“Why didn’t you or anyone else stand up against the abuses you suffered?” When I talk about my childhood I get this question a lot. I have asked it of myself many times too. The answer is quite simple. Abuse was normal. Like eating, sleeping and doing the dishes. It was a part of life. [...] → Continue Reading The Effects of Abuse and What Is Normal?
“Time” In this painting I wanted to depict the idea that time is not linear but that everything happens simultaneously. Time is a continuous round, a circle, the symbol of eternity. It is a difficult concept for our linear brains to grasp so we break time up into opposites and divide it into separations. What [...] → Continue Reading Time
Having myself been raised in a polygamous home I could relate to the article in the Salt Lake Tribune “ Law stays out of polygamous sect’s homeschooling ” that explores the need for improved educational opportunities for polygamous children. I was home schooled up to the fifth grade and was pulled out of school to [...] → Continue Reading Education for Polygamous Families
It took me many batches of awful throw-in-the-trash-biscuits before I finally figured out how to make perfect golden flaky biscuits. This recipe will make light, buttery biscuits that rise beautifully in the oven. The trick is not in the ingredient list which is pretty basic but in certain techniques that I discovered purely through trial [...] → Continue Reading How to Make Perfect Baking Powder Biscuits
One of the most valuable things a writer can learn about the craft of writing is clarity. Being straightforward and clear is a challenge for many writers, myself included. It is easy to think that your readers live inside your head with you and you don’t have state your ideas clearly and you can use [...] → Continue Reading How to Achieve Clarity in your Writing
All hypnosis is self hypnosis. The most important thing I have learned about hypnosis is that it cannot be done against your will. We hypnotize ourselves. We can do this with or without another person. It is the person under hypnosis that matters; the person’s receptivity and other factors. The hypnotist is really just a [...] → Continue Reading Self-Hypnosis
Slavery was the foremost indirect cause of the American Civil War. The southern states that seceded from the Union did so to preserve the economic, cultural and ideological values of the South. Whenever the hot button issue of slavery and other legislation that affected slavery, such as states rights or popular sovereignty, came up there [...] → Continue Reading The Question of Slavery
This is Bonnie. She came to us shortly after Rex died. I thought I could live without a dog for a few months maybe even a year, but not so. I couldn’t bear it. Once I had had a dog I didn’t know how to live without one. Rex brought so much joy to my [...] → Continue Reading Bonnie
I am surprised at how many people don’t like poetry. Okay, maybe it’s just my husband Aaron that doesn’t like poetry. He finds poetry to be superfluous and pointless. While he tries (from afar) to appreciate my love for it he ends up shaking his head in befuddlement. I try to understand his lack of [...] → Continue Reading Discovering Poetry-Top Ten Poets
Meditation has become a mainstream aspect of spirituality in Western civilization. But what exactly is meditation? It has been called a form of prayer, detachment, oneness, enlightenment, and dozens of other labels. Meditation seems to have as many interpretations and forms as there are styles of jeans at the clothing store. Take your pick, buy [...] → Continue Reading Meditation
