Cultivating right mind

A sweet poem from our meditation tonight...

While buttoning my jacket
I hope that all beings
Will keep their hearts warm
And not lose themselves.
~Master Doc The
from The Sun My Heart by Thich Nhat Hanh



Such a gift to be present and conscious of our Oneness. :)

Going with the flow

Had a nice day by the river--been intensely busy at work this week, so today was my day off. I've been connecting alot with friends who are also experiencing an unusual degree of busyness recently; it's interesting how we are all connected, so we can trust we will always look up and see a reflection of what we have going on inside, and with those we love. A dear friend and teacher often speaks of her practice of surrendering to whatever is happening in each moment. If it is a challenging moment, either sending love to whatever is arising, recognizing it as an aspect of herself, a projection, or praying for healing of the emotion and then sending that healing and a desire for happiness to all beings. I think that is lovely, and have been remembering to do that as well, with more success the past few days. Also remembering to picture us all happy and well and hold those images in my mind to invite them. I've been so grateful for peaceful moments with family throughout the week too.

I felt a real desire to clean and reorganize our living space today--feels so peaceful now... I had a great day, but after dinner am feeling a little less integrated. I've been losing so much weight eating raw (but feeling so good otherwise), that I've decided it does feel right (for today, one day at a time) to eat raw all day and then have a healthy, lightly cooked vegan meal in the evenings with my family (trying to only offer quinoa, sprouted grains and veggies). I love the advice to trust our bodies and flow with eating raw as it feels most natural; I could see that this might work best for me or be temporary and lead naturally to 100% again as I flow and grow as a spiritual being in human form. (The truth is, I feel so great when I eat raw all week and then always feel a little funky by the third day eating cooked. However, it feels like it takes some pressure off to not have to work so hard to maintain weight and think about it so much, and to have some healthy things for my son and in-laws to share to eat.).

I think so much of how we feel is what we believe about it, that all of our experiences are so sacred, especially if we are mindful as it all arises. It's been so nice hearing from you guys on the blog, and I've been enjoying your posts so much! Happiness and blessings to you on your journey, each day...

Love,
Marykaye :)

Here are some raw pics from the week:

Raw-renewed

Wow-it's been an interesting couple of weeks, but it feels like much longer. Dear friends came from out of town to renew their vows on the river bank and we had so much fun, but I also found myself, to my surprise, bumped right off my raw path (I woke up today bewildered on the side of the metaphorical road!).

It's all good, and it was very educational, but I've been wandering the last couple of weeks, exploring all-cooked Indian meals to 80% raw (with a cooked meal after 6pm), to now back to 100% raw and with Daniel joining me (the best scenario yet). It's amazing how quickly the energy of a raw and living foods diet affects us. I believe the burden of digestion must use up more of our bodies' resources than we might think, not to mention create some block to an effortless sense of incredible connectedness, spiritually. I felt fine initially, but after a few days found myself increasingly more irritable, foggy-minded and sleeping 8-10 hours/night again. The worst thing was feeling out of touch with intuition and higher Self, in such an egoic space. Sorry for my absence, but it felt right to hold off on blogging my experience until I knew which way was up, and I'm happy to say, 100% raw feels like the way!

My recent departure stemmed from the reality of extreme weight-loss eating raw. I think I must have gotten down to under 100 pounds (40 kg or so) and felt extremely unhealthy and a little bit concerned about what was happening to my body on the raw diet. I think I am just recognizing the benefits of this diet for those desiring weight loss, and the reminder that I can't be so cavalier about going too long without a balanced meal and plenty of fats and protein. (I'm one of those fast oxidizers per Gabriel Cousens, I think). Either way, it is lovely to be back and it feels like home to have some time (and energy :)), to read favorite raw blogs and beloved sites like RFC and Gone Raw.
Shell has a wonderful post on Synergy, shared from RFC, that says it all...

Here are some pics of some raw delights that made it through to me, even in my wanderings, and others from a delightful walk one morning when we couldn't leave for work because of a traffic tie-up where thankfully, nobody was hurt. It was great to go with the flow and share some time in nature before heading off to work for the second half of the day!



Namaste, and blessings on your journey. :)