Sunday, November 10, 2013

The devastation in the Philippines brings me back there, remembering the little faces I got to know when I had the honor to travel with UNICEF 2008 to do work with the street kids. Especially Ella, who you can see in most of the pictures. The UNICEF workers told me not to get attached, it took me about a second.... She was 7, no parents, rotten teeth and she lived under the bridge with her friends, her new family. They stuck together like glue. They helped each other finding food and staying warm at night. Ella wanted me to bring her back with me to the US, she asked me to adopt her. She begged and when she realized I couldn't do it, (trust me I wanted, and probably would if it was possible) she turned her back. She walked away...I cried, I will never forget that moment.
I still have pictures of her framed in my house and I think of her often. I wonder if she is safe, if she found shelter, if she was even alive before this. It brakes my heart thinking about her and all the children who had nothing already, they must have been so scared when the most powerful typhoon in history hit one of the poorest countries in the world.
The work UNICEF do is fantastic, please donate.















Monday, September 16, 2013

moving with life changes


Life is constantly changing and we need to be changing with it, not resisting it.  We are not the same person we were a year ago, a month ago, or even a week ago.  Life's cycle's doesn't stop even if we try to remain the same.  Change is what it’s all about.  Every ending is the beginning of something else.  Every time we exit  another door will open.  Live, learn, and let go.  Don’t hold yourself down with the changes you can’t control.
Although some forces are out of your control, you can control how you respond  to things.  Everyone’s life has positive and negative aspects, whether you’re happy or sad.  Let go of what you can’t control, and invest your energy in the things you can.  Live simply, love generously, speak truthfully, breathe deeply, do your best, and leave the rest to the powers above you.

love Camilla

Sunday, May 12, 2013

to you mom


Sitting here on my very first mother’s day thinking about you mom and I feel this overwhelming gratitude for you I have never felt before. My respect and appreciation has grown much deeper for you ever since Jesper arrived into my life.
So often we take our mother’s for granted and I am one to admit this I have done.
You taught me freedom, which I think is the most beautiful gift you ever gave me. You allowed me to explore and go after my dreams and so I did. I look back on the pain I felt in my past and I realize it all led me to this very moment. Often we look back and blame our mother’s for our sorrows and so I did. We are both complex women but now I know this lead me to never settle. I wanted it all, I wanted to explore life as fully and crazy I possibly could and you never hindered me doing so. As I look at my little man and how we found each other I cry tears of joy and feel such intense love I have never felt before. My heart is in peace.  I get it now, I really do. Thank you mom for being you, I love you so very much. Happy Mother's day.

millan


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Year of Mindfulness


 


New Year is the busiest time for me, people want to begin the year with change, they feel more hopeful and they want to take care of themselves.

I am thrilled this year because I have been asked more about meditation and about how to practice mindfulness then I ever have before. It means people realize that the louder the world is getting the more longing for silence.
When I say the world is loud I talk about TV, Radio, computer, texting, emailing, etc.. It’s all noise for the brain. You can’t even go to the bank without the TV hanging on the wall feeding us with news media. When you walk into stores including Whole foods LOUD music is playing. The mind get’s scattered, distracted, we shop more, we get anxious.

 The mind takes in 1000 bits of information every second. It’s never quite, it’s going and going and we don’t even know how it is affecting us until the body begins to ache with tension, we feel agitated, emotions get’s the best of us and we react a lot quicker, often leaving us with guilt.
 Even when we are not physically doing something the mind is raising thinking about past or future. 

Stress causes the Cortisol in our body to spike to a level that will eventually affect our creative thinking, metabolism, our sleep, blod pressure and can cause all kinds of physical issues.

We get so far away from a balanced mind that we begin to create stories in our head. Stories filled with doubt, fear, judgment etc… Stories that comes from; “What if, should have, could have”.  These are all based on our mind being in future or past.  We spend more time away from the present moment and loose out on living now.

 It’s easier to clean the house,  the car and the closet then is to clean the mind from clutter.

 Every thought follows with an emotion, after the emotion a reaction
Tension will occur your neck, shoulders and lower back and if there is never a moment to relax you are always on high alert it could have devastating effects on the body.

So how do we stop the thinking? We don’t.  It’s not about controlling the mind or shut of our emotions. We can’t stop the thoughts,  they will always be there. But we can observe them and listen to the quality of them. We can work on not letting them send us into a head spin of negativity.
Before we react, we pause, observe, take a breath or two and align mind and body with the circumstance.

 Once we hear our own thoughts and actually listen to them we begin to see and feel the effect they have on us and we can then make a choice to shift the pattern of them.  Trying to understand them rather then pushing them away, making peace with them, know where there is coming from let them come and let them go. This is called mindfulness.

So when we meditate it gives the mind a pause, and brake.
Just like a computer needs space and even rewiring so does the mind.

I like to sit and meditate first thing in the morning, begin the day with a clear and calm mind.

You will find after meditating a sense of clarity; you just gave the mind freedom and space so you can invite new fresh thoughts, more happy and positive. Your body will begin to release the tension.

When we practice mindfulness we bring ourselves to the present moment. We lift the veil that is clouding our mind, we navigate ourselves beyond the ego; the thinking and into our essence.

Most people have a hard time with the thought of doing nothing, but that is the whole point….to BE…

We watch the thought coming and going, we feel the breath rising and falling.

Try to sit for 2 minutes in the morning, breathe and observe. ( yes, you do have 2 minutes )
At the end of the meditation see a vision for what you would like to receive for the day….

When 2 min becomes easy, do 5…then 10 etc…..

Blessings and love

Camilla