Quote for the Day

A good friend will come and bail you out of jail…

but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying,

 “Wow…that was fun!”

Healing through our Stories

Hello – I’m back from a month long sabbatical!  I started courses with Wisdom Unviersity and am so excited about the new material that I will have to share and discuss.  So, with that in mind I have some questions for self-observation and dicussion:  What are the stories you tell yourself about your body?  Do those stories support health, or dis-ease? 

What area of your body do you store stress?

Where do you typically feel joy first in your body?

What part of your body do you associate the feeling of anger with?

What is your favorite part of your body?

What areas of your own body might you have difficulty connecting with?

Where in your body do you feel most comfortable focusing your attention and intuitive listening?

All of these questions lead us to a more thorough story or myth of our own body.  Contemplating these questions can take us into memories and thoughts and help us get to know the physical aspect of ourselves better and deeper. 

Avoiding Pesticides

An Environmental Work Group has issued the following lists of fruits and vegetables most susceptable to introducing pesticides into the human body.  Some ways to reduce your exposure to pesticides:   Naturally cleaning or thoroughly rinsing fruits and vegetables is becoming more important.  Consider organic for the Dirty Dozen (there is still debate as to the advantage of organic in other cases).   Consider raising your own where possible.  Buy from local known growers when possible. 

The ”Dirty Dozen” or worst 12

• peaches 
• apples
• sweet bell peppers
• celery
• nectarines
• strawberries
• cherries
• pears
• imported grapes
• spinach
• lettuce
• potatoes

The ”Cleanest 12” or least toxic for pesticides 

• onions
• avocados
• sweet corn (frozen)
• pineapples
• mangoes
• asparagus
• sweet peas (frozen)
• kiwi fruit
• bananas
• cabbage
• broccoli
• papaya

Living a healthy well-balanced life-style helps keep the immune system strong and allows the body to eliminate toxins and pesticides.

Winter Stress Relievers

We are now well into Winter – and what an interesting and unusual and  sadly in some cases tragic winter it has been so far!   I have a feeling that we better hold on because there is likely more to come. 

If Winter blahs or stress is getting to you here are some of our favorite ways to beat them:

• Get outdoors and enjoy the beauty of the  winter wonderland (of course dress warmly and make sure you have a good emergency survival pack in your car)
• Get together with friends and enjoy a movie
• Michael says his favorite three options are  1. Chardonney 2. Merlot 3. Cabernet (all of which would lead to one of my options, which is to take a nap).  Of course we all know to limit our alcohol intake 8)
• Get plenty of light – either direct or through full spectrum lighting
• Get plenty of rest to replenish the neurotransmitter chemicals in your brain (such as seratonin)
• Embrace the joy of life -however that applies to you 🙂
• Get a Massage – or better yet, A Craniosacral Therapy Session!

We also found a wonderful addition to our stress relieving tool bag this winter.  It is the  Shealy Relax-Mate II  developed  by Dr. C. Norman Shealy.  I had the honor of meeting Dr. Shealy last fall and was so impressed with his lecture that I wanted to try the Relax-Mate II.  Both Michael and I have found it to help us in many ways including better sleep, more calm and relaxed during the day, and overall boosts our feeling of well-being and attitude about life.

Of course we both also really support the theory “Laughter is the Best Medicine” – and life around our house gets downright jovial – especially when we spend more time inside in the winter months.