NEW! Runway Walking

Diab daughter and young model!

Learn to walk and look like a model, taught by Deborah Shemesh, former national editorial model and featured Hotel California image of the late 70′s.  Runway walking with Deborah Shemesh is a workshop which will include proper posturing, presenting your best self, and photography practice. As an expert, I will teach you how to make the proper entrance and exit to a room for an audition, interview or a lasting First Impression. The more you want to learn about the expressive field of modeling is available to all who desire to present their best self.

This workshop is held at The Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, 6/19 and 6/21, 2012 from 2-4 p.m. in the Main Hall of the Youth Annex. The cost is only $60.00 and registration is suggested through contacting 707-823-1511.  The Sebastopol Community Cultural Center is located at 390-Morris Street Avenue, off of highway 12.  For more information about creating your First Impression, please visit the First Impression link on the website.

Stay beautiful,

Deborah Shemesh

Lessons Learned From Cancer – Transmuting Karma

I am not defined by the label of my disease.  It took me years, perhaps decades to figure this out, but in hindsight, I now know with my whole heart, I am more than just this body.  The joy I experience is immeasurable when I look up into the sky each and every day, whether there is rain, snow, sunshine, moonlight or starlight I feel connected and a part of the whole.  When I gaze into the eyes of children, teenagers, peers, seniors, I see myself in them, I no longer feel separate from others.  My eyes are wide open and I feel profound gratitude for life.

A few of things I have learned a long the way of living with active cancer are listed below. As my awareness expands, so will this blog. It is my hope you come back regularly as I add to this ongoing list of lessons learned.  I’ve learned most importantly to live passionately!

• I am not the label of my disease, I am beyond statistics.
• I am more kind to my body, and nourish the needs of my body.
• I take time to play, dance, create, and just be.
• I learned that I was living in fear, this fear is no longer.
• I learned how to reward myself after each test; either through my favorite foods or see a movie.
• I learned to love deeper and greater.
• I learned to forgive myself and others.
• I learned that by my body getting ill, it was calling out for silence, and a new pattern of living.
• I learned to quiet my mind.
• I learned that my life is built up by my participation in it.  To be whole, I had to live fully.
• I learned that quality of life is more important than quantity.
• I learned to surrender to statistics.
• I learned to dream big, bigger, and even beyond dreams.
• I learned to adopt a new perspective beyond science.
• I learned that everything comes from the mind, and to live from the end, become what I envision.
• I learned that everything I see is indeed inside of me.
• I continue to embrace life, and desire to share my learnings.
• I learned empathy, compassion, patience, greater knowledge and greater joy.
• I learned I am not as fragile as I believed, or sometimes as I was treated.
• I learned my spirit was stronger than by body.
• I learned to simply be.

Cardamom Coconut Pyramids

Five easy steps to making the best cardamom coconut pyramid cookies.

• Ingredients: 1 teaspoon of freshly ground cardamom pods.
• 1 cup unsweetened organic dried coconut.
• 1/2 cup (or less) unrefined organic sugar.
• 2 egg whites.
• Canola oil (or vegetable) for greasing the pan.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a large baking sheet with a little oil.

2. Mix together the dried coconut, cardamom, and the sugar, then lightly whisk in the egg whites.

3. Form the mixture into pyramid shapes by taking a teaspoonful and rolling it first into a ball.  Flatten the base and press the top into a point.  Arrange the pyramids on the baking sheet, leaving a space between them.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes on a low rack.  The tips should begin to turn golden and the pyramids should be just firm, but still soft inside.

5. Slide a spatula carefully under the coconut pyramids to loosen them, and let cool before removing from the baking sheet.

Coconut contains electrolytes for restoring brain activity, and cardamom is used to treat indigestion, poor appetites, diarrhea, coughs and muscular spasms.  The scent alone from cardamom relaxes feelings of anxiety and aids confusion.

Healthy delights for the body.