Spring Mindfulness Retreat Mung Bean Soup Recipe

Spring MUNG BEAN SOUP

Author: Pinch of Yum (I've adapted)
Serves: 6
INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups dry mung beans (these can be bought at Grass Roots or any Whole Food store)
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 bunch spinach
• salt to taste
• curry seasoning added to your liking

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Boil: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot. Add the rinsed mung beans and cook, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. I checked on mine every 10 minutes and added more water as needed. You want the consistency to be like a very thick soup.
2. Saute: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and ginger in the oil in a large nonstick skillet until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add to the mung bean pot and allow the mixture to simmer together for a few minutes.
3. Mix: Stir in the coconut milk and remove from heat. Fill bowl with chopped spinach and serve over this beautiful green bed or brown rice, like a soup.

This was a total hit at our Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community Spring Retreat this past weekend. It's healthy, tasty and removes ama, or undigested slug that can accumulate over the winter, from the body. It's very green but heck, it's Spring and seriously, tastes delicious. 

Wild Cherry Hot Rod Moment

I love how as each new Mindfulness Retreat draws closer, I have opportunities to work on the themes as life provides scenarios to play and gain insight. This Spring Retreat's theme is "emergence," and I had a beautiful teacher last weekend....

My husband and I had gone to Monterey for a tennis tournament and on Sunday night, tired and beat up, we headed home. We decided to stop in Gilroy, at a business friend's house for dinner. What was going to be a "quick" stop, ended up stretching over 3 hours. You know how it goes. 

After a delicious meal, out came the ice cream and testosterone began flying, as my husband and our host shared stories about a business deal that had gone bad for my husband. As they talked, I could feel my own anxiety build (emerging, emerging). But rather than pay attention to it, I dove into the conversation with my own remembrances and amped up with my husband and friend. Finally, as we got ready to leave, our friend suggested taking a ride in his beautiful Wild Cherry 1967 restored Nova. I gotta say, I was fully aware that anxiety emerged again, this time, fuller force as I ran through why: it's late and we still had a 4 hour drive home, no seatbelts (or airbags), everybody's amped up, farm roads....I even considered staying behind, letting the boys go have some fun, and I would prepare the cabin for take off and star gaze. 

But no, I pushed my little seed of anxiety down and hopped in the hot rod. Windows were rolled down as we sped down the road, wheels screeching and teeth chattering. Most people who had made a bad decision would just suck it up, or let loose and have some fun. I could do neither and after a few minutes what popped out of my mouth was a total wet-blanket comment, "Time to go home!" Those who know me, know I tend to sometimes just let it out, often to my regret. This experience will be known as the Wild Cherry Hot Rod moment--when life handed me a glorious opportunity to stop, pay attention to what was emerging and then choose star gazing rather than racing off into the thick of it! What a mess. When I apologized to my saint of a husband, he smiled and said, "It's really no big deal, it's OK." Mindfulness is an art and a practice, and I, a humble student. 

Emergence is a theme I'm committed to working on this beautiful spring season--taking good care of whatever might pop up--a beautiful flower or vine of thorn! Hope to see you on Saturday in community--and no hot rod jokes!

Spring Mindfulness Retreat March 21, 2015

The earth is absolutely singing--can you hear her? Spring is emerging all over the place and the retreat coming up is an opportunity to use the present moment to soak it all up in community. Spring Retreat theme is "emergence," and the teachers are many: sweet star nations have been singing overhead as the fifteen spring constellations make their appearances with Great Bear and Hercules creeping into view, doves have arrived in Lake Tahoe, and the Manzanita bushes have early pink blossoms busting out. March 21 is an opportunity to shed the winter coat and resource the goodness or our beautiful home and restore. The day will be arranged to practice sitting meditation, walking meditation and the continuation of Metta or Loving Kindness Meditation. Please join Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community at The Studio Lake Tahoe to refresh!

Increasing Our Capacities

Lately when I do my mindfulness practice, I find myself with this intention:

• May my capacity to receive be increased

I've been working such well-wishing into my Metta phrases. Something I've experienced in my life is that Creation is in a constant state of transmission; I however, do not always have the capacity to receive.

Two things should be defined here. What do I mean by Creation? Goodness, God, the ancestors, blooming life itself, happiness, peace, joy, love....You get the point. What do I mean by receive--I don't always have the capacity to receive what? Goodness, love, joy, wisdom from those who trekked this road before ie my spiritual and blood ancestors (Inner Constellation Truth #2 Energy Never Dies It Just Changes Form).

So with all this beautiful Goodness flying around, how do I expand my capacity to receive it? Especially in the midst of daily hubbub, emails, blah, blah, blah. After continuing to sit with my intention, a smidge of insight emerged:

• take time for stillness upon waking and come back to this center through out the day
• sit in the presence of the stars, moon and night sky--the very same palette that lit the sky of my heroes: Joan of Arc, Buddha, Martin Luther King, etc--and soak in these inspirational points of commonality. No problem, I'm a lover of the Inner and Outer Constellation!
• read words of inspiration that filled the minds, intellect and wonder of the great ones. Crack open Song of Songs, the Suttas, poetry, listen to "I have a Dream." Nourish and water wholesome seeds.
• and then, these words from one of my teachers Thich Nhat Hanh, graced my mind in meditation this morning (wait, was that transmission?!!?!)

"There are so many paths leading to the homeland. They all talk to me in silence. I invoke the Absolute."

Invoke...how do I invoke? By being goodness, happiness, peace, joy, love. When these energies are embodied, and expressed to others (especially in the midst of the hubbub, blah, blah, blah:), Creation never dies but continues on....It's a practice. May our capacities to receive the Goodness be increased. Yes, indeed, Happy Monday.

Happy Valentine's to the Presidents! Wait...What?

Hi Sweet Ones, hope you're enjoying this incredibly beautiful weekend holiday infusion of Valentine's Day on Saturday and then President's Day on Monday. Three day weekends rock!!!

I woke today all loved up from Valentine's Day with lines from the Gettsyburg Address in my head (I'm an Abe Lincoln freak) and I pulled together a little gatha (mindful verse) adapted from the lines tumbling around:

Founding ancestors, thank you;

Dearest Abe Lincoln,

for insisting on a nation of people:

conceived in liberty,

dedicated to the premise--

all men and woman
are created equal.*

 *adapted from Gettysburg Address

Tomorrow I'm planning a little President mindfulness walk. I'll be heading out into my Tahoe back yard with the gatha above to lead me. Best day and hope you consider honoring our founding ancestors with a little love of your own. 

A Rather Blustery Day, A-ok

Today is a fiercely windy, blustery, storm-rolling-in day. Internet went down, imposing a technology break, yeah! I picked up a book of poetry and found a treasure written by Izumi Shikibu, Japan's major woman poet, estimated to live during the years 974-1034. When I read it, I couldn't help but think of Inner Constellation January's theme of "resolution", and I thought it a nice tribute as we begin this beautiful 2015 and the fresh month of February:

"I think I will not go out again

on your drifting boat
that floats
in any direction
without ever setting a course."

This 2015, I'm more determined than ever to live love, compassion and joy--these are my points of focus, my North Stars in Inner Constellation language. I'm committed to allowing the drifting boats that float in any direction without setting a mindful course to just drift on by, I'm not hopping on. What are your drifting boats, the habits that take you out of living a mindful and present life? 

One of my drifting boats is internet (yes, thank you power outage for the morning lesson). An entire world at our fingertips--to connect to mindfully or float out into the internet ether, untethered. Do you guys remember the days of no internet, email, cell phones, texts? I do. What did we do all day? Internet is a powerful tool for connection but also on the flip side--a world wide web of entanglement. I've been talking to a lot of people lately who crave the face-to-face connection of community. 

Which brings us to the February Inner Constellation theme of community, we've already begun exploring the topic in the Inner Constellation daily blessings* and there will be more blog articles to follow. When one is grounded in community, arriving at True North becomes more doable because you have like-minded individuals who help get you there--who are in the same boat: rowing, dropping anchor when you all need to settle, and are not going to jump ship when it gets stormy. Who's your community, your cheer leading squad, those folks who lift you up, brush you off, nourish you and help you shine? I look forward to exploring!

*Mon-Fri Inner Constellation Blessing sends are short inspirational blips that arrive in your inbox. Please contact me to be added. 

Happiest Martin Luther King Day-- Come Walk with Me....

Hello Beautifuls, today Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community met for an evening sunset walk and practiced walking with our spiritual ancestor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I hope your day was as insightful as ours. Here's a tribute poem that was read before we practiced, enjoy:

Martin Luther King Mindfulness Walk
January 19, 2015 at Paradise Park, Meyers, CA
©Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

“Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow,
I still have a dream.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up
and live out the true meaning of its creed,
‘We hold these truths to be self-evident
that all men and women are created equal….’” *

I have a dream today,
come walk with me and embody:
persistence, bravery, equality, leadership,
tender justice, forgiveness and mercy.

Let us walk as a free people
and allow our freedom to ring--
“….When we let it ring from every village and every hamlet,
from every state and every city,
we will be able to speed up the day when all God’s children--
black, white, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—
will be able to join hands and sing…
‘Free at last!
Free at last!
Thank God Almighty,
we are free at last!’” *

*Adapted from Martin Luther King, Jr’s, “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C.