REAL LIFE MEDITATION

Are you one of those people who can sit quietly on the floor, palms to the ceiling, with your eyes closed and ohm your way to peace and serenity?  If you are, I am envious as I am not one of those people . . . yet.  Quiet meditation is certainly something to work toward, but for now, I am still that person at the end of yoga class when everyone else sprawls out on their back for 5 minutes of relaxation during Shavasana who jumps up and heads out the door for my next activity or errand.

Does this make me a bad person or mean that I do not live a conscious life?  I say absolutely not.  If you can quietly meditate, then by all means continue what you are doing.  But, if you are more like me, find ways in your every day life to raise your level of consciousness and allow your inner most, sacred thoughts to surface.  A few months ago I attended a joint talk by Kris Carr, author of "Crazy, Sexy Diet" and Gabrielle Bernstein, author of "Spirit Junky".  You can guess who is the yogi and who is the health nut.  Of course I related to Kris Carr, who shares much of the same beliefs about food as I do.  Someone in the audience asked Kris Carr if she meditates like Gabrielle Bernstein.  Bernstein answered for Carr and said that Carr "meditates during her every day activities".  Of all the things these two amazing ladies talked about that night, this simple statement is what resonated with me the most.

I may not spend 20 minutes or even 5 minutes a day in quiet solitude alone with my thoughts in a meditative pose, but throughout the day I am raising my level of consciousness and living my life with purpose.  It is in my every day activities that I am able to invoke a feeling of connection to myself, to those around me and to my actions.  I am by no means saying that every moment of my life is filled with meaning and purpose, I am human after all, and certainly have many moments of craziness where I completely lose all sense of where I am or what I am doing.  But, what I am saying is that I meditate during many of my daily activities.   When I am running outside, I let my mind drift where it wants to and allow thoughts and ideas to flow freely.  I write most of my blog pieces in my mind, including this one, while running because that is when I find inspiration and think most clearly.  When I am cooking dinner for my family, I am aware of every ingredient that goes into that food, I pay attention to the smells in my kitchen, and I pour all my love and care into the dishes my family will eat.  When I am sitting on the couch with my children reading them a book and cuddling, I am conscious of the love and peace I feel at that moment.

Those who practice one form or another of traditional meditation may be thinking I have no clue what meditation is truly about.  But, when you are mindful of the activities you are engaging in and how they make you feel, I believe that is a form of mediation that everyone can practice all day long.  What daily activities can you participate in with a new level consciousness and intent?  

WHAT A REAL DINNER PURCHASED FROM A REAL STORE CAN LOOK LIKE

My Dinner Plate - Frittata With Crispy Kale

I do most of my shopping at Double L Market in Westport, CT.  I prefer not to shop in big supermarkets for a number of reasons, and because of Double L Market, I don't have to!  At Double L I know I am assured of getting quality food that is always easily traceable to it's source.  I love to walk into Double L and ask the owners, Lloyd and Michael, what they have in that I must have.  While Michael is usually busy doing a great deal of the behind the scenes work, Lloyd shows me around and passionately tells me stories of where the food came from.  His enthusiasm is contagious.  Imagine a store that can actually tell me where the food they sell is sourced from.

For dinner one night last week I chose a dozen mint green colored eggs from a local provider in Woodbridge, CT where having chickens and collecting their eggs is more of a hobby than a business.   I also purchased a container of local goat cheese, kale from Lloyd's brother's farm, and of course had to buy the ramps, which are wild leeks and can only be found seasonally.  As I am checking out Lloyd patiently listens to me venting about the latest news on GMOs and the efforts to get them labeled.  He always seems interested no matter how many times he has heard me complain about our government and how wrong it is that Americans are shopping blind.  At least I'm not shopping blind at Double L.  If you are local and have not been there yet, go now.  Double L has a loyal following and you can see why, once you start shopping there you won't go back to the big supermarket.

Ramp and Goat Cheese Fritatta  
1 dozen eggs
1 bunch of ramps
4 oz of goat cheese
butter or grape seed oil to coat the pan

Pre heat your oven to 350.  Use a 12" pan that can go from your cook top to your oven.  Chop up the stems and leaves of the ramps.  Coat your pan and lightly sauté the ramps on low heat until the leaves are wilted.  Beat your eggs and pour them over the ramps.  Cook eggs for one minute and ensure that the ramps are evenly distributed.  You do not want to cook your eggs through on the cook top.  Crumble the goat cheese on top of the fritatta and place in the oven for the eggs to finish cooking for approximately 10 minutes.  Slice and serve warm, cold, or room temperature.

Crispy Kale
2 bunches of kale
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
celtic sea salt to taste
1/4 cup of olive oil

Remove leaves from stem, coat with the olive oil and add the nutritional yeast and salt, toss together.  If you have a dehydrator, place the kale on the dehydrator sheets, set the dehydrator to 115 and allow the dehydrator to do the work for approximately 3 hours.  If you do not have a dehydrator, place the kale on a baking sheet and set your oven to the lowest temperature possible and bake until the kale is crispy.      

REAL LIFE DEMOCRACY APPARENTLY DOES NOT WORK: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GMO LABELING BILL IN CT?

If not us then who? If not now then when?

I always hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in case you haven't heard, the mandatory GMO labeling bill in CT was chewed up and spit back out by Governor Malloy and his attorneys in a closed door meeting on Friday.  The information was sent to myself and Analiese Paik, my partner in crime and co-founder of Right to Know CT, in an e-mail from a source deep within the administration with the simple words, "It appears that after meeting with the Governor, section 2 will need to be removed."  I had a terrible sinking feeling because I knew immediately what that meant.  Section 2 was the heart of the bill, the section that called for mandatory labeling of all products produced with the process of genetic engineering.  But, in hopes that the glass of wine I just finished over dinner was getting to my head, I quickly pulled up the bill on my iPhone hoping I was mistaken.  As I scrolled down to Section 2, I looked at my husband and said, "The Governor just killed the bill."  The Governor and his lawyers left the bill meaningless and without life.  In an official statement from Right to Know CT by Analiese Paik it was clear that "Right to Know CT will no longer endorse or support HB 5117, An Act Concerning Genetically Engineered Foods. Rep. Richard Roy is our hero and we supported his bill by advocating for its passage through our grassroots campaign. But it no longer reflects his intent to mandate the labeling of GE foods and we feel compelled to register our discontent by withdrawing our support for the bill."

GMOS as described by a child on his sign, Genetically Modified Out of Style Foods

Many people have asked me how I'm feeling about how all of this played out.  As you can imagine, after dedicating 99% of my time to the advocacy efforts for our right to know what is in our food, I was initially quite devastated.  I thought of all those hours I spent away from my children, all the time I spent sitting at my computer, and all the nights I chose not to go out with my friends because I needed to be working on the campaign.  But, after shedding some tears and expressing a lot of anger,  I, along with my fellow advocates came out on the other side feeling more passionate than ever before.  Not to sound melodramatic, but I am fighting for my children's future and the future of every child out there.  It may seem like we lost this battle, but in reality, what happened in CT has only strengthened our troops.  They don't realize it yet, but they woke a sleeping bear, or to quote Analiese, "They kicked the hornets nest."

Defend your constituents

Our government is choosing to put the interests of the monstrous biotech industry in front of the rights of the American people.  The reason given for removing Sec. 2 from the bill - it would violate the constitution and put CT at risk for being sued.   The biotech industry claims they have a constitutional commercial right to stay silent and not label foods as genetically engineered and our government is buying into this propoganda (i.e BS) and allowing the industry to trump our right to know.  Top attorneys from around the  United States who specialize in this area of the law made it very clear that states can mandate the labeling of products produced with the process of genetic engineering as long as the labeling law is reasonably related to legitimate state interests, such as health, economic considerations, protecting the environment, and giving the CT consumer the right to know what is in their food.

The citizens of fifty other countries are afforded the right to know what is in their food, yet here in America, we need to play detective to figure out what foods contain GMOs.  I simply want the right to know what is in our food so I can make the choice to feed GMOs to my family or not.  Without clear labeling, this choice is not ours to make.  I am disillusioned right now, and am uncertain whether we will ever get labeling laws passed in this country.  If CT couldn't make it happen with 90% of consumers calling for GMO labeling, a majority of the legislature poised to vote in favor of the bill, and an advocacy campaign that raised the level of GMO awareness to levels never seen before in this state, then I'm not sure where or when it will happen.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for CA in the fall.  But, in the meantime we need a plan.

I am calling on all of you to make the decision today that you will no longer support the industry behind GMOs.  The BEST way to do that is to STOP buying GMOs.  If not for the cause, at least stop eating GMOs because you care about your health and the health of your family.  Go to www.nongmoshoppingguide.com and familiarize yourself with how to avoid GMOs.  Watch out for corn, canola, soy, sugar beets, and cotton seed.  Some quick tips on avoiding GMOs include: (1) Avoid processed foods (2) Buy organic, (3) Look for the Non GMO project verified label (4) Avoid vegetable, corn and soy oil (5) Keep a list of all the aliases that GMOs hide under with you when you shop.  We have the power to make a difference with our own actions and by redirecting where we spend our money.  Join Jeffrey Smith's tipping point at http://action.responsibletechnology.org/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=2925.  It only took Europe three months to reach their tipping point from the time the public became aware of the dangers associated with GMOs, it's taking us too long.  The European people were able to kick GMOs out of their food supply and now manufacturers such as Kraft, Nestle, and McDonalds use GMOs in America but NOT in Europe.

Our dedicated legislators: Representatives Susan Johnson, Kim Fawcett, Richard Roy,
Jonathan Steinberg, Fred Camillo, Brenda Kupchick, Tony Hwang, and William Wadsworth

They did not want to give us the right to know so we need to give ourselves that right.  I know it's not easy to avoid GMO's, but dealing with disease, environmental problems and economic downfall are much more difficult.  Right to Know CT will continue our work to pass labeling legislation next year along with our dedicated legislators who are feeling equally as frustrated, but in the meantime, let's work toward total consumer rejection of GMOs.  To listen to June Stoyer's radio show today with myself, Analiese Paik, and Jeffrey Smith go to http://www.theorganicview.com/environment/connecticut-caves-to-biotech-ignores-consumers-right-to-know-about-gmos/.  Thank you all for your ongoing support.  Stay tuned.