Celebrate: It’s the Fourth of July!

Last night my son, husband and I watched a movie about the largest rescue of POW’s towards the end of WWII. The film made me stop and think of how I take my everyday freedom for granted.
Today, in celebration of America’s “Land of the Free,” I am grateful for my liberty. The choice to pursue happiness. The privilege to be an American.
In 1776  John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 4 should be marked with “illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forevermore.”

As a mother, one of my favorites quotes: Ask not what your country can do for you–but what you can do for your country – JFK, can apply to our everyday life through simple yet powerful actions. Here’s some ideas to put into practice with your family…

* Politics and world events. Discuss age-appropriate topics with your children. Meal time can be a great opportunity to open a discussion.
* Recycle. My children love to recycle. I watched my parents recycle and followed along- now mine join in with me. Generations of recycling begin with collecting that first aluminum can or day-old newspaper.
* Community service. Something as simple as learning to lend a hand. Look for opportunities to give back. Perhaps its as simple as collecting your neighbor’s vacation mail or walking their dog. Kids really do love to help, sometimes they just need a gentle nudge to get them started.

Join me on this special day dedicated to celebrating independence. Give thanks, lead your family in even the smallest contributing step to our country and go out and enjoy your freedom.

Hold Onto Your Knickers Girls- it’s going to be a fun ride!

To borrow an English expression made famous from the once popular pop singers– ‘The Spice Girls‘, “Hang on to your knickers girls, this is going to be a fun ride!” –seems to best explain the enthusiasm of my recent months. I am currently diligently working away on a three book series to begin release in the spring of 2010!

Every once in a while you just feel things are going your way. Somehow the stars align, the heavens open and a little ray of light seems to shine down on you. This is how I feel about the creative forces surrounding me at the moment.

This weeks guided relaxation is dedicated to my team of support at Bright Sky Press. Use this 20 minute guided relaxation as a tool to help you relax and undo your body, entering into a quiet still space. If you dedicate the time to listen to these relaxations everyday, you will begin to see a difference in your life… things like- increased energy, a sense of calm and just generally feeling more joyful!

Tune in through your computer’s speakers or click the itunes button and download to your IPOD Guided Relaxation Podcast

Check out these really cool blogs in the Bright Sky family– Lucy Chambers, acquisition editor and partner  of my fabulous publisher Bright Sky Press  Words on Books , one of my new Bright Sky friends and one of the photographers for my series, Karen Walrond’s famous  chookooloonks and my friend Angela Caughlin who is working along side me in a new workshop we co-presented, Relax into Journaling at Joy Yoga.

Enjoy!

Photo of  Karen, myself and Angela at our recent workshop!

We Are All in This Together: Happy Mother’s Day

I have this belief…  whatever we do, wherever we go, whoever we are with– we are “all  in this together”.  Collectively supporting each other. Maybe it’s just a friendly smile, an encouraging comment or perhaps lending a helping hand.

Look to new and bright ideas each day. Who knows which one will strike a  chord with you. Following are a few of my latest favorite books for mothers,  just in time for a Mother’s Day treat to Y-O-U.

Double Daring Book for Girls by Miriam Peskowitz and Andi Buchanan. The original was a  blockbuster, and this one looks equally brilliant!  What a great summer companion.
The authors mix inspiring tales of girls who made good … with a scrap bag of how-tos for girlish activities … The Daring Book for Girls keeps … practical knowledge from getting drowned in the techno-flow.

—The New York Times

Listen in to a recent podcast with Miriam and I chatting about learning new things and leading an interesting life!

Everyone Is Beautiful By Katherine Center. I love this girl. She is a  truly gifted writer– and she is as much fun in “real life’ as the voice in her novels…

Any novel that starts with “The day I decided to change my life, I was wearing sweatpants” is bound to catch the sympathetic attention of women looking for stories of self-improvement on physical and emotional levels. This is a breezy read that glows, in part, because its characters bask in the sunny side of life.” -USA Today

Mojo Mom: Nurturing Your Self While Raising Your Family by Amy Tiemann.

This “missing manual to motherhood” will help you rediscover who you are, and how you can continue to share your talents with the world, even as you juggle the demands of family life.

Listen in to the recent podcast with Amy and I talking about Mojo!

The Mothers Guide To Self Renewal by Renee Trudeau

Renee invites you to explore how you can begin to live from the inside out. She is offering a FREE Mother’s Day book download offer. Check it out!

Happy Mother’s Day.

Swine Flu-”Tread Lightly and Carry a Big Stick”

I am going to weigh in on this swine flu situation from a PREVENTATIVE health advantage.

Tread lightly and carry a big stick

The Swine flu is a threat, however perhaps more from it’s highly contagious capacity than a deadly virus. My motto is “Tread lightly and carry a big stick”.

What I mean is…

In metaphorical terms, treading lightly means dealing with a painful subject delicately (so as not to upset the subject of the questioning)– pay attention to what is happening in our world, BUT without contributing to a fear-based collective frenzy.

Immune system is a very powerful defense matrix

Carry a big stick means- be proactive in your approach to preventative health. Use this current circumstance as an opportunity to care for yourself. Your immune system is a very powerful defense matrix. It is capable of protecting you, much like a highly trained army. Nourished and strengthened it is amazing. It is like a magical guardian- warding off any potential lurking viruses or bacteria waiting to attack your body.

What to Do: Be Responsible

• Frequent hand washing with soap and water. Teach your children to wash their hands with an adequate amount of soap and water, and use a favorite tune as your clock. Ten seconds is a good amount of time to briskly rub your hands together, about the length of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star ….
• Stay Home if you or your child is sick. Remember that a pain reliever only masks your body’s fever, aches or pains.  You or your child need to feel better without using any pain relievers to return to work or school.
• Take good care of yourself. Prevention is how we stay well. Start with the basics. Eat right, get enough sleep, exercise.

Teach your children through your example. Learn from this current swine flu virus situation. Take the upper hand and stay healthy. Read my blog  Just a Little Kiss for ways to keep your immune system up and running.

One last thing,  remember to smile frequently….. happiness is contagious too!

“Ah Ha” Moment: using a guided relaxation as your tool

Every Tuesday morning for the last year and a half, I carve out time to record a new weekly guided relaxation podcast.  Every now and then I get a message ( like the one below) that sends a signal to a place deep inside me– kind of like a strong and powerful voice that says, “Keep on doing– what you are doing!”

This note arrived last week from a lovely mother describing her experience in using the guided relaxation podcasts…

I am a mother and wife and I do work outside the home.

I did not commit to a routine in the beginning, I just listened when I “needed” to  (needed meaning- I had a rough or stressful day) I HAD been having such a hard time juggling everything.  I could not seem to stick to any sort of routine.  Once I started listing to your show, and doing the relaxations – I had the “ah ha!” moment.

In December of 2008, I went through a bit a depression and began listening daily to calm my anxiety and nerves.  After a week of listening everyday, I saw the difference in my attitude.  I did not get aggravated as easily, and had much more patience for the tasks I need to perform on a daily basis as a mother, wife and worker.  In  late January I made it part of my routine to listen to one full show (of my choice!!! Woo hoo!) at 330 pm everyday.

I began downloading the Podcast through iTunes in the spring of 2008….. I love having the show on my iPod so that I can listen when and where I want, and with the beautiful weather coming I cant wait to do a relaxation at the beach! I am partial to the color breathing.  This technique comes easily for me and relaxes me quickly. My mind in general is just much clearer than it was before I started doing the relaxations.

Now that I have committed myself to doing the relaxation daily, I do- in fact- notice that all I have to do is show up, and its almost as if my body knows what to do! You’re relaxing, kind voice is just the topping on the cake.

Thank you again for all that you do.

Erin

Erin’s tip: an easy way to find Beth is search in the iTunes store for Elizabeth Irvine. Itunes calls it BTR:Creating Healthy Balance Everyday. ENJOY!!

Check out this week’s show 4/14/09 Creating Healthy Balance Everyday

Just a Little Kiss

It all started with just one little kiss. My 17-year-old daughter’s boyfriend had a cold. I remember saying to my daughter⎯ “No kissing please, you don’t want to catch his cold.” A week later, like a spiraling of domino’s tumbling over, my daughter, followed by the rest of our family picked up a cold virus. Perhaps from a little stolen kiss.

Appreciate your wellness
Experiencing a cold for the first time in 5 years ⎯honestly I forgot what it was like. Now that I am fully recovered, the aching head, stuffy nose and persistent cough that I experienced are a memory I prefer not to keep. The positive thing about being sick is that when you finally get well, you gratefully appreciate the simple pleasure of just feeling “normal.”  Our accustomed everyday wellness goes unnoticed and just as in any contrast of experience we realize how good it feels only by comparison to how bad it can be!

Prevention is key
How had I managed to avoid a cold virus in some five years? In a word⎯prevention. A diligent investment in our own maintenance can pay back in profitable “healthy” dividends. The simple principles (not always the first or easiest choice) of eating wholesome fresh food, balancing work and play along with getting a good night’s rest all pay into the plan. Add in a dedicated time each day for exercise and relaxation and you are on your way to living healthy and virus free.

Learn from my experience
Catching that recent cold virus taught me a valuable lesson. I had obviously let me body get out of balance. My more typical powerful immune system had lowered its defense system and got caught off-guard. Just like a tiny bathroom window innocently left unlocked long enough for a burglar to sneak in⎯ that nasty little viral bug found a window of opportunity. Its surprise invasion slipped in and my body suffered for the lack of attention.

Bottom line
Living in a healthy balanced way means continually “paying in” to the regular care that our bodies need to stay well. If we do this– our beautiful, intricately designed immune system provides  “state of the art protection” in keeping out any unwanted visitors. This in turn allows our body to function as it is capable, keeping us healthy and happy.

Finding Balance and Joy in our Everyday – healthy habits to get you started

Last week Oprah shared her weight struggle story with millions. She said,  “I let the well run dry. That’s what happened when I started to get unbalanced, when I started to not take time for myself, when I started to go unconscious.”
When Oprah gains weight, she says it means her life is out of balance. “It’s not about the food. It’s about using food—abusing food,” she says. “Too much work. Not enough play. Not enough time to come down. Not enough time to really relax.”

Oprah’s message is about finding balance.  One of my main messages has always been about ways to bring balance and joy into our everyday. Let me help you kick start your New Year with some ideas on how to do just that. Use the following buzz words, watch the recent TV  “healthy habits” segment below  and check out this great resource to ring in some positive change first30days.

BUZZ words to build a healthier and happier YOU!

• Awareness. Become more aware of your thoughts, emotions and feelings. If we don’t know what is bothering us, how can we begin to fix it?
• Present Moment. Life’s greatest source of  joy and happiness are right here, right now in our everyday present moments. Not in our past or somewhere in our future. Enjoy where you are, right now.
• Think Positive. There is always a silver lining. Look for the good in everyone and everything. It’s contagious.

Are you looking for ideas and inspiration for some new healthy eating habits? Invest in a few minutes and tune in to a recent TV segment on Great Day Houston for some healthy  ideas.

Learn why the words FRESH, SEASONAL and WHOLE foods can get you pointed in the right direction.

Healing Hobbies

Recall the memory of a childhood afternoon…simple, carefree, and with no concept of the meaning of time – perhaps riding your bike, lying in the backyard making a clover daisy-chain, or lost in a make-believe world of fort building or playing dress-up. Remember how naturally relaxed you felt? Take this memory and notice how you feel right now. Does just the thought of those relaxed times begin to make you feel more at ease?

Lose track of time

When you spend time doing something you really enjoy, you tend to lose track of time on the clock. Spending time in this way moves you into a detached space from your day-to-day situations or issues. In this free place, you can be at your best, and feel happy for no real reason except that you are enjoying whatever activity you are presently focused on. Remember the child-like feeling of creating fun, simple and effortless? This same type of feeling brings a powerful punch to addressing your current-day stress and health problems.

Read on at Health Central

Happy New Year: a poetic formula for peace and happiness

The poem below has surfaced in my life before ⎯and I have always loved it. Recently, this piece of poetry has seemed to appear everywhere I happen to look. And so, I want to share it with my readers as a New Years gift to you.

A poet who never knew his fame
The poem was written in 1926 by a man named Max Ehrmann (a poet and lawyer from Indiana), who never knew his fame. His widow published a collection of his poems three years after his death. Max Ehrmann, who was born in 1872, entered Harvard’s School of Philosophy at the age of 22. He studied philosophy and law, spent ten years writing six books and finally, when he realized he could not make a living as a writer, began practicing law. He composed Desiderata out of the need to remind himself how he wanted to live his life. The title is Latin for “things to be desired.”

Desiderata “Desired Things”
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
And remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
Even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,
For always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
It is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
For the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
Many persons strive for high ideals,
And everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
For in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
It is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
Gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;
You have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,
No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
It is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

(c) Max Ehrman 1926 Desiderata

Check out my sharepost Ring in a Year of Change

Change Positively! Check out my tips on First30days.com

previously posted on healthcentral.com

Sending you all very best wishes and a year filled with all good things. Beth

Bag of Hope

My children always want to give to the people on the street, especially at this time of year. When we learned about the idea called “bags of hope,” we joined in with loads of enthusiasm, preparing food items and a note with a prayer of hope packaged together for the next homeless person we would see on the street.

Offering a bag of hope

Handing a bag to a grateful-looking person, we attentively watched as he reached into the bag. He pulled out the note before the food. His cold stiff fingers carefully and gently unfolded the paper. He quickly read the words written by my daughter, Sarah. They said, “Don’t give up. God put each of us here for a reason and don’t waste it. My prayers are with you.”

Read on at healthcentral.com