thoughts

 In the Buddhist tradition they say; "We are our thoughts, with our thoughts we create the world".

I was 20 years old the first time I walked into a Buddhist Temple and a whole new world opened up. Just a few years later I embarked on a journey of realizing that my thoughts were not at all aligned with who I was or who I wanted to be. They were actually creating chaos inside for no other reason then that was all I knew, because that is what the mind does. It creates patterns based on experience.

Being a perfectionist I had tried really hard for years to create an imaginary past that would fit a little better into the mold of being perfect. I anxiously waited for something in the future that would make me happy now……..
This was my pattern; I dwelled on the past or lived in the future. I really never enjoyed the moment, didn't know what it meant to be present, never less being conscious.
So, with this epiphany, I became immensely aware that my thoughts basically held me hostage,  I became determent to become free.
I began the quest of finding myself, who I was behind the pattern of destructive thinking.
I threw myself into the world of meditation, became obsessed with the discipline of the practice, sat for hours at a time and even dared to join in on a silent retreat for 10 days. Yoga became my life, my body became my teacher. My body  had giving me signals all along I bluntly had ignored.

Later I would merge the Eastern thought, the mythical wisdom with the Western knowledge, the power of mind. My interest in Psychology was the missing piece of the puzzle.

 It's been 25 years and I still search, study and practice, every day. I  have found that we can truly create anything we want in life,  the one thing that  get in our way is our mind.

I have put together this "In Depth Study" based on my own personal journey, we will have 40 hours together to practice, share, discuss, ponder, write, have fun and dive deep into the what else there is.

With love Camilla

                                    For more info:    www.camillabergstrom.com   or   www.yogaroom.se

what could have….

I am driving on Genesse Ave this morning going north.
 I do this every day and every day I miss the green light and sit for the longest minute waiting to cross Sunset blvd.
This is the minute I turn around to scratch Jesper’s head and we both giggle.
 This morning the light is green and usually I might speed up a bit to try to catch it, this morning I slowed down, not really sure why, just had a feeling.
I get closer to Sunset and thinking; I guess I will make it today after all and I continue driving.
The sun is rising from east; it’s beautifully crisp after the rain last night. I had that feeling again.  The next thing I know there is a car  right in front of me running the red light going east on sunset.
 I slam the brakes and my car spins around. He keeps going.
I turn my head watching the car and internally cursing WTF!!  He is then a few inches away from hitting an older woman walking  across sunset from the north side. She is startled. It’s quiet. My heart is beating so fast. Other cars begin honking the horn.
 It was all a matter of a few seconds. For all of us.
 I usually try to avoid my mind going into the” Would have, Could have or Should have’s, since they truly are an illusion. They are past or future.
But this morning, as I pull the car over to go into the back seat and kiss my son and say out loud THANK YOU, I couldn’t help myself from thinking what could have happened. What if I didn’t slow down the car?
What if the pedestrian left her house two seconds earlier.
This morning could have…turned out a lot different for the woman, the driver, my son and I. But the day goes on and my heart got yet again cracked open and my mind reminded how precious life is and how many people aren’t so lucky as we were this morning.
 I can’t help from wondering if the driver is feeling as lucky?  Did he or she even realize what almost happened?
 Was he drunk, texting, being blinded by the sun or simply not paying attention? No matter what, he wasn’t present and definitely not mindful.
I can only wish this was his wakeup call. How close he was possibly destroying peoples and his own life.
 I have been overwhelmed by calmness today. What is there to worry about, stress about, and complain about?  We are here and our day goes on. For many others it doesn’t.
 
Who knows how many moments like this we're not even aware of happening in one day. What is around the corner we just missed, or who? It’s a trip when we think about how things happens in a matter of seconds, life can change from one moment to the next, Few things we are in control over, but the one thing we can control is how we respond.



 I choose to love life a little deeper today.

Love Camilla

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.

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

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

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

"Start where you are"

This really moved me waking up to this morning; Elisabeth Gilbert had a conversation with Reverend Stephen Phelps and she posted this on Facebook:

 Human suffering is often caused by a feeling that we have "missed our path"—that we were meant to be somewhere else by now, but that some great injustice or cosmic mistake has placed us, instead, right here, exactly where we DON'T WANT TO BE. In such circumstances, we often become paralyzed by grief, or overcome by resentment, longing for that which has not come to pass in our lives. Reverend Phelps said that true peace begins when we accept that the path where we are now standing is the only road there is, and the only road there ever was. It doesn't mean you have to stay there forever, but it means "This is where you are right now". It is not an act of passivity to make that acceptance, but the opposite—an act of honesty, and a commitment to living within the real. Only when we have dropped the imaginary and accepted the real can we being our true journey—shaping and healing our lives in a positive way. I was very moved by this. It reminded me of the Buddhist instructor Pema Chodron's simple and beautiful teaching: 

  "Start Where You Are"~

with love Camilla

Blending vs. juicing

Often people ask me the benefits of juicing and what the difference is between blending and juicing.

I make a juice or smoothie every day and every once in a while I do a cleanse between 3-6 days where I only drink these amazing juices to clean out my system and I feel AMAZING!!!!!

                  Benefits of Juicing!

1. People sometimes ask me why they should juice when they could eat the vegetables or fruits. When you extract the juice from the vegetable all you are left with are beneficial micronutrients. Since your body doesn’t have to break down any components like insoluble fiber, your body is quickly absorbing micronutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and much more from the juice. That’s why often you get instant energy after having a juice!

2. Juicing also allows you to consume the needed vegetables and fruits that your body craves and needs for optimal health. If you find it difficult eating raw vegetables and fruit, then juicing is perfect for you. With juicing you are also getting a wide variety of different vegetables into your daily intake. 

3. Juicing is a way to change the way you eat and will change the way you live. After you juice for a week, you will see and feel instant results. Often after the first week of the , my clients tell me how much more energy they have, how their skin has improved and how much overall mental clarity  they have. 

                 Blending vs. Juicing

Blending simply combines all the ingredients you place in your blender, leaving the pulp and fiber intact.  Fiber is a great addition to your diet and can help prevent against many diseases. Unlike juicing, consuming blended drinks makes your body work harder to  digest the ingredients.

Juicing separates the pulp from the vegetables and fruits, leaving only juice behind. With juicing you are still consuming beneficial soluble fiber like pectin. Juicing also helps with the removal of toxins from your body and also aids in weight loss. 

Both are beneficial and should be added to your diet. I personally love juicing and have seen and felt the difference since juicing.

     How long can juice stay good for?
The answer really depends on what juicer you are using. If you are using a centrifugal juicer you should drink it immediately or within the first 10 minutes. If you are careful you can store your juice in air tight containers and place them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. If you are using a masticating juicer, your juice is often good for 24-48 hours. 

If possible  buy organic vegetables 

lovelove Camilla

Thank you Mr Banana!!!

Bananas became my best friend this weekend as I spent two days with food poisoning and it was the only thing and still is my stomach could bare.

                                                                   

Facts about my friend banana:

Banana –Immune boost!!!

According to Japanese Scientific Research, full ripe banana with dark patches on yellow skin produces a substance called TNF (tumor Necrosis Factor) which has the ability to fight abnormal cells.

Yellow skin banana with dark spots on it is 8 times more effective in enhancing the white blood cells then the green skin version. White blood cells are involved defending the body of infectious disease and foreign materials.

Benefits:

Bananas are terrific heart healthy food.

Filled with potassium, which is a mineral for proper

function of all cells and organs of the human body.

Great source of Magnesium,Vitamin B and C.

Naturally fat,- cholesterol and sodium free.

Eating 1-2 bananas per day increases immunity.

 Organic is recommended since the pesticides are in the soil as well so even of you peel  the banana a small about of chemicals will still be inside.

Enjoy!!!!

A simple life

  Just got back from a week vacation in a small town in Mexico where I found my paradise.
It was a simple, relaxing but yet the most fulfilling trip. We met the most friendly, happy people I have ever met. They have so little but where ever we went we came across people with huge smiles on their faces. “No problema” seemed to be a mantra, nothing was a problem.  Reminded me that the less we have the less we have to lose.
We made a point to go when it is low season, no big luxury resort, no tourists and no shopping...(that one is usually hard for me) the weather report said thunderstorm, rain all week.
So I left my expectations at home and prepared to sit under an umbrella in the rain reading a book and stay in a little hut in the jungle.
From the beginning to end it turn out to be the most amazing vacation I have had in a long time!!
Someone told me a while ago;  "who ever is right in front of you is the most important person in that moment". Oh so many inspiring stories I have heard from people who live a life for me unimaginable, makes me want to simplify my life even more.

                      Peace and love

                          Camilla