Lovely October
MIND MEET HEART
Opening and tending to the heart.
“How can we drop what we are holding on to, if we do not first look for the hand that is grasping so tightly.”
- Sarah Blondin, Heart Minded
Mind meet Heart.
We love the fall season because it draws us towards the warmth on the internal, while it shows us how beautiful it is to release things that are no longer living. The mind has an interesting role in our lives, serving us logic and reason, but often times it can spin out of control, it can take us on tangents that are meant to keep us “safe” and keep life predictable. It’s so fascinating to step back away from the swirl and allow ourselves to lean further into our feelings. After all— it is a delicate balance. We need both parts, but we must eb and flow between the two.
When we begin to feel vulnerable, our mind tends to pull us back towards facts and reason. And so often these are just the facts and reason that we are able to perceive. We can only see what we allow ourselves to see.
“As we become more heart minded, we begin transforming our human experience from something out of our hands to something very much in there. We begin to cultivate joy instead of haphazardly stumbling upon it when we are wiling.”
The practice is pulling yourself back, stepping away from the mind, seeing it as a separate entity within, honoring it, valuing it and what it does for you. We cannot shame the parts of us into “correct” relationship. We have to hold space for it to be something we need. Then we drop all our thoughts, release all your identities, your titles, and place your hands on your heart. Lean into your heart, evening physically, softening forward and into the tenderest of places within. Bring into awareness what your tenderness looks like, what it feels like. The things that puddle the deepest parts of you. What does it feel like to be in that space? The heart is here to alleviate the burden of the thinking mind, and bring you into trust and surrender. Breathe into that.
We want these parts of us to not compete, but to be brought into unity. Each serving a role, but each holding a space. As we draw inward for this season, we invite you to tend to the inner warmer of the gooey You.
What does it feel like? How can you stay here a little longer?
If you want to explore this and other heart minded practices, we love Sarah Blondin’s book, Heart Minded. We sell this in our shoppe.
As the leaves begin to fall…
Ohhhh how this season makes me feel! The beautiful canvas of colors and how it shifts daily reminds us that change can be beautiful and this “letting go” season can provide us with such an exquisite view. I love the wisdom of nature and how if we are open to it and hungry to learn we can gather so many amazing lessons. For example, a tree is helping itself survive the long winter by releasing the leaves. Without dropping these leaves a tree would be stuck with thousands of unproductive appendages and no way to make food. Also, the surface area of all the leaves would pose a threat to the tree’s physical integrity. The weight of the snow and the wind could damage the tree to the point of death due to major breakage. One of the coolest parts of this whole process for me is that the leaves that fall away actually help the next generation of leaves. The nutrients from the decaying leaves are recycled to help feed the new leaves and also help the overall health of the tree.
May this fall be a season of learning that there is incredible beauty in releasing.
— Kelli McMullen
It’s soup season!
By Lauren Camilleri, Whole + Known
One of my favorite things about fall is engaging in all things warm. Cozy sweats and sweaters, warm cups of tea, heated blankets, saunas and one of my favorite things to make… a nourishing pot of soup.
Something beautiful about creating anything is allowing it to become an intentional ritual. I want to share my favorite Chicken + Rice soup recipe so that you can create a ritual of your own this fall season. The chicken! This is important to poach yourself as opposed to buying a roasted chicken at the grocery store because there are additional ingredients and very often, we don’t know what they are – so, we poach from scratch which gives us our very own chicken stock too!
Start with a clean open space and add in your favorite things to create an ambiance – candles, incense, palo to cleanse the space, music (I love a smooth jazz while I create a meal), how can you create an experience with presence?
INGREDIENTS
Use organic where you can! Removing toxins wherever you can to support your body’s optimal
functioning.
Poaching Ingredients:
Organic, free-range whole chicken (you can find these at some farmers markets and always at the local grocery)
Filtered water (enough to cover your chicken)
1 lemon, sliced
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 stalks of celery, cut into sticks
3 large carrots, cut into sticks
1 yellow onion, halved (separate pieces)
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp of fresh oregano
Sea salt + whole black peppercorns (pepper works great too!)
These measurements are not super important so don’t sweat it if they’re a little bit different – add
what you like!
Soup Ingredients:
1 tbsp of ghee (grass-fed, finished)
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 carrots, cut into full or ½ moons
Shredded chicken from poaching
6-8 cups of stock from your poach
2-3 cups Organic white rice, cooked
Juice from one lemon
Fresh oregano to taste
Fresh thyme to taste
Fresh basil leaves
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Other herbs to try! Rosemary, basil, tarragon – how can you make it yours?
*** DON’T DRAIN THE WATER WHEN IT’S FINISHED! We’re using the stock for the soup.
Poaching Directions:
Take the innards out of the chicken and place in stock pot
Cover chicken with filtered water
Throw in all of the ingredients above
Bring to a boil
Lower to simmer for 1 hr and 15 min
While chicken is poaching, make rice and cut vegetables for soup
Drain the chicken stock into a separate pot
Let chicken cool on a cutting board for 5-10 min
Shred chicken (I like to use two forks to do this)
In a large pot, melt ghee on med-high heat
Sauté celery, onions, carrots, garlic for 5 min
Pour in your chicken stock
Add shredded chicken
Add rice (more or less if you want)
Add salt, pepper and herbs
Simmer 10 – 20 min
Serve with fresh basil as a garnish
Store in fridge up to 5 days or freeze in portion sized containers to enjoy for future meals. Just heat up in a small pot on the stove.
