A fresh new look at what we're eating on March 2

A special shout out to endorse “Fresh - New Thinking About What We’re Eating,” a movie by Ana Sofia Joanes, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, at the Gifford Elementary School, 8332 Northwestern Ave. (Highway K) Racine. The movie will be followed by a presentation by Will Allen of Milwaukee’s Growing Power who was recently named one of “100 History Makers in the Making.”

Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; the program is sponsored by Eat Right Racine, a new lively non-profit started by a group of health-oriented mothers who want to encourage everyone to pursue good nutrition. Keep in mind that good nutrition not only nourishes our bodies, it also helps our minds, thoughts and feelings function at their best, giving us good mental health.

Download poster here to share with others.

You are more musical than you think! Sound healing shifts your vibration for the better

We are now learning that sounds -- which are really vibrations that go deep to our core -- can heal or disrupt.

Sound healing is among the newest forms of energy healings, with practitioners creating sounds with Tibetan singing bowls, tuning forks, the voice and and other means. Hope V. Horton and Gabrielle Laden, whose business Sound Accords focuses on the quieting qualities of sound (what may seem like an oxymoron at first read), will teach a workshop, titled Singing Metals, March 19-21 in Madison, Wis.

Here are 10 simple ways to change your energy with sound, excerpted from their larger article on Turning Into the Big Picture with Sound, Vibration and Music.

1. Make spontaneous sounds throughout the day. If something hurts, say "ouch." If something pleases you, laugh out loud. If you have to sneeze, do it as loudly as you can. These kinds of sounds help our bodies to release and re-balance. Stifling them adds to the build-up.

2. Notice the sounds in your environment. What effect do they have on you? What can you do to minimize sounds that make you feel on edge and maximize sounds that nourish you?

3. Use music with more awareness. Notice how you are feeling. Are you stressed? Tired? Irritated? How would you like to be feeling? Choose music that will help promote the desired state.

4. Sing in the shower. Making sounds first thing in the morning can help us to clear out old energy and make space for something new and fresh to enter. Besides, it’s fun!

5. Play an instrument, any instrument. Have you been told that you have no musical talent? Get a drum and play along with your favorite CD. Strike a singing bowl, or a pair of tuning forks. Start to experiment. See what happens to your joy and creativity in life.

6. Be quiet. Spend some time in silence, just listening to yourself. Do you hear your heart beating, your nervous system singing, your stomach gurgling, your breathing moving in and out? How does it feel to just listen to your own sounds?

7. Choose your words carefully. Words are sound, too. Are you creating harmony or discord by what you say and how you say it? Really listen to yourself. Is that what you want to put out? If not, stop and change it.

8. Listen to others. Are there people that you just can’t hear? Relax and experiment with finding the places in you that resonate with them. Be gentle and compassionate with yourself, and them.

9. Get moving to music. Feeling stuck? Then MOVE. Put on some fine, time-tested music. Really listen and start to let the music move you. Notice your own resistance and start to play with it. After a few minutes, you won’t be the same.

10. Hum where it hurts. If you have a pain in your body or are experiencing an uncomfortable emotion, hum into it softly and very gently, with lots of love. Feel the vibrations caused by your own voice. Allow the pain to relax and start flowing again.

No diagnosis, little story -- but rather, what gives person strength

In many cultures -- including many Asian countries -- ancestors are honored and revered. In the United States, we might not even know the names of our grandparents. Feeling disconnected from our ancestors and our larger family system has implications for both our physical and emotional health.

Systemic Constellation Work, an unconventional method of healing which views the family system as an important component of our heath and ability to function in the world, is today's topic at Roots and Legends, 3209 Washington Ave., Racine, as we recognize the passing of our Valentine Day holiday and the start of Chinese New Year.

 

Systemic Constellation Work holds some very different outlooks from traditional mental health concepts. There is no theory. There is no pathology, at least not in the way we think of it according to the psychiatric Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. There are no diagnoses. There is even not very much story about the event that is encouraged.

What is of great interest is what (1) gives a person strength and (2) what allows love to flow within a family, even when it seems on a conscious level that there is no or little love.

Bert Hellinger, a German psychotherpist and former priest, originated Systemic Constellation Work. He started with the person who is wanting healing to arrange representatives of the self and the other people in the situation within a space in a room without any logic or story. Then he noticed what natural physical movements and words appeared to stimulate feelings of calm in a system or grouping of people where anxiety, threat and/or pain were originally present. These groups of people were not the actual people involved in the issue but representatives of the people, including the client.

"As long as our ancestors are still suffering within us, we cannot be truly happy. If we make a step with awareness...we do this for all the past and future generations. Then all arrive at the same moment we arrive and we all find peace at the same time." -- Thich Nhat Hahn

Through these observations, Hellinger came up with the standards of “orders of love,” which identified the importance of the family soul, which may also be described the energy of the family system, rather than the energy of one person.

Belonging. This is the strongest and has to do with our very survival. We often do whatever we must in order to continue to belong to a group, especially our family, even though it may not be best for us. These struggles to leave or stay within a group are often deeply felt. Our families are one "group" we cannot leave, and balancing the "rules" of our family of origin within our adult lives can be a source of a great deal of difficulty. Hidden and unconscious loyalties often govern our actions more than we realize.

Balancing give and take. When we receive or take from another, we feel a debt and some discomfort. When we give back we feel a freedom and a sense of innocence. If giving and taking are out of balance in some way, then we may feel guilt, and sometimes hiding that guilt, we feel anger or other emotions. This can be very apparent between couples and between parents and children.

Social order and place. That is, following the rules of the social group we belong to, the backbone of communal living. It also includes a sense of having a right place in the groups we belong to. This provides a sense of safety and stability. We know where we belong relative to the other members of our group. When this is not clear in a group a great deal of chaos can arise.

It is in telling the “soul” truth that there is love, even when there is pain, that people are able to feel the relief and find the calm and the peace within what appear to be logical contradictions when thinking or talking about it. A key point is that the truth is not some cookie-cutter kind of parroting of certain “ideas” but the individual truth that resonates deeply for that person and that system.

In the time that I have been acquainted with Constellation work -- starting in about 2001 or 2002 -- and in the past two years wheb I've been s studying advanced work in this method., I've seen great healing with this profound method and have experienced many sessions myself. I have been integrating Constellation into my work for some time. 

A poetry-in-slow-motion video that speaks of love, not fear...

Here's one very cool and low-budget video from the United Kingdom. It's called "Embrace Life," and it's poetry in slow motion, advocating safety and seat belts -- not a very sexy subject -- but a necessary one. And it reminds us of love, rather than fear, which is always a good thing when we're encouraging change. Enjoy.

Investing in love? Tips on relationships from Ben Stein, love expert

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought you'd like some thoughts on love and relationships from that great relationship expert -- Ben Stein.

(Huh?)

Yes, that Ben Stein, economist, attorney, writer, former television show host and sometime character actor on the classic "Ferris Buller's Day Off."

Stein cleverly offers a number of concepts of love based on economics in a recent New York Times article. Although I wouldn't use exactly the same words,  here are his tips:

The returns in love situations are proportional to the amount of time and devotion invested. The amount of love you get from an investment in love is correlated, if only roughly, to the amount of yourself you invest in the relationship.

High-quality bonds consistently yield more return than junk, and so it is with high-quality love. Stay with high-quality human beings. Once you find you that are in a junk relationship, sell immediately. Junk situations can look appealing and seductive, but junk is junk.

Research pays off. An appealing and seductive exterior can hide the most danger and chance of loss. For most of us, diversification in love, at least beyond a very small number, is impossible, so it’s necessary to do a lot of research on the choice you make.

In every long-term romantic situation, returns are greater when there is a monopoly. If you have to share your love with others, if you have to compete even after a brief while with others, forget the whole thing.

The returns on your investment should at least equal the cost of the investment. If you are getting less back than you put in over a considerable period of time, back off.

Long-term investment pays off. The impatient day player will fare poorly without inside information or market-controlling power. To coin a phrase: Fall in love in haste, repent at leisure.

Realistic expectations are everything. If you have unrealistic expectations, they will rarely be met. If you think that you can go from nowhere to having someone wonderful in love with you, you are probably wrong.

When you have a winner, stick with your winner. Whether in love or in the stock market, winners are to be prized.

Have a dog or many dogs or cats in your life. These are your anchors to windward and your unfailing source of love.

Read the complete article here.