Sleep, glorious sleep!

Prayers do get answered - I got some quality sleep last night!  And wow, what a difference it makes to how I feel today, and what perfect timing as I return to the office job after 12 weeks of maternity leave.  This means that Elijah is 12 weeks today, the switch has been switched as I was told it would be, all of a sudden life has become more manageable again!!

It took me almost 12 weeks to read Stephen Cope's "The Wisdom of Yoga", a fabulous book that really helped to support me during what was, really, quite a challenging time. I love his interpretation of the yoga Sutras and the manner in which he integrates these into real life.  I particularly like his perspective on enlightenment, which people often consider completely out of this reality, that one has to be someone they are not.  I don't see it quite like that and nor does Stephen.  I love this quote:

"The more I got to know Rudi, the more fascinated I became with him. He was one of the only human beings I knew who was simply not chasing any form of illusion. Whatever grasping he surely once had, had been transmuted into some more refined form of longing. For Rudi did have longing. In fact, he was almost all longing. Longing for God, for life, for knowing the world. Rudi came closer to being enlightened, I think, than any being I will ever meet. And yet, he was also in so many ways just like the rest of us. He spent a third of his time fiddling with his computers and playing online. he got angry. He overate. Sometimes at our dinner parties he drank too much. Rudi was no saint. He did not give off a white light. What was clear, though, about Rudi, is that in his personality there was very little coloration of narcissism. Rudi was not on a quest for any illusory form of the Yellow-Crested Firebird whatsoever. He was, rather, on a quest for Reality. He seemed to love things just the way they were".

It shows there is hope for all of us!  I am reminded of the need to accept things just the way they are - much easier when one gets some sleep.

I suspect at the moment there are many people who are not happy with the way things are as their properties are flooded and farming land ruined. With the sun shining today, we must rejoice before the next storm appears. My heart goes out to those whose lives are seriously disrupted by the storms, makes one feel grateful yet again for the life we have, especially here in Guernsey.

I have been back to teaching again this week, which has been fabulous.  I ran a workshop on Saturday and I was blown away by the degree of focus and indeed progress of the students in the room, quite a honour to teach.  Last night too, a lovely evening class with the rain falling outside, all cocooned in the warm and dimply lit room opening the heart space and feeling the vibration of love filling the space.  Thank you to everyone who makes these sessions so memorable for me.

I have managed to get to a class myself this week, which was a real treat.  I appreciate these opportunities much more now and realise the necessity of taking some quality time out on my mat.  I have also started to enjoy cooking again and trying to keep up the iron levels through nutrition alone.  I made this delicious dal the other day, I left out the chilli, garlic and raita and it was still super yummy.  Here is the recipe:

Warming dal with cheat’s raita

Serves 4-6

Preparation time 20 minutes

Cooking time 35 minutes

 

1 tbsp coconut or other oil

2 onions, peeled and chopped

6 cloves of garlic, grated

1 red chilli, finely chopped

3cm piece of ginger, grated

1 tbsp black mustard seeds

1 tbsp turmeric

1tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp cumin

100g red lentils

400ml vegetable stock

200ml coconut milk

400g chickpeas

For the raita

1 clove of garlic, grated

2tsp mint sauce

200g Greek yogurt

 Rice and fresh coriander to serve

 Heat the oil in a pan. Fry the onions slowly for about 15 minutes until they have really softened and started to go golden brown. Add the garlic, chilli and ginger and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add the spices and toast them for 1 minute. Throw in the lentils and coat them in the spicy onions. Cover with the stock and coconut milk. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes. Add the chickpeas and cook for a final 10 minutes until everything is cooked through and wonderfully aromatic.

For the raita, mix the garlic, mint sauce and yogurt with a good pinch of salt. Leave to macerate for about 5 minutes before serving. 

Eat the dal with rice, a generous dollop of the raita and fresh coriander leaves.

 

Happy cooking!

 

With much gratitude

 

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