aesthetic shift

           Our cultural values and beliefs define what we find beautiful.    Mattel  recently had to redesign Barbie to keep pace with a shifting feminine body image, away from the anorexic long legged 60s model to a somewhat more realistically curvy one,  although Rubens' buxom female bodies would still be considered overweight. Someone in our small town had a problem with the looks of a solar panel array in the midst of a field off a local country road.  But with changing times and changing values what is perceived as beautiful or ugly changes as well.

            I have always liked the juxtaposition of old and new, such as an old building that has been renovated and to which contemporary elements have been added, like the glass pyramid in the Parisian Louvre courtyard.  The Europeans are very good at melding old and new elements so the old elements don't seem stuck in the past.  On the contrary, in juxtaposition the new elements looks more new and the old elements looks more old.  They both inform each other in a very attractive way.

            I love the traditional looks of our charming little Norman Rockwellish town.  Yet, I find the mini solar panels, newly added to the downtown street lanterns, really cool because they fuse old charm with new technology, a layering of values expressed in the streetscape.  Respect for the old with the recognition that things must change and evolve.  What do you think?

do you kythe?

            This intriguing word kything means telepathic communication.  My daughter and I previously took a workshop in animal communication because we were interested in "speaking" with our cats.  We weren't too enthusiastic because it seemed to require a lot of practice.  Recently a kything workshop came up locally.   Kything is usually used to communicate with non-verbal people (i.e. in a coma, severely autistic, or otherwise unable to speak) or deceased loved ones; but I inquired whether it could be useful in communicating with animals and was told it was. 

            Lo and behold, it's not too difficult, although practice makes perfect of course.  We practiced dropping from the head into the heart, just like you would for meditation, and getting out of the way of our mind's chatter.  Then we established a line of communication by simple thought - name the animal or person and hold them in your mind.  Next we learned to offer a positive loving thought about our partner to establish heartfelt communication without agenda.  This needs to be a constructive thought about what your partner might need emotionally, such as "You are loving kindness," or "You are radiantly healthy." Keep repeating it mantra style in your mind.  With animals just like with people it is crucial to formulate your "mantra" in the affirmative. "You are whole" instead of "You are no longer sick," or "Your heart is open" or "I miss you" as opposed to "Don't shut me out of you heart."  One of our cats came from the shelter several years ago and still gobbles treats up so fast that he regurgitates them out of fear that there might not be enough.  So my daughter put out " There is enough." You may get a message back right away, or not.  Keep trying.  Both my daughter and I established channels with our cats and with each other quite quickly, and you know it's not your imagination when you feel your partner's energy.

            Try it sometime.  Our cat kept his tuna fish treat down yesterday.

love is in the air

                    Coming from Europe, where Valentine's Day is not taken too seriously, I used to find it, well a bit corny.  To illustrate the importance of Valentine's Day in this country in comparison:  In last Sunday's social Q&A in the NY Times Styles section a woman expressed feelings of insecurity and dejectedness because her boyfriend had scheduled some sports competition for Valentine's Day, would have to go to bed early on Saturday night and presumably fall into bed exhausted on Sunday.  What was she to do, all alone on Valentine's Day?

                   Maybe the answer lies somewhere in between buying your loved one a diamond every Valentine's Day and scheduling a sports event when you know this day is important for her, a happy medium between forced commercialism and meaningful relationship affirmation.  Relationships take effort, and expressing and reiterating our appreciation and love for our partner is important, whether the calendar says Valentine's Day or not.  Personally, I think that overpriced and overcrowded restaurants are not the place to go on Valentine's Day.  But celebrations are always great fun, and another excuse for doing something special is wonderful, in whatever way, shape or form you chose to do so.  For the past few years we have organized a red themed family dinner at home, with each family member in charge of preparing one red course.

             What are your plans?

face-to-face is best

                  Phone conversations and Go-To Meetings are one thing.  Sure, they save time, money and energy, and permit easy communication across long distances.  Facetime, Skype and other apps that permit you to see your communication partner are better.  But nothing beats an actual face-to-face, whether in a business or private situation. 

               Real people, deep communication.  There is simply no substitute for experiencing your partner's emotions, facial expressions, body language and, dare I say, vibes.  We pick up so much information subconsciously from eye expressions, gestures, body language and energetic qualities that simply gets lost otherwise.  Without face-to-face contact we easily misconstrue and misunderstand because we literally don't get the full picture.  When we are together face-to-face we experience the whole person, seen and unseen aspects, and get the complete picture.  Would you rather have dinner with a screen apparition of your friend or the real thing?  There is a reason for business lunches and dinners, for meetings, for business travel.  A virtual  experience will never be the same as the real thing and the cost savings may not always be worth it.

super superfoods

                      A lot has been written in the past two decades on the need to return to real food, which consists of one-ingredient foods from nature put together in a meal (i.e. fresh spinach sautéed with garlic and olive oil), as opposed to manufactured foods that come in boxes and packages (i.e. breakfast cereal or Western omelet mix).  But evolution is always about shifts and new developments in order to evolve to higher levels.  Going "back" to grandmother's foods is a good thing but not necessarily sufficient and the end-all.  Our soils, even organic soils, have been depleted of minerals and trace elements resulting in less nourishing produce, and our bodies are subject to more pollution than ever.

       superfood dried goji berries

              Superfoods to the rescue.  These are foods that are only now available to us outside their geographic growing area, both because enlightened interest and scientific research have brought them to our awareness, and because modern transportation logistics make them accessible.  Superfoods are foods with an incredible amount and array of nutritional components.  David Wolfe, Renaissance man and superfood guru, has been researching superfoods for over twenty year and has written many books on greater nutrional subjects.  I hadn't even heard of some of his superfoods such as maca, AFA blue-green algae, or marine phytoplankton.  The others on his list of 10 were more familiar to me: goji berries, cacao, all bee products, spirulina, aloe vera, hempseed and coconut.  From radiation protection to cleansing the body from toxins and metals, to immune system rebuilding and activating the body's own healing powers, these new and not-so-new foods are exciting to learn about and incorporate into your meals. 

superfood AFA algae

grasshopper or ant?

             You may remember LaFontaine's fable of the ant that strategically planned its food reserves during the summer in preparation for winter, and the playful grasshopper who ended up without food because it played all summer long. 

            Short-cuts don't always work, and it often takes hindsight to realize it.  We have taken many short-cuts on environmental and agricultural issues in favor of quick monetary gain.  Whether fracking, pesticides, factory farming or a host of other quagmires, the money comes quick, but then.....there is always always always an ugly hidden cost, and in the end it costs much more. 

            Take the recent dramatic drop in oil and gas prices, which almost immediately led to people buying fewer electric and fuel efficient cars.  While buying that less expensive vehicle right now, deferring getting those solar panels or better insulated windows, or delaying insulating your house, may indeed save you money this year, the long-term consequences are no savings.  Take the purchase of solar panels for example.  Payback is around 6-8 years.  That means that after 6 to 8 years your electricity will be free for the life of the panels, which is around 20 years or so.  So you get 12 years of free electricity!  And keep in mind that the cost of electricity keeps going up.  In addition you are helping to cut down on the pollution caused by burning fossil fuels, which contributes to the warming of our planet.  Win-win for all. 

            The hook?  It requires an investment and a short-term material sacrifice in favor of long-term environmental and monetary gain.   What's so bad about that?  You do the same for retirement.  You sacrifice something now for gain down the road. 

            Think like the ant, think long-term!

winter whites

Winter white is a soft white, a gentle, almost creamy white.  It is the white of snow glowing in the sunshine, a warm and friendly white.  You can wear winter white, you can decorate with winter white, you can get winter white flowers, and (most of the time) you see winter white when you look out of the window in our latitudes. 

Winter here in the northeast with its whites, dirty whites, browns and grays expresses an absence of vibrant colors.  Not only is winter a time of slowing down in general (see a previous post on hibernation), it also lets the eyes rest from the vivid colors we experience the rest of the year. Winter is a time to reboot your color sense, putting it back into neutral gear.

gluten or grain free?

                       "Being" gluten free is all the craze these days.  It seems almost chic, like belonging to an exclusive club.  "I'm gluten free, are you?"  On the one hand there is this aura around exploring different dietary constraints, on the other hand are some genuine health issues aggravated by grain and sugar.  Both have a high glycemic index and turn quickly into glucose.  Recreating all that wheaty stuff, especially baked goods, with other flours, like oat, brown rice, or tapioca may work for some.  But it is not sufficient for those with inflammatory conditions and conditions that become aggravated or are caused by an overacidification of the system, such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, lupus, or diabetes.   In broad strokes grains, dairy and sugar have an acidifying effect on the body, which worsens inflammation and promotes tumors, while fruits and vegetables alkalize it.  For people with such conditions grain free is the way to go (and sugar and dairy free).  Grainfree literally means no bread, no pasta, no pizza, no pastries, not even in a paleo diet version. 

beautiful things

Life is about experiences and enjoyment, and we all do it differently.

Even though Buddhism says that if we can learn to do away with desires we'll need less stuff and learn to appreciate experiences over material things, I still do like stuff, or rather beautiful things.  As a former interior designer with Libra rising beauty and aesthetics matter a great deal to me and I love surrounding myself with pretty objects.  Target is just a prettier store than Walmart and I mind, and every once in a while I get a stack of Martha Stewart magazines from the library to get my fill of eye candy.

            I appreciate the beauty, essence and craftsmanship of exquisite manmade things - as opposed to nature made things, although I appreciate those too.  Handmade things enhance the vibes of my home. I feel enjoyment when I see them, walk by them, or imagine getting a special item for a special place.  There is the pretty handmade Italian ceramic bowl, or my many cool little orchid pots with the holes that were handmade in Mexico, or this gorgeous turned wood bowl from a local woodworker that I have yet to get.  It's only here on earth that we get to experience stuff, appreciate things, feel them, see them, enjoy their color and texture, use them, once we're back up there we won't.  Enjoy!

let's hibernate a bit

                  Yesterday I was dragging a bit.  When I spoke to my husband he replied that he, too, was tired.  Then my daughter mentioned that she was a bit tired.    We spoke about wintertime, that it's very cold outside, that people usually feel like holing up this time of year.  Many mammals in our latitude go into full hibernation and just sleep the winter away; plants go dormant as well.   We obviously can't do that.  But maybe, just maybe, we can slow down a bit, curl up with a good book and a cup of tea, catch up on some sleep by going to bed earlier and spending more time under the warm and soft covers.  It get's dark so early and it feels so good to be in the warm house.  Soon enough, when the days become longer, we'll burst with energy and a zest for life and action.  But for now it's a good time to enjoy the slower pace of life.  Let's hibernate a bit.