Gratitude, Forgiveness, and a 5k Race

Off the top: www.mochaangels.com is LIVE!!! Yes, it's here. The site is basic...a work in progress. But it's LIVE! YEA!

I'm back doing intuitive readings publicly, so if you want one, head on over there. They start out as little as $35.

And the Yoga Retreat for Women of Color is coming May 17-19, 2013 at Kripalu!!
I was so happy to see my little face there listed as a presenter! Click here: Yoga Retreat for Women of Color. I am so grateful! So who is coming? LOL!

We (Maya, Gail, Robin, and myself) also need press for this event, especially local and national radio interviews, so if you or someone you know has a microphone, let me know.

Guess what I'm doing on Thanksgiving (aka Black Thursday)?

I've been training since August 25th. I was sidelined with a sinus infection for 2 weeks, but I got back on the horse. The infection did not slide down into my lungs, which was my biggest concern. I did all types of lung/chest/heart chakra healing to keep that puppy at bay. They all worked.

On Sunday, my family and I walked the 5K course together so that I was familiar with it ahead of time. Yes, I got intimidated. But this is what I've worked for, so onward!!

Based on my previous post about forgiveness, I decided to do a colon cleanse. In the spirit of physical release. And I wanted to see this mucoid plaque I've been reading about for years!

Mucoid plaque is gunk that lines up on the colon wall after years of crappy food, hormones, stress, etc. I did this fast/cleanse for 5 days. I hated every second of it.
The plaque came out the morning of Day 5. It was EXACTLY how it looks in all the photos I've seen: rubbery - like strips of a busted tire; solid, thick, and shaped like colon wall. I started to take pictures, but I knew ya'll would not want to see that. Search "mucoid plaque" and you'll see the pictures.

I'm I glad I did it? Yes. Would I do it again? Never. I was hungry, bitchy, hungry, annoyed, and hungry (did I say that already?). Then I thought, "Is this stuff I'm drinking making my poop look rubbery?" Some would say yes. But was I more regular afterward? Yes. However, I'll stick to using food as medicine.

Last, here's more forgiveness mantras for you all. These are from Catherine Ponder's books.

To say daily:

 

"I fully and freely forgive anyone or anything that needs forgiveness in my past or present."

 

To gain release from troublesome situations:

"I release this situation (or these people) to the perfect outworking of the Christ Consciousness (or insert name you prefer) now. I now loose and let them go completely."

When the same problem re-occurs:

"I fully and freely forgive you. I loose you and let you go. All ill feeling has been cleared up between us now and forever."

All inclusive forgiveness prayer:

"I forgive everything, everyone, every experience, every memory of the past or present that needs forgiveness. I forgive positively everyone. God is love, and I am forgiven and governed by God's love alone. God's love is now adjusting my life and its problems. Realizing this, I abide in peace."

 

If you want forgiveness from others:

 

"I am now forgiven by everything and everyone of the past and present that needs to forgive me. I am now positively forgiven by everyone."

Love,
Althea

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Gratitude, Forgiveness, and a 5k Race

Forgiveness: Making Peace With the Past



 Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Eta Xi Chapter, University of Georgia

Diversity Tenfold, Spring 1991

Front Row, from left: Shaleen, Ernita, Kerri, Octavia, Val

Back Row, from left: Denise, Althea, Jan, Ondra, Mary



 

On June 21, 2012, after driving 15 hours from Baltimore to Atlanta with 2 children in the car and washing my mid-back length locs even after said exhausting drive, complete with a queasy stomach, I had what you'd call a “moment.”  

I had come home to Atlanta to see my ailing maternal grandmother who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. I’d also come to see my Line Sisters, most of whom I hadn’t seen since 1992. That is why I was queasy. Nervous as could be, to be honest. And in my vulnerable exhaustion, I flashed back to a would-be confrontation from 1991 in a sorority meeting between me and “Soror Georgia” (a pseudonym). Georgia was the self-appointed "Guardian of the Gate." If you didn't meet her standards, for whatever reason, be it your rep, weight, character, hair, sexual preference, image, she would try her best to break you. And this was after you pledged.

Soror Georgia had called me out, not by name, but by insinuation. In the moment, I wanted to drop my bookbag and purse, take off my earrings, leap high, real high, over seated sorors and proceed to beat that bitch with my shoe until she lay broken on the floor. Instead, I swallowed my emotions and walked out the door. That was not the only time me and Georgia had a run-in. I had 'disappointed' her, and trust me, girlfriend let me know it.

Twenty-one years later that moment came rushing back as if it had happened five minutes prior, complete with me delivering the ass-whoopin’ of my dreams. I spent the next hour having a one-way conversation (okay, screaming match) with a 21-year-old ghost. 

 

I realized a few things that night:

• I had let one person ruin what should have been a beautiful sorority experience.
• I had spent 20+ years avoiding most people from undergraduate school.
• I had let an overall negative college experience deter me from maintaining a relationship with my Line Sisters, none of whom I had a beef with.
• I'd written a novel based on my college life, but hadn't healed from any of it.
• I needed to forgive others.
• I needed to forgive myself.

As nervous as I was, I knew that seeing my Line Sisters again was the beginning of what I call “making peace with the past.”



 Back Row, from left: Ondra, Mary, Shaleen, Jan, Althea

Front Row, from left: Octavia, Val

 

I LOVED my reunion with 6 out of other 9 women. (Ernita is MIA like I was, Kerri lives in New England, and Denise was in Paris at the time with her family.) I had the BEST time. It was all love as everyone wanted to hear about what I’d been doing the past 20 years. I remember sitting in Val’s kitchen saying to myself, “What was I thinking? I missed out on their weddings, the birth of children, career changes, stuff only women understand….for what?”

When I came back home, I began the needed work of forgiveness. Now I’ve been actively, working on this daily for months. I did forgive the men and women with whom I was angry. But I also forgave myself. When you are pointing a finger at other people, three fingers are pointing back at you. The deeper the pain and betrayal, the greater the need to forgive.  

Here’s a mantra I’d got from watching Oprah’s Lifeclass earlier this year.  

“I forgive you for not being the way I wanted you to be. I forgive you and I set you free.” 

Toward myself, I tweaked it to read: 

“I forgive myself for not being the way I wanted to be. I forgive myself, and I set that behavior free.”

Forgiveness is not about condoning others behavior, nor justifying your own behavior. It’s about setting yourself free from pain so you can live out the highest vision of your life.

 

Coming up: Forgiveness, Making Peace with Past, Part 2

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Forgiveness: Making Peace With the Past

Mango Sorbet and Nut Milks

Mango Sorbet

This Mango Sorbet from Ani's Raw Food Desserts is a winner. And it's simplicity is even better.

This is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO easy! It's very kid-friendly to make and to eat!

My version wasn't as frozen as in the book photo, but darn, it was perfectly ripe, sweet, and ideal for a hot summer day! 

 

And you can see that I'm making stuff from Raw Food Real World. I'm working through fears this year. I'd asked Matthew and Sarma if I could blog through their book last year. It's August of 2012 and I'm just now doing it. I'm taking my time. No rushing. No pressure. I look at the simple stuff and make it.

 

That also means I can't always share recipes. Publishers have told me they prefer bloggers to limit recipe sharing to five recipes from a book.

 

Nut milks and shakes are pretty basic. Once you know the formula, you can add to it.

 

Nut milk basic recipe:

1 cup nuts

4 cups water

 

Soak the nuts for 4-8 hours.

Blend in a high-powered blender.

Strain and squeeze in a nut milk bag or cheesecloth.

 

From there you can add sweeteners, coconut oil, or whatever you like.

 

 

Milkshake Basic Recipe:

http://theveganmochaangel.blogspot.com/2010/07/vanilla-milkshake.html

I wrote this two years ago. It's the vanilla milkshake from the book. I make this at least once a day. That is how yummy, vanilla-ee, sweet, refreshing it is.

 

Again, once you got the formula, you can make a chocolate shake, strawberry shake, peanut butter shake, etc.

 

Enjoy!

 

Love,

Althea

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Mango Sorbet and Nut Milks

Warm Cherry Tomato and Corn Salad

From Raw Food Real World.
Holy Goodness...this is darn fantastic food. Two thumbs WAY up!

Warm Cherry Tomato and Corn Salad

    3 ears fresh corn, husked
    3 pints small cherry, teardrop, or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
    4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    1 tablespoon lemon juice
    2 small or 1 large head butter lettuce, or other soft greens
    3 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
    1 cup crumbled Fluffy Macadamia Feta (page 288)
    Coarse sea salt
    Freshly ground black pepper

1. Cut the kernels from the corn cobs and place in a medium bowl with the tomatoes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss to coat. Spread the corn and tomatoes on a Teflex-lined dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 115 degrees for 1 hour.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the lettuce leaves and toss to coat. Add the corn, tomatoes, marjoram, feta, and salt and pepper.

Fluffy Macadamia Feta

    4 cups raw macadamia nuts, soaked 1 hour or more
    1/4 cup lemon juice
    2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
    1 green onion, white and 1 inch green, minced
    2 teaspoons sea salt

  In a food processor, thoroughly grind all the ingredients, but leave it a bit
  chunky. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls onto Teflex-lined dehydrator trays and
  dehydrate at 115°F for 4 to 6 hours, or until dry on the outside and still
  tender on the inside.

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Warm Cherry Tomato and Corn Salad

Two Green Smoothies

Don't hate on my overly ripe banana! That's how I like them...with lots of brown spots. (I just wanted to get that out the way! LOL!)

These are two green smoothies from Green Smoothie Revolution. I can't give out the exact recipes, but the first one, as you see has kale, banana, ginger, apple, and water.

This one is watermelon, banana, lemon, and romaine. This is surprisingly sweet. I think it's the lemon that gives it a kick. I would definitely make this again before summer is over.

Love,

Althea

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Two Green Smoothies

Black Rice and Fitness Chicks

Black Rice w/ Pineapples and Avocados

I had never heard of black rice before I read about it in the April/May issue of Living Without Magazine (the mag for people with allergies and food sensitivities).

From the magazine: "Striking Chinese black rice, also called "Forbidden Rice" because lore says it was reserved for emperors to promote longevity while common folks were literally forbidden from eating it, contains especially high levels of antioxidants, including the same anthocyanins found in blueberries, according to scientists at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center."

Wegmans sells it in its bulk section. Two cups runs about $2.50.

I followed the recipe in the magazine. I added coconut milk, pineapple, and avocado. It was okay.

No disrespect to the author ("Bowled Over": Wake up to a gluten free breakfast made of whole grains by Matthew Kadey), but I think my version is WAY tastier:

Black Rice Cereal
2 cups water
1 cup uncooked black rice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
non-dairy milk of choice
apples
bananas
raisins

• Place 2 cups of water, rice, cinnamon, and ginger into a medium-size saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until all the water has been absorbed, about 30 minutes.
• Stir in honey and vanilla. Let it cool for 5 minutes.
• To serve, add milk, raisins, sliced apples and bananas. This makes a very tasty breakfast. I use this recipe for oatmeal and millet as well.
• The only thing with black rice is it will stick to your teeth. So look in the mirror before you leave the house!

Also, a few months ago, I catered my first event. Fitness Chicks, a local Baltimore group, asked me to make vegan food for one of their meetings. I did a "Southern Dinner Party." Christina, that night's host, who was very gracious, made a picnic basket:

 I made potato salad:

 Macaroni and "Cheese", Kale Salad, Buffalo Tofu & Ranch Dip, Barbecue Beans:

And, of course CUPCAKES! They were the hit of the party! I didn't tell anyone they were vegan and gluten-free until they ate them. I'd even gotten my first cupcake client because of the party!

 And this is all of us together:

 Thank you, Fitness Chicks!!!

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Black Rice and Fitness Chicks

Kripalu - Big News!

    

Me and Maya Breuer

Okay, so I've been laying low for a while. I'll just get to the awesome news!

I'm going back to Kripalu next year as a TEACHER!!! Maya Breuer, legendary founder of Yoga Retreat for Women of Color, asked me to be one the presenters next year!!!!!!!!!

OMG!!

This was completely unexpected, but something I'd wanted to do since 2004. That was a super rough year. I've had a lot of those, but 2004 stands out. I'd gotten the presenters application from Kripalu that summer. I filled it out, but never sent it in.

I had imagined that Kripalu would be my first time teaching on a national stage. And it came true! I'll be one of a few women teaching that weekend. I get 75 minutes. Maya asked me to focus on food, since that was obviously my passion.

And what is so wild is that I was supposed to leave on Sunday, June 3. I stayed another night because I was so wired from the weekend with Snatam Kaur. I had no idea Maya would even be there. I saw her and fellow teacher Sherry's seminar, and said to myself, "Oh, Maya is here. I'm going to introduce myself and ask her some questions, if I can."

I saw her for a hot second Sunday night. She said, "My class is about to start, but find me at breakfast tomorrow."

Breakfast at Kripalu is always silent. If you want to talk, there's a separate room, or you can go outside to enjoy breakfast. Maya found me. Me, her, Sherry, and a few other women shared a table. We talked for about two hours.

At the end of our conversation, Maya says, "I'd like you to be a presenter at the Women of Color Retreat next year."

I nearly fainted.

Seriously. My dream had come true. I could not believe it. I've spent the past month wondering if it all was a dream. Yesterday, Maya asked me for my headshot, bio, etc. That snapped me back to reality. Yes, it is real! All because I was moved to go to Kripalu that weekend! All because I stayed an extra night!

The process of manifestation is awe-inspiring. Sometimes, you have to sit back in wonder in how the Universe does answer your deepest wishes, be it good or bad.

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Facebook page: Yoga Retreat for Women of Color ("like" it so you can stay in the loop!)

Love,
Althea ◦

Kripalu - Big News!