Pucker Up

Suzanne McDermott, Watercolor, 5.75 x 7.75 inches

Forget about lemonade for minute.

Keep fresh lemons on hand. Squeeze one in some pure water and drink that down the hatch. Especially first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Forget the sugar.

Here are a few awesome things fresh lemon juice in water will give you:

• a shot of Vitamin C for your immune system and to help counteract effects of stress
• a dose of potassium which is great for your heart, brain and nerves
• a boost for your enzymes, stimulating your liver for an internal toxin flush
• a way to quell hunger pangs thanks to pectin fiber
• a remedy (along with apple cider vinegar) to dissolve gall stones
• an energy boost
• better skin because the juice is packed with antioxidants

That lemon juice dripping from your hands? Massage it into your hands, fingers and forearms. Massage that leftover juice into your face, too. Straight lemon juice is great for your skin and, over time, helps to reduce scar tissue and bleach out those nasty age spots. Ah, feel the tingle!

I made lemon spaghetti in an early season of 'Everyday Italian,' and to this day people still come up to me and say they love it. It's very, very simple. Basically, you cook the pasta and mix together Parmesan cheese, olive oil, lemon juice and zest and pour it over the pasta.
—Giada De Laurentiis

What? No Fresh Lemons?

I keep a little bottle of "Liquid Sunshine" on hand at all times.

Lemon Essential Oil is antiseptic, good for cleaning, strengthens fingernails, restores energy and, if you're using the pure dōTERRA essential oil, you can add the oil to hot tea or water with honey to sooth a cough or sore throat.

The pleasant, sweet aroma of lemon oil is uplifting, lightens your mood, can boost your self-confidence, help you focus and definitely puts a smile on your face.

Click here to try a bottle of dōTERRA Lemon Oil.

Or, better yet, pick up a starter set of dōTERRA oils with their Introductory Kit of Lavender, Lemon and Peppermint.

Click here if you'd like my help with an order. For example, enroll for wholesale prices and the Beginner's Trio Introductory Kit above will cost you $20 rather than $66.67. I'll help you learn how.

Want to learn more? Click here to sign up for a free 10-day Introduction to Essential Oils course.
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Goodbye Charlie

I was very sad to hear that Charlie Haden left us on Friday.

I hung out with Charlie for a while in the early 80's and we'd talk long and late about all those things that we both loved—music, spirit, earth, truth and beauty.

Living in Santa Monica, I had plenty of opportunities to see him play, and did, most memorably with Carla Bley (always a treat) and a wild assortment at Royce Hall, an incomparable, intimate performance with Pat Metheny and Billy Higgins on the floor in the back room at McCabe's, and with Ed Blackwell and Don Cherry.

It wasn't just Charlie's own musicianship and play, it was what he brought forth from and created with other musicians that was magical. It was my fortune that our paths crossed and that I heard him play so often during that time.

Charlie lived a rich life, walked his talk, and did not waste a minute lighting the world for the rest of us.

“We’re here to bring beauty to the world and make a difference in this planet. That’s what art forms are about.”
– Charlie Haden

"While he did not orient himself with a specific religious orientation, Haden was interested in spirituality, especially in association with music. His teaching method relied heavily on spirituality. He believed that in order to establish an individual musical voice, one must first establish a spiritual posture. This physical and mental position will allow the individual to find their own unique musical voice and bring it to their instrument.

"He also encouraged his students to enter a meditative state when they played, one in which they focused solely on the present moment: “there’s no yesterday or tomorrow, there’s only right now,” he claimed.

"In order to find this state, and ultimately to find one’s spiritual self, Haden urged that one must have humility and respect for beauty; they must be thankful for the ability to make music, and to give back to the world with the music they create.

"He claimed that music taught him this process of exchange, so he teaches it to his students in return. Music, Haden believed, also teaches incredibly valuable lessons about life:

"I learned at a very young age that music teaches you about life. When you're in the midst of improvisation, there is no yesterday and no tomorrow — there is just the moment that you are in. In that beautiful moment, you experience your true insignificance to the rest of the universe. It is then, and only then, that you can experience your true significance."

— from Wikipedia entry

"Keith really listens, and I listen. That's the secret. It's about listening. " 
—Charlie Haden

Click Here to hear Charlie and Keith Jarrett play Gordon Jenkins' Goodbye.

Click here for Silence with Charlie, Chet Baker, Billy Higgins and Enrico Pieranunzi.
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Why Bother?

Winds of Change, Watercolor, 8 x 8 inches

"It isn't the things that happen to us in our lives that cause us to suffer, it's how we relate to the things that happen to us that causes us to suffer."
—Pema Chodron

Why Bother?

It's too difficult, destabilizing, traumatic.

Stay right where you are. Don't change a thing.

Life without change is impossible. Even when we think we're stable, we're aging, passing through time on a revolving planet, orbiting a sun, careening through the galaxy.

Nothing is fixed.

Thrown into high relief by unforeseen events or circumstances, a phase of change can easily introduce a crisis. When faced with a crisis, it's helpful to remember the two characters that make up the Chinese word for crisis: Danger and Opportunity.

How we choose to navigate crises describes our attitude, determines the quality of our experience and, often, the outcome.

It's not up to you whether or not you'll have an opportunity to change. It is, however, your prerogative to respond to change in a way that results in improvement or deterioration.

Understanding the difference between response and reaction is key to dealing with change. Then it's largely a matter of practice.

You practice making space for yourself so that when crises arise, you are able to find that space, take a second, and respond to change consciously rather than unconsciously react.

How do you make space for yourself? Use any form of engagement that allows you to consciously work with the behavior of your wild mind. You could draw, meditate, play golf, or any number of other things. The point is to get to know yourself, become intimately aware of your behavior, accept that behavior, and then set an intention to bring about the change you desire in that behavior.

That's the kind of change you want. That's the change you want to bother about.

"Now is the only time. How we relate to it creates the future. In other words, if we're going to be more cheerful in the future, it's because of our aspiration and exertion to be cheerful in the present. What we do accumulates; the future is the result of what we do right now."
—Pema Chodron

My 30-Day group coaching program is filled. If you were interested in joining... it will come around again. Definitely next year.

Meanwhile, if you're interested in working with me as a coach, I have a couple of appointments opening this month for my personally tailored 90-Day Turn Around coaching program.

I give you plenty of insight, practices and exercises for better understanding yourself and your behavior in all of my coaching programs—group and private.

Click here to learn more about private coaching and to make an appointment for a complimentary conversation with me where I can find out more about what you're looking for and we can see if the work that I do makes sense for you.

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