Photo by Ashley Marie - CC license

On this playground of life, we get to choose how we spend our time: we can choose to run around doing things that lower our vibrations, OR we can choose to commit to regular, daily spiritual practices that raise our vibrations. Each small change that we make within ourselves then ripples out and benefits all of Creation. This year I intend to help raise the vibration of the human species, through my work as a cheerleader for spiritual practices.

Here is some recent news from the playground of my life ~

~ On January 24^th, I joyfully celebrated the one-year birthday of my website! Happy Birthday yogini-bliss.com ~ here’s wishing you many more sweet journeys around the Sun!

~ Recently I created a fundraising campaign for myself on a really cool site called IndieGoGo. On February 3^rd I posted a blog article (“Yes! Yogini! Help Teja Promote her Books, Blogs, and Circles”) in which I explained a bit about the campaign. Most importantly, I talked about how it’s not really about “me” – rather, it’s about the work that comes through me that is benefiting others. Please read and share this campaign: Yes! Yogini! Help Teja Promote her Books, Blogs, and Circles  ~ if you use the “Share” buttons on the campaign page itself, that will really help, because any activity generated on that page will increase my chances of being featured on their home page. Thanks so much for taking a few minutes to help me with this!

~ As I shared in the blog article (“Yes! Yogini! Help Teja Promote her Books, Blogs, and Circles”), I created this campaign because I believe so strongly in the work I am doing. For the past 7 years, I have been working very hard and serving others in very valuable ways. Very little of that work has been financially compensated, and so I followed my bliss all the way down to my last dollars, and so now I am opening to receive new financial support. While I patiently watch to see how this Magical Universe is going to support my Light Worker visions, I am now working as the manager in my brother’s outdoor gear shoppe. It is a fun, stimulating, and challenging job, and I am super grateful for it. (And, it is impressive to my boys – and to their friends – that I work in the “coolest” shoppe in town!)

~ A few weeks ago I made a video of myself talking about my soup cookbook, Love Soups: A Vegetarian Soup Cookbook Inspired by the Soup Devas. In this short video I explain that even though I’ve shifted to a vegan diet, I believe this cookbook still has value, because many people need some transition time between becoming vegetarian and becoming vegan. Please view this video here: Love Soups Video.

~ One of my favorite spiritual practices is cooking organic vegan foods with love. Last week I hit the jackpot one night with a dinner that both boys really loved. I posted the recipes in a Teja Blog article (“Vegan Yogini Prepares A Thumb’s Up Dinner for her Sons”). Other recent blog article titles include: “Giving Gratitude in Advance”; “Goodbye Dust; Hello Prosperity!”; “Spiritual Practices Cheerleader: Two Teams At Play”; “Dear Diary: A Look at the Seeds of Destiny”; “Spiritual Practices Create Healing Energies through Alchemy”; “Cultivating the Witness: A Look Within at the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine”; and “Spiritual Practices Book Receives Positive Reviews”.

~ This week I am busy preparing for an upcoming ShivaRatri event that I am organizing as a fundraiser for the Goddess Temple of Ashland. The Goddess Temple’s grand opening day will be March 19^th, 2011. The ShivaRatri all-night chanting event will be Wednesday, March 2^nd, 9pm. Please go to this link for more information and to see the gorgeous flyer that my beloved soul sister (Gaelyn Miriam Larrick) designed: ShivaRatri in Ashland. Shiva art (on the flyer) by Mia O'Dougherty.

~ I’ll end this month’s e-newsletter with a wonderful quote from Dr. Mikao Usui, the beautiful being who rediscovered Reiki healing in the late 1800s:

“Just for today… I will not worry. I will not be angry. I will do my work honestly. I will give thanks for my blessings. I will be kind to my neighbors and all living things.”

~ And, my sweet sister Natalie Savelieva Wakefield’s adaptation of the above quote:

“Just for today… I will trust.”

May you trust on the playground of your life.

May all beings know the inner Radiance that nourishes and sustains all life!

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photos of yogini-bliss birthday and boys with polenta breakfast by Teja Shankara. Photo of Teja by Teja’s son Gabe.

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This morning my boys enjoyed a breakfast of leftover polenta with maple syrup on top. Polenta is a dish made from boiled cornmeal that is popular in Italy. I learned how to make it years ago in a cooking class, and yesterday I pulled the recipe off the shelf and adapted it to my vegan diet. The dinner turned out so fabulous that both boys really loved it, and my older son even exclaimed, “You should make this and sell it at one of those summer festivals!”

I’m smiling as I type this, because it was so rewarding to cook something that I love and then not just one, but both boys gave it a thumb's up! This simple yet incredibly delicious dinner consisted of polenta, sautéed vegetables, and fresh arugula (the spicy green that President Obama was criticized for liking). Here are the two recipes, as best as I can remember them this morning. Please comment here (below this article) if you have questions.

~ Please buy organic food whenever possible! It is better for the health of our bodies, and it is better for the healing of our sacred planet earth. ~

Polenta
2 cups polenta
6 cups water
2 teaspoons sea salt
2-3 Tablespoons vegan butter
5-6 Tablespoons vegan cheese
sprinkle or two of ground black pepper

Soak the polenta in the water for a few hours. Add salt; bring to a boil. Stir constantly with a whisk (to prevent clumping) while it boils for ten minutes. Turn off the heat. Whisk in the vegan butter, vegan cheese, and black pepper.

Sautéed vegetables
3-4 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
15 crimini mushrooms, sliced
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried basil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ cup pecans, chopped
4 oz. jar of capers
sprinkle black pepper

Sauté onion in oil for 5-10 minutes, then add mushrooms and soy sauce. Stir well, then add spices, and sauté for about 15-20 minutes – until onions and mushrooms are soft. Then add pecans, capers, and black pepper, and sauté for 5-10 more minutes.

Please let me know how you like these recipes!

May all beings have food to eat each day.

May all beings everywhere find Peace within.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

See me live, talking about my soup cookbook here: Yogini Bliss on YouTube

Photo of Teja’s sons by Teja Shankara.

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On December 30^th I created a vegan winter stew for you. I had such fun taking photos and writing down this recipe. I posted the preparation photos on my Facebook wall (search “Tejaswini Rachel Ann Shankara”) and I promised to post the recipe here on the Teja Blog.

Preparing mantra-infused vegan food is one of my favorite spiritual practices. Before I began cooking, I lit candles and waved some incense around my cottage temple. I turned on my current favorite chanting CD: Jai Uttal’s latest creation, “Bhakti Bazaar” (and speaking of Jai, have you seen his music video yet? Click here on his name to view it: Jai Uttal)… and then the magic began in my kitchen/artist’s studio! I do hope you enjoy cooking this stew as much as I enjoyed created the recipe for you:

Yogini Tejaswini’s Vegan Winter Stew for You

1 cup garbanzo beans
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
12 brown crimini mushrooms, chopped
1 yam, peeled and chopped
1 vegan vegetable bouillon cube
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 ½ Tablespoons basil, dried
1 tsp. black pepper (well, only put this much if you want an experience! – it was a bit peppery… perhaps begin with ¼ tsp. and see how much you like.)
2 tsp. sea salt
½ Tablespoon garlic powder
1 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
juice of 1 lemon (preferably a Meyer lemon!)
5 medjool dates, chopped

Please buy organic whenever possible: it is better for our precious body temples and it is better for our sacred Mother Earth!

Soak garbanzo beans overnight. Drain, rinse, and add 12 cups of fresh water. Bring to boil, then continue to cook as you keep adding the vegetables and other ingredients in the order they are listed above. I added the basil, pepper, salt, garlic powder, parsley, lemon juice, and dates after the beans had been cooking for 1 ½ hours. Total cooking time: 2 ½ hours.

Delicious served with toasted sourdough bread. Please let me know how you like this vegan winter stew.

May the nearly one billion who are starving have food to eat this year.

May all beings know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photos of vegan winter stew by Teja Shankara.

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Recently people have been asking for more vegan recipes, so this past Friday night, while my boys watched a movie, I made up this recipe for vegan risotto. Of all my regular spiritual practices, one of my favorites is cooking with love in my heart. When we prepare food in a loving way, the meal is then infused with spiritual vibrations that are healing to those who eat the food.

To help yourself get in a loving state for cooking, light a candle or some incense, turn on some music, or sit quietly for a few minutes before you begin. If you notice any agitations in your being, simply cultivate the Witness part of your consciousness and intend to cook with love in your heart, even if you are temporarily in a funky or contracted state. Remembering “this too shall shift” helps me a lot in those moments. Regardless of your mood, I do hope you will enjoy preparing and eating this vegan risotto.

~ Please buy organic whenever possible.
It is better for this sacred earth,
and it is better for our beloved bodies. ~

Vegan Risotto Ingredients

1 ½ cups long grain brown rice
½ cup wild rice
1 vegan vegetable bouillon cube
¼ cup flax oil
1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 tsp. Himalayan krystal salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 Tablespoons fresh ginger root, chopped finely
2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 small red onions, chopped
15 crimini mushrooms, chopped
5-9 cloves of garlic, chopped finely (or more – or less – depending on how much you love garlic!)
parsley (Italian leaf preferred)
arugula

Soak rice overnight and cook in the soaking water with a pinch of Himalayan krystal salt and the vegan vegetable bouillon cube. While rice is cooking, sauté onions, mushrooms, and garlic in the grapeseed oil. Combine cooked rice and mushroom sauté with the flax oil, yeast, salt, pepper, and ginger. Toss well. Serve topped with parsley and arugula. Enjoy!

May all beings everywhere have food to eat each day.

May all beings know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photos of Teja’s table and vegan risotto by Teja Shankara.

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Yesterday my dear friend Judy and I attended a World Peace Prayer circle. It was a very nice gathering, and afterwards she joined me for a little kirtan (call-and-response singing) at my temple cottage. I played harmonium and sang “Shiva~Parvati, Namo Namah” and she sang the same back to me while playing a drum. We ended our chant session with a sweet chant to Sita~Ram. I could feel the healing sound vibrations buzzing in the room after she left, and I felt so grateful that my life is now filled with so much God.

I turned on my new Reiki CD, “Reiki healing WAVES” by Parijat, and enjoyed cooking myself a tasty vegan dinner. When the food was ready, I said out lout, “Dinner’s ready, honey,” and then I answered myself out loud, “Okay, honey!” Do you ever joke out loud with yourself like that?

When I sat down to eat, I was delighted by the taste sensations, so I took a photo and planned to write out the recipe, but then I got distracted by a 3-hour skype video call with my dearest soul sister Ananda. This morning I don’t recall the exact amounts of the ingredients, so I will just share how I made the vegan tempeh dinner, and you can adjust the amounts to suit your tastes.

First, if you remember to marinate the tempeh earlier in the day, it tastes better, but if not, then just marinate it while you’re cutting the onions. Tempeh is a fermented soybean food, and I have read that it is a healthier option than tofu. It has a really wonderful nutty flavor, too.

Sauté two small sweet onions (chopped in strips) in toasted sesame oil. Once the onions soften, add the tempeh (cut in strips), along with its marinade (toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, a little water, garlic powder, ginger powder, black pepper, orange zest). Cover and let cook for ten minutes, then turn tempeh strips over and put chopped kale on top with the juice of about one-fourth of the orange. I put about 4 big Russian kale leaves and stems. Cover and let cook for about ten more minutes. Serve with rice. I made a combination of brown and wild rice that was really delicious with this vegan tempeh dinner.

Let me know how your version turns out!

May all beings have food to eat each day.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s vegan tempeh dinner by Teja Shankara.

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While my parents were visiting Ashland for my cousin’s wedding last week, we had a cool and rainy day. At first I witnessed myself feeling a bit funky over the weather, but then I surrendered and made the best of it. For some reason, dressing a bit bohemian often cheers my mood, so I put on a bright red shirt, a floral skirt over a pair of jeans, and a colorful silk headband over my head. Thus adorned, I enjoyed an interesting conversation about life and death, at the coffee shop with my Mom and my older son.

As we walked home in the light mist, I suddenly became inspired to cook a pot of soup for everyone. I could hardly wait to get home to go through my kitchen and create a soup with whatever was on hand. Often called “stone soup,” my version included leftover garbanzo beans and brown rice, onions, garlic, kale, oregano, basil, cumin powder, cinnamon, clove powder, medjool dates, raisins, a can of pumpkin and even a can of baked beans! Before I started cooking, I lit several candles in the kitchen and waved a stick of incense about the cottage. I also turned on the lively music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelly (with The Quintet of the Hot Club of France) ~ an album called “Souvenirs” that is sure to uplift the foulest of moods. (To hear the first song, click on “Honeysuckle Rose” here.)

After serving the soup to my parents and brothers and sons, I reveled in the bliss of our cozy kitchen lunch. Outside it was grey and dreary, but inside we were warm, dry, and blessed to eat soup, salad, and bread.

With nearly one billion people starving on the planet, each time I eat such good organic vegan food, I am filled with gratitude.

May all beings everywhere have food to eat each day. May all beings know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja by Teja’s older son. Photo of cozy kitchen lunch by Teja Shankara.

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Photo by Ashley Marie - CC license

We create our realities with our thoughts. Cultivating the witness, that part of our minds that objectively watches everything we are, allows us to clearly see all of our thoughts. Through the power of watching our thoughts, we gradually change the way we perceive the world. We shift from viewing the world as a serious court of justice to seeing this universe as a joyous playground. Like gleeful children, we get to play and celebrate during this lifetime we've been given. On the playground we enjoy ourselves fully, even if sometimes we scrape our knees or get our hearts broken! No matter what pains we go through, we can't let the heartbreaks keep us from opening up and having a good time on the playground.

Here is a bit of news from the fun I'm having lately on the Tejaswini Playground ~

~ Last weekend I attended a Reiki intensive with my teacher, Reiki Master William Bagley, and it was very inspiring and got me all charged up with healing energies. I have posted two blog articles (here on the Teja Blog) highlighting some of the information we learned, along with my personal emotional experiences during the training. Those articles are entitled “Merging with the Compassion of Green Tara,” and “My Experience with the Tanran Reiki Relationship Healing Symbols.” 

The former article offers ways to work with emotions, and the latter post describes a really great map (that came to Will in dreamtime) for creating a healthy romantic relationship. That article is a must-read for all couples and for all people who want to be in relationships. It contains very insightful information on the inevitable process that unfolds once sexual energies are merged.

~ A few days after the training weekend, Will and I met for tea to go over my essay test, session reports, and so on, and I am happy to say that I am now a Certified Reiki Practitioner.

~ The weekly Radiance Rising Circles continue to be the highlight of my life. Sitting in a circle sharing spiritual practices is definitely my favorite playground. Although I am very much a beginner at playing harmonium and leading chanting (singing), I really enjoy it, and the attendees sing along so beautifully. I anticipate that soon I will begin to offer more circles in other places. Some of those circles will also be for sharing spiritual practices, and others will be for healing work based on the curriculum I learned at the training through Insight Prison Project. I am inspired to facilitate healing circles at rehabilitation centers, youth centers, and anywhere else that might be open to my offerings.

~ At the beginning of this summer, I predicted that it was going to be fun, intense, and fast, and that has all been true. My personal healing journey has been about releasing expectations of the masculine, both the external and the internal masculine; forgiving myself and others; releasing judgments and accepting everyone’s choices; and relaxing into loving all beings Unconditionally. If you’re interested in reading more about all of that, I’ve written some blog articles about my processes along the way. Soon I will also post an article about my experience with taking the brahmacharya celibacy vow.

~ I really enjoy writing the articles for this Teja Blog, and I consider it as one of the ways that I am serving others. I intend that the writings here are an offering of Light for those that read them. If you know anyone who might enjoy this Teja Blog, please forward the link to them… http://yogini-bliss.com/Teja-Blog.html

~ My second favorite playground is Facebook. I have so much fun meeting new people there. It feels like a big matrix of international pen pals connecting energies and points of light all around the world. I especially feel inspired by all the great quotes that people post there. If you’d like to meet me there, go to http://www.facebook.com/tejashankara and you can also join (“like”) my Teja Shankara Books page.

~ Another favorite playground is where I connect with all my guys! My two sons are now 10 and 13, and they love to show me the hot new hip hop videos. Fortunately, I also really love hip hop. I especially love this video that they showed me by Michael Franti & Spearhead, “Say Hey (I Love You).

~ A few weeks ago my dear friend Thomas and I went up to Mt. Ashland for an evening picnic, hot cocoa and stargazing. It was one of my happiest moments all summer, and I posted a blog about it called “Happy Teja.” After that article, I posted three articles with the vegan recipes from that picnic dinner.

~ Well, I finally finished reading the Ramayana! What a journey that was. It brought up a lot of issues for me, and I wrote a detailed blog about it, called “Issues with Rama.”  It was a soul-cleansing experience for me, for sure. I am still integrating it all on the vibrational level. Soon I plan to begin reading the book again, because it was such a good spiritual practice.

~ I’ll end this month’s newsletter with a quote from my Reiki teacher, William Bagley:

“Let go, let go, really let go, totally let go, awake, and rejoice!”

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

http://www.facebook.com/tejashankara

Photo of Playground by Ashley Marie - CC license. Photo of harmonium by Teja Shankara. Photo of Happy Teja by Thomas Stekkinger.

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Today’s date is 8-9-10. That has a nice ring to it. It kind of makes me feel like a little schoolgirl again. In this blog, I will offer the recipe for the garbanzo beans I cooked for the happy Mt. Ashland picnic dinner. (See my last two blog posts for the other recipes from that dinner.)

I really enjoyed cooking the food for that evening adventure. I was so excited to be getting out of town (for a few hours), that I cooked the food with a lot of love and inspiration.

One of my favorite spiritual practices is chanting (singing) while cooking delicious vegan meals. Lately I am really enjoying my new CD, “Light of the Sun,” by Mukti. As I cooked the garbanzo beans and chopped the vegetables, I sang along with Prajna Brianna Vieira. I especially love the song “Jai Jai Ma” in which she sings to Ammachi: “I don’t care about heaven, I don’t want to go that far – Only want to be just where you are – I don’t care about freedom, I just want to sing your name – Oh let me live just for your name…”

So, for the garbanzo beans, soak 2 cups overnight. Discard soaking water and add fresh water, so it covers the beans by about 1 inch. Bring to boil, then simmer covered for 1½ hours. Then add the following:

1½ teaspoons sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
optional: 1 or more cloves of minced garlic

Stir, and simmer covered for 30 minutes more.

Let me know how you like these beans. And, as always, please buy organic food whenever possible, to honor your body and to honor this precious Mother Earth.

May all beings everywhere have the food they need each day.

May all beings know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of sunset on Mt. Ashland by Teja Shankara.

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In yesterday’s blog, I posted the recipe for the vegan salad I made for the happy Mt. Ashland picnic dinner. Today I offer the recipe for the rice dish.

Soak overnight:  1½ cups long grain brown rice and ½ cup wild rice. Cook in the soaking water, along with 2 Tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil, sprinkle of Himalayan krystal salt, and 2 teaspoons ground cumin powder.

In a large bowl, mix the following:

1/3 cup raisins
8 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
2 Tablespoons raw ginger root, chopped finely
¼ teaspoon Himalayan krystal salt
1/16 teaspoon ground black pepper

Add the rice to that mixture and stir well.

Please let me know how you like this rice dish. And please buy organic food whenever possible.

May all beings everywhere have food to eat each day.

May all beings know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of trees on Mt. Ashland by Teja Shankara.

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In my last blog article, “Happy Teja,” I said that I would soon share the vegan recipes from that happy mountain picnic dinner. Today I will share the salad recipe, and then I will share the other recipes in the next few blogs.

For the salad, in a large bowl, combine the following:

juice of one lemon
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon Himalayan krystal salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

To that mixture, add the following:

1 heaping cup of purple cabbage, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup of Italian leaf parsley, chopped (include top half of stems; discard bottom half of stems)
3 green onion tops, chopped
1 Tablespoon maple syrup

Mix well, then add lettuce. I used about ½ head of red leaf lettuce, but you could substitute green leaf lettuce or romaine lettuce. If you are serving more than two people, use the whole head of lettuce. Chop or tear lettuce in strips, then mix well with the above ingredients.

I hope you enjoy this salad…. Let me know your experience of it!

And, as always, please buy organic food whenever possible. It is so much better for our bodies… and for our beloved Mother Earth. May all beings everywhere have the food that they need each day. May we vision ourselves into a world where “starvation” is a word devoid of meaning.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photos of vegan picnic dinner on Mt. Ashland by Teja Shankara.

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