Monday, February 29, 2016

A Super Moon Solar Eclipse



There is something fun happening in the heavens and I thought I'd take us all on a little journey into an astrological perspective of the week ahead of us.  On March 8th, we are having a Super Moon.  Because of our moon's position in its rotation around the earth, it will be coming quite close to us.  So its gravitational effect will be stronger than usual.  The moon is the heavenly body that is about nurturing, emotions, instincts and vulnerability.  So, chances are that these areas in our lives will have a stronger more powerful influence on us all.  And this will be a new moon.  The moon can appear to us as full or partial depending on how much of its bright side, (the side which is reflecting the sun,) is visible to us on earth. When the moon is new, it heralds new beginnings, fresh perspectives, optimism, hope and faith.  Doesn't that sound nice? 

Then, as well, on March 8th, we have a total Solar Eclipse.  This means that the sun will be shadowed by the moon as the moon will be passing directly between the earth and the sun.  The eclipse won't be visible here in California, but a Solar Eclipse is like a giant new moon.  The light and electrical emissions from the sun are temporarily blocked.  This can be like turning off and then re-starting your computer and it brings with it a huge dose of new beginnings, while refining our personal energy.  As this eclipse exerts its effect on us, we may find ourselves wanting to be with people who are congruent with these new vibrations that we are feeling.  And as we move into harmony with this energy, things can move ahead very quickly for us.

This particular eclipse is happening at 18 degrees and 55 minutes inside the constellation of Pisces.  So it will affect all of us slightly differently depending on where 18 degrees of Pisces is in your birth chart.  This information is easy to find and quite freely available on the internet.  All you need to do is go to any free astrological chart website like astro.cafeastrology.com and give your birth date, time and location.  Your chart will be instantly generated.  The house and or planets where 18 degrees of Pisces falls in your chart will be full of new or unexpected opportunities for you.  And this position will also have an affect on how it relates to the other planets and placements in your chart.

Being as this Solar Eclipse is in the planet of Pisces, there will be a very Piscean nature to this event.  Pisces is the constellation of compassion and sensitivity.  It holds the mystical, the spiritual and the intuitive.  So trust your gut intuition.  Surrender to a higher intelligence, knowing that the solar eclipse will expand it all.  This time will be full of creativity, healing and personal revelation.  And as is the case with all new beginnings, there will be things that we need to let go of in order to be able to receive the new.

This Solar Eclipse will be very liberating on many levels and it promises to expand our consciousness with new insights and revelations.  So pay attention to your dreams.  See if they bring you any new ideas or ways to heal.  Perhaps you can find fresh approaches to old problems that will suddenly bring resolve.  Be open to miracles and then sit back and let yourself be carried on the wisdom of the stars.  Listen, look within, let go and enjoy the ride.  


For more enlightening information about astrology, please check in with some of my favorites: 
pamgregory.com  
davidpondastrologer.comdavidpondastrologer.com  
astro.cafeastrology.com 
robinscosmicnest.com 
heavenlybodiesastrology.com 



© Josephine Laing, 2016








Monday, February 22, 2016

Chia Pudding For Breakfast Wow!



A friend of mine worked at "The Tree of Life" in Patagonia, Arizona, where they routinely reverse both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in just twenty one days through diet.  "The Tree," as they all fondly refer to it is run by a medical doctor, Gabriel Cousens.  Through reading his books, I have completely revolutionized the way that I look at food.  Having seen a lot of suffering from diabetes in my family history, and striving to live my life without ever taking prescription drugs, I was naturally very interested in what Dr. Cousens has to share.


    The diet at 'The Tree' is raw vegan and very low glycemic.  So, when people first begin to reverse their disease, they are eating lots of fresh raw veggies, but no starchy ones.  So, there are no raw  sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots or beets.  Nothing starchy, nothing sweet.  Fruits are limited to just lemons and limes.  It's intense and a huge change away from the foods that most of us are used to eating.  


    Everyone of us can fall into bad food habits.  So much of what is readily available is not very good for us and is quite addicting: cookies, crackers, baguettes and cheese.  Such a shame.  But if we want to get well or give our health a boost, all of that has got to go.  Disease or poor health can be a great motivator.  Sometimes that's just what we need to get us to change.  


    So, I asked my friend what she typically ate for breakfast while she was working at 'The Tree,' and she said "Chia pudding, every morning."  Chia seeds are one of those healthy super foods.  The generic name for the plant that produces chia seeds is Salvia hispanica.  It has also been known as, "The Aztec secret to health."  Chia is a tough little annual plant and it is easy to grow almost anywhere.  When the seed heads become mature in late summer, you can shake the fruiting stalk and collect spoonfuls of the tiny, dark seeds in the palm of your hand in just a few seconds.  Frank and I grew some chia plants one year just outside our front gate and as we'd take off for a walk or a bike ride, we'd load up on the little seeds to enjoy while we were out and about.  They are crunchy and have a nice nutty flavor.


    Chia plants have no pests so they can easily be grown without pesticides and their seeds store well because they don't go rancid.  The thin mucilaginous coating on chia seeds takes up water to form a little gel around each seed when it is moistened.  This helps to gently sweep our colons clean while it passes through our bodies whenever we eat chia.  Many who suffer from constipation find that if it is taken with lots of water, chia can quickly be very relieving.  Chia is known to stabilize blood sugars, as well.  Sometimes I just put a teaspoon or two of the seeds in the bottom of a dry quart jar, then I fill it up with water and shake it periodically for several minutes.  The seeds swell and intersperse themselves evenly in the water and look a little like frog spawn.  They are fairly tasteless in this form but a lot of fun to drink. 


    Spectacularly, chia is one of the highest omega-3 food plants known.  Our bodies need omega-3 fatty acids in our diet in order to function.  Chia has eight times more omega-3 than wild salmon and it doesn't contain any of the mercury or other fish toxins.  (The plants grown at higher elevations have the highest levels of omega-3's.)  Omega-3 oils are anti-inflammatory, so chia helps with arthritis, joint pain, ulcerative colitis and other inflammatory conditions.  


    Chia also helps to drop blood pressure levels, (typically ten points on the top, the systolic, and five points on the bottom, the diastolic blood pressure reading.)  A diet rich with chia seeds also lowers cardiovascular disease by 37% because it lowers the C-reactive proteins (CRP,) a marker for inflammation in our blood.  Chia, naturally high in ALA, Alpha Linoleic Acid, is known to lower the bad cholesterol, LDL, while it raises the good cholesterol, HCL.  Isn't that great?


    So, back to chia pudding.  Chia pudding is a raw vegan low-glycemic dish that is remarkably simple to make.  Soak about a cup of almonds in water overnight so they are nice and plump in the morning.  Almonds are great, but almost any type of raw organic nuts will do.  Rinse the nuts in the morning and put them in the blender or better yet in a Vitamix with enough water to make a milk like consistency, about one or two cups.  Add five tablespoons of chia seeds and stir.  You can also add some vanilla extract, maybe a teaspoonful, and some stevia, to taste, if desired.  Let it sit for twenty minutes or so, stirring occasionally and "Voila!"  You have a very nutritious, low glycemic, breakfast.  


    Another variation on this recipe is to use a can of organic coconut milk, instead of the almond milk.  If you are really feeling decadent, you can add two tablespoons of cocoa powder for a chocolate chia pudding.  Now, we are talking desert.  And it's great.  No sugar and absolutely delicious.   Enjoy.  I'm sure you will like it.  It's wonderful.


© Josephine Laing, 2016

Monday, February 15, 2016

Releasing Bread Gently

Many of us have problems with inflammation.  If you need to reduce the refined carbohydrates in your diet in order to reduce inflammation, please enjoy this short video with helpful tips on how to gently let go of bread.

© Josephine Laing, 2016

Monday, February 8, 2016

When We Were Six




When we were six, we were geniuses.  We had within us an innate ability to relate to the world around us at a very conscious and playful level.  At this tender, young age, there is an innocence and an openness and a great wisdom.  We see ourselves as a part of the whole and everything around us as a part of me.  

At the age of six, our bodies and minds are quite well developed.  We may be small, and we still have a lot of growing to do, but we can dance and sing and speak.  We know our way around our little part of the world, yet we are still very connected to the whole and we hold fast onto our little thread in the fabric of life.

They call the age of seven 'the age of individuation' because that is when we begin to separate from the very close ties that we have with our parents.  At seven, we start to come more fully into our own identity.  It's almost like coming out of a dream.  We wake up to who we are, separate and individual.

But while we are still just six, we are completely connected and it suits us well.  We see ourselves as a part of the whole.  This lets us communicate directly with our animal friends.  We can feel what they feel and know their thoughts are because we share those same thoughts with them.  And this is our genius, because indeed, it's true.  We are all one.

And now, as humanities consciousness is rising, we are waking up to this realization.  We are now beginning to see once more, as we did in our youth, that everything is a part of the same one thing.  Science shows us that we are actually all fully integrated with everything else.  We are totally interdependent.  We all share the same atoms, both in life and in death, both while we are animate or while we are inanimate.  We are a part of the same thin crust of compost that coats the surface of the earth and we rise up and dance from time to time, sometimes as a tree, sometimes as a bear, sometimes as a person, sometimes as you, sometimes as me.

So, because of this, this understanding of our oneness, I like to try and remember my six year old self, to slip back into that playful and interconnected state of consciousness as often as possible.  Here I can once more be a member of the community of everything, with all of it full of life and light.  When I do, the rocks, the trees, the water, the air are all willing and wanting to be my friends.

So, I invite you to join me, if you will, in this dance, together in harmony, in the present moment of now,  ... and now,  ... and now.

© Josephine Laing, 2016

Monday, February 1, 2016

Releasing Sugar Gently


There comes a time when we wake up to needed healthful changes in our diet style and one of the best changes we can make is releasing processed or refined sugars from our lives.  Please enjoy this short video on how to easily and gently accomplish this feat.

© Josephine Laing, 2016