Your food as medicine

Keen to live to a ripe old (healthy) age? While you are at it, want a nice trim figure, less stress and to save your memory?

Well it seems pretty obvious that what we eat has a lot to do with all this, but it also seems there is a fair bit of confusion around concerning what is best. So lets examine the latest research findings that point to the foods that make the biggest differences to our bodies and our minds.

Also, advance notice that I have accepted a short notice invitation to speak in South Sydney at a Public Lecture on the evening of Tuesday March 3rd on the topic Feed you body, Feed your mind (full details next week), but first




          Thought for the day

Between stimulus and response there is a space.

In that space is our power to choose our response.

In our response lies our growth and our freedom.


                        Viktor Frankl 





You are what you eat. Modern research is confirming it. Here is a hot selection of recent dietary related research findings.

Fruit and Veggies Reduce Death Risk
Fruit and vegetables reduced the risk of dying over observation periods ranging from 4.6 to 26 years, according to a new meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal. Researchers analyzed 16 separate studies, including one with 833,234 participants, and found that each serving of fruit and vegetables decreased the risk of dying by 6 and 5 percent, respectively.
Wang X, Ouyang Y, Liu J, et al. Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. BMJ. 2014;349:g4490.


Want to lose weight easily? Try a vegetarian diet…
Adopting a vegetarian diet leads to weight loss, without calorie counting or exercise, according to a new meta-analysis published by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Researchers analyzed data from 15 studies which included a total of 755 participants, 197 of whom were prescribed vegetarian diets and 558 a vegan diet for at least four weeks, and found an average weight loss range of 7.5 to 10 pounds. People who were heavier to start with lost more weight.

Barnard ND, Levin SM, Yokoyama Y. A systematic review and meta-analysis of changes in body weight in clinical trials of vegetarian diets. J Acad Nutr Diet. Published online on January 21, 2015.

Eat more good carbohydrates, live longer - Low-Carb Diets take another blow
People who consume more whole grains live longer, according to a new study from Harvard. Researchers analyzed the diets and mortality of more than 118,000 men and women from both the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and found that, after an average of 25 years follow-up, more whole-grain intake was associated with lower death rates.

Every whole-grain serving was associated with a 5 percent lower risk for death in general and a 9 percent lower risk for death from heart disease.

Whole-grains, for this study, were defined as the whole grain (whole wheat, oats, brown rice, etc.) as well as its pulverized flour form (whole-wheat flour, oat flour, brown rice flour, etc.), which may be found in products such as breads and cereals. The benefits were independent of other lifestyle factors, including exercise and other dietary choices.

These findings support other studies that show that consuming more unhealthy processed carbohydrates and more animal products increases the risk for dying.

Wu H, Flint AJ, Qi Q, et al. Association between dietary whole grain intake and risk of mortality: two large prospective studies in us men and women. JAMA Intern Med. Published online January 5, 2015.

Vegans Have Less Stress and Anxiety
A vegan diet may lower your stress and anxiety levels, according to a new study. Researchers surveyed 620 vegans, vegetarians and omnivores about mood. Increased fruit and vegetable intake resulted in lower anxiety scores for male vegan participants, compared with nonvegans. Female vegan participants experienced reduced stress levels as a result of their animal-free diets as well as their lower intakes of sweets.

Beezhold B, Radnitz C, Rinnie A, DiMatteo J. Vegans report less stress and anxiety than omnivores. Nutr Neuroscir. Published online on November 21, 2014

Less bad fats - more memory    
As young adults increase their intake of trans-fat, memory worsens, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions. Researchers from the University of California analysed the diets and memory of 694 20- to 45-year-old men and found that as trans-fat intake increased, word recall decreased. Findings were later replicated in women.

Golomb BA, Bui AK. Trans fat consumption is adversely linked to memory in working-age adults. Research presented at: American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2014; November 18, 2014: Chicago, Ill.

Eating more animal protein while pregnant associated with overweight adults
Researchers followed the offspring of 684 pregnant participants for an average of 20 years and found that the females were more than three times as likely to be overweight and the males more than twice as likely to be overweight when the mothers ate the most animal protein during pregnancy.

Maslova E, Rytter D, Bech BH, et al. Maternal protein intake during pregnancy and offspring overweight 20 y later. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014;100:1139-1148.

A plant-based diet reduces migraine pain
Forty-two adult affected by migraine were either assigned to consume a low-fat plant-based diet or take a placebo supplement for 16 weeks. Participants then switched groups for a second 16-week period. During the diet period, participants consumed a plant-based diet and then an elimination diet to remove foods that are common migraine pain triggers.

The severity of the worst headache pain improved significantly during the plant-based diet period, compared to the supplement period. The decline in migraine pain may have been due to the elimination of dietary pain triggers such as meat and dairy products or by weight loss or hormonal changes brought on by the diet change.

Bunner A, Agarwal U, Gonzales JF, Valente F, Barnard ND. Nutrition intervention for migraine: a randomized crossover trial. J of Headache and Pain. 2014;15:69. doi:10.1186/1129-2377-15-69.

Jump in bowel cancer rates in younger people linked to diet
Although there has been a steady drop in incidence of colon and rectal cancers (CRC) between 1975 and 2010 among persons aged 50 years and older, the opposite is true for those in younger age groups, according to researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

On the basis of these trends, the authors estimate that by 2020 and 2030, the incidence rate of colon cancer will increase by 37.8% and 90%, respectively, for patients aged 20 to 34 years.

This figure represents a 131.1% incidence rate change of colon cancer by 2030 in younger patients, as compared with patients older than 50 years.

For those aged 35 to 49 years, the incidence rates are also projected to increase, but at a slower pace: 27.7% for colon cancer and 46% for rectal cancer by 2030.

Behavioral factors, such as obesity and physical inactivity may play a role the investigators note in their study. The prevalence of obesity has risen in the United States, and that is a known contributor to CRC, along with physical inactivity. The typical Western diet is high in red meat, fast food, and processed meats and is low in vegetables; it too has been associated with an increased risk of colon cancer.

One of the researchers, Dr Chang said. "we can all adopt healthier habits, such as exercising and improving our diets. Policy makers should encourage healthier behaviors."

JAMA Surg. Published online November 5, 2014.


Eating animal products creates metabolic waste products in the gut that lead to heart failure

The body produces trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) when it digests certain foods, including organ meats, red meat, and eggs.  A new study links higher levels of TMAO with death from heart failure. For five years, researchers followed 720 patients who had previously been treated for heart failure.

Those with the highest levels of TMAO in their blood had a 3.4 fold increase risk of dying, compared with those with the lowest levels. The presence of TMAO in the blood may also indicate other conditions such as stroke.


Tang WH, Wang Z, Fan Y, et al. Prognostic value of elevated levels of intestinal microbe-generated metabolite trimethylamine-n-oxide in patients with heart failure: refining the gut hypothesis. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014;64:1908-1914.

Note There is a similar link that I have been referring to for many years between the metabolic waste products from meat and increased cancer rates.

Low-Carb Diets Increase Risk of Death for Heart Patients
Researchers analyzed the diets of 4,098 women and men who had previously had heart attacks and found they were 33 percent more likely to die from any cause and 51 percent more likely to die from heart disease if following a low-carbohydrate diet high in animal sources of protein and fat, compared with those whose dietary patterns consisted of fewer low-carb, animal-based products.

 Previous analysis of this same population showed that a diet lowest in red and processed meat products and sugar and highest in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables lowered the risk of death from heart disease by 40 percent, compared with no dietary changes.

Li S, Flint A, Pai JK, et al. Low carbohydrate diet from plant or animal sources and mortality among myocardial infarction survivors. J Am Heart Assoc. 2014;3:e001169.

Pre Type 2 Diabetes Increases Cancer Risk
Researchers analyzed 16 studies that included 891,426 participants worldwide and found Prediabetes increased the risk of developing cancer by 15 percent, particularly for liver, endometrial, and stomach or colorectal cancers.

The study notes that lifestyle changes can treat or even prevent this condition. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 86 million American adults—more than one-third of the adult population—have prediabetes, the same proportion as in Australia.

Huang Y, Cai X, Qiu M, et al. Prediabetes and the risk of cancer: a meta-analysis. Diabetologia. Published online September 8, 2014.




If all of this does not scare the public health people and the health insurers and bring about major policy changes, nothing will! 

Consider this – the mind decides what we eat and drink and how much of it. How can we have an effective public policy for eliminating the chronic degenerative diseases like Pre Type 2 (Adult onset) diabetes, cancer, MS, heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s, unless we integrate a program to train the mind?

Simple answer… No way!



2015 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Full details are on the website, click here

NEXT MEDITATION RETREAT
Meditation in the Forest        March 27th to April 2nd  2015

During this meditation retreat, 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

NEXT SPECIFIC CANCER PROGRAM
CANCER and BEYOND  May 2015   Monday 4th at 11am to Friday 8th at 2pm

Five Day Residential Follow-up Program at the Gawler Foundation in the Yarra Valley

This program is specifically designed for those with cancer along with their support people who have attended a previous Gawler Foundation program or equivalent such as with Sabina Rabold, CSWA, Cancer Care SA, CanLive NZ, or with the Gawlers

A unique opportunity to meet with like-minded people once again, to consolidate what you already know, to learn more from the combined knowledge, experience and wisdom of Ian and Ruth, to reaffirm your good intentions, and to go home refreshed and revitalised.

FULL DETAILS Click here 

NEWS
You Can Conquer Cancer released in the UK 
Harper UK/Thorsens was due to release a specific UK edition of You Can Conquer Cancer at the end of January. Here is the link for anyone interested: Click here

A Polish edition is about to be published and I shall post details as soon as I have them.

CANCER SUPPORT IN MELBOURNE

GOOD NEWS for people affected by cancer in Melbourne. Much respected colleague Liz Stillwell has recommenced the Cancer Support Group and is meeting each Tuesday at the Augustine Centre.

The group will meet in term-times and all are welcome, including caregivers of course.

Many of you will know the Library at the Augustine Centre/Habitat Uniting Church, a large & wonderful book lined place of comfort, well seasoned with history for this group (I was running groups there in the early eighties and for those who have seen the historical documentary Mind the Healer, Mind the Slayer that was made in those heady days, this building featured quite prominently).

Liz has an excellent volunteer in Katrina Jenner and is well resourced. She is very experienced having trained extensively including with me, we have worked together for many years and still do and she has just completed her first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Royal Melbourne Hospital.

PS : Sleep workshop:  Please note Liz is also facilitating a 3 session Sleep Improvement workshop at Sentient Being Wellness at Eltham on Friday 20th, Sat 21st & Friday 27th Feb.

A melting pot of sleep information and experiential Hypnotherapy. 

For details contact Liz on 041 5665 822 or  www.stilwellinhealth.com

Media multi-tasking - are our children losing their minds?

Seen any of this? Kids browsing the web while at the same time listening to music and watching TV. Ever found yourself reading an email while talking to someone on the phone? Welcome to the new world of media multi-tasking – an activity that recent research has associated with a smaller brain size.

We live in a busy world. So is doing more than one thing at a time helpful or harmful? This week, we go Out on a Limb once more and learn what modern research has to say about media multi-tasking, crucial implications it has especially for our youth, and then what ancient wisdom has to offer in this area.

Maybe this is a post to share with those you value who have children or get distracted easily, but first




             
                   Thought for the day

The moment one gives close attention
to anything,
 even a blade of grass,
it becomes a mysterious,
 awesome,
indescribably magnificent world in itself.


                               Henry Miller 






From what we can observe, most of us these days seem to be getting caught up in more or less, but probably more, media multi-tasking. However, rather than a heightened new level of efficiency, many are concerned that this new found capacity represents a backward step, a deeper lapse into mindlessness, and that particularly our youth are suffering as a consequence.

A large body of research has already associated media multi-tasking with poorer performance on cognitive control tasks and higher levels of social and emotional difficulty. Now, to challenge us further, a recent study has shown that heavy media multi-tasking is associated with a smaller brain size.


It seems this form of multi-tasking, and the frequency with which it is practiced, leads to distraction, less capacity to hold concentration and generally higher levels of dissatisfaction along with an associated grumpy/angry mood.


This latest study examined the neural processes associated with media multi-tasking and found significant differences in brain structure. Using sophisticated Voxel-Based Morphometry analyses, the researchers found those with higher scores on a Media Multitasking Index (MMI) had smaller grey matter density in the anterior cingulate cortex.

The anterior cingulate cortex is an area of the brain that appears to play a role in a wide variety of crucial autonomic functions, such as regulating blood pressure and heart rate; but perhaps even more importantly is involved in functions such as decision making, impulse control, reward anticipation, empathy and even emotion in the general sense. Know anyone with problems in any of those areas?

Functional connectivity between this region of the brain and another, the precuneus, was negatively associated with MMI.

So just to be clear, these results do point to clear differences in the brains of those engaging in heavy media multitasking and those who do not. However, this study did not clarify whether the multi-tasking leads to a smaller brain, or those with smaller brains are more prone to mindless activity.

As they say, more research is needed. By contrast, what we do know from valid research is that mindfulness practice does “grow” the brain. For example, studies have shown that even 8 weeks of regular practise leads to measurable increases in brain size and density.

Certainly, the age old wisdom of “training the mind” by learning and practising mindfulness, meditation and other mind-body techniques makes good common sense. Happily, as these techniques become more and more mainstream, we may well have a realistic counter to some of the social and work practices that seem to becoming new norms.

What to do? 

Do not despair too much if the kids are watching TV while talking to their friends and playing a video game. Just all the more reason to encourage them to counter any potential hazard by training their brains.

All of us understand the value of going to the gym or going for a run to train our bodies. If we sit around a lot, formal exercise makes all the more sense.

Experience tells me young people really relate to the notion of training their minds. If all the training their minds receive is in distracted, what hope is there? It is obvious a counter measure is needed.

Good news. Many schools are adopting mindfulness and meditation programs; many work places as well. As parents, we lead by example. If we are known to be meditating, and the kids observe us the better for it, they are likely to be further enthused.

For resources, Ruth and I have made a CD Meditation for Children (for those 5 – 14), while for adults there are books, CDs and a DVD available via the webstore; while there is also the online program Mindbody Mastery that many find particularly helpful to support them to maintain a regular practice of meditation.

My sense is that if we multi-task with no counter balance, problems are highly likely. Learn to meditate, learn to focus, to concentrate, to be more mindful, and the mind will work at its clear, calm and confident best. Meditation delivers!

Reference Loh KK, Kanai R (2014) Higher Media Multi-Tasking Activity Is Associated with Smaller Gray-Matter Density in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex. PLoS ONE 9(9): e106698. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106698  TO READ THE  REFERENCE CLICK HERE


2015 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Full details of all programs are on the website, click here

NEXT MEDITATION RETREAT

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

During this meditation retreat, 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

NEXT SPECIFIC CANCER PROGRAM

CANCER and BEYOND              May 2015  Monday 4th to Friday 8th 

Five Day Residential Follow-up Program at the Gawler Foundation in the Yarra Valley

This program is specifically designed for those with cancer along with their support people who have attended a previous Gawler Foundation program or equivalent such as with Sabina Rabold, CSWA, Cancer Care SA, CanLive NZ, or with the Gawlers

A unique opportunity to meet with like-minded people once again, to consolidate what you already know, to learn more from the combined knowledge, experience and wisdom of Ian and Ruth, to reaffirm your good intentions, and to go home refreshed and revitalised.

FULL DETAILS Click here

The 2 most important things I have learnt

Tomorrow, the 9th of January, is a major anniversary. It will be 40 years since my leg was amputated.

Bittersweet.

So much has changed for the better over the last 40 years and speaking personally, my whole perception of life, my whole experience of life has changed for the better. But quite a price.

On reflection, the two most important things I have learnt are

1. Life is incredibly precious

2. Life is incredibly fragile

How wonderful for those who while still in good health and without having to be provoked by such a major event like mine, recognise these two facts - how precious life is and how fragile it is - and as a consequence, use their life to full advantage.

Here, from the diary entries of those days as they appeared in my biography The Dragon’s Blessing, I share the letter I wrote to my leg and something of the times.

But first

Thought for the Day

Remembering that you are going to die 

Is the best way I know 
to avoid 

The trap of thinking you have something to lose.


You are already naked.


There is no reason not to follow your heart.


Steve Jobs 



Wednesday, January 8, 1975 — To my leg


How well you have served me for nearly twenty-five years. I remember long treks through the mountains of Gippsland and how you led the way to jump over six-feet-four. That soaring feeling you gave rise to as you swept up into the air, leading the rest of my body into flight. Just the joy of running was so dear. I was fortunate you were so strong and coordinated. 

I guess I shall never again feel my mobility to be normal.

You carry scars of days gone by. Below the knee is a small raised up thickening of skin that reminds me of a tip in Longueville, Sydney. How when a friend had his leg caught in the rubbish, you carried me running half a mile for help and only then let on that you were bleeding so badly. 

On the knee itself is a jagged, ill-defined, purplish scar. A reminder of that foul football match at Sebastopol [near Ballarat] the year before last. It took weeks to get all the gravel out. 

There are two other scars on the lower leg which are reminders of hockey days, flying sticks and pain that was not so easily subdued. More recently there is the bandaged biopsy site and its resultant swelling.

My mind wanders over the many happy times. There are no complaints as the only time you fell short of my expectations was when my pride and ambitions were too great.

That you are to be lost to me in a few hours leaves me feeling empty. I feel drained of feeling. I hope I still go forward with expectation. I am apprehensive and fear I may shrink before the challenge. So melancholy. I must lift my spirits.

Ian spent most of the rest of the day in quiet, melancholic but calm contemplation and redoubled his efforts to meditate in an effort to buoy himself up. Raised as an Anglican he remembered earlier times when repeating the Lord’s Prayer over and over as a twelve- year-old, he had entered the early stages of a meditative state—and it was this technique he returned to once more that day.

He also remembered the advice of Dr Raynor Johnson about meditation from a series of lectures he had given at veterinary school that had made a deep impression on Ian. Johnson had talked of using a mantra, notably the Lord’s Prayer, in repetition as a skillful way to focus the mind and keep it from wandering.

I am repeating the Lord’s Prayer, and with eyes closed, trying to fix my concentration between my eyes and to keep my mind clear. The only thing that has any certainty is the repetition of the Prayer. Most of the time thoughts come bursting in over the top of it, cascading ideas through my head. I am still full of resolve, but the more imperfections I see, the more awesome the task.

The prayer and his journal were his only anchors at a time when many might have dropped into bottomless depths of utter despair, or worse, succumbed to a blind and terrible panic.

Ian remained calm as he was wheeled to his appointment with the surgeons.

I went down to an anaesthetic room where I had to wait about 20 minutes. The delay was good as it gave me time to set my mind at rest and pray for strength. After being transferred from my bed onto a narrower table, a blanket was draped over my surgery gown and I was left to wait.

The room itself was quite narrow and cluttered. My head was at its entrance, my feet pointed towards the operating theatre. At my left stood the anaesthetic machine in all its pseudo complexity. On the walls beside this were benches stacked with intravenous fluids, same as the ones we use. 

Against the opposite wall was a stark bench and cupboard with who knows what in it. From the ceiling hung suspended a huge operating light on articulated beams. There were hinged swinging doors into the operating theatre and, periodically, as people came and went, I caught a glimpse of more lights all focused on the operating table.

Finally my anaesthetist arrived, appearing somewhat apprehensive. I still cannot decide if she was just unsure how to conduct herself with someone who was about to lose a leg or if she was concerned with the technical aspects of the coming procedure . . .

I was soon wheeled into the surgery and manhandled onto the operating table. Then there was much slapping of my left hand by the anaesthetist, presumably to get a vein up. This annoyed me, being quite unpleasant. Anyway, finally we were under way.

I tried to keep meditating and praying as I went under . . .

Mr John Doyle, assisted by Mr Kevin King, amputated Ian’s right leg at the hip. It was barely two weeks after Ian had first realised, on the Bacchus Marsh oval, that something might be seriously awry.

‘It was a very difficult and long operation,’ says Mr Doyle, now retired, reading from his notes from the operation. The surgery took almost three hours.

‘Most amputations are just below the knee or just above the knee,’ he says. ‘This was through the hip joint. I don’t think I’d ever done a disarticulation through the hip at that stage. These things are pretty uncommon. Kevin had done two, which is why we joined forces.’

RESOURCE 

The Dragon’s Blessing by Guy Allenby – the official biography

2015 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Full details are on the website, click here

FIRST MEDITATION RETREAT
Meditation in the Forest        March 27th to April 2nd  2015

During this meditation retreat, 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 

FIRST SPECIFIC CANCER PROGRAM

CANCER and BEYOND  May 2015   Monday 4th at 11am to Friday 8th at 2pm

Five Day Residential Follow-up Program at the Gawler Foundation in the Yarra Valley

This program is specifically designed for those with cancer along with their support people who have attended a previous Gawler Foundation program or equivalent such as with Sabina Rabold, CSWA, Cancer Care SA, CanLive NZ, or with the Gawlers

A unique opportunity to meet with like-minded people once again, to consolidate what you already know, to learn more from the combined knowledge, experience and wisdom of Ian and Ruth, to reaffirm your good intentions, and to go home refreshed and revitalised.

FULL DETAILS Click here

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 

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