 One of my favorite desserts is kheer (rice pudding). Traditionally this is basmati rice cooked in cows milk with nuts and raisins. Yet cooking cows milk renders it more difficult to digest for many challenging Agni (digestive fire in the belly). It is becoming increasingly more difficult to find a harm free, sattvic (pure) source of milk. Milk as we know it to be a source of ojas ( nurturing for the immune system) if it used to come from humanely treated cows in India is not available in the west and for that reason many choose to go vegan. The recipe below is my version of kheer. It is much lighter to digest and a must in the diet of a pregnant woman, for a mother during the first 40 days after birth giving, weak people, those recovering and seeking nurturing and for those with vata aggravation ( wind element) and/or pitta aggravation (fire element). Those with kapha constitution should take only a small portion of this sumptuous dessert. You may adapt the recipe to make it most suitable for vata pacifying by using creamy dates in the recipe and use jaggery or raw honey ( is heating) as a sweetener and stick with cashews or pistachio nuts as they are softer and more easy to digest. When using dried fruits always soak them For pitta pacifying use pomegranate or soak dried cranberries, apricots, figs, raisins for 24 hours and sweeten with maple sirop or coconut sugar, bot excellent options to pacify pitta. Use small amounts of soaked almonds or brazil nuts ( very good for the adrenals). Remove the skin, as this aggravates pitta. Recipe is for 4 persons | all ingredients are organic Wash and soak 1 cup of Dehradun Basmati rice for 30 minutes 3 cups of filtered water to cook the rice in 9 cardamom pods, grounded, keep the pods Soak 1/4 cup almonds, brazil nuts. Pistachio and cashew don't require soaking. Soak 5 threads of saffron in 2 tbs rose water for 30 minutes Soak 1/2 cup of any of dried raisins, apricots, figs, cranberries overnight. Chop in small pieces. 2 cups of almond coconut milk 2 tbs coconut cream Sweetener options : 1-2 tbs coconut sugar, raw honey, maple sirop, jaggery Cook the rice till soft and moist with the cardamom pods. Keep the grounded seeds aside to add on after the cooking process. Once the rice has absorbed all liquid and is soft, creamy and moist, add the coconut/almond milk, coconut cream, saffron/rosewater, grounded cardamom and sweetener to taste. Stir well and let the flavors sit and settle for about 30 minutes. Serve warm ( for vata) or at room temperate ( for pitta )
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 I just returned from Maui and am so inspired to share healthy summer foods that are easy to make and support a vegetarian & vegan life style. This nut milk is so easy to make. It only takes about 10 minutes and you can keep the milk for 3-4 days when kept in the refrigerator. Sip slowly to create saliva in the mouth which helps digesting the milk more easily.
Aloha Chinnamasta Soak 1 cup of pumpkin seeds for a minimum of 8 hours Rinse and put in the blender Add 3 cups of filtered water 1 pinch of salt 1 tbs raw coconut oil 1 tbs raw hazelnut Jem organics nut butter 2 tbs raw chocolate nibs 1 thumb of fresh ginger root 1/2 thumb of fresh turmeric root A pinch vanilla bean either scraped directly from the bean or submit with 1/4 tsp vanille essence 1 tbs agave Blend well, and squeeze the nut milk through a mesh. Copyright Shivashaktiloka  This is so good and so easy to make. Warm right out of the oven, or cold accompanied with a salad during a summer picnic. All ingredients are organic and local.
Ingredients: 1 tbs super turmeric ghee from Pure Indian Foods 1 tsp fenegreek seeds 1 tsp fennel seeds 1/2 tsp red pepper corns 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped Salt/pepper to taste 1 medium size zuchinni, diced 1 small delicata squash 3 stalks of cellery 1 spring onion 1 red potato, diced 4 eggs - I get mine organic from the local farmer of Petaluma 2 tbs shredded Pecorino Romano 1 pastry sheet 9" - I get mine from Leadbetter's all natural organic French picnic pastry sheets Peel the wax off the pastry circle while it's still frozen. Thaw for apprx. 10 minutes. Pastry should be cool but pliable. If too soft, put in the refrigerator 3-5 minutes. Place the crust in a pan or tart tin. Press the dough firmly into the sides and bottom of the French tar tin. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put 1 tbs of the super turmeric ghee in a pan ( ideal for baking is a creuset) let it melt on high fire, add the fennel, fenegreek and red pepper corns, toss around till flavors of the spices are being released and the fenegreek starts coloring light brown. Than add the garlic, toss. Once brown add the vegetables, heat & toss well, add 2-3 tbs water, simmer, put the lid on the pan and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile break the eggs in a bowl, whisk them, set aside. Test with a fork if the vegetables are soft, they should still have a crunch to them. Spoon all vegetables in the tar tin, make sure that any liquid at the bottom is not going into the tar tin as it will become soft and not result in a crispy pastry. Pour the egg batter over the vegetables, sprinkle the shredded cheese and place in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees Than bake for another 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees If you wish you can add on salt/pepper to the egg batter to intensify the flavor, but for those who have a sensitive pallet there is no need for extra seasoning. The ghee in this recipe will help to ignite your digestive fire ( agni) and digest this dish easily. Main rule in the Ayurveda is that you only eat freshly cooked local foods. Foods older than 3 hours are considered stale, they loose prana and contain micro bacteria that compromise the gut function and are the precursor to disease. If you must reheat or eat the dish later than use fresh herbs to increase the prana of the dish. Bon appetit! Copyright: Chinnamasta Stiles, ShivaShaktiLoka  How do you know if you have found your Beloved?
Because of the willingness to step in the fire and burn whatever is not love. Because of the commitment to choose love beyond your limiting emotions such as anger, disappointment, expectation. It's because you accept that you will mess up and that it's ok, you just choose love again. Because of your capacity to be compassionate when the other gets angry with you and you are sure you are right, yet still you are able to look beyond your own experience of pain and be only love. Because the other naturally elevates & inspires you and vice versa in doing good things and speak with a loving tongue. Because spontaneous merging happens beyond the physical, in the hidden heart. Because you accept the other to be your teacher within your Inner Sanctorum, where your darkest sides are being revealed, longing to be seen, held with love and dissolved. Because you accept the other with all their karma and consciously choose to seek to unveil whatever is a burning symptom and is ready to be burned Because you choose to forgive instead of arguing. So that the only thing that remains is Love. It is the merging that strengthens the thread of Shaktipat (descent of Grace) revealing Absolute Truth. It is because of this spontaneous Merging that confidence, courage and stamina are being built to endure the burning of anger, fear, attachment, wanting my way..... Sacred, secretive and spiritual love.The One thing that cannot be crushed, the Only thing that remains your infinite companion beyond your body, mind and emotional heart. Chinnamasta Stiles Be wise, be strong and be love and keep prana close to you. Conserve prana in order cultivate utter discrimination and laser focus. Daily, take time to process, to pray, to repeat your mantra, to meditate, to seek space, silence, nature time in order to protect your mind. When you speak or share anything, question if it aggravates a state of fear, anger or delusion for yourself or/and others ( Patanjali Sutra II,34). If it does, the result will be insanity of the mind which will perpetuate suffering as the wisdom sage of yoga ,Sri Patanjali, puts it. Every time you repeat & share negative energy it will multiply thousandfold. Instead, choose to contain your energy 24/7 and build your courage, strength and stamina. To rise, resist and fight when appropriate. To cultivate smartness, cleverness, wise use of strength and wise use of means and tools. This is the time to use all 18 arms of Maa (Divine principle of Mother) with profound wisdom. To speak to all 10 Maha Vidyas ( the ten Tantrik wisdom Goddesses) and seek out their guidance, their wisdom. Current chaos reflects the mythology of the Vedic scriptures revealing how the trinity of Gods Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva asked the help of Maa, as they were unable to fight the demons and there was chaos in the world. From her primal form she created her army of 10 Goddesses with numerous invincible qualities in order to restore order and protect goodness. Remember Maa is holding a bowl to catch all the drops of evil blood to prevent them from spreading and multiplying. May this sharing support and elevate you in your personal daily life. May it protect goodness and help you cultivate that which is lifts you. Forward, upward and inward.  If you hold on to the experience of pain it wears you down and out. It leads to being a leaky bucket, loss of prana, loss of the capacity of making good decisions about your life and eventually a loss of health. Or pain inspires you to sit down and question with discernment the true essence of your life. To become quiet to the Inner voice of higher wisdom guidance. To motivate yourself to move from a stuck place with courage and faith.To slice through anything that you are doing which blocks your well-being, consciously or unconsciously. To make choices that unburden you and set you free. Than your body becomes a storehouse of Shakti. This is a key of the subtle Tantrik Sadhana. #sadhana #tantrayogasecrets #shivashaktiloka #spiritualmentoring   Sometimes some things first have to go before a new opportunity unexpectedly opens up. The emptiness experienced, is temporarily leading to uncertainty and fear, yet with an inner knowingness there is a reason why all changes. Nothing needs to be fixed, it just needs time and space. Giving space to Shakti to flow where she can expand fully.
I know her so well, yet being in the eye of it, it is a continuous act of surrender and trusting that I am guided and held at all times. Sometimes you need to take a leap of faith, because your heart tells you it's the right thing to do. How could I do anything else but that? Because I am a Tantrika. They usually don't follow rules, they only follow the bliss, worldly and spiritually. Doing whatever makes their heart sing. So I put it out here, and asked your support, your good thoughts, so that it would take shape, manifest - that which was longing to manifest. I went inward and paused. Waiting for the unveiling of the mystery. Merging with the breath of the universe. Waiting to shoot the arrow, right into the center, revealing the Fountain of Healing, revealing the Essence. And now, 3 months later, it has manifested. A sacred quiet haven and harbor, just as a Sanctuary of wisdom, radiance and compassionate holding should be. For you, to be nurtured, supported & mentored, assisted and held in your healing journey, to receive a teaching for life, learning to live your life fully. For any stage in life wether that is birth, celebration, illness, or being tucked away safely in the Sanctuary to recover, to be heard, seen and held, to learn how to deal with your life circumstances. All offered with great compassion, care and only love. Hidden and yet revealed.  Once you slow down and pause you are able to perceive what is needed.
It is a crucial self nurturing daily ritual that needs to be practiced when the deep longing to elevate your consciousness is awakened. Longing to be awake reveals the deep longing to be free. To fly, free like a bird, free from suffering. Slowing down is the first step in aligning yourself with the truth. In the classical text of Sri Patanjali, the sage and Godfather of Yoga, this is called self-study or svadhyaya. It serves you in observing the vibration of the truth nadi. The truth nadi is a subtle channel revealing wisdom teachings from the Source. Living the truth diminishes your life stress and increases your prana (energy). Gently and slowly. Life is daily giving us the choice to avoid truth or to sit with the truth. Even if the truth is uncomfortable. There will be a moment in your life were you can no longer avoid the truth. The more intense the symptoms of suffering, the deeper the longing to be free from the suffering. Suffering is the fuel to be burnt in the light of wisdom. The Sanskrit word sattva means truth. It is the highest life path according to the philosophy of Yoga and Ayurveda. Darshan (vision) of truth reveals those things in your life that cause dis-ease. To be free from suffering, open up the gate to truth. Slowly, gently. "The practical means for attaining higher consciousness consists of three components: self-discipline and purification, self-study, and devotion to the Lord." Yoga Sutra's of Patanjali II,1 as rendered by Mukunda Stiles. © Chinnamasta Stiles www.yogatherapycenter.org Artwork: Meganne Forbes http://meganneforbes.com |
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