Following a mildly traumatic retail experience, I vowed to never shop at The Buckle again. After some deep and careful reflection, I decided to take my pledge a few steps further: to become a conscious consumer.
I will never forget those two minutes and forty seconds — the still lake, the elegant egrets, the fire on the horizon, the sudden chill in the air, our goofy grins, shouts of pro-social excitement across the lake, and the breathtaking corona. My ecstatic day.
Astrology is a new interest of mine and I’m still skeptical but very intrigued. My interest was piqued because while Mars was in retrograde (from June 26th to August 27th), my life in general and love life in particular were pretty chaotic, and until Mars went direct and the Sun moved into Virgo, I just could not collect myself, find resolve, or concentrate on anything. It all came crashing down during the Sturgeon moon (August 26th), and now I feel “spent” — subdued, balanced, tired. Is all this coincidence? Maybe, but I’m curiouser and curiouser.
I recently learned while reading Yamas and Niyamas that when we take things to excess, there is always an underlying emotional disturbance or unfulfilled desire. As a therapeutic exercise, I list things I’ve overindulged in or am in danger of taking to excess, examine why these patterns have emerged, and how I can begin to create new approaches to them.
I’ve never re-blogged anything before, but this work got “stuck in my head,” so to speak. When I’m experiencing confusion, isolation, or darkness on my journey, this is an article I return to and re-read. It soothes my wild heart, reminds me that I’m not alone, confirms my journey is not singular, and encourages me to stay the course. I hope you enjoy.
My approach to eating has changed drastically since I began experimenting with my diet and observing the effect the food I eat has on my mental and physical well being. I learned to cook “slow” while I researched the SCD and GAPS diets. I discovered that long-simmered meat and vegetables are easiest to digest, fermented vegetables and dairy are easy to prepare and boost microbiome health substantially, and that it is actually very easy to take fresh ingredients from the refrigerator, add heat and fat, and have a simple meal as a result with minimal planning. These are only the broad strokes. and I’d like to share about ten of the most interesting things I learned with you. They’re not all strictly food-related, and some may even surprise you.
As I become aware of my yearly energetic cycle, I notice that certain months, particularly May and August, are high energy and others (namely November and February) are low points. I spun a little bit out of control this May when I tried to incorporate all the warm weather activities I love while still maintaining an ambitious music journalism hobby. In this entry I analyze my own behavior patterns, or samskara, from the perspective of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.
