"Keeping an open mind is the most important step when listening to divine guidance."
Do you have an open mind? Do you meditate? Have you ever been treated by a healer? There are so many unanswered questions I have about the universe. I no longer question many things. I believe in divine intervention. I also believe that things that happen are not a coincidence. Things happen for reason. I do not believe that the G.O.D. of your understanding would put anything in your way to harm you. I believe things do happen for reasons. There are lessons to be learned in life.
I always a semi-open mind. Unfortunately from years of education I was taught that there always needed to be scientific proof for everything that happens. I do not believe that today. Some things just happen because they do. My beliefs and my unerstanding of life has changed due to my working the 12 steps. I also believe that my prayer and meditation has changed me. I know it has calmed my mind. I feel so peaceful and serene. While writing about plants, insects, and animals I feel the wave of calmness even more. This is meditation.
Do you like to read? I like to read many different books. Most are on herbs/plants and medicine. However I do like to read fun and interesting books that peek my interest. One new book I am reading is Wicked Insects and the other is The Way of the Panda. I finished Discovering Spoons, a book about the history of the periodic table (remember chemistry class?)
I came across the panda book in my favorite bookstore down the street form our office. It is Rizzoli's Book Store on west 57th Street, New York City. I love the little book stores versus the mega ones like Barnes and Noble and Borders. I want to support the little book stores. Rizzoli is a classic bookstore. http://www.rizzoliusa.com/
I think most everyone is fascinated with the Panda. The turnstiles at the zoos turn faster when there is a panda or group of pandas. I know Rick, Michael and I couldn't wait to see the Pandas in the San Diego Zoo three years ago. The San Diego Zoo has had a love affair with the pandas ever since two visited in 1987. After years of red tape and politics, the zoo and China agreed on a 12 year loan of two Giant Pandas- Bai Yun and Shi Shi. There was a new facility built and expanded and now the zoo has the giant pandas. These 3 pandas, Bai Yun, Gao Gao and Yun Zi have deluxe accommodations. I am in the mood to visit a panda again. Seeing a panda brightens my heart, and makes me feel warm. This is especially so since the world is protecting these animals. There has not been a Panda census for at least ten years. I was happy to read that authorities in the Northwestern China's Gansu province will be starting a wide ranging census and DNA collection on endangered wild giant pandas. This is the first time it will be done on a large scale. This will lead to a database and allow zoologists to trace the population dynamics of the wild pandas. The major earthquake in southwest China in 2008 did affect the wild pandas of Gansu.
There are many zoos outside the United States that have pandas.There are 5 facilities in China, including the Beijing Zoo, home Gu Gu.
Why does the Panda fascinate us? I feel it is its color, demeanor, and the serenity you feel when you see a panda eating bamboo. This alone is interesting It belongs to the Carnivora order, yet 99% of the pandas diet is bamboo. Even the sexual maturity is interesting- pandas mature from 4 - 8 years and pandas can be reproductive until 20 years old. The London zoo is the home of the very popular panda Chi Chi which influenced the world wildlife fund. You have seen the world wildlife fund logo which is the Panda.
I am proud to say that our son, Gregory will be doing his internship at the Belize Zoo. He will not see elephants, tigers or even pandas there. It has 135 native animals, It is one of the smallest countries in the world with a big heart for animals. It is a country in which the people protect their wildlife. The zoo started in 1983 with minimal funding, but with donations and hard work the zoo by 1991, is now the New Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center. Maybe one day the Belize Zoo can get a panda! Check out (http://www.belizezoo.org/) This zoo has changed how the Belize people feel about wildlife.
I am familiar with Belize due to colleague/herbalist Rosita Arvigo. I heard Rosita speak at the International Herbal Symposium last year in Boston. I was blessed to have a lecture with her. I have read all her books. An interesting and varied background of education and experience has brought Rosita Arvigo to her present position as an expert in the ethnobotany and shamanistic healing of her adopted country of Belize, where she has lived for the past 30 years. After studying natural medicine in the United States and Canada, she became a student of the last Maya shaman of Belize, Dr. Elijio Panthi for twelve years. This experience is the subject of her well-known book Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer. She founded IxChel Farm in 1983, which is operated by a non-profit foundation dedicated to carrying out research on traditional healing, and to the preservation of indigenous healing knowledge. The Farm features a Medicine Trail with wild plants labeled in their natural habitat and is visited by several thousand people each year. Her most recent book is Rain forest Home Remedies: How to Heal Your Body and Nourish Your Soul the Maya Way.
There is so much to learn about pandas. I do suggest the books above. I am finishing up The Way of the Panda which was published last year. The older book by Vicki Croke, The Lady and the Panda will be my next conquest.
Until tomorrow...
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