Charmed Life Blog

I have a new blog ...

2009-02-13T12:54:00.004-05:00

Hi, and thanks for finding me here ...

Because even the blogosphere is subject to the 24-hour day, I can no longer do this blog since I have a new one on Beliefnet.com. I would be tickled pink if you'd visit there -- http://blog.beliefnet.com/yourcharmedlife.

If you like what you see (some of my favorite posts are "Angels Unawares" and "Victoria's Victorious Bailout Plan"), you can subscribe by pressing the "subscribe" button on the right. Or, to subscribe to both the blog and my monthly newsletter, "The Charmed Monday Minute," just go to www.victoriamoran.com and click on the "Contact and Subscribe" icon. Either way, Beliefnet will send you a link to click to be sure you're protected from spam.

Blessings on your day and may your best dreams find you before you know it --

Victoria

2008-09-29T08:53:00.002-04:00

September 29, 2008

Greetings!

I took the summer off to finish two books. Living a Charmed Life: In an Ever Changing World will be out from HarperOne in April, and The Love-Powered Diet: Eating for Freedom, Health, and Joy, a completely revised and updated edition of my 1992 classic, is coming from Lantern Books in May. Right now, I'm in the midst of moving preparations as we prepare to officially be back in NYC as of October 8. I'm channeling my "inner Martha" as I figure out the decorating, the feng shui, and how to get a 2-bedroom NYC condo to accommodate two offices, a guest room, and William's and my living day to day. I know it will all work out; it's just transitional at the moment and we keep going back and forth on how to arrange things. It's not just things, though: it's arranging our lives, where we'll work, how life will take shape on a daily basis.

I keep exploring Harlem, discovering little treasures, most recently a chic bakery called Settepani that is also an Italian restaurant. (William was hoping for an Italian restaurant....) And being back in the city, even part-time as I am now, helps me feel so connected.

To those of you who celebrate Rosh Hashana, may it be wonderful. And even those of us who aren't Jewish can, I think, take advantage of another new year, a new beginning. We can never have too many of those.

All good things,
Victoria

Inspire me today

Please join me on Sunday, October 5th, 2008 as I am the featured Inspirational Luminary on InspireMeToday.com. Inspire Me Today™ is a website that provides the Best of the Best Inspiration Daily™- each day from a different Luminary. Enjoy a 10-minute podcast, a 30-minute audio feature, a 15-minute inspirational video, a personal story or simply my quote of the day. It's easy. Just click on this link and be inspired! Thanks for joining me!

When you register, please remember to use my referral code:

SAYY6AHH3U

Five Minutes for Peace

I met Patrick Swift when I taught "How to Live a More Spiritual Life" for the Learning Annex. He is a physician in New York City who has put together an exquisite online slide show of photographs and quotations. It is lovely to watch and take in, and it's so calming you can use it as an invitation to meditation. Here's the link: www.onemountainmanypaths.com.

A lovely thought

Eric Smith sent me a poem he wrote that ended with these lines I liked a lot: "God grant me the awareness, the willingness, to stop seeking Love, appreciation and approval, and find them in myself."

Radio days

I want to do a little survey and find out (1) if you listen to my Internet radio show, "A Charmed Life," on www.healthylife.net, (2) what it would take to get you to tune in (either live or after the fact via the online archives) if you don't already, and (3) the kinds of guests you'd like to hear on the show. If you want to respond, just drop a line of charmedassistant@aol.com.

For those of you who are new to this list, the show is live the 4th Friday of every month at noon Eastern (11, 10, and 9 a.m. as we count west...), on www.healthylife.net. Past shows are archived on the site for listening at your convenience. My guest for September was Charla Krupp, author of the number 1 New York Times bestseller, How Not to Look Old, now up on the archives. Taking the guest spot the 4th Friday of October will be Lillian Butler, author, raw food chef and educator, and co-owner of Raw Soul -- www.rawsoul.com -- a popular Harlem restaurant recently featured in the New York Times.

It's Kind of Easy Being Green

2008-06-30T09:33:00.001-04:00

June 30, 2008
The Charmed Monday Minute

Hello, all –

I was inspired to the hilt at last week’s Vegetarian Summerfest (happening again in July ’09 at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown – www.vegetariansummerfest.org). Much of the information in this issue of The Minute comes from what I learned there.

The main thing I got at the conference was that the environmental crisis is real and urgent. It’s not just global warming, but also that we’re in this planet’s 6th great extinction – and this one we have a hand in. If things continue at this rate, 50% of the plant and animal species with whom we share the earth today will be gone by the end of this century. (Parents: Give this a minute to sink in.)

Every step any of us can take toward going green is so crucial and so worth doing. It’s no longer an edgy thing or an optional thing or a part-time hobby; it needs to be central to the way we live. We can make it a chore or an adventure: I’m all for finding the delight in compact fluorescent bulbs, putting my groceries in canvas bags, shopping at farmers’ markets and eating locally and organically as much as possible, driving a hybrid for now (and going carless in NYC in a few months), and eating a vegan diet. Send your suggestions for going green to charmedassistant@aol.com and they’ll find their way into future Minutes.

As we approach the 4th of July, I want to take this opportunity to hold each one of you in the spirit of independence. May you be independent: free from addictions and entanglements, free in your thinking and in your choices, an independent and co-independent person, standing on your own and working with others to make life better for us all.

All good things,
Victoria

Dairy and Ovarian Cancer

“For each serving of dairy products, especially low-fat and fat-free ones, which a woman consumes on average each day, her risk of getting the most common, and most deadly, form of ovarian cancer goes up by 20%.” – Dept. of Medicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School; reported in the International Journal of Cancer, June 2004, vol 110 (2), pg. 217.

For more on this issue, visit www.janeplant.com. (Thanks to George Eisman, MS, RD for this information.)

Recipe of the Week

I met Linda Long, a food stylist, photographer, and complier of a fabulous (and beautiful) about-to-be-published cookbook, Great Chefs Cook Vegan, coming in September but available now on preorder from Amazon. Long challenged the most highly regarded chefs in America to come up with the ultimate in plant-based dishes. The results are exquisite recipes and an exquisite volume. Here’s a yummy candy sample:

Mignardises – by Charlie Trotter and Matthias Merges
(yields about 80 ½ tsp. pieces)

1 cup raw cashew butter (you can buy this at the health food store, or purchase raw cashew pieces and make nut butter from them in a Champion or GreenStar juicer or, if you’re willing to scrape the sides of the bowl periodically, in a Cuisinart—vm*)
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup cocoa powder
½ tsp. vanilla seeds, scraped
1 Tbls. nama shoyu (raw soy sauce – at health food stores)

Combine well in a food processor. Pour into shallow container, cover, refrigerate 4 hours. With a melon baler, scrape chocolate truffle mix into small balls. Fill or roll pieces with cocoa, spices, cayenne pepper, mint, nuts, seeds, sugars, dried fruit or zests, shaping a desired.

On the radio

My guest last week on “A Charmed Life” on www.healthylife.net was Sera Beak, author of The Red Book and expert on spirituality for young women (and the rest of us). The show is archived, as are all editions of “A Charmed Life” at www.healthylife.net. Click on my picture or the name of the show and listen to the program with Sera or any past show. Guests have included Jerrold Mundis, author of How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously; Gene Baur, co-founder of the first sanctuary for farm animals and author of Farm Sanctuary: A New Ethic on Animals and Food; Jennifer Cornbleet, chef and author of Raw Food Made Easy for One or Two People; and my wonderful action partner, singer Sherry Boone (www.sherryboone.com).

Quotation of the week

“It has never before been possible for an individual of ordinary intelligence and modest means to so powerfully affect the course of human history.” – James LaVeck, www.tribeofheart.com.

The Charmed Monday Minute: 5/26/08

2008-05-27T13:43:00.002-04:00

Greetings this Memorial Day --

This is my first week to send The Minute without Joya (my able assistant) so we'll see how well I do. Several of you have written to me offering to do virtual assistant work and I thank you so much. I think I'll be looking for someone local who can help me deal with the paper mail, shipping, etc., but thanks from my heart for offering.

I'm finishing up two weeks in NYC and it has been glorious. I walked in off the street at 8:02 last Tuesday night and got a 5th row center ticket for Gypsy (fabulous, amazing, carried me away), and yesterday William was in town and we got 5th row center seats for Spring Awakening from the half-price ticket booth. (Spring Awakening has lots of young love, sex, and death. It's a new kind of Broadway musical. William didn't care for it. I must admit I did.) In any case, these great seats are an indication to me that New York is inviting us back.

We have looked at apartments to buy and we are in process there. I'll let you know what's up when something is certain. In the meantime, your prayers and good thoughts are greatly appreciated. Know that I'm holding all my readers and friends in the Light as well.

My very best,
Victoria

Book of the Week
Lillian Butler and Eddie Robinson, owners of Raw Soul Restaurant in Harlem where I took the "cooking" class in April have a new book out called Health Journey: Your Personal Road Map for Vibrant Living and Youthful Aging. It's a compact and jam-packed guide to natural living, vegan/whole-foods nutrition, and raw foods. Topics include hydration, food combining, juice fasting, exercise, making changes last, and a terrific recipe section featuring ultra-flavorful dishes from the restaurant's menu. This book is well researched, an easy read, and exquisitely balanced in the way that Lillian and Eddie are able to both call it as they see it and still respect their readers at whatever point they find themselves. I'm about to read it a second time. Order online at http://www.rawsoul.com or by phone: 212-491-5859; the cost is $21.95 plus $4.50 shipping. (And stay tuned: Ms. Lillian will be my radio guest in September or October.)

Recipe of the Week

I've taken this recipe from the featured book, Health Journey by Lillian Butler and Eddie Robinson. It's Ms. Lillian's Down Home Greens, one of the dishes we prepared in the class I took at Raw Soul. We all know how nutritious dark, leafy greens are but getting enough of them in our diets can be difficult. Either we didn't grow up eating them and don't know what to do with them, or we did grow up eating them but they were overcooked, over-salted, and seasoned with pork fat or bacon. Here's a way to enjoy greens with no cooking at all, and they are incredibly delicious. (Parenthetical remarks are mine.)

Ms. Lillian's Down Home Greens (4 servings)

4 bunches collard greens
4 bunches kale or mustard greens
Flax oil to coat greens
2 large diced garlic cloves
1 diced sweet onion
Juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbls. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbls. agave nectar (a honey-like, low-Glycemic-Index sweetener
made from cactus - available at health food stores)
1 Tbls. chili powder
1 Tbls. cumin
1 Tbls. Celtic sea salt (this is a minimally refined, mineral-rich salt; if
you don't have any, use regular sea salt but cut the amount to 2 teaspoons)
1 tsp. cayenne
10 sliced Shitake mushrooms (I've used reconstituted dry
Shitakes when I didn't have fresh)

Wash and cut greens, removing stems. Coat greens with oil. Add seasonings. Mix well with hands. Taste. Adjust flavors. Add mushrooms. Let marinate overnight in refrigerator. These greens get better with time, so make enough for a few days. You won't miss the cooked version. (In class, Ms. Lillian had us really massage the greens, allowing the pressure, as well as the acid from the lemon and vinegar, to tenderize them the way cooking would have. This enabled us to enjoy the dish that evening without the overnight wait.)

If You Have a Book in You ...

Book consultant Jennifer Wilkov is a powerhouse who may be able to help you become an author (or a better-selling one). I took advantage of one of her offerings, "Lunch with Jennifer," and found it a remarkable experience. She has an uncanny ability to zero in on what is working for a writer and what isn't, on a practical, psychological, and spiritual level. I know that I'll be more successful as a result of working with Jennifer, which is why I want to let you know about her. She does phone coaching all over the country and also offers fabulous teleclasses, some of them free of charge. She doesn't confine her work to established authors either, and she can be a great help to new writers and to people who don't think of themselves as writers but who know that there's a memoir or a novel or a business book that they're supposed to get out into the world. Read more and be in touch on her site: www.yourbookisyourhook.com

Coming on 'A Charmed Life' Radio, www.healthylife.net

My live radio show is coming up this Wednesday, May 28, noon Eastern time, 11 Central, 10 Mountain, 9 a.m. Pacific. My guest will be Jennifer Cornbleet, author of Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People (she came up with the amazing brownie recipe I gave you a couple of months ago and on which I'm still getting positive feedback). We'll talk about getting more fresh produce in our diets, what raw foods are all about, the basics of raw food prep, and Jennifer will share some of her simple, scrumptious recipes. You can read more about Jennifer on her site: www.learnrawfood.com. The link is to the show is http://www.healthylife.net. If you can't listen live, all shows are archived and available for you to hear or download at your convenience.

Where I'll Be

Sunday & Monday June 8 and 9 (and returning July 20-21) - I'm doing the evening lectures on "Younger by the Day" and "How to Live a More Spiritual Life" at the New Age Health Spa, Neversink, NY, www.newagehealthspa.com

Thur. June 19-Sunday June 22 - North American Vegetarian Society Summerfest, Johnstown, PA, www.navs.org. They'll have me working a lot and doing various lectures throughout the week on health, well-being, aging well, making peace with food and weight, and bringing your ethics into the real world without being insufferable about it.

Charmed Monday Minute, May 19

2008-05-20T14:50:00.003-04:00

Hello, lovelies -

We're a day late since this is the day I can be in the glorious presence of radiant Joya, my brilliant assistant who is headed for the graduate program in directing at Arizona State University. This is our official swan song and she'll be teaching me how to send The Minute and do some of the many other things she does so well. Joya: I already missed you and now I miss you enormously. Please invite me when you're up for your first TONY.

In other news, I am in NYC this week and half of next, working on The Charmed Life Handbook and looking at apartments so we can move back. There may be some developments on that to report next week: good thoughts and prayers appreciated.

Victoria


Book of the week: What Would Audrey Do? Timeless Lessons for Living with Grace and Style, by Pamela Keogh (author of Audrey Style), Gotham Books, 2008. You know I rarely use the p-word, but to my mind What Would Audrey Do? is a perfect book. It looks beautiful. It's the right size and shape. It has quality paper and fun illustrations. You could proudly give it as a gift and happily pick up another copy for your very own. And the information in it is so practical, so usable, and so readable, I plan to keep this little gem on my bedside table for months to come. I admire Audrey Hepburn anyway and have long believed that she exemplified what it means to live with grace, style, and compassion. Her life wasn't easy---her father abandoned her and her mother, she survived the lean and frightening times of World War II in Europe and witnessed the Nazi occupation---and she went on to enchant millions as an actress and fashion icon, and inspire millions more as a humanitarian. Keogh so captures Audrey in this charming book that looks at its subject in the myriad aspects of her life and guides us as readers in adopting for ourselves some worthwhile Audrey traits. Two thumbs up. If I had more thumbs, it would be more thumbs up.

Another Admirable Woman:

Some of you know the work of Sera Beak, comparative religions scholar, author of The Red Book, and gorgeous, real-life, 30-year-old dynamo who is out to help young women (and anybody else who's game) develop a personal spirituality that rocks. Sera will be on the East Coast in June doing a weekend workshop for women at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck June 2-22, and a Redvolution talk for women AND men in NYC on the 23rd. Here's what she says about the Redvolution:

"A Redvolutionary is someone who does not play by the social, religious, cultural, sexual, or political rules. She affects change by daring to be herself, forging a unique path, and serving her planet authentically. She is a "spiritual cowgirl," rebelling against dogma and ideology in order to experience a direct and intimate relationship with the divine. She has a fearless commitment to truth and freedom, chocolate, red wine, and gold body glitter."

For information on the Omega workshop, go to www.eomega.org, and for the NYC talk "Redvolution: Dare to Disturb the Universe," (7 to 9 on Monday June 23 at Lila Center, 302 Bowery at Houston, 2nd floor), go to www.theidproject.com. And there's more on Sera at her own site: www.serabeak.com.

FBLNM Brookdale College HIghlights:

On Friday of last week, I did the closing keynote for the Brookdale Community College Women's Conference in Lincroft, New Jersey. Welcome to everyone from there who is now subscribing. I promised you (and our other readers) that I'd recap the highlights here:

(1) Take care of yourself with M-E-N: meditation, exercise, and nourishing yourself on every level. When it comes to food, make the best choice from what's available.

(2) As for your money: What happens in the month stays in the month. Either pay as you go, or pay it off.

(3) The key to great relationships: Fall in love with your own life, your own company, and your own self. Then you'll be happy regardless of who else is around, and you'll attract great people into your world.

Where I'll Be:


Quotation of the Week: "Anyone or anything that does not bring you alive is too small for you." - David Whyte

The Charmed Monday Minute, May 5

2008-05-05T13:18:00.001-04:00

Hi, all -

I'm going back to a weekly Minute to see if I can keep these short--really a Minute to read. In my news, I don't have much except that I'm happy that it's spring (it doesn't look or feel like spring up here in the Catskills today, but we've had some hints and at least there's no snow).

I'm working on the edits and updates for The Love-Powered Diet which will be out in a new edition - its third incarnation - next year from Lantern Books. And I'm writing the essays for the sequel to Creating a Charmed Life. The publisher hasn't decided on a title yet but my working title is The Charmed Life Handbook: When You Absolutely, Positively Have to Live Remarkably.

Oh, we got it straightened out with Inspire Me Today: they will re-feature me in the fall. I apologize for any confusion there. And those of you who signed up but missed me can find me in the archives here.

Be well and happy -
Victoria


Recipe of the Week: Every time I don't do a recipe, somebody writes to me saying they missed it. I'm happy to share my favorites. As you've picked up from the past few Minutes, I'm doing a lot of raw food now so many of the recipes I'll share with you will be uncooked, but I'll share with you some of my favorite cooked recipes that my family has enjoyed over the years, like this one from Ingrid Newkirk's The Cookbook for People Who Love Animals (Warner Books): "Mock Chicken Loaf Florentine with Chickenless Gravy" For the loaf: 1 10-oz. pkg. frozen spinach, thawed 1 Tbls. vegetable oil or water 1 small onion, finely chopped 2 Tbls. imitation chicken-flavored powder, or 1 vegetable boullion cube 1 ¾ cups boiling water 2 cups TVP (textured vegetable protein) granules 1 pound soft tofu 1 cup gluten flour or ¾ cup whole wheat flour 1 Tbls. nutritional yeast flakes 1 ½ tsp. salt 1 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. poultry seasoning ½ tsp. onion powder 3 Tbls. vegetable oil Chickenless gravy: 2 cups boiling water 2 Tbls. vegetable oil 3 Tbls. nutritional yeast 1 vegetable boullion cube ½ cup diced fresh mushrooms ½ cup finely chopped onion Onion salt to taste Unbleached all-purpose flour Steam the spinach and drain well. Heat the oil or water in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until transparent, about 5 minutes. Dissolve the imitation chicken-flavored powder or boullion powder in the boiling water. Add the TVP and let stand for about 10 minutes. Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Pat the tofu dry, then mash. In a large bowl, combine the TVP mixture, spinach and tofu. Stir in the remaining ingredients and pour the mixture into a lightly greased 8 ½ x 4 1/2 -inch loaf pan. Smooth the top and bake for 45 minutes, or until brown on top. (If the loaf starts to get too brown, cover with aluminum foil.) Make the gravy. In a large saucepan, simmer all the ingredients except the flour for approximately 5 minutes. Slowly add the flour (tablespoon by tablespoon), whisking after each addition, until desired thickness is reached. Keep warm. Let load stand for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn out onto a platter. Serve with gravy. Serves 6 to 8. Preparation time: 45 minutes. Baking time: 45 minutes.


Correction: The New York Times has to do these so I can, too. Last week when I told you about creativity coach Debbie Abram, there was a typo in her email address. It should be Debbie_spiritdancer@yahoo.com. If your creativity is blocked or it's been crowded out for other things, drop her a line.


Quotation of the Week: "The animals of the world ... were not made for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women were created for men." - Alice Walker in her introduction to Marjorie's Spiegel's bookThe Dreaded Comparison


Something for Moms of Every Sort: My dear friend (and one of my many mentors), Alice Marie is hosting a workshop in New York City on Saturday, May 17: "This Is an Emergence: Giving Birth to Your Authentic Self." It's for moms-to-be and anyone, male or female, who pregnant with a creative project. It's bargain ($15). Register at www.mamapalooza.com.

Where I'll Be:

Friday, May 16 - Brookdale Community College (Lincroft, NJ) Women's Conference, "All in a Day's Work." I'm doing the closing keynote, "Fat, Broke & Lonely No More." The morning keynoter is executive VP of WE TV speaking on "The Other Side of the Tube," and the day is filled with terrific breakout sessions as well. For enrollment info or questions, email Linda Martin: lmartin@brookdalecc.edu.

Sunday, May 18 - Unity Church of New York, Sunday service, 11 a.m., Symphony Space, 95th & Broadway, NYC. My topic will be "When You Get Lost Between the Moon and New York City."

Sunday & Monday June 8 and 9 (and returning July 20-21) - I'm doing the evening lectures on "Younger by the Day" and "How to Live a More Spiritual Life" at the New Age Health Spa, Neversink, NY, www.newagehealthspa.com

Thur. June 19-Sunday June 22 - North American Vegetarian Society Summerfest, Johnstown, PA, www.navs.org. They'll have me working a lot and doing various lectures throughout the week on health, well-being, aging well, making peace with food and weight, and bringing your ethics into the real world without being insufferable about it.

A New Internet Radio Event:

Nancy Mills is the very focused woman who's come up with The Spirited Woman Circle Tele-Chat Conversation Series -- first Tuesday of the month, 10-11am PST, 1-2pm EST. Register at thespiritedwoman.com or call 888-428-1234.

Here's the lineup:

April 1: Jill Conner Browne, Sweet Potato Queens Books of Love
May 6: Susan Miller, founder of www.Astrologyzone.com
June 3: Carolyn Howard-Johnson, writer's advocate, "How to Do It Frugally" series of books
July 1: Jacquelyn Mitchard, highly acclaimed author of Oprah's first Book Club
pick, The Deep End of the Ocean
August 5: Laurel Touby, founder of Mediabistro.com, just sold her company to Jupitermedia.com for $23 million
September 2: Catherine Ryan Hyde, bestselling author of Pay It Forward
October 7: Victoria Moran, self-help guru (I am?) and author of Creating a Charmed Life

The Charmed Should-Have-Been Monday Minute, April 3

2008-04-03T14:37:00.004-04:00

Hi, all -

I'm late with these posts more than I'm on time, it seems. Life up here in the Catskills is very slow-moving. It's hard for me to remember my energetic NYC self who was so eager to communicate all the time. I trust that this affliction is not permanent and I appreciate your patience with my inability to get these out on Mondays.

Joya has been traveling the country applying for Masters programs in directing for the theater, which is very exciting and she'll be great, but it means she doesn't have a lot of time for being the "charmed assistant" so I find myself behind on a lot. Still, they're predicting sun for tomorrow and even though it snowed here yesterday (it snows a lot here), I can smell spring, which is a good thing.

Speaking of spring, Adair and I both had our birthdays. Mine was on the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring. I went to the city (of course), and Adair and I had lunch at Bonobo's, a raw cafeteria in the Flatiron District, shopped at Victoria's Secret, hit a nail salon, and found a sweet little indie coffee bar to hang out and talk. That evening William and I went to Pure Food & Wine, an amazing ultra-gourmet raw restaurant on Irving Place near Union Square. It was exquisite. I had raw vegan versions of Caesar salad, spanokopita, and strawberry shortcake, and William had a baby greens salad, raw vegan lasagna, and an utterly amazing raw vegan tiramisu. In the gift department, Adair and Nick gave me a gift certificate to MooShoes (non-leather shoes, belts, purses) and William treated me to an afternoon at the Red Rock Day Spa here in Woodstock--massage with passive stretch, detoxifying body wrap, and sensitive skin facial --yum.

For Adair's birthday on the 29th, we went for presents (her in-laws gave her and Nick tickets to a Broadway show, and the rest of us regaled her with gift cards for spa services, dancewear, knitting supplies...) and lunch at Vegetarian Paradise II in The Village (a foursome: Adair, Nick, William, me) and then Adair and I took off for a girls' afternoon--costume-jewelry shopping, a street fair, and the farmers' market in Union Square. We both bought plants. I named mine Justin and Alissa, and Adair wrote to me and told me she'd named hers Eve. I guess some eccentricities just run in the family.

-Victoria


Recipe of the Week: This recipe is for super-easy, sugar-free brownies: even my husband scarfs these up. These are truly one-bowl brownies--you'll never have to wait more than 5 minutes again when that chocolate craving strikes. Brownies from Raw Food Make Easy for 1 or 2 by Jennifer Cornbleet (a great cookless book, by the way, and there's a companion DVD). Yield: 8 brownies, 4 servings 1 1/2 cups raw walnuts, unsoaked dash salt 10 pitted medjool dates, unsoaked 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa or carob powder 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons water 1/4 cup dried cherries Place the walnuts in a food processor fitted with the S-blade and process until coarsely chopped. Remove 1/4 cup of the walnuts and set aside. Add the salt to the remaining walnuts and process until finely ground. Add the dates and process until the mixture begins to stick together. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and process until evenly distributed. Add the water, dried cherries, and reserved walnuts, and process briefly, just to mix. Pack the mixture firmly into a square container. Stored in a sealed container, Brownies will keep for up to one week in the refrigerator or one month in the freezer.

Calling All Christians:

I know my readers and subscribers come from a vast array of belief systems, but if you are a Christian who has changed to more of a vegetarian diet, you oughta be in pictures! Here's the scoop from the producers:

"Our project is a short documentary produced for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) that will focus on how an increasing number of Christians are changing their eating habits based primarily on their commitment to faith. Such Christians feel that the way animals are treated is not consistent with what God had in mind when he created them. They feel God had no intention for animals to be mistreated at factory farms, where such cruel and abusive practices are used such as battery cages, gestation crates, and veal crates, in addition to the various mutilations and physical beatings they often endure.

"This new movement of Christians points to specific verses of scripture that call for better treatment of animals. We are trying to find individuals, who, through their own relationship with God and/or scripture, have come to this realization. If you feel you meet this criteria, or if you know someone who does, we would love (!) to hear from you. Please email our producer, Emily Webster, at Ewebster@twocatstv.com or info@twocatstv.com (if the first inbox is full).

"New York-based Two Cats Productions is an Emmy Award-winning television production company that has produced films for PBS, ABC News, CNN, FOX, MSNBC and over 20 networks outside of the US in such countries as France, Germany, Canada and Australia. For more information: www.twocatstv.com or www.HSUS.org"

Books recommended in my "How to Live a More Spiritual Life" seminar:

So many people have requested this list. It's very eclectic and draws from many traditions. Take what suits. Some of these books are contemporary; others are classics. Jump in --it's a lifetime's adventuring:

Poetry:

The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse

Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke

The Prophet, Kahlil Giran

Emily Dickinson's Poems

The Essential Rumi

Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman

The Essential Blake

Nonfiction:

The Law of Attraction, Abraham

Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands
of Men & Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism,
Anonymous

The Red Book, Sera Beak

Becoming Like God: Kabbalah & Our Ultimate Destiny,
Michael Berg

The Key to Theosophy, Helena Blavatsky

Ecstatic Confessions, Martin Buber

Cosmic Consciousness, Maurice Bucke, MD

Lessons in Truth, H. Emilie Cady

The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell, Ph.D.

Life After Death: The Burden of Proof, Deepak Chopra, MD

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra, MD

Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker
Eddy

Emerson's Essays, Ralph Waldo Emerson

Power vs. Force, David R Hawkins, Ph.D.

The Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible, vols. I & II, Geoffrey
Hodson

The Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes

The Perennial Philosophy, Aldous Huxley

How to Know God, Christopher Isherwood, tr.

Dark Night of the Soul, St. John of the Cross

God Made Easy, Patrice Karst

The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence

Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis

Life After Death, Raymond Moody, MD

The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale

The Biology of Transcendence, Joseph Chilton Pearce

Peace Pilgrim: Her Life & Work in Her Own Words, Peace
Pilgrim

Invitation to a Great Experiment, Thomas Powers

The Game of Life & How to Play It, Florence Scovil Shinn

The Religions of Man, Huston Smith

A Most Surprising Song, Louann Stahl

Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment,
Rudolf Steiner

The Circle Within: Creating a Wiccan Spiritual Tradition,
Dianne Sylvan

The Way Out, The Teacher

The Impersonal Life, The Teacher

My Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis

The Eternal Now, Paul Tillich

The Power of Now, Eckhard Tolle

In Tune with the Infinite, Ralph Waldo Trine

The Cloud of Unknowing, Evelyn Underhill

The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, Barbara
G. Walker

Heal Thyself, White Eagle

The Quiet Mind: Sayings of White Eagle

Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda

Metaphysical Mediations, Paramahansa Yogananda

The Seat of the Soul, Gary Zukav


Where I'll Be: I'm in writing mode at the moment and not doing a whole lot of speaking, but I'll be here and there and would love to have you join me... Speaking: New York, NY, Sunday, April 13, 9 a.m. to noon, panel- "Publicity for Writers," annual conference, American Society of Journalists, Grand Hyatt Hotel, info at www.asja.org

The Charmed Monday Minute, March 17

2008-03-17T16:09:00.000-04:00

Hi, all -

Top o' the mornin' (afternoon, evening) to you on this St. Paddy's Day. It's sunny today and the snow keeps melting. This is good stuff. Lots of new this week so I'll keep my personal stuff short.

I will tell you one sweet thing. On Saturday William got his tattoo in honor of James, his teenaged son who died last fall. It's a slight adaptation of James's favorite song lyric, "I am heaven-sent, don't you dare forget" (from the song "Okay I Believe You but My Tommy Gun Don't" by the band Brand New). I am now married to a man who has "He was heaven-sent" on one inside forearm and "Don't you dare forget" on the other. He came in after doing this and said, "I don't care what anybody thinks. It gives me peace." I'm so proud of him.

Love and light -
Victoria

Recipe of the Week:

I just had this fabulous raw soup for lunch and have to share it with you. It comes from Raw Foods for Busy People: Simple & Machine Free Recipes for Every Day, by Jordan Maerin - a dandy little cookless book.

Cream of Tomato Soup:

4 medium tomatoes
1 stalk celery
½ bell pepper, chopped
2 Tbl. Fresh basil or 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 avocado
2 tsp. maple syrup or agave nectar
Salt, cayenne, and minched hot peppers to taste

Blend well. Yum-yum. Serves two generously as an entrée, four to six as an appetizer. (If you want a lower fat version, leave out the avocado and sweetener and you've got Maerin's "Real Tomato Soup.")

Sherry Boone in cabaret:

My amazing, extraordinary action partner (see Fat, Broke & Lonely No More) and wonderful friend will be in cabaret in NYC one night only. Tri-staters: this is not to be missed.

Directly from a triumphant London debut in The Royal Festival Hall's Carmen Jones, Sherry Boone brings her new solo sensation The SuperSTAR Artist Show to the Metropolitan Room. From Broadway (Jelly's Last Jam, Ragtime, Marie Christine, Master Class) to Opera (Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival), Sherry Boone has garnered raves for a voice that Ben Brantley of The New York Times describes as "ravishing."

Make your reservations now!
Sherry Boone in The SuperSTAR Artist Show
Monday April 7th -7pm
NYC's Metropolitan Room
34 West 22nd Street NY, NY
212 206 4440
Alls seats: $34
*Reserve before March 21st for $25 (use codeword OPERA)*

For a preview (and a treat), go to this link on YouTube.

Let's get celebrating:

Let's get celebrating: My friend Greg Tamblyn, a wonderful singer/songwriter, comedian, and all-'round inspirational guy (www.gregtamblyn.com) put in his recent newsletter that, as part of bringing about more understanding in the world, he was going to start celebrating different holidays from around the world. Here are the ones he lists as his favorites:

Liberia: Matilda Newport Day, December 1. "A festival in honor of a widowed pioneer who lit a cannon with her pipe and saved her countryin 1822 when under siege by tribespeople."

Mongolia: Naadam Festival, July 11-13. Three day holiday for "the manly games, of horse racing, archery, and Mongolian wrestling." (Women compete too, except in wrestling.)

Finland: Walpurgis Night, April 30. "In the Norse tradition, bonfires are built to keep away the dead and chaotic spirits that are said to walk among the living."

Japan: Coming of Age Day, 2nd Monday in January. "All people who turned 20 during the last year are congratulated. Cities and towns hold ceremonies with alcoholic beverages, which are the privilege of adults."

Calling all writers:

This is a conference I never miss, and this year I'm moderating a Sunday morning panel seminar on publicity and platform. Here's the scoop:

Annual conference, Amer. Soc. of Journalists & Authors, April 12-13, Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City. Public program and registration link at: www.ASJAConference.org. Award-winning literary journalist and author Melissa Fay Greene will be the keynote speaker on Saturday. Programming includes one-on-one "pitch" sessions with agents and editors, and opportunities for personal mentoring with professional writers. Representatives of several of the nation's leading magazines will participate, notably AARP The Magazine, Audubon, Better Homes & Gardens, E! Magazine, Family Circle, New York Times Magazine, Outside, Redbook, Self and Wired.

Where I'll Be:

I'm in writing mode at the moment and not doing a whole lot of speaking, but I'll be here and there and would love to have you join me...

Radio: www.healthylife.net - Wed., March 26, noon Eastern - guest: Jerrold Mundis, author of How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously (will be archived for later listening)

Speaking: New York, NY, Sunday, April 13, 9 a.m. to noon, panel- "Publicity for Writers," annual conference, American Society of Journalists, Grand Hyatt Hotel, info at www.asja.org

Take care, and all good things -

Victoria

The Charmed Monday Minute, March 4

2008-03-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers & Friends,

I'm thinking of the children's poem, "The Owl & the Pussycat," where it says, "They sailed away for a year and a day..." because I'm a week and a day late on this issue of the Minute. But that's cool because today is a lovely holiday invented by my friend, writer and storyteller Deborah Shouse. This is March 4th: the day we're to march forth into the rest of our year, the rest of our lives.

My reason for lateness is that I was in New York City for a full glorious week in a charming little studio on the Upper East Side. It was divine.

You know the law-of-attraction idea that says that happiness begets more of the same? I really saw that. I was borderline giddy to be back there living the way of life I love so much. During the week I was there in giggly bliss, a refund from my former gym showed up in my account (it three months past due and I'd pretty much given up on it); an income tax refund we hadn't expected showed up and the accountant confirmed that it was due us after all, and then, things really picked up for my husband's screenplays. He's a lawyer working hard to make a career change; his screenplays are amazing, and yet that is one tough business to break into. While I was in the city, some very positive things happened for all three of his scripts. This tells me, (1) all good things are indeed possible, and (2) joy does open the way for more of itself to enter in.

This past weekend I was at another idyllic place, the New Age Health Spa in Neversink, NY. I spoke there and had a restful few days of yoga, meditation, great food somebody else prepared, and a magical nature connection when three deer came right up to the window of the yoga center. We stared at them and they stared at us. It was heavenly. It reminds me that we all can stand to live in a more spa-like way: rest enough, exercise and meditate daily, eat fresh, organic food. It's not that hard - just uncommon. But we can change that.

Link of the Week:

I so hope this video link works for you... This is an image you won't soon forget. The woman in this news clip found this lion malnourished and about to die. She took him home and took care of him. When the lion was better she called the local animal sanctuary. This was the reaction she got when the lion saw her.
http://www.telestereo.com/Archivos/video.swf

(Please remember, especially if you share this video with children, that this is a special case. Most wild animals should never be approached this way, even at the zoo.)

Info of the Week:

For five years, I've been trying to interest my publisher in a book on living the spiritual life. For some reason, they won't bite, so I developed it as a class, initially for the Learning Annex of New York City, and I've now done it with great success there and at various churches, spas, and conferences. Through developing and refining the concept, I've come up with the 12 Power Principles for Living a Spiritual Life (and those are the twelve chapters of that book which will happen somehow - you heard it here). The principles are:

1. Accept yourself.
If this is difficult, clean up your past as best you can and then look at each day at the end of it so you can make things right as you go along. None of us is ever going to be perfect, but we can start each day fresh and feel good about our imperfect selves.

2. Claim your joy.
Joy is necessary. It's contagious, so being joyful is a great way to help others. And it begets more of itself (see my little story above about the great things that came into my life week when I was in such a happy state).

3. Take quiet time every single day.
Meditate, pray, write in a journal. Quiet time is mandatory to get in touch with your deeper self and with your Source.

4. Keep a Sabbath.
If you don't have a religious Sabbath, just pick a day and set it aside for spiritual, recreational (that means re-create, you know), and delightful endeavors. For me, it means no email and keeping my desk verboten.

5. Cultivate greater compassion.
"Feel with" (that's the basic definition of the word compassion) the homeless guy on the corner, whether you opt to give him a buck or not. Feel with the people you read about in the paper, and expand your circle of compassion to include other sentient beings. The Jain saint Mahavira put it so beautifully: "To every creature, his own life is very dear."

6. Treat your body as a temple.
Honor it. Care for it. Treat it kindly. Use it well. Feed it the best food, give it enough rest and exercise, and show it some appreciation: it does a lot for you.

7. Share your time, talent, treasure.
Give of your time, let the world benefit from your talents, and give of your resources, either through tithing (regular giving of 10% of all money that comes to you) or some other system of sharing. This makes the world better and opens the way for the universe to give back to you.

8. Study and learn.
Read the scriptures of the world or of your own tradition. Read mystical poetry (I love The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse). Read the spiritual classics such as The Yoga Sutras of Patajali or Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God. Read new books that help open your mind to more wonder and beauty and grace.

9. Create community.
Bring into your circle people who are also on a spiritual quest. You need them to reflect back to you what's really important.

10. Allow others to, simply, be.
Principle 9 states that you need people around you whose spiritual questing is in keeping with yours, but you also need to allow other people to be on other paths and some to be on, seemingly, no path at all. Shine your light: if it's of the wattage they can see and appreciate, they may want what you have and they'll ask how you got it. If not, trust that they have a Higher Power, too, and that they're just where they should be.

11. Find Spirit everywhere.
Look around your life and your day and find God, Spirit, Presence, Source Energy. See it in nature, in serendipity, in children and animals, in art and beauty, in simple pleasures.

12. Make gratitude your constant companion.
Make gratitude your first thought upon awakening. Make gratitude lists in your head as you walk around town or in your car as you wait for the light to change. Be grateful when things are going fabulously and be grateful when they're in a slump - it's even more helpful then. Gratitude connects you with the Source of all good. You can't do better than that.

Love and light,
Victoria

Where to Find Me:

I'm in writing mode at the moment and not doing a whole lot of speaking, but I'll be here and there and would love to have you join me...

Speaking: Albany, NY, Sunday, March 9, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. (careful: this is the day that daylight savings time begins), Unity Church of Albany, 2 Sunday services: "Awakening to the Light," 518-439-1775

Radio: www.healthylife.net - Wed., March 26, noon Eastern - guest: Jerrold Mundis, author of How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously (will be archived for later listening)

Speaking: New York, NY, Sunday, April 13, 9 a.m. to noon, panel- "Publicity for Writers," annual conference, American Society of Journalists, Grand Hyatt Hotel, info at www.asja.org

Take care, and all good things -

Victoria

The Monday Minute, February 11th, 2008

2008-02-11T22:07:00.000-05:00

A Monday Minute on a Monday! Wonders never cease, do they? Seriously, thanks for your flexibility during my travels et al and being willing to read these posts when they come on other days.

We went to Nashville last week for William's birthday (for those who don't know me, William is my husband) and to meet with some music people about one of his movies. I admire him so much: he has written three beautiful films and although the movie business seems to be fraught with peril and setbacks, he is staying true to his vision and I know he's going to make it.

We also caught up with friends there including singer/songwriter Georgia Middleman, author Candy Paull, The Joy of Simplicity I Didn't Know That: Or Why We Say the Things We Say author Karlen Evans (I was a guest on her radio show, "Beyond Reason"), and healer/astrologer Rosemary Cathcart. And of course we did the tourist things like The Opry at the Ryman and the music bars on Broadway. One of the bands actually played my request, "Rhinestone Cowboy," after the lead singer commented, "Man, that's old."

Cheers,
Victoria

What is it with "Rhinestone Cowboy"? ...

Well, I decided that it's my theme song. For those of you who aren't "old," it was a Glenn Campbell's seminal hit from 1975. I hadn't thought of it in years until I was packing to leave New York and the lyrics came back to me as a sort of treasure map set to music. Here they are:

I've been walkin' these streets so long,
Singin' the same old song.
I know every crack on these dirty sidewalks of Broadway,
Where hussle's the name of the game,
And nice guys get washed away like the snow and the rain.
There's been a load of compromisin'
On the road to my horizon,
But I'm gonna be where the lights are shinin' on me.

(Chorus) Like a rhinestone cowboy,
Ridin' out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo,
Like a rhinestone cowboy,
Getting' cards and letters from people I don't even know,
And offers comin' over the phone.

Well, I really don't mind the rain,
And a smile can hide all the pain,
But you're down when you're riding a train
That's takin' the long way.
So I dream of the things I'll do
With a subway token and a dollar tucked inside my shoe.
There'll be a load of compromisin'
On the road to my horizon,
But I'm gonna be where the lights are shinin' on me...(repeat chorus)

Everybody needs a theme song...


BeliefNet.com Blog News... Thanks to everybody who plans to read and participate in my blog on BeliefNet.com, which was supposed to have started today or a week ago. It hasn't. I'll keep you posted and send a special mailing once I know when the Charmed Life Blog goes live on BeliefNet.

Question of the Week:

Is your family, specifically your husband, a vegan? Did he transition his thoughts after meeting you? What is your approach to wanting your significant other to eat vegetarian? I find it hard to date/be committed to someone who is not an animal lover. What advice do you have for me and others facing this issue?

- Tiffany

Hi, Tiffany - Thanks for the question. My daughter is a lifelong vegan; my stepchildren eat conventionally; and my husband ate meat when I met him but became vegetarian (not vegan) after meeting me but - this is important - not because of me. He'd just never given the issue any thought; the way I live caused him to think of it. When he did, he realized he didn't want to eat meat anymore. I think that's the key: people do what they want to do. When something speaks to a person, he or she changes in response to that. If it doesn't, no amount of nagging and pleading and "educating" are unlikely to do much except turn the person off.

For someone (and I quote you) "wanting your significant other to eat vegetarian," I suggest looking for someone who is already vegetarian. Meet them through online veggie-dating services, vegetarian group meetings or conferences, etc. Otherwise, look to make friends of all persuasions and see if your lifestyle awakens the same spark in someone else.

If you're already in a relationship, take care of yourself, and love and appreciate the other person. That is, take care of yourself by eating and living in accordance with your highest light, and refusing to do anything that is ethically or esthetically repugnant to you. AND let the other person live his life, too, without criticism. Maybe he'll change and maybe he won't, but if you focus on what you love about him, you'll both be a lot happier.

Adair's amazing play...

My daughter Adair is a young actress, and her most powerful roles to date have been in Holocaust dramas. She played Anne in The Diary of Anne Frank, Eva in Kindertransport, and she has now been cast in an NYC showcase of Who Will Tell the Story? It's based on the true story of women in an Auschwitz barrack who committed to doing all they could to save the life of one of them, the one they believed could best tell the story. She did survive and wrote this play. It's a two-week run starting February 22. There is more on Adair's site; click on "Current Projects."

A tiny, beautiful film...

Filmmaker Monica Sharf has an exquisite 5-minute tribute to the troops serving overseas in "While We Lie Sleeping." It was a selection of the LA Film Festival and will be screening in New York City tomorrow, Tuesday, February 12, 6 pm (promptly -- it's the first film in the "Filmmakers at War" showcase) at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue. For those of you not near New York, you can view this 16mm black and white silent short online.

Where to Find Me:

I'm in writing mode at the moment and not doing a whole lot of speaking, but I'll be here and there and would love to have you join me...

Radio: www.healthylife.net - Wed., Feb. 27, noon Eastern - guest: Richard Blackstone, author of Nuts and Bolts Spirituality (will be archived for later listening)

Talk/book signing: Fat, Broke & Lonely No More, Barnes & Noble, Rt. 9-W, Kingston, NY - 6 p.m., Thursday, February 28. Click here for more info.

New Age Health Club, Neversink, NY: Friday February 29- Monday March 3, speaking on Creating a Charmed Life and Younger by the Day. Click here for more info.

Radio: www.healthylife.net - Wed. March 26, noon Eastern - guest: Jerrold Mundis, author of How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously (will be archived for later listening)

Take care, and all good things -

Victoria

2008-01-28T14:01:00.000-05:00

Hello, charmed ones -

I hope this finds your life getting better and better, inside and out. I have some wonderful things going on (more below) and I've decided to package this year in the country as an extended retreat. Yesterday I went to a Vedanta Society retreat house in Stone Ridge, NY (www.ridgely.org) for a daylong meditation retreat. It taught me that I need to do more back strengthening exercises (I know that hatha yoga, the physical postures, was developed to help people sit for long periods of meditation; now I know why) and it reminded me how sweet such an intense meditation can be. While in meditation there, I got the insight that the successful seminar I've been doing for the Learning Annex in NYC, "How to Live a More Spiritual Life," needs to offered more places and as a teleclass as well as an in-person event. If you'd be interested in a teleclass like that, let Joya know (drop her a quick email at charmedassistant@aol.com) and if we get enough response, we'll plan a class for late February or early March.

It's still hard for me to be away from my beloved Manhattan. In order to write the new book, I drive to Kingston, a larger place, to write in a coffee shop. That more urban energy helps me a lot. However, I recently remember something someone told me a long time ago - I was twenty at the time. I was in a job that had become oppressive and she told me that as long as I hated it and desperately wanted to quit, I'd never be able to. I argued that I could just plain give notice and she told me, "You could, but you'd meet this job again, or everything you dislike about it, at another time with only the names and faces changed."

I'm using that wisdom again now. It is pretty obvious that I come alive in New York City and pretty much wilt out here in the mountains. In human terms, it may have been a gargantuan mistake to have embarked on this adventure at all. But I am convinced that the Higher Power is expert at making lemonade out of even the sourest lemons. My job is to be happy today and look for the good. Were you around for the 60s slogan, a sort of counter to the counter-culture, "America: love it or leave it"? For me today, it's "Woodstock (or whatever situation I'd like to be different): love it so you can leave it."

All good things, Victoria

A blog in the big time!...

Well, let's hope. My most exciting professional news of the moment is that www.beliefnet.com will be running "The Charmed Life Blog" by me for one week beginning February 4 or 11 (I'll let you know which) as an "audition" for being a permanent blogger for their huge and wonderful site. I'll be posting more than once a day (that'll be new and different) and doing my best to help charm the day for all readers. If it gets lots and lots and lots of traffic, they'll keep me on, which would be a dream come true. If you'd like to help (and read a good blog in the process!), please visit beliefnet.com frequently once the blog goes up and going to "The Charmed Life Blog."

There will be ways for you to comment, add your thoughts, and be a part of it. In fact, I would be thrilled if you would: the more participation, the more likely it will go permanent. (If I become an official BeliefNet blogger, that's where my blog will be, but it will not affect The Charmed Monday Minute one bit. This newsletter will show up in your mailbox every other Monday, or as close to every other Monday as Joya and I can get it out, just the way we have been doing it.)

Quotation of the week:

"There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy." - Robert Louis Stevenso

Recipe of the week -

This quick, yummy dip comes from my favorite source of nutrition information, Nutrition Action, the excellent newsletter of Center for Science in the Public Interest (www.cspinet.org):

Puree in food processor:
One 15-ounce canned Great Northern, navy, or other white beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Free clicks to help animals...

Mary Max, the wife of noted artist Peter Max and a great force for a kinder world, sent this info about a free, easy way to help those who can't help themselves, and, if you like, you can offer this help daily, always without charge, by simply clicking on the following links:

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/home (every click provides a bowl of food-at no cost to you-to animals in need) - "Thanks to people who click on The Animal Rescue Site, we are able to buy food and medical care for the rescued animals at the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch. It's critical support in our work to shelter abused and abandoned animals," says Mike Markarain, Senior V.P. of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

http://www.care2.com/go/z/primates (every click provides food for primates)

http://pets.care2.com/ (helps needy pets with free surgeries and other health care)

http://babyseals.care2.com/welcome?w=200015762 (helps protect baby seals from the cruel and senseless hunt subsidized by the Canadian government)

Question of the week:

"Could you give me a sample of your food plan? I'm having a confusing time trying to decide what type of vegetarian food plan to chose. I'm already a vegetarian, so that's not the problem. The problem is I can't decide on whether or not to give up eggs and milk products. It makes like just a little more complicated, but if it's worth it, I'll certainly adjust. Do you do 3 meals a day with nothing in between, or do you allow snacks? It seems hard to keep it simple when you are vegan--there is a whole lot more cooking and preparation involved working with whole foods."
- Lana, Iowa

As I read your questions, I was noting some phrases I don't think in terms of anymore. I don't really feel that I have a "food plan" although I suppose I do, nor do I think in terms of "allowing" snacks or anything else, since that seems more authoritarian than I like being with myself. I also chuckled about "a whole lot more cooking and preparation." I don't think of myself as cooking very much at all, although I enjoy it when I do.

To answer you, then, as best I can, let me say this: I basically eat three meals a day. Occasionally (maybe once or twice in a week), I'll have something - a piece of fruit, a whole-grain cookie, half a Luna bar -- at tea time in the afternoon if I'm feeling especially droopy. (In Ayurvedic medicine, three meals a day are recommended, with the caveat that someone with a Vata constitution, my type, can do better sometimes with a little something in the mid-afternoon.) I know a lot of systems recommend snacking or mini-meals throughout the day, but for someone like me, that puts too much emphasis on food. I also find that my digestion works better when there is time in between meals with nothing extra to tax the apparatus.

For breakfast, if I'm home, I often have an oatmeal parfait or a soy yogurt parfait. That means I have the oatmeal or the yogurt and top it with fruits, slivered almonds or chopped walnuts, a little flax oil, and some toasted wheat germ. I might substitute Van's frozen wheat-free waffles, again with some fruit and chopped nuts and little flax oil, plus a little agave nectar or real maple syrup. I always drink black tea in the morning, with some Rice Dream (an alternative to cow's milk and soy milk). In warm weather, I might make a smoothie instead: soy milk or Rice Dream, fruit, protein powder, flax oil, wheat germ. When I'm in writing mode and work all morning in a café, or if I'm in the city at a Starbucks I have a grande soy chai tea, no water, no foam. It is rich---definitely a meal and not a drink---and I find it quite a satisfying breakfast with nothing else. (It does contain sugar, which I know a lot of people avoid entirely.)

Lunch is often soup (lentil, split pea, tomato, carrot-ginger, and potato-corn chowder are among my favorites) with maybe a spelt English muffin and hummus, some raw veggies, and a piece of fruit, or I heat up leftovers from dinner. I never like to keep leftovers any longer than this, or there's no life force left in them. In summer, I'll have salad instead of soup, but it's a big salad and I'll add garbanzos or other beans, sunflower seeds, and some steamed or roasted veggies so it is a meal that will last until dinner. I use an olive oil & vinegar dressing like Paul Newman's.

In the best of possible worlds, the midday meal would be the main one, but for us working folk, that's difficult, so I do have a heavier dinner than is probably ideal, but I have scaled back on my dinner amounts somewhat and feel better because of it. In any case, I make sure to eat early, ideally 6:30, no later than 7. We'll have some kind of entrée - my husband's favorites are chili, veggie-burgers, and pasta (I usually choose a wheat-free pasta) with marinara sauce and vegetables - and a salad. Sometimes I make a "breakfast-dinner" and serve scrambled tofu, veggie-Canadian-bacon, toast or English muffins, and sliced tomatoes (when they're in season) or grilled onions. Once a week or so, I'll do something creative and actually use a cookbook, but this isn't the time of my life when cooking is where my creativity comes out. I keep it pretty simple.

I also eat out quite a bit. Vegetarian restaurants are my favorite since the food is whole and I have a lot of choices. The Garden Café here in Woodstock makes a very satisfying Vegan Cesar Salad with a yummy tofu-based dressing and blanched slivered almonds. They also do "garden bowls" - a small entrée, some side such as roasted potatoes, and always wonderful greens. (Eating greens makes me feel on top of the world.) William loves Italian food so we go to some Italian place once a week or so. That's when I know I'll be having white-flour pasta, and I try to keep that as the only time I eat white flour or, for that matter, wheat products which don't seem to sit very well with me. Otherwise, I like Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Ethiopian restaurants. They have lots of vegetarian entrees. When I eat out, I seem to have the same parameters as eating at home: one plate. At a place with huge portions, we might share or bring home leftovers for lunch.

Everyone comes to food choices from a different place. Because I suffered so much from binge-eating and related issues for the first three decades of my life, it is very important for me to have a close relationship with the Divine on everything related to food. I need for my life to revolve around God, my family, my work, and what I came to this planet to do. Food needs to be decidedly secondary. When I let the Higher Power take care of the food, I get to do the things I'm better at. It is apparently working and I am very grateful.

An amazing performer...
I saw this woman in a show in Kansas City ten years ago and was so impressed that I got in touch and we've stayed connected. She'll be in NYC in March (see below). If you're elsewhere in the country, you may want to at least visit the site and see if she'll be in your area at some point. She is really remarkable, and if you have children, this is a particularly terrific show.

Houston performing artist, Melissa Waddy Thibodeaux, will be opening in "The Woman They Called Moses," about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center in Harlem Thursday, March 6, 2008 and running through Sunday, March 9, 2008, with nightly shows at 7 pm and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3. For more information, please see www.aflyinggeese.com or call 713-884-9655.

New Internet Radio Show:

You can listen to my internet radio show on HealthyLife.net from noon to 1pm EST every 4th Wednesday of the month. The last show was wonderful, featuring my action partner and opera-singer-extraordinaire, Sherry Boone. Check it out in the archives here.

(Trouble listening? Click here for the site's help page.)

Victoria, Virtual Life Coach!

Victoria is now the official Life Coach of the blog "Elastic Waist" and will be featured a few times a month in exclusive interviews! To view the first post, click here. The second is here. Enjoy!

OprahSelects.com:

Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.co m since Victoria was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, you can write a reader review if you'd like.

The Charmed Monday (this week: Fri.) Minute

2008-01-11T10:43:00.000-05:00

Hi, everyone, and welcome to new readers -

I'm writing to you from Topeka, Kansas, en route to Olathe, a suburb of Kansas City where my mother-in-law lives. I'll be speaking this Sunday, January 13, at the Center for Spiritual Living at 39th & Terrace Sts., Kansas City, Missouri - two Sunday services, 8:30 and 11. You can get more info at cslkc.org. Know I would love to see you there if you're in this part of the world.

A quick update from me (new subscribers: the first part of The Charmed Monday Minute is a letter updating people on my life; if you're not interested in this stuff, scroll down to the "newsy" parts that follow): We're moved in up in Woodstock and the apartment is adorable. It has snowed a lot and I love that. Christmas looked like a picture postcard, even though it was obviously bittersweet for us with James's death so recent. We had Christmas with my daughter Adair, her husband Nick, and the two dogs, Aspen and Oliver. I drove back to NYC with them and stayed over a day for an ear-prompter class with TV coach Larry Conroy to prepare for my Satellite Media Tour in Atlanta December 28, which went very well.

For New Year's Eve, we drove to Albany for the "burning bowl service" (you can read about burning bowl ceremonies in my book Younger by the Day) at the Unity Church and went to dinner afterward with the minister Jim Fuller and his lovely wife Kay whose yogic presence graces the current cover of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health magazine. Joining us was a friend of theirs who recently returned from the African country of Mali where he was with the Peace Corps for three years. This reminded me a beautiful photographic book called Material World. It takes a family with the median income for their country from many countries of the world and puts all their possessions out on the street. Mali was the poorest country chosen, but every possession the people there had was beautiful and serviceable. Once when I was complaining about money or not having something or other, my daughter, twelve at the time, said "Remember Mali." I said, "Who's Molly?" She said, "Not Molly: Mali." And I often do.

The next morning, January 1, I went to the Tibetan Buddhist monastery on Outlook Mountain in Woodstock for their First Light Peace Ceremony. It was lovely. While there, however, a blizzard blew up, and driving down the mountain my little hybrid didn't make one of the turns. I was heading straight for a tree and asked God if we could please just miss the tree. We did - by an inch. I learned later that I missed a ravine by about four feet. My neck is a little unhappy from the bump - I hit a bank of old, very hard snow - and the car will be in the shop for three weeks (our rental is a Jeep - let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...). I have to start my new year on February 7, Chinese New Year, year of the rat, most auspicious, they say.

I need to stop - I'm past check-out time in this motel - so I wish you a glorious year and, more important, a glorious moment.

Love and light, Victoria

Book of the Week:

An Hour to Live, An Hour to Love, by Richard Carlson, Ph.D., and Kristine Carlson, Hyperion, 2008.
Oh my goodness, what an exquisite little book! The first half of this tiny tome is a love letter my friend and mentor the late Richard Carlson of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff fame, gave to his wife Kristine on their 18th wedding anniversary. Three years later, thirteen months ago, he died suddenly and unexpectedly at age 45. He wrote to her what he would do and say if he knew that he had but one hour to live. This is poignant, moving, and necessary reading for anyone who loves anyone on this earth. The second half of the book is Kris's response, written after Richard's death. It is such a testimony, not only to their love, but to love in general, and it was such a reminder to me to put first things first - and first things are always living things. Give this beautiful little book to yourself, and one to everybody to love.

Last call for the Learning Annex NYC!...

Please be a part of my fun, exciting, and inspiring class, "How to Lead a More Spiritual Life." Topics we'll cover include the perennial philosophy, discovering the divine in daily life, the Law of Attraction (all a whole bunch of other laws!), the physical body and the spiritual life, meditation in the real world, and tolerance on this planet of diverse beliefs and ways of being. It's this Tuesday evening, 6:30 to 9:45, in midtown Manhattan. To register, visit the Learning Annex website HERE.

Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens...

Melinda in Cincinnati wrote to say that she'd like more coaching exercises in the Charmed Monday Minute every now and then. Just for you, Melinda, here's a seasonally appropriate exercise for more self-knowledge and self-appreciation. It's called "Playing Favorites." To do it, pretend that you're Sister Maria from The Sound of Music you ask yourself, "What is my favorite...?" and list everything you can think of in every area of life. Coming up with 100 is not excessive. Remember, these are not things you want but rather things you love. For example, you can write that your favorite city is Paris without wanting to move there (or feeling glum that you won't be moving there). This is not a wish list, but instead a getting-to-know-yourself list and coming to see how amazing and magnificent you are. Here's an example (the answers are mine and they're real):

What is my favorite?...

Color: Tiffany blue
Thing to do: Meet Adair at a Starbucks in NYC
Actor: Ed Harris
Actress: Diane Keaton
Season: Fall
Perfume: Trish McEvoy Vanilla Musk
Item of clothing: Dark blue corduroy DKNY dress
Poem: "Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood," Wordsworth
Restaurant: Sacred Chow, NYC
Broadway show: Phantom of the Opera
Movie: Auntie Mame (runners-up: Gone with the Wind, Moonstruck, The Birdcage, Forrest Gump, Gorillas in the Mist, Miracle of 34th St...)
Mode of travel: Train
Indulgence: The New Age Health Spa, Neversink, NY
Holiday: Christmas
Fiction book: The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
Health book: Perfect Health, Deepak Chopra
Spirituality book: The Bible (runners-up: Alcoholics Anonymous, The Games of Life & How to Play It by Florence Scovil Shinn, The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav, How to Know God, Christopher Isherwood translation, The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse, A Most Surprising Song, by Louann Stahl)
Feng shui book: Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life
Dish that I cook: Vegetarian chili

Okay, here's the recipe: Vegetarian Chili

Note: These are approximate measures. It's never the same twice.

1 medium onion
½ pound firm tofu, drained
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans red or kidney beans
1 large can diced tomatoes
10 oz. frozen organic corn
Other veggies to taste: chopped green pepper, carrots, celery (optional)
Cumin, cayenne, chili powder, salt to taste

Sauté onion in olive oil. When softened, add garlic and continue sautéing till done. Remove onion and garlic from skillet with slotted spoon.

Cut the tofu in diced-sized squares and sauté in olive oil until cooked.

Mix the onion-garlic mixture and tofu in soup pot. Add beans, tomatoes, corn, other vegetables, and seasonings to taste. Simmer to mix flavors. Serve 4. Yummy - even better the next day.

I'm on BeliefNet!

I am honored and privileged to have some work of mine featured on BeliefNet.com, the premier site on the net for spirituality and religions. Here is the link to my latest piece, "10 Ways to Be Your Own Life Coach."

WHERE I'LL BE...

KANSAS CITY, MO: January 13, Sunday, 9 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday services, "The God-Shaped Hole," book signing to follow; Center for Spiritual Living, 1306 W. 39th St., 816/931-2395, www.cslkc.org

NEW YORK CITY: January 15, Tuesday, The Learning Annex , workshop entitled "How to Have a More Spiritual Life"

New Year's Resolutions

2007-12-26T22:33:00.003-05:00

Many of us make resolutions for the New Year but I have found the answer to sticking to two of the most popular resolutions and even succeeding in them.

Resolution #1

Get your finances straight... Overall I think we Americans struggle most with the money piece. We're not really taught practical money management in school, and as adults we can feel intimidated by all the economic jargon and we get the idea that financial savvy really belongs to a special few. That's why getting educated about your money is so important. Capital One, for instance, has some terrific tips and resources on their website: these are easy to understand and they yet provide the information you really need to know. Here are some of their tips:

Create a spending plan – Having a spending plan is the easiest way to stay on top of your spending. Once you have a budget, remember to track all of your spending against it and review it every few months to make sure you’re sticking to it.
Save – Save as often as you can. Start by establishing a few small savings goals and incorporate them into your budget. Remember that even small amounts can add up over time.
Get a copy of your credit report. Making sure it’s accurate is one of the best ways to protect against identity theft and consumers everywhere can obtain a free annual copy by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com.

Capital One offers a host of free consumer information available at
capitalone.com/financialeducation - just click on Financial Education Partnerships.

Resolution #2

Update your look. Take some of that Christmas money and get yourself some wonderful clothes. Don't wait till to lose weight or the styles get more flattering or whatever it is that's been holding you back. You deserve to look magnificent. And if wear glasses, new ones can spice up your whole look. I'm finding LenCrafters is like a fashionista's candy store. They have some stunning new styles from Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, DKNY, Versace -- having some of these terrific glasses is a way to wear something from a designer every single day without spending a lot. It spices up your whole look -- you know, people do look at your eyes first -- and you can look at 2008 with new eyes and a new attitude."

Visit
LensCrafters.comto find out the latest trends or visit the store near you so you can start the year off right!

Resolution #3

Come closer to a vegetarian diet. For your body, the animals, and the planet, eat green. Put more fresh vegetables and fruits, satisfying whole grains, and legumes (beans, lentils, split peas, soy products) in your diet, and double the number of vegetarian entrees you enjoy each week. Here are some stats to ponder (from EarthSave International):

Number of people who could be fed using the land, water and energy that would be freed up from growing livestock feed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100,000,000

Activity that accounts for more than half of all water consumed for all purposes in the United States:
Livestock Production

Risk of heart attack for the average American man: 50%. Risk of death front heart attack for the average American man who consumes no meat, dairy products or eggs: 4%

Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times higher

Health status of pure vegetarians from many populations of the world according to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences: Excellent

Resolution #4

Have quiet time every morning. Nothing will change the way you see the world, your life, and yourself more than making contact every morning for ten to twenty minutes with the highest and best that's in you. Use the time for prayer, meditation, journal writing, inspirational reading or some combination. Here are some of the benefits of meditation:

More energy

Improved sleep

Decreased anxiety (meditation lowers lactate levels in the blood)

Increased concentration

Decrease in muscle tension and muscle pain, including some headaches

Supports immune system (it increases the activity of natural killer cells that attack bacteria and viruses)

Increased serotonin production which can lead to an improvement in depression

Stems overeating (this may also be a serotonin response)

Builds self-esteem

Improves quality of sleep and can be part of the treatment for insomnia

Increases alertness

Brings about happiness as an internal state not dependent on external events

A classic book for new and seasoned meditators: How to Meditate, by Lawrence LeShan

Resolution #5

Enjoy something every day. We're so serious that I see our society suffering from a great lack of joy. Oh, we have ease, and recreation, and entertainment, and diversions, but joy is different. It comes from letting your inner kid out to play. Find ways to enjoy the little things. Stop a moment of pleasure. The e-mail can wait. So can the laundry. Your heart and soul and self have been put on hold too often. Here are some of the simple joys that please the heck out of me:

Snow! Even with global warming, it still snows sometimes and it's absolutely gorgeous.

My cat: he'll follow anything with a tail (ribbon, string, shoelace, the cord from the phone charger)

Afternoon tea (get a whole new appreciation for the brew and its herbal associates at www.teagarden.com)

Watching a movie in the middle of the day, either at a theater or in bed under the covers

Having breakfast for dinner (my menu: Scrambled Tofu [I used Fantastic Foods Tofu Scrambler mix], toasted spelt English muffins with flax oil and all-fruit jam, grilled veggie-Canadian-bacon [Yves is a good brand, at natural foods stores], and fresh o.j. Yum.)

A hot bath with Dr. Kneipp's bath oils---there's an array to choose from if I want to relax, perk up, feel less stiff or sore, or clear my nasal passages and my thinking.

Charmed Monday Minute- 12/10/07

2007-12-10T12:59:00.000-05:00

An amazing adventure...

Hi, everybody. U-Haul has as their slogan "Adventures in Moving" and, heaven knows, I've had an adventure. I did the move from New York City to Woodstock on my own. I figured William was in so much grief over the death of his son that he would not do well with the stress of moving so I bought him a nonrefundable ticket to visit his mom in Kansas so he couldn't say no. Then I proceeded to pack, transport, uproot, redecorate, and reestablish our domestic life.

I had some terrific packing help in NYC from a wonderful professional organizer named Liani Greaves. If you're in the NYC area and in need of establishing some order, I highly recommend her. You can reach her by phone at 917-561-9814. On the day of the Big Move, however, everything went wrong. I hired movers from craigslist---major mistake. For starters, they were six hours late. For finishers, although they advertised themselves as legitimate movers, they weren't. They were instead some guys in the restaurant business in Albany looking to make a buck when their truck is in New York City. Big problem: small truck. They ended up having to make two runs and charging me double.

And after all that, they forgot our clothes. No kidding: on the second run when they were by themselves, they didn't look in closets and I realized that all my business clothes and all my husband's suits and sports jackets and overcoats were in garment bags back in Manhattan - 2 ½ hours away. The moving guy promised he'd pick them up on Monday. He didn't. I ended up driving there myself Tuesday morning. It was rough: I was not ready to see the city only four days after leaving it. I cried so hard in front of my old building that the morning doorman, a devout Muslim who would never ordinarily touch a woman who wasn't his wife, felt so bad that he hugged me!

There were also snags of every sort on the apartment. The painter was skilled but went well over budget. The movers managed to lock my desk (I didn't know it had a lock and I certainly had no key) so I had to call a locksmith. The electrical outlets in my husband's office weren't grounded so I had to bring in an electrician. The windows are odd sized so getting shades and blinds was trying. The Roadrunner cable still doesn't work for our Internet (Dear Verizon: You cost a lot but we're coming back...) and the TV cable doesn't work at all. And yet, with every day and every challenge I felt stronger and more up to the job. I had to create a warm, welcoming home for William, no matter what. As I result, I matted pictures, hung curtains, painted woodwork, and did a host of other things I've never done and always said were outside my area of interest or expertise. The way I feel today: I can do just about anything. I guess that's what the word empowerment is about.

You know what I thought of through this time?---those military recruitment commercials that basically say, "Give us your scrawny, good-for-nothing kid and we'll give you back a soldier." Ten days ago I was, figuratively, the scrawny kid. Now I'm strong and brave in a way I wasn't before. Who knew they held boot camp at Home Depot?

Anyway, we're settled in. I created a shrine for James with a piece of his original artwork, his photograph, one of his school awards, and the crucifix from his memorial service. The picture of him is on a little table with a cubby where all the sympathy cards (thanks for sending them) are in a special box. On one side is a framed print of the angel Raphael and on the other a matted cover of the latest Harry Potter book, James's favorite. Other special parts of our new digs are two closets and the laundry room, painted a luscious red---perfect feng shui. One of the closets (mine) is the prosperity section of the apartment and totally magical, with a little hallway leading to it, stars on the walls, and magic in the air.

Bobby, our cat, loves it here---he has birds to watch and great views from all these second floor windows. Siân and Erik, William's 21-year-old daughter and 20-year-old son, are here from Toronto for a few days, and Adair and Nick and the two dogs are coming for Christmas. It all feels very much a home, at least for the time being. I see New York City in movies and all and can't bear to think that I could conceivably not live there again, but for now this is sweet, and now is what I've got.

I've also found a place to write---two actually. Daily Bread is a café just across the street from us that opens early and where I can write all morning. If I need an afternoon spot as well, there's a coffee bar and comfy lounge above a restaurant called Joshua's four or five blocks up. I was there today and talked to someone else with a laptop. Turns out he's writing his dissertation for a Ph.D. in religion from Columbia. He and his wife and baby have only lived here two weeks, so as fellow newbies and people interested in religion and spirituality, I hope we'll become friends.

Enough of me. I hope you're having a lovely December. Happy Hanukkah and happy Advent and happy right-now-this-minute.

Victoria

Speaking of friends...

A couple of months ago I mentioned a wonderful Tarot reader, Roy Sorrels. Some of you contacted him for readings and I've gotten so much positive feedback, Roy is offering a fee-reduced holiday-season special for anyone who would like a reading, either in person in New York City or by phone wherever you are. For information about Roy's work and to discuss booking a reading at 20% off, you can email him at RoySorrels2@aol.com or call him at 646-637-4576.

Thoughts on A Simpler Life...

I wrote this a couple of months ago as I anticipated this move. Maybe you can relate:

I want a life with less stuff in it - fewer books I don't read, fewer clothes I don't wear, less mail and less paper; fewer to-do list items that don't make my heart sing. I want everything in my home to either do something or mean something.

I intend to travel less - only for real fun or real money. I want less email and the nerve to not answer it if I don't feel like it, and maybe not even open it if I don't feel like that. I want a clearer calendar and shorter tax return.

I look forward to divesting from my wardrobe any garment that has "sweat" as its first syllable. I relish knowing less about Britney and more about me. I crave the chance to do more work that matters and less that spins my wheels.

I want days to be longer so I don't have to choose between mediation and writing in my journal, or between yoga and Pilates, my husband and my daughter. Long days would mean cooking dinner from scratch and writing my books in pen. Days like that would put empty spaces in my life so if something wonderful showed up, there would be room for her sit. I want more time to spend with my dog. (If I had the time, I'd get the dog.)

I want to live in the day I'm given and stop defusing miracles by needing them so much. I want to spend more time with the people I love and the ones I find interesting. I yearn to immerse myself in the sacred and be choosy about the profane. I choose to live my life now and never again strive to reach a goal unless I should happen to take up hockey.

Christmas cooking...

I hear people say sometimes, "I could do without the turkey. It's the stuffing I'd miss." I've been vegetarian since before they held that concert in my new home town, and I have often had to suffer through a stuffing-less holiday season. We serve our stuffing (or stuffings -- we often do one with bread and one rice, depending on how many diners will be around the table) with either a nut loaf or one of the turkey alternatives now on the market ("Tofurky" and the others, available at natural foods stores), a fresh green salad, string bean casserole with cashew white sauce, a simple sweet potato dish, and either pumpkin or apple pie as a belated dessert. Here's a stuffing recipe I like. It's from The Compassionate Cook: More Than 200 Delicious Vegan Recipes, by Ingrid Newkirk:

Harvest Stuffing

1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup diced celery
1/2-1 cup diced onion
1/4 cup margarine (choose one with no trans-fats)
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2-1 tsp. salt
8 cups dry bread cubes
2 apples, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt margarine in large skillet over medium heat. Cook carrots, celery, and onion until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the poultry seasoning, pepper, and salt.

In a bowl, combine the bread cubes, apples, and walnuts, then add the carrot mixture. Add enough water or broth to moisten, tossing lightly.

Transfer to a 2 1/2-quart casserole dish, cover, band bake for 20-30 minutes. Serves 8 to 10. Preparation time: 30 minutes. Baking time: 20-30 minutes.

Tuning into my Internet radio program, A Charmed Life, on www.healthylife.net...

Some people have had some difficulties accessing the show which airs live on the 4th Wednesday of every month and is archived forevermore. One of the people who couldn't hear the show was my November guest Judy Goldberg, a certified flower essences practitioner. Linda MacKenzie from HealthyLife.net walked her through it and here are the instructions for you:

Hi Judy,
Victoria forwarded your message to me. Let me see if I can help. To get to our main site log on to http://www.healthylife.net which gets you to our home page...then:

1- If you want to hear a live show - double click the blue "Listen Live" button at the top and whatever show is on plays automatically.

2- If you want to hear an archive show - click on the archive button located at the top of our home page near the Listen Live button called "Archives." Scroll down to Men, Woman & Family Issues and directly beneath this you will find Victoria Moran's name. Click on her name and that will bring you to her archived show page. Then merely select the show you would like to hear and click on it and it will automatically play. Windows Media Player is required and if you don't have it you can download it free at the top of our home page above the "Listen Live" button on top upper right of the home page.

It does take a day or two after the show is aired before we archive it. Although there should not be any trouble to listen to our programs (unless you have a Mac - they can be finicky) but if you do have trouble listening click our "Trouble Listening" link in the left hand column to find out what to do. We even cover those finicky Macs.

(Note from Victoria: I have a Mac and never before believed I could love a computer. Different strokes.... Anyway, please tell me (1) if you listen to the show; (2) if you have trouble accessing it. I will do something different if people can't hear this. Thanks.)

OprahSelects.com:

Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.com since Victoria was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, you can write a reader review if you'd like.

Quotation of the Week:

"I pray thee, God, make me beautiful on the inside." -- Socrates

WHERE I'LL BE...

TOPEKA, KS: January 6, Sunday, 11 a.m., Sunday service, "The God-Shaped Hole," book signing to follow; Unity Church of Christianity, 9126 SW Tenth Ave., www.wingsunfolding.com

KANSAS CITY, MO: January 13, Sunday, 9 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday services, "The God-Shaped Hole," book signing to follow; Center for Spiritual Living, 1306 W. 39th St., 816/931-2395, www.cslkc.org

NEW YORK CITY: January 15, Tuesday, The Learning Annex , workshop entitled "How to Have a More Spiritual Life"

Charmed Monday Minute- 11/19/07

2007-11-21T17:19:00.000-05:00

Happy, Thanksgiving, everyone ---

And happy Monday. This is the last day Joya and I will be working together in person. She'll stay on as my virtual assistant after I move (at least until she takes off for a Masters program in directing) and the Minute will go out every other Monday as usual.

William and I went up to Woodstock this weekend to take care of preliminaries like getting a car. I must say, that was tough. I never thought I'd ever have to deal with owning a car again. Well, you know the old saw about never saying never. We got a Honda Civic hybrid---automatic for William, although I've always been fond of manual transmissions myself. This week, we finish packing and the movers come Friday. We'll go out with Adair and Nick (my daughter and son-in-law for those who don't know the names) on Thanksgiving and come back and keep packing.

We've moved a lot and don't have nearly the "stuff" most people do, but I was reminded how much stuff accumulates when William's daughter Siân moved back to Canada a few months ago. She'd only lived with us for a year, and all her Stateside possessions fit nicely into a mid-sized bedroom. But when she moved she had to pack so many boxes, letting me know there's lots more here than I want to think about. All this brings me to...

The book of the week!

This book was a gift from my friend Cynthia Fellowes. Cynthia is a fascinating woman in her own right - a gifted actress, a prosperity coach, and an animal psychic. She's the official animal psychic for Commerce Bank- no kidding! Take a look at her site.

Anyway, back to the book:
It's Scaling Down: Living Large in a Smaller Space, by Judi Culbertson and Marj Decker (Rodale Press, 2005). It is the most humane and practical organizing book I've ever read. I loved that they said "90% of what's put in a file is never looked at again." My sentiments exactly. Scaling Down is great if you're moving, downsizing, clearing out, moving your parent(s) to a smaller space, or if you just want to get closer to only having around you things you use and things you love. The closet section alone is worth the price of the book. While I can't say that I'm looking forward to packing up, the suggestions in this book are making it seem more adventure than agony, and I know that I'll get to Woodstock with clarity and open space and things around me that lift my spirits. I give this book five stars, two thumbs up, cheers and accolades...

Quotation of the week:

In an email from a beautiful friend, I read this bit of deliciousness...

Spirituality is the end of arguing with what is. -Adyashanti

Heading for the Hills Coaching Special:

Someone wrote to Joya asking if we knew of a life coach in her geographic area. Actually, 99% of life coaching is done by phone so geography is not an impediment. I do see some clients in person in Manhattan, but I'll be cutting that back with my move and as a result, I'd like to offer you a special rate on telephone coaching services. Anyone signing up between now and the end of January 2008 who asks for the "heading for the hills" coaching special will get a 20% discount on any one-month or three-month coaching package. (This is in addition to the discount already built in for 3-month packages.) To learn more about Charm Your Life Coaching, my spiritual life-coaching practice, and see the fee schedule, go to my coaching page. To take advantage of this discount offer (available to new clients only), email me directly at charmedlifelady@aol.com.

Barbara: Would you like to look and feel younger?

Okay, here's the deal: a lovely reader named Barbara ordered a copy of Younger by the Day as a gift for a friend. In my multi-tasking state, I signed it to Barbara herself instead of to the friend. I signed another book properly for her, but I have one now inscribed to Barbara.

...So, the first Barbara who writes to Joya requesting this book (put "Book for Barbara" in the subject line and your mailing address in the body of the email) will receive the inscribed copy for free! The first Barbara to email gets it. (If you don't hear back from us, somebody beat you to it.)

A little seasonal something:

Adair and Nick are rehearsing A Christmas Carol with Personal Space Theatrics in New York City (here's the link for more info for any New Yorkers interested in the show - this is the fifth and final year for the production and it's not to be missed). During one of the first music rehearsals, they were going over "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." When it came to the line about "bring us some figgy pudding," one of the little boys in the chorus belted out in the perfect pitch of a New York City stage kid: "Come bring us some friggin' pudding!" The director stopped the song and said, "It's figgy pudding, made from figs, not 'friggin' ' pudding." The little boy said, "Oh, I thought it was friggin' because we were really mad that nobody had given us any pudding yet."

...Which brings to mind: figgy pudding!

When William and I were in Glastonbury, England, in 2003---and a wonderful, magical place it is, with legends of the Isle of Avalon and King Arthur and the Holy Grail---I got a recipe for figgy pudding that is more than half-a-millennium old. There was a large monastery in Glastonbury at the time that Henry VIII outlawed the Roman Catholic Church in England. Those abbots and monks who would not convert to the new religion were killed, their buildings demolished, and their lands seized. The operation was done quickly and haphazardly, though, so in the case of the Glastonbury Abbey, many of the structures were destroyed but some survive to this day. One of those is the monks' kitchen, recreated to show what it might have looked like in 1500, complete with instructions from that era for figgy pudding. The measures were hard to translate so this is my guestimate. Play with the amounts if you try this. It's pretty hard to mess up.

Figgy Pudding from the Long Ago Monks of Glastonbury Abbey

3 cups white wine
3 cups water
1 Tbls. honey (I use agave nectar, but the monks didn't have that.)
1 tsp. ginger
2 Tbls. raisins
1 Tbls. ground almonds
4 to 5 cups dried figs, cut in quarters with stems removed

Simmer on gentle heat 10-15 minutes till figs and raisins are swollen and soft. Pour into cups. Let cool. Say grace. Enjoy.

OprahSelects.com:

Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.com since Victoria was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, you can write a reader review if you'd like.

VICTORIA'S NEW, 10th, and (we're hearing!) BEST BOOK EVER,

Fat, Broke & Lonely No More: Your Personal Solution to Overeating, Overspending, and Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places
from HarperOne

Get your copy today!

If you'd like to order online, here are links to the big guys:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Or, visit your favorite independent bookstore to get your copy!

(To find an independent bookstore in your area, you can search on booksense.com here.)

Take care, and all good things -

Victoria Moran

Charmed Monday Minute- 11/5/07

2007-11-05T15:49:00.000-05:00

Hello, all -

I'm so glad it's November. My astrologer friends tell me that October was largely taken up by a "Mercury retrograde" (when things are prone to go awry, communications are difficult, and tensions are high). I'm pleased to report that Mercury has straightened out and we have a new month for being grateful and going forward.

I would be lying if I said that things here were not difficult. We'll be dealing with the ramifications of James's passing (for those who don't know, my 16-year-old stepson made his transition in September) for as long as it takes. There have also been a series of losses, disappointments, and detours for my husband and me that have been going on for a bit more than a year, and with our move to Woodstock coming up the day after Thanksgiving, I'm also looking at the loss of Manhattan island (and not living two miles from my daughter), which is huge for me.

Nevertheless, I feel a great deal of peace most days. I feel James's presence and that's a blessing. (If you noticed that I used clumsy wording about him in the previous paragraph, it's because I feel strongly that he told me, "Stop saying I'm dead. I'm not dead. I'm just somewhere else, like if I went away to college.") I also have the great gift of being able to write the sequel to Creating a Charmed Life for HarperOne. It will be called Living a Charmed Life and it will be my Woodstock work through the winter and spring. In addition, there are very good things happening with my husband's screenplays. A producer we admire and trust is now involved. I can't say more till things are more solidified, but William has never been closer to his dream's coming true, and that makes me happy, too.

I'm also really eager to see what delicious surprises await in Woodstock. Even though I'm a city girl and am going with the attitude of a temporary regrouping, not a permanent exit, I look forward to living in this village that has such high consciousness, so many people who think as I do, and so much to learn and experience. If you want to know more about where I'm headed, you can visit their Chamber of Commerce's website. (I love it that there's a link on the Chamber of Commerce site for "spirituality." What a town!)

Blessings, Victoria

I'm on BeliefNet! -

I am honored and privileged to have some work of mine featured on BeliefNet.com, the premier site on the net for spirituality and religions. Here is the link to my piece, "10 Ways to Be Your Own Life Coach."

Recipe of the week -

Garbanzo Curry

2 Tbls. Olive oil
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. cinnamon
Minced garlic to taste (I used 4 cloves, but then I'm half Italian)
Dash ground cayenne
1 pound green beans in 1-inch pieces
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 cups water
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
1 20-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained

Heat oil in large skillet until hot but not smoking. Add next seven ingredients and cook two minutes. Add green beans, potatoes, and carrots, and mix well. Add water and salt and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook fifteen minutes. Add garbanzos and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Serves 6 (and the leftovers are great).

Do you have stuff to pass along? -

A professional organizer is helping me pack for the move and she recommended these two websites as sources for deserving nonprofits who can use stuff I'd otherwise not know what you do with. They are:

Wastematch.org

Justgive.org

Book of the week -

The Art of Simplicity: Living Life by the Essentials of the Heart
by Candy Paull (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2006)

The fourth in her series of absolutely beautiful books - the first two are The Art of Abundance, The Art of Encouragement, and Christmas Abundance - this is the readable equivalent of Earl Grey tea, steeped in a pot, and served in your grandmother's china. That is: it warms you through and through.

If you're a fan of inspiring quotations, The Art of Simplicity, and all Paull's books, is filled with the cream of the crop:

If grass can grow through cement, love can find you at every time of your life. - Cher

If you want to see the brave, look at those who can forgive. If you want to see the heroic, look at those who can love in return for hatred. - The Bhagavad Gita

Sin is an obstruction in the heart, and inability to feel and comprehend all that is noble, true, and great, and to take part in the good. - The Talmud

(See, what did I tell you?) But beyond the lilting words of sacred texts and wise and clever people from throughout the ages, Paull's own insights in chapters such as "Spiritual Magnificence," "Clearing Clutter: Releasing That Which No Longer Serves," and "Taming the Money Dragon" are what makes this book a worthy read and top-notch gift. This author is infinitely practical. She gives you concrete things to do and none of them require that you have to buy anything or gather a lot of props. It's such a pleasure to read a book, say "Gosh, I can do that," and then do it and see your life get better. Give The Art of Simplicity to someone you know who's overwhelmed or in transition, or put it on your own list for Santa.

And speaking of books...

It's autographed-copies-from-Victoria time again. Get a head start on your holiday shopping by ordering personally autographed copies of my books for your friends and family members. It's easy: you can email in your order between now and December 10, and then call me with your credit card number (Visa, MasterCard, American Express). I cover postage and packaging charges.

Books available are:

Creating a Charmed Life: Sensible, Spiritual Secrets Every Busy Woman Should Know
A cute little softcover. Great for stocking stuffers and gift exchanges. Some people put the book a gift bag with a box of the Celestial Seasonings teas - Victorian Earl Grey or Tuscany Orange Spice - that has a quotation from Creating a Charmed Life. In any case, everybody seems to love this book. $13.

Lit from Within: A Simple Guide to the Art of Inner Beauty.
Oprah said, "This book will light a fire inside you." Perfect for a young woman who doesn't realize how beautiful she is or any woman interested in enlightened self-care. Softcover. $13

Younger by the Day: 365 Ways to Rejuvenate Your Body & Revitalize Your Spirit.
A great holiday gift since it's a day-at-a-time guide to a whole year of growing more youthful and vital. Softcover. $15. (Hardcovers are still available at $21.95, but I'd have to do a special order.)

Fit from Within: 101 Simple Ways to Change Your Body & Your Life.
This book tells everything I know that's kept me free of 60 extra pounds for 24 years. Softcover. $13.

Fat, Broke & Lonely No More: Your Personal Solution to Overeating, Overspending, and Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places.
Obviously, with a title like this, you could only give it to your very best friend (along with a copy for yourself so you guys could work on this stuff together), but I believe it is my best book, a fun and helpful read. Only in hard cover. $24. (Yes, you can save quite a bit on hard covers from Amazon or BN.com, but I'm small potatoes and have to sell at the cover price. Besides, you're getting a signed copy.)

15 Minutes of Fame -

This weekend when I was away speaking for a TOPS conference in Amsterdam, NY, and the Unity church in Albany (thanks to all the new subscribers from both places), I got this email from my husband and thought it was a hoot:

I was having lunch at Parnell's, and there were a couple of guys sitting next to me. I thought they were from Holland, and I broke one of my main rules and started to talk to one of them. I asked where he was from.

He said Iceland. They are here in NYC because a friend is running in the NYC marathon. I told him that my wife had been to Iceland and that her books sell well there. He asked me who my wife is. I said Victoria Moran.

He hit his friend on the shoulder and said "Oh my God, this guy is married to Victoria Moran". They went on to tell me that you are the no. 1 author in Iceland and that even though your books are written for women, all of the men read them, too. They said that there are special sections in the book stores for your books.

Anyway, they know every book you have ever written, and were disappointed to find out they couldn't meet you.

So their names are Hoskuldur and Smari and they are here until Tuesday. I'm sure they would be thrilled if you sent them an email (I have their cards).

They insisted on paying for my lunch, because "I am the husband of the famous Victoria Moran."

So, if Woodstock doesn't work out, there's always Reykjavik...

WHERE I'LL BE...

Nowhere! - well, almost. After speaking for The Masters Circle in Orlando this weekend (the premier chiropractic practice-building organization), I'll get a welcome break from traveling. I'll spend November on the move to Woodstock and December on the holidays and on starting the new book. I will doing another Learning Annex class in New York City on "How to Have a More Spiritual Life" January 15th. The first class was terrific; everybody had a great time and learned a lot, so: New Yorkers, mark your calendars.

OprahSelects.com:

Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.com since Victoria was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, you can write a reader review if you'd like.

Get your copy today!

If you'd like to order online, here are links to the big guys:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Or, call your favorite independent bookstore to reserve your copy!

(To find an independent bookstore in your area, you can search on booksense.com here.)

Take care, and all good things -

Victoria Moran

Charmed Monday Minute- 10/25/07 (Actually a Thursday...)

2007-10-25T15:38:00.000-04:00

Hi, everyone, and welcome to new readers -

I'm on the plane en route back from the Girlfriends' Getaway Weekend in Bermuda. It was a lovely event and I met some amazing women, notably the conference planner, Nadja Piatka, founder of Nadja Foods and Donna Voll, a co-presenter who is an expert on angels. Donna has an Internet radio show that's worth knowing about.

Bermuda is like a jewel in the sea with hibiscus blooming everywhere. It's very British (they drive on the UK side of the road) and laid back. The speed limit is 25 mph and life is like that, too. I had the privilege of visiting a longtime friend, Lane Martin, whom I met through the homeschooling community in Connecticut way back in 1990. She's since moved back to her native Bermuda and gave me the chance to see the island from a local's point of view. She also gave me a tour of her backyard orchard - banana, avocado, guava, cherry, peach and fig trees, plus a grape arbor. (Lane is a raw foodist and just returned from the Raw Spirit Fest in Sedona.)

Because it was our tenth anniversary, William made the trip with me. He's not ready to travel or do anything really. (For those of you new to the Charmed Monday Minute, our youngest child, James - William's son, my stepson passed away last month.) The loss is still very fresh.

And because of that, a major change is about to happen in our lives: we've moving to Woodstock, New York. I know they tell you not to make any major changes the first year after a tragic loss, but we need to do this. William is working far too much in order to keep us in Manhattan and he needs to get away, let some of the stresses go, and focus on processing what's happened, grieving, and healing. Woodstock seems perfect: there's a lot of music there and he can reactivate his musical life (William plays harmonica, accordion, and French horn), and it's a close-knit community that's as cute as it can be.

We've rented an apartment over an art and office-supply store on the main street. Among the town's unique offerings are a spiritual bookstore and a regular bookstore, two vegetarian restaurants (one of which is vegan), a good natural foods market a block away, a cute café where I can write (to make up for my neighborhood Starbucks in NYC moving away), and a farm animal sanctuary eight miles up the road. There seems to be a strong spiritual community and plenty of yoga and Pilates. I think it is the perfect place to write the sequel to Creating a Charmed Life. The publisher is still deciding if they want it or not. Please send good thoughts and prayers in that direction. To leave the city and my support system there without having a book to write would be tough.

Here's the plan: We can take possession of the apartment November 15 so we'll drive up that weekend in a rental car with plans to clean the flat, measure the space, decide where we'll put things, tend to any necessary repairs, and get our Internet and cable hooked up. We'll also buy a car (I never thought I'd own a car again, but life throws curves...) Then we'll go back to NYC and get packed to move over the Thanksgiving long weekend.

It will be a busy month: William is going to Toronto in a few days for a posthumous honor for James (he's getting his school's Social Justice Award) and I'll hold down the fort. I'll also be giving a class, "How to Develop a Spiritual Life," this Thursday evening at the NYC Learning Annex. The following weekend I'll be in Amsterdam, NY, to speak for a TOPS club conference and then to Albany to speak for the Unity church there the first Sunday in November. The following weekend I'll be in Orlando for The Masters Circle, a huge chiropractic seminar where I'll be on the program with speakers including Mark Victor Hansen and Dr. John DiMartini. That will end my speaking year and I can cycle into a quieter way of being without the travel and stepping so often into "public mode." It will be a good time to move, set up housekeeping, and be more inward-focused for awhile.

Joya will stay on with me as a virtual assistant so you'll get the Charmed Monday Minute as usual. I will not take new in-person coaching clients in New York City, but I will continue coaching and adding more telephone clients from around North America to my list. In fact, I may run a "moving sale" to make coaching available to more new clients - watch for that in an upcoming Minute.

My very best,
Victoria

Book of the week:

Pornography for Women, by the Cambridge Women's Pornography Collective and Susan Anderson (2007).

This is really fun little book. Its point of view is obvious from the cover photo: a great-looking guy vacuuming! The book is comprised of photos of handsome men doing and saying what really turns women on, like "I don't have any answers, but let me make you a cup of tea and then I'll listen," "Is this the way you like me to fold your blouses?" At the back of book, each model is given a tongue-in-cheek profile that lets us know that he's planning to open the world's first "luxury orphanage" and that his most admired person is his mom.

This would make a great gift or stocking stuffer, a fun little something for a bride, and a humorous conversation starter when you're having a night out with your girlfriends. (It's a not a bad hint for a guy either.)

New Film:

Suzanne Taylor is a friend who I met during my book tour for Shelter for the Spirit in 1997. She has produced and directed a fascinating film called Walking in Circles, a new feature-length documentary on crop circles. It will receive its first preview showing in November at the "Shh! It's A Secret! Not on the 6 O'Clock News" Conference in Tempe, Arizona. For more info on the conference, click here.

Clarification from the last "Minute"...

In the chocolate cake recipe, it should have read "bake for 25-30 minutes," not "5-30 minutes"! Oops!

An Important Cause:

Reader Carol Dickman wrote a few weeks ago to ask if we could help spread awareness about her son's condition. She writes...

"My son, Rob, has had psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis for over 10 years now, and I have witnessed the pain he has been subjected to by people thinking the disease is contagious. He's been asked to leave restaurants and get out of swimming pools, and people shy away from him. There are several approaches being taken these days to make people more aware of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The goal is to spread the word that it is not contagious and to give encouragement to those who suffer with the disease."

To hear more about Rob's story, you can view the YouTube video he made to help spread awareness of psoriasis here.

To learn the facts about psoriasis and what you can do to help, check out the site of this advocacy group working to find a cure for the condition, Psoriasis Cure Now.

New Internet Radio Show:

You can listen to my internet radio show on HealthyLife.net from noon to 1pm EST every 4th Wednesday of the month. Yesterday's show was wonderful, featuring my action partner and opera-singer-extraordinaire, Sherry Boone. Check it out in the archives here.

(Trouble listening? Click here for the site's help page.)

OprahSelects.com:

Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.com since Victoria was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, you can write a reader review if you'd like.

Victoria on ABC News Now!

To view part of an interview with Victoria on yesterday's Good Morning America Now, click here and scroll down to "Video: Fat, Broke, and Lonely."

WHERE I'LL BE...

-TONIGHT! New York, NY: Learning Annex, "How to Live a More Spiritual Life." October 25, 6:45pm.

-Amsterdam, NY: Keynote address, regional conference, TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), November 3. Contact person: Judy Pettit, 518-438-8928.

-Albany, NY: Guest Speaker at Unity Church, 21 King Ave. (topic: "The God Shaped Hole") November 4th at 9:00 & 11:00 AM. Book signings 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM. Tel: 518-453-3603.

-November 8-10: The Masters Circle SuperConference for chiropractors, Lake Buena Vista, FL.

Site to check out:

When you have a chance, click on over to SelfGrowth.com- - SelfGrowth.com is the most complete guide to information about Self Improvement, Personal Growth and Self Help on the Internet. It is designed to be an organized directory, with articles and references to thousands of other Web Sites on the World Wide Web.

Charmed Monday Minute- 10/8/07

2007-10-08T13:32:00.000-04:00

Dear Lovely Readers -

I wrote in Creating a Charmed Life that I love the fall and couldn't remember ever being unhappy in October. Well, it's October and I'm pretty sad. The loss of James is less a shock now and more a reality, and being here to support my husband in his deep, deep grief, while still going through my own, is a real soul stretch. Everything in our lives is changing and my assignment is to hold on, stay afloat, and know that right now, it's not about me. I wish I could put my ego in the dryer on high and shrink it like cheap jeans.

Thanks again for all the cards, calls, emails, prayers, donations to James's fund, and good thoughts all 'round. They mean the world. You all mean so much to me. You're my core group, the people I truly write for. It's so wonderful to know you're there.

Love and light,
Victoria

Need your input:

HarperOne wants to do a sequel to Creating a Charmed Life that we'll call Living a Charmed Life. This would be a tenth anniversary companion volume. If you've read the original, tell me what you'd like to see in the sequel. Here are some questions to get your thoughts going:

-What did you like about Creating a Charmed Life?
-What other topics do you wish it had addressed?
-How is your life different today than it was 8 years ago (when I wrote that book)? - things like being older, the world situation, etc.
-What would you like to see in Living a Charmed Life?
-How do you see those titles as differing, Living a Charmed Life versus Creating one?

Please send your thoughts and ideas (if you have them) to charmedassistant@aol.com (and either way, thanks for letting me ask.)

Cause of the week...

My daughter Adair and one of my grand-dogs, Oliver, are going to be walking in the October 14 "Walk for the Animals" to benefit Farm Sanctuary. If you'd care to support them (and learn more about this cause), here's the link.

Recipe of the week:

Someone wrote, "I miss the recipe of the week." I never saw it as a regular thing, but gosh, it's always time for a good recipe. This one can't pass for health food, but it's one fabulous chocolate cake, courtesy of my mom, Gladys Marshall:

3-Hole Chocolate Cake

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbls. Cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sugar (I use Sucanat, dried cane crystals)
½ tsp. salt

Sift together twice in 8"x8" baking pan (ungreased). Make 3 depressions in flour mix. Add:

1 Tbls. vanilla in one hole
1 Tbls. vinegar in second hole
5 Tbls. vegetable oil in third hole

Then add 1 cup cold water and mix well in pan. Bake at 350 F for 5-30 minutes, cool, frost, and celebrate. (And happy birthday to all you October babies, including my son-in-law Nick Moran!)

Quotation/affirmation of the week:

This is my very favorite affirmation. I found it in a little book called Metaphysical Meditations by Paramahansa Yogananda, way back when I was 18. I remember reading it for the first time on the plane coming back to the States after living in London. I didn't really want to be going home, but it felt like the right thing to do at the time. Then I read these lines and I knew that, wherever life took me, I'd be okay:

At the center of peace I stand. Nothing can harm me here.

If you're needing some peace today, know this. It's the truth.

- Victoria

OprahSelects.com -

Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.com since I was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, there's a way to do a reader review if you'd like.

A Wonderful Book of the Week...

Living an Uncommon Life: Essential Lessons from 21 Extraordinary People by John St. Augustine

John St. Augustine is himself an extraordinary person who lives an uncommon life. I first worked with him as a guest on his radio programs that were dedicated to uplifting the world. He took a break from those several years ago when he donated a kidney to his daughter. Both Dad and daughter are doing great, and John is now producing for Oprah & Friends on XM Satellite Radio. (You can see pictures of John at his book party in NYC if you go to www.victoriamoran.com and click on "Pictures.")

Living an Uncommon Life is as inspiring as can be. Read a page and you'll feel as if you can do anything (you can, by the way). The book gives its readers something of the power of what John believes in so much: the spoken word passed from one human being to another.

John uses his years of experience interviewing exceptional people on his radio show as the basis for this powerful book. It includes conversations with Dr. Wayne Dyer, Oprah Winfrey, and the late John Denver, among many other inspirational people. Their advice, and John's, is practical and priceless.

This one's a keeper, to be read again and again.

Upcoming Event: Exclusive Fat, Broke & Lonely No More Workshop in NYC!

My workshop at the 92nd St. Y here in New York is coming up soon, and there's still a few spots left! If you've read the book-- or came to my book launch at Barnes & Noble in June and got just a taste of the revolutionary information contained in those pages-- then this is your opportunity to learn in-depth about those ideas. There will plenty of opportunities for one-on-one conversations and an opportunity to discuss the topics YOU want to explore, from relationship troubles, money issues, and eating anxiety to any of the topics in my previous books.

This workshop will jumpstart your life. If you're in the area, don't miss it!

Date: Thursday, October 11th
Time: 7-8:30pm
Location: Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street, NYC
Price: $25
To sign up, click here! or call (212) 415-5500.

WHERE I'LL BE...

-New York, NY: 92nd St. Y Expert Series, "Fat, Broke & Lonely No More" seminar (This is the creme de la creme... Don't miss this one!)

-Lake George, NY: TOPS conference, Oct. 13 (518-438-8928)

-Hamilton, Bermuda: Girls' Getaway Weekend, Oct. 18-21

-New York, NY: Learning Annex, "How to Live a More Spiritual Life." October 25, 6:45pm.

Charmed Monday Minute- 9/24/07

2007-09-24T15:51:00.000-04:00

Dear amazing people -

You all mean so much to me, even if we've ever met or spoken or had any contact. To those of you who wrote to me after hearing of the death of my young stepson James, there is no way to thank you enough. Your emails, cards, prayers, and donations in his memory to the Social Justice Fund at James's school mean the world to my husband and to me. Thank you from my heart. I would much appreciate continued prayers that I get the strength every day to support William as he goes through the grieving process. I sense it will take a very long time.

Some of you asked the name of the song in which James's favorite line, "I am heaven-sent, don't you dare forget" comes from. It is from a song called "Okay I Believe You, but My Tommy Gun Don't" on the Deja Entendu album of a group called Brand New. One caveat: despite the mystical significance of this lyric and some of the others, it is a teen CD, kind of Alternative/Punk, so don't expect a hymn or a folk song or something like that.

Friends I admire are telling me that I'm supposed to be taking care of myself, so I'm following instructions. On Thursday I got a manicure and Friday I went back to the gym, and I've seen my first couple of life-coaching clients since getting back from Toronto. Doing these things reminds of the wise admonition, "It is easier to act yourself into thinking differently that to think yourself into acting differently."

On Saturday, I took the train - I adore trains - to Providence, RI, to speak at Community Church (American Baptist) there. The minister, Evan Howard, found me through my books and has become a friend. He is the author of the novel, The Lost Epistle of Jesus. Everyone there took such good care of me.

As soon as I have a free day, I'm going to rent a car and go the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. I'm just feeling that hanging out with a friendly pig or two would be incredibly nurturing.

Thanks again for being so special.

Victoria

Radio show starts Wednesday the 26th -

My monthly show, A Charmed Life, on healthylife.net, starts this week. My guests will be Chris Michaels (Your Life's Assignment) and Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D., The Healing Power of Nature Foods. Please tune in at high noon Eastern time. You can even call in: 954-564-3278. If you're not free when the show is live, it will be archived on the site a few days later so you can listen at your convenience.

Garret wanted -

Well, not exactly: it's just that they're closing the Starbucks where I write. My neighborhood Starbucks at 54th & First Avenue closed for good yesterday. The co-op building where it was the first floor tenant has wanted it out for a long time. I heard that some of the people who lived there felt the Starbucks encouraged homeless people to come in and get out of the cold. To my mind, any big corporate entity that is willing to help somebody keep from freezing to death is a good thing.

Whatever, I will be "moving" my mornings to a smaller Starbucks six blocks away. (The independent coffee house in our neighborhood closed this year too. I loved going there, although they didn't encourage lengthy stays for writing books.) I know that everything changes. I accept that everything changes. I just don't like that everything changes.

A great nutrition resource -

Someone I've long admired and would like to introduce you to is Jeff Novick, MS, RD, of the Pritikin Institute. He is treasure trove of information about health and a terrific speaker -- funny and informative. You can read his current newsletter (which includes a link to a free online video of his "Health Food vs Healthy Food" presentation) and subscribe if you'd like by going here.

Is this the same girl? -

I thought you might get a kick out of seeing my daughter Adair in two guises. In the first one, she's a stunt double for a little boy in the upcoming Eddie Murphy flick, Starship Dave. The glamour shot was for the "high school prom" on "One Life to Live."

Lovely quotation -

This quotation from The Upanishads, an Indian holy book, came on one of the condolences card we received. I think it sums up life succinctly and beautifully:

From joy all things are born,
By joy they are sustained,
And into joy they again return.

Coming next time --

Book review, Living an Uncommon Life, by radio legend John St. Augustine.

WHERE I'LL BE...

-New York, NY: Getting to Next seminar, Sept. 28. Luncheon speaker.

-New York, NY: Law of Attraction seminar, Sept. 29. Contact theoroca@gmail.com for more information.

-Wichita, KS: KS Book Festival, Oct. 5-6

-New York, NY: 92nd St. Y Expert Series, "Fat, Broke & Lonely No More" seminar (This is the creme de la creme... Don't miss this one!)

-Lake George, NY: TOPS conference, Sept. 13 (518-438-8928)

-Hamilton, Bermuda: Girls' Getaway Weekend, Oct. 18-21

-New York, NY: Learning Annex, "How to Live a More Spiritual Life." October 25, 6:45pm.

Charmed Monday Minute- 9/10/07

2007-09-10T15:46:00.000-04:00

Hello from sunny Southern California! -

Well, sort of. That's where I'll be when you read this, but I'm writing it before I leave so I'll let you know next time how things have gone out here. William and I are in LA for the 21st anniversary celebration of Farm Sanctuary and so I can visit the gentlemen who are working on the potential reality show based on Fat, Broke & Lonely No More.

I was in the West last weekend, too, in Santa Fe where William met with a potential producer for one of his screenplays. It went well (that's all he'll let me say about the movie part of the trip), and we had fun. I'd never been to New Mexico before, and Santa Fe is a heavenly little city full of artists and quaint shops and wonderful restaurants. I so seldom travel when I'm not giving a talk or doing a book-signing, it was gloriously vacation-like, even though we were just there for two-and-a-half days.

Otherwise, I've been working on the three book proposals I wrote about before - the sequel to Creating a Charmed Life; the book about eclectic spirituality that I've wanted to write for years; and one that has to do with New York City - a departure for me but one that I'm really excited about it.

And speaking of being excited...

I'm going to be back on the radio!

The good news: it's Internet radio so everybody can listen. The not-so-good news: It's only once a month. But gosh, as busy as everybody is, maybe that's good news, too. Anyway, if you'd like to tune in live (and call in even), the 1-hour show will be the 4th Wednesday of every month, starting September 26, at 9 a.m. Pacific, 10 Mountain, 11 Central, and noon Eastern time, on Creative Health & Spirit Radio: www.healthylife.net, the all-positive radio network. My guests for the first show are Chris Michaels, author of Your Soul's Assignment, and Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D., author of The Healing Power of Nature Foods. Chris and Susan are both dynamic, wise, and fun. Listen in, call in, and let me hear from you about what you think of the show.

Book of the Week...

When I was at the bookstore looking for airplane reading for the Santa Fe trip, I was drawn to The Secret of 'The Secret': Unlocking the Mysteries of the Runaway Bestseller. I was busy looking through the book and had already decided to buy it when I realized that the author was Karen Kelly, the wonderful writer and journalist who edited one of my earlier books. Karen is an amazing woman, full of integrity, and that's a large part of the appeal of this intriguing book. It is not an exposé that seeks to discredit The Secret, but rather an exploration of the many streams of thought that led to it and, bottom line, if it works. In her quest for answers, she interviews a fascinating array of people - some who appear in The Secret DVD, others who were involved in the earlier hit film about the power of the mind, What the Bleep Do We Know?, and scientists and scholars from a variety of disciplines.

I found the first fifty pages worth the price of the book, as they explore "Why The Secret, and Why Now?" It's an elucidative look at our culture at this moment in time, and also a very practical education on what it takes to hit it very, very big - with a book, a movie, or a widget. Further sections explore the history behind The Secret - Wallace Wattles' 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich which introduced Rhonda Byrne to the Law of Attraction; some concise but helpful history of New Thought, Christian Science, and Dr. Phineas Quimby who influenced Mary Baker Eddy; the Abraham (Hicks) connection to the DVD; and an exploration of several of the thinkers and luminaries from Emerson to Einstein to Andrew Carnegie who, according to The Secret, knew and used the Law of Attraction. Kelly's research suggests that, for most of them, the connection to the Law of Attraction is tenuous at best, but in reading her vignettes about each of them, I felt that I was getting a brief but very satisfying inside look these noteworthy individuals.

For all those cited whose familiarity with the Law of Attraction was slim to none, businessman W. Clement Stone, on the other hand, was a positive-thinking maven. Kelly states that he started every day with the mantra: "I feel happy! I feel healthy! I feel terrific!" And he made millions and lived to be 100.

The Secret of 'The Secret', by Karen Kelly, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2007.

Tic-Toc Rocks...

One artist in Santa Fe whose work really spoke to me was Hillary Vermont. She carves fun and uplifting words and phrases into southwestern sandstone - magnets, coasters, trivets, table tops, plaques, and wonderful clocks with messages like "There's No Time Like the Present" and, my favorite, a clock using words instead of numbers: Dream, Hope, Harmony, Love, Peace, Balance, Faith, Truth, Serenity, Believe, Joy, Truth. I was also taken with one of the fridge magnets for dog lovers: "You had me at woof."

Tummy-Tuck Jeans...

Yes, it's weird: I live in the world center of art and fashion and I have to go to New Mexico to discover an artist and my new favorite jeans. Weird or not, these jeans are the coolest. The label bears the trademarked code NYDJ for "Not Your Daughter's Jeans." These are jeans for real women and yet they aren't baggy and dowdy in the least. They're stretchy and comfy, and they give the illusion of, if not quite six-pack abs, at least a way flatter front than you'd have in other jeans. They come in misses, petites, and plus sizes, and they're available around the country - the website has a store finder.

If you want to post a comment...

The Charmed Monday Minute goes up on blogger.com and past newsletters are posted there as well. You can also get there by going to victoriamoran.com and clicking on "Blog." I love reading what everyone has to say.

Someone wrote that she didn't like how the word "thin" was used so much. That's tough, isn't it? On the one hand, there's an obesity crisis, and on the other, the skinny thing is just so excessive.

Another woman, a nanny in NYC, wrote after I'd seen the nanny letting the little boy in her charge get sunburned. She wanted to remind me that being a caregiver of somebody else's child is one tough job, and parents need to step up to the plate and do things like provide sunblock.

I'm sure it's all true. The most influential person in my life was probably my "nanny," Dede, who came when I was six months old and was in my life until she died at 87; I was 31. Dede introduced me to the more-ness of life, the spiritual underpinnings of things. I can never repay her for that, only pass along in books and talks and musings what she gave me.

Happy September,
Victoria

WHERE I'LL BE...

-Providence, RI: Community Church of Providence, Sept. 23, 10:30 a.m. (401-751-9328)

-New York, NY: Getting to Next seminar, Sept. 28. Luncheon speaker.

-New York, NY: Law of Attraction seminar, Sept. 29. Contact theoroca@gmail.com for more information.

-Wichita, KS: KS Book Festival, Oct. 5-6

-New York, NY: 92nd St. Y Expert Series, "Fat, Broke & Lonely No More" seminar (This is the creme de la creme... Don't miss this one!)

-Lake George, NY: TOPS conference, Sept. 13 (518-438-8928)

-Hamilton, Bermuda: Girls' Getaway Weekend, Oct. 18-21

-New York, NY: Learning Annex, "How to Live a More Spiritual Life." October 25, 6:45pm.

Charmed Monday Minute, August 27

2007-08-27T17:06:00.001-04:00

Hello, all, and happy pre-Labor-Day-weekend -

Can you believe the end of summer as we know it is almost here? Gosh, it's important to look carefully and breathe deeply and get the most out of every day, the way they race past.

The New Age Health Health Spa with my daughter Adair last weekend.
What a terrific place! It's really a world apart. I spoke one evening and one morning and was told that I'll be invited back in '08, which is a delicious prospect. The 110-minute hot stone massage is amazing. In addition, Adair aced (and I attempted) the Alpine Tower. It's a 50-foot-high climbing contraption to test one's mettle and overcome one's fears. Adair really was incredible (the instructor said, "She should change her name to A-dare-devil") and shimmied up the thing as if it was a flight of stairs. (She's been thinking about going to stunt-person school, and this convinced me that it might be a good idea.)
I decided that my goal was 1/3 of the way up - to a particular point where there are some rope-ties and a change of angle. It was hard near that point, but it was my goal and I made it. When I got there, the instructor said, "Now go on." But I absolutely couldn't. And I learned a huge lesson about goals: If I'd made my goal to get the top, or to go 2/3 of the way up, I might not have reached that point to due trepidation, fatigue, lack of physical strength, whatever--but since my goal was set where it was, it was impossible for me to go further, even though I felt fine physically. I have a sense that that's a bigger lesson than I realize, even now.

While there, I took a couple of exquisite yoga classes and the teacher, a lovely woman who's studied Jainism and has a beautiful, compassionate way about her, passed out a sheet of "52 Proven Stress Reducers." Here are some of my favorites...

Stress Reducers from the Spa:

"Don't put up with something that doesn't work right. If something isn't performing, get it fixed or replace it."

"Do nothing which, after being done, causes you to tell a lie."

"Make friends with non-worriers."

"Make duplicates of all keys."

"Do the least pleasant stuff early in the day and get it over with."

"Have forgiving outlook and believe that most people are doing their best under the circumstances."

My son-in-law is Marcel Marceau-like!
Adair's husband, Nick Moran (yep, he took her last name) is one of two mimes in the birthday party scene in The Nanny Diaries. Although The New York Times wasn't crazy about the movie, the reviewer did call Nick (he's the one on the right when you first see them) "Marcel Marceau-like," which, for a mime, is a pretty cool thing to be called. Nick is in the credits, got to go to the New York premier and take Adair, and says that Scarlett Johansson is really nice.

I read a wonderful novel.
Reading really good fiction is such a joy. So many novels don't "grab me" in the first few chapters and I don't stay with them, so when I find a book that invites me in and won't let me go, I'm in heaven. This one did that: The War of the Rosens, by Janice Eidus. It's about Emma Rosen, a little girl growing up in the projects of the Bronx in the mid-sixties. Her parents are Jewish and yet militantly atheist, and although the pretty, poetic Emma is her father's favorite, both she and her sister are subject to his periodic bouts of violence. When tragedy strikes the family, Emma comes into her own. This is a beautiful, gripping read. I highly recommend it.

And speaking of books...
Some of you have asked for this, and I'm so happy to get to tell you that my 1992 book The Love-Powered Diet, republished in 1997 as Love Yourself Thin, is going to have yet another life. Lantern Books, publishers of books on vegetarianism, nonviolence, natural healing, etc., is going to republish the book sometime in 2008. I'll keep you posted closer to the time. In the meantime, you can get one of the earlier versions used on Amazon.com.

WHERE I'LL BE...

-New York, NY: Learning Annex, "How to Live a More Spiritual Life." Aug. 30 (Class repeated October 25), 6:45pm.

-Providence, RI: Community Church of Providence, Sept. 23, 10:30 a.m. (401-751-9328)

-New York, NY: Getting to Next seminar, Sept. 28. Luncheon speaker.

-New York, NY: Law of Attraction seminar, Sept. 29. Contact theoroca@gmail.com for more information.

-Wichita, KS: KS Book Festival, Oct. 5-6

-New York, NY: 92nd St. Y Expert Series, "Fat, Broke & Lonely No More" seminar (This is the creme de la creme... Don't miss this one!)

-Lake George, NY: TOPS conference, Sept. 13 (518-438-8928)

-Hamilton, Bermuda: Girls' Getaway Weekend, Oct. 18-21

Charmed Monday Minute, August 13

2007-08-13T17:53:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Minute if you're new, and welcome back to everyone else. You are all much appreciated.

Let's see, to retrace my days and tell you what I've been up to these past two weeks... Well, August 1st, I had breakfast with my literary agent Linda Chester at my now-most-favorite breakfast spot, Asiate, on the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental at Columbus Circle in Manhattan. The menu has everything - American breakfast, Japanese breakfast, and more vegan choices than I've ever seen on a breakfast menu outside of a vegetarian restaurant. They brought tiny smoothies as starters for everyone and when I said, "No thank you, I don't drink milk," I was told that they used soy milk. I was sold. Besides, this is an absolutely gorgeous place with a view of Central Park that makes me believe that anything is possible. Remember this place for when you visit New York, and if you live here, it's a great place to take someone you when making an impression means a lot.

I spoke at the lovely Unity church in Norwalk, CT, and for Friends Health Connection in Mercerville, NJ - welcome to everyone who signed up for The Minute in those places - and I landed a once-a-month radio show. It starts Wednesday, September 26, 11 a.m. Eastern, on Creative Health & Spirit Radio. This is Internet radio so you can all listen and, if you're working or otherwise occupied on Wednesday mornings it will be archived. The station url is www.healthylife.net -- "All Positive Talk & Music Radio." I'll fill you in on details closer to the time. And for all you fans of Love Yourself Thin and its earlier edition, The Love-Powered Diet, it looks as if this long out-of-print book may have a new life. I've met with the lovely people at Lantern Books and, although it's not a done deal, the chances look very good that they may indeed republish an updated version of the book. Let's keep our fingers crossed - I can let you know for sure in the next Minute.

William's three kids have all been here so we've had a full house. Erik, finishing a music production internship in Toronto, had to go back this weekend, but on Saturday we went with his younger brother James (sixteen) and my daughter Adair to Coney Island. It was a hoot. I think an appreciation for the tacky is one key to a happy life. And that Wonder Wheel, the mega-ferris wheel with sliding cars - it looks as if you're going to roll right into the ocean - is lots of good fun. They're talking about decimating old Coney Island and filling it with condominiums. Mayor Bloomberg has called a temporary halt, but I was still happy to get down there and play a little Skee-Ball, see a Brooklyn Cyclones game, and walk along the beach before gentrification changes everything.

Best of life to you,
Victoria

Overhead in NYC...

This may not be worded properly, but it's how I overheard it. A man was referencing The Talmud, the Jewish book of civil and ceremonial law, and said he'd come upon a passage that read (more or less): "Unlike many other aspects of life, financial wellbeing is totally in the hands of God." I liked that. It helped me remember I don't have to drive myself nuts trying to make things happen: I do the best I can and the most I can. The rest is beyond my control.

Some exquisite cards to look at...

I love words on paper, whether a book or a greeting card or a blank card someone writes in. I discovered a beautiful line of these, Singing Heart Press. Take a look.

"The Antidote" from author and psychotherapist Thom Rutledge...

Thom Rutledge is the author of a terrific book, Embracing Fear, that I cite in Fat, Broke & Lonely No More. He's written an intriguing article called "The Antidote" about another way to look at the information in The Secret.

Several months ago, in response to the correspondence I'd received from Secret viewers who were blaming themselves for every challenge in their lives, I gave you my take on the Law of Attraction idea, which is that I see it as a genuine law of the universe - one of many. It's not going to override the others - the Law of Karma, for instance. I've gotten a lot out of The Secret and it's helped me keep my thinking on the right side of the line. I also admire my colleagues who are part of the project. Even so, some people have used this very well-intentioned work in a way that has diminished their self-esteem rather than added to it. Here's Rutledge's (abridged) take on this. If you want to read the entire article, or learn more about the work of this wise and witty fellow, click here.

"...The vast majority of [The Secret's] readers will not be harmed, and most will even benefit from the emphasis on positive thinking and personal empowerment... I am speaking out for the other readers... the person with low self-esteem who already believes everything in his fault, the person who has believed that she is inherently bad...

The Antidote

· Know that the universe in which we live is, to say the least, a complex place. If someone claims to have solved this puzzle, look him or her straight in the eye and say, "You have got to be kidding."

· Respect the complexities of the human body (including the brain) and the human mind. Brilliant minds have been at work on these projects for some time now, and the best of them (and most of the worst of them, now that I think about it) will tell you we have a hell of a long, long way to go in understanding mind and body.

· Embrace and celebrate independent thought, and encourage others to do the same.

· Express genuine humility. I believe that humility and wisdom are closely linked. My definition for wisdom is this: Wisdom is the accumulated knowledge of our ignorance. The older I get, the more aware I become of all that I don't know and all that I don't control. Since I don't happen to believe that the meaning of my life revolves around knowing and controlling everything (I did when I was 20), this is perfectly okay with me.

· Look beyond your own Santa's little wish list of all the things you want to "manifest" in your life, and encourage others to do the same. Even if I could conjure up a Ferrari today, would that really be the best use of my magical powers?

· Don't focus so much on everything that you want, but instead on clarifying, and living in congruence with your personal value system. Doing this is not easy, but it is rewarding beyond measure. (Contrary to what The Secret tells us, just because something is difficult, or even painful, it does not mean we are doing something wrong. Sometimes it means we are doing something right.)

· Don't run from what scares you. And don't try to make what scares you go away by hiding your head in the sand or casting a magic spell in its direction. Instead, know that moving toward your fears, coming to grips with what really scares you, is part or learning what we need to learn, part of being a full grown, healthy adult.

One thing the authors of The Secret don't tell readers about the secret to their own successes is that every one of these people has been willing to do the hard work that is essential for success. Every one of these authors have faced and overcome many obstacles, both external and internal. And I would be willing to bet that most, if not all, of these authors, owe their successes to their own hard work, their willingness to take risks, including a willingness to fail. It is that kind of courage, that kind of nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic, that kind of relentless persistence that has the best shot at guaranteeing success. When I approach life with these things in mind, even if I fail to achieve my goals outwardly, my integrity remains in tact. I can say that I have given it my best. When I die, you can come to my wake and say one of two things: 1.) Thom accomplished everything he set out to accomplish, or 2.) Thom may not have accomplished everything he wanted to in this lifetime, but that son of a [gun] never stopped trying."

(Note from Victoria: The original word here was not "gun," but my last Minute was returned for profanity from several email servers because it contained a review of a book called Skinny [Gun]. I guess dog breeders can't send emails...)

Product of the Week...

The "Better Water Drinking Water Filter Bottle" is pretty cool. My assistant, Joya, discovered it this week at a natural foods store while looking for an alternative to the dozens of plastic bottles of spring water we all buy (and throw away!) when we're out and about... It's made by a company called New Wave Enviro Products. You buy it empty and then fill it with plain, old, free tap water. When you squeeze it, the water goes through a small, Brita-like filter that removes the chlorine, and the water tastes great! (You can refill it up to 90 times.) Best of all, the bottle itself, which looks and acts like normal plastic, is actually made from corn instead of petroleum and will biodegrade after 80 days in a commercial compost system.

(For New Yorkers: Joya got hers for $6 at Westerly Market. For others, I bet if you contact Enviro, they can tell you where to find their products near you.)

Free Video on Health Foods...

This link came from my friend Jeff Novick at the Pritikin Center. (He's thanked in the credits of Michael Moore's new documentary Sicko.)

"On June 1, I gave a presentation in Burbank, CA at a vegetarian conference on reading food labels. The presentation was just put online and will remain there free through this Wednesday.

If any of you are interested, the presentation can be viewed here.

(NOTE: The site has lots of ads. I am sharing this with you only so those who are interested can see an 80 minute presentation of food labels and labeling for free. I have no association with any of the other advertisers or products, and as you will see in the video, find most of them unhealthy.)"

A Conference for Moms...

My colleague, Judith Sachs (who is the Editorial Director of ParentingTeensOnline), just told me about the first annual telesummit for moms: "The Momference," coming up in October. It's a six-day, online summit, featuring 50 experts in every walk of life that might touch mothers and offering a chance for busy women who often can't get out of the house to be empowered and strengthened in a community of like-minded women. For more info and to register ahead of time, check out their website here.

Website of the Week...

Fat, Broke & Lonely No More is featured on the Book Resources page of this fun site for women in their prime: hotwomenhotflashes.com. Check it out!

Take care, and all good things -

Victoria Moran

Charmed Monday Minute, July 30

2007-07-30T16:28:00.000-04:00

Hello, all -

In an effort to keep The Minute down to a minute, I fully intend to start blogging in between times. That way, for those of you who like my ramblings about this little charmed life of mine, you can tune in right here and keep up that way and I can save The Minute for more useful info.

Since I haven't gotten that organized yet, let me tell you just a bit about my most recent travels: Nashville and Memphis were so much fun. The music and the energy were different in the two cities - country for the former, blues for the latter - but just being in such musical places filled my soul in places that needed it.

In Nashville, I stayed with a good friend (and wonderful astrologer) Rosemary Cathcart and saw other amazing people: Karlen Evins (author of I Didn't Know That: From 'Ants in the Pants' to 'Wet Behind the Ears' - The Unusual Origins of the Things We Say), singer/songwriter Georgia Middleman, Thom Rutledge, author of Embracing Fear, and singer/songwriter/motivational speaker Jana Stanfield. I also had my hair and makeup done at a cool place called The Mirror. I felt like I was ready for my Opry debut, but instead I did an interview on local TV. (I scratched the rental car in the parking lot and learned that that American Express insurance really does work. They said, "We'll take care of everything." What a comforting sentence!)

In Memphis (in addition to meeting wonderful readers, including one who'd driven all the way from Little Rock), I went to Graceland and was actually inspired. My favorite exhibit was the wall that showed 42 checks for $1000 each that Elvis wrote to various charities on one day in 1962.

I was home for one quick night and then took Amtrak (my totally favorite way to travel) to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for the North American Vegetarian Society Summerfest. I hadn't been to Summerfest in eleven years and something really astonished me: vegetarians age amazingly well. The people I ran into looked great. It was strange to see young adults I'd last seen as children next to their parents who looked almost the same as the last time I saw them. I also read a terrific book by one of the other speakers: Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, by Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD., who did pioneering work at the Cleveland Clinic for over two decades. If you or someone you love is dealing with heart disease, get this book. It could change everything.

Martha Graham's Prayer...

A really wonderful actress friend of mine, Karen Fitzgerald, turned me on to this beautiful prayer or statement of purpose from the founder of Modern Dance, Martha Graham. I'd like to share it with you:

There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening
That is translated through you into action,
And because there is only one of you in all of time
This expression is unique,
And if you block it,
It will never exist through any other medium,
And be lost.
The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is,
Nor how valuable, or how it compares with other expressions.
It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly,
To stay open and aware to the urges that motivate you.

Martha Graham,
Choreographer

New York Learning Annex:

As I prepare to write The Little Book of the Spiritual Life - thanks so much to everyone who wrote with ideas for that - I've been engaged by the Learning Annex of NYC to teach a class, "How to Have More Spiritual Life." It's happening in Manhattan on August 30 and October 25. For more info, go to learningannex.com.

Summer skin protection...

I saw a nanny pushing a stroller and the little boy in it was baking in the sun (she didn't have the shade down on the stroller so she could use it for carrying gear). Of course I said something (I lied and told her I was a nurse) but she did nothing. (Don't get me started on some of the nanny stuff I see in this city...) The plight of that baby did remind me that I should be telling you - regardless of your skin type but especially if you're Caucasian and fair - that this is the season to step up the sun protection. Here's what I know:

A barrier block (avobenzone, oxybenzone, zinc oxide) as opposed to a chemical block (PABA, Parsol, Mexoryl) can be applied immediately before you go out; if you're using a chemical block, it needs 20 minutes to provide protection.

Life is short: The life of sunblock on your skin, even if you don't sweat or swim, is 2-3 hours. After that you need to reapply. That's a problem if you're wearing makeup, although your SPF-containing foundation may be reapplied. Another way around this is to use a tinted SPF moisturizer instead of foundation, or touch up every couple of hours with a sun-blocking pressed powder like the one from Physicians' Formula.

It's finally legal! Mexoryl, the chemical block shown to truly protect again UVA (aging) rays is finally approved for sale in the US. (I used to buy it in England by the case.) Lancome has the patent in this country for now, and it's not cheap ($30) but to preserve my skin, I'll save up.

Don't be stingy with sunblock once you've bought it. You really have to cover the exposed areas with the lotion. Don't use it sparingly like moisturizer; really use it.

Should all those places be forgot... Protect the forgotten places, notably the area between you bra and your chin. This is one of the most aged areas on most women's bodies: clothes cover much of the rest, and the face get sunblock, a hat, whatever, but this no-woman's-land ends up discolored, blotchy, and noticeably damaged. Also protect your hands (use sunblock after washing and if you drive or ride a bike, wear gloves) and your arms (again, if you drive: your left arm in particular).

Lips aren't immune. Dermatologists are seeing more skin cancer on lips since we've been protecting the rest of our face. Use a gloss with SPF.

Plan your day. What's the line about mad dogs, Englishmen, and the noonday sun? Take heed. If you can do your jog or your errands in the morning or evening instead of midday when the sun is at the peak, arrange your life accordingly.

I know some of my readers believe that chemical sunblocks have problems of their own. I certainly respect that view. If it's yours, use a barrier block like Dr. Hauschka, but do protect yourself. You're important.

A really remarkable Tarot reader:

I'm pretty cynical about this kind of stuff, but I had a truly helpful and insightful Tarot reading from a gentleman named Roy Sorrels. He's a writer and understands creative sorts, but specializes in intuitive, supportive Tarot reading to help anyone achieve spiritual and practical goals. He can work with you in person in the NYC area or by phone wherever you are. If this sounds like something that would interest you, drop him an email: RoySorrels2@aol.com.

Another diet book I actually like!

I'm on a roll here (see my blog for the July 16 Minute where praised Linda Spangle's 100 Days of Weight Loss and Life Is Hard, Food Is Easy.) This week's book is really in-your-face (it makes Fat, Broke & Lonely No More read like a love poem) but its two authors make some points I wholeheartedly agree with. It's Skinny Bitch: A No-Nonsense, Tough-Love Guide for Savvy Girls Who Want to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous (Running Press, 2005) by former model agent Rory Freeman and former model Kim Barnouin who now holds a Masters in Holistic Nutrition. Their contention is that if you aren't healthy, you won't be skinny (I'd use a different word, but you get the point). To that end, they tell you that "Sugar Is the Devil" and artificial sweeteners are demonic, as well; dairy is a disaster; "The Dead, Rotting, Decomposing Flesh Diet" (i.e., Atkins et al) won't keep you trim for keeps; and they give detailed, brand-specific suggestions for putting together a whole-foods, vegetarian, eating plan that is delicious, satisfying, and easy to transition into. If you're offended by four-letter words, don't read this book because they're used a quite a bit. If that's not a problem, this is a motivating, info-packed read.

Maybe I like Skinny Bitch so much because its gutsy young authors say what I haven't said since Love Yourself Thin (the 1997 reissue of 1992's The Love-Powered Diet - both are now out of print but can you find them used on Amazon). I've been keeping a lid on my vegan sentiments, figuring that once somebody with food issues gets clear on the emotional/spiritual part of things, they should be free to make their own choices. But that's only true when you know all the choices, including how delicious and filling and non-deprivational a whole foods, plant-based diet can be. I need to remember how much of staying clean with food and leaving a weight problem behind I owe to a pretty-close-to-purely-vegan manner of eating. This may not be for everybody, but I don't want to keeping the good news under a bushel either. Thanks, Rory and Kim: you guys rock.

Quotation of the week:

"There are three kinds of people in the world: those who are immovable, those who are movable, and those who move."
- Arabian proverb

Take care, and all good things -

Victoria Moran