The Tree -Spirits

People praying to trees is a familiar sight in India .The trees which enjoy the most devotion are  -the Peepul tree and the Khejri tree (Sami / Jammi).

The method of collection of the medicinal herbs  is sometimes as  important as preparing the medicine.A small prayer of thanks is said along with a request to heal the person who uses it .This being only logical - Gratitude is a fine virtue to possess  and it would be most rude to pull a branch  from a life form however primitive it is considered to be.

This extract from the book " The kingdom of Faerie " by Geoffrey Hodson  explains more about the tree's state of consciousness.
The author is a famous philosopher , clairvoyant and Theosophist who published many articles for the Theosophical society.

A tree may be regarded as having a soul, because a portion of the monad-bearing life-wave pervades it,   and,evolves by means of incarnation within it; its evolution is quickened when a nature-spirit takes charge of a tree.

The first effect is the quickening of responsiveness in the dreaming consciousness of the tree.

The nature-spirit, being so much more highly evolved, appears also to act as a link, or channel, for energies from higher levels of 

consciousness, and so fulfils a function.

In taking up its abode in a tree, the nature-spirit appears to unify itself with the complete cell life of the tree, thus making homogeneous that which was heterogeneous; it, therefore, may be regarded as an expression of the soul of the tree, though at the same time it is a separate entity.

Horse gram soup for losing weight

Horse gram -image released into the public domain by Madhavi Madhurakavi.

Latin name : Macrotyloma uniflorum
Telugu : Ulavalu
Tamil : Kollu
Hindi-Kulath
Malayalam : Muthira

This is mainly used as fodder for cattle but recently it's in the limelight for its health benefits and medicinal value.

30 gm of presoaked  horse gram is boiled in 500 ml of water till the beans soften. The beans are mashed well .The mixture is filtered and the soup is spiced  with a pinch of cumin  (jeera ) powder ,rock salt and pepper powder.
It is ideal to drink this soup / stock in the winters as it is 'heat producing' .In the summers the quantity should be reduced.Beginners can start with 15 gm of the beans as they may not stomach it well and then gradually increase the quantity to 50 gm.
This is a good aid in reducing weight fast.
For more weight loss tips click on the tags below.

Multani mitti scrub

Multhani mitti  ( Fuller's earth) is a clay like powder which can adsorb some impurities and oils. A bulk of it is used in industries but it's  more famous for its cosmetic use. The constituents and colour may vary depending on the source.

Using this mitti as a gentle scrub while taking bath is extremely beneficial in the summer season.This pacifies the pitta doshas and opens up the pores of the skin .
The eye area needs be avoided.
Do click on the' summer tips ' tag below the post for more tips to beat the heat...