Be at least as interested in what goes on inside you as what happens outside.
If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place
– Eckhart Tolle
I find it fascinating that so many people will spend thousands of dollars a year on their appearance but can’t find 3 minutes a day to meditate. We focus on how the outer package appears without beautifying our inner environment. By now, most of us realize the myriad benefits of meditation. So why is it so darn hard to sit ourselves down each day and do it?
The human brain is enormously complex. If you scooped out a piece of gray matter about the size of the head of a pin, the neurons would still reach for 2 miles! There’s a lot going on in there! When we sit still, the mind gets easily bored and so it plans, worries, or thinks to amuse itself. Trying to stop your mind from thinking is like trying to stop the wind–it’s impossible. The Buddha describes the mind as being like a drunken monkey leaping from branch to branch, constantly distracted and busy. So, when you come to sit still and try to quiet your mind, you find all this manic activity going on and it seems insanely noisy in there.
The great news is, you don’t have to stop the chatter! Meditation is not about forcing the mind to be absolutely still. Rather, it’s a letting go of resistance. You just observe your thoughts, whatever arises: doubt, worry, plans, the endless dramas, fear and desire. Every time you find your mind is drifting, daydreaming, remembering the past or planning ahead, just come back to now, come back to this moment. All you need do is pay attention and be with what is. Nothing else.
Rainbow Soup
You should attempt to eat fruits and vegetables in as many colors as possible. “Eating the Rainbow”
INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 medium red bell pepper
1 cup chopped carrot
1 heaping T sweet paprika
3 t turmeric
1/2 t cinammon
1 bay leaf
A little hot sauce
1 15 oz can tomatoes, chopped
2 c kale or spinach
10 oz frozen green beans (or fresh)
Salt and pepper
5 cups stock or broth
1 T olive oil
2 cans beans of choice (optional)
PREPARATION
1. In a large soup pot, put oil, onion, and celery. Cook on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes to develop more sweetness in the onion.
2. Add garlic and turn up the heat to medium. Cook for a minute or so and add the peppers and carrots. Cook another minute or two and add the spices. Stir and cook until fragrant — another minute or so.
3. Add tomatoes and stock, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add frozen beans and kale and simmer for another 5 minutes (or until the beans are cooked).
