Cherry abundance despite terrible weather (cherry stalk tea & sungazing)

For those of you who are wondering why your Summer is not behaving normally you may wish to refer to an article I wrote two years ago about the Grand Solar Minimum & the coming ice age but I don't want to talk about that now. I want to talk about cherries and how much ours are loving the cooler climate!

Last year it rained too much and they were full of water and tasteless. But this year, despite a distinct lack of sunshine and cool temperatures (which is unheard of at this time of year here in the South of France) they have given us a bumper harvest beyond our wildest dreams.

We have five trees down the side of our garden and the kids really can pick cherries while jumping on the trampoline. Pretty cool eh ;)

Or they can just eat them at home!

For three days I ate nothing but cherries, which was actually a lot easier than a water fast or a dry fast and it created some really novel feelings in my body. I was quite blissed out on the third day and my farts smelled so sweet! The way I imagine Angel farts to smell ;)

Once I went back to regular food we got busy making things. I realise now it takes a lot of energy to pick cherries, especially when the trees are so big. Mental note for the future: keep the trees trimmed close to the ground so that every single cherry can be picked with ease.

Esteban helped me with the de-pipping.

On this occasion we made a syrup by heating up the fruit with water, sugar & lemon.

Sieve off the liquid and keep in a clear bottle to appreciate that gorgeous colour. Kids enjoy drinking it with water. Adults enjoy mixing it with vodka :)

It is great to know that while some crops will go offline as we move deeper into the GSM other crops will love the way the climate changes and flourish like never before. For those of you growing food (which you should be if you're not) you may wish to take note of these flourishing plants and get more of them!

The last thing I want to mention on this subject is the humble cherry stalk. We have saved every single one and dried them because little babies are #naturalmedicine.

Benefits of cherry stalk tea

• It has calming effects.
• It quenches thirst.
• It is a good diuretic.
• It cleans the blood.
• It delays the occurrence of kidney stones.
• It helps to reduce cholesterol.
• It helps to rid the body of excess water.
• It is good for urinary tract infections.

I took that list from here where they are selling 50g bags for £3.49! Crazy. I will do you a better price if any of you want some ;)

Sungazing at dawn & dusk

In other news I have started sungazing & working out in the mornings again! I didn't mention it before but I stopped doing the sunrise for the last few years because our position on the north side of a French mountain prevents me from seeing the first hour. It is possible to get only around 10-15mins of sungazing before it feels too bright and I used this small amount of time as my excuse to not do it. 44mins from the first moment of sunrise is the ideal amount of time for the sublime meditative experience one hopes to achieve after building up their tolerance over years of practice. @sebcam & I achieved the 44min goal back in our London days and I had forgotten the importance of catching both sunrise & sunset each day.

I took this picture of @sebcam at sunrise in a park in East London 2012.

The rubbish weather hasn't helped of course but again, I must not use this as an excuse and go outside every morning at the very least just to be silent & barefoot in nature. Just a little bit each day is enough to keep us connected with our Great Mother.

Important side note here!

I strongly recommend sungazing as the most ancient and simplest spiritual practice which has the capacity to completely change your life, but please be cautious when starting out. You must build up your tolerance slowly, starting out with just 10secs while the sun in on the horizon, increasing by a few seconds each day. There are no official rules except one: everyone is unique so listen to your body. If it feels too bright, it very likely is too bright, so stop looking at it.

Kitten update

She opened her eyes for the first time a few days ago and has been fast to start exploring the world outside her box. Look at how fat her milk-filled belly is. It drags along the floor as she walks!

They are still quite dark and misty but I think she has blue eyes.

She seems brave and adventurous though if we pick her up she screams so loud & high pitched she sounds like a bird and her mother always comes running immediately.

My final thought is similar to last week's. Get yourself a daily spiritual practice. Hey, why not try sun-gazing?

Here is a film I made about it when we lived in Bali.

Along with my recommended morning routine.

This winter will test us in unexpected ways so I suggest you start now getting your body & mind in shape.

Don't forget, we are all capable of much more than we realise and it is mostly our perception of ourselves which limits our capabilities.

Love & Light everyone 🌱