Raw Parsley and Consciousness Studies

Raw parsley has many health benefits, including liver purification, brain clarification, and skin cleansing. But I don’t start eating raw parsley in earnest until summer, when our gardens have lots of organic Italian parsley to offer.

I’ve been eating a ton of raw parsley for about a month now. You’ll just see me standing in the garden picking off stems of our parsley and chomping away at the leaves. And the more I take, the more grows back. Plants are amazing.

Parsley has an almost instant beneficial effect on my health. Three things improve noticeably within a few days: I shed excess fluids I’ve been retaining; I have fewer breakouts on my face, and; my periods are a lot easier to tolerate.

I’m in the midst of the worst of my cycle today, but have virtually no pain. I did wake up this morning with some edema in my ankles and face, but it’s not as bad as it usually is. I reliably break out a week before menstruation begins, but my skin is completely clear. For my kapha/pitta dosha -  a bit cool, a bit stagnant - raw parsley is a wonder herb.

Dinner last night was another awesome experience in vegan food porn. As a pot of brown rice pasta boiled away, I went to the garden and picked big bunches of basil and parsley. I added them to the food processor with coconut milk, Daiya shredded ‘cheese’, black pepper, and Himalayan pink salt. The result was a fragrant, summer fresh, bright green, creamy sauce that I tossed with the cooked pasta and some steamed broccoli. The dogs were drooling so much, I had to hook them up with some. Leftovers are lunch today. So good.

Have you ever heard of an academic discipline called ‘consciousness studies’? I became interested in consciousness studies several years ago, before it went mainstream, but found no local universities or centers that offered it. And I always swore I would never engage in online studies. There’s just too many sketchy, non-accredited online offerings out there. Plus, I’ve always been a classroom student: I like the eye-to-eye learning experience.

But I’ve just found an online consciousness studies certification program that has me really interested. So I’m going to check into credentials, requirements, offerings, instructors, and costs today, and if everything looks good, I plan to reach out to the administration.

My husband pointed out last night that I’ve just completed Shin Buddhism studies at Wesleyan University, on top of two master’s degrees, one bachelor’s degree, and master gardener and horticultural professional certifications, and wouldn’t it be a good idea to take a short break from academics?

Some people live to shop, some live to love, some live to eat. Others live to travel, work, create peace, create war, or go fishing each weekend.

I live to learn. Please fill my head with new information and ideas. Give me new vocabulary and new problems to solve, new insights to consider. Let’s talk about separateness, oneness, justice, neuroscience, consciousness, literature, fear, and compassion. Assault what I believe right to my face. Argue me into a corner. Make me explain myself. Force me way, way out of my comfort zone.

That’s my staff of life, and I’m great with that. After 5 years together, my husband is starting to get it. This girl is crazy but in a good way and is never going to stop stepping off a ledge somewhere.

Live in peace.