Oh No! Not Health Food!!!

Cleaning Out Old Files...I Came Across This Experience
From a Few Years Back

A friend of mine called this past month suggesting we get together for lunch. I thought great! This is just what I needed. It would be nice to get out, take a break from work and share a good meal with a wonderful friend. In the next breath, she said, “Let’s meet at Arnold’s Way”. My heart sank as visions of boring, dull, tasteless food danced in my head. I mustered up a “Sure, sounds good!” with the most enthusiastic response that I could get out. .

Now don’t get me wrong, I had heard a lot of wonderful things about Arnold’s Way, a raw foods café in Lansdale, PA, but mostly from people who found there way there due to a major health challenge and who were looking to make nutritional changes in their diet to help them through the healing process. I even met Arnold when he stopped by our table at the Holistic Health Fair in Jamison a few months back and was planning on making a stop there at some point in time to check it out…not for myself of course, but to see what he had to offer that would be beneficial to clients I work with.

All the way there I was feeling disappointed about the luncheon choice I agreed to, basing this on some previous experiences I have had with health food, wondering what strange ingredients I would have to wolf down. Could I do so without making an embarrassing scene gagging? Was there going to be all these quirky type health food nuts sitting around talking doom and gloom stories about people who eat the dreaded protein packed diets?

In my head everything was tofu laced (a food that I just can’t seem to get a liking for, even when my brother who is a gourmet chef, creates what looks like a very appealing tofu dish). To my surprise, once we arrived at Arnold’s I loved the look and feel of the small, intriguing café. There were all sorts of people crowded in there milling around, and they looked as normal as anyone. The store was filled with a wealth of information and healthy products. Hmm, maybe this won’t be as painful as I thought! I could easily distract myself by checking out all the interesting things in the store.

We sat down at a table, and a very pleasant young man came over to give us menus and see if we wanted something to drink. It was a cold day so I asked what kind of herbal teas they had (I figured I wouldn’t make the faux pas of asking for coffee, I was smarter than that). The waiter, with a twinkle in his eye, said “we don’t have herbal teas”, by the look on his face I quickly came to realize when it says Raw Food Café, it means nothing is cooked or heated, not even the beverages. So much for avoiding the faux pas!

I don’t remember what the name of the item was that I ordered, I just followed my friend’s recommendation. I think it was called Sally’s something or other. When this dish came out, I was impressed by how pretty it looked on the plate, and was even more taken back by how delicious it tasted. It contained cut up red pepper, onions, zucchini, other veggies that I can’t recall right now, avocado, green olives, nuts and Arnold’s homemade burger chopped up (don’t know what’s in it but it isn’t meat) served over a bed of spring mix greens. I was hooked!

Our visit to the raw foods café involved a lively discussion with Arnold and a few others and ended up being more than I could ever have imagined in my wildest speculations. Since that visit a little over 3 weeks ago, here at the Anderson house, we have moved into a healthier, more nutritional approach to our diet. We are moving toward vegetarianism gradually, and incorporating raw foods into our diet daily.

My body type needs heat and warmth, so I know that a total raw foods diet would not work for me personally, but we have moved from a 75% take-out diet to about a 90% home prepared meals program that incorporates mostly vegetables, grains. beans and fruits, with an occasional piece of organic chicken or fish.

I gauge how well we are doing by how often I need to empty my compost bucket…rather than a once a week routine, it has become a daily one. My kids are not completely sold on this approach so I am taking it at a slower pace with them, but the one thing I have got them hooked on is Arnold’s Green Smoothie which they have every day. (recipe below.)

Since we have made these changes, I am feeling more energetic, less stressed and my complexion has improved. I have listed the link for Arnold’s Way under the website recommendations section. If you have never been to Arnold’s, I would encourage you to drop by and find out about this jewel of a café in our local area, you just might be as pleasantly surprised as I was! Or if you have a close friend or loved one that is dealing with a health challenge, this should be one of the places on the top of their list to research. If you do stop by, drop us a line with some feedback about what you think. If you know of any other restaurants/cafes in the local area that you would recommend, send us in a review. - Susan

Green Smoothie
2 oz dates
4 oz dark leafy green vegetables
1 apple cut up
2 frozen bananas
10 oz. water
ice cubes
Place all ingredients in a regular blender, blend up and enjoy! I also boost our drink with powdered super greens.

Arnold recommends that you drink these smoothies 2 times a day.
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Biodynamic Tomatoes: My Jack & The Beanstalk

DO YOU REMEMBER JACK?
As a child I loved it when someone would read me the fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk. I jumped right inside the pages of the storybook and tagged along for the adventure with Jack, climbing up that sturdy, massive stalk. My heart would race as we would be running around the castle in the sky. And I would always exhale a huge sigh of relief upon our safe return.

Well last spring I came up a website called McKean County Biodynamics. The master gardener L.A. Rotheraine proclaimed you could grow a cherry tomato plant that would reach the heights of 11 feet and produce over a thousand tomatoes. Just send $2 in a self-addressed envelope for a package of seeds.

NOW FOR THE REST OF THE STORY
Well I have to tell you, I got so excited about this! Visions of Jack in the Beanstalk re-emerging from the recesses of mind, egging me on. I told my husband Scott, somewhat apologizing to him. How can a single plant produce over a 1000 cherry tomatoes? I knew I was once again falling for a too good to be true story, but what the heck, the investment was only two bucks.

I sent away for the seed. They promptly arrived, along with planting instructions. Just so you know, my thumb has never been green, I’m more of a brown thumb kind of gal, but Scott and I planted these biodynamic tomato seeds from L.A. Rotheraine. The packet had so many seeds we had three pots going.

Never have I had any luck growing plants from seed. The seedlings always pop up looking strong and healthy, then it seems once they catch a good breath of air they agh! agh! agh!, sputter, cough, and flop over…dead as a door nail.

To my amazement our little biodynamic tomato seeds DID NOT do this. Hooray! I’m jumping for joy! I have seeds turning into little seedlings. I have little seedlings getting stronger turning into plants. Suddenly, we find ourselves with 3 pots of astonishingly vibrant tomato plants.

Come planting time, we handed out tomato plants to several people and kept one pot of plants for ourselves. We decided to plant one according to the directions, and the others we would scatter around our property in different beds, without following the special instructions.

OK, SO JUST WHAT ARE THOSE INSTRUCTIONS?

We had to dig a hole 2 ft x 3ft and fill it with compost, food scraps, green material, leaves and whatever else that could breakdown into viable nutrients. (View complete details, instructions, photos- scroll down page). Also when we put our tomato plant in the compost hole, we put a
½ cubit Slim Spurling Ring around the stalk, to give it additional energy. The other remaining plants were either placed in beds or pots, scattered about, but with no special planting procedures, except pure intention for good growth and abundant harvest. Now it was time to just sit back and wait for The Truth to come out about these plants.

SOMETIMES WHEN IT’S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE…
Sometimes when it sounds too good to be true, it isn’t! We had an amazing production of cherry tomatoes! As promised, we reached well into the thousand mark. As promised, they were the size of golf balls. As promised, they were the best tasting cherry tomatoes we had ever had, as sweeet as candy!

The problem we had was our limited thinking. We had not really expected the results that were promised, therefore the staking system we had was not sufficient and came tumbling down under the weight of the plant after some time. It then sprawled outward, covering just about the entire bed we had it planted in. The tomatoes were like the energizer bunny, they kept on coming. We were picking our last tomatoes in early November. The plant itself still had a lot of fruit on it at that time but we could not keep it from succumbing to the ever lowering temperatures of our area, about one hour south of Philadelphia.

The other plants we had scattered around were strong, healthy and prolific as well, but not to the degree that this special planting one was. The size and taste of the fruit was pretty much equal. The big difference was in the size of the plant, although they outsized any prior cherry tomato plants we ever had, they were not the Jack and The Beanstalk size of our beloved special planting.

WILL WE DO IT AGAIN?
You betcha we will. It was the best $2 investment I ever made. As soon as I am finished typing this post, I am ordering my packet of seeds for this year. Scott and I are so excited about doing the planting again. Only this time we will be better prepared. Our special plant will have a dedicated site, all to itself. The staking system will be vigorous enough to support the growth we know it is capable of achieving. The other plants, we will scatter around the grounds just as we did last year. So my final word is…go to the website, read the material, watch the video, and then order your seed packet for $2.

Check our some more of our tomato plant pictures from July, you need to scroll to the bottom of the page.

Video:

Growing Tomatoes from Garbage (15 minutes) Biodynamic principles can be applied to gardens or farms of any size, as well as larger areas or whole ecosytems. The following video illustrates how well biodynamics works on single tomato plants

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Remember to Remember...

YOUR LIFE IS YOUR SACRED JOURNEY

Be still
And out of the silence
Will come your knowing

Be still
And out of the stillness
Will come direction for your journey

Be still
And the One will guide you
In the perfection of your character

Be still
And you will
Remember to Remember
Who you are
And who all the others are around you

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My Favorite Photo

As I sit here listening to the pitter patter of slushy rain outside falling on the dusting of snow, I am longing for the face of spring. I decided to travel back in time to last spring to view some of the pictures I took while on a maddening 3 month creative explosion. The picture above is what I call my Angel in the Sky,she showed up one day as a confirmation to me about the work I was doing.

It all started around the end of January 2007. I was in an energy funk. I didn't want to leave the house. Had no interest in anything. Was physically exhausted. But was not depressed. Was not happy. Just was. Sort of just hanging with no expectation or emotion, but knowing in time things would shift dramatically. Didn't know how. Didn't know what. Just trusted the gut feeling, knowing it was right.

As time went on I realized these were the Ascension Symptoms and my body was adjusting to being in this new, higher vibrating frequency. It seemed like forever before the period of transition subsided, but when it did all hell broke loose.

First I started working on a photo essay called Project Blue Sky, with the purpose of determining if the sky over my home and local neighborhood was indeed being bombarded by chemtrails or was I just imagining this. For the entire month of April 2007 I took photos. See my earlier post explaining this. At the end of the month I decided I needed to create an Elemental Garden.

So what is an Elemental Garden? In my mind it was a small garden space for the elementals, especially the air slyphs, to come to rest and restore their energies, for the work they do to help the planet. Once I started on this journey, it was like initially deciding to go for a walk around the block, then changing your mind and walking across the country instead. I became manic, fully driven to put this garden in as a tribute and retreat for the elementals. Some days working 10 -12 hours or more in the garden. All else was pretty much put on hold. I couldn't break away from this project even if I wanted to.

This can become a real annoyance to those I live with, when I am in my manic mode. Fortunately, I never go depressive...after manic, it is normal behavior. My mood doesn't fluctuate in either state, just my attention and focus to task. Yesterday my oldest daughter, a senior in high school said to me, "Mom, I have analyzed you, and finally figured you out. When you get involved in a new project that becomes your world until you can get the work done, and most times it means dinners aren't gonna be that great." I chuckled, knowing I was busted!

Anyway, the elemental garden is a wonderful journey, that many have enjoyed reading about and following. It is way to long to post here, but I want to link to it...if you are curious, if you need a break from the winter doldrums, if you want to see some interesting photos, grab a cup of coffee or tea and travel with me through the Elemental Retreat project.

Looking back through this today is making me excited to begin my planning work for the garden this year, and yep, gotta get my order in for the Biodynamic tomato seeds. After last year, we now know better that a mega staking system is needed in order to harvest the thousands of tomatoes we harvested.

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Are You Sleeping in a Safe Space?

This question was popularized by Rolf Gordon from England. I consider him a modern day pioneer, having dedicated the past few decades educating people about a condition known as Geopathic Stress. It is a phenomenon many people are not aware of, yet it affects everyone to varying degrees.

SO WHAT IS GEOPATHIC STRESS (GS)?
Let’s start with a simple vocabulary review: Geo- refers to the earth, while pathic refers to suffering or disease. In combination with stress, geopathic refers to any type of noxious energies, natural or man-made, that over time may cause health challenges for humans, plants, and animals under its influence. In addition, inanimate objects are also subjected to its powerful force. Very few things can avoid being affected.

NOXIOUS ENERGIES AND ZONES OF DISTURBANCE: WHAT ARE THESE?
Here we are referring to any subtle energy that will create havoc on the immune system of many living organisms when placed within its field for prolonged periods of time. Note- some organisms thrives in these zones.

GS is the catchall term that refers to concentrations of both natural and man-made energies. They are typically found over or related to underground streams, certain pockets of minerals, fault lines, underground cavities, mines, pipelines, and vortexes. One way to illustrate this is to picture an underground stream of water, say 200ft down, meandering through the soil, all the while attracting energy above it as it flows. This results in an invisible river of destructive energy, usually 10% as wide as the stream is deep; in this case, a swath roughly 20ft wide.

With our rapid technological advancements today, we are contributing enormously to the amount of GS in our environment. This occurs as a result of the electro-magnetic fields caused by electrical and wireless sources. The short list includes such things as: man’s over use of electricity, bleeding wires, appliances, lighting, computers, TV, cell phones, transformers, power lines, generators, and all our wireless gizmos and gadgets.

Depending on the source, these energies can vary in intensity, direction, and form. Some are regularly spaced grid patterns, where others may be more random in width and structure. Experts estimate that 5% of the earth is covered by them. As one would think, areas of energy intersections are especially troublesome.

WHAT KIND OF HEALTH CHALLENGES ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
GS does not directly create health challenges. Rather, it works on depressing the immune system, when a living organism finds itself sitting, working, or sleeping in an area that is geopathically stressed for several hours at a time, on a continual basis.

For example, if there is a line of GS flowing through your bedroom at the location of your bed, in particular, where you are sleeping, you can assume you are NOT SLEEPING in a safe place. Chances are high you are not sleeping well at all. Even more likely, the exact position where the line of GS crosses your body may be the exact location where you are experiencing health problems.

Now each person is very different, that is why we are called individuals. Some people are more sensitive and easily affected, others may seem to remain totally unaffected, and still others fall somewhere in between the two extremes. When someone is ill and has tried a number of different approaches to healing without success, then it may be time to examine the concept of geopathic stress as a contributing factor. Those who seem to heal, then have a reoccurrence , also should take time to examine this as a possibility.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF GS?
Geopathic stress it leaves it’s calling card for all to see. Once you are familiar with some of the warning indicators, the assessment can be fairly simple to determine if your home or business is affected. Good dowsing and observation skills help with this process as well. Below is a list of signs and symptoms commonly associated with GS.

Environmental Clues :

• problems with mold in the house
• moss growing on the roof, walls, or lawn
• problems with termites, ants, wasps, or bees
• cracks in walls, driveways, paving stones, curbs, and roads
• reoccurring mechanical and electrical breakdowns
• areas with high rates of accidents
• presence of trees with cancer
• gaps in hedges rows or shrubs
• infertile fruit trees
• strangely twisted trees
• areas where nothing will grow, or where growth is stunted or mutated
• areas susceptible to lightening strikes
  

Personal/ Health Related Clues:

• someone in the home has a serious health challenge, such as cancer or MS
• illness which does not clear up despite good treatment
• feel better when away from the home
• became ill shortly after moving into the house
• live in a house which has never “felt right”
• wake up in the morning feeling unrefreshed, or have difficulty sleeping
• close neighbors may be in poor health
• previous owners of the home have been ill

WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
If you suspect geopathic stress is creating a disturbing influence at your home or business, what should you do next? Look further into the subject! This article is just scratching the surface with the intention of opening doors of awareness. There are many indepth websites and books devoted to this area of study. Also several dowsing societies will have experienced dowsers who work with the detection and remediation of geopathic stress using specialized techniques, and can recommend competent individuals to assist you.

DON'T WAIT UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE TO FIND A SAFE SPACE!

My husband and I are dowsers who have been doing energy clearing work for the past few years on properties. We have encountered a variety of interesting cases. In most situations, the homeowners were experiencing some level of personal difficulties. Examples include insomnia, asthma, high concentrations of EMFs, cancers, uncomfortable energy within the home, difficulties with interpersonal relationships among family members, repeated mechanical and electrical breakdowns, inability to sell a home, and multiple chemical sensitivities. Once a property is assessed through dowsing, the locations where geopathic stress is found is then remediated using the best selected technique for that particular situation. Often within an hour or two, the energy in the home shifted, and the property owners recognized the improvement.

Dr. Becker, M.D., author of the "Body Electric" and "Cross Currents" and one of the most respected research scientists in this area, stated, "We now live in a sea of electromagnetic radiation that we cannot sense and that never before existed on this earth. New evidence suggests that this massive amount of radiation may be producing stress, disease and other harmful effects all over the world by interfering with the most basic levels of brain function."

So now is the time to take a pro-active position. Educate yourself. Learn what you can. Share what you learn with others. Don't wait until it is to late to find out you have not been sleeping in a safe place.

To learn more on this topic, visit Resource Information.

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Project Blue Sky: Photo Essay

Have you looked outside at the sky lately? When you look up, do you see a crystal clear, deep blue sky, filled with beautfiul cloud formations that takes your breath away? Or are you greeted by other types of skies? Ones that are dark and overcast? Ones with criss crossing jagged lines spoiling the view? Ones with wide feathery plumes spreading across the horizon?

Last year I decided to do a photo essay project to see what was really going on in our neighborhood. Here is the results of the project. Although done in April 2007, the story and results are still relevant. Hope you will come along on my journey!

Several months ago I became aware of something called Chemtrails that are occurring at a frequent rate in the sky. I have watched several videos on the subject and was left with the imprint of one question posed "Where have the blue skies gone?" My initial reaction was this is a bit of an exaggeration, the sky is blue more than it isn't...then I began to pay closer attention, and what do you know!

When you take the time to look at the sky there are some very strange things happening on a daily basis. So I decided to do an amateur's photo recap of the month of April and the see what the sky holds...A good video introduction is Aerosol Crimes for those wishing to look further into the subject. The Discovery Channel recently had a piece on the show Best Evidence, on chemtrails vs contrails. The show was so one-sided and demonstrated poor science, but if it has make the public more aware to investigate themselves, then that is a good result.

Also the website educate-yourself.org contains a wealth of information if you are looking to study this topic in more depth. Most photos will be taken in Silverdale, Pa and the temperatures will be recorded in degrees Fahrenheit when I can. I am not a scientist, not a photographer, and have little experience using a camera, but I am an interested citizen, wanting to make some observations as I study this topic. You just may find yourself, wanting to take a second, third, fourth look ....and compare what you are seeing in your home location as well.These 4 photos below are a few I took back in March 2007. As I stated above, I am by no means a photographer but I figured I'd like to capture some of what I am seeing....

To view the photo essay and commentary go to:
Part 1......... Part 2 ......... Part 3.........Part 4

What do your skies look like? Is it hard to find a day of clear blue?
I'd love to hear from you.

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Non-Attachment to Results

“In the western world, people learn to compete at an early age and they suffer the consequences of that programming throughout their lives. Most of us are programmed to obtain results and are motivated to achieve success. These programmed attitudes and skills work against a healer. To be a healer requires the development and use of other skills. Setting an intention or desire for healing is normal and appropriate. However, when either the healer or the person receiving the healing becomes attached to a specific result and strives for that particular outcome, the energy becomes disruptive.

If you, as a healer, need to prove yourself on any level you are only detracting from the purity of the healing. By imposing your needs for approval and results onto others, you introduce a disruptive energy pattern that is similar to the energy of expectation, violation and abuse that many people experienced in childhood. If you are not clear with the healing energy, you may be perpetuating the same type of violation that was the root cause of the dis-ease in the first place.

When the healer remains unattached to a specific outcome, the person receiving the healing is allowed the freedom to change for themselves rather than changing to please the healer. If the person changes to please someone else, the healing will usually be only superficial and any positive results will probably be short-lived. Developing the skill of non-attachment will greatly assist those you work with as well as helping you realize your full potential in healing work. Any energy other than unconditional love and acceptance can feel like violation to the person, even when it is meant to help. This is especially true if they were violated as a child.

Please remember that healing takes place best when you let healing energy come through you and remain unattached to the outcome. This allows the energy to flow naturally and permits the person to heal at their own pace.”

Excerpted from: The Healing Energy of Your Hands, Michael Bradford

The message in the passage above is important, and one I try to emphasis when teaching Reiki. Although on a intellectual level, we can understand the concept of remaining unattached to results, when placed in an actual situation many times we may find ourselves coming from the perspective of sympathy. This emotion can shift us very easily out of the mode of channeling Reiki though us to that of using our own energy.

Instead the best approach is to be able to take the perspective of the compassionate heart that does not attach to the suffering. When we are able to do this, the sensation of Reiki energy flowing though us is inexhaustible and we do not feel drained or burned out by those we are working with.

Some points to remember to help remain centered when giving a Reiki treatment to another:

1. Discuss both your role and that of the person you are assisting, with assisting being the key term here. This implies that the receiver of the treatment is in the primary position of responsibility, we as the therapist are aiding them in their healing process, not taking on the task of their healing. If we move into this arena, we are short changing the person we are working with, as well as taking on some karma we don’t need. When these roles are clearly defined and understood by the client, it also helps us to stay centered and unattached, because the choices for healing and the results that ensue lie directly with the person we are helping.

2. It is helpful to state this in terms such as : Any healing that will occur during this session is that which you are ready and able to handle at this time.

3. I can not emphasis this enough, it is important for the person to take on an active role in their healing, and not to assume they will be receiving a treatment in which they are just lay or sit there passively, while you take on the responsibility of doing all the work. When this type of relationship occurs, we place ourselves in the danger zone!

4. Keep your intention broad and general as you begin your treatment session: This Reiki session is for **indicate the person’s name** highest good, and for the highest good of all.

5. Suggest to the person who will receive the treatment to also make an intention for the session, that is general as well. By asking for relief from a very specific ailment or set of symptoms could significantly narrow down the realm of possibilities. This may offer temporary relief while missing the bigger picture of why this particular set of circumstances appeared in the first place.

Example: Instead of setting an intention asking for relief from the back pain I am experiencing right now, set the intention for the session to create a healing on whatever level(s) I need right now as well as to provide me with the insight as to why I am currently experiencing this particular set of symptoms. Ask- What do I need to learn from this?

6. Lastly, examine your own reasons for working with others. If the list of reasons are all about you…wanting to feel good, needing to feel appreciated, seeking approval, etc. it may be best to just work on yourself until you can resolve these personal issues.

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