About Laurie Buchanan

holistic health practitioner, transformational life coach, speaker, author

Decadence

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

Recently, Len and I spent the day walking all over downtown Boise. We got in our 10,000 steps and then some.

Most of you know that last December (2018), I “Cut the CRAP.” I eliminated Caffeine, Refined sugar, Alcohol, and Processed food from my diet.

However, during our walkabout, we stopped at “The Chocolate Bar—Fine Handcrafted Chocolate” (the epitome of decadence) and selected two White Chocolate Margarita Drops—one each.

Did I feel guilty? Not in the least. This was a tiny exception, not the rule.

But guilt does serve a purpose. It’s there to alert us when we aren’t congruent with our values, to nudge us back to our best self.

It’s okay to have guilt. The issue is when guilt leads to a spiral of shame, self-loathing, and depression.

I’m currently traveling, so I’ve turned off comments for this post. I’ll be back with an interactive post next Tuesday.

When was the last time you felt guilty? Click To Tweet

When was the last time you felt guilty?

Thyme & Time Again

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

I used to feel like time was getting away from me until I started scheduling self-care into my days—yoga, meditation, long walks, reading, etc.—and honoring those commitments like I would with any other appointment.

I’ve always enjoyed pens, pencils, and paper. So it’s no surprise that I use a physical planner (as opposed to the one on my iPhone), and color code it with highlighters and Washi tape. This way, I can see what’s what in a glance.

I happen to love my Passion Planner. It’s an appointment calendar, goal-setting guide, journal, sketchbook, gratitude log, and has personal and work ta-dah lists all in one notebook.

How do you keep track of your life? Click To Tweet

How do you keep track of your life?

Horsing Around

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

I just returned from the Soulful Prairies Peaceful Retreat in Woodstock, Illinois. This equestrian-intensive location is incredible!

In addition to enjoying time with the horses, we used this window of opportunity to discuss the business of being and living fully.

After our mind-mapping session, we created vision boards to help us close the gap between where we are and where we want to be.

Some of the internal inventory questions we grappled with were:
What does it mean to be human?
What is peace?
What does it mean to BE peace?
How do I show up?
What is it like to be on the receiving end of me?
Is there a difference between being nice and being kind? If yes, what is the difference?
Am I nice or kind?

This was the first of many retreats that I’ll host at Soulful Prairies. I hope to see YOU there next year.

What question are you grappling with? Click To Tweet

What question are you grappling with?

Gardening

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

During our road trip last week, I made a list of the people, places, things, events, and opportunities in my life that aren’t positive, uplifting, constructive, or healing—that don’t support the best version of me.

I’m currently in the process of weeding them out of my internal and external landscape—of making room in my personal garden for vibrant new growth.

How's your garden coming along? Click To Tweet

How’s your garden coming along?

Labyrinth Walking

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

Len, Willa, and I are currently in Big Sky Country—Montana. One of our stops is Redsun Labyrinth, located near the spectacular Bitterroot Mountains outside Victor, Montana.

Labyrinth walking is an ancient practice used by many spiritual traditions for the purpose of centering, contemplation, and prayer.

Contrary to popular belief, a labyrinth isn’t a maze. It has one path to the center and back—that path is a unicursal (meaning one line). A labyrinth doesn’t have blind alleys or dead ends. The path twists and turns back on itself many times before reaching the center. Once the center is reached, there’s only one way back out—the same way one arrives.

A labyrinth symbolizes a journey to a predetermined destination (such as a pilgrimage to a holy site), or the journey through life from birth to death.

A labyrinth walk is done slowly, with deliberate and thoughtful steps. Many times a person begins a labyrinth walk with a prayer or spiritual question to contemplate during their journey to the center.

When the center is reached, the person pauses to reflect, pray, and listen for an answer, or for an even deeper revelation. On the return journey, the person continues to pray and reflect. Most people find labyrinth walking to be a calm and clarifying experience.

Even if the walk isn’t tied to anything spiritual in nature, the slow, intentional walk is a quiet place on a set path with a level of focus that’s hard to come by elsewhere.

Due to travel, I’ve turned comments off this week. If I were here, though, this week’s internal inventory question would be:

What question or prayer would you contemplate on a labyrinth walk? Click To Tweet

“What question or prayer would you contemplate on a labyrinth walk?”

Workaround

Posted on June 11, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

According to the dictionary, the definition of a workaround is:

“A method for overcoming a problem or limitation in a program or system.”

We got to see a workaround in action when we attended the 2019 Garden Valley Fly-In and went into town for breakfast one morning.

In your mind’s eye, picture a turn of the century western town where a wooden sidewalk connects all of the shops on Main Street.

Alas, the place where the sidewalk needed to go had a tree in the way. They felled the tree, leaving the stump, and built the sidewalk around it. Maybe not a “classic” workaround, but a workaround nonetheless.

What is your most recent encounter with a workaround? Click To Tweet

What is your most recent encounter with a workaround?

What Are You Reaching For?

Posted on June 4, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

Person, place, thing, event, or opportunity—it’s important to know what it is that you’re reaching for.

To aspire is defined as something you actively desire to reach, a goal you’re working toward.

What are you going to do with it once it’s within reach? Will you grab hold, or will you let it slip by?

In my experience, the act of reaching out sets everything in motion. That’s why I plan before I reach out, so when I do catch hold, I know my next steps.

What is it that you're reaching for? Click To Tweet

What are you reaching for?

Establishing Boundaries

Posted on May 28, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

When I visited the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) temple and gardens in Cardiff by the Sea, CA, I appreciated the fence—boundary—installed between the gardens and the cliff.

Due to erosion, it’s imperative to keep visitors from stepping too far forward, which many people want to do because of the stunning photo opportunity.

When it comes to human beings, there are many types of boundaries: personal, professional, relational, social, ethical, etc.

Boundaries are internal and external lines that we draw. They delineate where our — physical, mental, emotional, spiritual — space ends, and where another’s may begin. Boundaries establish what’s okay and what’s not okay. They help us:

Stand up for ourselves
Keep us from doing things we shouldn’t
Protect and take care of ourselves

Boundaries are not separation, they’re not division. Boundaries are respect for ourselves and others.

As I tell my clients, establishing boundaries is one thing, but it’s not enough. To be effective, they must also be maintained.

Are your boundaries in good condition? Are they effective? Click To Tweet

Are your boundaries in good condition—are they effective?

Airing Laundry

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

One of my favorite posts on Janet Givens blog is when she wrote about clotheslines. In reading that post, I learned that people are passionate about whether outdoor clotheslines should be allowed, or not. In some places, they’re actually outlawed.

When I saw Luna’s adorable cloth diapers drying on a rack in Evan and Kayley’s house, I just knew there was a post in it!

I’m passionate about not airing ones laundry (private matters) publicly. This practice is commonly referred to as airing one’s dirty laundry. In reality, I don’t know anyone who hangs dirty laundry out to dry—most of us hang clean laundry.

Maybe it stems from the way I was raised, or because I don’t have oodles of dirty little secrets. Either way, I don’t talk about private matters publicly.

What’s your take on airing “dirty” laundry?

What your take on airing dirty laundry? Click To Tweet

Around or Through?

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

To make hard tasks easy, mountains molehills, and challenges simple, we can opt for one of two viable paths:

We can be still and wait for guidance (go around).
We can roll up our sleeves and get busy doing what we can, with what we’ve got, from where we are (go through).

Are you more of a go around or go through type of person?

Are you more of a go around or go through type of person? Click To Tweet

Tuesdays with Laurie

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

Author Archives: Laurie Buchanan