Thursday, August 31, 2017

12 Things I Learned From Louise L. Hay

“In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect, whole, and complete.”
LOUISE HAY


Last night my mom read  words about Louise’s thoughts on death from one of her passages in You Can Heal Your Life. It says, “I joyfully move on to new levels of experience, all is well.”


It provided comfort those words.


Perhaps one of the greatest teachers, mentors, and promoters of self-love  passed away yesterday at the age of 90.  Louise L. Hay was a pioneer, she  started the self-help movement with her extraordinary blockbuster book, You Can Heal Your Body, 1976.  Ironically, her passing coincided to the exact day (August 30th), two years earlier of  her dear friend Dr. Wayne Dyer.


What does it take to Heal Your Body? Louise believe wholeheartedly in  positive affirmations, mental health, healing from childhood traumas, eating right, journaling, seeking the sound advice of a therapist, thinking positive thoughts, and so much more. In the 1980’s, she wrote a second best selling book, You Can Heal Your Life. This time around, the world took notice, You Can Heal Your Life has sold over 3 million copies, is a New York Times Bestseller, and has been sold in over 30 countries and been translated into multiple languages.


Through Louise’s healing techniques and positive philosophy, millions have learned to create a life of their dreams full of wellness in their bodies, minds, and spirits. In 1988, Louise was invited to be on The Oprah Show. She was invited to talk about the law of attraction and her philosophy of positive thinking and affirmations.


This is what Louise says about affirmations:
“I look at affirmations as like planting seeds. You put the seeds in the ground you don’t have the flower in one day. You make sure you give it water, it has good soil, you take out the weeds, you give it time.”


Here are 12 Things I’ve Learned From Louise L. Hay

  1. Affirmations
  2. Any disease is a result of unforgiveness.
  3. Create Visualizations
  4. Law of Attraction
  5. Power of Gratitude
  6. Mirror Work
  7. Self-Love
  8. Higher Consciousness
  9. Intuitive voice of a higher power
  10. We are all children of God/Higher Power
  11. Loving Oneself is the key
  12. The power of positive thinking will heal the mind, body, spirit

All is well.

Recommended book(s): You Can Heal Your Life, by, Louise L. Hay Buy on Amazon,
Manifesting Magnificence, A Personal Growth Workbook, by Gina Meyers and Dr. Allan G. Hedberg, Cecelia M. Klinger, Liz Longo, Linda Ferrari, and Alan Hill: Buy on Amazon, Bundles of Binding Time, Eternal Quotations, by, Linda Ferrari, Buy on Amazon

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Food For Thought, Keeping It Sexy & Spicy with K.P. Phagnasay, by, Gina Meyers


stock photo of Spring or Summer Rolls

stock photo of Mango and Sticky Rice Dessert

    As a cookbook author and publisher, I am fortunate to make and meet a lot of creative friends. One such friend I didn't have to travel all over the world to meet, I met him at an event in Fresno a couple of years ago. KP Phagnasay is an American. Originally, he was born in Laos, in South East Asia, but his family came to seek a better life in The United States of America. Initially, K.P.'s family  settled in Hawaii, then they moved to a small town in Illinois and finally settled in Fresno, California. We had an interesting conversation about the history of food, traditions, and he shared some fun and yummy Laotian Inspired dishes. K.P. is an actor, photographer, web designer, stuntman, coach, video producer,  set designer, I could go on.

He also is a home cook and a gardener. He grows a lot of his own food. Here's what I learned in a nutshell, pun intended.

K.P. believes that food brings friends and strangers together. He believes that presentation is important, it must be edible, healthy, presentable. He enjoys looking in his fridge and creating something from whatever is in the refrigerator or garden. His personal motto is, "keeping it sexy and spicy." What that means  is he has a philosophy, an attitude, lifestyle approach. "Stop, and take a deep breath." He enjoys cooking Asian food, there are elements of his family tradition and influence in his cooking style. K.P. can spend hours in the kitchen, he finds it relaxing, a sort of therapy. He has memories of watching his aunts and mother cooking. He believes everyone needs encouragement, a dream to achieve.

Cooking to K.P. can give you ownership over what you put into your body. Keeping it, "sexy and spicy." To learn more about K.P. KP 1 Studios.

Mango and Sticky Rice  Dessert
Recipe by, K.P. Phagnasay

1 cup of Coconut Milk
1 cup of Sticky Rice or Jasmine Rice
2 Tablespoons of Sugar
2 pinches of salt
1 Mango
Pandan (flavor option)

Directions: Soak rice in coconut milk add a bit of water to it (make sure you soak the rice) about an hour or overnight.

Cook rice in the rice maker(cooker..make sure there's enough liquid-I measured by using the  tip of my index finger to the middle line on the rice cooker, the traditional way of cooking the rice is by steaming. 

(option: I like using a PANDAN flavoring essence--you can get it an Asian local store. It comes in a bottle or you can get the actual plant, you will add that in  while you are cooking the rice, if using the Pandan plan, make sure to take the plant out and discard after the rice has been cooked. It adds a nice flavor and aroma to the rice.

Let the rice cook. Once the rice is cooked, add the sugar and salt. Depending upon your taste preferences, you may add additional sugar if you prefer it to taste sweeter, though the coconut milk gives it a sweetness.  My preference is brown sugar instead of white sugar. Mix well and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
Once rice is cooked, use an ice cream scope (If you don't have an ice cream scope, use a spoon or rice paddle) to place on plate. Thinly slice the ripe mango and put it to the side of the rice or flair it out on the dish to give it a "Tropical" presentation. Add coconut flakes, coconut or vanilla ice cream to the side.
ENJOY!

Spring or Summer Rolls
(Spring or Summer, anytime Rolls)

Rice Wrappers
Vermicelli rice noodles
Shrimp (already cooked and cleaned)
Mint sprigs
Shredded carrots
Chopped cucumber
Romaine Lettuce

Directions: Follow the package directions for how to expand the rice wrappers, usually with water and a paper towel. Once your rice wrapper is malleable, first add washed and dried lettuce leaf. Continue to add ingredients, your mint springs, shredded carrots, chopped cucumber, cooked shrimp, rice noodles. Follow directions to roll your Spring or Summer Roll.
Spicy Sauce

K.P.'s Spicy Asian Sauce
In a small bowl, add a diced Asian chili, garlic, fish sauce, a little sugar, hot water, add peanuts (check for allergies) (crush them in the coffee grinder). Mix and squeeze a whole lime to top off the mixture.