I wish I could show you,
when you are lonely or in darkness,
the astonishing light of your own being.

♥  Hafiz
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/08/lust-the-lovesick-anne-clendening/

“You are beautiful like demolition. Just the thought of you draws my knuckles white. I don’t need a god. I have you and your beautiful mouth, your hands holding onto me, the nails leaving unfelt wounds, your hot breath on my neck. The taste of your saliva. The darkness is ours. The nights belong to us. Everything we do is secret. Nothing we do will ever be understood; we will be feared and kept well away from. It will be the stuff of legend, endless discussion and limitless inspiration for the brave of heart. It’s you and me in this room, on this floor. Beyond life, beyond morality. We are gleaming animals painted in moonlit sweat glow. Our eyes turn to jewels and everything we do is an example of spontaneous perfection. I have been waiting all my life to be with you. My heart slams against my ribs when I think of the slaughtered nights I spent all over the world waiting to feel your touch. The time I annihilated while I waited like a man doing a life sentence. Now you’re here and everything we touch explodes, bursts into bloom or burns to ash. History atomizes and negates itself with our every shared breath. I need you like life needs life. I want you bad like a natural disaster. You are all I see. You are the only one I want to know.” ~Henry Rollins

http://www.mysweetyoga.com/
http://dirtyblondeink.com/
"I could have never dreamed such an extraordinary reality for our life.

But then the Divine will always do a better job for us if you just allow her grace to paint your life’s mandala."

What gives value to travel is fear. It is the fact that, at a certain moment, when we are so far from our own country we are seized by a vague fear, and an instinctive desire to go back to the protection of old habits. This is the most obvious benefit of travel. At that moment we are feverish but also porous, so that the slightest touch makes us quiver to the depths of our being.

~ Albert Camus

Yoga, Sex, and a Nap

My Daily Philosophy: Yoga, Sex, and a Nap

I have a very simple philosophy: I believe there are three things you’ll never regret doing. In a perfect world, each day would include all three: Yoga, Sex and a Nap.

Let’s start with yoga. Yoga encourages the flow of positive energy, heightens body awareness, reduces stress and improves your mood. It stretches and strengthens your mind, body and spirit. Yoga is both invigorating and calming. Practicing yoga requires you to tune in to how your body feels. It inspires awareness of all that is around you, and confidence in your body. Confidence in your body equals confidence in yourself. Yoga also boosts libido and the ability to orgasm. But more on that later….

Naps. Why is it we only insist the young and sick take them? Many older, wiser people take one every day. So, why do most humans between the age of twenty and sixty forgo this simple necessity, often viewing naps as something for the lazy and the weak? Naps increase your energy, alertness and memory. A quick nap can give birth to fresh creative ideas. Naps also reduce stress, quiet the mind and refresh the spirit. Whether it’s ten minutes or an hour, when was the last time you woke up from a nap and thought, “Oh, I wish I hadn’t taken that nap?”

Sex. I’m talking about passionate, healthy “I love you” sex. Sex full of love, desire, respect and intimacy. Sex reduces stress and boosts immunity. Orgasms are believed to raise your oxytocin levels – the "love hormone." This hormone is known to lower blood pressure, boost immunity and fuel positive social interaction. Sex also allows us to take time out of our often hectic schedules to connect and strengthen the emotional bond with our partner. When you take time to intimately express the love you have for each other, you also tune in to the love you have for yourself. That, in turn, inspires you to see and feel all the love the world has to offer, and the love you have to give back.

Yoga, sex and a nap. Individually, they all inspire creativity and awareness, set your body and spirit aglow, and strengthen the mind body connection. There’s a Zen quality to each. My advice? Be bold. Aim for all three, daily. You won’t regret it.
Published August 5, 2012 at 10:21 AM
About Carrie Herzner
Carrie Herzner is a mother, hairstylist, yoga devotee, and writer. She is endlessly educated and inspired by the human condition. You can read her poetry, previously published work, and an excerpt from her recently completed memoir, on her website, goatseatpaper.com.
More from Carrie Herzner on MindBodyGreen
Yoga and the Art of Transition

Nom.non.noM

http://rawfoodrehab.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=3677617%3ATopic%3A1723701

Foodie Friday - Marinated Portobellos with Fresh Avocado Salsa & Gazpacho Salad
It's Friday again and it's been another scorching week of record breaking high temperatures at RFR Headquarters in Tulsa, OK.  I've been keeping busy trying to come up with healthy and delicious meals that my dad (and husband) will enjoy that don't require turning on the oven or the stove. I've been going back through some of my old tried and true recipes and found a couple that are ideal to share with all of you for this week's Foodie Friday.

The following is something I put together a couple of summer's ago for Raw Food Rehab's 11 Week Total Health & Wellness Initiative - Revealing Your Inner Rawk Star. I like it because it is a really easy main course and it makes good use of some of the wonderful fresh produce that is abundantly available this time of the year. If you can find fresh organic corn, adding some cut kernels into the avocado salsa is extra yummy!
This is also a great dish to take to a party - just use baby bello mushrooms instead of the large portobello for bite size appetizers!

Marinated Portobellos with Fresh Avocado Salsa
Marinating portobellos and warming them in a dehydrator, if desired, concentrates their flavor while still keeping them moist. Avocado Salsa is a perfect filling to compliment the portobello’s earthy quality.

For the Portobellos:
4 large Portobello mushrooms, stems & dark inner fins removed
1 tablespoon cold pressed organic olive oil
½ teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon coconut aminos or nama shoyu
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Freshly cracked pepper
1 teaspoon fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, coconut aminos or nama shoyu, lime juice, garlic, pepper and cilantro leaves. Brush the marinade onto the mushrooms. Allow the mushrooms to sit at room temperature, covered, or place into a dehydrator to warm for at least an hour (115 degrees F). Once the mushrooms have fully absorbed the marinade and softened, stuff with the Fresh Avocado Salsa.

For the Fresh Avocado Salsa
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 scallions, white & green parts, chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno or Serrano chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded and diced
1 lime, juiced
½ teaspoon Himalayan salt
Freshly cracked pepper to taste
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and stuff int the prepared portobellos to serve.

Earlier this week I also shared the recipe for Gazpacho Salad and it is a great accompaniment to the Marinated Mushrooms above!
Gazpacho Salad
For the Salad:
1 ripe heirloom or beefsteak tomato, cut into 1/3 inch slices
1 large organic cucumber, peeled in strips and cut in slices
3 large button mushroom, sliced
1 medium bell pepper, seeded and cut into rings (color of your choice)
2 slices of red onion, separated into rings
2 handfuls of torn leaf lettuce
Handful fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

For the dressing:
½ cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon Coconut Aminos or Nama Shoyu
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon paprika
Sea salt & freshly cracked pepper to taste

Add the dressing ingredients to a blender and emulsified. Transfer to a lidded jar with a lid.
On chilled salad plates, lay out a bed of torn lettuce greens and layer with tomato slices, cucumbers, mushrooms, bell pepper rings and red onion. Spoon dressing over the salad and garnish with fresh parsley.

In your vulnerable moments you are held by the current, floating.

In your empowered moments you swim with the current. In your ultimate moments you and the current are one....

~ Dr. Douglas Brooks

Still here...

Patience is not sitting and waiting, it is foreseeing. It is looking at the thorn and seeing the rose, looking at the night and seeing the day. Lovers are patient and know that the moon needs time to become full.


~ Shams Tabrizi
There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.
~ Sophia Loren 

Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat.
~ Napoleon Hill
Worries are worthless, so don’t bother with them. Resentment over a difficult situation actually makes that situation worse, so remind yourself there’s no point in it. Joy and fulfillment are your destiny, so let them flow freely from you. Rise above the pettiness that often threatens to draw you in, and give your focus to the good things that truly matter.
~ Lessons Learned In Life
In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.
~ Brother David Steindl-Rast