It's 12:30 am. The only light in the room is the bright blue tinted glow coming from the computer screen. As usual I cannot sleep and I have to be up to dress the deities in 4 hours. So what is the use of trying anymore? This blog is for myself. Why keep so much stuff in my head? On the other hand I don’t feel like sharing, not even one little drop of it. I have a million ideas per second on writing topics and so I figured that if I only managed to get down a fraction of the lightening bolts it would be beneficial, if only serving as some relief from my fatigued and tortured brain.

Today it is raining here in sunny California, and so I thought I would write a few words.

tears can wash away the dust
from traversing life's weary road

just as the rain cleanses and
washes the dust from the earth

where it is carried to the ocean to be
recycled and reused
to form mountains in some distant millenium

Rain keeps things moving
preventing stagnation and drought

just as tears can move us through grief and anger
and onto something new and beautiful in our lives

All things are fleeting in this world
yet bonds of love
remain
forever
etched into the soul

playing a melody
of union and separation
that
like an elastic band
stretch
and
grow our love

What if....
You were held in the arms of God,
lovingly cared for
all you basic needs were provided.
There was no worry or strain.
People, circumstances, tools, knowledge,
appeared in your life just as you needed them.
Along with unlimited opportunities to serve others, serve God, and reciprocate the generosity that was shown to you.

The reality is....
This is a fact.
We just haven't opened our arms and our hearts to embrace it.
We don't have the faith that when we are falling there will be support.

Are you looking for a quick, easy, healthy ekadasi snack?
Here is a suggestion.

Grind to a powder in a blender or seed grinder,
1/2 c sesame seeds
1/2 c black sesame seeds
1/2 c hemp seeds

Mix all the seeds together along with 1T of honey.

Form into balls.

If you only have regular sesame seeds you can just use that along with the honey.

Black sesame seeds are a Chinese tonic for the kidneys.
Hemp seeds are high in protein and EFAs.

Here are some pictures of our recently installed solar panels. Now we just need some sun!

Back in the late 70s before meeting the devotees I had adopted a vegan diet out of ethical considerations. It just seemed like the right thing to do if one was serious about the treatment of animals. I had also recently spent some time working on a farm where I was appalled at what I saw. In London I lived with several families of vegans and worked in their vegan cafe. The food was great! It was inspired by its own type of bhakti.

This is part of an e-mail sent to me from Precision Herbs about some of the changes that the Bush Administration are trying to push through in their final days. This piece about GMOs is just one small part of a large ugly picture.

Make no mistake - as the days of the Bush Administration draw to a close, Industry shills inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are preparing to ram through regulations (which acquire the force of law once finalized) which weaken protection for human and environmental health to a degree which leaves the observer nearly speechless.

Chestnut Watercress Sauce/gravy

Here is a recipe for a good holiday gravy, if you want to try something different.

15 chestnuts
handful of watercress
1T coconut oil
2 cups water
1T tahini
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1T Braggs
1t salt
1 sprig of parsley

Boil the chestnuts for 15-20 minutes. While still hot cut in half and remove the inner meal. Put the chestnuts and all remaining ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Heat the sauce gently until thick.

Our first solar panel arrived yesterday. It is quite impressive, although its not on the roof yet. The Sanyo is supposed to be the smallest and most efficent panel on the market to date. We will be having 14 panels altogether. Not quite enough to power our whole house though. Still it is a small contribution to global well-being, thanks to my Mother.