The rain is falling down, down, down, continuously.
Jerry Seinfeld has a hilarious stand up on water. He says that we are obssessed with water, we swim in it, go to lakes, lagoons, we bath in it, we listen to the weather report, we collect water, we walk around with it in small bottles, we go to 'water' bars, we are mostly made of water but when it starts to rain - a few drops on us, we freak out! - 'aaahhh I felt a drop ... !!!'
Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet but this man dances in it.
To celebrate the divinity of the water element, here is the Dancin' Man in the rain from Byron Bay, Australia. Please enjoy.
My early rave days, well what I remember of them, were highlighted by special people and certainly the music, cause the music was where it was all at! This track transports me. I always thought that the lyrics were written by God singing to all of us individually. Comforting thoughts. Here is the original track by Olive. There are a few others on youtube.
You're not alone
In a way, it's all a matter of time I will not worry for you, You'll be just fine Take my thoughts with you, and when you look behind You will surely see a face that you recognize
You're not alone, I'll wait till the end of time Open your mind, Surely it's plain to see You're not alone, I'll wait till the end of time for you Open your mind, Surely there's time to be with me
It is the distance, that makes life a little hard Two minds that once were close, Now so many miles apart I will not falter though, I'll hold on till you're home Safely back where you belong, And see how our love has grown.
Two dear friends have great stories about this song. I'm hoping they will both write in about those experiences.
We watched this mother humpback whale and her calf breaching and playing around in the waves today from our deck. Six months before this the pregnant mother swam up the eastern coastline of Australia - up around Byron Bay - to the warmer waters where she gave birth. They are now on their way back down south to the cooler waters.
The photos aren't great but it was lovely watching them play about and frolic. I should have stood on our front balcony to get more of a close up, this only occured to me hours later, I still have a head cold and clearly not thinking straight.
Humpback whales are considered to be extraordinarily mystical creatures often associated with having divine powers. Whales and dolphins have been around for over 300 million years old. Humpbacks use the form of song to communicate with each other. Here is Migaloo, she is peaceful and playful. I hope I dream about her tonight.
Family health update; I took Indira to the doctor's today as she has been complaining of a sore ear - especially at night and especially when she lies down - alarm bells! Whilst we were in the waiting room I read two beauty tips; Indian women - some, not all I'm sure - grate a little ginger and mix it with some honey, eaten off a teaspoon each morning it is meant to prevent fine lines on the face. From Tibet - some women use tsampa - or barley flour and water - as an exfoliant to keep the skin fresh and radiant.
Indira seems to be fine now - she cheered right up at the sight of the doctor's lolly jar being produced. For her, some warm water, lots of love, gentle cooing "I hear you, you hear me, what we say to each other is important, you can tell me anything, I'm here/hear for you," early bedtime and some panadol.
So now I'm off to grate more ginger, squeeze the life out of some lemons, mix in some honey, hot water and a little cayenne pepper - a great head cold tonic.
I'll contemplate making tsampa. I think there is a recipe here on the blog. On second thought, after my tonic, maybe I'll just lay down instead and visualize myself being extraordinarily well, radiant and fresh and swimming with the whales in the sacred waters. Best idea I've come up with all day.
Here is a fabulous kirtan that Dazla and I recorded with my dear friend Andy Wright a number of years ago. I thought I would put it out there and see what sort of response we get. If I was to categorize it I'd say it is kirtan dance and if you like it leave a comment and feel free to share it around. Krishna is usually depicted as playing the flute (murali), indicating spreading the melody of love to people.
‘Cause your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends
The more we get together the happier we'll be.
I hope you all have a beautiful day filled with love, laughter and pure joy. If you are having a bad day or even if not, remember to take yourself off, lock the toilet door for a few moments, or take a solo bath or shower. Breath deeply, know that you are deeply loved, give yourself a big cuddle, out loud say what you want, remember that positive attracts positive. Experiment with words, love, acceptance, compassion, kindness, pure warm rays of light, angels, God, Goddess, tolerance, joy, peace, acceptance, stillness, joy, connectedness, enlightenment.
May all beings be happy.
Om shanti om, peaceful soul sisters, all love to you, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A treat today for your sweet ears. Here is our dear friend Jesse playing on the didgeridoo, bells and hang drum with Robbie on harp. Filmed in Port Douglas, Far North Queensland. For more of Jesse's music go here.
Teaching children how to live life beautifully, gently, with dignity, determination and strength has always been my occupation. Today I taught my son for the first time, the age old song, Row Your Boat.
Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.
When we can part the two worlds; material and spiritual certain concepts become clearer. The material world needs care, thought and love but it is the etheral, the spirit world of God that is eternal and what is important for us as a family to direct our minds on.
Within the spiritual world - the world within, through the awareness of meditation, the mind becomes calm and at peace.
Photos taken by Dazla, The Ganges River; Varanasi, India 2005
George Harrison was born in Liverpool England, on 25 February 1943 he died 29 November 2001. Known as the gentle member of the Beatles, George based his life on spirit. He led thousands of followers to greater understanding, awareness, compassion & Love ~ God.
My most favourite of his songs are My Sweet Lord, Here Comes the Sun & Bangladesh. George Harrison always impressed me by his ability to be authentic & to honour his true feelings. Musically & spiritually I hope our children know Harrison & the Beatles'. Coincidently I borrowed a film of Harrison's life for the family to watch & unknowingly, for me, yesterday was the 9th anniversary of his death.
The post today is dedicated to this fine man, a man of bhakti yogi; George Harrison.
Please enjoy this film of My Sweet Lord.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Thank you dear readers for all the beautiful, kind & inspiring comments & Love. I really appreciate the thoughts, ideas, compliments, inspiration & your time to comment on Obaitori. This goes beyond praise for you ~ I see that it represents a true expression of your beauty & divinity. Thank you.
And so, a gentle humbling gift from my heart to yours.
We were working ourselves into a corner this afternoon of bad behaivour, impatience & general yuckiness. To break the momentum I switched on this song of joy &; soon we were dancing, laughing & had forgotten about things like the bread taking so long to bake, terrorising each other, sharing... Those things that are tricky for a four year old to comprehend & impossible for a 2 year old's developmental understanding, I think are best to avoid explain between the 'witching hours'.
Whilst we were dancing, Indira said, "Mummy, is this Julie singing? Is this Julie's song?" I replied, "Yes, darling this is definitely Julie's song!"
It is happy, uplifting, fun & you can't help but smile - a whole lot like being with Julie.
This one goes out to you Jules! & all mother's who need or want a bit of joy today. Un Bacio A Mezzanotte & a camelia flower from our garden, xxx
Hello, my name is Katie Hinshelwood. I want to share with you how to create your own joyful life, a super natural lifestyle that optimises your mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health. A rich combination of plant based medicine in the form of Essential Oils, Yoga, Buddhist practices, Culture, recipes, stories and more.
I teach Essential Oil classes and how you can use these Oils to enhance your life, in a way, to fill in the gaps. These Oils will enable you to become a healer in your own home. You will not need to out source your health!
I also facilitate a conscious parenting group called Obaitori. It is an all-embracing collective of women who support each other in 'sharing the struggle' belonging together and not living in 'isolated perfection'.
I’m really happy you are here. Please feel free to wander around & have a look.
You are very welcome.
Inspiration
Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you. ~ Sheng-yen ~
Simplify your life, purify your heart. Slay egoism & pride, cultivate cosmic LOVE, practise SELF DISCIPLINE. Serve ALL. LOVE ALL. Hear, reflect, meditate. Enquire & know YOURSELF. Live the Eternal. There is only one language the language of the heart. There is only one law, the law of cause & effect. There is only one religion the religion of LOVE.
~ Swami Sivananda Saraswati ~
I often link to resources that I and my family personally use and recommend. I participate in Amazon associates program and if you enter Amazon.com through my blog and then make a purchase, I will receive a small percentage of the sale. One hundred percent of these proceeds keeps me in ink and teabags. I will never recommend a product or resource for the sole purpose of being compensated financially. I hope you enjoy and benefit from this collection of meaningful titles.
