Winter Proof You!

October 31, 2019 ~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Neti, Coconut oil, Astragalus, Sea Salt and…

NETI. DAILY. I imagine the ocean through my sinuses as I let the water trickle through. Use a ceramic neti pot. Use sterile water! (Boil water for 3 minutes and let cool to room temperature.) Sea Salt, a pinch is plenty for about 1/4 cup of water.

OIL. DAILY. Your favorite healthy oil will work but coconut helps soothe, protect and smells great.(Here’s that beach connection for me again.) Or you can get unscented. Sesame (untoasted) is also a great oil. Dab your little finger into the oil and oil your nostrils. Not only does this help with dryness so common when we turn on the heat but it also deters microbes. Oil everything on your body while you’re at it for super health!

Astragalus Root – just throw a few pieces into everything you cook! It’s a great immunity booster!

EAT. Alliums! Onions, garlic, leeks, ramps, scallions, shallots. Think about making a “fire cider.” RAW apple cider vinegar (Braggs or any unpasteurized organic, unfiltered, unheated 5% acidity type), 1 part each onions, ginger, horseradish, 1/2 part garlic & a dash of cayenne, cover with vinegar in a glass jar. Cover with clean parchment paper and then a lid (not metal) and let age for about 4 weeks. I like to use on my salads. There are a lot of recipes online so find one that gets your cells smiling.

AND EAT. Eat seasonal vegetables and fruits & good fats. This depends on where you live. Here in North Carolina that means cruciferous everything, sweet potatoes, winter squashes and pumpkins, pears, apples, pecans. Good fats (think little fatty fish like sardines and anchovies) avocado and coconut oil for heat cooking and olive oil (not heated).

SLUMBER. Last but MOST – get lots of sleep. There’s a lot more darkness this time of year which is a natural hint to cozy in. The latest in sleep research – at least 7.75 hours a night and be consistent with your bedtime and awakening. You might be able to have a bit less sleep if you are consistent.

Don’t forget all that other great stuff you do — meditating, exercising, loving time with your family & friends, time outdoors.

COZY Health!

Poo Perfect

October 16, 2019 ~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Start here at your food’s end to improve your health. Everything digested? Is your poo brown or slightly green? Maybe red if you ate a lot of beets. And the winner is Type 4. A smooth snakelike poo reflects foods you easily digest, plenty of fiber, plenty of hydration, plenty of exercise, managed stress.

Two recommendations to add to your daily – 1/2 lemon (1 T) in warm water upon waking. You can add 1 teaspoon each of raw honey and fresh ginger plus a dash of cayenne if you like.

Eat breakfast within an hour after awakening. Think greens! Cooked or slightly wilted with a bit of good fat (ghee, coconut, olive oil, avocado oil). Add an egg or an avocado half and perhaps a bit of nutritional yeast and sesame seeds.

And a bit of my body’s wisdom. Yours may be different. Give up or limit dairy, wheat (gluten) , sugar and nightshades. I have found that when I eat a lot of any of these substances my body has a few nasty reactions – the shits (dairy), nerve and muscle pain (sugar/alcohol/gluten), incontinence (nightshades, especially tomatoes). I can eat any of the above now and then. Pizza is one of my happy foods as well as marinara. And a funny little thing I noticed, if I eat European dairy or wheat — no problems. Seed, peel and cook the nightshades (like I learned in chef school). I know all of the science behind all of this – from my nightly reading and nutrition podcast addiction.

One last comment is about lectins. I think Gundry’s book, THE PLANT PARADOX, is worth reading and it might just be exactly what your body needs. The wonderful thing I got from Gundry’s work is my Insta-pot and the best tasting, most easily digestible beans I’ve ever tasted.

Love your poo. Once or twice a day. Your doctor should ask you what your poo looks like. Tell him about the Bristol Stool Chart and that you’re a perfect Type 4!

Be inspired!

Image ~ May 21, 2019 ~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Maybe you need an art escape…

Image ~ March 31, 2019 ~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

EARTH LIFE!

March 21, 2019 ~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Not just Earth Day! I love the earth and I hate feeling guilty shopping at Trader Joe’s. It’s a conundrum. Here’s a few ideas. Just a teeny bit makes a difference.

I helped launch the recycling program in Baltimore (decades ago). It was a huge undertaking but folks wanted to do the right thing and they’d drive up on their precious Saturday morning and fill the cargo containers. I am sure folks still want to help the earth BUT I believe the manufacturers really should step up. That means packaging changes.

So ways you might consider and a bit of inspiration…

COMPOSTNOW https://compostnow.org/compostables/ My garbage goes out once a month now. AND it doesn’t stink. My garden loves the compost – but you can donate it to a farmer too!

I love straight side ball jars. You can freeze in them!

And take a real fork/spoon/knife and skip the plastic ones – why not? Straws – yeah that is a real convenience when you are driving.

BUT… maybe paper (compostable) ones or better yet reusable ones.

Whole Foods has a terra cycling collection for potato chip bags etc etc. https://www.dwellsmart.com/pages/terracycle

Take the time to drop a note to your favorite organic company that packages their product in plastic or has a label that will last a million years.

Support the local farmers. Wrap your produce in a clean dish towel. https://farmtoforknc.com. https://triangleonthecheap.com/farmers-markets/

Shrink your meat consumption.

And buy bulk. Take your own container.

Letter to Trader Joes today…I love them BUT…

Be inspired right here in Raleigh!

P.S. Raleigh …Master Gardeners help relaunch the NCSU composting “farm” Raleigh is a center for folks worldwide to study composting and “worm” composting. https://composting.ces.ncsu.edu/nc-state-compost-learning-lab/

Raleigh …Joann Burkholder https://cals.ncsu.edu/plant-and-microbial-biology/people/jburk/ Animal Waste and Environmental impacts EXPERT Wikipedia “She was responsible for identifying the cause, a dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida and its toxins, of mass deaths of fish that posed a public health hazard. Her studies also helped in improving legislation to control pollution and eutrophication.”

AND… Just heard a bit about how NSCU has developed a way to use cola ash for concrete, eliminating its toxic impact.

Seasonal Seasoning

November 16, 2018November 23, 2020 ~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Tis the season to think SEASONING!

Whether a turkey, dressing or a vegan winter squash this seasoning is worth gobbling. All ingredients are organic & dried. 

Thanks to Alice Waters for the suggestion of a Suribachi Mortar Bowl. Blends without pulverizing the herbs totally.

6 teaspoons sage
4 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper blend
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 teaspoons marjoram
2 1/4 teaspoons rosemary
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)
Dash of allspice (optional)

KARMA – Tuesday with Deepak Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

Image ~ January 9, 2018January 9, 2018 ~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to a bit of Deepak Chopra’s weekly guide to make your life more peaceful and joyful. Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success shares how striving isn’t necessary, that effortless joy attracts your deepest desires.

Here’s how I came to love Deepak’s wisdom.

In 1998, I lived in Singapore. Deepak was coming to speak. My life was in absolute turmoil and chaos. I had left a career, daughters and life back in Baltimore to follow my darling husband to Asia-Pacific where the only identity I would be taking was my role as his wife. Because he would now be president of a certain power tool company there, I would be the president’s wife. It was exciting and frightening.

It became even more frightening when I discovered that he and my former employee, an art director for my marketing firm, were lovers. As I dumped our life photo collection onto our Queen Astrid Park bed, a little silver chest with a piece of her hair and a love note bounced out.

So after confronting my darling husband, I went from a size 12 to a size 4 and my scalp started crawling on itself. As my Singapore psychiatrist wrote my Prozac script, he said, “It’s called paresthesias or formication.”

“Fornication, with an n,” I said, “not an m.”

However, he was correct. So was I.

Because at that moment, I really understood how a plea of “temporary insanity” could make sense, I also knew God decided, on purpose, to place me half way around the world from my former employee/friend. It was, obviously, time for me to reconnect with my soul.

Stripped of most of my professional and personal identity just by moving to Singapore, the best voice I had in my head was not my ego’s. I needed a higher more powerful source.

Chopra showed up in Singapore, having followed his own cosmic message. As I listened to his soothing voice sharing that we are never alone but single drops of water that form the ocean together, my heart settled. I went up to him after his talk and just looked into his eyes for two seconds and thanked him.

I thought to myself, “God, wouldn’t it be amazing and perfect to study with Deepak at The Chopra Center.”

In 2014, I began my yoga/meditation/Ayurveda training at The Chopra Center. There I studied with amazing life leaders, Deepak Chopra, Martha Beck, Andrew Weil, Suhas Kshirsagar, Claire Diab, to name just a few. In 2016, as I was performing my final test, Surya Namaskar (sun salutations) with the corresponding Sanskrit mantras, I remembered that wish I had made in Singapore almost two decades before.

It seemed effortless, but every moment of my life had to be orchestrated (by God) to make my Chopra Center experience possible. All I did was show up.

A Course in Miracles states: A miracle is simply a change in perception.

First you have to encourage your mind to love the discipline it takes to be open to miracles. I am thankful for miracles. I believe by quieting my mind and letting God do what God does best, I attract miracles.

Mostly because, God made you a miracle, a part of me.

On Tuesdays, try practicing the Law of Karma.

My actions are aligned with cosmic law.

Witness your choices today.
Consider the consequences of your choices.
Listen to your body.

The Sanskrit mantra is: Om Kriyam Namah and it is associated with the first Chakra called Muladhara, which is red & is located at the base of your spine.

OM

A MUST READ – Please share!

November 2, 2017 ~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Ready for a good page turner that just might change your life? Galli’s story made me want to be more inspiring – to show up a bit more with passion and compassion. One of the inspiring things I would like to do is to tell you about her book, Rethinking Possible. Please read it and share it. Enjoy!

Rethinking Possible (for her Book and website)

Rebecca Faye Smith Galli was born into a family that valued the power of having a plan. With a pastor father and a stay-at-home mother, her 1960s southern upbringing was bucolic―even enviable. But when her brother, only seventeen, died in a waterskiing accident, the slow unraveling of her perfect family began.

Though grief overwhelmed the family, twenty-year-old Galli forged onward with her life plans―marriage, career, and raising a family of her own―one she hoped would be as idyllic as the family she once knew.

But life had less than ideal plans in store.

Look for Thoughtful Thursdays on her website too. Sign up for once a week inspiration.

Phone Heaven Today

November 2, 2017 ~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

I called my sister Mary last week. We talked of the rainbows she sends to me; how she loves pizza and she eats all she wants now; how it was her fault that Mom’s bird Penny died. Bob, her blue-eyed love, is golfing daily. We exchange some recipe. She rants, as always, about people who leave their grocery carts wild in the parking lots. We end with the agreement that, “At any given time, we all do our best.”

These days after I talk to my sister, knowing I have to hang up, I weep. This particular day after I talked to her, I tried to push my iphone’s red circle, the one with the white old timey phone handset, to hang up. Mary just started laughing out loud. From heaven.

A few days later on NPR I heard about this phone booth in Japan:

The Wind Phone in Japan

I am certain Mary sent the Wind Phone info to me.

For all of you who have lost a loved one, maybe call them today. I believe they can answer.

They never hang up.