I’m Just Curious

Mix It Up!

We could all play in the curiosity sandbox a bit more. So often we get complacent with our food choices, rituals, schedule, and even driving routes. I am here to invite us all to mix it up a bit; join me.

When it comes to food, it can be very easy to find our favorites and stick with them. This can actually be a disservice to our greater good. Instead of using the same vegetables to make our salads, try different vegetables every time. The same goes for our smoothies, soups, Buddha bowls, overnight oats, and the like.

Here are my tips for keeping your life bright and colorful at all times.

How to Have Fun in the Kitchen

Buy something new every time you shop for groceries. Try new produce, nuts, seeds, legumes, and anything else that strikes your fancy.
Experiment with different colors, textures, shapes, etc.
Go to local farmer’s markets and talk with the farmers directly; ask questions, expand your understanding about how to use what you’re buying in new ways. I have learned some great tricks direct from the farmers. It is a marvelous tool to expand your awareness about plant-based living.
If you don’t know what something is, buy it and research it and go home and play with it. Even if you don’t like it, you still explored and learned.

One of my favorite little games I like to play when I am running errands, or going to an appointment, is to take different routes every time. Have you ever arrived at your destination and not remembered how you got there; what turns you made, and what streets you drove on? I know I have. This practice will keep you mindful and present. It will also take you in new directions, exploring new avenues in life. (Note the pun.) ☺

How to Make A Drive Mindful

First I always make sure I give myself plenty of time when out in the world. The one thing we don’t want to be doing while driving is rushing. (The other thing is using your cell phone, or any form of Bluetooth while driving, but that’s a different article.)
If I usually make a right out of my street, I make a left instead. Right out of the gate I am now consciously choosing to shift my somewhat unconscious routine and bringing in curiosity, expansion, and asking my brain to pay attention.
If I normally take the freeway, I take side streets. (And by the way, this is Bluetooth free remember, and maps free so there isn’t a robot talking to me telling me where to go. I am choosing where I am going because I am in charge of my Now, and I am choosing mindful curiosity instead of being led where to go by a device.)
As I am on these new avenues I am in a space of curiosity and wonderment. I am taking in the landscape; the trees, houses, community, and how the sun, or moon, is casting light upon my Now. I make a very conscious intention of actually being where I am in the moment, and not being at my destination. I stay mindful of my breath as I explore.

Another way we can bring more curiosity into our life is with our personal rituals. The first thing we can ask ourselves is ‘Is this working for me in my life?’ If the answer is ‘No’, then we best make some adjustments so that our choices are in alignment with who we truly are; on a soul level.

Once we have that aligned, we can shift our attention towards curiosity; and play.

Here are a few things I like to do. Feel free to use some of mine, or come up with your own.

How to Keep Life Fresh

I am constantly using different clearing tools. I never keep it the same day to day. I enjoy the benefits of so many rituals that there is no way I could do just one. By keeping this practice fresh and playful, it allows me to keep diving into research and studying all the various practices of many cultures, spiritual beliefs, and medicinal benefits. Some of my favorites are smudging with sage leaves, or bundles, burning Palo Santo sticks, lighting beeswax candles, diffusing Young Living essential oils, boiling cinnamon sticks, cloves, and orange peels on the stove top, or creating my own air purifying concoctions. My husband has nicknamed me ‘Sorcerer’. ☺
I sit in different places of my home all the time. I like to read on the couch in the living room, the chaise lounge, the comfy corner chair in my home studio, at our dining room table, on our couch in our backyard, on the swing, and of course in bed. I enjoy being in all spaces in our home. So often we habitually sit in the same chair, same spot on the sofa, and keep rolling through life from a place of familiarity. I am here to suggest we shake things up and go wild! ☺
My taste in reading is all over the map. I keep my brain working by always including something that expands my knowledge; we call it Svadhyaya, which means Self Study in Sanksrit. It is a practice of staying committed to learning, deepening our awareness, and remaining a student of life; forever.
I continuously practice various games and self promises (often called Challenges, but I prefer Promises as when we use the word challenge we immediately are telling ourselves it will be hard, and it doesn’t have to be.) I play with many, here are some:

~Day of silence

~Juice cleanse

~Zero sugar for 7/14/21/30 days (or forever)

~Minimizing Game *reach out if you want more info

~Zero Waste

~Tech Free Days, or Times

~Complaint Free Zone

~Animal free eating for 1 day, or 2, 3, or any amount you wish

~Daily plank off with friends and family

You can see that the ideas are truly endless. I hope these provide you with a healthy jumping off point to dive into the land of living from a space of mindful curiosity. Make it fun and keep it light; nothing should feel like work, or effort. This is about play, exploring and remaining a student of life as it continues to mystify us with all its wonders and delights.

Remain curious as you walk upon the earth and all will be new again.

Sending blessings of love, peace and curiosity to you and yours.

Love,

Dove

Love and blessings of continued good health, a calm mind, and a peaceful heart.

Love, Dove

Dove Rose

Dove’s boutique studio, Dove’s Bodies, has been an LA institution for more than 35 years. With a background combining decades’ worth of studies in fitness, dance, pilates, martial arts, primal movement, yoga, pranayama, organic nutrition, energy healing, mindful living, intuitive clearing and meditation, Dove is sought out for her unique, intuitive wholistic total-body approach. Dove’s life passion is to guide her clients on their own unique path to wellness, wholeness, and the full integration of mind, body and spirit.

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