About Laurie Buchanan

I'm a holistic health practitioner, transformational life coach, and author.

Trash to Treasure

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

After sharing a gelato with Len, I loved the polka dotted cardboard container so much that I washed it out and repurposed it — now it’s home to office supplies.

The terms repurpose, recycle, and upcycle are often used interchangeably:

REPURPOSE: adapt for use in a different purpose.
RECYCLE convert (waste) into reusable material. Return (material) to a previous state in a cyclic process. Use again.
UPCYCLE: reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original. Give an unwanted or waste product a new or enhanced lease of life.

I’m a huge proponent of repurposing, recycling, and upcycling. One of my favorite places in Boise, Idaho is Blooms Flower Studio. You can see in the photo below, that back in the day it was a service station. Today, it’s a gorgeous (inside and out) floral shop that also delivers impressive customer service.

What have you repurposed, recycled, or upcycled for reuse at your home?

Extend and Receive

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

When I lay in bed at night, one of the heart-based exercises I do is to mentally go through the alphabet and list things that my best self enjoys extending and receiving:

Acceptance (celebrate our differences)
Benefit of the doubt
Compassion
Divinity in action
Encouragement
Forgiveness
Gratitude
Hospitality
Inclusion
Joie de vivre (joy of life)
Kindness
Listening between the lines (attentiveness)
Mindfulness (present-moment focus)

Namaste’ (honoring the divine spark in self and others)
Optimism
Peace
Quiet strength
Respect
Simplicity (the gift of ease)
Truth
Understanding
Vision (cultivating and nurturing original ideas to fruition)
Wisdom
Xellence (the daily practice of being my best self—living my best life)
Yoga mindset (valuing connection with the world and its inhabitants)
Zen attitude (daily letting go of what I can’t control)

Do you have a consistent nighttime practice?

Blue Moon

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

Remember in last week’s post I shared a few of the things I did while on the first leg of my book tour in the San Diego area? Well, there was one more thing. But first, let me set the stage:

I’m going to be a first-time grandparent at the end of this month.
We know the baby is a girl.
We know that her name is going to be Luna Bleue.

That said, I wanted to do something to honor the momentous occasion, so I had this artwork done:

Ink Wisdom
“A good tattoo isn’t cheap and a cheap tattoo isn’t good.”

I’d done my homework in advance and went to EvenTide Tattoo in Cardiff by the Sea— the best of the best in the area.

Do you have a tattoo?

Cowabunga!

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

In July, I enjoyed a week at my sister’s beach-side home in Cardiff by the Sea during the first leg of my book tour at The Book Catapult in San Diego.

Moonlight Beach is but one of the many jewels in the beach communities of Cardiff by the Sea and Encinitas, California. It’s located in a residential neighborhood at the bottom of a steep incline that gently slopes into the Pacific Ocean.

This well-loved beach receives a lot of face-time from local volleyball players because of the three beach courts. And with a large playground, ample picnic tables, lifeguards, and a snack bar, it’s family-friendly and perfect for a picnic or a day in the sun. The icing on the cake? Plenty of clean restrooms and showers.

While there, I enjoyed breakfast at the ever-popular Pipes Cafe, shopped at Seaside Market, visited the Self-Realization Fellowship Temple, and checked out the Cardiff Kook Statue. Cowabunga!

When was the last time you hung ten or stuck your toes in ocean water?

The Choice Is Ours

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

As a holistic health practitioner, I work with people who struggle with anxiety, PTSD, depression and other conditions that make it challenging to find joy (which I define as inexplicable peace).

I’m sure you’ve heard the adage, “Happiness is a choice.” Much like Lori Deschene, the founder of Tiny Buddha, I believe that “Happiness takes a lot of choices that are sometimes hard to make,” is more realistic.

I love the happy paint job on this bicycle!

Each day we’re presented with countless choices. They include the decision to:

Accept ourselves and our struggles. Or not.
Take responsibility for getting help. Or not.
Do things that promote personal wellbeing. Or not.

Even when—especially when—we feel like giving up.

What’s your most recent choice for happiness?

The Eyes Have It

Posted on August 14, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

When we walk out our driveway and turn right on the sidewalk, we pass over a small stream. The other day we noticed an addition. Someone had affixed a pair of googly eyes to the rail.

I love to people watch. But I have to remember, it works in reverse, too. No matter where we go or what we do, a good portion of the time we’re being watched.

In my first book, Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth, I wrote, “Never underestimate the influence you have on others.” As a grandma-in-waiting (will September never get here?!) I’m aware that a little pair of eyes will be on me; my granddaughter will be in my sphere of influence.

Who do you influence?

Mind Gnawing

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

You’ve heard of mind-numbing. How about mind gnawing?

Recently our son and his family relocated to a place just around the corner from us. Yay! We’re excited because it’ll make visiting with our granddaughter extremely convenient once she arrives in September.

Len and I got to help them with their move out/in process. If you’ve ever moved before, you know that event requires simultaneous spinning of several platters:

Change of address at the post office? Check!
Key duplication? Check!
New driver’s license to reflect new address? Check!
Update address with employers? Check!
Ad infinitum

Even though I’d written tasks down, a move still leaves things gnawing at the edges of one’s mind. My brain felt like the beaver-gnawed tree in the photo below! I kept thinking we’d forgotten something…

Well, I’ll be dammed (pun intended), there’s beaver activity along the Boise River!

One night I sat up bolt upright in bed and told Len, “Bicycles! I never saw the kids bicycles during the move! I think we forgot about them.”

Sure enough, their bicycles were still in the rack at their old location.

What’s gnawing at the edge of your mind?

Tuesdays with Laurie

"Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing." —Laurie Buchanan

Author Archives: Laurie Buchanan