“I want to wallow in pain in order to learn life’s lessons,” said no one ever.

Regardless of how evolved you are, who doesn’t want a quick fix for life’s woes? You hope that with the perfect job, perfect partner, more money, all of life’s troubles will melt away. Notice that this thinking is focusing on the outcome: what can I do/get to be happy instead of feeling happy now.

More so, this perspective doesn’t account for the energy projecting into the universe. If you’re just striving for an outcome to cure your troubles, you’re not going to attract authentic, healing growth. If you need to know the end goal, you’ll never know the positive change that manifests in the process.

For example, if you want a new job, thinking “I want to be a big-time yoga teacher, lawyer, or graphic designer,” the end goal may disappoint you. This perspective is about a quick fix, instead of how aspects of each field make you feel. A shift in perspective will attract the things you want, because its emerging from an internal healing instead of an external cure. Gabrielle Bernstein explains this shift best:

“Many people approach manifestation from a place of “How can I get something to feel better?” Instead, the focus should be: “How can I feel better and therefore be an energetic match for attracting more greatness into my life?”

This is the MOST important shift: from focusing on what what you want to get or what you want to do to focusing on how you want to feel.

Over the weekend, this concept knocked my socks off. I looked to all the things, foods, and people in my life that make me feel inspired, nurtured, and loved. I felt compelled to refocus my healthy feelings with healthy burgers…

wild mushroom and lentil burgers with cashew garlic cream
makes 6-8 patties

• 1 cup beluga lentils
• 1 tbsp of coconut oil
• 1 red onion, sliced (optional)
• couple pinches sea salt
• 2 cups mixed wild mushrooms, sliced (wood ear, shiitake, oyster, chanterelle…)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp tamari
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• 15 kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• freshly cracked black pepper

1. Wash and drain lentils. In a medium saucepan, cover with 2 cups water, bring to a boil, cover, reduce to simmer and cook until tender (about 20-25 minutes). Remove lid off to cool and set aside. Drain if there is any water left.
2. In a frying pan heat a knob of coconut oil. Add sliced onions, if using, and a pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about five minutes. Add garlic, rosemary and thyme. Cook for a few minutes, then add sliced mushrooms. Allow the mushrooms to cook without stirring for a few minutes so that they brown on one side. After five minutes, stir mushrooms and add tamari, stir to coat. When mushrooms are cooked, remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a food processor grind sunflower seeds until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add cooked lentils, mushroom mixture, mustard, olive oil, and cracked black pepper. Pulse to blend. [You may need to stir once in a while. Avoid adding too much liquid – the mixture should be thick.]
4. Pit and roughly chop olives. Add to the food processor and stir to combine.
5. Form 6-8 balls with the mixture, slightly smaller than a baseball. Press to flatten into patties, but keep them thick. Press around the outside edge to prevent them from cracking.
6. You can warm the burgers two ways: heat a knob of coconut oil and cook the burger on one side until golden, 4-6 minutes, then flip and cook on opposite side OR cook burgers in a 375°F/ 190°C oven for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through bake time. [Remember that they are already fully cooked, so all you need to do is heat them up.]
7. Serve burgers open-faced on a slice of gluten-free or extra-grainy toast. Garnish with cashew garlic cream, avocado, and a pile of greens.

cashew garlic cream

• ½ cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours
• ½ cup water
• 1 clove garlic (start with just ½)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp chives
• ½ tsp sea salt
• Squirt honey or maple syrup

1.  Soak cashews for at least 4 hours, up to 12. Drain and rinse.
2. Add cashews to a food processor or blender, which ever is the most powerful. Add ½ clove garlic, all other ingredients and ¼ cup of water. Blend on high and add the remaining water in increments until the desired consistency is reached – not too thick, not too runny. Season to taste and add the other half clove of garlic if desired. [adapted from mynewroots.org]

Ask yourself: What can I start doing right now to bring more of this feeling into my life? Don’t worry about money or status that will emerge or what other people will think of you. If you’re acting from an inspired place, the money comes. When you feel how you want to feel, when you’re authentically you, people become inspired by you.

xo, S