Hi, my name is Amla Mehta and I’m a speaker, author, and teacher.

I’ve written two of my own books and one of my books is called Amla Speaks 365. There are 365 reflections in this book.

I’m going to read the passage from "Reflection 236." The theme is called “Food for Thought.”

“Why do we as humans question when we are sad or unhappy. When we are happy, we usually accept the feeling with open arms. Throughout the process of self-realization, one must accept the positive and negative thoughts, emotions, and feelings equally to maintain equanimity.”

Introduction

John:

Could you explain what Flow Kakou means?

Matt speaks:

Absolutely. Flow Kakou is my non-profit, my 501c3. We’re based in Hawaii. The title Flow Kakou – I took the word “flow” from the Buddhist definition of balance. The presence of both yin and yang at the same moment.

“Kakou” in Hawaiian means “everything.” To the stars, to the sand, to the water, to the people, to the animals, to the grass, even to the little bugs that we hate – that’s all Kakou.

Flip Flops

"Flip Flop I was taking a bath," I think that is the song.
Or is it "Splish splash I was taking a bath"?
I think this was the song.
Hi, it is summer and it is hot.
A lot of humidity in the day here today.
I went out there to do some yard clean up.
We had a really bad storm here in Newtown, CT.
It was actually a tornado a micro burst or macroburst or something like that.
There are branches down everywhere.

Why does fire seem so alive?

That flame on a candle seems so peaceful, so meditative -- like it, itself, is putting out a presence.

A candlelit dinner. How charming.

One of the houses I pass on my walk has a gaslight lamp, that always has a flame burning.

I really like that.

I remember sparklers that we would light on the fourth of July. They’d leave a trail of light in the night air.

Perhaps these things remind us of our own sparkling light.

My daughter came running in the house, saying that she found fairy wings. She really wanted us to see, too.

Yes, there were 2 identical wings, silver, white, delicate – about the size of a young child’s finger. These wings could easily belong to a fairy.

I want to believe in fairy wings, and dogs that talk with their eyes – that there is a layer of enchantment cast everywhere, waiting to be discovered.

She stared at me with her oh so serious and piercing eyes, chin resting on her hand, and said in a most sincere voice: “I love talking to old people.”

There she was, one of a gaggle of elementary school girls at the first meeting of our new workshop, and these were the first words I heard out of her mouth.

Well, I responded, "I love talking to young people, so we’re going to have a great time together – sharing and learning from each other."

“Hi hon. How was golf?”
“I was lousy, as always.”
“But how did it feel?”
“It was fabulous being out in this gorgeous weather.”

Sound like a familiar conversation?

We often allow feelings of hopelessness to become our predominant emotion.

Hi, this is Marilyn. I‘m a nurse and a wellness coach, with a specialty in nutrition.

Today I’d like to talk to you about the “wheel of life” and the “total wellness” team approach to balance your life, between primary foods and the enhancement of secondary foods.

Now, what are the primary foods? The 4 core primary foods are: exercise, spirituality, career and economics, and relationships. When these are not balanced, we are not balanced.

When Bruce and I were first married, we discovered Jones’ Family Farm, and started a tradition.

Each October we’d go to the farm and pick out a huge pumpkin. Then we’d bring it home, and work all weekend to make pies (usually 9) and loaves (usually 6).

Sometimes, we’d make pumpkin cookies or pumpkin pancakes (not a big hit). We’d cook the seeds. Then we’d distribute the pies to my parents and my brother Mike, Bruce’s parents, aunties, neighbors, etc.

I’d always bring some in for the teacher’s lounge at Second Hill Lane School.

Often in life we discover that failure leads to success.

Let’s think about it. Two parents are raising two children: Joey and Johnny.

When Joey’s learning to walk, his mom is holding his hands as walks across the room to his dad. Along the path, walking across the room, Joey is secure, he can’t fall because mom’s holding him, and he feels protected. And everything he does is perfect in the eyes of his parents, because he successfully walked across the room to daddy.