Over the past 4 months, I have been in the process of writing a book. At first, I was pushing and forcing myself to write, which started to feel like pressure…pretty soon, the book writing moved from passion to pressure!

Have you ever done that? Felt like you really wanted to do something and then set all kinds of unrealitic goals for yourself…until you felt overwhelmed or pressured? Well, there I was, at the brink of blaming myself for not being fast enough or productive enough (remember my theme from the previous couple of posts?)…until I stopped just shy of going there.

See, while I’m still practicing, I am finally getting it. I can create my own goals that FEEL GOOD in terms of the pace I set — so that I can stay in balance in my life. So that I can love the goals I am passionate about. And so they don’t turn from passion to pressure.

So I shifted my focus to ALLOWING.

I began allowing the book to show up for me. Which actually, works much better when you are doing something creative anyway. If you are creative, you realize that you are connecting to your inner self, to the universe or to source. You are connecting to an unseen force. And when it’s really effortless, it’s as if the information is being delivered to you…rather than feeling like work.

If you’ve been feeling pressure in your life, I invite you to step back and look at the situation from another angle. See if you are creating goals or expectations that are causing overwork or overwhelm. Recognize that you deserve balance in your life. You deserve a balanced amount of work, rest and play. This balance is how we heal.

I want to share a recipe that was “delivered to me” recently. While not a true recipe book per se, my book does have recipes that help your body feel balanced. This one is particularly nice because it resets your body and mind.

Delightfully Sweet Zucchini Squash Soup

This soup is naturally sweet in a subtle, delightful way. It is a great mood booster if you are feeling stuck or down in the dumps. Serve it to family and friends and they are sure to ask for more!

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
1 TBL ghee
1 Cup onions, diced
4 Cups butternut squash, cubed
1 large zucchini, sliced (about 1.5 – 2 cups)
1.5 tsp. Cardamom
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. fennel seeds
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. cumin seeds
2 TBL fresh ginger, diced

Directions:

• Saute onions and all spices (except fresh ginger) in ghee until the onions are translucent.
• Put cubed squash, diced ginger and sliced zucchini into a crock pot and cover with water (or into a soup pot and cover with water). You will use approximately 6 cups of water and can use less if you’d like a thicker soup. I tend to like thick, hearty soups, although this soup is actually really wonderful as a thinner soup. Experiment and see which you like best!
• Add onions and spices to the mixture and simmer until the squash is soft.
• Blend the soup until it is pureed.
• Add more ghee and sea salt to taste. I like to let each person add the amount of ghee and sea salt to their bowl according to taste. This allows the Vata doshas to add more ghee and make a very rich soup, while Pittas and Kaphas can add less.

Notes:

Body Ecology – this is a Body Ecology stage 1 recipe and can be enjoyed anytime, even in stage 2 and beyond. You will want to combine this with grains, NOT protein or fruit.

Ayurveda – this recipe is very healing for Vata doshas. The warmth of the soup, added ghee and the cayenne pepper make it very warming. The cardamom, fennel and cumin seeds help with digestion. The sweet taste is very satisfying. Fennel, cumin and coriander are spices that help balance and reset the body and mind.

When you make this soup, feel the energy of infinite love and gratiude. You are putting this energy into the water and when you do this, the whole structure of the water changes to support your health and well being.

Before you eat the soup, breathe in it’s aroma to help put your body into parasympathetic nervous system mode (rest and digest). As you sip it, again, be in tune with the energy of infinite love and gratitude. Feel the warm liquid healing every cell of your body as you drink it down. Your thoughts and intentions are powerful…we learned his from Louise Hay, author of the best seller, You Can Heal Your Life.

And speaking of Louise Hay — don’t miss her at these two venues:

1. The Oprah Winfrey Show - Thursday, June 12th

2. The I Can Do It conference in Las Vegas June 26 - 29

I’ll be watching Oprah to see what Louise has to say — she is always so inspiring! AND I will be in Las Vegas for the I Can Do It conference.My husband is even joining me this year along with several friends.

I would LOVE to meet some of you there, so if you are going please let me know. Last year was especially heart-warming because I met many of my friends in the blogosphere. The I Can Do It weekends are the best shot of “feel good” that I’ve ever had from a conference.

For anyone who wants to go, Orbits and Expedia are offering a lot of deep discounts — you can get hotels close to the venue for as little as $30 per night!

In the meantime, I invite you to look at anything creating pressure in your life and get creative on ways to move from forcing to allowing. It’s a recipe for success when it comes to accomplishing what you want AND staying in balance.

The big secret…it all gets done anyway…it’s just a heck of a lot more fun!