Category Archives: Mindful Living

How a Rose Garden Gave Me Clarity

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Recently, Lillian and I were having a date day at Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno. At the same time, a group of middle school kids were participating in a scavenger hunt.

As Lillian and I were leaving the beautiful rose garden, a young man asked his friends in a hurried voice, “Where’s the rose garden?” Without even thinking I said out loud that he was standing in the middle of it.

Lillian in the rose garden ... xoxo

He either didn’t hear me or didn’t think I was talking to him. He asked his friends again in a near panic to find that darn rose garden. (I had been watching the students looking at the signs posted to know when they had reached an area.) This time I said, “Look around you. You are in it.”

He was scanning the area for a sign indicating it was the rose garden. Then he asked his friends again. I felt compelled to help this young man see what was right in front of his face. I said, “You are standing in it right now. Look around you. You are surrounded by roses.” His friends finally told him he was in the rose garden.

I didn’t think any more about this until the next day. During my morning meditation session the entire scene replayed. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but that was a perfectly orchestrated message for me. For about a week I had been trying to figure out how I fit into, and how to respond to, a project for which I’ve been asked to have a role.

After the meditation session, I dropped down into my heart and the answer became clear. I simply hadn’t “seen” it due to only looking at the “sign” (description of what was needed for the project) and thinking about what I didn’t want. Experiencing the rose garden incident reminded me that the answer was already within me. I simply need to bring the true me, with my unique gifts and talents, to the project and not make myself fit into the project, not offer to work in an area in which I have no passion, simply because it would involve receiving a nice pay check.

I created an informal RFP indicating what role I would like to have and the reasons for not wanting more of a role. I calculated an amount to match the suggested role. I emailed the information with a note that I had no experience in preparing RFP’s and that this was very informal and simply my thoughts on how I saw myself fitting into the project. It was received with enthusiasm and included in a grant request that was submitted a few days later. The results of the grant request will be received in January 2016.

Do you need clarity about a decision? Are you searching frantically for the answer, the sign, the label? Or simply spending too much time focused on the “sign”?

As with everything I share on this blog, I knew I was to share this with you too. I spent some time breaking down how I got clarity into 4 simple steps. There’s ONE huge precursor to using these steps. You must ask for signs and messages and be of the mindset of being open to receiving signs and messages at anytime and anywhere. Please be sure to move through these 4 steps in a place or at a time when you are at peace (for me, this happened after meditation).

Here are 4 steps to get clarity:

  1. Be still
  2. Be quiet
  3. Be in your heart
  4. Be open to receive

You will “see” the answer clearly within you and surrounding you. Repeat as needed.

I would love to hear back regarding how this works for you or perhaps you’ve added a step or two or have a different “ritual” for getting clarity. Please share if you are moved to do so.

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Heartfuly Inspired,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

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Emotions: Embrace the Emptiness

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View During the Writing Exercise

The below is a brief glimpse of a moment in time was inspired by Eckert Tolle’s book, Stillness Speaks (amazon affiliate link) and the author’s participation in an experential outdoor workshop centered on connecting with one self.

The day had finally arrived. Her day of respite; a day to herself to do with as she pleased. She looked forward to these days with the anticipation of a child as her birthday approaches.

She is a single mom, raising two kids. One creative, artistic, writer child who is a 13 year old girl with a genetic abnormality and a wise old soul masquerading as a 9 year old boy who has a difficult time BEing still and whose intellectual abilities are at the level of a 13 or 14 year old. On this day of respite the kids were to have a sleepover with their grandparents.

On Saturday morning as they said their goodbyes and the van drove out of sight, she felt an emptiness engulf her like a dark stormy cloud darkens the brightest of days. With heavy legs and heart she slowly walked inside feeling lonely and sad.

Why was this? A day to herself was supposed to be a day to rejoice, enjoy freedom from responsibilities, and take pleasure in time alone. Could these feelings be arising because she is purging and packing? During this time of “purge and pack” she is re-discovering treasures of cards, drawings, and creations from her beloved children. And in the process she is reminded of the meaningful lessons and simple adventures she has enjoyed with them.

Perhaps she is mourning the death of each of those experiences and feeling the emptiness that envelops one when any life experience comes to an end. Perhaps she is also mourning the end of another chapter with her kids as they pack and prepare to move.

In moments of reflection and little messages received throughout the day, she realized that she had never let herself grieve over the cooling of friendships a couple of years ago. She had been reminded of those friendships the day before and the reminder scratched a wound that had never healed. Perhaps this was the exact moment to grieve for those friendships and that’s what she let herself do. For her, the lesson is to be with and accept the emptiness that feels so heavy.

For her, the way through the darkness is to feel it; really feel what it feels like in the body and breath it into her heart so that the darkness can be transformed into light, spaciousness, gratitude and joy for the experience having happened in the first place.

Now she understands. When feelings like this arise, she is to BE still, BE quiet, and experience it so that she can gift herself deep peace for she knows her true self is peace and love. Instead of resisting the feeling, she now chooses to welcome that dark stormy cloud for she knows that within the core of the stormy cloud is pure love and beauty.

BE still, BE quiet … and Let GO to LOVE … xoxo

Author’s Note: I was inspired to share this from a third person point of view. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before, so hope you like it.

I decided to spend this day of respite at home watching movies as it would be a while before I would have “home” all to myself. I watched Miss Potter, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, and Magic of Belle Isle (amazon affiliate links) and ate hot buttered popcorn with raspberry lime sparkling water. It was heavenly!

During the triple feature a theme kept repeating of sharing information with others, writing, grieving, and friendship. The next morning, I still had the lonely, empty feeling. I picked up “Stillness Speaks” and said a little prayer that I turn to the exact page I needed at this moment. I opened to page 107; which states, “If you can learn to accept and even welcome the endings in your life, you may find that the feeling of emptiness that initially felt uncomfortable turns into a sense of inner spaciousness that is deeply peaceful.”

After reading the above passage, I realized that all 3 movies I had watched were about authors. Then on Sunday I attended a ConneXion workshop at which we did a writing exercise.

I began with these words – “Let go. Know that you don’t need to know the how before beginning. When self-confidence is lacking or you give in to fear, the consequences will be un-lovely. It is time to write more, share more, reveal more, reveal the real you, it matters not if what you write is fiction or non-fiction. And then I wrote the above.

I sat in a shaded area with a view of the mountain, closed my eyes, centered in my heart, and asked what to write ….

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Heartfuly Inspired™,
Camilla xoxo
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

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Pictures from the workshop:

 

Emotions: Feel It

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Ever had haunting thoughts that you missed something; that you had all these clues and didn’t put them together? Those thoughts that sweep over you and wrap around you like a dark storm cloud? I share this for anyone who needs it.

These words are like landmarks on a map. Landmarks that lead to a deep peace. The words are doing their work if they bring peace to anyone whose eyes and heart they touch.

Recently I had thoughts that I let something slip through the cracks back in 2006 concerning my daughter*, Lillian. In the midst of some huge life changes** I simply “forgot” something. As I began researching, a heavy feeling came over me. Heavy, dark, and sad, with the feeling I had done something wrong.

Thomas, my son, and Lillian could both sense something was wrong so I went to my room to change clothes. While there I burst into tears and cried with thoughts of how with this one piece of the Lillian puzzle I was right back where I was in 2006. I began to feel guilty and then like a victim and then angry ….. And …..

Then I chose to connect with these feelings. I breathed them in. I didn’t think about why I felt this way. I focused on the way it felt in my body. Heavy and tight. Within minutes the feeling lifted and I was in a peaceful, quiet state.

I realized that for whatever reason, the timing was not right for this path in 2006. I chose not to dwell on why or what if questions. This is now and that doesn’t exist any longer. Something that I would have let carry on for days or weeks in the past (or buried and ignored) was now learned from, felt and processed in half an hour.

Now, I embrace all emotions. They are me. They are us. My thoughts had changed. My perception had changed. I saw it differently. I had just experienced a miracle.

May you let yourself feel what you need to feel, connect with it and have your own miracle today! If you need guidance let me know. So much love to y’all!

Heartfuly Inspired™,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Go here to subscribe to my blog to ensure you receive new posts delivered straight to your inbox! Right here!

*Lillian is 13 years old and has a chromosome abnormality called 18p-; which means that she is missing a part of the short arm of chromosome #18. Learn more here.

**I separated from my husband in December 2006 and we were divorced in 2007.

You can learn more about this and my journey up through 2010 in the book, “D iz for Different – One Woman’s Journey to Acceptance.”

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Inspired Living: What Does Mindfulness Mean

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I quite often toss around the word “mindfulness” on this blog. I sat down today to write a post with tips for mindful parenting. As I began to write, I realized that I had never researched and shared with you what mindfulness really means. I’d like to do that first. Then, I’ll come back to writing the mindful parenting post.

First, let’s see what you think about mindfulness. Does it bring up negative or positive feelings, or neither? Take a minute or two to write down what comes to mind when you hear the word, “mindfulness”. Then, read the research I’ve shared and see if your view changes or stays the same.

Mindfulness has its origin in ancient meditation practices. According to Dictionary.com the term mindful originated in late Middle English around 1375 and is defined as being attentive or aware. Before that, in 1200, was a now obsolete term of mindiness. It’s not clear from researching online, but the term mindfulness seems to have been translated from the Pali word of sati which literally means “memory” and from the Sanskrit word of smrti which means “that which is remembered”.

According to The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley: “Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn launched the Mindfulness Based Stress-Reduction Program (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979. Per The Greater Good Science Center, since that time, thousands of studies have documented the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness in general and MBSR in particular.

Here’s a two minute clip of Kabat-Zinn describing mindfulness.

Now that we’ve got an idea of what people mean when they use the word “mindfulness”, what does it mean to be mindful? Here are a few examples:

  • When washing the dishes, bring your thoughts to what you’re doing. This one is difficult for me, but I still try to do it! Think about how the water feels on your hands, how the dish feels, the smell of the soap, the sound of the water. What are you feeling in this moment?
  • When preparing dinner focus on each step. If you’re cutting vegetables, put your awareness on the sound, feel, and sound of the knife cutting and chopping. What are you feeling in this moment?
  • Another I struggle with …. When someone is talking to you (in my case, one of my kids, Thomas or Lillian), focus on that person. Look into the person’s eyes (or near the eyes) and really hear each word they say. Try not to think about what you’ll be cooking for dinner, where you’ll get the money to pay that unexpected bill, or what’s gonna happen next in the show you’re watching or the book you’re reading. Sending the person love while listening helps to stay focused on listening to what is being shared.

Matthew Tull, PhD shares on About Health’s PTSD website 4 skills of mindfulness. They each require practice. Briefly described here:

  • Awareness: Focus your attention on one thing at a time.
  • Nonjudgmental/Nonevaluative observation: Look at your experiences in a nonjudgmental way. Don’t label as “good” or “bad”.
  • Being in the Present Moment: Don’t get caught up in thoughts about the past. Be an active participant in experiences rather than simply going through the motions.
  • Beginner’s Mind:  Be open to new possibilities and observe things as they truly are, as opposed to what you think about it.

The Greater Good website has a wonderful mindfulness quiz. It only takes about 2-5 minutes to complete. Once you’re done you’ll find out just how mindful you are and get suggestions for how to increase mindfulness. Go here ⇉ Greater Good Mindfulness Quiz for the quiz.

Here are my results:

“Your mindfulness score is 64 out of 100, suggesting you have a moderate tendency to practice mindfulness. This score reflects two key components of mindfulness: your moment-to-moment awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and environment, as well as your acceptance of these aspects of your life.

Your score suggests you sometimes feel accepting and non-judgmental toward yourself, which means that you allow yourself to experience a range of thoughts and feelings, even if they’re upsetting or challenging at times. You don’t always believe there’s a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment. However, you still occasionally seem to be self-critical, which can make you feel defensive, anxious, or sad.

Also, you’re not always able to focus your awareness on the situation at hand; you’re sometimes preoccupied with the past or worried about the future. When you do maintain this focus, you may notice that you’re more open and inquisitive and can savor being in-the-moment.

Research suggests you can cultivate more acceptance by practicing loving-kindness meditations that encourage you to be more compassionate toward yourself.”

Psychology Today has a great list of 6 mindfulness exercises that take less than a minute. Perfect for the person just getting started and who may feel there’s just no time for longer exercises. This article titled, Mindfulness in Everyday Activity, from National Federation of the Blind lists a great exercise with a cup of tea and gives a few more mindfulness details and how it helps with stress.

Also, I just picked up a book from the library titled, 10 Mindful Minutes, by Goldie Hawn. Can’t wait to dive in and start reading it! Seems like it will have some useful information. I’ll write a review of it when I’m finished.

What I find useful about this are the examples of exercises and the mindfulness quiz. What do you think? Will you try any of these or do you have your own tips? Do you have any other thoughts or questions about mindfulness?

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Heartfuly Inspired™,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Go here to subscribe to my blog to ensure you receive new posts delivered straight to your inbox!

My next newsletter is going out the week of October 20th! The newsletter will contain four basic sections with a short introduction. They are:

  • Mindful Minute – A quote, thought, or mini-exercise to inspire you, spark an “aha” moment, or to ignite your creativity.
  • Latest News – A brief excerpt of my latest blog posts.
  • Suggestions Spotlight – A suggestion of items I find useful; such as a book, essential oil, classes/workshops, or other items I find to be helpful.
  • Recipe Spotlight – I’ll include a recipe periodically.
Go here to sign up to receive a copy in your email inbox!

Have you ordered your copy of my book, “D iz for Different”? It’s available in paperback and Kindle (Kindle device not necessary). Go here to learn more.

(To help support my blogging I will include an Amazon link to items I use or you will see google ads from time to time. I LOVE sharing my journey and choices with you and this just helps to keep me going!) 

 

One Magical Ingredient to Peacefully Experience Life Lessons

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I am abundantly grateful for life’s uncomfortable lessons and the masterful teachers disguised as those whom we choose to let push our buttons.

In mid June I got to have a fabulous two days of learning in the classroom called “life”! Love is indeed a magical thing!!

It was a lesson coupled with complete and total release. I awakened to the knowing that I only have love in my heart to give, knowing I come from a place of love, and knowing with peace, calm, and compassion that I am no longer tempted to engage in drama. What a beautiful and bright place.

I overflow with gratitude for all the amazing people who have been on this journey with me since moving to Reno in December 2006 … friends and family who are there to remind me of all the things I have been teaching myself for the last 17 years.

One night in 1997 I couldn’t sleep and got up at midnight, turned on the television, and Stephen Covey was on talking about his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. So began a 17 year journey of devouring many, many similar books to what I read today … Wayne Dyer, Neville, Deepak Chopra, Bruce Lipton and others like them.

It’s no coincidence that during this time of having my “master teacher” in town, I was re-reading the specific section in Wayne Dyer’s, There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem, based on a line from St. Francis, “Where there is hatred, let me sow love” … I didn’t plan to be reading that section at that time. However it was perfect.

Dyer suggests that unkindness from others directed towards us is love going in the opposite direction and from people who feel unloved. This is how I handled it and will continue from this point forward as it was a release, surrender and healing for me. You may not be able to verbalize this in your situation but you can certainly silently convey the same message.

I attempted to keep myself in a place of love. I was silently sending blessings and love to everyone. I did not engage in defending my current or past actions. The oncoming negativity stopped when I said, “You’re right about that”. Amazing how that deflates things. I wasn’t agreeing, just lovingly letting the other person relax into feeling they were right.

After a friend reminded me, I begin to see this person viewing me as I would like him to view me. I also kept repeating that I only come from a place of love. That was always my response. And, ended by lovingly telling the other person that I was sorry that he felt so unloved. After all of this the atmosphere and attitude completely changed.

If you are in a similar situation, perhaps you could begin seeing the disgruntled person as viewing you as you would like to be viewed. Silently send them love and blessings.

And absolutely don’t take what they say personally. See them as fellow souls who simply feel unloved.

Life lessons presented as uncomfortable situations, aren’t always in the form of people and relationships. At other times, it may be a situation or event we find ourselves in the midst of. This same method can be applied, rather “lived”, whether it is a person, situation, event, or place.

Why am I sharing this? Simply that I feel this may be helpful to others. That’s all. Perhaps if you’ve landed on this post on purpose or through a random search, it is exactly what you needed to hear or you know of someone that would benefit.

I choose to live my life knowing that all we must do is “Let Go”, knowing that love is the one magical ingredient to peacefully and joyfully experiencing lessons in life. What about you?

H♥rtfuly Inspired™,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Have you ordered your copy of my book, “D iz for Different”? It’s available in paperback and Kindle (Kindle device not necessary). Go here to learn more.

 

Mindful Living: A Love Letter

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My 8 year old son, Thomas, just aches to receive his very own mail. I remember being young and the thrill of receiving a letter or card from a friend. It’s one of the best feelings in the world!

He asked me the other day if he could mail a letter to himself. I told him that sounds like a GREAT idea. So, he wrote himself a letter and included a Hal sticker from Live Gracefully.

He didn’t just write himself a letter. He sent love to himself. I’ve mirrored to him and taught him that self love is the most important aspect to loving others. Once we truly know that we are self love, life becomes what it is meant to be. And that will be different for each person.

We must “know” this in our heart, not just our mind. Speaking as a recovering “living from the mind” person, I can with authority say that there is a difference. Ever since my childhood I have been an analytical thinker, solving almost all life issues with my mind. Now, in my 40’s I have awakened to a different way.

Thomas received his love letter this weekend! He opened it as if he’d never seen it before. He quickly tore a piece of the paper and wrote a note back to himself. He’d like to mail that too!

What an amazing inspiration this young man is to myself and others?!

Just think, what if I had told him he couldn’t mail a letter to himself? He wouldn’t have received a love letter in the mail, I wouldn’t have gotten joy sharing the love with others on facebook, and you would not be reading this “love letter” from me.

How about you? Would you like to receive a smile, a hug, or even a “how do you do” in the mail? I’ll be the first to raise my hand!! I would!

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H♥rtfuly Inspired™,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Go here to subscribe to my blog to ensure you receive new posts delivered right to your inbox! Right here!

Have you ordered your copy of my book, “D iz for Different”? It’s available in paperback and Kindle (Kindle device not necessary). Go here to learn more.

Mindful Living: Embrace It And Feel So Alive

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(I created this doodle drawing back in March 2014 after watching the movie Deja Vu
with Vanessa Redgrave. Hope y’all enjoy it!)

What gives you the greatest joy? What makes your entire body buzz with an aliveness when you are doing it? What fills your mind and moves your imagination to dance with creativity?

Whatever it is, embrace it. What does that mean? The best way to explain that is to explain what not to do. Don’t push against what you don’t want. When you stop pushing against what you don’t want, the way will be cleared for what you DO want.

  • Feeling tired? Don’t focus your thoughts on NOT wanting to be tired. Instead accept your tiredness, relax into it, be kind to it. This is your body speaking to you. Listen. Don’t argue. Before you know it, your energy will have returned.
  • Feeling confused? Same process. Accept that you are confused. Relax into it. Perhaps you are confused due to pushing against and focusing on something you don’t want. Once the confusion is accepted, clarity will return shortly thereafter.
  • Stuck in a state of lack? Once again, follow the same process. Don’t push against the lack. Instead see it as just is. See it as where you are supposed to be in this moment in time. Accept it. When we push against something, we focus on that “something” and bring more of it into our life. As we choose to accept these “somethings” just as we accept that the wind blows sometimes, these “somethings” dissolve.

Is there something that you would like to embrace that your aren’t? Is there something you’re pushing against that perhaps should be accepted to make way for what you DO want?

**Note: WOW! I opened this “new post” to share with y’all a new development in my life and the above is what came flying out of me and my fingers! So …. I’ll click the ole “new post” button again and share about my love of landscape photography and being Heartfuly Inspired in a future post!

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Heartfuly Inspired™,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Go here to subscribe to my blog to ensure you receive new posts delivered right to your inbox! Right here!

Have you ordered your copy of my book, “D iz for Different”? It’s available in paperback and Kindle (Kindle device not necessary). Go here to learn more.

(To help support my blogging I will include an Amazon link to items I use or you will see google ads from time to time. I LOVE sharing my journey and choices with you and this just helps to keep me going!) 

Mindful Living: Friendship Is Magic

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Friendship is Magic

I do not judge for decisions you make
I have lived through similar experiences as you
I made different choices than you
I do not understand choices made by you, that is not for me to understand
I do not judge as I do not walk in your shoes
I am your friend

I see you openly peeling back layers of your outer self to reveal your inner self
I see you take steps forward, shining your beautiful light and love for all
I see you take steps backward, withdrawing into the comfortable habits and ways of thinking
I see you trying to understand the silence of friendships that are no longer, that is not for you to understand
I am your friend

Yes, I am your friend
I love you
I support and encourage you
You are YOU and on your OWN journey
You choose to do it different
You choose not to do it the way others would do it
You are YOU and I am your friend

I am your friend
I see YOU, not the concept of you
I love you unconditionally.
©2014 CamillaDowns.com

Do you have a friend you would like to share this with? Please share with all my love and all your love. I would love to hear about friendship poems or quotes that move you! Go here to share your comments.

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Heartfuly Inspired™,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Go here to subscribe to my blog to ensure you receive new posts delivered right to your inbox! Right here!

Have you ordered your copy of my book, “D iz for Different”? It’s available in paperback and Kindle (Kindle device not necessary). Go here to learn more.

Mindful Living: Meaningful Music – An Interview with CRVSH

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“You cannot help but be happy” …. from the CRVSH song titled “Happy”.

A friend invited me to a Valentine’s celebration on February 15, 2014 at Midtown Wine Bar here in Reno, Nevada. A local band, CRVSH, would be playing live music. This is not normally my cup of tea; but my internal voice urged me to go.

I’m so glad I did! It was an amazing evening full of good, warm, loving energy. CRVSH has three band members, Jimmy Dunn, Aaron Sion, and Daniel Sion. The three write their own music. The songs are full of meaning, have a great beat, and there’s an incredible “so-alive” energy that exudes from these guys!

They not only perform by singing the song and creating a great beat with their instruments, before each song they say a little something to help the listener connect with the song. For instance, for the song “Rain”, Jimmy Dunn, said something like …. “think about when you were young and playing in the rain and how good the rain felt when it landed on your face.” This isn’t exactly what he said, but it was something like this. Adding this statement before the song pulled me into experiencing the song even further and added another fun layer to listening to it!

After the show, I asked Jimmy if I could interview the band. I explained that my blog is centered around mindful, inspired living with an underlying message to spread love everywhere we go. I feel their music embodies exactly this.

Here we go …

Camilla: What is the meaning behind the name CRVSH?

CRVSH: It represents both extremes of the emotional spectrum. The word “crush” describes the feeling of infatuation, and can have a feminine energy to it. It also has a masculine meaning that is destruction, transformation, and overcoming obstacles. Our sound is essentially love songs with extremely powerful electronic beats that smash the speakers.

Camilla: What was the hardest part about getting started as a band?

CRVSH: Finding the right line up: it took a very long time to find out who was motivated in the long run and who was in it for drugs and girls.

Camilla: Why are you choosing this as a career?

CRVSH: We want to enjoy our lives and do something we feel good about, not just something that sounds logical. To the three of us there is no risk involved because we genuinely know that it is working.

Camilla: What are common misconceptions about professional musicians?

CRVSH: People think that musicians have an easy life because many people who are big right now have been born into their opportunities. However, when you are not born into it, this is a much more difficult path than most conventional careers. It is entirely self-motivated, which is why so many people fail at it. Also, people do not realize that it is a full-time job. Many of our friends wish that we had more time to spend with them on the weekends, but these are sacrifices one must make.

Camilla: What message are you trying to send to listeners with your music?

CRVSH: We push the truth that a lot of societal norms are actually imprisoning human potential and that it is okay to be different and intellectual. We also want to bring out people’s emotions and nurture that side of them.

Camilla: How does your music make listeners feel? 

CRVSH: We have gotten tremendously positive feedback on our music from listeners. It has even changed a lot of our fans’ life significantly. They get a sense of connection and liberation at our shows. This is possibly because we are not a manufactured act, but we are completely D.I.Y.

Camilla: What is your guys’s game plan for the next year?

CRVSH: For 2014 we will be releasing music videos from our album until summer, going on a tour to Los Angeles and back, and then making more music and more music videos! We are also pushing our product to as many other avenues as possible.

Camilla: Why is being creative important to you?

CRVSH: Humans have forgotten their power. We recognize that we are extremely powerful beings that need to show our awesome songs to the world!

Camilla: What do your families think?

CRVSH: In the beginning our parents were a little worried that we were in need of a back up plan, but over the years as we have gotten better and made our dream more and more of a reality, we have gained the fully relentless and enthusiastic support of all the parents. As far as many of our relatives go, we have both those that support and those that will be supporting us very soon.

Camilla: For people looking to start their own creative careers, what advice would you offer?

CRVSH: Do something that is different than anyone else! Dig deep into what you are feeling good about. If you make something straight from the heart that has the boldness and uniqueness that is you, it will prevail!

Thank you Jimmy, Aaron, and Daniel. I’m so blessed to have met the three of YOU!

Head on over to CRVSH’s website and have a listen to some of their songs. Follow this link … https://crvshmusic.com/music/. My favorite is track #15 Happy. I also like track #1 Rain, track #2 Crazy, track #3 No Sleep Tonight and track #4 Fall in Love.

Heartfuly Inspired™,
Camilla
Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Mindful Living: Inspired By A Slice of Bread

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(Picture of our Reno Sunset … I’m hugely inspired by nature … So full of love)

One never knows when messages just right for us and answers to our questions will surface in our life. It’s much more common than we think. It’s happening continually on a daily basis. One of the secrets to receiving the messages and answers is to know they are there and to be mindful in the present moments of life.

For lunch yesterday I made Thomas a grilled cheese sandwich. He and I were commenting on how yummy the bread tasted. I’m always on the look out for bread without corn syrup, preservatives, artificial ingredients, and bread that has low to no sugar per slice. I read the ingredients out loud to him and noticed there was a brief description about the owner and how the bread company came to be; which nearly brought my eyes to sweatin’!

The bread is “Dave’s Killer Bread“. Although it has 3 grams of sugar per slice, thought I’d give it a try as the ingredient list seemed so good, yummy and healthy. I prefer 1 or 0 grams of sugar per slice. Here are the ingredients:

Organic whole wheat flour, organic cracked whole wheat, water, powerseed mix (organic flaxseeds, organic ground whole flaxseeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic pumpkin seeds, organic un-hulled brown sesame seeds, organic un-hulled black sesame seeds), organic fruit juices (pear, pineapple, peach), organic oat fiber, organic vital wheat gluten, organic rolled oats, sea salt, organic cultured wheat, yeast.

Here’s the story from the back of the package which I didn’t even notice when buying it:

I was a four-time loser before I realized I was in the wrong game. 15 years in prison is a pretty tough way to find oneself, but I have no regrets. This time around, I took advantage of all those long and lonely days by practicing my guitar, exercising, and getting to know myself – without drugs. To my utter amazement, I started liking what I was seeing. It’s been said adversity introduces a man to himself and I found this to be true. If I had not suffered, I can safely assure you that you would not be reading the label on a loaf of my killer bread. A whole lot of suffering has transformed an ex-con into an honest man who is doing his best to make the world a better place … one loaf of bread at a time.

This really spoke to me. I began thinking, “Look! Wake up! If a man who has spent 15 years in prison can finally decide to BE himself and know his passion, YOU sure as heck can do it!”

Reading his story on the back of that loaf of bread inspired me. It flipped a switch inside of me. There’s nothing holding me back but staying stuck in old stories of who I am, who I’ve been told I am, and how I erroneously think life has to be. These things are all illusions. I can choose to release them and let the true me rise to the surface instead of being buried underneath all this sludge.

That’s what I plan on doing. Like an acorn that discards it’s outer shell to reveal the oak tree within, I choose to release those old layers and discard them. Even if it takes 15 years or longer. That’s the purpose. That’s the journey.

I am so grateful and appreciative of moments like this. This moment inspired me. Plus it got the whole Team TLC discussing usually-not-discussed topics in a natural “organic” way …. the discussion simply flowed from … a …. tasty … slice ….. of … BREAD!

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