Slow Sunday & a catch up

Sep 24, 2023

France

This beautiful fig tree was covered in fruits at the place I stayed in France for my annual Buddhist retreat. The sun shone and shone, setting in the evening sky with pink and tangerine glows.

I stayed with 8 others in an old French farm house that the lovely owner is still doing up. There are some out buildings that have signs of past lives running through them, and woods all around.

It was a good three weeks, and when I arrived back in the UK to the traditional wet summer, it felt as if I had been away for much longer. A week after my return the sun shone with Mediterranean heat, unusual for September in the UK. Today, weather more normal for this time of year has appeared; rain clouds, wind gusts with sunshine breaking through every now and then. As I write the rain on my windows glistens and sparkles, and the branches of the tree outside are blowing in wild circles this way and that. I wonder what tomorrow will bring. I think although late, autumn is beginning to arrive.

Catch up

Before I went away I said I would begin posting recordings of podcasts, ‘fall asleep’ stories, ‘warm words’ and my book on my return. My intention was to start this week and to begin a paid subscription for this. But then of course life takes its own turns. I have a dear friend whose lymphoma has returned and so, my attention has taken a different direction. I’m still going to do all these things, but more slowly, across the winter. I find I like to burrow inwards for a little, while autumn arrives with all its golden glory.

A plan

My plan now is to create weekly Slow Sunday letters which will always be free, with a recipe, warm words and health tips, sometimes extracts of my ‘fall asleep’ stories. Then, ever so gradually, I’ll pop up recordings and podcasts, which will initially be free. Once I am in a flow with this I will turn on paid subscriptions for those who would like to continue listening to the things I create. But the Slow Sunday letter will always be free and have good stuff in it.

The idea of having a paid subscription for these things is that it will allow me to support the wellbeing of a large number of people for little cost, to help them create preventative healthcare plans, for little outlay.

I’ve always been concerned that wellbeing tends to be for those who have the funds to pay for it, and wanted to address this. I tried the gifting approach to make sure I could share what I have trained in with people, if they couldn’t afford to pay, but I was always broke, so I’m going to try out this way now, alongside my clinic where I charge the going rates.

If you have a look at my home page you’ll see that I have created new sections in readiness for this (you need to slide the menu sideways to the left if you’re on a phone to see all the sections).

Here’s what I’m going to be creating as the winter unfolds:

The benefits of being a paid subscriber

Under the menu heading Ayurveda & wellbeing my posts will build enabling you to create an Ayurvedic preventative healthcare plan which will include Ayurvedic nutritional tips, cleansing plans, seasonal advice, living in balance with your circadian rhythm, and living in balance with your constitution. I will also be recording a seasonal podcast to support you with this. The aim is to nourish your body, mind and heart.
Under Manage Stress in the menu you will find warm words both written and recorded, to soothe a stressed brain and, ‘fall asleep’ stories to relax the brain and support a nourishing nights sleep. I will also be sharing my continued learning and research in this area.
Under Your Peaceful Belly in the menu I will share my continued learning in relation to a healthy digestion, plus monthly recordings from my book Your Peaceful Belly, and in 2024 I will begin serialising a short book called The Quick ‘how to’ for Digestion.
Under the Recipe section you will find lots of nourishing, seasonal recipes, Ayurvedic pointers and in 2024 I will start serialising a cookbook that draws on the Ayurvedic approach to eating well.
Under Slow Sunday in the menu I will post my free Slow Sunday letters.
As a paid subscriber you also get constant access to the archive of everything I produce.

I have also changed the name of this substack to Your Wellbeing and I am playing with the email header. This is a work in progress that will probably change as I bring my ideas alive.

Recipe

Autumn raspberry and chocolate tahini porridge

Here’s a cosy indulgent porridge for the winter.

Ingredients (for one portion)

1/3 cup oats groats
8 times the amount of water or milk
1/2 cup raspberry’s
1/2 cup ground almonds
Cinnamon
A little chocolate Halva (recipe below)

Method

Put the first four ingredients into a slow cooker over night, or in the oven on low. Make the chocolate Halva by mixing 1/2 cup light tahini with 1 teaspoon cocoa or cacao and 1 - 2 teaspoons maple syrup until the mixture becomes thick. Shape into a little block and put in the fridge over night, slicing in the morning. Add this and cinnamon to your porridge when serving.

Ayurvedic tip: vata types dairy milk is better for you than water, and kapha types, this recipe can create imbalance in your constitution resulting in lethargy, mucus and susceptibility to flemmy coughs and colds.

The beginnings of a new fall asleep story.

Photo by Eric Karits – unsplash

As night came around the sun disappeared and the moon rose up, ever so slowly. Branches on trees swayed this way and that. Leaves fluttered gently, and soil became still deep, deep down, as little creatures made their way to bed.

Other creatures began to wake up, like owls who slowly glide through starlit skies.

In the garden out back I could smell the soil, damp from earlier rain; the whole garden was wrapped in this earthy, woody, nuttiness. Out front a red fox wandered slowly across the pavement and lights in the windows across the road, twinkled on and off as people, ever so gently, made their way to bed.

I stepped out of my flat onto the rain glistening tarmac and walked with gentle foot steps along the road. Down a little hill I found a stream, close by there was a tiny boat tied to the bank. The moon was big in the sky and the stream with the little boat was all lit up, so I easily untied the boat and got in.

That boat and I, we travelled towards the sea, with twinkling stars lighting our way that were reflected on the mirror like surface of the water. And around the boat, little fish swam, guiding us on our way.

It was a slow journey to the sea and as the water ebbed and flowed, and the night sky twinkled to keep us company, a bird flew down and sat at the front end of this little boat. I somehow knew that I could fall asleep and the owl would make sure that everything, would be alright. And so, I found myself laying back on a soft cushion, on the bottom of the boat and, ever so slowly, my eyelids began to close…to be continued.

Wishing you the warmest of weeks.

Lucy x