Dear Yogis,

It is hard to realise that this homestay will be gradually eased off starting next week, or if the local scene is anything to go buy, it is happening as we speak.  In no time we will be able to pretend it didn’t happen.  It will be like we have been on a long holiday…we will romanticise it, we will justify it, we will rationalise it – until we look at our bank accounts, and then the reality will hit.  But whatever, I for one enjoyed the enforced holiday.  It should happen yearly, and well it might. The genii is out of the bottle and no amount of wishing will put it back.  To cheer you all up, here is a photo I took yesterday of Gracie, my beautiful cat.  A Peaceful Princess…

 

We must understand that the wonderful, magical resources of our earth are limited.  We are now entering an age of scarcity (if we buy into it of course).  The message is the same from all sides – our undisciplined consumption must end.  If we continue to gobble up our resources without any regard to stewardship and to spew out our deadly wastes over land, sea and air, we may well be causing our own demise.

Over-consumption cuts the heart out of our compassion, and converts us into materialists.  We become less able to ask moral questions  Just because we have the economic muscle to buy up and corner the market in a necessary product, or divert and pay for all the water for instance, does that give us the right to do so?

Perhaps what is needed is a massive reorientation of mindset towards compassion rather than consumption. Yogis can make a big difference.  We are a large and growing community.  In the quarantine the people signing up for yoga on-line grew by 4,000%!.  That is a significant increase, and if we all spoke with the one voice (voted with the one voice) we could make a unique contribution to the world because we have a vital interest in the stewardship of the earth and economic justice for the poor.

I believe that most yogis have a commitment to global citizenship that can help us transcend the provincial claims of national interest and the multinational corporations.  Accountability and honesty are both needed if the wealthiest corporations (and people) in the world are to benefit society with generosity EQUAL TO THE PROFIT MARGIN.

One of my favourite authors (and people) is the Late Beatrix Potter – a mycologist and author/illustrator of The Peter Rabbit books.  She became exceedingly wealthy at a time when few women were independent or had their own money.  Beatrix paid a huge percentage of her earnings in tax (something in the region of 65%) which she saw as a duty.  She was always her own person, was happy, lived simply,  and gradually bought up large swathes of land which she donated to the National Trust so that they could never be built on, and generations to come would be able to appreciate their pristine beauty.  Thereby making sure they were/are protected in perpetuity.  I nominate her an “Honorary Yogi”.  I don’t think she ever did an asana, but she lived the yamas.  She lived, loved and left a legacy.  A “three step program”  that we could all aspire to.

Simplicity is part of our call to the YOGA LIFE.  It is not an “extra” that we can tack on to our yoga experience as we buy another computer or a bigger, better phone plan. Simplicity is an essential way that we can demonstrate LOVE in our homes, our family and in our community – the yamas ordering everything.    That level of communion and faith sees everything in the light of the Universe’s (God’s) governance for good, abiding peace,  and the ability to walk over the face of the earth within that power.

Simplicity may be difficult, but the alternative is immensely more difficult.

Have a lovely, warm day.  Stay happy no matter what.

NAMASTE, JAHNE

DEAR YOGIS

In this unusual and complicated time of social-distancing and “home-stay”, what most of us are craving more than ever is connection.  

That’s why I’ve decided to officially open the doors to my TEA&TAROT READINGS Goodbye waitlist!  

More and more people everyday are turning to Tarot and other such disciplines, but finding connections isn’t always easy. When I first started reading the tarot and the tea leaves like my mum and aunts (and doing yoga’ish stuff),  I didn’t have books, or a library available…..I didn’t even have a deck, no problems with tea leaves though.  I was about 5 or 6 when my friends started asking me,  and I was told not to do it, so I read stones in the dirt or clouds.  I remember some of my readings even now – they were bizarre!   I was forced at that age to be so private about it – I would hide the fact I did readings, and swear my friends to secrecy.

I kept reading, it was illicit, it was “unchristian”, it was forbidden.  However, I loved what I was learning and experiencing, but there was no way I was able to tell anyone about it.

You can imagine how conflicted I felt.   On the one hand, I felt so connected, so excited  by this skill of mine and yet… ashamed of it at the same time.   One day, I realized the truth.  It wasn’t that I felt ashamed,  I just didn’t feel safe.  I didn’t feel safe to express myself, explore my craft or share my skills with others – I didn’t feel safe to be me.   That feeling didn’t stop when I was a child.  There are times when it still doesn’t feel safe – there were times when not even yoga was safe.  

The light bulb moment came later.  If I’m feeling this way, then someone else might be too!  So, what started as a way for people to know they weren’t alone and get real life TEA&Tarot reading practice has now turned into classes.  A community – not just for tea leaf reading, but yoga, and all things metaphysical.  For me it is all connected.

Our Studio and our community wherever you are,  is home; a place where you can feel safe to enjoy your journey,  safe to express yourself, to learn, to grow – to be YOU!

And with the doors now (almost) officially open, I’m more excited than ever to welcome in new members. Will you be one of them? Tarot/TeaLeaf Reading Classes start on the 6th of June (2pm to 4pm), which is not far away.  I am planning a TEA LEAF READING AFTERNOON TEA at the end of June.  A lovely HighTea, with a tea leaf reading for everyone.  Limited to 10 guests. Interested? Email me: yogafirst2@bigpond.com.  Not local? Not available?  You can always have a reading on line via email or the phone..   

YOGA CLASSES – limited to three per class at the moment and Start on the 20th May.   The time table is on the www.yogabeautiful.com.au site.  We are opening again next Wednesday, in a limited way.  There are rules as set out by YOGA AUSTRALIA.  You will find the details on the site under “CLASSES”.  If you want Tarot News you will find that under “TAROT” on the same site.

I look forward to seeing you all again. In the meanwhile, stay happy. (Even when we go back, I will keep doing the newsletters!)

NAMASTE  JAHNE

HI THERE YOGIS,

Thank you to those people who rang yesterday and today for consults by phone.  I just loved hearing your voices, we really made a difference, got some break throughs, and I started to feel useful to you again.  I am reminded of the Queen (she is shrinking to the size of a SMURF – but she doesn’t do yoga).  We both have been doing our job in the one area for a very long time – she is about 15 years ahead of me.  She is like a queen-bee.  She gets looked after, fed and clothed for as long as she is useful.  Her job really is to stay useful, and keep her family on the throne, and pretend she is running the country.  That’s all.  At this moment I prefer to be me.  The Queen hasn’t really got a job at the present, just the occasional address to the nation.  I do my address to the “nation” daily – this is it.  I too am pretending that I am running my little yoga country – but really, COVID is.

Today I didn’t intend to bake, but I found myself in the kitchen, and homestay being what it is I just did it.  In ordinary times I would not.  However, things have changed, and because one thing led to another thing,  to another – it didn’t take much time, and all the washing up got done at once.  I made some cheese.. which was necessary because I was running low on cheese, and I got a litre of milk for 86cents which was OK.  Not as good as last week when I got a litre for 10cents at Coles! True.  My “cheese milk” usually costs between 5 cents and 85 cents.

I just buy (cheese milk) when I can get out of date cartons thrown out cheaply, and then make cheese – which today started the whole baking momentum.  I heated the milk and added the vinegar. When I had done that I decided to make bread – my “wonder loaf” – and then while that was baking (It stands for 12 hours, but it was ready to bake), I made a “seed, coconut and date” cake.  I cooked the bread in my table top oven, and whilst that was baking,  the cake took 10 minutes to mix and 6 minutes in the microwave.  While that was cooling I strained the cheese and hung it to dry (which will take about 2 days).  When the cake has cooled I will slice it and bake in the oven to crisp up, like biscotti.

Altogether I think the whole “bakeoff” took about and hour and a half.  Nothing like the two hours bakeoff contestants get to make just one cake!  You will find the recipes and photographs on www.wildnweedy.blogspot.com

Below is the WONDER LOAF.

I am always put off by recipes with masses of ingredients, however, I have got an old dutch dresser which is usually used for plates, but I use it for spices, flours, nuts and lots of different chillies which I bought in Texas,   And when I am baking/cooking I just  walk up and down and randomly use extra ingredients from the dresser – lots! I will try and remember what I put in my bakes for the blog, but you can always experiment.  I have been having the most wonderful food that I have made and grown and found and baked.  And girls and boys, I have not put on an ounce of weight.  I was a bit worried about getting on the scales… but, joy.  I am the same as before COVID! and… I am eating a whole lot better I think!!!  I still have the champers occasionally, and a wine.  I am not deprived (as you can tell by the recipes above).

I am still moving the rooms of the house around,.. the energies are so different in each corner of the house, and if I try to do the wrong thing in the wrong corner, well it goes badly.  I can’t paint or draw  in the front room, I can’t teach yoga other than in the studio, and I need to re-organise a special place for tea-leaf and tarot readings.  I haven’t found the right place yet – but I will.  I do have some good ideas which you will see the result of – if you come for a consult, (or a massage when we can).

Looking forward to seeing you all again….  the cavalry are coming.

Keep well, keep baking and stay happy – NAMASTE.   JAHNE