Doing Some Magic Today

When I look around me and see all the beauty and grandeur that is the natural world I can't help but believe in the idea that something magical created it all.  But magic, like a lot of other concepts, can be used in ways that are just cheap tricks to entertain and amaze us.  I have no use for that kind of magic.  I am talking of the kind of magic that comes when we have a foundation of belief and faith in both ourselves and a higher power that supports the idea of magic.  In other words we have to have done the work of developing our authentic selves and a strong understanding of the workings of the world, especially the idea of a spiritual path, in order for true magic to happen.  In other words if we try to do magic without these and are simply like children asking for everything we see on television or at the local mall, that's not magic, that's like being an enabling permissive parent.

But if you have done the work and have a solid understanding of life and have faith that what you ask for is both good for you and serves more than your own little wants and desires, then I say, ask for it. As the Bible says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will open"

It helps to put this out to the universe as well.  Tell your family what you want, tell your friends and co-workers and put it in your prayers, or meditate on it or chant it if that is part of your spiritual practice.  Write it down and post it on your wall.  Create a vision map with a picture of what you desire and put it in a place of pride in your home or office.  And remember it does not have to be a tangible thing or even just for you.  You may use this kind of magic to help others or to bring something into the world that is more global like world peace or freedom from violence and hate.

So I am putting this magic into the world today- I ask for several new people for me to help with their life challenges.  I seek to help those who are struggling or who are confused or unhappy with the state of their life.  I feel God has gifted me with the tools to help them and I desire to do that as my life's work and my gift to the world.

Blessings and much Magic to you,  Lorraine    

Failure is Your Opportunity to Re-think Your Path

One of the things about failure is that we don't usually fail where we are celebrated.  When we are on the right path for us we are almost always celebrated and valued.  When we fail this is a sign to re-think our path.  I used to tell people that failure was their opportunity to start again more intelligently, a quote from Henry ford. But it has occurred to me recently that this may not be the best advice because it implies that all you need to do, is do a better job, a more intelligent job of whatever it is that you have failed at - it's an ego idea and not a soul one.  This seems logical for someone like Ford, an engineer and industrialist who chose his path and stuck to it his whole life. His path, although it had its ups and downs and wrong turns and in many people's view of him he may have strayed off his path but he died a millionaire many times over and so he is often cited as a big success.  But is money and fame the only motivators to a life well lived?  I don't think so. I prefer the philosophy of Joseph Campbell who said, "Follow your bliss."

What I now see, and this philosophy has been building over time for me and my work, is that when we are on the right path for us, things mostly work out and we do not have much failure in our lives. But that when we do, when we feel either miserable or just slogging away, we need to look at it and say, wait a minute, am I going in the right direction for me?  Is this failure or misery a message to make a course correction rather than to double my efforts and put my nose to the grindstone?  Now, I am not saying that life does not have its detours and road blocks - it does, but each of these is a lesson to be learned and that lesson may not be to work harder or smarter, but a message to make sure you are on the right path.

James Hillman wrote a book called The Soul's Code in which he says we are all called to a particular path and that when we are on this path and attending to the tasks and challenges it presents to us, we will feel we are going in the right direction and that the failures and accidents that happen to us along the way are messages from our soul to take some time to look at this and see what it means for us personally.  He says, "The idea is to look at the accident or injury or disturbance, as a potential with some sort of meaning to it."  For me, just working harder at something is not the message, the message is usually deeper and more profound than that.

So the next time you fail at something or feel you are not being successful at something or you simply hate getting up in the morning to go do whatever it is, take some time and reflect on the path you are on.  Is it the right one for you?  Does it feel right on a soul level? Does it bring you a sense of purpose?  Does it provide you with what you need in this life to feel your life has meaning and you are doing what you are  here to do?

If what your path is providing is a means to an end but your daily life is not much fun and you don't find much meaning or purpose in it except making a living, then I suggest taking some time and reflecting on what your bliss might be.  I welcome your comments and hope you are having a blissful time or at least a growing and learning one.

Blessings, Lorraine 

Don't You Think it's Time to Pimp Your Grits?

I love the idea of pimping my grits - you might wonder where in the world this idea came from and what it means.  I see it as a metaphor for changing or adding to some long standing situation, belief or activity in your life, in other words opening yourself up to new ideas and new ways of doing things.

What Do Yankees know?  Well, Maybe More Than I Gave Them Credit For

I grew up in the south, first South Carolina until I was ten and then we moved to Georgia where I ate grits for breakfast almost every day of my life - the same way each time.  Hot with butter and eggs, sometimes with bacon or sausage and homemade biscuits.  That's the way my mama prepared breakfast and I ate it up.  Later as an adult when I ate grits, that's how I cooked them as well.  It never occurred to me to eat them in any other way, in fact when I still lived in Atlanta new people would show up, people from up north as we would say,  and they would put sugar and milk on their grits as if it were cereal. All us Georgia Crackers simply called them Yankees and laughed at them.

Then one day I happened to watch a PBS show called A Chef's Life about a woman and her husband who worked in NYC as chefs.  Then out of the blue they got a call from her parents who offered to set them up in a restaurant of their own - but as she says, there was a catch, they had to open it in eastern North Carolina where she was from and had sworn never to return.  She had decided that her grits would be cooked in NYC and she would not be doing any pimping of her grits - until she got an offer she could not refuse.

Old Fashioned Grits Tastes Good but So Does Adding Some Wonderful New Ingredients 

Then one night she decided to run a new item on her menu - Pimping Your Grits.  Her whole show is based on the idea of re-inventing, if you will, all these southern favorites with new twists on them. I had seen others and tried them so I decided to try this one as well.  This recipe, of course, was way outside the box of my mama's grits, but it occurred to me that in truth, I was bored with the old school girts I usually ate.  As I watched her prepare one of these dishes, I said to myself, why not?  I like all the things she used in the recipe and so the next day, I made the recipe for myself.  OMG that dish was scrumptious and out of this world delicious!

Cooking Up Some New Grits Might Just Be the Ticket 

I'm using a cooking metaphor here but any change or addition to something you now do or believe in, is on the menu for today - think about it.  What could you change or add to your life that might pimp your grits, might just be the thing that brings some new energy into your life.  I'd love to hear back from you if you decide to do this.  Meanwhile here is the recipe for grits in a whole new way.

Cheesy Apple Grits

2 cups of cooked grits - use the five minute variety and use the instructions on the package
4 apples cored,  peeled and sliced - I used Gala apples but most any will do
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar to taste - check after the first three minutes
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
5 strips of cooked bacon - crumpled
1 cup Monterey Jack or White Cheddar - grated

Cook the sliced apples with the sugar, lemon juice and zest in the microwave for three minute intervals - check after each interval - I cooked mine for 9 minutes - until the apples are soft and the liquid is syrupy.

Put the cooked grits in a medium size shallow glass baking dish.  Layer the rest starting with the bacon, then the cooked apples, then the grated cheese.

These grits can be eaten for lunch or as a side dish with other meals.  If you serve it for dinner and it gets a little bit cold, then microwave it for 1 - 2 minutes to melt the cheese and keep it hot.

Enjoy,  Lorraine