Peace comes from within. This means: “Be change.” Don’t wait. Keep your conscious awareness at a level that creates change for you. In doing so, you are also facilitating change by transforming the ever-evolving collective (everyone).

(Remember to send “Thank-You” notes)

Does anyone still have a wooden recipe box? Most, from time past, are dovetailed oak, and often have yellowed newspaper clippings dripping out of the lid. These days, I usually just look online for a recipe, but something special is contained inside the recipe box . . . Whoah! A note written in cursive—wait, is that a teaspoon or a tablespoon? I can’t quite tell; the recipe has been used so much, there’s a big spot of oil blurring the measurement. And yet, there is a feeling that this recipe, with personal notes written in the margins and parentheses indicating, “(I use less)” have struck a chord with me. Every part of this is now personal, in fact, it hardly qualifies as a recipe anymore. Instead, here is a form of personal communication from my father’s mother. I’m holding her notes, written on a scrap of paper, detailing the process to create her homemade German noodles. Her note is one of love, caring, kindness, and fulfillment!

I can hardly think of anything more personal than a handwritten note. Recipes come to mind, because most of us have access to, or can remember our moms, or other family members, reading off those old notated recipe cards making food that has, “been handed down”, and we know the rest – delicious . Notes are indicators of one’s impressions of something. Some notes for quick ponderence are:

• Key note
• Collateral note
• Sentimental note
• US Treasury note
• Floral note
• Bank note
• Musical note
• Blue note
• Liner note
• Mash note

A note is a brief record of something written down to assist the memory for future references. I use notes more than ever, to stay on top of my chores; I think we’ve all done this—gone to the store for one item, come home with a bag of stuff; and he one item we actually made the trip for, alas, never made it home. Sticky notes have become the shoppers success tool! What about the thank you note? Older people (past 55) report the thank you note has gone by way of technology. If they get a gracious response it’s by email or cellphone; that’s good, but it’s just not the same as paper you can hold in your hand and read again and again! Truly, my encouragement is this; take a moment in time to hand write a personal message from your heart, and drop it in the mail. Trust me, the recipient will be thrilled with a card, an old family recipe, or even something as simple as a scribbled note from college-ruled paper. “But she lives across the street”, you might say. Fair enough; how many days do any of us get personal correspondence in the mailbox, telling us we are valuable, loved, and cared about. Be the  person; pause your busy day, add a drop of lavender oil to a to a note that will carry magic into someone else’s world.

If you are musically inclined, you may want to use staves (the five-line template) to compose a musical score for someone who brings harmony into your life, maybe even include a sixty fourth note (a musical note having the time value of a sixty-fourth of a whole note), WOW! The message remains the same. Whether you’re a musician, a lyricist, a writer, or a chef, all of us possess the ability to make a note on the origin of the original phrase or thought. The gift of something written by your hand is priceless, indeed.

German honey Christmas cookie made with molasses

Ingredients:

½ cup honey
1 ¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg

½ cup dark molasses
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice

2¾ cups flour
⅓ cup nuts, chopped

½ teaspoon baking soda
⅓ cup chopped citron

1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated whole blanched almonds

1 teaspoon clove

Preparation:

Mix honey and molasses and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool completely. Stir in brown sugar, egg, lemon juice and lemon rind. Sift together flour, baking soda and spices, then stir into the honey-molasses mix. Mix in the citron and chopped nuts, place the dough in the refrigerator and chill overnight. Roll out a small amount of dough at a time to ¼ inch, keeping the rest in the fridge. You can either cut out oblong shapes about 1 ½” x 2 ½” or just cut circle shapes about 2” in diameter.

Place on a GREASED baking sheet about 1” apart. Place 3 almonds on top of each cookie in a flower shape, and place in a 400* oven for 10-12 minutes or until no imprint remains when touched.

Tips:

A light glaze may be added to the cookie:
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

After the cookies have cooled brush the tops lightly with glaze and allow to firm.

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

“Spirit Fuel” leads to Divine Guidance. Develop a spiritual connectivity practice to do every day. Quiet your thoughts and sink into soulful rest. Kindle the sparks of your Divine Essence, so they may burst forth to flame the Spirit, as it is purified by fire.