Great Gary Snyder Quote (and Sadhana)

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My friend Dan just posted on his blog a great Gary Snyder quote on the need to do maintenance (of the self) in order to be most creative.  The idea that we need to maintain our tools and toolbox, as it were, in order to be most creative, is exactly what we are taught about the tantric yoga sadhana  — practice.  With our yoga practice, diet, lifestyle, work, consumption, participation in community, we seek to live progressively more in alignment with the undulating fabric of space, time, and apparent world so that we have maximum well-being best to serve ourselves and others with delight. In our sadhana, we include both study and experience (experience includes meditation, asana, and pranayama).  As both John Friend and Paul Muller-Ortega teach, we engage in the practices and studies to learn with ever expanding insight how to see and experience the highest first and live from that place.  Living and practicing with such an intention is, I think, the maintenance done so we can live out all of our lives as a reverential and creative act.

Dan–I look forward to reading the sermon.

Guacapacho — or is it Gazpamole?

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Puree in a blender or food processor:

peeled cucumber (seeded if necessary; use peels to garnish drinks if peels aren’t bitter)

tomatoes of any mix of colors:

assorted garden herbs and greens (based on taste and availability);

a sweet pepper of any color or variety (and a jalapeno or other hot pepper to taste)

a little minced sweet onion, white of scallion and a hint of garlic if desired (even if you are a garlic junky be gentle with the garlic lest it overwhelm the subtlety of the other flavors)

avocado

chilled vegetable stock or water

a little fresh lime or lemon juice (the acid in the juice helps keep the avocado from discoloring when the soup is chilling; a splash of white wine would also serve)

 

Chill the soup for 1-2 hours; do not let sit longer; garnish with chopped herbs–chive flowers are nice

 

More Things to Like About Extreme Heat

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1. A fine appreciation for anything that provides shade–even a highway.
2. The most outrageous of outfits is perfectly acceptable as long as it simultaneously is cool and provides protection from the sun.
3. Homemade popsicles.
Last batch–creamy cantelope-orange (pureed cantelope, orange juice concentrate, unsweetened soy milk, no fat greek yogurt); current batch–grape lemonade (whole red and green grapes, juice of fresh lemon, infusion of fresh stevia (could be replaced with water and a little sweetener of your choice); upcoming–minty watermelon lime (watermelon; fresh spearmint leaves; fresh lime juice; sweeten to taste).

Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Found Exhortation (Biblical, Up the Street from the White House)

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Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Angel Clouds

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Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Cat’s Paw

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This morning I was deep into my regular meditation when I felt the cat (whom I had not known was next to me) swat my shoulder.  He has been wanting much attention for the past couple of days, but he has never actually pawed me  the way some dogs do to get a petting.  I went back into my meditative space and then a couple of minutes later noticed my shoulder was itching.  Sully had tried to get a mosquito that was biting me.  Good kitty.

Waste Not, Want Not

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As the child of Depression era parents, I was taught to use every bit of the food that we bought.   I was an impoverished scholarship student for the first eight years I lived on my own.  I also started paying attention to environmental issues early on; in high school, I worked to bring awareness of energy and water consumption and recycling in connection with the earliest Earth Days.  Having gotten into the habit of being resourceful and creative with food early on, I never got out of the habit–though many of my law school and better off friends thought I was weird or cheap.

With the recession continuing (and only likely to deepen dreadfully for my lifetime given the tenor of the debt negotiations) and thankfully growing interest in being kinder to our environment, it is becoming fashionable to be more mindful of waste of any kind.  Here is a great article on how to savor more of your food and diminish your trash output (which, by the way, also lowers your carbon footprint.)

Miss Marple (and Maya?)

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Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Under My Desk at the Office

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There are three important things going on under my desk:
(1) my feet are planted firmly on the floor with the inner edges of my feet parallel. This is the foundation of a good, comfortably upright posture where my low back, shoulders, and neck are in alignment and not overworking; my inner organs are in the right place for optimal functioning; and my lungs and diaphragm are situated for full, easy breathing, which helps me be healthier and more alert.
(2) the only shoes for the day have flexible, supportive soles and leave my toes free to work–whether I am walking or sitting. I do not change into narrow-toed and/or high-heeled shoes to look “professional” or fashionable. I think if we try hard enough, we could make shoes that are good for us be in style. Think about how much we would reduce health care spending and lost work time (for foot, knee, and back surgeries and treatments), if we all wore shoes that fit and did not alter our posture in an unhealthy way. Eventually, foot binding when out of fashion in China, but we still require women (mostly) to harm themselves with their footwear to fit in.
(3) I have two different-sized rubber balls to do foot exercises. Feels great, helps me stay grounded, and is a nice way to take a break.

Come to one of my yoga classes to get tips on great exercises for the feet you can do at your desk or just about any where.

Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Found Exhortation (Seasonal)

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Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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