Cougar Creek

Beating Heart Meditation

Allow yourself to find a quiet peaceful place.   You may want to lie down or sit up in a yoga or meditation stance.  Take a deep breath in and exhale a few times.  Place your hand over your heart.  Allow your hand to feel the beating of your heart.  With your eyes closed, allow yourself to feel inside the beating of your heart then the space that the heart occupies in your chest.

Focus single mindedly on the beating of the heart.  Allow the beating to take you deeper into the energy of your body.  Allow whatever thoughts or images that come through to be like clouds floating across the sky without judgment.  You are not resisting any images or thoughts let go of them and just be.  Follow the beating of the heart and go into those places in your chest where you feel an opening, tiredness or heaviness.

As you breathe in, plant that seed of the sun.  Extend the beautiful rays of golden white light of the sun.  Allow for them to grow so that your heart becomes the sun extending its energy out in all directions.

We can extend this meditation out to any of your beautiful friends, pets that come and want to lie on your chest, as Angel is lying on mine, or your dog.  Allow yourself to extend the rays out so you can feel their heart beat on your chest.  Tune into their beating heart.  Allow whatever insights come.  A few that I will share with you is that I felt that I was my cat, Angel.  I yawn, and feel energized, quiet, the verge of sleep and awake. Enjoy the beating heart meditation.

In reflection:  How do I connect with myself effectively?  This connection does not come naturally for many of us and cultivating it is a daily choice.   Gift yourself.

This is an excerpt from “The Joy of Being” Infinity Publishing, copyright2007 Available at www.bbotw.com

Marsala Roasted Butternut Squash, Yam and Sweated Leek

Roast at 350 F:  Cut in half a Butternut Squash and place face down in a pan with an inch of water

Roast a large Yam in a pan that has been poked with a fork several times.  Leave both vegetables in the oven until soft to the touch which is approximately one hour.  If you have an orange or red pepper put it on a baking sheet and roast it as well for garnish.   Once it turns dark and wilts remove from oven.

Stove Top on Low:  Cut a large Leek in thin slices in a soup pot with Organic Virgin Coconut Oil and Marsala spice approx. 2-3 T.  Sweat the leeks until they are wilted , may take 30-40 minutes.  Leave to sit on stove top until other ingredients are ready.

Combine cooled squash and yam with leeks.  Fill with good quality water approx. 4-6 cups and add Vegetable Knorr’s soup bouillon to taste.

Stove Top on Medium Heat:  When it comes to a boil turn the element off and place in glass jars.

To serve : Pour soup over a Falafel Ball which acts as a protein course and crouton.  It will soften and augments the Indian Marsala spice in the dish.  You can garnish with slices of the cooled orange pepper.

I will add Brendan’s Glass wine pairing April 13th.

In Reflection:  Do you make time to explore some new taste sensations to spice up your life?

This week has transformed my thinking at 2 occasions.  Being intense, and exhausted in conversation led to a new reality of buried grief and labeling called shunning and punishment.   I was relieved to reconnect with the 2 choices of life: Joy and love, or the 2nd :  pain and struggle supported by the would a, could a, should a, philosophy.   It was clear to me that the Joy Factor won.

There has been alot of letting go on the physical plane.  I saw my surgeon and an alternative surgical date that was offered.  I could be in O.R. in 4 days or a month and a half.  Re organizing appointments and rescheduling agendas took a back seat or became non existent in my new reality.

The bottom fell out of what I called my life and I was challenged to embrace a new way of seeing myself.  Honoring and claiming all of who I have been and am in this life.  The “Superstar” .  The all encompassing big heart driven by the desire to do divinely good steers my path.  We are all “Superstars”!

My dreaming different is to be awoken by a ” kiss” rather than the traditional vomit and nauseousness that surgery lends me.  Sharing this with the surgical team will be the brave piece.

I will soar with the eagles and come back in a newer way to celebrate life with a divinity unimaginable.

Go big or go Home.

Blessings

In Reflection: How strong do you hold onto the image of yourself?  If we are that malleable could it be that we would be more expansive?

Loving you always,

Karen

Banff Springs christmas

At every turn this time of year there are the distractions engaging us into busy-ness.

Tensions and stress builds as we follow the crowd to the Christmas party, shopping and hurrying aimlessly.  We forget to ask ourselves what makes our heart sing?   We get grumpy because we are avoiding our inate need to be balanced.

Slow down… be mindful

Mindfulness is a presence we can cultivate as we walk daily through our lives.  Being aware of the beauty and layers of goodness that we experience in food, wine, and in those whom we meet adds to the sensations of life.  We water the positive seeds in our garden to reap the benefits of its harvest.  It is a choice.  Therein it is mindful.

Create space and gift yourself with the quiet of your inner celebration.   Love the life you are living and with gratitude feel in your heart the beating, the breath and  “I love You.”

It is said that the Buddha creates space within and around him therefore he is free.  The space element lives in the heart.  The expansiveness of energy in the clear light mind.

In Reflection: Have you sat in the evening, turned the lights on the tree and in that solace embraced the sparkles of the lights on your tree,  the reflection off the balls dancing in the glow of the darkness.   Breath in and smell the aroma of the tree.  Give thanks for the gifts of having this tree grace your home.  Light a candle.  Enjoy a glass of wine or cup of tea.  Experience the grape, the soil, the country which the wine is from, the workers who harvested it, the wood it lived in as it aged.

Blessings for a Joy filled Christmas Season

It is the essence of profound health amidst the adversity the world consciousness is holding right now.  This allows us to see with clarity and open our hearts to the bigger picture of holding love and compassion on a daily basis for the highest good of all sentient beings.  This of course being the mother Earth where we live.

Placing your hands in front of you with the Earth between them you can daily send the colors of the rainbow , the highest understanding of light in the universe to bath and support this sentient being.  As you do that, trust you are sending the same love and compassion to all who inhabit the Earth.

When we are feeling helpless or hopeless in these times my advice to you to stay in your strength by this simple effective way of directing your love daily.  You will start to experience the gratitude and love the Mother Earth shows you for such thoughtfulness.

Easy P easy 4 step Breathing: Breath in, feel the rise and fall of the simple breath.  Connect with the beating of your heart adding the image of the expansive nurturing sun radiating out in all directions, filling the spaces between your cells and extending out to all in the cosmos.  The last sparkle on the compassionate sundae is the sprinkling of your inner and outer smile.  Yes, with this you can move mountains and make a difference in the world. Please visit KarenBar99 my YouTube channel for extra guidance.

In Reflection: Cultivating a calm mind is like exercising any muscle that is weak it wants the daily commitment of strengthening.  Multi-task by doing the 4 step breathing waiting for that train to pass, standing in a long line at Costco or the Bank.  Over time it will become second nature and that inner smile will surprise you.

Blessings for a new revised holiday experience.  Explore the magic and Dream it different.

Roast Acorn Squash at 350F until it falls out of skin

Cut in ½ small white baby potatoes, coat with olive oil and cumin spice then roast alongside with squash

Saute in Coconut oil one white onion, garlic, and a red pepper with organic dried basil

Sprinkle to taste with Knorr’s Vegetable Soup Mix ingredients.

Cover with spring water

Add Fresh Ground pepper

Brendan Glass paired this full flavoured soup with Urban, a Mosel Reisling from Germany,2010.  High in tannins with lots of fruit for the soups cheeky coconut flavour and a kick up front.

In Reflection:  Set the Intention next time you create a dinner that it comes from the heart .  Trust what you are guided to put together.  You maybe brilliantly surprised.

Acorn Squash and Sweated Leeks meets Austria

Roasted acorn Squash with Sweated Leeks paired meets an Austrian Dry wine.

Acorn Squash is cut in half face down in water baked in the oven at 350 F until it falls out of its skin, approximately an hour.

Leeks sweated on the front burner for an hour at very low heat with coconut oil and Croatian sea salt

Combine leeks and squash adding fresh dill.

Sprinkle with Knorr vegetable soup mix to taste covering with spring water

In serving please top with freshly grown sage leaves.  A warmed soup will absorb a specific draw of the sage herb as you eat it.

Brendan Glass owner of Canmore Wine Merchants paired this richly flavored soup with a Langenlois, Austrian wine.   Gobelsburg Gruner Veltliner 2010.  In the 12^th century Cistercian monks laid the founding stone for the tradition and quality based concept of the Schloss Gobelsburg Winery. This wine will flavour a white pepper taste to the soup.

Please check out last years recipes and pairings on the September and October 2010 calender.

In Reflection:  The joy this gave me in its creation was equal in the consuming.   Do we take the time to allow ourselves this creative experience?

I had a full bag of tubular beets from our seasonal farmers market sitting in my fridge.   I figured I should go into my creative drive to make use of them before they spoiled.  I envisioned barbequing them with coconut oil and Croatian sea salt in a foil wrap.

When they softened I took them off the barbeque to cool.

I sliced them up after cooling and added 2 pears that was lingering about in a soup pot.

In the final stages tasting it I felt some organic cinnamon would round off the flavors.

I added Knorr’ vegetable soup mix to taste and covered with spring water.

Serving it  topped with organic sour cream and an eatable Nasturtium flower was divine.

Bendan Glass owner of Canmore Wine Merchants paired this soup with a lovely French Gamay Grape.   Jean-Paul Brun,  Terres Dorees, Cote de Brouilly 2009.  He felt that this wine was low in tannins and would create the space to allow the soup its flavors without being too strong.  The art in pairing is the marriage of the grape with the dish so it is truly supportive.  My palate and my daughters couldn’t get enough of this combination.

Please check out last years recipes and pairings in the September and October 2010 Blog Calender

In Reflection:  How often do we allow ourselves to create in the kitchen following our innate wisdom?  Go with the Flow…

Celebration

Is it true that at one time in our evolution we celebrated each moment lived?

A perspective on life that held it precious and unique.

Drinking wine under a tree at dusk with a loved one sharing my dreams and aspirations.

Holding in my heart the gentleness of soul and flying with the eagle when he presented itself to me in nature.

Rescuing the cat bound by a tether in the neighbors yard knowing she was allowed to live an extra day without being bait for the coyotes.

Experiencing the death of a colleague or friend to remind me that the decisions of the heart are my top priority.

That a day off was about self love and nurturing to refuel for the busy few days ahead.

Feeling celebrated as a spiritual being in this physical experience is so necessary in this time of global chaos.  When we do it for ourselves in the Buddhist tradition hold the energy for all sentient beings to step into this joyful mindfulness.

As I sit on my balcony over looking the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Eagle flies overhead and the sun is radiant with warmth in these Fall moments.  Even though my life has had challenges, I can not help but fall in love with the beauty that is around me.  This is invaluable to me.

In Reflection:  Do you set the intention of “serving others for the highest good of all” at the beginning of your day?  Lama Karma Gyrme Rinpoche, teacher of mine, advised me of this as it directs and focuses the +energy created towards global healing.  Take the 30 seconds and set the daily intention if it feels right to you.    Above all, find the perspective to celebrate each moment and witness the magic that has for you.

Jack Layton has definitely inspired health in the human spirit.

I may not have met you personally but my heart went out to your shining presence in the last campaign.  When I heard of your physical adversities ie. your hip replacement I felt a connection.  Your cultivated optimism, courage to stand in your powerful center when It was not cool on topics of human justice and equality, and the joy in your effervescent heart moved me.

When people talk I feel the importance to share that you brought the word “Love” into parliament.  Yeah!!! The joy that fills my heart at hearing its dulcet tones can not be put into words.  Yes, you are still a beacon of light and I know will continue to hold that energy on the other side of the veil.

Your personal “green” home you shared with Rick Mercer in downtown Toronto is a testimony to the miracle you can be off the grid amidst a chaotic city.   It does not have to happen in Nelson, BC or some remote acreage of land. It is attainable right where one lives or calls home.  Drilling down into the earth 500 ft. to use the thermal energy, harnessing the sun and wind is only a start. A learning and inspiration for me.

Placing utmost importance in our youth be it the children and our grandchildren: they are precious and we need to give them voice.  Be their advocates for change and justice is brilliant.  I use the tense “is” because I will hold in the steadfast centre of my heart, my shared belief in serving our humanity for the highest good.

With this I raise a glass to you,

Blessings

Karen