One of my favorite winter holiday memories is of crunching on handfuls of my Mom’s homemade party mix, so each December I make a batch of it to enjoy with my boys … here’s my vegan version of the recipe:

Teja’s Vegan Party Mix

4 cups nuts (almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pecans, cashews)
8 cups cereals (O’s and chex-like bites)
4 cups thin pretzels

Combine the above in a large mixing bowl. Then, in a pan on the stove, mix and melt the following ingredients: 

1 cup Earth Balance vegan spread (butter substitute)
¼ cup vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1 Tablespoon coconut palm sugar 

Mix the sauce into the bowl with the nuts, cereals, and pretzels. Spread onto cookie sheets. Do not oil the pans. Bake on low heat, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until browned and crunchy. My Mom’s recipe called for baking this mix at 250 degrees, but I’ve found that temperature was not hot enough for my old oven, and now it’s too hot for my new oven. Depending on your particular oven, you might need to bake this at 225 or at 275 degrees. In any case, stir every 10-15 minutes, and keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn!

Bright Happy Holidays to all!

May all beings be free of suffering and the root causes of suffering. May all beings be happy, healthy, and harmonious with the Beauty of Life.

Om Shanti (Peace), 

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s Vegan Party Mix by Teja Shankara. Photo of Teja with sons on Christmas morning by Teja Shankara.

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There is a living angel walking in our midst. Meet Michael Meade: author, mythologist, and storyteller extraordinaire. Gratefully, I have been blessed to experience his great work a number of times, in Ashland and also at the Beloved Festival (2009). Last week, I watched his latest video, “Voices of Veterans: A Welcome Home Ceremony”, and I was moved to tears… not just a few tears, but uncontrollable sobbing.

Why was I crying so much while watching this ten-minute video? Well, I was crying in general for all the pain and suffering created by wars; for all the men and women who endure the horrors of war and for all their families who must endure the nightmarish effects of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) after the soldiers return home. When I really tune in to all that suffering, I cannot stop crying… and in the first few minutes of the video, Michael Meade says something that strikes a really deep chord in me. He says, “We’re trying to reduce the suffering that’s inside the veterans, and we’re also trying to spread it, I’m sorry to tell you, into the community. Don’t take too much, but if everybody takes a little bit, then they have less to carry.” When I heard that, I felt as if he was talking directly to my compassionate heart.

I am happy to cry for the veterans, especially if my tears might just help relieve some of their pain… And, I wasn’t just crying in general… I was also crying because the one I love (but cannot be with) served almost a year in Vietnam, and I was crying for his pain. All of his experiences in Vietnam (at least the ones he shared with me) came rushing back into my mind, and I was overwhelmed with the desire to take that pain away and somehow make it better. Even though we are no longer in physical contact, I will always love him and I pray that someday, some way, all that war pain will release and he will experience deep, profound healing. 

I am so grateful for all the healing work that Michael Meade is doing with the veterans. Truly a living angel, he is shining light in a realm of darkness. May his work ripple out and out and out, touching the lives and hearts of all veterans everywhere. May their pain be lessened.

May all beings be healed in the Light.

Om Shanti (Peace), 

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of angel on Teja’s faux fir tree taken by Teja Shankara.

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After sending out a monthly e-newsletter (The Tejaswini Playground Press) for nearly two years, in October I just suddenly did not write the newsletter. Then in November it happened again that I just didn’t do it. So I began to ask myself “To Newsletter, or Not To Newsletter?”, and as I’ve listened to my inner guidance, I’ve ‘heard’ to let it go for a while and see what happens next! Thus, I will be taking a break from The Tejaswini Playground Press...

May all beings everywhere know Deep Healing, within and without.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of playground by Ashley Marie - CC License

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As I mentioned in my last blog article (“Spiritual Purification through Releasing Impurities”), this year 2011 has required me to do a lot of release work. Although that work has been painful and exhausting, I am now seeing the Light at the end of the Dark Year of the Soul! The Light is shimmering through this amazing process that I am now witnessing in my being: I am now more healed and more whole than I have ever been… So Much Gratitude!

Even with all this healing and wholeness, I still relapse into negative thinking in some not-so-cheery moments, and when that happens, I ask ‘What is the point of it all? What is the meaning behind all the sorrows and suffering in this manifest realm?’ Rather than asking those questions to the void and remaining stuck in negativities, this past week I’ve been hearing an answer. The only answer that makes any sense to me right now is about Beauty. As I continue my journey of self-healing and self-love, I see that I need to be surrounded by and continuously creating Beauty.

For example, when I see a string of colorful lanterns glowing on the porch of a cute little house, that beauty fills me with such joy. Beauty feels like the healing balm for my soul at this stage in my evolution. Today, through the beautiful cedar sprigs and colored glass on my living room table, I am finding nourishment and meaning.

May all beings everywhere heal all their wounds and love themselves, deeply, deeply. May delightful visions of Beauty fill your heart with love now and always.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of cedar sprigs and colored glass by Teja Shankara.

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This morning the sunlight is shining through the pine needles outside my window, as another gorgeous autumn day is dawning in Ashland. I am breathing incredible Gratitude for my new work as medical assistant at Morningstar Healing Arts. The work is very satisfying and the people are so beautiful!

And, as I am ever cultivating the witness, I am watching the amazing ability of the heart to feel immense joy and immense sorrow at the exact same time. For the sorrow, I am fortifying myself today with this photo of Mt. Shasta.

May all beings everywhere open to Healing, within and without. May the Fire of Ram burn through all the sorrows of all the creatures on this sacred planet earth.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Mt. Shasta by Teja Shankara.

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Lately I’ve been thinking about the word “fun” and what it means to me now, at 41 years of age. I mean, what I consider to be fun now is very, very different than what I considered to be fun twenty years ago! Back then I was a party girl, and even though it wasn’t deeply fulfilling, I thought it was great fun to go out drinking with friends. Now I haven’t had a drink, not even a glass of wine, for almost four years, and the thought of drinking does not sound at all fun.

So what is “fun” for me now? Well, basically it’s anything that opens my heart and makes me laugh and/or cry! I have the most fun chanting the Names of God, dancing barefoot on this sacred earth, preparing organic vegan food, giving Reiki healing energies to others, and communing with Nature. One of the absolute most fun days of my life was the day I went hiking alone – and barefoot – at Red Fir Flat on Mt. Shasta. I chanted the Hanuman Chalisa sweetly to that enchanted forest, and then I chanted Om Namah Shivaya all the way back to my car. I took a little 21-second video of that barefoot chanting which you can watch by clicking here: Yogini-Bliss on YouTube. 

I also snapped some photos on that hike, including the one here of my feet on the rocks. The forest was quite magical, although it wasn’t as bright as it appears in this photo. Another thing that I have “fun” doing is fully saturating the color of photos! Born in the Chinese Year of the Rooster, I just love bright colors! To read more about my fun hike that day, please click here: “Happy Teja Chanting the Hanuman Chalisa on Barefoot Hike at Red Fir Flat (on Sacred Mt. Shasta)” 

What do you have fun doing? Please feel free to share in the comments section below this article.

May all beings have fun on this playground of life. May all beings be free.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s barefeet (color saturated) taken by Teja Shankara.

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Did you know that sesame seeds are the most abundant source of calcium? They have ten times more calcium than cow’s milk and more protein than chicken or beef! And did you further know that properly produced wheatgrass juice contains well over a hundred vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants? Wheatgrass juice can single-handedly support the human body! I learned these things, and so much more, by reading I Am Grateful: Recipes & Lifestyle of Café Gratitude, by Terces Engelhart with Orchid.

I Am Grateful had been on my shelf for a few years, but I just hadn’t gotten around to reading it yet. I had eaten at one of the Café Gratitude restaurants though. Last June (2010), when I attended the training program with Insight Prison Project in San Rafael, California, I was delighted to discover that there was a Café Gratitude right across the street! As a vegan I was just thrilled to eat lunch there every day that week, and it was so fun to experience the ordering process. At Café Gratitude, each item on the menu is an affirmation, so when you place your order, you say something like “I Am Sensational” or “I Am Cheerful”, and then when the server brings your food, they say “You Are Sensational” or “You are Cheerful”. 

In addition to opening several living foods restaurants, Terces and her husband Matthew have invented an explorational board game, The Abounding River, that introduces people to their view of being abundance. And, they have written The Abounding River Personal Logbook that offers a 42-day practice in “opening up to the unceasing flow of everything.” After reading about their philosophy and lifestyle in I Am Grateful, I am inspired to get that workbook. Actually, I spontaneously used the recipe book as a workbook, because along with all the great information, delicious live food recipes, and inspiring quotes, there are wonderfully probing questions, such as: “For whom or what can you kneel and kiss the ground?” “Do you adore the person in the mirror?” “When do you experience the ecstatic?” Without planning to, I found myself writing my answers to the questions throughout the book! Such a beautiful self-reflection process!

I Am Grateful was one of those books that I was sad when it was over, but the beauty continues as I am now trying out the recipes. A few nights ago I made the “Peppery Avocado Caesar Dressing” and it tasted so fabulous on fresh romaine lettuce. And, it was fun to get the blender out again. Some of the recipes call for the use of a food processor or dehydrator, and I don’t have either of those (yet), but I’m not letting that stop me. Since I tend to improvise and change recipes as I go anyway, I’ll just keep trying the recipes while following my inner guidance.

I am really grateful to Terces and Orchid for publishing this high vibration recipe book. We really need books like this to inspire people to eat plant-based diets. As they write in I Am Grateful, “The meat and dairy industries are resource-dense; they require a lot of fossil fuels, water, and other resources. By eating vegan you make more food and resources available for all of us. In recent years the exposure of factory farming and its cruelty to animals has become more apparent; by eating vegan you vote for the ending of this cruelty. You also stop ingesting the violent energy that is held deep within the tissues of these animals. We are becoming more aware that animal foods are not healthy for the human body. We have to transform everything we eat, and animal foods require the most energy to transform, keeping us slow, less alert, and less active.”

The organic, vegan, living foods served in the Café Gratitude restaurants provide a wonderful example of what is possible on a diet that is free of animal products. Many people wonder if they will be able to get enough protein on a vegan diet, and I used to wonder that myself when I first shifted from a vegetarian to a vegan diet, but then I met someone who eats only raw foods, and he told me that the primary concern is not about protein, but rather it is about healthy fats and oils. Terces mentions this as well, when sharing what she and Matthew experienced when they first tried a living foods diet. She writes, “We came to realize that it was healthy fat we were craving when we thought it was protein. An avocado, a few macadamia nuts, or olives sustained us well.”

I could write all day about how much I loved this book! If you get this book and try the recipes yourself, let me know what you think… 

May all beings everywhere have plenty of healthy food to eat each day. May all beings know the Bliss that arises from a Grateful Heart.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of I Am Grateful on Teja’s coffee table taken by Teja Shankara.

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Earlier this week, I suddenly felt inspired to place an ad on Craig’s List, “Vegan Barefoot Yogini Seeks Entrepreneur(s) to Collaborate With!” The ad reads:

“Vegan barefoot yogini seeks entrepreneur(s) to collaborate with... highly energetic, creative, responsible and idea-filled Lightworker looking for inspired and generous entrepreneur(s) to work with in manifesting great creative services in the world... i.e., a vegan café with healing arts studio beside a rushing creek... willing to work earnestly to serve many beings... need to connect with high-vibration beings who have a lot of money and intend to do a lot of good... are you one of those beings? If so, please contact me!”

After posting that ad, I’ve once again been reflecting on the whole process of “manifesting intentions” and once again I am witnessing myself experiencing many hilarious internal conversations. And what it once again comes down to, as I wrote in a blog article on February 2^nd, 2010 (“Manifesting Intentions from a State of Knowingness”), is I DON’T KNOW! Laughing as I type… I know what wonderful gifts I have to offer this world, but I just don’t know how or when they are going to manifest… and so I need to learn to simply say to the Full Moon, “I don’t know. I’m willing to do a lot of great work… Oh Beloved Universe, use me as YOU see fit!”

Laughing all the way home, saying the “I don’t know” mantra with each breath… 

May all beings everywhere surrender into Deep Acceptance and Flowing Peace.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of July Full Moon on Mt. Ashland taken by Teja Shankara.

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In keeping with my new goal to visit Mt. Shasta at least 1-2 times per month (see my previous blog, “An Amma Devotee’s Pilgrimage by Sacred Mt. Shasta”), yesterday I drove down for another magical day by that holy mountain. After spending a little time in my favorite shop (Soul Connections), I headed up the road that ascends the mountain. I was determined to find a place called Red Fir Flat – a place that my friend Jill and I had been unable to find last month. Supposedly there is a very small sign, but we didn’t see it, and this time I didn’t see the sign either, but I decided to just trust my intuition and so I pulled onto a small dirt road that I just hoped was the right road!

I parked my car, and began walking barefoot down the road, wondering if this was indeed going to lead to Red Fir Flat, and hoping that I wasn’t on private property… which could mean dogs, or even worse – guns! Brushing those small fears aside, I listened to the sound of my ankle bells ringing with each step I took… I hadn’t hiked alone in the wilderness for the past several years because I’d gotten spooked by all the bear and cougar sightings… so this hike was a big deal for me in pushing through my fears… so with the bells ringing on my ankles, I began singing to God… spontaneously I began singing the Hanuman Chalisa, a 40-verse hymn that extols the virtues of the Hindu monkey god, who is like a Super Hero!

As I walked and sang, the road turned into a trail and I entered an enchanted forest of fir trees with large towering rocks. The sun peaked through the clouds, and my heart sparked with excitement as I marveled at the beauty of that moment alone in the forest. The combination of the trees, the stones, and my sweet singing voice filled me with such bliss. My voice got louder and stronger with each mantra… and when I finished singing the Hanuman prayer, I naturally shifted into singing Om Namah Shivaya over and over… and I realized that I had no fear of being eaten by a big cat, because if that happened, I would be dying in such a wonderful way, singing to the Lord of the Universe!

With my happy, happy heart, I snapped some photos on my way back… wearing red, the color of Hanuman, with my orange prayer shawl, sandalwood mala (prayer beads), and a bindi on my third eye, I felt so fully ME: I felt so free to be exactly myself, drinking in the medicine of that holy mountain. With each breath more happy than the last, and with my barefeet happily experiencing the dirt and stones and pine needles, I felt the Glory of being One with this Sacred Mother Earth…

May all beings everywhere find deep connection with Mother Earth.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

To hear me chanting Om Namah Shivaya on this hike, please click here: Yogini-Bliss on YouTube.

Photos of Teja Happy in Red Fir Flat and Teja’s happy barefeet on the trail taken by Teja Shankara.

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On August 17^th, 2010, I posted a blog article entitled “My Experience with the Tanran Reiki Relationship Healing Symbols” with a link to my Reiki Teacher William Bagley’s blog that contains visual images of the symbols. Now one of my beloved Reiki healer sisters has sent me her artistic renditions of those symbols. I just love Art and Beauty, so I am thrilled to share her gorgeous artwork here with you today. To order these prints, and others, by D. M’Chelle, go to: www.yessy.com/verbalimagery or www.cafepress.com/verbalimagery.

Hope you all enjoy these images…

May all beings give the Universe permission to deeply heal them on all levels.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Tanran Reiki Relationship Healing Symbols by D. M’Chelle:

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