Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Off that map and onto a new one
I started the EPL Experiment thinking that I would have so much to say about my meditation. Unfortunately I became very self continuous about the mental space I was in post concussion. I continued to meditate daily and am pleased with the results. My time off from life was one of the best things I've done this year. I spent my days sleeping late, barely working out, dreaming, meditating, cooking, being with my daughter and being...simple. Nothing could replace what I gained over the last 2 weeks. I thought that at this point that I would be ready to kick start the new year with a hard core dance boot camp but I'm unsure. Instead I think I will broaden the subject of next month to a learning boot camp. I will turn myself into a sponge as I take classes, go to events, read books and teach. I'm intending to soak up everything my life has to give me.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
My Experience of Meditation
Before my daughter, before I met my husband, before I found yoga or dance, there was meditation. I’ve always been more then aware of its ability to quiet the mind so that the real mental work can be done. My parents are meditaters and now I am one. From my understanding, people meditate so that the mind no longer stands in the way of being, doing and realizing exactly what we want. At first it's so hard and almost hopeless. I felt like I would never get to a point of any true enjoyment (other then the pride I got from saying I was a meditater...but that's a mental trap in its self) from working with my mind. I wondered if I wasn't strong enough to tame my mind. After some hard work and experimentation, my mind softened. I was able to play with it and enjoy it like a friend. I'm not saying that I am THERE but I've made some serious progress...I'm now at the point that I want to meditate. It's like a child going outside to the playground. I feel that I can gain some sort of freedom while focusing on the breath, moment, asana or half time shimmy. We meditate to be in the moment and come to terms with our true nature. I’m offering what I know in hopes that someone reading this will take my view and be able to apply it in their own self study.
Meditation is a beautiful practice. It’s about the true awakening but it’s also about truly living.
For the curious student of life, I suggest watching the video linked below. He is my mother's teacher and the leader of the Shambhala community. I've read both of his books on the topic of meditation and am constantly impressed by his understanding and ability to articulate the concepts surrounding meditation. I swear, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche could explain just about anything to me and I'd understand.
A Short Introduction to Peaceful Abiding
~~~Love
~~~Kafi
Meditation is a beautiful practice. It’s about the true awakening but it’s also about truly living.
For the curious student of life, I suggest watching the video linked below. He is my mother's teacher and the leader of the Shambhala community. I've read both of his books on the topic of meditation and am constantly impressed by his understanding and ability to articulate the concepts surrounding meditation. I swear, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche could explain just about anything to me and I'd understand.
A Short Introduction to Peaceful Abiding
~~~Love
~~~Kafi
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Concussed
I got a concussion a few days ago. I’ll be exploring that a little deeper in another post but I wanted to share why I’ve been quiet. I’m in a very odd head space and am swimming agents the stream to get back to my version of reality. I’m so lucky to have my daughter who did everything in her power to make sure I was grounded and safe right after I hit my head. All of the people around me did at least a little something to help me in the past few days. I’m eternally grateful for the love!
I've hit the ground running with this project. Inspirations is pouring in and filling me up to the point that I feel I might burst! I watched the following video this morning before work. I smiled all the way through it. One of the things that I love so much about hoopdance is the honesty. Bellydance is not always like that although I wish it were. This video reminds me to be unapologetic about harmless mistakes. I will be spending a little time basking in the beauty of my imperfections…I hope you find a way to as well. I’ve been playing with breaks lately so I am having a love affair with watching the Hoop Pathers at work.
~~~Love
~~~Kafi
I've hit the ground running with this project. Inspirations is pouring in and filling me up to the point that I feel I might burst! I watched the following video this morning before work. I smiled all the way through it. One of the things that I love so much about hoopdance is the honesty. Bellydance is not always like that although I wish it were. This video reminds me to be unapologetic about harmless mistakes. I will be spending a little time basking in the beauty of my imperfections…I hope you find a way to as well. I’ve been playing with breaks lately so I am having a love affair with watching the Hoop Pathers at work.
~~~Love
~~~Kafi
Friday, December 4, 2009
Love Burger
I’ve been on a bit of a journey lately. I’ve committed (verbally) to adding, “personal trainer”, “group fitness trainer”, “professional dancer” and “hoop teacher” to my growing number of hats that I wear. My husband is working with me on the business aspects, which has freed me for the first time in 5 years to give myself to the art. I’ve felt like the floodgates have opened. This week if I wasn’t talking about an idea, I was scribbling about it in a notebook or finding a way to express it physically. I’ve just been creating constantly. I’ve also had a lot more love available to give. I truly think that the mantra work that I’ve been doing has had a gigantic effect on this. Chanting and meditating on a topic has the strange ability to, someway somehow, bring it into reality. At least in my findings. The breakthrough access I’ve gained to my love is truly a gift. I’ve been pampering myself in ways that I never do as well as spoiling my family with my experimental cooking and crazy fits of spontaneous cleaning.
When I got home last night I found my husband, 2 year old and resident basement dweller, Chris sitting in the living room watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with rumbling bellies. My brother in law and Ez were all on their way over. I ran to the refrigerator in hopes of finding a miracle. When I didn’t, I got a little creative on the cutting board (making my own miracles). Below is the recipe for the burgers I made last night. This recipe was intended to force more veggies into my family as well as being yummy. It took a bit longer in prep time then I would have liked (about 15 minutes) but the sight of my little one eating my tricky burgers was reward enough. She kept mumbling “yum, yum, yay” between bites.
Yummy Trick Turkey Burger
Ingredients
5 dashes of soy sauce
1 tablespoon Thyme
2 tablespoons Rosemary
1 tablespoon Savory
3 tablespoons Basil
3lbs Ground Turkey
2 Large Carrots, grated
3 Bell Peppers, sliced (fun colored peppers tend to make their way to my little one’s belly more often)
1 medium onion, sliced
Olive Oil (or your favorite cooking oil)
Buns/bread and burger accessories
In a large bowl combine the turkey, carrots, savory, rosemary and thyme. Mix it well! Form your ground turkey mixture into balls (a burger that is satisfactory to me is about an open handful of this mixture but feel free to experiment on the size). You have an option on how you’d like to cook these. I generally either drop them on the George Foreman or, like yesterday, cook them in a pan with olive oil. Let them stay in a ball until they’re ready to be flipped. Flip with a spatula and gently press the raw side flat into the pan. Be conscious not to squeeze all of the juice out of the burger!
In a sauce pan pour a few dashes of oil in and let it heat up. Drop your onions in first and after about 30 seconds of sizzling, drop in the bell peppers. Mix them a bit to get all of the veggies coated with oil. Keep an eye on them while they are cooking, turning ever 30 to 90 seconds. After about 2 minutes, sprinkle on the basil and mix it in. Shortly after, throw on the soy sauce, reduce the heat and continue to mix. You will know that they’re done when the peppers are tender yet firm and the onions are transparent.
The cooked peppers and onions make a great topping or even side dish for these burgers.
When I got home last night I found my husband, 2 year old and resident basement dweller, Chris sitting in the living room watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with rumbling bellies. My brother in law and Ez were all on their way over. I ran to the refrigerator in hopes of finding a miracle. When I didn’t, I got a little creative on the cutting board (making my own miracles). Below is the recipe for the burgers I made last night. This recipe was intended to force more veggies into my family as well as being yummy. It took a bit longer in prep time then I would have liked (about 15 minutes) but the sight of my little one eating my tricky burgers was reward enough. She kept mumbling “yum, yum, yay” between bites.
Yummy Trick Turkey Burger
Ingredients
5 dashes of soy sauce
1 tablespoon Thyme
2 tablespoons Rosemary
1 tablespoon Savory
3 tablespoons Basil
3lbs Ground Turkey
2 Large Carrots, grated
3 Bell Peppers, sliced (fun colored peppers tend to make their way to my little one’s belly more often)
1 medium onion, sliced
Olive Oil (or your favorite cooking oil)
Buns/bread and burger accessories
In a large bowl combine the turkey, carrots, savory, rosemary and thyme. Mix it well! Form your ground turkey mixture into balls (a burger that is satisfactory to me is about an open handful of this mixture but feel free to experiment on the size). You have an option on how you’d like to cook these. I generally either drop them on the George Foreman or, like yesterday, cook them in a pan with olive oil. Let them stay in a ball until they’re ready to be flipped. Flip with a spatula and gently press the raw side flat into the pan. Be conscious not to squeeze all of the juice out of the burger!
In a sauce pan pour a few dashes of oil in and let it heat up. Drop your onions in first and after about 30 seconds of sizzling, drop in the bell peppers. Mix them a bit to get all of the veggies coated with oil. Keep an eye on them while they are cooking, turning ever 30 to 90 seconds. After about 2 minutes, sprinkle on the basil and mix it in. Shortly after, throw on the soy sauce, reduce the heat and continue to mix. You will know that they’re done when the peppers are tender yet firm and the onions are transparent.
The cooked peppers and onions make a great topping or even side dish for these burgers.
Loving Kindness in the Chakras
Loving Kindness Mantra Meditation
May I be filled with loving kindness,
May I be well,
May I be peaceful and at ease,
May I be happy.
Kafi's Instructions
Find yourself in a relaxed and open sitting or laying position. If you feel more comfortable standing you might want to try walking slowly in a circle or standing in a mountain pose. The main idea is that your spine is straight and your heart is open. The above mantra should be chanted 9 times. Bring your attention to your first chakra and let this chant resonate there. Let a few breaths pass after the word "happy". Just sit in the mental silence before moving to the second chakra. While you chant up the chakras, notice the difference in your mind. Just observe non judgmentally. You are not doing this to change how you feel, this is an exercise in awareness and well wishing. Take these words seriously.
After you've chanted into your crown, let the last 2 rounds focus wherever you feel they are most needed. When you're done with all 9 rounds, sit/lay/stand in silence letting yourself feel the difference or the sameness in you. Don't rob yourself of the valuable lesson that this moment is teaching you by fighting to feel something that you "should" be feeling.
Kafi's Notes
I have been working with this particular mantra/meditation all week. Last night was the most powerful experience. I lay in a reclined bound angle, let my eyes fall almost closed and brought my hands to a temple mudra on chest. I didn't really think out how I was positioning myself before hand, I just let it come organically. I've been taught enough formal meditation for this to work well. Sometimes my meditation practice flows beautifully without any structure. I feel in these times like tribal fusion improvisation...solid and disciplined technique with wild creativity. I wasn't very enthusiastic about starting with meditation but I'm surprising myself. I think I'm off to a good start on this experiment and have renewed enthusiasm!
This is how I feel about last night's meditation. Beautiful improv. Mira Betz's dancing sometimes makes me a little teary eyed.
May I be filled with loving kindness,
May I be well,
May I be peaceful and at ease,
May I be happy.
Kafi's Instructions
Find yourself in a relaxed and open sitting or laying position. If you feel more comfortable standing you might want to try walking slowly in a circle or standing in a mountain pose. The main idea is that your spine is straight and your heart is open. The above mantra should be chanted 9 times. Bring your attention to your first chakra and let this chant resonate there. Let a few breaths pass after the word "happy". Just sit in the mental silence before moving to the second chakra. While you chant up the chakras, notice the difference in your mind. Just observe non judgmentally. You are not doing this to change how you feel, this is an exercise in awareness and well wishing. Take these words seriously.
After you've chanted into your crown, let the last 2 rounds focus wherever you feel they are most needed. When you're done with all 9 rounds, sit/lay/stand in silence letting yourself feel the difference or the sameness in you. Don't rob yourself of the valuable lesson that this moment is teaching you by fighting to feel something that you "should" be feeling.
Kafi's Notes
I have been working with this particular mantra/meditation all week. Last night was the most powerful experience. I lay in a reclined bound angle, let my eyes fall almost closed and brought my hands to a temple mudra on chest. I didn't really think out how I was positioning myself before hand, I just let it come organically. I've been taught enough formal meditation for this to work well. Sometimes my meditation practice flows beautifully without any structure. I feel in these times like tribal fusion improvisation...solid and disciplined technique with wild creativity. I wasn't very enthusiastic about starting with meditation but I'm surprising myself. I think I'm off to a good start on this experiment and have renewed enthusiasm!
This is how I feel about last night's meditation. Beautiful improv. Mira Betz's dancing sometimes makes me a little teary eyed.
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