Holistic Feathers

Activating Your Angelic Wings
B Y   B A R R Y   G O L D S T E I N

GIVE YOURSELF A BREATH, breathe it in, and receive it as a gift, a sign that you are alive and dancing on this planet. Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down, make sure you are free from distractions around you, and thank yourself, for this is time you are giving to yourself to work on your beautiful being. Did you know that you have beautiful angel wings? As I say this, some of you may be able to feel them already. Just breathe in that knowing that you do have wings. Before we go into flight, let us free ourselves and lighten ourselves any excess weight we are carrying.

So again, give yourself a breath and breathe this into the base of your spine, starting with your root chakra where you visualize a beautiful red ball of light. As you connect to this chakra, any excess weight that is in this area, anything that is heavy or tying you to the earth at this time, allow yourself to release your grounding for this attunement. With this breath, feel yourself getting a bit lighter in the physical. Breathe that in. It feels good to release those physical ties.

Take another deep breath in, feel yourself connecting now to your sacral chakra, which is in your lower abdomen area. Visualize an orange ball of light. As you give yourself the next breath, you feel yourself releasing anything that your are stomaching or putting up with in your life. Good. You feel yourself again getting lighter and lighter.

We now move to our solar plexus chakra which is in our upper abdomen area where we visualize a yellow ball. In this area we release any fear, doubt, or second-guessing we are carrying. As we release this fear or doubt, again we feel a new lightness. As you visualize this lightness, see yourself walking the path of your life, becoming lighter as you release any weight that carries you or holds you down.

On our next breath is the bridge to our upper chakras. It is our heart chakra, and you can visualize a beautiful green ball. Release any negative emotions you have been carrying with you, whether it be anger, guilt, or unforgiveness. Breathe that in. You release that as you begin to walk and feel even lighter. Bring an awareness to your upper back and shoulder area. You feel a sensation here as you release your human challenges within your life and become lighter. Can you feel your wings begin to emerge? You might just want to roll your shoulders around and just allow those beautiful, beautiful wings to start to emerge on their own as we move to our next chakra, our throat chakra.

We give ourselves a breath, and we release any blockages in this area that are challenging us from expressing our Divine words or truth. Breathe in and let that breath clear that chakra. Good. You are feeling very light and free, feeling those wings beginning to open up. Again, stretch those arms out. Begin to feel those wings blossoming like a beautiful flower. With each step, you feel yourself getting lighter and lighter. You can almost feel your feet floating now with each step.

As we bring our breath to our third eye area, we give ourselves a breath, and we release anything that is blocking our intuition or guidance. As we feel ourselves even lighter, these wings are almost fully out.

As we now connect with our crown chakra, the bridge to the Divine. Take a deep breath in. Release anything that blocks you from connecting your physical body to your ethereal body. As you release that breath, you can feel that connection to spirit. You notice that your wings are completely out. My God they are so big and beautiful. They are illuminated in beautiful light. You may see a colour illuminating now. Just breathe into this colour, this glow around you that surrounds you. As you bring this breath in, you notice your feet are no longer on the ground. You wiggle your toes and your feet, you can feel the beautiful air between them and the ground. Would you like to fly? Spread your beautiful wings. Embrace the magnificence you are and allow yourself to move into flight.

As you escalate yourself, you notice you are able to look down at your physical body in the room. You notice how heavy you look, and you begin to bestow blessings upon your life. For as you are the conscious observer now of yourself, you can see things much more clearly from the aerial view you are taking. Give yourself another breath and bring in gratitude for something in your life. It could be anything.

If you are experiencing a challenging connecting to something, bring in gratitude for each breath you are taking. For in between each breath is God’s will that there is a next breath, and bring in gratitude for this breath. As you bring in this gratitude, you feel a beautiful smile. Allow this smile to illuminate your being, and you feel your wings becoming even brighter, being activated to fly even higher. See yourself flying and dancing. As you again elevate yourself, you are able to see more clearly that you have been carrying much in your physical.

As you give yourself another breath, is there a person, place, a situation, an event, or an energy that you are ready to forgive? Or maybe there is something you would like to forgive yourself for. When we forgive, we are not accepting the situation, we are simply expressing that we no longer choose to carry the weight of this situation any longer because it is hurting us in some way. Are you ready to release this hurt and know that you are safe, you are love, you are surrounded by your angels and guides, your loved ones, and you are surrounded by the All.

Take a deep breath in and allow yourself to forgive. What an amazing feeling to release these emotional weights. As we feel our heart space opening, we notice our wings become even more illuminated, and we are even lighter. As we move flight to even higher levels and as we give ourselves another breath, we connect to something that brings love into our life. It could be a person; it could be a place; it could be an event; it could be the energy that you are feeling now. It could be the beautiful wings of a butterfly or the smell of the ocean. Just bring that in. Again, you feel a beautiful smile captivating your essence. You are so light, and your wings are so amazing. You are elevated so high.

Is there a situation in your life that you have a higher choice or outcome from that you would like to elevate now to bring into the light, to bring your highest choice to it, or maybe just to hand it to God? I’ll give you a few moments to work with this… Good.

As we elevate this situation or release it, allow yourself to feel even lighter. As you do this, you find yourself in the ethers, stars all around you, the beautiful night air engulfing every aspect of your being. As you look down on the planet and as you bring this visual in, you notice you can see others all around you. You can see these beautiful wings illuminated and light. As you bring in this observation, you connect in a beautiful circle of light, holding hands energetically across the ethers surrounding our planet, for each one of us is a healer.

As we release the weights from our lives and realize how light and beautiful we now are, can we assist our planet in the same way? Bring this into your heart. What is it our planet can be grateful now during these challenging times? Bestow this blessing of gratitude upon the planet. See all of you beautiful light beings sending this light to the planet. Good. How wonderful to connect with all of you.

Let us bring in now another breath. Is there something we can assist the planet in releasing, something the planet can forgive us for, or something the planet would just love to release? Let us assist the planet. Visualize the planet taking a beautiful deep breath in. Better yet, instead of taking a deep breath in, visualize the planet giving it to itself. It could be an event in history that the planet is ready to release, to forgive. Feel the planet releasing it.

As we feel this release, we can see the heart chakra of the planet illuminated in a beautiful green light saying, “Thank you for assisting me in releasing this weight I have carried for so long.” For the planet, too, brings in the highest energy into its heart chakra, the energy of love, allowing itself to receive this as each one of you magnificent light beings surrounding the planet send it love from your heart chakra to the planet’s. What a beautiful feeling to be able to feel the lightness of the planet, to see the planet’s wings immersed and emerged in beautiful light just like yours.

You have truly done amazing work today. Allow yourself to just fly in the ethers for a moment. Ahhhh, laughter feels good. Upon returning to our physical, we will bring in a new essence of gratitude, forgiveness, and love. Let us begin to journey back, spread those beautiful wings again, and fly back down. I know some of want to stay out there for awhile, but you can always spread those beautiful wings and fly again whenever you choose to now that they are activated.

So now we begin to descend, bringing our God essence with us. Good. Just gently breathe into your crown chakra, feeling it balanced, feeling the energy moving in grace and ease to your third eye chakra. Then moving gently to your throat chakra, the energetic flow is just optimal as you bring this breath to your heart. That energy flows effortlessly in grace and ease to your solar plexus chakra. You can feel yourself coming back into your body. As you move to your sacral chakra, again, the energy moving perfectly, this energy continues to your root chakra which now connects you to the earth.

Visualize your feet in the earth surrounded by soil. Feel the blessing of being connected to the earth and how much lighter the earth now feels that all of you wonderful winged beings worked so gracefully to release. Give yourself a minute to ground.

Namaste.

© 2008, Barry Goldstein, All Rights Reserved.
Visit www.cdbaby.com/thinkbigrecords and www.BarryGoldsteinMusic.com.

To hear this attunement with Barry’s critically acclaimed sound healing series “Ambiology” For FREE go to WorldPuja.org.

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Here is the power, the magic and wonder, of your endlessly creative mind.

You have a desire to be happy, to be filled with love and joy. And so you build a formula in your mind, a formula that says, if I had this, a profitable, prosperous business doing fulfilling work, a loving spouse, well-behaved children, a beautiful home, wonderful vacations, leisure time, a secure financial future laid out ahead, if I had all of this, then I would be happy.

And you yearn for this happiness and joy, this feeling of love, abundance and safety. You yearn and you chase your goals, from morning to night, without a moment of peace, full of yearning and incompletion and deep attachment to the attainment of the specific things you believe will make you happy.

Yet as you achieve your goals, the resulting joy and happiness are brief indeed, and very soon the yearning reattaches to yet another desire, another thing you need to achieve in order to finally reach that state of happiness. Now, you think, if my job were only more meaningful, if my spouse were only more thoughtful and attentive, then I would be happy.

But here is the power, the magic and wonder, of your endlessly creative mind.

If you begin, every morning and night without fail, putting yourself into the emotional state you desire, then you will actually create it, without having to achieve that long list of goals.

Every morning write “My life is overflowing with love, wealth, health and abundance.” Take a few minutes to close your eyes and feel what that would be like. See yourself opening the bank statement to all those big numbers, looking at your desk completely clear of bills, planning that fabulous vacation, doing work that you love yet having time to leisurely lunch with your friends. Bathe in the emotions that these pictures evoke.

Picture your life, from the moment you awaken until you go to sleep, living the emotions of this life of your dreams. Feel what it is like. Let the joy flow through your body. Feel the relief and freedom. Feel the safety and security. Live in that emotion every morning and every night. And then, begin to create that emotional state during your day, no matter what is happening. Over and over, every day, fill your mind and heart with the love, peace, joy and freedom you desire.

Do this more and more, in more and more aspects of your life, so that you are now essentially living the emotional state of having achieved those goals, without physically having done so.

And now, step back and see what has happened. Through the power of your own mind, you have in fact created exactly what you were seeking: a heart full of love, a relaxed and peaceful life, and a storehouse of joy that bubbles up unexpectedly.

Stop and think about this. You can achieve your desired state by telling your mind you are already there. Is it that simple? Yes, it is. But it requires consistent practice; it requires a commitment to speaking and thinking from your desired emotional states. But yes, it is that simple. You have the power to live in a state of love and joy, peace and wonder, without achieving any great goals, but just by establishing some new daily habits of thinking and speech.

And then, the true miracle begins. With your mind and body working together in the emotional state of love, peace, joyful acceptance, security and freedom, you begin to make different choices. You begin to pursue different types of opportunities. Different people are drawn to you. And yes, the angels begin to sprinkle your life with newness, as it blossoms wide in possibility; new people, new events, coincidence and serendipity begin to grace your life.

And thus do you begin to create a new life through the power of your mind. Does it take time to develop? Yes, of course. Time is required for the sapling to grow from the seed, then into a tree and begin to bear fruit. Is it exactly what you had originally envisioned? No, of course not. For this is a life created by your spirit from the fullness of your heart, and your spirit is capable of much greater dreams than ever your mind could envision.

But you have all the time in the world for your life to evolve and unfold. You are full of patience, for you have already achieved what you desired, the emotional state of a heart full of love and a mind full of peace. This is already yours. And now you have only to sit back in deep gratitude and watch the tree of your life reach toward the heavens and the golden pears begin to ripen on the boughs.

wish you love and peace,
Carrie

www.carriehart.com

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PACK YOUR BAGS. This simple anti-puffiness tip for your eyes really works. Soak a cotton ball or pad in chilled Milk of Magnesia (keep refrigerated). Apply under each eye and let dry several minutes to de-puff. Then rinse off with lukewarm water.

BREAKOUTS. For occasional flare-ups (not all-over acne), quench the redness and inflammation by constricting the blood vessels that feed swelling and redness. You’ll get great results with a combo of Preparation H Hemorhoid Cream and Visine Eye Drops:

1. Saturate a cotton pad with Visine and pat on the spot to reduce redness
2. Hold pad there for 3-5 minutes
3. Pat dry with a towel
4. Smooth a little Preparation H on the spot. Let sit for several minutes. Rinse off. Inflammation should be gone or quite reduced and easy to hide with concealer or foundation.

BREAKOUTS, PART TOO. Another blemish de-fuser is ice. Hold a cube on the blemish for 60 seconds. Pat dry and apply concealer or foundation.

BAKE THOSE BLACKHEADS. Create a paste of 1 tablespoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and water. Massage over blackheads to loosen debris and oil. Rinse clean with water.

TAKE OIL TO THE MATTE. If your skin is oily or shine builds up after several hours, apply a mattifying toner under foundation to keep the t-zone area shine-free. The best formulas have ingredients like tea tree oil, silica and copper peptide.

LARGE PORES. Aloha! Did you know that pineapple is great for de-clogging pores? Use a facial cleanser or polishing treatment with pineapple. Smooth generously over your skin. The enzymes can absorb up to 1000 times their weight in embedded pollutants and oil. Leaves skin smelling as delicious as it looks.

HEAT WAVE DRYNESS AWAY. A soothing tip for dry, stressed-out skin: Scoop some of your moisturizer in a micro-wavable bowl and heat for 5 seconds before you apply it. The heat helps the moisturizer penetrate faster and deeper into your skin for enhanced results.

SCOTCH THE FLAKES. If you’re troubled by flaky areas on your nose, your elbows, heels or knees, wrap a ribbon of scotch tape around your finger, sticky side out and pat over the flakes to lift them off instantly.

CLEAR THE DECKS WITH FACIAL EXFOLIATORS. Virtually all skin except the very dry and delicate, needs a good rub from time to time to get glowing again. Choose the finest grains like the classic beauty grain powders for example, if your skin is delicate or dry. Normal or oily skin with clogged pores will benefit more from medium-grained exfoliants, like an apricot facial scrub. Massage over the face for just a minute or two. To avoid redness, dryness, irritation or overstimulating oil glands, don’t overdo it at any one session.

BODY POLISHING. At the start of every season, shed your cocoon and come clean, baby-smooth and evenly radiant, all over, naturally. The latest scrubs are laced with natural ingredients like salt, pomegranate and sugar to make your body smell as yummy as it looks.

Here’s how to polish your body to perfection:

1. Start Dry. Skin will shed faster and more evenly if you polish when its dry.
2. Stand in the bathtub or shower stall with the water off. Use your hands – not a loofah or sponge – to massage a body scrub product into the skin with circular motions. Choose a scrub with granules suspended in essential oils and moisturizer base for moisturizing and conditioning as you scrub. Concentrate on the rough areas – heels, knees, elbows, legs.
3. Let Sit. Let the scrub stay on 3-5 minutes before you rinse it off completely with pleasantly warm water.
4. Towel Dry, leaving the skin slightly damp. Slather on a body cream, lotion or oil.
5. Repeat the whole process 2-3 times a week. For sensitive or super-dry skin, limit to once a week.

(c) Peter Lamas – skincare guru

Lamas Beauty

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“Recently I’ve noticed that it has been challenging for me and many people I talk to and work with to stay positive. With the volatility of the economy, the negativity of the upcoming election, and fear of the unknown, it seems easy to get stuck in the “doom and gloom” of the world around us.

At this moment, even though it may be difficult, it’s important that we stay positive for the well being of our families, companies, relationships, communities, and especially for our own peace of mind. But, given all that has been going on recently, how can we stay positive genuine way?

While there’s no “quick fix” and we want to make sure we’re not avoiding what’s going on around us and within us, there are three things I believe we can do to help us stay positive in the mist of this current adversity, and adversity in general.

1) Be Honest – Whenever we’re facing challenges, obstacles, or “difficult” circumstances, it’s important for us to be honest about how we truly feel. The most common feelings that we experience at these times are anger, fear, and shame. We get angry that something “bad” has happened or because we feel powerless. We get scared that it may get worse or that other people or circumstances may continue to perpetuate the issue in a way we can’t control. And, we feel shame that maybe we did something “wrong” or could have done something to avoid the situation all together. These three emotions are ones we often don’t like to admit or express. However, like all emotions, when we acknowledge them, own them, and express them – they have a way of dissipating and in the process we can free ourselves from their negative impact.

2) Be Conscious – Pay attention to what you’re feeling, how you’re thinking, what you’re saying, and the actions you’re taking. Without judgment, see if you can be very aware of everything that is going on within you and how you’re reacting to what’s happening. In the midst of stress and adversity we have a tendency to think, say, and do things that don’t actually make things better and in many cases we make things worse. We complain, we worry, we speak negatively about life, others, and ourselves, we watch too much TV, we over eat, we drink too much, or we do various other things in an unconscious way that don’t serve us. The more conscious we can be about our feelings, thoughts, words, and actions – the more likely we are to stay positive and to move through the adversity in a way that we can actually learn and grow from, not just survive.

3) Be Grateful – Although it’s often counter-intuitive to be grateful in the face of adversity, it’s often the most important time for us to focus on what we appreciate – about ourselves, others, and life in general. Even and especially when things go “bad,” we’re often given an opportunity to take inventory of the good stuff in our life that we may not have been paying attention to as we were rushing our way through things. Take some time right now to think about some of the things you’re grateful for. Adversity can remind us that while things may be tough, we have so many blessings – health, a job, a place to live, people who love us, and much more. And, there are also many things we can appreciate about the difficulty itself – we may realize we’re stronger than we thought we were, we have more support around us than we knew, or we’re able to learn some important lessons about ourselves and life. There is always a lot for us to be grateful for, if we choose to pay attention. We can’t feel grateful and victimized at the same time!

Without trivializing the impact of current state of the economy or other things going on around you, it is possible for each of us to remain open, optimistic, and positive in the face of any and all adversity or uncertainty. This doesn’t mean we’re somehow super human or always happy. It does mean, however, that we choose to be honest, conscious, and grateful in the midst of what’s going on. And, if we choose to do so, we can have this be a time of reflection, rejuvenation, and transformation for us and those around us.

Be kind to yourself and see if you can be present in as many moments as possible. And, it’s important that we always remember, “this too, shall pass.”

(c) Mike Robbins

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This is such a huge area in spiritual and personal development and quite often it can be the reason why people start to look at their own spirituality and life. There seems to be a combination of people either feeling like they are not abundant enough or that there is so much more waiting for them but it is how to either change or access the relationship with abundance that becomes the Holy Grail.

Abundance can obviously mean a lot of things, the first thing that tends to spring to mind is around money, but in the same way, love, health, opportunities, people, etc can all be used in relation to abundance. In this article I want to take abundance in the more general sense and you can then use what you connect to and apply it in any of your life circumstances. I believe there is no reason why any all of us cannot experience the joy of knowing that our lives are abundant.

Life is abundant! However, more often than not we all struggle to experience this constantly. Clearly this happens to a lesser or more degree depending on your individuality. What makes you feel abundant is going to be different to someone else. Let’s take the money example. Two unrelated people find that they are given the same amount of money, through something that they are doing. One will feel abundant and the other will not. The other may feel they should have had more, or that they have not been honoured through the amount of money they received. The question in my view is, where is this programming coming from and what are the components that come together to make us feel abundant or not. Of course, the bottom line is learning, growing and attracting abundance as well as discovering, connecting and celebrating the existing abundance in our lives.

I have broken the answer down into the following sections:

1.  Personal Choice:

Like all areas of our life each of us has the ability to choose. Using the example above, one person chose to feel abundant and the other chose not to. This does not make one right and the other wrong, all it does is decide how the relationship with feeling abundant will manifest. Add to this component the universal law, that like attracts like, which easily translated is the reality you chose to plug into will be the reality that plays out for you, as you will get more of the same. If you want to experience an abundant life then you can consciously chose to feel abundant. It really is as simple as that. Of course, I know in reality and through experience becoming conscious can sometimes feel turbulent, it’s the process of change and awakening to the fact that you can consciously choose that creates some discombobulation for a while, but what follows is bliss!

2. Letting go:

Abundance is not a tangible thing, there is no measure that is universally accepted or given, there is no formula that says ‘X amount of something=abundance.’ Therefore we are all going to have different notions of what the quantity of love, money, health etc makes us feel abundant. Even this thinking is misleading in my view, abundance is not quantifiable, it cannot be pinned down. Abundance is a feeling, an emotion, a state of mind. Working on letting go of fixed amounts, or deals with the mysterious abundance gods, fairies, angels, universe etc means that you can focus on and nurture the emotion of abundance. This comes from within. It is about whether you chose to feel abundant or not.

3. Surrender and Trust:

The recent increase in books, talks and workshops in this area, have in some way fed the illusion that exists. It is not possible to attract specific detailed things always, if it was then I would have attracted Johnny Depp to me a long time ago! There is a fine line between being over specific because you do not trust anything is possible as well as, being disconnected from your own truth, your own journey, your vision and simply trusting and surrendering to both yourself and the giving universe. Indeed limitless possibilities exist, but they will be unique to you and link to your soul essence and your divine purpose. Sadly, for me that means that attracting Johnny Depp was not part of my divine purpose … I use that example, but think of it on a more day to day level, if I am trying to attract abundance in areas which are not yet activated for me and in doing so am I ignoring where I do have abundance? I am not saying, don’t think big, but this is a journey without an end, it is a process which build on steps that you have taken and from growth that you have experienced. I might be someone who has a loving and supporting family through which I could chose to feel abundant and instead all I  think of is that I do not have enough money. The energy is going to flow to the ‘not having enough part’ and my connection to abundance will feel incomplete, it will feel like something(s) are missing from my life. Part of feeling abundant, therefore is about surrendering and trusting the process, the process of life and the divine knowledge that everything is as it should be…that is unless you take no….

4. Action:

I have written about this before and those of you who are new can find my article on Taking Action, by clicking here….In order to support and increase your levels of abundance, you have to take action. I had a vision at the start of this year that I would be serving through this eZine a community of over 1000 people. Back at the start of the year this seemed far fetched, but I took action through all the work I have done and this now doesn’t seem like such an impossible task. I have in this eZine, asked for your help in making this happen. In taking action there is so much you can do, change your mindset, actually start physically working towards the abundance, acting ‘as if’, asking for help. As I have said before, it is rare to an almost impossibility to find that the universe comes knocking on your door, when you are sitting around doing nothing. However as much as you know you deserve to live abundantly, the energy now requires you to take action towards experiencing it. It is about each of you, taking personal responsibility.

5. Peace:

This is something that is really important when it comes to attracting abundance and feeling abundant. Be at peace with yourself, experience that peace in your heart. This is something you need to activate in your heart, through conscious choice and I find that heart centre meditations are really powerful to support you in this. Working towards this type of inner peace also helps align all aspects of your self, so that you can start to discover your true divine purpose much more clearly, and get more detail about it as well as working in alignment with the universe and other elements that form part of your journey. Remember panic, fear, lack of trust etc grow rapidly and create more of the same. Working towards inner peace means you are already well on route to discovering that you can and do live abundant ally and this as you well know will attract more abundance into your life…one thing feeds the other! Remember living abundant ally is your divine inheritance!

So!

:: Do you consciously chose abundance?
:: Are you ready to let go of mind driven expectations and connect to the energy of abundance?
:: Do you surrender and trust the process of life, including yourself?
:: Are you prepared to take the necessary action to support your initiation into living and experiencing a fully abundant life?
:: Are you ready to choose peace?

About the author: Sarupa Shah, your blissful life transformation partner, Director of Heavenly Spaces Ltd and editor of Divine Intervention. Divine Intervention is packed with quality tips, tools, resources, up-to-the-minute news and updates as well as an inspired article to fast-track you in your divine, cosmic and spiritual transformation. www.heavenlyspaces.co.uk

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Meditation Practice Can Boost Compassion for Living Beings

Friday, October 10, 2008 by: David Gutierrez

(NaturalNews) People who practice meditating on feelings of compassion increase the activity of sections of the brain associated with empathy, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

“There is such a thing as expertise when it comes to complex emotions or emotional skills, such as the one of cultivating benevolence,” said lead researcher Antoine Lutz. “That raises the possibility that you can train someone to cultivate this positive emotion.”

The researchers took functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans of the brains of 16 veteran meditators, including some Tibetan monks, and 16 people from the United States with no meditation experience. The novices were given basic training in meditation practice before beginning the study.

The fMRI scans measured the blood flow in participants’ brains as they either meditated or did not meditate on compassionate feelings while hearing a series of sounds designed to elicit emotional responses.

In the group of expert meditators, blood flow increased to the insula, associated with visceral emotional response, when the sound of a woman’s scream was played while they were meditating.

While they were not meditating, the experts still experienced more activity in the right temporal-parietal juncture than the novices did when hearing a woman scream or a baby laugh. This area of the brain is believed to play an essential function in helping interpret others’ emotions.

“The way you are going to understand the emotion of someone else is by somehow simulating, experiencing the emotion,” Lutz said. “It makes sense that we found some activation of the brain region which is critical for the experience of an emotion.”

The researchers are following up on their findings with a long-term study into whether and how the brain can be trained to experience empathy over time. In addition, they are studying whether different kinds of meditation, such as simple concentration vs. concentration on compassion, have different effects.

(c) Natural News

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The Network Marketing Revolution: Why Emerging Direct Sales Companies are Redefining the Industry

Thursday, October 16, 2008 by: Mike Adams

The world of network marketing is undergoing a radical, positive transformation. I’ve been investigating half a dozen network marketing companies over the last twelve months, and while I haven’t been surprised by the usual disappointing suspects (Zrii, Monavie, etc.), I’ve also found something rather startling: A new wave of emerging network marketing companies that bring a new level of integrity, vision and product quality to the network marketing industry.

As you’ll see here, this new wave of network marketing companies shatters the myths commonly associated with old-school direct sales. Even more interestingly, the social implications of these new companies are nothing less than groundbreaking. I’ll explain why as we explore their influence on issues like corporationshealth products. vs. the People, the decentralization of power, the “anti-Wal-Mart effect,” the future of money and even the mainstream acceptance of natural

To read the full article, which is quite lengthy, please click on the link contained in Mike’s name:

© Mike Adams, Natural News

Note from Callie: Nature’s Sunshine is an excellent leading nutritional supplements company which offers great opportunities – if you’d like to find out more, just get in touch – www.holisticfeathers.co.uk

About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,500 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company.

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By Teya Skae

(NaturalNews) As discussed in Stress and Chronic Fatigue Part 1, stress is a major culprit that leads to Chronic Fatigue because stress over works your adrenal glands, the glands that specifically deal with all survival responses in relation to any form of stress. Prolonged stress leads to adrenal exhaustion technically called Chronic Fatigue.

Let’s Recap Briefly About What Chronic Fatigue Is

Constant tiredness with multiple debilitating symptoms that can leave sufferers of this condition struggling with not having enough energy to just get through their day without feeling exhausted or meet the demands of their daily life; put simply, not being able to cope with life! This is because Chronic Fatigue is a condition where there is just not enough available energy in the body to get through the day or enough energy for the body to function properly such as digest food, build muscle tissue, synthesise hormones, think coherently, perform tasks, be productive at work, or even enjoy play. Energy is the currency of life and if we do not have enough energy, we just don’t turn up for our life.

So, in balancing Chronic Fatigue you really need to balance energy, by firstly increasing available energy in your physical body. Secondly, preventing further energy drains (Chronic Fatigue is what I would describe as a constant ‘energy drain’). Your energy might leak so fast that it just can’t be replenished enough to make up for this ongoing energy drain.

What are some major causes of ‘energy drain’?

One of the most obvious ones is unresolved emotional/mental stress that lingers on, causing a huge ‘energy drain’ in your mind/body. As approximately 95% of your mind operates in an ‘unconscious’ mode, where the programs that run your mind/body system literally run themselves 24/7, and your conscious mind is not even aware of these programs running and chances are that we might not eve be aware of our deeper underlying stresses.

What are the typical causes ‘energy drains’ underneath Chronic Fatigue?

* Anger
* Fear
* Worry/Anxiety
* Depression
* Guilt
* Overwork, physical or mental strain
* Excessive exercise
* Sleep deprivation
* Going to sleep late
* Chronic pain
* Toxic exposure
* Hypoglycemia Low Blood Sugar (Biochemical Imbalance)
* Nutritional Deficiencies
* Relationship issues
* Emotional trauma
* Transitions, moving house, emigrating to another country
* Over thinking, study exams.

As a clinical kinesiologist, Chronic Fatigue and constant tiredness is a condition most commonly found in people who are suffering multiple symptoms and some of them are chronic. In balancing the Chronic Fatigue condition, two things are most important to address:

1. Balancing and supporting the physical body with the right nutrition. Appropriate nutrition becomes a strong biochemical foundation for your mind/body system to cope better with stress.

2. Simultaneously acknowledging and neurologically balancing the underlying emotional/mental issues along with patterns of behaviour that are obviously draining to the mind/body system is the next crucial step.

If only one or the other is employed in the recovery of Chronic Fatigue, then the condition persists. Yet, when appropriate nutrition is implemented along with emotional resolution in balancing Chronic Fatigue, people recover much quicker — a couple of weeks instead of months or years.

From the physical energy building perspective, it is imperative to eat meals that result in balanced Blood Sugar Levels instead of the high/low blood sugar levels that also create adrenal fatigue.

To maintain proper adrenal function it is imperative to maintain balanced blood sugar levels throughout the day and the following guidelines will help you do that:

1. Eat within the first hour upon awakening. It is important to have high protein meals for breakfast along with some carbs and good fats. Free-range eggs, poultry, even meat and omega-3 rich fish such as salmon and sardines are more appropriate options than toast and butter alone or any cereal.

Choose all your meat to be free-range of course, as the added hormones/antibiotics in meats will create toxicity, not a good outcome for an existing adrenal fatigue condition. For vegetarians or vegans, a good source of rice protein powder with some coconut milk/cream is much better than any wheat-free organic muesli for breakfast as it sets the tone for more energy for the day.

2. Eat before becoming very hungry. If extremely hungry, you have allowed low blood sugar/ hypoglycemia to set in, which places additional stress on the adrenal glands.

3. Avoid having an excessive ratio of carbohydrates to protein, as excess carbohydrates cause over secretion of insulin, which often leads to intervals of hypoglycemia. The body, in an attempt to normalize blood sugar levels, initiates a counter-regulatory process during which the adrenals are stimulated to secrete increased levels of cortisol and adrenalin. Excessive intake of carbohydrates also leads to excessive secretion of cortisol. This contributes to chronic cortisol depletion and consequently, adrenal exhaustion. Avoid this negative biofeedback loop which is commonly promoted in our society as an ideal breakfast.

In order to stabilize blood sugar levels, it is important for you to maintain a balance between two hormones, glucagon and insulin, which are produced by the pancreas and released by the pancreas every time you eat. Protein in the diet induces the production of some insulin and more glucagon whereas carbohydrates in the diet induce the production of lots of insulin and no glucagon.

Insulin promotes fat storage. Glucagon burns fat for energy.

Protein initiates thermogenesis (energy production through heat) in your body. The ideal protein to have during Chronic Fatigue is the one that the body can readily assimilate and use and the more bioavailable the better. As more bioavailable energy is needed for preventing the loss of muscle tissue as well as synthesizing hormones during this stressful period on the body.

What does bioavailable protein means?

Answer: Protein with a complete amino acids profile that allows your body to utilize it efficiently.

Here are some examples of bioavailable proteins:

* Eggs = 100% bioavailable
* Fish = 70 – 75%
* Meat = 70%
* Poultry = 60%
* Beans/Soy/ Nuts = 40 – 45%
* Dairy = 40 – 50%

So it makes sense to have more free-range eggs daily for breakfast as they are full of nutrients for adrenals and are considered a perfect protein. As long as they are not overcooked, soft boiled or poached is the best, otherwise people experience gas and difficulty digesting eggs.

Another reason it is so important to have more protein is that when insulin is high and glucagon is low, the adrenals are called upon to produce excess cortisol as a back-up response to help raise blood sugar levels in the absence of adequate glucagon. This occurs at the expense of the adrenal glands, contributing to adrenal exhaustion further, remember that the body is craving energy and adrenals are the glands that deal with energy production, so the aim is to give support to the adrenals and not to exhaust them further. Hence excess carbs create more stress and anxiety in people who are already under duress.

Choosing Enough Adequate Fats

When balancing Chronic Fatigue, the right fats in the diet are very important and some people need between 15 – 30% fat at every meal. Some might need up to 30% of fat at this time. The best fats are the ones found in egg yolks, omega-3’s in fatty fish and fish oil, organic butter, avocados and organic coconut butter. For vegetarians it is better to have coconut fat, a healthy fat that promotes energy in the body. Why is fat important? Fat should be part of every meal — when added to carbs and starches it lowers the insulin surges in the bloodstream from carbohydrates.

What to avoid and replace with better alternatives

The most difficult thing for most people to give up is coffee, black tea and sugar or energy drinks (containing guarana) in times when they are craving energy. Did you know 1 cup of coffee can keep your cortisol levels high for up to 18 hours in your system? Basically coffee just adds to the stress on your central nervous system because coffee activates the fight/flight sympathetic nervous system (SNS) response; and constant SNS over stimulation is what creates Chronic Fatigue in the first place.

SNS stimulation needs to be toned down as to allow the body to experience more balance naturally and activate at the same time the parasympathetic nervous system stimulation (PNS) — rest,relaxation, rejuvenation, recovery state.

What to enjoy instead while still gaining energy

Instead of coffee, enjoy organic green tea with stevia throughout the day or organic cacao and stevia. Both drinks are very high in antioxidants and help to raise the energy in the body without over stimulating. Avoid sugar, jam, malts, and fruit juice as they all raise blood sugar levels very quickly and exacerbate adrenal gland problems further. Generally the analogy of the effects of caffeine and sugar on the adrenal glands is that of flogging a dead horse, even though in the short term it may be pleasurable. The only way to stop this is a diet much higher in protein/fat and no sugar. That will naturally raise the energy.

How to Address Emotional/Mental Stresses

In balancing the underlying emotional/mental stresses it is important to create some down-time, simple pleasure fun time in order to fully activate the PNS system. Whether it is finding short solace in a place of quieting the mind, or making a point of being in nature, or even just enjoying simple meditation, this is far more important than trying to cope while relying on too many supplements.

Most people take large amounts of ginseng and adrenal support formulas with the aim to keep up with the existing state. This leads to their adrenals crashing even quicker. Ginseng is helpful but can only be taken for 6 weeks to a maximum of 3 months at a time, then the body needs rest from the over stimulation of the ginseng.

A little daily rest here and there, even 5-10 minutes is the best remedy for Chronic Fatigue as it is the quickest way to shift the mind into PNS, rest and relaxation, which is what the body is craving in order to regain some more energy.

A 20 minute meditation practice whereby your breathing is slowed down, simple yoga where the mind is comfortable not agitated trying to do too much, allows the body to repair itself naturally. This form of relaxation shifts the mind/body system from a SNS state to a PNS state, where self recovery and self-rejuvenation takes place effortlessly. The importance of facilitating this on an ongoing basis is what stops the constant energy drain.

In dealing with emotions it is important to just accept them without the need to over analyze, control or fix them, as this creates more tension which adds to more stress. It also creates inner struggle with what one is experiencing, this need to control our feelings and over analyze them is what can create Chronic Fatigue in many people who are not comfortable with their own powerful emotions. Understanding Emotional Intelligence is important — this allows us to feel the emotions.

On a physical level, emotions don’t happen in your head, they are actually felt throughout your body as molecules called neuropeptides attach themselves onto cellular receptors that are located in every body part. When the emotion is felt, but not expressed, it’s as if these molecules of emotion get stuck in your system looking for a way out. All that is needed is expression of the emotion and ownership of the experience. No fixing, doing, psychoanalyzing, justifying and certainly no blaming.

In conclusion, complete recovery of Chronic Fatigue requires a twofold approach applied simultaneously. Firstly, balancing the energy drain with appropriate nutrition to support the adrenal glands and build energy in the body. Secondly, acknowledging and neurologically balancing the emotions of fear/anxiety/anger which are causing the biggest energy drains in the body.

By accessing the stress programs you have, you can gently access the unconscious mind as that is where the stress programs and survival patterns are most active. Energy/Meridian/Brain Integration based modalities may help people get in touch with their subconscious and unconscious mind in a more direct manner. Emotional Freedom Technique, Holistic Kinesiology, BSFF and Spiritual Acupuncture are all examples of this approach.

It is also helpful to remember that according to Quantum Physics, a problem and a solution exist on the same time/space continuum that is the same level of existence. That is like 2 sides of a coin and it depends on which one you flip. So accessing the subconscious mind not only presents the opportunity to balance the stress patterns but the solutions to the stress patterns as well.

This approach facilitates more available energy on a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level, the whole lesson of Chronic Fatigue, as Chronic Fatigue is about the energy drain, so its gift is how to increase your energy for life by preventing energy drains in your body from stress.

In Wellness!

Teya Skae

References:

(http://www.brainconnection.com/topics/p…)

(http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/sh…)

Better Health Channel 2007, Chronic fatigue syndrome, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne, viewed 30 March 2007,
(http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv…)

MDA Internet 2005, Reed Group Ltd, Colorado, viewed 27 April 2007, (http://www.mdainternet.com) (secure site).

M.E./Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society of Victoria Inc. 2006, What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

M.E./Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society of Victoria Inc, Melbourne, viewed 27 April 2007.

About the author: Teya Skae M.A., B.A.,Dip Health Sciences, Dip Clinical Nutrition; Teya is the founder of Empowered Living www.empowered-living.com.au
specialising in Neurologically Balancing busy people for chronic fatigue, corporate burnout, physical/emotional stress, Emotional Freedom Technique to resolve energy blocks, Metabolic Typing Nutrition and Results Fat Loss. Teya writes article for various publications and runs empowering educational courses in the area of balancing your health, physical body, emotions, and how to have more energy to enjoy your Life!

© Natural News

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Chronic Fatigue is one of those big “mysteries” in the medical profession and for those (like myself) who’ve had to battle alone to find some answers, to try to rebuild their lives, it’s always refreshing to read another person’s thoughts.

This is the first of a two-part series, reporting on how stress can have such a detrimental impact on us that in can lead to CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome):

By Teya Skae

(NaturalNews) Chronic Fatigue with its debilitating constant tiredness, is a condition of our times, affecting teenagers, as well as men and women of all ages. But have you ever wondered what its real cause might be? Part 1 of this article series examines the hidden causes of Chronic Fatigue.

It might surprise you to learn stress is the culprit.

There are various kinds of stresses, but the one thing they all have in common is that it is always about survival. Stress is classified as a stress when it impacts our survival capacity in some way.

Let’s define 5 major stress categories

1. Physical survival or basic life needs: enough food, shelter, clothing, money to get by. Very basic survival needs.

2. Biochemical stress: sleep deprivation, hormone imbalances, malnutrition and malabsorption, drugs and too much caffeine or stimulants.

3. Mental: work commitments, deadlines, constant work pressure, running away or avoiding work related confrontations, dealing with bosses and executives or study/exam pressure, over thinking, over analyzing. Many people experience this stress all the time.

4. Environmental stress: noise pollution and chemical toxicity from environment or sudden chemical toxicity such as mercury leakage from amalgam fillings or inhaling paint fumes.

5. Emotional stress: anything to do with any relationship, human connectedness, family, self worth etc., love and bonding.

Out of all the stress categories, the Mental and Emotional stresses create the most havoc in your mind/body system with debilitating symptoms particularly if the stress is prolonged.

A recent study on work-related stress is revealing, (http://au.news.yahoo.com/080123/15/15lx…) .

10,000 British public servants were assessed over a 12 year period by a team from University College in London. It was the first large-scale population study looking at the effects of stress from everyday working life on heart disease. During that time, seven surveys were conducted and chronically stressed workers were found — people determined to be under severe pressure in the first two of the surveys — had 68 per cent higher risk of developing heart disease.

Epidemiologist and study leader Tarani Chandola was quoted saying the findings suggest stress induced biological changes may play a more direct role than previously thought. This study provides the strongest evidence yet of how on-the-job stress raises the risk of heart disease by disrupting the body’s internal systems.

“In the study, stressed workers also had lowered heart rate variability — a sign of a poorly functioning, weak heart — and higher-than-normal levels of cortisol, a “stress” hormone that provides a burst of energy for a fight-or-flight response.

“Too much cortisol circulating in the blood stream can damage blood vessels and the heart… If you are constantly stressed out, these biological stress systems become abnormal,” Chandola said.

So what does Stress have to do with Chronic Fatigue?

Everything! According to Dr. Hans Selye, also known as the ‘father of stress response’ because he was the first medical doctor to elaborate on the GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome) response, ongoing stress leads to Chronic Fatigue and if not dealt with, complete adrenal failure and heart failure can be the result.

As an author of 1,700 scholarly papers and 39 books on how stress affects our entire system, Selye stated that headaches, insomnia, high blood pressure, anxiety/panic attacks and cardiovascular and kidney diseases are brought on by stress.

“Every stress leaves an indelible scar, and the organism pays for its survival after a stressful situation by becoming a little older,” says Dr. Hans Selye.

What happens when any form of Stress impacts your life?

Stage 1: Alarm Reaction known as ‘fight or flight’. In this stage your body is geared to ward off the impacting stress which could be anything or anyone, including our loved ones, any pressures for our time, money or love and challenges to our identity in any way.

In this stage, the body is alarmed by the stressors and mounts an aggressive anti-stress response to reduce stress levels. Some doctors call this the Early Fatigue stage.

Stage 2: Resistance Response. This is where the stress goes for some days, weeks, even months. In this hyper vigilant state, the body is resisting the ongoing stress but at the expense of the adrenal glands over-pumping the stress hormones.

Stage 3: Exhaustion. When the resistance stage goes on for longer than the body can physically cope with, exhaustion sets in after one or two years. In this stage, people normally start to experience Fibromyalgia, aches/pains, back-ache, muscle tension, severely suppressed immune system and muscle weakness. Many experience sluggishness and weight gain.

Stage 4: Failure. After a couple of years of over-pumping stress hormones daily, eventually, the adrenal glands become totally exhausted. People at this stage have a high chance of cardiovascular collapse, nervous breakdown, and according to Dr. Selye — total collapse, even death.

To understand how and why Chronic Fatigue happens to us, we need a basic understanding of the functions of the adrenal glands. These are walnut-sized glands located on top of each kidney. Their purpose is to help the body deal with stress and help us to survive.

Adrenals are important control centers for many of the body’s hormones. The outer layer of the gland, called the adrenal cortex, produces hormones including cortisol, DHEA, estrogen and testosterone. The centers of the glands produce adrenaline, the hormone named after them.

The basic task of your adrenal glands is to rush all your body’s resources into “fight or flight” mode by increasing production of adrenaline and other hormones. When healthy, your adrenals can instantly increase your heart rate and blood pressure, release your energy stores for immediate use, slow your digestion and other secondary functions, and sharpen your senses.

When you are stressed, your adrenal glands produce cortisol in excess. Cortisol is also known as the death hormone, because it is highly toxic and catabolizes (literally tears down) muscle mass for energy, your organs, diminishes your strength and your speed of recovery and makes people unable to cope with daily life. Adrenal fatigue also known as Chronic Fatigue occurs when the amount of stress exceeds the capacity of the body to recover from the stressful challenges.

And that list of stressful challenges is endless, including:

* lack of sleep
* a demanding boss
* the threat of losing your job
* financial pressures
* personality conflicts
* yo-yo dieting
* relationship turmoil
* death or illness of a loved one
* skipping meals
* reliance on stimulants like caffeine and starchy carbs
* digestive problems
* over-exercise
* illness or infection
* unresolved emotional issues from our past or present

The result is adrenal glands that are constantly on high alert.

These are common symptoms that are directly related to stress

* Weight gain around the waist and inability to lose it
* Regular bouts of colds/flu and other respiratory ailments
* Reduced sex drive
* Poor memory
* Lack of energy in the mornings and also in the afternoon between 3 to 5 pm
* Need coffee or stimulants to get going in the morning
* Pain in the upper back or neck with no apparent reasons
* Mild depression
* Food allergies
* Increased effort to perform daily tasks
* Dry and thin skin
* Hypoglycemia – low blood sugar
* Nervousness
* Palpitations
* Unexplained hair loss

Every challenge to the mind and body creates a demand on the adrenal glands by secreting stress hormones, one of which is cortisol and when the levels are in excess it literally destroys the body.

The destructive effect of high cortisol levels

In its normal function, cortisol helps us meet the stressful challenges, by converting proteins into energy, releasing glycogen and counteracting inflammation. For a short time, that’s okay. But at sustained high levels, cortisol gradually tears your body down.

Stress, as noted earlier, raises your cortisol levels and this affects not only your body, but also your whole brain function by reducing your ability to focus/concentrate and remember things, making you somewhat incoherent. If this is not bad enough, cortisol then diminishes your immune system, making you unable to ‘turn up’ for your life.

Why does it happen this way?

Obviously, to force us from ‘soldiering on’ so you are forced to deal with the stress itself, whatever it may be. It’s usually at this point that people start seeking some form of professional help, as opposed to compensating and pretending they’re coping with everything — when the body is clearly in ‘danger alarm mode’, because the stress is not being addressed and the symptoms are piling up.

The mind is very good at fooling itself into a coping mechanism, yet your body will always reflect signs of stress. Often, people ignore them and start ‘micromanaging’ symptoms (the term I use in clinic when people focus on 1 symptom at a time), rather than understanding their own patterns of survival by looking at emotions/attitudes towards situations in their life and thus ‘macro managing’ their symptoms.

Hidden causes of stress

It’s important to emphasize the role of emotional factors. Guilt, pain from past hurts, self-destructive habits, unresolved relationship problems — your past and present emotional experience may serve as an ever-present stressor. Dealing with these problems directly is much more beneficial than trying to micromanage symptoms which lead to focusing on the symptoms rather than the causes, the stress itself.

Thoughts and emotions and our belief systems have the most debilitating effect on our mind/body system. Powerful emotions arise out of stress — fear, frustration, anger, sadness, apathy, hopelessness — and usually overwhelm when the person is too exhausted to deal with anything. All these have a profoundly toxic effect on the mind/body as they force the adrenals to release more stress hormones.

In summary, our ability to handle stress, physical or emotional, is a cornerstone to our human survival. Our adrenal glands are equipped to ward off and modulate all stress. When these glands become dysfunctional and/or exhausted, our body’s ability to handle stress reduces, and multiple symptoms will arise.

Even though it is always the adrenals that need special attention in the initial recovery process of Chronic Fatigue, for complete recovery it is necessary to identify the emotional or mental stress, acknowledging the impact it has on the mind/body. Balancing the stress allows people to take responsibility for their symptoms and surrender to their own healing process.

Balancing Chronic Fatigue

In part 2, we will explore ways to address and balance Chronic Fatigue from the mind/body perspective by looking at practical ways of macro-managing this debilitating condition, instead of micro-managing each individual symptom which usually leads to more frustration or more exhaustion. Having the resources and the right tools to support the mind/body system during this very stressful time helps sufferers to retrain their mind-body system and enable them to respond more appropriately to similar stresses in the future.

In Wellness!

Teya Skae

References:

(http://www.brainconnection.com/topics/p…)

(http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/sh…)

Better Health Channel 2007, Chronic fatigue syndrome, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne, viewed 30 March 2007, (http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv…)

MDA Internet 2005, Reed Group Ltd, Colorado, viewed 27 April 2007, (http://www.mdainternet.com) (secure site) .

M.E./Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society of Victoria Inc. 2006, What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

M.E./Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society of Victoria Inc, Melbourne, viewed 27 April 2007

About the author: Teya Skae M.A., B.A.,Dip Health Sciences, Dip Clinical Nutrition; Teya is the founder of Empowered Living www.empowered-living.com.au
specialising in Neurologically Balancing busy people for chronic fatigue, corporate burnout, physical/emotional stress, Emotional Freedom Technique to resolve energy blocks, Metabolic Typing Nutrition and Results Fat Loss. Teya writes article for various publications and runs empowering educational courses in the area of balancing your health, physical body, emotions, and how to have more energy to enjoy your Life!

© Natural News

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Choosing Products That Promote Beauty and Well Being

Tuesday, October 07, 2008 by: Barbara L. Minton

(NaturalNews) Millions of Americans are adversely affected each year by a silent from of chemical warfare that’s taking place every day within the comforts of our own homes. While we worry about the chemical weaponry of terrorists and lead-contaminated imported toys, we are literally poisoning our immune systems with thousands of toxic chemicals that are known carcinogens, hormone disrupters, and cancer-causing agents.

It starts with your morning routine. If you are a man, you will probably use shampoo, soap, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, hair gel or styling products, shaving cream, and aftershave or cologne. A typical day for a woman starts much the same, with the added possibilities of shower gel, body and face cream, lotion, moisturizer, make-up, hair spray, perfume, and nail polish. By the time you have made it to the door, you have swallowed, inhaled and absorbed through your skin hundreds of toxic chemicals, some of which have been proven to be deadly to laboratory animals and many of which are known to be carcinogens.

If you are suffering from dry flaky skin, persistent skin irritations, rashes, sinus problems, allergies, asthma, respiratory ailments and other health problems that never seem to get cured, it may be time for you to examine the negative effects your personal care products are having on your health. It’s great to exercise and watch what you eat, but you must also watch what you put on your body and even what you use to clean your house if you want to achieve optimal health.

Any substance you put on your skin, or inhale will enter your bloodstream just as surely as if you had swallowed it. Once these chemicals enter your bloodstream, they are perceived by your immune system as foreign and not recognizable, and they are perceived by your liver as toxins. When your immune system and liver are dealing with toxic chemical overload they aren’t available to do the jobs they were intended to do. That’s why people who insist on putting toxic chemicals into their bodies suffer from frequent bacterial and viral infections, other mysterious maladies, and even cancer.

Have you ever taken a close look at the ingredients in your personal care products? Whatever you are seeing probably includes water. Is there anything else on that label that you recognize as a naturally occurring substance you might actually want to put inside your body? If it doesn’t occur in nature, it shouldn’t be inside of you, because you are a natural being.

Kiss My Face Corporation makes a wonderful soap bar that lathers up and cleans just fine. The only ingredients on its label are olive oil, water and salt. There are no toxic chemicals or fragrance. That’s what a label should look like. How does the label on your soap look?

No matter what the advertisements try to make you think, fragrance does not come from flowers or anything else natural. More than 4,000 chemicals are used in fragrances, many of which are waste products from the petroleum industry. Several of them are known to cause cancer, birth defects, infertility, and brain and central nervous system damage including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s.

Since so many products are now scented, the number of people who are made ill by fragrances is steadily increasing. Babies and children are especially vulnerable along with those recovering from illness or disease. Chemical fragrances are everywhere: laundry detergent, fabric softeners, dish washing liquids, suntan products, sunscreen, incense, lotions, moisturizers, lip balms, almost every personal care product, and more. It’s even found in many products labeled as unscented because it is contained within a compound when that compound is added to the product.

Exposure to scented products can cause the persistent symptoms that mystify people, such as chronic aches and pains, headaches, allergies, swollen glands and lymph tenderness, heart palpitations, memory, fatigue, asthma, nausea, and neural-motor functioning including dizziness, and fainting. Exposure in children and even adults can cause learning and behavioral problems, attention deficit and hyperactivity in addition to any of the other symptoms. Continued exposure to chemical fragrances along with other toxic chemicals can cause development of Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Disease. When you have this disease, the slightest whiff of a toxic chemical makes you so ill you cannot function. Your ability to interact with the rest of the world is seriously compromised.

It’s tempting to say to your self that these products must be alright or the ‘government’ wouldn’t let them be sold, but this isn’t true. The personal care products industry is not supervised. The FDA does not require manufacturers to register their products or to file safety data on the ingredients they use in them. They are free to put in as many toxic chemicals as they want. The only thing that stops them is reaction from the public. A few years ago, magazines came with scented strips advertising the latest perfumes. So many people were sickened and complained that the strips were discontinued. If enough people refuse to buy toxic products, manufacturers would stop making them.

Products you use while taking a shower are particularly dangerous since you are using them at a time when your pores are opened by hot water, allowing quick and easy access to your bloodstream. A look at the ingredients in your shampoo may be shocking. There are more than 100 toxic chemicals traditionally used in shampoo, and most brands contain 20 to 30 of them in addition to chemical fragrance and dyes.

Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is a dominant ingredient in almost all shampoos. In addition to its toxic effects on your immune and detoxification systems, SLS has been shown to corrode the hair follicles and impede hair growth. It has been blamed for premature hair loss. The Material Safety Data Sheet provided by the U.S. government says exposure to SLS can lead to burning, coughing, wheezing, laryngitis, shortness of breath, headache, nausea and vomiting. The American College of Toxicology says that SLS stays in the body for up to five days and maintains residual levels in the heart, liver, lungs and brain.

While there are many natural alternative substances available that will clean and beautify you far better than these toxic concoctions, the large corporations that produce personal care products won’t use them because it would cost too much money and interfere with their profits. They even try to disguise their cheap chemicals with tiny amounts of natural ingredients that are prominently featured on the front of the bottle. This is done to deceive you into buying what you think is an item that promotes health. But turn the bottle over and you will see a mind boggling list of toxic ingredients.

If you have decided that you don’t want to pay your hard earned money to a corporation that strives to deceive you and tell you lies, you will find that discovering how to replace your toxic products with products that promote good health is a very difficult task. No matter what it says on the label, there are virtually No products in any of the discount stores, traditional supermarkets, or drugstores that are not filled with health compromising chemicals.

Some supermarkets featuring organic or health sections carry Burt’s Bees products. These are certainly far preferable to those produced by the large corporations, but Burt’s Bees has recently been bought out by Clorox Corporation, so its quality may soon be compromised. For now, some of Burt’s Bees products are safe, and some contain toxic ingredients such as fragrance, endocrine system disrupting glucose oxidase, and borax (the active ingredient in most ant poisons).

You will have a better chance of finding products that promote health at a health food market. But even there, you can’t just walk in and buy what appeals to you on sight. Many products marketed as ‘natural’ contain high levels of toxic ingredients. Whole Foods Market publishes a list of ingredients not allowed in the foods they sell, but many of these ingredients are contained in their personal care items. Apparently it is alright with them if the toxins enter you body through your skin instead of your mouth.

When you try to replace your personal care products with ones that promote health, you will find that almost every item you pick lists ingredients that sounds like chemicals. The only way to be sure of what you are buying is to research these ingredients. Here is a website where you can easily research many of these ingredients using their search box: (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/) .

Many people have found that the easiest and most cost effective way to shop for health promoting products is online using one of the large supplement companies such as Lucky Vitamin or Vitacost. Each of these carries an amazing array of the personal care and cosmetic products typically found in health food stores.

There is one line of products that stands out above the rest. Aubrey Organics consistently provides items that are of very high quality and free of toxins. Many of their lotions and shampoos are highly scented with natural oils. Of course, these products are fairly expensive, but if you order them online there is a substantial savings.

Kiss My Face makes that luscious olive oil soap without scent or in several scents created from chemicals. Many of their other products contain an array of toxic ingredients.

Jason’s is good for toothpaste, making several flavors without fluoride or significant toxic chemicals. But again, much of their line contains objectionable ingredients.

Cosmetics made entirely from minerals are gaining in popularity as witnessed by the astounding growth in Bare Essential shops. Mineral cosmetics provide the affects of traditional cosmetics and don’t contain toxic chemicals. There are several other companies that sell cosmetics made from minerals. Their products are available at health food stores and online.

It’s not easy to make the change from disease promoting personal care products to those promoting health. It seems to require some trial and error, a lot of time to do research, patience, and a commitment to paying higher prices for the products you use. But once the change is made and these products become as familiar to you as the ones you used to buy, it will be easy from that point on. You will realize that you have made a significant investment in your future health and freedom from disease, and you will feel proud of yourself. You will know that it’s all a matter of priorities.

After you have found products in every category that you really like and seen how good you feel using them, you probably won’t even consider returning to the old brands. You will feel good about spending your money on products made by a company who knows its future rests in producing products that keep you healthy, rather that a corporation that sees you only as someone to be exploited. And you may realize that looking your best can be achieved only with the vibrant glow of good health shining from your insides out.

© Natural News

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