What Makes You Happy?

It’s amazing how hard this question can actually be, but it’s such an important question to be able to answer. Because if you don’t know or can’t state what makes you happy, how can you move towards adding more of “that” into your life? The first step is awareness. The first step to most things is awareness, for that matter.

Even with the little things, the everyday things, being fully aware to notice what makes you happy- and present enough to notice when they are happening- is what is going to increase their happy-power for you. For me, for example, some of the “little things” that make me happy are sunbeams streaming through trees, the sound my guinea pig makes when she’s happy, the smell and sound of air-pop popcorn, and the bubbles of club soda fizzing on my nose. When I practice heightening my awareness of and enjoying, truly breathing in and enjoying, those little things as they exist, my ability to extract happiness from them (or rather, having those things be a catalyst to channel my own inner energy into positivity) increases.

I’ve been trying to practice looking for those moments, and really reveling in them. The last time I saw fall light streaming through the trees, I remembered to really stop and soak it in. It was so lovely I nearly cried. Our senses are AMAZING and we are so fortunate to be able to appreciate the experiences they present us.

What are we waiting for? The bigger picture life-happiness issues are important, and deserve time spent in their pursuit, but maybe this week we can practice soaking up the little moments that make us light up. In the face of overly-negative newscasts, to-do lists, and occasionally going on autopilot, it’s all the more important to take moments here and there to remind yourself you’re alive and appreciate those little things that make life really good. Here’s to lots of moments of finding beauty and light and goodness. Tell me, what are those things for you??

"I've seen how you sparkle, when fall nips the air.."

The peacefulness of fall is setting in here in Portland. Can you feel it in the breeze where you are? In the air, in the tinges of color gracing the leaves? Did you know that the colors in the leaves are similar to those in the fruits and vegetables we eat? The phytochemicals and pigments that give our produce its nutritive value and delicious color are the same ones that dress up the autumn skies. As the chlorophyll green fades first from the leaf, the other colors that were always under the surface are able to shine through.

As the seasons change and the year progresses, are you letting the different shades within YOU shine through? What does the shift in the season bring out in you that you can culture and appreciate? A song I love that highlights the feeling of each season bringing out different shades of your best self is Robert Goulet's If Ever I Would Leave You (one of my very favorites, see below).

Humans are pretty far removed from a "natural" environment where we can be truly in touch with the shifting seasons. Think of a bear or a squirrel, whose behaviors and even physical attributes like fur thickness will shift with the natural rhythm of the year. Humans don't have many of these cues because we have controlled for our environment and schedule so much.

However, we can take a few moments to breathe and feel the changing of the seasons and see what we feel as the year continues. Is there any quiet strength within yourself you can sense with fall approaching? Maybe you can take note of any different emotions or sensations that vary throughout the months. Does autumn elicit a desire to reinvent yourself or rededicate yourself to your passions or goals after a breezy summer? Maybe fall makes you want to start nesting in, with a book and crackling fireplace. Think about how these sensations reflect an anthropological hibernation type seasonal pattern. Does spring make you want to clean house and body with new years resolutions and detox cleanses to start fresh? As you become more aware of your body and mind, you may see how the natural course of the seasons can be linked to your physical being.

Tune in to that link by starting to listen to your body. I love the notion of cultivating "body wisdom", of working towards balance so that we can trust our body to tell us what it needs. We can build the trust between our minds and our bodies by treating our body well and caring for it, by listening when it tries to tell us things. If it says rest, find a way to give it rest, and tea, and deep breaths. We can visit this concept more later, but for now simply consider what it could mean to listen to your body and follow the natural course of the seasons. Eat apples, pears, pomegranates, pumpkin, to bring the peace and contemplative season of autumn into your body.

Try Catherine's Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal for a warm, wholesome taste of fall:

-Start with your favorite oatmeal base (prepare steel cut oats, or even instant in a pinch)

-Stir in a big spoonful of canned pumpkin

-Add a teaspoon or more Pumpkin Pie Spice blend (or cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice)

Serve with sliced apples, warmed in microwave in a bowl with some water and cinnamon.

Enjoy while enjoying this song:

Sleep-talking and Being Human

It's the middle of the night, and the house is asleep and quiet. A dreaming, mumbling voice starts murmuring from atop a temperpedic pillow, "strong and weak... like everybody else.. human." Yep, that's right folks, I think about health and wellness SO much that I actually woke myself up in the middle of the night last night talking out loud, apparently trying to give motivation to my partner. I woke when I heard him say, "What? Just like everybody else- what did you say?" At which point I woke up fully and realized that I had been having a dream in which he had confided that he had eaten fast food and felt he had been weak, and I had been saying something like, "You are not weak, you have your strong and weak moments like everybody else. That's just being human." Of course, the latter part of the dialogue came out out loud, and in response to... no one. Just my subconscious talking to itself. Apparently I can't get enough during my conscious hours ;)

But awake or not, my subconscious mind has a point. No one is constantly "weak" or constantly strong. Everyone makes choices, and attaching labels of good or bad to those choices doesn't really help anything. I do think it's a great idea to acknowledge those moments and choices where the decision we make moves us in a healthy direction, like choosing to give ourselves an hour of yoga, or choosing to start the day with a power-up breakfast. At the same time, when we "slip up" and do something that might not be considered healthy, like eating fast food or watching tv instead of taking a walk- berating ourselves and beating ourselves up for it does a lot more damage than whatever the original action might have.

This issue is really close to my heart, because it's probably the thing I struggle with the most myself. My beautiful momma always said that we unfortunately tend to remember negative comments more strongly than the "atta-boy" positive comments. This is true even when we are talking to ourselves. If, for example, we need to hear 10 positive things to cancel out hearing one negative thing, maybe we could start by listening closely to and modifying the things we say to ourselves. A practice I've found helps when the internal voice gets a bit too bullying, is to think of a small photo of yourself as a child. When you start hearing those mean voices berate yourself (Man those jeans look awful on you, your complexion is so horrible, etc) imagine saying those things out loud to that sweet child. What would she or he be feeling to hear those things? Do you realize you ARE saying those things to that same person? If you have a child, can you imagine telling THEM they look horrible today, or using that belittling tone to make them feel they are fat or lazy or weak? If you wouldn't say it to your daughter, don't say it to yourself. What would you tell her instead?

Maybe your jeans mysteriously "shrunk" in the wash and now are a bit snug (obviously kidding, we know what really happened..), but instead of dwelling on that, maybe focus on how you walked to do an errand today, or maybe you took a deep breath instead of getting frustrated while waiting in a line. Find something, any little thing, that you did today that you can praise. Then tell THAT to your reflection. At first it may feel silly or contrived, but after a while you will notice that promoting the behaviors and the feelings that you see in yourself which lead to healthy, positive life choices will generate more of the same! Why point out and dwell on the negative things? It's a bad habit, one I am all too guilty of as well, but acknowledging it and moving on is half the battle.

Sure, even my talking-in-my-sleep subconscious knows that sometimes we make less than ideal choices, and that sometimes that makes us feel weak. But let's focus on not letting those moments classify us as weak or less than ideal. Next time, we can choose differently. But no matter what, we all have our strong and weak moments. That's what makes us human. Bringing true joy to that humanity lies in selectively seeing and promoting behaviors you want to see more often. See the best in yourself and point it out to yourself. What you focus on expands!

Wisdom from Arrested Development

Michael: “What have we always said is the most important thing?”
George Michael: “Breakfast.”
Michael: “Family.”
George Michael: “Oh. I thought you meant of the things you eat.”

Whether or not you’re an Arrested Development devotee, you’ll realize that George Michael is right. To start your day and your path to wellness off right, remember that beginning the day with breakfast is super important for getting your system going and jump starting your metabolism. It also will help keep blood sugar even (Headaches, dizziness, light-headedness, grouchiness... sound familiar? Keeping your blood sugar even-keeled will prevent these symptoms of fuel-failure related crashing.) If you need to focus and think clearly, honor what you ask your body and mind to accomplish each day and give ‘em a little fuel. Your expansive brain relies on SOLELY glucose (sugar) for its energy. Nope, that’s not found in coffee. So, no breakfast= no fuel for brain. Try rocking your new client meeting or exam this morning without any fuel. It’s called break-fast for a reason. You’re breaking your overnight fasting- not consuming food. That means your body has already utilized its stored carbohydrate (sugar) energy and needs to get the fires going again!

I’m a HUGE breakfast fan, and I could go on and on about the merits of breakfast-eating, (like that it’s proven that kids perform better in school and have fewer behavioral problems when they’ve had breakfast) but instead I think I’ll give you a story about the other side of it: the not-eating of breakfast. I’m big into corporate wellness, and even bigger into helping people connect the dots between what they eat and how they feel. I was talking with an exec who, like many people, didn’t make a habit of having breakfast in the morning. Well, by the time hunger set in, he would be far too busy to stop and think about food. Often when he would get to an important lunch meeting with a client, he would be ravenous and would order something large and fried- and not be at the top of his game to interact with the client. Later, he’d feel overly full and sluggish from too big a meal. This scene plays itself out too many times in our hectic society. What I’ve seen is that just grabbing SOMETHING in the morning/midmorning is enough to break up the cycle. Grab a granola bar or cereal bar if you can’t manage anything else. I haven’t found a person yet who can tell me they don’t have time to pick up a granola bar on their way out the door.

This post isn’t about how to design ideal, healthy breakfasts (we’ll work on that later). It’s about just starting the habit of eating in the morning to prevent the dreaded “hitting a wall” feeling of low blood sugar (no energy). So step one: doesn’t matter WHAT you eat, it doesn’t even have to be “breakfast food”, if you don’t currently eat breakfast, just do it. :)

ps: MY personal current favorite breakfasts? Whole grain toast, peanut butter and sliced bananas; anything by Kashi; or a Green Smoothie..curious??

Let's Start Something Wonderful

If you’re anything like me, there’s a good chance you sometimes feel misinformed and a bit flustered by all the conflicting and complicated information out there about nutrition and what it takes to be healthy and well. I realize how tough it can be to feel in control, let alone jazzed up, about making healthier choices to bring more vibrancy to life. Well, I want to help! I am here to bring some simple, fresh, illumination to brighten up your path to wellness.

A while back I started getting calls and emails from friends and acquaintances asking for feedback/advice about eating and exercising; about life choices and living well; about produce and products. Knowing my enthusiasm for health and wellness, friends often joke with me when sharing a favorite food choice or a new discovery, “Is this Brooke-Approved?” I use the term in a loving, lighthearted way, as of course there is no be-all-end-all of health knowledge. Certainly there are guidelines, and tips & tricks of the trade, but I am more interested in helping people find (and dance along!) their individual path to wellness and vibrant health.

It is one of my greatest pleasures to be able to share what I’ve learned and seen in my exploration of health, growth, and wellness. It’s a lifelong journey to be sure- but it’s not as complicated or elusive as people (marketing people perhaps?) make it out to be. I am here as a friend, as a resource, as a guide. Reach out and ask questions, engage, exchange thoughts and ideas and think expansively! It’s the only way to experience more of the world.

My goal is simply to bring a bit more radiance into the world. I’ll share with you what’s Brooke-Approved, and what’s fun and fresh and easy to incorporate into YOUR well-world. So, WELLcome!