Peaceful Daily Blog

What I learned from fire trucks.

“Mommy, Mommy, LOOK! LOOK!  There is a fire truck!”  This little bowl hair cut boy screamed.  I thought he might wet his pants with excitement.  About four years old, he tucked his hands between his thighs  and his face turned red as he jumped up and down.  Again, “Look, Mommy a fire truck!”

 

“Wow, bud.  Cool.”  His Mom calmly said as she looked for her daughter to be released from dance class.

 

Over and over he squealed about the sleek cherry vehicle.  Eyes peeled while pleading with his mother to see it too.

 

She looked.  She acknowledged.  She returned her gaze back to the dance class door. She saw it, but didn't see it.

 

When did we stop getting excited over fire trucks? When did they become so mundane? Did it happen when we were five?  Were we twelve?

 

Unless one works at a fire house, the average person does not get to see this rescue machine everyday.

 

I want to get excited about fire trucks again.  For that matter, I want to get excited about lollipops that are as big as my head and trees that are the perfect shape for climbing.  I want to squeal over flocks of birds flying over head and the tickle in my tummy from swinging high on a swing.

 

Thanks to the little excited man.

 

Namaste

Krissy

The Theory of Relative Flexibility

Anyone can tell you that I am no Einstein, but I have my own humble theory here about one’s flexibility…

 

During a recent visit to an acupuncturist, I was describing a mild pain that I felt in my sciatic nerve; it seemed to be the result of lying on my stomach and having my legs raised for a significant amount of time, supported by a bolster. I did this a few times and each time I felt the pain. The doctor conferred with her supervising physician on the matter. When the supervisor suggested that the problem was tight hamstrings, my provider responded, “Oh no, it can’t be—he’s a yoga teacher!”

 

If only that were true!

 

I have incredibly tight hamstrings, like most males. Hip flexors, too, but that’s another discussion entirely. Since I began practicing yoga nearly 15 years ago, I have made incredible progress in lengthening my hamstrings; that doesn’t mean, however, that I can reach my chin to my shins in a forward extension. When I first began practicing, I had been a baseball player for some 12 years, a distance runner and worked out with weights. My body was pretty inelastic: in a standing forward fold, my fingertips were far from the floor. Gradually-with much sweat and toil-I began to loosen up in the hamstrings. I can now easily touch the floor and can do a lot of other stretches that were not possible years ago. That is not to say that I don’t FEEL it! Sure I can stretch further, but I do feel soreness after a sequence of strong forward extensions and standing poses; that is the way my body is put together.

 

Important point: our bodies are unique to us. We have some areas of strength and some of weakness; parts of our bodies are flexible while others are stiff. The practice of yogasana will help to strengthen what is weak and to stretch what is tight, but those areas will be challenging for us our whole lives! What we can hope to do is constantly improve, noticing not only our short-term gains, but also our big-picture improvements. Yoga is a lifetime journey—don’t feel like you need to rush to some imaginary finish line!

 

I always tell my students that I have tight hamstrings because it puts them at ease that their teacher is not “perfect.” I also tell them this to illustrate the benefit of a consistent practice; sure, my hamstrings are tight, but they are much better now then when I was 15 years younger!!! That is definitely something that we all could wish for! Even if we do not reverse the aging process, we may at least stop it: if you start practicing yoga at 35, say, you may never have the flexibility of an 18 year old, but wouldn’t it be great to have the body and flexibility of a 35 year old when you turn 55?

 

Be proud of your relative flexibility and strength. They are your best teachers and mark your progress as a yoga practitioner; rather than competing with others, watch the changes in yourself and be amazed, while always being generous and patient with yourself!

 

Peace!

 

Trent

 

Salmon en Croûte

A co-worker of mine wanted to throw a small reception at her home after her son’s graduation. Simona wanted the lunch she served to be special and include a fish dish. Since she would be at the ceremony all morning, she also wanted to prepare everything in advance. My suggestion was Salmon En Croute.

Sounds fancy but it is very easy to do, and keeps even room temperature fish moist. Salmon En Croute makes a great presentation for guests whether served room temperature or warm.

Slicing the pastry into one inch thick pieces, or larger for an entrée, will reveal all the layers and colors of the vegetables. A mixed green salad is all you need to accompany this dish.  You can make several of these for your buffet table, or make one for dinner at home one night.  This is a pretty entrée to bring to a party, too, but just slice it when you get there.  Let me know if you try this one!

Salmon en Croûte

One box of puff pastry
One skinned center cut fillet of salmon (between 1 ½ to 2 lbs)
One large leek
One tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
4Tbsp prepared Tapenade or mixed chopped (pitted) olives and a chopped roasted pepper
6 basil leaves to shred, more or less to your taste
One egg (optional)

Roll out the pastry into a rectangle, transfer onto parchment papered oven tray. Keep it chilled in the refrigerator while you sauté the leeks, seasoning them with salt and pepper to taste.

When the leeks have cooled a bit, take out your pastry and spread the leeks in the center of the dough. Center the salmon directly over it. Spread your Tapenade over the top of the fish and shred the basil leaves over the top of the Tapenade.
 
Fold the pastry of the vegetables and salmon, sealing all of the edges firmly.
 
Lightly whisk an egg and brush the pastry with it, being sure to cover the entire piece including the sealed edges.

Bake in the middle of a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 40 minutes, until the fish is cooked and puff pastry lovely golden brown. Remove from oven and allow cooling for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Peace,

Elizabeth

Seven Pounds

This weekend my husband and I finally got a chance to rent a movie and it wasn’t even animated.  Normally, we do a family movie night and watch something with talking puppies or with dialogue along the lines of, “Watch it fur ball!”    But this night was all ours.  After walking the aisle of the video store like two kids in a candy store, we agreed on the Will Smith movie called Seven Pounds. 

 

Well, I like to assign it a rating like four stars or two thumbs up.  But for this one I will have to use the “five tissue” rating.  OK forget five tissues and grab yourself a Costco sized package of boxes of tissues.  I am actually so glad I did not see this in a theater because with the convulsive sobbing I was doing, a movie goer might have thought I was having cardiac arrest.

 

I won’t tell you about the movie itself, in case it was on your queue to rent.  I will tell you this:

 

Sometimes human suffering can be painfully beautiful.  Sometimes in our darkest moments our true beauty shines. And sometimes in our anguish we find highest love.

 

People are good.  People are beautiful.  This movie reminded me of that.

 

 

Thanks to the entire cast and crew of Seven Pounds.

 

Namaste,

Krissy

Homemade Personal Care Products Part II: Moisturizers

There are many advantages to making skin care products at home, including cost savings, packaging waste elimination, and most importantly, the knowledge that your end product is completely safe (see Part I: Getting Started blog).  Another important advantage is the superior quality of your homemade product, particularly when compared to its commercially purchased counterpart. With homemade products you eliminate the need for preservatives, stabilizers, or other unnecessary chemical ingredients, plus you have access to the highest grade organic ingredients that may not be accessible to nor cost efficient for the larger-scale commercial producer.  Even better, you can pick and choose your own ingredients to make a product that is best for you and your skin, and for next to nothing per product. Shea butter and jojoba oil are my all-around favorite ingredients for homemade skin care products.

I use raw, unrefined shea butter as the basis for most of my moisturizers.  Derived from the vegetable fat of the Karite Tree, shea butter is a wonderful choice as it is both breathable and water-resistant. For a heavier moisturizer, I will scoop out several tablespoons of the butter, add a few drops of essential oil (I prefer lavender or rose), and then pack it in a tin. In this form, it acts like a balm or salve and is perfect for heavier moisturizing needs (for me that would include dry, chapped ‘gardener’s hands’ or chaffed, cracked ‘barefoot-most-of-the-time feet’). As with all my bulk organic ingredients, I purchase my shea butter through Rose Mountain Herbs.  Their shea butter is certified organic, hand harvested, expeller pressed, and imported directly from the processor. 

My favorite single ingredient for many of my skin care products is jojoba (ho-HO-ba) oil.  Extracted from the seed of the Jojoba tree, jojoba oil is the only botanical product that most closely resembles oil from human skin; as a result, it is readily absorbed, sking-balancing, and won’t block pores. Jojoba’s other great quality is its molecular stability; unlike other oils, it will not become rancid or lose antioxidants after long periods of storage. Rose Mountain Herbs sells the highest grade certified organic, cold pressed jojoba oil, and it is the perfect addition to your homemade skin care repertoire. You can add a few drops directly to your body, face, lips, or scalp, or mix it with shea butter for a creamier, lotion-like consistency.                                       

I store most of my products in dark jars to protect them from sunlight, which will hasten the degradation of the product; alternately you can use clear jars, just store them in a dark place. It is also a good idea to make up new batches of products every month or so to ensure freshness and purity.

Since nighttime is a time for skin to breath, release toxins, and rejuvenate, I moisturize only in the morning after showering, and only as needed (certainly no more than 3 to 4 times a week).

Coming up next: Homemade Personal Care Products Part III: Scrubs

Peace, 

Annie

Happiness is contagious...

It seems that researchers have found happiness to be contagious –and actually life saving.  Have you been paying attention to all of the published reports about medical studies that have focused on heart health and the deep, biological connection between it and our psyche?  Here’s the good news:  the more cheer you allow and develop in your life, actually enhances the health of your heart.
Now this isn’t just tidbits of fun information presented to you by a “Pollyanna” mind –though, after reading this article, you may feel compelled to adopt the Pollyanna attitude of staying positive.  This is from scientific studies –lots of them, that are proving time and time again that our attitude can effect real change in our bodies.

This is powerful stuff when we think about healing disease, releasing extra weight and ridding our bodies of pain.  Here's to happier and happier thoughts.

Peace,

Joan

Toxic Paws?

When we think of going green we tend to think about our personal health and the health of our environment.  Did you ever stop to think about your pet's health?  Those chemical cleaners you use to wash your floor, the pesticides and chemical lawn fertilizers you spray in your yard and the conventional food sold in grocery stores may be harming your furry friend.  American pets are polluted with all sorts of toxins, including flame retardants, perfluorochemicals (the chemical found in Teflon) and mercury.  And, the government does not require companies to test for safety.  That new dog bed you purchased could be doused in toxic flame retardants. Did you know that dogs have 2.4 times higher amount of the teflon chemical in their bodies than people?  Cats tested had 23.4 times higher levels of fire retardants and they also had 5.4 times higher levels of mercury than people.  Both cats and dogs had 80%-100% higher rates of phthalates and other plastic chemicals than their human counterparts.  No wonder more and more animals are suffering from cancers, thyroid disorders, and birth defects.

Animals are closer to the ground and lick their paws to clean themselves.  They drink polluted tap water and they dig holes and bury bones in the backyard. They are much like toddlers putting everything in their mouths and are more at risk for breathing and swallowing toxic dust filled with lead paint and flame retardants from carpet padding. So, the Environmental Working Group feels it's time for companies to be held responsible for safety testing of products sold to us for our pets and they started a new initiative called Pets for the Environment to accomplish that mission.  Join EWG and their spokes-dog, Eddie and help make a change to ensure our pets' health.  

In the meantime, you can protect your pets by using truly non-toxic cleaners in your home.  Try distilled vinegar and water for windows and countertops. Use a baking soda paste for hard jobs and pure castile soaps for floors.  I use Vermont Organic Soaps. Dr. Bronner's is also a good choice.  Purchase cotton and wool bedding and avoid cat and dog beds made of foam - they are usually treated with flame retardants. Get a hepa vacuum cleaner if you have carpets and vacuum often.  A hepa vacuum cleaner works better at removing toxic dust that surfaces from beneath the carpet. And try an organic pet food.  There are a lot of healthy choices today.  Most animals prefer raw - it's what they would eat in the wild. We chose a no grain formula, called Taste of the Wild and my 25 pound cat lost at least 15 pounds and looks so healthy now!  Switch your dog shampoo to an organic, eco-firendly alternative. Lastly, avoid toxic pesticides when treating your yard. One hundred million pounds of pesticides are used each year on home lawns and gardens.  Find natural organic alternatives.

I felt compelled to write about protecting your pets' health after putting our dog of 14 years to sleep yesterday.  He went in for a teeth cleaning and to remove a benign tumor that was diagnosed one month earlier, only to find out on the operating table that he was filled with numerous tumors and could barely swallow. After being told he would only live a couple of more weeks after the surgery, my husband had to make the difficult decision to let him go.  He had Cushings disease, but seemed to be managing quite well - no meds in a very long time.  We only use the cleaners mentioned above, no pesticide use in our yard and he ate organic food. But this wasn't always the case.  I have only been in his life for 4 years.  He had a long life before his new green step mom came into his life - and pet's lives are shorter than ours, so they can develop diseases sooner than their human counterparts.  I can never be sure of the cause of his death. But old age does not equal disease.  I believe our environment is too polluted with chemicals and they are taking their toll on our animal companions.  Protect those you love and give your pet a scratch behind the ear or a rub on their belly for me today.

Peace - and blessings to Diego, you gentle spirit. 

Deborah

Falafel Bites with Tzatziki Dipping Sauce

The days are flying fast in my house this month. My girl has a milestone birthday, two proms, a two-day graduation ceremony and her first trip abroad all within 3 weeks!  Somewhere in between this, our side of the family wants to celebrate her 18th birthday and graduation. She isn’t a big party kind of gal, but loves to be with family (admittedly a circus). We decided to have everyone over to our home to celebrate and have our favorite meal…. appetizers.

I love to create all kinds of platters representing all food groups. Grazing around the party is no end of fun and is bound to please everyone. A lot of it I can simply buy and assemble, such as antipasto, seafood, fruit and cheese platters. One big favorite is appetizer size Falafel Bites withTzatziki Dipping Sauce.

I can’t say where this recipe came from originally. I have been making it for years with little tweaks here and there.  Try this as an appetizer and it can feed a crowd. You can make the Falafel larger to serve as an entrée in pita bread. I suggest have the Tzatziki around for all kinds of dipping with veggies, grilled fish - chicken works well, too.

Falafel Ingredients and Directions

One small diced onion

Three tablespoons olive oil

Two cans of Garbanzo Beans (Chick peas) 15 oz.

One cup plain Greek yogurt

¾ cup of Cornmeal

2 cloves of Garlic

One teaspoon of ground Cumin

One teaspoon of ground Coriander

One teaspoon Salt

One tablespoon Hot Sauce (optional)

Cook a small, diced onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat until softened.

In a food processor, pulse the beans, yogurt, ¼ cup of cornmeal, garlic, cumin, salt and hot sauce until smooth.  Combine in a bowl with the cooked onion and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Place the remaining cornmeal in a shallow dish. Form the Falafel dough into small round balls and dredge in the cornmeal.  Think Swedish meatball size. 

Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown the Falafel on all sides, remove and drain to remove any excess oil.  This should take about 4 minutes on each side.

You can serve these on a bed of greens with a bowl of dipping sauce next to the platter.

Tzatziki Ingredients and Directions

16 oz. plain Greek yogurt

1 peeled and grated English cucumber

1 clove garlic

One teaspoon chopped mint

One teaspoon chopped flat leaf parsley

Juice of one lemon

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Simply combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir and refrigerate for three hours before serving. Can be made the day before.

Peace,

Elizabeth

Your Words in the World

I have the privilege right now to be editing a book that chronicles a woman’s experience of losing her husband. The fact that I even get to read this story is gift to me. That the world will get to read it will bless all of humanity. But more than anything, I’m seeing this work – feeling it, actually – as the greatest act of self-love she could have ever performed. Knowing that, before they were words on the page, these passages were thoughts and memories that swam in her head daily – keeping her awake, stirring up emotions like regret and despair, and likely fogging up any other thought or action necessary to live fully in the world. By getting it out on the page, it was out of her. By moving it further outward, to the countless grieving widows whose lives the work will touch and change, her life will be transformed.

I also have several close friends who have recently rekindled their relationship with writing (me included), and are simultaneously experiencing major movement in their worlds. Whether writing is the means or the end, these gals have been journaling, free-writing, memoiring and venting onto the page with increasing frequency. Slowly, their stuff is seeping out into the world, and their worlds are changing. Mine is too. When I think about it, my close relationships with each of these friends began through written correspondence (certainly my preferred genre) – and in some cases endure this way. I know I personally wouldn’t have had half of the realizations, insights, and spiritual growth I have experienced over the last several years if I hadn’t been able to write them out. And the cool thing is that my journal always writes back.

What I’m seeing across all these situations is the VAST amount of spiritual energy that is worked and moved and eventually dumped through the simple act of writing our stuff down, and then moving it beyond ourselves by sharing it with someone else. Journaling is hugely powerful because what we write is raw, honest, and uncensored. But what I’ve discovered is that there’s even more power in having even just one witness for your words. And getting to BE that witness – reading that kind of writing – is, like I said, a gift. We all know it – we’ve read letters, memoirs, and essays that read like journal entries, and as such speak directly to our highest selves. You know these people weren’t writing with an audience in mind, and yet there are those rare and beautiful instances where we get to be privy to their stuff anyway.                           

The natural fear that many would-be writers have (and what kept my pen frozen for a long, long time) is Who Will Read My Writing, and What Will They Think of It? We write and picture an audience of strangers, other writers, book critics, and Ms. Judy Opinion. Why would we ever want to throw our words - these vibrant containers of our deepest truths - down their gaping maws? It also takes some of the holiness out of what often begins as a way to dust out our souls, and escort the demons out of our heads and our pasts. Are those moments that we really want to share?

And yet, to bare your soul to more than just you … to wield that power out in the world … increases the magic many fold. I’ve seen it happen. I’m seeing it happen.

What if, next time you download your thoughts onto the page, you did it in the form of a letter to a trusted friend? What if you actually sent the one after that in an e-mail? (Don’t ask for feedback – or do, but only in terms of what struck your friend; what she could relate to.) Could that e-mail become a chapter? Could a month’s worth of e-mails comprise half a memoir? Could you submit one as an article to an online magazine? Spin a few into a blog?

Who else might you touch with your experiences? What might you realize when your work is reflected back to you? With whom might you connect? How many different directions could it take you? And, most importantly, what kinds of things will happen in your life when the powerful truths you birth through writing are sent into the world to be shared, grow and multiply?

You’ll be hugely surprised at just how many of us are interested in what you have to say.

Peace,
Joy

Just brush your teeth!

Yourdictionary.com defines the word listen as follows:

lis·ten (lis′ən)

intransitive verb

·      to make a conscious effort to hear; attend closely, so as to hear

·      to pay close attention; take advice

 

transitive verb

·      ARCHAIC to pay attention to by listening; hear

 

 

Clearly, my daughter has not read this definition.  For some reason when I say, “It is time to brush your teeth,” listening becomes a foreign concept. Instead of hearing me, she translates.  Because to her brushing her teeth means crawling on the floor and acting like a puppy.  Brushing her teeth means turn the TV on and get hypnotized by commercials.  Brushing teeth means going into the bathroom, put toothpaste on a brush, quickly touch one tooth with the brush and then rinse toothbrush out and place in holder.

 

Thank goodness she also not learned the skill of listening to my inner thoughts.  Because in my head there were plenty of expletives and sailor like language.

 

Why can’t she listen?

 

Then I thought of something  Woodrow Wilson once said, “ The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.”

 

OK, breathe.  Who is the leader right now?  I am.  I want her to do something.

 

The truth is, it was I that was not listening.  In my rush to get lunch made, dog walked, bills paid, my ear was only filled with my voice of what was important to me.

 

I forgot that my agenda is not necessarily hers.  Yet it was and is still very important that she brush her teeth, but I need to find away to make it important to her.

 

So, I stopped everything else I was doing.  I held her hands and looked into her eyes. 

 

“Honey, it is very important that you go brush your teeth.  I really want your teeth to stay healthy and clean.  Could you please go brush your teeth now and do your best job?”

 

She happily did.

 

So I guess I learned that sometimes to be listened to requires you to speak in a way that is worth hearing.  I learned that to have someone give you their full attention means you have to give them your as well.

 

Thanks to my peanut! Thanks for listening.

 

Namaste

Krissy