paravanes:meditations

 This is not a recipe, nor is it a cooking formula. Let's call it a cooking story with a "cooking frame" included. I have been a pretty regular fan and purchaser of the 16 bean mixture (sold dried) that I find at Kroger and other large grocery chains. I never use the "flavor packet" included--- what is a flavor packet other than a chemicalized concoction created by flavor chemists who are anonymous and unknowable? --but I think the beans are a good deal. I have had success soaking the beans overnight in my large stockpot. I have had success putting them in to soak early in the morning and cooking them for dinner that evening. I have had success storing the beans for a week in the refrigerator and using them in the following ways: 1) Tossed on top of brown rice, served with a spicy salsa, 2)  Folded into a dinner omelet, 3)  Eaten plain (in this case plain means cooked for an hour and a half in water, minced fresh garlic, minced fresh o...

After a short break from work, I chatted with a colleague upon returning to work and she told me about her " spring cleaning " activities right after Easter. What about the modern spiritual dimensions of  a spring cleaning ritual? What would this inner process of clearing and cleansing look like? What might we do beyond eating cleansing foods, drinking lots of clean water, or engaging in ritual deep breathing and prayer processes after Lent? I am working on clearing people and thoughts away from me that reflect something too old to use or learn from or no longer consistent with the person I am choosing to be. That is my major spring cleaning ritual this year. Of course, there are some covenant relationships I cannot simply walk away from. Even in those situations, I can choose and filter how I respond to how people behave towards me and towards their responsibilities. How do I clear away harmful people and processes? As a beginning, I will take to heart Jesus' advic...

  That wonderful old phrase about hindsight being 20-20 isn't just a way of warding off self-pitying comments about what could or should have been. There is a reason hindsight is often 20-20. We can benefit from recalling and remembering the near and distant past. I can benefit from remembering what God has done for me. I can benefit from remembering how others have (often unexpectedly) helped, guided, encouraged, or warned me away from bad places and unkind people. I can benefit from remembering how I have overcome my own fear, made an expression or leap of faith, or reached out and beyond myself. I can benefit from considering my personal growth through time and through my experiences. The value of 20-20 hindsight keeps me from getting caught in the tyranny of present circumstances. This is one reason why I journal regularly. My record of my own experience serves as a reminder of what I have dreamed, believed, acted upon, and enjoyed. Even when looking back upon choices ...