All Hail the Coconut

 I am a big fan of the coconut -- and I'm suggesting you join me in my admiration.  There are myriad uses and benefits to be derived from a humble coconut. 

Coconut Oil:  I love coconut oil.  It's natural, affordable, easy to find, and can be used in a variety of ways. You can use coconut oil (organic, food-grade) in the kitchen, as well as for skin care, as a massage oil, and for hair care, among other things.  Coconut oil is a solid at room temperature and becomes liquid at 76F.  It's highly stable and long lasting, anti-viral, anti-fungal, healing and is said to improve nutrition absorption.

In the kitchen, coconut oil can replace butter and other oils in cooking.  While coconut oil does contain saturated fat, the main saturated fat in coconut oil is lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid. Lauric acid increases levels of good HDL. The fatty acids in coconut oil are primarily medium-chain triglycerides which are shorter than the long-chain triglycerides that you'll find in other oils and fats and more easily metabolized. And, coconut oil is...yummy.

For personal use, coconut oil is one of the best moisturizers out there.  I should know.  Having psoriasis, I am quite the connoisseur of moisturizers.  I feel like I've tried them all and, hands down, I love coconut oil. It smells good (subtle, not over-powering), it absorbs well, it's ultra-moisturizing, leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth, and is loaded with anti-oxidants. Starting like a butter, it melts in your hands and into your skin. Use coconut oil as an all-over body moisturizer, an overnight foot cream, cuticle oil, and hot oil hair treatment.

For me, coconut oil is an affordable and versatile household staple.

Swanson's organic extra virgin coconut oil: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SWF035/ItemDetail

Shredded Coconut: Organic shredded coconut can be used fresh or toasted in the oven.  It can be used to make coconut milk, to make desserts, such as coconut bark, as a coating on chicken or fish, added to smoothies, or sprinkled on oatmeal. There, are of course, many other uses.

Swanson's organic unsulphured: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SWF038/ItemDetail

Coconut Water: Coconut water is nature's Gatorade.  It contains water for rehydration, carbs in the form of sugar for energy, and electrolytes to replace those lost through sweat.

Coconut Water: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/Search?keyword=coconut+water&doSearch=true&ntt=&n=4445&ntk=Level1&x=0&y=0

Coconut Milk: Pure coconut milk can be used in cooking, or as a milk substitute for those lactose intolerant or vegan, and is readily available in the supermarket in both the dairy and cooking sections.

In a (coco) nut shell, the humble coconut is a star.

"To be here is almost all of it, to be here and not anywhere else, to be present. Not to be in the past, with memories and regrets and things that might have been but never were – nor to be in the future, planning, dreaming and escaping, not to be elsewhere, in another city, in another country, or with another or in a fantasy or in a daydream or caught up in some invented inner conversation."
- The Art of Zen Meditation

“Our hearts are not yet tender in early age. To achieve love, one needs time, one must have been tested by adversities. One must love long and faithfully before the heart acquires grace. Real youth begins later in life. You are not young, Madame, but you are on you way to becoming young.” - Michelet

The Dutch Are Kind

As I posted below, I was lucky enough to be on the Disney Fantasy as she was conveyed down the Ems River in Germany on her way Eemshaven, Netherlands, before heading to the North Sea.  What followed was even more of an adventure.

After the really lovely trip down the Ems River, with people lining the sides of the river as we went through each town, I arrived home to Papenburg on the bus from Eeemshaven. I then got the car, took a couple people to the train station, and arrived at our German home and settled in, when all of a sudden it hits me... My Passport, Residency Card, U.S. Drivers License, Cash, All Bank Cards are...ON THE SHIP in the safe in my husband's stateroom. YIKES!!!  I need to catch the ship before they go to sea that day and have no access to it for several weeks!! As it stands now, I'm effectively a penniless foreigner with no documentation!

I find a copy of my passport in my luggage (I always put a copy of our passports in all our suitcases) get my husband, Pete, on my pay-as-you-go German cell phone and we decide that I will drive, without any license or passport (but with the copy), to the Netherlands and back to the ship before they pull the gangway. 

I ask what is the address there? No one knows. Okay, come on Garmin,let's go!  I can't find the port address on the GPS, so I pick an address. Zoom! I'm driving, it's an hour + a way.  Mind, you, I've driven this car exactly three times in the five months we've lived here, so this is kind of intimidating. My hope is I don't make some kind of traffic rule error or get blown off the road by a no-speed-limit driver.

I'm driving. I'm on the way there and the gas light beeps...I'm in the red! I keep going but call Pete (this is illegal)  to let him know -- and my pay-as-you-go cell indicates I have 2 euro left and to "top up." Um, I don't know how...and I have no money anyway. I keep going.

I'm driving. I'm driving. I spot the stacks of the ship in the distance but I'm literally edging past the last red tick mark on the fuel indicator and I can't figure out where the entrance to the port is. I stop and ask a couple of well-dressed gentleman and they don't know, but they'd seen a petrol station nearby. I stare at them...they offer to show me.

 

They drive so I can follow. We get to the petrol station and we discover... it's credit card only. Of course, my 'everything' is on the ship. I look at them with the eyes of stressed woman. I find 10 euro in change (whew) and give them an "alms for the poor, sir" stare. They look sympathetic. I stare. They crumble. They run their card so I can get diesel fuel (at 5 euro a gallon, 10 euro just gets you to the top of the red zone) and I give them the 10 euro and thank them. They say "no problem, just tell people the Dutch are kind". I assure them they are and I will.

I'm off -- and still can't find the entrance. I stop by a large group of people looking at the ship through the fence at the port and park the car. What they see: a determined woman approaching. I ask if they speak English. A woman says "a little..." I say "that ship you are looking at, I just got off this morning..." this solicits interest. I tell them my story and  that I need to get to security and into the port. No one knows how. A woman nearby says "you want photo?" The other woman translates. You-want-photo woman knows how to get to the front and gives me directions in broken English. Danke! Dank U!

I use my last pay-as-you-go cell balance and let Pete know I'm almost there. I make it to the security gate. My husband is there and fortunately their trip was delayed until morning. Whew. The nice Dutch people who directed me toward the port entrance drive by to check to see I found it. They are relieved.

Yes, the Dutch are VERY kind.  Spread the word. :-)

The Disney Fantasy

The video below of the Disney Fantasy on its conveyance from Papenburg, Germany to Eemshaven, Netherlands was posted on Youtube.  I was lucky enough to be on the ship, so I've borrowed this clip to share a bit of the experience.  It was a tight squeeze through some of the locks and bridges as the enormous shipped traveled backward, stern first, down the river, assisted by two tug boats.  From the vantage point of the ship, the trip down the river was truly beautiful. The only part I didn't enjoy was getting off at Eemshaven without my husband as he stayed on, doing his work, as the ship does it's sea trials. I look forward to rejoining him on the ship for the crossing to the U.S. next month.

DISNEY FANTASY Ems-Überführung 20.01.2012 in Leer

Meditation

The word meditation, is derived from two Latin words : meditari (to think, to dwell upon, to exercise the mind) and mederi (to heal). Its Sanskrit derivation 'medha' means wisdom.

Meditation transends divides such as religion, country and culture. Meditation comprises a rich collection of practices that cultivate focus, stability, insight, and awareness. There is something valuable to be discovered in all the varying practices. I myself am certified as a Transformation Meditation teacher, but do not limit myself to believe there is only one path.

Meditation helps us overcome anger, stress, fear, and other emotions and facilitate a calm peaceful mind and a healthy and stress free body. It is a rich state of peace, an emptying of the mind, an awareness. Meditation is a space that we carve out each day to turn inward.

We can think of meditation as exercise for the mind. Just as physical exercise strengthens the body, meditation strengthens the mind. Similarly, just as reading about the benefits of physical exercise will not make us physically fit, intellectual knowledge of meditation will not make us inwardly fit. We must practice.

We can develop a way of practicing that suits our own style and personality. The length, frequency, and objects of meditation may vary from person to person, and will evolve over time as we gain experience.

Compassion is a Necessity

 Compassion is something really worthwhile. It is not just a religious or spiritual subject, not a matter of ideology. It is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

- Dalai Lama

 

Starting Point

Navigating the French Metro

We all need a starting point.  You can't get to Point B, or X, or Point What-Have-You without a Point A, no?  Point A is seeing, and accepting, things as they are.  This is who I am, and things such as they are, right now.  This is what I look like, what my health is, how much love or anger I have, what my bank account is, what I weigh, where I work or my current unemployment, who I have in my life and who I don't, and how much energy or inertia I am working with. That's the beginning.  Point A.  Your starting point.   Acceptance is half the battle.  It may not feel good, or even manageable, but it is what it is.  Sometimes just allowing it to be what it is, and stopping the struggle of denial or exertion of resentment, is like a burden lifted.  It can be a relief and a realization of "Okay. There's that, now what?" Take pen to paper, or fingers to keypad, and put it in writing and explore what Point A means for you.  On paper, or on your hard drive, it becomes reality and a reference point.  Now...if Point A feels like a dark pit, choose to look up and focus on the light coming in.  There is always some crack that lets in the light.  That is worthy of a small smile, or at least a sigh of relief.  If Point A feels like standing facing a closed door, open the door.  If the door won't open, look for a window.  Can't locate a window?  Have a cup of  tea, muster a smile, and try the door again later.  If Point A feels like a launching pad, lucky you...take a deep breath, take a moment to focus, smile, and launch.

Welcome to 2012

A new year... we are already three days into 2012.  Each time the calendar turns, we're offered another opportunity to refocus, start fresh and remember to participate in our own lives. 

The challenge for many us is remembering to really take part in life while turning inward to find your direction. Too often, life speeds past as we focus on...refocusing.  I know it does for me.   

For others, it is stepping off the treadmill of life and regularly making time to be still, breath, and actually be in the moment.

Whether we need to really take part or to step away, we're offered the New Year as a reminder that each new day is an opportunity to begin anew.