Holistic Path

Sometimes a house or office can feel uncomfortable, and there’s no real reason you can put your finger on to explain your uneasy feeling. Other times, it’s easy: someone has been there that was negative, ill or died. Homes and spaces often take on the energy of the previous occupants as well. There may be instances when you moved into a space and just felt like someone else was there, or the space just didn’t feel right.

If this sounds familiar, just remember you are not alone. Many people feel uncomfortable in spaces and can’t explain why. The “why” is not important, however; what is important is that you find a way to make your space feel more comfortable so you can feel more at ease. A first step would be to perform a space cleansing.

Unlike “space clearing,” space cleansing doesn’t rely on getting rid of clutter. However, if you have a bunch of old items and junk from previous residents or others, it is possible that some of the energy is coming from these old items. If that’s the case, then you should definitely take some of these things to the trash.

What’s more, if you have had a spate of bad luck and find that life has just been a constant struggle, it’s possible that you have some negative energies hanging around that are making your house yin - or negative in energy.

This is another good instance when it might be a good idea to do a space cleansing. Space cleansing will help you feel more comfortable in your home or office, and let you move on in your space comfortably and in a positive state of mind. Why bother? Because negative energy gathers and compounds to create MORE negative energy. That’s why it’s important to handle negative energy when you feel like your space isn’t quite right. To ignore it is to allow more negative energy to build, and this can impact your health, your career and your finances, and even cause depression.

Regardless of why you feel the way you do, if your space doesn’t feel quite right, here are some tips to help you clear out the negative energy in your house and invite good energy back inside!

STEP 1. Clear stale energies from the house.

If you have recently moved, you might be feeling some residual energy from past residents. If that’s the case, then consider using this technique: open everything that is closed. In short, you should open all doors, all windows, all cabinets, all boxes, anything that is closed should be open.

Then, walking from the front door in a clockwise pattern, circle each room and go into the next while ringing a bell. Be sure to ring the bell in the corners of rooms and in closets where negative energy can remain trapped. You may want to proceed through the other five steps before closing everything up again.

STEP 2. Use salt to cleanse an area.

Another tip is to use salt to remove negative energies. You can wipe the walls with salt or sprinkle salt into the corners of the room. Be sure to sweep up the salt and throw it into the trash outside of your house.

STEP 3. Feed your ghosts rice.

If you feel extreme negative energy, you can also try sprinkling rice around the perimeter of your home, beginning at the front door and walking in a clockwise fashion until you come to the door again. The rice will draw the energy outside and away from the interior of your home.

STEP 4. Scent the air to clear out negative energies.

Use smoke from incense or from herbs, such as lavender for transcending problems, eucalyptus for healing, or mint for prosperity. The scents of incense or herbal essential oils are all excellent ways to introduce beneficial energy.

STEP 5. Use light and sound.

Light and sound are two very effective “yang” treatments that help to dispel negative energies. Tinkling windchimes and bright crystal rainbows or lit chandeliers are both excellent ways to introduce beneficial - and cleansing - energy to your space.

If you have done all five steps, it’s time to close up all the doors, windows, cabinets, and drawers, and then proceed to Step 6.

STEP 6. Take a salt bath yourself.

In the process of cleansing your home, it might be a good idea to cleanse yourself as well. It is possible that you are bringing negative energy home from work or from the outside world. Soak in a tub with sea salt or make your own sea salt scrub and wash your body in the shower with salt. Salt will purify you and remove negative energies from your body. This is especially helpful if you work in a hostile or gossipy environment, and will help you clear negative energy from your body.

About the author

Kathryn Weber is a master feng shui consultant who publishes the Red Lotus Letter, which can help you unlock the success locations in your home or office and get your life out of a rut. Red Lotus Feng Shui Design & Consultation, P.O. Box 531, Cuero, Texas 77954, 1- 361-676-8800. To contact Kathryn by email, write to kweber@redlotusconsulting.com.

http://www.vinegartips.com/cleaning/

When you work with your personal bagua, the area directly to your right as you walk into a room is the travel gua. This is most commonly known as the area of helping people. It works both ways – people who pass through your life and aid you in one way or another, but also people you help in the journeys through their lives.
By paying special attention to the travel guas in your home, you will inadvertently attract chi in a number of different areas that are intertwined. Feng shui can affect your life even when you don’t know why. That's one reason it's nice to know the possibilities that can happen so you can be somewhat prepared. (You wouldn't want to know exactly how your life will unfold. That would defeat the whole purpose of living.)
Feng Shui Literally
The workings of the bagua can be as literal as your needs dictate. Perhaps you are in the market for a new car. That would definitely be travel. You may need help to decide what type of car to buy or in obtaining a loan. You would need to spruce up your travel/helping people area in hopes that the right people come into your life to assist you with financing and lead you to the car for you.
If you don’t want a loan, maybe you just need to be guided to the people who will have a car that will fit your budget without the help of any outside sources. To bring the right car for you into your life, you could make a collage with pictures of you, the type of car you want, and pictures and words that tell a story of how you will feel when you get your car. Hang the collage in your travel gua and wait!
Be Open
One of the most exciting (and sometimes frustrating) aspects of feng shui is that, although it can improve your life in so many ways, it is not 100%. There is always the chance that you won’t get your wish. Sometimes what you get is even better than you asked for, even if it doesn’t look like it at first.
Part of the miracle of feng shui is that many times the changes that occur in your life are not literal at all, but symbolic. Keep your heart and mind open to the intricacies of feng shui. It’s little things that get you through life, little helping hands, little miracles that you often don’t notice in your busy life. Be open to them in your work with feng shui, and always.

NORTH
This is the career sector. Ornaments here can be, frogs, fishes and protective warriors. Also useful are tortoises/turtles. A bird bath or water feature can also be placed in this area. Ornaments should be of black or dark blue and made from metal or stone. A rockery is well placed in this area as are small clumps of trees, gentians, ceanothus and clematis.

SOUTH
This is the area of fame, success and public recognition. Known as your ‘Bright Hall’, it should contain red, orange and bright yellow flowers and shrubs. An ornament of the phoenix, cockerel or peacock should stand in this area. It should be well lit, perhaps with garden lights or a Japanese lantern. Red wooden ornaments are also useful in this sector. Plants in this area could include - camellias, sage, coriander, cinnamon, pieris, acer, euphorbia (fireglow), aquilegias and fuchsia (representing lanterns).

EAST
This is the sector of health, longevity and the family. It is the area of the green dragon. Dragon ornaments and the colour green should dominate this part of your garden. Also useful in this sector are statues of Buddha, cranes or deer. A water feature could be placed here. Planting might include bamboo, lilac, magnolia, hydrangea and small ornamental trees such as crab apple or cherry. Chrysanthemums can also be used.

WEST
This represents children and new projects, hobbies, stages of life and pleasure. It is also the area of the white tiger, who needs to be kept dozing. Use fragrant flowers in this sector. Flowers of white, gold and silver are best. Ceramic ornaments and quartz crystals in these colours are also useful as well as windchimes with six hollow tubes (five is ok, but do not use solid rods!). Any other round shapes are good here including small bells. Plants could include spirea (bridal bower) and convolvus (silver). Do not use tiger statues at all --- far too powerful.

NORTH EAST
This is the sector of spirituality, knowledge, education and self-growth. You should use yellows and earthly colours in this area. Terracotta pots, ornaments, hanging crystals and Buddhas are all good. Plants could include genista and euphorbia.

NORTH WEST
An area for new beginnings, mentors, networking, meeting influential people and important meetings. Metallic colours, white and silver are best. Use six tube windchimes in this location as well as stone and metal sculptures.

SOUTH EAST
This is your wealth sector, not only money, but wealth in terms of a full and happy life. Use greens here, representing growth and money. A small water feature in this sector is very lucky, as are wooden ornaments, small leafy plants such as hebes and low growing flowers. Frogs, fishes and toads are ‘prosperous’creatures in this part of the garden.

SOUTH WEST
This part of your garden represents relationships, harmony and marriage-very much the physical side of your life. Use reds and pinks, particularly peonies, genista, euphorbia, tropaeolum as plants. Oranges and yellows are also very good. Ceramic and wooden pairs of ducks, tied together with a red ribbon stand for harmony and close loving relationships. Light the corner with Japanese lanterns, place pebbles and stones within this area. It should look oriental and warm, attracting good chi energy.

A cancer patient credits his morning glass of broccoli juice with halting the disease. Ray Wiseman's claim has prompted more research into the vegetable's healing powers. Doctors told Mr Wiseman they did not expect him to survive, when they diagnosed him five years ago.

Green magic: Ray Wiseman with his wife Joan

But scans show that his cancer has stopped spreading - vastly improving his chances of a recovery. The grandfather, 79, puts his health down to the tumbler of broccoli juice that his wife prepares for him each day.
Mr Wiseman, who lives in Braunstone, Leicestershire, said: 'I take this juice every day. I know it's done me good. 'I suppose it would be the same for everybody.'
His wife Joan, 72, started giving him the juice after a friend told her about the healing benefits of green vegetables. For each half-tumbler dose she combines a head of broccoli with some apples and carrots to improve the taste.
She said: 'We believe my husband's incredible luck is down to broccoli. I hope our experience can help other cancer sufferers. 'The juice is a mess to make but it's something we have been happy to clear up. He now just takes it as second nature. 'If anybody else's husband is suffering from cancer and they are not getting on too well, it could help them.' Scientists from Cancer Research UK have asked her for the recipe, to further study the vegetable's benefits.

Recent medical studies have highlighted the possible cancer-beating powers of broccoli. British scientists at the Institute of Food Research found that men who ate one daily portion had altered patterns of gene activity in their prostates, suggesting that the chemicals in the vegetable might be able to reduce the risk of prostate cancer. According to a report published in the British Journal of Cancer in 2006, natural chemicals found in certain vegetables, such as broccoli-cauliflower and cabbage, can enhance DNA repair in cells, which could help stop them becoming cancerous.
A spokesman for Cancer Research UK said: 'There's a lot of research that's focused on broccoli and the healing properties that the vegetable contains. 'If taken, broccoli needs to be with a healthy diet that is high in all fruit and vegetables. 'This can also reduce the chances of developing cancer.' Around 10,000 are diagnosed with bladder cancer every year in the UK . It is the fifth most common form of the disease and affects more men than women. A member of the cabbage family, broccoli is rich in vitamin C and has properties that boost the human immune systems that fight viruses, bacteria and cancer.
Studies have found that boiling broccoli can reduce its anti-cancer compounds, but steaming and microwaving do not.

Natural Strategies For Supporting Women's Monthly Cycle
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 12:35pm
By Wendy Hodsdon, ND
Why are cycles so important? In nature, we recognize the importance of cycles. We see the cycle of the sun in a day and the moon in a month. The cycle of a year is reflected in seasons, and the cycle of ocean tides change daily, monthly and yearly. Cycles allow for change and balance.

Humans have cycles too. The heartbeat, breath, sleeping times and eating times are all expressions of the rhythmic cycles of the body. Human hormones also fluctuate in response to cycles. Cortisol is highest in the morning, growth hormone highest at night. Melatonin is secreted in relation to light exposure. Monthly, women’s hormones change according to the pattern of their menstrual cycle. The regularity of a cycle is our body’s normal functioning with nature’s rhythms. Cycles have a flow and momentum that allow our fluid human body to move, change and adapt more easily.
Menstruation and cycles
Animals, other than humans, do not have obvious monthly menstrual cycles. Menstruation most likely started when humans began to walk upright and the female pelvis became smaller, making childbirth more dangerous. Women needed a way to know that they were pregnant because of the risk involved in childbirth. Our menses is thus a sign of our evolution as a species.
Monthly bleeding has other benefits as well. The body uses menstruation to eliminate toxins, and therefore, it acts as a natural monthly cleansing. The hormones in women’s bodies help to keep bones strong and skin soft and resilient. Women often feel emotions more intensely and are more connected to their body right before or during menstruation. When a woman’s body is in hormonal balance, her period is a gentle, natural process and a blessing. However, too often women regard their period as an inconvenience and a mess. Periods are associated with mood swings, bloating, tender breasts and cramps. All these are not “normal,” but are signs that a body is out of hormonal balance. When a woman listens to what her body needs during her cycle, the physical symptoms often become less severe. Menstruation can be a time for rest and recuperation.
Ways to support your menstrual cycle
It is possible to support the body’s hormonal balance by supporting its cycles. During the first 14 days of a woman’s cycle, her body is making more estrogen. During days 15 until menstruation, the predominant hormone is progesterone.
To support these hormones and keep the liver functioning well, it is a good idea to avoid toxins that put an extra load on the hormone processing and elimination system. This can be as easy as making sure to drink enough water; reducing caffeine, alcohol and food allergens; and taking essential fatty acids on a rotating basis. Essential fatty acids are some of the building blocks the body uses to make hormones. To support the hormonal system, take fish oil days one to 14 of your cycle and fish oil plus evening primrose oil days 15 to 28 of your cycle. Rotational hormonal support can also be done with two tablespoons of ground flax or pumpkin seeds days one to 14 and ground sesame or sunflower seeds day 15 to 28. The seeds and oil taken during days 1 to 14 support estrogen; during 15 to 28, they support progesterone. The fiber in the seeds also helps the body to eliminate the hormones from the body at the appropriate time.
Listen to your body and recognise your cycle
Noticing your body’s cycles and the unique rhythm your body has though the years can be extremely enlightening and empowering. Try keeping track of when you menstruate, noting what cycle the moon is in when you do, what your mood is, what vaginal discharge is present. Can you notice when you ovulate? Can you tell which ovary releases the egg? Can you tell when menstruation will start? How do your cycles affect your sex drive? What happens to your premenstrual symptoms when you go on a cleanse or have a partner? Is there a time of year when your cycle is easier or more difficult? Notice how your body expresses cycles just as nature expresses cycles.
By observing your menstrual cycles, you can begin to see yourself connected to nature’s rhythms. These natural cycles are powerful in your body. Through constant movement, adjustments and changes, the body keeps from being stuck and allows for constant cleansing and renewal.

How to avoid loving a jerk

By Tina Tessina


You're fresh out of a disaster, and you are terrified of the thought of dating again, but you're going to try anyway. Good for you! Here are some guidelines to help you avoid repeating old mistakes:

Pay attention! You have things to learn here! The most important aspect of this date, in addition to having a good time, is to get to know each other better. No matter how excited, turned on or thrilled you may be about this date, listening to what your date says, watching what your date does and understanding how your date feels are still your primary objectives.

What your date thinks of you is not your business. Your business is what you think of your date. One of the easiest ways to lose your objectivity and balance in this is to worry about what your date thinks about you. If you spend your time essentially trying to look at yourself through your date's eyes, guessing what he or she is seeing when looking at you, or hearing when listening to you, you'll miss what's really happening. You're supposed to be evaluating the other person, not pretending to look at yourself through his or her eyes. Pay attention so you know what YOU think of your date.

Look for integrity – make sure your date walks his or her talk. Anyone can talk big. Actually, some of the best people don't present themselves well - don't overlook someone who is not gorgeous, charming and glib, but has all the qualities you really need in a partner.

Be very consistent and careful about your sexual safety. Until the relationship progresses to the point that you become monogamous, and both have been tested for STD's, be careful. The nicest people can be infected with a disease and not even know they have it. If you have had unprotected sex, have your doctor do a screening for STD's. Don't assume your partner is monogamous - especially if you haven't discussed it in detail.

Know the signs of emotional blackmail:


A demand: Your date won't take "no" for an answer, and requests are really demands.


Resistance: When every discussion turns into an argument.


Pressure: Your date pressures you to go along.


Threats: Your date uses threatening or coercing tactics: threatening to end the relationship, tears, rage, badgering. Hopefully, because you've thought about the serious issues in advance, you'll still be able to relax and have a good time - so good, that you decide to keep dating each other. Then, you'll need a whole new set of skills.


From "The Unofficial Guide to Dating Again" by Tina Tessina