Manifest Infinity

July 25, 2014

“Stop acting so small.  You are the Universe in ecstatic motion.
~ Rumi

I teach a morning yoga class at a lovely swim club in the nearby foothills.  Every week I like to introduce the students to a new mudra.  Mudras are what I like to call “hand yoga”.  They are gestures of the hands, often used as a part of yogic meditation, that symbolize and encourage various mental, spiritual and energetic states and are said to help manifest these states into physical reality.

The verb manifest, defined as “to make evident”, probably originated as a combination of manus, the Latin for “hand”, combined with festus, for “struck”.  So, striking a pose with your hand, as in forming the gesture of a mudra, is the physical expression of the etymological roots of a word that describes bringing an idea into being.

This week I demonstrated the Kubera mudra, which symbolizes the manifestation of abundance.  Google “Kubera mudra” and you will see that most people use this gesture to attain wealth or other personal desires.  However, I believe this mudra is most effectively and beneficially used to acknowledge the seemingly limitless abundance already present in our lives.

I like to form the Kubera Mudra by holding one hand with the fingers pointing up and one with the fingers aiming downward, to symbolize both giving and receiving abundance.  We must be willing to both give and receive in order to make ourselves a conduit of the ecstatic plenty that is the Universe.

Abundance is all around us.  According to a 2011 study published in the journal PLOS Biology, Earth is home to 8.7 million species of plants, animals and fungi.  Of those 8.7 million, 86% of the earthbound species and 91% of those living in the ocean have yet to be classified.  In addition, there are even more species of bacteria and archaea, possibly 5 x 10 to the 30th power.  To give you an idea of how big that number is, imagine a stack of pennies a trillion light years high.

And that is just the forms of life found on our own planet.

According to astronomers, our Milky Way galaxy alone contains up to 400 billion stars and 8.8 billion habitable, Earth-sized planets.  There are probably more than 170 billion galaxies in the observable Universe.  Multiply the number of stars in our galaxy by the number of galaxies in the Universe and you get one septillion stars.  That is a 1 followed by 24 zeros.  And that does not include the part of the Universe we cannot see.

Abundance is also within us.  A 2013 study estimates that our bodies each contain about 37.2 trillion human cells.  In addition, each of us is home to trillions more microbial cells.

So, both within you and around you are seemingly infinite expressions of life.

Meditate on this endless bounty the next time you feel a sense of limitation.

~~~~~~~~~

Exotic flavors bring an abundance of deliciousness to Tandoori-spiced Chicken Burgers with Turmeric-Ginger Slaw.

Tandoori-spiced Chicken Burgers with Turmeric Ginger Slaw
Fresh turmeric is my new fave spice.  Look for it in your produce section.

1 lb ground organic free-range chicken
7-8 saffron threads, soaked in 1 tablespoon of water
2 green onions, trimmed and finely chopped
1 clove of fresh garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons paprika
Seeds from one cardamom pod, smashed
1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Turmeric Ginger Slaw (recipe follows)

Warm naan bread

 

Combine ingredients (including saffron water) in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly.  Cover and chill for 30 minutes.  Form into patties and fry in a bit of oil over medium-high heat or cook on an outdoor grill until cooked through.  Alternatively, you can skip forming the meat into patties and cook the chicken in a pan as you would for taco meat.

Serve over warm naan bread and top with Turmeric Ginger Slaw (recipe follows).

Serves 3 to 4

 

Turmeric Ginger Slaw
This spicy and refreshing slaw is yummy all by itself.

Two 2-inch pieces of fresh ginger
Two 2 & 1/2 -inch pieces of fresh turmeric
4 cups shredded cabbage
2 green onions, trimmed and chopped
2 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons organic sugar
1/4 cups chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Salt and black pepper to taste

Peel and slice ginger and turmeric into very thin matchstick-sized slices.  Combine with remaining ingredients in a large bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Mix well and serve.  You can also serve this salad chilled, as a side.

Serves 4

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