A healthier sweet...Black Bean Brownies

This recipe is from doTerra oils, so the oils used here can be consumed. Your classmate, Darlene, sells doTerra (essential healing oils) (which I have experienced great success with!) I haven't made these brownies myself, so if you do, let me know how they taste! I have eaten red bean ice cream in Little Tokyo which is delicious. And black bean sweets, also wonderful.

Black bean brownies are a delicious and nutritious twist to a traditional chocolate brownie. You might be nervous about baking with black beans, but don’t be–they have a very mild flavor and are extremely rich, creamy, and full of protein. You can also boost the flavor of your brownie with essential oils such as Peppermint, Wild Orange, Cinnamon, or even Lavender.

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained, and rinsed

2 large eggs

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2/3 cup honey

1/3 cup coconut oil

½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt

4 drops Peppermint essential oil

¾ cup chocolate chips, divided

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place all ingredients, except for chocolate chips, in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
3. Pour batter into large bowl and stir in ½ cup chocolate chips.
4. Pour into greased 8×8-inch pan and top with ¼ cup chocolate chips.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool and cut into pieces. Store in refrigerator.

African Proverb

"If you think you're too small to make a difference, you haven't spent a night with a mosquito." -African proverb 

Row Your Boat

If life habitually seems very difficult and confusing to you, maybe it is because you are trying to row someone else’s boat. Maybe you are acting contrary to your own nature. Every human being has a nature that is theirs alone, just as every angel does. An angel of water never yearns to be an angel of air. Angels naturally trust the exquisite functioning of creation. All of nature is part of this perfect functioning. The sun rises to meet the sea, the moon rises to meet the stars—they never tremble in fear, wondering if they are welcome here, if it is okay to be as they are. The moon never longs to be the ocean. The moon is grateful for the ocean. The moon could never see itself without the constant reflection of the sea.

Angels in your midst

Do you think that angels ever stop? That they ever stop loving you? Ever stop praising the name of God? Ever stop doing their best to get through to you? Get through the hardness of your heart? The hardness of your mind? Do you think they ever stop shining their light through the dark forest of ego so that you have a light to guide you out, to your true home? Do you think they ever give up? Do they ever say they are too tired to help you through the dark forest?

No. Angels never do give up. Angels can never stop loving because angels are made of love. Angels praise God in every moment. That's what makes an angel an angel! Angels never give up. They never stop shining the light because angels are made of light. They shine with the light of God. Angels are never tired because there is nothing in an angel to block the light of God which is all energy, all goodness, all enthusiasm. Angels are filled with the light of God. The Light is all wisdom, all love, and all compassion. It is everything. So are you. You just don't know it. It is your ignorance, your blindness, your wrong beliefs that keep you here in lack, loss, fear, and limitation.

Therefore, as the great King Solomon said, Get ye wisdom, and with all they getting, get understanding. And as Socrates declared, Know Thyself!

Melt the hardness of the mind

Welcome to Your Open Classroom. This is where you can benefit both yourself and serve others by making the effort to come out of your closet and write something. Yes, it takes time, and writing is a valuable exercise, especially when you share it with others. Going against what the mind tells you is a way to come into the softness of your heart, and melt the hardness of the mind. The more you show up for Truth, the more Truth shows up for you. This is universal law.

This is a picture of me and my cousin, Darlene, who is also one of your classmates. This was taken at the East Coast Retreat a couple of years ago. Look how beautiful it is outside the window, the green trees and the sun shining through. All of us were at the retreat melting the hardness of the mind and coming into the softness of the heart.

Another Psycholgical Personality Test

Name your favorite body of water and three descriptive traits as to why. (Note: body of water as in: the ocean, waterfalls, ice, pond, river, hot springs ect.) I will post the meaning of this later......well, today, (May 17) is a later...so click for the answer. If you haven't answered yet, take a few moments to do that, and then check for the answer. This is an actual psychological test and can tell you something about yourself.

SUMMER SOLSTICE CLEANSE AND ANGEL RETREAT

DEAREST STUDENTS: Receive a special rate when you register early. All fees increase for late registration. 

Read more: 

SUMMER SOLSTICE CLEANSE & RETREAT in Altadena, CA

ALTADENA, CA, SUNDAY, JUNE 21: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
A Perfect Healing Start For Your Summer
Spend the Longest Day of the Year
Cleansing, Refreshing, Healing
BODY, MIND, & SPIRIT

Ramana Maharshi Speaks on Death

The devotees know that Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi had an intense experience of death in his seventeenth year. After the experience ended, he was established in the realisation of his true Self and the illusion of death died forever. Here is in part Bhagavan’s description of what happened:

Psychological Test

You are walking along a beach when you notice something in the sand. You quickly unbury it and discover what appears to be an ancient vase. The vase could easily be worth millions and set you for life. Suddenly, someone comes up to you and snatches the vase from your hand and smashes it in front of you . . . How do you feel? What are you thinking? and What do you say?

____________________________________

If you write your answer to this, you will discover something important about yourself. I will come back in a few days or so and post the significance of this for you. This is an actual psychological test that has meaning to you and your life.

Happiness

"To be happy, to possess eternal life, to be in God, to be saved -- all these are the same. All alike mean the solution to the problem, the aim of existence. And happiness is cumulative, as misery may be. An eternal growth is an unchangeable peace, an ever more profound depth of understanding, a possession constantly more intense and more spiritual with the joy of heaven -- this is happiness. Happiness has no limits." - Amiel
  
This morning I feel like writing about the above quote from the Swiss philosopher, poet, and critic, Henri Frédéric Amiel, who lived from 1821 to 1881. I am writing for my own benefit, using our open classroom to increase my understanding, which is making right use of the classroom. What is more important than spiritual understanding? As far as I know, nothing. By writing about a quote of spiritual Truth, I am exercising my spiritual mind. I am reaching higher and asking God and angels to help me understand. I am putting Truth first. When we put Truth first, Truth puts us first.

Below the line below :) are the rest of my early morning musings, although I am just now posting it. I awake very early, doing my meditations, meditative writings, which help take me within and prepare me for the day.

Watership Down Quote

"Animals don't behave like men...If they have to fight, they fight; and if they have to kill they kill. But  they don't sit down and set their wits to work to devise ways of spoiling other creatures' lives and hurting them. They have dignity and animality."

― Richard Adams, Watership Down -- I read Watership Down a number of years ago and maybe one day will have to read it again, since I remember being very moved by it.

Wise Words

"The great are only great because we are on our knees. Let us rise up."-Proudhon (Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, 1809-1865)

_________________________________________________

Leaves of Grass

I exist as I am -- that is enough; if no other in the world be aware, I sit content. -Walt Whitman

The Peace of Wild Things

The poet Wendell Berry wrote this. It's a good reminder. Nature is a great healing force. As I wrote the words here for you (writing is a teacher) I got to have another experience of them. I love the line about the day-blind stars waiting for their light. May you also rest in the grace of Mother Earth and know that you are free.

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

William Blake

William Blake was an amazing man and one of my favorite writers and artists. He said, "It is not because angels are holier than men or devils that makes them angels, but because they do not expect holiness from one another, but from God alone." Isn't that a fantastic quote! He painted many angels. Here is one: 

Seeing Angels

"We lose our ability to see angels as we grow older, and that is a tragic loss." The quote is by Madeleine L'engle. The photo is by Thomas Leininger, brother of your classmates, Christel and Jutta L. who host the Angel Seminars and Readings in Europe each year. This year I will be there in October. See my website for details. P.S. Christel's husband, Rudy, saw an angel in the cellar during an angel seminar a few years ago. But the one Thomas photographed is another one. Guess seeing angels runs in the family.

SUMMER SOLSTICE ANGEL CLEANSE AND RETREAT in Altadena, CA

SUMMER SOLSTICE ANGEL CLEANSE AND RETREAT: BODY, MIND, SPIRIT IN ALTADENA, CA, SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

We'll start the morning with cleansing teas and juices, gentle meditative Yoga/Qigong in the garden, and move onto angel readings for all participants. Lunch will be healing, restorative, and cleansing. Then an afternoon of more angel work, deepening your understanding of yourself, your relationships, and your life. We'll close with music and refreshments. A day without sugar, but lots of sweet energy to fill your heart and make your body happy. Spend the longest day of the year healing and rejuvenating body, mind, and spirit. Register now for the Summer Solstice Angel Retreat and Cleanse: http://www.theclearandsimpleway.com/retreat

Nonstudents Register by June 3 for $119

Students ONLY Register by June 3 for $105

Late Registration EVERYONE after June 3 for $129

Red Moon at night sailors Delight. Red moon in the morn, sailors take warn

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150330-stargazing-moon-planets-stars-constellations-lunar-eclipse/#
The moon and the entire galaxy can make us aware of so much. All we must do is look. With wonder. And allow something amazing and brilliant to fill us. I missed this red moon, but the pictures are still beautiful. Have a good Sunday, wherever you are, looking up into the sky. Look up always, towards something higher. Something Higher is always looking at you. That Something Higher is within you. Always. Loving you. It is you. It is your true and eternal nature. The Good within you. Bright. Light. Right. It is not that it is not there. It is that you are not in contact with it. Your Angel Lessons help guide you there. There!!! It is there now. As close as your breath. As close as your life. It is your life. It is Life Itself.

Profound. Clear. Simple. The Way.

Happy April 1 Everyone!!

Hmm--maybe I should change our Classroom decor from clouds to flowers. We have a saying here, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. That was not true in New York State, my home state, where they just got another snowstorm and 3 inches of snow. That's spring in NYS! As for Los Angeles, sigh, not much change in the weather since I returned here in early March, but I hear there was no real winter here this year--just hot, like summer.

Another saying is April showers bring May flowers. Alas, I shan't experience much rain here in So. Cal. That's short for Southern California. There's still a drought here. I will be traveling August-October, so will experience different sorts of weather.

The newsletter will go out soon, as well as your lessons. Here's a heads-up--The Altadena Summer Solstice Retreat will be on June 20, the longest day of the year from 10 am to 6 pm. It's called the Summer Solstice Cleanse. We will have foods and juices designed to heal and rejuvenate...and the teachings of the angels that always heal, cleanse, and rejuvenate our spirit.

(Oh-and I changed the background to lemons. I took this picture in the backyard in Altadena where the June 20 retreat will be. See you there! By the way, there is a special rate for Students of the School when you register early.

Anyway, Happy April 1st!

Speaking of healing, if you like avocado, here is good news about this green fruit that grows abundantly where I live, and where I once lived, on Hawaii. Continued on next page...