Actions are preceded by thought and that is actually when the karmic cycle starts and it is because thoughts are much more important than your actions. Actions are instigated by thoughts. Those who have not yet developed intuition and do not listen to that small voice within themselves which is their own conscience whispering to them are subject to the consequences of their actions. Bad or negative thoughts lure or entice some to actions that will be regretted. Positive thoughts have the opposite effect and lead one to perform actions with positive results.

There are two ways to study karma, the Eastern and the Western way. In the West your thoughts are not considered evil unless someone commits evil actions. But Eastern ethics tell us otherwise. When our thoughts and feelings are evil, that alone is considered evil. You have freedom before you act and the results of that action will be with you whether you like it or not. That is the law of cause and effect.

You can use this as an example. If what you are reading in a book awakens wrong tendencies in you and you realize that what you are reading is bad for you, you will still reap the consequences from reading that book. Remember this all your life. When you let yourself be tempted you have imprisoned your wisdom. The fastest way to avoid temptation is just to say “no” and remove yourself from that environment as fast as you can. Later on when you are calm and your wisdom is freed up you can reason it out. Now if you are weak and your willpower is not developed, you will have to learn how to evolve your willpower. You may say “man, I haven’t got that kind of willpower.” How do you get this willpower? First you have to know what willpower is.

From the moment a newborn baby cries it is the awakening of willpower. The feeling of discomfort causes the baby to cry as it is painful when the lungs open for the first time. This is “automatic-physiological willpower.” As the baby begins to talk it follows the desires of its mother which is called “thoughtless will.” As the baby begins to grow older it starts thinking for himself; and when it is denied something from its mother that it wants he starts to show stubbornness by resisting. This is the first stage of evolving willpower. This inflexibility is “blind willpower.” What does that mean? It means someone wearing blinders and can not see. Blind willpower is willpower without wisdom. The youth of today uses this unstable or hot-blooded will without any meaningful purpose or point, squandering energy on temptations, hot passions, speed, hasty resolutions and uncontrolled appetites. The folly of the young and impulsive is rightfully termed blind willpower when letting the senses go ungoverned. After experiencing the results of blind willpower the youth understands the futility and begins to learn “thoughtful will.” Unless will is directed by discrimination it becomes semi paralyzed.

There is a colossal difference between wishing and willpower. Wishing is a hopeless desire that you know will not come true. When you desire something it is just a wish that is followed by efforts to materialize itself into achievement. Determination is a stronger definite desire that is used powerfully to manifest a definite purpose. Even strong determination can be discouraged when numerous efforts end up failing.

One step above a wish is desire with intention. But when you will something by applying willpower and energy with continuous focused action, your desire will be achieved. In other words volition is the key that initiates the power of the dynamo that will continuously and with unstoppable determination revolve over a desire until the much desired result is produced. It does not matter how difficult or complex the goal is, the person with volition does not stop his efforts of determination throughout his whole life.

Remember, you must maintain calmness at all times. The pendulum swings continuously back and forth in everyday life. The person who is at peace and retains his calmness is then ready to swing into action when it is time to work. Your calmness should control your activity and not the other way around. There is nothing you can not accomplish with the power of will. But make sure your willpower is guided with wisdom and start using it in the road to success. Become a divine strategist and use your intelligence to analyze what life is. I am going to explain what strategy is and how to apply it in your daily life.

Now, if you remember the war in Africa in 1943 when General Montgomery faced up against Field Marshal Irving Romel, General Romel was a far greater strategist than General Montgomery. It was only because Montgomery had the actual code machine–the enigma– that he was able to know every motion that Romel was making. The Allies knew every single move that they were going to make like playing chess with a man who knows every motion he is going to make before he makes them. Therefore you find that in the whole idea of developing wisdom is to be able to decipher the inner motion of subtle evil; if you do not control your thoughts and feelings they will totally manipulate you to the point where you have become a puppet of destiny.

First you have to be fearless. What made General Romel so powerful? He always left his staff and inserted himself in the front lines, putting his life constantly in danger to observe

every motion of the enemy and was able to make immediate decisions to counteract their strategies. That is why ten to one the English could not make it and they were good soldiers. Every new day there is a new opportunity to show heroism. Meet everyone and every situation with the courage of a hero and the smile of a conqueror.

When looking within your inner mirror through meditation you attain intuition. Then it will not be necessary to depend upon the limited knowledge of predictive sciences like astrology. You will then have your decoding machine in which you can see the future not from astrological or palm readings or the tarot. But you are going to see directly concerning you what is coming in the future and therefore you can begin to change. The calm neutralized mind sees all events of the future that appears vividly.

Are you telling me my entire future is already written? What free will do I have? You have none unless you go into your soul. Within your soul you have every free will possible.

In fact, the moment there is a burst of soul consciousness, at that moment you have free will because the masters say the only time you are truly alive is when you commune with God; otherwise you are just a humanoid pre-programmed by your sub consciousness mind and that’s a fact believe it or not. How in the world can the average man obtain strategy and do these things or obtain this calm state of the mind? If you say to yourself, “I want to be free and to have free will.” How much do you really want to be free? Ten percent? Twenty percent? Or one hundred percent? You should classify yourself.

The masters tell us through the millenniums and centuries God sends in to the planet souls with different states of realization corresponding to the desire of the individuals. If we go back to the early centuries where that great expression of love from Jesus Christ which unfortunately totally failed to impress people; God began to send the ascetics, who renounced everything. They lived in deserts, caves and grottos and devoted their lives ceaselessly to know God. So the great anchorites dedicated their entire lives upon God and here and there people came to meet them. Later on as the people become a little more aware, God began to send his Saints like St. Catherine and St. Francis. Of course with these Saints it was do- it-or-else; it was threatening, there was no choice. Do it or you will go straight to hell.

There were some nations in the planet that advanced morally with more spiritual people like in India and then came the Ascended Masters; the Ascended Masters came from time to time throughout the centuries to India. These great masters were not just Saints, but ascending masters who were practically one with God. They came with their wisdom gradually convincing people to motivate their lives. The point was to increase spiritual efforts to become a better person and when to a certain extent God was pleased he sent the Avatars, incarnations of God who have only one purpose and that is, to liberate you. You can listen to all the intellectual talk, you can take it or leave it. But once you have taken that vow and follow an Avatar and thus allowing the masters to annihilate your ego, you have forfeit your choice. Your specific development will draw you to a specific teacher. The worst teachers of yoga whom we behold today have their purpose. Everything sub serves a divine purpose from the lowest to the highest teacher and you travel from incarnation to incarnation just trying to figure out what to do and, when you find the path, you analyze the teacher, the teaching, the path and the fruit produced by that path.

Here is an example. If you want forgiveness of your sins you go to Saints. If you want to emancipate yourself intellectually without too many sacrifices you follow an ascending master whose wisdom will gradually convince you on what to do. But if you want to emancipate your “self” then God sends you a Guru who has cosmic consciousness and is one with him, such as Jesus, Krishna, Buda, Sri Ramakrishna, Paramahansa Yogananda, and other great unknown masters who have come to earth throughout the centuries. But these masters have complete mastery of the self and no karma of their own. They come only to help the disciple to be free from his own karma. It is extremely important for you to follow one master who has no karma who can take a portion of your cross on his back.

If the person you follow has not realized God he can not take it, he is only a school teacher. There is a difference between a Guru who has realized God and a teacher. The technique in finding your true spiritual guru not a self appointed one is explained in the book “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda, a spiritual classic, which explains this in detail.

The masters say this is the penalty for those who refuse to allow their lives to be guided by divine laws. On the stage of life most people behave like puppet actors who are manipulated by prenatal instincts, environment, and karmic destinies from former lives. They do not know what role to play to be successful in life. There is a plan for your life. At the beginning of life God has made a script you can play. We are all movie actors and God, the director, asks you what kind of a role you want to play. Do you want to play your own role? Yes sir, I want to play my own. I have a right to do my own will therefore I am going to play my own role. Then life becomes your teacher and the two by four and the pounding comes. Then God says, “how about giving me twenty five percent of your life?” Or, “how about fifty percent?” How about seventy five? He is not satisfied until you give him one hundred. When you give Him one hundred percent of yourself He will give you the best script possible.

We all have our accursed free will. Free will without wisdom is zero free will. All the masses of unenlightened people are just humanoids, programmed and manipulated by all the computers of previous incarnations and past memories which automatically control their lives.

There is only one force in the universe and no one can dictate to it. Man can only submit, surrender and let him use it. Herein lies the greatest blessing, the ultimate in human experience in submission to God’s will. Here lies the secret of strength. Now, if you feel that you are too weak and you can not control your bad habits and you can’t motivate yourself to have greater devotion for God and you can not propel yourself to be a greater person, there you have your answer. In submission to God’s will lay the secret of strength, that means to apply wisdom in your daily life. Lives which are governed solely by the laws of cosmic causation or the karmic laws are the hidden players in the game of life. You lose your independence and you can not say yes or no when herded to the right path or evil ways.

The first thing Swami Vivekananda, the great disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, said when he came to America in nineteen hundred was “Western people are funny. They fight and do not want to lose their individuality.” My friend, you have got none. What victory do you have to achieve? There is only one victory you need; the victory of your soul is the most important thing in your life. Every night analyze yourself to see if you become stagnant. If you are it is because you let circumstances override you. And that happens when you dwell too much on petty things and have no time to meditate or to think of God.

Jere D. James has done it again and has delivered yet another utterly riveting, action-packed Western novel. James’ latest novel, High Country Killers, is the author’s fourth book in the Jake Silver Adventure series, and some will say it’s his best.

James once again places his main character, U.S. Deputy Marshal Jake Silver, in the Arizona territory in 1889, and the story is largely set in the Mogollon Rim country in northeastern Arizona.

Marshal Silver goes to the rim to discover who is behind the high country killings (referenced in Book III, Canyon of Death). In so doing, the author introduces a host of murderous, villainous men, all intent on grabbing up as much of the pristine land as they can by raping and killing the property owners. The plot thickens as Jake slowly untangles the intricate web of evil.

Because much of the area is being settled by Mormons, the author brings back Jeremiah Atkinson (Book I, Saving Tom Black). Also included is Gunner McGraw (Book III, Canyon of Death) and of course, Betsy. Happily, the author finally arranges the liberation of Betsy’s sister, Margaret, who’d been held against her will by the Atkinson, a powerful Mormon leader (Saving Tom Black).

The author introduces a new, totally delightful, Shakespearean quoting gunman, Richard Moody, who adds a great deal of action and much needed levity to the story. Moody, originally hired to kill Jake Silver, befriends the marshal instead and plays a key role in Silver’s attempt to solve the mystery of the high country killers. Several other new characters are introduced in the book, including the madam of Holbrook’s House of Pleasure, LaBelle Fleur, and Katherine Reed, a winsome woman who easily gains Silver’s attention. Look for Moody, Fleur, and Reed in Book V of this series. Every character is extremely well-drawn and, as in every Jere D. James book, the author thoroughly knows the turf where the book is set.

All of James’ books tend to be historical, but this one is more so than the others. References to the Hashknife, the million acre cattle ranch owned and operated by the Aztec Land and Cattle Company are plentiful, as is the use of real people who served as sheriffs or outlaws.

As always, Jere D. James maintains his knack for writing a superb ending, and the final scene in High Country Killers will surely surprise readers. As Shirley Johnson, Senior Reviewer for MidWest Book Review said, “… the ending will have you drop your jaw in surprise.”

High Country Killers is available in trade paperback, eBook, and also in a large-print edition.

The Western medicine community recently asked the question: Will Alternative Healthcare, a.k.a. Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Western Medicine (WM) merge? This question implies there is reason to wonder and/or we need to consider the benefits a merger might create. The consideration of merging Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Western Medicine is analogues to comparing apples to oranges. The only comparison between apples and oranges is that they are both fruit–but the comparison ends there. Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit Healing and Western Medicine is diametrically polar opposites with nothing in common, except the subject (you). I will explain.

In order to understand the ideology of Western Medicine, you need to examine the language used by doctors and researchers. Their choice of words reveals their belief systems and the models they use to understand the way they think healing works. When observing the state of Western Medicine and the unprecedented influence of pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, an interesting paradox arises. The drug companies claim that pharmaceuticals and OTC can do wonders for people: lower cholesterol, end clinical depression, reverse osteoporosis, eliminate allergies, cure cancer, cure MS, calm children and many other similar promises.

If prescription or OTC drugs are so good for people, where are all the healthy medicated customers? The truth is, there aren’t, any. There’s nobody taking twelve prescriptions or OTC drugs with a clean bill of health. In fact, the more prescriptions a person takes, the worse their overall health. And if you approach the healthiest people you can find and ask what prescription drugs or OTC drugs they’re taking in order to be so healthy, they’ll give you a confused look: Healthy people don’t take prescription or OTC drugs!

This sort of language is not uncommon from researchers in Western Medicine. They perceive the human body as a battleground on which wars are waged against invaders (viruses, bacterial infections and tumors). Beginning with the Victorian era, Western society has become addicted to quick fixes and results with no effort. Western Medicine has in some instances provided this result. When Western Medicine doesn’t produce a ‘quick fix’ result the answer is: “Sorry, it couldn’t be helped–the surgery was a success, the patient died.” It is interesting to note the AMA reports a dismal success rate–approximately 250,000 people die each year due to misdiagnosis and/or the treatment does little or nothing to improve the person’s health. In other words these people didn’t die due to an illness they died due to the wrong treatment.

Western Medicine’s theory and doctrines fail to recognize that diseases are not separate from the person. In fact every disease can be more accurately called an expression of the patient’s lifestyle, beliefs, and energies. Cancer is not a tumor, for example: it is a systemic disorder that can only truly be cured by helping to support the body, not by attacking it with chemical bombs or knives. The tumor is merely one physical expression of the systemic disorder, and simply removing the tumor does nothing to cure the disease. The body is designed to heal itself–given it has the proper care–nutrition, herbal supplements, spiritual and emotional well-being.

The body is designed to heal itself provided it has the proper support to do its job. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is based on a concept of balanced qi (pronounced “chee”), or vital energy, that is believed to flow throughout the body. Qi is proposed to regulate a person’s spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance and to be influenced by the opposing forces of yin (negative energy) and yang (positive energy). Disease is proposed to result from the flow of qi being disrupted and yin and yang becoming imbalanced. Among the components of TCM are herbal and nutritional therapy, restorative physical exercises, meditation, acupuncture, and remedial massage.

Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing has existed since the beginning of time amid religious beliefs and practices, along with the mystery, superstition, fear, and misunderstanding. Holistic Healing is now becoming recognized regardless of what anyone chooses to believe or think. Ask almost anyone about their spiritual well-being and they will probably tell you, “Yeah, I am a spiritual person, I go to church frequently.” Therein, the confusion arises out of the association of healing with religion. The majority of people, including religious leaders, do not understand the difference.

Definition: “HEAL” 1. To restore to health or soundness, 2. To set right, repair, 3. To restore a person to spiritual wholeness, 4. To become whole and sound, to return to health.

Definition: “SPIRIT” 1. The vital principle or animating force within living beings, Incorporeal consciousness. There are about twelve more elaborations mostly to do with various religious implications.

Definition: “RELIGION” 1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe, 2. A set of beliefs, values and practices based on the teachings of a religious doctrine.

Thus, based on Western Medicine’s common interpretations of how things ‘ARE’, many paradoxes are created. The resultant effect is confusion and un-wellness. The Truth, as Carl Jung and others have carefully worded in their writing, is this: Every Thing in the universe is Energy and Consciousness. How anyone thinks or feels about that Fact cannot change it. The purpose of All religions is the recognition that humans have a part of themselves that is not physical and there is a need to explore and experience this aspect of themselves. Part of the intent is to discover one’s purpose and to live in the best way possible. Another part of that goal also includes the attainment of Truth and Spiritual Wellness. However, the result of religious teachings with regard to our Spiritual health has been an abysmal failure. If the most important aspect of our being is our Spiritual self, and it has been neglected, it is a miracle we have existed this long.

Many churches are in a state of extreme confusion in an attempt to avoid accepting the “Truth.” The greatest struggle is how to incorporate all the now known knowledge and assimilate it into the religious dogma and theology. The problem is the impossibility of reconciling the obvious flaws in most theology and doctrine. The obvious shortcomings and how political and nationalistic and other special interests and agendas have resulted in a history filled with disappointment, tragedy, confusion and religious wars.

In many cultures it has always been thought and/or known that we are spiritual beings, the biggest exception is in western industrialized cultures that we believe we are people who happen to have a soul. Eastern philosophy believes we are a soul first, housed in this thing called a ‘body.’ The most beautiful and simple interpretation of how everything ‘IS’ can be found in the Native American tradition. “Everything in the universe is Spirit, each thing in it is of the same Spirit and it is all Connected.” This is exactly what we are beginning to understand in science and quantum physics, that everything in the universe is made of the same thing and has a consciousness about it. The two things that frustrate scientists the most is the fact that all these

things operate across time, space and dimensions they do not yet understand, and the ability of things to operate on inter-dimensional and multi-dimensional levels. A high degree of new understanding about the science and physics of what spiritual really means is now mostly coming from independent researchers. High-tech and aerospace research physicists and scientists, all seem to have a more concise and accurate understanding of Spirit and the Spiritual than those from a theological background.

The Reality and The Truth of Spirit–In plain language, there is only One God or Universal Energy that Is Everything. There is only One Consciousness. We are only one individuated expression of The One. All the dogma, theology and religious beliefs anyone chooses to pile on this truth is commonly referred to as Bunk. It is the lack of true knowledge and the application of these distortions, which have been the source of all emotional, physical and spiritual problems. Spirit is alive, it is something that is lived and experienced, the surest way to destroy or suppress it is to organize it and institutionalize it.

Spiritual Experiences teach us: Everything we think or feel affects oneself and others. We need to realize every feeling–anger, fear, hate, sadness, judgment–are mind generated emotions and need to be modified or eliminated. Left to fester–anger, fear, hate, sadness, judgment, creates physical reactions. For every physical reaction, a.k.a. symptoms–i.e. colds, cancer, MS, and everything from A to Z, there is a direct link to mind generated emotions. When these mind generated emotions are eliminated and the wounds created from long term and dysfunctional expressions are healed, the physical manifestation labeled as illness by Western Medicine is eliminated.

The bottom line is Health and Well-Being is affected by two factions–Doctors and Ministers. Doctors are trained as mechanics who work on the physical mechanism. They are in the Business of “Treatment.” They are Not Trained in the “Art of Healing”. Most doctors do not even understand the most rudimentary concepts of Healing. Most do not realize how they can produce damage and even induce death sentences on their patients.

There is little difference in the effects produced by an intentional damaging curse or a prayer prayed improperly, bad advice or simply some random negative thought. Ministers are trained in traditional theosophical dogmatic perceptions specific to the cultural religious views they ascribe to. Most people have little concept about True Spirituality or how the universe really operates. As a consequence they convey misinformation, half-truths, superstitions and fears along with a multitude of associated damaging information into a person’s consciousness. The result of which is Confusion and Paradox–which leads to distress, disease and un-wellness.

Both the good in our lives and the dis-eases we have are the results of our experiences, conditioning and beliefs. It is the experiences, conditioning and beliefs that are counter to our true nature that causes the damage. No matter how dire a client’s predicament seems to be, I Know if they are ‘Willing’ to do the emotional and spiritual work of releasing old habits, beliefs and forgiving, everything can be healed. The word ‘incurable’ used by Western Medicine really only means that the person can not be ‘cured’ by ‘outer’ methods and that they must Go Within to effect their healing. The condition was created as a way to cope–it came from within and can be healed from within. Reference: Heal Your Body, Louise L. Hay

Since Holistic/Metaphysical Healthcare focuses on supporting the Mind, Body, Spirit to heal itself as it is designed to do and Western Medicine perceives the human body as a battleground on which wars are waged with chemical bombs and scalpels against invaders, how can these divergent ideologies be merged?

The answer: They can’t be–i.e. water and vinegar doesn’t mix–it is metaphysically impossible. Likewise, it is metaphysically impossible to merge Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Western Medicine. Anyone who would consider such a merger does not understand the laws of Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing.

“When you call me that, smile.” -The Virginian

The Virginian was published in 1902 by Owen Wister (1860-1938). The novel received critical acclaim and was a huge bestseller, eventually spawning five films, a successful play, and a television series. An instant success, it sold over 20 thousand copies in the first month, an astonishing number for the time. It went on to sell over 200,000 thousand copies in the first year, and over a million and a half prior to Wister’s death. This minor classic has never been out of print. Beyond the multiple works that carry its name, The Virginian has inspired hundreds of stories about the Old West. What made this novel so appealing?

Critics give The Virginian credit for establishing the legendary storylines of the Old West and stereotypical characters of the genre. Sergio Leone’s famous protagonist had no name, nor is the Virginian’s name ever mentioned. He’s a laconic cowboy who lives by his own code and is extremely capable in every undertaking, including fighting-with fists, guns, or words. The book’s lament for a dying lifestyle has been recounted endlessly. Like the Lonesome Dove character Jake Spoon, the Virginian hangs his friend after he turns outlaw. The buildup to the climatic shootout has been repeated countless times.

Can the book’s unbroken popularity be attributed solely to being first? There were plenty of dime novels before The Virginian, but they were pretty shoddy. Wister produced the first literary example of the genre. A new story is a fresh story, and this certainly helped to generate remarkable sales at the turn of the twentieth century, but more had to be involved for decent sales to extend for over a century, and for the story to be told on stage, in movie houses, and on television.

There are three qualities that make The Virginian timeless. It’s a classic fish-out-of-water tale, it appeals to both sexes, and it realistically portrays life on the frontier.

The narrator, Wister himself, is a city-dweller from Philadelphia, on an adventure in the Wild West. The love interest, a schoolmarm from the East, can’t fathom the Code of the West. Even the Virginian is a transplant. Not only is this a fresh tale, but one told by fresh eyes, wide open in awe of all about them. This stark, new world is described by people from another part of the planet-a part with civilization, comfortable social norms, and constable-imposed order. The Virginian is partly autobiographical and Wister uses his contemporaneous journals to inject a sense of wonderment into the story. Wister liked the Old West, and he gets us, his readers, to like it as well.

Runaway bestsellers are read by both sexes. The Virginian’s primary plot follows classic Western lines, which appeals to men. More important, Wister describes the comradeship of men in a male-dominated culture. The pranks, good-natured ribbing, displays of athletic prowess, and rough language will be recognized by any man that has played team sports or served in the military-at least those who participated before women invaded these previously exclusive male domains. To men, the Virginian’s world feels familiar and comfortable.

Wister also presents two plotlines that appeal to women. Molly Stark Wood, the heroine from Vermont, struggles in a foreign land and culture. She’s from a solid family that prides itself in education, and she’s horrified by random violence and vigilantism. How she overcomes her fears to discipline her corner of a raw frontier shows bravery by a female seldom encountered in run-of-the-mill Westerns. In most of these lesser stories, women need a valiant knight to keep them safe. Molly can get along all by herself, thank you very much. How she gets along adds spice to The Virginian.

Additionally, The Virginian is a love story. The hero doesn’t ride off into the sunset, he marries the heroine. And he goes to Vermont to meet her family. The clash of cultures gets turned upside down when the Virginian takes tea and banters with nonplused eastern ladies.

Wister wrote fiction, but he experienced the nineteenth-century Old West and wrote from personal experience. Many incidents in the book came from his journals. This gives the story an air of authenticity lacking in lesser works. Probably only The Virginian and Roughing It, by Mark Twain, give us actual observers’ descriptions of the Wild West. The lifestyle, implements, and ethos of the era ring true in both books-even if a bit exaggerated (again, in both books) for entertainment purposes. When we read historical fiction, realism allows us to live in another time.

The Virginian is more complicated than just being the first of a breed. It’s a good story, well told, with sophisticated subplots. The century-old literary style can make The Virginian somewhat difficult, but once you’re into the plot, you forget the more formal writing style. This is a novel that will still be selling in the twenty-second century.

Are you hosting a western party and in search of some ideas for easy western party food? Then look no further! Below are some tasty, easy ideas for western themed party food for your upcoming event. Whether you are hosting a denim and diamonds affair or a low-key back yard barbeque, country and western foods are a sure crowd pleaser. Most of these recipes can be made a few days ahead of time to make your western party food planning a cinch!

Top 10 Western Themed Party Food Ideas:

1. BBQ Baby Back Ribs

No western party menu is complete without some great ribs. You can either slow cook these on a very low temperature (275 degrees) for about 4 hours on your grill or in your oven. Use a dry rub and finish with you favorite BBQ sauce for finger licking good western party food!

2. Home-Style Macaroni and Cheese

This mac-n-cheese isn’t just for kids and doesn’t come in the blue box! This is hearty, comfort food that is a crowd pleasure for guests of all ages! Use a generous amount of sharp cheddar and top with some fresh white bread crumbs and a drizzled of melted butter before baking. Country and western foods don’t get much tastier than this!

3. Country Fried Chicken

This is a classic western themed party food menu item and is perfect for guests who like to mingle while they munch. Use strips of white chicken breasts and I love the tasty buttermilk breading recipe in The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond cookbook!.

4. Fancy Baked Beans

Baked beans don’t need to come from a can. Jazz up you own homemade baked bean recipe by using different kinds of beans (navy, lima and kidney) mixed with dark brown sugar, bacon and onions. This makes a wonderful, hearty western party food side dish.

5. Grilled Corn on the Cob

Corn on the Cob is a definite for any country and western food menu. Brush peeled corn with a good grilling sauce like Wegman’s Basting Oil and grill for a few minutes until desired tenderness.

6. Grilled Steaks

Western themed party food has to include beef! Tender grilled steaks or London broil is a super-easy way to satisfy your guest. Sprinkle the meat with garlic seasoned sea salt or marinade it in your favorite marinade 3 hours prior to grilling. Simple, easy and delicious!

7. Cornbread and/or Garlic Butter Biscuits

Western themed food is not for the carb conscious but cornbread and biscuits will be irresistible to your guests. Place baskets lined with red and white napkins on tables around your party with some honey butter, and watch these hearty appetizers disappear fast!

8. Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas

A fast and easy country and western party food include these super easy chicken and cheese quesadillas. Use burrito sized tortillas. You can use Perdue Shortcuts shredded into smaller pieces to make your job easier, mix equal parts of salsa and sour cream and add your favorite grated cheddar cheese. Grill in a grill pan or frying pan over medium heat until cheese is melted. Cut into thirds and serve with guacamole, salsa or your other favorite Mexican condiment. TIP: Quesadillas are easier to flip if you use one tortilla folded in half for each quesadilla.

9. Beverages with a Western Twist

You can’t go wrong with popular beer and wine, but if you want a true western themed party food menu, use special attention to your beverages by offering margaritas! Mason jars are a great added touch for serving beverages of all kinds.

10. Chili

This may be the easiest of all country and western party foods and can be used as a main course or an appetizer. Use your crock pot to make ahead and to keep warm during the duration of your party. If you are serving hot dogs, this makes a great condiment for the chili dog lovers at your party. Don’t forget the shredded cheddar cheese for serving on top.

Don’t Forget Dessert!

Western party food doesn’t have to end with the main course – your desserts can be western themed too. Choose a western style cake such as a horseshoe or cowboy boot, and wow your guests with your sweet ending! Another dessert option is to fill western themed glasses with an individual dessert like chocolate mousse, pudding or ice cream.

Use your imagination and think Western when planning your western themed party food menu. Accent your menu with western styles table ware and drink ware to accentuate your western theme. Country and western party food can be delicious AND easy, so no need to stress over your menu. Western party food typically appeals to all ages and personal tastes so your guest are sure to find a thing or two on your menu to please their palettes.

Origin: Western United States (ponds, lakes and marshlands)

There are two sub-species:

Northwestern Pond Turtle (Clemmys marmorata marmorata) and

Southwestern Pond Turtle (Clemmys marmorata pallida)

Adult Size: usually up to 8 inches (shell length)

Lifespan: unknown, most likely 30+ years like other pond turtles

Temperament: Not as territorial and aggressive as many other turtles. You can keep a few of these turtles together as long as they have enough space to swim around.

Set-up: This is an aquatic species, so the enclosure needs to be mostly water. Your turtle will need a place to get out of the water and bask, such as a well-positioned rock or pile of rocks, or a turtle dock found at your local pet store. Use sand or gravel to cover the bottom of the tank and decorate under the water with aquatic plants or driftwood to keep your turtle feeling secure.

The minimum tank size recommended for one of these turtles is a 20 gallon long. Bigger is ALWAYS better. Other containers can be used, such as large Rubbermaid bins, as long as the container is able to safely hold about 20 gallons or more of water. Fill the tank at least half way. Water conditioner or dechlorinator is not necessary unless you are using extremely hard water (like State College tap water J), in which case a water conditioner made specially for turtles should be used.

Lighting/Temperature: This is a diurnal species, meaning it is active during the daytime when the sun is out. The UV in natural sunlight is used by the turtle’s body to make Vitamin D3 from the Calcium in its diet. Fluorescent UV bulbs made especially for reptiles are available at pet stores to keep your turtle healthy. Although usually passed off as a waste of money to make “the fanatics” happy, this light is extremely important, and if you don’t provide it (along with enough calcium), it will seriously affect your turtle’s health and quality of life.

A basking lamp is also needed. Position the light above the rocks or land area in your tank to create a warm basking spot. Use the appropriate wattage heat bulb and position the light to create a basking temperature around 90-95 degrees F. Many thermometers are available to measure the temperature inside the enclosure, but just remember that all of the stick-on and dial-type thermometers, although still helpful to have, measure only the ambient temperature (temperature of the air) and will not give you an accurate reading of the basking spot. For basking temp, you should pick up a digital probe thermometer (available at most hardware and garden supply stores, and not as expensive as you think!). The digital probe measures the surface temp, the temperature the basking rock is actually heating up to and providing the proper belly heat for good digestion.

An aquarium heater is a good idea. These guys do best in warm water and should be kept in water temperatures in the 80s F. A submersible heater is the only way to go, since the tank will not be filled to the top. These turtles are notorious for breaking their heaters, so we recommend you look into a Titanium or “unbreakable” glass heater to prevent problems.

Filtration and Maintenance: Aquatic turtles are very messy, so a good reliable filter is important. There are a lot of different types of filters out there, though none is particularly better than the others. It’s a matter of personal preference really, whether you want to go with a submersible filter like the Fluval, under-gravel, powerhead or Hydrosponge, or you want an external type like the hang-on-side waterfall type or canister filter. Whichever manner of filtration you choose, just remember to have LOTS of it and clean it often!

Regular tank maintenance is a must with aquatic turtles. The water gets dirty fast, and consistently dirty water can have a really negative effect on turtle health. How often to change the water or clean the filter depends on how many turtles you have relative to the size of the tank, and also how much filtration you have and how much or how often you feed them. Cleaning the tank isn’t much different than cleaning a fish tank. A good aquarium siphon will be a tremendous help and is the easiest way to remove all the waste and debris from the tank bottom. Drain as much water as you need to get the tank clean. Turtles are not sensitive to the by-products of the nitrogen cycle like fish are, so you don’t have to worry about cycling or being careful with the filter, and this gives you a lot of freedom as far as cleaning the tank. Just remember never to use soap! There are spray cleaners available through your local pet store that are safe to use around reptiles, and if you’re really worried about the tank being dirty a little bit of bleach should do the trick. Just be careful to rinse it thoroughly and not put your turtle back in the tank until the bleach smell is gone.

Diet: Like most pond turtles, these guys are omnivores. This means they will eat both meat and vegetable matter. Variety is the key to a healthy diet. There are lots of pre-packaged turtle foods on the market. Some are better than others, depending on the amounts of certain ingredients like protein and phosphorus. Sticking with a higher-end brand is your best bet, as proper nutrition is very important with reptiles.

Crickets, red worms and superworms are among the most popular live foods available at pet stores. Dust these with powder supplements (both calcium and vitamins) just before feeding, or “gutload” them 24 hours before giving them to your turtle. Other good live foods, mostly available online, include silkworms and phoenix worms. Avoid waxworms and mealworms due to their high fat content, general lack of nutrition and the difficult-to-digest shell of the mealworms. Remember not to feed your turtle any insects you find outside. Some may be poisonous (lightning bugs are deadly!) and wild insects are likely to carry parasites (an expensive vet bill you’d rather avoid!). To add some extra calcium to the diet, it is also recommended to let a piece of cuttlebone float on the water (available in the bird section of pet stores). The turtle may occasionally nibble on the bone and as it dissolves in the water it may also be beneficial, not only to the turtle’s nutrition but to the health of its skin and shell.

Live fish can be given as an occasional snack. They aren’t very good for your turtle nutritionally, may stunt its growth and are very fatty. Think of it as going to McDonalds for dinner. One meal there probably won’t have much of an effect on your health, but it shouldn’t become a regular habit! Luckily, there are some healthier, and parasite-free, alternatives to live fish for your turtle. Most grocery stores carry a variety of fresh seafood, which is not too expensive when purchased in small quantities. Shrimp, squid (both the filets and tentacles), tilapia, catfish and shark steak are all popular with turtles. Stick with the “white meat” species of fish because they don’t leave your water as messy, and make sure you feed as much variety as you can. You’ll also find a lot of freeze-dried or frozen foods at your local pet store that your turtle will like to snack on. These aren’t as nutritious as fresh raw seafood, but they make great snacks and help to add variety to the diet.

Letting healthy leaves (like collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens or dandelion greens) float on the water provides your turtle with entertainment and also a healthy snack. They will also enjoy endive, escarole, pieces of zucchini or yellow squash, cucumber, carrots, occasional bits of apple or banana, etc. Avoid lettuce and celery, and don’t feed too much fruit. Turtles can get upset stomachs and become dehydrated from eating these. Also avoid kale, broccoli and spinach due to their nutrient-binding qualities. You can probably find much more detailed diet information online if you look in the right places. We recommend you start out on Melissa Kaplan’s website, www.anapsid.org. Just remember not to leave vegetables, fruits or uneaten bugs in the water too long. Letting the food go bad makes the water dirty and can also make your turtle sick.

Health: Turtles are susceptible to all the same common health problems as other reptiles. Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), calcium and vitamin deficiencies or toxicities, liver and kidney disease, impaction (intestinal blockage), dehydration, fungal and bacterial infections, stress, respiratory infections, parasites, etc. Most of these ailments can be dealt with by changing something about your care regimen, or with the help of a qualified reptile vet, but are easily avoided because they have a lot to do with diet/nutrition, temperature and lighting. This is why it is so important to have the proper set-up from the beginning. A turtle that is well cared for and living in the right environment should live a long and healthy life with minimal problems. Another health concern with turtles is their shell. Apart from normal shedding, sometimes the shell can become very flaky, oily or even gooey. This usually has to do with poor water quality and/or insufficient UV exposure, and there are some helpful products available through your pet store to help keep the shell healthy.

An important side-note regarding MBD and other similar problems: if your turtle and its shell seem to be growing at different rates, or your turtle’s legs or face seem to be deforming, your UV bulb may be long-overdue for a change or your turtle may not be getting enough calcium in its diet. This is a serious health issue and veterinary attention should be sought immediately.

There is something irresistible about a western shirt. Maybe it’s the delicate sheen of the mother-of-pearl snaps and the trendy vintage-style fabric. Maybe it goes deeper to some sort of primordial ideology, where real men wrangled horses and carried six-shooters. Perhaps it’s as simple as wearing a shirt with snaps is really fun to put on and take off.

But those with a closet full of western-style button downs often hit a snag when it comes to styling. Is it possible to wear a western shirt without looking like John Wayne? Presenting three tips to keep you looking modern and not like a passenger on the Oregon Trail.

3 Tips to Wearing Western in a Modern World

1. Be conscious of accessories. A western shirt should never be worn with any of the following: a bolo tie, a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, a neckerchief, book cut jeans, or spurs. A good rule of thumb is to rock only one Old-West influence at a time – this will keep you looking hip and not costume-y. Instead, match your western shirt with straight-leg or slim-fit jeans, a pair of sneakers and a comfy hoody for a vintage/trendy feel, not Halloween.

2. Keep your tails out. You may have grown up learning that un-tucked tails were sloppy and rude, but this is one instance your mother’s rules do not apply. Tucking in a western shirt is the quickest way to transform your modern vibe to that of a fresh-faced ranch hand. To resist the temptation to tuck, keep your western shirt in the casual-event only drawer.

3. Don’t match your denims. It’s the oldest rule in the book of western-wear: for the love of all things fashionable, don’t match your blues. You will look foolish. This is not to say that denim on denim is unacceptable – quite the contrary in fact. But wear jeans with a darker wash than that of your denim shirt to avoid the “Canadian tuxedo” look.

Western shirts are a men’s fashion staple – and for good reason. They are flattering on everyone, comfortable, and can go from afternoon BBQ with the guys to night out dancing with the ladies without a hitch. Just remember: wear your western wisely.

For the last couple of decades, enthusiasts have lamented the demise of Westerns while the rest of the world has gone about its business, ignorant that anyone might care about a genre relegated to a few obscure shelves at the local bookstore. Westerns were hugely popular for over a hundred years. Not only were they popular in the United States, but the whole world devoured them. The Western was a staple of fiction, Hollywood, television, and daydreams. What happened?

Overexposure, for one thing. In 1959, there were 26 Western series on prime time television. On the silver screen, John Wayne brandished his Winchester at countless bad guys. Paperback Westerns could be found in abundance in any drugstore, most of them with Louis L’Amour’s name on the cover. The big names did some wonderful, quality stuff, but the demand was so great that a lot of trash made it into print and celluloid.

The common perception is that the Western genre is moribund. Yet, somehow, Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy, and a host of others make a good living off Westerns. Robert B. Parker temporarily abandoned private eye Spencer for a trilogy about two guns for hire. Parker’s Appaloosa grossed a respectable $28 million at the box office, while 3:10 to Yuma grossed over $70 million. As recently as 1992, Unforgiven won the Oscar for Best Picture, the first Western to be so honored. DVD sales of vintage Westerns do well, and Louie L’Amour, Zane Grey, and even Max Brand still sell enough books to make their prodigy happy.

So, the Western isn’t dead, but it’s just as certainly not the rage, especially for the upcoming generation. Thrillers, fantasies, sci-fi, and romance novels garner all the shelf space. Action movie sound tracks are filled with revving motors, not thundering hoofs. And television… well, television just broadcasts yet another permutation of CSI or Law and Order. In fact, the Western excesses of the late fifties are being repeated today with cop shows. Perhaps tired audiences are ready for a resurgence of Westerns.

Perhaps. But what type of Western? Probably a new breed. There have been three distinct Western eras. I call them the wholesome, flawed hero, and violent eras.

The wholesome era lasted until the late fifties. It was epitomized by Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, the Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, and other cowboys sporting white hats. Instead of killing bad guys, they shot guns out of their hands. If someone was killed, they damn-well deserved it, and their death would be bloodless, with a pledge like hand to the chest to cover unsightly bullet holes. As in all eras, there was overlap, and during the later stages of the wholesome phase, Wayne and others made more realistic Westerns-but these, of course, were quarantined to movie houses, and they only played at night.

The flawed hero of the sixties wasn’t the antihero of today. He merely had faults-like Josh Randall, the bounty hunter portrayed by Steve McQueen in Wanted Dead or Alive, or the gambling Maverick brothers who proudly proclaimed themselves cowards. Richard Boone wore black and looked mean as a gun for hire in Paladin. The Magnificent Seven were reluctant saviors of a small Mexican village, and flawed to a man. Again, overlapping eras. The spaghetti Westerns of the late sixties took the genre into new territory.

From the seventies on, the antihero ruled a frontier filled with slow-motion violence. The violent era was ushered in by Sergio Leone with his Man with No Name trilogy (1967) and Sam Peckinpaw with The Wild Bunch (1969). From then on, blood red dominated the color spectrum and the hero was only a step removed from the bad guy. This kind of raw realism was deemed inappropriate for television until cable brought Deadwood (2004) into our living rooms.

What’s next? Luckily, these eras overlap, so seeing the current direction of the Western genre is not guesswork. Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy, and Robert B. Parker have, to differing degrees, departed from the violent era. They signal that the future of Westerns is historically accurate storytelling. If the story occurs in the past, we call it a historical novel-except for Westerns. They get consigned to a niche genre that still carries the taint of pulp fiction. But a story that takes place in the nineteenth-century American frontier has as much legitimacy to be called a historical novel as Ken Follett’s World Without End.

McMurtry, McCarthy, and Parker have found the key. Good writing, sound plots that move with assurance, and great characterization. They concentrate on characters who are forced to deal with hardships and human frailty at a particular point in history. These are the basic elements of good storytelling. A Western historical novel can indeed be action-adventure, but it can also borrow elements from the detective, suspense, romance, mystery, and other genres. Lonesome Dove took from all of them. The world has tired of cookie-cutter cop shows and endless permutations of suspense tales about secret societies that are about to take over the world. Before Daniel Radcliffe can learn to twirl a six-shooter, Westerns will again rule the page and screen.

In “The Western Idea of Work and Leisure: Traditions, Transformations, and the Future,” Charles Sylvester highlights the changing conception of work and leisure by pointing up the notions of Plato and Aristotle in Classical Greek thought, the Judeo Christian view, and the views of Locke and Marx. A general objection might be made against all of these views in that they present an absolutist interpretation of work or leisure based on justifying the conditions that exist in the present and advocating that this is what the work-leisure distinction should be. These views don’t recognize the relativist position that might be obtained through the anthropological study of the role of leisure in other societies with different social structures or cultures.

For example, both Plato and Aristotle reflect a view that supports the value of the leisure engaged in by members of the upper aristocracy in a hierarchical society, where the work of the many provided support for an elite that did not have to work. Thus, Plato could justify the existence of this class by claiming that the best class of citizens were the “philosopher kings” and that leisure enabled individuals to achieve the good life which was “knowing truth and living according to true knowledge.” Similarly, Aristotle argued that there was a divinely ordered hierarchy in which god was at the top, and those who were freed from work were the “finest human beings”, who could “discover truth, govern wisely, and create culture.”

However, one could legitimately object to this view on two major grounds. First, this view derives from a particular social context in which there was a very small elite class. So Plato and Aristotle are justifying the existence of this class and its ability to engage in intellectual philosophizing with no instrumental value. However, from the Judaeo-Christian perspective, which developed as a religion that helped to bring solace to the poor and everyday workers and which placed a high value on work as part of God’s plan, such philosophizing would be viewed as idleness. While some Christian thinkers, such as Aquinas, supported the ideal of the contemplative life (p. 26), the Protestant Reformation emphasized the virtue of work, and so did Locke, who saw the idleness of both the poor and rich as immoral. Secondly, one might object to this classical Greek view from an anthropological perspective in that it reflects and supports a particular hierarchical culture, which required a large number of individuals to support a small elite through their labor. However, as society changed and democratizing forces undermined this elite and spread power, this view that leisure was the entitlement of this small class was no longer valid.

At the same time, one can object to Locke’s distinction between productive labor, as all that is good, valuable and the essence of personality, and leisure, unless designed to be recreative industry, which is immoral. Locke developed his view at a time when the wealthy property owners were being challenged by a growing class of merchants and artisans, and his view was used to support the accumulation of property.

But his view similarly is a product of his times, and does not recognize the way work and leisure can be integrated into everyday culture or the way leisure can become the essence of personality. For example, in traditional cultures, such as the Aztec, Inca, and Maya, farmers have days of celebration and ritual when they are not working, and those times of leisure are what are seen as most good and valuable in that culture. And today, many people see work as something they do to support themselves, while their primary source of identity comes from their leisure activities, which they engage in for self-fulfillment, learning, and fun.

Looking for information on Western Saddles? This article provides easy to understand highlights of the parts of a Western Saddle and their function sorted alphabetically. The bullet points below each item provides a high level summary pertaining to that item.

Back Housing

• The rear section of the saddle behind the cantle and above the skirt that covers the exposed portion of the saddle tree bars

Billet Straps

• Straps that attach to the rigging dee ring at the top and to the cinch ring at the bottom
• Billet straps have holes along the length to allow for loosening or tightening of the cinch
• Note: The cinch may be attached to either billet straps or latigo straps

Cantle

• The raised rear portion of the saddle seat
• The Cantle is much more pronounced on a Western Saddle than an English Saddle
• Provides security and comfort for the rider

Cinch

• A long, wide strap that goes around the girth of the horse to hold the saddle in place
• Cinch ring (at the end of the cinch) may be attached to either a latigo strap or a billet strap
• Latigo straps and billet straps are attached to the saddle with rigging dee rings

Concho

• A decorative disk, often made of silver where saddle strings (long narrow straps-usually made of leather) may be attached

Fender

• Long pieces of leather that hangs down on both sides of the saddle under the seat jockey
• Fenders are designed to protect the rider’s leg from the horse’s sweat

Front Rigging Dee

• “D” shaped ring towards the front of the saddle used to attach the latigo or billet straps

Gullet

• The tunnel under the pommel above the horses withers.
• Ensures there will be no pressure from the saddle or rider on the horse’s spine

Horn

• The raised part above the pommel used to secure a lariat

Hobble Strap

• A narrow Strap that wraps around the stirrup strap

Latigo

• A long, wide strap that attaches to the cinch ring
• The cinch ring is attached to the cinch that goes around the girth of the horse
• The loose end of the latigo is place in the tie strap holder (also known as a latigo holder or latigo keeper)

Leather Rigging Guard

• An additional layer of leather that runs along the edge of the saddle skirt and under the rigging dee rings
• Offers protection for the saddle skirt

Pommel

• The arched portion in the front of the saddle that provides clearance for the horse’s wither

Rear Rigging Dee

• “D” shaped ring towards the back of the saddle used to attach the billet straps

Rigging

• The hardware and strap girthing system that holds the saddle on the horse
• Western Saddles can have either single or double rigging
• The front cinch goes around the horses girth behind the horse’s front legs
• Back cinch goes around the widest part of the horse’s barrel

Saddle Strings

• Saddle strings are long narrow pieces of leather that hang from the seat jockey and rear housing through conchos
• Saddle strings are used to tie gear such as saddlebags and lariats to the saddle.

Seat

• The lowest part of the top of the saddle where the rider sits

Seat Jockey

• The section of leather that extends beyond the outer edges of the seat that covers the exposed sections of the saddle tree bars
• The seat jockey protects the riders legs from rubbing on the rigging

Skirt

• Large, heavy pieces of leather that attach to the underside of the saddle tree bars
• Protects the horse from the bars and distributes the weight of the rider over a larger surface area

Stirrups

• Stirrups are where a rider places their feet while riding
• The stirrups provides the rider with more security and control
• Stirrups come in different widths and styles to accommodate various riders and tasks

Tie Strap Holder

• A piece of leather attached to the front portion of the seat jockey or front jockey that’s used to secure the loose end of the latigo after it’s been laced through the cinch ring

Tread Cover

• The covering on the portion of the stirrup where the riders foot rests.
• Offers the rider comfort and grip in the stirrup

Tree

• The inside frame of the saddle that has traditionally been made of wood
• Defines the length and width of the saddle
• Some saddle trees are made of less expensive synthetic material that may be lighter and weaker

The design and materials of Western saddles vary greatly. A properly fitted, quality saddle is essential to ensure your satisfaction and a healthy happy horse.