Similar Posts

  • | | |

    A Pond in the Woods and Some Dogs (and Vimarsha)

    ByElizabeth

    I’ve been told that the tantric yoga masters said everything is the emanating light of consciousness with a capital “C” (prakasha) and through certain esoteric practices we can come to know ourselves as reflecting back on (vimarsha) this exquisite light.  Then we can experience the sublimity of oneness.

    Intentional stillness makes reflections easier to witness.  And so we sit.  And we can reorient our whole view of the world and recognize the emanating light reflected in the play of patterns from our individual and relational embodied dances.  And sometimes a trio of dogs and a pond just make a great opportunity for a photo essay.

    pond 1b pond 1d pond 1e pond 1g pond 1i pond 1j pond 1k pond 1l

  • | |

    Spiced Rice and Sprouted Lentil Salad with Chiffonade of Leaf Lettuce

    ByElizabeth

    Sprout brown lentils for 2-3 days and use while just showing sprouts.

    Cook one or more types of whole grain rice (here a mixture of red and brown rice) (I like to use a rice cooker).

    Let rice cool.  Mix rice with lentils.

    Add some oil to keep the rice a good texture.  I used sesame oil.  You could use the oil recommended for your Ayurvedic type if you are familiar with the recommended oil for your type.  Though this does not really resemble traditional kitcheree, the basic/unprocessed elements of the dish –the mixture of rice and lentils and the spicing — are the same.

    Add a mix of spices.  Here, too, you could vary the spicing according to your dosha if that is something with which you have experience.  I used turmeric, ginger, clove, black pepper stirred into the salad mixture and then minced some green coriander seeds from the garden to sprinkle on top.  I think a squeeze of lemon, had I had it, would have added extra zest.

    Serve the salad on delicate, freshly picked greens–spinach and baby chard would be good, though I used lettuce because it was what needed most to be harvested.

    sprouted kitcheree salad

  • |

    Sthira-Cara (of the stationary and moving living beings)

    ByElizabeth

    A number of years ago, I attended a week-long workshop with Rod Stryker.  He invited us to meditate on absolute stillness — cara sthira — meditation.  Sitting comfortably, still the skin, the muscles, the bones.  Draw the attention to stillness.  The breath and heart will still move, but the concentration is on stillness rather than on any movement.  Rod Stryker discussed the next day the challenges of this meditation, especially for those who are intellectual, who enjoy being active in the mind.  I found it difficult at the time and even dreamed about the issues the meditation brought up for me.  Meditating on stillness can be very challenging in a way that meditating on a mantra or the breath would not necessarily be.

    I believe the origin of the meditation comes from the principle of sthira being  the absolute unmovable, the essence of being (not dissimilar to Kant’s unmoved mover).  We invoke pure stillness, pure potential out of which movement comes because that is part of our essence and a place where we can rest our spirit.  See, for example, the Srimadbhagavatam.

    I discovered absolute joy in this meditation a couple of years after I learned it.  I was suffering from a severe sinus infection and bronchitis simultaneously; I joked that I was fine as long as I didn’t breath through either my mouth or my nose.  In the midst of my suffering, I remembered the teaching.  For a few days I stayed in the meditation for hours at a time.  I found the place where I did not really need the breath.  Enough came to survive, but I forgot about wondering how to breath or finding a place for it or my struggles with it.  In the stillness, there was space and peace and supreme bliss.  Ever since then, I have chosen this form of meditation when I have a cold, a sinus infection, or other challenges with breathing.  Meditating on the breath, obviously, will not be soothing when breathing is a struggle.  But when even breathing is a struggle, peace can be found in complete stillness.

  • | | |

    Love Magic/Magic Love

    ByElizabeth

    image

    I looked at these words hanging together and thought I wasn’t quite certain what was intended to be said.  Consider:
    Read from top to bottom or try it out from left to right.
    Put in a comma or an exclamation point.
    Just an period or perhaps two.  Omit punctuation entirely.
    Think of all the meanings of both words and mix them around with various punctuation marks.
    What about a question mark (or two)?
    Then stop all that and just let meaning come to you.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.