“Where-ever you go, there you are” is certainly true for me in my new job as manager at my brother’s outdoor gear shoppe. For example, a few weeks ago, a guy came in the store and talked with me at great length about how he feels overwhelmed by all the energies that he continually takes in. As a Reiki Practitioner, I have studied quite a bit about that, so I shared an exercise that I do daily to release energies and protect my “field”, and he seemed eager to try it out himself. Before helping the next customer, I made a mental note to write a blog article about energetic protection.

In the Big Picture, we are all connected in one continuous web of energy and vibration. When we directly experience that Oneness, there is no need for “protection” because it’s all just One Pure Love Energy. However, most of us are not living in that state of Big Picture-ness all the time, and in the smaller pictures that each of us inhabit, we take in a lot of energies all the time. If we are super aware and cultivating the Witness Consciousness, then we can quickly transmute those energies, but if we are super busy and juggling a lot of balls, then we might need some extra help protecting our energy fields. Since I tend to fall into the second category, I do the following exercise during my morning and evening meditations to assist me in staying strong in my own energy field:

I ask the Reiki Guides (you could ask Something Beyond, by whatever Name you call That) to please help me clear the “not me” energies out of my space. Next I put my hands in front of my body and gently push them outwards, until my arms are straight, and I do that several times, up and down, and around the back (where I can reach), mentally repeating “please send the “not me” energies out into the Light for Healing.” I do this with Love, for protection and for healing. Next I draw Doh Yah Noh, the protection symbol of the Tanran Reiki System, in the air several times in front of my body and above my head. This symbol came to my Reiki teacher, William Bagley, and it means “I will protect you until you learn how to protect yourself.” If you would like to receive this symbol, please send me a message through the Contact page on this website, and I will reply with the symbol and a link with more information about it.

May all beings everywhere feel protection.

May all beings know Peace.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

See me talking about Peace – interviewed by Yogi Pete (video clip from August 2009): Yogini-Bliss on YouTube

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Yes, that’s right, as the blog title says, I, Teja Shankara, vegan yogini, UNintentionally ate (gasp!) some lard. According to Wikipedia, lard is “pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms.” How did this happen, you might ask… well, it happened because I didn’t listen to myself in a chain of events that transpired during a dinner out at a Mexican restaurant with my family.

In the first place, I did not want to join them to the restaurant, because I knew that it wasn’t a very vegan friendly establishment, but I did not listen to myself and went anyway. Once there, while looking over the menu, I had a bad feeling and did not want to order anything, but I did not listen to myself and ordered anyway. Then, when I asked the waiters if there was any dairy in the rice, beans, and guacamole, I didn’t trust the truth of their answers, but I began eating the food anyway. About half-way through the plate of food, which was not very tasty, my aunt mentioned that they often put some lard in the refried beans, so I asked the waiter, and sure enough, there was lard in the beans I had been eating. I was so angry – at myself, because I did not listen to myself – that I left the restaurant immediately and went home to see if I could make myself throw up. I’ve never done that before, and I was not successful in the attempt, which was actually a good thing, because I have since learned that making oneself vomit is really, really bad for the body.

When the making-myself-throw-up idea didn’t work, I emailed my Reiki teacher, William Bagley, for some advice. As a long-time vegan himself, he responded compassionately, saying “The body will transmute it. You did not eat it intentionally.” He also suggested visualizing the mantra “Hreeh” generating a fire in the sacrum and spreading that fire to the whole body.

I was amazed at the incredible heat I felt in my sacrum when I did that visualization later that evening. In cultivating the witness, I realized that the real issue I needed to address was less about getting the lard out of my body and more about forgiving myself and calming down the anger that had arisen in my system. So, I made a mug of cold coconut milk with maple syrup, raw ginger, and 4 cardamom seeds (that I cracked open with my teeth). I drank that cup of sweet medicine along with a handful of vegan lard-free ginger cookies, and that helped soothe my frayed nerves.

As I told my Mom that evening, “I am a vegan advocate and a vegan educator. I don’t eat lard!” Well, at least not intentionally… and now I know to ask even more questions in restaurants…

May all beings listen to themselves!

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja turned red (from March, 2010) by Teja’s son Gabe.

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Photo by Ashley Marie - CC license

On this playground of life, we get to choose how we spend our time: we can choose to run around doing things that lower our vibrations, OR we can choose to commit to regular, daily spiritual practices that raise our vibrations. Each small change that we make within ourselves then ripples out and benefits all of Creation. This year I intend to help raise the vibration of the human species, through my work as a cheerleader for spiritual practices.

Here is some recent news from the playground of my life ~

~ This past month I have been really busy working as the manager at my brother’s outdoor gear shoppe. During my first week of working there, I watched all the balls I had in the air, and quickly realized that I needed to simplify my weekly routine and take some time to re-group… So I decided to stop leading the Radiance Rising Circles (for now). It was a difficult, teary decision, and at our last circle (for now) there were 16 of us! You can read about that circle in the blog article, “Letting Go of the Radiance Rising Circles (for now)”

~ The ShivaRatri all-night chanting event was incredibly wonderful. Please read the blog article that I wrote about it: “Happy Yogini in Warm ShivaRatri Field”  A highlight from that article is something I shared in the opening circle at the event: “These are amazing times we are living in. Yesterday one of my Facebook friends in India wrote to say that he hasn’t chanted on ShivaRatri the past 3 or 4 years, but this year he planned to chant because he was inspired by my postings about ShivaRatri. How amazing is that? Little American yogini inspiring a guy in INDIA to chant on ShivaRatri!”

~ Due to my busier work schedule and my parents visiting last week, I haven’t had as much time for my regular, spiritual practices. I continue to consciously cultivate the Witness, and what I have witnessed is the importance of doing daily practices, no matter how small or modified they may become during busy times of stress or hardship. The Universe notices the intention in our hearts, so if we are willing to keep disciplined no matter what, the Universe appreciates that quality of willingness in our hearts. Practically speaking, this means that even when I’m super busy, I still sit down every single morning and every single evening, and even if it’s only for ten minutes, it has good effects.

~ I also have noticed that I have less time for writing, but I still have to make time for cooking, so many of my blog articles are now vegan recipes for you to enjoy, such as: “Vegan Loaf You’ll Love”, “Vegan Pinto-Quinoa Loaf”,  “Vegan Yogini is Grounded and Healthy!” , “Teja’s Tangy Mushroom Soup and More!” , and “Vegan Yogini’s Aduki Bean Dinner”.

~ Last weekend, I participated in the Grand Opening of the Goddess Temple of Ashland, of which I was one of the 19 Founding Members. The community rituals and prayers were really beautiful and I was filled with such love. I was especially touched by the blessing offered by Agnes Baker Pilgrim (Grandma Aggie), a Takelma Indian Elder, Confederated Tribes of Siletz, who is the leader of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers. She began her blessing by sharing that she is the oldest living member of the tribe that lived on this land (now Southern Oregon) for 22,000 years! When she said that, I felt the power of that much time – I felt it in my body very strongly. Her prayer was so potent that while she was speaking I felt the Presence of the Great Spirit filling the room.

~ May we all get to experience the Presence on the playgrounds of our lives.

May all beings everywhere have food, clothing, shelter, pure water, peaceful sleep, and hearts filled with Love.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja at the Grand Opening of the Goddess Temple of Ashland by Debbie. In the photo, I am showing off the snake ring that I found a few days after ShivaRatri!

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My parents visited last week, and on their last night here I made a big vegan meal for everyone. Because of all the hype in the news about the possibility of radiation fumes reaching the West Coast, I decided to fix a meal with lots of seaweed… but a lot of Ashlanders had the same idea, so when I went to shop, most of the sea vegetables were sold out! I did find a few though, and I had some already, so I was able to make the recipes below…

As always, please, please, pretty please buy organic whenever possible… your body will thank you and our precious planet earth will thank you, too!

Light a candle and a stick of incense, if you like. Take a moment to tune in to your heart. Witness how you are feeling, and then intend to cook with love, even if you feel otherwise!

Aduki Beans (also spelled Adzuki Beans)
Soak 5 cups aduki beans overnight. In morning, drain and add fresh water, and then later drain and add fresh water again before cooking (about 15 cups water). While bringing the beans to a boil, begin chopping the vegetables, and add them as you chop them, in the following order:

1 medium yellow onion
1/3 cup raw ginger (or even more if you love ginger!)
15 shitake mushrooms
1 yam
5 garlic cloves
2-3 strips wakame seaweed
5 cups green kale, stems and leaves
3-4 carrots

Simmer all of the above until the beans have been cooking for about one hour. Then simmer for 30 minutes more with the following:

3 Tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper, ground
3 Tablespoons cumin, ground
¼ cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Serve with brown rice and many toppings, such as: pickled ginger, fresh cilantro, raw kale, soy sauce, dulse (seaweed) flakes, miso, and gamazio, a traditional Japanese condiment of toasted and crushed sesame seeds – I toasted them in a pan with sea salt, and then ground them with a mortar and pestle. We also had some wasabi flavored nori snacks that were spicy and tasty!

Let me know how you like this recipe…

May all beings everywhere know Peace, within and without.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

See me in an interview about Peace with Yogi Pete here: Yogini-Bliss on YouTube

Photo of Teja stirring the aduki beans by Teja's son Gabe.

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Several months ago, a group of nineteen women gathered and created a vision for a Goddess Temple... and now, that intention is manifesting!!! Tomorrow please join us - in body and/or in spirit - for the Grand Opening of the Goddess Temple of Ashland! Saturday, March 19th, 1:30pm at the Jackson WellSprings. See you there in Gratitude...

May all beings everywhere know the Radiance of the Divine Mother.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

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Today I am sending golden healing Reiki energies to Japan: to the land, to the sea, to the humans, to the creatures, and to any other beings in and around Japan.

May all beings everywhere turn inside and find inner Peace.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

See me live on my YouTube Channel: Yogini-Bliss

Photo of golden leaves and bright blue sky by Teja Shankara.

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In my last blog article, I shared some ways that I keep myself grounded and healthy on a vegan diet. There are so many reasons to go vegan… please read my blog article “Why Eat Vegan” (published here on 9-9-10), and have fun experimenting with the delicious vegan recipes I am regularly posting here on the Teja Blog.

On March 9^th (the day that some Mayan Calendar sources predicted that time would speed up by 20x), I cooked a pot of garbanzo beans, roasted a pan of yams, and created a new mushroom soup. My boys really liked the yams dipped in ketchup. The soup was a bit too rich and tangy for their young palettes, but I really loved it, and you might too!

As always, please buy organic food whenever possible. It is healthier for our bodies and healthier for our beloved planet earth.

Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)
Soak beans overnight. In the morning, drain and add fresh water, and then later in the day drain and add fresh water again before cooking. Bring to a boil, cook for 2 ½ hours. For the last 30 minutes add 2 ½ teaspoons sea salt, 2 Tablespoons dried oregano, and 1 Tablespoon ground cumin.

Roasted Yams
Preheat oven to 395 degrees, cut yams into wedges, toss (in glass 9”x13” pan) with olive oil and sprinkled paprika, cinnamon, garlic powder, and Himalayan krystal salt. Cook uncovered until tender, about 45-60 minutes, depending on the size that you cut them and depending on your oven range. Yummy by themselves or dipped in ketchup.

Teja’s Tangy Mushroom Soup
4 Tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 burdock roots, chopped
½ green cabbage, chopped
25 crimini mushrooms, sliced (discard stems)
6 cups water
1 vegan vegetable bouillon cube
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 Tablespoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon black pepper (powder)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2/3 cup dried cranberries, fruit juice sweetened (for a less tangy soup, put less cranberries)

Light a candle and some incense. Cultivate the Witness: observe your mental and emotional states. Accept yourself just as you are in this very moment. Turn on some chanting music to sing along with. (While cooking these recipes I chanted to Lord Shiva with a CD mix that I made for the all-night ShivaRatri event.) Eat a small nutritious snack, such as a spoonful of almond butter mixed with coconut butter… or a handful of raw cacao nibs mixed with a candied ginger… Now begin chopping the vegetables…

Sauté onion in the grapeseed oil. Add the other vegetables, in the order above, as you chop them. Once the mushrooms soften, add the 6 cups of water and vegan vegetable bouillon cube. Bring to a boil, add the remaining ingredients, and simmer covered until all is velvety soft and the vegetables melt in your mouth! Top with lots of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley. (See my blog article of 3-24-10, “Parsley Musings” for more great information on parsley!)

Please let me know how you like these recipes.

May all beings everywhere have food to eat each day.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

See me live transmitting the poetry of Lalla here: Yogini-Bliss on YouTube

Photo of Teja putting parsley in the soup by Teja’s son Gabe.

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At the ShivaRatri all-night chanting event, a dear sister whispered in my ear, “You are the healthiest vegan I know – the other vegans I know aren’t so healthy – what are you doing?!” I told her a few things amidst the Shiva chanting, but there was more that I wanted to say, and I thought my answers might be helpful to others as well, so I will write them here today.    

According to some Mayan Calendar sources, today, March 9^th, 2011, is the day that time will speed up by twenty times. If that is true, then this blog article will be desperately needed by many people, because the number one thing that I do to stay healthy as a vegan is focusing on keeping myself grounded. Of course I eat healthy, organic foods, but my primary focus is on selecting the foods that will keep me grounded at any given moment.

I cook a lot of beans and grains, such as: garbanzo beans, black beans, lentils (green and red), mung beans, brown rice, wild rice, millet, quinoa, and oats. I include the following “toppings” on at least one meal each day: organic flax oil, Himalayan krystal salt, and nutritional yeast. For breakfast, I mash a banana and mix it with the following “toppings”: Vitamineral Green powder (1 Tablespoon), raw cacao nibs, cinnamon and ginger (powders), and raw cashews. I also take vitamins C, D, and a multi-vitamin each day. And, of course, I eat organic nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. If you have any specific questions about my diet, please post them in the comments section below this article. (Before posting questions, please read my previous blog “Why Eat Vegan” from 9-9-10.)

Beyond the foods I eat, I do regular, daily spiritual practices that keep me grounded. Some people say that spiritual practices make them feel more spacey. If that is the case for you, try focusing your attention more on the root chakra (Muladhara), the energy center at the base of your spine. Please read the blog article I posted on 9-24-10, “Grounded at the Root” for more information on grounding spiritual energies. You might also like to read my pocket book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living, available in print and e-book versions on this website store.

If time is truly speeding up today, then it is more important than ever to slow down internally. We each can make such a difference in visioning a healthy earth into being – by eating organic vegan foods, by taking the time to go inside and ground ourselves each day, and by helping others to do the same. If you know in your heart that eating vegan is the right thing to do for this sacred earth and her beloved creatures, then you will have the full support of the Universe to be as healthy as I am while eating a vegan diet.

May all beings be free to live and enjoy healthy lives. May all the creatures be loved and protected by the humans. May we all understand the interconnectedness of everything, everything, everything… Cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, humans: ALL ONE!

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

See me live talking about my soup cookbook here: Yogini-Bliss on YouTube

Photo of sunlit creek in Lithia Park by Teja Shankara.

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The ShivaRatri event Wednesday night in Ashland was incredibly amazing! Before the opening puja (ritual to worship a deity), about fifty of us joined hands in a large circle to share intentions and blessings for the night. I described Lord Shiva as a “Big Cosmic Mirror” who reflects all of our attachments, expectations, and illusions to us, so that we can release them and enjoy being in the Bliss that is our True Nature.

I also shared, “These are amazing times we are living in. Yesterday one of my Facebook friends in India wrote to say that he hasn’t chanted on ShivaRatri the past 3 or 4 years, but this year he planned to chant because he was inspired by my postings about ShivaRatri. How amazing is that? Little American yogini inspiring a guy in INDIA to chant on ShivaRatri!”

At the community altar, adorned with candles, incense, flowers, food offerings, and a dancing Shiva, Prema Mayi guided the opening puja, in which people took turns coming up to bow and pour coconut milk over the Shivalingam, while Prema’s son Krsna Deva led the first Om Namah Shivaya chant of the evening. Already I was a yogini-in-Bliss, and the night was still quite young!

We are so blessed to have so many beautiful chant artists in this area. I am super grateful to all who donated kirtan and music that night, including: Prema Mayi, Krsna Deva, Mark Forest, Paul Atkinson, Andy Bayliss, Pure Love with Beloved (Beloved, I’Will, Gerry Lehrberger, Prakriti Das, Faun, Paul, Rishi, and Mark), Vivek, Kim Carson, Paul Luthi, Debbie Sterling, Paul Jones, and Ken Abbott. I am also grateful to Chris Iverson of the Culture Works Café ~ that midnight coffee and chocolate Amazon Bliss Bar really kept me going!

During Prema Mayi and Krsna Deva’s first chant, a beautiful priestess ~ Sharron Rose ~ led a very fun dance to help us embody Shiva’s qualities as the Cosmic Dancer.  While we danced, more and more people arrived, so that by midnight there were about 75 people creating the Shiva chant vibrations.

By 4:00am, when this blog photo was taken, there were about 20 people left in the room, many of whom were cuddled up resting inside mummy sleeping bags! At 5:00am, while Debbie played the crystal bowls (amidst a few snores), I ate some more chocolate and enjoyed some quiet time with my journal.

During the closing circle (at 7:45am!), we distributed prasad (little cups of coconut milk with rose petals); consciously sent healing energies out (anywhere they are needed for healing and for peace); listened to a Yogi Bhajan discourse (“Dwell in God and befriend your Soul”); enjoyed Ken’s transmission of some Rumi poems (“return to the root of the root of your soul”); and chanted Om Namah Shivaya some more. After cleaning the room, we stepped out into the daylight, and when I felt the cold, grey day, I exclaimed, “Oh, it’s still winter in Oregon!”

In that moment I realized how utterly HAPPY (and in my element) I had been all night long in that ShivaRatri Field. With colorful Persian rugs spread across the floor, candles glowing, and continuous chanting to my Beloved Husband Shiva, the night had been so warm, which was in great contrast to the cold day outside. I wanted to go back into the ShivaRatri night and stay there forever… But alas, it was time to go home to my cottage temple, where I slept until 3:30 in the afternoon. When I awoke, I looked in the mirror and spontaneously said out loud, “You are some kind of wonderful!” Then I sat down with Deep Self-Love and a cup of hot tea, and sighed… Ahhh…

The next morning when I returned to work at the outdoor gear shoppe, I spotted a silver snake ring in a pile of hardware on the counter! Amazed, I slipped the ring on my finger, knowing that I will wear it until my gold snake wedding ring arrives in a few weeks. (Last week I ordered a cobra snake ring to be married to my Beloved Shiva Shankara!) Even though I was sad to let the ShivaRatri night go, when I found that snake ring, I knew that the warmth and the magic will continue through the remaining winter days and on into Spring!

Thank you again to everyone who helped make the ShivaRatri night so special. I am pleased to announce that we raised almost $400 for the Goddess Temple of Ashland!

Om Namah Shivaya, Om Namah Shivaya, Om Namah Shivaya!

May all beings know the inner Bliss that is their True Nature.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

See me live talking about Peace (interviewed by Yogi Pete, August 2009) here: Yogini-Bliss on YouTube

Photo of Teja Happy at ShivaRatri by Debbie Sterling.

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Oh, what a bittersweet time this is for me! During the month of February, my beloved husband, Lord Shiva, did a huge Dissolution Dance on top of my head, requiring me to let go of so many things that I had attached to as part of my “identity”. Oh, the grief… and oh, the relief! Today I am filled with Gratitude as I rest in my deepest Self, knowing that I AM the Fire of my Soul, regardless of the constant external changes.

One of those changes is letting go of the weekly Radiance Rising Circles (for now) while I adjust to working at my new job (manager of my brother’s outdoor gear shoppe), and spend some time regrouping and rejuvenating. Last night, at the last Radiance Rising Circle (for now), I expressed my Gratitude for what a sweet family we’d become. There were sixteen of us in the circle, which was a very special number for me, because my dear teacher David La Chapelle (who is “Basil” in my books and who left his body in July 2009) often said that I track on sixteen levels. In my spiritual memoir, The Rita Lila: A Western Yogini’s Journey to Bliss, I quote David many times referring to “the sixteen tracks”.

Last night we chanted to Kali, to Krishna, and to Shiva; sat in silent meditation; enjoyed prasad of cookies, chocolates, and an amazing huckleberry delight (thank you, Debbie!); and then I read some teachings about Lord Shiva in preparation for Wednesday night’s ShivaRatri event. My favorite part of the readings was this passage by Amma, my beloved Guru:

“At the cremation grounds, all material desires and the body, which is the instrument used to fulfill those desires, are reduced to ashes. And there, where those desires are absent and there is no body-consciousness, Lord Shiva dances in bliss… The meaning of this is not that bliss comes to us only after death. Everything is within us. We and the universe are one. Both are equally complete. When the attachment to the body dies in the fire of Self-awareness, we are automatically filled with bliss. Shiva’s body is decorated with ashes from the funeral pyres. This is the symbol of having conquered all desires.” (From The Eternal Truth by Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, M.A. Mission Trust, Kerala, India, 2007)

Although I feel very sad to let the circles go, I trust that they will re-emerge in the right way, at the right time. Thank you to all the beautiful beings who attended the Radiance Rising Circles. I look forward to practicing with you again soon!

May all beings everywhere turn inward and find the Bliss!

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of some of the sixteen by Rob Gustaveson.

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