Last Christmas, a client/student/friend was the kind giver of a recipe book on herbal teas.

I love natural remedies, so that book was right up my alley. Frequent readers of this blog know that I grow my own favorite herbs, although the majority of the herbs in my collection still come from my local herbalist shop here in Italy or imported from the US.

I have used the book already many times. That gift brought my  repertoire of self-healing teas up a few notches….

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By now you must be thinking ‘which book???’

This book. It is called Herbal Teas: 101 Nourishing Blends for Daily Health & Vitality and is written by Kathleen Brown and Jeanine Pollak.

It starts of with information about how to work with herbs, and how to create healing teas in general.

Then the book goes on to share recipes from a range of medical and other herbalists to help with a whole range of common health problems, ranging from stress, fatigue, mood swings, PSM, to common colds and respiratory problems.  There are also some recipes for lotions and tinctures.

The last part of the book describes the healing benefits of a long list of herbs from A to Z.
Highly recommended.

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Now , in the depth of winter when many people are a tat bluesy, I thought to share just one recipe from this book, and I am anticipating you will love it.

This herbal blend is called ‘HAPPY SPIRITS tea’. This tea will perk you up no matter how bleak your outlook. Start sipping this gentle, nourishing herbal blend and your mood will soon improve.

Try it. Here is the recipe.

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HAPPY SPIRITS TEA

2 parts lemon balm leaves

2 parts lemon verbena leaves

1 part catnip leaves

1 part oatstraw

1 part passiflora leaves

1/4 part tangerine slices (organic)

1/10 part cinnamon chips

To Brew Your Tea:

Combine all ingredients in a pot with boiling water. Stir well, cover and let it steep for 15 –20 minutes, while covered.

If you find you made more than one serving, keep the rest. Cooled and covered, herbal teas can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.

This tea works for me. Let me know if it works for you too.

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Preparing Your Blend:

To simplify life, pre-mix these dry herbs and store them in a glass jar. Then, when you want some ‘happiness tea’, simply take out the herbs for just one cuppa.I find that if I have premixed blends, I will use them a lot more often. There is no waste in the process, as you can just measure and make. Our happiness tea will last a long time this way.

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Where to Buy:

If you have a local herbalist nearby, I’d start there and ask him/her to make the blend for you in a small trial amount. That way you get to try the taste and see if you like it and if this herbal tea works for you.

Ask for a really small amount because tea is very light. It is easy to end up with two years’ worth of supply. Take it from someone in the know.

Once you start making your own teas, there is way back. It’s so much fun, and a lot more economical and healthier than commercial teas.

Then, if/when you love it, consider buying your herbs online from a place like Kalyx.com, which sells Herbs, Foods, Supplements, Aromatherapy oils, Bach Flowers, and Bath & Body products. They carry organics, and a really wide range of health products. They feature good prices, and sometimes even excellent prices for larger quantity packs. Check them out.

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Reference:

This particular recipe was provided by Lynda Lewit, from Soquel, California. Lynda is a public health nurse for Children’s Protective Services. She works in combination with allopathic doctors before suggesting herbal remedies.

The authors of this book:

Kathleen Brown is an herbal teacher, writer, and gardener. She has served as president of the Rocky Mountain Unit of the Herb Society of America and currently lives in California.

Jeanine Pollak has been a herbalist, nutritionist and consultant to businesses and individuals for 20 years. She is the founder of Botanic Adventures and has written several books on herbs.

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Disclaimer: this article does not constitute medical advice. It is meant for people who are overall healthy. In this context, those with ‘minor’ or natural mood disorders such as caused by life’s events, the seasons, PMS or menopause, and the likes,  consider Reiki treatment to help you obtain balance.

For serious mood disorders, please consult a qualified medical doctor. I prefer to work alongside medical practitioners for clients who are mentally unstable.

Copyright , We Are One World Healing – All Rights Reserved. Therapeutic Reiki can promote wellness and improve health. Book your distance healing reiki session today.

Every month during our World Healing group session, we send healing energy to all of humanity, and we include a wish for food, clean air and water for all, sustenance.

Personally, like many who read this, I am and feel so lucky to be living in a land where the tomatoes grow, almost automatic without too much ado from me. But, I know that not everyone is so lucky, like this boy here who’s running of what was once a field of crop.

Indian Village Boy Runs Through a Par… Poster for Purchase

Today and every day, may we be kind to our fellow inhabitants of planet Earth. May we help one another, and live in a mutually healing way. What does that mean on World Food Day?

Food Facts

“Food price volatility featuring high prices is likely to continue and possibly increase, making poor farmers, consumers and countries more vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity” is the conclusion of the global hunger report, which was published last week by the United Nations’ three Rome-based agencies: UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

Rationing Safeguards Your Share, Worl… Buy From Art.com

Such crises, including in the Horn of Africa, “are challenging our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by half in 2015,” the heads of the three agencies — Jacques Diouf of FAO, Kanayo F. Nwanze of IFAD and Josette Sheeran of WFP — warned in a preface to the report.

Never acceptable

“But even if the MDG were achieved by 2015 some 600 million people in developing countries would still be undernourished. Having 600 million people suffering from hunger on a daily basis is never acceptable,” they said. “The entire international community must act today and act forcefully to banish food insecurity from the planet.”

YOUR World Food Day, Today, Everyday

That’s what they say, based on their studies and morality. It is equally important what you think, and do. So, what DO YOU THINK ? How would YOU like to be known in the world? What would you like to do for others? How does this relate to you?

Droughts and famine in Africa may seem far away when it’s raining in your backyard in America, but don’t forget, also in the US there are significant food problems to be resolved. Food production is increasingly consolidated and in the hands of those interested in genetically modifying crops, pesticides etc etc. ~ things that we already know are a cause of cancer. If you want to think of a ‘lighter’ subject, air, the ’0.000s of giant gas guzzlers that many people in the US ‘need’ to drive, cause air pollution which we, our cows and our crops inhale, again making us unhealthy in the long run. So, what are you going to do about it, if anything?

Putting your money where your mind & heart is at, sure is a wise thing to do. If you want to make a financial donation, here are some ideas for you, on where & how to take action:

• JOIN THE ‘ENDING HUNGER’ MOVEMENT (in the world)
• Food democracy now – END SERIOUS BUT HIDDEN FOOD SUPPLY PROBLEMS (in the USA)
• Furthermore, LIKE us on Facebook, and JOIN us here in our monthly WE ARE ONE WORLD HEALING session, whereby we jointly send energy/healing wishes/prayers to all people on the planet and the nature/planet Earth itself. See top menu bar for details.

Ongoing Reminders & Inspiration

However, active involvement such as doing so charity volunteer work combined with ongoing reminders of what’s important to us all on planet earth, is what causes the shift to pull through and become the tidal wave of positive transitions that the planet and humanity needs.

So, follow up the above links to see what you can do, and/or check in your local community. I’m sure a nearby food shelter would be happy with your contributions in kind.

Also consider getting inspiring posters like the above to, which is a beautiful reminder of our good fortune and our shared responsibility to take care of the planet and each other, today, and every day. If you click on either image/links below the posters, you will find 10,000 or more posters, and quite a few are perfect for this purpose. Pick the one you wish to own, and run with the message it conveys.

Last, be creative in your approach to helping humanity, as your own unconventional ways of support could lead to great and meaningful change in the lives of others. Sometimes giving hope is as least as important as giving a dollar. Act with an open heart.

End Famine Today. Act to Ensure Real Food for All Tomorrow.

Copyright , We Are One World Healing – All Rights Reserved. Therapeutic Reiki can promote wellness and improve health. Book your distance healing reiki session today.

Initially, she talks about how to be a Role Model of Peace and Light, and it’s easy: continue that meditative peaceful state that you were in when you were meditating in the morning (or when you were doing your self-Reiki treatment.)

As well, simply ask for help and guidance. A great universal prayer is: “Lord/God/Universe, make me an instrument of your peace.”, and then listen to your intuition or guidance that occurs.

By being in this state of peace, you become a role model of peace, and you allow others to experience the peace through you. "Be the peace that you want to be in the world is how you create peace." says Doreen Virtue, and I believe she is 100% right on from my person experience.

This also means you must pay attention and make the mental, verbal and practical changes that are required for there to be peace in your life also.

(video source: Doreen Virtue on Angels at EastWest, CA)

As your mission is to be true to your dreams and desires, then put that to action filled with love and peace.

One way to get closer to what you want by looking at what you don’t like into your life and then address it, right now, today. Don’t ignore it, do it.

Follow the guidance to make your house, your body, a temple of bliss. Begin there.

Ask for help in the process.

Another thing Doreen specifically mentions is in reference to her relatively new book, Angel words. She is, like Louise Hay, reminding us to change our lives by changing our vocabulary.

Angel Words

I am not here to convince or convert anyone, I am speaking my truth, and this book sounds interesting.

It is about word graphs made by the computer when podcasting.

Doreen Virtue, with her typical Ph.D-kind of thoroughness, researched the sound vibration of loads of ‘universally agreed upon’ – positive words, like love, peace, harmony, kiss etc.  as well as limiting words, such as war, etc, and published the word-grams as physical demonstration that positive words carry big and beautiful energy.

In fact, as she is showing in the video above, the word ‘angel’ even LOOKS LIKE AN ANGEL in flight!

Or, if you prefer a; 365 day card set that matches the book, by Doreen Virtue, you can find it here Angel Words, 365 day cards .

Doreen Virtue holds a Ph.D. degree in counseling psychology; and is a lifelong clairvoyant who works with the angelic realm. Doreen is the author of Healing with the Angels, How to Hear Your Angels, Messages from Your Angels, Archangels & Ascended Masters, Solomon’s Angels, and the Archangel Oracle Cards, among other works.

For more books & DVDs, click here:

LOVE, LIGHT AND KISSES to all of you who read this.  May you use BIG AND BEAUTIFUL WORDS today,

Copyright , We Are One World Healing – All Rights Reserved. Therapeutic Reiki can promote wellness and improve health. Book your distance healing reiki session today.

The first few hour(s) after the occurance of new moon are the very best time to set down your intentions, wishes & vision for the upcoming month. I do this verbatim, every month, and even have a vision board to represent my inner most desires, wishes and vision for my life.

Some people make their New Moon Vision Boards entirely from magazine clippings, like a collage. Other are made entirely from sticky notes, while others are text embellished with roses, hearts, flowers, spirals, circles and other meaning symbols.

YOUR VISION FOR THE NEW MOON CYCLE

You can learn more about vision boards in an upcoming article. For now, just realize that your visual board has to represents/set out 10 wishes for the month, and there are many reasons to make them. Once you get going with your monthly planning, you can simply update the board as you both realize and detail your dreams, desires, visions and plans.

NEW MOON SCHEDULE 2011

Of course, it’s really handy to know which dates the new moons will occur a bit in advance, and I thought to post a handy moon schedule here. These are the new moon dates for the remainder of 2011.

New Moon for July, 2011

• July 1, 08:54 (Universal Time)
• July 30, 18:40

New Moon for August, 2011

• August 29, 03:04

New Moon for September, 2011

• September 27, 11:09

New Moon for October, 2011

• October 26, 19:56

New Moon for November, 2011

• November 25, 06:10

New Moon for December, 2011

• December 24, 18:06

source: U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department

Copyright , We Are One World Healing – All Rights Reserved. Therapeutic Reiki can promote wellness and improve health. Book your distance healing reiki session today.

Join our monthly world healing sessions. It is blissful to participate. Next session April 20. Sign up Today to Participate. Hold the vision of a Healed World.

Despite the fact that he passed away 6 years ago, in the minds of many, Pope John Paul II still remains the face of the Catholic faith. Many people I know here in Italy are still particularly close to him; Even those who do not frequent the church every Sunday.

A Spiritual Leader

It was his personal qualities that made him a spiritual guide for 1.1 billion Catholics in the world, and perhaps for non-Catholics also. This pope’s popularity has been based on his particular loving nature and the fact that he offered people hope and a connection to God. Many people consider their lives being changed by Pope John Paul II:

• was a charismatic leader who confronted communism;
• pointed towards basic moral values;
• emphasized the universal call to holiness;
• was a loving role model who forgave his would-be assassin;  
• was a strong & faithful soul who perseveres through Parkinson’s disease;
• has performed at least two known miracles since his death.

As part of his calling, he canonized a great number of people, again, many more than his predecessors.  Recognizing saints is a moral direction that shows people that virtues will indeed be recognized, sooner or later.

John Paul II was one of the most international world leaders, and I believe that his international openness significantly contributed to his overall popularity.  He was the only Polish pope, and the first non-Italian since the Dutch pope, Adrian VI, in the 1520s. During his reign, John Paul II  traveled extensively and visiting over 100 countries. This is more than any of his predecessors.   He also strengthened the  Catholic faith in the Third World. His ability with languages was amazing, and beyond his native Polish language, he was fluent in Italian, French, German, English, Spanish, Croatian, Portuguese, Russian and Latin.

John Paul II reigned as the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church for nearly 27 years later.  His  pontificate was the 2nd longest, after the 32-year reign of Pius IX.   

The Process of Becoming a Saint

The process of becoming recognized as a saint is a lengthy one, albeit that in recent times, it has shortened from taking centuries to just a few years.  It was in fact John Paul II himself who shortened that process, so that now a mere 6 years after his death, he is already beatified.

The act of beatification is the one but final step in the process of becoming recognized as a saint.   The beatification ceremony tomorrow will be a Mass and day-long prayers beside John Paul’s coffin in Rome.

More Reading:

Learn how to bring Saints into your daily life

However, what’s more than a bit of ad hoc trimming is weight loss as a sustainable endeavor. Many of us would benefit from losing 17 pounds or thereabouts. That includes an additional 10 pounds from before the holidays. And those 10 pounds that have been around for a while are the ones that are hard to get rid of, or are they?

I’ve previously posted what I still consider to be a super basic but oh-so-handy list of which foods make your body alkaline, i.e. healthy. The practical road to weight-loss is clear: simply eat lots of foods on this list, and little of those that are not on that list. And when you read the foods that are on this list, you’ll know that you’ll loose weight by doing so. Actually, have a look at my list of ‘detox diet foods’ also. Very easy to figure out what to do.

However, as all of us who (once) need(ed) to lose weight know, it’s not easy to loose a significant amount of weight and keeping it off. There are emotional factors at play and these make ‘simply eating from this alkaline food-list’ a bit tricky. 

A HOLISTIC COURSE IN WEIGHT LOSS

Just three nights ago I was invited to join Hay-house radio for a talk by Marianne Williamson about her latest project. She just wrote a book: A Course In Weight Loss: 21 Spiritual Lessons for Surrendering Your Weight Forever and in the show she told us about her basic idea.

What is interesting about this book is that it’s like a classic Hay House book:  it’s spiritual. And, it’s also highly practical in that this spiritual course help you to journey through a serious series of spiritual, self-exploring exercises for your mind. See the table of content that I wrote up on the right here.

What is unique about this course, is Marianne’s approach.  While the book is going to form the basis of everything she does, she’s going to teach you and coach you along in your journey.  Not only is a weekly radio show planned on Tuesday noon PST starting next week, she’s also encouraging you to find buddies to do the program with together. For every group of 4-5 people that make it to the further lessons in the book, she’s going to give a 30 minute phone counseling session, so I understand. Now that’s a wow.  She also has set up a new website for this new way of working; she has workshops in LA and surroundings, and who knows what will be next.

For those of you who are not yet so familiar with this author, Marianne is not only a celebrated writer about spiritual matters, she acts upon her believes and has quite a number of volunteer projects on her name.

CONCLUSION

In Conclusion, the radio show convinced me that the book is pretty good, and is written using the same underlying beliefs that her prior book Return to Love ~ ‘A Course in Miracles’ had as well as Louise Hay’s You Can Heal Your Life.

NEXT STEPS

Don’t just trust my word for it. Check out other people’s reviews of this book here (50 folks have already given it a 4.7 out of 5) , make up your own mind and order the book. Then head over here to set yourself up to listen to her radio show.

Let’s meet in our bikinis on the beach in half a year!

PS IF you are buying the book using the above link, you help fund this free blog on healing, health & wellbeing.

So, here is your official invitation:

COME JOIN US AT OUR HEALING HOLIDAYS PARTY,
here at ‘We Are One World Healing’ (therapeuticreiki.com)
Dec 4

Join our Healing Holidays Party

This is the official invitation to come read and participate into the upcoming Carnival of Healing, which will feature a glorious Holiday theme.

Of course, all entries should have a healing nature. Winter inspirations, New year resolutions, Christmas, Hanukah and other holiday-related articles more than welcome. I’ll be looking for appropriately-themed articles, that WILL INFORM AND … INSPIRE!!

Carnival of Healing Submissions

Do it right now….?!

Submit your articles by clicking here: blogcarnival.com’s submission page for carnival of healing.

A rel=follow – link back to this blog in your article is mandatory. The article URL will be Healing Holiday Stories – Carnival of Healing #232.

Books on Healing – In the carnival I will share an article with my top favorite books on healing. They will make great XMAS gifts and … will be great for yourself to read over the XMAS holidays.  … so stay tuned…

Carnival of Healing Schedule

This Carnival of Healing travels… Its schedule:
#231 – Nov 6 2010: hosted by Jenn Givler at Blended Yoga – Peace, Serenity & Fitness for busy professionals.
#232 – Dec 4 2010: Hosted by Astrid Lee, from Therapeutic Reiki at her We Are One World Healing – blog
#233 – Jan 1 2011: hosted by Dee Savoy at Reikified

Carnival of Healing is an initiative of Phyla from About.com, connecting healers of all kind.

FIRST STAGE: Experiencing True Reality

That happens when the mind stops interfering with reality. It stops talking to you.  This is the time you can see the fish in the pond. You are not thinking about yesterday’s dinner party nor are you considering what to buy with tomorrow’s paycheck. You are just in the moment, without judgment. You are experiencing,  observing, sensing and appreciating. You are now fully present.

SECOND STAGE: Experiencing Connectedness

When you realize that you are not alone…. When then ‘us vs. them’ concept loses its relevance…. When you feel a deep connectedness and sympathy not just for that adorable baby, but for to the lady in front of the line in Starbucks who either has lost her wallet or simply can’t find it and she has holding up the line, at least for already 10 minutes…. that sums up what ‘connectedness’ means.

You are compassionate with planet, plants and all fellow human beings.

THIRD STAGE: Experiencing Oneness

Aha. When you get it. When you realize that you yourself are no different than any other part of the cosmos ‘out there’.  When you are the fish and the lady in front of that line. You are one. This sense of oneness sparks the Divine.  It is Divine.

(PS if you read this far, I might as well take the opportunity to join ‘We Are One World Healing’ (see links on top banner), our monthly meditation group whereby many of us send distant Reiki to all and where the rest of us visualizes and purposefully experiences oneness.)

Yesterday’s BBC News is making my day:

The sweet-voiced woman managed to convince a man attempting an armed robbery in Florida to walk away, by being full of compassion, offering assistance & reminding him to go back to church & Jesus.

The desperate man said he needed money to pay his rent but the Christian shop manager convinced him that he should choose another path. She offered to help him find another job and look for another way to solve his problems.

He apologized and left.

Today, I came across an old comment from Anna, a World Healing participant, who was looking for a beloved poem that I posted 2 years ago.*

While the poem was called ‘The New Religion of the 21st Century’ , Anna called it ‘Silent Love Bombs’, a title I like so much better!!!

Let me share it with you all today, again. It’s a lovely and inspirational poem by Brian Piergrossi. Here’s the link:

Silent Love Bombs

(image source: Astrid Lee)

* btw. To find anything this blog, use the search function (top right) as well as the category directory (right column, middle).