Living in love

I've been thinking a lot about love lately. Puppy love (obviously), romantic love, the love of children, friendship, altruism, sacrifice, service, surrender... I know that I am blessed in my life to experience loves' many forms. For years I have consciously practiced living "in love" rather than in fear. I live in possibilities rather than in limitations, in abundance rather than lack, and certainly in gratitude. No matter what is happening around me.

And it has made all the difference.

I really believe that it would not take that all that many people focused on love to change the destiny of humanity, as creative love is the most powerful energy of the universe. It is infinitely stronger than anger, resentment, or fear (all mind created). But what is it – that illusive quality– that infuses a life – or even a moment, a word, or a thought with love? How does one actually go about the business of living in love?

What makes the difference?

I think it begins by seeing the larger picture of all people's lives and focusing upon not what you want from them, but how you can assist them in their unfoldment and growth in whatever direction is for their highest good.

Love is focusing on how you may serve others, and in doing so, how you may serve your own growth and higher purpose.

Love opens the doorway to your own growth and aliveness. Love operates in the present, and by focusing upon it in the present, you send it into the future and release it to the past. By taking a moment to appreciate everyone you see and simply send them a feeling of love you will change your life and raise your vibration. Being committed to the idea of love will bring it to you.

I actually do think of love as a presence and even a place, rather than an emotion. The experience of deep love, in which I am able to set aside my personality, my own wants and desires, to assist another is a place that exists as an energy, that I journey to, where I can tap into absolute compassion and complete detachment from outcome. It is a place of trust. From that place, I journey back to relationships, personality, the material world. By my recognition of love, I bring it out and attract it to myself.

So, can you imagine how it would feel if your heart were open, if everywhere you went, you trusted, were relaxed, and knew that the universe was friendly? How would your life flow if you believed that people were sending you love wherever you went, and that you yourself broadcast a beam of love like a circle around you to everyone? How would your life change if whenever someone said something to you, no matter how it came out, you could recognize the love or need for love behind it? You would be constantly looking deeper to acknowledge and recognize the love within each being, as I do.

By your recognition of love, you would bring it out and attract it to yourself. You would live in love.

As you go out into the world today, be aware of how you can express love through your eyes, through your smile, your heart, your words, and actions. For the rest of the day, be in your heart. Experience the love that is you, and as you do, be open to receive the acknowledgment of the beautiful light and love within you from others.

May you be blessed!

Image: Tachyon-energized Love and Kindness Pendant is available at our Bonanzle storefront.

A space in time

I raced out the door, ate lunch in the car at 70 mph, and despite the fact that I really needed to pee, I kept on going. I had to hurry! I had commitments, appointments, and promises to keep. I had the need for speed.

And, that is very unlike me. Many years ago I stopped worshiping at the feet of the fast life...

A busy, driven, successful young business woman/mother/trailblazer of the early 80's, I had been in the process of running... from my conditioned-self, and from my true calling. And one day I realized I was running in circles. So, I began to cultivate the practice of mindfullness, savoring my experiences, and being present. Once I slowed down I began seeing more clearly, listening more carefully, and thinking more deeply. And soon there was nothing to run from, or to.

And yesterday, I was given the opportunity to recall that miraculous dispensation of grace once more and offer up a prayer of gratitude.

So what happened?

I was in an elevator. And, I resisted the impulse to hit the "door close" button. I had my finger pointed, ready to strike, when I noticed it was the most worn button on the elevator panel. I laughed!

In that worn button, I was given a sure sign of my culture's addiction to speed, and how easy it is to relapse, even after years of "clean living."

I remembered the seduction of the running tos and froms... the implied importance and virtual value of thinking that I should. I also remembered that it's ok to take time to pee.

Thomas Keating, a teacher of centering prayer, has said, "It only takes a moment for Spirit to enrich you."

What if that is the moment? You know, the space in time when you are ready to move but the elevator door stays open. What if that is the crack that lets in the light! What if we just need to resist the need to push the "door close" button?

I imagined this simple act of relaxation could add immeasurably to the peace of the world...

What if you just have to be present, peaceful, and open to this wonderful possibility! Spirit reaches out in the strangest of places. You don’t want to be moving so fast that you miss it!

May you be blessed!

Kissed by the Spirit

Despite the 21 days of rain in July, August gifted the gardens with abundant sunshine and perfect balance was restored quite beautifully. It amazed me to witness how the equilibrium was reset naturally in the landscape while my container gardens all suffered root rot. Recently I tipped them over and salvaged what I could. And today, even a few of those wounded plants are growing something beautiful or edible with their roots tucked happily into the Earth.

This morning I found myself quite humbled by the entire process. Standing silently for a minute or two, I became aware of my fellow gardeners, the hummingbird, bee and butterfly. Grateful for the invaluable services they provide, I blessed their day’s work. I put my palms down on the soil and gave a shout-out to the earthworms, also doing their part on behalf of the harvest. I watched newly hatched goldfinches feasting on seed heads, and mama chipmunk filling her jowls with my morning offering of raisins. I felt such gratitude for being included that I was almost moved to tears by the simple pleasure of the moment. And then I knew.

I had been kissed by the Spirit of the garden.

It is this Spirit that restored the refugees from the container garden, and that held the seedlings and tender plants firmly through the torential rains and cold winds that drove me out of the garden for weeks at a time...

In June, I sprinkled a tiny bit of cornmeal in each of the four directions in my garden, thanking each direction for its teachings. I thanked the life force of the Great Mystery as it manifests in that little patch of Earth. I placed myself in service to that Mystery and to the garden, so that together we might grow fertile, beautiful food and flowers. And then it was cold, and the rain came, and would not stop, and I gave up for a while. But the Spirit of the garden did not.

In May, when I turned over the soil and planted small crystals in each corner of the garden, I pledged myself to anticipating the garden’s needs for water, food, and care.

"May all that grows here be of benefit. May I serve you with an open heart," I said and then I didn't. It was my responsibility to nurture the Spirit, to remember myself and my garden in a loving partnership. In the mud, the weeds, the dampness, I forgot my pledge. But the Spirit of the garden did not.

And so this morning, feeling undeserving, a bit negligent, certainly guilty and lazy – yet awestruck and amazed – I got down on my knees and thanked the Spirit of the garden. It was another simple ceremony, and I know it was more for me than the plants. Then, I re-staked what was tumbling, and weeded out that which had encroached beyond the perennial beds. The mint had to be tamed again, it's not that mint has bad manners, it just needs reminding. I tore out some tansy, and bundled up the daylillies. And then I filled a basket with beans, tomatoes and herbs.

I felt such connection, welcome, and forgiveness – a profound gift from the Spirit of the garden. And then the kiss!

It was a brief awareness, a sensation of pure love and oneness, and then my silly monkey mind filled again with the scheduling of the days appointments, the shipping tape I must purchase in order to send out the packages, remembering to leave a check for my son's oil change and tire rotation... I returned to the house and to the responsibilities I pledged to honor.

In that kiss, the Spirit restored me and my promise.
Like the mint, I just needed reminding.
That I might serve you with an open heart...

May you be blessed!

Bonanzle and Ebay as Spiritual Teachers

Zen Masters, Dolphins, Wise Elders, and Tomatoes. Its a blog post that I wrote recently about finding wisdom in unexpected places. Like a tomato garden... and upon further reflection, an e-commerce venue or two.

Tomorrow marks my one year anniversary selling on Bonanzle. I arrived on the shores of Bonanzle with a boatload of other refugees from ebay, huddled masses seeking a new marketplace in which to set up our shops. Bonanzle whispered to us...

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

On February 1, I posted the following blog entry:

"As many of you know, I have a new storefront on Bonanzle.com Bonanzle is a brand new e-commerce and social marketing site that reached a million listings in 6 months, and was recently voted the best ebay alternative according to Examiner.com. It's a grassroots effort, championed by a growing base of forward-thinking veteran sellers, who share a community-centric, cooperative spirit. Management is responsive, accountable, hands-on, and creative. There's team spirit at Bonanzle, a refreshing change for sellers migrating from ebay who have felt that they had become more like spectators watching their on-line marketplace storefronts being managed more and more by the venue and less and less by themselves. While Bonanzle expects business owners manage their own businesses, they simply provide the venue, albeit a venue that listens, really listens, to the wants and needs of the sellers who are setting up shop there."

I went on to announce a line of Bonanzle bath and body products I had developed to fund-raise for the fledgling site, giving 20% of the sales to the venue on top of the $24 voluntary monthly membership fee I happily paid for the privilege. (You can read it in its entirety if you are so inclined, here.) It was an exciting time, everyone had their sleeves rolled up, generosity in all of its magnificent forms flowed freely! And, of course Bonanzle flourished!

Bonanzle has really grown in the past year, with now over 2 million listings on its books! Many features have been added and tweaked for the better, and yet some key elements are still left wanting creating real barriers to sales. There are a lot of bells and whistles to play with, and the new syndicated selling and affiliate programs promise to drive traffic to the site. Although I no longer keep a memebership there, and so I no longer sell BonanzleSudzle, I maintain a storefront at Bonanzle, and I do believe that the venue has the potential to take off. In my heart of hearts, I hope the huddled masses will find the promised land.

All in all, my experience at Bonanzle has been extremely positive: I have made great –lifelong– friends through the forums and I have learned e-commerce marketing skills that are transferable to my own website and beyond. I have witnessed the beautiful spirit of community and cooperation soar to the stars! And, although there have been some ugly moments that left me scratching my head, all in all it has been a wonderful learning curve and a fertile field for personal growth. And so, this Sunday morning I raise a Mimosa to my fellow Bonanzlers, in gratitude and celebration!

Cheers!

It is my regular Sunday morning habit to write, so I took a moment of reflection and focused on the past year and my adventures in e-commerce. I'll call it my Bonanzle Awakening as it was the event of my journey beyond ebay and my anniversary there that has inspired me. I think it's a celebration of personal growth that can be translated beyond its application to my e-commerce businesses and marketing plans. And so I'll share...

Awakening... at some point you realize that it's time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change, or for fulfillment, safety and security to come galloping over the next horizon. You come to terms with the fact that any guarantee of "happily ever after" must begin with you and in the process, a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You affirm that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen, is different from working toward making it happen. You focus and get going!

You awaken to the fact that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected. You learn that people don't always say what they mean or mean what they say. You decide to be true to your truth and to take care of yourself and in the process a sense of safety & security is born of self-reliance.

You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view. You begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for. You remember that it is truly in giving that we receive and that there is powerful joy in creating and contributing. You stand firm in your conviction that principles such as honesty and integrity are not outdated ideals but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build your business, and life.

You humble yourself to the truth that you don't know everything; that it's not your job to save the world and that you can't teach a pig to sing. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO. You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake.

And, then you learn about love.

You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You learn about trust.

You come to the realization that you deserve to be treated with love, kindness, sensitivity and respect and you won't settle for less. You take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn that life isn't always fair, you don't always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people. You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you. You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls.

You learn to be thankful.

In my Awakening I vow to take responsibility for myself, and I make myself a promise to never betray myself and to never ever settle for less than my heart's desire. I promise to keep my chin up, boobies out, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

I am thankful.

May you be blessed!

Heaven on Earth, Living in the Now

Last night my dear old friend and I sat on the porch, sipping a very good wine and watching a magnificent orange sun disappear into a range of purple and red watercolor mountains. We listened to a soundtrack of birdsong in the trees and dogs splashing on the beach. Already gone back to the city this morning, to catch a flight to Chicago this afternoon, she will not see the repeat performance tonite.

"This is Heaven on Earth," she said.

It is. It is my view of the end of every day, and I am mindful to acknowledge the grace that surrounds me. I am perpetually awestruck, actually.

Against all conventional wisdom, fiscal frugality, and the well-meaning advice of friends and family, I chose this life. Perched on the edge of a crystalline cliff in the Adirondack-style home I designed, and which my children helped build by collecting and peeling sticks for railings and door handles, my vantage point is quite expanded as a result. My children's vantage points are also a broad wash of color, never black and white, never fixed indefinately, certainly not conventional.

The arrow heads they've found on the bottom of the lake are still scattered throughout the rooms a decade and a half later, as are the owl pellets, otter skulls, and driftwood sculptures, the treasures of their muddy, messy, childhoods along the shoreline. There are crow feathers, duck feathers, and brightly colored bluejay and finch feathers in many of the books in the library, bookmarks of summer days spent lazing in the hammock. She used to go crazy when I let her kids pick up feathers from the ground, fearing disease and I think, maggots. She bought them pretty pressed flowers in plastic sleeves that said New Hampshire. They secretly wished for the feathers, hid them in their luggage, showed their friends in the city what they found at the lake. They put them in their hair, like I do, when no one was looking.

We talked about that last night. While her children were dressed in Polo and wait-listed for the "right' preschool, mine had stripped back down to their boxers and were doing cannonballs off the dock before school each morning. When she installed a five-thousand dollar fence around her yard to keep her one-thousand dollar dog in, my rescue dogs were bounding thru the woods alongside their two-legged best friends, also mongrels. When she turned to anti-depressants to cope with her midlife crisis, I launched my kayak.

We have taken different paths, placed our values in vessles which seem impossible choices one to the other, but our friendship endures. Births, deaths, deceptions, deliverance.

"Gosh, some things never change," she smiled as she kicked away a portion of a pile of sneakers from in front of the door in the mudroom. "Did you ever consider a shoe rack?"

The kids have always stripped down in the mudroom, leaving a pile of wet clothes, bathingsuits, dogtowels and sneakers wherever they are dropped, knowing I will come along to shake, sort, hose-down or launder as appropriate. Each of the three boys will undoubtedly have two or three friends (and their dogs) with them, so the piles can be enormous. The natural outcome of a muddy, messy, mongrel childhood.

As she places her Luis Vuitton weekender beside the pile and opens the door just wide enough to squeeze through she sighs, "You know, you did it right. I could stay here forever." We watch a cloud of goldfinches descend on the feeders. I know it creeps her out that there are so many, and there are... so many birds in this yard.

A hug, a kiss, and the sound of her urban-scaled Hummer crunching the gravel as she navigates my steep, winding driveway. I visualize her immaculate stamped concrete crescent drive, faux painted to look like natural stone, the sealed-shiny welcome to her home and the life she has agreed to. I see her placing her shoes onto her shoe rack by the door, slipping her house slippers on over soft heels, pedicured nails, the tiny diamond toe ring.

My feet resemble hooves, but they enable me to run over the gravel after a frisbee and come down hard as I catch it without pain. My toes are painted, though chipped and ragged from the garden. I have a ring of dirt around my heels. I go barefoot in the house, better to massage the dog under my desk. My slippers were eaten by the puppy. Our lives are both beautiful in their own ways, as are we, from the vantage points of our choosing.

This summer, all three of my boys are here at the lake for the first time in five years. In late August they will scatter again, on to New Zealand, college life, and even adulthood. But this morning, they are home. And, I see that there are extra sneakers in the pile, there will be guests at the breakfast table. I try to guess who is here, I decide to make stickybuns.

As the oven is heating, I grab two laundry baskets. One I fill with wet towels and bathingsuits, the other with flip flops and sneakers so I can sweep out the sand. Yes, heaven smells like wet sneakers, labrador retrievers, cinnamon. It is stained with the color of Merlot, sunsets more beautiful than words can convey, and the salt of almost-imperceptable tears of gratitude, joy and love. If I am in Heaven now, I can ask no more...

except maybe... birdfeeders that never need filling.

May you be blessed!

Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

There is an elegant humility in every day people who have the ability to get the job done, and do, without drawing attention to themselves. Humility is also alive in the philanthropist who gives an anonymous donation, and in the leader who treats everyone with respect regardless of position. I recall being told by my grandmother that the sign of a good and honest "gentleman" is how he treats those who can be of absolutely no use to him.

There cannot be authenticity without humility.

I know that when I approach situations from a perspective of humility I am readily opened to new possibilities. I can choose open-mindedness and curiosity over protecting my point of view. When I do, I am welcomed in to the wonderful space of the beginner's mind, willing to learn from what others have to offer. As I move away from pushing into allowing, from insecure to secure, I am liberated from seeking approval to seeking enlightenment. I forget about needing to be some particular way, and I enjoy being in the moment. I am freed from the crippling fall of delusional arrogance.

When I am asked to assume a leadership role, I remember to seek others' input. I ask, "OK, how am I doing?"

I know that it takes humility to ask such a question and even more humility to consider the answer. In this simple act, I become authentic. In this simple act I choose open-mindedness and curiosity. This also allows me to share credit for any successes with all, and allows me freedom from pretence, which improves my relationships across all levels.

Humility encourages more openness and paradoxically, it enhances my self-confidence. It opens a window to my higher self. It encourages me to share freely.

In our culture, often the young are worshiped for their technology, unrestrained ambition, and effortless energy. But there is also much to celebrate about earned success, the sacrifice of effort, and experienced perspective. It is a rare young person who can truly appreciate the beauty and contributions of the generations ahead of him or her when offered. It is worth doing, however, because respecting and offering gratitude to the experiences of the elders adds a broadened perspective to to the present experience.

Throughout history, in traditional cultures worldwide, elders have shared their wisdom and visions, and taught each new generation how to care for and about people with humility. Young people need their elders today more than ever. I say to my newly graduated son, and to his contemporaries in medicine, industry, and technology, in your newness, walk in humility, and in the joy of life.

Choose humility and open-mindedness over protecting your next move. Express gratitude and respect to those who play by the rules of a gentleman's game. Because once the game is over, both the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

Reach for happiness! Smile!

"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. They are but trifles, to be sure, but, scattered along life's pathway, The good they do is inconceivable." - Joseph Addison

Want to be happier? Just smile. A smile is usually contagious and will often be returned, so that the positive feelings flow both ways. Cheerfulness is a state of mind in which we feel content and confident and are free of stress, anxieties and fear. A prolonged state of being cheerful is called happiness. And you can choose it, no matter what is going on on your life.

Jon Haidt, author of The Happiness Hypothesis, teaches positive psychology. He actually assigns his students to make themselves happier during the semester.

"They have to say exactly what technique they will use," says Haidt, a professor at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville. "They may choose to be more forgiving or more grateful. They may learn to identify negative thoughts so they can challenge them. For example, when someone crosses you, in your mind you build a case against that person, but that's very damaging to relationships. So they may learn to shut up their inner lawyer and stop building these cases against people."

Be grateful for life's simple pleasures, and be accepting of life as it is in this moment. Focus on what is beautiful, miraculous, magical. Simply by cultivating an attitude of gratitude and non-judgement you will be so much happier! Once you've decided to be happier, you can choose strategies for achieving happiness. I recommend performing a daily "gratitude exercise." It involves listing a few simple things that you are grateful for. This shifts your energy away from draining negativity and promotes a wellspring happiness vibes. It is most often our response to a situation—not the situation itself— that is responsible for our unhappiness.

Unhappiness doesn’t lead to anything positive. It does lead to negative feelings of powerlessness. The more unhappy you believe you are, the greater your feelings of powerlessness. This contributes to even greater unhappiness. The cycle goes on and on, getting stronger with each go-around.

We don’t have to spend our lives troubled by feelings of unhappiness, sadness, powerlessness or low self-esteem. We can learn to take greater control of our thoughts and feelings, and thus to exercise greater control over our lives. We can choose to be happy.

Holding a grudge and nursing grievances can affect physical as well as mental health, according to a rapidly growing body of research. One way to curtail these kinds of feelings is to foster forgiveness. This reduces the power of life's challenges and the people who perpertrate negativity to drain you of your happiness.

In his book, Five Steps to Forgiveness, clinical psychologist Everett Worthington Jr. offers a 5-step process he calls REACH. First, recall the hurt. Then empathize and try to understand the act from the perpetrator's point of view. Be altruistic by recalling a time in your life when you were forgiven. Commit to putting your forgiveness into words. You can do this either in a letter to the person you're forgiving or in your journal. Finally, try to hold on to the forgiveness. Don't dwell on your anger, hurt, and desire for vengeance.

The alternative to forgiveness is mulling over a transgression. This is a form of chronic stress, says Worthington.

"It's associated with almost everything bad in the mental health field includiung obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety, probably hives, too."

Who wants hives?

image credit: www.shootstudios.com

Count your blessings every day this new year!

I am making a resolution to remember to count my blessings each and every day in 2009. A blessing is defined in the dictionary as "anything that gives happiness" and I can certainly find 365 reasons to be happy. One of my happiest days this year was the day my "yardmunk" finally trusted me enough to eat sunflower seeds from my hand. If I talked to you, emailed you, shipped a package to you that day, I told you how blessed I felt to earn the trust of such a sweet and innocent creature! In fact, he has become a wonderful teacher and companion in my life.

Recording our blessings is a way of counting them, but also a way to savor the sweetness of a life lived with gratitude, wonder, and curiosity. Sometimes the simple pleasures are too soon forgotten. Joy is a treasure, and gratitude is our greatest wealth! Here is a simple way to celebrate life's blessings every day.

Make a Blessing Box or a Blessing Bowl! This can actually be any container you choose, a box you make, or purchase, or a glass jar or vase, just make sure it will be large enough to hold a blessing a day for each day of the year. Decorate the container and label it if you like. Set your intention with creativity.

At the end of each day, write down your blessing(s) for the day and the date on a piece of paper and drop it into the container. Say a little prayer of thanx. I'm using a big crystal bowl (to amplify the energy) and using scraps of recycled colorful paper I've been collecting just for this purpose. And, I'm already looking forward to next year at this time when I can relax in front of the fire, read each entry again and relive the miracles that found their way to my open heart one more time.

May you be blessed with abundant joy in the New Year!
Namaste

The Recipe for Happiness: Chocolate Covered Gratitude

The best thing about the winter holidays might just be hot chocolate! Hot chocolate makes everyone feel good! Thick, creamy, aromatic, hot chocolate... what exactly is it that makes this hot drink so magical? The chocolate? The cream? The warm feeling in your stomach? The nostalgia of snowy days when school was canceled, the sledding was perfect, and the cookies were still warm when the gang came inside all wet mittens and red noses!

Close your eyes as you take that first sip, and you are instantly transported to a place of sweetness within you... and a cozy feeling of safety and security, the rich flavor activating your pleasure centers and creating that warm, tingly sensation that comes with only the purest cocoa content.

The Aztecs were the first to invent this magic potion. The Spanish refined it and brought it back to Europe. Slowly, it made its way North to France and was common by the time of Louis XV. We've known for quite some time that eating dark chocolate can lower blood pressure and help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. And while many consume small amounts of organic, dark chocolate for health benefits, I think of chocolate, and a mug of hot chocolate especially, as the perfect meditation.

"As the warm, rich, decadent chocolate melts in my mouth, there is only the creaminess...the dreaminess of this present moment."

Yes, Chocolate Covered Gratitude! My inner child is enjoying this moment even as the stressed-out adult is making her list and checking it twice.

"As the warm, rich, decadent chocolate melts in my mouth, there is only the creaminess... the dreaminess of this present moment."

With a steaming cup of hot chocolate, everything is sweeter. Here's my Grandmother’s absolutely delicious recipe, followed by several easy-to-make variations I’ve come to love, too… enjoy!

From the Recipe Box
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate, grated
3 cups milk
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg

Directions:
1. Put milk into a microwave-safe container and cook on high in microwave for 2 minutes.
2. Mix in chocolate, sugar, and cinnamon.
3. In a small bowl, whisk an egg until smooth, then mix itinto the chocolate mixture.
4. Return to microwave and cook on High for 3 to 4minutes or until foamy (be careful not to let it boil.)
5. Whisk until smooth and pour into two large mugs.

Healthy Vegan Hot Chocolate for Two
2 1/2 cups soy milk
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons organic cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Bring the soy milk, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and whisk until frothy. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information/serving: Calories: 196, Total Fat: 6.9g, Cholesterol: 0mg,
Sodium: 620mg, Total Carbs: 29.3g, Dietary Fiber: 6.7g, Protein: 9.9g

White Chocolate Cocoa for a Crowd (10 servings)
This is a great recipe for a skating party or open house.
2 cups whipping cream
6 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chips
Garnish:
Whipped cream
Candy canes

Directions:
1. Stir together the whipping cream, milk, vanilla, and white chocolate chips in a slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot and chocolate chips are melted. Stir again before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and candy canes, as desired.

Elf Fuel
OK, let me begin by stating there is absolutely no nutritional value here! But served in a pretty Christmas mug it is the perfect accompaniment to an evening of gift wrapping. Play your favorite Christamas carols mix , light the fireplace, and enjoy!

Servings: 1
1 fluid ounce vanilla flavored vodka
3/4 fluid ounce amaretto liqueur
1 tablespoon instant hot chocolate mix
4 fluid ounces hot milk
Garnish:
Hot Fudge Sauce
Whipped cream

1. Into a coffee mug, pour in the vanilla vodka, amaretto, and add the hot chocolate mix. Pour in the hot milk and stir to blend well.

As Odgen Nash wrote,
"Here's to holly and ivy hanging up,
And to something delicious in every cup."

Happy Holidays!