Food, Glorious Food

onthemat • April 20, 2016

When I thought about the food I would be eating at the Monastery, I envisioned a simple meal of rice and one other dish, including tea. When we first arrived, we were told there would be two meals a day during the retreat. Breakfast at 6 am. Lunch at 11 am. And then no food […]

When I thought about the food I would be eating at the Monastery, I envisioned a simple meal of rice and one other dish, including tea. When we first arrived, we were told there would be two meals a day during the retreat. Breakfast at 6 am. Lunch at 11 am. And then no food after 12 pm. Needless to say, I was amazed and stunned when our welcome meal before the retreat began looked like this:

As we experienced the week, we realized our meals were going to be this elaborate with traditional Burmese dishes that were all vegetarian and delectable. We continually laughed at how much food like this would cost at Whole Foods!

What is really incredible is the way this food is prepared. We took a tour to the kitchen toward the end of our stay and were amazed. Dirt floors, stoves over open flames, chopping, and chopping and chopping to make this delicious food.

The kitchen staff is comprised of the 17-year-old nuns. They cook the food, set the tables, place the food on tables, and clean up. What was so poignant is the yoga classes were in the hall where meals were served, so they watched each class, often through the windows as they worked. So good natured and friendly, always waving and saying hi as we passed by on the way to our suite of two rooms.

So many more stories, so many more pictures, so many more memories… I look forward to sharing “Coloring and Reading Break” tomorrow.

On The Mat Yoga Blog

Heart~ Day #7 (Week #4)

By Linda Malcomb • May 3, 2020
“There is a light in the core of our being that calls us home—one that can only be seen with closed eyes; We can feel it as a radiance in the center of our chest. This light of loving awareness is always here, regardless of our conditioning. It does not matter how many dark paths we have traveled or how many wounds we have inflicted or sustained as we have unknowingly stumbled toward this inner radiance. It does not matter how long we have sleepwalked, seduced by our desires and fears. This call persists until it is answered, until we surrender to who we really are. When we do, we feel ourselves at home wherever we are. A hidden beauty reveals itself in our ordinary life. As the true nature of our Deep Hear is unveiled, we feel increasingly grateful for no reason—grateful to simply be.” —John J. Prendergast, PHD, The Deep Heart

SUN!~ Day #6 (Week #4)

By Linda Malcomb • May 2, 2020
Seems like it’s been rainy, windy, dreary for eons. Which may have helped us shelter inside a bit more. I remember reading years and years ago in a Seth book that weather can be influenced, and even created by mass human emotion. Why not? We are far more powerful than we currently acknowledge, and science is beginning to validate many phenomena that had seemed inconceivable before. Those seemingly endless days of “bad” weather seemed congruent with the emotional tone of covid her in New England. And now SUN! Glorious, warming, invigorating, hope-filled Sun! Today I will be outside basking and gardening and thanking. And I’m sure the whole neighborhood, and most of New England will go outside, stand with our faces to the sun and breathe a huge healing breath of joy. And maybe the collective energy of that will resonate out across the word as a promise of brighter days to come.
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