Take a break!

"Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges," Bryant McGill."

Photo by Aldo Picaso from Pexels

A friend of mine had a nasty accident and broke her ankle in three different parts. After surgery, she had to stay at home and lay down like 8 weeks or more. She is a very active person and her own woman. As you can imagine, it's been not easy. I have seen her changing in the last weeks, especially now that the pain is almost gone, and she can move a lot more by herself. What I saw and inspired me to look inside myself was the new light in her eyes. I see new energy, clarity of intention, her skin looks more tender, she even lost weight despite being almost unable to do any movement. In summary, she is radiant.

I asked myself, how did these positive changes happen? My answer is more straightforward than I would have expected: it was rest. Having the time to rest without chores to do, meetings to attend, not having to perform for a while, that was the secret.

I find it challenging to be, just be without doing. I confess I used to feel remorse sometimes during my lazy day, but still, I had it because I knew that after having it, I would be more productive.
The idea of scheduling a lazy day is from Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen monk and bestselling author.

I learned from Thich Nhat Hanh how good it is to have a lazy day. I usually want to DO, want to be active not because I really want to do things all the time but because most of the time, I used to think that it is not right to be lazy. It is against the rules of productivity to be lazy. Since I was so impressed by all the other lessons I learned from him, I decided to give it a try and have my lazy day. That trial began four years ago. The first time was horrible. I mean, how can you do NOTHING!!! Let me explain, for Thich Nhat Hanh, a lazy day it's not just a day free from your regular job; for example, if you work from Monday to Friday, then you have weekends open to do all the chores you are not able to do during the week. These are free days, but none of them is a lazy day if you are doing chores and running errands.

That's what the monks at Plumvillage say:

A Lazy Day is a day for us to be true with the day without any schedule activities. We just let the day unfold naturally, timelessly. It is a day in which we can practice as we like. We may do walking meditation on our own or with a friend or do sitting meditation in the forest. We might want to read lightly or write home to our family or to a friend.

Got the picture?

Well, I now have a lazy day every week, and I enjoy it. In time I decided to combine laziness with digital communication fasting. What do I mean by that? I don't switch my phone on this day. Yes, I have a free day from my mobile phone, and I extend this policy to the computer and tablet. So that I am free and just by myself. Not always an easy task to accomplish but very rewarding at the end.

So, these are the two things I do. 

1. I am lazy, so I can rest and recover my energy, and 
2. I fast from digital communication to regain my focus.

I let you with some words from another master, Wayne Dyer:

"Everything that's created comes out of silence. Your thoughts emerge from the nothingness of silence. Your words come out of this void. Your very essence emerged from emptiness. All creativity requires some stillness. Your sense of inner peace depends on spending some of your life energy in silence to recharge your battery, remove tension and anxiety."

Let's be lazy to be more efficient, productive, and stay focused!

Cheers
Gloria

Apartment farmer? Yes, that´s me

more pictures on Instagram @wintersprouts

I live in a tiny apartment and grow most of my own food in the kitchen. I also have more than 30 plants around me. And I am a minimalist. You won't believe it, but it's true.


One of the things I do to keep my waste under control is to grow food in the kitchen. As you can imagine, if you live in a small place, you don't have that much room to be a farmer. But if you choose to grow sprout, space becomes really relative. I use a table which is 90 x 60 cm big or small if you want. That's all I need. In there, I have all my best-growing sprouts. Some of them grow in jars and others in towers or trays.

more pictures on Instagram @wintersprouts

                                                       

In the beginning, it was very stressful. To much to learn and coordinate: rinsing time, kind of jar, days to go, light, etc. But at the same time, I was so excited to see them grow until I could harvest them. The taste, so fresh, so delicious. The experience is fantastic! Living food is definitely a different Liga when we are talking about food.

more pictures on Instagram @wintersprouts

There is some work to do, that is true. You also need to make some investments in knowledge as well as some gear, but mostly, it is time to let them become what they are. The benefits are every penny and every second worth. Becoming a sprout queen is one of these things that changes everything. I changed the way I related to food. I began to see it as nutrition and not compensation for frustrations of any kind. I peacefully began to eat less not because I was on a diet, but because sprouts are so nutritious that you don't grieve for the unhealthy snacks or eating without control in any form.

The jar system for beginners 

This jar system is a little bit different from our MMI jar system but still perfect for you.
Look for a jar in your kitchen. Finish the marmalade if necessary and take that jar to begin with. Rinse it thoroughly. We don't want any germs in it.

more pictures on Instagram @wintersprouts

Take a look at your pantry. Do you have any lentils, pea, or mung beans in there? Yes? Perfect!

1. Put a spoonful in the jar and fill it four fingers with water.
2. Let the seeds rest overnight.
3. Rinse them in the morning and close the jar ( use a piece of cloth to avoid the seeds to be rinsed out
4. Rinse again in the evening
5. Repeat the process every day during the following 5 days
6. Finally, look at your work, the sprout is ready to eat. Enjoy!

If you really don't have any seeds at home, go to the supermarket first thing tomorrow after work. You don't need special seeds, you can take the ones you usually eat. They work just fine. I personally buy always organic food, so my seeds are natural, but as I said, the normal ones will do the job as well.

A beautiful side effect besides saving money was the fact that my allergy reactions almost disappear. Nowadays, I eat more different kinds of food than ever and do not need to take antihistamine pills regularly. I am fit, my immune system is strong, my skin looks better, and I have a lot of energy and clarity to think, act, and react.

Maybe it just a placebo effect; it is perhaps because they are so nutritious I do not know. I just know sprouts are good for me, and maybe they could be right for you as well. Give them a try and do share your experience.

For more pictures, visit me on Instagram, @wintersprouts I post every day some of my experiments or sprout challenges.

Happy sprouting!
Cheers
Gloria

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

Pexels free image

This post is not about the BIG dreams, the life-changing dreams. This is about the other kind of thought. I call them the “silly dreams,” but don’t take me wrong I do want to have them all in my life and, I will. What I want to say is that everybody talks about big dreams, the ones with the big motivation to achieve them, and everyone approves when you talk about them, and that is ok.  But here I am offering some space to play silly in a good way.

“Dreams are the touchstones of our characters.” Henry David Thoreau

Oft enough, I have been ashamed of these dreams. Thinking, I don’t have the right to dream of these beautiful things for myself or that I never have the means to achieve them. The transformation I am experiencing right now just pushed me to write them down and even go further and dare to share them with you in this post. I want to encourage you to dream, also when the dreams seem to be silly or absurd. They are yours and, therefore, valid. Here we go.

Number one

“Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly.” Langston Hughes

I have always dreamt of traveling first class. Never have to wait long in the queue. Coming first on board, being welcomed with a big smile, and offered a lot of fancy stuff for my comfort. Not ever having to worry about where my seat is because any place is just beautiful or if I will have enough space for my legs ( I am a small person, but I really like to stretch my legs while traveling long distances). Going with comfort is one of my big “silly dreams” I mean, this is not life-changing but still nice to have.

Number two

“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

I would love to run my errands using a taxi any time I feel like it. Nothing against public transportation, which is terrific in Vienna but is just the pleasure of not having anyone around, especially when I am tired. Oh gosh, how nice would it be only called a taxi after shopping somewhere outside downtown …or after a nice but turned late dinner when you are just dreaming of your warm and soft bed.

Number three

“I dream my painting, and I paint my dream.” Vincent W. van Gogh

I love Thai massage, I just love it! I want to have a massage of two full hours at least once a week, and the cherry on top would be, having it at my place. Something I miss every time I have a massage is to stand up, get dressed and go home while all I want after this pleasure is to stay there and sleep it over without thinking about what is happening outside. I would have my favorite Thai lady to come to my place and give me a painful and yet relaxing original Thai massage at my home.

Number four

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” Paolo Coelho

Traveling only with a handbag. YES! Deciding spontaneously to go anywhere, anytime without caring about luggage or the price of the ticket. Imagine, you feel like having lunch in Barcelona or for me in Lissabon. You just call the taxi, go to the airport, take a plane first class. All you have is what you are wearing, the credit card, of course, and you take off just like that.

Number five

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.” John Lennon

I would like, at some point, to be a miracle for some of the people I see on the streets. I would like to take them to a decent place where they can stay, take a shower first, have a good meal, and listen to the stories they might be willing to share. I am pretty sure some of them would grab the opportunity and change their lives. I really would love to be the one able to offer a getaway.

“Live the Life of Your Dreams: Be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose instead of the expectations and opinions of others.” Roy T. Benneth
 
What do you dream of? Let´s keep the conversation going!

Cheers

Gloria

The monthly cleaning: Let´s finish strong!

Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.

George Bernard Shaw

The month is over, that means, it is time to clean up any mess produced in January.

I always take advantage of this situation to review my doings, the right things to continue doing, the not so good to discard. At the same time, I reorganize material things and drop some. As a minimalist, this comes automatically. The best way to avoid clutter is not to have it, and in order not to have it, I reorganize and discard things on a monthly base.

I proceed as followed.

1.  wake up, clean and dress up
2.  meditate just a few minutes
3.  look around and without second-guessing myself take out everything that looks not necessary

That's it. Three steps that keep my place clean. After that, I proceed with the normal cleaning of the apartment.

I prefer to do this in the morning. If you are not a morning person or not have the time, do it when it suits your schedule better but still proceed with numbers two and three; this is all about ritual. I will make a post about routines to go deeper into that topic, but for the sake of this one, try it this way.

The second the part is the digital clutter. What a relief to click on delete, delete, delete.

When the the outer world is in order, I feel ready to take a look inside. It is time to let go and let God, as Wayne Dyer used to say. 

I check on my plans: what did work, what didn't accordingly with the answers, I decide what is worth it to continue doing, and what I need to leave behind. Sometimes in the middle, I need to take a break and dance five rhythms for a few minutes. Letting things go is never smooth, but flowing, the first wave in five rhythms dance,  always makes it possible for me.

It is clean inside? It looks excellent outside? Yes, and yes? Well, it is time to celebrate and welcome a new month full of possibilities to become the best version of ourselves. Let's go for it!

PS: Are you feeling a little lost? Not knowing where to begin? Let me introduce to you the woman who can fix that with a Monalisa smile Marie Kondo Her mission ist to create order in this world. Take a look. She is really amazing.

Cheers

Gloria