Morning Dew

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In The Morning Dew

The morning dew.

Translucent pearls adorn nature's foliage and offer sips of water for tiny crawling creatures.

Secrets of the dawning sun are reflected in their minuscule orbs.

Whispers of a fairy world are heard as they transform into vapor and disappear. 

Dew drops hold the freshness of an awakening day as if providing metaphoric sprinkles of water to splash the sleep from our eyes.

The Little Things

I was reminded of the magic of dew drops when I saw this poem by Kahlil Gibran.

In the sweetness
of friendship
let there be laughter,
and the sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew
of little things
the heart
finds its morning
and is refreshed.

Kahlil Gibran

Finding Dew Drops

It's worth getting up early to sneak out into the garden or the park to commune with the fleeting dew drops of the morning. The morning sun quickly burns away their watery melodies, leaving us to marvel at this transitory life.

With The Radiance Technique® (TRT®), students can place one hand in their heart as they observe nature and dew drops and increase their awareness of this little existence. Welcome the morning with TRT® hands-on in Head position #3 or #4 and in Front position #1 and #2. 

As the day begins outside of you, let it begin inside of you, too, with expanded light.

 

Easter Transcendence

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The Point In the Middle

Where the horizontal and the vertical meet, there is your transcendence.

A Symbolic Path

Within the symbolism of the cross, there lies a path of transformation. We can acknowledge the outer world which is represented by the horizontal line and bring to our realization that this outer existence intersects with the transcendental world which is represented by the vertical line. That holy meeting place of the two worlds lives in our consciousness.

Easter celebrates the resurrection, the transcendence of life over death.

Death and birth lie on the horizontal line and are parts of our outer world.

On the vertical line, the energy of life is always moving and rising up.

Life is wide and deep and while it steps out of the outer world, it also intersects with it in a greater whole. 

For Your Meditations

Students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) can celebrate the Easter holiday and its transcendental energy whether they perceive themselves as Christians or not.

Step into the symbolism and let it guide your awareness. Suggested for your meditations is a focus on TRT® hands-on positions #1 on the Front and #3 on the Head, or a combination of #1  and #3 on the Front for a period of 10 to 15 minutes.

Happy Easter.

Artwork by J. Vincent

 

(The Radiance Technique® is not associated with any religion
or belief system.  Please see About for more details.)

Beans In The Oven

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Cooking Beans

There's something magical about a rich soup or stew bubbling away on the stove. With a slow simmer, flavors deepen and become complex. It harkens back to an image of a cauldron and the magic of a transformative fire. 

Somehow, the cauldron idea did not appeal when it came to cooking beans. It was labor intensive and beans ended up cooked irregularly, with lingering hard ones or entirely smashed ones.

When it came to beans, it seemed like using canned ones was the simplest choice. All the debate about soak or not to soak, salt or no salt, just how long to cook the beans and all the stirring for who-knows-how-many-hours left many of us less than enthused.

So, it was no surprise that over the years we gave up and took the path of least resistance... canned beans. 

Of course, it's not a failure if you use canned beans. Sometimes, it's just easier. It's better to have canned beans than none at all.

But, cans of beans are not terribly inspiring and consequently, we didn't often cook with beans even though we really liked them.

Dried Beans Versus Canned Beans

Dried beans come in a wide range of colors and sizes. Gigante beans, baby lima beans, red beans, black beans, and white Northern beans, just to name a few.

Buying dried beans is a pleasing process. All those bean pebbles feel nice in your hand. So many possibilities lie within little bits of goodness. They're easily transported and stored.

The price of dried beans is especially helpful. And, environmentally speaking, there are no tin cans or BPA to worry about. If you buy your beans in bulk, you don't even have plastic bags. 

Dried beans sang a siren call, but not really being sure what to do with them meant they remained on the store shelf.

Then, we found out about using a Dutch oven to cook our beans.

Dutch Oven To The Rescue

Looking on the internet, there were several articles about baking beans in the oven in a Dutch oven. Dutch ovens function both as a pot on the stove top as well as in the oven.

Dutch oven is a misnomer, in that two well-known brands, Le Creuset and Staub, are made in France. Lodge is another brand of Dutch oven made in China. Dutch oven refers to a cast iron pot with a tight-fitting, oven-proof lid and often with a ceramic interior finish.

“What Is a Dutch Oven?

A Dutch oven is any large, heavy pot that is suitable for stovetop or oven use. So your deep 7-quart stock pot could be a Dutch oven, as long as it has an oven-safe lid and can go straight to the oven from the stove.

But when talking about Dutch ovens, most people really mean the extra-heavy cast iron, enameled pots typified by Le Creuset and Staub. These hard-working pots are ideal for slow-simmered soups and braises, as well as other favorite hearty meals.”
— Kelli Foster
 

The idea of using a Dutch oven to cook dried beans was intriguing. The gentle, unhurried simmer that takes place in the oven is particularly pleasing.

The beans remain intact because they don't have constant stirring to break them down. There is no scorching on the bottom of the pan. It's very hands-off. The beans do their job of cooking while you do other things around the house. There's no need to stir during their bake time.

Canned garbanzos tend to be hard and roll all over the plate. Sometimes, there seems to be a slight bitterness to the flavor. Not so with the garbanzos we cooked in the oven. In fact, the broth is delicious – worthy of sipping all on its own.

Home cooked means you're in charge of their cooking time. We cooked our garbanzo beans until they were somewhat soft. The garbanzos had tender skins that melted into the buttery flesh of the beans. They even had a sweetness to them.

How To Cook Your Beans In The Oven 

Any dried beans can be cooked in a Dutch oven.

Here are instructions to prepare half a package of beans which is usually 8 ounces.

First, rinse them in cold water to take any dust off of them. Place them into a large bowl, sprinkle 1.5 Tablespoons of kosher salt on them. Cover with 8 cups of water. Let sit over night, from 12 to 18 hours. 

Drain and give the beans a brief rinse in cold water. Place beans in a 4 quart Dutch oven. Sprinkle 1.5 teaspoons of kosher salt over them. Add 6 cups of water. Cover with lid.

Place in a 300º Fahrenheit oven and bake for 1.5 hours to 2 hours depending on how soft you want your beans. Don't stir, just let them cook. 

Check them for doneness and if you think they need more time, you can put them back in the oven and check every 15 minutes until desired softness.

Below: white Navy beans cooked in a Dutch oven. No stirring required.

If you want to double the recipe, using the whole package of beans, use a bigger Dutch oven.

Use your cooked beans right away, or once the beans are cooled, place them in containers and store in the refrigerator. If you've cooked a whole package and find you have too many to consume right away, they freeze beautifully. They're easy to thaw in the refrigerator.

Add beans to soups or salads as desired. Be sure to keep some of the broth, it adds a lot of flavor. 

Students Of TRT®

For those who have studied The Radiance Technique® (TRT®), you can enhance the life-force energy in your food by holding it in your radiant hands for a few minutes. This applies to your dried beans too.

You can also place your hands about an inch above your food to help you connect to it consciously. For students of The Second Degree of TRT®, you can direct radiant energy to what you are about to eat. Your food is meant to nourish you and directing universal energy helps to lift that connection.

Garbanzos Transformed Into Hummus

Oven-baked garbanzos can be used to make homemade hummus, like in this photo. The recipe is from Bon Appétit: Classic Chickpea Hummus.

The recipe calls for a can of garbanzo beans, but you can substitute your own oven-cooked beans. About 1 1/2 cup of cooked beans equal one can.

The next time you see some dried beans, take some home and pull out your Dutch oven to prepare them.

Deliciousness awaits you.

 

Happy New Year

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HAPPY NEW YEAR

Welcome to 2018.

As particles of time swirl around and fly past us, let us remain bright and steady in the light of our hearts. 

Knowing that we are not defined by the judgments or dualities of battling controversies, we shall not be pulled from our center point of clarity. We're able to see all possibilities and all sides. Everything is held in light.

For students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®), if we feel particularly polarized regarding a topic, it's a perfect opportunity to apply TRT® hands-on. When we access universal energy with TRT®, we bring balance to our thinking or feelings. With use of TRT®, we expand our awareness and insight into a situation or events. We begin the healing process for ourselves.

DANCE INTO THE NEW YEAR

As time passes through us, we are observers of the celestial dance.

Wishing all of us love, good health and joyful discoveries throughout the new year.

Let's dance like we'll dance forever.

 

Christmas Songs And Mary

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Mary And The Birth Of Jesus

What are all our Christmas songs about? We touched upon vernacular and religious songs of the season in another blog post Christmas Songs Across Time.

Christianity brings us the spirit of Christmas. It's the story of the birth of a child, the manifestation of spirit into mortal flesh. This birth of light is embodied through a mere mortal woman, Mary.

Artwork by Jason Jenicke

Mary's Song

What do our Christmas carols tell us about Mary, the earthly Mother of Jesus?

Come to find out, not much. Christmas songs across the years celebrate the birth of Jesus, but there are not many that sing the story from Mary's viewpoint.

In Michael Linton's article on this topic called Looking for Mary in Christmas Carols, he describes with charming humor:

“Both the “First Noel” and “Angels from the Realms of Glory” are remarkable for Mary’s invisibility.

In the nine verses of “Noel,” we have the economic condition of the shepherds (poor), the weather report (cold), the star (bright), the homeland of the wise men (far away), their mental condition (assured), the gifts (you know the list), the local livestock (ox and ass), the nature of divine creation (of naught), and, in a verse mercifully found in no hymnal, the doctrine of salvation through good works...

...there’s not even a hint of Mary. She’s simply not there.”
— Michael Linton
 

As for Mary's lack of visibility, Linton offers this theory:

“Our carols are primarily nineteenth and early twentieth-century Protestant inventions (although the tune dates from the Renaissance, the medieval-sounding text ‘What Child Is This’ was written in 1865), not a time that’s known for its deep Roman Catholic, Protestant cooperation and mutual affection.

Mary can’t be excised from the Christmas story completely, but in the carols she’s mentioned as little as possible, for fear of turning her into an object of cultic devotion, something most Protestants have accused Roman Catholics of doing for a fairly long time.

So Mary merits only passing mention in a few carols or, even better, no mention at all in most.”
 

Today, there are a few songs that view the miracle of the birth of Jesus through Mary's eyes:

Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song) – by Amy Grant

Mary's hesitant questioning speaks to her human frailty. You can almost sense the trembling of her hand as she embarks on this journey. Her doubts give voice to her concerns that she will live up to the task before her.

“I am waiting in a silent prayer.
I am frightened by the load I bear.
In a world as cold as stone,
must I walk this path alone?
Breath of Heaven, hold me together. Be forever near me.
Breath of Heaven, lighten my darkness.”
 


For The First Time – by Jason Bare

With his voice and music, Jason Bare paints a scene so we can envision when Mary and Joseph look upon their son, this birth of light, and hear his cries for the very first time.

“In a world so dark, heaven and earth would collide and would change who they are.
Could this be the same voice that brought us to life?
Unbelievable, the promise is this little child.
What a miracle.
The world has seen the Light for the first time.”
 

Mary, Did You Know? – by Clay Aiken

As Mary held her baby boy for the first time, could she have possibly guessed the future that was about to unfurl in front of him? Clay Aiken wonders out loud if Mary could have known the remarkable destiny of her child and his greater purpose. 

“Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?”
 

Mary And The Radiant Child

The artwork by Sulamith Wulfing entitled Frohe Weihnachten portrays the radiant child of light held in Mary's heart.

The symbology is there for all of us to appreciate. It's the awakened child within our hearts, the birth of light into the darkness of this outer existence.

For any Christmas music, students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) can bring a song's imagery to their meditations with use of TRT® hands-on. Accessing universal energy with TRT® lets you explore the deeper meaning behind the notes and the words.

What child is this who is awake? Awake in consciousness, even at our birth. 

 

(The Radiance Technique® is not associated with any religion or belief system.
Please see Radiant Nursing – About for more details.)

 

The Life Of Julian Of Norwich

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All Shall Be Well

In the blog post All Shall Be Well, we were introduced to Julian of Norwich, a Christian mystic and writer from 14th century England.

Intrigued by her story, that she was likely the first woman to write in English, we launched a search into this remarkable woman. Various books about Julian are available, especially books that present her writings, but to delve into the person behind the mystic, here’s a book of historical fiction:

 Julian's Cell - An earthy story of Juiian of Norwich

Julian's Cell

Like a master weaver, author Joseph Milton spins fiction with the threads of factual events to create a colorful tapestry of story-telling.

Set in the late 1300s of England, Milton brings together the smells, sights and emotions of medieval life such as the pungent stench of urine from the tannery shop and the heavy smell of wet wool in the woolen shop.

The author presents the daily struggle to stay alive in a time far-removed from our own. War, pestilence, famine and plague weighed heavy in the air and people breathed it in with every step they took.

Milton displays a kaleidoscope of colors of medieval life in the 1300s. He conveys powerful emotions of that era and makes medieval situations recognizable and understandable. Although daily life details vary from today, our human fears, tears and joy remain quite the same.

Without access to formal education as a child, Julian was considered to be an unlettered laywoman. Milton offers an idea of how she taught herself to read and write: a painstaking, letter-by-letter process pouring over books in both Latin and English. 

Finding God’s Love

Death took no holidays in medieval life. The specter of death lurked around every corner and strolled with calm insolence in the village square. Infant and child mortality ravaged everyone, from the lowest peasant to the highest monarch. The plague wiped out entire families. (Forty to 50% of the European population died.) No one was left untouched by mortal suffering. 

People of that era looked around and believed the world was coming to an end. 600 years later, we marvel at Julian's writings of mysticism and wonder that she had the realization that love is at the center of all that is.

In spite of all she witnessed in the world, Julian would go on to write her brave words:

 
“All shall be well,
and all manner of thing shall be well.”
— Julian of Norwich
 

For Julian to find God's universal love in such a harsh and violent world is indeed remarkable. Julian shared an insight she had from a humble hazelnut:

 
“God showed me something small, round and frail, like this hazelnut. And I wondered why I was seeing this. Then an answer came. There weren’t words, but I understood why I was looking at such a tiny thing.

It is all that is made. Everything is there in this tiny creation that could crumble into nothing so easily. But I knew it would last, because God loves it. It has its life, its being through the love of God.

God made it. God loves it. And God keeps it.

You and I are part of that creation. Just like this hazelnut, God is our maker, our lover, our keeper. But we can never really know what that means until we are united with God the way this hazelnut is part of God.

That is why we are created. To be one with God.”
— Julian's Cell
 

Milton captures Julian's journey from humble peasant to anchoress, from human to saint, while remaining in touch with the humanity that housed her soul.

Touching Lives In History

For students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®), we can get in touch with people of history through use of TRT®.

Students of The First Degree and The Second Degree of TRT® can apply TRT® hands-on while reading her writings, or a book about her, and experience her story with more light. They can also have a meditation focusing on Julian of Norwich herself, or a specific passage from her writings.

Students of The Second Degree of TRT® can direct radiant energy to Julian, or the time period she lived in. It helps us to expand our awareness and understanding.

If you like historical fiction, Julian's Cell will educate and delight.

No Sleeping At The Traffic Light

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Songwriter Jackson Browne spins a tale about the ordinary rhythm of our daily lives:

 
“Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring
And the junkman pounds his fenders
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light...”
— The Pretender
 

No Sleeping At The Lights

Driving in the Pacific Northwest, the surrounding mountains reign over the lowlands. Their dignified mountaintops, especially when topped with snow caps, serve as a reminder that Valhalla shimmers above us.

Take your pick – the Cascades, the Olympics, or the great one itself, Mt. Rainier. 

Caught up in the harried business of the day, you swing around a corner and, for a moment, your breath catches when the mountains pop into view. For just that second, you hear the call and humming of the wide expanse of nature.

I often think of that line in Jackson Browne's song when I'm driving around in western Washington.

Veteran or not, there's no sleeping at the traffic lights here. The views are too good to be missed.

The Mountain Is Out

There's a saying in the Seattle area: "The Mountain is out" – it means the sky is clear enough to see Mt. Rainier. Given the rainfall and cloudy days in the area, this is an event worth noting among the natives.

According to Barry Popik’s etymological dictionary, The Big Apple, this phrase was referenced as long ago as August 1951 in a syndicated column in a newspaper from Illinois, the Registered-Republic:

 
“When Seattle folk can see Mount Rainier... the common phrase is,
Oh, look: the mountain is out today.”
— Bennet Cerf, 1951
 

A Mountain Greets You

On a clear day in one mountain town, Mt. Rainier welcomes you at the traffic light.

It's one of the rare times you hope that you'll get stopped at a red light, just so you can drink in the scenery.

When Smoke Fills The Sky

In the summer of 2017, a smoky haze from the wildfires in British Columbia drifted over Washington State. The mountains were obliterated from view.

If you were seeing it for the first time, you'd think there were no mountains.

For those of us used to seeing The Mountain as we drive into town, it was unsettling for it to suddenly be invisible.

A 12,000 foot mountain erased.

Below, same intersection, no hint of a mountain (no filter, no Photoshop).

The mountain is supposed to only disappear behind the clouds.

With the smoke from the wildfires, The Mountain wasn't out even though we had no cloud cover. A massive volcano had vanished, beamed into another dimension.

If you didn't know a mountain was supposed to be there, you'd never have been the wiser.

So much for our perceptions of reality.

What We Perceive

With The Radiance Technique® (TRT®), it's possible to apply TRT® hands-on in whatever circumstance you find yourself. Whether The Mountain is Out or not. 

With ongoing use of TRT®, you can deepen your awareness of things seen and not seen, the deeper energies behind our perceptions. 

Even to include the mountains.

It's like the saying that you know you're from The Pacific Northwest if:

You can point to at least two volcanoes,
even if you cannot see through the cloud cover.