It’s push comes to shove time, many of us are having to decide what we really need to shop for and what we can to without. In an attempt to stave off financial ruin, I have whittled my grocery list way down. I used to think I spent a lot on groceries, but it turns out my spending is average for the size of my family. I’m convinced my family is not really average and that I can bring my grocery bill down. It’s just one of the ways I’m choosing to economize in these interesting times.
I can’t find it in myself to give up my whole bean coffee, roasted to perfection by some corporate megalomaniac, I’m sure, but all the same I adore it. It’s worth waking up for. I can’t go with out my morning companion, and cheaper imitations just won’t do. They are to acidic, to light, to green, to pale, to mass produced, canned and vacuum sealed. They have no real personality; they just masquerade as having great depth. Their charm is gone the moment you get a whiff of their scent, like a guy wearing cheap cologne on a first date.
So in an attempt to economize, I have taken to actually measuring my beans to make each perfect cup o’ joe. I’m measuring the water too, so no left over, unused, unwanted, cold growing, stale cups of coffee get washed down the kitchen sink.
Into the grinder I carefully placed one and one half tablespoons of beans per cup o’joe. I ground the beans fine and dumped them into the French press coffee pot ( the only way to go if you really love the taste of coffee- no paper filter to soak up the delicate oils infused with essence of coffee tree, bloom and growth ).
One measured cup of steaming hot water for each cup of coffee followed.
I don’t know about you but I was fascinated to find that my coffee “cup” holds about two cups of coffee. I measured my china from the 30’s and 40’s and guess what? A cup held a cup. I wondered when we became such gluttons. Or were there copious cups all along, they just were not included with a set of delicate china? Did big mugs become fashionable in the 50’s? I had to know, it’s just me so I went on-line (don’t you love the internet?) and found this:
Archaeologists found mugs carved from bones dating to the Stone Age. The first coffee shop appeared in 1475 in Constantinople. The first coffee mugs were made out of wood during that time. In 1748, Britain banned coffee and all merchandise associated with it, including mugs. This led to a shortage of mugs, and the black market prices for mugs rose. DAMN! I sure am glad that I do not live in Britain in 1748!
Fascinating- but let us get back to the story-
I wrapped the coffee pot in kitchen towels to keep the heat in and let it set the required 4 minutes. Wa-la I mused as I poured the perfect cup of coffee. Steam rose to delight my nose as I lifted the mug and took a first sip.
Instantaneously it seemed that I had entered a worm hole and was projected back in time to a warm September afternoon. The sky was cloudless. Shade dappled the table I sat at, with tiny flutters of shadow in the warm breeze. The sun, just past mid point in the sky reflected a billion diamond like wave caps off the distant ocean, laid out before me with no end in sight. From my seat at the top of the island, I could see coast line curve for many miles before it wandered around the island, the ocean surrounding it like a square dancers skirt in full twirl. The dust had settled on the dirt road, the last car passed half an hour ago and the only sounds were the call of birds I could not identify in the distance, as they meandered through the coffee plantation, and the low hum of the coffee roaster in the plantation’s thatched roof “factory and retail shop” down the walk to my right. The flagstone patio was empty; presumably the tourists were off pursuing more aquatic interests in the heat of the day.
The cup of coffee in front of me was hot, and made the air seem cool, a respite from the humid warmth of the big island air. The coffee was dark and rich, tasting like once ancient volcanic lava now weatherized to a soft black nutrient rich soil, and sweet dreams of paradise and sea turtles and palm trees and orchid leis.
A moment later I was back in the kitchen, - Wow! That is one good cup of coffee. I'm making it just like that from now on. The unexpected mini vacation-in-my-mind just the icing on the cake of a great economical cup 'o joe.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
It's Only Rock and Roll
I managed to catch a bit of the inauguration speech on TV yesterday, and then I came home and got on line to read the rest. There was one thing in particular that President Obama ( doesn't that sound good?) said that really struck me, and got me to meandering. He said that 60 years ago his relative (did he say dad or granddad?) would not have been served in some restaurants in this country.
How much the face of America has changed in just one generation. It's amazing really. I had not thought about it, I mean, as far as I can tell we are all one big family. President Obama's remark made me think of all the un-sung heroes of the civil rights movement and I pictured all the missing ( ie: disappeared while working for the civil rights movement, presumably buried somewhere in the deep south) and forgotten civil rights workers, lined up in heaven watching Obama take his oath.
It also occurred to me that the baby boomers always said they were going to change the world- "peace and brotherhood, man" and this moment in history clearly confirms that they were right. I mean, 60 years!It seems like a long time, but honestly, in the history of the world, it's a really, really, short time. From "you can't eat here" to "please be our president". And they made it happen, those baby boomers, while literally stoned out of their minds a large percentage of the time. Amazing.
I was thinking about the beginning of peaceful race relations in this country and I'm no historian, but it came to mind that rock and roll had a hand in all this change. Back in the early days of rock and roll (not really early, that would be the late 20's and early 30's when rock and roll was a infant) like about the time rock and roll became a young adult, the 50's.
This country was still really segregated, but artists like Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins and Elvis were playing some really hot tunes and no one seemed to care if the band was white boys or black men, as long as they rocked. Anglo kids were going to the other side of town to hear these legends and in the process, finding out the other side of town was not that different. Meanwhile the African American teens were having to put up with this invasion, made some reconnaissance missions of their own and came up with the same conclusion.
I'm sure there was a lot more to it than that, but you get it. It was the music that gave them a bridge to cross. And they did. And look what happened.
Then in the 60's it continued with more music, less inhibitions and a philosophy that loved everyone. I recently saw an interview with Deepak Chopra and Robert Therman and Deepak was saying - everyone wonders where the 60's went, well it's right here in front of you, we are the 60's, we haven't gone anywhere, we just look different now. Now we are expanding our minds in a different way, with similar results. Rock on Deepak.
By the 70's the freaks were fully indoctrinated to the idea that it didn't matter what you looked like or where you came from. If you wanted to party, then party it was, turn up the music and the peace and brotherhood vibe resonated even stronger. Well, like I said, I'm no historian, but it looks like the boomers did change the world, in their own unique way.
Right now it's easy to look around and see lots of things about this country that need changing. There are plenty of things wrong. But you know, Obama's remark made me realize that there are a lot of things right as well, and maybe we are all just so used to living in the land of the free that sometimes we take it for granted. I'm thankful I caught a bit of that speech, it really gave me something to think about.
Peace Man.
How much the face of America has changed in just one generation. It's amazing really. I had not thought about it, I mean, as far as I can tell we are all one big family. President Obama's remark made me think of all the un-sung heroes of the civil rights movement and I pictured all the missing ( ie: disappeared while working for the civil rights movement, presumably buried somewhere in the deep south) and forgotten civil rights workers, lined up in heaven watching Obama take his oath.
It also occurred to me that the baby boomers always said they were going to change the world- "peace and brotherhood, man" and this moment in history clearly confirms that they were right. I mean, 60 years!It seems like a long time, but honestly, in the history of the world, it's a really, really, short time. From "you can't eat here" to "please be our president". And they made it happen, those baby boomers, while literally stoned out of their minds a large percentage of the time. Amazing.
I was thinking about the beginning of peaceful race relations in this country and I'm no historian, but it came to mind that rock and roll had a hand in all this change. Back in the early days of rock and roll (not really early, that would be the late 20's and early 30's when rock and roll was a infant) like about the time rock and roll became a young adult, the 50's.
This country was still really segregated, but artists like Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins and Elvis were playing some really hot tunes and no one seemed to care if the band was white boys or black men, as long as they rocked. Anglo kids were going to the other side of town to hear these legends and in the process, finding out the other side of town was not that different. Meanwhile the African American teens were having to put up with this invasion, made some reconnaissance missions of their own and came up with the same conclusion.
I'm sure there was a lot more to it than that, but you get it. It was the music that gave them a bridge to cross. And they did. And look what happened.
Then in the 60's it continued with more music, less inhibitions and a philosophy that loved everyone. I recently saw an interview with Deepak Chopra and Robert Therman and Deepak was saying - everyone wonders where the 60's went, well it's right here in front of you, we are the 60's, we haven't gone anywhere, we just look different now. Now we are expanding our minds in a different way, with similar results. Rock on Deepak.
By the 70's the freaks were fully indoctrinated to the idea that it didn't matter what you looked like or where you came from. If you wanted to party, then party it was, turn up the music and the peace and brotherhood vibe resonated even stronger. Well, like I said, I'm no historian, but it looks like the boomers did change the world, in their own unique way.
Right now it's easy to look around and see lots of things about this country that need changing. There are plenty of things wrong. But you know, Obama's remark made me realize that there are a lot of things right as well, and maybe we are all just so used to living in the land of the free that sometimes we take it for granted. I'm thankful I caught a bit of that speech, it really gave me something to think about.
Peace Man.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
I'm Hopeful, Are You?
Well, Obama is not much to look at, but I think he's the best chance to see something positive happen in government that we have had in a really long time. After all, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp and U2 are all singing at the inauguration concert, political references don't get much better than that, I'm taking it as a really good sign.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Like a Flea on a Coyote's Butt.
For the new year one of my goals is to meditate on a regular basis. I decided to do this because lord knows I could use a little relaxation in my life. I also recently read a few articles about the effect meditation has on your immune system and your health in general. Turns out meditation is really good for your physical, as well as your mental health. Increased immune activity is seen with as little as ten minutes of meditation a day! I'm also interested in trying this because of all the stuff you hear about how meditation expands your consciousness and "plugs you into the field". What field you ask? The morphic field, the zone, the string theory field, the web of universal energy, that from which all things come.
Sounds cool, doesn't it? To be one with the very particles (or waves, depending on who is watching) that make up all.
I'm told that to enter the field you must first enter the silence and still your mind. So that is the bottom line, stilling the mind and seeing what is on the other side of all this chatter. I'm thinking it's gonna look like an endless field of white sparkle, with flashes of color here and there.
So I've started meditating each day. I decided to start small because I sit still like a flea on a coyotes butt. But I figure if I can sit still for ten minutes, maybe eventually I can get my thoughts to sit still too. Then we would be in harmony, me and my sitting still body and no thoughts mind. We could just experience the sparkly field. Or nothingness. Or what ever- I don't really know because I've not been there yet.
I did some reading about different meditation techniques and decided to go the simple (kinda zen) way, to just sit and breathe. This is harder than it sounds. Most of us just sprint through life, never even realizing we are breathing. The body is so well designed, so automatic, you don't have to think to breathe, so why would you? Right? The idea is to slow your breath to about 6 breaths a minute. Apparently this is the optimal rate to cause your brain to switch gears and shift down to theta waves, which are like a minor ripple on the pond of your mind. Meanwhile you sit very still and don't think about anything. That is harder than it sounds too. I can fidget with the best of them, and I do.
The first time I tried meditating, my mind was like a kite flying on the beach. My thoughts would hold steady, steady on the breath, in-out, in-out, then suddenly my kite was diving and fluttering and threatening to break away. Past, present, future, all came at once. Thoughts of this that and the other, and of course all I was trying to think of was the now. Ever have that happen? You know, when you try not to think about something? It just keeps popping up, like those scary jack-in -the-boxes adults love to torment kids with.
As soon as I would feel the tug of the kite, which was not always immediately, I would reel the string back in until the kite was flying steady again, breathe one, two, three. Then I would start fidgeting, trying to get more comfortable in the chair. Or I would hear something and my attention would go there. Really, most of the session my mind was everywhere but on my breath and I think my body was trying to help my mind resist the halter because I became aware of every little bit of tension in my body. I would relax one part, so I didn't feel it any more and another would tighten up. Then I would start fidgeting again.
The good news is the ten minutes went by like two and I found the timer going off and my body so relaxed I could have slid right out of the seat. Guess that is why people typically meditate by sitting on the floor, that way, when they get all relaxed and noodle-e, they won't have to worry about falling out of a chair and hurting themselves.
Each time I've sat with my timer set for ten minutes, it's been the same story. I can see why people sign up to join group meditations. I think I would be embarrassed by all my fidgeting around while everyone else is sitting as still as the grave. I would have to, at least outwardly, settle down faster.
Today As I started my 15 minutes, (yes, the ten seems so short, no time at all really, so I have upped the ante, and challenged myself to sit for 15 minutes), it went something like this-
Breathe one, breathe two, breathe three,
My toe is scrunched. Ouch! My toe, I have to just wiggle it around a little...
oh, yeah
breathe four, breathe five, breathe six,
why is my shoulder so tight? I have to move my arm, relax, relax, darn it my elbow is tight too..
oh yeah
breathe seven, breathe eight, What was that noise? breathe nine, breathe ten, I think there is a draft aimed right at my butt, I need to scooch this chair around..
breathe eleven, breathe twelve, ouch! Very funny cat, that is my leg you are poking.
breathe thirteen, breathe fourteen, breathe fifteen, How am I going to write about meditating in my blog when I can hardly sit still for a moment?...Breathe sixteen, breathe seventeen,...watch the fire, that might help...breathe eighteen...
You get the idea, I was averaging about two uninterrupted breaths and then it was fidget, fidget and more fidgeting. Thoughts up, up, and away. I was trying not to think and I thought of everything from work to my third grade teacher Mrs. Gadhopper who wore a color coordinated silk flower pinned to her sweater everyday of class. I think I see a pattern here. The old internal struggle between the ego, who likes to be the boss and does not want to be bigger than the very body I inhabit, and the non-ego, whatever you choose to call it, the part that wants to meander through the endless field of light that is the source of all.
It went on like that for a while, but I'm no quitter, so I kept right on, noticing the thoughts and then getting back to the business at hand- breathing. Then, about breath 45 I noticed a shift. I was just breathing, and at the end of the out breath I felt a little nothing. It felt kind of big. It was just a moment really. Hardly there at all. But I noticed it and then I got all excited and blew it. What was that? Was that it? Did I just have a moment of nothing? Is that what all the fuss is about? What was that? How long was I out? By the time I got myself calmed down and back on track the timer was going off.
It only lasted a moment, but it felt like a really long moment, it felt expansive and bright. So I'm re-committing to sit, to see if I can find that nothing again, and maybe even find it on a regular basis. I want to meander in the field of light and see what it does for my overall health and well being. I will report back on this mission on a regular basis. Over and out, Meandering.
Sounds cool, doesn't it? To be one with the very particles (or waves, depending on who is watching) that make up all.
I'm told that to enter the field you must first enter the silence and still your mind. So that is the bottom line, stilling the mind and seeing what is on the other side of all this chatter. I'm thinking it's gonna look like an endless field of white sparkle, with flashes of color here and there.
So I've started meditating each day. I decided to start small because I sit still like a flea on a coyotes butt. But I figure if I can sit still for ten minutes, maybe eventually I can get my thoughts to sit still too. Then we would be in harmony, me and my sitting still body and no thoughts mind. We could just experience the sparkly field. Or nothingness. Or what ever- I don't really know because I've not been there yet.
I did some reading about different meditation techniques and decided to go the simple (kinda zen) way, to just sit and breathe. This is harder than it sounds. Most of us just sprint through life, never even realizing we are breathing. The body is so well designed, so automatic, you don't have to think to breathe, so why would you? Right? The idea is to slow your breath to about 6 breaths a minute. Apparently this is the optimal rate to cause your brain to switch gears and shift down to theta waves, which are like a minor ripple on the pond of your mind. Meanwhile you sit very still and don't think about anything. That is harder than it sounds too. I can fidget with the best of them, and I do.
The first time I tried meditating, my mind was like a kite flying on the beach. My thoughts would hold steady, steady on the breath, in-out, in-out, then suddenly my kite was diving and fluttering and threatening to break away. Past, present, future, all came at once. Thoughts of this that and the other, and of course all I was trying to think of was the now. Ever have that happen? You know, when you try not to think about something? It just keeps popping up, like those scary jack-in -the-boxes adults love to torment kids with.
As soon as I would feel the tug of the kite, which was not always immediately, I would reel the string back in until the kite was flying steady again, breathe one, two, three. Then I would start fidgeting, trying to get more comfortable in the chair. Or I would hear something and my attention would go there. Really, most of the session my mind was everywhere but on my breath and I think my body was trying to help my mind resist the halter because I became aware of every little bit of tension in my body. I would relax one part, so I didn't feel it any more and another would tighten up. Then I would start fidgeting again.
The good news is the ten minutes went by like two and I found the timer going off and my body so relaxed I could have slid right out of the seat. Guess that is why people typically meditate by sitting on the floor, that way, when they get all relaxed and noodle-e, they won't have to worry about falling out of a chair and hurting themselves.
Each time I've sat with my timer set for ten minutes, it's been the same story. I can see why people sign up to join group meditations. I think I would be embarrassed by all my fidgeting around while everyone else is sitting as still as the grave. I would have to, at least outwardly, settle down faster.
Today As I started my 15 minutes, (yes, the ten seems so short, no time at all really, so I have upped the ante, and challenged myself to sit for 15 minutes), it went something like this-
Breathe one, breathe two, breathe three,
My toe is scrunched. Ouch! My toe, I have to just wiggle it around a little...
oh, yeah
breathe four, breathe five, breathe six,
why is my shoulder so tight? I have to move my arm, relax, relax, darn it my elbow is tight too..
oh yeah
breathe seven, breathe eight, What was that noise? breathe nine, breathe ten, I think there is a draft aimed right at my butt, I need to scooch this chair around..
breathe eleven, breathe twelve, ouch! Very funny cat, that is my leg you are poking.
breathe thirteen, breathe fourteen, breathe fifteen, How am I going to write about meditating in my blog when I can hardly sit still for a moment?...Breathe sixteen, breathe seventeen,...watch the fire, that might help...breathe eighteen...
You get the idea, I was averaging about two uninterrupted breaths and then it was fidget, fidget and more fidgeting. Thoughts up, up, and away. I was trying not to think and I thought of everything from work to my third grade teacher Mrs. Gadhopper who wore a color coordinated silk flower pinned to her sweater everyday of class. I think I see a pattern here. The old internal struggle between the ego, who likes to be the boss and does not want to be bigger than the very body I inhabit, and the non-ego, whatever you choose to call it, the part that wants to meander through the endless field of light that is the source of all.
It went on like that for a while, but I'm no quitter, so I kept right on, noticing the thoughts and then getting back to the business at hand- breathing. Then, about breath 45 I noticed a shift. I was just breathing, and at the end of the out breath I felt a little nothing. It felt kind of big. It was just a moment really. Hardly there at all. But I noticed it and then I got all excited and blew it. What was that? Was that it? Did I just have a moment of nothing? Is that what all the fuss is about? What was that? How long was I out? By the time I got myself calmed down and back on track the timer was going off.
It only lasted a moment, but it felt like a really long moment, it felt expansive and bright. So I'm re-committing to sit, to see if I can find that nothing again, and maybe even find it on a regular basis. I want to meander in the field of light and see what it does for my overall health and well being. I will report back on this mission on a regular basis. Over and out, Meandering.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
For My Sister Who Just Had A Birthday
I know you don't like to carry on about your birthday and all, so I thought I would just post a few photos for you. If anyone out there reading this actually took these photos, I confess, I did just nab them off different sites, and I would be happy to give you credit for these works if you send me your name. They are great photos, I wish I had taken them.
Giraffa cameleopardalis
The giraffe is the tallest mammal on earth. Giraffes are also among the few mammals that can't swim. Their natural habitat is the African Savanna, a relatively open, grassy plain with few trees and shrubs.
Giraffa cameleopardalis
The giraffe is the tallest mammal on earth. Giraffes are also among the few mammals that can't swim. Their natural habitat is the African Savanna, a relatively open, grassy plain with few trees and shrubs.
Am I Dreaming?
I woke this morning, sun streaming into the room through the huge window beside my bed. I threw back the covers and stood to look out the window. This is what I saw:
What a beautiful way to start the day I thought as I absorbed this incredible sight before me. Then, my mind stopped for just a second, and started again. Wait a minute I thought- I'm not awake yet. This is a dream. I am dreaming. What a beautiful dream to start the day with. Then I woke up.
What a beautiful way to start the day I thought as I absorbed this incredible sight before me. Then, my mind stopped for just a second, and started again. Wait a minute I thought- I'm not awake yet. This is a dream. I am dreaming. What a beautiful dream to start the day with. Then I woke up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
