More work days are being missed every year due to lower back pain. The missed work days affect everyone, not just the employee that is out of work due to lower back pain and the company they work for.

Deadlines are missed resulting in longer wait times for products and services, not to mention the smaller pay checks, which means people have less money to spend.

Since many lower back injuries occur at work, a lot of companies are having to file on their Worker’s Compensation Insurance. More claims mean higher rates. Higher rate means less raises. Less raises mean money for employees to spend. Truly, lower back pain affects us all.

More and more people are turning to exercises for lower back pain instead of medication. As the FDA recalls more drugs every day, it’s no wonder people are afraid to take anything for pain. Medications can also lead to addictions.

At the very least, while medications can take the pain away for a short while, they often have nasty side effects and don’t really address the root of the problem, which is the injured, lower back. Exercises for lower back pain do.

Now, bear in mind, these sorts of exercises aren’t for everybody. Before beginning any exercise routine, it’s best to talk to your doctor first. If you can, speak to a physical therapist, as well. They will be able to tell you which exercises are the best for the type of lower back pain and injury you have.

You definitely don’t want to make your injury worse by doing the wrong sorts of exercises. Making the injury worse completely defeats the purpose of doing the exercises for lower back pain completely.

Once you figure out which exercises are the best for you and your individual circumstances, it’s time to work out an exercise schedule. Make a date for yourself to do your exercise every day or every other day.

Be certain you check with your physical therapist the best frequency for you to follow. After the date has been made, stick to it! Your back won’t heal very well on its own. If you’re dedicated to getting better, you need to be dedicated to getting the exercises done regularly.

Also, start out slowly. Don’t rush into the exercises. Don’t feel like you need to complete a billion reps. Listen to your body as you do the exercises. They may be uncomfortable at first but they shouldn’t hurt. If they hurt, stop!

Pain is your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. Look at the instructions for how the exercise is to be done again. Make sure you were doing it right. If you were, talk to your physical therapist again about alternations to your exercises for lower back pain.

If you suffer from any form of back pain, sciatica or a herniated disc and are sick and tired of the pain controlling your life, then the first thing you need to do is grab a FREE copy of the new book titled The 7 Day Back Pain Cure.

This new book is filled with useful and effective tips for reducing or eliminating your back pain. We are not certain how long we can continue to give away free copies so be sure to get yours while we still have some copies left. On top of that we will also make a donation to the charity of your choice just for getting a free copy of The 7 Day Back Pain Cure.

Let’s face it, spring cleaning isn’t a one-person job. If you share a house with family members, you want them to pitch in, too. Using these tips to get everyone involved, this may be your chance to get your house cleaned up.

* Make a plan. Start by deciding when your family will do spring cleaning. This will give everyone fair warning to clear their calendar for the time you’ll be busy and let them know you expect them to help. How quickly everyone can do other activities will depend upon how quickly everyone works.

* Decide how much spring cleaning needs to be done. This may mean going through each room in your house and making a list of everything you think needs attention. Post the list of items to be done and the person responsible for each one, on a wall in the room. Create instructions of how each task is to be completed and a place to mark off each one as it’s done.

* Divide the chores up into activities which are in line with their abilities. There’s no sense in asking a 4-year-old to move furniture, but they can wash baseboards which are at their level. Plan for smaller children to work in 20 to 30 minute intervals; older children can work for longer periods of time.

* Put together a cleaning kit for each room. This will ensure there’s no dilly-dallying because someone can’t find cleansers, rags, or towels which are needed. This also means everything that’s needed will be where it’s needed, which could make the process that much quicker.

* Have all of your organizing supplies available. If you know you’ll be putting up most of the winter clothes for the season, have plastic totes, boxes, or other storage containers ready.

* Sort and purge as you go along. Set aside particular boxes or areas in your home to place items which are no longer used, wanted, or needed. Box them up and put the boxes into the car so you can take them to a location which accepts charity.

* Make it fun. Even though cleaning is not a favorite activity, it has to be done. Play favorite music to give people energy while they’re working. Instead of using spray bottles to clean with, use squirt guns to clean windows. Not only will the children have fun, but they may not mind helping you clean so much after all. The less like work you can make the process for the children (and some adults) in the family, the more likely they’ll be willing to help.

Get everyone started on cleaning day with a healthy, hearty breakfast. You’ll know the family is well-fed and should have the required energy to accomplish the day’s tasks. However, you may also want to plan breaks with snacks throughout the day to replenish their energy.

When you’re wondering how to get the whole family involved in spring cleaning the house, you may want to use some of the ideas above. Will these ideas guarantee your family will help with a good attitude? No. However, it may make the process easier and the job less painful for all.

Some people aren’t that familiar with fun runs. Fun runs are set up over a one to five mile course. Rather than racing against other runners, they are often set up as a means to raise funds for a community charity.

Quite often fun runs coincide with holidays. You may have heard of the St. Patrick’s Day fun run, Fourth of July fun run, or even the Santa’s fun run. Look in your local newspaper to see if there are fun runs planned in your area. Another place to look would be at the community recreation center. School athletic instructors or coaches may also learn of fun runs your family can participate in.

Fun runs are also often associated with fundraisers. Perhaps your local library needs to expand, the children’s hospital has needs to be met, or another organization or charity needs to raise money. Running for a charity or fundraiser may give your family the encouragement it needs to keep going.

Why do you want to participate in a fundraising fun run? Here are a few reasons to consider:

* Running as a fundraising event allows everyone in your family to make a difference as well as improve their health, enjoy the time outdoors, and help an organization or charity to boot. It’s a win-win-win activity.

* It’s easy to get involved in a charity family fun run. You don’t need special equipment. All you need is the time to train and then run and a good pair of running shoes.

* You can make new friends through fundraising runs. You’ll find people or families who have similar interests which is a great way to develop new friendships.

* Not only does running make you feel good, knowing you’ve done something to help others will make you feel good, too.

If your family plans to participate in a fun run, it would be best to work up to it. Even though the goal is not to win a race and you can walk if needed, you may still want to get the whole family to begin training. Begin training about ten weeks before the actual run so you’re ready.

Start out slow and for a short distance. A walk around your block would probably be a good place to start. Each day you can either add distance or walk at a quicker pace. Remember to keep in mind the speed of your youngest family member.

Your goal, rather than going as fast as you can or competing against one another, is to enjoy yourselves. Walk or jog at a pace where you can carry on a conversation. And don’t leave anyone behind.

Family fun runs can be a great day out for the whole family. Enjoy the time you’re together as you participate. When the fun run is over, why not keep running together as a family? It can help you stay connected as a family while you’re staying active.

Aventurine Stimulates the heart chakra to aid in healing on the physical plane, place in a purse or pocket to attract money. Venus, Uranus. Joy, balance, clarity.

Agate Earth, For grounding & balance. For strength, protection and support. Aids strength and courage. Compels truth, promotes good manners, happiness, intelligence, prosperity, longevity, fertility, and good health. Assists in making and keeping friends, helpful to farmers and those interested in growing plants. Aid in restoration of energy, used in healing, and believed to bring wearer happiness, wealth, health, and long life. Increases ability to ward off self-induced anger and inner bitterness.

Alexandrite Stimulates sexual powers. Stimulates happiness, good fortune, sucess. Warm and loving stone.

Amazonite Regulates thinking faculties. Hope stone. Strengthens physical stamina.

Amber Mercury. High electrical charge for positive energy. Harmonizes Yin and Yang. Reduces fluid retention and helps to detoxify the urinary system. Filters germs and infections and has the power to disinfect. Worn around the neck to help fight infection and respiratory diseases. Lifts the spirits.

Amethyst Venus,Jupiter, Pluto. Eases compulsive/obsessive behavior (desire for food, tobacco, drugs, alcohol, etc) calms an overactive mind, increases self-esteem, aids sleep. Relieves headaches. Enhances your mind, intuition and insights concerning practical things. Assists those to maintain faithfulness, gives wearer the gift of tongues, increases spiritual awareness, has calming and soothing influence, has ability to transmute negative into positive, very effective as a healing stone.

Aquamarine Neptune. Tranquility, sooths the heart, inspires compassion. Assists inspiration, favorable for travelers; helps to protect against accidents. Calms nervous tension. Calming effects of the sea. Used to help banish fears and phobias. Soothing and cleansing. Powerful aid to happiness in marriage.

Azurite Saturn. Developement of intuition, understanding and communication of Universal Law. Reduces personal stress and relax inner confusion. Powerful healing stone, invokes spiritual guidance, opens psychic eye. Good for dreams and improving psychic ability.

Bloodstone Earth. Physical healer, mental balancer, removes toxins from blood, combats physical trauma, stimulates blood circulation and stops hemorrhaging. Removes emotional blockages. A talisman for warding off all accidents and disease.

Calcite Aids kidneys, pancreas, spleen. Balances male/female polarities. Alleviates fear, reduces stress. Increases capacity for astral projection. Joy, lightness. Chakra throat.

Blue Celestite Neptune. Opens one up to the angelic realms. For detachment, clear perspective, divine inspiration.

Carnelian Saturn, Earth. Sacred to Isis. Protective, aids concentration. Access to past life data. Can motivate you, and give you energy to turn your ideas into form. Stimulates the sexual/creative chakra, promotes protective, healing, peaceful, harmonious and patient energy, also eases PMS. Wish Stone, is highly favorable to health, long life, and good fortune. Its special virtue is the fulfillment of one.s wishes if the stone is worn near the heart. (orange in color)

Citrine Mercury, Mars. Bridge between higher and lower consciousness; transmutes fear. Helps to eliminate self-destructive tendencies, enhances courage and self-determination.

Coral Venus, Neptune. Love and harmony. Relieves throat and voice ailments, balances physical endurance. Promises a long and happy married life, protects a child from evil influences, and safeguards the teenager during the highly emotional period. Balances physical energy and relaxes tensions. Carries the creative vibrations of the sea.

Diamond Absorbs all energies. Protects the wearer from bad dreams, demons and nightmares. A symbol of bravery and strength, and also one of the emblems of innocence.

Emerald Venus. Heart stone. Great harmonizer. Love, balance, understanding. Aids neurological diseases. Gem of hope and faith. Enhances speech and can act as a natural tranquilizer when you are worried. Promotes creativity and fertile ideas. Carry to promote wealth and abundance. Promotes creativity, stimulates perception and insight, and strengthen memory. Beneficial effect on the eyes. Also an excellent preservative against decay, arrests dysentery, and heals bites from venomous animals.

Fluorite Neptune. Opens wearer to influence of other stones. Grounds excess energy. Considered a goodluck piece. Also called Fairy Gem. Manifests innermost wishes. Promotes well being; enhances concentration and meditation. Powerful spirit guide.

Garnet Pluto, Mars. Aids kundalini to ascend in proper channels. Aids circulation. Balances thyroid disorders. Balance your energy system and stimulates your desires and uplift your attitude. Can prevent fears of insecurity and even money losses. Lucky stone-lucky for love, success and goals. Balances hormones, good for mental depression, enhances self-esteem, alleviates bad dreams, and encourages success in business. Thought to assist in seeing into past incarnations. Will ensure consistency in friendship and love, preserve health, and is generally fortunate. Vitality and passion. Stimulates happiness, peace, balance, patience, inspiration, persistence, good for rebirthing, menstruation and life passages, disorders, fertility, eases arthritis pain.

Hematite Saturn. Grounding, focus, self discipline. Very strong stone; absorbs negativity. Gives optimism and courage. Calming to the emotions. Helps maintain balance between body, mind, and spirit. Use for fevers, alleviates worry and anxiety as it allows for mental clarity, known as the “worry stone”.

Ivory Protects the physical body from injury.

Jade Venus, Neptune. Cooling, water element. Soothing, healing. Promotes healing of vital organs. Used to attract love and compassion, prolongs life and enhances livelihood. A most sacred stone and a symbol of divine revelation. Brings good fortune and health to its owner. Stimulates practicality, wisdom, and universal attunement. Thought to provide a link between the spiritual and the mundane.

Jasper Promotes healing of gastric system and balance endocrine functioning. Stability stone. Reduces your insecurities, fears and guilt. Promotes physical stamina. Aid and comfort during periods of female distress. One stone worn about the neck and another around the waist.

Jet Pluto. Sacred to Pan. Helps to confront darker aspects of self and nature. Personal protection stone for safety while traveling.

Kyanite Neptune, Pluto. Aligns chakras and subtle bodies.

Labradorite/Spectrolite Uranus, Pluto, Neptune. Opens heart chakra.

Lapis Lazuli Venus, Neptune. Throat chakra. Stone of teachers. Clarity and ease of expression of higher wisdom. Strengthens the physical body during spiritual awakening. Stimulates wisdom, truthfulness, & psychic experiences, healing and strengthening when worn next to the skin.

Malachite Venus. Solar plexus. Emotional balance. Strengthens physical and etheric eyes. Awakens healing qualities, it is said it helps to heal mental illness. Egyptions used it for safe-guarding pregnancy. The stone will break into two to warn the owner of approaching danger. Promotes inner peace and hope. Used as a child’s talisman to sleep soundly & protect from bad dreams. Stimulates clear vision and insight, represents hope and inner peace, believed to protect from danger. Increases abundance in all areas of life. This stone supposedly has equal amounts of negative and positive forces, thereby adding to the balance of physical and spiritual life. Used to release repressed emotions and for physical detoxing.

Moldavite Pluto, Mercury, Moon. Astral Projection, access to akashic records, wider perspectives.

Moonstone Moon. Sacred to the Goddess, moonstone may be used to enhance the feminine, strengthen psychic abilities, and increase sensitivity to natural cycles. Regulates the pituitary gland function. Lucky love stone. Aid in bringing forth memories of past lives, carried as a good luck piece. Brings good fortune. Reflects the wearers being and feelings. Promotes unselfishness. Opens the heart to humanitarian love and hope. Good for protection while traveling on water. Gives clarity to spiritual understanding. Good for pre-menstrual symptoms and balancing to the reproductive system. Used to ease childbirth. Sometimes called the Queen of the Heavens stone. Calming effect on emotions. Eases menstrual pain, alleviates many degenerative conditions in the skin, hair, eyes, and body fluids (tears, digestive juices).

Obsidian Pluto. Transforms energy and emotions in a very powerful way. Not to be worn as jewelry. Also a powerful grounding and protection stone. Boosts immunity. Helps to prevent emotional draining from others. Protective energy glass.

Onyx (black) Saturn. Stabilizing. Mirrors all aspects of the self, dark as well as light. Transformative. Protection and keeps away bothersome entanglements. Preserves against the bites of snakes and venomous insects, and assists in bringing marital happiness.

Opal Mercury. Links physical body to higher bodies, allowing greater access to cosmic consciousness. Keep away from other stones, it will absorb all energy. A stone of hope, positive actions, achievements and love.

Paua Shell Neptune. Aids one in accessing the subconscious for emotional and artistic inspiration.

Pearl Venus. Purity, chastity, emotional clarity. Promotes antibodies and fights infection. Stimulates your femininity and helps with self-acceptance. Give a pearl to a child to help him or her grow in beauty, especially a little girl. Stimulates feminine qualities, used to focus attention, helps pull together mental and spiritual forces, peace of mind. Represents purity, modesty, & gentleness.

Peridot Mercury. Creates feeling of protection, allowing heart to open. Unblocks congestions. Aids adrenal function. Use this stone as your sun stone to prevent personal darkness from your fears and guilts. If you become depressed or fearful , a peridot can aid in changing your attitude for it may just radiate the sun’s energy as an additional resource to guide you.

Petrified wood Restores physical energy, helps hip and back problems. Ground and secures you, aids in preventing work stress. Restores your physical energy.

Pyrite Mars. Vitality, strengthening of Will. Enhances mental capacity and attracts money to owner. Has protecting, shielding aspect for physical, mental, emotional levels. Shields from negative energy, strengthens circulatory system, clears oxygen in the blood. Also known as fools gold.

Quartz Uranus. Purifier, protector, spiritual awakener. Raises Vibratory rate. Enhances qualities of the bearer, raises the vibration of other stones with which it is stored or used. Used for directing energy. Amplifies healing energy. Used to help draw out pain. Able to tap into energies of the universe. Good stone for meditating on. Very potent and often worn to protect from negative vibrations. Cleanse regularly.

Rhodochrosite Mercury, Venus. Holds any force field. Draws white light into the physical body. Prevents mental breakdowns, balances physical and emotional trauma, a rescue/remedy stone. Can beautifully guide you in your quest for emotional happiness. Adds courage, will, passion to the loving heart vibration. Represents love of God. Milky pink stone with definition.

Rhodonite Restores physical energy, especially following trauma or shock, another rescue stone. Attracts or keeps a loving partner. Pink stone with black highlights -very defined.

Rhyolite Rejuvenates physical beauty. Physical and emotional stabilizer.

Rose Quartz Venus. Self love, friendship. Promotes skin rejuvenation. Boost and build your image. Especially good if you have a weight problem, it will greatly foster your personal self-acceptance. Worn or carried for love, fidelity, peace, and happy marriage. Aids intuition and emotional balance. Reduces stress and tension – cools hot tempers. Vibrations of universal love & inner serenity. Comforts heart from all wounds, helps heal emotional pain, enhances love , self-love, positive outlook, joy and oneness.

Ruby Sun, Mars. Heart Chakra. Compassion, leadership, heals relationship to father. Prevents schizophrenia. Adds energy to the body; attracts wealth, power and joy. The stone of freedom, charity, dignity and divine power. Increases vigor, renews vitality and cleanses the blood. The stone of courage. Helps banish grief for those in mourning.

Rutilated Quartz Sun, Uranus. High electrical charge. Powerful healer.

Sapphire Neptune. Aids spiritual understanding. Increases level of potassium, magnesium and calcium. Stone of destiny. Contributes to your mental clarity, perception and wisdom.

Selenite Moon. Soothing, nurturing, inspirational.

Smokey Quartz Neutralizes negative influences. Good for people with radiation-related illness; helps with the reproductive system, muscle tissue, and nervous system; influences positive change. Mercury, Earth. One of the best grounding stones. Balancing. Good for calming the mind. Eases depression, fear and panic.

Sodalite Venus, Pluto. Opens throat chakra. Physical healer. Transformative. (Blue speckled stone). Promotes a balance in thyroid metabolism. Opens up lines of communication and helps us to develop creative ways in order to communicate. Alleviates fears, Clears the mind.

Strawberry Quartz Helps to awaken feelings of self love and acceptance; offers comfort and a sense of reclaiming one’s own esteem; especially good for healing around matters of the heart.

Tigereye Mercury, Earth, Mars. Sacred to Bast and Sekhmet. Helps one to distinguish between actual need and false desire. Reduces headaches and nervous spasms. Calms emotions, protects against external stresses. To restore physical energy & quiet emotional nature.

Topaz Mercury. Bridge between higher and lower consciousness. Assimulation of abstract information. Fights kidney and bladder ailments. Calms your emotions, relieves your tensions and stress and restores your physical energy. Will make melancholy vanish when worn or carried in the left hand. Calms emotions, protects against external stresses. To restore physical energy & quiet emotional nature. Protects against insomnia and depression, mood elevator, revitalizes, stimulates creative thinking processes, eases death.

Tourmaline Prevents lymphatic diseases, battles anemia. Black – deflects negativity. Very protective. Lifts fears and negative conditions. Causes the wearer to be flexible, understanding and more objective in purpose and reason. Green – refines, strengthens, directs will. pink – love and sacrifice, devotion. watermelon – corrects imbalances, eases guilt.

Tourmalinated Quartz Pluto, Uranus. Promotes harmony and helps to resolve confliction elements within ourselves; deflects negativity..

Turquoise Venus, Moon. Symbol of the sky. Works on respiratory system, helps manifest spiritual qualities on the physical plane. Protective; guards against negative energy, danger , accidents; promotes good luck. Can relax your mind and ease mental tensions, calming your emotions and stress overstimulation. Self-love stone. Primary holy stone of Native Americans. Vibrates calming radiations, protective, and restores healthy mental attitude. Stone of friendship. Balancing and healing. Great strength and vitality. Takes on characteristics of the wearer. It is unwise to wear a turquoise formerly worn by one who has died. Excellent for both Spiritual attunement and healing of the energy centers and the physical body, valuable for grounding as well as for vision quests and astral travel , purifies all levels of being and is capable of handling strong negativity, also used for wounds and for damage to bones.

It is fossilized resin. Amber absorbs and changes negative energy into positive energy. It calms, purifies, increases motivation and creativity. Amber is a powerful amulet when worn for protection.

Amethyst

This type of quartz has the power to control all types of harmful behavior. It has the power to heal and balance physical, emotional and mental energies as well as clearing the aura. Amethyst is excellent in inducing a calm and peaceful energy to aid in both entering and maintaining a state of meditation. Other attributes include stability, strength, protection against psychic attacks and helps one find freedom from addictive personalities.

Bloodstone

This form of Chalcedony is wonderful for healing, courage, renewal, enhances creativity and helps one to be unselfish. The green, red spotted bloodstone is also a prosperity stone. It has been used to facilitate admittance to the spiritual realms of the ancestors, providing an open avenue of communication.

Carnelian

This form of Chalcedony stimulates analytical capabilities and precision. It also relieves feelings of anger or hatred when worn near the heart by instilling powerful sensations of well-being. Carnelian can also relieve sexual tension by redirecting energies stored in the reproductive center of the body; it can also stimulate sluggish sexual energies.

Cat’s Eye

This form of Quartz or Chrysoberyl enhances awareness, stimulates intuition and may be used to see into the future or communicate with the spirit world. Cat’s Eye has also been used to increase longevity, bring prosperity, happiness, serenity and luck.

Citrine

This form of Quartz is very special in that it does not hold and accumulate negative energy but dissipates and transmutes it. Because of this, it never needs clearing or cleansing. Citrine stimulates mental focus and endurance. It promotes inner radiance making for a constant happy disposition.

Copper

Copper has been used successfully to transmit thought and provides a harmonic connection between the physical and astral bodies. It also stimulates initiative, optimism, diplomacy and independence.

Diamond

Diamond has been used to remove voids from one’s aura and to fill the emptiness with a pure and loving energy. It inspires creativity, ingenuity, inventiveness, inspiration, faith, endurance and helps to manifest abundance in all areas of one’s life.

Emerald

This form of Beryl increases creative imagination, prosperity, love and fertility. It also instills sensitivity and loyalty within the self, domestic bliss, enhances memory and brings harmony to all areas of one’s life.

Garnet

Garnet enhancer’s one’s internal flame to bring out creative energies. It also aids in love, purification, cleansing and the elimination of things in disorder.

Hematite

Hematite is an excellent grounding stone. It encourages one to reach full potential, assists in balancing body, mind and spirit along with mental attunement.

Jade

Jade helps to remember and understand dreams. Set in gold or silver, it is thought to prolong life and bring riches to the wearer. Jade also inspires and brings ambition toward completion of goals. Other attributes include confidence and self-sufficiency.

Jasper

This type of Chalcedony may be used for nurturing, stabilizing the aura and aid in safe astral travel. Red Jasper is for protection, Yellow Jasper clears the mind and Brown Jasper aids in concentration and may be worn for grounding and centering.

Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli expands awareness, attunes to creativity, fine-tunes the feelings and instincts, helps to overcome depression, protects and enhances a state of serenity. It also assists in entering other realms with wisdom to understand the information received. Deep azure-blue, pyrite-streaked stones are powerful healing medicine when worn with purposeful intent.

Malachite

Malachite exudes maternal love and warmth and is often used for healing purposes, however it absorbs negativity therefore requiring a thorough cleansing and recharging after each use. It also enhances one’s psychic abilities and aids in one’s spiritual evolution. Malachite clarifies emotions and helps one accept responsibility for one’s own actions.

Moonstone

Moonstone stimulates confidence and composure along with understanding through intuition and emotions. It cleanses the chakras and enhances all feminine aspects of one’s nature bringing calmness coupled with awareness. Moonstone is trance inducing and may be used for all divinatory work. Its other attributes include balancing and new beginnings.

Obsidian

Obsidian is useful in healing providing clarity to both the subject and the healer. It is also an excellent grounding and protective stone. Along with these attributes each type of Obsidian also has their own specific qualities.

* Apache Tear – promotes comfort in times of grief and forgiveness.
* Black – induces creativity.
* Grey – aids in tact and cooperation.
* Brown – increases initiative and independent thought.
* Blue/Green – helps one speak and understand from the heart.
* Electric Blue Sheen – (black that contains radiance of electric blue) promotes patience and tolerance. It is an excellent third eye stone as it stimulates intuition and enhances awareness. It also has protective qualities.
* Gold Sheen – helps to identify the heart of a problem.
* Green – stimulates and cleanses the heart chakra.
* Mahogany – provides strength in times of need by stimulating growth of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual centers. It increases vitality to fulfill one’s aspirations.
* Purple – enhances the growth of the spiritual self.
* Purple Sheen – helps to see beyond the immediate reality, promotes psychic ability and stimulates clarity.
* Rainbow – induces light, love, happiness and gratification.
* Red – enhances stability in ones physical attributes and brings validity to one’s being.
* Silver Sheen – helps to see the self as others do.
* Snowflake – helps to recognize unnecessary patterns in life and redesign one’s thought patterns to provide relief from undesired conditions. It also aids in purity and balance to the body, mind and spirit.

Onyx

This form of Chalcedony is a powerful grounding stone that aids in concentration, absorbs negativity, banishes grief, enhances self control, stimulates wise decision making, encourages happiness and good fortune along with being a good choice for protection.

Opal

The main aspect of this stone is balance. It may crack if the wearer is stressed, in danger or just out of sync. Opal helps to recognize and feel creativity within oneself along with inspiration, imagination and mystical qualities. It may render the wearer invisible by bringing one the quality of “fading into the background.”

Pearl

This type of Sea Shell has a soothing effect and helps the wearer overcome obstacles. It tends to absorb negative energy and must be cleared before wearing. Pearl also induces faith, charity, innocence, focus and enhances personal integrity.

Peridot

Peridot emits a warm and friendly energy, regulates cycles (physical, mental, emotional, intellectual and life), along with being excellent for healing and protection.

Quartz (clear)

Quartz crystals have been used in magical and healing rituals since the beginning of time as we know it. Quartz crystal can create altered states of consciousness as well as unlocking abilities of the mind. It can be used to clear and activate energy centers of the body attuning well to the heart and third-eye chakras. Quartz purifies the physical, mental and spiritual self along with healing inner negativity transforming it into positive thoughts and feelings. Whether the clear quartz is carried, worn, or simply in one’s environment, it’s magick and energy remain attuned to the one with whom it is connected.

Rose Quartz

This crystal emits a gentle and calming energy that can bring harmony to a chaotic situation. Rose Quartz is especially helpful in matters of the heart and learning to love one’s self as it promotes feelings of love and happiness.

Ruby

This form of Corundum encourages one to follow their bliss, promoting creativity and the ability to expand beyond oneself. Ruby stimulates the heart chakra while leading the emotions toward nurturing, spiritual wisdom, health, knowledge and wealth. It is also an excellent shielding stone, protecting the wearer on all levels.

Sapphire

This form of Corundum aids in eliminating frustration and allowing for the fulfillment of dreams and desires. Sapphire can also be used to remove unwanted thoughts by opening one’s mind to beauty and intuition. It is said that sapphire has the power to counteract negative witchcraft and attract good spirits and that star sapphire (milky or grayish blue) is the best guard against the evil eye.

Silver

Silver provides a very strong connection between the physical and astral bodies giving the wearer assurance that they may always return home from the astral plane. Silver smoothes out the roughness of one’s personality improving speech and bringing an element of culture to one’s presence.

Smokey Quartz

This crystal can be used to dissolve negative emotions and thoughts allowing positive energy to take its place. Natural Smokey Quartz can protect one from harm along with heightening one’s connection and understanding of Earth and the environment. It is an excellent grounding stone and also promotes personal joy of life.

Tiger Eye

This form of quartz is helpful when clarity is required to intelligently sort through and organize scattered details. It can also enhance psychic ability bringing awareness and perception. Tiger Eye allows one to admire purity and beauty letting one’s passion for life blossom. This crystal may bring prosperity, abundance and financial independence to the wearer.

References include the following:

Crystal Medicine by Marguerite Elsbeth
Published in 1997 by Llewellen Publications

Love is in the Earth – A Kaleidoscope of Crystals by Melody
Published in 1995 by Earth-Love Publishing House

For those people with back pain caused by the degeneration of discs and joints, or poor posture, a Pilate’s exercise program can be beneficial to easing the problem.

Most back problems are caused by bad posture; this can be sitting, walking or standing. This causes us to lose strength in our postural muscles over time and gets worse until eventually you cannot even correct your posture if you want to. Pilates is an excellent form of exercise to remedy this problem too.

What are Pilates?

The Pilates method is a form of exercise that focuses on using the core postural muscles to help keep the body balanced and support the spine. It is a method that teaches awareness of breathing and alignment of the spine. In helping to prevent and alleviate back pain the system also strengthens the deep torso muscles.

While Pilates is a simple form of exercise you shouldn’t underestimate the impact that it can have, Pilates can help to develop support for the deep postural muscles of the trunk. It brings an awareness of the importance of neutral alignment and leads to the shoulders and hips being suppler.

Pilates has roots in ballet and dance and as such some of the movements used in the system can be particularly challenging and difficult, however there are some exercises that can be learned and practiced at home between guided sessions. As when beginning any new form of exercise it is important that you seek the advice of your doctor before commencing, the instructor guiding the Pilates session should also be qualified.

One-on-one sessions may be the answer

For those who have significant back problems it may be advisable to have a few one-on-one sessions with an instructor qualified in Pilates and especially in treating those with back pain. While this is more expensive than attending a class it can be worth the extra expense to learn the exercise correctly by having one-on-one guidance.

While the exercises in the Pilates system should challenge you mentally and physically, they shouldn’t cause you to struggle with them. If an exercise is causing you pain then it could be that you are not performing it correctly or it could be too difficult a position for you. You should make sure that you never put too much excessive stress on the intervertebral discs and avoid mental or physical fatigue.

As a general rule those suffering from back pain and attending Pilates should never perform any exercise that pushes the spine into extremes of extension or flexion. Side bending movements and twisting of the spine should also be avoided. As with most forms of exercise, it will take perseverance and some time spent attending classes before you will see any major improvements.

If you suffer from any form of back pain, sciatica or a herniated disc and are sick and tired of the pain controlling your life, then the first thing you need to do is grab a FREE copy of the new book titled The 7 Day Back Pain Cure.

This new book is filled with useful and effective tips for reducing or eliminating your back pain. We are not certain how long we can continue to give away free copies so be sure to get yours while we still have some copies left. On top of that we will also make a donation to the charity of your choice just for getting a free copy of The 7 Day Back Pain Cure.

I hear that nearly every day, from both folks who are online contacts and real-world friends and neighbors. My answer? HOGWASH!

Whether we realize it or not, we are ALREADY making a difference in our world with every action, and non-action, with every word spoken or held back, with every choice, with every smile, with every frown, with every thank you. So if we’re already making a difference, why on EARTH wouldn’t every single one of us strive to assure that difference is a positive one?

So, for all of those who truly do not see how they can make a positive impact, for those who cannot think of ways to make a difference, and, for all you masters of excuses, here are 55 *easy*, simple, free or no-cost ways to help heal our world and our people. (This list started off as 20 ways and I had to make myself stop at 55!)

1) Smile. When you see someone without a smile, give them yours.
2) Look a person in the eyes, smile and say thank you when they render you a service – cashiers, mechanics, bus drivers, waiters/waitresses, hotel desk clerks, flight attendants. They are not invisible tools created for your comfort, they are your brothers and sisters – SEE them and thank them.
3) Pick a name out of the phone book and send them an inspirational card so they know someone is thinking about them.
4) Smile at a child and tell them you’re proud of them.
5) Slow down and let someone over in traffic instead of speeding up so you can get to your destination a whole 10 seconds sooner.
6) Leave an inspirational book in a public place such as an airport, bus station, cafe with a little note inside saying how you hope whoever finds it receives some comfort from it.
7) Donate some of your old books to a local school or youth center
Adopt a soldier – send letters and care packages
9) Watch someone’s kids for them so they can go on a date or simply have a few hours of much-needed ‘me time’.
10) Buy a $5 Starbucks gift card and give it away
11) Give one hour a week as a volunteer in your community
12) Clean your closets and donate old clothing and household items to the Salvation Army or GoodWill
13) Go yard-saling and buy baby items, then contact your local department of family services and ask them what local expectant mothers could use them. (I did this and ended up with almost enough to outfit an entire nursery for just about $20!)
14) Give another driver the parking spot you wanted.
15) Visit a nursing home with your children.
16) Leave flowers or cookies on someone’s desk
17) Send a thank you note to someone who is rarely thanked – what about that nice waitress at your local restaurant or the frazzled teenager in the McDonald’s drive through?
18) Send somebody $20 in the mail. Just because
19) Give a genuine compliment
20) Take an afternoon and take your children on a drive – just to listen and sing along with the radio together
21) Give a child in the grocery store a dollar
22) Hold a Teddy Bear Drive and donate the bears to a children’s shelter for new arrivals.
23) Invite a lonely neighbor or co-worker over for dinner
24) Take your son’s old sports equipment and donate it to your local youth shelter, rec center or Little League/Youth Football League
25) Give blood
26) Send flowers to your local hospital with a note to give them to the patient they feel would most benefit from receiving them
27) Thank a police officer
28) Thank a fireman
29) Adopt a homeless pet at the humane society.
30) If you own a website or blog, find a charity you believe in and put a link up – with no expectation of a link back.
31) If you are on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace or another social network, tell your friends about a worthy cause and include a link
32) Mow an elderly neighbor’s lawn, or shovel their walk, or rake their leaves.
33) Take out the garbage without being asked – take out the neighbor’s garbage while you’re at it!
34) Call or visit a homebound person
35) Volunteer to be a tutor in school
36) Plant a garden and share the bounty
37) Listen to a child, really listen
38) Teach your children to say thank you
39) Offer a shoulder to lean on – and be there when it’s needed
40) Pray for others – Send positive/healing energy – Meditate – the words don’t matter, the intention does.
41) Tell someone “good job!” – and mean it
42) Share the credit for a job well done with those who took part in it
43) Read to a child
44) Read to an elderly person in a nursing home or hospital
45) Call your parents and say thank you
46) When organizing a party for a child’s birthday or other event, drop off the extra goody bags for children in your local shelter
47) Overpack your child’s lunch and ask them to share with a child at school
48) Teach your children basic respect for others and for all life
49) Apologize to your child when it’s warranted – let them know that it’s ok to make a mistake, that it’s how you handle it that matters most.
50) Leave sticky notes with inspirational quotes in unlikely places for others to find and read
51) Buy green whenever you can
52) Recycle
53) Pay attention to local, state and national politics – vote, get involved!
54) Get your pet spayed or neutered
55) If you see litter when going about your daily life, stop and pick it up

These are all small things. But it is kindness and compassion which will be the vehicles of change in our world. Start looking for, recognizing and even creating opportunities to be kind and not only will you be a powerful force for change, you will also be the recipient of return blessings.

Remember…

Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness. ~Seneca

I’d like to offer my sincere thanx to both my Twitter friends and to Co-Creator Radio Network for their inspiring words of wisdom and their countless ideas on how we each can make a difference in our world and in someone’s life today – from right where we are at this moment.

Namaste’,
~Dee

By Charlotte Haigh

Put on a CD
Make sure it’s either upbeat or classical music – studies have found listening to these sorts of tunes can really perk you up.

B happy
“The B group of vitamins are vital for a good mood,” says nutritionist Patrick Holford. On a bad day, load whole grains, green vegetables, meat, fish and dairy on to your plate.

Step out
A 30-minute walk will give you an instant boost, and going for a brisk stroll three times a week is as effective as anti-depressants, according to research from Duke University in the US.

Go outdoors
Sunlight stimulates production of happiness-inducing melatonin. Make the most of the warmer weather (don’t forget your sunscreen!).

Smell yourself happy
“Jasmine essential oil triggers the release of the brain’s feelgood chemicals (endorphins) to elevate your mood,” says Margo Marrone, homeopath and founder of The Organic Pharmacy. Add 10 drops of it to a warm bath – try Tisserand Jasmine in Jojoba Oil (�5.99/9ml, from health food stores).

Eat fat
Cheer yourself up with a super-dose of essential fatty acids, crucial for a sunny disposition. Lunch on tinned sardines with green leaves salad and avocado, drizzled with sesame seed oil.

Look at yellow
“Yellow can lift your spirits and self-esteem,” says colour psychologist Angela Wright. Put on a sunny-coloured top, or buy yourself a bright bunch of flowers for your desk.

Read a novel
Dipping into a book is a great form of escapism and perfect for lifting you out of a grumpy mood.

Pamper yourself
Splash out on a treatment – a facial (or a massage for men) will help you look great as well as relaxing you by working out tension in your face and neck.

Be grateful
Get yourself out of self-pity mode by writing a gratitude list. Note down everything that’s great in your life, from the good neighbour who always helps out at the last minute to a family holiday coming up soon.

Think yourself happy
“Reflecting on something pleasant can encourage feelings of joy,” says Patrick Whiteside, psychiatrist and author of Happiness (Rider, �5.99). “Sit quietly for a few minutes, then bring to mind something simple that gives you pleasure, whether it’s the sunshine on your face or the sight of your kids tucked up in bed.”Have some child’s play Get in touch with your carefree side by enjoying some childish games. Take your kids or some friends to the park for a game of frisbee or football.

Fake it
“Your body language can quickly change the way you feel,” says life coach Fiona Harrold. Imagine you’re in a fantastic mood and you’ll automatically hold yourself with a straight back, relaxed shoulders – and a smile!Pop a pill When you’re down, try a natural supplement that helps your body build new cells can reduce the release of stress hormones.

Keep up appearances
According to a study hospital patients who keep themselves well-groomed reported feeling more positive – so treat yourself to a haircut etc.Eat a plum… or a banana, some pineapple or chicken or turkey – these foods are all rich in tryptophan, a chemical that your brain uses to make the feelgood hormone serotonin.

Phone a friend
A chat with a sympathetic mate will take your mind off your problems and put things into perspective.

Try a challenge
Whether it’s a new sport or an exercise class you’ve never tried or a different recipe, new challenges boost your confidence and your mood.19Pat yourself on the back Write a list of all your achievements, from passing your driving test to bringing up your kids – and congratulate yourself.

Take happy herbs
“Rhodiola and St John’s wort are excellent for improving your mood,” says Margo Marrone. Try The Organic Pharmacy Rhodiola and St John’s Wort Tincture (�10.99/50ml, from www.theorganicpharmacy.com).

Tidy up
Yes, really – there’s nothing like a practical task to get you out of that melancholic mindset. Clean the oven or polish all your shoes – it will take your mind off things and give you a sense of satisfaction.

Talk yourself up
“Using the right words helps you feel instantly sparkier,” says Astrid Longhurst, author of Body Confidence (Michael Joseph, �12.99). When someone asks how you are, don’t say “fine” or “ok”, use words like ‘fantastic’ or ‘brilliant’.

Go dancing
Whether you try ballroom dancing lessons or hit a club with your friends, boogying will raise your spirits.24Get flower power “The flower remedy celandine is great if you’re having a day of looking negatively at the world,” says Nikki Bradford, author of Heal Yourself with Flowers and Other Essences.

Go nutty
Nuts are rich in magnesium, which helps keep you serene. So replace your usual choccie bars and crisps with a handful of Brazils, almonds or walnuts.

Buy yourself a pressie
A small, meaningful gift will give your subconscious the message that you’re worth it without putting you into debt. Try a new CD, DVD or even fresh flowers.

Make a plan
Having something to look forward to can get you through the worst day. Spend your lunch hour surfing the net for a holiday or even just a great night out with your mates.

Say ‘ohm’
Take a tip from yoga enthusiasts and spend five minutes sitting quietly and humming “ohm’. You might feel a bit silly, but studies show it can warm the skin and relax your muscles, helping you feel chilled out and cheerful.

Have a night in
Hire your favourite comedy movie and stockpile pizza and popcorn – with or without friends.

Be still
Spending time in a quiet, reflective place can transform your mood – take a gentle walk in the park or browse your local bookshop.

Enjoy vanilla
This scent can help you feel happier and calmer, according to a study from the University of Tubingen in Germany. Sniff a hankie with a drop of vanilla essence or oil.

Team work
“Team sports are fun and will instantly lift your mood – plus they give you the motivation to stick at getting fit,” says mind body therapist Gloria Thomas.

Work on your hands
Blitz stress and brighten your mood with a spot of hand reflexology. Work on the points on your palms at the base of each thumb. They correspond to your adrenal glands, which become overworked when you’re wound-up. Support one hand in the other and use the pad of your thumb to firmly massage the point.

Have a laugh
Read or watch something that makes you laugh – or try giving a funny friend a call.Get your oats Oats soothe the central nervous system, so there’s nothing more comforting than a bowl of porridge on one of those grumpy mornings.

Have a sniff
Bergamot essential oil (from pharmacies or health stores) is great for giving you a zap of happiness. Sprinkle a few drops on to a tissue and sniff for a lift.

Eat carbs
You need these to produce the good-mood chemical serotonin, according to a study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US. So if you’re feeling low, forget Atkins and tuck into a big bowl of pasta.

Get creative
Invest in some paints and mess about with them for half an hour. Don’t worry about producing a masterpiece, just have fun.

Sing in the shower
It doesn’t matter if you’re tone deaf – research from the Institute of Music, Health and Education in the US has found just five minutes of singing or humming can put you in a sunnier mood.

Have an early night
Enjoy a long bath, then get into a bed made with clean sheets – pure luxury.Have a swim It can make you feel more energetic, happier and less tense, says a study from the University of London – so get your cossie on and hit the local pool.

Overhaul your image
A new suit or outfit can boost your mood no end. So take a trusted friend and go shopping – even a new belt or tie can be enough. Check out charity shops if you’re on a tight budget.

Help someone
Studies show helping people boosts self esteem and gets you to think about someone else for a while.

Visualise happiness
It may sound flaky but try this… “Sit quietly for 10 minutes and close your eyes,” says Tibetan medical practitioner Christopher Hansard. “Imagine a stream of light flowing fast into your body and, as it touches you, imagine a sense of a sense of happiness. Keep the image of this light with you throughout the day.”

Talk yourself into a good mood
Affirmations help you think more positively. Try repeating 10 times the phrase “I am comfortably happy and confident and my day is going well”. If you feel silly saying it out loud, write it down and look at it every hour.

Play with a pet
Studies have found that when pets are taken into nursing homes, patients report feeling happier.Do something social Mixing with others is one of the best ways to improve your mood and keep you feeling sparky. From window shopping to eating out – doing something with friends makes you more cheerful.

Go to bed…
Orgasms stimulate a big rush of mood-boosting chemicals called endorphins, so have one tonight!

Write it down
Scribble out honestly whatever’s getting to you, whether it’s the kids playing up or the row you’ve just had with your mum, and keep writing till it’s all off your chest. You’ll feel better instantly.

Go green
Spend an hour in a green space, even if it’s just your garden or local park, and appreciate nature – it’ll work wonders for your spirits.

by Emma Russell and Dee Braun

I am listening to We Are The World right now and thinking about what we could all to do to honor his memory. I am pretty sure that  his wish would be for us to do something, anything, to make our world a better place, as well as to continue his message of love and healing on this planet.

So **THIS WEEK**, the week of Michael’s birthday, we’re asking all those who are fans of Michael Jackson, as well as those who are not, to download the song, We Are The World, or purchase the single or CD album.

All proceeds from the sales of these audio and video recording continue to go to USA for Africa and allow each of us to participate in our own small way in the feeding of hungry children – in the healing of our world.

The single is available for download on the USA for Africa site, as well as Amazon and iTunes.  With every purchase, all monies will go to USA for Africa to help them continue their incredible humanitarian efforts – the feeding of starving children and their families.

I think if we all bought a copy of We Are The World in the week of his birthday and got it to number one, it would first of all help make the world a better place, and secondly show that Michael’s message and vision live on in so very many people – fans and non-fans alike.

If you are not a fan of Michael, that’s ok. But please take a moment and find a way today to give back, to help someone, to support your charity of choice, to give a smile, a hug or an encouraging word. We are all called upon to heal our world – it is not limited to the people of one nation, the members of one race or gender, nor the fans of one artist. If not you, if not me, if not us…who?

You can find the song at the following websites:

http://www.usaforafrica.org/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Are-The-World/dp/B001JIHHA8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1249663226&sr=8-4
http://www.amazon.com/We-Are-The-World/dp/B001FXOL4W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1251219069&sr=8-3

You can also find the DVD in stores, and on Amazon, as well as download the DVD from iTunes.  All the proceeds go to charity, buy as much or as little as you can afford. We’re doing it because we believe in Michael’s vision of a healed and loving world as well as for those less fortunate than ourselves.

Tell all your friends, fellow fans, post the link to the downloads in your FB, Myspace, Twitter…

You can find more details at the Facebook Group ‘Michael Jackson: We are The World http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=132894936792

Love is our message!

As a result it is being proposed that avocados join the list of other vegetables and fruits that should be eaten as part of a ‘cancer prevention diet’.

Well, I am OK as I eat a lot of avocados. But, seriously you should make sure that you include as many cancer protective foods as possible in your diet. Most of the known phytochemicals in these foods we include in our Total Balance, but you still have to eat so why not make sure that you eat protective foods as well?

Nothing wrong with double insurance when it comes to protecting yourself against cancer! For a list of the common ‘cancer prevention’ foods click here: http://www.cancure.org/cancer_fighting_foods.htm

Avocados linked to cutting oral cancer

By Alex McNally

Nutrients found in avocados may help combat oral cancer, a study suggests.

Researchers from Ohio State University found avocado phytochemicals were able to kill some cancer cells and prevented pre-cancerous cells from developing into actual cancers.

Writing in the Seminars in Cancer Biology, lead author Steven D’Ambrosio said avocado should be added to a list of fruits as part of a “cancer prevention diet” and predicts future studies may discover other cancer preventing phytochemicals.

While this may be one of the first studies to link avocados to oral anti-cancer potential, a 2005 study by UCLA scientists noted that the fruit may have an ability to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer.

The study also adds further weight to the more general role of fruits and vegetables as having a protective effect on cancer. Broccoli, cauliflower, raspberry and pomegranate have all been linked to having a positive effect on various forms of cancer.

Oral cancer is a disease with a higher proportion of deaths per number of cases than breast, skin, or cervical cancer, with a mortality rate of about 50 per cent due to late detection, according to British charity the Mouth Cancer Foundation.

There are more than 500 varieties of avocados grown worldwide with Hass types – used in the test – being the most readily available at supermarkets nationwide.

He said: “Our study focuses on oral cancer, but the findings might have implications for other types of cancer. These are preliminary findings, and more research is needed.

“As far as we know, this is the first study of avocados and oral cancer.”

D’Ambrosio found that phytochemicals extracted from avocados target multiple signaling pathways and increase the amount of reactive oxygen within the cells, leading to cell death in pre-cancerous cell lines. But the phytochemicals did not harm normal cells, he said.

Extracts prepared from the fruit using a previously published plant extraction scheme were tested for growth inhibition of the normal, premalignant and malignant human oral cell lines. Among the fractions tested, the chloroform extract was identified as one the more selective growth inhibitors of both the premalignant and malignant human oral epithelial cell lines, the researchers said.

“These studies suggest that individual and a combination of phytochemicals from the avocado fruit may offer an advantageous dietary strategy in cancer prevention,” said researcher Haiming Ding.

Avocados contain antioxidants and phytonutrients, including vitamin C, folate, vitamin E, fibre and unsaturated fats. They are naturally sodium-free, contain no trans fats and are low in saturated fat.

D’Ambrosio said: “The future is ripe for identifying fruits and vegetables and individual phytonutrients with cancer preventing activity.

“As we identify the molecular mechanisms and targets by which individual phytonutrients prevent cancer, we may be able to improve upon nature by formulating phytonutrient cocktails for specific cancers and individual susceptibility and risk.”

Source: Seminars in Cancer Biology

Chemopreventive characteristics of avocado fruit

doi:10.1016/j.semcancer.2007.04.003

Authors: Haiming Ding, Young-Won Chin, Douglas Kinghorn, Steven D’Ambrosio.

Sometimes, when I step back and look at the big picture of where our world is, the hatred, discrimination, hunger, oppression, war, crimes against humanity (or simply our neighbor), it completely overwhelms me and boggles my mind.

All you have to do is sit down and watch 20 minutes of news to get a taste of what is wrong with our world and our people.

Then the thought creeps in, “it’s hopeless, what can *I* do to change all this?”

Many of us sit in our offices, homes and cars listening to news broadcasts and wondering just that. And this thought is often followed by “I’m just one person, I don’t know how to fix this.” And ya know, that is true. No one person can fix anything but him or herself.

We don’t even have to read a paper or watch the news to become overwhelmed by helplessness and hopelessness – a talk with a friend who’s in an abusive marriage, seeing a classmate of our child who has that haunted, scared look in her eyes, watching teenagers in colors gathered on a street corner, or even simply over-hearing another person berating and demeaning a fellow human being (whether they know that person or not). It’s enough to make a person throw up their hands and want to hide in the safety of their own home.

But we CAN all do something. The answer to the question, “Heal the World? Who? Me??” is a resounding and emphatic, YES! We cannot lead if we do not know the way. We cannot love if we do not know what love is. We cannot accept others if we cannot first accept ourselves. We cannot act and speak with compassion if we have not diffused the anger, hatred and resentment that resides within us. We cannot heal if we are not healed.

I can just hear ya’ll: “Ok, Dee, that sounds like all sunshine and roses and something some new age guru would say, but HOW do we heal ourselves and the world??

Well, although I’m certainly not a new-age guru and I very definitely do not hold the keys to the kingdom when it comes to world healing, I do have a few ideas on the subject, so I’m really glad you asked!

Here are ways that I try to implement every single day in my quest and pledge to make a positive difference in our world:

1) I work on me. I watch for ego, prejudice, anger, resentment, lack of patience, and a host of other ‘qualities’ that I am aware of in myself. When I see one, I try to figure out where it’s coming from, root it out and neutralize it. This isn’t easy – it’s work – hard work.

And there are countless guides from great spiritual leaders that can help you with this task. (Two I would recommend learning form include Deepak Chopra and Carolyn Myss.) I simply know that I will have a very hard time being kind to someone else if I’m resentful or angry. Or that it is impossible to truly give of myself to help another if my ego is up there saying, “wow, folks will think I’m a great person if I do this!” So, rule one, work on me.

2) I try very hard to watch what I say and what I think. Words have power! Suffice it to say that I believe that every thought, every word and every action has an equal reaction.

We, and our world, are made of energy (basic quantum physics), and each of us, each living being on this planet, is constantly emanating energy. We human beings have the unique power of choice as to what energy we send out. I try hard to make that energy positive and healing as much as I am able to do so.

3) As Carolyn Myss says, “Make time every day for the Sacred.” Whether that sacred time is prayer, the sending of compassionate, loving and/or healing energy, meditation, a walk in the beauty of nature…whatever your definition of sacred and Divinity – make time for it every single day. This is something so crucial to our own healing and spirituality that it cannot be over-stated. And it is, in my opinion, an absolute requirement in the success of points 1 and 2 above.

4) Listen, comfort and smile. One of the easiest, and seemingly least seldom employed, ways of healing ourselves and those around us (and thereby helping to heal our world) is to start right where you are and who you are with. Listen instead of talk. Accept instead of judge. Smile instead of frown. Encourage instead of berate. Start with your mate, your children, your parents, your friends, your neighbors. So simple and so very lacking in our world today.

5) Treat all you meet today with courtesy and respect. On the road, slow down to let someone over and simply grit out a “bless you” when they cut you off, causing you to nearly hit them and then they flip you the finger. Look a cashier in the eye in the check out line when you are saying ‘thank you.’ Respond to rudeness with a deep breath, a smile and quick prayer of ‘heaven bless you and make your day better’.

6) Watch 30 minutes of news or read a newspaper and for each hurt or obscenity against another human being that is reported, say a prayer for the victim(s), the family of the victim(s) AND the alleged perpetrator of the crime and his/her family. Why? Because whether we’re talking about a victim or the person who committed the crime, we are always talking about human beings – people with families, parents, brothers and sisters. Guilt or innocence is irrelevant in this particular action.

Trust me, I know how tough it is to say a prayer for someone who is thought to have kidnapped and murdered a child. Sometimes all I can make myself do is a breathe a “please, god, help them” whereas I can pray at length for the child and his/her family – and that’s ok. Hate the action, have compassion on the person. (Please note that I use the word ‘prayer’ a lot – and that is what I term it. But it is a word, please replace it with ‘healing energy’, ‘love energy’, meditate, or whatever term best fits your belief system).

7) Support a cause, a charity, sponsor a child, attend charity fund-raisers, join a community devoted to helping to heal our world – do whatever you can, what you can afford, what you have time for.

No act of kindness or compassion, no gift freely given – whether it be of money, time or yourself – is too small to have an impact.

Something to think about…

If every person on the planet stopped believing they could do nothing and began doing what they had the time and resources to do – what would our world look like?

Again, the answer to the question, “Heal the World? Who? Me??” is a resounding and emphatic, YES!

Question by Yara G: charity work…?
Does anyone know any charity organizations in egypt that i can join and volouteer in???????

Best answer:

Answer by ritesh
the great organisation UN is best to choose.best of luck

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Best answer:

Answer by JOHN
Interesting! I have the same ambition and have am appt with my web designer at 2pm today. That’s so awesome. I think the first place to start is by making sure they are in a stable living environment. You know, like drug free, no abuse, etc. Many times it comes down to a lack of parental supervision. So I think it is important to make them feel wanted and liked.
Let me know how it turns out for you please.
Peace

Add your own answer in the comments!

The best way to avoid having selfish children is to model selflessness. Be willing to serve others and do so both when and where your children will see you. Shovel snow for an elderly neighbor, serve meals at a homeless shelter, or deliver meals to the elderly or housebound. Encourage your children to join you as you reach out to others.

Encourage your little ones to take turns by giving them something. When they give it back to you, praise them or clap your hands to display your approval. This will reinforce their desire to please you and will prepare them to learn to share.

When a baby or toddler takes a toy from another child, your first inclination may be to take the toy away and give it back to the other child. Your reaction is correct – your child should not take things from others – but if you take the toy you’re doing the same thing. It may confuse your child even at an early age.

Allow your child to have several toys that are off limits to others. It’s important for your child to understand ownership and have some things that are ‘mine,’ but you also want them to learn to let others play with some of their other toys. Having some items which your child knows they won’t have to share may make it easier to let someone play with those toys which are to be shared.

Besides teaching your child to share, you also want them to learn to understand another’s feelings. You want your children to pay attention to others when they’re being spoken to, so your best choice is to stop what you’re doing and pay attention to them. Since children are little copycats, they’re likely to duplicate what they’re shown. Remember the poem “Children Learn What They Live;” modeling how you want your child to act is the best way to teach them empathy.

Do you want your child to be generous? Again, let your children see your generosity. Let them see you write out a check to a local charity. Encourage them to let go of some toys they no longer play with or clothing they no longer wear. This will be easier for them when they get new things. Allow them to take the items they’re giving away to a local women’s shelter or children’s charity.

Teach your child to acknowledge gifts they receive. Rather than simply telling someone thank you, help them write thank you notes for each gift. This may be difficult for very small children, but it should be easy for older children who can write. Not only will this activity teach your children to be considerate – it can also help their handwriting skills.

Thinking of ways of teaching kids how not to be selfish can be frustrating, but you know it’s the right thing to do. It’s not an easy job to be a parent but it can be a rewarding, particularly when your child shows selflessness rather than being selfish.

This has lain heavy on my heart for quite awhile now but I couldn’t figure out exactly what I could do to make a difference.

Well, this site basically is a community – a community of healers willing to give their time and expertise to those seeking help and a community of folks who can come and talk, have a shoulder to lean on, get advice, tips, and information on how they can get healthier and make their lives better. It has a ton of articles on ailments, conditions, healing modalities – even natural health and beauty recipes. It also has a forum where we can all go to talk and learn and share.

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, because I know you’re interested in natural healing and a healthy lifestyle (you wouldn’t be here to read this if you weren’t!) and I have a proposition for you as well. As part of the community I’ve set up a scholarship program whereby folks can get a course from alternativehealingacademy.com at NO cost in return for being active on the community site, helping others and making regular posts. That’s the only catch – you need to commit to being an active part of this community and AHA will train you in the course of your choice for nothing, nada, zip, zilch.

If you’re already in an AHA course, or have completed an alternative health course from another school, then this could be part of your continuing education – with the added bonus of making a difference for folks just like us. Oh, and all proceeds earned by the site will be evenly divided between http://www.htwf.org (heal the world foundation) and earthcare.org (Earth Care International) charities – EVERY penny the site earns will go to charity.

You can see the site and read about our mission here: http://www.HealingOurWorld.net/ – and, I’m also looking for folks who wish to work with me directly on making this site as big as we can possibly get it in order to make the largest positive impact on our world. So, if you have a bit of spare time and a passion for helping others, please let me know.

If you’re interested in the scholarship, please fill out the application on the site – and if you’d just like to help us, please email me back with your preferred username, display name (for on posts/articles), preferred email address .

Whether you wish to take advantage of the scholarship program or not – whether you wish to help out or not - please, please, please register for the forums and post a hello and check in every once in awhile. Our team is available to talk to, to listen, to share, to provide information and to simply make new connections and friendships – I can’t stress enough that EVERYONE is welcome.

Getting traffic to a site isn’t that tough, but what IS tough is getting folks to come out of their shells and post on forums. This site is *brand new* – which means no posts at this time – and, unfortunately, folks tend to only post on a forum when there’s already activity there. i don’t want to seed it with ‘fake’ posts – so I’m asking you to please help me by registering at the forum, posting a hello, a question, a comment, whatever. I would deeply, deeply appreciate it.

Again, the site is http://wwww.HealingOurWorld.net/ – and I would love to travel this road to a better world for all of us with you.

Many blessings,
Dee

You know the people in your circle better than anyone. For those who would appreciate an environmentally correct gift there are a few ideas to choose from.  The first is making charitable donations in their names.

Everyone is not as appreciative of donation gift giving so be sure that the recipients are the sentimental type.  People, who like to donate to charities and campaign for causes, are more likely to find this a worthy type of Christmas gift.  If you know their favorite charity, contribute in their name.  Adopt a whale, adopt a dog or cat, or donate money in their name to the local homeless shelter.  These organizations can send you a confirmation that can be placed in a Christmas envelope and presented to the people on your list.

Who says that a Christmas gift has to fit into a package?  Instead of bringing the gift to them, bring them to the gift.  This Christmas, think of gifts that won’t leave any waste behind.

Instead of buying a CD for a friend who likes music, treat them to a concert.  Wrap up two tickets to an upcoming concert or a night of jazz on the town.  Live music sounds better than recorded anyway.  This is an excuse to dress up in our best evening wear.

Tickets for other shows are appropriately eco friendly as well.  Take the kids to the zoo, the aquarium, or a science show as a part of their Christmas present.  Younger kids seem to appreciate this type of activity more.

For a person who wants to go “green” help them out with a useful Christmas gift.  Call it a “go green” starter pack.  The present can be as simple as a composing bin for someone who likes to work outside.  Use a gift basket to display the gifts.  A fruit or nut basket leaves only the basket behind when the gift is gone.

People scoff at those monthly clubs that send foods and other items but the sentiment is a gift that keeps on giving throughout the year.  For a gift recipient who is into jams, fruits, and the like, the timely arrival of a package each month is great.  Check with sites like www.ecoexpress.com for organic monthly clubs of this type for your friends.

For Christmas, it is not so much about what we take but what we give.  With eco friendly gifts, we are giving back to the environment and taking only what we need.

There are so many basic things we should be thankful for that we take for granted.  If we have a home, be it a house, apartment or trailer, we should be thankful we have shelter.  Too many people have no homes or have unsafe living conditions. 

We all have the occasional round of the flu or colds go through our families.  But overall, most people are fairly healthy. We should be thankful that we are able to get around, work, play and have a normal life.  Too many times serious illness can strike without warning. We need to take advantage of good health while we still have it, instead of taking it for granted.

How many times to do we look in the closet and complain that we “have nothing to wear” when in reality we have more clothes than we know what to do with?   We have multiple pairs of shoes and boots, sweaters and coats.  We are able to stay dry and warm without any worries.

Why should we wait until Thanksgiving to be thankful? We should be grateful for our blessings all year round.  Maybe the best way to show how thankful we are for our blessings is to share them.  What better time to share than Thanksgiving, when those without feel even more left out, especially those without family.  There are many ways to share your blessings.

One way to spread the blessings is to donate some gently used things to a reputable charity. There are many good organizations out there that take clothing and other household items.  Even though you could donate all year round, Thanksgiving is a good time to think about giving back.

Another wonderful way to share your blessings is to donate your time to a homeless shelter.  Most have a special meal at Thanksgiving for those without homes or families.  Even if you put off your own family dinner until Friday or Saturday, imagine the joy you would bring to others by giving up your time to make one day a little brighter for them.  And you don’t have to stop after one day.  There are many opportunities to volunteer year round.

Before you sit down at your Thanksgiving meal this year, take the time for each member of your family to share what they are most thankful for in the past year.  You might be surprised at the things your family is thankful for this year.

Well nowadays, there are all kinds of healthy treats you can hand out while still enticing the kids to change costumes and make a second stop.  Here are just a few great ideas that will keep the moms and the kids happy on Halloween.

* Try handing out snack foods like mini bags of pretzels, cracker packs, trail mix, or even hot cocoa.  Even if it’s not the healthiest option, it’s going to offset all the sugar they will be getting.

Many companies now make “snack size” bags of all kinds of goodies that are easy and convenient.  Plus they can make parents feel safe since the bags are sealed so you know if they’ve been tampered with.

If you’re going to a party where everyone knows each other, or having a get-together yourself, you can save money by making your own snack-size baggies.

* Why not hand out coupons for sugary snacks instead of actual sugar?  This way parents can decide when the kids gets their Halloween treat and it controls portions a bit better.

Many restaurants and other stores are starting to catch on and sell coupon booklets for small treats.  Just pick up a few booklets and you’ll be set for the night.  Some companies even donate the proceeds to charity.

* Some of the best Halloween treats don’t have to be treats at all.  There are tons of non-food items that you can give out that will put a smile on kids’ faces.  Just take a trip to your local party store or look in a party favor catalogue and you can find tons of fun ideas that will provide way more joy than a simple piece of candy.

You can use everything from small toys and games to little books and crossword puzzles.  Most towns have a place where you can buy these in bulk if you are going to a large party or live in a high-traffic area.  Just be sure to provide age-appropriate toys for smaller children that may stop by.

* If you abide by the rule that it’s just not Halloween without the candy, there are still ways to be healthier.  In addition to the sugar-free candy you find at your local grocery store, there’s also plenty of great finds at your local health food store or organic bakery.  While it may still contain sugar, it’s generally natural, less processed, and better for you.  If you go to one of the larger chains, they have plenty of great options including organic chocolate.

With a little extra thought and effort, you can keep Halloween healthier for your kids and everyone else in the neighborhood.

What are you going to be this Halloween?

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