Ponderings on Separation

I was writing a letter to someone this morning and part of what I was writing about was the separation we feel between us when we have been estranged by hurt feelings, miscommunication, or some other form of pain. I wrote a phrase which struck me afterwords and so I'm trying to write a little more about it here.

"There is no separation. That which separates us is only illusion, and when we see it as real, only then does it have power over us."

This is a concept I know I picked up along the way in the teachings I have been studying and practicing. I hadn't ever spoken it this clearly before though. And I find it to be so true, that when we see these hurts, this pain as real, it is only then that it has the power to separate us. Because when we look within our selves. Look into our hearts, there is no separation between any of us. We are all part of the whole, of all that is. Of love. And what a beautiful thing to hold in our hearts. I want to keep that at the center of my being. I want that to be where I live from, that we are all one.

This plays into another realization abut separation I had recently. It is that agreement does not equal closeness, nor does disagreement equal separation. This strikes me as a most basic truth, and yet I am only recently uncovering the concepts I had put together in this area. It seems that long ago I cobbled together the idea that when there is disagreement, there is separation. And that's 'the way it is'. And what a lie. What an ingenious tool of the illusion to keep us separate. And what I have found recently is that in fact, when we are completely honest, and dedicated to speaking truth, even when uncomfortable, or contrary to the opinions and beliefs of the person sitting across from you, there is more real closeness than in agreement.

So don't believe the lie. And don't let the fear of separation stop you from standing in your truth, because by doing so you expose the truest parts of yourself. And what could be more vulnerable, and beautiful? And when you can do that together, though it may 'feel' uncomfortable in the moment, you are closer to one another than ever before.

Kombucha is Wonderful

I've been brewing Kombucha now for a little over a year and I really enjoy both brewing (and subsequently drinking) it. One of the by-products of brewing kombucha is the constant production of scobies (scoby stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts) the live cultures that fuel the fermentation process. Recently I had amassed enough of them that I started seeking out people to give them away to. Most of them wanted or needed an explanation of the brewing process so I decided to write this post about how I do it. I'll also include a number of links to resources I've found over time.

To start off, here is a link to the site which I used to get started. He gives a very good and detailed description of the process which provided the basis for how I do it now. On this page the brewing instructions are a third of the way down.

Now I'll describe how I do it and what I use, then below I'll include some links to the resources I've found. I brew two gallon batches at a time. The first step is to boil two gallons of water. Once the water is boiled I add 2 1/4 cups of organic raw cane sugar and 8 decaf tea bags. I use the Taylor's of Harrogate Decaf Black available here. I like the decaf tea and you can't go wrong with Taylor's. It's available at most Whole Foods stores. Then you let that cool and place it, with a scoby, in a container in which it will ferment. Once you've brewed a batch you also want to include 1 cup per gallon of the finished, fermented, kombucha tea. If this is your very first batch you can use 1/2 cup per gallon of distilled, white vinegar. This will innoculate the mixture and keep it safe from mold.

I use a glass jar which I purchased at a restaurant supply store. It's this one which happens to be available at Amazon. I like the two gallon batches because with a 2-3 week brewing cycle I end up with a batch that lasts me. I keep the jars in a cupboard in our kitchen, where it won't get too cold, and it's not in any direct sunlight. The scobies don't like to get too hot. They're very sensitive.

Speaking of the brewing cycle, I do two fermentations. The first one, here in Boulder in winter is 2-2.5 weeks. During the summer months when the weather is warmer it's more like 1.5 weeks. You'll know you are done by a few measures. First and best is to taste it. I take the cover off, push the scobies down into the brew and stir it up a little. Typically there will be some bubbles and the smell will be mildly sour. I sip it with a straw, or dip a small glass in to taste it. If it's too sweet that means you need to let it go for a while longer. There's still too much sugar that hasn't been burned up by the fermentation process. You also don't want it to be too sour, simply because it won't taste good. You have to let a batch go for a long time before it's really too sour to drink.

I do a second fermentation which adds more effervescence and I add some flavour at this stage of the process. For the second ferment I remove the scoby from the big jar, placing it in a glass bowl. Then I stir the mixture to mix up the cultures which often have settled to the bottom of the jar. I flavour with lemon ginger tea and I use 4, 1/2 gallon Ball jars with 1/2 of a cup of the lemon ginger tea in the bottom of each. I pour the kombucha into each smaller jar and seal them with their standard screw top lids and then store them in the same cupboard I do the rest. I do this second ferment for between a week and two weeks depending on the climate and how bubbly I want it. You don't have to worry too much about it going sour at this point since once the scoby is out the fermenting slows down considerably. Once you're done with this second ferment you may find that some small scobies have grown in the jars. This is fine. I dispose of them as they're not really strong enough to grow into larger ones and fuel a batch.

Then you can drink your batch. I then further decant into G.T. Dave's bottles. I like them because of the size of the mouth and they have nice metal tops which are easy to wash and refill. Also, I drink about one 16oz bottle of this kombucha per day, so the size suits me. For larger bottles, the Santa Cruz Organic juice bottles are a handy size and I've found them easy to remove the labels from. These are great to bring to parties, etc. Once I've done this final decanting I keep it in the fridge.

You can skip the second ferment if you like the flavour and amount of bubble the first ferment produces. These days I try to rotate two batches so I don't run out in between. You can do this by starting a first ferment every time you finish one, so you've always got a batch going from ferment one to ferment two and so forth.

An aside. I've heard some people have concerns about a batch going bad and people getting sick. I've personally never experienced this, and from what I've read this only happens if you get mold on the scoby. Once in Oakland during a really warm spell we had fruit flies invade our kitchen and they laid some eggs in the top scoby. I threw out that batch and the scoby and continued on with no ill consequences. Also, as it is a fermented beverage, there is a slight amount of alcohol which is a by product of the fermentation. I'm a sober alcoholic, and I have no qualms about drinking the kombucha I brew. The degree to which it is intoxicating is so minimal that I estimate I would need to drink practically a whole batch to get a buzz, and it wouldn't be a very satisfying buzz at that.

If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy brewing as much as I have. And do let me know how it's going. I'm happy to provide any advice I can and certainly share in your successes.

RESOURCES
The site I linked to above, with the initial instructions I used to get started.
http://web.mac.com/willwinter/willwinter.mac.com/GOOD_STUFF.html

A great overview of Kombucha and the whole process.
http://www.seedsofhealth.co.uk/fermenting/index_kombucha.shtml

An alternate source for the brewing instructions with pictures from a cool site.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Kombucha-Brewing-Instructions/

An article about selecting different teas for brewing kombucha.
http://www.seedsofhealth.co.uk/fermenting/kombucha_teas.shtml

Site with good information and supplies you can order.
http://www.organic-kombucha.com/index.html

Now *That's* Courageous

This is my first official 'Shameless (friend of my) Self Promotion' post. I wanted to write something about how inspired I have been my friend Kate Swoboda. I met her several years ago when she began dating a good friend of mine. Over time we got to know one another and one of the things I always appreciated about Kate is that she is very direct. This sometimes made me uncomfortable, as her opinion was not always aligned with mine (when are all of our opinions always aligned...uh, never). And I came to appreciate this quality in her. I came call Kate a friend and have watched as my friends' grew and changed and they worked on themselves and the relationship. And as someone who has spent a good deal of time 'working' on my relationship, and myself, I have been so impressed and honoured to know them as they have transformed. I'm proud to know both of them and they each inspire me in their own ways.

Yet I digress (imagine that). This post is about Courageous Kate. In the past year(s) I have seen Kate change an enormous amount of the way her life works, and now, at the beginning of the coming year she will have transitioned completely from her former job into a career and life as what she calls a "counselor/coach, retreat leader, and e-course creator". I call it living a life that's more fulfilling and aligned with one's vision for the world, one's purpose. And I find it incredibly inspiring. So this post is to encourage you, dear reader, to check out Kate's site and the projects she has going on. I personally recommend her as a coach and though I have not done the e-course or one of her retreats, I know they are amazing experiences that give participants everything they need to start living a more purposeful, passionate and fulfilling life. And that's something I believe in very deeply.

Her site is: http://www.yourcourageouslife.com/
She has a Vimeo channel here: http://www.vimeo.com/user2236602
And can be found on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/katecourageous

Seriously, take a few minutes to check out what she's up to. I'm inspired reading about this stuff and if you feel the slightest pull, I strongly suggest you try out one of her programs. They have been created by someone who changed her own life and they are sure to change yours if you so desire.

With love and care.

SF Trip 9-13 December

Hello Friends.

I'm pleased to let you know that I'll be in town from Wednesday afternoon (tomorrow) through midday (noon flight) Sunday. I'm writing to let you know where I'll be in the hopes that we can see one another. Wednesday and Thursday night I'll be staying in Oakland near Lakeshore, and Friday and Saturday night I'll be in SF in the Haight. On Thursday and Friday during the day I will be doing some work, though you should certainly email or txt me if you would like to try to get together. Thursday evening I'll be meditating at The Center. Not sure what's on for Friday evening, and then Saturday I will be at the Breakthrough meditation also at the Center. If you haven't done the Seminar (a prerequisite for attendance at the Breakthrough meditations) there will be a potluck dinner afterwords. Please come, it would be such a treat to see you. Details below:

The San Francisco 21st Century Transformation Center
735 Montgomery Street (at Jackson)
Google Map

Thursday Night Meditation: 7:15-10P
Breakthrough Meditation: 1-7P
Potluck Dinner: 7-8P (we can hang out after too!)

I look forward to seeing as many of you as can come to any of these events or whatever else we can dream up. Life in Boulder is really quite wonderful, and I miss you all so very much.

Love, Ben.
@iamthelovejoy
510 919 91 05

Russian River Memories

This morning I was listening to the incomparable Amadou et Mariam who I was turned on to by one Mr. Patrick Dooley, old friend, artistic director of Shotgun Players and generally awesome dad, Red Sox fan and troublemaker. Whenever I listen to them I have many nostalgic memories of a week we spent at the Russian River with the Dooley clan (Patrick, Kimberly and at that time, their only daughter) Penelope (and Josephine in Kimmy's belly) as well as the Frassinellis, Katie, Michael and their twins Bobby and Libby.

It was a really special time in the summer of 2006. Michael and Katie had moved eastward some years ago and this was the first time we had spent a chunk of time with them and the Dooleys in what seemed like years. Michael was in town to work on masks and other things for Ragnarok and they made a family trip out of it. Somehow Patrick could get away for a spell (though the boys did run down to the East Bay a couple of times to work on the show).

It was great to hang with everyone, the kids had a ball together, and I took a bunch of pictures. I loved that weekend and have so many fond memories about it I thought I'd post about it. Top memories are definitely dancing in the living room to Amadou et Mariam, laughing, dessert, swimming with the kids, throwing rocks at buoys, and barbecuing bacon for breakfast.

My Practice

Since my incredible experience in The Seminar in Denver last week a few people have asked about my daily practice. I thought it would be a good topic for a post, so here's what that currently looks like. Brief explanations of some of the terms I use are below the list. Further explanations of practices will be the topics of subsequent posts:

1. I wake up around 6:30. I do 5 minutes of a practice called the Prayerful Breath and then 5-10 minutes of silent sitting meditation. I then write a to-do today list for the day and spend 10-15 minutes writing REs and journaling. In my silent meditation I typically find my prayer and intention for the day.
   
2. I carry an RE pad with me all day. When I have thoughts, I write them down. I keep my to-do today list in that same pad so when I get things done I can cross them off.
3. I meditate between 30 and 60 minutes daily. Usually I use a 45 minute playlist unless I'm up very late and need rest. Then I'll do 30 or listen to a talk before bed.
4. During the course of my day I maintain an awareness of where I can take conversations deeper. Where I can talk about God, love, spirituality, connection, the illusion of separation, etc. If I haven't had a conversation like this with someone I don't know already I try to have one with Mary, or someone in my community of friends.
5. To the best of my ability I situate myself in true care for everyone I meet.
6. I write a letter to my spiritual teacher once a week.
   
7. Once a month I get together with my spiritual teacher to discuss my movement. Sometimes this meeting is on the phone.
8. Once a week I attend a longer meditation. If I can't make it to the Center I do an extended meditation (90 minutes or so) at home.
9. I attend breakthrough meditation once a month, again, if I can't make it I do an extended meditation at home a few times.
10. I attend the God's Love is for Everyone monthly meeting either by phone or in person.
11. Sundays is my day of rest, and I don't do anything related to the program unless I need to release emotions, or I am supporting someone who's having a hard time. My phone is on and I receive txts and messages though I typically don't answer it.

• The Prayerful Breath is a practice of focusing your mind in prayer that combines an awareness of the breath and a simple movement done with your hands.
• Writing REs is a practice of capturing thoughts and actions on a pad and a system for organizing them so that these thoughts aren't bouncing around in my head and distracting me from whatever task is in front of me.
• To Do Today lists are a way of looking at my time in a day, what I plan to do at what time, and what items from my to-dos I can accomplish reasonably in the course of that day.
• I keep both of the above in a Field Notes pad which is with me all the time.
• The God's Love is for Everyone Program is a program for Seminar graduates I participate in with people from The Center in San Francisco. I have a "coach" who I write to and supports me in my daily practice and the various challenges life presents.

I write this out in the hopes that it will help others find their own daily practice. It is simply what I do which supports my continued spiritual movement. It changes all the time. Some days I don't get to it all. Other days I need to do only one of the things over and over. And my meditations are always different. Sometimes it's a lot of crying. Others it's a dance and I'm focused on pulling on the love and light of God. Other times it's pure rage followed by calming and deep thinking. The most important thing I've learned is to stay open to what it needs to be today.

More on my experience in The Seminar when I have time to sit down and write it out.Comments are welcome. Hope this helps and/or inspires any of you.

Fresh on Flickr

Posted a new FLickr set titled 'Recent' with some of the more, well, recent images from our life here in Boulder. I'll try to keep it fresh. Check it out here.