Breath of Love

Me and Olivier we once crated this phrase to describe a certain flow felt around the heart (and from it). BOL - I still use this word to describe the moment when there's a rainbow in your smile, when you feel you love the whole world, when your chest hurts - so much love there is, when you are ready to hug everybody around. 

They say happiness is a choice. I truly believe it. Happiness can be born, raised and nurtured. You have to consciously, every day, decide you're choosing it. Happiness is not smth that comes itself (it can, but then it's only a temporary thing - depending on someone/something/somewhere). Happiness is wholeness. Happiness is stillness. Gratitude. Faith. Joy. Every moment - no, from moment to moment. David told me once about meditation: "one moment of concentration gives birth to another moment of concentration". I'd say the same about happiness...  second per second...

Bhavatu Sabba Mangalam

Be Happy Be Happy

Vegan? Are you kidding me?

Well, one hour after having written the post about commitments I said to myself that one of the topics on the list could be done NOW, I don't have to go for a 10 years delay or try to work my muscles on it... And tadaaaaam, I suppose there are no more excuses for me not to be vegan (I've always been saying that I lack cheese, cause I love cheese, I adore it, I am ready to spread a good piece of cheese over my face, cheese is my everything, but then I realized that I survived almost without cheese in India, 4 months! and I don't really NEED it... Eggs and milk - I don't eat dairy, but I wouldn't say no if it was used by someone else for something they had cooked up for me). The same with my everlasting excuse about eggs - I don't usually eat them but I'm always saying "ehhh, it's ok if eggs are in the pie, right? Just once, just in this pie..." Etc. etc. etc. 

Not that I need to become vegan, but I've wanted to for several years now. When you start being vegetarian for some ethic reasons sooner or later you come to veganism, I think. And I wonder now WHY I didn't switch to vegan diet before. The answer is "lack of motivation" and "tomorrow-i'll-do'it" promises to myself (like the one I had recently: I made a beautiful strawberry cottage cheese pie and couldn't say no to it, and decided I'd start once it's finished... my way of treating reality :)

And now I clearly understood that becoming vegan is a good way of training my will. I'm not forcing myself this time. I just DECIDED. Once and for all... So simple!!! I'm not cheating myself or trading with myself any more (like before, when eating Oltermanni, cause it doesn't have rennet in it...).

I think I'm not gonna be the extreme vegan, I am not going to track all the E-s on the package, thinking if they have animal origins (well, I think Ill just get rid of the E-s in my diet). I'm not going to try to persuade my parents that eating vegan is good for me. I'm not even gonna tell them :). I am not gonna say no to a soap in someone's bathroom if I'm not sure it hasn't been tested on animals. Santi shanti...

I'll take the simple way. A lot of raw food, no substitutes, as much frugality as possible, a good kitchen and a good web-site with vegan recipes :). 

Mamma mia, it sounds much better than I thought, as if a new life is starting!!!

I'll go and celebrate it with a vegan rice milk banana strawberry smoothie :)

Be happy and healthy! And go vegan if you want!

Karma yoga...

Came up to my mind today: conscious parenting is a sort of karma yoga, cause you're devoted to somebody without any conditions and expectations, with pure and self-giving motivation...

10 years commitments

Thanks to my best Katja have just finished a small article by Steve Pavlina about commitments. The main phrase would be:

"While it's perfectly okay to dabble in a variety of interests to discover what you enjoy, if you really want to get good at something, a serious commitment is required. Dabbling is great for experimenting, but it's lousy for long-term skill building. To master a skill, move beyond dabbling and make a serious commitment to your craft."

Steve suggests that one should (while dabbling) choose some exact goals and make them into 10 years commitment. He claims it to be a very helpful system. 

I said to myself WHY NOT? I've always been lacking this inner motivation and will of power to finish what I've started on a good level: I've tried to dive, to learn how to juggle, to speak Portuguese, to play guitar, to enjoy calligraphy, to fast, to make DIY cosmetics, to take good pix, to study history, to settle down in several countries, to meditate, to do yoga. And in most cases my motivation was blown away by the wind of changes, let it be mistral... I know I'm a scanner and I know I am doing best when jumping from one activity to another. But I also tend to be a "drop-it-half-way" exactly because of lack of commitment. Commitment makes your decision grounded and strong. Well, first of all it MAKES YOUR DECISION :) It also makes you set up several small goals on the way and - which is of most importance - to understand WHY you are doing this or that. Not just "ehhhh because it's fun", cause when the goal is difficult to achieve (let's say "be good at playing arphe")  having fun will not be enough on a long term basis. So in order to come where you are willing to come you should have a good "pusher". This can be the commitment you take being fully aware of why you're taking it. This seems to be the best motivation! 

So... for the next ten years I chose:

- speaking perfect Italian, Spanish, Portuguese

- being a master of Tibetan Massage

- being 100% vegan

- learn to bellydance 

- becoming established in  meditation (vipassana, dzogchen, heart meditation)

Some of these thing I started with, but they seem to be hobbies, not smth I am committed to... 

This August I'll turn 30, so in 10 years - on my 40th birthday I'll check this out to see where I turn to be on my path!

Announcing all that makes me dizzy and scared already, cause I am really good in procrastinating and looking for excuses NOT to do smth (even if I like it) as soon as there's an effort to be done...

If you have any experiences in pushing your limits and promising smth to yourself, you are warmly welcome to share and to inspire me :)

BE HAPPY!!!