Today I want to explore the duality of holding onto a desire, a dream – and allowing the Universe to deliver it easily, despite the fact that maybe you live in a different dream (for now).
 

When we lean into trust acceptance of our present moment, and fully appreciating where we are, here and now- the energy of the universe lines up to deliver our true desires. To such an extent, we ask ourselves, “is this what I truly want?”
 


I find myself wishing my current situation were different. If only this, then I will be contented. If that, then I can relax and create. How about instead, focusing on our core desired feeling, rather than the material thing we believe to help us get there? Perhaps our own feelings of connectedness and wholeness are all we really need in order to be fulfilled. So- what can we do today- to give these gifts- our own core desired feelings- to ourselves? How do we find ways to do things that make us feel this way, even more? If we feel the way we want to feel…we give the Universe permission and support to bring that in even more. (what do I do that makes me feel the way I want to feel?)
 
For me, I want to feel light. I associate a lightness, playfulness, as I dive headlong into growth in my business. After sitting with these feelings, and these ways I wish to feel, I realize I can feel these things now.  By finding things for me to schedule into my life now, to help me feel this way – I am calling in my new life by Living Into It.
 
Silly play. Art. Playdates with my kiddo. Whipped cream and fruit pancakes: breakfast for dinner more. Movie night with family. Date nights with my sweetie. More travel. A cheeriness that is not heavy...this can only come from setting clear non-negotiables in my business and self care, and allowing the Universe to rise and meet me. Daring mySelf and my Team to Live Greatly!

The most personal, very poignant tale of this phenomena- was leaning in, really visualizing a natural home birth, despite a multiple situation, high-risk pregnancy. We had already experienced a ghost twin, and through the weeks that followed our experience with her, found out through ultrasound that I had placenta previa. This term names the condition where the placenta lies over the opening of the uterus. It is a term that necessitates a hospital birth via C-section.
 
Not. My. Dream.
 
So while my doc watched skeptically, I spent seven months visualizing a home birth. I saw it, felt it, dreamt about it, even played out how we would give birth in front of a raging fire in our basement living room. The spicy woodsmoke, the coolness of ice water sliding down my throat, how yummy my smoothie cubes would taste. My doc never discouraged me, but took a “well, it won’t hurt” for you to visualize… point of view. And just two weeks before our prescribed “birthing date,” he ok’d our home birth. With the caveat that if we went a week over, he would induce… I was that high risk.
 
I had by this point, resolved the previa status. My heart felt as if it would burst~! Here, I had seen both the midwife and MD the whole term, holding trust and vision for our dream.  He gave us the green light.
 
I truly believe now, that it is absolutely possible to live in one reality AND hold a dream for a different ending. Both being present to what our current experience is, and leaning into our dream –hard. My visualizations were blessings, for now I see this as a great metaphor for all of life.
 
Being Present. Feeling, seeing, sensing, dreaming, being content. Perhaps
anticipating a shift, but being content - despite that.
 
So we registered with the hospital, shortly before the “birth date” – just in case. And affirmations abounded that birthing at home would support our dreams and family best. The little nurse who walked us through the labor and delivery ward said, “operation, c-section, or surgery” more than 8 times in less than 10 minutes! That was a deal breaker for us.
 
This is a decision that I would never prescribe for someone else, but home birth turned out to really be right for us.
 
And all this after we enjoyed the heck out of our pregnancy. We were sexy, silly close, supportive – my guy was an incredible gate keeper and guardian for this journey. And hot too.
But I digress.
 
If I did it, YOU can do it too!
Anything you BELIEVE in and put your mind to… believe it, keep the faith, and do the things. It Will Happen.
 
You are powerful beyond your wildest Imagination. Be You. The best You that you can be. You got this. And if you need a reminder, do reach out. I’m just…right here. Drop me a note. I’ll ping you back. I promise.
 
To Joy! To dancing with the Universe!
-L

I was fortunate to have grown up in a small town in Northern California, where everything I ate was either home grown, organic, seasonal or at the very least, local. We grew our own eggs and beef, grew fruits and harvested vegetables from our own gardens. We had small markets to purchase from, and sometimes bought fish from fisherman's boats in the nearby coastal harbors. I moved out of the house to pursue my studies at first a community college and then at the University, and have always strived to follow health, wellness, and any local cooperatives or natural food sources. 

​In my 20s, I raced bikes, and put my competitive nature ahead of my true health. My time was spent commuting on my bike to work (3-4 times each week), stashing clothes and food at my office, and going to the gym before the day began.  I grew so skinny, my clothes were falling off, and yet I still tried to maintain a vegan lifestyle. I ate all the time, but was not getting what my body needed.  My 8,000 miles per year was causing me to digest my own proteins from my muscle!  I had a big wake up call (a pre-cursor to significant troubles) and began looking into eating right for my blood type.  I am still amazed how much my body seemed to need high levels of protein. It was true, after I incorporated lean meat back in to my routine and focused on recovering, I felt SO much better. I stepped away from the long miles and leaned into having balance in diet and activity.
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Years later, when I traveled overseas and lived in Nepal for three months, I found pharmacies there where there was no doctors prescription needed for help, and found hospitals there where treatment was pennies on the dollar compared to our U.S. way of recovering our health. I bristle now, at the high cost of insurance and the subsidized pharmaceutical products that attempt to keep us hostage to a life of chemicals. 

​My chosen career after graduate school was in the environmental sciences. After working as a public servant, and seeing dis-ease and un-wellness all around and within me, I found that I prefer a balance between personal wellness and environmental health. I had become sick from pressure, stress, internal expectations, and my responses to these things.  I needed to find the freedom that this path is. My path in this world of wellness, is to help educate others about a life filled with natural alternatives to the chemicals. I Love to teach, I always have, and I get to empower others to step into their own sense of what is right and true and available. And FREEDOM is within. And I have truly found, if we do not feel well and whole ourselves, we cannot help others, protect our watersheds, nor truly be effective in our community or work lives.
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This stressful lifestyle and my anxious responses to it, depleted my adrenals completely; I was in the chiropractors office five times the week of a fast half marathon four years ago. My endocrine system was running on empty. I looked ok, but my ligaments and tendons no longer could hold my joints in place.  

It took me over three years to recover from this.  I have completely eliminated gluten from my diet and am dairy free.  I take really good supplements.  I eat lots of healthy fats, cooked vegetables and moderate amounts of pasture-raised meats and wild fish.  I make self-care a priority, daily.  My home is free of toxic "cleaning" products, make-up and self-care products.  Did you know that the list of harmful ingredients that are banned for use in the US has not been updated since 1938 (plus hundreds of new ones have been introduced since then). Companies that make cleaning products are not required to list all their ingredients on their labels.  Many of these are endocrine disruptors and very harmful! Now that I have a kiddo, I think about how these chemicals affect those closest to the floor – kids and pets.

On my journey to recovery I discovered doTERRA's Essential Oils and they have become my Natural Medicine Cabinet.   I use these Essential Oils, a.k.a. "plant medicine" for immune support, energy when needed, sleep, emotional and also physical support.  I no longer have synthetic medicine in my home, and I get to help others find Freedom in a natural life.
These days, I am a more present mama for my son, and find more balance with the freedom I have between my work in protecting our waters, writing kiddo books, empowering women and men to take their health back into their hands.  This blog will be about all of these things, and I hope you join me on my journey!

Where to start?  It can be simple. We get to decide what food to bring into our homes and bodies, what "cleaning" products to use and what to put onto our skin and hair every day.  We all affect each other with our choices. We can make a difference every day by what we choose to buy. We NEED to be advocates for our health and our community.
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Join me!