How to Stay Healthy on a Winter Trip

eHow Of The Day

How to Stay Healthy on a Winter Trip

by Zach Chouteau

Travel and cold weather can each present challenges to your health-and combined they can be a cold, flu or other ailment waiting to happen. Here are a few suggestions for staying healthy on a winter road trip.…Keep reading

Funny Poetrezine!

************* Funny Poetrezine! ******************

Omss, thank you for subscribing to "Funny
Poetrezine!"

Note: You're getting this Poetrezine, because you
or someone at your home/office subscribed to it.

If this newsletter bugs the jiminis out of you,
simply scroll right to the bottom and remove
yourself from the list.

And we'll be history.:)

============= ######## =================

Published by Duncan Flynn
Copyright 2004, All rights reserved.

PO Box 1041 ~
Maleny, Queensland
4552 Australia

Phone: 0417 721 802

============= ######## =================

Funny Poets web site - http://www.funnypoets.com

======================================

Author, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher:

Duncan Flynn email@funnypoets.com

======================================

SEND IT ON!
_______________________

Forward this to a friend and tell them they
can subscribe for free at:

http://www.funnypoets.com/freeinfo.html

========================================

FUNNY OF THE WEEK:
========================================

Mary Clancy goes up to Father O'Grady after his
Sunday morning service... and she's in tears.

He says: "So what's bothering you, Mary my dear?"

"Oh, Father, I've got terrible news," she replies.

"My husband passed away last night."

The priest is shocked. "Oh, Mary, that's terrible.

Tell me did he have any last requests?"

She replies:, "That he did, Father .... He said,

'Please Mary, I didn't mean it. Now put down that
damn gun!"

========================================

FUNNY THOUGHT OF THE WEEK:

========================================

When in doubt, make a fool of yourself.

There is a microscopically thin line between being
brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic
idiot on earth.

So what the hell, leap.

Cynthia Heimel

========================================

FUNNY POEM OF THE WEEK:

========================================

COLD HARD FACTS

The booze bus was out on a traffic attack.
One driver was clear, till a spirited cop,
having noticed some knives on the seat in the back,
said "These are the weapons we're trying to stop!"

The driver retorted "I juggle those things,
that's why I stay sober. I can't have a drink".
The cop said "You'll need to have hacksaws and wings,
'cause if you can't prove that, you'll be in the clink".

The driver stepped out and went into his act.
Blades flashed in the moonlight. The show was superb.
Although very nervous, he never once cracked,
so none of those knives found a way to the kerb.

As Paddy was passing, with sighs of relief,
he said to his mate "I'm not drinkin' no more".
Young Mick asked him why, and the answer was brief –
"I'd be certain to fail with that test I just saw".

http://www.funnypoets.com

========================================

"Earn a Full-time Income from Part-time Poetry!"

Want to leave your job and earn the same income
(or more) from poetry? You don't know where to start?

Find hundreds of tips and ideas from successful poets
in the exciting new e-book 'Earn a Full-time Income from
Part-time Poetry', compiled by Arcadia Flynn.

Omss, click here to find out more:

http://www.funnypoets.com/income4poets.htm

========================================

Wealth Skills, P.O.Box 1041, Maleny, Qld 4552, Australia

--
To unsubscribe visit:
http://www.getresponse.com/unsubscribe.html?x=a62b&m=NpQ&s=wGpoD&y=h&

To change your contact details visit:
http://www.getresponse.com/change_details.html?x=a62b&s=wGpoD&y=D&

[Poetry Chaikhana] Nammalvar - While I was waiting eagerly for him

Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --

While I was waiting eagerly for him

By Nammalvar
(8th Century)

English version by A. K. Ramanujan

While I was waiting eagerly for him
saying to myself,

"If I see you anywhere
I'll gather you
and eat you up,"

he beat me to it
and devoured me entire,

my lord dark as raincloud,
my lord self-seeking and unfair.

-- from Hymns for the Drowning: Poems for Vishnu by Nammalvar, Translated by A. K. Ramanujan

Amazon.com

/ Photo by mckaysavage /

============

Thought for the Day:

Every noble action is ritual --
an attempt to awaken wholeness and holiness
within
by enacting it externally.

============

Here's your Daily Music selection --

Gypsies of Rajasthan

Desert Charm

Listen - Purchase

More Music Selections

Hi Omss -

Nammalvar is considered the foremost of the Alvars, a group of twelve semi-legendary saints dedicated to God in the form of Vishnu in the Tamil-speaking southern regions of India. His name can translate as "our own Alvar," a sign of the deep personal connection Tamil Vaishnavas have always felt for this poet-saint.

In the traditional stories, Nammalvar was said to have been born in such deep spiritual communion, that he didn't bother to eat or drink or speak or even open his eyes until he was sixteen years old. Instead, he remained in meditation beneath a tamarind tree near a temple dedicated to Adinatha. He only deigned to open his eyes when his first disciple approached him and asked him a question.

Even after emerging from his utter introversion, Nammalvar is said to have remained beneath the tamarind tree, singing his hymns to God which eventually composed four books.

==

I know this poem, with its language of 'eat or be eaten,' can be shocking on first reading, but I really like this poem. Here's why...

The poem is, of course, addressed to God. We have this fascinating image of the poet lying in wait, like a hunter ready to pounce, eager to eat God. Why such a disturbing image? Think about the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist -- depending on the tradition, one is either literally or metaphorically eating the flesh and blood of Christ. Why does one want to "eat" the Divine?

While I was waiting eagerly for him
saying to myself,

"If I see you anywhere
I'll gather you
and eat you up"

Think about eating a meal for a moment. First, the food itself: It is something that carries and renews the life force. It is a product of nature that is also a tangible reminder of divine bounty, providence... love. Food comes to be seen as a holy thing, a physical representation of the connection between the Eternal and the individual. When we eat food, that food becomes a part of us. Food, in other words, is fundamentally an act of communion and assimilation -- both with the natural world all around us, and also with spiritual energies.

What we eat becomes a part of us. What we eat, we become. This is why so many traditions seek to 'eat God' -- in order to discover God within ourselves.

There is another, even deeper reason why we have this imagery of 'eating God' occurs. When you've just eaten a good, healthy, satisfying meal, how does your body feel? You feel a glowing warmth in your belly and a gentle, contented pressure there. The body is energized, but also perhaps just a little sleepy... In certain states of deep communion, especially after practicing physical purification (such as, ironically, fasting), a profoundly blissful... fulness comes upon you. The body is all aglow, with a particular warmth and gentle pressure in the belly. Thoughts become utterly silent, eyelids grow heavy, yet we find an immense energy within. It's as if having eaten the most wonderful, revitalizing meal. Truly a divine feast! Language and rituals of consuming God are sometimes understood as a way to encode an awareness of that heavenly manna.

But --

he beat me to it
and devoured me entire

At a certain point the feast table gets turned. We think we are eating God, we revel in such bounty. But then we pause and look around the banquet, and amidst so many subtle delights, we cannot find ourselves! The ego-self, the identity we've always imagined ourselves to be, is simply not there. Then we have to ask that most startling question: "Who has eaten whom?"

For this, saints teasingly chide God for His greed and sneakiness ("self-seeking and unfair"). Afterall, the Lord is beyond control, the source of all force and the vast, rolling mystery of existence ("dark as a raincloud").

When we are eaten by God, we become prasad. In Hindu temples, food is ritually offered to God, who "eats" the food on a spiritual level, thus sanctifying it. It then becomes holy food to be eaten by the people. When we ourselves become prasad, consumed by God, we are sanctified and ready to offer ourselves for the needs and upliftment of the world.

This business of eating God, it's a dangerous game, one you're guaranteed to lose. But then, losing is the winning move. Pity the people who never play, who never taste, never try, and stay stuck inside themselves.

So, do you have your fork ready?

Ivan

Share Your Thoughts on today's poem or my commentary...

... Find the Poetry Chaikhana on Facebook and Twitter ...

Support the Poetry Chaikhana

Donations to the Poetry Chaikhana in any amount are always welcome. Thank you!	Click here	You can also support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!
Click here	A small amount each month makes a big difference. Become a voluntary Subscriber for just $2/mo.
Click here	Help the Poetry Chaikhana reach more people. Become a Supporter for just $10/mo.

www.Poetry-Chaikhana.com

Poetry Chaikhana
P.O. Box 2320
Boulder, CO 80306

============

Plain Text: If you have any difficulty reading this HTML formatted email, please let me know and I can send you plain text emails instead.

Friday Only: If you want to receive only one poem email each week, reply to this email and change the Subject to "Friday Only".

Canceling: If you wish to stop receiving this Daily Poem email from the Poetry Chaikhana, simply reply to this email and change the Subject to "Cancel".