I just returned from a long road trip that took me through cities, national parks, rural areas, exposing me to many different kinds of weather. I thought I’d share a bit about how I made sure that I kept my immune system strong, and my energy up. 

 

Eat Goji berries––

Goji berries are also known as Chinese Wolf Berries, small, and red, they don’t need to be refrigerated, so they make for easy travel food. The help to keep your immune system strong and lift chi. 

 

Eat foods with probiotics––

It is easy nowadays to find good quality kefir, yogurt, kim chee, or better yet, find top quality products at health food stores. They are sold in small containers, and don’t require high levels of refrigeration since they are fermented. Kobmucha is another source of probiotics readily available at health food stores. Probiotics keep up the healthy intestinal bacteria that fend off immune infitlrants that might drag us down, or give us colds and flu. 

 

Apples––

Buy a bag of apples, they also do not require refrigeration, the contain fiber to keep your system flowing and quench thirst.

 

Bless the water you drink––

As time goes on scientists are going to show more and more proof that the observer affects the experiment, and our thoughts affect our food and water. 

 

Salt Scrub––

At the end of the day rub yourself down in the shower using a salt srcub made with essential oils. Salt is detoxifying, exfoliates, and purifies/neutralizes the energy around you and your aura. Pick a salt scrub like lavender, peppermint, lemon, or another with essential oil that contain anti-viral properties. 

 

Last -- have fun and wash hands frequently!

We are spending a lovely holiday/ writing and retreat time in the Victorian seaport, Port Townsend, Washington, a small community of artists, writers, a number of organic farmers and environmentalists. I thought I would share some of the art made of shells and stone created by my husband and daughter, completed only minutes before the tide swept it away.

Love, Christy

I hear him coming up the stairs
bringing me crunchy buttered toast

from Frank’s bakery, day old but delicious
uptown, long overlooking a quiet bay

who has seen many ships sail past
like the mechanisms of a clock turning

tracking time recorded in the water’s wake
creatures below pay no mind

some buildings have seen 100 years worth
of hours tick past, boats sail by

some trees even longer than that
and some rocks have been here forever

they will be here tomorrow
when the clock has stopped

when the clocks have disappeared
and there are no more boats

no more bakeries selling cinnamon bread
trees rocks waves will still be

in their perpetual
state of waiting, not wanting

With a delicate wave of the hand
She gestures back in time
Close your eyes, try to remember
Forceful movements deep inside me
Magnificent upheaval I birthed a mountain

My milk bubbles and spats
Are you afraid to drink?
Hot lava oozing from my womb
Flowing springs invite but your skin will burn
Welcome back to my primal present moment

Or find your way to my floral meadows
Settle your soul in the company of my up heaval
Four-leggeds find home amidst your perceived hostility
You’ll freeze without a blanket in your separation
And when I come calling, you will come home

I’ve lifted land to make mountains
Boiled the earth’s surface
Blown trees to the stars
Carved curves into landscapes using only water
All to provide you with a habitable place

I have my own destiny
Of which you are only a miniscule part
I am here to teach you
Your self-aware egotism blinding you
To this self-aware universe
Of which you are just a point of light

Enjoyed the day in Seattle.

Spotted: Toyota Prius taxi cab, pizza delivery and fire department vehicle.

Awakening to Nature: Gardening and Nature Observation as a Path of Spiritual Development

As a follow-up to his documentary, Garden Insects, which premiered nationally on PBS in July of 2007, Chris Korrow presents a new book: 

Awakening to Nature: Gardening and Nature Observation as a Path of Spiritual Development 

The book uses examples from nature, family life, gardening and social observation –– through humor, common sense, a quieted mind, and a tweaked perspective –– to show how to cultivate a meditative state and expand our consciousness. Each page is fully illustrated with his original photographic art work.

With global warming on the forefront of our minds, Awakening to Nature offers a solution that begins with the individual. Global warming is not a problem to fix “out there” –– changing who we are is the first step to changing the world around us. 

Appropriate for study groups, starting points for group discussion or individual contemplative moments.

108 pages, fully illustrated, black and white, 8 1/2 x 11 over-sized book.
Breathe Deep Productions 2008

From the jacket:
“Nature has played a monumental role in the pursuit of enlightenment and our experiences with temporary enlightened states.  There are very definite reasons for this, one of the most notable is the fact that the divine is much easier for us to recognized and digest in it’s “natural state” than in our “everyday created lives.” 

As a society we have become increasingly detached from the earth, our food sources, and from the inner workings of nature. Yet we constantly have the opportunity to reconnect with the world in a way that is up close and personal  – through our own gardens, backyards and neighborhoods. The miraculous is always there, ready to sweep us into her grace, if we can developed our ability to recognize it.

Korrow takes us on a journey into a world we encounter every day, yet have rarely “seen” before,  awakening us to the fact that we are not as separate from nature as we might think.”

Ceiling Fan Shadows

Black cat bathing in the shade
Long slow blinking eyelashes bat
Wind blows laundry basket full
Ceiling fan spins at high speed
Stare at the shadows soft eyes
    Shadows that lay on the carpet
But only for a second
    A fleeting second

Like reading between the lines
Soft focus on fan shadow
Doorways appear--go through it
Take no suitcase no handbag
No map shows how to get there
    No beverages will be served
Door through ceiling fan shadow
    A blinking shadow

Head tilts to the side new sight
Perception shifts absorb it
No key this door is not locked
Like dust on old furniture
Thoughts settle upon entering
    Resting quietly and still
Vision beyond thought is found
    Abundant vision

My husband and I were ‘idealising’ possible scenarios about life on planet earth, and he said to me, “What if a job requirement for head of the Environmental Protection Agency was that the person had to have a deep spiritual connection with the environment?”

“Oh ma gosh,” I squealed, this seems so logical and makes sense.”

Much more so than the current description which, imho, is to understand how business can make as much money as possible from and despite the environment. What if this man or woman understood ecology, biodiversity, ecosystems, biology, and felt the magic, wonder and sense of awe for the natural world.

What if a requirement of his or her staff was to go out a few times a year and camp, hike, spend time vision questing in nature, quietly observing and learning from her. I’ll bet this would shake things up a bit!!  I am sure the corporate fat cats would have very good reasons why this would NOT be such a good idea. These men in suits could probably contrive reasons even why it would ultimately not be good for the environment.

Enough ranting, it’s a warm, sunny day, I think I’ll go out side and listen to what mother nature has to say, she’s a lot smarter than our beaurocrats will ever be.

Described by actor Woody Harrelson a “a culinary experience with a spiritual lift” Café Gratitude is a raw eating experience born out of the inspirations of Terces Engelhart and her husband Matthew.  At each of the four California Café Gratitude locations, every menu item is an affirmation: Declare “I am Rapture,” and you will be served strawberry shortcake, “I Am Worthy” a juice blend of apple, celery, kale, ginger and beets, I Am Thankful, their coconut curry soup, and so it goes.

More than a fresh, organic place to get a bite, partaking at Café Gratitude asks its patrons and their employees to watch their thoughts. “What thoughts do you engage in that keep you feeling less than?” And then, make an effort to discipline the mind to choose thoughts that empower and inspire. As for raw cuisine,  and any nutritional doctrine, Terces Engelhart invites people to try living nutrition for themselves, and experience how they feel after they eat it, and let that be the the judge.

A new book by Terces Engelhart,  I Am Grateful, Recipes and Lifestyles of Cafe Gratitude (North Atlantic Books), is a collection of customer favorites: smoothies, side dishes, nut cheeses, main courses, deserts and more. Most are very simple to make, and since they are raw, they are filled with health providing enzymes, nutrients and minerals. An ingredient list is helpful that summarizes common foods used in these raw recipes. At home our kids love the marinated kale salad and the walnut and pumkin seed based sun burgers are a tasty meat alternative. I am grateful!

Lately we’ve been having a lot of fun photographing orbs. At dusk or after dark, we take our camera outside and using a flash, take random pictures around our farm. Orbs are not exactly understood, they appear as round luminescent balls of light. Recently the second conference on the subject took place (first was in Sedona, the second in Glastonbury), and a book was also published, filled with photographs with orbs. Some were taken while John of God was conducting a healing intervention, others were taken outdoors with individuals or at gatherings.  Those who have been at this for a lot longer than we have point out that orbs increase when people play music, dance, frolic, or otherwise pray, play and participate with the natural world. We find that orbs most consistently show up near our well, and also near a patch of bamboo, two sites on our farm we feel have high energy. My husband has been a photographer for over 30 years, he is a professional filmmaker whose latest film appeared on PBS. I mention this because he understands photography and the tendencies towards refraction of light and all of that.  He can’t explain it. Me? I think they might be externalized thought forms, or perhaps fairies, light beings, or some kind of etheric mater that is around us most of the time and simply captured in the fleeting seconds when the photo is taken. Honestly, I haven’t spent that much time intellectualizing it. But it is thought-provoking and a challenge to expand our thoughts as to what exists out there that we might not be aware of??

We came across some research debunking the orbs as dust particles or drops of moisture so close to the lens that they appear out of focus, as orbs. We did some experimenting, blowing flour from our hand and then photographing, and we did indeed get some orb-like spheres. Although, we have had many other mysterious events surrounding orbs, such as, they have clearly appeared behind other objects that were 10-plus feet away, this refutes the theory that they are particulates inches from the lens. We have dreamed of them and seen them increase as our interest in “them” increased.

My husband was invited to give two talks on orbs, and the photo posted here was taken at the locale of one of them, by the healing arts fair coordinator, the only photo where an orb showed up.

Perhaps it would be just too easy for us to say we can capture evidence of the spiritual world and that is the end of that, perhaps the perpetuation of the mystery and the unanswerable nature of these pretty luminescent balls are confirmation of something otherworldly.

More orb photos can be viewed in my photo library on this site.