Hello my name is Patty and I am an adventurer.  There is nothing I love more than to escape as far as I can possibly imagine into another time and space and explore a dusty road, a sandy shore, or rugged mountain range. I love to look into the eyes of strangers and make new friends. I love to observe how a town wakes up. I love the cacophony of markets. The silence of sunrise.  I love the taste of local beer. I love waking up and having no idea, no set image of what I am about to see…and always being surprised. I love to wander and wonder. Sit and simply soak it all up. I love to pet each and every stray, cat, dog, llama and monkey to name just a few. I love to eat food I can’t recognize, drink potions I’ve never tasted and join in and become one with a culture that helps to expand my soul.  I love to be anonymous; brand spanking new, and unveil whatever and whomever the heck I feel like. I like telling my jokes and stories that you’ve all heard a thousand times before and be the entertainer. I love to sit in a jungle, in a temple, in a hut and breathe in the sweet air; the musical sounds and know that I am free, completely utterly free and unavailable to anyone and anything. It’s such an ultimate state of absolute bliss….and then a monkey comes and sits beside me.

I am taking off on another adventure this Wednesday for 2 weeks to Bali. To disappear and re-fill my kaleidoscopic molecules with more colours, scents, flavours and emotions. This is my magic and my medicine and it will once again change me for the better. This is a blessed opportunity to remove myself from my mundane routine and comfort zone, and plop myself on a new path with no idea nor plan where to walk next!  To have to hone in to trust and rely on my senses, to communicate with heart and creativity, to shift, jiggle and wiggle with calm and grace through moment by moment fortunes and failures. To be flexible, yet sturdy, brave and brazen – all the while expanding my mind, my heart, my imagination and possibilities thanks to new human, nature and worldly experiences.  This is a gift. A gift I feel is vital to my being and one I am so beyond the moon and stars excited and grateful for.

Sure, I’m a seasoned adventurer, and yes I was packed 2 weeks ago and have it down to a science…but  each time is like the first time, there are nerves, full out fears, and a long list of “what if’s” but those are my badges to earn, my scars to show off and stories to own.  It is exhilarating like knowing Santa is coming and leaving you presents but no idea what’s inside. It’s emancipating to let go of control, to do’s, should do’s and time.  It’s empowering to be just little me, off on the other side of the world making out with monkeys and climbing volcanoes. It gives me the chutzpah to know I can handle anything. I become wiser, more resilient, more creative and so much more appreciative of life.  Cause you know what…there’s only one.  One day we’re here and quite possibly the next we are gone. And if I have taken any lesson of life to heart it is to live. Live to the fullest. Go big or go home. Money smoney. Be brave. Explore this awesomely amazing world and fill up your cup to the rim then take a big fucking slurp!   Bon voyage see ya in 2 weeks xx

Remember when we were little and all we wanted to do was be grown up?  Gawd if we only knew how good we had it! No work, no bills to pay, things to fix, errands to run, chores to finish.  Mum and Dad made our dinners, took care of us and tucked us in with a bedtime story. The biggest worry of the day was whether to play hide-n-go-seek, tag or hopscotch outside, or engage in a serious scenario of Barbie goes out with Ken or make a new cake in my Easy Bake oven.  I want to go back to a time when my allowance felt like a heck of a lot of money; when getting dirty didn’t soil your reputation. A time when wearing mismatched clothes and pig-tails made you cute, not a freak and Brownies were the coolest pack of girls to belong to, not something that adds fat to your hips.

Now that I am “all grown up”, all I want to do is be little again; be free of commitments, obligations and endless lists of to do…should do.  So I decided instead of growing up – I’d grow down and make “play” part of my philosophy and day.  Taking time to play, to be silly, frivolous and let our imaginations day dream is medicine for our spirit!  It embraces not caring how you look, what you say or come across. It celebrates being spontaneous, goofy and allowing yourself to be carried away into whimsy and weirdo-ville!  It gives the grown up a break, let’s our mind’s be creative, be occupied with amusement and romp in abandon.

So let your inner child out! Let magic, miracles and dreams be within reach – not squashed by logic, responsibility or fear; and play like you’ve never played before!

Here are a few tips on “How to engage your inner child” from “How to Live Like a Chipmunk and Other Tips for Living an Awesome Sauce Life”.

1. Wrap a towel around your head and pretend it’s your hair.
2. Reunite with your invisible best friend!  I love you Bobo!!
3. Believe in the unbelievable!
4. Jump in puddles, make macaroni art eat peanut butter and hotdog sandwiches.
5. Let your imagination go wild! Go on a safari with your pet flying monkey. Visit Mars in your spaceship, Swim in a sky of stars as a mermaid and always talk to the faeries in the chandelier!

I like to call myself a Warrior Princess.  My armor is light, fluffy and most likely pink or rainbow in colour. My shield, a candy-coated marshmallow.  My weapon, an invisible sword that’s power lies in my spoken and unspoken thoughts. My strategy – a sunny disposition, with squishy hugs.  But under this sacchariferous veneer is a ferocious warrior.

I use to be the biggest scardy-cat; filled with fear of everything. As a child I was paralyzed by having to open my mouth, answer a teacher’s question, be the new kid at school, make new friends and stand up to meanies. I lived most of my younger life walking on egg shells, waiting for the bomb to go off.  Sometimes the bombs did go off and other times they didn’t, and eventually I realized this state of impending 911 fear, assuming the worse and believing I needed to control everything was no way to live. That’s when I called upon my inner warrior to emerge.  I realized I can’t control anything and there’s no point waiting for a herd of ravenous rhinos when what’s likely around the bend is a box of kittens.  I also realized filling my brain with forbidding thoughts was a waste of precious imagination and began to trust in best case scenarios instead.  I also declared my voice and my presence worthy – worthy to be heard and worthy to stand up for.  Now none of these super powers happened over night and I continue to polish and practice wielding my sword every day. The work is worth the sweat, because my friendship with fear has led me to great freedom and strength. Be brave. Eat fear for breakfast!

Here are a few tips on “How to break through insurmountable fear” from “How to Live Like a Chipmunk and Other Tips for Living an Awesome Sauce Life”.

1. Feel everything and revel in it. (F.E.A.R.).
2. Trust that fearing something is way worse than facing it and by not facing it you are choosing to hold onto it.
3. Get some perspective on the situation. Ask yourself what is so scary? Compare it to being eaten by a bear…one limb at a time.
4. Be prepared (Brownie of the year 1969) with an escape plan or two in your back pocket.
5. Take a deep breath and … push send, ask them out, ask for help, speak your mind, say yes, say no, embrace discomfort, embody hope.
6. Trust that you will probably, most certainly survive and be way stronger, smarter and braver!  AND you will have earned a badge!

“One day at a time” is the best advice my Mum ever gave me.

Happy shiny new day!  Woohoo it’s Jan 1^st and I am alive and well. Regardless of my “more than my share of red wine” while dancing to help bring this New Year last night, I woke up to a sun-filled sky, I am healthy, however hung over; grateful and excited this New Year, new day is here.  A brand new day, our day and our chance to live it. How do you want to live it?  The beauty of this question is…we have a choice and the power to do whatever we want.

Now of course I’d love to spend the day with Robert Downey Jr. in our castle in France…but I seem to have misplaced my genie in a lamp.  The good news is I do have an incredibly magic superpower that I am willing to share with you that will help you bring whatever you desire closer to you!  Ready?

Manifest & Mantras.    And I don’t only mean “man”.  Plant the seeds of what you want in your head and in your heart, and tend to them every day.  Maybe it’s a new job or taking a trip, getting fit, maybe it’s finding your true love or perhaps it’s finding yourself.  It can be a thing – like those killer combat boots, a course you’d love to take or learning a new skill like hula hooping; and it can also be a state of mind – like the desire to be calm, to let go of hurt and to trust. All you have to do is choose it, believe it and not stop until you get it.

I’m no guru, nor a magician; but I can speak from experience and this superpower of mind really works.  It isn’t always easy – but the good stuff that’s worth the climb never is…and once you make it part of your being, it’s like breathing.  A year ago I had a serious bout of anxiety. My body felt like it was being shot with a round of bullets, I’d wake up in the middle of the night with a bolt of electricity running through my veins, my mind spinning out of control to the point I just had to lay still for fear I would break into a million pieces.  Long story short; I committed to manifesting calm.  I started every day with a mantra, I’d speak it on the way to the bus stop, in the bathroom, sing it in my head, write down in a zillions place and at night meditate and focus on creating my calm. It was so branded in my psyche that those nasty anxiety molecules didn’t have a chance.  Sure, it took time, but it worked and not only did I get my anxiety under control and be able to naturally live in a calm state, I learned a lot about myself, my strength, resilience and power. I believe we all have the capacity to do anything if we put our mind to it. And with this newfound superpower, I am manifesting a shit load of awesome sauce stuff for 2017!

If you’d like some help creating a mantra just send me a note…and in the meantime here are a few tips to help you get started!

1.  Believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will do it.
2. Create a mantra and say it 100 times a day. For example “I will own a petting zoo.”
3. Plant seeds the size of coconuts. Everywhere. Sprinkle belief all over them.
4. Reframe everything that you think and say as though it is happening in this moment. Example: I am going to Burning Man.
5. Commit whole-heartedly. Come up with a theme song, a daily ritual, post-it note affirmations, visual reminders and trust if you build it, it will come.
6. Have real conversations with your dream.
7. Star in the block buster movie version of your life.
8. Tell everyone what you are going to do. Backer-outers suck.
9. When it feels really far away – look over the fence and into the field just past the daisies. See, it’s not that far after all.
10. Draw a map. Establish signposts. Set milestones. Treat yourself to good hiking boots because you’re going to go far!
11. Recruit believers, cheerleaders and a fan club!