Tea time

When in doubt what to do.... Go for a walk....... Make a pot of tea........ And for me, knit or read. Then at least I have done something while wondering what to do. What about you?

Easter eve

The Easter bunny is coming!

Out walking

Yahoo fresh air!

Visitors to Thunder Bay

What if?

In our world we are oriented to get things done. To be better. To fix the world. To fix ourselves. To improve. To achieve. The thought of all that makes me feel "less than" already. This is the world of the ego, the little me that wants to be better and more special than all the other little mees. It is a world that is always going from unfinished to finished. A world that feels incomplete and is looking for completeness.

What if, instead of going from incomplete to complete, that we saw the world as already complete and just moving to another complete?

Uncomplete to complete or
Complete to complete?

Every moment a complete moment with no changes necessary. It already exists - why couldn't it be seen as complete? Actually, what else could it be except complete? There is no such thing as half a moment, or an unperfect moment. The moment is the moment just as it is. So we could as easily live from one complete moment to the next complete moment. Think how much easier it would be to live this way. Never needing to "fix" anything.

Just like a wave arises on the ocean, in completeness, and recedes, another arises, each one complete. Because it exists. We don't try to fix the wave and make it a better one or a bigger one or a softer one. Why are we any different?

Leftover cranberry sauce.

I cleaned my fridge today.....you know how it goes.....you find forgotten food way back there lurking in the corners. I made a vegetable stock with leftover bits of veggies. And I found a jar of homemade cranberry sauce from Christmas time. I heated it up and poured it over ice cream. Oh my! Is it ever good!
I had it for dessert and then I thought about it all evening. I wanted more since I had lots of the sauce left, hmmm, well, that's my excuse, don't want it go bad. I went for a walk so I could wear off the first bowl.....here is my second bowlful. My evening snack.

Sometimes things that lurk in dark corners are unexpected gold. You just have to treat them differently.

Happy spring

Whiski dude, the grandpuppy, is enjoying the snow in his backyard in Montreal.

Absorption

Baba Hari Dass said that there is no point in reading a book and not absorbing anything from it. He is so right! I tend to gobble books. I am a glutton. From one book to another to another. But when I actually savour a book, read it, muse on it, in other words, absorb it, taking it in deeply, well - then it's mine. The book and the story and learning it contains becomes a part of me. It sinks into complex memory and I can use it, right then, or later.

Isn't it the same with everything? It's the same with yoga for sure. If I dart around doing this posture and that posture and this chant and that mudra, then I don't savour or absorb....dare I say download or save the information. And not doing a final relaxation of any kind? Well - foolish and wasteful. There is something to be said for going slow enough, languishing delightfully in postures, like watching the clouds float by, that infuses the beingness with a delicious wholeness. A wholeness, an understanding of something un-nameable which allows for wisdom to arise. So a meaning.......a meaningful life......a raison d'etre floats up.

Yep! Do less but savour more.

T.G.I.M.

Thank God it's Monday!


Stained glass by Damon Dowbak.

......a real life

What has real meaning for you? Are you living your life in a way that reveals that real meaning?

It takes courage. At least for me, it's going against the grain.
I have been reading A Real Life by Ferenc Mate. He is a bit angry. Very funny. He really sheds light on our twitter, flitter world. He looks at the consequences of television, video games, i-this, i-that, dishwashers (and not the two-legged kind), clothes dryers, food, cars, and all that stuff that well, isn't really conducive to living a real life. A real life of talking to your neighbours, hugging, absorbing what someone is actually saying, if we talk face to face. I am loving what he shows me. And I want to live a life with meaning. Not a lofty do-gooder meaning......I feed the poor.......I gave to that cause......I volunteer for such and such - but a simple, moment by moment, what's in front of me now to do, kind of meaning. Listening. Breaking bread with those closest to me. Thoughtfulness. Compassion. Kisses and cuddles. Intimacy - the kind you have when you take the time to really deeply share with another. Or the kind you have in the quiet times with yourself.

Love bundles coming your way>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
May they never end.

Mayama

Foot massage

No matter how busy you are remember to nourish and nurture yourself.

Even though there is a hint of spring in the air, our skin may feel parched and dry. I know I forget to drink as much water or herbal tea as I do in the warmer months, so dryness seeps in. A wonderful practice is to oil your body. This year I haven't felt terribly dry so have just done a foot massage instead of a whole body massage. Before bed is best. You sleep like a baby..

Use any oil that you would be able to eat. I use sesame oil. I rub it between my hands to warm it up and then rub it all over my feet. From the heels to the toes and down and back up again. I pull on my toes, one at a time. And twist and turn them, all very gently. I rub the instep. I crimp my fingers and find tender spots and press gently into them. I twist the foot a little with both hands. Reflex points to the rest of the body are everywhere on the feet. Massaging the feet every night releases tension and energizes the organs.

Self massaging the feet helps with rough or dry skin, dullness of sense organs, fatigue, insomnia, poor vision, nervous tension, and lethargy. Sounds like a spring tonic, doesn't it?

Leisure

It is a beautiful snowy night.
I have had an afternoon and evening of leisure. I could have worked on many things but I have begun to appreciate time with myself as one of the important things in life. To reflect: What am I doing? Why am I doing it? Is this important? What do I really want?
I lay on the floor and just watched my breath for a while. I listened to music. The dog rubbed his neck into mine. We rested there in a glorious camaraderie.
This is what brings me a feeling of home in myself.

Music

I didn't listen to music much when I was young. I don't know why really. I listened at my friend's homes. The Beatles.......I don't remember anything else. My parents listened to music a lot. Finnish songs but they were perky ones. I always felt like dancing - but didn't. Ah, childhood. I wouldn't want to go back there. I started looking at obituaries this morning on my ipad. No one died that I knew. Turned on some music. Music moves me. I was tearful over breakfast listening to "The Rose", all the music from the movie "Phenomenon", some chanting prayers by Tina Turner and friends in "Beyond". The music on my music list continued into "Ghostbusters", hey - dancing music. I twirled around the livingroom. How fun! The day spins into beautiful, sun lit motion. My paperwork gets done. My grocery list. My shower. My toilet bowl cleaning. My emails. I bend and flow with ease and all is well.

Walking each other home

My whole life seems to be about healing. Healing as in wholeness. Healing as in holiness. There must be a link to those words. To me, they mean the same thing. Being free of anything that distorts the  purest potential of I. All of us at some point have lost a connection to ourselves, our sense of freedom, joy, and peace. It could have been an abrupt and very traumatic event or it could have been slow, gradual, so that you hardly noticed at all - though one day you see you are not as happy as you used to be. You might not remember ever being really happy. Our life is somehow smaller. We may avoid situations or people. We may not be able to follow through on things we want to do. A disconnection from ourselves comes in many forms. Many symptoms. Illness. Accidents. Sadness. Poor self-esteem.

There is a way home. Home is peace inside yourself. A safe place. A place you want to hang out.
We are all just walking each other home.

Listen to the body. It talks all the time. Listen to the unanswered calls of the body. Learn to get in touch with the felt sense of your body. Listen to it breathe. On inhalation letting the breath flow deliciously inward. On exhalation let the breath fall out of the body. Just watch. Anything you notice is worthy of your attention. Watch and notice purely. Do not comment or try to figure anything out. Just be.

Enjoy the ride.

Some days it is so clear that I haven't had any new thoughts. It's been just the same old thoughts circulating around in the mind. Apparently we think up to 150,000 thoughts a day. You'd think that some of those would be new and fresh. Every day I have the same thoughts! What the heck.

However, I feel new and fresh today. Hmmmm. I think it's because I am having way less thoughts today. I've just woken up today and done what came next. Someone called to go for coffee before work so I quickly put clothes on and just went. How fun is that! Then coming home for lunch, I was hungry, so cooked and ate. Then to the home office to check emails. And oh so many today. They are pretty much done. Life just flows one moment into the other. I just keep going. Just keep doing what's next. It's all been orchestrated by me beforehand, in a sense, and it still feels fresh and new. But Lord help me if I grumble and resist the next step! I only have 5 minutes now to blow-dry my hair and brush my teeth, then off to work again. I feel like a snowball rolling downhill. I just get to enjoy the ride......yippee!

My brain doesn't function well after 9 pm.
I got home after 10 pm from work.......that means I can not think of one sane thing to write.

May stars twinkle in your heart!

Spring life.

I met these folks today at a friend's house as we made batches of soup for the freezer for another friend who is having a spring baby. Spring is such a wonderful time for babies. I love to be a part of a younger community of women.......to watch their babies grow........to watch their lives unfold. It is so magical to see the things that have changed but also to see the things that haven't changed. The joy of life with a newborn and kids all around. I miss those times. And I wish I had played more with my kids rather than worry about what they ate or what they were learning or even how the house needed cleaning.

Gluten free pizza base

This is a great pizza base though you have to be open to different handling - you might have to use a knife and fork to eat your pizza :)

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups black beans (I use one can)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp chili flakes
salt to taste

In a food processor, process all crust ingredients until mixture clumps together.
Lightly oil a pan with coconut oil. Spread mixture on pan to about 1/4 inch thick. I notice that if I use one big pan the middle tends to stay wet. Experiment. Use other flavourings too.

Top with choice of sauce (a homemade mixture of sundried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes is decadent).
Top with any ingredients you like. It works well with any veggies. Sprinkle on oregano and some cheese if you like.

Bake in a 300 F oven for 45 minutes. Let sit for a few minutes before cutiing.

Science anyone?

I think I should have studied science. But I didn't. It was more of a boy's and man's world when I was in high school. And then it just seemed too late in university. My favourite class in university was Universal History with Dr. Kenneth M. Dodd. I am a Dodd survivor. He was tough. He was good. He was scary. He was fair. I thought that his class was what university was all about. We had a reading list of 13 books (first year university). Some of the 13 had 2 volumes. Herodotus. Toynbee. Childe. Machiavelli. Big names. I learned to read books by skimming. Before that I had read every word of the books I read. I loved words and language. So skimming started because there was no way I could read all those books and do the other 4 classes too. I read the first chapter, then every first sentence of each paragraph, or thereabouts, and then the last chapter. And anything in between that seemed interesting or understandable. I was amazed at what I learned (besides skimming or speed reading).

I love overviews. I love big, long stories. The big picture. The nitty gritty doesn't appeal as much.

Today I was reading The Field by Lynne McTaggart and Fritjof Capra's The Hidden Connections. I flipped through and I checked the index and read big chunks of both. I learned that it's a magical universe. I learned there is way more than I can understand. I learned that science and spirituality are converging. They can both teach each other something. I learned that a long time ago, body and mind weren't separate concepts and weren't studied separately. Instead, it was body and soul that were studied. I learned that it is possible that I and you too, are way more powerful than we can even imagine.