mermaidcamp

mermaidcamp

Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water

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Lunar New Year in China

February 9, 2013 — 2 Comments

The official political message this year of the Communist leaders of China is curb waste and conserve air quality this lunar new year. Banquets and fireworks are under fire for waste and pollution.  The ancestors are featured heavily in celebrations of this holiday in China.  The festival begins on the new moon, this year 10 Feb, 2013, and lasts for 15 days. Many Chinese people travel great distances to be at home for this time of year. Fireworks are central to the family party.  I am a huge fan of pyrotechnics.  I am not attracted to witness displays in China because frequent fires and accidents are the result of unregulated manufacture and distribution.

The practice of making noise to scare away evil spirits is ancient.  China produces 90% of the fireworks in the world after inventing them.  The original firecrackers were chunks of wet bamboo thrown into a fire.  The invention of gunpowder in China around 600-900 AD changed everything. The public and private parties to welcome the Year of the Snake will last for a month.  If you want to party with the Snake, clean your house, wrap even numbered  dollar amounts in red paper and give them to your family, and do not wash your hair or sweep your house on the first day.  You may be able  follow up with Lion dancers in your community, and if you are lucky, some fireworks to scare away the evil forces in your life.  Good to go.

New Age Chakra Dude Teaches Swimming

February 7, 2013

The New Age Crystal Healing People are in Tucson right now for the Gem Show.  There are magic wands and crystal bowls of every kind.  Miners party with geologists who party with aura photographers.  It is a gathering like no other. Between 80-90% of all colored gems in the United States at this moment are in Tucson, AZ this week.  Book venders, scarf sellers, and rock hounds are swimming in opportunity to connect at the right level with some merchandise.  To connect to the entire show would be like connecting with the entire chakra system in balance.  It would blow your mind, and may be impossible.  For a taste of all that is New Age travel on over to the Howard Johnson’s on the freeway and go to town.  Everything from ethnic clothing to crystal massage wands to magic amulets awaits the diligent shopper.

Valentine for Kali Maa

February 7, 2013 — 3 Comments

The Hindu goddess Kali has protection on her mind at all times. She is one heavily armed vigilant  benevolent mother. She has a red tongue to represent our carnal desires, and she prefers red flowers as an offering. Remember Kali at Valentine’s Day because she is the ultimate power ranger of tough love.  She can and will make or break you. Understanding the Hindu pantheon will not conflict with your religion, and may bring to light your own relationship with the wrathful mother.  You do not have to call her Kali to know who she is.

Kali is the destroyer.  Her name is based on the word time.  Nothing escapes time.  Her job is to shatter illusion. She shows up all blue and naked with weapons and multiple severed heads and arms. She herself has four arms to administer justice.  She is intent on the destruction of evil, and like all mothers, teaches her children about evil in doses they can handle. Her protection is essential for the continuation of the universe, but she gets a bad rap.  Destruction is only the other side of creation.  The birth and death cycle is inevitable.  To grasp the power and the glory of Kali you need to see that time is at least as powerful as space.  Mother Earth is the ultimate judge.  This too shall pass. This year dedicate some red flowers to the eternal protective mother.

Feasting

February 6, 2013 — 1 Comment

Feast is the perfect place to eat an early lunch on Saturday.

Feast in Tucson

Feast in Tucson

Hungry Girl

Hungry Girl

Quiet table with a view of the mountains

Indochine cocktail

Indochine cocktail

Tasty fresh cocktail with ginger cilantro and whiskey

Kale brussel sprout salad

Kale brussel sprout salad

Krispy kale, sliced brussels sprouts, dates, fried shallots, and more in super salad

Leeks and peppers

Leeks and peppers

I enjoyed the full flavored leeks with a variety of peppers, both hot and sweet

asparagus mushroom waffle

asparagus mushroom waffle

The combo of the garlic crisp waffle with the creamy mushroom asparagus sauce was terrific

Seafood Chowder

Seafood Chowder

Bob enjoyed his creamy chowder.

Shank of lamb

Shank of lamb

His lamb was cooked perfectly and served beautifully.

no room for dessert

no room for dessert

Classy Tucson Dining

Classy Tucson Dining

The menu changes seasonally so you will always find a new treat in store.  A gourmet delight!!

Dream Travel

February 6, 2013 — 3 Comments

Remembering and studying dreams can bring insight directly, and later through contemplation. Flying dreams are interpreted as liberation, although Sigmund Freud considered the flying to be representative of sexual release. Floating dreams are indicative of a total acceptance. Floating is representative of great success through calm and unresisting nature. Struggling to stay afloat either in dreams or in waking life has the effect of disturbing the surface of the water, indicating problems.

I have seen confidence grow significantly when fear of water is conquered and the skill of floating is mastered.  Knowing how to stay afloat in water essentially improves our chances of survival.  Appearing in dreams floating serenely is a powerful vision of stress free living. We only dream about people we have seen in our lives, although the circumstances may not be similar in our dreams. The content is very ephemeral and quickly evaporates as soon as we wake and begin to move or interact. To capture and study dreams it is necessary to record the memory immediately upon waking. The notes taken upon waking can be used as the subject of meditation or simply reviewed to find trends. With regular practice and the book right next to your bed it is possible to make significant progress into remembering more details as you keep the journal.

Artemisia Vulgaris is an herb used to improve the quality of lucid dreaming. I have used the essential oil for the purpose with good results. A combination of tea and smoking dried mugwort (one of the common names of this herb) before retiring is a traditional blend for inducing lucid dreaming. This herb has been used for centuries to enhance the dream state. The video above mentions a vinegar tonic easily created by soaking the plant in apple cider vinegar.  Anyone can make use of these techniques to learn more about unconscious and archetypal players in our personalities.

Mark Bittman on Food in America

February 5, 2013

Mark Bittman is a foodist supreme and an omnivore. He and Anthony Bordain are my food persona idols. Although they both do eat all manner of animal products, they do it in awareness. In this TED talk Bittman details the history of eating and agriculture in America that has brought us to this point. I am about his age so I relate totally to the diet he describes on his childhood table. Like him, I was inspired my mother’s God awful cooking to learn to cook early in life. Unlike him, I became a vegetarian at the age of 19. In 1970 in North Carolina I can assure you that vegetarianism was completely foreign as a concept. My diet was not yet healthy, but it was mostly homemade. I was a baker of biscuits and bread.  I was lucky that my roommate had  mother who sent us really tasty canned produce from her garden in South Carolina.   Over time I met vegetarians for health (from northern California, of course) and improved the ingredients I used. I garden and enjoy cooking and eating produce now, but my learning curve has taken place in a time when all agriculture has become progressively less healthy. I hope you will have time to listen to Bittman’s excellent talk, but if you need a summary here it is:

  1. Animals are responsible for 20% of the air pollution and much of the lifestyle disease in America
  2. Eating plants is known to be healthier than eating animals
  3. Agribusiness and the USDA are not our friends
  4. It is simple to change one’s own diet and thereby make the most important contribution

Women in History-Anima Projection

February 4, 2013 — 3 Comments

The celebration of Women’s History Month will take place in March, 2013 with a theme about innovation and imagination. A  salute to women in engineering, math and science must include the women who broke into those and other fields after a struggle to be educated.  By following a timeline we can see the contributions women have made.  The Queen archetype, both in history and in mythology has power to rule with wisdom when she is at her best.  Queens inherit the power and responsibility of ruling people wisely.  The shadow queen is ruled by her own heart and lacks boundaries.

It is obvious that without women there could be no history, no men, and no archetypes.  Our collective consciousness is full of both reality and projections.  To create a better and more wholesome future it behooves us to sort out delusions in order to enlighten both men and women.  When archetypes are understood well the need to perceive the world by using stereotypes can vanish.  Stereotypes are cliche. Archetypes are infinitely instructive. When you look around the world do you notice examples of both? How do you avoid being a stereotype?

Pastiche for the Humane Society

February 3, 2013 — 5 Comments

A local Tucson restaurant, Pastiche, opened recently on a Monday evening for a special event to support the Humane Society of Tucson. We dined and enjoyed the idea that a hefty portion of our check total was being donated to our Humane Society.  I do love this place, but had not been recently.  It was a delightful dinner, a good cause, and a reminder to support the businesses that add value in the community by giving on a regular basis.  The food is wonderful, and the wine list most impressive.  Pastiche provides a chic atmosphere and fine dining without pretense.  Service is excellent.  I plan to go again soon.  The Beth-mopolitan cocktail is worth a visit, all by itself.

Dennie Allin, LMT, at Supportive Care for Healing

February 3, 2013 — 1 Comment

Dennie in the treatment room

Dennie in the treatment room

As the privileged substitute for the Supportive Care for Healing at the U of A Cancer Center I was called last week to fill a cancellation for a massage appointment . I normally go for all the exotics, but it had been a long time since I had had a regular massage, so I accepted. The charming, talented and way cool Ms. Allin delivered on all counts. She has a regular practice at Tucson Touch Therapies on Pima Street. She has been associated with supportive cancer care for many years. An organization called Sunstone brought supportive care to hospital patients years ago and she started with them. My little spa world at the hospital is a remnant of that Sunstone energy, surviving very well. I am the luckiest of hospital spa bunnies because my care is subsided and I don’t even have to go to cancer doctors. Those of you who know me personally will not be surprised that I have found an excellent niche as a sub. I am a value shopper of the most discriminating kind. I am thrifty, but never cheap. This is the best deal in the healthcare universe. I am now so good at my job that this week I called before the cancellation was made for my Friday acupuncture session.  So if you want a fabulous healing hands on treatment call the TucsonTouch Therapies office at 520 881-7337 and ask for Dennie.  If we start to feel the need for another sub at the hospital, I will let you know.  For the moment I have it covered, and I am very happy with my position.

U of A Cancer Center

U of A Cancer Center

Health Care Hunks

February 2, 2013 — 3 Comments

Educational videos about health care have traditionally been so boring as to leave no impression at all. I am pleased to see that something is going right in the fight against breast cancer. Here is practical actionable advise given by people who know how to hold women’s attention. Stay healthy, stay sexy.