Tag Archives: blogging

Harvesting Water, Harnessing Heat

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During the week I was in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico it became clear that due to sheer lack, hygiene, and safety issues, two of the most basic needs—drinkable water and heat—are of tremendous concern.

With service above self as their motto, the local Rotary Club go to the people in dire need — not to gave a hand out, but a hand up — a fishing pole instead of a fish — educating people as they go.


The local Rotary Club has amazingly provided:

Water Cisterns
587 Cisterns built in 19 Communities
Benefiting 4000+ family members (+ other school & kinder children)
Cost per cistern – US $700

Ecological Stoves
Constructed 1,400 in 29 Communities
Benefiting 5,000 + family members
Cost per stove – US $48
For more information specific to the phenomenal benefits of the small economical stoves, please follow this link: StoveTeam International

To find out how your financial support can help to change lives, please contact:

John Doherty
jd98lv@hotmail.com
Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende
Guanajuato, Mexico

Have you ever had to walk miles to reach drinkable water?
Did you know that smoke from open cooking fires kills twice as many people as malaria?

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

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© 2012 Laurie Buchanan – All Rights Reserved

CASA—Center for the Adolescents of San Miguel de Allende

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On Oct 31 I was privileged to speak at the First Annual Wellness and Spirituality Expo in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico—a benefit to raise funds and awareness toward the fight to stop violence against women and children.

This life-changing event was sponsored by Sibyl English of SIBYL Magazine and SIBELLA Poetry Magazine.

CASA’s mission is to improve the quality of life for Mexico’s most vulnerable communities through a wide brushstroke of educational programs. From childhood development to employment and other areas, including domestic violence prevention and support.

To learn more about how your financial support can help to change lives, simply follow this LINK.

Have you ever been paralyzed with fear—afraid for your life?

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

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© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved 

Day of the Dead

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Saludos—greetings—from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where preparations are excitedly underway for Dia de los Muertos—Day of the Dead—in which the many of the local people remember and honor their deceased loved ones.

Though it may sound somber or macabre, it’s not!

The view from my room in the hacienda where I’m staying

Between Oct 31 and Nov 2 it’s a festivo—festive holiday—with eye-popping, colores vivos—vivid colors—everywhere to welcome departed loved ones, believing that their espíritu—spirits—return to earth for a single day each year to spend time with familia—family.

Day of the Dead is celebrado—celebrated—differently all over the world. In Mexico many of the cemetery lápidas—headstones—have elaborate decorations because it’s thought that the spirits stop there first on their way home. The casas—homes—have intricately decorated ofrendas—altars—to welcome departed loved ones.

Stairwell in hacienda – my room’s at the top

It’s believed that the spirits of bebés y niños—babies and children—arrive at midnight on Oct 31 to spend a full day with their families then leave, and the spirits of adultos—adults—arrive the following day.

Bedroom Ceiling in Hacienda by Laurie Buchanan

¿Alguna vez se celebra el día de los muertos
Have you ever celebrated Day of the Dead?

Escuchar con el corazón—listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Lo que no va a cambiar, está eligiendo.”
“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

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© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Wait Loss

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Different from weight loss (the shedding of pounds), wait loss (the shedding of patience) is less attractive on any figure.

I try not to do battle with time; clearly, it’s a losing proposition. Yet recently I found myself sitting in a waiting room swarming with other people who—like me—were becoming impatient. Fast!

Breathe yourself through this Laurie…

  • Inhale to the count of four.
  • Hold to the count of seven.
  • Exhale to the count of eight.
  • Repeat until your name is called.
  • You can do this.

Time—yours, mine, and ours—is irreplaceable. None of us knows how much of it we have left. Not to be squandered, every moment of this precious commodity should be enjoyed to the fullest.

Are you gaining or losing wait?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

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© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Jumping through Mental Hoops – Swoosh!

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Our brains—like muscles—become stronger with use. Excuses be gone! There are oh-so-many ways to exercise our brains:

  • The ever popular, jumping to conclusions.
  • Who among us hasn’t tried pushing their luck?
  • Dodging deadlines is always good for an extra shot of adrenaline!
  • There’s the time-tested jogging our memory.
  • Raising the bar of unrealistic expectations.
  • The tried-and-true limiting oneself by running out of options.
  • Stretching the truth forces us to keep double mental books—an especially vigorous workout for the brain!

When was the last time you exercised benefit of the doubt?

Post Script
Nan Palmer, I snuck into your gear…
A special thank you to my friend, Jill Witty, for taking the photograph.

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

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© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Bend but Don’t Break

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Trees are high on the list of my favorite living creatures. Each day as I traverse back and forth to HolEssence—on bike, on foot, in car—I pass ginormous trees that have lived in this area for hundreds of years. Many of them are in the front yards of what had been the homes of railroad barons in days gone by.

In August we experienced several storms that blew through, stripping off roofs and leveling most everything in its path. Pictured below is a tree I photographed after the storm. It wasn’t yanked up by its roots, rather, it snapped—like a twig—in the gale force winds.

From the outside, the tree had appeared to be healthy. But I suspect it had been ill, as most trees—like people—have an inherent resilience that allows us to recover from things that push the envelope past the cutting edge, to the bleeding edge.

When was the last time you were stretched beyond your limit?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

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© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Daylight’s Burnin’!

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This week I celebrate Double Nickels — my 55th birthday.

In reaching this milestone it seems reasonable to suggest that I’ve got more time behind me than I do in front of me. In fact, daily I can hear John Wayne’s voice, “Slap some bacon on a biscuit and let’s go, we’re burning daylight!”

And while the package I reside in has changed considerably over the years, I still feel the same on the inside—bright and sassy!

How do you feel on the inside?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Discovering the Seven Selves     Life Harmony     Facebook

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Mind Your Own Business

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Do you remember Gladys Kravitz—the nosey neighbor who lived next door to Samantha and Darrin Stephens—on the television show Bewitched? She was always curious about what other people were up to:

Samantha Stephens: Oh, hi, Mrs. Kravitz. What a surprise (not!).
Gladys Kravitz: I came over for a snoop of, uh, a scoop of sugar. I hope I’m not disturbing you.

Our dog Willa—aka Mrs. Kravitz—is a snoop in the first degree. When our neighbors are in their back yard, she peeks through the fence!

Willa would do well to heed Hank Williams’ song, Mind Your Own Business!

I have more than a dash and a dollop of curiosity. When I was a young girl, my hero was Harriet the Spy.

Have you ever stuck your nose where it didn’t belong?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Discovering the Seven Selves     Life Harmony     Facebook

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

The Brilliance of Pooh

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Regardless of what you do (artist, chef, teacher, writer, hair stylist, gardener) there are countless times during the day when just be-ing is imperative.

It’s typically in the be-ing space that I join the esteemed ranks of Winnie the Pooh and think, Think, THINK.

In autumn I’m speaking in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico at the Women with Sacred Souls International Gathering and Retreat. My topic is keys—keys that help us open our emotional baggage, examine it, and offload it.

In my desire to leave each listener with something tangible from the presentation, I had colorful mini-cards made with a skeleton key on one side, and my quote “Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing” on the other.


Next to HolEssence people made a vertical garden in a discarded pallet – brilliant!

What’s your brilliant idea?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Discovering the Seven Selves      Life Harmony     Facebook

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

To Sling or Not to Sling

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Recently after teaching a class at HolEssence, my attention was caught on the drive home by four pairs of what appeared to be rather new tennis shoes hanging from telephone lines. Looking at the shoes silhouetted against the sunlit blue sky, the first thing that popped into my head was the song, “Waking on Sunshine” by Katrina and The Waves.

Grabbing my camera to capture the free-spirited moment, the second thought that crossed my mind was “Luke Skywalker,” and the third was, “Walking Tall” (really tall)!

When I got home I checked Snopes to see what the story behind this practice might be. As it turns out, it could mean anything from exuberance at passing a sexual milestone, to gangs marking their territorial boundaries, and everything in-between, including just plain old fun!

I also learned that the Southwest has a similar practice of placing boots upside down on fenceposts by the side of a road. And in the military, some soldiers pitch their boots over wires when leaving a post.

Have you ever been a shoe slinger?

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