Greetings from the Land of Enchantment: December 2012

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Insight

Once during the day you should be alone with you. Talk with yourself; understand yourself. Tell yourself your weaknesses, problems and shortcomings and discuss them within you. Then ask for the answers. There is no better way for a woman to develop herself than to analyze herself, put it before herself and ask herself for the answers. There is no better friend, wise person or real thing to ask other than yourself.

 © The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan, June 29, 1988

This past week has been an exercise in fear and frustration. I have been wound up like a top and spinning out of control. Initially I wanted to believe that it was my husband's fault. "He's judging me," "he's controlling," "we always listen to his music," "he never lets me drive," etc. But when I took a moment to reflect and talk to myself and ask myself for the answers, it came as clearly as a bell: I feel powerless. And then I had to laugh out loud. I was blaming my husband for my own feelings of powerlessness, when powerlessness in my life has everything to do with me and nothing to do with the outside environments. I'm a recovered addict and alcoholic; I know all about powerlessness, but still, it  sneaks in sideways sometimes: through food, or too much tv, or just feeling stretched by too much going on. And all of these "adaptive behaviors" (smile) are simply my stress personality at work. 

But when I take the time to be conscious--to be consciously conscious of my consciousness--then I break the repeated patterns in my stress personality and I have an opportunity for true insight. And often I laugh. I heard the other day that fear and laughter can't reside in the same place. If you're laughing, you can't be afraid. So here's to those moments of being able to laugh at myself; they are humbling, but they are also the greatest cure to what ails me--me!

In recovery we have what's called the 10th step, a daily inventory, which is essentially what Yogi Bhajan is describing above. Take a moment to reflect and look deeply at yourself--though it might be scary, you'll often find there's an answer already there--and if you're lucky you'll get to laugh!


posted by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa @ 9:55 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Yummy Things

I went back and read through the beginnings of a book I was writing (three years ago!) and remembered, I'm a good writer! But still, I've yet to find my voice since getting married. That is to say, my author's voice. I've been writing more music than ever--with the help of my husband. So, although I'm not quite sure why these things have evolved in this way, until they shift, I'm at least going to write about the amazing food I've been making--ha!

Here are two soups for the fall season: One is a long-time favorite of mine; the other a recent discovery. Best when made with a Vitamixer; but you'll want, at the very least, a very good blender or food processor.

Creamy Cauliflower-Cashew Soup

1 head of Cauliflower
1 cup of Cashews
half a Nutmeg Nut, freshly grated
pinch of cayenne
dash of cream (exclude if vegan) or other alternative milk (unsweetened!)
salt and pepper to taste

Place the cauliflower and cashews in a pot and cover with water to half-way up the cauliflower head. Steam until soft. Place in Vitamixer (water, cashews and cauliflower) and cover with cream or half n' half or other alternative milk and blend until creamy. Stir in spices and serve with Korean Chili Paste as a garnish on top.


Sweet Potato Masala Soup

1 Sweet Potato, baked
2 Carrots
1-2 Onions
3 Heaping Tablespoons of Peanut Butter
Cream or Half n Half/or alternative milk (unsweetened!)
dash of Balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
1/8 teaspoon Paprika
1 red chili pepper
Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste
green onions, chopped, for garnish

Saute the onions in olive oil, spices and vinegar until golden brown. Deglaze the pan with a bit of water to retain all the flavors. Add satueed onions to Vitamixer with baked sweet potato, raw carrots, peanut butter. Fill half way with cream or milk substitute and the other half with water, just covering the other ingredients, and blend. Include the chili pepper if you like it spicy. Remove the pepper before blending if you like it mild. Heat and serve with green onions as a garnish.




posted by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa @ 12:34 PM 0 comments