New Book With a WELLNESS Special!

 

I recall a Chef once saying that his father taught him "Whatever you do in life, make sure that you're proud of it." And man, I am so unbelievably proud of this new publication as its purpose is so positively wonderful and its effect is immediate, it even works on me!

Such as my first book (a poetry collection), this came sudden and was prompted by the sad attitudes that rare their ugly heads around Valentine's Day. This year, I particularly found that alot of the hate and anger from those bitchin' about Valentine's Day was largely out of shame and bitterness for happy couples or towards those that had someone to love and was loved. 

At the end of the day, the common denominator from those vocal individuals, in my observational opinion, was that they did not love themselves. This is a common problem among many people regardless of the event, the country or generation and it's sad. Many of us do not truly, love ourselves, thus act like an arse and spew out negativity and hateful behaviour towards others and sadly ourselves as a result. I am not here for it!

Hence how the average grown bully or trouble-making child, are mostly found acting up because deep down they need a hug, have been bullied themselves, been made to feel unworthy and feel the need to take it out on other people with their foul actions and hurtful words. I am SO NOT HERE FOR IT. Especially the old ones that still want to carry on with such foolishness because they refused to work on themselves. YOU NEED TO HEAL. 

Certain reality TV stars come to mind as I express this and recall some dreadful, 'asking for a slap' behaviour that I have witnessed on television (rightfully deemed as "the idiot box" quoted by Spike Lee) but I shall not credit or shame them on my post of excitement. What I have to share is honestly coming from a positive place my loves, I just have to explain myself to bring more context for you to understand why and how it came to be.

Now I know that many people talk sh*t, preach at you and like to judge while reprimanding others about their short-comings without offering to assist, that's not me. I am offering to assist, my book was made to assist you with that struggle (if you have it) which does not need to be as 'uphill' as it may seem. 

Naturally, as a Writer I know for a fact that words are extremely powerful and can be very healing, uplifting or damaging, which is why my purpose is to reduce the negative and malicious words being put out there or lingering in your mind about how you value yourself (during any season that may make you feel otherwise) and to increase, better yet replace it with positive inspiring words to engrain in your brain and thrive with emotionally. Your mental wellbeing is everything, EVERYTHING I tell you.

This book is about encouraging people with a low self-esteem, those with any level of self-hatred, those dealing with any sort of depression or self-pity, whether you are a man, woman, single, boo'd up, promiscuous, married or divorced. This brilliant book which I very much consider it to be, is to get you to believe in yourself, think highly of yourself (humbly), to generally feel better about putting mindful practice into your personal growth! Pick yourself back up, correct yourself, check yourself, comfort yourself mentally as opposed to beat yourself up (too many of us do that, I've been there) and most of all LOVE YOURSELF! 

Love yourself, respect yourself, know yourself, better yourself, hug yourself with your kind words instead of criticism. Certain messages that I wrote in this book came with the aim to stop you (some people I know personally) from the bad habit of rejecting yourself of feeling better about yourself, and subsequently stop pushing others away because you have a habit of doing as such out of fear of being accepted or not being worthy. YOU ARE WORTHY IF YOU ACT AND ACKNOWLEDGE YOURSELF AS SUCH.

Ahh! You have no idea how much this means to me. I put alot of energy- POSITIVE ENERGY into this my lovelies. This self-help book of motivational, inspirational quotes and affirmations has also enhanced my own personal wellbeing. This is due to all the primary and secondary research gone into it, writing, re-writing, editing and proofreading drafts of the somewhat spiritual (it hit me spiritually) content that helped me keep my own mental health in check, during the process of indecisively selecting and more so repeating said quotes back to myself consciously. 

By the time I got to the final draft, I was shouting them out like I was in the last round of a group therapy session being cheered on by fellow participants, theoretically speaking. I felt great, and proud of what I had achieved emotionally in my own life from what I had written. I always like to practice what I preach so to speak, and if I am going to publish something that has a certain type of message or strong influence, it is important to me that I believe in it too or I won't release it. I have to feel as good or just as inspired as I want my audience to feel. And I do! It feels wonderful. Yet again, I was working on another book project which was long-awaited and no doubt angry with me (I humanise my projects such as many others humanise their cars etc), then I spontaneously released this project replacing its priority....but it was and is worth-it as it will help many (not meant to rhyme).

So in honour of Mental Health Awareness Month of which I only became aware of far into the month by the way, I am offering an added discount off of the books' pre-release price. It has yet to be released on my Infiniti Promotions website of where it will be on sale as official merchandise, hence the branded colour scheme. Appropriately titled #ILoveMyselfBecause, of where the hashtag was additionally intended to contribute to the social media conversation and the lack of social conversation in this regard.

To get your hands on your doubly discounted copy or to buy one for someone you know in need, simply message me via email, comment or DM me on my blog or social media pages; Twitter, Instagram, Facebook quoting the discount code! I will then send you back an invoice with secure payment options applicable for any currency, just as I would do for my card service and post the book out to you. Get your orders in people and regardless of the month or celebration; better yourselves, be kind to yourselves and take care of yourselves mentally and physically.

Love Lauren

ORDER NOW

#ILoveMyselfBecause

(PRE-RELEASE PRICE) £17.99

EXTRA 25% OFF DISCOUNT CODE: MHAW25

World Days (Real Talk So Pay Attn)

This month is jam packed with PSA days, for lack of a better term considering that they are not holidays, as it is no longer just Black History Month (in the UK) but it is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month which I only just came to know of, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Mental Health Week which I could have sworn already took place this summer and soon found out that in the UK it takes place in May and in USA it's November, I am still a little confused of what 'week' is actually taking place here. Today is World Mental Health Day and one of the charities that I used to work with informed me that it is World Homeless Day.

Without having known that it was World Homeless Day as I'm very mindful about the state of homelessness regardless of dates, I have been looking for a certain frail older homeless woman who I used to see around my area, to give her an old puffer coat of mine. I attempted to find her again and of course she cannot be found nor any other homeless woman who it would fit which is a shame. I initially found my adored white Nike puffer hard to depart with, being that it was a gift but fact has it that I don't wear it anymore and only hold onto it for sentimental reasons. I would rather give it to someone who would make better use of it such as keeping them warm in the streets at night. 

The homeless epidemic in major cities in 'first world countries' is surreal. I mean really, we can have all these unnecessary intrusive new buildings erecting and gentrifying the place for profit, without concern of neighbourhood locals, nor the environment which is damaging our soil, land, roads and certainly the air from excessive release of TOC (Toxic Organic Compounds which are harmful chemicals found in most everyday building materials), yet the government can't afford more homeless shelters or NOT to cut benefits such as full Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit to PREVENT homelessness!

It is this sh*t that leads to widespread poverty, crime and anti-social behaviour between classes (more homeless people being attacked and more homeless/poor people attacking others). There is not one full commute that I can do without the sadness or frustration of someone begging for money on the train and nowadays it's getting more aggressive, such as when a random homeless man verbally attacked me inside McDonald's making everyone uneasy. There are not many ATM's or supermarkets that I can go to without a homeless person sitting directly next to it, more and more inner city roads (including the most expensive of areas by the way) are being filled with rough sleepers. It is so fuc*king sad. Do not be offended by my profanity, be offended by the conditions that a growing population of the public are subjected to.

I can't believe how good most of us (Londoners I can speak for) had it prior to the new millennium. There were poor people and yes there was crime and judgement towards others living a certain way but nowhere as bad as it is today, not when I was growing up. I know my posts of awareness, giving what I can when I can afford to like some food, money or old clothes cannot change the world but I really wish I could 😪.

The following is also taken from my recent Facebook page posts; depending on your generation and your culture, many of you including myself, would see counselling or seeking help with your mental/emotional issues as a bad thing. I am not jumping on the whole trending 'let's talk about mental health' campaign train here, I am giving you real talk with authenticity based on my personal experience and what I have witnessed. When I was really going through heavy tribulations more than once, at first I was in denial of how bad it was as I was basically taught to just 'soldier on' which worked for a while, externally anyway. Then sh*t hit the fan and I knew I was imploding. 

I was honest with myself and decided to seek help via NHS IAPT which was a terrible waste of time. Unfortunately, the Therapist I saw was an inconsiderate, cold and somewhat unprofessional lady who added to my resentment of medical professionals. Even when I asked for a new Therapist at a location closer to where I lived, her superior was equally unhelpful. I never sought counselling again. Therefore I lost out on what could have been effective treatment due to a poor service of bad communication thus I continued to let my problems manifest.

However, years later when I recognised that my emotional distress was getting the better of me once again I was fortunate enough to have a lovely medical practitioner offer me a Mindfulness programme and I took it. It was WONDERFUL! I have mentioned this before but seriously it calmed me down, helped me better manage my stress, anxiety and OCD, as well as my relationship with myself and others- many of which I just had to let go. It also made my physical pain from other health problems decrease because they became easier to manage with my new set of tools that I now bring into my everyday life. My breathing is slightly better too thank goodness!

Mindfulness and writing poetry has seriously enriched my life. A POSITIVE OUTLET is helpful and necessary in whatever form. Seeking help is necessary, vital and shameless. Far too often I see people turn to drugs (whatever its class), alcohol, anti-social behaviour and tantrums to escape or cover up their issues, masking their pain. Hence bullies, abusers, people that are an arse for no reason, those who are disruptive or walk around angry all the time. Be kind and honest with yourself. Seek help, find the health method that works for you and live a better life as a result. Best wishes to all. For every medical professional, friend, family member and the stranger that kindly asked me if I was OK during my tribulations and turmoil, I VALUE AND APPRECIATE YOU DEARLY. I know for a fact that I have blogged those very words before....

Alas, in light of helping yourself out by confronting your issues, watch this spoken word performance of mine.

On 11th September again via my Facebook page I posted what some may describe as a cryptic post in regard to World Suicide Prevention Day (10th Sept), National Suicide Month in USA, as well as National Suicide Prevention Week in UK. To summarise I was saying that there is a serious poem that I began writing a couple of years ago and semi-completed this year that I have been hesitating to share. Much of my recent writing has been extremely emotive lately across various scenarios but I know that this particular piece is so sensitive that it'll divide and most likely p*ss off the crowd. It is important to understand that not every form of entertainment or information is catered to your liking. Often times it is just made for your awareness if not understanding. My unheard poem is about a different aspect of suicide that often gets overlooked and what 'we' in society are expected not to say or think. All perspectives count whether we agree or not. 

I think it is an important message so I may share it some day, somewhere or just to someone if necessary but it can wait. What I will share is "Just be kind TO YOURSELF" if and when you are experiencing suicidal despair. To those witnessing suicidal behaviour- with judgement "Try to BE KINDHEARTED and patient to what they are going through." None of us can tell someone how to feel nor claim to know exactly how someone is feeling. Communication from an outsider towards a vulnerable person is key and vice versa however, the communication of the vulnerable individual with them self is what is most important at the end of the day. Again be kind to yourself. Be as honest and kind as possible when confronting your issues, your needs and 'your demons' I would say (end quote from my post). 

I know that I am repeating myself between paragraphs and posts altogether with those last words of being kind to yourself and mindfulness however, that repetition is necessary as it is important to me to spread the message. Messages don't just have to be shared once or loud to be well received, ones such as these require repetition.

I ended up performing that said poem at an event that I was featured in, coincidentally during Suicide Prevention Week so it was appropriate but extremely uncomfortable. The discomfort did not just come from the subject matter but that fact that I was crying my eyes out with each stanza, that poem is so real and emotional it's not funny. Not funny at all, I react the same when I read it to myself in private. The audience was gripped, camera phones were up and the passiveness of emotion was certainly among the crowd, there was strong empathy from one audience member in particular. I hate to be caught on camera like that however, I make no apologies for my authenticity and the realness that my writing or performing comes with. All the love and personal testimonies that I got afterwards was heart-warming. Ahhh, one for the books.

Regarding Domestic Violence and Breast Cancer Awareness month, although I have continued to spread awareness and useful knowledge through conversation and across social media platforms, I will follow-up on that shortly as certain things that I am going to share requires its own separate blog entry. That applies to BHM too. In the meantime, as a society we do have a lot to think about and to consider, with what is happening around us and how it affects others which in turn will affect us. BE MINDFUL.


@LK_ReelDeevah

I'm Present During My Absence

Long-time no blog. I apologise for those that have been on the lookout for any 2019 updates only to not receive any unless you of course check out my Twitter page. Although I'm not the biggest fan of social media I have come to appreciate Twitter and LinkedIn (that I haven't been able to log onto since last year funnily enough) but you really should follow me via @LK_ReelDeevah if regularity on updates, activity and connectivity is what you seek from a professionally friendly stand point.

The past 7 months have been interesting, difficult, confusing, enlightening, somewhat exciting and all other adjectives that left me in deep thought with the need to distance myself. In many ways I have been on my own island, in a much needed reclusive state of mind to indeed exercise my mindfulness. This just means that as a consequence of many events and reflection, I have been making firmer choices to focus on myself more in a healthier holistic way.

However, despite my noticeable absence and sporadic appearances in regard to self-promotion, online activity and social circles. I have in many ways still been very present. My eye is not off the ball, it's just that my interests and priorities have changed- for the better. It goes without saying that I have still been working all this time, developing my projects and what have you. Furthermore my greeting cards continue to push the bar and celebratory emotions. Some of my recent creations have been very 'wordy' pun intended.

 

These are two designs in particular that I have had in mind for a couple of years and have only just had the right opportunity to be unleashed. I just didn't expect them to be made around the same time however I can't control the costumers needs- that I'm happy to meet. Outside of the orders I receive, I am making a few more cards that will be featured in something that I am working on.

What I have really been excelling at though, excelling as far as baby steps go, is cake decorating! You don't understand, this means the world to me as I have been wanting this forever, before wanting to pursue film, publishing and even before I went to culinary school. It all felt so far out of reach that I would only bake and cake decorate vicariously through television shows like Cake Boss and Cupcake Wars. I began pushing my love for cake decorating with my dessert table designs via my events company. I was just testing the waters as making dessert tables was the best excuse for that creative side of me to finally go into action.

 

My designs completely outdid my baking I must say, although it was the perfect opportunity to improve on my cake decorating skills regardless of how minimal. To learn to bake properly and make delightful glorious cakes and pastries has long and I mean like 25yrs long, been a dream of mine. I will make that happen dammit. More of that and my foodie experiences can be seen on my beloved  Deevah's Cravings blog. My food writing hasn't been on hiatus during this time, as food is another kind of joy that will demand attention and dedication from me more so. On that blog you'll find food stories and food porn to salivate over.

The best thing that I've been doing this year and what I've been most excited about is my reignited writing of poetry FOR ME. For the past five years, I have had off and on writing blocks when it came to writing or completing poems spontaneously or just for the fun of it. This also goes for writing stories, my food novel and old incomplete scripts that were and are of great importance to me. In turn, without fully realising it at the time I have dedicated that passion and motivation to writing for others and completing other written projects under commission.

This in some ways was good because it brought in business nonetheless and made customers happy which made me happy, but the huge problem that followed was the inevitable pile up of missed out opportunities and unfinished, un-started things that I wanted to achieve personally! That was driving me mad. My sh*t kept falling into the back burner for more new sh*t that meant less to me. Although I managed to get the odd thing done on that list, the reality is that years were going by of unmet goals or unmet needs of personal creative expression. This can devastate an Artist or any type of creative individual who just wants to create any and everything that comes to mind, especially when you're passionate about it.

I am glad to say that, that self-imposed dilemma is becoming no more and it feels wonderful. Dec-Jan in particular I wrote 3 new poems out of the blue AND TO COMPLETION! That meant everything to me. One of them I performed at She Grrrowls. I have noticed a little pattern in my recent poems; Dec-Jun although they are all different there's a theme they share between them being that of lifestyle, loss, desires, children, opinions and mother-daughter relationships. The content has been quite vulnerable whether I'm speaking my truth or that of someone else's. The ones involving parenting and family dynamic banter isn't even from my perspective, such as many things that I have come to write they simply came from a source of observation and passiveness.

My poems are also getting increasingly longer which I didn't even think was possible as I am known to have long poems anyway (not the longest ever heard but I am known to write in excess). It hurts my hands while doing so but while I'm writing or typing I'm saying to myself "I just need to get this sh*t out!" That is also one of the many benefits of getting back to writing for the sake of saying what I want to say even if it's just for my eyes and ears only, is that I do not need to concern myself with cutting it down to make it shorter or more comfortable for others. I can just do me and lessen the anxiety of people-pleasing, which again feels wonderful.

This week I wrote a poem about falling out of love with Haribo sweets, for those that know me they know that one hits home as also seen on my food blog. The loss is real, quite a humorous yet relatable piece. I look forward to performing that one and two more out of the 7-8 poems written so far in the near future. As a Poet it is natural for me to write with a performance in mind or the thought of it being read by someone, however such as with this blog entry that has been a bit of an obstacle to complete, I have to bear in mind my friend's wise words "Not everything needs to be shared." With that said, I know to keep some things to myself in both regard to what I could add to this post and what I have written in my new poems. At the end of the day I wrote those for me for therapeutic reasons and therefore consider them to be private diary entries. What I will share will be intriguing nevertheless don't get it twisted ;-)

Until then, wish me baking progress and more continued success with my mindfulness journey. I wish everyone, even more so my loyal supporters and anyone going through heavy things that are making you anxious or unhappy, more and more brighter days.


@LK_ReelDeevah