I uploaded a random picture from the GED numbers rather than the usual visual image, without choosing a certain one....a cat tail (tale) appeared!
What?
I thought back to ancient Egypt as the "animal" hieroglyph is drawn as a curved "tail."
I smiled to feel Sasha's genetic parade as reptile, triceratops, leopard, and domestic (?) cat.
Where have I been? Who am I "now?"
Look into the mirror, who is looking back?
"Look into your own eyes and see your timelessness," Deepak Chopra
"The one you are looking for is the one who is looking," St. Francis of Assisi
Who Are You?
Related Posts:
What Kind of Animal Are You? (Jan 2011), Escape Artists (Feb 2011), T-I-M-E and In the (K)now (Dec 2011), All Eyes (June 2012), and The Painted Word (July 2012)
Resources:
https://www.chopracentermeditation.com Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey team up for 21 Day Meditation Challenge, "Miraculous Journey" Dynamic Relationships, register anytime during the free online instruction that began Aug 5.
Dahlis Roy: Visionary Artist, Author, and Tai Chi Instructor
Images:
A Cat's Tale, photo by Dahlis
Who R U? Collage by Francesca
* "It is amazing how much better coffee grows when sung to by birds...."
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee!
Aroma of fresh brewed coffee can actually stimulate brain function, whether you drink it...or not.
Morning has opened...."Coffee and Oranges in a Sunny Chair~" I read lines in my head from a poem of long ago, the words stayed with me. Why?
I am thinking of images and memories of coffee, all at once!
* I open a book and see a woodcut illustration of a woman savoring the aroma of a steaming cup of coffee. Scent clouds drift upward and surround her whole being. Her eyes are closed. She smiles. Meditation and Memories greet the day.
Rewinding my own timeline, I feel, see, and smell my earliest coffee memories. Little Child.... preschool....
Steaming exotic scent of coffee brewing filled our small kitchen. The dining room was filled with muted morning light filtering through filmy curtains. My parents sat at the mahogany dining room table where I would, in the future, learn to draw, paint, write, and type on my Dad's old typewriter.
But Now:
"Can I have some coffee?"
"Coffee is an adult drink, it has caffeine in it, a stimulant. You can have just a Tablespoon. Here is some cream."
I pretended I was a cat and lapped it up out of the saucer!
Another morning, I was allowed to dunk a small piece of powdered sugar donut in a cup of coffee with cream, just one piece of donut and one dunk. The sugary cake melted in my mouth! However, I liked plain coffee better, black actually.
Fast Forward
Into a Barnes & Noble Cafe where the book, Silver Butterfly, was preparing for takeoff. Joanna and I met for steaming coffee and evolving conversations. I enjoyed my coffee with lots of real cream and no sugar in our monthly meetings. When I forgot my note paper, I scribbled Johanna's teachings on paper napkins. A book was born!
Recently I smelled steaming coffee again in my imagination. *** It has been years since I went caffeine free,
the extra stimulant is no longer needed after Tai Chi and Qigong practice entered my life.
** One day I watched a program on Dr. Mehmet Oz's show about the nutritious benefits of coffee. The man interviewed researched coffee drinking habits, especially in Greece where, in the morning, people boil coffee. Greek coffee is made from a very fine grind and foams on the top when boiled. Arabica Beans are used in the grind. Boiling morning coffee releases nutrients! My ears pricked up.
Various techniques of drip or perk coffee may enhance caffeine but may not encourage nutrients in the brew, according to the interview. I know coffee brewing machines may be difficult to clean or leave a residue build up to affect flavor over time. Some coffee filters may use bleach or other chemicals.
Then I remembered!
My Mom and Grandma BOILED coffee. Later they got a percolator, but the taste was never the same! I hurried to the store and picked up a bag of coffee "just like old times," the same brand my mother preferred. I excitedly poured a cup of cold pure water into my Mom's small old stainless steel saucepan.
Boiled Coffee: Time 15 minutes for one cup
1 cup cold pure water prefer stainless steel saucepan, not aluminum or plastic coated
1T (or more to taste per cup) of whole coffee beans
I decided not to grind the beans. I love opening the coffee bag and inhaling the rich aroma of the whole bean experience! I love connecting to the whole coffee bean, bringing me closer to coffee plants and the Earth. Jump starting me into focus is fun!
Bring water into a rolling boil (4 minutes for one cup).
Scatter the whole beans over the coffee and stir occasionally. Boil vigorously for 5 minutes. Adjust the boil to slightly less if needed and boil/simmer another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now the whole kitchen and living-dining room is bursting with coffee aroma!
Turn off heat and pour immediately (use strainer if needed) into a coffee cup, mug, or heavy glass cup. I separate liquid and beans. Scooping out the beans quickly with a spoon lessens the contact with the stainless steel pan/strainer, and the pure flavor is better. Coffee left in a stainless steel pan will pick up a metal taste over time.
Taste and Enjoy! I take just a sip, not needing the caffeine. I keep the beans in a small glass dish for awhile. The aroma lasts for hours, coffee aroma therapy is here! This boiled coffee is nutrient rich. The color can be amber to a bit darker, depending on the strength of the bean-water ratio. It is free from the "black/brown" look of typical restaurant coffee. Coffee lives and breathes!
I hear a cat purring....
Good Morning!
Resources:
* A Cafecito Story by Julia Alvarez, vivid woodcuts by Belkis Ramirez bring story to life.
** http://www.doctoroz.com Dr Oz Show, April 2013, boiled Greek coffee, article and video online
*** http://www.taichiforhealthinstitute.org Paul Lam, M.D. Tai Chi for Health. As you practice Tai Chi, your body and mind improve in strength and stamina. Change your life with Tai Chi and Qigong.
Cat's Purr Cd by Chet Day, Lucy, a real cat, purrs accompanied by nature sounds, binaural beats for relaxation. Cat's Purr is in the frequency of 50-70Hz.
www.eightoclockcoffee.com
Coffee's Aroma Stirs the Brain, article June 13, 2008 at Web MD
dahlis.roy@gmail.com Visionary Artist, Author, and Tai Chi Instructor
Photos by Dahlis
Wake Up!
Good Morning, Coffee and Cat
We love photos of all kinds~digital has opened up many worlds for us and instantly! We love instant! We want it sooner than NOW and going world wide effortlessly....
Catch The Moment
Breezing through my kitchen I caught the light one morning. Stopped. Stared. Camera in hand, I preyed and captured the image of sunlight reflecting through half open window blinds. The image appeared as mostly black and white and completely unplanned. If I had been even a minute "later" the sun would have shifted to a different pattern or perhaps no pattern at all.
I reflected back to Op Art Artists. I saw dots on Cheetahs, stripes on Zebras, boa patterns on a clouded leopard: she is reptilian. Animal parades, painted optical illusions, are here.
I noted how the drinking glass, partly filled with water, fractured the light and bent it into monochrome prisms. If I had planned this shot or tried to paint an image like this would it have happened?
"I have 3,000 photos on my iPhone," someone told me. We love this! We love breezing through fields of images, like a walk through gardens of the imagination. We love being armchair tourists and call up sacred sights on our computer/phone/tablet etc. Instant search brings infinitee study of a building or a painting.
Photography 101
Just recently I saw an add for the 10 o'clock news. A professional photographer was going to give hints about how to use digital photography. I wrote a note remainder to watch the program. (Yeah, I still write notes on paper.) Never understanding my camera manual or even looking online, I watched the presentation.
The clip was fun and informative. Using pocket digital cameras/phones the best hint I learned is to not use the zoom! Get as close as possible to your subject! Yes! This way the focus, clarity, and composition are much better. I am a zoom in and shoot photographer! I prefer cropped images and close up details. In the film SLR days, I used the zoom option and loved it. Now I am getting the images I want with my pocket digital!
I am grate-full that my photography question was answered and all by the intuition of seeing an add for the news, on a channel I have never watched!
I love digital, I love deleting instantly. I love editing, yet the best photos, like the best paintings, are unretouched.
Get the Picture!
Related Posts:
Angels in the Architecture
Resources:
Op Art patterns: Ansel Adams Photographer, Andy Warhol Artist
Dahlis Roy: Visionary Artist, Author, and Tai Chi Instructor
Photo:
Through the Glass Looking, by Dahlis Roy
Skipping through poetry I came across:
* Crystal Blue
Iridescent Lake, Neon to Turquoise,
Sapphire Midnight, Jewel of the Ocean,
Hyacinth, Bluebird, Iris! Color Me Blue!
Stringing together spontaneous words, colors, emotions, thoughts, feelings and what have you create string of pearl poems....
Meditation with a pen, pencil or brush is here Now!
I have a blank journal waiting for the Best of Both Worlds....
Write? Write!
Artist/Writer at Play
* Writing with Color:
What is your favorite color or combination of colors? Think creatively with writing and play color games. Visualize then describe your favorite color. Play with water color spontaneously with a brush or sponge free from preconceived results. Have Fun!
Related Posts:
The Blank Page
Rainwalk
Flowers in the Rain
Lavender Blue
The Edge of Time
Write? Right!
Resources:
The Writing Life, The Artist's Way, Vein of Gold, Julia Cameron
August 5, new free online 21 Day Meditation Experience from Deepak Chopra, M.D., and Oprah Winfrey, Dynamic Relationships. "Let's Meditate Together."
Paul Lam, M.D. a family practice physician from Sydney, Australia, works with medical doctors and Tai Chi experts to create Tai Chi for Health programs. "Open Your Mind" to higher creative achievement and inner peace with Tai Chi.
* Silver Butterfly Create A Vision by Dahlis Roy: Visionary Artist, Author, and Tai Chi Instructor.
Photos by Dahlis:
Crystal Blue
Artist/Writer at Play
Silver Lining
The Big Picture
* "The sun rises...I breathe deeper than the ocean,
caught in the clouds chants vibrate my soul...and circle....
I am heady.
My soul wafts from left to right, in tradition....young monks chant with drums....
The room becomes a dance--
I am lost. But found in that I am not alone.
Suddenly I wish I were.
Loose, free, absorbed.
For a moment, I am free and there is no hiding from
God
In the chant
In the breath
In the smile
In the journey
This is the moment."
Journey to Forever
Seems as if there are more "ah ha" moments lately: increased intensity, heightened enthusiasm, "chance" happenings, shared information yet only what is needed in moments free of excess. Gentleness Abounds and Love of Nature, our silver linings of the soul, create spontaneous evolving life tapestries full of color and life: Every One Unique.
Resources:
* Tina Sipula, Journey to the Top of the World, poem From Katmandu to Tibet
Debra Basham, CHTP, NLP, HTt, RMT, Moth! Latest post on Yellow Brick Road Blog (July 10, 2013)
Dahlis Roy: Visionary Artist, Author, and Tai Chi Instructor
Photos:
Volunteer Maple Tree Showing Its Silver LIning by Paul, published with permission
Grand Tetons (USA) photo by Susanne, published with permission
