Crockpot Applesauce
6-7 small golden apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 strip lemon peel/skin
1/4-1/2 cup water
cinnamon
Combine all ingredients and cook over low heat 6-7 hours. Remove peel, and mash or blend to desired consistancy. Refrigerate, and enjoy.
From: http://erinsfoodfiles.blogspot.com/2009/08/crockpot-applesauce.html
Monday, October 12, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Giving up Gossip
Seven Tips for Giving Up Gossip September 21, 2009
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Buddhism, Buddhist Teachings, Tibetan Buddhism , trackback
by 1. Recognize that gossip doesn't undo the situation you're talking about. It only puts in motion another situation based on negative feelings.
2. Know that comparing yourself to others is useless. Everyone has his or her own talents. In this way, give up jealousy and the wish to put others down.
3. Be aware of and transform your own thoughts, words, and deeds rather than commenting on those of others.
4. Train your mind to see others' positive qualities and discuss them. This will make you much happier than gossiping ever could.
5. Forgive, knowing that people do harmful things because they are unhappy. If you don't make someone into an enemy, you won't want to gossip about him.
6. Have a sense of humor about what you think, say, and do, and be able to laugh at all of the silly things we sentient beings carry out in our attempt to be happy. If you see the humor in our human predicament, you'll be more patient.
7. Practice saying something kind to someone every day. Do this especially with people you don't like. It gets easier with practice and bears surprisingly good results.
(from Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron's "The Truth About Gossip," Tricycle, Summer 2006 )
Sunday, June 07, 2009
The Katamari Principle
Sandy explained to me about The Katamari Principle. And, on further reflection, I see how it applies to many, many areas of living.
As she prepared to go to Costa Rica, to teach English to children, she wondered (with some anxiety) how she would teach them everything they needed to know. English is so complicated, so irregular, and teaching... a challenge.
Then, with calm, she explained The Katamari Principle.
[NOTE to Readers -- If you have not played Katamari on PS2 (or whatever), well, you will not understand this at all. Maybe the picture will help.]
The Katamari is a sticky ball. As you roll it over things (in the video game), it picks things up. It starts as a small, sticky ball. It can only pick up small items. It will pick up a paper clip, but roll right over an eraser. As you pick up small items (paper clips, thumb tacks, etc.) the ball grows larger. As it grows larger it can pick up larger items (erasers, juice boxes). It grows larger still, and you can pick up even larger items (buckets, dog houses). And as you pick things up, the ball grows larger, and can pick up houses, and factories, and elephants (who are never injured).
Well, teaching English, she explained... would be like that. She might be just teaching them simple, small things (like the paper clips in Katamari). But they need those things in order to (later) absorb larger things (like verb conjugation, or ... dog houses in Katamari). Yes. So Sandy discovered a peace and comfort in knowing that teaching those simple things, while not the entirety of their need for English understanding, is foundational, and essential for them to proceed to learn the more complex things.
And in that, she found comfort, knowing that she would be able to give them what they are ready for, even though there would still be much to learn.
And as I go through my days, with challenging situations galore, and so much to learn and do. I realize that, in many ways, I utilize The Katamari Principle.
When making a change, I sometimes need to implement it in small steps... because the audience (or me) can only handle those small (paper-clip-like) steps initially.
And often, in my work and life, I get frustrated because I (in the all American way) want complete results quickly (as shown on TV!). I try to reflect on The Katamari Principle, and realize that my results now are small, but that is what I can accomplish now. While they are small, they are important predecessors to larger results, which may take time (and many, many paper clips of learning).
The big problems of the world -- health care, peace, an end to genocides and ethnic cleansings and civil wars (whatever name you apply to mass extinctions of cultural groups) -- I can do less than a paper-clip level of impact on these problems. But, in the Katamari ball of life on our planet, the accumulation of paper-clip actions prepares the world for a larger action (eraser, dog house, factory). And collectively, we are building a Katamari world that may (one day) actually fulfill the larger tasks of peaceful, safe, healthy living.
Yes. The Katamari Principle. It's a good metaphor for life, for learning, and for action. It is an infrastructure that encourages patience, and recognizes the value of tiny, tiny, steps. Those tiny steps are the ones we can actually take to change our world.
As she prepared to go to Costa Rica, to teach English to children, she wondered (with some anxiety) how she would teach them everything they needed to know. English is so complicated, so irregular, and teaching... a challenge.
Then, with calm, she explained The Katamari Principle.
[NOTE to Readers -- If you have not played Katamari on PS2 (or whatever), well, you will not understand this at all. Maybe the picture will help.]
The Katamari is a sticky ball. As you roll it over things (in the video game), it picks things up. It starts as a small, sticky ball. It can only pick up small items. It will pick up a paper clip, but roll right over an eraser. As you pick up small items (paper clips, thumb tacks, etc.) the ball grows larger. As it grows larger it can pick up larger items (erasers, juice boxes). It grows larger still, and you can pick up even larger items (buckets, dog houses). And as you pick things up, the ball grows larger, and can pick up houses, and factories, and elephants (who are never injured).
Well, teaching English, she explained... would be like that. She might be just teaching them simple, small things (like the paper clips in Katamari). But they need those things in order to (later) absorb larger things (like verb conjugation, or ... dog houses in Katamari). Yes. So Sandy discovered a peace and comfort in knowing that teaching those simple things, while not the entirety of their need for English understanding, is foundational, and essential for them to proceed to learn the more complex things.And in that, she found comfort, knowing that she would be able to give them what they are ready for, even though there would still be much to learn.
And as I go through my days, with challenging situations galore, and so much to learn and do. I realize that, in many ways, I utilize The Katamari Principle.
When making a change, I sometimes need to implement it in small steps... because the audience (or me) can only handle those small (paper-clip-like) steps initially.
And often, in my work and life, I get frustrated because I (in the all American way) want complete results quickly (as shown on TV!). I try to reflect on The Katamari Principle, and realize that my results now are small, but that is what I can accomplish now. While they are small, they are important predecessors to larger results, which may take time (and many, many paper clips of learning).
The big problems of the world -- health care, peace, an end to genocides and ethnic cleansings and civil wars (whatever name you apply to mass extinctions of cultural groups) -- I can do less than a paper-clip level of impact on these problems. But, in the Katamari ball of life on our planet, the accumulation of paper-clip actions prepares the world for a larger action (eraser, dog house, factory). And collectively, we are building a Katamari world that may (one day) actually fulfill the larger tasks of peaceful, safe, healthy living.
Yes. The Katamari Principle. It's a good metaphor for life, for learning, and for action. It is an infrastructure that encourages patience, and recognizes the value of tiny, tiny, steps. Those tiny steps are the ones we can actually take to change our world.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Trekking the Mind...
When Effort Comes Naturally
Trekking any spiritual path is a balancing act. As you gain effort and mastery, you also gain ease. That means that while you may work harder, the effort will come more naturally. While you will certainly encounter new distractions—and who does not?—you also have the means to overcome them. Do not be discouraged. There is always a new moment in which to experience living kindness.
–Donald Altman, from Living Kindness (Inner Ocean Publishing)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Is there a photo?
Will the photo (attachment) be included in the blog post?
We shall know the answer in moments.
The Wondering Mind Must Know Now!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The Patio of the Mind
If you sweep the patio in November after leaves have fallen, you wouldn't expect it to stay clean forever. The patio is like the mind. Mindfulness meditation practice can feel like sweeping the mind and clearing away the thoughts strewn about making a big mess.
---- Have you swept lately?
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Drum
"Another gift of the drum, in learning to play it and appreciate it, is that it brings you peace. When you play the drum, you take your frustrations out on the drum itself, instead of on people. The energy you put into drumming is the kind of energy that will change your mood. When you are drumming, you really forget yourself, and probably certain aggravations too, things that might trouble the mind. You may even find solutions to problems while you are playing. You may become resigned to certain things that may otherwise be bothersome. Drumming helps you reestablish your faith in yourself and your abilities. Drumming just does so much for you, especially if you are enjoying what you are playing. You become tuned in to so many positive ideas that you forget the negative. Drumming can be the beginning of a healing process for what is troubling your soul. You can learn to say "Look, things will change if I can just learn to exercise some patience and forebearance."
-- Babatunde Olatunji
from The Beat of My Drum, an autobiography
-- Babatunde Olatunji
from The Beat of My Drum, an autobiography
Babatunde Olatunji
"One of the most enduring gifts for anyone who plays the drums is the realization that drums are powerful instruments for unity, for bringing peopleof all levels, of all cultures, together through their equal contributions. No one person's contribution is greater than anyone else's. The drum is the great equalizer. When you play your part, and I play my part, it means the kind of collaborationt hat allows your light to shine as well as mine, because we both stay in rhythm and the whole effect is powerful."
"The important thing is not to play for anyone's satisfaction but your own. You are the one that has to feel good, to feel happy, to be in a good mood. Then you can inspire others. You have to feel good about yourself first."
--- Babatunde Olatunji
from The Beat of My Drum, his autobiography
"The important thing is not to play for anyone's satisfaction but your own. You are the one that has to feel good, to feel happy, to be in a good mood. Then you can inspire others. You have to feel good about yourself first."
--- Babatunde Olatunji
from The Beat of My Drum, his autobiography
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
