NAMASTE

I have been busy for a few days and rarely peeked at this blog. Last Friday, my sister came over to stay with our mother and I joined them during the day until she left on Sunday. I took my mother out to vote on Monday, and to have her hair permed today. My mother's condo is close to the Cowichan River where my nemesis, the cottonwoods, are in full bloom. My sister had my mother's French door open about five inches for most of her stay which meant that I was inhaling cottonwood pollen for three days. On top of this, I bravely walked Sadie on her favourite doggy trails in the Cowichan Valley which are in the cottonwood infested Rotary Park. I had been recovering nicely from the last time I walked her under those trees three days in a row, but now there is a flare up. To tell the truth and despite consuming large numbers of Aerius tablets, my face feels like it is covered in bee stings and my body is lethargic and seems to want three to four hours more sleep than normal.

I am attempting to use a spiritual approach to my plight: accepting what is and not resisting it while trying to remain comfortable. I slather my face with Dream Cream from Salt Spring Island and the mintiness of it seems to help once we get over the initial smarting sensation that it seems to stimulate in my facial skin. Last week, I had my six-month teeth cleaning and because I was born with a bicuspid aorta, I have to take penicillin before hygienists enter my mouth. I know to follow the penicillin with probiotics and B vitamins, but have decided that I should increase the B vitamins. I have discovered a rather expensive multi-B vitamin made by a company called Advantix which I take, but because of its cost, I take less than the recommended dose. I just Googled B vitamins and allergies only to learn that B-12 is beneficial in helping fight allergies. As I have in the past been diagnosed with pernicious anaemia, I wonder if that is the present problem. I really am too vegetarian for my own good and know I need to either eat meat or take B-12, and I don't. One of the positive aspects of this Advantix multi-B vitamin is that the B-12, as well as the B-1, are of the correct chemical nature for one who was raised vegetarian. If after being vegetarian for a long time, one uses the wrong form of B-12, the body can't absorb it. Anyway, before reading the bits about B-12 and allergies, I had decided to boost my vitamin B intake. I also purchased some C vitamins as I was running out of those, and now that I have another bottle, I will increase the amount of that which is what I did the first time this allergy worsened.

In about sixty minutes, Adyashanti's cafe Dharma will begin and I am all set to listen, or watch if the video feed works. I haven't managed to tune in to one of these yet, and am looking forward to it. I used to listen to Hay House Radio a lot, especially after my ex- left me and moved to Australia. Hay House Radio was wonderful and just what I needed back then and for about a year or so. I have now moved on and am rarely tempted to tune in on the computer for a listen.

I am finding that my busy mind is of its own accord becoming less and less busy. There are many minutes when it is inactive and no thoughts appear to bother me and I exist in awareness alone. It is rather lovely, although the term dazed comes to mind. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the mind is particularly still in the evening which is why I sometimes think that evening might be a better time of day to meditate. It is also when I am most likely to drift off into a snooze which is counterproductive. I am also continuing to monitor what I do to prevent my Self from experiencing that void or empty state or whatever it is: you know; the one that one is constantly abandoning in favour of thinking exciting thoughts, watching TV, being busy, using Facebook or Twitter, or masking with an addiction.

Namaste