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22 December 2014

Christmas - a miracle and some reflection

One good definition for a miracle is an event for which there is no logical explanation. So this week, recounting a rather remarkable Christmas miracle, and then a short reflection on meaning, and the highs and lows of Christmas, but first



           

     Thought for the day

            What a lover’s heart knows 
            Let no man’s brain dispute

                           Aberjani 







For many years I have always had a live Christmas tree. When my children were growing up, we had a new one each year and then planted it out. So on our old farm there is the Christmas tree avenue, made up of all the different pine trees, cedars and like minded trees.

In more recent times, we have grown the Christmas tree in a pot until it really is large enough to demand planting. So where Ruth and I live currently, there are only two ex-Christmas trees in the ground.

A couple of years ago our oldest grandchild was getting to the age of questioning Santa. Fancy that! Anyway, it was a hot year and a good deal of tree watering was required. Having checked the trees on Christmas Eve, I went out to water them on Boxing Day.



Imagine this.


Under one of the ex-Christmas tree were two deer horns!

Each about 4 – 5” long, or 10 – 15 cms in the new money.

They looked for all the world like baby reindeer horns and here they are:



Now you may think I am dreaming, but never having seen such things in our area, or even heard of anyone else finding them, what are the chances? They turned up Christmas Eve or night, under the Christmas tree and they are real deer horns.

Moral of the story? The grandchild believed in Santa for a couple more years!

Then there is Christmas itself. If we take the birth of Christ metaphorically, the principle of Christ represents pure love, so the birth of Christ represents the birth of pure love.

One way of regarding Christmas therefore, is to remind ourselves of our own aspirations to be more loving. Now there is something worth celebrating! Of course pure love is the same as unconditional love and that is quite an achievement – to say the least.

For most of us mere mortals, love is more likely to have some element of a deal involved. I will love you if you love me back. I will not love you unless you are nice to me. I will love you if you look after me, pay the bills, help me bring up the children, make me feel good, share sex with me ….. and on and on.

Unconditional love says I will love you. Full stop. No deals. No qualifications.

I will love you.

Full stop.

Aspiring to unconditional love is helped by being aware of the two aspects of the mind - the active, thinking mind and the deeper stillness of mind. The thinking mind has many wonderful attributes, but also the capacity to scheme, to be highly conditional and to bring overt and covert deals into ostensibly loving relationships.

The still mind is beyond all that. Intrinsically pure; of its very nature it is unconditional. So the more we connect with the stillness of our mind, (made possible through meditation of course), the more we have the capacity to be unconditional.

Now unconditional does not mean being a doormat or being taken advantage of. And this is where for many the challenges of Christmas arise. The fact is that for many, Christmas raises conflicting emotions. Loneliness. Too many people gathering. Old family wounds can be rekindled. Real joy being experienced. The full range of emotions and experiences.

So Christmas…..

A good time to be kind to our self and to those around us. Maybe it is a good time to take some time quietly for our self, to reflect on the nature of love, what it means to us, how we have experienced it in our own life, and even how it may be possible to be more unconditional in our own way of loving.

Maybe something of all this could form part of an aspiration for a bright new year.

From Ruth and myself then - Happy Christmas, enjoy some regenerative time amidst the spirit of Christmas, and may 2015 be filled with good health, happiness and peace.

NOTICEBOARD
Meditation in the Forest        March 27th to April 2nd  2015

During this, our first meditation retreat for 2015, we will be focusing upon the deeper stillness of meditation. We will explore the theory, but moreso, the actual practices that help us to go beyond the activity of the thinking mind into a more direct and profound experience of the still mind.



Deep, natural peace. A calm and clear mind. So many possibilities follow…..

FULL DETAILS Click here 

17 December 2014

Pearls of Wisdom – 2

Many thanks to all those who have supported this recent new venture, the Pearls, and a reminder that if you are thinking of a last minute, elegant, meaningful Christmas present, it will be wise to order by this Friday 19th to give a reasonable (but to be fair, not guaranteed) delivery before Christmas.


Also, thanks for the patience some of you needed as there was a problem on the webstore for about 24hours a few days ago. All has been put right and everything is working well again.



Thought for the day

Christmas, my child, 
Is love in action. 
Every time we love, 
Every time we give, 
It is Christmas.

Dale Rogers 
(wife of Roy Rogers)


Pearls of Wisdom. There are three of them. Here are their details once more.
Each Pearl is a compact MP3 player that comes in an elegant silk lined box, complete with headphones and USB cable for universal re-charging.


Each Pearl is designed to provide a highly transportable, sophisticated and effective way to be guided into key relaxation, mindfulness and meditation exercises. They are a bit like a portable CD player. You simply connect the ear phones, turn on the device, and away you go…

The Calm Pearl is designed to help relieve stress, tension and anxiety. It comes with 2 key exercises in sequence - the Rapid Relaxation exercise flowing into the deeper tranquility and stillness of meditation, plus some quiet time.

The Pain Relief Pearl has a continuous exercise that flows on for over an hour and incorporates relaxation, mindfulness, meditation and imagery. My sense is that many people will find this one useful as a regular practice whether they have pain or not, however, experience tells us that many do find this sequence remarkably effective for pain relief.

The Sleep Pearl is specifically designed for relaxation of body and mind. Simply focusing on the Progressive Muscle Relaxation, the Sleep Pearl is accompanied by relaxing, soothing music provided by world class musicians (including Ruth’s brother David Berlin who is the Principal cello at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra). This Pearl is ideally suited for listening in bed, while experience again tells us that regular use during the day leads to significantly better sleep patterns – getting to sleep more quickly, sleeping deeper, returning to sleep throughout the night more easily if needed.

So, we hope you like them! Hope they may be a present you can give with real delight! The Pearls have grown out of the work I have been doing with Mindbody Mastery, and as another exciting prospect, that on-line meditation program will be available via a radically innovative app in the New Year (we are calling it the One Meditation Network App).

Here then is the link to the Pearls once more: CLICK HERE

May the true spirit of Christmas – unconditional love – touch your heart and all those you love.

With all our best wishes

Be well

Ian and Ruth




12 December 2014

Pearls of Wisdom

Wouldn’t it be nice to give an elegant and meaningful present? We have an innovative suggestion for you. A present that you could give at Christmas or on any special occasion, that might change the life of someone you care about for the better. Or you could even give yourself a treat…

Pearls of Wisdom

Well, here we are nearly to Christmas, and speaking personally, I love the focus it brings to catching up with friends, rounding off the cycle of the calendar year and getting together with family to share life and exchange presents.

I also love going to the Boxing Day test (one of the ritual joys of living near Melbourne) and having some real free time to reflect, regenerate and plan over the New Year period.

But then there is the waste. Packaging to throw out, and often those not-so-useful presents to confine to some back room cupboard or the bin! Actually, my family does a pretty good job in the gifts department, but we all know the problem.

So here is the new possibility…

Pearls of Wisdom



But first,

          Thought for the day


                 Find out who you are
                And do it on purpose

                               Dolly Parton




                       Pearls of Wisdom



As far as we know, there is nothing else

like this available at present.

There are three of them.

Each Pearl is a compact MP3 player
that comes in an elegant silk lined box,
complete with headphones and USB cable
for universal re-charging.







Each Pearl is designed to provide a highly transportable, sophisticated and effective way to be guided into key relaxation, mindfulness and meditation exercises.

They are a bit like a portable CD player.

You simply connect the ear phones, turn on the device, and away you go…







The Calm Pearl is designed to help relieve stress, tension and anxiety.

It comes with 2 key exercises in sequence
- the Rapid Relaxation exercise
flowing into the deeper tranquility
and stillness of meditation,
plus some quiet time.





The Pain Relief Pearl has a continuous exercise that flows on for over an hour and incorporates relaxation, mindfulness, meditation and imagery. My sense is that many people will find this one useful as a regular practice whether they have pain or not, however, experience tells us that many do find this sequence remarkably effective for pain relief.


The Sleep Pearl is specifically designed for relaxation of body and mind. Simply focusing on the Progressive Muscle Relaxation, the Sleep Pearl is accompanied by meditative, soothing music provided by world class musicians (including Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's Principal cello - Ruth’s brother David Berlin).

This Pearl is ideally suited for listening in bed, while experience again tells us that regular use during the day leads to significantly better sleep patterns – getting to sleep more quickly, sleeping deeper, returning to sleep throughout the night more easily if needed.

There is a useful discount if you purchase all 3, and all 3 come free of postage and packaging - a handy saving!

So, we hope you like them! Hope they may be a present you can give with real delight!

Please do share this post with your friends and family.

The Pearls have grown out of the work I have been doing with Mindbody Mastery, and as another exciting prospect, that on-line meditation program will be available via a radically innovative app in the New Year (we are calling it the One Meditation Network App).

Here then is the link to the Pearls once more: CLICK HERE

May the true spirit of Christmas – unconditional love – touch your heart and all those you love. 

With all our best wishes

Be well

Ian and Ruth






01 December 2014

Communal Grief - what the death of Phillip Hughes tells us

The recent death of the talented Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes has triggered a remarkable wave of communal grief. How do we make sense of the scale of this outpouring of emotion, when many of us will have been touched by deaths in other sports or arenas of life that went by with far less public response?

What too of the personal griefs all of us have known? Those losses that have touched us deeply, affected our families and friends profoundly and been acknowledged by our own smaller and more local communities?

This week then, let us look more deeply at why some deaths stand out in the collective consciousness, and trigger a huge wave of communal grief as has happened in response to the very real, very tragic, very untimely death of Phillip Hughes, but first



      Thought for the day

   This body is not me; 
   I am not caught in this body, 
   I am life without boundaries, 
   I have never been born and I have never died. 

        Thích Nhất Hạnh - "No Death, No Fear"




In these days of mass media, even if we are fortunate enough to have no personal losses to grieve at present, almost daily we are exposed to death. War, murder, suicide, accident. The death of celebrities, people we somewhat knew, people we knew more intimately. It is clear that while life is Oh so precious, it is Oh so fragile.

So as we are regularly exposed to this ever present presence of death, my sense is that we almost mourn in passing. Life has to go on. On one level, we acknowledge these deaths as they come to visit us during the normal course of modern daily life. But there is no funeral; no effective forum to express our grief. We feel something of a pang, swallow deeply, and then we carry on.

There is the real possibility we can be left with what could be called “residual grief”. That deeper level of angst that comes from the accumulated losses and its attendant sadness; along with the constant covert reminder that all people die some day, that we too will die some day …..

Residual grief.

So then, from time to time, it is almost as if some archetypal figure dies. Some figure is lost to us, often in tragic or unexpected circumstances; some figure that represented a collective dream. And this death triggers an outpouring of that stored up, communal grief.

We saw this so noticeably with the death of the archetypal Princess, Lady Diana. The death of that archetypal Aussie/Irish hero, Jim Stynes. We will face it next year with the centenary of the Anzac tradition.

And now what is it? The death of young hope and exuberance? Phillip Hughes.

Grief comes in many forms. Often the way emotions can swing so widely, even wildly, can be perplexing for people experiencing the loss of someone they loved. Often people report how when they focus on the more spiritual spectrum of human experience, death can be almost exhilarating; but then how in the next moment, by giving attention to the personal losses and changes brought on by death, there comes profound sadness, even moments of despair.

Therefore it may well be wise to reflect on death when it is not so close to us.

Geraldine Doogue asked me during the filming of the ABC Compass program A Good Life whether doing just that, reflecting on death, was of itself depressing and contrary to the notion of a good life?

My response was based on personal experience and observations made while working with many people who were facing their own mortality or the loss of those they loved.

What this experience tells, is that one of the best ways to have a good life, is to make friends with death!

Weird?

Maybe at first thought, but actually, reconciling ourselves to death, being prepared for death, leaves us free of that fear, free of that angst, free to focus on living each day fully, free to experience a good life.

As a prompt to this reflection, poetry can be very useful.

Here then are two poems that touch on different ways of responding to death – one of defiance, one of welcome.

Maybe these poems, this post, could serve as a catalyst for your own reflection; maybe for a meaningful conversation? Maybe you have a comment or a poem of your own to share in the Comment section below?

Liz Maluschnig is a nurse from New Zealand who worked for many years in oncology before doing extensive training as a psychotherapist. We are fortunate to have Liz as one of the people who works with Ruth and myself during the cancer programs we present in New Zealand.

Liz has many years experience working with adults and children with cancer and is the author of 4 books. Liz writes and reads poetry frequently, and she wrote this poem based on her experience of working with many women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Death Visits 

Death brazenly knocked on my door,
Barging inside 
She said:
“You’re coming with me” 

I recoiled. Froze.
“B -but I’m not ready” 
“There’s so much to do,
My husband…., My children…., I can’t…….

Stunned. Silenced.
I Slowly defrosted my mind’s freeze 
From the icy grip 
Of her arctic breath. 

I welcomed my fear,  
Cradling it with hope
Converting it to courage. 
I challenged her….

Drawing myself up to my full height
I breathed deeply - into the very marrow of my bones
And defied her.
I looked her in the face and defied her….

Then pushed her outside and slammed the door shut!
I left her empty handed, outside in the cold,
Her chilling invitation declined.
There was no welcome in my heart for her today.

Well….
She could have one breast I conceded …..
If she really wanted to take something….. 
But no more than that! 

I knew I needed to get serious now
I researched, 
I prayed, 
I asked for help.

I walked
I drank a million organic veggie juices, 
I flooded my body with nutritious food, 
I learnt to say “No”.

I kissed my inner child 
…. all better.  
I forgave, 
I followed my heart.

I said Yes! to Chemo.
I said Yes! to Life, 
I said Yes! 
… to Me.

Boldly opening the door I shouted 
“And I’ll visit you when I’m good and ready”   
And watched as she bolted down the path,
Her tail between her legs.


Liz Maluschnig
2014

Speaking personally, it may well be that in the moment of death all of our most profound questions about life and death are actually answered. Maybe we really do get to find out what the answers are.

So maybe, just maybe, the moment of death could be a moment of delight, filled with mystery and magic? Personally, I look forward to it.

Here then is what occurred to me:

The Clear Moment of Death

The moment of death may be the greatest moment of your life
It may be better than the best chocolate sundae you ever had
It may be better than the best orgasm you ever had
It may be better than the dearest, happiest moment you hold in your memory

For in that moment of death
The spirit separates from the body
And in that moment
It is free – totally free

If you can grasp that clear moment of death
Recognise it for what it is and experience it fully
Then you will experience fully who you really are
And unite with the mystery and essence of life itself

The only thing that scares me about the moment of death
Is that I may come to it unprepared

To be prepared for the moment of death
I would need to feel that I had lived fully
Loving and learning as much as I could during this lifetime
And feeling free of regrets

To be prepared
I would need to feel that those around me would be alright
That I could let go of my worldly attachments
And that they could release me

To be prepared
I would need to be free of fear
And to have had some glimpse of my own true nature – 
Perhaps through the introduction of meditation

Being prepared for that clear moment of death
Then it may well be
That I would be able to recognise what I have been searching for always – 
The heart and essence of who I really am.

 Ian Gawler


RELATED BLOG
A big mystery addressed

RESOURCES
BOOK
For a thorough review of many aspects to do with understanding death and helping the dying, read that chapter in You Can Conquer Cancer

CD or Download
Understanding Death, Helping the Dying – a very useful catalyst for personal reflection, or as a catalyst to listen to with family or friends, even colleagues and then discuss.

24 November 2014

Is milk OK? No whey!

In 1962, there was only one household in all of Adelaide that had commercial size quantities of Peters ice-cream delivered to its door. My father had personally appealed to the company’s CEO for help, citing his son’s capacity to eat vast amounts of ice-cream daily.

So why, 50 years later, do I now recommend avoiding dairy products? Certainly it has nothing to do with taste or old habits; in fact, they took a bit of getting over. So this week, lets go way Out on a Limb once more and examine another of the sacred cows of modern nutrition (OK not a great pun, but as an ex veterinarian, I love bringing animals into the conversation), and then make mention of a great option for New Year’s Eve, but first




   Thought for the day

      Four out of five cows agree
      Soy milk is best

             Based on a straw poll









Over the previous 30 years, based on the research as well as the clinical experience of working with literally thousands of people adding or subtracting dairy products from their diets, I have become increasingly convinced that the best approach is to minimise or avoid dairy on the Wellness Diet and leave it out altogether from the Healing Diet.

Why? 
1. Saturated fat
Cow’s milk contains a large amount of saturated fat. This can be minimised in low fat milk, but many cheeses actually concentrate the fats and butter is usually around 50% saturated fat.

2. Biochemistry and a confused immune system 
The protein in human milk is a short chain protein. This means it is a small molecule. By contrast cow’s milk is a long chain, large and angular molecular protein.

When a young child is introduced to cow’s milk early in life, the contrast with human milk is stark. The child’s developing immune system may become confused. Is this large molecule a food that needs to be digested, or an invader that must be attacked?

It seems many youngsters do mount a low level immune reaction to milk; a reaction that may cause immediate problems. For example, children who suffer from recurrent inflammation of the ear (along with attendant infections) or tonsillitis, often clear up when strictly taken off all dairy products.

However, often, even worse, the result is chronic, low level, generalised inflammation – meta-inflammation – that can last throughout childhood and into adult life. Meta-inflammation is a known pre-cursor to chronic degenerative disease. This is a major issue as we see the sad but rapid rise in chronic degenerative diseases in young adults and more recently, even in children.

Meta-inflammation is also a potentiator of cancer (that is, it speeds cancer growth), hence another major reason why people keen to recover from cancer are recommended to avoid dairy products.

Also, be aware that during times of extra stress - through environmental pressures, unsuitable food, disease, emotional or mental stress - meta-inflammation may flare, making inflammation more acute.

Options

What about goat or sheep’s milk? These milk varieties have smaller chain proteins so that issue is lessened. Many children with full-blown allergies to cow’s milk can manage goat’s milk.

However, these sources of milk are high in fat and naturally homogenised. That means that the fat is suspended in the liquid of the milk, does not naturally settle out and is not so easy to separate. Therefore, goat and sheep’s milk tends to be high in saturated fat with all the issues that relates to. They too are best avoided or minimised.

3. The science
There is a growing body of evidence pointing to better health outcomes when dairy is left off the menu. Here are a couple of important recent papers:

No dairy, less lung, breast, and ovarian cancers
Removing dairy products from your diet may lower your risk of certain cancers, according to a study in the British Journal of Cancer. Researchers followed 22,788 lactose intolerant participants from Sweden. They also monitored cancer rates of their immediate family members. The incidence rates for lung, breast, and ovarian cancers decreased among the lactose intolerant - those who avoided dairy products.

Family members and the general Swedish population who included dairy in their diet did not experience the same reduction in cancer risk. Researchers suspect the avoidance of high amounts of saturated fat and hormones found in dairy products may account for the decreased risk.

Ji J,et al. Lactose intolerance and risk of lung, breast and ovarian cancers: Aetiological clues from a population-based study in Sweden. Br J Cancer. Published online October 14, 2014.

Drinking Milk Associated with Fractures and Death
High cow’s milk intake is associated with increased risk for bone fractures and death, according to a new study in the British Medical Journal. Researchers followed 61,433 women and 45,339 men for more than 20 years and 11 years, respectively.



Among women, those who consumed three or more glasses of milk per day had a 60 percent increased risk for developing a hip fracture and a 16 percent increased risk for developing any bone fracture. These results are similar to previous studies showing no protective effect of increased milk consumption on fracture risk.

Additionally among women, for each glass of milk consumed, risk of dying from all causes increased by 15 percent, from heart disease by 15 percent, and from cancer by 7 percent. For the women who consumed three or more glasses of milk per day, compared with less than one glass, risk of dying increased by 93 percent. Men had a 10 percent increased risk of dying when consuming three or more glasses of milk per day, compared with less than one glass.



Michaëlsson  K, et al. Milk intake and risk of mortality and fractures in women and men: cohort studies. BMJ. 2014;349:g6015.

A Vegan Diet Proves Most Effective for Weight Loss
A vegan diet leads to the most weight loss, compared with other dietary patterns, according to a new study in the journal Nutrition. Sixty-three overweight adult study participants were assigned to one of five different dietary patterns for a six-month period: omnivorous, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, and vegan.

At the end of the study, the vegan group lost, on average, more than twice the percentage of body weight (7.5 percent), compared with omnivores (3.1 percent), semi-vegetarians (3.2 percent), and pesco-vegetarians (3.2 percent). The lacto-ovo vegetarian group lost an average of 6.3 percentage points.

The vegan group also had the greatest reductions in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol and greatest increase in dietary fiber intake—all protective against chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

Turner-McGrievy GM,et al. Comparative effectiveness of plant-based diets for weight loss: A randomized controlled trial of five different diets. Nutrition. 2014. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2014.09.002.

4. Environmental issues
Cows produce large amounts of methane and require large tracts of cleared land. Soy products are way more environmentally friendly.

5. Animal care
Long gone are the days of the much loved house cow. A few do still exist, and of course, many modern dairy farmers dearly love their animals and care for them well, but this is amidst a large herd environment where the pressures of cost efficiency lead to modern practices that I find very difficult to justify.

CONCLUSION
Eat and drink soy products or other dairy alternatives.

Save the cow the trouble and enjoy better health for you, your family and the planet.

RELATED BLOG
Is soy safe?

Is soy safe? - Part 2

NOTICEBOARD
Meditation in the Forest  

Pre- Easter 7 day residential meditation retreat, March 27th to April 2nd  2015




During this, our first meditation retreat for 2015, Ruth and I will be focusing upon the deeper stillness of meditation. We will explore the theory, but moreso, the actual practices that help us to go beyond the activity of the thinking mind into a more direct and profound experience of the still mind.

Deep, natural peace. A calm and clear mind. So many possibilities follow…..

Full details, CLICK HERE

New Year's Eve Chanting and Meditation 

Book early and save considerably!
   


Buy tickets now at www.trybooking.com/GCAT  

Share it on the Facebook event page

Read more at www.jarekc.com/new-years-eve/

Start the new year with inner peace. Sing universal chants, meditate, dance, relax, share vegetarian supper snacks with friends, drink chai, and enjoy the charm of the air-conditioned venue, and the garden.

At midnight immerse yourself in an active meditation of free-flowing OM chanting. No alcohol, no drugs, and all love. Discover how good you can feel!

Jarek Czechowicz (guitar, chants, meditation) performs chants and mantras that embrace you with a feeling of love, intuitive improvisations that soothe your soul, and guided meditations that fill you with a sense of inner peace and freedom.

ACCOMPANYING MUSICIANS    

Ami Hasson, percussion; Michael Arvanitakis bass and cello; Mermaid Music (voices, tambura, harmonium, harp) comprises Samantha Fernandez, Angela Hina Gates, Eilish De Avalon, and Janet Borg.

TICKETS  

www.trybooking.com/gcat/    

$65/$60 Earlybird tickets to 30 November

$75/$70 Standard tickets to 30 December

$90/$85 At the Door on 31 December
   


17 November 2014

How to avoid a disaster

Have you ever had a special night out spoiled by poor service, poor staff? Lets go Out on a Limb once more and investigate how to avoid such a disaster in the future, plus details of a major new research review from the National Cancer Institute in the USA that recommends meditation for women with breast cancer, and news of the next Happiness and its Causes Conference (that will feature HH the Dalai Lama!) with a special offer to you the reader of a big discount, but first





               Thought for the day

  We can never obtain peace in the outer world 
  Until we make peace with ourselves


                     HH The Dalai Lama 








Imagine this. You have a special occasion to celebrate. Maybe a special birthday, an anniversary. Completion of a challenging piece of work, a loan paid off, a sporting triumph….  All sorts of possibilities, but definitely time for a big celebration.

So you gather the family, maybe some friends; and decide it will be your shout, no expenses spared, and you book into a fancy restaurant.

The evening arrives. Some anticipation. You head into the restaurant, the manager’s greeting is a touch cool, but then this is a classy place, maybe that is how things are done here?

But then the waitress. Definitely cool. Even remote. Hardly much of a welcome at all.

She tells you of the specials for the evening. Almost disinterest. No verve, no enthusiasm. You start to wonder??? This is not how it I imagined it would be. Fancy restaurant. I expected better service than this. The place must have a management problem. They should be employing better staff than this. Or supervising them better; making sure they are doing their job.




You order.



Everyone else seems happy enough.



Maybe it is OK after all.





But your soup arrives and THAT waitress manages to actually spill a little on your lap! Spilled the soup. Good grief! Everyone apologizes profusely, but your worst fears are confirmed. The night is gone for you.

Things go from bad to worse. An error in the mains that arrive, very expensive wine tastes ordinary, dessert not what you hoped for. Big bill. No tip. You try to put on a brave face for your guests, but you leave feeling miserable, swearing you will never go back to that place again.

An unmitigated disaster.

Now, imagine re-running the same scenario - up until the time you arrive at the restaurant. This time, the manager greets you, welcomes you with some reserve and what seems like a little trepidation, then explains.

It seems one of his waitresses had her own disaster just 6 weeks ago. Her husband was killed in a car accident and she has 3 young children to support. She need to work. This is actually her first night back. Everyone is unsure of how she will go, but he asks for your patience and understanding.

So knowing this, how differently things unfold. You welcome her warmly, understand the lack of verve. Laugh off the spilled soup, make good everything else that could have gone “wrong”. The wine tastes sweet; the dessert spectacular. You have a great night. Maybe even make a new friend.

So how much of an explanation in day-to-day events do we need to display compassionate awareness? How often do we stumble into mindless intolerance?

It would seem that compassionate awareness is a big part of Emotional Intelligence, and requires quite some work on our part to over-ride what is often an immediate, unaware, instinctual reaction.

Next time you are at a restaurant, maybe pause for a moment to wonder what sort of day those who are serving you have had.

And smile.

RELATED BLOG
Finding our true identity

NEWS
1. Meditation recommended for women with breast cancer
A major new review article has recommended the use of meditation and some other complementary and/or integrative therapies for a range of conditions affecting women with breast cancer. This is such an important piece hat the entire abstract is offered here. The full article can be read by following the link below.

Abstract
Background The majority of breast cancer patients use complementary and/or integrative therapies during and beyond cancer treatment to manage symptoms, prevent toxicities, and improve quality of life. Practice guidelines are needed to inform clinicians and patients about safe and effective therapies.

Methods Following the Institute of Medicine’s guideline development process, a systematic review identified randomized controlled trials testing the use of integrative therapies for supportive care in patients receiving breast cancer treatment. Trials were included if the majority of participants had breast cancer and/or breast cancer patient results were reported separately, and outcomes were clinically relevant. Recommendations were organized by outcome and graded based upon a modified version of the US Preventive Services Task Force grading system.

Results The search (January 1, 1990–December 31, 2013) identified 4900 articles, of which 203 were eligible for analysis. Meditation, yoga, and relaxation with imagery are recommended for routine use for common conditions, including anxiety and mood disorders (Grade A). Stress management, yoga, massage, music therapy, energy conservation, and meditation are recommended for stress reduction, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and quality of life (Grade B). Many interventions (n = 32) had weaker evidence of benefit (Grade C). Some interventions (n = 7) were deemed unlikely to provide any benefit (Grade D). Notably, only one intervention, acetyl-l-carnitine for the prevention of taxane-induced neuropathy, was identified as likely harmful (Grade H) as it was found to increase neuropathy. The majority of intervention/modality combinations (n = 138) did not have sufficient evidence to form specific recommendations (Grade I).

Conclusions Specific integrative therapies can be recommended as evidence-based supportive care options during breast cancer treatment. Most integrative therapies require further investigation via well-designed controlled trials with meaningful outcomes.

REFERENCE: Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Use of Integrative Therapies as Supportive Care in Patients Treated for Breast Cancer. Greenlee H et al; J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 2014 (50): 346-358.   LINK HERE

2. Happiness and its Causes 2015 with HH the Dalai Lama

Special discount to readers of Out on a Limb





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10 November 2014

The Connection - now available online – 25% discount available

The difference between life and death?

At 24 years old filmmaker Shannon Harvey was diagnosed with a severe, debilitating autoimmune disease. Her immune system had become hyperactive and was attacking normal, healthy tissues. Her muscles and joints were inflamed and she was told if her disease progressed she could end up with organ failure, or wheelchair bound.

In search of a cure, Shannon tried everything from drugs to alternative therapies and everything in between. But she was still sick.

There was one thing she did know. When she was stressed, she got worse and with a background in journalism, Shannon sought answers in pioneering science. On her journey to getting better, Shannon realized that in order to change her health she needed to change her mind.

In the process she made The Connection, details of which, including how you can purchase copies or download with a  25% discount follow, but first

         Thought for the day

We will not understand important things like “love” 
By knowing the DNA sequence of homo-sapiens.
If humanity begins to view itself as a machine, 
Programmed by this DNA sequence, 
We have lost something really important.

          Francis Collins, 
               Head of the Human Genome Project




The Connection is a film about how frontier research is proving that there is a direct connection between your mind and your health. It will come as welcome confirmation for many of us, and provide a great way to introduce less knowledgeable friends and family to the rapidly expanding body of science that validates Mind-Body medicine.

The film features scientists, researchers, writers and doctors, as well as remarkable true stories of people adding mind body medicine to their healing toolkit to recover from severe back pain, heart disease, infertility, cancer and multiple sclerosis.


Yours truly has a cameo appearance – discussing the crucial difference between belief and conviction – or faith as it is often known.

While the science is complex, the solutions for people suffering with illness are astonishingly simple. The film shows that we can counter the harmful affects of stress with an equally powerful relaxation response triggered through specific techniques such as meditation.

It shows that emotions can impact the course of an illness for better or for worse and could even be the difference between life and death.


The film explains the mechanisms behind belief, which scientists now know contributes 30 to 50 percent of the effect of any known biological cure and explores how scientists at the cutting edge are now learning that the mind can even influence the expression of genes and the rate at which we age.

This is a film that offers answers and proves that you can change your mind, change your health and change your life. The Connection is highly recommended for personal viewing – inspiring, confirming, empowering. But then, give it as a Christmas present, or just send it to those you care about, or watch it with them. It will help confirm the possibilities and just maybe lead someone to do something that does make the difference between life and death; between misery and real happiness.

The feature length film is now available to stream, download or purchase in DVD format from the Official Website for as little as $9.95 (streaming).

Having been involved in the film, the producers have offered me to offer you a 25% discount on orders received until the end of November 2015 – a really nice offer – and the code you need to use is on the link below. There is also a trailer to watch.

I highly recommend The Connection. It seems to me to be the most important documentary in the field we are all interested in for some years. It warrants being  viewed widely.

TO ORDER THE CONNECTION       CLICK HERE


RELATED BLOGS
The Connection

Accelerated Healing 101 

Accelerated healing 101 – Part 2

NEWS
In related news, Ruth and I attended the New Zealand premiere showing of The Connection in aid of the NZ cancer charity Canlive, and led a discussion after the showing this Sunday just gone. The film was very well received and a lively, engaged conversation ensued.

NOTICEBOARD
Meditation in the Forest  

Pre- Easter 7 day residential meditation retreat, March 27th to April 2nd  2015

During this, our first meditation retreat for 2015, we will be focusing upon the deeper stillness of meditation. We will explore the theory, but moreso, the actual practices that help us to go beyond the activity of the thinking mind into a more direct and profound experience of the still mind.

Deep, natural peace. A calm and clear mind. So many possibilities follow…..

Full details, CLICK HERE


27 October 2014

You Can Conquer Cancer turns 30

“You don’t know me but  ….  “ Ruth and I were walking down the main street of outback Burketown recently when this middle-aged lady rather shyly, almost apologetically approached us “ …  your book saved my life”. Meetings like this happen to us regularly and sometimes in the most exotic or unlikely of places.

This then is a blog about inspiration; and a tip – you do not need cancer to be inspired! Speaking personally, I find it incredibly inspiring to have people come up to me literally all around the world with tales of how You Can Conquer Cancer helped them or someone they loved.


It is actually deeply humbling to know that a book I put together and was launched 30 years ago this October by Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop, patron of the Cancer Council, has remained in continuous print since. It has been translated into over a dozen languages and sold around 300,000 copies.

The latest edition is about to be printed in the lands of the superpowers - USA, China, England and Russia - amongst other countries.

Pausing to consider why this might be so, it seems clear to me that while the book had its genesis in my own experience of recovering from cancer and while there is good science behind it, the book was clarified through the intense and indeed, intimate experience of helping so many other people affected by cancer through the groups that I was personally involved with.


Through these groups it became possible to notice what worked for people – what words worked, what diet, what form of meditation, how to be positive in the face of major adversity; indeed what being positive really means, how to use the power of the mind for healing and so on.

So the real credit for the book goes to all those who attended the hundreds of groups that have come together over these last 30 years. The hope is that each of you who has been involved can take some pride in the book and the fact that what we learnt together has been of so much benefit to so many others.

This post is intended as a celebration and a source of real inspiration, but first





        Thought for the day


   Greater than the tread of mighty armies 
   is an idea whose time has come

         
                       Victor Hugo 








As the 30th anniversary of You Can Conquer Cancer approached, many people wrote to me sharing their experiences with the book and so I have recounted several of them here, using initials for most (my choice), rather than full names. It makes for a long article, intended to be dipped into as a precious resource of inspiration. Something you can share with others and come back to yourself when the need to be reminded of the
possibilities is there.

Many thanks to all who contributed, and a special gratitude to the book’s publisher Michelle Anderson, who told me she felt goose bumps run down her spine when she first read it and has been such a delight to work with over these past 30 years. 

Here then are the stories

Healthy living, less stress
30 yrs ago this book was recommend to me not because of cancer but as a guide to living a healthier life and providing a way forward through the stress of the many years of constant major grief I was experiencing.

"You Can Conquer Cancer" and "Peace of Mind " have been my "go to" books over all these years. Meditation has kept me sane and grounded through the toughest of crises. Last year I realised that stress was again insidiously creeping in and taking hold of me culminating in a diagnosis of a pre cancerous condition.

How to deal with it ? An easy decision - straight back to "You Can Conquer Cancer" and a reassessment of life. Your last two blogs re healing have been enormously helpful - thank you !

I also delight in that recently my 25yr old son expressed an interest in relaxation meditation and your books provided the tools he needed to learn these vital life skills

Kind Regards
G S

Taking ownership of health and healing
I first read this book in the late 1980’s when my cousin was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Many years later in 2004, the book was sitting on my shelf when I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. My diagnosis was a huge shock, but knowing that “there was something else out there” that I could do to help myself was very empowering and was a huge boost to my confidence at a very difficult time.

I bought the latest edition of the book and devoured it; using it to support the treatment that I was having through my specialist. I learnt to meditate, reassessed the priorities in my life and paid great attention to what I was eating and drinking. Under the guidance of the book I took ownership of my health and healing and of my life as a whole.

I now give this book to friends, family and acquaintances upon a cancer diagnosis. I found it to be life-changing and I want to share the wisdom and hope with others, especially at that vulnerable stage following a cancer diagnosis.

I highly recommend the book to anyone facing, or caring for someone with cancer. However, the contents are so clearly outlined and so easily digestible that I feel that the book is just as pertinent for anyone who wishes to reassess and turn their life around with or without a current health challenge.

BB

A little book of hope
Without this little book of hope I am sure I would not be here today.

In 1996 I was diagnosed with a grade 4 non hodgkins lymphoma with spleen, skin and bone marrow involvement. It goes without saying that at that time I had very little hope apart from palliative chemo, which would perhaps give me a little more time, it was the best I option I had.

We were first given “You Can Conquer Cancer” about 1 month after diagnosis and it shone like a beacon for me in what can only be described as a very dark time for myself and my wife.

My wife read the book in one night, she had a eureka moment and thought that this book had been written about me. We jumped in head first. It took some time to clear out the cupboards and source organic supplies. It was 1996 and organic food was a lot harder to source, it was certainly not integrated into supermarkets etc like it is today.

The information in You Can Conquer Cancer is so incredible, it really is a self help book with trusted and proven advice to follow, advice which we did follow to the letter.

We did follow up with a ten day Residential Program at the Yarra Valley Living Centre to fine tune what we were doing but really ”You Can Conquer Cancer” provided a step by step guide for us to follow.

I know that in no small way the diet and meditation that Ian recommends has enabled me to be cancer free for 18 years, I continue to follow the lifestyle that was advocated all those years ago and like Ian and so many others I am living proof of its efficacy.

We recommend this book to anyone who contacts us re my recovery. It is such a common sense, achievable instruction manual which is still relevant all these years later.
Congratulations Ian and our heartfelt thanks for what you have done for us and so many others.
R and J L

Three gifts
‘You Can Conquer Cancer’ gave me

Hope when I had lost it

Power when I felt very small

Inner strength when my world imploded.

A profoundly important and life-saving book with PRACTICAL IDEAS!!!!
The first port of call for anyone with a cancer diagnosis.

Liz Vercoe

YA author ‘Keep Your Hair On!’ and ‘The Grief Book – Strategies for Young People’

Hope, courage and belief
In 1998, six months after my wonderful husband of 32 years died suddenly from a massive heart attack (he went to golf and did not come home) I was diagnosed with cancer.

At the time I really did not care much whether I lived or died.

I had an operation, two large tumours were removed, and I was told they were gone and the cancer would not come back again.  The pathology showed I had leiomyosarcoma – which is a very rare smooth muscle cancer.

I realise now the doctors did not know very much about this cancer and my oncologist had not treated a case before.  I was told I would not require further scans or treatment, and so very slowly my life started to feel normal again and I realised my family needed me – losing their father created a  huge hole in their lives.

By 2003 I was planning a future to be married again.  I knew I did not feel well, I was bloated and uncomfortable.  I finally found a doctor who listened to me and sent me for a scan.  The cancer was back with a vengeance and had spread to other parts of my body.

My oncologist delivered the news “I had six months to live, twelve if I was lucky, and there was nothing anyone could do for me.”  This time I was devastated, I wanted to live.  I did not know where to turn.  I met my girlfriend for lunch and she said “don’t cry love and she handed me a copy of “You Can Conquer Cancer.”

I had never heard of Ian or The Gawler Foundation, but somehow this seemed as though it was something I must do.  I rang The Foundation and was about the last person to be accepted for the 10 day Life and Living Program, there was not even room for my partner to attend as a support person.

I attended the May 2003 session and to start with I could not stop crying, but by the end of those wonderful 10 days the tears had disappeared and I came away from The Foundation with some HOPE.  With the hope comes courage and the will to keep searching and the belief that I was not powerless.

There was so much I could do to help myself, but because there was so much cancer in my body, I knew I needed a surgeon who was willing to operate to give me a chance.  It was a long journey over the next two years.  I continued the Gawler program faithfully until it became a comforting way of life for me.

The cancer did not progress in the way it was supposed to do.   I consulted with four oncologists and eight surgeons in Melbourne, who all told me “there was a high risk of morbidity and mortality and operating would not alter the course of the disease.”

I travelled to China for Traditional Chinese Medicine and there I met an American surgeon who told me the operation I needed was being done in the States.  This gave me new hope and a belief that there must be someone in Australia who could do it.  Finally I found a Professor in Sydney, a wonderful man, who operated and said everywhere he saw cancer he took it.  It was a long recovery from a massive operation, but throughout, with my partner’s help, I thrived on the food and juices, I meditated continually and I did not think about “not getting well.”

Today I am living quite well with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – no one is sure how this turned up, but it is a work in progress and it has been completely stable for the last nine years.  There is no sign of the sarcoma, if there was, I would not be alive today.

I am truly grateful to Ian and Ruth for giving me another chance at life, and the knowledge you really can conquer cancer.   Every week there is a so-called new scientific report about cancer breakthrough, and I say to my family “Ian has been saying that for years”.

With loving thanks,

V D

My healing “Bible”
When I met my chemical oncologist for first time I found out that before the surgery my survival chances would have been 20% and after the surgery they would have been raised to 50%. So, my wonderful oncologist told me that they – the medical staff – would fight for those 50% and I would be responsible for the balance. I felt I was in a black hole! How would I balance out all the knowledge of those highly qualified specialists!?

I read the book You Can Conquer Cancer for first time in December 2002. I was recovering from a big surgery of an advanced and aggressive ovarian cancer and I had a three week-holiday in New Zealand between two sessions of chemotherapy. I did not understand much of the book’s content. I only had in my mind that this was my last holiday as I was going to die.

And then, in February 2003, I started a twelve week “Cancer Self Help Group” activity and Siegfried helped me to understand the book, chapter by chapter. The book soon became my Bible and I found out the way to balance the 50% of  responsibilities to keep myself alive and happy.

I have definitely “lived” with cancer for the last 12 years due to my wonderful oncologists and your philosophy of life which I have totally embraced. I feel compelled to add that the retreats, workshops & conferences that I attended at the Foundation were exceptionally useful.

There was a special workshop I have to mention: “A New Way of Living” in May 2013. At that time, I was feeling quite right and in a good mood. During Q&A time, I did ask you what you were going to do in the unfortunate case of a cancer relapse. Your answer was totally unexpected: “I will read my book.” I said: “I did it many times”. And you said: “Do it now, when you are not in crisis mode, and read the last version.”

That was the best advice I have had from you. The 2013 edition of the book was and still is a revelation for me. I read it with such great joy! I am impressed!

One more little thing: I would like to mention the Lady A. I met her at the meditation sessions at Nancy’s place. She had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer just when you had published your first book and was in her late sixties at that time. She had decided that if you did it, she also could do it and had followed your steps religiously.

When I first met her she was 98 year-old, free of cancer and sharing with everyone that she was alive due to you and your book. She passed away peacefully a couple of weeks before her centenary.

The one handed typist
In 1981 I found a lump in my breast. What made me check I do not know. It was not the norm then. I was not concerned, my Dr and the surgeon both thought it a cyst, however, I went to hospital for a biopsy and learnt the awful truth.

I cannot explain the feelings I had, only another cancer patient would understand.
My whole family was blown away. I was only 34 and back then assumed hopeless.
I had three children, Tracey, 13, Lindy, 11 and Penny 6, and my husband stuck with me all the way.

We made the decision to change our lifestyle to lots of fresh air and the peace of a small farm, and whilst I was in hospital having the breast removed we bought a hobby farm. I gave away all commitments and concentrated on getting well.

After a week in hospital the full impact hit me. I had put off showering, but when I finally did look down where my breast had been, it was gut wrenching. I will always remember the feeling at that time of having no femininity (it did return though).

It was a lonely time, friends avoided me; I loved my netball and missed it. I finally did get back to it but would cover my boob with my arm whilst playing.

I worried I would not see my girls grow up; I spent as much time as I could with them trying to be “normal”.

I went to Peter Mac for 6 weeks of radiation treatment, three of those weeks we tried to make it a family holiday for the children. I travelled from a flat in Frankston each day.

I very slowly accepted things, for a while every lump on my body was suspect in my sensitive state. My surgeon, reassured me on many occasions, he was very good to me. I tried to find someone who had survived, but patient confidentiality stopped me at every turn. My Mum happened to meet a lady who had breast cancer 30 years ago and obviously survived and this was a turning point me.

I found walking in the bush soothing so spent a lot of time there.

To fill out my bra I used a pair of socks. Every morning you wake with cancer on your mind, then, one day I realised I had forgotten my socks! Wow, I was very excited. This meant it was off my mind for a short time; this also was a big step, as it could only get longer.

Later whilst on holiday in Merimbula I lost my prosthesis in the water and the girls had great fun duck diving for it. I still laugh about that.

My scar and mind began to heal and a new operation was being trialled to reconstruct the breast. I agreed only if nothing foreign was put in my body, so a muscle was brought around under my arm and shaped like a breast. It was not done without trouble as I got gangrene in the wound when I returned home. My surgeon to my rescue again.

The girls would check me out when having a bath, not a pretty sight, but took it in their stride; they do not remember now, thankfully. We celebrated anniversaries yearly and still do.

Through all this I got in touch with the Gawler Foundation, Ian had just started his healing work and it struck a chord with me. I have his tapes and I played them over and over again, and his people were always very supportive. I still remember hearing the cars go by as he was taping. I will always appreciate the help he gave me.

He taught me to use my mind in the healing process, each time I ordered a cassette a hand written note was always enclosed to ask how I was, this helped me so much.

After trial and error I found carrot juice useful; I bought carrots by the bagful. I turned orange at one stage, and Vitamin B also assisted me.

I prayed a lot and church was soothing. I do have faith in God.

I was a jogger for years, and when I was coming good I started again. I had lost all confidence and frightened my new boob would fall off, but I persisted.

I would search for positives every day. A rainbow would inspire me. I would look at big gum trees with branches broken off and think, they grow big and strong after loosing a limb, so I can too. I had a poster I looked at every morning, ”Help me to remember Lord, that nothing will happen today, that you and I can't handle together”

Ten years after radiation I lost the use of part of my arm and right hand, treatment not as precise back then, and a nerve was damaged, continual pins and needles and numbness. I do not feel burns and cuts so a few scars on my hand.

So onto the next stage, I enrolled at TAFE to get dexterity by typing with my left hand. My teacher Judy was a great help and support. I painstakingly started to learn to write left-handed, I still have trouble with the “z” back to front. Doing things with one hand is frustrating, but a small price to pay.

I now ride a lot and all controls are on the left hand side, I have even ridden to Sydney and back.

I did write to “freedom of information” and found out I had a very aggressive cancer.

There is a lot of support out there now. Use it. You will know in your gut what is right for you. It is so nice to see the very high percentage of cure nowadays.

I write these words to encourage others to do it your way, only you know what will work for you, go with your own gut feeling.

I am ecstatic to have seen my girls grow into responsible caring adults with their own children. I did not think I would see that happen.

I have been blessed.

M S

Moving on and helping others
Eleven years ago I was diagnosed at a young age with an aggressive and rare form of breast cancer, and my whole life was turned upside down.

Soon after I was diagnosed I went to find some answers, anything that would help me figure out what I could do to help myself. I came across the book by Ian Gawler ‘You Can Conquer Cancer’ and a light bulb went off. I opened the book and read “This is a book about what works. What works if you want to fight for your life. Recover from cancer. Prevent illness. Be really well. Find enduring peace and happiness.”

In that moment I remember feeling so happy and so relieved because I knew I had the tools within this book to begin the fight for my own life I and I gave myself permission to be in control. My life changed in that instant and for the better. If I had not read those words that particular day and really resonated with what Ian had written, I may not be here today.

I have been so inspired by this that I have created a health and wellness online store dedicated to helping people navigate cancer and ‘You Can Conquer Cancer’ is of course top of our book list. Thank you Ian for your years of tireless work and research in this field, I and thousands of others around the world are truly grateful that you chose to share the story of your survival."

Yasmin Farry
mywisebody.com

Third time lucky! 
I had Breast cancer in 2000 and after a total mastectomy and loads of positive thinking etc I survived that and I had a total recovery. I had a brain cancer in 2004 requiring surgical removal and this was followed in 2005 by a diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma which is incurable. This required drastic chemo and stem cell transplants and I was out of action for many months.

During this time a friend gave me a copy of “You Can Conquer Cancer” and this was my turning point. I began reading it and the more I read the more confident I became. I began meditation, something I had never done before, I found I was able to focus on getting over this terrible thing and putting it behind me. I read it and read it. I took it with me everywhere I went and gradually I found myself being able to cope with my cancer.

I am sure that the reason I am alive today is because my friend gave me the book 9 years ago when I was at my lowest time. I am now in complete remission and I never go away from home without my “You Can Conquer Cancer” book and I am now 100% certain of the power of one’s mind.

Thank you so much Ian Gawler for having empowered me and hundreds of others to conquer cancer. Have attended both your seminars in Adelaide and all I can do is say

Thank you

D R

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You Can Conquer Cancer

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Ruth and I are back at Mana retreat centre on the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand. Great environment, great facilities, terrific staff and the food is exceptional as well. Such a good place to support a meditation retreat.

Here is the view from the meditation sanctuary!!!