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.

RELATED:  Goddess Grub, Luscious Low Fat Meals

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.

Consider the few people you are closest to you. You will never be more than the sum of those people. Does that bring you closer to or farther from the place you envision your future self to be? People either increase you or decrease you.  If they are not increasing you now, chances are they will decrease you later. Consider your own energy, is it being effected in a positive or negative way, is it being regenerated or depleted?  You are the only one who can answer that question.

The September Horizons Magazine is now online at http://horizonsmagazine.com

This week I moved some big rocks around in the yard to new places in the yard. On my laps around the property, I make sure to keep all ornamental rocks and stepping stones on top of the newly fallen leaves and deadfall, and not let it get lost underneath.  A dozen years ago, a boyfriend had created several paths with stones and timber, in areas of the yard I seldom visited.  It wasn’t long before the leaf fall covered the stones and pathway markers from view.  Several years later, I began raking up all the leaves for mulch when I saw the stones underneath and remembered.  Sometimes I let areas of my life get like that, too.  I let something useful and beautiful lie unused, forgetting about it if it’s out of sight.  Then I come across it later and wonder how I could have forgotten something so wonderful, and I am delighted all over again by what was right there all the time.

I got my electric bill this week. In June I kept the a/c on 78 and the bill was $78. In July I kept it on 77 and the bill was $81. In August I kept the temperature on 76 and the bill is $86. I have 1500 square feet under air and I’m under some big honking shady oaks.  I also belong to Florida Power & Light’s On Call Service, so I currently get a $9.50 per month credit.  I’ve belonged for 15 or more years and never once noticed a disruption in service.  I got a new a/c system in 1998 and my bill dropped significantly after that – new technology I think. I know being under the shade of the big oaks helps a lot.

2012 Update:  The June bill was $94 for 77 degrees and the July bill was $116 for 76 degrees.