chamula indigenous village

Chamula, a large indigenous village or pueblo near San Cristobal de las Casas is known for it's crazy (in the nicest possible way) mix and clash of Christian and traditional religion in it's beautiful church. To go inside the church is a breathtakingly beautiful experience.  When I was there it was decked with an abundance of beautiful white flowers, the floor was strewn with pine branches, copal incense saturated the air and zillions of candles were burning which lit the whole place up.  

At first glance it would appear that people were praying to the Catholic Saints but it turns out the pictures are there to represent ancestors!  There are three 'negatives' that have been demoted to the back of the church: a depiction of hell, the cross and the baptism font.   Apparently the worshippers now accept baptism but not mass.  Photography is forbidden inside the church, which further adds to the mystique. I am not sure it would be possible to capture the ambience there anyway.

I was just as fascinated by the sheep and wool at Chamula.   Sheep were introduced to Mexico through the Spanish conquest.  People in the colder highland regions began making clothes from wool at this time.  In Chamula the women wear amazing thick wool skirts which they make from the wool of these black sheep.  The sheep are never killed for meat but are sheared carefully and kindly. They also knit cardigans and jackets from the wool, which still naturally smell of the lanolin.

sunshine hormone d3

Above is a diagram of how D3 is formed in the human body from UVB radiation from the sun.  I have just been reading this fascinating article by Jeff Bowles about the strange history and fascinating promise of vitamin D

http://www.thoughtsforconsciousness.co.uk/the-strange-history-and-fantastic-promise-of-vitamin-d/

Whatever your take on this article, if you live in the northern hemisphere and away from the equator, it is worth asking the question at this time of the year, where you are obtaining adequate supplies of the hormone, aka, vitamin D3.

As the height of the sun lessens during winter in latitudes far from the equator, the angle of the sun's rays is too low to shine UVB onto our skins and produce the hormone vitamin D in this way.  The ensuing deficiency is now thought to be connected to a myriad of diseases and ailments.  The consumption of unpasteurised dairy products, where the D3 was undamaged by heating and also contact with the lanolin from handling sheep and their wool were examples of traditional ways of topping up with D3.  Nowadays for various reasons such as changed lifestyles  D3 deficiency can easily happen.  This can occur even in summer due to indoor living and it is also important to be aware that the darker your skin, the more sunshine is needed to produce D3 so the more likely you are to get deficient in northern latitudes.  Between September and March is the time in Britain when we cannot obtain D3 from sunlight.

Vitamin D3 is sometimes known as the sunshine vitamin and is documented to increase levels of happiness

We use a D3 supplement from Premier Research Labs who are renowned for their quality control  The D3 in it is derived from the lanolin of sheep's wool.  

a walk up the tor

Although somewhat of a cliche it is still true that when you walk up Glastonbury Tor barefoot and sit at the top to survey the scenery you connect with something very special, something very mystical that can get you back on track of what you need to be doing to fulfill your highest purposes....

We are lucky enough to have a view of the Tor from several rooms in our home and I never tire of the sight of this beautiful curve of land.