WHITTIER, JOHN GREENLEAF

This United States poet lived from1807 - 1892, and was often called the Robert Burns of New England. Like the Scottish bard, he chose to write about the homely scenes and simple folks of his native region. When attending school in a neighbourhood farmhouse at age l4, his schoolmaster gave him a volume of poems by Robert Burns. John had never seen a book of poetry before and after being inspired by Burns poetry, often exceeded many other poets in feeling and eloquence. Many of his poems defended the rights of workers and attacked the institution of slavery. He is often referred to as the Quaker Poet.

Among the lines he left for us to enjoy are the following fourteen words: my favourites:

"The joy that you give others is the joy that comes back to you."

DREAM IMAGES AND SYMBOLS

Ever since childhood I have been fascinated by the story of Joseph of Egypt who gained favour with the Egyptian pharaoh by interpreting a dream that came three times in succession, pointing to food shortages to come that could cause a famine in Egypt. As Mrs. Weeks, our Sunday School teacher told us so many years ago, the pharaoh appointed Joseph as his foreign grain buyer. As the dream had said there was seven years of drought in Egypt. But Joseph acted on this dream and kept the Egyptian grain bins full and the famine was avoided.

Now right here in British Columbia we hear rumblings of possible problems to come regarding our soil and how dusty and dry it is this year. Spring has come very late this year, and there may be challenges in our country. The first few days in May gave us some warmth but I haven't seen any bees working the few flowers that have emerged from bulbs. The tulips sprang into action after those few warm days and are likely looking around for some bees. The bees are cozy inside their hives, crowding around their queen and vibrating their wings to keep her warm for important duties to come. All this wing action also keeps the workers warm as well, as it does during the winter months.

I phoned the Library to see if there was a book that had considerable coverage on this subject. Those wonderful Library people I often mention, were able to bring in a book called "Dream Images and Symbols," by Kevin J. Todeschi. It contained 275 pages of fascinating information. The Library brought this book in from another city in the province and is not renewable. I might decide to call l-800-723-1112 and get a book for myself. The author tells how a dreamscape can express its meaning through key words and scenes. He says it is important to keep a paper and pencil handy by your bed to jot down these key words immediately after waking so the dream can be recalled the next day and thus be guided about future decisions for the future of your family and for your nation if you are the leader or the pharaoh. For example, an "airport" dream might be expressing high ideals and messages to come. A dream of "angels" could be associated with wisdom and guidance available through this dream. A dream featuring "alcohol" might be warning of inclination to lose control. We've all likely heard of the inventor of the sewing machine needle. A line of warriors stood before him in the dream with upright spears ready for action. He noticed that one of them had a hole near the point of his spear. Waking the next day, he realized the sewing machine would require a needle near the point instead of the usual needle that was used for handwork as was the custom in the seventeenth century.

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE ON THE MARCH

According to a report in "The Military Times," the Pentagon has invested more than five million dollars this past year to investigate the value of alternative treatments such as Reiki, acupuncture, meditation, yoga and companion animals. Evidence is accumulating that treatments once viewed as "fringe" are becoming part of the mainstream.

Studies underway are examining, for example, whether meditation improves "emotional resilience." Will holding and petting an animal reduce some of the symptoms of PTSD? Studies of acupuncture are evaluating its effectiveness in pain reduction, such as for veterans who sustained brain damage. A spokesperson for the studies noted that many military patients seem to prefer these alternatives.

PET CARE - VACCINATIONS, HELPFUL OR HARMFUL

Doug Knueven, DVM, is the author of "Stand By Me, A Holistic Handbook for Animals, People, and the Lives They Share." For further information go to www.BeaverAnimalClinic.com. Vaccines are a way of introducing antigen into the body to stimulate the immune system as a defense of the particular disease. All pets do need to be vaccinated for rabies where it is legal because it is a disease that can be transferred from animals to people and keeps millions of pets safe, also.

Dr. Knueven invites people to e-mail questions with your first name and hometown to: letters@edgarcayce.org. If your question is chosen, Dr. Knueven will answer it in a future column.
In closing Dr. Knueven comments: "I believe that every pet needs its basic distemper vaccine. This needs to be boostered several times in puppies and kittens to insure immunity. After a year of age, the distemper vaccine in both dogs and cats has been proven to last four to seven years. That is correct, it has now been scientifically proven that yearly vaccination for distemper is unnecessary.

HAPPINESS HABITS

According to "Foresight," the British think tank was assigned the task of finding recommendations for a happier citizenry. Reported in the Times Online, they concluded there were five major happiness habits to be observed. Researchers found that it is not so much the circumstance as attitude and habit. There are things to do to preserve your sanity and enjoy life more. Even if you've known some of these attitudes before, it makes news to hear it from a British government recommendation.

l. Connect with and develop ongoing relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours. Not only can it be fun, contacts could bring sources of support.
2. Be active, even if it is a daily stroll, participation in sports, and active hobbies such as gardening or dancing are also good.
3. Be curious and appreciative of the fun moments and attractive sights you encounter. Taking a moment to notice your appreciation is a great mood elevator.
4. Learn something new, like a new language. Learning to play a musical instrument gives your brain a workout and keeps it young.
5. Give to others, whether it be time, attention, or material things. Not only does it "spread the wealth," it will make you happy.

BEES WILL SOON BE BUSY

The first of May brought us a warm sunny day at last. A very cool spring has kept the honeybees silent as they form a cluster around the Queen and beat their wings to keep the hive warm over winter. The Queen bee is no doubt very busy in her kitchen planning the diets for her three kinds of subjects in her hive of perhaps 50,000 worker bees. In line with their diet requirements, she lets a couple hundred eggs develop into drones, the males needed for the wedding dance. They just lay around doing nothing but waiting for the wedding ceremony. She is wise enough to keep the whole hive in control according to the kind and amount of food for each egg she lays. Laying eggs at the rate of one every minute keeps her busy indeed. All the workers are girls, and never allowed to fully mature so she can keep them happy just gathering pollen and nectar for the next winter's food supply. She keeps the germ cells from last year's wedding in a pouch in her body and releases them a few at a time. In her hive of 50,000 subjects she counts out only a couple of hundred to develop into males, the drones needed for the wedding dance.

A rich food secreted by glands in the head of an adult worker is fed to a few eggs to insure the future of the hive. After four or five years the Queen will have to give up her throne to one of them. But she doesn't give up her crown easily. She has a smooth curved stinger reserved for doing battle with a rival queen. Older and weaker, and no longer able to lay enough eggs, she will die in battle. The winner takes the crown and the new Queen controls the hive. I recall how impressed I was when I first saw a swarm of bees flying high. After the wedding the drones are no longer fed by the workers and soon die off.

This is a brief review of what is going on in Beeland as these busy insects keep our food supply intact during the summer to produce our winter's food supply. Hats off and many thanks to the bees who work so hard for our benefit. It's not an easy life for the worker bees as they sometimes face an early death coping with pesticides and other poisons released by car exhaust.

HEALING POWER FROM HEALTHY FOODS

One of my regular Blog readers e-mailed me with some additional information on the healing power of healthy food that can keep the flu from settling in a body when it is kept in an alkaline condition. He included a web site that explains and clarifies the theory better than I could.

Here is the web site: http://edgarcayce.org/fluvirusprotection.html.

The key foods mentioned are celery, lettuce, and carrots. This advice cannot do any harm so one could give it a try since it includes no drugs. It is always best to buy organic vegetables and fruits when possible.

A grade school child in Vernon, B.C. at Bearisto Montessori School has returned from a visit to Mexico, and was found to have the flu virus. The school is closed for a week.

Another web site to check out is: Johns Hopkins: http://aphg.edu/index.cfm.