Nourish to Flourish

By Suzanne Jezek-Arriaga

Wondering what all the talk of the Universe, manifesting, and energy have to do with you? Like you, Suzanne Jezek-Arriaga once rolled her eyes at all things “woo woo.” Then, a unique unconventional women’s group she joined—the Prosperity Princesses—opened her mind to the fact that when you feed your body crappy foods and fill your mind with crappy thoughts, the result is a nothing-special life. And that when you start nourishing yourself with higher-quality foods, thoughts, and beliefs, your life transforms into something better than your wildest dreams.
In Nourish to Flourish, Suzanne walks you through, step-by-step, how to upgrade all of the things you feed yourself everyday—including food, yes, but also thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and feelings—so that you can start working with the Universe to create a life you love. You really can create a life that fills you up and nourishes you from the inside out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Feb 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781504371063

Suzanne Jezek-Arriaga

Suzanne Jezek-Arriaga was going through the motions in her life, working a corporate job and fretting over the future, when her beloved Dad died after being diagnosed with cancer. This wake-up call encouraged her to immerse herself in studying how the food we eat, the thoughts we think, our outlook on life, and our ability to be present in the moment all work together to shape the course of our lives. She earned her personal training certificate, became a holistic health coach, and started healing her life with meditation, visualization, and gratitude. Now, Suzanne is an abundance mindset mentor for women who are either just starting out or are in mid-life and desperately in search of more meaning, fulfillment, and joy. She teaches marketing at several southern California area colleges and is a holistic health coach. She lives in Upland, California, with her husband. Find her at www.suzannejezekarriaga.com.

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Copyright © 2017 Suzanne Jezek-Arriaga.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-7105-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-7107-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-7106-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016921019

Balboa Press rev. date: 02/22/2017

CONTENTS

Dedication

Introduction

How to Use This Book

Pillar One

Nourish Your Body With Food and Movement

Clean Up Your Food Act

Go Organic, Local, and Non-GMO

Eat Superfoods

Consume Colorful Foods

Eat Mindfully

Eat Seasonally and Locally

Plant a Garden

Learn to Cook

Fill Up on the Good Stuff

Damn Wine—Friend or Foe?

Tame Your Sugar Demon

Get Moving: Exercise—The Best Anti-depressant Pill Ever

Take a Walk

Do What You Love

Make Your Exercise Experience Your Own

Drink Water—A Lot of It

Find Peaceful Slumber

Pillar Two

Nourish Your Thoughts and Your Vibration: Request the Life You Desire

Recognize the Power of Your Thoughts

Watch Those Repetitive, Automatic, Negative Thoughts (RANTs)

Calm Your Little Drunk Monkey

Realize That Your Thoughts Shape Your Destiny

Practice Speaking Kindly to Yourself

Exercise Your Manifesting Muscle by Setting Small Intentions

Make Your Desires Crystal Clear

Believe It to Be It and Act as If

Visualize the Positive With a Vision Board

Just Do It! Regularly Take Baby Steps

Surround Yourself With Good People

Elicit Good Vibrations

Be Aware of What You’re Broadcasting

Seed It to Believe It

Make the Shift

Make It a Way of Life

Pillar Three

Nourish Your Optimism: Be the Bright Light

Get Optimistic Now

Practice Seeing the Glass as Half Full

Throw Perfectionism Out the Door

Forgive Yourself

Love Yourself

Do Your Best (Even if It’s Not Perfect)

Find the Silver Lining

Combat the Blues

Be You

Seek Eudemonia by Pursuing Goals

Cultivate Healthy Habits

Have a Good Laugh

Practice Random Acts of Kindness

Pillar Four

Awaken Your Senses

Get Grounded

Stop the Illusion

Enjoy the Moment

Breathe

Practice Acceptance

Unplug

Embrace Life’s Impermanence

Practice Detached Attachment

Tune Into Coincidences

Explore Meditation

Dive a Little Deeper Into Meditation

Meditate to Manifest

Pillar Five

Nourish Your Gratitude: Cultivate an Appreciative State of Mind

Remember: Life Is Beautiful

Give Thanks for the Little Things

Share Your Gratitude Out Loud

Be Grateful for What Is

Establish a Grateful Money Mindset

Be Honest in Your Gratitude

Start a Gratitude Journal

Find Gratitude in Times of Trouble

Be Grateful to Manifest

Putting It All Together in a Morning Ritual

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all those who desire and deserve an extraordinarily nourished life, and to the Universe, who can help make it happen.

Introduction

My Story

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I…I took the one less traveled by,

and that has made all the difference."

—Robert Frost

My transformation began on the day of my father’s funeral. I remember sitting at the gravesite while the pastor spoke and that the reception was held at my parents’ home. But those are the only memories I can elicit because I’d been so overcome with grief since his diagnosis of prostate cancer five years before.

For those five years, all I thought about was that one day he was going to die. I was so consumed by the fear of losing him that I was unable to enjoy even the smallest of things.

This book is about the lessons I learned on my journey to regaining happiness. It’s about the roadmap I followed to transcend the traditional constraints of life so that I could move into a world ruled by spirituality and love.

If you hear the word spirituality and start shutting down, know this: I’m not asking you to give up or change your religion or join a religious organization. I’m asking you to take a look at the Pillars of Happiness that I outline in this book so that you can start doing more of the things that increase joy.

Joy is your birthright, and pursuing joy is a spiritual practice that gives life meaning and connects you to your highest self.

You see, I felt semiresponsible for my father’s illness. When he called to tell me his diagnosis, I had just started a new job as director of marketing at City of Hope Cancer Center. When I accepted the job, I had a feeling that someone I knew was going to be diagnosed with cancer. I just had no idea it would be my father.

I missed so many precious moments with him, and in the rest of my life, during those five years because I wasn’t living in the present. Unfortunately, I had no awareness of the concepts that I’m now writing about in this book.

I spoke to my father about an hour before he died. I remember this moment vividly: I was driving home from teaching a marketing class at the local college when he told me, They’re here preparing my window with my view. At the time, I wondered who was there and why he was so confused. Even though I grew up in a family that didn’t go to church or speak of religion at all, I now know that the angels were there to take him to heaven. Because of all that I’ve learned in the years following his passing, I now know that we’re all connected to God, the Universe, or whatever your name is for this loving force. I didn’t know it then, but I see now that Dad had always known this, too.

I spent the first couple of years after his diagnosis crying, binge eating, and drinking wine almost daily. I’d already lost my mother seven years earlier, and I’d had a miscarriage a few years before. I was feeling a great sense of loss, and I wondered what this life was all about. I knew there had to be a better way to live.

I eventually left my job at City of Hope, started a new career as a Realtor, and began looking for a networking group I could join to help me drum up leads for my business. One of the groups I discovered in my search was called The Prosperity Princesses. When I initially heard the name of the group, I rolled my eyes and thought, This group isn’t for me—I’m not a princess. But I was persuaded to join despite my reservations. We met every other week to discuss ways to become more prosperous—both financially and emotionally. We read books about manifesting and the power of thought. It was my first true introduction to spirituality.

I’d always had a problem with the concepts and constraints of religion, even though I’d become Catholic years before after my good friend’s husband died suddenly, and I witnessed the strength of her faith. In my youth, I’d been more in tune with the Universe, but this knowing subsided as I grew older, until I began to rediscover these truths.

After a few years, The Prosperity Princesses fizzled out, and a new group emerged—one in which we discussed books about energy, vibration, and the Universe. To this day, a few of us still gather every other Friday for lively discussions. I attended multiple seminars, retreats, and classes where I chanted, danced, screamed, ate while blindfolded, sweated, laughed, meditated, and learned. I became a holistic health coach and a certified personal trainer, and I wrote an almost-daily blog about my journey. I continued to teach college classes and sell a house or two here and there.

As I began to grow and see how easy it was to live the life I desired—one of joy and happiness—the more I appreciated everything. I learned that the crazy voice in my head wasn’t really me. I learned how to live in the present moment, that our thoughts create our world, that we’re all energetic beings, that what we put in our body is important physically, mentally, and spiritually, and that we each have the power to create the life we desire.

Along the way, I discovered that being thin and/or rich wouldn’t make me feel content, and that happiness and joyfulness come from within.

This book reveals the lessons I learned on my journey that have allowed me to truly thrive. I went from surviving to flourishing, from an ordinary life to an extraordinary life. If I can do it, so can you!

How to Use This Book

"You’ve always had the power, my dear. You’ve had it all along."

—Glinda, the Good Witch, The Wizard of Oz

If you’re like many people, you’re searching for what will help you lead a happier, more fulfilling life. But perhaps you’ve started to doubt whether it’s possible to break away from the pack—the huge crowds of people who live ordinary lives filled with fears, anxiety, and unhappiness.

I have good news: You absolutely have the power to live an abundant life filled with extraordinary moments and joy. And because you’re holding this book in your hands, you also have the information and tools you need to create a happier, more fulfilling life. Get ready…your life is about to change!

The following pages explain the Five Pillars of Happiness that will take you from surviving to flourishing. I’m not saying that you’ll instantly be a millionaire or date the hottest movie star (if that’s your thing), but you can create a life that’s filled with wondrous happiness and joy.

Other books focus on one or maybe two of these pillars. But in my journey, I’ve found that to be in sync with your highest and best self, and to attract the life you desire, you must focus your attention on all five.

The Five Pillars are:

* Food and movement

* Thoughts and vibration

* Optimism

* Embracing the present moment

* Gratitude

When I’m out of balance in any of these areas, my life becomes a confused mess of unhappiness, self-doubt, and fear. If I don’t follow the Pillars, and I’m eating poorly, not exercising, not living in the moment, letting my negative thoughts overtake my days, and not recognizing everything I have to be grateful for, my mind, body, and life in general become chaotic.

On the other hand, when I follow the Five Pillars, my life flourishes, and magnificent things occur. I receive phone calls from old friends and unexpected windfalls. And I experience a sense of calm and peace—plus, I lose weight, have a better relationship with my husband, find mysterious flowers on my classroom door where I teach, and see blue butterflies everywhere.

I’ve broken down the steps necessary to live a flourishing life into bite-sized chunks, allowing you to easily learn, step-by-step, how to nourish your body, mind, and spirit. Each section of the book contains powerful principles that can help you change your life for the better. Take each principle at a steady pace. Trying to implement all the Pillars at once will only lead to feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. Instead, try to make changes over a period of time, slowly incorporating them into your everyday life.

I’ve found that all of the principles in each Pillar are important if I’m to maintain a sense of balance and have an astoundingly beautiful life. But all of the principles may not resonate with you. Simply implement the ones that do, and forget the others. You can always come back to them later when you’re ready to take on more. After all, this is a journey to happiness and joy, not a quick fix.

As you read, mark anything that stands out to you and that you might like to revisit later. Underline, circle, highlight, and fold back the corners on the pages that strike a chord with you. Don’t worry: I’ll take it as a compliment when your book is filled with comments, yellow highlighted passages, underlined words, and tattered pages. To me, this is the sign of a treasured manuscript, which is what I hope this book will become for you.

This book is meant to guide you on your journey to a healthier, happier, more abundant life. But you have to do the work to gain the results. Using a journal will help you record your progress, think through the principles more deeply, and make the ideas in this book a reality in your life. Your Nourish Journal will be where you record your thoughts, feelings, insights, breakthroughs, and positive affirmations. You might want to purchase a decorative journal that fits your personality, or if you’re a more practical sort, use a spiral-bound office version.

Do you have your Nourish Journal ready to go? Get out your pen, and let your new and improved life begin.

Pillar One

Nourish Your Body With Food and Movement

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

—Hippocrates

You might be wondering why the first chapter of a book about creating the life you desire is about food. Put simply, what you put into your body has a lot to do with how your life unfolds. Your body is your vessel in this life. Without it, you wouldn’t be here to experience this world. Recognizing that you need to nurture and cherish your body is essential to leading a happy, flourishing life.

Food is central to all of our lives. We celebrate holidays, weddings, and graduations with food. We drown our sorrows with it, and have power lunches with it. Yet many of us have mixed feelings about food. It can be difficult to make healthy choices when faced with a piece of cake at a wedding or graduation—the desire to indulge in the celebration makes it easy to get carried away and go along with the crowd. Or you might want to spoil yourself with a bag of chips after a bad day at work, but does that really serve you?

What you choose to eat determines the number of nutrients you consume and the amount of energy you bring into your body. When you eat fresh, whole, organic foods, your body is affected quite differently than when you consume processed foods containing chemicals, artificial colorings, hormones, and antibiotics.

Your attitudes and beliefs about yourself determine the food choices you make. You may notice that when you feel healthier and more upbeat, you tend to reach for natural, whole foods. And when you feel sad or depressed, you pick fattening, comfort eats. The following suggestions will take you from an undernourished, tired, and lethargic person to a vibrant, full-of-life individual. And that’s the precise energy you need to create the life that you desire.

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Clean Up Your Food Act

"When you go to the grocery store, you find that the cheapest calories are the ones that are going to make you the fattest—the added sugars and fats in processed foods."

—Michael Pollan

Junk food is everywhere. You can find chips, candy, hamburgers, and processed healthy meals at the grocery store. You can find junk food in vending machines, all along the checkout aisles at clothing stores, office supply stores, and even the car wash. We’re also bombarded by junk food in the office kitchen, and even in the bowl of lollipops in the lobby at the doctor’s office. No wonder we’re a society of overfed, undernourished individuals. We eat the wrong foods at the wrong time, and we treat our precious bodies worse than we’d treat our worst enemy.

I know no one wakes up in the morning and thinks, Today I’m going to only eat food that’ll make me fat and more likely to develop a chronic disease. But that’s exactly what you’re doing if you skip breakfast—or worse yet, stop at the local fast food place for breakfast on your way to work. It continues if you microwave a processed meal for lunch, and order out for pizza at night because you’re too tired to cook.

Maybe you’re a little more advanced in your nutrition skills and throw a few vegetables and an apple into the mix. But if the majority of the food you consume comes ready to eat in bags, boxes, or other containers, you aren’t nourishing yourself with your food choices—you’re harming yourself.

Have you ever looked at the label of your favorite processed food? Can you identify the ingredients? Some foods don’t even include one recognizable ingredient. This can’t be good for our bodies. A good rule to follow when buying processed foods like bread, yogurt, or salad dressing—yes, they’re all processed foods—is to buy these items only if they have five or fewer ingredients listed. And, make sure you can pronounce and identify each of those ingredients.

In other words, processed food isn’t just the burger and fries from the fast food restaurant. It’s also all the food in boxes, plastic, and