Saturday I took a vegan cooking class at Madeleine Bistro with Chef Dave Anderson.  I was so inspired that afterwards I ran out and bought a mandolin (for slicing vegetables) and a fancy zester!  Then I thought… I really want to grow my OWN vegetables – and have fresh vegetables plucked from my backyard served up on my dinner table.

So… why not? I mean, I have tried this before… with not so great results.  But I don’t think I was as motivated previously.  My mother, my two grandmothers, and my sisters are all AMAZING gardeners – so I thought the green thumb thing must run in the family.  But I discovered that it takes much more than just dropping a few seeds into dirt.  And I discovered that I’m a much better writer than I am a gardener!

Now I’m approaching this from a different angle.  To keep myself on track I am going to blog about this new experience.  And today is Day 1:

Yesterday my hubby and I went to Home Depot and I picked out pots and plants and seeds.  There’s really no space in my backyard for a garden to be planted into the ground – so I figured a container garden would work best.  I found plastic pots (so that they are lightweight and I can move them around if necessary) that have a built in drainage system.  I’m trying to make this as fool-proof as possible!  I also got 3 big bags of organic soil. The total came to $150., but the cashier said if I opened a Home Depot credit card I could get a $50 discount – so of course I did that!  I’m hoping that we get more than $100 worth of vegetables out of this “experiment” to make it worth my while… and I know that $100 can buy a LOT of vegetables!

I’m not a huge tomato fan – but I do love Roma tomatoes, and they didn’t have a plant of those so I got the seeds.  I put those in one of the large containers.  

Then in another large container I put a couple of little zucchini sprouts, and a couple of yellow squash sprouts.  And in the third large container I put green onion seeds.

I’ve also got 3 medium containers.  In the first I planted basil – I plant basil every year, we use it often!  In the second I planted a lemon cucumber sprout.  And in the third I put some green bean seeds and some snow pea seeds.

I’m the first to admit – I have no idea what I’m doing – but I am giving it a shot!  My new little plants are all tucked in the soil and watered – the sun is shining – so we’ll see what happens!

I am beyond upset right now.  I am appalled, sickened, and totally thrown by what I just witnessed on television.  If I had seen this sooner, I would have written sooner.  I had E! Entertainment on in the background while I was busy working on my newsletters.  The show “Kourney and Kim Take Miami” was on – I was hardly paying attention, until I saw Scott Disick, Kourtney’s baby daddy, shoot and kill an alligator. 

Yes, he did.  We saw the shot.  We saw the blood.  We saw the lifeless body.  It was horrible.  It was REAL.  This is not fiction, this is not a scripted drama – this happened ON CAMERA.  And then, to make matters worse, Disick and his group of hunter pals guffaw as they take the dead animal to the skinner, and he proceeds to cut off its leg.  The whole time the group is making jokes, and Disick arrogantly is caught up in how great his alligator shoes are going to be. 

This network is called E for “Entertainment” – how is this entertainment?  I understand that there are people who don’t get it, who take life for sport, who think hunting is a game.  But I certainly don’t need to see this on television.  Have we gotten so de-sensitized to killing that this can happen on a cable television show and no one blinks? 

Thankfully, PETA noticed, and responded.  But that’s not enough.  Any one who values life, who values the tradition of television needs to respond, and loudly!  There is no excuse for this.  I know that the Kardashians are known to trash talk – they are bleeped out all the time – even their subtitles are bleeped out.  And yet, to kill an animal is ok?  No – it’s not.  If this were a dog instead of an alligator would people be more upset?  A life is a life – whether it is a pet, a wild animal, or a human.

E! needs to have some respect – for its viewers, and for the value of a life.

I’m so happy and excited to welcome our new CoffeyTalk contributor Yogi Akal!  He will be posting blogs in the category of Health and Happiness and you can visit his page to read his bio and blog posts here: https://www.coffeytalk.com/yogi-akal/

Yogi Akal asked for my birthdate so that he could give me a reading, and of course I couldn’t pass that up!  Here’s what he had to say… I think this describes me rather well! 

 LET’S LOOK AT THE SIX QUESTIONS OF LIFE:

WHAT DO I HAVE TO LEARN?  Neutrality.

Four is your biggest challenge and achievement. This is the power of your word, your ability to work hard, your organizational skill. These are themes that will surface and re-surface, as you are developing mastery in life.

WHO AM I?  An Inspiration.

SEVEN is your real strength. You are an analytical and patient personality, shining through a soul than uplifts everyone, including your Self. You keep growing, whether you are alone or busy in a relationship.

WHY AM I HERE?  To create and disseminate knowledge.

SEVEN is also your reason for being alive at this time in this place in this form. You have chosen to make others successful and will always benefit from that effort.

HOW DO I CHANGE MY LIFE?  Finish what you start.

TEN is your lever for success. This is your courage, radiance and dynamism. Although the seven makes you thoughtful, the ten makes you impactful. You can never hide, because you are always standing out.

WHAT MUST I DO?  Heal.

EIGHT is your minimum performance. This is the number of executive power and spiritual energy. When you combine these two forces, you are very effective. Be open to criticism and praise, as both will always follow you around. It is  NEVER personal, no matter how biting or complimentary. When you are grateful, your ability to transform anything increases.

WHERE AM I GOING?  To Partnership

In 2013 there are important partnerships unfolding. These may be related to work, service or home. But in each case, they will require your best attention. When you know your heart and you see the heart of your colleague, you know exactly what to say and do.

Happy Earth Day!

I am lucky to live next door to Thousand Oaks, California – where the city is named for the abundance of beautiful oak trees found throughout the area.  In tribute to Earth Day, and our beautiful trees, I’m publishing an article written by my dear friend and teacher, Rev. Glenn Hughes.  Thank you, Glenn!

A Thousand Buddhas Among Us

by Glenn Hughes

There’s a well-known Zen Buddhist koan that asks the question, Does an oak tree have buddhanature?  Zen, a popular school or method of practicing the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism, is big on koans, especially in Japan and ever growing in the West since popularized by such Beat Generation writers as Alan Watts, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg.  

The contemplation of these seemingly meaningless mental puzzles can give the student or practitioner of Buddhism insight into the nature of reality.  In reflecting on the oak tree koan, one attempts to find out whether or not the oak tree has the potential of becoming a buddha, one who has reached total enlightenment.

The word buddha usually is not capitalized unless it is in reference to The Buddha, the Indian prince who searched for, discovered and taught the nature of all life, its meaning and how to escape its frustrations and suffering.  Although known for his dharma (logic) and sutras (teachings), koans are not associated with Siddhartha or Shakyamuni, two names identifying him, the first before becoming the Buddha and the last afterwards.

When meditating on whether or not an oak tree has buddhanature, one is drawn to considering the true character of a tree, or of any reflection of life, whether it be attached to the ground, moving about on land, flying in the air or residing in water.  Buddhism explains the compounded nature of all things and requires the thinker to decide whether or not the entity has five khandas (aggregates of parts). The five are form (physical body), feelings, perceptions, thinking process, and consciousness.  Then one questions the permanence and discovers the ever-changing characteristics of these khandas.  Satisfactorily concluding this analyzing can lead to discovering one’s buddhanature and eventually to full enlightenment, the penultimate to buddhahood. 

Those of us calling Thousand Oaks home perhaps have an atypical interest in a koan about the tree from which our city derived its name.  Personally, I’ve loved oak trees ever since I was a kid living among lots of them in the little Northern California town of Diamond Springs.  In fact, in addition to a pig ranch, my family operated an outdoor nightspot with a dance floor built around a huge oak tree; it was called The Musical Oak.  

To venerate the buddhanature of not only our beloved oaks, but also our own potential buddhahood, this poem is about them and those of us who love them.

The Oaks Among Us

There stand my friends, a thousand noble essences of life,

Their many outstretched branches, like those of multi-armed Kwan Yins

Reaching out to me and all who come within their auras,

And freely offering their love, their friendship and compassion

To all varieties of life in all their individual splendor.

Here I too stand, encouraged by their unencumbered love, 

My arms stretched out in prayer, like the upper branches of my friends,

In worship of this precious gift of life, ours to enjoy,

And freely offering my thanks and love with ceaseless passion

To all varieties of life in all their individual splendor.

Here we do stand, not them and me, but us in our connectedness,

Our buddhanature beaming, like that of lovers sharing tender moments,

Piercing the spheres with gentleness and joy,

And freely offering our essence and our mutual admiration

To all varieties of life in all their individual splendor.

Although we speak in many different ways,

Each one as one as well as individually,

Our voices merge in a celestial symphony,

Mine and those of my beloved cherished friends,

These thousand oaks.

One of the most interesting relationships we encounter in this lifetime is the relationship between siblings.  As we are living longer than ever before, chances are that this relationship is the one that lasts the longest in our lives.  Studies show that sister are more likely to keep in contact than brothers, and brother-sister combos fall somewhere in the middle.  What keeps us bonded with our siblings into adulthood? A number of factors are involved.  One theory says that it’s the way the parent guides the kids to be kind and helpful towards one another when they are young.  Another theory is that siblings feel comfortable in attached relationships.  They are familiar with one another, and feel badly when separated.  How closely the siblings live to one another also comes into play.  Those who live closer have more contact. 

Sibling relationships change over time.  Typically there is more closeness and more involvement when we are younger, and that gradually decreases in early adulthood. But then we find that closeness again as we get settled and start to get older.  Sibling rivalry decreases and feelings of closeness increase with age.  One study found that older people with living siblings, especially sisters, have a higher morale, and are more emotionally secure. Siblings rely on each other more and more for support as they age.

I remember having a wonderful conversation with Deepak Chopra’s mother when we were both at the Chopra Center in 1998.  I have two boys myself, so we have this in common, and we spoke heart to heart as mothers.  I asked her what her secret was, how she raised two amazing, successful, big-hearted sons.  She said to me, “It was all God.”  I admired her humbleness, and knew she really had everything to do with it.  Children follow the example of their parents, and this kind, beautiful woman certainly was a demonstration of love and family and created a loving, supportive home for her two boys so that they could go out into the world and share the lessons they learned from her.

Deepak Chopra has written a new book with his brother Sanjiv titled: Brotherhood: Dharma, Destiny, and the American Dream. The inspiring story of two brothers who immigrated to America from India and took very different paths to becoming world-renowned healers and teachers. 

At a time when America is fiercely divided on the issue of immigration, Brotherhood tells the story of two brothers who pursued the American dream to its fullest expression. In the early 1970s, Deepak and Sanjiv Chopra joined a flood of immigrants looking to make a new life in America, a land of opportunity. Having grown up in postwar India amidst the sudden freedom of the 1947 liberation, their childhood was a blend of the exotic, the mythical, and the modern. Their father was one of the first Indians to become a Western-trained cardiologist, while their extended family maintained deep roots in ancient spiritual traditions.

Brotherhood follows the Chopra brothers as one becomes a world-renowned spiritual teacher and the other rises to the top of Western medicine to become a professor at Harvard Medical School. Their story will fascinate and inspire anyone who still believes in America’s capacity to foster achievement and reward hard work.

Summer is that time of year when our focus turns to leisurely activities and relaxation. Yet as temperatures rise, and it stays lighter later, we might have trouble getting that sweet sleep that we need to function optimally throughout the day.  As the Spokesperson for the Better Sleep Council, I’ve got some tips to help you sleep soundly this summer.

–       Sleep Sanctuary.  Keep the bedroom a place for sleep and sex only.  This is not a place for any kind of technology, cell phones included!  You want to be sure to keep the room cool, dark, and quiet.  In the summer, this means using natural, breathable fabrics, like cotton, for your sheets and pajamas. Sleepwear should be comfortable and loose.  If your room doesn’t stay dark enough, use a sleep mask.  And if your window is open to let in cool night air, and the outside noises are disrupting your sleep, use soft foam earplugs.

–       Get plenty of exercise during the day, but make sure to give yourself enough time between exercise and sleep to let your body relax. About 3 hours between exercise and sleep is the minimum.

–       Enjoy the summer parties with friends, but also be mindful of how

night-time activities impact your sleep.  Alcohol late at night can affect your sleep cycle.  So, avoid alcohol 3 hours prior to bedtime.

–       Stay hydrated!  We sweat more in the summer heat, so we need more water to compensate for that.  Dehydration can cause headaches and body aches that can make getting to sleep difficult.

–       Keep cool in bed by sticking your feet out!  When your feet get hot then the whole body feels it and it’s harder to sleep.  You can also cool your feet and neck with a damp cloth just before bedtime.

–       Keep a sleep schedule.  Even though you have time off work for vacation, try to get to bed and wake up at the same time each day.  Keeping a consistent schedule helps your body to adjust and fall asleep more easily.

We’re on a campaign to Spread the Snooze!  Show that you’re serious about Summer Slumber by taking the Sleep Pledge.  And invite your friends to do the same. 

“I pledge to make sleep my priority this summer.”

Let us know what you are doing to make sure you get the sleep you need this season – we’d love to hear from you!