View From a New Vrindaban Ridge

“Darkness, illumination and clouds sometimes appear and sometimes disappear, but even when they have disappeared, the potency is still there, always existing. In the sky sometimes we see clouds, sometimes rainfall and sometimes snow. Sometimes we see night, sometimes day, sometimes illumination and sometimes darkness. All these exist due to the sun, but the sun is unaffected by all these changes. Similarly, although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original cause of the total cosmic manifestation, He is unaffected by the material existence.”

SB 4.31.17

We have been getting a lot of snow and freezing weather. Our average temperature for today is 36 degrees (2 C) but the last time we saw a temperature above freezing was Dec. 31, the day of our New Year’s Eve party. I remember because we were overflow parking in the hay field and I was a little concerned about the ground thawing but it didn’t enough to be a problem. Since then it has been below normal temps. It should  tickle thawing tomorrow and then we will have ten days of upper 30s and low 40s (4-5 C) to make up for it.

The sun has taken a vacation and we had about ten days in a row where I only saw the sunshine for about 5 minutes. It was also accompanied by frequent snowfalls. According to Channel 9′s website, “This is the 13th straight day with snow! Over that stretch we have managed to pick up nearly a foot of snowfall.”

That was two days ago and none since then. Each given snow was not that much so it built up layers. It was also very dry snow, not the good wet kind for making snowballs, but light. The layers built up and I think then froze together, so they got stronger like lamination layers. As such they were some really interesting things to see.

Like on the garden shed door, which is on the leeward end of the shed, there is a 1″x6″ cross bar. Since it is milled lumber, it is really only 3/4″ (2 cm) wide. As the snow settled there it built out about 5″ (13cm) and curled under, like one of those pictures you see of a surfer”shooting the curl”. The curl didn’t touch back to the door, so all the structure is supported by the narrow edge of the board. A very complex and organic curved vision.

I tried to take a picture of it but with my level of expertise and the camera I have, I couldn’t get one that would do it justice. It all merged into a white oneness when I looked at it on my computer. Here is one I did mange to get where you can see some detail on the gutters on the inside bend of my ell shaped house. Not as complex but still interesting.

I have deer that practically live in my yard. Although they don’t sleep in the same place every night they do take shelter. See where they slept next to the shed.

You can see the bamboo in the background which is evergreen and makes a great windbreak plus there is a fir tree with a 60′ (18m) diameter between the shed and the bamboo.

It has been two days since it snowed so the deer tracks aren’t being covered up and, yes, those are ALL deer tracks you see in this picture.

The snow is making it tough for the deer so although they usually come out of the forest to feed at dusk and dawn, it is now common to see them out during the day.

When it snows at night and there is no wind, the snow settles on the trees and makes a very beautiful scene.

I searched on “jokes” and “fasting” with faint hope of finding anything. Instead I found a rich vein of Muslim cartoons centered on fasting which they do during  Ramadan.

From Wikipedia: “It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until sunset.^[1] Fasting is meant to teach the Muslim patience, modesty and spirituality. Ramadan is a time for Muslims to fast for the sake of God (Arabic: الله‎) and to offer more prayer than usual. During Ramadan, Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.”

Much of the humor is culturally based, referencing details of the fasting that would be very familiar to Muslims but obtuse to those not familiar with the customs. Many of them revolve around this concept, also from the Wiki: “Muslims should start observing the fasting ritual upon reaching the age of puberty, so long as they are healthy, sane and have no disabilities or illnesses. The elderly, the chronically ill, and the mentally ill are exempt from fasting, although the first two groups must endeavor to feed the poor in place of their missed fasting” and some other exemptions, like if you travel more than 40 km in a day.

Here are a few I picked out from this site:

Beyonce’s Master Cleanse Diet Fast Helped Her Lose 20 Pounds

So I am on Day 6 of the Master Cleanse fast and clipping along. I was going to take it easy physically but went out to an auction Saturday with Vidya, my first step off my property since I started.

It was at Sherrard Elementary, for those who know where that is.  Both Sherrard and Limestone elementary schools have been closed down due to declining enrollment and  consolidated into a new school built where the football field used to be at Sherrard Middle School.

One effect of the closure on local devotees is that now instead of having to go through 4 school speed limit zones on the way to Wheeling, we only have to go through 2.

I happened to know the guy who bought the school as I used to coach his son in recreational league soccer and he was an assistant soccer coach for the high school team Tulasi played on. (FYI, Tulasi, he said his son Eric is going to start med school at WVU.) He already has a tenant for the building, it is going to be a wholesaler of craft supplies.  He is also going to erect a commercial size windmill on it, maybe not the size of the mammoths  but bigger than the one you see on Rte 88 now. They are researching it.

We did get a couple small things that fit in the car but then bought 2 lots  I wasn’t expecting to but such a great deal I couldn’t resist.

There were all these blackboards and they were having a hard time getting bids. So I thought, what could you use blackboards for other than as blackboards?  They were at a stack of 8 pure slate slabs that were 42″ (1.o7m) by 48″ (1.2m) and  quarter of an inch (6.4 mm) thick. It was only $5 so I bought them even though I don’t really have an idea what to do with them, other than maybe as roofing for a small shed.

Another pile of 13  were blackboards that had had the frames removed. They are 42″ (1.o7m) by 8′ (2.44m) sheets of 1/4″ (6.4mm) plywood with 1 mm of aluminum on each side of it. They start to be  easier to think of a use for, like  siding on a shed or whatever.  Gopish said a full size sheet of this new(they are cut from 48″ to the 42″  width) would run $20-30 dollars a sheet and I got them all for $10.

Quite sturdy and needless to say heavier that I was in a condition to lift by myself. I needed help so the next day Gopish came along with me and did all the heavy lifting, a task for which he is eminently overqualified.  I helped whenever two guys were needed but did a lot of observation.

Anyway, the rest of the day was spent mostly laying on the couch but I am recovered within the parameters of the fast again today.

My current plan is to go ten days and then get blood work done and check that out. I get monthly blood work for the liver transplant people but it is set up “as needed”  because sometimes it is done more frequently, like weekly when they lower a dosage of the immune suppressor.

The sastra in the Master Cleanse eBook  that my Master Cleanse guru Soma sent me said ten days is great and up to 14 better but beyond that be under doctor’s care. Clearly any doctor would freak out if I told them about this and for malpractice  concerns say no, so I will have to wing it.

If I feel good and the blood work looks good I will extend this, possiblely to 20 days.  I go to the records department at the hopsital and get my own copy of the results and have educated myself to have a reasonable understanding of what they say. So I do consider getting blood work done being prudent and almost under a doctor’s care.

2012 and Beyond: A New Species of Humanity

by Stephen Knapp

When it comes to the consideration of the year 2012, and the special date of December 21, it all evolves around the Mayan calendar. People everywhere are focused on this date to some degree or another. Some people feel we are going to enter a new age, a new awareness, or maybe the earth as we know it will come to an end.

However, in February of 2006 at a conference in Jaipur, India, called “Spirituality Beyond Religion” in which participants from over 30 of the world’s older indigenous cultures gathered to share, learn, study, and pray together. That is where I met Vocatelo Tyu, a Mayan elder from Guatamala who had a few things to tell all of us about the prophecies connected with the Mayan calendar and the year 2012.

First he explained that the ending of the Mayan calendar in 2012 is no different than if someone simply did not make a new calendar after the date of December 31 of any given year. It does not mean that the world is going to end, as some people seem to propose, but that it was merely the end of that cycle, which was not continued in another calendar. He explained that the world would go on, and not to worry.

However, he was a little upset that when the Western researchers found the calendar, they did not confer with the Mayan elders at the time. Because of that, there was a time discrepancy between the Mayan calendar and the western time calculations. This meant that the date of December 21, 2012 may not be accurate, and may be off by several years. This means that the ending of the Mayan cycle could very well be in some other year, possibly 2015 or even 2020. But now the focus is on the year 2012.

He specifically explained that even though some people are depending on the idea that the world may end in 2012, he hoped that people would not be too upset if the year 2012 passes and nothing happens.

After I heard what he had to say, I thought it was quite profound to understand this directly from a Mayan elder. Therefore, the world will go on and we need to continue with our plans and development, especially our spiritual development. And for those who are putting so much emphasis on 2012 as the time for a grand awakening or the entrance into some new cycle, we still  must decide where we go from here?

Naturally, if everyone is intent on the meaning and purpose of 2012, it can certainly help the planetary awakening if people try to increase their awareness, and their focus on cultural or spiritual unity. Thus, in some ways, such intent can create a type of self-fulfilling prophecy, or at least an upliftment of social harmony and cooperation. There can be nothing bad about that. And if this is what we get out of 2012, this would certainly be a positive benefit. But what happens beyond that?

The fact is, whether we give credit to anything connected with 2012 or not, it is still up to humanity to bring about a new era, or what could be called a new species of humanity. This new species will not be based on physical changes but on the development of a new spiritual consciousness, and the goal of working toward the perfection of human life both materially and spiritually. This new species of humanity are those who are not afraid to investigate higher dimensions of reality, new areas of spiritual experiences that are beyond the limitations of conventional and fear-based religions [those that urge the obedience to their principles based on the wrath of God]…

For the rest of this article you would have to join this Yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StephenKnappNewsList/

and read it there (the archives are limited to members).

Or you can watch this YouTube video:

“In all directions of Dvaraka City, wherever one would turn his eyes he would find green parks and gardens, each of them filled with trees and plants laden with fruits and flowers. Because there were so many nice trees of fruits and flowers, all the sweetly chirping birds and buzzing bumblebees joined together to make sweet vibrations. The city of Dvaraka thus fully displayed all opulences. “

Krishna Book 90:  Summary Description of Lord Krsna’s Pastimes

Living Near Green Lowers Anxiety, Depression Rates, Study Finds

By Kristen Hallam

Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) — People living near gardens, parks and other green spaces have lower rates of anxiety, depression and poor physical health than those living in urban areas, Dutch researchers found.

The scientists reviewed the medical records of more than 345,000 people in the Netherlands and calculated the percentage of green space near the patients’ homes. For those with 10 percent of green space within a 1-kilometer radius of their homes, the prevalence of anxiety disorders was 26 out of 1,000 people, according to the study. In a residential area that was 90 percent green, the prevalence was 18 out of 1,000.

Better health may stem from access to fresher air and more opportunities to relax, socialize or exercise, though more research is needed to confirm those theories, said Jolanda Maas and colleagues at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam. Expanding green spaces may help prevent chronic illnesses that cost billions of dollars to treat each year, they said.

“The role of green space in the living environment for health should not be underestimated,” they wrote in the study published in the British Medical Journal’s Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. “Most of the diseases which were found to be related to the percentage of green space in the living environment are highly prevalent in society and in many countries, they are the subject of large-scale prevention programs.”

The study also found fewer cases of depression, heart disease, back pain and asthma among those living near green spaces. The link between green space and health was strongest for children and people with low incomes, who are less mobile and spend more time closer to home, the study found.

The research was funded by a grant from the Netherlands Organization forScientific Research.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aaVDXmgskQmg

There’s a hidden sweetness
in the stomach’s emptiness.

We are lutes, no more, no less.
If the sound box is stuffed
full of anything, no music.

If the brain and the belly
are burning clean with fasting,
every moment a new song
comes out of the fire.

The fog clears, and a new
energy makes you run up the
steps in front of you.

Be emptier and cry like
reed instruments cry.
Emptier, write secrets with
the reed pen.

When you’re full of food and drink,
Satan sits where your
spirit should, an ugly metal
statue in place of the Kaaba.

When you fast, good habits gather
like friends who want to help.

Fasting is Solomon’s ring.
Don’t give it to some illusion
and lose your power.

But even if you’ve lost all
will and control, they come
back when you fast,
like soldiers appearing out
of the ground, pennants
flying above them.

A table descends to your
tent, Jesus’s table.
Expect to see it, when you
fast, this table spread with
other food better than the
broth of cabbages.

As for the Master Cleanse, here is a starting point:

http://themastercleanse.org/

There is a right way and wrong way to fast and better to do it the right way and follow the path of those who have gone before. Should anyone be so inclined to take it up.

I didn’t follow the Lead in diet exactly but since I don’t eat meat anyway, I had cut out the dairy and had some soup and veggies the last day.

Though I confess I failed to mention having had two pieces of whole wheat toast with cloudberry jam also. Maybe the jam is considered processed food but other than that I didn’t have any the last day before the fast.

So not the best start but  almost okay.

Chaits has been trying to drag me into the modern world and get on Facebook but I am stuck in my blogging and buggy whips old fashioned way. So he took matters into his own hands and started a fan page for my blog.  See it here:

http://www.facebook.com/viewfromanewvrindabanridge?v=wall

If readers have shifted their lives to Facebook this makes it easier for them to get the feed I guess.  I am neither advocating nor not advocating getting the blog content there, just pointing out that it is available.

I am going to try do the Master Cleanser Fast for ten days. It is basically no solid or liquid food except for  a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, a tablespoon of maple syrup and a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne is a glass of water, taken at least 8 times a day, or  more.

I have done it before so figure I can pull it off but because of my medical condition will be monitoring my blood glucose levels and may have to stop if they get too wacky.

I will get into that more later.

I just had my last meal — squash soup and an avocado and lettuce sandwich on whole wheat bread.

I know it is better to fast when it is warm but if it is warm I am busy. Some guys can fast and continue to work but I can’t as easily.

I used to do extended fasts more regularly, but haven’t done one for a couple of years. The last one was a straight up water fast for 5 days but I don’t think I can do those anymore.

The longest water only fast I did was for 7 days. I was feeling good the last day so wanted to see what I had in the tanks so I went out and walked almost two miles before I broke the fast in the evening.  I was jacked and walked it pretty fast. When I got home I had really bad leg cramps because during fasting potassium gets depleted.

I think the lemon juice and maple syrup do provide some electrolytes so it makes fasting easier.Even though our average high temperature for today is 37 F (2 C) we haven’t seen a day above freezing in about a week and don’t have one in the forecast for at least another week, so I am not so interested in doing discretionary things outdoors, so a good time from that perspective.

Plus I have taxes and garden seed and plant orders to do so sedentary work is there.