healthy living magazine - summer 2009

The Gawler Foundation magazineAn integrated approach to health

healing and wellbeing

healthyliving Issue 3 | Summer 2009-10 $5

Cleanse your soul for summer

Profound Healing - Sustainable Wellbeing conference 2009

Dr Ian Gawler catches up with one of the 400 conference attendees.

Paul Bedson leads a Qigong session in Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens.

Cancer Council Australia CEO Prof. Ian Olver.

Michael Johnson performs.

Karin Knoester with Joanne Bennallack and Gawler Foundation board member Alistair Bennallack.

Conference presenters Dr Michelle Woolhouse and Chris James with Gawler Foundation Therapeutic Director Helen Nikolas.

ello everyone and welcome to our summer edition of Healthy Living magazine. What a big year it

has been! As most of you will know Ian stepped down from his position as Therapeutic Director and is taking some well earned time away. Many people have asked me what will it be like without Ian and I can say with certainty that there are some parts of our work and organisation that will be different.

However, I can also say with absolute certainty that we will continue Ian’s vision and ensure that the Foundation maintains its position as a centre of excellence for people with cancer and MS.

Indeed, as we look forward we believe that there is much more that we can do to help others. In 2010 we are considering a Diabetes program for people at risk of developing T2D - more on that later.

We here at the Foundation are greatly encouraged by your ongoing support.

Our annual conference in November was a resounding success. With Professor Ian Olver, CEO of Cancer Council Australia a keynote speaker, along with many other eminent presenters, the conference attendees were challenged, engaged and informed. It really was a remarkable event.

Our Annual Christmas Appeal has been sent out and I hope that many of you will wish to support the Melbourne Centre. This is the last (well, one of the last!) things that Ian would like to see for the Foundation and the people of Victoria - a place in the metro region where people can come. We would like to see the Centre offering meditation classes, drop in classes, counselling and resources, as well as the 12 week Living Well program and the Integration program. Naturally, if you are unable to support us on this occasion, you can still do something - perhaps you can send your positive thoughts our way for a successful appeal.

As we all march into the Christmas period, it is a time of

always about family and from my family to yours, I hope that your Christmas will be full of peace and love.

organisation committed to an integrated approach to health, healing and wellbeing that includes the body, emotions, mind and spirit. Our mission is to work within an integrative medical framework to provide access to the best possible instruction and support for the implementation of self-help techniques for people experiencing cancer, MS or other

serious illness.

Directors of the Board Irene Goonan, PresidentRay Cummings, TreasurerAlistair BennallackProfessor Avni SaliJanne PaltheShelley OldhamKarin Knoester, CEO

The Gawler Foundation 55 Rayner CourtPO Box 77 Yarra Junction VIC 3797Phone (03) 5967 1730Fax (03) 5967 1715Email [email protected] www.gawler.org

ABN 79 160 595 251

Editorial

Editor and Designer, Dave [email protected] Design, Judd [email protected] CommitteePaul Bedson, Senior [email protected]

[email protected] Johnson, Community [email protected]

Membership and SubscriptionsSue [email protected]

the opinions of The Gawler Foundation and should not be construed as medical advice.The Gawler Foundation accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any of the opinions, advice, representations or information contained in this publication. The Gawler Foundation encourages readers to be discerning with information presented and when making treatment, dietary and lifestyle choices.

From the CEO

Karin Knoester is The Gawler Foundation’s Chief Executive. She can be contacted by email: [email protected]

H

The Gawler Foundation gratefully acknowledges our following sponsors and supporters

Registration Form continuedINTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS: Please indicate which workshop you wish to attend for each session

Please Note: There will be no tickets issued for the conference or dinner. Simply complete and return this form with full payment then register your name upon arrival at Hilton on the Park, Melbourne. This program is true and accurate to the best available information at time of printing.

Concurrent Workshops ‘A’q Chris James Joy-Full Voice: Unlock creative and healing aspects of yourself

Concurrent Workshops ‘B’q Dr Ian Gawler Nutrition: Food as therapy

Concurrent Workshops ‘C’q Assoc Prof Nick Allen Managing depression: Integrating cognitive, behavioural and meditation based approaches Concurrent Workshops ‘D’q Prof Avni Sali An integrative approach to the care of people with cancer and chronic illness

Saturday 14 Novemberq Dr Ruth Gawler Mindfulness-based pain management

Saturday 14 November q Dr Michelle Woolhouse Energy Medicine and Brain Training

Sunday 15 Novemberq Dr Carole Hungerford Things you can do to get the best out of the genetic hand you have been dealt

Sunday 15 Novemberq Petrea King The point of stillness

2.30pm - 3.30pmq Dr Tania Ash Women’s Health: Navigating the hormone web

4.00pm - 5.00pmq Dr Craig Hassed Mindfulness Meditation

2.45pm - 3.45pmq Swami Shankarananda & Swami Devi Ma The Shiva Process Method of Self-inquiry: Removing the locks to the great power that is within you 4.15pm - 5.15pmq Helen Nikolas Healing through songs and stories: Messages straight to the heart

GEORGIAN COURTBed & Breakfast

in the City

www.georgiancourt.com.au

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CELEBRATION DINNER WITH IAN GAWLER - Saturday 14 November, 7pm at Hilton on the Park

Ian Gawler stepped down as Therapeutic Director of the Foundation this year. Please join us for a special evening of merriment, memories and reflections celebrating Ian’s 28 years

of dedication and contribution to The Gawler Foundation. FURTHER DETAILS AND BOOKINGS: PLEASE REFER TO CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM

CONFERENCE INSERT_4pp_09.indd 4 18/8/09 1:01:53 PM

The Gawler Foundation’s 2009 annual conference was an outstanding success with over 400 registrations for the two day event.

Held once again at Melbourne's Hilton on the Park on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November, the Profound Healing - Sustainable Wellbeing Conference is being hailed as the best ever. This year’s informative and inspirational program included 12 keynote speakers and 12 interactive workshops.

The presentations were enlightening,

featuring the right balance of professional content, evidence-based research, thought-provoking ideas and the sharing of heartfelt knowledge, experience and wisdom. Many were also motivational, with self-help techniques for a healthy lifestyle, healing and wellbeing.

Delegates appreciated the opportunity for direct and open communication with speakers during interactive workshops and session breaks.

The excellent vegetarian food was a

treat and everyone enjoyed beautiful music with Mike Johnson on harp and Megan Kenny on flute during breaks. Also, Qigong in Fitzroy Gardens and Laughter Workshops were popular optional lunchtime activities.

Attendees have requested copies of speakers’ presentations. Many are not available due to intellectual property considerations; however abridged versions from some speakers will be available on our website soon.

A very sincere thank you to everyone involved with this special event including speakers, sponsors, supporters, volunteers and staff for their outstanding efforts. Their contribution of resources, knowledge, time and energy ensured the success of our annual ‘Profound Healing - Sustainable Wellbeing’ conference.

Annual conference a huge success

Thank you!Feedback from this year's conference"Everything was wonderful - different perspectives and integrating scientific research into a holistic approach."

"The people, dedication and commitment - a wonderful balance of evidence based information from influential, authentic and dedicated professionals."

"This conference has gathered a range of speakers who presented informative, knowledgeable and provocative information covering a range of topics - Well done!"

"All speakers for both days were excellent. I came for knowledge and inspiration and got plenty of each - Thank you!"

"Being offered the tools to take charge of my body, my health, my life, my wellbeing through the addresses, workshops and resources has been mind blowing."

healthyliving - The Gawler Foundation magazine 5

By Dave Walker

An expectant hush fell over the room as the star-studded panel settled into their chairs.

This was a meeting of some serious minds; people who have dedicated their lives to learning about cancer and serious illness; people who understand how the integrative and mainstream medical paradigms have worked in the past and how they should work in the future.

The question for discussion was ‘Integrative Cancer Management and the challenges, opportunities and vision for the future’. On the left sat the moderator, Jon Faine. A lawyer and morning presenter on 774 ABC Melbourne, Faine was the ideal person to not only ask the hard questions, but to also bring about some form of logical outcome from the discussion. One by one he introduced the panel; Dr Ian Gawler, Petrea King, Dr Craig Hassed and Prof. Ian Olver.

He then told the packed auditorium that it was the first time a representative from Cancer Council Australia had shared

the same stage as The Gawler Foundation.

The sustained and earnest applause that followed prompted Mr Faine to comment that Prof. Olver received a bigger ovation than Britney Spears during her recent Australian tour.

It was not just applause for the significance of the moment; it was to also congratulate Prof. Olver on his decision to speak at the conference, something that wouldn’t have been on the radar of either organisation a decade ago.

"Did you cop any flak from Cancer Council Australia for your decision to attend The Gawler Foundation conference?" asked Mr Faine, ever ready to point out the elephant in the room. "There was some concern expressed, but not flak," responded Prof. Olver.

So often in the past organisations like The Gawler Foundation had marched to the beat of one drum while peak bodies like Cancer Council Australia were comfortable with a different cadence.

When The Gawler Foundation

began in 1983, Ian was considered to be a renegade, someone who dared to question the way mainstream medicine went about treating people with cancer. He was criticised by the medical fraternity for his views on meditation and diet yet continued to grow and build the Foundation over the ensuing decades despite continued resistance.

When thinking about the panel discussion in relation to the history of The Gawler Foundation, vindication is the word that springs to mind. It’s probably not a word that Dr Gawler would choose though, because vindication means to justify or prove the worth of, especially in light of later developments.

His vindication came 30 years ago when he conquered his cancer. He has been vindicated time and again by the many thousands of people who have been profoundly affected by the Foundation’s work.

He was vindicated in 2005 when a Federal Government Senate Committee recommended that Cancer Australia examine

A watershed moment: (l-r) Gawler Foundation founder Dr Ian Gawler, Cancer Council Australia CEO Prof. Ian Olver, Quest for Life founder Petrea King, GP and Monash Universty Senior Lecturer Dr Craig Hassed, Gawler Foundation CEO Karin Knoester and ABC 774 morning presenter Jon Faine.

Panel discussion bridges cancer treatment gap

> Continued on page 21

6 healthyliving - The Gawler Foundation magazine

Mascha Florisson (pictured here with gardener Tobias Mager) has joined The Gawler Foundation team. She will be working at the Foundation's Yarra Valley Living Centre two days a week helping Tobias to maintain the garden.

Mascha is a qualified horticulturist (Swinburne) and also holds degrees in Marine Biology and Zoology as well as an unfinished Masters in Ecotourism (all from James Cooke Uni in Townsville). She is passionate about the environment and self sustainability, winning Swinburne's inaugural sustainability award in 2007.

In recent months Steff Kemp, the previous Gawler Foundation fundraising manager, moved on to greener pastures. The Gawler Foundation would like to acknowledge Steff for her fundraising efforts and as new Fundraising and Development manger I am very much enjoying the green pastures around The Gawler Foundation's Yarra Valley Living Centre.

During September the Foundation received substantial donations from The Lord Mayors Charitable Foundation ($100,000) and Trust Company Pty Limited ($17,000) to assist in running Living Well our 12 week cancer, healing and wellbeing programs in two low-socio economic areas around Melbourne. These programs can now be offered to Health Care Card holders for a token fee.

The Gawler Foundation recently received a special

gift from the estate of Mr Graeme Galt. We would like to sincerely acknowledge the continued support of Mr Galt and his family, over the past few years they have contributed generously to support the work of the Foundation.

This generous gift will ensure our lifestyle based programs continue to offer hope and inspiration to many more people challenged by cancer and other serious illnesses in our community.

The Gawler Foundation would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to the Foundation's work during 2009.

Our Christmas appeal has recently been sent out to you asking for your support to help us make Ian’s vision of a wellness centre in Melbourne a reality, we do hope we can count on you to help us make this happen.

Fundraising news

New face in the garden

Jen Jordan is The Gawler Foundation's Fundraising and Development Manager. She can be contacted by email: [email protected]


element which needs to be handled with respect and awareness.

The great tragedy of last summer’s bushfires was a stark reminder. Fire warms but it also burns. In the wisdom of

Traditional Chinese Medicine is the understanding that the fire element can be deficient or excessive. If we have too little fire we stagnate; with too much fire, we can burn out.

On the physical level, too much fire is associated with chronic inflammation, hot and painful joints, hypertension, hot flushes, palpitations, angina and insomnia, whereas too little fire is associated with poor circulation, obesity, chronic fatigue, low blood pressure, fluid retention, stiff muscles and joints.

On the emotional level, too much fire can lead to restlessness, agitation, irritability, aggression and mania.

Too little fire can lead to depression, anxiety, indecisiveness, lack of confidence and poor self-esteem. We all need to kindle our life spark.

So come out of the cave into the light and warmth.May the warmth of summer move your body, open your heart and uplift your spirits!

ummer is the season which is filled with abundant energy and long days drenched in sunshine.

Summertime is about expansion, growth, activity and creativity. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) teaches us that summer belongs to the Fire element.

Fire is symbolic of maximum activity or greatest Yang, which means that it is a time of heat, outgoingness and moving outward in nature and in our lives. The nature of heat is that it expands and rises.

So after the cave-dwelling introversion of winter comes the time to move outward and re-establish our connections with nature and with others. Summer heat should warm our hearts and lift our spirits if we welcome it.

Fire generates vitality and energy. Joy is the emotion associated with the heart and the fire element. As an expansive emotion, joy embodies enthusiasm, fun, happiness and laughter. Heat causes our metabolic rate to increase, our energy to bubble up and it lifts our spirits.

Healthy fire energy can be seen in a rosy complexion and glimpsed in the twinkle in the eyes.

A lively conversation punctuated by laughter is the sound of the balanced heart. Summer provides us with ample opportunities to strengthen and balance our heart energy through appropriate amounts of sunshine, exercise, contact with nature and warm relationships.

Fire is an exciting, alive and potentially dangerous

Balancing your energy this summer

SBy Paul Bedson

Paul Bedson is senior therapist at The Gawler Foundation and facilitates the Foundation’s Living in Balance program which is largely about balancing the energies of Yin and Yang, Fire and Water in your everyday life.

► Awaken earlier in the morning, rest at midday, and go to bed later in the evening.

► Drink plenty of fluids e.g. green tea, peppermint tea or keep a jug of fresh water with lemon slices handy. (The bitterness of lemons and green tea is particularly good for the heart energy).

► Eat more salads and fresh fruits which are locally grown and in season. (Cooling foods in general tend towards the green end of the colour spectrum).

► Eat in moderation and avoid excessively oily, spicy and starchy foods.

► Allow the sunshine to deeply warm you (without burning).

► Movement, dance, singing and exercise will improve the flow of your heart energy.

► Welcome more love and friendship into your life to warm your heart. Share the joy!

Tips for Summer health

► Season: Summer► Element: Fire► Colour: Red► Nature: Yang► Organs: Heart and Small Intestine► Emotion: Joy► Sound: Laughter► Flavour: Bitter

TCM associations with Summer and fire:

Swami Shankarananda is an American-born guru, author and founder of the Shiva Ashram in Australia. He is also a spokesperson for Hinduism in Interfaith dialogue.


Taking the inward journey

The mind and meditationThe goal of yoga is the inner self, but the way to that self is through understanding, purification and control of the mind. So the realm of yoga is really the mind. A yogi develops tremendous respect for the potential that the human mind contains.

If we have the friendship of our mind, our life is a joy. But if our own mind is our enemy, then we are living in hell. A purified mind has tremendous powers of insight, memory, thought and concentration.

It can solve the problems of life with ease. It makes swift and accurate decisions based on facts and not emotions. It is sprightly and constantly bubbling with joy and inspiration.

But a mind that is not controlled runs wild and plunges its owner into grief. It entertains negative thoughts, it burns in endless desires that can’t be fulfilled. Its constant agitated throbbing destroys our sleep and our health and drives us to seek aid in therapy, drugs, drink and the frenzied search for diversion and escape from boredom.

The centre and heart of yoga, then, is meditation, the control of the mind. A meditator develops a new and healthy relationship with his mind by means of two essential processes which he uses in conjunction with each other. The first involves the replacing of negative or unhealthy thoughts with healthy ones. By his own experience he has realised that when his mind dwells on such thoughts as ‘I am no good’, ‘I am inadequate’, ‘I am a sinner’, ‘I am weak’, ‘I

am frightened’, ‘I am frail’, ‘I am in danger’, ‘I am unloveable’, and ‘I am neurotic’ then his inner state becomes contracted, without hope and unhappy. I call these kinds of thoughts, tearing thoughts since they tear into the very heart of the one who thinks them.

Positive mind culture and healthThese days almost everyone acknowledges the connection between negative mental states and disease. But how does this Mind - Body nexus work? That which connects abstract thought with the physical body is feeling. Feeling brings thought into concrete reality and gives it being. Negative thoughts are always associated with negative feeling, states of anger, fear and sorrow. Positive thoughts are always associated with positive feeling, states of love, confidence and joy.

Thus when we transform thoughts we are actually transforming feeling. Negative feelings darkly impact us on a cellular level. They create contraction. They undermine the immune system and create disease. Positive feelings give the cells sunlight and nutrition. They enhance every positive and health-giving process. In this way a meditator fights against

This is the second part of Swamiji's article. The first part appeared in the Spring Healthy Living Magazine.

By Swami Shankarananda


Taking the inward journeydisease and for health in the most basic sense possible. The yogi replaces tearing thoughts with thoughts that create mental and emotional health, like ‘I am the Self,’ ‘I am full of love’, ‘I am in God, God is in me’, ‘My essential nature is perfection’, ‘I can do anything’, ‘I am free and happy’, ‘I am in control of my life’. I call these noble, elevating statements that come from recognised traditions and accomplished sages, G-statements.

It is a principle of mind that we become what we meditate on. Just as the mind takes the form of objects that it concentrates on, so people are profoundly affected by the kinds of things they think about a lot. Therefore it is essential to become aware of what our minds focus on.

A meditator is always aware of the kind of mental food he consumes and rather than take in any junk food that comes his way, he is selective. He consciously feeds himself those ideas and concepts that lead him to the light, to strength, to health and happiness. G-statements are positive grist for the mill. They free the mind from negative thought and in themselves suggest an expanding spaciousness of mind that lead a meditator upwards. Mantra practice is one such use of G-statements.

MantraThe mantra of my tradition is Om Namah Shivaya which means, ‘I bow to the true Self’, ‘I honour Supreme Consciousness within myself’. One should repeat such a mantra with understanding of its meaning.

The mind has an ability to focus on an object and to know it in a profound sense. Once the object is known, its inner essence can be extracted and experienced directly. The process by which the mind merges in and knows an object fully is called samyama.

Through samyama on the mantra the essence of the mantra is known. The mantra yields its rich cargo of bliss and knowledge. We begin by repeating it from a distance and then by an effort of thought we contemplate its various meanings and the instructions from practice that we’ve heard, and so on.

As our mind examines it in a concentrated way, we see it from above, below, within and without. The mind knows it as an object having a name, a form and a purpose. At the very point when the mind is vigorously holding the mantra at the highest pitch, we can realise the mantra.

The mind become poised in focus on the mantra.

Mental contents disappear leaving only the inner essence which stands revealed as direct experience.

Witness ConsciousnessThe second mental process of meditation involves not the replacing of negative thoughts with positive ones, but a new relationship with thought in general, whether negative or positive. This is called witness consciousness. The meditator can practice this method exclusively or in alternation with the first one. In it he tries to establish a new type of relationship with his own mind.

He asserts to himself “I am the witness of my mind” whenever he finds himself identified with his thoughts. Immediately he takes up the stance of a witness, then he gradually becomes identified again, then he remembers again, then he becomes identified again, then he returns to the witness position again.

Another version of this technique is to assert, “All these thoughts are the play of conscious energy.” Here the meditator doesn’t get caught up in the contents of his mental movements but sees them all as vibrations of the same mental energy. He automatically assumes the positions of witness.

The Purified Mind: Self-realisationOnce the mind becomes purified and strong, new abilities and powers dawn. It is the weakness of the mind that limits it. By weakness I mean the inability to remain detached and calm. A person who can control his mind and can keep it in a good condition is a good yogi. He truly becomes the master of his own life.

Psychic gifts seek out such a yogi whether he seeks them or not. He effortlessly sees into the heart and mind of another person. He knows their true motives. He moves intuitively in all situations sometimes active, sometimes passive, as the occasion demands. He gains knowledge of the future and of the subtle laws of the universe. He understands people. And beyond all these powers of mind is the pearl of great price, knowledge of the Inner Self.

Even if self-realisation seems like too abstract and far-off a goal, meditation is beneficial in many other ways. Through intelligent mind culture and mind management and daily meditation, life is transformed from a dreary and mundane exercise into a vibrancy of the spirit. I like to tell everyone: ‘Meditate for health, meditate for happiness, meditate for success, meditate for good relationships, meditate for wisdom, meditate for peace. Meditate to know the Divine, meditate to know your Self’.


By Sue Dengate

When a friend was diagnosed

with colorectal cancer recently, I was not

surprised. He has always eaten a lot of deli meats

such as ham and salami.

Numerous studies have shown that consumption of red and especially processed meat appears to be associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal cancers.

Processed meats generally contain additives called nitrates and nitrites that are used as preservatives and colour fixatives. These preservatives are not carcinogenic but they can combine with natural

amines in some foods to form highly carcinogenic chemicals called nitrosamines.

Here’s the catch: processed meats that contain nitrate and nitrite additives are naturally high in amines, since amines are formed by protein breakdown in protein rich foods such as meat, fish and cheese and increase with age and processing.

Despite their cancer-causing potential, nitrates and nitrites are regarded as a necessary

evil by health authorities because preservatives inhibit the development of toxic micro-organisms. Without these additives there would be many more deaths from food poisoning.

The more processed meat consumers eat, the more they are at risk, and cancer may not be the only problem. A study published earlier this year by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital in the US reported a link between increased levels of nitrates and increased deaths from certain diseases including Alzheimer's, diabetes mellitus and Parkinson's, possibly through the damaging effect of nitrosamines on DNA.

“We have become a 'nitrosamine generation'”, said lead researcher Professor Suzanne de la Monte. “In essence, we have moved to a diet that is rich in amines and nitrates, which lead to increased nitrosamine production.”

Nitrates can also enter our food supply through

excessive use of nitrate-containing fertilisers on fruit and vegetables, and leaching from the soil can lead to contamination of water supplies used for irrigation, food processing and drinking. Could nitrated vegetables form

nitrosamines in the stomach if eaten with an amine source such as meat? Researchers are still debating this issue.

In August this year, the World Cancer Research Fund issued a warning to parents, suggesting they limit their children’s intake to 70 grams of processed meat per week. That’s the equivalent of two ham sandwiches. Predictably, a meat industry spokesperson dismissed the risks and some bloggers said they would rather die than give up ham.

Other side effects of nitrates and amines include a range of intolerance symptoms such as headaches, irritable bowel symptoms, itchy rashes, asthma, children’s behaviour problems, difficulty falling asleep and frequent night waking.

I myself have been avoiding processed meats and eating a low amine diet since I discovered 15 years ago that amines were the cause of my migraines. It means I only eat protein sources that are fresh and preservative-free. Colorectal cancer is the third most common form of cancer in developed countries and Australia has one of the highest rates in the world. Curiously, when I go trekking in Nepal - where the rate is at least ten times lower than Australia’s - I find that the traditional diet eaten in the Himalayas is similar to mine; additive-free and low in amines.

Further reading: Cross AJ, Leitzmann MF, Gail MH et al, A Prospective Study of Red and Processed Meat Intake in Relation to Cancer Risk. PLoS Med. 2007;4(12):e325.

Tong M, Neusner A, Longato L et al, Nitrosamine Exposure Causes Insulin Resistance Diseases: Relevance to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis, and Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimers Dis. 2009;17(4):827-844.

Sue Dengate is a bestselling author who runs the Food Intolerance Network through www.fedup.com.au

The nitrosamine generation

Nitrates and nitrites used in bacon, ham, salami, corned meats, hot dogs, devon and some luncheon rolls. These are not permitted in organic foods.

► 249 Potassium nitrite

► 250 Sodium nitrite

► 251 Sodium nitrate (Chile saltpetre)

► 252 Potassium nitrate (saltpetre)

Dorothy Edgelow One of my favourite vegetables is the very often overlooked nutritious beetroot, not the pickled kind in cans, but fresh grated in salads or sandwiches or steamed or baked as a hot veggie. Beetroot is beneficial for the heart, lungs, blood, circulation and bowel.

► Beetroot Salad3-4 fresh beetroot 1 potato 6 spring onions 1 cup of any or all of these: cooked chick peas, red kidney beans, corn kernels or even nuts.

Wash beetroot, cut off leaves but do not peel, place in a pan and cover with cold water, boil until tender (the time this takes depends on the age of the beetroot).

When cooked, allow to cool a little then slip the skin off using your hands and dice into 2cm cubes.

Scrub potato and boil or steam until tender, then dice.

Slice spring onions, add any other chosen ingredients, the dressing and gently mix together.

Choice of dressings: 1 cup of plain yoghurt 1tsp honey 1tbs lemon juice Stir ingredients together

OR ½ cup flax oil ¼ cup apple cider vinegar ½ tsp chopped garlic 1 tsp honey Stir ingredients together


Summer salad favourites

► Lemon Vegetable Salad2 cups grated raw pumpkin 1 small cucumber, diced Finely grated rind of ½ lemon and juice of whole lemon ½ cup shredded red or green cabbage 1 stick finely chopped celery 2 tsp olive oil 2 spring onions 1 green capsicum choppedMix lemon rind, juice and olive oil. Gently blend into other ingredients. Toss and serve garnished with strips of presoaked kombu seaweed.

Summer is all about salads, so we asked Dorothy Edgelow and Gail Lazenbury to share their favourite summer salad recipes with you.

Gail LazenburyWhen I first started at The Gawler Foundation kitchen 15 years ago we worked from old printed A4 sheets, featuring recipes from Dorothy Edgelow and Grace Gawler. With summer upon us, I started thinking about some of my favourite salad recipes from those days. I delved back into the past and sorted out the old sheets that were shoved into a folder at the back of the filing cabinet. I had a vague recollection of a salad recipe with raw pumpkin and lemon in it; lo and behold I managed to find it!


he exquisite, rich and fluid sounds of the harp surround me as I lie on the floor in

the large octagonal room overlooking lush bushland. The fullness of the sound totally

envelops me as even the floorboards on which I lie resonate with the timbre of this magnificent instrument. Outside the night sky is deep velvet blue and seems alive with the light from a million stars. This superb music washes over me, relaxes me, soothes me, takes me to other places. I am lying with thirty seven other people on the floor of the Meditation Sanctuary at The Gawler Foundation’s Yarra Valley Living Centre in the magnificent Yarra Valley.

I have arrived several days earlier, and as I step out of the car the rain has stopped and the freshness, fragrance and crispness of the country air embraces me. I am overwhelmed by a myriad of different greens; different textures, colours and shapes of the many distinct trees, bushes and shrubs and once again I am in awe of the beauty of nature all around me.

The group of people at the retreat is as diverse and different a group as one is ever likely to meet. People have come from literally all over the world to attend this retreat. Sheldon from New York City, Hilary from Durban, South Africa, Karen from Christchurch, New Zealand, and from all over Australia. We begin by introducing ourselves. Jim lives and works on a sugar plantation in North Queensland; Timothy lives in Perth and works on an off-shore oil rig. Jeremy has worked as a counsellor with refugees. Zoe, in her early 20’s with dreadlocks, works with homeless youth*. Different people, different ages, different stages of life, however there is one common theme, one connecting thread amongst us all - cancer.

Within just one hour of arrival, we are talking about hope. Anything, everything is possible. As we introduce ourselves I look around. Many people have had cancer for years; others have been recently diagnosed. Some participants have been in remission, others have aggressive metastases in many places within their body. Hope. Anything, everything is possible. We talk about choice and the smorgasbord of choices available to us; how to seek and gain a sense of direction regarding one’s disease. He talks about gaining an inner peace of mind independent of what is happening all around, independent of the cancer diagnosis. I become aware of the fact that for some participants, this program represents their last chance for survival and health. This program offers hope to some participants in what has been deemed by other professionals as a hopeless situation. The Gawler Foundation's lifestyle programs offer lessons for life, lessons for cancer patients and always hope, always optimism. Anything, everything is possible.

We are taught to meditate, and every day we meditate twice a day, in the morning before breakfast and in the evening. Meditation is the opportunity to open our attention to the present moment, to still our excessively thinking minds. Our complex lives are constantly dealing with the past - using our memories, and the future - using our imagination. Meditation is the opportunity to be in the present, to become aware of our thoughts, feelings and emotions. Accompanying meditation numerous physiological and biochemical changes occur within our body and it is these changes which facilitate the healing process.

Meditation impacts positively on many of our body systems. It enables improvement in the immune system, tissue and cell repair and digestion. It impacts in a positive way on muscular tension and blood pressure problems. For some participants, conventional medicine has been unable to turn the tide of their disease. Meditation is healing from within and through meditation participants learn to become empowered, to try to gain control over their disease. We learn that meditation offers participants the opportunity to have some control over their destiny through connecting with the present moment of experience. The opposite of meditation, stress, has the reverse impact on our body systems.

Those people who have the best outcomes in both quality and quantity of life are those who are actively involved with their own treatment and management. The importance of being proactive regarding different options and taking responsibility for one’s own healing is discussed. As the program unfolds, I become increasingly aware that many of the participants are here as they have made that conscious choice not to succumb to the inevitability of their disease. They are trying to better understand the aetiology and nature of their disease and in so doing, somehow redefine it, manage it, control it. There are no victims here. As with many difficult situations throughout life that get thrown one’s way, there are choices as to how to deal with that situation. These inspiring, courageous and empowering people are trying to integrate and manage the disease within their lives on their terms; they aim to be in control, to call the shots; not the cancer. This retreat is about empowerment, it is about courage and it is about hope and optimism; anything, everything is possible.

Alison Jones participated in The Gawler Foundation’s residential Life and Living Program in July 2008. This is her story.T

Anything, everything is possible


We learn about the range of lifestyle factors that can change the inevitability of a fearful diagnosis. A holistic, integrated approach is required. Lifestyle opportunities are to be integrated with conventional medical treatment. Every participant has actively embraced their medical treatment and is seeking to have a constructive, productive relationship with their oncologist.

A key component of these lifestyle factors is food. The food at the retreat is strictly organic and vegan. At the commencement of every meal we have silence for a few minutes as a time for reflection. A time to consider that the food has been cooked with love and that it will help to nourish and to heal. It is a time for contemplation, a time for prayer, a time for hope.

There are a wide variety of foods that have been identified to have anti cancer properties, predominantly fruit and vegetables. We discuss how to create a cancer unfriendly environment within our own bodies and those products that will hinder the spread of cancer.

We attend an invigorating session discussing lifestyle factors that can significantly affect outcome regarding both quality and quantity of life. What we can do for ourselves to change the destiny of our disease. The importance of social support in improving outcomes is emphasised. We are shown research that demonstrates that patients who attend a weekly support group demonstrate improved lifestyle factors - such as decreased pain and increased energy. I ponder the love, support, and care that I have received every single day following diagnosis from my exceptional community.

We discuss stress, and how prolonged stress leads to wear and tear on so many of our body systems. Learning to control stress in our lives is essential to healing. We often cannot control an event; however we can control our attitude towards that event. On our last day we attend a closing ritual and are asked a number of questions. One of these is “What do I want to leave behind?” I tell the group that I want to leave behind the fact that I now no longer want to get stressed by things over which I have no control and cannot change.

As the days unfold and trust develops within the group, we talk about the positive aspects of having cancer. Cancer can change lives for the better.

Following my own diagnosis, I was determined to turn the cancer on its head. I was unflinching in my

resolve to change a devastating and fearful situation into an experience of hope, growth and opportunity. The future for all of us is uncertain. However, I am now looking at the present, and the richness and beauty in every single day. Every day I have an opportunity to be fulfilled, to grow, to be enriched. I have learned that every day I can make a difference to my life, and the lives around me. I have discovered new skills. I never, ever considered myself able to write prior to diagnosis - I have always been passionate about Maths. I am doing some writing now and enjoying it and have even enrolled in a short term writing course! Cancer has enabled me to become aware of new skills; it has enabled me to forge new beautiful and meaningful relationships with so many people; it has enabled me to teach my children resilience, that they may appreciate every day and to realize how very privileged we all are.

Every night, after the program has concluded, a group of us go on a night time walk. The cold is bracing and we are dressed warmly. As we walk, I am totally overwhelmed, once again by the absolute beauty of nature. The stillness and quietness is serene, in fact it is so quiet, that we can hear the quiet. Occasionally it is interrupted by the barking of an owl or movement of a kangaroo. Through misty fields we walk under the light of a full moon. We stand and enjoy the smorgasbord of colours before us. We see a palate of the different greys of the hills; in the valleys the cream of the mist, the deep rich velvet blue of the sky and the blackness of the silhouetted trees. A magical image greets my eyes, and I feel so very blessed. Anything, everything is possible.

*Names used are not the actual names of participants.

Anything, everything is possible


Residential Programs for Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis and other Illness

► Life and LivingA ten day transformative program to meet and help overcome the challenges of cancer.Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Monday 1 Feb - Thursday 11 Feb ● Tuesday 9 Mar - Friday 19 Mar ● Monday 12 Apr - Thursday 22 Apr● Monday 10 May - Thursday 20 May● Monday 7 Jun - Thursday 17 Jun● Monday 12 Jul - Thursday 22 Jul● Monday 6 Sep - Thursday 16 Sep● Monday 4 Oct - Thursday 14 Oct● Monday 1 Nov - Thursday 11 Nov● Monday 6 Dec - Thursday 16 Dec

► Health, Healing and BeyondA five day follow up program for people who have completed 'Life and Living' or 'Living Well', the 12 week cancer, healing and wellbeing program.Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Monday 22 Mar - Friday 26 Mar● Monday 25 Oct - Friday 29 Oct

► Healing Meditation RetreatThree day retreat for people dealing with illness to facilitate their healing process.Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Wednesday 3 Mar - Friday 5 Mar ● Wednesday 28 Jul - Friday 30 Jul● Monday 22 Nov - Wednesday 24 Nov

► Taking Control of Multiple SclerosisFive day practical and inspirational program facilitated by Professor George Jelinek.Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Monday 15 Feb - Friday 19 Feb ● Monday 23 Aug - Friday 27 Aug

► Diabetes Recovery ProgramFive day practical and inspirational program facilitated by Dr Craig Hassed and Professor George Jelinek.Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Monday 29 Nov - Thursday 2 Dec

Residential Programs Promoting Health and Wellbeing

► Weekend Meditation RetreatWeekend retreat.Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Friday 22 Jan - Sunday 24 Jan ● Friday 28 May - Sunday 30 May● Friday 12 Nov - Sunday 14 Nov ► Living in Balance Five day retreat.Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Monday 22 Feb - Friday 26 Feb● Monday 28 Jun - Friday 2 Jul● Monday 27 Sep - Friday 1 Oct

► Mindful Movement / Mindful EatingFour day retreat.Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Monday 18 Jan - Thursday 21 Jan

2010 Gawler Foundation Programs


Non-Residential Programs

► Living Well - Cancer, Healing and Wellbeing Twelve weekly sessions to meet and help overcome the challenges of cancer.(Programs run for 12 weeks from 9.30am -

12.30pm weekly)

Location: HawthornVenue: The University of Melbourne Starting Dates:● Tuesday 2 Feb● Tuesday 11 May● Tuesday 24 Aug

Location: SpringvaleVenue: Springvale Council OfficesStarting Dates:● Wednesday 27 Jan● Wednesday 19 May● Wednesday 18 Aug

Location: FootscrayVenue: The Bluestone ChurchStarting Dates: ● Monday 3 May● Monday 30 Aug

► Integration ProgramAn eight week program designed for those who have previously completed Life and Living or Living Well and who would like to continue to develop, deepen and share their healing methods and experiences through an interactive support group program. This program will be held in Hawthorn.Location: HawthornVenue: The University of Melbourne Starting Dates:● Monday 8 Feb, 12.30pm - 3.30pm● Thursday 20 May, 12.30pm - 3.30pm● Thursday 2 Sep, 12.30pm - 3.30pm

2010 Gawler Foundation Programs► Moving to your Rhythm - A Women's RetreatWeekend retreat.Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Friday 30 Apr - Sunday 2 May● Friday 27 Aug - Sunday 29 Aug

► Tai Chi Weekend Retreat Weekend retreat.Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Friday 6 Aug - Sunday 8 Aug

► Pathways to Intimacy Weekend retreat.Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Friday 20 Aug - Sunday 22 Aug

► Reclaim Your Life Six day retreat with a variety of experienced facilitators. An integrative wellbeing program designed to empower you to improve your quality of life and make your heart sing!Location: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Sunday 17 Oct - Friday 22 Oct Health Practitioners ProfessionalDevelopment

► Health Practitioners: Mindfulness TrainingFacilitated by Dr Craig HassedLocation: Yarra JunctionVenue: Yarra Valley Living CentreDates:● Friday 13 Aug - Sunday 15 Aug


[Ongoing Meditation and Cancer Support Groups

► Meditation Group The Melbourne Meditation group meets weekly and provides an opportunity to: Share your experience with others and maintain your momentum & commitment to regular practice.From the stillness of meditation discover the power within to live your life to its full potential.Location: HawthornVenue: The University of MelbourneStarting Dates:(All programs run from 1.30pm - 2.30pm)● Tuesday 2 Feb● Tuesday 11 May● Tuesday 24 Aug ► Ongoing Cancer Self-Help Support Group The format for this program focuses on sharing new ideas and experiences with others and reinforcing the principles of self-help, group meditation and mutual support.(All programs run from 2.30pm - 4.30pm)

Location: HawthornVenue: The University of MelbourneStarting Dates:● Tuesday 2 Feb● Tuesday 11 May● Tuesday 24 AugLocation: FootscrayVenue: The Bluestone ChurchStarting Dates:● Monday 3 May● Monday 30 Aug Mindfulness-Based Stillness Meditation and Imagery

► Eight Week Non-Residential Program The 8 week meditation course is an excellent opportunity to learn or deepen your meditation and relaxation skills.

2010 Gawler Foundation ProgramsLocation: HawthornVenue: The University of MelbourneStarting Dates:● Monday 8 Feb, 6.30pm - 8.00pm● Thursday 25 Feb, 10.00am - 11.30am● Monday 10 May, 12.30pm - 2.00pm● Thursday 24 June, 10.00am - 11.30am● Thursday 26 Aug, 10.00am - 11.30am● Wednesday 1 Sep, 6.30pm - 8.00pm ● Thursday 21 Oct, 10.00am - 11.30am● Monday 25 Oct, 12.30pm - 2.00pm Melbourne Based Events

► Profound Healing - Sustainable Wellbeing Annual ConferenceDon't miss this inspiring and informative event next year. Please view future editions of 'Healthy Living' magazine and our website for updates and further details.Location: MelbourneVenue: Hilton on the ParkDates:● Saturday 20 Nov - Sunday 21 Nov ► Mind, Body, Spirit Seminar Series● Throughout 2010

Venue Information

The University of Melbourne Hawthorn Campus442 Auburn RoadHawthorn Vic 3122

Springvale Council Offices397-405 Springvale RoadSpringvale Vic 3171

The Bluestone Church8A Hyde StreetFootscray Vic 3011

The Yarra Valley Living Centre55 Rayner CrtYarra Junction Vic 3797


[Starting the new year on the right footA new wellbeing program called Mindful Movement - Mindful

Eating will herald the start of The Gawler Foundation’s

2010 residential calendar.

Running from Monday 18 January to Thursday 21 January, Mindful Movement – Mindful Eating is a practical four day program at which you will learn a short form of healing Tai Chi and a series of mindful exercises for wellbeing.

These mindful movements, coupled with walking meditation and meditation in the Sanctuary will bring a sense of peaceful awareness back to your body. The practice of moving mindfully can help bring peace and calm to our daily lives.

Thich Nhat Hanh said that ‘contemplating food for a few seconds before eating and eating in

Following the great response to our first Moving to Your Rhythm women’s retreat this year, The Gawler Foundation is running two of these fantastic programs in 2010.

This exciting experiential weekend retreat has been designed by women for women and will enable you to take a break from your busy life to recharge, reconnect and refocus your energies, providing an opportunity to take time out from the daily pressures and develop a balanced routine in your life.

Whether you feel like you need some time out or perhaps a weekend to nurture yourself, Moving to Your Rhythm will nurture and invigorate you through meditation, relaxation, movement, massage and a range of creative activities.

A balance of structured sessions and free time will give you ample opportunity to enjoy the natural

mindfulness can bring us much happiness’.

Mindful eating will be also be practiced over the four days and its benefits to your health and wellbeing will be discussed as part of the program.

After the rush and bustle of Christmas and New Year, this program is the perfect opportunity to take time out from rushing through your day and develop a balanced and mindful routine in your life.

It will be facilitated by Helen Nikolas and Jenni Evans. Helen is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian and Accredited Tai Chi Instructor, while Jenni is a Feldenkrais practitioner and internationally accredited NLP trainer.

The program starts at 11am on the Monday and finishes at 2pm on the Thursday. For bookings and further information, call The Gawler Foundation on (03) 5967 1730.

beauty and tranquillity of the Yarra Valley Living Centre. The weekend includes physical relaxation, breathing techniques, meditation (instruction provided

Moving to your rhythmfor beginners), movement and gentle yoga stretches, creative dance (no previous skill required), reflection through a range of creative activities and simple group massage techniques, as well enjoying the Foundation’s fabulous gourmet vegan meals.

The weekend will be facilitated by Gawler Foundation therapist Robyn Jones, who has had many years experience running programs for women.

Qualified massage, shiatsu and reflexology therapists will also be available on request (additional fees apply)

The dates for the ‘Moving to your Rhythm’ retreat are Friday 30 April to Sunday 2 May 2010, and Friday

27 August to Sunday 29 August 2010. Both retreats commence at 5:30pm on Friday and finish at 3:30pm on Sunday.


ur intuition is perhaps our least acknowledged but greatest asset. It is

the voice of the non-physical world though it can deliver messages about the physical world. If we train ourselves to discern its voice, it will provide guidance in every moment of our lives. So many of us have quashed our intuition through long neglect of it. It tends to speak in nudges, dreams or whispers and is only available when our mind is quiet. Our fears use the loudspeaker system and so consume our minds, that we’re sometimes desperate for respite. The voice of love emanates from our creative spirit whilst fear belongs to the personality we have constructed since our birth. Our intuition is that ‘still small voice’ that ‘knows’ rather than ‘thinks’. Thinking is terribly over rated!

Fears propel the mind with thoughts of ‘will I, won’t I’, ‘should I, shouldn’t I’, ‘can I, can’t I?’ Our intuition however, ‘knows’ precisely what to do or say, knows how to ‘be’ or whether something is true for us or not as the case may be.

Some people talk of a ‘gut’ feeling or they say, ‘I know it in my heart’ or it ‘feels’ right. Some people talk of hunches or nudges. Interestingly enough, next to your brain your gut produces more neurotransmitters than any other part of your body.

It is time to recognise that intuition is a valid source of information. It has long been ridiculed and we’ve been indoctrinated to not trust its wisdom. Faith is not necessary when we rely only on that which is evidence-based. We need to train our intellect to listen to and express the intuitive voice. When we follow our intuition our lives have an increased joy, spontaneity, humour and sense of aliveness. It feels like more life flows through us.

Our intuition can give us valuable information about what’s going on in our bodies even before a noticeable symptom appears. Countless people have told me they had an intuitive sense that something needed attention long before being diagnosed with their illness or with its recurrence. Don’t give your power away to someone else because

Intuition: the voice of the non-physical world

Petrea King ND, DBM, DRM, Dip. C. Hyp, IYTA is a best-selling author and is the Founding Director of the Quest for Life Foundation. Since her recovery from leukaemia in 1984, Petrea has inspired people facing life’s greatest challenges to make meaning of their circumstances.

worry, bitterness, anxiety, fears, uncertainties, resentment, rehashing of past events or projecting your worries, fears, concerns and dread into the future you’ve also been producing the chemicals of the feelings you’ve experienced. This chemical ‘wash’ significantly contributes moment-by-moment to our physical health through the neurotransmitters delivered to your cells via the interstitial fluid that surrounds them.

There’s another way to walk to the chemist shop. You’re over your childhood because you’ve wept about it, written about it, talked about it or railed over whatever you needed to in order for those events to be in your history, rather than nibbling at your present. In this way you have forgiven yourself, others and life. You’ve got your finances under control because that’s your responsibility. You’re in the best of relationships because you know that they need daily attention. You know you’ve given your children the best start in life you were able to, given who you are, what happened to you and what you made of it, and can set them free to create a life for themselves. You know that worrying about the future changes nothing (except your biology!). Then, you’re simply free to walk.

You hear the crunch of the gravel beneath your feet. You notice how your body feels as you walk and you notice if anything feels any different. You feel the touch of the air against your cheeks and catch the waft of blossom floating by. You see the flurry of petals set dancing by the breezes. You relish the play of light and shadow. You hear the laughter of children and birdsong. You connect with the dog that tried to give you a smile. You enjoy every breath as it flows effortlessly in and out of your body. You arrive at the chemist shop. You’ve got boundless energy to greet

OThis is the second part of an article by Petrea King. The first part appeared in the Spring Healthy Living Magazine.

they’re the ‘expert’. You are the expert on you. Find someone who’ll listen and respect your perspective.

Some men, and many more women, have told me that their doctors have accused them of being hypochondriacs or malingerers because they’ve returned again and again with more than a suspicion that something wasn’t right. This delay in diagnosis can result in anguish for the person plus the consequences of a delay in treatment.

The incessant chatter that goes on in our mind often stops us from experiencing the possibilities in each present moment. In order for us to hear our intuition, our mind must be quiet and present.

For instance, imagine you’re walking to the local chemist shop ten minutes away to purchase some goods. While you’re walking, your mind chatters on. Perhaps you’re thinking about your woeful financial situation or you’re worrying about your kids, rehashing a recent argument, fretting over your relationship, resenting your job, sad about your unresolved childhood or pre-occupied with your plans for the future. You arrive at the chemist shop. You’ve forgotten why you went there. You’ve got no interest or energy to engage with the person on the other side of the counter let alone enquire about their day because you’re so pre-occupied with your own problems. You avoid eye contact. You grab tissues because you’re bound to need those and you walk home again worrying about the future, fretting about the past, frustrated with your kids, resenting your job, rehashing conversations or arguments and so on.

What you’ve done from home to the chemist and back again is secrete a chemical cocktail in your brain, gut and in other parts of your body in response to whatever your awareness has been focused on. If you’ve been pre-occupied with regrets, recriminations,

Intuition: the voice of the non-physical worldthe assistant and perhaps cheer up her day. You know exactly why you’re there and you get your goods and walk home enjoying the sights, sounds, smells and feelings of simply being alive. It’s as if you see life winking at you everywhere.

This is the meaning of that expression, ‘Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water’. This second way of walking may outwardly look identical to the first, but be completely different in our experience of it. This second way of walking produces a very different physiology. We’ve secreted the chemicals of peace, contentment, joy or bliss. Because, why not?

Then our walking is not just a way of reaching our destination but a rich journey in itself. It’s often at these times, when the mind is open and receptive to receiving the messages from our senses that our intuition operates. Messages pop into our mind – they might be as simple as to ring someone or to read a particular book or to visit somewhere – but they’re important messages from a deeper, more aware part of our being.

If we’ve been trying to figure out a problem or find a solution to a situation, these are precisely the times when our intuition is likely to give some pointers, or indeed, the entire answer; those ‘Aha!’ moments of understanding or recognition. These moments might occur whilst we’re showering, sitting idle at traffic lights, or involved in many of our daily routines or when the mind is quiet and receptive, perhaps in the presence of music or nature, or during a simple physical activity like washing up the dishes, cleaning the bathtub, brushing our teeth or taking out the rubbish. It is often when the mind is ‘idling’, not thinking about anything in particular, that these intuitive thoughts are experienced. We suddenly ‘get’ the idea that we should visit a particular person or place (for no apparent reason), go to the shelf for a particular book, revisit a conversation in which you realise you were misunderstood or whatever.

It is the unresolved issues in our mind that take us away from experiencing this present moment in all its glory and block our intuition from being heard.

Science continues to discover new hormones and chemicals which act as neurotransmitters. These chemical messengers are constantly tweaking our cell’s performance. One of the hormones that we secrete has been named anandamide – the bliss hormone - ananda being a Sanskrit word meaning bliss. When it locks onto the receptor on many of our cells it gives a positive message that encourages the cell to optimise its performance. It’s part of our body’s internal pharmacy of hormones and chemicals that improve and maintain our health. Anadamide is part of the endorphin family of feel-good chemicals. Why wouldn’t our body secrete self-healing, health maintaining hormones and chemicals to help fulfill its purpose ~ to house the spirit that is here to be realised?

We’re only just beginning to understand the contribution our feelings make through these chemical messages. We smile about people in love because the world looks different through lover’s eyes. We even say they’ve got stars in their eyes because people in love have a sparkle about them. The chemicals of love and joy tingle in our bodies and give a sense of peace and wellbeing.

It’s obvious by the lines on our faces which emotions visit there most frequently. Those who live in the present and are content and peaceful have an aura of joy about them. They are spontaneous and available to fully experience the present moment. Their minds are uncluttered by unresolved issues or perceived threats to their peace.

The neurotransmitters of joy, peace, love, contentment and bliss are powerful immune and health enhancers whilst the chemicals of fear, blame, resentment, entrapment, hopelessness, anxiety, despair, anger and powerlessness are not.

We need to honour and listen to this wise inner voice because it is our greatest asset in life. It is the voice of our creative spirit and the guiding light for our journey to full consciousness. It is in the presence of this intuitive self that we feel a deep sense of connectedness to that which is sacred within us.

We don’t heal from something we resist or fear we heal into that which we more deeply desire. Healing

requires that we’re willing to examine every belief, judgment, value, desire, inhibition, expectation and assumption we hold. In time, we discard everything but those things that we find true in their depths.

To aim for a cure requires the same kind of thinking processes that we use when we’re problem solving and not listening to our intuition. It is only focused on ridding ourselves of something. Yet, life is a process of unfolding rather than a finite state that we achieve. We don’t arrive at a place called peace and unpack! Peace is a moment by moment choice. Curing is only about the finite state, not the process. Healing addresses the whole person, taking into account the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects, thus leading to a deeper understanding and wisdom about ourselves. After all, life is not a competition to see who stays alive the longest. We value a life by the passion with which it was lived, by the love made evident, by the peace or joy given to others rather than its length.

In modern medicine a cure is normally considered an external medical intervention that reliably removes physical disease in most people. Whereas healing in contrast, is an inner movement towards wholeness and can take place at physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels. Most ancient healing traditions of medicine place their primary emphasis on this inner healing, on caring for the human soul, rather than on curing.

Real health is our capacity to embrace every moment, regardless of its challenges, with an open heart and a quiet mind. This definition of peace is embodied in the Four C’s: We regain a sense of control, choosing not to react from our history but making an appropriate response to the situation in which we find ourselves. This requires awareness and a desire to participate rather than feeling a helpless victim of our circumstance. We care enough to be committed to getting emotionally up to date with our life so that we can be here now ~ in the present moment. We have healthy priorities; we nourish, rest, exercise and ‘fluff up’ our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual self; we are in clear

> Continued on page 22



In the bookstore

Financial Members receive a ten percent discount on books and audio and five percent discount on the Champion Juicer. Please quote your membership number when ordering. How to order: Go to the shopping cart at www.gawler.org or contact the Resource Centre on: 03 5967 1730; Fax 03 5967 1715 or email [email protected]. Shipping rates within Australia: One book $6, each additional book $2 (Vic) $4 (other states). One CD $2, each additional CD $1. One DVD or video $5, each additional one $1.

Robin Jones is the manager of The Gawler Foundation’s Resource Centre. She can be contacted by email: [email protected]

WALKING MEDITATION book/CD/DVD Thich Nhat Hanh $35.00

A small, harcover book, explaining the practice of walking meditation with chapters on Conscious Breathing, Slow Walking Meditation, Walking Meditation in Nature and In Public Places, Walking Meditation to Embrace Your Emotions. Written by Nguyen Anh-Huong with frequent quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh. Includes a DVD of Thich Nhat Hanh teaching walking meditation and a CD with 5 guided meditations by the author. Full of lovely ideas that will inspire you to experiment with this way of meditating while moving.

COMMIT TO SIT Tricycle Magazine $26.95

Tricycle: The Buddhist Review has been one of the foremost Buddhist magazines since 1991. It attracts contributors sich as Pema Chodron, Christina Feldman, Lama Surya Das, S.N. Goenka, Matthieu Ricard, Sharon Salzburg, Joseph Goldstein, Sylvia Boorstein and John Kabat-Zinn, some of the foremost voices in contemporary Buddhism. Commit to Sit is a collection of articles which introduce a wide range of meditative techniques to establish a daily practice as well as help with issues that arise, from finding a comfortable sitting position to sustaining motivation. This book would be helpful to anyone who practises meditation.

WHEN I’M FEELING LOVED Trace Moroney $12.95

One of a series of 8 hardcover picture books with a cute baby bunny telling about his feelings - in this case, what life is like when he feels loved. Evocative drawings in gorgeous colours with embossing and a bunny textured in soft flock on the cover. There are background notes for parents. Building self-esteem is the key. Other titles in the series, also constantly in stock, are When I'm Feeling Lonely, Kind, Angry, Happy, Sad, Jealous and Scared. These books are very popular in our shop.

Reviews by Robin Jones

YOU CAN CONQUER CANCER is 25 years old!Ian Gawler’s first book has been continuously in print since 1984 with one revision in 2001. This is quite an achievement since many books in the self-help field, even some of the classics, find themselves out of print in half that time. It has sold over 200,000 copies altogether.

You Can Conquer Cancer is the first book we recommend to anyone with cancer. It is the manual for all of our cancer programs and has succeeded in inspiring countless thousands of people, not only to heal from cancer, but to change to a healthy lifestyle in order to live really well. $27.95


Panel discussion bridges cancer treatment gap> Continued from page 5

Many thanks to all who have responded to the email sent out concerning my retirement.

It has been deeply heartening to receive so many expressions of thanks, both personally and for this Foundation I have been involved with so closely for so many years.

Just to restate it; many, many people have helpd to build The Gawler Foundation to where it is today.

It has been a delight to work with so many good people and collectively to be of benefit to so many others.

The Foundation is in good hands. It is a healthy stage in the Foundation's development for me to step back and allow it to flourish in its own right and I thank everyone for the goodwill directed towards me at this time. May you all be well and happy!

Gratitude from IanWhy do some people, stay healthy

despite major stressful situations, when others do not? Over 30 years ago, Anton Antonovsky suggested that the nature of the stress agent, the abilities of the people involved and the environment all play important roles. He found that regardless of current or past circumstances, some people were able to survive the constant exposure and even thrive. He questioned if chaos and stress are a part of life and natural conditions as they appear to be, how do we survive in spite of it? Inference suggests the existence of salutary or health causing factors that lead to improved health status.

Antonovsky suggested that instead of looking at what causes disease we need to look at what causes health and claimed that the way people relate to their life has an influence on their health. People need to understand their lives, be understood by others, have confidence that they are able to manage the situation and that life is meaningful enough to find the motivation to continue.

His concept of Salutogenesis includes “resistance resources”. These are biological, material and social factors, such as money, knowledge, self esteem, healthy behaviour, commitment, social support and one's view of life. With these kinds of resources, a person has a better chance to deal with the challenges of life and manage the complex stressors we experience. This leads to the ability to perceive that we can manage in any situation independent of what is happening. It generates health promoting abilities.

Many of the programs at the Gawler Foundation provide learning opportunities to improve health through healthy behaviour including meditation, stress management, increasing physical activity and healthy eating. There is also a focus on healthy emotions and developing strong support systems.

Salutogenesis looks for ways to build a person’s capacity and embrace factors that improve health.

It is now seen as a valuable approach for public health and health promotion and has been adopted in other more recent concepts such as “resilience”. Ref: Lindstrom, B. and Eriksson, M. (2006) Contextualising Salutogenesis and Antonovsky in public health development. Health promotion International 21(3):238

A salute to good health

Helen Nikolas FCHSE MPHAA APD is The Gawler Foundation’s Therapeutic Director. She can be contacted by email: [email protected]

appropriate funding mechanisms for programs and activities like those operated by The Gawler Foundation, including consideration from a health and equity point of view of providing Medicare deductibility for cancer patients accessing these services.

In his mind it was probably high time that all the relevant parties

sat down in public together to discuss the integrated approach; one which combines the best that mainstream medicine has to offer as well as the sort of lifestyle programs offered by The Gawler Foundation.

And to that end there was a tangible outcome from the discussion, with Prof. Olver indicating a willingness to engage in an ongoing dialogue between

Cancer Council Australia and The Gawler Foundation with a view to the two organisations working more closely together into the future.

And in the opinion of most of those in the audience, it was about time.Dave Walker is The Gawler Foundation's Media and PR Manager. He can be contacted by email: [email protected]

communion with ourselves and have the capacity to communicate with our loved ones. We find our life positively challenging recognising that we’re here to grow in wisdom and our capacity to love and we make meaning of our suffering. We feel lovingly connected to those we share our life with and to our own spiritual essence or we have a profound sense of connectedness to nature, our community, our friends or family.

When we desire to live with this sense of peace in our lives the outcome is guaranteed. Peace is always possible and regardless of the circumstances of our lives, peace becomes our reality.

The living presence of these qualities creates the ideal environment in which physical healing can take place. If a physical cure is not to be our lot then we still have a profound peace. This is the peace that passes all understanding.

> Continued from page 19

Intuition

By Dr Warren Sipser & Andi Lew

The choices you make today affect your life tomorrow, but without knowledge you may not be aware of the end results of your choices. Even with the general health awareness that exists today, most of us believe that it doesn’t really apply to us, that somehow we are special and we’ll be spared the consequences of our daily actions. The truth is, the body has its own laws, and there is always a price to pay for ignoring them. You are definitely special, that’s why we care enough to share these secrets of health with you, but it’s time you began to treat yourself with the care you deserve.

In every area of life, there are consequences. If you take your partner for granted, don’t they let you know about it in no uncertain terms? If you are careless in your work, aren’t there repercussions? If you ignore your finances for too long; isn’t there an eventual accounting that can be both painful and humbling? We all know this because we’ve experienced it, and yet because of the sometimes decades-long lag between actions and their results, we imagine that somehow the area of health will be magically different. It isn’t, and it requires as much attention, care and respect as any other area of your life.

In the past we have blindly accepted that the friendly family doctor should be our first resort, and that they alone should bear the responsibility for our health education. They still can and do have a responsibility as a primary health practitioner, but we have unwisely used them as our primary 'sick care' practitioner. We only go to doctors when we are sick, but this is a complete misunderstanding of the nature of health and care. In fact, achieving health isn’t about waiting until you’re sick to do something about it, or simply taking a pill at all.

It is a simple economic fact that drug companies have no incentive to encourage you to take responsibility for creating your own health; or a body that is better at self-healing and regulating. Their interest lies not in health but in the treatment of sickness and disease, so why would they want to remove the source of their vast wealth? It’s a business, remember? From their perspective, it is counter-productive for people to know about the 7 things. To the contrary, their best interest lies in promoting sickness so that they can continue selling drugs. Unwittingly, they sell sickness, and they are very good at it.

Making choices today for a healthy tomorrowAllopathy versus wellness

Allopathy is a mechanistic approach. It ascribes to the belief that when we have a part in us that is broken or ill; we take that part out and replace it, or cure it. For example; the mechanistic approach to tonsillitis (inflamed tonsils) would be to medicate or remove the tonsils. They just don’t know any better. So don’t blame doctors or drug companies, they are skilful specialists in the allopathic model, which is based upon sick care.

On the other hand, and this is the vital difference, the ‘wellness’ model doesn’t treat or cure anything. It is a proactive rather than a reactive approach. To use the previous example, the wellness approach would focus on WHY the tonsils are inflamed in the first place - addressing the cause, not just the symptom. In fact, the real wellness approach would not wait for the inflammation symptom to rest, or eat well. Well care or wellness is about maintaining someone who is asymptomatic (healthy, or symptom-free), or improving someone who wants even better health by helping their body to function at an even more effective level.

The opposite of mechanism is holism, and it is at the core of the wellness philosophy. You may have heard of the ‘holistic approach’, but not put too much thought into what it really means. Holism doesn’t view human beings as a collection of unrelated parts, but respects that everything in the body and mind is subtly connected. There is no ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ trade-off between treatment and side effects in holism.

All credit to those doctors who do have a holistic approach to health, but keep in mind that they are still curing symptoms or disease. Whether you treat an illness with a chemical cocktail of drugs or a natural selection of homeopathy or vitamins, it is still a treatment for disease. Our book is for everyone who no longer wants to wait for symptoms to arise in order to improve their health. You don’t have to be sick in order to get well.

Many thousands of hours in our wellness centre; Sipser Family Chiropractic, revealed to us just how many people have simply stopped taking responsibility for their own health. They have become merely reactive, waiting until a symptom or illness becomes so advanced that a cure is far more lengthy, difficult, expensive, and sometimes impossible. It’s an attitude fostered

The Gawler Foundation is again running a series of Mind, Body, Spirit Seminars throughout 2010.

The first of the seminars for the New Year will be held in conjunction with Warburton’s annual Harmony Festival on Sunday, 21 March 2010.

The seminar will focus on healing through sound and will take place at the Upper Yarra Arts Centre in Warburton.

The Harmony Festival runs from 18-21 March and will be a celebration of harmony through, music, visual arts, culture, spiritual development, nature and community.

Our Mind Body Spirit seminar on 5 June will be at the Abbotsford Convent, titled Meeting Stress Constructively and presented by Paul Bedson, Senior Therapist at The Gawler Foundation.

The final seminar for the year will be on 2 October, again at the Abbotsford Convent and will look at the importance of nutrition and food as therapy. Further details of each seminar will be forwarded to members in the New Year.

Seminar series


Making choices today for a healthy tomorrow

by our consumer society, which teaches us to (ab)use a product until it breaks down, then either repair or replace it. Unfortunately, there are no replacements for your precious human form - it’s strictly one per customer, and when it’s gone, so are you.

Orthodox medicine is excellent, even unparalleled in treating acute or traumatic injuries and conditions, and we ignore it at our cost. However, we should be more concerned about the health choices we make in our lives on a daily basis before we need to resort to medical attention. Sometimes by the time we finally receive a ‘diagnosis’; it is too late to get well.

If a woman is wise enough to have her breasts examined, a lump can be found and removed. However, by the time any lump is large enough to be detected by a mammogram (breast cancer examination); that potential cancer will have been present and growing for at least 6 years! With foreknowledge, so much could have been done in those six years or more to keep the cells from ever reaching that condition. The mammogram is an excellent tool for diagnosing breast cancer, but it is only early detection, not prevention. It is possible to be sick long before the body reveals any symptoms, like being unaware of tooth decay until it is well advanced. There may be no symptoms, but there is dis-function (impaired or less than optimal activity), which if left for too long may become discomfort or dis-ease (pain), and then eventually full-blown disease. Checking your body for dis-function is like checking to make sure your parachute is correctly packed before you jump out of the plane. True wellness requires us to be not just responsive, but pro-active.

Medicine has become so technically advanced, yet paradoxically we are getting unhealthier and sicker - medical statistics confirm ever-increasing rates of chronic disease and illness. At present in the modern world, one in every three people will at some point in their life develop

cancer. That means there is a greater than 30% chance that you will. This is a shocking statistic in the face of so much technical skill, and considering how many billions of dollars are spent on healthcare.

However, there is a small but growing minority of people like some of you

who are doing their best to avoid this epidemic. This select group is participating in the wellness revolution, and they are reversing the normal trend by actually growing in health and vitality as they age. This is not merely a matter of luck and good genetics, it is a direct result of the choices they are making on a daily basis. These people care about their health, they are well informed, they apply themselves and make the effort to ensure good health, and they are reaping great rewards.

Now, there is no question that modern medicine is extending our life span. In fact, over the past 100 years life expectancy in the industrialised world has increased by 2 years per decade - that’s 20%, or an extra 12 minutes each and every hour of your life. No, the question is, what is the quality of those extended lives? People are living longer, but they are doing so with auto-immune diseases such as arthritis and rheumatism, with chronic pain requiring constant medication, with heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and a host of other maladies which greatly reduce their ability to enjoy that longer life.

It is a cruel irony that with such extraordinary advances in science and medicine, so many people are unable to enjoy their hard-earned rest because their bodies have simply ceased functioning due to a lifetime of neglect or misuse. The medical response to this situation has been a multitude of drugs to ‘manage’ the various conditions, invasive surgery, chemotherapy or radiation to remove or destroy damaged tissues, and cosmetic surgery to restore the superficial appearance of youth. Our bodies are building and destroying cells in their billions, all day every day. They are living factories, creating us anew each day, and they need quality materials to create quality cells. When you make healthier choices your body’s cell function and production flourishes, and so do you. If we want vitality and radiance in our lives, then we must understand that it’s not really

about the outside, but the inside - that it comes from a state of optimal inner health.

Radiant health is not an accident. It’s about the choices you make that allow your body to function better on the inside. And this is not merely our opinion - there is a group charged with overall responsibility for the health and wellbeing of everyone in the world, a think tank of some of the most the most intelligent and far-sighted people on earth, and this is what they have to say about health:

‘Health is a state of optimal, physical, chemical and social well-being. It is not merely the absence of symptoms or disease.’

The World Health Organisation

So even the World Health Organisation; by no means a radical group, is saying that even without symptoms or disease, you are not necessarily healthy. The truth is that real health is not about how you look or feel; it’s how you function, and it’s a disturbing fact that in most instances you will be completely unaware that you are unwell. How is this possible? Well, we function through our nerve system (the brain, spinal cord, and the nerves that branch off it), and less than 10% of that system is dedicated to feeling nerves. Its main job is to facilitate the function of every organ, cell and tissue in the body, so by the time you feel a symptom; the dis-function may have been around for a long time. Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and it’s unwise to wait for the inferno before hosing down a burning building!

Symptoms are usually warning signs that some malfunction is well advanced, and anti-tobacco lobbies use this to great effect. They show repulsive graphic images of toxic effluents squeezed out of the lungs of smokers, or autopsies of diseased organs, illustrating very powerfully and effectively that we simply aren’t aware of most of what is going on inside us until it’s too late.

> This article will continue in the next edition of Healthy Living Magazine.

Chriopractor Dr Warren Sipser, and his wife Andi Lew are health and wellness educators. This article is an excerpt from their book: Seven Things your Doctor Forgot to Tell You. Visit: www.7things.com.au

healthy living magazine - summer 2009

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