All Things Irish

March is here, and you know what that means- the countdown to St. Patty's is on! Starting today, I will make a list of all things Irish that I love! A tribute to the homeland, if you will. It is so hard to pick a first, let's see.

Of all things Irish, I especially love...

DOOLIN- a quaint little town on the west coast of Ireland famed for it's traditional music (which brings up a sore subject, actually!) Lex and I visited Doolin on our Europe extravaganza and suffice it to say, we both fell in love. Doolin had 3 bars, 3 hostels and nothing much else. Everything was perfect stumbling distance- we ARE talking about IRELAND here- beer is something they do marvelously! (That will be another day.)

So Doolin. Twice on our stay there, Lex and I heard a phenom Irish band play. With the fiddles, the Irish flute, the guitars. The perfect tunes for a jig. We wanted to buy their CD, but alas, it was a whole 15 Euro and we could not, between the two of us, fathom spending such an exorbetant fee. We have been kicking ourselves ever since.

That's besides the point. Doolin is a wonderful little town with donkeys roaming the fields,(careful, they bite) music streaming down the streets and the coast a short ride away. It is a stopping off point to see the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher, and the Aran Islands. It is a town that has upheld its Irish charm, and one that I recommend spending a couple days in. Note: If you do, would you mind picking me up a CD? Cheers!

16 DAYS TILL ST. PATTY'S!

Leap of Faith

In case you haven't noticed it's LEAP DAY! I haven't studied the ins and outs of it, but I vaguely know that we have this extra day in Feb every four years to sort of catch up with our solar calendar. (right?) So this year we have 366 days- why not make that extra one count!?!?

I think it only fitting to make 2008 a 'leap of faith' year! It's like New Year's all over again- today, while we are celebrating this extra fine day (and a Friday at that- thank you, solar gods!) we can make a leap year resolution. One that involves us going beyond our natural way of life, one that challenges our thinking, one that requires us to blindly trust. It may not present itself today, this week, or even next month- but at some point this year, I am sure we will all be in the situation of going our usual way or taking a LEAP OF FAITH into the unknown! So let's make a pact today to take that leap where and whenever it may be.

Gear up, my fellow froglings, and HAPPY LEAPING!

Tout de Suite

This French phrase, meaning "at once," is most closely pronounced, "too sweet" in English. A coincidence? Not for me.

It is Day 3 of the fruit cleanse. I have reveled in magnificant melons, awesome apples, gracious grapes, beautiful bananas, palatable pineapple, tasty tomatoes, nutritious nectarines, bountiful blueberries, scrumptious strawberries, and ambrosial avocados. Combined with my lemon water and herbal teas, this cleanse has been quite easy to accommodate. My only objection to this satiating selection? All at once, the foods are just too sweet.

No worries, tomorrow I can bland it out all I want. Stock up on some crackers, oatmeal, nuts. My sweet tooth better get its fill today, because surely if I continue to feed it, it will need a different kind of filling tomorrow!

Meditation Minutes

When I lived with Mindy on the Gold Coast in Australia, I belonged to the Meditiation Centre. I took yoga, participated in chanting, practiced pranyama breathing, and even went on a retreat. I remember one Friday night when Mindy and I went out on the town. We met some people who wanted to hang out later, but we wanted to get home because the following morning we were going to the centre. Our intoxicated friends begged us to stay out, but we declined saying that we were going to meditation in the morning. At the age of 21, that may have sounded like a weird activity to be participating in, especially when it means that you can't party late into the night! Our friends bid us adieu and in their confusion, told us to have fun "levitating."

I've practiced meditation on and off for a while, but I have yet to get to the point of levitation! Meditation to me is quiet time to calm the mind. It is not the absence of thoughts, but rather not having any particular reaction to the thoughts passing through my mind. Some days my mind runs wild with thoughts during meditation, other days I can still my mind and just be. The key is not to get frustrated when my mind does not cooperate. The key is not to have expectations of what my session will be like. The key is not to give up when I just can't stop the chatter. The key is to recognize and accept.

This week, the goal is to meditate for 20 minutes in the morning and again in the evening. I use my trusty cell phone to keep track of my minutes, and in my haste to begin, I have found that 2 times I have erroneously set the alarm. Some greater power wants me to meditate far longer- the first time I set the minutes right, but an hour later than I should have; the second time I had both the minutes and the hour correct, just set it to PM rather than AM! Miraculously, both times, I sensed my session over at 21 minutes and checked the clock. Was levitation at 22 minutes? Guess I'll never know. In the meantime, I am content with the time to observe and be still.

Spring Cleaning

Put away the mop, stow the suds- I'm cleaning with fruit! Today marks the first day of my 3day fruit cleanse. I have actually been looking forward to this part- remind me of that if I start to complain!

So far on the 40day program, we have been incorporating presence, vitality and equanimity through diet, yoga and meditation. It has been wonderful. As far as food goes, I have certainly gained a greater appreciation of where my food comes from, how it got to me, what it provides me and how thankful I am for it. I have consciously taken 'time out' for eating, making sure not to be doing anything else while eating- like talking on the phone, reading, etc. I have envisioned the life of my food, and its journey to my plate. I have realized that for some foods, I don't even know how it grows- is it on a vine, a tree, underground, in a bush? That's pretty scary- a true epiphany of how far removed I have been from my food.

My favorite part about eating has been the imagination of the energy and life that my food has been charged with, and in turn will charge me with! The honest truth- food has never tasted so good! Like bananas, for instance- how did I ever eat one before without noticing their heavenly taste. And mangos? I'm carried away to tropical paradise.

For the next three days, I will revel in fruit nirvana while contemplating my first "cleanse." What new light will it shed for me? Don't know, but I'm pretty stoked about it. And I don't even have to break out the vacuum.