Grateful....It is the Little Things...

About Love....

"Love is a fabric which never fades, no matter how often it is washed in the water of adversity and grief."~~ Unkown

Reflexology...and Accupressure....( Hand Diagram)

Love For All....

Love has no desire but to fulfill itself. To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. ~Kahlil Gibran // #Love4All....across the whole country...#BringItOn

Meditation Chant and Music....and some yoga

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Yoga and Meditation.....(Yin Yoga , floor yoga and poses to soothe muscles and nerves)

I have tried to pick poses that can be held for 3-5 minutes and will soothe muscles not cause pain or heat, as this does not help those with arthritis or MS or Muscle ailments, I am still working on the proper order....but the poses of Corpse,Cobra,Lotus, Cat, Fish, and others can be done on the floor and with support and breathing can also provide relief from spasms or pain.
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Blue Lake
*Deborah Martin "Blue Lake" music
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Making Changes...to Create Changes....

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Okay so spent most of January making some needed changes, MS wise things are not where I want them to be. I am preparing for a big Move in the Spring and I need to be in better shape. And between immune issues ( back to back ear infections and an eye bleed) and more muscle issues, I decided come changes were in order.

(1) The hot bathes in the morning are really not helping the muscles, in a way they make things worse. ( it seemed logical, as I am in unheated attic and bathroom, but really it just makes the spasms worse, I personally think living somewhere with Heat in my bedroom will really help).

(2) Changed back to Yoga in morning. 30 Minutes, I call it floor yoga, I have spent weeks trying to assess which poses feel good and sooth muscles. ( it is actually Yin Yoga, or cold yoga, it does not cause any of the "Burn" of hot yoga or Yang Yoga).I also added 8-10 minutes of Meditation to it.

(3) In after afternoon treadmill for as long as I can tolerate it, this ranges from 15-20 minutes, but if I do this twice a day, I think I will have less spasms at night. ( I still walk dog twice day for long walks, but it is a lot of stopping and starting and in the cold, it really causes spasms). The rule on the treadmill is that I MUST make it through atleast 4 songs, and 6 on days that I don't walk far outside. ( AND treadmill must be set to 3 for speed....)

(5) MAJOR DIET CHANGES.....
No More Dairy...Period.
No More Wheat..Period.
Egg Wise ONLY One Per Week
Vegan diet for now combined with Gluten free SWANK diet
Occasional FISH ( but only if craving really badly and only certain White fish, and NO salt)
NO SALT at all...period ( between chest pain and headaches it 's just too much trouble all around).
Smoothies daily ( might help heal Gut and GERD too) ( add Hemp Protein Powder)
Sugar wise, only Raw or Brown allowed
Fruits and Vegi's pretty freely exploring....cooked and raw
No Bread esp White Bread
Peanut Butter ( found some with NO sugar and no added salt or oil-good on bananas's)
Rice Cheese is really pretty good

** Photo is Smoothie and lunch...red peppers with basil /cilantro spread ( made from my garden and frozen) and rice cheese shredded, and smidge of No Fat Raspberry Pecan dressing.....really good)

More Soulfood.....Music to take us to another time, another place...

Blue Lake
Deborah Martin " Blue Lake"

Thursday Meditation...Rain, A Garden, some music

I made this garden at our old place....Summer 2008...No Money...Just Plants saved from Foreclosed homes and rocks that I found and pots and planters from the Curbs on Sunday Evening. ( I call it Curbside Shopping...I collect pots and planters all winter, cleaning and fixing and painting them....and when spring comes I am ready....) This garden was under 10 dollars....but I loved it, I loved standing at the back window in the Kitchen and watching the rabbits and squirrels and birds at the makeshift Birdbath. I would stand humming when it rained drying dishes, but transported....I loved that it made my heart sing...and that it was like a hidden secret...

Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.~~Langston Hughes

Reflections on Haiti 2 years since Quake...

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."~~
Mother Teresa

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This school is the only completed school, it is a Middle School, for 750, it is completely rebuilt since the Quake, it is the Academy of Peace and Justice, rebuilt and funds raised by artists and the film community..... APJ worked with the St.Luke Organization to create this school.
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About the work of Artists for Peace and Justice...

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About the School that APJ built...

2011 New Wing Opening Ceremony from bryn mooser on Vimeo.

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"I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?"~~
Mother Teresa
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It's been 2 years since the devastating Quake in Haiti, so much destruction and so much death, and yet the word gave and came together after that quake, and it yet it is still on many levels broken, shattered, undone....250,000 lives lost and still over 500,000 homeless and living in rubble. It bothers me that all of us gave and sent money...yet I see children still in the camps, schools still not rebuilt, and children with no shoes walking by debris piles...It is the one place my heart still goes easily and I dream of it at night and can hear creole...The streets there are so familiar and I can't explain it , but I do think my future is tied to this place....It's odd how Creole and Thai, my heart and brain understand...The only two places that have tugged at my heart...my dreams...my soul...And the world in many ways has moved on, I watched the news this morn, and Haiti was not mentioned....and that is why there are still piles of rubble there....We are so good at "Moving On" that we are not good at "Showing Up and Seeing it Through"....
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"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."~~
Mother Teresa
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This Eddie Vedder song ...about Ruins is what comes to mind about Haiti...not sure why...