Earth Keepers

hubby and I were playing earth stewards at the dog park yesterday. we were picking up the garbage we found along the way. eric often does this actually. yesterday we even carried a garbage bag with us. it was fun. here are some of the marshes at our beautiful dog (and horse) park.

Buddah Basics Pt. I - Facing Yourself: Awakening to the Warrior within

You are a warrior when you have the bravery to face who you are, without fear, embarassment, or denial.


"Meditation is key to seeing yourself as well as to seeing beyond yourself. Seeing yourself is the first aspect, discovering all sorts of terrible things going on in you. Facing the possibilities and the realities of that is not all that bad. If you begin to do that, you are being an honest person. Then, beyond that, you have to have further vision. Your honesty allows you to realize your goodness. You do possess Buddha in your heart."
~ Chogyam Trungpa






"Many people try to find a spiritual path where they do not have to face themselves, but where they can still liberate themselves. In truth, that is impossible. We have to see our gut, our real shit, our most undesirable parts."

Facing Youself

Our subject matter is warriorship. Anyone who is interested in hearing the truth, anyone who is interested in finding out about him or herself, and anyone who is interested in practicing meditation is basically a warrior.

Many approaches to spirituality and to life in general are influenced by cowardice. If you are afraid of seeing yourself, you may use spirituality or religion as a way of looking at yourself without seeing anything about yourself at all. When people are embarassed by themselves, there is no fearlessness involved. However, if someone is willing to look at himself or herself, to explore and practice wakefulness on the spot, he or she is a warrior.

The general goal of warriorship is to have no fear. But the ground of warriorship is fear itself.

We could get into further details, but first we should discuss he fundamental understanding of fear and fearlessness. One of the main obstacles to fearlessness is the habitual patterns that allow us to decieve ourselves. People may use tranquilizers or yoga to suppress their fear. They may go to Starbucks or the mall. We have all sorts of gimmicks and gadgets that we use in the hope that we might experience fearlessness simply by taking our mind off of our fear.

Ordinarily, we don't let ourselves experience ourselves fully. That is to say, we have a fear of facing ourselves. Experiencing the innermost core of their existence is embarassing to alot of people. Many people try to find a spiritual path where they do not have to face themselves but where they can still liberate themselves, in fact. In truth, that is impossible. We cannot do that. We have to be honest with ourselves. We have to see our gut, our real shit, our most undesirable parts. We have to see that. That is the foundation of warriorship and the basis of conquering fear. We have to face our fear; we have to look at it, study it, work with it, and practice (meditation) with it.

We must decide to look at ourselves and experience ourselves honestly. We need to find ourselves, face ourselves, and beyond that, give up our inhibition. You remain true to yourself if you give up inhibition. You just give up your privacy, your sense of shyness, and the longing to have a personal "trip." It doesn't mean you become an exhibitionist; but you could be a real person.

Then you begin to realize that you have something in yourself that is basically good. It transcends the notion of good or bad. Something that is worthwhile, wholesome, and healthy exists in us all. For the first time, you are seeing the Great Eastern Sun.

But you can't jump the gun. First, let us look at ourselves. If you put one hundred percent of your heart into facing yourself, then you connect with this unconditional goodness.

The heart of the matter, the technique that seems to be the way to realize this, is the sitting practice of meditation. Meditation is key to seeing yourself as well as to seeing beyond yourself. Seeing yourself is the first aspect, discovering all sorts of terrible things going on in you. Facing the possibilities and the realities of that is not all that bad. If you begin to do that, you are being an honest person. Then, beyond that, you have to have further vision. Your honesty allows you to realize your goodness. You do possess Buddha in your heart.

from "Smile at Fear: Awakening the True Heart of Bravery" by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Visualize Whirrled Peas...

... and World Peace too! :)

and Bless our animals caught up in the oil spill - our fellow beings on the planet. Blessings to the beautiful species and may they somehow be protected and this mess cleaned up SOON. and may it never, never happen again. may humanity learn from this and stop the maddness once and for all, and those who are still sleeping ...finally wake up. eyesight and love to those that know not what they do. for they are truly the lost souls. peace.

25 Ways to Clean with Vinegar

Green & Clean: Spring Cleaning
for Body Mind Spirit Home


I am starting a Green & Clean Series (also known as Spring Cleaning for the Body, Self and Home) and I am so excited!

It's an overcast Tuesday in Colorado and I am feeling the perfect sense of peace and inspiration (dare I say excitement?) to begin my Spring Cleaning (yes, I am feeling excited over this - it's true!) I have already begun my morning with a wonderful 10-minute detox QiGong practice for the body... but I am getting ahead of myself.

Today I want to focus on green cleaning the home. Like many of us, I have been using green non-toxic products in my home for several years now, and my favorites include the Seventh Generation brand. The name reflects the company's belief that "what we do to the earth will be felt by the next 7 generations," and I especially love their lemongrass all-purpose cleaner that kills 99.9% of germs and bacterias naturally. (do I sound like a commercial?) My husband Eric hates the smell, but I love the strength and confidence of this natural product, espcially when I use it to clean the tubs and kitchen (areas where germs can thrive).

I do wonder sometimes however whether it's completely true that these and the other non-toxics are totally free to breathe (I like the Method brand also) because when cleaning with them I do still get a wiff of stickiness in my throat. But I guess that's "natural," and I do also love to work with other natural cleansers like baking soda and, well, vinegar!

My mother taught me years ago that vinegar is a wonderful - and according to her the "only" -way to clean tile floors. (I think all floors can take the vinegar except for hardwood... don't use vinegar there.) Mix a bucket of 3 parts water with 1 part vinegar and your floors will shine! Well, my mothers always have, 24/7 in fact. Mine never seem to look quite as meticulous, even directly after I clean, but I do have 2 whiley dogs and I do do my best. (One of my mother's homemaking gifts is surely a sparkling clean home. I did not inherit this talent. But I'm on a new roll today...)

OK. Back to the vinegar. I came across this article today in Yahoo-Shine on the wire on the many uses of vinegar to clean the home. I am actually looking forward to trying this in my sink drain/disposal and my toilets overnight (hey, why not). I have set an intention this year, also in accordance to my cleaning up my environmental sensitivity issues, to Spring clean and keep a clear and flowing home. (OK, I am in my mid-40s now, it does happen. In fact, an astologer told me in my 20s that as I got older, keeping my home would be more and more important to me, in a good way, and he was right. He said this was a Leo-thing.)

I am also experiencing a wonderful shift in my spiritual life and inner state which for me is including a transformation within the home as a reflection of mindful honor that I am developing with myself. Now I'm all for being human too. And I don't expect myself to be "perfect," but I am truly enjoying the shift that is happening within and it's hard for me to put it into words.

In any case, here goes: 25 Ways to Clean with Vinegar. I feel so passionately good about living green, and all things natural and pure for our Earth and World. And this one is super affordable too!


25 ways to clean with vinegar
by Emily Hsieh, Shine staff

The cleaning aisle at just about any grocery store is stocked with a dizzying array of options—and when it comes down to it, there are a lot of expensive, toxic, superfluous products crowding the market. Chances are, you already have one of the best, all-purpose cleaning agents in your pantry: white vinegar. As noted earlier, vinegar actually works as a great laundry booster, stripping away the chemical build-up that detergent leaves behind (and gets rid of clingy odors in the process). And beyond that, there are tons of other applications for the stuff around your home. Here, from vinegartips.com and frugalfun.com, 25 ideas for making the most of vinegar:

1. Deodorize the sink: Pour 1 cup baking soda, followed by 1 cup hot vinegar, down the drain. Let sit for at least 5 minutes, then rinse with hot water.

2. Deodorize the garbage disposal: Make ice cubes out of vinegar. Run the disposal with a few vinegar ice cubes and cold water.

3. Clean countertops: Wipe down surfaces with a rag dipped in vinegar.

4. Clean the fridge: Use a mixture of half water, half vinegar to wipe down the interior shelves and walls.

5. Remove soap build-up and odors from the dishwasher: Once a month, pour 1 cup of vinegar into an empty dishwasher and run the machine through its entire cycle.

6. Bust oven grease: If you’ve got grease spots on the oven door, pour some vinegar directly on the stains, let it sit for 15 minutes, and wipe away with a sponge.

7. To make old glassware sparkle: To get rid of the cloudy effect, wrap a vinegar-soaked towel around the glass and let it sit. Remove and rinse with hot water.

8. Get rid of lime deposits on your tea kettle: Fill the kettle with vinegar and let it boil. Allow it to cool, and rinse with water.

9. Remove stains in coffee cups: Create a paste using of equal parts vinegar and salt (or in lieu of salt, baking soda) and scrub gently before rinsing.

10. Treat Tupperware stains (and stinkiness): Wipe the containers with a vinegar-saturated cloth.

11. Remove stains on aluminum pots: Boil 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup water.

12. Deter ant infestations: Spray outside doorways and windowsills, and anywhere you see a trail of critters.

13. Clean can openers: Scrub the wheel of your can opener with vinegar using an old toothbrush.

14. Remove stickers or labels: Cover the sticker with a vinegar-soaked cloth. Let it sit overnight—it should slide right off by morning.

15. Shine porcelain sinks: A bit of vinegar and a good scrub should leave them sparkling.

16. Clean grout: Pour on some vinegar, let it hang out for a few minutes, and buff with an old toothbrush.

17. Clean the shower door: Spray them down with vinegar pre-shower, or post (after you’ve squeegeed the glass) to remove hard water deposits.

18. Clean a grimy showerhead: To get rid of scum, fill a Ziploc with ½ a cup of baking soda and 1 cup vinegar and tie it around the showerhead. Let it sit for an hour, until the bubbling has stopped. Remove the bag and run the shower.

19. Make a toilet sparkle: Pour in a cup or two of vinegar and let it sit there overnight before scrubbing with a toilet brush.

20. Polish linoleum floors: Add 1 cup of vinegar for every gallon of water you use to wash the floor.

21. Clean paintbrushes: Soak paintbrushes for an hour before simmering them on the stove to remove hardened paint. Drain and rinse.

22. Clean grills: Spray vinegar on a ball of tin foil, then use it to give the grate a firm scrub.

23. Disinfect wood cutting boards: Wipe down wood boards with a wash of vinegar.

24. Clean the microwave: Fill a microwave-safe bowl with 2 cups water and ½ cup vinegar. Heat it on full power for 3-4 minutes until it comes to a boil. Keep the door closed for a few minutes longer to let the steam fill the microwave, loosening the grime. Remove the bowl (carefully!) and wipe down interior walls with a sponge.

25. Polish patent leather accessories: Give them a rub with a vinegar-soaked cloth. Buff with a dry cloth.