We've all heard or read thousands of warnings about tobacco use. But just because it's "Old News" doesn't mean we should ignore it. There is more to it than the risk of lung cancer, trust me. Take a listen, and learn!

Main background music: "Evening Nights" CC-BY, Mehul Sharma

Many, many people have pets, and love them dearly... but most people simply aren't aware of the great benefits to physical, mental, and emotional health that can be gained from having a pet companion. Take a listen to learn more!

So many times we hear the term "psychosomatic illness" used in a disparaging way, as though the sufferer is faking it or only imagining it. But the fact is, and research backs this up, that a person's mental and emotional state has a tremendous impact on their physical health. Sometimes that is a negative impact, and that's what has been emphasized so often. But actually, we can can take steps to establish positive thoughts and emotions that will literally improve our physical health and reduce our susceptibility to illness or disease. Take a listen and see how you can use this information to help yourself!

With spring fully upon most of us in the Northern Hemisphere, we long to get out in Nature. And thankfully, being out in Nature is one of the most beneficial things we can do for our physical, mental, and emotional health.

Nature therapy... eco-therapy... forest bathing... earthing... whatever you wish to call it, that's what this episode is all about. And here are some links that may be helpful to you, if you would like to read more about this fantastic way of making yourself healthier, simply by being outdoors.

Here is the link to the research work, found on the website of the National Institute of Health:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3265077/?msclkid=1a76f12cafce11ec8c08ddf4150f54c0

And here are some links about how medical professionals are making use of nature therapy of various kinds, to help their patients!

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/canada-doctors-can-prescribe-time-in-nature-with-free-admission-to-national-parks/?msclkid=9517bc1fafc611ec9a57f747ef70db48

https://www.globalwellnesssummit.com/2019-global-wellness-trends/prescribing-nature/?msclkid=9517ede8afc611ecaed075faa89b2d4f

As the title says, sometimes life changes our plans. I had one of those plan-changing occurrences this past weekend, and this brief episode talks about it, and how it is impacting me.
Main episode music is CCL 2006, by Curt Sifert, titled "A Young Church".

This particular episode was not planned in my schedule, but it is something that has been impressed on me for the last few days. The situation in Ukraine, with Russian aggression, is devastating and discouraging. But we can see that the leadership of Russia does NOT have the full support of his own people, and certainly not that of the rest of the world. It would be sadly foolish to blame all Russian people for what is happening there.
So, I want to present this prayerful meditation for peace and compassion in the region... for both Ukraine and Russia. It is not such a long meditation, but peaceful music continues to play after my voice ends, so you may wish to continue sending thoughts and prayers for Peace to Ukraine and Russia even after I stop speaking.
NOTE: some people are not believers in sending "thoughts and prayers". In this case, as individuals, there is little else we can do. Also, research has shown that positive intention, as expressed by thoughts and prayers, can have an impact on the real world. (Check out Dr. Gary Schwartz's book, "The Energy Healing Experiments", and Lynne McTaggart's Healing Intention experiment at https://lynnemctaggart.com/results-of-the-first-healing-intention-experiment/ .) And honestly, even if the effect each of us individually can make is small, isn't peace worth it?

It is a bit like the well-known story of the little boy and the starfish on the beach:

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed boy picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean.

Approaching the boy he asked, “Young man, what are you doing?”

“Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die,” the boy replied.

The man laughed to himself and said, “Do you realize there are miles of miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make any difference.”

After listening politely, the boy bent down to pick up another starfish and threw it into the surf. Then, he smiled at the man and said, “I made a difference to that one.”

This guided meditation is the follow-up to the Season 2, Episode 2 episode, on Cultivating Loving Kindness. Download it... listen to it... share it with your friends!

Loving Kindness is all about treating others, and ourselves, with compassion, kindness, and acceptance. It's not "tolerance" because that implies you simply are putting up with someone else, while (mentally or otherwise) rolling your eyes or gritting your teeth.
It's not about sappy, moon-eyed, fake affection, either. Rather, it's a somewhat radical idea: understanding that everyone, yourself included, is doing the best they can, and everyone has both sorrows and joys to deal with... so why not do our best to accept that no matter who they are, or who we are, we will make mistakes in our choices?
Even though that may sound like a pie-in-the-sky sort of thing, there are definite, scientifically-proven benefits to the individual who practices loving kindness. Quite a few, in fact, and I talk about some of them in this episode.
Also, as a sort of bonus, there is a guided meditation that goes along with this episode, and I encourage you to download it after you listen to the podcast. This guided meditation is designed to help you achieve an attitude of loving kindness.

Oh, and by the way, some of the music in this episode is Creative Commons sourced music. Here is the attribution for that particular piece of music:
Blooming Melody by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Since the end of 2021 has just come and gone, it wouldn't be at all unusual if we all breathed a collective sigh of relief... or maybe hold our breath in anticipation of what MIGHT be coming down the pike.

But the truth is,  holding onto the negativity and bad energy that has been so overwhelming for the last year or so is not helpful nor is it healthy.

In this podcast, I talk about a variety of rituals and ceremonies, both solo and group, that can be used to help you rid yourself of those unhealthy, nasty negative ideas and energies.

And if you have tried any of these rituals, or have one of your own that works for you, let me know!

Also, in the podcast I tell you that I am putting a couple of links in the description. Well, here they are.

Link to a YouTube video on How to Fold a Simple Paper boat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THkUkhBt8Rc

Link to a source for dissolving paper:  https://amzn.to/3EtK7Jr

It has been FAR too long since my last episode, but with the holiday seasons upon us, life has become particularly busy. 

However, past that, in this episode I talk about sound healing, or more broadly, how vibrational therapy is used to help us... whether it is conventional medicine such as sonograms for pregnant women or lithotripsy for kidney stones, or more esoteric vibrational therapy such as using singing bowls or drumming.

Also, after I posted this episode, I found a great link for chanting the word "OM".  Here it is:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/can-chanting-om-reduce-stress-and-anxiety

It's only an introduction to the topic, but I hope you find it interesting.  Let me know, with a message, by sending an email to me at [email protected]

Thanks!