My general health article for November explores the disinfection abilities of UV-C light technology. During my research into this science, I thought about other related topics like full-spectrum lighting for both vision and mood balance. Therefore, my blog this month will focus on the potential benefits of natural light therapy.

Let There be Light

I live in a community with a population of approximately 20,000 people. The power grid in the area usually overloads several times a month. Sometimes the blackouts last a few minutes, and on other occasions, hours. I suspect most people give very little thought to how dependent we are on light energy until one experiences a community-wide blackout.

Melatonin

Ok, so we know that light is important—how else are we to see in the dark?

Light has many other benefits, one of which is to help regulate our daily biorhythms. Darkness stimulates the pineal gland in the brain to produce the hormone melatonin. This hormone plays an important role in regulating our circadian rhythm.

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In my last blog, I discussed the dangers of bone density drugs.

The simplistic idea that you can reverse a chronic degenerative disease like osteoporosis with a bisphosphonate pill you take once a week is nothing short of lunacy. An effective reversal of osteoporosis must include changes in diet and lifestyle.

The following gives you a good idea of what you can do to both prevent and treat osteoporosis without necessarily poisoning yourself.

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“The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get.”
— Sign in a shop

Have you ever had days where you rushed all day to get things done, and at the end of the day you couldn’t remember most of what you did? What was the point of that?

When we have a hot to-do list, we may get a lot done, but with the focus on the doing, we may lose our sense of being.
The faster we go, the less we are likely to be aware of ourselves and of our experience in action. With less awareness we may have:

• less efficiency
• more mistakes
• more opportunities for frustration, anger, and criticism

When we begin to feel harried, it may be time to consciously slow down and pay attention to what we are doing. With mindfulness, we may find that we enjoy what we are doing more than we would if we rushed it. We might even do a better job.

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Here is an interesting fact to consider: Human beings are the only species on this entire Earth that has the capacity to limit our potential. You can't ask a tree to grow to half of its size. You can't ask an ant to limit its activity in search of food and shelter. Because of the genetic code, they know no other way. We humans are the only species capable of limiting our potential.

Here is why: We are given choice. We can choose to grow or we can choose not to grow. It is choice, then, that makes us separate and unique and distinct.

I had an interesting realization this morning while waiting in line at a coffee shop. Once in a while I will get a donut to go along with it. Today was not one of those days, but as I stood in line I was amazed at just how many choices there are behind the counter. Every donut of every shape. More cookies than I could count—not to mention the specialty desserts and treats. If I had wanted a donut today I could have easily chosen. Out of all the selections my choice would be very, very easy. Boston creme, of course.

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Well, flu season is here—no surprise to those of us working in the school system. What can we do to help ourselves and our loved ones naturally?

Among the top remedies is garlic. We tend to forget that this wonderful-tasting cooking herb also has a wide range of healing properties that have been well researched.

• People who take daily garlic supplements tend to catch fewer common colds than people who do not supplement with garlic.
• It is antibiotic and antifungal.
• Some say it is antiviral—not directly, but because it improves one’s immune system.
• The stronger the garlic aroma, the higher the concentration of antimicrobial sulfur compounds.

So, how do we take garlic?

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There is so much beauty everywhere in autumn. The leaves are spectacular.

I want to open my eyes so that I can actually take it all in. But apparently eyes, hearts, and minds haven't quite caught up to God's palette yet. So instead of asking to slow it down, I simply ask to expand my capacity to receive it all! 

Is it that we want the Universe to slow life down so that we can catch up? Or is it that we want to expand our capacity to receive? I like plan B.

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In a previous post, I talked about dreams being “technology” for the soul. I’m not a technophobe, and I think of technology as something that will benefit my life. Since you are reading this blog, for which technology is required, I will imagine that you share this philosophy with me.

Given my love of gadgets, I want to invite you to use another bit of soul technology: your intuition. Intuition comes in all sizes and shapes, using all or some of our various senses. Precognition, clairvoyance, clairsentience, and so on are all just terms that refer to the predominant sense that is used. So for example, clairvoyance means “clear seeing” and refers to getting a visual of some sort—usually the future—as the intuitive style.

Now the problem with using your intuition for most of us is that we often cannot differentiate which is an intuitive hit and which is the usual chatter in our brains. We are not taught that we all have intuition, so we tend to think of it as a gift for the special and unique among us.

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Here is one of the great perplexities of life: You say, "I have goals. I know what I want. I write them down. Yet, I can't seem to motivate myself to do what I know is necessary to make them happen."

Sound familiar? If this is a refrain you have heard often inside your head, you are not alone. There is a very simple reason for this.

The goals you have are not yours. At first blush this may sound preposterous. "Of course they are my goals," you may say. "I think I know what I want." Here is how I know they are not yours: You have no emotional connection to them and so the drive to do what is necessary is missing.

The next question that comes to mind is, "If these are not my goals, then whose goals are they?" That's easy. They belong to the world. They were given to you. These goals that we hold onto and remain uninspired to attain are the goals the world has told you you should want. Society says, "If you drive this car, we will hold you here. If you own this home, we will hold you here. If you earn this much money, we will hold you here. If you have this job, we will hold you here." And on and on.

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“The world never stands still. It is a constant becoming. The face of the earth—as well as the face you see in the mirror—offers clear evidence that all is flux and change.”
— Robert Collier

Change: (ch nj) vt. 1. to become different; alter; vary. 2. to pass from one phase to another.

Change is one of the things in life that we can count on. It has been said that the only things you can be certain of are death and taxes, but change is another.

Some things change very quickly. Some very slowly. But everything is in a state of transition. Stones seem to change very little in our perception, but that has to do with our limited ability to perceive and the short time frame with which we can observe.

Pleasure and Pain

Most of us are acutely aware of the impermanence of pleasure. Pleasure fades all too quickly. Emotional pain does the same thing if we will let it. Some of us forget to let go though, and the grief, sadness, anger, or anxiety can seem unending. If the emotional pain seems permanent, it is probably being perpetuated by a rigidly held belief.

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As a practicing veterinarian, I know that all pet owners try to do their best for their pets. However, if your pet could talk, what would he say he really needs to stay in great health?

Having worked with pet owners for many years to devise a health plan for each pet, there are several essential components that must be addressed to maximize health and minimize disease.

Here are 7 things your pet would ask for if he could talk:

“Feed me a healthy diet.”

Feeding the proper diet is the foundation upon which any integrative pet care program begins. Simply put, your pet is what he/she eats. Most pet owners feed whatever is recommended by their veterinarians, pet store consultant, or whatever food seems good based upon an advertisement. However, many of these foods contain by-products and chemicals that are not healthy for your pet and which may pose a risk to your pet's health.

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