April 2011 Ego, dirty word?
Live It Up eNewsletter April 2011
Hello from Narelle
Is the ego a dirty word?
Master’s Wisdom
Apple Crisp Recipe
Hello from Narelle
Hello dear reader, and thank you for dropping in. You are appreciated because you stay in touch by dropping in. Since coming back from Bali, I have been working hard to bring you The Wealthy Spirit Retreat in Nepal, and after weeks of back and forth with my wonderful Nepali friends, I am so excited to say that it is finally going to happen in mid-September this year.
And, wait for it, Bali is rebooked for February 2012!! Our feedback on this trip was amazing, so make sure you click on the link and have a read.
I have been a bit quiet since coming home, both in contacting my wonderful clients and subscribers, so please forgive me.
Do remember to take care of you, to speak lovingly and kindly to yourself and others, and to be grateful for what you do have.
Warm regards
Narelle
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The Ego – Is it a dirty word?
(c) Narelle Stratford
Of late, I have been doing more work with clients who are experiencing ego issues, so I thought I would revisit this aspect and discuss the role of the ego with you.
It’s role is to act as a go-between between your Conscious Mind and your Subconscious so in effect it is a Liaison Officer! Ouch, and the ego won’t like reading that, let me tell you.
It is meant to carry messages back and forth between your conscious mind and your subconscious, rather like a courier on a bicycle, and yet over time, it’s role has somehow managed to intrude on and take over command of your subconscous. And I am getting ahead of myself.
Your ego may begin to form prior to your birth, as Mum-to-be talks about wanting to have children, what her child would be like (perfect, handsome, pretty and intelligent and soooo good, of course) and how her child will take care of her, or look after her, or go off and save the world. Your Dad-to-be might also have some views, and it depends on who the unborn soul is hanging around as to what begins to develop for the ego.
And yes, your next question is, what if I was an unplanned pregnancy, an accident or a mistake? Firstly, were you really a mistake? Was it not you who chose to come through at this time, to hang the expense and take the ride on in?
If you were an unplanned pregnancy, then your ego would begin to develop as Mum-to-be realises she is expecting a new life, and then has her thoughts and begins to dream her dreams, her hopes, her ideas of who and what you will be like: you will be perfect, attractive, handsome, intelligent and such a good baby!
Then, the rest of the family gets in on the act with their own ideas and thoughts, and so the ego begins to take shape as a thought form, an energy bubble if you like. And like most bubbles, the ego’s can also burst.
The ego is very concerned about protecting his or her identity, and their perception of theirself, and they will do everything in their power to make sure that their pride is not dented, or pricked or deflated. So, when you hear that negatively impacting voice of your own, beating you up and telling you that you are stupid, an idiot and to get over it, you can be sure that the ego is hanging on for grim death to the last vestiges of who they think they are. When this occurs, it is highly unlikely that you will be seeing yourself as perfect, intelligent, attractive, handsome or pretty and good enough.
It is much more likely that you will see yourself as a failure, or unworthy of success, an idiot and so on.
So, what can you do when the ego chips in? Say to the ego, “ego we don’t do that any more. I love and approve of myself and I want to be well and healthy and successful, so it’s time to behave yourself and be nice to me.”
Take notice of your thoughts and notice when the ego says something that is over the top and arrogant, or beats you up, or makes vicious comparisons, and then interrupt the ego by saying, glad you’re here to make me laugh! Or, geez, get over yourself will you! Or, ego, let’s swing back into balance NOW. By doing this you will encourage your ego to become a more healthy balanced Liason Officer instead of one that is too big for it’s britches.
And yes, your ego can be under-developed, and still want to maintain the status quo of how it sees the identity, and want to keep you locked into remaining the same.
It’s about having a healthy ego balance which is neither over-the-top or too weak, so that you are calm, centred and consciously in control in between.
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Master’s Wisdom
“Curiosity is the name of the game I like to play! What’s in there, what’s it doing,
what can I make it do?”
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Apple crisp recipe
This apple crisp recipe is easy because it does not take very long to prepare, but it does take a while to bake.
Hai used Fuji apples and says you can pretty much use your favorite kind of apples. The ingredients are for a baking tray of 8″ x 11.5″ x 1.5″(height). If your baking tray is about half as big, then just cut the amount of ingredients in half. Similarly, if your baking tray is twice as big, then double the amount of ingredients.
This recipe is perfect for apple season! Enjoy!
By Hai Nguyen
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients (for a baking tray of 8″ x 11.5″ x 1.5″(height)):
1 or 2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 apples (Fuji apples)
1/2 lemon
1 cup butter or margarine
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt (Narelle’s note – that seems a huge amount of salt and I wouldn’t use that much if any at all.)
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/8 cup water
1/4 cup of walnut or pecans (optional)
Method:
Part 1 (10 to 15 min)
Preheat oven to 400°F (1). Dice the apples (2) and place them in baking dish (3). Cut a lemon in half (4) and squeeze some lemon juice all over the baking dish (5) (try to pick out the large lemon seeds with a spoon). Sprinkle some cinnamon over the apples (6).
Part 2 (50 min)
Melt the butter in the microwave for 30 sec (1). Combine flour, sugars, melted butter, baking soda, oats and nuts in a bowl (2) and mix well with a spoon (3) (you might have to add the 1/8 cup of water to help blending). Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the baking dish with the apples (4). Bake for 30 to 40 min until topping is golden brown (5). Take it out of the oven and cool for 15 min (6). Enjoy warm with ice cream.
Narelle’s note – It sure looks delicious and I have to confess I haven’t made it yet.
I found this recipe on a free site that shares recipes: http://www.easy-recipes-online.com/apple-crisp-recipe.html
