Mind, Body, Spirit Connections

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Saturday Blog Share

50 Ways to Love your Liver
Wendell Fowler
www.chefwendell.com
chefwendellfowler.blogspot.com


Apparently Hannibal Lecter didn’t know the liver relates to almost every vital function of the holy temple, or he wouldn’t have suggested it be consumed with a glass of Chianti.

The large meaty organ processes everything we ingest, breathe and absorb through the skin, and plays a major role in digestion and metabolism, regulating production, storage and release of sugar, fats and cholesterol. The liver fires up protective immune function, thins or thickens blood, assists lymph flow, converts food to energy, removes ammonia, makes bile that breaks down fats, stores extra blood for emergencies and filters your blood of the stew of pollutants inhaled daily. It produces enzymes, hormones, blood proteins and clotting factors. Finally, the liver assists the temple with house cleaning by filtering infectious organisms and poisons from the blood and eliminating the toxic bilge. Regular medical care, a healthy, sun-blessed living diet, moderate exercise and controlling stress support it.

Ancients knew the liver and bile are critical to a healthy appetite. When bile doesn’t flow smoothly, you lose your appetite. The ancients felt too much or too little blood loss during menstruation was related to poor liver function and interfered with storing and releasing blood. Chinese and Ayurvedic healing medicine relate anger with poor liver and gallbladder function. Someone chronically angry would be prescribed liver therapy to open, cleanse and cool the liver and bile.

Pharmaceuticals with alarming side effects, street drugs, Chemotherapy, over-the-counter medications, excess alcohol, Tylenol, antibiotic drugs, fried and fatty foods and toxic substances in the American food supply brutalize the loyal, hardworking organ. Cut down on the amount of deep-fried and fatty foods that you and your family consume. Doctors believe the risk of gallbladder disorders (including gallstones, a liver-related disease) can be reduced by avoiding high fat and cholesterol rich foods. Desserts, snacks and sugary thirst-quenchers are high in calories because of the sugar and fat they contain.

Your liver adores beets and beet greens, preferably organically grown, since they are the richest source of betaine, a natural liver detoxifier and bile thinner, and aren’t sprayed with liver-stressing chemicals. Shred raw beets then combine the beauties with a drizzle of raw flax oil, honey and lemon juice or puree them in a blender with orange juice. That’s right: raw.

Explore culinary seasonings that sustain the liver: lemon juice, onion, vinegar, garlic, pepper, mustard, cloves, sage, thyme, turmeric, cinnamon and licorice. Milk thistle has been used for centuries in Germany as a liver stimulator and rejuvenator. Eat more high-fiber foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads, ground flax or chia seed, brown rice and quinoa and granola. Fresh food provides the best preventive maintenance and contains nutrition that enriches the liver. Include them regularly in your cooking. Next, get over your fear of healing cruciferous broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, berries, green tea, yogurt, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds and red grapes.

Revere your liver so it won’t end up in a pan smothered with sautéed onions.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Choice~


Every moment of every day we make a choice to feed one of our wolves.

The blessing?

One day, having chosen wisely over the course of your life, you awake and find only one wolf lives inside you.



Now you have become an instrument of peace, loving kindness and a source of healing for others.

Is this not our journey on this earth walk?

Monday, February 20, 2012

Take what you need~

Imagine if we were to offer these qualities all the time to everyone who crossed our path? Is this not what GOD offers us at all times? Without regard to who we are, our color, religious preference, sexual orientation, social status, or accomplishments.

Like the sunlight, GOD's presence shines on us all regardless. There is no distinction, or culling out of the 'good' ones from the 'bad' ones. This illusion is merely the earth game that some like to play to keep us in our rightful place and small. And we willingly participate.

Each one of you are lifestreams, a ray of light, emanating from the golden sun. Shine your light brilliantly and freely -- let anyone and everyone "take what they need" from your lifestream without judgement.

The really cool thing? You will never run out of this brilliant light. For you are forever being fed from the ocean of bliss - you are one with the golden sun - GOD.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Celebrating the Goddess Body~

We are born into bodies. Beautiful, ever-changing, wondrous bodies which enable us to walk, dance, make love, work, create, birth children, and express ourselves. Too often, too many women, are ashamed of their bodies -- shamed by the media's distorted perception of "what is beautiful", childhood/adult traumas or the inevitable process of aging.  Too many woman fail to appreciate and love their bodies.

We are Goddesses -- our bodies are an expression of our femininity, fertility and spiritual essence.

Get naked, stand in front of a mirror, and embrace your glorious body!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Family Day~

We all slept in after Saturday's most spectacular Grand Opening; snuggled down bracing ourselves for a cold and windy day. Max and his girlfriend were arriving at 10am for Sunday Brunch. There were eight of us around the table bantering back and forth, laughing and joking. I sat back at one point and asked my father if he could see my "peacock feathers".

My children are comfortable in their own skins - confident, poised, and easily able to converse with adults. I couldn't help admiring them yesterday as we joked back and forth and planned our Sunday. Chip, dad, Andy and I were going to brave the cold and golf. Becky, Max, his girlfriend, Zoe and her friend were going shopping, bowling and then making a German Chocolate cake.

The cold golfers returned to yet another home cooked meal by my sister. We all crowded around the kitchen table eating grilled chicken with Seasame Peanut sauce, Jicama citrus salad, and roasted organic carrots in coconut oil. Dessert, of course, was the triple layer German Chocolate cake. The same warm fuzzy feeling from this morning filled my entire being as I glanced around the table, so grateful for my family.

Sometimes I need to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming or caught in some distorted reality like the Truman Show. Is this really my life? Did that crooked, difficult path that I meandered so long ago prepare me for the gifts that shower upon me daily? I think so. I think if we choose to embrace our pain, and learn how to move through it, it is like spinning straw into gold.

I think of all the choices I have made through the years that has led me to this particular place. The critical ones demanded bravery, risk taking, and walking into the unknown. How grateful I am for choosing the mystery.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Heart Conscious

We are being asked to move from our mind/ego to our hearts; to awaken to our heart consciousness and dwell in a place of compassion and love. This is no small feat. Like the moth drawn to the flame, we are drawn to the light, deeply knowing that this is our rightful place. But our minds tell us, flying into the flame means instant death, so we avoid the light; flickering around the flame. We engage in a mysterious dance hovering around the flame, lunging and getting singed, swooping away, only to be drawn again from some unknown powerful force.

This is the call of the 'collective' heart - of our soul - the yearning to come home and be one~

Stepping into our heart consciousness means releasing the fear that keeps us paralyzed and caught in repetitive fear-based patterns. We leave the ego and all of its excuses and bravely venture into the unknown. We willingly surrender into the 'mysterious dance' of the flickering light and delight in the unknown.

This is the call of the collective heart~

Are you listening?

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Saturday Blog Share~


In the castle of Brahman, our own body, there is a small shrine in the form of a lotus flower, and within can be found a small space. We should find who dwells in this little space within the heart, and we should want to know him. – Chandogya Upanishad

Our sun travels through the galaxy in an orbit that is 26,000 years long. On Dec 21, 2012, we will reach the end of one of these great cycles. For thousands of years the laws of matter have dominated Spirit and now in this new age, Spiritual laws will rule matter. Many of the ancient traditions tell us that we must live from our hearts to make this mass shift of consciousness – our very survival depends on it.

So what does that mean? And more importantly, how do we do it?

Firstly, it is important to understand the nature of the heart. Modern science is finally catching up to what sages and mystics have been telling us all along about the importance of the heart to our Spiritual Evolution.

Here are 5 Things to Know About the Heart:

1. Your Heart Beats in Sync with Mother Earth

The Earth has a heartbeat (resonant frequency) called the Schumann Resonance which has been 7.8 cycles for thousands of years, but has been rising since 1980. (It is at about 12 cycles at present and increasing each year). Planet Earth is our mother and our heart beat must synch with hers. When we are not in sync, we feel fearful, insecure and anxious that there is not enough time in the day. To counteract these effects, make time to be with your Mother: go out in nature, breathe fresh air, look at the sky. As you intentionally send the frequency of Love from your heart to the center of the Earth, you will feel her Love return back to you.

2. The Heart has its Own Brain

Science has discovered that 60-65 percent of the heart is made up of neurons that connect directly to the limbic system. What we think of as ‘the brain’ is not just in the head – but also in the heart. These neurons have a direct connection with the right hemisphere of the brain and is responsible for dreaming, intuition, and creativity. The ancients tell us that we used to create our world with our hearts. When you visualize or pray, bring your awareness to your heart

“ Whenever you pray with the head, it takes a long time before you see the desired goal. Whenever you sing or pray from the heart, it will be timeless, spaceless and absolutely effective. Praying from the heart is 108 trillion times more effective than praying from the head.” – Yogi Bhajan

3. The Heart Has its Own Electromagnetic Field



Heart cells are unique in that they produce strong and measurable electromagnetic signals extending as far as twelve to fifteen feet from the body in the shape of a torus. The electromagnetic field of the earth, the solar system, and the galaxy has the same toroidal shape. The quality of our thoughts and feelings affect the electromagnetic field of the heart which in turn affects all the people around us.

We are all connected to one another through these electromagnetic fields and to that of the earth’s electromagnetic field. This is why when we see harm done to another we can feel it – because in truth, it is also being done to us.

One of the 5 Sutras for the Aquarian Age is Recognize the Other Person is You.

4. Heart Cells Naturally Beat in Unison


Science has discovered that if the cells of the heart are removed and separated they will beat at their own unique rhythm. When these cells are brought together they will naturally synchronize and start beating in unison.

This is why when you listen to someone speaking from the heart you feel included in the conversation. No matter how large the group, it feels as though that person is speaking directly to you. The heart is beyond duality and conflict – it is the perfect balance point where the upper and lower chakras meet. The heart does not judge others as higher or lower- it knows we are all brothers and sisters on this planet.

When you experience conflict with someone this is an opportunity to bring compassion to the situation. Go into your heart and see and feel things from their point of view. If this is challenging, pray to the Infinite to see this person as God sees them. Relate to their light not their darkness (ego).

5. The Heart Responds to Laughter

Science has discovered that a hearty laugh causes the lining of our blood vessel walls (called endothelium) to relax, increasing blood flow for up to 45 minutes afterwards. Damage to the endothelium can lead to the narrowing of blood vessels and eventually cardiovascular diseases.

Laughter brings comfort to the heart. When you embrace your Divine Nature you can’t help but laugh at the silliness of the mind/ego and how perfect the world is – how perfect we all are.

What is this precious love and laughter budding in our hearts? It is the glorious sound of a soul waking up! – Hafiz


Catalyst Yogi: bringing the cave to you~

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Waking Up~

What we fail to see is that our imperfections and vulnerabilities allow the light from within to shine outward touching others; calling them to wake up. It is through our suffering, grief, and triumph over our challenges that we awaken to our divine nature and allow our light to emanate.

Embrace your perfectly imperfect self and let your light shine~