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alan cohen

Have you read a book, any book, by Alan Cohen? If not, I’m thinking that this coming weekend is as good a time as any to acquaint yourself with him, and the often lighthearted and interesting way he has of writing. Let’s see, The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, A Deep Breath of Life, and How Good Can It Get? are just three of the wonderful choices available.

I think his writings have a touch of grace, and that what he wants to impart to the reader is done seemingly without effort, and oftentimes with humor. Although, after all is said and done, it’s obvious that the humor allows for the thoughts to seep into the readers mind and slowly hit home without us being aware that that’s what’s happening.


Are you going away this weekend? If so, you might want to tuck an Alan Cohen book into your suitcase. Staying put this weekend? Take it to a cafe or a park. Working this weekend? Yours would be a nice soothing break if you could relax and read a few pages from one of his books – whichever one calls to you.
www.alancohen.com

May tomorrow be an extraordinary day for you.

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ron teeguarden and dragon herbs


Ron Teeguarden’s Dragon Herbs Elixir Bar in Los Angeles seems like a powerful way to add energy to a day, it also looks like a place of beauty. Let’s pretend that we’re at the Elixir Bar and we’re toasting to all the ways there are in the world of keeping body, mind, and emotions healthy.

Ron Teeguarden is widely recognized as one of the foremost herbalists in America. His classic book Chinese Tonic Herbs was written in 1984, and his website says that it “remains the best selling book on Chinese tonic herbalism to date in America” and that his wife Yanlin “is responsible for the beautiful ‘look’ associated with the Dragon Herbs stores, literature and packaging.” The website: www.dragonherbs.com tells of a remarkable story, and along with that, it has a lot of information.

I’ve requested a catalog, though after two attempts of offering name and address on the website, it’s not forthcoming. I just might have to take a Red Eye flight to visit the Elixir Bar; perhaps I’ll find a Dragon Herbs catalog there (oh, how inconvenient).

Lastly, I ask: What about opening an Elixir Bar in dear old Philadelphia? I can imagine that 😀

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eckhart tolle

The three quotes below were copied from Eckhart Tolle’s October newsletter. He never ceases to remind us that there’s a bigger picture to life, -that it doesn’t just consist of what’s on our to-do list.

* * * * * * *


‘The interconnectedness of all things: Buddhists have always known it, and physicists now confirm it. Nothing that happens is an isolated event. The more we label something, the more we isolate it. The wholeness of life becomes fragmented through our thinking’.

‘Very unconscious people experience their own ego through its reflection in others. When you realize that what you react to in others is also in you (and sometimes only in you), you begin to become aware of your own ego.’

‘Be aware of the space that allows everything to be. Listen to the sounds; don’t judge them. Listen to the silence underneath the sounds. Touch something – anything – and feel and acknowledge its Being.’

www.eckharttolle.com

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acupuncture for pets at coral veterinary clinic at fort myers, fla;

    Dogs and cats are wonderful pets and it’s becoming apparent that because they’re living side-by-side with people, they’re experiencing some similar health issues. Just as a lot of us are seeking alternative treatments for our healings, some pet owners are doing the same for their pet. When I read about dogs, cats, and even birds being treated with acupuncture for their ailments, I was interested because some of my friends have spent $4,000, and more, for their pet’s surgery. And since not every pet owner has the pocket money to spend on surgery, and not every pet is a candidate for surgery, and prescription medicines tend to have side affects and can easily add up; why not go the way of . . . yes, acupuncture. This is what’s happening at Fort Myers, Florida, and it would seem that at Coral Veterinary Clinic, a pet is in the best of hands when in the hands of Dr. David Nichols. Ah, what a good idea. The article is on pages 16, 17 in:
    www.qi-journal.com

    Have you noticed that new ideas are steadily surfacing as a new slant is put on an old way of doing things? And have you noticed how, in time, something taken from an old way has the ability to expand in a most unexpected and pleasant new way? “Don’t let ancient knowledge become a thing of the past!” Qi, The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health & Fitness

    * * * * * * *

    “God loved the birds
    and invented trees.
    Man loved the birds
    and invented cages”.
    -Jacques Deval

    “Strive to live unrestricted
    by your past experiences.”

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bus stop boutique + etc.

Isn’t it a delight when you unexpectedly come across a shop that caters to your needs, one that doesn’t require an inordinate amount of time to find exactly what you want? That was the case when I happened upon BUS STOP + Etc. “Fancy That . . . Happy Accident!” What lured me into the shop was a piece of paper attached to the entrance door, sort of a lovely letter to anyone who’s thinking of entering. It was beckoning. Theirs was not a big selection, but better yet, they had the right selection of shoes, boots, stockings, along with a feel-good-atmosphere and friendly and helpful staff. I’m looking at a post card from BUS STOP that reads: “Travel to BUS STOP and it will be no accident. Our shop is chock-a-block full of eclectic shoe styles from all over the world! BUS STOP is a women’s and men’s shoe boutique on historic Fabric Row, owned by London-born Elena Brennan.”
750 South 4th Street, Philadelphia, Pa 19147
215.627.2357
www.busstopboutique.com

So there I sat with my two boxes of possibilities while nearby an older and interesting man was hobnobbing with the staff. Then the conversation rolled around to winter and colds (maybe because customers were trying on boots), and he said something like this, “Half a raw onion every day prevents colds.” And the conversation took off as someone else said, “Yes, my family eats raw onions in the winter, and garlic is very good, too.” Suddenly I was lost in my own reverie as I thought, how did I forget that bit of information, my father always ate lots of raw onions in the winter, etc.

Burger Heaven is a coffee shop in Manhattan, and the establishment was always very generous with portioning out raw onions, and for many years they had a service of providing in their vestibule a small table with a bowl of chopped parsley for customers to chew to get rid of raw onion breath. I haven’t been there in a while, hopefully there’s still a bowl of parsley. What a good idea.
www.burgerheaven.com

So, before the day is done let’s not forget to buy a lot of delicious organic onions and garlic, and, oh yes, perhaps parsely, too.

Are you all enjoying the day?

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liking those quotablecards

Have you bought a quotable card lately? You know, the one when it first came to the marketplace had a white background and bold black letters. They seemed to have been a hit from the start.
www.quotablecards.com

Do you like this one?
“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?”
Are you happy with the number that came to mind?

What about this:
Dance
as though no one is watching you.
Love
as though you have never been hurt before.
Sing
as though no one can hear you.
live
as though heaven is on earth. – Souza

They’re reminders, too, and when hung where it catches our eye they do just that
Because every so often we need reminders –
to make time to dance, move wildly, shake like the Kalahari Bushmen
and enjoy.
to open our heart and let love enter. Still one of the walking wounded? A closed heart hurts much more in the long run.
to give it our all and sing that song – a little louder; no one’s listening.
to live before. . . .

* * * * * * *
“People become what they expect themselves to become” – Mahatma Gandhi

“You can make the place you are now your paradise.”

“Never seek happiness outside yourself.”

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looking at the world through rose-colored glasses

20130415-165511.jpg

Looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, what does this mean exactly? I’ve heard the expression a handful of times, and so, for once and for all, decided to find out where those words originated. It seems though that no one knows the origin, and explanations tend to vary. So perhaps the origin is not as important as looking through those rose-colored glasses.

Years ago I picked up a very simple and very small book written in 1940 by Frances Wilshire in which she gave a no-nonsense reason for looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. I liked what she wrote, and so I tried it out. Now some people think that when you see the world this way you’re creating a lovely little la la land for yourself, and that you’re somewhat of an idiot. No matter, I try to keep them on because what Frances Wilshire wrote rang true for me. Will they ring true for you? Well, you can only know by looking through them yourself.

When we were at the Jersey Shore Sumi gave her copy of O Magazine to me, and as I turned O’s pages, there, in wonderful big red letters, were the words, “In Praise of Rose-Colored Glasses” and under the caption was written: “The world we live in is a hard, scary place, and only getting worse. So do what Martha Beck does: Get out there and enjoy it.”

In the article Martha Beck writes of feeling guilty for looking at the world through rose-colored glasses when all systems on our planet appear to be going to pot. And so for years she couldn’t sustain a happy feeling when looking through those rose-colored glasses.

Then she wrote: “But over the years, as I’ve seen what leads to positive change and what doesn’t, I’ve become a sort of joy hound. I now agree with the poet Jack Gilbert: ‘We must have the stubborness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world.’ and she wrote: “This isn’t narcissistic pleasure-seeking. It’s the way to make your own life work and give your best to the world.”

To the above, I say, Yes! Because when we’re steeped in fear, in negativity, our life becomes heavy, and a negative pattern promotes more negativity. On the other hand, focusing on the good that we see in the world tends to bring more of the same.

I’ll quote another passage because I can’t write it any better. Here it is: “. . . We must admit there will be music despite everything.” Or as Pablo Neruda wrote,

Take bread away from me, if you wish,
take air away, but
do not take from me your laughter.
…it opens for me all
the doors of life.

And this, “The more you defy your innate negativity bias, building from your strengths, finding relief, and embracing delight wherever you can, the more you become a walking cyclone of peace. The repercussions of one person living in stubborn acceptance of gladness are incalculably positive. Become that person, and you’ll find that in spite of everything, there is music. . . .”
www.marthabeck.com

Read the entire article (don’t skip, “the so-called 90-second rule”) in the September 2011 issue of O The Oprah Magazine, and then test out those rose-colored glasses
www.oprah.com

* * * * * * *

“To enter the Spiritual World, in imagination put on rose-colored glasses, and through them you will be able to expand your thought of beauty into fuller expression, by seeing everything in the color and hue of perfection. Then you are seeing in the light of beauty, with Spiritual vision.” – Frances Wilshire

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body mind spirit

There’s an excellent seemingly endless stream of information on how to heal body, mind, and spirit, and keep the balance, and the information is utterly exciting. With that in mind I strolled into a bookstore and checked out the July/August 2011 issue of Ode Magazine. For Intelligent Optimists is written on the cover of Ode. Therefore, keeping an open mind on all that’s offered to the reader in any given issue is part of the enjoyment of reading Ode. It usually reports on people who are thinking outside the box, people who excuse themselves from the every day way of thinking so that they’re able to implement exciting changes in the area of their expertise. There are a lot of magazines out there, and month after month a lot of magazines offer the same kind of articles – different words and pictures, but the same. Ode is not the same.

What to read first? – is always the question. Ahh, let’s begin with biophotons . . . “faint light waves emitted by cells, to help the body heal.” The article features Johan Boswinkel who “believes Biophoton Treatment – healing with light – ‘should become primary healthcare.’ ” It’s a Wow! story by editor-in-chief, Jurriaan Kamp, and anyone having thoughts about how to treat a particular health problem might want to read the article beginning on page 27. Discoveries pertaining to body, mind, and spirit, and the possibilities for healings that they present, are causing us to stretch our imaginations and open ourselves to the Universe’s offerings way beyond the way we once perceived things.
www.odemagazine.com
www.biontology.com

In that same issue is a wonderful article about Sri Sri Ravi Shankar by Ursula Sautter on the need to “spiritualize politics, socialize business and secularize religion.” He talks about laughter, meditation, and, something that’s of great importance to all of us during the day, breathing deeply and powerfully. The not-to-be-missed articles go on and on in Ode.
www.ravishankar.org

When there’s a newspaper, magazine, or book about Feng Shui in sight of someone, I’ve noticed that people will pick it up and begin reading; most of us find Feng Shui a fascinating topic. In Qi The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health & Fitness magazine Spring 2011 there’s an article by James Frank Loretta called The Hidden Energies Behind Feng Shui. It’s the 5th in a series of reprints from his book with the same title. I think that anyone remotely interested in Feng Shui will be glued to the article. And the book, well, I just might have to get it.
www.quantumfengshui.org

One other consideration before wishing you all an extraordinary day is this, on page 3 of Qi magazine: “A 1,800-year old Chinese herbal remedy for an upset stomach may boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy while reducing its side effects, according to a study conducted by researchers from Yale University and published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.” The herbal remedy is “known traditionally” as Huang Qin Tang.
www..qi-journal.com

Ahh, the wonder of it all!

Y’all have an extraordinary day now.

* * * * * * *
“He built an instrument that can measure disturbances in the body and correct them. Using that instrument, he and the hundreds of people he has trained in the past 20 years have helped thousands of people banish serious diseases and troublesome ailments.” – Standing in the Light by Jurriaan Kamp

“DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE Sri Sri Ravi Shankar developed a simple but effective breathing technique, the Sudarshan Kriya. ‘it dissolves the deeper stresses in our bodies and cleanses the system from the inside,’ he says, ‘A stress-free mind and a disease-free body are the birthright of every human being.’ Regular practice reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol and the stress indicator lactic acid.”
-Celebrate harmony in diversity by Ursula Sautter

“Our civilization prides itself on having subdued Nature. We move mountains and clear forests with no real intelligent design, without regard for the age old balance of Yin and Yang, without awareness of the principles of the ancient wind and water science: ‘For example, the presence of mountains reduces the incidence of strong winds which blow topsoil away, exposing barren rock and sand on which nothing will grow, while the mountain, in addition to shielding from the wind, also brings precipitation which nourishes life.’ ” -The Hidden Energies Behind Feng Shui by James Frank Loretta

“. . . there is now a growing interest among Western researchers in uncovering new applications of traditional healing techniques, from herbalism to acupuncture to yoga. This shift is based in part on the realization that traditional medical practices have been healing people far longer than Western medicine has.”
-Chinese Herbs Proven to Help Halt Cancer. page 3, 6 Qi

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florence scovel shinn

Every so often I think about Florence Scovel Shinn (1871 – 1940). She was an artist living in New York, who became a metaphysical teacher, lecturer, and writer. Her book The Game of Life and How To Play It has sold millions of copies worldwide. If that subject is calling to you, her book could be a wonderful beginning for exploring and building a foundation. Many exciting and excellent books abound on this topic, and we have to start somewhere. However, it’s easy to be confused in a bookshop when facing many books and finding that nothing is calling to you. That’s when The Game of Life and How to Play It could jump start the process.

A long time ago I read something by Florense SS that has remained close to my heart. The following words are not verbatim, but the message is the same: We can’t change anyone; we actually have no right to change anyone. We can change ourselves though, and when we change, everything around us changes.

Over and over again I read the words: “We’re all connected,” therefore, by raising our consciousness, we help raise the mass consciousness. Imagine that!

* * * * * * *

“So many people are leading such complicated lives because they are trying to think things out instead of ‘intuiting’ the way out.” – Florence Scovel Shinn

“To live intuitively is to live fourth-dimensionally.” – Claude Bragdon

“I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to, remembering something my guru once said – that you should never give yourself a chance to fall apart because, when you do, it becomes a tendency and it happens over and over again. You must practice staying strong, instead.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love, page 137

“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves, otherwise we harden.” – Johann W. Goethe

“When you sell a man a book you don’t just sell him paper, ink and glue, you sell him a whole new life! There’s heaven and earth in a real book. The real purpose of books is to inspire the mind to do its own thinking!” -Christopher Morely

“Often fear stands between man and his perfect self-expression. Stage-fright has hampered many a genius. This may be overcome by the spoken word, or treatment. The individual then loses all self-consciousness, and feels simply that s/he is a channel for Infinite Intelligence to express Itself through.”
– Florence Scovel Shinn

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New camera, new look at scenery

I am overjoyed to have just gotten a new camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC- GH1. It is amazing!
I took it out for a little walk and here are a few stills I took in Morningside Park, uptown NY. Being a filmmaker, I also can’t wait to take some great video of the city… Emi