Footloose and Facebook Free

Today is the last day of the liver cleanse which I followed in this first week of 2017. It was a perfect alignment that it arrived in the mail just in time to be a "New Year's cleanse". In mid-December, I experienced several evenings with a mild, dull pain under my right rib cage. The final evening that I felt it coming on, it escalated to a full-blown gall bladder attack. My best guess is that I had a hefty gall stone that was trying to pass through a tiny duct, and it felt like a miniature taste of what childbirth may be like (am I yet to experience this). I went in and out of being able to move or speak properly because of the level of pain that came when waves of contracting organs were literally squeezing me. It was one of the times I can most relate to an out-of-body experience.

It was so unpleasant that I knew I needed a full liver detox to do my best to flush out any other unwanted toxins or tidbits. So if you're feeling like your liver needs some lovin', visit Global Healing Center's online store and order yourself up a liver cleanse kit (actually, I just went to the site and it's out of stock... a lot of liver lovin' is happening apparently...but they have a spot where you can leave your contact to be informed when it's back in stock!). It requires minimizing food intake to particular fruits and veggies (and a few nuts) for 5 days and a very structured daily routine of drinking some potions too. Oh, and a lot of toilet paper. A lot. Like, buy some shares.

I quit Facebook!  It feels sooooo good. I feel free and happy and connected to real humans more than I have in a loooong time. I am focusing more on Me and the people who are right here in my community. For those loved ones far away...we have phones. Skyping. Letters in the mail. Emails. Photo albums. In-person reunions. That's what my 2017 will be full of. This week has been loaded with many of these already. Yahoo!

I closed my Facebook account on January first. Then we decided to have a movie night, which we don't do often. We chose to watch Snowden. We knew little of what it was about. Wow. Was it ever relevant! If you aren't familiar with who Ed Snowden is, he is a former CIA agent who leaked info about the lack of privacy around our information that we all share on computers, email, social media and cell phones. It is a real eye-opener. Make it your next movie night and be ready to learn a lot. We sure did. (The government may be flagging this blog right now. *shiver* Oh well. Maybe they will learn something new by reading it?) Click here for the link to the movie trailer.

We rang in the new year with a plant medicine journey around a campfire under a starry winter sky. It was perfect and relaxed. It reminded me to have fun and take time to laugh and enjoy the simple things: the hidden bits of magic and the special souls who weave their way through our lives. 

Our lovely friend, Christine, and myself have recorded a handful of episodes of our consciousness-themed chat show that we call "Walking the Path".  Each episode, we select a topic and then press record. We completely wing it each time and it's so much fun. I am really excited to share this one with you. It's my favorite so far. They all have nuggets of good info and wisdom in them. I even feel like I learn a whole lot from them!

Speaking of wisdom, I am into a few amazing books this week. Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom by Dr. Christiane Northrup. It's brilliant, and even though it's from 1998 it is highly relevant now (with some outdated details). She weaves together science, physiology, spirituality and reality in a beautiful way. Very vulnerable and real. 

I was recently given a vintage pocket-sized copy of The Prophet by Khalil Gibran. The first time I read this gem was in 2011. A friend offered it to me when I was wading through some very rough tides. It blew my mind and heart wide open. His poetry is magical love alchemy on paper. I can't wait to dive in again!!!

Lastly, but not least, I will re-mention the Gene Keys book and evolution system. It continues to excite me and helps me to focus on the divine essences of many people, including myself. 

www.genekeys.com  You can learn more about it, and get your free gene keys profile here.

I have been accepted into a summer yoga teacher training program in my Pennsylvanian hometown, at the Himalayan Institute. I am so excited for this opportunity!!!  It's been a long time coming (13 years to be exact). Ommmmm sweet Ommmmmm. 

Ps. This is a must see clip - partly humorous... but mostly how I see social media. Thanks friend, for passing this along!

Snowga, Salmonkeys and Stuff.

(A catchy title just wasn't coming, so I squished the blog topics together!)

I finally applied for a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training. I had applied for one back in the spring of 2015, that was going to happen at a retreat in Mexico, but it was cancelled due to low registration. So two years later, I apply again. The training isn't until the early summer of 2017 and it takes place at the Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in my hometown of Honesdale, Pennsylvania. The authenticity of their traditional practices is what has always appealed to me. I look forward to learning and sharing with the world in 2017 and beyond.

I spent six months living at "the institute" in 2003 learning the yogic ways of living. It's where I met my former partner, who was a Canadian on a USA work visa, and how I ended up living in Canada for 13 years...so far. I worked remotely from Alberta for three years as the production manager of their former publication, Yoga International magazine. Another great life experience on the long and growing list. I anticipate hearing back from them whether I have been accepted as a student and we will proceed with travel plans from there. 

In the meantime, we are in the midst of receiving a huge quantity of the white stuff here on Vancouver Island. So much so that we broke out our cross-country skis for the first time in three years. The last time we used them was in 2013 when we still lived up north in Alberta. 

We have been feeling the inspiration to create gatherings and celebrations in this cold, dark season. Potluck dinners and crackling campfires (when the west coast winter rains aren't pouring down) are ancient, time-tested ways to connect community members and warm hearts and hands. Humanity in the western world has been increasingly encouraged to isolate, separate and differentiate between you and I. Between us and them. Between mine and yours. Division and competition among families, communities, religions, races, cultural statuses, various health professionals, political parties, sports fans, neighborhoods, borders and boundaries, students, and belief systems (to just name a few) has been driving invisible wedges between human beings for a long, long time. And for what?! Really. Seriously. In the end, what is that all for? Power? Then what? Survival? Then what? We will all fade away eventually. Let's be honest. None of that stuff matters. 

Inviting all of these separated people, opinions, views and things to join in gratitude around a table and to share a meal, some laughter and meaningful conversation is the most rebellious antidote to all of this separation and madness. All of us can do something to counteract what is happening right before our eyes. We ARE the difference makers. Let's put away our little ticky-tacky devices and shift toward a personal and human connection world again. 

(I know, I typed this on an iPhone.) Aaaaannd, I'm about to put this away and go for a headlamp night ski. With my favorite person and adventure partner, Tanner. 

But first, I want to mention the Gene Keys. This system is one of astrology meets the I Ching. It's amazingly accurate and insightful. It's customized to each of us based on birth date, location and time of birth. It shows us a map of our personal strengths and gifts. It describes each of your keys from the lowest vibration (Shadow), to the middle vibration (Gift) all the way to the highest possible vibration (Siddhi, or Divine Essence). The website is www.genekeys.com

You can create your own map for free. You will, however, need this book to make any sense of your map. We ordered a used copy from www.amazon.ca (there are other options for getting the book as well).

There are many YouTube videos by the author as well. If you seek a deeper understanding of yourself and your life's unique journey and purpose, use this tool. It is incredible and we highly recommend it. If you try it out, we would love to hear what your experience is!

I will sign off with a shout out to the salmon. They are incredible creatures and are such a crucial part of the life cycles in the Pacific Northwest (and other parts of the planet). Amazing!!

We took a stroll down to a very small tributary stream this week. We didn't even expect to see salmon. But there they were. One pair, who safely made their journey back to where they were born, swimming parallel in a calm side pool, dancing their dance of life and death together. They were beginning to show white patches, showing that they were weakening and nearing the end of life. We stood very still and observed their flashy routine. The smaller female would swim up alongside the huge male and nudge him. Then he would quickly turn and swish to where the eggs were and turn on his side and flap and flap as he attempted to fertilize them. His brilliantly-colored scales shined pinkish with his movements. We were just a few feet away and it was special to witness their last act before they would slowly perish and become a meal for a hungry critter.

A few days later I returned and there were many pairs in the  same creek. There was even one pool were several huge males, longer than my arm, were hanging out together. When they saw me, they stopped pushing upstream and floated backward over some small rapids and around a bend to safety. I decided not to interfere and make my way away from the stream so they could do their thing.
Here is a salmon spawning video that was made on Vancouver Island...it's really well done!

Ps. Great info about the salmon life cycle here.