SUMMER SOLTICE CEREMONY ( the stillness of the sun)

On the 21st of June the world will mark the solstice, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, shortest day in the southern hemisphere.

The word "solstice" comes from the Latin sol for sun, and sistere, to stand still. This term notes that on the days of solstice the sun's apparent annual path between north and south comes to a stop before reversing direction.

Our ceremony will be grounded in the  intention to give back to Creation some of the energy and blessings that we are always receiving.

Mother Earth constantly gives us shelter and food; the Sun's warmth provides the heat necessary for all living beings to prosper. The relationship of Earth, Sun, and Moon is the matrix within which evolves in all living beings   during their journey here on Earth. All ceremonies bring an awareness of this Unity with the larger Web of Being and Becoming.

Our ceremony is not only a way to say thanks but to become the ceremony itself, it is a stepping  stone which joins a community together in  celebration of it’s uniqueness.

In our ceremonies we allow our world to be illuminated by the grander world of the Cosmos, of the Seasons and of the rites of passage of all universal  beings.

How we are celebrating this year:

This year we are celebrating by making a Prayer Stick.

We will place specific prayers for those who need healing, for the return to peace where there is no peace, for abundance in areas of the world where there is now poverty and scarcity.

We will pray to all directions ( red, black, white, blue, yellow, green)

What to bring:

Bring small objects that can be easy be attach to the stick, and that may have a meaning in your intention.

Ribbons in the 6 indicated colors.

If you have a glue gum bring it.

Details:

Date June 21 6 to 10 pm

Location: 22 hillcrest. wakefield
Rides from Ottawa available.
This event is free, all welcome. Registration required.

Our program:

6:00 pm Open fire ceremony.

6:30 pm Ayurvedic vegetarian dinner will be serve.

7:30 pm Preparation of the prayer stick

8:30 pm Activation of  the community payer stick.

9:30  pm Circle dancing and snack.

MEDITATION TO CULTIVATE STILLNESS

Consider all the parts of you that want movement when you sit for meditation. While the body dislikes  sitting in repose, the ego has better and more practical activities to do and the mind traps you with it’s memories, souvenirs and rules,  you are in the middle  trying to have a quality moment for yourself.

This meditation uses breath and affection as a way to educate the habit of unnecessary movements.

How to do it:

1.- Sit comfortably with the spine strait.

2.- Focus your attention in your face and smile at yourself with tender affection. 1 minute

3.- Inhale deeply trough your nose and retain the breath for 6 seconds.

4.- Exhale through your nose and retain the breath out for 6 seconds. Inhale again.

5.- Continue this rhythm for 7 minutes.

6.- Relax and repose within yourself. Do nothing as long as you want. Do it everyday in the morning for 40 days.

Transcending stillness.

The center of our stillness is just a transitorial space to be dwelling in.

This space of stillness  should not be seen as something to be achieved, or, to be the goal of our spiritual experience.

The space of stillness should not be used as a means for us to gain some repose from our conflicts.

The hunt for stillness can be  a set up by small mind  taking away from you the energy that you need to activate your intense presence in the moment.

Wanting stillness in meditation or in your spiritual journey makes you a thief, of the already existing stillness. It takes you away  from the knowing that you are already still.

The space of stillness is a dynamic moment of  awareness, it is an alert space where you witness the inner and outer  movement while remaining uninterested in participating in the proposals of the mind.

Stillness is not to stop thinking, or to be inactive in front of your life experiences. Stillness is cultivated by witnessing the drive of the different  senses .

Stillness is associated with acceptance.  Accepting the drive of the senses toward likes or dislikes without correcting, manipulating or justifying them, brings stillness .

Stillness is a transitorial state of the journey of self-realization. Stillness is only a gate into the  entire activity of the universe.

With stillness you animate a subtle existence deep in  your being and bathe in a vast unspoken knowledge of all that is .

May you realize that the dance of the elements are there   for you to enjoy, to taste the flavor of life on earth and to  transcend  them with a mature awareness and gratitude.

May you realize that the movements of your life are being supported by these pulsations of stillness, and that stillness is a gate to the universe itself.

Summer tips to Help You Keep Your Cool

fresh mint from the garden is best for pitta

According to Ayurveda, ice-cold foods and beverages disrupt the digestive power called Agni. Agni or digestive fire can be compared to burning logs. If we dump cold water over burning logs the fire goes out.


The same goes for our digestive process. If we ingest ice- cold foods and drinks then our digestive fires become weak. The body begins to work harder to digest and absorb nutrients and pitta or the metabolism gets out of balance. Irritability, intolerance, loose bowel, aggressive behavior or heart burn are all indications that pitta has become out of balance. Ice-cold drinks are a quick fix to cool off and a challenging habit to break. The ancient knowledge of Ayurveda provides simple solutions to maintain balance during the hot summer without causing side-effects.

The most effective way to maintain your cool in the summer months is to make sure your body is properly hydrated with pitta( fire)-pacifying beverages.

Drink at least 7-8 glasses of pure spring water a day. You can add a sprig of pitta-pacifying fresh mint to the water or a teaspoon of pure Organic Rose Water. Water kept in the cellar or a cool room is about the right temperature for digestion on a hot day. Drinks right out of the refrigerator may be tempting but they are too cold for the digestion. Instead, pour out the desired amount into a glass and let it set for 10 or 15 minutes to take the chill out. When you start avoiding or cutting down on ice-cold drinks you will notice that your stomach is less bloated and puffy and there is greater ease in handling hot weather.

Adequate hydration gives more energy to the body, clarity to the eyes, suppleness to the skin and helps to eliminate toxins. Many people feel fatigue and would be surprised to find out that the cause may be as simple as dehydration. It is especially important to keep fluids flowing into the body during summer when we tend to perspire more and lose more water.

Ayurvedic Suggestions for Cooling Down
Fresh, sweet fruit and fruit juices are especially beneficial for balancing pitta. They provide nutrition and keep the body cool and comfortable. Watermelon juice, fresh cucumber juice, lettuce juice and coconut milk are four of the most beneficial juices to pacify pitta. By consuming at least one of these items several times a day you will notice a tremendous difference in your reaction to the high temperature.

Fresh herbs such as mint, cilantro and watercress can also be juiced or made into a chutney to balance pitta. Or steep cooling herbs in boiling water each morning, cool to room temperature and drink the water through the day to get the benefit of the herbs and hydrate your physiology. Favor cooling spices such as cardamom, coriander, and fennel when cooking. Use Organic Rose Water or rose petal conserve as a cooling food supplement or add to summer drinks.

Certain fruits and spices can tend to irritate pitta and should be avoided during the summer months. Strawberries and peaches are known in Ayurveda to especially increase pitta and may even cause rashes or allergic reactions in some sensitive people. If you love strawberries and peaches it is better to cook them with sugar and cardamom and serve the puree with a tablespoon of pitta-pacifying whipped cream or blend the puree with some sweet grape juice to make a sweet, cool drink. Small amounts of whipped cream with some cooked fruit is a lighter, more satisfying summer dessert to try instead of frozen ice-cream.

Over time, as you tailor your diet to the foods and tastes that are ayurvedically balancing for your physiology and the season, your desire for foods which can cause an imbalance will gradually fade away. Initially, you might feel restricted, but make adjustments in stages, letting your physiology get acclimated to the changes, and eventually you will feel satisfaction and contentment.

Summer Mint Drink
For syrup: Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl, stir till sugar dissolves. Stir in 1/4 cup of tightly compacted fresh mint leaves (without the stems). Cover and chill for a minimum of four hours. Strain mixture through a sieve. Discard leaves. Store syrup for up to three days. To use the syrup for a water based drink: Place one tablespoon of mint syrup with about one cup of room temperature water and stir.
For a milk-based drink: You can also add 1-2 tablespoons of half-and-half cream to the water and syrup for variation.

Rose Lassi
1/2 cup fresh yogurt
1 cup water
or 1 teaspoon rose petal water
Sugar to taste
1 pinch ground cardamom (optional)
Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Mango Milk
One fresh peeled and sliced ripe sweet mango
2 cups of milk
Sugar to taste
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
Boil milk and allow to cool to room temperature. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Makes 2 servings.

Basic breast balm recipe

Summer will soon be here and we will start wearing lighter clothes and bathing suits. Now is a good time to start thinking of breast care, both from a beauty and health perspective.

The breasts have sensitive skin, muscles and glands, including lymph nodes. The following recipe is quite nourishing and will provide some sun protection.

Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut oil
¼ cup ghee (clarified butter)
¼ cup sesame oil
¼ tsp of zinc cream, e.g. Zincofax
½ oz beeswax
1/3 cup aloe vera gel
1 Tbsp of yam gelly
2/3 cup fennel hydrolate
20 drops total of orange and rose geranium essential oil
10 drops of jojoba or ¼ tsp or vitamine E

Method:
1. Melt the wax and zinc with the oils
2. Mix aloe vera, hydrolate and yam gelly)
3. Whip together the two mixes above
4. Add jojoba  and essential oils
5. Pour in dark glass jars and label.
Will give 5 to 6 jars of 100mg
Apply once a day. Keep other jars in the fridge until you use them or give away as presents.

Note: The Encyclopedia of Natural Healing recommends Iodine as a good supplement to help reduce the incidence of breast cysts.

Samyukta Blanchet
Face to Grace

GOLDEN MILK and the reproductive system

I love this drink in any time of the year, it is rejuvenative, calming and excellent drink to have as a snack.The turmeric act as an anti-inflamatory to the tissues and cleans out old fluids. It also helps to make the bones and joins flexible by breaking up calcium deposits. Ghee on the other hand, restores energy and vital fluids to the tissues and lubricates the joints.

The reproductive fluids are the most powerful fluids in the body and depletion on this fluids through sesual activity has an effect in the immune system, as well as our physical, mental and subtle energy.

Drinking golden milk before ( for woman) and after ( for man) of sexual activity can help to prevent the depletion of the vital fluids and keep the body's subtle energies in balance.

How to do it:
Put in a saucepan:
1/8-1tsp turmeric power
3 Cardamon pods
1/4 cup water
bring to a boil and continue to simmer until a thick paste ( about five to six minutes).

then add:
1 cup almont,oat or rice milk ( depending on your constitution)
1 tsp ghee or 1 tablespoon of almond oil.
Bring the milk to just to the boiling point, then remove from heat inmediatly ( do not boil).
Add stevia to taste.

Mother principal meditation

In esoteric teachings, we always encounter the concept of the divine mother, the primal force, the creator or the one that expresses the divine in multiple forms.
We are considered to be the  child of that energy, she is the one that is nourishing, protective and given all and to all, as a mother is.

This meditation is a call to that force within ourself, is a prayer, is a recognition that we are under a big force that unconditionally care for us.

How to do the meditation:

Sit with the spine straight with your legs cross.
Make a fist of both hands infront of the heart. The left palm faces up and the rigth palm faces down.
Extend the little finger of the left hand and hook it under and around the thumb of the right hand. Pull to create a slight tension. Close your eyes and focus at the brow point.

Inhale deeply and chant in a monotone the mantra
A-I-AM
(pronounced AH EE MAH) once per breath as you exhale.

In hale again and repeat. Each syllable is long and takes approximately one third of the breath. Chant for 11 minutes. You can extend the chanting to 15,22 or 31 minutes if you whish.

To end:
Inhale deeply, hold, pull on the finger and thumb. Exhale. Sit quietly with the eyes closed.
relax and enjoy your inner space.

Paradox ,The Gatekeeper To Truth

By Matthew Cosgrove
 

Bhuvaneswari and I have received at times  feedback that there are irregularities and discrepancies in our teachings .My wife is as uncompromising in her work as a spiritual teacher as she is in life. She will do things like ask her husband to come and be beside her as her grounder on woman’s empowerment day in front of 60 woman and the community knowing full well how this could be viewed by some as a contradictory message.She simply remains true to and responds to her inner truth at any given moment ,regardless of outcome. This way of being defies the constrictions of social consciousness and can draw out the judgments of ego. The master ‘s emptiness directly reflects exactly everything that we  ourselves are holding at that moment .

This presence and emptiness is the absolute focus in the now .We are in the present moment. Our emptiness and stillness  opens the channel for vision and possibilities of healing and expansion .

 This way of being,of living in the moment, can also create paradox as became evident last weekend when we held a silent retreat in Wakefield .The limited mind and ego would like everything to be linear and logical, including spiritual teachings .But truth is not linear and logical .At times it’s light only can shine if we enter into the world of the unknown. 

Paradox is the gatekeeper to truth because it challenges all who wish to pass .We cannot proceed without a passport that can only be acquired by courageously dropping what we think we know .Once in, the intellect can easily maneuver and follow the pathways which are defined and framed by these parallel realities .

There were three days of processes, practices and silent meditation .Bhuvaneswari and I complement each other’s teachings,her providing the scope and expansion of sky  through practices and ritual and I provide the simplicity of earth based ceremony and presence in the moment .

My last day’s  satsang was that spiritual awakening Is right now ,it is the Is that will never be and never was,it only Is ,it is the simplest and most uncomplicated truth of being. I said that we really have nothing to do because as long as we think we have to complete this or that many practices and attain certain goals we will never cross, because we will then always be pursuing a projected point and never enter the absolute now. This contributed  to the paradox we create together .She says action while I say stillness ,she says go and do while I say stop and she says be while I say you already are .

The teachings about the “is”are true, but so is the absolute importance of keeping up these strengthening practices that we teach  because there are a link to our true being.If we are buried in baggage and turmoil we need to know how to dig ourselves out. We also need the neutral reflection that teachers provide along the way .  Both these truths are right yet seem contradictory ,one is that we need to keep up practices,and the other is that we don’t really need to do anything because the Is is immediate and always within ourselves right now.

This is the great paradox that masters throughout the ages have created as they teach doing without doing, stillness in action and being while not being. Paradox is where the road ends and the sign says  ‘’no more vehicles beyond this point’’ and when the teacher takes you to the edge of your known world and says ‘‘drop the ego and jump’’.

Matthew Cosgrove

www.earthbasedhealing.com

Ikebana: The living flowers

I spent the day in the garden, watching new flowers emerge from the frozen ground. Such grace and vitality, perfectly positioned in the earth, and possessed with a natural ability to twist and take the shape of the light, rain and spring breeze.

This natural order was relaxing to observe, giving my mind a space of comfort and silence. It is a natural order only understood by affinity and sensibility. It is a space offered by nature to harmonize the internal disorder. It is an opportunity to feed the soul.

To be able to reproduce in a flower base the impact of this natural beauty is an art. The understanding of such an order requires deep contemplation; its manifestation, the guidance of an ikebana artist.

Later in the day, I went to see an Ikebana show. I was brought to tears at the Embassy of Japan, delighted to see how the ikebana artist can depict their own personality in relationship to natural elements. I was impressed by the harmony that my mind adopted as I contemplated the perfect ikebana. I also experienced how the misplacement of a single flower can produce a subtle uneasiness in the mind. Ikebana has that oriental philosophy of space, grace and beauty. It has offered me the opportunity to see the objects of my home under a very different light, and has facilitated a creative explosion of opportunities in my large country garden.

I look forward to putting my hands to work under the direction of Christiane Ryan, an ikebana artist and enthusiastic meditator. I also look forward to sharing the afternoon with you, learning this subtle art of flower arrangement.


Here the details:

We will practice together a basic upright arrangement in a moribana (flat container).

                                               When:  May 13, 5 pm to 8 pm

Where: 22 Hillcrest, Wakefield

Cost: $45 per participant, payable before May 6, by cheque or cash. $10 non-refundable fee  for cancellations after May 6. Plant material included.  

What to bring:  Sharp gardening shears 

Kenzan (frog) at least 2 inch diameter, available in Chinatown or at a flower shop

One flat container at least 2 inches high (can be a cake pan, a baking dish, etc.)

1 pitcher

1 plastic bowl to cut flowers (at least 6 inch diameter and height)

1 towel

A camera and/or sketchbook (optional)

Your teacher

Christiane Ryan is a certified teacher of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. She is a member of the Sogetsu Ottawa Branch and of Ikebana International (http://www.ikebanahq.org) Ottawa Centenial Chapter (http://ikebanaottawa.ca/). She has exhibited several times at the Japanese Embassy in Ottawa and at the Canadian Museum of Nature. She can be contacted at cryan@videotron.ca, or by phone at 819-243-1413

Recipes to restore health after a radiation attack

Miso soup

How to make miso soup

ingredients:

1 Wakame ( seaweed) piece of about 5 cm

1 medium carrot, cut is small cubes

600 ml water

1 small leek, diced

2 tablespoon miso, dissolved in 2 tablespoon water

2 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Method :

Soak the Wakame in a bit of water for 10 minutes. Remove the middle rib and cut in small pieces

Boil the water in a pan and add the leek, carrots and Wakame. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add dissolved miso. Serve the miso soup immediately. Decorate with the parsley.

It’s important never to boil the soup after adding the miso because it will spoil the miso flavour and nutrients. Take 3 cups a day in times of radiation exposure.

Anti-Radiation Juice

Drink 3 glasses daily: 1 part pineapple juice, 1 part tomato juice, 1 part apple juice

Food and herbs to balance your body from radiation.

Radiation and other forms of radio waves have being affecting us for a time now and our life style is full of opportunities to be exposed to man made frequencies.

Even thought the physical body has a great power of adaptation and transmutation, it is a concern when we talk about the balance of our psyche.

The real problem of radiation is that is that is does not offer  an evident sign of  discomfort which would  alert  us enough to get to safety. It  is a very slow depletion of our cell's vitality  and it decreases the thickness of our aura .

 Symptoms of radiation may manifest  in a very subtle ways, like the types of thoughts we carry, our level of physical energy, or in  polarizing our emotions. We may have these disturbances without attributing them to  exposure unnatural  frequencies.

It is all about balance, we realistically can not remove our self from the modern way of living, however we can balance our life style by visiting nature, by eating organic foods, and by meditating.

Overwhelming, dullness, hyper sensibility, allergies, week immune system, fatigue and lack of appetite are some of the symptoms associated with radiation.

I am however offering you  a few tips that can help you  keep the body's immune system  full and vibrant while still being exposed to a challenging environment.

Food you can store and eat to balance radiation:

The dangerous effects of radiation enter through inhalation and consumption. Both these ways can cause a radioactive substance to get inside the body and emit radiation where it can do the most damage.

This is why in times of greater risk people are told to remain indoors until the radioactive substances are no longer a danger due to its half-life.

1.- First think of your water.

Drink water preferable from a natural source and not from your tap. Before arriving at your place, this water sits around day after day in large dams which are exposed to the air, and therefore, to the radioactive particles in the air. It is also treated with chlorine and fluoride. Storing in glass bottles  is a good prevention.

2.- Seeds and herbs:

Black sesame seeds: black sesame, for kidney and can enhance cellular immunity, humeral immune function, the effective protection of human health.

Purple Amaranth: Amaranth violet radiation, anti-mutation, antioxidant, selenium and its related. Selenium is an important trace element, can guard the body against radiation.

Green tea: green tea poly phenols, not only help against cancer and remove the effects of radicals, but also radiation. Drinking green tea every day is very beneficial to our body.

Lycopene: Lycopene not only has superior radiation resistance, but also has a strong antioxidant capacity. Lycopene exists in tomato, apricot, guava, watermelon, papaya, red grapes and other fruits and vegetables. Among them, lycopene in the tomatoes were relatively high, especially in the tomatoes skin and seeds. In addition, lycopene is fat-soluble vitamins, easy to be absorbed.

Beets, carrots, leeks, and garlic are other food you can have. Since the radiation may be on the fresh plants, sprout seeds and beans to replace fresh greens.

Food Spirulina: Spirulina is rich in protein, amino acids, trace elements, vitamins, minerals and bio active substances to promote bone marrow cell hematopoietic function, and enhance bone marrow cell proliferation activity, promote serum protein bio synthesis, thereby enhancing the body’s immunity. Therefore, eat seaweed, spirulina and the like, etc., with a clear anti-radiation effect.

Pollen food: food as a novel pollen nutritional health products swept the world, known as the “complete nutrition” among the best in nutritional food. According to modern scientific tests, the protein content of pollen up to 25-30%, which contains dozens of amino acids, and the state was free, easily absorbed by the body. 40% of pollen also contains a certain amount of sugar and fat, and rich B vitamins and vitamin A, D, E, K, etc., in which a living E, K are confirmed by scientists can delay the aging process of human cells important material. Pollen also contains iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium and other 10 kinds of inorganic salts and 30 trace elements and 18 kinds of enzymes, therefore, pollen with anti-radiation effect.

Ginkgo biloba products: Ginkgo biloba extract can increase leukocyte to protect the blood function.

Miso and seeweeds:

One of the best foods for radiation  and even cancer prevention is Miso.

To make miso is an elaborated process, however to enjoy a miso soup is very easy and healthy. Miso is easy available in healhfood stores.

Recipes to restore health after a radiation attack

How to make miso soup

ingredients:

1 Wakame ( seaweed) piece of about 5 cm

1 medium carrot, cut is small cubes

600 ml water

1 small leek, diced

2 tablespoon miso, dissolved in 2 tablespoon water

2 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Method :

Soak the Wakame in a bit of water for 10 minutes. Remove the middle rib and cut in small pieces

Boil the water in a pan and add the leek, carrots and Wakame. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add dissolved miso. Serve the miso soup immediately. Decorate with the parsley.

It’s important never to boil the soup after adding the miso because it will spoil the miso flavour and nutrients. Take 3 cups a day in times of radiation exposure.

Anti-Radiation Juice

Drink 3 glasses daily: 1 part pineapple juice, 1 part tomato juice, 1 part apple juice

Meditation for atomic radiation

One of the effects of radiation is the thinness of our magnetic field or aura.  An atomic radiation has in a way the same effects of our mind judgments, it dry the  physical and subtle tissues, leaving them expose to tearing.

This meditation was giving by one of my teachers, Yogy Bhanjan, in 1978. It can be done anytime, and its effect will be to calm you, to energize you and to relax you.

How to do it:

Sit strait.

1.-Let your upper arms hug your sides.

2.-Hold your lower arms up so the hands are as high as your neck, plams facing away from the body.

3.-Hands are in gyan mudra (tip of thumb and forefinger touching).

4.-Chant the following mantra three times on one deep breath.

PRANA APANA SHUSHMNA HARE,

HARE HAR HARE HAR HARE HAR HARE.

Prana is life force corresponding to the electron,

Apana is the eliminating force corresponding to the proton, and shushmna is the central force corresponding to the neutron. The beauty of this mantra is in the touch of palate and tongue.

You can do this as long as you want, single or in a group. If you wan to have a bit of fun, do it for 62 minutes and after measue yourself with an electrocardiograph ( biofeedback). It is very powerful.

Therapeutic Baths for Elimination of Radiation, Chemicals, and Metals

By Dr. Linda Lancaster

Therapeutic baths are utilized to cleanse and neutralize many types of pollutants.

    * Baths should be taken in water as hot as you can handle without feeling faint.

    * During the period of soaking, the toxins are drawn to the surface of the skin.

    * As the water cools to slightly below body temperature, osmotic exchange of fluids takes place and the toxins are drawn out of the body and into the tub of water.

    * If you have high blood pressure or heart weakness, do not make the bath too hot, and check with your doctor beforehand.

Sea Salt and Baking Soda Bath: For most types of Radiation

Pour one pound of pure salt and one pound of baking soda into the tub of hot water. Use sea salt or kosher salt—check the label to make sure there are not any additives. Soak in the tub for 20-30 minutes or until the water cools.

Baking Soda Bath: For Man-Made Radiations such as Barium Tests and Ingested Radioactive Isotopes

Pour two pounds of baking soda into a full tub of hot water. Soak in the tub for 20-30 minutes until the water cools.

Clorox Bath: For Elimination of Chemicals and Metals

Pour 1/2 cup of Clorox into the full tub of hot water. Soak in the tub for 20-30 minutes or until the water cools. Use only Clorox brand bleach. Do not use Fresh Scent or powdered bleach or any other brand.

Apple Cidar Vinegar Bath: For Elimination of Uric Acid Deposits and some Chemicals

Pour one quart of apple cider vinegar into a tub of hot water. Soak in the tub for 30 minutes. Sweating sometimes occurs.