Follow your truth

I’m giving up
This whole lie, this whole me
Call it out like a family
Instead I bide my time, get a ride
Until the rubber leaves the road

You said don’t lie so I made the truth
Seemed like a lie to even you
Control your fear. It’s clear
That you do not know where you’re going to

– Matt Corby –

So I’ve been here in LA for 6 days now and I have 3 left. It has been the most amazing trip so far, and I know that there are still some very wonderful times to come.

I came out here on a feeling. If you were to ask me for a logical or rational expectation as to why I felt the need to leave Sydney for LA, I wouldn’t be able to give you one. Some would call it a wild goose chase, others would say I was following my intuition. Either way, I’m really glad that I came.

Here are some of the photos that I’ve taken while I’ve been here.

Venice Canals – Venice Beach

Sunset at Santa Monica beach

Marina Del Rey

My beautiful friend Adrian took me on a hike up into the Hollywood Hills to see Griffith Park Observatory yesterday.

Amazing art that I saw being exhibited at the Arclight movie theatre last night by Andrea Fellers

Only in LA. I was walking behind this guy who was dressed in a gold sequinned Elvis catsuit with his pushbike walking along Sunset Boulevard earlier today. Awesomeness.

The most amazing Portobello Mushroom burger that I had earlier this evening at the Sprouted Garden Cafe/Cowboys & Turbans, which is a combination of both a deliciously organic & vegan restaurant and Indian Street Food in the area of Silverlake where I’m staying at the moment. Apparently it’s where all of the hipsters live. 🙂

I have already had some wonderful experiences (as you can see), met some very lovely people, and made some fantastic connections that I know will be helpful to me in my life. How and when I don’t know, but that is irrelevant.

I have also had some time to reflect and gain further clarity on some things in my life, which I would like to share. I started writing these down as I was having dinner earlier tonight at the most beautiful organic, vegan restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, and I’d like to include the list here.

1. I love my boyfriend very much. It’s true that I have missed him while I have been away, but not in the way that I have missed other boyfriends in the past. I have missed him, but without attachment. And moreover, I love him so very much for supporting me with the feeling that I had to come to LA from the beginning, around a month or so ago. Never once did he question why, or what for, he just simply supported me. And when I asked him initially if he thought I was crazy to feel the need to go based on my intuition, he simply replied that if I felt the need to go, I should go. I am so very grateful and blessed for his unconditional love and support.

2. I love yoga. I have only recently started getting back into yoga after having a bit of a hiatus for quite a few months. I started doing yoga a week or so before I left and I have kept up my practice in both Marina Del Rey (at the Yoga Nest) and now while I’m here in Silverlake One Down Dog at . And I must say it has been so transformative for me. Not only has it helped me to feel good on the inside and out, but it has helped me maintain a calm, peaceful and loving state of mind and help me to create the space needed to receive everything that the Universe has been giving to me while I am in LA, without me getting in the way.

3. I have the feeling to go to India next. Once again, don’t ask me why, but I feel as though that is the next country that I need to visit.

4. I’m very grateful for all of the wonderful case study examples that I have come across here in LA to use in the book I’m writing on conscious brands. I feel as though I’m surrounded by conscious companies that are doing so much good in the world.

5. I’m excited to start a new conscious clothing project. It’s taken me a few months to build up the courage to start this, but when I get back to Sydney I’m reading to kick things off big style.

And so, my thought for you today is this, are you following your truth in life? Are you letting you heart guide you or your head? Is there are feeling that you have inside of you to do something or go somewhere that you have been ignore? What’s the worst that would happen if you decided to follow that feeling and do what feels true for you? What if there was no good or bad, no right or wrong? How would you make decisions differently?

My goal for every day at the moment is to be as loving, joyful and peaceful a being as I can possibly be. And show gratitude for every wonderful moment that I experience, while following my truth on this incredible planet we call earth.

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

Los Angeles, Califorina, USA

Matt Corby – Resolution – Live at the Enmore Theatre, Sydney

Photo credit – hlkljgk

Songs to make you feel good – Part 1

“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.”

 – Ludwig van Beethoven –

As you’ll all probably have guessed by now, I absolutely love music. It’s an important part of my life, and I also think it can be very powerful in lifting our spirits if we are having a tough day, or reinforcing a really happy moment. Plus it is scientifically proven that listening to or playing music can make you happy, because it causes the brain to release dopamine, which is a feel-good chemical.

I have recently joined Spotify and am loving it, and I tend to create playlists which contain ‘feel good’ music, so I thought I would start to share micro playlists with you of my Top 5 ‘Feel Good’ songs of the moment.

I’m going to aim to share at least 5 songs every month, so that over time you can create one big uber playlist of awesome upbeat, happy, positive songs to listen to when you want to feel good and raise your vibrations.

So here are my Top 5 Feel Good songs of the moment for you. Enjoy!

1. Matt Corby – Resolution

2. Rudimental feta. Ella Eyre – Waiting All Night

3. Empire of the Sun – Alive

4. Robert DeLong – Happy

5. The Lumineers – Hey Ho

Lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

My favourite positive, feel good music of the moment (see above)

Why music makes you happy – news.discovery.com

Image reference – http://thinng.com/671-music-makes-me-happy-by-plastickheart

Music makes you feel happy you’re alive

“If music be the food of love, play on.”

– William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night –

In my humble opinion, Matt Corby is a living legend. He is also the closest thing I have ever heard the legendary Mr Jeff Buckley, who immortalised Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah with his own very special version.

I was lucky enough to be introduced to Matt by a very good friend of mine (Mr Ben Levy) one day when we were driving together. He was giving me a lift to a place where I would be cat sitting in Manly for a friend of theirs for a week or so over the Christmas period (Dec 2011). We were listening to Triple J (an awesome alternative radio station in Australia) and just as we pulled up to the house, Matt Corby’s ‘Brother’ came on. He told me that I needed to listen to him, so we sat in the stationary, parked car and listened to the entire song all the way through. I was blown away, and that was the day that I fell in love with his voice and his music. Captivating, mesmerizing and very beautiful.

I then started to read up a little about him and realised that he had taken the number 3 spot (behind Gotye’s Somebody That I Used To Know at 1 and The Black Key’s ‘Lonely Boy’ at 2) of Triple J’s hottest 100 in 2011 for Brother. Later in 2012 I went to see him play at the Metro in Sydney with Ben’s girlfriend’s sister, Sabrina. We had a blast and both drooled over him and his music all night. A month or so later I was lucky enough to score tickets to see him play at Cockatoo Island in Sydney and took another girlfriend. It was an electric night and his music electrified the island. Truly fantastic.

Which brings me to now. Darren and I went to see him at the iconic and eponymous Enmore Theatre on Friday night and he kicked ass. His voice sounded as stunning as usual, at times so smooth it could melt butter and others so raw you could feel the emotion that was in him when he wrote the song.

His music is (in my humble opinion) a blend of Jeff Buckley’s voice, with the earthy rawness of Mumford & Sons and I just stumbled across a recording of the last song that he played (My False) to demonstrate, just how brilliant he is live. The entire venue lit up when he played this, and it was just the most perfect way to end his set.

He recently spent a while in the UK with Mumford & Sons, and he is also signed to Ben Lovett’s record label, Communion, so you can see that there is a definite influence from them in this song.

Today’s post is about how music can make you feel happy you’re alive, and Matt’s music makes me feel happy that I am alive to listen to it and witness it live. Is there music that makes you feel like that in your life? If so, fill it with more of it!

Inspiration for this post

Matt Corby live at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney – My False

Matt Corby – Brother

Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah

Forgive and forget

“So don’t you worry
You will be my resolution
Characters of no illusion
You will be my resolution”

– Matt Corby –

For a long time in my life, I was always happy to forgive, but not forget. Little did I know how detrimental that would be to my happiness.

It’s taken me a while to work it out, but the sooner you can truly, holistically and unconditionally forgive and forget anyone or anything that you feel or believe did you wrong in the past, the sooner you can free yourself from carrying that anger or resentment around with you and live a happier life.

Because, when we forgive others, we forgive ourself, as we are all one and mirrors of one another.

And when we forget, we release ourselves from our past and free ourselves up to be able to live in the present moment.

So, who do you need to forgive and what events in your past do you need to forget in order to allow yourself to be more present? Is it as simple as just deciding in this very moment, right now, today that you’re finally going to let go of something that you have been carrying around for far too long? Is there a phone call you can make? Is there an email, letter or Facebook message you can write to help in letting go? Is there someone who you perhaps need to apologise to?

Be kind to yourself, forgive and forget and free yourself from the past, so you can enjoy the present and live in the now.

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

Matt Corby’s brand new song – Resolution (You Tube video)