The itty bity shitty committee will not rule my life

Judging me positively or negatively, puts me in a box.

Labeling me as bad or beautiful is a judgment that makes it harder for me to change in your eyes. Today practice your yoga by telling others what they did or said that enriched your life instead of how you have defined them.

A year of living your yoga by Jusith Hanson Lasater

I have elected not to travel this Summer and perhaps I'm paying the price or perhaps the universe just wants me to deal with some issues that have long sat on the shelf. It seems at every turn there is a challenge with lots of negative energy, viewpoints I don't value and people I will never embrace. lately, I have had more than my share of folks surround me with their negative vibrations. When trapped in a negative stream of energy it can be quite painful for me to engage fully in (life) chest openers, as I am repulsed by what surrounds me and simply want to shut down. I feel at this moment, in this small pocket in time, chest openers are exactly what I need to be doing. I need to open up to my own feelings of love and happiness and let other work out their miserable existence on their own. Absorbing others negative energy is toxic and detrimental both physically and emotionally.

I would like to give just a small piece of advice to a small group of people I have limited contact with this Summer. Hope your out there, here goes; One may be quite negative without having ever said a direct negative word to anyone. Its the crappy attitude, the complaints from A-Z, the never ending scowl or lack of civil affect, no eye contact and the gossip behind others backs. In reality your silent actions are not decent and the feelings you emit are toxic. I pray you win a billion dollars so that you go away and I never have to feel your presence again. In the meantime I will be content and say my gratitude each day that I only have a few more weeks of you in my life. I will continue to work on keeping a strong heart and cover myself in a protective cloth of white light. I thank you for the opportunity to point out how blessed I am with the lovely people in my personal and professional life. I hope you get your act together someday, if not for your sake then everyone else.

Namaste

My own private Idaho

When I was a child I used to go to the this beach.  I still feel much love for this beach, for me it was cypress trees on a sandy beach. The perfect place to just sit and contemplate anything or everything. When engaged in yoga, feelings can rise up in our bodies which are powerful and consuming. I think its best to move through the feelings, allowing them to surface and then release. It can be a similar experience when we find a pleasing and comfortable place to sit and relax. A safe place to feel and let go. Someplace personal and unique to quietly allow feelings to rise up in our body then release. I like to remain till I feel ready to move on. For me this is an important piece of the practice of living and retaining good mental health. There are many ways to maintain good mental health, this is just one exercise. I fully intend to find my own personal place for meditation and retreat as absolutely soon as I can manage. For now, I have been FULLY engaged in the process of home gentrification and simultaneous construction. I have family coming to stay this week, so I have spent the past three weeks engaged in house beautiful projects. The really great aspect of this is after the visit, the lions share of stuff I will have needed to do will be done, giving me time to find my cypress tree.

May you find yours as well,

Miss.S.

Care a little about somebody other than yourself

This past weekend was packed with lots of sun, outdoor time and socializing. It was a wonderful holiday weekend. I haven't been in the States for a national holiday in some time and many years since I celebrated the 4rth at home. It felt good to be festive and celebrate something uniquely American in the country instead of out. Sunday we took an excellent hike in the woods. The weather could not have been better and we were feeling quite jovial and expansive when we stumbled across a huge stockpile of used fireworks. In the middle of this fiasco was an empty liqueur bottle.

We just stood and stared. Is this 1976? WTF? Whoever decided to light off fireworks in these woods managed to get everything in, but couldn't figure a way to carry it out. It was ugly, stupid and a realization of how far we haven't come since the Keep America Beautiful commercials in the 70's. Uuh....

Happy Birthday America, God Bless and Good Luck.

Vitality Through Veggies

I have been reading This Crazy Vegan Life by Christina Pirello. I first discovered Christina through her cooking show on public television. Christina Cooks was on at four in the afternoon on weekdays. I would dash home and stare fascinated by what this woman was doing......suggesting. I would sit completely enthralled, but also totally overwhelmed. This was way more than I had ever ventured to do!   My introduction to a vegetarian lifestyle came when I moved into a non meat eating household and later through Neal Barnard's food for life. My housemates were all practicing at different levels, some were eating junk cereal all day and only one was cooking.  She relocated to San Francisco shortly after I moved in but by the time I moved out, vegetarianism had kind of stuck and I moved on to fuller cooking and a vegan approach. That's when I  discovered Food for Life, I cooked up a storm from that book. I have always enjoy the kitchen and I cook a great deal.  By the time I discovered Christina Cooks I was preparing all my meals from my own kitchen and felt I had seen and done it all, but she introduced new concepts and I realized I had never eaten so clean or consciously. Christina talked about sustainable living, buying organic and local, and living green. With time, my schedule became over crowded and my life unbalanced.  Eventually I lapsed back into red meat and other sundry.  As yoga grew into a larger part of my life, vegetarianism has ebbed back in. This time around things are very different.  It's not an all or nothing venture and I am no longer cooking for one. In order to make this work I need a balance and there lies the challenge . The past four days I have been cooking vast meals from her book. I have been unable to get past the first two days of recipes although I have cooked large meals every day for the past week! Unfortunately I do not have the time to shop and cook at this level every day. We are all feeling energetic and healthier and I fully intend to keep moving in this direction but at a realistic pace for my lifestyle.  I'll cook a bit, freeze a bit, store a bit and concentrate on dinner. I can't do it all, I can't even do half, but I can do something and that's enough for now.

Good health and happy cooking everyone!