Reaching your goals in life is like sailing. It’s all about getting where you want to be by changing directions, going with the winds of change, working with the ebb and flow of the tides, sometimes navigating by the stars in the deepest dark of night. Sometimes you have to batten down the hatches and ride out a storm until it passes over and you can get your bearings and get back on course.
If you can’t get where you want to go directly, immediately, in a straight line, make a slight deviation which gets you to a more immediate goal, even if it is somewhat off your chosen course. When you get there, you’ll be able to adjust again and go back towards your initial goal.
School, career, even relationships, sometimes need the sailing approach. For some help with navigating your course, contact the Peacock & Paisley coach or call 603-617-4963.
Principles have no real force except when one is well fed.
~Mark Twain, in The Diaries of Adam and Eve, around the time when Adam ate the apple, because war had broken out amongst the animals, he couldn’t get to food, and Eve so conveniently showed up with the fruit.
Exceptionally true!
When people and animals are hungry, they will instinctively do what they must to feed themselves, even if it means going against their own morals, ethics, or laws. Usually. There are an elite few who can starve to death but feed children. For instance, people who enable children in concentration camps to survive, even at their own sacrifice.
When people don’t receive enough kindness, it’s like a kind of starvation, and they will subconsciously or even consciously “steal” energy from others. Often times it’s by being mean, causing someone else pain, and they feed off that energy. Know a bully? Lack of positive energy is probably the cause. Feeling insecure, not having enough Love resources…..
There is a lovely old Women’s Labor Movement song called “Bread and Roses,” which basically said we need more than just bread, we need beauty, peace, and love, all of which really take more money. Don’t starve us from these things that our souls need. We’re fighting for a bigger piece of the pie.
As the Celestine Prophecy discusses, people need energy. When you encounter a conflict with someone, try to find what it is that they really, underneath it all, need. If that’s something you can help them with, address that need. You don’t have to tell them, or explain it, but it can help. Once they have enough energy, they may stop. It can also help to simply send good energy to them. They are welcome to accept or not, but it is available. If you like to visualize, try sending pink energy, or whatever positive color comes to mind. I’ve heard of one woman who sent pink energy out of her hands towards her boss whenever he became negative towards her. She said that it had a remarkable effect which her coworkers noticed. It’s a type of metaphysics and alternative medicine - spiritual medicine. It’s also a form of self-protection: deflecting and transmuting a spiritual blow the way martial artists do with physical blows.
Chicago’s powerful comedian Bernie Mac died this past Saturday of complications from pneumonia. He had been considered to be in “remission” from sarcoidosis.
He was famous for being a stand-up comedian, being in a number of movies, and for having his own tv show “The Bernie Mac Show.” It was about a single man who reluctantly took in his sister’s children and the challenges he had in raising them. It revealed a rough up-bringing and approach to parenting to which he wanted to revert but which he avoided because it’s illegal — for instance beating and whipping. Are those two separate categories? He was specific about the latter. His character needed a lot of spiritual healing and parenting coaching.
I did not enjoy the raw brutality that from my perspective oozed from Bernie Mac’s pores. He was also more than a little misogynistic (hating, degrading and treating women badly), recently referring to female spouses as “ho’s”, which is American slang for whore. He even referred to Michelle Obama as a “ho.” I’m not psyched that Barak Obama chose Mac to be a headlining opener for his political rally.
May Bernie rest in peace and learn his lessons from the other side. May he be well and helpful in his new form.
wearingstones.com
I love how much she loves her dog and the techniques she applies with dilligence, care, and most importantly and I know it’s redundant —- love! We can learn alot for our own health, as well as for our cats and dogs and other animal companions. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment here at the Peacock and Paisley Blog.
The Chinese man responsible for tonight’s Olympic fireworks displays grew up hearing explosions and gunfire as the conflict between mainland China and Taiwan played itself out militarily. He lived on the mainland Chinese coast just across from Taiwan.
Being in such close proximity to violence, death, anger, fear, hatred and pain has a tremendous impact on all involved, especially children. It eats its way right into our psyches and changes us. How we choose to handle that is crucial.
Most people don’t get counseling when they are exposed to trauma, most people don’t have Reiki treatments, or acupuncture, or do EFT. Most people hang on to their pain and negative energy without ever realizing it.
Only a few, and this Chinese Olympic artist Cai Guo-qiang is one of them, transform this energy, transmute it into something really artistic with positive impact. The artist doing today’s Olympic fireworks makes art out of explosions, out of gun powder and flammable materials. The following video shows his works at New York’s Guggenheim museum. The elements are disturbing and provoking, and at the same remind us that we have choices, that we make choices constantly, and let’s choose good things. And, see what you can do with your spirit’s voice - in whatever medium is great for you.
As he said, it is dangerous, and you won’t know until it’s over how things will turn out. This is exactly the feeling one gets in a war zone. You hold your breath, sense whether you are relatively safe where you are, and wait. When it all stops, you still wait an extra moment to be sure it’s really done. Then you go see what really happened.
Do what you can to heal yourself, and at the same time express yourself. Look what one small, probably scared, Chinese boy has grown into and what a huge positive impact he is having on the world. Keep trying, keep producing, and share your best with us! If your intention is good, the world will work with you to make it happen. Change the world.
What is your art form? How do you express yourself? Tell us here in the Peacock and Paisley Blog comments section. Looking forward to hearing it!
Anybody who’s heading out in the Sanford, Maine area, please be extra cautious today — many roads are closed due to flooding. Just a safety reminder - if you see water covering a road, don’t try to drive through it, turn around and take an alternate route. It can save your life.
According to my animal symbolism “Bible”, Animal Speak, the goldfinch animal totem is about “awakening to the Nature Spirits”. To me, it’s also about being seen, heard, and about being active. I also see the goldfinch as being with others of your sort in community, of enjoying food together, of waiting (most of the time) politely and orderly in line and then zooming in when it’s your turn, and taking no guff if someone tries to cut the line. I love gold finches. They are so colorful, so perky, and so talkative. There is one near me, or was this spring, that sounded more like a canary than a finch, with beautiful melodious songs and an extensive repertoire. Goldfinches love thistle seeds, and will happily eat them out of a bird feeder or straight from the actual thistle plant, if one is available. Goldfinches are common here in New England, and are like a little dash of joy in the middle of a cold winter. Or a gray, dreary, supposedly summer day like today.
Thistles have been used for millenia to heal a variety of dis-eases.
Here are some uses of Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus L.)
abortifacient
anorexia
appetite stimulant
astringent
bleeding
blood purifier
boils
breast milk stimulant
bubonic plague
fighting cancer and improving efficacy of chemotherapy
Milk thistle is also called Mary thistle, St. Mary thistle, Our Lady’s thistle, holy thistle, Marian thistle, wild artichoke, Mariendistel (German), and Chardon-Marie (French).
Please remember that some of the illnesses discussed here are serious and warrant working with a health care professional to diagnose and treat. Herbal treatments can be very powerful and can interact with pharmaceuticals - please discuss their use with your health professional before starting.
Vitamin B3, also known as Niacin, is essential in the breakdown of fats and proteins. Niacin also plays an essential role in maintaining the health of the hair, eyes, skin, nervous system, mouth, liver, and muscles of the intestinal tract, without which we would be stuck with a bunch of rotting matter we don’t want. Niacin helps the body rid itself of toxins. L. Ron Hubbard, of Scientology fame, discusses detoxing with Vit B3 extensively on his website. A variety of sex and stress-related hormones produced by the adrenal glands and other parts of the body rely on Vitamin B3 also. Niacin reduces cholesterol in the blood and improves circulation. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center site, your
niacin needs can be partially met by eating foods containing protein because the human body is able to convert tryptophan, an amino acid, into niacin.
Symptoms of Niacin Deficiency:
Mild: indigestion, fatigue, canker sores, vomiting, and depression, burning in the mouth and a swollen, bright red tongue
Severe: cracked, scaly skin, dementia, and diarrhea, which is called Pellagra
Additional less obvious signs of niacin deficiency can be candidiasis (yeast overgrowth) and varicose veins (due to spleen imbalance brought on by digestive imbalance, caused by insufficient gastric acid production which allows an overgrowth of yeast and a lowered absorption of all nutrients, thus also leading to various types of anemia).
Causes of Niacin Deficiency:
alcoholism, which is the primary cause of Vitamin B3 deficiency in the United States
a corn-based diet, if that corn has not been fertilized with lime. Lime releases tryptophan in the corn, and the tryptophan can be converted by the body into Vitamin B3.
Diseases Niacin helps with:
Acne
Skin cancer
Atherosclerosis
Burns
Cataracts
Diabetes
Hypercholesterolemia
Myocardial infarction
Osteoarthritis - helps to increase joint mobility and repair cartilege, common problems with arthritis. Vitamin B3, taken in the form of niacinimide, may take 3 weeks to show signs of improvement, and studies are showing that long-term use may decrease progression of arthritis.
Niacin increases gastric acid production, which helps the body to rid itself of candida overgrowth and to break down and absorb nutrients properly. This allows the body to heal itself and to function properly.
Here is an additional list from the Mayo Clinic of diseases that niacin is reported to heal but which the Mayo Clinic says are insufficiently-tested:
Acne, alcohol dependence, anti-aging, anxiety, arrhythmia, Bell’s palsy, blood circulation improvement, bone marrow damage from chemotherapy, brain damage, cancer prevention, cataract prevention, central nervous system disorders, cholera, chronic diarrhea, confusion, coronary heart disease (CHD), deafness, depression, diagnostic test for schizophrenia, diarrhea, digestion improvement, dizziness, drug-induced hallucinations, edema, hearing loss, high blood pressure, HIV prevention, hyperactivity, hypothyroidism (reduced thyroid function), insomnia, ischemia-reperfusion injury prevention, leprosy, liver disease, low blood sugar, memory loss, Ménière’s syndrome, motion sickness, multiple sclerosis, orgasm improvement, painful menstruation, peripheral vascular disease / claudication, photosensitivity, pregnancy problems, premenstrual headache prevention, premenstrual syndrome, prostate cancer, psoriasis, psychosis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, schizophrenia, scleroderma, sedative, seizure, smoking cessation, stomach ulcer, tardive dyskinesia, taste disturbances (diminished/distorted sense of taste), thyroid disease, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), tuberculosis, tumor detection, ulcers, vascular spasm, vertigo.
As with many non-pharmaceutical treatments, the efficacy of niacin is disputed and/or some doctors feel that more research needs to be done. Work with your doctor to find what does work for you, but often the food-as-medicine approach works better than drugs. Our bodies have an amazing ability to heal themselves, given the removal of toxins and the provision of proper healthy resources like rest, fun, healthy, balanced diet, and exercise.
Niacin-Rich Foods:
beets
brewer’s yeast
beef liver
beef kidney
pork
turkey
chicken
veal
salmon
swordfish
tuna
sunflower seeds
peanuts
Good Niacin Food Choices:
Yeast, meat, fish, milk, eggs, green vegetables, and cereal grains.
Cautions:
Since it’s possible to cause damage to your liver by taking niacin supplements, it is, as the Peacock & Paisley Blog always recommends, preferable to ingest your vitamin b3 as food. Food is the best medicine. If you are in a pickle and are fighting cancer or severe heart and artery disease, your doctor may prescribe niacin in the form of niacinamide, nicotinic acid, or inositol hexaniacinate. Inositol hexaniacinate is the form reputed to be the best tolerated and producing the fewest side-effects. However, niacinamide, nicotinic acid and inositol hexaniacinate can damage the very things that people are trying to heal. They can cause liver damage, a burning, tingling sensation in the face and chest, and red or “flushed” skin, stomach ulcers, muscle inflammation, and over time can cause an imbalance of the other B vitamins if it is not taken as a “bouquet” or “B vitamin complex”. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, be extremely cautious as there has been very little testing done.
Work closely with your healthcare provider if you are taking any of the following:
Tetracycline
Aspirin
Blood Pressure Medications, Alpha-blockers
Cholesterol-lowering Medications
Diabetes Medications including insulin, metformin, glyburide, glipizide, or other medications used to treat high blood sugar levels
Isoniazid (INH) Used to treat tuberculosis, may deplete levels of niacin and cause a deficiency
Nicotine Patches may worsen or increase the risk of flushing reactions
As with any detoxifying process, increasing Vitamin B3 can release toxins from the body which can then lead to a relapse or increase of symptoms. However, alternative medicine naturopathic healers encourage riding this out, as your body is releasing and detoxifying and will eventually right itself. Remember, work with an appropriate healthcare provider as you do this.
Now that more women seem to be serving as suicide bombers for Al Qaeda and Muslim extremists and not just serving as their unpaid household help, perhaps the Islamic extremists will have to accept them as equals. They currently misinterpret the Koran as indicating that women should be owned by all the men in their lives because they are not as worthy, not as holy, as men. But if women are killing themselves in the name of Allah, perhaps it will boost their “street rep” with “the guys”.
What kinds of gender inequality do you see around you? What have you experienced? How do you deal with it? Tell us here at the Peacock and Paisley Blog. If you would like some coaching to overcome consistent barriers, contact us, or call 603-617-4963.
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