2012

May 19, 2012

Written by Wendy Kwaks

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It has been a bit silent at Healthy Spirit. Is anything wrong?, you might ask. Well, yes and no. Something seems to be wrong, or better, something seems to be different. But we cannot put our finger on it. It’s nothing dramatic and we are all ok, but it’s as if we are not our normal selves. Time seems to be moving faster and faster. We don’t seem to have enough time to do all the things that once went effortlessly. Like writing articles every week. Weeks go by so fast; we cannot seem to get track of time. There is just not enough of it. If I lost you completely now, then I am sorry, but please give me a chance to try and explain what is going on. There even seems to be a scientific explanation for this feeling.

Shifts in energy

More and more books and articles are written about the year 2012. Apparently, this is a magic year and something will happen, but no one knows quite sure what it is. The stories about the year 2012 are inextricably linked to the Mayan people who, five thousand years ago, made a calendar that stops at 21 December 2012. There are many ideas, prophecies and predictions about what will happen at this date. Worst case scenario: the world will come to its end this year. But fortunately, scientists have discovered something else: the earth will probably not stop turning, but huge shifts in energies on the planet will definitely change our lives. That is good news, now that we are well underway in this magical but spooky year.

In the book The Mystery of 2012: predictions, prophecies and possibilities, internationally renowned pioneer in bridging science and spirituality Gregg Braden writes: “While there are many ideas of what we may expect as the end-date of the Mayan calendar draws near, most people feel that something is going to happen – the question is, What?” Although that is much debated and we simply do not know, Braden says we should look at what we do know, like the fact that 2012 happens to coincide with unprecedented changes happening in our solar system. The end of the 5000-year-old Mayan calendar marks a rare alignment our planet, our solar system and the center of our galaxy, an event that will not happen again for another 26.000 years. Scientists call this a galactic alignment, in which the two poles of the earth switch.

Although it might be a bit too much for this article to dive into the science behind all this, Braden tries to explain in normal words: “for as long as anyone living today can remember, every time we have looked at the needle of a compass, the tip of the needle has pointed in the same direction – “up there”, toward the magnetic north pole of the Earth. (…) every once and awhile something mind-boggling, almost unthinkable, happens. For reasons that are still not fully understood, our familiar north and south poles trade places – the magnetic field of the Earth does a complete flip-flop. Such reversals seem to be preceded by abrupt changes in weather patterns and a rapid weakening of the planet’s magnetic field – both of which are happening right now.”

Implications for human beings

A turning of the poles? Changing magnetic fields? What does this scientific abracadabra mean? Are there implications for us? Is the world coming to an end in just a few months time? Well, notwithstanding some scientific evidence that has been gathered, it is largely a matter of speculation what will happen exactly. According to John Major Jenkins, an independent researcher who has devoted himself to reconstructing ancient Mayan cosmology and philosophy, the world will not end on 21 December but will definitely change. In his book The 2012 story: the myths, fallacies, and truth behind the most intriguing date in history, Jenkins writes that, for the Mayans, 2012 has nothing to do with apocalypse. “The Mayans have a cyclic time philosophy”, he says. So when they speak of ‘the end’, they mean the end of a cycle. 2012 is such an end, but also the beginning of a new cycle. And the shift from one cycle to a new one is about transformation and renewal. According to Jenkins, “we need to transform what was part of the old cycle to what is useful for a new cycle.” The degree to which such a transformation will be successful, depends, according to Jenkins, on “a willingness to sacrifice”. As a spiritual principle in many of the old religions, sacrifice is recognised as a key to opening up to a greater spiritual vision.

Gregg Braden agrees that the world is not coming to an end. He does feel, however, that the energy shifts that we are already witnessing, have implications for people. He says: “If the Earth’s magnetic fields are changing in the 2012 time frame, then we too are affected. We know, for example, that magnetic fields have a profound influence on our nervous systems, our immune systems, and our perceptions of space, time, dreams, and even reality itself. Correlations between the magnetic fields of the Earth and human experience suggest that it is easier for us to accept change and adapt to new ideas in weaker fields of magnetism.”

Well, so there really is some scientific evidence that changes in magnetism change the way we perceive time. Time seems to be going faster. Also, it is as if the air is getting thinner. More and more people are having what we call paranormal experiences. More people are becoming interested in spirituality. More people turn inward and are seeking for answers within themselves or with their higher self or spiritual guides. It is becoming more acceptable to talk about these things.

British energy teacher and channeler Lee Harris writes extensively about these kind of changes on his website www.leeharrisenergy.com. “2012 will be a year of great power”, he says. Many people “will find it far easier than ever before to speak from the heart and see with spirit”, he writes. “More people will experience spiritual visions, angelic encounters, seeing through the veil to those who have passed on. This will become more normal.” More people are connecting with their higher selves and are listening to spirit. Harris asks us not to be afraid to speak about these experiences, for this normalizes it for the mass. “So find the power of your heart, the power of your voice, the power of your spirit and use these in the power of your action. This is how we will create a planet of new human consciousness.”

Staying in the power

Let’s assume the new energies are helping us to transform to a better and more spiritual version of ourselves. As powerful as that may seem, we are still in the middle of the transformation. The ride can be bumpy and the process can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. Lee Harris acknowledges that it is important to remember your base energy: “That which keeps you on the ground, that which anchors you to the energy of the Earth.” In his blog of May 2012, he gives several techniques to ground, stay in your body and support the rebalancing process:

  • Meditate (to clear the mind);
  • Sit or lie down and focus on breathing deeply and consciously into your belly;
  • Exercise physically/do yoga or similar energy practises;
  • Feed the body with good and light nutrition and plenty of water;
  • Create (paint, write, cook, sing, dance, build…the list is endless);
  • Communicate (write down) what needs to be expressed from within;
  • Seek the company of good and easy souls, for playing or just being together.

These techniques are exactly what I would recommend, and what I have been trying to do the last few months. Take good care of yourself, quiet down when you feel you need it, slow down, exercise (yoga works miracles for me!) and meditate to become aligned with the energies that surround you. Write down whatever you saw in your meditations, and read back every now and then. You will see the progress you have made over a few months time. Human sensitivity is rising and you might just be at the forefront of that. The more you stay calm and get through these times of change, the more you can be a guide for others. I really believe this is a job that many of us who are interested in spirituality, came here to do.

Just in case

To sum up: “The December 21 solstice of 2012 appears to be a great cosmic window of opportunity”, says Gregg Braden. “None of the old prophecies tells us unconditionally that the world itself will end on this date. What they do say is that the world as we have know it will enter a time of change.” People can transform, grow and become more spiritual. That sounds much better than the idea of massive destruction that will lead to the end of the world on 21 December 2012. But, those ancient Mayans were a clever and highly sophisticated people. So… since 21 December is my birthday, you will understand that I will take no risk. This year, my party will be on the 20th. Just in case!

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Inspiration, Science

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The biology of belief

March 26, 2012

Written by Wendy Kwaks

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Our body and our health can be changed by the way we are thinking! Don’t read on, just take a moment to fully grasp the meaning of this sentence. If you are a bit like me, you are having butterflies in your stomach right now, and feel something bubbling in your body, because you want to find out what this means and exactly how it works. In short, the latest scientific research of Dr. Bruce Lipton indicates that we are not victims of our genes, but that we can influence our genes by changing the way we think. Highly scientific as this topic might be to us layman, it is grist to Healthy Spirit’s mill and we cannot but dive into it.

Research

In 1982, stem cell biologist and internationally recognised leader in bridging science and spirit Bruce Lipton started his, what turned out to be groundbreaking, research on stem cells. He wanted to understand the cell’s information processing systems and started cloning cells in petri dishes. As someone trained in alpha-science, a petri dish in a lab would not be my starting point for figuring out the world, but I am thrilled that Bruce Lipton is someone that does. The research went something like this: Dr. Lipton started by putting one cell in a petri dish, and that cell would divide every so many hours. When he had many cells in one dish, he split the cell population up into three dishes and he changed the environment of the tree dishes (in a petri dish, I assume that means he changed the substance he put in the dish). All the cells were cloned, and therefore genetically identical. Dr. Lipton noticed, however, that the cells in the different dishes changed. If all the cells were genetically identical, this had to mean that the cells changed because of the change in the environment. From this experiment, he learned that the environment controls the cell. The implications of this research radically change our understanding of life.

A community of cells

Bruce Lipton

Bruce Lipton

The implications of this research are huge, because the cells in the petri dish are no different from the cells in our bodies. This means that our genes and DNA do not control our biology, as was always thought, but that our DNA is controlled by signals from outside the cell. In his book The Biology of Belief, Dr. Lipton says: “You may consider yourself an individual, but as a cell biologist, I can tell you that you are in truth a cooperative community of approximately 50 trillion single-celled citizens. Cells are the fundamental units that make you rock. They are the living elements.”

Do you get it? Just as the cells in the petri dish, the cells in our body are influenced by the environment. According to Dr. Lipton “our illnesses are not necessarily programmed in our genes, but they are responses to the way we perceive our environment. It has everything to do with the way we are thinking. DNA is controlled by the energetic messages emanating from our positive and negative thoughts.” This means we can change our health by changing our way of thinking. This really is groundbreaking.

In a broadcast called Change your attitude, change your life on Talk of New York radio, Dr. Lipton explains how it works: “In a petri dish, the fluid that is put in the dish is the substance that controls what the cells are doing. In the body, this fluid is the blood. So the chemical composition of the blood controls the genetics and fate of the cells in the body in exactly the same way the substance in the dish does.” The next question, as dr. Lipton puts it, is what controls the chemical composition of the blood. Where and why does the chemical composition of the blood change? Well, you probably get it by now… it is the brain that releases the chemicals that control the genetic activity of the cells. This means that if you change your thinking, you change the chemistry of the blood. A different chemistry of your blood can change your health.

Since this topic is a bit scientific, let’s take an example to clarify the issue. Imagine you are in love. You will immediately feel nice, warm and loving sensations in your body. This has everything to do with chemistry. If you are in love, your body produces so called pleasure chemicals, like dopamine and serotonin. These chemicals provide energy and growth and give people a feeling of connection and of bonding with others. They make you feel great. Now let’s assume you’re angry or afraid. You can probably immediately feel the difference in your body between being angry and being in love. If you are angry, or afraid, the body releases totally different chemicals, the so called stress hormones. Your body shuts down and prepares to fight or flight.

This little example shows that different thoughts, feelings and perceptions are translated to chemicals in the brain. The chemicals come into the blood stream that controls our cells. The chemistry in your whole body changes the moment you change your thinking. Therefore, you feel different. And this idea is the basis of the latest biology research.

Epigenetics

In her article Happy Healthy Child: A Holistic Approach, Sarah Kamrath asks Dr. Lipton to explain the differences between the old and the new research. According to Dr. Lipton, researchers have believed for a very long time that our genes control the chemistry of our body. This branch of biology is called genetic derterminism or genetic control, which simply means control by genes. People are, in this view, perceived victims of their genes. DNA and hereditary issues control your life. The research of Dr. Lipton has shown that this is not true. Rather than DNA controlling your chemistry, it is the chemistry that is controlling the genes. Dr. Lipton calls this branch of research epigenetic control. “Epi means above. So, epigenetic means control above the genes.” The research shows that we influence the activity of our genes by our actions, perceptions, beliefs and attitudes. “In fact,” says Dr. Lipton, “epigenetic information can take a single gene blueprint and modify the readout of the gene. This means that people are no longer a victim of their DNA, but that we are masters of our fates, able to create lives overflowing with peace, happiness and love.”

So how exactly does this work then? We have all heard about positive thinking and the law of attraction. But by now, we have also all noticed that positive thinking alone is not getting us everything we want. So what’s the missing link?

The Biology of Belief

The Biology of Belief

Conscious versus unconscious mind

In his book The Biology of Belief, Dr. Lipton explains this as follows: “There are two minds — the conscious mind, which is the creative mind with our personal identity or our spirit, and the subconscious mind, which is almost like a tape recording device that records behaviors, and at the push of a button, plays the behavior back. This is the non-thinking, habitual mind.” Dr. Lipton further explains: “in our lives, we operate 95 percent of the time from the subconscious programs and habits. The programmes of the subconscious are downloaded in our brains in the first six years of our lives. They come from other people and we do not even choose them. Yet, they control 95 percent of our lives. Only 5 percent of the time do we live by our conscious mind. But this is where the control is, where we can make different choices from the ones we have been making on an automatic pilot.”

The difference between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind explains why positive thinking alone does not work. We think with our conscious mind, but we are living 95 percent of our lives using our unconscious mind. Our positive thinking cannot reach the unconscious mind. Step one in changing, therefore, is to stay in your conscious state of mind as much as possible. Mindfulness, awareness training and meditation are tools to stay focussed and present. The idea is that your conscious wishes and desires drive your live, rather than the old programmes of others.

People that are in a conscious state of mind are present in the here and now. Only in the here and now, is it possible to change your thinking and your attitude. The problem is that this state does not last. Very soon, the automatic pilot of the subconscious mind takes over. Usually this happens because our conscious mind is so busy, that we are not able to be present. This gives our subconscious the time to run the show. Learning to stay focused and present, is important to really have an impact on your own health.

Nocebo

Dr. Lipton gives an example to show how strong the conscious mind can be. Everybody is familiar with the placebo effect. If you belief that you can heal yourself, or that a pill will heal you (even if it is a sugar pill) that becomes possible. The placebo effect is a very real effect. But this principle also works in the opposite direction. People that thought they had received chemo therapy, lost their hair and got sick, while in fact they did not receive chemo at all but only some sort of sailing solution. This is called the nocebo effect. “One third of the people get healed cause they believe in the healing effect of a placebo. One third of the people are inhibited from healing because of negative beliefs.“ This is equally powerful…it is about the power of beliefs.

A final advise from Dr. Lipton: Beliefs control our body and mind. The environment controls the genes. This means that it is not necessary to look for quick fixes when ill. We are programmed to go see a doctor if something is wrong. We stop thinking about our health, because the doctor decides what’s best. If he prescribes a pill to make things better, we take the pill without questioning that. “Drugs and surgery are powerful tools when they are not overused,” says Dr. Lipton, “but the notion of simple drug fixes is fundamentally flawed. Because we are not powerless biochemical machines, popping a pill every time we are mentally or physically out of tune is not the answer.”

The deeper answer is being present, staying focussed, taking responsibility of our own health. For this, it is needed to live our lives as consciously as possible. Meditation and mindfulness training are but two tools that are available for your well-being. They provide an increased awareness and consciousness and are powerful steps towards taking responsibility for your health. According to Dr. Lipton, it is not hard to make these kind of changes in your life. “The fact that you believe making changes is hard, is yet another  programmed belief,” he says. “Change can be very quick. It can happen in minutes and old programmes can change very quickly. We are programmed to be victims, but that is not true.”

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Healing, Science

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Every life lesson is a pearl

March 11, 2012

Written by Anika Goldhahn

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Every life is a story! The 46 years of Deborah Adams Livingston tell a tragic but hopeful story that fills an entire book – Strand of Pearls – a book full of pain, full of sadness, but also and even more of hope, guidance and healing.


Deborah Livingston broke her mother’s pearl necklace when she was a toddler. As a punishment she was beaten up by her dad. It was the starting point of a regular abuse on every possible level until she was 16 and able to break out and leave home. End of story? No, Deborah Livingston’s life is definitely not a short story.

“Her freedom of that abuse took her to abuse at the hands of others and to a tragic accident that cost the life of a friend,” says the back cover of “Strand of Pearls”. The author leaves you believing that after each chapter the world seems to be at peace. But there is always a next chapter and things only get worse.

The broken pearl necklace becomes a metaphor and a stylistic device throughout the book. For Deborah Livingston, pearls symbolize life lessons and she collected quite a few along the way.

In her Introduction she explains: “It is my belief that the title of this book was not only predestined, but it also formed the foundation for my utmost challenges, growths, and transformations. As we are born, the slate is wiped clean, and we start as innocents once again. For me, that innocence ended quickly. While still in diapers, I was playing with a strand of pearls and accidently broke them. I couldn’t know then that the experience would come to represent my purpose in this life. Metaphorically, I was the broken strand. The pearls were – and continue to be – my lessons. My destiny was to repair the Strand of Pearls.”

Strand of Pearls author Deborah Adams Livingston

The book starts out with a very vivid, detailed and emotional narration of the author’s mother’s life. For me, a good book is a good book when it makes me cry at the end of it, when I get moved to tears at the last page. I don’t have the words to describe a book that does that to me already in chapter two. That’s exactly what happened to me when reading “Strand of Pearls”. I worked my way through page 23, when a sudden flood of tears hit me. I had just arrived at the part of the book, where Deborah Livingston describes her mother’s experiences of her honeymoon night– a night, in which her mother realized she had made a horrible mistake by marrying this man, future father of Deborah Livingston.

“Today Mom has labeled herself an unfit mother for allowing those beatings to happen. When I was a child, I blamed her for not saving me. I’ve assured her that I no longer blame her. Forgiveness softens us and others. Now that I am an adult, I understand the position Mom was in. I don’t even blame my dad, because he was sick and didn’t know how to recover. I forgive him and have compassion for him,” Deborah Livingston writes.

“Strand of Pearls” is a book about forgiveness and about thankfulness for everything, even the bad things that happen to us – especially the bad things that happen to us! But I have to warn you: Reading this book is painful. You probably can relate to some of the incidences described in this book. Maybe you also had a troubled childhood, a wild teenage life, where you were reckless, careless and arrogant. Maybe you have felt guilty for something or maybe you even have been addicted to something. “Strand of Pearls” will take you on a trip down memory lane. This book should come with tissues! It rips up your old, hidden wounds – but only to get all the dirt out, so that the wounds can heal properly, only leaving scars, which you will be proud to show off.

Deborah Livingston gives us all hope. Her story is a fairy tale, only that it is true! She was the young Cinderella, who was abused and ill-treated  – but now lives in her own little heaven on earth. However, contrary to famous fairy tales, it didn’t take a knight in shining amour to rescue her from her old, miserable life. No, she did it on her own and only she was able to build her little heaven on earth. With her story, Deborah Livingston heals the pain of her readers and gives them an example how to live a happy and fulfilling life without anger, regrets and sorrows.

This book is a gift to the world.

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Healing, Inspiration, Therapy

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Is there a life after death?

February 27, 2012

Written by Anika Goldhahn

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People often ask themselves questions that do not seem to have an answer. Sometimes this is called philosophy. Especially when a loved one dies, people ask: Is there life after death? A medium is a person who claims to be able to communicate with the other world. Healthy Spirit has recently published an interview with the psychic medium Brandie Chrisman from Oklahoma.

About half a year ago I was confronted with a very interesting question: “Is mediumship a religion, a philosophy or a science?” From my perspective it is all these three things at once, and today I want to focus on the scientific part of it. Can life after death be proven? Is there scientific evidence that there is an afterlife?

That’s a question Dr. Gary E. Schwartz has asked himself before he started researching this topic. He presented his mouth-dropping, scientific results in his book “The Afterlife Experiments”. What I love about Gary Schwartz is that he not a typically New Age guy, not someone, who has had a near-death experience and thrown himself into the topic. No, Gary E. Schwartz, Ph. D., is Professor of Psychology, Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry and Surgery at the University of Arizona. He received his PH.D. in psychology from Harvard University in 1971 and was an assistant professor at Harvard for five years. He then worked as a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Yale University and was director of the Yale Psychophysiology Centor and co-director of the Yale Behaviorial Medicine Clinic.

How do we prove life after death?

His book “The Afterlife Experiments” consists of mainly three types of experiments. He asked a few of the most famous mediums of America – including John Edward, Suzane Northrup and George Anderson – to take part in a series of experiments. He started off with so called “private sittings” where the medium sat in front of the sitter, who was unknown to the medium. The medium gave information about relatives and friends from the other side and the sitter was allowed to answer only with a “yes” or a “no”. All mediums were giving readings to the same sitters and the accuracy was scored. It turned out that the mediums ranged from 77 to 95 per cent accuracy.

Are mediums just good guessers?

Gary Schwartz also tested this experiment with students, who did not claim to have any psychic abilities and they only achieved a 36 per cent accuracy. But what if the mediums would read their sitters’ facial expressions? So Schwartz introduced a new experiment where the sitter and the medium were not allowed to see each other. But what if the medium would read the sitters voices – as emotions can be obtained from how someone speaks? So, finally Gary Schwartz came up with an experiment called the “totally silent-sitter experiment” where medium and sitter did not meet and did also not speak to each other. A reading consisted of two parts. The first part was about the medium giving all the information he or she got, without getting any feedback. In the second part the sitter was allowed to nod or shake the head, which was then verbalized as a “yes” or a “no” by Gary Schwartz.

Here you can watch how one of the experiments worked, as a HBO team recorded Gary Schwartz work for a TV show:

“The Afterlife Experiments” proves that contact with the beyond is possible by using controlled laboratory conditions. The book is full of extraordinary stories that truly are unbelievable. It will give you goosebumps reading it! The website Paranomal Phenomena wrote in a book review: “It sure is compelling. And you really have to read the book to appreciate how compelling some of the mediums’ hits are – information so specific and so unlikely to be guessed through cold reading that we have to consider that something extraordinary is taking place.”

The evidence clearly is thought-provoking. But personally, I also loved Gary Schwartz’s very philosophical chapter “How Our Lives Might Change” on how we would all live differently, if we took life after death as a common fact. How would it affect our legal system, how would we treat people around us and how would we lead our very own lives, if we knew that it’s just not over when our bodies stop functioning? Think about it!

Gary Schwartz - author of "The Afterlife Experiments"

“The Afterlife Experiments is an important book about some very important research – important because it’s the first unbiased, controlled examination of the phenomenon of spiritualism. It’s a research that we hope will be continued by Schwartz and taken up by other research teams. It’s a subject as important as – if not more important than – any other scientific field of study,” says Paranomal Phenomena.

When I read this book a year ago, I was looking for prove. I so wanted to believe in a life after death. I wanted to be sure that my loved ones really did go to heaven, or at least to a place other than the cemetery. I am a skeptic, though. I have read tons of books, watched countless documentaries – but there was always this thought: “What if they are lying?” Gary Schwartz’ “The Afterlife Experiments” is pretty convincing and even a skeptic will find it quite hard to find counter-arguments. Still, the thought of “What if he is lying?” occupied my mind. For those of you, who can’t stop doubting, I recommend seeing a medium. You can read all the books in the world, watch millions of TV shows and documentaries, but nothing will be more convincing than a reading with a professional medium.

If you want to see a medium in your area, contact the Healthy Spirit authors or leave a comment here. We might be able to give you contact details of a professional medium in your country/town.

Gary Schwartz is also author of “The Energy Healing Experiments” (2007), “The G.O.D. Experiments” (2006), “The Truth about Medium” (2005) and “The Living Energy Universe” (1999).

Here you can also listen to a radio interview about life after death with Gary Schwartz:

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Mediumship

The benefits of yoga for body, mind and spirit

February 17, 2012

Written by Wendy Kwaks

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This week, our journey to finding ever more ways and means to improve our health and restore balance in our lives brings us to India, as Healthy Spirit explores the benefits of yoga on our physical and mental well-being.

Brief introduction of yoga

The Indians are smart people. They have understood the connection between body, mind and spirit for ages and they have always had an holistic approach to health. One of these holistic disciplines of which research shows the benefits on our health, is yoga. Yoga…a word that is well-known in the western world nowadays, but that is also still surrounded by misconceptions like that it is only for grannies, or for lazy people because you only have to sit down with your legs crossed. Or the opposite misconception: that it is only for very fit and healthy people that lay down with their legs in their neck, doing the most indescribable poses. Or that yoga is a religion, which is also not true. As a fervent practitioner of yoga, I can say that everyone can practice it, and it feels great. It works miracles for your body, mind and spirit, by ‘only’ doing a couple of exercises. I see enough results to want to share this story with you.

balance

balance

So what is yoga really? Yoga is a discipline that uses exercises, breathing, meditation and mantras to improve health in the broadest sense of the word. It is designed to not only improve the body, but to understand the mind and free the spirit. As the Indians have always known, everything about us is interconnected. In his book Yoga as medicine: the yogic prescription for health and healing author Timothy McCall says that archeological artefacts that were found in the river Indus valley show evidence that some form of yoga goes back to the third millennium B.C.. Yoga belongs to the earliest periods of civilization on the Indian subcontinent. Among the evidence, says McCall, “are figures that are seated in the crossed-legged position, a basic posture of yoga.”

Yoga has its origin deep in India’s past and is also very well-known in other parts of the East. In the West, yoga has been made available less than one-hundred years ago, but it is rapidly becoming more popular. And with reason, because the benefits for your physical and mental health are enormous. Timothy McCall writes: “yoga has a decidedly different view from Western medicine’s about what constitutes health – and this may be a big part of why it’s so effective. Health to the yogi extends far beyond not having a headache. It is about optimizing the function of every system in your body, from the muscles to digestion, circulation, and immunity. It is about emotional well-being, spiritual resilience, and buoyancy, even joy. Yoga teaches that only when these elements are aligned can you maximize your chance for health and healing.”

And indeed, says Timothy McCall, “when you take into consideration that a wide variety of factors can affect your well-being, you will believe the most efficient way to remedy health problems is to work on many issues simultaneously. This is precisely what the practice of yoga does.”

What does yoga consist of?

So what exactly does yoga consist of? What does it do? To find that out, it is useful to take the word yoga and look at its meaning. Yoga is a Sanskrit word, that is connected to the English word yoke. According to Swami Rajarshi Muni it means “to unite, to join, to harness, to yoke, to contact or to connect. It is the joining of a healthy body and a disciplined mind for spiritual development.” (from: Yoga: the ultimate spiritual path).

upside down

upside down

The most well-known part of yoga are the different poses – called asanas – but, in fact, yoga is much broader and is a complete system for spiritual practice that aims for self improvement. There are ethical guidelines, spiritual observances, physical exercises, breathing exercises, exercises to concentrate and turn your senses inward, meditation and deep relaxation. Working on all these elements leads to well being. In my own words: yoga is good for you as it will improve your physical well-being, calm your mind and bring balance in your life.

What does yoga do for you?

Timothy McCall writes: “Yoga is quite simply the most powerful system of overall health and well-being I have ever seen.” He writes about the many benefits for people with health problems, as regular practice of yoga can help people with rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, pain relief, problems of the immune system, depression, mental problems and much more. “This single comprehensive system can reduce stress, increase flexibility, improve balance, promote strength, heighten cardiovascular conditioning, lower blood pressure, reduce overweight, strengthen bones, prevent injuries, lift mood, improve immune function, increase oxygen supply to the tissues, heighten sexual functioning and fulfillment, foster psychological equanimity, and promote spiritual well-being….and that’s only a partial list.”

The first step is to bring the body under control through exercises. As everything is interconnected, enhancing flexibility of your body leads to a more flexible mind and brings emotions under control. Yoga helps to balance body and soul. The asanas boost your body’s resistance to disease. The breathing exercises strengthen and calm the nervous system. Both increase the blood flow to internal organs and bring more oxygen to your cells. This will immediately have an impact on your mind. You will start to clear your head and will become more at peace. Regular meditation will enhance this.

Timothy McCall states that these mental and psychological benefits of yoga are even more profound than the physical effects he noticed from doing the exercises. The ultimate aim of yoga is the realisation of the true Self. In their book Yoga: mastering the basics authors Sandra Anderson and Rolf Sovik say that “all the disciplines of yoga are intended for one purpose: to awaken within you a new sense of balance and harmony that will gradually reintroduce you to yourself”. Over time, yoga practices—especially mediation—actually train the brain for better focus and self control. Yoga teacher and author Kelly McGonigal states in an interview with yogajournal that “studies show that regular practice makes the ‘willpower’ systems of the brain bigger, better connected, and more efficient. So people who practice yoga regularly over time find it easier to make more calculated decisions that can help them in all areas of their lives, including making healthier choices.”

Different styles

As with all disciplines, there is not one form of yoga. Depending on your preferences, you can choose the form of yoga that fits you: Hatha, Iyengar, Kundalini, Bhakti, Raja, Karma, Jnana etc. Some forms have a stronger focus on the asanas, others on the breathing, on chanting and singing mantras, on the more subtle energies surrounding us or on how to control the mind. There are many books available and the yogajournal website gives lots of information on different styles and exercises.

open

open

How to start

I hope that by now, you will understand the benefits that yoga can give you, and why it works. And to gain all the positive from it, is not difficult. In fact, it is very easy to start. As said, yoga certainly is not only for people that are already fit and flexible. Sandra Anderson and Rolf Sovik say that one of the advantages of yoga is that “we start where we are – not where our expectations tell us to be.” So if you have physical limitations, you can do yoga. You begin where you need to begin, with some tools like towels to support you, or blocks to put your hands on.

As with everything, there are no quick fixes. Yoga is no instant remedy but is something for the longer term. But if you continue yoga practice, you will gradually become more fit, more flexible and more at ease. Timothy Mc Call states that “yoga is not a panacea, but it is powerful medicine indeed for body, mind and spirit. Above all, yoga is a path. The longer you stay with it and the more heart you put into the journey, the farther it can take you.” From my own experience I can say that some exercises are relatively easy for me, and some (forward bends are killing me!!) are almost impossible. This will be different for everyone. But keeping up the practice and doing breathing exercises simultaneously, helps to improve. And although I haven’t been doing this for a long time, I already notice a positive effect on my health. My body is steadily becoming more flexible and my breath has deepened. I need less sleep, which is really striking for me. But the biggest effect is in my head. I am so much calmer and much more relaxed. I can see a problem for what it is: something that needs to be dealt with without drama. I don’t hang on to negative stuff as much, but I am much more able to let things go. I feel more balanced and at ease. No joke! This is why I wanted to share this story.

Category:

Food

Homeopathy – just sugar pills?

February 8, 2012

Written by Anika Goldhahn

1 Comment

I have written this article, while I was at university attending acourse called “Investigative Journalism”. At that time, February 2010, there was a huge debate going on, whether homeopathy should be banned in the UK. I was shocked when I read the news and decided to have a closer look at it. This article might be a bit different from the rest on here, and it might not be up to date anymore, but since Healthy Spirit has covered homeopathy recently, I just wanted to show you how pharma lobbies work and how powerful they can be in reshaping the truth.

“Homeopathy does not work beyond the placebo effect,” read headlines of many newspapers after the Science and Technology Committee published a report on the effectiveness of homeopathy at the end of February (2010). This report recommended that the NHS should stop funding homeopathy, as no proof has been found that it actually works.

We all hope that committees that advice the government in their decision-making are impartial and recommend new policies by doing in-depth and objective research. But when I watched the oral submission sessions for this report, I could not help but feel that the witnesses that believed in the homeopathy’s effectiveness were not treated with the same impartiality than those who were opposing to what they repeatedly called “sugar pills”. Especially MP Dr Evan Harris seemed to have been very aggressive in his way of putting questions to those, who claimed that homeopathy works. Maybe that is just my opinion. But it left me suspicious and I was wondering how impartial the report has been put together. So I started to investigate.

The Science and Technology Committee report says: “The systematic reviews and meta-analysis conclusively demonstrate that homeopathic products perform no better than placebos.”

Most of the overall 60 written submissions by scientists, homeopaths, charities and patients tell another story. Nearly 80 per cent of those taking part in the written submissions cited studies that prove the effectiveness of homeopathy or at least demand further research into the topic. The report seems to ignore most of them. Dr Peter Fisher, clinical director of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, says: “The report is systematic only in excluding facts which tend to support homeopathy: It omits or misinterprets any evidence which challenges the view that homeopathy is a placebo response.”

Dr Peter Fisher, homeopath

While this became quite obvious when looking at the written submissions, it is harder to notice the selection of proof given at the oral hearings. There was hardly any evidence to select from as not many experts had been invited. Dr Fisher was the only homeopath who gave evidence. What was the point inviting Paul Bennett from Boots or Robert Wilson from the British Association of Homeopathic Manufacturers? They don’t have any expertise in the effectiveness of homeopathy and everything they said did not count anyway, as they make profit from homeopathic products.

Neither does Dr Ben Goldacre from The Guardian nor Tracey Brown, managing director of anti-homeopathic organization Sense About Science, have any in-depth knowledge about the topic. At least Dr Goldacre is a doctor, but Brown is not a scientist.

“The people they invited were biased,” Dr Fisher told Healthy Spirit. “They had people like Tracey Brown. She is not a scientist, she knows nothing about homeopathy. She is a propagandist.” Before Brown ended up at Sense About Science, she was working for the PR company Regester Larkin, which had pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Aventis Pharma as their clients. Brown’s current employment does seem to be very different.

Sense About Science refers to them as an “independent charitable trust”, but the fact that more than half of their funding comes from pharmaceutical companies does not make them look independent at all. “Sense About Science is essentially an industry funded lobby group,” Dr Fisher pointed out already in 2007. At that time, the organization made a joke out of these allegations, saying: “Peter Fisher’s desperate comments show about as much grasp of reality as the homeopathic medicine he sells.” But now that Tracey Brown gave evidence to the committee, it is time to address the question of Sense About Science’s independence seriously.

 This question becomes even more interesting when taking into account that Dr Evan Harris, member of the committee, is collaborating with Sense About Science. Dr Harris has played a major role in questioning the witnesses and voting for the report. It is quite clear that he is against homeopathy, as a YouTube video revealed him openly campaigning against it on the 10:23 in January, just before the report was published. The 10:23 event was a protest where homeopathy opponents took an “overdose” of homeopathic medicine to demonstrate that it would not have any effect. Was Dr Harris able to judge the evidence objectively, overcoming his personal beliefs? Due to the upcoming electing, he is currently unable to answer any questions, but Dr Peter Fisher thinks: “He is allowed to have an opinion but it is quite clear that he was not really interested in the facts.”

Dr Even Harris taking part at the 10:23 event in January 2010:

The other two MPs, who voted for the report, didn’t seem either. Ian Cawsey did not even bother showing up at the oral hearings and Dr Doug Naysmith joined the committee after the evidence was taken in January. He also left parliament in April. It looks as if he only joined the committee to vote for this report.

Could it be that Cawsey and Dr Naysmith failed to notice the exclusion of facts given on the hearings, because they were not there? Luckily the House of Commons didn’t. An early day motion stated that the House of Commons is criticizing the committee for taking evidence from Tracey Brown and Dr Ben Goldacre, when they should have been listened to “primary care trusts that commission homeopathy, doctors who use it in a primary care setting and other relevant organisations, such as the Society of Homeopaths”.

It also noticed that the Science and Technology Committee ignored many studies that proved that homeopathy was effective and recommended to maintain funding of homeopathy by the NHS.

Homeopathy: Medicine for the 21st Century (HMC:21), a group of homeopaths, received a letter from the Department of Health, which states that it cannot deal with the report at the moment due to the election, so everything will stay as it is. HMC:21 is convinced that this means their victory. But another active homeopath, who asked to maintain anonymous, is not that optimistic: “It is an orchestrated campaign that has been going on for years – this is only the latest action. […] The Evidence Check is not dead – as soon as this election is over, the people who forced it on to the agenda in the first place will force it back on again, “ the source said.

Just as Dispatches has revealed lobbying in Parliament, doubts start to arise in the public. Did lobby groups such as Sense About Science influence the committee? Or was it the MPs’ personal opinions that resulted in the published report? Did Dr Doug Naysmith join the committee only to vote for the report? And how much is Dr Evan Harris involved with Sense About Science, a lobby group that seems to be paid by pharmaceutical companies to get a certain message across. No matter if the government decides to ignore the report by the Science and Technology Committee, there are some serious questions that need to be answered. Of course we can’t make any assertions but this report indicates that we should not believe everything, our MPs tell us.

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Medicine

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Life’s secrets unravelled with playing cards

January 28, 2012

Written by Wendy Kwaks

3 Comments

Since I started working with tarot cards a few years ago, I noticed that many people find them spooky and scary. They are afraid the cards will tell negative things about their future, or that someone will suddenly know all about their darkest secrets… And maybe this fear is not so strange, considering the striking names of the cards, like the fool, the magician, the devil, death and the wheel of fortune. But tarot doesn’t work like that. Like many old techniques, tarot is at your disposal for your personal development. So please come along as we enter yet another realm of spiritual development and dive into the complicated world of archetypical pictures of this strange set of cards called the tarot.

The tarot in a nutshell

Tarot cards are source of ageless wisdom. The oldest tarot decks are thought to be made somewhere in the 14th Century, but nobody knows for sure. On the cards are universal symbols that represent archetypical qualities that we all experience in our lives. The pictures and symbols on the cards stimulate your subconscience to read messages from the cards. They will give you ideas on how to handle a certain situation and show you if something is working out or not.

In her book Ask your Guides, American spiritual teacher and healer Sonia Choquette explains the tarot as follows: “The beauty of tarot is that by using images instead of words, it speaks directly to our subconscious mind and links it directly to our higher consciousness. Tarot cards open a dialogue with the Universe and give you access to greater creativity.” Paul Foster Case says in his book the Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages that “These pictures call up in every human mind, irrespective of race, certain basic associations of ideas.” Together, the cards represent the journey that we all take through life.

The main tarot decks consist of seventy-eight cards that represent a symbolic wheel of human life. The cards can roughly be divided into two parts: the so-called minor arcane and the major arcane. The fifty-six cards of the minor arcane talk about what is happening in our daily lives, the obstacles and challenges that we are facing, and the energies that are there to support and heal us.These cards are divided, like ordinary playing cards, into four suits: wands, cups, swords and pentacles, that represent the same four elements we also find in astrology: fire (imagination, ideas), air (the intellectual, the logical), earth (the material world) and water (emotions, feelings). The other twenty-two cards of the major arcane talk about the more major influences in life. They have special titles that give little hints of the meaning: the Fool shows a new beginning, the Wheel of Fortune talks about abundance and luck, the Tower points at tearing down existing structures and believes, and the card Judgment is about rebirth and resurrection. All these images give you information on a deeper level about questions or situations that you want to clarify.

How to start

It goes without saying that the first step is getting your own deck of cards. That sounds easy, but is it really? If you start looking around, you will immediately notice there are hundreds of tarot decks out there and the drawings differ substantially. To make it even more complex, there is also a large choice of spiritual, angel or animal cards available. These can be very helpful when you are dealing with emotional issues, but have nothing to do as such with tarot and we will not elaborate on this topic here.

 

Sonia Choquette explains the large amount of available decks as follows: “Because the Universal Forces of Light want us to tap in to our spiritual guidance as quickly as possible, many intuitives and artists have been instructed to create modern and accessible versions of the ancient tarot system. Therefore, there are now many oracle decks available that are quite straightforward.” You can use your intuition and see what attracts you, but it is good to know that some decks are very detailed and add all kinds of symbols, whilst others have changed the sequence of the cards or the numbers. One deck is not better than the other one. It is just a matter of what speaks to you, of personal preference.

If you are completely lost, and don’t know what deck to choose, you could start with one of the most well-known decks: the Rider-Waite tarot. This is a standard deck and the symbols and meanings are easy to learn. But regardless of the deck you choose, you will need to put some effort in it to get a general feeling of the pictures and their meaning. “The tarot contains a wealth of guidance and information, but it takes hard work to learn to use it”, says Sonia Choquette. After thirty years of studying the tarot, she says she’s been only beginning to grasp the deepest meaning of the cards. There are many books available that talk about the meaning of the cards and there is lots of information available on the internet as well.

But the difficulty in learning the prescribed meanings doesn’t have to stop us from starting to use the cards right away. There is no need to know all the meanings by heart, before you can start working with the cards. A very common way to work with the cards is to use your intuition and see what the cards mean to you. Just think of a question and pick a card. Look at the card and see what your inner voice tells you about the specific meaning of this card in relation to your question. It can give you lots of information. German music teacher and tarot master Angela Oeckl says it works both ways: “you can study the traditional meaning of the cards, but also feel or know through meditation what each and every card means to you. Through experience, the connection and meaning grows and develops.”

The easiest way to use the cards is to shuffle them and pick one card at random. You can keep a certain question in mind and then take a card. Angela Oeckl says she often picks one card for the day and keeps it on her desk. In the evening, she analyses what the day has been about. Another simple way is to pick three cards at random (pictures pointing down, choose by feeling). Then spread the cards on the table: left – middle –right/past – present –future. Focus on the cards and on what the images tell you. You will get lots of information on your question as the cards show you how you have dealt with a situation in the past (left image), how it is going now (middle image) and what is important to know for the future (right image). If you have gained a better understanding of the cards, there are many prescribed patterns you can follow and they all have their own value. Just experiment and see what works for you.

Taking the cards to the next level

If you have gained a deeper understanding of the tarot, it is time to take it one step further. Sonia Choquette says the images on tarot cards are a tool for communication with your higher self, your inner voice. So we could actually say tarot readings are not at all about the images. Two people receiving the same combination of cards would not necessarily have the same reading. So how does that work? Every person has an energetic field around him. That is where most of the information is actually coming from. The cards are merely a tool to tap in to those subtle energies, since the images touch your unconscious mind and your higher self. The cards are helpful if you are running out of words, but the secret is you don’t really need them. Angela Oeckl says “The cards are a very spiritual tool, because there comes a point where you leave the cards and divine inspiration takes over.” To get to this point where you can easily tap in to the universal power, takes practice. The cards are a useful tool to help you get there.

What does a tarot reading have to offer?

There are many different reasons for people to do a tarot reading. They want a better understanding of their past, bring light to a present situation or see what the options are in a given situation. The cards can be used as a tool for spiritual growth, mental and physical healing, understanding relationships or guidance in life. A good tarot reading will give guidance and comfort, as it shows different possibilities. In my view, tarot cards will not foretell the future. This is not possible because it would mean that people can only sit and wait passively for something to happen that they do not want to happen. I do not believe it works that way.

What the cards will do, however, is show the most likely outcome if you keep doing what you are currently doing. A good tarot reader will show you this but will present other options s well. People always have more than one option. A good reading shows you what will work and what won’t. It will show you how you can change the outcome of events by changing your behaviour. In other words, the cards can stimulate someone to take action, to take back control. And that is a really powerful gift. Angela Oeckl explains this beautifully as she says “if the future looks darker, I can see possibilities or directions available to which a person in fear is blind.” As a result, she sees that people no longer have so much fear when they leave. They feel more confident that they can continue on their path, with new options to try. This comfort has a great healing effect.

Although it is absolutely possible to do a reading for yourself it can be a bit difficult if you are working on emotional issues. The ego will often try to trick you and you have to be honest to yourself. Sonia Choquette asks a good question: “are you looking for answers, or do you just want to hear what you want to hear? If you’re seeking real guidance, the cards will work. If you’re just looking for quick fixes of sympathy, they won’t”. Sometimes you don’t see your own blind spots. That will make it somewhat harder to do an objective reading for yourself, but if you are alert to this, you can absolutely use the cards for yourself.

To sum up…

A good tarot reading will give you more insight in the patterns that are going on in your life. It will show you possible outcome of your actions, but also present other possibilities. Tarot cards do not foretell the future. Your future will change every time you make new choices. So don’t ever let someone tell you that something will go wrong for you and that there is no chance of improvement. That has nothing to do with tarot cards, but with the integrity of the reader. The cards themselves are neutral and as with everything in the spiritual realm, in the end it is up to people. Reading cards can be a beautiful way of helping people, if it is done in a respectful and loving way.

Category:

Inspiration, Mediumship

Strand of Pearls

January 26, 2012

Written by Anika Goldhahn

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A few weeks back, Healthy Spirit has published “The secret of Yin and Yang”, an article on Traditional Chinese medicine with an interview of TCM practitioner Deborah Livingston. We are very happy and proud to inform you that her memoir “Strand of Pearls” is now available for purchase at the Balboa website book store. You can also order the book online from Amazon in two weeks.

In her memoir, STRAND OF PEARLS, Deborah Livingston recounts her journey from childhood abuse, frequent tragedy and adult addiction to a spiritual transformation that brought her an inner peace and joy available to us all. Deborah was the first of three children born to parents–a Canadian father, a New England mother–who were worlds apart in their own upbringings and views of the world. From two to sixteen, when she was finally able to break free, Deborah suffered abuse at the hands of her father. Her freedom from that abuse took her to abuse at the hands of others, and to a tragic accident that cost the life of a friend. Her misfortunes early in life and her inability to see them as the “pearls” they actually were led to serious addiction in her early forties. And yet this addiction saved her life, preparing her for the inner transformation she would experience. In STRAND OF PEARLS Deborah Livingston invites the reader into the most painful, raw moments of her past so that the light of the present might shine brighter–as an invitation to others to embrace hope, faith and gratitude in their lives. Today Deborah lives with her loving husband, Joel, in Massachusetts, and is the proud mother of a college-age daughter, Cassandra. She is a practicing AOBTA-certified traditional Chinese medicine therapist and believes in life’s gifts whatever forms they may take.

Deborah Livingston says: “I have a very important message to share with those who the Universe feels is in need based on the adversities of my life experiences. That message is that it is possible to move into the light from the dark and discover the peace that is born within us all. I aspire to inspire and if I can plant the seeds of hope and faith in just one other person than I have succeeded in putting a smile on someone’s face.”

She recently became the newest author to join the 2012 Hay House Conferences. Deborah Livinston will be in Atlanta, GA on April 14, 15 in Vancouver, Canada May 5, 6 and Toronto Canada June 22, 23. Hay House radio will be conducting a hour radio show in about 3 months.  Arrangements are currently being scheduled to do a radio show and a book signing in London August 1-3. If you have any questions about the book or the author, contact Deborah via email (debliv@yahoo.com) or via Facebook. A blog and a website about the book are soon to come.

In these pages lies a true testament of the power of healing through spiritual unfoldment – even when we are consciously unaware that this very process is taking place. In this story of the life to date of Deborah Adams Livingston, she identifies the problem, the history and pre-history, the at-times torturous recovery and her emergence into a life of acceptance. The spark of Divinity, which is in all of us, shines through the healing process that has become the life of Deb.

Reverend Ronald P. Monroe

Spiritualist Minister

Commissioned Healer

Certified Medium

Facilitator of Spiritual Unfoldment

 

Strand of Pearls is the kind of book that will keep you up all night because you just can’t stop reading. This compelling tale of a woman’s journey through soul-crushing life experiences is presented with sincerity, sensitivity, and fearless candor. Each chapter reveals yet another facet of a life filled with a potent brew of abuse, denial, escape, tragedy, yearning, love, and loss. Woven throughout the story are reflections that offer a hint of the transformation to come. Once that metamorphosis is complete, you can’t help but share Deborah’s joy in the freshness of a spirit reborn. This is truly a book of hope, redemption, and the potential for renewal that lies within each of us. Reading it may forever change the way you view the world.

Sandra Corbitt-Sears, M.S.
Counselor and Consultant

If you are looking for hope, healing, inspiration and transformation Deborah Livingston’s new book, Strand of Pearls is a must read and one you will not be able to put down. Her story is compelling, heart-wrenching and fearlessly honest. In her journey to find herself and her soul, she almost loses everything that was important to her including her family and friends. She had everything going for her, a very successful career, a loving husband and daughter and yet she felt empty and lost inside. She tried to cover her repressed feelings from childhood physical/ emotional abuse and trauma by drinking. It is only when she surrendered and cried out for help to Spirit did her recovery process start. Today, she is a spark of light and love and helping others to change from the inside out. Her life story is truly miraculous and one you will not forget.

Pat Hastings, MS, CPC

Author of Simply a Woman of Faith, Inspirational Speaker, Spiritual Life Coach, Alcohol and Drug Therapist 

Category:

Inspiration

The journey of a medium

January 22, 2012

Written by Anika Goldhahn

1 Comment

During my studies at the Arthur Findlay College I have witnessed many amazing readings, where mediums connected to the spirit world and gave evidence of the life after death. One evidential demonstration nearly made me fall off the chair and that was done by Brandie Chrisman. In an interview with Healthy Spirit she talks about her journey and her life as a medium.

Brandie, you are a professional medium. What exactly is a medium and how does that work?

A medium is exactly that. We are the middle man, the messenger between the spiritual world and the physical world. We are a conduit for spirit.

How does it work? I love this question. It took me years to figure it out. All mediums work differently through a spectrum of perceptive states: Clairvoyance (clear seeing), clairaudience (clear sound) clairsentient (clear feeling), clairolfactory (clear smelling), clairgustatory ( clear tasting), clairoratory (clear speaking) , omniscience (all knowing).  Good mediums train themselves to recognize how they receive information and how to deliver the information they are receiving.  For example, the ways I will receive most of my information is through clairsentience and clairvoyance. I will see in my mind’s eye a projection of a person or event – like you would watch a movie on a projection screen. I also work through a bit of symbology. So a symbol such as an oil rig can be given to me and I will automatically know through repetition of that symbol, that the spirit I have with me during the session, has ties to either petroleum geology or the oil industry. If I see the oil rig in a field – I know they had mineral rights.   I also feel the essence of the spirit I am working with (physical description, emotional disposition.) Lastly, sometimes I just know a bit of information without feeling it or seeing it (omniscience). Combine all the ways a medium receives information and out comes the evidence of the person’s life and the message.

Here you can watch parts of a demonstration Brandie did:

How does your working life look like?

It varies from month to month.  On a busy day my day would start out by taking my two little ones to school. After that I would sit/meditate for an hour. I would then have two to four sessions. Sessions can last typically an hour. On any given month I would have at least one speaking engagement and a radio show. I try to balance Mommy hood with Mediumship. Although it can prove challenging at times.

Have you always been able to speak to spirit and how did you discover that you can?

I have always had some type of connection to the spirit world from birth (as all children do); however, it wasn’t until the age of nineteen that I realized to what capacity I could do this work. It started out in dreams for me. Once I accepted and started studying what mediumship is, the ability then transitioned into me being able to communicate with spirit during everyday life. I then had to learn how to control that ability and learn the ethics behind it. At 23 I set out to fully understand my gift, spirit and the soul. It has become almost a thirst to understand what it means to be  “a spiritual being living in a physical body”. I stay grounded with it but I also totally enjoy learning.

It must have a been a great shock for you! Where did you get your training? Tell me a bit about the training you have had.

The first modality of training I ever had was books. I then attending a weekend course in Austin, Texas.  It was the first and most important step that I could have ever taken for my growth. It gave me a vocabulary and exercises to expand and work with my psychic and mediumship gifts.  After that, I went back home to Oklahoma and became an avid reader of anything metaphysical I could get my hands on and I “practiced” through Myspace of all places. I say “practice” because it was just that. I didn’t ever charge because I needed the experience.  In January of 2010 I signed up for my first course at Arthur Findlay College in the U.K. and it’s been a whirl wind of development since.  I now work as a professional medium.

Here you can watch a video-blog of Brandie, where she talks a bit more about her journey and how she discovered that she is a medium: 

I’ve heard some people say that you are born to be a medium. Others claim that everyone can be a medium. What is your opinion? Can you learn to be a medium? If so, how?

I believe that true, real mediums are BORN. That being said I think it is everyone’s birth right to be able to connect with spirit and to receive messages from spirit. That can be done through meditation or some type of spiritual practice. Those working as mediums at high level, which have devoted their lives to the study and application of mediumship – those individuals are BORN with this gift. I’ve heard it said that it is “a particular type of person, a hard wiring within the soul and mind of that person that makes them a born medium”. I take that as my truth.

How many of your friends think you are crazy – basically talking to dead people? How did your environment react to that?

It varies. I’ve lost friends and connections with people because of the path I choose to take. Do they think I’m crazy? They might. But I believe that for as many people that fall out of our lives when we choose to grow and develop  -even that many more are brought into our lives to help support us on our journey.  So, for the most part, my environment and the relationships I have are supportive or tolerate my gift.

The life of a medium – is that glamorous or lonely? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a medium?

Its definitely not glamorous.  At least I wouldn’t choose to describe it that way. You get to help so many people and learn so many things. It is and always will be a life of giving. It’s not lonely either. You meet so many amazing souls and befriend so many of them. So I think that its somewhere in between. Sometimes it can be isolating do to your working schedule or the culture around you…but it is a rewarding and beautiful journey.

What is the point of talking to people that have passed on? What can they tell us or better what are they trying to teach us?

I think first of all, it can prove or support a belief in the hereafter. Secondly, through the connections we make, the people we meet, it can teach us how to live our lives. It can teach us how to live in the now, how to validate the people in our lives who haven’t died, how to love one another, and how to embrace this thing called the physical life.

If everyone would know as a fact that there is life after death, how would life look like? What, in your opinion, would change in the way people treat others and live their life?

I believe that it would aid us into living more conscious filled lives.  When we realize the value of relationships, the value of how we treat one another (which is always brought up in a reading one way or the other) we can then realize the value within everyday life and the lessons it brings.

If you want to know more about Brandie, check out her Youtube channel or add her on facebook, where she will update you with news, radio interviews, press coverage and her latest video-blogs.

Category:

Food, Mediumship

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How does homeopathy work?

January 10, 2012

Written by Anika Goldhahn

1 Comment

As I was suffering from a bad cold over Christmas, homeopathic remedies have become my best friends. Some call them “sugar pills”, others a “placebo”. Especially 2010 was a tough year for homeopaths, at least in the UK – as the Science Committee published a report claiming that homeopathy is not more effective than the placebo effect. Healthy Spirit will report more on these claims in the upcoming weeks, but first let’s find out what homeopathy is and how it works.

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Category:

Healing, Medicine, Therapy

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