Julia's Thoughts on Life

This may be a different take on what is commonly believed to just "going with the flow". According to Urban Dictionary, "going with the flow" means": 1. To not push against prevailing behavior/norms/attitudes, occasionally including bowing to peer pressure.  2. To not attempt to exert a large amount of influence on the course of events, whether a specific series of events or events in general. A person who does this is often referred to as "laid back" or "easygoing".  Well, this is NOT what my definition is. In fact, I don't ever want to be that version of "laid back" or "easygoing" because it sounds an awful lot like a pushover and someone who doesn't have much integrity. Well, while on an airplane, I had an epiphany of what it means to go with the flow in a healthy, constructive, righteous way.  To begin, there is something we have to understand about going with the flow. A stream may seem...

In our testimony meeting at church, a guy from Canada got up and said, "It's okay, to not be okay." Well dang. That sums up my whole week. Why do we all respond to the question, "How are you doing?" with the same freaking answer? We are not all okay and yet everyone I talked to yesterday (who I knew was struggling) gave me the same answer that I have been giving--- "I'm doing well!" "I'm good!" I'm as guilty as the next person. Someday I hope I can feel that it's okay to not be okay. Maybe it's ok if I'm not ok 'Cause the One who holds the world is holding onto me Maybe it's all right if I'm not all right 'Cause the One who holds the stars is holding my whole life -We Are Messengers, Maybe It's Ok

Okay, I have to apologize in advance... that post title is super dramatic because I just feel like a dramatic person at the moment. When I think about some prayers that changed my life, I can't narrow it down to just one. There was the prayer I said which led me to serve a mission, the prayer that I said after escaping a potentially dangerous encounter in a dark alley in Brussels, the first prayer I said in French in front of a lot of women that terrified the heck out of me, the prayer I was invited to say in a Buddhist fire ceremony... the list goes on-- each one holding a special piece of my testimony together. But this prayer was on an average, rainy day in Washington that had little to do wit anything profound. It was a prayer of help. Recently I have been struggling...a lot. My health and body are not as ship-shaped as I would like them to be and ever since I came home from my mission, I have struggled with bouts of depression. This past week, it has been really bad. Som...

Talking with my brother about the yoga training I did was kind of cool because he articulated something so profound to me: there's a difference between namaste peace and spiritual peace. Yes, we go to yoga and get zen-ed out on our mats while sitting in lotus position, eyes, closed, and our hands bent into different mudra shapes, maybe throwing in some "ohhhhhhms" if you will. But that "peace" is so much different than the kind of peace I feel reading the scriptures or sitting at church. This thought has led me to ponder the question: " What are the different levels of peace?" Level 1 is having a peaceful atmosphere. Exterior. Surrounding. Environment. Everything around us can be peaceful; like a placid lake, a secluded forest, or the perfect stillness after a fresh blanket of snow. But the outside can be totally different from whats going on in the inside! You could be sitting at the beach stressed out of your mind and not even enjoy the f...

To begin, let's clarify what a mono diet is. No, it's not to cure mono, the "kissing disease". No, I'm not doing this to lose weight (although I hear it's an added benefit). No, you won't die from just eating one food for a little bit. Yes, I really will be eating one food for some time to test it out. (The goal is a week. We will see). So it all started when I was talking to my sister about those "banana diets" and "potato diets" that people do to lose weight. She did it once and apparently it worked although she hated it. We laughed. Conversation over. The next day, my mom opens up her Medical Medium book and was like, "hey, for people with really sensitive stomach problems and digestive issues, this guy recommends mono eating for a little time to build up your stomach's defense system." I don't think anything is a coincidence so I decided to give it a shot. The odds of it popping up multiple...

Yup. I'm hooked. Drinking celery juice every morning on an empty stomach? Works wonders. It's my lifeline at this point. So many weird stomach problems (that probably have to do with my gallbladder and liver and small intestinal streptococcal overgrowth but no doctor can figure it out)... So if all else fails, I know that this stuff works. I know it like I know that God really lives and loves us. <<And that's 110% sure>> My miracle juju. Just put clean celery into the juicer and BOOM. Done. 100% celery juice.  Juiced (not blended). Pulp-free. No strings.