Mastery in the Art of Living

Intuitive Development Classes

Classes and

Individual Sessions to

Develop Your Innate Intuitive Abilities

Intuition is an innate ability we all have. Using intuition helps you make stronger decisions during uncertain times. When you learn how to use intuition well, confidence and inner peace lead your life.

Intuition and Your Body
Tuesdays, March 4 - 18, 7-8:30pm or
Thursdays, March 6 - 20, 5:15-6:45pm
Deepen your experience of the Divine in your physical being.

Intuition in Your Relationships
Tuesdays, March 25 - April 8, 7-8:30pm or
Thursdays, March 27 - April 10, 5:15-6:45pm
Align with your inner code of honor to create stronger relationships. 

Intuition in Your Community
Tuesdays, April 15 - April 29 , 7-8:30pm or
Thursdays, April 24 – May 8, 5:15-6:45pm 
Using BodySoul Movement, breathwork, and meditation,
create an energetic foundation to bring your work out to the world. 

To register for one, two or all three sessions contact Leah Skurdal
[email protected], Facebook, LinkedIn

 

Black Bean Vegetable Soup

Tobreak the sugar addiction, try eating more whole foods to create more balance in your body.

This delicious soup recipe came to us from friends Sue & Joel.   Thanks to your friends who gifted it to you.  I tweaked it a little.

Black Bean Vegetable Soup

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, chopped 

1 zucchini, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

2 cups vegetable broth, or water

1-2 cups cooked black beans (either dried, soaked and cooked or canned)

1-2 cups cooked kidney beans  (either dried, soaked and cooked or canned)

10 oz frozen corn

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 can diced tomatoes

Saute onion and garlic in oil for a minute or so.  Add seasonings.  Add rest of ingredients.  Cook 30 minutes until carrots are tender.  Add more seasoning for more flavor. Add more liquid as needed.

Gypsy Soup

This sweet and spicy soup recipe is always a favorite.

Gypsy Soup

4 cups water, or stock

4 cups vegetables: Sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, celery, tomato

½ – 1 cup cooked navy or lima beans

½ - 1 onion

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp salt

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp thyme or basil

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp ginger

dash cayenne pepper

 dash cinnamon

Chop vegetables. Saute onion and garlic in oil, preferably grape seed. Add seasonings. Stir. Add vegetables. Stir. Add liquid. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Cook 30-45 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender. Alternatively, combine all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high 4 hours or on low 6-8 hours. Makes 2 quarts.

 

New Class Starting

Leah Skurdal's Mastery in the Art of Living
Presents
Strengthening Your Intuition

Whether you call it “your gut sense,” “the still, small voice” or “a tap on the shoulder”, that sense of inner knowing is your intuition – your intuitive wise self.

Learn to develop your intuition:
Strengthen your awareness of your intuitive self
Make confident decisions in tune with your intuition
Choose foods that nourish your body, mind & spirit
Deepen your love for your body
Strengthen your trust in your own wisdom
Set your intention for the year

Four week course - 4 consecutive classes - $100
Includes a one-hour per student session of
Intuitive Massage & Energy Healing with Leah

Wednesdays, 10:30am-12:00pm; Jan 25, Feb 1, 8, 15
at The Wellness Circle, 7094 Lake Drive, Lino Lakes

Leah Skurdal has been on a journey of inner healing and spiritual transformation for over 30 years. The awarenesses she has received along the way are divine gifts. Leah developed her intuitive abilities through training in various healing modalities, meditation and prayer.

To register for the course
Strengthening Your Intuition
contact Leah: [email protected]

Is Overcoming Sugar Addiction Similar to Drug Addiction?

In the height of my sugar haze days, I certainly did not think of myself as a drug addict.  However, the similarities between sugar addiction and drug addiction are pretty spooky.   Check out this research printed in the Journal of Nutrition, 2009 for a reason why you might want to break the sugar habit. 

In an animal study, researchers found that lab rats learned to binge on sugar within 3 weeks. The rats had constant access to regular food but they ate minimally, waited until the sugary fat food arrived, and then binged on the sugar.

The rats showed behaviors similar to drug dependent rats. When forced to abstain for a couple weeks, the rats binged even more - and gained even more weight - when the sugar was reintroduced.     The rats binging on sugar showed similar neurochemical imbalances to withdrawal from morphine, nicotine and alcohol.

Here is a link to the article published in the Journal of Nutrition, "Sugar and Fat Bingeing Have Notable Differences in Addictive-like Behavior" By Nicole Avena and others.

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/139/3/623.full

Read my other blog posts on overcoming sugar addiction to get a few tips for breaking the sugar habit.

Balancing Blood Sugar

On a glorious day in May, a child complained of being too hot while I was still thawing out after the especially long winter. What could contribute to this disharmony with her surroundings? I wondered. Then, I stopped to think about what the child had eaten recently. Oh, yes, an apple for breakfast and a couple sugary treats at an outing. Low blood sugar aka hypoglycemia.

I remember the nasty glucose tolerance test for hypoglycemia I took many years ago. The procedure included fasting, then drinking a large quantity of high sugar solution and testing my blood several times over a couple hours. I felt weak, queasy, light-headed and suddenly very hot. After my horrible physical reaction, I was surprised that I only measured borderline hypoglycemic. I would not wish that procedure on anyone.

Since breaking my sugar addiction, I have learned to keep my blood sugar level balanced by eating whole foods. I even have fun cooking with a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and lean meats. Enjoying a small amount of sugar on a full stomach also helps my body deal better with the blood sugar rush.

The dictionary defines hypoglycemia as an “abnormally low level of glucose in the blood.” The level varies by individual, and occurs when the body creates symptoms in response to too much glucose. For example, when someone eats a big hit of sugar on an empty stomach, the body registers too much glucose, and the pancreas sends out insulin to get rid of the excess. When the brain, which lives on glucose, registers there is now a shortage, it sends a rush of adrenaline to call on the liver to create more glucose and dump it into the bloodstream. This sets up a blood sugar imbalance.

Some symptoms of low blood sugar range from mild: dizziness, weakness, exhaustion, confusion, headaches, sudden overheating or mood change, to more severe: palpitations, chest pains, shortness of breath, sweating, fainting, anxiety and nausea.

Read more: Definition of Hypoglycemia | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_4739807_definition-of-hypoglycemia.html#ixzz1MY6yWkCO

For women with blood sugar related PMS symptoms, I found this interesting article on minerals that help balance PMS. Since sugar depletes the body of minerals, then it makes sense that adding minerals to your diet might help balance mood swings.

http://www.worldwidehealth.com/health-article-Premenstrual-Syndrome-PMS-and-Minerals.html

Stay tuned for more on eating well to balance blood sugar and mood swings.

A Tip for Breaking Sugar Addiction: Honor Your Body

If you must eat the chocolate bunny ears, nibble them gently and joyfully.  

Then stop. Breathe.  

What are you feeling now?  Where in your body are you feeling that feeling?  

Check in with your Creative Inner Wisdom.  

What is the craving beyond the bunny ears?  Can you hear the craving?  See the craving? Touch the craving in your heart?  

Honor your body as a sacred vessel of Divine Love, whatever your religious persuasion.  Every cell in your body contains a hologram of the One behind the many.  

You are an amazing being born to greatness.  Honor your physical self as the vehicle for your spiritual self.  

Treat your body respectfully by giving it the best nutrition you can.  Sugar does not count as nutrition.  In fact, sugar robs your body of essential nutrients.

Enjoy those bunny ears in moderation.  And then, stop.  Don't gobble the rest of the bunny.  

Or choose to avoid the bunny all together.  Choose another way to satisfy your craving. Go outside.  Plant flower seeds.  Clean a closet.  Sing your favorite song.   Exercise.

Tap into your Creative Inner Wisdom.  It is bigger than sugar.  Bigger than any addiction.

Listen.  You are wiser than you know.

Breaking Sugar Addiction -Tasting the Sweet Life

Yesterday, when I noticed that I was craving something sweet,  instead of reaching for a sweet treat to eat, I asked for a hug from my 8-year old daughter.  Life doesn't get much sweeter than that! 

Break the sugar addiction through your awareness.  Sometimes our sugar cravings grow out of our real human need to "Taste the Sweetness of Life."  When you notice that you are craving sugar, stop and notice that feeling.  Ask your inner wisdom what it is trying to tell you.  Go deeper.  Is the deeper feeling a longing for "The Sweetness of Life?"  Can you fill that unmet need with something other than sugar? 

Take a deep cleansing breath.  Notice something "sweet" around you. Let your eyes slowly look around.  Let them rest on your favorite color.  Drink in the colors, lights, and shadows.  Watch an animal play.  Say 'hi' to a baby.  Notice how the sun glistens on water.   Give yourself a foot massage.    Read a poem. 

The benefits of breaking a sugar addiction far outweigh the brief sweet taste.  Overcoming your sugar addiction  starts with your awareness. 

A Tip for Breaking the Sugar Addiction

Gone are days when a bowl full of M&Ms on the coffee table tempted me to eat them all.  I am so grateful to be done with my sugar addiction.  Now, I can have one M&M - so I don't feel deprived - and be done with it.  Or, none at all and it's not a huge deal. 

I still enjoy quality dark chocolate on occasion - don't get me wrong.  But a bite or two of really good quality dark chocolate gives me a feeling of richness.  Then, I'm satisfied.

When I was breaking my sugar addiction, I noticed that my sugar craving was linked to my blood sugar level.  When my blood sugar was crashing, I had the habit of reaching for a quick fix of instant sugar - usually M&Ms, but sometimes just a box of crackers would suffice. 

When I started paying attention to my blood sugar swings, I started including an herbal sweetener called stevia.  I just put a few drops on my tongue whenever I started craving sugar, and I would feel satisfied.  This is not about an illness like bulimia which requires professional intervention.  This is just one step I took to love my body back to balance and wholeness.

Stevia is a plant that has been used as a sweetener for centuries.  It has no calories, does not cause cavities and balances your blood sugar.  My favorite version of stevia is made by SweetLeaf.  Ask for it at your food coop or health food store.  Check it out online at  http://www.stevia.com/

A delicious way to enjoy stevia is to squeeze the juice of an organic lemon into a glass of water, then add liquid stevia drops to taste.  The powder lumps up a bit, but it works if you don't mind stirring up the lumps.

About Sugar

About Sugar & Artificial Sweeteners

by Leah Skurdal

In this day and age, it is very challenging to eliminate sugar consumption. Sugar is used as a flavor enhancer in most processed food.   We often don’t realize how addicted to sugar we have become until we stop using it and go through a “withdrawal.”  Possible benefits of elimintating sugar from our diet are more energy and vitality, improved disposition, less depression, fatigue and less nervous anxiety.

Refined sugar stimulates the flow of insulin which depresses the amount of glucose (the brain’s source of energy) in the blood stream, which results in a lack of supply of glucose to the brain. Eating sugar is believed to contribute to many other common health problems:  irritability, loss of concentration and attention, anxiety, depression, insomnia, fatigue, obesity, liver and kidney damage, chronic indigestion, ulcers and dental decay, blood sugar imbalance, heart disease, hyperactivity, high cholesterol, poor vision, yeast imbalance, and hormone imbalance. 

Artificial sweeteners such as aspertame (NutriSweet), sorbitol, and saccharin are linked to headaches, asthma, dizziness, seizures and tumor growth. 

Carbohydrates contain both sugars (simple carbohydrates) and starches (complex carbohydrates).  Grains, vegetables and fruits contain sugars and starches, but they are wholefoods, and also contain the essential nutrients and fiber your body needs.  The key to a proper balance in our diet is moderation.  We need to eat fats, protein and carbohydrates in proper proportions.  We have been conditioned to sweeten our foods more than is desirable from a nutritional standpoint. 

Note:  6 teaspoons of sugar depress the immune system 25% for 24 hours.
15 teaspoons of sugar depress the immune system 95% for 24 hours. Drinking three cans of soda pop paralyzes your immune system for an entire day.

Read ingredient labels to avoid:
sugar (sucrose, dextrose, maltose, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup etc.) Note:  small amounts of sugar consumed regularly result in greater weight gain than a large amount (a piece of cake or cheesecake) consumed all at once.

Tips for reducing sugar intake:
• proceed gradually.  A sudden, complete ban on desserts can backfire.
• Cut out sugary snacks, confine sweets to mealtime.  Then make it an occasional. 
• Use sugary “treats” only occasionly rather than as a staple.
• Transition gradually from white sugar to alternative sweeteners: honey, barley malt sweetener, rice syrup, sucanat, stevia. 
• To sweeten with wholefoods, choose to bake with fresh fruit, fruit preserves and unsweetened fruit juice.
• Try stevia, the sweet herb, used as a dietary supplement for centuries around the world.  It nourishes the pancreas to balance blood sugar and counteract sugar cravings.
• Make fresh fruit available.
• Set an example.

For more information and support in overcoming sugar addiction, I am available for consultations. Leah Skurdal [email protected]  or 763-780-0374.  Contact me for a fee schedule.

One Earth.  One People. One Love.