Space - deep waters

Using awareness that the new moon, sun, Mercury, and Neptune are in the psychic water sign Pisces...making sensitivity and intuition much stronger...I've started delving into my studies on dream interpretation again, going deeper into the layers and subtle spaces of the conscious and unconscious. Space and all things deep have been the two most prominent mantras in my experiences in this new year. 2012 is a powerful time to awaken, transform, for grounding, and transcending.

Namaste

Aphelion: On July 3 at 9:00 pm EST, Earth reaches its most distant orbital point from the Sun for this year: 94.5 million miles (152.1 million km). Earth is 3.1 million miles (5 million km) farther from the Sun at aphelion than when it is at its closest point (perihelion), in January.

The Ancient Code (click to watch the trailer) a movie that was just released about 2012, also references sacred geometry. Here's a quote from the movie:
On a misty morning take a walk outside and into nature. You will have revealed to you a clue to the code of the ancients, for you will suddenly find millions upon millions of beautiful mathematical structures that you did not see before. Your eyes have been opened.

How to Start on the Path:
Don't be overwhelmed by the number of teachers and teachings. Just start by doing a little bit of something, even five minutes of meditation, but do it every day.... Once you put one foot in front of another, the dharma path has a way of leading you where you need to go.

Dean Sluyter, Cinema Nirvana

Open yourself to yourself:

When you don't punish or condemn yourself, when you relax more and appreciate your body and mind, you begin to contact the fundamental notion of basic goodness in yourself. So it is extremely important to be willing to open yourself to yourself. Developing tenderness toward yourself allows you to see both your problems and your potential accurately. You don't feel that you have to ignore your problems or exaggerate your potential. That kind of gentleness toward yourself and appreciation of yourself is very necessary. It provides the ground for helping yourself and others.

Chögyam Trungpa, The Sanity We Are Born With

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.

Yoga mala

How to instantly feel more centered: Sit in a meditation posture, and straighten your spine. Bring your awareness and attention to the breath, and with each in breath feel grounded through your root chakra and let the energy of the inhaled breath rise to the crown of your head. Become aware of the luminous channel connecting you to the earth as well as the heavens. Repeat.

A 108 sun salutation workshop is being offered at Radiance Yoga in Old Town on the solstice, Sunday June 21 . (Also the book club at Radiance Yoga this month will discuss The Four Agreements, one of my favorite books). I was curious to the significance of the number 108, as I am planning to do 108 sun salutations on the Summer Solstice as one way of being mindful of the zenith. I came across this Q&A on the Yoga Journal website, but I will continue researching this further because I am interested in the power in numbers. Here is the Q&A reposted below:

I’ve read of people doing 108 Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar A) at the time of the spring equinox. What is the significance of the number 108?
— Linda Burkard, Martinez, California

By Shiva Rea

The number’s significance is open to interpretation. But 108 has long been considered a sacred number in Hinduism and yoga. Traditionally, malas, or garlands of prayer beads, come as a string of 108 beads (plus one for the “guru bead,” around which the other 108 beads turn like the planets around the sun). A mala is used for counting as you repeat a mantra—much like the Catholic rosary.

Renowned mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence. This number also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. Such phenomena have given rise to many examples of ritual significance.

According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body.

And, yes, one can offer a yoga mala of 108 Sun Salutations. Please take a moment to visit www.globalmala.org for more information on the power of 108 and joining the “mala around the earth” to be formed by the worldwide yoga community on September 21 and 22 of 2007.

Summer Solstice this Sunday

I am looking forward to the Solstice on Sunday...at 12:45 am eastern time...how will you celebrate the day?

I hiked Meneka Peak yesterday, in the George Washington National Forest. What a gorgeous day to be outdoors and reconnect with mother Earth! We saw lots of wildlife, including a mouse, a few frogs, and a turtle. Also along the trail was the greatest variety of mushrooms/fungi I've ever seen in my life. The sunlight was just gorgeous shining on us through the trees. The trail was very rocky in parts, as most are in the area, and during a break in the hike I read this quote from my pocket Buddha reader, which I thought was a fitting meditation for the surroundings:

If your mind becomes firm like a rock
And no longer shakes
In a world where everything is shaking,
Your mind will be your greatest friend
And suffering will not come your way.

-Theragatha

More on the solstice later...

Saturday evening was one of the most enjoyable nights I've had in a while filled with good company and great conversation. It was a potluck dinner for our meditation group, and farewell gathering for our dear friend Kourosh who is moving abroad. I made mango spring rolls, recipe below, shared with me by Jen! :)

Ingredients:
Rice paper
Mango
Avocado
Bean Sprouts
Fresh cilantro
Cellophane noodles
Peanut sauce

Directions:
Slice avocado and mango (click here for how to slice a mango). Cook cellophane noodles until transparent. Set up all ingredients, and a bowl of warm water to soften the rice paper, in an assembly line fashion. Soften the rice paper for each roll, then add a bit of noodles, bean sprouts, a slice of mango, a slice of avocado, and some fresh cilantro leaves. Roll up the rice paper and filling (click on link for how-to), and serve with peanut sauce...or any dipping sauce you would like.

Stream-enterer

This Sunday, June 7th, the full Moon will be in Sagittarius. It’s a great day for your spiritual needs…Peace throughout the cosmos…Enjoy this Full moon with a deeper spiritual awakening and find that equilibrium you have been searching for.

via Brad Williams Astrology

Mother's Day!

Here are some mother's day ideas to honor all the special mothers in your life :) As well as some other DC area links I came across during my search...and be sure to try and buy organic, local, and fair-trade gifts!

Brunch in DC, or Old Town!

Mother's day spa treatment specials

Mount Vernon Garden Tours (this is my Mom's pick for the day!)

Other Gardens in the DC Area

Bethesda Fine Arts Festival

Cruise along the Potomac

Mother's day in Virginia (scroll to bottom for Northern VA, including winery and vineyard specials)

DC Yoga Week: May 2-9, free or $5 classes at participating yoga studios in DC!

Also, a list of good hiking trails in the DC area. I've hiked some of the AT, in the Shennandoah National Park and George Washington National Forest, Great Falls, Sugarloaf Mountain, and Bull Run park. I'd like to try Rock Creek Park, Black Hill Park, Catoctin Mountain Park, and Cunningham Falls. :)
View of the sunset from my apartment window

More on Natural Foods

Eatwild.com is your source for safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry, pork, dairy and other wild edibles.

LocalHarvest.org The best organic food is what's grown closest to you. Use our website to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.

From Earth911, 8 ways to green your spring. Including tips on spring cleaning, laundry, car care, rainwater preservation, gardening, and grilling.

Vernal Equinox

Today marks the vernal equinox, at 6:44 am the Sun shone directly at the center band of our planet, the equator. Equinox means "equal night." The equinoxes occur at the points in Earth's annual orbit when the lengths of day and night are equal. Spring arrived in the northern hemisphere this morning, when the Sun crossed the celestial equator from south to north at the vernal equinox. Over the next three months, the Sun will travel farther north, bringing longer, warmer days north of the equator.

new energy- new wave of season - vernal equinox
confident and optimistic dynamic, its a beautiful day, and a beautiful time and season we're entering.

All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.

While reading a small pamphlet about death given to my family, before my grandmother passed away, it mentioned that wordlessness and touch become more important and meaningful ways of communicating when a person is living the last few days or weeks of their life. I love communicating in that way and I enjoy the times where much more can be transmitted deeply through silence, touch, and without using words, rather than language.

Quotes of the day:

So the single most vital step on your journey toward enlightenment is this: learn to disidentify with your mind. Every time you create a gap in the stream of mind the light of your consciousness grows stronger.

Eckhart Tolle

Source: The Power of Now : A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Page: 21

The essence of the Way is detachment. And the goal of those who practice is freedom from appearances.

Bodhidharma (c. 440 AD - 528 AD)

Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma: A Bilingual Edition

Electronics and Melatonin levels

From the GOOP newsletter link I posted earlier, but something I'm being more conscious of:

Have an “electronic sundown.” At around 10 pm, turn off your computer, charge your cell in the other room and turn off the TV. Scan your bedroom for blinking or glowing lights – the alarm clock, the charging indicator on your cell phone, the DVD clock and timer, etc. Turn these off or cover the lights. Each little bit of light can stop your melatonin levels from rising, which you need to induce sleep and to reach the deep restorative sleep your body requires. If you can’t darken your room, wear a sleep mask. This period of darkness will help reset your natural rhythm.

Autumnal Equinox

Next Monday, the Sun will be directly over the Earth's equator at 10:44am, EST. The equinox marks a change of season for nature, and this is also an important time for your body and soul. Chinese medicine recommends a check up with every change of the season to see how your body is doing and what, if any, weaknesses need to be addressed to prevent illness or disease. Basically an alignment of energy, through acupuncture if necessary, to make sure you are healthy. This is also a good time to do a detox, no matter how small, even if it is just a day of drinking only water. It is also useful to set a few goals at the change of a season (maybe 1 to 3), to reflect on the past few months, and to get a fresh start on accomplishing your goals. The energy of the change and the start of a new season will be helpful.

It is always good to eat seasonally as well, so visit your local farmer's market or local organic produce section at the grocery store and fill up with different varieties of squash, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, sweet potatoes..

Astronomy in the fall: Saturn can be seen in the morning sky throughout fall. Also look out for the Harvest Moon which can be seen until the end of this week. The Harvest Moon is the Full Moon closest to Autumnal Equinox which rises soon after sunset.

Theme song for this post: Summer's Almost Gone by The Doors -thanks Bloom

Wiki link: Equinox

Greet the new season joyfully on Monday with an open soul and heart. Embrace your goals and amplify the energy of the Earth.

Scratching the Surface

Tonight I saw my first Alexandria sunset since I moved here in January. I watched it from the 4th floor pool deck of my aunt's apartment building. It was the most beautiful thing I have seen in a while, but nothing compared to Blacksburg sunsets.

Naqoyqatsi, a movie I watched last night with Scott. I watched another one of the trilogy a few years ago in college, I think.

Jazz in the Garden, every Friday at the Sculpture Garden in DC

"The world we live in is created by the visions we hold. By focusing our energy on what inspires us rather than what we fear, we manifest the world we desire. Gaia Community is an online space to share this intention with like-minded people, so that together we can make the world a better place. " Kind of like facebook because its a social networking site, but a lot different.

Some amateur astronomy...Venus joins Jupiter, Mars, Saturn Evenings: Beginning around July 16, Venus can be seen in the evening sky it will be visible for the rest of summer.
JupiterMoon: These two celestial bodies appear together at sunset on July 16 and 17.
(source: my Ecological Calendar).

Twenty-five of Hubble's Greatest Hits: Some of the best images from the Hubble over the past 17 years. There will definitely be more National Geographic posts--they have a great website. I really like the Veil Nebula, 1994, Omega Centauri, 1997, Swan Nebula 1999, Cat's Eye Nebula 2002, Hubble Ultra Deep Field, 2003, . The caption paragraphs for each picture are really informative. For example, the one on Gamma Ray Bursts:

"Gamma ray bursts (GRB),* as a result of GRB 971214, were determined to be the most energetic phenomena in the universe known to scientists. Prior to the detection of GRBs, supernovae were thought to be the most powerful explosions.
The energy a gamma ray burst releases is equal to all the energy radiated by our entire galaxy over a couple of centuries. Astronomers think the burst by GRB 971214 may have released several hundred times the energy of a supernova.
* Gamma ray bursts (GRB) are flashes of high-energy radiation that appear from random directions in space and usually last only a few seconds."

First Blog Post!

Today is my first post! I don't know why I got so inspired to start a blog today, something just told me that I had to, and put this above all other priorities. I intend for this blog to be an amalgam of interesting sites and articles I find which will mainly include topics such as science, religion, nature, art, music... basically anything that catches my eye. A few afternoon posts to start out:

MGMT
This is a band I have been listening to a bit recently..they are good!

Ever wonder about the position of the sun in the sky?
This past year I have been wondering about the position of the sun in the sky a lot and the earth's orbit around the sun. I know humans have been documenting this for thousands of years but its fun to figure it out on your own. I have been able to track the path of the morning sun from my office window, here every morning since last September. I just note where it is at around 9:45 everyday usually, and just watch its path change throughout the year across my window. It's been interesting! Not to mention since I'm a cloudspotter, and I'm always glancing to see what the clouds are doing too.

Expect many wikipedia links on this blog...here's a link to the basil page in the herbs category, because I have been using the fresh basil from our garden in my cooking lately.

Will post more later today before going to the swimming pool and reading The Cloudspotter's Guide. The Cloudspotter's Guide is an awesome book, best for poolside reading while watching the clouds. Each chapter is devoted to a specific cloud type and the author weaves in cultural and historical stories about the cloud as well. Also, there's a great chart in the beginning showing all cloud types and the altitudes at which they occur.

Also, I am working on following the advice of my spiritual advisor and being patient and aware of everything around me.

Buddhist quote:
The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery. The greatest quality is seeking to serve others. The greatest precept is continual awareness. The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything. The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways. The greatest magic is transmuting the passions. The greatest generosity is non-attachment. The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind. The greatest patience is humility. The greatest effort is not concerned with results. The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go. The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances. - Atisha ...