no crispy noodle, not chinese food

since pastrami to me is different from pastrami to hwubby it stirs me to recall something fascinating and funny. the first time we took my father-in-law, may he rest in peace, to chinese food, he kindly says, suk wah, we love chinese food, you order. so i do. when food begin to arrive my father-in-law says, where's crispy noodle? keep in mind i take the jewish family to a chinese restaurant where no fortune cookies are served unless you specifically ask for it and when hwubby does, the first time we were there, i swear - and hwubby assures me i am just paranoid - i see the owner/maitre'd, mrs chow, roll her eyes ever so subtly as she turns towards me and say, in cantonese, we don't have crispy noodle here. anyway after a little bit of explaining, mrs chow, the owner, totally gets it. it is the daughter-in-law's sacred duty to please the father-in-law. so in no time a big plate of fresh, crispy noodle miraculously appear in front of my father-in-law. he beams and says to mrs chow, i want mongolian beef. i pray quietly, please do not order lobster in black bean sauce, or else mrs chow will tease me the rest of my life. i recall hwubby tell me several times that this is one of their top fave when they go for chinese food. my prayer is answered. and, listen to this, i don't have to ask for fortune cookies. without them i don't think my american family think they have had chinese food.



o yes, here's another good one. over a passover meal a distinguished jew shares this, we travel in china, they bring us food, we look at them and we say, this is not chinese food. well, i'm so glad there is my pastrami moment and here are crispy noodle, fortune cookie, mongolian beef and lobster in black bean sauce times. all are fantastic. i realize they show beautifully that beyond these flavorful and yummy diversity we share fundamental commonalities. we love having great food with family and friends. aren't we one or what?!

one light ablaze in all. the sweetness of oneness

i am offered the opportunity to wave the light at the conclusion of the vedic hymn. since i don't know a thing about wrapping saris shivaa bravely takes up the responsibility to prepare me. we have so much fun. a girls' nite out at five forty five sunday morning. she says, i was worried that i had to wrap a toothpick. i say, check it out, i have boobs and butt.

as i wave the blazing flame of ghee in front of the guru's chair i see four rivers of light. from my own being. from my guru. from my grand-guru. from my great-grand-guru. all this while my awareness is afloat in the sound of everybody in the hall chanting the melodious and rousing hymn. i hear one sound. the sound of boundless devotion. i see the light of compassion, the light of pure and supreme joy, ablaze everywhere, permeating my consciousness. the sound of devotion knead all the lights, within and without, into molten gold. i become a bundle of warm sweetness. as i reflect on this i realize i am bestowed the sublime experience of oneness. i taste the sweetness of oneness. the selves of me and all are no different from the self of the guru. one light is ablaze in all. one sweetness.

i become one with the soup

i meditate two hours. so satisfying. so relaxing. it never ceases to amaze me. really. i just sit quietly, keep paying attention to the way the breath is coming in and going out of me. i am not doing anything really. after a little bit there is just this sound of waves massaging the body, mind and i lose the sense of what is within and what is without. i feel boundlessly expansive. i feel abundant beyond measure.  simply sublime.

occasionally i see this thought and that emotion appear. none of them bother me. and then a gentle and sweet reminder comes up. you haven't tried the thai turkey soup yet. o, yes. i refreshed the soup yesterday with the last and big piece of carcass, threw in more carrot, turnip, potato. i was so absorbed in it that i completely forgot about the thom yum. somewhere around this point i realize i am caught up in a thought wave. one thought pulls out another, and another. i summon the spiritual force to bring attention back to the breath wave and choose to ground my understanding in this. it doesn't matter what the content of the thought, or whatever mental activity, is. that's irrelevant. any mental activity is a temporary flash of pure consciousness, which is my essential nature, reflected on the screen of mind. i experience satisfaction and joy not because of the thoughts. as a matter of fact such satisfaction and joy are not derived from the food, or anything outside of me. they are what i am. they add the taste of oneness to whatever i eat. indeed i can safely say i become one with the soup. it is complete and perfect as it is.

i am still going to try it with some thom yum though.