Sacred Journey...A Women's Power of Wisdom- Connection Heaven, Earth, Mind, Body and Spirit part 1 by Cynthia Knorr-Mulder RNC, MSN, NP-C,CS, C.Ht

Every day I am becoming more aware that each moment I experience is not just an adventure it is indeed a sacred journey. The synchronicities have begun to occur with such magnitude that I begin to wonder if the dream is reality or reality is the dream. I have learned from these synchronicities that not only are heaven and earth one, but the experiences of mind body and spirit are connected into that existing wholeness. 

This column is dedicated to the life experiences that we as woman encounter. It is about recognizing those mundane everyday occurrences in our busy lives that we often neglect to notice as signs and symbols of a greater connection. The stories contained within this column are there to benefit those who wish to make the connection between heaven, earth, mind, body and spirit. They are the stories of a women's journey. A woman who has been fortunate enough to appreciate and live the sacred journey of life to it's fullest. My purpose in life is to learn and teach that which I have experienced. By reading this column, may you receive an awakening in your own sacred journey.

Title Obsession
Over time I have promised Barrie Switzen to write an ongoing column for The Woman's Connection. The only thing that has stopped me, was finding a title. As I searched for the appropriate title, I began to wonder if Abigail had a whole bunch of letters sitting around for years wondering what to call her column? Imagine all that information and advise waiting to be shared and yet neglected because Abigail could not come up with an appropriate title for her column. 
Finally one day, as not to interfere with the process of someone's sacred journey, Abigail gives up the search for a perfect title and begins publishing her weekly column by starting out with two simple words...Dear Abby. Most times we obsess so long on the obvious that we begin to lose the clear vision of the simplicity that life offers. Our life is truly a sacred journey. With that in mind, I begin this column very much like Abigail did with two simple words. Two simple words that imply the meaning to the experience of life itself.... Sacred Journey. 

Sacred Journey
Is reality the dream or is the dream reality...

We have all had the experience of peaceful sleep, restless nights, vivid dreams, astral visits and gifts of prophecy from elder spirits of another dimension. Yet many of us neglect to acknowledge these experiences and write them off as just a dream. Those of us that are fortunate to have awakened the light within are also those who are able to interpret these dreams and understand their existence. A dream is more than a mere manifestation of some shear bizarre dimension. The state of dreaming is a pure connection between heaven and earth. The dream is a message connecting the mind, body and soul. A message, which if correctly interpreted, becomes a manifestation of reality itself. 

Long ago, a very wise and enlightened spiritual teacher once asked me if I believed that life was the existence of reality or if the dimension of the dream state was reality. I initially shrugged this question off and believed the answer was purely simple. Surely, that which I could physically feel was that which was real. Later on I would learn that not only was my perception of reality wrong, but I also learned a very valuable lesson. Never shrug off a question from an enlightened spiritual teacher as something purely simple. 

Dreaming of the Journey...
The Five Sacred Stones
Suddenly the dream becomes vivid, not like other dreams. Immediately I become aware that I am traveling in another dimension. The colors are vivid and I can clearly define and recall each and every aspect of what I see. I approach a stone castle for what seems to be a simple business meeting. Lured to this majestic location, those that join me wonder how it is that I know exactly where it is I am going. Familiar as it all may seem, I realize the experience is new to me and I begin myself to wonder how easily I have stumbled upon the location of this sacred site.  
Inside the stone castle I meet up with a colleague who is being honored for his accomplishments in his professional field. The room begins to fill with all the people I have ever known and loved, who now join in the celebration. I leave the crowd for a minute and enter an octagon room in which a large screen begins playing. I watch what appears to be a movie of my life; I recall the film in its entirety as if I were once the producer of this film. However, as I leave the room, I can no longer recall any aspect of that which I have just viewed. 

Heading away from the celebration, I begin to explore the majestic castle. I walk out the back gate and follow a dirt trail, which leads to an endless field of green, thick grass. Sitting in the grass a young and beautifully tall blonde women sits playing with a small beige and white dog. She asks if she can help me and I reply yes. "I am lost and I am trying to return to the castle where a wonderful celebration is occurring." I ask if she knows of the stone castle that sits on a hill. She smiles and says, "why of course", as she points behind me to the majestic stone castle. "You must simply return back on the same road you came down." Turning around, I see the castle behind me and I suddenly realize I was still on the same road. Looking now at how simple that seemed I begin to wonder why I even thought I was lost. She tells me she will join me along the way, so that I will not get lost again. 

As we approach the castle, we begin to climb the stone stairs to the back entrance. The women comments on the gown that I am wearing. "You look like a princess", she states. Feeling honored by her comment I look down at the elegant black gown and respond by telling her that a true princess should be wearing white. She corrects me by saying that what I am wearing is appropriate for this elegant occasion and she is glad that I have finally found my way home. 
I thank her for helping me back to the castle and ask her to join in the celebration. As I look in her eyes, I suddenly realize that she is filled with enlightenment and is truly an angel. As we enter back into the celebration, I see my colleague who says, "I was watching you the whole time you were lost. I saw you from the top of the castle." I jokingly say, "so if you knew where I was, why didn't you call me on my cell phone and tell me how to get back?" He assures me that he was never worried about me that I was protected and he knew I would return safely. I begin to introduce him to the women who assisted me in finding my way back. Suddenly their eyes meet and he realizes that he knows who she is. Astound he says to me, " Don't you know who this is?" and I reply, "Yes, she is an angel". 

The women then asks me to open my left hand as she begins to give me five secret gifts. My colleague watches and listens as she continues. She begins by telling me the meaning of each secret as she places a small stone in my hand. The first stone is a rose quartz, followed by a black onyx, a square shaped tigers eye, a tear shaped snowflake obsidian, and finally a small blue triangular piece of turquoise. 

As she places the turquoise in the palm of my hand it begins to slip off. She catches it, places it once again into my palm and tells me to hold on to this stone, as it is the most important secret. She closes the palm of my hand tightly so the stones will remain with me and then she disappears. I immediately realize I have forgotten the secrets, yet I continue to keep each of the five stones with me.

I walk back into the room where the celebration continues. Far across the room, I see my colleague who is surround by those who continue to honor him for his professional achievements. I know that he cannot hear me from far across the room, but I also know that he is constantly aware of my presence. Catching his eye for one brief moment I silently move my lips to say, " I told you it was going to turn out wonderful". Understanding exactly what I mean, he smiles.
Now it is time for me to leave, and although the celebration continues I begin to exit the stone castle. Everyone asks me why I am leaving so early. I tell them I must get back and like Cinderel la I begin to walk briskly down the halls of the castle. Hearing nothing but the sound of my taffeta gown as it flows, I cascade down the hallway. As I turn around to look behind me, I begin to notice construction workers covering the top of the high ceiling to the bottom of the stone floor with a white gauze like veil. Now even though I want to look back, I can now no longer see.
Suddenly and abruptly I awaken, jolting back into my body like a flash of lightening. 
Unlocking Sacred Symbols

Many times as we travel on our sacred journey, we wonder what it is that life has in store for us. We hope that we are following the path we are meant to be on, however sometimes we begin to contemplate what the future has in store for each and every one of us. Along our journey we make decisions daily that not only affect us individually, but also affect the greater whole of those around us. This becomes particularly important in the work environment.

Sometimes we may find ourselves loving with a passion the profession we have chosen, but so many obstacles prevent us from completing the job the way in which we dream it could be. A dream, which in reality benefits the greater whole. It is so easy to quit and give up during such trying times, but the road that is rough makes the journey more of an accomplishment and ones life more sacred for having chosen the difficult path. 

If only we can be told or warned of the future. If only we could be guided gently back onto our sacred path by a message. Imagine the comfort in knowing that we will eventually be able to accomplish the purpose of our sacred journey and that everything will indeed turn out wonderful somewhere just a little further down the road? 

If we listen and look carefully, if we provide a quiet place in our mind uncluttered by stress and busy thoughts, if we except that life is sacred, then the symbols and the signs begin to appear. The dream becomes the reality to those intuitive enough to honor the sacred and embrace the light. 

Sacred Journey...A Women's Power of Wisdom- Connection Heaven, Earth, Mind, Body and Spirit part 2 by Cynthia Knorr-Mulder RNC, MSN, NP-C,CS, C.Ht

Discover what secrets lie ahead for you on your Sacred Journey

As you read the following allow the secret of each stone to provide a meaning for you. Relax, take a deep breath and exhale. Now in a moment, allow the secret of the stones to be revealed to you.............

Tigers Eye: A grounding and centering stone, used to enhance intuitive ability. The secret of this stone is___________
(Close your eyes and reveal the secret meaning this stone brings to you.)
-One needs to awaken the intuition inside to connect the signs and symbols along the sacred journey.

Snowflake Obsidian: "Stone of Purity", helps to connect body, mind and spirit and assists one in actualizing serenity of the isolated state. It is grounding and provides protection. The secret of this stone is ________ (Close your eyes and reveal the secret meaning this stone brings to you.)
-Each and every woman that connects body, mind and spirit is truly a princess of purity, one that emits a beautiful white light noticeable through the eyes of her soul. Like the black obsidian, the soul of the white lighter quite often wears black to protect and ground her in earthly functions. But if you look closely, like the snowflake obsidian, underneath the cascades of black taffeta are shinning speckles of white light.

Black Onyx: A grounding and protection stone used to banish fear and enhance the spiritual self. Used as a worry stone because it is believed the stone absorbs negative energy. The secret of this stone is_____________ (Close your eyes and reveal the secret meaning this stone brings to you.)
-The ability to banish fear lies in the realization that fear is evil. You must learn to tell the difference between good and evil in order to enhance your spiritual self. Worrying about any situation that takes you away from the present moment steers one off their spiritual path. Learning how to stop worrying and becoming present in the moment absorbs negative energy and will allow your path to unfold.

Rose Quartz: Enhances all forms of love, platonic, self-love and divine love. This stone encourages tolerance and forgiveness. It opens our hearts and teaches us to be tender, peaceful and gentle. It emanates unconditional love. The secret of this stone is___________________ (Close your eyes and reveal the secret meaning this stone brings to you.
-When you start learning to love yourself, you discover an inner spark of light. Divine love is an inward journey that enables us to open our hearts, teaches us to be tender, peaceful and gentle. It is this unconditional love that makes the journey sacred.

Turquoise: " The most important secret" - Turquoise builds strength and provides protection. It stimulates elevation of goals or understanding. It helps with communication, provides self-realization and helps one get in tune with others. The secret of this stone is______________________ (Close your eyes and reveal the secret meaning this stone brings to you.)
-The most important secret is the realization that in fact, there is no secret. The meaning behind any secret to life's existence, is held deep within our soul, awaiting for us to awakening our inner light so that we can clearly see the goals that lie ahead on our sacred journey. 

- Enjoy your Sacred Journey.

Sacred Journey... The Inner Beauty of a Woman's Soul by Cynthia Knorr-Mulder RNC, MSN, NP-C,CS, C.Ht

Sometimes I wonder how the most annoying people so easily learn how to cultivate the art to charm. One of my more frequent patients who my colleagues describe as annoying, can at times appear to be so charming that as a practitioner you feel completely convinced that this is the session that is going to stop the negative patterns of behavior, change his life completely around and turn prince annoying into a real charmer. Unfortunately, three visits later, you find out you were wrong. 

I started seeing prince annoying over two years ago for many reasons, but more simply put - because everything in his life always went wrong. At the age of thirty something, he was the author of every blind date horror story some sick Steven King wannabe could conjure up. Not only was he longing to find his princess, he hoped his family jewels would soon produce some heirs. 

He was not your typical prince, as princes would go. He was short, not tall, he was not handsome well okay, but he was dark. As a practitioner I am always able to look closely into someone's eyes and see their true soul revealing their inner beauty. Because that is where true inner beauty lies.

Okay by this point you are now wondering why he was crowned the name annoying. I guess you could say it is because he always shows up. With an appointment he shows up, without an appointment he shows up, just because he was driving by, he shows up. For whatever reason he seems to always be there discussing how horrible life is and asking why his princess hasn't shown up.

My secretary learned quickly how to pull up the moat bridge, and put on her armor. "I'm sorry she is with another patient would you like to make an appointment perhaps for next year, I mean next week". Quickly the young prince caught on and when finally one day I answered the phone directly he said, " Oh good, I thought you were avoiding me." I quickly felt pity, until I remembered that such an emotion is negative and invites nothing but bad experiences, so I changed pity to guilt and scheduled him in for next year, I mean next week. 

I dreaded telling my colleagues that he was due for a visit, but sooner or later they found out and as the time approached they scurried into their offices, armor on, doors closed to avoid the soon to be crowned King of annoying. As he sat comfortably in my office chair, looking like he was prepared to stay for a 20-hour session I began to wonder what made us all feel that he was so annoying. 

So how are you? "I'm fine prince annoying. How are you?" I answered. Well you know, so how are you doing? "I'm doing good prince annoying how are you?" I continued. Well I'm not sure. So how are things going..? Stop the press, what was I thinking; now I know why he's so annoying. 

"Let's get right to the point, how is your life going?" I questioned. Not well, I had a terrible accident I fell into a tree while walking down the street. Well that explained the two black eyes and abrasions that I was trying so hard not to stare at. Yeah and that was 8 weeks ago and I still look like this. "Why did it happen?" I don't know he said. I tripped. Trying to move the conversation along as not to go back to how I was doing, I continued to ask if the princess had yet been found, after all he had been carrying her shoe around for over 19 years. 

Well maybe this time, he replied. I have been dating a girl for the past 5 months, she likes me a lot, we have a lot in common and we are having a lot of fun. But, I said. You knew there was a but coming. If this prince hadn't been titled annoying, he could of been the prince of but. Well but, I' don't know. Yes you do, I thought. Just get to the point and stop being so annoying. 

Well but what? Well there is one thing about her? She broke her leg as a child and now she walks funny, you really can't notice, but I think do I want to marry someone who is not perfect? Before booting him completely out of my office and claiming the title as International President, having been voted in by every single woman in this world, I decided I would give him one last chance before I ditched him into the alligator pit. 

Have you gotten to know her soul? Does her outer beauty reflect her inner beauty? Has she gotten to know your soul? And what about your inner beauty? I fired so many inner soul related questions so quickly, I was sure that not only had I lost him, but I think he was hoping for an out of body experience just to avoid my questions. I waited for his reply but there was none.

And suddenly I realized that if I were starting all over again as a princess bride, I would find the ugliest prince in the world for I was sure he would understand life so deeply in a spiritual sense that he would have to have a beautiful soul, a true inner beauty. And he would truly understand that it is not looking beautiful where true inner beauty lies. If I could find this ugly prince, I would snatch him up so quickly, kiss him on his green froggy lips and know that he would love me for who I truly was. 

Hey doesn't this sound like the frog and the princess story. Of course it does and do you know why? Because it was a princess that recognized the true inner beauty of the frog and in doing so she found her prince. Do you think they would write a story about a prince that kissed a frog because he recognized the frogs true inner beauty and behold he got a princess? Get real. Obviously in all of history nothings changed. It is still the princess that sees beyond the frog. 

I ended the session with prince annoying by asking him to reflect upon what purpose his tree mishap may have had in his life. I also told him that it was important to learn a lesson when approached by a wise old teacher - the tree. In fact some ancient old trees have been known to teach many a wise scholar but seldom a slimy frog. I continued to stress to him that he would be wise to learn the lesson for if the lesson was not learnt the first time the teacher would be back again, only next time with a bigger lesson. 

How many times does it take a big fat tree trunk to hit a guy in the face in an effort to realize that any woman who loves him must be the most beautiful princess in the land?

As for me I will not have to worry my teachers will be very proud, for I learned this lesson quickly. Prince annoying's are just that - annoying. No charm can change my availability to provide healing to a soul that chooses to seek a magic wall that will manifest a beautiful princess so that he can live happily ever after. To find a fairy tale ending we must seek our own inner love, appreciate the beauty of the soul, and respect the true magic of life. 

As for Prince Annoying, until he realizes he is traveling on a sacred journey, I predict there will be many a tree that jumps into his path hoping he will look into the mirror and see beyond the trauma on his face. Until one day he realizes that by looking inward to find self-love and reclaim his own inner beauty he will indeed find his princess has inner beauty. The same inner beauty that I saw in his soul each visit, something that has been there all along, just like the beautiful princess that he could find if only he would step back from the wall to see her. 

And what about me, well I'm living happily ever after because I did kiss a frog, once upon a time, a long time ago. Of course I found that frog only after learning that you couldn't kiss an alligator without getting bit. As for my frog, well he turned into a prince and is now tall dark and handsome. He too has carried around my shoe for the past 19 years, however he knows so well how to look past the material me to where my true inner beauty lies - within my soul. 
       

Got The Secret? Now Get The Tools by Caroline Reynolds

This year's phenomenal success of the book, "The Secret", opened many people up to a new reality. It assured us we live in an intelligent universe as responsive to our desires as an eager sales person. It offered us a magic formula for creating the life we want - the perfect relationship, career, prosperity and all that our heart desires. But how do we put this formula into practice?

No matter how hard we try, we have to acknowledge that things can only come to us when we're ready. Beyond the much-vaunted Law of Attraction there are some other 'laws' or processes we must follow in our process of manifestation. Here are some of the tools you can apply to create the life you want by using the heightened consciousness of "Spiritual Fitness".

1. Nurture Your Dream

Before you can fulfill a dream you first have to nurture it. In my book, "Spiritual Fitness - How To Live In Truth and Trust", I describe this process as finding out what you want, then holding that truth deep inside your heart. Allow it to grow and guide you from within, making sure you focus on what you can do each day to move towards it. It does not mean focusing endlessly on the future until you feel such a gap between where you are and where you want to be that you never get started! The secret is to stay focused on the 'now', since the future never comes because it is in fact just a series of incremental 'nows'. If you can align your present reality with your heart's desires, you will create a 'future' that is a reflection and manifestation of your dream.

So what dream could you be nurturing right now? Do you want a relationship, job, good income or just a simple quality of being such as peace or contentment? If you'd like a relationship, for example, you can nurture your dream by taking immediate concrete steps such as making space in your life and your home. It's amazing how many single people have very little physical space in their home or time in their lives for a partner. Break your dream down into manageable, bite-size chunks and start to nurture it on a daily basis.
.
2. Become Your Dream Self

The next step is to become the person you need to be to achieve your dream. As statistics show, around 90% of lottery winners blow their winnings within five years. This is because their manifestation was too quick, too unprepared for, and they didn't have time to think of themselves as rich or deal with any negative beliefs they had about wealth. If we don't prepare ourselves for success it can very easily make us uncomfortable and we will sabotage it to return to our small familiar selves.

I can recall the ten years I spent in my native Britain longing to live in the US and watching as all my opportunities to do so seemed to evaporate. While I waited, I was nevertheless gaining more experience and confidence in my work. It was only when I finally got to America that I understood the necessity of all my years of waiting. They had slowly enabled me to align with the bigger self I needed to become to succeed in my new home.

How can you constructively spend your time waiting for your dream? What beliefs do you have that might prevent you from being able to hold and enjoy the experience? For example, if you'd like a relationship do you have a belief that love hurts or that you don't deserve to be loved? Start to dissolve your negative beliefs by tracing them back to their source; to the first time you ever took them on. Take a 'soul level' look at that time and ask yourself what were the lessons and gifts in that situation? Which of your strengths was it meant to develop and how would you deal with it differently now? Then practice forgiveness by seeing through and beyond that situation to its highest truth and letting the 'earth level' experience go.

Next, do you have a peer group or mentor who holds a vision of your highest potential? No-one can rise to low expectations! During those years of my 'preparation' in Britain, I was blessed with friends who believed in and encouraged me (despite my frequent nosedives into health issues) and a teacher in the US who both praised and goaded me into being more courageous and aligned with my highest truth. During one particular health scare, I wrote what I called my "contract with God" and listed the many ways I pledged to own my truth and step into my greatness if the scare proved to be unfounded. It did and I kept my promise. Within two years I finally got my visa and as soon as I arrived in the US, my health also radically improved.

3. Develop Gratitude

The third essential tool for manifestation is gratitude. While you're waiting for your desired outcome, focus on the gifts you currently have. If you don't have riches, do you have health? If you don't have a relationship, do you have family? If you don't have peace or fulfillment, do you have hope? This not only helps you feel less incomplete but also prepares you to deal with holding on to your dreams when they materialize. Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by our blessings. We reach an incredulous stage where our surprise at our good fortune is about to turn into panic because we don't know how to handle it. Since our beliefs create our reality, saying "I can't believe how lucky I am", is a sure fire way to stop your luck from flowing! At these moments I've learned to just keep saying "thank you". This way I affirm the reality of all the goodness and good fortune around me and strengthen and perpetuate it.

What can you give thanks for today? Look for the little blessings as well as the big ones - a stranger's smile, a touch from a friend, an uplifting phone call or an inspiring book or movie. In practicing the art of gratitude, you will develop a much greater capacity to appreciate your dreams when they come true. 

By living in truth and trust, you gain clarity on the things you want and how to create them. By practicing "Spiritual Fitness", you can "Get the Secret!"

BUY NOW!!!  Spiritual Fitness: How To Live in Truth and Trust

Empowerment byline: Carol Drinkwater

The Oxford Dictionary definition of empower is : give (someone) the authority or power to do something.  Make someone stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.  The noun is Empowerment

What fascinates me about empowerment, particularly as a writer, is how we can create our own power, how through the experiences of loss or grief, learning or challenge we find the inner strength to grow and move forward with a broader and richer understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live and function.   

I believe that no experience is worth having if it does not takes us further. What have I learnt? What can this teach me about myself and the my relationship with the world about me?

In the OLIVE trilogy I am writing, stories about buying a delapidated villa in ten acres of land in the south of France and transforming that ruin and its Mediterranean terraces into a glorious olive farm that produces first class olive oil, there are numerous examples of challenge and loss, some painful, some very funny. Each of the books recounts some of these challenges and how they can be transformed into rich and uplifting and often humorous experiences.

In THE OLIVE SEASON, the second book in the trilogy, I find myself pregnant. The news is joyous to myself and my husband, Michel, because I had a history of miscarriages. Unfortunately, I lose the little girl at seventeen weeks into the pregnancy. The devastation is compounded when I learn from my gynecologist that I will never be able to carry a child full-term. For almost any woman this is a profound tragedy and one that takes a great deal of courage to face and move through. For me, personally, there were two issues that took my grief way down. Firstly, my husband has beautiful twin daughters from his first marriage and though I love them to bits and they love me I will never be their mother and, secondly, I am an actress and and as such my life is sometimes lived in the public domain. On television I have been described as 'womanly', 'attractive', 'feminine' etc and now here I am childless. Being denied the quintessential female experience. How was I to go forward ? How was I going to come to terms with such a deprivation? 

Running alongside tales of the rich and colourful world of life in southern Provence, this loss, these questions and their answers, is one of the themes of THE OLIVE SEASON. I believe that I allowed myself to go through the grieving and, slowly, as the seasons changed on the olive farm, as winter turned to spring, as a new harvest of olives was gathered and pressed, as sapling olive trees are planted, I began to find strength in nature. I began looking for what was good in my life.

What makes my cup half FULL and not half EMPTY?

The olive tree is considered to be the Tree of Eternity. It lives sometimes to a thousand years. It does not begin fully fruiting until is about twenty-five years and its finest fruits can be harvested when it has reached a century or more.

We have recently planted another two hundred small trees. Sometimes, these days, I stand on our farmland and I look about me and I thank Life for all that is wonderful. I will never have children in the physical, the conventional sense. But we have young trees that will be fruiting long after Michel and I have passed through this life, I have my books to write, roles as an actress to take on and we are creating a farm that will be there for many future generations to come.

Of course, I remain sad that I don't see that little girl at my side on the farm, that I don't hold her hand, but she is there in spirit and I am stronger and richer as a woman now because I have learnt to celebrate what I have. 

I have been empowered - been made stronger and more confident - by the facing of my loss and I have discovered joy in the everyday world around me. 

© CAROL DRINKWATER, France 2003

STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR WOMEN Utilizing Tai Chi/Qigong and Yoga for Total Relaxation of the Body, Mind and Spirit. by Cynthia Knorr-Mulder RNC, MSN, NP-C,CS, C.Ht

When we talk about stress management one thing we always have to remember is that we can’t change stress. It is always there and always will be. However, what we can do is decrease our perception of it by utilizing complementary modalities that have been practiced for over hundreds of years to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Tai Chi/Qigong, which has been practiced in China for over 600 years, does exactly that. Moving through Tai Chi/Qigong postures gently works the muscles and helps to combine mental concentration with coordinated breathing. Often called meditation in motion, Tai Chi is becoming very popular in the US and appeals to women because the synchronized movements are easy to learn, perform, and can fit into busy lifestyles.   As women, we have a tendency to nurture all of those around us and in doing so we forget to nurture ourselves. Self-care plays a vital role in how we manage stress. Women all over have recognized the positive outcomes of self-care and are attending weekly classes for Tai Chi/Qigong and yoga. Women attending these classes state that they feel less stressed throughout the week and are better able to face the challenges ahead. Outcome research has shown that even after only one week, women will have a reduction in heart rate, blood pressure, anxiety, depression, fatigue and pain and a general increase in their overall perception of health.

I had a 42-year-old women who was referred to me by her physician for anxiety and high blood pressure. During her fourth week into a yoga program her blood pressure was within normal range and she was feeling less stress by utilizing the techniques she had learned in the program. As she expressed how wonderful she was feeling she stated, “Okay now I’m done, I just wanted to get better so I could go back for my doctors appointment next week with a low blood pressure”.  I advise participants that including these modalities into your lifestyle can indeed be very beneficial for stress management and total health although one must practice these modalities weekly if not every day in order to incorporate it into your philosophy of life. 

As a Complementary Medicine Nurse Practitioner I not only recommend these modalities for women seeking stress management, but I also feel that it significantly benefits women with chronic conditions.  It is an ideal practice for women at any age that experience increased stress resulting from chronic pain with arthritis, fibromyalgia, or back injuries. Women with this type of pain need a milder and more soothing exercise. Tai Chi/Qigong and Yoga facilitate low impact movements that increases muscle strength and balance while promoting general pain relief and an improved quality of life.

By participating in these modalities women report a decrease in pain, depression, anxiety and fatigue increased flexibility and an overall increase in their perception of health. These classes are an ideal lifestyle addition for women of any age to help decrease stress. Not only are the classes inexpensive, but they can be practiced almost anywhere at any time with no special equipment or clothing.

Tai Chi/Qigong and Yoga are not a vigorous workout like traditional exercise and participants reap the added benefit of balancing mind and spirit. Most female patients with chronic illness don’t want a vigorous exercise regime, but they want the benefits of exercising. If they don’t like to exercise they will not stick with any program designed for them. Since Tai Chi/Qigong and Yoga are something people really enjoy, they tend to stick with it.

In most classes you can find a large group of women ranging in age of 28-83 participating weekly to master gentle postures and movements with an emphasis on breathing and inner stillness. The women continue daily to practice Tai Chi/Qigong or Yoga, and state they would never go a day without it because it makes them feel physically, mentally and spiritually fit.

Not only do I advocate these modalities for my clients I also stress the importance of self-care and therefore can be seen weekly joining group sessions of Tai Chi/Qigong and Yoga and include meditation in my daily practice. Practicing these modalities increases my mind-body-spirit connection and reaffirms my commitment to self-care. This serves as the foundation of what I do as a complementary medicine practitioner and that is first and foremost to build a therapeutic relationship with each and every one of my clients. 

"Excerpt of Chapter Three: In Between East and West" by Dr. Caroline Joan (Kay) Picart

"In Between East and West," is an attempt to paint, in broad strokes, some of my experiences as a Cambridge Fellow in England, beginning with being a molecular embryologist, and shifting to concentrate in History and Philosophy of Science. It attempts to evoke the experience of the loneliness of being a female Filipino expatriate, living within a culture both strange and familiar, racked by sharp pangs of homesickness, haunted by a sense of guilt over not being "nationalistic" enough, or of having left behind all that had formerly grounded one in the hope of finding, perhaps, a better way of life. Once again, categories of "inside"-ness and "outside"-ness proved porous at numerous levels. 
* * * * * 
What I remember most about the journey from the Philippines to Cambridge, England in September, 1989, was the 15 hour flight in which night and day merged into an indiscernible blur. Cramped and squinting in dim light, I remember avidly going over a familiar cell biology book in an attempt to brush up on the basics. As I contorted my small frame into every imaginable position humanly possible during that 15-hour flight, I remember reflecting over the trajectory of events that led to my exodus. Though I tended, naturally, to gravitate toward literature and the humanities as a young child, it was the ambition of becoming a doctor in order to help cure my mother's deafness that steered me in the direction of biology once I was in high school. I dreamed of being similar to Jose Rizal, one of the country's national heroes, famous for both his medical skills (a colored illustration depicting him checking on his mother's ear was shown to me when I was seven years old), and his stirringly expressive prose (he wrote two of the country's finest novels written in Spanish by a Filipino, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo). 

Joining LIKAS (Lingap Para sa Kalusugan ng Sambayanan-a group of medical professionals and students using primary health care education as a way to build politicized communities) launched me into being the editor of the group's journal for a number of years; and eventually, being one of two student government representatives for all the student organizations on campus. 

Yet as my involvement with the vortex of student politics grew, particularly within the maelstrom of the tightening control of the desperate Marcos regime during the early to mid 1980s (alongside the deepening of my mother's unhappiness), I found myself gasping for an interior space into which I could withdraw from the perpetual onslaught of so many lived experiences of suffering. That interior space was initially provided by my literature classes, and later, by my Philosophy classes, with their rich and intense probing into questions that the practice of medicine, and of scientific experimentation raised, but could not answer. Fr. Luis David, a professor in one of the classes I took, was kind enough to urge me to plunge directly into a master's degree in Philosophy, despite the fact that I was not studying for a B.A. in Philosophy at that time. Through his encouragement, the semester before I graduated with my B.S. in Biology/pre-medical studies, I accepted a scholarship to do a master's degree in Philosophy, and was promptly recruited to teach in Zoology by the department from which I had earned my B.S. degree. After a semester of taking graduate classes in Philosophy, the department chair in Philosophy also recruited me to teach an introductory Philosophy course; then another colleague begged me to apply for a lectureship teaching basic Astro-Physics at a monastery because their teacher had suddenly resigned. My development into a professional "cyborg," as one who juggles language games and epistemological lenses across disciplines began early.

When both my department chairs in Biology and Philosophy asked me to consider going on to do a Ph.D., my all too humanly youthful ambition kicked in. "Why not do both?" I thought. I reasoned to myself that because scientists tend to peak, statistically anyway, when they are "younger" (i.e. in their 30's or early 40's), and philosophers appear to achieve their most enduring insights when they are of a ripe, mature age (with the exception of a few like Spinoza of course, but Kant was set up as the paradigm case of the model philosopher at the Ateneo), I thought it would do me well to plunge into scientific inquiry first, and then philosophical reflection later. 

"You may never marry," my father warned in his worried, paternal way. I shrugged and started submitting the fellowship applications.
* * * * *
I was one among many "bright eyed and bushy tailed" new students who attended the orientation at Cambridge in 1989. "Culture" and "History" (with a big "C" and an equally monumental "H") seemed to permeate the very air we breathed: we worked in a laboratory not far from the drafty but historic building in which Watson and Crick formulated the Nobel prize-winning model of the DNA double helix; we had easy access to the famous Queen's and King's College Choir Christmas concerts; luminaries like Umberto Eco, Stephen Jay Gould, and Richard Dawkins were among the international scholars invited to campus. 
Yet I was quick to learn that amidst the polyphony of accents and languages, not every accent or nationality was equally valued. Even Shri Lankans and Indians spoke with a distinct British accent; yet even then, many of them were never quite part of the "inner" circle somehow. I found that a London working class accent was silently condemned as "indecent;" and that as soon as one uttered even a syllable, particularly if one was British, invisible cultural radars scanning for clues revelatory of one's class were turned on. An "American" accent was also spoken of with thickly ironic humor, or an understated shudder. 
Dating and relationships with the other sex constituted yet another frontier. When I was in the Philippines, I had practically never "dated," as such. I had gone off to see a movie or two with a seminarian friend, but these were young men who were seriously thinking of becoming priests and were thus "safe." 

When I first arrived in Cambridge, I was a little surprised at how much amorous interest seemed to be such an overt component of even brief acquaintanceships. Once, I drew a British female friend aside and asked her why it seemed as though everyone seemed interested in jumping to the next level a little too soon. She remarked that one thing British girls learn early is to give the "right cues." Laughing or smiling a lot, directly returning a gaze, or even lightly touching someone on the shoulder to stress a point (all of which I did without giving these a thought because I did them with friends, both male and female in the Philippines), in this culture, were considered signs of romantic interest. I found, to my all too Filipino Catholic surprise, that though holding hands in public was considered scandalous, secretly jumping in bed for one night stands was not. Involvements, for the most part, seemed brief and very intense, much like wartime liaisons. Reflecting in retrospect on the situation, part of it could be explained by the difference in gender ratio. On average, there were about two or three males admitted for every single female admitted to a Cambridge college within the university system, and the reason for this seemed to rely more on tradition rather than entrance criteria results. For the undergraduates, whose lives revolved around eight week cycles, there was an intense pressure to excel in everything, from academics to being part of the right clubs, to bedding as many attractive people as one could. And with the environment being as cosmopolitan as it was, when semesters were not in session, everyone literally went home to different countries, ranging from Malaysia, to Germany, to India, to Australia, and South Africa, among others. This made keeping relationships beyond the eight week mark somehow more complicated.

* * * * *
Other than the social and cultural scene, there was much in Cambridge to take in. During my first semester there, I was lucky enough to be able to churn out results that looked extremely promising. I was part of a team working on isolating a hypothesized neurorepressor, "pisoffin," which seemed localized in the chick brain. 

As a devout protégée, determined to be a consummate insider, I remember well the long hours in the library, during the day, spent trying to catch up on the latest literature; and then later, at the laboratory, the vagaries of trying to get exactly the right mix so the cultured cells would grow before the properly experimental part could be done. And once the experiment began, there would be no stopping because all other variables had to be held as constant as possible, and there had to be sufficient samples for the findings to prove convincing as indicative of a larger trend. At first, I did not mind the long hours in the laboratory, inhaling stale air steeped in the cloud of various types of chemicals. Neither did I mind what sometimes turned out to be 15 hour stints at the laboratory, where I could, if I were lucky, catch an hour or so of sleep by using my arms and hands as pillows, cradling myself as I slumped over desks, waiting for the next step of experimental intervention. This was fairly common for laboratory work.

Later, however, as my health began to suffer, and my lucky streak at producing results seemed to be undergoing a slump, I asked for some time off from my supervisors. By then, my supervisors, "silently beaming" about the results I had initially produced, had approached other laboratories on possible collaborations in order to generate a possible article for Nature, one of the most prestigious journals in the field. They were too invested in not being beaten at publication, and my request was thus denied. When the latest test I ran failed to produce the same promising curve of a direct correlation between the amount of pisoffin and the rate of growth cone collapse, I decided to take matters in my own hands. I wrote a long letter to my supervisors, explaining that I needed two days to rest, and left them my laboratory notebook, which had all my results thus far recorded in it. When I returned, two days later, I found that what had been projected as my dissertation research project had been parceled out in bits to four other students working in the laboratory, and that I was powerless to reclaim my project back.

When I did speak with my supervisors, one pointed out that this was too big of a project for one student, and that I could surely not test for its parameters all alone. The other, more honestly, spoke of the pressures of grant writing in order to generate funds to keep the laboratory going. "Look," he said, his steely gray eyes glinting. "When you run your own laboratory, you'll understand, and you will do exactly what we have done." They needed to publish the results quickly in order to be able to cash in-both prestige-wise and money-wise; all else, including the possibility that I could not gain a Ph.D. because they would already have divested my project of its claim to "originality" by the time I would be up for defending my work, were secondary considerations. They were not "bad" guys; they were simply trying to survive a system "red in fang and claw." I suddenly realized that within the British mentoring system, there was no such thing as student rights; a mentorship was traditionally based on an implicit trust of the mentor, and if that were violated, the only option open to the student seemed to be transferring out. 

That realization, combined with health considerations (physical and emotional exhaustion, allergic reactions to chemicals) eventually made me decide to shift gears. Perhaps it was also the realization that given the same circumstances and the same pressures, I would be very similarly tempted to do the same as my supervisors. Despite the fact that both my supervisors in Molecular Embryology thought I could finish the Ph.D. in two years by reinforcing the gains of my first year there and urged me to stay, I decided to shift to the Department of History and Philosophy of Science.

At first, the shift was once again a dizzying, euphoric whirl; I greatly enjoyed the plunge back into philosophy, and found sociological inquiries into how scientific claims become authorized as "Truth" simultaneously fascinating and disturbing in their implications. Despite the fact that I was unanimously awarded the "Wolfson Prize," an award given to the best student based on competitive essays judged by faculty readers both inside and outside the department; despite the fact that several faculty members urged me to stay and finish the Ph.D., and despite the fact that I was one of the few graduate students to have a paper in review for possible publication, I requested for a year of respite in order to sort through my priorities. I thus left Cambridge with an M.Phil. in 1991, tentatively leaving the door open for a potential return.
Perhaps more so than the fact that I found my intellectual interests shifting (I found that I gravitated more towards Continental Philosophy, and Cambridge proved to be a stronghold of the Analytic Anglo-American tradition), I was plagued by more fundamental matters. I had seen that even Cambridge Ph.D.s were not guaranteed instant jobs, particularly in the competitive area of Philosophy, and particularly in merry old England. After having been away from the Philippines for two years, I knew re-entry would be very difficult, and I had no illusions about the economic remuneration of returning to teach in the Philippines. Being at Cambridge had been an enriching and educational experience, but it had also robbed me of many of my former certainties. The concept of "home," which had formerly been a fluid, rather than a stable, entity, now seemed even more porous. After two years of being in England, with brief trips to Germany, France and Spain, in which I was always a "foreigner" and in which I hardly spoke Filipino, I longed to be enclosed in a culture, but I knew, even before I returned to the Philippines, that this was impossible. As a young woman, I had always been a little too independent for Filipino culture to be able to fit imperceptibly into its fabric. After a few months of convalescing at my parents' home, I decided to accept a position as a teacher of English at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.

Buy her book Now !! Inside Notes from the Outside

Pinasca byline: Cameron Bogue, Beverage Manager Cafe Boulud, and Pleiades, in NYC

Inspiration was drawn from Latin culture where fresh picked fruit is dipped into salt and dried chili pepper. Combining these flavors with another Latin favorite, the Caipirinha, accentuated the caramelized flavor of grilled pineapple.

1 ¼ oz Cachaça or aged rum
2 slices Grilled pineapple*
1 oz Fresh lime juice
½ oz Simple syrup
1 Tbl Sugar
1/8 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

Muddle grilled pineapple, lime juice and simple syrup in bottom of a shaker. Add ice and Cachaça. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass rimmed with sweet and spicy mixture.

*Cut fresh pineapple, slice lengthwise and grill until the simple sugars are caramelized with beautiful grill marks. 

"Mango Mousse" by: Claude Gamache

Tips: Mangos provide soluble fiber.
To make fruit parfaits, use tall parfait glasses. Layer in a half-serving of mousse, followed by a half-serving of berries. Repeat layers.
Serve in stemmed glasses for a buffet table.

• Food processor

1 bag (20 oz/600 g) frozen mango chunks, thawed and drained
1 1⁄2 cup low-fat vanilla-flavored yogurt 125 mL
1 cup sliced strawberries 250 mL
1 cup blueberries 250 mL

1. In food processor, purée mango and yogurt for 1 minute or until smooth.
2. Divide mousse among serving bowls. Top with strawberries and blueberries and serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours, then to with berries before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Nutrients
PER SERVING
Calories 80
Fat 1 g
Carbohydrate 19 g
Fiber 2 g
Protein 1 g

BUY NOW!!! Healing Fatty Liver Disease: A Complete Health and Diet Guide, Including 100 Recipes

The Difference Now by Cherie Burbach

The difference now
is when pushed
I push back.

The difference now
is when I'm hurt
I'll cry
openly
unashamed.
Why should I hide it?
Or pretend that I don't care?
You know you hurt me.
My pretending only helped you,
not me.

The difference now
is that I'll fight for the life
I want to live
and not the one
you think I should live.

The difference now
is that I make the definitions
and throw yours away.

The difference now
is when I walk in a room
and you guiltily look at each other
and stop talking
I'll wonder who you'll blame
for the problems in your life
after I move on.

The difference now
is that when you're laughing
behind my back
I realize I must be ahead of you
and I'll keep going. 

BUY NOW The Difference Now

Read the Label by Cherie Burbach

You gave me a dress
but it was too small.
I looked at the label 
and it said "unfeeling and ungrateful."

When I told you it didn't quite fit
you suggested I lose weight.
I ate what you prepared
and when the dress you bought me
still didn't fit,
I stopped eating.

Now the skirt slid over my hips
but I still felt uncomfortable.
I realized it was the wrong color and style. 
You said
since I was good
and lost weight
you'd buy me a new one.
But I couldn't go with you
or make the choice myself.
You'd pick out my new clothes
and if I didn't like them
I could go entirely without.

The new skirt's label
said "lazy and stupid."
I didn't want to try it on
but you made me.
And I didn't protest
I didn't want to argue
or give you the impression
that I wasn't a nice girl.

So I put on the new skirt.
It was short, and tight.
You said it looked good
that it fit me perfectly.
So I tried to be happy
and be what you wanted me to be.

You told me girls were quiet
they didn't talk back. 
So I held my tongue
even though I disagreed with you.
But then you told me I didn't talk enough
that I was stupid
and slow.

So I tried to show you I was smart.
I had a mind of my own.

But when I told you my dreams
you shoved me down.
You told me no one would ever want me
and I would always be alone.
And then you gave me a new skirt to wear.

This skirt's label read
"difficult and unlovable."
I put on my new skirt
but cried softly in my room.
I wore that skirt for a long time
even when I had outgrown it
I still told myself that it fit.

Every once in a while
someone would ask
why I wore that skirt.
They would tell me it didn't fit,
and I should get a new one.
But I didn't want to upset you
so I chased them away 
from my life.

But one day
I walked past a store window
and saw a beautiful blue skirt
long and flowing.
I walked in the store
and tried it on.

"It looks good on you," 
the salesclerk said
as I spun around in front of the mirror.
I felt good, real, beautiful.
I read the label,
"passionate and honest."
"It really is you," the clerk said again.
And for the first time
I believed it.

"I'll take it," I said, 
and handed her the money.
"In fact," I said, "I'll wear it out of the store."

I handed the clerk my old skirt
and told her I didn't want it anymore.
As I walked out 
I looked at the mirror one more time,
and smiled.

BUY NOW The Difference Now

Like Old Men in Rocking Chairs by Cherie Burbach

Angry words
framed the doorway
of the house where I grew up.
And there was no way to enter
without those words, 
tainted and searing,
landing upon your soul.

They evaporated
into your skin
and you couldn't wash them away
or cover them
with the fragrance of kindness.

They embedded each cell
of your heart and mind
and shaped the person you saw
when you looked into the mirror.
And the tears
that tried to wash them away
only made them grow.

And when I thought
they had left me,
they were really sitting in the corner
like old men in rocking chairs
watching, waiting,
until happiness fades
and they can say
I told you so.
With Every Breath

With every breath
the example of his life
fills my eyes and ears
it is
behind every action
ahead
of every decision
it waits
around every corner
it lights
up the sky
in the morning
and
puts me to bed at night.

It fills my lungs
it guides my life
it weighs in on every decision.

I breathe in
the progress of today
the promise of tomorrow
my life transformed
my greatest lesson.

I breathe out
the self-doubt
the anger
the isolation
the pain.

With every breath,
I live.

BUY NOW The Difference Now

"Operation "Winter Renter" Nine Tips for Attracting Off-Season Guests to Your Vacation Home" byline: Christine Karpinski

Time to build crackling fires in the hearth, bundle up in your warmest sweaters, sip hot cocoa while you watch the snow—and start fretting over that unrented vacation home. That's right. T.S. Eliot may think that April is the cruelest month, but for many vacation property owners, any month between now and Memorial Day would qualify. That cabin or condo that renters clamor over all summer tends to sit depressingly (and expensively) empty all winter. If only there were something you could do to make your off-season not quite so, well, off.

Actually, there are many things you can do, it's often the little touches that draw "winter renters," delight them, and keep them coming back for more.

"Obviously, more people vacation during peak season, that's why it's peak season! But there are still plenty of people who prefer to travel during the cooler months. Maybe they want to avoid the crowds, maybe they want to take advantage of the lower rates, or maybe they just want a break in the February doldrums. Your mission is to make your vacation home stand out from the many others that are available to potential renters. It's that simple. You have to go the proverbial extra mile."

Here are some of tips for making your vacation property appealing to winter renters:

·First and foremost, "winterize" your marketing. It won't matter how perfect your place is for a mid-winter getaway if people don't know about it. Play up features like hot tubs and fireplaces. Sprinkle copy with words like warm, cozy, cocoon, snuggle, and cuddle. You might even paint an inviting verbal picture such as "Envision yourself gazing out the tall picture window, a cup of hot cocoa in hand, as fat snowflakes drift lazily through the pines." Finally, add a few "off-season" photos of your property to your website. Photos of the home framed in brilliant autumn leaves or dusted with snow will speak louder than a thousand poetic words.

·Consider off-season specials. Everyone loves a bargain, and in the winter, they expect one. "My favorite off-season booking magnet is 'rent three nights and get one free. Or, when you get a call from someone looking to book for next spring or summer, offer them a winter special—say, half-price off a weekend stay—so they can come check out the place early. That would be tough to resist."

·Add "warm cozy" touches. Put thick, warm comforters on the bed and fleece throws on the sofa. Place a few spice-scented candles on tables or countertops. Leave savory winter treats in the kitchen: cocoa mix & marshmallows, spiced apple cider, ginger cookies, chili fixings, and a crock pot. (Ask the housekeeper to replenish edibles.) You might even consider leaving an extra coat or two in the closet, along with toboggans, gloves, and scarves—chances are they won't be used, but guests will appreciate the hospitality.

Plan for snow! If guests should happen to get snowed in at your home, you want to make the experience as pleasant as possible. Make sure to have a snow shovel, ice melt, and a windshield ice scraper on the premises. The possibility of inclement weather is a good reason to have a selection of nonperishable foods on hand, as well as movies and books. You certainly don't want a houseful of hungry, stir-crazy, cranky renters who are cursing their vacation experience (and by association, you)!

Consider adding a hot tub, sauna, or ventless gas fireplace. If your vacation property is a "summer home" with no winter appeal, such additions can make a world of difference. You may be thinking that these are pricey upgrades, but you'll be amazed at how fast they pay for themselves via increased off-season bookings. One caveat: if you install a ventless gas fireplace, be sure to get a carbon monoxide detector as well.

Make your home baby- and toddler-friendly. You've probably noticed that people with very young children are more likely to travel off-season. (After all, they're not constrained by school schedules.) Appeal to these people b including baby and toddler paraphernalia. A high chair and a porta crib should cost less than $150 combined, and can drastically increase your off-season bookings.

·Accept pets. Vacation properties that accept pets increase their occupancy by 10 to 50 percent. When you accept pets, it's okay to take an additional $20 to $25/night or $140 to $175/week. This extra (which pet owners would have to spend anyway on boarding fees) is enough to pay for any carpet cleaning that needs to be done. "I spoke with a woman named Jennifer, who owned a nice cabin in the mountains of Colorado; she was within driving distance of three ski resorts, but not really close enough to any of them to advertise that her place was associated with any of them. She was booking her cabin only two or three weeks per year. I advised her to start accepting pets, and the minute she did, her bookings started to flow in. Two years later, she is booked for the whole ski season, three or four weeks during the summer to hikers, and she rents ten to twelve long weekends through the year. She has never been happier!"

·If all else fails, offer a "customized" special to repeat guests. If you've tried everything and you still have lots of weeks unbooked, it's time to get creative (perhaps even a bit assertive). Consider calling or e-mailing prior "VIP" guests and offering them discounted off-season stays. You might even link the stay to a special event in their lives. For instance, if you know that John and Jane Smith have an anniversary in March—thanks to the detailed file you keep on them—call them and offer a special celebratory weekend at a reduced rate. When they accept, have a champagne gift basket waiting for them in the bedroom along with a handwritten "Happy Anniversary" note.

Not sold on winter renting? Consider it "damage insurance." All of that said, some people actually prefer to lock up their place for the winter. Maybe they don't think renting is worth the effort, or maybe they make enough money during peak season to pay their mortgage for the year. If this is your mindset, reconsider—winter renting can ward off property damage. "I've heard stories of locked-up properties that have been ransacked by families of raccoons, and of broken furnaces that have led to burst pipes.  Houses that are empty for long stretches of time, especially in freezing weather, tend to have problems. If renters had periodically visited such homes, these issues could have been avoided or at least discovered early, before things worsened."

A word of caution: exercise moderation.

"It's great to spend some money on things to attract winter renters. just don't go overboard. I knew a guy who would do tons of extra advertising and equip his place with all these bonuses for his off-season renters. Yes, he ended up booking the place for all of January through March—but his bottom line for all three months was only $500! My advice is this: a little effort goes a long way. Do one or two things on the list, not all of them. Otherwise, do a good job with the basics and be a friendly, hospitable host. As word gets around and your guests become 'regulars,' your off-season problem will solve itself."
 

BUY NOW!!! How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner

"Dr. Christine Horner's Program To Protect Against & Fight Breast Cancer" by Dr. Christine Horner

You have the power and ability to influence your state of health more than you ever imagined. Your choices every day significantly influence your chances of staying healthy or developing a disease such as breast cancer. My recently released book, reveals all the research-proven “natural” approaches that can dramatically lower your risk of breast cancer, or if you have breast cancer, help you to fight it and live a long healthy life. Here are a few tips:

1) Eat a plant-based diet high in organically grown fruits, grains and vegetables (especially cruciferous) and whole grains
2) Avoid health-destroying fats like trans fats and saturated animal fats. Instead, eat health promoting fats, like omega-3 fatty acids found in flax oil, everyday.
3) Think Asian: Make whole soy foods, green tea, maitake mushrooms, garlic, turmeric, and wakame seaweed part of your regular diet or take them as supplements
4) Take a good daily multivitamin 
5) Take protective supplements daily like calcium D-glucarate, grape seed extract, selenium and CoQ10
6) Avoid red meat, sugar, alcohol, and smoking
7) Keep your weight ideal
8) Exercise regularly
9) Go to bed by 10 PM and get up by 6 AM and make sure your bedroom is as dark as possible
10) Use nontoxic products 
11) Practice effective stress-reducing techniques daily
12) Laugh, stay positive, and make it a point to take care of your needs

Buy The book: Waking the Warrior Goddess: Dr. Christine Horner's Program to Protect Against & Fight Breast Cancer NOW

Introduction to Breast Cancer Q & A by CHARYN PFEUFFER

"I never went to Europe," my mother sighed in a Percocet-induced state of delusion. (That comment was followed up with "And I can never have sex again," but I readily ignored that statement.) It was a Thursday night, exactly two weeks, before my mother's 38-year old body would surrender to a brief, half-year battle with metastatic lung cancer. At the time of her diagnosis, I was 17-years old, and cancer was a topic that never, ever occurred to me. I grew up in a cookie-cutter Philadelphia suburb where, except for the occasional tragedy or accident, people just didn't die until they were good and ready. So, you can only imagine my shock and disbelief when I later found out that best-case scenario was that my mother had three months to live. From the moment my family was handed the dreaded "C" diagnosis, I immediately embarked on an exasperating educational crash course in the world of cancer, health care, and medical experts. 

My mother was first treated for what doctors thought was a blood clot in her right arm that resulted from overexertion. Although my mother was statuesque, she wasn't exactly Wonder Woman when it came to physical strength. If her right arm was ever overexerted, it was from lifting the cordless phone to her ear, obsessively vacuuming the house, schlepping shopping bags from Saks Fifth Avenue, or from mixing 5 o'clock cocktails. I would later come to appreciate that she made up for her physical shortcomings in the emotional department. 

My mother, Christine Pfeuffer, spent my pre-senior year summer (1990) in and out of the hospital. When she wasn't horizontal and hooked up to intravenous blood-thinning drips and taking smoke breaks with the nurses, she was taking a carefully timed, around-the-clock regimen of prescription drugs. Her condition was hardly improving as her arm and neck swelled to unattractive proportions, and doctors kept fumbling for a possible diagnosis. One moment it was Hodgkin's Disease, Lyme's Disease the next. My notion that doctors were all-knowing creatures (in the same realm as parents and teachers) slowly dissipated. 

One hot-as-hell August day, she was in the midst of a week-long inpatient stint at the hospital. Her throat started constricting and she physically turned blue. Doctors were at a loss of what to do, and she was transported via helicopter to the intensive care unit of another Philadelphia-area hospital. When I arrived at the latest and greatest hospital, during the designated family-members-only visiting hours, and saw her semi-conscious body, I realized the uncertainty and seriousness of her condition. I didn't know what was wrong with her, but for the first time, I knew that she could die. 

A CT scan later; a suspicious mass was discovered. The mass was aspirated, and the fluid was sent out for cell count and cytology evaluation. Cytology came back with Class IV cells, raising suspicions amongst the doctors of adenocarcinoma. A few days later, my mother's ever-changing condition had a name: non-small cell lung carcinoma. The doctors also made an alarming discovery: a tumor existed on very first CT scan taken in June. The report accompanying the original CT scan stated in the very last paragraph (on the fourth page) that the underlying problem was cancer, but two months later, it was the first we'd heard of it. 

Doctors were surprised that the original hospital and throng of doctors didn't mention cancer, and were reluctant to confirm how long she had had the disease. We skeptically wondered if she'd been transferred to cover the initial hospital's mistake. Lesson learned: it's crucial for the patient or the patient's advocate to review all x-rays and reports, and not take the doctor's word as the absolute truth. 

Pissed off, but grateful to know what we were working with, I immediately set about researching the diagnosis and treatment options. The doctors had given us disappointingly little information to go on: a few photocopied handouts, a short recommended reading list, and numbers for family therapists. The books we did consult required medical dictionaries to simply navigate, let alone fully comprehend. I was scared to death. My mother was dying forchris sakes. I felt helpless, left in the dark, and appointments and treatments were being scheduled too fast to keep up. Making decisions, let alone informed decisions, was damn near impossible. As I look back upon my mother's medical records, I wince at her scrawled signatures on countless consent forms, knowing that she had little knowledge of the choices she was making. 

Once my mother was stable enough to be cared for at home, she started seeing doctors at a top-notch, specialized cancer center on an outpatient basis. She was consulted about the possibility of chemotherapy and radiation, and managed to receive about a month of radiation treatments. The radiation was brutal on her fragile body, and nightly I would soothe her burned skin with lotions, tickle her back, and brush her hair. It was the least I could do, and these simple pleasures brought her so much joy. But her condition rapidly deteriorated, and doctors ruled out the possibility of chemotherapy. It was clear that she wasn't going to survive with or without chemo, but the doctors snatched up this opportunity of a last ditch effort away. Life was moving faster than ever, and although the doctors and nurses tried to keep us up to date on her status, we always felt two steps behind. 

My mother's quality of her life became the most important issue. We knew she was going to die; she was given three months to live, maximum. Throughout the dying process, my mother claimed minimal pain, but after one look, you knew she wasn't a very skilled liar. Women are rarely given societal permission to express feelings of pain or distress, and my mother prided herself on being the dutiful housewife and my father's secretary. Many women with cancer experience feelings of intense guilt if they dare kvetch about any of the side effects, such as pain, menopausal symptoms, psychosexual effects, etc. They are living with cancer and how dare they complain about anything else when their strength and focus should be on conquering this disease? Sheesh. 

Doctors were endlessly adding to my mother's medicinal artillery. The more scripts they wrote, the less I recognized the woman my mother had morphed into. Her connection with reality was long gone, and although I found much-needed moments of comic respite in her hallucinations and delusions, I would've given anything for the way things were pre-cancer. 

Exactly one week before my mother died, she was checked into the chi-chi Suburban Philadelphia cancer clinic. She'd been on a never-ending wait list, but somehow, my father finagled her admittance. The evening before she passed away, my dear friend, Marc, and I made the 45-minute schlep to the hospital bearing irises. I left her spa-like room knowing that would be the last time I would see her breathing. Sure enough, the following morning, I had a lingering, sick feeling around 10:30am. Lynard Skynard's 'Free Bird' came on the radio. I don't particularly like Classic Rock, but for some coincidental reason, 'Free Bird' would come on the radio at pivotal times throughout my mother's sickness. 

I knew in my gut that she had passed away, and I knew that nobody would be able to find me. Reluctantly, I made an appearance at school, and my instinct was confirmed by the Vice Principal-the last man I would ever hope to be consoled by. The moment that my suspicions were verified, I knew exactly what I was supposed to do. I'm not a religious person, but it was like some immaculate conception took place in my mind. I had always considered my mother the ultimate taskmaster, queen of the 'to-do' list-but during what should've been an emotional meltdown, I was able to maintain some semblance of sanity and put one foot in front of the other. I wish I could say the same for my relatives, who, to this day, are still in deep denial about my mother's death. I guess we all deal with death differently-some better than others. 

Fast-forward a decade: my father married an amazing woman-a high school teacher and a wildly creative and insightful woman. I acquired two incredible stepbrothers in the process, and have grown considerably closer with my sister, Carrie. Yes. I still mourn the loss of my mother, but I have learned to rejoice in the positive things that life has dealt me as a result. Cancer makes you take a step back and re-examine your life and what you want it to mean. My mother's brave spirit and words, "I never went to Europe," have inspired me to live my life fully, kindly, spontaneously and with purpose. 

When I moved to San Francisco in 2000, I desperately wanted to give something back to my community. I'm a freelance journalist with a flexible schedule and a hunger for human interaction. As much as I love my 10-second daily commute to my trusty computer, giving dating advice to girlfriends via Instant Messenger isn't exactly what I had in mind in terms of a humanitarian contribution.

I found the Women's Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) in Berkeley, CA, participated in an intense training program, and immediately began volunteering. At WCRC, I assist with the annual fundraising event (Swim-A-Mile) and staff the Information and Referral Helpline once a week. Breast cancer is an issue that comes up far too frequently, and, as a woman, it's hard not to take notice. Calls from women with cancer, their friends, co-workers, employers, family members, and loved ones flood the Helpline, helping me to refine my listening skills. As a volunteer, I am able to provide these panic-stricken women with immediate information about support groups and services, traditional and complementary treatment options, and information on local physicians and other health care providers. 

I think it's important for women to evaluate all of their treatment options, both conventional and complementary. Much of the information and opinions currently available are biased towards one method or another, and I hope to present many of the possibilities free of weighted-down medical jargon. Much of the research for this book was conducted at WCRC's extensive library. And since you won't find a Ph.D., MD or RN after my name, I've had the appropriate information reviewed by two women who are experts in their respective fields. Lillie Shockney is a breast cancer survivor and the Director of Education and Outreach at Johns Hopkins Breast Center. Beverly Burns is a mother, practicing acupuncturist, and Clinical Director of the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic in Berkeley, CA. I asked Diane Estrin to write the Foreword, since my experiences at WCRC have far exceeded any expectations I may have had. I sincerely want women near and far to know about all of the wonderful services and comfort that WCRC provides. It has been sort of an extended family for me. And to return the support these groups have provided me, a percentage of the proceeds of this book will be donated to these incredible women's organizations. 

Breast cancer is by far the most common cancer among women. This year, breast cancer will account for nearly one out of every three cancer diagnoses in women. The good news is that an estimated 2,167,000 women are living with breast cancer. These shocking statistics and my personal experiences with cancer, however, prompted me to write this book. If a woman hasn't been affected by breast cancer, she is at risk. Over 70 percent of breast cancers occur in women who have no identifiable risk factors other than age and only 5-10% of breast cancers are linked to a family history of breast cancer.

Whether you're newly diagnosed, in the midst of treatment, picking up the pieces post-treatment, or facing a recurrence-coping with breast cancer can be a frightening journey. A diagnosis of cancer inevitably brings with it countless questions and becoming an instant breast cancer authority can be overwhelming. Whatever your reaction may be: it is normal. Cry, get angry, feel fear, scream and shout, belt out some Aretha Franklin, or do whatever it is that you need to do. In this time of crisis, you must become your own advocate. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of patient empowerment. Whatever your questions or concerns, you should never hesitate to share them with your treatment team. You'll be faced with making difficult decisions that you may not feel comfortable making. That said, doing research on your own can make the dialogue with your treatment team much more productive. It is essential to remember that you have time to gather information, and then make decisions based on the facts and personal considerations, (i.e.; your life style, emotional well-being and philosophies)--not knee-jerk emotional responses. 

Remember:
This is your life and your breast.
You are an individual, not a statistic.
You have needs that are unique to you. 
Information is a valuable tool.
You have every right to be involved and in control of your medical care and decisions.
Questioning authority, respectfully, is often difficult and fraught with self-doubt. Doing so is often necessary and productive. One should do so without fear of making the wrong decision, no matter how vocal and determined are the forces against doing so. 
The fear of the unknown tends to be worse than the actual treatment.
Treatment for cancer has greatly improved and survival rates are at an all time high.
Think of the future.

"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself aloud."
Coco Chanel

Empowerment

Guest blog by Carol Drinkwater
Author of The Olive Farm: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Olive Oil in the South of France
Watch her interview on The Woman's Connection YouTube Vlog

The Oxford Dictionary definition of empower is : give (someone) the authority or power to do something.  Make someone stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.  The noun is Empowerment

What fascinates me about empowerment, particularly as a writer, is how we can create our own power, how through the experiences of loss or grief, learning or challenge we find the inner strength to grow and move forward with a broader and richer understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live and function.   

I believe that no experience is worth having if it does not takes us further. What have I learnt? What can this teach me about myself and the my relationship with the world about me?
In the OLIVE trilogy I am writing, stories about buying a delapidated villa in ten acres of land in the south of France and transforming that ruin and its Mediterranean terraces into a glorious olive farm that produces first class olive oil, there are numerous examples of challenge and loss, some painful, some very funny. Each of the books recounts some of these challenges and how they can be transformed into rich and uplifting and often humorous experiences.

In THE OLIVE SEASON, the second book in the trilogy, I find myself pregnant. The news is joyous to myself and my husband, Michel, because I had a history of miscarriages. Unfortunately, I lose the little girl at seventeen weeks into the pregnancy. The devastation is compounded when I learn from my gynecologist that I will never be able to carry a child full-term. For almost any woman this is a profound tragedy and one that takes a great deal of courage to face and move through. For me, personally, there were two issues that took my grief way down. Firstly, my husband has beautiful twin daughters from his first marriage and though I love them to bits and they love me I will never be their mother and, secondly, I am an actress and and as such my life is sometimes lived in the public domain. On television I have been described as 'womanly', 'attractive', 'feminine' etc and now here I am childless. Being denied the quintessential female experience. How was I to go forward ? How was I going to come to terms with such a deprivation? 

Running alongside tales of the rich and colourful world of life in southern Provence, this loss, these questions and their answers, is one of the themes of THE OLIVE SEASON.  I believe that I allowed myself to go through the grieving and, slowly, as the seasons changed on the olive farm, as winter turned to spring, as a new harvest of olives was gathered and pressed, as sapling olive trees are planted, I began to find strength in nature. I began looking for what was good in my life.

What makes my cup half FULL and not half EMPTY?

The olive tree is considered to be the Tree of Eternity. It lives sometimes to a thousand years. It does not begin fully fruiting until is about twenty-five years and its finest fruits can be harvested when it has reached a century or more.

We have recently planted another two hundred small trees. Sometimes, these days, I stand on our farmland and I look about me and I thank Life for all that is wonderful. I will never have children in the physical, the conventional sense. But we have young trees that will be fruiting long after Michel and I have passed through this life, I have my books to write, roles as an actress to take on and we are creating a farm that will be there for many future generations to come.

Of course, I remain sad that I don't see that little girl at my side on the farm, that I don't hold her hand, but she is there in spirit and I am stronger and richer as a woman now because I have learnt to celebrate what I have. 

I have been empowered - been made stronger and more confident - by the facing of my loss and I have discovered joy in the everyday world around me. 

© CAROL DRINKWATER, France 2003

Sacred Journey... The Inner Beauty of a Woman's Soul

Guest blog by Cynthia Knorr-Mulder RNC, MSN, NP-C,CS, C.Ht
Watch her interview on The Woman's Connection YouTube Vlog

Sometimes I wonder how the most annoying people so easily learn how to cultivate the art to charm. One of my more frequent patients who my colleagues describe as annoying, can at times appear to be so charming that as a practitioner you feel completely convinced that this is the session that is going to stop the negative patterns of behavior, change his life completely around and turn prince annoying into a real charmer. Unfortunately, three visits later, you find out you were wrong. 

I started seeing prince annoying over two years ago for many reasons, but more simply put - because everything in his life always went wrong. At the age of thirty something, he was the author of every blind date horror story some sick Steven King wannabe could conjure up. Not only was he longing to find his princess, he hoped his family jewels would soon produce some heirs. 

He was not your typical prince, as princes would go. He was short, not tall, he was not handsome well okay, but he was dark. As a practitioner I am always able to look closely into someone's eyes and see their true soul revealing their inner beauty. Because that is where true inner beauty lies.

Okay by this point you are now wondering why he was crowned the name annoying. I guess you could say it is because he always shows up. With an appointment he shows up, without an appointment he shows up, just because he was driving by, he shows up. For whatever reason he seems to always be there discussing how horrible life is and asking why his princess hasn't shown up.

My secretary learned quickly how to pull up the moat bridge, and put on her armor. "I'm sorry she is with another patient would you like to make an appointment perhaps for next year, I mean next week". Quickly the young prince caught on and when finally one day I answered the phone directly he said, " Oh good, I thought you were avoiding me." I quickly felt pity, until I remembered that such an emotion is negative and invites nothing but bad experiences, so I changed pity to guilt and scheduled him in for next year, I mean next week. 

I dreaded telling my colleagues that he was due for a visit, but sooner or later they found out and as the time approached they scurried into their offices, armor on, doors closed to avoid the soon to be crowned King of annoying. As he sat comfortably in my office chair, looking like he was prepared to stay for a 20-hour session I began to wonder what made us all feel that he was so annoying. 

So how are you? "I'm fine prince annoying. How are you?" I answered. Well you know, so how are you doing? "I'm doing good prince annoying how are you?" I continued. Well I'm not sure. So how are things going..? Stop the press, what was I thinking; now I know why he's so annoying. 

"Let's get right to the point, how is your life going?" I questioned. Not well, I had a terrible accident I fell into a tree while walking down the street. Well that explained the two black eyes and abrasions that I was trying so hard not to stare at. Yeah and that was 8 weeks ago and I still look like this. "Why did it happen?" I don't know he said. I tripped. Trying to move the conversation along as not to go back to how I was doing, I continued to ask if the princess had yet been found, after all he had been carrying her shoe around for over 19 years. 

Well maybe this time, he replied. I have been dating a girl for the past 5 months, she likes me a lot, we have a lot in common and we are having a lot of fun. But, I said. You knew there was a but coming. If this prince hadn't been titled annoying, he could of been the prince of but. Well but, I' don't know. Yes you do, I thought. Just get to the point and stop being so annoying. 

Well but what? Well there is one thing about her? She broke her leg as a child and now she walks funny, you really can't notice, but I think do I want to marry someone who is not perfect? Before booting him completely out of my office and claiming the title as International President, having been voted in by every single woman in this world, I decided I would give him one last chance before I ditched him into the alligator pit. 

Have you gotten to know her soul? Does her outer beauty reflect her inner beauty? Has she gotten to know your soul? And what about your inner beauty? I fired so many inner soul related questions so quickly, I was sure that not only had I lost him, but I think he was hoping for an out of body experience just to avoid my questions. I waited for his reply but there was none.

And suddenly I realized that if I were starting all over again as a princess bride, I would find the ugliest prince in the world for I was sure he would understand life so deeply in a spiritual sense that he would have to have a beautiful soul, a true inner beauty. And he would truly understand that it is not looking beautiful where true inner beauty lies. If I could find this ugly prince, I would snatch him up so quickly, kiss him on his green froggy lips and know that he would love me for who I truly was. 

Hey doesn't this sound like the frog and the princess story. Of course it does and do you know why? Because it was a princess that recognized the true inner beauty of the frog and in doing so she found her prince. Do you think they would write a story about a prince that kissed a frog because he recognized the frogs true inner beauty and behold he got a princess? Get real. Obviously in all of history nothings changed. It is still the princess that sees beyond the frog. 

I ended the session with prince annoying by asking him to reflect upon what purpose his tree mishap may have had in his life. I also told him that it was important to learn a lesson when approached by a wise old teacher - the tree. In fact some ancient old trees have been known to teach many a wise scholar but seldom a slimy frog. I continued to stress to him that he would be wise to learn the lesson for if the lesson was not learnt the first time the teacher would be back again, only next time with a bigger lesson. 

How many times does it take a big fat tree trunk to hit a guy in the face in an effort to realize that any woman who loves him must be the most beautiful princess in the land?

As for me I will not have to worry my teachers will be very proud, for I learned this lesson quickly. Prince annoying's are just that - annoying. No charm can change my availability to provide healing to a soul that chooses to seek a magic wall that will manifest a beautiful princess so that he can live happily ever after. To find a fairy tale ending we must seek our own inner love, appreciate the beauty of the soul, and respect the true magic of life. 

As for Prince Annoying, until he realizes he is traveling on a sacred journey, I predict there will be many a tree that jumps into his path hoping he will look into the mirror and see beyond the trauma on his face. Until one day he realizes that by looking inward to find self-love and reclaim his own inner beauty he will indeed find his princess has inner beauty. The same inner beauty that I saw in his soul each visit, something that has been there all along, just like the beautiful princess that he could find if only he would step back from the wall to see her. 

And what about me, well I'm living happily ever after because I did kiss a frog, once upon a time, a long time ago. Of course I found that frog only after learning that you couldn't kiss an alligator without getting bit. As for my frog, well he turned into a prince and is now tall dark and handsome. He too has carried around my shoe for the past 19 years, however he knows so well how to look past the material me to where my true inner beauty lies - within my soul. 

Sacred Journey...A Women's Power of Wisdom- Connection Heaven, Earth, Mind, Body and Spirit part 1

Guest blog by Cynthia Knorr-Mulder RNC, MSN, NP-C,CS, C.Ht
Watch her interview on The Woman's Connection YouTube Vlog

Every day I am becoming more aware that each moment I experience is not just an adventure it is indeed a sacred journey. The synchronicities have begun to occur with such magnitude that I begin to wonder if the dream is reality or reality is the dream. I have learned from these synchronicities that not only are heaven and earth one, but the experiences of mind body and spirit are connected into that existing wholeness. 

This column is dedicated to the life experiences that we as woman encounter. It is about recognizing those mundane everyday occurrences in our busy lives that we often neglect to notice as signs and symbols of a greater connection. The stories contained within this column are there to benefit those who wish to make the connection between heaven, earth, mind, body and spirit. They are the stories of a women's journey. A woman who has been fortunate enough to appreciate and live the sacred journey of life to it's fullest. My purpose in life is to learn and teach that which I have experienced. By reading this column, may you receive an awakening in your own sacred journey.

Title Obsession
Over time I have promised Barrie Louise-Switzen to write an ongoing column for The Woman's Connection. The only thing that has stopped me, was finding a title. As I searched for the appropriate title, I began to wonder if Abigail had a whole bunch of letters sitting around for years wondering what to call her column? Imagine all that information and advise waiting to be shared and yet neglected because Abigail could not come up with an appropriate title for her column. 
Finally one day, as not to interfere with the process of someone's sacred journey, Abigail gives up the search for a perfect title and begins publishing her weekly column by starting out with two simple words... Dear Abby. Most times we obsess so long on the obvious that we begin to lose the clear vision of the simplicity that life offers. Our life is truly a sacred journey. With that in mind, I begin this column very much like Abigail did with two simple words. Two simple words that imply the meaning to the experience of life itself.... Sacred Journey. 

Sacred Journey
Is reality the dream or is the dream reality...

We have all had the experience of peaceful sleep, restless nights, vivid dreams, astral visits and gifts of prophecy from elder spirits of another dimension. Yet many of us neglect to acknowledge these experiences and write them off as just a dream. Those of us that are fortunate to have awakened the light within are also those who are able to interpret these dreams and understand their existence. A dream is more than a mere manifestation of some shear bizarre dimension. The state of dreaming is a pure connection between heaven and earth. The dream is a message connecting the mind, body and soul. A message, which if correctly interpreted, becomes a manifestation of reality itself. 

Long ago, a very wise and enlightened spiritual teacher once asked me if I believed that life was the existence of reality or if the dimension of the dream state was reality. I initially shrugged this question off and believed the answer was purely simple. Surely, that which I could physically feel was that which was real. Later on I would learn that not only was my perception of reality wrong, but I also learned a very valuable lesson. Never shrug off a question from an enlightened spiritual teacher as something purely simple. 

Dreaming of the Journey...
The Five Sacred Stones
Suddenly the dream becomes vivid, not like other dreams. Immediately I become aware that I am traveling in another dimension. The colors are vivid and I can clearly define and recall each and every aspect of what I see. I approach a stone castle for what seems to be a simple business meeting. Lured to this majestic location, those that join me wonder how it is that I know exactly where it is I am going. Familiar as it all may seem, I realize the experience is new to me and I begin myself to wonder how easily I have stumbled upon the location of this sacred site.  
Inside the stone castle I meet up with a colleague who is being honored for his accomplishments in his professional field. The room begins to fill with all the people I have ever known and loved, who now join in the celebration. I leave the crowd for a minute and enter an octagon room in which a large screen begins playing. I watch what appears to be a movie of my life; I recall the film in its entirety as if I were once the producer of this film. However, as I leave the room, I can no longer recall any aspect of that which I have just viewed. 

Heading away from the celebration, I begin to explore the majestic castle. I walk out the back gate and follow a dirt trail, which leads to an endless field of green, thick grass. Sitting in the grass a young and beautifully tall blonde women sits playing with a small beige and white dog. She asks if she can help me and I reply yes. "I am lost and I am trying to return to the castle where a wonderful celebration is occurring." I ask if she knows of the stone castle that sits on a hill. She smiles and says, "why of course", as she points behind me to the majestic stone castle. "You must simply return back on the same road you came down." Turning around, I see the castle behind me and I suddenly realize I was still on the same road. Looking now at how simple that seemed I begin to wonder why I even thought I was lost. She tells me she will join me along the way, so that I will not get lost again. 

As we approach the castle, we begin to climb the stone stairs to the back entrance. The women comments on the gown that I am wearing. "You look like a princess", she states. Feeling honored by her comment I look down at the elegant black gown and respond by telling her that a true princess should be wearing white. She corrects me by saying that what I am wearing is appropriate for this elegant occasion and she is glad that I have finally found my way home. 
I thank her for helping me back to the castle and ask her to join in the celebration. As I look in her eyes, I suddenly realize that she is filled with enlightenment and is truly an angel. As we enter back into the celebration, I see my colleague who says, "I was watching you the whole time you were lost. I saw you from the top of the castle." I jokingly say, "so if you knew where I was, why didn't you call me on my cell phone and tell me how to get back?" He assures me that he was never worried about me that I was protected and he knew I would return safely. I begin to introduce him to the women who assisted me in finding my way back. Suddenly their eyes meet and he realizes that he knows who she is. Astound he says to me, " Don't you know who this is?" and I reply, "Yes, she is an angel". 

The women then asks me to open my left hand as she begins to give me five secret gifts. My colleague watches and listens as she continues. She begins by telling me the meaning of each secret as she places a small stone in my hand. The first stone is a rose quartz, followed by a black onyx, a square shaped tigers eye, a tear shaped snowflake obsidian, and finally a small blue triangular piece of turquoise. 

As she places the turquoise in the palm of my hand it begins to slip off. She catches it, places it once again into my palm and tells me to hold on to this stone, as it is the most important secret. She closes the palm of my hand tightly so the stones will remain with me and then she disappears. I immediately realize I have forgotten the secrets, yet I continue to keep each of the five stones with me.

I walk back into the room where the celebration continues. Far across the room, I see my colleague who is surround by those who continue to honor him for his professional achievements. I know that he cannot hear me from far across the room, but I also know that he is constantly aware of my presence. Catching his eye for one brief moment I silently move my lips to say, " I told you it was going to turn out wonderful". Understanding exactly what I mean, he smiles.
Now it is time for me to leave, and although the celebration continues I begin to exit the stone castle. Everyone asks me why I am leaving so early. I tell them I must get back and like Cinderel la I begin to walk briskly down the halls of the castle. Hearing nothing but the sound of my taffeta gown as it flows, I cascade down the hallway. As I turn around to look behind me, I begin to notice construction workers covering the top of the high ceiling to the bottom of the stone floor with a white gauze like veil. Now even though I want to look back, I can now no longer see.
Suddenly and abruptly I awaken, jolting back into my body like a flash of lightening. 
Unlocking Sacred Symbols

Many times as we travel on our sacred journey, we wonder what it is that life has in store for us. We hope that we are following the path we are meant to be on, however sometimes we begin to contemplate what the future has in store for each and every one of us. Along our journey we make decisions daily that not only affect us individually, but also affect the greater whole of those around us. This becomes particularly important in the work environment.

Sometimes we may find ourselves loving with a passion the profession we have chosen, but so many obstacles prevent us from completing the job the way in which we dream it could be. A dream, which in reality benefits the greater whole. It is so easy to quit and give up during such trying times, but the road that is rough makes the journey more of an accomplishment and ones life more sacred for having chosen the difficult path. 

If only we can be told or warned of the future. If only we could be guided gently back onto our sacred path by a message. Imagine the comfort in knowing that we will eventually be able to accomplish the purpose of our sacred journey and that everything will indeed turn out wonderful somewhere just a little further down the road? 

If we listen and look carefully, if we provide a quiet place in our mind uncluttered by stress and busy thoughts, if we except that life is sacred, then the symbols and the signs begin to appear. The dream becomes the reality to those intuitive enough to honor the sacred and embrace the light. 

Got The Secret? Now Get The Tools

Guest blog by Caroline Reynolds
Author of Spiritual Fitness: How To Live in Truth and Trust

This year's phenomenal success of the book, "The Secret", opened many people up to a new reality. It assured us we live in an intelligent universe as responsive to our desires as an eager sales person. It offered us a magic formula for creating the life we want - the perfect relationship, career, prosperity and all that our heart desires. But how do we put this formula into practice?

No matter how hard we try, we have to acknowledge that things can only come to us when we're ready. Beyond the much-vaunted Law of Attraction there are some other 'laws' or processes we must follow in our process of manifestation. Here are some of the tools you can apply to create the life you want by using the heightened consciousness of "Spiritual Fitness".

1. Nurture Your Dream

Before you can fulfill a dream you first have to nurture it. In my book, "Spiritual Fitness - How To Live In Truth and Trust", I describe this process as finding out what you want, then holding that truth deep inside your heart. Allow it to grow and guide you from within, making sure you focus on what you can do each day to move towards it. It does not mean focusing endlessly on the future until you feel such a gap between where you are and where you want to be that you never get started! The secret is to stay focused on the 'now', since the future never comes because it is in fact just a series of incremental 'nows'. If you can align your present reality with your heart's desires, you will create a 'future' that is a reflection and manifestation of your dream.

So what dream could you be nurturing right now? Do you want a relationship, job, good income or just a simple quality of being such as peace or contentment? If you'd like a relationship, for example, you can nurture your dream by taking immediate concrete steps such as making space in your life and your home. It's amazing how many single people have very little physical space in their home or time in their lives for a partner. Break your dream down into manageable, bite-size chunks and start to nurture it on a daily basis.
.
2. Become Your Dream Self

The next step is to become the person you need to be to achieve your dream. As statistics show, around 90% of lottery winners blow their winnings within five years. This is because their manifestation was too quick, too unprepared for, and they didn't have time to think of themselves as rich or deal with any negative beliefs they had about wealth. If we don't prepare ourselves for success it can very easily make us uncomfortable and we will sabotage it to return to our small familiar selves.

I can recall the ten years I spent in my native Britain longing to live in the US and watching as all my opportunities to do so seemed to evaporate. While I waited, I was nevertheless gaining more experience and confidence in my work. It was only when I finally got to America that I understood the necessity of all my years of waiting. They had slowly enabled me to align with the bigger self I needed to become to succeed in my new home.

How can you constructively spend your time waiting for your dream? What beliefs do you have that might prevent you from being able to hold and enjoy the experience? For example, if you'd like a relationship do you have a belief that love hurts or that you don't deserve to be loved? Start to dissolve your negative beliefs by tracing them back to their source; to the first time you ever took them on. Take a 'soul level' look at that time and ask yourself what were the lessons and gifts in that situation? Which of your strengths was it meant to develop and how would you deal with it differently now? Then practice forgiveness by seeing through and beyond that situation to its highest truth and letting the 'earth level' experience go.

Next, do you have a peer group or mentor who holds a vision of your highest potential? No-one can rise to low expectations! During those years of my 'preparation' in Britain, I was blessed with friends who believed in and encouraged me (despite my frequent nosedives into health issues) and a teacher in the US who both praised and goaded me into being more courageous and aligned with my highest truth. During one particular health scare, I wrote what I called my "contract with God" and listed the many ways I pledged to own my truth and step into my greatness if the scare proved to be unfounded. It did and I kept my promise. Within two years I finally got my visa and as soon as I arrived in the US, my health also radically improved.

3. Develop Gratitude

The third essential tool for manifestation is gratitude. While you're waiting for your desired outcome, focus on the gifts you currently have. If you don't have riches, do you have health? If you don't have a relationship, do you have family? If you don't have peace or fulfillment, do you have hope? This not only helps you feel less incomplete but also prepares you to deal with holding on to your dreams when they materialize. Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by our blessings. We reach an incredulous stage where our surprise at our good fortune is about to turn into panic because we don't know how to handle it. Since our beliefs create our reality, saying "I can't believe how lucky I am", is a sure fire way to stop your luck from flowing! At these moments I've learned to just keep saying "thank you". This way I affirm the reality of all the goodness and good fortune around me and strengthen and perpetuate it.

What can you give thanks for today? Look for the little blessings as well as the big ones - a stranger's smile, a touch from a friend, an uplifting phone call or an inspiring book or movie. In practicing the art of gratitude, you will develop a much greater capacity to appreciate your dreams when they come true. 

By living in truth and trust, you gain clarity on the things you want and how to create them. By practicing "Spiritual Fitness", you can "Get the Secret!"