Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Seven Days of Thai Buddhism ..and Subduing Mara

Traditionally it is believed that Buddha spent seven days following his enlightenment thinking of the suffering of all living creatures and how unimportant his life was prior to reaching enlightenment.

In Thailand, the majority of people practice a form of Theravada Buddhism.

Many Thais believe that their day of birth reflects their life and there are Buddha images to reflect each day of the week

The days are also each assigned a different color and many Thai people pay special attention to this. Many wear of yellow shirts on Mondays to honor HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Likewise, you will see many blue shirts each Friday as that was the day of the week that HM Queen Sirikit was born. Even the different royal flags are colored to reflect the individual birthdays of the royal family. (from www.fivethousandyears.org - International Buddhism Center)

Sunday is the Day of Restraint. Red is the color of those born on this day of the week.

The image shows Buddha standing with the right hand covering the left and represents the period when he had reached enlightenment spent days of sufferings. He sat under the Bho tree when he accomplished his enlightenment.

A person born on a Sunday is respectable, wise, loved by friends and family. He is likely to be in a professional occupation. His lucky day is Wednesday and lucky color is green.

Monday is the Day of Making Peace. The day’s color is cream or yellow.

This image represents the Buddha standing with his right arm raised in a pacifying gesture. The Buddha stops the relatives from fighting or pacifying his relatives. When the Buddha came back from Heaven, he found that his relatives were quarreling about the right to use water from a river for their rice fields. The Buddha encouraged them to compromise and said that human life is much more valuable than water and it was not worth killing men for water. Then, his relatives stopped fighting.

A person born on a Monday is serious with a good memory and a love of travel. This person is likely to be in a skilled occupation whose lucky day is Saturday and lucky color is black.

Tuesday, with the daily color of pink, is the Sleeping Day.

This image of the Buddha lying on his right side signifies his passage into Nirvana and the death of his physical body. The gesture represents complete peace and detachment from the world. It was believed that the Buddha entered Nirvana on this day of the week.

This person is serious, brave and active most probably in the services. His lucky day is Thursday and lucky color is yellow.

Wednesday is divided into day and night according to Thai astrology. The color for those born on Wednesdays is green.The Morning is for Receiving.

This image shows Buddha holding an alms bowl. The Buddha visited his family after four years in the monastery. His father was not content when he saw the Buddha “begged” for food holding an alms bowl. Buddha explained to his father that performing pindabat, or holding an alms bow are the lineage of Buddha. Thus, the disciples can devote their food. The virtue of giving amongst Buddhists is strong until today.

The person born on Wednesday morning is polite, artistic and emotional. He is most likely working creatively. Wednesday night is their lucky time and the lucky color is green.

Thursday uses the colors of orange or brown. It is the Day of Meditation.

This image depicts the classic meditation position with both the soles of the feet and palms of the hand visible. This is the perfect mental discipline. The gesture is the ultimate balance of tranquility and thoughts. It is believed that the body in the position is receptive to power or energy to enter the body from the top of the head and the opening palms.

This person is peaceful, calm and honest –likely to be a teacher or in the legal profession. His lucky day is Sunday and the lucky color is orange.

Friday is the Day of Contemplation. The day’s color is blue.

The Friday Buddha image shows the Buddha thinking about how he can teach the doctrine to others. The hands rest across his chest with the right hand covering the left. This implies meditation and a spiritual transformation based on personal experience.

This person is fun loving, friendly and ambitious, probably an entertainer or public figure. Their lucky day is Tuesday and the lucky color is pink.

Saturday is the Day of Protection and uses the colors of black or purple.

The image shows the Buddha in meditation and protected from tempest by the King of the Naga, Mucalinda, a coiled snake. The Naga appears since ancient Egypt as a force of good and is even used today as a symbol of medicine amongst other things. The image is related to the moment when a Naga spread its hood to protect the Buddha from a rainstorm while he was in profound meditation.

This person is calm, logical and a bit of a recluse. He is very likely engaged in manual work of a skilled nature. The lucky day is Friday and the lucky color is blue.

The last two images of Buddah are for Wednesday Evening and the last one is "Touching Earth".

Wednesday Evening is for the Blessed One.
This image shows Buddha seated to receive gifts from a monkey and an elephant. As Buddhism teaches respect for everything living this posture shows the respect of all living things for the Buddha.
This person is hard working and honest. He is likely to be employed in a profession with the lucky day of Monday and the color white.

The final Buddha posture is "Touching Earth"is also known as subduing Mara.

Buddha sits with folded legs (right over left). The left hand is held in his lap with palm facing upward. The right hand extends over the right thigh, near the knee, with fingers pointing towards the ground, palm inward.

During meditation, Siddhartha is subjected to many temptations but none as terrible as those posed by the evil Mara, who bombards him with his demon armies, monsters, beasts, violent storms and his three lascivious daughters. The Buddha remains steadfast. Then to testify to Mara of his meritorious past, he points to the earth with his hand and calls forth Thorani, the beautiful earth Goddess. She rises from the ground and wrings the water from her long black hair, which raises a torrential flood that drowns Mara and his army of demons. This episode is often depicted; it reminds devotees that good can triumph over evil.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Filming Recipes at Rawlicious

So.. guess what I did today on my day off? Well, we decided to go into Rawlicious (Thanks to Angus and Tracy for letting us use the kitchen on our 1 day off) to film. We filmed lots of great recipes - the plan is to start off getting down and onto tape the easy basic recipes.. so we can show you how to make raw almond milk, smoothies, salad dressings and salads, pasta and sauces, and we are ging to work our way up to showing you how to create more complicated recipes (which are not really all that complicated) but ones that take a bit more to learn, dehydrated recipes: crackers and pizza crusts, and deserts, and entrees: chili, pad thai.. etc etc..

We also showed and filmed how to open a young Thai coconut and make coconut milk and the easy way to make your own liquid vanilla.. and how to use vanilla beans - vanilla is sooo awesome, one of my favorite flavours & it's such a treat when you get to use fresh vanilla pods!

Mmm.. we got to drink lots of smoothies!

Pics from the set - Very Fun!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Pot Luck - January 09

I really enjoyed the pot luck this month. I was actually slightly hesitant to go.. for a few hours sometime in the month I had thought maybe I wouldn't.. the previous few pot lucks had grown to about 80 or so people and they had gotten kind of crazy. I always had fun (of course) but it had gotten a bit chaotic, and well, just not what you would expect from a bunch of seemingly peaceful, loving herbivores.. lol (some people seemed a bit turned off and an e-mail full of rules was sent around.. the fun felt like it was dissipating) but the time came & I went of course, I knew I would.. there were less people 40-50 I think.. and someone came up with a bright idea - Forming a line - LOL and all of a sudden it all flowed and was beautiful again. Brilliant! (insert sunshine and flowers here ..or more pics of the beautifully thought out, love filled creations that were brought..)










These deserts were soo good!

This was my plate at the bottom left - Beautiful!!

Thursday, January 08, 2009

I am Inspired

I am so inspired!! I have 3 new books on spices, flavors and world cuisines, as well as 5 new raw 'cook' books from Christmas.. I am just creating a new raw -East African inspired- rice dish ..and just taking a break now from browsing through this stack of beautiful books.

I love the Cafe Gratitude books: I am Grateful and Sweet Gratitude ..Now, those are inspiring, their recipes and especially their words!!

I am Thankful, Trusting, Responsible, Loving, Accepting, Grateful, Creative, Peaceful, Generous, Worthy, Nourishing, Abundant, Pleased, Welcoming, Magical, Spirit, Kind, Honoring, Bountiful, Happy, Present, Entrusted, Opulent, Generous, Grateful, Insightful, Fiery, Flourishing, Flowing, Wholehearted, Divine, Adventurous, Authentic, Dazzling, Giving, Purified, Sprightly, Fabulous, Alive, Nourished, Content, Gentle, Intentional, Creamy, Ravishing, Cheery, Spicy, Awesome, Impeccable, Receptive, Light, Attentive, Graceful, Focused, Fun, Original, Relishing, Releasing, Bueno, Elated, Passionate, Sensational, Open-Hearted, Mahalo, Vivacious, Cheerful, Accepting, Whole, Enrolled, Festive, Complete, Hopeful, Aloha, Youthful, Renewed, Rejeuvenated, Rich, Worthy, Succulent, Healthy, Charasmatic, Excited, Wonderful, Sassy, Bold, Effervescent, Refreshed, Cool, Luscious, Lusciously Awake, Grace, Beautiful, Delicious, Berry Sweet, Bright-Eyed, Vigorous, Great, Thrilled, Courageous, Rapture, Assured, Magnificent, Cherished, Inviting, Home, Perfect, Creative, Lovely, Devoted, Adoring, Amazing, Bliss, Heavenly, Awakening, Smooth, Pleased, The Best & very Decadent!!!

& we all know how powerful words are!! Now that's Inspiring!! : )

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Warm Soup for a Cold Winter Day

I was inspired by Anson's soup but didn't have all the ingredients.. so this was my improvision..
1-2 Red Peppers.. and the white circles ate the zuchini middles from spiralizing sliced up.
(not all spiralizers give you this middle piece left over)

Chopped up Carrots, quite fine.. and dehydrating these while preparing the rest of the soup will soften them a bit.
4 Green Onions..
2 Zucchinis, spiralized and cut up into noodle size..

4or 5 sprigs each of Parsley and Cilantro chopped up,
and 1/4 c Hemp seeds..

Cashews have been soaking, 1 cup, notice that they are sprouting. I just realized this a few months ago, that our cashews sprout. We buy them by the box, organic. Cool!

I blended the Cashews with 1 1/2 Avocados, 1/4 c Nama Shoyu, 1/4 c Olive Oil,
1 T Sesame Oil, 1 Garlic clove, 1 t Sambal Oelek (Hot Chili Paste), 2 t Salt, 1 t Cayenne, 1 t Black Pepper and Water (4-5 c aprox).
Heat up and serve warm and Enjoy!!

Monday, January 05, 2009

My Day..

All this - & dinosaurs & diamonds too!!..







: )

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Great Christmas Toys : ) Rebounders and Inversion Tables

Thank God for Christmas & new toys!! : ) We have a new ReboundAir here! I had been wanting to get a Needak until Mom sent me info on the ReboundAir. Mom has had a Needak rebounder for years and it gets used a lot!! But now its starting to creak.. and she has been hearing about the ReboundAir, which is supposed to be really great.

We got the quarter-fold version - & it really has an incredible bounce!!!

But oh look, I just went online and saw another toy next to it - a Teeter Hang-Up Inversion Table!!! This is supposed to be great to:
- relieve many forms of back pain
- stretch and relax muscles· relieve stress
- improve lymph flow
- drain blood from the lower limbs(has been known to relieve varicose veins)
- move fresh, oxygen rich blood to your upper body and brain
& also encourage good posture

hmm.. how many days till next Christmas? : )



Friday, January 02, 2009

More Holiday Foods

I don't have a recipe to go with this yet. The above pic is of my dehydrator filled with my version of Scramble (aka Bits & Bites), which is something I accociate with Christmas ...
I used to take care of a few kids in our neighbourhood when my kids were growing up.. and a Mom down the street would give me a tin of this mixture she made every year.. and I often think of Christmas morning and eating this & clementines.. but it was made with cereal- Shreddies, Life & pretzels, etc.. so this year I soaked nuts & seeds: Cashews, Almonds. Walnuts and Sunflower seeds.. and made a couple types of cereal-like recipes - one with soaked Oat groats, Chia seeds, Honey and Salt and the other was the Pizza crusts I have ben making lately broken up into pieces (which worked really well) ..the sauce is kind of spicy, salty, savory, ..but its not completed (but just wanted to share what I was up to..

..and below is the Pate - Turkey Stuffing Loaves I made.. I made a full cooked Christmas meal, and of course had to come up with something delicious that was raw. This is the only pic I have, pre-dehydrated, they came out a little darker..
& were great served with Cranberry Sauce <- click link for recipe -from a previous post (so good!!)
Turkey Stuffing Loaves
1 c Almonds - soaked 6-12 hours
1 c Walnuts - soaked 4-6 hours
1 c Sunflower seeds - soaked 4-6 hours
2 lg Carrots
1/2 Red Pepper - finely diced
1/4 med size Red Onion - finely diced
1 Celery stalk - finely diced
1 c Mushrooms - diced and marinated in 3 T Nama Shoyu
2 Garlic cloves
1-2 T Poultry Seasoning (to taste)
1-2 t Rosemary
1 t Thyme
1t Onion powder
2 t Salt
First prepare and marinate mushrooms and set aside.
Drain nuts and seeds. Then process these along with the carrots and garlic either in a juicer with a homogenizing blank plate or process together as finely as possible in a food processor. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and add the resy of ingredients: the chopped up vegetables, seasonings and the mushrooms along with the Shoyu marinade. Mix everything together - hands work best to do this. Then form 2 loaves on a Teflex lined dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate for 3-4 hours to soften vegetables and let flavours meld.
Then remove, slice and serve with Cranberry Sauce. Its also great as leftovers, cold.. will keep in the fridge for at least a week.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

The Traditional Canadian New Years Day Nature Walk: Snowangels, Beavers and Hot Chocolate

Snowangels..
James, Brian & Marie..

Marie & I..

Bundled up!!!

Lighting up 2009!

Electrabel - Happy New Year 2009


The Making Of

Happy New Years Wishes

Beautiful New Year Wishes I would like to pass on from my friend, Lalita at Your Life is a Dream.