i am making a list of things i am letting go.
then i am replacing the things i'm letting go with; thoughts, acts, behaviors and ideas that presence me as my optimal self. bringing me to being my progressive ever growing, ever learning optimal self. 

first step - write what i am letting go down
thinking about what these things i am letting go are and how they have served me. why did i have these things in my life? and why do i want to replace them. also, how will i achieve what the things i am letting go gave me with new things more optimally?

for example i made a new commitment to do yoga everyday. sometimes i wouldn't get to it till late in the eve, and this procrastination would stress me out and instead loving my yoga practice it annoyed me. i recognize procrastination is a root cause to  my upset, but i want to implement tangible change and actual transformation to my behavior so i look to how procrastination has manifested negative habits in my life.
so, instead of doing yoga late in the day - i will do it first thing, next to breakfast. giving myself time and leisure to do it. consciously embodying a new behavior leading to living my vision of a more optimal life. 

second step is to write down all the things that will replace the things i am letting go. making sure these new things will be updates to the things i am letting go. 
i like vision boards so i will include pictures to help keep me inspired to maintain and shift into these new updated things. 

third i burn the list of things i am letting go. i don't need them around. i don't need them to remind me anymore. and burning up these old habits is like burning up an old contract to an outdated self. the ritual of fire is death and transformation. in order for me to powerfully shift into new ways of being i need to make conscious room. room for what i do want. the second list will act as a reminder of things that will bring me to my optimal self. then i will look at this list everyday, until they become my new habits, or my new reality. 

thank you
for checking in and reading my blog
i love you

i am grateful for you
for walking with me on my path 

as 2012 draws to an end i take time to reflect
on all of the valuable lessons
i thank you

yes
my heart is open 

i am painting my beautiful orange walls white. because i'm moving. everything is changing.

look to the horizon i see a new year. at present i feel supported and well loved, especially during my moments of forgetting who i am. behind me i gather up the lessons of who i have been to get me to now as i choose where i am going. powerfully remembering who i am.

the good old fashioned exhale to inhale. breathing out landmarks of change, breathing through the tension of forgetting. releasing old though patterns that fill me with hot air and anchor me to fear. with a sigh of relief i exhale. 

in between moments i hold it for a moment, it is quiet here in the space between breaths. this is where i am now. standing at the cusp of a new day, looking at a new horizon with the shadow of forgetting at my back as i face my new breath in.

taking in what is useful. the cool calm nourishment of a fresh start. yes, this moment is new. in this breath i am whatever i want to be. i am filling myself up with the energy to continue on my path. i am remembering all the tools that support my optimal self. 

the reminder is to let go and stay in flow. the more i resist change the harder it seems. in moments of forgetting Mark Twain reminds me; "Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain." 

i paint my orange walls white, clean slate. 

winter is for dreaming.
i have been dreaming a lot; conscious dreaming, day dreaming, lucid dreaming even fantasizing. 

i believe in the power of thought and i have been focusing on -visioning into being my optimal reality. it's like a visually imagined mantra or focused meditation or self guided vision quest of sorts. picturing the steps it takes to make my goals into tangible reality. it's the first step to manifestation. it's important to invoke the thoughts which spark the action steps it takes to realize my goals and dreams.

first i allow my mind to wander into a feeling or sensation i want to embody. then i imagine what it would take to obtain that feeling or sensation. next allowing myself to have the sensational experience, embodying the feelings of, in this case, my optimal reality.   

i also utilize this technique when i need to shift my awareness. like when i am experiencing a mood shift caused by a hormonal surge or being triggered by an emotionally charged situation. 
for example:
when i am being triggered by an emotionally charged situation sometimes i make up a story that a past situation is reoccurring, when at present it is not happening. the moment i realize i am making up a story, i concentrate on putting down the negative made up story, usually the worst case scenario and i create my best case scenario. imagining what it would take to obtain the feeling or sensation of a best case scenario. next allowing myself to have the sensational experience of this best case scenario. while fully embodying the feelings of this best case scenario. 

this technique allows me more time to take the steps to actualize my best case scenario, because i am no longer giving focused time embodying the fear. i invest more time feeling excited and capable to manifest my best case scenario into reality because i have imagined how it would feel to experience it. instead of spending the time experiencing a story of the worst case scenario which is fear based.

this is a tool to help me actualize my dreams and support and nourish a best case scenario reality. i welcome you to try it.

if you need support, email me Tatiana@FlorentinaCraft.com
i would love to shine light on your best case scenario. 

from the part of me that was baptized catholic.
and i love you 
whatever you believe and however you celebrate winter. 

spent the entire time outside in nature with our sweet mushroom friends, foraging! found amazing mushrooms; chantrelle, pig ear, hedgehog, yellow foot, bolete, candy caps and so so so many more. the forest is swelling with bounty. 

we cooked up some pig ear mushrooms and some yellow foot mushrooms. 
wow. 
yeah, wow. 
amazing.

i love my life. 

oh, good - mushrooms for breakfast and an experimental candy cap butternut squash pie coming to a blog near you ;)

for smiles sake

here in the bay area we have the most amazing, vibrant rosemary plants! wild crafted a bunch and set it out to dry. 

i started with fresh plants that i dried myself - freshly dried rosemary, thyme and oregano. this ensures freshness which equates to flavor and quality potency. then i vitamixed these dried herbs with himalayan salt, voila!

above i demonstrate how to fold upcyled brown paper into a very cute salt envelope. 

why give salt? 

• to enjoy the spice of life 
  
• it makes things taste great
• it enhances the flavor vibrancy of all it is paired with

also
salt is a great gift for the new year because salt naturally absorbs and cleanses energy. energy often gets stuck in the corners. place a bit of salt in the 4 corners of your home then on the new year sweep out the old year, including the salt. or you can bathe in this salt and cleanse your body.

rosemary is a great circulatory stimulant a powerful antioxidant and a delicious carminative. thyme is an amazing antimicrobial, and carminative. oregano also has antimicrobial qualities and is another carminative.

i love this particular salt blend sprinkled all over sweet potato fries that i bake in the oven with coconut oil - so so so good. 

yummm.