piranhas and the eco-mind

It is interesting and eye-opening how "the truth" can be so deeply in the eyes of the beholder.  We see what we believe, and we don't see what we don't believe.  We have been thinking along the (somewhat) misinterpreted Darwinian lines of nature's potential ferociousness and cruelty in the name of the survival of the fittest.  But scientists are beginning to dismantle this paradigm. Sunday's NY Times article took wildly exaggerated reports about the supposedly blood thirsty piranhas apart and reduced them to nothing much.  Growing up I remember hearing stories about entire cows supposedly being stripped to the bones in minutes by a huge swarm of these fish.  But I also acknowledge reading later about indigenous people wading and swimming fearlessly in piranha inhabited waters.

A short video on Suzanne Simard's work on the wood-wide-web and the mycorhizzal (mushroom) network recently made the rounds on Facebook.  Dr. Simard is involved in research about mother trees (huge old trees in the woods) and their social network, where plant seedlings grow up around the mother tree, and mushroom networks reach far underground, living in symbiotically nourishing relationships with the trees for their mutual benefit.

Nature is becoming friendlier by the minute as our outlook on the environment is shifting and we are becoming more eco-minded.

let the universe do some work for you

There is a difference between pushing, pushing, pushing, possibly against a wall, and putting intent out there and letting the universe do the rest. Our son, who will go for his road test later this month, had been looking for a well-priced used car (stick shift being a must) since the fall.  At every for-sale-vehicle by the roadside we stopped - price too high, no stick, bad condition.  Local dealerships were too high priced, no appropriate ads in the papers.  He became frustrated, but I kept saying that there was no rush since he didn't even have his license yet, and once the time came closer we could make a more concerted effort at finding him a car.

Well, through a comedy of unexpected circumstances we ended up going to his great-uncle's for Christmas, and lo and behold - we pulled up and found a car for sale in his driveway.  Our son jumped out in excitement, looked at the car and the sign in disbelief, announced it was a stick shift and cost exactly what he had intended to spend.

Voilà or That Was Easy!

Also look back to an earlier post on the Taoist principle of wu wei.

new year's resolutions

The Russian billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky came to two major philosophical-spiritual realizations during his ten years in prison, as reported in the NY Times a few days ago.  One of them is very relevant on this New Year's Day when many of us make resolutions. Khodorkovsky said "I think the Russian problem is not just the president as a person,..., the problem is that our citizens...don't understand that their fate, they have to be responsible for it themselves.  They are happy to delegate it..."  This is a life changing realization for everyone who wakes up to this enormous and beautiful responsibility, because that is what it is.  We can't wait for Prince Charming to show up at the doorstep with a million dollars.  We have to show intent, move ourselves in the direction of where we want to go, and actually do it.  It is work, it takes courage jumping over your own shadow, it means taking risks, and it may be uncomfortable at times.  But it is rewarding and it works!

No diet pill or new fangled miracle diet will take your pounds off for you if you are not willing to pull through with it.  Complaining about the government and not voting or taking action in your own small way is delegating "we the people" to some abstract politician or entity, as Khodorkovsky pointed out.

With every New Year's resolution you need a solid action plan that comes from the heart; think business plan for whatever you are striving to achieve, whether it is losing weight, making more money, moving to a warmer climate, leading a more balanced life, or whatever else. Let's toast to intent and courage, because they are what make things happen!

too much of a good thing

What goes up must come down.  We have been eating a lot of rich foods in the past few days, and are likely to resume eating rich foods next week for the New Year's celebrations.

Fact is most of our special holiday dishes are protein based, whether from meat, fish, or crustaceans.   Fact is, though, that as omnivores we thrive on a well balanced diet, and that festive meals tend to be especially rich in protein, fat and sugar, while lacking what we consider the mundane basics - produce, fiber, grains. Culturally and historically, protein in whatever form was expensive because costly to provide - ergo reserved for special occasions.  Same went for sugar and fat. Remember the Sunday roast? It was special.  Meat was not eaten every day; nor were cakes and pastries.   We used to save them and savor them.

photo courtesy www.jeanclaudesbakery.com

Things are a bit out of whack now because food has become cheap and that former frame of reference is gone.  Most of us can afford all the "special" stuff, which is no longer so special.  Therefore we need to reign in those cravings through self-control and activate our critical-analytical thinking skills.  At the prospect of a meatless dinner my son usually says "awwww" in disappointment.   But too much of the rich stuff and we feel heavy, sluggish, full.

So back to well balanced meals after the holidays for a well balanced body.

Merry Christmas

my child, my teacher

The traditional perspective was that children should be seen but not heard, meaning children are supposedly lesser people because they are young and inexperienced.   Watching children these days I am occasionally wondering whether some parents are now sending the exact opposite message by permitting their children just about anything, showering them with material stuff, failing to teach them respect and social manners, worshipping them endlessly and providing no gauge or boundaries - basically granting them adult style freedom. But I am headed elsewhere yet.  I believe that we can actually learn from our children even though they are indeed much younger and have less life experience (on the surface).

First of all, especially young children react in a socially unfiltered way, they speak truthfully and to the point (refer to The Emperor's New Clothes) without trying to spare people's feelings.  Secondly, from a spiritual perspective our children are our peers because as spirit beings (in a material body) we are all equal.  We could go further yet, into the idea of reincarnation.   Here we get into potential role reversals and the possibility that your child might have been your parent, mentor or partner in another lifetime.  Intriguing.

When my daughter was 10 we had a deep and spiritual conversation about defining health and healing and how it was more a mental than a physical thing, and in conclusion she burst out "we'll then no one is healthy, not even a doctor."   Children can be downright wise.  Next time your child says something that upsets or irritates you at first blush, do listen, completely, and try to see their side, where they are coming from.  Often we think we know better, but sometimes they actually do.

to tree or not to tree

The kids have pressured me many times to decorate our Christmas tree early following local custom, and I have always resisted.  According to German custom the tree goes up on Christmas Eve.  In fact, when I was little the door to the living room remained closed all day Christmas Eve.  We knew magic happened behind those doors, we heard noises, we saw the parents going in and out and quickly closing the door again.   And we couldn't wait until it got dark, until the doors were finally opened and the lit (real candles) Christmas tree was revealed to us, all sparkle and splendor, with lots of presents beautifully displayed underneath, after a whole month of Christmassy anticipation.  Total magic!  It was all worth the wait.  Because of our busy schedules now we usually decorate our tree the week-end just before - this year it'll be this coming Sunday.  But that doesn't mean that our house is any less Christmassy before the tree goes up.  Actually, "es weihnachtet sehr" in our house, which translates as "it Christmasses a lot" (because Germans are very Christmassy people, this has become an actual verb).   But The Tree is more special when it becomes the long awaited apotheosis of the Advent period. 

We'll be patient until then.

you are the center of the universe

"Life's not coming at you but from you," Aura Lehrer my yoga teacher said recently.  This is something quite amazing to ponder because it turns the way we  perceive ourselves in relationship to the world upside down.  We tend to have the  impression that we are a victim, that people are there to make our life miserable, that stuff happens just to annoy us to no end.  It's the blame attitude.  When we are in that mode everyone else seems responsible for our misery. Oftentimes I have waited at a party (when I don't know a lot of people) for someone to come up to me and start a conversation, in which case I didn't have such a good time.  Recently I went to a function and just walked up to people, re- or introduced myself, and engaged in conversation...and lo and behold I had a great time.  I was the initiator of my experience, I made the good time happen instead of waiting for someone else to make it happen for me.

So back to this fantastic phrase - what you put out there comes back to you, when you put nothing out, nothing much comes back.  In a way you are the center of the universe and it all emanates from you!

the first snow

We are home awaiting the first snow of the season (2-5 inches they say). When we lived in Manhattan (way back when) I used to love snow days (and nights) because the snow would muffle the city sounds and the city would become quiet.  But also because the snow would cover all the dark of the cityscape, all the dirt, with a pristine white blanket (at least for a short period of time).

Snow days are a bit different now, but the essence is still the same.  Snow days are happy days for children (of all ages, mine aren't so little anymore), they sleep in, lounge around in pajamas, go out to play in the snow.  For me it's still work but with the knowledge that I can't get out for a quick yoga lesson or some Christmas shopping, worrying that hubby will get home safe (he only stays in if it's really bad), some snow shoveling with the kids and then warming up with hot cocoa and playing Christmas music.  Ah, and Christmas card writing, a perfect day for it.

Snow days quiet the world down, slow our pace, beautify the brown-gray winter landscape.  Snow days are a reminder to stop rushing and smell the roses (or feel the snow) - a gift from heaven.

the significance of animals in our life

Since the death of our beloved cat this past summer I have been pondering our relationships with animals in general, and more specifically through my relationship with our cats.  I have read several books on communication with animals since then because I really see a soul when I look into an animal's eyes (a cow's on a walk, a deer's in a field, a lion's in a zoo, a horse in a stable), the same way we see it in people  - you have probably heard the saying "the eyes are the mirror of the soul."  Well, it's as true for animals as it is for humans (and why would it be different anyhow?).

It is telling to watch people interacting with their pets.   Amelia Kinkade, the noted animal communicator, writes in her book The Language of Miracles "The animals are here to facilitate our enlightenment through their unconditional love."  Some people get it, some not so much yet.

While I by no means pretend to be able to communicate with our cats, I totally get that you can tune into them by becoming silent (.....quieting the mind as in meditation or simply tuning in and tuning other stuff out) and learning it the way we would learn Spanish or Russian.  It is a matter of practicing and a matter of applying the appropriate techniques.  You wouldn't try to learn to speak Spanish by practicing scales or chopping up onions.

What astonished me most from reading this particular book is how well developed animals' emotional lives are, and how precisely they are able to communicate to anyone who is able to listen - on how they are being treated, on what they prefer to eat, on their own and even their owner's state of health, on their preferred toys, on the layout of the place where they live, on the family dynamics of their host family, even everyone's names.  Quite amazing.

I am so much more careful now with how I interact with the cats after reading this book because I realize that they are more aware than you would ever believe it - a total eye-opener.