Ayurveda & the Art of Spicing

picture credit: http://ripe6.net/2012/06/06/indian-cuisine-correct-blend-of-spices/ (accessed July 31, 2012)

Often times we think of our spices as merely tools in our cooking to bring out certain flavors in foods. For thousands of years spices have been used as medicine in many families and particularly in Ayurveda. Spicing our foods becomes our first line of defense, and savvy spicing with intent becomes medicine, as we learn how to balance our imbalances at the root – the digestion. Spices that were used as folk remedies are also part of the Materia Medica of ancient medical texts of India, China and Tibet. Profound scientific data has emerged and shown the effectiveness of common household spices which have the ability to help treat a range of health problems ranging from heart disease, arthritis, IBS, psoriasis, Alzheimer’s, and various cancers.

Consider exploring the realm of spices in your own cooking and begin to consider which spices are the best for your constitution (Prakrati), and any symptoms or imbalance you may be working with (Vikruti), as medicine directly prescribed for you. Spices can help balance foods that are otherwise not recommended for certain doshas as well as treat post-meal upset and even early signs of colds, flues and allergies.

Enjoying in abundance the vast array of spices are by far the easiest, fastest and most natural way of returning to balance. Spices are the scent of health and healing. 


Happy Spicing!

Peacefully,

~ Lance Roehrig AHP, CYT

"Know that by knowing which everything is known." --Mundaka Upanishad 1.1.3

Do you remember anytime in your meditation when you feel moments of inner silence and stillness, when you are beyond all thoughts? Are these moments associated with the feeling of inner expansion or happiness? There is an underlying state of consciousness, pure consciousness, that allows us to experience this inner stillness and happiness. Pure consciousness is non-changing. It is pure awareness itself, that which supports all other states of awareness.

It is possible to experientially locate this state of pure consciousness. It is present in between each thought. It is present in the moments of still silence during meditation. It is present in the junctures between waking, sleeping, and dreaming. It is possible to "catch a glimpse of pure consciousness" in any of these circumstances. At these moments, our attention catches the shine of this underlying awareness, just when it is not veiled by other states of consciousness or a barrage of thoughts. The human mind experiences this contact of pure awareness as a "gap," a timeless interlude of nothingness that leaves us feeling deeply relaxed, peaceful, and expanded.

Why does direct contact with pure consciousness give us these experiences? The answer is that pure consciousness, although without any qualities itself, contains the essence of SAT-CHIT-ANANDA. SAT is pure existence, wholeness, truth. CHIT is consciousness, wakefulness, and awareness. ANANDA is bliss, happiness, and contentment.

In these moments when we are in direct contact with pure consciousness, we know that knowing by which everything is known.

--Nafeeah Kim Johnson.