FEND OFF INFECTION WITH PHYTOCHEMICALS

Growing and using fresh herbs as a staple fights off infections. These refreshing plants are willing to grow in window boxes and be moved out to the deck as warmer nights spur their growth. Add mint to meat rubs, salads and whole grain pasta to gives that extra edge of freshness.

Some shoppers complain that fresh vegetables are the most expensive part of a meal. Instead of tossing veggie “discards” grate them into slaws, salads, stews or soups. It adds fiber, crunch and flavour. More than half of Mayo dressing can be replaced with Greek-style yogurt for creamy richness with less fat. Yogurt’s probiotics boosts immunity and makes a great add-in for recent chilly spring days and nights.

Wheat germ is a good source of fiber, vitamin E and B vitamins, folic acid and also adds a toasty taste and grainy texture. I have used wheat germ as half the flour for waffles and pancakes and no one seemed to notice. Dark honey and maple syrup gives a lower blood sugar rise. Manuka honey is best but it is the most expensive.

Feeling exhausted and experiencing foggy thinking, a friend visited a naturopathic doctor. The doctor explained that vitamin D acts like a hormone in the body and a deficiency could trigger all sorts of symptoms including low immunity, foggy thinking and even high blood pressure. After running blood tests the doctor recommended Vitamin D supplements. My friend tells me the difference in her energy was remarkable.

LAUGH AND LIVE LONGER

It begins first thing in the morning. Smile at the day. Keep your smile handy while you glide down on the floor and take half dozen in-and-out breaths through the nose. Exhale quickly through your nose with 10 short bursts. This yoga technique, called Kapalabhati expels negative thoughts and you will feel a burst of can-do that lifts your worries away.

This pleasant mood gets you safely to work. You’ve heard two new employees are scheduled to start that day. You want them to feel welcome. So bring that pleasant smile back into position. In a British study, people who gave “long onset” smiles were perceived to be friendlier and more authentic than those who smile right away. Any new people around will be eager to get to know you and respond to your pleasant smile.

Now it is time to bring on the big guns. At coffee break recall a recent joke you have heard, an experience you may have had on your first day at work, or perhaps something funny from a recent “Laugh out Loud” comedy show. As the clock works out the hours of their first day they will recall how relaxed and pleasant the day went and tell the family about it. Both families will be smiling also and bring on a chuckle of their own that adds to everyone's pleasant day. And they may even laugh out loud which will be even better, and help them all live happily and add years to life as it is practiced often.

THE MUSIC PLAYED EACH DAY

“What goes around comes ‘round again,” an ancient proverb quotes,
In subtle ways our debts are paid – the way we’ve treated folks.
That works in silent, secret ways, kind deeds and acts we’ve done,
Come ‘round to sing their melodies, in tunes for everyone.

With those in business corridors, a smile can light the way,
Some walk life’s road with heavy loads, your interest cheers their day.
A choir of silent music fills those dark and empty rooms
Of hearts that need a caring touch, to find their inner tune.

That moves upon the tones of love, creating symphonies,
That blends in warm vibrations with ideals for you and me.
Life’s circling carousel moves on, through many lands and climes,
As choices in mysterious ways, change attitudes through time.

Creation folds its day to night, we join its sacred force
In union with all living things as we blend in with life’s source.
Hearts join hearts in the dance of life – moving gently from within
To smooth the way through every day, with co-workers, friends and kin.

HOSPITAL HELP

Enough accolades cannot be found to express the wonderful care and encouragement given to patients by the nurses and other aids here at the Vernon Jubilee Hospital. Their pleasant morning greetings seem to set the day for hope and healing as the wheels of their carts roll with them carrying the instruments that record the patient’s vital signs and the doctor’s orders for the day.

A CT scan tells the story of a lonely gall stone that was left in the gall duct some years ago when the gall bladder was removed. An ambulance speeds the patient to the Kelowna General Hospital where a special instrument is available and the doctor who is a specialist in that area takes charge of the situation. A small dipper with a light at the end is squeezed through the esophagus to find and scoop out the errant stone. At this point a wonderful breeze of oxygen keeps my heart beating. As I slip into oblivion I recall the struggle to get my breath a decade ago after the first operation, and I wonder if I will ever come out of the anesthetic this time. It all went very well.

Yes, it’s me causing all this trouble for so many. Thankfully, men and women have studied hard to get the education needed to carry out these miracles. I ponder what preventive measures I could have taken to avoid all the trouble I have caused. Politician, priest or peasants are all treated alike in our health system. Back in the 30s depression not one of our eight farm children had to go to a doctor for help. It was 65 miles to get to a clinic in Medicine Hat. There was no fast food on the farm except when we raced out to our vegetable garden for groceries and to the barn for eggs and other protein supplies like milk. Exercise on these forays added to our health as well. Pods came on pea vines instead of part of the fast phones like we have now. The only sweets was the cake Mother had ready for Sunday dinner after walking a mile home from church held at our small country school house during the summer months when a minister came for his practicum. Paying our income tax is almost a pleasure considering the great health system now available for over half a century. My tax cheque is in the mail.

THE SILVER CHALICE

A sacred verse in Holy Writ, a special message brought,
“Drink of my cup for fuller lives,” the ancient Scriptures taught.
So trusted leaders spoke to folks, of high and low renown,
“This Holy Grail we all must seek, and bring it to our town.
Through force we shall retrieve this cup and let our people view.
This precious chalice must be won, and thus man be renewed.”

So every eye searched for this cup, this treasure to bestow,
But only those with hearts renewed would its pure essence know.
And as the years of search rolled on, a new age dawned to show,
The chalice was God’s gift of life, and from within comes flow.
Life’s living waters – spiritual love, kindness given free,
And doing for the “least of these,” Was the message meant to be.

The violence of the Crusades caused death and deep remorse,
By living love, peace is found, that Crusades sought through force.
And shows lives joined in veils unseen, each one a living cell,
Through loving words and kindly deeds found growth for self as well.
True joy arose within each heart as family, friends and all,
Felt renewed with bonds of love in answer to God’s call.

Happy Easter Weekend coming up on April 3rd. Have a wonderful
time with family and friends as special blessings are sent to all.

RECAPTURE YOUR YOUTH WITH YOGA

A study of 118 people ages 60 and older with the problem of age-related curvature of the spine was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Half the group practiced certain simple yoga moves three days a week for six months, while the others attended lectures on better health.

People in the yoga study bent forward with their back flat, arms extended, and hands on the back or seat of a chair. People in the yoga group ended up with straighter spines and reported less upper back pain and better sleep. They could also rise from a chair more quickly.

While waiting for your breakfast egg to boil or the kettle to heat up, one could gently extend the arms to the back of a chair during the first week and during the second week extend the arms to the seat of the chair. This exercise relaxes the entire body and the time it takes can be tucked into any hour of the day as well.

THE CUP OF KINDNESS

One of my earliest memories was the day of the week we heard the whistle of the CPR train which signaled the day of the week Canada Post would drop the mail off at our small country town. My father would have his team of horses ready for the ten mile drive to Orion. After stopping at the post office for the mail he would go to the small store and present a list of items mother had handed him which might include a tin of baking powder, oil for the coal oil lamp or perhaps a spool of thread. Most food items for our household were grown in Mother’s large garden. Neighbours exchanged local news at the store or while waiting in line at the post office to pick up the mail. My oldest brother hooked together the wire on the fences and the barbed wire telephone came into being. Each household was given a code of short and long ring sounds and were asked not to pick up unless it was their signal. If too many picked up just to listen the voices grew dim.

Our mail included the weekly Free Press Prairie Farmer, and once a month the Reader Digest. After the milking chores the coal oil lamp was lit and my father read the Digest throughout the night. The closest library was 65 miles away in Medicine Hat. Now we can subscribe to many magazines and books that are delivered right to our door by Canada Post. One of the magazines I enjoy is “The Open Road” from Bracebridge, Ontario. Among its inspirational items in one by Harvey Green who lives in Kailua, Hawaii, with his wife and family and writes and lectures on spiritual healing. In all walks of life he asks his readers to seize every opportunity to “Just be kind, one to another. So simple is this perspective that it may seem unworthy of the place of importance given. If it were more complex it would fail in its inherent ability to be so basic to all things. From compassion will inevitably flow the Christ life. We would often prefer life would be more complicated than this so we could justify our own neglect. This however, is not the case and in His infinite mercy, God has placed the meaning of life in the earth within easy reach of us all. In all things, above all things, just be kind, one to another. From us ‘rivers of living water’ will flow from each of us.” Wars would certainly cease and compassion be our way of life. Thanks Harvey for a small but relevant sermon. Website: http://www.spiritjournalhawaii.com/.