Finally Friday Week One: A New Book and A New Life Plan

"There is no such thing as a logical method of having new ideas...Every great discovery contains an irrational element of creative intuition."—Karl Popper

I'm back and I'll be blogging on Fridays for as long as I can. I missed January, but there's no time like the present. I haven't been here in a while! How are you?

What's new, you ask? Before I dive down into the deep stuff (I'll leave that for next Friday), here's a little summary of what I've been up to:

I started the Whole30 program on February 1st. I am not allowed to consume any grains, sugar, beans, or dairy on this plan. I'm not doing it to lose weight or anything like that. I'm doing it because I've had ongoing stomach issues and this is supposed to help. It has made me more conscious of what I buy, cook and eat. It's made me more aware of the entire eating process. It's forced me to slow down and actually cook my own meals and be creative and I feel healthy for it.

Today I made Tikka Masala. I ate it with a salad and my husband had it with rice. I had some roasted chicken on hand and shredded it up a little. After that, I sauteed a half onion in a wok with a little coconut oil, I added in the chicken with a can of diced organic tomatoes, a cup of canned coconut milk, two tablespoons of coconut oil, a tsp of cumin, 3 tablespoons of garam masala and salt/pepper to taste. It was delicious!

 Later I made my own saurkraut. I diced up a head of cabbage, three cloves of garlic, a Tbs. of grated fresh ginger and about a half cup of grated carrots. I put all of this into a large bowl and added in a fourth cup of kosher salt. I then used a big wooded spoon to press the salt into the cabbage. This helped release the juices. I put it all in a glass jar and pressed it down with my wooden spoon. I then poured a little spring water on top to cover the cabbage. I placed a tea cup on top on the cabbage and covered the jar with the lid and set it in my sunny, kitchen window. It will ferment there for three days and then I'll have delicious fermented kraut full of natural enzymes and probiotics. Here is a photo of my sauerkraut before fermentation:

I am also saving money with this new program because I plan my meals ahead of time. I try to buy organic and there are really good deals on whole organic fruits, veggies and meat at Costco these days, so that's where I shopped.

I have also been trying to walk everyday. If I can't walk, I'll do some other form of exercise. Today was really rainy in Washington State, so I went to a yoga class for one hour and 15 minutes. The room was heated to 85 degrees. It was kind of intense, but I felt really good afterward. I felt like many toxins were released.

So my main protocol for my health is to keep up with this Whole30 regime and keep up with daily exercise, meditation and getting a good night sleep.

In other news, after a very tumultuous two days (which I blame on the full-moon and detoxing), the complex Chinese edition of my book, Lessons from the Monk I Married, arrived on my front doorstep on Wednesday. I was about to give up on everything (my writing, health goals, etc.), until this beautiful package arrived. It made me realize that hard work does pay off, even if you can't see it right away. So now my book is out in 5 countries (USA, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Croatia) and there are now 3 different editions of my book. Here's a photo of all the different covers:

Mainland China also bought the book, so the simplified Chinese edition will be out soon! 

I am working on a trilogy of fiction books, at the moment, based on my journeys to different parts of the world. I would call the genre spiritual adventure. I hope to share more about this series of books in the coming months. I've decided to keep up this blog on Fridays because I find that writing here has been so helpful to my book writing journey. It holds me accountable for all my plans and dreams. 

I have been taking classes at a place called Psychic Awakenings in Seattle. It's helped me to tune into my intuition and feel more about what's right for me. It's also helped me make decisions more easily, inspired me to start teaching a two-part intuitive writing class, spurred me to create more yoga/writing retreats with my husband both locally and abroad and it's inspired my new series of books. Here's the link to our new yoga retreat offerings:  Yoga Retreats 

In my Intuitive Writing classes, I use Penney Perice's book called The Intuitive Way. I find it to be quite serendipitous that Penney will be at the Women Of Wisdom Conference in Seattle on our last scheduled Intuitive Writing class for this session. We will all be going to the event as a class. Can't wait!

I've really felt called to finish the first book in the trilogy. I can feel that that book wants to be completed by the end of this year and I hope to have the other two developed by then. I hope to devote two weeks in March and possibly one month in September to book writing. I will also write here and there when I have time.

Thank you for stopping by my blog again! I hope to keep up these post every Friday.

What is new with YOU?