Dark flowers of purple stands tall
Facing the sun, wind and all
Swaying groups and rows, side by side
In quietude, calmness, contentment, repose
Greetings alive, greetings to all kinds.
Bowing, smiling, radiating hearts of peace.
Uplifts our spirits as their fragrance diffuse.

Breath in...Breath out...

Awe..my discovery of lavender. So beautiful in its healing ways. I purchased 100gm at Community Natural foods..the dried flowers ..it is quite a lot..The distinctive scent is sooooooo relaxing! I read from a book that it is a de-stresser so I stuffed some in Flo's cat nip cotton teeny bag and used it at work. It was great! It helped with the air and calm me and others near by. It was lavender fever! Everyone at my table liked it. My co-worker next to me even asked where he could buy some.

If stress is storming up inside, remember Lavender. Its natural, healing, calming, and makes people happy.

FYI

"Lavender has been used for centuries as an herbal remedy, and does indeed appear to have antiseptic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-convulsive, and last but certainly not least - anti-depressant properties.

Externally, Lavender oil is one of the safest essential oils and can be used full-strength on the skin.  It works wonderfully and can be applied directly for cuts, scrapes, wounds, burns, bee, wasp, and insect stings, rashes, muscle aches, rheumatism, arthritis, cold sores, canker sores, blisters, bruises, athlete's foot, and rubbed directly into the temples in case of headache or migraine." (gardensablaze.com)

p.s. In folklore, it is said that if you put lavender between the sheets, the sleeping partners do not quarrel :P Want to test that out?

Hi Folks,

I would like that inform everyone about the Maitreya Project. Their purpose is to benefit as much people as possible as long as possible to promote loving kindness by building a great Maitreya Buddha 500ft / 152m bronze statue in Northern India. It is estimated to open in the year 2008. It is a beautiful and a blessing to be present in such an event! There is a relic tour for 2006. The relics of the past Buddhas and masters will be placed in the Big Maitreya Statue so see it before you can. They are having tours in USA, Europe, and Asia! I would go again but there is no tours in Canada :( . I highly recommend going if you are available. The Buddha statue is designed to last a 1000 years using the most advance modern technology of today! It is so inspirating and zestful to be in the present of all those Buddhas and masters.

Maitreya Project

A Taste of the Maitreya Project / Relic tour - Click to Watch

USA   

Berkeley, California               10, 11 & 12 February 2006 / 3 & 4 March 2006

San Francisco, California     17, 18 & 19 February 2006

Garden City, Idaho                  24, 25 & 26 February 2006

Pasadena, California             17, 18 & 19 March 2006

Soquel, California                   31 March and 1 & 2 April 2006

For details, other countries or dates, check below:

Relic tour calendar

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My experiences during the Canada tour of the relics in 2004

April 17, 2004 (Vancouver)

Relic Tour

It was a beautiful day of unexpected findings. Ryan and I headed towards the Main university of Vancouver to the CK Choi building to see the “Relics” of the great cultivators and awaken ones of the past. Relics as I learned were little pearls of crystals that were produced in the bone marrow of an individual who have practiced to a highly pure state of mind. When that individual dies and have been cremated, little beads of crystals remains. In Chinese, it is called “seck lay geez”. (Cantonese) In Tibetans, these crystals are called Ringsel.

“The Ringsel are special because they hold the living essence of the spiritual master. His inner Purity appears as Relics. True spiritual teachers do not generally discuss their own attainments. The Relics are the evidence that the teacher attained qualities of compassion and wisdom before his death” I have heard many things about seeing these Ringsel and I truly wanted to be close and have affinity with the past buddhas and thrive in my spiritual cultivation. It is also interesting to actually see the relics for myself and expand my horizon. Thus, I was determined to go to see the Relic tour. With no idea of the shape or appearance of a relic, to my eyes’ surprise, they saw little round pearl of crystals of different size and colours. Some look like teeny beads or rocks while others look like grains of rice. There came in colours such as white, yellow, gray, mold green and brown.

 As soon as we walked into the room, I could sense the energy. The atmosphere seems different. The air was very loving and welcoming like a sense of returning home. We circumbulated around the stations of the relics and then geared our heads close to the glass boxes to get a better glimpse of the relics. The energy was captivatingly, I felt a warm sense of energy field within me from the top of my head to my chest as I stood looking at the pearl crystals.

I was especially joyful and surprised to see some masters which I connected with in past readings about them in books or hearing about them by others. Some such as the (original teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha, his disciples Ananda, Maudgalyayana, Shariputra), Lama Yeshe, Dalai Lama and even Gwang Chin master from China! I was beamed with smiles and great gratitude. What are the odds of being at the tour at that particular time and place? I thought that was amazing part of it that it might not be just coincidence and things are met to be.

Here, I had the opportunity to meet with the great honorable spiritual masters of the past. I was overjoyed as I realized that they were with me physically, mentally and supporting me in my spiritual journey. It was just mind blowing to feel them there. The feelings were the equivalent to the ones felt on the last days of the summer 7 day retreat in Edmonton. Another thing that I noticed was the energy felt at the Lama Yeshes, Gwang-Chin Master; Dalai Lama station was very intense. The neat thing was that Ryan had felt the same when we discussed our findings and experiences afterward. He said that it could be because those spiritual masters are the ones that are most recent and have closer connections to us. That made a lot of sense. I haven’t thought of it that way. It made me reflects on the importance of communication among us as a group and to learn tolerance, value the different ways of thinking, share knowledge so we can achieve mutual understanding and world peace. It is important for us to see that all people are the same; we all want to be free from afflictions, free from sufferings, free in thoughts and way of life. This is universal and it is important that we realize this truth.

Later, the Master performed blessings with relics of Shakyamuni Buddha. We were “lucky to be there at that time” said one of the workers of the organization just as we entered the area. As the golden hand sized stupa was placed on my head, a concentration of warm energy was noted. At that time, the original teacher of Buddhism seem so immediate to me.

Help Build the Maitreya project!
Offer as little as or much to help with the building of such a blessing event.
Make an offering.

I finally started the Master cleanser detox diet, I heard so much good things about it and seeing how others benefit from it, I, too wanted to experience it and also challenge myself.Two of my ex co-workers tried it and one reported that her skin was softer, her sense of smell got better, and her taste buds were enhanced. She did it for 7 days. My other co-worker did not make it very far, she didn't even lasted a day. She told us that it was due to stomach pains and headaches.

I am not doing the full cleansing with laxative tea at night and salt water flush in the morning because of constant washroom needs during the process. With a full time job, that itself will be a challenge.It is just 2tbsp of lemon juice, 2 tbsp of maple syrup and a tenth of a tsp of cayenne pepper with a much water to dilute it as you like (about a cup). I think the water content makes a big difference with stomach pains..perhaps, there is too little water in the mix and the greater amount of acid in the lemon juice effects the stomach.

My Day 1

-I only needed 5 cups of lemonade a day. ( maple syrup 1 tbsp = 40 calories
so total = 400 calories) !!

-Blowing my nose often (runny nose)
-No headaches
-No stomach pains
-At noon, I had symptoms of nausea
-gucky mouth
-my body felt warmness and lightness
-energetic

My Day 2

- 3 cups of lemonade during the day and 1 cup green tea and 1 cup of lemonade at night. (total 400 calories)

-Light headedness / dizzy in the morning
-No headaches
-No stomach pains
-Around 11:30 am, watery eyes
-gucky mouth but less than day 1
-my body felt warmness and lightness
-energetic

My Day 3

-a bit of runny nose and watery eyes at noon
-but otherwise it was a great day
-energetic no pains or hunger.

My Day 4

-1 cup of lemonade and 1 cup of green tea in the morning and took a zinc lozenge
-Extremely thirsty and hot in the morning, drank 3 cups of lemonade during the day. (Total 400 calories)
-11:30 am felt very dizzy, weak
-last night, lack of sleep from 10 - 1am then 4 - 6am.

Ahhh..I had to stop on day 4...the dizziness was a sign I had to eat something so I went to Safeway to get some banana and veggie turkey slice. I felt much much better after eating the banana. Perhaps low in potassium? The lack of sleep? Or taking the zinc lozenge had an effect on my body? Anyhow, I know myself and know how much I can handle. Even though I didn't make a week, the experience was interesting one. It was an eye opener.

I had the chance to experience the most minimum of food source in three days and a half. It is amazing how much calories our body needs for the most minimum requirement of living yet how much calories the average person can accumulate in a day with 3 meals.  If for meat -eaters, I can't imagine the amount of extra calories that is assumed and the effects it has on the body. This experience proves to me that we Do Not Really Need as Much Food as we think we do. Perhaps, we are consuming too much food. Our eyes are more hungry than our stomach. Our mind creates such wants and rationalize our needs for going for the fast food. the desserts, more sugar and instant convenience in food, so we snack and eat more often as needed. Each time we eat, our stomach expands a little more and then we eat a little more on, a circular cycle of tug a war between desires and necessity.

Perhaps a good portion of the problem of obesity, disease and aging are mind made meaning the mind creates a type of picture which then effects all parts of our body especially our stomach. It then is train to growl even if we are not really hungry. Over eating is a common thing for most of us. You probably know that fact. But this cleansing diet allowed me to see and feel that We Age More When We Eat Too Much! During this short time of my cleansing experience, I experienced the actual cleansing of my body..the type of cleansing that allow the body to truly rest for awhile and allow more time for other things than food, testing the remarkable body of life and its capabilities to cope with any kind of environment. There was a sense of zest in the mind and body. Both light, alert and energetic. Eating is like exercise for the body. If we are composed of cells and cells need energy to fuel then if there is more food intake, there is a need to use more energy and more energy means making the body work harder and speeding the aging process. No wonder Monks and Nuns look so vibrant and glowing. They only eat one solid meal a day and usual before 12 noon and the rest of the night is in liquid form if they have any.

Doesn't that not make a lot sense? Notice that people who cut meat / or eat less meat and eat more fruits / vegetables look younger and have more energy? When we think about it, we probably age more eating meat!! Let's face it. It takes longer to digest meat and it stays in our system longer than vegetables because more energy is needed to break it apart because it is denser. The longer it takes for food to bypass through our system, the more opportunity for the food to decay and produce toxins in our gut. Gross and double yuck yuck. Eating meat is a big time Constipation and hemorrhoids problem. I caught an Opera show about Poop awhile back and the bile specialist surgeon, a professor and vice -chairman of surgery Columbia University, Mehmet C. Oz, MD, said that Food Should Not be in our Gut More Than a Week! He said that poop is healthy when it is flowing and shapely like the letter "s". And what type of food flows along our gut fastest? Fruits and vegetables. Why? More fiber, more water base. Are Meat? No. Do not take my word. Go do your own experiment.

If the benefits for fruits and veggies are so great, why not cut or reduce meat portion. The question to ask ourselves are do we want to enhance our quality of life? Do we want healthier, younger and a longer life? Most of us will definitely say YES. For people who response the opposite, that can be due to other reasons of mind work and individual preference. Isn't it better to live for quality than quantity? I was watching the Vegan Fitness Video and I love what Tonya Kay said when someone commented that eating a vegetarian / vegan diet was expensive. Her response was "It is really is not expensive" because you know what, "This is not a discount body." She hit the bull eye. The connection between body to mind to wellness are a significance one. The good thing about life in a developed country like Canada and United State is the that we have the freedom / choices for making positive changes in our lives and health destiny. So take that opportunity, its free.

Food for thought : Food is the source of life, the nourishes and heals us but like the balance of all things, if the respect of food is lost and it is not use properly than it can be toxic as well.

Awe, the furry padded fluffy white paws, those sparkly round eyes, pointed ears and whiskers. My adorable loveable animal companion friend. Someone who greets and talks to me and we share same comfort of the couch, blankets and lives together. I guess she is an important part of my life as I am to hers. She allowed me the opportunity to see, know and  learn more about animals behaviours as seen through her. My first cat friend. Ms. Flo. I have encountered cats before but not anything like this.

I have heard that cats are independent creatures of the night. They are mysterious and anti-social creature of one. It's true, but not the whole truth. Flo doesn't get along with cats or dogs well but then who know what her story was. She was found in an abandon field. Was she lost? Or abandon by her owner? Someone dropped her off because of behaviour problems? Or she was too much inconvenience, responsibility? We do not know exactly about her history but that is history. We all have stories, some dull, some exciting, some fearful, some sad but all, beautiful chapters and stories of our lives. Her past brought her to this present. And this present was past along to me. I discovered that cats can also can be very affectionate, loyal, playfully smart and loving as like all living animals.

The many flops on the floor displaying the belly side of her shows her trust in her environment. A loving need to clean my arms and hands displays such a warm cup of love. A very sweet gesture of motherly quality. who knows, perhaps she is my mother in past lives or vica versa. We never know what happens in the working of karma.  I guess we are both learning to take care of each other. I wanted to share some cat experiences because I believe that they, liked us are full of wisdom and just because they don't speak the same language as us does not mean they are not intelligent and spunky special in their own ways.

Flo was a smarty pants today. I got her some new vegan cat kibble food (Ami cat) and to my surprise, she crunched it down with no hesitation. Me very surprised. So she liked it and more than her old kibble (Evolution). She is such a fussy and funny cat. I placed two bowls of different kind of kibbles to see what she would do. Her head swung back and forth processing which to eat? Just too comic for a cat to do that! Then later, I mixed the two dry kibbles together hoping she would eat both but guess what she did. She picked and ate ONLY the new cat food. A smarty pants or what?

Cats love fresh air and love to cool themselves off. This is also Ms. Flo's highlight of the day. Our usual routine before she heads outside is that I put her "L" walking jacket on her. Sometimes, I take her for a walk or other times, she just sits outside our screen door for a length of time depending on the temperatures. The "L" jacket on prevents choking her neck when she is on a leash, a safety device for me and her just in case she darts into dangerous paths. She is fussy at times. Anyways, if she doesn't like it, she ignores my actions by walking in a circle away from me and then this morning, Ms. Smarty pants did that plus intentionally lay down so I could not click her jacket together from under her. I let her do her thing and sometimes, she lets me do my thing of putting the jacket on her. Anyways, If she wants to go bad enough, she will definately tell me by meowing in front of me..hehe

My last example was a week ago when I discovered that the carpet underneath her litter box was folded over. I noticed it but pay no attention to it thinking, it must have folded over by accident. Well, one time when I was cleaning her litter, I noticed it again. When I unfolded it, guess what I saw? Yep, it was poop. Ryan and I looked at each other and we both announced that we both "did not do it." Folded the carpet over that is. So who did? The cat? Mrs. Smarty pants did that! I guess, that shows me that I did not do a quick enough job on cleaning her box because she poop outside her box. I must have to admit, that is pretty clever of her to do that. I wouldn't want to go in a toilet that was not flushed either. Who said that animals are not intelligent. They are smarter than you think.. \(=^.^=)~