So this morning I’m at Dollarama when something catches my eye:





I know what you’re thinking. “WOW KB, A SINK STRAINER”. How thrilling.

But it’s not just a sink strainer, my friends!!  Because it also could be….


A loose leaf tea infuser!!!





Yay! We’ll never have to cut down trees to make tea bags again!!

Disclaimer: Make sure to use a NEW sink strainer for your tea because using the one that’s been in your sink for 10 years would be gross.

Also please note, this brilliant idea doesn’t work so well with rooibos tea because it falls through the holes.

Cheerio!

When I was a kid, my mom used to take my paintings to a psychiatrist for evaluation. This is one of those paintings:

As you can see, it’s a unicorn galloping across a rainbow with a giant smile on its face.

Most of my art was a spin on this same theme. My pictures always involved rainbows, some sort of mystical creature (the unicorn was always a popular choice), and smiles. Lotsa smiles.

I don’t remember what the psychiatrist thought of my artistic flair. I do remember that this unicorn pic was painted during a time in my life when I was still doing things for fun, rather than doing things to achieve an end result. But eventually I realized that I was no Picasso and I quit drawing & painting altogether, as most children do.

This was around the same time that the adults in my life started suggesting that my future was more important than the present moment. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” they asked me. I responded with a blank stare. “I don’t know”, I thought. “I’m not grown up yet. Do I have to think about that now?”

Looking back on it, there’s no way that I could have predicted my career path at the age of 8. Can you imagine??? “Hey Dad, I want to be a blogger”. There was no such thing as a “blogger” in 1985. Heck, my dad still doesn’t know what a blogger is.

So parents, take note: asking your kids what they want to be when they grow up is a dumb question. There’s no way they’ll be able to predict what kinda crazy jobs are going to exist in the year 2032.

Instead, ask them what they want to do today or better yet, ask them what they want to do for FUN.

And while you’re at it, why don’t you take a moment to ask yourself the very same question. The key to being more fun is to decide what’s fun for you and then, GO DO IT.

Quit living for the future; it doesn’t exist. I know that’s a mind-bender, but the reality is that if you spend THIS moment feeling grateful and happy, the future will take care of itself.

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What did you love to draw when you were a kid? Let me know in the comments below. Or better yet, post a pic of your art on my Facebook wall.

Peace, Love & Unicorns!!

I’ve always been a sucker for outer space. In fact one of the first things I remember learning in kindergarten is all of the planet names, in order from Mercury to Pluto (this was back in 1982 kids, when Pluto was still considered a planet).

The reason I love space so much is that it reminds me of how sacred our little planet is. When I see pictures of Earth from space, I immediately get teary. If you could understand my words through the tears you’d probably hear me sobbing, “Earth is so beautiful! So precious!” or somethin’ like that (*blush*).

In 2007 I had the honor of hearing a lecture by Edgar Mitchell, former NASA astronaut and the 6th man on the moon. He talked about the samadhi experience he encountered during his trip home from the moon on Apollo 14. As he gazed out the window at Earth, he was engulfed by a profound sensation “a sense of universal connectedness.” He sensed the wisdom behind all creation and realized that everything in the Universe is conscious. It was because of this experience that Edgar decided to create the Institute of Noetic Sciences.

I can’t help but think of Edgar’s lecture whenever I see photos or videos from space. So when I came across a new space video on Youtube this week, I *almost* broke down into the ugly cry…

Earth!! Isn’t she beautiful???? And oh, so, precious.

I’d like to introduce you to my sister. Her name is Angie and she enjoys reading, knitting, and taking long walks around the block with her new puppy, Samson.

At first glance, you might assume that my sister and I have nothing in common. Her favorite clothing store is Ann Taylor; mine is Betsey Johnson. She opts for honey-coloured highlights; I go for pink. She is highly educated with a Master’s degree in Organized Systems Renewal; I am a proud graduate of the school of rock.

But upon closer examination, you will discover that my sister and I actually have a lot in common. Take our bookshelves for instance – they are virtually identical. David Hawkins, Marianne Williamson, Eckhart Tolle… both of our libraries overflow with the same spiritual and self-help classics. We are both passionate about the evolution of human consciousness.

The reason I find this interesting is that a lot of “spiritual” people feel like the black sheep of their family. No one “gets” them. They feel alone. And yet here I am, with a sister whom I can talk to about present moment awareness, yoga, energy medicine and pretty much any other topic on the “woo woo” list. Pretty cool if you ask me.

I also want to mention that my sister is a brilliant therapist and coach. She just opened up a practice in Toronto, so book an appointment with her if you live in the area. If you don’t live in Toronto, I’m sure she’d offer you a session via Skype if you ask nicely. Click here to visit her website.

On a side note, I just realized that one of the reasons that my sister and I have identical libraries is because we steal each other’s books. So Ang, if you’re done with Three Magic Words, I’ll have it back now.

Lately I’ve been extremely preoccupied with the idea of creating passive income streams. I can’t stop thinking about it. When I go to bed, I’m thinking PASSIVE INCOME STREAMS. When I wake up, I’m thinking PASSIVE INCOME STREAMS. I eat, sleep, and breathe passive income streams.

I blame Costa Rica. Those negative ions really have an effect on you. And ever since I returned home from Costa Rica, I’ve been obsessed with going back. Not just for a week, but for a month. Or two. Or three.

Spending the cold months in the tropics has been a dream of mine for years now. But the reality is, if I want to spend a good chunk of the winter in Costa Rica, I gotta make money while I’m there.  So, I could:

• A) Grow dreadlocks and sell little doo-dads on the beach… OR…

• B) Create a massive passive income stream and spend my time writing, blogging, and writing (with a little yoga and surfing thrown in, of course.)

Well, the votes were cast and the winner is option B. Not because I wouldn’t be great at making doo-dads, because I’m an EXPERT at making doo-dads. But I would probably burn to a crisp and let’s face it; y’all want me to keep blogging, right?

And so… I’ve embarked on a little experiment. It’s a passive income experiment.

I’m creating a new niche website with a spiritual theme. I haven’t decided yet whether to share the URL here on my blog, but I probably will once the site is complete.

The income from this site will be derived mostly from Google Adsense, as well as a few affiliate links. Once the site has been finished, it will require only a small amount of maintenance, probably a blog post or two per week. This will enable me to focus more on creating posts and products for this site (my baby!).

My goal is to have my new site ranked on page one of Google for it’s main keyword by my birthday (March 30). My ultimate goal is to have it ranked in the #1 spot on Google for it’s main keyword phrase, with 40 – 50,000 visitors per month and earning $2000 per month.

The interesting thing about this experiment is that I’m going to be using a wide range of skills to make it happen. I’ll be blogging, designing graphics, marketing, and SEO-ing the site, but I’m also going to throw a bit of metaphysics into the mix. Yup, I’ll be using a combination of prayer, meditation, and visualization as part of the site-building process.

I’m so excited to share this experiment with you because I think it will provide a great example of how to balance energy work with action steps. YES we have to take action to reach a goal, but it’s oh so important to align our energy FIRST. We have to create our desired result energetically (in our minds) before it can become a physical reality.

During my meditation this week, I was shown how our energy shoots out ahead of us and creates what looks to me like energetic “grids” or blueprints. I was then shown how these blueprints become the foundation of our physical reality.

I’ll be using this “energy blueprint theory” as a basis for my passive income experiment. Before I take any action steps, I plan on taking the time to visualize this new site being successful.

If you want to take part in the experiment, come up with your own passive income stream idea and tell me about it in the comments below. Or if you have any SEO tips, feel free to leave them for me as well.

And just remember: laptops + piña coladas make a wonderful combination.

Darryl’s been making a lot of grilled cheeses lately. Which is driving me bonkers because before I cut out dairy from my diet, I used to LOVE a good grilled cheese.

I’ve tried everything to satiate this grilled cheese craving. I made one with a vegan cheese substitute, but it didn’t taste the same. It felt like I was eating grilled plastic.

Eventually I did what any wannabe-vegan-grilled-cheese-loving person would do. I caved. And I ate three grilled cheeses in a week.

Except afterwards I felt icky. REALLY icky. Not in my belly, but in my head. I caught the dreaded dairy-brain-fog. So I vowed to create a vegan sandwich I could eat whilst Darryl eats his goddamn grilled cheese. And here it is.

May I present to you….

KB’s GRILLED UN-CHEESE RECIPE

• 2 slices of Ezekiel Bread
• 1 Tbsp Earth Balance Margarine
• ½ Avocado

Mash the avocado in a bowl. Spread the margarine onto both sides of the bread. Spread the avocado between the bread. Grill it in a pan like you would a grilled cheese. The End.

See?  Veganism isn’t so hard after all.

Jefferson Airplane was right. I do want somebody to love.

So do you. So does everybody. We all want somebody to love. We all want to be loved. And we all want to live happily ever after.

One of the most common questions people ask me during advice sessions is, “when will I fall in love”? And the answer is… whenever you choose to. You can fall in love at any time. You can fall in love right now, if you feel like it.

Falling in love is possible immediately because the feeling of falling in love is synonymous with the feeling of appreciation. I know that sounds simple, but it’s true.

When you first meet someone you like, you subconsciously look for things to appreciate about him or her. You also overlook anything that you don’t appreciate. The result is a feeling of giddiness and euphoria, not because of the other person, but because your energy field is aligned with the frequency of love and gratitude.

You can re-create this feeling at any time by thinking of someone in your life and taking inventory of all the things you appreciate about them. Better yet, use the person in your bathroom mirror as an example, and write down at least 25 things you appreciate about yourself.

What you’ll find is that the more you find things to appreciate about yourself, the more you will fall in love with yourself. Not in a pretentious way, but in a reverent, respectful, healthy way.

The bonus prize is that when you love yourself, the people in your life will mirror it back to you. You won’t have to wonder when you’re going to fall in love, because love will drop into your lap.

Some psychics will tell you that love is “just around the corner”, but I say that love has always been and will always be, right here.

You just have to tap in to it.

I’ve got exciting news for you.

There’s a good chance you might be rich.

Not from an unclaimed property. Or a forgotten stock. Or a prince’s inheritance from Nigeria.

The truth is, your riches are hiding right under your nose. And by the end of this article, you’ll know how to find them.

I discovered my own hidden riches during a recent trip to Costa Rica, which forced me to reconfigure my entire concept of “wealth”. Like most North Americans, I’m accustomed to thinking of wealth in terms of money. But if this is true, then why did I feel wealthier during my stay in Costa Rica, even though my bank account stayed the same size?

One reason I felt rich in Costa Rica was due to my connection with the environment. As I sat in the middle of the jungle, I knew without a doubt that I was connected to a higher energy. I felt the wealth of Nature, which is abundant.

I also felt rich in Costa Rica because my environment was uncluttered by concrete, cell phones, highways, or noise. There was no urgent need for constant improvement, advancement, progression or growth. Along with this uncluttered environment came an uncluttered mind. I was free to enjoy myself without having to think about how to become better, richer, more successful, or more productive. I felt the wealth of the present moment.

What I realized in Costa Rica is that the feeling of wealth does not come from money. The feeling of wealth comes from appreciating the abundance that is expressing itself in the present moment. I also realized that if you chase money to give you the feeling of wealth, you will never find it.

If you want to feel rich, realize that abundance is already expressing itself in your life. If you’re not convinced, grab a pen and paper. Write down all the things you have an abundance of. When I did this exercise, I couldn’t stop writing. I realized that abundance is indeed expressing itself IN FULL FORCE in my life.

I’ve got an abundance of shoes. Tea. Makeup. Ideas. Friends. Cells. Food. Books. Air. Hair. Appliances. Q-tips. Coffee. Pennies. Information. Opportunities. Clothes. Cutlery. Socks. Thoughts. Toothpaste. Concepts. Laughter. Straws. Luck. Yoga mats. Yoga blocks. Yoga straps. Happiness. Underwear. Credit cards. Smiles. Sunlight. Clouds. Music. Feelings. Acquaintances. Websites. Blog posts. Streets to drive on. Restaurants to eat at. Places to visit. People to meet.

You get the idea.

I think if you take 5 minutes to NOTICE the abundance that is already present in your life, you’ll feel rich. Instantly. No Nigerian prince needed.

So forget the need to “get rich”.

You ARE rich.

I have a bit of a “thing” for documentaries. Especially documentaries that make me think. Which would explain why I’ve watched three documentaries in the last 48 hours.  I’m a doc-o-holic.

Last night I watched a documentary about bananas. You’ll never guess the title. OK, maybe you will guess the title. It was called, “Bananas” (Talk about creative marketing).

“Bananas” follows lawyer Juan Dominguez on his biggest case ever, representing twelve Nicaraguan banana workers who are suing the Dole Corporation for using a banned pesticide that causes sterility. I won’t spoil the verdict for you, but after watching “Bananas” I sentenced myself to a lifetime of organic-only banana-eating (considering the sheer number of bananas I ingest in a day, I was probably funding that entire pesticide operation).

The day before “Bananas”, I curled up with a couple of must-see environmental documentaries: “Radically Simple” and “No Impact Man”. Both movies follow authors who live sustainable, garbage-free lifestyles. I unfortunately, do not live a garbage-free lifestyle. Which was evident the next morning as I dragged my big, black trash bag to the curb, feeling like a jackass. Oh how I love documentaries.

But the point of watching a documentary is not to make you feel guilty. The point of watching a documentary is to inspire you to take action. Otherwise, why watch it in the first place? You might as well be watching Jersey Shore (which BTW I also have a “thing” for, because we all need a little mind-numbing reality television once in a while.  Doesn’t it suck that Vinny left?).

In any case, the benefit of documentaries is that they remind us that we are connected. They also remind us that everything we do has an impact on others, and that even if we’d like to pretend we’re separate; we’re not. May I repeat, we are not separate. I know that sounds kind of “woo-woo” and tree-hugger-ish, but it’s an important thing to keep in the forefront of your brain, and watching a documentary will help you do that.

So the next time you feel like curling up with a bag of chips to watch Snooki, go for it. Just make sure to balance it out with a documentary as well.

What are your favorite docs? Let me know in the comments below.