Joseph Campbell

“When you find an author who really grabs you, read everything he has done. Don’t say, ‘Oh, I want to know what So-and-so did’ — and don’t bother at all with the best-seller list. Just read what this one author has to give you. And then you can go read what he had read. And the world opens up in a way that is consistent with a certain point of view. But when you go from one author to another, you may be able to tell us the date when each wrote such and such a poem — but he hasn’t said anything to you.”
- Joseph Campbell

Shrine of Rumi, Konya, Turkey. The turquoise-tiled minaret shows where Rumi is buried.

Rumi’s grave (May eternal peace be upon him)

I remember while in Turkey, taking a long weekend off of work to journey to Konya to watch the Whirling Dervishes, the mystical Islamic Sufi order established by Jalaluddin Rumi (or Mevlana as he is known by in Turkey), dance the Sema dance and to visit Rumi’s grave. I’m sure you’ve seen in either in ads or commercials or documentaries.

To outsiders who don’t know any better, it just looks like a group of men in long flowing white skirts and jackets, wearing fez hats, twirling around in circles. The Sema, in fact has a deeper symbolism. The circles they dance in represents the Circle of Life. Birth, death and rebirth. Fall, winter, spring and summer. The blood in our bodies being pumped out by the heart to only return back to the heart. The examples are infinite. It induces a trance-like state for the dancer which is supposed to help them meet with That, like ayahuasca might for some or peyote for others.

Mevlana was actually born in present-day Afghanistan, wrote all his poetry in the Persian language and is buried in present-day Turkey.

Back them, Rumi was not the spiritual superstar that New Agers and certain yoga instructors these days love to quote. In fact even 10 years ago, I’m sure if you even mentioned Rumi to those who were knee-deep in Deepak Chopra-speak or Wayne Dyer-speak, they wouldn’t even know who or what you were talking about. It’s interesting to watch because since the Rumi train seems to be slowing down now, I’ve noticed that the Deepak/Dyer crowd have now jumped on another mystical Islamic, Persian poet, namely Hafiz. (I’m betting after they get sick of or run out of the Persian poets, they’ll return to the Russians like Alexander Blok, and Pushkin and then heaven forbid, the old Europeans mystics like William Blake, W.B Yeats, Goethe, Meister Eckhart and Emanuel Swedenborg. It’s always about finding a “new” bottle for old wine.)

When western yoga instructors “discover” Emanuel Swedenborg, will that lead to a revival of interest in Christian mysticism? Your guess is as good as mine…

Truth be told, I find the sudden interest in Islamic mysticism by some Westerners and bubble-headed yoga instructors who are normally Conservative, Republican, right-wing and very anti-Arab or anti-Muslim, strange to put it mildly. True, the poetry of Rumi and Hafiz have inspired wonderment across centuries. If you have even the smallest spiritual inclination in you, you can’t help but be touched by their words. But before Rumi, it was the Khalil Gibran train. Before Gibran, it was Marianne Williamson and Neale Donald Walsch. It’s this constant hopping around because it’s a trend, without any real study or serious reflection on the works of these past masters and then passing it off as “This makes me look serious” which I take issue with.

if you want to be trendy with what you wear and what you eat, fine. But don’t expect anyone to take you seriously if you do it with your spirituality.

And this brings me back to Campbell’s quote above. I have to agree with Campbell 150% on this one. It is best to find someone whose words ring so deeply and so true for you that you will need to read up on all their works to process and internalize their ideas and sentiments properly. That’s when you start to “get” them properly. One spiritual master whose words have consistently resonated deeply with me, as I have posted many times here is Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov.

It was Neem Karoli Baba who gave him the name “Omraam” and it was Nityananda who explained that Aivanhov was an incarnation of Vedic sage from the Solar Age and in fact had come back to bring back the Solar teachings. Apparently he also met the legendary Babaji in the Himalayas as well but he refused to talk about it.

Like all seekers at the beginning of their road, I did my fair share of hopping as well. Not because a certain writer was the flavour of the month but because I was searching. I read George Gurdjieff, Rudolph Steiner, tried Jiddu Krishnamurti and Theosophy in earnest but none of it seemed to “stick” for lack of a better word. But with Aivanhov, it was like remembering a deeply treasured memory which had been forgotten and a flood of light breaking through a door. I’ve been reading Aivanhov since at least 1996 and have never looked back.
In fact here’s a photo of my Aivanhov bookshelf;

Like I posted recently, these days it’s also Alan Watts which is speaking to me (thank God for YouTube!). While I don’t see myself going to Japan to study Zen in all seriousness with a proper Zen master ( and I’m not even sure if the monasteries there even accept women!), Watts, like Aivanhov, was/is able to synthesize the Perennial teachings along with recent scientific findings and present it with their own flair and in such a way the modern reader/listener can connect instantly.

That is a rare talent and not one which New Age hucksters can ever master convincingly.

The recent news about hot yoga shyster Bikram Choudhury being accused of rape has been generating a lot of discussion online and off about the whole nature of power within the context of guru/student dynamics as well as male/female dynamics.

George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones definitely had serious chemistry going on in “Intolerable Cruelty”

Sometimes less is a lot more…

Wide legged forward bend

Yoganidrasna pose

Yoga instructor in film “Couple’s retreat” – a bad example of adjusting.

Real spiritual initiation usually involves handing down teachings after years of study or being a student. It should NOT make you feel uncomfortable, or cornered.

I hate this magazine.

No, Bikram, you’re NOT sexy.

Breaking news, but it looks like Bikram Choudhury, the founder and “creator” of the hot yoga craze has now been accused of rape from two different Jane Does. You can read all the ugly details over at YogaDork or at the source itself at Courthouse News Service. I warn you, it’s an uncomfortable read because if what is claimed is true, then it really shows up what a real misogynist Bikram really is.

Some choice quotes from the testimony:

Doe No. 2 claims the grueling schedule was designed to “break down her body, will and spirit,” and brainwash her with Choudhury’s “vision and teachings.” She describes Choudhury as a combustible tyrant who orders students during classes to remain mute, and treat him “with unquestioning obedience.”
“Students are also often required to attend evening lectures, where defendant Choudhury rants on subjects including his negative views on certain races; negative views on homosexuality; the moral lassitude of Americans; his guru; his views on sex, marriage, and relationships; and whatever else he should care to talk about,” the complaint states.
Some students are pushed so hard they faint, vomit, urinate on themselves, or suffer heat strokes and seizures, Doe says in the complaint.

It gets worse…a lot worse…

“Defendant Bikram Choudhury pulled her pants down and forced her onto the bed. Plaintiff Jane Doe No.2 could not stop crying and kept begging him over and over to stop. He forced his unprotected penis in her vagina. Within moments it was over. The only thing defendant Bikram Choudhury said was, ‘How many times did you come?’ Plaintiff Jane Doe No.2 was in pain, in shock and could not speak. Defendant Bikram Choudhury then ordered plaintiff to watch him until he fell asleep,” according to the complaint.
Doe adds: “The next day during lecture, defendant Bikram Choudhury made offensive sexual comments to the whole class. It was demoralizing and humiliating. He told the plaintiff and rest of the class that when he first moved to the U.S. women raped him all the time and taught him how to have sex. Defendant Bikram Choudhury said he would have sex marathons. Then he started talking about women’s bodies and how he liked ‘pussy’ without hair on it. Defendant Bikram Choudhury said, ‘I can’t stand fat unattractive women.’ As he spoke, his voice was becoming more and more intense and his language more vulgar.’”

I feel terrible for what those two women must have have gone through in order to summon up the courage to come forward and go ahead and make this public. Having worked with victims of violent crime as a former spiritual care-giver, this is something not to take lightly particularly from the victims’ point of view. Most cases of rape go unreported because the victims (usually women) are often terrified of reprisals or of having to face the perpetrator in court and relive the painful experience. This is often compounded by the fact that the police and the judicial system are often very clinical in their approach. They’re not exactly known for their warm, fuzzy feelings, caring and nurturing when people have gone through hell.

From Rainn.org

This culture of abuse between student and “guru” in the yoga world keeps happening over and over again. My own personal take is that a big part of the problem lies within the yoga community itself. If people just withheld their dollars, many of these outfits would go under overnight. I mean when YogaDork posted the news earlier today on their FaceBook page, some of the comments underneath included the likes of:

“Two sides to every story..”
“There are 3 sides to every story…yours, theirs, and the whole damn truth. Don’t judge.”
” It’s really too bad that people are willing to destroy the man before they know the whole picture. I say he’s innocent until proven guilty.”

And to that I say:

Don’t judge?
Especially when 2 different women and a third back in March have all come forward on Bikram’s sexual harassment/abuse?

Sarah Baughn accused Bikram of sexual assault this past March.

This is what drives me nuts about the yoga community at times, it would seem in the drive to be “spiritual” or “enlightened” some people’s brains have been reduced to mush since they live in fear or being labelled “judgemental” like that’s tantamount to being labelled a child abuser. The problem is due to this fear of being labelled judgemental, they often allow some of their own moral compasses to slide and not necessarily in the correct direction.

Take this comment for instance from the same aforementioned FaceBook thread:

“I don’t even care. I will continue to go to my Bikram studio and do the yoga that works for me and that has changed my entire life for the better. I don’t need to agree with the supposed “founder” to get the benefits from my yoga studio. I love my teachers and do not feel any of the corruption that I read about Bikram. I feel love, compassion, and true caring. Bikram is not the one who has changed my life…my studio and instructors are. I take solace in the fact that I don’t actually give any money to him but instead get paid to do laundry AND free yoga.” (it got 28″Likes”)

What this poster fails to see, no doubt, in her blind drive for “love, compassion and true caring” and “free yoga” is that she’s certainly not showing any love, compassion and true caring whatsoever to the victims here of what is essentially a criminal and violent act and instead by continuing to frequent Bikram studios, has sided with the guilty party and is helping to augment the name, the brand and the organization.

Bikram logo.

I understand that there is something called moral relativism. What may be right for one person can be completely wrong for someone else given the context, life circumstance etc. However, I do think at some point a line has to be drawn in the sand particularly when abuse and violence come into play. And rape is violence, no matter how you cut it.
That’s just, plain unacceptable.

Stuart Wilde

“If You Can’t Handle Your Own Death, This Life Will Torment You” (SW)

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Lala RukhAuthor: Lala Rukh

Two years ago with these words my life began and so did my love affair with Stuart Wilde. I’ve lived on the fringes as far as memory serves me, I travelled far and wide and often on a road less travelled, lived in different countries, fit in nowhere, stranger among my own family and friends, tormented by fear and alienation and emptiness.

I struggled, rebelled and was desperate to find meaning to all this, my own alienation and the cruelty in the world around me. I read the works of countless new age gurus, religions and was often disgusted by their spiritual elitism and night after night of praying to the ‘deaf gods’ I finally stumbled upon the teachings of Stuart Wilde.

Every day first thing in the morning as a humble disciple I was on stuartwilde.com; hungry for his wisdom, his teachings, his humor and his insights. Even if you are “thick as two planks”, his style of teaching will smack you in the head and make you realize that you possess far more power than you ever realized, the silent power.

“Happiness is relative. The further you get away from your relatives, the happier you are!”

He taught me observation is power and judgment is weakness. He taught me to laugh at myself and be proud of being dysfunctional and liberate from negative thoughts emotions and the daily grind. He taught me there’s light and dark in everyone and that free will is dangerous.

“Learn to trust feelings as they come from inner knowledge.” Finally I realized that even though I was born on the wrong planet, I was lucky to have found a true mentor and guide.

“Refuse to be scared in this life time”

His humor uplifted me on my darkest days.

“Imagine you’re on a plane that’s going to crash, What’s the worst thing that can happen? If you’re in economy, you’ll instantly be upgraded to first class, then you’ll die… Goood! Now you’re liberated”

I was especially touched by his genuine love for his readers, his free gifts to his faithful A-List members, like the St. John Worts seeds, prayer cards, horse stickers, prayers and recordings.

His untimely death has left a massive void, I regret that I never met  Mr Wilde or had the privilege to shake his hands and to tell him how much his teachings and writings saved and helped me. I’m comforted that he will always be around through his timeless teachings.

Rest in Peace Mr Wilde “Let me pray for your protection from afar”

Sincerely,

Lala Rukh
A Warrior and A Fringe Dweller

Stuart Wilde ~ A Warrior Crosses Over

Stuart Wilde

Sept. 24 1946 ~ May 1, 2013

Although we never met, your energy and spirit have been a constant part of my spiritual path for many years, and will continue to do so regardless of whatever realm you may reside in.  Back when I was struggling to understand my place in this world, your light showed me that it’s OK to be a fringe dweller; and that we don’t always get to know the answers we seek.

They say that when the student is ready the master will appear, and that is just how you came into my life with such observations as, “If you cannot say it in 25 words or less, it’s not the God Force.“  Although I gained great knowledge from the various books I encountered before yours, You were the first one to show me how to incorporate that wisdom in my everyday life…the way of the shaman.

Each time my spiritual progress brought me to unexplored territory; there you were showing me the lay of the land, and the way of things from that point on.  You were my trail blazer, my deep recon warrior scout.  Because you knew the way, having been there ahead of me; I knew I would be OK out there on the fringes, just so long as I could see and feel your light.

At one time I think I had the complete set of your little wisdom pocket books, Infinite Self, Silent Power, Miracles, and all the others: but they each traveled onward with other fringe dwellers seeking their way; it’s what I think you intended for them…not to be mute wisdom collecting dust up on some shelf.  You taught me that what other people think of me is none of my business, and that the universe doesn’t count how many times we fall down…only the times we rise up and have another go at it.  From you I learned my true power, and how to deal with psychic attacks from the dark brothers in dark robes.  Warrior, path finder, light house, teacher and healer; you journeyed around the wheel of life, always in service to others.

They say that nobody ever really dies so long as they live on in the memories of those they touched.  But you see Stu, I don’t consider you as having died, it’s too soon, the grief too much to bear at times, so I’m telling myself you just went on ahead to scout the undiscovered country for me, and I know that no matter how dark the coming days may be, your light will never fade from my heart, and never fail to guide me on my way home.

“Spirituality is the act of becoming more normal

and eventually disappearing completely.”

  ~Stuart Wilde~

Travel well my Brother, shine on….

“The light at the end of tunnel was just fine and dandy,

 it was the tunnel at the end of the light that bothered me.”

 ~Stuart Wilde~

“I traveled three million miles to sixty two countries, 
I found a sweetness there. 
I left before my luck changed.” 
~Stuart Wilde~

A song for Stuart

“The trick to money is having some. If you raise your energy people will be pulled to you, when they show up, bill ‘em.”
 ~Stuart Wilde~

Life on earth: “Lovely place, shame about the people!”
~Stuart Wilde~

“Nurturing a ‘nostalgia for eternity’ redeems your soul for it carries you silently towards the light even in the darkest times.”

~Stuart Wilde~

“Before I was born one of the Beings asked me how did I feel about coming back to the earth plane? I replied, 
“I didn’t mind as long as I had a womb with a view.”

              ~Stuart Wilde~

* * * * * * * * *

“I tried to tell people the truth about life, their shadow, dimensions, the ghouls and the inner worlds, it was a disaster, they got uptight and attacked me, so I got Khris Krepcik at thehoodedsage.com
to tell them instead. “Genius move Stuie.”

~Stuart Wilde~

~Some of Stuart’s Wisdom~

http://www.stuartwilde.com/2013/05/at-the-window-of-tomorrow/

http://www.stuartwilde.com/2013/04/what-if-peace-breaks-out/

http://www.stuartwilde.com/2013/04/armageddon-wars-in-the-inner-worlds/

http://www.stuartwilde.com/2013/04/how-the-matrix-is-dying/

http://zen-haven.com/the-two-evolutions/

http://www.stuartwilde.com/2012/10/protection-2/

http://www.stuartwilde.com/audio/meditation/avalon-protection-prayer/http://www.stuartwilde.com/2013/03/the-subhuman-evolutions/

http://www.stuartwilde.com/sw-products/warriors-prayer-card/http://zen-haven.com/how-does-it-all-end-sw/

3 weeks ago we had a surprise snowstorm of 10cm and now we’re having +27 °C  (81 degrees for the Americans), weather and constant sunshine comparable to July’s weather. Montrealers are outside everyday in force, myself included. It was a long, hard, cold winter and this balmy spring leaves little inclination to stay indoors and write very much.

The riverfront bikepath a stone’s throw away from my neighborhood.

I’m very lucky in that I live in an amazing neighborhood of Montreal which is literally steps away from the riverside. This affords me to see ducks, Canada geese, beavers, foxes, muskrats, turtles and snakes while I either walk or jog along the river banks among the weeping willows and tall grasses.

Path along the riverside

Because of the insane weather we’ve been having, I’ve started to do my yoga practice outside in the morning as the sun rises.

No, that’s not me, and that’s not my park but you get the idea.

…but more like here. (photo from Walking Turcot Yards)

Normally I do my practice in silence. I’m not one for flashy props and special effects which is why I don’t get the whole acro-yoga, trance-dance yoga and aerial yoga craze which I see everywhere these days. I’m sure they have their benefits… but it seems more like gymnastics and acrobatics than yoga per se.

Is this really yoga? I dunno…

Anyway, I’ve started doing my practice outdoors and have started to do them while listening to the talks of the late, great Zen master and teacher Alan Watts and the combination of the two just seems to click for me. It may not for others, but I just found my equivalent of wild strawberries and fresh cream.

Watts, for those of you who have never heard of him or know very little about him, was a weird and wonderful spiritual teacher who made Zen Buddhism accessible to all.

Alan Watts

Friends with the likes of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, Watts did much of his teaching in the San Francisco area back in the 1950′s,60′s and early 70′s and spent much time with alternative thinkers especially at his Sausalito houseboat and cabin home in the delightfully named Druid Heights near Mount Tamalpais, over on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County.

Give a listen to any of Watts talks on YouTube (they number in the hundreds now) and you’ll quickly realize that Zen wasn’t the only thing which Watts tackled. His talks weave religious history, concepts from Hinduism and Taoism, philosophy, the nature of consciousness and humor effortlessly. Watts died quite young in middle age, unfortunately his womanizing and hard-drinking finally caught up to him.

What I think stands out about Watts, like Joseph Campbell, is that he’s a real teacher. They’ll never tell you what to do in your life. In fact, they’re against that sort of thing on principle, unlike way too many “gurus” and “spiritual seers” I’ve either met or read about in the whole New Age/spirituality racket who are only too eager to exert control or show off their influence. Rather, they’ll help you remember what you’re really all about and leave the trail of cosmic breadcrumbs so that you can guide yourself out of the woods on your own. That’s the way it should be.

Here’s a fun piece of Watts work, interpreted by the creators of “South Park”.
You don’t need to do yoga to get Watts either.
Enjoy.

May 2013 will be suffused with a revolutionary impulse, a desire to completely remake the world, at the top and at the grassroots level. The impulse will alost surely give rise to dysfunctional and antisocial behavior, but it will also bring profound and substantive discussions among decision-makers and trend-setters. Deep reforms are inevitable. Guess which one will dominate the headlines. However, it is a disquieting vibe and will probably only increase overall levels of stress and unrest.

Not because we’re all envious or anything, we hate them because it’s fun! They’re either so obnoxious, self-involved or nonsensical that they invite disdain and derision because of the things they say and do.

Case in point: Gwyneth Paltrow.

Gwynnie-poo (from people.com)

I don’t know what it is about her that brings out the inner bitch of just about every gal I know. I don’t think it’s because she’s thin, rich, white and blonde and married to a rock star. I could describe Charlize Theron (or Kate Hudson) in the same way, but Charlize has a bit of an edge to her which I think makes her cool.

Another classic Hollywood blonde: Charlize Theron

Charlize also comes from a bit of a dodgy family background which makes her a badass for having survived it and coming out ahead.

Gwynnie-poo on the other hand has had a silver spoon firmly ensconced between the cheeks of her “butt of a 22 year old stripper” (her words not mine) and everything given to her on a silver platter from Day 1.
I also think Charlize is much prettier that Gwynnie-poo.  In fact, I think there are many other high-profile acting sisters in the same age group who are prettier, full of more substance AND smarter than Gwynnie-poo and deserve more screen time than her.

(Gents: this is the one and only time I’m going to post girly photos here for your viewing pleasure. Ladies: My point is that beauty can show up in equal amounts of brains AND comes in all colors )

Like Monica Bellucci,

Italian beauty Monica Bellucci, with classical features and the figure of a Roman goddess, Monica is not only beautiful but smart as well. Did you know she studied law at the University of Perugia before going into modelling?

Salma Hayek,

Salma Hayek is of Spanish and Lebanese descent, and fluent in Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and English

Thandie Newton,

Thandie Newton read Anthropology at Cambridge

Rosamund Pike,

Statuesque blonde bombshell with the complexion of an English Rose, Rosamund Pike studied English lit at Oxford.

Lisa Ray,

Half Bengali-half Polish Canadian actress Lisa Ray academically excelled in high school and finished 5 years of high school in 4.

Sophie Marceau,

Classic French beauty, former Bond girl Sophie Marceau is not only an actress, but she produces, directs and also is an author.

Ludivine Sagnier,

French actress Ludivine Sagnier, usually plays sexpots, but she had enough brains to stay away from the Hollywood machine.

Eva Green,

Another French actress and Bond Girl Eva Green has features which belong on an ancient Roman coin or Greek statue. She hates shopping and has also nixed Hollywood.

Mylène Jampanoï,

Another bi-racial beauty, half French, half Chinese actress Mylène Jampanoï

And as for figures, while I agree clothes do hang very well on Gwynnie, she’s really nothing more than a clothes hanger…

Gwynnie wearing a Tom Ford creation at the Oscars in 2012 and trying to channel Grace Kelly.

…I still don’t think that kind of slenderness defined by the fashion world is very attractive.

Rather,  IMHO, women should strive to *BE*, first and foremost, HEALTHY and STRONG, say like the Brazilian National Women’s Olympic beach volleyball team for instance..

That’s the way to do it Ladies! Maria Antonelli and Talita Rocha looking strong, healthy and feminine, curves, muscles and all.

…but I’m getting off-track here so on with the list….

1) The yoga scene is usually all about being thin, white and privileged.
Yoga: While things are slowly changing and awareness is definitely increasing, classes like queer yoga or curvy yoga are now popping up in many cities and there are now amazing Facebook groups as well as many great yoga blogs which are discussing these issues head-on, all of which are about making yoga more accessible to all, there is still unfortunately a long way to go. Average mean income of most yoga practitioners is around $75 000/year, far above the national average income level with many practitioners who are college educated with post-graduate degrees. Many of the younger girls I’ve come across could give a rat’s ass about the spiritual aspects or deeper health benefits of yoga but instead just want to get really lean and thin, mostly to get a boyfriend or a husband. Many instructors and studios are still failing to make visible, sexual and economic minorities and women with larger body-types welcome in the studio.

Gwynnie-poo: Gwyneth Paltrow is the walking definition of thin, white and privileged. Born into Hollywood royalty, her father was a TV producer of shows like “St. Elsewhere”, her mother is of Philadelphia Main Line stock and a thespian in her own right.  Gwynnie’s bi-coastal upbringing included Thanksgivings which were usually spent with the likes of Steven Spielberg in the Hamptons, going to the elitist Spence School of NYC and spending summers in Spain. She spends 14 hours a week working out with sketchy celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson and unabashedly boasts about using nothing less that $60 olive oil. There is nothing normal, accessible or grounded about her at all which normal, working women can ever relate to.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s at-home private studio. She had a separate building built just to work out.

2) The yoga scene is full of instructors who sprout one thing on the mat yet live a totally different reality off the mat and somehow make the whole thing OK.
Yoga: Ubiquitous yogilebrity Elena Brower, a well-known instructor from the Anusara “tradition” admits that she smokes. This is after her going on ad nauseum about the beauty of yoga, about the beauty of a breath, about the beauty of health, blah, blah, blah.

Gwynnie-poo: Gwynnie waxes lyrical constantly about the importance of her workout, her instructor, her diet  and buying the most expensive food possible. In fact her latest cookbook, ” It’s All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes that Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great” is all about eating a vegan, low-carb, gluten-free lactose-intolerant diet. No coffee, dairy, alcohol, sugar, shellfish, potatoes, tomatoes, bell pepper, eggplant, corn, wheat, meat, soy or anything processed.  And how French Fries nearly killed her. Then she dropped a bomb last week when she admitted that she looks forward to her weekly Saturday night cigarette. Um…Gwynnie, do you understand why that would make some people upset?

You’re a real role model, Gwynnie!

3) The yoga scene and living the “yoga lifestyle” can be expensive
Yoga: Like I mentioned earlier, yoga caters to mostly those people who are affluent. Yoga studio unlimited memberships are about $1200 per year in my city. Lululemon pants run at about $90 each. Designer mats can be as high as $100. And then you have to factor in the seasonal cleanses, the retreats to exotic locations like Bali or Tulum ($4000), the Vitamix blender for your juices and smoothies ($750), the regular colonics ($80 a poop), the membership in CSA farms ($250 /12 weeks) and the time itself to daily practice. It adds up quickly. It’s cheaper to become a Jain monk and get the same results.

Gwynnie-poo: One only has to visit Gwyneth’s “lifestyle” blog and online magazine “Goop” and read a couple of articles particularly about what to buy, what to eat and where to visit to realize that this is a magazine which should only be in private circulation among other Hollywood actresses, billionaire heiresses and vulgar wives of Russian oligarchs since they are the only ones who will EVER be able to afford this “lifestyle”.

Gwynnie’s gourmet kitchen at her new $10 million dollar digs in L.A

4) The yoga scene can be out of touch from reality (borderline delusional actually)
Yoga: No, I can’t eat kale everyday and I don’t want to. I especially can’t afford to shell out 5 times the going rate of “normal” kale for kale that’s been grown biodynamically on fertile volcanic soil in Hawaii which has then been blessed by a shaman under a full moon which is then supposed to give me more ‘healing” nutrients. I can’t and I won’t so kindly fuck off.

Gwynnie-poo: The latest edition of Goop! included Spring 2013 fashion “essentials” which comes out to a whopping $450 000. Almost half a mill, folks. That’s just clothes. For one person. For one season. Seriously. With that kind of cash, you can dress practically everyone in Mozambique and Bangladesh. Combined. For life. For real.

Gwynnie’s everyday punk look (from goop.com)

5) The yoga scene can sometimes espouse a strange diet.
Yoga: A quote from Chris Rock,

“We got so much food in America we’re allergic to food. Allergic to food! Hungry people ain’t allergic to shit. You think anyone in Rwanda’s got a fucking lactose intolerance?!”

Let me expand this to ask why is it that EVERYONE in the yoga scene nowadays seems to be lactose-intolerant, gluten intolerant, with allergies to wheat, rice, sugar, honey, coffee, dairy, alcohol, shellfish, potatoes, tomatoes, bell pepper, eggplant, corn, meat, soy, nuts, grass, trees, air and sunshine?  While I agree having serious allergies is no laughing matter and following a vegetarian diet because of  strict ethical, moral and religious reasons because it’s a part of your being is admirable, I wonder how many people are making up their allergies or becoming vegans because it’s the cool thing to do? What you decide to put into your stomach is your own business and responsibility but personally,  I have to side with global bad-assed foodie Anthony Bourdain , that it is a construct coming out of too much affluence and predicated largely by rich, white kids who want to come across as doing something fashionable because being vegan is now fashionable “Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans … are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit. They make for bad travelers and bad guests. The notion that before you even set out to go to Thailand, you say, ‘I’m not interested,’ or you’re unwilling to try things that people take so personally and are so proud of and so generous with, I don’t understand that, and I think it’s rude. You’re at Grandma’s house, you eat what Grandma serves you. I don’t have any understanding of it. Being a vegan is a first-world phenomenon, completely self-indulgent.”

Anthony Bourdain, a real global foodie citizen

Gwynnie-poo: Tinseltown blogger Perez Hilton summed it up best:

While we’re all for healthy children, we’re not so sure if leaving them hungry is the best thing! What kind of childhood is that?? Gwyneth Paltrow’s diet is SO STRICT that she admits sometimes her family is left hungry by her restrictions! BOOO! In her new cookbook called It’s All Good, all is most definitely not good, and she details the food she doesn’t let her kids have, like grains:

“Every single nutritionist, doctor and health-conscious person I have ever come across . . . seems to concur that [gluten] is tough on the system and many of us are at best intolerant of it and at worst allergic to it.”

We’re not so sure about that. We’ve written countless times on how a gluten-free diet is only really good for those who have celiac’s disease, otherwise you could be doing more harm than good! Then, she admits, the diet is not satisfying to her family:

“Sometimes when my family is not eating pasta, bread or processed grains like white rice, we’re left with that specific hunger that comes with avoiding carbs.”

That’s such a bummer. We have to be honest here. We’ve always been under the impression that moderation is key, so we’re okay with limiting the amount of processed and carb intake, but we also realize that kids need to be kids — which most definitely includes the happiness of treats from time to time, and to not have to go through childhood hungry! Being extreme with your kids is not how you get well-rounded and happy children!

Gwynnie’s new book.
(Photo: Raphael Brion/Eater)

6) The yoga scene can be pretentious
Yoga: Chanting for 45 minutes then pranayama work for another 30 minutes then 1 hour yoga practice and then posting all about it as your Facebook status. Sure. Whatever. Knock yourself out, Buddy.

Gwynnie-poo: Just go check out Goop!. No. Like seriously. Better yet, read the post when Gwyneth talks about meditation and though she doesn’t know how to do it, but because it’s “brilliant”, so it’s time she took it up.

You can do it Gwynnie! Just make sure you don’t get your Jimmy Choo’s wet while you get into the water.

7) The yoga scene is full of instructors dispensing medical diagnoses, half of whom have never even taken an anatomy course
Yoga: “Can’t do balancing handstands because of tight shoulders or triangle pose because of a slipped disk? Do more yoga! It solves everything “—> something I once heard a yoga instructor who shall remain nameless say after class one day.

Gwynnie-poo: In the intro. of her new book, Gwyneth describes an incident where she self-diagnosed herself as having a stroke in 2011, after having lunch in her London home’s garden. As it turns out, she was having a migraine headache and a panic attack AT THE SAME TIME. Here’s what she said about it:
“One sunny afternoon in London, in the spring of 2011, I thought — without sounding overly dramatic — that I was going to die. I had just served lunch in the garden at home . . . I had a vague feeling that I was going to faint, and I wasn’t forming thoughts correctly. I got a searing pain in my head, I couldn’t speak, and I felt as if I couldn’t breathe. I thought I was having a stroke.”

Gwynnie after she fainted, lounging on the divan…(Photo: Vanity Fair)

8) The yoga scene wants to come across as “hardcore” or “badassed”…but isn’t.
Yoga: Sadie Nardini. Nuff said.
Gwynnie-poo: A nine-course tasting menu is NOT “punk rock”.

Both of you seriously need to get a clue.

9) The yoga scene can get “old” very quickly.
Yoga: How much Krisha Das do I need to listen to, bushels of kale I have to eat, and conversations I need to have with people who do nothing but navel-gaze before I become a “yogi”? Is there a support group for recovering vegans? Recovering Yogi’s website shows that I’m far from the only one harboring these thoughts.

Gwynnie-poo: Gwyneth, do you realize that you’re one of the most disliked Hollywood stars in the world? Do you realize that being everywhere, doing everything and bragging about it all to the entire world endears you to no one? Stop being so obnoxious and start being a little more humble, take it down a notch and take a back-seat sometime. It’ll do wonders for your image. And your “heart condition” too…

This enchanting house is located on an island called Elliðaey near Vestmannaeyjar, a small archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. In 2000 the house was given to singer, Bjork from her motherland as a “Thank You” for putting Iceland on the international map.

I have seen signs. The end of the world as we know it has begun. Don’t panic. It might look terrifying on the surface, but inside every human being is a choice to act out of fear or love. Earth is calling. God is calling. Sky is calling. Creation is calling. Wake up. Wake up now. Generate the capacity for love, for compassion in your heart. Now is the time to yield to the call of growth, to the call of action. You, you are the change makers. Sleepers of all ages, wake up. Wake up now.

Birgitta Jónsdóttir – Class Act

Did you know that Iceland grow their own bananas in their greenhouses because it’s cheaper to do so than to import them from overseas? Also the fact that the island is volcanic and geothermally active ensures they have all the cheap heat they need. (Do you see any agro-business or oil companies having a fit now?)

No. Just no.

Gwynnie-poo and Madonna, classic frenemies, any wonder why they don’t hang together anymore?

It’s just an experiment, let’s just see where this goes, shall we ?

-Anonymous

The past few days have been very interesting to observe. Not sure if some of you heard about this, but it would seem a huge cachet of documents have been leaked by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involving high level personages and secret bank accounts and off-shore accounts of some of the worlds movers and shakers.

Imee Marcos – daughter of Imelda and Ferdinand.
Busted!

What’s interesting is that:
A) the information is coming out now à la Truth Vibrations and
B) it’s really been exposing the magnitude and secret relationships in the international financial and banking cartels and how far these uber-wealthy types will go to hide their fortunes and the legal loopholes they use.

The British Virgin Islands is a tax haven hot-spot.

They make the Nazis who hid their gold in Swiss bank accounts look like troglodytes with respect to the sophistication they now employ. I first heard of the story as a quick news tidbit on CBC radio last week and then the conspiracy websites started picking up the story. Not a single headline in the mainstream media anywhere so of course the usual media black-out is happening. The usual reaction: protect the elites, don’t mention names, pretend nothing happened blah, blah, blah.

It’s also been interesting to observe the media reaction to Margaret Thatcher’s death and the complete disconnect between what the media has been offering (i.e right-wing pundits glorifying what an amazing woman she was) and the real reaction on the streets of the United Kingdom (i.e flat out jubilation).

Personally, she rankled my own anarchist and leftist nerves, just like Ronald Reagan and Brian Mulroney from that decade of greed known as the 1980′s. She put 3 million people out of work, labelled Nelson Mandela as a terrorist (She’s in good company. Dick Cheney did the same thing), and had no problem gallivanting with the likes of General Pinochet of Chile and looking the other way while he killed thousands in Chile.

General Pinochet and Maggie Thatcher – birds of a feather flocking together

What I also find interesting is that Reagan and Thatcher both ended up suffering from severe dementia and/or Alzheimer’s and from what I heard, Mulroney has hit the bottle again…hard.

Reagan, Mulroney and Maggie – Conservatives in force

Meanwhile, you have guys like Fidel Castro, Noam Chomsky and Nelson Mandela still mentally sharp as ever, even at their advanced age…

Mandela and Castro are old friends. While most of the Western world supported the  apartheid years in South Africa, Cuba was one of the very few countries who didn’t.

Politics aside, just thinking out loud but maybe having some concern for a fellow human being might actually have a direct effect on mental and spiritual health? The Greek island of Icaria was once a communist drop-off point, where anarchists, socialists and other leftists were sent off to rot in isolation. The result? Today, Icaria is considered one of the world’s five “Blue Zones” – places where the population regularly lives to an advanced age (one in three make it to their 90s).

Icaria – looks like a great place to live, no?

I really do think greed, selfishness and that so-called “competitive edge” drive to win somehow has a way of shriveling the heart, in contracts blood vessels into the heart and thus, the brain. On the other hand, have you noticed that when you’re being cooperative, giving and selfless, it somehow leads to joy? It expands the heart and dilates your entire being.

I’ve never understood people who are insanely wealthy and powerful who always wanted more. Even while they claim to give generously to charities, I don’t think you can really selectively be a shark-like son-of-a-bitch in your working life and then be some philanthropist during “selective” other moments of your life. It’s a way of being. You’re really one way naturally or the other. Or not.

Corporate douche bag Conrad Black

Even if you have enough to insure that 7 generations after you will be millionaires and never have to worry for anything, when is enough, enough? This insatiability leads me to believe that economic and financial security isn’t really the issue here at all. It’s deeper than that. It’s a sort of sickness. Mentally, something is off. It’s based on fear. It’s not a fear of poverty either. I think it’s a fear of not sticking out anymore, of not being seen, of not being admired by others, of not mattering anymore.

Barbara Amiel – Conrad Black’s wife. She famously quipped to Vogue magazine that she had “an extravagance which knows no bounds”. Read any of her columns and you’ll quickly detect what an ugly person she really is.

I can’t think of a sadder way to live, to have such an insecurity constantly with you. We were never supposed to be defined by what we own and have accumulated. We are supposed to be defined by our actions, what we give and put out there and our experiences. In this respect, I sometimes think some animals are more “human” than humans.

If these examples of animals and cross-species friendships are anything to go by, things are changing in the animal world. That means things can and are going to change in the human world.
Soon.

Dolphin playfully riding a whale, as sighted in Hawaii

The text below is entirely Organic Prepper’s. I’ve added some of the pictures and some of the links.

Enjoy!

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A term coined in 1985 by an unnamed staffer of the Reagan administration was “Starve the Beast”.  This referred to a fiscally conservative political strategy to cut government spending by paying less in taxes.  So, in the original sense, “the Beast” was the government, and people were to starve the beast by spending less and using loopholes, therefore paying less in taxes.

These days the Beast has a lot more tentacles than just the government.  The system now consists of the government and all aspects of Big Business.  Big Agro, Big Pharma, Big Medicine, Big Food, Big Banking and Big Oil, to name a few.  It seems that now it’s the Beast doing the starving, as small businesses close because they can’t compete with Wal-Mart, the family farm is on it’s way out because it can’t compete with the huge, subsidized Monsanto mega-farms, people are going bankrupt because they can’t pay the outrageous medical bills…

Perhaps it’s time for another financial revolution – one where people group together and use the power of the boycott to starve all the arms of this Beast that would swallow us whole.  If we vote with our dollars, eventually there will, of a necessity, be a paradigm shift that returns us to simpler days, when families that were willing to work hard could make a living without selling their souls to the corporate monoliths.

Every penny you spend with small local businesses is a penny that the big box stores won’t have.  Everything that you buy secondhand or barter for is an item on which you won’t pay sales tax.  Disassociate yourself completely with “the system” that is making Western civilization broke, overweight and unhealthy.  Starve the Beast by taking as many of these steps as possible…

1. Grow your own food (this starves Big Agro and Big Pharma both)

2. Shop at local businesses with no corporate ties

3. Use natural remedies instead of pharmaceuticals whenever possible

Chamomile Tea does wonders for a whole host of ills.

4. Homeshool your children

5. Walk or bike instead of driving when possible

6. Get care from naturopaths and healers instead of doctors

7. Make paper logs from scraps for free heat if you have a wood-burning fireplace or stove

8. Boycott all processed foods

9. Shop at local farmer’s markets

10. Boycott corporate stores: Wal-Mart, Costco, Best Buy, Home Depot

11. Give vouchers as gifts for an evening of babysitting, a homemade meal, walking the dog, doing a repair, or cleaning

12. Join a CSA or farm co-op

13. Ditch television (and all the propaganda and commercials)

14. Participate in the barter system – if no money changes hands, no tax can be added

15. Buy secondhand from yard sales, Craigslist and thrift stores

16. Sell your unwanted goods by having a yard sale or putting an ad on Craigslist

17. Repair things instead of replacing them

18. Avoid fast food restaurants and chain restaurants

19. Dine at locally owned establishments if you eat out

20. Brew your own beer and wine

21. Read a book, purchased second-hand or borrowed

22. Grow or gather  medicinal herbs

23. Give homemade gifts

24. Attend free local activities: lectures, concerts, play days at the park, library events

The 100 000+ crowd at last year’s free Arcade Fire show in downtown Montreal

25. Dumpster dive.

26. Play outside: hike, bike, picnic

Remember when kids were out playing in the streets instead of hiding inside glued to video games?

27. Mend clothing

28. Invite someone over for dinner instead of meeting at a restaurant

29. Throw creative birthday parties at home for your kids instead of renting a venue

No way!

30. Camp instead of staying at a hotel

I’ve camped in the Grand Canyon, and it’s seriously the best way to experience it.

31. Bring your coffee with you in a travel mug

32.Do all of your Christmas shopping with small local businesses and artisans

Need cheap but interesting gifts? Head out to a craft fair.

33. Reduce your electricity usage with candles, solar power and non-tech entertainment

34. Drop the thermostat and put on a sweater

35. Bring your snacks and drinks in a cooler when you go on a road trip

36. Stay home – it’s way easier to avoid temptation that way

37. Pack lunches for work and school

38. Make delicious homemade treats as a hostess gift

39. Close your bank account or at the very least, strictly limit your balance

40. Visit u-pick berry patches and orchards, then preserve your harvest for the winter

Making homemade jam and jellies are a cinch.

41. Use precious metals stored at home as your savings account

42. Raise backyard chickens for your own eggs

43. If you are a smoker, roll your own cigarettes – if possible go one step further and grow tobacco

44. Live in a smaller, more efficient home

Sometimes less is more.

45. Use solar power for lighting or cooking

46. Collect rainwater for use in the garden

47. Learn to forage

Wild ramps, make AMAZING pesto!

48. Buy heavy, solid, handmade furniture instead of the flimsy imported stuff

The Amish make furniture which are practically indestructible and will last you for generations.

49. At the holidays, focus on activities and traditions instead of gifts.  Go for a walk or drive through the neighborhood to look at lights, get into your PJs and watch a special movie together on Christmas Eve and make certain treats that can always be expected

Ice-skating on frozen ponds was one of the most fun things we did as kids.

50. Make your own bath and body products using pure ingredients like coconut oil, essential oils, and herbal extracts

How do you Starve the Beast?  Please share your suggestions below…

Bio: Daisy Luther is a freelance writer and editor.  Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at daisy@theorganicprepper.ca