Make, Bake and Decorate at the FunZen Bakery

"Words are like a recipe's ingredients for me." ~ Nicola Karesh, Author

One of my favorite things about the FunZen Bakery is that parents and kids--in fact anyone--can benefit from picking up our sweet treats to restore character and build confidence. However, our recipes aren’t locked away in a secret treasure chest. We love sharing everything on our menu…along with their very special ingredients and simple instructions for preparation.

You just need to Make, Bake and Decorate.

Make: up your mind to engage and take action.
Bake: to maintain the heat of your concentration power.
Decorate: and magically create your day, your way.

Today’s special treat will be a revitalizing exercise I call the “Morning Glory Cupcake.”

At its very heart, the "Morning Glory Cupcake" gives us special nourishment for the soul that has at its core an expression near to my heart: “Go within or Go without.”

This short maxim basically means that when you look inward towards stillness, you will find your life lesson. Ignoring the inner stillness, and focusing on the storm around you, can cause you to miss out on a blessing. An incident that happened recently led to my stepping inside the FunZen Bakery to use this inspirational recipe myself.

Earlier this year, I received a tweet from a man who expressed disapproval with the idea of FunZen when I used it in conjunction with the Heraclitus quote, "Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play."

The man wasn't’ buying it. He firmly stated that, to him, "FunZen was just New Age mumbo jumbo..." At first, reading his tweet didn't’ just catch me off-guard; it stung me. My initial reaction was to feel insulted… But I took a mindful breath and centered and refocused myself. My inner samurai girl went from reactive to reflective as I reminded myself to choose to detach from negativity. I recalled my life lessons and past teachings which made his words empower me with self-love rather than hurt me emotionally. Getting mad would serve no purpose. I re-tweeted the man and explained that FunZen came from the mouth of a babe, my daughter Grace at 5 years old. It was her name for the breathing and centering exercises that we still practice together everyday.

After telling him about the origins of FunZen, the man said that he now had a new-found respect for it, and acknowledged its usefulness. By not sinking to his level of antagonism, I was able to bring him onboard. It was like a breath of fresh air to see my fellow tweep now shift his perspective. And by going within, and listening to my heart, I was able to make art and communicate with compassion when things seemed to be falling apart. It’s something we can all do: Rather than be reactive when life throws you a curve ball, use your spiritual perspective to gain insight and learn from the issue at hand.

Truly, you can reach the sweet spot of "blessed aha's" with an instant understanding when you are able to see a situation with new eyes. I see this all the time through the eyes of my daughter. FunZen has emerged as a professional tool for Grace as she continues to work as a voice-over artist, and it consistently ignites brilliant performances from within her.

There are many of these exercises on the menu here at the FunZen Bakery, and over time I will be sharing them with you. Some of the centering exercises that have worked like a charm to enable Grace to activate a happy-calm state of concentration are "The Miracle Diamond Lemon Bars,” “Mermaid Starfish Cookies” and “Angel food Cupcakes.”

In future blogs, we'll be serving up more "you-nique ingredients for the Magic of Mindful Living. I will detail each of these exercises (and many more!) so that others may gain the inner peace, courage and confidence that come from using them. At 12 years of age, Grace continues to use these "cool tools" while incorporating FunZen into her everyday life.

Now, let's roll up our sleeves, and take a mindful breath, as I offer you today’s special of the day from the FunZen Bakery--the “Morning Glory Cupcake.”

I find that it’s a holistic tune-up in the morning to start your day…or anytime you need some inspirational “food for thought.” It's all good. It's organic.

The Morning Glory Cupcake

Follow your heart in 3 quick steps as you Make, Bake and Decorate:

Make: Whooshhh… Slowly exhale, quieting down from within. Now, pixie pause.

Bake: Look inward, visualize still water… Then, intently inhale inspiration.

Decorate: Slowly exhale… Ahhhh… Listen to your seawind breathing. Here’s where insights arise out of the stillness and the golden sound of silence.

Repeat as needed…

You can now tune in to the wisdom that always resides in your heart, enabling you to turn any obstacle into a learning opportunity. Thank you for joining us and engaging in today’s FunZen Bakery’s interactive recipe. We’re always here to Make, Bake and Decorate delicious little nuggets of fresh insights.

P.S. Look at the photo above, and guess who said this. "I have been teaching the art of fine baking for a long time!” Hint: She's a domestic goddess media mogul. Yes, kudos to Martha Stewart.