Friday, November 05, 2004

The windhorse rides on the back of a sparrow.

"The self-existing energy of basic goodness is called windhorse in the Shambhala teachings. The wind principle is that the energy of basic goodness is strong, exuberant and brilliant. It can actually radiate tremendous power in your life. But at the same time, basic goodness can be ridden, which is the principle of the horse. By following the disciplines of warriorship, particularly the discipline of letting go, you can harness the wind of goodness." Chogyam Trungpa, from Shambhala, Sacred Path of the Warrior

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Red
Red is warming and stimulating. It relieves aggravated vata and reduces excess kapha. However, because of its heating effect, overexposure to this colour may aggravate pitta and result in inflamatory ailments such as conjunctivitis. Red is related to the colour of our blood. It stimulates the formation of red blood cells and improves circulation. It also helps to maintain colour in the skin and gives energy to nerve tissue and bone marrow. Pink has a gentler effect, promoting love and calmness, but it may be conducive to lethargy in kapha individuals.

Blue
Blue is a cooling colour that relieves aggravated pitta. It has a calming effect on the body and mind and helps to correct liver disorders. When a baby has jaundice, placing the baby under a blue light will help it heal faster. Blue is the colour of Pure Consciousness. Overexposure to blue may cause aggravation of vata and kapha and may provoke congestion.

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

So here we are near the end of this momentous US election. The press coverage has been very similar to that in Canada, the candidates were tied all the way up to the end. I hope that the US election will have a similar result as the Canadian one. Clearly a clever tactic to get the electorate out to vote. Though in the Canadian election I saw a definate turn of the press, a point in which they too became worried that perhaps we would be led by an aggressive right-wing government. Watching them back-pedal was painful. Though no evidence of that on CNN yesterday, it is frightening to see how they skew the news, what sound bites they decide to use, what remains a text-only truth. Partisan through and through.

It is worrying that the US has become so polarized, as I read in one paper today, Osama bin Laden has succeeded in splitting the world's greatest democracy right down the middle. The US would be wise to upgrade to a multi-party platform, but perhaps that would defeat their competative nature, not to have a clear winner and loser. They like the power struggle too much to allow things to be less than polarized. I don't think they have any idea of what a real democratic process looks like, and it will be a grand day when the old legions are put to rest and the spirit and truth of the youth today comes into power.