Holistic Living Archive - Natural Energies College

Vitamin D is needed for calcium absorption, to support the immune system and prevent diseases such as cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, depression and heart disease all of which have been linked to vitamin D deficiency.

You can get your dose of vitamin D by spending 20 minutes (Spring & Autumn); 10 minutes (Summer); 30 minutes (Winter) in the sun; 4 times a week, without sunglasses, sunscreen or a hat; wearing a short sleeve top so that your bare skin is exposed to the sun. If you have olive to dark skin, you will need to increase your time in the sun, as dark skin has a stronger protective barrier than its fair counterpart.

To avoid the harmful effects of UV rays, sun exposure is safest before 10am or after 3pm. (These times may need to be adjusted according to the UV index. A UV index of 3 or over is unsafe for sun exposure. The UV index for the day can be checked in the weather forecast section of newspapers).

If you already have a Vitamin D deficiency your doctor may prescribe supplements along with your daily dose in the sun. For people that have adverse reactions to supplements in tablet form, vitamin D is available in drops that can be taken orally. Vitamin D rich foods such as Salmon and Mackerel are also beneficial although diet alone cannot provide enough vitamin D for the body.

If life is to be enjoyed, then it has to be simple. Food is one of life’s simple pleasures. And yet to get our diet right – what to eat, quantity, quality…. seems to get more and more complicated. Thankfully, nature is always on hand to take us back to basics and make life a little easier for us. How can you ensure that your diet has all the goodness your body needs? COLOUR.

Eating a variety of colourful foods boosts your immunity, is high in antioxidants and fibre, slows down the ageing process, keeps the mind sharp, improves eyesight, maintains the health of the heart, bones, muscles and teeth to name but a few health benefits.

A natural, colourful diet ensures that you get a wide variety of nutrients and health benefits and all you have to remember is to eat at least one food from the 5 colour groups each day! Not only is it easy but it’s also a wonderful way of engaging children in healthy eating. How many colours have you eaten today?

Red - apples, beetroot, blood oranges, cherries, cranberries, kidney beans, pink grapefruit, pomegranates, radishes, raspberries, red grapes, red peppers, red potatoes, rhubarb, salmon, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon.

Orange/ Yellow - apricots, butternut squash, cantaloupe, carrots, cheese, egg yolks, grapefruit, nectarines, lemons, mandarins,mangoes, nuts, papaya, peaches, persimmons, pineapple, pumpkin, oranges, orange & yellow peppers, split peas, squash, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, tangerines, yellow tomatoes.

Green - apples, artichoke, asparagus, avocado, bitter melon, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, cucumbers, grapes, green beans, green lentils, green peppers, herbs, honeydew melon, kiwi fruit, leafy greens, limes, peas, spinach, spring onions, zucchini.

Blue/Purple - black berries, blueberries, eggplant, figs, grapes, passion fruit, plums, prunes, purple cabbage, raisins, red onion.

White - bananas, bread, cauliflower, chicken, coconut, cottage cheese, egg whites, fish, garlic, ginger, lychees, mushrooms, onion, pears, potatoes, white beans, white nectarines, parsnips, rice, tofu, turnip.

1. Health Maintenance
Maintain your immunity with healthy living: diet, exercise, mental health and relaxation.

Stress, overworking, a poor diet and lack of exercise and sleep can all lower your immunity, thus making you more susceptible to illness.

3. Hygiene
Wash your hands frequently to avoid being infected by contaminated surfaces. Plain soap and water is sufficient and preferable to antibacterial soap.

Dry your hands thoroughly after washing. If a family member has a cold or flu, then have them use a different hand towel to the rest of the family. (Note: In public rest rooms, it is better to dry your hands with paper towels than a hand dryer).

4.Breathe
Breathe deeply (into your diaphragm). Shallow breathing weakens the immune system.

Breathe though your nose rather than your mouth. Your nose has a natural filtering system against germs.

5. Circulation
Increase your circulation and immunity with regular exercise, massage and by adding chilli, garlic, onion and ginger to your meals.

Visualising yourself in positive scenarios can boost your emotions, confidence, energy levels and even your immunity. On the other hand, thinking of the argument you would have if your partner were to betray you leads to a downward spiral of anger, resentment, despondency, lethargy and compromises your immune system. Of course this can then lead to real life arguments because by the time your partner comes home, you are decidedly irritable, although you are not quite sure why (your daydream but a faded memory now); and you just put it down to hormones or some trivial issue that would have been overlooked at any other time.

From a health perspective, the mind cannot tell the difference between fact and fiction. Whilst thinking of a negative scenario seems intangible, its physical effects on the body are quite real – not to mention the energetic effect on the person you were directing your emotions onto in your daydream.

So what to do? The first step is to be aware of your thoughts. When you find yourself imagining that your meeting will be boring, stop yourself. When you begin to think of the imaginary argument you will have with your ex-spouse because of some wrongful act that they may or may not do....stop.

Step two, visualise the opposite. Visualise an interesting, successful meeting. Visualise a harmonious interaction between you and your ex-spouse. Just a moment of positive imagery can counteract the energetic effects of your negative scenario.

Step three – let go and bring your mind into the present such as the task at hand or something pleasing in your surrounding environment.

To reduce and counteract negative thoughts and interactions, begin and end your day with the following mantra:

I am love

I speak with love

I act with love

I think with love

I feel with love

I touch with love

I see with love

I listen with love

I am love

Article 4 (2012)
The positive thinking debate

A few months ago, I was sitting at a cafe reading an article about positive thinking. The writer was describing a particular day in which she was determined to think positively for the day. And so begins a manic day with children running riot at breakfast to a car crash and a house burglary. And throughout one drama after another the author kept smiling through gritted teeth determined to be positive. Did positive thinking work? Was she all joy and smiles by the end of the day? Hardly. Not only was she mentally and physically drained but she was also disheartened by the failure of positive thinking.

Now if you are a pessimist or realist, you would be shaking your head right now at the absurdity of the author and her futile efforts. If you were an idealist, you would perhaps be thinking the author just didn't try hard enough - or perhaps are nodding in frustration and empathising with them. And if you are an optimist..... well let's come back to that in a moment.

The article highlighted a common misconception about the purpose and process of positive thinking. So firstly, let’s clear up some facts. Positive thinking is NOT:

· Ignoring the situation
· Pretending or telling yourself you feel different to what you do
· Pretending you are happy when you are not
· Using positive body language (eg. smiling) to ignore your emotions
· A way to change your reality

If you are doing any of the above, then at best you are trying to manifest and at worst you are denying reality. The former is likely to be unsuccessful as it a relatively primitive form of manifesting and is missing many key elements. The latter is likely to lead to disheartenment and unhappiness as denial and ignoring one’s emotions often does.

Positive thinking is not about altering your reality but your perception of that reality. Positive thinking is:

· Accepting the situation
· Acknowledging your emotions & expressing them appropriately
· Being proactive & taking action
· Finding the positive within the experience
· Being aware of your self talk and its effect on your perception and behaviour
· Appreciation and gratitude

Pessimists and realists insist they are seeing life as it truly is; but the reality is, they are seeing it through a negative perception and self talk. They generally do not accept life but rather resist it, lamenting and focusing on the negative; often leading to inaction or unhappiness.

Likewise idealists that use positive thinking through gritted teeth or rose coloured glasses are also resisting life. They reject acceptance; preferring to colour their perception with what could be rather than what is. Disheartenment closely follows.

In contrast optimists see life without the influence of negative self talk or idealism and with eyes that take in the bigger picture. They recognise that acceptance enables them to make peace with their present and appreciate it as they flow and swim towards their future.

So going back to the author's trying day; an optimist would allow themselves to feel the madness of the day but they would not hold on to those feelings. Instead they would be replaced by acceptance, and the bigger picture:

The kids are running riot - An optimist will still feel anger and tiredness but will think: 'The kids are happy and healthy; and soon I will thankfully be dropping them off at school! :)

Car crash - An optimist will feel fear, and perhaps worry and financial stress but these will be replaced with their final thought: 'At least no one was hurt'.... or perhaps even 'I get to buy a new car!'

Burglary - An optimist will feel fear and that they have been violated. But as these emotions subside, they will focus on being grateful that the family wasn't home during the burglary.

In a pessimistic environment, positive thinking cannot break through the negative perception and self talk that completely steals focus. In an idealistic environment, positive thinking tends to be misused as a mask to hide more stressful emotions. In an optimistic environment, emotions and situations are accepted, felt and released; making room for positive thinking to enter and flourish.

Energy maintenance - Protecting and boosting yourself energetically
Try the following three tips to maintain your confidence and energy levels and to prevent picking up others people’s emotions or feeling drained after an interaction with another person.

Protect your aura. The aura is like a magnet. It picks up emotions from thoughts and feelings that other people have in our environment. It can even pick up sensations leaving us thinking we have a sudden headache or pain in a part of our body. One way of protecting the aura is via deep breathing exercises. Deep breathing expands the aura and increases its resistance. You can combine this with a visualisation of a protective bubble around the aura or by wearing a programmed protective crystal such as a clear quartz.

Zip up the conception meridian. When this meridian is compromised, we can experience a loss in confidence, a feeling of vulnerability and fatigue. To prevent or counteract these feelings, run your fingertips from the pubic bone to the chin in one straight line three times (ensuring you do not go backwards from the chin to the pubic bone). For increased protection pinch your skin at the chin and twist it towards your left ear (as if turning a switch).

Take a moment to consider whether you are harbouring any anger. Sometimes anger can be disguised as resentment, frustration or irritability.

Write down your anger in a letter or journal format. Write down any thoughts or emotions that you feel in regards to this anger and the incident from which it originated. Do not filter your words; allow the raw emotions to come out as they are.

Read what you have written several times over. Reading out loud is recommended as it also acts as a release for the anger. When the words no longer affect you greatly, go for a walk or other type of exercise to release the anger from your body.

Once the anger has subsided, tear up what you have written and throw it out as a symbolic gesture of letting go.

You might like to conclude your ritual by sitting somewhere in quiet contemplation and focusing on pleasant imagery or peaceful thoughts, in order to reinforce your new state of mind and the healthy chi running through your liver and gall bladder meridians.

It feels slightly childish to attempt to manifest a man, a relationship, but once I start to write, I cannot stop. With passionate fervour and hope of what could be, I write and write and write well after the others have stopped, and continue to till the class ends.

Rolling up my first draft, I leave the psychic development class with a twinkle in my eye.

Two Weeks later. Full moon.
After many alterations and additions, I proudly cast my eyes over my masterpiece. ‘Is this how God felt when he held the clay?’, I joke to myself as I put the final touches to my manifestation. I gather what has now become my tools of the trade. I create a circle with crystals and oracle cards; I add within, symbols and tokens of love and romance. I welcome the elements and light the candle; and then, in my best ‘ritual’ voice, I read my manifestation, in the hopes of it reaching the far corners of the world and beyond. Finally, in the dark hours of the night, I blow out the candle, place a soul mate programmed crystal in my pocket and wait for the clay to become a man.

Another two weeks have passed
I walk into the bank and wonder if ‘today’ will be the day. I scan the room in my Tai Chi class for my potential partner as I glide my hands slowly from left to right. I look for clues and signs everywhere I go. The truth is, I don’t much go anywhere at all.

“Stephanie, you are never going to meet a man if you don’t go out’, my friend Max stresses for the second time. I smile and show him the crystal from my pocket. ‘What’s that for?’ he asks bemused.

‘This’, I proclaim with authority, ‘...has been programmed so that my soul mate will come to my front door’. It sounds ridiculous even before I finish the sentence and Max’s smile seems to confirm it. Ridiculous however, had never stopped me before; and so with crystal in hand, I march on.

I am knee deep in Numerology charts when it first begins. I get up and walk to my desk and stare in bewilderment. The computer is off. This however, has not stopped my printer from spurting out a sheet of paper. ‘The printer has come to life’ I mutter, as I take the paper in my hand and cast my eyes over the word it has printed – an unintelligible mix of a letter, numbers and a symbol. I must admit, I was disappointed. In my idealistic heart, where broomsticks actually do fly, I was hoping for a message; a real word, even a hello would have sufficed. I place the paper in my recycling tray and go back to adding up birthdates.

A few minutes later, as an afterthought, I go back to the paper and date it …. just in case… and place it on my desk, walk out, walk back in, shake my head and place it back in the recycling tray.

Days and weeks go by. The printer persists. I affectionately name this occurrence, ‘The Aliens’. Letters, numbers and symbols wake me in the middle of the night as my printer noisily produces another sheet. The ‘Aliens’ have no concept of time as my printer comes to life sporadically throughout the month. Usually it’s a scrambled selection from the keyboard but sometimes I awake to a sheet of paper with a single smiley face on it. Other times it’s a love heart. I muse that my soul mate is from another planet. ‘Brings a new meaning to long distance relationships’, I laugh to myself.

The Coffee Cup
As a teenager, I would watch with interest, as my mother and her friends poured over a coffee cup. ‘You are going to come into some money’, one would say, whilst the other would cluck and nod with approval. Reading the coffee cup was a form of entertainment, amusement and very, very occasionally an accurate prediction of the future. Having never taken to the strong muddy concoction, it precluded me from joining in during these lively readings.

One day I am sitting in my father’s office, tapping away on the keyboard when my father places down his coffee cup on the desk. Sometimes we do things without knowing why. It was with this mindset that I pick up his cup and pretend to know exactly what I am doing. As it turns out, I do.

I announce to my audience, a contractor and two salesmen, that my father would be going overseas soon according to the cup. They scoff, ‘Tell us something we don’t know’ and walk out. Unbeknownst to me, my father had bought two airline tickets that day.

That is how my obsession with the coffee cup began. The pleasure from drinking the sweet mud was derived not from the taste but from the thrill of what I would read in the cup afterwards. My guinea pigs were few, so I read my own cup. Day after day, I devour my own observations from the brown squiggles and lines that are my future.

Then one day, I hit a wall. I can’t read my own cup. Every time I look at another person’s cup, I see their present or future; when I look at mine, all I see is mud. I begin to cart the implements for coffee making with me to my numerology class. I needed volunteers.

Two months after the full moon
‘Shite’ I mutter for the tenth time that day, as I mopped up the spilt water.

‘No’ I respond, confused. What a strange question. I focus on the task at hand, accidentally bumping my head on the desk ‘SHITE!’, I yell as someone else walks in.

Later that day, at home, I mutter ‘shite’ several times again before I finally catch myself. I stop and think, I have been saying it a lot. Where did I get it from? I don’t’ usually swear …..especially not in Irish … hmmm, I need a coffee, perhaps I’ll be able to read the cup this time.

I stare at the brown mud that has settled in the bottom of the cup. I look at the coffee residue that has randomly made its way onto the sides. I can see the shapes and I know the signs are there, but when I try to interpret them, all I get is frustration. I pick up the phone and call a friend. ‘I need more volunteers,’ I say, ‘...how about that guy, watzisname, the one who doesn’t like the Beatles.’

‘I went to the movies with our neighbour. Saw that spooky movie, um, what was it called?….”

‘Scary, but maybe you wouldn’t think so. Actually we got to talking about you afterwards.’

‘We were talking about the supernatural and I told him about you and, well you know, all the stuff that you do.’

‘Yeah, he was quite fascinated by it all. He’d like to meet you actually.’

‘Is this the tall guy?’ I had a mental image of a tall, lanky all arms and legs kind of guy.

‘They were like….’ I scan my brain for the right words, ‘legends in their own time! How can you not like the Beatles?’

‘That’s funny coming from you. Anyway, he said he’s curious about psychics’.

‘Why do I suddenly feel like a side show act at the circus? Anyway, I’m not a ‘psychic’, sometimes I get feelings, that’s all.….. really, who doesn’t like the Beatles?!’

Three months from the date of the Manifestation.
I arrive home to find a single rose taped to my front door accompanied by a business card. I immediately think of my manifestation and my programmed crystal that is still in my pocket…… he will come to my front door …… as I excitedly read the card. It turns out to be the plumber that has been doing maintenance work on our building. A lovely, romantic gesture, he’ll make some woman very happy one day, I think, as I register the false alarm; knowing all too well that he was vastly different from the man I manifested and to take a step in his direction would in effect cancel out my manifestation.

I walk inside and make a few preparations for my evening’s guests - my friend, and the one who doesn’t like the Beatles. ‘Lanky, all arms and legs’, I say to myself as I begin watering my plants. Then looking around at the jungle I have created within my living room, I add ‘…hello Mr. Lanky, all arms and legs, I’m crazy plant lady’.

Two hours later, I hear shuffling outside my door, followed by several knocks. I put on a smile and open the door, my smile waivers as I take in an unexplained familiarity. He stands next to my friend, with his head cocked to one side, a warm friendly smile, a tall, strong frame, not a lanky limb in sight. Hello’s and introductions proceed as I quietly kick myself for wearing a tracksuit.

As we go through the motions of casual conversation, I am split in two. One part of me is carrying on with the conversation, the other part is thinking, analysing, assessing. He fits the physical requirements, I say to myself, as for the second time that day, I contemplate what I have written in the manifestation. There’s something very intriguing about him….not at all how I imagined…..and his accent has that certain ….. something.. ‘So what part of Canada are you from?’ I ask.

‘Ireland.’ He replies. We all laugh at my faux pas. I should be embarrassed but instead I am exhilarated ….. and famished.

We order take away. I stand in the kitchen with him and hand him plates, one by one from the top shelf. As he takes the first plate from my hand, I look up and again suddenly feel a strong sense of familiarity. Momentarily I am suspended in time; have I done this with him before or will I be doing this in the future?

After dinner and several instructions on how to drink the coffee or rather what not to drink of it, we settle in for the reading. He is contemplating buying a townhouse in the city. I tell him that the sale will proceed but it will be a temporary living arrangement. He asks why. ‘Because, I don’t see myself living in the city permanently’, I think to myself. ‘ I don’t know why’, I tell him, ‘just a feeling’.

I see myself in the cup and am startled momentarily, then put it down to distraction. ‘No, sorry I can’t. It’s best that you don’t ask questions. I’ll just tell you what I see,’ I tell him, and so the reading continues.

‘You are thinking about going on a short trip….. you are having trouble deciding….. the cup is indicating that it’s not a good idea…..can you relate?’

‘Yes, my flat mate has asked me to go to Sydney with her. Problem is, she’s interested in more that just a friendship’, he explains, adding ‘I was already leaning towards not going. Is there anything else?’

I see something at the bottom of the cup but I can’t decipher it so I move on to the other side of the cup. I run through various minor details that surface before being drawn back to the bottom again. At first I think it’s a word but then I notice numbers. I see two seven’s, an ‘a’ in front of an ‘O’ and an ‘L’. I relay to him what I am seeing.

He shakes his head. ‘I don’t know what they are’. I scramble and unscramble the letters to find a meaning.

‘Could it be an email? AOL? Perhaps someone with an AOL address and the numbers 77?’. He can’t relate so I let it be. I feel like I am overlooking something, but I don’t know what.

The visit lasts well into the night and the conversation flows like champagne. Talking to him is both comforting and compelling and I feel myself glowing as I respond to his questions on the metaphysical world I live in. His fascination draws my ego into a state of bliss that sees no end until we hear the words, ‘It’s late and I’m getting tired’. Surprised, we both turn to see who has spoken.

There, on the converted massage table that I affectionately called the ‘Chaise’ Lounge sat our friend. How long had we been oblivious to the fact that she was there? ‘Shite!’ he says as he looks at his watch. I smile. We say our goodbyes.

After they leave, my printer gurgles and I take it as its approval of the evening’s events. ‘Goodnight Aliens’ I say as I walk into my bedroom. I undress as fragments of conversation and thoughts enter my mind ...... could he be? … …. I fall asleep.

One week later
I am discussing the ‘Aliens’ – my overactive printer - with Max. ‘Does it print actual words?’

‘No, well, yes ….. well, no, not any words that we would understand anyway.’

‘Well, the words are unintelligible, they’re just a combination of symbols, letters and numbers but they appear like words because there are spaces in between, just like a sentence.’ Then I add quietly, as if I don’t really want to believe that it is so, ‘I don’t know, there’s probably just something wrong with the printer’.

‘You said that sometimes it’s just one letter on its own?’ I nod. ‘Well have you tried putting those single letters together to see if they make a word?’ I had never thought of that.

That evening, I pull out my recycling tray and fish for the garbled messages from the ‘Aliens’. As if uncovering treasure, I excitedly put all the papers together in a line and wait for my word to magically appear. But this is not a game of patience, it’s either there or it isn’t. It isn’t.

As I began to put all the papers back into the tray, I come across a page from the printer with a date on it. I smile as I remember dating the very first message the printer voluntarily spat out, then run my eyes to the top of the page to read it - @ L 7 7. Tears begin to roll down my cheeks without any accompanying emotion and I know that my body has recognized something before my mind has.

Counteract Seasonal Effective Disorder (SAD) or a simple case of winter blues with a few changes to your diet and lifestyle during winter:

1. Increase mood enhancing foods such as eggs, yoghurt, avocado, oily fish, brazil nuts, walnuts, dark chocolate, lentils and leafy greens.

2. Maintain your water intake. Dehydration can cause moodiness, irritability, lethargy and reduced motivation.

3. Exercise regularly. Studies have shown that daily exercise is a natural antidepressant.

4. Get your vitamin D by spending at least 30 minutes in natural sunlight 4 times a week.

5. Counteract negative self talk by focusing on the pleasures of winter such as: