Finding Peace In This Moment

Traveling the world while teaching about holistic living, based on raw food nutrition and cleansing, I have developed a bird’s eye view of the global movement for wellness – and ultimately a new way of living, relating, creating, and co-habitating. During my travels, I meet people impacted by the challenges we face in modern times. It is the people living simply, close to the Earth, and with low-stress lifestyles that have been able to adjust well to the ecological, economic, and personal demands we find ourselves facing today.

Same goes for myself! Although I love New York City and Amsterdam, where I work most often, I feel much personal relief when I land in sunny natural places where gardens are growing, gentleness pervades, and stars shine. It brings out the best in me to live without the hustle and bustle of the cities. So what to do for those of us committed to, and activated in the cities, and certainly not about to dismiss that call? What can we do in order to heed and honor the personal and professional demands of big city life while not neglecting your greater need to be aligned with the cycles of the moon, receive nourishment from the sun, and take in the trees greater oxygen? Ah, not to mention the oceanic ions that reduce stress levels!

Here are a few things I’ve found helpful in my journey…

Accept where you are at in this moment – and ask, what do I really want? What’s your ideal lifestyle? Do you believe it’s possible to have what you really want? Many of us who live in downtown NYC, rarely make it to Central Park. This place is a huge gift unto itself! Taking your shoes off and walking barefoot is sure to get you grounded. Not to mention lying in the grass (even if you are bundled up) or taking a good swift walk.

Regularity is key! When’s its cold and rainy, do you embrace this weather as part of nature and submerge yourself in that experience? It’s amazing what a 1/2 hour train ride to the beach or country just outside New York City offers. And if you’re in California, even better! Just outside LA and San Francisco is teaming wildlife and reserves.

In general, it seems that the more emotionally and intimately satisfied we are, the more it doesn’t matter where we are. Are your emotional/intimacy needs being meet? In the cities, besides the parks, one of our greatest resources for nature is one another. Try connecting with like minded people who are interested in self growth and being healthy! Eat of nature! Eating living foods will help keep you connected and keep your circulation moving, no matter how much concrete and cold there is!

Want to learn more about the science and spirit of living, thinking, and being healthy? Check out our debut program: 5 Day New You Intensive, Oct. 24th – 28th in NYC, and Nov. 13th – 18th in Amsterdam… coming online soon!

Spread Your Wings, from Bali to Brooklyn

From Bali to Brooklyn and Amsterdam to San Fran, what I experience in my travels are conscious hubs which serve as containers and invitations for a new paradigm way of being. These are destinations where raw foods, yoga, and holistic living in general are rapidly coming up on the radar as signs of where progressive culture can be found. The inexpensive, natural, spa-like lifestyle in Bali seems to be one of the original portals where art and self growth have been thriving as a whole for a long time.

Ironically, in the west, many of us are finding our way back to nature through big city lifestyles that are spawned by creativity and living our dreams through the machinery of what a metropolis can offer. Yet, after many years of living in NYC and working and traveling in the major U.S. and European cities, what I find “missing” is what intrinsically exists living in a more natural (and warm) place – like what I experienced for 10 weeks in Bali this year.

Eating from the organic garden, picking fruit from wild trees, living an indoor/outdoor lifestyle, lying in my bathtub at night with the garden next to me – staring out at the stars and moon without the impediment of walls – ah, yes, my heart is happy. It’s easy to live this way with the internet. I worked with my clients in the west by video skype the entire time. With all the many conscious hubs on the planet and the support they offer – along with the internet – I feel the depth and honoring towards my western roots, and what I can truly contribute in the bigger global picture by not being bound to them.

The key to this type of lifestyle for me has been in letting go, broadening my horizons, and going for what I really want, instead of settling for what I think I should do, or limiting myself in any way. The natural and adventurous life calls loudly amongst my greater service and purpose in the big cities of America and Europe… taking the leap and saying yes to that call – without forsaking my western roots – has been utterly expansive and enlivening. By letting go and taking the risk, I’ve found that I’m supported by our greater global conscious community that is focused on the same mission. May we all spread our wings, free ourselves to fly and live our dreams. I’ve jumped and found it’s more than possible, it’s now my reality!

Ready to spread your wings and take flight, yet need support and guidance? Here’s some suggestions:

-Ask yourself “what do I really want, 1, 5, and 10 years from now”? Are you living in accordance with that vision now?
-What steps can you take now to head in the direction of what you really want? What are you willing to let go off in order to invite the realization of your hearts desires?
-Consider blended and/or juice fasting to gain clarity in your body and mind with the intention of establishing the direction what you truly want.
-Daily meditation, 2-20 minutes, consistently am & pm stills the mind and offers the opportunity to hear your greater hearts calling. BOS – Breath, Observe (w/equanimity), Surrender… keep watching your mind in a state of acceptance as you breath and let go.
-Gain the support of a healthy like minded community that supports your highest potential… support is paramount!
-Self care is the greatest gift… are you self investing? What’s your proactive plan for getting your needs met and what support do you need to follow through?

Take the leap! Without taking a risk there may be no reward. Practically plan and prepare – without postponing. Your time is now! Go for it!