Basic Missions

Happy Birthday Sleigh. Today is my nephews birthday. This may not seem like a lesson in life and rebooting but take a gander.  Today twelve years ago lot’s of things where happening. My sister was in labor, a hurricane named Earl was baring down on the gulf coast and life was about to change for us forever. Sleigh is the second grandchild to my parents. Duncan and I had a son named Christopher Hardin he died shortly after he was born. So, when this little miracle came into the world and my sister got pregnant we were all so thrilled. Sleigh as we call him; the world knows hims as Brooks named after my father is the spitting image if I do say so myself; of me. He even loves Brussels sprouts and has my face. But what is most amazing is who he has become. But let’s take this story in order. On the day before my sister gave birth to him she was put into the hospital and induced. Honestly she and Duncan had hit their wall.. Duncan had every craving gained every pound and enjoyed every minute of this pregnancy. Deborah however enjoyed the pregnancy but not the weight and other side effects. But she was so excited about the baby. We spent a great deal of time with my sister, because she lived with us during most of the pregnancy. So, I was the one hitting the road for illegal treats like pickles covered in salt with a side of Petridge Farm cookies made into an ice cream sandwiches both served together… It was fun and hysterical and touching. She would climb in bed between Duncan and I and we would watch Jaws and The Crocodile Hunter every night. Now before you start making judgements, Duncan and I have been together since I was 13 and she was 11 so it is only natural that since he taught her to drive, gave her away in marriage, and took care of her if she went and  had a little to much fun at a party in high school: that here she was right in the middle where she belongs. Now neither Deb or Dunc are very good at being uncomfortable so this was about our third run to the hospital.  Now is was go time. I was put in charge of filming this baby being born, Duncan was waiting outside so he wouldn’t faint he is not so good with the blood and gore from folks he loves.. Others don’t bother him as much.  So I was given strict instructions to not say a word and film Sleigh coming into this world. Well true to form that did not happen. At 4:03 in the afternoon it was time. In I go and here he comes. My little clone.. one, two pushes and out pops his head he turned and looked straight at me and I said,” hello angel, I have been waiting for you to get here my whole life”. He slid the rest of the way out and I continued our dialog. He would look at me and I would say” Sweetheart, little Sleigh bell we have been waiting for you, are you going to cry.., NO, are you looking at the pretty balloons…., Uncle Duncan is waiting for you, Nanna and Pops are waiting for you, look at your Daddy cut the cord.. life is fascinating.. isn’t it. , And it is..”. He was so enthralled with everything.. when the doc went to pop his little hiney to make him cry to see if his lungs were OK I almost died. I said,” just ask him to cry” and they asked and he did. I would have beat that Dr. to death if she had swatted him. Needless to say, his life has changed us all in so many ways. We are more open, honest, and playful, we see things in a different way. Sleigh is what I call an old soul… he came into this world knowing  how to play everything and everyone, He is awareof everything and  if Duncan held him he was fine.. hell if Duncan was sewing drapes he would swaddle Sleigh up and tuck him close to Milley our Dobbie’s belly and he would watch the whole process never stopping to nap. He rarely stops now and though he has graduated in public from Bell or Sleigh to Brooks. He will always be Bell to me because he is always ringing. At midnight if my phone rings? I know a little man across town is up and playing with his phone and he says,” just called to say I love you whisper it to Uncle Duncan”. So I do and off to sleep I go. He has never  known Duncan or me healthier than we are now. So, he accepts what he gets from us, as sweetly as he can because we can not always play, or come, or go and we miss a lot of things. But we have been so blessed. My sister is a single mom who works exceedlying hard to take care of her family and my Mother and Father have Sleigh most of the time. But our little family has made it all work.

I look at tonight and think he is twelve… how is he twelve.. he is coming here for a pizza party and some cake and to play poker.. yes poker and we will all enjoy ourselves. He will be gentle with Duncan and watch to make sure he is not to tired. He will make silly sometimes bawdy jokes with me and my Mom with chastize us both, but he will laugh. That too he inherited from his Aunt.. he loves to gut laugh and he doesn’t surpress anything.. being french he wouldn’t anyway but it seems like all the bes,t in all of us landed straight thru the gene pool and into this little vessel of light. He is a sports star, a seeker of God, a gentle soul and a mind boggling little prankster. He loves poetry and stories and he loves his Uncle’s horror movies and can sleep to Jaws to this day.

Today all the stars have aligned in so many ways in his life. He is settled, and the world is almost remarkably similar to the day he was born. I don’t think that is a coincidence. My little love that was born on the cross winds of a  hurricane and he will sweep through my house tonight not only wrecking havoc and fun, but spreading love like a hurricane of bells.. So may all the children in your life flourish and let the Sleigh bells ring.. and yes.. that is part of his name..We found out he was coming into this world on Christmas Eve and so his middle name is Sleigh the bell we just add because boy can he ring!!!

Looking for the lesson, all of us came here out of God’s intent with a lesson to learn and teach, no one is a waste of space and we are all so different and so alike at the same time. So cherish those in your life and let their souls ring like bells..

Happy Birthday Sleigh Bell, and thanks Joe/God you did good.

Callie Broussard-Wheeler and all of the Family

Remember to day is new post day..Grace has a fabulous article up about doing and living now, Duncan on THE FLOW and MS. Enjoy your Monday and take the day to live  a little, pray a little and praise a little, and listen. Much Love the BasicMissions crew and go by and join the newest ning on the Net… http://www.BasicMissionsLife.ning.com and join in a group of people that are living and loving and seeing the Divine in all forms from football to gardening, meditating to healing. See you there.

                    Good Morning Glories,

Well, can you believe it is actually Monday again. A month has once again flown by and Sept and fall is on it’s way!! Those are wonderful words to me this summer has been a real challenge. It has been mentally, spiritually and metaphysically challenging so maybe I have had some growth I hope so. Now we are learning a lot in this new year. We are taking our life and making it completely renewed. We have talked about many things in our new practice of manifesting with intent and working out of our spirit, releasing toxic people and feeling; but one thing we have not talked about is Silence. I am not talking about living in Silence not going away to a Ashram or retreat to meditate in Silence which is very grueling. I am however talking about starting to tame our mouths. We have been taught especially if you are a child of the 60’s,70’s, or 80′ that we must express our every thought, feeling or emotion. We must let it all hang out. Well, I believe and teach just the opposite. In letting it all hang out you either drive your family crazy or spouse. Imagine if you walked around the entire time you are with your spouse talking about your money worries and we all have them. Instead of just doing your best and shutting up. What if every little thought that came into head didn’t come crashing through the gates of your lips. What if we cursed less and interrupted the other person who is speaking less and found a nice quiet spot inside ourselves to drive our mind with and then didn’t make endless noise. Now this just means censoring what you say and what you don’t. Many thing in life we say because we are taught that expression keeps us from being repressed. We will need a shrink if we don’t get this out. But let’s set an example say you have  spent a lifetime asking your spouse to load the dishwasher and end up loading it yourself spitefully after letting him know that once again he is a failure. Just load it. You where going to load it anyway. And think this to yourself. If my love died tomorrow would  I be bitching and moaning about the dishwasher or wishing the cups where in the sink? Life my friends is a trade off. We trade off daily the big and the small. So we must think very clearly that if we are making a trade that makes us hold resentments, complain, fight, or be annoyed we cannot repair anyone but ourselves. So do it repair that hole inside you; sew  it shut with a love needle and let it go forever.Every time you get vocally emotive or constipated throw some love at it and watch it all disappear. Love will cure all ails if we let it in. Now let’s move on to endless prattling along. Some people go through the day and they cannot no matter the reason be in silence. They must fill there minds with endless babbling, on cell phones, on text, in the grocery line. No one has cultivated the ability to just sit quietly. To shut the mind down or fill it with more lofty ideas. So why don’t we have a one week experiment. Why don’t we spend the week trying to cut down the needless chatter. Now we as Americans and families need to spend time laughing and talking with our families so get up early and have breakfast at the table the Walton’s will be so proud. Talk about your day and let everyone know they are loved and then move on to supper. I am a huge proponent of dinner at the table. Yes, I have turned into my mother; but whomever is the cook in the family better yet get the entire family should cook together. Yes I know what I am asking after a hard day at work. To cook with the entire family… how much does this woman want from me… Well this can be easy. I will leave you a recipe every one can eat no just turn the tv off and talk and cook. Clean up together too. Then play. Talk about your day, your thoughts, your life and just once a week and don’t faint have an old fashioned family night where whatever born family or made family you have can be rounded up for dinner and board games or charades and some family fun. It doesn’t matter if your 8 or 80. We need communication at home that leads to trust and reinforcement of family values and we need to stop the useless chattering and live thru a quite mind. So that is the challenge for the week. This week have one Walton Dinner and eat breakfast and dinner with your kids.. Meaning all cell phones, computers and pdas and those evil little video nintendo games are all shut off. Even the morning newspaper will have to wait.  Sports teams, tv or activity be  damned we are to over scheduled and the family unit  is collapsing by the same force that is causing us to prattle our life away we are just ignoring that the problem is there and doing what feels good. I can promise you not all teenagers, or Dads with football starting, or whomever will gripe and moan about it, but soon it will become family time. Now if you are a family that loves football and even the smallest are involved let that be family night after the dinner it  is for talking to one another not the idiot box. I love football and many times in my life I have spend years bonding with my family over football and we love it. So do it. But the boob tube goes off for the family dinner and enjoy it slowly. Give yourself enough time. The recipe I am leaving takes about twenty minutes to make for everyone and you will prep before leaving in the morning or the night before. Zippy bags are a marvel.

The reason I zeroed in on talking and silence is this is you pass through any store you will hear countless conversations on cell phones, and countless arguments with families. We have about a two second irritation delay with children who by the way are just being children. Lesson one… if you bring a child under say seven maybe eight into a grocery store around four in the afternoon  you are asking for a tantrum. They are tired from a full day. Most of us work so they got up when you did hit the ground running and I bet only a sitter was home waiting for them to get off the bus. No warm cookies on a plate and a nap. Or Momma had to pick them up no warm snack and a nap. So we need to a cultivate a little Silence and teach our children it is OK not to have diarrhea of the emotions. They will be better people and better adults. We also need to cultivate Silence in our minds so we know when something is important to say or has value. Talking about your manicure for three hours on a cell phone and who said what to whom and how is ridiculous it is filling out air with negativity and we want a positive vibe in the world around us. We want to spend the day working with people we respect and if not pray they will become that person  and we want to come home at the end of the day to the reward of a beautiful home a well organized family and everyone centered and balanced and centering comes from speaking positively and with intent about the beautiful life you have and if you need to talk something  that is not positive then do it; find the answer then drop it, and now we are back positive.

Cultivating silence in the world leads to more respect for ourselves and the world. And it gives you more room in your head to let the Divine in and keep the negative out. I had a friend once who upon coming to the end of his life began to realize the  beauty and wonder in every person and plant on earth.He never stopped smelling the flowers.  And he lived that way. So he never missed the dew on his feet or the smell of rain in the air of the kisses from his dog or a smile and a soft word of peace for everyone he crossed. Even if it was just through a smile. He was in and of the world enjoying the fullness and richness of it. This weekend has been lovely for us.The first quiet non-stressed weekend we had in our new home. And what made it that way a command to silence. My Mom told me Calliekyle you are talking about work, work, work, or problems and not enjoying the best part of you life. You are missing your life because you are stressed because you made it that way and now you must undo your own mess and bring your family back into peace. Since I had rattled everyone I should be the one to bring peace. So I went and meditated found my center, talked to Duncan once and boom Peace.  In the not so distant past women just didn’t bitch away all day like it was their divine right to complain about the house, money, pms, or what the hell ever. We where known for our gentleness and peace like Melanie in Gone with the Wind. I am much more a Scarlett in gumption and a Melanie in Peace we are all hybrids. But  just to save face and not lie to you, I promise I would not starve. You get me.. I would do what I had to do. I have been hungry that will not happen again. I have been helpless and that will not happen again. None of that means though that I have to prattling away. So let’s not.. let’s tame the talk. Talk if it is worthwhile but honestly no one wants to know your feeling fat today, or you have pms or you and your partner are fighting or your kid is on rydaline. Ask others about there day and then say something lovely. Give out with your words and kindness and positivity and  peace, kindness and positivity will come back to you. It is  the rule of Karma what you put out  will come back to you. You can change an entire negative atmosphere by not being negative not feeding the machine not bitching and moaning. So Silence it is…. and family night. We will talk more on family night later in the week. I would pick a Sat. or Sunday or maybe Wednesday if you do not have church. Just find your night today. Let everyone know. And start planning your Sabbath because that is what is will be. A time to spend with the unit God has given you and spend it fruitfully and with love in celebration of life itself and each other.. Gotcha.

Enjoy the Silence.

Callie  Broussard-Wheeler

PS. I just want you to know that I realize many men do all the kid work, from cooking to caretaking and they are also working for the family. I was writing this from my own perspective and did not include men. I just  reminded myself that many men are also the main bread winners and single parent or caretakers in the family. I however must say I don’t see them complaining or running the cell phones as much. But I want you to know you are recognized and your work is of greatest values. All families are included.

Pizza Party

Focciacia Bread which can be used for a fabulous pizza crust no stone needed.

2 cups plain flour

2cups Oatmeal run thru the food processor to make flour.

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

water to bring to a ball

3 tablespoons of yeast. Proof it buy adding a bit of water and some sugar to make sure if forms a bubbling mass.

Now knead this into a ball in the kitchen aid or by hand it should be done by hand on your counter with the kids.. the chemicals in your hand basically the yeast and the yeast in the bread react to make fingers of strength in the bread that way it gets a better texture and flavor. There is a reason some things just don’t taste right. Those bread machines make great pumpkin bread but the crumb is off. So do it the fun messy way. Now as stated this is foccicia bread it can be made thick or think. This it can be put a baking sheet allowed to rise and have chewy crust. Thing it can be rolled out thinly not allowed to rise and either stuffed for a calzone or topped for a pizza.

Now take all the ingrediants you love and chop and put in zippy bags for the toppings. Take the dough and put it in a zippy bag remember it will grow in the fridge so give it a big enough bag. Let it come to room temp before pulling off pieces to make individual or whole pizza’s you will have plenty of dough left for another night if you have a family of four. If eight are making pizza this is plenty. Freeze the leftover and thaw in the fridge and it will be even better next time.

Now dab the bread with your fingers making little notches in it when it is rolled out and sprinkle with olive oil add whole tomatoes and fresh veggies and cheese and bake quickly on about 450 for ten minutes or under watch it closely. Small pizzas cook faster and always put them in a screaming hot oven. If you have a pizza stone use it not put cornmeal on top of a little pam so it won’t stick. Now you can use rice flour for those with allergies and soy cheese or no cheese and a bechemal or white sauce instead of read. I prefer no sauce at all and fresh tomatoes some basil some monzarella and voila.. dinner and giggles in twenty minutes. Make this dough the night before and don’t be surprised who much it grows. Enjoy.. if worse comes to worse.. pull out spagetti sauce from a jar smear it on and the cheese it and go.. just don’t tell me about it.. hhaha.. enjoy. Let me know how it goes.. you cannot mes this up if too much water is added add more flour not enough water add a bit more.. easy..

happy Pizza.  And for swanky parties that you must bring a dish for pull this dough from the oven, roll it thickly into foccicia and top with sun dried tomatoes, olives parmesan shavings and anchovies the drizzle with olive oil let rise bake quickly and bring some flavored olive oil for dunking in.. add salt and pepper garlic and an anchovie in the blender to the oil and everyone will not have any idea what is in it but devour it.. if you tell them it is an anchovy they will not want to try it.. what a shame.. just try it for me once.. you will love it. Callie

      As it rains I sit and enjoy the sound. Since Hurricane Katrina I have been terrified of the rain storms and Mobile is not a place to live if you cannot deal with rain. As I have mentioned we are having a hurricane summer meaning we have huge blustery noisy rain storms all day everyday. It may not start raining until three in the afternoon but that is rare.

When I first came to this home to do the inspection with my home inspector it was not raining it was pouring sheets of rain. We have a huge florida room with an oak tree in the yard that hang right over the roof of the florida room. When it pours all you can here are the tapping of the acorns and drumming of the rain. It doesn’t scare me here it relaxes me and since this weekend is a workout in relaxation and meditation and quiet I have to say I am enjoying the rain.

I know this post is personal but it is Saturday and we all need some down time. No lesson today. Except maybe shut off your machines and spend some old fashion time with your husband,wife or family. Duncan is here snoozing while I am typing and the stuffed eggplant is cooking away in the oven. We will have supper soon and  then private time. I am looking forward to it. If you want the  recipe for the stuffed eggplant and peach pie head over to the new ning and check it out in recipes under eat. I hope you enjoy it as much as we will.

Take time to enjoy the rain.

Callie

                                             Momma Said practice what you preach. And she is righton that one. Lately I have been a bit off my game. A little kinder to thosein the world at large and a little less observant of my own spiritual walk and path. It is hitting on grant time and life here is busier that ever. I cannot look at my desk and not see another pile of things to do. Here is the crux of it all. As much as I would love this ministry to be just something I do out of my heart it is much more. First it is my calling and promise to the Divine and my family, second it is my source of income. I have spent most of my life as a student and a seeker. I have been spoiled to be able to not work and not carry a full load of any one things in life and was able to split myself into many different people. The painter, the interior designer, the teacher, the philospher the artist, the writer and the wife, the chef, mother of a husky and sister, daughter, and minister. The thing is when do I put it down. I think as men and women who live and do exist in todays world on the grid that we have to take time and ask ourselves what we are doing that is important and will bare fruit and what will not. Then if something is not or will not bare fruit it is time to trim the tree and stop the energy bleeding out everywhere.   I knew I was in trouble last month. I am hopelessly stubborn and relentlessly self determined and I do not ask for help. Well last month I sent and emergency cry out to my Mom. I called and needed help. My leg I felt was not cooperating with my life. When in all actuality my life was not cooperating with my leg. When you have to put out a 911 call to go to the hospital for pain and you are under pain management something is wrong. Did I heed the call to slow the train. Nope and again this week I have to call home. I am a forty six year old woman and I am having to call for help from my mother. Now that is humbling. Not because I shouldn’t call but because I feel as though I should be able to dance on the head of a pin all the time while juggling three balls and never drop them or fall off. Yet again the pain the frustration the literal inability to get my body moving had me in a mess. Now I feel that I have and emotional and spiritual connection to this house if you have read this site long enough you know that when I blow something here blows. Well Sunday afternoon after a lovely afternoon having Sushi with my parents and my nephew something went horribly wrong… A migraine was forming and I don’t have those small little migraines on the imitrex commercial as a matter of fact I don’t think those people have ever had a migraine. So off we go home. As soon as we get here everyone heads to separate bathrooms to use the facilities and my old nemesisfloods the house. Not from being backed up or broken; not that we could tell; from sheer will. Now my house is flooding and my brain is banging and my leg is about to come the hell off so I have to once again call Momma. Help… Mom.. I must get to the doctor, get the plumbing repaired and get home. On the way home I had to stop for medsand voila.. it cost a hundred extra dollars. In this month of hell another hundred was the tipping point now I was at a loss.. what do I do. Do I talk to my parents and I have a firm no borrowing policy or do I bounce. Well Mom and I talked and she said it is time to slow things down handle my own problems and get life back on track. Well today we have done that. The reason I am sharing this with you is that even your teachers, life coaches and guru’s are human. We over book, over plan, over commit. We make life hard on ourselves to. We are not immune to the human condition just because we may have the answer for you today. So remember to be kind to yourself the next time you are over your head in work and problems. Take it all one slow step at a time and all will work out. The next day the toilet was easily repaired and the bills are handled and the leg well the leg is the leg.. I am blessed to have it. It is both a curseand gift. I want my parts and having cancer can be a disease that causes you to leave this life with far fewer parts then you came in with. So far i have only lost a left femur and a cervix. I am trying to keep it that way. To do that though I must be good to myself and to Duncan. I must make sure that first and formost our home is peaceful and then my work gets done. It is of the utmost of importance that I do not have the tail wagging the dog or no one will get help. And so many people are depending on me to help them. So the new mantra in Sept but we are starting it now is slow and steady wins  the race. The rabbit usely ends up in stew and the cow will lay down to rest and the hare well it will run itself to death so I shall take my favorite photo of a turtle and put it on the vision board so I do not forget that in all my dreams and work big and small I must move slowly and with intention. Therefore providing a way for all to work out.

I hope you all live your life slowly and with intention and if not… just maybe this might be the time to think of getting organized and doing so. We do not want to end up in the stew.

Much love and Wishing you a Beautiful Weekend.

Callie Broussard-Wheeler

Attention All: please visit all the blog post today everyone has something new and fabulous to read and then head on over to http://www.BasicMissionsLife.ning.com we are building an amazing playground over there and would love to hear your thoughts on gardening, single parenthood , mothering in general, healing, praying and eating.. basic life.. so join us and get into the basics again.

 Yesterday, as most of you know I had my monthly surgery. I had to think of how God works in my life so often each time I visit this doctor and realize that all things come together in the exact way that God had planned it to in the first place and maybe I have found the reason why. I have had such an extraordinary experience that only having Cancer would have brought. I would never say ever that cancer is a gift because it is far from that. Although if you tend to lean toward the idea that everything happens for a reason to bring you along on your spiritual path to enlightenment then Cancer has certainly done that for me. All my life as they say was working up to get me here. So this man who chose pain management as a profession could give me the ability to BE back and then help Duncan, my family and now a dear one close to my heart. I think back to when I entered his office broken, unable to walk, enormous from the steroids and on suicides door. I do not really know if I could have learned to live with the kind of pain I was in. He scrapped me up and we began it took three years to get all my parts working and meds adjusted and blocks identified but he fought for me and with me. Now he is helping Duncan and I both physically and mentally while aiding in Basic Missions. So today I woke swore a bit off sorts and rickety but I can walk seven miles with Saatchi if I had to and I can do what I need to and I am happy. I hope in three years he will have the same affect with his care plans on Duncan and my friend. So today I am proposing a practice in thanks. Giving thanks for all the big and small things we have been dealt in this world even the crap like Cancer because out of the void of the darkest nights of the soul comes light it starts as an idea a pin prick in the darkness and soon it is a star and soon it is the sun …. you become so radiant with love and joy from feeling gratitude that life as you once new it is gone it goes hand in hand with manifesting your destiny with intent. So thanks to everyone who has aided and will aid me with my recovery. You have been both my sounding board, inspiration, and motivation to do.BE ME.

Let’s all Take today to have a Wonderful Wednesday and be thankful for all our teacher the good and bad in our life. Bless them all and learn from them.

Blessings of  Love.

Callie Broussard-Wheeler

                                                                                 When I was a child I went to Catholic School. I loved going to Mass each morning. The Mass to me is a miracle. It is a Holy and reverent. It is a place of rigid attendance. It is a  time to connect with God. When Mass begins you  purify your soul from sin with prayer, then you praise God. Then you watch as a miracle happens: the simple communion wafer and wine is now being offered up to God and spiritually turned into the Body and Blood of Jesus; the Essence of the Living God. Then we all bow as we genuflect out of the pews and go up to the priest and accept a part of God into our living being. This ritual and miracle is a renewal of your being. A time where you know that you and God are now one. The priest will dismiss the Mass saying Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.

As you leave the mass you are quiet internally and externally! Even as little children we felt the majesty of what we were doing. In all cultures and religions devotees go and receive God in a ceremony or a practice in order to feel at one with God and that is a silencing of the human ego. I used the title today one because it is catchy and two because in the Mass the priest often refers to Jesus and the lamb of God. The sacrifice of God being made man only to die for our sins. I think that we need to begin to understand  what sin is and why we need to deal with it. Sin is basically any act of malice that will harm you or another. Period. That is easy enough. Sin removes you from the presence of God metaphorically because now your shame or anger or pettiness has replaced the peace and knowledge of your Inner place where God lives. The God that lives within you would never do or act in that way. So our ego wants us to believe that it’s fine dude, that God is just an idea Do what you want. No… we must not listen to that ego’s voice that removes us from our concentration on spending our day with God. I once knew a Nun Sister Teresa who taught us religion she talked to herself all day and chewed crackers while she was alone talking and walking. Well one day I asked her. Sister who are you talking to? And she said Callie I am talking to God if I am going to spend my day in service for him and in the delight that he is with me and I am allowed by some cosmic blessing to receive him into my soul each morning and evening at mass then I shouldn’t ignore Him all day. She had a very good point and when we sin we are ignoring our God/Self and listening to that little brat ego who needs to be in detention in and scraping gum off the bottoms of desks.

So why the religious send off send off today. First of all Basic Missions worships a magnificent God of all faiths and you will be given teaching in all religious dogma here and second this one fit today

. We need to silence ourselves silence the lambs within crying out for attention that do not deserve it. All the self pity, envy, jealousy, worthless thoughts that take up most of our time. I find that in the world today there is way to much talk and far to little prayer and quiet. We must learn to find a quiet place at the center of our soul that stays calm. Think of it this way. You have  ten screaming babies in a room what is the one thing that anchors that room pacifiers. The pacifier brings calm and peace to those babies who cannot  words yet to vocalize there discomfort.  We as humans need to find our pacifier our place of calm from which we can work through the world. I want you to take and visualize that God lives right in the middle of your mind or your heart. I feel best when I visualise God radiating right from the center of me. Then I want you to wake each morning and say hello acknowledge that He is there and pray, send in prayers of gratitude, love, joy and send in the dark fears as well. And here is where we silence the lambs. All of us have done thing that have hurt others or ourselves in some way. I want you to send those grievances inside to God and let him forgive and bless them. If you cannot silence those grievances they can and will sacrifice you on the alter of depression, PTSD, anxiety and sooner or later cancer. When you show God the deepest wrongs you have had done to you and the wrongs you have done to others: you must  know that he knows them all, God is infinite. The act of bringing them forward is for you. It allows you a ritual to forgive yourself and others and acknowledge that God is the energy in the work. He is the red bull behind the delivering those things to the void of non existence. Do this as often as you can. It is important to connect with God and Silence the Lamb’s because just like Jesus you have God within you and He only sent Jesus to die for the sins not you. You he wants: well, actually God begs you, to listen and accept his forgiveness. It is hard to do accept forgiveness.

The Zen Buddhist believe that in every organic growing living thing there are two forcing working toward the living and growth of the tree, person or dog even. Here is an example from one of thier texts.

   “An Oak Tree is brought into creation by two forces at the same time. The acorn that is the place from which it all begins, the seed which holds all the promise and potential the tree will have. But the second force here is the force we cannot see, the future of the tree itself. which wants so badly to exist that it pulls the acorn into being, drawing the seedling  forth with longing out of the void , guiding the evolution from nothingness to maturity. In this respect, say the Zen, it is the oak tree that creates the acorn from which it is born.

I know that seems like a lot to balance. But the thought being that you may not be living the life you want now but the dream of that other life can pull you through the hard times and help you build upon those dreams to make it all a reality. God wants us to have life and have it with abundance.  The dream itself is an act of faith and creation and it will draw out of the universe what you ask it to. 

So today is a two fold lesson first we must sanctify and pacify our inner ego, we must forgive and accept that we hold God within us. And honeybean whether you know it or not you do hold God with in you. He is an awesome force and will only come through if you invite him in. Once you do there is no turning back. Then we need to pray, praise, be thankful and bring our life in front of Him daily so that we can become as clean and open a channel for God to work through as possible. It is much harder to swim through mud than it is to swim through clean clear water. So we want to open our channels to the Divine and silence our petty lambs once you do you will see how small and inconsequential your fears and demons are that hold you back from your potential. This way you are  giving yourself the ability to dream yourself the life you want and manifest it out of the void. We are part of God and God is part of us it is time we acknowledge that. Take some time today find your safe pacifiying place and make peace with your mind. Allow God to be the co-creator of your dreams. It will be a great ride, God is funny, sarcastic, witty, brilliant, joyful, blissful, a little bawdy. He can bring you a life of unimagined joy. Just as the saying goes an unimagined life is not worth living that is because it is a reflection of a life not a real one. Get in the game and silence the lamb’s.

May the Peace of the Lord be with you Always.

Callie Broussard-Wheeler

P.S. And unexamined life is the normal saying I have changed the word because it fit.

Today has been a big day for me. The Ning network is up and I am once again a faulty student of computer science but I we will get there. Please go by and join BasicMissionsLife.ning.com we would love to have you there and participating start a group and get involved.

I began to think about Life when I was hanging my laundry that is afternoon. I love the way the air smells in the laundry and love the old time doing of it. It makes me smile. I love the motion of each pin holding up each towel or sheet. All of this made me look over at the clothes line and see that a lotus had shed his skin. Here in the South we have a myth that if that happens and I have found many this August then we are in for a hard winter and an early fall. Which is nice when winter is rarely ever really cold and the chill in the air makes you set a fire and cuddle up and read a book. Well then I began to think of my to do list. That list is as long as my arm. When I accomplish it I am so happy and tired. All this led me to the fact that I need some serious sleep. Last night I was the one up hourly hollering out in my sleep because my graft in my cancerous leg was hurting. I woke Duncan about every 45 minutes all night long. Today should have really been about sleep and rest and getting better. But no way that list was ticking away like the wind up clock I have next to my bed. I love old windup clocks and the fact that they need no electricity or anything to work although you do have to remember to wind them.  So was I living or not…. I was striving to succeed, to make a future, to make a living. But was I living. A long time ago when cancer entered my life I told myself I would be good to myself. Well when cancer entered my life it supercharged me into a person who needed to get these things done. So how do I reconcile the two Callie’s the one who is hurting and needs a rest and the one who has work. Truth time people… I don’t. I rest. I need to learn that. It is not acceptable to make life bigger and bigger if that life takes from you and doesn’t give to you. I know it may sound like a hippie mantra but when Duncan was actually owned by Singapore Aerospace I thought I would never allow that. Now  I am my own slave ship captain. If I continue on this way I will only activate this non-repsonsive cancer and then be up a creek without a paddle if I take it easier on myself and begin to moderate how much and how long I work I can work longer and do a better job and rest. The other night 9 months almost to the day we moved in I finally took my long bath. I took the new vogue into the bath and read it cover to cover and loved it. I ran hot water when the bath water got cold and I just wallowed in it. It was fabulous. I thought this is living. So I am challenging you and me to take ten to thirty minutes out of each day and wallow in something fabulous. Play in your own shoes, read a good book, color. Coloring can be an act of such supreme peacefulness you would be surprised it got me Thur chemo. But let’s put some living back into our life. I have noticed that Duncan is happiest working on the days he isn’t well he is grumpy and cannot get settled until the nighttime arrives and he is not suppose to be working. That is just all wrong. His body needs that rest he should do it happily. But we have lost that art of resting happily in this house. We need to stop filling the world up with more words more bitching and complaining words and begin to get silent and rest. Then when it is time to work we work. Not like your life is depending on it but as work. Slow and steady wins the race. Remember the turtle always wins.

Let’s take our lives back and do all the things we were taught in kindergarten let’s be kind to others, wash our hands often,  take a nap, do our homework, read our book, believe in fairy tales and walk in the grass in our bare-feet and play. All of it is living and we as a world have hit existing. That is not the idea. So take some time for you today.

Yes, I know your busy. I run three companies, write books and have clients, a husband and dogs to feed. We all have the same life. But we can all change too. The year is changing the season is changing and let’s make some changes for the better.

Live a little.

Callie Broussard-Wheeler

Hello Big World lots of Big news… Duncan has just written two new articles on that is fabulous on THE FLOW dedicated to Lorri and one on MS that could help anyone. Thanks and check us out ninging around…

Oh and I just got a wonderful surprise I had been working all day and just read Grace and Linus post on post.. Here we call it mail but I am in camp Grace on this one there is nothing lovlier than to get a letter a real letter not email or text. So take some time and read her post here.

Hello all. Just wanted to let you know that BasicMissionsLife.ning.com is now up and running a playground for the grounded and spiritual person. I hope this place to be a place where people come to share knowledge on life and hope for the future. If your healing drop by and share what works and what doesn’t and over the next week or so it will get much more professional and more BasicMissions like. I want you to know if you have a conversation to start just head over to forum and get started. I look forward to my vision of this space to open like a lotus flower and I look forward to learning from all of you. I cannot wait to see it turn into what is in my mind. So take a minute and come on over and join  this bodaciously bawdy community of worshipers of all things God, and let’s experience life together all of it the good the bad and the ugly and if you get a chance pay forward some of your blessings. I will have the community rules up no money is to ever be asked for or exchanged no ugliness and respect everyones journey. I hope you don’t judge and learn. So here we come ning on our shakey little legs like five year olds entering the classroom for the first time.

Help us grow. And get to know yourself a little. http:www.BasicMissionsLife.ning.com hugs Callie,Duncan,Grace, Linus and Saatchi and Bertie.

 This post is dedicated to Shannon my dearest friend who is both beautiful and talented who is strong and amazing who has so much talent and so much possibilites inside herself that she cannot even handle them sometimes. She is a seeker and a student and has star power that rivals anyone I have ever met that means a lot of real stars out there. She is amazing. I want her to recognize that today and make all things her life, love, dreams and space to be a perfect fit. I want God to enter into her life like Dumbledoor appariating into Hogwarts and realize that she has the ability to make, change, become or create any life she see’s fit the life of her dreams and she dreams big and lives by her own rules and I respect very few people as much as I respect Shannon. Love my friend. Well that is one hell of a statement to start off with but I love Monday’s for this reason. First they are new beginnings and second they give us wee humans a chance to take our limited brain useage and bump it up a notch. Mondays are open to anything, really they can suck like no bodies business or they can be the day that makes a new you. That is what we are concentrating on today.

I want to write up front that Grace and Duncan have given wonderful post today and the mp3 download that you should pay for is free and fabulous so download it and enjoy it. It is a Grace and Linus original and by the way it is trademarked here so you cannot sell it. You may share it but not selling if you do you will be sued. Grace so kindly shares with us we do not want to scalp her so send her prayers of love and healing and thanks today she is in Wales and that is a far piece of road and ocean from Alabama but I would love to be there to hugs her softly every morning and make her into the international superstar she should be. Duncan I can handle and am.. heeeheee.. books coming out and life proceeding as programed.

Ok. The idea of a new life appeals to so many. One of my dearest and most precious friend who has all the attributes of a star herself doesn’t see them. She see the bad and the confused or the settlement to pays out in life to live and is not happy. She needs to reboot and be specific. SO today we are going to learn to be specific if your dream is  to be a writer and you sit in meditation and prayer and work at teaching and volunteering and helping others achieve but you don’t ask with complete and utter confidence to God what it is you need and want why I ask you should God play along. Why should he give you a dream you have not had the cajones to ask for. He won’t so lets bring it up to the table of God let’s sit in our meditation pillow and practice our yoga tune our minds to God in gratitude then bow in supplication and give thanks for all we have. Now while you are on your knees bowing and praying I want you to ask and deliberately picture and be specific for what you want and need. Just make the prayer simple but the picture in your mind complete. God already knows what you want and need he is just waiting to see if you have the good sense to ask for it. If you do and do so diligently then the INTENTION will manifest. I swear if I say intention once a day I say it a thousand it should be tatooed on my head but not wanting that I will just keep talking. Now as you pray be grateful for the yes and no’s in life and be grateful for the abundance you life in.

Get up and begin your day. For years seekers of truth and God get up earlier to spend time with God before they start there day. This is serious and devout and as it should be. God being God he knows your wants but he wants to see if you know what you want.

So let’s take time  to allow God to change you life. And you need to take control of your heart and your happiness. In life we are taught that happiness is a state of being that descends on us like fog. Folks I am here to tell you happiness is a choice, a practice and a decision to live in a balanced state of mind and when that balance is knocked about you either fix the imbalance or remove the problem from your life. The first step in all things in admitting we don’t understand how all things work and maybe this hippie chic might know a thing or two about manifesting your life and intentional prayer and making happiness a choice since for the last twenty years she has lived a very difficult but always happy life battling illness of a husband, death and cancer daily. Now take a minute and if you didn’t read this today let tomorrow be the first day of the rest of your life. I have always been parital to all days that I find myself above groud and enjoying life. You see we need God to supply the grace in life to live through the difficult times and bring peace to all times and God needs us to play. God does not have hands or feet to splash in the ran or chase a dog he does that through his creations and why are so many of use making him live suffering because we choose it if for no other reason lets make a mantra today that we will do something to make God smile. He did not intend for us to live in such a constipated mindset. We need to dance, sing, and rejoice. Love ourselves and seek to love others. And pray, manifest and live in intention. We allow God to play on the monkey bars of life he allows us to have the universe as a playground we need to give God a break and ourselves one too.

Today as Grace has so brilliantly named it is mystical monday. SO hop to it. Embrace it and jump in the puddles and eat the chocolate(just a little) and bow in graditude to God for the life he will bring you if only you have the sense enough to ask for is then do your part in bringing it to you.

So today as Grace has so beautifully named it is mystical Monday so hop to it. Begin again. Make a dent in the dreams that are open to you. And remember the love of God and the power to make all things happen lies within you because God lies dormant within you until you open that door and invite him into your life to work magical things.

Okay. Oh and Oprah save me a spot on your network I haven;t worked out the whole idea yet but I’m a Coming. And my dearest friend who is unhappy be the next Hemingway or Joyce or an actor you are infinitely more talented than you know and go for it. Today is your day. I love you all. Especially Shannon, today. Blessings in gratitude for you.

Callie Broussard-Wheeler

Every day I come to this place and we teach one another to touch our greatness through communing with God. I have been thinking a lot about this subject today for three reasons. One Duncan is having me read the book by Elizabeth Gilbert called Eat  Love Pray to him before we go see the movie as is our habit. Two because I am a seeker and a teacher of spirituality. But  before I was a teacher I was a chef and I will always be a chef. That is number three by the way. And let me tell you the food in this book is driving me nuts. I have been on a raw food diet for years with treats here and there but for now all I want to do is bury my face  in a good boil of pasta and butter and cream sauce and some lucious procettia and eat. This book is making me food crazy. We eat for health here and we eat well but I am ready to go off the wagon for one illustrius night. We eat really well here. We eat healthy and we try to eat to heal and live, not to long ago though we ate for pleasure.  So here is the recipe as it would be cooked in Rome no muss no fuss fifteen minutes of work at the most and you will want to die this is so good. Heaven will have hit your lips. And please do not consider an evening out at the Macaroni Grill or Olive Garden when you can cook this and head out to the movie. For goodness sakes that is not even food! Sorry chains resturants.  Okay here is how we are going to present this recipe it is pretty straight forward that it is healthy I am going to give you the Italian way and then insert the health food version in underneath the original. Lets go…. this was our dinner tonight and I will attach a picture of the pie that was the Sunday Night treat. Dewberry Pie because the other night Duncan changed his mind and wanted Cherry. Et Voila!

Portabella Mushroom Stuffed with Polenta and topped with Tomatoes and Artichokes.

Now before I get started this is not and expensive recipe so don’t go there. It is basically grits rough cut and a mushroom a large one will feed two people and Some cheese and one tomato some oil and one can or Artichokes in water not oil.

So Two Portabella Mushrooms

before we start to cook take some olive oil and a little pepper sauce like out of peppachini peppers or vinegar and a little lemon and season highly garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne and pepper we want this mushroom to be steak like. Let that marinate while you throw the rest together.

Take one cup rough cut grits or polenta and four cups water. If these are polenta grits.. it takes more water if not less and season with salt add some butter and let cook until the water  is almost out and they are think but never clumpy. Put a cover on them and take them off the heat.

Take one tomato and the can of artichokes in water and saute in a small pan of a little butter and a little olive oil in Rome they use both. Butter makes the sauce velvety and olive oil adds the taste. Get that going  and let it bubble away on low.

Now you will need a tad of pesto and four pieces of good soft mozzarella cheese.

Take the Mushrooms and dump the marinating fluid into a cast iron grill pain turn on the broiler and pay attention you want to broil both side until tender but not catch your house on fire. This has olive oil in it so it could happen.

When you mushrooms are soft but not floppy take them out and then turn them cup side up. Spread a tad of pesto in it or season with a basil lead and some oregano then put one knob of the cheese and put one half cup of the polenta in the cup then put the tomatoes and artichokes that have been simmering on top and then the final knob of cheese. Voila. Now throw that back into the oven until the cheese on the bottom is brown the oven can be on about 400 but do not burn them all the ingrediants are soft and hot so they will help melt the cheese that is the point. Pull the wonderful masterpiece out of the oven and plate and devour. Boom Et Voila.

Now… if you want to have a healthy version.. use organic cheese or kefir or yogurt and do not add the butter sadly the olive oil will be good enough although it will lack that something that probley only I can taste and enjoy.

Now for the pie.  Pie is the easiest thing to make and once you do it you will never turn back.

Dewberries as many as you have maybe four cups

a handful of sugar or sweetener of your choice

a handful of flour

little knobs of butter to add to the filling

one teaspoon of vanilla for all pies but cherry there you use almond extract

mix and hold in a  bowl

Preheat the oven to 425

take two cup and one half cup of flour and put it into a food processor just plain flour

one teaspoon of salt and one of sugar

and spin that in the food processor to lighten it.

Now while the processor is running add the sticks of butter that you have cut into bits to the flour and don’t fret your processor may dance around a bit but it will live and then slowly add one half cup of water. You will probley not need the whole 1/2 cup of water so go slow when this pulls away from the sides and starts to make a ball the let it and stop with the water if not add the rest. Now if you dough is sticky big deal just add a little flour on the rolling board and you are golden.

Now. Take the flour out of the bag and throw it on your counter like you don’t care and roll the whole crust out it can make two crust but this is a rustic pie so we are not fussy we want delicious and to be honest I am a rustic food person not a pretty food person that shit drives me nuts.  Roll it out until it is two times as big as your pie pan. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and place into your pie tin. Oh make sure you  spray pam on it or grease it or you will have a mess.

Now dump the filling dab with the knobs or drops of butter what you are doing with the flour and sugar and butter is making a roux to thicken the juices no cornstarch please then  pull the edges over fold it on top of itself if you have to the crust is divine the best part so don’t scrimp. Also when the pie is done sprinkle with sugar. Put in the oven and cook on 400 turning the oven down until the crust is golden brown and the juices run thick it the middle.

Now morals and plain ethics absolutely cause me not to give you a healthy version of a pie. It is irreverant. Enjoy.

So Eat, Love and Pray and Enjoy Life is about all of them and sometimes we need to eat to enjoy it not for healing or higher purposes except to have some pleasure in our life. Tomorrow will come soon enough and we will be back on the path of eating for health and making your self well through food.

Bon Appetit!

Callie

Just a side note: My husband let me take a photo of  this pie before he cut it in half and is sitting happily watching True Blood on HBO devouring it. Tomorrow will be another pie because that is my life. But he is happy and I am Happy. I wish you all the happiness of Pie.