News and Inspiration for a Holistic Life and a Heart-Centered Community
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Welcome to the second edition of The Creating Calm Network Magazine - News and Inspiration to uplift your day and brighten your world.
We are blessed with a global audience so October represents spring and autumn - a time of shifting of rhythms. |
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Tune In to Nature - Be Part of the Dance
by Ann White Stress Less, Love More It is Autumn in the northern hemisphere as I write this. Glorious colors abound. Cooler breezes, shorter days. A time to prepare gardens for rest and thank them for their months of beauty and bounty. A time to rake leaves and make soups and slow cooked meals. A time to prepare for our own personal hibernation. In our busy, crazy, rushing and at times chaotic lives, we disconnect from nature. We race around at our own speeds, often oblivious to the ebb and flow of the elements around us. Was it a beautiful day? Did you notice? Did you see the sunset? Or the stars? If you are like me when I disconnect – the answer is an unconscious haze to any of it. Full moon? Really? When we tune in to nature and become one with it, we share the rhythms we were meant to feel – the tides of life become ours. A time to hibernate and withdraw a bit into our own introspections. A time to emerge with our faces toward the sun to begin opening ourselves up to new growth. A time to dance in the sun and sit up late at night watching stars and comets. And a time to begin gathering in again – thankful for our bounty and blessings. Click to read more Check out one of our great sponsors!
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 Fractals in nature
Fractal Consciousness of Self-Similar Uniqueness
by Kimberly Burnham, PhD Sensational Medicine I know, I am different from you. I also know that I share 98 percent of my DNA with chimpanzees. And that means you and I are even more similar. What we each focus on makes the real difference between you and I. Are we similar enough for me to feel comfortable sharing my thoughts, expressing my feelings? Or are we different enough for there to be something I can learn from you? Are we fractal parts of a whole? What is your perspective on the information bridging the gap between you and I? Eleven million bits per second! That is an estimation of how much information is sent to your brain for processing. It includes the light reflecting from a child’s expression as he or she looks into your eyes, sound waves from the easy listening radio show bouncing on your ear drum, the smell of a crisp fall day as the wind blows through an apple orchard, the taste and crunch of a sweet juicy pear or the way your loose cotton shirt covers the skin of your shoulders. Click to read more In The Kitchen With Schel Kidd
Jackie's End of Summer Tomato Pasta |
Autumn, Fall, Ruska
~ a golden time for shedding what is burnt out and returning to your core restoration
by Frances Micklem
Healing From Harmony Hall
It may seem that I wish to change people's minds about reality. This is especially when I say that we are not individuals, we are all connected and reflected energy. Also when I say that being vegan is better for you and everyone than continuing to eat your own choice of foods. These are just conclusions that I have reached. These are just changes that I have made, as I have learnt how to change my own mind.
This great gift includes being able to observe and release attachments to my old ideas and conditioning. It no longer amounts to a true story that I have to keep to for the rest of my life. I can change my mind when more congruent information becomes available to me. I have been careful to check my identification with my thoughts. Just because I feel anxious, does not mean the anxiety is mine. Even if it is, I am not rendered a disempowered anxious person. I remain an eternal being who happens to be experiencing anxiety. As I read recently, detachment is not about not owning anything, it is the experience that nothing owns you.
This is the gift I really want to give other people too. The great gift of renewed space within our own minds, so that we can grow, change if we want to, integrate or let go of parts of our lives that aren't in alignment with our passions, peace and purpose.
Click to read more
~ a golden time for shedding what is burnt out and returning to your core restoration
by Frances Micklem
Healing From Harmony Hall
It may seem that I wish to change people's minds about reality. This is especially when I say that we are not individuals, we are all connected and reflected energy. Also when I say that being vegan is better for you and everyone than continuing to eat your own choice of foods. These are just conclusions that I have reached. These are just changes that I have made, as I have learnt how to change my own mind.
This great gift includes being able to observe and release attachments to my old ideas and conditioning. It no longer amounts to a true story that I have to keep to for the rest of my life. I can change my mind when more congruent information becomes available to me. I have been careful to check my identification with my thoughts. Just because I feel anxious, does not mean the anxiety is mine. Even if it is, I am not rendered a disempowered anxious person. I remain an eternal being who happens to be experiencing anxiety. As I read recently, detachment is not about not owning anything, it is the experience that nothing owns you.
This is the gift I really want to give other people too. The great gift of renewed space within our own minds, so that we can grow, change if we want to, integrate or let go of parts of our lives that aren't in alignment with our passions, peace and purpose.
Click to read more
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If I Could Change Just One Thing.....
from the hosts on CCN Frances Micklem - Healing from Harmony Hall and New Directions I would take the word 'meat' out of usage. No one's vocabulary would need it or look for it as animals would remain animals and all the living would remain alive! Uma Girish - Grammar of Grief I would help people to love themselves better. Angie Ledbetter - Morning Coffee I would obliterate hunger. Rebecca Zapen - Music Series I would have people prioritize more face-to-face connection time in their lives, and not so much via technology. It's a godsend when geography is the barrier, but for people in the same town, even same household, there needs to be more connection. Gloria Piantek - Food for the Body, Mind and Spirit Tell someone they matter today. Ann White - Stress Less, Love More I would want us to embrace our differences and to seek first to understand. |
A Doodle from Angie Ledbetter - co-host of Morning Coffee
From Louise J. Moriarty - Circus Performer, Poetry Slammer and More!
Miracles and Wonder Down Under CCN is good for you dreams, humour and recipes too Stories to turn your life around Relationships healed, feet on the ground Advice, experience and listening ears to help you alleviate all your fears show you how to love and play fill you up with Miracles and wonder each day |
For Fall Gatherings and Tailgating Parties
A Recipe from Gloria Piantek - Food for the Body, Mind and Spirit
Surefire Recipes from: BEST-EVER BARBECUE CONTEST
HIDEAWAY HOAGIES - 1st Place Winning Recipe
2/3 cup seeded, chopped fresh tomato
2 Tablespoons minced chives or fine chopped green onions
2 Tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro or parsley
2 Tablespoons finely chopped green pepper
4 crusty hoagie buns
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 large clove garlic, minced
8 ounces mini smoked hot dogs
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
4 thin slices sharp cheddar or peppered jack cheese
In a small bowl, stir together tomato green onion, cilantro, and green pepper; set aside.
Cut a thin slice from the top of each bun; remove the center, leaving a 1/2 inch shell.
Reserve bread crumbs for another use.
Combine melted butter and garlic, brush over cut surfaces of buns. Grill buns, cut side
down on an uncovered grill directly over medium hot grill about 2 minutes or until
lightly toasted.In a medium bowl, combine smoked franks and barbecue sauce; spoon into bottom
buns. Top with 1 slice cheese and the mixed tomato mixture. Wrap in12 inch pieces of
heavy duty foil. Grill on an uncovered grill directly over medium hot grill, about 8
minutes or until cheese melts. Makes 4 servings
Note: The original first prize winning barbecue recipe called for using Wranglers’
smoked franks and cutting them into smaller pieces and Velveeta cheese slices.
*For a big party—prepare them ahead of time
A Recipe from Gloria Piantek - Food for the Body, Mind and Spirit
Surefire Recipes from: BEST-EVER BARBECUE CONTEST
HIDEAWAY HOAGIES - 1st Place Winning Recipe
2/3 cup seeded, chopped fresh tomato
2 Tablespoons minced chives or fine chopped green onions
2 Tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro or parsley
2 Tablespoons finely chopped green pepper
4 crusty hoagie buns
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 large clove garlic, minced
8 ounces mini smoked hot dogs
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
4 thin slices sharp cheddar or peppered jack cheese
In a small bowl, stir together tomato green onion, cilantro, and green pepper; set aside.
Cut a thin slice from the top of each bun; remove the center, leaving a 1/2 inch shell.
Reserve bread crumbs for another use.
Combine melted butter and garlic, brush over cut surfaces of buns. Grill buns, cut side
down on an uncovered grill directly over medium hot grill about 2 minutes or until
lightly toasted.In a medium bowl, combine smoked franks and barbecue sauce; spoon into bottom
buns. Top with 1 slice cheese and the mixed tomato mixture. Wrap in12 inch pieces of
heavy duty foil. Grill on an uncovered grill directly over medium hot grill, about 8
minutes or until cheese melts. Makes 4 servings
Note: The original first prize winning barbecue recipe called for using Wranglers’
smoked franks and cutting them into smaller pieces and Velveeta cheese slices.
*For a big party—prepare them ahead of time
Global Conservation Group Partners to Save Marine Animals
by Jordan Turner of Global Conservation Now Two prominent animal advocacy organizations, Global Conservation Group and the International Marine Mammal Conservation Society have partnered on a campaign called "Spread the Word" which has the goal to educate the public on marine mammals and what can be done to improve their well-being. The two organizations partnered after it became aware that more needs to be done to help marine animals - including cleaning up the beaches, encouraging customers to avoid SeaWorld and giving beach-goers the contact information they need in the event they spot an animal in need of assistance. Read more 
Waking up with Overwhelming Appreciation and Gratitude...
by Che'lisa Lifestyle Luminaries Waking up today before the first light has begun, and all I can feel is this insatiable sense of Awe and Appreciation for my daily life...We are at this beautiful State campground in CO on our way to Santa Fe, NM. I can See everywhere, the air is crisp, the light is soft as it filter into my window, the candles are lit and I AM PEACE... Sometimes that feeling is so overwhelming I feel, "if I could only share some of this with those who don't feel peace, love and joy." I seem to dwell in this magical place, which I consider my Birth place or birth right. My dear friend Norma would say, it is your "kuliana", I believe that is Hawaiian for Vibration/Mode of Operation. I will find out what that means for sure...lol We just left Hygiene, CO. Many haven't heard of this very "Feminine" place as it is not an actual incorporated town. It is about 20 minutes from Boulder, tucked between Lyons and Longmont. We had been "boon-docking" on the streets on and off in Boulder and finally had an offer from one of my dear sisters, Dawnmarie, who is a minister of the United Methodist Church of Hygiene. Please support our Sponsors
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A Star Named Robin
by Uma Girish of Grammar of Grief The day I turned 50, Robin Williams’ spirit left the earth plane. Significant milestones, in significantly different ways. When we forget, life reminds us. It’s a world of opposites. Everything is cyclical. It’s like flipping a coin. Heads you win; tails you lose. Someone celebrates. Someone mourns. A day of color and the glitter of happiness for some. A day of heaving sorrow and funereal black, for others. Life and death, part of the same continuum. It makes me think how every day is marked by deaths and births in our own lives. Our cells die to be replaced by new ones. Old projects die. New ones are born. We bury ideas and concepts that we’ve outgrown, and open to fresh possibility. Read more 
Temperate Fractals
by Kimberly Burnham, PhD Parkinson's Alternatives and Sensational Medicine Warm, Warmer, Hot then hot for a while Cool, Cooler, Cold then cold for a while the seasons move flowing through Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter Smoldering volcanoes, steaming pools of water delicious on a Winter's day climate changes the geysers of Yellowstone shoot up faithfully near Summer campsites where buffalo roam Shrinking glaciers move down the mountain in chilly streams as hot and cold flow stopping in Summer warmed lakes where water skiers test their strength and balance Today started at 48 degrees winds blowing in the darkness clouds moving sun rising over head to 64 ticks on the thermometer afternoon sunshine on the ground hoists the temperature to 72 degrees saying good-bye again to the sun dry mountain air quickly falls 48 again Read more about fractals |
