The Problem We Face

From Whole Life Times July 2008

Handmade Leather Snake Charm Earrings

Festival season is coming up, here is beautiful Karina modeling a one-off leather and snake charm piece... Going to give away the prototypes at Burning Man...

I am a human.

A human. Being. 

Not Christian or Jew, or Muslim

Not Hindu Buddhist or Sufi. 

Not any religion

Or cultural system

I am not from the east

Or the west 

Not out of the ocean

Or up from the ground

Not natural or ethereal

Not composed of elements at all

I do not exist

I am not an entity in this world or the next

I did not descend from Adam or Eve 

Or any origin story 

I belong to the beloved

I have seen the two worlds as one. 

how about some shamanism?

Our need to form identity and create a sense of self is what causes separation in our minds (in spiritual terms we call it "ego") but in more advanced planes of existence these barriers do not exist. There is no word for magic when magic is reality. Buddhists cling to concepts of identity as the root of suffering, but why try to escape what we have manifested as conscious beings? We need to look at that. Acceptance and expansion is what shamanism is about. It is powerful stuff, and it shouldn't be some arcane thing. We should all be shamans. It is an evolved way to be.

It is clear that the world of medicine is changing. The ancient ways of healing and preventing disease are coming back to life and the emphasis on “eating right” has become a trend. What you put in your body actually means something in terms of your overall physical and mental well-being. Western Medical doctors are being out-smarted by herbalists, nutritionist and integrative medicine practitioners in terms of preventive and recovery health care. It is clear that when we eat well, according to our body type we feel the best. So why is it that so often when we are trying to nourish ourselves with the right foods we still don’t feel “right”? With so much emphasis on diet and nutrition we often times forget the action, the actual process of eating and digestion. It is not enough that we just change our diet, we must also change the way we eat.

Some questions to ask yourself:

    Am I sitting in a quiet still place while eating?
    Do I take the time before and after a meal to sit for a few minutes?
    Am I chewing my food?
    Am I enjoying my food? Does it feel good in my body?
    When I eat, am I surrounded by good company and no stress?

These 5 things go hand in hand with our diet. We call it “the yoga of eating” or “food Sadhana”. Yoga means to Yoke, to bring together the practices on the mat right into our lives. Digestion is best served when you are aware of its process and therefore, food is best digested when we consciously eat.

Try these 5 things for 1 week and discover the magic that unfolds. You will be delighted in the results. Even if they are subtle, for some it may take a few months and for others a few days. Give yourself this gift, we are not here to live this life in pain; we are here to be happy and serve. A healthy, balanced digestion leads to a happy clear mind and an attitude of gratitude.

From my heart to yours,

Many blessings

Hari Simran Khalsa, CAS PKS

blog

i am

rumi says just being in a body and sentient is a state of rapture
you know? just being here is a cause for celebration
it's a cause for grief too
but grief is also a form of joy
the rose celebrates by falling apart
foil by foil falling to the ground
and the cloud celebrates by weeping

-I Am

So what we're now discovering
is a science that underpins and explains
all of those intuitive ideas that
native cultures and eastern religions
have understood for pretty much all time
now science is finally cathing up with religion and spirituality
and saying yes, that was right, that was right all along

Wormwood

This summer's main distilling operations will be utilizing weeds considered "noxious" by the state but which have myriad medicinal and ceremonial uses. 

Pictured is a sagebrush forest in which wormwood grows in abundance. 

Wild western sagebrush ecosystems are considered endangered in some circles so any sage we harvest is done sustainably and on private lands. 

#coloradonative #essentialoils #handharvested #smallbatch #apothecaryrasayana