meditation in action in kitchen

this morning as i come out of sleep i notice the mind is sort of mushy, i mean, ungrounded. a whole host of random, incoherent mental stuff. if i get sucked into any one of them it would be ugly. i know. been there. done that. i ask my inner self, should i meditate now? inner self says, go into the kitchen. so i do. this is the morning i have to pack up and go home. as soon as i walk into the kitchen i know exactly what i need to do. i have to use up whatever there is in the fridge. i hate to waste anything. so in a little bit i am making spiced milk, chai and mango lassi. there's really no room for the mind to wander when i have to watch over boiling milk and preparing chai spices and gathering what's needed for mango lassi. one moment of losing focus can really lead to the milk boiling over and...voila, kitchen remodeling opportunity. thank you, inner self. you really know when i ought to sit down to meditate and when to snap into action. indeed. do what's appropriate in the moment with one-pointed focus. that's meditation in action.

untangling necklace turns out to be meditation in action

as it turns out i have the opportunity to untangle a messes of wrangled fine-gold necklace. at first look, i say to myself, o, no, no way, how am i going to do this, i don't even know how to begin. here's the thing though. i no longer buy into this. i see the thought coming up. i feel the murmur of trepidation based on fear of unknown, fear of uncertainty. but i take a deep breath in and a long breath out. and i begin. i focus on what i can do in this very moment. a cautious tiny movement with a needle point poking into here. and there. i make sure i keep the breath going in a steady and slow pace. soon i am immersed in the teeny tiny movements happening in the tangle of tiny gold hoops. for a while nothing much seems to happen. a couple of times i see a whiff of whining. this is going nowhere. but i know this is residual tendency. i refuse to give in. i refuse to give up. then i see subtle stuff going on. the needle point begins to go deeper into the mess. i know it means something is loosening in there. after a while it dawns on me that now i can actually undo the clasp. this turns out to be the breakthrough moment. from then on i can gently lift up one end of the chain and carefully guide it through one tiny crevice, then another. soon the mess becomes distinctly smaller. and smaller and smaller. until it is a mess no more. just a fine chain of hoops lying flat and somewhat twisted like a braid. from here on it is a piece of cake. i lift up the necklace, now restored to its original splendor. the sense of fulfillment and contentment is beyond measure. i feel like i come out of deep meditation. truly meditation in action.

i realize in any given moment i have what it takes and i know what to do unless i am disconnected to the inner self. when i am in the river of moments in this way i move away from fear and i am taking care of what need to be taken care of properly. untangling a seemingly impossible mess starts with a gentle poke.

miracle hwubbies, miracle food. miracle buddies.

i'm walking through shivaa's gardens ready to rock'n roll another evening of wonderful and marvelous meditation, chanting, studying and... eating. so there i am oooh-ing and aaahhh-ing at the abundantly blooming roses and who leaps into my vision but norm's beaming, welcoming presence. of course i'm opinionated. i think my hwubby is the best of the best but i have to say norm comes in a really close second:) this is his day off and he is totally blissed out having us taking up his house for a greater part of the day. he is always happy, really happy, infectiously happy. i say, hey, what are you doing? he chuckles, i'm mowing and i'm happy. there you have it. meditation in action. he's humble too. such a great combo.

we chant amidst veils of rose scents rolling in through the windows. gives an extra lift to the vedic hymn. feel it in my voice. feel it in our one voice. 

shivaa puts me in charge of getting her garden greens into the salad bowl. i almost ruin it. i see some pretty little lavender blooms sprinkled around the lettuce leaves. i just jump to the conclusion that they are overgrown weed that got mixed up into the lettuces. so i ignore the little nudge from within that says, ask shivaa, and toss them into the food scrap tin as i break up the lettuces, dill, fennel. the refreshing scent coming off the bowl builds and builds. shivaa throws in mango chunks, instructs me to add cranberries, raisins, roasted peanuts. i say to myself, i'm doing such a good job. and i hear shivaa say, where are the thyme flowers? ooops.

here's the thing. being around generous spirits like shivaa makes it that much easier to not get sucked into the tendency to beat up myself. it helps that much more to weaken the impact of negative tendency when i am around dedicated yogis who understand that nothing takes away or add to the inner self and so accept me as i am along with all those, let's say, residual habits. an even greater thing is they care about me enough to call me in moments of forgetting and disconnecting from the inner self. case in point, i am kind of rambling on and ruth, in her clear and bright voice, kindly says, get to the point. love it. i'm truly fortunate to have buddies who are so present.

as we share our reflections on our spiritual journey we listen to each other with an open mind, laugh our hearts out and munch our way through those yummy dishes that shivaa skillfully prepared with so much sweetness and thoughtfulness. the lima bean soup is sublime. the shittake base infuses an ethereal fragrance to the earthy, creamy soup that looks like molten alabaster. it's a beauty to behold with petite peas floating, red quinoa, carrot bits. taking it straight up to the seventh heaven with an inspired move shivaa made a mint yogurt chutney. i slurp down two nice bowl-fuls besides hummus with tapernade and chunky quacamole with a touch of tangerine. it's a miracle that i could meditate after all this for no reason other than they are truly miracle food.

miracle food. miracle buddies. lucky me. inner growth, truth growth, has never been easier. and fun too. lots of yuummy fun.