I am mourning for my herd in the Philippines. My father did not get the position as Mayor of the town called Pitogo. Let me tell you a little bit about him, he is a true leader, he has the gift of empowering the people, he is brilliant, he is kind, he is generous, he is a visionary and a creator. The only thing he did not do in this election is to play the game that the others played.

I am sad. I am sad, because the last time I was there I saw how bad things were. I saw that they only need one mistake and a couple of storms to completely sink that whole town into the abyss.

My sadness is for the people whose livelihood now lies in the hands of a man who is not a leader but a gambler with no ability to make a difference.

I am dumbfounded by the naivety of the people in Pitogo. They wanted instant gratification, and the man who won the election gave them just that buy buying their votes for a small amount of money. How do I know this? I listen to the birds who are watching these people play their games.

Would you sell your vote for $1XX.XX? I wouldn’t.

This is what the election in our town looks like. The positions have a price tag.

For the residents of Pitogo, if you are reading this, now is the time to wake up and start helping each other instead of bringing each other down, because WE ALL KNOW and God knows that your newly elected Mayor can not help you. Gamblers will always BE TAKERS.

If you are reading this and you are one of those people who sold your vote, I hope you enjoy every cent of that money, because it won’t last forever.

And if you’re the newly elected mayor and you are reading this, let this be a challenge to you.

Thank you to those who supported my family in all of this.

My friends, do not despair, this is only the beginning.

The plants remind me of who I really am, where I came from, and what I am.

In my recent dream, I had the pleasure of dancing with a spirit in the form of a goddess.

Confronted by my own trust and control issues in the beginning, I did not want to come with her. She waits and waits with her hand extended patiently, inches away from my own.

In the end, I chose to let go and I surrendered to her beauty.

In her arms, I found solace.

She was a sultry, seductive, otherworldly creature who took my hand in all her gracefulness and majesty. She had a long, black, curly hair. Her eyes were big and brown. Her skin was pale and her lips were blood red. She had a white flower on her head. Her dress was long, burgundy, and hugging every curve of her body.

She took me to the galaxy where the music changed several times until I felt at ease in my own skin. I started dancing like nobody’s watching.

And we danced and danced.

We played with the stars using the tips of our fingers, swirling them into our own version of the milky way.

And for a moment in time, we played together. Here.

I used my hands to mold shapes of different kinds and I threw it in the air while the goddess continued to dance and watch me play.

I am floating in the most welcoming, loving, and nurturing element of all which is “space”.

The space spoke to me and said, “mold me, move through me, do whatever you want with me.”

The goddess and I danced until the music began to fade…and slowly, slowly, a force pulled us away from each other.

She was gone.

Once again, I am traveling.

I felt my feet slowly touching the ground.

Suddenly, I was in the forest…mesmerized and curious. My senses were so heightened that I could hear sounds coming from afar, and I could smell everything. I could see life coursing through the ground, pumping life on each blade of grass, up to the tallest of trees and the unseen illumination of “space” in the dark of night.

I was a wild animal walking on all fours. And I could see and feel each pore of my body breathing and corresponding with the Earth. As if we were shouting, “I’m ALIVE” with each other.

Let me be you again.

I enjoyed walking and running with life in my animal form where I was blissfully driven by such powerful instinct. I climbed the trees and I reached for the brightest stars in the sky.

I am in love and aroused by life, and once again reminded of who I am in the depth of my being, beyond the many layers I wear in my day to day existence.

When I woke up the feeling of awe, loss, and sadness immediately washed through me. Once again realizing that I am living in a concrete jungle, living amongst the dominions.

I am still silently going through the grieving process on the loss of the world that I saw, the world that once was and the world we are avoiding to meet eye to eye. We can bring it back here in the now, but it will take a lot of work.

It won’t be easy but it will be worth it.

I will never see the trees, the plants, the animals, the space, and especially us the same way again.

Life in Pitogo waters.

The hardest part of being away from my family is missing them.

I want to go to the Philippines and support my father in his career shift as a politician. He is running for Mayor in a small town called Pitogo.

I want to go to Pitogo and help my mother de-stress.
I want to go to Pitogo and help in the campaign for hope and change. I want to see history happen in our small town.

I want to go to Pitogo and dance with my father. Yes, I want to dance with my father and tell him how proud of him I am. And that I am proud to be his daughter. And I am proud to have his blood coursing through my veins.

But life is happening here for me in Los Angeles. I am undergoing through some major changes in myself, my career, and my environment.

Everywhere life is happening. And as it is happening, I am missing my family.

“The human brain is the most fascinatingly organized three pounds of matter on this planet.” -Schiller, 2008

I am pausing my studies in this moment to share with you some really amazing facts about our brain!

I’ve turned our dining area into my work station…

Did you know that the brain continues to grow throughout the life cycle? Or that a baby’s brain is the most powerful learning computer on the planet? Pretty cool, huh.

According to the latest brain research findings by Cengage Learning (2011):

• The brain is strongly run by patterns rather than facts. The key to our intelligence is the recognition of patterns and relationships. We learn best when we develop the learning around “themes”. Plan some kinds of “immersion learning” that will encourage you to go deeply into your play and work.

• Stress and threat affect the brain in many ways. Emotions run the brain, bad emotions reduce the capacity for memory and understanding, as well as reducing higher-order thinking skills. Good emotions create excitement and love for learning. Create a peaceful environment in your home and work. A secure environment counteracts the problems that may occur when the stress regulation mechanisms are triggered too often. Good emotions enhance the memory. For me personally, the number one cause of my stress is when I think about things that happened in the past and how I could’ve done things differently. It sends me to a bad direction–I am basically flooding my body with cortisol every time this happens. The answer to why I do this is simply because it is part of the human condition. My current professor at UCLA said that we can’t control the things that has already happened but we can control how we react to it (This is a great mantra!) The brain is like a video recorder that records everything that happened to us in our life, it gets stored in our memory and we remember it when it is triggered by an event in our present.

• The brain runs better when food intake is regular. Insulin levels stay more even, cortisol levels are lower, and glucose tolerance is better. Diet activates memory. Be sure to include foods that are rich in proteins (meats, nuts, cheese), omega-3 fatty acids, and selenium and boron (leafy green vegetables), as well as enough restful sleep so that the brain can reorganize itself. Regular snack times lead to better cognitive functioning and an enhanced sense of well-being. A well nourished person is more likely to be successful in learning and thinking than those that do not eat on time. Our brain needs good fats so it can continue producing newer cells.

• All learning is mind-body. Our whole body is a sacred temple. Our physical state, our posture, and breathing affect learning. Our brain is designed for cycles and rhythms. Practice makes permanent, and memory is kept more accurate when information is revisited. If you want to get good at doing something, take some time figuring out the pattern, learn how to recreate the process, and repeat the process over and over until you have mastered it. Create a balanced lifestyle, if you work hard, be sure to add activities that are rewarding to you.

TRY THIS: Get the brain actively working by practicing Conscious Competence (this term was introduced to me two weeks ago by my brilliant teacher, Dr. Andrews). Understand what you are learning and why you are learning it. It empowers our minds and our well-being when we are aware of the reason why we are doing the things that we’re doing. So go ahead, start getting even more curious!

Filed under: Body, Health, Wellness Tagged: brain development, brain processing, cortisol, emotions, glucose, how our emotions affect our learning, insulin, learning ability ]]> http://bunnystephenson.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/latest-brain-research-and-how-we-can-boost-our-learning-ability/feed/ 1 bunnystephenson brain1 20130417-142022.jpg brainandlearning aebrain http://bunnystephenson.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/a-walk-in-venice/ http://bunnystephenson.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/a-walk-in-venice/#comments Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:26:47 +0000 bunnystephenson https://bunnystephenson.wordpress.com/?p=1637 ]]> In this moment this ancient tree held my whole world in its hands…

And I was a human flower.

I like serving this with a simple tossed romaine salad, a blend of sprouts, avocado, mango, shredded carrots with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil as the dressing, and quinoa on the side.

Equipment:

Iron Skillet
Baking Tray
Aluminum Foil
Mixing bowl
Conventional oven

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground grass-fed beef (set aside in a mixing bowl)

HERBS and SEASONINGS
1/4 tsp. tarragon
1/2 tsp. sage
1/4 tsp. dried mustard
1/4 tsp. dried basil leaves (or 1 tbsp. fresh leaves)
1/4 tsp. corriander
1/4 tsp. rosemary
1/4 tsp. himalayan salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp. tamari
1/2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce

1tbsp. coconut oil

1 scallion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
5 mushrooms (button, diced)

3 sundried tomatoes (chopped)

Procedure:

1. Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees.
3. Place the meat on a mixing bowl. Add all the herbs and seasonings. Set aside.
4. Heat the coconut oil in an iron skillet and saute the garlic, scallions, and mushroom.
5. Once its cooked, add this and the sundried tomatoes to the mixture in the bowl by massaging it with clean hands to make sure that all the ingredients are blended equally.
6. Form 4 patties.
7. Using the same skillet and oil, sear the patties for 2 minutes on both sides.
8. Transfer the patties on the baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and place in the oven.
9. Set a timer for 10 minutes or less depending on how cooked you want it.

Enjoy!

Equipment:

Food Processor

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pitted medjool dates, (soaked for 1 hour, reserve water)
1/4 cup pure and organic maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
3/4 cup mashed avocados (about 1 1/2 avocados)
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. raw organic cacao powder or carob powder
1/4 cup dates soaking water

Procedure:

1. Place the dates, maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a food processor and process until smooth.
2. Add the avocado and cacao powder and process until creamy. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
3. Add the reserve water and process briefly.
4. Stored in sealed container, it will keep in the fridge for 3 days or 2 weeks in the freezer. Serve chilled.