Tuesday, March 31, 2009

CASTOR OIL HAS MANY USES

Gladys Taylor McGarey, M.D., MD(H), a pioneer in holistic medicine since 1957, uses castor oil concepts in her consulting practice in Living Medicine.

When Doctors Alyce and Elmer Green researched the field of biofeedback the statement "thoughts are things" and the power of visualization found it added new life to this power of intention as usable tools in the field of medicine. It talked about the ability of the body to regenerate itself. When Robert O. Becker came out with his book "The Body Electric" he described the ability of living animals to re-grow limbs through the use of low electrical stimuli. It made the field of medicine comprehend the extent to which our skin is a vital organ for assimilating and eliminating nutrients and toxins. It is now accepted and proven that dermal patches on the skin are useful in the science of medicine.

Dr. McGarey tells of a friend who had been diagnosed with breast cancer requiring the full gamut of conventional therapeutic modalities. At her first injection of Taxol, she asked the therapist what Taxol was made from and was delighted to be told that the active ingredient was from the yew tree. Dr. McGarey's parents (both medical doctors) had used and applied castor oil packs in their practice and was familiar with the many uses of castor oil as medical missionaries in India. Childhood memories from her parents about castor oil came back. It had been called "The palm of Christ." She began visualizing tiny palms of Christ circulating through her body taking hold of cancer cells and eliminating them, and added this valuable tool. As this medication is being used, millions of lives have been saved because scientists were able to combine the product of the yew tree with the oil of the castor bean plant and use it as a therapy for a disease that has become rampant in our world.

Monday, March 30, 2009

SPIRITUALITY MEDICALLY RECOGNIZED

The importance of spirituality to health and healing is receiving increasing acceptance in the medical community, according to a report in "Research News." Their evidence: More U.S. medical schools are offering education on spirituality - from four in 1992 to more than half the total of all such schools in the U.S. at present.

The American College of Physicians and the American Society of Internal Medicine have issued a report suggesting that physicians pay attention to "psychosocial, existential, or spiritual suffering of patients with serious medical illness."

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), who evaluates and accredits most of the U.S. health-care organizations, established "Spiritual Assessment Standards" to provide for a greater understanding of how spirituality impacts patient care and service.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

BRAIN BIOFEEDBACK ALLEVIATES PAIN

If you could see your brain, could you control it better? Past research and contemporary clinical practice has made biofeedback commonplace. A recent advance in biofeedback monitoring, developed at the University of Chicago and Stanford University, has leaped over more traditional brain-wave conditioning work by giving patients an ongoing eyeful of the activity in a specific region of the brain.

Using real-time feedback from a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner, pain-control patients were able to view the action in that portion of the brain responsible for processing pain signals. The monitor presented the brain activity as a flame of increasing or decreasing strength.

Patients were able to learn very quickly how to control their pain by controlling the flame on the screen. Brain imagery technology may soon provide a method by which people will be able to develop direct control of very specific brain functions. A spin-off from this research may be the investigation of how brain control might be achieved by thought alone.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

JUST THE THOUGHT OF MONEY HURTS RELATIONSHIPS

Having the thought of money cross one's mind has a surprising effect only moments later on how a person will respond to an interpersonal situation, tending to make a person more solitary, self-reliant, competitive, and expecting the same from others.

A series of experiments involving staged human interactions, tested whether or not a momentary exposure to the concept of money (such as a mounted poster showing a large dollar bill) would affect how people would respond to others. Unwitting subjects who were presented with challenges and given opportunities to ask for help were much less likely to ask for help if the dollar poster was on the wall in the room. Subjects working on a task were less likely to respond to a request for assistance by a person entering the room if the dollar poster was present.

Friday, March 27, 2009

SOME PEOPLE ARE MORE GRATEFUL

Research has demonstrated the health benefits of the emotion of gratitude. We now also have evidence that the attitude of gratitude is a habit shown more by some people than others.

Questionnaires provided to several hundred college students at Southern Methodist University and the University of California at Davis, and over l,000 adults via the Internet, measured several aspects of gratitude.

One analysis of the resulting data, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, showed that people differ in how readily they experience and express gratitude and that their friends notice and confirm these self-reports.

Another analysis revealed that those with a more grateful disposition experience more positive emotions generally, feel greater well-being, demonstrate more prosocial behaviours and traits, and express more religiousness and spirituality. Another analysis of the data showed that the more a person had a grateful disposition, the less envy and materialism did the person have, reinforcing the conclusion that gratitude may be associated with greater degrees of spirituality.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

DREAM OF THE FUTURE

Here is an interesting letter to the editor of a magazine called "Venture Inward" Virginia Beach, Va. The letter is from a reader in North Carolina who had this dream in July of 2008: "I enjoyed the January/February Editors Journal entitled "The Manifestation of Hopes and Dreams."

"I saw Obama standing in a large crowd. He had a brilliant silver band that goes around the waist that sort of resembles a cumberbund - but larger than a cumberbund, more like an armor that covered his chest as well. He was speaking to the crowd, which was very close to him. Then I heard: 'If this man is spared, the whole nation will be spared. If this man is not spared, the whole nation will not be spared.' I woke up crying. From that point forth, many of us started praying for the protection of Obama and his family."

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

WRITTEN LANUAGE WRITTEN IN A DREAM

It is rare to see writing in a dream, but once an entire written language appeared in a dream. In the book "The Committee of Sleep: How Artists, Scientists, and Athletes Use Their Dreams for Creative Problem Solving - and How You Can, Too (Crown/Random House, 2001), Harvard psychologist Deirdre Barrett tells the story of how the alphabet of Vai, an African written language that first appeared in a dream in the mid-l800s, spread throughout Liberia's capital city of Monrovia, so that almost everyone could read it. In fact, in the surrounding rural areas, the written language boosted literacy to a rate much higher than that of Europe at that time. Dr. Barrett writes that even today people can read the language even though the Liberian government insists that only English be taught in the schools.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

THE PAPAYA SEED

One of the exciting things about retirement is finding a sunny spot to spend the winter. Phoenix, Arizona beckoned. A friend who lives there invited us to attend her Presbyterian church. The Sunday School teacher of the adult class, Dr. Gladys McGarey, is a medical doctor who is the lead physician at a holistic clinic. I was always amazed to notice that the attendees often felt free to ask questions after class about general health tips. She also writes a column for the magazine, "Venture Inward."

Her analogies always seemed to clarify things so beautifully. For example, in one of her columns she tells about planting a papaya seed in a small pot in her garden and when it became root bound transplanted it into the ground to grow into a tall papaya tree, producing fruit and seed to perpetuate the life of the papaya plant and enjoy its healthy fruits. She likens it to our lives, we start out with a protected space in which to grow and be cared for. Then the time comes to reach beyond these boundaries, stretch our roots farther and become useful citizens.

She used the example of Sidney Poitier in his film "To Sir, with Love No. 2" who encounters fighting and general chaos in the school and has to break up the fights in order to get any attention at all. When he asks the question, "Who are you? they responded with cocky answers. It took time but finally the students began to see themselves as they really were, different from the image they had portrayed to others. They had thought of themselves as losers, and rebelling was the only way out. They began to realize they really liked themselves and by the time they graduated, they were changed - from losers to people who could contribute to society.

The world changed with the bombing of the twin towers and we too are asking the question "Who are we" and "Why do people hate us as Americans?
Hatred is anger gone blind and we all must find a motivating unifying force and change will come. What can I as an individual do to help my country and the world?" Just like the papaya plant, we've come to a point where we need to be taken out of the restraining confines of the pot to expand our roots, and create a loving, caring world around us to grow into the reality of who we are and produce the fruit that comes from full, expanded, growth and living." Thank you Dr. McGarey for your words of wisdom.

Monday, March 23, 2009

HEALTH BENEFITS FOUND IN CRANBERRY JUICE

Researchers have found that drinking three glasses a day of cranberry juice significantly raises levels of "good cholesterol" in the blood and increases plasma antioxidant levels, reducing the risk of heart disease. Joe Vinson, Ph.D., the study's main investigator and a professor of chemistry at the University of Scranton, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, measured cholesterol levels in subjects with high cholesterol, followed by monthly samplings. Ten of the subjects were given cranberry juice with artificial sweetener but without high-fructose corn syrup, while the other subjects drank cranberry juice with no added sugars. All the drinks tested contained approximately 27 per cent pure cranberry juice by volume, like the common supermarket variety. While there were no changes in overall cholesterol levels, good cholesterol (high density lipoprotein, or HDL) appeared to significantly increase by an average of 10 per cent after three servings of juice per day, an increase that translates to an approximate 40 percent reduction in heart disease risk.

If you don't like cranberry juice, drinking three cups of orange juice per day similarly increases levels of good cholesterol, but unlike cranberry juice, it doesn't increase increase plasma antioxidant capacity, says Vinson. Grape juice, another breakfast favorite, increases plasma antioxidant capacity but appears to lower the level of good cholesterol, according to another study by Vinson.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

CLEARING OUT THE OLD FILES

With the possibility of visitors arriving in a week or so I declared it was time to clear out the old files in my home office and make more space. Some things must be kept like memorable pictures and family mementos. I am reminded of high school days, two years in Medicine Hat, one of them batching with my older sister and another working for my board while attending Alexander High School. It would be nice to see Joyce again, the first child of a pharmacist and his wife and would now be somewhere in her seventies. They were a nice family and I enjoyed my stay with them. Having lunch, doing dishes and scrubbing the kitchen floor every day during the one hour noon break, then dashing back up the hill to Alexander High School made the time speed by.

After a busy summer helping Mother with gardening, canning vegetables and meat for winter, I completed high school at a boarding school in Three Hills, Alberta. The crops were good that year and it was quite reasonable pricewise because we did gratis work for several hours a day to help pay our board and tuition fees. My first assigned room mate was from Olds, and a quiet pleasant girl. A few years later my brother and I spent a day with her at their farm. World War II was on and he was on leave from the army. It is always nice to visit a former room mate and I was always lucky to have a good one. After graduation from high school I registered for three years of Bible school there.

Finding out what gratis work would be assigned us was always exciting. I was put on the vegetable crew the first year and a senior student Ms. Steele was the pleasant boss of the crew and always kept a ready smile handy to cheer the moment if one of us contributed a bit of wit, or even if a potato displayed an identical twin stuck to it. Our peelers spun the brown covers off each one but later I was told by a diabetic friend that this skin is actually the most nourishing part with the interior just plain starch that records a high glycemic index making it necessary for some diabetics use caution. My sister was assigned to the laundry department and had a challenging boss. The next year I was put in the music department that included typing up the minute by minute radio programs and running them over to the boss before broadcast time. There were no computers at that time to send them by e-mail.

Evening meals were between five and six pm. At seven pm, we were not allowed to talk in our rooms until nine pm because it was homework time and we were not to disturb our room mates or talk in the halls. Of course my voice was too often heard as the hall monitor passed our door and finally I was punished by having to return to the High School building during those evening hours and do my homework there. I don't remember minding too much but one of the seniors (bless you Blanche) complained that I was often helping someone and it wasn't just empty talk. The dean of women wouldn't change my sentence but I felt flattered that a senior had tried to speak up for me. The next year one of the young men was returning to his dormitory from the high school building and stumbled into a steep narrow ditch that had been dug that day for installing pipes. The warning lantern had not been put in place. His face was wounded but his sister tells me he is still handsome and wears a mustache that hides the injury.

Oh yes, another rule, we were not allowed to run on the stairs. It 's a good safety precaution I now realize, but noisy on the plank stairs. Young and thoughtless, I raced up the stairs one Saturday morning . My room was on the fourth floor and it likely resounded throughout the whole building. The hall monitor - a staff member - opened her door and confronted me at the landing with a stern reprimand. I likely bowed my head in shame and apologized because next time I saw her she gave me a smile. I heard that later she went to Tasmania as a teacher. I truly hope she never got bitten by one of those Tasmanian devils. She was basically a good person. A smile always helps.

And how could we girls forget skirt measuring day. Oh yes, it was important to dress modestly. At an appointed time we would report to the office of the dean of women to see if we passed muster. Skirts must be no shorter than eleven inches from the floor, the written regulations said and we must have long sleeves at all times and wear no flesh colored or other conspicuous stockings.

There were a thousand students registered my last year there. The large dining room had a separation line with the feminine gender all seated on one side. A staff member (usually one of the teachers) was seated at the head of the each long table and we were served healthy meals from gardens largely grown on land adjoining the campus. Some students applied for a summer job to cover year's tuition.

During the summer months we were not permitted to visit or see a fellow student that we may have met at class or at gratis work. If this happened and was reported somehow, that student would still be able to graduate and receive a diploma but was not permitted to march to the podium with her class. One of the girls I always admired had apparently met a male student on the bus when returning home and been seen chatting together. I recall feeling very angry that she was not able to be honored by marching with her class to receive her diploma. It was mailed to her home in California. She is still likely as beautiful as ever and still living there. I realize now that the school was teaching us to be single minded and complete schooling first before any dating lest they become dropouts. I don't remember hearing about homeless people at that time in the early 1940's.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

PRAYER IMPROVES POST-OP OPTIMISM

Get Well Sooner

Patients who had the habit of prayer were more optimistic about the outcome of their surgery than patients who indicated that they did not pray.

In this study conducted at the University of Michigan and published in the Journal of Health Psychology, cardiac patients awaiting surgery were interviewed twice, two weeks and again one day prior to their surgery.

The purpose of the study was to assess factors affecting hope and confidence in the successful outcome of the surgery. The prayer factor affected the patients' sense of confidence or optimism, but not their sense of security, which was affected more by whether or not they had health insurance to pay for the operation.

Friday, March 20, 2009

INTUITION IS COMPASS TO YOUR SOUL

The study of intuition is assuredly moving from the battleground of trying to "prove the reality of ESP" to the culture-building process of researching the application of intuition to daily life. A case in point is the book, "Compass of the Soul: 52 Ways Intuition Can Guide You to the Life of Your Dreams (Andrews McNeel Publishing). The author, Lynn A. Robinson, whose previous book was Divine Intuition: Your Guide to Creating a Life you Love, is a member of the Intuition Network (www.intuition.org), which is devoted to helping society embrace intuition.

Some of the ways in which intuition can provide applied benefits, according to Robinson's book, include: Personal guidance, Sense of personal happiness at being true to one's essence, Increasing abundance and prosperity, Spiritual awareness, Experiencing heart connections with others, Health information, Finding a path to making desired lifestyle changes, Dealing with uncertainty, Perceiving opportunities in crises, and Gliding through transitions.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

A GOOD BREAKFAST HELPS US WORK

The sugar levels in the brains of rats were studied by researchers at the University of Illinois. Rats were induced to find their way through a challenging maze to obtain a reward. According to their report published in the journal "Neurobiology of Learning and Memory," the researchers found that in the brain area related to spatial orientation, sugar levels were reduced following the task, but in other brain areas, sugar levels were unaffected.
Researchers found that the brains of older rats suffered a greater reduction in sugar levels than did younger rats after resolving the maze. Sugar level in the younger rats returned to normal at a faster rate than it did in the brains of the older rats. Giving an injection of sugar helped the older rats perform better.

The researchers speculated that an implication of their findings was that a good breakfast might be important for children to do well in school and that perhaps snacks during the day would be helpful as well.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

CIGARETTE SMOKE, ALCOHOLISM AND OBESITY - RISK FACTORS FOR PREMATURE DEATH

For self improvement it is advisable to shift our focus from external circumstances to internal factors, such as effort and intentions. This idea finds expression in today's concern about transforming "victimhood" to "empowerment," or, in the language of academic research, from "helplessness" to "self-efficacy." A recent study shows the sense of personal control over our lives and points to the effect of this factor on longevity.

Close to 900 adults participating in a study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan who explored their favored roles in life, such as spouse, grandparent, friend, homemaker, provider, volunteer worker, club or church member. The participants determined which of their various roles were their favorite. They then evaluated that role for the degree of personal control they felt concerning the performance of that role.

The results of the study reported in Psychology and Aging, showed that there was a definite relationship between the degree of personal control the participants felt in a favored role and whether that person engaged in healthy or unhealthy behaviours and whether or not that person was alive six years later.

The participants who scored higher on role-specific personal control measures tended to adopt healthier behaviours and lived longer. On the other hand, the participants who scored lower on role-specific personal control measures were more likely to indulge in smoking, alcoholism and obesity; all risk factors for premature deaths.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

IMAGINING AND SEEING ARE THE SAME IN BRAIN

Imagining something or actually seeing it are functionally equivalent to the brain, according to some research conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) to observe the response of the brain in various mental activities.

In the report of their work published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, the researchers concentrated on the two areas of the brain, one that responded specifically to faces and the other to scenes of places. They asked volunteers to look at photographs of places or faces and then to later create, with their eyes, a mental image of the same faces or scenes. Whether it was a face or a place, the brain showed an identical response to imagery as it did to actual visual perception.

Monday, March 16, 2009

SCIENTIST EXPLORES PRAYER POWER

Through his synthesis of science and spirituality, Gregg Braden offers a positive, life-affirming message of hope. In his book, "The Isaiah Effect," Gregg Braden explores the difference that can result when a global vigil of prayer takes place. Eighty four nations coordinated a prayer for peace through the World Wide Web - it was called "A Prayer Window." Unknown to the rest of us, the United States had given the order to commence the bombing runs in Iraq in response to the breakdown of UN inspections. U.S. war planes were dispatched. During the Prayer Window, President Clinton gave an unprecedented order for those war planes to stand down, to essentially return to their bases with all the weapons, all the ordnance intact.

Military historians say it makes absolutely no sense for that order to have been given. Manpower, equipment, and money had been spent to put everything in place. As a scientist, I could say that it was just a coincidence. At the time Clinton was going through domestic turmoil. Earlier, 25 U.S. cities asked to have certain kinds of prayer and meditation, and emotions were in place. In cities like Chicago, the stock market soared during the time researchers were calling for the Prayer Window. When people stopped the emotion, meditation and prayer, the statistics reversed. During another prayer window, treaties were signed in Belfast, where there had been a breakdown in the language for completing the treaties. We can't say those war planes were turned around because of a prayer, but there is a high coordination between these two events. "I believe that we know enough to begin applying what we know now to the events that are unfolding in our world today," Gregg Braden added.

Braden tells us that Quantum physics now gives us a scientific framework within which we can understand this relationship. The Great Isaiah Scroll, (the only complete and intact document found among the Dread Sea Scrolls) offers the principles and give very precise instructions in terms of how to apply them in our lives. Many of the ancient texts had parts edited out and reserved for elite priesthoods in mystery schools. It is not about forcing things to happen but becoming the life-affirming principles of peace - in our lives, in the presence of our families, in our community, in our schools, and in our world. As it becomes that in our daily lives individually it brings transformation. This creates compassion and kindness in our highly competitive society. The world will mirror back to us this very subtle principle. "My feeling is that we are now collectively at a global choice point. Where we come out on the other side in being determined by what we become in our lives right now, as individuals and collectively. Do we have the wisdom to recognize what to do with the time that it buys us, it is our choice," he concluded.
Conference speaker: www.atlanticuniv.edu.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

JOYS OF COUNTRY LIVING

Spring brings life anew and will soon begin its 2009 version. We all hope the fruit blossoms will not get frosted like some of them did last year.
Gardening will be in full swing and bring along its challenges as the season rolls into summer and fall. It's wonderful to live close to town and have space for a garden to tend, enjoy, and also help with the grocery bill. Ted and Gertrude Bazell have properly celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary with surprise plans worked out by their four children. It was a pleasant afternoon at the Halina Center with a special singer as family and friends took a turn at the mike recounting pleasant memories of times together.

Of course the years have demanded trade-offs as limitations present challenges. Type 2 Diabetes brought changes for Dad, with limited driving skills and requirements for a special diet. Later a medical checkup reluctantly informed them that Mom's eyes could no longer pass the driving test. She had to surrender her driver's license. There were other health challenges as well. Once again their children sprang into action. They were busy with their jobs but did not want to see their parents have to go into a care home or be separated in any way. "Our parents are so comfortable in the home they built together for their retirement, let's find a way for them to stay where they are." Their two sons and two daughters agreed on a plan with one voice.

Early days together found Gertrude working as a postal clerk. Her pleasant smile and gracious ways spread a blanket of cheer to all customers and followed her in every aspect of living. After five years in the army during the Second World War Ted returned to start anew in the Okanagan Valley. Most of the war returnees were anxious to find a wife and settle down. He met Gertrude at a Scout Hall dance. Ted's first job was at the Silver Star lookout that gave them a pleasant summer. Wherever they lived they always had a garden.

Daughter number one was creative in many homemaking areas and even upholstered furniture. The four children agreed on a perfect solution. The parents had savings to draw upon. Avoiding expensive habits like smoking no doubt helped build up some savings. The first daughter agreed to resign from her regular job and spend the same hours each day caring for Dad and Mom. She would be their chauffeur to drive them around town for groceries and any other needs in the city. She could prepare their meals in line with the type of diet required and in the evenings their parents would have each other to relax and recall their many years together and look over family photographs or watch television. An ideal solution and it has been working perfectly for nearly three years so far. And the garden, yes, they can look from a window seat and enjoy the vegetable garden and the fruit trees they planted years ago. A treasure chest of memories cheer their time together and their four children visit often and arrange special parties for birthdays and other holidays.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

HAPPY PEOPLE CAN LIVE LONGER

Heart patients who are happy are much more likely to be alive 10 years down the road than unhappy heart patients, according to a study conducted at Duke University Medical Center. According to the lead investigator, Beverly Brummett, the experience of joy seems to be a key factor. It has physical consequences and also attracts other people, making it easier for the patient to receive emotional support.

Unhappy people, besides suffering from the biochemical effects of their sour moods, also are less likely to take their medicines, eat healthy, or to exercise. The depression has worse consequences than the heart disease itself.

Friday, March 13, 2009

WISDOM FROM THE CENTURIES

Wisdom from the centuries has come through in proverbs and belief systems. Principles are basically the same, but are they being practiced now in daily living? Here are some of them with the source shown when known.

BUDDHISM: "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." - Udana-Varga, 5:18. Sixth century B.C.

CLASSICAL PAGANISM: "May I do to others as I would they should do unto me." - Plato, Fourth century B.C.

CHRISTIANITY: "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." - Jesus Christ Mathew 7:12.
"You shall love your neighbour as yourself," Matthew 22:39.

CONFUCIANISM: Tsekung asked, "Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?" Confucius replied: "It is the word: shu - reciprocity: Do not unto others what you would not have them do to you." - Analects, 15:23 Sixth century B.C.

HINDUISM: "Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you, One should not behave toward others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself." - Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva 5:1517 Third century B.C.

ISLAM: "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother what he desires for himself." - Muhammad, Sixth century B.C.

INDIA - JAINISM: "In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self, and should therefore refrain from inflicting upon others such injury as we would appear undesirable to us if inflicted upon ourselves." - Lord Mahavir, Fifth century B.C. 24th Tirthankara.

JUDAISM: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself" - The Torah Lev. 19:18. "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man; that is the whole Torah; go and learn - RabbiHillel, First century, Talmud, Shabbat 31a.

NATIVE AMERICAN: "Do not condemn your brother until you have walked a mile in his moccasins."

PERSIA - BAHAI: "Lay not on any soul a load which ye would not wish to be laid upon you and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself." - Baha'ullah, Nineteenth century.

SIKHISM: "Treat others as thou wouldst be treated thyself." Sixteenth century.

TAOISM: "Regard your neighbour's gain as your own gain and regard your neighbour's loss as your own loss."

ZOROASTRIANISM: "Do not do unto others all that which is not well for oneself." - Dadistan-i-Dinik, 94:5 Fifth century B.C.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

MEDICAL INTUITION

Carolyn Myss is a co-founder of Stillpoint Publishing Company, holds a master's degree in theology and a Ph.D. in energy medicine. She works together with Dr. C. Norman Shealy, founding president of the American Holistic Medical Association. She has written three consecutive New York Times bestsellers: Anatomy of the Spirit, Why People Don't Heal and How They Can, and Sacred Contracts. Her most recent book tells about the sacred contract of the United States.

She gives great respect and reverence for the allopathic community of doctors. It is a drug culture and a surgical culture, a research culture based on the intention of battling and eradicating illnesses and have done great work against viruses and other healing modalities. But according to Dr. Myss, it is inappropriate to devalue the energetic alternative field. We need each other and should work together as natural partners. "I will want a physician to attend to my broken leg ASAP, and continue my organic work while on the mend," she adds.

So many people suffer from depression, sometimes called mood swings, and many drugs are prescribed for 'anxiety' that can lead to dependence, in a search for healing. This means our creative bodies are speaking to us. We need to develop intuitive abilities. When nations operate out of a tribal mind, it is the carrier of earth knowledge and protector of the environment but the tribe will never let go of the past. There is a psychic war between the shadows of tribal energy and the individual ''I" energy of this world. Locked in a struggle between the fundamental forces of creation, the individual and the tribe, they have become enemies. Free nations are the embodiment, the quintessential individual, we have become a focal point of this conflict. We were not born to invade and be a military country. Because of our constitution, the world holds us to a moral standard they don't hold any other country to.

If people want to do their part for peace, it's more than prayer; it will take the ability to be conscious enough to play by the rules that we claim to believe.
Even though America gives billions to third world countries in times of famine and flood, their dictators point to America as the cause of their poverty. They're not going to say, "Because your leadership is corrupt." Further details and more information on developing intuition and coming changes needed can be found in her books listed above. Email: bookstore@edgarcaycecanada.com.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

MEDITATION IMPROVES THE WORK PLACE

For both CEOs and congress people, meditation is seen as improving the health of the workplace, according to a study conducted by the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. A spokesperson for the center, as reported in Science and Theology News, noted that more and more CEOs have had some kind of experience with meditation at a conference or retreat center and are bringing their experiences to bear at their worplace. Both companies, government agencies, and non profits offer meditation opportunities to their employees.

Interviews with those company officials responsible for the workplace meditation report health and interpersonal benefits. Others cite creativity or innovation. "Many people feel that we can solve our problems in a linear, rational fashion,," said Nancy Roof, president of Spirituality and Global Affairs for the United Nations, "but now the global problems are at such a level that we need more than the rational mind, we need the intuitive mind as well."

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

FORGIVENESS OFFERS A HOST OF BENEFITS

In the area of mind-body healing, research on forgiveness is catching on. The victims of traumas perpetrated by others heal faster when they are able to forgive the perpetrator, according to pioneering research by Robert Enright, professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and now director of the university's International Forgiveness Research. Studies are now venturing further to explore the beneficial effects of forgiveness in other contexts, according to a recent investigative report by Jane Lampman which was published in the Christian Science Monitor. For example, in a study of sixth graders who had problems with anger, whose behavioral problems would normally be addressed via medication, those taking a 12-week forgiveness course became less angry and more cooperative in class than those who did not receive the training. In another study, conducted at the Mendota Mental Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, mentally ill criminally violent offenders who could not have empathy for their victims developed both empathy and remorse at the end of a forgiveness training program.

The institute has just completed a study demonstrating that forgiveness training improved heart functioning in hospitalized cardiac patients, thus moving the research into the physical effects of forgiveness.

The benefits of forgiveness may extend beyond what was previously conceived. Dr. Frederic Luskin, who heads the Stanford University Forgiveness Project, has concluded that the practice of forgiveness may be essential for physical health.

Monday, March 9, 2009

LOOKING FOR LAUGHS IS GOOD MEDICINE

Most of us are familiar with the research showing that laughing at a comedy show elevates the immune system. Clearly, laughter is good medicine. Research is now beginning to provide suggestions that even the anticipation of laughter has similar effects.

The "biology of hope" is what Lee Berk, assistant professor of family medicine, and his colleagues at the Susan Samueli Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the University of California, Irvine College of Medicine refer to the anticipatory effect they have found in their research. Having verified that watching a video of a comedy movie elevates several measures of mood and body chemistry, they measured the effect on mood of anticipating watching a comedy. The researchers found that even as far back as two days before watching a comedy of their choice, participants were already showing improved mood ratings.

Further details can be found on the following website:
http://www.newswise.com/articles/200l/11/LAUGH.UCI.html.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

HOME BASED CHURCHES BECOME POPULAR

An emerging trend in American spirituality is the home-grown church, according to an article in the Christian Science Monitor.

Sometimes it is a start of a new church, with a few people gathering in the minister's home until enough people are coming to move to a larger setting. In many other cases, it is a group of friends meeting in someone's home for a book discussion and prayer, with refreshments served.

People are moving away from institutions and are seeking more personal participation and a sense of connection with others. They are creating spiritual families in these gatherings. Sometimes the motivation is to break out of the doctrinal boundaries of the established religions. For others it is a chance to personalize and internalize their religion's teachings.

Statistics are few, but here are two examples: During the most recent year for which data was compiled, followers of the best-selling Conversations with God series have created upwards of l60 home-based "Humanity's Team" gatherings here in the U.S. According to a Gallop poll, half of America's participatory Christians meet in small group ministries, either at the church or in member's homes.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

DO ANIMALS DREAM ABOUT THEIR DAY AT WORK

If we sometimes feel that our dreams are but a rehash of our day at work, take heart - rats have the same fate. Research on the role of dreaming to secure the day's learning into long-term memory has reached deep down into the neurons of rat brains to confirm the existence of this oft-reported "rehash" phenomenon.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Learning and Memory put elecrodes into the brain cells of rats as they learned a new task at their daytime "office" - a rat maze. According to the report of his research, published in the journal Neuron, while the rats were at home at night asleep, researchers waited for the occurrence of REM sleep and noted that the same brain cell activity patterns were occurring during the rats' dreamtime as occurred while they learned their new task earlier that day in the maze. Their dreaming was just a rehash of the day at the office.

Friday, March 6, 2009

INTERNET MAY DESTABILIZE MINDS

One possible aspect of "earth changes" may be that mental health could be challenged, with some people becoming more vulnerable to destabilization. One possible source of this effect might be coming indirectly through the influence of the Internet. Information, the deterioration of the quality and accuracy of information, and the quick spread of information, may lead to unfortunate effects in those vulnerable to worry.

Writing in the magazine "The Futurist, Deborah Sawyer, president of Information Plus, a research-services firm, notes that the amount of false information is increasing on the Internet, including even hoaxes. She also notes that many people are losing their critical thinking skills and are more likely to accept false information, such as supposed computer viruses that weren't for real, and proposed government regulations that weren't actually being planned.

As we become more dependent on the Internet for our information, the more likely we will see panics in the future.

Sawyer advocates that the best way to protect yourself from the effects of false information that might be spread on the Internet is to use alternative sources of information,, looking to print and broadcast news for verification.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

PETS EXTEND LIFE AFTER HEART ATTACK

Pets may someday be called "people whisperers," if the current trend in research continues to show their therapeutic effect on humans.

People discharged from the hospital following a heart attack are almost six times less likely to die within the year if they own a pet. If the pet is a dog, survival rate is more than eight times greater.

Risk factors for heart attack (blood pressure, cholesterol) among the general population are lower among pet owners than among those who do not have a pet. In another study, they found pet owners show only half the increase in blood pressure in response to a stress test than do non-pet owners. This effect shows up even when the pet is not accompanying the human to the stress test.

Speaking in terms of dollars, according to an article in Shift: At the Frontiers of Consciousness, an Australian study computed that it would save that country approximately 145 million dollars annually in total health-care costs if everyone in the country owned a pet.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

BODY AND SOUL

Dr. Gladys McGarey writes a column for Venture Inward magazine and this is part of a letter to the editor written by another doctor in response to one of her past column in the July/Aug 2006 issue and who had also read her book "Born to Live." He states that it altered his understanding of complex issues involved.

"There is physiological evidence that the fetus has a role in the actual initiation of labor, and, as Dr. Gladys points out, so does the waiting soul in the larger matter of whether or not to actually be born, or to stay. Examples in my own practice support this.

A boy born with blood supply insufficiency during birth was severely affected, to the point where he could neither communicate nor be physically active. However, after several years of loving care, he suddenly died for no apparent reason. It was as if he had fulfilled his mission for this life. By contrast, a baby whose body was not expected to survive (also due to severe blood supply interruptions during birth) apparently made a fighting decision to stay after many days of intensive care, and is now a healthy, happy child.

I, as my mother's firstborn, must have wanted badly to come in, for my delivery went smoothly. Although I have no recollections of my birth, my mother is reported to have said afterward, "Well - If that's all there is to it, I'm going to have the next one at home." And she did.

Another mother told me that, during the birth of her fifth child, she suddenly found herself "up by the ceiling objectively watching the birth." She said, "I watched my child's soul enter its little body and heard a voice say, 'Now there are five of us."

A person who is aware of these things can welcome a confused soul. Years ago, while daily visiting my mother in a small-town hospital, I became aware of something bothering me. I realized that I had been passing the nursery where one infant was crying piteously. I stopped, mentally asking the question, "Are you lonely and confused in this place where no one realizes your situation?" So I stayed, focusing on the child, reaching out from the center of my being in the manner I use when I touch a patient. It's like letting Love energy flow from me to the Other. Perhaps it's like a physical prayer.

Suddenly the baby turned its head toward me and its eyes held mine. Then it closed its eyes and slept. I never heard it cry again while I was there. That was 20 years ago and I still feel the bond between us.

The miracle of birth is much more than a physical miracle. If one accepts the abundant and mounting evidence that a pre-existent being, an eternal soul, with the power of choice, is arriving to take up the challenges of physical life, then our imperative task must be to aid that soul in whatever way is appropriate.

One last story: A four-year-old boy suddenly announced to his mother that he had been a soldier killed in the Far East, saying, "Mother, war is wrong. We must stop fighting." One can only imagine what that boy's choices will be when he is an adult. Thank you, Dr. Gladys, for reminding all of us of these things. (From a small town doctor who requested his name be withheld.)

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

GRANDKID'S GAZETTE, MARCH 1, 2009

February zoomed by so fast, there was no time for a visit
from the grandchildren. But I did get to see them in
a picture published in The Morning Star yesterday - having a
sled ride with Daddy pulling them over the snow. Yes, we still
have lots of snow, but March will soon move us into spring,
with buds popping from the trees and flowers.
Here's a little game to play when it's too cold outside and
the sun is hiding behind a snow cloud. You can even sing it
to the tune of "This Little Light of Mine.".

This little light of mine, It lives in me and shines,
It helps me see what's right, Each changing day and night.
One day I felt real sad, Then my light said, "Let's be glad.
I'll help you shine once more, Feel happy like before."

Here's a switch that says, "Let's think", My heart said, "That's the link."
Press the one saying, "Gratitude," With it you just can't lose.
A smile says, "Let's rearrange, It will make that change."
Each one puts a word in the hat, Shake it up and say, "How's that?"

Then its time to play the game, From a hat pick out a name.
It might say, "It's story time," Or perhaps it will say "Make a rhyme."
Or the card you picked might say, "You can do this once every day."
If it's hard to decide which one, Put the names in the hat for fun.

Then that one gets to pick, And the name of the game quick,
Maybe it will be, "To the park," Unless it's night and dark.
Then you get to pick another, Or let it be Dad or Mother.
One game that's always fun, Is all the things you've done.

Is to name blessings, one by one, That game is the most fun,
Sure enough it was true, To my friends and family too,
In sending a prayer of thanks, Blessings came to my mind bank.
And ring! went the happiness bells, Just like our Bible tells.

Monday, March 2, 2009

GUIDANCE

Renewal is the order of Spring, as March lengthens the days to bring hope for growth and health. Scientist Elmer Green, tells us the cells of the body renew themselves too for growth and healing according to our bidding. The various organs of the body are conscious and anxious to take action to please us. "It could be said they are like dogs and have a needed measure of self consciousness. Through a series of dreams I learned that all the cells of the body can be spoken to which is part of our spiritual side." Dr. Green has been an internationally known lecturer, a former physicist with the U.S. Navy with a Ph.D. in bio-psychology, and co-author of "Beyond Biofeedback."

"For example, we train people who have Raynaud's Disease by means of sensitive thermal feedback with digital readouts as small as a hundredth of a degree Fahrenheit, and when the patient visualized holding a warm, hard-boiled egg in hand, they would find part of a degree change in the temperature of that hand. Then we begin talking about the fact that the involuntary nervous system isn't entirely involuntary. Visualize what you want the body to do, and it will begin to do it," Dr. Green tells us.

"Movies like 'What Dreams May Come' and 'Sixth Sense' have been useful by giving people ideas for visualization. One of the important things is to know that we, as individuals, can do some good for ourselves and for our present world challenges. We're only one person out of more than six billion but if we hold a thought in mind, and hold it continuously, that thought becomes an alive force. Then when that force is joined with others of similar structure, it has a powerful 'coherent' effect on our planet as well. And as I understand it, this has to do with the 'saving' of the planet. It is for people of like mind to get together," was Dr. Green's closing comment.

Step one for health challenges like cancer that has been ravaging so many both young and old, it could do no harm to have a daily chat with with body cells. Cells can text messages back through illustrations in dreams as well. Many inventions have come about through dreams. The whole world was changed when Constantine I, called Constantine the Great, had a dream in 312 A.D. in which he saw a flaming cross and the words "In hoc signo vinces." ("In this sign is victory.") After his victory the following day he took the Christian symbol as his standard. A year later, in the Edict of Milan, he proclaimed religious tolerance for Christians.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

THE OPEN ROAD

It's always interesting to read more about the value of trees and another gift from trees appears in the Spring 2009 issue of the "Open Road", Page 16 (Email: openroad@edgarcaycecanada.com).

The article asserts "Numbers of families with asthmatic problems can greet this year's arrival of spring tree foliage with an extra measure of deep and heart-felt joy. In the year just past, researchers announced that asthmatic children living in areas with tree growth nearby, showed a 25 percent reduction in the laboured breathing, coughing, wheezing and rasping the affliction brings." It may be good to check with a specialist to be sure if it matters which kind of tree it is the best to plant for help with this kind of health problem.

The article also points out that when living in areas of overflowing rivers and slopes, it might be helpful to plant trees in the area because tree roots suck up rampaging moisture along with pollution and as an added bonus gives forth oxygen. He adds that the tree bearing the maple leaf has served as our Canadian symbol as early as the l700s.

The article's writer, Jack Wilcox, tells the story of his father Rev. Noel Wilcox , who in 1928 introduced his book of poetry "Piper of Dreams", including his poem Reverie. His daughters paid tribute to his work which can be visited at their website (www.feeljoy.ca).

The same issue has an article on Page seven, called "Grace", by Harvey Green. One of the comments on his website has a good saying to recall: "The process of growth is everything - the outcome is awareness or cumulative experience." website: www.spiritjournalhawaii.com.

No wonder we always wish for a grove of trees or even just one tree to enjoy while having a family picnic.