december 2013

H E A L T H Y L I V I N G H E A L T H Y P L A N E T

feel good • live simply • laugh moreFREE

TOUCHING HEAVEN

Proof of Life After Death

GREEN Merry-Making

Retro-Fresh Family Traditions

Peace on Our Plates

Mindful Eating for a More Peaceful World

December 2013 | Tennessee Valley | Natvalley.com

Holistic Green ExpoComing March 9, 2014, at The Westin located at Bridge Street Town Center

The mission of the Holistic Green Expo is to improve the quality of our lives and environment, to raise awareness and to educate the community on how to live a healthier lifestyle.

The event will highlight local and regional businesses and organizations that offer alternative solutions in healthcare, fitness, healthy eating and green alternatives

that contribute to a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.

For sponsorship or vendor opportunities please call 256-340-1122.

Sponsored by:

Progressive

FamilyMedicine

Alternative Medicine Associates

MADISON FAMILY CARE

Take Care Alabama

Community Business | Outreach | Wellness

3natural awakenings December 2013

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contents

1 1 GREEN MERRY-MAKING Retro-Fresh Family Traditions by Claire O’Neil

12 PEACE ON OUR PLATES Mindful Eating for a More Peaceful World by Judith Fertig

14 NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES Proof of Life after Death by Linda Sechrist

20 ‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE WISE A Prime Time to Rejuvenate and Birth Creativity by Lane Vail

22 PET FIRST-AID KITS All-Natural Home Health Care by Sandra Murphy

23 THE FENG SHUI OF GIFT GIVING by Trudi Gardner

24 HUMANITY’S ETERNAL QUEST Eckhart Tolle on the Kingdom of Heaven Within by Eric Nelson

25 BE HAPPY RIGHT NOW The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware

Natural Awakenings is your guide to a healthier, more balanced life. In each issue readers find cutting-edge information on natural health, nutrition, fitness, personal growth, green living, creative expression and the products and services that support a healthy lifestyle.

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© 2013 by Natural Awakenings. All rights reserved. Although some parts of this publication may be reproduced and reprinted, we require that prior permission be obtained in writing.

Natural Awakenings is a free publication distributed locally and is supported by our advertisers. It is available in selected stores, health and education centers, healing centers, public libraries and wherever free publications are generally seen. Please call to find a location near you or if you would like copies placed at your business.

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What does it mean to Awaken? To see a re-ality behind the reality that you thought you knew so well. An overlay of a much

larger truth. Everything is still there, but it is now modified in its meaning. Some elements of the world are changed hardly at all, while others are recast dra-matically. All are answerable to, and illumined by, a towering truth—a new primary organizing principle: All things are divinely guided, and everything is

getting better! Four years ago, I didn't necessarily believe that. I didn't buy into there being any higher reality at all. But then some things happened that I couldn't explain. Some very odd things that I didn't have an answer for in my thoroughly unin-spired, unimaginative, and un-magical way of understanding the world. My thor-oughly non-spiritual belief set. Not a whole lot of Meaning, there, but that actually never bothered me one bit. I was not a Seeker, you see. The magical weirdness had to come to me. Then it did, and it was all very positive, very loving, very beautiful, and true. Its Truth did not need to fit in little boxes. That's what the higher reality is…it just Is…and palpably so. It's a tangible, felt presence, even though largely unseen. That's the Energy, they said. Right! It's all about energy and higher vibration. I get that now. The explana-tion feels just as "scientific" to me now as anything ever did. And for the last few years the energies on Earth have been increasing exponentially. I look at my own life, and am amazed at what I've been able to do in the last three years. I recently found a "Goals for the New Year" list that I had forgot-ten I had written, dated December 31, 2010. I am not a goal-setter. I do not make lists. But I did on that day, and the goals, posed as a question to myself, "What is it that you want most?" were intensely personal and, for the time, wildly ambitious, largely having to do with the getting-my-personal-act-together idea. I was able to check off many of my most passionately wished-for goals from the end of 2010. Believe me, it wasn't my doing…I certainly couldn't have done it without the rising tide of high-vibrational Cosmic and Divine energies that are being gifted to us as ascending humans on an ascending planet Earth. It's there, you can feel it. If you can't feel it…just look at the results. Look how far we've all come, where we've arrived at, as a collective, at the end of 2013. We stopped a war. We're reclaiming control of our food. People are awakening. Con-sciousness is growing. Compassion no longer sounds like naiveté. "Being realistic" about things now means being wildly optimistic, and confidently so. Cooperation is in. Nobody wins unless everyone's included. Our goal is the liberation of all people from lack and limitation.

And all of that would have sounded nuts in 2010.

letterfrompublisher


newsbriefsNew Owner of Hope For Life Colonics

Natural Awakenings is pleased to introduce the new owner of Hope For Life Colonics, Tina Pencola. Mrs.

Pencola has used colonics for many years and seen the ben-efits first hand, and when opportunity arose to own a clinic and become a colonics therapist she seized it. Colonics is a therapy, which uses a warm purified water to gentle removed fecal matter along with slug on the wall of the large intestine that has built up over time. Colonics has been found to help with sluggish system, weight issues, joint pain, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis,

Crohn’s disease, leaky gut syndrome, heart problems, migraine headaches, sinus problems, allergies, bad breath, body odor, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis and cancer of the bowel. Hope for Life now uses Kangen water. This great little machine produces both clean water and alkaline water for drinking or other uses. The Kangen water is added to the colonics therapy to help aide with the detox process. Mrs. Pencola also offers clients who come for colonics on a regular basis the opportunity to fill their own jugs with purified alkaline Kangen water to take home to drink. Hope For Life also offers BioCleanse detox footbaths, Infra Red Sauna, and the VibraTrim Machine. Just in time for the holidays Hope For Life will be offer-ing a free 30-minute session in their Infra Red Sauna with a paid colonics. Infra Red Saunas help in detoxing the body. Benefits include the removal of toxins and chemical waste, strengthens the immune system, and very therapeutic for stiff joints and muscles. It is also effective in relief from arthritis and bursitis. A simple thirty-minute sauna relaxation can also burn up to 600 calories.

Location: 10300 Bailey Cove Rd, Suite 7A, Huntsville, AL. For more information or to make your appointment call 256-270 -8731 or visit Hope4LifeAL.com. See ad, page 10.

Holiday Stress? Hypnosis Can Help

The holidays are supposed to be a time for celebrating and good cheer. Yet for many it’s a time of stress, tension and depression from loneliness, too much

activity and too little time, financial pressure, the possibility of gaining weight, gift giving anxiety, and entertaining. But it doesn’t have to be stressful. You can look forward to a stress free holiday, bring the enjoyment back and look forward to it with anticipation as you: Enjoy your family and friends, enjoy festivities, be in control of your emotions, have a positive attitude—especially about yourself—and relax more. You can regain the Holiday Spirit. You can change your holidays and your life by using time tested and proven techniques of Hypnosis. It is amazing how you can conquer all the things that cause you stress and gain positive feelings and emotions. Hypnosis can help you unlock the power of your mind, and it is very powerful. You can take control of your life rather than letting life control you. As you recognize the emotional triggers that bring on negative feelings, you can change them to affirmative thoughts, positive beliefs and ideas, which allow you to create and live the life you want, even during the holidays. With the holidays upon us, prepare to spend the season with increased joy, energy and much more.

Marsha Mathes is a Certified Consulting Hypnotist through the National Guild for Hypnotists (www.ngh.net). Call 256-698-2151 to make your hypnosis appoint-ment. See listing, page 28.

coverartist

Tina Pencola

In the Spirit of the Season – May We

Walk as OneJody Bergsma

Jody Bergsma began creating art at age 3, when her mother suggested that she draw her nightmares to vanquish her fears. Monsters illustrated with pink and green crayons were not so scary, and the budding young artist became hooked. By her mid-teens, Bergsma was selling her fanciful works and she went on to become an award-winning illustrator. In her whimsical, elfin watercolors and detailed, dramatic images of wildlife, the artist often uses aboriginal, native and geometric designs and symbols derived from the beautiful patterns of ancient cultures. By respectfully working with these images, she reintegrates them into our modern ethos. “I propose that all humankind shares a common reality just beyond the range of normal sight,” remarks Bergsma, whose watercolor technique is self-taught. “Each person’s physical adventure is unique, but the abstract language of feelings and realization of existence is our shared experience. “Art is a tradition that helps define who we are and brings us a vision of who we can become,” Bergsma contin-ues. “My painting is my expression and request for a more beautiful, peaceful and harmonious world.”

View the artist’s portfolio at Bergsma.com.


Terry Wingo, RPh Ginny Isbell, Pharm D

The Physician’s ResourceCompounding Pharmacy • Natural Pharmacy

8 Parade Street, Huntsville, Alabama [email protected] • www.madisondrugs.com

256 . 837.1778

• Pet Compounding Pharmacy

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• Hormone Saliva Testing Available

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Buy an I Care! Rx Ornament.

Serving You For 28 Years.

Searching for HolidayGift Ideas?

Madison Drugs GIFT CERTIFICATES are available this holiday season. Why not give a gift of wellness to that special person in your life?

Gift Certificates can be redeemed on any store purchase, including a Therapeutic Massage, Yoga Classes, Anti-Aging Skin Care, Wellness Consults, etc.

Who wouldn’t appreciate a gift of

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Inner WellnessCenter for

Creating Positive Change ThroughHypnotherapy, Breathwork &

EFT/Matrix Reimprinting

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• Stress and Anxiety• Fears/Phobias• Release Negativity• Let Go of the Past• Pain Management • Weight Loss• Smoking Cessation

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PaleoCookies for the Holidays

As a native German, Ina Sen has a passion for baking that

was inspired by her mom when she was a young girl. Mrs. Sen treated her husband to the best-baked cookies, cakes, and breads, until the birth of their son who has multiple food allergies. At first, baking without eggs or milk was unthinkable, but through the past

11 years she has developed her own recipes for gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free, and dairy-free cakes and cookies to the point that her friends preferred Mrs. Sen’s baked goods over traditional baked goods. "It was wonderful to discover great-tasting cookies or breads made of nut flours," says Mrs. Sen. "It has been very rewarding to see others enjoy cakes and other treats, no matter what allergy they have, without allergic reactions and with a happy smile on their faces." After reading Elaine Gottschall's book Breaking the Vicious Cycle, Mrs. Sen’s family has been eating grain-free baked goods and has been feeling better and healthier than ever before. Now, Mrs. Sen brings Allergen-Free, Low Carb Baking to the public with PaleoCookie. Most of her baked goods are Paleo, meaning grain free, gluten-free, and low carb. She uses almost exclusively natural and organic ingredients and sweetens either with fruits or with honey, coconut sugar, maple syrup, or pure cane sugar. PaleoCookie offers cookies, birthday cookie cakes, muffins, cupcakes, gluten-free sweet breads. Requests for custom-made items are welcomed.

Call PaleoCookie at 256-797-3359 to order or place orders online at Etsy.com/shop/PaleoCookie. See listing, page 29.

Manna Market Organic Co-op Brings Services to Decatur

After suffering with a serious illness for nearly a year, Robyn Mitchell knows first hand how

eating healthy can play an important role in one's health. During this illness, her research led her to the benefits of eating organically and sparked her passion to introduce the community to the health benefits of eating organically. Manna Market has grown from a 12-family organic co-op to a thriv-ing business that grows its own biodynamic produce and procures the best local and regional organic produce for its customers across Alabama. Manna Market offers locally grown, all-natural sustainable produce. One can taste the difference when they taste the vegetables and fruits. Manna Market products are not genetic modified organisms (GMOs). They are pesticide free, no poison treatment, and grown with good agricultural practices (GAP Certified). All Manna Market vegetables and fruits are either locally natural grown sustainable products or fully certified organic products. The menu at Manna Market changes weekly to reflect what is in season. Manna Market Organic Food Co-op will now be delivering to Decatur every other Tuesday from 1:30-3:30pm.

Pickup location: 2205 Country Club Rd, Decatur, AL. For more information or to order call 205-566-2533 or visit MannaMarket.net.


healthbriefs

Sprinkle Cinnamon to Avert Alzheimer’sCinnamon is known as an excellent

antioxidant that improves fast-ing blood sugar levels and prevents heart disease. Now new research of-fers yet another benefit and reason to add this potent spice to our daily diet. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have confirmed that cinnamon helps protect against Alzheimer’s disease. They found that the cinnamon compounds cinnamaldehyde and epicat-echin help stop the formation of “tangles” of tau protein in the brain, hallmarks of the memory-robbing neurodegenerative disease. The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, says these pow-erful antioxidants that give cinnamon its potent flavor and scent defend mental function in a unique way. “Take, for example, sunburn, a form of oxidative damage,” explains Roshni Graves, of the university’s Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. “If you wore a hat, you could protect your face and head from oxidation. In a sense, this cinnamaldehyde is like a cap,” protecting against tau proteins. The findings suggest that sufficient cinnamon consumption might stop the progression of Alzheimer’s or even prevent it.

Cocoa Calms InflammationFew can say no to a cup of hot cocoa on a

cold winter’s night. “Enjoy!” say Penn State researchers. They have found that a little bit of cocoa may be a powerful diet aid in helping to control inflammation and ameliorate related diseases, including diabetes. Numerous current studies link obesity to inflammation in the body. Cocoa, although a common ingredient of chocolate, by itself has low-calorie, low-fat and high-fiber content. The researchers fed laboratory mice the human equivalent of 10 tablespoons of cocoa powder—about four or five cups of hot cocoa—along with a high-fat diet for 10 weeks. The control group ate the same diet without the cocoa. Lead researcher Joshua Lambert, Penn State associate professor of food science, says the study results surprised the team, which did not expect the “dramatic reduction of inflam-

mation and fatty liver disease” associated with obesity. Although the animals lost no weight, the cocoa powder supplement reduced liver triglycerides by 32 percent and plasma insulin levels by 27 percent, indicating it might be a powerful obesity-fighting tool. But there is a catch: Adding sugar, an inflammatory substance in itself, to healthy cocoa will likely neutralize the benefits. Try stevia as a sweetener instead; it’s been used for decades to lower blood sugar.

MEDITATION HELPS HEAL TRAUMATIzED VETERANSTranscendental Meditation (TM) has

a dramatic healing effect on people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and can also result in lower blood pres-sure, according to two new studies. TM—a technique to avoid dis-tracting thoughts, decrease stress and promote a state of relaxed awareness—reduced PTSD symptoms in combat veterans by as much as 50 percent in just eight weeks, according to a study from Georgetown University, in Wash-ington, D.C., published in the journal Military Medicine. The veterans also reported decreased depression and improved quality of life, with a greater ability to come back to their civilian lives after returning from duty. Vietnam War vets randomly assigned to TM sessions at a Denver Veterans Center also experienced greater reductions in alcohol usage, insomnia and depression than those in conven-tional counseling. At the conclusion of a landmark three-month study, 70 percent of the meditating veterans felt they no longer required the services of the center. A separate American Heart Association report on the general U.S. population showed that the practice of TM generally reduced systolic blood pressure in subjects by five points and diastolic by three points, enough to put many of them into normal range. Previ-ous clinical trials have shown that lower blood pressure through TM practice is associated with significantly lower rates of death, heart attack and stroke. TM is usually practiced for 15 to 20 minutes twice a day by sitting comfortably and focusing on an indi-vidually selected word or series of words.


TO GET MORE, GIVE MOREGiving away money or spending it on others increas-

es the giver’s sense of personal wealth, according to research by Michael Norton, of Harvard Business School, and co-author Elizabeth Dunn, of the University of British Columbia. The latest in a series of studies showed that people that support others, from helping with homework to shoveling a neighbor’s driveway, feel that they had more

time in general and that giving time away relieved the sense of “not having enough time,” even more than gaining unexpected free time.

Cranberries Support Healthy Circulation Regularly drinking cranberry juice may help con-

trol blood pressure, according to new findings presented at the American Heart Association’s High Blood Pressure Research 2012 Scientific Sessions. Cranberry juice, the researchers note, is rich in

antioxidants—naturally occurring molecules that have been associated with the blood pressure-lowering benefit. U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers discovered a moderate systolic pressure reduction—about three points—for people that drank two eight-ounce glasses of cranberry juice every day for eight weeks. Because of the sugar calories in juice, consider the alternative of a whole-food cranberry supplement.

Button Batteries Imperil BambinosButton-type lithium batteries are all around

us, powering remote controls, keyless entry devices for cars, flameless candles, watches, greet-ing cards and other devices. Parents should be aware that these batteries are attractive to small children and if swallowed, can dissolve and cause serious damage to the esophagus in as little as two hours. The National Safety Council reports that the number of children swallowing these batteries quadrupled between 2005 and 2010, to 3,400 cases, yet 62 percent of parents are unaware of the danger.

Peace on Earth will come to stay,When we live Christmas every day.

~Helen Steiner Rice

News Briefs We welcome news items

relevant to the subject matter of our magazine. We also

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Tagging ToxinsOnline Database Identifies Safe Products

SafeMarkets.org offers a new clear-inghouse of information gathered by advocates investigating toxic chemicals in food, baby products, toys, furniture, construction mate-rials and other consumer goods. Families, municipalities, builders and businesses can use it to identify potentially harmful products and find safer alternatives. Hosted by the Workgroup for Safe Markets (WSM), it’s a one-stop shop to provide information for consumers, retailers and manu-facturers that are demanding safer products, says Beverley Thorpe, a WSM co-leader and consulting co-director for Clean Production Action. Mia Davis, vice president of health and safety at Beautycounter, who is expecting her first child, sees it as a resource for parents to find a full complement of safe products for their families. “More than ever,” she says, “people understand how im-portant it is to shop with companies they trust and to support businesses working to create truly safe products.”

globalbriefsNews and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.

Intuitive GenerositySpontaneity Sparks AltruismWhat makes people put “we” ahead of “me”? To find out,

a group of Harvard University researchers enrolled thousands of people to play a “public good” game in which subjects were divided into small groups, given some money and the choice to keep it or contribute it to a common pool that would grow and benefit the

entire group. Researchers discovered that those that made their decisions quickly were more likely to contribute to the common good. Taking it a step further, the researchers applied time pressure to the decision-making process. They then found that those faced with making a quick decision most often chose the “we” option, while those that spent more time deliberating ended up giving less money to the group kitty. The Massachusetts research team, which tested thousands of online world-wide participants, concluded that spontaneity and intuition guide people into rapid acts of kindness.

Arctic RescueFinland Calls for North Pole SanctuaryThe Finnish government has adopted a new Arctic Strategy that calls for a global sanctuary around the North Pole as one of the key demands of the growing Save the Arctic movement, reversing its long-held position of backing corporate interests over the environment. The populace responded strongly to a series of actions taken by Greenpeace against government icebreaker ships aiding corporate oil exploration in order to heighten awareness of the issue. The new Finnish policy reflects a mounting world citizenry’s view that the Arctic deserves protection. Greenpeace points out that companies can wreck the Arctic with little penalty and the current Arctic Council oil spill agreement does nothing to protect the Arc-tic or impose liability in this the most vulnerable place on Earth. The hope is that the other seven Arctic Council countries will see the light, as well.

Sign the petition and pitch in at SaveTheArctic.org.

Beth LudwigNationally Certified

Licensed Massage Therapist AL Lic #1659Certified Lymphedema Therapist

Certified Neuro-Muscular TherapistMaster Level Reiki Practitioner

915 A Merchants Walk ~ Huntsville, AL 35801Phone - 256-426-2555

Email - [email protected]

256-270-8731 • 256-684-0020hope4lifeal.com • [email protected]

10300 Bailey Cove Rd. SE, Suite 7A • Huntsville, AL 35803

Tina PencolaCertified Colon Hydrotherapist

Colonics • Bio-Cleanse • Infra-Red Sauna


greenliving

Throughout the year, Santa’s good girls and boys of all ages make every effort to buy only what’s

needed, plus recycle, reuse and repur-pose. Then the holidays hit and disci-pline often gives way to indulgences. The season seems consumed by up-tempo decorating, feasting, shopping, gift-giving and merrymaking at any cost. Yet, creative green living experts show us how easy it is to tweak time-honored family traditions to align with the green way we wish to live and feel even more satisfied with festivities.

Decking the HallsFor Danny Seo, author of Upcycling Celebrations: A Use-What-You-Have Guide to Decorating, Gift-Giving & Entertaining, “Upcycling is basi-cally a form of recycling that elevates something to a better level than be-fore.” Based in New York City and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Seo always has an eye out for green pos-sibilities. “Opt for vintage pieces and re-imagine them in new and interesting ways,” he advises. For example, he likes to upcycle a vintage glass cake stand with a collection of bright ornaments for a unique holiday focal point. Michele Johansen, a lifestyle writer in Bellevue, Washington, sug-gests bringing in the outdoors. Instead of decorating the tree with tinsel and the home with plastic faux greenery, she suggests stringing popcorn and cranberries on the tree and decking the halls with fresh wreaths and garlands

accented with boughs of holly. “Local nurseries are good sources for holiday décor that you can later mulch or put in yard waste bins,” she says. “The smells are much more authentic and festive.” Save energy by using LED lights whenever possible, suggests Sheryl Eisenberg, a writer for the National Resources Defense Council. Plug lights and electronics into a power strip, and then unplug it when not in use to save “ghost” energy pulled by electronics that are plugged in, but not activated. Buy a live tree to later plant or recycle, Seo suggests. This supports regional Christmas tree farmers while retaining the integrity of local forests. Many communities offer recycling of holiday trees to provide mulch or habi-tat for aquatic life in local lakes.

Keeping the FeastOrganize a cookie exchange to get together and save time and energy on holiday baking, suggests Sara Novak, a food policy and health writer at SereneKitchen.com, from Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. Generally, a hostess asks guests to bring several dozen of their favorite cookies. Once gathered, attendees share the treats and recipes, taking home several of each variety. To “green it up”, Novak recommends emailing the recipes rather than printing them, encourag-ing invitees to use fresh and local ingredients and bring favorite reusable containers from home, like a colorful, time-honored cookie tin.

GREEN Merry-MakingRetro-Fresh Family Traditions

by Claire O’Neil

For the holiday table, mix and match settings of plates, glasses, linens and cutlery. “Use the real thing,” Eisen-berg recommends, “and recruit guests to help wash up afterwards.” She recalls that while growing up, her mother supplemented her silverware with grandmother’s for large holiday dinners. Save your own energy (and sanity)by asking family and friends to bring an appetizer, side dish or dessert. The hostess can assign a dish and correspond-ing recipe or use a potluck approach, says Eisenberg. Leftovers go home in non-plastic, reusable containers.

Gift Giving Many families enjoy giving traditional gifts to children at certain ages, like dollhouses or train sets. Re-imagine these and, when possible, buy local to save energy and support area business-es, suggests Eisenberg. Cintia Gonzalez, an Australian mom, crafted a dollhouse from an old suitcase, inventively using black chalk-board paint for the exterior, wooden shelves as floors and fast food ketchup cups as lampshades (Tinyurl.com/ UpcycleDollhouse). Another mom transformed a discarded coffee table into a painted train table for her boys. Upcycle paint chip cards into colorful gift tags, suggests Seo. Plus, use gift wraps that become part of the gift itself, such as placemats swaddling a bottle of wine, fabric to encase quilt-ing supplies or sheet music enveloping concert tickets. As a general rule, “Give experi-ences, not gifts,” counsels Eisenberg. “Giving loved ones experiences reduces wrapping paper, ribbon and packaging and is an easy way to be a bit more personal over the holidays. Your teenage niece may love a spa day, complete with hair styling, while your favorite aunt and uncle may be thrilled to attend a local wine tasting. If you think a young child can tolerate a few less presents in exchange for a pass to an ice show or dance class, go for it.” “It’s the holiday experience that counts,” counsels Seo. “It’s what makes memories.”

Claire O’Neil is a freelance writer from Kansas City, MO.


Jin Shin Jyutsu®

of HuntsvilleAiding Healing through

Body Harmony & Relaxation

SANDRA COPECertified Jin Shin Jyutsu® Practitioner

(256) 534-1794 Office(256) 509-3540 Cell Huntsville, Alabama

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As Earth’s population grows to a projected 9 billion people by 2050, can our global community keep eating flesh like we’ve been doing for centuries? No,

according to a 2010 report by the United Nations Environ-ment Programme, an international panel of sustainable resource management experts. Examining the food demands of a growing population and associated environmental and sustainability issues, Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production recommends “substantial worldwide diet change away from animal products.” Making the case for a holistic view, Will Tuttle, Ph.D., suggests in World Peace Diet: Eating for Spiritual Health and Social Harmony that we start to see the connections between our food choices and the health and well-being of ourselves, our families, communities and the world.

Web of UnderstandingAt the center of the web of life is the food we all share to sus-tain our bodies. Tuttle insists that we celebrate this and regard each meal as a feast. “Food preparation is the only art that allows us to literally incorporate what we create. It is also the only art that fully involves all five senses,” he says. We honor this wonderful activity most by sharing our cooking efforts with others, blessing the food and eating mindfully. The problem at the center of life, maintains Tuttle, is that we involve animals in our food chain, an act that “introduces

consciouseating

Peace on Our PlatesMindful Eating for a More Peaceful World

by Judith Fertig

suffering, whether physical, mental or emotional.” This is a truth we try to hide from, what he calls the ”cultural shadow”. “The worst examples include factory farming, but even the best methods ultimately involve killing other animals for food,” he says. One of Tuttle’s more controversial claims is that the herding culture—raising, dominating, selling, killing and owning animals—sets up a harmful physical, emotional and cultural dynamic, extolling domineering and aggressive behavior. “The herding culture requires male dominance and a mentality that might makes right,” observes Tuttle. “It also sees females as primarily breeders, not beings.” Based on contemporary research in anthropology, sociology and psychopathology, he maintains that the actions required to both dominate animals and eat their meat can lead to more aggressive and violent behavior. One recent study seems to support his claim. Dr. Neil Barnard, in his book, Foods That Fight Pain, remarks that, “Plant-based diets also help tame testosterone’s activity.” Barnard cites a Massachusetts male aging study of 1,552 men ages 40 to 70, which indicated that men eating more fruits and vegetables than meat were less domineering and aggres-sive, because the increased sex hormone-binding globulin produced by plants helps keep testosterone in check. “If we continue the meat-centric way of eating, we’re going to continue to have the problems that come with it,” says Tuttle. “The way forward is plant-based agriculture.”

Practicing a World Peace DietThe Tuttles shop for fresh, organic and non-GMO (genetically modified organism) foods and favor what they call “blueprint

Tip: Cook whole-grain or spinach pasta, potatoes, rice or another recommended grain in a large quantity to store in the refrigerator for use in stir-fries, salads

and other meals later in the week.


recipes”, that vary from day to day. Each outlines the makings of a dish and encourages cooks to be intuitive in how they fill in the details. For a typical breakfast, for exam-ple, Tuttle and his wife, Madeleine, will make a green smoothie that includes kale, banana, apple, grapes, ground flax, chia seeds, cinnamon and fresh ginger. “It’s a flexible drink,” says Tuttle. “We will swap out whatever organic fruits and vegetables we have so that we vary the flavor from time to time.” For example, they might use parsley, spinach, or chard leaves in place of kale, or citrus in place of grapes. Lunch is usually a wrap-type sand-wich, sometimes using fresh leaf lettuce or a whole-wheat tortilla. One recent example of such a wrap combined tomatoes, peppers, sprouts, walnuts, tempeh and avocado. A dinnertime blueprint recipe involves a base of cooked rice, quinoa, pasta, mashed potatoes or polenta, topped with a vegetable ragout, cooked or raw. “You could live the rest of your life mixing and matching these ingre-dients and never have the same meal twice,” notes Tuttle. “We have been doing it for 30 years. If we all choose to eat like this, the world could feed everybody on a fraction of the land now consumed by agriculture.”

Learn more at WorldPeaceDiet.org/articles.htm.

Judith Fertig blogs at AlfrescoFood AndLifestyle.blogspot.com from Overland Park, KS.

When sitting down to eat, look at what’s been created to nourish all those gathered. Enjoy the colors, smells, tastes and love that blesses the food. May the principle of Oneness govern all beings.

Green SmoothieTo start the day, use a high-powered Vitamix-type blender to reduce whole fruits and vegetables to a smooth juice. If using a regular blender, cut the fruits and vegetables into small pieces and strain the purée after blending.

Yields two servings

1 banana, sliced1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped½ cup seedless green grapes1 cup chopped kale leaves1 cup baby spinach leaves1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger1 Tbsp ground flax seeds¼ cup ground chia seeds¼ tsp ground cinnamon¼ tsp ground cloves1 cup purified water

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Strain, if neces-sary, to remove larger pieces; pour into two glasses and serve.

Whole Wheat and Vegetable WrapFor lunch, a simple wrap can provide a daily change-up mixing in different fresh ingredients plus a plant-based flavoring like dried herbs, spices or garlic stirred into the Vegenaise or homemade eggless mayonnaise.

Yields two servings

2 10-inch whole-wheat tortillas2 Tbsp Vegenaise1 tsp prepared horseradish, or to taste1 cup fresh lettuce, torn into pieces½ cup sprouts½ cup chopped fresh tomatoes½ cup shredded fresh carrots½ cup diced fresh cucumber1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced¼ cup toasted walnuts

Toast walnuts by placing them on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. Cool, and then chop. Place the tortillas on a flat surface. In a small bowl, mix the Vegenaise and horseradish together. Spread the mix-ture on the tortillas. Top each tortilla with half the lettuce, sprouts, toma-toes, carrots, cucumber, avocado and walnuts. Roll each tortilla into a wrap and serve.

Raw Vegetable Ragout with Brown RiceStart dinner with a base of cooked rice, potatoes, quinoa or polenta and top it with a vegetable medley.

Yields two servings

Rice:1 cup brown rice2¼ cups water

Raw Vegetable Ragout:1 cup red bell pepper, cut into strips½ cup finely chopped celery½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley¼ cup toasted, chopped walnuts3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil1 garlic clove, minced1 Tbsp lemon juice1 tsp coarse kosher or sea salt

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Stir in the rice, reduce the heat and simmer covered until tender, about 40 minutes. While the rice is cooking, combine the red bell pepper, celery, Kalamata olives, Italian parsley and walnuts in a medium-sized bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Pour the dress-ing over the vegetables, stir until well blended, and then let rest until the rice is done. To serve, spoon the cooked rice onto each plate and top with the raw vegetable ragout.

Source: Adapted from Intuitive Cooking, by Madeleine Tuttle (WorldPeaceDiet.org).

Peace Blueprint Recipes


Near-Death ExperiencesProof of Life after Death

by Linda Sechrist

Through his research, he has iden-tified numerous common elements that occur in NDEs—an out-of-body experi-ence, the sensation of traveling through a tunnel, encountering a bright light (usually interpreted as God, Jesus or an angel), communicating with deceased relatives, feeling emotions such as pro-found peace, well-being and love, plus a flood of knowledge about life and the nature of the universe. Perhaps the most significant element he reports is the supremely conscious and superbly blissful state that exists beyond both limitations of the senses and intellect and the confines of space and time—the pure conscious form of each one’s truly real Self.

Life as LoveRushed to the hospital in a coma, Moorjani, whose body had been devoured for four years by cancer of the lymphatic system, describes the real self that she discovered during her NDE. “There I was, without my body or any physical traits, yet my pure essence continued to exist. It was not a reduced element of my whole self; in fact, it felt far greater and more intense and expan-sive than my physical being. “I felt eternal, as if I’d always existed and always would, without a beginning or end. I was filled with the knowledge that I was simply magnificent,” explains Moorjani, whose cancer completely disappeared within five weeks after her release from the hospital. “Not only did I come back with a clean slate, I brought back one of my biggest lessons—to love myself and be an instrument of love. I also returned to life here with a sense of purpose—to fearless-ly be as authentically me as I can be. This means,” she clarifies, “that in whatever I do, I am acting from my sense of passion and the sheer joy of doing it.” During Alexander’s seven-day coma in a hospital, brought about by antibiotic-resistant E. coli menin-gitis that attacked his brain, he left his mortal identity behind. “My brain wasn’t working at all,” he relates. “My entire neo-cortex, the part that makes us human, was entirely shut down. I had no language, emotions, logic or memories of who I was. Such an empty slate granted me full access to the true

The advice that the White Queen gave to young Alice in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-

Glass might be some of the best to offer non-believers and skeptics that ques-tion the credibility of near-death ex-periences (NDE). When Alice protests, “One can’t believe impossible things,” the White Queen famously retorts, “I daresay you haven’t had much practice. When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Glimpses of GraceThe majority of physicians and clinical researchers in the medical community continue to consider NDEs as impos-sible and merely pure fantasies gener-ated by a surge of electrical activity as a dying brain runs out of oxygen. However, according to a Gallup poll, the 8 million Americans whose transcendental NDEs freed their con-sciousness to leave the body and enter into a wondrous reality that exists completely free of physicality, believe them to be real, meaningful and life-changing experiences. Recently, the renowned NDE narratives of Anita Moorjani, author of Dying to Be Me: My Journey from

Cancer to Near Death, to True Healing, and Dr. Eben Alexander, author of Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, have sparked fresh public interest in NDEs, a word coined by Raymond Moody, Ph.D., in his 1975 classic, Life After Life. Moody, a psychi-atrist and professor of philosophy who has spent nearly 50 years investigating what happens when people die, has in-terviewed thousands of individuals that have personally experienced an NDE. “Over the past 20 years there have been enormous strides in resuscitation technology. Defibrillators and public access defibrillation programs, as well as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, are major factors that allow modern medi-cine to bring people back from a state that 100 years ago would have been labeled death,” observes Moody.

I was overwhelmed by the realization that God isn’t a being, but a state of being… and I am that

state of being… pure consciousness.

~ Anita Moorjani


cosmic being that I am, that we all are,” says Alexander. He further recalls that as his NDE unfolded, it occurred to him that he was being granted a grand over-view of the invisible side of existence. He also had a lovely ethereal com-panion that floated along on a butterfly wing, telepathically teaching him to accept the universal truth that, “You are eternally loved and cherished, you have nothing to fear, and there is nothing you can do wrong.” “If I had to boil the whole mes-sage down to just one word, it would be Love—the incomprehensibly glorious truth of truths that lives and breathes at the core of everything that exists or will ever exist. No remotely accurate understanding of who we are and what we are can be achieved by anyone who does not know it and embody it in all their actions,” Alex- ander now understands. Prior to his life-threatening illness, this neurosurgeon’s sophisticated medi-cal training had led him to dismiss the possibility of NDEs. Today, he works at returning to his NDE state of one-ness and unconditional love by using meditation and sacred acoustics, as well as quantum mechanics, to explore the nature of consciousness and higher brain function. Like Moody, Alexander studies the ancient Greek philosophers Par-menides, Pythagoras and Plato, who took the notion of an afterlife seri-ously and questioned “what” survives

bodily death. Alexander’s consequent nonprofit organization, Eternea, fosters cooperation between science and spirituality by sponsoring research and education about spiritually transforma-tive experiences and holistic conscious-ness beyond conventional definitions. “I had to learn a whole lot more about consciousness than I had to know about neuroscience,” quips Alexander, who now believes that the brain blocks access to knowledge of higher worlds. “We need to accept—at least hypo-thetically—that the brain itself doesn’t produce consciousness. That it is, in-stead, a kind of reducing valve or filter that dumbs down consciousness for the duration of our human experience. “Neuroscience can’t give you the first sentence about how the physical brain creates consciousness,” he states, while many are finding how science and spirituality strengthen each other. At age 37, a blood vessel exploded in the left hemisphere of Jill Bolte Taylor’s brain. A Ph.D. Harvard-trained scientist specializing in anatomy of the brain, she was fascinated to observe the breakdown of her brain-related functions.

“We need to accept—at least hypothetically—that

the brain itself doesn’t produce consciousness.”

~ Dr. Eben Alexander


As described in her book, My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Per-sonal Journey, she became the witness to her stroke, which initially left her unable to talk, walk, read, write or remember anything prior to that occurrence. As her left brain shut down, Taylor lost her ability to process all language; with her mind suspended in newfound silence, she experienced an unprec-edented sense of deep peace. She also experienced an inability to visually distinguish edges and boundaries between herself and the outer world. Absent conventional orientation, “I could actually see that my skin was not my physical boundary. “As a result of such a glorious state of blissful realization that I am—as we all are—connected to everything and ev-eryone around us, I no longer see myself as a single, solid entity, separate from other human beings,” advises Taylor. “Al-though my left mind still thinks of me as a fragile individual, capable of losing my life, my right mind realizes the essence of my being as eternal life.” She now un-derstands that she is part of the cosmic flow of energy, which she characterizes as a tranquil sea of euphoria.

Present PossibilityIn The Hidden Face of God: Science Re-veals the Ultimate Truth, author Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D., suggests that each of us is a part of the universe seeking and finding itself. Could it be that with-out the mental filter and self-limiting beliefs, we are free to consciously know our higher state of wholeness and the truth of our magnificence? Upwards of 8 million people that have experienced their own NDE are trending the world toward a tipping point into the comforting awareness that anything is possible.

Linda Sechrist is a senior staff writer for Natural Awakenings. Visit ItsAllAboutWe.com for the recorded interviews.

“In touch with our wholeness, illness can’t remain—in ourselves, others or the planet.”

~Anita Moorjani

Asked why she thought she had cancer,

Anita Moorjani, author of Dying to Be Me, sums up her answer in one word: Fear. “I was killing myself, and cancer saved me,” says Moorjani, whose book documents her near-death experience (NDE) and the higher realm she encountered when her body shut down. Allowed to identify with her true magnificence, undistorted by the fear generated by her own lifelong self-judgment, self-criticism, worry and lack of self-forgiveness, she returned with a vital, heartfelt message. “Everyone is an amazing, mag-nificent being, with great capacity for health, happiness and joy. Although we’ve been conditioned to believe that we need to pursue success and learn to improve ourselves to be happy, such steps are unnecessary, because we already are all we are trying to attain,” she says. “I’d spent a lifetime feeling inadequate, beating myself up for not meeting my own expectations,” she continues. Through the clarity of dwelling in the NDE realm, she understood that the cancer wasn’t a punishment for anything. “It was

just my own en-ergy manifesting as cancer, because my fears weren’t allowing me to ex-press myself as the

magnificent force I was meant to be,” advises Moorjani. She hopes that her presenta-tions to medical professionals and public speaking will influence how the health profession views cancer and other diseases and illnesses. “Treatment needs to be about more than medicine, because so much of disease has to do with our emotions,” she imparts, “especially the ones we direct toward ourselves.” Through this life-enhancing expe-rience, Moorjani came to understand why she owes it to herself, everyone she meets and life itself to always ex-press her own unique essence. “Trying to be anything or anyone else doesn’t make me better—it just deprives me of my true self and keeps me from interacting authentically with others,” she explains. Moorjani now knows that all life in the universe is one and our core is love. “I was overwhelmed by the realization that God isn’t a being, but a state of being… and I am that state of being… pure consciousness.”

INSIGHTS WORTH SHARINGby Linda Sechrist

“I’ve become focused on seeing the perfection of life in this moment.”


Lakota Advice for LifeFriend do it this way—that is, whatever you do in life, do the very best you can with both your heart and mind. And if you do it that way, the Power Of The Universe will come to your assistance, if your heart and mind are in Unity. When one sits in the Hoop Of The People, one must be responsible because All of Creation is related. And the hurt of one is the hurt of all. And the honor of one is the honor of all. And whatever we do affects everything in the universe. If you do it that way—that is, if you truly join your heart and mind as One—whatever you ask for, that’s the Way It’s Going To Be. Source: Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman and Sapphyr.net.

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fitbody

Too Much Togetherness?Exercise Helps Keep

Family Holidays Merryby Sarah Todd

Given family hopes and often unrealistic expectations that everything will go perfectly,

holiday gatherings can sometimes be a recipe for untoward stress. One of the best ways to keep potential ’tis-the-sea-son tensions under control is to carve out some time for exercise, a move sup-ported by research findings at Princeton University. Other experts suggest that from practicing a favorite Eastern mo-dality to taking a natural spin around the neighborhood, we all have instant access to foolproof tactics for staying relaxed, healthy and more even-keeled among kin this winter. To mend nerves frayed by debates at the dinner table, slip into a nearby bedroom for a calming yoga work-out. Yoga’s emphasis on controlled breathing makes it ideal for treat-ing family dynamics straight out of Silver Linings Playbook. The Mayo Clinic reports that deep breathing increases the flow of oxygen into the bloodstream, easing headaches, mus-cular tension and chest tightness. Yogic breath-ing patterns also are shown to lower resting heart rates, which helps practitioners stay composed in the face of any intra-family disagree-ments or other stressors. For a quick, relaxing yoga rou-tine, begin with a

few breathing exercises before moving into a sun salutation—a sequence of full-body poses, or asanas, performed in a smooth, continuous flow. Begin standing, palms pressed together in the tadasana, or mountain, pose. Then move through a series of motions that sweep the arms over the head, ex-panding the chest, before dipping into downward dog and plank poses, which help increase flexibility and strength. End lying down in the shavasana, or resting, pose with eyes closed and let the quiet settle in. Resistance-training exercises are another option. Release pent up ten-sion by pushing against a wall. Stand

about three feet away, lean in and push. Position feet at an angle so

that a straight body line forms the hypotenuse of a triangle with the wall and floor. This activity drains the limbs of tightness and stretches

out hamstrings and calf muscles, enabling

us to walk away feeling light and limber. While some

people can happily greet and maintain cheerfulness

throughout holiday family times, others may feel a bit

anxious. For a sure-fire endorphin boost, try

a cardiovas-cular workout

like running, which German researchers

published in Cerebral Cortex confirm produces a flood of euphoria on cue. A quick jog or spirited walk outside helps elevate mood while strengthen-ing the immune system, helping to keep feelings of melancholy at bay. Before heading for the door, those stretching their legs outside in colder climates need to dress as if it’s 20 degrees warmer than the thermometer reads. This helps prevent the body from overheating, especially after being sed-entary for an extended period. To get the blood flowing beforehand, do some simple stretching or take a few trips up and down the stairs.

From practicing a favorite

Eastern modality to taking

a natural spin around the

neighborhood, we all have

instant access to foolproof

tactics for staying relaxed,

healthy and more even-

keeled among kin this winter.

Exercisers that prefer to stay sheltered from wintry weather entirely have a solid alternative; an indoor car-diovascular workout can mimic jogging’s mood-lifting effects. Try alternating 12 reps of jumping jacks, lunges, squats and crunches to get the heart pump-ing. Consider a second series for a higher intensity workout. All of it will give muscles that often go slack dur-ing holiday loafing a chance to flex. Because these moves don’t require any equipment, such electives are as portable as a travel hair dryer during holiday visits anywhere. After one or more of these solo workouts, many revelers may be ready to up the ante on family togetherness. For a healthy dose of quality time, round up the gang and enlist them in a high-energy outdoor activity like hik-ing, sledding or even Ultimate Frisbee. Participating in friendly family competi-tion is healthy fun and gives everyone something else to talk about later.

Sarah Todd is a freelance writer in Brook-lyn, NY. Connect at SarahToddInk.com.


The Kent family, of Amherst, New Hampshire, has faced many “Can I really do this?” moments while

adventuring in America’s national parks. So far they’ve visited 57, and with Pinnacles just named a full park in January, they’ll likely be headed for California again. American Somoa, in the South Pacific, potentially the last and most remote destination of their 11-year odyssey, is under serious consideration. Along the way, father Scott, mother Lisa and (now) 18-year-old Tanner and 16-year-old Peyton each grew increas-ingly self-confident in testing their skills at everything from spelunking, subtropi-cal snorkeling and paragliding to ice trekking and kayaking subarctic waters. “If they offered it, we tried it,” says Lisa. “Our family regularly debates our favor-ite memories.” While they hiked and explored natural rock formations at every op-portunity—including New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns, Kentucky’s Mam-moth Cave, South Dakota’s Wind Cave and California’s Yosemite—the gals also liked to ride horses while the guys fly fished. “One of my favorite moments

was when Tanner and I hiked a Colo-rado trail to a pristine lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, where he caught his first trout,” recalls Scott. “I never give the same answer as to the best experience or best park,” adds Tanner, citing Yellowstone, in Wyoming, and Wrangell-St. Elias, in Alaska, as particularly spectacular, partly for their distinctive wildlife. His favorite anec-dote? “When I was little, I stared down a barracuda in the Dry Tortugas, off the coast of South Florida, wildly pointing it out to Dad, who was calmly photo-graphing itty-bitty fish and never saw it.” “It’s so cool to get close to a big animal,” says Peyton, recalling when she and Mom were sea kayaking Alaska’s Glacier Bay near a humpback whale. “I thought we were going to end up in the whale’s mouth,” she laughs. The family agrees that their longest expedition—eight Alaskan parks in three weeks—was extraordinary. “We had to fly into the Arctic Circle on a float plane and walk the ice using crampons,” Pey-ton notes about their visit to the remote Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley, among America’s least-visited parks, in

healthykids

PARK IT HEREExploring America’s National Treasures

by S. Alison Chabonais

contrast to the most-visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park, straddling Ten-nessee and North Carolina. Whether witnessing Kodiak Island bears, Hawaiian volcanoes or Ever-glades’ alligators, their overarching mission was to visit every major park before Tanner embarked for college. The family’s National Park Service Passport already has 57 stamps secured during school holidays and summer vaca-tions, timed to prime park seasons and complemented by destination photos. “It’s easy to talk about the big moments, but you can have a memo-rable time in any park,” says Lisa, from appreciating the beauty of a boardwalk to boarding a ferry for an island picnic. “Getting back to basics has been really good for our family, part of the glue that binds us together.” She says her growing children learned to be brave and patient, help fel-low travelers and be happy without cell phones. “We moved away from immedi-ate gratification to focusing on a greater good,” remarks Lisa. “We enjoy interact-ing and doing simple things together.” The family assesses its national parks tour as affordable, accessible and affecting how they experience life as a software engineer (Scott), physical edu-cation teacher (Lisa) and student athletes (Tanner and Peyton). They are pleased to be counted among the innumerable national park visitors that have ben-efited since the inception of what Ken Burns’ video series characterizes as America’s Best Idea. Lisa sums it up: “You don’t have to do it as big as we did to get big out of it.”

S. Alison Chabonais is the national editor of Natural Awakenings.


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‘Tis the Season to Be WiseA Prime Time to Rejuvenate and Birth Creativity

by Lane Vail

For California acupuncturist Dan-iela Freda, counseling patients that grapple with low energy during

winter is routine. “They’re often con-cerned something is wrong, since our society expects us to feel the same way year-round,” says Freda, who maintains a private practice in San Francisco. “But in fact,” she adds, “everything is right.” According to a study published in Psychiatry Research, only 4 to 6 per-cent of Americans suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), characterized by a predictable seasonal pattern of major depressive or bipolar disorder. For the vast majority of the population, a slight seasonal variance in mood and behavior is normal, confirms Kathryn Roecklein, Ph.D., a clinical psycholo-gist and prominent SAD researcher at Pennsylvania’s University of Pittsburg. Practitioners of Traditional Chi-nese Medicine (TCM), like Freda, view decreased energy in nature’s winter-time as a reflection of the season’s energy. In this philosophy, rising (yang) and falling (yin) energies cycle as the seasons turn. Winter is governed by quiet, slow, introspective and creative yin energy. As winter yields to spring, the bright, fast, expansive and extro-verted yang energy gains momentum to peak in summer. “Nature expresses universal ener-gies in a big way,” says research psychol-ogist and mind-body medicine expert

Joseph Cardillo, Ph.D., author of The Five Seasons. Who can ignore a blos-soming spring or an abundant autumn? “Those same energetic cycles,” says Car-dillo, “are mirrored in the microcosmic human body and human experience.”

Chill Out Although the December 21 winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year, temperatures in most of the U.S. continue to fall through February. Cardillo advises embracing winter’s chill because it diverts our attention from daily activities so that we pause to consider what’s important. “The effect is similar to splashing cold water on our face,” he remarks. As the cold draws animals into hibernation and plants into dormancy, it also beckons us to enjoy extra sleep, notes Freda, as we follow the sun’s path: Earlier to bed; later to rise. She encourages her clients to incorporate restorative activities into daily routines. “Intentionally set aside time to connect with the breath and quiet the mind,” she counsels. Try gentle yoga or t’ai chi, listen to relaxing music, curl up with a cozy book or take nature walks, flush with fresh sensory experiences. Cardillo explains that slowing down naturally creates space for the contem-plative and creative qualities of yin en-ergy to rise. Meditating, visualizing and journaling promote access to one’s inner

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wisdom. “Winter is a perfect time to examine the myriad ideas you’ve dreamt up and assemble them into a new you,” says Cardillo. “Now you are prepared to use the robust energy of spring to scatter those ideas abroad.”

Reflect on WaterIn TCM, the element of water, symboliz-ing focus and purity, is closely associat-ed with winter. Highly adaptable, water can be solid, liquid or formless vapor; it can flow over, under, around or through obstacles with ease; and it can be still and contained. Contemplating the power of water in any of its forms can help synchronize one’s consciousness with the season’s gifts. “When your mind is unstuck and flowing like water, your dreams start becoming real to you, simply because you’re in the flow, the present moment,” observes Cardillo, who also authored Be Like Water. He suggests looking to water for guidance in creating solu-tions, sharpening focus or moving effortlessly on to the next step.

Find Balance Freda points out that within the strong yin energy of winter, “There are yang moments, celebratory moments, to keep us going.” An imbalance can occur when the slowness of winter is completely counteracted by too much high-energy socializing, working or rushing through the day. “An excess of yang during the winter,” counsels Freda, “rather than a glimpse of it, can deplete us,” contributing to stress, fatigue and depression. Conversely, for those with an already predominantly yin personal-ity (quiet, introverted, low energy) that overindulge in the yin energy of winter, an attempt at restoration and quietude can lead to lethargy and isolation. “I see this clinically,” says Freda. “Instead of embracing a little extra rest and re-laxation, some people become exhaust-ed and lose their motivation altogether. They become stuck in the yin.” Cardillo recommends that such individuals engage in mood-brightening outdoor activities to help restore bal-ance. Roecklein agrees, noting that SAD sufferers undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy (which emphasizes positive thinking and beneficial behav-iors) likewise are encouraged to par-ticipate in physical and social activities that bring joy and meaning.

Lane Vail is a freelance writer in South Carolina. Connect at WriterLane.com.

Rituals Reverse Winter’s BluesUnpleasant winter memories can affect one’s emotional experience of the season every year like clockwork, says Dr. John Sharp, a physician, psy-chiatrist and author of The Emotional Calendar. Fortunately, it is possible to take a personal inventory, be aware of such behaviors, innovate on tradi-tions and create a new experience. Holistic Psychologist Joseph Car-dillo goes further, suggesting that we create a “personal prescription” to mindfully manage difficult emotions during wintertime. He encourages activating the senses and combining two or more sensory experiences to amplify the effectiveness. Appealing options include:

n Light scented candles or diffuse essential oils (citrus brightens; laven-der soothes)

n Invite bright colors into living spaces (reds excite; greens, blues and whites calm)

n Nourish the palate with winter vegetable stews

n Create a playlist of soothing nature sounds or uplifting music

n Warm up near a cheery fire after spending time in the frosty outdoors

Spring is a time for new beginnings, summer a time

for growth, autumn for gathering abundance and winter for introspection.

~Joseph Cardillo


“First-aid is the first thing you can do to help an injured animal if you are prepared,” says Dr. Jason

Nicholas, owner of The Preventive Vet, in Portland, Oregon. Attention in cases of injury or sudden illness can help a dog or cat stay more comfortable, stop bleeding and provide temporary relief. A pet first-aid kit can resemble a pantry more than a medicine cabinet. Natural components include: Cool water. Purified water kept in a spray bottle can cool overheated pets. For the fastest results, spray near the pulse points, the “armpits” and where fur is the thinnest. Further, a vet will assess if clinical hydration is needed beyond the water bowl. Saline solution. Versatile saline is available at the vet’s office or any pharmacy, and also easy and inex-pensive to make at home. Use it to flush debris from eyes, clean wounds and promote healing from incisions. Two teaspoons of non-iodized salt in four cups of boiled water mimics body fluids. The Ohio State University Medical Center website provides a recipe for normal saline solution at Tinyurl.com/SalineRecipe. Vinegar. It acts as a drying agent, especially for floppy-eared dogs taking a dip in a pool or natural water-way, which can leave the inner ear moist. “Don’t use vinegar if the skin is red or broken because it will be pain-ful,” says Dr. Jules Benson, vice president of veterinary services

Pet First-Aid Kits All-Natural Home Health Care

by Sandra Murphy

at Petplan Pet Insurance, in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Never use it more than twice a week. Honey. Apply this sweet unguent to gums to help counteract low blood sugar and shock, particularly when a diabetic pet’s insulin levels are off. Maple syrup is a good substitute. Sugar. Although not recommended in a regular pet diet, sugar can be a topical antibacterial for the short term. Sugar draws water from the wound and dehydrates bacteria, supporting growth of new tissue. Plain yogurt. Adding this healthy refrigerated topping to dry food will activate a sluggish appetite and supply needed cultures to help balance the digestive system. Cornstarch. This non-toxic remedy helps stop minor bleeding from cuts, scrapes and pedicure accidents. Calendula. Also known as pot marigold, calendula cream may be used as an anti-inflammatory. Bug bites,

scrapes, sunburn and itching from allergies also benefit from its application.

Aloe. Easily grown in a gar-den or pot and available in gel form, aloe sooths burns, prevents blisters and speeds healing. It also serves as canine Chapstick. “Older dogs often have cracked skin on their noses,”

notes Benson. “Aloe helps to heal the skin and keeps the dog comfortable.” Rescue Remedy. Illness or injury brings stress, and one com-

mon solution is Rescue Remedy. To relieve fear or anxiety, rub it onto a paw, nose or ears or add the recommended number of drops to water, a treat

naturalpet or food. It helps dogs, cats, horses, birds, fish and even iguanas. Dosage relies on the extent of stress rather than weight or species. Clean cloths. For bee stings or insect bites on the body, cool compresses can reduce swelling and itching. Wet a washcloth with cold water or for larger welts, wrap an ice pack in a towel and apply for a few minutes at a time. For stings on the face or mouth, it’s best to go to the vet’s of-fice immediately, so that airways don’t swell up and hinder breathing. Miscellaneous supplies. Keep on hand gauze, tape, small scissors, tweezers (for removing objects from the roof of the mouth or splinters), a small flashlight, clean socks to cover a bandage and disposable gloves to keep human germs out of open wounds. A dog in pain may bite without realizing it. Nicholas recommends a basket muzzle, so the dog can easily breathe and pant. When a pet eats or drinks non-food items or foods they shouldn’t, such as chocolate, grapes or onions, head to the local vet. Veterinarian Jeff Levy, in New York City, who is also a certified veteri-nary acupuncturist, counsels, “Always keep contact information for your vet, an emergency hospital and animal poi-son control center handy.” Also, find out where emergency services are located when traveling. Pets can go into shock just like hu-mans. To prevent or reduce the impact, keep the animal warm and provide a deep massage of the ears, at the base, where ears meet the head. A couple of drops of lavender oil on a collar or bandana will help everyone relax. Do not put essential oils directly on the pet, especially cats, as it can be toxic. Just like children, pets may have accidents or get sick after office hours. Stay calm, head for the natural pet pan-try and then call the family’s holistic veterinarian.

Sandra Murphy is a freelance writer in St. Louis, MO. Connect at [email protected].


Whether it’s the best of times or

the worst of times, it’s the only time

we’ve got.~Art Buchwald

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Hanukkah began early this year (the last week in November),

with Christmas and Kwanzaa arriving this month. Most of us are “making a list and checking it twice” and getting men-tally—and physically—prepared to rush around the mall to go shopping for gifts for our loved ones. But before you start shopping, stop and think about a major Feng Shui principle, which is: “Declutter your life and decrease your stress.” H-m-m-m. What does that state-ment mean in our consumer oriented society when we are constantly bom-barded with ads and messages to BUY! BUY! BUY! If we give them a gift that we bought at the mall, are we adding to their clutter, and therefore, adding to their stress? What if we gave our loved ones gifts that don’t add to their stress? Perhaps the best gift you can give

your loved ones this year is the gift of your time. Instead of buying yet another Christmas sweater for Dad, how about taking him to a basketball game and re-ally enjoying a wonderfully memorable evening with him? Or instead of buying that silk scarf for your Grandmother’s Hanukkah gift, perhaps you can spend a morning raking leaves in her front yard, and afterwards, indulging in a lovely golden afternoon of conversa-tion and coffee with her. Or how about for Kwanzaa, giving your sister and brother in law a “romantic evening out” with an offer to baby sit her kids? Who knows, you might actually have fun playing computer games with them, or tackling a Lego set together! And have you thought about surprising that special someone by baking his or her absolutely favorite (and obscenely decadent) chocolate cake? All of these gifts are really the same gift. It is the Gift of Love. And isn’t that the best Feng Shui (the most perfect

energy) you can give someone? There is no better way to create positive chi in your environment than to send out love. And guess what? There’s not one ounce of clutter in any of those gifts.

Trudi Gardner is a Feng Shui consultant with a Bachelor’s degree in Art and a Master’s degree in Education. She was born in China, has lived with Feng Shui concepts her entire life, and combines her love of color and design with Feng Shui principles to create personalized and serene spaces both at work and

at home for her clients. If you have any ques-tions about Feng Shui, you can contact Trudi at 256-772-6999 or Tygard2000@ aol.com. See list-ing, page 28.

The Feng Shui of GIFT GIVING

by Trudi Gardner


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To listen to Eckhart Tolle is to be reminded that anything is pos-sible—for anyone.

We’re not talking about living a life of leisure, filled with expensive cars, beach homes and extravagant vacations, but an experience brimming with the kind of spiritual insights that make this life not only worth living, but decidedly more fulfilling. The problem is that when people hear the words “spiritual insight”, there’s often an assumption that it’s about something too ethereal to be practical or too elusive to be achieved in this lifetime.

This is exactly the point that Eck-hart Tolle, one of the world’s most well-known spiritual teachers and authors, rebuffed during a talk earlier this year at California’s Stanford University. “Some people awaken spiritu-ally without ever coming into contact with any meditation technique or any spiritual teaching,” he says. “They may awaken simply because they can’t stand the suffering anymore.” He went on to cite examples of those that have either been told they have a short time to live or have been given an exceptionally long prison sentence. In both cases, any thought of

a future has been effectively dashed, forcing these individuals into what Tolle describes as an intense awareness that there is only the present moment, with no more future to escape into mentally. The result is a lot less suffering. “That is the real spiritual awaken-ing, when something emerges from within you that is deeper than who you thought you were,” says Tolle. “So, the person is still there, but one could al-most say that something more powerful shines through the person.” The good news, according to Tolle, is that in order to experience this awak-ening, “You don’t have to wait for the diagnosis by the doctor or to be put in prison… nor do you have to do 30,000 hours of meditation or live in an ashram for 20 years. Once you get a glimpse of it, you can invite it into your daily life.” For a growing number of people, it’s this understanding of the always present “spiritual you” shining through that has led to significant improvements in their lives, not the least of which is better health. This would seem to indi-cate that these kinds of spiritual insights aren’t the least bit ethereal or elusive, but decidedly practical.

wisewordsHumanity’s

Eternal QuestEckhart Tolle on the

Kingdom of Heaven Withinby Eric Nelson

phot

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Dav

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“Spirituality and religion belong in the healing paradigm,” writes Airdre Grant, Ph.D., of Australia’s Southern Cross University, in a study published in the Journal of the Australian Traditional- Medicine Society. “They are determi-nants of health and they are factors in recovery, well-being and longevity.” So where do these insights come from? Is it simply a matter of wishful thinking? Or is it perhaps something more reliable, more effective than that? “Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of heaven is within you,’” observes Tolle, implying that this health-inducing understanding may be a lot closer than we thought. “I think if he lived nowadays, instead of ‘kingdom’, he would have said, ‘dimen-sion’. And ‘heaven’ refers to a sense of vastness or spaciousness. So if we re-translate the words of Jesus into modern terms, [it would be] ‘the dimension of spaciousness is within you.’” “And then Jesus said—when they asked him, ‘Where is the kingdom of heaven and when is it going to come?’— he said, ‘The kingdom of heaven does not come with signs to be perceived. You cannot say, ah, it’s over there or look, it’s over there, for I tell you the kingdom of heaven is within you.’” How comforting it is to be re-minded that the proverbial “kingdom of heaven” we’ve been hearing about for at least two millennia—this “dimen-sion of spaciousness”, or what might be characterized as the understanding of our true spiritual identity—is “within you.” It’s within us all, here and now. All that remains is the willingness— and the humility—to put this insight into practice.

Eric Nelson is a Christian Science healing practitioner from Los Altos, CA, whose articles on the link between spiritual consciousness and health appear regularly in national online publications. Connect at norcalcs.org.

Spiritual insights aren’t the least bit ethereal

or elusive, but decidedly practical.

People grow a lot when faced with their own mortality. As a palliative caregiver for many years, I learned

never to underestimate someone’s ca-pacity for personal growth. After wres-tling with a variety of intense emotions, every patient I saw found their peace before they departed. When questioned about regrets or what they would have done differently, five themes emerged.

I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others ex-pected of me. This was the most com-mon regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even half of their dreams and died knowing that it was due to choices they had made or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realize until they no longer have it.

I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. Every male patient that I nursed felt they had missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. They deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence. Women also spoke of this regret, but be-cause most were from an older genera-tion, many had not been breadwinners.

I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings. Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace

with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. As a result, many developed illnesses apparently related to the bitter-ness and resentment they carried.

I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. Many were disappointed they had not truly realized the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks, and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip away. Many deeply regretted not giving im-portant friendships the time and effort that they deserved.

I wish that I had let myself be happier. Many did not understand until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called comfort of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others and to themselves that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh with gusto and cultivate some silliness in their life.

Bronnie Ware is the author of The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing, a memoir of how people she cared for changed the way she lives. She blogs at InspirationAndChai.com.

BE HAPPY RIGHT NOWThe Top Five Regrets of the Dyingby Bronnie Ware

inspiration


SPACE FOR RENT

OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT located at 220 Rhett Ave, Huntsville. Perfect for small business, LMT, counseling service, estheticians. or practitioner. For more information call Jan at 256-651-8026.

classifiedsFee for classifieds is $1 per word per month. To place listing, email content to [email protected]. Deadline is the 10th of the month.

calendarofeventsSUNDAY, DECEMBER 1Tinsel Trail – Featuring a total of 200 small trees, 4 large flagship trees at each entrance and the city of Huntsville's tree in the center of the trail. The trees will be lit every night in December. Free. Big Spring Park, West Huntsville, AL 35801. 256-361-9275.

The Marshall County Craft Club 19th Annual Christmas Show – 10am-5pm (Tue-Fri), 1-5pm (Sun) through 12/23. Come shop among thousands of handmade items by area crafters. The perfect place to find that “one-of-a-kind” gift. Piper Station (formally Boaz Plaza Outlet Center), 214 McCles-key St, Boaz, AL 35957.

Athens Ladies Civitan Holiday Home Tour – 1-5pm. Five prominent Athens homes will be decorated for the holidays and open for touring. Each home will feature sweet temptations provided by a local caterer. This is a self-guided tour with hostesses at each home. Call 256-233-0258 for ticket information.

16th Annual Tuba Christmas Concert – 3-4pm. This free event will get you in the holiday spirit with seasonal music performed by more than 40 tuba, sousaphone, baritone and euphonium players. Huntsville Museum of Art, 300 Church St, Hunts-ville, AL 35801. 256-535-4350.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 2Heritage Ringers Christmas Concert – 7-8pm. Variety of Classic to Pop Christmas Music. 6 1/2 octaves of bells and chimes. Free, with donations put toward the purchase of music and equipment. Trinity United Methodist Church, 607 Airport Rd SW, Huntsville, AL. 256-883-3200.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3Madison Community Band Christmas Concert – 7-8:30pm. Come hear live Christmas music, featuring old favorites and new tunes, played by the Madison Community Band. Free. Grace United Methodist Church, 2113 Old Monrovia Rd, Hunts-ville, AL 35806. 256-617-9484.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5Gallery Tour – 5-9pm. Join us as Huntsville cel-ebrates the fine arts with a tour of local galleries and the Huntsville Museum of Art. Visit Huntsville Galleries.org for a list of participating locations.

The Forgotten Carols Christmas Musical – 7-9pm. A crazy old man sings "forgotten carols" to his caregiver nurse, prompting her to confront her past and find the forgotten carol in her heart. Admis-sion charged. Asbury United Methodist Church, 980 Hughes Rd, Madison, AL 35758.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6NEACA Christmas Holiday Arts & Crafts Show – 9am-7pm (Fri-Sat), 12-5pm (Sun). Approximately 200 craftsmen and artists will have a selection of unique items including unusual pottery, toys, one-of-a-kind jewelry, room décor, etc. Come early to find that special gift. Von Braun Center South Hall, 700 Monroe St, Huntsville, AL 35801.

kids in town" decide they want to be in the annual Christmas pageant. Admission charged. Grissom High School, 7901 Bailey Cove Rd SE, Huntsville, AL 35802.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12Geeks' Night Out: Digital Photography – 6-8:30pm. Learn how to unleash your creativity for the holidays with this workshop. Bring your own digital camera and a USB cable or card reader to download and edit your photos. $30. Sci-Quest, Hands-On Science Center, 102 Wynn Dr, Huntsville, AL 35805. 256-837-0606.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13A Christmas Carol presented by Fantasy Play-house – 7pm (Dec 6-8, 12-14), 2pm (Dec 7, 8, 14, 15). Travel with Scrooge as he visits his past, pres-ent, and future on Christmas Eve in this musical re-telling of Charles Dickens’ classic novel. Admission charged. Von Braun Center Playhouse, 700 Monroe St, Huntsville, AL 35801.

The Nutcracker 2013 presented by Huntsville Ballet – 7:30pm (Fri), 2pm and 7pm (Sat), 1pm (Sun). This magical holiday classic has been a Huntsville tradition for over four decades. Admis-sion charged. Von Braun Center Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, 700 Monroe St, Huntsville, AL 35801.

The Quest for Love – 7:30-8pm. Inspiring stories and insights from Harold Klemp, spiritual leader and acclaimed author of more than sixty books on ECKANKAR. Learn how to recognize God’s bless-ings in ways you’ve never experienced before—on your own quest for love. Free. Knology Cable Channel 11 (Huntsville-Madison). 256-534-1751. ECK-Alabama.org.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14Rocket City Marathon – 8am-2pm. Downtown Huntsville. Please come out and cheer on the runners as they run 26.2 miles through Huntsville.

Indie Christmas Holiday Market – 10am-8pm (Sat), 12-6pm (Sun). The market will showcase a comprehensive product line related to arts, crafts and fashion. Come get your holiday gifts. The Crafty Behr, 7445 Hwy 72 W, Madison, AL 35758.

Huntsville's 36th Annual Christmas Parade – 12-2pm. Downtown Huntsville—follows a route from Clinton at the Post Office to the corner of Adams and Lowe. Free.

The Nutcracker, A Yuletide Ballet – 7:30pm (Fri), 2pm and 7pm (Sat), 2pm (Sun). Alabama Youth Bal-let Theatre, a non-profit performing arts company, will once again create the performance that has been a holiday tradition for the Valley. Admission charged. Lee High School, 2500 Meridian St North, Huntsville, AL. 35811. 256-881-5930.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7Make & Take Ornaments – 10am-12pm. Families are invited to come out on Saturday, December 7th, from 10am until Noon to enjoy hot cocoa & cookies while making special holiday ornaments. Free. Contact Ms. Maggie at [email protected] for more info. Madison Public Library, 130 Plaza Blvd, Madison, AL 35758. 256-461-0046.

The Spiritual Laws of Life – 2-3pm. Free introduc-tory presentation and discussion series for people of all faiths. Learn how to keep in tune with your true spiritual nature. Earth Fare, 5900-C University Dr., Huntsville, AL. 256-534-1751. ECK-Alabama.org.

The Library's Christmas Concert – 7-9pm. U.S. Army Four Star Jazz Orchestra & The Rocket City Jazz Orchestra play Christmas favorites. Free. Main Library, 915 Monroe St, Huntsville, AL 35801. 256-532-5940.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10Best Christmas Pageant Ever – A high-energy comedy show about what happens when the "worst

Call Today! 256-340-1122 [email protected]

Got Events? Get Noticed!

Thousands of Natural Awakenings readers are looking for

healthy options.


ongoingevents

sundayMeditation – 8:30am. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville, AL. 256-883-8596. CSL-Huntsville.org.

A Course in Miracles Study Group – 9:15am. Shared reading and group discussions. Extra books available. Light of Christ Center, 4208 Holmes Ave, Huntsville, AL. 256-895-0255. LightOfChrist Center.org.

Revealing Service – 9:45am. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville, AL. 256-883-8596. CSL-Huntsville.org.

Celebration Service – 10:30am. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville, AL. 256-883-8596. CSL-Huntsville.org.

Unity Church on the Mountain Worship Service – 11am, with "Lessons in Truth" discussion at 9:30am. Unity is a positive path for spiritual living. Reverend Phillip Fischer. Unity Church on the Mountain, 1328 Governors Dr SE, Huntsville, AL. 256-536-2271. UnityChurchOnTheMountain.org.

1-Hour Mystery School – 11am. A different service each week including ritual, music, and a message in an open, loving environment. Light of Christ Center, 4208 Holmes Ave, Huntsville, AL. 256-895-0255. LightOfChristCenter.org.

tuesdayMeditation – 6pm. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville, AL. 256-883-8596. CSL-Huntsville.org.

wednesdaySatsang – 6:30pm. Through group discussion and inquiry, we reveal the innate wisdom of the one pres-ence living life as each one of us. Meditation 6pm. Led by Rev. David Leonard. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville, AL. 256-883-8596. CSL-Huntsville.org.

Flying Monkey Community Garden Meeting – 6:15-7:15pm, 3rd Wednesday of each month. The Flying Monkey Community Garden needs volunteers, as well as supporters. To sign up, contact Anna Sue on the Flying Monkey Arts floor, Studio 269. Flying Monkey Arts, 2211 Seminole Dr SW, Huntsville, AL 35805. Anna Sue: 256-533-0399.

thursdayThursday Night Swing – 6:30-10pm. Swing dance lesson, 6:30pm; Dance 7:30pm. $5 covers lesson and dance. Lowe Mill/Flying Monkey, 2nd Floor Theatre, 2211 Seminole Dr, Huntsville, AL.

fridayFriday Night Artist Market – 5-8pm. Features art vendors, open artist studios and independent shops, hallway demonstrations and performance, relaxed open houses and a strong sense of community and connectedness. Admission free. Flying Monkey Arts, 2211 Seminole Dr SW, Huntsville, AL 35805. 256-468-5319.

Public Clearance Session – 7pm. Third Friday each month. Learn effective healing through recep-tion and application of Divine energies. Light of Christ Center, 4208 Holmes Ave, Huntsville, AL. 256-895-0255.

saturdayArtist Market – 12-4pm. Local artists and others are invited to set up a booth and sell their wares to the public. There will be art, jewelry, vintage clothing, records and more for sale. Admission free. Flying Monkey Arts Center at Lowe Mill, 2211 Seminole Dr, Huntsville, AL.

Community HU Song – 1:30-2pm. Join others in singing HU, an ancient love song to God that can help and uplift you in countless ways. Held each Saturday (except 12/21 and 12/28). Huntsville ECK Center, 900 Wellman Ave NE #3 (near Five Points). 256-534-1751. ECK-Alabama.org.

Christmas Kitten Palooza – 12-4pm. SNAP will have kittens for adoption. Lowe Mill First Floor Connector, 2211 Seminole Dr SW, Huntsville, AL 35805. SnapAlabama.org.

Holiday Craft Day – 2-4pm. Please join us for a fun time of holiday crafting and refreshments. Free. Bailey Cove Branch Library, 1409 Weatherly Plaza SE, Huntsville AL 35803. 256-881-0257.

Historic Decatur Christmas Tour – 2-8pm. The annual Christmas Tour of Homes showcases the Old Decatur Historic District and the Albany Historic District, which contain one of the finest and larg-est collections of Victorian and early 20th century craftsman and bungalow homes in Alabama.

Spirit of Christmas Past Homes Tour & Luminar-ies – 5-9pm. The Twickenham District will be aglow with luminaries, trees and front doors glistening with holiday decorations and carolers strolling along the way. Admission charged. Twickenham District, Huntsville, AL 35801. 256-536-7718.

Concert: The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings Orchestra – 5pm. Featuring Robert McDuffie on the violin & Margery McDuffie Whatley on the piano. Admission charged. Trinity United Methodist Church Sanctuary, 607 Airport Rd, Huntsville, AL 35802. 256-489-7415.

Madison Christmas Parade – 5:30-7:30pm. The Parade route will begin at Hughes Rd and Plaza Dr and will continue to downtown Madison. 256-772-9300.

Decatur Boat Parade of Lights – 6-8pm. The annual Parade of Lights takes a unique spin on the traditional Christmas parade, featuring a line of decorated boats that cruise along the Tennessee River. May be viewed from the Hard Dock Cafe or Rhodes Ferry Park.

Concert: Three on a String – 7:30pm. Enjoy a mix of bluegrass tunes, pop hits and comedy. Admission charged. Merrimack Hall Performing Arts Center, 3320 Triana Boulevard Huntsville, AL 35805. 256-534-6455.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 16Joyful and Triumphant presented by the Brass Band of Huntsville – 7-9pm. Adeste Fidelis with the Brass Band of Huntsville. Covenant Presbyterian Church, 301 Drake Ave, SE Huntsville, Alabama 35802.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26Muscle Shoals Documentary Film Screening – 7pm. The music of Muscles Shoals has helped create some of the most important and resonate songs of all time. $8. Flying Monkey Arts, 2211 Seminole Dr SW, Huntsville, AL. 256-489-7000.

Wishing you the happiest of holidays and a wonderful new year!


HAIR SALON

CJ HAIR AND ART STUDIOCJ Denison 105E Church St Madison, AL 35758 256-603-9018

Specializing in NATURAL Hairstyles. Cuts with Texture and Movement. Specializing in Fine Hair, Razor cuts, Men's Hair Pieces with A NATURAL Look. Specializing in Hair Color OFF the Scalp. Hair Painting. A Safer way to Color or HiLight Your Hair to Help in Decreasing the Exposure to the Scalp. HEALTHY HAIR is HAPPY HAIR. Also Original Art Work and Private Art lessons available. Call Today for YOUR Appointment.

HYPNOTHERAPY

CENTER FOR INNER WELLNESSBecky Waters Certified Hypnotherapist and Professional Breathworker 3322 S. Memorial Parkway, Suite 641 Huntsville, AL 256-348-5236

Creating positive change through hypnotherapy and Breathwork. Empowering you to live to your highest potential. Relieve stress and anxiety, release negativity, pain management, pre/post medical procedure, fears/phobias, weight loss, smoking cessation, and more. See ad, page 7.

MARSHA MATHESCertified Hypnotist 3313 Memorial Parkway, Ste 116 Huntsville, AL 35801 256-698-2151 MarshaMathes.SkinCareTherapy.net

Hypnosis is a tool to assist you in countless ways to heal your past, empower your present and create your future. Hypno-birthing classes, quit smoking, weight loss, nail and lip biting, teeth grinding, insomnia, anxiety and stress relief, phobias and fears, pain relief, sports

enhancement, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), current and past life regressions

communityresourceguideConnecting you to the leaders in natural healthcare and green living in our community. To find out how you can be included in the Community Resource Guide, email [email protected] to request our media kit.

COLON HYDROTHERAPY

CENTER FOR OPTIMAL WELLBEINGU’Jeana Wilson Owner/Certified Colon Hydrotherapist Degree in Psychology 256-658-8600

Center for Optimal Wellbeing is the longest operating colonic therapy provider in Huntsville. First time clients have expressed immediate feelings of increased energy levels and improved efficiency in waste elimination. You will enjoy the experience of your own “personal cleansing spa” as you receive colon hydrotherapy (colonic), far infrared sauna, an optional massaging shower, and ionic footbath services—in a clean, comfortable, and relaxing private environment. Call for directions and a 10% discount on your first service when you mention Natural Awakenings or use code COWB.

HOPE FOR LIFE COLONICS Tina Pencola Owner/Certified Colon Hydrotherapist 10300 Bailey Cove Rd, Suite-7A Huntsville, AL 35803 256-270-8731 • 256-684-0020 Hope4LifeAL.com [email protected]

Our goal is to live long and live strong. Young or old, male or female, healthy or sick, will benef i t f rom an in te rna l cleansing. Mention this ad and get $10 off your first colonic session. See ad, page 10.

JARVIS NATURAL HEALTH CLINIC1489 Slaughter Road, Madison 256-837-3448

I-ACT Certified Colon Hydro Therapists. Do you know that 80% of your immune system is in your colon? Bathe your body from the inside to improve health. Colon irrigation aids in soothing and toning the colon, which makes elimination more effective.

ENERGY HEALING

CENTER FOR DIRECTIONAL HEALING™Susan Spalding 2225 Drake Ave. SW, Suite 18 Huntsville, 35805 256-882-0360 DirectionalHealing.com

For over 20 years, Susan Spalding and the staff at the Center for Directional Healing have been helping people achieve harmonic health through Directional Healing, Reflexology, and now the Amethyst Biomat. Clients may choose a single service, or combine all three for the most complete healing experience. Healing techniques, articles, and more information are available online at DirectionalHealing.com.

ENERGY PSYCHOLOGY

CENTER FOR PERSONAL GROWTHShari Feinman-Prior, MS, MRET 915 Merchant Walk Way, SW Huntsville, AL 35801 256-289-3331 [email protected]

“SPARK YOUR LIGHT” FROM WITHIN YOUR TRUE BEING and TRANSFORM your life. Offering an individualized inte-grative approach from energy psychology: Inner Counselor Process, Rapid Eye Technology, Healing Touch, Reiki, and Life

Skills Coaching, to create change in deep seated patterns of behavior for a healthy and joyful life.

FAMILY MEDICINE

MADISON FAMILY CAREChad Gilliam, M.M.S. PA-C 1230 Slaughter Road, Suite C, Madison, AL 256-722-0555 ProFamilyMed.com

Progressive Family Medicine provides medical care for patients of all ages and uniquely blends Natural and Prescription medi-cines together to help speed the patient’s recovery. Progressive Family Medicine is the patient’s clinic of choice when they would like to understand how natural

medicines work along with prescription drugs. See ads, page 24 and back page.

FENG SHUI

FENG SHUI BY TRUDI GARDNERTrudi Gardner, M.S. 256-772-6999 [email protected]

An interior design philosophy that invites serenity and reduces s t ress . Feng Shui des ign concepts brings positive energy into your home and office to encourage Prosperity, Well Being, Harmony, and Balance.


JIN SHIN JYUTSU®

JIN SHIN JYUTSU OF HUNTSVILLESandra Cope Huntsville 256-534-1794 256-509-3540

Certified Jin Shin Jyutsu Practitioner. An easy, effective way of restoring health and well-being by balancing the body’s energy pathways to enhance the body’s natural healing abilities. See ad, page 12.

MASSAGE

CLOUD NINE IN HOME MASSAGESEvening and Weekend Appointments 256-337-6989

Finally, someone who makes housecalls! Swedish, Ortho and Deep Tissue massage in the privacy of your own home. Gift Certificates also available for any occasion.

DIXIE PHILLIPS (LMT #2151)Dixie’s Sunrise Massage Therapy 3313 Memorial Parkway, Ste #116 Huntsville, AL 35801 256-585-0504 [email protected]

Massage Offering: MediCupping, Deep Tissue, Swedish. $10 off one hour session for Military Active Duty, Firemen, EMT or Police Officers. Must advise at time of booking and show ID for discount. Since 2006. See DixiesSunrise.MassageTherapy.com for all services.

MEETING ROOMS/ EVENT SPACE

LIGHT OF CHRIST CENTER4208 Holmes Ave, Huntsville 256-895-0255 • LightOfChristCenter.org

Rent our beautiful vintage Centenarian House facility as the ideal venue for wed-dings, receptions, memorial services, classes/workshops and other gatherings. Call and leave a message if you’re interested in a tour or to speak with someone about your event. See ad, page 15.

NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE ASSOCIATESDr. Deb Gilliam, N.M.D. 1230 Slaughter Road, Madison, AL 256-325-0955

Dr. Gilliam treats a variety of health problems with chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, heart disease, hormone replacement and thyroid issues being at the forefront. Dr. Gilliam sees patients from around the world due to the reputation she has earned by treating hard to treat

medical conditions. Dr. Gilliam works to find the cause of medical conditions and does not simply treat the patients’ symptoms. See ad, page 17.

PALEO PRODUCTS

PALEO COOKIE256-797-3359 [email protected] Etsy.com/shop/PaleoCookie

Get Gluten Free Paleo cookies for the Holidays. PaleoCookie offers healthy gluten free and low carb treats baked with unprocessed, pure, and natural ingredients only. PaleoCookie bakes fresh to order items. Available at Etsy.com/shop/PaleoCookie or by ordering directly. Call to place your order.

REIKI

REIKI FREE CLINIC (NO CHARGE)Shari Feinman-Prior, MS, MRET 915-A Merchant Walk Way SW Huntsville, AL 35801 [email protected]

2-4pm, every Third Saturday of each month. For appointments, contact Shari Feinman-Prior at [email protected].

SHAMANIC HEALING

WATER, WILLOW & MOON SHAMANIC HEALINGJeffrey Rich 256- 337- 1699 WaterWillowMoon.com [email protected]

"Medicine for the Soul," shamanic healing is the sacred technology which can help you achieve wholeness by addressing the spiritual causes of dis ease. Empty? Out of sorts? Something "just not right"? "Haven't been the same since ..."? Explore the techniques of shamanic healing

and find answers. Offering Soul Retrieval, Thoughtform Unraveling, Illumination, Space Clearing, Past Life Work and much more.

STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION

JACI HOGUE256-656-4108 [email protected] AlabamaRolfMethod.com

A complete system of body education that balances the physical body, improves posture, and helps resolve chronic pain. Created by Dr. Ida P. Rolf in the 1950s, Structural Integration has been scientifically validated and has withstood the test of time, as millions of people have enjoyed the remarkable benefits.

SUSAN K. JEFFREYSAdvanced Practitioner Lic.#249 Dr. Ida P. ROLF method 2336A Whitesburg Drive 256-512-2094 RolfGuild.org Serving Huntsville since 1995

“When the body gets working appropriately, then the force of gravity can flow through. Then spontaneously, the body heals itself.” —Ida P. Rolf. See ad, page 21.

To participate, call

256-340-1122

Coming Next Month

Health & WellnessRev Up Healthy Choices in the

New Year

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• Birmingham,AL• Huntsville,AL• Mobile/Baldwin,AL*• LittleRock/HotSpg.,AR*• Phoenix,AZ• Tucson,AZ• EastBayArea,CA• LosAngeles,CA*• SanDiego,CA• Denver/Boulder,CO• FairfieldCounty,CT• Hartford,CT• NewHaven/

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WarrenCo.,NJ• RhodeIsland• Charleston,SC• Columbia,SC• GrandStrand,SC*• Greenville,SC*• Chattanooga,TN• Knoxville,TN• Memphis,TN• Nashville,TN*• Austin,TX*• Dallas,TX• Dallas/FWMetroN• Houston,TX*• SanAntonio,TX• Richmond,VA• VA’sBlueRidge• Seattle,WA• Madison,WI• Milwaukee,WI• PuertoRico

*Existingmagazinesforsale

Natural Awakenings publishes in over 88 markets across the U.S. and Puerto Rico

For more informationcontact Anna Romano at:

(239) 530-1377 or go online to: NaturalAwakeningsMag.com

PUBLISH YOUR OWN NATURAL AWAKENINGS

MAGAZINE

WORKING TOGETHERTO MAKE THE WORLD

A BETTER PLACE

Stop ItchingWithin Seconds!Introducing DermaClear,TM

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Have a Happy,Pain-Free HolidayDr Emu’s Rx for Pain, STOPS PAIN PLUS is formulated with pure essential oils known for their abilities to increase circulation, by promoting detoxification that can restore a positive mood and increase energy levels.STOPS PAIN PLUS is designed to alleviate:• Neuropathy • Arthritis • Sore Muscles• Fibromyalgia • Sciatica • Stiff Joints• Knee & Foot Pain • Neck & Back Pain• Sports Injuries • Inflammation & SwellingSTOPS PAIN PLUS works faster, penetrates deeper and lasts longer than any other topical product or your money back!

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We all need iodine, yet most of us don’t get enough of it through our diet. A study in

the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that iodine deficiency in the developed world has increased fourfold in the past 40 years and now affects nearly three-quarters of all adults. Numerous U.S. practicing physicians quoted widely in the media estimate that the incidence of hypothyroidism in our adult population may be between 30 and 70 percent.

Thus, we can’t efficiently produce the thyroid hormones that serve as chemical messengers triggering nearly every bodily function. The pres-ence or absence of iodine affects our every cell.

Be Aware of Hypothyroidism SymptomsLow thyroid function, or hypothyroidism, is

the most recognized and obvious indicator of low iodine intake because the thyroid gland contains more concentrated iodine than other organs. Symptoms can range from extreme fatigue and weight gain to depression, carpal tunnel syn-drome, high blood pressure, fibrocystic breasts and a variety of skin and hair problems.

Hypothyroidism can further cause infertility, joint pain, heart disease and stroke. Low iodine levels also have been associated with breast and thyroid cancers. In children, insufficient iodine has been strongly linked with mental retardation,

deafness, attention deficient and hyperactivity disorder and impaired growth, according to studies by Boston University, China’s Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and France’s National Academy of Medicine. The answer is simple: Taking the right kind of iodine in the right dosage can rebalance thyroid function and restore health to the thyroid and the whole body.

Reasons Behind Iodine DeficiencyRadiation: Almost everyone is routinely exposed to iodine-depleting radiation emitted by cell phones, Wi-Fi, microwave ovens and other electronic devices. Iodized table salt: The human body cannot utilize the iodine added to this product. Low-sodium diets: Failure to use healthy salts to fulfill sodium requirements, plus over-

use of zero-nutrient table salt in foods, leads to iodine depletion.Bromine: This toxic chemical overrides iodine’s abilities to nourish the thyroid, adrenal and other hormone-producing glands. A known carcinogen, it is used as an anti-caking ingredient found in almost all baked goods, unless the ingredients specifically cite unbromated flour. Iodine-depleted soils: Due to poor farming techniques, iodine and other minerals in soil have declined, so most foods today are devoid of naturally occurring iodine. Proper iodine supplementation with a high-quality product like Natural Awakenings Detoxified Iodine can prevent harm by protecting the thyroid and other endocrine glands and restoring proper hormone production.

4-6 week supply ONLY $19.99Order Online Today at

NAWebstore.comOr Call: 888-822-0246

You could feel better, lose weight or increase energy and mental clarity with a few drops of Natural Awakenings DETOXIFIED IODINE daily in water or on your skin when used as directed. An essential component of the thyroid, iodine replacement has been reported to give relief from:

• Depression • Weight Gain• Fibromyalgia • Low Energy• Hypothyroidism • Hyperthyroidism• Radiation • Bacteria & Viruses

A Few Drops Can Change Your Life!

Natural Awakenings Detoxifed Iodine is 100 percent natural, raw iodine in an ethyl alcohol solution. We thank all those that are benefiting from this product and enthusiastically telling us their great results. Available only at NAWebstore.com My wife, who suffered from extreme fatigue and other symptoms, saw a dramatic increase in energy after just a few days of taking the natural iodine drops. Now if she misses a day, she’ll end up falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon, like she used to do before taking the iodine. It works! ~ AaronMy doctor told me that I had a hypothyroid condition, prescribed medication and was happy with the follow-up test results, yet I noticed no positive effects on my overall well-being. Within two weeks of using the Natural Awakenings Detoxified Iodine, I had more energy, felt more awake and enjoyed clearer thinking and greater peace of mind. People even comment that I look younger. I am a fan!

~ Larry

ADVERTORIAL

Natural Iodine SupplementationA Must for Most Americans

This Season, Shop Natural Awakenings’ Online Webstore for More Special, Green and Natural Products

*to receive 10% off Detoxified Iodine, use coupon code SAVE10 - offer ends 12/31/2013

FREE trial size of Dr Emu’s STOPS PAIN PLUS included with each order of Detoxified Iodine to share with a friend or family member. Also buy new Natural Awakenings DermaClear and get two trial sizes, a $13 value.

• SPECIAL SHIPPING - $5 for up to 8 bottles •

Progressive

FamilyMedicine

Alternative Medicine Associates• CompleteFamilyPractice• SickVisits• Diabetes• Hypertension• Asthma• Thyroid

• EnvironmentalAllergyTesting• FoodAllergyTesting• Bio-IdenticalHormones• LaboratoryTesting• GynecologicalCare• X-Rays

256-722-05551230 SLAUGHTER RD, SUITE C

MADISON, AL 35758

Progress Toward Wellness & Prevention

ProFamilyMed.com

Chad Gilliam, M.M.S., PA-C

MADISON FAMILY CARE

Dr. Princess RobinsonHumphrey, MD

december 2013

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