What ever it is – keep the dream alive.
“Envision the future, embrace the presence and achieve more than imagined.”
Johanna C. Nilsson (if I may quote myself)
There just gotta be some action in the embracing part… 😉
What is your next step?
Johanna
Photo credit: I fucking love science.
…by Iceland. Do I need to say more? Let’s go there!
Isn’t it an excellent example of a creation for a positive change in a time of economic crisis?
Go here fore more great videos, information and stories – don’t forget to add your own.
Inpired to travel to Iceland. Inspired to do something about any challenging situation. I hope you are too.
www.inspiredbyiceland.com I’m just saying…
Enjoy,
Johanna
Wednesday night and I arrived in New York City. Staying on 50th Street and 8th Avenue, I was looking forward to finally getting my first chance to go for a morning run in Central Park.
Despite jetlag and getting to bed really late, I woke up at 6.30am EST. Was I tired? Yes. Did I think twice? Yes. Would it have been easy to go back to sleep? Yes. Did I still do it? Yes – and that was the best thing I ever could have done starting that day. Such a beautiful sunny morning, so energizing, so many impressions…
How often do you say you will do something without following through? What impact does it have on you? At times when you do what you said you would do – how does that make you feel?
When running I thought of a recent conversation about this with a fellow coach who’s word of wisdom on the topic was:
“Commit Slowly and Complete Fully“. By consistently doing that, you will strengthen your muscle of holding your word and manifesting it as a habit. Your inner power is equivalent to the power of your word. Eventually you will get to a point where your word is your law.
Do I always do everything I said I would? No. And mostly something great comes out of what I end up doing instead. But absolutely – what a kick there is ‘completing fully’. Now – running was easy. It required a little will power, but that’s all. As I am writing this I am pepping myself for something much bigger. Because I do want to keep my word and have the impact that I am envisioning.
In what area would keeping your word have the greatest impact for you? What is it that you find daunting or continually try to avoid? And for what reason? What is the cost of doing that? What do you need to make it happen?
I am just wondering…
Let’s make it happen!
Johanna
Below are some photos from my morning run in Central Park. Enjoy!
Sometimes very little is needed to have a positive impact in the world. Take for example the act of buying bottled water. How annoying can that be? 
No matter how much information there is about it – there might be many reasons why many people are still uninformed, and keep going on with the same destructive behavior.
Recently I got invited to the facebook group “Drick kranvatten för i helvete!” (“Drink tap water dam it!”) which reminded me about the topic. Little did I know that Swedes drink 260m liters bottled water per year. We import 180m liters (350% more than 5 years ago!) and export 30m liters (that’s an interesting exchange)! Maybe the graphic display below can help understand the impact of it (click to see the complete picture). If you don’t trust your tap water – get a water pitcher with a filtration system!
When visiting a restaurant in the bay area in December, I for the first time saw the sign on the table saying: “Water is Precious on California’s Central Coast. Limited water supplies make it necessary to serve water only when you request it. If you would like a glass of water, please ask. Thank you”. Never before have I been that mindful about the water I drank. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to make sure to stay and finish that precious glass of water.
My personal wake up call was a while back when I (driving around with a 12-pack of bottled water in my car) got the comment from a friend in the fashion of a clear statement: “Buying water is dodgy”. Simple as that.
“Många bäckar små blir till en stor å.” as we say in Swedish – “Many small brooks will form a big river.” How can you make a difference?
Or, to turn it up just a notch, move it to an entrepreneurial context and quote the Inc.com nominated #1 small business guru Michael E. Gerber:
“We are here for a reason. We are here to create Earth. If you would believe that – how would you live your life?”
What life relating and entrepreneurial ideas does that quote invoke in you?
Mindfully yours,
Johanna
Presented by Online Education
Cooking is an art not a science! This was a statement that I heard (or was I told?) when spending two summers with a British family in New Jersey 91/92. And for some reason it stuck with me. Maybe because I am acutely aware that I am taking the more scientific approach when I cook… you got to start somewhere, right?
The reason why I was reminded about it this week is because I reached out to my old roommate Linda – the scientist and yet very artistic chef. I didn’t know of anyone else who could through together an excellent meal for the 20 friends of ours in a heartbeat. How often do you spontaneously invite a group of 20 – at least 10 – to a dinner in 30 minutes? She did. Several times. And it was a pleasure to be her room mate for that reason, and many many more. I reached out to her this week because I remembered the smell of the outstanding lasagna that she used to do. “Do you happen to have the recipe easily available so you can share it with me?”
Sure thing – five minutes later and I have a response in my inbox…
Lasagna: hm.. menar du en vegetarisk eller?
Röda linser (koka typ 8-10 min)
Lök
Tomatkross
kryddor efter smak 🙂 – spiskummin,salt o peppar är ju gott
Blanda dessa till en “tomat-lins-sås” som en fyllning.Andra fyllningen kan göras på bladspenat, vitlök, Keso.
bara steka spenat o vitlök, o blanda sen i Keso.Varva de 2 fyllningarna med lasagneplattorna, o lägg lite keso på toppen, så behövs ingen ostsås.
Done! Easy! Do you get it? Spices after taste!? “Red lentils – should it be 1-3 cans? ;)” “Ha ha! You can start with 1.5 dl dry!”
Suddenly I remembered my roommate in France, who cleary stated that she is “useless in the kitchen” before she diligently followed the recipe for chocolate balls and added “1.5 table spoon of [dry instant nes]coffee”! He laughs best who laughs last, as we say in Sweden. That would be her now.
Being a professional living in San Francisco, with an unlimited number of decently priced outstanding restaurants, it is very easy to get a life style of eating out. Or bringing food home. Or order for delivery. The ones who are a little more conscious about what they eat and still put in the same number of ours at work, may choose the alternative of delivered food for lunch and dinner for the week (I have seen my neighbor receive that). But is there something nicer than a home cooked meal? In your own environment? Mmmmm. I so much enjoy that.
What if you are not the king or queen in the kitchen? Start explore! Get inspiration from others. I stumbled over and keep following the blog Chocolate & Zucchini. In this weeks newsletter Clotilde Dusoulier announced that she had published a translated and adapted version of the old best-seller on French home cooking from 1932: I Know How To Cook (Je Sais Cuisiner), by Ginette Mathiot. If you want to be inspired while doing it, I would warmly recommend Cooking with Julie in Napa Valley. I brought my visiting mom to the Farmers Market Tour and Cooking Class, which was excellent. You start off with a tour at the farmers market and taste and choose the ingredients for the 3-meal lunch. Have a cheese and wine tasting before you pass the bakery on the way home and cook. The Private Class for a special occasion (50th birthday for example with girlfriends) is also very nice, and a perfect gift. All in a very personal setting at the home of Julie’s. And then of course there is the Scandinavian Cooking on TV…! See here for a trailer relating to the Crayfish Party preparations with Tina. I hear the season isn’t quite over yet for that Swedish tradition. (Crayfish is still available at IKEA!).
Learning to cook is just like anything else in life – just do it! Practice makes perfect. Who will you invite for dinner next?
Enjoy,
Johanna
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“I am in a dead man’s pose – not by choice. I agree that relaxation is important. We take too little time to do that in our everyday living. However, what is the recommendation for the opposite situation? When you are stuck in a “dead man” situation and can’t move out of it? Is there a…pose?…for getting yourself moving again? Energizing your brain? Stimulating your thinking to maximum creativity instead of numbness?”
This was a comment from Hannah on my previous postings “When Life Gets Busy” and “Dead Man Attracts Love“. There were 3 distinct actions that came to my mind as a response:
1. Stimulating the thinking – Yes! – The Artist Way
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron is a process that will unleash your creativity, and you can make it into a really nice routine. Read about the two basic tools here – they are 1. Morning Pages and 2. The Artist Date. I had heard about The Artist Way several times before, bought the book a couple of years ago, and kept seeing quotes from it (still do today) everywhere – during the passed spring a decided from curiosity to give it a shot – what could come out of it?
As often as I could I started the morning with making myself a cup of tea and a toast (or Wasa Hard bread with Swedish cheese!;), put some nice meditative music on in the back-ground, removed the blinds so I could see the sun rise over the skyline, and sat down comfortably in my reading chair by the window and wrote the 3 morning pages. You are supposed to just write whatever is on your mind, don’t stop and it doesn’t need to make sense, and what ever you write – you are not supposed to go back and read it. 3 pages. 12 weeks. Or however long you want; once you started you may want to continue.
The second tool is the Artist Date. Set a date with yourself once a week and do something that feeds your soul. It could be anything. Visit a museum, hike in the nature, enjoy a concert, paint a painting, cook food, dance on the roof… create a Burning Man Art Car! :O
All I know is – had I not gone through that process – this blog had not been created. Not that fast. 😉 I knew I wanted to do it – just not how and exactly about what. And voila! Here it is. What would come out from your creative self?
2. Self-Healing Ritual to get moving – Nia and the 5 Stages
Nia is an expressive workout and lifestyle practice that uses the body’s way to achieve physical, mental, emotional and spiritual fitness and well-being. It combines the grace and spontaneity of dance, the power and explosiveness of martial art and the stillness and concentration of yoga and tai chi. One of the components of the healing art movement forms included is the Feldenkrais Method, which inspired the 5 stages exercise.
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The Nia 5 Stages is an integrative movement practice based on the five stages of human development: Embryonic, Creeping, Crawling, Standing and Walking. Practiced with awareness, these stages have the power to facilitate optimal alignment, improved function and comfort in the body. Whether practiced at length or for as little as five minutes a day, this system provides a tool for reclaiming and sustaining mobility, flexibility, strength, agility and stability.
Basically, the story I remember was that Moshé Feldenkrais became immobile and reached self-healing by studying newborn babies, observing how they with very fine movements become aware of their bodies, muscles and bones, and gradually increase their ability to move and develop as human beings. Imagine that you are a baby in the womb of your mother. Supported, warm, fed. Moving in water. Use your imagination, be curious about your body, explore and seak awareness of all parts and see what you need to do to move through the five stages above. What are the emotions that arise in the different stages? The Nia Technique book elaborate a little bit on the excursive on page 306-308 for further reference.
This was one of the most profound exercises during my Nia White Belt teacher training in San Diego. Today Nia have developed a certification program for this movement practice alone! If you want to find out more about that or to find a class in your area – check out the Nia website. This passed Monday Nia was featured in San Francisco Chronicle. I just need to add – Nia needs to be experienced to get it. For those of you who live in San Francisco – go to the Nia Jam tomorrow Oct 4th at UC Berkeley. Soon I will arrange for my favorite teacher Rocco from San Diego to come up and teach – that will be another treat.
And by the way – the five stages are pretty much as the reversed evolution of a photographer below… add that exercise and you can loop back in!
3. Pose that can bridge to action
The more advanced pose after bridge pose is the Upward Bowl or Wheel Pose: Urdhva Dhanurasana. I hear Rusty’s comments from the evening yoga classes “if you don’t won’t to stay up late tonight, don’t do this one [pose], it will give you energy”. Now, I don’t recommend to go straight into an upward bowl pose – the you can risk being stuck in a dead man’s pose even longer – but incorporate the pose in your daily yoga routine. Starting out with warming up your body in a few sun salutations would probably be a nice segway.
Here are the benefits that the Yoga Journal lists for the Upward Bowl pose:
These would be my personal tips and recommendations for a roadmap back to creativity, healing and activity. However, we are all different, and the bottom line is to listen to your body, get active your body’s way, and do what feeds your soul.
And finally, to rise from a Dead Man’s Pose: roll over to your right, put your right arm under your head for support and bend your knees in a comfortable position. Rest here for a while. Take a moment to think of an individual in your surrounding to whom you would dedicate your yoga practice, or for whom you would want to rise up, be present with and support. Slowly – your body’s way – bring your self up to a seated and standing position. Thank you for being here. Now, the practice of yoga begins – bring it to the world!
Enjoy,
Johanna
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During my five years living in San Diego – nothing could beat kicking off the weekend with a 9am Saturday Nia class with Rocco Ragano at Eight Elements West. Outstanding Nia teacher and excellent dancer. Rounding it off with a Cafe Latte from Vahik’s Coffee brought down to Windansea Beach to breathe in the ocean breeze, watch the surfer pro’s and catch up on life with the girlfriends or myself. Unbeatable. Keep your eyes and ears open – Rocco will be visiting San Francisco to teach Nia this fall. I’ll let you know the details.
Rocco posted the below youtube movie on his Facebook wall. Beautiful and very touching. It is quite an inspiration and great reminder of: What is really possible? Who sets the limits? Take a moment to watch it!
In your situation right now – what is really important to you? What would you like to achieve or create? With a beginners mind, what do you commit to?
You set the limit. Don’t let anyone else do it. Lift the bar! You can do it!
Johanna
When life gets busy and starts running a little faster then yourself in terms of activities, ambitions, responsibilities, thoughts and ideas – then it’s very easy to fall out of a healthy track. It’s very easy due to the excitement or dedication to skip a meal, to eat at awkward times, to prioritize the “to do” and “just finish up” rather than the break, the fruit, the workout.
Whenever life has been too busy and there has been a sense of insufficiency or a problem unsolved my dad’s standard advice has always been: “go for a run!” Work out.
It is so true – whenever I do I come back relaxed with a sense of tiredness AND recharged, full of energy and strength – isn’t that an awesome combination?! How many times have I almost not done it, and afterwards felt like the happiest individual on earth? And how many times has THAT idea or solution come up during a run in the forest? Many. I shouldn’t need to remind myself. I’m sure you don’t need a reminder either.
With activities gearing up at my daytime job, coaching awesome clients in my spare time job, and ideas forming and contacts are being made for my future job… I do sense a need of staying close to myself in terms of routines and piece of mind. Having a structure in life that feeds you and keeps you on track can be immensely valuable. It may be going for a run, a yoga session or to the gym regularly in the morning. It may be meditating or journaling. Making sure you get your sleep. It may be cooking your own food and socializing with friends and family. It may be simplifying things and having a very tidy home. Clean car. It may be cranking up the music and releasing all your extra energy in a tribal dance in your living room!? :O
What tools or routines do you have to stay on track when life gets busy?
Johanna
The last brushstroke got done on my own little summerhouse (for now). It’s beautiful. Such a treat. I am enjoying every second in it. Right now I am hearing the rain pouring, the wind blowing and the waves from the bay. It’s pitch dark outside – strange in the middle of the summer in Sweden. Must be the clouds of course. And it’s midnight.
I have given this little house different nicknames. Pärlan (the pearl) and Smultronstället (Wild Strawberry Place) in particular. After having assembled the lamp “Maskros” from IKEA today, which became the “dot over the i” (the finishing touch which makes something perfect) in the glass room outside the 10 square meter house overlooking the bay, it was clear: the name of this place will be given after the lamp. Dandelion. Dandy Dandelion.
The meaning of Maskros will never be the same again.
Johanna
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I have for the longest time walked around with this splendid business idea in my mind, without having much time to act on it, and without sharing it with others thinking it may be stolen… it is after all in the same class as Carnegie Hall!
After having opened up a little bit I have realized that it is pretty powerful to actually talk about it… I have:
Now, I think it would be wise to select the group you do share your ideas with. At least make a conscious decision who you don’t share it with. I had a session with a Genius at the Apple store fixing something with my computer, and was curious about the Mac World conference to take place in San Francisco. Would that be something for me? I told him briefly that I have this idea of a software that I think will be a standard application on Mac in the future. “Oh”, he said, “just submit your idea here on the website – Apple would be very keen to hear about it.” Yeah right, I might be blond – but not that blond.
How did I come to think about this? I had my dear friends Jonatan and Maria Kruse visiting the summerhouse over the weekend, and the topic came up for discussion. Thank you Maria – I think your wish list of functions was what was missing in order to hook up the younger generation! Soon I will need some really technical savvy guys, or gals!
One step forward… enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Johanna
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