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    Flu Shot

    ByElizabeth

    I woke up woozy and sore this morning and went back to sleep for about 45 minutes after I was done with my morning practice. Although it is atypical for me to need more sleep after I have practiced, I knew that I was not sick. I was just experiencing side effects from the flu shot.

    I have only gotten the flu shot once before. The side effects felt like I had the flu (albeit a mild case), and I got the flu any way that year. As I haven’t gotten the flu in the past several years, I have not gotten the shot in subsequent years. (Note: The vaccine has been very effective 17 of the past 25 years, and not particularly effective for three of the other years. It was suggested to me that I should not continue basing my decision on having, by coincidence, only gotten the shot during one of the ineffective years–2003-2005).

    I was strongly advised to get the flu shot this year as a precaution for the trip to India. The plane travel, regardless of how much healthy living I do otherwise, will both tax my immune system and put me in contact with a host of viruses, etc. Also, and perhaps more important, I know I will be visiting loved ones in the hospital this flu season. Going through a little discomfort now is worth it to minimize the risk to those I will be visiting.

    Have you gotten your flu shot?

    Below: Workers line up to get the flu shot at the Health Unit.

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

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    Walking to Work

    ByElizabeth

    Whatever the season, I notice the beauty on my walk to work. I see what remains the same and what changes. I invite the sweetness I feel arising spontaneously from my daily walks though the neighborhood, which, familiar as they are, still feel like vision quests, to come into how I experience the rest of my encounters with the world.

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

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    About Money and Leisure and the Spiritual Quest (and the 99 percent)

    ByElizabeth

    Spiritual pursuit is, in a great sense, a luxury. Without enough time and money for leisure, when and how would we explore spirit? But where else would we find solace if not in spirit when we are suffering from deprivation?

    This question becomes even more pointed when we consider it in terms of the curatorial note (Rubin Museum) below. Those who can afford to commission art to further their own spiritual ideals (including prayers for wealth and family) may not be the one percent, but most surely are the ten percent, or any money would all be for food and shelter at the survival level. I would certainly rather see money spent on making art than war, but what about food, education, and shelter for more in society in a way that nourishes the environment? Such a complicated web of questions about individual and collective desire and responsibility in our relationship to each other and the earth past and present when we think of having wealth sufficiently focused to allow individuals to use it to seek religious boons for themselves in the material world.

    I say this as one who loves and makes art and engages in spiritual exploration with vacation time and budget, who regularly wonders if that is really for the good of others and not just another way of enjoying what life has to offer the fortunate.

    What do you think?

    Photo is of exhibit notes at the Rubin Museum in NYC.

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

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    On My Way to New Jersey

    ByElizabeth

    I was not able to attend the mid-week intensive in New Jersey with John Friend. It was hard enough to make room in my schedule for the weekend workshop.

    I can, though, be with my teacher and friends not just in spirit, but in intention. Knowing that the focus of the intensive was sadhana (practice), I selected The Philosophy of Sadhana to read on my way to the weekend, so that when I arrive I can be more in alignment mentally with those who already have been immersed this week in deep study of what sadhana means for ourselves and in community. Choosing to study in a way that connects us with our friends on the path, even when we cannot physically be present with them is, of course, one of the ways we support relationship in sadhana.

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

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    Health Care Crisis in Progress

    ByElizabeth

    At “Taste of DC” here come (not in any particular order):

    1.  Respiratory diseases from air pollution resulting from cooking methods, factory farmed meat, manufacture of packaging, and food transportation.

    2.  Antibiotic resistance from factory farmed meat.

    3.  Diabetes from refined sugar and carbohydrates.

    4.  Cancer from food additives, food cooking methods, manufacture of plastic food packaging, and air pollution.

    5.  Heart disease from fatty and high cholesterol foods.

    5.  Foot, ankle, knee, and back problems from ill-fitting high heels with a narrow toe box.

    6.  Tooth decay from refined sugars and carbohydrates and later gum disease and heart conditions from poor dental hygiene.

    6.  Waterborne diseases from air and water pollution secondary to food manufacturing and packaging and attendant waste and unnecessary medication, surgeries, and other medical treatments for illnesses resulting from food and clothing choices.

    And don’t forget lost productivity for sick time.  I do not think anyone needs to be rigidly any kind of diet all the time (not raw, not Ayurvedic, not vegetarian, not vegan, not local, not slow), but wouldn’t it be nicer to eat well most of the time (and if you have even the most modest of kitchens, healthy meals are in fact cheaper than packaged junk food–assuming one knows how to cook, which I know is a big assumption), wear comfortable clothing, and have more time, strength and money  for creative and loving pursuits?

     

     

     

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    How to Wear a Sari

    ByElizabeth

    I just got an email telling us things I need to know about wearing a sari and related dress and grooming items. Today, I saw a demo on the bus:

    Shoulders covered–check
    Chest covered–check
    Ankles covered–check
    Hair pulled back and kept secure with bobbie pins–check
    Gold necklance–check
    Gold bangles–check
    Handbag tucked into sari–there could be another bag under there, but this is DC, so it may not matter.

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