it's my party!!

today i am 33... and i am happy...



it is a funny thing you know, to have a birthday and realize that you are older and i guess most people i know are a little shy about becoming older... women also dont so much want to admit how old they are... but i have to say... although i did not put much stock in another birthday, this one is almost a testament to my practice, my choices and my life...

i am a practitioner of ayurveda, meditation, pranayama and thoughtful living... and it is this attention and awareness that brought a 33 year old woman into a position where most people think i am a lot younger than i am, even though my hair is grey. this 33 year old woman is healthier, happier, and more conscous in life and creativity and lerning than i ever was when i was younger... and i believe this to be due to food and lifestyle...

so this old young late sits writing to you from a tea house listening to jazz and observing all that this existence is , as far as i am able... and i write to you with a bliss in my heart... in my cells... and i hope for all who read this to take one hour out of thier day to do and be totally aware of what they are doing... no guilt, no judgement no pride... just do each thing with total awareness... no multitasking... if you eat, eat. if you smoke a cigarette, don't read and listen and drive at the same time, just smoke. if you notice the bird, observe it... be with the notification... no judgement, no guilt, no pride...

hey! i heard that gasp... that's right, i am not advocating smoking, i am simply asking you to really look at what you are doing and be with it... eventually you can ask yourself these actions are supportive of you happiness...

it's my birthday and i feel so good... i hope you can give this gift to yourelf i love you

the day before...

it's funny what happens when you stoop and sit and listen to the birds...

i have been looking at new things to learn and continuing to expand my education and then i am sitting somewhere and i listen to the birds... it is definitely spring time here and the birds are playful and frolicking... and i received an email...

ellie wrote and said... "One more thought; give your pitta minds a break! Take a walk, dance, breath fresh air, roll around in the greening grass, climb a tree!"

i think she is right... and so today i have walked around and thought about all the people i love... i spoke with one or two... and now i am enjoying a cup of chai and writing to you... so here is a little toast to rolling around in the grass!!

diagnosis... critical eye

you can see the organs of your body in the iris of your eyes... this week i have spent looking into the irises of others and reading their organs, their family histories of alcoholism, diabetes... looking at history of bronchitis... lower back pain... it is amazing... on the tongue i can see how the persons GI tract is working... how the nutrition of organs is affected... in the nails... i can assess even other things...

but in the eyes... look into someone's eyes for a long time... and you see them... native peoples believe that you can see a person's soul if you look into their eyes which is why when you meet a native person you look into their third eye point and not into their eyes.

there is a lot of energy in the eyes... and it is amazing to learn to see them in their eyes allowing you educate them on how to proceed in their path...

next week, pulse diagnosis... 7 layers of the pulse... another tool used to assess the organs of the body and its imbalances

life is an amazing thing

a beautiful thing

and it is in looking into life and experiencing moment to moment awareness that we are alive... this is Ayurveda

अत्युत्तम

So... i am officially over the halfway point for this level at school... I am admitting that I just might be prone to burning the candle at both ends... and in so doing I realized that I might be able to calm that down a bit.

Today the snow fell again... now, in the midwest this is not a noteworthy event, however, in the southwest, it is. when i look east, the mountains are blue and sprayed with white. the white full clouds nestle sitting in the mountains jagged ruts... glancing west... the desert shows golden with paintbrush strokes of light...

we are currently engrossed in learning about disease process and diagnosis...

it is extraordinary and I just hope sometimes, that i have the capacity to implement this logical, spiritual, and elegant science.

midterms are over

so i wanted to come on here... and let you know that midterms went through nicely and i have worked a lot today...

i've taken to driving around... and i am still quite surprised sometimes at the amazing landscape this place has... it is so beautiful and the sunsets are never a disappointment... if there is a disappointment, it is that i didnt see it...

i took some photos... i will post them soon...

last night there was a party!

okay... so yes it was a party last night... but probably not quite what most of you out there would expect... no drinking, dancing, body flying throughwindows and onto tables... the allumni and current students of the ayurvedic institute meet last night for puja with dr. lad who then spoke, conversation regarding law and current bills regarding the work of ayurvedic practitioners and then a discussion regarding what we want to do in the future... and it was AWESOME... i really thought about all of the great possibilities this wealth of individuals have here and what an impact we can have on our selves and our world...

so... there was intense brainstorming and networking... and a lot of light and joy at the possibilities the future holds for ayurveda and her practitioners.

i just dont know

conversation... peace... nonviolence... how does this end???
what can be done


"UNICEF: 300 Children Killed in Gaza
By VOA News
14 January 2009

An explosion is seen where the Israeli military is bombing an area around alleged smuggling tunnels in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 14 Jan 2009
The head of the United Nations children's agency says 300 children have been killed during Israel's campaign in the Gaza Strip.

UNICEF director, Ann Venemen, says more than 1,500 other children have been wounded, casualties she calls "tragic" and "unacceptable."

Separately, Palestinian medics say more than 1,000 people have been killed during the 19-day offensive.

Israel has tightly controlled access to the Palestinian territory, so the numbers cannot be independently verified. But U.N. officials have said previous estimates have been generally credible. Thirteen Israelis have died in the conflict.

In Jerusalem Wednesday, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross said the situation in Gaza is shocking. Jakob Kellengerger visited the densely-populated territory Tuesday, as well as the Israeli town of Sderot, which has been repeatedly hit by Hamas rockets. He called on both sides to differentiate between military targets and civilians.

Israeli ground forces exchanged heavy fire with Hamas militants in Gaza City Wednesday, while Hamas fired several rockets into southern Israel.

There were no reports of injuries on the Israeli side. Israel says it will not end its campaign until the attacks stop.

A reporter for VOA in Gaza says aircraft bombed a cemetery and the central park today in the Palestinian territory's largest city.

Police say three rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel today landed outside the town of Kiryat Shmona. There were no reports of casualties, and there has been no claim of responsibility.

Officials say Israel fired shells into Lebanon in response.

The incident follows a similar rocket attack last Thursday, blamed on small Palestinian militant groups in Lebanon.

Israel said today that an Iranian ship carrying 2,000 tons of aid to Gaza was turned back Tuesday because it violated a general maritime blockade of the territory, not because of the ships point of origin.

Iran, which does not recognize Israel, has condemned its offensive in Gaza.

And international activists left Cyprus Wednesday in another bid to bring aid to the territory. An attempt earlier this week was canceled because of technical problems on board. Last month, another effort ended when a ship with the Free Gaza group collided with an Israeli naval vessel."