Moving Meditation

Someone commented to me today, "I don't know how you do so many things!" I have two responses that I would really like to share with this friend and with anyone who feels overwhelmed in their life or anyone who would like just a little bit more joy and efficiency in their day:

1. Remember that what you see of anyone online has a bit of illusion in it. I don't want to create the false impression that I am a "super-mom". It may appear that people online accomplish a lot because they only post their accomplishments online. This is the nature of life online. I don't think you all want to see a video of me sleeping in until noon or hear about how I spent two hours petting my cat!

2. As a mother, teacher, healer, friend, cook, cleaner and much more we all have so many "jobs" that it seems to leave little time for getting our work done and even less time for meditation and reflection.

I was inspired years ago by the Turkish (Sufi) or Buddhist method of meditation which involves making every moment of your life an opportunity for reflection, joy, meditation and enrichment rather than specifying a certain time to "meditate". I learned this method by example, first when I met one of my mentors in 1994 and then, again, when I visited Turkey in 1998.

I was first interested in this way of life because I was very frustrated by some of the chores I was doing every day and I was impressed by other people I saw who seemed to find such joy in these chores - even washing dishes!

What surprised me was that the more I practiced this way of living, the more efficient I became and the more work I was able to do each day - as a mother, teacher, healer, and much more.

You can find some written inspiration for this method in the books, "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle and "Shelter for the Spirit" by Thomas Moore. Hmmm...if anyone knows of any females who have written on this topic please tell me so I can include them too!

My favorite quote from "Shelter for the Spirit" is:

"Sometimes I still whine about chores. Cleaning is boring, repetetive, mindless, unappreciated, physically demmanding, sexually sterotyped and socially undervalued. In this state of noredom, reception and mindlessness however, we can be receptive to the divinity within us. Similarly, being called to an activity that is demanding, sterotyping and undervalued, can be used as an opportunity to gain hummility. It can bring us face-to-face with the mytic’s paradox: We are dust and we are divine."

And remember what Shakespere said, "Action is eloquence".

By living fully in each moment and experiencing each moment as divine you will find more joy in your life and you will also find that you get more done without even trying!

I hope that someone else will be inspired by this thought as I was years ago...it changed my life.

Blessings & Health,
Kristie

I felted my pet cat's fur yesterday!

Dear Parents,

So what does one do with their fingers when they have been knitting like mad for a month and suddenly one day they have a break with nothing to do with their hands?

Well, I ended up felting my pet cat's fur. It was sort of an accident, really. She saw that my lap was free (this cat follows me aroud like I am the Pied Piper and waits for me to sit down) a lot yesterday so she got petted A LOT. Finally I decided to switch to the little cat brush we have. So I brushed an brushed an removed some hair and had this little pile of cat hair. I was talking to a friend at the time and didn't want to get up and throw it away so I held it in my hands for a while and started messing with it...pretty soon it started to take on a felted texture. So I thought...hey - perhaps I could make something out of this....so I made a little skirt for a doll.

Encouraged I made some hair for the doll and then a little baby dragon. Ran out of hair then. We have a nice white bunny and I tried to get some hair from her (I was having fun by this time) but she didn't want to be petted so...

Anyway, this was really easy. All I did was roll the hair around in my fingers for a while until it started to come together like felt. Before it was too stiff I started shaping it into what I wanted. I didn't use any needles. So I guess this would be "finger felting?" is there a such thing?

Enjoy!

Blessings & Health,

Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND
Mother to Mosi, 13: Suni, 11: Sofi, 9
http://www.thedreamangels.com/
Natural Healing Online at: http://www.herbnhome.com/
Visual Resources for Waldorf Parents at: http://www.thewaldorfchannel.com/
Waldorf Lessons Plans at: http://www.waldorflessonplans.com/


BLOGs about Waldorf, Healing & Humor at:
http://herbnhome.blogspot.com/ (Frugal Natural Healing and Living)
http://waldorfschoolonline.blogspot.com/ (Waldorf Home Schooling Inspirations)
http://healinghumor.blogspot.com/ (Healing Humor)
http://thedreamangels.blogspot.com/ (Inspirational Thoughts)
http://yearofthelimo.blogspot.com/ (A BLOG about my crazy car and charity work)

Response to "Letter from Santa"

I wanted to share with you all the response I received from my children when they received their "letter from Santa" in their stocking this morning (you can read it at: http://thedreamangels.blogspot.com/ )

I was a bit worried. I took a long time writing out the letter from the link above in long hand and I took great care to make it very neat and unlike my own handwriting. As I wrote it on parchment style paper I added bits and modified bits according to the letters the children had written to Santa. Then I rolled the letter up, put a bit of yarn around it and put it in the stockings with their toys.

But as I said, I was a bit worried...what kid wants to be told "the truth" about Santa on Christmas morning? But I just sensed this was the right thing to do. Whew! I was right.

Sofi read me the 4-page letter twice, picking out the parts she liked best. The letter explained that Santa is an angel spirit that inspires people. But Sofi insisted that Santa had "Possessed me" last night...hmm...I think I like my version better.

But, overall, she and her brother were overjoyed with the letter. It satisfied their need to know more about Santa and transitioned them from the "stories" to the "truth" in such a smooth way. I was amazed how well it was all received. I didn't get any comments of sadness or dissapointment or anything! They were so excited to have all the extra information that was in the letter. Sofi called up two of her friends and read it to them too. She was beaming all day and could not stop talking about it.

I am sharing this with you all because I am just so happy! This was a "big event" in my childhood (which did not go well for me as a child) and was a "big event" on my parent-hood adgenda. I am just so thrilled that everything went well. It was a dream come true! (I just wish I could say the same of EVERYTHING else on my parenting adgenda!)

- Blessings & Health & Happy Holidays
Kristie

Sofi's Easy Christmas Cape

Sofi went shopping with a friend of mine a few nights ago to get gifts for me and some other family members. I have to admit I was a bit worried. I don't like to set "rules" for people when they do me the great favor of taking my children out (hey, as a single mom you get desperate!) so I waited to see what would happen. Would she come home with a bag full of Polly Pockets and Hershey bars?

She surprised me. I would not have guessed in a million years what she would be buying. She saw some velvety fabric and purchased a couple yards of it. But I didn't even know that until she came out of her room wearing this gorgeous green cape secured with a golden button in the middle.

She wanted me to make another one for her doll. Her doll is very special because he older sister (13) gave it to her. So, although it is not a Waldorf doll, it has a lot of special energy in it as her older sister is living overseas this year so this doll is like a treasure to Sofi.

The fabric she had chosen was a strong velvet-like fabric that does not unravel so she had not had to "finish" the edges with any sewing. All she had to do was cut it and secure it with the button. I helped her make a smaller one for her doll and I showed her how to make a button hole for her button (we just cut in the fabric...no sewing). She wore the capes and carried her doll with her all day yesterday. We got some "looks" as we were shopping - but I think most of them were smiles.

Sofi made her cape by just taking a large rectange of material and securing it with a button. All she had to do was cut the material to the right size and sew on the button. I made the doll cape by cutting the material in more of a circle and then cutting a line half-way down on one side of the circle. Then I cut a tiny button hole in one side and sewed the button on the other side. It took me about 5 minutes. The ease is in finding a fabric you do not have to sew (and in being the kind of person who can overlook a few scraggly edges to your cape).

The Magic Thread of Life...

My children's favorite question this week is "Can we open our gifts yet?"

My answer is --- do you want to hear the story of "The Magic Thread" again?

It is such a wonderful story! A great story for patience during the Solstice, Christmas season and a great story to inspire you in leading your life in the New Year!

It is in the "Book of Virtues" by William Bennet. You can also find it online at:
http://www.noogenesis.com/pineapple/magic_thread.html

Enjoy!
Blessings & Health,
Kristie

Merry Christmas Squirrel

Fluffy Squirrel was our first guest at the wildlife Christmas tree this morning. Scroll down to see how we made the tree...

PS. Someone just e-mailed me from another list that peanut butter is bad for squirrels so to make sure the strings get hung far from squirrels. I didn't know that so I just wanted to tell everyone else too. For some reason this squirrel knew that - all he wanted was the oranges and apples. But, their advice was to hang anything with peanut butter away from the little fluffy darlings :)

Winter Snack w/Special Guests

While the kids were out sledding yesterday I thought I would prepare them a surprise. I popped popcorn, sliced up some oranges and some apples, put some dried cranberries in a bowl and cut up bread into squares and put out a knife with a big jar of peanut butter. Then I started to string some needles and jute thread so we could thread the food on strings and make a Christmas tree for the birds.

However, as happens to many projects, the kids decided to modify it a bit.

"WOW! What a great snack mom!" they exclaimed upon finishing their sledding. OK, I know sledding it supposed to make kids hungry but MY kids eating dried cranberries and oranges and apples with GLEE? As if it were the best thing on earth?

I decided not to say anything. I just let them much away on the healthy snack and then about half-way through I said "How about sharing this with the birds?" and I showed them the string. "What a great idea" Sofi says.

Then we had great fun stringing the leftovers on strings - especially the CRUSTS of the bread that Sofi never eats (we have happy birds in our front yard).

Now the birds have a Yummy Christmas Tree and we had a yummy snack :)

Fairies Got Stockings Yesterday

Yesterday we put the finishing touches on the tree and the fairies got some Christmas stockings in their fairy house (see picture) as well. I always let the kids decorate the tree. Sofi did a great job hanging ornaments and Suni did an amazing job stringing the lights! They both decided that one of my knitted unicorns should adorn the top this year. I wonder what Santa will put in the stockings for the fairies?

That really big red present behind the tree is a super large book I found at Sam's club for $15.00 all about CATS. The pictures in the book are larger than real cats. I labelled it "To Stripey and Catnip" (our cats). It is driving the kids crazy! They keep telling me "Please tell us what is in it - we won't tell them (the cats)!"

Sofi's Holiday List - Age 8.5

Dear Parents,

I asked my children to make a Holiday list for me..there are so many holidays and birthdays coming up that I wanted to make sure I purchased them gifts they would appreciate and not just "stuff". So this is Sofi's list. HELP???!!!

1. A new CD player
2. 100$ or 300$ or 1000$
3. A Perfectly Clean Room
4. A REAL Harry Potter robe
5. Long Hair
6. A Fairy - a REAL one
7. To see Santa and his workshop
8. To become a fairy when I put any fairy dust on me
9. Mosi Mandil (her sister who is living far away right now) my WHOLE LIFE.

Healing Kool-Aid?

The first time I had a cup of cold hibiscus tea I thought it was Kool-Aid. It was in Egypt and I asked my host "Where did you get Kool-aid in Egypt?" They just gave me a strange look...

But that single memory has remained my motivation for sharing this recipe with as many people as I can. This herb is so healing and so healthy and if it tastes like Kool-aid what kid would not LOVE to drink this? And the benefits are so many!

This morning I woke up with a sore throat and a fever and immmediately made myself some of this drink. It is perfect for my condition - soothing to the throat, cools the body down (in Egypt they use it to stay cool in the summer - here I use it for fevers and for hot flashes :)), and is very high in vitamin C! This is the perfect herb to use all winter.

I made my yummy healing drink by pouring 4 cups of hot water over 4 tsp. of dried hibiscus leaves (order online, or buy at any local health food, Arab or Indian store) and then letting it sit for 15 minutes and straining it. I drank mine warm with honey but I am saving the rest to give my kids as an afterschool snack - whenever ONE person in the house is sick I always give everyone the herbs so more people don't get sick too.

Enjoy!

Let's Count BIRDS!

Dear Members,

I found out about this from another list I am on and it sounded like so much FUN I had to share it with you all. Did any of you know about this? This sounds like something my kids would LOVE LOVE LOVE! I just wish I could talk to my cats. They look out the window every day for hours watching the birds and I know they have an exact count...but alas...since they cannot speak I guess we will do it ourselves:)

BIRD COUNTS

There are two very large 'bird counts' done every year, the Christmas Bird Count, which is run by the Audubon Society and one called The Great Backyard Birdcount that is run by Cornell Ornithology Labs. The Christmas Bird Count is done every year from December 14th through January 5th and must take place in a designated CBC (Christmas Bird Count) circle.

Here's the link to the Aubdubon website, or try a local wildlife sanctuary or state/national/local park to see if they participate.http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/getinvolved.html

The Great Backyard Bird Count takes place in February, is less formal and is as simple as counting birds for at least 15 minutes in one place and reporting your observations on the official website. http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/howto.html

Both websites have a wealth of bird information, whether you're going to count or not. So if you're doing a unit on birds, studying life science this year, are looking for outdoor activities to do in the winter, or just want to help participate in this important and fun experience -- check these sites out. - From Kathy in PA (from another list I am part of) Thank you for sharing that Kathy!!!!

Easy 5-minute Doll Wardrobe

Dear Parents,

I am so excited about what Sofi and I did last night I have to share it! Sofi was asking me to take her shopping. She has money she has been saving that has been burning a hole in her pocket! She saw this wooden doll wardrobe at the store the other day (to hang doll clothing in) and she HAD to have it. It cost $50.00 and I was not so thrilled about her spending that money on a doll cabinet but I always let the kids do what they want with their allowance and learn their own lessons...sooooo...I told her - sure, we will go, just not tonight.

But Sofi is not the type to wait. So I hear her out in the dining room/woodworking/art/lesson room rummaging around. She asks me where the glue is. I hear noises....NOW I am curious! I find her trying to glue wood pieces together to make her own.

I was so impressed with her efforts I decided to help her a bit. So we thought a bit and rummaged around some more in the drawer, got out the nails and hammer (instead of glue) and came up with a doll wardrobe that was awesome and really took us only about 5-8 minutes to build!!!!

All you need are 4 pre-cut boards from the craft store, 2 screws, and a piece of bamboo (we cut from a garden stake in the garage). You don't even need to measure anything! You screw the screws into the same place on either side of two of the boards, insert the bamboo rod and you have the start. After that you just put a base and a top on and it does not matter if they fit exactly or not - they actually look cool with a little wood hanging over the side. We nailed the top and the bottom to the side with small nails. We only used a small hacksaw to cut the bamboo piece off.

In fact, you could put hooks in the side and hand scarves and hats from the side. Sofi made a couple "Hat Holders" for the top out of two old blocks with a popscicle stick nailed to them!

She LOVES this new doll wardrobe and is already wanting to make another one! Now we just have to make some nice wood hangers so it is all natural :)

Blessings & Health,

Kristie

Inspiration for New Home Schoolers

Dear Parents,

I was updating my websites tonight and found this wonderful page with many pictures of my old classroom on it. It would take you about ten links to find it from my main site so I am not sure how many of you have seen it. It has some samples of our classroom organization, crafts we did, breadmaking time, music time, etc...

You can find the photos at:

http://build.tripod.lycos.com/trellix/sitebuilder/f_edit_page.html

Enjoy!

Blessings & Health,

Kristie

My Favorite Secular Seasonal Story...

This is a wonderful secular seasonal story because it teaches the values of giving and kindness without talking about any particula holiday. Additonally, it can be told in countries where there are not fir trees because other kinds of trees are mentioned in the story as well and all children would be familiar with those trees. You can even change the story to include trees that are around your home!

One day, a long, long time ago, it was very cold; winter was coming. And all the birds flew away to the warm south, to wait for the spring. But one little bird had a broken wing and could not fly. He did not know what to do. He looked all round, to see if there was any place where he could keep warm. And he saw the trees of the great forest.
"Perhaps the trees will keep me warm through the winter," he said.
So he went to the edge of the forest, hopping and fluttering with his broken wing. The first tree he came to was a slim silver birch.
"Beautiful birch-tree," he said, "will you let me live in your warm branches until the springtime comes?"
"Dear me!" said the birch-tree, "what a thing to ask! I have to take care of my own leaves through the winter; that is enough for me. Go away."
The little bird hopped and fluttered with his broken wing until he came to the next tree. It was a great, big oak-tree.
"O big oak-tree," said the little bird, "will you let me live in your warm branches until the springtime comes?"
"Dear me," said the oak-tree, "what a thing to ask! If you stay in my branches all winter you will be eating my acorns. Go away."
So the little bird hopped and fluttered with his broken wing till he came to the willow-tree by the edge of the brook.
"O beautiful willow-tree," said the little bird, "will you let me live in your warm branches until the springtime comes?"
"No, indeed," said the willow-tree; "I never speak to strangers. Go away."
The poor little bird did not know where to go; but he hopped and fluttered along with his broken wing. Presently the spruce-tree saw him, and said, "Where are you going, little bird?"
"I do not know," said the bird; "the trees will not let me live with them, and my wing is broken so that I cannot fly."
"You may live on one of my branches," said the spruce; "here is the warmest one of all."
"But may I stay all winter?"
"Yes," said the spruce; "I shall like to have you."
The pine-tree stood beside the spruce, and when he saw the little bird hopping and fluttering with his broken wing, he said, "My branches are not very warm, but I can keep the wind off because I am big and strong."
So the little bird fluttered up into the warm branch of the spruce, and the pine-tree kept the wind off his house; then the juniper-tree saw what was going on, and said that she would give the little bird his dinner all the winter, from her branches. Juniper berries are very good for little birds.
The little bird was very comfortable in his warm nest sheltered from the wind, with juniper berries to eat.
The trees at the edge of the forest remarked upon it to each other:
"I wouldn't take care of a strange bird," said the birch.
"I wouldn't risk my acorns," said the oak.
"I would not speak to strangers," said the willow. And the three trees stood up very tall and proud.
That night the North Wind came to the woods to play. He puffed at the leaves with his icy breath, and every leaf he touched fell to the ground. He wanted to touch every leaf in the forest, for he loved to see the trees bare.
"May I touch every leaf?" he said to his father, the Frost King.
"No," said the Frost King, "the trees which were kind to the bird with the broken wing may keep their leaves."
So North Wind had to leave them alone, and the spruce, the pine, and the juniper-tree kept their leaves through all the winter. And they have done so ever since.

from How to Tell Stories to Children, and Some Stories to Tell , by Sara Cone Bryant