 
Volume 8: Cultivating Body, Mind and Spirit
Want to see how you can grow a "Hearts Desire" garden?...Read on!
Welcome to WOMENS WEAVE, the monthly MUSESLETTER from the Women's Quest staff. This
Museletter provides motivation to continue on your quest. Each issue includes practical tips and
inspiration for the body, mind and spirit. This issue honors the miracles of SPRING!
Colleen shouts, "Yippee! It's spring!"
This is my favorite season because I live in the mountains of Colorado and spring means our long drawn
out winters are ending. Little miracles are happening everywhere. The bluebirds come home to nest, the
streams and rivers thaw, the aspen trees start to bud and brave little flowers peek through the snow. It is
exciting to experience the newness and reawakening of the once sleeping mountains. Finally the earth
has heard the wake up call and it is time to do some spring-cleaning. As with nature, our bodies are also
hearing the "wake-up" call. Everything inside us starts to thaw out. There are old emotions, stiff joints and
stagnant fluids yearning to flow once again. To help you re-fresh this spring I have taken a few clues from
nature to help give you a jump-start on your spring-cleaning.
All winter long we have waited with our seeds and bulbs deep inside the earth gathering force to get
ready for the ground to thaw so we could burst onto the scene. This is called creativity. Our long awaited
dreams can now take action and become reality. So your spring tune-up should consist of you dreaming
big time to create the life you want. I hope you have a wonderful garden with lots of wild and crazy
flowers. CREATE IT, CLAIM IT AND CELEBRATE IT!!!
We hope you enjoy our offerings, and that you will keep in touch. We still have room in our summer 2002
retreats: Adventures in Body & Soul I & II, and Gold Lake Wellness Quest (Women's Quest is going to the
SPA!)
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WOMEN’S WEAVE: vol. 8 - Cultivating Body, Mind, and Spirit
Contents
1) Body: SPRING TRAINING INSPIRATION by Colleen Cannon
2) SPRINGTIME NUTRITION by Colleen Cannon
3) Mind: INNER FITNESS by Colleen Cannon
4) Spirit: THE GODDESS GARDENER by Colleen Cannon
5) SOUL SPARK - Garden poem
6) Summer 2002 Women's' Quest Retreats
1) Body: SPRING TRAINING INSPIRATION
The first natural impulse with the warmer weather of spring is to start moving more. It just feels like a good time to start to play and jump around and invite "spring into your step". I was out in the meadow this morning and saw the elk frolicking and jumping in and out of the pond. Usually the elk are mellow and conserve energy but now it is spring and they know it is time to play and move to higher ground. People also start to move more and they get to see just how big their tummies have gotten over the winter. They decide spring is a good time to develop a training program. It is, but you don't need to preoccupy yourself with weight loss. You will naturally lose weight in the springtime so you don't need to worry about those extra few pounds of insulation that you have built up over the winter. All animals shed weight in the spring and so will you.
After the winter of long, slow distance training where you have developed a good solid foundation to your training program it is time to start "getting the lead out" by opening up your internal streams. You can do this by introducing some "speed play" or fartlek twice a week to your training program. Or you can start thinking about some early season track workouts. My favorite is called "straights and curves." You run or stride the straight part of the track and then you jog around the curves to get your breath back. You do this for 3-5 miles. This is a great season opener because it does not tax your anaerobic system so much.
By the time your heart rate has gotten up there from running the straight part of the track it had a chance to go back down on the curve part. This is a great way to trick your self into shape.
2) SPRINGTIME EATING
The second spring-cleaning tip is about nutrition. How to eat for spring vitality is easy, just look around at what is blooming. You will see lots of green grass sprouting up. And dandelions. Everyone thinks that dandelions are pesky but they are great for your liver this time of year. I like to eat bitter greens in the spring. I also drink Green Magma (a nutritional powder that is made from barley grass). It is good to do some type of cleansing during the springtime to help open up your internal channels and get things flowing. My favorite type of cleanse is the lemon cleanse. It's my favorite because I love lemonade. You take about a half of lemon and squeeze the juice out and add a little maple syrup and a little cayenne pepper. I typically do a 3 day liver cleanse and I drink a bunch of this stuff: 8-10 glasses each day. A good compromise is to do it every morning when you get up. As a morning tonic it would be a little cleanse for you as you get up. It's good, really!
A good book on eating for the seasons is: The 3-Season Diet (Eating The Way Nature Intended) by John Douillard. I found this book helpful regarding how to eat and stay healthy with the seasons. It tells you which foods are good to eat in the spring. The basics of spring eating are to "lighten up" by eating lighter foods. Thinking light spring thoughts can really be beneficial to your "lightness of being."
3) Mind: INNER FITNESS
The 3rd spring tune-up is regarding your inner fitness. This is often the hardest to get going...yet it is the easiest. All you need to do is take some quite time each day, sit down and breathe. It sounds easy right? This is important for any time of the year but especially in the springtime when you may start to feel anxious. It is hard for me to sit still at any time but when the earth is bursting with energy it is especially hard. I know this is the time I really need to sit and be quite the most, so I can stay grounded, focused and centered in the rush of spring. It is important to take time and reflect on the old patterns or clutter that you want to clear out to make way for the fresh spring start. My favorite practice is to just sit quietly for 5 minutes and breathe. Usually, if I trick myself and say I will only sit for 5 minutes I can get myself sitting.
Then once you have been sitting for 5 minutes you are relaxed and you feel like sitting more. My average sit time is about 20 - 30 minutes. I focus on my breath and just let all my old winter thoughts and patterns flow out without notice or care. By the way, the word breath comes from the word inspire (INSPIRATION!). This quiet time can help you find the inspiration you need to take on the new spring challenges.
4) Spirit: THE GODDESS GARDENER
It is springtime and the gardens will soon be bursting with enthusiasm in all the colors of the rainbow. It is time to get our hands in the dirt and smell its musty fragrance and reconnect to who we are, where we came from and what we want
Gardeners are very savvy people.
Emyl Jenkins said "People who garden learn when to dig and transplant, when... to pinch a sprig off to spur new growth, and when... to let things well enough alone".
"Mary, Mary quite contrary, How does your garden grow?"
("Tell me, what is it you are going to do with your one wild and precious life?")
Tips on how to plant and grow a "Heart's Desire" dream garden:
1- Till up the old winter soil until you get rid of all the rocks, weeds, gophers, and anything else that will eat your seeds. You must prepare your soil and turn it over and over and get the old clots out of your soil. (GET RID OF OBSTACLES IN THE WAY OF YOUR FULFILLMENT.)
2- Decide how you want your garden to be laid out. Where do you want the vegetables? Where you want the flowers? If you don't consider this you might end up with high stalks of corn shading your sweet flowers. (TAKE TIME TO DECIDE EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT, WHERE YOU WANT IT AND WHEN YOU WANT IT TO BLOOM.)
3- Nourish your seeds. You may need a fertilizer for your ground. Add anything to your garden that offers nourishment. (PRAISES, GOOD FOOD, GOOD THOUGHTS, GOOD FRIENDS...)
4- Set up a time each day to water your garden. (TAKE QUIET TIME EACH DAY.)
5 - Make sure your seed gets enough sunshine. (TAKE TIME FOR EXERCISE AND BEING OUTSIDE!)
6- Talk with your flower fairies or devas who live in your garden and ask for their assistance. (TAKE TIME TO ASK FOR DAILY GUIDANCE THROUGH PRAYER OR REFLECTION.)
6- Set up a support system for your flowers so when they get bigger you can have a stake to support them. (USE COACHES, BOOKS, TAPES OR GOOD FRIENDS WHO BELIEVE IN YOU AND ARE ALIGNED WITH YOUR DREAMS.)
7- You may want to get a garden plot so that your family can join you in planting. They can have dream seeds, too-and your support can help their "heart's desire" garden grow as well. (MAKE SURE YOUR FAMILY AND LOVED ONES ARE INCLUDED IN YOUR DREAM PICTURE.)
8- Make your "Heart's Desire" garden a PRIORITY in your life. All gardens need consistent attention...pull worry and negative weeds on a regular basis...then grab a lawn chair, sit down and ENJOY the FRUITS of LIFE!
5) Poem!
The Garden
For The Garden Of Your Daily Living:
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @
\(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/
\)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/
\)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/
Plant Three (3) Rows Of Peas:
1. Peace Of Mind
2. Peace Of Heart
3. Peace Of Soul
Plant Four (4) Rows Of Squash:
1. Squash Gossip
2. Squash Indifference
3. Squash Grumbling
4. Squash Selfishness
Plant Four (4) Rows Of Lettuce:
1. Lettuce Be Faithful
2. Lettuce Be Kind
3. Lettuce Be Patient
4. Lettuce Really Love One Another
No Garden Is Without Turnips:
1. Turnip For Meetings
2. Turnip For Service
3. Turnip To Help One Another
To Conclude Our Garden, We Must Have Thyme:
1. Thyme For Each Other
2. Thyme For Family
3. Thyme For Friends
Water Freely With Patience And Cultivate With Love.
There Is Much Fruit In Your Garden; you Reap What You Sow.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @
\(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/ \(/
\)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/
\)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/ \)/
Come To The Garden Alone, While The Dew Is Still On The Roses...
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @
6) Summer 2002 Women's Quest Retreats
Adventures in the Body & Soul I
June 25-30
Adventures in the Body & Soul II
July 9-14
Gold Lake Wellness Quest (See www.womensquest.com or www.goldlake.com)
June 16-21 co-ed spa retreat
July 21-26 women-only spa retreat
August 25-30 co-ed spa retreat
La Bella Luna: Women's Quest Adventure in Tuscany, Italy
September 29-October 7
We welcome comments and suggestions for WOMENS WEAVE MUSELETTER!
Contact gretchen@womensquest.com. |
