low-cal spinach dip

President's Choice makes this amazing spinach dip which is really high in fat and calories. My wife found an easy recipe that's far healthier, but still tastes fantastic. I made it last night. Go easy on the salt though, if you use it at all. The parmesan is salty enough.

1 c low-fat mayonnaise
1 c fresh spinach, finely chopped
1/4 c cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 c parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 c cottage cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper (optional)

Blend all ingredients by hand in a bowl or in a food processor. (I used a fork.)

now it's about rats...

Wow, what a popular topic. The ahimsa discussion continues  in zen_within now, with a question about how to deal compassionately with rats.

"Spiritual evolution doesn't necessarily correlate with how many hours of meditation you're doing"

This Nondual News article contains excerpts from a 1995 interview with nondualist Lex Hixon (website | book page) conducted by Suzanne Taylor (website), as I understand it, not long before his death.

This is my first exposure to Hixon, but he nails down some good stuff about the difference between relative and absolute reality, and about the perils of attuning too much attention to either one of them.

On the current state of humanity and on whether or not we're about to destroy ourselves through violence etc.

Even if the earth would be totally blown to pieces, heaven forbid, consciousness itself would not be destroyed. But, o­n the second level -- I call them the ultimate and the relative levels -- o­n the relative level, every single human being counts and is irreplaceable. Every time a person of good-will is destroyed by the negative forces in the world, we suffer an irreparable loss, so that we suffer a kind of destruction of humanity that is going o­n all the time.

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On how much we should be concerned with the relative level of consciousness as opposed to the ultimate

Relying o­n Buddhist insight -- and I tend to rely o­n traditional teachings rather than o­n my own bright ideas -- we should be careful to be concerned equally about the relative and the ultimate, and that's a difficult balance to keep. So, for instance, when someone says that we're just about to peek over the mountain range into the New Age and there will be a totally different way of doing things, and we won't have money and competition, that is, I would say, a failure of concern about the relative.

We need people to take responsibility to bring these two positions together. There's nothing more depressing than someone who's always harping o­n the relative. Many social radicals are this way. Yet, o­n the other hand, there's nothing more debilitating than someone who's always referring us to some grand vision, without a deep sensitivity to relative concerns.

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On the role that formal spiritual practices and disciplines should play in our lives

Spiritual evolution is really an attunement with intrinsic clarity and lovingness of consciousness. It doesn't necessarily correlate with how many hours of meditation you're doing and whether you're living in a monastery. There have been awakened people throughout history who have developed ways of life and methods by which people have been able to accelerate their spiritual evolution, which are to be respected and cherished, but we should get away from the idea that the application of technique is the point.

(x-posted to nonduality)