Category: Inspiration

Have Your Guides/Gurus/Teachers/Mentors Earned Your Trust?

by The Galavanting Gastronome, posted in Inspiration

I’m on a spiritual walkabout right now and am exploring, reading, listening, learning about different modalities as I try and determine what works for me. I learn best through mentors and therefore in all areas of my life I surround myself with people who know more than me and are further along in their journey. These are people I’ve ‘curated’ as a result of personal relationships, referrals from very close and respected friends, and lifelong friendships. These are all people who, if they said jump– I’d ask how high? I trust them implicitly and KNOW with every fiber of my being that they have my best interest at heart with no other motive but to see me succeed.

Naturally then during this walkabout I have sought guides and in my exploration have come to realize that there are 5 billon people on this planet and that many ways to be spiritual. The thing that I’m realizing is that during this particular process you’re very vulnerable, your mind is very open and therefore if you don’t take measures to protect yourself you could be allowing some very unscrupulous ‘guides’ into your consciousness.

– Remember your guides and mentors are human too– be sure they’ve earned your trust by working for it, not just because they’re more knowledgeable than you.
– If your gut instinct says something’s off about the advice they’ve given you- pay heed! Your gut has one function and one function only – to protect you! It will never steer you wrong.
– Ultimately they ‘work’ for you even if they’re not charging you anything…you have free will and the right to say ‘thank you but no thank you.’

You’ll reach the highest pinnacles of success by following the good advice of someone who cares about YOU more than their message and the lowest pit of despair if you follow the advice of someone who cares about their message more than you. Remember people don’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care– great sales advice but also great advice to take personally when seeking out guides, gurus, teachers or mentors.

Do You Pay It Forward?

by The Galavanting Gastronome, posted in Inspiration

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This morning I took the kids to our local farmer’s market. We do a circuit of the place, always hitting the same vendors for the past many years. My daughter loves Tabouli so we made our way over to our favorite Mediterranean food vendor and I was just about to tell him what I wanted, when a very animated older man who was obviously on a mission to buy out the store, turned to me and said to the shop owner…”and I’m buying her’s too.” I was so taken aback that I didn’t know what else to say except “Why?” and he replied…”because I can and I want to.” I shook his hand, thanked him after I asked his name (Joe). He says – “so get whatever you want, as much as you want…it’s on me” I got what I had planned to, two things of Tabouli, and one of the Greek pita bread for a total of $10. Joe paid him the $10 even though he himself had a stack of about 20 different things that he was getting. I asked him if he owned a restaurant or was having a party, and he said no. So I asked him why he was getting so much stuff, and he said he felt like he had to keep this guy in business. He liked his food so much, he didn’t want him to go out of business! Wow – talk about a patron! As I was about to walk away, I decided to buy a box of the pita chips – and made to pay for it, not expecting Joe to have to pick up that tab too…but he did. He insisted in fact. He told me to have a glorious day and you know what – it actually was a glorious day!

I mentioned to him as I walked away with my wares that I would have to pay it forward next week when I shopped here again. He said, don’t do it because you have to, be sure to do it only if you want to…because there’s no one telling you that you have to. So I re-phrased my sentence and said – “I plan to pay it forward next week – nothing will give me more pleasure.” And I meant it!

Whether it’s buying coffee for the person behind you at Starbucks or paying for someone’s Tabouli habit at your farmer’s market – it’s not so much the cost that matters, it’s the gesture. I can’t tell you how lighthearted I felt all day today – not because I thought all day of Joe and his kind gesture toward me in the morning…but just because I know that it was because of Joe and his kind gesture!

Go ahead, make someone’s day and watch how it makes yours!

The underside of 130 and why I swear by Arbonne!

by The Galavanting Gastronome, posted in Inspiration

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So we all know we aren’t supposed to step on the scale daily and yet we do…including yours truly! And there are others of us who don’t own a scale because of how scary it might be to step on it. So much is tied up in the identity of this number, be it in pounds or kilos! I for one have been trying to get to the underside of 130 for the longest time! The last time I saw a 2 in the 10s position of my weight was at my wedding over 8 years ago! (yep, I trained hard to fit into that dress!). And almost every day of this 30 day challenge – the one where I am now at nearly the end (yep, that margarita has my name on it!) I have been tempted to step on the scale. I didn’t manage to do it only the requisite once per week – rather I tried to wean myself slowly and stepped on just every other day instead of daily – and then every third day, and finally now it’s been more than a week since I last stepped on the scale. 

What’s most interesting is not the fact that I own two scales, nor is it interesting that I chose to weigh myself on both scales each time, rather the fact that each of them would tell me a different number. Naturally I favored the one where I was lighter by 2lbs always! And naturally I favored the one which showed me consistently dropping weight instead of the one where I would fluctuate the normal 5lb difference on a regular basis. (Yes your body weight can have that margin of error by at least 5lb on a daily basis – so don’t freak out if one day you’re 130 – and the next 135. What’s more important is where are you consistently…week after week. 

So I’ve posted a few links to this amazing program, and I thought I would spend a little more time talking about the different products that make up the program…and why today? Well for the first time since my wedding day I saw a 2 in the 10s position of my weight! Yep – I dropped below 130 – not by a whole pound – but how excited do you think I was to see 129.8? VERY!

Remember, I am not a doctor  – this is just my personal, incredibly exciting experience with these awesome products! And yes, I do have some pretty darn happy clients!

  • Arbonne Chocolate Protein Powder: I have loved this protein powder for the past 4 years. It has been my breakfast for the better part of 2 years now. 20g of vegan protein with no soy, whey, gluten or dairy, less than 10g of sugar (stevia) it packs a powerful punch and is a great way to start the day. I’ve blogged before about my favorite recipe…unsweetened almond milk, almond butter, organic baby spinach, flaxseed meal, frozen berries all in a blender or magic bullet (I have the one by Bella Cucina) and it is absolutely delicious! Add a scoop of the Daily Fiber Booster and you’re getting 1/2 your recommended daily allowance of fiber! 
  • Herbal Detox Tea – Because I’m Indian, I’m a snob about tea. For me, herbal tea is something I am forced to drink when I am sick…’real’ tea is made with milk, sugar, spices like cardamom, cloves and even ginger…but since I’m doing this program, caffeine is a no no – therefore my beloved loose leaf Tetley is off-limits at the moment. Luckily this one has a really yummy flavor even without sugar. The added benefit is milk thistle which helps support your liver function and ‘unclogs’ your pipes!
  • Lemon Fit Chews – I could eat the whole bag (not recommended…defeats the purpose of the detox). These taffy-like chews are awesome for staving off mid morning hunger pangs (mainly due to lack of H20 intake). They keep my energy levels high and balanced and really take my mind of food. I’m convinced that because you need to chew them well – your mouth is so done moving after you swallow!
  • Chocolate Protein Bar – mmmmm! with just under 7g of sugar, this is not sugary sweet, but so nutrient-dense that it is the perfect 3pm snack between lunch and dinner. It not only fills me up, but because it’s chocolate it takes care of my desire to have a piece of chocolate! Killing two birds with one stone! NICE!! Drink 8oz of water along with this yummy dessert-like bar and you’re FULL till dinner!
  • Pomegranate Energy Fizz Sticks – these yummy little powder packs are great to flavor water if you don’t like the taste of water; they have antioxidants and B vitamins, making them a great source of energy! The small amount of natural caffeine makes it so I am performing with high energy without worrying about the 3pm caffeine crash. I have clients who swear by these! And, they’re YUM! 
  • Hybrid Supplements – we have them for men too – you guys! But these have transformed my opinion about supplements. Like most people, I shopped at GNC or even Costco for my supplements and always wondered if I was just creating expensive urine! Until I started on these I never really believed that vitamins did anything. I am a mom of two young ‘uns, a wife, a fundraiser, an entrepreneur,  an athlete, friend, daughter, sister, now blogger…ah yes add regular 5:30am meditator to that list…on top of which I just had a milestone birthday – yep – the big 4-O (more on that later)! But believe me when I tell you I have boundless energy and have managed to reduce my hours of sleep from 8 to 7 with no change in my levels of energy. The cool thing about these is that they come in pre-made packets and the 5 pills cover me for probiotic, bone health, calcium and multi-vitamin/multi-mineral! So all I do is add vegan Omega-3 pills and yes, an extra calcium supplement with vitamin D and I am good to go! And in fact, what I do so that I am not overdoing the supplements (and yes you can do that) I alternate the pills. On one day, its the power pack, the next its omega and calcium! It works wonders! I’m almost afraid of how much more energy I will have if I took them all daily!

So March 4th will mark the last day of this program for me, but the best thing that it did for me is reset my metabolic thermostat, make me aware of the way my body responds to certain foods ( I will be more aware of this as I reintroduce those foods one by one next week and beyond), and realize that I have total control of my body’s nutritional intake. I recognized that I would have to consume over 5,000 calories a day to get the nutrient values that my body needs to perform at its optimum best – and well…I wouldn’t be seeing the underside of 130…ever, if I did that. So I’m grateful to have found products that are made with pure botanicals enhanced by science and scrutinized by health and wellness professionals before hitting the marketplace and my household. 

Healthy living is a choice that most of us find hard to make…it doesn’t have to be. It in fact can make your life a lot simpler. I’m living proof of that! Ping me if you want details.

Can you say NO?

by The Galavanting Gastronome, posted in Inspiration, Quotes and Thoughts

Lately I have become more aware of my heart’s desires. You would think that it’s something we all have crystal clarity on but it turns out that what we want is often mired beneath the murky waters of our daily life! The day-to-day rigors of being a parent, a partner or even (especially) an employee/employer leave us little time to sit back and dream. And then there’s the inability to say NO! We feel obligated to help everyone– – we take on way more than we can chew and then we wonder why we are stretched thin. That sentence in our job description of life ‘…and other duties as assigned’ is something we take seriously. We are after all a society of multi-taskers, we can definitely take on just one more responsibility– and then our innate work ethic, the one that requires us to do everything to the best of our ability kicks us into overdrive and we spend all hours fulfilling our responsibility. Even and especially at the cost of ourselves and the balance of our family!

So what are somethings you can do to simplify your life? Shed some layers and work to unearth the real you! How can you make time in your day to spend time in quiet reflection?

1. It’s OK to say No! – at a recent seminar I attended one of my table mates had an interesting internal process that he’d devised for himself to see what made sense to take on– Value vs. Risk – does the thing you’re about to take on add value to your life and your bottom line goal (do you know what that is) or does it risk you spreading yourself too thin?

2. Limit yourself – My sister in law once shared with me how her kids were only ever allowed to be enrolled in 2 activities at a time- and that if they wanted to do something different then they had to make choices. Employ this same tactic for yourself! Don’t spread yourself too thin. You end up not doing anything well.

3. Quitting is not failure – recognizing that something that was working is no longer working or is no longer aligned with your passion and goals is a powerful tool if you’re willing to ‘go there.’ There’s no shame in taking a hiatus or simply walking away. The relief you will feel afterward will validate your decision.

4. Be fiercely protective of your limited free time – before you say Yes to the next request on your time – ask them for the time to think about it. And then don’t think of it only from their standpoint. Rather think of it from yours! What will you have to give up to make room for this? Is it worth it? Could you be doing something with/for yourself or your family during this time instead? What will this do for YOU in the long run? And if you don’t like the answers – say NO!

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Intention is everything

by The Galavanting Gastronome, posted in Inspiration

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A lot of powerful thoughts and ideas flew around the room in today’s leadership class. I have a lot or reflect on and I’ll definitely discuss this at length in a future post. A statement that Peter Karoff, founder of The Philanthropic Initiative shared with us today that really resonated was “Be less ambitious and more intentional.” We talked a lot about values and what drives/defines us. He wanted to know if our values were aligned with our work and the trajectory of our careers! Very interesting questions. Lots of food for thought.

So how about you? Are your values aligned with your work? If not- what can you do to get aligned?