Cooking

To occupy my time and mind, to keep it from its downward spiral, to create a sense of importance and purpose where there is none, I decided to cook one thing a day. I don't really wish to imply that it takes a feeling of destitution to get me to cook because cooking is invaluable. To me, cooking is a great and noble sort of alchemy... a pure balance between science and art, an elusive, mysterious playtime with the dangerous and necessary forces of fire, matter, and the ether. I guess all this time to myself in a destitute state has finally gotten me inclined to face the ether... to fire the oven and stove-top, and dance with the fire. I also don't wish to imply that something like cooking can't lend one a sense of purpose. Most of commerce and business relies on the notion of value, on the suspended belief in a concept of money, rather than a currency of material resources. So it often is with a different sense of wealth and value... I attach value to having high profile jobs, or jobs with a selfless altruism, or jobs towards a noble goal, or jobs in the arts, or jobs that primarily utilize a stock of personal intelligence and indicate "i'm smart". And this whole idea of jobs really revolves around doing something that makes money. I am challenging this paradigm within myself, though, because as it stands I have no job, and therefore, considered myself without value. What gives my life purpose and importance without doing something that makes money? What gives my life purpose without even doing something? For instance, I see being a stay-at-home-mom as one of the most noble, altruistic, intelligence-requiring, challenging "jobs" there is, and that doesn't really corral the cash. Can I have this sense of purpose intrinsically? Regardless of what job I do, what activity I participate in, what money I make, what functions fill my day? What I think I must find the answer "yes" to is Am I valuable without activities, jobs, titles, roles, ect, ect? What gives someone a sense of value and purpose? How do you find it? Do you create it? Do you just believe it's true and then it becomes true?

Maybe tonight's coconut curry vegetable stir fry brought me a frying pan and finger burn closer to the answer... or did it just provoke the question? In any case, next time I am going to add the coconut curry sauce to the stir-fry sooner, as to retain the vegetable's color and crunch better. I will also add the bean sprouts and carrots after the sauce, for an even briefer cook time. The rice turned out alright. Following the directions worked. All in all, the taste was pleasant. The next round in this meal might be to do the coconut curry sauce myself, instead of from a free sample packet. I want to make meals that are as alive as possible... that are from fresh sources... that are of "whole" foods... bascially the least amount of steps and ingredients between the earth and my mouth as tastefully possible. This will take time, but I get one step closer each day. Tomorrow I will try cookies from scratch again... with new measuring cups I will perfect the ratio of flour to sugars and so forth, with dark chocolate chips I will sophisticate the flavor and avoid sweetness saturation, with accurate timer setting, I will better judge their done-ness, and with this being my second shot, I will approach the task much more prepared, as an experienced baker.

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Goddess of the Month: Vicious March

In light of recent events, ("I regret to inform you that we were not able to offer you admission into our Master's program") the featured goddess this month is Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction. Kali embodies the principle of darkness, often referred to as "Terrible Kali". Kali is often pictured with glowing blue skin, a protruding red tongue, a necklace of skulls, and a skirt of severed arms.

The goddess Kali is understood as an emanation of Shakti-- the Mother Goddess. In essence, Kali is a manifestation of Shakti's destructive aspect. This explains why those who follow Kali are considered "shaktas", or followers of Shakti. In many Hindu homes, one god or goddess is focused on in worship. This is a form of Bhakti Yoga, or discipline of devotion... one of the few main disciplines employed to achieve Moksha, or an eradication of suffering and ending one's personal cycle of death and rebirth... basically Nirvana. By choosing one god or goddess-- an individual aspect of the divine--to focus on, one transversely worships and confronts Brahman: the eternal, unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality. All existence emanates from Brahman. The pantheon of Hindu gods and goddess are a manifestation of this existence, and practicing bhakti yoga helps one to better understand and access that reality. So a family that worships Shakti exclusively also understands Shakti as an individual form of a larger, more comprehensive ultimate reality.

Although Kali is the essence of darkness and destruction, the goddess' primary purpose is to seek out and eradicate all evil with a fierce ruthlessness. Reflecting on life, I am comforted by this Hindu goddess. She represents only one aspect of Shakti-- fierce destruction and death (like, the death of a certain young woman's dream to go to grad school)-- but Shakti, being the sacred female she is, also embodies life-potential, rebirth, renewal... fertility. And so in Hindu fashion, I envision that, though this specific dream of mine has been destroyed, it's death is inevitably followed by a reincarnation. Let's hope I've got good Karma!

Discussion Question: Can We Envy Ethically?

The tenth commandment states that thou shall not covet (your neighbor's house, wife, man or maid servent, ox, donkey, ect). Envy is considered one of the seven deadly sins. Many may agree envy and jealousy are destructive forces to one's moral fiber. The ten commandments provide a sound philosophy with which to live a morally rich and happy life, and the seven deadly sins are well-worn warnings, but they are intrinsically religious tenants addressing morality.

To what extent are envy and jealousy unethical? In a secular ethical framework, are envy and jealousy relevant? If so, in what way?

Let's Discuss!