year end spiritual power scrub. 38 m + 9 m

i love a good party too but there's something magical about chanting, meditating, eating and laughing together with a bunch of dedicated yogis.

and it definitely kicks up another notch when there is high quality food like that which shivaa prepares.
i breathe in the tantalizing and healing aroma of the kitcheri on the stove. the cinnamon and cloves are totally blended in but the body and mind pick up the light yet unmistakable touch of earthy, nutty sweetness, and i say, i love it, it's what i need, no, it's what i want.

on its own, shivaa's kitcheri is a marvelou one-pot meal. it looks beautiful, like those elaborate tweed weave from a house like prada, chanel. bits of carrot, mung, coconut, cilantro held together by ivory white basmati rice. wellbeing wise, it is an essential food in ayurveda, nourishing and cleansing all at once.

i can go on and on about shivaa's kitcheri. but i can't leave out her holiday salad, so festive with cranberry. this is about the only salad i can eat in winter. somehow there's a warming quality to it. maybe it's the roasted walnut. i don't know. maybe it's just the power of her pure love. pure love sure can transform anything.

so by the time we are into aumming i quickly experience this pure and vast throb gently rocking my entire being. the one sound cooked up by merging the strands streaming from 8 vocal cords kneads through my consciousness. my inner state becomes a well-rested dough. while i am still aware of the body and the great beings around me it is also clear that i am silently gliding through the depths of the ocean of consciousness. the sense of weightlessness and buoyancy is awesome beyond measure.

we chant some more after a bite of gluten-free, wheat free banana bread. i love it. it's a spiritual power scrub, an effective cleanse for the residual tendencies that keep me from remembering i am aum, i am the power source, the inner self.

the perfect year end activity.