The Charmed Monday Minute, March 17

Hi, all -

Top o' the mornin' (afternoon, evening) to you on this St. Paddy's Day. It's sunny today and the snow keeps melting. This is good stuff. Lots of new this week so I'll keep my personal stuff short.

I will tell you one sweet thing. On Saturday William got his tattoo in honor of James, his teenaged son who died last fall. It's a slight adaptation of James's favorite song lyric, "I am heaven-sent, don't you dare forget" (from the song "Okay I Believe You but My Tommy Gun Don't" by the band Brand New). I am now married to a man who has "He was heaven-sent" on one inside forearm and "Don't you dare forget" on the other. He came in after doing this and said, "I don't care what anybody thinks. It gives me peace." I'm so proud of him.

Love and light -
Victoria

Recipe of the Week: I just had this fabulous raw soup for lunch and have to share it with you. It comes from Raw Foods for Busy People: Simple & Machine Free Recipes for Every Day, by Jordan Maerin - a dandy little cookless book. Cream of Tomato Soup: 4 medium tomatoes 1 stalk celery ½ bell pepper, chopped 2 Tbl. Fresh basil or 1 tsp. Italian seasoning 2 tsp. lemon juice 1 avocado 2 tsp. maple syrup or agave nectar Salt, cayenne, and minched hot peppers to taste Blend well. Yum-yum. Serves two generously as an entrée, four to six as an appetizer. (If you want a lower fat version, leave out the avocado and sweetener and you've got Maerin's "Real Tomato Soup.")

Sherry Boone in cabaret: My amazing, extraordinary action partner (see Fat, Broke & Lonely No More) and wonderful friend will be in cabaret in NYC one night only. Tri-staters: this is not to be missed. Directly from a triumphant London debut in The Royal Festival Hall's Carmen Jones, Sherry Boone brings her new solo sensation The SuperSTAR Artist Show to the Metropolitan Room. From Broadway (Jelly's Last Jam, Ragtime, Marie Christine, Master Class) to Opera (Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival), Sherry Boone has garnered raves for a voice that Ben Brantley of The New York Times describes as "ravishing." Make your reservations now! Sherry Boone in The SuperSTAR Artist Show Monday April 7th -7pm NYC's Metropolitan Room 34 West 22nd Street NY, NY 212 206 4440 Alls seats: $34 *Reserve before March 21st for $25 (use codeword OPERA)* For a preview (and a treat), go to this link on YouTube.

A New Internet Radio Event: Nancy Mills is the very focused woman who's come up with The Spirited Woman Circle Tele-Chat Conversation Series -- first Tuesday of the month, 10-11am PST, 1-2pm EST. Register at thespiritedwoman.com or call 888-428-1234. Here's the lineup: April 1: Jill Conner Browne, Sweet Potato Queens Books of Love May 6: Susan Miller, founder of www.Astrologyzone.com June 3: Carolyn Howard-Johnson, writer's advocate, "How to Do It Frugally" series of books July 1: Jacquelyn Mitchard, highly acclaimed author of Oprah's first Book Club pick, The Deep End of the Ocean August 5: Laurel Touby, founder of Mediabistro.com, just sold her company to Jupitermedia.com for $23 million September 2: Catherine Ryan Hyde, bestselling author of Pay It Forward October 7: Victoria Moran, self-help guru (I am?) and author of Creating a Charmed Life

Let's get celebrating: Let's get celebrating: My friend Greg Tamblyn, a wonderful singer/songwriter, comedian, and all-'round inspirational guy (www.gregtamblyn.com) put in his recent newsletter that, as part of bringing about more understanding in the world, he was going to start celebrating different holidays from around the world. Here are the ones he lists as his favorites: Liberia: Matilda Newport Day, December 1. "A festival in honor of a widowed pioneer who lit a cannon with her pipe and saved her countryin 1822 when under siege by tribespeople." Mongolia: Naadam Festival, July 11-13. Three day holiday for "the manly games, of horse racing, archery, and Mongolian wrestling." (Women compete too, except in wrestling.) Finland: Walpurgis Night, April 30. "In the Norse tradition, bonfires are built to keep away the dead and chaotic spirits that are said to walk among the living." Japan: Coming of Age Day, 2nd Monday in January. "All people who turned 20 during the last year are congratulated. Cities and towns hold ceremonies with alcoholic beverages, which are the privilege of adults."

Calling all writers: This is a conference I never miss, and this year I'm moderating a Sunday morning panel seminar on publicity and platform. Here's the scoop: Annual conference, Amer. Soc. of Journalists & Authors, April 12-13, Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City. Public program and registration link at: www.ASJAConference.org. Award-winning literary journalist and author Melissa Fay Greene will be the keynote speaker on Saturday. Programming includes one-on-one "pitch" sessions with agents and editors, and opportunities for personal mentoring with professional writers. Representatives of several of the nation's leading magazines will participate, notably AARP The Magazine, Audubon, Better Homes & Gardens, E! Magazine, Family Circle, New York Times Magazine, Outside, Redbook, Self and Wired.

Where I'll Be: I'm in writing mode at the moment and not doing a whole lot of speaking, but I'll be here and there and would love to have you join me... Radio: www.healthylife.net - Wed., March 26, noon Eastern - guest: Jerrold Mundis, author of How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously (will be archived for later listening) Speaking: New York, NY, Sunday, April 13, 9 a.m. to noon, panel- "Publicity for Writers," annual conference, American Society of Journalists, Grand Hyatt Hotel, info at www.asja.org

Take care, and all good things -

Victoria

The Charmed Monday Minute, March 4

Dear Readers & Friends, I'm thinking of the children's poem, "The Owl & the Pussycat," where it says, "They sailed away for a year and a day..." because I'm a week and a day late on this issue of the Minute. But that's cool because today is a lovely holiday invented by my friend, writer and storyteller Deborah Shouse. This is March 4th: the day we're to march forth into the rest of our year, the rest of our lives. My reason for lateness is that I was in New York City for a full glorious week in a charming little studio on the Upper East Side. It was divine. You know the law-of-attraction idea that says that happiness begets more of the same? I really saw that. I was borderline giddy to be back there living the way of life I love so much. During the week I was there in giggly bliss, a refund from my former gym showed up in my account (it three months past due and I'd pretty much given up on it); an income tax refund we hadn't expected showed up and the accountant confirmed that it was due us after all, and then, things really picked up for my husband's screenplays. He's a lawyer working hard to make a career change; his screenplays are amazing, and yet that is one tough business to break into. While I was in the city, some very positive things happened for all three of his scripts. This tells me, (1) all good things are indeed possible, and (2) joy does open the way for more of itself to enter in. This past weekend I was at another idyllic place, the New Age Health Spa in Neversink, NY. I spoke there and had a restful few days of yoga, meditation, great food somebody else prepared, and a magical nature connection when three deer came right up to the window of the yoga center. We stared at them and they stared at us. It was heavenly. It reminds me that we all can stand to live in a more spa-like way: rest enough, exercise and meditate daily, eat fresh, organic food. It's not that hard - just uncommon. But we can change that. Link of the Week: I so hope this video link works for you... This is an image you won't soon forget. The woman in this news clip found this lion malnourished and about to die. She took him home and took care of him. When the lion was better she called the local animal sanctuary. This was the reaction she got when the lion saw her. http://www.telestereo.com/Archivos/video.swf (Please remember, especially if you share this video with children, that this is a special case. Most wild animals should never be approached this way, even at the zoo.) Info of the Week: For five years, I've been trying to interest my publisher in a book on living the spiritual life. For some reason, they won't bite, so I developed it as a class, initially for the Learning Annex of New York City, and I've now done it with great success there and at various churches, spas, and conferences. Through developing and refining the concept, I've come up with the 12 Power Principles for Living a Spiritual Life (and those are the twelve chapters of that book which will happen somehow - you heard it here). The principles are: 1. Accept yourself. If this is difficult, clean up your past as best you can and then look at each day at the end of it so you can make things right as you go along. None of us is ever going to be perfect, but we can start each day fresh and feel good about our imperfect selves. 2. Claim your joy. Joy is necessary. It's contagious, so being joyful is a great way to help others. And it begets more of itself (see my little story above about the great things that came into my life week when I was in such a happy state). 3. Take quiet time every single day. Meditate, pray, write in a journal. Quiet time is mandatory to get in touch with your deeper self and with your Source. 4. Keep a Sabbath. If you don't have a religious Sabbath, just pick a day and set it aside for spiritual, recreational (that means re-create, you know), and delightful endeavors. For me, it means no email and keeping my desk verboten. 5. Cultivate greater compassion. "Feel with" (that's the basic definition of the word compassion) the homeless guy on the corner, whether you opt to give him a buck or not. Feel with the people you read about in the paper, and expand your circle of compassion to include other sentient beings. The Jain saint Mahavira put it so beautifully: "To every creature, his own life is very dear." 6. Treat your body as a temple. Honor it. Care for it. Treat it kindly. Use it well. Feed it the best food, give it enough rest and exercise, and show it some appreciation: it does a lot for you. 7. Share your time, talent, treasure. Give of your time, let the world benefit from your talents, and give of your resources, either through tithing (regular giving of 10% of all money that comes to you) or some other system of sharing. This makes the world better and opens the way for the universe to give back to you. 8. Study and learn. Read the scriptures of the world or of your own tradition. Read mystical poetry (I love The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse). Read the spiritual classics such as The Yoga Sutras of Patajali or Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God. Read new books that help open your mind to more wonder and beauty and grace. 9. Create community. Bring into your circle people who are also on a spiritual quest. You need them to reflect back to you what's really important. 10. Allow others to, simply, be. Principle 9 states that you need people around you whose spiritual questing is in keeping with yours, but you also need to allow other people to be on other paths and some to be on, seemingly, no path at all. Shine your light: if it's of the wattage they can see and appreciate, they may want what you have and they'll ask how you got it. If not, trust that they have a Higher Power, too, and that they're just where they should be. 11. Find Spirit everywhere. Look around your life and your day and find God, Spirit, Presence, Source Energy. See it in nature, in serendipity, in children and animals, in art and beauty, in simple pleasures. 12. Make gratitude your constant companion. Make gratitude your first thought upon awakening. Make gratitude lists in your head as you walk around town or in your car as you wait for the light to change. Be grateful when things are going fabulously and be grateful when they're in a slump - it's even more helpful then. Gratitude connects you with the Source of all good. You can't do better than that. Love and light, Victoria Where to Find Me: I'm in writing mode at the moment and not doing a whole lot of speaking, but I'll be here and there and would love to have you join me... Speaking: Albany, NY, Sunday, March 9, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. (careful: this is the day that daylight savings time begins), Unity Church of Albany, 2 Sunday services: "Awakening to the Light," 518-439-1775 Radio: www.healthylife.net - Wed., March 26, noon Eastern - guest: Jerrold Mundis, author of How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously (will be archived for later listening) Speaking: New York, NY, Sunday, April 13, 9 a.m. to noon, panel- "Publicity for Writers," annual conference, American Society of Journalists, Grand Hyatt Hotel, info at www.asja.org

Take care, and all good things - Victoria

The Monday Minute, February 11th, 2008

A Monday Minute on a Monday! Wonders never cease, do they? Seriously, thanks for your flexibility during my travels et al and being willing to read these posts when they come on other days. We went to Nashville last week for William's birthday (for those who don't know me, William is my husband) and to meet with some music people about one of his movies. I admire him so much: he has written three beautiful films and although the movie business seems to be fraught with peril and setbacks, he is staying true to his vision and I know he's going to make it. We also caught up with friends there including singer/songwriter Georgia Middleman, author Candy Paull, The Joy of Simplicity I Didn't Know That: Or Why We Say the Things We Say author Karlen Evans (I was a guest on her radio show, "Beyond Reason"), and healer/astrologer Rosemary Cathcart. And of course we did the tourist things like The Opry at the Ryman and the music bars on Broadway. One of the bands actually played my request, "Rhinestone Cowboy," after the lead singer commented, "Man, that's old." Cheers, Victoria What is it with "Rhinestone Cowboy"? ... Well, I decided that it's my theme song. For those of you who aren't "old," it was a Glenn Campbell's seminal hit from 1975. I hadn't thought of it in years until I was packing to leave New York and the lyrics came back to me as a sort of treasure map set to music. Here they are: I've been walkin' these streets so long, Singin' the same old song. I know every crack on these dirty sidewalks of Broadway, Where hussle's the name of the game, And nice guys get washed away like the snow and the rain. There's been a load of compromisin' On the road to my horizon, But I'm gonna be where the lights are shinin' on me. (Chorus) Like a rhinestone cowboy, Ridin' out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo, Like a rhinestone cowboy, Getting' cards and letters from people I don't even know, And offers comin' over the phone. Well, I really don't mind the rain, And a smile can hide all the pain, But you're down when you're riding a train That's takin' the long way. So I dream of the things I'll do With a subway token and a dollar tucked inside my shoe. There'll be a load of compromisin' On the road to my horizon, But I'm gonna be where the lights are shinin' on me...(repeat chorus) Everybody needs a theme song... BeliefNet.com Blog News... Thanks to everybody who plans to read and participate in my blog on BeliefNet.com, which was supposed to have started today or a week ago. It hasn't. I'll keep you posted and send a special mailing once I know when the Charmed Life Blog goes live on BeliefNet. Question of the Week: Is your family, specifically your husband, a vegan? Did he transition his thoughts after meeting you? What is your approach to wanting your significant other to eat vegetarian? I find it hard to date/be committed to someone who is not an animal lover. What advice do you have for me and others facing this issue? - Tiffany Hi, Tiffany - Thanks for the question. My daughter is a lifelong vegan; my stepchildren eat conventionally; and my husband ate meat when I met him but became vegetarian (not vegan) after meeting me but - this is important - not because of me. He'd just never given the issue any thought; the way I live caused him to think of it. When he did, he realized he didn't want to eat meat anymore. I think that's the key: people do what they want to do. When something speaks to a person, he or she changes in response to that. If it doesn't, no amount of nagging and pleading and "educating" are unlikely to do much except turn the person off. For someone (and I quote you) "wanting your significant other to eat vegetarian," I suggest looking for someone who is already vegetarian. Meet them through online veggie-dating services, vegetarian group meetings or conferences, etc. Otherwise, look to make friends of all persuasions and see if your lifestyle awakens the same spark in someone else. If you're already in a relationship, take care of yourself, and love and appreciate the other person. That is, take care of yourself by eating and living in accordance with your highest light, and refusing to do anything that is ethically or esthetically repugnant to you. AND let the other person live his life, too, without criticism. Maybe he'll change and maybe he won't, but if you focus on what you love about him, you'll both be a lot happier. Adair's amazing play... My daughter Adair is a young actress, and her most powerful roles to date have been in Holocaust dramas. She played Anne in The Diary of Anne Frank, Eva in Kindertransport, and she has now been cast in an NYC showcase of Who Will Tell the Story? It's based on the true story of women in an Auschwitz barrack who committed to doing all they could to save the life of one of them, the one they believed could best tell the story. She did survive and wrote this play. It's a two-week run starting February 22. There is more on Adair's site; click on "Current Projects." A tiny, beautiful film... Filmmaker Monica Sharf has an exquisite 5-minute tribute to the troops serving overseas in "While We Lie Sleeping." It was a selection of the LA Film Festival and will be screening in New York City tomorrow, Tuesday, February 12, 6 pm (promptly -- it's the first film in the "Filmmakers at War" showcase) at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue. For those of you not near New York, you can view this 16mm black and white silent short online. Where to Find Me: I'm in writing mode at the moment and not doing a whole lot of speaking, but I'll be here and there and would love to have you join me... Radio: www.healthylife.net - Wed., Feb. 27, noon Eastern - guest: Richard Blackstone, author of Nuts and Bolts Spirituality (will be archived for later listening) Talk/book signing: Fat, Broke & Lonely No More, Barnes & Noble, Rt. 9-W, Kingston, NY - 6 p.m., Thursday, February 28. Click here for more info. New Age Health Club, Neversink, NY: Friday February 29- Monday March 3, speaking on Creating a Charmed Life and Younger by the Day. Click here for more info. Radio: www.healthylife.net - Wed. March 26, noon Eastern - guest: Jerrold Mundis, author of How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously (will be archived for later listening)

Take care, and all good things - Victoria

Hello, charmed ones -

I hope this finds your life getting better and better, inside and out. I have some wonderful things going on (more below) and I've decided to package this year in the country as an extended retreat. Yesterday I went to a Vedanta Society retreat house in Stone Ridge, NY (www.ridgely.org) for a daylong meditation retreat. It taught me that I need to do more back strengthening exercises (I know that hatha yoga, the physical postures, was developed to help people sit for long periods of meditation; now I know why) and it reminded me how sweet such an intense meditation can be. While in meditation there, I got the insight that the successful seminar I've been doing for the Learning Annex in NYC, "How to Live a More Spiritual Life," needs to offered more places and as a teleclass as well as an in-person event. If you'd be interested in a teleclass like that, let Joya know (drop her a quick email at charmedassistant@aol.com) and if we get enough response, we'll plan a class for late February or early March.

It's still hard for me to be away from my beloved Manhattan. In order to write the new book, I drive to Kingston, a larger place, to write in a coffee shop. That more urban energy helps me a lot. However, I recently remember something someone told me a long time ago - I was twenty at the time. I was in a job that had become oppressive and she told me that as long as I hated it and desperately wanted to quit, I'd never be able to. I argued that I could just plain give notice and she told me, "You could, but you'd meet this job again, or everything you dislike about it, at another time with only the names and faces changed."

I'm using that wisdom again now. It is pretty obvious that I come alive in New York City and pretty much wilt out here in the mountains. In human terms, it may have been a gargantuan mistake to have embarked on this adventure at all. But I am convinced that the Higher Power is expert at making lemonade out of even the sourest lemons. My job is to be happy today and look for the good. Were you around for the 60s slogan, a sort of counter to the counter-culture, "America: love it or leave it"? For me today, it's "Woodstock (or whatever situation I'd like to be different): love it so you can leave it."

All good things, Victoria

A blog in the big time!... Well, let's hope. My most exciting professional news of the moment is that www.beliefnet.com will be running "The Charmed Life Blog" by me for one week beginning February 4 or 11 (I'll let you know which) as an "audition" for being a permanent blogger for their huge and wonderful site. I'll be posting more than once a day (that'll be new and different) and doing my best to help charm the day for all readers. If it gets lots and lots and lots of traffic, they'll keep me on, which would be a dream come true. If you'd like to help (and read a good blog in the process!), please visit beliefnet.com frequently once the blog goes up and going to "The Charmed Life Blog." There will be ways for you to comment, add your thoughts, and be a part of it. In fact, I would be thrilled if you would: the more participation, the more likely it will go permanent. (If I become an official BeliefNet blogger, that's where my blog will be, but it will not affect The Charmed Monday Minute one bit. This newsletter will show up in your mailbox every other Monday, or as close to every other Monday as Joya and I can get it out, just the way we have been doing it.) Quotation of the week: "There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy." - Robert Louis Stevenso

Recipe of the week - This quick, yummy dip comes from my favorite source of nutrition information, Nutrition Action, the excellent newsletter of Center for Science in the Public Interest (www.cspinet.org): Puree in food processor: One 15-ounce canned Great Northern, navy, or other white beans, drained and rinsed 2 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil 1 clove garlic A squeeze of fresh lemon juice Free clicks to help animals... Mary Max, the wife of noted artist Peter Max and a great force for a kinder world, sent this info about a free, easy way to help those who can't help themselves, and, if you like, you can offer this help daily, always without charge, by simply clicking on the following links: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/home (every click provides a bowl of food-at no cost to you-to animals in need) - "Thanks to people who click on The Animal Rescue Site, we are able to buy food and medical care for the rescued animals at the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch. It's critical support in our work to shelter abused and abandoned animals," says Mike Markarain, Senior V.P. of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). http://www.care2.com/go/z/primates (every click provides food for primates) http://pets.care2.com/ (helps needy pets with free surgeries and other health care) http://babyseals.care2.com/welcome?w=200015762 (helps protect baby seals from the cruel and senseless hunt subsidized by the Canadian government)

Question of the week: "Could you give me a sample of your food plan? I'm having a confusing time trying to decide what type of vegetarian food plan to chose. I'm already a vegetarian, so that's not the problem. The problem is I can't decide on whether or not to give up eggs and milk products. It makes like just a little more complicated, but if it's worth it, I'll certainly adjust. Do you do 3 meals a day with nothing in between, or do you allow snacks? It seems hard to keep it simple when you are vegan--there is a whole lot more cooking and preparation involved working with whole foods." - Lana, Iowa As I read your questions, I was noting some phrases I don't think in terms of anymore. I don't really feel that I have a "food plan" although I suppose I do, nor do I think in terms of "allowing" snacks or anything else, since that seems more authoritarian than I like being with myself. I also chuckled about "a whole lot more cooking and preparation." I don't think of myself as cooking very much at all, although I enjoy it when I do. To answer you, then, as best I can, let me say this: I basically eat three meals a day. Occasionally (maybe once or twice in a week), I'll have something - a piece of fruit, a whole-grain cookie, half a Luna bar -- at tea time in the afternoon if I'm feeling especially droopy. (In Ayurvedic medicine, three meals a day are recommended, with the caveat that someone with a Vata constitution, my type, can do better sometimes with a little something in the mid-afternoon.) I know a lot of systems recommend snacking or mini-meals throughout the day, but for someone like me, that puts too much emphasis on food. I also find that my digestion works better when there is time in between meals with nothing extra to tax the apparatus. For breakfast, if I'm home, I often have an oatmeal parfait or a soy yogurt parfait. That means I have the oatmeal or the yogurt and top it with fruits, slivered almonds or chopped walnuts, a little flax oil, and some toasted wheat germ. I might substitute Van's frozen wheat-free waffles, again with some fruit and chopped nuts and little flax oil, plus a little agave nectar or real maple syrup. I always drink black tea in the morning, with some Rice Dream (an alternative to cow's milk and soy milk). In warm weather, I might make a smoothie instead: soy milk or Rice Dream, fruit, protein powder, flax oil, wheat germ. When I'm in writing mode and work all morning in a café, or if I'm in the city at a Starbucks I have a grande soy chai tea, no water, no foam. It is rich---definitely a meal and not a drink---and I find it quite a satisfying breakfast with nothing else. (It does contain sugar, which I know a lot of people avoid entirely.) Lunch is often soup (lentil, split pea, tomato, carrot-ginger, and potato-corn chowder are among my favorites) with maybe a spelt English muffin and hummus, some raw veggies, and a piece of fruit, or I heat up leftovers from dinner. I never like to keep leftovers any longer than this, or there's no life force left in them. In summer, I'll have salad instead of soup, but it's a big salad and I'll add garbanzos or other beans, sunflower seeds, and some steamed or roasted veggies so it is a meal that will last until dinner. I use an olive oil & vinegar dressing like Paul Newman's. In the best of possible worlds, the midday meal would be the main one, but for us working folk, that's difficult, so I do have a heavier dinner than is probably ideal, but I have scaled back on my dinner amounts somewhat and feel better because of it. In any case, I make sure to eat early, ideally 6:30, no later than 7. We'll have some kind of entrée - my husband's favorites are chili, veggie-burgers, and pasta (I usually choose a wheat-free pasta) with marinara sauce and vegetables - and a salad. Sometimes I make a "breakfast-dinner" and serve scrambled tofu, veggie-Canadian-bacon, toast or English muffins, and sliced tomatoes (when they're in season) or grilled onions. Once a week or so, I'll do something creative and actually use a cookbook, but this isn't the time of my life when cooking is where my creativity comes out. I keep it pretty simple. I also eat out quite a bit. Vegetarian restaurants are my favorite since the food is whole and I have a lot of choices. The Garden Café here in Woodstock makes a very satisfying Vegan Cesar Salad with a yummy tofu-based dressing and blanched slivered almonds. They also do "garden bowls" - a small entrée, some side such as roasted potatoes, and always wonderful greens. (Eating greens makes me feel on top of the world.) William loves Italian food so we go to some Italian place once a week or so. That's when I know I'll be having white-flour pasta, and I try to keep that as the only time I eat white flour or, for that matter, wheat products which don't seem to sit very well with me. Otherwise, I like Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Ethiopian restaurants. They have lots of vegetarian entrees. When I eat out, I seem to have the same parameters as eating at home: one plate. At a place with huge portions, we might share or bring home leftovers for lunch. Everyone comes to food choices from a different place. Because I suffered so much from binge-eating and related issues for the first three decades of my life, it is very important for me to have a close relationship with the Divine on everything related to food. I need for my life to revolve around God, my family, my work, and what I came to this planet to do. Food needs to be decidedly secondary. When I let the Higher Power take care of the food, I get to do the things I'm better at. It is apparently working and I am very grateful. An amazing performer... I saw this woman in a show in Kansas City ten years ago and was so impressed that I got in touch and we've stayed connected. She'll be in NYC in March (see below). If you're elsewhere in the country, you may want to at least visit the site and see if she'll be in your area at some point. She is really remarkable, and if you have children, this is a particularly terrific show. Houston performing artist, Melissa Waddy Thibodeaux, will be opening in "The Woman They Called Moses," about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center in Harlem Thursday, March 6, 2008 and running through Sunday, March 9, 2008, with nightly shows at 7 pm and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3. For more information, please see www.aflyinggeese.com or call 713-884-9655. New Internet Radio Show: You can listen to my internet radio show on HealthyLife.net from noon to 1pm EST every 4th Wednesday of the month. The last show was wonderful, featuring my action partner and opera-singer-extraordinaire, Sherry Boone. Check it out in the archives here. (Trouble listening? Click here for the site's help page.)

Victoria, Virtual Life Coach! Victoria is now the official Life Coach of the blog "Elastic Waist" and will be featured a few times a month in exclusive interviews! To view the first post, click here. The second is here. Enjoy! OprahSelects.com: Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.co m since Victoria was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, you can write a reader review if you'd like.

The Charmed Monday (this week: Fri.) Minute

Hi, everyone, and welcome to new readers -

I'm writing to you from Topeka, Kansas, en route to Olathe, a suburb of Kansas City where my mother-in-law lives. I'll be speaking this Sunday, January 13, at the Center for Spiritual Living at 39th & Terrace Sts., Kansas City, Missouri - two Sunday services, 8:30 and 11. You can get more info at cslkc.org. Know I would love to see you there if you're in this part of the world.

A quick update from me (new subscribers: the first part of The Charmed Monday Minute is a letter updating people on my life; if you're not interested in this stuff, scroll down to the "newsy" parts that follow): We're moved in up in Woodstock and the apartment is adorable. It has snowed a lot and I love that. Christmas looked like a picture postcard, even though it was obviously bittersweet for us with James's death so recent. We had Christmas with my daughter Adair, her husband Nick, and the two dogs, Aspen and Oliver. I drove back to NYC with them and stayed over a day for an ear-prompter class with TV coach Larry Conroy to prepare for my Satellite Media Tour in Atlanta December 28, which went very well.

For New Year's Eve, we drove to Albany for the "burning bowl service" (you can read about burning bowl ceremonies in my book Younger by the Day) at the Unity Church and went to dinner afterward with the minister Jim Fuller and his lovely wife Kay whose yogic presence graces the current cover of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health magazine. Joining us was a friend of theirs who recently returned from the African country of Mali where he was with the Peace Corps for three years. This reminded me a beautiful photographic book called Material World. It takes a family with the median income for their country from many countries of the world and puts all their possessions out on the street. Mali was the poorest country chosen, but every possession the people there had was beautiful and serviceable. Once when I was complaining about money or not having something or other, my daughter, twelve at the time, said "Remember Mali." I said, "Who's Molly?" She said, "Not Molly: Mali." And I often do.

The next morning, January 1, I went to the Tibetan Buddhist monastery on Outlook Mountain in Woodstock for their First Light Peace Ceremony. It was lovely. While there, however, a blizzard blew up, and driving down the mountain my little hybrid didn't make one of the turns. I was heading straight for a tree and asked God if we could please just miss the tree. We did - by an inch. I learned later that I missed a ravine by about four feet. My neck is a little unhappy from the bump - I hit a bank of old, very hard snow - and the car will be in the shop for three weeks (our rental is a Jeep - let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...). I have to start my new year on February 7, Chinese New Year, year of the rat, most auspicious, they say. I need to stop - I'm past check-out time in this motel - so I wish you a glorious year and, more important, a glorious moment. Love and light, Victoria Book of the Week: An Hour to Live, An Hour to Love, by Richard Carlson, Ph.D., and Kristine Carlson, Hyperion, 2008. Oh my goodness, what an exquisite little book! The first half of this tiny tome is a love letter my friend and mentor the late Richard Carlson of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff fame, gave to his wife Kristine on their 18th wedding anniversary. Three years later, thirteen months ago, he died suddenly and unexpectedly at age 45. He wrote to her what he would do and say if he knew that he had but one hour to live. This is poignant, moving, and necessary reading for anyone who loves anyone on this earth. The second half of the book is Kris's response, written after Richard's death. It is such a testimony, not only to their love, but to love in general, and it was such a reminder to me to put first things first - and first things are always living things. Give this beautiful little book to yourself, and one to everybody to love.

Last call for the Learning Annex NYC!... Please be a part of my fun, exciting, and inspiring class, "How to Lead a More Spiritual Life." Topics we'll cover include the perennial philosophy, discovering the divine in daily life, the Law of Attraction (all a whole bunch of other laws!), the physical body and the spiritual life, meditation in the real world, and tolerance on this planet of diverse beliefs and ways of being. It's this Tuesday evening, 6:30 to 9:45, in midtown Manhattan. To register, visit the Learning Annex website HERE. Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens... Melinda in Cincinnati wrote to say that she'd like more coaching exercises in the Charmed Monday Minute every now and then. Just for you, Melinda, here's a seasonally appropriate exercise for more self-knowledge and self-appreciation. It's called "Playing Favorites." To do it, pretend that you're Sister Maria from The Sound of Music you ask yourself, "What is my favorite...?" and list everything you can think of in every area of life. Coming up with 100 is not excessive. Remember, these are not things you want but rather things you love. For example, you can write that your favorite city is Paris without wanting to move there (or feeling glum that you won't be moving there). This is not a wish list, but instead a getting-to-know-yourself list and coming to see how amazing and magnificent you are. Here's an example (the answers are mine and they're real): What is my favorite?... Color: Tiffany blue Thing to do: Meet Adair at a Starbucks in NYC Actor: Ed Harris Actress: Diane Keaton Season: Fall Perfume: Trish McEvoy Vanilla Musk Item of clothing: Dark blue corduroy DKNY dress Poem: "Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood," Wordsworth Restaurant: Sacred Chow, NYC Broadway show: Phantom of the Opera Movie: Auntie Mame (runners-up: Gone with the Wind, Moonstruck, The Birdcage, Forrest Gump, Gorillas in the Mist, Miracle of 34th St...) Mode of travel: Train Indulgence: The New Age Health Spa, Neversink, NY Holiday: Christmas Fiction book: The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley Health book: Perfect Health, Deepak Chopra Spirituality book: The Bible (runners-up: Alcoholics Anonymous, The Games of Life & How to Play It by Florence Scovil Shinn, The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav, How to Know God, Christopher Isherwood translation, The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse, A Most Surprising Song, by Louann Stahl) Feng shui book: Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life Dish that I cook: Vegetarian chili Okay, here's the recipe: Vegetarian Chili Note: These are approximate measures. It's never the same twice. 1 medium onion ½ pound firm tofu, drained 2-4 cloves garlic, minced 2 cans red or kidney beans 1 large can diced tomatoes 10 oz. frozen organic corn Other veggies to taste: chopped green pepper, carrots, celery (optional) Cumin, cayenne, chili powder, salt to taste Sauté onion in olive oil. When softened, add garlic and continue sautéing till done. Remove onion and garlic from skillet with slotted spoon. Cut the tofu in diced-sized squares and sauté in olive oil until cooked. Mix the onion-garlic mixture and tofu in soup pot. Add beans, tomatoes, corn, other vegetables, and seasonings to taste. Simmer to mix flavors. Serve 4. Yummy - even better the next day.

I'm on BeliefNet! I am honored and privileged to have some work of mine featured on BeliefNet.com, the premier site on the net for spirituality and religions. Here is the link to my latest piece, "10 Ways to Be Your Own Life Coach." New Internet Radio Show: You can listen to my internet radio show on HealthyLife.net from noon to 1pm EST every 4th Wednesday of the month. The last show was wonderful, featuring my action partner and opera-singer-extraordinaire, Sherry Boone. Check it out in the archives here. (Trouble listening? Click here for the site's help page.)

Victoria, Virtual Life Coach! Victoria is now the official Life Coach of the blog "Elastic Waist" and will be featured a few times a month in exclusive interviews! To view the first post, click here. The second is here. Enjoy! OprahSelects.com: Fat, Broke & Lonely No More was picked for OprahSelects.co m since Victoria was a guest on the Jean Chatzky Show on Oprah & Friends Radio. If you go to the page, you can write a reader review if you'd like.

WHERE I'LL BE...

KANSAS CITY, MO: January 13, Sunday, 9 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday services, "The God-Shaped Hole," book signing to follow; Center for Spiritual Living, 1306 W. 39th St., 816/931-2395, www.cslkc.org

NEW YORK CITY: January 15, Tuesday, The Learning Annex , workshop entitled "How to Have a More Spiritual Life"