California Central Coast Treasures

Venture to Morrow Bay

I just returned from a trip to the beautiful Central Coast of California.  A good friend of mine from Ohio (Thea Brigham) just moved to Arroyo Grande and she invited me for a visit.  Thanks for the great time Thea!!

Saturday we explored the beaches at Pismo and Grover.  It was part stormy, part sunny - but beautiful!  At Grover Beach there is a Monarch butterfly grove. The butterflies migrate from the Rockies and even as far away as Canada each year to this same area.  There are thousands of butterflies grouped together in the trees. During cooler weather (which it was when we visited) the butterflies stay huddled in large groups - but when the sun is out and the temp is above 55 they fly around in the woods.  Quite a sight I am sure!  There were telescopes set up so we could see into the clusters - and view all the individual butterflies.  It was pretty amazing!

We then headed to Santa Barbara to explore all the sights, shop and eat at a few of the many, many wonderful restaurants.   It was beautiful, refreshing, and uber cool.  We both decided the pressure to be "cool" would be exhausting if you lived there.  But maybe "cool" comes with a Santa Barbara address? Who knows.  But it was fun and not possible to see it all in a two days.  I would love to go back.

As always, when I travel, I look for bead shops, yarn or fabric stores and off-beat galleries.  This time I found a very cool place in a very unusual location.  On my way to Thea's I stopped off to visit the Santa Inez Mission.  To get there I had to go through the little Danish down of Solvang.  It is totally Danish in every way - from the architecture, the food and the atmosphere.  After visiting the Mission, I took some time to drive around the streets of Solvang.  One store caught my eye - it was filled with extremely bright colors - red, pink, orange, yellow - it was called Knit Fit, A Creative Community.  I parked on Copenhagen Street and walked to the store.  When I opened the door I fell in love!  Fabric, yarn, art supplies, papers, felt and more.  All in the most beautiful bright colors!  It filled my heart with joy!  Take a look for yourself.

There is so much more to tell, but I promised I would keep my posts short(er).  So you can see the rest of the trip in pictures.  It was a full five days!

Thanks again Thea, for showing me such a wonderful time!

In the spirit of adventure and friendship,  Cindy

What do you want?

How can you set an Intention when you don't know what you want?

The past two weeks my Awaken • Emerge • Create Spiritual Discussion Group has been discussing setting Intentions for 2012.  When I asked people to share their intentions, one person volunteered. Others has some idea, but others had no idea.  The concept for this topic was to help people look to the new year and create plans for a meaningful  year.  Not just the tired old "resolutions".  But what I didn't realize, people are not so clear on what they want.  Sure, they can tell you what they don't want, but seeing a clear picture of what they DO want, not so easy.  It has challenged me. 

The truth is, knowing what you don't want is half way to finding what you do want.  But it seems a bit more complex - or so I thought it was.  Then I listened to a guided meditation by Deepak Chopra (the link is below).  In the mediation he guides you to an understanding of the "infinite organizing power of intention".   What I realized from listening to the mediation a couple of times is that intention acts without much effort - we think and intention follows.  


I learned three important things:

• Ask your heart what you want, not your head.
• Ego gets in the way of truly understating what you desire.
• Gratitude eliminates ego.  Ego cannot co-exist when we are in a state of gratefulness.

But, the most important thing is the knowing that we can harness the infinite organizing power of intention because we are part of the bigger infinite field of possibilities!  When we can accept the concept that we are part of everything that is, then an intention becomes a simple process.   The power of  a thought.

Hope you enjoy this meditation! Just click the link below.  Thanks Deepak. Let me know what you think.

http://www.chopra.com/files/newsletter/Jan12/Jan12-Waterfall.html

In the spirit of infinite possibilities,  Cindy

Crazy Sexy Diet - Book Review

Eat your VEGGIES, IGNITE your spark, and LIVE like you mean it!

In 2003, Kris Carr was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She began an adventure that she captured on video and made into a documentary called "Crazy Sexy Cancer".  Since her cancer was very rare (0.01%) and had no known cure, she decided to get healthy and change her diet and life style.  She begins to investigate alternative methods of treating the disease.  First she embraced the mantra "I am not sick" and then turned her search for health into a uplifting adventure.  She is one amazing young woman.  She has created the film documentary, two books about her journey "Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor" and "Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips" and now has written a prevention book for everyone called "Crazy Sexy Diet".   Kris has an unstoppable spirit and creative view on everything she does.  It is contagious.

This book is about health and disease prevention.  She talks about inflammation in our systems causing a multitude of problems, including cancer. Eating healthy, listening to our bodies and putting our health first seems like a broken record.  How many times have we read about this type of information, but Kris tells it in a way that is funny, irreverent, clever, and inspiring. Her enthusiasm and contagious spirit call you into this book. And has she done her research! The book is chock full of wisdom and sound advice on nutrition and life style. Watch the video trailer for her book below.

If you want to be healthier in 2012 this is the book for you.  I am starting off 2012 with a month long detox from sugar, dairy and processed foods.  It has been a week and I feel like a new person - more energy, clearer thinking and less bloated.  During this week I ran across this book and started reading it.  I was immediately taken in by the message of vitality, health and spiritual wholeness.  It is not a diet, but a way of life.  I am inspired.

Kris Carr is a messenger.  She was diagnosed with a fatal disease that she turned into adventure.  She shared it with the world, created guidebooks for others with cancer and now she is reaching out to everyone, advocating prevention with this wonderful book.  Many of us ask, "What is my purpose, why am I here?".  Kris Carr is living hers in a crazy, sexy life.  Her worst day, became the beginning of fulfilling her life purpose.   And she's doing it in a big way!

In the spirit of crazy, sexy living,  Cindy