Very recently, I discovered that the Hay House team will be coming ‘down under’ again to spread love and light.

They’ll be coming to Australia for the ‘I Can Do It’ conference, two days jam-packed with inspiration, education, enlightenment and fun.

I didn’t go to last year’s event because I had a prior commitment, so I would love to go this year, but I have already booked that weekend for time with friends – I’m waiting to hear back on whether our friends can reschedule, and if they can, I’ll be there!

After being inspired by Louise Hay over the years, including loving her book You Can Heal Your Life, I’d love to meet her in person:

Louise Hay

Co-presenting will be life coach extraordinaire Cheryl Richardson – I love her book The Art of Extreme Self-Care (see my review of it here), and I’d love to see her energy sparkle ‘live’!

Cheryl Richardson

An another of my favourite people will be presenting: financial expert Suze Orman. I own several of Suse’s books – she’s a straight-talking dynamo!

Suze Orman

There are actually seven presenters over a weekend, and the conference will be held in Sydney and Melbourne. If you live in Australia and would love a shot of inspiration, learning from women and men who are here to lead, educate and transform, then make your way to one of these conferences.

Head here for more details.

I’m sure it will be no problem for my friends to reschedule, but if they can’t, then I will make a note in my diary for NEXT year! Let me know if you’re going, OK?

Hello! Another week of life on Planet Earth, and so much for which to be grateful. Here’s my list of top five ‘gratefuls’ for this week:

• Spending time at Lavandula Swiss Italian Farm Autumn Harvest Festival with my family (the above is a photo of some late-blooming flowers in front of one of the original farm buildings – gorgeous!). The girls loved playing the old-fashioned game of boules, and we loved strolling around the farm, admiring the autumnal foliage and soaking in the atmosphere.
• Putting together and sending our Mother’s Day gifts to grandparents. So much fun!
• Helping on the Mother’s Day stall at my girls’ school, and having a laugh with the other mums who were helping.
• Receiving a lovely chunk of money!
• Watching an ABC TV documentary about Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. So interesting to see how Mark’s passions for psychology and information technology merged and led to him creating the world’s largest social networking site. I also loved his passion and how focused he is with his energy, and the laid-back vibe of his workplace (a lot like the vibe of Lonely Planet when I worked there many moons ago – there’s no need for any workplace to be stuffy and buttoned up!).

Let me know what’s happened in your week – what are you grateful for? Mwuh!

That special day is coming up very soon.

The day in which we honour mothers around the world! (I’m looking forward to my special breakfast in bed, and lots of cuddles and handmade-with-love gifts and cards.)

If you’re a mum (or mom), or you have a mum, or you know a mum, you’ll want to check out a very, very special book called Mother Letters: Sharing the Mess and Glory.

It’s a compilation of letters from mothers, to other mothers.

I’m one of the contributors, so if you’re curious to see what I’ve written, you’ll need to grab yourself a copy! It’s an ebook, so you can instantly download it and start reading… and laughing, and crying.

And the story behind the book is also beautiful – check out ’Our Story’ over at the information page.

This book truly is a work of art, as is motherhood. Just look at this beautiful trailer:

So, if you know someone who would love this ebook, why not gift it as a gift this Mother’s Day? I know I will be. You can also download a gift card to add to a copy of a confirmation email. (And for a limited time, this amazing book is only US$6.99!)

Friday, Friday, Friday, we definitely love you.

What am I grateful for this week? Read on!

• Having a scrumptious, relaxed lunch with friends at their South Melbourne apartment, complete with a stroll across to Albert Park Lake, all on a gorgeous sunny day.
• Jimmy, my wonder-tech, laying out my ezine in record time (I was running a bit late). Thanks, J-Man! (BTW, if you’re not already a subscriber, all you need to to receive my full-colour, monthly Your Abundant Life ezine is to sign up in the boxes on the top right of this page. One of my subscribers says it’s one of the only ezines she reads, because it’s so interesting and inspirational!)
• My girls returning home safely from a school excursion.
• Having lovely, toasty-warm heating!
• Being the owner of a huge Excalibur dehydrator, so that I could try out Shakaya Leone’s ‘Kickin’ Back Kale Chips’ recipe, from her Nude Food ebook. (Oh, I’m also grateful to have received an updated version of the ebook, with a bonus recipe for ‘Fairy Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake’.)

I now have a weekend stretching out ahead, full of lovely connection time with my family. How about you? Share your ‘gratitudes’ with us below, if you feel drawn to do so!

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, or are a subscriber to my ezine, it’s quite likely that you’re an advancing person. That is, you’re always moving towards ‘more life’ in everything you do.

You want to live the richest, fullest, happiest, most deeply satisfying life you can imagine.

You have beautiful, life-expanding dreams for yourself, and you want those dreams to come true.

But it’s also possible that you’re feeling SO overwhelmed by everything that you want to do. In fact, you’re not even sure where to start… so you don’t. (Start, that is.)

So, would you like a little coaching advice about where to start?

Well, my first piece of advice is to listen to your intuition. Give yourself a good half-hour to clear your mind, and then sit and think, and FEEL. Consider your preferences and then listen to what your ‘gut’ tells you. Having a pencil and large notepad with you is a very good idea.

But if you’re overworked, stressed, tired and foggy headed (or feel as though you’re going around the bend from ‘overthinking’), it could be that even doing the above seems too difficult.

In which case, I’d recommend carving out some PROPER time in your diary – like a whole day, at the least – to devote fully to getting crystal clear on what you want, to brainstorm ideas, to prioritise, and to create an action plan.

You can do this yourself, but doing it with the help of a trusted friend or a coach can give you much-needed perspective and encouragement. I’ll soon be making myself available for VIP Days, where I’ll help you get clear on what it is that you really want, start eliminating limiting beliefs, and create a very do-able, exciting action plan to start bringing those dreams of yours into the real world.

(To be one of the first to know about these amazing VIP Days, head here and leave your details. And, listen – I know goal-setting can be a big turn-off for some people because the process can feel forced and very ‘masculine’, but in our day together it’s all about YOU and what YOU want out of life, not what society or your peers or family say you should want. You’ll have time to think, and breeeaaathe, and dream, and create a plan that’s perfect for you…)

Then, you can start going through a conscious creation process, starting with visualisation – if you’d love help with this, check out the beautiful Your House of Abundance process.

However, if you’re feeling too exhausted (and perhaps even sick) to contemplate lofty or even not-so-lofty dreams, then I advise that your first focus be your health.

Fabulous health is at the core of a great life. It underpins everything. And we often don’t realise how valuable our health is until we become unwell or injured.

So if that’s you – make your health an absolute priority. You’ll then be able to think clearly, and will have the energy to take action on your other dreams.

By the way, sometimes people get ‘put off’ the idea of becoming healthier, because they think it takes a lot of money to do so. If you’re switching from eating cheap processed food to buying organic fruits and veggies, and supplements, then, yes, it can cost a bit more than you’re now paying for food. And if you join a gym then there are fees, and personal health coaching can be a substantial investment.

But if money is tight for you right now, and you know getting healthy is a top priority so that you can start heading for your dreams, you can make free or low-cost health changes now.

These include:

• going for walks (even if just around your back garden, or briskly around your house);
• planting a few organic vegetable seeds;
• purchasing (and using!) a book such as Raw Foods on a Budget;
• generally cutting back on unhealthy foods (even if they’re cheap); and
• asking an ‘advancing’ friend to be your ‘accountability buddy’ when it comes to simple health goals you set for yourself.

Once your health starts to improve, you’ll have more energy to create the money you want, which means you can then invest more in organics and superfoods, personal trainers or coaches, if that feels right for you.

So you now have some guidance as to ‘where to start’. But you know deep in your soul what’s needed. I just hope my advice has helped clear some of the fog, and has helped put you on the road towards creating and living a life you truly, truly love.

Hello! Happy Gratitude Friday!

Here are five ‘things’ for which I am truly grateful this week:

• My little winter greens seedlings taking hold and growing, despite some severe weather earlier this week – that’s kale in the pic above (note to self: snails are finding the leaves delicious, so it’s time to discourage them!). I’m looking forward to using these leaves in lots of green smoothies and soups.
• Having a day to remember the people who gave their lives in the two World Wars, on ANZAC Day.
• Gorgeous big hugs from my two beautiful daughters. (And lots of laughs, especially when we’re having meals together at the dining table.)
• My husband Darren coming towards the end of a very challenging assignment, as he completes his CFP (Certified Financial Planner) course.
• Being able to work from home. I’m so fortunate!

What are you grateful for from this week? If you’d like to share with us, simply leave a comment below. See you soon!

Eating living (raw) foods and having supreme health is a sure-fire way of raising your vibration, so I’m all for it! But I know it ain’t always easy to find ideas for healthy eating that are interesting – and that taste good.

Now, every week, I receive an inspirational ezine from the UK”s Karen Knowler, who’s known as The Raw Food Coach. In last week’s edition of her ezine, Karen featured a superb article that reveals just how easy it is to add more life-giving leafy greens to your everyday eating. I asked Karen if I could share this article with you, because I just know you’re going to find it so helpful.

So, you don’t have any more excuses for not including more greens in what you eat. Go forth and be healthy!

Here’s the article (and be sure to sign up for Karen’s fabulous ezine!):

‘It’s rare that you come across someone who LOVES eating green foods, but that doesn’t have to be the case for any of us. Not only can green foods be delicious, they can make us feel fantastic, helping to cleanse and rebuild even the most jaded of bodies and spirits.

When I first got into raw foods I admit I was one of those raw fooders who relied heavily on fresh juicy fruits, dried fruits and nuts, and most days I’d eat a salad, but it wasn’t what I’d now call a ‘decent’ salad. And that’s because I’ve since learned that it’s nowhere near enough to have some green on your plate and think that’s sufficient, because it’s not! We need dark greens, ideally wild greens, and plenty of them. A plate of iceberg lettuce simply won’t make the grade.

So in this article I’m sharing with you 10 different ideas to get greens into your daily diet and love them, because not only is it possible, it’s vital!

1: The Green Smoothie
Through various mediums I’ve shared what I consider to be the easiest/most yummy green smoothie recipe – Mango & Spinach, so hopefully you’re up to speed with what they are? (Brief explanation: A large amount of leafy green vegetables blended with some great-tasting ripe fruit of your choice to a soup or smoothie consistency.) So how do we incorporate them into our diet? Good times of the day for drinking a green smoothie are: first thing for breakfast (start as you mean to go on – if you start your day with this you’ll feel set up for the day ahead and plenty full enough until lunch time); as a brunch if you get hungry between breakfast and lunch time; as a liquid lunch if you are pressed for time; as a pre-dinner course, perfect served as a drink or even a soup; as a supper if you’re not hungry enough to eat a ‘proper’ dinner, or if you’ve come in late from work or a night out and don’t want to eat before bed.

2: Variety is the Spice of Life
We are all guilty of falling into ruts with our eating habits, eating the same things over and over again, but it’s important in all diets to eat a wide variety of foods for pleasure and nutrition. So too is it important to choose a wide variety of greens from the vast range of green leafy vegetables (and herbs) and not just finding one and sticking with it. Here’s a starter list of green leafies that you can use as a checklist. Whichever ones you haven’t eaten for a while (or ever!) make it your personal project to hunt them down and try them out – starting this week!

Beet greens * Chicory * Chard * Endive * Kale, flat green * Kale, curly * Lamb’s lettuce * Lettuce, Batavia * Lettuce, Cos * Lettuce, flat * Lettuce, iceberg * Mizuna * Rocket (arugula) * Spinach * Turnip greens * Basil * Chervil * Chickweed * Chive * Comfrey leaves * Coriander * Dandelion * Dillweed * Garlic mustard * Lovage * Mallow * Marjoram * Mint * Nettle * Oregano * Parsley * Peppermint * Purslane * Raspberry leaf * Rosemary * Sage * Salad burnet * Shepherd’s purse * Sorrel * Spearmint * Watercress * Wild celery * Wild garlic * Yarrow

3: Green Soups
Green Soups are similar to green smoothies but are thicker, and obviously are looked on as meals rather than drinks. There are some great green soup recipes around. One of my personal favourites is Green Ginger Soup which goes like this… Simply take the following ingredients and blend in your food processor, blender or Vita-Mix until smooth: 1 cup diced tomatoes, ½ cup water, 2 cups spinach, ½ avocado, ½-inch fresh ginger, juice of ½ lemon, 1Tbsp olive oil. Serves 1. It’s truly delicious.

4: Take a Walk on the Wild Side
It’s rarely mentioned but I need to here – it’s vital for all of us to eat wild greens. These greens are (for the most part) as natural and potent as you’re going to get because they’re (typically) untouched by man and have not been treated in any way. So arm yourself with a guide book such as Food for Free and a carrier bag (and gloves if you’re going to pick nettles) and take yourself off for a walk to your nearest wood, farm or leafy park and see what you can find. Of course the great thing about this route is that the food is free, abundant and it’s going to be fresh, fresh, fresh! AND you really feel the difference when you eat wild foods – they’re electric! Great in juices, smoothies, various savoury recipes and of course any salads too.

5: Green Juices
Green juices are of course another great way to get the greens in. The difference between smoothies and juices is fibre – juices have no fibre, whereas smoothies have ALL of the fibre, however, if you find smoothies too bulky or you just don’t like them, then juicing is a great alternative. The secret of a good green juice is to work with 1–3 strong green leaves such as kale, spinach, watercress, parley, wheatgrass etc, then add cucumber and/or celery for more liquid and extra vitamins and minerals, and if you feel your juice needs sweetening, add a little apple, pear, carrot, red bell pepper, lemon or lime. There’s nothing like a green juice for lifting your energy and mind, especially first thing in the morning. Don’t forget, to juice greens you need a juicer that is capable of handling them, such as a Green Star – most centrifugals won’t be able to handle them.

6: Herbs
Herbs are nature’s medicine and also one of the chef’s best allies. Herbs are so delicious and so fresh tasting that I encourage you to eat fresh herbs at least once per day. Add them to your smoothies, juices, to your salads and your savoury recipes. Line your window sills with them, they look stunning! Fresh herbs really do make all the difference.

7: Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass is the mother of all greens, really. There are many ways you can take wheatgrass, but obviously freshly juiced is best. For more information about wheatgrass, including the many ways to take it and its benefits, click here.

8: The Kale & Avocado Salad!
I’ve published this recipe a number of times but for those who missed it, you can watch me demo it in person right here. This salad is something that I rave about constantly. Everyone who tries it seems to adore it AND then goes on to incorporate it into their everyday life, not just now and again but daily! Why? Because it’s quick, easy and delicious and very versatile AND it enables you to happily eat tons of dark leafy greens! This is what you do:

Finely chop as much kale as you think you can eat plus a little more (it shrinks). Make the pieces fairly small, say 1–2cm square, and set aside in a bowl. Then pour on some olive oil (flax oil is good too, as are others) and sprinkle on a little good quality salt such as Celtic sea salt or Himalayan Crystal Salt, or Herbamare. Next, massage the oil and salt into the leaves until the kale becomes ‘wilted’ and glistens. At this point the kale suddenly appears extremely appetizing and you can start to see the potential! Next add half to one avocado and massage that in to the leaves as well. Now you have coated kale. Next, give a good squeeze of lemon juice and mix it all in by hand. Taste test. Add more lemon if you want/need to. Finally, add in your favourite ingredients. For me this means sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, occasionally spring onions (scallions), and sometimes I’ll sprinkle on some garlic or onion powder, or even curry powder! Whatever takes your fancy. And sometimes I dress it with a cup of macadamias blended with ½ cup water and onion powder added. When you have all your ingredients well mixed in, sample a little and add anything that you think might be missing (highly unlikely!) and then sit down, exhale and enjoy!

9: The Superfood Smoothie
Superfood smoothies are never going to be as good as real live fresh green smoothies, but when your fridge is bare then turn to your cupboards and pull out your Nature’s Living Superfood (Vita Mineral Greens in USA) or other favourite green superfood powder and whip up a smoothie with it and other chosen ingredients.

10: Your Own Special Way
Each of us develops favourite ways of doing things over time. Periodically, for example, I will take E3 Live or wheatgrass juice, and then ‘let go of it’ when my body no longer asks for it. Similarly, green superfoods work the same way, as do herbs and all manner of other raw foods in my dietary vocabulary. Follow your own way with greens, whatever that way is, adding more into your daily regime can only be a very good thing!’

© 2012 Karen Knowler

Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes “Successfully Raw” – a free weekly ezine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you’re ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at The Raw Food Coach.

Hello, Beautiful!

Gratitude Friday is here again. Being grateful was pretty easy this week, given the exceptionally gorgeous weather we’re still experiencing. It just seems to make the days even happier, without any effort!

So, what am I grateful for from this week?

• Being able to exchange a sumptuous new plum-coloured shirt I’d bought last week (after purchase in Melbourne, I found a small hole near the back label – but the Ballarat store was more than happy to exchange).
• Being pampered at the hairdresser.
• Speaking with my nephew on his 13th birthday – I can’t believe he’s now a teenager.
• Attending a lovely, relaxed, women-only networking event and meeting some truly amazing people there. Women entrepreneurs rock! (Especially mumpreneurs.)
• Staying overnight at a dear friend’s house and being utterly spoiled with a sumptuous feast for dinner – and then heading out together for a leisurely cafe breakfast the next day. Lots of animated discussion, and laughs!

How’s your week been? Did you notice the blessings in your life? If you care to share, just leave a comment below. See you soon, and have a fab weekend.

I used to love eating cereal out of a cup.

There, I said it. I confess.

But since pretty much moving away from consuming grains and cow’s milk, I don’t often get the chance to re-live that naughty little snack, unless I purchase a raw muesli (a ‘grawnola’) and have it with nut-milk.

When I was at the health-food store this week I noticed this new product from one of my favourite companies (Loving Earth).

It’s a bag of ’organic activated buckinis’, and I nabbed myself the ‘deluxe’ version.

Let me just reveal the ingredient rundown:

• caramelised buckwheat (agave syrup, mesquite powder, cinnamon, maca powder, Himalayan crystal salt)
• sour cherries
• goji berries
• white mulberries
• cacao nibs
• caramelised pecans
• coconut chips
• Incan berries

Is your mouth watering? Oh, and by the way, buckwheat isn’t actually a type of wheat, and it’s not a grain, either. It’s a type of fruit, and it’s super good for you.

Just before I had my first taste of this, I listened to a WISH Summit call with the beautiful, wise Shakaya Leone of Earth Empress, who reminded us of how wonderful it is to SLOW DOWN and absolutely savour, treasure, each mouthful of food we take.

So I tipped the buckini mix into a small bowl, and doused it with fresh almond milk. And you really don’t need much of a decadent little treat like this – the bowl in the earlier pic is very small (that’s a teaspoon resting in it).

From the very first mouthful, I made sure I savoured the sublime flavours (including the dense, rich flavour of the tiny cacao nibs) and textures (crunchy and chewy), and appreciated just what a luxury it is. Oh my goodness, it was good. Very, very good.

And we all know what feeling very, very good does for one’s vibration, don’t we?!

Do you have ‘something to love’? A little treat that you look forward to every day? (And hey, if it’s a healthy treat, all the better!)

I’d love to hear what it is that you love to treat yourself with. Just leave a comment below.

PS If you live in Australia, I’d recommend trying a Loving Earth product as one of your treats – they’re mostly organic, and taste fabulous.

Hello!

What a fabulous week! I can’t believe the final week of the school holidays has flown by, but it was packed full of fun. Here are a few ‘gratefuls’ of mine from this past week:

• Heading out to the special Mooramong homestead with my gran and aunt, to see how a 1930s silent-movie star re-decorated this homestead after she married a local farmer. A fascinating step back into the past (complete with old-time products in their original packaging).
• Having extended family here for a fun Easter Sunday morning (that’s my daugher Evie in the pic above, modelling some groovy bunny glasses that were given to my little cousin for Easter), as well as getting to do Skype video chats with overseas and interstate family. I said it felt as though it was the olden days and we were all standing around the phone listening to a long-distance call, except that this time we were all grouped in front of a video screen!
• A crazy ride on Ballarat’s ‘leisure pedal’ six-seat bikes, something Evie and Bella have been longing to try for ages.
• A safe trip to and from Melbourne, with lots of great purchases of new winter shoes and clothes. I always seem to get great stuff on special.
• Finalising the launch of my Living Rich Declutter home-study program – I’m honoured to be in the homes of women around the world, helping them sort out their stuff and clear the way for fresh energy in their homes. Love it!

The school holidays come to an end on Monday, but I think we’re feeling all refreshed after two weeks of fun and a relaxed routine. I really appreciate being able to take time off work to spend time with my girls.

I’d love to hear what you’re grateful for from this past week. Care to share? Simply leave a comment below.