Category: Care Of Self

I got to thinking about diabetes tonight. A friend of mine called and said she recently tested for early signs of it. She’s treated by a holistic doctor and now has a special diet, BUT she thinks it’s entirely too difficult to maintain. It goes like this: 12g of carbohydrates a day (she has to cut the crust off of the one slice of organic millet bread allowed for the day), fruit: berries only, no legumes, no grains, she’s allergic to peanuts and possibly eggs, too. Hmm! Geez! Whew! What to do?

I looked at my bookshelf and pulled out a few books. This is what I had: THE SUNFOOD DIET SUCCESS SYSTEM by David Wolfe, SPONTANEOUS HEALING by Dr. Andrew Weil, and 12 STEPS TO RAW FOODS by Victoria Boutenko. Also, HEAL YOUR BODY by Louise Hay, “It is helpful as a quick-reference guide to the probable mental patterns behind the dis-ease in your body.”
www.sunfood.com www.drweil.com
www.rawfamily.com www.louisehay.com
I emailed the names of the books to her. She’s off to a bookstore tomorrow; she’ll find the path that’s right for her.There’s a wealth of information at our disposal. We are blessed. Here’s to your good health, dear friend.

I felt a little sadness lurking while riding a late night train last night. Most everyone looked done in, exhausted, almost sick, and it was only Monday. Either they had a non-stop weekend or a non-stop Monday. I hope it was the weekend because I don’t know, at this rate, how they’ll get through the week. I saw lots of heaviness on the faces of my fellow passengers. Only the conductor looked alert and rather happy. If it’s the job that’s doing this, let them please find something that adds not subtracts to their being. A couple of people were bent over with heads against the seat in front of them. Hmm! When the train arrived at their station, they lifted themselves from the seat as if their bodies were holding them down. As we stopped at each station along the way, weary looking people, gathered their belongings, and walked up the aisle. I wasn’t staring, but even if I was, they wouldn’t have noticed. Their thoughts were far away.

“Your security is your ability to connect with the Cosmic power that creates all things.” -Florence Scovel Shinn

“Choose your passion, not your pension.” -Denis Waitley www.waitley.com

“The more you are able to honor and accept the Now, the more you are free of pain, suffering – and free of the egoic mind.” Eckhart Tolle www.eckharttolle.com

“It’s foolish how we rush through life and cry that time is on the wing. We’re living in eternity, and time is just a clockmade thing.” -R. McCann

I like to find natural remedies to heal what ails instead of grabbing something over-the-counter for quick relief. Of course, it’s important to know the source of the information so as not to end up feeling worse than before. Delving into this area which is full-to-the-brim with information is immensely interesting, and surprising because of the amazing things one learns, and it’s fun.

Apple Cider Vinegar is good for many things. There are books written just about ACV. Bragg’s is a very good brand. I have Dr. Earl Mindell’s Amazing Apple Cider Vinegar book. He’s been in the natural health field for years. www.bragg.com www.drearlmindell.com

I came across some of Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D. writings. He healed himself from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia when he was in his 20’s, and had to drop out of medical school for a time. I’ll definitely check out his books, some of which are, From Fatigue to Fantastic, Three Steps to Happiness! Healing Through Joy, and Pain Free 1-2-3! His is an interesting story.

I’ve heard and read about the many uses of hydrogen peroxide from lots of different sources. I use it as a mouth wash every night instead of you know what. I’ve heard two mischievous comments about this. Someone told me that my tongue would turn black if I used hydrogen peroxide as a mouth wash. That brought an interesting picture to my mind. Another person said my teeth would corrode. Hmm! Two reasons for having reliable sources of information. Once upon a time, I took a colonic course in Florida with Helen Wood, and came away with, among other things, a double-sided paper listing the benefits of hydrogen peroxide-the kind bought in a drug store. The list is still packed away in Alicia’s and Michael’s shed. Some day I’ll retrieve it and copy it for you. That sounds like a plan.

We know about garlic’s power. Garlic is great. Don’t worry-chewing on parsley will eliminate garlic breath.

This is fun. I’ll go through notes I’ve collected from here and there, and add more soon.

In the meantime, let’s get rid of negative stress, and laugh more. That sounds like a plan, too.

Enjoy the day!

East West Books at 78 Fifth Avenue @ 14th Street in New York City was closed for about one year for renovations. They’ve finally opened their doors, and waiting for us are “30,000 books in over 40 sections.” On their website you’ll find a wonderful array of events listed on their calendar. www.eastwestnyc.com The following is an idea of what’s happening this week-

Wednesday, 2 May, 6-8pm legendary Brazilian Elder-Clara Shinobu Iura “. . . in the heart of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and one of the Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers featured on Grandmothers Counsel the World: Women Elders Offer Their Vision for Our Planet.” talk and book signing East West Cafe, $-0-

Thursday, 3 May, 6:30-8:30pm Sacred Medicine “We welcome you to join us for an interactive exploration of Harmonic Resonance, facilitated by Sonic Alchemist and Metaphysical Channel Maryanne Savino who will take us on a guided Sonic Journey . . . ” East West Yoga Studio, $25

Friday, 4 May, 6:30-9:30pm The Laws of Vibration Via Kundalini Yoga with Grace Kim – “Kundalini Yoga was once a secret ancient science but now it is open to all who want to manifest prosperity and have the experience of an infinite horizon on a regular basis.” Yoga Studio, $60 per drop-in, $300 for all 6 classes

Saturday, 5 May, 7-9pm Make Music Kirtan (Call and Response Chanting) “Enjoy an evening of true bliss and communion with the Divine within all of us. Swami Ramakrishananda Yoga Vedanta Mission will lead an uplifting and healing kirtan for all.” Yoga Studio, $15

Sunday, 6 May, 10-2pm, A professioanal workshop with Mark Seltzman on Your Life Is In Your Hands The Art and Science of Reading Hands Yoga Studio, $70 with pre-registration, $90 drop-in

In the future, they’re planning on having workshops on using pendulums, wands and singing bowls.

Are you smiling yet?

If you have a free weekend or more, and have money in your account screaming to be used, I have an idea. I know someone who’s been researching spas and decided that the Chopra Wellness Center in NYC could very nicely handle a desire of hers to straighten out the way she thinks about food, pamper her body with massages, manicures, pedicures, yoga, meditation, speak the ayurvedic language so that she’s not always in the process of trying to understand it, and help her to heal from cancer – all this in a setting that speaks of beauty from the moment one enters its doors. www.chopra.com

When I was at Optimum Health Institute in San Diego, a few of us who were staying there took a ride to La Jolla. As we walked along the town, we noticed The Chopra Wellness Center and walked in. A staff member took us on a tour of all the facilities, also the kitchen, the beautiful dining area, and the retail shop where I bought a cd. Eventually the cd landed in the hands of the person sitting next to me in a bus heading for Boquete in Panama. When I think about that cd, I know it was not really meant for me. I was just the delivery person for the one who now has it. And that’s why I smile when I think of the Chopra Wellness Center. It wasn’t very long ago that this center with Deepak Chopra and David Simon opened its doors in NYC. The body, mind and spirit places took their time in coming to NYC. But Hallelujah!-they’re here. www.optimumhealthinstitute.com

I read scathing comments about Deepak Chopra on a website. There are times when well-known people have to endure all kinds of comments from all kinds of people. What’s funny about this is that those commenting are so sure of their own way of thinking, and for them it comes down to them being perfectly right and the other guy being perfectly wrong. It’s really quite interesting, or entertaining, depending on how you look at it. What Chopra has to say is not for everyone, and if his writings grind on you, there’s an option of not reading the books. It’s amusing how bent out of shape some people get when they don’t agree with someone. It is as it is.

The word is out that so many of the opinions we 1) hold to our bosom 2) defend at the expense of losing a friend 3) keep us in a prison of our own making 4) sometimes lose our life over – are not our own. What a neat thing to know, sounds like a valuable bit of information to have. These opinions, beliefs, statements have been accumulating in our storage system since we were babes. We didn’t have a chance to figure out what our take on life could be because we learned about the things of life from everyone else – the this ‘n that of what they’ve accumulated. That’s the way of the world. However, now we can think about singing our own songs.

It’s time for us to figure out what’s ours and what’s not – sort of categorize opinions and beliefs and begin anew. Why not? Think of the possibilities. Imagine another view, one we’re capable of choosing because we were born with our own song in our heart. Of course, they’ll be that old companion, fear, right at our side. It could be that its bark is a lot worse than its bite. We just have an uncanny way of making it seem bigger than life. Seems that it likes to be heard, but when we pretend not to hear it – to simply go along our own way, finally trusting in our own selves, it gets lonesome and starts looking for a new place to hover around.

When the universe comes knocking at our door to help us learn more about ourself and Life, a lot of times it does this in the form of what we call pain and suffering. We forget that there’s lots of opportunity to learn and grow with these experiences of pain and suffering. But because we believe everything we’ve learned, we keep bolting the door, afraid of change, afraid to step up to the plate. So, the universe knocks harder and longer, and perhaps gives us a wallop or two to bring us to our senses, and to give us another opportunity to change what’s not working. These experiences seem to be the only way we, sometimes foolish, humans learn. Better to learn and go on our merry way than to stay with the same old story.

We don’t like it when things go wrong in our life. Well, of course not. That seems like a silly sentence. Ah, but let’s go back. If we don’t like when things go wrong, why do we keep doing things in the same way? If we were paying attention to Life, we should have learned by now that when things go wrong it’s an opportunity to make them right. Does that make sense?

So, the universe comes knocking at our door, and asking, are you ready? If we bolt the door, and cry in our misery, we’re never going to discover what the universe has in store for us. When we read the stories of people coming from places that are so far removed from where they are now, it’s mostly because they weren’t afraid to open the door, shake up their world, find out what needs to happen for change to occur, to take matters into their own hands, so to speak, – to begin to understand, to not be afraid of shedding worn out beliefs, opinions, etc.

The universe tries and tries, but somehow in our misery we don’t see it that way. It’s a pattern we’ve learned, along with the opinions of others, the beliefs of others, the seemingly written-in-stone statements of others. It’s so hard at first, but on second thought, it’s harder to stay and do nothing, to wallow in the accumulated beliefs and opinions, pain and suffering that have a way of blurring the truth until we decide we want to see the light – no matter what.

“Do you know the meditations of our poet Rumi?
He has written that there is no reason for fear.
It is our imagination that blocks us just as a wooden bolt holds the door.”

Eckhart Tolle writes over and over that, “The quality of your consciousness at this moment is what shapes the future.” This has been written in many languages, in untold ways, in areas all over the world, since ancient times. And it appears that it’s true. But the only way we’ll know for sure whether it’s true or not is to prove it to ourselves. There’s a movie, The Secret, that’s capturing people’s attention. Out of the blue someone starts talking about it. I know people who are watching it a few times a week. It’s also going around by word of mouth. It appears to have a hold on people. It sounds like a perfect bedtime movie. I haven’t watched it yet, but I’m finding it nice just to listen to the comments from people who have. Perhaps it, too, says the same things as Eckhart Tolle’s writings in that it’s proclaiming there’s another way to be in this world. Bookshops, new and used, have always had an assortment of writings by authors who’ve tried to tell us, all in their own fashion, that there’s a far better way to live in this world than the way we’ve been taught. They’re all saying that it’s time to listen up.

Eckhart Tolle’s writings are centered in the present moment, and from there he discusses the mind, and a whole slew of ways it has of taking us away from the present moment and keeping us in ego mode. Essentially, he tells us that it controls us. Again and again he takes us back to the present moment. He says it’s all we’ll ever have. When we begin to practice this present moment living, we start to become aware of what we say and how we say it. And when we find ourselves stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted, we realize we’ve strayed from present moment time. He has a lot to say about the ego, the monkey mind, relationships, stress, and all the other ways we have of keeping ourselves in a form of bondage. However, we’ll never know the truth of it until we make it our own.

The reason I’m thinking of forgiveness is that I spent a lovely afternoon with a new friend. She easily moved from one topic of conversation to the next. Conversation was light and fun until the beginning of early evening. Then she began talking about her sister. The unhappy marriage she’s in has caused a rift in the sisters’ relationship. It was once close, now it’s pretty much non-existent . Her sister can’t seem to get out of her own way, she said. Bitterness over a bad marriage is ruining her life.

After listening to the story I asked the question I feel anyone would have asked, “Why doesn’t she leave?” she answered, “She can’t. She’s afraid of losing everything.” Well, what can be said about that kind of response? Some people would have walked away at the first whisperings of unfaithfulness, others would have given it their all until their all was depleted. Living with bitterness year after year, and probably lots of other stuff arising from this lifestyle, is not living. But it’s a choice she made. Although she probably doesn’t see it that way. And the other sister is hurting too watching her sister’s pain. Those involved are no longer alive. So, maybe now it’s time for a change of attitude.

Of course, we couldn’t leave the subject alone after discussing it to this extent. My new friend thought her sister could at least try for a happy life since she’s made a decision to stay. However, she said there’s no way she could ever forgive him. Well, I can’t imagine how life is for those two living together under those circumstances. But, “To each his own.”

So, I got to thinking about the power of forgiveness. It’s a hard thing to do. But when you get to a place where you’re hemmed in and life is so painful, what else is there to do? I once heard a wise lecturer tell his audience, “If you can’t find a good enough reason to forgive, do it for yourself.”

It seems to come down to this for us:
“He who cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.” -Corrie Ten Boom

and this:
“I will not permit any man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him”-Booker T. Washington

and this:
“If you are suffering from a bad man’s injustice, forgive him, lest there be two bad men.” – Augustine

and this:
“When you forgive, you in no way change the past – but you sure do change the future.” -Bernard Meltzer

and this:
“Forgiveness is impossible in human consciousness, but very possible and manageable in spiritual consciousness.” – Eric Butterworth