Kava Kava Lessons

I made my way down to Bula Kava House on SE Division in Portland, OR where I learned three things.

1. Kava ain’t cheap

2. It tastes horrible, seriously, can’t stress this enough

3. It feels great

While there, I tried a cup of their hand pressed waka which came highly recommended. It comes in a coconut shaped bowl and you chug it down including the sediment on the bottom. You do this in a public, yet very chill, dimly lit environment.

The store had a great selection and I learned that there are Kava’s they recommend for body relaxation and others for a mental/brain impact. I purchased a pound of the Waka because I’m all about the mind feel and a nylon bag that I’m pretty sure was made out of a vintage dress from the Salvation Army store.

I was about fifteen minutes out of the store when I noticed I was quite happy (I wasn’t driving) and the lights looked brighter and things seemed prettier.

Went home and made a second batch for me and a friend. Here’s how:

Step 1

I put everything in a big pyrex mixing cup but you can use a bowl or tupperware.

1.5 tablespoons of coconut oil (most people use soy lecithin but I didn’t have any, the fat is supposed to make it more effective)

2 cups warm but definitely not hot water (hot water kills the kavalactones). I happened to have an instant read thermometer and it was 110 degrees – enough to melt the coconut oil.

Added 8 slightly heaping tablespoons of the dried kava root, stirred it in.

Added 2 more cups of water, stirred.

The ratio for a standard one cup strong serving is 2 tablespoons per cup of water.

Covered with cling wrap and let sit for 25 minutes.

Step 2

Got a bowl

Put the nylon bag in the bowl.

Poured all the contents in the big measuring cup through the nylon bag.

Kneaded the bag in the liquid for a few minutes.

Squeezed all the liquid out of the bag.

Poured the bowl contents into cups.

The debris and sediment that gets into the drink is supposed to be good for the effect and apparently some people drink all the root any everything and its okay. Just gulp it down as fast as possible. I had a dried mango ready to drive the kava taste away.

The results

My mouth and tongue got numb which was kind of fun. Two cups in one night was absolutely plenty. I felt very relaxed and at ease about life and the world, and unlike the effect of alcohol my head was clear and I could still read and write. I almost felt clearer than normal, like the usual garbage worries had clouded my thought. I ended up skipping dinner so I think its an appetite suppressant for me. I slept well and woke up relaxed and clear headed.

I liked it somewhat warmer than room temperature, but it can be fridged and kept for a few days.

I’ve read some of the health concerns on the net. My own reading led me to believe that the health concerns like liver damage were due to kava pills which included parts of the plant. Traditionally, only the root is used and the plant is thought to be toxic. I’m not sure if this is true or if it is actually damaging. My extremities got really cold which is usually a sign for me that my blood pressure is low. Not sure if that is a known side effect or not. Other than that, felt great.

Bilateral Conversation

I read an article by Martha Beck that gave some fun tips on engaging the right side of your brain. One that I thought was really fun was bilateral conversation.

How to do it

You write a question with your left hand. Something like – How’s your day?

Then you answer it with your right hand.

How I used it

I thought it might be fun to write some dialogue for a short story this way. I know my main characters desires and mind well, so I wrote her with my right hand and the other character with my left.

How it worked out

I don’t think it was writing gold, but it definitely wasn’t something I would have normally thought to write, so I call it a success. I think I’ll use this technique more often when I’m in writing road blocks.

Photo was unaltered and by TZA

Floating – Take 2

It’s a little like my first tattoo, once I had one, I wanted another.

I’m lucky to live in Portland where there are several options to take a dip in a sensory deprivation tank or float tank as they’re more commonly called these days. The Float Shoppe was a great experience, but I wanted to see what else was out there so I headed to Mudra Massage.

Getting Ready to Float

The first thing I noticed was the feeling like I was there for a vaccine or something. The man working at the desk looked at the appointment book and the clock and gave me some paperwork. There was some short paperwork at the Float Shoppe too, but at Mudra I was definitely not encouraged to get tea or sit and relax. I must not have come early enough.

I was informed of all the rules – try to limit your shower to 5 minutes, try to get any loose hair out before you get in, try not to drip salt water, wipe the salt off before you get out of the tank, use this set of toiletries before you get in and the others when you get out, and just split one  wax earplug into two pieces rather than use two. All of the rules made sense, and I’m sure keep the place and tank very nice and clean. It was just a lot to take in and a little off putting.

I immediately felt terrible for every faux pas I must have committed at the Float Shoppe without even knowing. I’m sure I touched things with my salty hands and my shower after the float was long and warm and wonderful.

The Tank

I thought I was ready to try a more traditional tank – the long white ones with the big doors. After my experience in the other tank I was calm and ready to start with the door closed. I wasn’t prepared for the next instruction.

You need to put your head at the end of the tank and your feet near the door. I asked three times and said I was really uncomfortable doing that, but apparently the air comes in at the far side and it was highly recommended I put my face there.

The Experience

I tried to talk myself down. I got in the tank and made sure I was comfortable before I closed the door. Then I opened it to make sure I would know it was possible. The door was slippery, the tank sides and walls and my hands were too. I tried not to panic and just go slow…I opened the door, but I was not at ease.

I decided the fear was ridiculous and if I could just meditate and relax I’d forget all about it. Problem was – one side of the tank was warmer than the other, I could feel the heating unit under me on one side. There was a noise from where the air came in, and I somehow didn’t seem as bouyant and floated around a lot more in the tank causing me to hit the sides and come out of my relaxed state.

When I wasn’t nervous about the space, I was bored. I thought about getting out early but remembered how I eased into it the first time eventually. That never really happened this time.

When it was time to get out, I got into the small fiberglass shower unit and used the Trader Joes shampoo. I missed the big tile shower, radiant floors and smelly shampoo of my earlier float. I tried to be very quick in the shower and not make a mess on the floor. When I dried my feet I noticed black pieces of the stone floor were on the towel and I was worried about pissing the guy off….all in all, the place was clean and the people were nice, it just wasn’t for me.

Sensory deprivation – with a name like that, why doesn’t everyone do it?

I heard about sensory deprivation tanks about ten years ago and thought seriously about doing it but never did. It was expensive, and I heard it could be scary like an LSD trip. Ten years down the road, its still expensive but at least its not make my rent or float.

Of course, now I’m a bit claustrophobic. Not horribly, but for a while I slept in a cramped space and hated it, but I could talk myself down. That lasted for a month and then at night I would sleep walk and wake up on the sofa in the morning….or the lawn. I always wondered why I kept waking up with mosquito bites.

How I got there:

I was surfing the net, lacking the enthusiasm to do anything and trying to figure out what my day would be. Now that my writing is on hiatus, I have a lot of free time. I got started researching isolation tanks in Portland. I looked up who offered it, and then wondered how busy it would be. Float Shoppe, one of the 4 places I read about, had an opening within the hour. I thought that would be perfect, I could try ‘floating’ and practice randomness at the same time. Plus making an appointment wasn’t that appealing. I had no idea if I would be in the mood next week.

It really felt serendipitous. I saw the opening, drove over without any traffic, and found a parking spot right by the front door on NW 23rd. If you aren’t from Portland, that’s quite a find.

The Float Shoppe

The place is in a charming old house on NW 23rd Ave. Sometimes I avoid places on NW 23rd thinking they may be snobby, but if I was getting in what was essentially a shared bathtub, I was okay with something that may be on the higher end of cleanliness.

The place was wonderful. There was tea, a foot soak and very nice people. They weren’t overly concerned with the appointment time or anything and wanted to make sure I had all questions answered.

Tips I learned

Put the earplugs in before you get in the shower/get wet or they won’t work.

Shower with fairly cool water before you get in so it doesn’t feel cold.

Be playful and explore the space so you feel comfortable. You can stretch, massage your muscles, and swoosh your hair around.

Don’t get water in your eyes and have tap water nearby in case you do.

The Experience

I was in a tank their website describes as suitable for beginners. There was a light operated by a button inside the tank. She said I may want to put my head at the far end leave my feet at the opening and oh boy did that do it. All I could imagine was my head all the way at the narrow end away from the opening in the dark and I freaked. I tried the float with the lid open but I got really cold. I would estimate about halfway through (45 mins) I was so relaxed I had no trouble closing the lid. It was pretty cool. I felt like I was in the womb or being held in my mothers arms as an infant. It was almost like I was able to remember it. It also felt a bit like drifting in space.

The large quantity of epsom salt made it feel very safe even I fell asleep. My muscles, hair, and skin felt great.

The space itself was wonderful. I didn’t hear any distracting noise. The floors had radiant heat and the staff were so relaxed and nice about everything. I had a leisurely 2 hours to get showered and started, have the 90 minute float and get ready to leave. I really liked the toiletries, the towels, robe and all the natural fibers. The tank was in its own private room that had a locking door and was quite spacious. They had q-tips and cotton balls, makeup remover, a lot of nice little touches I didn’t know I needed.

A mistake realized

About a year ago I decided that if I thought I wanted to write fiction that I had to take it seriously – give it a real shot. That meant writing every day if possible, keeping track of my words, and submitting stories – which meant actually finishing them.

There was a major mistake in my plan. Like others, I have a day job and plenty of other time siphons. I was okay with that, I just had to give up some of the things I liked to do to make this a priority. It sounds good, and I did it. I was disciplined. I finished stories and went to writerly events. I even read books about writing. I had no idea how wrong I was.

Reading was my favorite self-indulgent past time since I can remember. As a kid it was a guilty pleasure. I hid in closets and bathrooms and snuck books out of the house under my shirt when my mom made me ‘go out any play.’ It was anti-social behavior for sure, which was just fine for an introvert. I was encouraged to read, but it was always in place of watching TV or other less important things.

I was so serious about writing, that I gave up reading fiction. Reading and loving fiction is the reason I wanted to write in the first place. What was I thinking! I’m back to the reading board. If I can’t make time to read, I don’t have time to write.

Photo by Rachel Sian

Where I write

When I started writing I had this romantic vision of drinking coffee and writing on my laptop in a bustling coffee shop. Then I heard a podcast that said to avoid coffee shops and public places at all cost, they were too distracting.  So then I dreamed of idyllic settings. All of these visions included a view, natural fragrance, and solitude. What I didn’t imagine was how distracting nature is.

My first trip to a little cabin in the woods was a colossal failure. My friend who loaned me the cabin was so excited by the prospect of someone working on their great manuscript in his house-even if my great manuscript was a high fantasy travel yarn. There were beautiful views and I found myself gazing out at them frequently…instead of writing.

Then of course, there is the distraction of those I love. My dog and husband get so sad when I leave them behind, that despite the best intention to seclude myself, I always bring them along. It was on this woodsy cabin retreat that I realized the only thing that mattered about the environment was that it was away from those I cared about. It didn’t matter if they were in another room or coming and going while ‘giving me my space.’ I was too attuned to their actions to let my brain stay in a writing haze, and I never want to be one of those people who snap at them for wanting to see me or talk to me.

So, I took some time off work and went to the library to use a quiet room. I was disappointed by the 2hr limit as I took a week off to write like a maniac. 2 hours a day wasn’t going to cut it. So I would write more when I got home, but just being in that space where the dishes and laundry live, was too distracting. I found that those 2 hours of library time were more productive than an eight hour period of my normal writing life. I needed to get that 2 hour window into my regular routine.

I started waking up earlier so I could write before work, but then the loved ones woke up early too, with the best intentions of giving me quiet time.

So, this week, I went back to the initial dream of the coffee shop. I went somewhere I don’t know the barista, don’t care about the patrons, and let my mind blissfully block out coffee orders and conversations. I don’t want to be away from those I care about, so I set a 2hr limit. I’ll be trying it all week.

A reality that seems more suited to scifi

I love it when I hear something that makes me think anything is possible. Today, I read an article recommended by Casey Chan on Sploid about fruit flies (G tridens) that evolved to have pictures of ants on their wings.

A creature like that is something I would put into a scifi story. Learning truths like this inspires me to think even crazier. I wish I had a back that looked like a mountain lion when I was hiking.

Picture by Ken Schwarz

Chocolate will make me a better writer

I recently watched some of the CLO Symposium’s content that is available online. One of the videos that got me thinking was Charles Duhigg‘s talk on the Power of Habit. I haven’t read his book yet, but it’s on my list.

He described some research that showed how people who ate a small piece of chocolate after working out made exercise a habit. Now, all I can think about is having a small piece of chocolate after I finish writing –  or anything else I want to keep up.

Some people think choc0late addiction is a real thing, and who am I to say, but if it does, I think this can work to my advantage. I purchased a bag of peanut butter cups – I’m ready to meet this goal!

Orycon Day 3 Follow up

I attended two great talks on Sunday. The first one was on Urban Fantasy, and with a panel of Patricia Briggs, Rhiannon Held, Devon Monk, Anne Bishop, and Jennifer Brozek, it was bound to be worth the time. A common theme in this and many of the panels, was if you write well, you can can get away with anything-even unicorns.

I then went to Dale Ivan Smith’s reading. This was a completely random stop, and it was cool to be there because he opened with an explanation of how his story, co-written with K.C. Ball, came to exist. It was started at a Ken Scholes workshop at Cascade Writers. I was at that workshop this summer, and remembered the creation of that story! It was exciting to see how a little nugget of thought can turn into something currently under consideration by Analog.

The last panel I attended resulted in some great discussion and advice. Cate Campbell and Irene Radford took time after the session to give me tips about web presence-quite generous.

I was impressed with the kind and generous nature of many people I met at the conference. This was the first scifi convention I’ve attended, and the Portland scifi community is a welcoming place to be. I’m quite lucky to live here.

Day 1 of Orycon

I’m about to head out to Orycon for Day 3. So far its been great. The highlights were really the people I got to meet and the Evolutions of a Writing Career workshop that Ken Scholes and J.A. Pitts gave. There was a lot of time for candid Q & A. It was also great to have a break from the panel style events.

I was disappointed to miss day 2. I had intended to start the day with a reading from Blake Hutchins. I missed all the open critique sessions and a lot of other readings I wanted to attend as well. I’ll be trying to make up for it today.

In the spirit of randomness, I’m going to avoid following my schedule for the day and see where I end up.