Empire Avenue

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I've been having fun "investing" with Empire Avenue.  Check it out at www.empireavenue.com

Peace

A Great Day at the Red Ribbon Ride

This was our second year volunteering at the Red Ribbon Ride.  If you haven't heard, the ride is a four day bike ride (not a race!) for AIDS research and support for those with AIDS.  This year I had the opportunity to talk to a number of riders and I discovered something that I didn't expect.  By the third of a few hot, rainy days, I had expected riders to be tired, cranky and ready to be done.  What I learned and observed was not this at all!  Riders were actually energized, feeling really good about what they were working toward and feeling incredibly supported by the Ride community.
One rider told me that he didn't want to be done tomorrow.  He said that so much time was spent in anticipation and preparation, the Ride comes and then it's over.  This rider wasn't ready to go home yet.

In speaking to one of the nurses, I learned that she, too, wasn't ready to head home.  Even though the first aid team is up at 3:30am and closes up around 8pm, she said that when she gets home she feels sad for a few days.  It's like post-ride depression.  When I asked why, I had to smile at her answer.  She said, "It's so great to be in this loving, supportive community.  Everyone is helping everyone.  If I drop something, someone else has picked it up before I can even bend down.  If the world lived like this, it would be a wonderful place to be."

There are many reasons that we like to volunteer at the Ride, but being welcomed and immersed in their community makes it fun.  This year we offered homeopathic care, Reiki, massage and acupuncture.  People were happy to try different modalities and everyone was thankful that we were there.  While I would love to join the community as a rider at some point, we will definitely be back to support the riders when they ride into camp next year.

SAD - Now is the Time

The recent weather has been great, if a bit warm.  As I wake in the morning I see the sun peaking through my curtains and hear the birds singing.  On beautiful days like these, the last thing on your mind is SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Now that the sun is out and summer is well on it's way, we can put all of our worry out of our minds, right?

Actually, now is the time to start your healing.  Your body is strong and energetic, natural Vitamin D levels are increasing and you feel fantastic.  Now is the perfect time to start preparing yourself, both mentally and physically for what, inevitably, lies ahead next winter.  Homeopathy works with your body, your energy level and your vitality to help you heal.  Why not take advantage of your available healing energy and give yourself a boost before the SAD season comes again?

Homeopathy Works for Me!

I discovered a great series of videos titled, "Homeopathy Works for Me".  To view some real stories of healing through homeopathy, go to the National Center for Homeopathy website.

Parenting with Homeopathy

As many of my readers know, I have three small children ages 7, 4 and 2.  Being a wife, mother and business owner can be stressful at times, to say the least.

I would like to share with you my parenting tool that I couldn't live without: homeopathy.  Yes, homeopathy can speed healing for all types of physical concerns, but it also works on the emotional level.  This is where homeopathy is my savior in parenting.

Our children are constantly growing and changing.  They go through transitional times where we just don't know what possesses them.  They seem "off" or imbalanced, just not like themselves.  A carefully selected homeopathic remedy can bring them back into balance and back to the kid you know and love.

While it is certain that my daughters go through these transitional periods, it is really homeopathic care for myself that makes the biggest impact on my parenting.  When I get stressed and am unbalanced myself I don't handle situations well.  I am frustrated with myself and my short temper and things just build from there.

Alternately, in these situations, I take a dose of my remedy and immediately have a feeling of calm come over me.  When I am balanced and present, I can handle any type of upset with calm control instead of angry bursts.  Taking care of my own stress and anger not only makes me feel better but has a profound impact on my kids.

When I am calm and collected, my daughters reflect that calmness back to me.  They fight less and listen more.  The converse is true.  When I am angry, upset and quick to yell, this is the behavior that is reflected back to me.  The fighting and yelling intensifies and parenting is difficult, only adding to my own stress.

I invite you to experience parenting through homeopathy.  Boosting your energy levels, maintaining your calm and enjoying your children are all possible and attainable through homeopathy!

Listening

Listening is such an important skill that is frequently overlooked in our busy, noisy lives. When I talk about listening, I am talking about that kind of listening that happens within. Taking the time to listen to your own inner spirit, your body and your needs. No matter who you are, there are constant demands on us both physically and mentally in our careers, our home life and in our communities.

Taking the time to truly listen, hear and take heart the messages that you receive. Are you getting enough rest? Is your body getting the good food and nourishment it needs? Are you feeding your spirit and taking time for quiet meditation?

Whatever the message, it begins in the listening.

Like cures like

"Like cures like" is the principle of homeopathy. The plants and minerals that, when prepared homeopathically, cause symptoms in a healthy person will then cure those same symptoms in a sick person. It's as if the remedy is able to indicate to the sick person's immune system or psyche that which is amiss, allowing their body and being to begin healing.

Here is a little test of the homeopathic principle at work. The next time you are cooking and get a mild burn, instead of using cold water on the burn, try using the warmest water you can tolerate.

How does it work? If you think about it, cold water restricts the blood vessels around the burn, slowing the blood flow and the healing process. Warm water helps to open the vessels and enhance your own body's healing mechanism.

energetic beings

No matter how many times they've dissected the human body, modern science has yet to find the "being" inside. We're not technically in our brains or our hearts. Our spirits have yet to be found in a solid, concrete way.

The reason? We are energetic beings. Our soul or chi or vital force resides in our bodies during our lifetimes, intrically connected to our physicality yet inexplicably separate. The body/spirit connection is such that things within the spiritual or emotional being, left untreated, manifest themselves in the physical body.

Enter homeopathy. For those new to homeopathy, it is foreign to think that a spoonful of tiny white sugar tablets can work to heal anxiety yet it has done just that and much, much more. Homeopathy is a type of energetic medicine, able to touch us at our deepest core, our energetic beings. Through homeopathic care I have seen and experienced the deepest, most gentle and long-lasting healing.

Yes, homeopathic medicine can speed the healing of your bruise. It can help with your headaches, your fever, your chronic sinus infections. Did you know that homeopathy can also help you leave behind your anxiety, depression, fear, worries, self-doubt, stress, anger and rejuvenate you? Without all of this, you are then able to fully be who you are and change your world.

Homeopathy is gentle, energetic, radical medicine.

My Journey's Beginning

Looking back, I think that I began my healing journey when I decided that I wanted to listen to my own body. It was around that time that I began making decisions for my own healing and chose to see a homeopath for the first time.

I was a new mom and, after many months, admitted that I was suffering from post-partum depression. I thought that my choices were to either get medication or find an alternative so I scheduled my initial homeopathic intake.

Going to my visit I was nervous, excited and scared. I had no idea if homeopathy was going to work. The main reason that I was going, what I was most excited about, was that someone was going to listen to me - for about 3 hours - without judgement, just listening.

When I walked into the office and the door closed, I felt like it all got out - ALL of it. I think that I talked, punctuated by tears, for over three hours. Someone listened in a way that I had never been listened to before. When I left I was completely exhausted but I felt good. I felt relieved to have gotten all of those painful words out. Now they were in some else's hands, at least for the moment.

I received my first homeopathic remedy a week or so after my visit. What happened after that is just short of a miracle. Within a day or two, I started feeling better. All of my terrible dreams stopped. My days were brighter. It was subtle, but steady. I knew I was healing and it was ending. I was so excited to get out of that dreary place and actually start enjoying my beautiful baby.

After about a month, things physically started shifting for me. My cycle shifted and I felt things changing. I felt like my hormones were getting regulated again. I finally felt good. Actually, I felt great. After going through this healing process, I went on to have two more precious daughters and post-partum depression never had me in its grips again.