Late October newsletter: Get ready to find joy and meaning this season

The holiday season is upon us.

From the orange pumpkins that piled at the markets, to the sheet ghosts fluttering from the trees, to the seemingly endless shelves of sparkly Christmas decor, to the new year's party invitation that might be in the mail, we are regularly reminded about the opportunities to be "happy" about the holidays.

Here at Lake House, we are doing our part to help you make the holiday season spiritually meaningful.

We are continuing to offer our Constellation groups, which work with family energies to bring  new meaning to "peace on earth," starting with a women's retreat on Saturday and continuing weekday groups into December.

We are creating a Fall Health & Gift Fest on Nov. 13 so you can support local and regional artisans, craftpersons, innovators and chefs while keeping healthy and finding great treasures.

InterPlay arrives in November and December to celebrate the fruits of the coming darkness and bring joy and fun to our bodies and spirits! It will be a great seasonal experience with a friend or for yourself.

Finally, there is the Blessing of the Gifts, our eighth annual holiday project on Dec. 4 that gives to the needy while bringing joy to giving.

See Lake House calendar for details.

Friends of Bill W.

Twelve-step followers have a resource for recovery, a special guided imagery from Health Journeys called Guided Imagery for the 12 Steps of Recovery. It's recommended by Belleruth Naparstek, the psychotherapist who is the founder of Health Journeys. Find out more about how guided imagery can enhance recovery here. 

Resource for end of life issues

For families dealing with end-of-life issues, Tender Legal Care is a sensitive and useful free e-book that gives lots of information about organ donation, living wills, chemotherapy, life support and artificially administered foods and fluids and more. You may find and download this 50-page e-book here, from Seasons Hospice.

Insurance notes

This is the time of year when employees have the opportunity to review their health insurance plans and make changes in their levels of coverage or select an alternate plan to start Jan. 1, 2011. One insurance plan that is taking enrollment during the month of October is WEA Trust, which offers health coverage for state employers, retirees and school district employees. If you qualify, you may want to take a special look at this respected plan.

Karen is now able to take Children's Community Health Plan insurance for psychotherapy services. For the full list of insurances that are taken, see this link.

Fest gets bigger!

We're pleased to have Ben Lehner from Circa Celeste offer his delicious soups and muffin mixes for gifts at our Nov. 13 Health & Gift Fest, plus Leayn Tabili of Anthelion Jewelry, Tracy Bernhardt of Labrynith Herbals and more. Watch for full list coming soon!

Help us find new digs!

932 Lake Ave. is for sale.

We can't move until it's sold! This beautiful Victorian building in the Southeast Historical District is zoned commercial and residential and has so many creative possibilities -- an upstairs apartment, plus a lower level sauna! Realtor is Pamela Cartwright -- see all details here. Then, let us know a great place that's available for rent.

October newsletter: Problems, solutions, homeopathic programs, how art heals

Do you think that when you know why you have a problem -- whoosh! -- the problem will go away?

This desire to know more about the problem -- why we have it, when it started, how big it is and on and on -- is an old and tired therapeutic illusion. The fact is that you still have the problem -- you're just really well informed about it.

The solution is not to know why you have the problem but to have the problem disappear from your life so that you can move forward, unencumbered and free. This is exactly why experiential healing, including experiential psychotherapy, becomes so important. When we are open, experiential healing assists in making shifting our experience of the problem to an experience of peace and well-being.

Our fall schedule is replete with opportunities to find experiences that are life-changing. Whether you are communing with the images of the Tarot -- and letting them communicate with you -- or participating in the new Ancestors & Constellation gathering -- or making art -- you are giving yourself permission to make a shift.

Peruse your choices:

Karen Carnabucci facilitates the next Constellation gathering at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to look at the hidden problems in families that deny us inner peace with the use of Systemic Constellation Work, the emerging healing process coming from Germany to explore problems that have been intractable. We'll also have a  powerful all-day group just for women with a Constellation focus. Gerlinde Gelina, a German native who has been involved in Constellation work for more than 14 years, will join Karen. (Continuing education credits will be offered to professionals). Then watch the schedule for additional opportunities to participate in other Constellation gatherings at Lake House and at Carolyn's Coffee Connection in Kenosha.

Robin Mitchell, Milwaukee artist and bodyworker, started open art studio last week. It happens every Thursday at 2 and 6 p.m. through Dec. 16. Attend as many studio sessions as you like and experience the healing power of the expressive arts.

If you are not familiar with art therapy, we've borrowed this video from YouTube by Cathy Malchiodi, an internationally known art therapist:




Homeopathic practitioner returns with new programs

Marybeth Buchele

Marybeth Buchele, our visiting homeopathic clinician, be back for two programs – Learn To Make Your Own Flower Essence To Ease Life's Emotional Challenges and Healing Winter Colds & Flu The Natural Way. She'll also be taking 1-1 appointments Oct. 19-21. See her site or Lake House's calendar for more info.

Save Nov. 13 date for our fun Fall & Gift Fest!

We'll be celebrating our fifth year at Lake House with a fun Fall Health & Gift Fest, bringing fabulous gifts such as jewelry, natural soaps, ethnic textiles, cookbooks and more, plus health and wellness ideas and offerings. Save the date and watch this space! (We have three  more open spaces; if you know of an artisan who would complement current offerings,  please let us know.)

Professional training: Constellations, conferences and mirror neurons

Hello!

I just returned from a five-day training in Systemic Constellation Work focusing on relationships, prosperity and success. Drawing on learnings from the retreat, we’ll take a look at various workshops at how relationships are impacted by unknown and unconscious matertial.

Dates for Constellation-related workshops are Oct. 12, Oct. 30 and Nov. 19. See more below:

Upcoming training

Every woman has a mother. Sometimes we are sisters. Sometimes our relationships are deep and love-filled, and other times we may feel regret, pain and a distance from our mothers or other female family members that we yearn to heal. In this all-day workshop on Oct. 30, we discover the challenges and gifts of the women in our families -- mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers and others -- who have impacted our lives. We also find ways to honor the feminine spirit that we carry within us.

In this workshop, Karen Carnabucci will join visiting psychotherapist Gerlinde Gelina, and both will employ the new Systemic Constellation Work from Germany to explore the heart and soul of these relationships. You will learn:

• The background of Systemic Constellation Work
• How this new experiential healing process was developed and how it is different from traditional psychotherapy
• The approach of the method and how family rank and love are viewed
• Why ancestors are important to our well-being

Fee for the day is $95 if registered by Oct. 25 at (262) 633-2645 and $120 thereafter. Partial insurance coverage may be available for the psychotherapy portion of the program, and continuing education certificate for helping professionals will be provided for social workers, addiction counselors, licensed professional counselors and others, plus psychodrama credits. Learn more about Gerlinde Gelina here.

Training date change

Sand Tray Theatre, the professional training that teaches adaptions for sand tray, has been rescheduled to Nov. 12. This has been a popular workshop in the past year and there's always something new to learn.

Schedule at a glance

Oct. 7: Open art studio

Oct. 12: Constellation, Ancestors & Healing

Oct. 20: Professional Networking Women

Oct. 30: Mothers, Sisters, Daughters And Others

Nov. 12: Sand Tray Theatre

Nov. 13: Fall Health & Gift Fest

Nov. 19: Ancestors, Constellation & Healing

Details at  Lake House calendar.

Who comes to trainings?

Judy Conti, a practitioner of acupuncture in Milwaukee, has found that knowledge of experiential methods which she gained in group trainings and individual supervision sessions has helped her in her work with patients.

She told one of her longtime acupuncture patients – who already has made great progress in her health goals – about the “double” role play technique after the patient reported feeling haunted by painful past memories.

Judy, who is also a registered nurse and has other trauma training with University of Wisocnsin-Milwaukee, used the double technique in a simple way to provide containment of emotions and followed with an acupuncture session to address post-trauma stress. She reports:

“She absolutely loved the PTSD treatment and the containing double. Over the course of the summer, she has come back for four more treatments, and I told her yesterday I have never seen her look so serene. I think this containing double is awesome for some people. It really validated her and seemed to strengthen her from the inside. I thank the group and, of course, Karen especially for the learning of this safe and very healing way of helping people.”

A big oops!


I misspelled the link for Kerry Tharp's mosiac art studio in the previous newsletter. See her beautiful art and information about her work at Mosaics By Kerry.

Conference invite -- you too!

Karen Carnabucci is pleased to have been invited to present Stories Of Our Ancestors at the annual conference of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy & Psychodrama April 28 to May 2, 2011 in Clearwater, Fla. See conference info and registration details here.

Conference

Interested in drama therapy, a cousin of psychodrama? The National Association of Drama Therapy will have its annual conference Nov. 4-7 in Chicago, Ill. See NADT conference info here.

Mirror neurons and why they're so important

For years, I've been preaching about how what we observe is damaging or helpful -- important distinctions when we discuss health and healing. Now science is showing that mirror neurons in the brain determine what feelings and actions we observe when watching others will "download" into our own brains and affect us strongly. It also appears that these mirror neurons help create empathy within us.

Enjoy this enlightening and fun video:

E-books available

Check out Karen's e-books for sale at Lake House Health & Learning Center's store.

The Psychodrama Notebook (formerly Practical Psychodrama) is a great review for psychodrama certification candidates and anyone who wants an overview of the magical action method of psychodrama. Whole Person Marketing gives practical and creative ideas for building and marketing holistic practices.

Tons of ways to get to sleep without medications

"I have insomnia. How do I get to sleep without medication?"

This common question is asked regularly, and I can tell you there are lots of people who are Sleepless in Racine. Plus, Kenosha and other points, west, south and north.

Deciding to find sleep without medication --which many people find has limitations anyway -- means some effort on your part. There are actually lots of choices, but you will have to decide which ones you are willing to try.

You'll have to make an investment and maybe even consider new ideas.

Prepare for bed with bedtime rituals. You will want your rituals to be comforting and able to slow you into dream time. Calming music, turning down the lights, a warm bath or shower, an inspirational reading, prayer or other simple practices will help you relax.

Attend to issues of physical pain. If you are in pain, it will be hard to relax enough to sleep. Get a physical examination if necessary and discuss with health professional.

Avoid stimulating beverages -- coffee, tea, chocolate and other caffeinated drinks and  foods -- that perk you up rather than calm you down. Many people find sugar and salt also stimulate the body rather than calming it.

Also, avoid over-stimulating movies, books and television shows at night, including the news, which tend to topics of trauma and distress, and other shows with violent or disturbing material. Reading material should focus on quieting thoughts, rather than accelerating them.

Consider herbs such as valerian, melatonin, passiflora that are generally considered safe and non-habit forming. Check with your doctor if you are taking medications of any kind to be sure that there will be no harmful interactions.

Homeopathy remedies are available over the counter at health food shops and other alternative shops and online that help with improving sleep. Remember to refrain from substances that counteract the remedies, such as tea tree oil, mint, coffee, menthol and eucalyptus. If you are sleepless for a longer term, consider a constitutional remedy by the homeopathic practitioner.

Exercise and movement earlier in the day will help you release energy that will keep you awake at night.

At night, try a few calming yoga postures if you know them. If you don't know yoga, try simple stretching and breathe as you stretch.

Acupuncture helps balance energy meridians and calms and soothes the nervous system. If you don't like needles, try acupressure.

Journaling. Studies by psychologist James Pennebaker shows that people who regularly make journal entries about their thoughts and feelings feel less depressed and their immune system is better. You can write about your day

Refrain from panicking. If you absolutely can't sleep, just allow yourself to close your eyes and rest. Give yourself a face massage or put one hand on your heart and one hand on your forehead, another calming posture, while laying down.

Know what you can't control. If you are struggling with a personal issue or worrying about the next day's weather, it will be important to recognize that where your influence ends and come to peace with it. Some people have found that writing down a word or two what they can't control and putting it in a box dubbed "God Box" is a good way of letting it go.

Give yourself a foot rub. You will relax the nerves that end in your feet and soothe your feet which have the responsibility of carrying you around all day.

Stop your computer use early in the evening. Working at the computer activates the brain, and there is some belief that the light of the computer screen activates brain functions rather than calming them. Experiment with shortening your computer use if this may be a problem.

Finally, you may have to consider addressing those issues that keep you awake at night -- internal struggles that aren't solved by teas, pills or foot rubs but need to be clearly seen and sorted through with professional psychotherapy.

Gerlinde Gelina is co-leader of women's retreat

Growing up in Germany, Gerlinde Gelina discovered very early that she had two passions - the creative force and a desire to understand the essence of human beings. Following a family tradition, she earned her master's degree and became dental lab technician. She satisfied her longing for creativity as she shaped new smiles for people. To explore her curiosity for the human soul, she studied Gestalt psychotherapy.

Gerlinde will be joining Karen Carnabucci for the all-day retreat Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Grandmothers And Others on Saturday, Oct. 30, at Lake House Health & Learning Center, Racine. See more details here.

A graduate of the Gestalt Institute of Cologne, Gerlinde's coursework included the study and application of a broad range of psycho-social issues and Gestalt techniques. During this time, Systemic Constellation Work became her focus.

Gerlinde has been involved in Gestalt and Constellation work for more than 14 years. She has been leading workshops and working as a Gestalt therapist, utilizing the approach of Bert Hellinger, since 2001, and she co-founded the Gestalt Study-Group in Cologne.

Having progressively refined her technique, Gerlinde has trained with many of the founders and leading facilitators of Dynamic and Systemic Constellations, including Bert Hellinger, Dr. Wilfried Nelles, Dr. Victor Chu, Jacob and Sieglinde Schneider and Stephan Hausner.

In October 2005 she presented a workshop on systemic dynamics of career issues at the first U.S. Conference on Systemic Constellation Work.

Unlocking the possibilities of homeopathy for emotional and physical health

Marybeth Buchele

George Washington, the father of our country, died of a chill after riding his horse in the rainy countryside.

He most probably would have lived -- if he had been treated with homeopathy.

Instead, he was "bled" of three pints of blood by the doctors of his day, a practice that weakened his already fragile health.

Marybeth Buchele, a master homeopathic practitioner, shared many stories about this proven alternative medical model of treatment in August when she visited Lake House Health & Learning Center for the first time. She's returning Oct. 19-21 to provide more good health information on gentle flower essences and healing Winter colds and flu. See calendar for details.

Homeopathy -- little known in the United States but very popular and well respected in Europe and India -- is good treatment for so many maladies, from bee stings and backaches to asthma and anxiety.

Medicine -- made from minute amounts of herbs, minerals and other things -- come in forms of tinctures and tiny pellet-like pills. Unlike the traditional medications from the Western model of treatment, there are virtually no side effects and significant changes may be experienced within months.

As a psychotherapist, I like the concept that emotional conditions respond well to these treatments, and have begun suggesting homeopathy to the people I work with, especially those who have found that conventional psychiatric medications have not been helpful.

Here are some snapshots from Marybeth's August presentation:

• 
  
  People interested in simple homeopathy can begin by experimenting with basic homeopathic remedies for skin irritations, bruises and other aliments. These remedies are typically available at health food stores and other shops that sell natural medicines as well as online.
• 
  
  It is not suggested to self treat chronic conditions, such as allergies, such as inflammation, gastric and intestinal disorders, stomach or head pain and many more ailments.
• 
  
  Substances such as coffee, mint, eucalyptus, camphor and tea tree oil will prevent homeopathic remedies from working properly. You will need to find alternative toothpastes -- must of which contain mint -- and read labels carefully while being treated.

Marybeth will also give a special presentation for Mind Body Spirit Wisconsin Meetup members on Oct. 20. To join the Meetup group, click here.

September newsletter: adult education begins Friday for fifth year

Yes, it’s time for new beginnings. Now that the kids are back to school, what do you want to learn?

We begin our new Midwest Training Series on Friday, Sept. 24, with the training program, Endings And Beginnings: Using Action For Significant Transitions.

Learn how to bring action and simple rituals to working with groups and individuals who are beginning or ending relationships, jobs, careers or other kinds of transitions. In this professional training program, taught by Karen Carnabucci, MSS, LCSW, TEP, you will  learn:

• How to evoke memories of past important events and experiences
• Notice when you are the “bridge” of change.
• Take appropriate action to acknowledge endings and transitions.
• Honoring the new and the unknown.

Trainees will become acquainted with the basics of action methods including techniques of doubling, role reversal, mirroring and soliloquy and effective experiential process.

  

The training is 9 a.m. to noon; fee is $35 and includes handout and three continuing education credits and psychodrama hours for social workers addictions counselors and licensed professional counselors. Register now: contact Karen Carnabucci at (262) 633-2645 to reserve your space by Thursday morning, Sept. 23.

See below for the remainder of the 2010 schedule and watch for 2011 training dates.

Schedule at a glance

Sept. 24

Training; Endings & Beginnings: Action Methods For Significant Transitions

Sept. 25
Tarot for Self Discovery

Oct. 7 and ongoing
Open Studio

Oct. 9
Tarot for Self Discovery

Oct. 12
Ancestors, Constellation & Healing

Oct. 19-21
Homeopathy appointments with Marybeth Buchele

Oct. 19
Learn How To Make Your Own Flower Essence

Oct. 20
Professional Networking Women

Oct. 21
Healing Winter Colds & Flu The Natural Way

Oct. 22
Professional Training: Introducing Action In 1-1 Settings For Counselors, Coaches, Others

Oct. 23
Tarot for Self Discovery

Oct. 30
Mothers, Daughters, Grandmothers & Others (CEUs available)
(also available on Oct. 29 if there is interest)

Nov. 5
Professional Training: Sand Tray Theatre

Nov. 13
Fall Health & Gift Fest

Nov. 17
Professional Networking Women

Nov. 19
Ancestors, Constellation & Healing

Dec. 4
Blessing Of The Gifts

Dec. 15
Professional Networking Women

Find more details and updates at Lake House's calendar.

Who comes to a class?

We’re pleased to celebrate our fifth year at Lake House Health & Learning Center along with our fifth year of the Midwest Training Series. We estimate that more than 150 trainees from throughout the Greater Milwaukee area and throughout the upper Midwest (Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio) have taken part in these adult education programs which teach experiential and group skills to social workers, helping professionals, addictions counselors, educators, artists, attorneys, group leaders and others.

Like who?

Like Kerry Tharp, a licensed clinical social worker and self-taught artist who teaches adults how to make mosaic art. She also shows at regional art exhibits and enjoys the opportunity to express her creativity. She integrates her new experiential skills at her studio in Belgium, Wis.

She says:  “The learnings color my interactions every single day, including my teaching. I work to be respectful of others, to take much more time to 'listen' in many ways -- through experience, not just talk.” She adds: “I definitely have an appreciation for the vulnerability in individuals and my responses to students. I am cautious to not consciously push too far with what I see as therapeutic teaching moments. I trust that students intuitively know how far they feel safe going."

See her art and learn about her classes at Mosiacs By Kerry.

Contact info

Call Karen Carnabucci at (262) 633-2645 to reserve a training seat, request a mini-demonstration for your organization or group, book a training or retreat or request in-person or phone supervision, case consultation or coaching.

Our September newsletter - Tarot, Homeopathy, Women's Group, Fall Gift Fair

There’s something about the first subtle whisper of autumn that shows up at this time of the year.

It’s a reminder about the importance of listening to those tiny clues that speak of intuition and wisdom in my own life.

And I like to help others learn to listen for the subtle whispers in their own lives. Fall is transformation –a good time to ponder how our own lives are transforming – and what seeds we want to plant for next year.

~ Karen Carnabucci, MSS, LCSW, TEP

You’ve been asking about Tarot...

And we have Tarot. Karen Carnabucci will teach three Tarot For Self Discovery classes starting  this Saturday, Sept. 25. Then there's more on Oct. 9 and Oct. 23. Take one or all -- please bring our own Tarot deck.

Our homeopathic  programs with visiting practitioner Marybeth Buchele in August have proven successful. She'll be back for two programs – How To Make Your Own Flower Essence To Ease Life's Challenges and Healing Winter Colds and Flu the Natural Way in October.

Robin Mitchell, Milwaukee artist and bodyworker, will offer an open art studio starting Oct. 7 through December. Attend as many studio sessions as you like and experience the healing power of the expressive arts.

And -- more Constellation groups through the end of 2010 including a powerful all-day group retreat just for women, Women, Sisters, Mothers and Grandmothers on Oct 30. Gerlinde Gelina, a German native who has been involved in Constellation work for more than 14 years, will join Karen. It will be great! (P.S. If enough women are interested, we'll present the retreat on Friday, Oct. 29, instead.)

Finally, save the date for our Fall Heath & Gift Fest on Nov. 13 as we celebrate our fifth year at Lake House and promote local shopping with local artisans and health professionals. Our own Helene Hellesen will give chair massages, and crafters will have jewelry, soap, purses, cards, photographs, gifts and many other cool things.

Lots more info here at Lake House's calendar.


Schedule at a glance

Sept. 24
Training: Endings & Beginnings: Using Action Therapy For Significant Transitions

Sept. 25
Tarot for Self Discovery

Oct. 7 and ongoing
Open Studio

Oct. 9
Tarot for Self Discovery

Oct. 12
Ancestors, Constellation & Healing

Oct. 19-21
Homeopathy appointments with Marybeth Buchele

Oct. 19
Learn How To Make Your Own Flower Essence To Ease Life's Emotional Challenges

Oct. 20
Professional Networking Women

Oct. 21
Healing Winter Colds & Flu The Natural Way

Oct. 22
Professional Training: Introducing Action In 1-1 Settings For Counselors, Coaches, Others

Oct. 23
Tarot for Self Discovery

Oct. 30
Mothers, Daughters, Grandmothers & Others (CEUs available)
(Also available on Oct. 29 if there is enough interest)

Nov. 5
Professional Training: Sand Tray Theatre

Nov. 13
Fall Health & Gift Fest

Nov. 17
Professional Networking Women

Nov. 19
Ancestors, Constellation & Healing

Dec. 4
Blessing Of The Gifts

Dec. 15
Professional Networking Women

Find details, directions and discussion here. Trainings and programs for 2011 will be announced shortly.

Resources for you

Bless All Who Serve: Sources of Hope, Courage and Faith for Military Personnel and Their Families, a new pocket-size book of readings and songs from many faith traditions, plus reflections by veterans and military chaplains, is available free to military chaplains, ministers, and enlisted men and women of all faiths.

Chaplains and ministers should email here. Military personnel and their families may email here. Others, purchase book for $8 and see sample prayer from online book store of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Overcoming Perfectionism - The Key To A Balanced Recovery by Ann Smith, one of my mentors at Caron Treatment Centers in Wernersville, Pa., is available as a free download on Amazon's Kindle only until Wednesday, Sept. 22. Click here for details.

Still online: Karen's e-book Address Your Stress, Stay Healthy And Calm"available for download courtesy of Educators Credit Union.

Sounds True is wonderful resource for people seeking audio books and DVDs. Right now the organiztion is offering free downloads -- The Power of Meditation and Healing Sounds if you sign up for its free e-mail newsletter.

932 Lake Ave. is for sale -- help Lake House move!

Our building is for sale but we can't move until the building sells. Here's how the the real estate agent describes it:  Queen Anne Victorian two-story home in the Historic District boasting gorgeous lake views! Home can be used as a residence or for business purposes. Residence features: 5 bedrooms. 1.5+ baths, beautiful entrance, fireplace, french doors, hardwood floors and a partially finished lower level with additional living space, beautiful brick walls, additional bathroom and  sauna!

See full listing here. Then help us find new rental digs!

InterPlay comes to Racine to play and have fun

We're pleased to welcome InterPlay, an internationally known organization that promotes play and fun as a route to health, spiritual discovery and well being, to Racine and the Lake House Health & Learning Center on the evening of Tuesday, July 13.

The organization is based in California and was co-founded by Cynthia Winton-Henry, who will preside at a book signing and special program on Monday, July 12. A two-day intensive with Cynthia is planned at the DeKoven Center on  July 13 and 14. See Lake House event here and the full schedule in Racine here.

Here, InterPlayer Cynthia Winton-Henry explains the "Hoopla!" ritual for times of transition.

Image a healthy body, free of cancer and pain

In the last post, we discussed food as an important healer with cancer, as well as healthy eating as a way to prevent cancer.

Today we discuss guided imagery, a type of relaxation exercise designed to engage your mind, body and spirit, which many people have found extremely helpful for reducing stress and pain, acclerating healing and changing negative thoughts. I like the Health Journeys imageries by Belleruth Naparstak (shown at left) which you can order as CDs or downloads from her site.

However, there are a number of quality imagery sessions online that you can listen to and download for free that the Kaiser Permanente health site. When you click on the link, scroll down to look for topics of radiation, healthy immune system and successful surgery.

Belleruth also talks about her husband's bout with cancer and the valuable lessons that she learned with that experience.

If you don't have cancer, you'll notice many other topics that are helpful for stress reduction, pain relief, healthy sleep and many other health issues.

Diet does affect cancer and food can be your healer

 Nearly 2,000 people walked Racine's Relay For Life route the weekend of June 12 to call attention to the disease of cancer and raise funds for research, as The Racine Post reported here. The good news is that this local fund raiser gathered a whopping $205,000 to research cancer.

But there's other news, too. Cancer devastates many families. Friends and coworkers suffer as they helplessly watch the illness progress. In my circle of friends, family and acquaintances, I've counted more than enough sad events where people suffered with cancer; some died, despite giving the illness their best fight. Within my therapy practice, I often hear of the emotional toll that cancer brings to patients and families as they try to find a pathway out of pain to health.

In a recent Huffington Post article, How Diet Affects Cancer, medical doctor Keith Block questioned some of the common instructions that Western medicine gives to patients, including directions to eat "well," including many fats and meats. He notes, instead, that:

• Diets high in fat and refined carbohydrates make you more likely to become overweight, which in turn increases your risk of tumor recurrences. Obese men are at significantly greater risk of developing more aggressive prostate cancer.
• Dietary fats can impair the body's anti-cancer defenses by depressing the activity of natural killer (NK) cells, while a low-fat diet markedly increases NK activity. Natural killer cells play a key role in preventing metastasis.
• Obese breast cancer patients are two to four times more likely to experience a recurrence than women of normal weight.

A new book, Anticancer, by another medical doctor David Servan-Schreiber  -- who experienced cancer not once but twice -- discusses the standard American diet -- with its meats, fats, oils and processed foods -- that appears to stimulate and feed cancer cells. He also provides thoughts about how psychotherapy, especially experiential therapies, offers another dimension of healing.

Mercedes Dzindzeleta, a local massage therapist and health educator, has been researching cancer and legitmate health care alternaties for some time; an earlier blog listed two attractive cookbooks that she found useful. Today we bring more research, including what appears to be the well known "FOCC" dish, which blends flaxseed oil and cottage cheese. The two ingredients appear to make the the mixture more powerful and more able to be metabolized in the body.

Here is a video which shows how this simple recipe is constructed:




FOCC comes from what is known as the Budwig Protocol, which is based on studies from Dr. Johanna Budwig, a German biochemist and expert on fats and oils. Dr. Budwig, who died in 2003, held a Ph.D. in Natural Science and was schooled in pharmaceutical science, physics, medicine, botany and biology. She is best known for her research on the benefits of flaxseed oil combined with sulphurated proteins in the diet, and published several books on the subject, including "Cancer--A Fat Problem," "The Death of the Tumor," and "True Health Against Arteriosclerosis, Heart Infarction & Cancer." 

Dr. Budwig had a 90 percent-plus success rate with this protocol with cancer patients during a 50-year period. A vegetarian, she continued to work with patients in Germany from the 1950s through 2002, while in her nineties. She was healthy and mentally sharp, writing and lecturing. One letter from a patient who met with her in October 2000, commented on her energy and vitality, saying she looked and seemed much younger than her age.

The Budwig diet is a health supplement that is best incorporated in a general diet plan. Flaxseed oil should be purchased from the refrigerated section of a health food store, never in capsule form and never from the shelves. Since degradation begins as soon as the container is opened, the oil should be kept refrigerated and used within the recommended time of eight weeks.

Her ideas are discused in detail on the Cancer Cure Foundation's website and on her own site here. There's also a Yahoo discussion list, an online support group, where posters share experiences and questions. Proponents say her diet -- which involves more than just the cottage cheese mixture -- also helps with arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other serious ailments.

Here are other sites which may be helpful:

The Budwig Diet Protocol: The Healing of Cancer and Other Diseases
Transition diet to the Budwig Protocol
The Budwig Diet For Cancer Treatment

Books include:

“When you change the way you look at things, things change.”

When you change the way you look at things, things change.” – Wayne Dyer.

Conventional wisdom says that we have to “fight” illnesses like depression, cancer, heart diseases and drug addition to become healthy.

There’s a story that Louis Pasteur, the famous French scientist who developed pasteurization to protect milk form germs, admitted on his death bed that he agreed with another prominent scientist who said that our body isn’t attacked from outside by germs; rather, our cells are changed within by what we eat, our thoughts, our emotions and what we create inside ourselves

More recently, Candace Pert, a researcher and innovator acclaimed for her pioneering work in the area of psychoneuroimmunology, has concluded that our thoughts and emotions change the body’s molecules and affect our health. She is more popularly known for appeared in the 2004 film “What the Bleep Do We Know,” speaking as a serious scientist to the notion that we create our own reality

Her book, “Molecules of Emotion” contends that the brain, glands, and immune system are in constant communication which gives us real reason to observe our thoughts, notice our environment and wonder what we are feeding ourselves.

All this gives pause to consider how we change and what influences changes within us.

Looking at your experience with new eyes?

In a recent blog, we explored the challenges of experience and how we can interpret experiences to advance our personal development.

Now, there is a little bit of caution here. Sometimes we interpret an experience so narrowlly that is not to our benefit. In other words, the story that we made for ourselves ends up diminishing ourselves and our lives rather than enhancing our understanding of ourselves and our world.

An example:

I know a woman who lived in a small town and decided to leave the town and her family to move across five states to find a good job in a big city.

Her family was important to her. She tried to stay in touch with the family members who lived more than 500 miles away, but it wasn’t easy to make that long drive on a regular basis, especially after children arrived and the travels became more complicated. She always was the one to visit and very few members of her family traveled to visit her.

She came to the conclusion that they didn’t care about her and that their lives and families were more important than her and her family. Many years passed, and her contact with them diminished to the bare minimum – exchanging cards at Christmas with barely a note inside, just the names.

But I saw a different conclusion, a different story. She was the adventurous one – the one who bravely left home and hearth for a new life in a strange town -- full of courage. The ones who were left behind were hardly adventurous at all. They preferred to play it safe and stay in their hometown, even though opportunities were very limited.

The truth is the woman loved her family members and missed them. Rather than “experiencing” the sadness and the yearning to connect more with her family, she quickly made up a story that they were self-centered and too interested in their own lives to pay attention to her.

What might happen if you look at one of your experiences with new eyes and a different way of thinking? Ho might you change?

An experience about change to provoke your thoughts

I can talk for an hour about the challenges of change. In our conversation, we might admit that change is often difficult and scary -- although sometimes exhilarating and necessary.

But anything that I say will not give you the full experience of change. So, let's have an experience that will allow you to experience change that will lead to understanding yourself and an idea much more deeply than I can ever explain.

First, let’s put our hands on our laps. Then give attention to our hands on our laps. Without looking, interlace the fingers on your right hand with the fingers on your left hand.

Good. Now take a moment to glance at your hands and notice how your hands look, how your fingers are laced and where your thumbs are placed.

Notice if your right thumb is placed over your left thumb – or vice versa. It’s OK – whatever way your thumbs have intersected is just fine. We just want to notice what happens and we want to notice how this feels.

Now, slowly and with awareness, lift the thumb that’s on the top. Move your other thumb to allow the top thumb to go underneath and then put the remaining thumb on top.

Now, let’s take a moment to notice what your experience is like.

Odd? Strange? Different? Uncomfortable? Awkward? Or something else?

This is an experience – admittedly, a very simple experience – about change. Notice that one way is not right and the other way is not wrong. They are just different. And in just a few minutes you have an experience about change that goes much more deeply into your being than I could ever explain, even if I talked about change for the next 100 days.

Now, we also want to notice what you DO with the experience. Do you decide, without thinking very hard, that the second way is much too difficult and that you want to quickly return to the old comfortable way?

Do you notice that you are intrigued by the difference of the two experiences and start overlapping your thumbs in various configurations to learn more about how this feels?

Are you able to consider that change involves some level of discomfort and are you willing to figure out how to tolerate the discomfort while you are approaching or in the midst of change?

Notice that the experience comes first. Once we have the experience, we can begin to find the context about how the experience fits in our lives.

It's never too late to experience a happy childhood

Long before I was a psychotherapist, I decided it was never too late to have a happy childhood.

A personal experience:

I never attended my high school prom. I was too nerdy, too shy and too lacking in social graces to enjoy this highlight milestone of high school.

Later, when I was in my 30s, I had the good luck to work as a reporter and editor for the morning newspaper in Lancaster, Pa. I decided to assign myself to attend a high school prom and write an article about the experience.

I had girlfriends who went “prom dress” shopping with me, giggling and waiting patiently as I finally picked a filmy gown with a peach colored sash and pearl buttons. I found Jerry, a wise-cracking and adventurous male friend who agreed to be my date, resplendent in a borrowed black tuxedo. My good friends, Patti and Joe, lent their house for the big evening. Other friends bought their children for pictures and silliness. An elderly neighbor man showed up to play the kind grandfather role.

Everyone cheered  and clapped as I dramatically descended the staircase and – YES! – took pictures of me and my companion in front of the fireplace, my fluffy and flowery wrist corsage in full view.  Friend Joe, in his role as "Dad," mock-sternly asked my date what time he would return me to home.

Then we went off to the prom, finishing the evening with an early morning breakfast at a local diner. It was a wonderful evening, and I love the warm memories that I hold within me today, more than 20 years later.

In my psychotherapy sessions, I sometimes challenge my clients to identify an experience that they did  not have the opportunity to have in their own lives, something that shadows their days with the sad feeling of "missing out." Then we explore how we can consciously create that experience in safe, positive and healthy way so that it becomes a part of their lives.

What have you missed? What ideas do you have to repair that experience?

"If it feels good, do it." Really?

Remember the bit of advice from the 1960s -- if it feels good, do it?

Well, we might know a teenager who just got pregnant because sex “felt good” but who will have to deal with the consequences of tending to an actual needy and noisy infant.

Or an alcoholic or drug addict who said that first drink or drug felt good but now the eighth drink and ninth drug spiraled to compulsive and out of control behavior.

Or — maybe you have a story like this, one that you just can't explain, no matter how much you try to wrap your brain around it.

The truth is:

We need to value both feelings AND thoughts. One is not more important than the other.

The truth is:

Logic is important and good. It is a gift.

But experience is necessary. It is a gift.

The understanding of the complexity of our brains is the main reason that I have been attracted to experiential psychotherapy and immense value of experience in our lives and how it fits with logic and intellect. It is the reason that talk therapy, as valuable as it is, has its limits.

A (very) short lesson in brain science:

We have a complicated brain with a number of parts that have specific jobs. And our brain has two hemispheres, the right brain and the left brain.

The left brain is the logical side of the self. Logic examines general forms that arguments may take, which forms are valid, and which are fallacies. It is one kind of critical thinking. It is the part of the brain that puts words together, allowing me to speak and you to listen and make sense of what I am saying.

The right brain is focused on emotions, intuition and sensory experience. Your right brain loves colors and textures and pink, purple and red – with sparkles and fringe, even if it doesn’t match! Your right brain loves the picture on this blog page more than the words. This side of the brain is the storehouse of feelings, and feelings are not logical, they just are. And if you think that you can explain your feelings through logic, then you might be rationalizing and denying – or just making stuff up!

The logic and intuition of our brains is meant to swing back and forth so that we are able to constantly switch between these two valuable ways of being in the world.

Here’s another interesting tidbit:

We also know that experiences change our brain. In trauma studies, for instance, scientists have actually been able to monitor how there are cellular changes within the brain when the person experiences a trauma such as abuse, combat or another horrifying event.

However, there’s other good news:

People who are survivors of trauma can heal when their brains change. This means that extremely painful or scary experiences can change the brain for the worse and that positive experiences can change the brain for the better. This is called healing.

Common sense says the brain isn't always useful

Logic doesn't always make sense. I know this. I am by profession a psychotherapist, coach, and educator and most people who seek my  help and advice arrive when logic doesn't work.

Typically, when we speak of problem, it is suggested that we think and talk about the problem and apply logic to solve it. When people are struggling with a dilemma, decision or problem, the conventional suggestion involves thinking -- using common sense to figure out the problem:

Think before you speak.

Think it through.

Think out of the box.

Now, thinking is a good thing. We can remember times when we have used our brains. We made lists of pros and cons about a certain decision and followed a plan of action that sounded really good in our heads.

There was just one problem – when the logical solution was applied to real life, it didn’t work very well.

We have an idea about how wonderful it would be to go on this vacation or have that romatic partner or purchase this great new outfit. That’s the logical mind speaking. We can have lots of reasons to back up the rightness of our desires.

In my own life, I’ve had the opportunity to  relearn this concept many times, and I am sure that you  have as well. Remember that wish that you really, really wanted to come true. Maybe it was that perfect job that turned out to be a nightmare bcause you were't prepared for the 12-hour days? Or that gorgeous big house that seemed like a really great real estate investment until the bottom fell out of the ecomony and you strugged to pay your mortgage?

That brings us to another old piece of advice:

Be careful what you pray for.

It seems that many times when we get what we’ve been wanting, the experience we receive is quite different. A loyalty to logic presumes that we have control over our world. It further presumes that we can predict everything that will happen:

Such as: 2 + 2 = 4.

However, life is not logical. For instance:

How is it that a woman  who claims to be a loving and caring mother buys heroin with her son, teaches him how to use the heroin and uses the drug with him?

How is it that a man says he wants to be healthy but eats a double cheese pizza every day followed with a chaser of three doughnuts?

How is it that a woman is terribly abused but does not leave her spouse – even when financial help and refuge is offered?

When we ponder these questions, we see that there are limits to logic, just like there are limits to our control over the word. For some people, the logic of the solution – follow me on this – lays in other kinds of advice:

Follow your heart.

Listen to your gut.

Go with the flow.

But this advice is bare of real content and direction during the decision-making process, especially one that will have repercussions for a long time to come.

What does it mean to follow your heart? And how do we separate what we “want” from what is really “right” for us – if there is anything that is really right for us?

Walking between the brain and the heart is truly a spiritual challenge that call us to examine our inner yearnings. In the next blog post, we'll examine this idea of logic more closely.

Lois Wilson's story tells the story of Al-Anon

Did you catch the recent tele-movie about Lois Wilson, the co-founder of Al-Anon?

It's a brilliant telling of the story of how families are affected by alcoholism and a reminder that you don't have to drink to suffer from alcoholism.

The recent tele-movie is "When Love Is Not Enough," is based on the newly reissued biography by William G. Borchert. It reveals the trials and triumph for co-founder of Al-Anon, whose alcoholic husband, Bill Wilson, was a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. It is the moving story about how the couple rose from a life of despair to institute one of the twentieth century's most important social movements, and how Lois created a legacy of hope for millions of families devastated by addiction through her uncommon love and unshakable faith.

A college-educated young woman from an affluent family, Lois married Bill in 1918, after his return from duty at the end of World War I. While Lois worked as an occupational therapist, Bill struggled to find his niche. Lois strongly believed that Bill was destined for greatness, and despite noticing an increase in his drinking habits, she showered him with love and support. By 1927, Bill was a lucrative securities analyst on Wall Street and the couple was living a luxurious lifestyle.

Despite Lois' countless efforts to control his drinking, Bill's addiction to alcohol spiraled out of control until his job, their lifestyle and dreams were gone. In 1935, after years of unsuccessfully struggling to cover for Bill and manage his disease, Lois saw him take control of his alcoholism. However, his sobriety was not the result of Lois' help but through the support of a fellow recovering alcoholic, Dr. Bob Smith.

As Bill and Bob attained sobriety and started Alcoholics Anonymous, Lois began to question the value she had in her own marriage. After devoting 17 years to healing her sick husband, Lois felt isolated and resentful that he was sober without her help. Lois eventually discovered that she was not alone. She slowly engaged the wives of the men in Bill's program and came to realize that while Bill was addicted to alcohol, she was addicted to him - and that the family and friends of alcoholics are, in some ways, as sick as their loved ones. Lois gained the necessary understanding needed to repair her fractured relationship and to help millions of others do the same. She co-founded Al-Anon in 1951.

Read many stories here about how Al-Anon is still very much helpful to distressed family members in the 21st century.

Here's a dramatic clip from the tele-movie:

Drippy nose? Irritating behavior? Consider food allergies.

Are you or your child restless? Nose drippy? Or is there some other irritating health or behavior problem?

What did you eat, drink or touch? I've been receiving calls about food and other allergies and how they may affect behavior -- a problem that medications just won't help. Some medical doctors think food allergies are a bunch of hooey and won't order a blood test for the potential problem.

Dr. Doris Rapp is dedicated to sharing important information about harmful environmental factors that can affect how children and adults feel, think and act in our high-tech, high-stress, high-profit world. The "progress at any cost" mentality is rapidly overwhelming our bodies as we attempt to cope with our increasingly polluted environment.

In her breakthrough best-selling book "Is This Your Child?" Dr. Rapp identifies the major symptoms of potentially unrecognized allergies in children and adults, suggesting possible sensitivities to dust, mold, pollen, foods or chemicals. Allergies are much more than high fever, asthma and itchy skin. It is possible to identify allergies by simply looking at someone. At times it is surprisingly easy to find and eliminate the cause.

The typical clues of allergies and environmental illness can include any combination of the following: rubbing nose upwards -- to wipe drippy nose -- eye wrinkles, dark eye circles, sudden aggression, scarlet earlobes, a spacey look, extreme activity changes, wiggly legs, red cheeks and a mottled tongue.

 

Here's a well-viewed video with Dr. Doris Rapp, who is talking about children's allergies to food and environment. The show aired in 1989 on television's popular Phil Donahue Show:

To spank or not to spank?

Every so often, a parent asks me about the wisdom of spanking a child.

Now, I'm not a fan of spanking. Spanking teaches kids that it's all right for big people to hit little people -- or anyone else -- and that a sign of "bigness" is that they get to hit people too. It also teaches that hitting and hurting are legitimate repsonses to anger and that punishment, rather than teaching ways to maintain good behavior, is the focus.

Time has published a good essay about spanking in the current Time magazine in an article titled, The Long-Term Effects of Spanking, which reports on a researchers at Tulane University provide the strongest evidence yet that children's short-term response to spanking may make them act out more in the long run. Of the nearly 2,500 youngsters in the study, those who were spanked more frequently at age 3 were much more likely to be aggressive by age 5.

It's better to practice alternative ways of guidance -- the key word rather than punishment -- with time-out periods, redirection and other positively oriented responses. Now, hitting is easy. Changing behaviors to parent effectively takes time, motivation and intention. If a parent finds that anger and other emotions prevent the learning and use of these activites, then it may be important to address issues relating to the self.