Back To School With Crunchy Granola

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Time For Back To School

The dog days of summer are slipping behind us, but the cooler days of autumn have yet to return. Hot summer days linger in every corner, air conditioners hum at full force. 

We tumble down the slippery slopes of summer into fall as we prepare for back to school. We're anxious to wear our new fall clothes, but it's still too hot for wool plaid skirts and saddle shoes.

Time to organize our books, bags and school lunches.

The office supply store beckons. The thrill of the search for pencils, pens and notebooks calls to us.

Surely we need  another notebook. Especially a pretty one like this. Maybe this one over here is more functional. Oooh, look at this pretty paper.

La Rentrée

In France, it's called la Rentrée, (the return, beginning of the school year). The French return home from their August month of vacation and re-enter their work-a-day lives. Children head back to school.

Paris is notoriously empty during August as everyone skedaddles to their favorite vacation spot. I like the expression, la Rentrée, because it embraces everyone getting back into the saddle of work, school, and daily life.

Back to school in the U.S. specifically targets students starting school again, but in truth, we're all caught up in it as we buckle down to another work year.

Getting to work takes longer as traffic increases with children shuttled to school. Waiting behind the school bus, we dream of the summer vacations that are behind us.

Organizing Meals For Back To School

Wholesome, homemade food sustains us in our busy endeavors. King Arthur Flour offers a wonderful recipe for Crunchy Granola. Sweetened with maple syrup, it makes a tasty, healthy breakfast with yogurt and fruit. It's also a mid-day treat, just as it is, for snacking. Pack some in a small container to add to a lunch box.

I'd been meaning to make my own granola for awhile. I can report without hesitation that this recipe is delicious.

Here's a photo of granola on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper, ready for the oven. If you're making the full recipe, you'll need two half sheet pans. A full recipe makes approximately 18 cups.

Oven temperature is set for 250º F (120º C). The low heat and slow cook seal in the flavors and help protect it from burning. I cooked mine a bit longer than the 90 minutes to ensure the granola was crunchy.

Homemade Granola For Back To School

The freshness of the granola was delightful. Made at home, you can't get any fresher than that. It's easy to gather all the ingredients and what's left over can be saved in the refrigerator or freezer (such as nuts, wheat germ) for future batches.

I added currants to this batch of granola. The tiny bites of sweetness tuck in nicely with the crunchy nuts. I also chopped up some white raisins to help them blend in. The real maple syrup is a splurge that's well worth it. 

I stuck with the sliced almonds, as suggested, because larger almonds could be too crunchy. Since I had walnuts on hand, they were also chopped up with the pecans.

“Chaque rentrée, c’est la même chose. On a, à la fois, trop peur et trop hâte de se retrouver.”
— from the movie, LOL
 
“For each return back to school, it’s the same thing. We are, simultaneously, too scared and too eager to see each other again.”
— translation
 

Enjoy your homemade granola. Here's to a new cycle of learning as we head back to school.

Northern California Pirate Festival

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A Pirate Festival Calls Our Name

Arrgggh, me matey, 'tis time to weigh anchor and sail into Vallejo, California.

We be joining a motley crew of pirates, swashbucklers and buccaneers. There be officers of the Royal Navy who claim to keep order 'round here and barmaids to keep us all happy with a bit of brew. We be going back in time to the high seas of piracy.

It's the Northern California Pirate Festival.

Northern California Pirate Festival

Arrgggh, me pirate matey, 'tis time fer a pirate gathering in the port of Vallejo.

Aye, ye be hearin' right. This gathering celebrates all things pirate and is an annual event in June.

This festival purports to be the largest pirate celebration in the country and 2015 marked their 9th year. Like any festival of this nature, there are food booths, shops and wares, music and entertainment and just plain relaxing. Here's my own little video.

Vallejo is an ideal venue for this event. Participants, excuse me, pirates benefit from the bay breeze that blows off the water. It cools many a pirate's brow as he lifts his tricorner hat. 

Join The Pirate Fun

If you're a fun-loving pirate who likes a good sword fight and to say argghhh, this is the place to be. You'll only feel out of place if you don't have anything of a pirate-nature hanging off of you.

Costume shops in town sell an inexpensive packaged pirate outfit like the one I bought some time back. I saw my outfit walking around on children and dads of all sizes. In this first picture you'll see me in the packaged costume. (The extras such as hat, belt, pistol and belaying pin are additional purchases.)

The downside of a mass-produced, lower-cost outfit is synthetic polyester material. Not particularly healthy to wear and it certainly doesn't breathe when you're baking under a Californian summer sun.

Prepare Ye To Don Pirate's Clothing

You arrived without a pirate outfit? Fear not. There are vendors on the premises happy to deck you out in period clothing, albeit for a pretty farthing. 

Thanks to the plethora of vendors and booths, I updated my pirate outfit this year with a 100% cotton shirt and a gorgeous Hunter's vest. I also exchanged imitation gauntlets for leather ones.

While some complain that shopping makes the event too commercial, I find it convenient and helpful. I can't imagine it's easy to find high quality gauntlets at our local Target. 

Pirates And History

We're not talking only pirates here. The time period is the 1700s. Let's not forget those who chased after the pirates too. Members of the British Royal Navy delight us with their handsome uniforms; ladies of pleasure welcome one and all.

Costumes For Everyone

Speaking of ladies of pleasure: one thing you have to prepare yourself for is the sight of "heaving bosoms" as they are called in period writing. Some may think this is great, others not so much. Many costumes are historically accurate, including the bosom lifting corsets and laces. 

The Beginning Of My Pirate Tales

How did I even get involved in pirate fun? Check out this post Talk Like A Pirate Day where I detail the beginning of my slide into the life of a pirate. It all started innocently enough when I worked at a hospital that celebrated this illustrious day.

You may be asking what does a Pirate Festival and a meditator have in common? It's all about taking the light with you wherever you go and whatever you do.

As I say in another post, "Aye, even a pirate can meditate."

It is all about harmless fun and dancing and learning about this period of history.

Set Sails For Adventure

For those who share the love (or at least the idea) of the sea and swashbuckling, the Pirate Festival is like coming home, settling in where you belong amongst your mates.

Slip back in time and sharpen up yer sword skills.

We Sail At Dawn

Arrrgggh, me fine salty dog, will ye be joinin' me and me mateys as we stroll the fine decks of our mighty, glorious ships?

What say ye?

Permission to board is granted.

Set sails for adventure!

Time Travel – Get Ready, Get Set, Go

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Time Travel And Romance

Meandering about on Twitter, I stumbled across a review of romance time travel novels. Time travel and romance?

Romance time travel writers have an interesting conundrum.

Can someone remain in the past? Is it possible for someone to stay in the future and cope with all the changes?

How do you address the languages? Health practices? Foods?

Not For The Faint Of Heart

Time travel makes for an intriguing read of fiction. I'd love to time travel, romance or not. I'd be content to be a will-of-the-wisp, a ghost-like figure that floated around to witness events. But even more, I'd like to jump back into the thick of things.

World history weaves a colorful time tapestry. European history dances across these intricately woven threads. Patterns emerge of emotions and thoughts, architecture, valor and despair. 

I want to know more, up close and personal.

We read about castles that no longer exist, then we're shown drawings of how we imagine they appeared. But, I want to see and feel them, not imagine them.

I want to experience the bustle of people in the castle courtyards and look up and see guards on the ramparts.

Details Of The Past

I want to...

  • hear the roar of laughter of people in taverns, and the clanking of blacksmiths at the forge,

  • smell the loam of the fields at early dawn, and feel the earthen footpaths beneath my feet,

  • savor freshly-made apple cider, and nibble warm hot-cross buns straight out of brick ovens,

  • feel dancing breezes as they ruffle my hair, and swoon to the fragrant scent of ripening fields,

  • wander in the thick underbrush of wild forests, and listen to howling wolves who thrived long before they were beaten back by modern sprawl.

 

At least, that's what I tell myself.

When we launch into the fourth dimension of time travel and head too far into the past, I crash-land into my suspension of disbelief.

Time Travel Is Fraught With Danger

If we dropped into the medieval period, we would be hard pressed to understand anything the locals said. Europe was a vast, untamed wilderness dotted with small villages, each with their own dialect.

How would we explain where we are from? The definition of a foreigner was anyone not from their own town. Even someone from a nearby village was viewed with great suspicion.

How strange do you think we would sound to them?

So strange, I dare say, that we could easily end up stoned to death as a witch. That could put a damper on the fun.

Vaccines, Sanitation And Medications

When you travel back in time, do your vaccinations from today still protect you? That would be handy in the face of smallpox or polio. My heart aches every time I consider that Louis XV suffered a vile death, all for want of a smallpox vaccine.

Let's say your vaccines protect you – if should you choose to stay in the past, the days of your life would be shortened, realistically, by about 30 years. The average life span in 1900 was age 45.

Our modern lifespans are epxanded due to vaccinations, antibiotics and sanitation.

What if you get hurt and the wound becomes infected? Today, it is easily treated with antibiotics. Back then, it could rapidly transform into a raging systemic infection; time to write your obituary.

The heart attacks and strokes that zipped us off the planet in a hurry are now held at bay with blood pressure medications, stents, and heart valve replacements.

Important note: don't have a baby while time traveling. Women and infants commonly died in childbirth. This was accepted as one of the facts of life, par for the course.

During the time of Louis IX (1200s), an infant was rushed to baptism immediately after birth, even without the mother who was still recovering. Infant mortality rate was so high, they wanted to ensure the child had a place in heaven.

Our Films Depict The Past, They Lie

We have a wealth of movies depicting many time periods. Movie stars, with their flawless skin and perfect sets of teeth, all take turns enacting historical figures. Our movie-camera techniques are advanced enough that even a glaring pimple is artfully erased from a starlet's face.

In the past, we looked nothing like our cinema stars of today.

In the French court, both men and women wore heavy, white, lead makeup with garish red spots for rouge. For sex-appeal today, they are seldom portrayed in the true makeup of the time. (See the movie cover above depicting the French King, Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour without period make-up.)

People didn't bathe often or wash their faces. Many layers of caked makeup accumulated. The lead and mercury in makeup foundations took its toll on everyone's health as it slowly poisoned them.

Health Issues And Smelling The Past

Another thing about our movies – we can't smell the past.

Could our modern day sensibilities handle the chamber pots filled with excrement tossed into the streets each morning?

Could we stomach the bodily odors from people who bathed only twice a year?

Imagine trying to set a broken bone without the benefit of an ultrasound for alignment. Surgical pins placed in bones did not exist and shattered bones may not be set at all, leaving you lame and crippled.

The teeth you were born with were the teeth you got. Crooked? Just be thankful you have them. Without good dental hygiene, teeth rotted, fell out and were never replaced.

Of course, we don't want to watch movies with dirty, toothless actors who are disfigured and crippled. So our main characters act out their roles blemish-free with clean, coiffed hair and gleaming, capped teeth.

The Radiance Technique® And Time Travel

Students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) are able to connect with history as well as individuals from the past.  Those who have studied The Second Degree of The Radiance Technique® are able to direct universal energy across time and space through a specific technique they are taught in their course. The events of history do not change, but supportive energy is made available.

For students of The First Degree of The Radiance Technique®, apply TRT® hands-on while studying historical events. With TRT® hands-on, you support healing and balancing of your feelings and attitudes regarding historical events. You become more aware of the people and their situations.

I know I don't want to be in any century – past, present or future – without TRT®.

Reality Versus Magic

Oh, reality, you knave. How you destroy my suspension of disbelief.

This messy state of human life, that we call reality, threatens to derail my fanciful flight across time. We talk of the possibility of time travel which, in and of itself, is magical and can surely overcome any complications.

The romance time travel authors are a brave lot. Or foolhardy, some might say.

How many of these details do they skip over? How many do they address? Despite all the challenges, I hope they keep writing as we all benefit from a little magic in our lives.

It's probably obvious that I work in the medical field. Yet, with all my misgivings, I'm ready to time travel.

Time Travel With A Few Conditions

Okay, let's go!

Back in time!

Um, as long as I can return when I want.

And, I want to be assured that I'll be able to speak and understand the native languages.

And, I'd like to take a few medications with me.

And, well, maybe I could pack a reference book or two to help me out with historical details.

Time Travel Portal

Do you have a preference for which time portal you'd like to use?

A police box whirling through the cosmos? An empty arch waiting on a deserted planet?

When and where would you like to go?

Wassailing, Old Tradition Made New

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Wassailing – Traditions Then And Now

What a busy time of year. Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, Yuletide, St. Nicolas, Santa Claus, Wassailing...

Hold on a quick New York second. Wassailing? That goofy word that no one knows how to pronounce; that's in an obscure Christmas carol that no one sings, because no one knows what it is?

Yes. That's the one.

Wassailing – Wassail.

The wonder of languages. The words "Wassailing – Wassail" are inspiring. Who amongst us gets the chance to say "wassail" often enough?

For the delight of a linguistics person, wassail is a noun, a verb, and even a salutation. It doesn't get better than that.

Wordsmith has this to share:

WASSAIL

PRONUNCIATION: (WAHS-uhl, wah-SAYL)

MEANING: Verb transitive: To toast.
Verb intransitive: To go from house to house singing carols at Christmas.
Noun:  1. A toast to someone's health.
2. A festivity with much drinking.
3. A drink for toasting, especially spiced ale.
4. The singing of Christmas carols going from house to house.

ETYMOLOGY: The word Wassail is thought to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon toast Wæs þu hæl – or "be thou hale" (healthy). Earliest documented use: 1275. The Anglo-Saxon derived from Old Norse ves heill – or "be well" in which case, wassailing likely predates the Norman conquest in 1066.

It was a Saxon custom that, at the start of each year, the lord of the manor would shout "waes hael." The assembled crowd would reply "drinc hael" - meaning "drink and be healthy." 

What Is Wassailing?

Wassailing has been associated with both Christmas and New Year's celebrations. It was a way of passing on good wishes among family and friends. It was also an ancient ceremony that involved singing and drinking to the health of trees.

Wikipedia informs us:

“The tradition of wassailing falls into two distinct categories: The House-Visiting wassail and the Orchard-Visiting wassail. The House-Visiting wassail, caroling by another name, is the practice of people going door-to-door singing Christmas carols.

The Orchard-Visiting wassail refers to the ancient custom of visiting orchards in cider-producing regions of England, reciting incantations and singing to the trees to promote a good harvest for the coming year.”
 

The Herefordshire Times states:

“Steeped in history, wassailing is traditionally held on the Twelfth Night after Christmas and performed in orchards to awaken the apple trees from their winter slumber and ward off bad spirits.”
 

Trees are precious and they deserve some much-needed recognition. We are more than happy to gather 'round and dance and toast to their health.

It also shows how we used to be more connected to nature and cognizant of our foods and from whence they came. Somehow going into the supermarket and singing to the produce aisles to ensure full shelves for next year doesn’t have the same appeal.

The Beverley Guardian tells us in their article Days Lengthen, Cold Strengthens:

“Wassailing used to be carried out throughout England with other trees such as pear, plum, or cobnut. Cows and oxen used to be wassailed too for the same reason, to bring luck and encourage good health in the coming year.”
 

Wassailing may have continued for some die-hards in our beloved merry ol' England, but for the rest of us across the pond, it didn't get much press. Until now.

Wassailing is making a comeback. More and more, people are including a wassail drink or a wassailing festival for the trees in their celebrations.

A Wassailing Song

The Wassail Song of today is a traditional English Christmas carol.

For our musicians: the verses are in 6/8 time which bounces us along; then the chorus steps in, as smooth as glass, when it switches to 2/2 time. This contrast provides captivating musical interest.

The image above is an example of the printed sheet music.

In 1902 Elder and Shepard published a series of six Christmas carols on single sheets (one of them, The Wassail Song, pictured above). The artwork is by Harold M. Sichel, who was one of Elder’s favorite art contributors.

Of particular interest in the printing is the choice of font that uses the sharp S for the double "ss" as well as the older "s." The scharfes S "ß" (sharp S) is commonly used in German, however, it's also possible to see a long-s short-s ligature (ß) in English texts from the 15th and 16th centuries. Here, it makes for a nice antique effect.

Here We Come A-Wassailing

For an intricate version of the song with rich harmonies, we have The King's Singers from their album, A Little Christmas Music. Be sure to take a listen.

Bring TRT® To Your Festivities

Students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) can use this supportive technique with all their traditions and holiday activities. Use of TRT® hands-on while participating in events brings greater Light to your celebrations and expands the qualities of loving.

You can use TRT® hands-on while studying history. It helps provide a sense of the deeper energies of those times.

The Wassail Drink

To have a proper Wassail event, you need to have a Wassail drink.

In days of yore, you'd find an ale-based drink flavored with spices and honey. 

Ancient Wassail also had cream and egg whites beaten into it, making for a curdling or frothing that looked like the white wool of a lamb. Hence, it also came to be known as Lambswool – a mixture of hot ale, spices, sugar, breadcrumbs and roasted apples into which beaten eggs and cream were stirred.

To our ancestors, Lambswool was quite delectable. It could be argued it is the grandfather of our modern eggnog.

Today, however, our modern tastebuds tend not to favor warm beer. And your guests may start packing to leave if you serve them a curdled drink.

Wassail Drink Recipes

A plethora of Wassail recipe choices await you on the internet. You can find Wassails that are non-alcoholic, spiked, some that more closely resemble mulled wine than Wassail and others that stay true to the apple cider base.

Here is one recipe with warmed beer, Traditional Wassail Recipe, and another Wassail recipe that includes the eggs.

Yet another Wassail brew has Calvados as an ingredient. A specialty from Normandy, France, Calvados is an authentic apple brandy.

If you can't find Calvados, you could substitute any quality brandy. In truth, tossing an expensive Calvados in a mixture of several juices is a bit extravagant; you may wish to reserve it for more purist libations.

The Wassail Bowl. by John Gilbert, 1860.

Make Wassailing a Part of Your Traditions

The nice thing about Wassail is that it's not emphatically tied down to a specific date or even whether it is Christmas or New Year's – whichever timing works for you.

Or why not plan for both timings – Christmas for the caroling and January as a pick-me-up after the rush of the holidays? January is a nice time to sing to the trees.

Turn the old tradition of Wassailing into a new one for your family and friends. We should hear a lot more Waes hael and Drinc hael being shouted out around us.

A tradition has to start somewhere, and like they say, there's no time like the present.

Waes Hael – Good Health !

 

Saint Nicolas Has A Story To Tell

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Who Is Saint Nicolas?

While living in Europe and spending time in France, I made a discovery. There was a flurry of activity associated with the date of 06 December and Saint Nicolas.

But, wait a minute. What was Saint Nick doing here instead of his usual haunt of 25 December for Christmas?

Saint Nicolas And Santa Claus

Naturally, I've known our modern-day American Santa Claus all my life, but I wasn't raised Catholic. I was unaware of Saint Nicolas, the saint, per se. .

Time for sleuthing. Off I launched on the trail. Saint Nicolas was actually a real person born in Greece and a remarkable 4th-century Christian saint who lived a long time ago from 15 March 270 to 06 December 343.

 
“In 325, he was one of many bishops to answer the request of Constantine and appear at the First Council of Nicaea. Nicolas was a staunch defender of the Orthodox Christian position, and one of the bishops who signed the Nicene Creed.”
 

The story of Saint Nicolas has a bit more flavor than our present-day Santa Claus. Finding the connection between Santa and Saint helped to explain how he came to have his nickname of Saint Nick.

The Story Of Saint Nicolas

If you spend any time looking at original fairy tales and at The Brothers Grimm, pre-Disney, you will find harsh renditions of these tales. Violent endings were commonplace and wickedness was, without apologies, very wicked.

Exploring these harsh-reality versions is fascinating and a peek back into time. My first taste of this was reading The Little Matchstick Girl, published in 1845 by Hans Christian Andersen. She died on New Year's Eve, sitting on the sidewalk, leaning against a building, frozen to death. The next morning, people walked by in their warm coats and gloves and scarcely gave notice. Life was as hard as nails in those days.

True to the storytelling of that time, probably the most important miracle of Saint Nicolas recounts a gruesome tale of a butcher who lured three angelic (naturally) children into his home. It was dark and they were lost after a day of gathering sticks in the forest.

The butcher happily welcomed them. He then proceeded to chop them all up, as only a butcher can, and store them in a big bin. Presumably for midnight snacks or to sell the meat to the unsuspecting villagers.

You can see their little shoes lined up after he has killed them in this illustration. Egads!

In the story of Saint Nicolas, the butcher chops up the children

The Miracles Of Saint Nicolas

Now, Saint Nicolas is one awesome saint. I mean, it's one thing to bring an intact dead body back to life. But to reassemble chopped up bits and bring all three children back to life is a top-of-the-line saint by anyone's standards.

And, that is just what he did.

He visited the village and stopped by the butcher's house. When the butcher offered him other meats, Saint Nicolas said, "No, I want what is in that bin!" He pointed three fingers and out came the revived children.

In the story of Saint Nicolas, he saves the three children

Penance For The Wicked Butcher

Don't think the butcher got away with it.

When the butcher begged for mercy, Saint Nicolas pardoned him, but on the condition that the now-repentant butcher would travel with him throughout the land as penance.

The butcher is known as Père Fouettard. Fouettard comes from the word for whip in French. Père Fouettard is usually dressed in black or dark clothes and he carries a switch to whip all the bad children.

Saint Nicolas brings treats for the good children.

Père Fouettard travels with Saint Nicolas with switches to whip all the bad children

Celebrating Saint Nicolas Day

Saint Nicolas Day is celebrated mostly in the northern parts of Europe as well as in Russia. Children place their sabots, wooden shoes, by the door or near the fireplace for Saint Nicolas to fill them with little treats.

However, instead of a sleigh pulled by reindeer, Saint Nicolas travels with a humble donkey. Along with their wooden shoes, children usually leave out a carrot or two as a tasty treat for their four-footed friend.

Saint Nicolas is often depicted walking with his donkey and Père Fouettard following behind, carrying his switches.

Just as our American Santa Claus will don an outfit and visit children, so too, will Saint Nicolas and Père Fouettard. French adults recount the visceral fear they felt as little children when Père Fouettard would visit their schools and villages. Well, with good reason... chopped up into bits would terrorize anyone.

In France, there is also Père Noël (Father Christmas) who appears on Christmas Eve, like our Santa Claus. They celebrate the day of Saint Nicolas and Père Noël also visits them with goodies for Christmas Eve, so they luck out twice in December.

The story of Saint Nicolas

Saint Nicolas – Patron Saint

Saint Nicolas is quite the active patron saint. After his amazing feat of bringing three children back to life, he is the patron saint for all lost children.

He is also the patron saint for sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, pawnbrokers and students in various cities and countries around Europe.

Lighting Our Legends

Students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) can use TRT® hands-on to become more in touch with their own awareness about the story. When studying history, your use of TRT® can put you more in touch with events. If you wish to go deeper, tales such as these are symbolic of energies of good and evil and even our own journey within.

Wooden shoes are placed in front of the fire for the Feast Day of Saint Nicolas

December 6 – Feast Day Of Saint Nicolas

What about you? Will you be leaving out your wooden shoes on the 6th of December for Saint Nicolas?

I know I will. Luckily, I was able to pick up some wooden shoes when I lived in Germany. I just hope he can find me now, in the United States, far from his usual stomping grounds of Northern Europe.

Fortunately, the connections of the heart know no boundaries or distance. We'll be sure to find each other there.

Have a wonderful Saint Nicolas Day.

 

Cinderella, Kindness And Magic

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Cinderella

Cinderella, the Disney movie, is coming in March 2015. Watching the promos, I cannot wait. The movie trailer made me a little teary-eyed.

Really. I even surprised myself.

Just look at this glass slipper. And I don't even like heels!

However, the Fairy Godmother tells Cinderella, "You'll find they're really comfortable." Frankly, I never argue with a Fairy Godmother.

I felt like I was 15 years old again. Magical possibilities and right-overcoming-wrong made my heart soar. This Disney movie trailer has all the right effects of swelling music and sparkling magic combined with a timeless story.

The Disney Movie Trailer For Cinderella


Chosen For The Part Of Cinderella

As I watched the video trailer, I found myself thinking, gosh, Cinderella seems so familiar. Who is that young lady? Even her voice seemed familiar. Wait, wait, don't tell me...

Oh, of course, beautiful Rose from our beloved Downton Abbey. British accent and all. What a perfect choice for this Cinderella movie.

What a thrill it must have been for her to be chosen for the part. Can you imagine it? Getting the call that said, "Yes, you've been selected among thousands to play the part of Cinderella."

Lady Rose, Lily James the actress, aka Cinderella, gracefully and delightfully evokes a sense of youthful awe and magic. I find myself believing, if only for a moment – "it could happen" – that wonderful suspension of disbelief.

Kindness, Goodness And Magic

I love the emphasis on kindness in this movie. We could all use a lot more kindness in the world. Even the Dalai Lama XIV talks about it in this quote:

Be kind whenever possible.  It is always possible.

Cinderella's mother shares with her a secret - "have courage and be kind" - which is wonderful advice for all of us. I, for one, would like to see kindness "win" more often.

I'm not particularly disposed to the idea of a Prince Charming coming to save me, in any literal sense, but I can certainly enjoy a story about it. These fairy tales are a part of my growing up.

Fairy Tales And Archetype

Fairy tales are universally appealing. They are old stories that have been handed down across the centuries and are told over and over again.  Fairy tales have archetypal energies that speak to something universal within us.

Good wins over evil; right succeeds after being wrongly treated. Having these energies enacted right in front of us appeals to our collective subconscious.

In literature, an archetype is a typical character, an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature.

Carl Jung, Swiss psychologist, argued that the root of an archetype is in the “collective unconscious” of mankind. The phrase “collective unconscious” refers to experiences shared by a race or culture. This includes love, religion, death, birth, life, struggle, survival etc. These experiences exist in the subconscious of every individual and are recreated in literary works or in other forms of art.

Story telling is an important part of who we are. The stories comfort and entertain us and we bond together by sharing a common story line, nodding in agreement over the plot and outcome.

Even the highly commercialized Disney empire, keeper of fairy tales during the past century, has scored “direct visceral hits” with films that have captured the “power and the melodrama of the stories in their original form." -Maria Tartar

Photo of Cinderella dressed in her ballgown to go the ball. Image from Disney poster for the movie.

Cinderella goes to the ball. 

Applying Universal Energy To Archetypal Energies

Students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®), can direct energy to parts of the story that personally resonate for them. Every topic is touched on in Cinderella – the death of a family member, ideas of right and wrong, the downtrodden, love and redemption. Watching the movie while applying TRT® hands-on is a great way to stay centered and aware.

Maybe you have little ones who have to see the movie. TRT® hands-on during the movie is a great time to catch up on a little extra energy for you.

Relax And Enjoy The Show

Of course, it's also possible to enjoy the show and not worry about archetype or any other deeper meaning.  I like to sit back and use my TRT® hands-on to enhance relaxation and enjoyment of the movie.

As for me, I also have a small, magical ability to tell the future. I predict we will be seeing a lot of little girls in Cinderella costumes next Halloween.

 

The Berlin Wall Falls, Dreams Are Rebuilt

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The Berlin Wall Falls Down

It's November 1989.

The Berlin Wall, built in 1961, came down.

Ripped down by the people.

The Berlin Wall comes down - East German soldiers look on 

I remember the day well, reading about it in The New York Times as I rode my commuter bus into work in the financial district of San Francisco. I was utterly amazed.

If you had asked me back then, in the 1980s, if I thought The Wall would come down, I would have answered, "Yes, someday, but not in my lifetime."

And then, there I was, in my lifetime, with a fallen wall.

You see, it seemed for my whole life, I'd only known of that Wall being up.

 

West Berlin, East Berlin

I visited West Berlin and that Berlin Wall when I traveled to Northern Europe in the winter of 1983.

I know, that's a crazy time of year to go, but that was our only downtime when I was singing with the San Francisco Opera Company. It was the break between performance seasons, before the next round of rehearsals that would begin in April.

My journey into West Berlin came by a round-about-way – from Moscow on the train. I had stayed 10 days in the Soviet Union (not Russia in those days) and was coming back out from behind the Iron Curtain.

(It's funny, because now we easily and simply say "Berlin" – but, back then, it was clearly either West Berlin or East Berlin. A single Berlin did not exist.)

Below is the Ampelmännchen – pedesterian stop signal used in East Berlin.

Stop! East And West Cannot Meet

I stayed in a modest pension, run by a quiet man in his mid-40s. He served us soft boiled eggs in ceramic egg cups at breakfast. I got to talking with him and he disclosed that his mother lived on the other side of The Wall. He had not seen her in over 20 years. This was not a time of easy-access home computers, FaceTime or Skype internet telephone calls.

He could not go to the East; she could not come to the West. That is, not until she retired. Then she could go to the West and stay there, thank-you-very-much, so the East would not have to pay for her retirement. He described the situation with such sadness.

When The Wall fell, six years later, I directed radiant energy to my hotel man and his mother, hoping that they were happily reunited. I didn't have his name or address anymore.

After The Berlin Wall, Reunification

Even though it was fiercely desired, reunification was no easy feat. A lot of history had to be reconciled and East and West differences in thinking and attitude had to mend. No longer would manufactured goods say made in West Germany on the bottom – only Germany existed now (and again).

Granted, I speak as an outsider. I am not German, only German heritage. But, while The Wall was up, my German friends confided with me how they experienced a deep, dividing schism in the psyche of the German people. They often spoke about the need for enormous healing for Germans from both sides.

25 years later, long, good strides of healing have been accomplished. Isn't it interesting that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is originally from East Germany?

They said it would take at least one generation to fully reintegrate East and West in spirit, some said it would take two. We've passed one generation now.

I recommend taking a look at this article by Spiegel Online, with its wonderful gallery of photos showing the same place before and after The Wall.

Do you remember The Berlin Wall falling down?