holidays

hey so i am in st. louis... today it is in the 60 and raining... i am ill...

so it is interesting to try to maintain health when everyone is sick around you... and it is interesting to decide what of your routine is important and what can fall away... i fear that too much fell away... and that is one reason i am feeling this way... but it is a good question in general

life in a society is full of compromises... which ones are healthy which are not?

i think it is a process of trial and error... for instance, the next time i travel, i am goin to bring more of the things that are staples to my morning routine... my spices and herbs... this time i brought my herbs but not my spices... since food is the fastest way to fall or excell, i will consentrate my efforts on food... this time i consentrated on herbs and practice... this is a mistake; because although those are important, herbs are maintainers whereas food in the big important thing...

today i made sweet potatoe and taro dish with risotto rice and coconut sauce... yummy... i am looking forward to eating dinner... and i am feeling a lot better than yesterday...

life is a funny thing... in general... there is a major distinction between when a person is being selfish and when a person is doing what is best for themself. when a person is doind what is right for themself it is a giving thing... because they are present for the other people... when people are being selfish they are not present for those around them... they cannot see beyond themself...

this is a thing to consider when lookingat your own practice...

add life to your years.... rather than years to your life

good morning

so this morning marks the last week of the semester... and a week before i return to st. louis...

i have to say that i really started feeling the holiday bug and I am really looking forward to seeing everyone... especially, i hope i don't hurt anyone's feelings... but especially my little claire...

there is a gentle snow coming down and it is quite a sight to behold...

i would like to wish every one warm wished and happiness...

sanskrit exam today

finals are here...

this is my sanskrit final verse...

i don't have a sanskrit font, so here is the transliteration with english:

mano vie gaganakaram
mano vie sarvatomukham
mano, teetam
manaha sarvam
na
manaha paramaathataha

Truly the mind is like space; it seems to face in all directions, it seems to transcend everything, it seems to be everything; but in reality the mind does not exist.

and this is a quote that i love:
"to sit with a nice girl for two hours feels like a minute; but to sit on a hot stove for one minute feels like two hours. That's relativity.' albert einstein

I've been away...

Wow... I have to begin by saying that the time since mid terms has flown by... between thanksgiving and finals... i am swamped...

i thought i might let people know what is going on in the real life a little bit.

I went to Tuscon to see my very good friend, Candace... and it was really nice to be there and make jewelry with her son, Preston... some of you received a picture... We visited the san xavier mission... very nice, very relaxing... and what a drive... it was some of the most extraordinary scenery ever changing... very highly recommended.

I have my first show! jewlery show a week from saturday... i am hoping that is goes well and that i can make a lot of stuff by then... I am also communicating with people down here who are interested in the work for spring... :) yippee!

My sanskrit final is monday... yikes
and the big finals are a week from tuesday and a week from wednesday.

wish me luck...

i will be in st. louis and washington DC over the holidays. and i CANT WAIT TO SEE CLAIRE... and of course every one that i am able to see.

I think if i were to summerize how i feel and what i am learning... it would be this...

Be aware of as much as you can... When you hear a song, how does it feel in your body? Does you heart rate change, does your breathing change. When you eat, how does it taste, what does it do in your body, how do you feel afterward? When you are with people, friends, family, work associates, how do they resonate within you, how do you feel? How do you feel after they leave? Does you heart rate change, your breathing. We have a choice what our life looks like and how it affects us. Be Aware... and make a choice in perception or company or food or movies. Purposely fill you life with the things that you want in your life.

kant leave out kapha

kapha dosha

kapha gets a bad wrap in our culture... because it is the structure... large bones, a little extra weight, stubborn, holding and sedentary...

but kapha dosha is self less love, compassion, and forgiveness... we all need our kapha in good balance to be healthy and happy...

where do we see kapha in the body?

all of the secretions of the body are kapha
the white matter of the brain
synovial fluid
fluids
kapha is in your stomach so that the hydrochloric acid of pitta doesn't give an ulcer
kapha is in your heart and your brain
kapha is the part of digestion that is saliva
kapha is sweetness

love your kapha but keep it balanced...

so the midterms

well... i am an A student, but the real kicker is that i did not miss a single question on the big ayurveda final...

i was an easy test... but comprehensive...

ciaociao

oh, yeah

IT S MIDTERMS THIS WEEK

i am pitta hear me roar

okay so pitta dosha

fire, digestion, intellect, understanding, perception, sight...

pitta dosha is transformation

any transformation in the consciousness, the mind, the body is governed by pitta dosha.

it is easy to look at this and say power, stregnth, aggression, but something that is not so apparent in the physiology... delicacy

pitta people are the most delicate. they are very fast with the mind and will let the body fall because they believe themselves invincible... they are very self conscious and beat themselves up for their faults... but will try to hide their insecurities from you...

pitta is the mind heart connection in all of us... and the primary function is to transform things into essence... food becomes nutrition, thoughts become experience, love becomes vast

pitta dosha... keep it balanced

a word about heavy metals

recently there is a lot of talk about heavy metals in ayurvedic medicine.... While I am happy to talk about this with anyone who is interested, I will say a short thing now...

much, very much ,,,, the vast majority of heavy metals in medicine is due to human pollution...

it is really important to know the organic source of the medicine. pesticides and fertilizers are bad bad bad to ingest.... many places, either have no regulate or ignore regulation regarding industrial dumping in rivers. These rivers are feeding the fields and we are eating the fruits of those fields...

This of course extends to food...

so... buy organic! and make sure you are talking to someone who is qualified to give you answers... whether it is food or herbs or water, it is your health... and that i s important

thoughts about the vata dosha

all this week i have been studying and thinking of vata dosha... most reading this are not going to know what i mean... but it is the movement of the body... in a nutshell...

anyway... movement of course includes the ability for the digestion to carry out its processes to elimination... and along the way, i t encounters many organs and tissues and what not...

so, many causes for this to go out of balance include, dry, cold weather, old age, lots of cold and raw foods, excessive jogging and excessive activity, stifled creativity, stifled love, and fear... expressions of the imbalance include lower back pain, sign of low functioning kidney, low functioning liver, slow digestion, fear, anxiety and nervousness to name a few...

I can say that I do have that kidney pain... and sluggish digestion...

Now, I am feeling free to create and I seem to love being alive... so along with my daily routine and good food, I think I am turning my digestion around...

I think it is so amazing the things that belong together... and in class listening to the processes from an ayurvedic point of view, is logical and beautiful... and i have to admit that in my western anatomy and physiology class, i am disecting the information down further to its descriptions as understood in ayurveda... and i started getting a's instead of b's :)

a dream

lately i have had some really funny and interesting dreams:

hey boys... last night i watched a rabbit take the squirrel cage into his mouth and carry it to your basement... he had a way in and took the cage with him!!

monday morning

i spent the morning in the apartment... a long morning routine... i actually took all of my yoga time... i admit I haven't done this is quite a long time... certain things were prohibiting my mind to let me.

then i painted in sanskrit until it was time to walk to here... the internet... and i can't tell you, dear reader, how beautiful the morning is... and how many birds there are on my street

two weeks down

well... my first real week of classes is ended... and i guess anyone reading should know that i made the right choice.

although i do miss many things sometimes... and i wear my claire bracelet daily... i am meeting new people... i have many friends and this program is brilliant.... the state itself is wonderful.

the first major week of school was exhausting and I mean there is so much work and so much to learn...

so here is what came out of it...

i have a great daily routine that I am learning more about every day... The philosophies at the very beginning of Ayurveda are exquisite and find their way into every day thought and observation and conversation... I am reading sutras in sanskrit ( slowly sounding things out of course) and writing... I have made many paintings inspired by this language... yesterday, a friend and i went to santa fe... there is an incredible organic market... we also walked the streets. we found a pretty good mexican place... The chilies are being harvested and the pinons are ripe. my yoga practice is finding its form ... and i aced my first test.

four of us are forming a thursday study group at one students house... there is a hot tub and a heated pool... study study study :)

and i am getting involved with some other students in a knitting group.

there are four or five of us who made jewelry... and we are all interested in different aspects of it...

i bike in the mornings and or walk in the mountains...

this weekend, i think my big trip might be to bike down the rio grande to the botanical gardens and the zoo... and return north... apparently there are all sorts of unusual animals in peoples yards and farms... like bison and llamas...

i am still looking for work, however, one student is going to hire me to organize her books this week... and i interviewed in one place and i have an interview in another.

it is hard to find work when you are in school or studying for 50 something hours a week... :P

well... that is an update!!

any question... email me... i dont get to the internet too often... but i do eventually!!

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

JUST MOVED

I just moved to Albuquerque NM this week... I started school... My mom and I decorated the apartment... went hiking... and i can now read sanskrit...

I am going to begin by putting a foto collage.... below: