tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29102408085468372412024-03-19T04:40:17.092-07:00Ecstatic WomanExploring life's natural ecstasy through nature connection, ecstatic foods, conscious parenting, and empowered livingCourtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-91292853326393197812013-05-22T11:11:00.001-07:002013-05-22T11:11:17.993-07:00Raising Children in Like-Minded CommunityI wrote an article on raising children in like-minded community,
which was featured on Tera Warner’s website for Mother’s day! Tera
creates healthy lifestyle and transformational cleansing programs,
including the Green Smoothie Challenge. She has also put together a
few popular online audio interview summits, including the W.I.S.H Summit
for women’s empowerment, the Raw Mom Summit, and the Tooth Summit.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.terawarner.com/blog/2013/05/it-takes-a-village-how-one-mom-is-making-dreams-of-community-come-true">Click here to see my article about child-raising and community!</a><br />
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If you enjoy it, please share with your friends, and if you desire to
share your experience (or questions), please post in the comments
section!<br />
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Also, if you have yet to visit my blog's new home, and you desire to continue receiving notices on my new blog posts, please check it out now at <a href="http://ecstaticwoman.com/">EcstaticWoman.com</a>! Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-87922845570188658012013-05-11T20:04:00.001-07:002013-05-11T20:05:34.538-07:00My blog is moving!!!I am happy to announce that Ecstatic Woman has moved to its own domain!!! If you receive this notice, and desire to continue receiving ecstatic inspiration in the form of my blog posts, please hop over real quick to my new site and type in your e-mail address:<br />
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<a href="http://ecstaticwoman.com/">http://EcstaticWoman.com</a><br />
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I have an abundance of ideas and plans for my blog that I am feeling very inspired about! One thing I will be doing a lot of is VIDEOS! Especially how-to videos about many of the unique foods I prepare, including:<br />
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~ homemade lacto-fermented sodas (like root beer)<br />
~ beet kvass (a simple fermented beet drink)<br />
~ super herbal elixirs<br />
~ raw chocolates<br />
~ jun & kombucha<br />
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I also plan on posting about:<br />
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~ videos & updates on my little boy, Cedar (now age 3!) <br />
~ local wild edibles<br />
~ superfood recipes for children<br />
~ harvesting wild yaupon holly (you can use it like yerba mate!)<br />
~ my favorite supertonic herbs<br />
~ health and parenting-related eBook giveaways<br />
~ my health journey<br />
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... and much, much more!! <br />
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I will no longer be posting on here (my old blog site), and all my posts will be on my new site from now on, so please take the time to visit and spread the word!<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1492028723"><br /></a>
<a href="http://ecstaticwoman.com/">http://EcstaticWoman.com</a><br />
<br />Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-52085938384179324872013-02-28T12:09:00.001-08:002013-03-01T09:44:12.930-08:00Honoring Our CyclesAs women (and men in their own way), an essential key to unlocking our innate ecstasy is honoring our natural cycles.<br />
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This previous Sunday, I led a class on Super Herbal Elixirs. The energy and information downloads and exchanges were spectacular, and it progressed into another ecstatic, high energy community event with much love, laughter, sharing, and celebration. The next day, I felt intensely sensitive, reclusive and sleepy, and I just wanted to crawl into a cave and hibernate for a while. When I had the chance to be in complete quiet, resting with my eyes closed, I was in Bliss. I felt the same way the next day.<br />
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The day after that, I found myself in a solid, earthy state, protective of my "space", a familiar energy I recognized as leading up to my bleeding time. For most women, the resistance or rejection of this natural energetic becomes something commonly labeled as "PMS". I allowed and honored this energy the space to be, and it became an earthy sort of silliness, and a relaxed acceptance of whatever existed in the moment (a temporary dissolving of goal-oriented thoughts of the future), with moments of almost-pretend moodiness. My bleeding time arrived the next morning, which I had felt/known in advance, simply from energetic cues (because I don't have physical "PMS" symptoms). <br />
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Women often view their cycle as a monthly mundane repetition of menstruation and ovulation, a purely physical phenomenon with maybe a few mood swings or other emotional changes. However, like the tip of an iceberg, these events are only the most physically obvious signs of MUCH larger and more vast energetic and creative cycles. Becoming aware of and attuning to these energetic ebbs and flows results in optimizing our creative energy and experiencing much more efficiency in our lives and harmony in our bodies, minds, and emotions.<br />
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<u><b>What Really Happens During Our Moon Cycles</b></u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge16Jes7vUcZOMRDfeodUwQk_BmhiH0CkERc4ID3QkFP2fkDX8vuOdDwn8J3iLFt6vpUbJ67ODAIAr0rUc-eFk8zYWAkyMVokLxeVfhKOFPzTA1BUUvMfHXYALWUyCbhR50CG3-m6tVW8S/s1600/womanmoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge16Jes7vUcZOMRDfeodUwQk_BmhiH0CkERc4ID3QkFP2fkDX8vuOdDwn8J3iLFt6vpUbJ67ODAIAr0rUc-eFk8zYWAkyMVokLxeVfhKOFPzTA1BUUvMfHXYALWUyCbhR50CG3-m6tVW8S/s1600/womanmoon.jpg" /></a>Here's how it works. A woman's cycle "starts" when she begins her moontime bleeding. In past times, before artificial lights and arbitrary schedules, women always bled together on the new moon. The energetic of the dark (new) moon and of a woman's bleeding are similar. <b>It's a time when we are called to go deep within, intuitively examine the entire structure of our lives and Life itself, and naturally cleanse and renew our whole selves. </b> Our hormone levels are low at this time, and our left and right brain hemispheres synchronize, allowing us to tap into much greater levels of intuition and knowing about areas of our life that we have yet to fully understand or resolve. We can access a state of consciousness that gives us the power to sort out extremely complex aspects of life in almost a "dream state", below the level of our surface minds. We may not be fully aware at this time of all that we are learning, but if we allow ourselves the time and space to go deep, ask for divine guidance, and "dream while awake" (go on an inner journey), it has been my experience that my newly acquired wisdom now becomes part of me and expresses through me at a later time.<br />
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Women no longer bleed only on the new moon. Our bodies are adaptable, and it often seems as if my body factors in my mind's awareness of plans when choosing the best time for me to rest and bleed. For example, if I know I will be traveling or teaching a class at the time when I expect to be bleeding, my body will postpone it until afterward, since I will be able to align more fully with the introspective and reclusive energy of my moontime after all the outward activity has slowed down. I have learned from that, and since I enjoy having regularity in my cycles, I do my best to plan events with consideration of where I'll be in my cycle during the event.<br />
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After bleeding time, which lasts for a couple days up to a week, depending on the woman, our hormone progesterone slowly starts to increase. <b>Energetically, this is a time of gradually increasing activity, creativity, and socially interactive energy. </b> It is a good time to start new projects. This creative, active, social, and procreative energy, along with our progesterone levels, peak during ovulation, which happens around two weeks after the first day of bleeding. Naturally, the energy of ovulation is similar to the energy of the full moon. Feelings are heightened, creativity is at its peak, we feel social and magnetic, our communication skills are increased, and we're fully present and engaged in our interactions with other people and in the world.<br />
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After the progesterone peak of ovulation, this hormone starts to lower and its counterbalancing energy, estrogen, starts to increase. This begins to bring our energy back inward, inviting us to begin reviewing, contemplating, and integrating the heightened experiences of our cycle's energetic peak. <b>We move gradually from the outward, social energy of ovulation to an inward, "home-tending" energy.</b> This can be a good time to focus on home and family responsibilities. About two weeks after ovulation, a sudden drop in both estrogen and progesterone initiates menstruation, and we come full circle.<br />
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I'm using descriptive signposts here that only apply to menstruating women, but this also applies energetically to women who are not experiencing these obvious physical events (such as during pregnancy, early breastfeeding, and menopause), because we are still feeling the cycles of the moon. Women seem particularly linked to the moon's rhythms, which is why I'm speaking about women only with all this... and I'm curious if any men are aware of cycles of their own (if so, please share!!)<br />
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<u><b>Menstrual Cycle Nutritional Support</b></u><br />
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There are ways you can support yourself nutritionally during the different parts of your cycle. <b>Since salt is contractive and holds fluids in your body, it is beneficial to lower your salt consumption for the few days before and during your bleeding time, so your body can have a full cleansing.</b> During this time, I crave more naturally sweet, expansive foods, and much less savory, contractive food. Leading up to and during ovulation is the time when salt is most appropriate, as its contractive nature helps the egg pop out of the ovary. When I say salt, I'm referring to natural sea and rock salts, or naturally salty foods. <br />
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<b>It is also important after menstruation to replenish your blood,</b> using mineral-rich foods and drinks like nettle leaf infusions, green juices, seaweeds, blue-green algae (especially spirulina and chlorella), blood-building tonic herbs, and other things. One of my favorite blood-replenishing beverages is a fermented beet drink called Beet Kvass, made with beets, salt and spring water. It's tangy, salty and sweet, and after bleeding time, I often can easily guzzle large amounts of it!<br />
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<u><b>My Personal Journey </b></u><br />
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I have been very interested in this topic for the past few years, but I didn't always feel this way. I had my first menstrual cycle at age 12, and it was horrible. I didn't feel ready at all, emotionally or physically. I was at a summer camp and I didn't tell anyone all week (I just bled in my underwear the whole time). I told my parents when I got home, sobbing, like my cycle coming was a tragic event. I just didn't want to be a woman yet. For all my teen years after that, my bleeding times were long and heavy, with days at a time of extremely painful cramps. I have always been natural-medicine-minded, and never took pharmaceutical drugs for anything, except for my unbearably painful menstrual cramps.<br />
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At age 21, I stopped bleeding entirely for about 4 years, as a result of a prolonged experiment with a very cleansing type of raw food diet (high-fruit, very-low-fat). My hormone levels bottomed out and my blood volume was too low to spare any blood each month. About a year after changing my diet to include lots of superfoods, healthy fats, and blood-building tonic herbs, my cycle returned. <b>Immediately, it was completely different than before.</b> Its monthly timing was regular, my bleeding was light to moderate and only lasted 2-3 days, and my "cramps" were really mild... just some tender contraction feelings during the first couple days that were not only tolerable, but actually enjoyable, because they put me into an effortless meditative state. <br />
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After those 4 years of "rethinking" menstruation, my feelings about it were so different. I was actually ready to be a woman this time, and I delighted in the awareness that I have a cycle I can attune with.<br />
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When I gave birth to my son a few years later, he was an avid breastfeeder (still is!), and my menstrual cycle waited until he was two and a half to return. When it did return, nearly a year ago now, it became even more enjoyable than before. I attribute this continually increasing enjoyment of my bleeding time to how I have consciously embraced it more and more over the years.<br />
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<u><b>Honor Your Cycles</b></u><br />
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Our creative power is greatest when we consciously align with our cycles. In our culture, we are instructed to follow an activity pattern determined by outside systems, and these activity and rest cycles are not aligned with nature's cycles (and our bodies' cycles). If we push through, and try to work hard during our natural resting and contemplation time, we will be moody, irritable, tired, AND we won't get anything accomplished anyway! Then we'll be dragging during the naturally creative and energetic time of our cycle, not able to fully utilize its energy because we didn't replenish at the appropriate time.<br />
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When we honor our cycles, we experience ourselves as the wise, powerful creators we already are.<br />
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Are you aware of the energy shifts of your cycle? How do you honor these shifts, or feel you could do better in honoring them? Please comment below! <br />
<br />Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-76866123899075496242013-02-19T19:50:00.000-08:002013-02-20T17:48:44.149-08:00Ode to Super Herbal Elixirs (and a recipe!)7-8 years ago, I discovered a Holy Grail of the food world, and it changed my life (and continues to). Imagine a combination of smoothie + herbal tea + some of the most nutrient-rich foods on the planet, then multiply the taste and nourishment factor x 50, and you have what I call a Super Herbal Elixir. Breakfast, lunch & dinner of champions.<br />
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Why are they so amazing? What are Super Herbal Elixirs?<br />
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These drinks are a meal in a glass. The various components serve to stack the odds in our favor, nutritionally.<br />
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First of all, <b>blending food in a high-powered blender and drinking it makes it far more digestible.</b> The blender breaks the cell walls of vegetables, seeds and fruits far more effectively than our teeth, even if we chew 50-100 times per bite (and who really wants to do that?!) It's also way faster to prepare a blended meal than cook, chop, and carefully arrange various foods on a plate, and you have much less to clean afterward. Preparing elaborate meals is wonderful and fun, and personally, I'm definitely NOT enthusiastic about doing it 3x per day! My days are smooth and easy when I drink 1-2 elixirs during the most active parts of my day (or as a nightcap), and prepare 1-2 regular meals when I'm in centering/integrating mode. <br />
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<b>Elixirs are a delivery system for all the nutrient-rich foods, herbs, and supplements we wish to consume that day.</b> By understanding the basic components of an elixir, you can literally make infinite variations, depending on your health and life goals at that time.<br />
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For example, lately my health goals are building strength and toning my body, boosting my brain power and creativity, increasing my bone mineral density, building rich, healthy blood, and gentle maintenance cleansing. My elixir ingredient choices lately are catered specifically to helping me reach these goals. Including hemp seeds, sprouted rice protein powder, raw cacao, maca, Jing-and-blood-building tonic herbs, marine phytoplankton, a food-based iron & B-12 supplement, wild-harvested horsetail powder & pine pollen tincture, and coconut oil, helps me further ALL of my health goals with ONE drink!<br />
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I have prepared an estimated 1000-2000 elixirs for myself and my family in the past 7-8 years, and every one of them has been slightly different, although I stay with certain themes for a while. As my health goals, ingredients on hand, and nutrient requirements
change, I slightly alter my daily elixir composition, for
extraordinarily customized nutrition. <br />
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<b>When you understand the basic components of an elixir</b>, it is easy to start making infinite variations of drinks that taste amazing and satisfy your hunger and nutrient requirements, every time!<br />
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The basic components of a "meal type" elixir:<br />
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* the best liquid ever (wild spring water or herbal tea)<br />
* an easily-digestible, clean, nutrient-rich fat source<br />
* a healthy sweetener (unless you're making a savory elixir)<br />
* superfoods to add loads of nutrients & emulsify the fats, sweets & liquid<br />
* tonic & adaptogenic herbs<br />
* fresh veggies & fruits (optional)<br />
* supplements (optional) <br />
* additional flavor components like spices or essential oils (optional)<br />
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That's it, in the most basic sense.<br />
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Now here's an example recipe for you to play with! This is a fun and delicious drink my husband and I created soon after our son was born, when we were waking up at 4am every morning and felt an extra requirement for adaptogenic nourishment!! Enjoy!<br />
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<u><b>Superfood Mocha Latte</b></u><br />
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~ 2 cups spring water or adaptogenic herbal tea<br />
~ 2 Tbs lucuma powder<br />
~ 2 Tbs raw chocolate (cacao) powder<br />
~ 1 Tbs tocotrienols (vitamin E rich concentrate from rice bran)<br />
~ 1 Tbs wild blue-green algae (AFA)<br />
~ 2 tsp soy lecithin (non-gmo) <br />
~ 1 tsp maca<br />
~ 1 tsp ground vanilla bean<br />
~ 1/2 tsp chaga extract powder (or use the whole herb in your tea base)<br />
~ 1/2 tsp ho shou wu extract powder (or use the whole herb in your tea base)<br />
~ 1 Tbs coconut oil<br />
~ 1-2 Tbs raw honey (or other sweetener of choice, to taste)<br />
~ 4 drops coffee bean essential oil (or a splash of actual coffee if you're into it!)<br />
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Optional additions, to add a raw, whole-food caffeine source: 1/4-1 tsp guarana, yerba mate, or yaupon holly powder.<br />
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You may also leave out some of the above ingredients, or substitute with other things, and it will likely still taste amazing!<br />
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Make a warm drink if it's winter, or a cold drink if it's summer, by varying the temperature of your water or tea base (you can even throw in some ice cubes to make it extra cold!). Add everything to
your high-powered blender and blend well. Pour into a cozy coffee mug
or fancy glass and savor each sip!</div>
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~*~</div>
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If you desire to learn more about this powerful, ecstatic form of nourishment, I am teaching a Super Herbal Elixirs class this Sunday, Feb 24th, in the Dallas, Texas area. I will be demonstrating and sampling 6 delicious, original elixir recipes! <a href="http://www.meetup.com/DallasRawFood/events/101230362">Read more & sign up for the local event here.</a> </div>
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This class will also broadcast LIVE via the internet, so if you live somewhere else (or just can't make it to the physical event), you can still be part of the action and the fun! You can watch the webcast from your iPad, iPhone, computer, or any other internet device capable of streaming video. Click the local sign-up link above to read the class description, and if you're ready to participate remotely, <a href="http://ecstatichealth.com/elixirwebcast">sign up here for the Elixir class webcast.</a><br />
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~*~<br />
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Please comment below with any questions, or to share your own experiments and LOVE for Super Herbal Elixirs!!<br />
<br />Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-60491827083441592022013-02-13T21:50:00.000-08:002013-02-13T22:42:52.132-08:00Ecstatic Goddess Transformation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
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4 of my girlfriends and I ~ all health conscious mamas and bloggers ~ share an uncommon addiction. We all LOVE goal setting and establishing new healthy disciplines into our daily lives to embody our Inner Ecstatic Goddess in ever greater ways! Every time one of us goes on about some new life upgrade we're into, the rest of us are lit up and jumping in with our own versions. We must discover, just HOW awesome can life possibly get?!<br />
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<a href="http://kristensraw.com/blog/2011/12/31/my-90-day-clean-raw-food-plan-mission/">Kristen</a> posted one of her versions a while back, and <a href="http://gingeristhenewpink.blogspot.com/2013/02/my-goddess-life-plan.html">Lauren</a> just wrote about her most recent aspirations. Of course, now I'm lit up and ready to write my own! So here they are, my most current transformational disciplines!<br />
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<u><b>Ecstatic Foods</b></u><br /> <br />
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<li>Daily super herbal elixirs with my favorite nutrient-rich superfoods, raw plant-based protein powder, and jing-building tonic herbs. </li>
</ul>
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</ul>
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<li>Daily green veggies (preferably wild-harvested or home-grown), fermented food, plenty of protein rich seeds, seaweeds and algaes</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Minimal amounts of glycemic sweets (mostly use stevia & xylitol for now) </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>More spring water, in the morning and throughout the day </li>
</ul>
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I do all of this already, so this isn't a huge shift, just some intuitive tweaking in the direction of increasing my intake of tonic herbs, greens, wild foods and ferments... foods that definitely take me further into ecstatic realms! <br />
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For the past few months I have also been laying off the sweets almost entirely, for some deeper healing. After years of an extremely unbalanced high-sweet-fruit diet (many years ago), I lost interest in store-bought, mono-cropped sweet fruits, and switched to local raw honey as my main sweet food. I've been re-balancing even further lately, by only occasionally eating honey, and enjoying more foods that are rich in protein, healthy fats, and minerals.<br />
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I am also focused on building my blood right now, currently using a food-based iron/B-12 supplement (and a couple of powerful Chinese yin jing tonic herbs), inspired by a recent realization that I've had varying levels of anemia for the past 16 years. I have a whole plan for strengthening my blood to levels I have yet to EVER experience, and I'm very excited about the effects this will have (and already is having) on every part of my life!<br />
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<u><b>Ecstatic Movement</b></u><br />
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I feel best when I enjoy some form of ecstatic movement (joyful exercise) daily. Variety works great for me. My favorites are:<br />
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<ul>
<li><b>Ecstatic Dance.</b> I love going to group ecstatic dances, and for a more consistent dancing fix, my absolute favorite exercise ever is being outside by myself at night, with headphones, dancing myself into another dimension to energetic and uplifting music. This is something I used to do every night for years, sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. I re-discovered this greatest-of-pleasures just a few days ago, and afterward felt so ridiculously amazing that I was floored I had forgotten it for so long! It is truly a Divine Worship practice for me.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Long walks.</b> Another thing I did every day for many, many years. It's my moving meditation, therapy, and creative inspiration. After my son was born, I did my best to maintain this practice somewhat regularly, by putting him into a carrier and walking with him on my back or front. My daily walks fell away at some point, and when I added them back in, I had some immediate serious upgrades in my daily mood and well-being.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Strength building.</b> Besides yoga, this has yet to be a consistent practice for me at any point in my life, so I still kind of feel like a newbie in this area. I've done enough sporadic experimentation to have developed some familiarity with various exercises and their effects, so I am slowly adding them in with more regularity and building my confidence. I desire to discover how being physically stronger than ever will affect me in all areas of my life. Will keep you updated! :)</li>
</ul>
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<u><b>Nature Connection & Earth Skills</b></u><br />
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For the past few years, I've had a major interest in changing my lifestyle and adapting my body and mind to feel really comfortable in nature. This has included developing skill and confidence in gardening, growing fruit and nut trees, foraging wild edible & useful plants, walking barefoot on a variety of terrains, building my nerve force by consciously increasing my tolerance to temperature extremes (like hot & cold weather and water), and fine-tuning my ability to observe and be aware of nature's subtle messages (which all wild animals are acutely aware of).<br />
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I have come a long way. My interest in these skills is mainly because I find nature to be far more inspiring and aesthetically pleasing than the man-made world, and I desire to reduce my dependency on all the intricately intertwined aspects of "the system" (consumerism, slave labor, government, currencies, climate-controlled boxes, modern entertainment, and the like). This has resulted in a slowly shifting self-identity... feeling I am "in the (man-made) world, but not of it", and able to feel myself as originating from and being home in nature (God's creation). This brings deep peace to my soul, and I long to go deeper.<br />
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So this continues to be an essential area of self-improvement for me.<br />
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<ul>
<li>Connect daily with the <b>seasonal wild edibles</b> of whatever area I'm in, by eating them. Currently it's the young spring greens like chickweed, dock (the short time window when dock actually tastes good raw!), wild lettuce, dandelion, henbit, and plenty more. Also enjoying wild edibles I have previously harvested and preserved.. right now that includes sumac berries, dried horsetail, vitex & pine pollen tinctures, pecans, lotus nuts, and some tea herbs like fennel & bee balm. Continue learning more about edible and useful wild plants.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Continue strengthening my nerve force by <b>enjoying temperature extremes</b>. In Mount Shasta, this meant taking daily walks in the snowy cold, doing occasional "snow plunges" (rolling in the snow in my swimsuit!), and dipping in cold rivers and lakes! During my current Texas visit, it will mainly involve being outside during the wild weather fluctuations of the winters here. In a very short time, it can often go through cold, rainy, warm, balmy, windy, and more. Good for adaptability practice!</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Plant gardens everywhere I go.</b> The more I do it, the more nuances I learn, and the easier it gets. This morning I scrounged up some starter pots and dirt, and planted kale and radish seeds. We'll be here just long enough to enjoy eating them. Then we'll go somewhere else and plant another garden!</li>
</ul>
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Thank you, <a href="http://gingeristhenewpink.blogspot.com/">Lauren</a>, for inspiring me to share my current practices with my world! And thank you <a href="http://www.rosegoddessbliss.com/">Debbie</a>, <a href="http://joannasteven.blogspot.com/">Joanna</a> & <a href="http://kristensraw.com/blog/">Kristen</a> for being my amazing friends and enthusiastic transformation partners! <br />
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Anyone else up for some Ecstatic Transformation?! Share your current aspirations, and what you're doing about them, below, or post a link! Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-45216284870650870992013-01-20T13:53:00.004-08:002013-01-22T03:19:38.053-08:00Holy Manifestation!For most of my life, starting around adolescence, I have been aware to varying degrees that I can create things and situations into my real life from my inner thoughts and feelings. This awareness was part of how I was raised by my parents, although it was never reliable for me, nor did I believe I was very good at it (except for at seemingly random moments). At many points throughout my life, I have lost faith in this idea and stopped believing it was a reliable or even possible way to reach my goals, which was always reflected by a decrease in easy manifestation and an increase in frustration and the appearance that I was only able to achieve things by some kind of hard-won struggle, and even then the seeming achievement would often have a way of slipping out of my life soon after. <br />
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Gradually, on my path of increasing awareness and awakening to my own inner power, my intuition has consistently steered me towards the "we can create our reality" idea as having deep truth to it, so I have again opened to it, this time slowly and cautiously (aware of a residual inner hurt/fear of being "let down" by the idea) over the past several years. My logical mind has examined the potential validity of my intuition's attraction to this idea often, and has reported back to me many times (each time with a fuller understanding) that it is, indeed, the way things must be, all things considered (and with a lot of underlying complexities that I didn't understand at first). I have moved gradually from my initial teenage enthusiasm of "I can create anything I think about!" to the understanding that our creations originate not so much from the thoughts we WANT to think, but our overall vibrational "emanation", which we can actually affect and change at a core level through various means and a sincere desire for transformation. <br />
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The reason I am inspired to write this post is because I have been DELIGHTED lately by the ease in which I have been manifesting! I was just today thinking of all the things I have manifested in the past <b><i>month</i></b>, just from having a thought of it, being able to easily imagine having it, and being completely open to the means in which it comes into my life. In the past month, most of these things have been GIVEN to me, at a seemingly random moment, most of them without the person having any idea I desired them, soon after I had enjoyed imagining having them in my life:<br />
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<ul>
<li>The Body Ecology Diet book ... it was on a bookshelf in the house we're subletting right now, so I got to read it again, absorb and implement what I desired from it, and then put it back, instead of having to add a new possession to our intentionally minimalist travel setup, which is even better than owning it for me! So... this one manifested in a way even more aligned with what is right for me than I had initially imagined</li>
<li>A laptop computer</li>
<li>Awesome yoga pants</li>
<li>Jojoba oil</li>
<li>Bags of superfoods (ones I have been specifically desiring)</li>
<li>A high-definition video camera</li>
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There are more, but these are enough to illustrate my point. Even more important than these things, I often manifest outer information and guidance that helps me upgrade my life, appearing in response to specific sincere desires for clarity about something. I have been contemplating the reasons why my manifestation ability has strengthened lately, and I have come up with a few things.</div>
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<b><u>Top 4 Tips for Manifesting Your Desires (in my experience)</u></b></div>
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1. A Playful Attitude</div>
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2. Openness to the WAY the thing comes into our lives</div>
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3. Practice & Momentum<br />
4. Clarity of Life Purpose</div>
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<b>A playful attitude.</b> This one seems so consistently important. Anytime we're in "survival mode" and trying to manifest something we seem to need right now, our true creative power is stalled. Survival mode and Creation mode are mutually exclusive. The only way I've found to manifest things that I feel stressed about "needing by a certain time", is to first accept the possibility of NOT having it by my mind's "deadline" (a funny term that's very revealing) and realize that it won't be the end of the world, relax about it, then start to PLAY with having and enjoying it in my imagination until I feel the excitement of actually having it. Sometimes I can do this better than at other times... and if I can't seem to get from survival to creation in that particular moment, the best thing to do is get my mind off of it completely by focusing on something else that's enjoyable and fulfilling for me, and letting it come back into my awareness later when I feel more ready to deal with it in a more relaxed place.</div>
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<b>Openness to the WAY the thing comes into our lives.</b> So often, we feel that to have a thing or be in a situation we desire, there are very few ways it can come into our lives. Cultural programming seems responsible for these beliefs. For example, we often think the only way we can have a certain thing is by using money to buy it. Or, the only way to be in a situation we desire is to go through a certain series of steps that we've been taught are essential to achieving this goal. The classic modern-day example is: Go to school -> Get a job -> Have a career -> Buy a house -> Retire and finally enjoy your life and do what you REALLY want to do. This process is completely unnecessary, and can only seem to be necessary because we believe it, and have narrowed our awareness to not being able to accept any other means to our desired outcome, which in that case would be "enjoy my life and do what I really want to do". A quick example of this that happened for me just yesterday... I was thinking about my desires for the business Isaac and I are building right now, and how important the medium of video is going to be in getting our message across. We don't have a video camera, besides the crappy one on our phone. I noticed a "let down" thought of my ability to buy a video camera being far in the future, then immediately afterward "came to" and expanded my awareness to the WAY a video camera could come into my life, accepting that it may happen much more quickly. THAT VERY NIGHT, I was talking with my mom on the phone, and briefly mentioned my desire for a video camera, and she immediately offered to GIVE me hers, because her new iPhone has a great camera so she doesn't need her other one anymore!! I was elated, and AMAZED at how quickly I had manifested something as important as an excellent, high-definition video camera for the business we are building!!</div>
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<b>Practice & Momentum.</b> The importance of this is in gradually developing confidence in our manifestation powers, by proving to ourselves again and again, through real-life experience, that it is indeed possible. At first, you may have a strong resistance and questioning about whether you can do it at all. PERSIST. Do it anyway. It may take days to start seeing results, or many years. It doesn't matter, because in my opinion, developing mastery over our power of Creation is one of the primary reasons to live at all. Once you start actually manifesting things consciously, you will begin noticing a building momentum that increases every time you have another success. It's just like mastering anything else... it happens gradually, and your confidence in your ability grows through the small successes that come with persistence and dedication. First, you must believe to see... then you will see what you believe.<br />
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<b>Clarity of Life Purpose.</b> Very recently, I experienced a quickening in my clarity of purpose at this time in my life... meaning, I received a huge influx of inspiration and ideas for what I desire to manifest in my life, with great clarity and specificity. The level of alignment and enthusiasm I feel for these projects has noticeably heightened my feeling-emanations and the speed and clarity of my thoughts, which has seemed to directly increase my manifestation ability. It's like the cosmos is noticing that I'm "in the flow" and creating with inspiration, and is supporting my creations in manifesting, supplying me with what I require with ease, so I can continue focusing fully on creating.</div>
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I would love to hear about your experience with conscious creation and manifesting your desires! Please comment below if you have stories to share, questions that are baffling you, or anything to add to the list I made! We can help each other improve our manifesting powers, for the Good of All!</div>
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Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-50671596046339017142013-01-19T02:16:00.005-08:002013-02-10T22:24:50.346-08:00Resurrection of blog!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbQerY1Mc7iIMTu8FWARkauKeORyqxZMRdaIsnkazk18c7WFiScRRDr8-mEgmRifU4yUVNCDzGqD8zpRZXHX_-rBKw6caDaHW_GYRZ85JxT9GNWPtFosIT_7sU9iB-v34o0JtoACJ0-yU/s1600/mount+shasta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbQerY1Mc7iIMTu8FWARkauKeORyqxZMRdaIsnkazk18c7WFiScRRDr8-mEgmRifU4yUVNCDzGqD8zpRZXHX_-rBKw6caDaHW_GYRZ85JxT9GNWPtFosIT_7sU9iB-v34o0JtoACJ0-yU/s320/mount+shasta.jpg" width="320" /></a>Yay, blog resurrection!! Here begins the new phase of my life, as
expressed for all to see. What was formerly Ecstatic Mothering is now
Ecstatic Woman, to more accurately encompass all that I Am.<br />
<br />
I
type by candlelight, as my family sleeps, in our current house in my
favorite town ever, Mount Shasta in California. I have recently discovered
a blissfully new level of quietness by embracing the dark hours of late
night and early morning... the silence is so quiet I hear it ring loud,
at the end of the daily sound symphony of my son's enthusiastic
exclamations of all aspects of life. <br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
Winter...
snow is still piled on the ground from a big snowstorm on the
solstice. I love this new substance, so rare in Texas where I recently
lived. A few mornings after it first fell, it was already piled 3 feet
high, and I was so happy that I went to greet it in my swimsuit, falling
deep into its fluff and rolling around, meeting my new friend with my
bare skin. If you think coffee is the ideal morning activator of body
and mind, I'm guessing you haven't tried this....<br />
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The
snow does cover the winter wild edible greens I'm used to... so what to
do, as a year-round wild edible enthusiast? Make snowcones, of
course!! A scoop of snow in a glass, a couple shots of homemade Jun or
Kombucha, and a quick stir. Mt Shasta seasonal snowcone special! I
also thought to harvest some pine needles from some of the tall, stately
pine trees that cover this land (in a community of firs, spruces,
manzanitas, and the occasional redwood) and brew up some tea. Aromatic,
high in vitamin C... and it tastes like Christmas trees! :D<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
We
arrived here in Shasta right before Winter Solstice... the
long-anticipated 12-21-2012, galactic alignment, "apocalypse"
(originally a Greek word that translates to "a disclosure of knowledge,
hidden from humanity in an era dominated by falsehood and
misconception") ... for me, this solstice ended up being a time of new
friends, ecstatic celebration, and healing ceremony. My son fell asleep
at the perfect moment for me to jump in to a group healing circle,
where I had a grand time discovering that I have a surprising amount of
interest, sensitivity and natural ability in reiki-type energy healing.
The super herbal raw chocolate balls I ate beforehand definitely helped
with that... the remainder of my night was filled with vivid dreams
and blissful energy surges.<br />
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This
most recent new moon in Capricorn had quite a noticeable effect on me,
as well. It was like some kind of amazing Goddess had her foot stuck in
the door jam of my subconscious for a long time, and finally freed
herself and stepped up to run my life for me. I am now in the midst of a
deep life transformation, which has so far resulted in highly increased
clarity of direction, a new level of awareness of my creative power, and inspiration to implement new habits that are definitely taking my life up a few levels in awesomeness. <br />
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An ecstatic transformation in the homeland of Saint Germain and the Violet Flame Angels, surrounded by 4 volcanoes...<br />
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Do
you ever feel energy changes in yourself as the cosmos moves around,
and the stars, planets and Sun change their relationship to the Earth
(and us)? Please comment and let me know! Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-16522230161471056292012-07-06T12:19:00.000-07:002012-07-06T12:33:16.663-07:00To whom in you do I speak?To whom in you do I speak?<br />
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When you read my words and they are repeated to you through the perspective of your inner voice, which aspects of your diverse self are being activated and stimulated? Is it your mind.. your rationalizing, comparing, analyzing, justifying mind? Or do I speak to your feelings.. your subtle sense of truth, your quiet inner nudges of divine guidance, with upward surges of elated inspiration and the calmness of contemplation?<br />
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I am learning to speak from my feelings, directly to your feelings. Your mind can organize, compare and judge, but it can perceive no truth without the guidance of your feelings. It often steps in to protect us, to defend the position we are temporarily identifying with, against the attacks of "opposing" viewpoints.<br />
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I desire to speak in poetry. To rise above the never-ending battlefield of viewpoint opposition, jabbing with swords of right and wrong, weighing and analyzing and studies and proof and convincing. Sometimes I am invited onto the battlefield by a well-intentioned soldier, and my battle strategy is as good as any, better than most. I could forage a lot of powerful weapons to hold my own in the most epic battle of all time.<br />
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But I don't have the heart for it. I cannot oppose you. I cannot convince you, win you over to my side, because I don't have a side. My inner world is not constructed of walls, armies, dogmas, evil, and saviors. My inner world is made of laughter, intimacy, togetherness, bridges, and... soaring. Can I even communicate my truth except in poetry? With my words, can I gently take your hand and take you on a vivid, all-encompassing journey into the world of my feelings and imaginings? And can I do this without setting you on guard, triggering defenses raised reactively to your perception of my "opposing" viewpoint? Because... well, sorry, I can't oppose you. But I CAN gaze deeply into your eyes and speak to you in images, if you're ready.<br />
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How can I communicate to you that I am not an attachment parent, a raw foodist, a vegan, an unschooler, a purist, a hippie, or a whatever else you may make of me that separates us... how can I communicate that I do not claim ownership of any views that oppose yours, and I am truly battle weary? I am a seasoned strategist, clever with words and concepts, and if I wanted to I could see a dozen moves ahead in any chess-board battle of minds. Sometimes I take the bait and begin to enter the battle, because I still feel so new at communicating in any other way.<br />
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But when I step in, I notice the crushing weight of oppression. I notice the tension and blockage in my being, the hard, painful rigidity of defending a position, and I have to step off the battlefield to save my Soul.<br />
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The battle is over in my world: all sides ended up surrendering their positions. It is now just a distant memory of insanity. Now I am simply here in this moment, alone, and always present with every one of you. I desire to know and feel our sameness, our kinship, which I can see in your eyes when we become quiet and still enough to hear the deep hum of the universe itself.<br />
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To whom in you do I speak?<br />
<br />Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-17076887519495655882011-07-26T19:00:00.001-07:002011-08-07T19:39:06.777-07:00Ecstatic Alternatives to PunishmentWhen I first put the words "ecstatic" and "mothering" together, I did so because there was just something about that combination that resonated with me. I am just now realizing what ecstatic mothering truly means to me, and how it guides my entire experience of parenting (and living). <br /><br />Ecstatic communion is a state of being we can experience in any relationship with any living being during our lives. It is most commonly felt as the blissful high when we first "fall in love" with a lover... it is like we are transported to another dimension where everything is right and perfect, and the whole world is our playground. Ecstatic communion is characterized by feelings of deep attunement with another being, wordless understanding, a blissful dance of energetic entwinement, and being unspoken allies who are always inspired towards their shared highest good. <br /><br />Ecstatic communion is my guiding light, my highest aspiration, for all my close relationships, especially my children (since their entire experience of relationship is initially defined by their relationship with me). This type of all-encompassing love is our most cherished desire as living beings... if we are lacking in this, nothing else in existence is good enough to replace it. Helpful hint: we can give this to our own selves too, in fact, we must if we are to truly receive it from another.<br /><br />I feel sad when I see a parent spank their child, or verbally/emotionally manipulate their child, humiliate them, bribe them, or use any other form of "love withdrawal" to control behavior. My sadness comes not from seeing the spanking/anger/manipulation itself, but because of what it implies: neither the parent nor the child are experiencing the nourishing, blissful state of ecstatic communion with each other. They are experiencing disconnection, frustration, emotional pain and despair, although they may not recognize them to be that because those are such normal feelings for so many. The parent does not understand the child, and is not softening their opinion of what is happening and questioning deeply enough to hope to reach an understanding of their child.<br /><br />Many parents think their child does not know how to act in the world, and it is their job to show the child how to act, by whatever means necessary, for the child's own good. The end justifies the means. But think... which is more innately perfect, the "ways of the world" (meaning our cultural routines and unquestioned traditions), or your child who just entered the world and looks upon it with pure eyes, and interacts with it with pure, highly sensitive and huge feelings? Your child has not yet created an emotional stone wall between the way they feel about an experience they had, and the way they are told they should feel about it. Hopefully, they will never have to.<br /><br />Of course, it is beneficial to accept the world as it is, even if there are many things you wish to change. But that does not mean you have to compel your child to conform to the "ways of the world" using stern and angry feelings. You certainly can, and that is okay... but how do you feel when you do that? Is that how you desire to feel?<br /><br />What I do instead, simply because it inspires my experience of ecstatic communion: I remember that my child is more perfect than the world... and will certainly improve the world by their presence, if their higher-vibrational purity is allowed and encouraged. Then from this place, I am my child's ally, and show him around the world he entered with all its nuances, willing to patiently demonstrate and explain anything he requests a deeper understanding of. Example: I ask myself, is he ready for the responsibility of carrying a glass over a hard floor? If not, all the glasses stay out of his reach, and if he sees me with one and wants it, I explain why I am going to hold it for now, so he becomes familiar with the concept long before I feel he is ready and willing to take on the responsibility of caring for something as fragile as glass. If he throws a fit about it (which is likely, since his desire for experience is so strong), I acknowledge his feelings (usually just with my peaceful, loving presence) and offer him a more appropriate activity to direct his energy into. There are many more examples, some simpler and some more complex in their most harmonious approaches. But examples aren't necessary if you let ecstatic communion be your guide. <br /><br />If you desire to experience more ecstatic communion in your relationship with your child, here are some aspects of ecstasy consciousness I value the most:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Be in Your Bliss, All-Ways.</span> Live for yourself, not for your child. You can't be centered in someone else... so be self-centered. If you ever feel depressed, lonely, exhausted, irritable, etc... it means you are not doing what you are meant to be doing at that moment. This is of such vital importance to parenting. Your child looks to you for their primary example of HOW TO LIVE. Would you rather them see you enthusiastic about each day and all the amazing things in your life... or trudging along and living your life for someone else, mood swings and all? You know what it is that fills you with life. If you are feeling unfulfilled, ask yourself, "if I could do anything right now, what would it be?" ... then consider how you can restructure your life to bring you more of this element, and all others that inspire you. Your child will see that life is grand and beautiful, and that it is to be lived fully and with appreciation.<br /><br />If you feel anger or frustration about your child behaving differently than you desire, <span style="font-weight:bold;">immediately assume that the core of what initiated their behavior was a desire for something good, important and essential</span>. Even if you don't know what it is at first (sometimes it is buried deep under a seemingly unrelated behavior), knowing that their core, hidden desire was for something beneficial, will change the way you respond to them, and you are more likely to seek harmonious resolution, express acceptance and loving kindness, and return more quickly to ecstatic communion with them. Extend this same assumption to yourself whenever you feel moody or "act out", and you will experience so much more self-love and self-understanding.<br /><br />If you happen to find yourself in a state where your stress threshold is near its tipping point (most of us have been there at some point... always a result of not being in our Bliss at that moment), and your child just triggered you, and you have <span style="font-weight:bold;">an urge to yell or hit something, this is an important moment where much learning can occur</span>. You can turn around and yell away from your child, and/or hit a pillow or the floor, or something similar... and your child will see that it is not about them, it's about you. They will learn that strong emotion, when it is OWNED (rather than projected onto another with anger or blame), is a powerful energy capable of great benefit. They need to see how to handle strong emotion, since they have so much of it that is seemingly out of their control when they are young. After you vent some and are feeling a little calmer, sit down next to them (so you are at their "level"), make eye contact, and talk to them about your feelings. For example, <span style="font-style:italic;">"I feel so angry right now, because you are doing this thing and I have yet to find a way to influence you in the way I desire. I feel sad because it seems like you haven't been listening to me, and I desire to be heard! How can we strengthen our communication so you can understand what I desire? I realize I have also been feeling sad lately because I haven't been with my friends as often as I desire... let's plan a time where we can be with friends soon"</span> etc... let all the passion you feel, your desire for illumination, come through your voice with authenticity. This is MUCH more beneficial than either suppressing your feelings, or projecting angry opinions towards them. This way, you are acknowledging that your anger is a personal transformative energy, and you are up for the challenge of transforming in the heat of that moment. Then an experience that was seemingly just stressful and frustrating becomes a very powerful learning experience for both of you!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7jgLh-6MW6Rum6B1ngc5X7rfz_EbydBmaev7LbUrjBxUs6CJtexRg-pvW60D-GcqgAzjyCYqKH5uFbhdCItmGLZXis5C69j7emaT1ab2VaKHL7REkMLRvV3yHR-I1WhFvLT1-Nqqc-E0/s1600/cedar5.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7jgLh-6MW6Rum6B1ngc5X7rfz_EbydBmaev7LbUrjBxUs6CJtexRg-pvW60D-GcqgAzjyCYqKH5uFbhdCItmGLZXis5C69j7emaT1ab2VaKHL7REkMLRvV3yHR-I1WhFvLT1-Nqqc-E0/s320/cedar5.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633864464790904322" /></a>Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-55835205588598837832011-05-21T14:25:00.000-07:002013-02-10T22:30:23.174-08:00The Magic of Expectation: A StoryA couple weeks ago, Cedar and I were "reading" a book that he loves, <span style="font-style: italic;">Evie's Kitchen</span> by Shazzie (totally awesome book, btw, about raising ecstatic children!). He loves to look at the pictures, and asks me to read the words and tell him the letters. Anyway, on the back cover of the book is a picture of Evie, probably as a 3 or 4-year old. Blue butterflies are photoshopped around her in the picture, and one butterfly appears to be in her hair, on the left side above her ear. Cedar loves pointing at her and saying "E-bee", and pointing at the butterfly and saying "buh". So he was doing that, and I said "Cedar, a butterfly landed in Evie's hair!!" ... "Uh-huh!" he said. "Cedar, do you think a butterfly will land in your hair, too?" I asked him. He then gazed off into the distance, like he was imagining something, then a moment later said "Uh-huh", his vocal inflections full of wonder and desire. I said in confirmation, "I think so, too".<br />
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A few days, maybe a week, later... we were sitting in my parents' pool room, and I saw a butterfly flying towards us, behind Cedar. It landed in his hair, right above his left ear, in the exact place it is in the picture of Evie. He didn't see it, so I told him "Cedar, there's a butterfly in your hair!!" and pointed to the spot. He reached up and gently pulled it off, and saw it in his hand, then it fluttered off. He squealed with delight!! He was very excited about the whole experience.<br />
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This was a powerful experience for me, as well, and showed me the magical power of PURE expectation: truly expecting something to happen, with such purity and zero doubts. <br />
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Think about this, and think about what your child can create for him/herself if he/she believes it can happen. The only thing they need to be able to believe AND physically manifest something, is the support of the people in their lives they look up to and believe are powerful. If you tell them something is possible, it absolutely is for them. And then, because of the purity of their thought, they will be able to manifest it!Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-37696184394181935732011-05-17T22:40:00.000-07:002013-02-10T22:43:21.620-08:00Natural Parenting WorksWhen Cedar was an infant, in-arms, and I was already doing many things differently than conventional, modern parenting (see previous blog posts), there was no obvious way at the time to see the implications and long-term results my approaches were going to have... I was just doing things My Way, simply because this was how Love & Joy were guiding me. <br />
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Cedar will soon be 20 months. I can officially announce that my approaches have worked... and I believe they will continue to work in more profound ways as he grows. I see so many things about the way that he is that inspire wonder and awe in me, things that are reflections of his influences as a fetus, newborn and infant. <br />
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This blog post was inspired by a little boy who was just born to some friends of mine who live a similar lifestyle as we do, nature-infused and free. They, also, will be raising their child Their Way, and I desired to share with them how rewarding it has been ALREADY for my husband and I to raise Cedar according to our hearts and intuition, rather than other people's theories or cultural programming.<br />
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If you are parenting with purpose, and with consciousness of the effects of every influence you provide, you will see your own version of the results I am seeing. Here are examples of my version, to inspire you to continue with conscious and purposeful child-raising, with enthusiasm and faith in the inevitably amazing rewards!<br />
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At 19.5 months, my son Cedar...<br />
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...is the most cold-hardy person I have ever met. Do you really have to "bundle up" little babies in thick clothing during the winter to protect them? Or are we meant to develop a natural level of comfort in any weather with minimal or no clothing, if only we are given the chance as an infant? Cedar wears minimal or no clothing (depending on the season, and if we are at home or in public), usually just a t-shirt or two and leg-warmers at home in the middle of winter. We use minimal to no heat in our home in the winter (usually just a couple of space heaters on the coldest winter days). I have become fairly cold-hardy, from purposeful adaptation... but Cedar is WAY moreso, and I am in awe :)<br />
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...has never worn a diaper. At his early age, he is pretty much "potty trained". He knows (and often announces) when he is going to pee or poop, and usually does so outside in the grass (this works for us, since we have some wild acreage). At night during sleep, we used to use a puddle pad and towel in our bed for him to sleep on, and at this point most of the time he just sleeps directly on the sheets with me, because it's rare that he pees on the bed now. If he has to pee during the night, I take him to the bathtub and hold him while he goes. I will write a more detailed blog post soon about our experiences with elimination communication, since this is one of the most common things I am asked about!<br />
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...has never worn shoes. I can tell that his feet and ankles are extremely strong and well-developed, in perfect proportion to his body, and super cute! He walks around in wild grasses and nature, barefoot. The bottoms of his feet are smooth and beautiful, with an evenly-distributed padding underneath the skin (they do NOT have unsightly callouses, as one might think from not wearing shoes). This beautiful padding on the soles of his feet protects them from sharp burrs and things on the ground, and looks completely natural. From being barefoot, he has learned to be aware of where he is walking, and avoids anthills, spiky plants, sharp rocks, etc. He does love playing "dress up" by walking around in my shoes, which is fun for him... shoes are about play, not something he needs to navigate challenging environments.<br />
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...can identify most edible wild plants that grow on our land, and enjoys eating them! He even has his own names for many of them. He can identify, and enjoys eating wood sorrel leaves and flowers, wild arugula flowers ("woo-tah"), wild garlic greens and flowers, greenbriar tips, henbit, dandelion flowers, chamomile, wild dewberries, hackberries, pecans, juniper berries, and more. He can also identify, and avoids, the sharp spiky things that grow here, like bull thistle leaves! We're still working on poison ivy identification... :)<br />
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...has already planted seeds in his own garden bed, watered them, watched them grow into plants, and eaten their fruits. He is learning about the growth cycle, and the time it takes, and the nurturing and waiting required for the perfect ripening of plants. <br />
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...enjoys a wide variety of strongly-flavored, healthy, natural foods. He experiences a high level of freedom in his food choices, because all the foods I provide for him are nutrient-dense and unprocessed; therefore, it is okay with me whatever he chooses to eat, or not eat. No pressure, no expectations, no enforced mealtimes... just freedom and exploration. One big reason this is possible, besides being only provided with nutrient-dense foods, is that he is still breastfeeding many times daily (he is probably 75% lactarian right now... haha!); so whether he eats or not, I feel confident he is receiving the nutrients he needs from his natural urge to continue nursing on cue.<br />
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...is exceptionally healthy and robust. He is strong and gorgeous, with 12 perfect teeth and long blonde hair. He has only had runny noses a handful of times (after being around other children with runny noses), which are only a minor discomfort for him, and only last a few days as his immune system accommodates the new "information". <br />
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...understands most of what I say to him. I speak to him in adult language (no baby talk, although I love using his words), and often explain things in detail, with the energetic expectation that he will know or feel what I am talking about. He listens intently, and demonstrates with his actions or words afterward that he understands. When I speak with him, I form concepts as clearly as possible, and also see the images in my mind. I believe there is also a telepathic aspect contributing to his exceptional level of understanding, which is actually normal between parents (especially mothers) and small children... but only if we know it's possible and normal, and act accordingly!<br />
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All that said, this is just as important: when I say "Natural Parenting Works", I am NOT saying that he never cries or fusses, never acts clingy or demanding, or never expresses frustration. He passionately expresses all the emotions that are natural to all humans I have ever met. When he expresses himself, he does it fully, then he is done and onto something else... if he is upset and screaming about something, and I am calmly present with him and listen to him (without getting riled up or trying to change his experience or rushing to "make it better"), he usually resolves it on his own and is laughing again moments later. Childhood is full-on, and intense! This can certainly be challenging for us parents at times, but I can honestly say that the most challenging moments, looked back on, have been some of the greatest gifts he has brought me. I have matured through those moments, by feeling my way through them and being open to their lessons, and I am truly strengthened. I embody more grace, harmony and strength in my being than ever before in my life. <br />
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I encourage all parents who read this, as you raise your children, to DO IT YOUR WAY. It may look similar to my way, or very different, but the important thing is to be guided by your own Heart, your own intuition, and what inspires Joy for you. As you make choices consciously and with specific purpose, you WILL see this reflected in your child (immediately or eventually), and your greatest reward will be the Joy you feel from seeing the flowering of the Being in form who is in your care at this time.<br />
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Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-12513307713833632992011-04-13T11:19:00.000-07:002011-04-13T19:36:07.004-07:00Radical Nourishment for Your Magical ToddlerThis coming September, my family will be returning to the completely amazing <a href="http://rethinkingeverything.net">Rethinking Everything conference</a> -- a 5-day conference for families who are forging new paths by transforming lives filled with long-believed societal limitations into lives abundant in freedom, creativity and joy. This annual international conference is in Dallas, Texas, and it has always been a peak point of excitement for me every year I have attended! This year I am hosting two sessions of my own: <span style="font-style:italic;">Radical Nourishment for Your Magical Toddler</span>, and <span style="font-style:italic;">Brave New World</span>. Barb Lundgren, Queen Creator of this conference and an amazing woman/mother I have known for most of my life, recently asked me for a half-hour phone interview on radical nourishment for young children. Our interview went by fast, as there was so much to say! <br /><br /><a href="http://recordings.freeconferencecalling.com/mp3/537274/537274/MN2124_04132011100231036_1050034.mp3">Click here to listen to the recording of our interview for free!</a><br /><br />(click to listen, or right-click to save the file to your computer)<br /><br /><br />Before our interview, I took tons of notes. I realized during the interview that the way I write is very different than the way I speak... we had an inspired conversation, which went so differently than what I had written down! I'm going to post my notes here, so you can have both. It's all so relevant to this blog, and all these subjects could be expanded upon immensely (and they probably will be). Enjoy!!<br /><br />~~~~<br />Q: Tell me about radical nourishment for a young child. It begins with breastfeeding, right? What about breastfeeding? What makes one mama's breast milk different from another?<br /><br />A: It actually begins with pre-conception cleansing/nourishment of BOTH parents, then pregnancy, then breastfeeding on cue, full-term. Introducing other foods gradually, when the child is truly ready (some signs of true readiness include having teeth to bite & chew, ability to sit upright on their own, true interest in eating rather than just touching/tasting/feeling with mouth). Child-led food exploration, fully supported by breastfeeding. Until a child is 2 or older, eating food is more about exploring the world than taking in nutrients... breastmilk is there in abundance to provide the majority of the nutrients, which eliminates parental stress about "finicky" toddler eating habits. The substances in the contents of each mother's unique milk will transfer affinities for certain foods to the child even before they are eating food... (for example, Cedar LOVES strong-tasting healthy foods like algae, olives, and lots of wild foods).<br /> <br /><br /><br />Q: How do you know what is safe or right for your young child? <br /><br />A: A little bit of research, and a lot of intuition and common sense. Breastfeeding exclusively for as long as possible gives a baby the chance to prepare fully before eating ANY foods (this could be 6 months, or 9 months, or a year, depending on the child's desire and readiness for food). Most superfoods are safe (things like algae, seaweeds, berries, olives, grass powders), as they are simply nutrient-dense foods. A certain class of herbs called tonic, or adaptogenic, herbs are also safe and very beneficial. Wild foods (most, not all) and medicinal herbs contain more alkaloids (which can be medicinal and healing in small amounts, and can be toxic in large amounts). Especially if you are wild-foraging these, the child will guide themself on this. At 18 months, there are many wild greens which Cedar still has no interest in, and they are often the bitter and fibrous ones. I eat these things, so he receives their benefits through my breastmilk, and from this he is already cultivating a taste for them for later on when they become appropriate for him. He enjoys eating certain flowers more than greens at this point... generally flowers are milder tasting, and have pollens which are gentle, very nutritious and beneficial. If you live on land that your child can freely forage from (where no chemicals have been sprayed), it is good to learn about the small number of poisonous plants, and just pull these up so they aren't an area of concern. Many wild plants and weeds are highly nutritious foods, and many other wild plants are not really used as food for humans, but are not blatantly toxic either. A relatively small amount are toxic. Naturally, we would intuitively know what is edible and what isn't, but we have a ways to go to reconnect fully to that intuition. That's why, as a parent, if you choose to enjoy wild food and allow your child to, learning how to identify plants is an important and very empowering skill to cultivate! I believe it is well worth the time and effort to receive the benefits to you and your child of exceptional health, strength and mental powers, as well as the joyfully freeing knowledge that you are no longer fully dependent on the "system" for your nourishment! ...Your most nutritious food staples are given to you freely by nature, with no corporate middle-man... this is probably AS important to your health as the actual nutrient benefits!<br /><br />Think about this... all pharmaceutical drugs originally come from medicinal plants. The drugs are isolates of some of the strongest alkaloids in specific plants. These drugs are toxic to our bodies, because all the co-factors that occur naturally in that plant to balance and regulate the effects of the "active" alkaloid have been removed. Yet, people still take these drugs and at first they seem to work. Why? And why do people seem to need these drugs? Because in our culture's standard diet of processed foods, and foods that have been hybridized so they will taste better (which means removing most of the alkaloids, aka medicines), is devoid of medicine. "Your food shall be your medicine, and your medicine your food". So, people need drugs. Including children... many parents give children drugs for illnesses, ear infections, etc, to seeming good effect (only at first, of course, because it is simply quick-fixing the symptom without correcting the underlying issue). When you use your logic to put all this together, it shows that even children require plant alkaloids to stay healthy!<br /><br /><br />Q: How do you handle outside influences and your child, specifically those that send messages regarding sugars, processed foods, fast food, etc? How do you empower the child at every moment and minimize the bad stuff at the same time?<br /><br />A: In the world we are living in right now, this can be a challenging situation, which I have thought about and still think about a lot. Ideally, we would be living in community, in nature. The only food that would exist is the foods that we and our fellow community grow by our own hands. A child growing up in their own flourishing garden paradise with healthy community all around is in a very different position than children in today's world. This is what we are transitioning towards, and yet, what do we do as we raise children during this transition? My approach is: choose influences wisely, with as much discernment as possible and practical. Choose friends that care for themselves and their children in radical ways, and your child will experience this as being "normal". We have no desire to go to places in the "old dimension", such as the mall, restaurants, and places that have reason to sell junk food or other artificial, unhealthy contrivances. Instead, we choose to exist in the "new dimension" of abundance, health, nature, community, where everyone is a healthy influence. We host gatherings, parties and playdates at our house, and invite friends and community we resonate with. And we attend gatherings at their places, too. This provides PLENTY of satisfying social interaction for me and for my son, without having to resort to interactions with people who are choosing to live unhealthy lifestyles.<br /><br />That is all a wonderful, creative thought/ideal, and remember we are in transition, and will experience situations that don't fit into this view. For example, with family members like grandparents, cousins/uncles/aunts, etc. In this case, for any of these people who have an active role in your child's life, sit down with them and share with them the way you are choosing to raise your child, and have a conversation about how they can support you in that. This will be a conversation you will revisit with them as your child grows. Clear communication and honesty about your ideals are very important to maintain respect and love between you.<br /><br /><br />Q: How long does a parent need to be concerned with the quality of all the food their child is eating?<br /><br />A: Cedar is only 18 months, and I am already noticing in a big way his (and all children's) desire to explore EVERYTHING in his environment. If there is something in a child's environment that you don't want them to explore, it will very likely become a power struggle at some point. To the degree we are able to provide environments they are able to explore as freely as possible, is the amount of ease we will experience in our relationship with our child. For example, if you want your child to only eat certain foods that you consider healthy, and yet you personally eat some other foods, or keep them in your house for some reason, your child will eventually want to experience them. You can think about how this applies to your particular situation, and make any modifications from there. Just don't expect your child to show no interest in the influences YOU have provided them, whether its your habits, or other children, school, daycare, etc.<br /><br />Gradually, as your child matures, they will begin choosing their own influences. By this time, if you have raised them to enjoy healthy food and other healthy lifestyle practices, they will have this as their deep-rooted foundation, and for their entire life they will be comparing (often in a deep, subconscious way) everything they choose and experience to their foundational experiences. I have noticed that children who are raised in a healthy environment, even if they choose at some point to delve into some of the harmful things in today's society (which I did myself as a teenager, simply to understand what it is all about), they will learn something valuable from their experience, and most often end up creating a very healthy environment for themselves as adults (and for their children)... often even healthier than the way they were raised! That is my personal experience of my life so far, and I have seen this in others I know, as well.<br /><br /><br />Q: What about water, juice and other beverages?<br /><br />A: We drink wild-harvested spring water. Cedar loves it. He especially loves it cold or in "ice" form. Fresh vegetable or fruit juices are great, even right at the beginning of their solid food explorations. Cedar also drinks sips here and there of smoothies and superfood drinks that I make (in small amounts, he seems to prefer food that has more solid textures at this point), and homemade lacto-fermented "sodas" that I make. <br /><br />Cedar's current favorite foods & beverages: my breastmilk (still 75% of his food intake), radishes from our garden, homegrown sunflower sprouts, wild foods: right now arugula flowers, wood sorrel flowers and leaves, wild garlic greens... chlorella tablets (he loves the crunch), nori seaweed, avocados, apples, frozen berries, cold/frozen spring water and nettle tea infusions ... I waited for a while to introduce seeds and nuts (seed, nut and grain digestive enzymes mature at 2.3 years), but he began expressing a strong interest in activated (soaked then dehydrated, to minimize enzyme inhibitors) seeds, and in-shell pecans from our land, so I am following his intent and letting him practice chewing these things (he has 12 teeth now, including 4 molars)<br /><br /><br />~~~~<br /><br />One thing that is of primary importance in radical nourishment is growing your own food, and eating wild foods, so your child can experience directly WHERE FOOD ACTUALLY COMES FROM. This is TRUE "fresh food". It is powerful for a child to learn through experience that food comes from the earth, and grew from little seeds that you and they planted themselves and cared lovingly for until fruition... not lined up neatly on shelves in a big building with bright lights, where you can only have it if you give certain people pieces of green paper and metal coins. Their observation and experience of this is just as significant as the actual nutritional difference between homegrown/wild food and store-bought food. Simply put, children will believe as true the things they experience directly for themselves, OVER what they are told exists in theory. <br /><br />If you live in a place with absolutely NO ground space to plant a garden, buy lots of pots and start a big, lush container garden on your balcony, in your kitchen, etc! Do what you can do right now, while you steer your life towards your ideal vision in the long term.<br /><br />~~~<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Resources for more information:</span><br /><br />Come to my RE session, "Radical Nourishment for Your Magical Toddler" in Sept 2011 ... and for the broader aspects of child raising in a community setting, my session "Brave New World"<br /><br />Wild-harvest spring water for free in your area: <a href="http://findaspring.com">findaspring.com</a><br />Read the <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Ringing Cedars book series</span></span> by Vladimir MegreCourtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-26198323838575950422010-09-11T20:26:00.000-07:002010-09-11T21:13:14.877-07:00Trust, Responsibility & the Hazards of Life & NatureI think parenting should be easy. I guess it's really common for parents to worry about their children. People seem surprised by how much I trust Cedar when he's exploring new aspects of his physical world by testing his boundaries in new ways... "oh, be careful! He could fall! He could choke on that!" etc. How can a child learn anything about life if their parents are constantly projecting their fear of possible failure on them all the time? Of course they're going to make mistakes... that's completely essential to learning. Knowing something for oneself, through experience, is completely essential for wisdom and mastery of life. If you're taking someone else's word for everything, you aren't living at all... you don't even know for sure if what other people say is even true, unless you know it to be true through your experience or inner knowing (which is based on wisdom from past experiences).<br /><br />Cedar is nearly one year. He recently started walking, and neither required nor asked for any assistance from me... so he progressed VERY quickly in his proficiency. He is exploring his physical world full-on. He climbs stairs, and does all sorts of stunts to test and improve his balance. He sometimes looks like he's going to fall. Sometimes he does have a minor fall, and he may cry for a minute, then is totally over it and ready for the next thing. I am with him nearly all of the time, so in general, I am aware of his current capabilities, and also of the things that might be just outside of his current capabilities. I am also aware of the relative danger of what he is doing in every moment, and how what "could" happen may affect him. For example, when he was at the top of the 6-step concrete staircase in my parents' pool room today, I was sitting next to him... feeling totally relaxed and trusting, yet simultaneously alert and ready to step in, just in case in the process of testing his boundaries, he oversteps them a little. I feel like he is the stuntman and I am his spotter!<br /><br />So what it comes down to, I believe, is trust and responsibility. I can trust Cedar to be responsible for himself and his actions when he's doing something I know he can do, that I know he already understands and has the capability to take responsibility for. Some children never have the opportunity to learn how to handle having small objects in their mouths, because their parents are afraid that they'll choke, so they always take those things away (what a lot of work!). At what point can a child learn how to maneuver small objects in their mouths, if they're never given the opportunity? Nature is smart: gagging isn't choking. Gagging is a natural mechanism that helps a child move an object that's gone a little too far back, up into the front part of their mouth, and is essential for oral development. It isn't something to be alarmed about; just something to be aware of. For me, when Cedar started putting small things into his mouth, I watched him very, very closely, observing how he handled it. Yet, I felt relaxed. He developed proficiency... I can tell that he knows innately what things are small enough to swallow, and what things are too big. Because I trusted him enough to allow him to master this quite a while ago, now when he has a mouthful of pebbles or cucumber chunks, it is no longer even a blip on my radar screen. Some parents would be worried about this for years... what a lot of unnecessary stress!<br /><br />I am aware of many things that Cedar isn't ready to take responsibility for. These are things that I am committed to being responsible for, until he is mature enough to be capable of it himself. For example, at this stage in his development, he would be unable to comprehend that poison ivy looks a specific way, and that it causes a horrible rash a day or two after you come into contact with it. He will be able to understand this at some point, and until then, it is my responsibility to keep him away from poison ivy, or even better and easier, eliminate all the poison ivy from his normal environment. When I sense he is at the stage where he's able to understand this concept, I will offer him this responsibility, and when I notice that he has fully accepted it, I will no longer have to pay any attention to any poison ivy that may show up in his environment. This will also apply to insects and animals that sting or bite (bees, spiders, snakes, etc), electrical plugs and outlets, and all the other "hazards" of everyday life. <br /><br />My friend Quinn says it well: "to raise a strong and capable child, give him/her responsibility". We develop confidence in ourselves by understanding how to operate masterfully in our world. I believe this empowerment is the greatest gift we can give our children. <br /><br />I love being a relaxed parent with a capable child. If at any point I notice I am tense or fearful of something Cedar is doing, I check in with myself: why am I feeling this way? And I adjust my actions accordingly: either Cedar isn't ready for this responsibility and it is up to me to alter our environment or activity; or I just require being a little bit closer so I can "spot" him while he's exploring something new; or I just require relaxing and trusting his inner guidance at that moment. I even realized that when I say "be careful" to him, which sounds so conscious, it was usually based in a feeling of fear! When I thought about it, I realized that of course he's being careful... he's fully alert and immersed in the thing he's exploring. "Be careful" just means that *I* was afraid for him, and it has nothing to do with him!<br /><br />I am glad I'm realizing all this now... exploring, testing boundaries and mastering new realms is what childhood and teendom is all about, so I'm in this game for quite a while! I choose to have a fun, delightful experience with it :)Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-50606639438809423812010-09-11T15:26:00.000-07:002013-03-01T17:29:58.871-08:00Cedar's FIRST Birthday!! Wow, really?!?Hello... long time no post! Can you guess why? I've been caught up in the most fun, most immersive whirlwind I've ever experienced... being Cedar's mother. I've often had the thought of posting some kind of blog about some aspect of parenting, and then I think about all the other things I just HAVE to say, and it seems so overwhelming! He's napping right now. So I'm going to start this blog and see where it goes... short blogs are fine too, even if I really feel like writing a 200-page book about this past year... :)<br />
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Okay, I'll start with some updates. Cedar's FIRST BIRTHDAY is in 10 days! How did THAT happen?!? Staying home with him, committed to being present nearly all the time with his process of development and discovery, I often find myself in a place of timelessness, where hours and days go by as one moment. My biggest joy and delight is observing and relating with Cedar as his true nature shines through more and more every day, and how his unique nature of being interacts with an ever increasingly wide variety of the things and other beings existing in this world. He astonishes me. I completely adore him. He is strong, expressive, bold, totally gorgeous and sweet, very smart and focused, and highly capable of accomplishing anything he sets his mind to (very quickly). <br />
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He is walking/running all over the place now, climbing stairs (among many other things), and even proficiently navigating the uneven terrain of nature, barefoot! (he has never worn shoes, for optimal foot development) ... He has long, wavy blonde hair (the most hair I've ever seen on a baby his age!), and tan, healthy, sun-kissed skin. He has excellent posture and muscle tone, and the perfect amount of baby chub to fuel his intensely active lifestyle :) He has 4 huge, glistening white teeth that he loves to show off with big grins... and I think he's growing some more right now -- All signs point to YES on that one! He has a strong voice and very clearly communicates his specific desires, even with his very small repertoire of "english words" (just mama and dada/daddy so far, with hints of other words coming soon). <br />
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He is still mostly breastfed... maybe 90% of his nourishment comes from my milk, the rest of it from his "experiments" with food. The way I view his nourishment at this point is: breastmilk is for nutrients (and connection), and any other food is for practice (grasping and chewing) and experience (tastes and textures). At this point, there is no way any other food can come close to my breastmilk in terms of full nourishment for his specific stages of development. I eat nutrient-dense foods and drink nutrient-dense liquids every day, at every meal. Maybe if someone wasn't doing that, their baby would need other foods. I am doing it with great joy and purpose, for him and for myself. I drink a quart of nettle leaf infusion every day (I actually desire that much nearly every day!), and raw superfoods of various types are a big part of my food choices at this point. I'm also enjoying local organic in-season veggies (currently cucumbers and tomatoes, YUM!), pears from the pear tree in our yard, avocados, homemade sprouted rye bread (lightly baked, essene-style), homemade herbal lacto-fermented sodas (I make my own root beer, ginger ale, and a bunch more unique recipes), soft-boiled pastured/free-range eggs, local raw grass-fed butter, adaptogenic herbal teas, and sometimes sprouted, steamed quinoa. And superfood chia drinks. And especially my CHOCOLATE BALLS!! ..a cosmic concoction of raw cacao, a big variety of superfoods and adaptogenic herbs, with coconut oil and a small amount of raw honey. <br />
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I chose to list my current favorite foods to expand your idea about what's possible as nourishment during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Of course, the specifics will be different for everyone... and I encourage you to try any or all of the foods I mentioned above, and see what you really love and feel nourished from!<br />
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Another popular topic for many parents I talk with... Elimination Communication! When people find out that Cedar has never worn a diaper, and is usually naked (except when we go out, he wears pants or underwear), they wonder how it works! It's been a fulfilling journey of empowerment and communication. We still have plenty of "misses", and that means nothing to me when I feel the satisfaction of seeing him really GET something regarding his elimination... for example, if he pees on the floor, I immediately get a cloth and wipe it up. He sees me do this all the time, so now he usually does it before me! He pees, and if there's a cloth close by, he'll start to wipe it up on his own! We usually go outside on the front porch when I see his "poop signals"; he does it out there and I wash it away with the hose. Well, just today he started squatting/focusing/"pushing", and I asked him if he was pooping, and he immediately walked to the front door to go outside! He has yet to have interest in peeing/pooping in his little potty, but he's starting to make the connection, and I think one of these days I'll find him going in his potty all by himself! The great thing about EC is it encourages a baby to remain aware of their functions of elimination, which they are aware of from birth, but usually taught to ignore by sitting around in wet/poopy diapers for too long... then they have to re-learn later, during "potty training". No need to potty train! Just as babies innately know when they're hungry from the day they're born, they also are aware of their need to eliminate, just as much as adults are. Babies are amazing!<br />
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Another thing I desire to talk about, because it's something we did that was different than anyone else I've met so far: we actually didn't take him anywhere in a car until he was over 8 months! Early on, I felt so content staying home with him, and he seemed like in a way he was still "gestating" and was still so sensitive and open to subtle energies (some say there is an "external gestation" period of nine months after birth, and also that a baby's chakras take 3 months to actually seal up!), and I felt inspired to keep him in the "Space of Love" we created for him until I felt an intuitive signal that he was ready to venture beyond. It certainly made it easier that we live on 5 acres of land, so have plenty of SPACE to explore outside... and also that my parents eventually moved next door to us, on 10 acres of beautiful nature! Somewhere around 8 months, I started feeling the desire personally to participate in more away-from-home activities, and at that point Cedar seemed so physically and emotionally mature, and SECURE, and thirsty for as much adventure as possible! So we started taking him to our local farmers market every weekend. Just this past week, Cedar & Isaac & I spent 5 nights at a hotel for the amazingly awesome Rethinking Everything conference. This was a WAY new experience for Cedar, and he loved it! So, waiting to take him into a car didn't have any drawbacks, and only benefits, as I see it. That may be one reason he developed so quickly in his physical abilities... because he had endless opportunity to practice all day long, with no sitting and waiting in carseats. <br />
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Whether or not you resonate personally with the choices we made regarding our baby and cars, I desired to present it as an option, to empower new parents with additional possibilities for raising their babies. If my words speak to you in an inspiring way (about anything I did/am doing), that's wonderful, and if you resonate with something else, you will still know of these things as options, maybe to share with other people you know!<br />
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Wow, this blog has been satisfyingly long, and I've talked about most of the things I've thought so much about and feel so important to me. Cedar must be glad I'm doing this, since he's still napping! ;) I'm sure I will think of quite a few more things I just HAVE to say, and this is a nice healthy chunk of food for thought, for now! <br />
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ENJOY!Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-21270753288559501952009-11-25T19:16:00.000-08:002011-09-27T13:24:28.505-07:00Babies & Nature ExplorationOur vibrant and gorgeous son, Cedar, was born on September 21st, 2009, in our bedroom with only his parents present. My labor and birth totally rawked my world, and catapulted me right into my first Mama Superhero experience. <a href="http://chocotrixie.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-blissful-pregnancy-cedars-glorious.html">Click here to read my birth story.</a><br /><br />Cedar is already two months... Wow. Time is nonexistent when I immerse myself in the flow of my newborn. He is an amazing little boy. Strong and coordinated (he already seems to be very close to crawling!), very expressive, totally gorgeous, and highly proficient at his current favorite activities – nursing, sleeping and peeing/pooping :)<br /><br />One of the most satisfying things about being with Cedar all day is knowing that every single moment, every single experience I facilitate for him is affecting him in profound ways. I do my best to look at the world from his perspective as often as possible, which really assists me in facilitating the healthiest experiences for his development. I especially pay attention to this during his “quiet alert” times... according to <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">“Kids Learn From the Inside Out: How to Enhance the Human Matrix”</span> (totally awesome book, I recommend every parent and parent-to-be read it!), “quiet alert” is one of the six modes of activity/rest that infants move between, and the mode where they absorb and learn the most from their environment.<br /><br />One thing I have highly enjoyed is facilitating his early familiarity with nature. I feel very strongly about the importance of establishing very early on his comfort and enjoyment in nature – the REAL world – as I believe this will be one of the most empowering attributes he can have throughout his life. I am very aware of what is happening in our world right now, and see clearly that the shaky foundations of the unsustainable, unconsciously man-made world are crumbling. The signs are everywhere, for those who are ready and willing to see. And in these changing times, those of us with the skills to thrive in natural environments are really much better off than everyone else... I believe some of the most important skills of the future include our ability to thrive on wild foods (and recognize/identify them when we see them), our comfort with the natural seasonal temperature changes (our culture has been very much weakened by the constant indoor “climate controlled” environments that disconnect us from the reality of our local environment), and skills like growing our own food in a way that nourishes us deeply, and being able to build structures to live in out of earth materials. Infinite sustainability is the way of the future... simply because if things remained unsustainable, there would be no future on our planet. Soon we will have no choice. We can change with the times kicking and screaming, clinging to the false world that we've been domesticated into being dependent on.... or we can transition with ease, comfort, and joyfulness that we're finally returning to the way of living that creates and maintains true health and happiness. And with the “economy” crisis (which is just another sign of the crumbling unsustainable fake world), having the skills and understanding to be able to thrive with much less reliance on the current monetary system may be one of the most freeing, empowering things possible.<br /><br />Even this early in Cedar's life, I know how much every experience is affecting him and wiring his brain, especially the repetitive, daily experiences we facilitate for him during his most alert moments. We placed him naked in the grass (a soft, cozy part) for the first time on the third day of his life. We take him for walks outside every day... we happen to be living on 5 acres of land at the moment, which is a perfect playground for his growth. We watch the sunrise and the sunset together. Lately he's started learning how to control his hands and grab or bat different objects... and I've held him next to our juniper trees, and he either contemplates them for a long time, or sometimes bats the branches! We keep the windows open in our home, and the sounds of nature are constantly in the background of our lives... the morning crow songs, our neighbor's donkeys, dogs, cows, etc! He's naked most of the time right now (we're doing elimination communication instead of using diapers, and right now if we put any clothes on him, he would really just pee or poop in them... :)), so he sunbathes regularly and feels the wind against his skin.<br /><br />All this is so much fun for me, and it's greatly benefiting me as well! I find that I've been outside a LOT more than when I was by myself, because I have a much bigger reason than just me to be outside! I'm also adapting to nature in ways far beyond ever before... I can now comfortably walk barefoot in our wild, un-mowed grass, allowing the tall grass to tickle my legs and various sharp things to poke at my feet for great reflexology/foot stimulation! Wild foods have become a much larger part of my diet, because I know that everything I eat is being transformed into my breastmilk, and the subtle vibrations (and nutrients) of each food I eat is being transferred to Cedar every day, setting him up to be well adapted to these foods when he starts eating solid food. I'm also eating more wild foods with the aspiration of becoming even stronger and more energetic, to be more fully available for my very important, full-on mothering responsibility! I feel a much deeper sense of purpose than ever before in my life, because this matters to me more than anything else I've done before. Because of this, I'm taking better care of myself. I'm breathing deeper, stretching regularly, eating better, going to bed early, waking up at dawn, and being more conscious than ever of my thoughts and feelings and what I'm creating with them.<br /><br />One of the most wonderful things to me so far about parenting is that babies really do change every day, subtly but noticeably. This makes every day a brand new adventure! I delight in all the small things I notice changing in Cedar. The new sounds and “words” he uses, his increasing clarity in communicating his requirements (including telling me when he needs to pee!), noticing him noticing new things, new physical capabilities and movement patterns, and much much more. Babies change so quickly. I choose to savor every moment.<br /><br />I post lots of pictures and updates on Facebook. If you're interested in more regular updates on our family, friend me! <a href="http://www.facebook.com/chocotrixie">http://www.facebook.com/chocotrixie</a><br /><br />More to come soon, as autumn here in Texas extends nearly to December (it's still warm during the day here! Woohoo!) and we begin to move into the cozy colder months... I plan on writing more about various other things we're doing, including elimination communication/natural infant hygiene/un-diapering (lots of people seem interested in this!)... and I'm sure I'll share various insights on breastfeeding, bed sharing, carrying Cedar nearly everywhere with us, the importance of floor time for practice belly crawling (essential for EVERY other development that comes afterward, including all physical coordination and mental abilities!), responding promptly to his signals (and figuring out what they mean!), the effects the foods I eat have on him (and me :)), and much more.<br /><br />In the meantime, enjoy reading my massively transformative, unassisted home birth story (link above)... I loved writing it! Oh yeah, and here are some photos of Cedar to convince you to friend me on Facebook so you can see lots more :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif40adjcL02KCaqnfp7NrmymljoQBMsYrWzgRQkIWWk-kSCurr_V6bDfZYgFZIAKD_A90PjKtTr9DPccLANAkCfPYn_bKwH8bivk-t0zQgjfrRrIWyKeGmVkJ5DA4B7bcwvEU8kPKPlLHT/s1600-h/cedar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif40adjcL02KCaqnfp7NrmymljoQBMsYrWzgRQkIWWk-kSCurr_V6bDfZYgFZIAKD_A90PjKtTr9DPccLANAkCfPYn_bKwH8bivk-t0zQgjfrRrIWyKeGmVkJ5DA4B7bcwvEU8kPKPlLHT/s200/cedar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413817808427978482" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmn9dU-joLvHfk3Z1cOuoZDFmsjONGT6BuZJbxi-wc1jutPWpIiBlM-sBJAwExubrPKYhJA3-qMXUKsr7udimaPYihcBY10niR05xk0ZvHaq_VDIUY3RRvEHduYrW1hJV1ut85ocL4T1Wp/s1600-h/cedar2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmn9dU-joLvHfk3Z1cOuoZDFmsjONGT6BuZJbxi-wc1jutPWpIiBlM-sBJAwExubrPKYhJA3-qMXUKsr7udimaPYihcBY10niR05xk0ZvHaq_VDIUY3RRvEHduYrW1hJV1ut85ocL4T1Wp/s200/cedar2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413819143728638162" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrPwhCNPZAUFENw4Kxz64J4-5k23V6yNvQzKGZN6Fd-7K9Z2OPkRfSK1Ccf00jZTZvHxMbgL_Vx1AUdVCx4gZVA2141InuqA2L-h1U58hBjS_jUxDMFJ158yxvrB_TA2KSY1Df_b2G6Vl/s1600-h/cedar3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrPwhCNPZAUFENw4Kxz64J4-5k23V6yNvQzKGZN6Fd-7K9Z2OPkRfSK1Ccf00jZTZvHxMbgL_Vx1AUdVCx4gZVA2141InuqA2L-h1U58hBjS_jUxDMFJ158yxvrB_TA2KSY1Df_b2G6Vl/s200/cedar3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413819335009581442" border="0" /></a>Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-8128189180215945452009-10-26T12:19:00.000-07:002011-09-27T13:34:19.677-07:00My Blissful Pregnancy & Cedar's Glorious Birth<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXdEXWfCxGb6mBQm455QAk1fJrmtre_yh1F-K9r3HzLdsFgfO1_Jh62L_DynfD9qbydQOHxVYB7OUo-S41XzIhjxbVqHEtBFg0DikpW3MUHbfGl6rWzNNQ0HoP5mTvunRU5vk9UjGCknlz/s1600/Cedar-6days.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXdEXWfCxGb6mBQm455QAk1fJrmtre_yh1F-K9r3HzLdsFgfO1_Jh62L_DynfD9qbydQOHxVYB7OUo-S41XzIhjxbVqHEtBFg0DikpW3MUHbfGl6rWzNNQ0HoP5mTvunRU5vk9UjGCknlz/s320/Cedar-6days.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657136889786696530" /></a><br /><br />I gave birth to my first child, a radiant little boy named Cedar, on the glorious morning of the Autumn Equinox. As I write this, he has been enjoying his cozy life full of love and new sensations and experiences, for over a month. During this time I have often reflected on my pregnancy and birth experiences, unique and profound as they were. I’ve known that I’ll have to write about them, and yet there is SO MUCH to say. During my whole pregnancy, and now also as I take my first steps into motherhood, I have been rethinking everything related to these topics, and finding new empowering realities which serve to cultivate a much more fulfilling, blissful, ecstatic experience of my role as a mother with my precious child, than the commonly accepted, life-diminishing beliefs about pregnancy, birth and motherhood.<br /><br />The story of my pregnancy and birth is a story about Trust. My birth story is also a story about courage and commitment. I am a person who thrives on doing things in radical ways, which to me means I tend to make choices with maximum possible potential for evolutionary experiences and new peak levels of joy and empowerment.<br /><br />So I’ll begin with how my pregnancy unfolded. First of all, I have been a raw vegan superfoodist for about 8 years. This is a foreign concept to most people at this time, and for me at this point, I’ve been doing it for so long that it’s totally normal. So naturally, I was a raw vegan superfoodist during my pregnancy. I am sure this had a significant influence on my “unusual” level of comfort and ease during my pregnancy. I had no cravings for unhealthy foods (which are caused by nutrient cravings, if someone’s food choices aren’t meeting the additional nutrient requirements of pregnancy), no “mood swings” (although I felt my feelings much more fully and deeply!), and my increasingly full and round “baby belly” was quite comfortable for me, even in my 3rd trimester in the hot Texas summer! I was physically active, dancing and taking walks, right up until the day of my labor. The changes in my hormones created a wonderful shift in my brain waves, resulting in spontaneous states of meditation, and other blissfully altered states of consciousness. This provided an opportunity for me to cultivate subtle, telepathic channels of communication with my baby. I even received his name, Cedar Kumara, when I “asked” him his name during an especially deep meditation/communication about halfway through my pregnancy!<br /><br />I knew he was a boy since nearly the beginning, without having to check with an ultrasound. I actually felt no desire or requirement for ANY pre-natal care with a doctor or midwife the entire time, preferring tuning into my innate knowing of everything important, which I discovered that I definitely have! I deeply desired to experience pregnancy and birth in the most intimate way possible, to find out how many of my previously dormant superpowers I could activate during this profound window of opportunity that women usually have only a few times in their lives. I never checked my baby’s position when nearing my due date, preferring to mentally communicate with my baby about why coming out headfirst will be the most comfortable, desirable experience for him. I never bothered having my nutrient levels checked (I trusted my natural food desires to show me which nutrients I required more of at any given time), checked measurements, or any of the other standard pre-natal procedures.<br /><br />What I did do a lot of during my pregnancy, is contemplate all aspects of my life in great detail. I was very aware that as I was preparing to give birth to Cedar, I was also preparing for my own Rebirth as his mother. I felt myself transitioning to an entire new phase of my life, and nothing would ever be the same. I purified my consciousness of outdated things, thoughts, beliefs and activities. I imagined what my life would be like with Cedar here, in as much detail as possible. For me, pregnancy was an exciting opportunity for purification and transformation, into a much more evolved, responsible, powerful and caring expression of myself.<br /><br />Back to the theme of Trust… my pregnancy was a gradual evolution of my trust in myself, my body, and God. Before I was pregnant, I hardly “knew” anything about pregnancy and birth. During my pregnancy, I read a lot of books about natural, spiritual pregnancy and childbirth. The more I read, the more I realized I already know all about this topic, deep inside my cells, within my divine blueprint as a woman. My confidence increased more and more. Right from the start, having a home birth was my default choice (my mother birthed me and my sisters at home, so I was already comfortable with home births as the normal way of things). For a long time, I contemplated whether to have a midwife at my birth, or just do it myself. As my pregnancy progressed, something kept me from contacting a midwife. When I found out that most midwives require the pregnant mother have at least SOME pre-natal care with her beforehand, and I felt no motivation to do this, I realized then that I had a deep desire for the empowerment, trust, courage, and personal responsibility of having an unassisted birth, and how having this experience would transform my perception of myself…<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cedar’s Birth… A Story of Trust, Courage & Commitment:</span><br /><br />I was two weeks past my due date. I had intuitively felt for a while that my official due date was too soon for us, and our big day would come sometime afterward, so I felt very relaxed about this. One night, I woke up at 3AM, to the subtle yet distinctly clear pulsing of my first contractions/expansions/waves. For the next two hours, I enjoyed these rhythmic waves during the peaceful serenity of night, allowing myself to fully integrate what this means… the time has finally come!!! I will soon see my very own child, face to face, hear his voice and feel his skin! Is this real?!? I woke Isaac up when I was ready. We celebrated… we hugged and expressed our joy at the inevitable forthcoming BIRTH of our child!! Then we took a nap :)<br /><br />I had no idea how long my labor would be. I thought it might be pretty short, which is a common experience for raw vegan women. And yet, the hours were passing, my expansions still continuous, and slowly, gradually increasing in intensity. 12 hours later, at 3 in the afternoon… it was hot outside… and inside. Ooh.. things were becoming pretty intense. How much longer could I do this? The evening came, and nighttime set in. My experience began to get very psychedelic. My expansions became unbearably intense… well, my mind thought so. I encountered the Dark Night, a primal confrontation with doubt, fear, and a deep belief in limitation that I didn’t know was in me. Could I really do this? How much longer would it be? Was I going to “run out” of energy and pass out?? Isaac and my mother were the two people I chose to attend my birth… Isaac to be by my side the whole time, and my mom in the other room as a backup in case things became really intense (which they did). Their support and encouragement during this time meant everything to me. They helped me do the impossible… to keep going, keep allowing, and keep trusting. This was becoming a marathon labor, and I did my best to rest between expansions. It was now the middle of the night again… I went back and forth between my bed and our bathtub full of warm spring water. My body went back and forth between hot and cold. I remember leaning on my bathroom counter to ride another wave, and looking at my face in the mirror… I looked completely different, my eyes and face revealing the shamanic dimension I now occupied.<br /><br />At some point, the pushing began. I didn’t actually do any pushing… the pushing HAPPENED THROUGH ME. It was the most powerful force in the universe, and it would come in through the top of my head, down my spine, and my muscles would then spontaneously push my baby further down my birth canal! The only part of this process I had any control over were my thoughts/attention, breathing, and vocalizations. I sang as I pushed, in low tones to move my energy downward. I was told afterward that I pushed for two and a half hours! It seemed like his head was in my birth canal for an amazingly long period of time… I would feel with my fingers to find his head, and it kept feeling so far back still, and I felt myself stretching SO HUGE already! Also, while his head was in my birth canal, he must have been moving his facial features, because I kept feeling the most amazing and surprising little sensations! Then during the span of a few pushes, Isaac told me his head was out! I felt a burst of energy and power… I thought, Wow, I am really going to finish this!!! Two more pushes, and his wet little body slipped out, right into Isaac’s hands. My entire body felt the most gigantic, all-encompassing feeling of relief and satisfaction EVER. I heard a brand new voice announce his arrival. A massive wave of victorious joy poured through my whole body. “Look, Courtney!” Isaac called. I turned around. My little boy was in his hands, moving his body and making little sounds. “Ohhh… he is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!!” We went immediately into the bathroom and into our bathtub. My placenta came out only a minute or so later. My birth was complete. I actually did it. Then I passed out.<br /><br />I woke up on the bathroom floor. Isaac and my mom had caught me. I was able to crawl into my bedroom, and I laid on the floor cradled by mom and my dad (who had recently arrived with a case of coconuts). “Just hold me… like you did when I was born” I said a few times. I heard my little boy’s voice coming from the tub in the bathroom, and I felt waves of warmth pour through my body, and the most profound love I have ever felt. I had just been Reborn. I was brand new. And my child was brand new. We were brand new together!! Isaac brought our baby into our room and we snuggled up on the floor together, naked and wet, wrapped in towels. I was in awe, and in love. This was the best day of my entire life so far! And the first day of my new life.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Post-Partum Bliss:</span><br /><br />Cedar was born with the dawn of this new day, at exactly 7AM on September 21st, the Autumn Equinox. I was in continuous labor for 28 hours. I was surprised to discover my perineum remained fully intact… I really did stretch that far! I’m sure it had much to do with my pushing/birth position (hands and knees/squatting) and my controlled breathing during pushes.<br /><br />My mom stayed at our house to help out for the first week after our birth. Cedar was a lotus birth, which means we kept his umbilical cord and placenta attached until they fell off naturally… check out <a href="http://lotusbirth.info">http://lotusbirth.info</a> for more about this wonderful gift you can give your child! He was attached for his first 5 days, which had the extra side benefit of making it inconvenient for me to get out of bed, keeping me resting as much as possible :) We got around to weighing him a week after his birth; he was a healthy, radiant 8-pound little boy, and becomes healthier and more radiant daily! For the first week after our birth, I focused on deep replenishment and bonding… resting, sleeping, nourishing food, hydrating beverages, and establishing my nursing relationship with my little one (he quickly became an enthusiastic little suckler, and when my milk came in on the third day, it came in massive abundance!). I had gone 28 hours with no actual sleep, very little food (all I could get down the whole time was water, raspberry/nettle tea with honey, coconut water with grass powder, and a spirulina/honey/coconut oil superfood mixture), while engaging in the most physically demanding act I have ever done. Taking great care of myself afterward made all the difference… a week after my birth I felt wonderful, actually the best I had ever remembered feeling!<br /><br />My labor and birth went differently than I expected. I had planned on a water birth, and as I rode the intense waves of labor, I discovered that my tub was too small and hard for the high level of comfort I required. The challenging moments were immense, and taught me about the power of REAL commitment. The joyful moments were ecstatic and victorious, and set the tone for cultivating my ever expanding joy of mothering Cedar. I am deeply grateful for my whole experience. My labor and birth was the most empowering, transformative experience of my life so far.<br /><br />If my story was inspiring or empowering for you, it has served my purpose in sharing it. I fondly imagine a time very soon when all women will take personal responsibility for their journey into motherhood, the rite of initiation that birth represents, and forge the path of a new paradigm of mothering: continuous conscious awareness, willingness to personally evolve in every way, and the daily celebration of the ecstatic joy of being alive.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCx48dRIAGDS8b3wM5RzHvE_wey42IO3523o5ACpmA2iBGJoAEk8ESMhrwggEi4AsDSnJ5yBo_4JrifcfT6AyTkKe88oYxFEzsE9W32nYF8FJoqs9Jy2_nEAbDTHAg0yomWvSYktDxofz/s1600/Cedar-newborn-mama.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCx48dRIAGDS8b3wM5RzHvE_wey42IO3523o5ACpmA2iBGJoAEk8ESMhrwggEi4AsDSnJ5yBo_4JrifcfT6AyTkKe88oYxFEzsE9W32nYF8FJoqs9Jy2_nEAbDTHAg0yomWvSYktDxofz/s320/Cedar-newborn-mama.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657137127832070962" /></a>Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-68658544672878413342009-09-01T20:45:00.000-07:002009-12-08T20:55:49.971-08:00Children & EvolutionI believe the most important thing about raising children is how completely we can allow ourselves to be affected and transformed by them (as we, in turn, care for and guide them). This may also be the most powerful thing we can do for our rapid personal & planetary evolution...<br /><br />I first had this thought near the beginning of my pregnancy, when I was experiencing subtle yet immersive waves of nausea, off and on for a few weeks. People have commonly referred to this as “morning sickness”, dismissed it as an insignificant event caused by hormonal changes, and have been advised to eat more food to stop the nausea. What??! I think this is the worst advice ever, and this perspective robs us of a <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">very</span> significant, purposeful experience.<br /><br />My experience of allowing myself to deeply relax into the nausea I was feeling, somehow brought me consistently into a deep meditative state (and I actually began enjoying these times!). I felt my thoughts and feelings being purified at deeper levels than ever. And I understood the purpose of this very common experience in the first trimester of many pregnancies:<br /><br />If you believe (I definitely do) that when you become pregnant and the spirit/presence of your child first begins residing in your “space”/auric field, this spirit has come from a very pure place and still has direct, tangible awareness of our Creator. The immensely pure frequency of this being then comes to share the same space as another being; this other being (the mother) has been in physical embodiment for a little while... probably long enough to have accumulated some (or a lot of) limiting, false beliefs about herself and the world around her. The initial contact of the energy fields of these two beings with differences in frequency creates effects on both of them... they <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">affect</span> each other, and each adjusts their frequency to more comfortably share space with the other.<br /><br />If we believe this to be true, it means we have a significant opportunity as mothers. We can choose to be <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">affected</span> by our child's presence, and receive the gift of our rapidly accelerated personal evolution; rather than affecting <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">them</span> so much with whatever false and limiting beliefs may still be dirtying up our energy spaces. We will certainly still affect them (and they may have chosen us as parents for the specific way we'll likely affect them); I believe the key is to view it as an exchange, a giving and receiving, instead of a one-way input of the parents “teaching” the child about the world. Our children quite possibly have more to teach us than we have to teach them!<br /><br />In this way, conscious pregnancy can be a powerful evolutionary tool. We have 9 whole months to allow ourselves to be purified and transformed down to the core of our beings (to whatever degree we're capable of being transformed at that time); IF we can recognize and embrace this as a possibility.<br /><br />I am now in my 9th month of pregnancy, our birth-day coming up so very soon, and I plan on taking this same perspective and approach into my child-raising... and the truth is that as I “raise” my child into acclimating comfortably into our world, my child will be “raising” me as well, into a much more conscious, loving, joyful, empowered expression of myself!<br /><br />As parents, our encouragement and support of the purity, genius and abundant joy our children bring with them, may be the most significant contribution we can make to the rapid healing and upliftment of our planet and all its inhabitants.Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910240808546837241.post-77053927909872631482009-09-01T18:23:00.000-07:002009-12-08T20:57:15.557-08:00Raw Pregnancy & ParentingI originally posted this blog and the following two blogs as a guest blogger on <a href="http://lovingraw.com/blog">Lovingraw's Raw Rockstar Community</a>, and I created this blog site to have a place to compile all my entries from LovingRaw, as well as any others I choose to write, on the subject of my new family and our superhero adventures!<br /><br />This blog post was written at the beginning of September 2009...<br /><br />~~<br />Probably the best place to start is to tell you a little bit about myself, as it relates to the subject my blogs will be centered on: <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Raw Parenting</span>... or in a much broader sense (of which raw is definitely part of), raising children in a way that retains and enhances their joyful, strong nature as sovereign creative beings.<br /><br />So much of my thought is directed towards this topic lately. Here's why:<br /><br />Raw veganism as a lifestyle is nothing new to me. My personal eating style has been mostly raw vegan since January 2001, so nearly 9 years at this point. It is second nature to me... It has become “normal” to my worldview and everyday experience.<br /><br />What IS brand new to me is parenting. I am currently in my 9th month of pregnancy with my first child, who is due to enter our world right around the time this blog will be published (my due date is 9-9-09)! I am in awe, gratitude and immense joy about this huge new phase in my life, and the all-encompassing importance of the task appointed to me as a mother.<br /><br />I've always been aware that my style of thinking and living is “radical” compared to mainstream practices. I was raised in a way that was radical at that time in our culture. I was born at home, unschooled, and generally encouraged to learn about our world through pursuing my interests at all times, with no “rules and regulations” and “shoulds” about how to live my life. What was of highest importance to my parents is that I think things through before making choices, be responsible for the results of my choices, communicate clearly, and trust my heart about all things.<br /><br />Now that I'm near the “grand finale” of my pregnancy (cosmic, sacred, ecstatic BIRTH!), and considering my highest choices for my approach to raising my child, I'm even more “radical” than I originally thought!<br /><br />As you read my blog, you will be embarking on an adventure of discovery with me. The purpose of my adventure is to nourish a specific state of beingness: what paths will I take, what choices will I make, that will result in my family's deep and overflowing joy, conscious awareness of our powerful creative selves, living as fully sovereign beings, as a great blessing and benefit to all humanity and all life on Earth.<br /><br />And my purpose in sharing my adventure with you is to light a new path of possibility, and stimulate new thought pathways, for those of you who feel the calling in your hearts to do your part in raising the generation of Man who will naturally, simply by the purity and sovereignty of their nature, restore Paradise on Earth.<br /><br />I also have a LOT to say about my experience of my pregnancy, which has been joyful, comfortable, spiritual, and deeply transformative for me. I even began writing a book which I will finish at whatever moment is appropriate! <a href="http://nudefood.com/pregnancy-bliss">Read a preview/excerpt here</a>.<br /><br />I am also enthusiastic about sharing lots of outrageous recipes with you! I came up with quite a few cosmically delicious, nourishing and easy recipes during my pregnancy which I know many pregnant women will greatly appreciate!<br /><br />Here are some examples of the delicious raw vegan concoctions I've enjoyed during my pregnancy:<br /><br />* <a href="http://www.nudefood.com/community/func,view/id,30/catid,15/">Raw Chocolate Mousse</a><br />* <a href="http://www.nudefood.com/community/func,view/id,31/catid,15/">Strawberry Lemonade</a> (great during my 3rd/hottest trimester in the hot Texas summer!)<br />* <a href="http://www.nudefood.com/community/func,view/id,18/catid,15/">Sea Chowder</a><br />* <a href="http://www.nudefood.com/community/func,view/id,34/catid,15/">“Scrambled EGGS”</a><br />* <a href="http://www.nudefood.com/community/func,view/id,33/catid,15/">Cheezy BBQ Jicama Fries</a><br /><br />Who needs junk foods when you have things like this?! There are always super nutrient rich options for ANY pregnancy “craving”!<br /><br />Thank you for enjoying our contributions. More to come very soon!!<br /><br />A photo of me in my final month of pregnancy...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6JL3V85qjUAHd4S4R9nLRbYuTRGBRFheUe2KfCrZjodoxmMftBx6FcoT0doK4n9TMcwAEonYDBTMLvFS6WGkyNK7Gk9KDRutgeGOErfsKqRTVt6e5z_FzFr_jYKJSpcu8rzDDe08joNO/s1600-h/courtney-preg-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6JL3V85qjUAHd4S4R9nLRbYuTRGBRFheUe2KfCrZjodoxmMftBx6FcoT0doK4n9TMcwAEonYDBTMLvFS6WGkyNK7Gk9KDRutgeGOErfsKqRTVt6e5z_FzFr_jYKJSpcu8rzDDe08joNO/s400/courtney-preg-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413091936934613682" border="0" /></a>Courtney Clayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798660873618651575noreply@blogger.com1