Crown Chakra – Sahasrara

Sahasrara is the diamond white chakra located just above the crown of the head. It is our spiritual connection center. It is associated with the pineal gland which produces chemicals that act as neurotransmitters. The crown chakra regulates the neurological system. It is the home of inner wisdom and our connection with the divine.

The seed sound for Sahasrara is Hangsah (hong saw)

The color for Sahasrara is bright white and violet

Element – space

Candle for Sahasrara – white – representing the presence of the divine

Essential oils – Jasmine, Frankinsense

Chant – I am, I understand

Affirmation – I am guided by inner wisdom. The world is my teacher.

Washing the Dishes

At our first retreat, someone commented that they were at home doing something and they were surprised by receiving inspiration. I asked if they were washing dishes at the time and everyone laughed. But the truth is, one of the best ways to meditate and open yourself up to receiving wisdom is to do ordinary, everyday work. Chopping vegetables, vacuuming and for me – doing dishes – occupies your “monkey” mind allowing space for a calm, meditative state.

Set the intention before you begin that you will use the time open yourself up for guidance and wisdom and go about your work as usual. This also frees you from consciousness of time while meditating. When the work is done, so are you. Allow yourself simply to be. You may find that when you attach a higher meaning and purpose to a simple task, it becomes a more enjoyable experience.

More About Washing Dishes

While we are on the subject of dishes, I would like to share my method for saving water and space. First of all, I have a difficult relationship with my dishwasher. The plumbing isn’t quite right and until we can completely remodel, it’s better just to wash dishes by hand. It also uses much less water and produces clean dishes faster.

To do the best job possible saving water, I have borrowed from the Boy Scouts. For camping trips, they generally have one tub of hot, soapy water, one tub of cold/room temperature water with a few drops of bleach and one tub of tepid water. Each dish goes through in that order so that campers can be sure their mess kits are clean and sterile for the next use. I don’t use bleach, but I do keep three tubs at my sink. One holds hot, soapy water, one holds hot water with one cup of vinegar and one holds kitchen compost. Because I don’t fill the entire sink with soapy water, I am able to do the same number of dishes with much less water and because I rinse them in water with vinegar, they are clean and streak free. Having the compost bin in the sink is convenient for scraping dishes as well.

 

Honey for Colds

Remember hot toddies? Remember when the best cure for a cold or persistent cough was a little whiskey, some lemon juice and some honey dissolved in water? How much better that does that sound than commercial cough syrup?

Turns out, there is real science behind that formula. Honey has antibacterial, anti-microbial and anti-viral properties that work well with the antibacterial function of whiskey. Honey also coats the throat which soothes the pain of irritation. Lemon juice is acidic which microbes don’t like and it’s loaded with Vitamin C.  So for adults – slug one back when you are in the comfort of your own home.

For those who must drive and for children (but not babies*) a medicinal honey or syrup can help comfort a cough. There are a number of ways to make a special honey and varying opinions about their shelf life so let’s default to the most effective and safe.

Heating honey may kill some of its more powerful properties. I like to fill a mason jar with herbal material, then fill the jar with honey and let it sit in the sun for a day. This gives the herbs a chance to leach into the honey without overheating it. Strain the honey with a cheesecloth and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. To make it a syrup, make a 1:1 concentration with water, cook over low heat on a stove until it cooks down about a third.

If you have a dry cough and you don’t have a lawn service, I recommend looking around for Chickweed. It is a prostrate weed you may have poking through already and it is an excellent addition to herbal honey. You can also just eat it raw in salads. It is loaded with vitamins and an effective cough suppressant.

If you have a persistent wet cough, like bronchitis, look around for a weed called Cleavers. It is sticky, clings to other plants and has leaves that grow in whorls. Like Chickweed, it shows up in early spring, and makes a terrific addition to an herbal honey or works well as a decoction for a nasty cough.

Here are other herbs that fight colds:

Catnip

Fennel

Sage

Thyme

Mullein

Garlic

 

Be creative, see what flavor combinations are most tolerable for you and your family.

 

* Babies are at risk for infant botulism in honey that does not affect children or adults. Children less than a year old should never have honey.

Upcoming Retreat

I hope you can join me. I look forward to meeting you in beautiful North Georgia in January!

Cultivating Abundance

If you are ready to take a some time to relax and renew, I encourage you to visit my new sister website DivineTimeRetreats.com. This week we were fortunate to have a guest blogger at Divine Time Retreats, so I thought I would re-post it here.

Divine Time Retreats is pleased to welcome a guest blog post from Brian Leaf, author of Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi, a warm-hearted, humorous look at one person’s personal journey with yoga and meditation. Brian was able to heal his spirit and chronic colitis by learning to make a powerful mind/body connection. Brian doesn’t approach his story like a master on a mountain top, but as a devoted truth seeker. His very real struggles and triumphs are sure to resonate with all of us.

Cultivating Abundance

We’ve all experienced it. In our most pathetic, clingy, desperate hour of need, the Universe delivers … absolutely nothing.

It seems a sick joke, but, in fact, whatever force or God runs the show seems not to respond to disempowered displays of self-pity. She seems, instead, to respond generously to empowered non-attachment (which reminds me quite a bit of dating in my twenties – I always seemed to do best when I was already feeling attractive and confident.)

So why? Why does God (and dating) reward confidence? Why is it that when I am freaking out, feeling that I will just die if I don’t hear from my agent, that I hear only crickets? But that when I get to my cushion to meditate, and when I let go, releasing to faith, that I return to my inbox with a fresh book deal awaiting me?

Here’s the answer. This place where we live is a gymnasium where our souls do soul push-ups, and since self-pity does nothing to build these spiritual muscles, it is discouraged. It is our path to find our true selves while here on Earth. To drop into our hearts and souls. To experience that we, ourselves, are each part of God. Claiming the opposite, that we are helpless and alone, is incorrect and ineffective.

When we are lost in clinging and self-pity, we’re like toddlers tantruming for chewing gum. And God, like a loving parent, won’t give in to something that isn’t healthy or safe for us.

Nice idea, right? But how do you get confident and become grounded in the seat of your true self? The answer: meditation, of course. Meditation is the practice, over time, of switching from indentifying with our thoughts and transient emotional states, to identifying instead with our deeper selves. And when we are connected to our deeper selves, if even for only moments, we can see more clearly and choose the path that works out our Karma and brings us toward freedom.

When we get grounded, resting in the true seat of our selves, in our authentic nature, seeing clearly and choosing that path of vitality and freedom, energy flows unbidden, the world falls at our feet, and God unlocks the arc.

Brian Leaf, M.A. is the author of Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi. He draws upon twenty-one years of intensive study, practice, and teaching of yoga, meditation, and holistic health. Visit him online at http://www.Misadventures-of-a-Yogi.com.

Based on the new book Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi ©2012 by Brian Leaf.  Published with permission of New World Library http://www.newworldlibrary.com

Extolling the Virtue of Garlic

Despite its smelly reputation my family always operates under the principle that if some garlic is good, lots will be better. That philosophy could not be more true during cold and flu season. Garlic has antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties that prop up your immune system and help fight off illness.  In addition, some studies have shown that garlic can also help prevent cancer, particularly stomach and colo-rectal cancers. It is even credited with reducing cholesterol in the blood stream and reducing plaque build-up in arteries.

As if all that weren’t enough, garlic is also loaded with vitamin C and can be used topically as an antiseptic. So, carry some breath mints if you need them, but don’t miss out your fill of this fragrant allium.

There are several ways, in addition to marinara sauce, to use garlic to treat a cold:

Garlic Honey

Crush two heads of garlic and leave out for 15 minutes. Put in a pint jar and cover with honey. Leave overnight. Take 1 tsp. as needed.

Garlic Tea

• 1 head peeled garlic, crushed
• 1 qt. water

Simmer garlic in saucepan until soft, about 20 minutes. Mash garlic in broth with a fork and then strain. Gargle to treat a sore throat, or drink 1/2 c. every couple of hours for 1-2 days at the onset of a cold.

 

Garlic Syrup

• 4 tbsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Allow garlic tea to steep overnight. Strain and reheat until just warm, add honey and vinegar but do not allow to boil. Take 1 or 2 tbsp. for adults, 1 tsp. for children every hour or so for 2 days. After that, refrigerate for up to a week or use it to baste chicken.

 

 

 

Crystallized Ginger

Everyone I know lately seems to have stomach issues. I guess it’s getting to be that time of year again. Flu season is officially started and upset tummies are easy to find. So I thought this week’s medicine should be crystallized ginger. If you’ve never had it before, it tastes sweet but packs a wallop.  Eating crystallized ginger is said to relieve nausea,  calm upset stomach and even quiet motion sickness. You can sometimes find it in stores, but honestly it is so easy to make why bother?  Besides, it also makes your home smell like a gingerbread house. If you are like me, you probably buy too much ginger when you buy it. Most recipes call for a thumb’s worth and you get an enormous chunk. This is a great way to put that chunk to good use.

1 1/2 cups fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin

Powdered sugar equal in weight to the ginger

1 – 2 cups water

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add ginger and return to boil, adding water as necessary to fully cover ginger.  Mostly cover with a lid and allow to simmer for 1 hour.Drain. While it’s cooking, take a deep baking pan and sprinkle it with sugar. Set aside. Returning to the ginger, remove from the pan and weigh it. Return to saucepan with an equal weight of sugar and add a little bit of water, about 2 tbsp. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon – until ginger becomes transparent. Reduce heat and keep stirring. When it starts to clump together in the middle, it’s crystallized. Roll the ginger pieces in the sprinkled sugar. Separate each piece and store in a sterilized jar. Keeps for 3 – 6 months. (Recipe from Grow Your Own Drugs by James Wong).

Salt Grease Away

Did  you know?

You can use simple table salt to soak up grease.  Sprinkle it greasy pots or pans or over a greasy cooked-on mess in the oven. Allow it to sit and then just wipe it away. The salt will soak up the grease.

Happy Tummy Honey

This is the second year that I’ve made herbal honey for various discomforts. I consider this more of an art than a science and I am careful to use common sense precautions. I didn’t use exact measurements, but I don’t overdo either. Happy Tummy Honey is intended to relieve upset stomach and intestinal discomfort.

 

Fill a pint mason jar with equal amounts of the following:

Raw ginger

Bee balm leaves and flowers

Peppermint leaves and stems

No more than 2 tablespoons wormwood leaves, if desired

Fill jar with raw, organic honey – locally grown if possible.  Seal jar and put outside in a sunny location for several hours. Strain honey through cheesecloth and store in a cool, dry place. Should keep for 3-6 months. If it looks or smells funky, don’t use it. Use as needed one tablespoon at a time as needed.

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In daily life we see people around us who are happier than we are, people who are less happy. Some may be doing praiseworthy things and others causing problems. Whatever may be our usual attitude toward such people and their actions, if we can be pleased with others who are happier than ourselves, compassionate toward those who are unhappy, joyful with those doing praiseworthy things, and remain undisturbed by the errors of others, our minds will be very tranquil.

Food for thought. Thank you Meg Cabot

 

 

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