The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the “lighter half” of the year and beginning of the “darker half”, and is sometimes regarded as the “Celtic New Year“.
The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family’s ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. — wikipedia
When I was a child my grandma who was a seamstress had four trunks full of wonderful costumes. The trunks contained not only cast-off clothing, but many costumes in all sizes, and a load of fabulous accessories. The costumes had been collected from theater and dance troupes, costume shops, charity shops, and from the closets of relatives, friends and neighbors.
There were ethnic costumes representing several nationalities. I could be a ballerina for there were real hand tutus. I could be Cleopatra or a belly dancer. I could be a Princess and wear a gorgeous embroidered ball gown. Or I could be a fairy and wear gossamer wings. I could choose from a vast array of women’s headwear ranging from wigs and hair pieces, and tiaras and crowns to hats and veils. There were many masks and some were beautifully bejeweled.
I loved rummaging through the trunks and pulling out all treasures – role-playing costume choices I could make for rainy day play times, masquerade parties, and for Halloween. I was an imaginative child and those rainy days and parties were perfect times to become someone or something else just for the night.
Many members of my family are dancers, actors and actresses, and all the women in my family have followed grandma’s costume trunks tradition. We rarely purchase any last minute Halloween costumes. We all love masquerade parties and Halloween and we can all sew.
Today I have those trunks that belonged to my grandmother. I take great delight in sharing the contents with friends and their kids on rainy days and on Halloween nights. Some of the older clothes are gone now — mended until they were beyond repair and then torn apart to make other items. But every year the contents have grown as others have caught on to the idea of collecting as well as borrowing. When we find a special piece of odd ball clothing with costume potential at a garage sale or in a charity shop or in someone’s closet I tuck it away in the trunks.
We live in youth obsessed society and the vast array of cosmetics available to us are evidence of our determination to pursue and project a youthful external image to the grave. Pervasive and persuasive advertising cosmetics industry campaigns have created … Continue reading →
I found this recipe a couple of years ago on the foodnetwork.com site and smiled because it’s virtually the same recipe we make.
To make the best crab cakes, fresh Dungeness Crab or Blue Crab are best. Dungeness crab meat is readily available and it’s a lean, delicious holiday tradition to make and serve crab cakes.
Pan-fried crab cakes with creamy lemon-dill sauce
Makes 8 crab cakes and about 3/4 cup sauce per crab cake.
Ingredients: Crab Cakes
1 lb. (454 g) lump crab meat, well drained
1 1/4 cup whole wheat cracker crumbs, divided
1/4 cup finely minced red bell pepper
2 tbsp minced green onions
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 large egg
2 tbsp light mayonnaise (not fat free)
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp each butter and light olive oil for sauteing crab cakes
Instructions
Crab Cakes
(1) Combine crab meat, 3/4 cup cracker crumbs, red pepper, green onions and parsley in a large bowl. Than in a small bowl, whisk together egg, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon, Old Bay seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest and pepper. Add wet ingredients to crab meat mixture. Stir gently using a spatula until well mixed.
(2) Pour remaining 1/2 cup cracker crumbs into a shallow bowl. Working one at a time, form mixture into 8 crab cakes (use 1/3 cup measuring cup for each crab cake). Gently dip both sides of crab cake into crumbs. Place on a plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
See below to prepare Creamy Lemon-Dill Seafood Sauce
(3) To cook crab cakes, preheat oven to 350ºF. Add butter and olive oil to a 10-inch non-stick skillet and heat over medium heat until butter is melted and bubbly. Add crab cakes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Carefully transfer crab cakes to a baking sheet and place in oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until heated all the way through.
(4) Serve hot with creamy lemon-dill sauce.
Creamy Lemon-Dill Seafood Sauce
(good with any type of fish)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup light sour cream (3% or 5%)
1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp minced fresh dill
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp each Old Bay Seasoning and hot horseradish
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Whisk together all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Law of Attraction people advise us to raise our vibrations. They believe we are are able to create the things you want including health and wealth by broadcasting our good vibrations into the universe. They have The Secret and ascribe to a belief that they ought to be thinking only positive thoughts.
“There are many books out there that explore visualisation and the laws of attraction, this is definitely not one of the better examples [The Secret]. It is however brilliantly marketed, sadly though for a book so completely lacking in substance this has not done the self-empowerment industry any good.” Source
The Law of Attraction was popularized by a book and video called “The Secret” which Oprah promoted. The book contains the wisdom of the ages and that means there is nothing new in it but please buy the book. The book and movie give the impression that wishful thinking will get you what you want and many people actually end up believing it is so.
In “The Secret” video the claim is made that how the Law of Attraction works all due to the operation of quantum physics. The claim is that all molecules vibrating in your body at a certain resonance attract like things. That’s certainly no secret but it’s not quantum physics.
It’s neuroplasticity. The more you think about something the more your reticular cortex notices similar things. Have you not noticed that if you buy a new car then all of a sudden you see that same car in the same color all over the place. That is your reticular cortex at work. The same principal causes the law of attraction to work.
The discovery of neuroplasticity, that our thoughts can change the structure and function of our brains, even into old age, is the most important breakthrough in our understanding of the brain in four hundred years. Dr. Norman Doidge introduces principles we can all use to overcome brain limitations and explores the profound brain implications of the changing brain in an immensely moving book that will permanently alter the way we look at human possibility and human nature.
Norman Doidge on the brain and neuroplasticity
The Brain That Changes – Part 2_3
In Tibetan Buddhism, the concept of neuralplasticity has been around for far longer than Western science has recognized it – the term for it is le-su-rung-wa which means “pliability”; your brain can change based on repeated experience. It’s no surprise then that studies have been performed on plasticity during meditation and have shown that the brain can change based purely on mental training. This of course has huge ramifications for mental practice and its impact on overall well-being. If you can think yourself into being more compassionate, or more positive and more resourceful, or calmer and more content, it seems a little too good to be true. But with some effort, it’s possible. – Neuroplasticity: Your Brain’s Amazing Ability to Form New Habits
Oprah began by raving about how the Law of Attraction encompassed everything she had ever believed, but when a viewer wrote to thank her for that show and tell her that she was planning to eschew conventional cancer treatments and rely on the LOA, Oprah freaked out and hunted her down to bring her on the show and urge her to follow her doctor’s advice.
The Secret and its followers are a cult-like phenomena. They focus on using positive thinking to focus energy on securing material health, wealth and financial success from the Universe that smacks of religion that puts me right off. Have you ever heard an Law of Attraction advocate talk about human frailty or death? Well, those are the only certainties known to man.
When the truth is that you don’t like the way things are, then it’s time to set yourself free of the magical thinking you had as a child. Learn to tune and listen to your inner child self. Is that little child seeking material things? If so then instead of broadcasting those desires into the universe help that little child within to grow up and face reality just as it is.
Everything we do is based on core beliefs and agreements we have made – agreements with ourselves, with other people, with life. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves. In these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, how to behave, what is possible, what is impossible. One single agreement is not such a problem, but we have many agreements that come from fear, deplete our energy, and diminish our self-worth. Remove all core values your previously agreed to that are harmful and/or useless and place them with healthy ones.
Learn how to love yourself by practicing self-acceptance. And when you practice self-acceptance of your feelings just as they are right now, you will experience real changes in consciousness. Learn how to meditate and how to remain in the present moment. Learn how to view every failure and/or obstacle to becoming a better person as a stepping stone to success. Learn how to choose to be happy no matter what.
I value my powers of critical thought and I value negative people and circumstances too, because they test my ability to stay in touch with my higher self and become a better person day by day.
If anyone counsels me to use The Law of Attraction to escape something undesirable or to acquire something like wealth, status, fame, health or love — I run the other direction as quickly as I can, knowing such egocentric broadcasting is doomed to failure because I am objecting to reality.
Use your brain. Change your thoughts. Face reality head on. Live your life honorably. Learn how to accept what is, how make changes where you can, and how use all opportunities to become a better person — a healthier, happier and more compassionate person.
When I was a child my grandma who was a seamstress had four trunks full of wonderful costumes. The trunks contained not only cast-off clothing, but many costumes in all sizes, and a load of fabulous accessories. The costumes had been collected from theater and dance troupes, costume shops, charity shops, and from the closets of relatives, friends and neighbors.
I loved rummaging through the trunks and pulling out all treasures – role-playing costume choices I could make for rainy day play times, masquerade parties, and for Halloween. I was an imaginative child and those rainy days and parties were perfect times to become someone or something else just for the night.
I found this recipe a couple of years ago on the 
