Issue of the Week - Oct 6 - Oct 12

I got a winner of the Monthly Give-away.
Today I started a 5 day cleanse program. I have wanted to do this for a long time, but I wanted to wait til my life was on a even keel. It is right now. Generally, it is best to do this type of thing in the Spring and Fall when the weather is mildest, so that the body is least stressed by temperature. I'll let you know how it went at the end of the week.

So on to the issue of the week which I am taking from the Desert Alchemy website because it is right on target with what I am doing right now myself. That is Physical Self-Care. Cynthia Kemp Scherer has written a great deal about this and I recommend you go there to read it.

No matter what else we are doing in our life, if we are not taking care of our bodies, we will fail. Not only is the body the "temple of the soul", but it is the vehicle we use to accomplish all else on this plane.

It is often the part of our life that we spend the least time taking care of. Oh yes, we eat - but what? Do we take the time to carefully choose and prepare the healthiest meals or do we grab something and eat it in the car?

Sleep is important too. In this modern culture where we are expected to accomplish so much, sleeping is considered a sign of laziness, stupidity, lack of motivation, or lack of ambition. Interestingly enough, many of the greatest minds and inventors, got their inspiration or the answer to a scientific problem while dreaming.

Our mental and psychological states are affected by our physical condition. Lack of exercise, proper diet, lack of sleep etc. can contribute to depression and stress which in turn affect our ability to eat and sleep. It can become a vicious cycle, getting worse and worse until we end up really sick and have to make some changes.

During these very stressful times, it is critical that we take care of our bodies as best as we can. Every one of us is being challenged in one way or another. Eating well is not related to how much money you have. Simple home-made food using traditional ingredients is the healthiest food there is. Most so-called 'ethnic' diets sustained people for hundreds if not thousands of years. Beans and grains, fresh vegetables and fruit supply everything you need. It's not about money. In fact, all the foods associated with wealth are more likely to kill you at a young age.

Exercise is crucial too. Our 'labor saving' devices have made us ill because we don't have to work as hard to do things. My two grandmothers, who washed clothes by hand, tended vegetable gardens, made homemade bread every week, had farm animals etc., etc., etc., both lived to 96 years old with no diseases or dementia. They just wore out I guess. Worked hard every day up to 90+ and didn't want it any other way. Refused to allow the family to install this or that. One grandma had an outhouse and would not let us put indoor plumbing in her house, because she "didn't need it." When the snow got too bad, she used chamber pots in the coal cellar. Oh yes, she shovelled snow off the first floor porch roof by climbing out the second floor window and stoked her own coal stove in the cellar by shovelling coal. And she didn't want it any other way. Neither of my grandmas ever used anti-depressants, alcohol or tobacco. They were too busy to indulge in self-pity and had no time to worry. When they went to bed at night, they fell asleep, because they were physically tired.

I, on the other hand, with my modern ways and my college education, often forget the important lessons I learned at their knees. I tend to be a sedentary person because the things I do most of the time require a lot of sitting - computer, research, writing. I can go all day without going outside the house and yet I live in a beautiful forest that tourists come to see. I have to tell myself to get up and go outside. My house is a mess, because I have 'more important things to do.' Then, I go to bed and my mind begins its mantra of worry. Fortunately, my spiritual practice has given me tools to control the spinning of my mind, but it still tries to go there. I have begun to spend less time on the computer and more time walking, doing housework or working in the garden. Already, I am noticing the effects.

Hedgehog Cactus

Inmortal

Star Leaf

Saguaro Cactus

Evening Star

Crown of Thorns

Harmonizing Addictive Patterns

Hairy Larkspur

Cliff Rose

Prickle Poppy

Integrating Being & Doing Formula

Woven Spine Pineapple Cactus

Desert Jointfir

For a more comprehensive discussion of each of these essences and how they assist with Physical Self-Care, please go to the Desert Alchemy website.