Hey there,

I’m super excited to share with you my LOVES for the month of January.  It’s been really important for me to start off 2015 with absolute presence and mindfulness.  There was no goal setting, no brainstorming, no big ideas being formulated or business meetings as there usually is when I start a new year.  Instead I chose to be fully present in every moment and bring myself into a state of ‘being’ as opposed to ‘doing’.  This is always challenging for me as I have always been so driven, especially in my work. But the sweet stillness has oozed it’s way into my soul and I can tell you I am feeling the benefits of ‘allowance’ and ‘surrender’ already in so many aspects of my life.

Here’s what I am loving this month…

Watching

I loved the movie Desert Dancer.  It follows the true story of Afshin Ghaffarian who risks everything to start a dance company amidst his home country of Iran’s politically volatile climate and the nation’s ban on dancing.

True stories like this are so inspiring.  It has been a long time since I was moved by a movie so deeply and was probably because dancing is my medicine and if I couldn’t dance then I couldn’t fully express myself.  Check it out.

I’m always watching TED talks as inspiration and was shown this beautiful speech by Amanda Palmer about the “Art of Asking”.  I loved her brave vulnerability of asking for what she wants and what this adventure of asking for help and support has brought her.  Awesome story and powerful message!

Reading

This book absolutely found me at the right time (as they always do).  I have been entrenched in studying, teaching, and exploring what the Sacred Feminine is and what is means to me for quite some time now.  This book by Sera Beak was an honest and juicy account of her experience of actually ’embodying’ the sacred feminine.  Finally I found a ‘Goddess’ book that I could sink my teeth into.  Sera is brave and openhearted and I love her style of writing which is so unique and authentic I didn’t want it to end.  If you’re particularly interested in exploring the divine feminine in a fresh new way then check her work here.

One website I am totally loving at the moment is Rebelle Society – creatively maladjusted!  Yep, that’s me.  I Love the articles they are posting, something in there for everyone with quality writing (not your usual “5 steps to blah blah blah” recycled nonsense).  Check them out here

 Eating

Tropical Fruit! Ok so we are so spoilt in Bali with a lush abundance of tropical fruit and since I have been in my last trimester of pregnancy living in the tropics in exhausting heat I have been living on fruits, particularly my fav; mangosteen’s (like an obscene amount).

It annoys me so much that people ‘quitting sugar’ are eliminating all fruit from their diets.  This aggravates me to no end.  Firstly fruit is grown in the ground as mother nature intended and provides us with so many crucial minerals and vitamins we need to maintain and restore vibrancy and health.  The naturally occurring sugars that fruit does contain is metabolised differently to artificial sugars (which are the real nasty culprits in this story) and it saddens me that fruit is getting such a bad wrap at the moment in the whole ‘quitting sugar’ movement.  I studied nutritional medicine for 4 years at university and in all the research I have done over the years I believe that it is fine to have a little fruit in the diet and in fact I encourage it for my patients (of course there are ALWAYS exceptions depending on the individual presentation and medical history of the patient).

Don’t be scared of fruit – organic produce straight out of the earth is GOOD FOR YOU! Everything in moderation.

Okay rant over 🙂

Using

I love finding sustainable companies doing amazing things on this planet.  In Bali I was told about Indosole #shoeswithsole which is an awesome bunch of lads from Cali who are making shoes out of tyres that would have gone into landfill in Bali and other parts of Indonesia.  Instead they are making these wicked shoes that I LOVE.  They are so passionate about the earth and what they do and have a really cool website sharing their story which you can check out here

 Listening

I love Podcasts.  I have not had a television in about 7 years as I much prefer to listen to either music or a podcast.  I also love listening to them when I am driving or working out at the gym (I know I am a little strange).  One of my fav’s is the Australian ABC’s Conversations with Richard Fidler.  It is the extraordinary stories of ordinary people that inspire me most in this world and I always love listening to these conversations, you can learn so much from someone telling their story. Plus it’s very Australian – so the accents make me smile 🙂  You can check it out here.

Hope some of these will tickle your fancy!  Got any other things you guys are loving or specific things I should check out?  If so leave me a comment below.

Love and Light