Tag: healing

Daily Bleue, Healing, Something Tasty: Baking

Sweet Healing Indulgences

Erin Keane

St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake…Yummy! Part of healing our life is to indulge in the yumminess of it! Somehow, when we were created, our Creator knew that we would love to eat! And thus, filled the earth with sugar and sweetness! Yesterday, was my dad’s birthday, so we indulged in home-made Gooey Butter Cake. It was a tradition of sweetness my grandmother introduced to me as a kid. I had forgotten completely about it until about 3 years ago. I was at work and a wonderful co-worker and baker gave me a slice. Its amazing how complex our bodies are: One taste, and I was brought back to being a 6 year old kid sitting at the table eating grandma’s dessert. My father and his family are natives of good o’l Saint Louis, Missouri, where Gooey Butter is famous. Three years ago, I suprised my dad with a tray of gooey butter sent special delivery. He too had forgotten all about it. Now, however, it is an absolute must in family gatherings. My Irish husband and Boston born son, will now also have this dessert as part of their heritage story.

To make St. Louis Gooey Butter:

Ingredients

  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Mix cake mix, melted butter or margarine, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 eggs with a spoon. Pat into a 9 X 13 inch pan.
  3. Mix cream cheese, 2 eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer. Slowly beat in confectioner’s sugar. Pour over cake layer.
  4. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool.

Do something fun for yourself too! Find a pretty plate or display item and present your sweet indulgence.  Taking the time to present your food, allows you to dip into your imagination. Imagination nourishes you, and continues to bring healing and happiness into your whole being.

Be blessed with your ‘Sweet Healing Indulgences’

Blessings, Erin

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Connecting to the wonder we are, Healing

Bleue Sky

Erin Keane

20120216-210817.jpg

Today I was literally up in the sky. Seeing the vastness of the puffy white clouds and the sun shining brightly was almost transcending. It puts me at awe how awesome our world is and how small I feel at times like this. Today reminded me that even when we feel small and disconnected that the world is actually a part of us (think of any time you’ve felt awe in nature and how deeply your body feels this awe during that moment). Our body holds even that which we may feel is greater than us. Take a moment tomorrow and let yourself feel the wonder of the world within yourself. Feel the wonder alive in you.
When we feel connected to that which is greater than us we begin to heal.
-Blessings, Erin

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Inspiration

When Love Calls Your Name

Erin Keane

“I have called you by name. And you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)

Valentine’s Day is an intentional day of saying, “I Love You.” The You, is your name. Its amazing when I think of my name, ‘Erin,’ I realize that there can be ten thousand more women out there that have the same name as me, but their ‘Erin’ means something completely different than mine. When someone says, “I Love You,” what does that mean for you deep down inside? Who is this ‘Erin’, ‘Katie’, ‘Mary’ etc., who is being loved?

Trusting that I am loveable is a daily challenge for me. I don’t really know why. It just is. Quite often this belief defines my understanding of others’ abilities to love me as well. Each person is able to love me as much as he or she can. But what really matters is can I love myself? When this answer is yes, all the ‘I Love Yous’ from others become more sincere and real because I trust that I can be loved.

Loving myself is a particular challenge when struggling with depression. I mean am I really good enough to be loved? Do I deserve love, even though I’m not perfect? OF COURSE I DO! But of course I need to believe this in myself for these words to be true.

That’s how faith has been a foundation in my struggle with depression. I realize that our Creator knows us. God knows us. God knows each and every one of us so well, that God recognizes that we need to hear those words whispered in our ears, every day, “I have called you by name. And you are mine.”

No matter who we are, we cannot exist without someone else. We all need love; we all need to hear our name called out, tenderly:

So on this day, and each day may you say your name with love in your heart and remember that even when it feels so empty, there is a God who keeps whispering your name. “Do you hear me calling you? Do you hear my whispers of love surrounding you and embracing you? The earth is full of love, just look around and notice the harmony of the songs of the birds, the squirrel gathering nuts, the trees opening their arms to offer a home.” ” I am the stranger who offers you a smile. I am the customer at the store who says thank you. I am your coworker who shares a cake with you. I am the song on the radio that says, ‘Never give up. Just trust in my love.'” With love, your Creator, God.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

There really is healing with honesty. –Erin

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Connecting to the wonder we are, Daily Bleue, Healing

The Wisdom of Children

Erin Keane

So my son is 2 1/2 years old now. He’s been a talker since he was able to mumble a word. He was never very strong physically as a baby, but I will say his mind certainly was always working. So today, I thought I’d share some tuna fish with him. He gave it a try. He took a bite and gently shaking his head, said, “Mama, I don’t really like this very much.” Now it wasn’t a, “I don’t like it.” or a famous toddler move of spitting it all over the floor, but a sincere, “Not very much.”

It reminded me of days in my life, when I didn’t have the courage to say I didn’t like something very much because I thought I could only say yes or no, and let things just go on by me.

That’s one of the ugly things about depression. It doesn’t really let you see the in-between, and then instead, the ‘yeses’ or ‘nos’ become a large pit of anger just waiting to burst.

I guess that’s why Our Creator, gave us little children to learn from. They remind us how to be human in the most basic ways. And they teach us that it is okay to have an opnion because what we feel does matter.