1.5 cups water
1.5 cups sugar
1 bag cranberries (12 oz.), washed, all soft ones discarded
grated rind of 1 orange (optional)
Mix water and sugar together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, making sure the sugar is dissolved. Add the cranberries, bring to a boil again, and continue boiling till all the berries have popped, about 5 minutes. (The recipe says you should skim any foam, but I find this hard to do, and it doesn't taste any different with the foam, so forget it.)
Add the orange rind, if desired.
Cool.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Turkey Brine recipe
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 gallons water
6 bay leaves
fresh thyme
3 T black peppercorns
4 large garlic cloves, peeled
4 sprigs rosemary
Mix Salt and sugar in enough warm water to dissolve them. Add water to come to 2 gallons. Add the rest of the ingredients. (This is enough for a 12 - 14 pound turkey. Adjust as necessary.)
Submerge turkey in them. The easiest way to do this is to use a cooler. Fill the cooler at least half way with ice. Put the washed, cleaned turkey in a garbage bag (or perhaps double the bag). Put that in the cooler, nestling it down into the ice, and fill the bag with the brine. Let marinate 24 hours.
1 cup brown sugar
2 gallons water
6 bay leaves
fresh thyme
3 T black peppercorns
4 large garlic cloves, peeled
4 sprigs rosemary
Mix Salt and sugar in enough warm water to dissolve them. Add water to come to 2 gallons. Add the rest of the ingredients. (This is enough for a 12 - 14 pound turkey. Adjust as necessary.)
Submerge turkey in them. The easiest way to do this is to use a cooler. Fill the cooler at least half way with ice. Put the washed, cleaned turkey in a garbage bag (or perhaps double the bag). Put that in the cooler, nestling it down into the ice, and fill the bag with the brine. Let marinate 24 hours.
Friday, November 21, 2008
What Happy People Don’t Do - NYTimes.com
Interesting point -- that happy people watch less TV than unhappy people -- but it really doesn't deal with causality. Are people watching TV more because they're unhappy? Or are they unhappy because they're watching more TV?
One point the study apparently makes is that they biggest predictor of how much TV people watch is unemployment. If you don't have a job, you have more time to watch TV, but you're unhappy because you're out of work and have less money and less status.
What Happy People Don’t Do - NYTimes.com
One point the study apparently makes is that they biggest predictor of how much TV people watch is unemployment. If you don't have a job, you have more time to watch TV, but you're unhappy because you're out of work and have less money and less status.
What Happy People Don’t Do - NYTimes.com
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Time Perspectives
I'm reading a great book, The Time Paradox, by Philip Zimbardo & John Boyd, now. It's a fascinating discussion of the psychology of time, how different people are oriented in time (past -- negative, past - postive, present - hedonism, present - fatalism, and future), and how that affects their lives and personalities. There's a test here to see where you are on their scales.
I'm pretty future oriented (look at what I do for a living!), and resolved, upon reading this book, to become a little more present-oriented, a little more in the flow. Be careful what you ask for! I did -- embarrassingly. I, who am always on time, was so into trying to make yet another video for you, getting around the technical limitations of my equimpent, that I was late to a tele-class I taught last night! Oops -- maybe not so much in the flow.
As always, if you want to read the book, try to get it from the library. If you need/want to buy it, please buy it here.
Are psychic and intuition different?
It used to really bug me that people used the word, 'intuition' or 'intuitive', instead of 'psychic' -- but no longer. Here's why:
Introducing Creature!
Over the years, many of my clients have heard me talk about (and to!) the 'reading kitty', my cat, Creature, who sits in my lap when I do sessions. Here she is!
Monday, November 17, 2008
What is Intuition?
What you know you know -- are facts.
What you know you don't know -- is research you need to do.
What you don't know you know -- is your intution.
What you don't know you don't know -- is grace, which you get to partly through intution.
What you know you don't know -- is research you need to do.
What you don't know you know -- is your intution.
What you don't know you don't know -- is grace, which you get to partly through intution.
How healing healed the healers | The Intention Experiment
This is a great experiment -- have a look, and see if you want to join in for the next one...
How healing healed the healers | The Intention Experiment
How healing healed the healers | The Intention Experiment
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Taller People Are Happier
Why is the question -- read all the way to the end... it's pretty interesting:
Taller People Are Happier
Taller People Are Happier
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Big Picture / The Long View
I've been doing a 5 question marketing survey lately (thanks to those who took the time to answer, and thanks in advance to those of you I have yet to call), and I've been hearing a lot of fear. Fear about the economy, fear about money, fear about business survival. So let's talk about that.
For some people (and I've been getting at least one email a week with a really sad story of lost work, lost home, etc.), their personal situation is truly disastrous. But you know, I've been hearing these stories for years (though less frequently than I hear them now). Because I stay in touch with people, I find out what happens, which is that most everyone gets out alive, wiser for it -- and often happier, too. New, more satisfying careers come out of a crisis, more alive living situations come out of a crisis, better relationships come out of a crisis, at least in the long run. So embrace the change, no matter how hard that seems right now.
If your situation feels truly desperate, you probably already know what you have to do to -- shed assets (perhaps for pennies on the dollar), cut your monthly expenses drastically (moving to slash your housing cost, switching to a cheaper phone plan, ditching the land line, etc.), perhaps file bankruptcy, and take whatever work you can get, even if it's not in your field, even if barely pays. At least it's something. The operative question here is, what do I really need? And that's probably way less than you think.
For most of us, though, it's not that desperate. What this is, is a perfect time to regroup, and look at the big picture over the longer term. Because we all know that the recession will end eventually. Things will turn up. Are you going to be positioned to take advantage of that when it comes? Or are you gong to crawl into a hole of despair until things get better, and let the people who took this opportunity to prepare, eat your lunch then, too?
If you could live your life any way you want, if you could make a living any way you want, what would that be? What would you be doing? Where would you be doing it? Who would you be doing it with? What would you do in a normal day? What resources do you already have to get you there?
Asking these questions serves not only to you, but also the world. The world needs each of us to bring our unique gifts to the world, to reshape it in a healthier form. Living from less than who you truly are serves neither you, nor the world.
NOW is the time to think about these things, to have a vision of what you choose, in complete alignment with your deepest self. Then, make a plan to get from here to there, for your business and for yourself. Do you want an evolutionary plan? Or a revolutionary plan?
And if you'd like some help with either the vision or the plan, call me now at 888-4-HOLLIS (888-446-5547). I have lots of tools to help you, from my coaching training to NLP and hypnotherapy training to my Harvard MBA and 25+ years of small business experience.
For some people (and I've been getting at least one email a week with a really sad story of lost work, lost home, etc.), their personal situation is truly disastrous. But you know, I've been hearing these stories for years (though less frequently than I hear them now). Because I stay in touch with people, I find out what happens, which is that most everyone gets out alive, wiser for it -- and often happier, too. New, more satisfying careers come out of a crisis, more alive living situations come out of a crisis, better relationships come out of a crisis, at least in the long run. So embrace the change, no matter how hard that seems right now.
If your situation feels truly desperate, you probably already know what you have to do to -- shed assets (perhaps for pennies on the dollar), cut your monthly expenses drastically (moving to slash your housing cost, switching to a cheaper phone plan, ditching the land line, etc.), perhaps file bankruptcy, and take whatever work you can get, even if it's not in your field, even if barely pays. At least it's something. The operative question here is, what do I really need? And that's probably way less than you think.
For most of us, though, it's not that desperate. What this is, is a perfect time to regroup, and look at the big picture over the longer term. Because we all know that the recession will end eventually. Things will turn up. Are you going to be positioned to take advantage of that when it comes? Or are you gong to crawl into a hole of despair until things get better, and let the people who took this opportunity to prepare, eat your lunch then, too?
If you could live your life any way you want, if you could make a living any way you want, what would that be? What would you be doing? Where would you be doing it? Who would you be doing it with? What would you do in a normal day? What resources do you already have to get you there?
Asking these questions serves not only to you, but also the world. The world needs each of us to bring our unique gifts to the world, to reshape it in a healthier form. Living from less than who you truly are serves neither you, nor the world.
NOW is the time to think about these things, to have a vision of what you choose, in complete alignment with your deepest self. Then, make a plan to get from here to there, for your business and for yourself. Do you want an evolutionary plan? Or a revolutionary plan?
And if you'd like some help with either the vision or the plan, call me now at 888-4-HOLLIS (888-446-5547). I have lots of tools to help you, from my coaching training to NLP and hypnotherapy training to my Harvard MBA and 25+ years of small business experience.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Motivation/Election
One of the things you learn first in NLP Practitioner training is the difference between motivation 'towards' and motivation 'away from'.
Both are useful. Towards' motivation moves you to act for something you desire, like a great relationship or a new car. 'Away from' motivation gets you moving away from something, like a tiger bounding towards you, or a rampaging boss.
Have you noticed that when you are motivated towards something, you tend to be happier than when you are motivated away from something?
This played out in the Presidential campaigns. Obama showed people a picture of how things could be better, while McCain campaigned on fear, mostly 'away from' Obama -- those were the attack ads. And that is probably why everyone with whom I've spoken in the last day or so says, "I finally have hope" and feels better.
What you focus on, expands. For the last 8 years, we have focused on the negative, on what we're afraid of, and things got steadily worse. Now we will begin to focus on the positive, as a country, as a people, and things will slowly begin to get better.
But remember the laws of thermodynamics, which say that things tend towards entropy, and it takes work to reverse that. So what it took 8 years to destroy (due to intentional destruction, along with the forces of entropy), it could take many more years to build back up.
Both are useful. Towards' motivation moves you to act for something you desire, like a great relationship or a new car. 'Away from' motivation gets you moving away from something, like a tiger bounding towards you, or a rampaging boss.
Have you noticed that when you are motivated towards something, you tend to be happier than when you are motivated away from something?
This played out in the Presidential campaigns. Obama showed people a picture of how things could be better, while McCain campaigned on fear, mostly 'away from' Obama -- those were the attack ads. And that is probably why everyone with whom I've spoken in the last day or so says, "I finally have hope" and feels better.
What you focus on, expands. For the last 8 years, we have focused on the negative, on what we're afraid of, and things got steadily worse. Now we will begin to focus on the positive, as a country, as a people, and things will slowly begin to get better.
But remember the laws of thermodynamics, which say that things tend towards entropy, and it takes work to reverse that. So what it took 8 years to destroy (due to intentional destruction, along with the forces of entropy), it could take many more years to build back up.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Free Congress
In the spring of 2007, when Nancy Pelosi ‘took impeachment off the table’ and John Conyers did not follow through on his promise to hold impeachment hearings, I ‘saw’ that the first FISA violations were against Congress, and that the illegally gained information was being used to blackmail Congress. It was so obvious to me that I couldn’t understand why other people didn’t see it.
Each person to whom I said this, said, 'Of course! That makes so much sense!' Those people included Katrine van den Heuvel of "The Nation", whom I met at Princeton reunions, and with whom I spoke about my 'knowing'. But of course, she didn't really know me, so I didn't have much credibility.
In the spring of 2008, I had lunch with a friend, who is very well connected politically, and who told me that one of her contacts “deep in the bowels of Capitol Hill” told her that he had information that confirms the blackmail. According to my friend, her contact was willing to talk.
I wanted very badly to get this out to the media. Of course, I tried van den Heuvel, but I couldn't get past her gatekeeper. Then I tried a business school contact at TIME, to no avail. Then I tried a friend, who has been a statewide elected official in California, and knows absolutely everyone. He was gracious, but in the end, his press secretary said he could not be connected to this information in any way, as he was a co-chair of Obama's campaign. At this point, I was about out of options, and desperate.
A few days earlier, I had agreed to support a friend at a sales pitch for Humanity Unites Brilliance. I wasn't particularly interested, but just wanted to support my friend. She told me that the meeting was at the home of Barbara Marx Hubbard's sister, but that meant very little to me.
Turns out that BMH's sister is Patricia Marx Ellsberg, that is, she is married to whistle-blower extraordinaire, Daniel Ellsberg! So I wrote down everything I knew, hoping to speak with him, figuring that in the worst case, I could at least leave him my letter.
Patricia answered the door, welcomed my husband, Kosta, and me into her home, and poured us tea. As we stood in the kitchen, sipping mugs of steaming tea, Kosta somehow brought up what we'd been told. I asked if Dan might be around for me to talk with later, and as I did, he walked into the kitchen, and came straight over to us! At which point, I began my story again, asking him if he'd follow up.
He said he could see how desperate I was, said this was 'his beat', and promised not only to follow up, but to let me know when he had. And he was as good as his word. Unfortunately, the potential whistleblower lost his nerve, which is why you heard it here first (sadly). However, at a rally in Oakland some months later, Kosta heard Dan Ellsberg talk about this on stage to a few thousand people with some conviction.
So now, with a new administration, we should have a free Congress, who may have free congress, the ability to meet without being spied upon.
In the spring of 2008, I had lunch with a friend, who is very well connected politically, and who told me that one of her contacts “deep in the bowels of Capitol Hill” told her that he had information that confirms the blackmail. According to my friend, her contact was willing to talk.
I wanted very badly to get this out to the media. Of course, I tried van den Heuvel, but I couldn't get past her gatekeeper. Then I tried a business school contact at TIME, to no avail. Then I tried a friend, who has been a statewide elected official in California, and knows absolutely everyone. He was gracious, but in the end, his press secretary said he could not be connected to this information in any way, as he was a co-chair of Obama's campaign. At this point, I was about out of options, and desperate.
A few days earlier, I had agreed to support a friend at a sales pitch for Humanity Unites Brilliance. I wasn't particularly interested, but just wanted to support my friend. She told me that the meeting was at the home of Barbara Marx Hubbard's sister, but that meant very little to me.
Turns out that BMH's sister is Patricia Marx Ellsberg, that is, she is married to whistle-blower extraordinaire, Daniel Ellsberg! So I wrote down everything I knew, hoping to speak with him, figuring that in the worst case, I could at least leave him my letter.
Patricia answered the door, welcomed my husband, Kosta, and me into her home, and poured us tea. As we stood in the kitchen, sipping mugs of steaming tea, Kosta somehow brought up what we'd been told. I asked if Dan might be around for me to talk with later, and as I did, he walked into the kitchen, and came straight over to us! At which point, I began my story again, asking him if he'd follow up.
He said he could see how desperate I was, said this was 'his beat', and promised not only to follow up, but to let me know when he had. And he was as good as his word. Unfortunately, the potential whistleblower lost his nerve, which is why you heard it here first (sadly). However, at a rally in Oakland some months later, Kosta heard Dan Ellsberg talk about this on stage to a few thousand people with some conviction.
So now, with a new administration, we should have a free Congress, who may have free congress, the ability to meet without being spied upon.
Quote of the Week
“... Government of the people, by the people, for the people did not perish from the face of the earth.”
Barak Obama
11/4/08
(emphasis mine – H)
Barak Obama
11/4/08
(emphasis mine – H)
Gratitude Journal, 11/4/08
As part of "Be Happier Now", participants are strongly encouraged to keep a daily journal of things for which they are grateful and/or things at which they succeeded. There is statistical evidence to support that it works. Try it -- you'll see how much happier you are!
Part of the reason I teach the course is to force me to walk my talk and keep mine up! Here is my entry for Tuesday:
- I had the privilege of voting. Every time I vote, I remember that my grandmothers were born into an America where women did not have that right.
- I cast an informed vote.
- It looks (at least at first glance) like a fair election. [My biggest fear was another stolen election. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman (www.freepress.org), Bev Harris (www.blackboxvoting.org), Steven Spoonamore, who told the truth, and thousands of others who worked to ensure the voter rolls were not purged of legitimate voters, or that elections have a paper trail. Our work is not done, but at least the candidate who was winning in the polls won the election.]
- When I went to my local polling place to drop my absentee ballot in the locked box, there were twice as many cars in the parking lot as I had ever seen before, and 4 times as many as a 'normal' election. "We the People" means all of us voting!
- Obama won! As a species, we turned toward hope, caring for each other and the planet, acknowledging that we're all in this together. A great weight is lifted off my chest -- I can breathe again.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
12 survival tips
Although the author of the article dresses these things up in election rhetoric, the tips are quite good:
1) Matain a positive attitude
2) Stay calm; use your anger
3) Think, analyze, plan
4) Take correct, decisive action
5) Celebrate Your success
6) Be a rescuer, not a victim
7) Find something to laugh about
8) see the beauty of the world
9) be so conviced of survival that fear falls away and you are filled with strength
10) Engage your crisis as an athlete engages a sport -- resignation without giving up; survival by surrender
11) Do whatever it takes
12) Never give up, because nothing is impossible
12 survival tips for the next four years if your candidate loses - MarketWatch:
1) Matain a positive attitude
2) Stay calm; use your anger
3) Think, analyze, plan
4) Take correct, decisive action
5) Celebrate Your success
6) Be a rescuer, not a victim
7) Find something to laugh about
8) see the beauty of the world
9) be so conviced of survival that fear falls away and you are filled with strength
10) Engage your crisis as an athlete engages a sport -- resignation without giving up; survival by surrender
11) Do whatever it takes
12) Never give up, because nothing is impossible
12 survival tips for the next four years if your candidate loses - MarketWatch:
Election Humor
Hat tip to 'kaputt' on MarketWatch:
And then there was the politician who died at went to heaven. St Peter met him at the gate and told him that there were special rules for politicians. They had to spend 3 days in h*** and 3 days in Heaven and then decide. The man protested telling the St Peter how he had gone to church every day and Mass on Sundays, but rules are rules and couldn't be broken Finally the man agreed and went down to h***. It was great. All his old buddies were there. Wine, women, song, lobbyist-the whole nine yards. After three great days St. Peter came and they went to Heaven. He was given a harp and just drifted among the clouds for 3 boring days with others who rarely spoke to him. After 3 days the gate keeper came and asked him what he wanted. The politician said, I thought I would never want this but I want to be in h***. Poof-Fire, Brimstone, Ashes everything he had been warned over appeared. What happened the bewildered guy asked. All of a sudden Satan appeared and told him, The first time we were campaining, now you voted.
And then there was the politician who died at went to heaven. St Peter met him at the gate and told him that there were special rules for politicians. They had to spend 3 days in h*** and 3 days in Heaven and then decide. The man protested telling the St Peter how he had gone to church every day and Mass on Sundays, but rules are rules and couldn't be broken Finally the man agreed and went down to h***. It was great. All his old buddies were there. Wine, women, song, lobbyist-the whole nine yards. After three great days St. Peter came and they went to Heaven. He was given a harp and just drifted among the clouds for 3 boring days with others who rarely spoke to him. After 3 days the gate keeper came and asked him what he wanted. The politician said, I thought I would never want this but I want to be in h***. Poof-Fire, Brimstone, Ashes everything he had been warned over appeared. What happened the bewildered guy asked. All of a sudden Satan appeared and told him, The first time we were campaining, now you voted.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Law of Attraction times 30 million
If the Law of Attraction (what you focus on, expands), works for one individual, what happens when 30 million or so people, watching a popular TV show all focus on the same thing? Obama gets elected President:
Following the Script - Obama, McCain and ‘The West Wing’ - NYTimes.com
Now, how do I get a TV show made about me and my success?
Following the Script - Obama, McCain and ‘The West Wing’ - NYTimes.com
Now, how do I get a TV show made about me and my success?
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