http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/ Electronic Magazine & Journal for Ayurvedic Practitioners en-us Copyright 2009 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:18:55 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Ayurveda is adjective medicine. Western medicine is noun medicine. Adjectives are about the whole but nouns are about the parts. Your whole body can be hot but your whole body can't be an arm. Ayurveda treats disease like an adjective. Influenza is a noun but a cold is an adjective. To think Ayurvedically you have to rename the disease as an adjective. We find that herbs work better when you use them to treat adjectives instead of nouns. Because herbs are whole too. http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/09/herbs_work_better_when_you_use.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/09/herbs_work_better_when_you_use.html Ayurveda Journal Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:18:55 +0000 The doctor tells us there are multiple lesions in the brain and a large cystic mass in the leg. Frank seems nervous by that but still he is strong, even taking care of us. Memory is lapsing in and out, Hallucinations. He talks about going down to the Piedmont tomorrow for a plant walk. He talks about Artemesia... We've been here a few days already but last night I came to the hospital a little late. Friends have prepared loving biscuits and homemade honey. Matthew is holding a shamanic ceremony and showing Frank mushrooms and Yarrow. Morgaine, distraught and exhausted for days, is loving and protecting Frank while giving him her strength. Frank is cooperating with the doctors, but in and out. I wake up again in the early morning when I hear Frank's spirit come in and greet me saying, 'Hey Bro!' I thank God for having already gone through the anger, frustration, disappointment, and heaviness. So it's good to finally see him, "Hi Frank!" I say. He laughs at me, "Joseph what are you doing hanging out with my body. You're supposed to be hanging out with my spirit." And then adds a final dig - "When are you going to get that!" I smile and agree and suddenly I'm just hanging out with his spirit: ...I see a dark black and green smudge and I'm like, "Frank that's not your spirit." Then suddenly, right behind it, I see a light-green light. It's so pure and generous, full of love and courage. Then he says, "See Joseph my spirit still loves the plants! But it's not dark in here..." I smile and prepare him some breakfast and drive over to the hospital to nourish his real body. When I get to the room it's empty. Behind me the chaplain comes and says that his condition has destabilized. "Oh my gosh," I hear him say in my mind. Paul is downstairs but I can't find him. Morgaine calls like a fierce lioness ready to protect Frank's spirit and respect him but she's sobbing and can hardly speak. I'm totally numb, can't feel anything. I sit down, take my shoes off. Stand up. Shake it out. Make some gurgling noises. Can't believe this is happening. Okay Joseph, sit down again I tell myself. I'm in lotus pose. Ceara! I forgot to call Ceara. I call and Ceara comes. A few minutes later his mother arrives - she is so bright, beautiful and strong but her eyes are droopy. His brother sad too but also ready to lift us all up and encourage us. His family is beautiful I think to myself. Finally, I get to go in the room and see Frank. I know already he's not breathing on his own anymore...There he is, lying like Jesus, completely unresponsive but his skin is warm. I touch his shoulder and repeat his words, "You are so good brother. Here we go - on the journey! Lifting it up!" I hold his hand. I realize I'm crying and there are large strands of mucous hanging from my nose. I can't speak and every time I try to, it chokes me. Suddenly we're in the southwest together again, driving up the mountains. In the background I hear Morgaine and everyone, with all their dignity and divinity, singing songs about angels. But Frank and I are in the mountains. 'Can't you feel it!' he says to me, 'we're going up! Here we go. In the mountains the whole reality changes. You know in those valleys you can find all kinds of food and medicines. We don't have to survive, we can THRIVE! Look Joseph, over there, the elders are right on the peaks. The fathers are watching over us. Yeeeeeeeaaaauhhhhh!" I put my hands on his head. The room is full of people again. People are crying and still singing with the angels and the mother earth. It's so graceful. There are birds singing and a sycamore tree. I'm kneeling down holding his dreadlocks and Morgaine is whispering in his ear, "Frank it's time to go." She's nurturing him, holding him, and cooing to him in such gentle words I see Frank as a little baby for the first time. I see his mother's labor pains and a wave comes over me - some tears and I breathe them out. I leave the room. I stretch and shake my body up to the ceiling. Big stretch! "Om nama shivaya." I keep chanting to myself trying to lift the energy and let his spirit go. Don't hold on to any part of him Joseph. You have your own life to live. I keep trying to lift it, lift it, and suddenly I realize - "wait, letting go means letting it go down and up and the same time." My tears stop for a few moments. Frank's spirit comes and puts his hand on my kidneys, swiping his hand down my back to ground me saying, "Whooooosh..." I realize I'm dizzy, there are some stars in front of my eyes and I let my breathing go slow again. The neurologist asks us back in the room. People are still singing. Grace is everywhere. Ken, his younger brother, puts his hand on Frank's heart. He's a robust man with strong hands, a shaved head, but I see him as little brother with a smile in his eyes looking at his big bro all gentle and emotional, crying and happy at the same time saying "Frank, you are my Peter Pan! You brought me places I could have never reached on my own." His mother holds his big feet saying, "Look how strong you are. You're my son but you are also my mentor. You drove me crazy but you also pushed me beyond my own limitations and I grew." The doctor comes in the room. He asks the mother if she is ready to let Frank go. To pull out the tubes. She looks at me. If you've ever looked into a mother's eyes like that... I nod my head feeling a peacefulness and she nods her head. Everyone nods their head. We're ready and he's ready. This is it, the moment... All the plant walks, the dreams of India, the potential, the knowledge. It's slipping away. "Okay," I say to myself, "this is really going to happen." The nurse, so gently, she comes up to Frank and says, "Sweetie, I'm sorry. This will take only a moment." She pulls the tube out quickly. It almost feels like she's whispering a little blessing to Frank as she does it. He lets out all of his breath. I feel his deep voice vibrating through my bones for the last time. We all exhale. We're rubbing and massaging his tissues. "Just relax brother. Just relax. It's okay to let go." I look up to his face and I realize he's smiling. His spirit says, "You thought you knew what was going to happen, Joseph!" Then he says, "Just being in the flow here!" I realize he's still teaching me - and playing tricks too. "Here we go Frank!" I return the smile to encourage him. We're back in Nevada together. It's my first time and I feel so blessed he's initiating me. There are mountains and mountains for hundreds of miles across a vast expansive sky. "Joseph, the world is this big," he says as he opens his hands really wide. Then I'm back in the room and his mother says, "You're my boy. I always knew this would happen to you. Look what's happened." Ceara is holding his hand. Juliet is kneeling at the bed. Paul and then Morgaine, and then me and then everyone comes to kiss his forehead. I step back from the body. The spirit is leaving. I feel as if it's not okay to touch him. His spirit is expanding and expanding. There is a wheel of blue and pink and it's spinning. "Frank, here we are buddy! Going up into the mountains - here we go!" I step away. The lights are dim again. Everyone steps away except his mother who turns back to the body. She's hugging him with her big mother bear arms and talking to her baby with so much sympathy. I put my hands together in prayer. Namaste Frank...We love you. http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/08/frank_cooks_last_day.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/08/frank_cooks_last_day.html Published Letters Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:28:41 +0000 For more information about knowledge through direct relationship read about Goethe and Goethean Science]]> http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/communion_with_the_mystery_of.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/communion_with_the_mystery_of.html Published Letters Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:51:13 +0000 >'>dandelion flowers a day," says herbalist Frank Cook, "will change your life and awaken sleeping areas of your brain."

Tips for Digestion Eat Easy Foods Drink Warm Water Dandelion Video! Upcoming Events Fall Rejuvenation Boston, October, 2009 Caribbean January 2010!

It's true, summer is finally here, the early spring greens have awakened us from the long winter. I hope you are all finding the resources you need to make the transition in your kitchens as easy as the transition from boots to flip flops! Click here to subscribe to a summer diet if you need one! Starting your Summer Diet First avoid foods that are heating. Returning to Asheville last week, my food cravings suddenly changed with the hot, damp weather. I packed away my hot spices and heavy foods and shifted to cooling, light foods like cilantro. I switched to bitter greens like kale instead of hot chilies. Sour acidic foods like vinegar and lemons aggravate pitta but astringent foods like pomegranate and cranberry pacify pitta and are perfect for the heat and moisture of late spring transition to summer. Quinoa Tabouleh (Pitta pacifying) Tabouleh with quinoa is tastier, softer and fluffier than the traditional heavy and rustic middle eastern bulgar version. Bulgar is wheat and wheat is heavy and sticky. Quinoa digests quickly and offers more protein. We've also substituted cilantro and limes for parsley and lemons to make this tabouleh uniquely pitta pacifying. Click here for Quinoa Tabouleh (subscription required). Other Ways to Connect It's summer and the time of year to meet serendipitously in far away places. We're traveling so let's keep in touch! Let's continue to share in the years to come, envision the future together, and heal one another. Consider going deeper with Ayurveda and attending one of our upcoming events. Or become a fan of our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter! Best Wishes, Joseph ]]> http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/summer_diet_tips.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/summer_diet_tips.html Published Letters Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:34:25 +0000 After a fever breaks, the stool becomes tarry and stinky. Vishnu Das - Blue Lotus Ayurveda http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/no_matter_what_disease_toxins.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/no_matter_what_disease_toxins.html Ayurveda Journal Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:20:29 +0000 Sensitivity to poison ivy runs in my family genes including hospitalizations! But over the past several years I healed my allergies to poison ivy and can even pick up a leaf without blisters or itching. I now view poison ivy as 'sister ivy', a powerful lymphatic cleanser. My lymph system was imbalanced because of my liver. When my teacher told me to nourish vata in the liver my allergies to poison ivy disappeared. Ayurveda has the potential to help with many other allergies too like peanuts, wheat and soy. http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/ayurveda_poison_ivy_by_joseph.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/ayurveda_poison_ivy_by_joseph.html Ayurveda Journal Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:12:20 +0000 From the trunk of the great vessels liver reaches down with roots to drain the earth and water from the GI tract. The heart pushes it through the branches to all pores. http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/the_body_is_a_tree.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/the_body_is_a_tree.html Ayurveda Journal Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:13:31 +0000 - Andrew Weil http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/perfect_health_is_a_temporary.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/06/perfect_health_is_a_temporary.html Ayurveda Journal Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:12:43 +0000 - Andrew Weil Sometimes the body just needs a nudge. http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/05/healing_is_the_rule_not_the_ex.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/05/healing_is_the_rule_not_the_ex.html Ayurveda Journal Fri, 29 May 2009 14:11:08 +0000 We come from the natural world. Health comes from oneness with nature. http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/05/medicine_and_the_natural_world.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/05/medicine_and_the_natural_world.html Ayurveda Journal Fri, 22 May 2009 14:09:49 +0000 What questions were you sent here to answer in this lifetime? Which of the 12 archetypes are you? - Carolyn Myss. http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/05/8th_chakra_is_your_contract_be.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/05/8th_chakra_is_your_contract_be.html Ayurveda Journal Fri, 15 May 2009 14:06:46 +0000 Tribal truth. Individual truth. Spiritual or symbolic truth. - Carolyn Myss. http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/05/the_three_levels_of_power.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/05/the_three_levels_of_power.html Ayurveda Journal Fri, 08 May 2009 14:03:29 +0000 ...instead of solving it. - Carolyn Myss. http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/05/roll_with_the_mysteries.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/05/roll_with_the_mysteries.html Ayurveda Journal Fri, 01 May 2009 13:59:39 +0000 The mind is comparison which is separation, measurement and judgment. Judgment is violence. Comparison creates desire. The mind is the cause. With meditation all thoughts can be digested into pure love. Unity is in the heart. - Inspired by Mia Cohen http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/04/the_mind_creates_the_abyss_and.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/04/the_mind_creates_the_abyss_and.html Ayurveda Journal Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:53:01 +0000 When we try to change creation, that is effort. When we merge with creation, love happens. http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/04/all_effort_denies_the_existenc.html http://www.joyfulbelly.com/journal/2009/04/all_effort_denies_the_existenc.html Ayurveda Journal Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:52:09 +0000