Essential Oils for Healing

 I've had the great fortune to discover a company offering invaluable health-based information, summits and community interaction: www.healthmeans.com 

The first summit I attended was The Biology of Trauma, followed by The Anxiety Summit/Gut-Brain Axis, Mind-Body: The Vagus Nerve Connection and several others. The professionals who are interviewed range from traditional medical doctors, functional medicine doctors, therapists, neurologists, and many who have developed modalities to support a holistic approach to healing.

After watching several presentations with Jodie Cohen, founder of Vibrant Blue Oils, www.vibrantblueoils.com , I decided to study further with her and delve more deeply into essential oils. For 35 years I have studied and used flower essences for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual healing but hadn't had the opportunity to learn more about the healing properties of essential oils, which play a role in transporting valuable nutrients to the cells for healing.

I highly recommend Jodie's most recent book, Essential Oils to Boost the Brain & Heal the Body. It covers everything you would want to know about the benefits of using oils to regain control of your health as well as all of the ways to use the oils. It is well written and researched which speaks to Jodie's start as an investigative journalist. Her weekly emails contain invaluable information about the body, mind, spirit and challenges that we all face. She explains the various essential oils for the given topic. Her website also has a blog section with her research and knowledge that is so inspiring and helpful. It's worth spending time there.

Divine Intervention?

For most of my adult life, I've believed in angels, guides, messengers of God/Higher Power, synchronicity. I love when things happen that can't be explained. Is there really Divine intervention? I'd like to think so. I'm really not very woo woo but I have so many stories and happenings that can't be explained logically.

This story is about Mikey, the cat. We got Mikey when we lived in a 200 year old house that had the wide, pine floors that were polished to a shine. Mikey as a kitten would come skidding around the corners in the house and eventually got the nickname "Skids." He cracked us up.

After living in the house for 7 years, we were able to break ground on a new house in the same town. We sold the wonderful 1790 house and rented a house in the next town as it would take close to a year to excavate the property and build the house.

When we moved into the rental house, we kept Mikey and our Maine Coon, Wyatt, inside for a few weeks. We didn't want them wandering off. Finally, we let them out for a little bit and I stayed with them to see if they would take off exploring.

Then the day came when Wyatt came in for a snack but didn't have Mikey with him. I knew Mikey wouldn't miss a meal so I wasn't concerned until nighttime arrived with no sign of Mikey. Morning came ... no Mikey. I went through the neighborhood asking if they would check to see if Mikey had gotten curious and gotten locked into a garage. No Mikey. I put up signs and the children asked every day if we had found him.

The people who bought our house called several times and thought they had a Mikey sighting. Could he have walked about 10 miles back to the house we sold? By the time we drove to the house, he was nowhere to be found.

Months went by and no Mikey. Around Halloween, our neighbor across the street said she thought she knew where he was! Her daughter worked at a local vet's office, her car had broken down and my neighbor went to pick her up. She was convinced that Mikey was the cat that someone brought to the office hoping the owners would be found. 

I arrived first thing in the morning at the animal hospital. I walked in and looked to my right and there was a skinny Mikey in a kennel looking at me!! Apparently, Mikey found himself at another neighbor's house that was about a mile away. After a few days of feeding him they brought him to the vet hoping someone would claim him.

What are the odds? 

1. I had only waved to my neighbor and never had a chance to talk until that day

2. Her daughter worked at the animal hospital that Mikey was brought to.

3. The daughter's car broke down and had to be picked up

4. The people who fed Mikey brought him to the animal hospital that connected all the pieces of the puzzle.

Wait...there's more. Weeks later, I ran into our neighbor who lived in the woods next to the 1790 house we had sold. She rescued cats and had about 10 of them. Mikey used to walk through the tall grass to her house to get a treat and visit with all of the kitties. She happened to go to animal hospital with one of her cats, saw Mikey but didn't recognize him. She told the staff to call her if no one claimed him and she would take him home! I think once she had fattened him up, she would have known who he was and called us.

Was this coincidence, a lucky happening or Divine intervention? We'll never know but I like to think Mikey had an angel helping him find his way back to us. After all, wasn't he a furry angel?

 

If You Can't Fix It - Feature It

This became the mantra in our household when we purchased a house that was constructed in 1790. Boy, did it have character and charm. And, we also heated the outside on many cold nights. But the nooks and crannies, built-in bookcases and walk-in fireplaces made up for the less than adequate heat and electrical system.

Over one of the large fireplaces with the original beehive over that I adored, was a 12 by 24 inch indent in the wall. I spent many hours trying to decide what to do with the space. Out of the blue, my husband said:

                "If you can't fix it, feature it."

What a brilliant idea! I then discovered that I had an antique clock that had belonged to my great-grandparents that just happened to fit exactly in the space. Voila! The look couldn't have been more perfect.

16 years ago we left the 1790 house and built a new home. The overly eager excavators decided that I needed a fire pit. They moved huge rocks to an area in the back yard creating what I considered an eyesore. When I saw what they had done, I didn't have the heart to tell them that it wasn't what I considered a fire pit and moving the rocks would have taken a lot of effort. They were so proud of their accomplishments. Luckily, I already had my mantra from the last house. After much thought, I decided that they had created the most wonderful location for a water element. My husband and I dug out a place for a small pond, added a waterfall, planted some flowers and this is one of my favorite features on our property. It is a serene, inspirational place for me to meditate, read or just listen to. My cat also gets great enjoyment sunning on a rock and watching the chipmunks,

If you can't fix it, feature it, can be applied to many situations that have nothing to do with decorating, building or any material thing. For example, Emme, best known as one of the first plus-size models, has featured her wonderful attributes rather than try to fix what the modeling world considered adequate. Thanks to her advocacy, many women have been able to embrace their bodies and shape. Emme adds author, television personality, designer and celebrity to her many accomplishments due to her bravery to feature rather than fix herself.

Dr. Steve Maraboli, a motivational speaker, author and Behavioral Science Academic has an inspirational quote:

"There is nothing more pure, more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty."

Amy Purdy, who became a double amputee at the age of 19 was one of the celebrities on Dancing with the Stars 2014. As a result of Meningitis she could not fix the situation she found herself in and she sure has featured it. She is an accomplished athlete and snowboarder who has won numerous World Cups and won a Bronze medal at the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

"We can complain because the rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorns have roses."

           - Abraham Lincoln

 

Face Reading Blog

 Now that I am back writing, I am taking time to update this blog as well as my face reading blog: www.gingersfacebook.blogspot.com

Face reading has been a big part of what I offer with my business. I had the wonderful opportunity to study with Daniel Whiteside in the 1980s. His parents had done a 5 year research study with facial structures and their associated behaviors. Daniel took it to another step when he joined forces with Gordon Stokes who had been the educational director with Touch for Health. What a duo!

Understanding individual facial traits has allowed people to gain a greater respect for themselves and what they offer to the world. I invite you to gather more information on my blog and have fun with it. 

When I finally decided to write a book about face reading, I was surprised at how much fun it was. I wrote in my own style: concise with pictures and stories. I am not a novelist!

Juggling "things"

 Just because I CAN do many things at once, doesn't mean that I SHOULD!

.....because when I do, the circuits in my brain get confused. I lose focus and have a hard time juggling everything that is on my list. 

Can you relate? Have you tried to be a Superwoman?

Don't let a health crisis or challenge force you to burn your Superwoman cape! Now is a good time to tune in and and listen to your wise little voice that encourages you to be the best YOU. 

Stephen R Covey says, "Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important." He also said, "When you have too many top priorities, you effectively have no top priorities."

That's a lot to think about!