Don't Ever Feed McDonald's To Your Children

If you eat McDonald's...SHAME ON YOU!

If you feed McDonald's to your children...SHAME ON YOU AGAIN!

Your children deserve better, don't you think?

Check out this little girl's youtube video...she will teach you (and especially your growing children) to solely eat organic foods whenever possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exBEFCiWyW0

EXPECT MIRACLES

 So what are YOU grateful for? Seriously...what are you grateful for?

Write it down. 5 things.

Go. Now. Yes...right now.

Be like Nike...Just do it! I'll still be here when you're finished.

That wasn't so bad, right?

Ok...so now...what do you want to accomplish today?

This week? This month? This year?

Write it down.

Yes...one more time. Pick up that pen again and write it down.

5 things.

They can be as simple as cleaning out the bedroom closet or

a little more adventurous like starting that new business you always dreamed about.

Be very specific with what you want.

Choose your words carefully. Don't be vague.

Ahh...Good boy! Good girl!

Now...list 5 positive attributes about yourself.

Stop rolling your eyes.

You probably have more but we're taking baby steps here. Just 5 things.

Do people think you have a nice smile? Then write that down.

I have a nice smile...I make people laugh...I offer great advice.

Whatever. Just don't let those inner demons come out.

We all have something positive to share with the world.

Good. Now...take that list and go stand in front of a mirror.

Look at yourself.

Really look into your eyes.

Say all those things out loud while looking at yourself in the mirror.

Seriously. Just do it. Say it loud and say it proud.

And if you dare...embrace the similar amount of fortitude that Jessica did.

Our voice has so much power. So often we think about a lot of things but don't shout it out into the universe. Either because we think it's silly or subconsciously think we are not deserving of whatever it is we want to bring into our lives.

Well, I don't know about you, but I want to feel deserving...I want to be in my power to achieve great things. Don't you?

I remember doing a similar exercise for the first time, many moons ago. It sounded fairly easy but as I looked at myself in the mirror, I felt so silly and so self conscious. But I did it anyway. And I did it everyday. Ok...well maybe a missed a day here and there. But it got easier each day. It really was changing my energy.

I was creating the life I wanted. And when I stopped doing it? My life just didn't seem as powerful. Negative thoughts slowly started creeping in...invading my space again. Well who needs that?

When we voice what we want, what we are grateful for and what we appreciate in ourselves, we become powerful individuals taking charge of the life we have always wanted to create. Thoughts are powerful. Thoughts have energy. So why not give our thoughts powerful energy to help us move forward in the direction we have always wanted?

It's so easy. Takes only a few minutes. Just a little motivation. Turn it into a morning habit with that cup of coffee. Do it in the car while you're sitting at a red light. Who cares if the person in the car next to you is staring. He's probably picking his nose anyway.

Pull that mirror down from your visor, look at yourself and say those positive words. Say those affirmations that will give you a better life. A better spirit. A better attitude.

One affirmation I really like to use is:

Everything that can go right, will go right.

Expect miracles!

Step out of that box...that fear...that status quo. Ugh... so boring! Just dare to do it. Success doesn't happen over night, contrary to popular belief. It takes a lot of work.

Anything worth it in life takes work...takes passion. And where there is passion...there really is no "work". I have always loved the saying "Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life."

I LOVE my chosen career path. But that doesn't mean I haven't put in countless hours of blood, sweat and tears to achieve the goals I already have and am still trying to achieve. To others it may seem like work. That it's too hard. But to me...it is my drug...my passion that motivates me to get up in the morning.

Times are rough out there for everyone. You can decide to see the glass half full instead of half empty. Recite your affirmations daily and be grateful everyday for the things you DO have. No matter how small.

I needed a shift in my life. So for the past month, every morning (almost), I have been standing in front of a mirror and reciting my affirmations out loud. It's truly incredible how quickly wonderful things started coming into my life.

This blog was born shortly after I started the process. People I hadn't heard from in a long time were calling with great opportunities and perfectly timed words of advice and inspiration. And if I stopped for a day or two...I felt the shift in energy. The flow just wasn't there anymore. Not much fun. So I forced myself to begin again...and again...and again.

I know amazing things will start to enter your realm today because you have made a choice to make it happen. And what a great day to start! On the summer solstice!




Even little Jessica is on the band wagon...and she's like only 5 or something in that youtube video. Boy, I'd really love to know if she kept up with those affirmations and where she is today.

Thank you little Jessica...wherever you are!

Artichokes & Fava Beans

My Italian mother knows how healthy I like to eat.  So when I paid her a visit in NJ a few weeks ago, she prepared this amazing new dish for me.

Artichokes stuffed with Fava Beans.  It was delicious!

Super easy to make.

Just stuff as many Fava Beans into a large Artichoke as possible and place it into a pot of hot water.

She added a touch of olive oil and 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe's. It has no sodium and she knows I like that.  However, you can season as you wish.

Let it cook for a good hour...and then let it sit in the hot pot for about 20 minutes.

Please post your photos if you decide to make this dish.  I'd love to see your version!

Happy cooking!

Silver Water

Everyone should have a bottle of Silver Wain Water in their cabinets. I have been using this incredible product for over 10 years. I NEVER travel without some.

I call it my "Herbal Antibiotic". I'm not sure how it works...but it works! As long as you take a few capfuls of the Silver Wain Water at the onset of a cold, sore throat, headache, hangover or whatever is ailing you. Now, as I have mentioned throughout my blog, I am not a doctor. So try it at your own risk. I am just sharing my positive experience with this product. And it should only be taken when you are not feeling well...the first time you try it...so you understand how quickly it can work.

A friend of mine introduced Silver Wain Water to me over 10 years ago and I was just not open to trying it. However, one day, I woke up with a bladder infection. Ladies...we all know what an awful and painful experience this can be. It was a Sunday morning...and I could not get a hold of my doctor fast enough. My girlfriend came right over and gave me some of hers. I was in such discomfort, I would have taken anything at that point. Within 30 to 45 minutes, it was gone! I kid you not. I just took a capful every 3-4 hours. About 4-6 times throughout the day for about 2 or 3 days and I was completely fine.

Actually, I still was skeptical about the turn of events so I went to see my doctor to be sure it was gone. My doctor's office took a few tests and they said nothing was wrong with me. They asked me what I took for it and they looked at me like I was crazy. What did you take? Silver what?? They didn't care to know anything about it. Which, unfortunately, is typical of doctors these days when it comes to natural and holistic ways to heal oneself. The pharmaceutical company lost about $50 that day because I cured it naturally. And kept my body medicine free.

They even have a gel version, Wainwater Gel, for any skin problems such as eczema, rashes, acne, warts and minor cuts.

But look...it's not magic water. There have been times that it just didn't get rid of the flu over night. But there have been numerous times that it made an almost bad day great again.

Please know that I do not sell the product and I do not make money on the sales of Silver Wain Water. I am not connected to this item in any fashion. I just want to share this incredible natural product with all of you....as I have shared it with many of my friends in times of need. And almost always...they become big fans too!

Ho'oponopono

"Who looks outside, dreams;

who looks inside, awakes."

~Carl Jung

Have you ever tried to forgive yourself of all your past wrong doings? You may not even be aware of the hurt or pain you have caused. And that's okay. Simply repeat these four phrases to yourself and watch the transformation begin:

I love you

I'm sorry

Please forgive me

Thank you

These 4 phrases (or mantras as I like to call them) can help you clear out your system so that you begin to have a better relationship with your family, friends, lovers, colleagues and most importantly...yourself. It is known as Ho'oponopono and by saying these 4 phrases, it brings your thoughts down to the "zero state" and that is where things manifest.

I came across a book this past summer called Zero Limits: The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace and More by Joe Vitale and Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. This updated version of Ho'oponopono helps to clear and remove the mental barricades, the toxic energies, that have been interrupting our path to true happiness.

There is such great detail to Ho'oponopono and I suggest picking up a copy of Zero Limits so that you can marinade on the incredible stories and how it all works.

The first time I said these phrases, I was looking at myself in the mirror. I subscribe to the philosophy that if you really want to make a change, talk to yourself in the mirror. That is real truth. Well...it was one of the most painful things for me to do...to say I love you to myself...I'm sorry to myself...Please forgive me...and then Thank you. I felt a huge knot in my stomach, a big lump in my throat and I just started sobbing and sobbing. I wasn't sobbing for anything in particular...I was sobbing for everything in between. It was one of the most cleansing moments I had had in a very, very, very long time. Even though it was painful at first, I felt so impeccably cleansed afterwards....so incredibly light.

It has gotten much easier for me to say these phrases, these beautiful mantras, to myself. I have seen such an amazing shift in how I feel about myself and my past. I've come a long way in making peace with so many past hurts, guilty feelings and incredible pains. I still have a long way to go. The journey never ends. And how beautiful is that? Constantly evolving....and learning...and growing. This is how I chose to live my life. It is the right path for me and I am in such gratitude for being exposed to

Ho'oponopono

I am finally loving myself. Accepting myself. And it feels pretty nice.

CAN WE STARVE CANCER?

I say...HELL YES WE CAN!

Actually, William Li, Medical Director at Angiogenesis Foundation, states that we can EAT to starve cancer. He discusses a new way to think about treating cancer and other diseases. Anti-angiogenesis...preventing the growth of blood vessels that feed a tumor. The crucial step involves eating cancer-fighting foods that beat cancer at its own game.

As promised from my last post, EPIPHANY, here is the video I spoke about. It's about 24 minutes. So be sure you have the time to watch it all the way through.

Angiogenesis. Is this really a NEW way? Perhaps to some individuals. However...

Dr. Otto Heinrich Warburg won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 sharing his scientific studies on how cancer cells can not grow where there is oxygen. Let me say this another way...

THERE IS NO DEATH WHERE THERE IS OXYGEN.

Why didn't the oncologists share this study with me when I was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma 19 years ago?

I first learned about Dr. Otto Warburg's study 3 years ago, while I was attending a raw food detox establishment, Optimum Health Institute (OHI), in San Diego. I went there seeking a natural alternative way to cure a medical issue that had been keeping me and my doctors in the dark for about a year.

You can watch me explain my situation in an episode of IN THE BATH WITH KATH. Bathtub and bubbles included!

I rant about the harmful effects of aspartame which I will go into further on another post. However, I want to share the video now, so you can hear how I healed myself with natural healthy raw food.

For one week at OHI, I ate and drank live raw organic vegetarian meals consisting of sprouts, greens, fruits, vegetables, enzyme-rich rejuvelac (a naturally fermented, nonalcoholic beverage) and sauerkraut.

I also juiced my own Wheatgrass twice a day. It is very crucial to the program because it is a powerful detoxifier. It is an excellent source of chlorophyll, high in iron, oxygen, and enzymes and is one of the richest sources of vitamins A, B, and C. It increases red blood-cell count, lowers blood pressure and stimulates the metabolism and thyroid gland. The enzymes and amino acids found in wheatgrass can protect us from carcinogens like no other food or medicine.

There is a plethora of other amazing things that wheatgrass has been known to help cure. To find out more, read some excerpts from The Wheatgrass Book by Ann Wigmore.

I hope I have inspired you a bit to take a look at what you are feeding your bodies. Incorporate more fresh fruits, vegetables, raw nuts and fish into your diet. Leave out the bread, pasta, dairy, candy and chips. It may be hard at first, but once you do, you will feel an incredible surge of energy that will inspire you to achieve those goals you have been setting aside for days, weeks and even years.

Clear your body, clear your space, clear your mind.

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, said it best...

Let food be thy medicine and

let medicine be thy food.

EPIPHANY

I had an epiphany this weekend when a dear friend emailed me.  She wrote…Hey Dr. Zen…and BOOM! There it was!

I had been searching for a year...for a direction, for a passion, for a clear and simple message to start blogging about. And when I read my nickname, Dr. Zen, given to me while I was working as a series regular Briefcase Model (18) on the hit NBC game show, DEAL OR NO DEAL, it all became crystal clear.

I am a cancer survivor.

I was diagnosed with Stage II Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare childhood cancer, just a few weeks shy of my nineteenth birthday, while I was attending my first semester at Rutgers University in New Jersey. I was in my dorm room one morning, putting my hair into a ponytail in the mirror...and noticed a lump on my right forearm.

M Y...L I F E...C A M E...T O...A...S T A N D S T I L L.

Where other students were deciding what their majors would be and what their careers would look like, I was facing a much DIFFERENT DECISION. My life was front and center in a whole new way.

Looking in that mirror, not only did I see the tumor, I saw the tears and fears of a young woman afraid of what tomorrow would bring…or if there would even be a tomorrow.

I was faced with a DECISION…to embrace the adversity or to give in. I chose to EMBRACE those 365 days of chemotherapy. I chose LIFE. I chose to keep a smile on my face while receiving radiation for over 40 days. I chose to keep my thoughts and energy flowing forward in a positive mind set after going through several painful surgeries, numerous CAT scans, MRIs...and only God remembers all the other medical tests I had done on me. I survived it. ONE DAY AT A TIME.

My wonderful oncologist, Dr. Michael Harris, at The Tomorrows Children's Fund (which is connected to Hackensack Medical Center) in New Jersey, gave me a black marker and a calendar. He said this is going to be a long journey but you are going to get through it…ONE DAY AT A TIME. He told me to X off each day on that calendar with that black marker. And that’s what I did. Each evening, the big, fat X carved the calendar. And each evening, I could breathe a little better than the night before. Of course some days were harder than others but I could breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the end of chemo was one day closer.

ONE DAY AT A TIME. That is how I have been living my life ever since that life-altering adventure.

That adventure, as I like to call it these days, taught me how important it is to remain positive in adversity. Keeping a clear and positive outlook on life heals the mind, body and spirit. I call it life-altering, not because it magically made me a better a person, but because it truly taught me, in the purest form, what mattered most.

A warm smile, a gentle touch to the skin, music that touched my soul, music that made me sing, my sweet dog who always showed me such unconditional love. Family, friends, loved ones and even strangers who went out of their way to make sure that I was taken care of, that I was happy, that I was laughing, that I was fed, that I had water and ice chips and a bucket nearby, that I had a shoulder to cry on, a hand to squeeze when I was in pain and most importantly...that I was warm enough. Anyone who knows me, knows how miserable I get when I am cold.

I am grateful for my journey with cancer as it has kept me grounded in my acting career. Hollywood, at times, can get so materialistic, so cut-throat, so childish and so ego-driven that sometimes people forget to treat each other like human beings. When things get crazy in my life, I always make a conscious choice to take a step back and meditate on how good my life is because I survived...when others did not.

I believe that everything happens for a reason and I would never change a single moment of my life. We are here on earth to teach each other, to learn from each other, to love each other, to make each other laugh and to encourage each other to grow. It's the support we give one another that allows us to live and laugh and love.

I believe in paying forward my experiences with those who can learn from it and do it better than I did. I adore listening and learning from people who have wonderful ideas and stories to share with me. Ever since I moved to Los Angeles, over 10 years ago, I have been obsessed with alternative, natural ways of healing and living. I will try almost anything geared in that direction. I can't wait to start sharing my stories of what I have learned and experienced with all of you!

Hence, the idea for my new blog.

Each week I will share inspiring stories from speakers, survivors, products and companies that are all helping to change the world. Be on the look out for my next post where I will share that special video I spoke about earlier.

In the meantime, a question to ponder...DO YOU THINK WE CAN STARVE CANCER? I have some interesting news to share on this topic and I’d love to hear from you. Always feel free to send me questions and ideas on how I can encourage us all to live a healthy, natural and zen life.