Bananas

A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression “going bananas” is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Read on: Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!
This is interesting.
After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills – eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work?: Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal dis orders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a “cooling” fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, “A banana a day keeps the doctor away!”

Litha Mid-Summer's Celebration



At the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ft. Lauderdale
June 23, Saturday
7:00 PM

Celebrate Litha Mid-Summers.
First we feast. Wear ritual garb and bring food and beverage to share. The Ritual starts after dark, say 9:00 pm or so. Bring a small flower offering for the Goddess.

Brightest Blessings Be!

Litha / Mid-Summer

(Summer Solstice – June 21st )

The Festival of Growth

Litha is the season of expansion, when the crops burgeon forth. We forget winter’s cares and spend our days basking under the brilliant light of the Sun. According to the old folklore calendar, Summer begins on Beltane (May 1st) and ends on Lughnassadh (August 1st), with the Summer Solstice midway between the two, marking MID-Summer. As the Summer Solstice brings us the longest day of the year, the esbat of Mid-Summer, or Litha, celebrate the maximum power of the Sun. It directs our awareness to the culmination of the waxing year as the waning year begins. Various Pagan traditions mark this as a transition in reign from Oak King (who represents the waxing year) to Holly King (who represents the waning year), or from “bright Lord to dark Lord”. From now until Yule, the light will fade into darkness. It is often seen as a maturity phase for the lord, although some see it as a defeat in battle. The transition is the God recognizing his responsibilities as a husband in his sacred marriage to the Goddess and as a father and protector of her lands and her people, as the Goddess prepares Herself for harvest, Motherhood, and then Cronehood.
Summer Solstice is the entrance of Sun into the sign of Cancer. Ruled by the Moon–sign of our earthly home– Cancer is the womb of the Mother from which life emerges.

Litha is the height of the Divine Marriage making this a time of lovers and gardeners. The rutting fervor of Beltane has deepened into the passionate eroticism that grows when partners become familiar with one another’s rhythms and moods. It is the love between those committed by heart as well as body. It is also the love of parents for their children (be they two- or four-legged!). Everywhere we look, ripeness spills out from field and forest.

Also known as the Druidic “Alban Heruin”. On this longest day of the year, light and life are abundant. At mid-summer, the Sun God has reached the moment of his greatest strength. Seated on his greenwood throne, he is also lord of the forests, and his face is seen in church architecture peering from countless foliate masks.
The Christian religion converted this day of Jack-in-the-Green to the Feast of St. John the Baptist, often portraying him in rustic attire, sometimes with horns and cloven feet (like the Greek Demi-God Pan)

Midsummer Night’s Eve is also special for adherents of the Faerie faith.

The Goddess at Litha

At the Summer Solstice, the Goddess is the Generous Mother, Freya, Flora, Habondia, she who gives life and fruitfulness to all her children. Everything in nature is generous – otherwise we could not live. The apple tree makes hundreds of apples every year, when only one seed in one apple would be enough to reproduce the tree. Bees make honey so that the hive can survive the winter, but they keep on working all summer long, storing enough to share. Life could exist without roses, striped butterflies, songbirds, raspberries, or wildflowers, but the Goddess keeps making new forms of beauty everyday for us to enjoy.
The Goddess at Summer Solstice gives us not just what we need, but extra. We can feel close to her by being generous, giving more than we’re asked to give, and doing more than just our fair share. That way, we make abundance for all.
The rose is the Goddess’s symbol at this time of year. Roses bloom abundantly in June, and we can take joy in their sweet scent and the lovely colors of their petals.

The God at Litha

All through the first half of the year, since his birth at the Winter Solstice, the God has been growing into this life in the visible, tangible world. Now, at the Summer Solstice, he transforms. The God is the partner of the Goddess, bringing abundance to all of nature. He is Lugh (or Light), the Sun God, and he is the ancient power of life who was known simply as the Good God, Keeper of the Crops, provider for his people. The daylight is longest and strongest at this time, but now the power of night must begin to grow again. Everything and everyone who fulfills their purpose must change, must evolve.
Once He evolves, He goes to sleep in this world in order to be awake in the “Otherworld”. Before, he was awake in this world and asleep in the Dreamworld. Now he becomes the Dreamer, asleep in this world but awake in the world of dreams and visions, the seed of what will come to be in this world. He becomes the Messenger, carrying our hopes and prayers to the spirit realms.

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The Altar: Dress your altar in a white or golden yellow cloth. Decorate it with seasonal flowers.

At the Summer Solstice, decorate with seasonal flowers, cover the altar, especially with Roses for the Goddess and Sunflowers for the God. Any fresh fruits of the season and, of course, images of the sun, crops and sunflowers and appropriate symbols of the holiday.

You might have a special section on the altar for things to give away.
Let the things stay during the holiday season to soak up blessings, then give them away before Lughnasadh rolls around
On or around the altar, you might also want to place things you have completed and let go of, or are trying to let go of.

The Colors of Litha: White. Greens and browns for the Earth Goddess. Reds, yellows and gold for the Sun God.
Gold and green are the two most prevalent colors this time of year, not only because they represent the God and Goddess, but they are also the colors of Faerie Fire Magic.

Traditional Foods: Garden fresh fruits and vegetables are made into a variety of dishes.

Herbs and Flowers: St. John’s wort is one of the most popular associated with Litha, but also connected to the holiday are: Mugwort, Basil, Vervain, Parsley, Chamomile, Mint, Rose, Honeysuckle, Lily, Lotus, Lavender, Ivy, Yarrow, Fern, Elder, Wild Thyme, Daisy, Carnation and Dragon’s Blood.

Incense: it should be full and robust. Rose, Tangerine, Violet, Lemon, Myrrh, Frankincense, Pine, Cedar, Wisteria and Frangipani

Woods Burned: Oak. Fir, Mistletoe and Holly

Sacred Gemstone: Emerald

Special Activities: An Ideal time to reaffirm your vows to the Lord and Lady or your dedication to the old traditions.
MidSummer’s Fires are also a traditional activity of the holiday. Instead of 9 sacred woods being used, these are kindled of Oak and Fir. Gather with friends around a fire and discuss topics of love and life and give thanks. In ancient times the midsummer fires were used to hex the cattle for health and safety, to drive away baneful influences and they also represented the power of the sun at its zenith.

**** visit Divine Muse’s Pure Awakenings for How to Make a Sun Amulet.

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The Ritual

Tools:
In addition to your usual magickal tools, you will need:

* Small Cloth Pouch of Summertime Herbs
* Cauldron
* 1cup Fresh Spring Water
* White Goddess/God Candle
* Red Sun God Candle
* Green Earth Goddess Candle
* Summer Blend Incense (Jasmine, Rose, Lotus, Wysteria, or combination).

Preparation:
Sweep area moving in deosil manor. Set up Quarter Candles and any accessories symbolizing the Elements of the Quarters. Prepare your Pouch of Summertime Herbs, and as you make it, pour your troubles, pains, sorrows, illness, and regrets into it. Place the Cauldron in the center of your alter, the Red Sun candle to the right of it , the Green Goddess Candle to the left of it. Place the cup of Fresh Spring Water in front of the Goddess Candle. Take a shower or bath for purification. Sit quietly and meditate for a while, then ground and center. When ready, play some peaceful music for the ritual.

Cast the circle.
Pick up your Wand, and with arms upraised, face South and say:

“I celebrate the Mid-of-Summer, held in honor of the Blazing Sun God.
All of Nature vibrates with the fertileness of the Goddess and of the God.
The Earth basks in the light and life of the Sun.
The ever turning Wheel of the Year has made the light ever stronger
And the light has kept growing longer, until today…
The middle of the time of light, Litha, MidSummer’s Day, Summer Solstice.
From here, the light begins to fade, again, until once more the Wheel turns to the time of darkness, Yule, Winter Solstice.
Yet, for today, the Sun is high, the light is bright, the Earth is warm.
As the Sun God blazes above, may the fires of my rite flame below.”

Face the altar, put down your wand, and light the Green Goddess Candle to the left of your cauldron, saying:

“Oh, Mother of Nature, She that brings the meadow to bloom, Green Forest Mother, from lakes and streams your children spring forth.
Blessed Lady of the stars and the Moon, Fruitful Womb of which I honor, and ask of Thee, Thy Blessings.”

Light the Red Sun God Candle to the right of your cauldron, saying:

“Oh, Father of all things, He that plants the seed and nurtures Life.
God of Fertility and Fruitfulness, from hill and forest your children emerge.
Blessed Lord of the blazing Sun, potent Consort of which I honor, and of Thee, Thy Blessings.”

Take the Herb Pouch and hold above your head, saying:

“By thy power, oh sacred herbs, may the Lord of the Sun Burn away the hurtful, the troublesome, and the painful, Leaving me purified through His warmth and Light.”

Hold the pouch over your main Altar Candle to take flame. While it is burning, drop it in the cauldron, saying:

“Great Goddess and Great God, from Thee all powers flow forth.
The Two that are One, Great Spirit of All-That-Is,
By Thy powers, and the powers of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth,
By Thy powers, and the powers of the Sun, Moon, and Stars,
I banish these negatives from my life.”

Visualize the negatives burning away to nothingness. When all that is left is ashes, douse the ashes with the cup of Fresh Spring Water, feel as if the water were being poured over you and your negatives washed away. Air dry by dancing and running your hands up and down your arms, body, and legs. Don’t forget your head… lay it back and shake running your fingers through your hair. When done, face altar, wave hand over the cauldron and say:

“As the Phoenix rises from the ashes, so let this water be pure and new.
Mother Goddess, bless this water so that it may bless and renew me.
Father God, may your rays of the MidSummer Sun bless and nourish me.
Two that are One, may your blessings sustain me as I journey, anew.”

Pass your cupped hands over the cauldron, pausing briefly each time to ‘ pour ‘ in wishes for health, prosperity, and good fortune to be part of your life. Dip the forefinger of your right hand into the cauldron water, and trace a pentagram on your forehead, saying:

“Let my mind be open to the truth.”

Anoint your lips saying:

“Let my lips always speak the truth.”

Anoint your heart area, saying:

“Let my heart seek the ways of the Goddess, now and always.”

Anoint the centers of your palms, saying:

“Let my hands be gifted to work in magical ways.”

Anoint the soles of your feet, saying:

“Let my feet ever walk upon the sacred paths!”

Now is the time for meditation and any spellworkings. MidSummer spellworkings include: prosperity, fertility, and plentiful harvests.
Finish by having the Cakes and Ale Ceremony and releasing the circle.
Clean up. The Ritual is done.

Alight



We often look to the horizon to seek a reference point for where we want to go. Yet there are infinite horizons within us waiting to be explored. When horses stand still, I watch them in their ability to become quiet, and I often envy them their stillness. As humans, it is so difficult for us to mentally and physically allow ourselves to be still. Horses do it naturally, when the moment presents itself. But so often in our days – it seems our moments are sucked into the vortex of constant mental and physical activities.

For us to explore our own heart, and to hear our own thoughts, we have the opportunity to create moments of stillness; to stop doing and start being.

I often feel that horses are as adept at navigating the paths of their inner landscapes, as they are the outer ones. We have much to learn from them in exploring the horizons of our souls.

Kim McElroy

Spirit of Horse E-Inspiration

Spring Vegetable Juice

“Flu Fighters”
Influenza is a viral infection of the respiratory tract. Symptoms can include chills, fever, coughs, headache, fatigue and lack of appetite. Eating small meals, mainly vegetable juices, reduces the energy required to digestion, allowing more energy to be focused on healing.

Spring Vegetable Juice

– 10 spears asparagus, washed
– 2 beets (with tops); scrubbed and cut into pcs.
– 6 spinach leaves, washed
– 1 handful watercress or dandelion leaves, washed
– 1 apple, washed and cut into pcs.
– 2 tbsp maple sap (optional)
– Using juicer, process asparagus, beets, beet tops, spinach, watercress, and apple.
– Whisk together and pour into a glass. Whisk in maple sap (if using).
kirlian - before healing

Reiki & Kirlian Photography

Reiki is not something magical. The basic principle on how Reiki energy heals is very similar to how healing works in acupuncture. We know that every living being has energy within and around the body to be alive. This energy is called Chi (vital energy) and it is vital for the physical body to exist. The physical body usually has problems because the energy does not flow properly. By stimulating the energy to flow properly as it is supposed to, the natural ability of the body to heal itself will be able to function again, and the physical body will recover. Reiki healing is able not only to stimulate the energy to flow properly but also to cleanse the energy within and around the body to speed up the healing process. In the Kirlian photos(*) below, you can see the energy around the fingertip of a patient before and after Reiki healing.

kirlian - before healing
Before healing
The bright outer layer which normally acts as a protective layer (aura) is gone fading and has a lot of negativity.

kirlian - after healing
After healing
The energy is cleaner and the aura is intact again.

(*) Kirlian photos are not simulation photos. The Kirlian camera has been used as radiology equipment.

Buddha Compassion Mandala



Ft. Lauderdale, FL – June 18 to June 21, 2007 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Miami, Florida — For the second time this year, ChakraSamvara Center and its partners: Miami Dade Co. Asian Advisory Board, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Wat Buddharangsi (Thai Temple) will welcome the Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Gomang Monastery to create the auspicious Sand Mandala at four important sites in South Florida. The event is open to the public daily from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Donations are gratefully accepted.

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Broward Gov’t Center 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Avalokiteshvara Buddha Compassion Mandala
Monday June 18 to Thursday June 21, 2007 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Phone: (954) 357-7349

A Tibetan sand painting, the Sand Mandala is an ancient art form of Tibetan Buddhism. “Mandala” is a Sanskrit word meaning cosmogram or “world in harmony.” The sand mandala will be carefully constructed from dyed marblesand particles, and will be used as a vehicle to generate Perserverance/Enlightenment. Some mandalas that will be created are: the Shakyamuni Buddha Mandala, in honor of Buddha’s birthday; The Medicine Buddha Mandala, to heal the mind and body and promote the well-being of all sentient beings; Amitabha/Amatyus Buddha Mandala, to purify attachment and generate longevity; Avalokiteshvara Buddha Mandala, to generate compassion. All Mandalas generate the precious reality of impermanence of all phenomena, and create a social/cosmic healing ofthe environment through a drawing of the world in its divine form. In essence,the mandala is a map by which the ordinary human mind can be transformed into the enlightened mind by thousands and thousands of “grains of sand”.

All sites will have an opening ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on the first day of that site. Geshe Lharampa Lobzang Samdup, Tour Leader, and the tour monks will chant powerful prayers for peace, prosperity and healing in traditional multiphonic overtone. The chant master will intone a full chord of three notes. This chanting will be accompanied by delicate hand gestures, cymbals, drums, horns, and flutes — sacred and priceless instruments from their Monastery in India. The closing ceremony will take place at 5:00 p.m.of the last day for that site. The Mandala will be dismantled by sweeping up the colored sands to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists. Half of the dismantled sand will be distributed to the audience as a blessing for personal health and healing, while the other half will be dispersed in the body of water nearby as a blessing for the universal aquatic beings.

The Monks of Drepung Gomang are presently on tour in the United States to share the compassion and wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism, to demonstrate the sacred artistic accomplishments of the people of Tibet, and to generate funds to insure the survival of their culture. Drepung Gomang Monastery will use donations to house, feed, and educate everyone wishing to study at this monastic center of higher learnining — including orphans and refugees fleeing from Tibet. The monastery also will establish a Food Foundation Fund which will help the monastery to provide a continuous food supply to the student monks in years to come.

For more information please visit:
WWW.DAYOFMEDITATION.ORG
WWW.SOUTHFLORIDABUDDHIST.ORG