Sparklehaus

Thai Fisherman Pant Euphoria!

I found this awesome tutorial over at mediatinker! I can't wait to make everyone crazy thai fisherman pants in wild prints!

Thai Fisherman’s Pants
from mediatinker.com

These are one-size fits-all pants that wrap around and tie with a sash. Very comfy and stylish, too. You can use almost any weight fabric—from silk to lightweight denim. The Thai ones are cotton or rayon. Make sure your fabric looks nice on both sides; I did mine with a contrasting top panel because the print I used for the legs looked ugly on the reverse.

You’ll need
2 meters fabric
Matching thread
About an hour

Cutting:


























Top panel (2): 25 cm x 75 cm
Legs (2): 75 cm x 85 cm, with a curved 50 x 10 strip cut away on each side
Tie (1): 6 cm x 140 cm

I measured and cut directly on the fabric without a paper pattern. Don’t forget to add extra for the seams. I usually do 1 cm all around.

If you’re using fabric with a directional pattern, cut the cloth in half widthwise and turn the fabric so that the pattern runs the same direction on both legs.

Construction:
















1. Sew the short ends of the top panel to form a large hoop. Hem one edge of the hoop.
2. Sew the center front seam.
3. Sew the center back seam.
4. Starting at the center and working out, sew the inseam.
5. Attach the top panel to the legs.
6. Construct the sash and attach to the top panel at the back.
7. Hem the legs.

Points:
French seam the top panel sides so there are no raw edges.
Finish the top panel edge with a tiny hem.
Attached the belt securely to the center back of the top panel.




















To wear them, slip them on and hold the edges out from you (like a diet “after” picture). Pull one side tight against your body and bring the rest of the fabric across yourself to form an S curve. Bring the ties around your waist and knot. Fold the top down over the ties.

Facebook Tarot Card: I Hope it is Right!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

The World
The World represents the completion of a cycle and the attainment of inner peace and contentment. It is time to celebrate all that you have accomplished and bask in your successes. You have achieved a heightened sense of self awareness and a new appreciation for your surroundings. While this card doesn't rule out discomfort in your life, it does indicate that many of your trials and tribulations will soon be overcome. Everything is finally starting to come together!

I can only hope that this virtual Tarot card is on the right track! I have had so much stress piled onto me lately and this little Tarot card on my Facebook profile completely cheered me up today. Sometimes the emotional support you need to get through the day comes from the weirdest places. Yesterday, I played with my coworker Kimberley's daughter, Claire, for about 90 minutes. It is really hard to be upset when you have such a sweet child looking into your eyes and laughing. We had a tickle war and suddenly all my worry evaporated. Today, I had a rough morning. The panic of the next few months were settling in. Sometimes you just get tired of people telling you what you should do. There are just days when you need someone to support you and tell you that you can do something.

It is so easy for people to point out other people's faults. It is much more difficult to climb on board with someone and say "I am going to help you through this!" It is so hard for people to point out strengths in other people. We just know how to make people feel insecure and sad by putting faults under a giant magnifying glass. We seem to only have an interest in making people feel weak and helpless. In my life this has to change. The people I will be close with in the future are people who can pump out as much optimism and they do criticism! I challenge everybody to think about this a little. Do you instill fear in people or do you help people move past those fears. 

It will be a much easier for everyone if we can all learn to be a little more supportive towards the people we love. There is nothing wrong with a little tough love .... but we all need to take a look a little deeper and make sure tough love isn't the only thing we are dishing out! Now go out there and support someone! 

Lama Marut's January Newsletter

January 2007 Happy New Year! Welcome back for the second of "Lama Marut's Monthly Newsletters."  In honor of the new year, we've added a few additional features this month - new sections on the "Sanskrit Word of the Month," "Quotation of the Month," and "Karmic Correlation of the Month."  Also below you'll find an article on the importance of gratitude and forgiveness as we move into the coming new year, updated information about the latest free video and audio teachings available on the web, and my teaching schedule for this month.  Please feel free to write me with any suggestions or reactions you might have regarding the newsletter.  If I get any mail, maybe we'll include a section of readers' letters in subsequent editions of the newsletter! With all good wishes, Marut
In This Issue Article - Revisioning the Old in Order to Begin the New Sanskrit Word of the Month Quotations of the Month Karmic Correlation of the Month New! Audio & Video Upcoming Teachings Quick Links Asian Classics Institute Los Angeles ACI LA Teachings World View Yoga Studies Institute	Revisioning the Old in Order to Begin the New As we start a new year, we have an important opportunity to jump-start our spiritual lives with a sense of renewed commitment and hope.  The tradition on New Year's to make resolutions for the upcoming year is a very good one.  To live a happy life we need to cultivate the confidence and optimism about the future that comes from a strong resolve and determination to live a good and beneficial life in the present.    But in order to really begin anew we must first review.  We can't look positively to the future with paralyzing regret about the past.  We can't move expeditiously ahead if we are trailing too much encumbering baggage behind. Robert G. Menzies declares, "It is a simple but sometimes forgotten truth that the greatest enemy to present joy and high hopes is the cultivation of retrospective bitterness."  As we review the past year, we must do two things in order to enter the new year free of the fetters that bind us.  We must be grateful and forgiving. The first way to liberate ourselves from our debilitating "retrospective bitterness" is to cultivate gratitude - the recollection and appreciation of all that has gone right for us over the past year.  Gratitude regarding the past is an essential component of happiness in the present and optimistic resolve regarding the future.  It acts as a counter-weight to resentment, discouragement, and sadness.  It is impossible to simultaneously feel grateful and depressed. It is not happiness that makes us grateful but rather gratitude that makes us happy. Richard Carlson, one of the founders of a new branch of modern psychology called "Happiness Studies," observes that "Throughout history wise men and women have encouraged us to feel grateful for what we have.  Why? Very simply because gratitude makes us feel good." If you have problems remembering what to be grateful for, you're probably not trying very hard.  At the very least, recall all the bad things that didn't happen to you last year!  The following is attributed to the Buddha:  "Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." As the new year begins, it would be good to spend some time thinking about all the things and people you have to be grateful for.  Go through the following steps in a meditation: ·    Review all the problems you are having now, or have had during the year - all the difficulties and complaints you have about your life. ·    Now think about the problems others are having that you're not having:  living in extreme poverty; suffering from debilitating illness; living in the middle of a war zone; being unable to read and write; in the depths of despair and depression; lonely, without friends and family; ignorant about the true nature of things and cut off from any spiritual refuge and help; suffering old age or in the process of dying. ·    Return now to your own problems and relativize them.  In relation to the problems others are facing, how important and troubling are your own, really?  Resolve to stop exaggerating your own difficulties and spacing out on the problems others are experiencing. ·    Review the things that are or have been going right for you this year: successful relationships, career advancement; completion of major projects; spiritual advances; etc.  Feel gratitude and try to see how blessed your life really is. ·    Contemplate the things that others did for you this year: the ways others helped you, supported you, comforted you, taught you.  Make a list of specific people who did these things for you this year. ·    Visualize each one of these people and, one by one, say "thank you" to them.  Resolve to find ways to thank each one of these people during the course of the upcoming year. In addition to cultivating gratitude, we must also practice forgiveness if we are to be free of the "retrospective bitterness" about the past that precludes our present happiness and hobbles our resolution regarding the future.  Forgiveness is, of course, a virtue universally commended by the world's greatest spiritual teachers - and just as universally almost always left unpracticed.  Jesus famously taught, "You have heard that it was said, "Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'  But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.  If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." Because turning the other cheek and forgiving are so difficult for us, we must be very clear about what forgiveness really is and why it is in our own self-interest to do it.  The definition given by the Forgiveness Institute on their web site sums up real forgiveness nicely:                                       Forgiveness is not done for the offender; it is in the interest of the offended.  "I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him," said Booker T. Washington.  If we don't forgive - preemptively and unilaterally - we will remain unhappy, burdened with resentment. While forgiveness does not depend on the whether or not the offender deserves to be forgiven, or whether they have first apologized to you, it is certainly not just forgetting that the offense happened.   As Thomas Szasz once remarked, "The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naïve forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget." Nor is forgiveness an act of capitulation.  It is not "losing" but rather a triumph over the negative tendencies in ourselves that prevent our own well-being.  Who's the real "loser" if we don't forgive? "Holding a grudge takes mental, emotional, and physical energy. It makes you obsessive, angry, and depressed," writes Barry Lubetkin, a psychologist and director of the Institute for Behavior Therapy.  "There's a strong connection between anger and a wide spectrum of health miseries - chronic stomach upset, heart problems, and skin conditions among them. Without question, the more anger we experience within, the more stress we're under." Finally, forgiveness is not an act of weakness but rather of strength.  As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "The weak can never forgive.  Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."                                         If you don't believe that it takes great strength to forgive, just try to do it.  You'll quickly find out how hard it is. So in addition to your new year's gratitude meditations, don't forget to complement them with forgiveness contemplations: ·    Think about wrongs committed against you.  Be specific about who, what, when, etc. and make a list.  Feel the resentment, anger, and hurt that you are carrying about these people and incidents. ·    Contemplate how important forgiveness is for you.  Think about the disadvantages of not forgiving and the advantages of forgiving. ·    Review what real forgiveness is and isn't. ·    Go through your list and unilaterally and preemptively forgive those who have harmed you.  Say to yourself, for each one, "I forgive you, so and so, for what you did that hurt me.  I let go now of any and all resentment, anger, and hurt I feel about it.  I forgive you, unconditionally and totally."  ·    Resolve to make forgiveness a daily part of your spiritual practice until you have really forgiven each and every one of these people who have hurt you. Letting go of past resentments, together with developing genuine gratitude for the many blessings that inundate our lives, are the preconditions for a better 2008.  Start this new year right.  Clear away the weeds of the past that choke off your present happiness and besmirch your view of the future. Resolve to do something good for yourself and for others this month and this year: be grateful and be forgiving. Sankrit Word of the Month Yoga Maybe one of your resolutions this year was to join the estimated 20 million or so North Americans who claim to be regularly doing yoga.  But how many of these know what the Sanskrit term "yoga" really means? The word derives from the Sanskrit verbal root yuj- which means "to join."  The English words "yoke," "join," and "jugular" are all cognates of "yoga."   There are many kinds of yoga mentioned in Indian texts, all of which entail some sort of discipline or "joining" of oneself to a practice.  In Buddhism, for example, one of the highest and most important of all practices is "guru yoga" where one tries to yoke oneself to, and eventually wholly unite with, one's Teacher (who is also understood to be an fully Enlightened Being). Yoga of all sorts often combines an "outer" practice (like putting oneself into a particular posture, or disciplining one's body to act ethically or devotionally) with an "inner" practice such as meditation or the cultivation of wisdom.  Yoga thus joins external and internal methods and harnesses them into a powerful team. Finally, the ultimate goal of yoga is also a kind of union or yoking - the joining together of a perfect, immortal body of light with an omniscient and all-compassionate mind. Quotations of the Month Franklin and Chesterton "Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." - Benjamin Franklin "The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year.  It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes.  Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions.  Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective." - G.K. Chesterton Karmic Correlation of the Month Idle  Speech While many of the correlations between karmic causes and effects are fairly straightforward,  not all are always so immediately apparent.  For example, people are sometimes surprised to learn that according to Je Tsongkapa's Lam Rim Chenmo and other texts, the cause of depression and low self-esteem is said to be "idle speech." Idle speech includes meaningless chatter, bickering with others, whining and complaining, and gossiping.  One especially virulent form of idle speech is mindlessly repeating prayers or mantras without thinking about what one is saying. Another very bad form of this misdeed is saying that you will do something and then not doing it.  Making promises you don't keep - i.e., hearing yourself say things that are meaningless or have no value - comes back at you in the perception that you are of little value.  Because you didn't take your words seriously, you are forced to have the feeling that you are the kind of person who is not worth taking seriously. And, as usual, the karmic effect is also that you are more likely to habitually engage in such idle speech in the future.  As it says in the Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life,  This habit (of not doing what you say you will) Extends into future lives; And because of this vice, one's suffering increases. And another timely opportunity to act is wasted, And what needs to be done is left unaccomplished. (7.48) This correlation is very important to remember as we make our New Year's resolutions.  If we wish to avoid low self-esteem and the unhappiness it brings, we must try to keep our promises to ourselves and to others.  This year, don't write no checks with your mouth that your body can't cash!  Be judicious about what resolutions you make (only make the ones you really intend to keep) and then keep track of and do your best to fulfill them. New Video and Audio Teachings Available On-line Benjamin Worden once again has kindly filmed and uploaded two talks I gave last month in New York City.  The first is on the three yogas in the Bhagavad Gita, given at The Shala yoga studio: Three Yogas of the Bhagavad Gita Video Audio only for the talk is posted here: Three Yogas of the Bhagavad Gita Audio The second video is a brief talk entitled "No Dharma, No Fun" presented at a fundraiser for the Three Jewels: No Dharma, No Fun Video . Video and Audio Podcasts We've continued to upload new video podcasts, the most recent of which have been extracted from a talk given at the Tibetan Heart Yoga, Series 6, course last September in Tucson, and from last term's Diamond Mountain University course on "karma yoga" in the Bhagavad Gita: New Video Podcasts The audio podcasts posted last month conclude the series on the six "flavors" of emptiness ("mahamudra"), including a guided meditation. We also have begun a new series of podcasts on the Four Arya Truths taken from last summer's annual retreat at the Windhover Performing Arts Center in Rockport, Massachusetts.  The audio podcasts can be found here: New Audio Podcasts Complete Audio Downloads Complete audio of teachings last month's teachings in Los Angeles and in New York City (including a "Yoga Essentials" course given as part of Kelly Morris's yoga teacher training program) can be found by following these links: Explorations in Emptiness Learning Forgiveness ("How to Be Happy, Part One: Cultivating Forgiveness and Gratitude") Dharma Essentials IX ("The Ethical Life) Yoga Essentials Upcoming Teachings in January     ROCKPORT, MASSACHUSETTS ACI Formal Study Course XVI: Review of Courses 1-5 Jan. 15th - Jan. 18th, 12 - 4:30 p.m. Location: Community House, Rockport, MA Contact: Phil Salzman: cape_ann_sangha@yahoo.com Teachings on Emptiness (mahamudra) Jan. 15th - Jan. 18th, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Location: Rockport High School Auditorium, Rockport, MA Contact: Phil Salzman: cape_ann_sangha@yahoo.com TUCSON, ARIZONA Diamond Mountain University Winter Term Jan. 28 - March 2 The Yoga of Wisdom in the Bhagavad Gita Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8-10 PM Location: The Yoga Practice, 2207 N.Bell, Tucson, AZ Contact: Diamond Mountain University to register for courses Readings in Sanskrit Thursdays, 1-4 PM Location: The Yoga Practice, 2207 N.Bell, Tucson, AZ Contact: Diamond Mountain University to register for courses

Paper, Words, and Retrospective

Today is one of those days where I feel like the Universe is trying to tell me something. It is the same thing it is always telling me. "It is not meant to be." How many of us have heard that message before? The thing is I am tired of it. I am tired of struggling and fighting with what the Universe has planned for me. I am tired of the Universe breaking my heart.

I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I do have the most wonderful boyfriend in the world who is going through all these ups and downs with me. I do have a lot of wonderful things in my life. I am very giving and accomodating to others. It just seems like I have not received my karmic reward yet. Somedays, I wish I could just ask the Universe for $1000 and it would come my way.  I know we all wish this...but most of the time I do not care about money. It is just that I need to move and soon...and the place we want to move to the most in Burbank needs first, last, and a security deposit. All together that is more than $3000! I was so happy that we could make the first and the security deposit. Then today they told us we would need lasts months rent too. I am broken hearted. If they choose us...I do not know if we can make it.

On top of that I just got in a car accident in Hollywood just after dropping off the application in Burbank. AAA picked me up and it was a nightmare. They are getting a letter. I can not believe how I was treated by their driver and what he put me through. It just has not been a good year so far.

I am going to end up living in some rat trap with Peter if we continue on with this luck. Oh yeah Peter got put on a jury that could last 10 days, so he is not having too good of a start to the year either.

So I went on a walk to the beach today. I listened to my new IPOD and sat on the sand dunes and just thought about my life. I just sat wondering what we are going to do. It is all just too much for me to handle at once.

I miss crafting and sewing. My house is covered in half packed boxes. I am living in limbo...barely living here and not quite there yet. I don't know where anything is and I just walk around tripping on things. I think I am officially feeling sad. I need everyone to tell the Universe to be nicer to us.

Pretty Please.

Santa Monica Gymnastics Center: Closing the Doors on a Dream

After 35 years of dedication to the sport of gymnastics, Santa Monica Gymnastics Center will be closing it doors. The culmination of years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears is not strong enough to take on the new breed of gymnastics schools that are opening everywhere. Mega-schools that run as many diverse programs as YMCA's are popping up everywhere. My family did not want to change with the times. Al Luber wanted to coach gymnastics. He could of chosen an easier road. If it was about money he could of stayed on his old career as an engineer. He opened the gym with my mom Linda in 1973 to follow his dreams of bringing gymnastics to everyone. His coaching roots sprouted at Venice High School back in the 1960's. As a gymnast who looked up to more senior gymnasts, he learned how important  having mentors was in this sport. He absorbed the history of gymnastics, the technical side of gymnastics and everything else that comes with it. He would bring people under his wing the same way older gymnasts guided him. When it comes to gymnastics he is all knowing.

Growing up, SMGC is all I knew. I spent all my time in the gym.Thirty years later there are days where I still feel like that little girl practicing her splits and cartwheels. The hardest part of the gym closing is having to tell our clients. They are with us because we give them something that other gyms can't provide. I have seen some parents in tears because they had to break it to their kids and their kids started crying. We had one parent tell us how her daughter cried all night because she realized her dream of earning a spot on the competitive dream will never come true. Many of these kids I have taught for 5 years. I have watched them go from barely walking to confident 6 year olds. I have taught some of these kids every week for the last 4-5 years. The hardest part is not being able to see some of my students fulfill their gymnastics dreams.

We are having a Reunion and Celebration Party on Saturday, February 23 from 3-8 PM. We invite all friends and family of SMGC to reminisce and celebrate the long life we had bringing  gymnastics to so many lives. For those of you who want to know about referrals we will know more in a few weeks. Al wants to continue to coach... after he makes a decision we may know more about where some of our other coaches are going. Gyms are very different and not every style or method of coaching suits every child. We will have more info on referrals in in a few weeks. Until then, we are still running our classes this session...so if you are not signed up come and find your favorite teacher and take few more classes with them while you can!

My Mini-Tour of Texas

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

I thought I would share my photos from my most recent tour of Texas. Peter and I went to Austin and then to San Antonio where his family lives.  We had a great trip minus the flu that I came down with in Austin. I was very bummed out about this since I was pumped up to listen to tons of music and really explore the city. Needless to say I spent about 2 of the 4 days in bed. I did not get too many pictures but I will share what I have.

This is the Capitol Building. We walked past this so many times but this is the best photo. It is huge and very pretty. There is some crazy underground building too. Peter quized me on Texas history every time we walked past it.

This is a monument to the Confederacy in front of the capitol building.

This is a glimpse of 6th Street where you will find a lot of the bars and live music.

One thing I like about Austin is all the old signage. A lot of buildings still have a retro feel. I like that.

Graffiti Art on a telephone poll. I could totally relate to this feeling when I had the flu the day before!

We came across this interesting interactive sculpture on the UT Campus. It is a bunch of surgical tubing suspended for you to walk through. It was very cool. Very weird feeling!

That is me...barely alive after a day in bed.

There is Peter...happy to be outside and not taking care of me sick in bed.

Speaking of beds these were our delightful hotel beds. Nice linens and like 4 pillows each! Delightful!

I believe this is a fancy downtown Austin Hotel. I am not sure though. I just thought it was a pretty building.

This is a cool old house in downtown. Pretty Awesome.

This is an early evening shot down Congress St.

This is what a lot of neighborhood streets look like in Austin.

Peter and I met the cutest puppy on earth! Can anyone identify what kind of puppy it is? The owner told us but we were in puppy petting frenzy and I can't remember what he said!

This is the best salad I had in Texas. It might be the only salad in Texas. Let me tell you about it. It was from a retauraunt called Stix on Guadalupe St... I think.  Delicious.  You order skewers and they are matched up with different sides. I got the spinach salad with chicken skewer. The salad had blue cheese,spinach, candied walnuts, cranberries, raspberry vinegrette and topped with grilled pears. The grilled skewers had chicken, bell pepper, artichoke hearts, and zuchinni. We make this at home now and can't get enough.

We had breakfast at this place one day over near Barton Springs I think. It was a cute little coffee shop restaurant. Very laid back and lots of coffee refills!

This is one of my favorite shots from Austin. Clear skies, rolling clouds, and nice tree. This was in the Barton Springs area.

Driving over the bridge to the South Congress (SoCo) area.

My dream come true! A cupcake airstream trailer in the middle of a random parking lot. I had a carrot cake cupcake. Austin hasa lot of random stuff like this.

This was a cool little area of vintage shops. There are a bunch of little vintage stores that are all connected. There is also a record shop attached that had great prices on lots of cool old records.

After Austin we headed over to San Antonio to stay with Peter's mom and visit with the rest of his family.

Peter's sister Katie gave him an awesome sword from her travels in Morocco. Hmm...you think he likes it?

Walking the dogs with Peter,Pauline, and his sister Mary.

Dog Crossing!

A beautiful Texas sunset.

On New Years Eve we went to the Riverwalk. There was a festival going and it was very fun to walk around and drink beer. Drinking beer in the streets is always fun! It was freaking cold.

Here we are celebrating! I look like a librarian. Peter has been dressing as a 70's detective lately.

Here is Peter's mom Pauline freezing death while watching fireworks!

This photo of Pauline and Peter is adorable.

Ahhh...Texas! I think this photo sums it up!

Yes...that is me spinning in circles with a Beluga Whale. Thanks to Mary we all got to hop in the water and take a spin with Luna!

Home Sweet Home! Well almost....this is a beautiful Burbank, CA sunset. This is where we are moving. I really hope we can find a place soon. That will be one ounce of stress relieved!

A Whirlwind Year Put Behind Me!

2008 is finally here! I am not the kind of person who feels optimism whenever a new year begins. This year is different! So much has happened to me this year. I have watched friends go through heartbreak, family surrender to burdens, love bloom, jobs end, friendships created, and people pretending to be happy. That being said, 2007 was not all bad but definitely not all good.

Peter and I are off to start a new adventure in Burbank. We are sad to leave the beach but opportunity calls and it is just time for this change. We are scared and excited to take on all this. It is a busy time of year. My parents business of 35 years, Santa Monica Gymnastics Center, is shutting its doors. It is a difficult and painful journey for all of us ... but we have to truly believe that something wonderful will come out of it for all of us. So moving during this time is a little crazy. Peter is slammed with jury duty, returning to work after being away for a few weeks, and me freaking out about moving every 2 minutes. We are definitely not without our challenges .... but we both really believe in each other. Sometimes you just need someone to believe in you. Sometimes you need someone to point you in the direction of optimism instead of fear. We are ready to shake things up!

I just wanted to remind people that fear is something other people instill in us. We are not fear we just act on it. This year is dedicated to taking the other road and I hope some people decide to join me. I would rather die of optimism then of fear. So that is my mantra for the year.

Also...good news about Barack Obama leading the polls...that makes me feel optimistic too! Yay!