Look At Yourself

This is a very simple mental exercise from which many people have benefited. There’s nothing to understand. There is nothing to believe and nothing you need to change. The exercise requires only that you concentrate briefly. Just for a moment or two.

Just try to bring the focus of your attention into direct contact with what you would call “me.” For just a second try to see what it feels like to be you. You do need to try. This is not a passive exercise.

You are not the stuff buzzing around in your mind. You are not how you feel or what you may be thinking. Don’t worry about that stuff. It’s okay. But it is not what you are trying to reach.

Look underneath or beyond these things for something that has no qualities at all except that it feels like you. It is you. You might want to think of a childhood memory and notice that the feeling was exactly the same then as it is now. It never changes and is always there – it is you.

Don’t worry if you don’t feel anything. Contact may happen so fast that you don’t even notice it. It is the effort that counts. If something does happen or you do feel something that seems like you, don’t worry about that either. Just look for what feels like you and move on. It’s no big deal.

Even if this seems crazy, what is the harm in giving it a try. But please do try. Then just move on.

That’s it. Try it a few times, whenever it comes to mind. You may find that you are drawn to do it again. It is so simple. It can be done anywhere. It takes little time. It can’t hurt you. Just look and then resume whatever you were doing.

Over time – maybe a little time; maybe quite a while . . .

Well, you’ll see.

Wall-E

Have you ever seen the movie Wall-E? Well, in the movie, the people have been living on a space ship for hundreds of years. They are very fat and have lost their bone structure from being in space. And they move around the ship in chairs, sitting in their chairs all day with video screens in front of their faces. They each have their own screen. And they become so conditioned and in a trance, so to speak, that they don’t really see what’s going on. They talk to each other from their screens all day long, much like being on Facebook all day. So I kind of liken the human condition to that – the “screen” in front our faces is our ongoing mental “translation” of every aspect of our experiencing – we walk around with this mental screen that continuously comments on everything. And that is what we’re relating to in life, our own mental commentary - we have lost ourselves in the process. And so this is the “screen” to become aware of and to see through. And we can’t do it without pure intention to discover ourselves behind the screen.

"Useless" Nettle Weed Makes Great Clothes!

Garbage Mogul - It's All Right!

Yes! We've got someone in America making things from garbage - it's Tom Szaky from TerraCycle!



And he's not the only one - check out Etsy, where there are many creative people selling recycled/repurposed/upcycled goods. It's also where I sell my handspun yarns, but that's beside the point.

From the slums of New Delhi to a London boutique...

This video made me cry - just to see what people can do with discarded and dirty plastic bags in the slums of India. Every country, especially the US (because we use the most plastic), could benefit from doing this. I am amazed and humbled that these people can find "dignity and a future" in picking up garbage.

After you watch the video, go to reusablebags.com to see the live counter at the top of the page - see how many plastic bags are being used at this moment - totally shocking. Then while you're there, check out all the great reusable bags available. Yay!

Book Review - The Cholesterol myths

I just finished reading a scientific book called "The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing the Fallacy that Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease" by Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD. Quite an eye-opener! Here are the myths as presented in the book:

Myth 1. High-fat foods cause heart disease.
Myth 2. High cholesterol causes heart disease.
Myth 3. High-fat foods raise blood cholesterol.
Myth 4. Cholesterol blocks arteries.
Myth 5. Animal studies prove the diet-heart idea (the idea that high-fat foods and high cholesterol cause heart disease).
Myth 6. Lowering your cholesterol will lengthen your life.
Myth 7. Polyunsaturated fats are good for you.
Myth 8. The cholesterol campaign is based on good science.
Myth 9. All scientists support diet-heart idea.

The author reviews the studies that supposedly proved that cholesterol and fat are bad for you - and he explains why these studies don't actually prove these allegations against fat. A statement by Professor Paul Rosch at New York Medical College sums up the cholesterol myths quite nicely: "The public is so brainwashed, that many people believe that the lower your cholesterol, the healthier you will be or the longer you will live. Nothing could be further from the truth. The cholesterol cartel of drug companies, manufacturers of low-fat foods, blood-testing devices and others with huge vested financial interests have waged a highly successful promotional campaign. Their power is so great that they have infiltrated medical and governmental regulatory agencies that would normally protect us from such unsubstantiated dogma." Professor Rosch reminds us that practicing physicians get most of their information from the drug companies, and they don't have the time to evaluate reports or research on cholesterol.

If you want to learn more about cholesterol, fat and heart disease (this is info the mainstream media and doctors generally don't know), here are a couple more books about food and fats. "Know Your Fats" by Mary Enig. "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. "Real Food: What to Eat and Why" by Nina Planck.

It's the kind of fat you eat that matters, though. Healthy fats include virgin organic coconut oil, whole milk products and eggs from PASTURE-FED animals, and extra-virgin olive oil.

Overweight but Malnourished

I heard Oprah's recent confession about weight gain. I wonder if eating carbohydrate-rich food is a factor for her. Carbohydrates are nutrient-poor - the more processed the carbohydrate, the less nutrition it has (refined flours, sugar and corn syrup). Carbs act by feeding the fat cells and starving the rest of the cells in the body. The reason for this is that carbs have no nutrition - they "trick" the body into thinking it's starving, and the fat cells end up hoarding all the calories from the carbs, without providing any energy to the rest of the cells. That is why an overweight person (who probably is eating a lot of carbs) feels hungry and tired all the time. They are overweight, and eating a lot of carbs, but are starving and malnourished. And since the mainstream media and medical community tells us to cut down on fat, we have no choice but to substitute fat with carbs. This explanation is greatly simplified - for in-depth coverage of this topic, read Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

Take a look at the research done by Dr. Mary Enig, co-author of Eat Fat Lose Fat – she is an international expert on the biochemistry of food and fat. Also take a look at what Sally Fallon and the Weston A. Price Foundation have to say about the nutrition of traditional, non-industrialized cultures vs. the nutrition of our “modern” societies. From these sources, you can learn how our current “modern” beliefs about fat and nutrition have led to soaring rates of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and thyroid disorders, not to mention malnutrition and other health problems. It’s hard to believe that it's possible to be over-weight while suffering from malnutrition, isn’t it? See this article on fat. It answers questions such as: "Is fat fattening?"

A handmade jacket using my yarn!

This lovely felt jacket was embellished using my handspun yarn - the yarn was needle-felted onto the jacket! I can't imagine all the work that involved. Liz is my customer on Etsy and she is the artist who created the jacket. Marianne (shown in the photos) is the lucky recipient of the jacket! Marianne also has a shop on Etsy, and makes sweet bags, hats and stuffed animals.

Happy Holidays...

from Sleeveface!

I'm a winner!!!

Was I ever surprised when I won this scarf by the fabulous Shalana of The Funky Felter! I never win anything, and had forgotten that I entered this contest even. The scarf is gold and burgundy wool felted onto purple silk fabric. It's really lightweight, soft and warm too! I'll enjoy wearing it. Shalana even sent a felted ring and a fab bookmark. Thanks Shalana!