Insights – Melannie Thomas

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Coming through the drought of the mid 1970’s, I brought many water-saving tricks into the present day.  Most of us don’t have to put bricks in our toilet tanks and install reduced flow shower heads because low-flow products are pretty much standard now days.  And many of us are experts at the 5 minute or less shower.

However, the current extreme drought has reminded me to be even more water-wise.  My car is a color that displays every little spec of dust as if they are part of a brightly spot-lighted art exhibit.  Nixing the weekly car wash, I bought a dust mop made just for the job.

I catch warm up water in the kitchen and bathroom for use elsewhere.  I wipe most of my veggies with damp to wet wash cloths that I purchased just for the kitchen.  And I scrub potatoes with a wet brush and wipe them clean with those kitchen cloths.  I thought I was doing a pretty thorough job.

Reading an article by a local food writer really got my attention.  She decided to experiment with a bounty of vegetables by using only one pot of water.  She filled the large pot with water and some salt.  When it came to a boil, she tossed in green beans for four minutes, then removed them with a flat slotted spoon.  Next came potatoes, simmered til tender.  Then spaghetti, cooked al dente.  Then she placed eggs in the still hot water, covered the pot and let them sit for 20 minutes.

Not done yet.  Next she set a colander in the top of the pot, brought the water back to a boil and steamed zucchini.  Then followed  sliced carrots and broccoli spears.  Tasting the remaining water in the pot, she ‘deemed it delicious’.  She strained the cooking water added new potatoes, some left over pulled pork, and peppers.  Cooking them together, then pureeing it all with an immersion blender.  Quite an accomplishment with one pot of water.

I have learned to cook many veggies in my microwave with just a spoonful of water.  They are as delicious as the many veggies I oven-roast, using no water. But now when I boil potatoes or cook pasta, you can bet I will find creative uses for the ‘leftover’ water.

For water-saving tips and drought status check out www.saveourwater

My Merriam-Webster gives as one definition of foundation…”the basis upon which something stands or is supported.”  My question to you is, “What is your spiritual foundation?”

In these days, as the dark forces rise, it is ever so important that we have a strong spiritual foundation enabling us to weather the growing storm of man’s inhumanity to man.

Zig Ziglar said that, “The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.”

Napoleon Bonaparte gave us a very insightful look into spiritual foundation.  He said, “Alexander, Caeser, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires, but what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius?  Upon force.  Jesus Christ founded an empire upon love, and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.”

I invite you to a thorough check of your spiritual foundation.  Is it strong, sturdy and reliable?  Is it supporting you through the tumultuous winds of change?  If not, time to shore it up, streamline it, and perhaps even to remodel.

The Fourth of July, like Passover, is a very moving Holiday for me.  I love hearing our National Anthem and “America the Beautiful.”   Old Glory waves  at me from every corner.  I ooh and aah like a 5 year old, as the night sky flashes and sparkles with shiny glitter that twinkles and winks at me.

I think of the men and women, and their families, who have given so much to preserve my independence.  I am grateful.

I found a quote about Independence that I really resonated with, and I want to share this gift with you.

“Independence is a heavy draught, and if you drink it in your youth, it can have the same effect on the brain as young wine does.  It does not matter that its taste is not always appealing.  It is addictive and with each drink you want more.”   ~Maya Angelou

Inviting you to let the energy of Independence Day linger in your consciousness like the last burst of fireworks fading from the night sky.

I am one.  So are many of you.  According to Jane Ganal, ‘Heightened Sensitivity: Help For The Overstimulated’, (Spirituality & Health, July/August 2015),  we make up about 20% of the population.

In her book, The Highly Sensitive Person, Elaine Aron PhD. describes the characteristics we all share.

• We feel things more deeply.
• We are emotionally reactive and brimming over with empathy for the plight of our fellow humans.
• We take longer and we struggle to make decisions.
• We are detail oriented to the extreme; we notice subtleties, and tend toward perfectionism.
• We are more prone to depression and anxiety.
• We are not all introverts.
• We are sensitive to violence, loudness, and criticism.
• We are better mannered than most.

We often feel out of step with our families, our friends, our culture and our times.  But a wonderful gift that comes with the ‘curse’ is that we are also very creative.

Keys to learning how to manage being an HSP:

• Get your creativity in full gear.
• Turn off the news.  Don’t watch movies, dramas, etc. that evoke your empathic nature.
• Learn how not to absorb and hang onto the negative energies of others, be it anger, depression or excessive drama.
• Connect with your fellow HSP’s.
• Find and seize alone time!  It is critical for HSP’s to find activities, space and quiet that help them to retreat, re-charge, and feed their souls.  We cannot give to ourselves or others from an empty tank (heart).

Learn to control the inner critic that tells you that you are too sensitive, too inadequate, and not perfect. Centering into the truth of who you are is a path to inner peace.

The Sun moved into the second season of cycles yesterday at 9:38 am.  I am always heartened by the reliable continuity of shifting cycles and seasons.

They offer us time to pause, to relax, to reflect, to rejoice and to celebrate the Cosmic Harmonic; the poignant and powerful symphony of soul-self and spirit consciousness.

This week, I invite you to take advantage of this gracious gift of the heavens.  Snatch a sacred moment from the tumultuous din that is our daily grind.  Refresh and renew yourself in the light of the Sun

“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each others’ life.”

~Richard Bach

“When you look in the mirror, what do you see?  Do you see the real you, or what you have been conditioned to believe is you?  The two are so, so different.  One is an infinite consciousness capable of being and creating whatever it chooses, the other is an illusion imprisoned by its own perceived and programmed limitations.”

~David Icke

“We have reached a new milestone as a human family.  With seven billion of us now inhabiting our planet, it is time to ask some fundamental questions.  How can we provide a dignified life for ourselves and future generations while preserving and protecting the global commons — the atmosphere, the oceans and the eco-systems that support us?”

~United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.  It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”

~Arthur Ashe

“Whoever undertakes to set himself up as judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.”

~Albert Einstein