Positive thinking from the start...

Stand in-front of the mirror and create what you want to bring in to your 2010...
Enter the new year with the understanding that I am making a fresh start. 

• I begin by discarding thoughts, attitudes, and habits that are not compatible with an excellent life. 
• I let go of whatever caused past discouragement, disappointment, or disagreement. 
• I know that seemingly negative outcomes are desires or goals that are yet to be fulfilled. 
• I am open and receptive to new ideas, activities and relationships.

Each day, I can follow a fresh plan of fulfillment. I act on divine ideas that I receive in moments of prayer and inspiration. These ideas flow through wholesome, positive thoughts. As I use creative thinking to build upon divine ideas, my activities become more dynamic and my abilities are enhanced. Therefore, I enter this new year with optimism, joy and enthusiasm.
(Dr. Usha-Ji Buddha Hall)


Sending Love and light to you for your New Year x

Silence is Golden

I had no idea now important it would be for me to speak Portuguese here.  I thought that I would be able to get by with some very poor sign language and English but NO I was very very wrong!  No-one speaks English here so I am giving myself a crash course in Portuguese with my little phrase book and using a lot of sign language!  Apart from being in the hostel a few days ago I really haven’t met many English speaking people and to be honest it is really nice not to have to talk! 

We talk all the time – well I do anyway!  For work, socialising, and day to day getting around we never have time to just be silent unless we are sleeping or on a silent retreat!  These last few days I have had time to listen to what is going on inside my head rather than reacting to my monkey mind that constantly reacts off conversations I have had during the day.  It has been amazing to see what it is that is important and true to me. 

My best friend has been on a lot of Vipassana courses and has been trying to gently nudge me to doing one and honestly I want to do it but have been so scared up to now of having to go ‘inside’ for 10 days…. Vipassana It is a type of meditation technique that is a 10 silent retreat with about 8 hours of mediation a day… daunting I know but after these last few days of being still and much more silent that I normally am I have decided that I am ready to do the course and am going to sign up for one in the new year… I actually can’t wait! 

Being still and silent in this crazy world is so important for us to digest what is going on, not only in our daily lives, but also giving us the time to listen to what is being said inside of us. 

Try and be silent and still for a couple of hours and see what comes up…. Whether you decide to use the time to meditate or just lie down and do nothing or go for along walk by yourself.  See how it makes you feel and what might come up for you….. You never know it might inspire you to do a vipassana course as well!

http://www.dhamma.org/

Raw Chocolate

We all get a sweet tooth sometimes and there is nothing wrong with succumbing to it… but this is a good way to ease it off in a healthy way!  Raw Chocolate is a superfood and is very quick and easy to make and it is a great thing to take to a dinner party as an after dinner treat…. This way you can also spread the word!

What you will need...

Raw Cacao powder

Raw coconut oil

Agave Syrup or Honey

Extras to add…

Goji Berries

Bee Pollen

Avocado (makes it creamy!)

Almond butter

Mashed up banana

Raw cacao nibs

Now the fun bit….

Melt on a VERY low heat 2 scoops of coconut oil… do not let it get too hot and boil it only needs to become a liquid, then add 4 scoops of the cacao powder and then add about a table spoon of agave syrup or honey (add more or less depending on how sweet you like it)… then go crazy add what you like!  I then put the mixture into an ice tray as it makes great bite size chocolate treats and you can get the shaped ones which is aways fun… then put it into the fridge.  They melt quickly as they have no preservatives so keep them in the fridge then eat quickly!!!

Now the best bit…

Lie on the sofa and lick the bowl and spoon – don’t worry no –one is watching… ENJOY!

Here are some of my combinations…

• 1 t-spoon of almond butter and a handful of Goji berries
• Bee pollen and Goji Berries and cacao nibs
• Goji Berries and 1½  table spoons of Avocado
• 1 Mashed up banana with cacao nibs
• Coconut flakes and goji berries

Don’t go crazy on them though – Limit yourself to just 1 – balance and moderation is everything don’t forget!

December Recipe Ideas

I can’t get enough of roasted vegetables at the moment and keep experimenting with different herbs and spices to get a different taste. You can make them up on a Sunday night and then add them to your lunch during the week, either a salad, some quinoa or Ameryth (both protein based grains) a stew or blend them up into a soup… They just keep on giving!

Roasted Vegetables with Nutmeg (serves 4)


1 Squash


1 red Onion


3 Cloves of Garlic


1 Augergine


2 Carrots


1 Large Corgette


Handful of Chopped Rosemary


Olive Oil


Tamari (wheat-free option to Soya Sauce)


Ground Nutmeg
 

I like to chop my vegetables quite small so they are bite size once cooked so once chopped put the Carrots, Onions, garlic and Squash into a baking tray - splash with olive oil a touch of Tamari and sprinkle the Rosemary and a t-spoon of Nutmeg over the top and put into the oven at  220 degrees (I put my oven on fan)  leave for 20 mins and then add the courgettes, augbergine and give them a good mix up.  Leave for another 20 minutes (you can keep checking every 10 mins and stir them) I like my veggies quite soft so between 40 - 50 minutes depending on your taste take them out and they are done and ready to enjoy!
 

Amaranth with Grated Carrot and Ginger (serves 4)


2 cups of Amaranth Grain


4 cups of water


1 tbspn of Boullion Marigold Stock


1 carrot grated


1 tbspn of Ground ginger


Splash of apple juice

Boil the water in a sauce pan and once boiled add the stock and Amaranth grain, leave for 15 minuets on a low boil and then turn the heat off.  Leave to sit in the stock for a further 15 minutes, it will become quite gloopy so don't worry!  Then add the grate carrot, ground ginger and apple juice and stir in - leave this for another 5 minutes with the lid on.  Then pour into a seive to get the remanding water out... then it is ready to serve by itself or mix it in with the veggies!
 

Pomegranate, Mint, Avocado and Warm Goats Cheese salad (serves 4)


Chard leaves


Half a bag of raw spinach


3 sprigs of Mint


1 ripe avocado


Seeds from half a pomegranate


Goats cheese


optional:
Sprouted mung beans
Ground goji berries and seed mix from Linwoods

Put the oven on a low heat approx 150 degrees and put the chopped goats cheese into an oven proof dish for 10 mins until warm.  In the mean time wash the leaves and then rip them up and put them into a bowl.  Cut up the avocado and roughly chop the mint and add them to the leaves.  Add a handful of  sprouts over the top and sprinkle some of the ground seed mix.  Add the warmed goats cheese on the top and then sprinkle the pomegranate seeds on the top for some vibrant colour.


(Tip: to get the seeds out of the pomegranate in a easy way... fill a bowl of luke warm water and pull them out under the water as the white pith with float to the top and the seed will sink to the bottom!)

Add some Acai Berry love into your life...

I am in the land of the Acai berry so have been eating it every day and feel so great from it.  I have been so pleasantly surprised to find that people are very health conscious here in Brazil.   Everywhere I seem to go I have found cute little fruit bars that sell things like smoothies with chlorophil (an esential green food) acai berries, green juices its great!  
The Acai berry (pronounced ah-sigh-EE) is the high-energy berry of a special Amazon palm tree. Harvested in the rainforests of Brazil, the acai berry tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and with a slight hint of chocolate.  Hidden within its royal purple pigment is the magic that makes it nature's perfect energy fruit.   It is a  Number 1 superfood as it has very high antioxidants found in it
.

Acai Facts:

• Boosts your immune system as they contain such a high percentage of antioxidants that protect the cells of your immune system from damage by toxins in the environment.  
  
  
•  Decrease in the incidence of stroke, heart attack, cancer, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.  In January 2006 breakthrough findings were released to the world from the University of Florida. They took extracts of the berry at various concentrations, and tested them on human cancerous cells. The results of these findings were that the acai berry destroyed 86% of leukemia cells in a cell culture model. 

• Increase in the metabolic rate - resulting in increased weight loss.  The acai berry has the desirable effect of helping boost metabolism and promoting healthy digestive function.  It aids weight loss, while also taking care of dietary needs as well. 

• Increase in sexual activity, libido, and performance.  Need I say more!!!

•  Stronger bones, healthier blood, increase in eyesight, less mood variability.  Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. So far 19 different amino acids have been identified in acai berries. This means that acai berries are packed with protein. They are also packed with vitamins and minerals. Vitamin A B1, B2, B3, C and E are in the little berry. It also contains calcium, potassium, copper and zinc.
• Has your essential fatty acids like Omega 3, 6 and 9. It’s also high in fibre, with about 14 grams per 100 grams in freeze-dried powder form.

You can get it in juice concentrate, pulp, dried powder, frozen berries...  see what you can find at your local health food shop and start experimenting with it.  Try it in your green smoothies, cereal, porridge, juices or anyway you feel inspired to add some Acai berry love into your life!

Got to know what your running from before you know where your running to...

"Got to know what your running from before you know where your running to" is a line out of a song "Big BW" by Fat Freddy's Drop" I was ironically running this morning and was listening to this song and it made me stop and smile and think....

I feel that from my own experience it is so important to deal with our past and what makes us run in the first place, the things that make us make the same patterns over and over again before we can really move on in our journey we call life.  

On the first night of a Ganesh retreat we ask our guests to do a walking meditation, we get everyone to take their shoes off and walk outside very very slowly, asking them to be very conscious of each step they take.  It is amazing how difficult it is to balance when you are walking that slowly which shows us that we are always running so fast in our daily lives that when we slow right down we can see that we are not quite as balanced as we should be and also quite ungrounded. 

Try doing a walking meditation (you can do it inside if it is too cold outside – we do it outside as walking barefoot on the earth is a very grounding exercise in itself.)  it will make you aware of how much you need to slow down and once we slow down you can really see what your patterns are and how to break them if you need to…

Love and light x

Healing in Brazil

I am in the mountains in Brasilia at the moment seeing a healer called "John of God".  People from all over the world come to see him.  He has healed terminally ill patients, people that cannot walk to emotional problems.  He says that he has 6 spirits that are doctors that work through him and that he is literally a body for them to work through.  I was told by a friend that I should come and visit him as I would find it really interesting, and as I was already coming to Brazil I thought why not...  I really haven't done any research on him as I wanted to just come and experience what ever it was that was suppose to come to me.

The night before I was to stand before the him "The Entity" I had dinner with a lady who had stage 3 cancer a year ago and was cured by him... she lives here and volunteers at the "casa" now.  She told me that I had to have 3 things to ask for on the day,  I really had no idea what to ask for... so I thought about it over night and came up with 2 things to do with letting go of the past and living in the present and that I was healthy.

At 7.30am the next morning I arrived at the "casa" dressed all in white.  We all sat in this room listening to a few people talk... it is all in Portuguese so I had know idea what they were saying.  I started getting really nervous as was thinking that maybe the reason that I had come here was that I had something wrong with my health that I knew nothing about, and I would have to have a 'physic surgery'... anyway I sat in this room and waited for my turn to get in line.  We stood in a single file and slowly arrived into this other room where there must have been 50 people meditating.  This was the "current" room where they say that most of the healing happens as the "entities" heal you while meditating.  I arrived in-front of John of God and my heart was racing.... I had the interpreter with me and he handed him my questions... it is true what they say, he is literally a body, looking in his eyes was not like looking at someone, you could honestly see that it wasn't him looking at you and diagnosing you it was a greater spirit looking through him.  He then said to me "current"  which met that I had to go and sit with the others and meditate until the end of the session.  At that moment I felt a lot of relief that there wasn't anything wrong with me that I needed herbs or surgery....

The morning session then ended and we broke for lunch - but first we were told to drink a cup of blessed water as we left the room and then go for holy soup, we were told that it was very holy as had been blessed and we were to have a tiny bit of it even if we were not hungry.

I then came back to the "current" room for the afternoon session.  This is when the healing happens so if you are told to have surgery this is when you have it while everyone else is in the same room meditating.  I sat in meditation for 2 hours which is the longest I have ever sat for - I started getting very fidgety after about 1 hour...

When I receive or give a healing I see visions behind my third eye, and they are random images but mean something to either myself or the person I am giving the treatment to but it never happens during meditation...  I started seeing visions of Christ on the cross - now you need to know that I am not religious in any way so actually being here is quite a challenge in that sense, and the visions came about 4 or 5 times.  Also could feel tingling on the back of my head.  It really was an amazing experience.

Everyone then told me to go back the next day and stand in-front of him again or go straight to Current.  I thought a lot last night that I felt that I really don't belong here... not because that I am any different than anyone but because the people here are so ill and really are here for a lot of healing.  They are so full of hope which is beautiful to see but really made me realise that I am healthy and a happy person and am doing what I love doing and have so much that I want to do and achieve and and it is all possible for me  and that it is important to really LIVE and stop worrying about the minor things in life.

The last few days I have been feeling a bit over weight like everyone does sometimes... so I thought to myself that that thought or feeling doesn't mean anything and it is my choice how I process it in my mind so this morning I went for a half an hour run through the mountains which was absolutely stunning then came back to my room and did some sun salutation and breathing exercise and felt great!

How you start your day really has a huge effect on the rest of your day, so if you are feeling over weight, tired, low or unhappy  stand in front of the mirror and what ever negative emotion you are feeling say to yourself out loud the opposite.  "I am happy today and feel and look great" your subconscious will pick up on this positive mantra and then your body will react to these words and create the positive emotion in  your body.... Try it!

This trip has been a huge and wonderful eye opener to me and I feel blessed to be able to come on this adventure and to have had such a great realisation...

love and light x

http://www.johnofgodhealing.com/

How it all came about...

I set up Ganesh Retreats because I was looking for a weekend break that would teach me how to integrate yoga, meditation, healthy food into my life that I live without it taking over and most importantly wouldn't break the bank so that I could go back a few times over the year... but I couldn't find any so I thought there must be some people out there who are looking for the same thing... This all came about while I was on an amazing life changing trip to India as I thought you must be able to get this feeling of serenity back home and not have to fly all the way to India every time you need a fix!n I know it sounds very cliche to say but, I was meditating in Himalayas and 'Ganesh Retreats' literally came to me in a vision, the name, the concept and how to set it all up. So I came back to London about 4 months later I had my first retreat up and running.

Ganesh is the Hindu God of the remover of obstacles and we give you the skills, knowledge and support to help you integrate a holistic life so you can remove your obstacles yourself... teaching you small techniques to stay calm and grounded in the the whirl wind we call life.

On the retreat you will have daily yoga, meditation and breathing lessons, massage, energy healing, delicious nutritious food made in-front of your eyes by our amazing chefs, cooking lessons and an introduction to crystal healing. Each member of The Team is there to be your support and help guide, you can see which team member is on each retreat on the Dates page of the website.

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I hope that my blog helps inspire you and help keep you motivated...

Love and light

Natasha

www.ganeshretreats.com