Upcoming Courses-Texts

Upcoming Courses: 

their required texts, and beginning available dates

NUTRITION AND DIET - PART I  [eCourse only / $225.00]  BEGINNING: September 15, 2012

 Vasey, Christopher and Jon Graham. The Acid-Alkaline Diet for Optimum Health: Restore
            your health by creating pH balance in your diet  Healing Arts Press, 2^nd edition: 2006

Lappe, Frances Moore Diet for a Small Planet: 20^th Anniversary Edition.  Ballantine Books: 1991

HERBALISM: 101  [eCourse only /$225.00  BEGINNING: October 15, 2012]

Ody, Penelope, MNIMH.  Natural Health Complete Guide to Medicinal Herbs. Dorling Kindersley Book: New York, NY: 2000

METAPHYSICS [eCourse only / $225.00 BEGINNING: November 15, 2012]

Gawain, Shakti with Laurel King.  1998. Living in the Light: A guide to Personal and Planetary Transformation.  Nataraj Publ./New World Library; Navato, CA.

*Only the Psychic Development course has an online component at the present time.  The remaining courses will soon have online portions added.

FOOD COMBINING

Last Friday and the Friday before, I discussed the use of combinations of foods to obtain protein. All of which was usable proteins! 

Lappe points to a scientist by the name of R.J. Williams, who stated that “…if beef were the only source of protein, on person’s minimum protein needs could be met with two ounces of meat; yet another individual might require eight ounces (165).” The ADA lists averages, not what would fulfill individual needs. 

If an individual has health issues, or is aging their needs are different than a 28 year-old healthy individual.  Lappe recommends we learn to observe our own needs by using what “Williams calls ‘body wisdom’…(which) is aware  of how you feel- - (167).” 

Signs to look for, Lappe points out, would be the slowing down of wound healing, lack of energy, loss or deterioration of hair, nails, and skin (168).  Irritability is another sign of nutritional deficiency, and lack of well-being.  

The body needs to have certain reactions from protein that assists in our well-being. These reactions are what we would call the metabolism.  “Proteins such as insulin, which regulates metabolic processors, we call ‘hormones’; …(168)” Proteins also are important for the metabolic reactions of enzymes. In order to oxygenate the blood, in what is called hemoglobin, we need proteins from which hemoglobin is built.  This blood protein helps prevent excessive alkalinity or acidity (more on this aspect in another set of blogs). (Lappe,169)

I would also add to this list: bowel irregularity, diarrhea, GERD, low immunity (such as frequent colds and allergies), Poor digestion is a really good indication that you are not eating right for your body.  

Do all the protein complementary foods have to be eaten in the same meal? No it is not necessary to do this at each meal. But, if not done within a short time-frame, the partial Amino Acid of the is not utilized by the body, and less of each of the other Amino Acids are used, as well. (Lappe, 180)

So, if a person does not eat all the complete proteins (combined) at a meal, what can they do? Eat more frequently, and eat foods that fulfill the requirements within a few hours of each meal. (Lappe,182) 

more on next Friday...

REFERENCE:

Lappe, Frances Moore.  Diet for a Small Planet, 20^th anniversary edition. Ballantine Books, 1991

Course Texts

COURSES NOW AVAILABLE / PRICING / TYPE OF STUDY

Available beginning June 5th

REIKI:  I AND II    [$225.00 / by correspondence]

Rand, William Lee.  Reiki the Healing Touch: First and second degree manual. Visions
            Publications: 2000

CHAKRAS AND AURAS   [$95.00 / by correspondence]
         

Judith, Anodea PhD.  Wheels of Life: A User’s Guide to the Chakra System.  Llewellyn Publ.; St. Paul, MN: 2002

Myss, Caroline, Ph.D.  Anatomy of the Spirit: the seven stages of power and healing.  Three Rivers Press: New York, NY: 1996

CREATIVE VISUALIZATION  [$165.00 / eCourse or $225.00 / correspondence]

Gawain, Shakti.  Creative Visualization: Using the power of imagination to create what you
            want in your life. 25^th anniversary edition. New World Library, Nataraj : 2002)

KEYS TO MAGIC: 101

Barrett, Elizabeth. Composing Magic: How to create magical spells, rituals, blessings, chants
            and prayers.  New Page Books (2007).

Lipp, Deborah.  The Elements of Ritual.  Llewellyn: 2003

Highly recommended:

Frury, Nevill.  The Watkin’s Dictionary of Magic: 3,000 entries on the magical traditions. 
            Watkins: 2005

 

RADIESTHESIA    [$65.00] 

No text / Manual and handouts / Course includes a crystal pendulum

TO ORDER YOUR COURSES 

for information email me.

Nutrition Fridays

FOOD COMBINING

Last Friday I began the discussion on food combining. I used the Mayan diet as one example. Another example would be the diet found in the Middle East.  They combine bulgur wheat and chickpeas (or garbanzo beans), or humus and pita bread (humus is the combination of chickpeas / garbanzo beans with sesame seed…which is creamed like peanut butter). (Lappe, 161)

In India you find chapaties with dal (lentils).  You find in Asia the food combination would be soy foods with rice (China, Japan, and Indonesia), or soy with barley (Korea and Southern China). (Lappe, Ibid.)

In all of the examples the combination is 70-80% whole grains and 20-30% legumes (beans).  Ironically, this ratio has been proven by nutritionists to contain complete Amino Acids and allows for “maximum protein useability (Lappe,Ibid.)

Yes, you do have to learn how to cook each of these types of food.  It is not really difficult to learn how to cook them.  No, they are not as simple as microwaving a meal for 5 minutes that is purchased pre-made / pre-packaged.  But, definitely more healthy!

Lappe states “with three important exceptions, there is little danger of protein deficiency in a plant food diet (162)” These exceptions are: diets that depend upon fruits as the main source, or diets that use mostly sweet potatoes or cassava, and lastly Lappe points to junk food.  I would include with “junk food” any diet that mostly uses refined sugar and refined flour.

Continued on next Friday…

 

REFERENCE:

Lappe, Frances Moore.  Diet for a Small Planet, 20^th anniversary edition. Ballantine Books, 1991

Nutritional Fridays

FOOD COMBINING

 What is it? Food combining is the use of vegetable proteins, grains, and nuts in combination to allow for the body to digest nutrients that will make a complete protein.

Our human bodies need complete proteins, and nitrogen.  There are 22 Amino Acids that make proteins, 8 of them are essential for good health.  Meat and dairy are not necessarily the only source of proteins!  Although, the dairy and beef industry would like to convince you that these are necessary!  They advertise this and donate to politicians inn order to have the backing they need to "push" the idea of their necessity.

But, not that we know that the beef and dairy industry has been using hormones in the cow's feed, and genetically modified grains are also used, lets now take another look! Is meat the main source to look to for protein? NO.

Did you know that grains, vegetables, nuts, and legumes (beans) have proteins?  They also contain many vitamins our bodies need, as well! Do we need to supplement these in our diet, in order to get the 8 essential Amino Acids? No.

Ancient cultures knew instinctively what foods to eat to have inexpensive and yet tasty, nutritious diets.  The Mayan meal of beans, rice, tomatoes, and bits of chili contains everything necessary for all 8 essential Amino Acids and vitamins from the vegetables. 

I will discuss next Friday how this all works....

Herbal Mondays

In doing my research I have discovered that some people believe fresh leaves and bark are better for use as herbal remedies than dried.  I don't think it really matters for most herbal use. Keep in mind, if you use fresh herbals, and wish to obtain the qualities of the herbal than you should use it within 48 hours of harvesting.

Not everyone has access to herbs in the wild, or even a garden in which it is grown.  Frequent trips to wildcraft may not be practical.  Wildcrafting can be time-consuming.

You should consider how much you need and do not gather excessive amounts of herbs.  Be careful to not over-harvest what is available in the wild.  A rule of thumb would be to take from 1 of 4 plants, if gathering leaves and buds.  Don't pull up the plant by the roots, and leave some top growth for later harvesting.

My usual amount is a bundle about 3 inches in diameter.  I rinse the material thoroughly before doing anything with the plant.  I use kite string to tie it into a bundle and hang the plant by the stem. Drying time varies, depending on the plant, temperatures, and humidity. I have had plants take upwards of four months to completely dry.

Two ways to preserve herbs longer than just dry material are as a vinegar or as a tincture. Vinegars can last around six months.  A glycerine tincture is about the same and should be refrigerated, whereas vinegars do not seem to need refrigeration. 

Alcohol tinctures last much longer, and depending on the alcohol percent they can be stored from a year to many years.  You can use wine, or brandy. The life of these two are shorter than Vodka. They should be stored in a cool, dry spot.

When tincturing you would use half as much dry herb than fresh. First, because of the need to reconstitute the herb, and secondly when dried the herb has concentrated constituents. I usually use a quart mason jar filling it about 1/3 with dry herb and covering with alcohol to about two inches below the rim.

Tincturing usually takes around 2-4 weeks. Again the duration depends upon temperature, humidity, and also the kind of herb being tinctured. 

Roots and bark take the longest to dry.  These should be air dried, and can take quite some time. Care should be taken to not overdue harvesting in order to not diminish the available supply.

You can tell what herbs will be needed for the following year by observation. As a rule of thumb, when certain plants grow abundantly and others do not, those herbs that are ample usually are the ones that will be needed.

More on preserving and using herbs next Monday.