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Mezclados December 21, 2012

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T hank you all for holding out for my holiday issue! Each time I publish a series of articles I learn something new. I am happy to report that my close friends will not let me get away with printing errors and inconsistencies—

no matter how many times I marketed the issue as “bare bones.” What is left unclear to many is what is Mezclados. Is it a magazine or a journal or a blog or a newsletter So, I’ve come up with this. Mezclados seeks to equip blended communities and with images, and information that normalize –not marginalize their experience. That does not mean that EVERY article is about foster care, step-parenting or biracial dating—it does mean that members of blended families and communities will be a part of the publication. In this issue Sufia Sufia Giza Amenwahsu and Melissa Martinez bring us foods and crafts from around the world and Denise Thompson Slaughter reveals the mysteries of celebration different religious events under one roof. The holi-days often come with stress and confusion. Buddhist practitioner Susanna Hamilton gives a brief course in the Five Mindfulness Trainings of her tradition. Also in this issue are mistakes. One being the omission of two feature articles I was passionate about. Those two will be featured on the blog , mezclados.wordpress.com, which I hope you are also following. Happy Holidays. Sincerely, Javaughn Renee Fernanders

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The Practice of Mindfulness 5

Ojos de Dios 10

Zuchinne Kebobs 14

Holiday Bingo 15

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Freedom is a practice. Practicing

mindfulness provides us with the

tools to transform our fear, anger

and sense of separateness into

compassion, love and inclusiveness.

When we sit with our suffering,

breathe and allow ourselves to be

present with it, our suffering be-

comes less. Likewise, when we sit

with the suffering of others and

breathe, their suffering lessens.

When we are happy the people

around us are more likely to be

happy. As we practice being mindful

we recognize that our happiness is

directly connected with the happi-

THE PRACTICE of mindfulness.

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ness of others.

Our mindfulness practice can be as simple as being present and mindful

while washing dishes, eating lunch, or talking with friends. Focusing our atten-

tion, our breath, on any given activity, provides us the freedom to know that the

choices we make are for the well-being of ourselves and those around us. Over

time, as we become more comfortable with our mindfulness practice, being pre-

sent with our thoughts and feelings, we can deepen our practice with the Five

Mindfulness Trainings. These practices are guidelines developed by Thich Nhat

Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk, to help us live a more beautiful, peaceful

life. We can be of any religious or spiritual path and still practice mindfulness.

Being a Buddhist is not a requirement.

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Reverence for Life. Interbeing is the understanding that there is no separate

self thus we are interconnected with everything including

fellow humans, animals, plants and minerals. Our thoughts

and actions have an impact on the world and we have the

ability to be open and supportive toward all living and non

-living elements in the world. When we are mindful of our

choices and their affect on ourselves, our planet and be-

yond, we are practicing reverence for life.

True Happiness

True happiness is realizing that we have what we need to

be happy in the present. Our happiness is contingent on

our own mental attitude. When we choose to utilize those

resources which support our growth, we allow others to

have access the resources they need. By releasing fear,

anxiety and want, we reduce our own suffering. By practic-

ing true happiness, generosity and sharing the earths’ re-

sources, we provide the opportunity for others to be

happy.

True Love

True love arises from compassion and joy. When we engage

in relationships that are built on loving kindness and inclusive-

ness, we increase our own happiness, and that of those we

are involved with— friends, family, lovers, or strangers. Practic-

ing true love we create a lasting peace and deepen our abil-

ity to live a beautiful, fulfilling life, receptive and willing to

protect children, couples and families from suffering.

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Loving Speech & Deep Listening

Communicating with others is one of the most challenging aspects of

being human. Each person involved in a given conversation has their

own thoughts, ideas and perceptions about the world based on his

or her own experiences.

When we engage in dialogue using loving speech we have the ability

to create happiness and peace in ourselves and others. This is es-

pecially true when we communicate through letters, email and text

messaging. Loving speech is language that cultivates confidence, joy

and hope.

Deep listening is a practice whereby we devote our entire attention to

what the other person is saying, verbally and/or through body lan-

guage. We allow our own thoughts, ideas and perceptions to rest,

providing a forum for the person speaking to be fully heard, therefore

reducing their suffering. When we realize we are no longer listening

deeply we acknowledge this by excusing ourselves, walking and

breathing mindfully until we are able to be fully present once more.

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Nourishment & Healing

Through mindful consumption we can nour-

ish our bodies and heal our suffering as well

as the suffering of others. Food and bever-

ages, alcohol and drugs, are the most com-

mon things we think of, but on a daily basis

we also consume information through televi-

sion, literature, and other mediums. When

we are in the present moment we become

aware that what we consume has an impact

on our thoughts, ideas and perceptions, as

well as our happiness and suffering, and that

of others.

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Ojos de Dios

For a Spirit Filled Season.

Melissa Martinez

Earth, water, fire and air are represented in

Ojos de Dios (Eyes of God) symbol devel-

oped by the Huichol people of Jalisco, Mex-

ico.

Currently simplified as God’s Eye the

Huichol Sukili is traditionally worn by fa-

thers to protect their newborn children.

Part of a complex indeginous spirituality,

theis object has found its way into the

hearts and homes of Americans, and Euro-

peans during Christmas celebrations.

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I really enjoy making these. There is something very calming about making

them. And, when I'm done, the colors look so beautiful, wrapped tightly together.

All you need is some scrap yarn, some extra sticks of any kind. I used left over sticks

from making frozen chocolate bananas. (Mmmm!!)

Place the sticks in a cross, and tie knot to fasten them. The cross will be still a little

loose, but ready for wrapping yarn.

Wrap the yarn going over the top of the cross that is facing you. So, take yarn and wrap

"OVER" the stick and come around. Move onto the next stick, and wrap "OVER" the

stick and come around. Move on to the next one.

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When you are done with a particular piece of yarn, simply tie a small knot on the back of

it. You'll be trimming it at the end.

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The finished product looks so complicated, but it is so easy. Just tie a knot at the end, and trim all your knots on the back. You

can hang it, make more and collect others, or give them as gifts for the holidays.

Melissa Martinez is owner of KumKulove and Vegancitas—two culturally rich businesses focused on providing homemade foods and spreading Chicana Mama goodness to the masses.

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Zucchini

Kebobs

Kebabs

2 zucchini or other squash

1 box grape or cherry tomatoes

½ onion

1 pinch cayenne

1 pinch sea salt

Drizzle olive oil

1. Soak skewers in water before use.

2. Alternate squash, onion and toma-

toes in skewer.

3. Drizzle with olive oil and season

with salt & pepper

4. Grill for 5 minutes each side.

Serve over Couscous.

Red Cabbage Salad

1 head red cabbage

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 Tablespoons olive oil

pinch sea salt

Combine Apple Cider Vinegar, Olive Oil & Sea Salt in salad bowl.

Thinly slice cabbage and add to bowl. Stir in dressing.

Thanks for this recipe to Sufia Giza Amenwahsu, who in addition to co-

founding HeTePU productions, a Media Literacy organization, delights in

composing delectable vegan food.

Couscous

1 cup couscous

1 ½ cup water

1 scallion

Pinch sea Salt

Pinch cayenne Pepper

Pour boiling water over Couscous and

cover with plastic wrap.

Let stand for 5 minutes

Fold in Scallion & seasoning

Sufia Giza Amenwahsu

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Bt Denise Thompson-Slaughter

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W hen our kids were little, we used to joke that we were the

“complete multicultural family.” Our appearance wasn’t too shocking by the 1990sat

least on the East Coast. We often evoked stares and even rude comments traveling in

some other places. But our religious affiliations often left people confused, if not

downright dumbfounded or occasionally scandalized.

My husband, of French-Canadian and Huron ancestry, had been raised Catholic.

I had been raised non-denominational non-churchgoing Christian in a mixed

Protestant-Catholic family, and my ancestry included Celts of all nationalities, Swedes,

Germans, and Algonquins. But my husband and I had become Quakers in the 1980s.

Quakers aren’t really big on celebrating holidays, period, since life should be kept sim-

ple and our hearts should always be filled with the Light; but we carried our earlier tra-

ditions with us and made merry on the major Christian holidays. When our first-

adopted reached preschool age, however, research suggested that the best match for

him was the local Jewish preschool and kindergarten, and his sister followed in his

tracks a few years later. So for the next six years, we found ourselves going to Quaker

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Meeting on Sunday, while saying the pre-meal blessing in Hebrew (because our four-

year-old was appalled that we didn’t know how, he taught us), celebrating Christmas

and Hanukkah, attempting (badly I’m afraid) to create our own Passover Seder shortly

before celebrating Easter. We had a Menorah, then hung sparkly dreidels on the

Christmas tree. My daughter loved hamentaschen and her Queen Esther costume

when she was little, although now I struggle to remember the name of that spring holi-

day.

One day our son surprised us by asking: “We’re Jewish right?”

“No, we’re Quakers,” my husband explained, “You know we go to Meeting on

Sundays, right? But you go to a Jewish school.”

“We’re not Jewish? But everybody’s Jewish!”

We had to laugh. We lived in central New Jersey, and he was absolutely right

that most of our friends and almost all of his schoolmates were Jewish. But, we pointed

out, we also lived on a street where most of our neighbors were Christians—and half

were white and half were black, including our Muslim friends next door.

It was around this time that we tried to introduce Kwanzaa, but without much

luck. The mistake the founders of it made with Kwanzaa, I think, was trying to insti-

tute a holiday the day after Christmas. Our kids, at least, couldn’t have been less inter-

ested in principles of self-reliance and making homemade gifts when they still had new

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Christmas toys to play with. I gamely kept trying for about five years, even attempting

them to get to go to community Kwanzaa celebrations at local churches or colleges. But

they were no more interested in Kwanzaa than they were in the African drumming cir-

cles my husband tried to get them to go to. Still, they at least grew up knowing what

Kwanzaa was and what it was all about.

In the meantime, I was taking yoga and meditation classes to counteract the stress

of motherhood to these two very hyperactive children, and I became fascinated with

Eastern religions. During this time I believe I described myself as a Quaker with Bud-

dhist blend-ins and Hindu sprinkles. This did not strike my kids as odd at all. They

learned about different religions in First-Day School and even went on “field trips” with

the other Quaker children to visit other kinds of religious ceremonies.

My husband’s aunt, however—a Catholic sister who had strongly supported our at-

tempts to adopt our children in the face of other relatives who worried about it—was

concerned for their mortal souls. Although they’d had a Quaker “Blessing” ceremony

welcoming them into the community, she could not rest until she had personally bap-

tized them both as they lay sleeping in their beds. If I hadn’t assured her that my par-

ents had had me christened as a baby, I’m sure she would have done the same thing to

me. And indeed our blessings are many.

Our holidays have been many, too; although now that the kids are really young

adults (still living at home), we’re mostly back to celebrating Easter, Christmas, and

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birthdays—and of course, Adoption Day. On the day of each child’s adoption (five

weeks past our son’s birthday, eight weeks past our daughter’s), the celebrant gets to

choose which restaurant we will go to for dinner. But they refuse to let us sing the

Adoption Day song any more.

How have our children been affected by all these influences? We have always made

attempts to live in multicultural neighborhoods with multicultural schools, and in two

of our three locations, we have succeeded. The kids were a little confused at times, but

have grown up open-minded about different cultures and comfortable with all differ-

ent kinds of people. My daughter went through a couple phases in junior high where

she identified only with the white kids (claiming she was Puerto Rican or “mixed”)

and then only with the black ones—a period when she was embarrassed to be seen

with us. But she righted herself in high school and (now “almost a senior”) is friends

with both, as well as with classmates who are Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims,

and Hindus, (as well as gays. We love New York.) She is agnostic herself, although

she has tried on different religions over the years. Our son, on the other hand, is very

spiritual. He rarely goes to church, but when he does it’s a Unitarian-Universalist.

And he loves to discuss religion with people. He has a friend who is a fundamentalist

Christian, and they really get into it over Revelations!

I am proud of our kids’ healthy interest in other cultures and belief systems, as

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well as in the generosity and concern for the disadvantaged they are beginning to show,

and I truly believe that their multiculturalism has only enriched them in the long run.

If this multiculturalism is a new tradition, it’s one this fractured world much needs, and

I hope my children will pass it down to future generations.