Celebrating my Birthday and 'La Dolce Vita'

The fabulous Juliette Binoche

This Saturday I will reach the fully ripened and rather grown up age of 47.

To celebrate my birthday here are some rather delicious celebrities who also share my birthday this year. I raise a glass of something sparkly to them, to me and to all you other luscious late blooming lovelies out there blossoming in your forties and beyond!

Courteney Cox

Sandra Bullock

Monica Belluci

On the theme of blossoming in your forties and beyond, I have been inspired by a beautiful book I am reading at the moment called ' A Year in the Village of Eternity' by Tracy Lawson. It chronicles the time she spent amongst the people of a mountain village of Campodimele in Italy known as 'Il Paese della Longevita' or 'The Village of Longevity', where the average life expectancy of both men and woman is ninety-five.

Me enjoying
simple Tuscan pleasures :)

Filled with wonderful recipes and mouth-watering descriptions of their local dishes, all made with the freshest ingredients, sourced locally. The dishes are simple, flavoursome, nutritious and lovingly prepared. It describes their strong connection to the land and the 'warmth, friendship and feste' of these healthy, fit, long-living mountain people.

Like Tracy I am not a scientist or a doctor but have a keen interest in nutrition. I have listened intently to many experts and teachers in the field of optimum health over the last few years particularly in the raw food community. There are different schools of thought but through the confusion some very basic truths have emerged. 

Many of the longer living cultures throughout the world have varying diets depending on their environment and food availability but there are some very strong linking factors and truths about the quality of their food, lifestyle, environment and their connection to the land that just can't be ignored. It is also as much about what their diets don't include as to what they do.

I would like to look at these factors in my next blog but the most important gift Tracy Lawson was given from living with the community was not just learning about longevity.

"I came to Campodimele hoping to learn how to live longer and discovered something much more important-how to live well "

Here's to health, happiness and a long, joyful, adventure filled life!

Cheers!!

PS To those with a good memory the 'Green Smoothie Challenge' was put on hold due to my performing in a play in the last week. Certainly not a great time to consider a cleanse! However the resources were great, green smoothies are now being made and I will definitely look at doing it (or at least version of it) in spring or early summer. 

Cheers!!

Intentions, Green Smoothies and beyond!!

Hello my lovelies and 'Happy New Year' everyone!

After my last couple of blogs stating my intentions for 'Blossoming'and sharing my own personal journey I realised it was time to get practical! Aaah now there's a challenge! I am naturally an idealist and dreamer at heart and take great delight in having the glorious, beautiful vision to leap majestically towards. Trying to inspire and encourage others along the way with all the positive possibilities....I am thankful for having tolerant friends! Having creative vision is certainly important (looking at my vision board fills my heart with joy) but actually taking action is vital! The importance of finding pleasure in the step by step on the journey and being able to focus and immerse oneself into one thing at a time....now that's the key. Having clarity and focus whilst holding the vision.This is my life challenge too and an important one!

To this end and having filled my mind, several notebooks and my email subscription list with so many voices on the subject of raw and living foods, health, spirituality, growing and marketing an authentic heart centred business etc etc..over the last few years I decided to take stock! We get so overloaded and bombarded that at times it feels difficult to think straight! I end up feeling overwhelmed, unfocused and suffering from a mild form of ADD! My decision was only to include those voices and websites that inspire, excite and uplift me and that will truly support where I am wanting to develop this year personally and professionally. Another factor to my choice was their level of integrity, authenticity and most importantly heart.

So with the step by step in mind, I looked at how I was going to begin my journey of implementing all I had learnt and truly begin my journey in earnest towards becoming the glowing, energetic, creative, connected blossoming/ripening  'wise' woman I aim to be! With previous fits and starts on this journey  in the past I feel it is important that I use my knowledge now for lasting change.If that helps others too that would be wonderful :)

Luckily I sprung upon the very thing I was looking for a couple of days back. A 21 day 'Green Smoothie Challenge' with the very delightful Tera Warner which is to start properly tomorrow. She has a fabulous and supportive website which is well worth a visit http://www.terawarner.com. Tera and her team will be supporting me and others on this challenge and I will journal my experience including any other information I have learnt or gathered. Yes, you lucky lot that may also include my previous forays into the world of colonics!


As a side note I also recommend signing up to the next Wish Summit she will be holding this year filled with some fantastic inspiring speakers. You can check it out  and sign up at http://www.wishsummit.com (its free) and I  heartily recommend it! 

Detox is a much banded about phrase nowadays. However, done properly, a real system cleanse can be a powerful tool for healing and rejuvenation.I have been interested in the power of fasting for many years. I did achieve it on my own for three days (some people do it for far longer) and treated myself to a juice fast at a Nature Cure Clinic many moons ago....funster that I am! I know that the results can be astounding but fasting is quite hardcore and there are some rather unpleasant side effects that can be experienced during the detox process.

Mmmm tasty!

 More popular (and certainly far more appealing to me) is cleansing the body using the power of raw green goodness, in the form of luscious green smoothies or by feasting on juices. This still allows the digestive system to rest and cleansing to take place but by soaking your cells with delicious nutritious elixirs to feed and nourish them, many of the side effects felt during a fast are reduced or greatly eliminated. People can continue with their day to day life,whilst still feeling bright eyed, energetic and amazing too. Green smoothie/juice feasts of up to three months are not considered unusual for the very experienced.

Cleansing the body and resting the digestive system has some amazing benefits and I will let you what I hope to achieve and how I get on (the ups and downs!) on my smoothie challange journey!

Tera also encouraged us to set down our intentions for the coming year in a variety of areas in our lives so in the spirit of openess and to keep me focused I have put mine up.... although a couple required me to be quite brave! Please read if you feel so inspired. There is a link to this page at the side of my blog  where it says 'pages'. Please feel free to list yours too in the comment box. I really hope this blog will be all about sharing and support.

Here's to a wonderful 2012 to all you beautiful blossomers out there.

Much love xx