Time management

"How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives"
- Annie Dillard

Respect every moment

All we have is the present moment.  We spend a remendous amount of time thinking about everything we carry from the past and everything we can imagine for the future.  If we use the present moment to only think about the past or the future, we will not accomplish anything.

Focus on what we need to do RIGHT NOW.  Te future will become present soon enough.  A Baba constantly reminds us - "Every moment is new".  The present moment gives us an opportunity for renewal at EVERY moment.

Choose the essential at this moment

• Identify what is really valuable in your life
• Honor what you believe valuable
• Love and accept who you are right now and use it as a stepping stone to the next level of growth
• Be realistic.  Pursue things that with proper effort and planniing will become your reality
• Eliminate the trivial.  Eliminate it from your life all things that you do not believe are valuable
• Evaluate key areas of your life - financial, relationshiips, health and spiritual growth.  Do activities that focus on growth in these key areas
• Simplify.  Learn to look at things critically.  Improve your efficiency by learrning too simplify your actions to get the desired results
• Focus.  Remember, what you focus on is what expands.  Become aware of where your mind is by paying attention to your mind.  Constantly bring your attention back to the essential. 
• When you begin to lose motivation, remember that each moment you procrastinate, the further away you are getting from your ideal
• Create Habits.  Imcorporate all the above in your daily living.  We are creatures of habits, create efficient habits
• Start small.  Any action is better than no action.  Do many small things.  They will contribute to bigger actions and opportunities

And remember, waiting is a waste of time.

Spicy Pepper Kozhumbu 

Dry Fry:

Asafoetida

Pepper corns

Red Chilies

Urad Dal

Channa Dal

Jeera

Dhania

Karipatta

Grind together with tamarind and salt.  Add 1 ½ c of water and make a paste

Heat oil, add mustard seeds.  Add urad dal.  Then add ground paste.  Boil till cooked.  Serve with Adai.

Vegetarian, Low GI, High Protein 30 day diet challenge

The whole month of September 20112, I am challenging myself to only eat vegetarian, low GI, high protein diet.  I am working on making some of my favorite Indian vegetarian recipes more challenge friendly.  Let me have your reactions to this recipe.

Oats Adai

1 c old fashioned oats

Handful of tur dal, mung dal and channa dal

Cilantro and curry leaves

Red chilies

¼ c coconut

Salt

Onion

Soak dals,  Grind.  Add oats.  let ferment for 6 to 8 hours.  Then make adai.  

I will be making Spicy Pepper Kozhumbu (recipe coming up ... )

Role of rituals in the quest for inner meaning

Life is filled with routines. Routines are typically not a meaningful part of our day, but it needs to get done so we do it. It’s a chore.  Rituals, on the other hand, are more meaningful practices.  Often, there is symbolism involved, and a real sense of purpose.  The use of rituals can help move us to the space where we connect with our spirit.  The ritual does not serve as the end but the beginning of the connection process to our innermost self.   

Rituals allow the transition from every day life into the sacred space to happen more easily and smoothly.

What a difference geography makes!

I just returned from a trip to India via London and landed in Pittsburgh on December 2, 2010. Some pictures of London and Pittsburgh weather ....

Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple

The Guruvayur Shree Krishna Temple is the fourth biggest temple
in India in terms of the number of devotees per day

Lord Krishna was born as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki in the Dwapara Yuga. He performed wonderful deeds and everyone was convinced that the boy was none other than Lord Vishnu in human form, an avatar of Vishnu or the perfect manifestation of the supreme power. Before leaving the earth to the heavenly abode, Lord Krishna told Udhava, his foremost disciple that he had installed the image of Lord Vishnu in the temple built by him at Dwaraka.

Later Dwaraka was submerged in the sea and Brihaspathi (Guru) recovered the idol and with the assistance of Vayu (Wind God). Together, they traveled all over India in search of a holy place and finally reached Kerala. Here, with the help of Parasurama, they located a holy spot. Guru and Vayu installed the image of Lord Vishnu (Lord Krishna) in the temple built by Viswakarma, the architect of the Gods. As Guru and Vayu together founded the temple, the place came to be called ‘Guruvayupura’ in accordance with Lord Shiva’s wish. Later the name was shortened to Guruvayoor. With regard to the number of devotees visiting each day to receive the Lord’s blessings, Guruvayoor Temple ranks first in Kerala and fourth in India. Considering the number of devotees, it is a ‘Maha Kshetra’.

India Trip 2010

Tirupati Balaji Virtual Tour