Life can be so difficult..
it can help to practice yoga and meditation.. to turn inward for peace.
I love the directed meditation in yoga classes and have found some meditation recordings online that I return to time and again.
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Buddhism is fascinating, with its stories of gods and goddesses…
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
Saraswati is the goddess of art, nature, learning and music,
she represents knowledge, enlightenment.. and plays the music of love on her instrument.
So she resonates for me.
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White Tara represents
compassion, long life, healing and
serenity
“The Great Mother”
who also vowed to only incarnate as a woman..
One of the earliest feminists, she resonates for me as well.
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Some set up a little alter at home, with incense, candles, and flowers.. and chant a mantra that speaks of longevity and the merit of living a good life.
Incense, candles and flowers will always have a place in my home.
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I think with practice we can learn to manage our thoughts better, whatever path or method we choose.
It is so easy to get stuck in unproductive and unhealthy patterns of thought.
There are tools you can purchase, like this Muse – The Brain Sensing Headband..
but technology, for me personally, isn’t the best solution.
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Mindful living for me is about taking note of small details around us,
artfully creating and allowing beauty to enter
our minds, our bodies
our hearts
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Do you meditate?
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White Tara Breakfast Bowl Recipe
filled with almond milk, berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries), bananas, white chia seeds and more..
this is a healthy and lovely start to a mindful day..
substitute protein powder with hemp or soy protein to make this bowl vegan + raw
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- 1 scoop vegan protein powder
- 1 frozen banana, sliced
- 1 tsp white chia seeds
- 1 tsp flax seeds
- 1 tsp cacao nibs
- 1/3 cup frozen berries (blackberries, raspberries or blueberries)
- 1 cup vanilla almond milk
- Add all ingredients to a magic bullet, blender or food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. If using a Magic Bullet, leave a little space at the top to add more almond milk if the mixture won't blend.
- Scoop into a bowl and top with fresh berries, unsulphured coconut and a scoop of gluten-free granola.
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These high resolution Goddess photos were reprinted with permission and more can be found here.
Beautiful post, as usual, Barbara…. I turned 54 last month and feel I am at a very happy time in my life. One of the things that changed for me is the sort of Buddhist mantra of living in the moment. For constant worriers such as myself (or my former self), this is a piece of advice very hard to follow. I do not meditate, wish I could, but so far I haven’t been able to incorporate that activity in my life It might come a time.
I’m working on it too, I don’t think it will fully disappear until I retire;)
I really need to start meditating. My days are so busy, it often feels like my mind is in a million different places at once. It would be wonderful to have a chance to settle down and be centered.
Beautiful post, Barb. And yes, I try to practice mindfulness, but I’m not brilliant at it. Hope all is well, lovely.. xx
Meditation is the most relaxing activity I have started up, I can’t imagine a day without it 🙂
Beautiful pictures, and this breakfast bowl looks divine!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Looks great Barbara, you always come up with the best granola breakfast cereal. Love the berries, especially blueberries too but the blackberries are one of my favorites. All year long I get them at Whole Foods which they are coming out of Mexico. They are expensive but they are good. At the end of July I can get them fresh locally.
Did you see my recent post: Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie!
Michael 🙂
http://michaelswoodcraft.wordpress.com/2014/04/15/chocolate-chip-paradise-pie/
I love the bowl and the plate. They’re very pretty. If I meditate, I like to just read some of the Psalms or Proverbs from the Bible as I find this puts all of my issues or struggles into perspective. I do need to do it more often though and this is a good reminder! xx
Beautiful images and illustrations…very calming start to my day …thanks:)
[…] White Tara Breakfast Bowl. Wake-up to some nourishment! […]
I haven’t meditated in years, once about 27 years ago I had a migraine and my boss helped me meditate and it was gone! She had a technique where you imagined the pain as a bright ball of light that you could grab and pull away and discard; I’d used that technique many times for migraines. Thanks for reminding me if it.
Your recipe sounds and looks so healthy.
Such a beautiful, serene post, Barb. And that breakfast bowl looks like the perfect way to start the day.
The imagery in this post, Barb, is really quite stunning. I’m going to try this breakfast bow, though not for a while. I’ll wait for the farmers markets to open first. Besides, I’m really enjoying a chia pudding every morning. I’ve never been able to master meditation, though, to be honest, I’ve never really given it a real chance. Luckily, once I stopped working, my life became pretty much stress-free. It’s amazing how the quality of one’s life will improve once one leaves the corporate world. Who knew? 🙂
That’s the best! I love the idea of stopping work! Where do I sign up:)
Barbara, that is some something about fresh berries for breakfast.
Never heard about frozen bananas before. Thanks for a beautiful start on my morning of the last day of winter, in our calender.