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WHAT’S NEW? Cheese Rolling at Cooper’s Hill?
This coming Monday, May 28th, marks the annual cheese rolling event at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire, England. Held each Spring Bank Holiday, crowds gather as participants race down Cooper’s Hill after a 9 pound wheel of double Gloucester cheese. According to Rad Season, “the rich tradition dates back several hundred years. The legacy lives on without a conclusive origin, yet many attest that it spawned during the early 1800s to celebrate the turn of winter and a fresh batch of crops.” It’s so fun to see what traditions exist around the world, isn’t it? What’s your favorite tradition and why?
Blessings & love, Sheri
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EVENTS, JOURNEYS + WEBINARS!
Guatemala: Unconditional Love In Action
July 30th – August 8th, 2018
Panajachel is where Kaleidoscope Child Foundation has created an exciting alliance with Jabel Tinamit School one of the finest immersion language schools is throughout the country.
In 2017 Kaleidoscope proudly joined forces with its founders Candalaria and Gregorio Garcia to deliver more than 100 5 gallon fresh water filter dispensaries to 100 Guatemalan village families. These families are committed and enrolled in ongoing literacy classes both for adults and children.
Kaleidoscope will work on a variety of initiative based projects yearly with Jabel Tinamit to bring literacy, health and leadership to the innumerable rural villagers engaged in quality of life improvement programs.
Our service activities will range from village fresh water initiatives, to classroom educational support and other community needs
Trip tuition: $2,275 USD based on double occupancy, single occupancy supplement: $795 USD.
Serenity, Self-Discovery & Serious Pampering in Sacred Bali
October 14th-22nd, 2018
If you’re a woman, who gives her all to others, who puts other first and who needs to relax and clear your mind, let go of old habits and limitations and step into your abundant audacious life– then you must join Stephanie Osborne on this journey of self-discovery.
Perched on a clifftop overlooking the Indian Ocean, the ocean winds brushing across your face taking with them, the weight of old habits and the walls of limitations which have been holding you back from leading the life you desire. You will be immersed in the practice of meditation and yoga- supported by compassion, as you listen to the call of your own inner yearning.
Immerse in the cultures of Bali, and some well deserved pampering, as you spend your first five restful nights in the comfy cottages of the Bagus Jati-a complete health and well-being center in the Balinese capital of Ubud. Take comfort in your own oasis, cut off from the world, surrounded by lush, colorful hillside gardens, meandering pathways and soothing greenery. A retreat fit for a goddess encouraging you to explore Balinese culture and indulge in exquisite Balinese cuisine, followed by luxurious pampering and soulful exploration as you discover the goddess within you.
Trip Tuition: $3,849 USD double occupancy, $1,195 USD single occupancy supplement. Deposit of $750 USD due to reserve your space.
OUR FEATURED ARTICLE
What are you Feeding Your Consciousness?
As spiritual seekers we are always asking ourselves what are we creating and why (hopefully!)? In doing so we seek to take responsibility for our creation so that we can make the necessary changes to put forth a more uplifting, fulfilling and loving dream.
It behooves us to take the time to sit back and reflect on what is causing our discomfort and suffering in or lives. If we look deeply we can see that it is our interpretation of what we perceive that is causing our problems. If we feed ourselves poisonous stories, judgments and beliefs about the people and situations around us, how else can we feel but unhappy?
Yes, there is a lot of injustice out in the world, however that world is simply the projection from our own minds – and to make that outside world a better place we must end the suffering within ourselves first. Then we can project compassion and love rather than our own emotional poison and pain. (After all, you are what you eat!)
A powerful article and video message for me was an interview given by Thich Nhat Hanh a Buddhist teacher from Vietnam. Although the article was released in 2003, the message is as appropriate now as it was then. (Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, Bob Abernethy’s interview with Thich Nhat Hanh, September 19, 2003, Episode no. 70)
I enjoyed the way he expressed his feeling about the war, creating peace and what our responsibilities are as conscious humans. When asked to talk about the values of Buddhism, he ended up revealing common sense regarding suffering and the human mind. Take a look at his answer to this basic question:
Q: Is it possible for you to sum up the essence of the true values of Buddhism?
A: Buddhism teaches us not to try to run away from suffering. You have to confront suffering. You have to look deeply into the nature of suffering in order to recognize its cause, the making of the suffering. Suffering is the First Noble Truth, and the making of the suffering — namely, the roots of suffering — is the Second Noble Truth.
Once you understand the roots of suffering, the Fourth Noble Truth – the path leading to the transformation of suffering – is revealed. And if you go on that path – namely, the path of right thinking, right speech, and right action – then you can transform your suffering. If you practice in a community, you help the community to transform suffering.
And if you practice as a nation, you help the whole nation to transform suffering. The Buddha spoke about suffering in terms of food. Nothing can survive without food, even your love. If you don’t feed your love properly, your love will die. Your suffering is there because you have been feeding it. If violence, hate, despair, and fear are there, it is because you have been feeding them by your unmindful consumption.
Therefore, if you know how to recognize the source of the nutrients of your suffering, and if you know how to cut off that source of nutrition, then the suffering will have to vanish. This is a very important teaching for our time, because the amount of violence and craving in us and in our children comes from our practice of unmindful consumption – watching television, reading magazines, having poisonous conversation.
We bring a lot of poisons and toxins into our body and into our consciousness. If you don’t stop producing these toxic items, and if we don’t know how to protect ourselves by mindful consumption of these items, there’s no way out.
What I hear in Thich Nhat Hanh’s words, is a call for all of us to take responsibility for this world and what we are creating through the control of what we choose to feed our consciousness. The next time you are upset, pissed, angry, frustrated or irritated; I invite you to look deeper into what you are telling yourself. Ask yourself if you are enjoying what you are eating in the moment.
Is it truly that tasty? Is it?
This is a very powerful video and I encourage you take the time to listen and reflect on the entire message and article. Please post and let me know what you think of the concepts and ideas presented by Thich Nhat Hanh. You can find the video and article here: www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/?p=1843
Blessings, Sheri Rosenthal
Want to see our whole line-up for the upcoming year?
Visit our Trips at a Glance page.
