You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2011.
By Karen Secord
Carp Ridge EcoWellness Centre was well represented at the Huntley Parish Hall in Carp on December 21 for West Carleton Emergency Food Aid’s Christmas Basket day.
Cindy Fleming, Rob (Cindy’s son), Laura Tromp, Carla Brown and friends Sandy Rawson and Matthew Trott were among Santa’s eager little elves. I had a clip board and sang a few songs and did a bit of bossing around. But they did the actual work. They unloaded the supply truck, packed baskets and delivered to West Carleton families in need.
The basket for a family of five, sponsored by the staff of both the Clinic and the Learning Centre, was really wonderful! Thanks to all of you for your generousity!
Follow through on your 2011 intentions and come to the Galilee Centre to pray; rest and be spiritually and physically nourished.
Friday, Feb 11th thru Sunday, Feb 13th
Fr. Joe Nassal, CSSP; international retreat master and author of eight books including The “Conspiracy of Compassion”, “Rest Stops for the Soul”, “Premeditated Mercy”, “Moments of Truth” and “Stations of the Crib” will be at Galilee Centre.
The Breath of Life:
Honoring the Mystic Within
Most of us think mysticism is something beyond us, something reserved for those who are so attuned to God’s voice that even the clamor of a world often teetering on the brink of chaos can shake their “inward calm.” But as many of the great teachers of the spiritual life remind us, we can be modern day mystics through the practice of awareness.
This retreat explores how we can honor the mystic within by becoming aware of the love that God has kindled in our hearts.
To reserve your place, call now!
Private/Single $ 190
Shared/Double $ 160 Includes accommodation, meals.
Commuter rate $100
Contact:
613-623-4242
www.galileecentre.com
info@galileecentre.com
We’re starting a new “Healthy Weight Program” at the Clinic which entails an initial visit with one of our NDs, a Reams metabolic analysis test, food sensitivity testing, and then follow-ups with practitioner Cindy Fleming.
What you will learn about managing weight includes:
1. Is there any major physical condition making it hard to balance your weight and how to deal with that condition.
2. Which foods will help you burn calories and which foods put on weight for your specific body type.
3. What kind of exercise regime will work for you to build muscle, burn fat and give energy.
4. Tips and support for keeping on track!
Cost for this program starts at $40 (plus initial metabolic & sensitivity testing) and the rest is determined on an individual basis. Call 613-839-1198 or email clinic@ecowellness.com to make an appointment.
By Suzanne Valois
Happy New Year and welcome to the “Art of Being Human” (www.theartofbeinghuman.ca).
Some of you have been wondering and waiting to find out what I’ve been up to since ‘departing’ from the National Gallery of Canada over a year ago. After a lot of reflection (and hard work!) I’m proud to launch the Art of Being Human.
The idea to a large extent came out of my work at the National Gallery of Canada where it was confirmed for me over the nine years that I worked there, teaching people of all ages and disabilities, that the act of creating was good for people. Good for their mental and emotional selves.
That if they could be shown how to embrace their creations, learn from the insights that they provide and wonder at their own uniqueness they could begin to use their creative expression not solely as an ‘art activity’ but as a vehicle for developing and maintaining wellness within themselves.
Like yoga and meditation, creative expression is now being recognized by the medical community and by complimentary alternative medicine as a holistic approach to wellbeing.
Used a a tool for self discovery, managing stress, gaining new insights and perspectives, it can be applied to every aspect of your life as it involves becoming more conscious of where you are at and what you are bringing into your life.
I’ve embraced this new approach to teaching creative expression combining it with my training in Reiki and meditation with Deepak Chopra as well as training in Lightwork and Spiritpainting.
From my studio I now offer classes and workshops with a gentle, lighthearted and compassionate approach guiding and coaching participants through the art making process while fostering a meditative environment.
The New Beginnings class is the best one to try for those who may have always wanted to try art making but didn’t know where to start or simply want to try this new approach to creative expression to experience it’s insights, and health benefits.
For more information on workshop content, schedules and location check out
my interactive website www.theartofbeinghuman.ca
Thanks!
(note: human butterfly crop circle image comes from here: http://psychedelicadventure.blogspot.com/2009/09/human-butterfly-biggest-crop-circle.html)
UPDATE: Karen is keeping a blog of her Guatemale trip: www.guatemalaboundwithkaren.blogspot.com
I am only one,
But still I am one,
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the
Something that I can do.
~ Edward Everett Hale
(images: Guatemalan preschool set up by Oneness; a Mayan weaver)
___________
For one month — from February 2 to March 2 — a bit of the spirit of CREWC will be in Guatemala. Although our marketing manager Karen Secord’s “holiday” won’t involve lazy beachfront days or unlimited cocktails, it will most definitely include community development, relationship building and education.
Karen will be working with other Canadian volunteers on three projects — The Guatemala Stove Project www.guatemalastoveproject.org, Safe Passages www.safepassages.org, and Oneness www.oneness.ca. She’ll will be spending the first 2 weeks building cook stoves for rural families in the Western Highlands (she’s already had a stovebuilding masonry course in Perth). The remainder of the trip will be spent at the Guatemala City dump helping out with Oneness and Safe Passages, organizations who work to make education a reality for preschoolers, school age children and adults.
She also has a favour to ask: “We were told that if possible it is helpful to bring a second suitcase with the following items: toothbrushes, toothpaste, pencils, crayons, vitamins, dollar store eye glasses, math sets, hair bands/elastics, stickers. Check out the websites. If you are interested in donating any of the above items I will be happy to distribute them at the schools and to the families we will be working with.”
Karen will spend a few days exploring Antigua upon arrival and before departure and hopes to keep a travel blog of her experience.
About Guatemala
The Republic of Guatemala (meaning “land of trees” in the Maya-Toltec language) is located in Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea on one side, between Honduras and Belize and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico on the other. It covers 108,889 square kilometers or 42,042 square miles (Ontario is nearly 10 times the size), and in mid-2007 had a population of approximately 13,400,000, over a million more people than Ontario houses. There are three active volcanoes in Guatemala ~ Pacaya, Santiaguito and Fuego. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the country’s main products for export.
Established as a colonial city in 1543, Antigua was the seat of the Spanish Colonial government for the Kingdom of Guatemala, which spanned from present-day Southern Mexico to Panama. Over time it became the most important city in Central America, adorned with monasteries, churches and other monuments built in the Spanish Colonial architectural style. By 1773, the city could boast of over 30 churches, 18 convents and monasteries, 15 hermitages, 10 chapels, the University of San Carlos and five hospitals. Over the centuries the city was hit by many earthquakes and then carefully rebuilt each time to restore the beautiful colonial structures to their original glory. In 1979, Antigua UNESCO declared Antigua to be a World Cultural Heritage site.
Most Guatemalans live in the Highlands, and most of the coffee and corn growing farmland is there. The majority of Mayan people live in crowded communities in the Western Highlands (you can read more about the nation at here at Wikipedia or lonely planet.com).
We’re saying a sad so long to ~
Marie Cook: Finished her contract as Forest Preschool co-ordinator in mid-January (while Marlene Power-Johnston was on maternity leave). Her warm personality and commitment to quality education will be missed at CREWC. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours.
Freya Struthers: The future looks bright for Freya, and we are all cheering for her as she heads off to tackle new challenges. As Executive Director of the Carp Ridge Learning Centre for the past three years, Freya was always the consummate professional; a cheerful, welcoming presence with a can-do attitude. She and her board of directors built the LC program from the ground up (note from the blog editor: Freya once remarked to me that when she first walked into an office “it didn’t have a pen or a desk”). These qualities that are sure to bode well for her in her new position as Development Officer for the National Arts Centre Foundation.
And extending a warm welcome to ~
Marlene Power-Johnston: Actually, we are really just welcoming Marlene back in to the fold after a “mommy break”. Her little Emry turned one-year old on January 16! My, how time flies! Marlene is the founder of the Forest Preschool, the driving force behind its outstanding success, and the thoughtful architect of its future. She returns as the new Executive Director of the Learning Centre.
Jay Young: Comes to the Learning Centre from Toronto. He joins the team as a Program Facilitator. Jay has a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies from York University, with environmental education as an area of concentration. He has been involved with children’s outdoor education since a teenager, working in both residential and day camp settings (More to follow about jay in the February newsletter). Welcome on board Jay!
By Karen Secord
(Note: you can read all of Karen’s ‘food fights’ posts in the Archive)
Evidence is mounting that sugar is the major factor causing obesity and chronic disease.
~ Dr. Joseph Mercola (well-known Osteopath and natural health practitioner, founder of www.mercola.com)
I was shocked to hear the truth about sugar. It seems strange that such old news hit me so hard, was so shocking.
Probably because I grew up on the stuff. . . and out. Suffice to say that my Northern New Brunswick-raised mother knew of only a few cooking ingredients. . . bleached white flour and sugar. Raised during the Great Depression by Nanny and Pops, her adoptive parents -– jolly good cooks with little means and simple tastes -– she embraced the fast food revolution of the ‘60s with great gusto.
My caveat here should be that sugar, in all honesty, was the least of my Maritime relatives’ worries. They lived directly across from Atholville’s sole employer; a prolific pulp and paper mill that spewed toxic gas into the air ferociously 24/7. Any food was good food back then. Still, the painful reality remains that my mother died of disease at only 49 years old.
My Nan could feed a brood of more than 10 hungry fellas with little more than some lard, potatoes, carrots, and the dribs and drabs of meat scraped from the bones of some animal Pops had got the better of and skinned on the back step, just beyond the clawed-up old kitchen door. All of her meals were constructed with lily white flour and granulated sugar. These were the constants.
Dr. Mercola says that sugar, an addictive ingredient commonly used in many processed foods, “feeds cells, triggers weight gain and promotes premature aging.”
One of my fondest memories is of Nan serving up thick slices of home baked bread lathered with butter and sticky black molasses. Before bed the bread ends became part of a magical evening ritual called “taps”. Bits and pieces of the fluffy carbs, collected from the plates of inconsiderate eaters throughout the day, were then soaked in warmed milk and generously sprinkled with sugar to create the concoction I came to associate with “love”.
Feed me. Love me.
I adopted my love of brown sugar from my mom, via my Nan. As a teen I baked, albeit poorly, but always sweets, the sticky sugary substance oozing aggressively from some orifice.
My father took us on trips. I filled shoe boxes with my signature dessert squares. We camped across Canada and the U.S. He drove. I ate. Maybe the others did too. I was oblivious to their experience. For me, the oldest of the five, the idle time between and around eating was filled with singing and sleeping and dreaming.
Similar sugar-induced highs and lows followed me as I grew, er, matured.
So, is it any wonder that the Candyland that is Christmas caused me such soul-wrenching disappointment in this “Year That Was Different”? And made me vomit. When my family assembled to celebrate, my resolve crumbled. I was helpless to the horrific power of the shortbread and waldorf squares and thickly spiced apple pie. Oh my. . . I caught myself standing over the colourful tins nearly shovelling “treats” into me. But this year my body fought back. It forced my obsession to come to a screeching halt. I hadn’t had sugar in all of 2010.
One week after Christmas I noticed that I had gained five pounds. Today I am sugarless. I am 112lbs lighter than I was last year at this time.
I wanted to believe it was genetic, that I was different than the other “fatties” because I had no control over the outcome, not that I lacked control.
Damn. . . wrong again!
Natural health in the trenches, Katherine Willow’s monthly diary
BY THE SKIN OF MY TEETH
When I first started writing this blog, I envisioned being an inspiration, with my natural lifestyle, good health (for my age) and cool tips from natural medicine.
It has been disconcerting to find myself hanging in by the skin of my teeth.
Over Christmas I relapsed into a contracted state of exhaustion, weakness and low-grade anxiety — for no reason. It was as if I’d slipped into a younger version of myself when I was really struggling. This is the result of taking a deep-acting constitutional remedy for my chronic terrors; part of real healing is removing layers of symptoms back to childhood.
One clue that this is the case is an underlying optimism and hopefulness despite these old feelings; in previous times, there would be bottomless despair. Another clue is that I was able to function despite the lows; when younger, my life would collapse around me. The best news is that the terrors are much decreased, thank you to our newest doc, Dr Veronika!
The vision quest outside over solstice was. . . cold. I managed half of it and then came in, given that the heating system that I’d devised was only partially successful. My lasting memories of the time are a combination of coming uncomfortably face to face with my pride (not the high spiritual insights I’d envisioned, hah), and a moment tending the fire when the clouds parted in a tiny area of sky to reveal the full moon before closing in again. By the time of the total eclipse I was fast asleep in my warm bed!
The loud and clear message at the end of it all was to take better care of myself. Again. How humbling: a perfect antidote to my arrogant attitude of thinking I always know everything. . . grin. . . I also want to acknowledge the beautiful support given by Lise Lillian, who offered to hold space while I was out and helped me prepare and debrief.
Other than that, two year old Felix, who is still living with me, is flourishing, growing big and strong on his regime of raw milk, organic foods and exercise in the fresh air — he can now ride a sled down a hill by himself and pull it up again! And even better, he’s starting to take an interest in his potty!! Best of all, his language is improving by leaps and bounds!!! Can you tell I’m a doting grandmother? He required a craniosacral session to fully heal his face plant off the couch and is going through the typical assertiveness of his age — which is teaching me new levels of patience and caring.
My 2011 resolution is no sugar for the year. I was slipping into total indulgence over last fall; even if it’s organic, an excess of sweets still imbalances insulin levels, mood, energy and cognition. Already my body and mind are starting to feel better and I’ve lost the excess weight on my belly. Skipping sugar will help me focus on writing my book during this sabbatical — which I’m still totally enthused about and an opportunity for which I feel deep gratitude. Spreading an understanding of German New Medicine is such a revelation for difficult diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s, especially when combined with naturopathic medicine, and gives me a profound sense of meaning and purpose.
In conclusion, this rough phase is a natural part of healing decades of emotional and mental imbalance due to old traumas. It is no secret that I garnered several psychiatric diagnoses over my past: schizophrenia as a teen that was cured by my homeopathic grandmother from Germany; borderline personality disorder, which I am gradually outgrowing; anxiety disorder, which is now so much less after decades of therapeutic efforts; a tendency to bipolar, which drives my usually patient and supportive coworkers crazy on occassion. . . .
It would go much more smoothly if I could remember to accept myself instead of always trying to achieve more in order to compensate for and avoid difficult feelings!! However, I remain optimistic and am eternally grateful for all the people, tools and knowledge that allow me to continue to improve and learn things I can pass on to my patients. . . .
Hoping that this year of the rabbit will be a good one for your own healing, prosperity and relationships and I look forward to seeing some of you at our monthly open houses and events.
Hugs and handshakes,
Katherine
