Health and Wellness
Many of you are aware of the amazing health and wellness benefits of acupuncture. I have a close friend who is a master acupuncturist and she has traveled all over the world to master her craft. She has treated me for various things over the years, and I am a big fan. Auriculotherapy is similar to acupuncture, but is only treated on the surface of the ear and there are no needles used in this type of treatment. Much like acupuncture, there are only a couple of contraindications. For safety reasons, auriculotherapy should not be performed on those who are pregnant or anyone who has a pacemaker. Auriculotherapy is completely safe on all others.
I am bringing you this article today because not very many people have heard about auriculotherapy. One of the most beneficial aspects of the treatment is the sedation effect. When we become stressed with our day to day living, our mind tends to go into what is called fight-or-flight syndrome. The symptoms of fight-or-flight syndrome are shallow breathing, increased heart rate, and our awareness is heightened. Our adrenal glands go into high gear and adrenalin is pumped into the blood stream to prepare us for battle. During this state of heightened awareness, we live our lives through the lens of fear. We are constantly on the defensive and looking for our enemies. Our ability to be creative is diminished, and rational, cognitive thinking is impaired.
After long periods of fight-or-flight syndrome, our body begins to break down. The negative thinking becomes firmly entrenched behavior, creating a vicious circle of stress-inducing thought. Chronic illness such as irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, and addiction are common companions of fight or flight. Many seek treatment for the visible symptoms and are then prescribed drugs that simply mask the body’s attempts to show us there is something that needs our attention. By treating the apparent symptoms and not addressing the chronic state of being we have developed, the other symptoms begin to get worse. This is the never-ending cycle that so many people are now caught up in. We have become a society that has medicine cabinets full of drugs to “fix” things that can be easily corrected with a lifestyle change.
Many people fear that reducing their stress means less productivity. Our culture has us believing that our health and well-being is secondary to our financial security. Yet with the rising cost of health care, soon, if not already, it will be far more costly to neglect our health than continue a lifestyle that requires us to overwork and overproduce. Having a healthy stress management ritual helps us to be more productive in our work, emotionally available for our friends and family, and open to hearing our higher self and the soft hints of our intuitive nature.
Holistic wellness methods such as acupuncture, auriculotherapy, chiropractic, naturopathy, yoga, and meditation, to name just a few, are surefire ways to stop the fight-or-flight syndrome in its tracks. Stress can never be eliminated; in fact, we need stress in our lives to provide a contextual field and propel us to our natural state, which is self-improvement. Our society has all but given up on the natural path to wellness in favor of the quick fix in the forms of pills and surgeries. While I do understand that there are situations that call for the medical community to step in and help, I am of the belief that if we practice healthier, holistic lifestyles, the need for traditional medicine would be minimal. Stopping chronic illness starts at arresting our fight-or-flight response and finding a state of relaxation.
The first point treated in auriculotherapy is called the Shen Men. The Chinese have had awareness of this point for over 5,000 years. When the Shen Men is stimulated using the micro-current tool used in auriculotherapy, the mind becomes sedated, allowing for a greater connection to our soul voice. When the mind is “out of the way,” the body’s ability to heal is unlimited. Furthermore, the panic mode brought on by our fight-or-flight mechanism is virtually eliminated, easing us into a normalized state of being. Sometimes simply being reminded of what it feels like to not be worried or anxious is all it takes for a person to understand just how stressed out they really are.
There are over 350 reflex points in the ear referring to every system, organ, and limb of the body. The procedure is quick and painless, although some would describe it as mildly uncomfortable. The results are immediate and undeniable. For a quick and relatively painless session, relaxation is induced and fight or flight is arrested for the time being. If the person receiving treatment has any mild aches or pains, the therapist can locate and stimulate corresponding points and ease the discomfort.
Used in many treatment facilities, auriculotherapy has shown remarkable results in patient retention. On average, patients attending 28-day treatment facilities typically only stay around 10 days. Studies show that facilities who offer advanced relaxation therapies like yoga and auriculotherapy have almost 100 percent retention.
For those wishing to quit smoking, auriculotherapy offers an easy way out. The hardest part of quitting smoking is the discomfort of withdrawal. By stimulating the correct points we can trick the brain into releasing endorphins, the exact same feeling we get when we are smoking, without the nicotine to produce it. After just a few treatments, the body normalizes its production of endorphins and the withdrawal stage has passed.
If you are looking for a stress management protocol, try looking into auriculotherapy and see for yourself. Typically, you will find this treatment being offered in chiropractic offices and holistic wellness centers. The average treatment takes about 20 minutes to ½ hour.
I am bringing you this article today for two reasons: The first is as an informational piece. I feel this is a valuable tool to have in your holistic health toolbox. The second reason is to tell you that at our Path to Peace recovery retreats, we offer this service for no additional charge daily. For someone wishing to quit smoking, who plans on attending the retreat, this could be a great way to kick it off.
Our next P2P retreat is coming up quickly. This one will be held in San Jose, California, from September 19 – 22nd. After that, we will be taking to the east coast in Orlando, Florida, from October 24 – 27th. Click here for more information and registration for these retreats.
(Kevin McCormack, C.A.d ,is a certified addictions professional. He is a recovering addict with 26 years of sobriety. Kevin is a practicing auriculotherapist, life coach, and interventionist specializing in individual and family recovery and also co-facilitates spiritual recovery retreats for the CWG foundation with JR Westen. You can visit his website here for more information. To connect with Kevin, please email him at Kevin@TheGlobalConversation.com)
When does too much turn into addiction?
I am often asked this question in many different forms, about many different subjects. It usually comes across in questions like am I addicted to work, or money, or candy, sex, alcohol even television. The list goes on and on. Society has done a wonderful job of blurring what is really very obvious to most people. In order for something to be considered an addiction the following definition must apply. You will not hear the definition of addiction talked about in the media.
Continued use in spite of negative consequences.
For those of you who read this column regularly you have heard this definition before. These negative consequences for the 5 major addictions are obvious to everyone who knows the addict. For the soft addictions the consequences may not be so obvious from the outside.
Many people would say that a person who makes millions of dollars and continues to build his wealth is addicted to money. Without knowing who this person is and what he is up to with his money, it is not for us to say that he is addicted. Take for example, the person who works 100 hours a week. We would judge this person to be a workaholic. But what if that person is doing what he or she loves to do? What if the work this person is doing is for a cause that could bring great joy and freedom to large numbers of people? Do we still say that person is a workaholic or do they now become a saint?
So if a person likes to come home from work every night and crack open a cold beer, sit on the couch and watch the evening news is he addicted? My answer is, “I don’t know, what happens if he doesn’t watch the news?” You didn’t see that coming? Really?
The news media uses fear as the driving force to keep people coming back. And it works! How does being informed of the murders, house fires, and potential terrorist threats, on a daily basis help us to feel joy? Do we really need to know what the weather is going to be this coming weekend so we can make plans? Many people keep a cable news channel on all day long listening to the same 5 stories be repeated endlessly. You don’t think this is addiction? Tell me what good this serves in our lives.
Fear, is the opposite of everything that we are.
God said that in CWG book one.
Fear causes tension and anxiety which leads to all sorts of physical and mental health issues. Fear causes the body to enter into the fight of flight syndrome. While in that mode the body cannot repair itself thus becoming vulnerable to disease.
Living with a pattern of behavior that creates a mental state of fear qualifies as addicted by definition. Repeating a behavior that is non-beneficial to our physical health or our mental well being is dysfunctional living.
Hang on — there’s breaking news — oh no, a carjacking in New York City.
Yes, this story gets the headlines; one man carjacks somebody in a city of 12 million people and this makes a top story on the 5 pm news? Why? What is the end game of this type of reporting? Is it really just to keep us coming back day after day so they can sell ads? Why do we not see the bigger picture? That the majority of humans are out in the world doing good things, living normal, happy lives? When will we decide take back our reality creation instead of letting someone create our reality based on what sells more advertising for them?
It is staggering to see what the media chooses to report on when you look at it honestly. The news is merely another form of entertainment much like professional wrestling. They are going to look for the most sensational piece of news and beat it over our heads for as long as possible. A sensational plane crash gets 2 weeks coverage at the top of the hour while meanwhile 44 people per hour per day die from addiction-related incidents.
My wife and I decided a few years ago that we would not watch news unless there was something happening that we felt the need to be informed of. We also decided if we were going to watch that we were going to keep our finger on the channel button and turn it off as soon as we received the information we desired. For the most part we get our news through the internet where we can pick and choose what it is we want planted in our head.
My suggestion to everybody is how much news are you watching? How is it affecting your life? Is it helping? Or is it just filling your head with useless information?
In June we kicked off our first in a series of CWG on recovery retreats. A small group of people all shared a life-changing event. If you are in recovery and not experiencing great joy and freedom or are still suffering with addictions, please consider giving yourself this experience. Our next retreat will held in San Jose, California, Sept 19 -22nd, 2013. On October 24 – 27th, 2013 we will have another retreat in Orlando Florida. Click here for more information on these life changing retreats.
(Kevin McCormack, C.A.d ,is a certified addictions professional. He is a recovering addict with 26 years of sobriety. Kevin is a practicing auriculotherapist, life coach, and interventionist specializing in individual and family recovery and also co-facilitates spiritual recovery retreats for the CWG foundation with JR Westen. You can visit his website for more information at www.Kevin-Spiritualmentor.com To connect with Kevin, please email him at Kevin@TheGlobalConversation.com)
Forgive my absence. It has been a busy summer. My whole life is changing and I am having some trouble keeping up with all of it! It’s all good, just a lot happening right now. What a difference a year makes. A year ago, I was heartbroken and unsure how life could look so bleak. Today, I am grateful for all the change that yesterday’s hurt has created. They were all blessings in disguise. Let that sink in, especially if you are going through some unwanted change right now. Change is always for our greater good, which explains why I am smiling today.
Have you ever been so inspired and excited about your future that you can’t sleep? This is how I have been these last few months. I should explain. As the new Executive Director of the Conversations with God Foundation, I have been given the opportunity to make a difference, much in the way my life was impacted by the very organization I now lead.
Everything changed for me 13 years ago when I began a quest to know and understand God, when on one particular day this one particular book kept insisting I read it, it kept showing up. CwG came to me three different ways on that day, and nothing would be the same after. I got the message. And upon reading that book, everything began to change in my life. Here I am 13 years later in a leadership position of the very Foundation that played such a wonderful role over the years in my life. I am teaching out of those very same books that changed everything for me…and life could not be better.
Life is the way it is for me today because I use the concepts and tools offered within the pages of CwG, and, for that matter, many other spiritual works I have been drawn to read as a result. Yet I keep coming back to CwG because of its simplicity and easy accessibility to joy-filled messages within. Sure, some of the concepts were way over my head when I first began, but I knew if I could say it, I could live it.
I wanted nothing more than to live the material I was so attracted to, so I got on with teaching it. Seven or eight years of facilitating study groups and being surrounded by the hopeful messages, and my life began to transform. Be clear, it is a process. I see myself evolving even to this very day. Yet I am still attracted to this simple and profound material as my life changes and I see the wisdom of CwG as it flows through me.
So last month, a group of dedicated professionals and I put on “A Path to Peace” retreat in Medford, Oregon. It turned out to be an even greater experience than I hoped and the feedback I received made me smile. I have dedicated my life to helping people find their truth that sets them happy, joyous and free. “A Path to Peace” is just one of the ways I hoped would do just that. My desire is to help those struggling with dis-ease recover and get free.
Inspired by that outcome, we decided to hold retreats in San Jose, California, in September and then one on the east coast in Orlando, Florida, in October. I recognize that it isn’t always easy for people to come to Medford, Oregon, to visit me, so I have decided to take this “show on the road.” I am very excited about the rest of this year’s retreat schedule. I have a very special retreat coming in November that you may not want to miss either, so if I may be so bold and use this forum for the following announcements:
SAVE THE DATES!
Sept 19 – 22 – San Jose, CA – A Path to Peace – CLICK HERE
October 24 – 27 – Orlando, Florida – A Path to Peace – CLICK HERE
ARE YOU READY FOR A SPIRITUAL ADVENTURE?
Dust off your passport, because we are headed to Costa Rica!
November 8 – 16 – Costa Rica – What God Said – CLICK HERE
That’s right, Costa Rica. Some of you know that I lived in Costa Rica where I held my Change House program. Change House was designed around the book When Everything Changes, Change Everything, and it was created to help people move through unwanted and unexpected change or on-purpose and enlightened change…or both.
My life is a living example of what a program like Change House can do, as I used every one of those tools this last year…and they work! Change House is a wonderful program and it will return in the near future, but for now we are going to take on something timely, important, and really wonderful!
On October 1st, The latest CwG book will be out. It’s called What God Said.
What God Said contains The 25 Core Messages of Conversations with God that will change your life and the world, all of the most important concepts within CwG messages brought forth in one book. This retreat will be an overview study of these concepts and how to make use of them in daily life. Who wouldn’t benefit from that?
This retreat will also launch CwG College.
CwG College has been created for those who desire to be students/teachers of Conversations with God, those who wish to deeply understand the benefits created by living the material, and who may also wish to share the good news and teach the material to others.
I call this the ultimate study group as people from all over the world will meet in different cities to take on learning and living the wisdom found in the CwG material. When people come together, the power to create positive outcomes multiplies by the energy in the room.
What God Said is the perfect book to begin CwG College with since it provides a summary of the core messages found throughout all of the books and an overview of what an in-depth study of the material will provide.
The Costa Rica retreat will be held at a hot springs and spa in my adoptive hometown in Costa Rica called Orosi Valley. Eternal springtime conditions await you there as the weather is 75 during the day and 57 at night. Located in Central Costa Rica, there is little humidity and no mosquito nets are needed for sleeping. The resort is built around a river and hot springs, and the amenities are wonderful. This will truly be a mix of fun and a life-changing deep study.
It won’t just be all work and no play, I have also arranged the possibility for those who wish to have some traditional Costa Rican adventures, like zip-lines and volcano tours. I want you to enjoy the sights and sounds of this amazing place. You are welcome to consider staying longer than our seven day retreat. I would be happy to assist you, given that I know the area well. If you want to live this material and have fun doing it, this retreat is created for you.
If reading CwG felt important and impactful to you, and if you feel like I do, that these kinds of messages could change your life and change the world, please help me get the message out. I know through my own personal experience and through using these messages to help others that if more people were given the opportunity to explore CwG, that, in fact, the world would become a more peaceful place. Peace begins with you and me. Please join with me in supporting our work and common goal of helping others. My commitment since I took over the CwG Foundation is to expand our outreach and impact the world in a positive way. I am excited to say that we are doing just that and hope you will join with us.
Do you get why I am excited now? I hope you are excited, too! I look forward to seeing and sharing with you in these amazing retreats and in many other ways in the future!
As always I love hearing from you…how can I be of service? – J.R.
(J.R. Westen, D.D., C.Ad, is a Holistic Health & Spiritual Counselor who has worked and presented side-by-side with Neale Donald Walsch for over a decade. He is passionate about helping individuals move beyond their emotional and spiritual challenges, transforming breakdowns into breakthroughs. His counseling and coaching provides practical wisdom and guidance that can be immediately incorporated to shift one’s experience of life. As is true for most impactful teachers, J.R.’s own struggles and triumphs inspired him to find powerful ways of helping others. Sober since June 1, 1986, J.R.’s passion for helping individuals move through intense life challenges drove him to also specialize in Addiction and Grief Recovery. J.R. currently shares his gift of counseling & coaching with individuals from around the world. In addition, he operates “Change House” a place where people come to transform. He also works with Escondido Sobering Services and now serves as the Executive Director for the Conversations with God Foundation. He can be contacted at JR@CWG.ORG.)
“Worry is just about the worst form of mental activity there is—next to hate, which is deeply self-destructive.“ – Conversations With God, Book 1.
If you suffer from anxiety and worry, or if you ever feel hate, then you need yoga. Worry and hate will destroy you. Once you decide to be healthy and change your habits away from worry and hate, yoga can help you through difficult times.
Doing yoga daily is a great practice, but even adding yoga once a week will benefit you. If you aren’t active, then yoga is a great place to start. Yoga will benefit you in many ways. Here are some of the benefits of doing yoga one time or for years and stop your self-destructive mental activities.
Flexibility – you will gain added flexibility every time you do yoga. The more you practice, the more flexible you will become. Many people shy away from yoga because they claim they can’t do the poses. However it is called a yoga practice because it doesn’t matter if you are a first-timer or experienced yogi, there is always a next step in your pose and your whole practice. Even your thinking will become more flexible with time. You will be exposed to gentle, flexible, loving teachers whose way of thinking is contagious.
Detoxification – you will detoxify your tissues by stretching, bending, compression, and releasing poses. There is no better way to detoxify than to do it naturally. Yoga will detoxify your mind as well – you will come into the practice feeling one way, and you will leave feeling completely different. Even hate will drain from your body during a yoga session.
Stress Level – As you exercise and your attitude improves, your entire stress level will drop. Your tendency to worry will slowly disappear as you realize that living in the present is possible and worry cannot exist there.
Growth and Progress – Your yoga practice grows and changes with you. You may just need the physical exertion now and the mental or meditation qualities later. You may need flexibility next week or balance when you are older and at risk of falling. Yoga is there to help you throughout your life.
I challenge you to decide to reduce and eliminate the anxiety, worry, and hate from your life. Stop self-destructing and share your light with the world!
(Beth Anderson is a certified Holistic Health Coach and founder of Holistic Health Hotspot in Evansville, Indiana. She is also the author of “The Holistic Diet: Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Be Happy and Healthy for Life.” Beth received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She is a speaker and also presents workshops on health and nutrition topics. Beth offers in-person and phone consultations – contact her through Facebook or email for more information. You can find Beth on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HolisticHealthHotspot or email her at beth@holistichealthhotspot.com)
From Conversations With God, Book 1: “You cannot be ill without at some level causing yourself to be, and you can be well again in a moment by simply deciding to be.”
We are making ourselves ill with our foods and worse yet, with the way we live our lives and the way we think. But isn’t it wonderful that we can decide here and now that things have changed! Let’s decide to be healthy in every way.
When you think about improving your health, you probably think of losing weight and dieting first. Maintaining a healthy weight and eating right is necessary, but did you know that there are many other areas in your life that are just as important?
The food you eat is actually secondary to the primary nourishment areas in your life. The primary areas include your activity and movement, work or purpose in life, connection to others, and spirituality. When you gain weight or experience declining health, chances are that something is wrong in one or more of these areas. Problems in other areas of your life can trigger bad eating habits, binging, lack of motivation to exercise, and emotional eating. These are the problems that cause the seeds of disease. For instance, if you are unhappy in your job, you probably eat poorly or snack during boring or stressful times. If you are not in satisfying relationships, you may reach for the ice cream or other junk foods to fill a missing void. You participate in unhealthy behaviors and refuse to participate in healthy ones such as exercise.
Think about your TOTAL health and any area of your life that needs improvement! Lowering your stress level, improving your satisfaction in relationships and career should be very high priorities for you. Improving other areas of your life will also improve your eating habits.
Decide to be happy, decide to be positive, decide to spread joy and goodness to all around you. First decide to move around and get some exercise. Decide to make amends if you have old resentments. Improve your relationships or move on from toxic relationships. Rethink your priorities and your purpose in life. Improving any of these areas in your life will make you healthier, and what a great way to decide to be healthy!
(Beth Anderson is a certified Holistic Health Coach and founder of the Holistic Health Hotspotin Evansville, Indiana. She is also the author of “The Holistic Diet: Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Be Happy and Healthy for Life.” Beth received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.She is a speaker and also presents workshops on health and nutrition topics. Beth offers in-person and phone consultations – contact her through Facebook or email for more information. You can find Beth on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HolisticHealthHotspot or email her at beth@holistichealthhotspot.com)
“You cannot be ill without at some level causing yourself to be, and you can be well again in a moment by simply deciding to be.” This is a great quote from Conversations With God, Book 1.
There are so many ways that we cause ourselves to be ill, but it seems that our diet is one of the worst. What we eat can give us conditions over time such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. You know that many of the foods you eat are not healthy, but what about some that you might not know as much about?
A huge problem in our diet is the type of grains that we are now eating. If we eat processed foods and commercially baked breads, we are most likely not eating whole grains. We are just eating the starchy part of the grain. Eating whole foods means eating whole grains. The whole grain has valuable vitamins and minerals that we need. It’s a huge problem that most grains are genetically engineered (GMO) unless they are certified organic. Your body may not recognize GMO foods and may not digest them properly – therefore making you sick, allergic, or fat!
Grains have three parts: the bran, germ, and endosperm. When wheat is made into flour, the outer brown part – the bran and germ are removed leaving the largest part – the endosperm. All of the vitamins and minerals were contained in the bran and germ. The bran and germ are then fed to cows. We eat the endosperm which is totally made of starch. The same process is followed when polishing rice. Healthy brown rice ends up being the starchy white rice that we see everywhere. There is no fiber left to slow down absorption so the result is similar to a sugar overload.
Replace your grains with organic whole grains. If you buy bread, make sure the label says “100% Whole Grain” on the front and in the ingredients. Better yet, get a breadmaker and bake your own whole grain bread on the weekend. It only takes a few minutes to make! Just dump all of the ingredients into the breadmaker and hit the button.You can also eat less bread and more plain grains. Eat brown and wild rice instead of white rice. Try quinoa. Quinoa is a seed that cooks quickly – you can use it anywhere you would normally use rice. The great thing about quinoa is that it is a complete protein.
Experiment with new organic whole grains such as rolled or steel-cut oats, wheat berries, amaranth, or barley. One cup of dry grain will be enough for 2 – 4 people. Make sure you soak the grains for a few hours (20 minutes for quinoa) before cooking to soften. This makes them more digestible and eliminates phytic acid. If you have problems with digestion, soak them for up to 8 hours.
Limiting your grain intake to organic whole grain and experimenting with new grains is a huge step in deciding to be well!
(Beth Anderson is a certified Holistic Health Coach and founder of the Holistic Health Hotspotin Evansville, Indiana. She is also the author of “The Holistic Diet: Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Be Happy and Healthy for Life.” Beth received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.She is a speaker and also presents workshops on health and nutrition topics. Beth offers in-person and phone consultations – contact her through Facebook or email for more information. You can find Beth on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HolisticHealthHotspot or email her at beth@holistichealthhotspot.com)
In my last article I talked about God’s perfect medicine for us – greens and leafy vegetables! We are surrounded by what we need – beautiful multi-colored fruits and vegetables – all put here to share and enjoy. We can maintain our health and heal ourselves by consuming plenty of natural, healing foods. In order to be proactive and keep ourselves healthy, would God take vitamins?
Today’s farming methods result in produce that has less vitamins and minerals than intended – sometimes 30-40% less. So how can we get enough of nature’s medicine and make sure that we don’t ingest chemicals at the same time? It would be great if we could all have access to 100% organic produce all the time, but most of us can’t. Do you think we were meant to take inorganic, fake vitamins and supplements?
A typical person needs about 12 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day in order to get the amount of nutrients needed by the body to function normally and protect against disease. The fruits and vegetables need to be chosen from a variety of colors from deep green to purple, red, yellow, and orange. Even if we eat a healthy diet, we are still eating produce that has much lower nutrient content, and we cannot possibly get what we need as far as vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.
Cheap inorganic vitamins are being manufactured quickly and are made available everywhere for mass consumption. However, studies are showing that there is no benefit to taking multi-vitamins and that many are not even digested in the intestines because of the fillers and materials used to manufacture them. Since there is no way we can eat what we need or get the nutrients from what we buy, YES we do need to supplement, but it needs to be done the right way. Everyone needs a whole-food, plant-based concentrated supplement made strictly from fruits and vegetables that are non-GMO and processed at low-heat so the original nutrients are preserved. Look for gluten-free, dairy-free ones. If you have questions about one you find, just ask me! There are also great plant-based shakes and powders that you can use. Make sure your vitamins and minerals don’t have fillers, chemicals, or coloring in them. Otherwise you are defeating your purpose. Be careful and research what you buy. There are several quality affordable products you can find easily. Skip the synthetic pills and go for the most unprocessed, least chemically fortified version you can find.
My recommendation is to stick with whole foods in nature’s package and eat as many fruits and vegetables daily as you can, as many colors as you can. Then supplement on top of that with whole-food, plant-based, pure, organic, non-GMO products. If you have any questions feel free to contact me!
(Beth Anderson is a certified Holistic Health Coach and founder of the Holistic Health Hotspotin Evansville, Indiana. She is also the author of “The Holistic Diet: Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Be Happy and Healthy for Life.” Beth received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She is a speaker and also presents workshops on health and nutrition topics. Beth offers in-person and phone consultations – contact her through Facebook or email for more information. You can find Beth on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HolisticHealthHotspot or email her at beth@holistichealthhotspot.com)
I am a big supporter of the locavore movement. It makes sense that wherever you live, everything you need to thrive can be grown right where you are – so why truck in food from thousands of miles away, thus leaving a huge carbon footprint? An arctic native wouldn’t have much use for fresh pineapple every day, and I doubt that equatorial folks would thrive well on whale meat and fat. Assuming that everything we need is or can be available where we are, what are we meant to use for medicine? To answer that question, I took a look at farmer’s markets across the USA and Canada last year. Your medicine is right in front of you, ready for you to take home!
One food we ignore the most with the highest health price to pay is any kind of greens. We know we need vegetables, but do you count french fries as a vegetable serving? We need vegetables of all colors. But we especially need dark green leafy vegetables.
Greens contain tons of vitamins and minerals. Greens help detoxify your blood, prevent cancer and other disease. Greens are good for liver function and help build a health intestinal flora. Greens help keep your system alkaline, therefore creating an environment in which bad bacteria and diseases like cancer can’t stand!
The best greens are kale, cabbages, broccoli, dandelion and mustard greens, arugula, swiss chard, spinach, and beet greens. If you like lettuce, stick with the dark green, red, or purple kinds! While iceberg lettuce is sort of green, it really doesn’t have the nutritional value of deeply colored greens, so don’t count restaurant salads and condiments that include iceberg lettuce as a green.
You need to eat greens with every meal. You can add spinach or spring mix to your breakfast smoothie and you won’t even know it is there. Get adventurous and make green smoothies with kale and spinach! If you eat scrambled eggs, serve them on a bed of greens, or throw the greens in for the last few minutes of cooking time! At lunch you can add greens to your sandwiches and wraps, or add a handful to your soup! Choose greens instead of other filling items at restaurants and you will naturally leave behind less healthy foods such as potatoes, starches, breads, and white rice.
When a patient becomes sick, one of the first things a doctor will prescribe is folic acid. Folic acid is nothing more than the synthetic version of folate. Folate comes from the Latin word “folium” which means leaves! You can avoid medical visits in the future by just adding the greens now so you won’t be prescribed the synthetic version later!
I wonder what kind of medicine God would want us to take. It makes sense that everything we need has been put here for us for a reason and within our reach naturally. God inspired Hippocrates when he said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Eat your greens.
(Beth Anderson is a certified Holistic Health Coach and founder of the Holistic Health Hotspot in Evansville, Indiana. She is also the author of “The Holistic Diet: Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Be Happy and Healthy for Life.” Beth received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She is a speaker and also presents workshops on health and nutrition topics. Beth offers in-person and phone consultations – contact her through email or Facebook for more information. You can find Beth on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HolisticHealthHotspot or email her at beth@holistichealthhotspot.com)
Are you surprised when you have low energy or when you are tired and listless? Are you aware that you could easily be more productive, stress-free, and healthier starting today, right now? All you have to do is choose to be healthy instead of continuing to choose the opposite. Everytime you eat or drink something, it is totally your own choice, and you probably know how it will make you feel.
Today, let’s look at some ways you can choose good health today, right NOW.
Choose plant-based. Choose plants over animals. You don’t have to be 100% vegan or vegetarian unless you have health issues. Choose plants 90% of time if you need to. If you choose animal products, know where they came from and how the animals were treated. Stick to animal products such as yogurt, honey, and eggs instead of flesh if you can. Do a little research and find out how corporate animal farmers actually treat their animals. You will be appalled. The senseless torture and inhumane practices used to butcher animals is not what your God, my God, or anyone else’s God intended. Choose not to be ignorant about how your animal products came about.
Choose whole. Choose whole foods. Instead of purchasing processed foods in boxes and bags, or pre-prepared foods, prepare your own meals using whole foods! Stop ordering food for delivery and stop going to restaurants so much! Increase what you know about the food you are eating by preparing it yourself. There are super-simple, quick recipes you will love and can make. Find them. Make up your own recipes from foods that you like. Of course you may have to experiment, but once you have it figured out, you are set for life!
Choose local. Support your local farmers. Choose products that have been grown locally. Even if you can’t find or afford organic produce, choose local produce. This will boost your local economy and at the same time reduce the income going to big business, GMO-filled, super-agricultural companies. We were meant to eat what is grown right around us! Try every locally grown fruit and vegetable you can find! Join a Consumer Supported Agricultural (CSA) group and find out what you have been missing. REAL FOOD has super taste and so many more nutrients, vitamins, and minerals than everything else. Experience it for yourself and you will make new choices!
Choose what you know is the right thing to do. You already know what is the right thing to do. Stop making poor choices for lazy or unconsciously self-sabotaging reasons. DECIDE TODAY THAT YOU WILL MAKE GOOD FOOD CHOICES AND DO IT WITHOUT EXCEPTION. If you don’t, you are choosing disease, every time you make a poor choice.
In Conversations with God, Book 1, we learned that people are making themselves sick, and “Most people do so quite unconsciously. (They don’t even know what they’re doing.) So when they get sick, they don’t know what hit them. It feels as though something has befallen them, rather than that they did something to themselves.
This occurs because most people move through life—not simply health issues and consequences – unconsciously.”
Choose to be conscious. Choose to be healthy today!
(Beth Anderson is a certified Holistic Health Coach and founder of the Holistic Health Hotspot in Evansville, Indiana. She is also the author of “The Holistic Diet: Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Be Happy and Healthy for Life.” Beth received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Beth offers holistic health coaching to individuals and groups via internet, phone, or face-to-face visit. Contact Beth for a consultation. You can find Beth on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HolisticHealthHotspot or email her at beth@holistichealthhotspot.com)
In Conversations with God, Book 1, we learn that “…all illness is self-created. Even conventional medical doctors are now seeing how people make themselves sick.”
Let’s look at what you need to do in order to get healthy, stay healthy, and stop making yourself sick.
There are three basic steps you have to take for stellar holistic health. If you are vigilant and careful, you can improve your own health, reduce occurrence of illness, heal yourself, and start feeling great! First you must cleanse and detoxify your body, inside and outside. Get rid of the toxins that are hanging around in your intestines, clogging your arteries, wearing out your organs, and causing symptoms. You must also detoxify your mind, thoughts and relationships. Second, you must learn to avoid toxins in everything possible from food, beauty products, air, water, household cleaners, emotions, and thoughts. Finally, you must nourish your body with good, clean, whole food and subject your body to nutrient-dense foods, exercise, positive thoughts, actions, and activities.
Today in Part 3, we will look at nourishing your body with everything it needs to run perfectly.
Your Food
In order to nourish your body in every way, you need to avoid toxic foods and indulge in nutrient-dense cleansing foods. Foods that don’t build your cells are dry or dead. They are animal-based or processed foods. These foods are high in sugar and laden with chemicals used to flavor, color, sweeten, or enhance. These are the foods in boxes and bags that are advertised most on television. Marketers love to target children for these foods too.
Nourishing foods build your body up and make you feel good. Nourishing foods are alive or as close to alive as possible. Nourishing foods are hydrating and pure, they are free of chemicals and are in a natural state or close to it. Nourishing oils are cold-pressed, non-chemically expelled oils such as olive, coconut, nut oils.
In order to nourish your body and systems, you need to decide that you will seek pure, whole foods whenever you can. You will not find these foods at fast food joints or at most restaurants. If you do eat at restaurants talk to the staff and find out what kinds of ingredients are used and how they are prepared.
Keep vegan snacks in your refrigerator such as homemade hummus, salsa, guacamole, fruit and vegetables salads. You will be tempted to eat whatever is most available, so keep healthy whole, pure foods available at all times and already prepared.
When you fix a plate of food, make sure that you build it by selecting the vegetables (all colors), beans and legumes, and fruits first. Add some whole grains if you want. Then add a small amount of animal product if you choose. Eating this way will guarantee that you will stay healthier and avoid chronic disease. If you are already sick or healing, consider eliminating all animal and processed foods completely.
Your Skin
Anything that touches your skin can be absorbed directly into your blood. This is why prescription drugs are administered often using patches. Make sure that anything that touches your skin is made from clean, pure, non-toxic, natural ingredients. This includes household cleaners, fragrances, makeup, soap, and hair products.
Your Mind
In order to nourish your mind and emotions, there are hundreds of things you can do. I’ll make some suggestions and you pick a few you want to try first.
Slow down, meditate or do some yoga. Detach from the everyday pressure you normally put on yourself and think about your priorities. Engage in the positivity that comes into your thoughts and ignore the negativity. Do what you need to do to improve your self-esteem. Get help for your addictions. Learn some humility. Stop getting involved in everyone else’s drama and let the world happen on its own. Stop judging other people and look at yourself. Love yourself and give your time and resources freely.
Enjoy your pets. Walk your dog. Take a nap. Call your mother and ask her how she is doing. Have lunch with a friend. Hold hands with your partner and take a walk together. Think about fun times you had when you were a child. Stop thinking and talking about politics and religion. Participate in your own community. Do some volunteer work. Make a list of nice things you can do for other people that you would enjoy. Whenever you have negative thoughts, do one of your items.
Work to fix old relationships that are strained. Make amends with people you have hurt. Is it really a big deal to admit you might have done something wrong or hurtful? Identify your own character defects and give them up too. Be who you want to be. It all starts in you. Let go of all of your expectations and your attachments to material things and outcomes.
Eating, touching, and thinking clean, natural, and pure things will make you healthier in every way. You can make a big difference by doing one thing at a time, one day at a time, and building your life from the inside out!
(Beth Anderson is a certified Holistic Health Coach and founder of the Holistic Health Hotspot in Evansville, Indiana. She is also the author of “The Holistic Diet: Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Be Happy and Healthy for Life.” Beth received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Beth is helping people improve their lives through nutrition and lifestyle education, health coaching, and by helping others to learn to make informed choices. Beth continues to spread understanding of the connection between body, mind, and spirit and encourages all to discern the truth about food, consumer products, environment, and life choices. You can find Beth on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HolisticHealthHotspot or email her at beth@holistichealthhotspot.com)
