In one of my favorite movies, “Alice in Wonderland”, the caterpillar asks Alice several times, “whoooo are youuu”? Alice is so overwhelmed and confused, trying to understand the environment she is in and her place in it, that she hardly knows what to say and doesn’t have an answer. How many of us have felt – and possibly still feel – this way? How many times have we encountered “caterpillars” asking us that same question? And, more importantly, how many times have we asked our own selves that question – “who am I?” Do you know the answer? Like with Alice, the problem for us is that life seems too overwhelming at times and we become confused, and so it goes that we fall in line with the rest of the herd in this illusion we call reality. With no real guidance or direction, it is tough (but not impossible) to find enough clarity of mind to delve deeper down the rabbit hole of our minds and spirits and begin to ask the right things: Who are we? Where did we come from? Why are we here? Not knowing the answers to these essential questions creates mental handicaps of unnecessary uncertainty and illusory “limits”. It is these illusory limits in our minds that push us further away from who we are, and, desperate for answers to our identity, we compensate by entering a pool of people who have defined themselves by a single word, or very specific nouns (your name/material things you own) or what they do (occupation/eating style/hobby), and we make permanent residence in a limited label life that leaves us even more discontent than before. Who are you again?

We are living in a world of labels that by default reduces us to one word: our name. Our names, although not who we are, are needed in order to use as a form of communication (or as I would call: incomplete identification). Nowadays, with the emergence of social networking, (which is wonderful in many ways) we are forced to come up with yet more limiting names that are suppose to define who we are. They might state what we like doing, but those nicknames do not define who we are. On top of that, in the past couple of years, another limiting trend has emerged: the “I am my food style”.  As if the way you eat defines (in other words, IS) who you are. Eating a plant-based diet is something I do, it might say something about the way I think to a certain extent (because we all have different reasons why we eat in a particular way, so you have to ask the individual personally), but its certainly not WHO I AM. I am not what I do, I am not my material possessions, not my car, not my house, not my job, nor my eating style. You are not your profession or how much money you make. All of these things can’t tell me who you are. Tangible, and visible things will certainly express a small reflection of your internal self, but physical expressions change as we continuously gain life experience, and, hopefully, evolve.

The bare and raw picture here is that we are beings defined by nothing tangible. We are limitless multidimensional beings having a limited, material (amazing, if you choose and believe it) experience created by us. We are light-energy beings having a physical experience. Our intangibility, such as our thoughts, words, actions and how much these three are in alignment with each other, do continuously define us more than anything else. If we can understand this, see ourselves in this way – with intangible eyes – approach our identity from this perspective, and WORK to get to know ourselves on this level, then we can start to get to know who we really are, begin a relationship with our selves and maintain our ego in a productive, positive balance. From that global perspective, and with knowledge and understanding of our true multidimensional selves, we can begin to give answers to the questions of who we are and why we are here, and develop genuine love within ourselves as well as with others.

Throughout our lives, we have been conditioned to believe that we are our body, our job, our name, etc…to believe that only the tangible is what is “real”. General concepts like health have been distorted and an incomplete picture has been painted, with a controlled, reductionist and limited point of view. We have noticed that when the majority of people think or talk about health, they associate and refer to it only with regards to food and the physical body. The confusion, and the reason that many people cannot achieve true health, real healing addressing the root of the situation, lies in the ignorant mentality that health is a term only applied to our physical body and only what we physically put in it can affect it.

First of all, health is a lifestyle. It is not something that just happens for 30 minutes in your kitchen or  for four hours after in your physical body. Health begins in the mind. The mind dictates, controls and affects the body continuously. We are a compendium of mind, spirit, soul, emotions, and body. Without our thoughts in our mind, and our soul and spirit to animate this body, what we see in the mirror would just be useless flesh. But we do need this body to navigate this experience we call “life”.  With all of this taken into account, health is a word that refers to and applies to our WHOLE Being. Eating right is  A PART of that journey of health, but it is not the complete picture or the whole truth. Healthy eating (aka “nutrition”)  is one aspect of what can contribute to your health. You can have good nutrition but if your thoughts are negative, your are not healthy. And this can be more harmful (to you, others and the planet) than any bad food you put in your system. If you are a positive person with a nutritious diet but you have emotional imbalances and outbursts even if you don’t totally show it in front of people, you are not healthy either. Having health means striving for and maintaining an optimal balance on ALL levels of the self – mind, body, emotions, soul and spirit.  You can eat “healthy” but feed your mind junk by having negative thoughts, taking in ugly images (movies/shows/books) or even by feeling negative emotions.

Health can only be attained through knowledge, understanding and love. This means that, in order to achieve health, we need to seek out information to understand what it is that we need to be healthy, and then apply what we have learned. This is true love – doing the work it requires to know, understand and then put into action the “right” things for your mind, body, and soul. This is what it’s all about – love for the self, for your cells, your spirit, your loved ones. Love will be the motivator as well, the fuel for wanting to seek the knowledge to understand what health is and how to attain and maintain it. Healthy living and consciousness go hand in hand. One cannot exist without the other.

We need to understand the global, more clear picture of what health really is in order to embody it fully and not be confused as to why we still don’t feel well, even with a good diet. Health begins in your mind, and our thoughts and beliefs affect our choices in life. These decisions can either empower or hurt us, create a thriving internal environment or a hostile disease-promoting shell. Health is a holistic matter (see our About Us for FAQ on health and holism), one that encompasses all of you. Let’s make a conscious effort to understand the totality of our being and focus on maintaining health in the only way that it exists: In the order and harmony of your mind, body, and spirit.

]]> http://hlifemedia.com/2010/05/what-is-health-redefining-the-concept/feed/ 3 http://hlifemedia.com/2010/05/a-new-perspective-on-mom/ http://hlifemedia.com/2010/05/a-new-perspective-on-mom/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 07:00:31 +0000 Silvie Celiz And Maryl Celiz http://hlifemedia.com/?p=4757

As women get older, we go through major changes, like menopause. We are all aware  of the physical alterations our moms go through with age, but today we want to generate awareness about something deeper that is also taking place and is not discussed as much: the emotional implications of aging.

It’s a very difficult thing to look in the mirror one day and see a face that you don’t recognize. Crow’s feet, wrinkles around the mouth, spots, gray hair – all of these physical modifications replace previously flawless skin, bright eyes and lusciously thick hair. At the same time, you feel limited, because your mind remains intact (if you’re healthy) or even improves with age as you accumulate more knowledge and self-understanding, yet your body deteriorates as matter must. Even if you are aware of this happening, it is still a frustrating thing to go through.

With age comes wisdom, and you realize just then that life was made to be lived, enjoyed, not as society dictates for you, but as you decide is best for you. With age also comes experience, and lessons learned from past mistakes that allow you to know how to lead your life now. Another thing that comes with age is the idea of death. When you get older, you understand why death has to take place, as you begin to feel like perhaps you are a burden for society and maybe even for your children, who no longer depend on you, are busy, and have other things to talk about.  All of these thoughts and feelings usually occur in silence, as you don’t want to tell anyone that you are becoming aware of what aging means and don’t want to worry those you love.

Maybe it’s not even your own physical state that affects you; instead, it is others’ reactions to you that make you feel old. You’re in a conversation with younger people and you have the answers to their questions, but nobody pays attention to you because “you’re old, what do you know of the things we go through in our generation, at our age.”

With all of this in mind, we wanted to offer a few suggestions on this Mother’s Day week, for you to understand your parent and what they are feeling as one more year of life reminds them of their aging process. Here are also some recommendations for you, on what to keep in mind to prepare for this inevitable process,  and to make it a graceful and most enjoyable one.

For Mom:

- It’s really important to hang out with people your same age. You know and like the same music, same jokes of your generation, are going through similar experiences, and will find comfort in sharing and being understood.

- Financial security is crucial. You don’t want to have to deal with the added stress of having to generate income when the motivation and ability for this is dwindling. This is a time for stability and enjoying the fruits of your labor.

- Develop a spiritual foundation. Dive into the world of what is beyond the physical, explore what the eye cannot see. Read what different philosophies or schools of thought have to say about your internal world and cosmic realities. Focusing on your inner being will take focus away from the external, material things that don’t last, and will help you deal with their deterioration. If you know that there is such a thing as reincarnation, than death is not a daunting thing but a transition, not an end but a new beginning.

- Take care of your temple.  Eat antioxidant-rich foods, moisturize your face and body, wear a hat when in the sun, and exercise to maintain flexibility and especially strength of bones and muscles. Aging gracefully requires caring for your mind and body so that you can enjoy both longer.

- Continue to find ways to be useful. Maybe your kids don’t need as much care now, but perhaps someone else is in need of teachings/talents/skills you have to offer. Having purpose and a reason to wake up in the morning will help you feel energized and motivated.

- Develop hobbies and talents. It is never too late to be creative or crafty, and learning new things has the added benefit of generating dopamine in the brain (the “happy” chemical) as well as keeping the mind sharp. This is a time of less responsibility and more freedom to write that book you always wanted to write or paint that sunset. Rediscover yourself.

For Daughter/Son:

- Communication is key. Mom is going through something, and allowing her to discuss it with you is an important part of the support process. If it is too difficult to begin a conversation about the topic of aging, do it indirectly. “Interviewing” mom for a work or school project, or asking for her advice on this for a friend, can help her open up because she won’t feel like it is personal between you and her (Moms always want to avoid making us feel bad for them, sad, or “worry” us.)

- Give her the place she deserves as an elder. Our society has lost respect for the value of wisdom, something that comes with knowledge and experience, and hence, with age. Our mothers have gone through the same things we are going through now. Everyone loves, loses, wins, fails, laughs, cries, gives up, gets back up, etc…However you want to dress it up, it’s still this thing called Life. Come to her for advice. Listen to her with an open mind and interest. Allow her to impart her two cents. She will feel like she is still useful, and you will reap all of the benefits of years of experience from someone who loves you and therefore has your best interest in mind.

- See her as a human being, not an old person. Approaching someone for what you have in common (we’re all human beings) rather than what you have that is different (age, race, beliefs) makes for a completely different attitude and dynamic in relationships.

- Love your Mom. Be kind, soft, tender, nurturing, patient with her and her changes, sensitive to her needs. This is a time when we begin to parent our parents in a way, and this is a tricky balancing act. Remember that someday this will be you – how would you like your own children to treat you? As you do to others, so will be done to you.

Speaking of your own children, a note on values: The respect and loving treatment of an aging parent is something that is instilled in us as children. The fundaments of respect and love are set by example, by anecdotes that you tell and fables that you read to your children that illustrate these values, the behaviors that accompany them, and the results of this good behavior.  They may not understand ‘why’ yet, but the idea, the mold, the pattern of treatment will be there, to unfold later when it is needed.

We’ll leave you with a little anecdote our Mom told us one day:

There once was a little boy who was carving a wooden dish His parents saw this and, curious, asked him, “Son, what are you doing?”  The boy replied, “I’m carving a plate for you for when you get older and start dropping things and I need to make you eat dinner in the kitchen, in this wooden plate that won’t break. You know, just like you did with grandma.”

One day, we will be “older”. And, hopefully, we will reap the cause-and-effect rewards of a life lived respecting, loving and understanding our own mothers.  Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful Moms, young, older, potential, and future – it is you that make this world what it is by raising your children to be decent and noble contributors to the human race.

Everyone wants love, but not everyone seems to find it. If we have not yet found love, it is a sign that we have some work to do internally. We are walking magnets, attracting all that we are. So, if we are not attracting love, that is because we are not at a frequency of love.

A good starting point to find what you’re looking for is to look at what you are attracting. If you’re attracting loss, it means that your life, the way you are conducting it, is in a frequency of loss. If you attract lack, it is because your life is lacking. My question for you is: Who creates your life? And the answer is obvious: You do. You make your life the way you choose to. There’s no blaming God (the Universe), or parents, or anyone else on this one. You are all grown up, no longer under your parents’ care. You are no longer a kid; you’ve left home and now it is you that is in the driver’s seat of this thing called Your Life.

So, what do we do as fearless teenagers when we set out to “live life”? The first thing is to think that we know it all, that our parents (who were born in the “olden times”) don’t know anything, and that, finally, free of them, we can truly do what we want. Finally.

In our crazy little teenage heads (and thanks to our media-crazed culture), we all fantasize about being like that actress or actor on the big screen. We want to live our lives as if we were the stars of a Hollywood movie. But the role we play will not be our own. Instead, it will be the role of that character that left a lasting impression on us: Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl, Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Madonna (as her public persona), etc…And we plunge head first with all the impetus of youth into the development of our very own movie. And in doing this, our first step out of the home is: LOSS OF IDENTITY.

Most of us have gone through this type of situation during adolescence, some more intensely than others and in different ways, depending on what we envisioned when we chose our life movie. So, which movie did you choose? Was it a drama? A comedy? A romantic one with the inevitable happy ending? Tragic love story? Science fiction? Fantasy?

What types of movies do you watch? What types of conversations do you have? What books and magazines do you read? In other words: What kind of “mental food” do you put in your mind?

You are what you “eat”. And you attract what you are.

If your thought is “apple”, and you feed your mind everything related to apples, you will attract apples.

And, as with every movie, the most interesting thing to see, is the way it is going to end.

There are many different ending possibilities. What would you like yours to be? For a long time, I lived in a drama. Once I understood the power of words, that I was responsible for my life, and that I could change my destiny, that I had created my life movie and that I had the power to re-create it and put things back in order, I decided to say good-bye to drama and the suffering it brings, and I made a deal with happiness.

With this in mind, what should we do to find love? We should stop looking for it. Instead of continuing to chase it (the boyfriend, the endless meaningless outings/events to find that person), let’s stop for a moment and take a good look at ourselves in order to see how we are conducting our lives, what we are surrounding ourselves with, and what is within us that we have not yet seen. With the awareness that we are what we think, let’s take a serious look at our thoughts: Are they all about passion, passion, and more passion? Sex, sex, and more sex? Need? That is not and will never be love. What are we attracting with these types of thoughts? If it is just sex, the sexual act takes but a moment; deed done, you get up, get dressed and get out. Sadly, it’s women who lose at this game, because we are the ones who link sex to sentimentality, while men simply link it to their senses. Once satisfied, a man will move on, while a woman will not because, deep down inside, she will only feel satisfied when she fulfills her true essence, which is all about tenderness, affection, consideration, respect, and the constant and true feelings – not emotions – that lead to passion.

If we understand this, we will have won the battle against ourselves, having broken the cycle of being a slave to our own passions. Love is a feeling, it is not an emotion. And feeling is strength, while emotion is frail, variable. It goes up and down, here today, gone tomorrow. Feelings surpass the ebb and flow of the tides, the tempest, trials and tribulations, and temptation. Feelings are always there, unfailing.

It is time for women to restructure our basics. And the basic essence of a woman is Love.

So, if you are hurt, it’s because you hadn’t quite understood what love really is. And the first person you need to love is YOURSELF. What does this entail? Many things. Do you eat right? Are you in a healthy and productive environment? Are you happy with your job? Are you actively seeking to be a better person? Do you do things for others? Do you thank life for what you have as well as for what you don’t have? (Life is wise and knows why it provides you with some things and not others). Do you take care of your body, your mind, and your spirit? Are you on a continuous path of mental, physical, spiritual and cultural growth? No? Then don’t complain about not finding love. Because if a man sees a woman with so many qualities and much to discuss and share, someone who has found her place in life, and who has a large capacity to give to others, believe me, he will not let her go. What’s more, a man who sees all that and likes it will only be the kind of man that has those same qualities, and only someone with those qualities will have the ability to develop a truly loving relationship. Otherwise, the only thing available will be animal instinct manifest into passion, frivolousness, and the pleasures of the senses. And, just like animals, once basic needs have been met, they will get up and move onto the next diversion.

I hope you take what you’ve read here and truly and deeply meditate upon it. You will be the only one reaping the rewards if you read, understand and APPLY THIS IN YOUR LIFE.

Translated by Maryl Celiz

]]> http://hlifemedia.com/2010/04/love-the-missing-piece/feed/ 4 http://hlifemedia.com/2010/04/you-thoughts-planet/ http://hlifemedia.com/2010/04/you-thoughts-planet/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 07:00:42 +0000 Silvie Celiz And Maryl Celiz http://hlifemedia.com/?p=4499

You probably already know that your eating habits (methane from the meat you eat) and your car (carbon dioxide from exhaust) as well as other habits (like throwing away recyclable goods) affect the planet. You also know that  conserving water (taking shorter showers) and electricity (turning off those lights) help too. But did you know that, above all of those, there is one action that can pollute the atmosphere and drain the planet of resources in a worse way?

Negative thoughts are the worst toxic pollutant on the face of the planet.

If science now knows that there is no such thing as a solid, just an incredibly slow moving element (much slower than our eye can capture) and what we call “matter” is just energy at various degrees of density, then we can conclude that everything inside and around us is energy.  And by the Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy, we know that energy can neither be created or destroyed – it can only be transformed – than we know that everything, good and bad, positive and negative, stays right here in our environment.  Nothing “goes away”. There is no such thing as “away”. There is just life, interacting, forever.

So it goes with your thoughts.  The same way you generate trash and toxins, so you generate trash and toxins when you create negative thoughts. These negative thoughts exit your brain in the form of electromagnetic energy that will not be destroyed, it will either be changed or will go on to add to a pile of energy just like it (like attracts like, just as if you’re a negative person and you surround yourself with negative people.) That bad thought (envy?) you had about your co-worker when he got his promotion, the time your brother embarrassed you in front of everyone and you thought “I could kill you right now!”, the other day when that bank teller fumbled through your transaction at a snail pace while you were on a very short lunch break and you told yourself what an idiot she was – all of those guys are going out and over to the collective unconscious, a sort of vibratory library of mankind’s thoughts, feelings and experiences, all of which form a cover around the planet, like a dome of energy of all kinds.

Do you really think that this energy has no effect on its creator and the rest of the people inside that dome?  Just like the slow and devastating degradation of the Amazonian rain forest, the so-called “lungs of the planet”, have an effect on the quality of air that you and I breathe right here in the United States thousands of miles away, the heat we feel during the increasingly changing seasons, the food we get to grow and eat as a result, so does this cloud of energy that surrounds our planet.  It has a direct effect, on our moods, our thoughts, our behavior.

Everything is energy. From a rock to a human, a food or a spirit, in different degrees it all comes from one source.  It is the intangible that animates the tangible.  Our physical bodies are the vehicle that hosts our true Self (intangible).  It is our anti-material body (mind/thoughts) that animate our dense physical bodies. So, it is our mind that experiences, creates and recreates this physical experience we call life. Our lives and our health are a reflection of what our mind/thought pattern creates daily. It is our minds and thought patterns that make choices, based on our limited or vast knowledge and understanding. Some people have more negative thoughts and create more negative experiences and environments (external as well as internal). Some people are aware of this and are conscious and in control of their thoughts and reinstate their birthright as co-creators of realities.

Our thoughts create our lives, and the world around us. We must take responsibility and be conscious of this from here on. If our lives are created and affected by our thoughts, so is the planet. The planet is an organic, living cell (a bigger body) that depends on us, just like we depend on it, for survival. We are interdependent, just like us and the cells in our bodies, which depend on us to feed them healthy food and have positive thoughts in order to give us a healthy life. We need  to care for our planet the same way we need to care for our bodies.  As the Law of Correspondence says “As above, so below; as below so above.” (The Kybalion). This means that things that happen on a smaller level can also happen on a large level.  As cells have consciousness and our thoughts and actions can affect their state of well-being, we can also affect the well-being of the planet.

So, in the spirit of Earth Week, we at HLife are asking you to please take responsibility for your thoughts and be conscious of their effect on your health, your life and your planet.  Don’t pollute us with negative thoughts when you can create beautiful, positive, health-inducing thoughts that are good for you and everyone, including Mother Earth. Celebrate this Earth Day on Thursday, April 22nd, by being aware of what you think and how you feel, and catch yourself if you’re habitually engaging in negative thought-patterns.  You can change this. Take a deep breath and think of the exact opposite – if you feel fear and want to lash out, think of love/reassurance/security and express a kind word.  Don’t worry about what others do.  They’re just mirrors to your own innermost subconscious thoughts and feelings anyway.  Be yourself – the best version you can be.  For all of us.

“Mom, what is ‘spirituality’?” My daughters asked me one day. And from the depths of my soul, this is what emerged:

Spirituality is waking up each morning and aligning yourself with the Universe.
Spirituality is living your life in ORDER, and knowing all that this word means and encompasses.
Spirituality is knowing the laws of the Universe, and guiding your life in accordance to them.
Many times, spirituality is saying NO, because we are CONSCIOUS of the consequences that a ‘yes’ might bring.
Spirituality is taking honest responsibility for a difficult situation in which you were involved, observing yourself and acknowledging your part in the deeds, and not blaming others for what happened.
Often, spirituality means quitting, giving up what you want the most, what you desire the most, what you like the most, because you UNDERSTAND that it would bring disharmony to your physical body or your soul, or to others, or to the planet, and to the rest of the Universe.
Spirituality is waking up from that absurd way in which we live, and beginning to live in an authentic and true way.
Spirituality is seeing with the eyes of the spirit, beyond what the physical eyes can see.
Spirituality is awakening conscience within us.
Spirituality is living with BALANCE.
Spirituality is looking back and feeling that your life was not in vain, and that you were born one way and, as you advanced on your path, you grew and matured.
Spirituality is taking care of your body because you have realized how important it is.
Spirituality is having a positive attitude toward others and making the world a better place each day, even if it may seem like nothing is changing, because each one of us is millions of thoughts that influences the collective mind of this planet, OUR PLANET, our home.
Spirituality is being selective in life, on all levels – mental, physical and emotional.
Spirituality is being thankful.

Spirituality comes from ‘spirit’, and in order to be spiritual, we must have developed our spirit first, because we are all born with a soul but not with a spirit. This latter one is something we must work to attain. And this is not achieved through prayer or church attendance, charity work or books, or by saying that you’re a being of light, or just meditating, no. You must first work on this individually, with a genuine interest in knowing who you are, where you come from, and where you’re going. A profound labor and path, one of great responsibility and honesty, but, in the end, one with rewards so grand and lasting as are HARMONY and PEACE inside of you and in all that surrounds you. Spirituality has to do with the Universe; it’s when the soul understands that it is part of that vastness and becomes intertwined with It.

Because of this, as my friend Franca Canonico, channel of the book El Ser Uno, says: Spirituality is a way of life. And I agree with her. I live that way, and that is how I raised my daughters. And I think the outcome has been positive.

Translated by Maryl Celiz

Some people seem to think that recycling means two things: taking your plastics to the recycling bin and/or giving up style. We need to step outside of our mental box and think of recycling, not as a single act, but as a conscious and positive lifestyle of creative expression, unlimited style, and self awareness.

Recycling doesn’t stop at bottles and cans when it is part of a conscious lifestyle. You can find creative ways to incorporate recycling into your daily life in so many more and different ways that it almost becomes a fun game. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: In the Universe, nothing is ever destroyed; everything is recycled and transformed. We apply this law of conservation of energy in our everyday life. Be creative in your application of the principles of recycling; you are a creative being, so exert this power while making your life and the planet better. From your home to your activities and thoughts, there is much recycling and transformation to be done on a daily basis, a lot that maybe you’re not aware of, but with a now expanded view on recycling and an idea of what the options are, you can take this and transform your life in ways you never thought. Here are a few tips, ideas, and recommendations on how to include recycling as part of your fabulous conscious lifestyle:

Home Decor: One of my favorite hobbies (besides singing and dancing, of course!) is decorating spaces.  My taste is high-end and transitional and for my husband and I, comfort, aesthetics, high-end decor and consciousness go hand-in-hand. So, how do I recycle and stay Palm Beach mid/century glam with a New York contemporary flare? Vintage, baby. Besides painting, gold leafing older items or hand-me-downs, buying vintage is the best eco-friendly contribution for recycling with style. Not only are we resurfacing iconic beauties from the past, and immortalizing their classic style (like my fave – 60’s mid-century, modern, stacked chrome ball lamp, sitting on my home office desk) but we are recycling an item that might otherwise have gone to a landfill.  Many styles return with a twist anyway.  Yes, it can get a bit expensive, but if you know what you are looking for, and search with patience, you will find the items you want for less.  The key is to look through some great decor magazines or catalogs and know what you’re looking for beforehand.  Then, just know where to look. If you are in the Los Angeles area, I can recommend a few of my favorite places, some a little pricey and some very reasonable (the following are in descending price range):

• ✼ m[E] (Material Environment) – If money is no object, this is a fabulous vintage and modern store owned by the amazing Ramon-Maynes, a wonderful spirit with a masterful eye. M[E] focuses on Art Deco, mid-century, and Hollywood regency designs, as well as contemporary, eco-conscious pieces for your home and office.

• ✼ 45 Three Modern Vintage Home - This place is deliciously addictive to us, lovers of home decor.  Founder Stacy Cain has impeccable taste and does the search for you. Her showroom is constantly changing, because her prices are just right.

• ✼ Revival Furniture – Here, they literally revive and restore older pieces very nicely with paint, artistry, and an eye for classic beauties. They only have a few pieces at a time, but it’s worth the trip because you can always go across the street to Saint Vincent de Paul.

• ✼ Saint Vincent de Paul – If you like going to garage sales, you don’t have to wait until Saturday or Sunday.  This thrift store is constantly getting new furniture and home accessories of all types. It’s hit or miss here, but once in a while you’ll find your classic wing chair or 1940‘s tufted sofa ready to be upholstered to the faux suede color of your dreams (and a girl’s gotta dream)

Fashion: Besides going through your grandma’s closet (or your husband’s grandma’s closet) for those classic vintage purses, jackets, and sometimes even dresses that might fabulously fit you (they actually keep them for ever!) how about a clothing swap party? I was recently invited to a clothes swap event created by my colleague and green “it” girl Rachel Avalon, where a whole bunch of women of all sizes and ages get together and bring stuff that has been sitting in their closets for more then 6 months and recycle their own stuff by trading for another gal’s stuff. You can bring a variety of dress-wear, including shoes and accessories (no bras, panties or socks), have fun, laugh, gain a few goodies and newbies for free, Spring-clean your closet, and keep all the clothes out of the landfills. My mom always says, “One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure.” Check out this video where Rachel explains in detail how to create your own clothes swap soiree.

Food: If you follow the HKitchen, you will notice that, in the spirit of Earth month, we have been implementing some “food recycling” techniques, like the use of the leftover mix from the delicious Silvie’s Sea Veggie Cakes in the wonderful Faux Tuna Tartine. Another way to recycle food: When you cook veggies in water (asparagus, for example), save the water and use it to cook something else (like brown rice, which requires water to boil).  This is a great way to save water by recycling, as well as recover the water-soluble minerals that the vegetables lost in the boiling process. You can also recycle leftover garbanzo beans by making them into a favorite snack: hummus. Any of your extra legumes or beans can be recycled into creative spread ideas, like black bean hummus. Recently, I’ve started to save any glass jar that comes my way, to be used at some point as a container. So, every time I make homemade sauces like pesto or hummus, or before and after I soak my nuts and seeds, I put them in my “new” glass jars.

Thoughts: Did you know your thoughts are recyclable? This is a powerful tool to help your health and the planet. How so? Your thoughts emit a frequency, an oscillatory vibration that goes out of you and contributes to the planet’s energy frequency, and then comes back to you at some point. If you consistently have negative thoughts, the amount of negative energy that you emit and that you will receive in return will be detrimental to your health and your planet. We need to recycle our negative thoughts by transforming them into positive ones. Remember, life is a projection of yourself: you are either in a frequency of harmony or distortion.  So, now that you know this concept of recycling thoughts, the next time you have a negative thought, do this: 1) Let’s say your thought comes in the form of an image of something negative that will happen. Say “stop,” stay still for a minute, and then say “cancel” or “delete,” as if you were deleting that image from your mind, 2) Identify the negative feeling (envy, fear, anger) that is attached to this negative thought/image, 3) Create the opposite feeling inside of you (happiness, love, trust), breathe in, and feed from it, and 4) Create a positive thought/image in your mind to replace that old image. This way you didn’t just recycle it – you completely transformed and transmuted it, and transcended from a negative to positive state of creation. This, my friends, is a form of recycling and the truest, oldest healing practice for evolution and elevation.

Remember: You can take these recycling practices and apply them to any area of your life. Just get creative and keep in mind that nothing in the Universe is waste – what seems to be the end of something is the potential beginning of something else. Happy Earth Month!

]]> http://hlifemedia.com/2010/04/recycling-beyond-bottles-cans/feed/ 9 http://hlifemedia.com/2010/03/soul-spirit-man-human/ http://hlifemedia.com/2010/03/soul-spirit-man-human/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 07:45:59 +0000 Silvie Celiz http://hlifemedia.com/?p=4038

There is so much confusion on the difference between soul and spirit that we felt compelled to contribute our two cents. The more we know about who we are, how we operate, and what our options are, the better the life choices we are able to make. And, just as we take the time to know and understand our physical body through food and exercise, it is crucial to also know and understand the less dense bodies that animate this physical body, and the process of elevation that these more ethereal parts of ourselves go through. We would not exist without a what we call soul or spirit, so let’s see what’s beneath the tip of the iceberg of these components of ourselves.

The soul is the energy body by which everything exists and lives. The soul is composed of energies that man inherits through its ancestors: At the time that the soul enters the body of a newly formed entity, the energies that will make it up will be those that are in affinity with that entity (like attracts like). As a person is born and begins a new life, the soul is also where that person’s life is “recorded”, where all experiences, difficulties, moments, and memories are stored. These experiences that are recorded can be positive or negative, and here is where  the difference between soul and spirit is: Only the positive high-frequency thoughts/feeling/experiences that are elevated through a higher understanding of existence will go on to form your spirit (also called “Energy Being”). All of these positive and negative experiences get sifted and the negative ones remain in the soul (housed in the left brain) while the positive ones go on to form the spirit (housed in the right brain). If the negative or useless experience/thought-energy was not understood or worked out, the soul will direct it towards lower frequency zones in our mind, to then be manifested to the more dense physical body as an imbalance that we call illness.

So…

Spirit: “When the Though-energies are elevated, they form a body called Energy Being.  This Energy Being is located in the right side of the brain. It is a spiritual-mental reincarnation, which takes place in the baby’s first breath.” (pg. 233, Ser Uno II.)

One of the characteristics of a spirit – and another one that differentiates it from a soul – is that, once it has been developed, it can never be broken. A spirit is an eternal body of light, composed of thousands of millions of high-frequency, elevated thought-energies that formed themselves into one entity via a like-vibration, belief, frequency, rhythm, color, etc…Because it is a formed entity that can never be broken, when we die, this Energy Being called “spirit” goes through the process of REINCARNATION.  A soul, on the other hand, does not.

Soul: Synonym of life, located in the left side of the brain. An accumulation of thousand of millions of Though-energies that enter the body at the time of conception. These Thought-energies are half from the father and half from the mother.  (pg. 193, Ser Uno II)

When we die, a soul leaves the physical body, and the energies that were not elevated enough to form part of the spirit body will separate and disperse throughout. They will go to where they are attracted by another  person, through this person’s characteristics (frequency, vibration, rhythm, color etc…) This is not reincarnation – it is INCARNATION, because these particular energies, these memories lived, will be incarnating for the first time as a new whole (the spirit, as a whole that never breaks and disperses once it is formed, reincarnates, meaning, incarnates again.) These soul-energies will combine with other thought-energies and become part of the soul inheritance from a parent to his/her baby in the moment of conception.  They can also be attracted to  and become a part of a person that is already incarnated. This is the reason some people think they are the “reincarnation of’ so-and-so” (famous person).  That is why 1,000 people on the planet can be certain they were all Cleopatra in a past life. They are getting in touch with that one thought that was perhaps a part of Cleopatra’s life (soul) at one point, and is now a part of them, and they are therefore “remembering” one thought-energy that they host as part of their own current soul. Yes, they could have been a percentage of what her soul contained, but not her entirely.  We can only be that combination of thought-energies (one soul) that one time because all of those life experiences cannot all be repeated in one lifetime again (”you only live once”. Yes – as that one particular complete soul. But there are many other combinations to form). We can live many lifetimes but we can only truly exist forever once we have formed a spirit,  one that will remain the same throughout various lives and one that will continue to be developed by the most pure and positive of our thoughts and experiences. This is why the spirit doesn’t speak in terms of was – because once it is formed, it always is.

In order to develop our spirit, we must understand who we are and what experiences allow us to elevate our thoughts. Just like the atoms and cells and our own body systems, the Universe has an order. This order is classified into different levels of evolution and elevation – grades, planes, dimensions. Everyone is living in the same ‘reality’, but experiencing it through different levels of evolution and elevation, just like a cell in a muscle in your leg is in the same reality (body) as a cell in your lung, but they are in different “departments” and so these cells experience a distinct – their own – reality. The term reality is relative to what you think or know it to be, and especially relative to your perception. But there are some Universal indicators to help you identify where you or someone else stands on the evolutionary (and elevation) scale.

Man: Thinks in “I or Me” terms and is driven and controlled by instinct and sensation.  Is concerned with his own benefit without regard for others. The beginning of the ladder of evolution when it comes to our species.

Human: Thinks in “We” terms, has awareness of the self beyond instinct and sensation and further into true consciousness with an understanding of the basic truth that we are all connected, and is therefore concerned with how he affects others, is compassionate, lives not just for his well-being but also for the welfare of the planet and all sentient beings in it. Usually ecological, with a respect for Nature and a drive to care for all aspects (the self and other humans, animals, atmosphere) of it.

Being (Energy Being): Thinks in “They” terms, takes his humanity in a pro-active state of collaboration with the planet and goes beyond by starting to question and investigate his own existence, how he was created, who created him, how the Universe was formed, and what his part is in all of it.

Cosmic: A true and complete knowledge and understanding of the self, planet, Universe, his place in it, his origin, and destination.

The evolution/elevation state of a person is largely determined by the energy and vibration grade that the  person’s mother and father attained at the moment of conception, as well as the energy endowed during the nine months of gestation and the first seven years of life and development. After this, it is up to the individual to make his own way.

Remember, we are all here to evolve and elevate, but how quickly you do this is your choice.  You have the power to determine who you are and where you want to be, you just have to do the internal work in order to develop your spirit. Once we all do this, we can return to our natural state of being = one/whole.

National Nutrition Month (March) is almost over, and as we welcome the sunshine and heat everyone must be thinking two things: Spring cleaning (home, closets, garage) and Spring cleanse (body detox…beach body!) But here is something you may not know about that goes hand-in-hand with body detox: Mental Toxicity. In this Spring cleaning state-of-mind (no pun intended), let us give you a heads up on this very important part of detox that people generally do not seem to acknowledge, in spite of it being so crucial for real cleansing and optimal health.

Mental toxins are all the negative thoughts, emotions, associations, and memories that hunt us, archives of “programs” (as I like to call them) that exist in the back of your mind or subconsciousness. Many of these programs, mental discomforts/distortions that you have ignored and not dealt with, negative feelings and thoughts that have not been analyzed, broken down, worked out and understood, are still inside of you in the form of mental toxic waste. This mental toxicity hanging around in your your mind, literally “weighs” you down because it is energetically heavy and dense, and if it is not cleansed it will resurface at some point and attack you when you least expect it, and quite probably turn into the physical imbalance we call illness.

When we eat healing foods, partake in a body detox program, and  eat nutrient-dense, high-quality foods like unprocessed whole foods and in particular raw whole foods, physical and chemical toxins aren’t the only ones that are released to be cleaned out -  mental toxins also join the cleansing party. We must be aware that, as we cleanse our physical bodies of excess fat, metals and any other accumulated physical toxins, any mental toxins that have been buried deep under all of that fat or chemical toxicity will also resurface, jumping out like a caged lion recently released. And that is your chance to tame them, work through these toxic ideas/programs/patterns, transmute their energy, and reroute them somewhere else. Remember, nothing in the Universe is ever destroyed, it is all recycled, transformed, transmuted, and reused in another way.  By cleansing these mental toxins out and fully working them out, analyzing them, accepting them, understanding them and the process of release, and letting them go, you will be free of their toxicity. Understanding them is the key and final step for transforming mental toxins into high frequency, elevated, positive thoughts of knowledge, compassion, wisdom, and love.

The mental cleanse that takes place as a result of the physical cleanse is a “side effect” that people often forget about. Ever wonder why you are more aggressive/defensive/sensitive after changing your diet to a more light and sophisticated diet? Shouldn’t you act as light as you feel physically? Sure – once you have cleansed those mentally toxic negative emotions and thoughts out of your system as well, you will. But that takes work, and, more than anything, AWARENESS. This is actually a natural, wonderful thing that is taking place as part of your healing process. Embrace it.

Here are few tips on how to work through this and cleanse mental toxicity to thoroughly free your mind and truly heal yourself holistically (mind/body) from distortion and misunderstanding, and let go of negative thought patterns that are actually the starting point for physical disease.

When we say “work out”, mental toxins we mean this kind of internal work:

• ✽ Identify what is the underlying problem (you might need a pen and paper). What is bothering you so much?

• ✽ Figure out what emotions accompany your negative reactions: Envy, anger, fear, resentment, guilt, shame, etc…

• ✽ Question, analyze, and discern in detail where all these sentiments come from.

• ✽ Once you have done this, try again and go deeper: What triggers these thoughts and emotions? Is it a person, a sound, an association, a memory, a color, a voice, what a person stands for or represents? Think, and dig. You have the answers within and the power to heal yourself.

• ✽ Use the Law of Cause and Effect and the six other laws of the Universe to help you reach an understanding of your situation, where these negative thoughts started, the root of things.

• ✽ As difficult as it may initially be, make an effort to fully understand your entire process, from trigger to reaction.

Once we understand what, when, who, how and why, that wont bother you any longer, because all that internal “work” was the detox. Understanding our negative thought patterns means knowing that things don’t happen to YOU, they just happen, as an experience for us to learn form it, grow, evolve, and elevate. Your mental toxins need to be transformed and transmuted into crystals of light, wisdom from experiences that were understood, a clear comprehension of the choices that you made in the past (maybe even form past lives). When we genuinely understand our emotions and thought patterns, we feel inner peace, love, compassion, and patience. And harmony sets in…a feeling that we are back home.  Always remember, HEALTH is not just in your body, it starts with the thoughts in your mind.  Happy Holistic Spring Cleanse!

]]> http://hlifemedia.com/2010/03/spring-cleaning-the-mind/feed/ 2 http://hlifemedia.com/2010/02/all-the-single-ladies/ http://hlifemedia.com/2010/02/all-the-single-ladies/#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:59:39 +0000 Maryl Celiz http://hlifemedia.com/?p=3330

Single Ladies: What are you doing? Literally, what are you doing at this moment, today, with your lives? Are you dreading the upcoming V-Day?  Or are you too busy living your life to have even noticed it?

Here’s a suggestion, in no uncertain terms, because we don’t sugarcoat it for you here at HLife: Instead of thinking about a day that will come and go, LIVE YOUR LIFE. Live it to the fullest, now. Do the things you dream of doing “someday” TODAY. Travel. Write. Climb that mountain. Start that business. Conquer yourself. Get informed and make the world a better place by treating yourself better. Change your attitude toward Mother Nature. None of this can happen unless you make it happen.

In case you haven’t noticed (’cause you’ve been too busy wallowing over not having a valentine) what you, single lady, have right now is that very precious commodity that everyone is after: TIME. You have all your time to yourself to do what you will. So, again, I ask you, what are you doing today? What are you doing with your time on Earth?

If you’re not loving your life and are biting your fingers over a holiday, you’re not living your life today. Wake up, ladies. There is a life to be lived, a world to improve, a message to spread, an enterprise to nurture into fruition, an adventure to explore. It is called YOU. This is what love is all about: Love YOU first. Everyone says it and I’ll say it again: Fall in love with you, your thoughts, your decisions, your actions, your life.

Here is what you really want, when you say you want love:

You want to think, say and do all the things that are in alignment with who you truly are as a human being.

You want to BE YOURSELF 100% AND EXPRESS THAT 100%.

You want to, if you don’t already know, discover who you are. Question, research, try and err, create, erase, modify, tweak, add color, sing, dance, play – do what you need to do to find out what makes you tick. (By the way, if you don’t know who you are, how is anyone else supposed to know and love you?)

You want to stop making excuses and pointing fingers and take responsibility for your life. At any given moment, even in captivity and under duress, you have the choice of acting or reacting to a situation. If you don’t like how you act or how you react, then work to change that. But get on the horse and ride it – no more standing by and watching.

You want to start trusting yourself and your feelings. I think a lot of women dismiss their intuition as second-rate to a more masculine ideal, like logic. WRONG. Intuition is truth without the need for a logical explanation. It leads you directly to the truth, all at once. Logic, a left brain activity touted by a patriarchal society as the ultimate superior indicator of truth, is a process. And like every process, it can go wrong at any given step. You can start with a bad premise and take it, logically, to an end result. But , because you started off wrong, you will not get to the truth, even if the whole process is correct. Or, you can start with the right premise, and make a mistake somewhere in the logical steps, and you will end up, again, with a result that is not the truth (but it has logic). Trust your intuition. TRUST YOURSELVES. Trust that you are made the way you are for a reason, and that YOU KNOW THE ANSWERS ALREADY.

You want to start being honest with yourself and others. Oftentimes you know from the start that someone is not right for you, that the relationship you are about to enter is not going to work out. You see the red flags. Something doesn’t feel quite right. But, regardless, there you are, cozy and chummy. And then, a few months later, the inevitable breakup comes. And you act surprised. The only bad thing about this is that you could be insane for acting surprised at something you already knew was coming. Get real with yourself – and with that poor fellow who invests his feelings as much as you do and depends on your wise intuition to tell him the truth he cannot see – and act in accordance with what you truly think. If you don’t like something, don’t do it. If you don’t like someone, don’t date him just ’cause you’re lonely. If you see something, say what you see and what you think. Everyone will not like what you say, or maybe even who you are. But you’re not alive on this planet to please people. You’re here to be exactly what you were created to be: YOURSELF. I guarantee you someone will take note of that – and like it.

You want to see this time with yourself as a precious present, for the gift that it truly is, to get to know yourself, and to get to share that freely with the world.

I would venture to say that all the single ladies have a lot to do. Do what you want and will, and enjoy it. It’s not love until you’re enjoying it. Find that enjoyment, and you will find true love.

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