Move with Intention
A new pillar of soul work, dishes that connect us, and a final call for this week's live event
Now that we’ve passed the first eclipse of this wily season, I feel empowered to continue to Move with Intention as we winnow in on the end of another Gregorian calendar year.
Honestly, I don’t care about closing out 2023 with a bang <or insert some external motivation here>. I care about rooting into the truth that, in 2023, I made every move from a place of purpose, guided by the call from within, led by my soul or divine essence, and it isn’t the outcome but the journey, the softening into the journey, that matters the most.
In today’s offering, I’m going to share the next pillar of soul work which is to Move with Intention. I also share how seeking community, an intention of mine for 2023, has actually amplified certain foods and experiences, presenting me with unexpected gifts from seemingly mundane moments (and dishes).
I will begin with a last call for this week’s live event and an invitation to be with Ceremonial Cacao, a life-changing, heart-opening, plant medicine, in November.
Live Events
On this Thursday, October 19, I’m speaking during a free Women’s Circle at The Estuary in Essex, Massachusetts. I’ll share stories on the sweetness of life and the magic that unfolds when you listen to your soul. I’m happy to field questions from those wishing to trust their inner voice. I’ll also share how Ceremonial Cacao is a softer remedy during emotional times. This event is full but the ladies of The Estuary opened up a few extra spots. RSVP asap here.
On Sunday, November 12, I will host a two-hour Sacred Cacao Ceremony during which I will guide you through an experience of softness, connection, and remembrance in order to hear vital messages from your soul and allow your next best steps to surface. You will enjoy the Cacao in ceramic cups that carry the warrior-healer energy of the Mayan Sacred Calendar. I will also share how to take this practice into your own home. This will be my only in-person Cacao Ceremony in 2023. There are still some spots available. If you hear a call, I invite you to book before it’s filled. Reserve here.
Move with Intention
Friends tell me that they admire my intentionality. They like that I choose with purpose and take action from my inner guidance.
But in all honesty, this has not always been the case.
I entered the workforce around age 14 and almost instantly became a manager. I was placed in positions of authority because, one, I was a natural leader.
But, two, I was appealing to management because I followed the rules. I worked to validate or please others, and I often rallied teams to move quickly to meet arbitrary timelines. I rarely questioned the purpose of moving fast and I seldomly paused for fear of losing my job or losing out to the competition.
Needless to say, I soared professionally.
But once I became less fazed by authority, I shifted from job to job, never quite finding my flow in environments that prioritized unwavering allegiance.
Eventually, I became an entrepreneur and I noticed that when I was deeply embedded in my mission and connected to a greater purpose, my work flowed most intuitively.
Like a classic start-up, I tried to create to the big, hairy, audacious goals I had seen replicated by others, but it never felt aligning. I knew there was another way.
And when I was struck by a car just before signing on all the dotted lines to open a big retail operation, I finally paused to ask: “Why am I here?”
Though it took a few years to answer that question, the answer was simple.
I am here to come into the fullest expression of myself, whatever that means. I am here to do things differently, because I know there is a better way, for me and for all.
When you’re why is that simple, it becomes easier to be intentional: Now, I take my time... I feel into the energy of all possibilities… I choose or act with purpose… I create and then let go and trust… And, I never think about the competition. Because I am an original—just like you.
I’m finally aligned to a vision that is for me and also greater than me. Because, as I learned from a mentor, what is in highest and best for me is in highest and best for all.
And when I Move with Intention that becomes an invitation to you to discover your why and move with your own intentionality. And by moving with intention, we will create the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.
And in doing so, we will embody our wildest dreams. One intentional move at a time.
This intentionality has drifted into all facets of my life. For example, I no longer move or nourish my body to meet external validation nor an arbitrary goal.
Instead, I desire to come into my body’s fullest expression, which in this moment feels like strength, flexibility, endurance, softness, and an open channel for energy. Every time I take a walk or make a meal, I honor those intentions.
And so every day, I move toward the desires of this body, which is to soar, create, and live in full alignment with my essence, my soul—as often as possible. In this way, I am embodying all of my wildest dreams, one intentional move at a time.
I invite you to revisit or explore all 10 Pillars of Soul Work and learn more about following the call from within. In my Soul Mentorship Program, we follow your soul’s guidance to embody your wildest dreams. Feel free to book a free call to discuss securing one of my remaining spots in 2023.
I was in ceremony this past weekend.
When I say that to people—that “I was in ceremony”—they sometimes think that the ceremony has a religious connotation. And perhaps, it also triggers old stories told to me during my childhood, stories about ancestors who would pray and dance and shake around a fire to invoke the well wishes of the Gods or even a God.
When I say ceremony, I don’t mean anything like that and I don’t worship a singular God. I hold space for each of us to be divine, to exhibit the divine on earth, in any way we wish to, through our soul. I much prefer to commune with the energies of creation. But I respect all who worship a singular God.
All is welcome. All is allowed. As long as there is no harm to people or planet.
When I say, “I was in ceremony this past weekend,” I mean, I traveled to upstate New York to gather around a fire with twenty other sweet souls, who were mostly strangers. Together, we listened to Mayan creation stories and prompts for exploring our inner world, and felt into the energies of the Mayan Sacred Calendar.
I love these types of ceremonies. For all of us to have chosen to be there creates a kind of bond that feels otherworldly and most definitely guided. We hug as if we’ve always known each other, eat several meals together before and after ceremony, and participate in a big sleepover in the house or in campers across the property.
We all descend on this location for the fire ceremony. And in the silence, around the fire, each of us listens to the calls and guidance from within, from the soul. I often hear messages from my soul’s voice on the parts of my life or purpose that are unfolding and perhaps even ready for a new kind of expansion.
I give you this background before speaking about the food because it plays a part in this story. In fact, it took me by surprise that the seemingly imperceptible bonds became very real through the gifts of food (and fire). Even after writing a book dedicated entirely to food gifts, I can still be surprised by its ability to connect.
Before ceremony, we gathered around the cozy kitchen island to set out dishes that would fuel us for three hours in, aside from the fire, the rather brisk night. One host made a Roast Chicken Catalan, that was more like an oven stew of chicken thighs, prunes, potatoes, macadamia nuts (because he didn’t have hazelnuts), herbs, and white wine. It was dazzling in its earthiness and tenderness.
Another host made a Tomato Coconut Soup, which I will share below, because it’s simplicity knocked my socks off and it feels right for these Autumn months. There were even platters of sliced vegetables, cheeses, olives, roasted garlic cloves, several dips, seeded sliced bread, and very good Irish butter.
And while I was preparing Ceremonial Cacao for the group prior to ceremony, because I travel with Cacao now, I quickly assembled a spinach salad for the group. The host let me pilfer her soon-to-be-expired veg and I kept it simple with greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet pepper coils, apple slices, and a quickly made dressing of mustard, red wine vinegar, honey, thyme, and olive oil. With a quick shake and a toss, my contribution, which was more effort than ingredients, was ready to be the base of the meal.
We ate and asked questions about each other, bringing hearty appetites and the same kind of curiosity, before walking down the hill to the pond for ceremony.
After ceremony, much to all of our surprise, we ascended back up the hill and directly to that kitchen island. The chill of the cold night required a remedy to melt it away so we dipped seeded bread, topped with wedges of butter, into warmed up bowls and mugs of Tomato Coconut Soup.
Some people drank wine, others Cacao. At such a late hour, I veered away from both so that any prescient dreams would be remembered.
The next morning, instead of making a big batch of Ceremonial Cacao for the entire group, I decided that I would shake the element of air and good intentions into each cup so I prepared a recipe that made two servings at a time, speaking to the Cacao, as one does, intentionally placing each cup in the hands of its recipient. As I passed each cup, I passed along, with internal whispers, the messages I had heard in ceremony to support the expansion of all.
After breakfast, I made the long drive back home, all the while listening to the audio version of Braiding Sweetgrass in the car. And just before I reached home, I felt a call to veer off to the local grocer.
I thought I was there to fill up on bananas for my morning smoothies. But as I walked the aisles, I noticed that I placed all the suspected ingredients for both the Roast Chicken Catalan and the Tomato Coconut Soup in my cart. I didn’t know the ingredients. I just took a guess.
I even bought a block of that very good Irish butter because it spurred all kind of memories, recent and long past. (If you know, you know.)
Once I got home, both hosts forwarded me both recipes. I made the soup first, a big batch for my meals this week and my freezer.
Later in the evening, I got to work on the chicken dish. It was a little harder to assemble given that the recipe, with its general ingredients like ‘a small bag of hazelnuts’ and ‘prunes, pitted and halved’ with no quantity, was scribbled on note paper for the host and passed along to me as a photograph.
I didn’t seek to remake these dishes because they were outstanding. I mean, sure, they were tasty and connecting during strange, almost holy circumstances. But I believe there was a part of me that wished to keep the divine essence, the spirit, of that ceremony weekend, flowing through me. I wished to bring the divine or what felt divine to me into the earthly through a very simple means: food.
In nourishing my body, I was also nourishing my soul. And because of where I discovered them, these recipes will continue to nourish my soul, again and again, for many moments to come.
Now, the chicken recipe needs some tweaking still so I’m sharing the soup with you because, oh my God (more like the expression of gratitude and less like an actual God), I promise, it is worthwhile for you to make it right now.
Creamy Fire Roasted Tomato Coconut Soup
This recipe has some adjustments from the original here.
Recipe Notes: I used cloves from my Garlic Confit recipe from a couple weeks back. I used Bianco DiNapoli Fire Roasted Chopped Tomatoes. I served the soup with a couple slices of bread toasted in salted Irish butter and topped with a bit of faux cheddar. The chili flakes appear here to provide a touch of depth and no actual heat. Next time, I’m going to add some roasted pumpkin to the soup, to usher it even deeper into the season.
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unrefined virgin coconut oil
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
6 cloves roasted garlic, mashed (or 4 cloves garlic, chopped)
1 28-ounce can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
1 13.5-ounce can whole fat coconut milk
A pinch of chili flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Melt coconut oil in a large deep soup pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until onions have softened, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, stock, coconut milk, and chili flakes. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Cook until tomatoes and onions are soft, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, transfer soup to the jar of a blender and puree until smooth. Return to rinsed soup pot and place over medium heat. Cook until soup is heated through. Taste and adjust seasonings, as desired. Serve immediately with seeded bread slathered with butter or even a grilled cheese sandwich.
Delicious - both the ceremony and the soup. :-).