Happiness Habits for the Mind

Happiness Habits for the Mind

Ideas from Happy for No Reason, By Marci Shimoff

Last weekend I attended the “I Can Do It” conference here in San Diego.  I wanted to take the next couple of weeks to share some of the great material I got in the workshops.  I was very impressed with Marci Shimoff’s work on happiness and thought it would be a great topic to start off with.  She is the co-author for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series books for women.  She is also one of the moderators in the movie The Secret.  I know you will enjoy her ideas on how create more happiness in your life.

Happiness Habit #1:  Question your thoughts

Don’t believe your thoughts!

Our thoughts are a major factor in creating our reality.

Suffering is caused by the unquestioned mind.

We have 60,000 thoughts per day; 95% are the same thoughts we had the day before and 80% are negative – we are just recycling negative thoughts over and over again.

On average, as children we hear the word “no” about 200,000 times by the age of 18 and her “yes” only a few thousand times.

Our brains are like teflon for the positive and Velcro for the negative.

How to question your thoughts:  Byron Katie, most famous for her book:  Loving What Is, encourages us to do what she calls “the work” by asking ourselves 4 important questions when we have a negative thought:

1. Is it true?
2. Can you be absolutely, 100% sure the thought it true?
3. How do you react when you have this thought?
4. Who would you be without the thought?

Thoughts lose their power to upset and control us when we question them.  We become freer and happier!

Happiness Habit #2:  Go Beyond the Mind and Let Go

Ever been stuck in a mental loop?

Often times it is the emotion we have with the negative thought; when we release the emotion, we can release the negative thoughts.

Letting go with the Sedona Method:  The Sedona Method^® is a unique, simple, powerful, easy-to-learn and duplicate technique that shows you how to uncover your natural ability to let go of any painful or unwanted feeling, belief or thought in the moment.  It is based on two main premises:

1. Thoughts and feelings are not facts and they are not you.
2. You can let them go.

It consists of a series of questions you ask yourself that lead your awareness to focus on what you’re feeling in the moment and gently guide you toward letting it go.

Step 1: Focus on an issue that you would like to feel better about, and then allow yourself to feel whatever you are feeling in this moment.  Welcome the feeling, whether it is mild or strong, and allow it to be as fully as you can.

Step 2: Ask Yourself:  Could I let this feeling go?

Step 3: Ask Yourself:  Am I willing to let this go?  Would I rather have this feeling or would I rather be free?

Step 4:  When will I let go?  Letting go is a decision you make any time you choose.

Step 5:  Repeat steps 1-4 as often as needed until you feel free of that identified feeling

*For more information on how to implement the Sedona Method check out:  The Sedona Method:  Your Key to Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace, and Emotional Well-being by Hale Dwoskin. (www.sedona.com)

Happiness Habit # 3:  Incline Your Mind Toward Joy

1.         Pay attention to positive thoughts and experiences.

Reverse the teflon/velcro balance by allowing the positive experiences to register.  Once you notice something positive, take a moment to consciously savor it!  Feel it, notice how it feels in your body, notice what thoughts arise.  Some psychologists say it takes 30 seconds to register a positive experience.  We have to let the experience sink in; let the good experiences seep like tea.  Gratitude journals help with this. Another way to take in the good is to give yourself Happiness Awards throughout your day.  In your mind give a mental award to the most colorful room you saw for the day; the best well-behaved dog award; the most courteous driver, etc.

When we change our thinking to support our happiness, the negative pathways shrink and the positive neural pathways widen.  This makes it easier and more automatic for us to think positively.  Marci Shimoff says “we are teaching an old brain new tricks”

2.         Lean into good thoughts

When you have a negative thought, find the positive in the situation and focus on that.  For example.  If you are discouraged that you set out to eat raw foods for the day and by noon you were eating a cooked meal remind yourself that you can have a nice salad at your next meal and that you are making lots of great choices and eating more fresh foods that 6 months ago.  Focus on the times you had live foods and congratulate yourself for making postive changes in your diet.

Shift your focus to the part of the situation that makes you feel better.

Incline your mind towards Joy!

Happy Mind Smoothie:

• 4 small mangos – sliced off of seed
• 2 big handfuls of garden greens of your choice
• 2 cups alkaline ionized water or spring water
• tablespoon of your favorite greens powder – I used Health Force

Blend and enjoy this thick green mango drink!

Have fun creating new happy mind habits, I am!

Katy Joy

You Can Do It: Tools for Inspiration!

It is so good to be here sharing an incredible experience from my weekend.  Rick and I went to the “I Can Do It” conference put on by Hay House.  Many of the speakers have been mentors to me through their books and CD’s over the years and to be in the presence of servants such as Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Christiane Northrup, Bruce Lipton, Brian Weiss, Robert Holden, Gregg Braden, Byron Katie, Marci Shimoff, and many more was a true gift.  These are men and women who walk their talk and have devoted their lives to helping others live more fulfilling lives through their unique messages.  I was thrilled to hear many of them say that what we think and what we eat are the keys to happiness.  Over and over again these inspirational speakers were emphasizing the importance of being more conscious about the things we eat.  There has been a shift and these folks are finally getting that it is not enough to just talk about transforming our thoughts.  We have to fuel or bodies with proper foods (fresh, living foods) to get to the higher places within ourselves.

I have so much I want to share.   I am committed to taking the next few weeks to recap the highlights of the workshops I attended.  There is some great material on happiness that I am particularly interested in passing on to you.  My reality tonight is that it is getting late and I need to take some time to unwind and get ready for my work week.  I am big on balance and getting enough rest is a priority for me.  Keep checking in, as I will be sharing some very useful tips for personal contentment in the weeks to come.

Before I transition into my relaxation mode I thought I would share how I handled eating this weekend.  We had some out of town friends stay with at our home so they could come to the conference with us.  They eat lots of fresh foods as well and we supported one another is eating well while on the go.

Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday:  Green smoothies and live breakfast cookies. 

Smoothie recipe for Sat:  4 cups water, 2 cups strawberries, 3 bananas, 2 cups spinach, and 4 kale leaves.  (Made 4 16 oz smoothies)

Smoothie recipe for Sunday:  juice of 3 blood oranges, 2 cups water, 2 cups strawberries, 1 bag frozen organic mangos, 2 cups spinach, 1 cup parsley.  The breakfast cookies were a spin off from one of my recipes in our breakfast section.  (Made 4 16 oz smoothies)

I put the smoothies in glass bottles I had saved.

Snacks:  I made up snack bags for all of us each day which included: blueberries, bananas, tahini bliss balls (see recipes), goji berries, walnuts, two moms in the raw granola bars, water.

Lunches:  Saturday I made raw sandwiches using onion bread I made during the week.  I also made some dill mayo with cashews, apple cider vinegar, lemon, salt, dill and a dash of agave.  The sandwiches had cucumber, sprouts, avacado, and lettuce on them…so good!  We had celery slices on the side.  For lunch on Sunday I made a big kale salad (see my recipe in the salad section) and we had it with left over onion bread topped with spinach pesto.

I packed up everything in an ice chest and we went to the car on our breaks to eat.  Many people asked us where we got our food and wanted to join us!

I always pack up my own food to take wherever I go.  I really encourage you to do the same.  It is a sure set up to veer off the live food path to rely on conference vendors to provide the great nutrition your body deserves.

Create a great week!!!!

Katy Joy

Raw Fitness: A Mind,Body,Spirit Approach to Health

I fell in love with physical fitness when I was 15 years old.  Actually I became obsessed with it as it aided my first significant weight loss and boosted me out of a depression I developed in early childhood.  Over the years I have gained a more balanced approach to fitness and my workouts are much more than a physical activity.

Rick and I created RawPeople.com to be a support for those seeking a lifestyle of overall health.  I thought it would be fun to share some things I do on a regular basis to stay in shape physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Physical Health:  I exercise daily.  Cross training is my thing.  I run, walk, swim, do light weights, practice yoga and Qigong, take fitness classes, and always try new forms of movement to keep things interesting.  A few months ago I took a hula hoop class.  This past week I took my first Zumba dance aerobics class and fell in love with it.    Physical exercise prevents disease, lifts the mood, controls weight, and keeps you young at heart!  I block off time in my calendar each week for physical exercise and keep the appointment with myself just as I would a job interview or other important meeting.

Mental Fitness:  Keeping our thoughts positive and creating the habit of healthy thinking is a must for happiness.  Brain conditioning is vital to shifting out of negative patterns in our life.  I have read many books like:  The Feeling Good Book by David Burns; Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life and Excuses be Gone, by Wayne Dyer; The Power is Within In and You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay; Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers; The Four Agreements and The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz; The Miracle of Mindfulness, by Thich Nhat Hahn; The Power of Now, by Echart Tolle and many more.  I keep my nose in books that work with how to transform your thoughts.  I also use affirmations daily and verbalize or write out things I am grateful for on a regular basis.  WiseBrain.org is also a wonderful resource for good info on creating great mental health habits.  Currently I am watching some DVD’s by Dr. Daniels Amens on brain care.

Spiritual Fitness:  I engage in some sort of meditation regularly.  Currently I practice a mindfulness meditation and do a great deal of conscious breathing.  I also do guided meditations and visualizations.  Spiritual growth books adorn my office, bedroom, and meditation room.  I listen to CD’s in my car on Loving Kindness by Tara Brach, Pema Chodron, or Jack Kornfield.  Currently I am listening to a CD series by Wayne Dyer called : A Spiritual Solution to Every Problem.  I engage in a random act of kindness daily and remind myself that my life is about serving others.  I take time to appreciate nature and smile when I hear the birds singing and the bunnies running across the trails I run on.  I like to attend conferences and yoga retreats to get a more focused experience from time to time.  Soundstrue.com has some great free lectures on many spritual topics.

Getting in physical, mental, and spiritual shape is fun.  It just takes some effort to find creative ways to pay attention to all three areas simultaneously.  The raw food LIFESTYLE includes the fitness program I mentioned above.  Eating the fresh foods is only one part of this awesome life.

I encourage you to take some time to evaluate your fitness routine and see what area you can improve upon.

Take good care and have fun getting in and staying in shape!

Katy Joy

Raw Food Menu Ideas

A friend on Facebook was reaching out this week  for some help with what to eat during her busy week.  Just in case you did not see this question and my response, I thought I would post it for you.  I also included some things I did today to prepare meals for this coming week.

Question:

“Would you help me get started on raw )I am in Germany and what would help me the most right now is a week with breakfast, lunch and dinner in a really busy lifestyle . or can you recommend a coached program? I would be very grateful. Daniela”

Response:

“Dear Daniela,

Books with menu ideas and simple recipes: The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose; Living on Live by Alissa Cohen

Thank you for reaching out for support.  I know how tough it can be to figure the raw food diet with a busy lifestyle.  I have a couple of websites to direct you to for some menu ideas as well as a couple of books.  See below.  I also recommend you take some time on your day off to browse the web or amazon and get some books for yourself if you can’t find them locally.  Books can be your best coach and the bottom line it will take some time on your part to figure out what to eat.  That being said, know it is worth every minute!!!  See if there is a raw food meet up group or restaurant in your area where you can get some local support as well.

Let me know how things go.

Websites for menu ideas:

1.  giveittomeraw.com
2.  rawfoodietmenu.com
3.  www.ajournalinraw.blogspot.com

RawPeople has come out with a new book:  Raw People:  The Complete Guide to the Raw Food Lifestyle. We had to do some more editing so it should be available very soon to send out and we have some great ideas for break, lunch, dinner, and desserts.  The recipes are simple and very good.”

I took a little over an hour out of my day today to prepare a few things for the week.  I thought I would list them below to give you some ideas on things that make great quick meals:

1.  Raw Taco “meat”  made with brazil nuts, sundried tomatoes, spices, and tahini (we fill red cabbage with this “meat” and top it with avacado slices.)

2.  Cauliflour Couscous -  from Rawvolution by Matt Amsden – this is a great salad to wrap up in chard leaves during the week for a quick meal.

3.  Onion bread – I actually made this last night and it is dehydrating as it takes a day and a half to make.  The recipe is from Rawvolution by Matt Amsden – I will make my Mock Tuna and Spicy Mayo and have a “tuna” sandwhich.

3.  Peachy Keen Chia Seed Pudding – I blended a 10 oz bag of organic frozen peaches, 2 bananas, 2 tsp vanilla, pinch of salt, 1/4 cup almond milk, 1 avacado until smooth then mixed in 2 tblsp of chia seeds.  The pudding thickens over time with the chia seeds and is a great breakfast or snack, or dessert.

4.  I cut lots of greens from my garden and washed them all up so they are ready to go for my juices and green smoothies for the week.

5.  I soaked some steel cut oats overnight then drained them to have on hand for easy breakfast meals.  I will make some raw blueberry creme oats (1 cup soaked oats, pinch of salt, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 to 1/2 almond milk quickly blended then add the blueberries and pulse for a couple of seconds in blender).  I will also make some raw pancakes.  I will play with the recipe this week but it will most likely be bananas, soaked oats, vanilla, cinnamon, salt,almond milk or water and some salt blended together then dehydrated in little rounds.

I do not always make this much food ahead of time but I had the motivation and time this weekend to do so.  I really just wanted to give some ideas to you.

Have a beautiful.

Hope this helps with your menu planning.  Have fun!!!

In Love and Peace,

Katy Joy