Meditation

There is nothing more rewarding, nor challenging than sitting in the silence of nature.

Embracing our kinship

What is it that allows our goodwill to expand and our prejudice and anger to decrease? This is a significant question. Traditionally it is said that the root of aggression and suffering is ignorance. But what is it that we are ignoring? Entrenched in the tunnel vision of our personal concerns what we ignore is our kinship with others.

Pema Chodron

Strength is Everpresent

Yesterday I went out for an 8-mile run. After a summer of unrequited illness, my legs feel out of shape, and I'm 11 lbs overweight; my lungs are out of the habit of working hard. I began to think, though, that "I have done this before."


Strength is everpresent; it does not come and go. We all have moments when we are more in touch with our strength--physical, mental, emotional, social, or spiritual...or probably more accurately, the intertwinement of those. Our strength is sometimes challenged by fear, anxiety, doubt, or pain. But the strength is always there, we need only be confident.

Catch yourself today talking yourself out of your strength. The self-doubt, or fear, or whatever will not go away. Just allow it to be there. But equally, embrace all the strength that is within you and stay present in that reality.

Challenge of Being Present

The most difficult aspect of being in the moment is moderation. To not give way to have something more, something better, something different, something more intense, something that we believe would be more satisfying. Just taking what is and realizing that it is all; enough.

The Flow of Feelings

"As we become wiser we realize that fixing the flow of feelings doesn't work. Primary feelings are simply feelings, and every day consists of thousands of pleasant, painful, and neutral moments, for you, Condoleeza Rice, the Dalai Lama, Mick Jagger, and the Buddha alike. These feeling are not wrong or bad. They are the stream of life. Sylvia Boorstein, my colleague, writes, 'What a relief it was for me to go to my first meditation retreat and hear people who seemed quite happy speak the truth so clearly--the First Noble Truth that life is difficult and painful, just by its nature, not because we're doing it wrong.'"

From Jack Kornfield's, The Wise Heart

Miss Fawn Dreams

Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquillity and happiness we all seek.

The Dalai Lama

Recipe for Steve so that he can do something with all that squash

Squash & Tomato Bisque

From the Soup & Bread Country Inn Cookbook

3 – 4 tablespoons butter or mild vegetable, such as corn or peanut (I prefer peanut)
1 large onion, chopped
3 – 4 cups vegetable stock
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes with their juices
1 tablespoon, very good maple syrup or honey
4 cups freshly made butternut squash puree
Salt to taste
A dash of cayenne pepper

1. In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and sauté slowly, stirring often until limp but not brown, 6 – 7 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of stock, and let simmer, partially covered, about 15 minutes.
2. Pour the tomatoes with their juice into a food processor. Add the maple syrup or honey and puree. Add the squash and buzz again. Strain the stock, and add the strained-out onions to the processor. Buzz again.
3. Add the tomato-squash puree to the stock. Season with the salt. Reheat, and serve very hot, garnished with a dash of cayenne.