Voluntary Simplicity

This is the big concept in flashing lights I've had in my head the past day or so. Very complicated intense persons definitely should DO THIS....conscientiously make the effort to keep everything as simple as possible!!! So yes day one into the practice with renewed discipline and vigour has been good...caught up on DOWNTIME for the last crazy two weeks...why is it we modern people never know how to just...live...rather we always have to cram our schedules jampacked even in leisure so that we are just constantly exhausted and checking our planners and watches??

Today I really took pleasure in cooking a decent meal probably the first for the entire week! A sweet potato, chicken, silverbeet, parsley, spring onion and lettuce rice, okay with a small cherry tomato thrown in...(weird combo of veggies as those were what was ready to harvest from my garden)...then I mopped my floors a little..geez I am worse than a CAT- high maintenance re combatting the way I malt head hair!!! and then I settled on the couch for a couple of hours engrossed in reading THE HEAVENLY MAN...as my mother has a chinese expression to describe...I can't remember the words but it means something like "not a peep/sound came out"...then I took a nap...quick check of the email and then I will lay up on the couch to finish out the book...and then I will finish tackling KOYAANISQATSI...before heading to bed at a decent hour prepared for the early morning wake up for church. wow, what a civilised day. Good thing my friend was so exhausted she had to cancel our afternoon tea and dinner date...cos I am seriously pooped too and needed this day to myself...

So my conclusion is I love such a life devoid of drama and complications...I feel like I already got too much of the complicated drama etc under my belt by a young age so I'm totally enamoured by this revelation of sorts of the back to basics simplicity of life which is the way it should be except that the unhealthy culture of modern society tends to encourage us all to be crazy!

The best thing about the life of Voluntary Simplicity and hermitude is that sticking close to God it is very very easy to achieve a previously elusive consistent PEACE. Thank God!!!

Western Medicine is failing us and bugs are getting the better of us :P

Just my thought as it seems almost all the cityslickers I know (who have never been sickly people) seem to be getting ill with that this and the other...

I had a good friend who I haven't literally spoken to in over a YEAR actually call me after sending text messages (the like of which I had never seen from her before) ending in...Help!

Yes it seems that the superbugs are getting the better of us as we step further and further away from our natural selves and the way man was supposed to interact with his environment and each other causing a whole scourge-epidemic of health and other problems never before seen at these kinds of levels...while man disrespects the planet and even his own body like he does the world will continue to spiral in a downward fashion...

Disclaimer...western medicine is commendable on certain aspects eg surgery/emergency medical intervention and equipment mediated diagnosis, medical science gene/cell based therapies, however on the whole they are totally helpless to be able to treat a wide range of health problems seeing as their salve seems to revolve around that zillion dollar pharmaceutical industry which while it may alleviate that pain over there it will create a new pain and disease process somewhere else! And while they fail to recognise the body is a HOLISTIC interactional dynamic of a living thing their medicine will closely resemble a dummy covered in bandaid plasters!

So yeah on the whole isolated and remote country bumpkins should feel pretty damn blessed to enjoy relatively better health cos of their healthy living environs and healthier lifestyle practices! cheers bumpkins! :D

My Vegetarian Repertoire...

Okay so it's still kinda not very existent and I have been too lazy/busy to look up recipes(plus I hate being limited by having to follow instructions)...but on the upside these two veggie snacks I'm liking lately are also vegan!

So yeah no1 is Nori rolls with any kind of vegetable or not even...but filling them with cooked mixed rice! So ie white rice, brown rice mix with fun inclusions like a few jobs tears barley, chia seeds, aduki beans and mung beans.

no2 is oat sourdough toast with shredded carrot that has been mixed with flaxseed oil, lemon juice and finely chopped garlic with some kind of protein either ground flaxseeds or chia seeds I guess...

Okay I guess that is sad to the seasoned vegetarian/vegan/person with diet limitations, but I like them, they are SUPER HEALTHY and tasty, easy and quick...

So anyway I'm tired now...goodnight ;) I think yesterday is going to take a few days of recovery...my liver's still working off all that amazing CHOCOLATE! haha so much happened I didn't even remember until I FELT IT...today!

Destination China 2010

So I saw an old "expert" Chinese TCM Doctor today- one that I even needed an interpreter to see(!)

She gave me hope that I'll be healthy enough to go to China for further training :-D

Basically because I've been sick for so long the western washed down version of TCM is useless on me- ie all these powdered granules and patent pill shortcuts are just a dripping tap solution...I need the Real Deal: the bad black herbal brews comprised of a specifically tailored formula which exists only in the expert mind...the ones that turn your teeth yellow and are a challenge in itself to down even when you hold your nose!

On the upside, the sales girls were saying that this doctor makes your skin *beautiful* LOL

So anyway I've reprioritised and revised my goals slightly...so although I still dream of having my own business by 35 I'm focussing on the shorter term future first...going to China (flying a plane, living in shocking air pollution and dirt) to get specialist training in herbs...and possibly even get 100% cured :)

So my Priorities in order...1.HEALTH 2.STUDIES

Apart from seeing the expert doctor today in my health crackdown I also joined an organic food cooperative...

So that's it: each week will be an exercise in discipline and commitment and will definitely test my perseverence levels!
Having the herbal consultations and having to boil the brews to drink every day is very time consuming and pretty costly which is normal if you're on medication EVERY DAY... there is also yoga and qigong each week...I think the worst part though is sticking to a strict Chinese medicine diet- ie no spices, no caffeine...minimal to zero chocolate : (...basically minimise grease, sweet, no deep fried etc and the other challenge- sleeping early and getting sufficient hours rest!

So time wise being strictly healthy I will have to devote at least 20 hours solely to health maintenance and improvement- that's a big commitment. Cost wise I think it's probably an extra $100/week.

So something's gotta go...I guess I have to wean myself off blogging...and definitely cut out social life completely during semester - the people I see in the course of daily life will have to suffice.

Of course I will need lady luck on my side too so that everything runs smoothly and I don't suffer any further setbacks.

Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do...to achieve your goals....will be a good exercise in developing discipline and mental toughness(especially when it comes to having to drink that stuff twice a day-Yuck!!!)

A Meditation: Exotic Symbolism No.1

So...I finally got to test my every hour you sleep BEFORE midnight is worth like...double! theory.

By 8pm I was completely zonked- three hours later- wow I feel GREAT! It is really true- I feel like I've slept 8 hours or something- I actually feel refreshed :) But now my sleeping patterns are really, really screwed...

But maybe this will work once semester restarts. Because my brain definitely needs that reprieve before it can process even more information from the day...and I remember my high school biology teacher saying that your brain is actually most efficient (at least for retaining information and study purposes) around 11pm :)

This evening being so exhausted I also got to test my don't cook just eat a sandwich for dinner thing...and, I think it's definitely gonna stay! It's not that bad actually- I saved SO MUCH TIME and it tasted pretty good to me. I had good quality grain toast with super duper quality extra virgin olive oil with fresh organic baby spinach and lashing of sea salt on one slice and an awesome beetroot and sumac relish I got from an upmarket deli with the olive oil on the other.

Then I had some fresh squeezed orange juice and a tub of mango and passionfruit probiotic yoghurt LOL- felt so healthy- actually felt really good- I think my body really needed the cleanse (you inspired me S! yes you :) cos I've been so exhausted lately from toxin overload courtesy of chainsmoking neighbour...stressed city people are The Pits!

In any case, further developments from the day with many thanks to Scott for helping resolve my indecisiveness...there will be an exciting new addition to the family come Christmas!!! Okay, so my niece or nephew arrives September but I was actually referring to My Camera Family LOL.

My 'Family' consists of the long-ago retired too expensive to use 'Buddy'(film), 'Neo'(My Very Ill Digital Prosumer)...what will I call Camera No3(a DSLR equivalent of Buddy)?!! LOL several months to think about it- so can't wait to be able to take satisfying shots again!

Anyhow...last random thing...My Ceramic Coaster project inspired by Caroline and the work of Masaru Emoto and Himalayan salt lamps...unfortunately it has to be canned...cos the clay studio in the community centre isn't making money and has stopped opening its doors...

But they have all the preordered lumps of clay and the working kiln just sitting there and everything!!! It did cross my mind to take a page out of my lawyer-soon-to-be-barrister cousin's book and take it up with the art director on behalf of all the typically low income and student types like myself...but then I thought with semester restarting I should save my energy and just let it be...need to learn to refrain from scattering my energies all over the place and focus ...but in any case my mum was really enthused over the project so helped me select and write up a bunch of pretty characters for my personal coaster set...I don't know Chinese so to me it's just exotic symbolism to look at but I chose all the characters based on qualities or attributes I think I need more of in my life ;)

It's the character for HUMILITY - I felt I needed to remember this especially in light of getting *a bit of a big head* from being told "you're a really 'interesting' person" several times this week - haha.