Guest blogger: Viviane from Montreal

Hello!  Here's another lovely post from my friend Viviane...  my ex-translator who is not too busy... but that's ok... I understand....  that's life!!! However, I did ask her to write something for me...  cause I know she's became vegetarian and is trying to simplify her life... I wanted someone "new" to all that to testify... and she is really young also!!! 



here's a picture of Anakin looking at his new found window - furniture been removed form there!

I always loved food. I love cooking so much! When I was young, I would help my mom bake cakes, cookies, bread. She makes everything from scratch! Even today, she is still an inspiration to me. I was raised in an average family, eating traditional food and, of course, a lot of meat. The thing is, I never really liked meat. I would eat it because I was used to eating it. Every time I would eat meat, even as a kid, of would force myself to eat half of the portion… and sometimes, I couldn’t even finish that half. It would always end up in my parents’ plate, or in my dog’s bowl. The only meat I would really enjoy, was chicken. But I hated it if it was too thick. Like a chicken breast, for example… As for the side dish, the salad and the dessert? No problem! I could eat a ton! I’m still like that…

I met Nathalie in July 2011. I got an internship in a biomedical engineering company as a translator. Nathalie was sitting right beside me. I’m a very shy person, so I don’t talk much. She doesn’t talk much either! It took a while for me to start talking to her. She told me she was vegetarian and somewhat, I was interested by her lifestyle, even though she was very private about it. I told her that I didn’t really mind meat, that I could probably stop eating it without having any regrets. She then introduced me to the “Meatless Monday” movement. How interesting! I didn’t always do Meatless Monday, it was more like a “Couple of random meatless days a week”. I started to discover why eating meat is not so good… A couple of months later, I was browsing Netflix with my fiancé. We decided to watch the documentary Food Inc. After that, my perception of meat changed. I didn’t “not care about it” no more. I didn’t want to eat it. But for me, meat was an easy thing to cook. When I didn’t have time to cook, most of the time as a university student, I would just grab pork or chicken in the freezer, unfreeze it and cook it. In the weeks/months following that, I would still eat meat, but not as much as I did. Then, an afternoon, on my way to a university class, I received an email from Nathalie. She sent me an article talking about the health benefits of a plant based diet. I found it very interesting. On my way to university, I couldn’t stop thinking“what if”. What if I became vegetarian? OK, it’s not a plant based diet, but it’s still a good start. OK! I had to do it! 15 minutes after reading that article, I decided to challenge myself! I would not eat meat for a whole week and see how it goes! You know what? It went so well that I didn’t eat meat in 8 months! And I don’t miss it!!! My fiancé didn’t think it would last. But it did. And I don’t think I will ever go back to how I was before. I’m still trying to figure out how to eat everything I need to, because it’s not easy. It never was, even as an omnivore. Recently, I decided to subscribe to a vegetarian meal planner. It tells me everything I should eat every day, and proposes recipes based on the weekly specials at the grocery store! Ain’t that nice? So now, I eat everything I need: fruits, vegetables, proteins, dairies, grains… And I save money! I now make almost everything from scratch, like my mom JI feel very proud of myself. Because of my life change, my fiancé eats less meat than before. Sometimes, when he thinks my vegetarian meal is not enough, he cooks himself a steak or a sausage to eat with it… I don’t mind! He still eats less meat. I’m happy to be vegetarian, I’m happy that my fiancé eats less meat, and I feel great! And my dog is now a tofu fan! I really think that he prefers firm tofu to steak! What a great dog ;)

I think I owe a lot to Nathalie, for helping me to become a vegetarian. She didn’t tell me to do it. She just pointed out some directions. Where to start. It helped a lot. I have never thought about it before, even if I’ve been working and hanging out with a vegan co-worker for 2 years before working with Nathalie…

I read every blog post she writes. I am not into the minimalist stuff though. I love buying new cooking appliances, clothes, toys for my dog… Still, every time I read what she does, I can’t help but looking around me. I live in a 2 bedrooms apartment with my fiancé and my dog. I have so much stuff!! After reading a couple of her minimalist posts, I decided to do a big clean up. Not only for me, but also to give more space to my big 70 pounds dog. I managed to get rid of 75 books, 20 DVDs, clothes, etc. I removed a big piece of furniture that was blocking the window. I placed my dog’s bed by that window, and he can now enjoy the view! He loves it J

Thank you Nathalie for your blog posts! You inspire me a lot, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one JI hope you guys enjoyed my story!

Here's Viviane's business card... in case you need a translator eventually!!!

I am always happy to hear from you... do not hesitate to contact me!!!

Don't forget to check out my Facebook page.... or personal profile... connect with me on twitter or google +...

love and peace,
nath
xox
www.thissavvylife.blogspot.com
http://www.nathaliebrisebois.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=734016786
http://www.facebook.com/FanofLifeHappens
https://twitter.com/NathalieBriseb1

Gest blogger: Rita from Portugal

Here's another great post from a guest to this blog... but a great blogger from Portugal!  The link to her blog can be find lower...  Rita is this amazing woman who, without her knowing it... and without knowing each other, other than virtually, had a huge impact on my life!!!  For that I will always be thankful to her!

I have always been an organized person and I never accumulated too much clutter at home. In fact, I’ve always loved to through things away. In 2010, after I finished my PhD, I decided to redecorate my home and then I realized that I still had too much stuff. The furniture I had wasn´t right anymore, but it was still hard to get rid of it… One day I became aware of my emotional attachment to stuff… and I realized how ridiculous that is! Stuff is just stuff. More important are people, experiences, memories. And so I started to sell/give/throw away stuff that didn’t belong anymore in my home. I began with the furniture and then my clothes, books, kitchen stuff, work stuff, kids’ toys…  I got rid of more than half of my clothes and downsized from 60 pairs of shoes to 20. Everything in my home was submitted to a rigorous examination. Do I love this? Do I need it? If the answer was no to both questions, off it went…

At the same time I traveled to a Greek island for work and there I spent my nights reading Leo Babauta. That’s when I had my epiphany and decided to become a minimalist. I realized that a minimalist life was the kind of life that suited me. Minimalists seemed to be rather happy people, with no stress, no worries, no keeping up with the Joneses – and I wanted that for me and my family. When I got back to Portugal I decluttered even more, not only the physical stuff, but also commitments, appointments, responsibilities. I built up the courage to say “no” to things that didn’t interest me or didn’t add value to my life, both at work and in my personal life. I started doing what I wanted to do, not what other people expected me to do. I established priorities and organized my life accordingly to my priorities. I started to live my life, in the present moment.  

And then I discovered yoga.  I’ve always been into sports, but quickly I realized that yoga is much, much more than a physical activity. It’s a lifestyle. And minimalism is a part of the yogic lifestyle. Yoga teach us how we should deal with other people and our attitude towards ourselves, through a set of moral codes (Yamas) and personal observances (Niyamas). Two of those rules are called Aparigraha, to have only what we need, and Santosha, to be content with what we have – this is minimalism, a modern name to some of yoga’s ancient teachings.

So, a journey that started with decluttering some stuff soon became a lifestyle. Now I have time to myself, to my family, to my work. I’m not busy and I seldom hurry. I take life slowly. Now I live a mindful, healthy and peaceful lifestyle. And I’ve never been happier.

Rita Domingues, The Busy Woman and the Stripy Cat

Rita Domingues is a minimalist, aspiring yogini, blogger, marine scientist and mom to two boys from Portugal. She is currently enrolled in yoga teacher training and practices yoga on and off the mat every day.

What about you?  What was the deciding factor to your decluttering??? 

I am always happy to hear from you... do not hesitate to contact me!!!

Don't forget to check out my Facebook page.... or personal profile... connect with me on twitter or google +...love and peace,
nath
xox
www.thissavvylife.blogspot.com
http://www.nathaliebrisebois.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=734016786
http://www.facebook.com/FanofLifeHappens
https://twitter.com/NathalieBriseb1

Guest blogger: Suzanne from Germany

Let me introduce you to Suzanne... a women from Germany I "met" because we both have MS...  she bought my book and we discussed it... and became friends...  We both have the same vision of MS...  a positive one... we refuse to let it guide our loves and who we are....  Suzanne was diagnosed at a really early age....  and here's her amazing story:

Thank you, Nathalie, for inviting me to your blog as a guest-writer. My name is Susanne. I’m 45 years old and live together with my husband and my three kids in Germany.

 

I started my life with MS when I was 19. I had just finished school and was preparing to go to university, when one day I suddenly couldn’t see with my right eye. It started in the morning, and in the afternoon it felt like a big grey wall in front of me. I went to the doctor, he sent me to another doctor, he sent me to… I ended up in a hospital. Not the funniest time in my life.

I had a new crisis the year after, involving my right eye again. The doctor, who treated me, told me:  “If you continue in such a way, I still give you half a year.” She didn’t give me any details of what she meant with this. I decided not to follow her instructions.

At that time the first books of Rüdiger Dahlke came up in Germany. He is a doctor and said if you had a disease it was because your soul wanted to say something, but you didn’t listen. These ideas were totally new to me. I ran into one of his books, read a little bit, but didn’t buy it. But the idea of my helpless soul trying to let me know something has never left me again. I closed a contract with my soul. We would find a way to communicate with each other, without destroying my body.

My personal way to health began. It was a long journey with many different small steps. Beginning with yoga exercises when I was a teen, long before the first signs of my MS showed up. Then I was trying homoeopathic medicine during my studies. This homoeopathic treatment built a good basement for all the further steps, I suppose.

Some years after my degree in archaeology, when my eldest son had already been born I met a woman which was responsible for another big step in my development. Hanna was a “teacher of health”, and she educated people in becoming “round” which meant healed in this case. I learned to meditate, to use breath as a therapeutic means and to accept me, as I was, deeply traumatised from my father’s early death, when I lost all my faith in life and myself at the age of thirteen.

 

In spite of my education to a master of health I had two more severe crises.

After another very bad one some years later after the death of a very close friend I spent five days at the intensive care unit. At the end I had to remain in different hospitals for at least three months. I came home to my second son’s first birthday, but I still wasn’t strong enough to hold him in my arms. Every time I had a crisis the disease stopped me from running into the wrong direction. Even at that time.

My last crisis came seven years ago. I had left my long-time-partner. It was a very difficult time with lots of emotional stress. Friends of mine asked an amchi (doctor in Tibetan medicine) from Nepal to come to Europe. He examined me, and gave me some small globule made from Tibetan herbs from the Himalaya. In the night after I had taken them for the first time, something very peculiar happened. I woke up in the middle of the night with a very strong feeling of love to myself floating through my whole body. What ever had happened, this feeling has never left me since then. It felt like a dam which had broken.

 

That taught me, it is all about loving ourselves. If we learn to accept us as we are, we don’t need any disease to show us the way.

 I love this post... about loving yourself....  I really think that we all need to come to accept and love ourselves for who we really are...  and do the same with our past...  we HAVE to accept it as we cannot change it!!!!

Suzanne and I both had our last crisis 7 years ago.... althus our path are not identical, we are both into yoga and meditation... I always thought this was an important part of my healing...  and still do...

Hope you enjoyed this post!

I am always happy to hear from you... do not hesitate to contact me!!!

Don't forget to check out my Facebook page.... or personal profile... connect with me on twitter or google +...

love and peace,
nath
xox
www.thissavvylife.blogspot.com
http://www.nathaliebrisebois.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=734016786
http://www.facebook.com/FanofLifeHappens
https://twitter.com/NathalieBriseb1

Guest blogger: Lucia from Madeira Island, Portugal

Capital of Madeira - Funchal where Lucia lives

Hello! this is my first post from a guest...  Let me introduce you to Lucia whom I met on this blog as she was referred from another guest you'll meet later on in August!  She is now one of my regular follower on this blog... she was glad to volunteer some of her inner thought with me... and you of course!!!  Hope you will enjoy it as much as I did when I first received it!!!
What stuck me most is that once again, yoga was started to deal with health problems.... and it brought diet change and minimalism...  she is neither the first not the last...  it has to mean something!!!


Hello, my name is Lúcia and I'm 30 years old. I live in a wonderful place in the middle of the Atlantic, in the island of Madeira. It is a very small island, but with very special places to visit. We can see the natural landscapes, being on the beach and close to the mountains at the same time. Furthermore, we can walk though the beautiful “levadas” that run throughout the island.
In a place like this you should think that it is difficult to feel stress or walk always in constant motion. Unfortunately, it is not only in the big cities that people feel tired and sad.
Since a few years ago I felt always very tired, sad, disappointed, sleepless and without motivation to do nothing. Furthermore, I suffered from bad memories of several years I had to be in the hospital because of health problems I was born with. The first 14 years of my life were surrounded by doctors and hospitals, and how you might think this kind of experience does not leave anyone motivated.
Fortunately, all this has passed and after some bad moments I ended up going to the doctor and started taking medication for generalized anxiety disorder. Starting with medication was not easy. Apart from getting much sleep I was always very forgetful and “stopped” in time.
But then I joined a yoga school. It was one of the best things I did. I learned how to meditate, how to better control my thoughts and emotions, to be calm and to do the asanas, which are so good! I can say that yoga has helped me a lot these past two years.
Through yoga I also learned a lot about food and changed my way of eating. Since childhood I could not (or liked) to eat pork. Here on the island it is tradition to kill pigs at Christmas (pigs that are raised in people’s lands and killed in people’s houses) and to see that as a kid, left me very sad. No one ever got me to eat pork, since very I was a toddler . In addition, over the years I stopped eating sausages, burgers and so on.
About a year and a half I stopped eating meat (chicken and beef). Currently I eat fish, but it is something that sometimes costs me. I do it because my family insists that I should eat at least fish (they already get super stressed because I do not eat meat ...) and because I have not managed to change my eating habits completely. By changing my diet, too, I started eating more vegetables, fruit and I have a more varied diet. I think I'm on track.
Another of the things that have been changing in my life is the way I look at things and objects. I've always been clinging to things. I’ve always kept everything that people offered me, everything that I liked, everything that reminded me of something or someone. I still have some children's toys, which I cannot give.
However, I have been trying to be more minimalist. After reading the book "The 100 things challenge", I started my own challenge, but instead of getting only 100 things (too soon to do that, I cannot do that yet) I decided to abdicate of 100 things. I managed to give, offer and recycle 172 recycle things to date.
Gradually I have been giving more value to the people I love and have left aside the objects that are just that ... simple things.
Reading the blog “Savvy happy living” has helped and inspired me a lot and I cannot wait to read the book "Life happens" that is coming from Canada straight to me!
I must say that Nathalie is just amazing for sharing wonderful experiences with all of us.
A very big thank you from me, Lúcia Jasmins.

And what do you think of Lucia's post?   Isn't it amazing how we may do things that makes us feel great? How some people will go "against" what they were taught as kids and find their own way to be happy and healthy?

I am always happy to hear from you... do not hesitate to contact me!!!

Don't forget to check out my Facebook page.... or personal profile... connect with me on twitter or google +...

love and peace,
nath
xox
www.thissavvylife.blogspot.com
http://www.nathaliebrisebois.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=734016786
http://www.facebook.com/FanofLifeHappens
https://twitter.com/NathalieBriseb1

Looking for some guest bloggers for the month of August

Hello!

I have a request for you guys...  no matter what country you're from...  if you would like to write a blog post about minimalism, yoga, vegetarianism/veganism... 
Preferably in French or English... 
However long of short...

For the month of August... because I am on vacation technically but I want this blog to still be "working"!  lol

just let me know...  it will be a pleasure to read what you have to "say" and let you know if I accept it or not!

you can email me here

I am always happy to hear from you... do not hesitate to contact me!!!

Don't forget to check out my Facebook page.... or personal profile... connect with me on twitter or google +...

love and peace,
nath
xox
www.thissavvylife.blogspot.com
http://www.nathaliebrisebois.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=734016786
http://www.facebook.com/FanofLifeHappens
https://twitter.com/NathalieBriseb1