My dream has been to open a wellness center for over 7 years now. As I evolve and continue to learn I have decided I want to establsih a tropical, sustained Eco-Village/ Retreat. There are many places that offer similiar features that I would like to model my place after.
Focus Sustainable living Health- raw food nutrition, physical fitness (yoga & outdoor recreation) Spirituality & Self Expression/ Self Love/ Self Discovery/ Self Realization Nature- connection to the land through food & living environment
Features Off the Grid- solar power, passive cooling/heating, rain water collection & filtration, grey water system, composting system for toilets & garden clippings. Sustainable food with Permaculture/Organic Edible landscaping (surplus sold: co-op, farmers market, organic produce delivery)
Accomodations Tree house bungalows w/private outdoor garden showers Communal Area: kitchen, dining, media library, gathering room, yoga/massage deck, indoor shower/bathroom, laundry
Daily Services Raw meals provided Yoga Morning meditation/beach walks Massage Classes and Adventure Activites Sunset fireside luau celebration w/ live musical talent
Classes, Workshops, Training courses live food nutrition/purification & natural hygiene yoga teacher training spirituality / self empowerment Homegrown food self reliance workshops Feature guest speakers/ talent from around the world
Adventure Activities Nature Hikes (medicinals, edibles, tropical fruit/botany, wildlife) Surf, snorkle, kayak, swim Bike rides Zip line, paintball , skydive, parasail, rock climb Horseback riding
The first steps are: Intern at an established location to clarify vision and gain experience Establish a non-profit team & obtain grant writers Attract interested parties
I may be a little behind the times as far as movies. I just watched “The Bucket List” last night. I was in tears(AGAIN)… I love movies that make us want to live better lives and this movie did just that for me.
After the movie I made a list of what I would want to do if I only had 30 days to live. Talk about a time crunch, right? So, 30 things went on my list. I wasn’t very hard to pull it together. It really just affirmed that I need to move forward with my dreams and do the silly things that I put off. Then I asked my 2 kids (12 and 10) to write their list. It really helped me understand what they valued and dreamed of doing. It makes me want to be a better mother for them and provide them the opportunities to do what it is they feel is important. I became all teary eyed reading their list. Some things are so small that they seem insignificant, yet it means the world to them. How well do we know our loved ones?
Well, here is my list of 30 things.
1. Go on a hot air balloon ride 2. Play on a flying trapeze and practice gymnastics with my kids 3. Jump off the rock at Waimea Beach (I always want to but I chicken out) 4. Swim with dolphins and sea turtles 5. Kayak out to rabbit island and have a picnic 6. Go horseback riding (I LOVE HORSES) 7. Spend the day surfing, laying on the sand, playing volleyball 8. Watch the sunset, a fire pit on the beach, BBQ, make smores and watch the stars 9. Live in a tree house on a tropical retreat, pick food from the garden 10. Travel to Fiji 11. Travel to Bali 12. Travel to Greece 13. Travel to New Zealand & Australia 14. Mentor under an amazing raw food chef & create edible works of art 15. Visit all the amazing raw food restaurants 16. Spend time at a wellness spa 17. Have a massage everyday 18. Have a make over and look as beautiful on the outside as I feel on the inside 19. Go snowboarding, sledding, snowmobiling, & ice skating 20. Learn to sew with Mehgan 21. Learn to play the guitar with Alex 22. Take couple dancing lessons 23. Take interior design and landscape design classes 24. Enjoy intimate concerts by Jack Johnson, Michael Buble, Jason Mraz 25. Go rock climbing & have a picnic on top 26. Swim in a waterfall lagoon naked 27. Enjoy a helicopter ride 28. Ride bikes along the coast 29. Play hide and go seek in the dark with my kids 30. Go indoor skydiving ,then maybe try the real deal 🙂
Making this list reminded me of how many things I would love to do but I put off. Is this “put off” a slap in life’s face? Life is meant to be lived. I felt like I have taken my life for granted. It’s good to be reminded and humbled. My kids always say…life is meant to be fun and enjoyed. If today was my last day to live, would I spend it any differently? Would you?
Living in Southern California, I can’t help but feel concern for the water supply and how we use our water. Here are some facts about what we are using or wasting our water on.
1. Four to seven gallons of water are required to flush a toilet. Placing a brick in your toilet tank to serve as a dam can save one to two gallons of water with each flush. 2. About five gallons of water are used if you leave the tap running while brushing your teeth. Just wetting and rinsing your brush uses only a 1/2 gallon of water. 3. The average household uses about 245,000 gallons of water per year. The average person about 188 gallons daily. 4. On average, 20 gallons of water are used to hand wash dishes. An automatic dishwasher requires 12-20 gallons. 5. Only one percent of the earth’s water is suitable for drinking water. The rest is salt water (97%) and glacier ice (2%). 6. The earth’s surface is 80 percent water, equaling 362 trillion gallons. Water is the most common substance found on earth. 7. The human body is made up of 70% water. A person must consume about 2 1/2 quarts of water per day (including water, food, etc.) to maintain health. 8. A pineapple is made up of 80% water. Many of the foods we eat contain water, including a tomato (95%), and an ear of corn (80%). 9. Watering the lawn at 5 to 10 gallons per minute for a half hour equals 300 gallons! Automatic clothes washers use about 30 gallons, a tub bath requires 36 gallons, and a shower uses 35 to 50 gallons.
Anyhow, we started entertaining many ideas on how to conserve water and make sure we are using only what we need and not being wasteful. It has turned into a household challenge for us. We try to see who can use the least amount of water. Now, I still have a long way to go. I still need to completely remove my lawn since that seems to be our biggest water guzzler. I also started thinking about rainwater (which we hardly receive in So Cal), and grey water, which is usable water for gardening and so forth.
As you search you tube ANYTHING is possible. I figured how much water my household uses on flushing the toilet and it is close to 75,000 gallons of water a year. That water can go to better use. Here is one way to alleviate that water waste.
Ok, so my kids laughed at first, but then said it looks like a good idea. Hmmm… am I ready to go to this extent? It is environmentally friendly especially since we are on a raw food lifestyle and everything we eat is compostable, but still. My heart says this is smart, my mind says this is out of my element. I know I will eventually do this….just one green action at a time.
Something feels sooooooo good about starting a new blog. It reminds me of the first day of school with brand new rings of paper and pencils ready to fill the sheets. I suppose an introduction would be appropriate ; ).As you know, my name is Lori. I am 32. I currently live in Southern California and will be relocating to Hawaii in April 2009. I am a single mommy of 2 kids. My son is 12, my daughter is 10. I am very close with the children’s father. We are committed parents. At my kids events the other parents think we are still married since they usually don’t see ex relationships getting along.
Together, we alternate homeschooling. WOW, what a shift. Transforming and I am amazed I took on that challenge. I am so glad that I did. It was what felt right for us. It is only my second year doing it. I hope to continue.
I am a self employed Health and Wellness Practitioner. I couldn’t imagine it any other way. I feel a deep connection to my purpose and that is my work. I suppose it is the most stable “job” one can have. You can’t exactly get fired from your purpose. It is born into you. Talk about job security…LOL. 🙂 . My purpose is to move from inspiration to action. Hence my screen name: Inspire2Act. Pretty simple. Sometimes it stays in the head…but, what’s the point if no action is taken? My passion is to inspire others to act in ways that are worthy of them. I have a background in massage, personal training, nutrition, purification, rehab and physical therapy, day spa, beauty, and green living (check out: http://gliving.tv/).
Self reliance and empowerment are deeply rooted into me. It is something I wish to maintain and deepen and inspire in others. I wonder of being born 1 hour from Independence day has anything to do with it? ; )
I LOVE being a woman. I love the femininity, the beauty, the curves, the softness, the smell, the WORKS. I am thankful I have been given this body and I am honoring this body temple that houses my spirit. I love being alive!
Here are some projects that I am into:
1. Turning my cookie cutter track home yard into an edible landscape. I feel a strong sense to empower myself through making my property have a purpose. This includes every plant I own :). Productive and purposeful and efficient. I don’t exactly have the rep for being an amazing gardener, but I am passionate and thirsty to learn. I love http://pathtofreedom.com/ . They inspire me. I attend their events and film screenings and potlucks. Once I am up and running I am going to help others establish their own edible landscape and homestead. This is a great site to connect and have support: http://freedomgardens.org/.
2. Learning how to make yummy raw food. A few years ago I was going to attend CIA in Napa (Culinary Institute of America) until I realized there was no correlation with nutrition and gourmet food at this facility. Hence, my hunger to learn gourmet raw food :). The journey has begun! Raw food culinary geniuses: Wish me luck ; ). For everyday raw stuff I check out: http://www.welikeitraw.com/ .
3. Physical fitness! I am deepening my yoga practice. I have been doing yoga since I was 15. It was never consistent and regular, but I loved it still. I have decided to commit to it. I feel it is the most neutralizing, balancing, and healing form of exercise on the planet, but that’s just me. It truly enhances all the fun activities I enjoy like dancing, snowboarding, and surfing, and gymnastics. I really love being creative with the body and having fun. A workout is only secondary to the fun factor!
4. I’d love to learn to play the guitar and the piano. I have a piano in my front room and don’t know how to play…so sad. 🙂 Chopsticks anyone? My kids and I just started guitar lessons. What a hand workout!
5. To realize a book NEVER feels finished. I just need to publish it already! I suppose an artist may always want to tweak his final painting. I have written in the fields of self development and empowerment through conscious living, health, wellness, beauty, purification, diet, green sustainable living practices, etc.
6. I love retreats I would spend my life traveling the world just to see them all, so why not start this way? Like minded people, please respond ; ). I am working on holding retreats that are informative and inspirational as well as FUN!!!! I would like to set them up by seasons. Perhaps a snowboarding raw yoga retreat in winter. A surfing raw yoga retreat in summer. Spring and Fall perform purification retreats. A place to decondition old paradigms and get back to the version of our authentic self.
7. I love fine nude art. Those black and whites of sculpted physiques are mesmerizing. Our lives and bodies are our own work of art. I find this beautiful expression: http://www.fineartnude.com/webring/
8. Complete a 92 day juice feast. I have only done 2 week liquid cleanses. Check out: http://www.globaljuicefeast.com/ . Wow, what a commitment.
9. I am very interested in living debt free and below my means. I have lived a life of debt and found it to be very low calibrating in consciousness. It is a burden that weighs the spirit down. As Wayne Dyer says” Debt is nonspiritual“.
If you are running through life feeling overwhelmed and not really making the impact you know you want, or wishing you felt alive and filled with passion then you are going to LOVE me!
