Summer 2003
Dear Friends:
It’s been pretty darn rainy in the Mid-Atlantic States. The Washington Post said today we’re getting more rain than Seattle. Farmers couldn’t plant corn this spring and can’t cut hay now. Melon crops are ruined. Outdoor events and activities have been rained out or cancelled. If the sun ever comes out, the opportunistic mosquitoes (and the rising incidence of West Nile virus and malaria) will probably send us back inside. Except for the farmers, who are more connected to nature and its cycles (and we’re not talking agribusiness here), the rest of us tend to think of rain as an inconvenience, and too much rain as a pain in the patootie.
This I-centered perspective is limited. There’s a lot more going on, visible when we step outside the box of ego.
Rain is the great Sustainer. Without it, life would not be possible on earth. Nature-based cultures understand this and assign the utmost importance to rain, revering it for its life giving qualities. But rain can also diminish the vitality of all living things because of toxins absorbed by the clouds. The most easily understood example of this is acid rain. Fossil fuels like coal are burned by electric power plants, releasing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere and the resulting PH of rain causes damage to forests, soils, fish, other living things and human health.
It’s not just the power plants, though. It’s the exhaust from our cars, it’s the fumes from our gas grills, it’s the smoke from bombing campaigns, and it’s the heated exhalation of angry words. Clouds pick up both matter and vibration and rain it back down on us.
Vedic sages understood this connection, (as did wise beings in many cultures) and performed yajnas or fire ceremonies as an antidote to the toxicity given off in human pursuits. Prayers, chants, mantras and special purifying substances are sent aloft on the ceremonial smoke to cleanse and heal the clouds and rain, and with them, all the elements of nature—earth, air, fire, water and space—creating an environment that is cleaner, food that is more nourishing and healthier human beings. We highly recommend Pandit Rajmani Tigunait’s description of the process in his biography of Swami Rama, At the Eleventh Hour (pp.110-112).
Take a moment to send a prayer skyward on the smoke from a stick of incense. Or if you are sitting around a campfire in the mountains or at the beach, use the rising smoke as the vehicle for your good intentions. Recognize that every vibration that comes out of your mouth, including your breath, is connected to the quality of the rain, and do some slow prayerful breathing for a few minutes everyday. The planet and everything on it is a single living organism. IT IS/WE ARE ALL CONNECTED! Be mindful of that connection and you’ve made a difference for everything on earth. Your perception of rain will never be the same.
Upcoming Classes
Primordial Sound Meditation 6/25, 26, 27
There is space available in next week’s class. Wed. 6/25 (7-9 pm), Sat. 6/28 (individual am appointments), and Sun. 6/29 (9 am –12:30). This will be the last class until the fall. If you’ve been meaning to do it, why not now? Meditation is one of the greatest tools for personal growth and health improvement available to human being. Give us a call at 703-777-4203 ASAP if you’d like to be in next week’s class.
Ayurvedic Baby Massage Sat. 7/12, Sat. 8/2 and Sat. 9/6
Our next three single-session Saturday morning classes are July 12, August 2 and Sept. 6, here at the office from 9-10 am. Parents who’ve taken the class are delighted with their little ones’ responses to massage: Some of the things they’ve mentioned: “a quieter, calmer baby,” “better sleep” (for baby AND parents), “fewer colds than (the sibling) who wasn’t massaged,” “colic almost disappeared,” “less tension in the arms and legs.” A gift certificate for the class also makes a great baby shower/new baby gift. 703-777-4203 to schedule.
Fall Ayurvedic Massage Class in the works
Integrative Medicine of Northern VA will hold an Ayurvedic Massage class this fall. We’ll keep you posted on dates, times and tuition.
Sale on Selected Items, New Books
We’re having a 30% off sale on selected items in our inventory. And we’ve added lots of good Yoga and Ayurvedic titles to the shelves in our lower level “store” and in SPAyurveda.
We are off to Albuquerque and the Ayurvedic Institute in a few weeks for another of Dr. Vasant Lad’s great intensives, this one on the “power medicines” of Ayurveda. Perhaps we’ll connect with some of you there. To everyone reading this newsletter, we send our wishes for profoundly recharging experiences this summer.
As always, it is a privilege to be of service to you.
Namaste,
David and Debbie Mathis
“ Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.”
--- Tao Te Ching
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