Reset Sunday: Herbal Play

Dandelion, while considered a weed by most people, has many healing properties

There are so many amazing healing plants and medicinal mushrooms out there, that it is easy to get overwhelmed and not try any of them or just stick to a few favorite standby's and not exploresomething new. This week, chose one herb or medicinal mushroom that you would like to learn more about and try. You can use you intuition to pick one or you can research according to a specific ailment or condition. If you want to try chinese herbs, I would suggest making an appointment with an acupuncturist or an herbalist to procure the perfect formula. When researching your herb, ask the following questions:

1. What are the health benefits?
2. How is it traditionally prepared (in a tea, as a powdered supplement, fresh, as a tincture)?
3. Are there any contraindications or precautions you need to take?
4. Is it a tonic herb that you take daily to support your health or is it something you take short-term to help heal an acute condition like a urinary tract infection or a cold?
5. What is the recommended dosage?
6. Where can I find the most potent organic or wild-harvested version of this plant? (Don't trust pre-made formulas from unknown or unrecommended websites/companies. Many places make lofty cure-all claims and the quality or there herbs may not be up to standard.)

After you have researched and sourced the herb, experiment with it and see if you notice any changes to your health. I have found herbal support to be crucial in preventing colds and flus, restoring my health when I start to feel sick or run-down, and in curing infections.

You may be able to find the herbs you are looking for in your local health food store but remember that not all herbal products have the same potency and hence, effectiveness. Here are some resources for finding organic/wild-harvested herbs and mushrooms online:

Mountain Rose Herbs: a great place to buy a wide variety of bulk loose leaf herbs

Ultimate Superfoods: a place to find a selection of ayurvedic herbs as well as high-quality superfoods

Banyan Botanicals: organic ayurvedic herbs

Mushroom Harvest: my source for all medicinal mushrooms such as reishi and cordyceps

The following are 3 products that I use to stop myself from getting colds and flus. They are not cheap but if I take them when I start feeling sick, I can kick the illness before it gets me. The Echinacea and Super Tonic, I take when I notice a lot of people around me seem to be catching colds or if I am really busy and may be taxing my immune system more than usual. I also take them if it would be particularly inconvenient time to get sick. If I feel the slightest signs of sickness such as a tickle in my throat or general fatigue, these are my first defense. The Cold and Flu Herbal shots, I take when I feel that I am truly getting sick or the symptoms are worsening quickly and they seem to restore my health fairly quickly. 

Echinacea plus

Super Tonic

Cold and Flu Herbal Shots

Here is a short list of some of my favorite healing plants and mushrooms:

Ginger root (tea or fresh): soothes nausea, fights colds and sore throats, aids digestion

Mint (tea): aids digestion, invigorating

Roasted Dandelion Root (tea): liver support

Reishi Mushrooms (tea, tincture, powdered): immune booster, many healing properties make this a great daily tonic

Echinacea (tincture): powerful immune booster

Garlic (fresh, tincture, juice): fights colds, immune booster, anti-oxidant rich, may prevent heart disease

Tumeric (fresh, powder): anti-inflammatory, extremely healing and can be used daily in cooking and as a supplement

Dianthus formula: chinese herbal formula for treatment of UTI's 

 If you find any herbs that you that you particularly like, please share your experiences with them in the comments. I am always excited to learn about new plants and enjoy their healing properties. Good luck on your herbal journey.

Reset Sunday: The Things That Bring Me Back

For a print of this illustration, click here

Ever since I was a child, I loved list-making. Lists would consolidate and distill my ideas, tasks, wishes, thoughts and observations into a very clear, concise, and manageable space. Everyone is a familiar with the old standard: the To-do List. While often helpful, I am going leave that diligent-worker list behind for now in favor of a light-hearted list that brims with joy, playfulness, and wonder. I call this list: "The Things that Bring Me Back" This list catalogues all the things big and small that make you feel the joy of being alive. They are the things that awaken you to the thrill of the moment; that catapult you into a state of awe and expansiveness, that warm you with love and open you heart.
   We all have days when we feel like the sunshine has been drained out and been replaced with a dull internal monotone. We feel disconnected and disinterested. We see no progress, no significant change, and our sense of meaning seems poorly fabricated, flimsy at best. This is exactly what we need to be "brought back" from. We have travelled down the gloomy path of apathy, discouragement or sadness and this list reminds of the things that serve as golden lifelines back to ourselves, restoring our energy, our sense of purpose and innate joy.
   So sit down and let your mind roam until you stumble upon these special things that bring you back. They will be unique to you so don't judge them or edit. Just be honest and true to yourself. Meditating for a half hour each day may be what you think should work but maybe it is actually just seeing a funny picture of a cat. My list took the form of a doodle but you can also just write a regular vertical list, use colorful markers, draw pictures of add photos, or just type it into your computer. Just the act of writing this list can help remind you of why life is so grand! Post your list in places you see often: over your desk, on the refrigerator, in the bathroom. Read it often, especially when you feel lost and need to find your way back.

Reset Sunday: Driving Meditation or How to be a Driving Ninja

So many of us, especially my fellow Angelenos out there, spend too much time in our cars. The result: we often experience impatience, annoyance, hatred, boredom, frustration, sleepiness, and general dysphoria while driving. Aside from changing our lifestyles to drive less which is not always easy or practical, here is a mindful practice that can change the way we experience being stuck in traffic and commuting.  And for those of you, who want to have a meditation practice but don't have think you have the time, here is a place to start.

When we think of mediation, the first thing that come to mind for many people is a monk or yogi sitting crossed legged with eyes closed, clearing their mind of all thoughts. Obviously, this is not what we are going to be attempting while driving. Instead, our eyes will be fully open and alert. We will be sitting in our seat relaxed and responsive. And, most importantly, we will be observing the thoughts, emotions and body sensations that arise without judgement. The intention of this practice is not an empty mind, although that may occur. Rather, it is the Undistracted Awareness of everything you are experiencing in the present moment.

Undistracted Awareness while driving is an obvious upgrade from our usual autopilot, spaced-out, multi-tasking mode of driving. You will be relaxed yet ready to respond to any situation whether it be getting stuck behind a slow truck on a narrow mountain road or getting cut off by a impatient SUV on the freeway. You will become a driving ninja. Here's how:

1. Begin by deepening your breathe. Let the inhale fill your entire body. Let the exhales empty completely. Feel your sitting bones and tail bone sink down into the seat. Feel the inhale rising up through the spine, lengthening the body. The heart space opens. The shoulders relax back and down and the crown the head reaches upward.
   
2. Your body is soft and responsive to the movement of the breath. The breath is waking up every cell. Your whole being is waking up. You feel your hands guiding the steering wheel. You feel the pressure of your foot on the pedal. You feel the vibration of the car and the texture of the road.
   
3. Your eyes are alert, taking in all the other cars around you, the curve of the road, the lights, the buildings or trees surrounding you. Glancing in your mirrors, you establish a clear awareness of everything that is happening around you.
   
4. Now, let your ears perk up. You can hear the motor of your car, the shifting of gears, the wind going by. Maybe you hear a car coming up behind you or passing you. Allow your ears to be awake to all sounds.
   
5. As thoughts and feelings arise, simply observe them without a judgement. There's a thought about dinner. There's a thought about work tomorrow. There's a feeling of frustration at a slow driver. Notice how these thoughts and emotions are echoing through the body. Are the shoulders tensing or the jaw gripping? Does the chest feel constricted? Simply notice these sensations and then, consciously relax the body, bringing the awareness back to all the sensations driving. Take a deep breath. What do you see right now? What do you hear? What can you feel? Pay attention to the moment right now. Wake up and slide into complete awareness.
   
6. Remember that you are not alone right now. Every car contains a human being, an entire life, an entire consciousness. Even if you are on an empty road remember there are animals hidden in the brush, grasses or trees. There may be people walking along the road or crossing the street. This is a perfect opportunity to practice compassion and a deep respect for life. Let this feeling of compassion guide the choices you make while driving. How can I show compassion right now? Maybe, it is by slowing down in a residential area, or letting a car merge in front of you or by forgiving the person who cut you off, forgiving their impatience because maybe you have had similar feelings or made mistakes of your own before. Honor your life and the lives of all those that you are sharing the road with right now.
   
7. Your thoughts may wander. Your attention may become distracted. It's ok. Just keep returning to  the present moment. Return to your breath. Return to your experience of being on the road right now, right here.
   

I will soon be posting an audio recording of this mediation as well. Happy and safe driving to all the driving ninjas out there!

Reset Sunday: Mini Declutter

photo courtesy of Julie at Jane's Apron

Pick one small area that inspires feelings of resistance, confusion, frustration, chaos or being overwhelmed. If you notice that when you go to this space, it takes ridiculously long to find what you need or better yet, you give up looking and decide it's just better to go without, you have a discovered a perfect candidate for this mini declutter practice. It might be a closet, cabinet, book shelf, bathroom counter, your computer desktop, hard drives, the food pantry, spice rack or any space ruled by the Despot of Disorder. After you are done, pay attention to how you feel when interacting with this clean and clear space. Notice the how your state of mind and energy shifts in response.

Here are 5 tips to help you declutter this small space:

1. Gift, recycle, or throw away anything you don't use or is no longer needed. For instance, ancient spices, old food, books you have already read and honestly won't read again, clothes that are ragged or rarely leave the hanger, beauty products that old or never used, etc.
   
2. Lightening-fast decision-making. Don't waste time on the internal debate of whether or not you may need something in the future. Ask youself, do I use this or can I see a realistic use for this in the near future? If the first answer is no, don't think just pass this stuff along to a better home or recycle it.
   
3. Categorize and consolidate. Look for the categories amongst your stuff and put like things together. Be creative about coming up with a system. Think about how you use your things and make a system that is responsive to this. for instance, you may think the most logical way to organize your book is by genre but think about how you read. Maybe you have a section for books you have not read, a section for books that you like to reference and a section for favorite books you like to share with friends. If you have two of something that is very similar or the same, see if you can consolidate them into one or if one of them can be let go.
   
4. Simplify. Consider a system that allows for the greatest simplicity of use and cleaning. Fewer things helps immensely. Also keeping things in open-topped boxes or on trays makes them easier to remove for cleaning and keeps similar things grouped together.
   
5. Map it. After you have organized your things into categories and made a unique, physical space for each category, jot down a little map to remind yourself of the new system. Literally, draw a quick diagram of the space and label what goes where. If you share this space with someone else, give them a copy of the map and go over it with them. This will help you to maintain the newly decluttered zone.

Reset Sunday: Reconnect

"I'll be your mirror."                                photograph: Joe Plenys ©2009

Close friends mirror elements of our being. They call forth these specific pieces of our personality and encourage them to come into full bloom for better or worse. When people come together, they create a unique alchemy that reveals and accentuates aspects of ourselves that may have been hidden, languishing, or nascent.

In high school, I had two close girl friends with whom I felt deeply connected. After we all left home at 18, we went our separate ways and had very little contact with each other. We ended up literally spread across the country in New York, Colorado, and California. With the advent of social networking, I was able to find them again and spy in on their lives as I perused photographs and profiles.

During that time, I made the uncanny discovery that all three of us had listed the same novelist as our favorite author although none of us had known about him when we were young and together.  This author's books spoke to something deep inside of me that I could never quite put a finger on. It got me to thinking about my two old friends and the seed of resonance that had brought us together and the way that seed continued to grow even after our life paths had diverged. This love for the same author was just a small signpost for the inner parallels that remained.

For this Reset Sunday, reach out and reconnect to old friend who is hovering on the edges of your consciousness. Sometimes, this is a friend you haven't seen in decades. Other times it might have only been a distracted month of absence. This person keeps popping up in your dreams or your thoughts. Or maybe you have even thought to call them but didn't get around to it or maybe they reached out to you but general busyness kept you from responding. Send an email or give a call. Don't be discouraged by phone tag or invalid addresses. Keep following through until you contact them. If you can't find them or can't talk to them for whatever reason, write them a letter and keep it somewhere special, holding out that intention of reaching them even if it seems impossible.

Reconnecting can bring many unexpected gifts - a reclaiming of a lost part of ourselves, laughter, a shining memory, an apology, compassion for our younger selves, the light of time illuminating an old misunderstanding, unexpected healing, gratitude, the pure joy of an unconditional human connection despite time or distance, reassurance that we are on the right path or a reminder to return to what is most important. Notice what gifts come to you and what light they bring into your present life.

These Velvet Underground lyrics always struck me as a poignant declaration of dear friendship. Enjoy and have a heart-warmed week.

I'll be your mirror
Reflect what you are, in case you don't know
I'll be the wind, the rain and the sunset
The light on your door to show that you're home.

Reset Sunday: Deep Sight

the curious passion flower in my yard

For much of the time, we walk through life and only see the idea of the things around us. When I open my bedroom door, I don't SEE where the paint has chipped slightly along the edge or the little residue of fingerprints or the slight variations in cream color. Mostly, I briefly and almost unnoticeably THINK door and continue on my way. Of course, if we truly saw everything thing around us all the time we would probably take an hour just to transverse the vast territory between the bedroom and the kitchen. So the mind's ability to simplify, categorize and name is definitely appreciated but probably takes the driver's seat more often than is necessary. This Reset Sunday is all about awakening the sense of sight and seeing how it activates both your sense of full present awareness and your imagination.

First, find a plant. It can be as simple as a blade of grass or as complex as a passion flower or as grand as an eucalyptus tree. It can be a potted plant or bouquet of flowers in your house or something you discover in a park or yard. If you want to make day of it and you live somewhere warm, check out a botanical garden. I think I might go to one of my favorite places in Los Angeles, Huntington Gardens. If you feel comfortable drawing or even if you feel uncomfortable but adventurous, I suggest you bring a pen or pencil and draw the plant as you are practicing seeing it. The process of drawing can really engage and awaken our sense of sight. Don't worry about the drawing being good or right. The process is the practice and you can always recycle the drawing afterward.

Sit before the plant and let your body and your face relax and soften. Deepen the breath and settle in. Allow your eyes to go on a little adventure. Start following the lines of the stem, the leaves, the petals, the buds.  This is a slow journey for the eyes. Let the small space expand into an entire universe. When you have covered every nook and cranny, start again and see what miniature miracles you missed the first time. If you are drawing, follow the the edges of the plant with you pen on the paper. Record every subtle shift in curvature and shape. Below is a brief guidebook for this journey that points out some attractions to be alert to on your visual journey.

1. Texture: You don't have to touch something to get a feeling for texture. Your eyes can feel it as well. Does it appear soft, prickly, smooth, velvety, mooshy, powdery, pointy, slimey, cool, hard, feathery, or something that may not have a word but only a feeling? Explore the textures as they change with your eyes and record them with your pen.
   
2. Color: Observe the subtle shifts in color. You can name them if it helps (oh, that green is edging on blue here and yellow at the tip of the leaves) but you can also just enjoy the sensual experience of the plant's color palette unfolding before you.
   
3. Light and shadow: Where is the plant obscured in darkness and where is the light so bright it might be dissolving the edges of the leaves or petals? Where is light creating transluscene and where is the absence of it creating a deep opaqueness?
   
4. Weight: Do the leaves appear light and airy or ponderous? Is the weight of a giant bloom bending the branch? Where is the plant reaching upward defying gravity and where is it bowing and tilting towards the earth?
   
5. Negative Space: Notice the strange organic shapes that are created between the leaves, branches, and stems - unique puzzle piece of sky or wall or whatever fills the background. Some shapes may be surprisingly angular and geometric while others will be curved and meandering.
   
6. Shapes: Observe the shapes that the plant itself makes. Maybe the leaves are extended ovals or hearts, or long uneven triangles. Maybe the branches are making T's or Y's. Many shapes will seem unnameable but that will only make seeing them more of an adventure.

After this journey of sight, your imagination will have a pile of visual gifts to play with. Try free associating with some elements that you really loved seeing. Maybe the powdery quality or the pollen at the center of the bloom reminds you of snow made out of sunlight. Or perhaps, the way the branches reach upward inspires a feeling of flight and freedom.  Let this part be light-hearted and playful. Look! Is that a flower a fairy helicopter? Is that a winking man in the bark of tree? Are those petals twirling like dervish?

The first part of this practice, the  seeing, is the meditation. The second part is the arena of imagination and self-expression. Have fun with this and notice how activating your deep sight may change how you see everything else as well.

Reset Sunday Check-in: Focus and Finish

I have been playing with the practice I outlined in this week's Reset Sunday, Focus and Finish and I wanted share some of my observations and experiences so far:

1. There is a part of me that is a cross between a very eager little kid and an impatient adult that wants to just jump right in and start working. It takes a concerted effort to take a few minutes to center, breathe, and focus before I start. Yet, when I do take that time, I feel more calm and open for the duration of the project.
2. The same part of me that wants to start right away, also wants to jump forward to the next task just when I am getting close to finishing. It is as if a part of me is literally always 2 steps ahead of the actual me. It's all about enjoying the excitement and energy of that part of me while reining her in to stay with what is right before me, not ahead of me. 
3. It is fun to laugh at that the absurdity of this part of me that always wants to race on to the next thing. I love "her" and yet, will not get blindly taken on her wild madcap ride. "She" can't trick me. Well, at least, most of time. ;)
4. I love to feel my toes,  stretch and breathe deeply in my bed when I wake up. It turns resistance into pleasure.