Mulheres da terra

Dietary Rules for Babies according to Ayurveda

By Vaidya Ātreya Smith

The main concept in Ayurveda for diet and nutrition is Agni; literally, ‘fire’. Agni is usually translated as ‘enzymes’ and indicates our capacity of digestion. In other words the Agni of a person tells us what the person is able to digest. The definition of ‘digest’ means, “assimilation of nutrients and evacuation of waste”. Collectively the concept of Agni means what nutrients a person is able to assimilate vs their elimination of waste; e.g., material ingested that is non-nutritive. Therefore, Agni is also the intelligent function of the digestion that is able to distinguish what portion of the food is nutritive and what portion is waste, or non-nutritive.

Babies are born with the potential of Agni, but their Agni is not yet functioning at birth. Thus, all dietary rules for babies are based on how we can activate the Agni of the baby successfully. A failure to start the correct function of Agni leads to a number of health problems and eventual food sensitivities and food allergies. A classic example of these kinds of problems are colic pain, diarrhea and skin rashes such as eczema.

Ayurveda advises that a baby be breast fed for at least six months and up to two years. During the period of breast feeding the treatments are given to the mother. Once the baby is given food then then the mother and baby are treated. When the baby only eats food then the baby alone is treated. Generally speaking until the child is five years old we treat the parents, not the child. This logic is based on the fact that the child is dependent on the parents (or should be) for their diet. If the parent is allowing the child to choose their food then this is generally catastrophic and leads to a number of childhood diseases such as diabetes, obesity or other metabolic disorders.

During the period of breastfeeding the mother needs to be aware that most solid foods with take roughly 36 hours to be transformed into milk. In some cases, liquids for example, the food can become milk in as little as 12 hours; this is exception rather the rule. Additionally, an animal based diet, such as meat and dairy, will take 48 to 60 hours before it becomes milk. Awareness on the mothers part is needed to discover which foods she is eating that the baby cannot digest. Typically this manifests as colic pain (intestinal gas) and liquid stools for a baby. The difficulty for the mother is that she will have problems to trace the food back to the correct meal if she is not aware of the above time delay her body needs to manufacture milk. The common tendancy is to just look back to the last meal which an error because that food is still in the digestive system of the mother.

The second primary concept of dietary rules in Ayurveda is that of non-digested, non-assimilated, non-evacuated food, or Ama. Ama is the result of an Agni which is not working at an optimal level. Ayurveda considers three states of less than optimal Agni functions; low, high and variable. If Agni is operating at any of these three levels the result is Ama. As the definition clearly states the food stays in the body (non-assimilated, non-evacuated food) and putrefies. Any food that is left in a warm, humid, dark place will rot. The human digestive tract is a perfect environment for rotting food as it is warm, humid and fairly dark. Ayurveda considered Ama to be one of the main causal factors in pathology.

Typically the mother will have some level of Ama in her body before and during pregnancy. This Ama (rotten food) is more or less filtered by the body before the production of milk. However, the level of Ama is important, or the Ama has been present in the mother’s body for a long period of time (e.g., years) then some Ama will pass into the baby. This means that the baby’s Agni will not only have to learn how to digest food, mother’s milk, but also the Ama in the milk. Often the failure to digest this Ama manifests as Eczema or other hard to treat skin disorders. This is why the baby can be only weeks old and start to show signs of Eczema. In spite of this tendency mother’s milk is still the best food for the baby. Eventually the baby will learn how to digest the Ama and the childhood Eczema usually disappears between the age of 6 to 8 years old.

Around six months the baby begins to grow teeth. Once the teeth begin to come in the baby is giving a sign that it is ready to eat food other than milk. Giving solid food (mashed, cooked, mixed or otherwise prepared) is a major mistake in today’s pediatrics. The result of giving food to babies before their digestion is ready results in Ama. If the baby gets Ama then increases colic, distention, gas and liquid stools or constipation, or both. This is the main cause of the epidemic of skin disorders with babies today – coupled with the mother passing on her own Ama 80% of infant skin disorders can be accounted for by this modern practice.

Virtually all traditional cultures for the last several thousand years (with the exception of Laplanders and Eskimo’s) have given their children a mono diet of cereals and grains for the first years of their development. The classic texts of Ayurveda indicate that children should be started with cereals and grains as the first food because it builds tissue strength or Bala. It is also easy to digest for the budding Agni of a baby. Cereals should be the main food until the age of 8 to 10 years old.

Depending on your culture either root vegetables or leguminous (beans) can be added into the grains around 12 months of age. Some cultures, such as India and Brazil, eat leguminous two to three times per day. Others, such as Europe and the USA, do not eat many leguminous. Mung Dal and Adzuki beans are the two most nutritious and easy to digest of all leguminous. Otherwise start with root vegetables such as carrots, beets, celery, etc. Avoid potatoes and other Solanacea Family (eggplant, tomatoes, etc.).

The basic concept is that Agni needs time to understand and adapt to each food in order to digest it. Therefore, the rule is that we should introduce one food at a time. Keep this food for some time until you are sure the child can digest it – e.g., no colic, etc. – and then introduce the next food. Avoid at all costs the store bought “baby foods” that have five to seven different kinds of foods in them to be “balanced”. From an Ayurvedic point of view the worst thing you can do is give your child a bunch of different foods at the same meal – even if they are mixed and made into a puree. This is because the Agni (or enzymes if you like) needs to sort out the different foods in order to transform them, or digest them.

A word on fruit. Fruit is basically cleansing and cooling in nature although a few exceptions exist. According to Ayurveda fruit does not build Bala, or strength. It can be useful if the child tends towards hard stools and constipation. However, the parents should be aware that fruit will not build tissues and strength needed to go with them. Hence, they should not be used as a main food, but rather as a supplement after 12 months old. Bananas are a common food given to children. In Ayurveda bananas are considered to be sweet and nourishing in the first stages of digestion and acidic in the second stage (liver metabolism); they are also constipative.

Following this basic logic for the first years will reduce the number of childhood digestive problems and metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes when the child is 8 to 12 years old. The logic of this is easy to see in the USA and India where this traditional approach is not followed – hence these countries now have the highest rates of childhood diabetes in the world.

Even though much of this information is opposite to what governments, doctors and nutritionists are telling new parents it does not reduce the time proven truth of this approach. The advantage of using traditional forms of medicine is that they have already tried out everything and found out what works.

Fonte

http://www.atreya.com

Doulas: Ángeles de la maternidad

Doulas: Ángeles de la maternidad from MiNuShu on Vimeo.

Love, Breathe, Just Doula

Iniciando as comemorações da semana mundial das Doulas -

The Essential Ingredient: Doula

Na semana internacional da Doula (2014)...

O segundo de uma série de documentários sobre o papel da Doula durante a gravidez, parto e pós-parto.


The Essential Ingredient: Doula from DONA International on Vimeo.

Ayurvedic Garbha Sanskar -- Ayurvedic Holistic Pregnancy care

Mulheres curadoras

Por Mani Alvarez

Erveiras, raizeiras, benzedeiras, mulheres sábias que por muito tempo andaram sumidas, ou até mesmo escondidas. Hoje retornam com um diploma de pós-graduação nas mãos e um sorriso maroto nos lábios. Seu saber mudou de nome. Chamam de terapia alternativa, medicina vibracional, fitoterapia, práticas complementares…são reconhecidas e respeitadas, tem seus consultórios e fazem palestras.

As mulheres curadoras fazem parte de um antigo arquétipo da humanidade. Em todas as lendas e mitos, quando há alguém doente ou com dores, sempre aparece uma mulher idosa para oferecer um chazinho, fazer uma compressa, dar um conselho sábio. Na verdade, a mulher idosa é um arquétipo da ‘curadora’, também chamada nos mitos de Grande Mãe.

Não tem nada a ver com a idade cronológica, porque esse é um arquétipo comum a todas as mulheres que sentem o chamado para a criatividade, que se interessam por novos conhecimentos e estão sempre a procura de mais crescimento interno. Sua sabedoria é saber que somos “obras em andamento’, apesar do cansaço, dos tombos, das perdas que sofremos… a alma dessas mulheres é mais velha que o tempo, e seu espírito é eternamente jovem.

Talvez seja por isso que, como disse Clarissa Pinkola, toda mulher parece com uma árvore. Nas camadas mais profundas de sua alma ela abriga raízes vitais que puxam a energia das profundezas para cima, para nutrir suas folhas, flores e frutos. Ninguém compreende de onde uma mulher retira tanta força, tanta esperança, tanta vida. Mesmo quando são cortadas, tolhidas, retalhadas, de suas raízes ainda nascem brotos que vão trazer tudo de volta à vida outra vez.

Por isso entendem as mulheres de plantas que curam, dos ciclos da lua, das estações que vão e vem ao longo da roda do sol pelo céu. Elas tem um pacto com essa fonte sábia e misteriosa que é a natureza,. Prova disso é que sempre se encontra mulheres nos bancos das salas de aula, prontas para aprender, para recomeçar, para ampliar sua visão interior. Elas não param de voltar a crescer…

Nunca escrevem tratados sobre o que sabem, mas como sabem coisas! Hoje os cientistas descobrem o que nossas avós já diziam: as plantas têm consciência! Elas são capazes de entender e corresponder ao ambiente à sua volta. Converse com o “dente-de-leão” para ver… comunique-se com as plantas de seu jardim, com seus vasos, com suas ervas e raízes, o segredo é sempre o amor.

Minha mãe dizia que as árvores são passagens para os mundos místicos, e que suas raízes são como antenas que dão acesso aos mundos subterrâneos. Por isso ela mantinha em nossa casa algumas árvores que tinham tratamento especial. Uma delas era chamada de “árvore protetora da família”, e era vista como fonte de cura, de força e energia. Qualquer problema, corríamos para abraçá-la e pedir proteção.

O arquétipo de ‘curadora’ faz parte da essência do feminino, mesmo que seja vivenciado por um homem. Isso está aquém dos rótulos e definições de gênero. Faz parte de conhecimentos ancestrais que foram conservados em nosso inconsciente coletivo.

Perdemos a capacidade de olhar o mundo com encantamento, mas podemos reaprender isso prestando atenção nas lendas e nos mitos que ainda falam de realidades invisíveis que nos rodeiam. Um exemplo? Procure saber mais sobre os seres elementais que povoam os nossos jardins e as fontes de águas… fadas, gnomos, elfos, sílfides, ondinas, salamandras…

As “curadoras’ afirmam que podemos atrair seres encantados para nossos jardins! Como? Plantando flores e plantas que atraiam abelhas e borboletas, gaiolas abertas para passarinhos e bebedouros para beija-flores.

Algumas plantas ‘convidam’ lindas borboletas para seu jardim, como milefólio, lavanda, hortelã silvestre, alecrim, tomilho, verbena, petúnia e outras. Deixe em seu jardim uma área levemente selvagem, sem grama, os seres elementais gostam disso. Convide fadas e elfos para viverem lá.

Lembre-se: onde você colocar sua percepção e sua consciência, a energia vai atrás.

RITUAL PARA CRIAR UM CAMPO DE ENERGIA EM SUA CASA

• Escolha uma planta para ser a Planta Protetora de sua casa.
• Batize-a, perguntando-lhe o nome. O nome que vier à sua cabeça é este que ela está lhe falando. Isso é importante, porque você está estabelecendo um primeiro relacionamento com sua planta.
• Converse com ela, conte-lhe alguma coisa – pode ser um sonho, um desejo ou uma intenção para a energia de sua casa.
• Todas as vezes que for regar a planta, pense na sua intenção e reforce o seu propósito.
• Agradeça sempre pela energia que ela está emanando para sua casa. Diga:
  Obrigada, Espírito da minha Planta Protetora, por você estar energizando essa casa. Este simples gesto significa que você confere existência e poder à sua Planta Protetora.
  
  
  
  
  Fonte
  http://tudosobreplantas.wordpress.com

Nascer bem - Suely Carvalho

Princípios fundamentais da nutrição ayurvédica

Apesar da qualidade da gravação, o conteúdo da palestra vale mesmo a pena!

Escolher um porta-bebés

Fontes:

http://babywearinginternational.org

http://www.thebabywearer.com

http://www.wrapyourbaby.com

Fotografia de Jean Dieuzade (Nazaré, 1954, pub. em Voyages en Ibérie)

International Babywearing week

Benefícios da utilização de porta-bebés

O transporte do bebé num porta-bebés acarreta inúmeros benefícios. Os mais óbvios são sem dúvida o proporcionar ao adulto uma maior liberdade de movimentos, ser uma forma prática, leve e sem ocupação de espaço de viajar com o bebé, ao contrário de um carrinho ou ovo.

Mas o uso do porta-bebés não se limita a estas vantagens. Está comprovado que o contato físico entre bebé e mãe liberta ocitocina, uma hormona responsável pelas emoções positivas, pela sensação de prazer e pela inibição dos efeitos negativos de stress, ansiedades ou fobias, o que acalma o bebé, evitando que tenha crises de choro e, no caso de as ter, serem controladas quando colocados na sua posição preferida no porta-bebés. A hormona é libertada quer no bebé quer na mãe, pelo que os seus benefícios são mútuos.

Outros benefícios de transportar o bebé num porta-bebés são:

Reprodução do ambiente uterino: o bebé continua a receber o toque, a pressão e os calmantes e reconfortantes sons do batimento cardíaco da mãe e do seu ritmo respiratório, o que lhe proporciona serenidade, influenciando pela positiva a qualidade de sono do bebé: além de adormecer com mais facilidade, o bebé tem sonos mais longos e tranquilos.

Amamentação: devido à proximidade entre bebé e mãe a amamentação é facilitada e discreta, o que limita os estímulos exteriores para o bebé, proporcionando um momento de amamentação mais tranquilo. Alguns estudos comprovam que o uso de porta-bebés potencia uma amamentação exclusiva até tarde, nomeadamente um estudo de Mahmood I (2001) que conclui que um contato direto precoce aumentou significativamente o sucesso da primeira amamentação e da sua exclusividade até tarde. O estudo de Piscane e outros (2012), sugere nas suas conclusões que o uso de porta-bebés no 1º mês de vida de bebés saudáveis e de termo (nascidos às 40 semanas) está associado ao aumento de tempo de amamentação.

Vinculação: Um estudo da Universidade de Colômbia comparou o nível de vinculação de bebés transportados em porta-bebés e em ovos e mostrou que, aos 13 meses, os bebés que haviam sido transportados em porta-bebés eram significativamente mais propensos a demonstrar uma forte vinculação com as suas mães.

Comunicação e socialização: ao ser transportado num porta-bebés o bebé visualiza as expressões faciais da mãe/pai e aprende a interpretá-las. O mesmo acontece com a linguagem: ao estar tão próximo do seu cuidador, o bebé interioriza de forma natural a linguagem, havendo inclusive alguns estudos que mencionam que bebés transportados em porta-bebés podem aprender a falar mais cedo.

Temperatura corporal: num porta-bebés o bebé consegue manter a sua própria temperatura corporal, mas está sincronizado com a sua mãe. Se o bebé ficar frio a temperatura corporal da mãe vai subir para aquecê-lo (Ludington-Hoe, 2006).

Mas o uso do porta-bebés não acarreta vantagens apenas para o bebé, também é benéfico para a mãe. Ajuda a promover a confiança parental pois o fato de o bebé estar seguro e sereno proporciona essa sensação de confiança. 

Outra vantagem é poder-se transportar seguramente o bebé independentemente por onde passeia, ao contrário de um carrinho que não consegue ultrapassar alguns obstáculos (escadas por exemplo) e andar em certos percursos (na praia). O fato de carregar tão próximo o bebé permite à mãe/pai ter perceção imediata das necessidades do bebé e poder saciá-las no momento. 

Fontes:

http://www.esmeraldazul.com

Quinzena de Acção sobre as Sementes Livres. 2013

Pain, Birth, and Fear

 “…if you want to know where a woman’s true power lies, look to those primal experiences we’ve been taught to fear…the very same experiences the culture has taught us to distance ourselves from as much as possible, often by medicalizing them so that we are barely conscious of them anymore. Labor and birth rank right up there as experiences that put women in touch with their feminine power…” -

Christiane Northrup

During my first pregnancy, I read like crazy. I felt like I was studying for the biggest test of my life, only it was impossible to know what was actually going to be on it. When I actually gave birth, I was delighted to find I was able to get out of my head and trust my body. Quite some time later, I figured out that information about birth does not equal knowledge about birth.

We spend a lot of time informing and educating women about their choices surrounding birth and are often then surprised that this apparent information does not translate into experience once in the birth room. Obviously, this is partially because the birth room is a context impacted by a large number of social, cultural, psychological, and environmental factors, but I believe it is also because with all of our information we still haven’t managed to help parents develop knowledge and the two are not the same. Parents are often not able to recall or to mobilize information resources while actually embroiled in the birth experience. They need an inner knowing and inner resources to draw on for coping.

via Information ≠ Knowledge

I also pondered (and continue to ponder) how women really learn about birth. Like I did, most of them seek out written information and this can lead to information overload…

With the wonderful world wide web available to us 24/7, the deluge of information we encounter (and seek out) during pregnancy can feel a lot like drowning. So many choices, so much to learn, so much to digest. There are times when everything seems to come into question — from what you eat during pregnancy to whether you should create a birth plan…

via Stop Birth Information Overload by Getting Back to Basics — Giving Birth with Confidence.

My all-time favorite article about the notion of this “information feeding frenzy” engaged in by pregnant women is by Pam England who explains the following:

It would seem at first glance that a mother who gathers lots of information during pregnancy is motivated and headed in the “right direction.” However, a more important detail of her preparation is her being aware of what is motivating her to become so well-informed. What does the drive for information feel like in her body? How does she know in her bones and gut how to use the information? And to what degree is she is aware of any of this?

If she is not listening to the subtle messages in her body, in her breath, in her dreams, or in the patterns in her thoughts and emotions, then she is acting from her conditioning and not from awareness. From the outside, no one may be able to tell the difference, but on the inside, she will feel the difference…

via Birthing From Within – Information Frenzy.

Which brings me back to this quote:

“I usually claim that pregnant women should not read books about pregnancy and birth. Their time is too precious. They should, rather, watch the moon and sing to their baby in the womb.” Michel Odent

via How Do Women Really Learn About Birth?

And also to another of my own articles about information overload during pregnancy:

Many pregnant women have information overload. They are faced with more information than they know what to do with. They are bombarded by it. What they really need is “knowing.” They need to know: “What skills do I possess or can learn that will help me greet my birth with anticipation and confidence? What are my tools? My resources? Can I just let it happen?” As an educator I ask myself, “What will help them feel confident? Feel ready? Trust their bodies and their capacities?”

via Talk Less, Learn More: Evolving as an Educator

A lot of this information feeding frenzy, including that of my own first pregnancy, may be related to fear of labor, pain, and the unknown.

Could it be that human fear of pain is being used to generate financial profit? (the opium-is-the-opiate-of-the-masses model). Perhaps once the notion of palliative care reached a certain level of acceptance for the dying within the medical community, it began to spill over into other human conditions (the slippery-slope model). Or, perhaps we don’t want transparency at all (the denial model)…

…I can think of many questions that fall under this topic…Why do we call the intense phenomenon of birth “painful”? How do our genetics, behavior, training and thought-processes affect our experience of pain? What about the health care culture – has it focused on relieving pain at the expense of what we gain from working with pain short of trauma or imminent death? How do we prepare women for working with sensation without automatically labeling it pain? Is the “empowerment” often attributed to giving birth what is learned by going through the center of the “there is no birth of consciousness without pain” experience? These questions are just a start…

via About Pain and Birth | Dancing Thru Pregnancy® Blog.

Could these fears also be tied to our cultural lack of appropriate vocabulary for pain?

A childbirth educator interviewed during the film briefly discusses pain and says that we need more words for pain, because it is ridiculous that we have only one word that is used to describe a hangnail, a broken leg, being hit by a car, and labor. I had already been musing about pain during labor and how we perceive it, talk about it, and so forth and this comment was additional food for thought for me. I’m thinking that there are many other words used to describe women’s experiences of labor and birth other than pain–a word that is limited in scope and that for some women may well not even apply to the experiences in birth

via Words for Pain

Or, to a fear of “losing control” during labor?

A topic that frequently arises in birth classes is about the fear of “losing control” in labor. Losing control, “losing it,” or “freaking out” are concerns expressed by women preparing to give birth. It is important to acknowledge that this is a common fear. I also like to ask parents to think about what “freaking out” or “losing it” would mean to them? I ask them to consider what benefits there may be to losing control. I also say, “What if you do freak out? Maybe, so what?! Maybe it is okay. Maybe it is good. Maybe it is helpful…”

via Fears About Birth and Losing Control

Or, perhaps more simply, to a lack of trust in our care providers?

I was interested to read a short segment in the book Labor Pain about studies on fear about birth. A Swedish study indicated that it was not pain that caused women the most anxiety about labor (44% of women had fear of pain). It also wasn’t fear of death of the mother or baby (55% worried about this). It wasn’t fear of their physical or mental capacity to give birth (65% feared this), but it was “lack of trust of obstetric staff during delivery” (73%).

via Fear & Birth

Men may also feel a lot of fear surrounding birth and have few ways to express it:

Although a man cannot feel the same pain as a laboring woman, I believe that many men experience a similar cycle of emotions in the birthing space to that which Dick-Read described, with a slightly different end product, namely: Fear > Tension > Panic. A man who is not confident in his partner’s birthing abilities, who is poorly informed, and/or who is poorly supported, becomes increasingly tense; and if this tension is not eased, then he spirals into an irreversible state of panic. This panic manifests differently in different men: some men become paralyzed by their fear (the familiar specter of the terrified dad sitting stock-still at the foot of the bed), while others spring into hyperactivity, bringing endless cups of water or becoming obsessively concerned with the temperature of the birth pool.

via Fathers, Fear, and Birth

I think it is also important to recognize the deep gifts to be found in facing our fears and doing it anyway:

We may feel guilty, ashamed, negative, and apologetic about our deepest “what ifs.” We worry that if we speak of them, they might come true. We worry that in voicing them, we might make homebirth or midwifery or whatever look bad. We don’t want to add any fuel to the fire of terror that already dominates the “mainstream” birth climate. And, we don’t want to lose “crunchy points.” We want to be blissfully empowered, confident, and courageous. And, guess what? We are. Sometimes that courage comes from looking the “what ifs” right in the eye. Sometimes it comes from living through them. My most powerful gift from my pregnancy with my daughter, my pregnancy-after-loss baby, was to watch myself feel the fear and do it anyway. I was brave. And, it changed me to learn that.

What if we can learn more from our shadows than we ever thought possible? There is power in thinking what if I can’t do this and then discovering that you CAN…

via What If…She’s Stronger than She Knows… | Talk Birth.

Fonte

http://talkbirth.me

As dimensões espiritual e religiosa da crise ambiental

Por Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Traduzido por Sandro Faria e Nuno Almeida

Não existe nada mais premente para discutir do que a questão da crise ambiental e das verdades e falsidades associadas a todo este assunto. A palavra “crise” não é utilizada neste contexto por acidente, pois trata‐se seguramente de uma verdadeira crise, a qual segue o encalço daquela crise espiritual e intelectual que é indissociável da perspectiva predominante do mundo moderno. Aquela crise anterior que René Guénon discutiu há praticamente um século atrás em várias obras, incluindo em Crise do Mundo Moderno, a qual era conhecida por uns poucos e ignorada pela maioria. A crise ambiental é todavia demasiado manifesta para ser ignorada, mesmo pela multidão. É uma crise de extrema gravidade e urgência e qualquer um que a menospreze está simplesmente a enganar‐se a si mesmo ou a sonhar acordado. Porém, está na nossa natureza tentarmos nos esquivar do confronto com o que exige de nós as mais profundas transformações interiores.

Poderá ser da nossa natureza tentarmos nos esquivar de um perigo eminente a menos que estejamos verdadeiramente perante ele, mas a razão pela qual não o pretendemos encarar é precisamente por ser um perigo. O cenário sério, retratado por académicos e cientistas honestos que estão interessados no futuro da humanidade, pode, frequentemente, ser anulado por uma empresa de filmagens que envie uma câmara para a floresta para fotografar uns poucos pássaros a voar por ali, com a pretensão de mostrar quão “normal” é a situação ambiental da terra, mesmo em zonas urbanas. Mas a verdade é o oposto. Estamos perto de uma enorme crise, a qual tem que ser considerada de forma completamente séria. Mormente, é também necessário compreender que a crise ambiental não pode ser resolvida através de boa engenharia (ou melhor engenharia); não pode ser resolvida através de planeamento económico; nem mesmo pode ser resolvida através de modificações de cosmética na nossa concepção do desenvolvimento e da mudança. A crise ambiental requer uma transformação muito radical na nossa consciência, e isto não significa descobrir um estado de consciência completamente novo, mas sim regressar ao estado de consciência que a humanidade tradicional sempre teve. Significa redescobrir a forma tradicional de olhar para o mundo da natureza como presença sagrada.

Para continuar a ler descarregar aqui, página 61.

La educación que tenemos roba a los jóvenes la conciencia, el tiempo y la vida

Entrevista a Claudio Naranjo

Cuando uno escucha a este psiquiatra chileno de 75 años da la sensación de estar frente al Jean-Jacques Rousseau de nuestro tiempo.

Cuenta que estaba bastante dormido hasta que en los años 60 se fue a vivir a EE.UU., allí fue discípulo de Fritz Perls, uno de los grandes terapeutas del siglo XX y formó parte del equipo del Instituto Esalen en California. Allí tuvo grandes experiencias en el mundo terapéutico y en el mundo espiritual. Contactó con el sufismo y se convirtió en uno de los introductores de Eneagrama en occidente. También bebió del budismo tibetano y el zen.

Claudio Naranjo ha dedicado su vida a la investigación y a la docencia en Universidades como Hardvard y Berkeley. Ha fundado el programa SAT, una integración de la terapia Gestalt, el Eneagrama y la Meditación para enriquecer la formación de profesores. En este momento está lanzando un aviso muy contundente: o cambiamos la educación o este mundo se va a pique.

- Dices que para cambiar el mundo hay que cambiar la educación ¿cuál es la problemática de la educación y cuál es tu propuesta?

- La problemática en la educación no es de ninguna manera la que a los educadores les parece que es. Creen que los estudiantes ya no quieren lo que se les ofrece. A la gente se le quiere forzar a una educación irrelevante y se defiende con trastornos de la atención, con desmotivación. Yo pienso que la educación no está al servicio de la evolución humana sino de la producción o más bien de la socialización. Esta educación sirve para domesticar a la gente de generación en generación para que sigan siendo unos corderitos manipulables por los medios de comunicación. Esto es socialmente un gran daño. Se quiere usar la educación como una manera de meter en la cabeza de la gente una manera de ver las cosas que le conviene al sistema, a la burocracia. Nuestra mayor necesidad es la de una educación para evolucionar, para que la gente sea lo que podría ser.

La crisis de la educación no es una crisis más entre las muchas crisis que tenemos, sino que la educación está en el centro del problema. El mundo está en una crisis profunda porque no tenemos una educación para la conciencia. Tenemos una educación que en cierto modo le está robando a la gente su conciencia, su tiempo y su vida.

El modelo de desarrollo económico de hoy ha eclipsado el desarrollo de la persona.

- Cómo sería una educación para que seamos seres completos?

- La educación enseña a la gente a pasar exámenes, no a pensar por si misma. En un examen no se mide la comprensión, se mide la capacidad de repetir. ¡Es ridículo, se pierde una cantidad tan grande de energía! En lugar de una educación para la información, se necesitaría una educación que se ocupe del aspecto emocional y una educación de la mente profunda. A mi me parece que estamos presos entre una alternativa idiota, que es la educación laica y una educación autoritaria que es la educación religiosa tradicional. Está bien separar Estado e Iglesia pero, por ejemplo en España, han echado por la borda el espíritu como si religión y espíritu fueran la misma cosa. Necesitamos que la educación atienda también a la mente profunda.

- Cuándo hablas de espiritualidad y de mente profunda a qué te refieres exactamente?

- Tiene que ver con la conciencia misma. Tiene que ver con aquella parte de la mente de la que depende el sentido de la vida. Se está educando a la gente sin ese sentido. Tampoco es la educación de valores porque la educación de valores es demasiado retórica e intelectual. Los valores deberían ser cultivados a través de un proceso de transformación de la persona y esta transformación está muy lejos de la educación actual.

La educación también tiene que incluir un aspecto terapéutico. Desarrollarse como persona no se puede separar del crecimiento emocional. Los jóvenes están muy dañados afectiva y emocionalmente por el hecho de que el mercado laboral se traga a los padres y ya no tienen disponibilidad para los hijos. Hay mucha carencia amorosa y muchos desequilibrios en los niños. No puede aprender intelectualmente una persona que está dañada emocionalmente.

Lo terapéutico tiene mucho que ver con devolverle a la persona la libertad, la espontaneidad y la capacidad de conocer sus propios deseos. El mundo civilizado es un mundo domesticado y la enseñanza y la crianza son instrumentos de esa domesticación. Tenemos una civilización enferma, los artistas se dieron cuenta hace mucho tiempo y ahora cada vez más los pensadores.

- A la educación parece solo interesarle desarrollar la parte racional de la gente ¿Qué otras cosas podrían desarrollarse?

- Yo pongo énfasis en que somos seres con tres cerebros: tenemos cabeza (cerebro intelectual), corazón (cerebro emocional) y tripas (cerebro visceral o instintivo). La civilización está íntimamente ligada por la toma de poder por el cerebro racional. Con el momento en que los hombres predominaron en el dominio político, unos 6000 años atrás, se instaura esto que llamamos civilización. Y no es solamente el dominio masculino ni el dominio de la razón sino también de la razón instrumental y práctica, que se asocia con la tecnología; es este predominio de la razón instrumental sobre el afecto y sobre la sabiduría instintiva lo que nos tiene tan empobrecidos. La plenitud la puede vivir sólo una persona que tiene sus tres cerebros en orden y coordinados. Desde mi punto de vista necesitamos una educación para seres tri-cerebrados. Una educación que se podría llamar holística o integral. Si vamos a educar a toda la persona, hemos de tener en cuenta que la persona no es solo razón.

Al sistema le conviene que uno no esté tanto en contacto consigo mismo ni que piense por sí mismo. Por mucho que se levante la bandera de la democracia, se le tiene mucho miedo a que la gente tenga voz y tenga conciencia.

La clase política no está dispuesta a apostar por la educación.

- La educación nos sumerge en un mar de conceptos que nos separan de la realidad y nos aprisiona en nuestra propia mente ¿Cómo se puede salir de esa prisión?

- Es una gran pregunta y es una pregunta necesaria en el mundo educacional. La idea de que lo conceptual sea una prisión requiere una cierta experiencia de que la vida es más que eso. Para uno que ya tiene el interés en salir de la prisión de lo intelectual, es muy importante la disciplina de detener la mente, la disciplina del silencio, como se practica en todas las tradiciones espirituales: cristianismo, budismo, yoga, chamanismo… Parar los diálogos internos en todas las tradiciones de desarrollo humano ha sido visto como algo muy importante. La persona necesita alimentarse de otra cosa que conceptos. La educación quiere encerrar a la persona en un lugar donde se la somete a una educación conceptual forzada, como si no hubiera otra cosa en la vida. Es muy importante, por ejemplo, la belleza. La capacidad de reverencia, de asombro, de veneración, de devoción. No tiene que ver necesariamente con una religión o con un sistema de creencias. Es una parte importante de la vida interior que se está perdiendo de la misma manera en que se están perdiendo los espacios bellos de la superficie de la Tierra, a medida que se construye y se urbaniza.

- Precisamente quería preguntarte tu opinión sobre la crisis ecológica que vivimos.

- Es una crisis muy evidente, es la amenaza más tangible de todas. Se puede prever fácilmente que con el calentamiento de la Tierra, con el envenenamiento de los océanos y otros desastres que están pasando, no vamos a poder sobrevivir tantas personas como las que somos ahora.
Estamos viviendo gracias al petróleo y consumimos más recursos de los que la tierra produce. Es una cuenta atrás. Cuando se nos acabe el combustible será un desastre para el mundo tecnológico que tenemos.

La gente a la que llamamos más primitiva como los indígenas tienen una forma de tratar a la naturaleza que no viene del sentido utilitario. En la ecología como en la economía y otras cosas, hemos querido prescindir de la conciencia y funcionar sólo con argumentos racionales y eso nos está llevando al desastre. La crisis ecológica sólo puede pararse con un cambio de corazón, verdadera transformación, que sólo la puede dar un proceso educativo. Por eso no tengo mucha fe ni en las terapias ni en las religiones. Solo una educación holística podría prevenir el deterioro de la mente y del planeta.

- Podríamos decir que has encontrado un equilibrio en tu vida a esas alturas?

- Yo diría que cada vez más aunque no he terminado el viaje. Soy una persona que tiene mucha satisfacción, la satisfacción de estar ayudando al mundo en el que estoy. Vivo feliz, si se puede ser feliz en esa situación trágica en la que estamos todos.

- Desde tu experiencia, tu trayectoria y tu madurez, ¿cómo procesas el hecho de la muerte?

- En todas las tradiciones espirituales se aconseja vivir con la muerte al lado. Hay que hacerse a esa evidencia de que somos mortales y creo que el que toma la muerte en serio no será tan vano. No tienes tanto miedo a cosas pequeñas cuando hay una cosa grande de la cual preocuparte más. Yo creo que la muerte sólo puede superarla uno que en cierto modo muere antes de morir. Uno tiene que morir a la parte mortal, a la parte intrascendente. Los que tienen suficiente tiempo y vocación y que llegan suficientemente lejos en este viaje interior se encuentran tarde o temprano con su verdadero ser. Y ese ser interior o ese ser lo que uno es, es algo que no tiene tiempo y que le da a una persona una cierta paz o un sentido de invulnerabilidad. Estamos muy absortos en nuestra vida cotidiana, en nuestros pensamientos de alegría, tristeza, etc… No estamos en nosotros, no estamos atentos a quien somos. Para eso necesitamos estar muy en sintonía a nuestra experiencia del momento. Esta es la condición humana, estamos viviendo hacia el pasado y el futuro, el aspecto horizontal de nuestra vida. Pero poco atentos a la dimensión vertical de nuestra vida, el aspecto más alto y más profundo, eso es el espíritu y es nuestro ser y la llave para acceder es el aquí y ahora. A veces vamos en busca del ser y a veces nos confundimos en la búsqueda de otras cosas menos importantes como la gloria.

Fonte:

http://www.revistanamaste.com 

Una opción placentera para los días de luna.

Por Diana Vegas

Este ritual fue entregado por una indígena del amazonas a una buena amiga quién hace años me hizo el inmenso favor de enseñármelo. Gracias a esta práctica constante he visto mi ciclo sincronizarse a la luna y he logrado identificar el día exacto de ovulación y entrada en luna. Es bastante sencillo y adaptable, la premisa básica es que debemos reconocer nuestra naturaleza cíclica.

Este ejercicio llama a buscar el tiempo, así sea solo un momento para dedicárnoslos, cuidarnos y querernos. El gran ciclo de la vida se expresa cada mes en cada una de nosotras; todo nace, crece, se desarrolla y muere. Nuestras habilidades y atenciones se expresan también de forma cíclica, a lo largo del mes nuestro nivel de introspección y extrospección varía. Es buena idea tomar conciencia de este hecho y de ver en esa pequeña muerte  física, emocional y energética el potencial de transformación que conlleva.

1er día: No hagas nada que no quieras hacer. Es un día para evaluar y reflexionar de la luna que acaba de culminar. Cómo fueron las experiencias, emociones, respuestas e incluso juicios. Qué conductas debo repetir y qué respuestas debo mejorar. No se trata de un regaño pero si de una autoevaluación honesta. Si llega con dolor explora técnicas y herramientas que te ayuden a comprenderlo y aminorarlo. Durante este día no debe ducharte, porque el cambio de temperatura detiene el proceso de salida. Así mismo dentro de las posibilidades no utilices antitranspirante. El proceso de soltar abarca el cuerpo completo y muchas toxinas se liberan por las axilas. Es un día para drenar en todo nivel, para hacer una pausa en la vida y los ritmos que llevamos.

2do día: Devolver a la Tierra.  La idea es que parte de esa sangre la devuelvas a tierra como una ofrenda. Puede tener una maceta con tierra e irla mezclando (esta tierra puedes utilizarla como fertilizante) el concepto detrás de las copas menstruales es que ésta se colecta, no se absorbe (como los tampones o toallas), en este esquema la menstruación es percibida como material orgánico y no como desecho. 

3er día: regálate un baño de flores o sales. Buen día para exfoliarse. Deshacerse de lo superfluo, limpiarse. Limpiar el cuarto, ordenar la mente, revisar proyectos, qué cosas quiero crear este mes. Un buen día para soñar, para escribir, para proyectar los deseos del corazón.

4to día entrégate a danzar. Al compás de una músico o inclusive al silencio, importa es sentir el movimiento en el cuerpo y dejarse llevar, celebrar la feminidad y la renovación comienza un nuevo ciclo, tenemos la oportunidad de desarrollarlo todo de nuevo. Un buen día para expresar de forma artística, pintar, moldear. Un día para regocijarse en la alegría de ser y existir. 

“Las energías del ciclo menstrual no deben restringirse ni controlarse, puesto que el hecho de bloquearlas o coartarlas puede hacer que se vuelvan destructivas; por el contrario, deben aceptarse como un flujo que tiene su propio modo de expresión y contra el que no debemos luchar” 

Miranda Gray, Luna Roja. 

Fonte:

http://www.placentera.com

Blessings from Ayurveda

Por Sara Lopez

As a mother, I naturally want to do what is best for my children. In fact, I would do whatever it takes to ensure their health and wellbeing. Before studying Ayurveda, I had the willingness to do whatever necessary to keep my son healthy, but a lack of direction. Modern parents are bombarded with health “facts” from our pediatricians, the media, and our communities. These “facts” are sometimes backed by research, but rarely by principles. Whether conventional or alternative, I often get information about how best to care for my child --what to feed him, what kind of routine to put him on, which medicines, or herbs to use for various small ailments, etc—without a clear reason why it was chosen or the reasons behind why it should work for my child. The results were mixed, but whether my son was helped by the information or not, I was not empowered with the knowledge of how to choose wisely as a mother. Ayurveda has given me that gift.

The beauty of Ayurveda is that it is simply living in accordance with nature. This beautiful science explains that I am a part of a whole, living in a system, connected to and affected by the sun, the moon, my own bowl of beans; and so is the child growing inside of me. This is a wisdom our ancestors carried. And these truths were passed mother to child in each bowl of soup, in each tender touch, and loving word not just in India, but from strong threads woven into all traditional cultures. Our grandmothers and great grandmothers knew which foods to feed their families, and when to prepare them, which plants to use for a healing brew, when to put the child to bed, when to send him out for some fresh air and exercise, and when to seek a healer with more in-depth knowledge. As a culture, somewhere along the way, we’ve lost this basic knowledge. Ayurveda is helping this mama to get it back.

My mothering is lovingly infused with the knowledge preserved and passed down from teacher to student, healer to healer, mother to mother. This ancient science rooted in India is also urging me to remember the wisdom from my own grandmothers. This has brought about simple changes that have made a world of difference not only to the health and wellbeing of my son, but in my confidence as a mama. I know how to nourish my child and how to help him stay healthy and grow strong. I have the joy of preparing fresh, local, healthy, organic foods for my son; and the understanding of what to do when he has the sniffles or a restless night of sleep. Largely, his food and lifestyle are the medicine that keeps him healthy, but I also know when to seek out the knowledge of an Ayurvedic healer (in our case at the Vedika Seva Clinic) for more in depth and personal advice.  And for each of these blessings, I’m one happy and grateful-hearted mama.

Fonte:

http://www.vedikaglobal.org

Menstruation for Buddhist Women

Por Oxana Poberejnaia

Not all, but many women menstruate. The menstrual cycle is a contentious areas for feminists. Even men who aspire to be a feminist tend to find it difficult to deal with it. Inappropriate jokes ensue, and completely ignoring the issue is also a popular option.

My journey along a feminist path and toward the Sacred Femininenecessarily included working with my menstrual cycle. In this, Women’s Wisdom and the Menstrual Cycles articles  and Womb Blessings by Miranda Gray have been most helpful.

In Western Buddhism, one of the most revered and widely-taught practices is the four applications of mindfulness (body, feelings, mind, and mind objects – these terms have very specific meanings in Buddhism).  I argue that mindfulness of the body should include, for women, mindfulness of menstrual cycle. Once the need for such teaching is recognised, similar exercises may arise for men, to acknowledge hormone-based fluctuations in their bodies, for example, men’s response to hormonal changes in their female partners’ bodies, to do with pregnancy and giving birth (documented) and with menstrual cycle itself.

Western Buddhist practitioners are encouraged to stay with their bodies, feelings, mind and mind objects, without trying to control or change them. The Buddha went to details as instructing monks to be mindful at all times, including when they urinate and defecate. The fulllist is found here. And yet, there is no specific teaching for women to be aware of our menstrual bleeding.

I know from experience that I am not only affected by my menstrual cycle at the time of the actual bleeding. Every day for me is not just a calendar date, it is also a very particular stage in a 28-30 day cycle. One day it is the day before ovulation, so I have just had a busy week, and I am possibly getting a bit more introverted, and tomorrow I will feel some minor pain from ovulation. Another day could be the first day of the last week before bleeding. I might wake up tense, alert, with a vague feeling that something is wrong. Then I remember I am entering the what Gray calls the Enchantress stage.

Miranda Gray described menstrual cycle in terms of four distinct stages. And it is usually The Enchantress stage that women are most prosecuted for: literally in the past and present women are killed for being witches. Alternatively, women are ridiculed and discriminated against in the capitalistpatriarchal society. The patriarchal view is that menstruating women are dangerous, unstable, unreliable and untrustworthy, because every cycle they enter a stage they can’t control, when women seem to be aggressive, moody, unreasonable, destructive. Patriarchal adherents can deal with the bleeding phase – the Hag, as Miranda Gray calls it – because women tend to lack in energy and just suffer quietly on a couch during it.

But it is the Enchantress Stage that really scares some men. And some women. Women can get self-demeaning and distrustful of themselves due to the fact that the menstrual cycle appears to be a problem, rather than a blessing, to them. The reason for this  is that patriarchal society wants women and men to see menstrual cycle as a problem, so that women are seen as inferior, as “broken”, “freak” men. Not as stable, not as efficient, not as logical, not as productive. These considerations become especially important in a capitalist society, in which all people are “valued” and rewarded only as much as they contribute to enriching the top 1 percent of capitalists. In a capitalist society, the sacredness of life is obliterated, and giving birth is seen as an inconvenience. (...)

However, this is an area is where Buddhist practice and the Goddess spirituality can work together. Buddhism offers excellent teachings on being mindful, of letting be, of letting go of control. If only this was taught in Western Buddhist centres to women in relation to menstruation. Miranda Gray offers a framework that is rooted in mythology and Goddess spirituality. With an addition of Buddhist meditation, it would be an integrated path to body and spiritual, and subsequently, social liberation for women.

Enchantress is not bad. She is not crazy. She is not stupid. She is preparing the way for rebirth. She is the one who is getting rid of everything that is dead, outdated, rotting, damaging. She is Mother Kali. She is autumn. Without autumn, there is no winter. Winter in menstrual cycle is bleeding – the time of no thought, the time of ultimate letting go and submerging into the waters of the Goddess in Her womb. This is also very similar to many Buddhist teachings.

Without winter, there is no spring (Virgin phase in menstrual cycle): there is no energy, no new sprouts, no growth. Without spring, there is no summer (Mother stage, ovulation): no fruition, no completion, no abundance, love and caring.

In my own experience, the infamous (in a patriarchal society) Enchantress phase is the time of honesty. Enchantress cannot put up with the injustices that I as a woman experience in my life – or that other men and women experience. The Enchantress does not take crap. She is wild, and she is unstoppable. She is the hand of justice.

During the Enchantress stage, I am not distracted by the energy swelling up inside me and compelling me to do, to act, to organise. I am not concentrated on being fertile, as at the time of ovulation – the Mother stage, when I want to be one with the world, to care and to nurture. And I am not listening attentively to the voice of the Dark Goddess as blood comes out of my womb. So, all the crap that I have taken in the previous cycle, due to lack of time, not wanting to bother, or just feeling sorry for the perpetrator – it all resurfaces, and the Goddess tells me: “In letting patriarchy put you down, you put me down.”

Fonte:

http://feminismandreligion.com