Less Whining* & Ego Backlash.

 Personal, Uncategorized  2 Responses »
Mar 122013
 

Photo on 2013-03-05 at 15.09 #2

(In case anyone is wondering**, this is not greasy hair. I had actually just washed my hair but I reached a hair length where blowdrying takes half my day and the sacrifice of two small animals. I am lazy. I tend to walk around with wet hair most of the time.)

So. Over the past few days I became aware of a couple of things. Number one, my Bloglovin’ stats have -quite undeservingly- been growing. …I’m not even here! I am dicking around in the real world, worrying about my quarter-life crisis! I think it’s hilarious: You guys either like my whining personal updates OR are just loving the fact that I am not here regularly.

Second, putting a whiny piece about yourself on the Internet? Will not actually make you feel better. In fact, it’s just sort of embarassing. And I have a high threshold for embarassing shit. I danced to Britney Spears ‘Hit Me Baby (One More Time)’ at an assemblee. So for all on-line writers, let this be a lesson: Whining on the Internet does not make you feel better. So you know, you might as well not do it.

Glad that I did it, though. For myself and for you guys. I think I needed to share, and I want to paint a realistic portrait of who I am as well as the ‘positive lifestyle’ (wow that sounds awful). See, I think a healthy way to live is to work on as much positivity and proactivity as you can, and be all about the rainbows and puppies. But you know what? It can still rain, and your puppies shit on the carpet.

Just because you make a lot of gratitude lists and read a lot of self help books doesn’t mean you can’t go through a rough patch. Even the positivity-breathing self-help junkie gets down (on herself) every once in a while. What is important is that you don’t let it knock you down. At least not for long. It’s not like you have been doing it all for nothing, you just need to take your time to recover and bounce back.

Now, as the self help enthusiast that I am, I reread many of my favorite self help books over and over again. I always find something new I can work with. And I stumbled upon something that resonated very well with me and what I’m going through right now, written in one of my favorite spiritual self help books ‘Add More ~Ing To Your Life’, by Gabby Bernstein who is fabulous and spiritual at the same time***.

I read about “ego backlash” and instantly knew that this was at least partially in play in my life right now. Basically it’s when you’ve been doing well for quite a while, committing to taking good care of yourself and your life and all of a sudden your ego freaks the fuck out and “drag you right down”. In the book Gabby described that when it happened to her, she called her mentor who told her:

“Many times when things are good, we stop working as hard. That allows the ego to slip back in. So the best thing to do when things are good is actually to work harder.” 

This was true for me. Things were good. Everything was fine, you know? Nothing major, but at least going well at an easy pace. And I had stopped working as hard as I used to do because of it. Less healthy food, more coffee. Less yoga, more television. Too little time dedicated to writing and reiki, too much time procrastinating on the Internet. And when I was vulnerable after two disappointing events, the ego was able to hit me down with a sledgehammer and every issue I ever had about myself.

So I’m back to working hard for my emotional, physical and mental well-being. Behind the scenes, I am actually busting my ass for my own well-being. More healthy foods, more intellectually stimulating stuff, of course, yoga and bringing back all the other things I lost over time.

And I find that taking the pro-active road in feeling better in itself already helps. t’s like I finally am coming to terms with how I am feeling at this moment, with how my life looks at this moment, because I know I am on my way to feel better and on my way to do better.

And now that we all know I am on my way to become less whiny and more self help preachy again, I am going to put on several of my warmest sweaters because honestly from the temperatures here I could have sworn I accidentally teleported to Siberia***. Later babes.

*The long awaited critically acclaimed sequel to Some Whining. 

**And I sincerely hope you’re not.

***Proving you need to wear hemp shirts and chant to multi-limbed Gods to incorporate a spiritual practice into your life. You can be spiritual AND wear amazing shoes as the same time. 

****Slight exaggeration may occur. 

2013 Revolutions: Give Power To The Right Part.

 Uncategorized  4 Responses »
Jan 032013
 

A memorable trick I picked up from Steve Pavlina’s website is shifting your personal power to your ‘better’ side. Hold onto your hats.

For example, we tend to think on the one hand “Oh, I want to exercise.” and on the other we think “Meh, I’ll stay on the couch tonight.”

 But what part of us do we identify ourselves with? Is it the one who wants to stay in or the part that wants to go get sweaty? A combination of experience (if you used to be a couch potato) and low self-esteem will most likely have you identifying yourself as the “Meh, couch”-part. While in the mean time, the “Oh, exercise!”-part is totally you too! You’re just as much the person who wanted to exercise as the person who wanted to stay in!

So why not choose who you want to identify yourself with? Why not deciding that this “Oh, exercise!”-part is the more important and more powerful part of you?

I have two sides too. There’s the “yay, yoga” and the “ugh, yoga” side. “Yay-Yoga” is always psyched to get into a yoga class. “Ugh-Yoga” is the part of me that still can’t believe I work out for an hour-and-a-half almost every day.

“Yay-Yoga”-me has gained a lot of power over the past year. “Yay-Yoga” is pretty much running for president in my head –and winning.

Because I started asking myself: Which part is most me? Which part do I want to be most me? What is the aspect that I want to really be? What side would I like to be the strongest?

“Ugh-Yoga”-me now is pretty much just a lawn gnome in the back of my head who occasionally squeaks but who has relatively little actual power over what I do. And of course, sometimes I get distracted and Ugh-Yoga takes the wheel. But after a few days, my sanity usually comes back: I tell “Ugh-Yoga” to sit its stupid ass back down and I hand over the wheel to “Yay-Yoga”: The real me.

There’s power in your decisions. Whenever you’re having some inner debate on whether or not you want to do something, decide which part you want to be the most powerful within you. The moment you do this, shift the power to that part of you that wants to exercise, that side of you that wants to read instead of mindlessly browse the Internet, the part of you that wants a clean house instead of the part that wants to be lazy? Big moment. You basically ignite that side of you with that power you give it. Next thing you know you’re in the gym, reading a book and cleaning the kitchen.

So acknowledge that part of you that wants to change, that wants more and that wants to reach goals more than you do the other part. It’s just as more important and it is also who you are. So work with that.

Can I Win The Lottery Using the Law of Attraction?

 Law of Attraction, Self Help Hipster's Advice, Uncategorized  7 Responses »
Dec 072012
 

I got an interesting e-mail from a guy who asked me if I could help him win the lottery with the Law of Attraction. Allow me to come right out and say it: No. Non. Njet. Nein. I think trying to win the lottery with the Law of Attraction is going out expecting to catch a great blue whale with your little wee fishing rod.

Your ability to manifest is like the fishing rod: You can definitely catch most swimming things out there with the Law of Attraction. I believe when you practice with the Law of Attraction, your fishing skills get real good real fast and you’ll be catching some big fishes. But manifesting a lottery win is one of those things that I don’t think is ever going to work. Bummer, I know: You could have really used that money!

What a lot of people fail to take into account that the theory of the Law of Attraction might be simple, there can be (and often is) lot of complexity in putting it to practice to really get what you want. Not in all areas, gratitude after all is pretty simple. But I think winning the lottery is about the most impossible thing to manifest with the Law of Attraction. Not because the Law of Attraction is wrong or doesn’t work, but because of the following problems. Here goes.

  • Unless you’re a Law of Attraction Savant (or maybe horribly delusional?), your conscious mind will protest. Loudly. Because it knows statistics and the idea of how small the chance of you really winning is. You have 1 thought that says “I Am Going To Win The Lottery”, that is going to get buried under a hundred  ”Yeah Rights” from the rest of your brain.
  • Your subconscious won’t buy into it either. Every impression you’ve ever had is in there, and unless you have known about a hundred lottery winners throughout life, your subconscious thinks the chances are statistically hilariously small too. So. 1 thought that says ‘yes it will happen’ and a hundred in your conscious and a million in your subconscious are saying ‘no it won’t. Guess which side wins.
  • I don’t believe you can shut either two (conscious and subconscious) up, nor turn them off. Sorry, they are a part of you you have to work with or around when manifesting!
  • Manifesting money by lottery winning consists of two problems. One, you are cutting out ALL the other possibilities of you getting that money from other places (and that’s A LOT) and two, there is no energy behind the intention coming from you. Because you can’t really do anything. There is no action you can execute or energy you can invest. You just have to sit here and wait, lottery ticket in hand. Nothing changes.
  • Therefore in my eyes, trying to manifest money by winning the lottery is right up there with “I want to lose 20 pounds and have a six pack by sitting on the couch all day”. Your brain doesn’t buy into it, plus you give no effort or energy. And honey, if there is no real belief or positive energy, the Universe doesn’t have anything to work with.
  • The more realistic and detailed your visualization, the higher the chance you will actually get it. But you have no idea how to deal with all that money. There is no way you have reality in sight when you say this lottery-winning statement. “No chance comes in isolation.”  Everything would change if you would get that money, but fact is you probably just set the money-receiving attention without any further thought in how it would work in reality. Have you thought of the details and consequences, when you get that filthy rich overnight? The effect it will have on EVERYTHING? From the hassle with bank, tax and bookkeepers to the weird social situations of losing friends that are jealous and gaining insincere posers sniffing around you, The New Millionaire? I don’t think I could even fathom all that. Could you?
  • You create a powerless relationship with money, because by putting your eggs in the lottery basket you can’t do anything which reinforces that idea. Things are not in your control. Money is not in your control. You don’t have power over your financial state. You have no say or part in it, you have to sit and wait for the Universe to come and give you your money.
  • It is way better to either say “I want to be more financially abundant”, “I want to make more money”  ”I want to receive a million dollars” (without cramping the Universe’s style with specifics — it’s perfectly fine to want to receive!) That way you can see the financial perks, bonuses and unexpected opportunities and celebrate those, instead of having tunnel vision. Because that is what’s happening my friend. Who knows what financial opportunities are jumping around you while you ignore them and look at some chance game.
  • There is nothing wrong with financial goals. You can make intention statements like “I want to make a million dollars”. Or twenty thousand dollars. Or two thousands. Something you really believe you could pull off works best. You can manifest if you believe it’s realistic, if you have control over it and if you let it inspire your actions. With this statement you can put your energy in that yourself and inject that intention with positive action and energy every single time you do something for it. The more energy it gets the easier it will manifest.

So yeah. Just my two cents about lottery winning and the Law of Attraction. I’m sorry if I further ruined your notion you can win the lottery by using the Law of Attraction, but I just hope I at least offered some helpful alternatives to manifesting abundance. Kisses.

Self Help Book Parade: 100 Ways…

 Self Help Book Parade, Uncategorized  5 Responses »
Nov 272012
 

Discovery: I think it was through Eva I stumbled upon Alexandra Franzen’s blog. I read this article, gulped down everything else she ever written, declared her amazeballs and that was that. After my new fandom and seeing a kick ass sneak peek of this e-book, I was on the look-out for it for WEEKS. If not months. I subscribed to her newsletter mostly so I could read it as soon as possible, although her awesomeness in my inbox was a definite reason to say subscribed.

You can buy ‘A 100 Ways To Play With Yourself’ here for 20$, and 5$ of the money will go to Woman’s Earth Alliance. You basically buy yourself a cute e-book and donate money to worthy charity. Win-win.

Subject:

Um, yes please? Also, hilarious quote from the introduction also states that “if this book makes your life stupendously awesome, you’re welcome. If this book doesn’t serve you in the slightest, sorry — you can’t sue me.”

‘A 100 Ways To Play With Yourself’ is not a big read or a book about a certain self help topic. This is a fun collection of ways to play with yourself as well as including some other excercises and short columns by inspirational people.

Kookiness Scale (1-10): Okay, I’m thinking…a 4. Sometimes it’s a little kooky, like when she talks about adopting lamas from animal sanctuaries or when you read the poem called ‘Finger Painting’ but it’s always cute. And fun. And that’s what this book is all about: Playing, and having fun. Whether it’s focused on words, body or food, all the suggestions are mad cute. Some of you might think they are a little out there (rescueing an endangered language or aforementioned llama adopting) but there is a lot of inspiring material in there.

My favorite suggestions (without being too Spoiler Person about it in  the process): 

  • Take an impromptu writing vacation
  • Be deliberately decisive
  • Think a NEW thought
  • Be over-the-top grateful
  • Model your exercise regime after a beloved (and badass) film & TV heroine!
  • Also, this Moxie & Movement schedule she made where you have to flaunt your moxie and move your body in a way every day.

 My favorite quotes: You have to understand…Alex Franzen is brilliant with the words. In an Alice in Wonderland kind of way. She comes up with the best stuff, thinking up supercool phrases so you end up with the most vibrant and crazy reading. Everything she writes is like being over at an Inspirational Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

  • “I believe that PLAY is a necessity. It keeps us creative, curious, flexible and prolific.”
  • “Play with your MIND: Brain-teasers, what-iffery, and neuro-linguistic finagling to flip your perception.”
  • “Play with your REALITY: A gargantan glitterbomb of playful suggestions to spike your curiosity, spark your creativity, lighten your heart, loosen your rules and sizzle-fy your whole reality.”
  • “(About FreeRice.Com) Digital philanthropy for word-freaks and English geeks. Get into it.”

You should buy this book if…:

  • You like a lot of sparkly words that make you feel all excited to do stuff.
  • You’ve been in a rut for a while and need some help getting out of it.
  • You want a lot of suggestions to ‘play with yourself!’

Self Help Hipster Stamp of Approval: Absolutely. This is one of those e-books I come back to every once in a while to refresh and pick up a trick to try for that day or that week. The writing is fun and quirky, and I like a lot of Alexandra’s suggestions. Now if you excuse me, I need to get my moxie (red lipstick) and movement (yoga class) for this Tuesday on!

Law of Attraction Workshop! Dec 1st.

 Uncategorized  7 Responses »
Nov 232012
 

Inspired by the enthusiasm I always get about the Law of Attraction on my website, I’ve decided to throw together a Law of Attraction Workshop on December First at my place. For anyone who isn’t caught up in Sinterklaas Madness or whatever, how about getting the complete 411 on Self Help Hipster’s Manifesting and Law of Attraction Lessons?

  • It will be from 13:00 to 16:00 (but I might keep going because I can’t seem to shut up sometimes)
  • It’s going to be at my own place in Rotterdam. Which means I’m going to need to see some evidence that you’re not psychotic/a potential stalker. Just FYI.
  • The fee is going to be 25 euros
What will I teach? I’m basically going to open up my entire cabinet of tricks. This includes but is not limited to:
  • The basic mindset
  • Vibration Explanation
  • Manifesting Processes
  • Helpful boosters
  • More advanced tricks

We are also going to practice together (obviously!) and there will be time to ask questions. If necessary I’ll help you figure out how to overcome some hurdles you struggle with. During I will serve tea, some green juice and healthy treats. Afterwards, you will all receive a PDF with the lecture notes.

ALERT: I can take a maximum of 12 people at my dining room table. If fewer want to to attend, I will still teach the workshop if I have 6 submissions.

Anyway, that’s that. I am very excited! Send me an e-mail at info@theselfhelphipster.com if you want to join!

Repost: Exercise Matters.

 Exercise, Health, Uncategorized  9 Responses »
Nov 222012
 


Sometimes I don’t want to work out for a day. Which isn’t unreasonable; a rest day here and there is good for you. Plus, a bed can be really tempting on a Saturday morning, especially if you have been out late or whatever. Also, sometimes I just have lazy spells. I can lack the discipline for weeks, just like everybody else (until at one point I’m so miserable I drag myself to the yoga studio to get out of my funk and that’s kind of the point of this whole article).

But I know that I function best when I exercise. A lot. Preferably every day, but practicality (and let’s be honest, laziness) often end up making it four-five days a week; A busy schedule, lots of (incompatible) appointments and my own mindfuckery can get in the way.

But I know I always come back to it. To lots of yoga, sweaty towels in the washing machine and deliciously sore muscles; just enough to feel it, but in a good way. To me, this makes it okay to take a break here and there: it helps me be more appreciative of my body and my work-outs when I jump back in. It’s comforting to know I automatically will gravitate towards my natural exercise regime.

When I started practicing yoga every day in April 2011, I was already pretty happy — Things were good. And still, with every work-out I started to feel better. Significantly so. Even when I thought I had reached my ceiling of happiness for that day, the work-out made me break right through it. Exercising still made a world of difference.

No matter who you are, no matter how great your life already is, exercising will still make you feel better. Even if you think you can’t possibly feel any happier, healthier or right in your own skin? You’re wrong. If you’re not already working out, exercise will still make you feel more amazing. More than you can even imagine now. I’m sure of it.

Some will fare best with a more strenuous or more relaxed routine, with more or less, but I do believe that exercising, whatever way and however often, is part of how you create a better life and a better self.

Law of Attraction: Faking It The Right Way

 Law of Attraction, Making Things Easier, Uncategorized  7 Responses »
Nov 112012
 

One step in Manifesting that throws everyone for a loop is ‘Pretending You Have Already Received It’. I mean, they’re basically telling you that you are going to have to pretend you already have the degree, the abs, the boyfriend, the peace of mind and maybe the shoes. But how do you do that without feeling like a big fat phony?

It can be super effective; if you can do it right, you start living at the exact vibration that’s necessary for the things you want to appear. If you can live like it’s already there, you invite it into your life at lightning’s speed. But, as said before it should be fun and -also important, not psychotic. I want you to start helping your reality by pretending, not losing yourself in a fantasy.

People often trip up at the whole pretending part because pretending entails: Acting as if you have something that you actually do not. In the word itself you can already see that this can possibly cause some problems. Just the act of pretending can give you the idea of ‘Oh my God, I don’t have this (yet), how sad and sucky for me!’

For instance, people who want to be wealthy and who buy something because they are pretending to be rich, can get this nagging thought and feeling about their current lesser-than-ideal financial state. That is a stressed, negative feeling that can be detrimental to the entire vibration. Similarly, if you want to be thinner, you start pretending you are thin by wearing clothing that are (too) tight, you can look in the mirror and start feeling uncomfortable about your outfit. Again, ruining what you want because the contrast is still too much.

I am here to tell you that there is a good way to pretend, and you can actually let it help you. It’s less pretend, more of a Playful Inviting thing. You don’t have to pretend you have a six figure income and a supercool job right now, if that is just too far-fetched and makes you feel even more sad and uncomfortable with the fact you’re not there yet.

First of all, only do it if it feels right and fun. The moment it only confronts you with what you don’t have and it’s making you feel bad, it’s not the right strategy for you. That’s counter effective. Only do it if you can overcome the initial weirdness and you can enjoy it as it is: a fun exercise to help attract good things.

What you can do is invite the things into your life that you want, in small ways. Small ways would include in this case, having a pretend conference call every once in a while, placing a pretend ASOS order a size smaller, writing a love letter to your Prince Charming who’s estimated time of arrival hasn’t been decided upon. Anything that’s cute, focuses on what you want, and that’s fun.

Because remember, if manifesting isn’t fun – you’re doing it wrong. If it’s not something that you enjoy doing and if it doesnt make you feel good, you’re not really doing it; you’re just making yourself feel worse, torturing yourself with the reality that’s not how you want it to be and the fantasy you don’t believe you can attain. That’s not what manifesting is. There should always be an element of fun.

So if “pretending” makes you feel phony and fake, it’s not the right thing for you. At least not yet, not right now. What I suggest you do is skip the step. Just ask what you want, feel really really good for a second imagine what it would be like and then completely let it go. Move on to the aspects of your reality that you do enjoy.

If you are able to invite that element of play and pretend into your life, I have a few suggestions.

  • A great way is the Making Room Technique. If you’re currently single and you want a partner, pretend you have a date coming up somewhere in the future. No specifics but just keep feeling that magic anticipation of the first date that’s semi-around the corner. You can also make a little space in your closet for a possible significant other or room mate. You can make room for a new friend by clearing out a night in your schedule. You can make room for a new and permanently fitter you by throwing away the clothes you had that are (almost) too big for you.
  • A similar thing you can do is Get Excited Over Your Anticipated Future. Just dream a little. What would you wear to your first press event? What would you like to say to a new boyfriend or friend? How would you like to spend your first days in a new country or at a new job?
  • If you want a certain something, dress for it. Dress for tat job (or that life, or that boyfriend, or that scene. Whatever). Hot journalist, strong CEO, ambitious scientist. Lots of dates, doing lots of freelance, etc. If you feel an outfit works for it, it will work for it. Fashion, beauty and appearance is a great way to pretend, even if it’s just for yourself.
  • Pretend-play is cool too. You can pretend you have a certain job for 30 minutes or so, right? Doesn’t have to be hard*. Write to your new lover or friends. Look for apartments in the town you want to live in some day and browse the IKEA website.
  • Place an order with your Universal Delivery Guy. Just order the things you want to buy and pretend they’re on their way. Always effective.

And remember, feel good about it — you should always feel good about it! One of my favorite examples of pretending is Jim Carrey, who before Ace Ventura was walking around with a pretend cheque entitling him to a couple of million dollars for Acting Performances. Look at the guy now.

The same goes for quite a few other people who weren’t quite there yet when they started making vision boards, when they started making Goal- or Wishlists, when they started to give their reality a hand becoming what they wanted it to be, with a little Play and Pretend.

 *For me that’s really easy. I just sit behind my laptop with coffee or tea and type all the words. 

My Health Food Hacks.

 Food, Health, Uncategorized  4 Responses »
Oct 242012
 

A little help in the Healthy Eating Department can never hurt, right? I agree, maybe eating healthy is a little harder than just slapping a slice of cheese on a sandwich and hoping for the best, but it’s not atom-splitting or anything. Especially when you add a few tricks it’s even easier than you originally thought. These are things I do to make my healthy lifestyle a little a lot easier to maintain!

  • I prepare most of my food for the next day the night before. The salad (sans dressing), the snack, the juice and sometimes even the breakfast. I either have to go to yoga, get dressed and look presentable or snooze it up in Manfred’s Cuddle Deadlock. I make the food for the next day either while I’m cooking or straight after dinner. Yes, it’s a time investment and you may miss the first half of [Enter Tolerable Comedy Show Here], but it pays off.
  • Because of that, I assess how much and what food I need the day before. I know that if I work out, I’ll be hungrier so I add some ‘oomph’ by adding a big bottle of juice or even a smoothie. If I have a long day, I throw in an extra banana. This has helped me so much in terms of accurately calculating what foods to have on me and has decreased my need for extra snacking or buying extra food.
  • I never have the same salad two days in a row. I know myself. That’s just begging for an eventual Health Food Rebellion. So I make sure to switch it up a lot in terms of ingredients. I’ll post a few different ones sometime.
  • I make snacks in bulk. I usually do this with raw cacao blobs or bits, but I know of other people who do it with granola bars and somewhat healthy cookies. That way you can just grab one whenever you’re on the go and have to get something to eat real quick.
  • I also cook in bulk; I am Left Over Queen. A few weeks ago I bought a large pumpkin slice that was too much for me to finish in one meal, so I only used half of it and saved the rest ‘for another time’. Of course, life gets in the way: You go out to eat, you eat in but are in the mood for other stuff, etc. Next thing you know the remaining pumpkin is no longer suited for consumption. I’ve come to the conclusion it’s better to prepare it all at once. So what you have a few extra portions! Those are great for when you eat alone or when you want a warm lunch. In other words: I make too much, and by doing so I always have some food ready as well as prevent ingredients from going bad.
  • I picked this trick up from my reader Elise: I now buy my soft fruits frozen. Soft fruit is often the most expensive and the most likely to spoil quickly; the frozen fruit is an excellent option in terms of price and expiration date, while still containing vitamins and what not. Now I always have some raspberries or blueberries around in the freezer, without worrying it will go bad and without my wallet blowing her Rape Whistle.
  • CLEAN YOUR STUFF IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOU USE IT. Can’t stress this enough, because it’s better to spend 10 minutes rinsing and washing everything straight after than it is to spend 40 minutes on it the next day while cursing and hating your life.

And that’s pretty much it. Basically it involves more planning than unhealthy eating, but you’d be surprised how quickly you’ll get used to that! After you’ve done it a couple of times, it’s very normal. Oh, and when Magazijn‘s latest issue pops up on-line, you can also go read my article ‘The Joy Of Healthy Eating’, I’ll add the snippit later. Cheers lovers, have a good Wednesday!

Brilliant Breakfast Suggestions.

 Uncategorized  10 Responses »
Oct 112012
 

I usually stick to a favorite breakfast for a few months until one morning I look into my bowl or onto my plate, realize I’m sick of this particular dish and fall into a deep depression. Okay, not a deep depression. A little one. It’s good to keep things fresh and change up your routines before you get sick of them, not during. So I went onto a little Breakfast Treasure Hunt among my own favorites, those of friends and those of some healthy websites. Enjoy!

  • Green Juice: If your stomach is equipped and you can stand the taste, down half to a whole liter of green juice as breakfast. The chlorofyl and vitamins are a great way to start the day  and if you have a 3 veggie to 1 fruit ratio you should’t get any bothersome blood sugar spikes. Get ready for lots of pee-breaks though.
  • Banana: Or two. Bananas sustain me for a long time and I usually eat one before I go exercise or you know, have to think real hard. Burns calories too.
  • Green Monster: Oh you know the drill. Orange juice/Almond Milk, 2-3 handful of greens, a banana/avocado and blend the bastard. You can make it basic like this, or add things like spirulina powder, maca powder, chia seeds, goji berries and other delicious superfoods.
  • Chia Pudding: I don’t think you understand. I fucking love chia seeds. They are magical. These are two possible pudding-recipes that work wonderfully as breakfasts, a Dutch one by Lin and an English one by Sabine (scroll down or the way).
  • Toast: I love me a piece of toast every now and then. I like to eat it with butter and a little bit of pepper&salt, it reminds me of when I studied in Canada and I had this on campus as breakfast. Healthier ways to eat toast are with avocado on top, some sort of nut butter or even coconut butter (which is delicious).
  • Yogurt Mania: A breakfast I bring with me to work sometimes. I’ve always been a cereal killer (HA HA) and since I discovered Dorset Cereal and other organic cereals without crazy amounts of sugar I’m rehashing the habit. Add (soy) yogurt, chia seeds, cranberries&raisins, organic cereal and top with some fresh fruit. Filling, healthy and very tasty.
  • Oats: Although I hardly ever eat it myself, ever since I saw this recipe by Food Savant Nettelie on Nadelunch, I wanted to give it a go. There are also lots of awesome English recipes with Oat Meal Variations, for which you can click here (pumpkin spice), here (chocolate) and here (5 warm oat meal recipes – perfect for fall)!
  • The Second  Breakfast I wrote about here. Very satisfying and nutritious, plus open for all kinds of varying with toppings and fruits.
  • “Flippin’ Bitches”: Manfred is convinced this is a term for French Toast. I thought he’s made it up and I found after some Googling that the Interwebz agrees with me, but flipped bitches is a literal translation of the Dutch term for French Toast. Anyway, my sexy Manfriend makes a mean French Toast for me. The difference with regular French toast is that he uses wholewheat bread and I make him use less sugar and add more cinnamon (I feel about cinnamon the way Christopher Walken feels about cowbell).
  • Fruity Platter: Fruit is easy to digest, delicious and you can dress it up or down with sweetener or not, whatever you like. I personally love pineapple with some apple and orange.
  • Omelette: My favorite is with just chopped red onion, lately, but adding tomato, cheese and spinach is also very good.

Would you like more ideas? Click here for Oh She Glows Breakfast Top 15 and here for Some Like It Raw’s archive! Also drop what your favorite breakfasts are down in the comments: They don’t have to be healthy, just breakfast suggestions in general are fine!

Request: My Top 5 Of Self Development Books!

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Oct 062012
 

Milou, a real sweetheart, asked me on Twitter what 3-5 books I would recommend most of all, when it comes to Self Help & the Law of Attraction.

Since it’s been quite a while since I talked self help books — it’s been drifting a little bit from my priority list. This is a nice way to get back into it again, rehashing some of the previous entries that are my absolute favorite.

What I present here is purely Self Development and Law of Attraction related, because Kris Carr’s CrazySexyDiet is in my All Time Top 5 too. The books in this top 5 are very readable for ‘beginners’, people who are just getting interested in this stuff and the Just Plain Fascinated. Enjoy!

Steve Pavlina – Self Development For Smart People: Steve Pavlina. You either hate him or love him. Regardless of what your opinion might be of his personal life or some of his more ‘out there’ perspective, he has incredible content. His book is my ultimate favorite self help book.

I honestly think he has written the best self help book I have ever laid hands on, this book has actually helped me grow. Everything I said in this book review when I first started this blog still stands. In fact, I have only grown more appreciative of this book since then. I reread it every once in a while and occasionally just open a chapter for the heck of it.

Totally different than your average self help book, using basic and actually quite rational principles to apply to your life for the better. This book is as holistic as you can get. I am a big fan. You can buy it here at Bol.com for 11.99 and it’s an enlightening read.

Michael Losier – Law of Attraction (the secret behind The Secret): The most poignant definition of how you can apply the Law of Attraction “I attract to my life whatever I give my attention, energy and focus to, whether positive or negative.“ comes from this book, as come most of the very basic principles you can use in your own life that I sometimes talk about.

It’s a 136-page practical guide of pretty much…Manifesting For Dummies. Great for beginners. If you want to start playing around and experimenting with the Law of Attraction, this is a book worth investing in. It’s only 9,99 right now and you can find it here.

Jack Canfield – The Success Principles: It’s quite an American book, I’ll give you that. Very motivational chest pounding, you can do it, and success can be made. But it has great anecdotes, quotes, exercises and is filled with information from all the leading motivational gurus and other succesful people. It’s a book that can really motivate you and help you going in the right direction. You can find the book here.

(Author’s Note: HOW mystifying is it that the Dutch version only has 64 Success Principles while the American has 66?! I gave my friend Eva the English version for her birthday last year, I’m going to ask her to send me the Index and compare them with my Dutch version.)

Brian Tracy – Eat That Frog: Another short and sweet one, but genius in terms of personal effectivity, time management, planning and priorities. I’ve read this to bits. Some of the techniques I talk about in my To Do List post come from this book and Brian Tracy gives an honest plan to becoming good at what you do too, like reading field literature and prioritizing the most important things.

If you need help getting your shit together when it comes to studying, work and deadlines, this is the book for you. It’s at Bol.com

Gabrielle Bernstein – Spirit Junkie: I couldn’t resist adding some Gabby Bernstein to the mix because she’s currently the most influential person in my arsenal. I have a MAJOR GIRL CRUSH on her and her work and I cannot wait for her next book ‘May Cause Miracles’!

Spirit Junkie is her very personal story of how she integrated spirituality into her life and how that helped her to become more herself, a happier, healthier person and find her true purpose. It’s beautiful, filled with wonderful quotes and has helpful exercises. You can find the book here on Bol.com !

Psssssht….I know there isn’t that much Law of Attraction Stuff in here yet, but I’m working on it. I don’t include The Secret because it’s too simplistic and I am still working my way through the Hicks books. What I read most in terms of Law of Attraction stuff is Gala Darling’s Love&Sequins, Steve Pavlina’s archive and my own articles. That last bit may sound weird, but for me it really helps to revisit my previous posts; I mean, I wrote them because that is how the Law of Attraction makes the most sense to me.

If you like I can post a More Advanced Top 5 next week? Let me know in the comments and enjoy the absolute fuck out of your weekend for me, okay? See people you like, avoid people you don’t, eat healthy with the occasional cupcake and if you can, drink champagne. Lin and I are definitely doing that tonight. Kisses!

 

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