Zentraveler on what are you searching for?

Since the beginning of time folks of all nations, tribes, and families have been searching for it.  And to date only a handful of people have actually found it– out of a population of 7.2 billion.  Since you are busy searching and have turned over every stone looking for it— maybe you need to do something different.  It´s not in the past— we have covered that many times with our volumes of books.  It´s not in modern technology and the future— we have explored that until the cows have come home, and it´s not in outer space. 

We are done with the questions.  We shall now look for the answer.  The answer is very simple you are searching for inner peace.  You mean I have wasted my entire life surrounding myself with outside stimulus, building a career, and obtaining everything society says I have to have and all I needed to do was concentrate on my inner peace. No –you didn´t exactly waste your life it was the the only thing that you knew to do.

Yes some of you have even built very quiet Monasteries, because you believed this was the answer.  The answer to inner peace is within you.  If you are making war and full of turmoil, jealousy, hatred, and mad for the reasons that you think you are— that is not it. That is not representative of your true nature which is aligned with the Universe and is in perfect harmony. 

In order to get in alignment with your true nature you need to follow your breathe and begin to change your self-talk.  Begin by thanking the Universe that you are unique and a part of the grand scheme, which included never being sick and you will never die either.  The more you practice on positive self-talk and by simply following and appreciating your breathe the more your vessel will become a peace machine.  After all that is our essence since birth, but we didn´t know it.

Now that we know the answer what are we waiting for?  Some will say oh peace yea let someone else do it I’m too tired.  But if you really want inner peace all you have to do is be aware and appreciative of your unique nature and your breathe.  That´s the miracle!

“The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. ” In fact those lyrics by Bob Dylan couldn´t have been any closer because if you view yourself as a breathe machine, which is not much different from the universal wind— then the answer is certainly blowing in the wind and blowing within yourself.  From now on you can realize that each time you take a breathe and each time you realize how important your breathe is —-you have the answer to inner peace. 

QUOTE: “The more you know the less you know.”  —–unknown

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW: The answer is within you.  Heaven is within you.  Goodness is within you. Peace is within you.  All you have to do is to tap into it.  And when you do you can help the World by sharing your knowedge with other folks who are seeking answers.  It´s that simple and yes it´s a miracle.  It´s the miracle of the Universe and of you a single unique individual. 

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE: Your frowns!  They don´t look good on you and don´t become you.

ZENTRAVELER SAYS:  IT´S THAT SIMPLE!  INNER PEACE IS WITHIN YOU AND YOU CAN HAVE IT BECAUSE IT WAS YOUR GOD GIVEN RIGHT.

From here to Infinity is a relatively short ride! The next leg takes eons and eons as you fly through the Barycentric Dynamical Time Zone! and on and on and on.

Follow the Zentraveler Blog often for Travel, Health and Zen-like stories and such. Where else can you get a three in one blog for the price of free?

Zentraveler on Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela.

Porlamars Lifestyle

On the road again. As the one traveler said: “practice is what it takes.” God I am rusty I have broken some of my own best rules, but here I am and I love the bite of the travel bug. The only known antidote is to keep traveling. Searching the internet I found a cheap flight from Orlando, Florida to Port of Spain, Trinidad on Spirit Airlines and wanted to take the ferry to the mainland Venezuela, which costs about $90.00 one way US and ended up taking a jumper flight from Trinidad to Margarita Island just off the coast of Venezuela.

The weather in Margarita Island is spectacular if you like hot arid weather and tons of direct sunshine–with blue skies 365 days a year. I met a fellow traveler at the Trinidad airport and have been staying at his condo every since. My first impression of the main area of Porlamar is: it is too busy with all of the Venezuelans taking their vacation during the months of July, August, and September. As I became oriented I was amazed at the many shopping centers and their store fronts— almost one hundred percent upscale American brands and then the prices.

As we all know gasoline in Venezuela is probably the cheapest in the world selling at 12 cents a gallon. My friend filled up his new Citroen and the cost was $1.87 US. The other thing that is inexpensive is the local buses which you can ride almost anywhere for less than a dollar. The shock factor is that imports have risen four times over the last two years— so even if you buy something in a restaurant it will be very expensive. Inflation is running 21 percent and the cost of food 29 percent annually, which is good if you own real estate, but will crimp your pocketbook every time you turn around if not careful. An example it is almost impossible to purchase a bowl of soup under $5.00 US and a good set of sneakers will set you back $200.00 US. Maybe the most expensive thing to compare– my friend purchased a half pint of maple syrup for $35.00 US.

Be that as it may it is still a good bargain to go to Spanish language school where my friend Bill is paying $150.00 US per week and they haul you off in a private van to beautiful beaches each afternoon, which is all included. In his class are students from Germany, Switzerland, New Zeland and other parts of the world. You can also make arrangements to stay with a local family and have three meals a day and practice your Spanish —since in most cases they don´t speak a word of English. Most of these world travelers are brushing up on their Spanish and will be traveling throughout Central and South America. Quite a few are traveling for at least six months to a year. Where has the American fallen behind? My answer is at the desk! Remember the gravestone marker who said: “he never gets a request that says”: “I wish I had spent more time at the office. ”

Polar Beer Time

The people are generally friendly and the politics almost never comes up. Remember this is a Caribbean island and they still have the laid back mentality. As you learn your way around Porlamar they have a very large Hilton Hotel and two marinas. One marina is named the Concorde and has many offshore boats, catamarans, and diesel equipped vessels. At the very point of the marina is a beautiful restaurant with open air seating and a complete fancy menu with Thai food —run by folks from Bulgaria. The name of the restaurant is Casa Blanca. How appropriate! With a small key board set up I can almost here her say: “Play it again Sam!”

Casa Blanca, Porlamar

As you go along the coast you discover many high rise condominiums and some skeleton of constructions that were stopped because of banking failures about 15 years ago. Everywhere you look you see cranes and brand new condos coming out of the ground. There is also plenty of land to continue their constructions and final build-out.

As you move along the coast you come to the older part of Porlamar which is a mix of many businesses and small posadas and a beautiful tropical restaurant set among the swaying coconut trees directly on the beach —with thatched roofs and outdoor bars. The restaurant is called Margaretiville. And is if part of a movie sceen in the older part of Porlamar is the once famous bar called The Mosquito Coast run by a Canadian friend of mine Patrick Roy who recently sold it, but I am sure it is packed with salty characters and good memories. Moving inward directly toward the coast they seal off the road between five and seven in the evening for folks to walk along the promenade, jog, rollerblade, and just hang out enjoying the ocean breeze.

For me Porlamar is a bit too congested with actual traffic jams and sometimes it is very hard to cross the streets by walking. However, if shopping is your thing and you love the convenience of many stores and the largest mall in Margarita island named Sambil— then you have hit the jackpot. Also if you want to belong to a highrise community –maybe now is the time to consider making a purchase on one of these new start up condo projects. They keep telling me your investment will probably double the first year— if you get a good discount off of preconstruction. And as I always say: “let the buyer be aware and make sure you deal with a reputable real estate broker like Century 21 or have a good attorney represent your interests.

So there you have it— Porlamar is sort of a microcosm of Miami, Florida with about a third of the price and some of the best beaches, turquoise waters and continual breezes off the ocean and oh yea— you should see the beautiful women walking around in their tight pants, heels and whatever— it would probably turn the head of one of the historical statues— if facts were known.

Sunset at Porlamar

QUOTE: ” I like Pigs, Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.”

—–Sir Winston Churchill

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW: Pigs always sleep on their right side and if they have a choice they will always keep their pig stye tiddy.

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE: Plastic bags! Everytime you throw one away you are polluting the earth. China has recently passed a new law prohibiting the use of very thin plastic bags because it doesn´t properly break down and fish think they are eating jelleyfish and get a mouthful of plastic.

ZENTRAVELER SAYS: Travel in reverse and get a different perspective!

From here to Infinity is a relatively short ride! The next leg takes eons and eons as you fly through the Barycentric Dynamical Time Zone! and on and on and on.

Follow the Zentraveler Blog often for Travel, Health and Zen-like stories and such. Where else can you get a three in one blog for the price of free?

Zentraveler on the value of Hummus for your health.

Hummus (also spelled hamos, houmous, hommos, hommus, hummos, hummous or humus; see romanization of Arabic) is a dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. Hummus is a popular food in various local forms throughout the Middle Eastern world.^{——WIKIPEDIA}

Not only does Hummus taste good, but it has many properties within the garbanzo bean that has stood steadfast since the beginning of time. Over 3000 years hummus has been one of the main food sources for many of the Eastern Civilizations.  Every country in the region has their secret ingredients that have been passed down though history and as secretive as a guarded family heirloom.  The Arabs have their version, the Syrians have their version and of course the Jewish Israelis have their version—- which is to die for.  We have all heard of the opium wars, the wars for tea and it wouldn´t surprise me much if the next war will be entitled: “THE HUMMUS WARS”.  You have to admit it has a catchy phrase and would be a great relief for the field journalists that are nearly bored to death over the last volley of crazy wars in the region.

As far as nutrition goes Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C. The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber. Depending on the recipe hummus carries varying amounts of monounsaturated fat.  Hummus is useful in vegetarian and vegan diets and like other combinations of grains and pulses, when eaten with bread it provides essential amino acids. In the United States, the government is trying to introduce healthier food in school cafeterias to slow obesity rates; along with whole-grain pizzas and baked chicken nuggets, the new offerings include hummus.—–wikipedia

“I wouldn’t give up the fancy restaurants, but Hummus is a comfort food which I am happy to eat all year round, at any time of year. The Hummus bar is an Israeli institution and is an important stop, along with the Kotel and Masada for any overseas visitor.” —–Gilly

 

Where did the name Hummus originate?

Hummus was the name of a barbershop quartet dating back to Ancient Rome Its name was derived from the prefix “to hum” and the suffix “us,” being a group of tone-deaf nerds who actually thought they sounded entertaining, not very much unlike Oasis.

Taken from the uncyclopedia a hummorous take on hummus!

Modern Israel is paradise indeed (the ideal retirement and vacation getaway!), however it suffers a hellish lack of culinary delights. Home to endless bizarre immigrants and refugees who arrive daily, devoid of any common sense(as shown by the mere fact that they come to live in Israel!!), penniless, downtrodden and depraved, Israel had to develop a new and unique system of nourishment, trying desperately to cater to the insane mixture of its highly famished and ever growing and growling population.

Taking a cue from Gandhi, the Jews pronounced: ‘chickpeas’! The chickpeas or garbanzo beans were then processed by neighboring Arab tribes into the infamous HUMMUS (pronounce hoo-moos in Hebrew, for he who moos)!

Originally a small neglected tribe of round and mushy beans (also known as Garbanzos), who made their living (and preferably leaving…) by causing terrorised Philistines, Ashurites, Sumerian and ancient Hebrews to escape rapidly crowded tents after having a nightly feast of the Garbanzos, they matured into a golden ball the size of a Lima bean, joining forces with the awesome Sesame tribe of Saudi Arabian nights and changing their name to “KHUMUS & TEHINAH”. They also developed an amazingly complicated technique of enticing Israelis to use their special dish services and be enslaved forever! The Grand KHUMU would lie down in a deep plate, disguise himself as a light brownish kaka looking paste, cover himself with a few round, seemingly harmless Khumus (mighty soldiers of the Diarrhea, carrying their secret weapon, the Farting Spear of Intestines!), put on top a slouchy oozy yellowish semi-thick Tehinah (known as Tahini to western health nuts), spread generous shreds of Parsley (an alien warrior sect from the planetCorriander) and a few drops of lemon mixed with Garlic(another alien stinking rotten fathermuckers…) and tempt innocentIsraelis into devouring it, using the moron minded Pita Bread slices in a unique rotating spin called “LENAGEV”.

The satisfied diners proceed usually with their daily duties and hardships, slowly realizing that their belly storm is a rapidly dispersing instrument, rendering them highly dangerous to humans in a diameter of 240 yards. A Bar Mitzvahcelebration in Tel Aviv on a warm spring evening, serving 326 dishes of KHUMUS & TEHINAH, is known to have caused terrorised citizens in Jerusalemto escape screaming to Eilat, withholding their breath for a 17 minutes world unbreakable record!!! Nowadays Israel has actually been conquered by The Magnificent KHUMUS and is now seriously considering joining the dark and evil warriors of FART-VADER!!!

The best way to forget all about the Problems of Un-Balanced Gazes from your Tummy is a Rosh. Inhaled just a few minutes after the Humus Meal, one or two Roshes can cause a relaxed and satteld digestion followed by nice Humus Smelling Greptsim with smoke.

Hummus of Akko

Akko, one of Israel’s newest cities, having never been inhabited throughout history, has rapidly become Israel’s HUMMUS MECCA. oh yes. They serve hummus with gargarim (unmashed garbanzos) which they call Mashawsha in the south or Mesabekha in the north (a Hebrew term that somehow only the local Arabs are familiar with, no one knows why), with ground beef or with mushrooms. Since Akko is new and bourgeouis, yuppified to the hilt, it’s not really worth visiting, but damn can those Jews whip up some hummus!

Hummus Recipes Declared State Secret

Declaring Hummus recipes a state secret yesterday, top Mossad officials announced the true origins of the tasty paste: no less than Abraham and Sarah, the first Jews, invented hummus! Yes, as a matter of fact, before Isaac was almost sacrificed, he had the first last supper which consisted of fresh hummus, tomatoes and cucumbers in a stone ground pita.

Retrieved from “http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Humus“

So there you have it—- why not add Hummus to your foods of choice, which you can purchase from Wal-mart or any good health food restaurant or Eastern deli.  The Hummus with dried tomatoes is especially tasty and who knows— this just might be the biblical secret food you have been looking for.  If it was good enough for Moses and the fisherman gang it would be certainly good enough for me.

QUOTE:  Oscar Wilde on Hummus!¨Dam this shit is better than marmite”    —–Oscar Wilde

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW: Garbanzo beans can save your life!

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE:  One year´s supply of Garbanzo beans in case of famine.

ZENTRAVELER SAYS: Eat plenty of Hummus for a healthy lifestyle and also for a great way to lose some pounds.  Plus it tastes good.  What´s not to like?

From here to Infinity is a relatively short ride! The next leg takes eons and eons as you fly through the Barycentric Dynamical Time Zone! and on and on and on.

Follow the Zentraveler Blog often for Travel, Health and Zen-like stories and such. Where else can you get a three in one blog for the price of free?