Burning Karma

Lately I find myself  knowing the answer to most of my frustrating questions: develop patience. Develop patience? Yes, I know I need to. But how do you develop patience when you are internally a bit high strung? In general I cultivate patience through meditation and mindfulness. These mental choices set the slower pace I need in my life. When I don't meditate I get wound up. When I am in-the-moment-uptight I practice repeating a mantra. Both of these things help me.  Sometimes I have a problem that I have no solution for. In the past I would let these problems flay me alive. A few months ago I found another solution. I began to explore karma a bit more. To me, karma has always meant what comes around goes around. But I began to wonder if there was a way to "undo" or pay karmic debts.

One thing I have found as an amazing practice is burning karma candles.  I learned the technique from Gabrielle Alizay through her course Burn Away Your Karma on Daily Om. I will confess her writing style is almost impossible for me to follow, but the protocol works for me. When I buy the candles I recite my mantra over them. When I am ready to burn one I light a non toxic candle, take a deep breath and focus on my issue or perhaps the person who is troubling me. Once I've focused on what I would like to release, which let's say is a person. I focus on that person and allow the healing color to come to me. After I've envisioned the healing color healing both of us, I recite the karma  message and allow the candle to burn out.

Burning Karma Candles

When I first started burning karma candles I was home for an entire weekend and I burned dozens of candles; over time it has slowed down to burning on an as-needed-basis. However, I had a long list when I first started. I was amazed two days after I burned my first candles three people whom I burned karma candles for came to me and "came clear" on an issue we had. Two of the three people told me I was right in a situation and we moved on (trust me when I say this was not an ego win, but delight in wiping the slate clean). The third person retracted a position based upon erroneous observations. I was happy to have resolved all of these issues and to move forward.

Karma candles are powerful. Therefore burning candles should only be burned with integrity and love. Burning karma candles has also taught me patience and gratitude. I know myself well and I recognize I usually become impatient when I want something I don't have. When I burn the candle I let go of the desire. I have already seen how the candles work, so I recognize I have done my part and it's time to let the Universe take over.

Do You Want to be Happier?

I recently watched the documentary Happy. Although it didn't overly surprise me, a survey indicated a rickshaw driver in the slums of India is as happy as the average American.  When we live in a constant state of want rather than gratitude and sharing it can be endlessly unsatisfying.  In another example from the documentary a lady from Denmark is given a second chance after a divorce to "make it" financially by moving into a co-housing community. This community houses 20 families who share chores and household benefits.

But you don't have to live in a co-housing community to share resources and gain more time for leisure activity.  On October 11th, the Center for a New American Dream is giving a free webinar on how to create Time Banks.  Time Banks are a way to exchange time and talent with another.  Tired of walking your dog? Like to make more sauerkraut than you need? Hello new options!

Happiness is a state of mind. Perhaps you would be happier exercising the mental muscle upstairs. Have you thought about updating your education? Try the remarkable and free education site--Coursera?

Now is the time to find happiness.

I am a recent convert to Clint Eastwood movies (Heartbreak Ridge and Gran Torino are at the top of my list). In my joker mind I thought how much fun it would be if I went around (unarmed) and asked people if they felt happy rather than lucky.  Even so I could still end it with a bang by (poorly) mimicking:

 "Do you feel happy? Well, do ya, punk."

Fall's Liver Flush

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The Autumnal Equinox is Saturday September 22nd and the new moon was yesterday, Saturday the 15th. I started sipping my liver cleanse protocol daily 32 ounce organic apple juice spiked with 2 ounces of Body Ecology's fermented Dong Quai on September 9th. In the past I have freshly juiced the apples (sometimes throwing in a little beet root) and drank it raw, however I have not been strictly raw for awhile nor have I budgeted the time to make it fresh. So I buy pasteurized local organic apple juice, leave it at room temperature and allow the probiotics to work while sipping throughout the day.

 The more I clean my liver, the better I feel. Through liver cleansing I have learned how vital it is to good health. In Traditional Chinese Medicine they say the liver is connected with anger. I found that to be true. I became a much happier person once I started liver cleansing. I also had no idea how angry I was before cleaning up my liver. Before my first Juice Feast I completed a liver flush with every new moon. This year I decided to do a liver flush four times a year, precisely at the change of the season. It's one of the best maintenance preventatives I do.

Last year after my fall liver flush I celebrated living calmly amongst angry people.  This year I am excited to discover the practice of manifesting my future. I was surprised to discover Ted Andrew's "Rite of the Autumn Equinox" in Nature Speak. He describes the beauty and magic in a new and meaningful way for me.

"Autumn is the time in which Nature's energies facilitates the process of purifying one's life and for the planting of new seeds and endeavors. The fall season is a time to determine new values, and to make new decisions and goals. It is a harvesting and assessment time for what has passed in the previous year, and it is a time for setting new goals for the coming year. It is a time in which the energies influencing all of humanity are most appropriate for purifying the mind and for transmuting that which would hinder the full and highest expression of the divine within us."

So, feeling pure from the liver flush I am embarking on a week long journey to plant new seeds and manifest my future.

Are You Open to Messages?

When I first found raw foods I noticed after the first few hard core healing reactions that my body felt lighter and lighter. And I don't necessarily mean this lightness was achieved by weight loss. More importantly, I discovered and deepened my intuition--which in turn made me feel more and more elevated.  When I am not on top of my game or when I need to learn a lesson I can back slide into strictly rational, logic based decision making. When I do this I find myself in a familiar old pattern: analysis paralysis. To my knowledge, it has never served me well.

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 It's a balancing act for me to thrive with both logic and intuition. As the years pass I find myself open to a lot more messages. My first deliberate voyage into psychic messages occurred this summer at lunch during an incredibly dry day long conference. At lunch my co-worker and I left the conference for lunch in Chinatown and on the way back we passed a palm reading sign. I insisted we go and while my co-worker agreed to go with me he refused to get his palm read (he came to regret that choice as time went on).

The next unusual reading I had was later in the summer while in NYC. I spent the weekend with family and my cousin wanted to go to a transvestite bar because she had lived in NYC for two years and never made it for the experience (this bar is listed in one of those books along the lines of 1000 things to do in NY).  After my eyes adjusted to the dimness of the bar I was game for transvestite taro. My cards all lined up with the life I have been manifesting (career, home)--with a dash of seasoning I didn't order (love), but knew was coming anyway.  This is a new experience for me. What am I supposed to do knowing I have manifested my desires and they are on the way?

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To help me stay in touch with incoming messages I have found a group of books which help me read nature. Even though these books have only come in my life in the last month or so, I can't remember how I found them. I am currently learning from the works of Ted Andrews. At some point I would like to read more of his work and at present I love: Animal Speak, Animal Wise and Nature Speak. My first book was the Pocket Guide for Animal Speak--this is a good book to flip through and see if it speaks to you.

Sometimes it's not the right time in our lives for certain messages and at that time, books and messages don't reach us. I find that pattern again and again as I have bought books which have sat unread on my bookshelf for two or more years--until one day it's exactly what I'm looking for. When it is the right time I am able to rapidly devour the information and greatly benefit from it. I've found I sometimes need to be open to messages finding me rather than I finding them and trying to make logical sense of it.

Once the Herbs Hit the Bloodstream

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On a particularly rotten day from work I came home knowing I needed to shake myself out of a funk. I was too lethargic to meditate and I refused to fall into the numbing sensations of food, television for entertainment or calling in quits and climbing into bed. So I talked myself into exploring other actions.

I reminded myself I've been successfully rebuilding my energy with herbs and the day was a temporary setback. As I explored possibilities I dug out another health tool I purchased in my heyday of discovering my body can heal itself. Upon initial purchase I enjoyed this product even though I didn't know all of its possibilities. And I have not been using it regularly for the past three years. Still, it was one of those tools I couldn't seem to part with.

I set the machine for 15 minutes and felt my lower half guided into perfect figure eights--the same technique which comes at the end of an Asian-style body massage.  At the end of the stimulation I felt a delicious tingling (chi) throughout my body. I held still and allowed the stimulated chi to realign the energy in my body. I relaxed into this position without moving for as long as I could or until my feet started to fall asleep.

After this re-discovery I decided to use the machine more regularly--to keep me from settling into any energetic funks and I've incorporated my healing herbs into the process. When I can, I take the herbs and wait for about 20 minutes until they enter my blood stream and then I use the chi machine as the messenger of healing and let the herbal messages land where they are needed most. This is my intention, it's a little more difficult to say what actually happens. However I always feel better.

Not All Products are Equal (Part 2: Jing City)

I am grateful for this product. It's true I will most likely not consume it while I am Juice Feasting. In my pre-Juice Feast days I am trying to rebuild my reserves. So far I have consumed 2 bottles and I ordered 3 more. The first bottle left me dazed but not confused. It made me feel so delicious. It was an elevation that caused me to have to lay down and enjoy the new energy.

After nearly 2 years of working full time and going to graduate school, I was starting to wear out. Although I have recently been much more mindful of my eating habits, whole vegan and raw vegan foods were not replenishing me quick enough. Nor, I confess, am I being disciplined enough for this sole approach to work at the level I desire it.

So I found the need to experiment. The Longevity Warehouse website describes the re-charge experience as: "Initially Jing City is calming. It stops all stress, allowing the jing to download and replenish; an hour later you can start to feel the inner-power... much as if you have had several hours sleep and are fully charged to take on life!" Through the first two bottles I didn't get beyond the inner-power generator. I craved to get home after work to make this elixir. I felt fantastic after the tea but I could not sustain this feeling.


On his website Ron Teeguarden says: "A tonic herb must help balance our emotional and psychic energy so as to help improve one's state of spiritual and emotional well being and happiness."  This statement made no sense to me until I started drinking Jing City, a masterfully formulated tonic elixir. Now as I work on bottle 3, I feel calmer, more adaptable and my meditation practice is stronger. It is one of the most powerful tools I have come across to re-capture my energy--and sustain it.

Schizandra Warrior Juice

One of the great things I am discovering post the 30 day challenge of consuming niacin, jumping on the rebounder then sweating out entrenched toxins is that it is so much easier to listen to what my body needs. At first I thought the benefit of the challenge may lay primarily in external appearances and resolution of health issues, but I've found the real benefit is my unclogged body can tell me what it needs. Since I've embarked on 100 days of Schizandra I'm also noticing new insights. After the first week I seem to look different. However this difference is so subtle it's hard to define other than an instinctual knowing.

Recently I've spent more time learning from the wisdom of Ron Teeguarden. His book is fabulous, however his website is also highly informative and easy to follow. I recommend a thorough reading of  Herbalism and Philosophy on his website. From it I was able to comprehend I may have a yin deficiency. This is a topic I hope to further understand with more study.

Another great thing I have discovered is that I have had to take the plants and herbs to understand them. After consuming tonic herbs in a clean body I am being led to greater insights. My choices and thoughts are aligning with a higher source of energy and information. I could not grasp this level of knowledge before I absorbed the herbs into my being. It is a fascinating process.

From this process I have uncovered a new drink for myself. It is a kombucha replacement drink. I am trying to cut down drastically on sugar. I have made slow progress, but some is better than none. My new drink is called Schizandra Warrior Juice because initially I felt I had to be a warrior to drink it. As I have consumed more I find it to be medicinally delicious and I sip on it throughout the day with enjoyment.

Here's the recipe for Schizandra Warrior Juice:

• 1  25.3 ounce bottle of sparkling mineral water (bottled at source)
• 1 ounce organic fruit juice concentrate (I've used--cranberry, mangosteen, sea buckthorn, noni, tart cherry)
• 1 ounce liquid probiotics (I use Grainfields lemon and ginger) 
• 1 packet Schizandra tea (I use Ron Teeguarden's tea)

This drink is clearly one I could consume on a Juice Feast in addition to my four quarts of daily juice. It is nice to have this other healthy option lined up as some days on a Juice Feast I seek different tastes.