Thursday, April 18, 2013
Monday, April 15, 2013
Don't you get cold in winter? an article by Holly Paige
Answering the perennial question rawfoodists get asked!
As someone who claims to prefer tropical sunshine somehow I find myself yet again doing winter in the dark and cold of these magical isles. By now I have a strategy and each year I seem to put together more of the pieces. In the process of being raw at a latitude such as that of Britain we can learn much about human needs that we would never need to even think about if we lived in a biologically more suitable climate.
Something I personally noticed the first winter I was completely raw was how much warmer I felt in the colder months. I had always been the kind of person who felt the cold pretty extremely – I like to be very warm. Now I found I could enjoy treading out in the frosty garden with bare feet and that I no longer needed to soak in hot baths to restore my circulation after a trip out. I noticed that eating raw food gave me a kind of summer feeling, leading to the conclusion that much of the apparent effect of winter is to do with stodgy food and disconnection from nature. I know that people vary in the way that a raw diet affects them. There are many ways to do raw food and many different constitutions. Sitting writing this in a sleeveless top on a December evening, I am hoping that some of the suggestions in this article will help you experience some of the same benefits.
As well as stodgy food, potential disconnection from nature and lack of exercise by staying indoors there are of course two major hazards associated with winter – lack of light and lack of warmth. These are real biological concerns for our species. We could be said to de designed for a life in the tropics or sub-tropics where the amount of light, warmth and tropical fruit is ideal for us. However, as a supremely adaptable species we are capable of flourishing in a wide variety of circumstances if we put our minds to it. In this article we will look at how we can happily eat raw food in winter and thereby enjoy that summery feeling inside. Also we will consider how we can boost our metabolisms to help us keep warm and help our immune systems functioning optimally. Then there is the question of how we compensate for reduced sunlight. Last, but not least there is the importance of maintaining connection with the earth and exercising.
Raw does not mean cold!
When people think of the horrors of eating raw food in winter they are in all likelihood thinking of limp salads straight out of the fridge and missing the rich foods and warming soups and drinks that we find so comforting in winter. Actually there is no reason at all not to have warm foods and liquids as part of a raw food diet. In our natural environment our food would all be slightly warm anyway so it would seem to be an ideal way to consume it. Warm superfood elixirs and vegetable soups can be made by using herbal teas as a base or even heating very carefully over a low heat. The key point is to keep the food at or below 'biological temperature' which is around 40 degrees celsius or the temperature of your body. Above that temperature the actual structure of some of the nutrients can begin to change. Dehydrators are another way of warming food if you like more solid foods. Spices such as cayenne and ginger boost the circulation and help keep us warm.
Coconut butter/oil and creamed coconut are great ingredients because they support the thyroid and therefore boost metabolism, helping us produce more energy and heat. Iodine is important for the function of the thyroid too and most of us lack it. This is largely because of depletion of mineral levels in the soil, the minerals have been effectively swept out to sea, sea vegetables and particularly kelp are some of the best sources. We need to be cautious about habitually eating large amounts of cruciferous vegetables raw because they contain goitrogens, compounds which interfere in the uptake of iodine by the thyroid. However small amounts of goitrogens may have a beneficial health effect if balanced by ample amounts of iodine in the diet. Examples of cruciferous vegetables include kale, spinach, broccoli and cabbage. In traditional diets they were often fermented which introduces helpful probiotics. You can watch how to make cultured vegetables here: www.tinyurl.com/rawcultured
Animals who live in cold climates and fish who swim in cold waters have a high percentage of omega 3 fatty acids in their bodies, and in the case of animals, especially in their feet. Many people notice that when the weather gets colder they are drawn to foods that contain these oils. Omega 3's are polyunsaturated fats which stay liquid at low temperatures and it would seem that they help our bodies function in these circumstances. Seed oils such as those of flax and hemp and also fish liver oils are examples. It seems like we need denser foods in general in winter to compensate for the lack of warmth and sunshine in the outside world. If you think about it the energy, nutrients and genetic life information are stored in the seeds of plants during the winter season, ready to sprout forth in the spring. Along similar lines, 'medicinal' mushrooms such as reishi, lion's mane, chaga, tremella and cordyceps feel particularly good in winter and help our immune system. The dried mycellium powders (mycelia are the underground or root-like portions of the mushrooms) are delicious in marinades, dehydrated breads and elixirs. Herbs which boost the immune system also include echinacea, ginseng, garlic, astragalus and cat's claw.
Emotional comfort is important too. There are plenty of raw food snacks we can make and now buy in winter that will help us get through. Green powders such as barley grass, chlorella and spirulina can make up for the reduced availability of salad and wild greens and also help us keep alkalised if we are eating more nuts and seeds than in summer.
Also I have found just imagining being somewhere warm, and putting pictures up of sunny holiday travel destinations radically changes how I feel. They say that you feel the effects of bar of chocolate even when you are thinking about eating it, even taking the first bite, I have found that making plans to visit tropical locations has the same effect on me! Also when we are connected to the nature and the Earth our imaginations are much more connected to reality and therefore more powerful.
Personally I am for keeping ourselves as physically warm enough as we want to be when we are indoors. Below 28 degrees Celsius our bodies go into a mild form of stress maintaining our body temperature. By keeping warm we are allowing our parasympathetic nervous system to operate which means that both our bodies and brains function better. It may be more practical to keep just one part of our dwelling super warm - one of the benefits I have noticed living in a caravan in winter is how much warmer I can keep this small space and there fore how much more relaxed I feel.
Light is a nutrient
Now onto the issue of light. It seems that we assimilate food quite differently when we are in sunshine. Most people notice that they eat differently in summer and when on holiday somewhere hot. There are many clues about this by looking at the traditional diets of people around the world, for example in the work of Dr Weston Price. Basically, the further away you go from the equator, the higher percentage of animal foods including dairy products were traditionally included in the diet. It is as if when we moved away from our biological habitat we had to use the resources of species who could assimilate nutrients from plants that grew there, function successfully in the lower levels of sunlight, and could live unclothed outdoors to make use of the light there is. One of the factors involved is so-called fat soluble vitamins. They are principally vitamins A, D and K, which although found in plants, are in the form we can use them in animal products such as dairy. These vitamins are essential for the body to actually make use of minerals such as calcium. Of course we can get vitamin D from sunshine but the fact is that between about September and March in the British Isles, the sun is too low to shine UVB light on our skins to make vitamin D. So – either we need to eat vitamin D rich foods or use a supplement. Sun-showers (a kind of stand up cubicle version of a sun-bed which emits carefully regulated doses of UVB) are also helpful if there is one in your area. Of course many people find that full-spectrum lighting really helps them maintain a good mood throughout the darker months.
Charge up from the Earth not the mains!
It is tempting in winter to hole up indoors but actually if we can get out for a brisk walk in nature, even the local park, we are going to feel a whole lot better. Of course regular exercise improves our metabolism and makes us feel significantly warmer. It also helps us generate the feel-good brain chemical serotonin out of the amino acid tryptophan, get the lymphatic system moving and boost endorphin levels. We need connection with nature for mental well-being and, hesitant though I am to mention it, barefoot connection with the earth is as beneficial to us in winter as it is in summer. If you have not heard Clint Ober talking about the health benefits of earthing it is well worth listening to this fascinating interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY3w8kDn2Eo With all the preceding suggestions in place maybe a barefoot foray outdoors will seem appealing. Putting in all the components to keep well in winter takes more self-discipline and conscious awareness than in summer but is well worth the effort not least because it gives us a good start in spring.
On this note, I have noticed a strong if subtle difference to my experience in winter through wearing natural fabrics such as hemp, linen, organic cotton, bamboo and wool. They seem to help us keep a connection with the natural life force, the connection we take for granted in summer when we automatically tend to expose bare skin to the elements. Living structure has a pattern based on a ratio named the golden ratio which allows energetic information to flow freely through their material.
Enjoying the magic of winter We are very lucky in the British Isles to experience a kind of roller coaster of light levels which influenced the magical traditions and spirituality of the indigenous peoples for example the Celts. In summer we are very aware of the beauty of nature in the outer world. As the light levels fall in winter our melatonin production increases. This makes us feel more sleepy but also induces a more meditative state and gives us the chance to experience the magic of the inner worlds of our imaginations and psychic awareness. The more natural and nourishing we can keep our diets, the more elevated and relaxed we can keep our brain chemistry, and the stronger we can keep our connection with the Earth, the greater the chance we have to experience this.
Two delicious vegetable soups for winter
From Kenny Sunshine
Alkalising soup with vegetable juice and cucumber.
16 -20 oz juiced celery, beet, onion, garlic, ginger and lemon
1 avocado
half a red bell pepper
half a cucumber (English)
pinch salt
pinch cayenne
Blend all ingredients and warm gently if desired
Garnish with some tasty dehydrated crackers, cubed raw goats cheese and alfalfa sprouts
Rich and warming soup made with tea
1 sweet potato
1 courgette
1 leek
60g creamed coconut
40g seaweed – wakame or sea spaghetti recommended
yogi or other tea
salt and pepper to taste
soak seaweed in tea
blend everything
serve with garnish of sprouts or yoghurt .
Written by Holly Paige for funky raw magazine
www.foodforconsciousness.co.uk
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Five Additions to your Raw Diet that could make all the Difference
Written by Kenny Sunshine and Holly Paige
Have you reached a point of diminishing returns with your raw diet? If so (and even if not) you might want to consider some of the incredible technological breakthroughs that have occurred and continue to occur in the field of raw food nutrition and herbal supplementation. We are very excited and enthused about some of the discoveries that have been made in this field and the implications they have in regard to increasing our health, well being and our ultimate longevity. Below are a few suggestions we want to make to you so as to hopefully enhance your life and the lives of those you love.
Royal Jelly
All bee products in general have an incredibly vast array of health benefits but royal jelly has been hailed by some authorities as the crown jewel of them all; because so little is produced, the nutrients are concentrated into a very small amount The queen bee's reign of a hive (most of her lifespan) is around four years, generally 20 – 25 times longer than the lifespan that of the infertile worker bees. Why is this? Well one reason that seems pretty obvious is that once she is selected as a baby, she is fed on royal jelly exclusively. The queen is genetically the same as the workers or drones, what happens is that the chemical cocktail present in the royal jelly effectively reinterprets the way the DNA is read to produce a very different bee. Because of the royal jelly the baby queen's body changes significantly in form and becomes 40% larger, longer and noticeably more elegant. Royal Jelly contains a chemical called 10-HDA which is only found in Royal Jelly and cannot be made artificially. It is believed that 10-HDA is responsible for the many health benefits that Royal Jelly promotes. Fresh royal jelly is extremely antibacterial. "The food and drug administration (a US based governing body that regulates the food and pharmaceutical industries) has stated that fresh royal jelly is a more powerful germ killer than most forms of commercial disinfectant for example Formalin which is used for body preservation and also carbolic acid. It is very high in Pantothenic acid or B5 which is proven to increase the life span of animals that are fed it as opposed to those that are not by 18 per cent! If you compared this to the average human lifespan it would be about 13 years longer. Royal jelly also contains a form of gelatin that is a precursor to collagen production. As we get older our ability to produce collagen diminishes hence wrinkles, crows feet and blotchy skin start to turn up on our faces. Royal jelly, because of this can help to maintain the elasticity of our skin and keep us looking young. Other proven and reported benefits from using royal jelly are increased and improved neural transmission, better short term memory, reduction in cholesterol deposits, reduction in risk of heart disease and improved endocrine/glandular function. Our DNA is read, not only when we are developing as babies but all through our lives as our bodies and brains are being regenerated. Because of its ability to enhance bees DNA expression the same may be true for humans.
TA65
In 1984 at the university of Berkeley, California Carol Greider and Elizabeth Blackburn discovered an enzyme called telomerase. This enzyme plays a vital role in the function of our DNA/RNA make up. At the end of our DNA, separate from the helix, there are single strand repeats of DNA that in the past seemed to have no obvious function and were originally coined by scientists as 'junk DNA' Telomeres are part of this 'junk DNA'. Every time cell division occurs (approximately 1 million cells per second) these single cell repeats become shorter. By the time we get to our later years the telomeres become very short and pave the way for all kinds of physical problems and degenerative diseases to commence. The enzyme telomerase is able to add length to the telomeres. A common denominator of people who live longer than average is that they have longer telomeres. Telomerase contains the instructions on how to add back cell division repeats on the end of the DNA. According to the research if you can keep adding these repeats then the cells can keep dividing indefinitely. So what does this have to do with the supplement TA65? Researchers at the cutting edge of nutritional science some time ago discovered a saponin that exists in a certain strain of the Chinese herb astragalus that has the capacity to turn production of telomerase on. TA-65 is the first well studied and proven substance to add length to these telomeres. It is made by a company called T.A. Sciences (Telomerase Activation Sciences) who have been granted exclusive rights to market it from the originating company Geron Corporation. A massive amount of astragalus is used in order to extract this compound and each capsule contains around 90%. Because of this a years supply could currently cost around £1700 to £5000. Now this may seem bit steep. But the question I would ask myself is “How much is an extra 10 – 30 years of lifespan worth to me? Older people generally have the fastest reaction to this substance as they are the ones with the shortest telomere length. Even better news – there may well be, before too long, much more modestly priced versions available – watch this space for news!
Zeolites
The emergence of zeolite as a supplement has been a great affirmation that every crisis produces its own miracles. It has come as a wonderful gift to us in these times of seemingly all-pervading pollution. Used in the clean-up after Chernobyl, zeolite began to be sold as a supplement for detoxifying the human body in the 1990's. Simply put, zeolite looks like a honeycomb and carries a charge that allows it to capture toxins. At the same time it is inert and therefore does not react chemically with food or body fluids. Zeolites have many health benefits and uses. They bond with and remove a variety of toxins including heavy metals (e.g. lead, cadmium, aluminium, arsenic and mercury), nitrosamines and radioactive metals such as strontium-90 and caesium. They act as a powerful antioxidant and help buffer body pH to healthy alkalinity. They help remove pesticides, herbicides and dioxins, reduce viral load, help buffer blood sugar levels, improve nutrient absorption, promote healthy gut flora, reduce allergic reactions, enhance immune system and generally help prevent premature ageing. Like many people, I had been feeling amazing benefits with powdered zeolites for years and was looking for a liquid zeolite which had preserved the structure that is so crucial to its action and also was affordable on an everyday lifestyle. To produce 'Pure Body' liquid zeolite the company that make it, Touchstone, have managed to reduce the particles to a small enough size to enter the bloodstream (0.3 microns) without crushing the zeolite cages. The majority of the particles are between 0.1 and 0.5 microns. The particles over 0.3 microns in size proceed to the large intestine where they trap toxins in the colon. Many people on trying this product report clearer thinking and lots more inspiration and ideas,also a resulting detoxification of their lives in general. I can personally testify to the astonishing effects this zeolite has had on my life increasing my work stamina, reducing my need for food and bringing to a head for clearing situations in my inner and outer world that had lingered in my life for years. This nutritional journey is a a spiritual as well as a physical one! There is now available a colloidal version which is faster acting and extra strength and in a league of its own. The particle size has been reduced to under 10 nanometers and suspended inside water molecules to quickly travel throughout the body reaching places other zeolites cannot reach... you can find out more here http://www.foodforconsciousness.mytouchstoneessentials.com/
Co Q10
Fourthly we come to co-enzyme Q 10, or the form which is more easily utilised by the body, especially as we get older, ubiquinol. Co Q 10 is used by every cell in the body to produce energy and helps convert food to energy. It is anti-oxidant and anti-aging. After the age of 30 production of coQ10 in the body begins to decline and the only substantial dietary sources are really found amongst meats especially organ meats. This may be one of the reasons former vegetarians are drawn to meat as they become older. If we chose not to eat flesh foods then it would be wise to consider supplementation of certain nutrients. In their pristine biological state it is likely that humans were and would be more able to assimilate and/or synthesis nutrients in a way that is difficult for most of us today. Supplementation can certainly be part of our journey back. Fast and phenomenal benefits can happen with ubiquinol, quickly regaining youthful speed and stamina that is such a boon in life. The ubiquinol form has been available since about 2006 and some health food shops stock it; if is not available in your local area you can find it online.
progesterone cream
Last but not least and especially for the many women who unnecessarily suffer at the hands of their own hormones, progesterone cream! It's a simple fact that humans today generally have unbalanced sex hormones - we have unbalanced levels of oestrogen and testosterone and this causes us more problems than are generally understood. This has been the case to some degree for thousands of years and is due to the reduction of flavonoids (fruit compounds) in our diets and the reduction of melatonin output by the pineal gland. Flavonoids and melatonin help keep the levels of oestrogen and testosterone in balance with other biochemicals in the body. In women now there is too much oestrogen compared to progesterone. This is an increasing problem even for young women and as women go through the years, this imbalance, or 'oestrogen dominance', gets more extreme eventually producing 'peri-menopausal' and 'menopausal' symptoms. To further compound the situation, in modern times we have the arrival of oestrogen mimicers, xenoestrogens, in chemicals in our environment, including plastics. The unpleasant symptoms of oestrogen dominance/progesterone deficiency can include depression, anxiety, premenstrual syndrome and excessive bleeding, inability to maintain pregnancies, interference with thyroid function and increased risk of reproductive cancers. Fortunately there are some simple things we can do to alleviate these symptoms and a natural progesterone cream is one of them. Wellsprings Serenity cream is probably the best one currently available and is very affordable. http://www.progesterone.co.uk/progesteronecream.htm. By rubbing a tiny amount into the body for half or more the days of the cycle, progesterone levels are gradually restored. The benefits may be noticed very quickly and also increase over a period of time. We sincerely hope you benefit from this information and add just one note, the best results come with consistent use over a long enough duration in time. Persistence with all aspects of nutrition and lifestyle habits can work miracles! You can find more information and links at our websites: www.foodforconsciousness.co.uk
Written by Holly paige and kenny sunshine Originally published in funky raw magazine http://www.funkyraw.com
Have you reached a point of diminishing returns with your raw diet? If so (and even if not) you might want to consider some of the incredible technological breakthroughs that have occurred and continue to occur in the field of raw food nutrition and herbal supplementation. We are very excited and enthused about some of the discoveries that have been made in this field and the implications they have in regard to increasing our health, well being and our ultimate longevity. Below are a few suggestions we want to make to you so as to hopefully enhance your life and the lives of those you love.
Royal Jelly
All bee products in general have an incredibly vast array of health benefits but royal jelly has been hailed by some authorities as the crown jewel of them all; because so little is produced, the nutrients are concentrated into a very small amount The queen bee's reign of a hive (most of her lifespan) is around four years, generally 20 – 25 times longer than the lifespan that of the infertile worker bees. Why is this? Well one reason that seems pretty obvious is that once she is selected as a baby, she is fed on royal jelly exclusively. The queen is genetically the same as the workers or drones, what happens is that the chemical cocktail present in the royal jelly effectively reinterprets the way the DNA is read to produce a very different bee. Because of the royal jelly the baby queen's body changes significantly in form and becomes 40% larger, longer and noticeably more elegant. Royal Jelly contains a chemical called 10-HDA which is only found in Royal Jelly and cannot be made artificially. It is believed that 10-HDA is responsible for the many health benefits that Royal Jelly promotes. Fresh royal jelly is extremely antibacterial. "The food and drug administration (a US based governing body that regulates the food and pharmaceutical industries) has stated that fresh royal jelly is a more powerful germ killer than most forms of commercial disinfectant for example Formalin which is used for body preservation and also carbolic acid. It is very high in Pantothenic acid or B5 which is proven to increase the life span of animals that are fed it as opposed to those that are not by 18 per cent! If you compared this to the average human lifespan it would be about 13 years longer. Royal jelly also contains a form of gelatin that is a precursor to collagen production. As we get older our ability to produce collagen diminishes hence wrinkles, crows feet and blotchy skin start to turn up on our faces. Royal jelly, because of this can help to maintain the elasticity of our skin and keep us looking young. Other proven and reported benefits from using royal jelly are increased and improved neural transmission, better short term memory, reduction in cholesterol deposits, reduction in risk of heart disease and improved endocrine/glandular function. Our DNA is read, not only when we are developing as babies but all through our lives as our bodies and brains are being regenerated. Because of its ability to enhance bees DNA expression the same may be true for humans.
TA65
In 1984 at the university of Berkeley, California Carol Greider and Elizabeth Blackburn discovered an enzyme called telomerase. This enzyme plays a vital role in the function of our DNA/RNA make up. At the end of our DNA, separate from the helix, there are single strand repeats of DNA that in the past seemed to have no obvious function and were originally coined by scientists as 'junk DNA' Telomeres are part of this 'junk DNA'. Every time cell division occurs (approximately 1 million cells per second) these single cell repeats become shorter. By the time we get to our later years the telomeres become very short and pave the way for all kinds of physical problems and degenerative diseases to commence. The enzyme telomerase is able to add length to the telomeres. A common denominator of people who live longer than average is that they have longer telomeres. Telomerase contains the instructions on how to add back cell division repeats on the end of the DNA. According to the research if you can keep adding these repeats then the cells can keep dividing indefinitely. So what does this have to do with the supplement TA65? Researchers at the cutting edge of nutritional science some time ago discovered a saponin that exists in a certain strain of the Chinese herb astragalus that has the capacity to turn production of telomerase on. TA-65 is the first well studied and proven substance to add length to these telomeres. It is made by a company called T.A. Sciences (Telomerase Activation Sciences) who have been granted exclusive rights to market it from the originating company Geron Corporation. A massive amount of astragalus is used in order to extract this compound and each capsule contains around 90%. Because of this a years supply could currently cost around £1700 to £5000. Now this may seem bit steep. But the question I would ask myself is “How much is an extra 10 – 30 years of lifespan worth to me? Older people generally have the fastest reaction to this substance as they are the ones with the shortest telomere length. Even better news – there may well be, before too long, much more modestly priced versions available – watch this space for news!
Zeolites
The emergence of zeolite as a supplement has been a great affirmation that every crisis produces its own miracles. It has come as a wonderful gift to us in these times of seemingly all-pervading pollution. Used in the clean-up after Chernobyl, zeolite began to be sold as a supplement for detoxifying the human body in the 1990's. Simply put, zeolite looks like a honeycomb and carries a charge that allows it to capture toxins. At the same time it is inert and therefore does not react chemically with food or body fluids. Zeolites have many health benefits and uses. They bond with and remove a variety of toxins including heavy metals (e.g. lead, cadmium, aluminium, arsenic and mercury), nitrosamines and radioactive metals such as strontium-90 and caesium. They act as a powerful antioxidant and help buffer body pH to healthy alkalinity. They help remove pesticides, herbicides and dioxins, reduce viral load, help buffer blood sugar levels, improve nutrient absorption, promote healthy gut flora, reduce allergic reactions, enhance immune system and generally help prevent premature ageing. Like many people, I had been feeling amazing benefits with powdered zeolites for years and was looking for a liquid zeolite which had preserved the structure that is so crucial to its action and also was affordable on an everyday lifestyle. To produce 'Pure Body' liquid zeolite the company that make it, Touchstone, have managed to reduce the particles to a small enough size to enter the bloodstream (0.3 microns) without crushing the zeolite cages. The majority of the particles are between 0.1 and 0.5 microns. The particles over 0.3 microns in size proceed to the large intestine where they trap toxins in the colon. Many people on trying this product report clearer thinking and lots more inspiration and ideas,also a resulting detoxification of their lives in general. I can personally testify to the astonishing effects this zeolite has had on my life increasing my work stamina, reducing my need for food and bringing to a head for clearing situations in my inner and outer world that had lingered in my life for years. This nutritional journey is a a spiritual as well as a physical one! There is now available a colloidal version which is faster acting and extra strength and in a league of its own. The particle size has been reduced to under 10 nanometers and suspended inside water molecules to quickly travel throughout the body reaching places other zeolites cannot reach... you can find out more here http://www.foodforconsciousness.mytouchstoneessentials.com/
Co Q10
Fourthly we come to co-enzyme Q 10, or the form which is more easily utilised by the body, especially as we get older, ubiquinol. Co Q 10 is used by every cell in the body to produce energy and helps convert food to energy. It is anti-oxidant and anti-aging. After the age of 30 production of coQ10 in the body begins to decline and the only substantial dietary sources are really found amongst meats especially organ meats. This may be one of the reasons former vegetarians are drawn to meat as they become older. If we chose not to eat flesh foods then it would be wise to consider supplementation of certain nutrients. In their pristine biological state it is likely that humans were and would be more able to assimilate and/or synthesis nutrients in a way that is difficult for most of us today. Supplementation can certainly be part of our journey back. Fast and phenomenal benefits can happen with ubiquinol, quickly regaining youthful speed and stamina that is such a boon in life. The ubiquinol form has been available since about 2006 and some health food shops stock it; if is not available in your local area you can find it online.
progesterone cream
Last but not least and especially for the many women who unnecessarily suffer at the hands of their own hormones, progesterone cream! It's a simple fact that humans today generally have unbalanced sex hormones - we have unbalanced levels of oestrogen and testosterone and this causes us more problems than are generally understood. This has been the case to some degree for thousands of years and is due to the reduction of flavonoids (fruit compounds) in our diets and the reduction of melatonin output by the pineal gland. Flavonoids and melatonin help keep the levels of oestrogen and testosterone in balance with other biochemicals in the body. In women now there is too much oestrogen compared to progesterone. This is an increasing problem even for young women and as women go through the years, this imbalance, or 'oestrogen dominance', gets more extreme eventually producing 'peri-menopausal' and 'menopausal' symptoms. To further compound the situation, in modern times we have the arrival of oestrogen mimicers, xenoestrogens, in chemicals in our environment, including plastics. The unpleasant symptoms of oestrogen dominance/progesterone deficiency can include depression, anxiety, premenstrual syndrome and excessive bleeding, inability to maintain pregnancies, interference with thyroid function and increased risk of reproductive cancers. Fortunately there are some simple things we can do to alleviate these symptoms and a natural progesterone cream is one of them. Wellsprings Serenity cream is probably the best one currently available and is very affordable. http://www.progesterone.co.uk/progesteronecream.htm. By rubbing a tiny amount into the body for half or more the days of the cycle, progesterone levels are gradually restored. The benefits may be noticed very quickly and also increase over a period of time. We sincerely hope you benefit from this information and add just one note, the best results come with consistent use over a long enough duration in time. Persistence with all aspects of nutrition and lifestyle habits can work miracles! You can find more information and links at our websites: www.foodforconsciousness.co.uk
Written by Holly paige and kenny sunshine Originally published in funky raw magazine http://www.funkyraw.com
Friday, April 12, 2013
Life is a precious gift.
Here on planet Earth in the 21st century there seems to be an epidemic of various physical diseases. But what about the underlying emotional malady that is also running rampantly in our society? Here in England when you ask people how it’s going the response more often than not goes something like this “not too shabby” of “I’m coping” or “I’ve been better” etcetera. Self-pity, victim-hood or the ‘poor me’ syndrome is probably the most prevalent emotional state you will find as you interact with people on a day to day basis. Well instead of going into a long discourse on the reasons for this and focusing on the problem more than is necessary we want to outline some of the things that can be done on a regular basis so that you can feel good most of the time as opposed to that ‘ down in the dumps’ feeling that for so many people has become a habit and subsequently a way of life. When you are consistently hanging out on the lower end of this emotional scale i.e. self- pity, overwhelm, blame, frustration, depression, hopelessness, helplessness let’s face it, your life doesn’t work as well as it could. On the other hand when you get into a more positive state of mind and feeling on a consistent basis everything changes and life becomes easier and so much more fun. There are many techniques we can use to bring ourselves into alignment but here we want to suggest several that pretty much anyone here is the western world can access and apply immediately.
Raw Food/Detoxification
Obviously it’s going to be pretty difficult for you to be in a high vibration emotionally if your body is in pain so we think this avenue is a priority. Switching over to a predominantly raw plant based diet of vegetables, fruits, seeds/nuts, superfoods, herbs, seaweeds, wild foods and maybe raw/fermented dairy products can be one of if not the best decisions a person ever makes! Aside from stating the obvious reasons for these lifestyle changes i.e. avoiding disease, a compromised food chain, toxic environment etc. there are of course the incredible benefits that have been reported by innumerable raw food veterans such as increased energy levels, a feeling of being lighter and stronger, greater bone density, greater levels of happiness and joy, pains and ailments completely disappearing, greater endurance, weight loss, clearer glowing eyes and skin, drastically improved digestion, clearer more cognitive thinking, greater ability to create abundance and prosperity, increased libido, increased ability to attract the opposite sex, terminal illness disappearing, more harmonious relationships, more real friends, greater spiritual connectedness, a feeling of being more psychic, less need for sleep, greater sensuality (touch, taste smell etc.), greater productivity, greater self-confidence and esteem, happier children and appearing to be younger. Added to all this is an indefinable feeling of well-being, happiness and optimism often referred to as the ‘raw high’ and particularly noticeable when keeping to an all raw diet. This phenomenon is an intriguing one and there is an actual chemical shift in the brain when we take in nutrients undamaged by heat. For example, in response to increased amounts of the undamaged amino acid tryptophan, levels of the pleasure neurotransmitter serotonin go up resulting in increased feelings of happiness and well-being. Raw food does indeed support a natural high and one that is really our natural state. To get the full benefits from a raw food diet it's worth bearing in mind three foundational principles that actually can be applied without going fully raw: hydration, alkalinity and fatty acids. To feel our best we need to make sure we are taking in plenty of liquids – there can be in the form of juices, smoothies and teas as well as water. We need to alkalise our bodies by taking in plenty of greens. And we need to make sure we are ingesting adequate essential fatty acids - these are nutrients which are crucial to brain function and that we cannot manufacture in our own bodies. Omega 3 is the one most likely to be lacking and is found abundantly in hemp, flax and chia seeds, fish liver oil and vegan DHA supplements.
Walking outside, preferably in nature
Walking is one of the most underestimated activities there is with regards to our health and well-being and unfortunately due to reliance on the auto-mobile one of the most underused. Medical science now knows that walking on a regular basis cures depression in more than ninety per cent of cases! Preferably go out into nature or, within a city, find a park and go barefoot. We are more electric than we are chemical and if we were living more as nature intended we would spend far more time walking on the earth, lying in grass, swimming in natural bodies of water and so on. Indeed we would be conceived, born and sleep in contact with the bio-electromagnetic aura of the earth. Planet Earth is like a giant nuclear reactor that emits negatively charged electricity or electrons. These electrons are there in nature as a way for us to be 'grounded' and connected – you could even describe it as 'charged'. Within the charge of the Earth our vibration is modulated so it is in harmony with the circadian rhythms or our environment. Shoes and also our homes for the most part act as insulation from this natural defence mechanism. To find out more about this fascinating subject listen to Clint Ober in a revelatory interview about Earthing here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY3w8kDn2Eo. There is now a lot of information on this subject on the web including the healing of chronic apparently incurable conditions. On the more esoteric side of this subject we receive information and guidance in the day to day living our lives through contact with the Earth, it is almost our original internet connection. Our desires become more health and life-affirming when we are immersed in the Earth's field rather than that of the artificial electric grid. Many years ago Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, in his book Body's Many Cries for Water, made known the crucial importance of drinking adequate water in the maintenance of basic health and prevention of disease. Now we are learning that 'earthing' is a similarly crucial requirement for health. The recommendation is at least 20 minutes twice a day for basic health needs. Of course we all know that spending extended times of time in nature can take us to new heights of well-being. Walking in nature also has a psychological effect due to the effects of moving and looking into the distance and widens our mental horizons and sense that we can move forward in life. When we are walking we are focused on what is in front of us whilst staying subliminally aware of what we are actually doing – in this way it resets us with good mental habits and clears our minds for inspiration.
Smiling and Laughing
Have you ever noticed how it is impossible to be depressed or feel constricted when you are laughing or smiling? In fact there is a reason for the existence of the saying 'laughter is the best medicine'. If you're feeling out of sorts remember to smile it will instantly make you feel better. You could also watch a funny film or if you haven't got time for that go onto you-tube and find something to entertain you for 15-20 minutes. Laughing, whether it is spontaneously occurring or even if you force it by at first pretending creates an electromagnetic response in the brain that subsequently stimulates a chemical release of peptides that have a profoundly beneficial effect in our physical bodies. There are numerous cases people being cured of terminal diseases because they employed a regime of regular laughter instead of scalpels, drugs and radiation. Prove it to yourself by trying it out. Remember the more regularly you do this the better you will feel more of the time.
Thought Field Therapy or Emotional Freedom Techniques
TFT or EFT as it is more commonly known or recognized is one of the most powerful tools that we have personally come across during over a decade of research in the field of energy medicine and transformation. It is a blend of Chinese medicine and modern psychology in which you take two fingers and tap on specific parts of the body that are located on what Chinese medicine calls meridians. According to Chinese medicine these pathways often become blocked which leads to problems in the physical organism. Traditionally Chinese medicine uses various techniques to rectify these blockages most notably acupuncture. Roger Callaghan discovered this technique basically by accident during the earlier part of his career as a psychologist. He was working with one of his clients who had severe phobia of water to the point where she couldn't even give her children baths. One day he asked her where exactly on the body was the source of her emotional distress. She replied “in my gut around the solar plexus area”. He had just come back from Asia where he had been studying rudimentary Chinese medicine and he remembered that the point on the bone below the eye corresponds to that part of the body. He got a hunch and told her to tap the point while thinking about her phobia. She did as he instructed and, to cut a long story short, her phobia was gone permanently! He later went on to experiment with other acupuncture points and various sequences of tapping and came up with the modality called thought field therapy. One of his students, Gary Craig later came up with emotional freedom technique or EFT which is just a slight variation but is basically just as effective. This kind of technique can seem kind of strange and is easy to miss or disregard but it is one of the most powerful and effective ways to change your emotional state and can even transform long standing core beliefs. It is very easy to learn and can be applied in a few minutes on most issues. A friend of mine in California who is a trained practitioner works predominantly with African Americans who are underprivileged (and a lot of the time homeless) in the ghetto of the bay area cities Oakland and Berkeley told me a few years ago that since he switched his modality from NLP to EFT he has had a 95% plus success rate with clients regardless of the issue! He was getting about 70% with the neurolinguistic programming which is pretty good but going up more than 20% is a very significant increase and so he has never turned back. I have met lots of people who missed this one simply because they didn't really apply it in their lives long enough or consistently enough for the effects of it to register on their senses. Don't be one of those people! Check out these links and learn how to apply this technology in your life. What happens may amaze you. You can download a free guides to tapping AT Roger Callahan's site, www.rogercallahan.com and www.thetappingsolution.com and a free guide to EFT at Gary Craig's site www.garythink.com. The tapping routine is very quick, simple and straightforward and moments when we are emotionally uncomfortable become ideal opportunities to permanently clear long-standing issues and access resources within ourselves that we never realised we had. Discord with or the loss of another person from our lives is the hardest pain that most of us experience and there is even a tailored tapping routine that can relieve this kind of trauma that might otherwise take months or even years of grieving.
Exercise.
Now a lot of people are resistant to this topic mainly because it is often looked upon as something that is to be tolerated and endured. This is mostly a mental block and is often based upon how we think things should be. A great approach is to choose a form of exercise that is (a) fun for you and (b) rather than punishing yourself and telling yourself you have to go through some long drawn out ordeal realise that you can get a lot done in just 10 – 15 minute bursts which can be repeated several times a day . In fact this is the way children naturally exercise and is the best way to stimulate the production of human growth hormone, essential for not just growth of children but also the maintenance of our bodies. For us this approach works very well but others may prefer the structure of a yoga class or a personal trainer. There are myriad of choices, for example walking, martial arts, bike riding, resistance exercise, yoga, weight lifting, running, gymnastics etc. Choose one or a combination that you can consistently apply and your emotional state is going to improve. The yoga swing is a fun, easy way to get those minutes of exercise that make all the difference. Hanging upside down in it also lets blood flow to the head, moves lymph fluid and so detoxifies the body. You can see a video of its use here: http://rawrecipesforsuccess.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/yoga-in-park.html. In fact one of the great benefits of exercise is to move our lymph fluid. Like our blood, lymph fluid has a job to do of carrying around nutrients and removing toxins but unlike blood it is not pumped around the body and we need to move to make lymph move. Another mechanism by which exercise makes us feel better is that it increases endorphin levels. It also helps in the uptake of tryptophan to make serotonin, that chemical messenger of happiness and well-being mentioned earlier. As time passes you may find that you get hooked on working out and thus will want to spend longer times at it. As we obtain more helpful information and improve our lifestyles, our addictions and resistances have a tendency to be replaced by what could be described as an addiction to feeling better.
Sunshine
It's well known that we all feel better when the sun is shining, but what to do about it in a country such as Britain when it's not?! There is actually a lot we can do to compensate for the lack of sun. If available in your area a sunshower is a wonderful way of getting a blast of much needed UVB light on the skin of your entire body. It involves entering a cubicle wearing eye protection and being exposed to 3 to 6 minutes of UVB. Between September and March in Britain, varying slightly according to latitude, the angle of the sun is such that we do not actually receive UVB light rays. As well as making you feel like you've had a day at the beach, a sun shower can have an amazing effect on food requirements as food is assimilated differently when we get sunlight. Because of this it can help prevent weight increase in winter and also takes away that pasty look it is so easy to get. Wait a few hours after a sunshower before showering or bathing to let the vitamin D be assimilated. Taking vitamin D in the form the body can use i.e. D3 is important for those of us living in this kind of climate. Vitamin D is a hormone as much as a vitamin and has been dubbed the 'happiness hormone' Incidentally walking outside early in the morning and going to bed reasonably early at night aligns our circadian rhythms and can have miraculous effects on our happiness and productivity levels and is so often overlooked in the distractions of our 24/7 culture.
Mental Attitude.
As we become lucid enough to see how much creative input we have into our life experiences and start to make more informed choices regarding our thoughts and actions our lives can become so significantly better that it becomes obvious on a moment by moment level that life is indeed a precious gift and not the burden that we have at times experienced it as! The very fact that we have choices makes it a gift rather than a burden. The trick is really not to get caught up in physical circumstances rather take a mental step back and think about how we would like life to be and work from there, weaving this into what we currently have on our plates. There are many unhelpful things we have been told but perhaps the most insidious one is that it is somehow virtuous to suffer and it is through doing so that we will deserve reward. Actually nothing could be further from the truth and if the most significant spiritual truth is that we are all connected then surely the best thing we can all do for ourselves and each other is feel better. In addition to the physical things we can do to make ourselves better there are some mental habits we can adopt that can transform the quality of our lives.
Gratitude.
Soon after waking if we can think of a few things or at least one thing we are truly grateful for it starts the ball rolling for the day. When we focus on gratitude it automatically attracts more things into our lives to be grateful for and also connects us in an appreciative way with other people. Choosing to think about what we want rather than what we don't want is a related practice.
A Sense of Purpose.
This may even be the starting point of it all and the main key to happiness. It is a way of channelling our desires in a constructive way that benefits ourselves and others long term. It can begin as a simple desire to feel good. Our goals connect us to our purpose in life. They need to be big enough to excite us and manageable enough so that we know we can achieve them. Then we feel good thinking about them and working toward them thus enabling us to delay some gratification in order to experience greater reward in the future. This practice in itself significantly increases our sense of well-being and keeps levels of dopamine, the enthusiasm neurotransmitter, high.
A Commitment to Turn all Circumstances to our Advantage.
When things fail to go according to plan or 'go wrong' we decide that we will create something beneficial out of whatever has happened. Not only does this create great benefits for us in our lives but it also gives us an inner confidence that no matter what happens, all will ultimately turn out well. This attitude in itself can bring miracles into our lives. Originally published in funky raw magazine by Kenny Bountiful Sun and Holly Paige http://www.foodforconsciousness.co.uk
http://www.funkyraw.com
Raw Food/Detoxification
Obviously it’s going to be pretty difficult for you to be in a high vibration emotionally if your body is in pain so we think this avenue is a priority. Switching over to a predominantly raw plant based diet of vegetables, fruits, seeds/nuts, superfoods, herbs, seaweeds, wild foods and maybe raw/fermented dairy products can be one of if not the best decisions a person ever makes! Aside from stating the obvious reasons for these lifestyle changes i.e. avoiding disease, a compromised food chain, toxic environment etc. there are of course the incredible benefits that have been reported by innumerable raw food veterans such as increased energy levels, a feeling of being lighter and stronger, greater bone density, greater levels of happiness and joy, pains and ailments completely disappearing, greater endurance, weight loss, clearer glowing eyes and skin, drastically improved digestion, clearer more cognitive thinking, greater ability to create abundance and prosperity, increased libido, increased ability to attract the opposite sex, terminal illness disappearing, more harmonious relationships, more real friends, greater spiritual connectedness, a feeling of being more psychic, less need for sleep, greater sensuality (touch, taste smell etc.), greater productivity, greater self-confidence and esteem, happier children and appearing to be younger. Added to all this is an indefinable feeling of well-being, happiness and optimism often referred to as the ‘raw high’ and particularly noticeable when keeping to an all raw diet. This phenomenon is an intriguing one and there is an actual chemical shift in the brain when we take in nutrients undamaged by heat. For example, in response to increased amounts of the undamaged amino acid tryptophan, levels of the pleasure neurotransmitter serotonin go up resulting in increased feelings of happiness and well-being. Raw food does indeed support a natural high and one that is really our natural state. To get the full benefits from a raw food diet it's worth bearing in mind three foundational principles that actually can be applied without going fully raw: hydration, alkalinity and fatty acids. To feel our best we need to make sure we are taking in plenty of liquids – there can be in the form of juices, smoothies and teas as well as water. We need to alkalise our bodies by taking in plenty of greens. And we need to make sure we are ingesting adequate essential fatty acids - these are nutrients which are crucial to brain function and that we cannot manufacture in our own bodies. Omega 3 is the one most likely to be lacking and is found abundantly in hemp, flax and chia seeds, fish liver oil and vegan DHA supplements.
Walking outside, preferably in nature
Walking is one of the most underestimated activities there is with regards to our health and well-being and unfortunately due to reliance on the auto-mobile one of the most underused. Medical science now knows that walking on a regular basis cures depression in more than ninety per cent of cases! Preferably go out into nature or, within a city, find a park and go barefoot. We are more electric than we are chemical and if we were living more as nature intended we would spend far more time walking on the earth, lying in grass, swimming in natural bodies of water and so on. Indeed we would be conceived, born and sleep in contact with the bio-electromagnetic aura of the earth. Planet Earth is like a giant nuclear reactor that emits negatively charged electricity or electrons. These electrons are there in nature as a way for us to be 'grounded' and connected – you could even describe it as 'charged'. Within the charge of the Earth our vibration is modulated so it is in harmony with the circadian rhythms or our environment. Shoes and also our homes for the most part act as insulation from this natural defence mechanism. To find out more about this fascinating subject listen to Clint Ober in a revelatory interview about Earthing here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY3w8kDn2Eo. There is now a lot of information on this subject on the web including the healing of chronic apparently incurable conditions. On the more esoteric side of this subject we receive information and guidance in the day to day living our lives through contact with the Earth, it is almost our original internet connection. Our desires become more health and life-affirming when we are immersed in the Earth's field rather than that of the artificial electric grid. Many years ago Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, in his book Body's Many Cries for Water, made known the crucial importance of drinking adequate water in the maintenance of basic health and prevention of disease. Now we are learning that 'earthing' is a similarly crucial requirement for health. The recommendation is at least 20 minutes twice a day for basic health needs. Of course we all know that spending extended times of time in nature can take us to new heights of well-being. Walking in nature also has a psychological effect due to the effects of moving and looking into the distance and widens our mental horizons and sense that we can move forward in life. When we are walking we are focused on what is in front of us whilst staying subliminally aware of what we are actually doing – in this way it resets us with good mental habits and clears our minds for inspiration.
Smiling and Laughing
Have you ever noticed how it is impossible to be depressed or feel constricted when you are laughing or smiling? In fact there is a reason for the existence of the saying 'laughter is the best medicine'. If you're feeling out of sorts remember to smile it will instantly make you feel better. You could also watch a funny film or if you haven't got time for that go onto you-tube and find something to entertain you for 15-20 minutes. Laughing, whether it is spontaneously occurring or even if you force it by at first pretending creates an electromagnetic response in the brain that subsequently stimulates a chemical release of peptides that have a profoundly beneficial effect in our physical bodies. There are numerous cases people being cured of terminal diseases because they employed a regime of regular laughter instead of scalpels, drugs and radiation. Prove it to yourself by trying it out. Remember the more regularly you do this the better you will feel more of the time.
Thought Field Therapy or Emotional Freedom Techniques
TFT or EFT as it is more commonly known or recognized is one of the most powerful tools that we have personally come across during over a decade of research in the field of energy medicine and transformation. It is a blend of Chinese medicine and modern psychology in which you take two fingers and tap on specific parts of the body that are located on what Chinese medicine calls meridians. According to Chinese medicine these pathways often become blocked which leads to problems in the physical organism. Traditionally Chinese medicine uses various techniques to rectify these blockages most notably acupuncture. Roger Callaghan discovered this technique basically by accident during the earlier part of his career as a psychologist. He was working with one of his clients who had severe phobia of water to the point where she couldn't even give her children baths. One day he asked her where exactly on the body was the source of her emotional distress. She replied “in my gut around the solar plexus area”. He had just come back from Asia where he had been studying rudimentary Chinese medicine and he remembered that the point on the bone below the eye corresponds to that part of the body. He got a hunch and told her to tap the point while thinking about her phobia. She did as he instructed and, to cut a long story short, her phobia was gone permanently! He later went on to experiment with other acupuncture points and various sequences of tapping and came up with the modality called thought field therapy. One of his students, Gary Craig later came up with emotional freedom technique or EFT which is just a slight variation but is basically just as effective. This kind of technique can seem kind of strange and is easy to miss or disregard but it is one of the most powerful and effective ways to change your emotional state and can even transform long standing core beliefs. It is very easy to learn and can be applied in a few minutes on most issues. A friend of mine in California who is a trained practitioner works predominantly with African Americans who are underprivileged (and a lot of the time homeless) in the ghetto of the bay area cities Oakland and Berkeley told me a few years ago that since he switched his modality from NLP to EFT he has had a 95% plus success rate with clients regardless of the issue! He was getting about 70% with the neurolinguistic programming which is pretty good but going up more than 20% is a very significant increase and so he has never turned back. I have met lots of people who missed this one simply because they didn't really apply it in their lives long enough or consistently enough for the effects of it to register on their senses. Don't be one of those people! Check out these links and learn how to apply this technology in your life. What happens may amaze you. You can download a free guides to tapping AT Roger Callahan's site, www.rogercallahan.com and www.thetappingsolution.com and a free guide to EFT at Gary Craig's site www.garythink.com. The tapping routine is very quick, simple and straightforward and moments when we are emotionally uncomfortable become ideal opportunities to permanently clear long-standing issues and access resources within ourselves that we never realised we had. Discord with or the loss of another person from our lives is the hardest pain that most of us experience and there is even a tailored tapping routine that can relieve this kind of trauma that might otherwise take months or even years of grieving.
Exercise.
Now a lot of people are resistant to this topic mainly because it is often looked upon as something that is to be tolerated and endured. This is mostly a mental block and is often based upon how we think things should be. A great approach is to choose a form of exercise that is (a) fun for you and (b) rather than punishing yourself and telling yourself you have to go through some long drawn out ordeal realise that you can get a lot done in just 10 – 15 minute bursts which can be repeated several times a day . In fact this is the way children naturally exercise and is the best way to stimulate the production of human growth hormone, essential for not just growth of children but also the maintenance of our bodies. For us this approach works very well but others may prefer the structure of a yoga class or a personal trainer. There are myriad of choices, for example walking, martial arts, bike riding, resistance exercise, yoga, weight lifting, running, gymnastics etc. Choose one or a combination that you can consistently apply and your emotional state is going to improve. The yoga swing is a fun, easy way to get those minutes of exercise that make all the difference. Hanging upside down in it also lets blood flow to the head, moves lymph fluid and so detoxifies the body. You can see a video of its use here: http://rawrecipesforsuccess.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/yoga-in-park.html. In fact one of the great benefits of exercise is to move our lymph fluid. Like our blood, lymph fluid has a job to do of carrying around nutrients and removing toxins but unlike blood it is not pumped around the body and we need to move to make lymph move. Another mechanism by which exercise makes us feel better is that it increases endorphin levels. It also helps in the uptake of tryptophan to make serotonin, that chemical messenger of happiness and well-being mentioned earlier. As time passes you may find that you get hooked on working out and thus will want to spend longer times at it. As we obtain more helpful information and improve our lifestyles, our addictions and resistances have a tendency to be replaced by what could be described as an addiction to feeling better.
Sunshine
It's well known that we all feel better when the sun is shining, but what to do about it in a country such as Britain when it's not?! There is actually a lot we can do to compensate for the lack of sun. If available in your area a sunshower is a wonderful way of getting a blast of much needed UVB light on the skin of your entire body. It involves entering a cubicle wearing eye protection and being exposed to 3 to 6 minutes of UVB. Between September and March in Britain, varying slightly according to latitude, the angle of the sun is such that we do not actually receive UVB light rays. As well as making you feel like you've had a day at the beach, a sun shower can have an amazing effect on food requirements as food is assimilated differently when we get sunlight. Because of this it can help prevent weight increase in winter and also takes away that pasty look it is so easy to get. Wait a few hours after a sunshower before showering or bathing to let the vitamin D be assimilated. Taking vitamin D in the form the body can use i.e. D3 is important for those of us living in this kind of climate. Vitamin D is a hormone as much as a vitamin and has been dubbed the 'happiness hormone' Incidentally walking outside early in the morning and going to bed reasonably early at night aligns our circadian rhythms and can have miraculous effects on our happiness and productivity levels and is so often overlooked in the distractions of our 24/7 culture.
Mental Attitude.
As we become lucid enough to see how much creative input we have into our life experiences and start to make more informed choices regarding our thoughts and actions our lives can become so significantly better that it becomes obvious on a moment by moment level that life is indeed a precious gift and not the burden that we have at times experienced it as! The very fact that we have choices makes it a gift rather than a burden. The trick is really not to get caught up in physical circumstances rather take a mental step back and think about how we would like life to be and work from there, weaving this into what we currently have on our plates. There are many unhelpful things we have been told but perhaps the most insidious one is that it is somehow virtuous to suffer and it is through doing so that we will deserve reward. Actually nothing could be further from the truth and if the most significant spiritual truth is that we are all connected then surely the best thing we can all do for ourselves and each other is feel better. In addition to the physical things we can do to make ourselves better there are some mental habits we can adopt that can transform the quality of our lives.
Gratitude.
Soon after waking if we can think of a few things or at least one thing we are truly grateful for it starts the ball rolling for the day. When we focus on gratitude it automatically attracts more things into our lives to be grateful for and also connects us in an appreciative way with other people. Choosing to think about what we want rather than what we don't want is a related practice.
A Sense of Purpose.
This may even be the starting point of it all and the main key to happiness. It is a way of channelling our desires in a constructive way that benefits ourselves and others long term. It can begin as a simple desire to feel good. Our goals connect us to our purpose in life. They need to be big enough to excite us and manageable enough so that we know we can achieve them. Then we feel good thinking about them and working toward them thus enabling us to delay some gratification in order to experience greater reward in the future. This practice in itself significantly increases our sense of well-being and keeps levels of dopamine, the enthusiasm neurotransmitter, high.
A Commitment to Turn all Circumstances to our Advantage.
When things fail to go according to plan or 'go wrong' we decide that we will create something beneficial out of whatever has happened. Not only does this create great benefits for us in our lives but it also gives us an inner confidence that no matter what happens, all will ultimately turn out well. This attitude in itself can bring miracles into our lives. Originally published in funky raw magazine by Kenny Bountiful Sun and Holly Paige http://www.foodforconsciousness.co.uk
http://www.funkyraw.com
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Marvelous Malva in Portugal
Found this plant yesterday while walking along the coast in the algarve,and used the flowers to garnish our salad.
Monday, April 1, 2013
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