1. It supports the immune system: coconut oil is an antifugal, antibacterial and antiviral, which means it is perfect for preventing and even healing viruses and fungal infections while building up the immune system when taken orally. 

2. It’s moisturising: I use it as an overnight hair treatment (which reduces and combats frizz and split ends), all over daily body & face moisturizer which softens and protects the skin from drying out, and I have even used on the inside of my nostrils to prevent nose bleeds when the air is a little on the dry side.

3. It’s freaking tasty: coconut oil goes perfectly in most recipes and is so easy to cook with. Because the oil hardens when cool, it’s fabulous for making and holding together raw chocolate bliss balls and raw chocolate, as well as being a great replacement for vegetable oils when cooking at higher temperatures as it remains stable at a high smoke point unlike other oils.

Now, for those days when you just need a break from raw chocolate (ohhh I know, it’s not going to happen often, if at all) and you want to include a little bit of coconut oil in your life, I’ve got you covered in this new quick, easy and tasty fruit and nut butter freezer fudge recipe:

What you need:

1/2 cup chunky almond butter (or any nut butter)

1/3 cup coconut oil

1.5 tablespoons raw honey

1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

Handful of almonds, roughly chopped

Handful of sultanas

Handful of goji berries

Handful of raw cacao nibs

1 tablespoon chia seeds

How to make:

In a mixing bowl, stir all ingredients together until combined. Line a shallow rectangle dish with baking paper and place into the freezer for a few hours. Once hardened, snap into small pieces and serve immediately. Keep stored in the freezer to prevent from melting.

Love & coconut hugs,

The post Fruit and nut butter freezer fudge recipe + 3 reasons to use coconut oil appeared first on Co-inside.

Thankfully, what I was experiencing then was just a mild case of ‘writing-an-email-to-a-friend-writer’s-block’ (Websters dictionary would argue that there’s no such thing… pfft), but what about those major moments in life when you are really stuck in a rut? Unable to move forward. Not sure what to do next, or ever. Unsure of where your life is going or fearful of where it’s not. Do you ever feel that? Are you feeling it right now? Hopefully these few steps can help you move forward and gain some clarity, just as they have done for me in recent times:

OBSERVE YOUR EMOTIONS:

Take note of how you feel – are you annoyed, frustrated, helpless, burnt out, confused? What thoughts are going through your head? Are you focusing on things such as ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I’m stressed out’ or even so much as ‘what is this crazy life all about?’

Address these feelings and thoughts by acknowledging them instead of resisting, and really and truly feel them. Sit with them for a while, bathe in them, allow them to make you squirm and feel uncomfortable. Then ask yourself why you might be feeling this way. The simple acknowledgement and observation of your emotions can open you up to allow whatever it is inside of you… whatever is ‘stuck’ in there, to come out or to even fade away.

ACCEPT ‘WHAT IS’:

Most of the obstacles and challenges that cross our path in this life are opportunities to learn and grow… to help you remember who you are and to help you make decisions in the moment which best describe who you wish to be. For me at times, I’ve had to accept that I am just not going to be able to “create” or write at the drop of a hat and that’s OK because it gives me time to just BE. Or even to find another way to communicate (I hear the good ol’ fashioned telephone is still being used for calls these days).

Things are not always going to happen as you plan and expect them to, and that’s great isn’t it? Because that’s life! And life is full of wonderful surprises, immense diversity and mind-blowing variety. Depending on where you might be stuck, is there a way you can ‘accept what is’ and see the situation as a blessing? Is the situation telling you something that you have not been wanting to see?

LIVE IN THE MOMENT:

Life is full of ups and downs, ins and outs, ebbs and flows. We are given opportunities to experience the good, the ugly and the seemingly bad. Just go with it. Do not dwell on the past, nor plan too much for the future, make decisions on where you are in the moment. The past is gone forever, the future is ever-changing and all you have is RIGHT NOW.

KNOW WHEN TO LET GO AND WHEN TO HOLD ON:

It may be difficult, but ask yourself if this situation is telling you that it’s time to let go and move on… to be grateful, to say thank you and to say goodbye?

Or is it time to hold on… to nurture what you have, keep ‘showing up’ and keep on going. A friend of mine recently told me that “the grass is always greener where you water it” – Could it just be that you need to ‘water the grass’ right now? Look deep inside – only you know the answer to this.

TAKE TIME OUT AND JUST BREATHE:

Take a deep breath in and out… and then another, and another. Breathe into your heart and feel that connection to yourself again.

Take time out to gain some clarity. Walk away. Immerse yourself in something else that brings you joy and happiness. From disconnecting and taking time out, you may find that signs appear out of nowhere, someone might say something you need to hear, or the answers just simply come to you. And remember to just keep breathing.

…

Keep riding those crazy and unpredictable waves of life, say thank you for the challenges that are presented to you on a daily basis and start BEING the person you wish to be.

With much love,

photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography via photopin cc

PS: Want to get out of your rut and co-create a life you love with me by your side for 3 whole months?? In a few short weeks, I will be opening up limited spots for 1:1 Skype coaching with yours truly. Click here to jump on the list to receive our weekly love notes, and find out how I can guide you to discover and live your passion and purpose while experiencing more health, happiness and love than EVER before.

The post What to do when you’re stuck in a rut appeared first on Co-inside.

Have you ever heard the term “limiting belief”? It’s been thrown around by inspiration and motivation junkies for eons. If you are familiar with the term then you will be aware that the reason you haven’t achieved all that you dream of, is because you are limited by what you believe you are capable of.

What if our limiting beliefs have less to do with worldly achievements and more to do with our happiness? It occurred to me that there are 2 kinds of beliefs in the world. The first are personal beliefs that some hold to be true and some hold to be false, such as if you don’t follow a specific religion you are going to hell.

The other type of beliefs are ones that pretty much everyone holds to be true and almost nobody questions, such as gravity holds us to the earth. Both kinds of beliefs dictate the path of our lives.

Although not typically referred to as ‘limiting beliefs’, universal beliefs are equally as limiting as the first type. While it is fair to say pretty much all of us believe the gravity belief to be true, thanks to a few people who entertained the thought “what if it isn’t?”, we now have the ability to rise above the ground in hot air balloons, airplanes and hang gliders, to name a few.

So a belief that was universally true became conditional, and not quite always true. In fact, fly high enough in a plane and you will reach a place in the sky where you become weightless and gravity has no control over you whatsoever.

Your happiness is limited by your beliefs about happiness

But I am not here to tell you that you can achieve your dreams if you change your mindset, this goes way beyond material success and large bank balances. I am thinking bigger here, I am thinking about the reason behind why we do what we do. Happiness.

A massively limiting belief which is universally considered to be true is that we believe all aspects of life ebbs and flows. After all, that is the nature of the world, right? Temperatures rise and fall, seasons come and go, and this is all part of the illusion. We get caught up in this dualistic world and we think we are a part of it and we decide that life can’t always be happy; of course we are going to experience bad days.

And so we do.

What if we didn’t believe that? What if we believed the opposite? What if we believed we can experience consistent happiness. Then what would change?

If you are feeling resistance to what I am saying, I get it. We often feel resistance when we push out our limiting boundaries but it is only by thinking beyond our boundaries that we experience a new way of life. It is human nature to choose wisely when it comes to things outside of our comfort zone and if that thing isn’t pretty damn compelling, we are going to stay put.

Working in a job you hate.

For 40 hours per week.

Because it’s safe.

Crazy isn’t it?

Believe it then you will see it

Until you believed you could do a thing you couldn’t do it, or at least you wouldn’t even give it a try.

I’ll bet Richard Branson doesn’t sit in his office chair thinking how he can do things within the limits of what has already been invented, and look what he has achieved; and what about the Wright brothers who thought differently and brought flight to mankind? This is not about busting through personal limitations; this is about busting through universal limitations!

I’m not giving you a pep talk to encourage you break through your limiting beliefs and start a business or ask that good looking guy out on a date, because actions such as these are used for only one reason – to obtain happiness.

When we do things to obtain happiness, the happiness fades!

I still remember how happy I was when we bought our first ever brand new car. I was on a high for weeks. And now, 4 years later, I appreciate our car however I don’t wash it every week like I used to, I no longer park in the garage and pause for a minute before getting out so I can have a moment of silence with it. In fact, sometimes I don’t even let it warm up for 5 seconds on a cold winter morning before I start driving. The honeymoon period has gone.

If you look for happiness in material things, the happiness is immediately diminishing like sand pouring through an hourglass. Yet still we buy hourglass after hourglass of happiness and every so often, or all too often, we awake in the morning and question “Why am I so unhappy, what does it take to make life work?” Then we walk to the fridge, take out an hourglass shaped like a muffin, and experience another trickle of happiness-sand for a few seconds.

Then we drive to the shops and buy an hourglass in the shape of shoes, or jeans or a flat screen TV. And sure enough, the sand is topped up but the hourglass continues to trickle the sands of happiness until the last grain falls.

And we know this is stupid, we KNOW we will never find sustainable happiness by repeating this method but we continue searching, thinking that maybe we’re wrong, maybe we just haven’t found the right job or the right partner yet. We ponder, “maybe happiness is sustainable through material things?”

And I am here to tell you: maybe it is. But first you have to believe it, and not just hope it.

Maybe sustainable happiness is available but only if we believe it. Only if we stop believing that happiness ebbs and flows.

We believe first then acquire evidence to support our belief

Two people can get on a roller coaster. The first thinks that the roller coaster ride is exciting and the other thinks it is terrifying. 1 event + 2 different beliefs = 2 different experiences.

Sorry, nobody likes math. I won’t write like that again.

When we believe something we find evidence to support our belief. If you dislike your mother-in-law, everything she does will be evidence to support your dislike of her, right down to the mannerisms she has which you love about your partner.

So too do we find evidence that our happiness ebbs and flows in places where that evidence is false, just like a rollercoaster being terrifying when really, it is just a rollercoaster.

Experiencing limitless bliss

But let’s go deeper, beyond the senses. We get very caught up in the world of our senses and forget that we have awareness beyond our senses. I can prove it to you right now, too. Stop for a moment and experience this moment right now. Notice that you are alive, that you are observing life, you are observing yourself.

Did you feel that?

How did you feel that, that awareness of being alive? It wasn’t through your senses. You didn’t touch, see, smell, hear or taste that awareness of presence.

That’s because being aware of your presence is pre-sense.

That awareness is something other than your body with its senses. There is something beyond the world of our senses and that feeling? It is the happiness you are searching for in material things and people.

And when we decide that we believe that our happiness doesn’t ebb and flow, then it will become our reality. In fact, it already IS our reality however because we don’t believe it we don’t experience it.

That awareness of your pre-sense (presence) is total and utter bliss. Living from this place of bliss is beautiful. There are no ebbs and flows, happiness resides here permanently.

Remember your natural state, this bliss is limitless and never ending and you can have it now. In fact, you do have it now – it is your search for happiness that implies you don’t now have it because we don’t search for what we have.

…except for people who search for their glasses when they are on their face.

You don’t have to wait for your body to die to return to this blissful awareness, it is here, now. Be Here Now. In this moment of now is where your unending, never ebbing always flowing state of bliss is.

Be. Here. Now!

With great love,

The post Not just another happiness video! appeared first on Co-inside.

Anywho, so when we hired our web designer to give our online space a fresh new look, I thought it would be the easiest peasiest project we’ve ever undertaken.

Boy was I wrong! It’s been quite the journey over the last month and I have been reminded of 3 very important lessons through this process which may help you where you are at right now.

1. People cannot read your mind

No matter how well you know them, or how much you may have paid them after they convinced you of their psychic abilities, they just can’t possibly know everything you are thinking.

But there is a secret for letting people to know what you are thinking at all times. TELL THEM!

Communicate – use your voice! Be honest, be upfront, be true to yourself and speak what it is that you desire.

Is there anywhere in your life right now you might be making assumptions? Are you going around in circles with someone because neither of you have been clearly communicating your desires?

2. Things often take MUCH longer than you want them to.

Have you ever noticed that our generation has learned to expect things instantly – we have overnight deliveries from the other side of the country and pills that cures headaches within the hour.

But when we look to nature, we see that things take just the right amount of time. They happen exactly when they are meant to, no sooner and no later. There are no overnight service guarantees or quick fixes – things happen right on schedule (just not always on our schedule!).

Be patient, have a little faith, trust the process and know that whatever healing is taking place, whatever project you are working on that may seem like it is dragging out or whatever it is you are going though, may be taking longer than you’d like but there’s a reason behind it all that perhaps you simply are not yet aware of.

Where in your life do you rush things and grow impatient because you expect things to happen instantly? How else could you perceive these circumstances to see the perfection in the process?

This is the most important one…

3. Never, ever, EVER compare yourself to anyone else.

When we were gathering colour charts and website samples to illustrate to our web-designer what styles we liked, I stumbled across so many beautiful websites and I’ll admit it, I had major website envy. I had it bad.

I felt a little crappy but then I remembered that we are all on such different journeys and no two paths travelled or two stories told will ever be identical – they may be similar but they will never be the same.

We have been put on this earth to fulfill our individual life purposes – to share our unique gifts. What I am here for, and what you are here for are so very different, yet they are both very much needed in this world. When you stop comparing yourself to others, you are free to stand in your own light, to be YOU without explanation or justification. Don’t let comparison steal your happiness and joy – you deserve these feelings!

 …

Keep being your unique and beautiful self and know that you are right where you are meant to be on your path, right now.

Wherever you are at in your journey right now, keep being you. Keep showing up and being authentic to who you truly are. If your path hasn’t yet been made consciously aware to you, it will soon. Be patient and trust.

Have yourself the most incredible week!

 Love,

PS: Want to co-create a life you love with me by your side for 3 whole months?? In a few short weeks, I will be opening up limited spots for 1:1 Skype coaching with yours truly. Click here to jump on the list to receive our weekly love notes, and find out how I can guide you to discover and live your passion and purpose while experiencing more health, happiness and love than EVER before.

The post 3 tips for experiencing happiness and peace appeared first on Co-inside.

So to show his further commitment to promote healthy eating & home cooked meals with love, on Friday 17th May (aka: Food Revolution Day), Jamie is calling for Australians to join his global crusade and COOK IT. SHARE IT. LIVE IT. on this global day of action where people everywhere celebrate real food. It’s a day to come together to keep cooking skills alive, improve our food knowledge and share it with others. 

“Knowing what we eat, where food comes from and how it affects our bodies has never been more important. Food Revolution Day is all about people power. We want as many people as possible to get involved and show others how important cooking skills and food knowledge are,” says Jamie.

I love it and I couldn’t agree more! And what was the challenge posed to us to be involved in this fab day? To coincide with Jamie’s message to the world, it was simple really – create a delicious and hearty soup (which we all know is the IDEAL winter staple food) with the hope to inspire people to get back into the kitchen and cook a simple meal from scratch using fresh, quality, seasonable produce. 

We are all over it. With Winter right around the corner here in the Southern Hemisphere, a big bowl of hearty soup is just what the doctor ordered.  And yes, even in the tropical rainforest where we live, it still gets a little bit chilly at night so we will be having many bowls of soup over the next few months – especially this one (you are going to LOVE this recipe)! 

Now, let’s join the food revolution and get cooking…

What you need:

For the soup…

2 large zucchini, roughly grated (around 4 cups)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 small brown onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups msg-free vegetable stock

1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon chili flakes

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1/3 cup white quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon spring onions, chopped

A few squeezes of fresh lime juice

Optional: pepper to garnish

For the raw parmesan cheese…

1/3 cup Cashews

1/4 teaspoon fine garlic granules

1.5 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

How to make:

For the soup… heat coconut oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion until transparent and soft. Add the garlic and zucchini in the pan along with the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the quinoa and chili flakes and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes.

The parmesan cheese… while the soup is cooking, pop cashews into a dry blender or grinder and turn into a powder. Place into a small bowl along with the nutritional yeast, garlic granules and salt, stir to combine.

Putting it all together… once the soup is ready and you’re ready to devour it, stir in 4 tablespoons of the cheese mixture along with the spring onions and lime juice. Use a ladle to pour into separate bowls and garnish with remaining cheese and a few cracks of pepper. Serves 2 as a main meal and 4 as an entree.

**Love note from C&C: We would LOVE for you to get involved in the Food Revolution Day too by whipping up a big, hearty & delicious bowl of our spicy zucchini, garlic + raw parmesan soup (or even create your own fab recipe) and sharing a piccie on our facebook page or tag us in using @candiceaiken on instagram. Have fun and get creative! 

MORE ON ‘FOOD REVOLUTION DAY’ FROM JAMIE OLIVER:

Food Revolution Day aims to raise awareness and ultimately funds, for Jamie’s Foundation’s with Jamie’s Ministry of Food being the focus in Australia. Jamie believes cooking skills used be passed down from generation to generation, and now this chain has been broken with millions of people lacking even the most basic skills. As a result it is costing millions of lives and costing billions of dollars to cope with the increase in diet-related diseases. His Ministry of Food aims to empower people with knowledge and confidence to cook from fresh ingredients and to make better choices about what they feed themselves and their families.

“For me, Food Revolution Day is a catalyst for change. It’s about inspiring people to build better relationships with good food, whether that’s through hosting a dinner party with friends, sharing a much loved recipe, trying a new ingredient or encouraging the kids to cook for mum and dad.”

“Food is a joy and we should celebrate it. But it’s important that we have the understanding to know what we can eat every day and what we should save as an occasional treat. I hope that all over the world on May 17th, people embrace great food and that many thousands of people come away from Food Revolution Day with a better understanding of food and cooking.” 

With increasing support from a growing community of celebrities and top chefs including Matt Preston, Hugh Jackman and Gwyneth Paltrow, Food Revolution Day 2013 will truly put the better food message on the map like never before.

Visit the website to sign up to host an event, to find out what events are happening near you or to see what people around the world are doing on Food Revolution Day.

The post Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day: Spicy zucchini, garlic & raw parmesan cheese soup recipe appeared first on Co-inside.

In recent times though, I had wondered why I am not as slim as the many plant-based eaters around in the health and wellbeing world and I’ve come to this conclusion:

1. I did that already!

I’m pretty sure I was a size 6 when I was 12 years old… and as someone who always likes to try new things, I’m going to do something different now and hang with the size I am instead.

2. I choose not to be a size 6

Pardon the pun here, but it’s just not fitting for me to be a size 6. I’m 5’6, and the last time I was a size 8, I barely ate more than a pizza pocket a week and on many occasions I didn’t eat AT ALL! Then I would spend hours a day busting my ass at the gym in order to look a certain way, a way I thought was perfect and ideal. I was so desperate to be thin because I thought I would be loved, accepted and admired if my hip bones poked through my jeans – that’s what the magazines told me was beautiful. And for many people I understand they are healthy when they are slim – hip bones and all, but this is not my path or my story, my friend. I don’t struggle at all to stay the size I am and I eat an incredibly healthy and clean diet. I definitely don’t miss out on anything… I don’t count calories, I don’t deprive myself. I choose the size I am instead.

 3. I freaking love my food

A little something you should know about me – I LOVE eating and I LOVE my food. Oh boy do I love it. Every now and then for shits and giggles, Curtis and I ask each other what we would each eat if it was the last day on earth (just because), and I always without a doubt mention one of our incredible homemade raw plant-based meals.

And sure, sometimes I eat a ton of nuts in one sitting and sometimes I even eat a whole raw pizza all to myself. But it’s never what I’m eating that is the problem, it’s how I feel about my food that matters the most. If I feel like shit about it, it won’t matter if I shovel a ton of cheeseburgers down my gob, compared to a whole raw cheesecake, the consequences will be that my body picks up on the feelings and will process my emotions in addition to the calories I consumed, in a damaging way physically.

4. Numbers mean diddly squat

What does it matter what size we all are? It’s just a number and there isn’t one perfect size for everyone. We are all unique and there is no right or wrong. It is also said that it’s not the size that counts, it’s how you use it (yes, I did go there). Ok, so I know they’re referring to something a little different in this instance. But it was something I needed to ask myself… how WAS I using my body at every size?

Well, I was pushing myself, starving myself and forcing my body beyond its natural state when I was a size 8. And then as a size 14, I was shovelling crap into my face every hour and lazing about on the couch not giving myself the love and respect I deserved. Is it possible to use my body as a vessel of pure love and kindness instead, regardless of my size? Hell yes! I deserve nothing less than that. 

5. Hours of daily exercise = not my priority

I don’t have a strict exercise regime and I am not interested in it to be honest with you. I do half an hour of yoga practice each day purely for the mind and body connection, not for fitness. I walk/run/nearly die going up and down our steep road with the dogs once a day which is roughly 1km return and an incline of 35 degrees. I embarrass myself in front of Curtis when I pop on a Denise Austin or Tracey Anderson DVD a few times a week. I jump up and down like a loony on the rebounder for 5 – 10 minutes every day.

Once a week I go to a body sculpting weight training class where my beautiful neighbours (who are double my age) repeatedly show me up. And I will happily play (not all that great mind you) basketball, golf, tennis or whatever sport seems like fun at the time. I go for walks on the beach or out in nature every now and then when I feel like it. And I have been known to dance around the house on many occasions. I despise gyms and I despise being told how I should work out. What is important is to move my body daily but I am not anal about how it all looks or making sure it is exactly 1.5 hours each day. I like to mix things up and just listen to my body in the moment.

6. I’m happy with my size

I find that the only time I’m not happy with my body is when I am comparing myself to others or when Witchery have sold out of an awesome dress in my size  (don’t you just hate that?!). With many of the tiny bodies we see gracing magazine covers today, here’s something to note: PHOTOSHOP my friend… PHOTOSHOP. And also… DEPRIVATION in order to maintain a certain size for appearances sake. I recently heard of a celebrity drinking only water and eating boiled eggs. It is just not sustainable.

Also, everyone is where they are at in their life because it is THEIR journey, it is their story. If comparing is going to make you feel like shit, then why do it? But on the other hand, if you can use that “I want what she’s got” attitude to motivate you to get your butt moving every day or eat that weird curly green thing (it’s Kale by the way), then awesome! I know it motivates the pants off me when I see a piccie of a sculpted tummy and toned legs, rather than me hating on myself further. And it makes me bounce on the tramp for 11 minutes the next day, instead of 10.

And what do I do when I HAVE put on a few kgs?

I am human afterall and of course even after losing 25kgs, I put on a few kgs here and there. So what happens when I do and I feel uncomfortable in my body? I simply ask myself the following questions to get to the core of the issue, rather than scrape around the surface and play with my diet and keep going around in circles:

• What am I holding on to? Any grudges I am holding onto or negative thought patterns that I am not letting go of is emotional baggage that could be manifesting as physical weight.
• How might it be serving me? In some cases, if I have been in a cold climate or in the midst of winter and my body naturally holds onto a few kgs to keep me warm. Bodies are smart like that. So additional weight might be serving me in that way. And in other cases, I may be putting up my defenses and attempting to protect myself from an issue I might not want to face. My body reacts physically to this by providing me with a layer of protection – awww, how sweet. That is, until I decide I don’t need protection anymore and I say “thank you love handles, but I’ll take over from here”.
• Why and when am I eating? I used to find that when I was bored at work, I would scoff my face. If something got a little too hard-basket, I would reach for the food. If I was down in the dumps, a nibble from the fridge would give me short term pleasure and the boost of happiness I felt I needed. Once I became aware of the moments when I would eat for reasons other than hunger then I could actually do something about it. Awareness is key, because without knowing and understanding I was emotional eating, I hadn’t been able to identify it in order to change and make another choice.

Whatever conclusions I came to after my question asking, I would then make necessary adjustments to that particular component of my life or my mind, rather than only focusing on the physical food I was eating. And of course, I would still have a quick squiz at what I was eating too – just incase I could go easy on the Celtic Sea salt and up my leafy greens intake.

If you happen to be going through any struggles with your body image, your weight or your dress size. Please, for the love of God do not punish yourself for being where you are at right now. Before you can be the person you wish to be, you must love and accept the person you already are. And I have a little secret for you… THEY’RE THE SAME PERSON!           

You are perfect and you are beautiful just the way you are. I repeat… you are PERFECT and you are beautiful just the way you are. And so am I.

In good health,

PS: Want to co-create a life you love with me by your side for 3 whole months?? In a few short weeks, I will be opening up limited spots for 1:1 Skype coaching with yours truly. Click here to jump on the list to receive our weekly love notes, and find out how I can guide you to discover and live your passion and purpose while experiencing more health, happiness and love than EVER before.

The post The reasons I’m not a size 6, despite my squeaky clean diet appeared first on Co-inside.

We mentioned to you recently via our newsletter and our social media hangouts that our website is currently undergoing a bit of a face-lift which is happening in the background as we speak, and we have lots to do and focus on with our amazing designer. With the impending release of our new online space only a few weeks away, we just wanted to let you know that although we are going through a transformation, we will still have all the same content (and MUCH more to come to help you live a happy and healthy life) just with a fresh new look, and much easier navigation, plus ways for you to work with us (including Skype coaching packages and the release of some brand new e-books which we are super excited about). So, just in case we seem a little quiet in our corner of the web, now you know why.

With all this going on behind the scenes, we need to ensure we are keeping healthy and nourishing our minds and bodies with a ton of nutrition. It’s safe to say our organic grower at the farmer’s market is getting cleaned out of organic greens each Friday, and every so often an organic espresso or two has been consumed, though I must confess, this is purely for the enjoyment factor. But for the days when we want to lay off the caffeine to give our bodies a rest, we nourish and soothe our cells with herbal teas instead.

Here are 5 of my favourite herbal teas right now and why they are so fabulous:

1. Dandelion:  this edible weed is known for its’ blood purifying abilities which work to cleanse and rejuvenate the liver to help it function more efficiently and effectively. Have a dandelion tea before your breakfast in the morning to cleanse your liver and begin the digestion process before you embark on the day.

2. Peppermint: is said to contain anti-spasmodic properties which help in relieving intestinal and stomach discomfort like indigestion. I like to have fresh mint tea with a handful of leaves picked straight from my garden (when the grasshoppers have left me some), steeped in hot water for around 5 – 7 minutes and sipped slowly.

3. Chamomile: helps to calm and settle the mind and body down after a long day. A perfect time to have a cup of this bad boy is right before you go to bed as it is known to assist with insomnia by helping you drift off to a blissful sleep.

4. Ginger: Widely known for its’ anti-nausea benefits and a perfect natural remedy for colds and flus. Even though current scientific evidence of anti-nausea benefits in ginger root is inconclusive, I personally find instant relief from this amazing herb (and have even been known to carry a large chunk all the way from Perth to New York and back again to combat motion sickness). Grate some fresh ginger and steep in hot water for 5 – 7 minutes. Then enjoy with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

5. Rooibos: is known for its’ high vitamin C content as well as its’ antioxidant properties which keep the immune system strong and combat signs of aging. My pick is Yogi Chai Rooibos tea.

And… the recipe for this week comes at the request of those of you on instagram asking me to stop being so cruel and share the goods. This recipe makes for a nice twist on the standard chocolate brownies… it’s ultra chewy with a refreshing hit of mint.

What you need:

For the brownie…

2 cups cashews

3/4 cup cacao powder

1 cup pitted medjool dates

1/3 cup rice malt syrup (or raw honey)

A small bunch of mint (leaves only)

1 teaspoon peppermint oil/extract

Pinch of Celtic Sea salt

For the frosting…

2 ripe avocados

1/4 cup cacao powder

1/2 cup rice malt syrup (or raw honey)

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Pinch of Celtic Sea salt

Optional to garnish…

Desiccated coconut 

Activated buckwheat/plain buckinis

How to make:

For the brownies… place dry ingredients into a food processor first and process into a powder. Leave the processor on low and add the dates, mint and other wet ingredients. Process until a dough forms. Dust the bottom of a 20cm x 15cm x 5cm rectangle dish with a thin layer of desiccated coconut to prevent the mixture from sticking and press the dough down firmly to form the brownie. Put to one side.

For the frosting… place all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Using a spatula, spread across the brownie evenly and sprinkle buckinis across the top if using. Place in the fridge to set for a few hours, then cut into 12 bite-sized squares. Enjoy with a fresh mint tea. 

Have a beautiful weekend,

The post Raw chewy choc-mint brownies recipe + 5 herbal teas to start drinking now appeared first on Co-inside.

March marked a very special two year anniversary for me, one in which you may well be interested in. I have had relatively healthy teeth all of my life, without having received a single filling in my adult teeth until about 7 years ago, back when my diet and lifestyle left a lot to be desired. Then in 2010, shortly after being diagnosed with MS I undertook an intense detoxification regime for a few months which worked a little too well because as it pulled the toxins out, it de-mineralised my body, too.

I had a hair mineral analysis test which alerted me to the de-mineralisation but it wasn’t until I went to the dentist, this time two years ago, that I realised just how this had physically affected me. My dentist at the time spotted a cavity in my teeth and urged me to have an x-ray taken of my whole mouth. Although not keen on the radiation I agreed as I was a little scared about this new cavity and I wanted to confirm the rest of my mouth was healthy – which it wasn’t. Four cavities showed up on that x-ray! FOUR! My dentist recommended I have one in particular drilled and filled immediately because NASA would be able to spot it from outer space. Rather than proceeding with the filling immediately, I agreed to have it filled in the near future to give myself time to mentally prepare for the procedure (I’m a bit of a wuss) but also to find out if I could heal it naturally. I asked my dentist if there was a way I could heal it naturally, but alas, they do not teach nutrition in ‘drill and fill’ school and she told me that healing cavities is impossible.

I began my cavity healing research immediately and cancelled my appointment with the dentist once I realised there were other ways to tackle the problem. Twelve months later I visited another dentist who I selected because he was known to be a little more cluey with regards to toxic-free dentistry practices. He checked the main cavity of concern that NASA was now keeping an eagle eye upon, and he too said I had to get it filled and said I had approximately six months before the hole would burrow down to the nerve.

Well, I am happy to say that it has been two years this March (2013) since the first dentist appointment that prompted my research of which this article resulted (which to date is the #1 most read article on our website) and a further twelve months since the second dentist gave my tooth six months to live – and the tooth is still here, baby! And you know what? I haven’t heard a peep from the other three cavities, either.

And now I am excited to share with you leading-edge technology that may well save your teeth, too! Ok that is a bit of a lie (the leading-edge technology, not the teeth saving), what we want to share with you is a simple 5000 year old Ayurvedic practice for strengthening your teeth and detoxifying your body which we have recently undertaken and Candice in particular has noticed huge benefits after only a few short days! Check it out right here.

To happy, healthy, pain-free eating,

photo credit: clappstar via photopin cc

The post How to Heal Your Teeth Naturally appeared first on Co-inside.

Something in particular I have learned over the past few years and in particular the last few months which helped me to get through those crappy times is to just allow myself to really feel it. To acknowledge the feeling is there and to just FEEL EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF IT, no matter how much I want to push it away, ignore it or resist.

Because what you resist persists and I find that when I acknowledge, feel, accept and surrender to the crappiness, the feeling passes when it needs to and whatever beautiful lesson I need to learn from the experience for my evolution is revealed to me.

And on the flip side, when I AM having a fabulous day and just can’t wipe the smile off my face, there are usually so many reasons for it. On many occasions it’s simply that I am just grateful to be alive. However, recently I identified 5 things in particular that tend to put a smile on my dial and have been known to take me from crappy to happy once I have learned those beautiful lessons:

1. CHAT WITH SOME AMAZING SOULS:

I am blessed to have so many amazing people in my life that I connect and communicate with on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Unfortunately in some cases, we get caught up in life and go way too long between connections and even more-so now that I have moved across the country.

When I was working full time in a corporate office, I was seriously lacking in the spare time department so I would often use the transit time between the office and home to call the people I love and talk about absolutely nothing. It always put me on such a high.

These days, I seem to have less spare hours in my day than when I was working full time, so I schedule time in my diary to catch up with friends and family via Skype, phone and email (or the good ‘ol fashioned ‘in person meet up’ with new friends) which always leaves me feeling like I’ve just had 2 shots of espresso.  

Action step: Speak to or organise to see someone right now that lights you up inside.

2. LISTEN TO (LIVE) MUSIC:

Music is an important part of my life and although I am mildly musically challenged, there’s not a day goes by that I don’t have tunes cranked or where you’ll find me humming along to my favourite John Mayer song.

When we were in Perth, we were quite the musician magnets so we were blessed to be able know and see many of our talented friends play live (isn’t live music the best?).

I recall coming home not too long ago, after yet another long and dull day at work. I really wasn’t in the mood for anything more than sitting on the couch and zombie-ing out because I felt so average. But when I rounded the corner to the lounge-room, one of our musician friends was over, who just so happened to have his guitar on him (as all great musicians do) and we were fortunate enough to have him play a mini live acoustic set in our living room. BLISS.

There’s something about the soft strumming of a guitar… combined with a voice and lyrics that speak right to my heart that makes me all giddy inside. It lifted me right out of my mood and in that moment, I completely forgot why I felt so average in the first place. 

Action step: If you are fortunate enough to know a musician, invite them over to unleash their talent in your living room, or simply pop on your favourite CD and smile away.

3. CONNECT WITH THE EARTH:

If I go a day without connecting my tootsies with the earth I start to feel spacey and very disconnected. Every so often (usually when I’ve gone a day between grounding) I get a sudden urge to connect with mother earth, so I leave my shoes at home and make my way to the nearest park or nature spot to soak up some of nature’s healing energy. These days, I am lucky enough to be able to wander into my backyard which just so happens to be in the middle of a rainforest. 

A goofy grin forms on my face the minute I make the connection with the soft and spongy grass. Then I shift my gaze across the slowly darkening sky and marvel at the beautiful colours forming in the clouds as the sun sets. I feel pure and utter bliss wash over me.

Action step: Kick your shoes off and wander to the nearest patch of grass, sand or rock and wander barefoot for a minimum of 15 minutes. Breathe in, breath out. Then grin from ear to ear. 

4. JUMP ON A TRAMPOLINE

If I ever want to feel instantly happy and smile like I have just been given the day off work, I jump like a loony on my mini tramp. I jump and jump and jump like I’ve completely lost my mind. 

Jumping around brings back very happy memories of when I was a kid… when I was so light, carefree and completely devoid of responsibilities. Ahhh… makes me happy thinking about it right now.

Action step: If you have a tramp, go nuts… if you don’t then grab a skipping rope or just jump up and down on the spot for a bit. Try not to smile, I dare you!

5. CHOW DOWN ON YOUR FAVOURITE FOOD:

You may already know from our website that I’m a bit of a ‘foodie’. I eat A LOT and I like it! So if I ever I want to put a smile on my dial, I make my favourite meal, no matter what it is.

Sometimes that even means eating raw lemon cheesecake for dinner or my favourite sweet potato chips as an early morning snack. An instant smile forms when I remember the fact that I’m a grown up and I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want.

Action step: What do you adore eating but don’t for whatever reason? If it makes you happy, happy, happy right this very second, then just eat it!

In health & happiness,

Do you ever have those moments when you just feel crappy and don’t know why? How do you turn your frown upside down?

The post 5 ways you can go from crappy to happy appeared first on Co-inside.

Although I can no longer call Perth my home as I am currently residing on the far north east coast of Australia, I still receive queries every week as to the best places to find organic food, farmer’s markets, yoga studios, and my picks for online organic vegetable deliveries from my home town.

I decided to put together a guide to healthy living in Perth – whether you live there or decide to visit this beautiful city, this guide will have something for you.  I have visited, eaten at, bought from almost all of the wonderful places alphabetically listed in this guide so hopefully having them all in one place will benefit you just as it would have done for me in the beginning of my journey.

CLICK HERE to download your copy and feel free to share the guide with anyone you know who would benefit. 

Now, onto this week’s recipe. Here’s a delicious three onion risotto I whipped up the other day for Curtis and I. He mentioned I should include a comment from him in each of my recipes. Somewhat of a ‘Curtis’ thoughts or reaction’. Seeing as though he is my number one taste tester/fan, I am seriously considering it. What was Curtis’ reaction to this one? Well, when there was still around 50% left in the pot (I was planning on keeping some for lunch the next day) he said, “So, I’m going to eat the rest of this if that’s ok? It’s so freaking tasty!”

What you need:

2 cups white quinoa

4 cups water

1 cube msg-free vegetable stock

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/3 cup brown onion, chopped

1/3 cup red onion, chopped

1 large zucchini, chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup coconut cream

4 tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon grated ginger

Salt & pepper to taste

How to make:

Thoroughly rinse the quinoa. Bring the water to boil in a saucepan along with the vegetable stock. Reduce the heat, add the quinoa and simmer until all of the water has been absorbed.

While the quinoa is cooking, heat coconut oil in a separate pan. Add the three onions and sauté gently for a few minutes. Add the zucchini and continue to cook until tender. Take off the heat and stir in the coconut cream, lemon juice, garlic and ginger.

Mix the  cooked quinoa into the onion/zucchini mix, along with nutritional yeast. Stir to combine well. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Makes enough for 4 people.

The post Three onion quinoa risotto + a FREE guide to healthy living in Perth appeared first on Co-inside.

Do you ever feel like you are all alone with your challenges, as though even if God is listening He isn’t responding?

Robbie Williams has a great line in his song ‘Feel’ that sums this up nicely:

“I sit and talk to God, and he just laughs at my plans”

When life feels worse than Chinese water torture, who or what do you trust?

We all have stories highlighting how when times were tough and we had a little trust that things would turn out ok, they did. Despite us all having these stories and having evidence that things do always turn out ok, so seldom do we take that evidence and use it to remind us that the sticky situation(s) we are currently facing will also turn out just fine.

Why is it that despite overwhelming evidence that things do always turn out ok, if not better than ok, we still stress about the future?

Part of the problem is that we don’t actually know what it was that got us through previous sticky situations. For example, perhaps a year ago you were running out of money and needed a job. After a stressful few weeks of sending your resume all around town you finally got an offer for the perfect job – just in the nick of time. And then you thought, “there was no need to stress, I should’ve always trusted that the right job would show up.

But if you were to find yourself in a similar situation again now, things are different this time aren’t they? What happened a year ago was divine timing, “but I’m not so sure I will be as lucky this time.”

If you did trust, you wouldn’t experience one iota of stress.

However, if you don’t trust and allow and instead you force things to happen, would the same result still happen? I believe things would actually turn out better! Trusting and allowing is like giving an artist a canvas on which he can paint. When we choose to force an outcome rather than just setting our intention and acting when prompted by the Universe, it is like taking the tools away from the artist.

So, you are in a sticky situation and the odds seem to be stacked against you. But you gotta have faith, right? That’s what your well-meaning friends will tell you. And on some level you know they are right but it really isn’t comforting when you are watching your bank account balance shrinking at an exponential rate, or perhaps that tumour is getting larger by the day, or your relationship with your spouse is deteriorating faster than Geaorge Bush’s popularity did – and every cell in your body is panicking!

“You’ll be fine” your friends will tell you, “have faith, everything will be ok!”

Faith? Faith in what exactly? We spend our entire life trying to be the best that we can be. We climb the corporate ladder at work and buy nicer stuff so we can feel like we’ve got our shit together – like we know what’s what. And to a certain extent we do have a lot of know-how behind us, in a couple of specific areas of our life.

But when shit hits the fan and you have no control and need to have faith, who or what are you going to turn to? You know that despite the years of experience you have under your belt which count towards your physical successes, there is still a powerful truth in the statement “there but for the grace of God go I”. That is a very ‘Yoda’ way of saying, it is only by God’s grace that you have achieved anything that you have.

So now that shit has hit the fan, you are looking around for signs of God taking action on your behalf and you aren’t quite sure if He has the same intention that you do, this time.

When you feel powerless because the future out of your control, and you would love to trust God (if you believe in God) but there is that ounce of doubt – because after all where was God when this challenge came into your life – then who or what do you trust?

Trust nothing; Just Trust.

Let me explain what I mean by that. There are times when you trust yourself and your abilities, and there are times when you don’t. There are times when you trust God, and there are times where even the most God-fearing of us pray for mercy because we think that just maybe God’s plan doesn’t already fit in with our desired outcome – so we had better ask.

Whether we call the unseen power that creates all that exists ‘Source’, ‘Universe’, ‘God’ or anything else, we all have our own idea of who or what God is, and so do I. I doubt any 2 of us in the entire world would describe God exactly the same if we could actually put all of our thoughts and feelings into words to adequately express our opinion. Because of the amount of speculation about what God is, it is apparent that while we all hold on to our own idea of what God is, many of us are waiting until we die to really find out if our description is even close.

So with consideration that there are 7 billion of us on this planet each with unique opinions of what God is, how can you know that your perception is the right one? If trusting in the God in your mind is enough to bring you sustained peace of mind and heart then you are very blessed, if not however, why not? If you still experience stress or fear when contemplating your future, why?

Why don’t you trust the Supreme Personality of God that you have created in your imagination? Why do we say in one breath that we trust God with all our heart and then in the next breath we ask for some necessity we don’t think He would provide if we didn’t ask?

This is why I am suggesting that rather than trusting in something, a construct in your imagination, JUST TRUST. It is a liberating feeling. Just trust. This doesn’t mean you are not putting your faith in God, quite the opposite actually, it means that you are putting ALL of your faith in God, without the filters in your imagination which try to define and restrict what God is so God matches your imagination.

God cannot be defined in words nor in our imagination, God is so much more than what we can conceive of. Even to say that God is ‘love’ falls far short of what God actually is because we have no idea what love really is, from God’s perspective.

As humans we put a lot of restrictions on what love looks like and what doesn’t fit our definition of love, we call evil – as though there could actually be a square nanometre of space that wasn’t filled with ‘God’. We are just making stories up in our mind and we change our minds so often, no wonder it is hard to trust the God we created in our imagination.

How can we learn to trust God without just trusting in a construct of our imagination?

Here is one process for getting in touch with this experience of trust, without limitation.

There is a guided meditation at the end of this article which you can download to help you through this process.

Close your eyes and set your intention for what you desire and then be open to receiving what you need in whatever form it may come into your life.

Notice your body, feel that there is life pulsing through your body, your skin feels alive.

Notice your thoughts, your mind is thinking, just observe your thoughts.

Notice you are observing all this going on and notice that as the observer you are not defined by what is going on, you are just observing. Just notice that you ‘are’, you exist, that you are conscious and aware. Say to yourself “I am”. Don’t say what you think you are, because you do not really know. Even to say you are a spirit or a soul is not really true because you don’t actually know exactly what a soul is. Just get a sense of “I am”.

Notice the peace that comes with the awareness of “I am” and get in touch with the feeling “I trust”. Don’t trust in anything, just trust. That which you are trusting in has received and recognised your trust.

Here is a meditation I recorded to guide you through the process of feeling yourself as pure awareness, as “I am”, without putting labels and restrictions on what you are. From the place of “I am” then you will also experience the blissful feeling of “I trust”.

This meditation is free for a limited time. Enjoy

Right click HERE and select “save link as” to save this meditation to your PC. Alternately, just click the link to listen to it now.

With great love,

Curtis

The post When life feels worse than Chinese water torture… + A FREE MEDITATION appeared first on Co-inside.

We wanted to get outside of our comfort zone and do something a little crazy, so we held a mini poll on our Facebook page asking you – our readers, what you thought we should do. There were 3 activities at the top of our list that we knew would make us feel truly out of our comfort zone, make us feel really alive, and to force us to feel the fear and do it anyway! So out of 1. hot air ballooning, 2. bungee jumping and 3. sky diving, the majority vote was in favour of us jumping 14,000ft out of a plane. We are hoping you decided this because you love us, and not because… you don’t.

So, we got onto a plane, went up 14,000ft and then we got right out of the same plane. Or should we say we hurled ourselves out of it. There were screams, there were laughs and there were moments of speechlessness as we drifted above the gorgeous Atherton tablelands breathing in the fresh tropical air. We had an absolute blast and it really was an incredible (not to mention rather unique) way to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary.

Seeing as though you had a hand in choosing how we celebrated our special day, we want to share with you the video from our little adventure.

Enjoy

Curtis & Candice x

The post Feel the fear and do it anyway – our skydiving adventure video appeared first on Co-inside.

Meat, in particular can put a huge burden on your digestive system as it takes large amounts of energy to break it down to a juice so it can be absorbed into your bloodstream. This is one area you could decrease consumption (meat-free Mondays) or at the very least, look into buying organic/hormone-free, grass fed meat so then you are getting the very best quality for your body, and then you know the animals have been treated humanely. As for cooked foods… too many nutrient-depleted, cooked foods can disrupt the immune system and give it poor materials with which it needs to rebuild.

Start with one day a week of ‘meat-free’ and move towards consuming a diet high in raw, plant-based foods. Swap out lethargy-inducing barbecued food with life-giving salads, calorie-rich biscuits for nutrient-dense nuts and seeds, and sugar-crashing soft drinks for immune-boosting fresh juices.

Here are 10 simple ways to incorporate more raw food into your diet:

1. Have salads for lunch
2. Snack on green smoothies
3. Juice your vegetables
4. Have a handful of nuts and seeds
5. Soak your seeds in juice overnight for a bircher muesli
6. Use raw broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and celery for dips
7. Embrace gazpachos
8. Nibble on dark raw chocolate
9. Have fruit for dessert
10. Replace meat with tempeh

And a special bonus tip just for you… eat a slice of this raw layered carrot ‘n goji cake for dessert tonight (your tastebuds AND your family will thank you).

The post Raw layered carrot n goji cake recipe + 10 ways to eat more raw appeared first on Co-inside.

 I will never forget the declaration I made in 2006 just 6 months before we left our tiny CBD apartment in Melbourne that we adored so much… “I will never live in my hometown ever again… not for anything!”. There may have even been a foot stomping in there – I was pretty damn serious.  

I loved the city I was living in… Melbourne, at the time it was my dream come true. I was making a pittance and I was rather unhealthy but I loved what I was doing. And at the time, the city life was just for me. I held the belief that if I was to go back to my hometown after 3 years of going it alone… it would mean I was taking a huge step backwards regardless of the reasons to move.

But we wanted to see the sun again (consistently!), we wanted to be close to my family, we wanted a big house with a big backyard, we wanted beautiful sunsets over the ocean and more importantly… we wanted to earn the big bucks.

My hometown (Perth, on the west coast of Australia), was one of the only places I knew of that that ticked all of the boxes. But at the end of the day, it was the dollar signs that really lead me home again. And so off we went… following the gold dangling carrot in front of our faces.

The first thing we did when we set foot back on the West coast (after a series of panic attacks and a misdiagnosis of depression), was to seek out high paying jobs in mining and oil & gas. Six weeks later and Perth more than lived up to its’ reputation, we were both gainfully employed earning more money than we knew what to do with.

Then one day, after a few months of doing the same thing, day in, day out and having successfully pushed aside the niggling feeling that I was selling out my soul for money… I overheard my manager speaking boastfully about his hefty salary, his brand new car, big two story house and shiny new boat – he seemed happy enough so I thought. He seemed pretty safe and secure. In fact – this guy had made it! Ding ding ding… jackpot! THIS is it. THIS is the job I would commit to for the rest of my life because I would guaranteed six figures for as long as I could still see & use a computer. Certainty and safety? I wanted it. Shiny new toys? I wanted those too. A feeling of success? Oh yes please, I’ll have some of that aswell. I couldn’t believe my luck at having found my career (and a secure, well paying one at that) so early on in my life.  

I was 21 then. I was young, I was naïve and I thought I knew everything. Arrogance was an understatement. I expected to be manager within days of learning something new and without having a degree under my belt, and I would happily step over someone else to get ahead. Looking back now, I shake my head. But as someone who tends to get everything they desire (which I now realise was due to my innate ability to manifest anything I’ve ever wanted), by the time I reached 23, I was already earning well over $100k a year without so much as a couple of years of sitting in a cubicle.

I thought I had really made it you know. I was chuffed with myself. THIS is what happiness and success looks like, I thought. This is my life of certainty… it was all mapped out for me. Did I love what I was doing? Hell no! Was I getting paid a shitload to do it? Hell yes… so what did I care if I loved it or not? I was set for life.

Fast forward to 2010… sitting next to the love of my life and his neurologist says with a solemn look on his face “Curtis, you have multiple sclerosis”. All of a sudden, all that money, all that stuff… everything – it didn’t matter anymore. Suddenly I didn’t give a shit about what I had achieved in the corporate world, how much crap I had accumulated to fill my 5 bedroom house and whether or not I had another new pair of boots to add to my 90+ collection of shoes.

It happened literally overnight. And then I asked myself… what if none of this shit really mattered? What if it all didn’t matter?! So I gave it up. And even though I spent the last couple of years still clutching desperately onto the life I thought I so badly wanted… the life that was to give me eternal happiness, safety and security… I let it all go and I gave up my $100k+ a year salary for a life of uncertainty.

And here I am now… big house sold, most of our stuff gone, no idea what tomorrow will look like or what the future holds. But I am in the middle of the rainforest. I am happy. I have Curtis and the pups by my side. I have food on the table (ok, so maybe not ON the table – we sold that). I don’t need too much anymore. I am doing what I love every minute of the day. I have my soul back. It’s uncertain… it’s scary… and I love it more than anything.

You may think I’m crazy, but at the end of the day – there is no certainty in life. Even in a so-called stable and secure job, there are no promises because nothing in life is certain. A project that seems safe and secure today can be cancelled in a heartbeat tomorrow and you are suddenly no longer employed. Where’s the certainty in that?

And sure, I get it… money is important. It is, after all, what makes the world go round. It is the currency we use to exchange something in order to get something in return. But here’s the clincher – money is nothing if you don’t have your health and happiness. And no matter what “they” say… money cannot buy eternal health or happiness. It can ease the pain temporarily, but it cannot bring you back from the point of no return. So if that’s the case, why aren’t more people living a life they love when there is no certainty in this world?

And for me, it wasn’t just Curtis’ diagnosis that gave me the wake-up call. But it was just the start of it. The real reason for me was that the pain of staying that lifestyle, chasing the dollar signs, doing something that didn’t light me up inside, that didn’t fill up my metaphorical cup so to speak, became truly unbearable – it became far worse than the pain of leaving and not having a single clue where I would end up, even if it meant losing everything. I was ready to face a new kind of pain… an authentic, real and raw pain, the pain of being ME… all of me, every single day and doing something completely new.

And you? Well I want you to know something: YOU HAVE A CHOICE. You are not stuck. You can choose to be where you are, until you simply don’t anymore.  

You will know when the time is right for you to make a big change – to chuck in the $100k a year corporate job for a life of uncertainty, to say yes to that marriage proposal, to buy that one way plane ticket – you will just KNOW. It will be so overwhelming and you will feel like the entire universe is on your side. And you want to know a secret? It is on your side.

Life will always keep moving forwards, you can never go backwards – just like the days cannot go in reverse, nor can you. Every experience no matter how seemingly good, bad or confusing only serves to teach you a lesson and to enrich your life. You cannot possibly make a wrong choice because whatever you decide was and IS always meant to be and has lead you to this very moment right now.

Just remember that in life, if you risk nothing, you risk everything.

So what are you willing to let go of in order to live the life of your dreams?

photo credit: Effortless Vitality via photopin cc

The post Why I gave up $100k for a life of uncertainty appeared first on Co-inside.

If you have experienced amazing health and energy you will know that these feelings are a far more enjoyable way to live than feeling crappy. Yet for some reason, when you saw the title of this article you thought to yourself, “what’s this geezer got to say, then? I’ve got a habit I can’t kick.”

When it comes to addictions, there is a lot of blame on the manufacturers that add addictive chemicals to their products, such as cigarettes and food. In my earlier days of being a Health Coach I was more than happy to point the finger at those ‘evil’ corporations and blame them for the worlds health challenges, too. However, it really isn’t as simple as blaming chemicals for our challenges.*

You see, I have consumed nearly every chemical under the sun. This was me only a few years ago when I was 96kg.

If you have ever heard Candice or me say that we were ‘blessed by MS’, now you know why we feel this way. I felt about as well as I look in those photos and if MS didn’t pop up, something worse was bound to! In fact the C word came up a lot back then. No not cancer – crackers and cheese!

At 1.8 metres tall, my weight now hovers around 75kg – that’s more than 20kgs I have lost! For the Americans reading this, if you don’t know what the equivalent measurements are in imperial, get on to metrics already! Inches are only good for measuring one small thing.

Sure enough, I did lose the weight when I stopped eating processed and fast foods, but I was never addicted to the chemicals in those foods in the first place. I was addicted to how the food made me feel.

But that’s what the chemicals are designed for, right?

Maybe. However, when I was diagnosed with MS my diet changed virtually overnight. No more processed packaged foods, no more McDonalds, no more sausages and pies, in fact, no more meat at all. There are nasty chemicals in all these products when produced conventionally.

Instead, I was eating chemical free organic plant based whole foods. But here is the thing; I was still addicted to eating!

Even after 3 years since I stopped eating chemical-loaded food, when something sparks emotions in me such as feeling bored, stifled, stressed, unhappy or just plain  not good enough, I think “FOOD, I NEED FOOD NOW!” – it’s an automatic reaction but it doesn’t have a hold on me now like it did in the past.

Whether your cravings are for smoking, alcohol, food, drugs or Facebook, can you relate to experiencing the feelings I mentioned, or other similar feelings, right before you reach for your chosen craving-reliever?

So what’s that about, then? It obviously has nothing to do with chemical additives because for me even eating 50 organic avocados in one sitting isn’t going to give me a drop of any nasty chemical.

Addictions form when you create new subconscious patterns that serve you by making you happier, even if by “happier” all that is happening is that you are numbing out the pain of something.

It’s likely that when you first began consuming whatever it is that you are now hooked on, even social media, in the beginning it made you happier either directly, or indirectly.

Raise your hand if you started off as a social smoker or drinker before it came an addiction? Consuming these substances, as well as using social media interfaces, give you feelings of connection and acceptance which make you feel happier.

By taking a break to have a ciggy or to see how many people clicked ‘like’ on the picture of your new puppy, your “addictions” also give you relief from stressors such as work or other hard tasks – which again, makes you happier.

By blaming the manufacturers who add addictive substances to things you consume, you are merely moving the blame and ‘the power to change’, from you to something outside of you. When you hold the perception that you are a victim to an external influence it makes it impossible to deal with the real issue that you need to be aware of that is within you.

Even if you aren’t blaming the manufacturers but you think that a chemical or drug has a hold on you, you are still putting the power in the hands of that substance which is external to you.

Ok, so my addiction is my problem and not someone else’s fault, now what?

So you want to kick your addiction so you can feel on top of the world again? The following questions will help.

The best time for you to go throughthis process is when you are feeling the overwhelming desire (you know the one) for that ciggy, a drink, eating, shopping or whatever it is for you. This is a time when you will experience the greatest results the easiest because you are standing in the middle of the furnace trying to find the ignition, rather than being safe and sound without a craving in the world, trying to recall how you felt.

This may not be a walk in the park; how strong is your desire to become a healthier, happier version of you?

Note: If you would like help to discover why your habits/addictions are controlling and restricting your life and OVERCOME THEM, I am here to help. Scroll to the bottom of this page to learn more.

The questions:

Question 1: What specifically is the problem?

What is it about your addiction that really bothers you?

Question 2: What is the process that runs from start to finish, which results in you engaging in your addiction? List every minor step in the process in order including the external trigger (if any), thoughts and feelings that arise.

Note: It is beneficial to think of a specific recent example when answering this question.

Example:

1. Trigger: I received an email at work, a huge task with a short deadline.
2. I thought to myself: There is no way I can get this done on time!
3. I felt: Stress!!!
4. I felt: A burning need for a cigarette, I needed to get away!
5. I thought: I need a cigarette
6. Action: I picked up my cigarettes and went outside.
7. I felt: relief as I zoned out with my cigarette

Question 3: How does your addiction serve you? What pain identified in question 2 is relieved when you consume your chosen pain reliever?

In the above example it is stress, specifically ‘time’ stress. The cigarettes relieve the stress temporarily by distracting the person.

Question 4: This is actually a series of questions to be tailored to your individual challenge. Avoid ‘why’ questions and stick to ‘what’ and ‘how’ questions. ‘Why’ questions can get you too bogged down in content whereas the how and what questions help to uncover the subconscious pattern you follow.

Example questions:

• How does your addiction serve you?
• When you partake in your addiction, how does that make you feel?
• How would you prefer things to be? And what is stopping you?
• What would you be able to do if your addiction didn’t stand in your way?
• What are you trying to avoid?
• What is it about feelings that cause you pain that you don’t like?
• What might happen if you stepped beyond your comfort zone?
• How is what you do an expression of love for yourself?

Everything comes down to the core emotion of LOVE. Keep this in your mind as you search deeper, look towards the light as you ask questions. How is what you do an expression of love for yourself? After all, you love yourself so much that you avoid feeling emotional pain by consuming whatever it is you are addicted to.

Tip: Ask someone you are willing to be open and honest with to ask you the above questions. When I go through processes such as this I find that I uncover more if I have Candice or another coach pushing me through uncomfortable feelings that may be uncovered; whereas if I do this on my own it is easier to reach an uncomfortable emotional pain threshold and then walk away – to the fridge.

Be gentle on yourself in the days and weeks following your discovery of why you act the way that you have been, as it may take a while for your pattern to change. Our spiritual/life coach, Andrew Oser, has a perfect analogy for this:

Picture a fan spinning at full speed and then you flick the switch to turn it off. It doesn’t stop immediately; it needs some time to slow down from the full bottle speed it was originally travelling at. But eventually, it does come to a complete stop.

The ultimate purpose of this exercise is to create awareness of your patterns. How can you clean mould from the ceiling above your shower if you aren’t aware that it is there?

Awareness makes your challenges dissolve.

Need help getting to the bottom of your addiction?

If you would like help to discover why your habits/addictions are controlling and restricting your life and OVERCOME THEM, I am here to help.

Skype coaching sessions are now available for only $200 per session. Click here and send me an email to organise a Skype coaching session.

Coaching session availability is limited so get in quick!

I wish you all the best on your journey to becoming the next grandest version of the greatest vision ever you held about who you are.

With much love,

Curtis

*I am aware that there are some extreme cases where the body has developed a dependency on certain substances and without those substances the body may die. However, the purpose of this article/video is to address more common problems where our habits are holding us back from health and happiness and is not intended to diagnose or treat those extreme life and death chemical dependencies.

This article/video was developed with love to help empower the average person (not to imply you are simply average by any means) so they can take control.

The post Food, smoking, alcohol, drugs? How to overcome your addictions appeared first on Co-inside.