I was at the market with a friend the other day and there were no ripe bananas.  I told him to put them into a paper bag to ripen quicker.  He was going to just put them in the cabinet but I told him they needed to be in a paper bag.  I knew the paper bag was necessary because when fruit is picked, it releases ethylene gas.  That’s what causes fruit’s chlorophyll to be broken down, causing color changes.  It also causes starches to be converted into sugars, making the fruit sweet.  It causes acids to be broken down, causing it to taste less sour; and pectin to be broken down, making it softer.  Putting the fruit in a loosely closed paper bag traps the ethylene gas inside and accelerates ripening. It made me think of the times I can use some ripening myself, times it would have been better for me to have stayed to myself, sealed up in my own personal atmosphere rather than out in the open where I’d stay green for so much longer.

Tonight for dinner I made aromatic rice with garlic and peppers. Here’s the recipe, it serves two. Into the rice cooker, along with one cup of jasmine rice and 1.75 cups water, add:
1/2 tsp crushed cardamom seeds (buy in Indian market)
1/4 tsp crushed fenugeek seeds (buy in Indian market)
2 star anise * 1/2 tsp turmeric * 1 stick of cinnamon * 1/2 tsp oregano * 1 bay leaf * 1 tsp sea salt * 1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper Continue reading →

In Trend Alert! ‘Dating Down’ Hits Hollywood, Jo Piazza writes: “In Hollywood, many celebrities have adopted the habit of dating down.  So why are so many famous stars trading in their equally famous spouses for major downgrades?  It’s always easier to date down whether you’re a movie star or a regular person.”  Hmmm.  I don’t know if I’d call that dating down, it sounds like just a change in values.  My mom worked at the V.A. Hospital in Tampa, FL until she died in 1996.  Divorced from my dad, her friends would joke about finding her a doctor to marry. My mom, however, had had enough of being married to the handsome charmer that was the life of the party and that everyone loved and wanted to be around.  Some of her friends were concerned when she began dating Felito, a garage mechanic 16 years her junior, whom she met at a community singles dance.  She needed to be with someone more professional, they thought.  But after I got over all the same jumped-to conclusions, I soon found out that Felito was real and he was a good guy with a fun sense of humor.  Most of all, he clearly adored my mom.   I knew that Mom was tired of all the bullsh*t facade around relationships, and just wanted to cut to the chase and find someone to love and have adventures with and grow old with.  They married and remained sweethearts until Mom passed in 1996. Continue reading →

The fruit of meditation is realizing that your bad habits are simply self imposed burdens that you choose to discard when you are ready.

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A list of meditation’s positive effect on some of your body’s chemicals

Here is a list of just a few of your body’s chemicals, and the positive effect meditation has on them:

GABA – Are you aware that people who regularly meditate have considerably increased levels of the neurotransmitters GABA? What is GABA and what makes it so good? GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) is one of the major inhibitory neurotransmitters in the central nervous system and is best known for stabilizing mood disorders. Anxiety, tension, insomnia, and epilepsy are believed to be due to the failure to produce adequate levels of GABA. In a study at Yale, people with panic disorder were found to have 22% less GABA than people without panic disorder. Addicts, including those addicted to alcohol, drugs, tobacco, caffeine, food, gambling, and even shopping, all have one thing in common; not enough of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. GABA is very important. Continue reading →

Imagine being able to rid yourself of a host of medical or psychological maladies without drugs or psychotherapy. Imagine being able to turn back the clock naturally, without taking drugs and hormones. You can practice anti-aging medicine with non-invasive medical meditation. These are proven effective in one of the most overlooked forms of therapy available today.  With each passing day, you age.  Every morning perhaps you notice a sign-a wrinkle here, a gray hair there, an ache, a pain or a little bulge somewhere.  While you see the visible signs of aging on the surface of your body, beneath the skin there are telltale signs as well. Physiological studies have shown that your cardiac, pulmonary, musculoskeletal and brain functions are also declining as you become older. As time passes, minor damage mounts up and cells, organs and systems begin to wear out.

Continue reading →

A Facebook friend wrote the other day.  In my profile, I say I am a yogi and he wanted to know what kind of yoga I practiced since he was newly interested in it.  I replied to him:  “Hello, in years past I went through all the forms of yoga: raj yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, kriya yoga, karma yoga and studied many texts by many other yogis.  That was in the 1970’s when there were not many books on the subject, but the books that were available were powerful.  Paul Brunton’s Search in Secret Egypt and Search in Secret India were early favorites.  Now there are many writers and a few really good books.  Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda was the first text I read of that sort, and it awakened my consciousness and led me to read other books.  So much is available to read for free online. Continue reading →

There will be a program for Krishna Janmashtami at Yoga Shakti Mission from 5:00 – 6.30 pm on Thursday 2nd September 2010.   All are welcome to attend.  Janmashtami, one of the most popular festivals of Hindus celebrates the birth of their beloved Sri Krishna. Yoga Shakti Mission is located at 3895 Hield Rd NW in Palm Bay, FL 32907, phone 321-725 4024  www.yogashakti.org

Ravioli Tom Yum Soup

In 2004, I changed to a low fat diet and now I look for new ways to introduce old favorite foods back into the menu.  I always loved pasta, and used to eat it with butter, lots of butter.  About 60 pounds of butter apparently.  For several years I didn’t eat it at all, I was afraid to fall into bad habits with it.  Last month I had some real butter for the first time in 5 years and it had no real taste to me and I didn’t care for the feel of it on my tongue.  Thank God for small favors, I kid you not.

So in the past I’d have a big bowl of ravioli with butter and garlic, probably with garlic bread on the side.  Now, I’ll add 3 or 4 to a light soup, such as the tom yum soup I made yesterday, with crushed lemongrass, galangal, keffir lime leaves, several dried chilies simmered in a light chicken broth for 20 minutes then broth strained.  Do not eat the lemon grass or lime leaves or gangalal – they are woodsy bits.  To the clear broth, add 1 thinly sliced shallot, 2 sliced scallions, a handful of beansprouts and a handful (or can) of straw mushrooms. 1 teaspoon of tom yum paste or nam prik pao.

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I see Google Books has the Ringing Cedars series online. A summary I found interesting can be found here.  A friend mentioned the series to me, I’d not heard of it. She’s into The Celestine Prophecy and Harry Potter type books. Not my style but looks interesting.  I’m not much for new age fiction but it would have been neat to have books like this around when I was growing up, to explain metaphysical principles.