Since our last newsletter there have been lots of subtle updates and changes. Our core CMS has been updated along with a number of components and features to improve stability, security and performance. If you run into any new bugs or problems, please let me know so I can get everything working!

We've also added a new Premium Feature – Photo Galleries. These fun and easy to use galleries let you share your world with us. You can an example in my profile.

I've been busy updating the site and working on side projects, including my garden and johnmichaelthornton.com, but I have been writing a few short articles on Choosing a Psychic, gardening and cooking. Our other members have been rather quiet lately, but you can always get in on the conversation in the Forum!

Lots of the current chat in the forum is about gardening and I love it. All over the news these days you see these little stories, often buried under a mountain of campaign coverage, about how Americans are returning to gardening, often in hopes of reducing food costs, but also out of a desire to have safe and nutritious food available independent of the increasingly unstable global food market.

My family has always been full of gardeners. My maternal great Grandfather owned a feed store and Grandma always talks about how the worse the economy the better he did, some things never change.

Both sets of grandparents had organic gardens and I remember sitting on my Grandmother's porch on a raining summer afternoon in Texas, shelling butter beans and watching the wind and rain whip through the pecan trees and bend the flower stalks.

Here in Ohio, my Grandfather used to have the most amazing tomato harvests and Grandma would spend many a summer day putting up dozens of cans of tomatoes. When she moved into an apartment a few years ago, there were still aging jars of tomatoes stashed away in the basement.

My parents' garden was always big and sprawling, a stark contrast to Phyllis's garden next door with its tidy raised beds neat rows and clear paths. Three years ago we changed my folk's garden to raised beds and I can't help thinking about how proud Phyllis would be that we finally decided to follow her example.

That's the thing about gardening, it's not just a way to get food, it reconnects us with our families and our history. When I stand in the sun and weed the lettuce I remember my Mother showing me what to pull and what to leave.

Picking tomatoes I see the baskets lined on Grandpas porch and remember the smell of summers past.

Planting herbs I remember Phyllis passing me sprigs of garlic chive through the fence. Thirty summers gone past, stretching back through hundreds of generations, summer is about family and the harvest.

This summer we welcome back to our family a number of Featured Directly Members: The Theosophical Society of Akron, Pat Beers, and Linda Knapp.

I had lunch with Pat this past week. She has been a tireless promoter of this site, even though she has never signed on (technophobe). She passes out fliers and tells people about the phone readings she has booked from as far away as Florida and Washington. Even though you'll never read this, thanks for the support Pat, and welcome back.

The Theosophical Society of Akron was one of Pat's recruits and there is a new contact person who knows how to work her computer, so I look forward to hearing more from them over the next year.

Linda Knapp and her husband have been working tirelessly to support the metaphysical and psychic community here in Ohio. Organizing psychic fairs, networking and spreading the word, we are happy to welcome them back.

Have a great summer!

John Thornton
AmericanMetaphysics.org Founder

This is not a recipe blog, this is a process blog.  I never understood how people write recipes.  My tastes and process will be different from yours, taste at every step and when you think it tastes amazing, stop.

Start with one head of peeled garlic in the bowl of a small food-processor, add a small handful of fresh parsley and a few sprigs of thyme - a sprig of fresh rosemary would have been nice, but I don't have any.  Process for a few seconds.  Add some kosher salt, black pepper and 1/4 cup (or so) of the oil of your choice - I had peanut.  Pulse.  Add vinegar - I used rice vinegar, but cider would have been nice, brown mustard, and a bit of honey.  Pulse.  It tasted a bit flat to me so I added ground sage (fresh would be nice), smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and more salt.  Pulse.  I wanted to add some anchovy paste, but I'm out, so I added Thai fish sauce, Woustershire and a bit of balsamic vinegar.  Pulse.  Needs more sour - Lemon juice and more rice vinegar.  Pulse.  Mmmm, just right.

New Feature for Premium Members!

This month we are adding a new feature for our Premium Members - Photo Albums. Post your favorite photos and show us your world. You can check out my profile to see this new feature in action.

Thanks,
John Thornton
American Metaphysics.org Founder

A few weeks ago I was forwarded this posting from Craigs' List. I get questions all the time about how to choose a good psychic or metaphysical practicioner, and while the specifics of my answere may vary, this is the core of what I tell people.

"I have been in LA for a few years and have not had much success, so I want to try some alternative methods. One of my friends suggested I try white magic, but I figured I should find an expert or someone who knows what they are doing.

This is not really a recipe.  It's more a description of how I make bread and that varies each and every time.  This is the basic story.

I made bread yesterday.  My bread recipe has been steadily evolving over the last seven years, starting with a rich challa and slowly becoming a hearty wheat.  My problem with most whole wheat breads is they tend to be bitter, heavy or strangely tasteless.  My recipe is slightly finicky, but full of flavor and we are in search of flavor!

This past February and March, I had the pleasure of working as Assistant Director and 2nd Unit Director on the film The Secret Adventures of Mr. Grant for Adams House Productions.