Meditation is the medicine of the mind

A few touristy pictures from SF so far. I am here looking at apartments to sublease for January and also looking for a job :) I met with my Ayurvedic teacher, Pratichi Mathur, whom I will start school with in January. It was an incredible meeting and I feel truly grateful and blessed to embark on my Ayurvedic journey and studies with her, and become part of an Ayurvedic lineage. Much of what she said was very synchronistic with what I have been feeling, and with what I learned at the ashram. I got the chance to visit her home and it was just so wonderful; she truly lives for others, selflessly.

The other pictures are from my walk down Market street. I walked through Union Square and the Financial District to the bay, it was beautiful. I like a city with tall buildings :) I love you DC but I love a cityscape too. The first picture was taken in my hotel room, the saying "be good" is painted on the wall. It reminds me of the sign in Sivananda Hall at the ashram, "Be good, do good." I love Guru Dev and all of his sayings. I'm looking forward to maybe returning to the ashram for a day or two in December. Seeing the "be good" reminder every day makes me happy, and also my hotel, even though in a sketchy part of town, is still pretty awesome. There's an alarm clock with an ipod doc, reclaimed wood used for the beds designed by a local designer, light fixtures constructed with reused glass bottles, and soaps in wall-mounted dispensers (no packaging waste).

I checked out a place in the Mission district yesterday afternoon as a potential room to rent, what a colorful eclectic neighborhood. Its similar in some ways to Columbia Heights. I enjoyed seeing all of the mosaics and murals on Valencia St., herbal apothecaries and healing centers. I wish I had taken more pictures but I wasn't in a "touristy" mood at the time. Although I enjoyed the neighborhood I don't think I'd want to live there, I will try to live closer to downtown...

I've also been reading the Celestine Prophecy. I'm so glad to be reading this book on this trip, I feel as if its very synchronistic. (I've been noticing a lot of these things lately!) Usually when I fly somewhere I always remember a book being associated with the trip that I read on the plane/in the hotel. This paring is an auspicious one. Some of my favorite quotes so far from the book:

"Years ago, when we had both lived in Charlottesville, Virginia, we had spent regular evenings together, talking. Most of our discussions were about academic theories and psychological growth. We had both been fascinated by the conversations and by each other."

"Working to establish a more comfortable style of survival has grown to feel completely in and of itself as a reason to live, and we've gradually forgotten our original question...We've forgotten that we still don't know what we're surviving for."

"Much has been written over the past several decades about the revolution in physics, but the changes really stem from two major findings, those of quantum mechanics and those of Albert Einstein.
The whole of Einstein's life's work was to show that what we perceive as hard matter is mostly empty space with a pattern of energy running through it. This includes ourselves. And what quantum physics has shown is that when we look at these patterns of energy at smaller and smaller levels, startling results can be seen. Experiments have revealed that when you break apart small aspects of this energy, and try to observe how they operate, the act of observation itself alters the results. This is true even if the particles must appear in places they couldn't possibly go, given the laws of the universe as we know them: two places at the same moment, forward or backward in time. The basic stuff of the universe, at its core, is looking like a kind of pure energy that is malleable to human intention."

Quote of the day:
Smile
Feel love
Consider the environment
Always do your best
Speak impeccably
Don't take things personally

Don't worry

I hope this blog post gives you a moment of clarity and peace, along with some insightful knowledge. Breathe easy!

http://www.350.org/ : An international day of climate action, a global movement to solve the climate crisis, on my birthday this year! :)

CarbonFreeDC Extreme Green Neighborhood Makeover: Home Improvement Volunteer Form Click the link if you're interested in helping volunteer in either Shaw or Deanwood for a weekend in September working with deserving families by installing energy efficient and planet-friendly products! You can indicate your availability to volunteer to install equipment at the homes.

Deep Green Autunm Retreat: The Journey Inward: Accessing Inner Wisdom through Yoga and Plant Medicines. I am planning to attend this retreat October 16-18, which looks to be in an absolutely lovely setting and promises to be transformative. Click on the link to visit the Deep Green Wellness page for a link to their retreats.

Idealist.org grad fair in DC, September 21st, at the Washington Convention Center 801 Mount Vernon Place NW DC

Currently listening to: Issamu's new mix. Legit. Also check out the link to his blog on my favorite links, Third Eye Buisness.

The summer night sky is filled with a multitude of the Milky Way's stars, hundreds of billions of stars making up its flowing river of soft light.

Seasonal recipe: Garden fresh pasta salad, I'd probably add some summer squash too, or maybe tofu.

Listen with your heart. Heart-centered listening, including how the heart communicates with the body and brain, can be used to create greater peace and love not just in your life, but in the world. You can help to gather the information to listen to in your heart by doing an anahata (heart chakra) kundalini meditation. Sitting comfortably on the floor in your meditation posture, place your left hand in front of your heart chakra face down and hold your right arm up, extended in the air at a 60 degree angle from the floor. The right had is collecting the information from the universe, while the left collects information from you lower chakras, and brings it all to the heart.

Thoughts on meditation via the Tricycle weekly newsletter:

Everything changes and all will wither away. There is no permanent and abiding "self." And to top it all off, life is suffering.

Wow, Buddhism can be a real buzz-kill. Sometimes, anyway. But there are many doors to joy. According to Vipassana teacher James Baraz, it's just a question of opening them:

Methods for opening the mind to joy and happiness are found throughout the Buddha’s teachings. One sure way is through skillful practice of meditation. Through seeing clearly, we can free the mind of grasping, aversion, and ignorance, allowing our natural joy to manifest. In fact, research has amply demonstrated that meditation increases activity in areas of the brain associated with positive emotions.

Quotes of the day: "There is great power in patience because it cuts through arrogance and ingratitude. It is the path that lets us move from resistance to acceptance and spontaneous presence. Holding on to our judgments about others and ourselves is a major cause of impatience. Repeating softly to ourselves, “May I be happy just as I am” and “May I be peaceful with whatever is happening” helps us accept our vulnerabilities, imperfections, and losses: everything from chronic physical and emotional pain, to the death of loved ones, the end of a job or relationship—even nightmare traffic jams."

"Life is really generous to those who pursue their destiny." Paulo Coelho
my thoughts: I believe this is true, as long as you have realized your destiny through divine listening.

Now is the time to get serious about living your ideals. Once you have determined the spiritual principles you wish to exemplify, abide by these rules as if they were laws, as if it were indeed sinful to compromise them. Don't mind if others don't share your convictions. How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be? Your nobler self cannot wait any longer.

Epictetus (c. 50-120)


We don’t open our heart and mind because we haven’t experienced the benefit of doing that. Once we have experienced the truth, there isn’t even an issue. There is no worry. The whole question of whether we are ready to open our heart and mind to the truth isn’t even a concern.

Plant seeds of Compassion...karma originates in the Mind

A picture I took of the sky last Fall.

Earth Ball Friday Night in DC! Click here for more info

The number 108 is significant in yoga: it represents the number of beads on the mala and it was considered the number of wholeness by Vedic mathematicians. There are 108 Upanishads, 108 sacred sites throughout India, and 108 marma points or sacred points on the body.

I got so much inspiration from watching this video on self-reflection (even if it is kind of cheesy). I was sitting in front of my computer answering the questions enthusiastically in my mind...I'm going to watch it every morning for inspiration! (maybe) haha :) -thanks Katherine

Pratima Ayurvedic Skin Care and for those other pittas out there... a link to a site with some info for pacifying the pitta constitution.

Wiki of the day: Edgar Cayce and Ervin László

On June 21 at 12:45 est the Sun will be directly above the Tropic of Cancer. When the Sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer (its farthest point north), it is directly overhead at noon.