow, 75 Friday, 78 Saturday, 78 Sunday, and 73 Monday!!!

After all the cold rain we've been getting, I think this weekend will be the weekend that everything explodes into bright green growth. I absolutely ADORE this time of year. It's so clean and fresh and new and perfect. I'm going to be starting my landscaping this weekend. I can't wait to sit outside in the sunshine with dirt on my hands.

I know many of you write new moon checks and the new moon is coming up this Saturday.

Planting in the waxing moon has been shown to be very beneficial to plants, so I'm also looking extra forward to the new moon Saturday.

I've decided to develop a habit of working with a vision board at the new moon. The last 2 times I've poured some focus and creativity into a vision board, I got amazing results. I think I'll carve out some time, maybe Saturday and Sunday morning while I have my coffee, to think about and focus on what I'd like to manifest in the month to come. For me personally, focusing on intentions and goals in the morning works great. My brain isn't all cluttered up with daily activities. It's freshly rested and relaxed and wide open.

That's what it's all about, right? Knowing what you want and being able to actually identify it. We often find it much easier to identify what we don't want. Of course you know what you don't want to happen. It's the first thing we're taught and conditioned to think about.

We even gave it a name. Murphy's Law. If something can go wrong, it will.

Then we're taught to further over think it by planning AROUND what could possibly go wrong, and call it being prepared.

Do yourself a favor. The next time you catch yourself identifying what you don't want to happen, use your brain as the tool it was intended to be and allow the thought about what you don't want, to trigger you to identify it's counter... A.K.A. What you DO want to happen.

Just practicing this will help you reprogram your automatic thoughts. You know the thoughts I'm talking about too.
Eg. *This isn't going to work* *What if I can't do it?* *If that happens, I don't know what I'm going to do*

Even thoughts as normal and everyday as "Ugh, I hate doing laundry!"

This is one that I still slip on. I have to change that thought into what I WANT... cuz what I want sure ain't doing laundry! LOL I started to change this one by changing it to "I love crisp, clean, unwrinkled clothes!". That helped me to be SEEKING something instead of avoiding something. I will even go so far as to say "Today I am blessing my closet with an abundance of delightfully clean clothes!" I "Bless" my home as a whole and in it's parts and pieces often. This angle of thought is something I picked up from http://www.flylady.com/ (been hearing a lot about her lately too, oddly enough ;) By placing your focus happily on your task at hand, you are transferring positive, loving energy onto it. And in doing so, you're "Blessing" everything. It kinda shifts your perception a little and that little can be enough to start you on a roll.

There's always a way to express what you DO want. Your initial "Oh NO!" reaction is just your brain letting you know what you don't want. It's supposed to let you know. It's only doing it's job. You're the awareness behind the thought. You're the one running this show! If you take the brain's warning shots and then turn your focus to what you DO want and forget about what "might" happen, you'll begin to notice much more desirable outcomes. The Universe (A.K.A. God) can only give you what you ask for.

Take advantage of the new moon coming and set the tone for your month to come by thinking about and identifying what you want to see for yourself and in your life. Write a new moon check or work on a vision board or write a list or create new affirmations or whatever YOUR process is. And if you don't follow a practice... then this is the PERFECT time to start! Don't procrastinate! Take control of what shows up in your life by creating a monthly practice of identifying what you want and asking for it. We're in the growing light of spring and entering the growing light of the new moon... the energies around you are very conductive for creativity and growth.

Coming in Saturday's Waxing Edition E-zine:

• Featured Article: Finding Your Vision


• What's in My Recipe Box?: Grrreat for You Grrranola! Yum!


• Blog Spotlight


• Conscious Living Tip!


• Quotable Quotes


• And More!!

A Poem

My Attitude of Gratitude...
By El Baugher

Thank you for the sunshine bright
And night time dark and deep.

Thank you for the ones I love
And all the one's I meet.

Thank you for the leaves in fall
And flowers in the spring.

Thank you for the JOY inside
my heart that makes me sing!

Thank you for each trial I've faced
And all my lessons learned.

Thank you for the chance to love
And have that love returned.

Thank you for the thankfulness
That drives my life to bliss.

I can't imagine any life more wonderful than this.

Easter - Gross Thought - Quick Story Oh My!

~ An Easter Celebration ~

Here in our house, we celebrate Easter.
We don't celebrate the Christian holiday (because we're not Christian) but we DO celebrate "Spring" with Easter eggs and some candy and some new spring outdoor toys.

This year, because my youngest boys are 9 and 6 (turning 7 next Saturday!) I figured this would probably be the final run of the Easter Bunny, so I wanted to try something fun and different. This year, when they find their Easter Baskets, they'll find only a few toys inside. The Easter Bunny will also be leaving an egg shaped, decorated pinata with all the candy in it. We're having an Easter Egg Hunt with some close friends and when that's finished, the kids will get to bash the CRAP out of the Easter Egg Pinata. YAY!

~ A Gross Thought ~

So, I made this pinata myself.

There I was, last night, over blown balloon in my hand, flour/water goop in a bowl, strips of newspaper everywhere.... and it hit me. As I lifted a goop covered strip of wet dripping newspaper out of the bowl and began to smooth it onto the balloon I realized.... PEOPLE EAT THIS CRAP!!!

That thought REALLY grossed me out.

I mean.... I realize this is common knowledge (at least it is in MY world...) and I've seen and heard it all before, but standing there with that sticky, slimy, gritty, white, pasty GOOP on my hands knowing that when I'm finished, its going to harden up to a point that it'll test the strength of the manliest of men, REALLY grossed me out. It's quite literally... concrete...... so eat it....

~ The Quick Story ~

I never thought much of white flour not too long ago. Back in September 2006, I'd been exercising faithfully for 3.5 months by walking/hiking 1 to 3 miles daily and had STILL not lost any weight. I was easily 205 - 210 pounds but it seemed stuck.

In September, I made a decision to join "Curves", a circuit training gym for women. I went 5 days a week, every morning, faithfully for a month. At the end of that month.... and I was REALLY working out.... I was down 2.5 pounds. I was like...... "Are you freaking joking!?!?"

I wasn't ready to give up yet. I felt better. I could tell that my body felt different. I could tell that my body felt HEALTHIER... One morning, I was taking a walk and it struck me. The food! I was watching my calories and everything, but what about the KINDS of food I was eating.

That day I did some research. The next day I went shopping. From then on, there were only whole grains in our house. We eat lots of whole grain brown rice, whole wheat noodles, whole wheat bread etc...

The next month, when I weighed in at Curves, I was down 10 pounds! I leveled off at 6-7 pounds a month after that and in about 6 months time total (Even counting that pesky first month!) I'd lost the 35 pounds I'd set out to lose. It all rolled pretty fast after I stopped clogging my entire interior with chunks of concrete. I also gave up almost ALL granulated sugars which made me feel FANTASTIC... but that's a whole different blog post! LOL

Whole Grain Flour

White Flour

One of the greatest favors you can do for yourself is to stop eating white flour and start eating closer to the way nature intended. I know it definitely made a HUGE difference in my life.