Archive | March, 2017

Winnipeg Festival & Pow Wow Sat. March 25th, 2017…Plus Free Meditation classes March 24th-28th 2017-Connect to Mother Earth

Don’t miss the First Annual Tribal Memories Festival and Pow Wow (only $5.00) and Free Sahaja Yoga Meditation Classes http://www.free-meditation.ca/archives/22225 ( that will help you to connect to Mother Earth, your spirit or higher self, everyone and everything…all happening in Winnipeg March, 2017, the Heart of Canada!

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On Saturday March 25th, 2017, everyone, from everywhere is invited to the First Annual Tribal Memories Aboriginal Festival and Pow Wow at the Duckworth Centre, 400 Spence Street, at the University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The entrance fee is only $5.00 and you to get tickets you can call 204-615-7212, email pinefallsauction@gmail.com or at buy at the door, which opens at 5:00pm. The wonderful festival will start at 6:00pm and go to about 11:30 at night.
You can check out the Pow Wow official link with more event details and a chance to find out about more Pow Wows in your area.http://calendar.powwows.com/events/first-annual-tribal-memories-festival-pow-wow/
I had the pleasure of meeting Dakota, Marty and Cody who were inviting everyone passing through Portage Place in Winnipeg to their wonderful, powerful event. They were very warm and brotherly, and I am extending this invitation out to this Aboriginal festival, open to the public, it is a great opportunity to enjoy our oneness and connection with everyone and Mother Earth.
In addition, please join  Sahaja Yoga Winnipeg for Free Meditation Classes from March 24th to March 28th, 2017 to also connect to Mother Earth through a simple, guided meditation known as “thoughtless awareness”, with no hard poses, you can sit in a chair or on the floor, and feel the connection, joy and peace.
Achieving the yoga state is a great tool for students during exam pressures, relieving anxiety, emotional balance, harmony and better health. A great way to de-stress and connect to your higher self. All ages are welcome, and it is always free, in 100 countries, world-wide.
I encourage everyone to drop in! http://www.free-meditation.ca/archives/22225 for links to more classes and great articles celebrating oneness and respect for each other and this planet we share.
Sahaja Yoga also celebrated their R.A.I.N. (Realize Awareness in Nations) to Heal M. E. (Mother Earth) events in Ontario, Canada, with Aboriginal Prayers and many cultural traditions of many backgrounds that are rooted in the truth and essence of our beings. We salute the light in all of you, namaste, miigwetch, thank you.  http://www.free-meditation.ca/archives/20920

SY MARCH WINNIPEG POSTER REVISED 2017

FREE Meditation Classes in Winnipeg Continues March 2017-Drop in tonight! March 16th-28th free classes in “The Heart,” Winnipeg, Manitoba

SY MARCH WINNIPEG POSTER REVISED 2017http://www.free-meditation.ca/archives/22225 Please check out the link for more information about Sahaja Yoga and subscribe to enjoy fresh new articles! Namaste Everyone. We salute the light in all of you.

Frida’s Answer to The Wall between Mexico and U.S…Plus 5 Things To Visit, Eat and Explore in Playa Del Carmen, Tulum and Azul Cenotes

Frida Kahlo, a stoic, talented, resilient, controversial and revered artist and feminist from Mexico, would likely have had plenty to say about “the wall” being built between the borders of United States of America and Mexico. To paraphrase Zen masters, water is stronger than rock. Artists take walls that are divisive and unbending, and transform them into a mere background canvas for a greater purpose.

If your mind is quiet, what they have to say will move you, motivate you, inspire you to be authentic, question, contemplate, and start a new conversation about how we can all make this world a better place, starting with your higher self. The best self you can be. And by example, we raise the consciousness of the planet, moving mountains, and thus transforming walls into a canvas for a new reality.

Let’s continue to explore and respect mother earth and its people everywhere we go. Art, music, mother nature, oneness are louder in their stillness than any wall that has ever been built to divide. The conversation is bringing more and more people together as a backlash. It turned my attention to the beauty of Mexico in a short 4 days worth exploring.20170206_101906Casa de las Flores, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico (all photos by Paula Erskine) A waterfall pours over the staircase wall, with Frida’s artistic attention on a higher plane.20170206_164826

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico…walls become a canvas for a higher message to be enjoyed. Graffiti can be found throughout Playa Del Carmen, a photographer’s treasure. In Tulum we began with a homemade soup before our light trek, then began bird watching.

 

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In Tulum, Mexico, the walls mark ancient civilizations. Iguanas make these walls their roaming places. Take a “collectivo bus” white van, from Play del Carmen for a little less than $3 U.S. Make sure you bring pesos for better value.20170205_14310220170205_144601Water is stronger than rock and walls…it molds, it soothes…it beckons…it purifies…

20170205_14432020170205_152426After visiting Tulum, we walked towards the closest beach and discovered tejon, which surprised and delighted us. They were very gentle, and liked our cranberries. They are like  Mexican raccoons, also know as coatimundi. They were adorable, and in my experience, ate gently out of hand, but be careful to give these omnivores what they would normally eat. We were quite grateful later to learn that they eat tarantulas too, so for that, we thank them. Time stood still as we socialized with mother earth’s delightful creatures. It was in Tulum that we met this lovely couple, a Canadian artist living in Berlin, with her lawyer boyfriend. We enjoyed chatting with them, and we all agreed that artists and lawyers make very good couples. 20170205_151836020170206_211134At the 3D Museum of Wonders, Kurt Wenner’s art bends walls, taking us out of our comfort zone. Kurt Wenner is a famous street artist and his art was finally recognized and is enjoyed in only 3 museums world wide. Japan, Singapore, and Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Bring your camera and ask for Gustav, or any staff, who are there to take pictures of you that are mind-bending. It is well worth the $30 U.S., however, Sundays are rumored to be half price. Luckily the museum was open till 10:00pm, we rushed through on our last night in Playa Del Carmen, and it was still very enjoyable. 20170206_20574920170206_205232

Playa Del Carmen has many delicious places to eat, very budget friendly, we loved La Catrina on 4th and 20th…just down the street from the entrance of Mom’s Hostel where we stayed.20170206_11284220170206_104100The view from La Catrina is another wall with even more thought provoking art. An ode to ancient civilizations.

20170206_104357La Catrina makes a delicious breakfast, but they close in the evenings.Mouth watering.

20170206_105331La Catrina’s menu in pesos…bring your appetite!20170206_10572320170207_08395120170207_08385420170207_083848Mom’s hotel is a hostel on 30th and 4th, it is very basic, no frills, but it is clean, and after walking for 2 hours in the heat, walking away from “recommended” hostels on hostel bookers with bed bugs, we found refuge here, without bed bugs. A clean place to to park our stuff and rejuvenate for 4 short days in Mexico.http://www.momshotel.com/ We paid $40 U.S. per night and had no prior reservation. They speak a good amount of English there, and can recommend restaurants nearby where locals go. Like El Fogon https://www.facebook.com/El-Fogon-Playa-del-Carmen-Mexico-113664555317230/20170205_214358El Fogon is on 30th and everything was delicious, we ate there twice which was twice as nice. Two blocks from Mom’s hotel (hostel). Our average dinner cost us about $10 U.S. each with fruit smoothies and guacamole and cactus salad. Many locals can be found here, enjoying a night out with their families.

Then we also ate at Casa Romero Bar and Grill and don’t let the empty restaurant fool you. It is absolutely heavenly tasty, gourmet food, and very reasonable at about $10 U.S. each. The fish was marinated with our choice of butter, garlic and a little bit of chili, and the quacamole with shrimps was to live for. Their lovely family charmed us as the food melted in our mouths. Casa Romero is a hidden treasure in Playa Del Carmen among restaurants.http://casaromeroplaya.com/ Find it on 20th Avenue, between 4th and 6th calle.20170206_19093520170206_19314220170206_19490520170206_190941Casa Romero’s Restaurant walls are adorned with living plants, artfully displayed. They food was cooked to perfection and plated as if we were in a top hotel in Mexico. Don’t let the empty restaurant deter you from dining off the busy areas, it is well worth your tastebuds and budget. We praised the chef personally for the marvelous dinner.

Playa Del Carmen’s beaches are a gathering of beach goers. We can all imagine, a world without walls here. How free it feels to breathe in sun, sky, air, warmth, sea…20170204_153959Azul Cenotes, can also be accessed by collectivo white vans halfway to Tulum, you can line up at the station in Playa Del Carmen, and you can also flag them down. http://www.playadelcarmen.com/blog/cenote-azul. It was approximately $6 U.S., with 4 swimming areas, life jackets and snorkel gear for rent. It was magical. I did some good old fashioned swimming, watched people jump from a cliff, and if you’re really still, the little fish will give you a pedicure. Someone decorated one of the cenotes with rose petals.20170206_12151720170206_12222820170206_12241420170206_101906With a little creativity, we can be like Frida, and rise above the wall to enjoy the history, art, culture, cenotes, sea, and food of Mexico.