It's easy to blame our parents

yesterday I was talking to a firend about how much we could blame our parents for the way we've turned out. The conversation really started me thinking, and today I posted a new article on the web site on just that topic.

If we accept how we are is because of our parents we can end up stuck in pain and anger. Here's my suggestions as to how to tuen that round:

http://healthandgoodness.com/ManagingLife/blaming_parents.htm

Doctors & The Drug Industry

there are many life-saving drugs, but there's also a less glamourous and reassuring side to the drug industry. Do you know that for every 15 doctors in the US there's one drug rep? That's a startling statistic - drug companies would not be spending all that money unless they expected some return.

this and other disturbing facts are in my article:

http://www.mytherapypractice.com/Medical/doctors_drug_companies.html

What Kind Of Eater Are You?

more and more people are realising that dieting is not the answer, but haven't found a good alternative. There's interesting work being downe now on intuitive eating - learning to eat when you're hungry. Alice Greene has written an interesting article reviewing the other types of eaters. Knowing what you are can help you to become what you wnat to be, so check out this article:


What Kind of Eater Are You? by Alice Greene
There are so many different reasons why we struggle with food. Many of the reasons stem from what we've been told, the way we've been raised and the way we feel on a given day. It is liberating to know that the struggle isn't just because we are bad when it comes to eating well.

http://healthandgoodness.com/weightshape/what_kind_of_eater_are_you.htm

therapists, take your practice to the sun (or the snow)

I quite like it as the days get shorter and we need the heating on in the house, but I know lots of therapists hate it, so I was pleased to have this article by Deborah Marshall-Warren. I was mazed that it's possible to go and work in exotic places just for a few weeks if you want. She's written an article for our web site, and has a book that tells you even more:

http://www.mytherapypractice.com/Successful_practice/therapists_practise_abroad.html

therapists, take your practice to the sun (or the snow)

I quite like it as the days get shorter and we need the heating on in the house, but I know lots of therapists hate it, so I was pleased to have this article by Deborah Marshall-Warren. I was mazed that it's possible to go and work in exotic places just for a few weeks if you want. She's written an article for our web site, and has a book that tells you even more:

http://www.mytherapypractice.com/Successful_practice/therapists_practise_abroad.html

Losing weight and getting fit

Whatever the time of year there's always lots of people who want to lose wight and get fit. A lot of these people are looking for quick fix solutions, but the people who succeed in the long term know they need to take one day ata time. Here's a really good article on this theme that I've posted on one of my web sites:

Health & Fitness Is Not A 12 Week Program by Tom Venuto
You can avoid the on and off, yo-yo cycle of fitness ups and downs. You can get in great shape and stay in great shape. You can even get in shape and keep getting in better and better shape year after year, but it's going to take a very different philosophy than most people subscribe to.

Read the full article:

http://healthandgoodness.com/exercise/fitness_not_12_weeks.html

Vaccination Information

Lots of therapists are concerned about vaccination and PLOS Medicine have published two interesting articles this month, so I'm really pleased to use the editors' summaries for this on my site. I've put links to the full more academic articles so that people who wnat more info can check it out. The two articles are:

Frequency of Adverse Events after Vaccination with Different Vaccinia Strainsby Mirjam Kretzschmar et alSmallpox vaccination has some adverse effects, occasionally infecting the brain. As smallpox became rarer, the dangers of vaccination began to outweigh its benefits. Now, however, there are fears that smallpox may be used for bioterrorism.
http://www.mytherapypractice.com/bugs_drugs_allergies/vaccination_smallpox.htm

Reduced Antibody Responses to Vaccinations in Children Exposed to Polychlorinated Biphenylsby Carsten HeilmannThe developing immune system may be damaged in some babies by exposure both before birth and after birth through breast milk to “immunotoxicants” such as polychlorinated biphenyls. This has implications for childhood vaccination programs.
http://www.mytherapypractice.com/bugs_drugs_allergies/vaccination_PCBs.html

Organic Cotton Clothing

it has been estimated that 25% of the world's insecticides are used on cotton crops. When I first heard that figure I was appalled. We eat a lot of orgnaic food so I'd assumed that the pesticide thing was pretty much taken care of... but hey I love cotton clothes.

So I was delighted to find the Seasalt brand in a local shop. Fashionable clothes made from organic cotton. In fact I spotted a top that I really liked and only then did I find out it was made from organic cotton. I'm sure there's lots of people wearing Seasalt stuff who don't care about the environment but just like the clothes, but I do so I'm really glad to be able to buy stylish well-made stuff that doesn't cost the earth (in either way).

If you're not lucky enough to live near a shop that sells Seasalt products, you can buy them online at http://www.seasaltorganic.co.uk

Lysozyme, Diarrhoea, Tooth Decay & Cleanliness

One of the things I really enjoy is linking different pieces of info together and (hopefully) providing a more coherent picture. I've tried to do this with some old research and some recent research on the digestive enzyme lysozyme:

http://www.mytherapypractice.com/Medical/lysozyme.html

Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes

our vegan abd vegetarian recipes are proving popular so I'm hoping to add lots more over the next few months.

I've just added one for a spicy, hot chick pea recipe. I'm a great fan of chick peas. If you are too, have a look at this and our other recipes:

http://healthandgoodness.com/nutritiondiet/recipes_index.html

How Can You Build Your Child's Self Esteem

Well, back from a rain soaked cycling trip (North Sea to the Alps - 12 days riding and it rained on 9 days and we were camping!!!). It's good to be back in the office and looking after my web sites again.

Although my children are now grown up, I still have an interest in how we can help youngsters lead happy and positive lives, so I am delighted to post this sensible article by Deanne Mascle on http://www.healthandgoodness.com :

How Can You Build Your Child's Self Esteem? by Deanna MascleAs parents we know that building our child's sense of self esteem is important. There is no simple strategy but there are several effective techniques parents can use to help boost self esteem in their child.

Deanna suggests 7 sensible, do-able techniques. If you're involved with chidlren do take a look:

http://healthandgoodness.com/babieschildren/build_childs_self_esteem.html

Giving up smoking

I used to smoke 40-50 cigarettes a day and I'm passionate now about the health ebenfits of not smoking. There's already several articles in the health section of http://www.healthandgoodness.com on smoking and health, and I've just added a new one tonight. Jonty is an ex-smoker and in this article he looks at the reasons to give up:

If you’re a smoker, you’re probably sick to death of the anti-cigarette lobby spinning out the same old lines about how you’re damaging your body and health. You’re not an idiot, you know all these facts.
to continue: http://healthandgoodness.com/health/why_stop_smoking.html

What To Do If Your Child Is Overweight

Sadly a lot of children are now overweight. Here's some sound advice from Jim O'neill on what to do about it:

http://healthandgoodness.com/babieschildren/child_overweight.html

Summer Fruit Smoothies

It's really hot here at the moment and there's lots of wonderful fruit around, so it's definitely time to make some smoothies. Here's some great advice from Kit Heathcock on how to do just that:

http://healthandgoodness.com/nutritiondiet/recipe_fruit_smoothies.html

Walking A Marathon

In 2001 I did the London marathon. I'd never done much running before, and looking back it was a silly thing to have done. Inevitably I pushed myself in training and so injured myself 3 weeks before the big day. I still "ran" the marathon but was in pain from about 2 miles in. I spent part of the time halucinating I was up a mountain because I was in so much pain!!

I've often wished I'd done it as a walking marathon rather than a running marathon. I don't think I would have been much slower and I would have enjoyed the training and the event a whole lot more.

If that idea appeals to you, I've just published an article on how to prepare to walk a marathon:

http://www.sportandme.com/docs/sports/walking/guide/walking_marathon.html

happy walking!

Biochemic Tissue Salts

When my children were little and not well, they often said: “I want some magic tablets.” The ‘magic tablets’ got their nickname because of how quickly they dissolved on the tongue, and how soon they made my children feel better.

I really rate these gentle remedies for harrassed mums and dads, so I've just put a pice about them on www.healthandgoodness.com:

http://healthandgoodness.com/babieschildren/biochemic_tissue_salts.htm

Ethical Health

I'm really excited to be associated with www.ethical-junction.org. The site is undergoing a major revamp and I am sponsoring the health section. As well as this, I will be contributing to their newsletter - my first article is entitled "What is ethical health", being a moderator on the health forum and lots more.

I am delighted that the guys behind Ethical Junction recognise how well our beliefs and business practices coincide. This is how they describe what they do:

"Our Network provides information on positively screened ethical companies, organisations, products and services, linking you through to the ethical, environmental and sustainability markets."

Am I Drinking Enough Water?

It's very hot in England at the moment. Over the weekend John and I cycled on our tandem from our home in Penzance to Fowey, camped for the night and then cycled back. The round trip was over 100 miles. Because it was so hot I was really aware of how much I needed to drink a lot of water, but even when it's not hot and we're not exercising water is still very important. I was talking about it this morning to someone who didn't know how to tell if she was drinking enough water, so I have written an article for her and for people like her:

http://healthandgoodness.com/nutritiondiet/drinking_enough_water.html

Confidence

I've added a new confidence section to Health & Goodness. In general I have lots of confidence, but I know many people don't, so if you are one of these people take a look at thios new section:

http://healthandgoodness.com/symptoms/symptom_confidence.html

Kids & Exercise

I wish I'd done more to encourage my kids to take exercise when they were young, so I'm delighted to include this article on http://www.sportandme.com on taking your kids hiking:

http://www.sportandme.com/docs/common/children/hiking_with_kids.html

we need to get kids doing more to avoid the obesity epidemic that is developing!

Professional Web Sites For Therapists

I wrote an article on http://www.mytherapypractice.com/ about a great web site design and hosting package for therapists:

http://www.mytherapypractice.com/Successful_practice/web_site_package.htm

Maura Barry of Ireland is one of the first to take advantage of this. Her web site is http://www.green-healing.com/, and here's what she told me in an email:

"I found it extremely easy to set up and the help from Michael was fantastic,
he always answered my questions and was extremely nice to deal with. He
helped me through the whole process.

"I would also like to thank you for bringing the package to my attention as I
is extremely expensive to set up a website and difficult when you are not
computer friendly but this was amazingly easy and inexpensive."

I'm really pleased that she's so pleased!

Triathlons

as many of you know I'm a keen cyclist - I rode across America on my bike two years ago! Once I did a novice triathlon - swim, bike and run. I enjoyed it but have never repeated it.

It's interetsing to read in the paper that triathlons are the "in" sport now, so I've been putting more articles on this demanding sport on http://www.sportandme.com.

The latest one is "Ironman Triathlon-Run Equipment Choices" by Ray Fauteux. He offers lots of excellent, down-to-earth advice for the novice traithlete.

http://www.sportandme.com/docs/sports/triathlon/guide/ironman_equipment.html

Golf and weight training

I've never understood the delights of playing golf - I prefer to go out on my bike - but I know there are lost of epople who do, so I've posted another golf article on http://www.sportandme.com:

http://www.sportandme.com/docs/sports/golf/guide/golf_weight_training.html

Water Rowers

Some ears ago I bought a water rower, and it really is great. Close your eyes and think you'r eon a river.

Antony Wilton agrees with me, so I've included his article "Water Rower, Like A Cruise Down The River Without Getting Wet" on http://www.sportandme.com:

http://www.sportandme.com/docs/sports/rowing/guide/water_rower.html

emotions and biology

I've just posted two interesting articles by Tom Harrison on http://www.mytherapypractice.com:

Depression & Obesity Go Hand in Hand
by Tom Harrison
People who are "fat but happy" are likely the exception rather than the rule. Read more on this at:
http://www.mytherapypractice.com/psychology_emotions/depression_obesity.html

and

Early Childhood Neglect Leaves Biological Mark
Children who are deprived of a loving caregiver in their early years may experience abnormal activity of vasopressin and oxytocin, two hormones essential to forming social bonds and achieving emotional intimacy. Here's the full article:

http://www.mytherapypractice.com/psychology_emotions/early_childhood_neglect.htm

Using a heart rate monitor

I've put a new article on using a heart rate monitopr for training on http://www.sportandme.com

I found that buying a heart rate monitor really helped my training - stopped the fooling myself that I was training hard when I wasn't. Here's the link to the article:

http://www.sportandme.com/docs/sports/running/guide/heart_rate_monitor.html

I love staying at the Veggie Barn in the UK New Forest (http://www.veggiebarn.net/)whenever I go to visit my son and his family, so I've been adding some of their wonderful recipes to htp://www.healthandgoodness.com. The latest one is Vegan star anise custard:

http://healthandgoodness.com/nutritiondiet/recipe_vegan_star_anise_custards.htm

makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

Back Pain

back pain is the second most common form of pain to head pain. Here's some great advice from the Duke University Health Center on how to avoid it:

Exercise regularly. A program that includes 30 minutes of low-impact aerobic activity such as walking, cycling and water aerobics several times a week will help tone back muscles.

Build muscle strength. Conditioning exercises that focus on your back, abdomen, hips, and legs can help support your spinal region.

Read the rest at:

http://healthandgoodness.com/health/preventing_back_pain.htm

cheers Jane

Tennis - the mind game

Well summer seems to have finally arrived in Cornwall, so I've put an article on tennis - the mental part on http://www.sportandme.com.


Here's the beginning of it:

Learning how to play tennis can be either a wonderful or a very frustrating experience. It depends on whether your approach and expectations to the game are realistic and whether your coach and his way of teaching the game of tennis are the best for your starting level of play.

When you start learning how to play tennis you probably don't know much about it. You've seen how good players play and they seem so effortless and the game seems easy. You decide that you want to try it too and enroll in one of the lessons at your local club.

There are 2 main areas when you are still learning how to play tennis:

Technique (footwork, body, arm action)
Tactics

And here are the main mental points for these two areas of your beginning lessons:

1. Be aware - when you learn how to play tennis you are soon overwhelmed with lots of information.


You can read the full article here:

http://www.sportandme.com/docs/sports/tennis/guide/tennis_mental_game.html

Bacteria and fungus can travel miles

an interesting story i the press recently about how bacteria nd fungus can travel 1000's of miles and still be alive. They can even travel between continents. For more on the story:

http://www.mytherapypractice.com/bugs_drugs_allergies/travelling_bacteria.htm

Therapies in Bosnia

Phoenix-Aid is a newish, small charity working in Bosnia. Run from England two therapists go to Bosnia and tecah Indian head massage, aromatherapy, reflexology and more. I've just posted an article about it on our practitioner web site:

http://www.mytherapypractice.com/Miscellaneous/therapies_in_Bosnia.htm

if you like what you read, how about supporting them?

eating beans and peas

I love beans and peas.I particularly like sprouted chick peas. It's easy to do. I just soakthem for about 10 hours, drain and rinse them and then leave them without any additional water. I rinse them 3-4 times a day. I like them when the sprout is just appearing (which takes no time at all). John likes them when the the shoot is about to sprout some leaves. He dosen't always get a chance to eat them, as I've often eaten most of them at the eralier stage!

I've just posted an article on the benefits of eating beans on Health & Goodness web site:

http://www.healthandgoodness.com/nutritiondiet/eating_beans.htm

running and thinking

here's an intersting artcile I've just posted on http://www.sportandme.com on running and thinking - have you ever thought about what you think about when you run?

read this article and start thinking!

http://www.sportandme.com/docs/sports/running/guide/runners_think.html

Looking after children's teeth

I've had lots of problems with my teeth, so when I came across this clearly laid out info on looking after children's teeth I was very keen to have it on the Health & Goodness web site:

http://www.healthandgoodness.com/babieschildren/taking_care_childs_teeth.htm

Pollution

A shock story in the UK Guardian today:

"The top five companies (EON UK, RWE Npower, Drax, Corus, and EDF) produced between them more than 100m tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2005. On average, the country's 26m private cars produce 91m tonnes each year."

So, that's alright then, we don't need to worry about driving our cars do we? Well, actually we do - these comapnies do not produce carbon dioxide for the fun of it, thye do it to provide us with the electricity, steel and other things we want.

so of course industry needs to do more, but so do we as individuals

the full article is available at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1775689,00.html

aromatherapy for children

Misty Cech is so knowledeable about essential oils, so I'm delighted to have been able to add a new article from her to http://www.healthandgoodness.com. It's explaining to parents and carers how to use essential oils with children:

here's a direct link:

http://www.healthandgoodness.com/babieschildren/aromatherapy_and_children.htm

Are You Responsible Enough to Lose Fat?

Here's an excellent article by the ever-lively Lynn VanDyke

Are You Responsible Enough to Lose Fat?

by Lynn VanDyke, Trainer and Fitness Nutritionist

Seems like an odd question for a personal trainer to ask her clients, but I do. I have a theory that not every one is willing or able to accept that the sole outcome of their fitness and nutrition program is based on personal responsibility. There are a few circumstances in which an individual has no control over their weight gain or weight loss, but for the majority of us our results can be expressed by our resolve.

A few things prompted me to write this little article about personal responsibility. One is a television show that I watched last night. Other reasons include a few emails I received this past week and a personal friend’s comments to me. Each of these situations taught me something rather interesting. Something I already knew, but didn't quite think about until now.

There is a race to melt fat, tone up, slim down, and feel great about your body before the summer hits. Have you noticed an increase in diet pill commercials lately? What about exercise gadget infomercials or new diet books? The dreaded warm weather means many of us are about to bare skin that we'd rather keep hidden.

In this frenzy to shed the weight I have been receiving a bombardment of emails from folks looking for a magic solution. They are convinced I know something they do not. A few emails this past week blew me away. One of them accused personal trainers of knowing the secret to weight loss, but thought they refused to tell anyone the answer so they wouldn't lose clients. Another email practically begged me to spill my guts about my training program because the person thought I had a super-duper program that only personal trainers use.

Admittedly I got a bit upset at first. I mean do people actually think personal trainers know the secret to fat loss, but are unwilling to share it with others? Nonsense. We share it with folks all the time. It’s all about eating well and enough and being active out often. And just for the record my nutrition and exercise routine are the exact same routines I talk about on my site and in my ebook. I actually follow my own advice!

Two other things worth mentioning happened to me within the past week as well. I watched a television show about changing your family lifestyle. The point is to become active and eat healthy so that children grow up healthy. I loved the idea behind the show and that is why I watched. About half way through this particular episode I was in shock.

The children, aged 8 and 10, were actually eating better and becoming more active. They were following the rules the nutritionist had set for them. They were healthier and happier. Guess who was unwilling to change? Mom! She sat out on her front porch swing, smoking a cigarette, and talking to the camera about how this show was supposed to be for and about her children and not her. Therefore she should be able to eat when and what she wants.

Lastly I had a friend approach me and tell me how lucky I was to be fit. She went on to talk about how she wishes she could go kayaking and hiking as much as I did. She talked about how I am so lucky to work in the fitness industry and what a coincidence it was that I enjoyed my job. She went as far as to say she wishes she could have some of my luck.

Between those few emails, the television show and my friend’s comments it became abundantly clear that many people lack personal responsibility. Each scenario boiled down to one basic tenet- only you are responsible for you. No one can make you lose fat. Not even me! I cannot force you to stick to an exercise program. I cannot demand you kayak more or love your job. I wish I could, but I cannot.

Only you can make changes in your life. You are the only person who can create a happy, healthy, vibrant, loving and thriving life. I can provide the tools and motivation, but you are the master of your destiny. You are the sole force that determines how successful you will be in your life. Ask yourself these questions:

- Do you love waking up in the morning because you are excited about your day?

- Are you truly happy with your body?

- Are you thrilled with your personality?

- Do you really believe that you are in control of your life?

- Do you acknowledge that your thoughts are not enough? Action is key.

I help many people find a path to joy through living healthy and fit lives. I can beyond a shadow of a doubt proclaim that once you push aside the excuses, once you really step up to the plate, you will hit a home run. There will be hard times, but with the proper tools, motivation and goals you can and will overcome them.

Personal responsibility is the main success factor in fat loss. It is not luck that I find time to hike and kayak. It is not coincidence that I love my job. We all have 24 hours in a day. How we decid to spend that time really determines our life’s outcome. Watching 4 hours of television each night is not conducive to you if your goal is fat loss. It’s all about personal responsibility and doing what you know is right for you. So I ask, are you responsible enough to lose fat?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lynn VanDyke is the head trainer at http://www.strength-training-woman.com . Her wildly popular ebook, Melt the Fat, comes complete with over 100 exercises, 160 daily menus, 63 ways to stick with it, 100 strength training routines, 800 healthy meal suggestions and loads more. Learn more by visiting: http://www.Melt-the-Fat.com

Male Cancers

I've been wanting to put more on my web site http://www.healthandgoodness.com about this topic, but haven't had time to do the necessary research, so it was great to get an article packed with info on this topic from Zahida Parveen.

Here's a direct link to the page it's on:

http://healthandgoodness.com/health/male_cancer.htm

New articles for therapists

I've been busy adding new articles to http://www.mytherapypractice.com:

What Does It Take To Experience Transformation?
What does it take to experience transformation in the domains of our lives where we have never experienced mastery?

Teeth Braces & Tongue Studs
Dental amalgam, teeth braces and body piercing can cause major health problems for their owners.

Avoiding Medical Errors
Most of us strive as therapists to help our clients/patients so much that they do not need conventional medical treatment, but here's some good advice from the Duke University Medical Center for when they do:

Getting Referrals
Alternative/complementary therapists tell me everyday that the way they generate the most new clients is through referrals. Yet they don't seem to grasp the power of this statement.

Web Site Promotion
Do you have a web site already or are you thinking of getting one? Are you concerned about web site promotion and search engine optimization? Here's some tips on how to do it better.

Osteopathy & Low Back Pain
by John C Licciardone , Angela K Brimhall and Linda N King
Reviewing research in the USA and the UK on how successful osteopathy is at treating low back pain.

I'm also making good progress with my revised book on geopathic stress. I'm aiming to have the book ready for its first proof reading by the end of May

Exams looming?

I'm so glad I know longer have to take exams. For those of you who do, I've posted some exam tips on Health & Goodness:

http://www.healthandgoodness.com/ManagingLife/exam_prep.htm

Free Nutrition & Exercise Assessment

Kristoph Thompson writes a lot of sensisble stuff on exercise. I have some of his articles on http://www.healthandgoodness.com and http://www.sportandme.com.

So it's good to see he's offering a free diet and exercise analysis on his site - you complete a diary for 3 days and then send it in. To learn more go to:

http://www.kristoph.co.uk/

Amnesty International Urgent Action Programme

This is a simple way in which you may help literally to save someone's life - you're busy but what could be more important than that?

http://www.healthandgoodness.com/happiness/amnesty_international.htm

Tennis - Being An Attacking Player

I've just posted an interesting tennis article on http://www.sportandme.com on whether attacking tennis players are born or made. It's at:

http://www.sportandme.com/docs/sports/tennis/guide/tennis_attacking_player.html

Auschwitz & Life

I have spent the last week in and around Krakow in Poland. This is the nearest big town to Auschwitz and Birkenau. One of my sons is doing research there - on why young people choose to visit Auschwitz, so I took the opportunity to go there too. I've always been curious about the place, and a couple of years ago I read Victor Frankel's "Man's Search For Meaning" which I found very moving. In preparaion for my visit my son recommended I read Primo Levi's "If This Is A Man" and "The Truce". Again moving and thought-rpovoking books.

I was nervous about visiting the actual place, but went anyway. The display cabinets - spectacles, human hair, shoes, documents, shaving brushes, clothes has a numbing effect. Standing in one of the gas chambers .. viewing the place and the gallows where a camp commandant had been hung after the war .. standing in front of a wall where the inmates were shot ... seeing the punishment cells - as if just being there wasn't punishment enough ..

The most disturbing bit for me though was at the end when I climbed into one of the guard towers at Birkenau - I shivered and felt sick. It took me a few minutes to realise why - suddenly I no longer imagined myself as an inmate, now I was one of the people who perpetutated the horror.

I'm still processing my feelings about my visit, but in some strange way that I can't quite get to grips with yet irt affirms life and not death.

Verbal Questioning Skills For Kinesiologists

this book is published in German by VAK Verlags GmbH. I have just received a request from them to let the University of Dortmund have a copy of the manuscript to make a braille version of the book. Of course, I said "yes"

CAM Case studies

I've started putting more case studies on http://www.healthandgoodness.com but I'm a bit frustrated as I have a lot of kinesiology ones (particularly health kinesiology) but not so many of other therapies. I know there are lots of good practitioners and amazing stories out there, but I need to hear about them, so if you're reading this and your a therapist think about your clients and send me a storyor two. If you've ever been to a practitioner and got a positive story to tell I'd like to hear about that too ..

today's piece of inspiration

Inspiration of the Day:
A dangerously obese man has captured the heart of America by walking alone across the country to lose weight and find his soul. Steve Vaught was in a car accident in which two people died, sending him into years of depression and comfort eating. Hitting 400+ pounds, he realized that he would die if he carried on. After a year and more than 2300 miles on the road, his journey has become a symbolic quest for a better way of living. In response to a $5m commercial offer, he says, 'But how much does my integrity cost? I have done this walk to get my integrity back. I am not going to sell it.'
http://charityfocus.org/php-bin/qad.php?n=2334

Abundance

I've just read an interesting article from Kalinda Rose Stevenson on abundance. Here's a bit that made me smile:

the ones who live in abundance know how to receive. Those who live in lack don't.
One of the real reasons so many of us struggle with lack in our lives is that we internalized the words, "It is more blessed to give than receive." This Bible verse, taken out of context, sets up a value judgment: Giving is better than receiving.
I'm not going to do the critical work involved in telling you what the Greek words mean, or putting in these words in their biblical context. Let's just look at the words themselves and ask what is wrong with this kind of universalizing statement.
Consider breathing. You breathe in and you breathe out. Somehow, we all got the idea that it is okay to receive when we breathe. What if you decide that it is better to breathe out than to breathe in? You can't live very long before you realize that breathing is a cycle. If you want to continue to live, you need to receive air into your lungs as much as you need to breathe it out.

If you want to read more, here's the link:

http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=165037

Animal Testing Of Drugs

A catastrophic drug safety trial which left six healthy volunteers
fighting for their lives with multiple organ failure was the result
of "a powerful pharmacological effect of the product in humans",
found the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
The "unprecedented reaction" in the first human phase I safety trial
of the drug TGN1412 had not been seen in animal tests at much
higher doses, yet was not due to a dosing error, product
contamination or manufacturing problems.

Click below for the full story on NewScientist.com/news:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8956

So, surprise, suprise, animals and humans do not necessarily react in the same way to drugs. Do you remember thalidomide which was safe on pregnant rodents but not on pregnant women.

I believe that animal testing is fundamentally wrong, and that it's not as useful as some people beleive it is.

Bikini Body Here I Come

Lynn van Dyke writes upbeat sensible advice for women who want to be fit and healthy. Here's a good example:

Bikini Body Here I Come- 5 Great Reasons Not to Jump Into the Fad Diet or Crazed Workout Routine
by Lynn VanDyke

Summer is fast approaching. This is the time of year where everyone who fell off the New Year's weight loss bandwagon suddenly becomes frozen with fear. They realize that they have not met their goals to have a bikini body by this summer. Panic sets in and unfortunately so do bad decisions.Warmer weather and beach vacation plans are a sign of fad diets, intense workouts, and miracle fat loss pills. People looking to slim down by summer need results and they need them fast! I am here to give you 5 great reasons not to jump into the fad diet or crazed workout routine.

1) You Will Destroy Your Metabolism. Any diet that restricts your caloric intake, eliminates a food group or contains the word "cabbage" will not work. Not eating 5-6 small healthy meals per day will hurt your metabolism. It will slow down and become sluggish. The only way to rev it back up is to eat more healthy foods in the right amounts.

2) You Will Gain Back the Weight- Plus Some. It's happened before. As soon as you stop taking the miracle pill or as soon as you stop doing cardio for an hour every day the weight comes piling back on- plus some. You must make a lifestyle change to keep unwanted fat away for good.

3) You Will Be Quite Moody. Not eating or restricting your calories will leave you moody and sleepy. Sure you may have lost 3 pounds, but no one wants to be around you. Losing fat the healthy way will leave you feeling refreshed, energized and absolutely glowing with charm.

4) You Will Be Heading In the Wrong Direction. Not only is excessive exercise bad for you, but it also takes time away from reaching your goals. 3 weeks of over-exercising is 3 weeks not working out responsibly. It moves you further away from your goal of a bikini body.

5) You'll Be Known as a Yo-Yo Queen. You know what I am talking about. People will know that you are taking the easy way out. They will also know that in 3 weeks you will not be working out anymore. They may even place bets on how much fat you gain after you realize restricting calories and over-exercising is not a long-lasting or permanent solution to fat loss. Prove them wrong!Deep down we all know that the only way to permanently lose fat is to adopt a healthy and fit lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle means eating enough healthy food throughout the day. It involves carbs, proteins and healthy fats. A healthy lifestyle also means a responsible and safe workout program. A great program will include strength training, cardio and regular rest days.It is possible to melt the fat and have a bikini body by summer. There is no secret workout plan, there is no miraculous pill, and there is no new diet that will give you long lasting happiness. If you are serious about fat loss then do it right this time around. Get a great plan and get moving. Summer is coming!

Lynn VanDyke is the head trainer at http://www.strength-training-woman.com . Her wildly popular ebook, Melt the Fat, comes complete with over 100 exercises, 160 daily menus, 63 ways to stick with it, 100 strength training routines, 800 healthy meal suggestions and loads more. Learn more by visiting: http://www.Melt-the-Fat.com

Intuitive Mind

Here's a great quote from Albert Einstein:


The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. -- Albert Einstein

it's today's quote from the 'quote a day' service from www.charityfocus.org

To Do Before I Die

I've just come across a really nice web site:

www.2dobeforeidie.com

Bird Flu

here's some up-to-date info on the bird flu:

Research in the Netherlands and the USA has shown that while human influenza viruses are able to bind with receptors in the windpipe, H5N1 binds only much deeper inside the lungs. This makes it more difficult for the virus to infect humans, because the virus is less likely to reach the inner lungs than the windpipe. The H5N1 virus is also less likely to spread from human to human. Coughing and sneezing easily transmits viruses that have multiplied in the windpipe, but not those located deep in the lungs. If H5N1 manages to mutate so that it can replicate in the upper respiratory tract, a pandemic becomes more likely. Scientists are constantly monitoring the virus for this mutation.

To see all that I've written on this check out this web page:

http://healthandgoodness.com/health/bird_avian_flu.htm

overweight - have you given away your power?

I've posted an article with this title on the Health & goodness web site.

Here's the first bit of it to whet your appetite :-)

If you’re unhappily overweight, is it because you’ve given away your power?

Do you let others decide on your portion size?
When you eat in a restaurant, buy a ready meal, buy chocolate or an ice cream, do you let the producer decide what is the amount you should eat by finishing whatever the portion size happens to be?

to read the rest go to:

http://www.healthandgoodness.com/weightshape/weight_power.htm

Reflexology

I've been adding case studies in the 'symptoms' section of Health & Goodness:

http://www.healthandgoodness.com/symptoms/index.htm

Here's a remarkable case study from Hannah Shine, a reflexologist in Bishops Stortford, Herts, UK:

Angelika came to see me with severe earache in her left ear and a high temperature. I decided to give her a reflexology treatment.While doing the ear reflex by the little toe, I felt what can only be described as a "grain of rice" under that reflex. It was very painful.I worked on it and she went home. I got an email 2 days later headed "weird stuff"..... Angelika explained that she forgot to tell me that 3 weeks ago she went to get some new contact lens. The optician put the lenses into her eyes; she decided she did not like them and he removed them using a suction pad. He found that he had only half a lens from her left eye in his suction pad and looked on the floor, couldn't find it, looked in her eye and couldn't find it and presumed it was lost somewhere on the floor. Angelika went home and her eye felt very uncomfortable. She went back and he still could find nothing. She went to the Eye Unit at the hospital and they could not find anything in her eye on examination....Angelika was emailing me to say that 2 days after the reflexology treatment she woke up, rubbed her eye, and lo and behold, half a contact lens was in her hand!! I asked her to check her foot and tell me whether the "grain of rice" lump under her little toe was still there and she checked and said it had gone!!! At the same time, her earache also was cured.So, although there is no physical link between the eye and the ear, somehow a reflexology treatment released the offending contact lens to be expelled by the body.

What an impressive case study!

animal experimentation

As a vegetarian I find animal experimentation unacceptable. I also believe that it is not the immensely useful instrument of research that it is claimed, because many of the results from animal studies are not replicated in humans.

Here's the start of a letter I've just come across in PLOS:

"The only people who don't know in 2005 that animal research is irrelevant for human disease are those who don't understand it or those who benefit from it. As a physician, clinical researcher, and former animal researcher, I know that though they are our closest genetic relatives, primates have failed as research models virtually whenever they have been used."

Read the full letter here:

http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10%2E1371%2Fjournal%2Epmed%2E0020278

Friendship & Peace

this is a wonderful project involving children in India sending letters of friendship to children in Pakistan:

http://www.friendswithoutborders.org/

and

http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jan/11sumit.htm

a simple thing, but I'm sure it could have a profound effect on at least some of the children involved, breaking a cycle of hatred.

Foetal life and subsequent health

Here's an intersting article from the London Times:

"Want to be thin, enjoy a long and happy life untouched by dementia, with a low risk of depression, cancer and arthritis, and have lots of children? The good news is that medical researchers may have found the secret of such a healthy, successful life. The bad news is that the blueprint was laid down during the nine months before you were born"

The article goes on to say that there's a debate about how strong the effects of "foetal origins of disease" are. The basic principle is that the foetus adapts to the nutritional environment of the womb (no mention of psychological environement) under the assumption that this will be the nutritional environment later. If there is a match between these two then the person will have the resources to cope with its environment, but if the womb environment is differnt from the subsequent environment then problems occur.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2682-2078125,00.html

Drug Companies

I've just been reading some interesting research on drug company leaflets:

"Three out of 20 brochures distributed to family doctors by drug companies [in the USA]exaggerated the benefit of treatments, a study published this week has found. "

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/332/7541/568-c

the machinations of the drug companies are being monitored and publicised more and more. The findings are not reasssuring, but it is reassuring that the medical profession are now looking closely at this area.

Geopathic Stress & Subtle Energy

This is the title for my revised book on geopathic stress!

Today I feel really excited. Up to now I have seen revising this book as a chore that I didn't particularly want to do - it felt like going back over something from the last century (I wrote it in1994!), not an exciting new project, but that's changed today.

I've been expanding the part about whether GS energies are electromagnetic or subtle energies, and I've realised that I want to make this the ecentral thrust of the book - in a way I want to look at subtle energy through the prism of geopathic stress - or is it the other way round? mmm I'm excited

geopathic stress

finally I'm getting abck to revising my book on geopathic stress. I've decided I'm going to have to be disciplined and put aside at least one hour each day to work on it. I haven't done anything for severeal months because of revising http://www.healthandgoodness.com and launching http://www.mytherapypractice.com and http://www.sportandme.com, plus launching the forum and the therapist listing, and there's still a lot fo work involved, but I will just have to work more slowly on those things.

Also John's mum who lives with us and is 92 has shingles so I'm needing to spend more time looking after her than I usually do.

Life's definitely very full!

Appreciation of beauty and excellence

I thought this was very good - it's taken from the newsletter of Coaching Towards Happiness http://www.coachingtowardhappiness.com:

Seligman and Peterson (2003) make the important point that it is sometimes necessary to “strip away layers of snobbery to be sure what it is that we are valuing: someone’s appreciation of life’s finer things and moments, or merely his or her ability to afford them” (p. 520). Price may or may not reflect real value. People can savor a simple meal prepared at home as well as an elegantly presented meal at an expensive restaurant. Whether one is evaluating a dining experience, a painting or a companion, there is abundant truth in the old adage that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While many will make superficial judgments that inaccurately assess value, the “beholder” whose strength is an appreciation of beauty and excellence may find deeper qualities that others miss. Self-styled arbiters of what is beautiful and good often err in their appraisals.

Happiness

I like this:

Happiness is not a destination, it's a journey. Happiness is not tomorrow, it is now. Happiness is not a dependency, it is a decision. Happiness is what you are, not what you have.

It's from the daily email from http://www.brahmakumaris.org.uk/thoughts/tft.asp

Soft Drink Safety

A worrying story in today's online Guardian newspaper:

Soft drinks on sale in the UK have been found to contain benzene, a cancer-causing chemical. Benzene is produced when the drinks have the preservative sodium benzoate and vitamin added to them. The two can interact to form the carcinogen.
The Food Standards Agency ordered the soft drinks industry to survey its products last year when tests in the United States found benzene in soft drinks sold there. In tests of 230 products, levels of up to eight parts per billion were found in some drinks. The legal limit of benzene in drinking water is one part per billion. There are no legal limits on benzene in soft drinks. The brand names of drinks containing benzene have not been made available.

You can read more on this story at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,1721479,00.html

Flying

Here's a quote from today's Guardian newspaper:

"Last week the Guardian obtained a leaked copy of a draft treaty between the European Union and the US that would prevent us from taking any measure to reduce the environmental impact of airlines without the approval of the US government. This, though it might be the widest ranging, is not the first such agreement; the 1944 Chicago convention, now supported by 4,000 bilateral treaties, rules that no government may levy tax on aviation fuel."

You can read more of this article here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1719728,00.html

Later in the year I want to fly to New Zealand and cycle the length of the two islands, but am I justified in doing this? My actual visit will be low impact but what about getting there? Hmm

More is not a goal ..

David Krueger has signed up for our free therapist listing, and I was looking at his web site, which has lots of good information.

I like his Life's Ground Rules - there's 32 of them. Here's a couple as tasters:

“More” is not a goal, but because it is elusive, it has appeal as a container of hope and happiness.

and

We criticize, perhaps to prove that we do not posses the fault.

You can view the rest at: http://www.mentorpath.com/articles.htm

over 50 and enjoying life

There's more and more evidence that being over 50 (as I am) is not necessarily a bad thing in terms of enjoyment of life. Although some people feel there life is overe when their chidlren leave home, or they retire, many others find their satisfaction with life increases. Here's another study that makes this point:

"Experts who questioned more than 1,000 volunteers found that while their sex drive has reduced with age, the 50-pluses enjoy themselves more than men in their 40s and a lot more than the least satisfied age group, men in their 30s. "

View the full study here:
http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/0002125/31/

using our skills and knowledge

I'm receiving lots of emails praising the new therapist listing, which is really gratifying.

I got this today from a therapist:

"I am grateful to be included in this Listing and I must congratulate you on an excellent and high quality Website. I have recently been accused of treating my skills as a hobby, and told in no uncertain terms that I am depriving people of valuable help by not promoting/marketing myself properly. I admit that is true, but until now I have not felt it the right time to go 'big time'. Now I know that it is time to get out there and do a lot more."

I hope and believe that getting an email from me about the therapist listing was part of what has led to this change of feeling. I hope so.

I absolutely agree with the idea that it is important to use our skills and knowledge to benefit others. This can be a way of helping insecure practitioners to get out there and publicise themselves more because this thought focuses on what you are depriving others of rather than how you feel yourself.

Google Ranking

I'm pleased to see that in just over a month from its launch our newest web site http://www.mytherapypractice.com has achieved a Google ranking of 4. This is a very fast and good start. Now I want to build on that to get even higher.

http://www.sportandme.com has been ranked too - it's a 2 - it has much less original material, so I'm not surprised it has a lower ranking, but it's a start.

The ranking for http://www.healthandgoodness.com has gone up from 3 to 4, so that's an improvement too. We now have almost 1100 practitioners listed in over 40 countries so it's important we have a good ranking so that more of the public will search for a therapist on our site.

I've already had a thank you from someone who's done just that.

Also I've had two articles accepted for the email newsletter for Federation Of Small Businesses. This goes out to 11,000 members, and will give publicity to all three sites.

All in all a good couple of days :-)

The brain as a muscle?

I've jus read an article with this title from Genome Biology - it's really fascinating and given me some ideas for an article for our therapist web site http://www.mytherapypractice.com

Not sure how soon I will get to it though, as I'm not doing much original writing at the moment. Ok'ing the therapists who are signing up for our listing at http://www.healthandgoodness.com is taking up a lot of time - there are laso a lot of queries too. Anyway we now have 977 practitioners listed in over 40 countries - not bad for a listing that started a month ago :-)

Been doing an interview with Ken Digby on water filters - lots of people are concerned about water so this will hopefully be a good page for people once I get it finished.

To live content

This great quote came from Charity Focus today:

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony. -- William Henry Channing

They send uplifting stories and good quotes to my mail box every day:
http://charityfocus.org

Therapy infighting

Our new therapist listing is doing well - we have over 700 therapists from 32+ countries. As ever I'm impatient for it to be bigger still - patience is not one of the virtues I possess in even minute quantities. Of course, the good side of that is that I push ahead to make things happen, but there are downsides to it too!

I've been saddened though by the emails and phone calls I've had about the listings where people don't want to be listed under a particular umbrella term because it means they'll have to share it with some other type of therapist that they don't approve of. Some people would rather not be on the listing than do this.

There is enough opposition out there to what we do without creating even more. It's really makes me sad.

But I must keep it in perspective - it's a very very small proportion of people, and lots of practitioners have written me congratulatory emails.

Placebos

So much of the talk about placebos revolves around alternative and complementary therapy, and while I'm sure placebos are a factor, they're also a factor in mainstream medicine too.

I was heartened to read an article in The Times on Feb 18th by a practicing doctor, Dr Copperfield.

“Sick people get better more quickly if they are given a definite diagnosis, even one that is made up on the spot by translating their presenting symptoms into Latin.”

I'd like to quote the whole article, but I can't for copyright reasons, but it's well-worth seeking out.

a quotable quote on destiny

I've just rediscovered this fantastic quote:

Destiny is the source of energy

This can be interpreted on so many levels.

Unfortunately I can't remember who said it.

On a more personal note I'm sitting here typing away while my three month old grandson sleeps. His mum and dad have brought him to see me for a few days - they live near Southampton and this is only the 4th time I've seen him since he was born. I've encouraged his parents to go out for the moring and get some quality time together. It's somewhat nerve-wracking looking after such a small life -something I haven't done for over 20 years.

Failing the test

one of the most interesting things about alternative /complementary medicine is how it often fails the test, when it's put under the scientific spotlight. I have personal experience of this myself. some years ago I was having great success with leptin recognition and weight losss. I have a friend who is a University professor of nutrition - she was intersted in what I was saying - and so we got a student to look into it as part of their M.Sc. nutrition project. The results just weren't there - I felt very crushed by this at the time, and still have lots of questions about why that was the case.

This was all brought back to me this morning when I was surfing the web and came across some scientific studies of kinesiology showing they don't work. Inall cases the number of participants were small, but nevertheless they don't make encouraging reading for us.

The UK Daily Mail had a piece earlier this week which included an assertion from professor Ernst of Exeter University that there's no evdience that kinesiology works.

But I and lots of other practitioners know it does. Over the 20+ years I was in practice I worked with total sceptics, the severely mentally handicapped, animals and small babies and got very good results - in fact my heart used to sink when someone came in who had total faith that I was going to make them well - I much preferred the sceptics!

So what's going on? I've decided to start a new topic on our forum http://www.mytherapypractice.com/forum/ and see if others have any views on this.

I think this issue is important and it affcets other therapies not just kinesiology.

Doctors & Drug Companies

over the last week I've posted two interesting articles on my web site http://www.mytherapypractice.com relating to drug companies and doctors and initiatives being taken by some doctors themsleves to change this. The information makes frightening reading - for example there's one drug rep for every 15 doctors in the USA - drug companies would not be paying them if they didn't think they were value for money.

Here's a site which explains why patients should be concerned and what they can do about it:

http://www.nofreelunch.org/patients.htm

Being a sad person

People are often apologetic when they get pleasure from small things - with a self-depracating laugh they'll say: "Aren't I a sad person?" and everyone laughs. But really they're a wise person - being able to get pleasure in small things in life means that you will be happier more of the time - what's sad about that?

Auschwitz

I have been booking a trip at the end of April to Auschwitz and Krakow (Poland). I've always been fascinated by concentration camps for reasons I can't fully explain. I've felt for a long time that I wanted to go and visit one, but it's not an easy thing for me to do.

Tom, my son, is going to be there for two weeks at the end of April researching people's motivation for going, so I'm going out for a few days at the same time.

Is it possible to go to such a place and not be changed by it? I'm not sure - time will tell if it changes me. Last year I read "Man's Search For Meaning" by Victor Frankl, a survivor of Auschwitz. It's a slim, but surprisingly uplifting book - I think I'll read it again either beforehand or while I'm there.

Doing something that you love

I was interviewing Misty Cech yesterday about aromatherapy for the 'alternative medicine' section of http://www.healthandgoodness.com

She expressed a view very similar to mine about making money and being successful - do something that you love and with service to the wider community and you will succeed. This isn't the only way to make money, but it sure beats the others because an inner peace and happiness comes with it.

8 or 9 Day weeks

I've got a lot on at the moment with the revamp of http://www.healthandgoodness.com and the introduction of http://www.mytherapypractice.com, and lots of other projects. I was talking to a business colleague who asked me if I had 8 or 9 days in my week!

One of the best systems I know for managing time is that advocated by Steven Covey in his book/tape: First Things First.

If you're not familiar with it have a look at this review:

http://www.healthandgoodness.com/ManagingLife/FirstThingsFirst.htm

happy managing your life!

Nice quote

don't know who said this, but it's good:

Anytime you are unhappy in the present or feeling unsuccessful, it is time to learn from the past or plan for the future.

Respect

my partner, John, is a Buddhist and we were talking about oneof the central messages for him of Buddhism - respect - not just for authority but for people who most people don't respect.

It reminded me of a story in one of Bernie Siegel's books. Bernie is an oncologist and has some amazing stories to tell about people can control their blood pressure etc. even under full anasthesia by him simply asking them to do it during an operation, but the story that's really stayed with me on a personal level is the stiory of an old tramp who came to see him. He was smelly and generally unsavoury - Bernie searched for soemthing to overcome his distaste for the man, and noticed that the man's shoe laces were tied really neatly. He used this as a lever in his mind to give the man respect. The man came back a few weeks later and told Bernie that their meeting had turned him round, because Bernie was the first person who'd shown him any respect in a long time - he was now beginning to sort out his life.

Praise

I love being praised, and today my praise cup is overflowing!

People are really appreciating the new web site http://www.mytherapypractice.com and the free therapist listing on http://healthandgoodness.com

Here's some of the comments I've received today:

• I would just like to thank you and your team for the dedication, time and energy you have put into setting up the mytherapy website.
• Congratulations on a great vision and concept and your willingness to see it happen.
• This is absolutely fabulous.
• This is just to congratulate you on a great site and wonderful effort. (Sweden)
• ***Congratulations for your websites!***They are great and made with a very beautiful energy. I love to surf on those waves!!! :):) (Belgium)
• This looks to be an excellent initiative. Highly professional!

It has involved such a lot of hard work and money so this makes me feel all warm inside.

How Do We Value Lives?

One of the things I find distressing is how natural disasters are reported in the media. A calamity involving 10 people in the UK, USA, Canada or Australia will be higher up the news stories and have more space or air time devoted to it in the UK than a calamity involving 100 people in eastern Europe or India or Africa.

Why is this less newsworthy? There are many people from eastern Europe now living and working in the UK - I don't know the figures so I don't know if it's less than the number of Americans or Australians. There are many people whose family originate in Africa or India - they at the very least would be interested, but shouldn't the rest of us be interested too?

Are white English speaking lives more valuable? Surely not.

Find a therapist listing now live

This is finally here! I've started sending out emails to people to let them know it's up. We've already had practitioners sign up from Australia, UK, USA and Portugal, and they cover quite a variety of therapies, although kinesiology is the most frequent, simply because I am in touch with more kinesiologists than other practitioners, but long term I hope it will be more balanced.

If you want to check it out, you can do so at http:://www.helathandgoodness.com or at http://www.mytherapypractice.com

Validating all the entries is going to take a long time. John worked out that if took me 30 seconds to validate each entry, it will take me 100 hours of work to get to the 10,000 entries I've set my heart on - of course, they won't all come in at once so it will take a while to happen.

In with validating entries I've posted two new articles on http://www.sportandme.com - one on improving your golf swing and the other about whether creatine builds muscles.

Now this afternoon it's back to putting more case studies on http://www.healthandgoodness.com

and I've got to find some time to get on my bike!

Happy News

I've talked in an earlier blog about looking for happy news to put on Health & Goodness (http://www.healthandgoodness.com) and now I've found a site called HappyNews - http://www.happynews.com - it's good to see such an upbeat site - do take a look.

We have our own happy news coming up hopefully later today - the birth of the therapist listing - it's been a big undertaking because I wanted it to international (it is) and cover lots of therapies (30+), be easy for people to use to find a chiropractor, kinesiologist, reflexologist or whatever (time will tell on ths one, but we think it is),and be easy for me to adminsiter.

I can't wait to see all those excellent therapists out there get another platform to promote themselves - I believe that http://www.healthandgoodness.com is a good place for this as there's a lot of good content on nutrition, exercise, weight and shape management, plus there's the therpay interviews and case studies. It's getting bigger and bigger by the day.

I'll let you know when the therpaist listing gets the green light.

Strengths & Our Environment

Sad news that the whale who had misguidedly travelled up the Thames has died.

It was interesting that the people trying to rescue him/her couldn't give it a sedative as it is a voluntary breather. This is idealwhen you're under water for a long time and need to hold your breath, but in this situation it was a liability as a sedative would have stopped or dimihsed its breathing.

That's true of so many situations when a strength in one cane become a weakness in another. We need to be able to stay true to ourselves, but also adapt to the environment that we find ourselves in.

West Nile Virus & HIV

Researchers have found that people who are naturally highly resistant to HIV are unusually prone to getting West Nile virus. 1% of population lacks a cell surface receptor called CCR5 which HIV uses as an open window to break into human immune system. If you have no CCR5 receptor, you are highly susceptible to West Nile virus (mosquito-borne and causes flu like symptoms that can be fatal). This has set me thinking about how genetic mutations can confer advantages as well as disadvantages, and I intend to write more fully on this topic for http://www.mytherapypractice.com

Reference for the research is http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2006/ccr5.htm

hurray! hurray! hurray!

the revamped Health & Goodness http://www.healthandgoodness.com is finally up and I'm so delighted, but the work is only just beginning as I need to get a lot more case studies and symptoms information up, and shortly we'll be having the therpaist search up and I will need to check all that in.

I feel really tired - like you do after you achieve something - this idea started at the beginning of August .. hurray, this is a big step forward

Agriculture and chemicals

I had lunch with a friend who used to work for the UK ministry of agriculture, so she visited a lot of farms. She talked about the problem of chemicals. She said that on some farms fields will get sprayed twice if there isn't good communication between the owners/empoyees.

She said people worry about too many chemicals, but there can alsobe a problem with too little. Dairy farmers have to clean out the pipes with expensive chemicals, and some farmers won't use the recommended amount because of the cost - this can lead to unwanted bacteria being found in milk.


Makes you think ..

(By the way our website http://www.healthandgoodness.com is currently down because of the revamp - next week it will be up again and be even bigger and better)

Laughter is the best medicine

they say laughter is the best medicine and this made me laugh out loud this morning when I read it in the newspaper.

Ziggy is an African grey parrot who lives with Suzy Collins and its owner. One day as the couple were having a cuddle the parrot said "I love you Gary!" in an exact copy of Suzy's voice. When the parrot' owner saw her embarrassment he suspected she was seeing someone else as his name was Chris Taylor! She admitted it and they split up, but Chris also ended up getting rid of the parrot because it went on saying "I love you Gary"

Fair traded and orgnaic cotton

more chemcials are used in the production of cotton than any other crop in the world - according to the Soil Association about 150 gms - the equivalent of a cup of sugar - is used to grow the cotton for one T-shirt. This can't be good for the wearer or the producer or the environment.

Here's a site offering fair traded organic clothing http://www.equop.com. You can even vote for T-shirt designs or submit a design - 25% of profits go to the designer.

And don't forget our web site: http://www.healthandgoodness.com

Going out

I read in the paper this weekend that women spend an average of 2 years of their lives getting ready to go out!

Is this a waste of time, showing insecurity etc. on the part of women? Or is it that women are pampering themselves and taking care of themselves in this time?

Probabaly a bit of both, but 2 years does seem a lot of time - I can think of better things to do with two years ...

Immortality and rainy days

I really like this quote:

Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. -- Susan Ertz

Makes you think, doesn't it?

Life is so short

I've talked to two people recently who've set me thinking about how short life REALLY is - one lost his father on Christmas day - his father was 'fit as a fiddle' but was diagnosed as having cancer 3 weeks before Christmas and then died on Christmas day. The other was a man who's wife had been murdered - stabbed by a burgler.

Talking to these people brings home to me how short and fragile life is, and how we all need to get on with it and do the things we want and make peace with those we need to.

Body Mass Index

Here's a really neat online BMI calculator:

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm

It lets you do calculations in Metric or Imperial measures and tells you what the results mean

Rules to live by

As part of the revamp of http://www.healthandgoodness.com I am putting case studies on it. Christine Nightingale of Toronto sent me an interesting case study and I dceided to look at her web site http://www.nightingalehealing.com. I looked at the section on Reiki and she has this:

"Dr. Usui rediscovered the laying on of hands which was practiced by Christ and Buddha. He formulated these principles of Reiki:

1. I will not be angry.
2. I will do my work joyfully.
3. I will be kind to my neighbour and every living thing.
4. I will give thanks for my many blessings.
5. I will not worry.

Reiki is not a religion, it is a way of life."

Sound principles.

More on new year's resolutions

I write a regular monthly column for The Cornsihman - a local newspaper in this part of the world, and I wrote a piece on new year's resolutions and persistence for them. I send my copy to a lady called Jackie. She sent me this comment back today:

"Apparently a baby falls at least 1500 whilst learning to walk, as adults we give up too easily."

Now that's an interesting thought - think of all those things that we would have never learnt as babies if we'd given up as easily as we do now!

new year's resolutions

Have you kept to your new year's resolutions? Sadly most of us haven't, and many of us have given up trying. But why is this? Are you going to wait another 12 months before you try again?
Thomas Edison said: "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." It is said that Edison was asked how he could bear to have so many failed experiments, and he said: “I’ve learnt 700 ways not to make a light bulb.” I’m not sure if this story is true, but it really shows graphically the power of positive persistence.

So, pick yourself up and try again, but before you do – think again. Think about the goal you’ve set yourself, and ask yourself some questions: Is it worth achieving? Is this the best way to achieve it? Do I need help from others to achieve my goal? Should I break a big goal down into several smaller goals? Have I set myself too many goals?

Then be persistent and tenacious. Louis Pasteur said: “Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity".

Make 2006 a year when you got closer to the person you could be.

Web Sites nearly there

we are getting closer and closer to having everything in place for all the web sites. The main bit we are still waiting for is the free therpaist listing. This will go on http://healthandgoodness.com, and there will also be a link from the practitioner site http://www.mytherapypractice.com for therapists who want to sign up from there.

My aim is to make H & G the biggest resource on the net on alternative medicine for the general public - a big ambition for me, but an exciting and fulfilling one too.

I love this quote I read today:


The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. -- Winston Churchill