I'm Julia Roberts

The past couple of days I've been listening to series of web interviews as part of 21 Day Mindful Eating Challenge hosted by Paula Galli. In the series she interviews a myriad of people--life coaches, nutritionists, holistic healthcare practitioners, etc.-- who can speak thoughtfully on the subject based on both life and work experience.

So far I've really enjoyed the videos and look forward to seeing the links to them in my inbox each morning. This is really big news for me because even as much I like to talk about my journey to recovery, there are still certain approaches to it that in the past have made me feel sort of ...uncomfortable.

Healing. Spirituality. Energy. Sacredness. Words like this and many more that seem to be the vocabulary to a "New Age" approach. One that quite honestly in the past mostly just made me cringe. Don't get me wrong. I would love to be connected to Mother Earth and all the auras and colors that surround her, but sometimes that feels about as authentic as asking me to live some acid induced vision where I lasso in a unicorn and shoot heart shaped beams of light out of my eyeballs.

Not that any one has actually suggested I do that but you get the picture, right?

Anyways, I'm surprised to say that I organically stumbled onto the practice of meditation while viewing these videos and I have to say I'm a little impressed.

I know I have said to a least of few of my friends before that I found certain peoples' voices very soothing. While it was generally in the context of someone giving a lecture in class and me fighting to stay awake, it was an experience I took note of. Listening to these interviews I noticed it was this same feeling that was making me stay so interested in the speaker. So then I thought, "I think people have a word for this". Although again, it's one I've shied away from in the past. Fast forward, I've been listening  to these guided meditation things on YouTube for the past few days.

If you're anything like I was, I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend (10 points if you know where that's from) and give it a chance. Call it relaxing, call it thinking, call it whatever you have to that makes it more approachable and really try it.

Anyhow, that's what's been making me happy lately and during this last one I realized I was moving onto the second chapter of my real life Eat, Pray, Love. Granted, shells and cheese in Kansas aren't quite the same as eating a plate of spaghetti in Italy, nor is laying in bed listening to YouTube like visiting a temple in India. But what can I say, at least here at home, I'm freaking Julia Roberts.

p.s. James Franco is her boyfriend in that movie, don't think I didn't notice ;)