Have you ever been told something about yourself from a friend or family member that you instantly dismissed as untrue? But then you started thinking about it and were astonished to discover it was indeed true? Or have you ever discovered something about yourself that you hadn’t realized was a part of your true nature? Something like that just happened to me and I was a bit shocked.
I had my numerology chart done in a new class I’m starting that is set up to help me align my life and soul so I can lead my greatest life. This will be done through numerology and astrological charts, Tarot, soul healing and some other metaphysical endeavors. The first step is understanding my chart and what my numbers add up to. It was said under my life path number: ‘You tend to be very black and white, you are direct, you say what you mean and mean what you say.’ Now, the second part is absolutely spot-on, however I got caught up on the ‘you tend to be very black and white’ portion.
I have always considered myself a very ‘grey area’ sort of person. My beliefs are my own and they are definitely out of the black and white realm and much more of a purple haze. But then I started thinking about examples like UFOs; I’m a firm believer in other species of life elsewhere and here. Now to me that would be a grey area (no pun intended). However, one of my favorite TV shows is Ancient Aliens, where the point of the show is to take historical data and theories and attempt to explain them through the possibility of alien actions. So, am I truly looking at the grey, or am I trying to neatly separate it back into black and white so that I can understand it? I believe that is exactly what I do! My beliefs are very esoteric, but what do I do when I come across something that doesn’t lay neatly in my mind? I do my research so that I can put it in its rightful place of understanding. I was truly amazed at this self revelation, I had never thought about it like that before, but the more I did think, the more I knew it was true.
I did this when I was drawn to the Native American culture. I was told years ago that I was part Native American because my birth-mother told my father it was part of her heritage. I have never known my birth-mother so I latched onto this tiny bit of information and read books upon books about their spiritual culture. Yes, their spiritual culture, because that is always what I’m drawn to. But it wasn’t because I needed to put Native-American spirituality into its neat little box, I needed to put my birth-mother there and this was the only tie to her that I had that I could actually do something about. I should say here that it didn’t help me to understand my birth-mother, but it diverted me for a few years in thinking the harder thoughts about her. It also helped that I was adopted and was able to enjoy a mother and extended family that through the years put her farther away in my thoughts. Over time, I came to the conclusion that I only had one mother, and she did not birth me, she loved and raised me.
I think it’s important to keep an open mind about who we are, and continue to delve into exactly who that is and update our understanding of self to enable growth. We are continuously learning new things, being introduced to new ways of thinking, ideas are constantly being batted around. Every once in a while, we need to stop and look inward and ask ourselves ‘am I the same person I was a year ago? Have my beliefs changed? Have I changed? And if so, how?’ We need to take time to understand ourselves and that takes reflection. Our life journey is our most important adventure and it begins from within.
I have to explain the featured picture. I have decades worth of very old photographs from my great aunt that is from my birth-father’s side of my family. I adored my great aunt, and could not part with all her lovely family photos she so cherished. I have them in an old trunk (that was also hers) I use as a side table and go through them every once in while and find new treasures. I found this one and fell in love with it because of its realism. So many of the pictures that I have of hers from the late 1800’s are very stuffy and posed with no real emotion, unless you look very carefully. This one stood out for the character of the three ladies, who are all very different and enjoying their journey in their own way, heedless of those around them. That’s how life should be, lived as you want to live it without caring who is watching.
Until next time, allow yourself to discover new aspects about your true nature and embrace them.
Recipe of the Day: Butternut Squash Pasta
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of 1/2 inch diced butternut squash (take skin off, don’t use portion with seeds, probably two small squash or one very large one)
- 2 large or 4 small shallots thinly sliced
- 1 cup of chopped Crimini (baby Portabella) mushrooms
- 3 Tablespoons of fresh chopped sage
- 4 garlic cloves chopped very small
- 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth
- 1/2 pound of penne pasta
- 2 Tablespoons cup of fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup of sliced almonds
- 4 TBS of butter
- Parmesan Cheese (freshly shaved or grated)
- Salt/Pepper (I use lemon pepper)/Cumin to taste
- 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Cleaning / Cutting the Butternut Squash (picture below just in case you’ve never had it before)
-Use only the portion without the seeds, which will always be in the larger portion of the squash
-It is VERY difficult to peel the squash, it’s better to cut in half then cut the skin off on the sides
-Cut lengthwise into long pieces then chop those into 1/2 inch cubes
Cooking Instructions
-Clean the squash, cut the onions, chop the sage, chop the mushrooms and grate the Parmesan cheese
-Put a pot of water on to boil (add a good tablespoon of salt when it comes to a boil, otherwise your pasta will taste like your pot)
-In a large skillet ad olive oil and heat on medium heat (I use a cast iron skillet, but that’s just me any skillet will do)
-Add your squash and add equal portions of salt/lemon pepper/cumin (about 2 TSP each) Stir until the seasoning is incorporated
-Fry the squash on medium heat, stirring occasionally until it is browned (about 15 minutes)
-Once the squash is browned add the shallots, mushrooms, garlic and sage with 2 TBS of butter and cook until shallots are wilted (about 5 minutes)
-When shallots are cooked through add in the chicken broth and other 2 TBS of butter and cook on medium (bubbling, but not boiling) until sauce is reduced to a nice consistency (about 10 minutes)
-After you’ve put in your chicken broth in the squash mixture, put your penne pasta in your water, this should be done very close to when the sauce is done
-When the pasta is done, add to the squash mixture with a slotted spoon directly from the pot of water (be sure to let the water drain from the slotted spoon before transferring to mixture)
-Stir the pasta into the squash mixture adding the lemon juice and almonds. If it needs a little more sauce (it seems a bit dry) add some pasta water to it.
-At the end, add Parmesan cheese.
On the Plate
