A new beginning

EGO vs SOUL

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Dear Ones -

A woman asked Pastor Rob Bell yesterday how you can tell the difference between when your soul is talking to you, and when your ego is talking to you.

Rob started with an explanation of the ego, as a force that is never satisfied. Nothing will ever be enough for the ego — not enough money, not enough praise, not enough shoes, not enough Facebook likes, not enough donuts. (He didn't say the bit about donuts, but you get the point.) And when the ego DOES get something it wants (success, attention, a swimming pool), all it can do is crow about it.

As for the soul, though, all it wants is joy and light and love...and excitement. When you are living the life that your soul wants to live, you will wake up each morning and say, "Oh my god, I can't believe I get to do this today!" (Whatever "this" might be — write this book, work in this garden, live in this house, see this friend, eat this food, raise these children, walk in the woods with this dog, go to this job, visit this family member, etc, etc...)

There is a place in our lives for our egos. (As Martha Beck, another great teacher always says: "Don't leave home without it.") You need some ego, to shore up your boundaries, to give you a sense of self, to keep some fire in your belly.

But don't let your ego make the big choices for you. Because it will do nothing but forever demand more, more, more, more. It will always say, "We don't have enough yet."

Look for the things that make your soul say, "I can't believe how lucky we are to have this!"...and try to surround yourself with as much of THAT as you can. And don't sacrifice the things that make your soul come alive for the things your ego demands.

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*

Boosting iron

Some afternoons lately I’ve been feeling pretty sleepy. As a professional convalescer, I embraced cat naps with open arms. However when I received my third trimester blood results back last week and saw that my iron stores were on the floor, it all started making a bit more sense.

I’m not a vego by any means, but I just haven’t craved red meat through my pregnancy (plus I’m not great at cooking it) so I haven’t really thought about it.

THE PLAN

-Eat more beetroot, organic dried apricots and prunes, parsley, pine nuts, green leafys.

Red meat twice a week.

-Take BioMedica BioHeme capsules twice a day, then I’ll retest my bloods in about 6 weeks to make sure it’s having an impact.

-If I have a chai, make sure that I take my iron supplement and multi at least an hour away (black tea contains tannins that inhibit the absorption of iron).

-Each day I’ve been making up a pot of nettle tea, letting it cool and then pouring it into a couple of glass water bottles in the fridge. It tastes a bit barley grassy, but it’s really refreshing.

-Exercise is an awesome way of increasing your body’s red blood cell production.

-Increase vitamin C-rich foods to help the absorption of iron. Lemon juice in water before a meal is great.

Did you experience low iron during your pregnancy? What did you find the most effective way to get your levels up?

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*
The Name Game

My husband and I were completely sold on our baby-to-be’s name even before it was conceived. But in the last month they’ve completely gone out the window. As a matter of fact, our ‘boy name’ has become our ‘girl name’.

I can think of probably eight girls’ names I like, but only maybe two for boys. Then you have to make sure it doesn’t rhyme with anything like ‘snot’ (sorry to anyone named Scott reading this) plus it can’t be a name of someone you used to go out with or didn’t like at school.

We’re also avoiding telling anyone our names to avoid “Oh… *pause* that’s an interesting name…”

Did you name your child after someone? Did you tell your friends and family the names or wait til after the birth to decided what he/she looked like? Did you look up the meaning of the name?

Emma the Naturopath xx

(30 weeks –size of a butternut pumpkin… Dear Lord!)

"She did not need much,
wanted very little.
A kind word,
sincerity,
fresh air,
clean water,
a garden,
kisses,
books to read,
sheltering arms,
a cosy bed,
and to love and be loved in return"
-Starra Neely Blade

123. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. Deep baritone croaks from frogs in drain pipes during the rain on Monday night.

2. Funny car names. My silver Nissan Bluebird is affectionately known as High Ho Silver and my husband’s white van is better known as Barry White (custom-made pirate curtains and all). What’s yours?

3. Mangoes every damn day.

4. An iPod full of new and old music. So many memories flood back of countless hours spent in highschool learning Pearl Jam’s Daughter on my guitar, living in Byron when I was 18 driving around in my old Gemini with Everyone Deserved Music by Michael Franti, lying on the beach in the Maldives listening to my new Jack Johnson album that I bought at the Singapore airport, singing along to Bob Marley with dad at the top of our lungs in our family car (yes it was High Ho) when I was little…

5. That feeling of satisfaction when you finally finish a book that you’ve had to re-borrow from the library four times. Don’t let me borrow your books, I am the sloooooooowest reader ever.

I WANT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING. IT MAY CATCH YOU OFF GUARD…

I have made a heart-based decision to close Essential Health. We have been open for 9 and a half years, founded by my parents in May 2005. I love the shop. I love our customers and clients, but it’s time to start the next chapter.

Years ago I remember watching an interview that Oprah did with Jerry Seinfeld about why he stopped filming his hit TV show because its success and popularity. He humbly spoke about elegant sufficiency. “You know when you’ve had a really delicious meal and you put your knife and fork down because you’re satisfied and know you’ve had enough? One extra bite would be too much and you just want to leave the restaurant satisfied rather than overdoing it.”

That pretty much sums up how I feel about Essential Health.

As soon as I made this decision on Tuesday night and said it out loud, my heart just beamed with happiness as I know that this is the perfect decision for my little family and I. I want to peacefully raise my child and give my husband back his calm happy wife. I have so much respect and admiration for women who do the whole baby plus work thing, but in the words of Elizabeth Gilbert “that’s somebody else’s dream”.

The ‘Emma the Naturopath’ Facebook page will keep still keep churning out the Top 5’s and Maternal Mondays plus my usual ramblings. You’ll still see me around town, but instead of rushing to the bank, carrying mail and invoices, I’ll be pushing a stroller with a smile on my face.

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it and enjoy the dance”

-Alan Watts

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*
Loving this...

124. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. The thrill and anticipation of watching ominous storm fronts roll in each afternoon. Gotta love summertime in subtropical climates.

2. Wearing my super incredible heels –even if it does mean that I have to get my husband to do them up because I can no longer bend down.

3. Lovingly tending to my beetroot and oak leaf lettuce seedlings.

4. The most perfect dream catcher I’ve ever seen that my thoughtful friend made us for Baby Caller’s room. It’s got little pearl, turquoise and wooden beads and white feathers on the frame with a clear quartz attached to the centre of the hand-woven web. Go admire Chrystal’s creations on Insta: @seagypsytreasures

5. A morning spent eating buckwheat waffles, stand up paddle boarding at high tide, then tea and fresh banana bread in the garden. Happy bday Father Bear xx Hope you enjoyed your new goggles and locally made salami! Italians are easy to please.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. “When a woman conceives her true self, a miracle occurs and life around her begins again”.

-Marianne Williamson

Choosing my family over my business was easily the biggest decision I’ve made in the past 29 years, but my heart told me to jump, so that’s what I’m doing.

I’ve felt so touched this week by constantly being told by my clients, customers and friends “Congratulations, you’ve made the right choice”. I have received hugs, smiles and flowers from countless people each day for how grateful they are to have had Essential Health in their lives the last nine and a half years. The feeling is mutual.

Have a beautiful week x

Essential Health

Phone: 0266 514 533
Email: carrots_and_apples@hotmail.com
Facebook: Emma the Naturopath

New beginnings

106. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. My immune system. There is truly nothing I value more right now than feeling healthy again after being struck down with a horrific cold.
2. The loud gasp my husband and I let out when we saw a front door mat with a big anchor on it. Everyone within a 5 meter radius at Freedom turned to face us.
3. How kindly forgiving it is painting with watercolours.
4. Eating a delicious lamb roast with vegies at 4:30pm on a rainy Sunday arvo.
5. Seeing Baby Caller up on the ultrasound screen just chilling out sucking its thumb!!

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. Well I told you I’d have an announcement for you didn’t I… Yes you read correctly!! Emma the naturopath is growing a little human! It’s the size of a lemon and has been cooking for just over 14 weeks now -hello second trimester. Our little Aquarian is due 2nd Feb (my 30th birthday and our 3rd wedding anniversary)! Have you been wondering about all the baking recipes I’ve been posting lately? (aka. nesting).

Never fear, the ‘Essential Health Coffs’ Facebook page will not be bombarded with pregnancy/baby related paraphernalia. An exciting new segment titled *MATERNAL MONDAYS* will be starting tomorrow for those who want to chat about being up the duff and take a little peak into my new chapter!

I fell in love with the following Deepak Chopra excerpt from his book The Book of Secrets: Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life:

“If you obsess over whether you are making the right decision, you are basically assuming that the universe will reward you for one thing and punish you for another.

The universe has no fixed agenda. Once you make any decision, it works around that decision. There is no right or wrong, only a series of possibilities that shift with each thought, feeling, and action that you experience.

If this sounds too mystical, refer again to the body. Every significant vital sign—body temperature, heart rate, oxygen consumption, hormone level, brain activity, and so on—alters the moment you decide to do anything… decisions are signals telling your body, mind, and environment to move in a certain direction.”

-Deepak Chopra

Let’s keep moving forward together.

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*

THE FIRST TRIMESTER: Finding out

The pregnancy test lit up as soon as I managed to awkwardly pee on it.

“I’m pregnant…” I said out aloud to no one. “I’m pregnant… I’m pregnant... I’m pregnant…”

It wasn’t an exclamation. It wasn’t fearful. They were just two words I’d never said in the same sentence before.

I was home from work that day. I think Ellen was on. I walked back out into the lounge room and sat down on the bean bag, pregnancy test in tow. I sat it on the coffee table next to me and watched it out of the corner of my eye.

“I’m pregnant... I’m pregnant... I’m pregnant...”

Those two words felt odd and surreal. But also made me feel incredibly excited and giggly! It fele so fragile, like if I sneezed, that it might jump out!

It is still unfathomable to me, that my baby grew from the size of a poppy seed to a peach in 3 months, completely made of building blocks from, well, me! Each week I would read things out aloud to my husband like “Listen to this honey!! This week, our baby is growing ear canals!” It absolutely fascinates me.

I’ll leave you with an excerpt from Kaz Cooke’s hilarious book Up the Duff about home pregnancy tests…

“What always happened was more like sticking a thimble under a waterfall and then snatching it out again and finding that, although you had wee on your hand, the outside of the jar, your hair, the cuffs of your trousers and some articles in another room entirely, you’d managed to miss the jar.”

*Please feel free to share how you felt in YOUR first trimester and what thoughts ran through your head?

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. *THANKYOU* all so much for your lovely comments on the Top 5 yesterday, you kind humans :)

"We need quiet time to examine our lives openly and honestly -spending quiet time alone gives your mind an opportunity to renew itself and create order"

-Susan Taylor

107. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. Eating the best (giant) passionfruit ever that my parents brought back for me from far north Queensland. I literally found myself grinning after I’d finished eating it.
2. Baked beans on toast.
3. The old lady who literally skipped into my shop yesterday announcing “I don’t need vitamins today love! I’m still on a high from last night’s win”!! She was decked out head to toe in Rabittohs gear. Even her matching hand bag was red and green.
4. Mum bringing over a “menu” and a collaged card that I had made dad for his birthday when I was little. Every Mother’s Day/Father’s Day/birthday I would make my parent’s a menu so I could prepare them breakfast in bed. I went to town with the glitter pens.
5. Nayyirah Waheed’s simple and delicate poetry. I’ll leave you with a few of my favourites below.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS.

“she asked,
‘you are in love,
what does love look like’
to which i replied,
‘like everything i’ve ever lost
come back to me”

“chemistry
is
you touching my arm
and
it
setting fire to my mind”

"i am mine,
before I am ever anyone else’s"

-Nayyirah Waheed

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*

If you were to plant a veggie patch, it’s beneficial to prepare the soil, do some research into what plants will flourish that particular season and chose the right fertiliser for them before sowing the seeds right?

I feel incredibly passionate about PRECONCEPTION CARE: getting your body (and mind) “ready” for pregnancy. Not just you, but your partner as well. I know there are a lot of giggles at this concept because realistically not every baby is planned and some conceptions begin after a boozy night on the dance floor! And that’s fine too!

I truly believe that because my husband and I did preconception care for at least 6 months, we were able to conceive straight away and I’ve had such a smooth pregnancy so far (touch wood!). I saw our herbalist who specialises in hormones and fertility, every 2 months and my husband went a couple of times too.

Conception through to birth is such an intricate web of reactions in the body which can always benefit from support. You don’t need to wait until there is an issue with falling/staying pregnant to do something about it. Or to get to a stage where you start trying and then realise there’s an underlying issue.

The sperm and egg will be a blueprint of your baby’s future health. So this is the time for both you and your partner to get super healthy to iron out your allergies, gut issues, psoriasis, anxiety, or whatever so you can minimise the chance of passing these negative health issues on to your bubba.

Your preconception practitioner (eg herbalist, naturopath, nutritionist) will ensure you’re taking the right supplements for YOU, not just any cheap tub of multi’s from the supermarket They will order you the correct blood tests and go over them with a fine toothed comb. It’s a time to clean up the diet, achieve a healthy weight, swap to natural products for your body/home and learn to manage stress better. Also looking at any medications you are both taking, like the Pill.

There are no guarantees that you will definitely get pregnant by doing preconception care. But it helps to put the odds in your favour. What do you think about preconception care? Did you and your partner look into it before having a baby or did you get a lovely surprise?

For anyone interested, my herbalist is Jayne Elder in Coffs Harbour. One of the most incredibly knowledgeable, supportive and joyful women I’ve ever met.

Emma the Naturopath xx
(15 weeks –the size of a lemon)

How beautiful is this yoga card I picked this morning. My husband goes “Oh look, it’s you!”

On the back it says:

TRANSITION: You are changing. Say goodbye to the old and embrace new beginnings with a fresh approach.

Malasana Pose Preparation
(Garland Pose)

When I was driving to work this morning I was thinking about how many things have been shifting for myself and a lot of people around me lately. An abundance of pregnancies, births, passing overs, weddings, resignations, new career directions, moving house. It made me appreciate how BRAVE people are to take a chance and improve their current situations.

I wondered if there was some sort of big planetary energetic shift going on, but I think I’m putting it down to the new season approaching. With only two weeks left of winter I think it’s pretty safe to say that we’re ready for some warm air, bright flowers and new beginnings, which is what Spring is all about: old chapters closing, new chapters opening.

Now is a perfect time to decide what is not serving your life in a positive way and make a change for the better. Don’t be afraid, we’re all doing it!

“When a woman conceives her true self, a miracle occurs and life around her begins again”
-Marianne Williamson

Are there new doors opening in your world at the moment?

108. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. Waking up in the middle of the night to find that my husband was sleeping holding my baby bump –which has been making a loud and proud appearance these last couple of weeks!
2. My fave Insta right now: Yoga213.
3. Using Frankie posters as wrapping paper.
4. Spending a rainy Saturday morning in bed together going through all the photos from our Japan and Hawaii trip on the laptop (well over 1000) then choosing our faves which we printed and put into albums.
5. The fact that when we go to my parents’ house for dinner, mum makes not one, but TWO desserts. Gluten free blackberry crumble cake for after dinner and then chocolate dipped strawberries to have with our cups of tea.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS.
“Stretching herself too thin.
She breaks her connections.
Staying too busy.
She has no time.
Doing for others.
She neglects herself.
Defining herself only through others.
She loses her own definition
A wise women waters her own garden first.”
-The Tao for Women

You gotta look after number one. I always give my clients the analogy that when a plane is going down, you have to put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others.

This week I’m getting back on track after being so snowed under with work recently. I’m going to a new meditation class tomorrow night. I’m seeing my herbalist. I’ve done my healthy food prep for the week. I’ve written my to-do list so I can manage my time better and have some quality time not doing anything but looking after ME! I can’t wait

Give yourself the oxygen you need this week.

Emma the Naturopath xx

Essential Health

0266 514 533

carrots_and_apples@hotmail.com 

*Consultations available*

Facebook: Essential Health Coffs

How to shop like a naturopath

DIY ALMOND MILK AND BLISS BALLS

I made almond milk over the wkend! I decided that I had better things to do than spend time standing in the milk aisle of the supermarket every week trying to compare all the different brands. It was so much easier than I thought it would be and I already had the ‘equipment’ at home. The leftover ‘nut meat’ is ideal for making bliss balls.

ALMOND MILK

You will need:

1 cup almonds

Filtered water

A blender

A fine rice sieve

A glass jar with a lid (at least 750ml)

1. Soak 1 cup of almonds in some filtered water. Leave overnight.

2. Rinse and drain in the morning and put almonds in a blender.

3. Add 3 cups of filtered water and blend for about a minute. After you've tried this a few times you can experiment with the almond/water ratio to achieve the consistency of milk that you like.

4. Sit the empty jar in the sink and hold the sieve above it. Slowly pour in the milk, about ¾ cup at a time. I use the back of a spoon or my fingers to push it through the sieve. Pop the ‘nut meat’ in a spare bowl, then keep pouring the milk through until it is all done.

5. Pop the lid on the jar and store in the fridge for 2-3 days.

BLISS BALLS

You will need:

A food processor

A bowl for rolling balls in chia seeds

An airtight container for storage

1 x pkt of organic dates from the fruit/veg section of the supermarket. Has about 8 dates in there.

Leftover ‘nut meat’ or just soak 1 cup of almonds overnight in water then drain

1 cup cashews (ideally soaked overnight)

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup oats (leave out if coeliac or substitute with quinoa flakes)

½ cup raw cacao powder

½ cup LSA

½ cup shredded coconut

2 Tbsp protein powder (I use vanilla pea protein powder)

1 cup chia seeds for coating (or use desiccated coconut or LSA)

1. Throw everything (except chia seeds) in a food processor and blitz til combined thoroughly. If the mixture is too dry add more coconut oil or a fresh banana. If it is too wet add oats, shredded coconut or LSA.

2. Pour chia seeds into a bowl. Roll into mixture into small balls, coat in chia seeds then place in storage container. Continue till all mixture is gone.  

Top 5 Things I LOVED This Wk:

1. A faux mink leopard print blanket.

2. Button mushies, garlic and parsley cooked in salty organic butter on spelt toast.

3. The interesting things you find whilst spring cleaning: old love letters, the shell necklace I used to live in when I was 18 living in Byron, my FAVE bikini that I hadn’t seen since the summer of 2011.

4. My current morning juice combo: pine, mint, green apple, cucumber, lime, wheatgrass juice.

5. Finding the charm bracelet I had when I was little (yet another score from spring cleaning). There was a little silver apple on it because I wanted to be a naturopath when I grew up. I took the apple charm into the jewellers this week and had it made into a necklace.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. Here’s one of my fave quotes by Marianne Williamson. Live loudly people!!

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. 
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. 
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? 

You are a child of God.

Your playing small 
Does not serve the world. 

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking 
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, 
As children do. 
We were born to make manifest 
The glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; 
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, 
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. 

As we're liberated from our own fear, 
Our presence automatically liberates others.

I arrived home tonight from another whirlwind day in the shop to this touching email from one of my clients. It warmed my heart and reminded me that I am following the right path xx

"Thank you, Emma. I really appreciated your calm, attentive, and dare I say, quite angelic attitude. You gave the impression of really loving your clients".

Did you know that Essential Health has an Instagram account? 

Check out: emma_the_naturopath

*DELIVERY ALERT*

Vanessa and I spent the afternoon unpacking our MASSIVE Moogoo delivery!!

There are tonnes of new products including:

*Sun protection range: Cover Up Buttercup sunscreen, How Now Brown Cow (natural fake tan) and an anti-aging face cream plus SPF.

*Gentle baby range including Mini Moo bubble bath and Mudder Udder balm (nipple treatment for breastfeeding mums).

*‘Dr Zoo’ pet range for four legged friends: Itchy Dog shampoo and Irritable Skin balm

Come in and have a play with the testers!

Top 5 Things I LOVED This Wk:

1. Finally digesting way too much choc avo mousse.

2. My bachelorette meals this week while my husband is in Indo: varying from extravagant meals cooked from scratch to a chicken breast, a carrot and a handful of snow peas on a plate.

3. The snap, crackle and pops of everyone’s joints at a winter mornings yoga class.

4. Fri night’s hour and a half bath: a pot of tea, 3 new mags, fairy lights and a punnet of strawbs.

5. Something hilarious happened during my dream and I actually woke myself up this morning from laughing in my sleep. What a fantastic way to start the day!

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself” –Thich Nhat Hahn, Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk and peace activist.

Please remember to celebrate your own unique beauty x

HOW TO SHOP LIKE A NATUROPATH

1. Fresh is better than frozen, frozen is better than canned: Opt for fresh, local and seasonal produce.
2. Always have a rainbow of veggies in your trolley: Each colour represents a different phytonutrient (naturally occurring compounds) that has specific health benefits.
3. Ocean raised fish is better than farmed: Only buy Australian fish and seafood that haven’t travelled from a far off country.
4. Avoid UFO's (Unidentified Food Objects): if you can’t pronounceable ingredients or they are full of numbers, put it back on the shelf and slowly back away.
5. Choose real foods and avoid processed (man-made) foods: If it didn’t walk on the land, swim in the sea or grow in the ground, rethink your choice.
6. Always buy organic for these dozen fruits and veggies: Apples, capsicum, celery, cherries, grapes, lettuce, broccoli, peaches, pears, potatoes, spinach and strawberries.
Oh yeah, and bring your own bags.

Emma the Naturopath xx

Essential Health (opp. Blush in the Boulevard Arcade in the Coffs Mall)
0266 514 533

The dog ate my homework.

It’s a fulfilling job being a naturopath. Having said that, it can also be very frustrating. My role is to teach people the steps they need to take to improve their condition and have a better quality of life. Leaving the only thing standing between them and a symptom-free existence is the effort required to put these changes into place. It’s that easy, right? Wrong.

I spent a lot of time last week thinking about excuses. “I don’t have time” is the most commonly used excuse in my clinic. Perhaps taking responsibility for one’s actions and saying “I didn’t make the time” would be more accurate. Another popular justification is “But I don’t drink or smoke, so I should be allowed to drink my four coffees a day”.

What holds them back? Maybe fear of leaving their old self for a new and improved version of themselves. This is an odd concept because consciously they have come to me for help, but on a subconscious level there can be an underlying fear of stepping out of their comfort zone and into the unknown where they can no longer hide behind a protective layer of excuses.

I grabbed a book off of the shelf this morning and opened to a random page and read something that sat well with me and gave me clarity:


“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others”.


Marianne Williamson, A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles, 1992.



What are you making excuses for or try to justify in your life?