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The Holistic Lifestyle June 2016 Communication with Angels Be Your Own Healer Exploring Your Dreams Heal Your Present by Exploring Your Past Forgiveness Gardening Lifestyle Changes Through Partnership With Your Body And Many More Articles Goodness Can you believe it is already June This year is flying by. We are so pleased at the reception the magazine is garnering. It is growing and this issue celebrates our 4th issue We are adding another magazine to our stable and have a premier release date of August 2016. In light of our growth we are seeking an advertising sales person. Please feel free to spread the word and have interested candidates contact us. Your comments are always welcomed and we would love to hear from you. There are lots of exciting things happening. If you have a burning desire to write an article or submit a photograph please do. Feel free to contact us with any ideas you have. Many blessings and thanks for reading Pam Gillmore Nance Woods pamgi yahoo.com woodsnance yahoo.com 2 3 Table of Contents Be Your Own Healer by Suzan Tyler ...................Page 8 The Role of Angels and How They Communicate to Us by Barbara Johnson .......................Page 12 The Tranquil Valley by Barbara Johnson .......................Page 21 I m Such a Failure by Tess Challis ...................................Page 22 Where Has the Time Gone by Jillian Grainger ..............Page 27 Dowsing and Numbers in Today s Digital World by Georgina Haul ...................................Page 30 Forgiveness by Angela Strank ...................................Page 33 My Mother by Leona Wellington ...................................Page 36 Living in the Moment by Autumn Cassity .......................Page 39 Lavender Festival by Casandra Nightengale ....Page 42 The New Children on Earth by Shelley Vecchitto ............Page 46 My Life in Nature by Jen Dalke ...................................Page 52 What Does It Mean to Dream of a Tornado By Charlotte Spicer ....................................Page 57 Heal Your Present by Exploring Your Past by Jan Bartrop-Babbitt ...................................Page 65 Lifestyle Changes Through Partnership with your Body by Rev. Dagny Boch ...................................Page 69 Pendlum Dowsing for Weather By Heather Wilks............Page 73 Natural Skin Care by Cindy Seavert .......................Page 78 Does Resistance Lead the Way by Halley Elise ..................Page 82 4 Gardening Section All about Ollas by Mary Kathryn Dunston ......................Page 86 Container Gardening by Mr Stacky ....................Page 89 God s Got You Covered by Katie Shroy .........................Page 92 No-Till Gardening by Laurie Fraser ..................................Page 96 Lasagna Gardening by Dennis Mark Burgess.............Page 101 They re Off Their Grid by Daisy Matanily ....................Page 103 What s in Season by Pam Gillmore ......................Page 108 Am I Tired or Dehydrated by Pam Gillmore .....................Page 109 5 6 7 BE YOUR OWN HEALER We all have a story that shaped our lives at various points. The most defining one for me was this one. Susan you have beginning stages of MS. I suggest you buy a wheelchair and adjust to the idea of not being able to walk. There is just nothing more we can do for you. The Neurologist sat across from me staring glumly. What do you mean doctor Are you saying I m dying I was struck with the stages of grief all in one slow moving moment. One second I was in shock. I wondered to the doctor How could this be and he just looked at me and shrugged. I looked over at my husband. He was crying. I shifted into denial. This can t be happening to me. This can t be happening to me. This can t be happening to me. It was a loop going around and around in my head. Quickly I became angry at myself that I could let this happen. I was only 35 years old. My mind raced back in time to try and identify the mo8 ment when I may have caused this cascade of events. That was followed with acceptance for a very brief second no more like a millisecond. Then the anger returned. Only now it was directed at the doctor. No one has a right to tell me I m not worth finding an answer for. I don t care who he is. I ll find my own answers. I got myself into this I m going to get myself out of it. How can you just give up on me like this I demanded in a very loud unflinchingly angry voice. The Irish Spanish Mexican Native American in me had just gotten riled up there would be no stopping me now. My husband tried to calm me but I would have none of it. I stood up towering over the doctor who looked like he was tired of handing out I don t know s to his patients. You don t know me. You don t have a clue what is going on with me. You re just giving up. You don t even want to bother trying. I was very accusatory. I was also right. And goodness I was really really mad. I stormed out of the doctor s office and never looked back. As we stood at the elevator holding each other up waiting for the doors that were taking their time to open all I could think was I was never going to let someone else tell me ever again that I was a hopeless case. I didn t realize it then but at that moment I broke free of the hold traditional medicine was strangling me with. I took back my power. When we got outside of the building I stomped over to our parked car and I kicked the tire in anger and frustration. Then I doubled over and sobbed. I cried inconsolably. If I were to believe this doctor this specialist in nerve disorders this man who just pronounced me unfixable then I was to believe that life was over and I was going to be dead sooner than later and I was going to suffer a horribly long time until that happened. I d witnessed my step-mother s slow decline with MS until she died unable to speak or move she tried to get me to understand what she was saying but I could never grasp the meaning of her garbled words and cries. Now this man this stranger who doesn t know me dares to tell me I m due to suffer the same fate. Well not if I could help it. 9 I just knew somewhere deep down inside of me I would not go down quietly and I was certainly not going to accept his word for it. Anger fueled my decision to fight. Anger pushed me not to give up it was the guiding force in my quest to find answers. I finally understood how much power I had over my own health and it had nothing to do with doctors and drugs and everything to do with my beliefs and my willingness to take responsibility for my own body. It had everything to do with my need to find answers outside of medicine. Intuitively I knew I would not heal if I stayed in that world of 500 a month prescription drugs that numbed me dumbed me down and made me afraid of my own shadow. That was not the life I instinctively knew I was meant to be living. I didn t know how I just knew I was going to turn it around or die trying. Standing in that parking lot I looked across the roof of the car to my distraught husband before we got in and said with conviction I can only surmise came from my inner knowing No one has a right to tell me I m not worth finding an answer for. I don t care who he is. I ll find my own answers. I got myself into this I m going to get myself out of it. That was the beginning of my healing. Now twenty eight years later I can look back on that day still fresh in my mind and remember how I instantly shifted from victim to victor. More importantly after all I ve learned I can help you to understand how much power you have to heal yourself as well. I m not saying it was easy at first. It was a long road with lots of ups and downs trial and error and lots of out of pocket expenses that almost bankrupted us along the way but never ever did I consider giving up or worse giving in. Over the years various people have told me how strong I am and how they couldn t do what I did. I call BS. If I can do it anyone can. You just have to believe in yourself more than anyone else does. That is what I hope to teach you with my series of articles. I want you to use my experience my lessons and my mistakes to catapult you forward into becoming the awesome power of courage and strength you were born to use to heal yourself. I will show you how you hold much more power to heal than you ve been told. You will learn what being wholistic truly means as a self healer. Along the way I will introduce you to concepts you may find 10 foreign but remember the wise words of Dr. Phil famous television personality. He says If you keep doing what you ve been doing you re gonna keep getting what you ve been getting. Or to quote Albert Einstein who I think is really where Dr. Phil took his colloquialism from To repeat a behavior expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity. If you wish to be healthy healed and whole you have to learn how to own it. Walk this path with me and I will show you how to trust your Inner Divine Self to listen to your Intuitive Voice and how to develop what I like to call your Wholistic Attitude. I thank God for that wake up call back in 1998. It gave me the strength and courage to fight and oh what a fight it was but I won. I never needed the wheelchair. I never went back to that doctor most importantly I never stopped learning. Suzan Tyler is a Medical Intuitive Angel Healer and Life Coach with certifications as a Quantum Biofeedback Diplomate Instructor Nutritional Consultant Reiki Master in the Usui Tradition Spiritual Health Coach Medical Intuition Animal Communication Energy Healing Crystal Healing Spiritual Dowsing Advanced Angel Card Reading and has been a longtime Intuitive Angel Channeler and Healer before that was even a thing. The Archangels have been a part of her daily life since she can remember and her spirit guides Joseph and Jesus have been constant companions though it wasn t until recently that she fully embraced their gifts. She can be reached through her website www.thewholisticattitude.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com YouAsHealer and for strictly health and stress management posts www.facebook.com TheStressDetective 11 The Role of Angels and How They Communicate to Us Angels have been accepted in all faiths religions and paths of spiritual thoughts since the beginning of time. The word Angel comes from the ancient Greek angelos meaning messenger . The Angel s role as intermediary between the Divine Mind of our Creator and those of us residing on the material plane includes protecting nudging and guiding us towards our Soul s Divine Plan (aligning us with our highest and true purpose in this life). Whilst we are living a physical existence when our Angels are recognised they bring joy peace love and harmony to us. As our Soul s messengers the Angel s main role is to transmute our deepest and darkest fears into pure love happiness and freedom so we can ascertain our deepest heart desires through positivity. This in turn reveals our hidden manifestations power and natural gifts. These Divine Messengers respond to our calls for guidance assistance protection and comfort. I ask my angels daily to please always surround me and my loved ones my 12 life and I always feel very comforted in knowing that they are with me. They remain constantly by our side waiting patiently for our awareness to become open to them and their guidance. We all have a Guardian Angel who is appointed to us at the time of incarnation. Their role is literally to be the keeper of our conscience and will prompt us to do what is right and inspire us to the best quality of our Soul. This is the Angel who constantly stays with us from birth until our transition back to heaven. Our Guardian Angel serves only us and no-one else. They are our own Personal Angel and are limited unlike the Archangels who are unlimited and have a more powerful and stronger essence the Archangels are the overseers of our Guardian Angel and all the other Angels (our own cabinet of Angels ) that we call upon to assist us in our lives. Angels are amazing intelligent high vibrational beings and unlike the Spirit World they have never lived on the physical. Although Angels are always all around us they are not visible to us because they vibrate at a frequency that is beyond our auditory and visual level. Yet to individuals who are able to raise their consciousness sufficiently they can manifest. I love to call the Angels Beings of Light as they embody the purest form of loving light available to us. As they are here to serve us and to help us awaken the Divinity that is within us they come to assist us only in what can be called the Highest Good for all and Everything . According to Universal Law (the universe exists in perfect harmony with unchangeable laws) the Angels cannot interfere with our free will yet they subtly encourage us to make choices in keeping with our Higher Self (the eternal real inner self) as their will is Divine Will. It is difficult for Angels to connect with us if our emotions are upset and discordant. They can help us more easily if our aura (the energy field which surrounds us and is influenced by our thoughts) is calm and bright. That is why it is necessary when wanting to connect with our angels to take time to centre ourselves and breathe in their pure light before talking to them. By focussing on this light we attune to 13 the energy of the Angelic Realm and then effortlessly have experiences of our Angels directly. A little exercise that I do early every morning either before I get out of bed or in a comfortable chair is to call in my Angels to receive their guidance and support I close my eyes and take 3 slow deep relaxing breaths. I visualize a bright light (like the rays of the sun) pouring in from the crown of my head (the crown chakra) and filling up my entire body. I now visualize this golden light expanding out and surrounding my body and I then focus inward whilst calling in my Angels to assist me right now. Whilst doing this exercise I hand over any distracting thoughts to my Angels that might enter into my mind. I then outline to my Angels any situation that is causing me anxiety and I leave myself open as to how the Angelic assistance comes to me. Whilst handing over any worries fears or problems I trust automatically that they are with me every step of the way. At this point I always feel a warm loving reassurance of their presence and I am now open to receive telepathic messages from them. Finally I finish off by ex- pressing gratitude and appreciation. It is through this silence within that one is able to be more open to the presence of their Angels through the senses. I have helped many people over the years to awaken to the Angelic Realm. When I hold my workshops the first exercise I do is to assist and encourage the attendees through meditation to personalize their relationship with their very own Guardian Angel by giving them a name. This meditation exercise opens a gateway to the Celestial Realms of Light and whilst we are being brought closer to the Angelic Realm it also assists us to be aware of all the other Angels in our lives who are making us more conscious of the Divine guidance that is being revealed to us all. I use many different avenues to help attendees to communicate with and through the Angels. e.g. Angel cards Colour Automatic writing Psychometry Angel Healing Psychic work Mediumship work and Channelling. I have been consistently told by many that as soon as they become aware of the Angelic Realm they sense a totally renewed outlook to 14 life they feel a natural joyfulness more happiness and greater peace and serenity. an overwhelming sense of self worth and love more clarity and trust in their lives more positivity and a diminished negativity a better balance and focus in all aspects of their existence A deep feeling of being nurtured Angels usually communicate telepathically therefore it is necessary to differentiate between our own thoughts and messages received from the Angels. All communication from the Angels are always positive loving and helpful. Any negative or fearful messages are not from our Angels but from our ego. As we are all the product of our upbringing to include past conditioning religious traditions and life experiences etc. it is often very difficult to let go. Additionally although we often become quite disconnected from our intuition and inner guidance whilst engrossed with the material the Angels who are so aware of these physical conditions work in conjunction with our Higher Self. They then wait patiently for our attention and awareness whilst working within our present thoughts at that time as a way to reach us. Also many of us being too externally focussed in daily events are not aware of the presence of Angels and so often the subtle signs and signals being brought to us are ignored or thought of as a coincidence . These sensitive beings of light would be aware when one is not ready to receive their communication through the senses i.e. sight hearing smell taste touch or deep knowing. It is at this point that angels find alternative avenues to alert all to the message they are trying to convey. As these radiant beings know us so well they are aware what signs will now capture our attention. These signs will contain personal meaning and also best guide our next steps They are constantly leaving symbolic reminders of their love and support As Angels operate in Divine timing each message arrives at the precise moment we are meant to receive it. When looking for Angelic help we need to ask our Angels for a sign. I always find that when I ask them for a sign that I will easily recognise and understand they never fail to do so. I then thank them for their help. When you become aware of these signs from your Angel their main purpose is to alert you to their presence. Just take a deep breath 15 knowing that your Angel is reaching out to you. Then as you tune in and become aware of their message to you you start seeing things from a higher Divine perspective. Always feel free to ask your Angel the significance of each sign you receive. Material Signs The most common way that Angels will attempt to capture our attention is through seeing recurring number sequences. Although each number has specific Angelic meanings each and all meanings include keeping a positive attitude. When amplified e.g. 1 11 111 1111 this gives a much stronger message and multiplies its influence. You may be alerted to seeing a sequence of numbers for example either on a car registration plate clock or telephone number etc. I am always fascinated by triple numbers multiples or more as they are so meaningful to me at each given time. I have illustrated below a brief guide of what each Angel Number means 1. Your thoughts are being manifested so monitor them carefully as our thoughts become reality. Think positively as a gate of opportunity is opening to you. 2. New thoughts and ideas are beginning to grow keep positive as manifestation is soon taking place. Your wishes and prayers are becoming a reality. 3. The Higher Spiritual Realm (Ascended Masters) are letting you know that you have their help- they are listening to you and want to help - become aware of them - call on them manifestation of your thoughts will happen at the right time. 4. The Angels are surrounding you with love and help and are with you this very moment. Become aware of them. 5. Big major changes ahead for you be at peace ask your angels for help to manifest these changes positively. 6. You need to balance your thoughts at present between the physical and spiritual. Remember your thoughts create reality. Ask your angels to help you with the material fears you have at present. 7. You are now focussed and your angels are delighted expect more miraculous opportunities to come into your life. 8. You are closing a chapter in your life enjoy the new phase of 16 abundance in all areas of your life. 9. A big phase in your personal life has come to an end rejoice in the change which involves the path to accomplish your soul s purpose. 10. The angels are reminding you that you are One with God sense the Presence of the Divine Guidance which is now and always available to you. Another very common sign from the Angels are Feathers Feathers of any colour are a beautiful reminder that your Angels are very near protecting and guiding us. They are also directly connected with thoughts prayer and any issues that you have on your mind at that time. Although feathers are called calling cards they symbolically represent freedom new beginnings and a connection to the Higher Spiritual Realms. It is a more powerful sign if you find a feather in an abnormal setting. Different coloured feathers have separate meaning - below is a gist of each colour Black A combination of all the colours black symbolizes protection and your Angels are also reminding you that all spiritual wisdom lies within. White harmony peace and purity. Green healing abundance renewal. Pink un- conditional love peace and inspiration. Purple opening of higher spiritual awareness and greater clarity. Red Angels are asking you to take note of your emotions and energy levels at this time. Yellow Enlightenment and clarification coming to you. Brown you are grounded and have a good balance between earth spiritual realm. Orange stay positive change is about to happen. Blue Spiritual protection and a sign that your Angels are bringing in peace and tranquillity. Grey Peace and hope. When I find a feather I personally use my intuition as to its meaning particularly if the feather is two toned. Below is an overview of some other most common signs and their meaning Contained within these signs that our Angels make available to us is an unlimited possibility for growth and positive transformation Clouds Bubbles We notice Angel shapes in the clouds or in bubbles once again they are drawing our awareness to them and letting us know that they love us. 17 Music A song lyric that is very meaningful to us is a message from our Angels guiding us whilst clarifying or easing a situation for us. Coins The gift of a coin helps us to feel supported emotionally financially and spiritually. When these are found it often happens to those who need consolation at that time and their Angels are letting them know that they are present at all time giving love support and guidance. Also the date on the coin could be very significant to you. Perfume smells Angels love to make their presence known through smell and often leave flower scents in their path. This sign is to give us encouragement. If you receive the smell of a departed loved one s perfume or body scent your Angel is letting you know that the loved one is with you. Sparks of Light Orbs in a photo A bright Star that catches your attention The Angels are letting you know that they are sending you healing and are surrounding you in this glorious light to bring you joy and renewal. Voices A disembodied voice (a voice out of nowhere) maybe calling your name for e.g. once again this is a reassurance of your Angels presence this often happens when one is in need of comfort and support. Rainbows The sign of a rainbow promises Divine Love encouragement support and protection. Your Angels are also letting you know that your prayers are being answered. This is a more powerful sign if there has been no rain. Babies and animals As babies and pets have not been conditioned like us humans they have the ability to see beyond the physical. If you see them gazing at one point of a blank wall or ceiling they are probably looking at your Angel. Telephone Call If out of the blue you get a telephone call from someone you needed support from your Angel has inspired and prompted them to ring you so as to give you clarity and wisdom when needed. 18 Feelings Touch Temperature Change If you have experienced a tingling sensation or a soft touch on the back of the neck arm back etc. or you have experienced sudden chills or a warm glow - your Angel is making you aware that you are in their presence. If you have felt a deep feeling of a presence in the room this is telling you that you are loved unconditionally. True angelic experiences involve feelings e.g. feeling warm embraced love or feeling safe even if you are being warned of danger. Books Magazines Paper You surprisingly read an article that is very relevant to you at that time your Angel has inspired you to read it and suddenly an answer jumps out at you to a problem or question that you have been pondering on. Other non- material communications given by our Angels are Inner knowing Many receive their guidance and reassurance from their Angels through a deep sense of their inner knowing which I always call our 6th sense. This is our deep intuition which has no rational logic to it. This depth of perception in its purest form is a neutral calm aware19 ness and yet even though the enlightenment is coming from an unknown place - the insight feeling and information coming from our Angels is so strong throughout our entire being that it seems to come from our soul level. Dreams During this receptive relaxing period of dreamtime our mind is still and quiet we have cut out the material world temporarily and our dreamlike state is now a reality. At this stage our conscious ego mind has been rested and Angels often use this time to transmit clear telepathic messages and leave us with a feeling of their love and presence. I find dreaming is an incredibly powerful way to directly connect with spiritual guidance. Often if I have a problem I will ask the Angels to please give me a message while I sleep and I usually find in the morning I am as clear as a bell with the solution. (Thus the quote sleep on it ). Meditation & Prayer Often during meditation and deep prayer your guardian Angel and your team of Angels will show up visibly in the form of light. They often show symbolic images that have a clear deep meaning to you. Many just sense their presence and knowing that their Angels are with them they begin to trust the Angelic messages received. Your Angels always leave you with an overwhelming sense of love and joy even when asking for help at this time their communication is still always positive joyful and peaceful. May your Guardian Angel and all the other Angels that surround you in your lifetime here bring love light comfort peace joy and gratitude to you all. Barbara Johnston is a registered Spiritual Healer with the NFSH since mid 1990. She has an honours M.A. in Applied Spirituality from the National University of Ireland. She organises and holds workshops in Ireland through the guidance and direction of her Guardian Angel Sophia. She teaches all those who attend her workshops how to connect and communicate with their angels through various channels. Barbara also holds one to one workshops and private sessions for Spiritual Healing and Spiritual Readings. She can be contacted through her web site www.spiritualworkshops.ie 20 The Tranquil Valley Sitting in a vale by a waterfall With stillness and silence around Tranquility love and peace are present I drift in the warm velvet sounds The kiss of spring show trees in bloom I hear birds singing aloud This feels to me like a magical place Away from the noisy crowds. Looking at flowers from deep within That died when winter came They ve risen again in the warm springtime And now they re back blooming again Unfurling their beauty to the morning sun This blissfully brings me proof That life is permanent regardless of storms Bringing joy from its deepest root. And the gentle breeze is softly blowing While I m watching the waters flow My thoughts are lost in this peaceful space Allowing me see personal growth. It is vital to always keep shining light rays Regardless of earthly strife This light will eventually link body and soul With the earthly mind through life. This peaceful valley we can find It is not so far away It lies within our mindful self Which connects with our soul each day. Barbara Johnston MA MNFSH 21 I m Such a Failure Have you ever said that to yourself Yes Me too. And FYI - I ve been thinking about writing this for about two months now but I was worried it wouldn t be good enough. -) It was actually just this week that I got re-inspired to write it after seeing a very raw and authentic Facebook post by my friend and colleague Heather Nicholds. She d shared how she sometimes feels like a failure despite her outward appearance of success. It reminded me about this post that s been lurking in my mind for a while now. For me this idea started with the breakup I went through in December after thinking I d finally met the one. I even blogged about our relationship. Twice. After telling people how they too could manifest the relationship of their dreams here I sat single again. I felt like a failure. It was embarrassing. Not that anyone said Hey stupid - you d better take down your blog post. You clearly don t know what you re doing. But still I wondered if I should. However it made me dive deeper into the idea of failure and how we can all relate to it. In my life I ve tried a lot of things that people would call foolish. I ve traveled thousands of miles without much money moved across the country without a job or a place to live and quit other jobs without knowing what I d do next. I ve always lived the whole Leap and the net will appear thing. And it always has. However what I want to share in this blog post is that it hasn t always been easy. Like my friend Heather I know that some people see me as successful as if I don t have a care in the world. (I know this because they ve told me) They think that because I work on my own schedule travel run my own business and share so many positive social media posts that I ve got it all figured out. But they don t know how much I ve struggled. And how many times I ve thought I was a failure. 22 For example I ve been homeless. A few times. I ve been at low points where I couldn t pay my light bill. Many times. I ve wondered if the Universe has my back or if I was just destined to fail. I ve thought It s taking so long to become successful that I might as well just give up. But I never did. And you guys that s the only thing that matters. I m at a point now where I can clearly - oh-so-clearly - see that the only reason people fail is that they give up. Yes I know it sounds cliche. But it s so damn true. Most people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure. THIS. You guys. It s SO true. It wasn t that long ago that I was in the dark place thinking I might just quit this whole self-employment thing and get a real job. I was really struggling. But I decided to keep going. I pushed myself to make some changes. I pushed myself to get clear on what was working and what wasn t. And I started to work harder at developing prosperity consciousness. I forced myself to think more about what I DO want and to stop worrying. I started putting in more effort (even when I didn t know how it would pay off) and doing the Action conquers fear thing. Because it does. And here s a big one. . . I let go of my attachment to the outcome. I really think this is key . . . I believe a big part of succeeding is this To put in as much positive effort as you can and then let go. Don t be attached to it working out the way you want. Just keep putting effort into what you LOVE in every way you can. I think of it like a garden. You plant the seeds then you keep watering them and caring for them. Some won t grow but some will. You can t expect them all to grow and you can t smother-love the ones you want into growing. You just have to do your best put in effort and trust that you ll have a gorgeous thriving garden if you just keep tending it. I mean yeah that broccoli crop died even after you put all your attention on it. (and it s OK to feel sad about that because broccoli is awesome) But hey check this out - your asparagus is going gangbusters And you have SO much of 23 it that you re trading your neighbor for their broccoli. You get the idea. Another thing that has helped me is to look around at my peers. So many people who you might think are immune to self-doubt experience it regularly. Every successful entrepreneur I know has gone through periods of feeling like a failure. Often. Again the only difference between them and someone less successful is that they didn t give up. What is failure about To me it s about learning. There s always something truly valuable to learn from each experience. Failure is also a zen lesson in non-attachment trust and expansion. Failure is only the opportunity to begin again only this time more wisely. -- Henry Ford For example I felt like a failure when my relationship ended in December. However if I really look at the situation I didn t fail. I gained so much. The experience of being with him was extremely valuable and he s someone I will always be grateful to know. To this day he continues to be a true friend and I can always count on him for business advice or support. He s one of those people you just can t regret knowing. Plus I grew so much from the experience and am even more clear on what I want in a relationship. Being with someone so wonderful helped me to raise my standards and get even more in tune with the awesomeness the Universe can offer me. After my initial feelings of sadness and loss it became clear to me that I was in fact a success - not a failure. I had experienced something I wouldn t trade for anything and am now in a position to receive even more of what I want because of that. Doors don t ever close unless better ones are waiting to open. Every failure brings with it the seed of equivalent success. -- Napoleon Hill It s also important to not take failure personally. Greg Faxon posted a video on the subject. There is always something in the experience for us. There s always a reason why we haven t YET succeeded. If we stay open learn new lessons and keep going there s no way NOT to be successful. Fall seven times stand up eight. -- Unknown 24 Do you remember how I said a while back that I almost quit not that long ago I was feeling pretty low. But I kept going. I guess I just love my work way too much to stop. It s in my blood or something. And do you know what happened The most amazing work opportunities started to roll in. Out of nowhere. One after another. You guys. I would have missed all that if I hadn t kept going. How did they roll in as if by magic Gosh that s a good question. And in truth there are a lot of factors. One of course is that I d decided to push through the darkness and keep going. Another is that I kept the focus on my efforts (vs. the results I did or didn t see). I let go of my attachment to outcome and just put all my energy into what I love. I pushed myself to align with prosperity consciousness in a whole new way. And finally I increased my skills on a daily basis. I immersed myself in learning new things in all areas of my work. I got reinvigorated to do what I do. I think that kind of energy draws success to it in my experience. Especially when compared to the attitude of Nothing I do matters I put all this energy into a big project and not one person signed up. (Yeah that happens a lot and it s no fun.) Attitude is everything. Not that it s always easy. It s definitely NOT. But it really is everything. The only stumbling block is fear of failure - you ve got to have a what-thehell attitude. -- Julia Child It s my sincere hope that this is helpful to you in some way. Really I m just sharing some of my story here in hopes that it will be meaningful to others. I want you to know that you are never ever a failure. What you do really matters. If you haven t succeeded yet there s a reason and you CAN succeed if you keep going. I want you to know that all of the greats once felt like failures too. No one gets to the top of a mountain by landing there. Behind every great success story was someone thinking they might as well give up. But they didn t. Go watch the movie Joy and see what that determined woman had to do before she was finally successful. That s life. But there s a happy ending for each of us if we believe in ourselves enough to keep going. I don t care what it is - your weight your money situation your health your relationships or your career. You CAN be suc25 cessful in every realm if you keep trying. And please - be kind to yourself in the process. It s not always easy. SO much LOVE and appreciation for all of you. Tess Challis is an author vegan chef wellness coach and cooking instructor who began her holistic health journey in her late teens. After a lifetime of numerous health ailments (including severe acne obesity constant illnesses anxiety and depression) she found that a vegan diet along with an inner wellness regime made all the difference. In 1994 she began to work as a personal chef across the country. In 2008 she shifted her focus to writing coaching speaking and teaching healthy cooking. Her books include Radiant Health Inner Wealth The Two-Week Wellness Solution (foreword by Dr. Neal Barnard) Radiance 4 Life (foreword by Robert Cheeke) and Get Waisted 100 Addictively Delicious Plant-Based Entrees. Her greatest passion is helping others achieve radiant health and inner wellness - all while enjoying the most delicious foods on the planet She has created a successful health weight loss group called Be Radiant--learn more about how you can finally achieve ultimate wellness inside and out at tesschallis.com. 26 Where has the time gone We are in an era when nobody has enough time. Frequently you will hear people sigh wishing for more hours in the day. Communication is predominantly done via instant messaging even emailing is taking too long these days. Phone calls have become nuisances long gone are the days of chatting for hours on the phone with anyone other than aging family members it seems. And God forbid if we are actually forced to interact with someone face to face. Mailing someone a letter is almost unheard of and postal services around the world are facing cut backs and layoffs because of a lack of use. We can take our work home with us in the car with us on vacation with us. There is virtually no escaping reality very few places on earth exist where you cannot be reached or reach out and connect with someone on the other side of the world. There are no more excuses for taking a (much needed) break from reality because nowadays we are judged our self-worth based upon how HARD we work. How MUCH we work. And yet with all the technology with all the smartphones and tablets laptops and instant messaging Facebook Twitter Instagram and SnapChats we are still lacking for time. Society seems to forget that computers were created with the intention of giving us more time yet instead they have only deprived us of rest breaks sleep human interaction. Time. Sad if you ask me. Where has the time gone 27 I admit I am one of them I prefer to be alone in my home with my family than out interacting with others. I hesitate before answering most phone calls and like the posts talking that give people heck when they actually call a person when a text message would suffice. It wasn t even 20 years ago that I was known to talk for hours upon hours on the phone long ago when call-display didn t warn us who was calling and we took that risky step of answering the phone without knowing who would be the person saying hello on the other end. I am slightly concerned about what type of social world my daughter will face if all they do is text and instant message. Why Because it won t be as easy to monitor as a parent. Because it is much easier to say mean things through text than face to face or even over the phone. Because so often messages are taken in the wrong way in the wrong context instead of with a grain of salt. So much is lost without being able to hear the other person s voice to hear the tone in which something is said. I can tell you that many of my friendships have been lost or at the very least tested simply because of a miscommunication when a message was read with the wrong tone in mind. We are walking on eggshells tired worn out needing a break from being constantly connected or we are going to burn out. Walk out. Run out of time completely. Write a letter to someone you care for. Try reading all your messages with a positive outlook in mind do not automatically assume that a whatever you want is meant in a nasty way rather than a cheery way. Be the type of person you were 20 years ago or if you are too young to recall those times be more interactive. Engage in conversations that don t need to use acronyms. Try actually laughing out loud instead of LOLing. Look someone in the eye and actually see them who they are validate the con28 nection you share with more than a glance a nod an mmmhmm or a k . It might be refreshing and you might happen to find you suddenly have more time on your hands. Jillian Grainger grew up on the West Coast of British Columbia Canada which is known as (quite fittingly) Supernatural BC. Growing up she was surrounded by spirits who she saw as friends and it wasn t until she began school that she realized she was different than everyone else. As the years went by she could no longer ignore two of her passions all things spiritual and writing. She has since turned her passions into reality by writing about spirituality. Follow her at Starry Eyed Soul Gazer on Facebook. Photo courtesy of Jillian Grainger. All rights reserved. 2016 29 DOWSING AND NUMBERS IN TODAY S DIGITAL WORLD Dowsing has many useful applications finding answers to questions divining the location of water for bores etc. healing and working with just about anything one wants to pay attention to. When a dowsing practitioner starts sending or clearing energy you are moving into the field of radionics (sending energy to a distant object or person) and dowsing and radionics have gone hand in hand for quite some time now. The destination object has usually been a name but today this may be changing..... With the advent of the Internet we see people identified in a digital way mostly by their I.P addresses their phone numbers or email addresses and possibly other ways. So it is not uncommon for energy whether good or otherwise to be directed towards these digital destinations every time we contact someone or someone contacts us whether either party are aware of it or not. We sit behind our computers and read and interact with many people using the computer tablet or phone as the interface. I find energy seems to fly through 30 the digital world as easily as a knife through butter. I have found that energy can collect on these digital addresses and phone numbers and needs to be cleared from time to time so as not to accumulate and impact the site in the digital universe as well as the devices involved. Numbers themselves are interesting. There are so many rates out there now for all sorts of purposes. For example Grabovoi numbers Rife rates Lloyd Mears rates and so on. They usually have about six numbers in a rate for example 356298. Sometimes people use rates and get no joy. They don t work they say and they dismiss them discarding the whole system. When I first became interested in Gregori Gravoboi and Russian knowledge some years ago regarding his regeneration rates I found others had far more success with the rates than I did and I couldn t understand why. Then I realized I must have an energetic issue with a particular number for whatever reason as the rates were made up of numbers. I realized that one can have a problem with a particular number or letter whether 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 or 9 or letters of the alphabet. And so if you are attempting to use a rate and you have a problem energetically with say the number 4 and it s included in the rate you will not get the benefit of the rate as the energy seems to sort of get stuck or hung up on the 4 and the energetic message does not get accepted by your electromagnetic field as energetically your field has the problem with 4. Phone numbers email addresses computer ID data - these numbers can be seen as digital frequencies because they are a series of numbers and letters. So when clearing energy for yourself using a dowsing system it is a good idea to clear all numbers and letters involved with devices as well. You can do this in a general sense or you can get more specific. I have found it is a good idea to check and clear any issues with individual numbers and letters first of all. The significance of this can be important especially if your business web page and associated digital information on the net has say the number 4 in its address or your phone number for that matter and you are relying on that page or number for your income and feeding your family You don t have to 31 be an Internet wizard to do this just dowsing-competent to clear the numbers. And it is really quite easy. The method to do this is reasonably simple. Get your pendulum and connect with your belief system. You can do this connection in many ways think of your angels your guides or simply plug into the morphic field of Dowsing by seeing it in the Field and going there or connecting with it or say a prayer whatever is to your liking. Firstly dowse and check if there are any numbers in the 1-9 or letters A-Z (if that s your alphabet) that are a problem for you energetically. Note them. Next ask intend to clear the problem energy whilst swinging the pendulum in an anti-clockwise direction. Then check you have done a good job and the noted numbers and letters are now clear of energetic problems for you. Next rid your personal digital numbers and letters that apply to you and your digital world of any unwanted negative energy by having that intention while moving the pendulum anticlockwise. Check with the yes no to see if the energy has been totally cleared. The clockwise and anti-clockwise concept has been around as long as acupuncture i.e. thousands of years where they tweak needles. It works well and has been used by dowsers for decades. I suggest you also put an energetic digital thought form on your Internet gateway computer and your phone to keep unwanted energies out or to only let the good stuff in etc. etc. You can do this by mentally intending it whilst moving the pendulum clockwise. The purpose of your filter is only limited by your imagination. If you consider how many unwanted and possibly tacky ads alone come onto your screen daily forget about how many viewers of your pages your digital interface can get quite a pummeling and be pretty congested. I think energetically cleared and clean digital devices are better for us all with energetically clear numbers so that your Internet presence has the best chance of being the best it can possibly be and achieving the results that you originally intended it to have. Happy Dowsing Georgina Haul is a Homeopath and dowser in Australia. She was trained in Dowsing (Health and House Energies) by Isabel Bellamy who wrote Radiant Healing in 1995 and hasn t looked back since. Should you have any questions regarding the article Georgina is on Facebook and you are welcome to message her. 32 Fo rgi ven ess Forgiveness is an act of kindness that we may extend to ourselves or another. Yet it may be one of the hardest lessons we have to learn especially when it comes to matters of the heart. It requires great strength understanding compassion and patience. It is a state of complete acceptance of what is and release of any previous judgments or fears. But what does this mean How do we truly forgive and let go I believe the answer is in our judgments and in the act of forgiving ourselves. In the dictionary forgiveness is defined as compassionate feelings that support a willingness to forgive or excuse a mistake or offense. It means to cease to feel resentment towards or grant pardon for a particular act or person. The two key emotions involved are compassion or resentment. Resentment is a natural byproduct of our judgments and when present there is no room for forgiveness. It is energy consuming toxic and blocks us from moving forward. It suffocates any forgiveness and locks people in the past. Compassion is the opposite emotion to resentment. It is a higher energy emotion which is kind gentle and always patient. Compassion understands that we are all one and knows that we are all here to learn and grow the best way we know how . . . through experience. It honors mistakes as a natural part of our lives and sees them as needed for any real growth. Compassion remembers that there are always two sides to every story and what we perceive to be true may not be true in the eyes of another. It understands that everything that we attract into our lives serves a purpose. What it also knows is that we are not intended to be punished or wronged in any way just that we re here to learn and grow each and everyday. 33 But how does one bridge the gap between resentments and true forgiveness I believe the answer is in our judgments. We need to learn to let go of our judgments by forgiving ourselves. Many would disagree with this statement and argue that by suggesting we need to forgive ourselves is somehow implying we are fundamentally flawed. This is not the case. In truth an experience is neither good nor bad and as such does not require a judgment. It s our mind that seeks to place judgments upon experiences so that it may be able to understand measure and assimilate the information it is taking in. However without the mind s judgments forgiveness is never required. Try and visualize it like this It s kind of like we are all silk nets flowing in the wind and life is meant to flow through us. Every time we hold a judgment towards something we catch that experience within our net. Over time if we continue to do this our net becomes clogged and heavy. The material no longer flows freely and it becomes more difficult to see through its mesh. The net becomes toxic heavy and depleted just like us humans can become. In order to free these trapped elements we only have to forgive ourselves for holding a judgment towards the experience to begin with. Then that which has been stuck is freed to flow through us as it was naturally intended. Staying in the present moment also helps to transform resentments into forgiveness. It s a state of allowing which simply means allowing life to move through us. This is our natural and intended way of being. It is a state of total aliveness and acceptance of ourselves and our lives. As soon as we move out of the present we move into judgment judgment about the past or the future. The past is meant to be a place of reflection of lessons learned and the future is our untapped possibilities of what s to come. But the mind gets in the way Through judgments we hold onto experiences instead of allowing them to move through us and this takes us out of the present moment. We hold the judgment within our hearts our minds and our bodies. This makes us tired depleted and toxic just like our silk nets. The end result is harbored resentments. So what have I learned forgiveness really means I believe it is transcendence of any judgment through forgiveness for oneself. We are all here to learn forgiveness. To do so there has to be something within our lives to forgive and this is not always easy. To truly forgive another we have to for34 give ourselves. But forgiveness is not about freeing us from being judged it s about freeing the judgment from us so that we can be free. Angela Strank is passionate about using her profound gifts to assist others in transforming and living their best lives. She is much much more than a Life Coach Intuitive Healer and Teacher. She is often referred to as the Life Changer. Using her gifts and talents she helps clients move through major life challenges into successful outcomes. Her gentle trusting nature deep compassion and intuitive gifts have touched the lives of many. www.angelastrank.com 35 My Mother A chocolate brown face sparkling white teeth and glistening ebony eyes - this is what I want to draw The thought kept coming into my head but nowhere around was such a face to be seen. Of course it must be set in a pristine forest with lush flowers and it must be uninhibited with all the freedom of someone who is not shackled by oppressive societies free to laugh free to dance free to swim in primordial rivers free to let the breeze cool the skin and tousle the hair. Well I would just have to ask the pencils to help me find such a face. Carefully I let them explore the paper and suggest a setting. Then I blocked in the face not quite sure how to bring it out. Slowly the face started to take form but it was not exactly the face I had in mind. It was looking at me from the sketch pad like an old picture come to life and there was a haunting familiarity to it and yes its resemblance to my mother was uncanny. 36 This drawing is what started a series of soul sketches for me or letting art bring out ideas internal quests make revelations or create transformations. Art is a different way of expressing what words often can t. Art would eventually become 3 books on soul sketches or sketches that have the purpose of transforming life or helping one see things that are not apparent from the exterior. I m thankful that my mother revealed her true nature to me in this manner and brought about a healing in our relationship. I thought about my mother and how she had aged bitterly disappointed with life constantly blaming her loved ones. I concluded that this lovely creature was nothing like my mother. The face looking at me was young and innocent with shameless joy and exuberance How could this be my mother I did not know this young woman nor did I recognize the delicate leaves underlying her face and the garlands of flowers perfuming Her wavy black hair. She was about sixteen. My mind kept denying the possibility that she could be my mother and I attributed the resemblance to coincidence until something clicked. I took a closer look. Suddenly the intricate veins of the leaves and the dainty branches leapt out at me I realized instantly that it was a sign my mother was showing me that she really was this young woman looking at me from the drawing. My mother had had acne when she was a teenager leaving permanent scars on her face. These were the subtle underlying leaves and branches in the drawing. I sensed that she had worked through my pencils directing me to what she wanted me to see a beautiful young woman full of joy and innocence. This was her real self and she was showing it to me so I could transform the image I had formed of her during all the difficult years. She was in fact showing me her true nature and facilitating me with an image I could cherish. I was to keep this and only this the rest I was to throw away. Like a brown angel she was also handing me a gift that I could use for my artwork a gift that would later permit me to tune into the people I was drawing 37 and see more of them than what the naked eye could see and eventually to produce this book. She was also demonstrating what she had not been able to fully manifest during our years together. Perhaps the drawing was the only way my mother could make me understand what was always in her heart. It was an unforeseen request to be heard - to have the truth be known and treasured. The drawing gave me a new kind of empathy because if I could view my mother and understand her as she really was from the inside I could also view others for their internal worth and not their external appearance or personality. As I gaze at the picture I know that this really is a symbolic representation of my mother the woman who bore me and gave me the best she had to give and who is now eternally young and beautiful. The healing that took place for me at that moment was something that couldn t be accomplished while she was alive. Now after death it has made all the difference not only to me but also to others whose lives have crossed paths with me and I ve been able to sketch. This seeing from the inside was her gift to me after death Leona Wellington is a bilingual bicultural ESL EFL teacher from Colorado USA. While raising a family and being a small business entrepreneur which included running a river lodge for adventure tourism designing stained glass making sustainable jewelry doing community outreach and teaching EFL she got her MA in TESL and became a world traveler as an EFL university teacher and teacher-trainer. She is passionate about ESL EFL and has taught in the US Costa Rica Oman and Kazakhstan. Her other areas of interest are Art Writing Public Speaking-Theatre Script writing Puppetry Education Community Outreach Linguistics Health Yoga and Sustainability. She is a published writer and is currently working on an ESL EFL book and board game for teachers. Photo courtesy of Jillian Grainger All Rights Reserved 2016 38 Living in the Moment To live in the moment or now are powerful concepts. I find the mindset can be somewhat elusive unless I am entirely focused on being there in that state of mind. A good dose of concentration is required in order for me to be fully present and to remember to forget about everything else except what is in front of me. To earn a living I do a variety of things. It doesn t matter which hat I m wearing the farmer-gardener the interior decorator or the animal caretaker organization logistics time management and remaining flexible and adaptive to the changes in the schedules are a way of life. More often than not I keep the requirements for the next few hours close in my thought process. Usually when I check in with myself I find that I have been busy staying on task without much concern for anything other than accomplishing that task. An absent-minded intent to accomplish rather than living in those moments. To remain in a living in the now mode throughout the course of a day is a feat that I continue to strive to accomplish. Although an additional good has come from my continued efforts. Sacred Moments. The Seed of Sacredness was planted several years ago while I prepared a dish for the New Year s Day meal and listened to Dr. Wayne Dyer on the local PBS station. Surely I was focused on the preparation of the food and all the cooking since I enjoy so much the compliments I receive about the dishes I prepare. Focused I had to have been because I don t recall the majority of what I heard. Subliminal messaging no doubt allowed me to hear and retain what I needed. Dr. Dyer s claim more or less is that at night before people fall asleep the majority of us lie in bed and rehash our days and allow negative feelings to percolate. We then fall asleep with our last thoughts of the day being quite possibly negative ones. Dr. Dyer suggested that instead of thinking about the aggravating uncomfortable and disruptive situations that occurred that day we should pull from our memories the positive situations that occurred and reflect upon those instead. Ideally we fall asleep feeling upbeat appreciated hopefully loved and 39 Living in the Moment valued rather than feeling angry and small. Almost always willing to try something new I took Dr. Dyer s idea for a spin. My experience with positive thoughts before slumber was great. In this particular situation it s unfortunate that I fall asleep so fast. Usually my last memory of the day is the one where I ve laid my head on the pillow. Most nights I could manage only one or two recollections before I fell asleep. The nights that I did not fall immediately to sleep I set my sights high and aimed to recall ten and then eventually more positive occurrences that happened throughout the day. I won t say that thinking positive thoughts before I fell asleep helped me to sleep better. Positive thoughts or not I sleep like a log. Nor can I say that I awoke in a better mood. I sleep heavy and mornings are always slow and methodical. They are the time for abbreviated thoughts and prayers and quiet before the day begins. All that being said is why I tweaked Dr. Dyer s idea I wanted to be able to continue to reap the benefits of all that positivity. The nights I stayed awake long enough to reflect upon even the slightest positive experience I recognized and appreciated -- and I felt it -- the subtle understated richness of my days. The energy was good. Solid and reassuring. Unlike the energy of a brilliant idea that makes me want to jump out of bed and grab my notebook. No this energy embraced and comforted me and made me smile. It was within these experiences both the abbreviated and the extensive that I looked deeper into the powerful significance of the seemingly innocent moments of my days and sacred moments were born. I don t wait until I go to bed to ponder the events of my day. I reflect immediately after something occurs or as soon after I recognize that a sacred moment has passed. Sacred moments pull me into the now then they carry me deeper to the expansive view of what now or the moment truly represents at that specific time in my life This is more than being in the moment without any concerns or worries about tomorrow. Instead the good the bad and the ugly the trials and the tribulations the successes and the failures have been considered in their entireties. Not everyday do I contemplate what I have overcome and accomplished when I am enjoying a sacred moment. But when I put into context my immediate life and what has happened within it that day I am required to acknowledge that the pleasure I am embracing can only exist in its current form because of my decision to chose that 40 which would give me life. Naturally all of our choices differ. One person chooses to let go while another person chooses to head in a new direction. Someone else decides to find themself among the rubble and another decides to stop fighting. Within anyone s story there are an infinite number of sacred moments that connect the pain to the pleasure and inception to death. Sacred moments let me appreciate my spirit and my life in ways that no one else can. A phone call an invitation a smile given to and accepted in return from a stranger eating an apple rather than the entire package of cookies jumping off of a dock into a lake or saying screw it then taking off the wig to expose a bald head sacred moments are daily acts that reflect one s growth and evolution as a human. There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein And if not a miracle simply sacred. Autumn Cassity s favorite pair of shoes are her feet. She loves being outdoors observing all things wild and gardening. She donates a portion of the food she harvests to the community. Autumn works as a color consultant an interior painter and an animal caretaker. Recently she has attended natural building workshops with the intention to build a home from natural materials and to educate people about the benefits of using alternative methods to create shelter. Autumn lives in Jackson Maine. 41 NEW A travel feature for your vacation ideas....... Sequim Lavender Festival During the third weekend in July hundreds of tourists from the U.S. and Canada converge on the small town of Sequim Washington. Why The annual lavender festival Sequim is the second largest producer of lavender in the world. Only Provence France produces more. What is it about Sequim that is good for lavender I visited with Mike Reichner owner of Purple Haze lavender farm to find the answers. According to Mike lavender hates to get its feet wet . It requires almost no water and the drier climate of Sequim is great along with its hot summers. Lavender grows best in full sun with no shade. The soil needs to have a high Ph (6-7.5) as well as being well drained with a combination of rock sand and limestone. Mike started Purple Haze in 1995 and it is the largest of the thirty five lavender farms in Sequim. On its 12.5 acres forty of the 400-500 varieties of lavender are grown. When asked about the colors of lavender Mike replied that there are many shades of purple as well as blue pink and white. Lavender farming is a lot of work as it is all done by hand. Mike explained that his farm manager Jose Franco and his crew spend time making sure the soil Ph is right shape pruning the plants after harvest making sure the drainage is done and of course all of the hand harvesting. Then there is the drying process the removal of the flowers from the stems and the production of oil and other products. The Hidcote Giant variety is used in floral arrangements. Royal Velvet and the PINK variety (Melissa) are used in culinary products. Grosso produces the most oil--up to ten times more than other varieties. Other products include lotions soaps honey chocolate mustard (which has won several top awards) and other culinary items like ice cream lemonade dressings and more. 42 According to Mike there are no varieties of lavender that are poisonous to either people or dogs. He claims it is a good flea repellent and that the farm plants are safe from deer since they do not like to eat lavender. Purple Haze also grows another plant Helichrysm which is yellow in color. This is distilled and oil extracted which has several medicinal qualities. Mike says the oil can sell for 2000 a pint but it does not take a lot of oil to get the medicinal values. It is used topically and not ingested. You can learn more about the Purple Haze farm at their website purplehazelavender.com or go to their facebook page which often features a drone video of the farm. Since lavender blooms from mid to end of July (depending on the weather) the Sequim Lavender Festival is held the third Friday-Sunday in July. During this time visitors can purchase a button which allows entrance to all participating farms. There is also the street fair with blocks of artisans with products and crafts for sale. Often demonstrations on beeswax candle rolling lavender wand making and others are given and for a small fee you can try your hand at these crafts. Food booths feature many culinary lavender treats including ice cream lemonade cookies and honey. When visiting the farms I suggest a hat (the floppier the better for sun blockage) and sun glasses. In addition to walking among the beautiful plants visitors can purchase gifts of the many products and crafts offered and often lavender infused treats. My favorite thing was to harvest my own lavender. Employees of the farms are helpful with instructions. Armed with a low sided basket special cutting tool and twist ties to secure my harvest I was directed to the public cutting area of the farm. 43 This is a generous area with the remainder of the farm reserved for photography and private farm harvest. Choosing a row I began my project. Bees hummed in and around the plants but did not bother me as I selected a place to start. The sun was hot but I was so engrossed in what I was doing it did not matter. Lavender is sold by the twist tie bundle so I was determined to make mine count. Reaching into the fragrant plants I noted the proper length to leave on the plant and cut. My first handful Placing it into the basket I bent down to do another and another. When my basket had a goodly amount of lavender I sat on the ground and wound it into twist tied bundles. I repeated this with two other varieties of lavender before returning to the farm store to return basket and cutters and pay for my harvest. Over the next two days I turned most of the lavender into wands. The rest I dried for use in a flower arrangement. I had also purchased some packets of culinary lavender and so decided to try my hand at making lavender sugar . English lavender is used in cooking as it has the sweetest fragrance and is less likely to over power. The pink Melissa is the most commonly used. When cooking with lavender it is best to use it as a background flavor like vanilla. Dried lavender is more potent than fresh and can be used in a ratio of 1 3--dry to fresh. So if a recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of fresh buds you would use 1 teaspoon of dried. As a conclusion to this article I would like to leave you with a recipe for lavender sugar. Come to the festival and gather your own lavender or go online and purchase the dried version of this wondrous flower. 44 LAVENDER SUGAR In a clean coffee mill add the dried buds of 2 lavender flowers to 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and grind to a fine sugar. This can be stored in an airtight container frozen and used in baking coffee tea etc. If you need more a larger batch can be made with the same ratios. Lavender can also be steamed in warm milk cream or added to simple syrups. Infused simple syrups can be used to sweeten coffee tea lemonade or added when making ice cream. Casandra Nightengale is an author who writes on a variety of subjects and presently has 7 books out on Kindle (5 of which have spent time at 1). She lives on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington and enjoy walking the forest trails and along the rocky beaches. She also loves to read travel and write. Follow her on Facebook at Casandra Nightengale. 45 The New Children on Earth The New Children are here they have been here for centuries in small numbers and now their number is drastically increasing as they are being called forth to save the planet. You may wonder how these very special wise souls can possibly save the planet. They have many gifts and a very high vibrational frequency that we will shine light on this will illuminate and make clear how they indeed assist in restoring the vibration of Earth and create an awakening shift in the consciousness of the planet and people who live here. Who Are the New Children The new children have come to Earth with intuitive healing gifts and a common mission to heal the planet by awakening the energy of love for all forms of life. They have a powerful presence and often do not fit in with their peers. You will notice that in common society they are described as being different . These children are labeled with diagnoses such as ADD Autism or Asperger s Syndrome. They also appear to exist in an imaginary world of their own without very much interest or concern as to what others think or ask of them. Living within their magical world is of utmost importance. Gifts of New Children There are general overall gifts that the New Children have to varying degrees. The children are empathic telepathic intuitive psychic clairvoyant energetic healers and telepathic with the ability to connect to souls that are not physically on earth which is also known as mediumship. As 46 with any human we are all unique and special so the degree or potency of each gift will vary from soul to soul. When the new children are born on Earth their gifts are at the highest degree of activation. Everything is crisp clear and alive Over time life experiences lack of use not feeling comfortable with the results of living with ones gifts not recognizing the importance of the gifts fear from family as well as the pressure to fit into society can result in the temporary loss or dimming of any or all of the new child s gifts. Please note that gifts are never truly lost. If a new child has gotten out of touch with who they really are and their divine purpose they can always remember and experience an even deeper level of living with their gifts in this lifetime the key is that they need to truly desire this and seek it out then all of the answers will appear. Having experienced a personal loss of the connection with my gifts as I grew up and forgot and later reuniting with them was propelled by my burning desire to know why I am here on Earth. I will personally attest to the power and ability for one to remember and live truth as a gifted child at any age. When we say yes to our highest form the great ripple affect we have on earth is profound. Generations of New Children New Children vary in age they have been on planet Earth for quite some time in small numbers with the current influx exponentially increasing. The first souls who joined us on Earth came in as scouts to set the stage and implement the changes necessary for a greater number of gifted children to join and initiate a bigger wave of healing bringing about a shift of consciousness and purifying that which has unfolded and depleted our precious planet. Indigo Children The first set of new children who joined us are referred to as the indigo generation. This generation of gifted souls came in to change the system to ensure that everything follows the laws of love and integrity. They work to transform actual laws structures and platforms that aren t built from a foundation of honor and respect. One potent marker of the 47 indigo child is that they are natural born truth detectors always able to tell when someone is lying or not coming from a place of integrity. Most of the indigo generation are adults at this point in time. Crystal Children The term Crystal Child is used when speaking of the second influx of new children. The Crystal generation is exquisite. These souls are magical deeply connected to nature and animals they are natural born healers psychic intuitive clairvoyant empathic and often hold the gift of mediumship. An important aspect of their role on Earth is to hold space for people to clear old emotional bodies which have been repressed. The Crystal Child sees you for who you truly are thus inviting you to release what no longer serves you propelling your soul forward to live in clear alignment with your purpose at the highest frequency. Rainbow Children Rainbow children are the third generation of gifted new children. They are much younger then the crystal and indigo generation with the majority ranging from zero to fifteen years old of course this is a loose window and scouts from this generation as with all of them can come in much earlier to scope out the scene and prepare others for what they will experience on Earth. Rainbow children are amazing with powerful heart energy they are pure love and just being in their presence will activate your heart center. It goes as no surprise to hear that these children are healers of the heart. They create balance as they purify the heart center inviting people to be authentic with who they are and what their heart truly desires. A clear characteristic of these new children is their wild and endless energy They are often talking running singing and creating quicker then you can possibly keep track of. This helps them to stay centered in their own energetic bodies and prevents them from taking on the problems or energy of the world as well as the people they interact with. Dolphin Children The Dolphin Children are powerfully connected new children. They are most commonly between the age of zero and five years old at the current moment. These souls are clear connected and vibrant. They are 48 highly psychic empathic healing conduits of light. The level of their gifts is so profound that they do not need to read to learn instead they simply absorb information telepathically whether it is from a book or another human. These children love water and need to be in nature very often. They also thrive when their emotions are honored and ask their parents to love them deeply no matter what they are going through. Speaking to them telepathically is a great practice for adults as this is their primary route of communication and can create much ease in their experience here on earth. Unicorn Children The Unicorn generation is the newest to come to Earth. There are only a few of them here at this very moment. These children hold a sage like presence with an all-knowing depth of truth. Playful and connected they turn what may be heavy into lighthearted laughter bringing you back to the moment and immediately transforming any worries into the light that glows within each of us. These children are great teachers and always reflect what we need to see clearly. If a unicorn child has come into your life you will have the opportunity to experience great joy and a deep connection to your own inner child. Why the New Children are on Earth It is with great excitement that the new children have chosen to join us on Earth. They have been watching plant Earth for a long time from 49 their star planets and the state of our world has come to a point where there presence is necessary to bring about healing and harmony. It is their high consciousness spiritual gifts and ability to purify that truth healing harmony and alignment will occur allowing mother Earth to balance. The healing they bring ripples from the people to the earth and vice versa. There is a deep connection between mother earth and those who inhabit her land the new children honor and remind us of this as they restore the overall love vibration. Important Message for New Children The period we enter now is one of great purging where much is coming to the surface falsehoods and fears are rising for release. The new children of all ages hold a space of truth especially during chaotic times of release. They are asked to stay in truth and see the love healing and divine perfection in the process. If you feel you are a new child I promise that you are. I invite you to take time to connect with nature meditate be still and allow your soul to be guided forward. Know that you will be asked to embrace change in the coming years and trust the divine guide you receive for you are a powerful healer with a great amount of wisdom within. Share your wisdom live your truth and know that your soul is here for an important reason. The big influx of new children coming to Earth lifts the vibration and holds a powerful space for people to embrace their truth. The children invite this on many levels. Parents of new children will receive powerful healing and have many opportunities to release old ways of being in exchange for a life of freedom love joy and creation. School systems will need to adjust with the number of new children emerging and we will see that social awareness of the new children increases. It will be known that their gifts are special and the old stigma of being different will be replaced with respect and honor. The New Children show a new way they are teachers. Let the children teach. Ask them questions let them speak listen and honor their ways. There is great expansion happening now. Have fun and always remember to be a kid for your innocence joy and passion are the most magical forces on Earth 50 Shelley Vecchitto is a clear channel of your highest self transformational speaker author new child advocate empowering healing and changing the way you see yourself. Gifted as a clairvoyant telepath psychic medium energetic healer intuitive activator of your highest self and divine guide of love Shelley empowers people of all ages to live full happy abundant lives by thriving and lifting the world up simply by being who YOU Really Are Her specialties include transformational workshops private as well as group retreats and individual sessions all are available globally. Visit www.ShelleyVecchitto.com to learn more 51 My Life in Nature Nature has always been a top priority to me for as long as I can remember. As a child I was greatly concerned with the rainforests and grew up constantly playing outside and in the woods behind my parents house. I remember collecting cereal box tops and Amazon rainforest t-shirts and asking my mom if I too could adopt a monkey or other Amazonian creature presented in magazines. On top of even these interests and concerns I ve always been somewhat mysteriously averse to orthodox medicine. From the time that I was able to read if an over-the-counter medicine mentioned side effects (which of course they all do) I would put up a fuss and ask for my mother to assure me that these effects would not happen to me. She did a fabulous job of comforting and resolving my concerns but I was still never comfortable ingesting these things and avoided it as much as possible. Prescription drugs were no different. They had to pass the stringent standards too and I would rarely take them as often or as long as was recommended if at all. So what do I do with this kind of background I often wondered growing up. My first plan was to become a veterinarian. I will take care of all animals I had pretty big dreams around this idea but when I finally discovered that being a vet also meant euthanizing animals all bets were off. I knew I couldn t do that. And then when I was 15 I decided to give vegetarianism a try. If I myself can t harm the animal perhaps I shouldn t use it as a food either. There were also many other reasons for the decision but what I didn t expect was to find myself on a new mission to find healthy foods to make up for the missing protein. This is where much of my story if you can call it this seemed to truly begin. Enter health food stores. There was a tiny health food store on Bower Hill Road called The Good Life Market. Being 15 and unable to drive yet I would catch the bus and go exploring in this miniature haven. 52 I ll always remember the layout of the store and the feeling & energy that I felt going inside. It was one of the most welcoming places I d ever been to. The labels on the products matched my philosophies to a T. It was this place that taught me what organic meant. My mind exploded Yes yes yes There are other people like me. I would collect as much free literature as possible. Supporting organic farming and businesses and reading every label on food hygiene products began to take priority. In time I began to learn that various herbs and supplements could be used in place of OTC or prescription drugs. This is it I often thought. This is the medicine that I intuited since childhood. I will always remember when my grandfather was prescribed some medication for blood pressure or cholesterol when I was 7 or 8. I d asked my family how long he would have to take it for. When they told me he would likely need it for the rest of his life I knew something was wrong with this yet I was too young to have any idea what it might be. I think I asked them if there was truly no other solution. When I heard there was no other option I vividly remember the thoughts flashing through my mind that there had to be something else available some other healing. Reflecting back on these moments I can only believe that these were intuitions or inner knowings though vague. My family didn t practice alternative medicine nor were they aware of any part of it. Perhaps I had been a healer in another life Fast forward to now. It s been 15 years since I ve taken an over-the-counter drug and equally as long since I ve ingested any prescriptions. This includes antibiotics and common drugstore products. I ve never had a flu shot. Though I ve worked to remain open to orthodox medicine seeing as it has certainly managed to do some good in the world I have always pushed harder to find a more natural solution. I am a first generation German American hailing from a line of stubborn Germans. When I support something it becomes a pretty big deal (at least to me ) Though I haven t carried the torch as far as making hard labor a career I like to think that my mental strength and energy are doing the work. When I find a worthy cause I do not waiver or become lazy in my support. I ve never just taken one of any pill or pain relief medication in order to temporarily not feel the pain. I ve also never just ordered meat from a restaurant be53 cause it seemed easier socially or because I caved in. These are just a few small examples. I hope this short autobiography of my history has painted a relatively clear picture of who I am today and how I got here. I am steadfast in my belief of plant medicine for healing. And though I have slowly reintroduced meat back into my diet it has entered by way of stringently ethical resources and standards. I resonate strongly with Native American philosophies and practices. because it seemed easier socially or because I caved in. These are just a few small examples. I hope this short autobiography of my history has painted a relatively clear picture of who I am today and how I got here. I am steadfast in my belief of plant medicine for healing. And though I have slowly reintroduced meat back into my diet it has entered by way of stringently ethical resources and standards. I resonate strongly with Native American philosophies and practices. For many years I ve studied herbal medicine and plant identification independently. Venturing outside every day after work to journal and pho- tograph local plantlife became a daily event. Using the images I d capture I could then work to identify what I was looking at And book upon book were purchased to increase my knowledge of alternative medicine and healing. I should also probably mention that I don t watch television. This was another thing that stuck at around the 15 year mark. And it takes a special kind of movie to get me watching a film. The way I see it for better or worse there is just not enough time for these distractions. My focus is on healing & plant identification and it is hard enough to not get distracted with my passion for music 54 In 2011 I discovered several schools for my interest in herbal medicine. These schools are in Asheville NC and they are the only schooling that I ve ever felt comfortable attending. I completed my certificate in Herbalism & Plant Energies from the Appalachia School of Holistic Herbalism and intended to continue my education while I was down there. But in 2013 I decided to head home to Pittsburgh in order to be nearer my family and the 3 out of 4 grandparents that I have been blessed to still have around That brings me to today. Grieving for the loss of my magical time down in Asheville I was somewhat miserable in a Pittsburgh February when I decided that I was ready to share with my hometown the things that I ve learned over the years. I continue my independent studies and am looking into the brand new distanceeducation courses that several of my teachers are offering. I occasionally still travel around to take workshops on the subject and material but I also teach as much of what I ve learned in 15 years as possible. As soon as I can I will be traveling again to study even more I offer a multitude of plant walks classes and workshops based in the south hills of Pittsburgh Classes and walks are generally held at parks such as the Chartiers Park in Bridgeville Mingo Creek Park in Venetia Finleyville area and the Boyce-Mayview Park of Upper St. Clair amongst other places. Every Wednesday evening from 6-7pm I teach free classes at the Bridgeville Public Library. Topics range anywhere from an entire class dedicated to learning about Dandelion uses to medicinemaking moon cycle & fertility awareness and much more I am working toward offering a program to assist both boy and girl scouts earn their badges (hopefully ready by this Summer ) and I offer homeschool group plant walks in the area too. Many of my workshops are held at Sunny Bridge Natural Foods right in McMurray just north of Donaldson Crossroads I am currently offering classes under the name Blue Heron Nature 55 Skills but I am also offering an array of herbal goods & products under my Dancing Lotus Herbals page on Etsy. Future endeavors will include medicinal plant starts & seedling offerings apprenticeships a local bulk herb apothecary and plant retreats I will also be adding some fun herbal products to my Etsy page this season and may appear at the farmer s markets or other outdoor events if time and resources allow I am thrilled to be able to offer these services and opportunities to this region I expect to continually grow and evolve with the wants and needs of the community and cannot fully express my excitement at bringing my passions into manifestation Jen Dalke is a naturalist and herbalist who teaches classes and hopes to inspire others to love nature more. Follow her on her website www.BlueHeronNatureSkills.com. Contact her at BlueHeronNatureSkills gmail.com. 56 What does it mean to dream of tornadoes Dreams are the bridge between the subconscious and conscious mind. Through the Language of Symbology dreams communicate to the dreamer any suppressed fears or underlying issues that are impacting their life experiences. Many look at dreams as a series of coincidental images. At surface view they seem unrelated and foreign to an obvious theme. If you take a step back however and look at the dream and its components metaphorically each symbol with its own unique meaning connects to create a story that is oddly though not nearly by coincidence related to something that is unfolding in your waking life. Images that do not seem ordinary consciously believable or normal tend to point to misperceptions disconnections and disruption in the status quo or established order of things as well as situations one finds comfortable due to a deep level of familiarity. While there are different types of dreams such as flying or precognitive dreams Teaching Dreams are the type of dreams that actually communicate to us in three parts Beginning Middle and End. Teaching dreams generally follow this structural formula 1) the current issue is presented to the dreamer in the beginning through the use of Universal Symbols 2) the middle sequence illustrates how you are reacting or contributing to the scenario and 3) the third sequence generally holds the more predictive symbols differentiating at times between illustrated courses of action. Symbols that reflect the current state of mind largely occur toward the middle sequences of a dream blending into the 3rd sequence or layer. The ending (if remembered) presents the solution which is the probable outcome of the situation should the message of the dream be recognized and 57 integrated and often the probable outcome if the situation is not corrected depending on the dreamer. Not addressing a fear or issue will only cause it to perpetuate resulting in recurring dreams or themes. Most people do not understand the strange images and scenarios presented in their dreams because they do not know how to interpret the meaning of the Universal and Personal Symbols. Symbolic Logic intuitively and intelligently employed will reveal so much more of the meaning of a symbol than mere quizzical contemplation. With practice however and once understood as a tool to selfunderstanding the dreamer can relate the images to their waking life and apply the knowledge to resolve inner and outer conflicts to create a more balanced present and future. Many dreams are shocking and confounding. This is designed to get our attention. As we use the images and scenarios presented in an attempt to incorporate their wisdom the images will either change evolve or disappear as the dreamer gets closer to resolution. Universal symbols appeal to all people without regard to culture race religion age or gender. Personal symbols are unique to the dreamer based on their perceptions and experiences. Universal symbols include the four elements (earth air fire water) buildings landscapes vehicles people colors numbers natural disasters and more. The purpose of this writing is to explore the meaning of the Universal Symbol of Tornadoes a common dream theme. Natural disasters represent emotional upheaval and the fear of the foundation of your life being destroyed. Tornadoes specifically point to Fear of Separation from Family Members. Tornadoes in real life arrive without much warning and relate symbolically to sudden changes. What is the first thing we do when we spot a tornado We gather up our family members and rush them to safety. When we see one or more tornadoes in our dreams the situation we are experiencing generally involves a person with 58 whom we may be reluctant to convey our true thoughts and feelings out of fear of losing them or causing further emotional or physical distance. We suppress these thoughts and emotions in an attempt to avoid worsening the situation to a point that the ego-mind would deem a disaster as in the death of a relationship. In reality however our fears of what might happen generally do not occur as we imagine. Air is a Universal Symbol pointing to the realm of thought. Tornadoes are a culmination of air in its most aggressive and destructive (negative) capacity due to a build up of energy. When we look within at our fears and try to determine which are truly based on a possible reality we often find that many are based on an imagined worst case scenario. The pain we experience and perceive is truly a barometer of the destruction we perceive being done. Our minds categorize experiences as small or large good or bad depending on the losses we have endured and relate them to future events we think will occur. Pain is measured according to the depth of that loss or the importance of what was destroyed. When a tornado is present in a dream it is revealing to us our fear that the family unit will be fractured damaged or irreparably destroyed. There are several specific relationships to which a tornado may be referencing that require a different approach from the dreamer. One possible representation is the presence of a teenager whose behavior is affecting the family unit. Often when dealing with teens there is the element of fear that if you are too tough on them that they will run away or withdraw emotionally. As a teen goes through the normal hormonal changes and as their ego now fully developed begins to assert itself behavioral changes may result that are surprising to the parent (such as defiance stubbornness the desire for independence through experimentation with drugs alcohol and sex). With some teens these outward behaviors threaten the familiar peaceful tone of the household. We each have an individual life plan that determines our challenges so no child is completely predictable. Naturally it is worth every effort to get through and guide your child. Later in adulthood your child will look back and see that you tried your best to help 59 guide and protect them no matter what decision they ultimately made at the time. The conscious and subconscious fears of any child are as unique as the child. Look to your dreams to determine the best manner in which to approach and communicate with your child. Ask and ye shall receive. Tornadoes can also point to an individual in the household who possesses a stormy personality. Alcoholics substance abusers and emotionally mentally ill or volatile people are generally represented here. In the presence of these personalities one usually will do everything possible to the point of extreme self-sacrifice in order to keep a semblance of peace. The upheaval we feel in these situations is repressed and buried and over time compounded which can often lead to physical sickness. Physical maladies manifest when an issue or fear is brought from a mental level to a physical level often manifesting as ulcers stomach digestive disorders disorders of the blood (high blood pressure diabetes etc) disorders of the liver (which represents anger) and abuse of alcohol and substances or sleeping aids. These scenarios are also viewed as having the destructive capacity of a natural disaster. When we continually keep the peace what we re really doing is putting a lid on the situation and our feelings about it. But those emotions which are Energy in Motion need to be released. When not properly processed addressed and released the result is an explosion of emotion or action bringing about the unwanted damage or destruction we struggled to prevent. The bottom line in any situation is that we must recognize and speak our own personal truths. When another individual takes our circumstances out of our control the natural reaction is to do all we can to try to keep things the same or the way they were no matter the consequences. Change is constant however and all shifting situations begin with Self-Love. We must look honestly within to determine which direction is the best to pursue for all concerned. I have been presented with many dreams involving tornadoes and I m fascinated by the additional personal imagery that often accompanies them which fill in the gaps to complete the storyline of the dream. One of the most interesting involved a young woman in her 20s who dreamed she was alone in the house she grew up in. It was daylight and there were several tornadoes looming in the distance beyond stormy clouds and they were getting closer and closer to the house. Standing at the window watching the funnels and feeling frightened and hopeless the air conditioner in the wall behind her began to wildly throw sparks malfunctioned 60 and quickly fizzled and died. The dream ended with the tornadoes coming dangerously close to the house and swirling around it but not causing any damage and the clouds dissipating to reveal a blue sky. This combination of symbols conveys a message that is quite clear if you speak the language. I explained that the childhood home points to a family dynamic during childhood that is spilling over into her current situation in adulthood. Because it is daylight in the dream it is saying that the dreamer is consciously aware that her behavior lends an energetic contribution to the volatile family dynamic despite her desire for peace. (Nighttime in the dream would denote that the dreamer is unconscious.) The house (Universal Symbol) represents the dreamer. She is in the living room which represents the daily activities in the home and her current state of mind (feeling threatened and alone). The air conditioner in the dream (a Personal Symbol) represents her desire to control the temperature of the environment for personal comfort. The unit (think Family Unit) was behind her symbolizing the Past and shows the dreamer that she d invested far too much energy (electrical appliance) into controlling the events of the past to the point of extreme anger and worsening arguments (sparks) by trying to change control how the household functioned. That the tornadoes were in the distance in front of her indicated that trouble is indeed approaching but there was still time to adjust her perceptions to create the peace in her own life that she desperately wanted her sibling and parent to embody in order to avoid complete destruction (the tornadoes never caused any actual damage). To illustrate the dream sequence from an interpretive point of view the beginning of the dream presented the issue (fear of separation from family). The middle sequence of the dream where the air conditioner was the focus illustrated how she was handling the situation (trying to control it). The end of the dream points to the probable outcome should she relinquish her fear of lack of control. Peace (represented by the blue sky). In the dreamer s response to my much lengthier interpretation she admitted that during her adolescence she indeed made daily efforts to control the climate of the family dynamic. Ever the peacemaker this now adult dreamer was currently in a situation where her sister was starting up again with her drama while her alcoholic mother bailed the sister out of yet another self-imposed financial bind. The dreamer was trying to get 61 both her mother and sister to see reality (from her perspective of course) wanting the sister to carry her own weight and make better choices for the sake of her children and trying to convince the mother to stop fostering co -dependency in the sister. No matter how lovingly articulated this action caused even further tension in the family putting the dreamer in the outskirts as they banded together against her. And as many of us know if you are the peacemaker in your family or the strong one -- when the hammer falls it usually falls on you. Because she had a large degree of conscious awareness she was able to examine the issue outlined in the dream which is to see more clearly (represented by the window) how she gets caught in the middle between her mother and sister (illustrated by her physical position between the tornadoes and the air conditioning unit and the three tornadoes swirling around the house) and why she feels so angry and powerless (the unit died from an overload and was now without the power to control the temperature of the environment). Recognizing that it is futile to attempt to save a family member by changing them the dreamer acknowledged her control issues pulled her energy back and left the mother and the sister to make their choices as they saw fit no matter how ludicrous or dysfunctional those choices seemed. She adjusted her beliefs misperceptions and behavior accordingly vowing to herself that she would not be pulled into any future family dramas in quite the same way. As a result having addressed the issue presented by the dream and heeding its caution tornadoes no longer appeared in her dreams and she has found a deeper level of acceptance and peace with regard to her immediate family. Whatever the situation know that your dreams are based on your Perception of what is going on. Our fears amplify our personal projections of what might occur if we take action. In contrast we often pull back doing nothing and then berating ourselves for an assumed lack of courage. This is not reality. Approach the situation with love and communicate honestly without excess emotion. Know when to let go rather than manipulate your behavior or the situation. Love unconditionally but maintain 62 healthy boundaries. Help where you can or have the authority but remember that we are all here to learn and grow and we cannot save others by removing their burdens through control or any other means. All we can truly do is rely on the truth and let our family members know that no matter the severity of the storm in the circle of our love they are indeed safe. Charlotte Spicer is the Executive Producer and Host of Spiritual Insights with Charlotte Spicer -- Spirituality & Metaphysics Talk Radio where she and her team of Spiritual Teachers Energy Healers and Psychics equip their many listeners with information and tools to help them gain self-awareness and reclaim peace. Learn more at www.SpiritualInsightsRadio.com. 63 64 Heal Your Present by Exploring Your Past Hypnosis is one of the earliest wellness practices. Long before there were medications like Novocaine Morphine or Oxycontin humans assisted humans in using the magnificent power of the mind to relieve pain. Hypnosis is widely used in childbirth dentistry and surgery. Traditional hypnosis is useful in weight loss smoking cessation sleep issues stress and anxiety...the list goes on and on. Past Life Regression is now widely recognized as an alternative process to release distress and trauma that has no obvious tie to present life. It is my belief that we have all lived before and all those memories talents skills and relationships are able to be remembered. Using hypnosis to relax your conscious critical thinking mind I am able to tap into your memories using the greatest healers possible...your very own spirit guides. Using all my skills talents and experiences to work with your guides and my intuition to help you unlock the knowledge you already have inside you. It is safe like reading a book or watching a movie that you are starring in There are so many possibilities when entering a Past Life Regression. You will have the opportunity to walk the paths you have walked before... Feel the sun and the wind on your face this is a series of experiences that you may have forgotten... and that you will never forget This is not a scenario where I tell you what you have experienced. Quite the opposite I am honored to be the one to facilitate the journey as YOU tell ME where you are who you are and describe all that YOU see feel hear taste smell and know. You will be able to describe your experiences to me as they are happening. I guide you by asking clarifying questions and when you are ready suggesting that you move on to the next significant day or time in that lifetime. Past Life Regression is a phenomenal tool that is useful and available to everyone. To answer a few common questions 65 Yes you can be hypnotized if you are willing to be hypnotized. Yes it is safe. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis and you are in complete control. You may at any time open your eyes and walk away from the experience....and I hope you don t You can sneeze cough ask for a blanket or attend to any need you have. You ARE in two places at once and you are NOT asleep. Every time you experience hypnosis it becomes easier and easier to go deeper and deeper. Why Familiarity. The first time you drive a car you are unsure if everything Is safe the uncertainty is frightening...even though you have watched people do it your entire life YOU have never done it. The first time you are hypnotized you may be unsure if you can do it. As you are in a state of hypnosis you may wonder if you are doing it right. As the experience is repeated you have more confidence and tend to become focused only on the moment. You cannot do it wrong so relax and enjoy the experience. Speaking only for myself and my clients...You WILL remember everything that you experience because I will suggest that you do. What would be the point of having this amazing experience and not remembering it Of course you will remember everything and the experience only deepens over time. The hypnosis is the tip of the ice burg. You often find that for days or weeks realizations or clarity about things seem to pop into your mind or your dreams. Why would I want to experience a Past Life Regression Past Life Regression can be very useful for understanding and reducing or eliminating physical emotional or spiritual issues you are experiencing that are not helped with traditional methods. Examples include Depression anxiety migraines back pain understanding current or past relationships or relationship patterns and seeking a purpose or direction in your life. Is it possible to have more than one past life Yes. In fact it is quite common for people to experience two or three lives during the session. I consider that first life like a warm-up With each experience your disbelief softens allowing the experience to come more completely into view. Each life however always has relevance to the questions asked or the overall message the subconscious wants you to understand. 66 I will also suggest that you journal for the following days or weeks starting with your experience during the session. The time in hypnosis often opens the door and you may find that some areas of your life make more sense as if a missing puzzle piece slid into the picture. Your past life memories do not end when you leave my office memories may crop up for days or weeks after. In a Past Life Regression session you could Review your life purpose soul contract Address unresolved issues with loved ones who have passed Eliminate fears phobias Bring back talents and skills you have learned before. Resolve prosperity blockages Resolve relationship issues Address weight loss Resolve addiction issues Increase creativity Improve physical ailments Discover your spiritual purpose Emotional healing Leave shame behind Become a more confident parent employee lover Discover who you were in past lives and so so so much more Conflicts from the past and the patterns resulting from traumatic experiences can distort our physical emotional and mental well being. Some indications of unresolved past experiences Irrational fears unexplained and recurring physical pains or sensations Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome persistent feelings of panic anger guilt depression disturbing thoughts feeling blocked emotional outbursts blocked feelings low self-esteem self-harm numbness repeating relationship problems with family work or social contacts repeating patterns of self sabotage limiting habits. 67 There are unlimited areas that can be addressed by traditional or past life hypnosis. Past Life Regression can also uncover the fun stuff. You may finally understand why you borderline on obsession with cooking...if you once owned a thriving restaurant in France. You may find that the strong reaction you have to a neighbor or a co-worker is due to a past experience you both shared. Not all sudden explainable reactions are positive but they are usually related to a shared past. Past Life Regression allows one to learn more about the most fascinating person you know...YOU Jan Bartrop-Babbitt is a hypnotherapist holistic health practitioner blogger and radio show host. You can catch her radio show Healing with Hypnosis on Blog Talk Radio on Monday night 8 00 -9 00 pm ET. For more information or to schedule a session please visit her website at www.realchangetherapy.com. 68 Lifestyle Changes Thru Partnership with Your Body Let me begin with my passionate long standing commitment for off the charts Wellness and Radical Ageless Thriving. My body is my best friend and I treat it as a Sacred Temple that serves as refuge for my soul. Of course it wasn t always that way. I was brought up eating SAD standard American diet and even though I was thin I was always sick and tired. I didn t exercise and loved dessert. I dabbled in doing drugs in CA in the 70 s like so many others and I did not have a clue about what my body truly needed to be nourished. I wasn t even aware of the negative limiting thoughts I had or what to do about them and meditation wasn t even on my radar. True Transformation didn t happen overnight. It was a series of shifts some small and other huge... Fast forward to now as a baby boomer and over 60 crowd (I can t bring myself to say senior since most woman even 40 don t always have the energy and libido that I do) I pride myself in being in touch with leading edge pure and natural high vibrational products and alive foods. I am not on any medication heck I do not even visit doctors. I m the same weight as when I was 20 but I am fit and toned. I take probiotics instead of antibiotics meditate instead of taking Valium eat to live rather than live to eat work out 5 to 6 days a week including stretches Tibetan Rites sweating rebounding weight training and kettlebells all in lieu of a sedentary lifestyle. Last but not least is one of the most important part of this age reversal rejuvenation and that is DETOX No pill drug exercise or cream can come close to the detoxing effect of a Far Infrared Sauna. I will be specifically explaining the Huge Benefits and even the difference between Wood and portable ones. . The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease. Thomas A. Edison. Your body can heal itself... no doctor or medication on this planet can do it for you. What they can do though is confuse you further by instilling fear 69 keeping you distracted and looking outward separated from your relationship with your Body Temple. This takes you down a road that is destined to spiral your health out of control unless you take back your power and say no to DRUGS going into your body fine-tuned vehicle that it is or can be. Give it what it needs to nourish your cells balance your ratio of good bad bacteria raise your vibration and DETOX DETOX. Remember that Prevention is the best Cure of all. Why risk putting your Precious Life in the hands of an outsider If you want to Enrich your Vitality in Remarkable ways begin by Enriching your Body Temple in Remarkable ways. Picture getting into your vehicle and driving down the street and as you look down at the dashboard you notice the engine light or the oil light just came on but you keep on driving further...again you notice it s still on. So quite perturbed with having to be bothered by this you now pull over and stick a piece of tape over the light and continue to drive again or worse yet you pull over and disconnect the light feeling that you now have alleviated the cause thus no more problem.(Western medicine s approach to healing). Ask yourself what kind of sense does this make Now stay with me here...This is where it gets bumpy.. You may not know this but in many cultures in the world people pay their doctors when they are well not when they are sick..Hmmm.. This is starting to make sense now So the doctors have a vested interest (their livelihood depends on it) in keeping you healthy unlike in our society their livelihood depends on keeping you sick Does that sound logical Please understand that this structure and belief system has been in place for many years and I m not in any way referring to them as Evil Witch Doctors since this is happening on a deep cultural level ...How about asking your doctor if he will agree to being paid when you are well only What would he say Is this what you want We were all born into greatness however we all have been conditioned into mediocrity . 70 Our body is a mini Universe and was meant to be our Sacred Temple and Home that our precious Spirit dwells in. Shouldn t we appreciate communicate and take Precious care of it with the utmost Gratitude It is after all the only one we will inhabit in this lifetime. Destroying the home you live in make no sense....Where will you reside The years will go by that is inevitable however aging is a CHOICE we make whether we are aware of it or not....Why not choice to make your AGE just a number Granted it takes courage and fortitude to make a Paradigm Shift that first begins in your consciousness by truly taking full responsibility for the mini Universe we all live in this Magnificent Body Temple... Interestingly enough the word Fortitude used above is in the dictionary as resisting brain washing. How appropriate. You can rediscover your inner body s wisdom as a child by listening to the language it speaks how you are feeling and what you are feeling whether it s good or not so good. Tune into its vast intuitiveness and expansiveness. Be present to your 23 000 breaths a day that are constant. The more you embody all of your senses bringing back playfulness the more your body s will reward you with the deepest love and vitality that its capable of.. I believe that our bodies are Sacred and meant to be respected. What we put into them in terms of nourishment via food thoughts emotions even what we put on them or near them raises or lowers our Life Force Vibration. Inevitably this will either empower our Body matrix or damage it. So I ask you Is your body a temple where your free Spirit soars or is it a prison without any doors If you were to create a bumper sticker for all to see what would it say that best describes you My Body is my Sacred Temple the Universe is my Playground Love is my Religion Thriving is my Birthright . 71 In closing for now I invite you to contact me as to how I may best support you in achieving your Most magnificent version of yourself whether it be Wild Wellness Warrior (male) or Sexy Wellness Warriess (female) at any stage of life you are now at. Reverend Dagny Ann Boch is an ordained minister and Doctor of Divinity trained in Universal Life Principles from ULC in Modesto CA. She is also a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist since 1996 specializing in Past Life Therapy and Metaphysical Counseling. Certified in Levels 1 thru 3 of Ipasulu Tantra and Touch for Health Association of Optimal Well Being she has guided hundreds of couples in discovering Quantum Intimacy in their relationships and Supreme Vitality in their Body Temple. Now as a Babyboomer Educated in Eastern Healing Arts and advocating Supreme Wellness her Dedication and Mission is to educate inform and inspire by being a living example of Ageless Thriving and Supreme Sexy Well Being to those who are open and willingly have the desire to enhance Body Mind and Spirit. Rev. Dagny B. welcomes you contacting her via cell at 949 201 7337 or email revdagny eternalcharisma.com 72 Pendulum Dowsing for Weather In the Spring edition of The Holistic Lifestyle I wrote an article What is Dowsing There I explained dowsing origins key points some limiting beliefs various tips and I covered the benefits of dowsing with a pendulum for Yes No answers. (There are of course various dowsing instruments used and available. While I also use some L rods and V rods I prefer pendulums.) Here in the Summer edition I d like to address an area of Advanced Dowsing dowsing for the weather. As a side note it is important that you are clear on how to use pendulum dowsing for Yes No answers because those are necessarily involved with more advanced techniques. Please refer to the article in the last issue if you have any doubts. I feel so blessed to have been taught to dowse without unnecessary complications. My first lesson was using car keys That certainly eliminated any misconceptions. It was very clear that dowsing could 73 be achieved without special equipment or specialised beliefs or indeed particular talents. I am so grateful that each of my several teachers kept it simple avoiding all the fears that so often attach to new endeavours. Soon after learning the ropes I joined the Dowsing Society of Victoria (DSV) in Melbourne Australia. There I attended meetings and eventually joined the Committee. Today I m Vice-President of the DSV and the Editor of the DSV Newsletter. If you d like to discover more about our society please visit our website http www.dsv.org.au American internationally recognised dowser Raymon Grace has had a huge influence of the development of my dowsing beyond Yes No answers. After I learned about him via the DSV I invested in his books and DVDs and became a huge devotee. In 2009 Victoria the state of Australia where I live was in the midst of terrible drought conditions. I was urging people to dowse to bring about changes when it suddenly dawned on me that I didn t actually know how to do it myself. I was certain something could be done but clueless about the how of it. I emailed Raymon Grace to ask his advice. He replied saying that the Nature Spirits (NS) were no longer present in our state. He said he d found they had left some regions around the world though didn t know why. I d never heard of NS back then. Raymon said he d invited them back for us and suggested we thank them daily for ending our drought safely and for filling our dams (I d let him know how dry they were). I shared his recommendations with many of the DSV people. Soon afterwards I happily emailed Raymon again to let him know we d started getting some rain. He replied saying we needed to thank the NS and to put the Spirit of love gratitude respect and freedom into the rain. I confess that I became fanatical about dowsing for weather. The possibilities seemed so amazing quite beyond the odds. Yet it took quite a lot of weather dowsing discovery and more time to recognise how much influence we innocents can have on the weather. These days I regularly talk to the NS having overcome my initial hesitation and self doubts. And I m often dowsing on the weather too. 74 In fact weather has always been a major focus in my life. My home city Melbourne is famously known for having four seasons in one day. I was apparently born in a severe heatwave and the nurse who welcomed my angry tiny arrival apparently said there was a cool change expected that night. Seems I was calmed and influenced very early on about such matters. I ve been endlessly fascinated ever since. Now to the nitty gritty. I often receive complaints about dowsing for weather. People say it s not our role to do that. I point out that my intention (dowsing being a way of focusing intention) is simply to bring about more balance. In my observation there is usually an amazing amount of hysteria from the media related to weather conditions. People pick up on it then talk about it at work on the street in transit in shops on social media everywhere. So the bad news gets spread and increases in intensity. I like to think than when everyone else seems to be hyping the negatives as dowsers we can re- store some balance to assist nature. My dowsing protocols for weather are a work in progress. I am forever tweaking the details. Raymon Grace has been incredibly helpful to me in this. It was only when speaking with him on Skype in 2015 that he mentioned he d not been one to dowse for weather much. It was my 2009 direct request that led to his advice. Ever since he has kindly offered further advice and I update my protocols in line with his generous suggestions. I am extremely grateful to him. I usually dowse when there are extreme conditions to avoid danger to people animals property and the land. Sometimes people alert me to weather forecasts in their country and I dowse accordingly often requesting help from people I ve taught to dowse. Sometimes it can be for drought bush fires cyclones typhoons blizzards. I always talk to the NS of the area involved. Often when conditions threaten power supplies I will dowse specifically for those too. I find that the best outcomes are when dowsing with very clear in75 tention on nominated areas. So rather than dowsing for an entire country I encourage dowsing for the exact area and to cover all of the predicted problems. Happily some of the results of this work continue to be truly astounding. Dramatic turn arounds happen especially when a number of people are dowsing and talking to NS on the same topic. I find it is also really helpful when people in the affected region do the same work on the spot. Suggested Drought and Bushfire Dowsing Protocol 1 Start by spinning pendulum your NO direction then let it take over. Scrambling the frequency of the drought and bushfire conditions in (be quite specific). Bringing in weather changes to remove the bush fire risks in today s heat and removing whatever is blocking the rain from falling naturally. Neutralising all the negative energy related to the conditions. Removing the non-beneficial thought forms the media-fed hysteria and everything else contributing to increased fear levels about the predicted futures of the people animals and land in (places) and nearby regions. Neutralising all the negative effects of humans on the weather and the Nature Spirits generally. (Wait until your pendulum stops spinning.) 2 Start to spin pendulum in your YES direction then let it take over. Transforming the energy to extinguish the fire embers in the bushfire areas for increased safety during the extreme conditions today and for the rest of summer. Bringing more balance harmony and peace for calmer more beneficial weather conditions for the people animals land and properties (in the specific region). Bringing in lower temperatures appropriate humidity levels gentle breezes and where appropriate natural rainfall in safe beneficial amounts. Inviting in the Spirits of love and gratitude peace calm and respect to work with the Earth Mother Nature the Nature Spirits and the Spirit of Rain for the highest good of Australia. Magnifying this dowsing with the help of spiritual dowsers and the skills of the best dowsers on the planet. This or something better as safe and appropriate from now and into the future across all time dimensions space and reality. 76 (Wait until your pendulum stops spinning then give thanks.) When rain falls start your pendulum in the Yes direction and bring in the Spirits of love gratitude respect and freedom to the rain with thanks. Suggested Protocol to maintain Electrical Power 1 Start your pendulum in your NO direction and then let it pick up its own momentum. Neutralising all the negative energy non-beneficial thought forms and media-fed hype contributing to the extreme fears and suggestions of power outages in connection to the forecast snow storms blizzards cyclones in State specific area s . Neutralising all negative effects of humans on the weather the Nature Spirits and the power supplies. Magnifying this dowsing with the help of spiritual dowsers and the skills of the best dowsers on the planet. (Wait until pendulum stops moving of its own accord.) 2 Now start your pendulum in the YES direction and then let it pick up its own momentum. Transforming the energy to allow the forecast snow storms bliz- zards cyclones to safely blow out at sea away from the land electricity supplies the people animals and properties in in the specific areas . Easing conditions to bring about the most appropriate weather conditions for the highest good of all. Thanking the Nature Spirits the Spirits of the Wind and the Earth for increased weather balance harmony and peace. This or something better as safe and appropriate from now and into the future across all time dimensions space and reality. Thank you. (Wait until pendulum stops moving of its own accord.) If you are interested in my eBook it s available directly from me as a PDF file for USD 8.50. I provide instructions for printing out to easily access the dowsing protocols. For all details please email heather ohnaturale.com Heather Wilks is a practitioner based in Melbourne Australia. She works with a number of modalities including Dowsing FasterEFT and Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT). She offers Distant Dowsing including professional dowsing for real estate transactions buying selling or leasing. Heather teaches Dowsing in groups and via Skype. Her eBook Dowsing Heals covers everything from Basic to Advanced Dowsing with scripted protocols for specific situations. (Her new dowsing website is underway dowsingheals.com) Heather s specialty lies in releasing emotional and physical pain. Weight Loss is one of her passions. She has found ways to lose weight and keep it off herself. She enjoys sharing her discoveries with clients in healing sessions via Skype. Diet Power & Dowsing Consultations To schedule private consultations via Skype for Dowsing Stress Relief Emotional or Physical Pain or Weight Issues please contact Heather Wilks Email heather ohnaturale.com 77 Exploring Natural Skin Care As a total novice I ve wanted to start a more natural approach to my skin since it s the largest organ on in the body and it plays a large part in how (or if) chemicals enter our body. I ve read quite a bit on basic skin care to give me a good base from which to experiment. So let s just jump right in The first thing for me to learn was doing a natural cleanse. I read about and tried just water and a washcloth (and not using products of any kind on the skin no moisturizer no exfoliating). It was suggested to do that for at least 3 days up to 2 weeks to reset my skin. I managed the 3 days but really didn t feel a difference except my skin was drier actually. I had thought my skin would be oilier from not washing with soap. Then again I didn t feel dirty either from not using soap After the 3 days was up (that s all I could manage because of how dry my skin was feeling) I started using a castile soap Dr. Bronner s Lavender is my favorite. That works really well for me for natural cleansing so I m sticking with that. I also have a bar of soap I bought from the local natural store I use that once a week as it has some nice oils in it. Next step was to learn to naturally exfoliate. My skin being very dry during the winter has a layer of crusty skin. Gross I know but no other way to put that. I used the cornmeal scrub (below) all over it works fantastic but it is very abrasive. If you have delicate skin I d skip this one and use the oatmeal scrub (also below) instead. For your face the oatmeal scrub might be better also as that skin tends to be more delicate than the skin on your arms or legs. The lemon in the oatmeal scrub acts as an astringent and the yogurt lightly moisturizes. Me I dug right in and used the cornmeal scrub all over even on my face it felt great to me. 78 Cornmeal Scrub 1 3 cup cornmeal 1 4 cup water Few drops essential oil (I used lemon as it s one of the oils that fights cellulite) Oatmeal Scrub 1 tablespoon ground oatmeal 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 teaspoons yogurt I mixed the cornmeal scrub in the kitchen in a plastic bowl and took that into the shower. I got myself wet then stepped out of the stream of water and scrubbed away. You rinse off right after scrubbing it doesn t need to stay on your skin for any length of time. The cornmeal scrub will make a mess on the shower floor but it washes off easy enough. Bonus it ll make the bottom of your tub a bit less slippery while washing it off I seriously could not believe the difference in my skin after using this all that lovely crusty skin was gone my arms and legs felt baby smooth again I plan on using this whenever needed. Another Bonus it helps with that dry rough skin on the bottom of your feet you can mix up a small batch for every shower just for that area until the rough skin is gone. Next step is to moisturize. After getting all that old skin off that lovely soft skin needs to stay soft. I whipped up two different recipes a heavy duty Shea butter based cream and a light oil. I am using each recipe on just one half of my body to see the difference. Below are the recipes Shea Butter Cream 1 4 cup Shea butter 1 4 cup cocoa butter 2 tablespoons avocado oil Essential oil Melt the butters in a small pot on the stove stirring well until completely melted. Remove from heat stir in avocado oil. Put in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool down. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil stir and pour into a lidded jar. Refrigerate until solid then it can stay out in room temperature. This will last about 6 months toss after that. 79 Light Face and Body Oil 1 2 cup grapeseed oil 1 4 cup pumpkin seed oil 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil Pour all the oils in a regular bottle or pump bottle and shake well. Keep this sealed in the fridge up to 1 month as the flaxseed oil tends to spoil quickly. Flaxseed oil is amazing for skin issues because it is a strong anti-inflammatory. Just be warned the pumpkin seed oil is a very dark green try this out on your skin where it s covered by clothing for the first time After using both the Butter Cream and the Light Oil for a week I ve decided I love them both. While I used each one on one side of my body for the week I ve learned that I like the lightness of the oil I think it will be great for summer skin softening. The Shea Butter Cream will be better for winter. Both worked well with the Shea Butter Cream working just a bit better but I don t believe that heavy of a cream would be needed during the summer. And as a bonus I didn t need to use the Cornmeal Scrub at the end of the week at all not on either the Light Oil nor the Shea Butter side 80 Cindy is the mom of 3 children and 4 grandchildren. She works as an account clerk at the county jail and part time at the local library. Her current passions include photography travel Tarot painting and reading. Her interest in essential oils started last year but she has been interested in natural health remedies for a few years. Have comments for us Email us at nance theholisticlifestyle.com Want to subscribe Email suscribe theholisticlifestyle.com Want to write for us Email articles theholisticlifestyle.com 81 Most do not realize that we have the power to change at any moment we choose. But we can literally transform any situation. Let s take a moment and give thought to when the earth was created... everything went from nothing to what we know as our world within seven days. It is said that God created man from the earth. It is also said in every culture and tradition that we are created in God s image. In other words we too have the ability to transmute or produce changes. It appears that since the beginning of our earth change has been a part of its evolution and ours. If we look at history we see our planet has been transforming over and over again. When we think back to the original creator we can say that the magic continues. It is seen when a kernel concedes its form to that of a seedling and then on to a plant. Everyone is familiar with the butterfly and its journey through transformation. All of this seems to be taken as so it is . Though when you observe the changes you have experienced throughout your years you may not acknowledge that you too have manipulated and been the facilitator of your own changes into becoming who you are in this moment. You have the ability to continue to develop not only who you are as an individual but to take charge of all of your desires and transform your world into your perceived outcome. One of the easiest ways of creating change in your world is to pay attention to when you feel resistance towards someone or something. This is your inner wisdom guiding you and letting you know it is time to transform. Another easy way of creating change in your world is by being aware of others needs. For through the act of kindness and giving you alter you and all those you come in contact with which in turn changes your world. Does Resistance lead the way 82 You always have choice you always have an option as to what it is you want or do not want from your world. Ever notice you may be in a great mood and someone else comes along and they spew their sadness all over the place and then you feel miserable You in that moment may identify your feelings and ask your self Is this the way I want to feel In just the asking you have begun change. You are a powerful being created in the likeness of the Divine. Is it any wonder that you can make things happen instantaneously If you truly do not like what is taking place in your work life your love life or your social life you can change it Begin by shifting your thoughts to your higher power. Remind yourself you are made in the likeness of this Infinite Intelligence and Love. Realize that who you are affects others and in that moment move your consciousness into a space of gratitude for that which you have and for those you love. You will instantly begin to change your world. You will take on an awareness of being in peace and gratitude and this takes away resentment lack and sadness. In these moments you gain clarity and can begin to visualize what it is you desire which in turn begins the process of attraction. If you have awareness that you are resistant ask yourself why Truly be honest with you Bring your thoughts to any moment in your past wherein you were able to bypass resistance and accomplish your goal. Connecting with these memories and feelings empowers you to make change now. Understand too that the way you perceive your situation will in turn touch other s lives. For instance you decide to buy a home you are excited and you need to meet with the attorney to sign the papers and yet you get a call telling you that the lien paperwork did not come through... See all the people involved in your minds eye beforehand- see them all happy and content about the matter and see the necessary paper work being uncovered and complete. This small action taken clears up your resistance and lets the Universe know what your expected outcome is. This knowledge is great to have but it is ultimately up to you to implement it in your life. You can see that you do have the ability to interact with and alter your situations to affect not only you but others as well. Are you willing to become the change you desire Many years ago it was said that once you learn something you cannot unlearn it. By the same virtue you still have to choose what you know. 83 Perhaps you will begin today Halley lise Empowerment Psychic she s helped FBI police and events with conflict resolution. Her studies and modalities have brought high awards and accolades from writing poetry art and public speaking. http www.HalleyElise.com 561-755-2166 84 The Holistic Lifestyle Gardens Articles to help you learn more about gardening and help you become a better gardener. 85 I want to garden but watering is such a problem... NOT I ve heard it a million times and no doubt said it myself Watering after weeding is the most troublesome part of gardening. Well I m here to tell you that there is an ancient as in thousands of years old ancient tested efficient and ecofriendly way to water your raised bed in ground garden and container garden with minimal effort. This way is so simple so non-chemical so earthly easy so great at conserving water (up to 70%) that you ll wonder why you re just finding out about it. And what is this fantastical way to water With OLLAS of course Don t bother getting your dictionary out the explanation is so simple that even a child can understand the concept and install the OLLA. I know that because hundreds of children have done so right here in the good ole USA WHAT IS AN OLLA An OLLA is a clay pot that was designed as an irrigation system. It is bulbous on the bottom and has a bottle like neck. The most efficient OLLAS have lids for the top and here s why. A terra-cotta clay OLLA is buried neck deep in the soil and filled with water. Plants are placed around the olla. As the plants grow and utilize the water in the soil the dry soil pulls the reservoir of water out of the OLLA allowing the plants to get the water they need no more and no less. Scientifically this is called Soil Moisture Tension. The lid on top prevents the water in the OLLA from evaporating. That frees you up to fill your OLLAS just 2 times weekly The size of the OLLA dictates from how far out water can be pulled. For example a 2 gallon 8 liter OLLA can water out 18 inches from the center of the OLLA. This means plants can be placed right next to the neck of the OLLA and out 18 inches from the center of the OLLA. To help keep that distant draw a circle in the soil around the OLLA. This marks the outermost planting line for a large 2 gal 8 liter OLLA. Plants and seeds can be planted right up to the neck of the OLLA. And yes seeds can be used with OLLAS but you ll need to water as usual until they develop a root system about 4 weeks from planting depending on the seed of course. (We all know about radishes which could probably feed a nation is we put our minds to it ) 86 SUMMED UP To sum this up dig a hole and put your OLLA in it. Back fill. Plant around the OLLA. Fill the OLLA up with water every 3-5 days. If using seeds water until a strong root system develops. If using starter plants water those for a few days until they can get settled. It is a good idea to put mulch around your plants and OLLA. OLLAS come in different sizes so read the fine print to see how far out they water. Smaller OLLAS such as 1 quart liter are best used in containers where the rim diameter is 22 inches or smaller. WINTERING OVER As you know terra-cotta clay needs a little TLC. OLLAS are a little different in that they are fired on a lower temperature than traditional clay gardening containers you buy at big box stores. This gives the OLLA a stronger structure. But they still need some lovin . To figure out how much lovin think about how long the freezing temperatures last in your area and if the answer is below 32 degrees for 3 or 4 weeks in a row then storing your OLLAS out of the ground for the winter would be wise. (See inset for OLLA advice on this.) I can say from experience that an OLLA sitting ON the ground through the winter (in Virginia) and being snowed on does not suffer. But you can do your own experiments OTHER FACTS There are a few other things to know about OLLAS. First placement of the OLLAS in your garden matters. If you are using a 2 gal 8liter OLLA which waters out 18 inches from the center then place the second OLLA 36 inches away center to center. This works for lettuce to basil and in all blanket crops where plants are just inches apart. For larger plants such as tomatoes put 3 tomatoes at the 18 inch mark (see inset) and then put basil or something shorter than the neighboring plants on the 4th X to make watering easier. OLLAS are a perfect addition to raised beds as well as large containers. Second OLLAS are a great support for plants that need a lot of water such as watermelon (that name has a clue ) and cantaloupe. If planting in a mound choose your garden spot for the mound dig a shallow hole place the olla in it and pile the soil around the 87 olla. Place your plants seeds on the mound and mulch mulch mulch. (see inset) Third OLLAS are super for using in containers at pool sides at second homes for busy people and for those who have declared a brown thumb And if you re going on vaca water the soil around the OLLA plus fill the OLLA to the top (mulch mulch mulch) and your plants should be good for a week (test this first before traveling since I can t project EVERY weather pattern). And Fourth have some creative fun with your OLLA. Use the pictures in the article as an inspiration but let me know how creative you are Watering doesn t have to be a chore. Go online and search for OLLA and be a part of a movement that saves up to 70% in water that uses organic materials that saves you time and that is so easy a child can do it Mary Kathryn Dunston has had many hats teacher cartographer watercolorist blah blah blah. But throughout that she has been a health advocate. Gardening staying fit and constantly learning new and not so new ways to improve the quality of her life seems to be the underlying theme. Learning and teaching about OLLAS has lead to understanding just how sick and tired people are of being sick and tired. She has seen a massive movement across the US to go back to the healthier ways of eating and of raising food on a local level. She has partnered with her friend Lori Haynes (in Dripping Springs TX) to educate any who will listen about how simple gardening really is especially when watering with an OLLA is so easy. One of their goals is to support those who teach our youth so they in turn will have healthier lives. Visit www.DrippingSpringsOllas.com and learn more about OLLAS. Have a question Contact them through their web or FaceBook and they ll answer you back Happy and Healthy Gardening 88 Container Gardening Eating fresh foods can be an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately in our rush to deal with our lives we may get into the habit of eating whatever is convenient and may not choose what is kind to our bodies. Having quality food within reach may help you to make better choices. You can increase your access to healthy and fresh vegetables by growing your own and our company Mr. Stacky would love to share some great tips with you. No matter if you live in a tiny apartment or a spacious countryside you can garden and it doesn t have to be a lot of work. One of the easiest ways to start gardening is with containers. Growing food in containers can put the food at your fingertips. Container gardening is a great introduction to gardening for beginners and can save space. A small garden pot can sit on your front steps or hang out on a back patio. Container gardening can be helpful to those with physical challenges. If standing or bending over a traditional garden bed is difficult containers can sit on a table and allow the gardener the ability to tend to their pot from a sitting position. If you re worried that growing your own food sounds like too much work container gardening can simplify the process. Rather than breaking up the soil with a tiller in a traditional garden bed growing in containers allows you the ability to begin more quickly by simply adding a potting medium to your pot. You can purchase soil by the bag at your favorite hardware store and certain varieties will already have the fertilizer mixed in. 89 If you are new to gardening the best way to decide what to grow in your container is by choosing things that you will enjoy eating. One of the easiest things to grow for a beginner is leaf lettuce. It s also something that can be cost a bit to purchase and can go bad in the refrigerator before you eat it. Lettuce seeds can be affordable to purchase at your retailer or online. Thus growing your own can help save money and make your salads fresher. The biggest advantage to growing your own vegetables is that you can try new things that may not always be available at the grocery store. Interesting varieties of chard or radishes can provide layers of flavor that you may not have considered. Plus you will be getting your vegetables directly from the source ... your garden Once you have conquered salad fixings you can adventure to other wondrous vegetables in your containers. Pick something you love and go forward without fear. Experimenting is one of the joyful parts of gardening. Let go and don t be afraid to make mistakes. Some plants may grow well for you while others may linger. Grieve the loss of the ones that didn t make it and start over. However knowing a few simple tips can make gardening easier. Here are a few shortcuts to facilitate your journey Make a list of what you love to eat. Then seek out the resources of your local Extension office. They should have materials that will help guide you on what will grow best in each particular season for your area. Read the front and back of the seed packet. The information should tell you how much sun the plant needs and how long it takes to grow. Get to know how the sun moves around your home and match it to the needs of your plant. Choose a container that is appropriate for what you are growing. For example a cute little coffee cup isn t the best choice for a tomato 90 plant. While it may look great a coffee cup is too small and there isn t any drainage. Ask a lot of questions. Make friends with seasoned gardeners by joining a group or online forum. Seek out people that love to share their plant knowledge. Study as much as you can. For example if you love organic gardening check out books or search the Internet to find information on natural pest control and fertilization. Embrace the unpredictability of Mother Nature. What you dream of growing may not fit into her plans. If you choose to grow outdoors you will need to learn to observe the weather and naturally adjust your gardening strategy with the seasons. Have fun. Gardening can be a fantastic way to relax in nature. You may even find that it provides a bit of meditational time after a stressful day. Thank you for allowing us to share in your growing journey. This article has been written with thoughtfulness through the kind consideration of this magazine and by Mr. Stacky a provider of stackable container systems. To learn more about our gardening planters please visit us at www.mrstacky.com. 91 God s Got You Covered Mankind loves revolution. As a race we have worked hard to progress to our current level of luxury education and convenience. One of our earliest achievements was the agricultural revolution thousands of years ago. We had an industrial revolution in the 1700 s and in our own era a mind blowing technological revolution. These big steps have greatly benefitted us but I d like to bring up the elephant in the room. Sometimes progress is too much progress. There are free public schools but high dropout rates and a loss of practical skills not to mention the toll standardized testing has taken on the upcoming generations ability to think freely. There is access to produce in the stores year round with season barely affecting crop availability. On the same hand those crops are often genetically modified or covered in toxic pesticides and herbicides grown in depleted soil leaving a low nutrient product at which even your dog turns up his nose. Consumerism demands thousands of products and we get them all for the cheap price of being in a few million lifetimes of debt to China. Oh and the amount of waste is so extreme we ship it to other countries. However do not despair We are the ones riding the wave of the new revolution. The revolution of reconnecting to God reconnecting to nature and reconnecting to our higher spiritual selves. In general it s a spiritual revolution. People are waking up to see the damages caused by leaning on man s understanding instead of acknowledging God s power. I am excited to be here with you to share in this new era laying the foundation of a better world for our children. I write to you today about what seems to be the newest craze in gardening but is in fact ancient and eternal. Many affectionately call it Back to Eden gardening. The idea behind it is when you rely on the Lord He is able to answer you in his perfect creation. People realized the madness of tilling their fragile soil putting expensive chemical fertilizers into it and receiving ever decreasing yields of produce despite the myriad of miracle products used. Slowly farmers have turned to God asking why they are failing. He answered. He always does. 92 In nature we have a powerful example of redemption and abundance from lack. No matter the climate something can grow there. God s design works despite challenges whereas man s design fails without challenges. What s the difference you ask Go walk where man hasn t polluted such as a forest or prairie. What do you see I ll tell you what you don t see and that is uncovered dirt. God covers the soil with plants and fallen organic matter. Man is faithless and only believes there is dirt to be had if he can see it In the Back to Eden method gardeners understand the need of this covering. In the fall God covers the earth with leaves and twigs and needles. The winter rain and snow aid in breaking this organic matter down and when spring comes gorgeous rich soil has been made under that mulch covering. No wonder spring blossoms so incredibly The trees and flowers truly spring up with growth If you imitate this covering you will see how quickly worms and fungi move in turning everything beneath into useable soil. You can use anything to cover your soil that you have on hand such as grass clippings leaves straw manure or woodchips. The traditional Back to Eden garden features woodchips which are comprised of green matter from branches leaves and needles. They tend to be more absorbent don t break down as rapidly are unaffected by wind and work wonders for cleaning up wet spots. I will briefly describe how to create a covering and then go into the benefits. First mow any grass or other plants in your desired garden space. Lay down a couple layers of newspaper or cardboard over the space. Avoid cardboard with any sort of laminate gloss images or lots of ink. Now that you ve created a barrier to kill the grass and such beneath apply any organic matter you have. Make a layer of some lovely compost if you have it. Take a note from the Creator when you do this and always layer never mix or till. God doesn t mix or till in the forest. He layers and it is perfect. We have been taught incorrectly and this is us trying to rewire. 93 As your final layer put 4-6 inches of woodchips on top of your compost manure etc. When it rains this will make compost tea for you. Free and abundant. You don t have to break the bank buying compost tea. All of God s gifts are free and the garden is no exception. That s all well and good you think but what s the big deal I ll tell you The soil is a living organism and must be covered the same way we are covered with skin. Now that it s protected it can flourish. Here is the good part. Year after year this organic covering will break down and build better and better soil. It will balance out chemically eventually reaching a neutral 7.0 pH. Both alkaline and acid loving plants flourish in neutral soil. Because the soil is covered it doesn t dry out. You get to remove irrigation and sprinklers and drip lines and all the other desperate contraptions you employ to keep your plants hydrated. The covering keeps it moist down there even in the midst of summer. It also doesn t suffocate roots or trunks. In extreme temperatures it is insulation against both cold and heat. Hello winter crops The covering supplies nutrients to the soil giving you high levels of things like potassium phosphorus nitrogen iron and such. Your food gets tastier and plants healthier especially if you save seeds and start to breed a superior strain. Another great relief is that crop rotation is no longer necessary. The soil is never depleted now that it s properly nourished. You can plant again and again with the same results. Another amazing benefit is freedom from pests. The plants are so full of water that insects drown when they nibble. They need cellulose not water. Pest control becomes very minimal over time as everything improves together. Say goodbye to backbreaking weeding too New weeds are easy to pull out of the woodchips since they re so light and full of air. Some gardeners take a rake and brush them out. It s a cinch I just told you that your biggest problems are erased. How do you feel Whether you are a seasoned green thumb or a hopeless self-dubbed black thumb anyone can have bountiful produce when this return to God s method is employed. I hope you are inspired to pursue this. God s yoke is easy and his burden is light. So can yours be if you use His crea94 tion to your advantage and cast off your burdens. Before I let you go I d like to briefly share my own experience with this method. I live in a suburban neighborhood and have a small backyard. I wanted a garden but wasn t sure how to achieve it since the yard is all grass and I wasn t in a place to buy dirt. My mom discovered the Back to Eden method online and shared the YouTube videos with me. It was truly an answer to prayer. I got a few free loads of woodchips from a local tree service and started my covering (Note that tree services often have to drive a distance to the dump and offload their chips. You are doing them a favor by asking for the chips ) All winter my woodchips sat percolating. I finally couldn t resist and had to check out beneath the chips to see if it had worked. Immediately beneath were gorgeous moist chips and white threads of healthy fungi. A little deeper were worms creating precious vermicompost. Even now no weeds have peeked out of my chips except for a few that blow in on top. My vegetables are happily growing and I am so excited to reap a plentiful harvest What are you still doing here Go watch these videos and call up your local tree service You have an amazing journey ahead of you Live well Back to Eden garden tour link www.youtube.com watch v 2vuXU0aFpgk Katie Shroy lives in White City Oregon with her wonderful hubby. She dreams of having the perfect ten acres on which to raise produce goats and children. Her passion for natural healing energy work gardening and self sustainability led her to start a blog dedicated to holistic living. Follow her on Facebook at A Holistic Moment or subscribe to her blog at aholisticmoment.blogspot.com. Katie is always looking for new information and especially new friends so don t be too shy to drop a line 95 Wh Til y I L Gardening in the central plains of KS has lG ov taught me many hard lessons. The biggest ard e N one That digging garden beds and weeding during o en the long hot summers is back breaking work eventually ing leading every year to that moment when I give up and retreat inside. I always have the best intentions at the beginning of each year. This year I will mulch more I will amend the soil enough that the droughty summer months will not defeat me. I will conquer the grasshoppers and the lack of rain and the 100 degree weeks and I will win this year July and August arrive when it hasn t rained for weeks and good intentions are beat down by the elements and I go inside for a glass of iced tea refusing to look at the garden when the weeds and heat are at their worst. Helping my grandmother water her flower beds when I was very little was my introduction to gardening. My grandparents had a small white stucco house rebuilt in the heart of tornado alley after the Woodward Oklahoma tornado of 1947 took their house and after it was finished she planted Lantana all around the front of the house. I would spend summer weekends at their house with my mother and siblings and my greatest joy was being allowed to water those gorgeous orange and yellow flowers all by myself. Fast forward to today my husband and I own our own small home in small town Kansas. My dream from day one was to surround the house with vegetable and flower beds that would grow lush and colorful evoking those childhood memories all over again. Digging Bermuda grass out of garden beds for years only to find it back again everyday dealing with years of unrelenting drought and finding myself physically challenged in middle age by a bad back and full time desk job my dreams of that perfect garden eluded me every year. My love of gardening is rekindled every spring by the color of green that only happens then by spring rains and even storms that wakes the garden out of its Winter slumber the excitement of going to buy new 96 plants or better yet plants that had volunteered from last year is always the dream. The age of social media gave me the opportunity the last several years to watch many gardening videos. I would search for ways to improve the soil conserve moisture and beat back weeds and realized that there were a lot of gardeners talking about a method I had never heard of. No Till or Lasagna gardening methods were the ones that fascinated me the most. The idea of not digging the soil for garden beds every year sounded both exciting and impossible. Exciting because I no longer had the back that would allow the heavy tilling or digging anymore impossible because you could not have a garden without tilling the soil Or so I believed Last Fall staring at a vegetable bed that I had cleaned out and mulched at the beginning of the year in its weedy Fall glory I thought you know just try it....just give it a go and if it doesn t work then what have you lost I knew from the videos I had watched and the articles I d read that the first step was laying down cardboard or newspapers at the bottom of the bed. Using cardboard that my husband brought home from work I started working on a vegetable bed that was near the back door. I used small decorative fences I had to keep the area separate just because there were other beds on either side. The total square foot of the space was about 150 square feet. I laid the cardboard down making sure to overlap it because that was important to keep weeds and grass from growing up between the pieces. I then used what I already had at the house to start making layers. First I put down 12 or so inches of straw and then made sure the next layer was a nitrogen layer. I knew from composting for years that you layered carbon and nitrogen and from what I had read this was essentially sheet composting on top of cardboard. Several layers later more straw leftover bags of manure some leaves from the Fall supply that I had in bags and kitchen scraps on top for good measure I now had my first official no till bed 97 The instructions I had were also clear that I should wet the cardboard down before I put the first layers on it to get the decomposition off to a good start. Every layer I put down I wet down with the garden hose. I didn t drown the layers just got them nice and wet. I was starting the project in January and although it was cold out it was still terribly dry from a winter with no rain and no snow to speak of. The next couple of months I continued to lay down layers and keep the area sprinkled with the hose....more straw a few bags of manure and all the kitchen scraps I saved would go out onto the lasagna bed every couple of days. I didn t cover up the kitchen scraps I just threw them out onto the bed from my kitchen compost bowl. A couple of times over this two months I peeked under the cardboard around the edges of the bed and peered at the soil underneath....aside from some bug activity and what appeared to be sulking weeds there wasn t a lot going on that I could see. I kept at it though adding more layers and wetting them down. It was March and still hadn t rained or snowed. The first day of Spring had come and gone with no indication that the rainy season was going to bring anything other than more dry weather and I was getting nervous about the lack of precipitation. I stayed hopeful about the no-till bed but it was still an unknown about what was happening under all those layers.....It would get built up and then shrink down again and I knew that was because the layers had to be decomposing at some rate even if I couldn t see it The last frost date for Kansas is around the 15th of April and it s always a wonderful time of year. The nursery that I love going to was preparing for the rush of Spring buyers all of us ready to buy flowers and vegetables to start the new gardening season with I always enter into this 98 Spring ritual with a joyous heart full of possibility and new garden schemes. Picking out new varieties last month Black Krim and Cherokee Purple tomatoes tall Foxglove in peach and cream lavender to edge the rose bed in. The sight of so much beauty and promise overcomes any reservations about planting it all and having to tend to it all year. I bought too much as usual and took it home full of excitement at the new year The next morning I gathered my materials at the edge of the no till bed. I didn t have any other beds prepared yet and although I wasn t sure what I would find under the multiple layers I also knew I would have to dig a new bed if this didn t work out. I set out the flats of plants and my shovel and trowels and wondered how to start Picking a far corner to work in I took the shovel and set it against the straw expecting to hit cardboard and have to move it aside to dig my hole. To my amazement with almost no effort the shovel pierced the layers and sank into the soil almost effortlessly. I pulled the shovel out and laid it next to me and then got on my knees and pushed the straw and composting layers back and literally sank my hand into the soil past my wrist. The soil was dark and moist and full of organic matter and I excitedly pulled more layers away the wet decomposing cardboard revealed a treasure trove of dark brown soil. It was falling apart in my hands and reminded me of what I would expect to see on a forest floor where leaves had fallen undisturbed for years. I was stunned at the difference between what this bed had started as and what it had become. The soil structure that I had fought with for years and almost destroyed with years of tilling and digging had started to repair itself in a few short months. The promises of all the videos and articles had come true. With no hard labor and some thoughtful layering of material the bed was ready to accept my spring plants. I planted everything in the bed that I had bought for it to99 matoes lettuce herbs marigolds for companion planting. Any weeds that spring up are pulled easily by hand and I just lay them down with the rest of the decomposing material. The birds come down and peck at kitchen scraps everyday and the earthworms and other decomposers are happily at work under the straw building yet more soil and improving what is already there. They take care of business under the layers and I walk on the bed on paths now so that I don t smash down what is being built up. It is a system where everyone has a purpose and now that purpose includes me. I love the garden giving it what it needs and it is rewarding me with rapid growth almost no weeds and very little watering needed. Come over this summer when it gets really hot and you ll find me in the garden picking tomatoes with a glass of tea in my hand We ll marvel at the no till bed together Laurie Fraser gardens writes and photographs in her spare time at her house in small town KS with her beloved husband four dogs and a nine pound fur baby named Bearish. Three cats one is feral and lives in the garage investigate the comings and goings in the garden daily. She has an Instagram and FB page and loves to post daily photos of the garden life. I learned my love of gardening from my grandmother in Woodward OK. My grandparents had a small white stucco home that was rebuilt after the 1947 tornado. My greatest summer joy was visiting them and helping water the orange and red Lantana that surrounded the house. Her goal in life is to retire as soon as possible so that she can tear out the rest of the lawn and plant more vegetables and flowers. 100 My tastes run to lasagna gardening. It s true. And if that is because I have better things to do than weed then so be it. Sifting through layers of goodness brings one back to the roots of why I chose this method over others. Our land is mostly sandy loam and most any plant or weed with a vigorous root spread such as briars blackberry nettles and mesquite like this. Their ability to take advantage of the loose soil means a constant battle. Enter Lasagna gardening. It is fairly effortless after a fashion but it begins with almost nothing. Layers of shredded newsprint sand compost and soil are heaped one upon the other as the basis for a raised bed. Preparation is simple enough. A plot of well watered earth covered with a root barrier sits for a season or two or three until everything has rotted underneath. When you are ready to begin remove the weed barrier. Then preferably in the late winter mark off a space no wider than you can reach across from either side and lay down very wet newspaper in the form of a wall place concrete blocks no higher than two high above that. A barrier of plastic or rubber is preferred around the outside but not underneath. If anything can find its way up through this well You go gourd Next cover the wet paper with alternating layers of compost hay hummus and an occasionally some fist sized rocks. Earthworms will eventually come up or you may want to seed the bed with red wigglers to speed the process. Make the beds as long as you like but avoid trees that will grow to eventually overshadow the beds. The first year is likened to starting a compost pile. I feed it any compost that will not reseed and cover it to let it get hot. Add scraps about and cover them with a loose mix of soil and sand. The layers will naturally compress over time but do not dig except to plant. A cover crop such as peanuts or soybeans can t hurt but neither can letting your bed lie fallow. Water occasionally. Lasagna Gardening 101 Year 2 begins with a bed that is probably well below the lip of your barrier. Add compost mixed with peat soil and sand. This is also a good time to add a foot long log here and there. As this is a no till area by not digging you are allowing the biome to grow bugs worms and fungus. As this continues the logs will rot adding to the natural process creating a diversity of (and for) life. Now is a good time to introduce perennials such as asparagus. These roots are also a good test of your soil. My crowns all rotted the first year so I rebuilt layers until there was more sand and better drainage. Now the bed could take my overwatering tendencies Planning is still required depending on your crop. After 3 years I have lots of very healthy asparagus spears. Finally any crop can be grown but some do better than others. Test plantings have shown most anything can be grown in a lasagna garden bed. Companion gardening such as tomatoes and asparagus and flowers or herbs that discourage pests make this method more munchy excuse me much more successful. My motto defines my love for green gardening. Easier gardening is Good. Natural gardening is great Mark Burgess lives in Clyde Texas with his wife Ella and their cats. Their property boasts a pecan orchard and 6 acres of challenging terrain. He is the son of two Master Gardeners hence his love of growing. Mark is also a preacher handyman and the author of The 60 Second War and The Herb Lady of Cherokee Village. Both are available on Amazon.com. 102 They re Off Their Grid For Mother s Day I was given the amazing gift of a dairy goat. My family knows how to make this mama happy. As I was driving back from the City a disgruntled goat baying from the back of our SUV a neglected feeling 3 day old injured gosling with its silkie chick companion cheep cheep cheeping from the front seat a bored and pent up puppy alternately whining and barking from the back seat and the laughter of my daughters bouncing throughout the car I realized how insane and how happy I am. You need a good dose of both to homestead off grid high in the Montana mountains. Especially if you re city folks who just camped in the backyard. My husband used to muse that camping was just spending your vacation pretending to be homeless. Now our lives more resemble full time camping than traditional living. Almost everyone we knew didn t think it would suit us. That our sudden dream didn t quite fit. For a long time I worried about it too. 103 I had been waiting for the moment when it finally sunk in hit home felt real. That moment when I felt more like a homesteader than a camper. When the mountain finally felt like home instead of an extended vacation. When everything would just fit. April 27 was the 2 year anniversary of us leaving our old lives loading up the travel trailer and heading across the country in search of a dream we didn t even know we wanted. It s been a crazy 2 years. It was about that time the anniversary date that it officially hit me. I am a homesteader. This mountain is my home. The dream I m living is actually truly my life now. I found where I belonged. We needed to go to town. Just the small close one with the combination gas station & grocery store. I needed milk and some produce and was thinking about stopping at the river for a picnic with the girls. It had been a long strange month that started out with my husband rolling his big rig over during a freak spring blizzard and then I broke my foot by falling out of bed and slamming in into a chick brooder about a week and a half later. My hubby had to go back out on the road the girls had to really step up to help keep the homestead running smooth. Needless to say I thought we could all use the break especially since the weather was beautiful and I was finally able to bear weight on my foot. Everyone was looking forward to it even put on nice summery town clothes. We don t have a lot of nice clothes. With 200 sqft everything becomes about practicality. Clothes you can t work in aren t very practical but the day seemed to call for them. As we re about to head out the door my little one comes in excitedly exclaiming that our big tom cat Stalin and caught something HUGE Oh no I knew exactly what he d caught. Three days before we had a prison break. One of our grow out rabbit does made a break for it during feeding time and took off fast. The girls and I spent hours chasing that fuzzy butt around the yard to no avail. We tried setting snare traps and luring it in with treats. Every morning we would see it sitting outside the bunny barn waiting to go back in but every time we got close it would take off again. So when I heard that it was something huge I knew without knowing that it was our poor bun. Sure enough when I went outside to check it out that s exactly what it was. I pried her still warm lifeless body from his jaws. I had to make sure she 104 was gone. Stalin has a habit of torturing his kills before death finally settles over them and I felt she deserved more than that. While we were planning on eating her anyway it always breaks my heart when they die especially in unexpected and less than humane ways. Thankfully she was definitely dead. But there wasn t a scratch or puncture on her. Her neck seemed broken but nothing else was amiss. We thanked her we always show that respect for life and apologized for not being able to protect her better. Then we made sure her life and death were not in vain. She was far too large for our cat to eat in one sitting and a half devoured carcass would attract predators. So in my good clothes I took our bun and reclaimed what was ours. With in moments I had out my field processing kit the bun strung up and a bucket to catch the excess. I had her skinned gutted and in the freezer before rig even started to set in. We washed everything up checked our clothes for splatter and went on our way. About half way down the mountain it hit me. That feeling. Who else but absurdly insane homestead freaks would do what I just did and be proud that they didn t get any blood on their Good clothes. It wasn t a production it didn t ruin my day. It just was. Even the girls just accepted it as a part of life of our lives. We finally found the picture puzzle where we belonged. We were homesteaders. I still have moments even after over 6 months on the mountain and even that day where I m waiting for us to have to go back to reality. But each day seems more and more real. We got home with the goat that first that evening milked a full quart out of her collected our daily eggs watered our tiny starter garden checked on our new bunny babies fed the chicks and proceeded to build our newest addition a little stall in the barn. We named her Clover. But she wasn t happy alone in her pen in her new home. After her trying to climb out trying to kick through the window and calling out incessantly I caved and ended up sleeping in the barn with her. Turns out you can make quite the bed out of 3 camp chairs. And while it wasn t a comfortable night rest it was an immensely satisfying one. We now have a source for eggs meat and milk. There are 7 different species not counting us humans living on our homestead. And we plan on getting more every day. Yes simple things are a challenge. Others that you thought would be a problem aren t. Especially off the grid. Milking is an involved event. It s not just grabbing a bucket squeezing an udder 105 and having milk. You need to wash and sterilize to make sure your milk stays clean and uncontaminated. If you don t have running water or ready electricity that s a real time consuming process. The inverter for our solar grid can t handle the draw of the burners the wood stove takes a while to get up enough to get water boiling and the generator isn t very self sufficient. But for ease I use the generator. I can t wait to get a new inverter for our solar grid in looking any sort of dependency less and less. Storing all the eggs is much easier though. I was worried. We have a very small fridge and not enough room to keep dozens of eggs (Especially when you find them all at once in a secret nest under the barn. I thought they were eating them or going egg bound. I even blamed one of the dogs.) Turns out they don t need to be refrigerated. In Europe they don t refrigerate their eggs at all. If you don t wash them the bloom (natural coating made by the chicken to help seal the eggs and help them move down the oviduct) protects them and you can keep them on your counter. We had one dozen that had gotten lost in rotation and lasted 8 weeks. But putting a quick hem in a skirt can become a lot more difficult than sitting down and pressing a pedal. You can also all but give up every taking vacations. Who will care for your animals But there is a good side. It is all so much more rewarding. 106 There is a satisfaction in kneading your own bread collecting your own eggs rendering creamy goat cheese from milk you diligently expressed from your own goat. It s rewarding in a way that makes you proud. You feel connected to your ancestors you feel connected to yourself. You know that you can survive with out dependency. It s a feeling of freedom. Yes my days are overwhelming with all that needs done and I m not the best to stick to a schedule. But things will get into a pattern buildings and fences will be added on I ll get to sleep in the house. It s like breaking in a new pair of jeans. It may take a while to fit perfectly but when it does you ll never want to take them off. That s my life. This life. This amazing dream we re living. We have fought and scraped for it and it is worth every heartache bruise and set back. Amazing to those naysayers and even ourselves we can do this. We re strong we re creative we have fortitude. We are new people molded from what we used to be. And against all odds it suits us beautifully. We fit and it fits us. I for one am never going to take it off. I hope y all have a wonderful summer Farewell from the homestead. Daisy Rain Matanily is a 37 year old mother of 6. She is happily married to her soul mate. They currently live on their 30ac off grid homestead on top of a Montana mountain with their youngest two daughters whom they homeschool. They also fill their hearts and home with 5 cats 3 dogs chickens guinea fowl and a slew of rabbits. Their dream is still in progress and they still laugh together.... A lot 107 What s in Season Apricots Beets Bell Peppers Blackberries Blueberries Cantaloupe Cherries Corn Cucumbers Eggplant Figs Garlic Grapes Green Beans Honeydew Melon Kiwifruit Lima Beans Mushrooms Peaches Peas Plums Radishes Raspberries Strawberries Summer Squash Tomatoes Watermelon Zucchini 108 Am I Tired or Dehydrated Don t let the summer heat ruin your day Did you come in from the hot summer heat and want nothing but a nap however woke up with Constipation Dizziness Dry mouth or sticky mouth Dry skin Headache Rapid Breathing Rapid Heartbeat Not to mention thirsty Dehydration in any season can ruin your day or even up to a few days and cause severe complications. Once you start in on the above symptoms the body is having difficulty maintaining its normal routine. Being outside for work or play can be a dangerous situation if you don t plan for your day. The general rule of thumb by the Mayo Clinic Rochester MN states that the Institute of Medicine requirement for men would be 3 liters of water (13 cups) and for women 2.2 liters of water (9 cups). Usually following these recommendations there are many questions people ask Does coffee count How about tea Soda can I drink 1 liter of soda and can that count for my daily water intake Does it have to be ice cold How about milk can I drink a quart of milk for my water How about a cold beer or three or a couple of mixed drinks Most all of the above will not count as a water replacement Drink your water. Here are some ways you can increase your water intake. 109 As far as room temperature or cold I think that is a matter of preference -just make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids. Working outside not drinking enough water sweating and not replenishing your fluids causes the blood to thicken restricting blood flow causes the decrease of urine output and produces a dark color in urine and many other cell complications. A little pre-planning can provide a successful outdoor experience with positive results The intake of more fluids is obviously important in the hydration scheme of things. However increasing your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables by an additional 5-6 servings will help keep you hydrated. Fruits and vegetables with higher water content that can keep you hydrated are Watermelon and melons berries pineapple peaches plums grapes cherries tomatoes cucumbers celery and zucchinis. These are mainly summer fruits and vegetables. Enjoy your summer drink your water or flavored water and don t forget to add in extra fruits and vegetables If you like plain water then bring bottles of water with you. If you have problems drinking water here are a few tricks that can make staying hydrated easier and tastier. Recipes Several of these recipes I have collected over the years traveling. Many of them are from the Caribbean islands or countries on the equator. General Hydration 16-20 ounces of fresh filtered water teaspoon of unrefined salt (sea salt) teaspoon of unfiltered raw honey Mix stir shake it up and drink this easy refreshing drink. 110 Lemon Water 16 ounces of fresh filtered water to whole lemon (1 small lemon) Mix stir and enjoy. Lemon Cucumber Water 16 oz of fresh filtered water 1 whole small lemon 1 medium cucumber sliced thin Put in a jar and enjoy Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks Basic drink 8 oz of filtered water 1-2 teaspoons of raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar Mix and enjoy. If you are new to ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) try a smaller amount with a pinch of cinnamon and some honey. If it tastes terribly sour your pH could possibly be acidic. Drink every day for a week and about after the 4th day it won t taste as sour. Apple Cider Vinegar Chia Fresca 1 Tablespoon Chia seeds 1-2 teaspoon Raw Apple Cider Vinegar 16 oz water 1 orange or tangerine juiced Sweeten to taste (honey or stevia) Mix and let set for about 20 minutes (or overnight) while chia seeds absorb the liquid. 111 Aqua Frescas are popular drinks refreshing and enjoyable Watermelon Fresca 4 cups of filtered water 2 cups of chopped watermelon 2 teaspoon fresh squeezed lime Blend and enjoy Berry Fresca 4 cups of filtered water 2 cups of mixed berries (strawberries blueberries raspberries) 2 teaspoon fresh squeezed lime Blend and enjoy Papaya Fresca 4 cups of filtered water 2 cups of chopped papaya 2 teaspoon fresh squeezed lime Blend and enjoy Hibiscus tea is great tasting and can keep you hydrated. Make sure you are using Hibiscus roselle for the best hibiscus tea. There are many kinds of hibiscus including many ornamental varieties you do not want to ingest. Most Hispanic grocery stores carry hibiscus dried flowers. Basic Hibiscus Drink 1 quart of filtered water 1 tablespoon of dried hibiscus flowers Sweeten with a little raw honey or stevia. Steep overnight and it will be ready for you in the morning. Be careful it will stain your clothing. 112 One of my favorite ways to keep extra herbs or juices is to freeze them in ice cube trays in a little water to be used in recipes or drinks. It makes me crazy to waste food. If I see herbs starting to go south I immediately pull them out of the refrigerator wash them and make sure they are clean and then put them in an ice cube tray with water. I would say probably teaspoon of fresh herb per cube. Then when you think you are out of basil or can t find any at the store you have some from the freezer Put in a jar or bag and label them. They will go faster than you will imagine Dressed up Hibiscus Drink 4 cups of water 2 Tablespoons dried hibiscus flowers 1 piece of lemongrass (2-3 inches) thinly sliced cup of fresh basil 2-3 small limes squeezed Honey to taste Mix taste and adjust to your taste buds and enjoy over ice. Jamaican Sorrell Drink This drink used to be found only around Christmas time and sometimes called Holiday Sorrel. I ve seen the Hibiscus roselle (also known as Hibiscus sabdariffa). 8 cups of the basic Hibiscus drink (2 quarts of water and 2 tablespoon dried hibiscus flowers) to cup of minced ginger Honey to taste (might be up to 1 cup of honey depending on your taste) Let it steep for at least 12 hours mixing and stirring occasionally. For an added touch add a teaspoon of dried cinnamon or allspice berries are delicious too. 113 If you have excess fruits about to spoil then freeze them in water again the ice cube tray version. There are all kinds of shapes sizes of ice cubes now. You can buy long thin trays and the frozen products will slip right into a water bottle. Great in a water bottle Orange slices Lemon slices Lime slices Chunks of honeydew or cantaloupe Berries strawberries blueberries and raspberries Kiwi fruit Pineapple Cucumber Ginger Herbs mint basil lemongrass bee balm shiso (Japanese basil) found a lot around the USA in summer farmers markets easy to grow also) lavender rosehips rose petals cardamom and the list goes on and on try with your favorite tea Another favorite way to make my water taste better is use Medicine Flower Genuine Flavors http medicineflower.com flavorextracts.html I have probably used all the flavors at one point in time or other. The blueberry (just 2-3 drops in water is amazing) and one of my favorites in the summer or anytime to cool off is apricot. You only use a drop or two. Put in 2 drops in 8 oz of water mix and taste. DO NOT USE A FULL DROPPER FULL. Highly concentrated. You can use in all kinds of recipes. If you are low on fruit and only have a banana you can make a chocolate cherry smoothie with the dark chocolate and cherry flavors You will love these Popsicles Not so much of a portable on the go item however if you come in and you have not used all the hibiscus drink pour it into popsicle molds and enjoy later 114 Green Tea Shiso popsicles Any strength green tea (lightly sweetened) Shiso leaves (Japanese basil) Pour into molds freeze and enjoy Resources interesting books on water Your Body s Many Cries for Water Dr. B. http www.watercure.com Hidden Messages in Water Dr Emoto The Secret Knowledge of Water Craig Childs Pam Gillmore was born in Dodge City Kansas and has lived in many many places in her life. After many years of suffering from allergies and asthma Pam found wellness with raw vegan foods. Pam is a raw and vegan educator and evangelist. She is always finding new ways to make fruits and veggies tantalizing to the taste buds. Pam is also a talented dowser energy worker and teaches many forms of energy work including Source Energy Medicine and Flower Essences. 115 The Holistic Lifestyle Fall Issue coming September 2016 Don t miss an issue Subscribe today at subscribe theholisticlifestyle.com 116