be ageless

If access to the ecstatic eruption of simultaneous joy and peace is not a compelling enough reason to live in the present moment, maybe this will be : look younger.  It works for me.

Deepak Chopra has a new book out that applies his expertise in the mind-body connection to the topic of aging.  His larger message is that we have the ability to alter our relationship to time, and when we do, we can reap many benefits, including maintaining physical vitality through a timeless awareness instead of giving into the idea of physical deterioration.

He says,  "Your body wants to be alive here and now. To give it that gift, bring your awareness to the here and now."

Does it matter what our motivation is for striving to live in the now?  Since we are so identified with our physical human attributes, maybe that is just the thing to get us turned in the direction of where the larger part of us wants to go. 

I read about this here.

Good Clean Fun

As a mom of 2 young boys, I don't take advantage of my proximity to Manhattan often, especially on a school night, but Monday night I made an exception. My friend Alexa & I headed downtown for the launch party of Dr. Alejandro Junger's new book, Clean, and had a fabulous time. For starters, there are few places more exciting than New York City on a gorgeous spring night.

Next, there are few places that can make a suburban mom feel more hip than the West Village, especially Urban Zen where the party took place. The Urban Zen Foundation was created by fashion designer Donna Karan after the death of her husband, well known artist Stephen Weiss. She turned his studio space into a center that really lives up to its name. We entered through the boutique which sells incredible clothing and accessories, all organic and natural in feel, but very high in style, to benefit the foundation. The party took place upstairs in a perfect New York open loft space with a wall of windows that opened onto a patio and bar. At this bar the choices were green juice, mango coconut juice, green smoothie or coconut water. There was also plenty of raw food. All was delicious.

Alejandro Junger is the Director of Integrative Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC. He coined the term "open minded medicine" to describe the inclusion of eastern and western approaches in his treatment of patients. His book is a comprehensive explanation of his cleanse program which is a 3 week detoxification diet. He calls it a "nutritional cleanse" because unlike a juice fast or other liquid cleanse, you actually eat whole foods. Recipes are included in the book.

Donna Karan spoke about the mission of Urban Zen, one part of which is focused on patient advocacy and wellness. Her experience during the treatment of lung cancer with her late husband made her determined to change the focus of health care and she acknowledged Dr. Junger for "treating the patient instead of the disease." Robert Thurman, Uma's dad and the first American to be ordained a Tibetan monk by the Dalai Lama, introduced Dr. Junger who spoke briefly, mostly to thank people, and was charming and humble.

The idea of a cleanse, giving your body a chance to detox and your digestive system an opportunity to rest and restore, makes a lot of sense to me. I've done one or two day juice fasts before, but never a full cleanse. It involves no dairy, caffeine, alcohol or sugar, which sounds like no fun at all. But...baby steps. I did buy some kale the next day to try in my juicer. I had to ask a woman in the produce department to point it out to me, but now I can tell the difference between kale and collard greens.

A highlight of the evening was seeing Gala Darling in the crowd. I have admired her blog for a long time and, like the giddy fan that I am, introduced myself and asked if I could take a photo with her. She was kind and adorable and what struck me most of all, present. It's difficult to describe with words what that means. It is an experience of being acknowledged, looked in the eye and respected. It's nice when it happens and yet it makes one realize how really rare it is. Hopefully that is changing. I know I am working on it and am always grateful for the reminder.



Related links:

Urban Zen
the Clean program
Eleven Eleven Wellness Center
Gala Darling
James Mathers
Robert Thurman

Philosopher's Notes

Mavericks at Work
The Tao of Eqqus
The Spontaneous Healing of Belief
Radical Acceptance
The Intention Experiment
The Disappearance of the Universe
Integral Spirituality
The Presence Process
Invisible Acts of Power
To Have or to Be?
Your Immortal Reality

These are just a few of the books that are in stacks on my nightstand right now. The plan was to write down and include all of them, but my hand started cramping while I was thinking I should get a life. Anyway, some I have already read but want to keep close and some I'm sure I will get to any day now. I do read fiction every once in a while, but this is what really excites me. If you can relate, there is a new website called Philosopher's Notes you might want to know about.

Philosopher's Notes is the latest project of Brian Johnson who, in addition to several other successful internet companies, founded and sold Zaadz, now called Gaia, a popular social networking site with a focus on spirituality, so he has some street cred in those circles.

His idea is to provide summaries, like cliff notes, of 100 self-development books for the “busy self-actualizer.” There are currently 54 titles available and his plan is to complete the remaining 46 this year. The first 25 notes are free and, if you like them, you can buy all 100 for $20. Each note includes a six page PDF file and a 28 minute MP3 file. I just signed up, so I'm starting my virtual stack and giving my nightstand a rest and having some high school flashbacks.

F**K IT!

Shocking, I know.

I jumped on the opportunity to write F double asterisks K when I heard about this book by John Parkin called "f**k it, the Ultimate Spiritual Way." Parkin "argues that saying "F*** It" is a spiritual act, the perfect blend of western expression and eastern ideas of letting go, giving up and finding real freedom by realizing that things don't matter so much."

He has a website and a radio special on Hay House Radio today, Friday, December 19 from 5-6:00pm EST if you want to find out why you should Just Say F**k It! (I believe you can also listen to the recorded show if you miss it live)

"Saying "F**k It" is essentially about relaxing into the flow of life, just as it is" says Parkin, which made me think he could be onto something, so I've been experimenting. For example, I was worried some people might be offended by this post, but then I said "F**k it."
I worry about what other people think way too much which gets in the way of me, just being me.

You've probably heard the expression "what you resist persists" and using his technique can be a quick and easy way to bust out of any resistance you might be holding onto, at least temporarily. I have to say, it felt good when I tried it. So many times life feels like trying to shove a square peg into a round hole. Saying f**k it is just dropping the peg and trusting that life is working out for you, is on your side and moving you in the direction you want to go. That's also called being.

WELL PUT

I love this quote from the book I'm reading now, The Seekers Guide by Elizabeth Lesser who co-founded the Omega Institute:

"We're going to have to be serious to add enough of the feminine into the patriarchy so that what emerges is neither a patriarchy or a matriarchy, but a human-archy. And not even that. What we need is a being-archy, where all beings are granted mutual respect and where decisions are made with the whole circle of life in mind."

This is one of those books where I am highlighting some profound wisdom on almost every page. I knew it was going to be good when I read in her introduction:

"When asked about making important choices, E.B. White said ' I wake up in the morning torn between the desire to save the world and to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.' Please don't feel torn as you read this book. You don't have to choose between loving your self and loving God, between opening your heart and illuminating your mind. If you take your time and keep your wits about you, you can create a wholesome and artful spiritual life that nourishes the whole self -- a spirituality that will help you enjoy the world, and perhaps even save it."

A New Earth - Chapter 3

The title of Chapter 3 is "Core of Ego," building off of Chapter 2 to get more specific about how we experience our ego.

Tolle says one sure way to know that we are operating from our ego is when we are complaining. Oprah asked about complaints such as when your soup is cold in a restaurant. Can't you complain then? Yes, when a complaint is made to bring about a change then it is legitimate. A good practice is to ask yourself "is (my complaining) meant to bring about change?" Actually, if we pay attention, we'll notice that most of the complaints are in our heads and never get verbalized. They include judgements, condemnation and criticism and the only purpose they serve is to strengthen our ego. What's most important is not to fight the ego or try to get rid of it, but to stop thinking it is who we are. When this process starts, it can feel confusing - If I am not all of those things, I'm not sure who I am anymore - Tolle says this is a good thing and we should be congratulated for it.

Each teleclass lasts 1.5 hours and most of the time is spent with callers and "skypers" asking questions to understand all of this in the context of their daily lives. One caller asked "Where's the fun?" if all of form is an illusion. The answer was to enjoy form (physical/material stuff) without identifying with it. True joy resides at a much deeper level than our ego and we can never be fulfilled if we look for it on the surface. Another caller asked a question I've often wondered about - eating and drinking. I've especially questioned my choice to drink (mostly wine, but I love a good margarita) and wondered if that is preventing me from being present and conscious, and if I should abstain. Tolle says he often enjoys a glass of wine, but rarely has more than one, not because he cuts himself off, but because he feels no need for it. It's about making conscious choices as much as possible.

There's really only one answer to every question which is: find a way to stay present and aware in the moment so that your choices and actions do not come from your ego, but from a place of deeper awareness that will lead you in a positive direction, toward the fullness of who you are.

Oprah's favorite quote from this chapter was "Only the truth of who you are will set you free." My favorite quote from the class, which I wrote in bold letters in my notebook was "I AM CONSCIOUSNESS APPEARING AS A PERSON."

You can listen to these classes anytime by going to Oprah.com