Sandra T. Avendano Speaks!

Do you suffer from eczema?  I do. In fact, since early childhood.  Traditionally, the Western medical approach was and still is to prescribe topical steroids.  For years I went without consulting a Dermatologist because what was the point?!  The typical prescription for my type of eczema were topical steroids which only treated the symptoms and not the cause. In early Spring 2011 I had a painful eczema crises that affected my hands and wrists which prevented me from working as a Massage Therapist.  It was so bad that it compelled me to get a steroid prescription!  But at the same time I started to explore holistic remedies that would treat my whole system and eventually the cause of my eczema.  I first tried Homeopathy.  It worked to stop the frantic almost obsessive & violent scratching.  Some days it worked wonderfully and some days not so much.  I cannot explain how Homeopathy works...

The first time I stumbled upon the documentary Detox or Die by David Graham Scott my first skeptical thought was, "Is this for real or is it an actor portraying an addict?"  Then I did a little internet digging and found out that yes indeed David Graham Scott stars as the addict but he ain't acting folks this is his true story.  It's REAL!   My second thought after watching the documentary was, "This is really DEEP stuff and if it doesn' affect your viscera then you must be dead (like most Earthlings)".  My third thought was, "This man (David) is authentic!  To put his life and his family's life out there in the media is such a courageous act from which others will relate to, learn from, and heal."  If anybody has ever thought of or knows anybody who is curious about using hard drugs or is currently using hard drugs this an excellent educational documentary.  Heck, I think showing th...

What pops up in your mind when you think of  liberation ?  My first thought was of being rescued from a military occupation or the women's liberation movement (YAY!  Women of Quebec were only granted the right to vote in 1940; my grandmother was not allowed to vote 70 years ago!). Today, I'd like to propose a different type of  movement:  the movement towards Self-Liberation.  Imagine big billboards along the Decarie service road proclaiming, "Uncle Sam & Auntie Libby Want You!  Join the People's Self-Liberation Army & join the holy work:  move past your own fears and delusions. It doesn't just help you it helps the whole world! Freeing yourself from your own fears automatically gives other peope permission to do the same.  I'd like to propose a toast to Self-Liberation!!!  Que Viva la Revoluccion!

Heck with the 30 Blogging Challenge!  I'm hooked, I'm hooked, I have created a new habit! High Five! Yesterday night I presented my second speech at my local Toastmaster's Club and I won for best prepared speech! High Five! I dedicate this win to Marianne Williamson whom I quoted at the end of my speech: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate;   our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.   It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.   We ask ourselves, who am I to be   brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a child of God.   You playing small does not serve the world.   There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel unsure around you.   We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just some of us; it is in everyone.   As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people perm...

Day 22/30 Day Blogging Challenge.  As I practiced for my Toastmaster speech entitled,  I Am a Loud Speaker! ,  I paused in front of the mirror and a voice said:  "Just speak as your authentic self.   J-U-S-T   B-E  Y-O-U-R-S-E-L-F.  U take life tooooo seriously.  Have fun! Love your eccentricities.  Love all of you including the Shadow part.  Love the Angel in you and the Demon in you.  Love the Little Girl in you and the Adult in you.  Love the EGO in you and the SELF in you.  It comes in a package & you cannot pick and choose which aspect you like and want to keep and which you dislike and wish to discard. Avoid taking things so personally.  If a client cancels why bother wondering if it's because you did something wrong?  Or if your prices are too high?  This negative self-talk is called Instilling Doubt.  Do you believe you...

Day 21/30 Day Blogging Challenge. I am so full.  My belly feels like when I used to eat every morsel off my plate when I was a child.  We were encouraged to eat every bit off our plates till we busted.  My Mom still has the habit of eating everything off her plate because she dislikes throwing food in the garbage.  She feels guilty throwing food away because, "there are so many people dying of starvation in Third World countries."  Of course there are other factors that contribute to her plumpness such as age and sedentary lifestyle! Usually I am pretty good.  I eat until I am almost full then I stop.  However, today I attended a cooking class with Gigi Cohen from  Harvard Cafe  in Monkland Village and the food was scrumptious.  I devoured each morsel and if I was not in mixed company I would have licked the plate too!!!  The curries, the perfectly ripened curried mangoes, t...

Day 20/30 Day Blogging Challenge. I was just watching some Amy Whinehouse videos on YouTube.  I must confess...a while back a friend burned an Amy Whinehouse CD for me but it did not do much for me.  As I browsed live shows of Amy on YouTube today, I was pleasantly surprised.  She was an awesome & talented singer!  What a voice!  She was EXPRESSING HERSELF DEEPLY!  I doubt her lyrics will ever be adequately covered by anyone.  She was so unique.  Too bad she died so young.  This is the first YouTube video I saw of her and instantaneously I fell in love with her.

Day 19/30 Day Blogging Challenge.  Ok, I confess I am guilty for interrupting the challenge but I must confess I think I am hooked!  The whole point of the 30 day challenges is to create a new habit.  I am having a blast creating this blog which right now has no real theme.  It's a blog about nothing and everything.    Before writing this blog post I was working on my Toastmaster's speech which I'll be presenting on Thursday.  The title of the speech is I Am a Loud Speaker.   I chose this topic because the feedback I received about my first speech was to speak louder.  So in my obsessive compulsive way I decided to investigate what it means to "Speak Louder".   In the process I discovered forums that discuss how to deal with loud talkers in the office, a Globe and Mail blog article about a loud talker who was booted off an Amtrak train for speaking loudly on her cell phone f...

Day 18/30 Day Blogging Challenge.  Today is Tuesday, July 19th, 2011.  Have you heard about Neil Pasricha's 1000 Awesome Things  Blog and two Books?  If u haven't, the blog was launched in June, 2008 and was named one of PC Magazine’s Top 100 Sites.  The blog then became two books and currently you can even  submit your own  Awesome Thing which may be chosen to be published in yet another 1000 Awesome Things book. For me, one of the most awesomest experience is to walk into my recently cleaned, by a professionally meticulous person, home.  I've had several cleaning persons come through my home but my latest hire is so meticulously AWESOME!   I encourage everyone to hire someone, a professional housekeeper (they do this for a living), to clean your home for 1 month on a weekly basis.  Guaranteed you will get hooked.

Day 16/30 Day Blogging Challenge. Today is Sat. July 16, 2011.   How beautiful that each new day of the month matches my 30 Day Challenge.   I just noticed that fact today.   Must be the fresh pond water I swam in this afternoon or the fresh Eastern Township air I am breathing that’s helping my brain be more perceptive.    City living can be toxic to your health.   The air pollution, the noise pollution, the fast paced North American lifestyle and work ethic based on achieving and succeeding can take a toll on our bodies.   I am listening to an audio CD called Left Neglected (sorry can’t link it because there is no connectivity in this quaint country house I am renting for the weekend).   Left Neglected is a novel about Sarah, a North American High Achieving Executive Wife-Mother Archetype who luckily survives a car accident and sustains a severe brain injury.  The brain injury is called Left Neglect which means that the right sid...

Day 15/30 Day Blogging Challenge. Quince pronounced Keensae in Spanish.  In Latin America it is a custom to celebrate a young woman's 15th Birthday, called  Quinceañera  wich marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood. I don't remember celebrating my Quinceañera nor Sweet Sixteen (which is more common in North America).  Maybe it was becaaaaaussse I was a member of a fundamentalist Christian denomination which disallowed the celebration of birthdays.  And since I obediently believed in their doctrines, I blindly succumbed.  This post motivated me to re-read about my old religious beliefs.  I am in awe!  How did I ever believe daaaaaaat!  My G-D!  By what heavenly, immaculately concieved, miracle did I open my eyes? In all fairness though, maybe 20 years from the year 2011 I will laugh and mock at my New Agey & Esoteric beliefs. Gonna have to put a...

Day 14/30 Day Blogging Challenge.  When I was Fourteen I lived in suburbia, was attending H.S., and lived with my grandparents, my Mom and 2 siblings.   Fourteen was The year I moved to a bigger H.S because the gymnasiums were bigger When I discovered "prep" fashion  When I met Sabina, the first girl I made friends with in my new H.S. When two of my siblings got married so it meant more house work for me! 27 years ago! So long ago I cannot remember anything else! Creating a solid foundation and stability About The Emperor !    

Day 13/30 Day Blogging Challenge.  Thirteen Movie Trailer , The-13-Principles - Basic Judaism , The Thirteen Original Colonies Today my Tweet was about how Homeopathy has been wonderously helping me manage my my eczema and anxiety.  I wonder, if I a managed my anxiety will that clear up my eczema?   I've had this chronic condition, diagnosed as eczema, since childhood which comes and goes at different levels of intensity and affects mostly my wrists & hands.  But eczema of the skin is only a symptom of something affecting my immune system.  I wonder, if  I managed my anxiety would that help to strengthen my immune system?  What is anxiety anyway?  Anxiety is a mood.  "Anxiety can cause feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome".  Given this definition, which I got from Wikipedia, I would say ye...

Day 12/30 Day Challenge.  In Chinese Astrology 12 is the year of the  Pig .  Twelve is pronounced Shí èr ("Shier")  in Chinese (Simplified). A Red Carpet Client (RCCs)  came over this evening for some Deep Tissue and Swedish Massage bodywork or as RCC prefers to say, her body needs "some lovin'".  She recently came back from a life transformative Heart Virtue workshop in Magog, Quebec and learned that pain and disease is caused by your resistance to feeling your pain.  When you feel pain ask yourself:  What pain am I resisting?  What am I resisting to feel or admit (to)?  What does the little girl(boy) in me want to say?  What life experiences in the past have silenced her?  And how do we heal these experiences so I can move on with my life? What is she itching to say?

Day 11/30 Day Blogging Challenge. Eleven pronounced axat'esrei  in Hebrew.  Revelation.  How concidental?  How can it get better than this and what else is possible?   Jah .  At one point in my life I obsessed over the Hebrew Alphabet.  Only the Alphabet you find in a Torah.  The letters are so beautiful and exude such Yang energy.  I used to practice writing the Hebrew Alphabet with a marker.  Markers slide so effortlessly and don't make a mess unless you cause the chaos.  A marker just glides like a freshly sharpened skate gliding on a newly zambonied ice rink .  Smooooooth. Revelation appear! Smile, have fun with it.  One day you will understand it's all a game, "Life is like an awesome party where everything and everyone is having a blast!" ( Tammy Lynch Channel 1:20) . Something about being present is clamouring for my attention.   David L...

Day 10/30 Day Blogging Challenge. Decem. Latin translation for ten is decem (deh-sem). I was in such a stupor last night (this Sunday morning) as I wrote my ninth post.  It was so late and I was falling asleep as I was writing it.  It took me so long to post it.  In fact, I cannot believe I did not mention anything about the U2 Concert at the Hippodrome, Montreal!  It will be a night I will never forget.  It was warm. A bit on the humid side and I could hear the concert from 7.5 km away! There was a certain nostalgia and I could hear a voice say, "I wish I could have gone" (unsaid, "but right now things are tight...and I cannot possible justify this expense").  I want to give more details here but something is stopping me. What are you afraid of?  Say it, write it.  What is stopping you from being an open book?  Remember all those yoga stretches you have learned and that you regularly practice? You are doing ...

Day 9/30 Day Blogging Challenge.  Devet pronounced  Devet in Croation .  I would usually be sleeping by now but I am very committed to my 30 Day Blogging Challenge.  I usually get good results from my disciplined efforts.  The last two challenges were:  30 days straight of Yoga and 30 days of vegetarian eating.  The next 30 Day Challenge I am contemplating of doing is 30 days without eating sugar.  I wonder if that includes fruits?  Got this sugar-free diet idea from Matt Cutts who I have mentioned in a previous post. Today was another stupendous hot Summer day in beautiful Montreal.  It was a perfect day to attend the 21st Annual Pow-Wow in Kanawake.  The costumes were spectacular and very colorful.  There were moments of surrealism as I walked around the tent shops full of crafts, art, instruments, clothing, jewelry, furs and food kiosks.  It's hard t...

Day 8/30 Day Blogging Challenge. Acht pronounced ah-kt (pronounce it just how it looks with a short 'a' sound (click here for more German number pronunciations) . This is the first posting I am writing during the day.  I was sitting on my large back porch on a gorgeous but just gorgeous Summer day in Montreal and I was enjoying an early lunch which consisted of a bowl of spaghetti with homemade pesto paste (my sister made a batch for me so it's a bit on the salty side but sooooo good) topped with freshly grated  parmigiano-reggiano.  The only thing that was missing was a glass of chilled white wine.  Too early in the day for an alcoholic beverage (for my liver).  I like to limit myself to 1 alcoholic drink per day otherwise I will start falling asleep!  Seriously, when I was younger (in my 20s) my liver could detox the alcohol much faster. Like Grandpa used to say in Spanish, "Juventud tesoro divino", which literally transl...

Day 7/30 Day Blogging Challenge.  Sete pronounced (click here) . On a roll on a roll.  So many ideas have popped into my head today as possible subjects for my Day 7 blogging expedition.  Now I seem to have forgotten. I went for a nice bike ride around my 'hood.  I love my 'hood because there are lots of trees and a couple of bike paths!!! A bit chilly this evening.  Actually, I had to borrow a wool sweater to ride back home in the night.  When the Sun's down and it isn't humid outside it can get crispy out there!  Feeling a tad pooped right now and cannot wait to hit the sack after blogging.  On my way to a friend's house in Westmount, I had ride up The Boulevard from Decarie Blvd.  For a fraction of a second I wondered if my 40 year old heart could make it.  I could hear the poor thing pump and my lungs inflate like crazy.  But my cycling legs did not give up.  My Massage Therapist highly reco...

Day 6/30 Day Blogging Challenge.  Sei pronounced Sayee  Google.ca/translate . This posting is gonna be a little late but that is OoooKAaaaY.  You know why it's OK?  Because I was having the time of my life time just hangin' with Red Carpet Clients (RCCs).  What are RCC's?  Clients that I cannot believe I get paid to work with.  Clients with whom I love interacting with and who I look forward to seeing. RCC is a concept coined by Micheal Port in his book,  Book Yourself Solid .  Mr. Port is a big believer of identifying the most ideal clients, the ones the energize and inspire you.  So, I gave a 15 min Toddler Massage, a 120 minute Swedish Massage to the wife and a 60 minute Deep Tissue & Reiki Massage to the hubby.  Then after the massage we chilled and yacked about the trials and tribulations of marriage, children, work, and everything else un...

Day 5/30 Day Blogging Challenge.  Five pronounced Fffaaaiiii vfe.  Hope I can make the 00:00 cut-off point.  I was having such a good time with my friends that I totally lost track of time.  On the menu:  authentic Margaritas, eating one-of-the-best Caesar salads (topped with freshly grated Parmesan), and oh yeah for dessert some decadent brrrrrownieees (I am so proud to say; all home-made ;-)).  And oh yeah, how can I forget, See's Peanut Butter Brittle (THE best peanut butter brittle I have ever tasted in my whole entire Earthly life).    I love those moments when I lose alllllllllllll track of time.  I am so present in the Now and in a State of Flow.   Being in a state of flow is one of the best feeling I can ever experience, and it can become very addictive.  I can't wait to get my next Flow State fix.  WOW! Like Kate Bush's Wow! Imagine if I c...

Day Quatro pronounced Quuaaatrrro/30 day Blogging Challenge. At some point during the day today I decided to challenge myself to blog for 30 days.  I've blogged for 3 days in a row why not just merry go round it for an additional 27 days? Tonight after coming home from a nice leisurely neighborhood bike ride in the muginess of a sizzling hot Montreal Summer night, I sat in my newly acquired sofa and logged on to Ted.com (I have a secret:  I am a Ted.com junkie).  I usually click on the inspirational talk series and what do I see? This is too coincidental!  Anyway, all I can say about Matt's very short 4 minute inspirational speech it:  It's true!  I have done a couple 30 day challenges and the experiences have always brought me something good.  So voila!  The 30 Day Blogging Challenge continues.

Day trois.  Trois pronounced Tch-rrr-ois.  What a wonderfully steaming hot day it was today.  Fortunately, I have A/C in my pad so I didn't feel the sweltering heat too much during the day. In the early evening I went for a nice bike ride in the city.  I wuz on my way to the International Montreal Jazz Fest. when all of sudden I felt this torrent of cold wind smack me in the face and body like it was warning me of thunderous showers to come.  So I turned my mountain bike's front wheel back towards the west.  While riding back home I had such an unusual desire to learn more about Google AdWords.  I recently set up two campaigns for my business which have failed miserably and it cost my $70.00.  What will it take to make AdWords profitable for my Massage business?   I've read a blog here and there about Social Media Network Marketing (SMNM), attended a 3 hour tutorial that was useless and for a while ...

I can never start my post with the Title.  Title appears organically and will jump out at me by the time I am almost done writing my post.  It's fun to experience the process of seeing what is itching to bloom out.  Deepak Chopra advised us in one of his recent Tweets to silence our minds in order to discover the "Inner Genius(es) (IG)".  Elizabeth Gilbert so eloquently told the story, on Ted.com, how in Ancient Rome or Greece (one of the two) a person who was a genius did not consider themselves a "Genius", they considered themselves as "Having a Genius".  These ancient people knew that if they tried to "own" their IG, then all hell would break loose.  In other words the EGO would have a field day pretending to be The Genius.  Whenever the Ego gets involved it is not a pretty sight.   Oh vey! I often get the beautiful compliment that I am a healer because of the line of work I am in and always thank the nice person g...

First blogpost, no actually I am lying its my 2nd or 3rd ever blogpost.  I have another one floating somewhere in cyberspace.  Anywhuuu.  Lately, in the past month or so have been obsessed with exploring the art of blogging.  I became interested in blogging maybe...oh...4-5 yrs ago, when I was introduced to Facebook then Twitter then LinkedIn and my buddy Q from Qlinart http://qlinart.blogspot.com/  introduced me to blogging.  So what is the experiment?  I have come to believe (with the help of some alternative health practitioners) that my soul, for lack of a better word, or let's just call it MIVA (My Inner Voice Awakening) is screaming to express itself  in another way more specifically through my voice (some people call it Throat Chakra).  For the last 8 yrs or so I have been expressing myself through the Art of Bodywork and Energy work specifically:  Massage Therapy and Reiki.  Now I am feeling that something, and we can...