Daily Words of the Buddha ~ July 04, 2014

sunset d nm
Yo ca mettaṃ bhāvayati
Appamāṇaṃ paṭissato
Tanū saṃyojanā honti,
Passato upadhikkhayaṃ.

For one who mindfully develops
Boundless loving-kindness
Seeing the destruction of clinging,
The fetters are worn away.


Itivuttaka 1.27

The Udāna and the Itivuttaka, trans. John D. Ireland

 

Lao Tzu ~ Two Kinds of Blessings

kina“There are two kinds of blessings. The first are worldly blessings, which are won by doing good deeds. These concern the mind, and thus are confined in time and space. The second is the integral blessing, which falls on those who achieve awareness of the Great Oneness. This awareness liberates you from the bondage of mind, time, and space to fly freely through the boundless harmony of the Tao. Similarly, there are two kinds of wisdom. The first is worldly wisdom, which is a conceptual understanding of your experiences. Because it follows after the events themselves, it necessarily inhibits your direct understanding of truth. The second kind, integral wisdom, involves a direct participation in every moment: the observer and the observed are dissolved in the light of pure awareness, and no mental concepts or attitudes are present to dim that light. The blessings and wisdom that accrue to those who practice the Integral Way and lead others to it are a billion times greater than all worldly blessings and wisdom combined.”

~ Lao Tzu

Lee Holden ~ Qi Gong Restores Your Life

qi-gong-430

An Ancient Technique That Helps Your Body Heal Faster,

Eliminates Fatigue And Feeds Your Energy

For An Entire Lifetime In Only Minutes A Day

For over 40 centuries, men and woman from the Far East practiced a self-healing method that was effortless, practical, and required very little time.

In fact, try this basic exercise below to see how incredibly easy it is. It takes less than five minutes to do.

Try this:

1.  Rub your palms vigorously until your hands feel warm (like you are creating a fire)

2.  Bring your hands down to your side and shake your lowers arms and wrists like an athlete would before an event. Shake for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

3.  Completely relax with your hands by your side and feel the energy circulating down your arms and into your fingertips.

Simple, easy, and effective.  Could you feel your Qi?

Without even breaking a sweat or changing into your workout clothes, you’ve already started to heal your body. When you do this exercise and others like it, this is what happens deep inside you:

Your life force energy circulates through your body, activating each cell. As you feel your life force energy, your mind connects to the present moment and you slip into total relaxation and calmness.

While all this happens you are actually meditating – it’s called Moving Meditation – with your mind and body.

As you become aware of your life force energy, it moves through your cells, travels through your nervous system and nourishes everything inside you. You will even feel the tingling and radiant sensations in your fingertips.

The Chinese Ancestors Called This Mysterious Life Force Energy… “Qi”
Qi is invisible. You cannot see it, but you feel its existence.

As It travels through your meridians—energy highways within your body. It beats with your heart, nourishes your muscles, and even gives rise to your consciousness.

The rest of the exercises are just as easy. The only “difficult” thing you’ll do is to relax and move slowly. No balancing on your head or standing on one foot.

Let your body move gracefully and fluidly – there’s no pressure on the joints – and your Qi flows and tones your vital organs. That’s how it revitalizes your body and builds your energy reserves.

Best of all, you don’t need any special equipment or place to practice. No Yoga mats, no exercise machines, no special safety equipment, and no fancy gym clothes necessary. You can do the slow exercise movements in any comfortable clothes and you don’t even have to sweat.

This is Qi Gong – “Qi” meaning energy and “Gong” meaning cultivation.

It’s easily the most cost-effective yet potent self-healing practice that exists today. Yet, so little is known about this breakthrough practice in the West. In order to appreciate the full potential of Qi Gong, I set out to study everything there is to know about this practice.

What you will discover will change everything you believe about alternative health and modern medicine.

Your biggest epiphany might be this — your Qi flows faster and deeper when your mind and body are relaxed.

It’s never about stretching the furthest, enduring the most pain, or performing every move to its minute perfection. In fact, the sole purpose of all the ancient practices is to circulate your Qi flow so your body can heal naturally.

 

Three Steps that Immediately Reduce Stress

Qi-GongSynchronizing your mind.
Synchronizing your body.
Synchronizing your breathing.

 When all 3 are aligned you get your body into it’s optimal state of flow — and THIS is where your natural healing abilities begin to kick in.

 

Daily Words of the Buddha ~ July 03, 2014

come to the waters
Kāyena saṃvaro sādhu; sādhu vācāya saṃvaro;
manasā saṃvaro sādhu. Sādhu sabbattha saṃvaro.
Sabbattha saṃvuto bhikkhu
sabbadukkhā pamuccati.

Good is restraint in the body; good is restraint in speech;
good is restraint in thought. Restraint everywhere is good.
The monk restrained in every way
is freed from all suffering.


Dhammapada 25.361

The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom,
translated from the Pali by Acharya Buddharakkhita

 

Lana Broadcasting on Achieve Radio with Ann Marie O’Dell

Photo on 2014-05-21 at 11.55

Catch me on Ann Marie O’Dell‘s Tarot Joy Radio Show TODAY, July 2nd, at 3pm PST/6pm EST on AchieveRadio.com … We’ll be taking calls, doing some readings and discussing the Journey as it relates to Aging and I’ll be sharing one of my meditations about our Powers of Choice. Join us … or if you miss us live, you can still catch the show here:   http://achieveradio.com/ann-marie

Discussion ~ “The Nature of Consciousness”, by Alan Watts

“To go out of your mind once a day is tremendously important, because by going out of your mind you come to your senses. And if you stay in your mind all of the time, you are over rational, in other words you are like a very rigid bridge which because it has no give; no craziness in it, is going to be blown down by the first hurricane.”  ~Alan Watts

 

In order to come to your senses, Alan Watts often said, you sometimes need to go out of your mind. Perhaps more than any other teacher in the West, this celebrated author, former Anglican priest, and self-described spiritual entertainer was responsible for igniting the passion of countless wisdom seekers to the spiritual and philosophical delights of Asia and India.

JUST FOR TODAY …

fly away
Spend some time with someone you look to as an elder.

As life-prolonging technologies continue to lengthen our stay on earth, we still are learning how to confront the challenges of longer lives. How do we preserve human dignity and joy as our bodies struggle with the inevitable decline of age?

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.”  ~ Mark Twain

DAILY CHABAD … On High Souls

blue heron takeoff
To one whose self is his body, death of the body is death of the self. But for one whose self is his love, awe and faith, there is no death, only a passing. From a state of confinement in the body, he makes the passage to liberation. He continues to work within this world, and even more so than before.

The Talmud says that Jacob, our father, never died. Moses, also, never died. Neither did Rabbi Judah the Prince. They were very high souls who were one with Truth in an ultimate bond—and since Truth can never die, neither could they.

Yes, in our eyes we see death. A body is buried in the ground, and we must mourn the loss. But this is only part of the falseness of our world. In the World of Truth, they are still here as before.

And the proof: We are still here. For if these high souls would not be with us in our world, all that we know would cease to exist.

Daily Words of the Buddha ~ July 02, 2014

3 owl facesCakkhumā,
visamānīva,
vijjamāne parakkame.
Paṇḍito jīvalokasmiṃ,
pāpāni parivajjaye.

A person with good eyes,
encountering a treacherous, uneven place,
would try hard to avoid it.
A wise person, in the world of life,
should avoid evil deeds.

Udāna 5.43

Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

 

Recipe ~ Spicey Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower549x305Makes 6 servings

  • Start to Finish: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 head cauliflower

1½ cups plain Greek yogurt

1 lime, zested and juiced

2 tablespoons chile powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400° and lightly grease a small baking sheet with vegetable oil. Set aside.

2. Trim the base of the cauliflower to remove any green leaves and the woody stem.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt with the lime zest and juice, chile powder, cumin, garlic powder, curry powder, salt and pepper.

4. Dunk the cauliflower into the bowl and use a brush or your hands to smear the marinade evenly over its surface. (Excess marinade can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days and used with meat, fish or other veggies.)

5. Place the cauliflower on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the surface is dry and lightly browned, 30 to 40 minutes. The marinade will make a crust on the surface of the cauliflower.

6. Let the cauliflower cool for 10 minutes before cutting it into wedges and serving alongside a big green salad.

Recipe ~ Blue Cheese & Walnut Stuffed Belgian Endive

endive

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
  • 4 tablespoons honey, divided
  • 2/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
  • 6 tablespoons orange juice
  • 32 Belgian endive leaves
  • 2/3 cup crumbled blue cheese, such as Roquefort cheese
  • 2 tablespoon minced chives

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a bowl mix together the walnuts, 2 tablespoons honey and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt.
  3. Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or aluminum foil.
  4. Pop the walnuts into the oven and allow to bake for 5 minutes, then stir and allow to continue to bake for another 5 minutes, for a total of 10 minutes, or until they are gold brown.
  5. While those are cooling combine your remaining 2 tablespoons of honey, balsamic vinegar, and orange juice in a small saucepan.
  6. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer.
  7. Allow this to cook until it has reduced down to 6 tablespoons.
  8. This will take from 7-10 minutes.
  9. Fill each endive leaf with 1 teaspoon each of the following: blue cheese, candied walnuts, dried cranberries.
  10. Arrange in a circular pattern on a tray.
  11. Now time for some abstract art fun; drizzle the reduced vinegar/honey/orange juice mixture over the endive leaves, and finish it with a sprinkling of chives and black pepper.

Recipe ~ Fourth of July “Mounds” Bars

moundsbar3

Ingredients:

(1) 7 oz bag sweetened shredded coconut
7 oz sweetened condensed milk
(1) 12 oz bag dark chocolate chips
Food Coloring

Directions:

1. Combine one 7 oz bag of sweetened shredded coconut with 7 oz of condensed milk. Mix well.

2. Separate your mixture into 3 different bowls. Put the same amount in each bowl and add red food coloring to one bowl and blue to the other. The white obviously stays as is. The blue will only need about 2 drops but the red will require more otherwise it will be pink. If you have food coloring gels these work well. Refrigerate all the mixtures for 1 hour.

3. Remove your bowls from the refrigerator and start preparing 2 inch mounds on a lined baking sheet. I think it’s best to use a Silpat but if you do not have a Silpat, use wax paper. I did one color at a time then washed my hands and moved on to the next color so the colors did not bleed together.

4. Using a damp paper towel, cover your bars and shape them with your hands. Refrigerate for another 2 hours.

5. Once your bars are completely cold you need to melt your dark chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave. Now there are two ways to melt your chocolate. If you melt your chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals (stirring in between) like I normally tell you to do, your chocolate will be more soft and malleable; meaning, if you leave these these candies out all day, the chocolate will start to melt a bit and it will get all over your hands. If you want your chocolate to be hard (like when you buy a box of candy) you will need to temper your chocolate. Once your chocolate is melted you will want to dip your bars into the melted chocolate and place back on the lined tray. This is totally messy and there is no other way to do it. Refrigerate for another 2 hours.

Tip:  If you want your bars to look smoother you can dip them again and do a second coating of chocolate and then refrigerate once again. The bars pictured here were double-dipped. Enjoy!

 

Follow The Magic Of Your Own Creation

we are one

This is a time of great learning for humanity. We are being confronted by our truths

There is no sidestepping the learning – we planned for these events to happen. Some events may bring great highs and some deep lows.

These events redirect you on your destiny path for you are meant to learn your power in this reality

Listen to your heart for it is the consciousness of divinity.

Ascension = love = change

I love you

We are one

 

 

On Connecting …

tree of life
A true master of life never leaves this world
—he transcends it, but he is still within it.

He is still there to assist those who are bonded with him with blessing and advice, just as before, and even more so.

Even those who did not know him in his corporeal lifetime can still create with him an essential bond.

The only difference is in us:
Now we must work harder to connect.