Heal With Hope - Guest Speakers Kamm, Dawson, Stern, Krock, Elinwood, Stellhorn, Mechoirs

August 2008: BERNIE SIEGEL, MD:
"Pain, The Unwanted Gift "

At workshops I frequently ask people if they would like to be free of all pain; emotional and physical. However, I tell those who sign up for what they think will be a gift to take my phone number with them so when they experience the problems associated with feeling no pain they can call and cancel the supposed gift.

Think about lepers and diabetics with peripheral neuropathy who are losing their limbs because they cannot feel infections or injuries. Then think about our feelings and emotions and how important it is to respond to them. I grew up with a mother whose advice about every problem was always the same, “Do what will make you happy.” She taught me to deal with feelings so today I have happy depressions. When I am hungry I seek nourishment and when I feel gnawing unrest or other painful emotions I seek the changes in my life which will resolve the unhealthy and painful feelings. Mondays we have more heart attacks, suicides, strokes and illnesses. Perhaps if we responded to our feelings and changed our lives or attitudes Monday would not threaten our health.
I experience pain but I do not suffer. To me pain is a necessity, if I am going to define myself and my life, but suffering an option. Suffering relates to the emotional needs of the individual which are not being met. When the pain has no meaning and does not lead to healing of the person’s life the individual suffers greatly. We have to realize that life is a labor pain of self birthing. When the pain is something we choose to experience to help us grow it hurts far less than the meaningless pain imposed upon us by others, including health care provider’s treatments and prescriptions.

I work with people’s drawings, and two people draw may the same treatment, with one showing it as hell and the other as heaven. If surgery is a mutilation and the drawing of the operating room shows a black box with a patient in it but no one caring for them, versus a life saving gift from God showing flowers and the surgeon caring for the patient, the post-operative recovery will demonstrate the difference. I have done major surgery upon people who awaken and say, “I have no pain. I am a little sore.” I explained to the nurses to please stop writing, “Patient refuses pain medication” in their chart and write that the patient had no pain.

Studies reveal that when you put your hand in a bucket of ice and keep it there as long as possible you will keep it in the ice longer if loved ones are standing by your side then if you are alone; and probably even longer of your dog is there. In one study women who were given loving care during child birth had half the number of Cesarean Sections and a fraction of the need for epidurals than women given good technical care but shown no compassion during labor.

I also know from personal experience with a back injury that when I was operating, or painting a portrait, two activities where I lost track of time and was being loving and creative I was not aware of my pain. When I stopped either activity I needed to lie down due to the pain I was now aware of. I think any activity which makes you lose track of time is the healthiest state one can ever be in.

A few years ago I was visiting a neurologist friend’s office. In a darkened examining room was a woman who had a severe migraine headache and was awaiting transportation to the hospital. I went in to talk to her and asked her, “How would you describe the pain you are feeling?” She answered, “It’s a burden, like pressure.” If she were my patient I would have asked, “What else in your life fits those words and is a burden causing you pressure?” Instead I did some guided imagery with her to alleviate the burden and pressure in her life. I then left her in the dark to rest. A few minutes later the office nurse came in to tell me the woman’s headache was gone and she was headed home. “And by the way the burden is her marriage.” I have had others answer with words like; draining, sucking, failure, road block and say, “Thank you” and walk off with a smile of enlightenment on their face.

It is also important to realize people hear you in coma, under anesthesia and while asleep. As my patients awakened after surgery I would say, “You will wake up comfortable, thirsty and hungry.” It worked so well many of them gained weight after surgery because they were always hungry.

Major abdominal surgery can be done under hypnosis and even acupuncture. To me this simply reveals the power of the mind to control pain and how personal a sensation it can be.

I do not blame the patient or deny the many painful syndromes that require medications and various anesthetic therapies but I am saying that one cannot separate the sensation from the individual and their life and beliefs. Two people with the same affliction do not necessarily experience and suffer the same degree of pain.
As I said earlier when we see life as a labor pain of self birthing the pain becomes meaningful and at that time is no longer seen as a curse, and for some it becomes a blessing because of how it redirects their life to find nourishment for their body and soul.

But when we are experiencing pain because of a prescribed treatment or a family telling us what we must go through to not die we are in big trouble. We need to keep our power and find meaning in what we choose to do. I find support groups are very helpful because the natives are able to share with each other and not be told what to do by the tourists.

For many, Dr.Bernie Siegel needs no introduction. He has touched many lives all over our planet. In 1978 he began talking about patient empowerment and the choice to live fully and die in peace. As a physician, who has cared for and counseled innumerable people who’s mortality has been threatened by an illness, Bernie embraces a philosophy of living and dying that stands at the forefront of the medical ethics and spiritual issues our society grapples with today. He continues to assist in the breaking of new ground in the field of healing and personally struggling to live the message of kindness and love. His web site is www.BernieSiegelMD.com.

July 2008: Kris Bercov: “Love Yourself into Health”
I was looking at a new book on healing the other day and opened to a page about the hazards of eating meat. But my book on eating for your blood type says meat is an absolute must for me. So there you go.

Once again I have joined the ranks of the “What do I do now?” contingency. Once again my health is up for grabs by the latest healer, doctor, health advisor, scientific study, brochure in a health food store, news flash on the radio, latest health advice from a friend, the list goes on.

“Listen to your body,” my acupuncturist says. Unfortunately, my body is just as confused as I am. In the end, it’s just at the mercy of my confused mind. For years I’ve been blaming my body for its aches and pains, carrying it to healers of one sort or another to fix it, and wishing I could go to the body store and order a newer, more functional model, when the truth is it’s as innocent as a newborn babe.

It’s a good body, actually, because it listens. It listens all the time to all the confused gibberish I feed it. All advertisements about vitamins, herbs, drugs, etc., should read: Warning: Anything said here could be hazardous to your mental (thus, physical) health depending on how you interpret it.

And if you’re a first-class hypochondriac like me, and you read that a supplement could do something bad to you, by god it will! (Don’t you just love those television commercials for drugs where people smile at you while telling you that this drug can rot your liver, or damage your kidney, or, the best yet, even kill you? If an alien from another planet stopped in and happened to watch television for an hour or two, he would conclude: a. these are really sick people here and b. these people get really excited about bad things happening to their bodies!)

What I’m saying here is that nothing will hurt your health more than fear and confusion. Although it may not be true that your body believes every word you say (there is actually a book out called Your Body Believes Every Word You Say,) it’s certainly going to be influenced by what you are thinking.

Spiritual teacher Byron Katie says that it is our diseased thinking that we really need to work with (let your body be your doctor’s business, she says)--all the things we believe without even questioning them. Since mind and body are a whole, how could we not be affected by the things we tell ourselves?

I have also realized that my repeated visits to healers were continuing to give my body the message that there was something wrong with it--and as I investigated further, I uncovered a deep well of self-hatred that was fueling all my efforts.

Think about it. If your “healing quest” is motivated by a message that says you aren’t okay, then anything you do to “improve” yourself can only go so far. Our bodies are really brilliant messengers. So if you keep trying to fix yourself and you aren’t getting better--or, if one thing gets better and then another symptom pops up, it may be time to look behind the scenes.

Most of us carry a pretty heavy dose of self-loathing, but we are usually spending our time trying to compensate for it. Why do you think we work so hard to be successful at our jobs, or make a lot of money, or turn ourselves into a more likable person or find the perfect partner--or even to improve our physical health.

Somehow we believe those things will make up for our own deficiencies. If we can only look good (or get healthier) then maybe we’ll feel good inside. It’s a great plan. It just doesn’t work--at least not for more than five minutes.

Nothing can make up for our lack of self-love…and nothing will give it to us outside of our own willingness to do the work of uncovering it. In other words, it’s an inside job.

So rather than spending your time trying to decide which health regime to follow, find out first what’s motivating your quest. When in doubt, learn to love yourself first. Your body will love you for it.

Kris Bercov, M.A.,L.M.H.C, is a licensed mental health counselor in Winter Park, Florida who has been helping people heal their hurts and open to their authentic selves for over thirty years. She currently specializes in The Work of Byron Katie--a process for clearing beliefs that cause stress and keep us from being the best of who we are. She does this work both in her office and on the telephone. You can visit her website at www.pathtoinnerfreedom.com.

The powerful influence of color is everywhere. Its vibrancy creates and enhances our world in so many ways. Any color to which you have been attracted, or which you have placed in your home, worn, or painted and draped on your walls, was derived from someone’s interpretation of the vibrant colors in nature. On the surface, your sense of taste and style seems to magnetize certain colors to you. However, we know that there is a deeper energetic pulse drawing you in. In my view, there is a spiritual, rhythmic reason for you to be organically drawn to a particular color or combination of colors.

There are colors in the physical world, or the spectrum of rainbow light that we see, and then there are the colors of energy in the non-physical world which, as only the intuitive mind can discern, indicate an infinite world of potentiality. It is a world into which you can perceptually, systematically and continuously enter into when you use your intuitive mind. The living energy of color can easily be detected or seen by one’s mystical or inner sight. We all have this capacity. I believe firmly that if one human can do it, it is available to all of humanity. We have similar capacities. The desire to utilize these capacities, however, is another issue.

Nonetheless, you needn’t be concerned about not being able to see the multi-hued energy that exists throughout all matter. You can also feel the frequency of energy and color, some can hear it. The sensations can be quite palpable as, when you intuitively get the hang of it, there is an intrinsic rhythm and pace from which you can discern the color of the energy.

Again, we know that everyone has intuition, everyone. You can access the power of the unseen and unknown by pulling your attention inward, centering your mind’s attention on your breath and then onto the object, thought or situation you desire to intuit. Those of you who use this innate conduit, your intuition, and the wisdom it provides will naturally sense color associated with the energetic, information-filled pulse of that which you are intuitively seeking. More often than not, people see these colors in their mind’s eye. At times, you can literally see these energetic colors with your physical eyes. It can be a single color or a myriad of colors that burst forth from your hands, your pet, a tree or flower, someone else’s body or any object.

What do you do when you experience the colors that emanate and make up the energy of the unseen world? One precaution I will offer is that of you rush in with your intuition and your mind thinking you immediately know what they mean, you run the risk of making assumptions too quickly. Remember the old saying, “Fools rush in.” As a practicing intuitive of 28 years, particularly, in the medical field, I have found it highly beneficial to the client with whom I am working if I take pause and allow plenty of space to discern the meaning and information of the colors that flash across my intuitive screen and weave through the mental, emotional, and physical energy I am assessing. Slow down, and realize that there is no hurry.

You may have read about energy and color, and you may have studied or practiced its various therapeutic forms. I am certain you have found great benefit in such ideas and skills and I encourage you to use them. Nonetheless, as a teacher of intuition and structural intuition, which is the ability to intuitively discern the structure of objects, see and unseen, in one’s presence and remotely, it is my intention to move your intuitive and healing skills toward a more significant, multi-layered ability.

I want you to be able to glean as much information as you can when you intuitively sense colors. I want to pause and stretch your mind and intuitive magnificence to the place beyond the mundane or the obvious, where assumptions about colors and energy are born. Many rely on more generic meanings of color, and that is purposeful for learning and experiencing generalities when healing with color. For example, if you sense or see red, it is often targeted as anger, survival, and emotions such as this. While this can certainly be true, there is much more that red can reveal when approached from an intuitive and broader-based perspective. You will harness so much more information; all of which relative to the subject matter at hand. In addition, you need to be mindful of the fact that the meaning of, let’s say red in this case, will change over time, or perhaps every time you sense it.

What I am asking you to consider when receiving the first blush feelings or sensations you receive is to go beyond the surface meanings and ask questions about what the color means- front, back, side and side. By now you know that everything is energy, and energy has frequencies. These frequencies emanate a plethora of colors, whether they are seen by our physical eyes or not. Within the various formations and frequencies of color exists enormous amounts of information relevant to the situation at hand.

If you keep these principles in mind when you intuit the beauty of color—seen or unseen—your world will change, and become more fluid, connected and understood. The ability to intuitively read or sense color-based information and use it for self awareness, business, personal growth and healing is a spiritually powerful experience.

Laura Alden Kamm is an author, structural and medical intuitive and spiritual teacher. Her latest project is: Color Intuition; mastering the energy of color for higher awareness, extraordinary precision, and healing, available at www.ONESpirit.com and www.SoundsTrue.com, July, 2008. She is the author of the book, Intuitive Wellness; using your body’s inner wisdom to heal and Unlocking Your Intuitive Power; how to read the energy of anything ( SoundsTrue, 2007) a six CD instructive program. You may contact Laura at: www.energymedicine.org

At this very moment, there is an infinite power that is at the core of your very existence. It is the power of love. Love can be intense or awe-inspiring. In other ways, it can be as subtle as a gentle wind. Imagine having the ability to harness the power of love, to have your body and life reconnect, balance, and thrive with love. Louise L. Hay, the inspirational matriarch of self-help, has empowered millions of people to awaken to the profound power of love by looking in the mirror and simply saying, “I’m ready to begin to love myself.” Ms. Hay knew, from her own experience, that love is the one emotion that holds the power to heal everything and everyone without any adverse reaction. Love is the only emotion that has no negative affect on the person expressing or receiving it. Unfortunately, it’s usually the last emotion we turn to when facing life’s pain, fear, and challenges.

The LifeLine Technique™, which builds upon the work of Ms. Hay, as well as the work of such noted scientists as Dr. Candace Pert, Dr. Masaru Emoto, and Dr. Bruce Lipton, is an advanced system of energy medicine that harmonizes emotions buried within the subconscious mind, which manifest as symptoms and stress, using the frequency of “infinite love & gratitude.” Symptoms and stress are actually a language that our body and life use to help us reconnect to these buried subconscious emotions. Regardless of the severity of symptoms or stress, LifeLine practitioners have found that harmonizing these subconscious emotional patterns with infinite love & gratitude becomes the catalyst for transforming painful or scary situations into opportunities for healing and growth.

Let’s take a closer look at the gifts of the subconscious mind and the historical treasure chest that it holds. The physiology of the body is run by the subconscious mind—heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, immunity, hormonal balance, digestion, metabolism, detoxification, muscle tone, and memory are all regulated through subconscious reflexes. Thank goodness really—could you imagine ever getting anything done in life if you had to consciously and simultaneously look after all of these functions for survival? That’s the point. The primary function of the subconscious mind is survival. It regulates all of the functions of the body so we are able to efficiently adapt internally to the external environment of which we are all a part.

Symptoms are the language the subconscious mind uses to connect with the conscious mind. Rather than signaling the aging process, symptoms actually signal the ripening process. They are the messenger that allows us to consciously connect to prior experiences that were too painful, scary, or challenging to embrace at that time. Symptoms let us know that we now have the tools to “pick” this experience, which provides a lesson in creating balance for our lives.

LifeLine Technique™ practitioners are taught to recognize symptoms as gifts, opportunities for us to reconnect to those deeply protected emotional thought patterns within the subconscious mind. We never treat disease or the specific symptoms. Instead, like a roadmap, we follow the trail of the symptom until we locate its root, which enables us to bridge the conscious and subconscious minds.

Once these emotional patterns are bridged and harmonized with infinite love & gratitude, the body is designed and knows exactly what to do to heal, regenerate, and be whole. For example, a balanced body is capable of detoxifying, recognizing, and destroying cancer cells, digesting and eliminating food, reproducing, etc. Too much or little of anything can create an imbalance that will effect these and any other function of the body.

I’d like to share with you the story of one of my clients who had been diagnosed with macular holes in her eyes. She was told that the condition was “incurable” and would likely require several surgeries. We worked together using The LifeLine Technique™ for one month, releasing the subconscious, emotional patterns of anger. In addition, I recommended that she follow the Five Basics for Optimal Health – the quantity, quality, and frequency of water, food, rest, exercise, and own your power. On several occasions, she told me that she knew her eyes would be healed. When she returned to the ophthalmologist, he was utterly surprised to find that her eyes had regenerated and the macular holes were gone.

Another client had three miscarriages over a period of four years and went through several rounds of artificial insemination and invitro-fertilization without getting pregnant. Today, as the result of treatments with The LifeLine Technique™, the woman is the mother of two girls, born 14 months apart. Once again, in addition to the treatments, she was encouraged to drink more water and make dietary changes. She became pregnant with the first child within four weeks of starting the treatments.

Greg Braden, the New York Times best-selling author of The Isaiah Effect, The God Code, and The Divine Matrix has said that power of infinite love and gratitude provides us with “a reason to accept what our heart already knows – that love is the great healer of life, and the power to love into wellness lives within each of us.”

It has been said that we are all spiritual beings having a human being experience. The human being experiences that we go through do not define who we are nor do they identify our limits. Rather our human being existence is the opportunity we have to reconnect to our truth—that our spirits are pure love and that love is the great healer of life. Discover The LifeLine Technique™ and The Power of Infinite Love & Gratitude and enjoy the evolutionary journey to awakening your spirit.

Dr. Darren R. Weissman is the author of The Power of Infinite Love & Gratitude and a contributing author to Dr. Masaru Emoto’s book, The Healing Power of Water. A holistic physician based in Northbrook, IL, in addition to his private practice, he trains healing arts practitioners and laypersons around the world in the use of The LifeLine Technique™ . www.infiniteloveandgratitude.com.

April 2008: Dr. Bob Christiano:
"Trophology - The Science of Food Combining"

Western physicians advise everyone to take "a little of everything at every meal", jumbling together such ingredients as meat, milk, starch, fat and sugar. Such consumption of food is no different than pouring gas, oil, alcohol and sugar into the gas tank of your car. These will not burn efficiently, will provide little power, and will quickly clog up the engine so badly that the entire system grinds to a halt. Trophology, is a term which you and no doubt your doctor have probably never heard of before. Modern medical training in the West, especially in America, is notoriously deficient in nutritional science, although there are a few enlightened nutritional scientists in America and Europe today who, despite sneers from their peers in the medical establishment, are making great medical strides through the science of trophology.

We all learned in high school chemistry: acid/alkaline, or 'ph'. We all know that if we did an equal measure of alkaline to an equal measure of acid, the resulting chemical solution is as neutral as plain water. That's the principal behind for bicarbonate (a strong alkaline) to relieve 'acid' indigestion. It is an established fact in Western medicine that, in order to efficiently digest any animal protein, the stomach must secret pepsin. But it is also a well known fact that pepsin can function only in a highly acidic medium, which must be maintained for several hours for complete digestion of protein. It is an equally established fact of science that when we chew a piece of bread or potato or any other starch/carbohydrate, ptylin and other alkaline juices are immediately secreted into the food by the salva in the mouth. When swallowed, the alkalized starches require an alkaline medium in the stomach in order to complete their digestion. Anyone should be able to figure out what happens when you ingest protein and starch together. Acid and alkaline juices are secreted simultaneously in response to the incoming protein and starch, promptly neutralizing one another and leaving a weak, watery solution in the stomach that digests neither protein nor starch properly. Instead, the proteins putrify and the starches ferment giving way to constant presence of bacteria in the digestive tract.

This putrification and fermentation are the primary cause of all sorts of digestive distress, including gas, heartburn, cramps, bloating, constipation, foul stools, bleeding piles, colitis, and so forth. Many so-called 'allergies' are also the direct result of improper food combinations: the blood stream picks up toxins from the putrified, fermented mess as it passes slowly through the intestines, and these toxins in turn causes rashes, hives, headaches, nausea and other symptoms commonly branded as 'allergies'. The final fact of the matter is this: when you immobilize your stomach and impair digestive functions by consuming foods in indiscriminate combinations, the bacteria in your alimentary canal have a field day. They get all the nutrients and thrive, while you get all the wastes and suffer.

According to a recent survey, the average American male today carries about 5 pounds of undigested, putrified red meat in his gut. Leave 5 pounds of meat in a dark, warm, moist place for a few days and see for yourself the results of putrifaction. The severely septic condition of the human intestinal tract is unique in nature, yet Western physicians take it for granted and even insist that it is harmless to the rest of the system. In fact, however, in order to protect itself from the chronic toxic irritation of improperly combined meals, the colon secretes large quantities of mucus to entrap toxic particles before they damage the colon's sensitive lining. When this occurs at every meal, every day, every week, throughout the year - as is quite typical in modern Western diets - the colon ends up secreting a constant stream of mucus, which accumulates and get impacted in the folds of the colon. This results in a narrowing of the passage through the colon and a seeping of toxins into the bloodstream. When the impacting of toxic mucus in the colon reaches a critical pressure, it causes a pocket to balloon outward through the colon lining, causing a condition called diverticulosis. Colitis and cancer are the next stages of colon deterioration caused by these conditions.

Protein and starch:
Do not mix. For example: meat and potatoes, hamburger and fries, eggs and toast.
Rule: eat concentrated proteins separate from starches.

Protein and protein:
Rule: Eat only 1 type of protein at a single meal. A void combinations such as meat and eggs, meat and milk, fish and cheese.

Starch and acid:
Rule: Eat starches and acids at separate meals. For example, if you eat toast or cereal for breakfast, skip the orange juice as well as eggs. If you're eating a starch-based meal of noodles or rice, avoid vinegar as well as concentrated protein.

Protein and fat: Fat inhibits the excretion of gastric juice. For two or three hours after the ingestion of fat, the concentration of hydrochloric acid and pepsin in the stomach is sharply decreased. This delays digestion of any proteins taken together with fat. That is why fatty meats such as bacon and marbled steaks, or lean meats fried in fat, sit so heavily in the stomach for hours after eating them.
Rule: Eat concentrated fats and proteins at separate meals. When you cannot avoid mixing them, eat plenty of raw vegetables to assist in their digestion.

I know this is a lot to "digest", but if you can try some of these principles you will definitely feel better.

Dr. Robert Michael Christiano (Dr. Bob) received his Doctorate as a Naturopathic Physician, his certification as a Nutritional Consultant as well as his certification as a Natural Health Professional from Trinity College of Natural Health. For more information visit his website: www.newwavewellness.com.

Some 100 million pounds of pesticides are used by homeowners in homes and gardens each year, even more when commercial companies are added in. Suburban lawns and gardens are known to receive far heavier pesticide applications per acre than most other land areas in the U.S., including agricultural areas.

Lawns and landscapes are often overlooked when a healthy environment is being considered for our homes. This is primarily because a home is frequently our largest investment and we want it to look its best for maximum value. There just don’t seem to be any alternatives to the chemical tread mill. Another reason is that, sadly, we have bought into the chemical companies’ massive marketing campaign that says we should surround ourselves with large lawns that are 100% weed free. Even with their chemicals, that is not practical, or possible!

The best that can be said is that it is a great coup for the chemical companies because once you begin using their quick fix silver bullets it is hard to stop. We are actually making our lawns chemical junkies that will go through terrible withdraw pains if we back off. The reason is that these chemicals and acidulated petroleum based fertilizers have killed all the beneficial soil microbes God placed in the soil to keep a balanced functioning system. The soil is seen as nothing more than a medium to hold our plants up and into which we dump things to receive the desired affect.

The amount of chemicals needed to sustain such expectations is staggering. They are making us, our children, and our pets sick. Studies show that these hazardous lawn chemicals are also drifting into our homes where they contaminate indoor air and surfaces, exposing children at levels ten times higher than preapplication levels.

Healthy living soil is the key to your success in landscaping or gardening. A properly managed soil is a healthy living system that will feed your plants while discouraging and destroying pests. Spring is a great time to transition your lawn to a more sustainable system that will be healthier for your family and the environment. Follow these simple steps to begin the process of restoring the beneficial life to your soil and ending the toxic waste dump in your lawn. You can end the addiction in your landscape!

1. Have your soil tested by a reputable lab that does a complete soil analysis. You wouldn’t allow the dentist to start drilling your teeth before taking an x-ray. The same principle applies to fertilization. Don’t add anything to your soil until you know what is there and what is missing. Adding too much of one thing could cause problems, deficiencies, or toxicities with something else. Only add what you know you need. Take soil from surface level to about three inches deep in 10-12 spots around your landscape to make up a good composite. Use a lab that provides the following information in a soil analysis: pH, Total Exchange Capacity, Base Saturation, desired calcium to magnesium ratio, exchangeable hydrogen, the amount of nitrogen, sulfate, phosphates, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, boron, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, salts and chlorides present. From this, you can plan accurate applications for correcting the soil in order to give you a healthy landscape requiring less time and money. A good lab report will make recommendations for balancing your soil.

2. Balance your soil according to the recommendations from the soil test. Now you can safely add the nutrients and amendments that will correct deficiencies and repair the biological and physical structure of your soil. It can take months to change the soil chemistry so it is important that you get started right away.

3. Stop using artificial pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. These products will destroy beneficial soil microorganisms and earthworms. While they may bring temporary relief, they guarantee you will have to keep using them and create an environment ripe for other attacks. Do not apply anything to your soil that does not encourage life. You can use a 100% organic bagged fertilizer once your soil is balanced. The best analysis will be determined by your soil test but generally a 10-2-10 with Calcium, Magnesium, and the micro elements (boron, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, and molybdenum) is excellent for maintaining the proper nutrition for soil microbes. There is a change in thinking required here. We usually think in terms of fertilizing plants. The best way to fertilize is to feed the soil so that it can feed roots as they are needed. Soil microbes are required to process fertilizer elements and actually carry them across cell walls into the roots. The more and healthier the microbes the better nutrition your lawn will have available.

4. Aerate soil. Increase the air in the soil through mechanical aeration or conditioners if it is compacted. This can be expensive if your entire lawn needs air but soils and microbes need oxygen to be healthy. In many cases this can be done by balancing the soil chemistry and using organic soil conditioners and bio-stimulants.

5. Build soil organic content. Soils that have been maintained with artificial fertilizer are almost always too low in organic matter. You can add compost or apply compost tea to prepare beds and gardens, and to stimulate lawns. Stimulation of microbiotic activity in the soil is the most important way of building soil organic matter. A great way to use what you already have in your landscape is to stop collecting lawn clippings when you mow. Let the chopped up leaves and grass remain on your lawn to decompose and build up your soil. This will provide food for soil microbes, improve the soil structure and air content, improve drought resistance, and provide free nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil.

6. Add mulch to all bare ground. Natural mulch preserves moisture, helps to eliminate weeds, and keeps the soil surface cooler which benefits earthworms, microorganisms, and plant roots. Cover bare ground under trees and shrubs and in vegetable and flower gardens with 1” of compost and 3” of shredded tree trimmings or bark mulch.

7. Plant only adapted species. Always plant varieties that do well in your specific environment. Native species are always a good choice as they will be resistant to pests in your area. Make sure you get plants in their best environment as well. Shade lovers will burn up in the sun and sun lovers will be spindly and flowerless in the shade.

8. Watering. Irrigate your lawn and landscape deeply and infrequently to encourage deep roots. An application of .75”-1” every week or tow is sufficient in the winter, depending on the temperature. In the summer time you may need two applications per week. Shallow frequent watering results in shallow root systems that are susceptible to drought and pests. Less water will be required as you increase the mineral level in your soils. Use your yearly soil lest to keep the mineral level where it needs to be.

9. Foliar Spraying. Spray lawns and shrubs during periods of stress with compost tea or a good biological stimulant. This encourages healthy growth and reduces pests. A good stimulant includes molasses, compost tea, vinegar, kelp, and other ingredients. These applications will reduce plant replacement and pesticide requirements. Kelp either as meal or in a soluble form is the best fungicide available. It is also full of growth stimulants that produce healthy foliage and more blooms. Try it!

10. Encourage biodiversity. Introduce beneficial insects and protect those that exist by ending toxic insecticide applications. You can plant herbs that attract these insects and install bat and purple marlin houses. Use only organic fertilizers.

11 . Mowing . Lawns are frequently mowed too low. Most lawns thrive when cut to 3-4 inches tall. Some species, like Bermuda, are best kept at 1-1.5 inches tall. This will give you a strong healthy root system that is resistant to drought, heat, and freezing. Never remove more than 1/3 of the grass height in one mowing. The grass clippings and some finally chopped leaves should remain on the lawn. They are a great source of nutrients and will add to the soil structure. Only use sharp blades for a clean neat cut that does not damage grass. Consider ground covers instead of lawns to reduce your water consumption and maintenance costs.

12. Pruning. Never remove more than 1/3 of the plant at any one pruning. When ever you are mowing or pruning keep the 1/3 rule in mind. Anything more will cause stress and make the plant susceptible to pests and temperature extremes. Azaleas are pruned right after flowering. Later pruning will remove next years bloom. Please don’t perform Crape murder on your Crape Myrtles! Yearly pruning will encourage more blooms but severe pruning weakens the tree.

Remember, stress can lead to addiction. Keeping your soil healthy and using products that are easy on the environment will reduce plant stress. Oh, and your stress will be replaced by the peace of mind in knowing you are doing the right things for your family, plants, pets, and neighbors.

So get out there and enjoy the beautiful spring weather, get some fresh air and exercise, and break the chemical habit. You will breathe easier!

Please visit us at: www.GoOrganicbydesign.com
Consultations available in any part of the country (or Caribbean!).

What is your inner compass set to? Are you aware of having an inner compass
at all or are you helplessly buffeted by the wind and weather of emotion,
the victim of external forces from the moment your feet touch the ground in
the morning to the moment you embrace the dark of night?

Try setting your compass to the true north of love. When your eyes open at
daylight do you love what or who you see? Do you love the face on the pillow
beside you? If you do, lucky you. If not, why are they in your bed at all?

If you are the only person in your bed, do you love your sheets? The colour
of your walls? The objects on your bedside table? The pattern of your
curtains or the view from your window? If the answer is no, you might feel a
bit depressed. It might be difficult to change the person in your bed or the
view from your window but it is not at all difficult to change your curtains
or your sheets. Once you start to make a conscious choice and choose things
that you love a profound change can be set in motion.

William Morris said we should not have anything in our homes that we did not
find to be useful or believe to be beautiful. Here is my counsel of
perfection. Do not have anything in your life that you do not love.

Make love the most over-used word in your vocabulary. Let it kick out
routine and habit. When you get dressed in the morning do you love your
underwear, your shoes, your fragrance, your ties, your clothes? Did you buy
them because you loved them or because you¹re stuck wearing a uniform or
because you thought they were cheap or inoffensive or useful and would cover
your lumpy bits? Do you love the way they make you feel or do they make you
feel comfortably invisible?

Do you love what you eat for breakfast or is it a mindless habit? Do you
have an activity you love to look forward to at the end of the day or do you
watch television. Do you really love watching television? Do you love your
neighbourhood or is it just handy for transport?

You get the idea. Every single waking moment of our loves offers us choices
we can exercise through love, and the simpler the choice the easier it is to
make it with love. We can choose to build love from the ground up instead of
grasping it out of some future sky.

I love fresh flowers. I love the bunch of daffodils I bought for less than a
pound which sits in a blue jug I love on the faded tablecloth I love because
I bought it on holiday, spread on the wooden table I love because I fell for
the grain and sheen of its surface. This cumulation of simple objects
kickstarts my day each morning.

My act of love is the act of attention which takes each object in and
acknowledges its place in my life. I can swallow a bowl of cereal
inattentively or I can sit at my table and enjoy it slowly, appreciating the
blue-rimmed china bowl I eat it from, enjoying the company of my jug of
daffodils and the view of the clump of bamboo in my garden which I can see
bending in the morning wind. I love the bamboo and the way it dances. I love
the fact that I planted it from a pot and it is now a little grove of stems
that give me shade in summer.

If there are people at my breakfast table I can grunt at them from behind
the newspaper, which I admit I often do, or I can perform that act of
attention , of gratitude, that consciously takes in their presence, listens
to what they say, gives thanks for their company. If I have started my day
with love I have a small head start on the brutal forces of indifference and
chaos that wait for us all. And I have also tuned myself to recognise and
experience love in the confusion and variousness of the day ahead. If my
inner compass is set to love, I may get lost a thousand times but it will
always guide me home.

Lesley Garner is the author of several books, including Everything I've Ever Done That Worked, (one of my favorites!) available at www.hayhouse.com. She has also been an art critic, book and film reviewer and columnist. She travels widely and has lived in Ethiopia and Afghanistan, and currently resides in London.

2008 has now begun and many people are thinking about getting into shape with their health and their weight. Fad dieting can be very popular but does not focus on lifestyle changes. Fad diets can promote water and muscle loss which can decrease the metabolism. With that in mind, here are a few healthy suggestions that can boost health and weight management:

1. Over the last few months many individuals have been eating high fat, high sugar, preservative laden foods. It is important to mildly cleanse the system a few times/year. I do not generally recommend supplements but to simply eat an 85% organic steamed vegetable and 15% organic fish/ beans diet for 3-7 days. This is a natural cleanse and will enable your body to balance.

2. Drink at least ½ your body weight in ounces in water. The water should be a pH of 6.4-7.5. It should also be filtered but at the same time allow for important minerals to remain intact. Some of my clients enjoy FIJI and Celtic water for bottled or have a carbon filtering and alkalizing system in their home.

3. Eat less processed foods and more natural or organic foods. A goal to work towards is 80% plant, organic, raw foods.

4. Limit eating out to just a few times/week if possible. When you prepare your own foods you have more control over the portions and the ingredients.

5. Practice good stress management. High stress can mean high cortisol. High cortisol can negatively impact health and weight management. Try taking a warm sea salt bath 1 hour before bed. Another great tip is to breath deeply at least 3 times/day.

6. Eating balanced meals is important for receiving adequate nutrition, regulating blood sugars and normalizing blood and tissue pH. Include lean protein like beans, fish and chicken, several servings of vegetables or fruit, ½ cup high fiber grains like oats and brown rice, and 1 -2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil or grape seed oil to name a few.

7. Exercise is essential for feeding oxygen and nutrients to our organs, along with burning calories and relieving stress. The recommended amount for weight management is to burn 2,000 calories every week. Do something you enjoy and will stick with. Walking is easy and can be done anywhere.

8. No major health organizations are recommending isolated supplements like multi vitamins or Vitamin A because of controversial research. I recommend whole food concentrates like fish oil (1500 mg/day) if you don’t have daily food sources and fruit and vegetable concentrates in a capsule

Rebecca Gerard is a liscensed dietician with over 12 years of experience working with clients to create customized nutrition programs. For more information you can reach Rebecca at 407-426-2691 or email her at eathealthy@bellsouth.net.

Winter Solstice has always been the highest celebration in the esoteric world.
In the esoteric world Solstice is experienced as a celebration of the Earth's birthday. Earth is accepted as an exquisitely beautiful, vastly intelligent female planet who is also learning from experience, just as we are. This process of learning is a cellular link between us. It is this link that provides the substance for an effective Solstice ritual. The effective ritual is not a series of rote motions done only to empower tradition but is a series of exquisitely designed steps that place us in the energies of change and this placement harmonizes us with the focus of the ritual, be it marriage, birth celebration, prayer before eating or just having a cup something in the morning joining with the day. This harmonizing is what allows us to progress though the opportunities of life with balance, even ease.

A good ancient ritual provides us with a personal placement in the movement of Universal and Earth energy. This is not unlike the art of placement in feng shui. The ritual puts us in the perfect energetic timing with the focus of the ritual.
In the case of Solstice this is the most potent day to unite with because this is THE day the Earth is integrating from all the experiences she has had and learned from during the past year. This complete integration naturally creates an emptying of the cells and the naturally ensuing opening to the new. And in this state of ultimate receptivity you can now open to the new year with and excitement and peace. Because of our bodies cellular connection to Earth we place our selves in harmony with her movement and unite with the her clearing and opening in the most powerful of ways.

All that you need is the time of solstice in your time zone, and intention to arrive at the end of 2007 ready to integrate the impact of the year and now fully integrated the cells open (no longer full of the past) to 2008. This is accomplished through an ancient sequence using all 5 senses to facilitate a complete interaction with Earth's process.
This is a very important clearing time because 2007 has been a 9 year, 2+0+0+7=9. A very big 9 year. 9 is the completion number and this year we have been changing programs. It has been a tough year of letting go as a result! For some of us it has been the biggest of changes. Now we are headed into the 2+0+0+8=1 year. The 1 will be a year of moving forward with new programs of experiencing and learning.
Every Solstice celebration is an acknowledgment that our entire being is linked to Earth, the great Mother. We move to restore that link and celebrate our abiding connection to her.

Happy Solstice!! Ellae Elinwood
(PST time for Solstice this year is 12/22/07 @ 6:08 am.)

Ellae Elinwood is a student and teacher of the unity of the body, mind and spirit; and an author of 5 books on the subject. You can email her at: elinwood@aol.com

November 2007
GUEST SPEAKER: Mike Robbins
"Focus on the Good Stuff: The Power of Appreciation"

Have you ever had something taken away from you only to realize how much you appreciated it after it was gone?

I often ask this question when I start one of my talks or seminars on appreciation. As I pause and wait for people to respond, many hands go up.

Most of us have taken someone or something for granted. We only truly realized how much that person or situation meant to us after the fact.

For example, at the age of twenty three my professional baseball career ended abruptly when I blew out my pitching arm. I was in my third season in the minor leagues with the Kansas City Royals, and just like that my childhood dream was over.

I realized looking back on my eighteen years in competitive baseball that I had only one major regret; I pushed myself so hard that I’d forgotten to enjoy the game. I was so focused on “making it” and on overcoming my weaknesses, I had not taken much time to appreciate what I was doing along the way.

We often waste way too much of our time and energy focusing on what we don’t like, what we’re worried about, or what we think needs to be fixed, changed, or enhanced. We live in a culture obsessed with “bad stuff.” Just turn on the news, listen to the conversations and negative attitudes of the people around you, or pay attention to the thoughts in your own head.

The Power of Appreciation in Your Life

What if we stopped this negative obsession and started paying attention to what and whom we appreciate, right now?

Imagine how this simple but profound shift could transform our lives, our families, our relationships, our results, our work groups, our communities, and more. Our experience is a function of what we focus on. Each and every moment we have a choice about where we place our attention.

I am not advocating that we deny, avoid, or run from the challenges, issues, or even the pain in our lives or around us. It’s important that we’re able to confront, face, and deal with these difficulties. However, we don’t have to obsess about the bad stuff and let it run us. We each can consciously choose to focus on the good stuff in our lives, with others, and most importantly towards ourselves.

There are great things happening in your life and around you all the time - if you choose to look for them.

When we truly focus on this good stuff, our world transforms and we are able to see and experience the GREAT FULLNESS of our lives.

We don’t have to wait until everything is handled. We don’t have to wait until we get it all perfect. And, we don’t have to wait for people to do things exactly as we want them to. We can start appreciating life, others, and ourselves exactly as we are, right now.

About the Author: Mike Robbins is a personal growth expert, author, and sought after keynote speaker who empowers individuals, organizations, and groups of all kinds to appreciate themselves and each other - thus leading to greater success, improved relationships, and increased fulfillment. Experience the positive impact of appreciation on yourself and those around you with this FREE SNEAK PREVIEW of Mike’s new book, FOCUS ON THE GOOD STUFF. Click here now: http://www.focusonthegoodstuff.com/preview

When you are ill or life has just not been going your way, there is a legitimate voice inside that feels powerless, afraid, or alone in the world. If you have felt any of these feelings, take a deep breath and know that a compassionate, cleansing breath goes a long way to help you heal.

Healing, like life or illnesses, can be a complex process. It’s never easy to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps when it hurts too much to reach down and try to find them in first place. Sometimes, all you can do is lie in bed, or sit in your chair and breathe. It may not be what you want to do, it usually isn’t. There is so much to do on your list, and that list is getting longer by the moment. But one of the many gifts embedded within the healing process is the power and permission to prioritize who or what is really important in your day, and in your life.

To create healing in your body, your mind, and certainly within your sweet spirit you begin by being compassionate with yourself. You can not start or wander your way through such a journey by pushing and criticizing your body for not doing what it used to be able to do. I know. I’ve been there. In fact, my “been there, done that” was so much so that I was dead. That’s about a low as you can go. The journey out of that place had the same healing steps that yours or anyone’s journey has. Although everyone is unique, there is common ground.

Four of the most profound components to healing are not physical. Yes, your food, environment, and your emotional and physical support from others is essential. However, what if you don’t have those available as regularly as you’d like? What if people around you are working or tired themselves? You’ve got to do the doing. You’ve got to press through, to the degree that you possibly can in each moment and bring yourself back to wellness—one small step at a time. Developing the attitude of “is-ness” and compassionate acceptance brings about the knowing that healing takes the time that it takes. No more, no less. You stop pushing and fretting, being frustrated or angry. Your mind stops looping in crazy ways and you sink into compassion and the moment with grace. Those thoughts will come again, that’s their job. Your job is to be mindful, compassionate and watch them move by you like clouds. It is not easy, especially when there is physical pain.

In light of that, when pain arises feel your way through it. It will rise and fall, it will hold constant for a while. It will do what it does; and you hold compassion. Emotions will slide in and out of your mind. Fear, pain, suffering, frustration, they all have a front row seat. You know you can harness your inner power and your healing will happen, along with an awaken state that is the power behind the healing.

I would like you to take out a piece of paper and, on that paper, write the following four words in the following order:

Place this piece of paper where you can see it all the time—on your refrigerator, your computer monitor, the bathroom mirror or any place in your home that calls to you (remember to use your intuition).

Before you place this paper in it proper place, and it is perfectly fine to make more than one, take a moment and look at these four words. The beginning of any healing must begin with compassion. Having compassion for yourself, whether you know or understand all the facts or components of your condition or not, you must absolutely must hold compassion in your heart for yourself and for your body. Sometimes, your body may feel like it is separate from you; that is a common feeling during such a time. Treat your body with extraordinary acts of kindness and compassion. As you do, the physical and emotional wounds, the fear and loneliness will abate.

Compassion brings with it love. Love and a loving state release healing chemicals into your body, as well as penetrate your energy field with healing frequencies which will heal the energetic levels and physical cells of your body. Compassion and feeling that level of love and attention will bring a sense of power to you. Not a power that is overbearing or directed at someone or something thing. You don’t want to feel or think in that way. You want to feeeeel empowered by the compassion you have for yourself, which brings a reflective understanding of where you are on your journey and what you need to do to move forward, at whatever pace your body agrees to. That is power. Power indicates a connection. Connections heal.

Now faith arises within you and merges with your power. You notice that you are more secure in your self. Your have faith in your body to be well. Faith in your intuition, and in God, becomes stronger and guides you fluidly on your path; and in an unfailing way. You know what is yours will come to you, no matter how long or short the journey.

It’s not easy at times, especially when you take those infamous “two steps forward and three steps back”. When that occurs do your best to rest easy. You know that experience is part of the path of healing. If fact, it indicates that you are healing. If you look deep within, it is clear that the spiritual warrior in you knows the truth. Healing is not a straight line.

So, you begin again, with compassion firmly rooted in your heart. Breathing in and out, the energy of compassion fills your lungs, your body, and your energy field. You may feel like you are not getting better, but you are. You are! With each compassionate breath you are refreshing the healing. You are allowing it to bring you new intuitive insights, energies, and perspectives.

Once again, you trust in the universal support system that weaves its way throughout nature and life itself. You have a knowing that you are doing just fine. That knowing is your intuition—your spirit’s and body’s wisdom, which fosters the power, faith, and trust necessary to guide you. You watch the energy of healing move you toward your highest good; and it always moves you toward what is next for you.

Most importantly, you trust that your spirit, that God, never leaves anything undone. You know that what has begun will always be completed. That is a law; a sacred law of healing and of life. I can assure you that no mater what happens, you will always be okay; and that you are forever, forever loved.

Laura Alden Kamm, founder of the Center for Applied Energy Medicine (www.energymedicine.org), is a medical intuitive and healer. She is the author of Intuitive Wellness, a guide to using your body's inner wisdom to heal. Her new audio course, Unlocking Your Intuitive Power, is available at www.soundstrue.com.

September 2007
The following is an excerpt from "We Are Her Voice, Women Healing With Earth: Remembrances of Connection". Written by Ellae Elinwood, Mary Lanier, and Katie Lanier.

Earth’s Gift
Earth is female and as a woman, you are one with her. Here lays a simple truth, so profound, that grasping the ramifications will change your understanding of yourself and your relationship to life forever. Through connecting with Earth’s pulse and her infinite capacity for renewal, you will have life long tools for youthful looks, health, and vitality.

Earth is a ravishing beauty and an instinctive intelligence that amazes all who her study her. We are surrounded by a continuity of inspiration and vitality in an astonishing array of animals, birds, mountains, trees, flowers, weather, virus and bacteria, an endless list.

Life, microscopic to enormous, burgeons unrestrained while simultaneously held in consistent, uncompromising and breathtaking reciprocity. And in the midst of this balance, nature reproduces herself. Earth masterfully displays a flawless ability to adapt, renew, sustain, endure, and expand her exquisite nature. This process occurs uninterrupted with a brilliance that can only be ascribed to vast intelligence. It is this we turn to, in absolute confidence, seeking and always finding our inspiration.

What are the gifts that you give?
Understanding Earth’s style of gifting rearranges our understanding of ‘gift,’ as Earth’s gifts are given with no reason, requirement, or strings attached. The Earth’s gift is something given because it is an instinctive extension of her nature. You also give gifts, a natural extension of your unique nature.

What are the gifts that you give? What are the qualities you have that become a gift to others? With you generating no attempt to be a better person or a higher spiritual being, but just by you being natural.

What are your natural traits that are gifts to others? Contemplate your own wonderful, life-giving gifts, akin with Earth’s, that are instinctive to your nature. Giving these gifts is not laborious or draining, but instead, the gifting fills you with a sense of purpose and connection to life. Your gifting evolves an inner appreciation of your own distinctive and worthwhile qualities. In order to hone in on your natural gifts, ask others to reflect back to you the gifts that you have given them by just being yourself. Or think of a moment in time when you effortlessly exuded adaptability, expansion, or another quality that was appropriate to the moment, and came naturally.

Your gifts are the same as Earth’s and also made unique by your person.

Earth’s gifts are:
Reproduction
Renewal
Adaptability
Sustainability
Endurance
Resiliency
Expansion
Spiritual renewal
Instinctive wisdom
(Source: Gregge Tiffen G Systems International)

Gaining these Gifts
These are aspects of her nature and the nature of women. We gain these gifts because Earth vitality fills the cells of or bodies, and is imbued with Earth consciousness. When we are close to Earth we strengthen each one of these qualities in ourselves.

Each woman has these qualities and can willingly express them. We have the right to choose how we communicate them according to our personal values, ethics, and personalities. For instance, one woman may direct the energy of her reproductive gift to bear children, and another may use this energy to generate a new business. Others may decide to use this energy to help a friend in need, to revitalize to an old garden, to comfort a stray dog, or to feed people a great meal. All of these are aspects of reproduction.

Look Within
Look within and identify how you have personalized these most feminine attributes for yourself. These are the intrinsic elements of creation and thriving. Take some valuable time to recognize that these qualities rise from within you. You have and use them constantly, because they are as much a part of your nature as they are a part of the Earth’s.

These gifts are yours and you naturally embody them. They carry your femininity, health, and slow aging. You have the absolute right to express and strengthen these characteristics. In this way, allow them to embolden your essential female nature.

Ellae Elinwood is a student and teacher of the unity of the body, mind and spirit; and an author of 5 books on the subject. Mary Lanier is currently a healer and writer and was a psychotherapist for 25 years. Katie Lanier is currently studying for her Masters Degree and is an author and screenwriter. For more information about their book visit, www.wearehervoice.com.

"Selling Your Home Faster Using Feng Shui Principles"

Feng Shui is the Chinese art of creating a comfortable, prosperous and harmonious environment, using a combination of interior design, environmental psychology, and personal coaching. Using Feng Shui, your home can help you make a great first impression--and in this slow real estate market a first impression can count for a lot.

Staging your home to make it look its very best will help the home sell faster. Because of all the real estate shows on television these days, potential buyers expect to see a staged home, free of clutter and free of personal items. So pack up family photographs, store extra furniture, and when possible neutralize the color schemes used throughout the house. The more open and neutral the home, the easier time a potential buyer will have visualizing their own furniture in it.

Once the home is ready, it is time to welcome the potential buyers. Whenever possible have people enter through main door, because that usually leads to the best overview of the interior of the house. Even if you always enter through a side door or garage door, have potential buyers come through the main door. And most importantly, don't let your potential buyer feel uncertain of which door to choose. Clearly mark the path and the entrance door with potted plants, signs, or decorative touches.

Welcome potential buyers by having a clean and attractive welcome mat at the door; replace worn or inappropriate welcome mats. As buyers approach the house, they are taking in a million little details, gathering and assimilating them together as they form their first impression of your home. Things that fall below a person’s field of vision, such as a welcome mat, actually can affect them emotionally. Having a pretty welcome mat sets the tone. (Avoid mats that depict anything you wouldn't want to step on in real life, such as puppies, butterflies, or the American flag.)

As your potential buyer walks into your home from the outside, they take a moment to adjust to new surroundings and the change in lighting. Most people stop and allow their eyes to adjust for a moment. At this moment you have an opportunity to direct their eyes to the strongest selling feature of the house (at least the one they can see from the front door). There are five things that direct someone's eye. These are: shiny objects, moving objects, horizontal lines, things on fire, and bold bursts of color.

Things that are shiny attract our attention. So, for instance, you could highlight a great wood floor in the living room by placing shiny objects on a low table. This would direct people's eyes downward. The shiny objects could be a brass vase, gold candlesticks, or a pretty pewter bowl.

Things that move always attract attention. If you wanted to guide the person away from a living room into the kitchen you can place a moving object in the direction you want the person to go. A fish tank or fountain placed at the door near the kitchen would draw the person toward the kitchen.

Our eyes naturally follow horizontal lines to the end of that line. You can make any room seem larger by aligning objects horizontally. Hang a series of pictures on a wall, all at the same height, or create horizontal lines with bold curtain rods.

Things on fire always attract attention. If weather permits, you can call people's attention to a great fireplace by having a fire burning in it. Or, if you wanted to highlight a granite countertop, you can place lit candles on it. That will draw your buyer's eye.

Bold bursts of color capture attention. If the bedroom is architecturally uninteresting, use a bold color on the bed to focused attention on the bed and away from the plainness of the room. In contrast to this, if the view outside is quite spectacular, hang very neutral drapes or drapes in the same tone as the wall color. Then the colors outside will pop, drawing the view outside.

And finally, place a bowl of good chocolates in the kitchen. Even if no one eats them, most people have a good association with chocolate; this helps to anchor positive emotional feelings about your house.

Donna Stellhorn has 17 years experience helping people with Feng Shui. She offers a free monthly e-mail newsletter filled with tips and ideas you can use in your home and office. To sign up for her newsletter go to her website at http://www.fengshuiform.com/.

July 2007
GUEST SPEAKER: Marj Melchoir

Mirror, mirror on the wall…can wrinkles go away at all? It may sound impossible, but I have experienced wrinkle transformation myself. The directions for such facial exercises can be found in the book, Timeless Face by Ellae Elinwood (St. Martin’s Press, 1999).

In Timeless Face Elinwood goes into great detail on how to tone the facial muscles to reduce and sometimes eliminate wrinkles and sags. She takes several approaches in her book by using Chinese face reading and acupressure along with the facial exercises. For example, the phrase “the eyes are the mirror to the soul” has literal meaning in Timeless Face. According to Chinese Face Reading the eye area represents the soul and communication. So in her chapter about the eyes Elinwood lists the cause of vertical lines between the eyebrows as involving confusion, concern, concentration, and controlling issues. What she is proposing is that events and behaviors in one’s life have a direct link to the face. This is a very interesting concept. She believes that doing these exercises not only improves the wrinkles in your skin but also can carry over into your emotional life.

I will give an example. The exercise for smoothing the lines betweens the eye brows is call the “Desquinter”. To do this exercise you do a series of an exaggerated surprised look and then a perplexed look. This is to be repeated 7-10 times on a daily basis. In addition, Timeless Face goes into detail about acupressure for the face. This Chinese self- balancing technique can be used as a tool for improving emotional and physical health. Along with the exercises, specific acupressure points are noted for specific facial areas.

So do these exercises really work? I experimented and tried doing a couple of them for one month every day faithfully. After doing them a few days in the mirror, it is easy to practice these while driving in the car, or while making dinner. I found that not only do they work, but if you quit doing them the skin looses elasticity and goes back to its previous state. I started back with the exercises and sure enough the wrinkles became less noticeable. I would say the exercises had some affect on my mind in a positive manner also.

I highly recommend Timeless Face. I believe that some type of benefit can occur even if one only practices part of what the author is describing. The key is doing the exercises and/or the acupressure points on a daily basis. Hopefully you will notice an improvement not only to your face but also to your outlook!

Marj Melchoirs is the founder of All Natural Cosmetics, www.allnaturalcosmetics.com, a company specializing in the sale of natural cosmetics, books, and household products that are good for you and for the environment!

June 2007
CHRISTOPHER S. DAWSON, D.C.

HOW THE SPINE INFLUENCES THE NERVOUS SYSTEM