Friday, September 24, 2010

Cool Things About India: Elephants

Last night I had the bad vibe until late in the evening and it lifted. It was just a terrible sadness and weight and then sometime later, much later in the evening, it did get better, and almost at once, like something happened to shift the energy.

I prayed for all the nations, in a short prayer and then I thought about Ganesha before I felt asleep, the story of, and about elephants, and some other things which I haven't written about.

I then woke up and this morning noticed East Indian people in town that I hadn't seen before. Very pretty women too.

I thought about elephants a lot, last night. I remembered something I hadn't thought of for a long time, that when I was a little girl, at the zoo, my favorite animal to watch had been elephants and for some reason, I remember my parents telling me this, and I even sort of remember it myself, not wanting to leave and being fascinated by the elephants. I completely forgot about this small detail of my life until someone brought up Ganesha and I read the story.
I probably haven't thought about it for at least a decade, until recently when my memory was stirred.

Then, I also thought about how I had worn the elephant mask when I was trying to play Cyrano in a school performance.

And I thought about this time, when, it will sound strange, but I went to this swimwear and tanning bed store in Wenatchee, a couple of months ago. Something kind of strange happened there, for me, and I had wondered about it a couple of times. I thought about how I had gone in there, and was looking at the clearance swimsuits and felt good energy there. So then I asked the woman if I could look around at their tanning salon and she said yes and there were two or three rows and I just walked past, and I wasn't looking into the salons, but just checking out the space because it was so much larger than I had thought it was.

And I walked down the hall, and then, I had this strange impulse or feeling to just stop. I had passed a room in particular and I hadn't looked in because the way I was walking, there was a wall on the side of the door...hard to explain, but I couldn't see in, and I had passed and there was this really weird feeling. I just stopped and stood there and didn't turn around to look for a minute, trying to figure out why I was stopping. I knew which way to look, and so then I looked and it was this huge poster of elephants. I can't remember now if it was of several elephants or just one large one, but then underneath it I saw the tanning bed name and it was "Royal". I was then had to look further and it was a wild safari room and then, because the first things I had seen were elephants and royal, which stood out to me for some reason, I looked at all of the other beds and none of them were this brand. So I had thought then of royal east indian people, and then just elephants in general, and then people who are not royal as well and how the elephant is revered in different cultures by different peoples. And then I was looking in all the rooms. Everything is not "royal" for me, I am just surprised when I see something of a mention but I guess it's everywhere. India is a huge country with most people who are not royal and they are very good and kind people. My friend who goes there always talked about how hospitable they are and it is one of the main places I thought I would like to travel to when I was still in high school. Later, I became interested in other places and northern europe but I wasn't one to say I wanted to see all the castles and find my ancestors and everything, not to start. I was more interested in going to the most exotic place I could think of, and had India in mind and then read a book about Tibet. I thought, whatever is most removed from Western society could be interesting...an adventure. And I liked mother theresa too. That is probably how I initially got into using Indian spices in food, was curiosity about the culture.

So I was thinking of these things in general, and also about my son, how I think the story of Ganesha is similar for him, in some minor ways.

So I thought of Ganesha and East Indian people and my son and all these elephants and then woke up in the morning and saw new E. Indian people in town when I went out. So it was sort of interesting.

I went straight to the health food store today and bought my son more organic raw milk which I am told he really likes, and found there was still a gift certificate there from last time, and I guess no one had picked it up bc I maybe forgot to email a note about it. So there was a certificate for him for the milk still, and then I purchased yet another one so it was separate and they could use it as needed. And then I found I had more money than I had thought originally, so I also bought him an organic pot roast with the bones and everything (very good for you if it's organic, a lot of the nutrients are in bones). And then went to the dairy section and decided to buy him some organic butter too, because butter is almost all fat, and that's where the bad stuff is stored mainly, in fats, and then on skins of fruits or veggies that are sprayed. I think fats from meat and dairy are very good for children if it's organic, but if you're going with non-organic, it's better to use lean because the toxins are stored in the fats.

I had been buying him really good organic steaks but I think it's harder for him to chew so I got a pot roast which will be tender and they can freeze some of it for later. I know he likes chicken but I wanted to get the kind with bones and he likes it fried so I would like to get some good organic oil so he could have something like a kentucky fried chicken style of chicken. And maybe a chicken soup too, but will have to do this later. I think he likes chicken best but I thought I would see if he likes pot roast. I want to buy some organic oils for frying things or using for him and will have to wait until the first.

I was just thinking about cows now, and how that might be disrespectful in some Indian culture, to eat beef. I wonder if that is still true or not? and which religion avoids it? Might have to look into it.

I did, and they're sacred. So it's not good to mention the eating of cows I don't think.
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At any rate, I bring up a few things about Ganesha because if I am getting feedback from someone who is in my family who knows about a lot of cultures and religions, and they mention this, it is probably something for me to look into.
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i will write about the UN convention later tonight.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Raw milk can contain bacteria and disease (just like raw meat)- although pasteurizing takes out some nutrients, it kills toxins, and milk is refortified with nutrients. Essentially it comes down to risking health by having raw milk but getting pure nutirents vs. drinking safe milk that is fortified.

Mama said...

Thank you for your comment.

It is important to mention your concerns and some realities and to allow discussion to dispel myths.

You are right that raw milk can contain disease, just like any other food product, and there is no more risk with raw milk than other kinds, other than you don't do stupid things like let it sit out unrefrigerated for a long time.

With pasteurized milk, someone could let it sit out, or in the car, for some time and not have a problem, but with raw milk, you just have to not be negligent. Any capable person can do this and prevent any problem completely.

What do you think people drank before people went to the grocery store for milk? they drank normal raw milk from cows and that is even what the "milk man" delivered and people were not dying from it.

It is only a risk if you have negligent parents or people who are mentally ill or cannot remember to properly store the milk.

The health benefits are tremendous. By pasteurizing the milk, all of the enzymes are destroyed. Which is actually why this kind of milk will go sour faster than raw milk (even if the raw milk might develop BAD bacteria if it's left out).

This is even true of breast milk. Breast milk keeps (though it's better in fresh form) and formula gets rancid quick.

The nutrients you describe as being added to milk after they are destroyed are vitamins in a bad form that are harder for the body to absorb. Also, these vitamins cannot replace the enzymes and the GOOD bacteria that is in raw milk. Not just any kind of raw milk, but ORGANIC.

Raw milk from other cows is bad bc they are given food laced with pesticides and sometimes horomones. So of course you have to pasteurize. It wouldn't be necessary if the cows were healthy to begin with.