A NOTE TO THE FEMALE CYCLE

© 2014 - Reprinted with permission from Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore Newsletter May 2014

by Drusant

My knowledge of the female chemistry is very limited but I do know she goes through a very large and intense chemical change every month. I am most distressed that my male world has yet to acknowledge her monthly cycle with more respect and a little more gentle understanding.

The female body goes through such a complex chemistry of internal change and pressure that I can’t even imagine what that must feel like. Does it feel as if your internal organs are being squeezed and twisted? Does it feel like you are being turned inside out sometimes? I don’t believe my male body could survive such anguish, and yet because all women endure this blessing of a monthly life and death cycle, we men look away and make distasteful jokes.

I would ask that we men give her natural cycle some serious thought, space and patience. I would also ask the women of the world to not hide this beautiful and tender time from us men. We need to know and understand what has been unspoken for too many years—this elegant, but perhaps confusing flow of nature. How can we men be supportive to you when we don’t accept or understand your discomfort?

From the beginning of recorded history women have been told to be ashamed or to be dismissed from social engagement or to apologize if she shows the least degree of emotional variation. Women and men have both used several degrading slurs to describe the period.  Let’s reverse and banish this image and use a little more sophistication. Women of the world, please let us men know when you are going through your fragile time, let us know how we can support and praise your experience. This may be the time when we cook your dinners and have you relax. Put your feet up and be pampered—no excuses. You deserve it and you need it. You need to be given the accepted honor for the complex cycle that provides life for all future generations.

It will take time for us men to recognize more clearly what happens inside your bodies and it will take time for women to see more clearly that we men wish to understand you better and love you more deeply. It will take a little more time before a man does more as a woman does less while she is accepting this rest to lighten her thoughts and her body. Let’s come out of the dark ages and celebrate together this gift of life. All of life has its cycles and all of life is to be shared.

Drusant is the pen name of a long-time, faithful customer of the Shining Lotus™ Metaphysical Bookstore. A unendingly inquisitive mind that never stops asking ‘why?’ or ‘how?’, he continues to quest for esoteric, spiritual and paranormal answers in the Denver area. We are extremely grateful to him for allowing us to publish his creative writings in our newsletter and on our website. Go to www.shininglotus.com and find the search field, type “drusant” and enjoy some of his other articles.

MOVE BEYOND YOUR DIAGNOSIS

© 2013 - Reprinted with permission from Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore Newsletter October 2013

by Audra Browne

Monday, October 7, 2013. 7 - 9 pm. $20.

Do you have mystery symptoms that leave your mainstream medical doctors totally baffled? 
Do you find that the only help you are able to secure is through alternative medicine, shamanic healers, TCMs, etc.? Do your symptoms come on on suddenly, acutely, debilitatingly, and then completely disappear for periods of time?

Have you been labeled as having fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (or any of the other related “medical mystery” disorders) with no resolution of symptoms except through opiate pain relievers or other slightly effective medications that leave you unable to function?
Do you find that when you go for diagnostic testing, the doctors make guesses, put you on medicines, and never give you clear-cut answers or results?
Furthermore, if you do have a test-verifiable condition, do you find your medications react in ways doctors don’t suspect?

Furthermore…
Have you ever suspected that something was just different about the way you process the world? Have you ever considered that you’re not crazy, or misled, or maladjusted…that your body knows something you don’t? That your hunch that you are somehow different is actually right?
If any of this describes you, welcome to the club.

What would you say if I told you that the cause may be genetic, and that it may have a  very simple treatment? How much time, money and effort might you save yourself by ordering a simple genetic test?

My name is Audra Browne, and for all intents and purposes, to both the standard and the alternative medical establishment, I’m no one. But to you…I may have the answer you seek.

My story is simple. I was once a beleaguered patient, with “more problems than the average 20 or 30 year old”, as all of my doctors and practitioners had stated it. However, a background in the more clandestine and hidden areas of research, experience in practical chemistry, a keen intuition for how the ‘back door’ of the internet functions, plus a couple of really fortunate strokes of providence, once I hit the bottom of my endurance, were what led me to a realization that has rocked not only my world, but the worlds of those who surround me, and has set me on the path to curing the sometimes debilitating ailments I was suffering from.

Some of the stuff I am going to tell you is dense, other pieces hard to believe, some you’ve heard a number of times, and maybe you’ve even dismissed these absolute truths as propaganda, “health nut kookiness” or lies. But what I will tell you in the course will change your life, and may save it, too. That’s why it’s important that you know how to start unraveling your personal puzzle, and what path you or a loved one must take, so that you no longer tolerate incorrect diagnoses, unneeded prescriptions, and dangerous medical guessing on the part of your doctors.

Come and take the class. Within it, you will discover the things that have been holding you or those you love back, how to get tested, and how to proceed  with this new information that you now have. Come and discover the answer to the problems that have been plaguing you throughout your life. Are you part of the 40 to 60% of the human population who could benefit from this simple knowledge?

BODY SECRETS REVEALED

© 2012 - Reprinted with permission from Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore Newsletter May 12

by Ellen L. Hughes

“My heart’s just not into it.”

“I have a bad feeling in my gut.”

Sound familiar? Do you ever have a sixth sense about things, instincts that don’t seem to be based on logic? There is a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. It’s called a neuron. A neuron is a cell that processes information. Your brain has 100 billion neurons; your gut has 100 billion. Your heart has 40,000. In essence, you have three intelligence centers – head, heart and gut. So when you say, “My heart’s just not into it”, it’s really the result of neurons processing information – motor (movement), sensory (see, hear, smell taste and touch), and cognitive (reason, think, dream, plan, remember) that flows through the Central Nervous System.

An alternative health method that taps into this phenomenon is HeartMath. HeartMath utilizes technology, tools and techniques to facilitate communication between the heart and brain. It teaches about shifting your thinking from head to heart and taps into the heart’s intelligence.

Adventures With Natural Healing
by Ellen L. Hughes

HeartMath is just one of the lesser-known alternative health methods that takes little time but can make a big difference in your life. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT or tapping) is another little-known method. EFT is a combination of neurolinguistic programming (NLP) and acupressure. It is effective on a myriad of health issues. The first time I saw it used was at a conference where the volunteer was a lady in her 40′s who struggled with her memory of molestation as a child. The practitioner used EFT on her and within a few minutes, the lady’s face visibly cleared and she said she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. I was amazed at how quickly it worked, researched EFT and finally trained in it.

During training a video showed what happens in the body when EFT is performed. There were three women: an EFT practitioner, a nurse, and a computer tech. The practitioner thought of something disturbing to her to change her mental state, the nurse then drew her blood and put it on a slide and the tech made the slide visible to the audience. The slide showed red blood cells that were elongated and stuck together – unhealthy cells. Then the practitioner performed EFT on herself. The nurse drew another sample and the tech again programmed the slide so we could see the red blood cells which were now round and flowing freely. A 5-minute session of EFT changed the blood cells from unhealthy to healthy.

These are only two examples of methods that have scientific proof to back them up. Scientific data speaks to my very logical side. And then I tend to have more faith in the method. How about you? What do you think? What is your gut feeling?

Ellen L. Hughes is an author and lecturer and describes herself as a “health junkie”. She is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and has trained in EFT, Brain Gym®, Tellington Touch, Energy Medicine and other methods. Her latest book, Adventures With Natural Healing explores 27 alternative health methods and discusses when to use them, the scientific principle and the body system accessed and basic instructions for each method.

She also shares her personal experiences. Come listen to her share her knowledge at the Shining Lotus Sunday, May 20, 2012, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm.

For alternative health resources visit her site at http://www.sourceofenlightenment.com.

If you are a practitioner, there is a special announcement awaiting you at www.sourceofenlightenment.com/GC.html.

REIKI AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

© 2012 - Reprinted with permission from Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore Newsletter Jan 12

by Joy Vernon

JOY VERNON

I am extremely lucky to always have brilliant students in my classes. My current Shinpiden (Reiki Level 3) class is no exception and we had a very interesting discussion of the difference between reiju and attunements last night.

Reiju means spiritual blessing and is the Japanese basis of the practice that in Western Reiki has developed into the attunement. In Western Reiki, the attunement is considered to open and/or increase the student’s ability to connect with and channel the Reiki energy. However, in traditional Japanese Reiki, we are reminded that our innate energy is developed over time through regular practice of the precepts, meditations, hands-on healing, mantras and symbols, and the regular and repeated experience of connecting with Spirit and with others through giving and receiving reiju.

In the Usui Reiki Ryôhô style that I teach, reiju is a very simple ritual that does not use the symbols or mantras. The giver of the reiju remembers that they are one with the great bright light, and from this place of energetic connection ritualistically reminds the recipient of their own unity with that place of enlightenment through performing a series of briefly held hand positions.

I also teach the Hayashi attunements that have filtered down into Western Reiki. These attunements are much simpler, easier and more straightforward than the Western Reiki attunements I first learned. The Hayashi attunements use the symbols and mantras as part of the energetic exchange between giver and receiver. In this process, the giver connects to the great bright light but during the attunement ritual also takes time to remember each of the component elements that comprise the undifferentiated unity of the place of enlightenment, and through using the symbols and mantras to express each of these facets, teaches the student on an energetic level the steps necessary to attain oneness.

As I was attempting to express these thoughts to my students last night, I fumbled trying to think of an appropriate analogy. But one of my students did the work for me and exclaimed, “It’s like a prism!” She went on to express how the Reiki energy is the white light that enters the prism, and the symbols and mantras are the various colors of the rainbow that refract out. The Reiki practitioner is the prism itself. (What can I say? I told you my students are brilliant!)

With that metaphor in mind, it becomes simplicity itself to explain the difference between reiju and attunements. Reiju is showing the student the undifferentiated light that enters the prism—it’s teaching by introducing the end goal or destination first. The attunements teach the student to understand each of the refracted colors of the rainbow first as a way to approach an understanding of the light. As teachers, we benefit from understanding and being able to energetically demonstrate both the light entering us as well as the facets refracting from us, the Reiki prisms. Brilliant!

Joy Vernon has been studying energetic and esoteric modalities for more than twenty years. She is a Reiki Practitioner and Teacher in the Traditional Japanese Usui Reiki Ryôhô lineage through IHR. She leads the Denver Reiki Co-op and is a member of Shibumi International Reiki Association. Joy is also a Certified Professional Tarot Reader.

REIKI: A POWERFUL, EFFECTIVE HEALING SYSTEM

© 2011 - Reprinted with permission from Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore Newsletter Oct 11

by Courtney DeWinter, Reiki Master Teacher - Delphine Healing Arts

The Reiki system of energy healing — developed in Japan in the early 1900s — is based on life force energies that have been an integral part of this planet since it was formed. Everything on this planet (people, animals, trees, etc.) give off electro-magnetic, or life force, energy. The body is not just a physical structure; it’s composed of electro- magnetic energies and energy fields, too.

The Reiki healing system uses these powerful life force energies for healing purposes. The Reiki practitioner accesses life force energies that are all around us, and pulls that energy into themselves, and then flows it out their hands and into the Reiki recipient. Results of a Reiki treatment vary depending on what the recipient needs on that particular day. Healing comes in many forms, and Reiki can provide physical, emotional, spiritual, or karmic healing, (or a combination thereof).

Reiki is done fully clothed on a massage table. And while the healing results can vary, Reiki recipients universally report feeling heat and pulsing coming from the practitioner’s hands, deep calm, and many see beautiful colors in their mind’s eye while they are receiving a Reiki treatment.

Reiki also has been studied by medical researchers. We now know that Reiki accelerates the healing process, eases pain, eases the nausea associated with chemo- therapy, improves blood chemistry, and much more. How Reiki affects you depends, quite simply, on what you need.

Courtney DeWinter is a Reiki Master Teacher and Master Practitioner with 23 years of experience in the Reiki energy healing system. She is the founder of Denver-based Delphine Healing Arts (www.DelphineHealingArts.com), which offers comprehensive & thorough Reiki training classes, and Reiki healing session for people & animals. Courtney was first introduced to Reiki in the warm blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, swimming with a pod of dolphins. A group of Reiki masters lead the trip to Mexico, and the experiences were so profound that Courtney got the call to heal and teach healing, and embarked on learning the Reiki healing system. She has been doing Reiki since 1988, when the Reiki system made its way to Colorado.

RECESSION-PROOF HEALTH AND VITALITY

© 2010 - Reprinted with permission from Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore Newsletter Dec 10.

JUST FOR HEALTH by Luke Terry, Licensed Acupuncturist

As the recession wears on, some rather counter-intuitive trends have emerged. One would think that decreased economic activity would result in a decrease in American’s health for the average person.

That turns out to be false! According to John de Graaf of the Solutions Journal, the average American’s health has actually improved overall during the recession. Yes, it’s true that on the whole, people are working less and earning less, but they’re also driving less, smoking less, and eating less bad restaurant food. In addition, they’re spending more time with family & friends, exercising more, sleeping more, and gardening more. ??These healthy choices are decreasing the mortality rate. In fact, for every percentage point increase in unemployment, mortality decreases by about a half a percent. The largest improvements have been a big dip in traffic deaths, which has declined by 25%, and an increase in gardening, up 40%. Such a great silver lining!

On the other side of the coin, families who have experienced the loss of a job or income do experience more stress, and in some cases, rates of suicide amongst the unemployed has grown. One’s best defense is a good offense – developing a strong, positive attitude, a sense of personal well-being that is unconditional and not connected to external circumstances, these things can all bring deep happiness and health. This strategy can improve your own health, and as your health improves, we gain positive energy that helps everyone and everything around us.

As our economy retools and becomes more resilient, our best strategy is always to improve our own personal health and adaptability. Proven strategies to build deep inner vitality include a healthy, simple diet, regular exercise outside in the sun, strong social connections, and a lasting commitment to self-improvement.

Herbal medicine gives us one such avenue. We can build health & vitality by building our Qi energy, by strengthening our immune system, nervous system, and adrenals, by improving sleep quality and duration, by improving digestion and metabolism. These goals are all easily attainable through the use of herbal medicine.

For best results, contact a qualified herbal medicine practitioner in your area, or better yet, educate yourself on the ancient and yet timeless art and science of using botanical substances to build vibrant health from within.

Check out the MASTER HERBALIST PROGRAM, Luke Terry, L Ac, Dipl. Ac, MTOM, Clinical Director, Rachel Lord, RN, President & Dean of Students, Just for Health School of Reflexology & Healing Arts. 303-320-4367. Next training starts February 2011.

Approved and Regulated by the Colorado Department of Higher Education, Private Occupational School Board.

REFLEXOLOGY - FEET FIRST

© 2010 - Reprinted with permission from Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore Newsletter Aug 10/Sep 10.

JUST FOR HEALTH by Rachel Lord, RN, Master Herbalist, Nationally Board Certified Reflexologist

Do your feet hurt?  Or do you know someone whose do?  This is one of the most common complaints that folks have.  And no wonder.  We stuff our tootsies in all kinds of shoe shapes, pound them on concrete and asphalt, stand and walk on them all day—and then wonder how come they hurt!  Additionally, we use our hands constantly and then don’t get where that carpal tunnel came from.

Reflexology is a type of  bodywork that addresses feet foremost, but also hands and ears. It is a science that maps out the reflexes to the whole body on all three places.  By pressing specific areas on them, every organ, gland and body part is affected in a positive manner.  It is a lot like acupuncture, in that you can work an organ from far away without actually touching it.  It clears energy meridians or pathways.  Remove a blockage in one place and you have opened up the whole energy line.  Once that happens, pain disappears; the body returns to balance.

What does a good Reflexologist do? First she/he inspects your feet and hands.  A skilled practitioner can help with actual foot and hand problems as well as accessing the reflexes. That means things like carpal tunnel, bunions, sprains, achy arches, heel pain, neuropathy can be relieved. Then there’s the relaxation aspect. A skilled Reflexology treatment can put you into “la la land”.  And we all know the benefits of relaxation.  That in itself helps the body heal and spirals up the immune system.

Ear Reflexology came from France.  Both Reflexologists and acupuncturists use ear points.  This is another way to access the entire body.  There is something about getting your ears gently worked that evokes profound relaxation. So when you get a treatment, don’t leave out the ear part.

Just writing this article makes me want to rush out and get a treatment.  It can’t be beat!  Maybe you would like to become a Reflexologist, provide such amazing work and get paid for it too!

Sat, Sep 25, 2010, FREE 10-MINUTE REFLEXOLOGY SESSIONS at Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore. Presented in celebration of World Reflexology Week and sponsored by the Associated Reflexologists of Colorado (ARC) to increase awareness about Reflexology. ARC members will be on hand to give free Reflexology sessions, plenty of TLC and to answer your questions about Reflexology. 12 – 5 PM, FREE.

PROFESSIONAL FEET, HAND and EAR REFLEXOLOGY PROGRAM Rachel Lord, Director “Just for Health School of Reflexology & Healing Arts” 303-320-4367, justforhealth7@gmail.com, www.justforhealth.net

Approved and Regulated by the Colorado Department of Higher Education, Private Occupational School Board and the American Reflexology Certification Board.

FRESH GINGER FOR THE FIRST INKLING OF COLDS AND FLU

© 2009 - Reprinted with permission from Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore Newsletter Dec 09/Jan 10.

JUST FOR HEALTH by Rachel Lord RN, Master Herbalist

GINGER RHIZOME
(Zingberis officianale Rosco)

Picture a nice warming tea on a cold day. Sweat it out. Move germs along to the exterior before they get lodged in. This is what Ginger Rhizome (Zingberis officinale Rosco) can do. Pungent, hot and dis- persing fresh Ginger is just the ticket when you‘re thinking some version of “Uh oh, my head hurts a little and my throat is thick.”

So get thee to the grocery store and pick up some Fresh Ginger Root in the produce section, so you will have it on hand when you need it. Put it in a zip lock baggy. It stores nicely in the freezer for a long time.
Chinese wisdom says that fresh ginger promotes sweating and the dried tincture or tea expels interior cold. Ginger root has a natural affinity towards the respiratory and GI systems. It‘s a no-brainer for a cold coming on, with or without a little stomach upset to boot.

Primary Actions of Ginger:

Anti-inflammatory/Analgesic: Inhibits formation of inflammatory prostaglandins leukotrine and throm- boxanes. Inhibits release of substance P (for pain) much like the capsaicin in Cayenne.

Expectorant and Anti-Bacteria/Viral: Will kill germs and get up phlegm.

Anti-emetic: Reduces nausea.

Increases Circulation: Anti-platelet.

Diaphoretic: Warms the body, creates sweating. Helps maintain body temperature and inhibits sero- tonin-induced hypothermia.

Brew Some Fresh Ginger Tea: (as the need arises) One cup of tea (8 oz) Grate one teaspoon of fresh or fresh frozen ginger. (If some peels get in, that‘s a good thing). Simmer root in a little over eight ounces of water for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. If you like, add some grated fresh orange peel or a few peppermint leaves. Strain. Add honey to soothe the throat and give some bug killing action. Yum.

Daily Dose: 3 cups. Make up enough for a day. Triple above recipe. Store in glass jar in fridge and reheat as needed.

Safety: This is a very mild herb with few contraindications. Safe in pregnancy and lactation. Some- times used for ―morning sickness‖. Slight anti-platelet activity. Best used short term for immediate symptom relief.

Other tidbits: Used as a pungent spice and medicine for thousands of years. The whole fresh root is called ―Green Ginger‖. Its use is recorded in Sanskrit and Chinese texts and is documented in ancient Greek, Roman and Arabic medical literature. Was probably one of the first cultivated plants ever. Grown in India, China, Jamaica, Haiti and Nigeria.