The Info Treasure Trove

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a healing tool based on the theory that our emotions and physical symptoms are linked to the underlying energy system of the body. That energy system is the acupuncture meridian system known to the Chinese for thousands of years.

EFT was developed by Stanford Engineer Gary Craig, who discovered the basic theory in 1991 and continues to this day to develop and improve on EFT applications.

The underpinning theory of EFT is simple, yet sheds a whole new light on our emotional experiences and how we interpret them.

Gary Craig’s EFT discovery statement asserts that: “The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.” He believes that “our unresolved negative emotions are major contributors to most physical pains and diseases.”

How Does EFT Work?

Chinese Medicine and the ancient Indian Science of Ayurveda both support the concept that our emotional experiences, in particular resentments, hurts and anger, contribute significantly to the development of disease in the human body.

While the EFT theory that all negative emotions are caused by a disruption in the energy system of the body may sound odd at first, the idea is far from new. In fact, it’s 5,000 years old and was more recently enforced by Albert Einstein who taught that everything is made of energy.

The reason EFT works so well is purely because it embraces the secrets of Eastern healing traditions that have been overlooked by the west.

Acupuncture is finally attracting interest, and research has been conducted to try and figure out how and why it works. Yet that research will always seek to put acupuncture in a box that makes sense to what conforms in the West. The impressive results of acupuncture have been called a placebo effect, when, in truth, they are due to an ancient understanding of meridian energy circuitry which runs throughout all living creatures.

EFT & Acupuncture

In acupuncture, points are carefully selected by practitioners trained to read the maps of the meridian system. EFT is based on a select few of these potent points known to excel in giving emotional and physical relief to anyone who simply learns where they are and how to use them. EFT doesn’t require expert knowledge, or the use of needles, the points are simply stimulated by tapping on them with the fingertips.

We need only look to the fact that in China hundreds of people every day undergo heart surgery using nothing but acupuncture for anaesthesia, to realise that anything based on the solid healing foundation that acupuncture has to offer is worth exploring further.

Gary Craig developed EFT as an incredibly user friendly access point to the benefits of acupuncture and the healing potential latent within us all to deal with our physical and emotional pain. EFT’s track record for relieving negative emotions, anxiety and trauma has earned it the descriptive title of “acupuncture for the emotions, but without the needles.”

The EFT Challenge

There’s an old saying that we should judge a tree by it’s fruits. The fruits of EFT can be quickly and easily tasted by learning the basics and setting EFT to work on dissolving any negative emotion. EFT takes just 5 minutes to learn, and then you can put it to the test of your own direct experience.

Ananga Sivyer is a health writer for LifeScape magazine and author of the self-help EFT workbook: The Art & Science of Emotional Freedom Sign up for her ezine today, and get a FREE COPY of her Energy Balance e-book.

Losing weight is a battle, a struggle, a pain, right? That’s most people’s experience whatever diet they follow.

And nearly everyone finds keeping the weight off is even harder.

There’s no doubt about it, the majority of diet and fitness regimes are hardly a bed of roses. And those pills, patches and potions, which are supposed to make it easy, are either dangerous or don’t do what they promise.

So how CAN you make this easier?

The answer lies in your routines.

What you habitually do shapes you - quite literally. If you habitually go without breakfast and stuff your face at 11am with cookies because you’re starving, you’ll end up with one kind of body. If you habitually have a yogurt and fruit on waking and take an apple to eat at 11am (when you’ll still be starving) you end up with another kind.

If you habitually walk everywhere your shape is likely to be different than if you jump in the car to go a mile down the road.

Routines are just patterns of behaviour. Things we feel comfortable doing once we get used to them. We don’t even have to think about them. They’re easy for us - automatic.

The answer to easier weight loss AND KEEPING IT OFF then , is in adopting the right routines and habits so that we don’t even have to think - we just do whatever is good for our shape - automatically.

The skill is in moving from one set of routines (the kind that keep you overweight) to another - the kind that will result in weight loss and then weight maintenance for the rest of your life.

An all-out drastic lifestyle change rarely works, but if you gently change your habits and build them gradually, taking on changes that you are happy to live with for life, then you WILL find a permanent automatic solution to your weight problems.

What routines are you following today? What small changes could you make which would be your first steps to permanent natural weight loss?

Now it’s time to take action and change your habits step by step to lose that weight!

Copyright 2005, Janice Elizabeth Small

Janice Elizabeth is a weight loss coach, slimming club owner and author of “The Diet Exit Plan”, an 8 week coaching program for automatic permanent weight loss. Get her FREE 15 page report “How to lose weight without dieting - 7 secrets the diet industry doesn’t want you to know” at http://www.SimplySlimming.com TODAY!

Introduction

Whether weight loss pills, liposuction, fad diets and drinks, or a number of other unreliable alternatives, we want to shed pounds quickly with little effort. The great news is you can get it fast and you can get it easily, but short of sucking the fat out of you through risky and expensive procedures, you’re going to have to put in a bit work.

While exercise will greatly increase the effectiveness of your weight loss program and comes with the highest recommendations, it’s not necessary, and for those with an extremely busy life style, not even an option. First, forget anything you’ve ever heard from a company trying to sell you a weight loss program, be it a pill, surgery, a drink, anything. Weight fluctuation comes from one thing and one thing alone: taking in more calories than your body expends in a day. In this guide, I’ll take a look at where calories come from, what to avoid, tips for lowering your intake and some tricks to help you control your metabolism and lose weight more easily.

It’s All about the Calories

For humans, caloric intake comes from four primary sources: fat, carbohydrates, protein, and alcohol. First, let’s take a look at each source so we know how to focus our diet.

Fats: Fats are the worse type of calorie you can consume, bar none. One thing to keep in the back of your head at all times is that fat is very high in calories. Every gram of fat consumed contains 9 calories. Compare this to the 4 calories per gram in carbohydrates and protein. If you ate a slab of pure fat, in comparison to a slab of pure sugar, you’d be consuming 2.25 times more calories for an equal weight portion. Although a bit gross, it illustrates an important pointthat with other sources of energy you can eat more and take in equal or fewer calories. That’s only one of the benefits of staying away from fat, but since we’re focusing on calories for now, I’ll spare you the lecture on cholesterol and cardiovascular health.

Fats were probably great for humans once upon a time during the good ole days of cavemen who hunted for food and weren’t afforded the luxury to consume regular meals. For them, fat was an important source of prolonged energy output during periods with no food source.

For today’s average American, this feature of fat no longer plays a critical role, and although some fats are essential to our survival, saturated fats are the norm in our society and through this plan we’ll get plenty of the essentials from some recommended food items. So for our purposes, I would recommend consuming as little fat as possible beyond those items.

Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates, as stated before, contain 4 calories per gram. However, carbs, just like fats, come in a number of varieties from the very simple to complex. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for human function as they are converted to glucose in our bloodstream. That glucose is used up in our every bodily function and movement. From the basic beating of our heart to the complex processes involved in lifting heavy weights, carbs represent our primary source of energy for work output.

Carbohydrates exist on a continuum of complexity based on the ease with which they are broken down through our saliva, stomach and other bodily processes. Simple carbs are quickly and easily converted to glucose, while the more complex carbs remain in our stomach longer as they are broken down.

The human body has evolved to know that it only needs a certain amount of glucose in most situations, so carbs which are simple and easy to convert accumulate in the blood stream quickly and cause a spike in insulin production. Insulin is a hormone that encourages the excess glucose to be quickly converted into stored energy, or fat. In this way, simple carbohydrates can be a killer for those on a weight loss program because even though they may not represent a ton of calories, eating them often results in the production of more glucose than our bodies need at that particular moment.

Simple carbohydrates are mainly sugars, such as sucrose, fructose and maltodextrin and are commonly found in sodas, sugary sweets and other tantalizing items. Unfortunately, they only provide a quick “sugar fix” and result in lower average energy levels.

For optimal weight loss it is important to focus your diet on complex carbohydrates like those found in vegetables and whole grains. If you’re interested in finding out how simple or complex a carbohydrate may be, many are ranked on the glycemic index, a resource for hypoglycemic and diabetic individuals who must carefully monitor their blood sugar throughout the day.

By consuming more complex carbs, energy is converted slowly over the course of several hours rather than minutes, resulting in longer, more sustained energy and reduced appetite. As an extra benefit, many complex carbohydrates can be found in foods that contain a large volume of non-caloric material, which helps to satiate an individual for a longer period of time. Take for example green beans, of which a typical 80 gram sample contains a mere 25 calories, versus an equal weight in a simple sugar which contains 320 calories.

Here’s an excellent resource on the glycemic index and how various foods fit into the spectrum. http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/articles/glycemic-index/

Protein: Proteins, like carbohydrates, contain 4 calories per gram. They serve many functions in the body, but the most important for our purposes is producing muscle tissue and being converted into energy. When muscles fail, be it through lifting weights or running, they need to be rebuilt and that process requires protein. If the conditions are ideal, these muscles rebuild stronger and bigger than their previous state. As muscle mass increases, so too does your basal metabolic rate. In other words, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. In fact, for every extra pound of muscle you gain, you burn roughly 50 calories more per day. This means that by building muscle through careful use of protein supplementation in your diet, you can increase your muscle mass and train your body to burn more calories. However, don’t take in too much protein, or you’ll risk storing it as fat as well. Your best bet is to focus on lean protein laden foods such as turkey and chicken breast. Like green beans, these foods provide a great weight-to-calorie ratio and will fill you up for extended periods of time.

Alcohol: Oh alcohol, how we love to hate you. Alcohol, unlike carbs or protein, contains 7 calories per gram. As you might imagine, the main source of alcohol calories comes through beer, wine and distilled spirits such as vodka. There are very few recommendations needed for alcohol consumption. The main rule to follow is this: consume alcohol in moderation. If you drink a lot of alcohol, not only are you more likely to binge eat due to lowered inhibitions and increased appetite as a direct result of intoxication, you are also putting your body in a state of natural catabolism, where it will convert protein from which your muscles are composed, into glucose for energy. This protein conversion leaves you with less muscle, and a lower level of inherent calorie burning, or a lower basal metabolic rate. If you’re a binge drinker and can’t live without alcohol, then I would recommend clear distilled spirits, as they are virtually absent of any other carbohydrate and are the lowest overall in terms of calories.

However, don’t mix these with sugary drinks or you’ll completely remove their main attraction. The problem with heavy beers and sugary liquors is their high simple carbohydrate content. Compare the typical shot of vodka, which contains roughly 70 calories, and a typical heavy beer, which can contain as much as 170 calories, for an equal amount of ‘get you drunk’ alcohol.

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Success and failure are only ideas. What looks, in one moment, to be a huge success, can easily take on the odor of failure. Success for one can often be interpreted, by another, as that person’s biggest failure. So much depends upon one’s own interpretation of the events. If you look hard enough, you will always find ways to turn one into the other.

Traditional Native American craftspeople often integrate a “flaw” into the artistic patterns they work with. It is to remind them and others there is nothing that is perfect. Within the context of these imperfections, perfection is attained. Perhaps the power of the flaw is to reflect the perfect concept of balance - all is ever-changing.

Things are as they are, and no matter how we try to deny it, every moment in our life depends on the ones that precede it; every moment is a foundational building block upon which the others that follow rely. Our wiring makes it possible for us to apply one moment to the next.

But a moment is alive. It is always shifting, changing, building up or breaking down, and perhaps, most important, has no judgment of itself. It simply is.

By understanding and accepting the nature of the moment, we can come to terms with our role in it: The most we can do is to respond honestly to it, apply what we’ve picked up from the moments before it and use them all to the best of our ability.

And, of course, there will always be something we missed. That is called a lesson. There are no moments without lessons.

In the healing arts sometimes these lessons are excruciating. Death itself is a prime example. Death makes way for new life. Period. Because everything will die, the healer must recognize death as a form of healing, for it, too, is a reflection of a circle coming to completion. The lesson here is that there is nothing living on this earth that has not sprung from death.

A real tough extension of that is that it really seems - especially for those who work in critical care areas - that they are “used” in some way to be agents of death. Many people in the healing arts have been in situations where, to their total exasperation they discover that every action they took, every decision they made, seemed to contribute to the demise of the person who was in their care.

And then, from the vantage point of hindsight, it can be seen that the ripple effects of what were deemed to be destructive moments actually contributed significantly to a movement toward a much greater good.

The same “hand of God” that intervenes to work through us to preserve or protect life also works through us to bring it to its conclusion. Most of the time, we don’t notice it, and when we do, we do everything in our power to deny it.

But for those working in the healing arts, where there are so few working on so many, it is almost inevitable that this sense of agentry - both for life AND death - be experienced.

The trick is to learn how to review and evaluate your past performance - no matter how extreme — without agonizing over it. It is in the agonizing over circumstances that we lose the present moment. In our headlong drive to qualify and quantify and judge each moment that has passed, we miss the moment that is.

We do it all the time. That, perhaps, is the most important lesson of them all; moments are too few and precious to squander.

What sets us off balance, more than anything else, is getting locked into the “failure” of the moment that just passed and, as a result, we miss a string of crucial moments that follow. On one level, this is a disruption of the free passage, or movement, of energy. Our jobs, as healers, is to keep that passage clear.

Moments are simply things that happen. First this. Now this. Now this. Now this. Judgment is all about living in the “that” and missing the “this.”

By integrating conscious understanding that lessons are all there are, you can free yourself to have many more moments that are connected with each other. Your unbroken connection to each moment is, like an untwisted, un-nicked water hose, the vehicle through which healing energy flows.

Russ Reina shares over 35 years of experience in the healing arts through his web site http:// mauihealingartist.com. It is a potent resource for those wishing to deepen their abilities in connection and develop their powers as healers. For a powerful free tool to explore your inner world, please check out his adjunct site http:// thestoryofthis.net

(Permission is granted to reprint this article, unedited, provided proper attribution is made and the signature line — the above resource paragraph — is kept intact)

The problem of high levels of CO2 in ambient air appears to be a modern one. Yet, this is not one of the new fads that crop up from time to time and then disappear again, never to be mentioned again. It is, indeed, a modern problem, caused by the improvements in building standards and especially window manufacture. These improvements, hailed as a triumph over the age-old problem of draughty buildings, have nevertheless created a new negative effect. Ventilation was never a matter for discussion in most cases, it happened naturally as the wind blew and the air in rooms was replaced on a regular basis. With the new, draught-proof buildings this no longer happened, particularly since central heating made it unnecessary to have an air flow for any reason. This has given birth to the concept of indoor climate control.

The result was stale air. Air that has been used and breathed and not replaced, seen as a rising concentration of carbon dioxide, not to mention humidity. These effects had a detrimental influence on the buildings, promoting the growth of mould and other unwanted plant life. This was not the only effect. Slowly, the level of days off for sickness rose and the quality of work sank in these newer or refurbished buildings, leading to something referred to as Sick Building Syndrome, since it appeared to affect everybody in one building. The causes were not known for a long time, but now it is recognised that this is a result of breathing stale air with a high concentration of carbon dioxide over an extended period. Studies have shown that a level of 1000 ppm carbon dioxide will reduce the ability to concentrate by about 30 %, a significant drop by any means.

The obvious solution to this problem of indoor climate control was ventilation, and ventilation or air-conditioning systems were installed in all of these buildings leading only to the next problem: the heating bills in winter rocketed and staff complained of stiff necks and other maladies. Sick Building Syndrome was still here, but in a different form. How to provide adequate ventilation without simply heating the environment in winter? The only viable solution is control of the ventilation to reduce the exchange of air to the minimum required to keep a healthy atmosphere in the rooms, which is where indoor climate control becomes an active instead of just a passive discipline.

The real problem is the carbon dioxide, which is best measured with a NDIR infrared sensor. These are available in one or two channel technology for CO2, but the single channel version is quite accurate and stable enough for this purpose today.

Older types of sensor used to drift, as do cheaply manufactured ones, but a good-quality single channel sensor today will remain stable over years, only requiring a reference point occasionally to set a relative zero point. Such infrared sensors for CO2 are now available from a number of manufacturers such as Madur Electronics in Austria. These come complete with an appropriate analogue output to allow the CO2 level to control the function of the ventilation system.

Industry standard for these control functions is the 0…10 V output, but there are other varieties in use. These can be readily accommodated in the construction or calibration of the system to ensure a high quality of indoor climate control. Perhaps we have finally seen the end to Sick Building Syndrome and can now enjoy the benefits of a controlled climate indoors, if not outdoors.

About The Author

Simon Fowler studied mechanical Engineering in London and now work for an electronic company in Vienna, Austria manufacturing flue gas analysers and infrared sensors.

http://www.madur.at/index_gb.html

sales@madur.at

Allergies: The Ayurvedic Answer

In a healthy body, the allergic response serves to protect against invasion by harmful agents. Secretions and inflammation help our immune cells get into the affected tissue, dilute the toxic agent and help wash it away. “Allergies” become a health problem when an excessive and unwanted allergic response occurs to particles that are part of our normal environment and are not actually dangerous to the body.

Some individuals are born with allergies, and have a genetic susceptibility to them. However, most allergies are acquired after birth. While inborn allergies can often be helped by the measures discussed in this article, acquired allergies are generally more responsive to such behavioral approaches, and are the main focus of this article.

The Main Cause of Allergies

Although pollen, dust, dander, trees and other allergens are the trigger for allergies in susceptible people, they are not the underlying cause. Many people are exposed to these substances every day without developing allergic reactions. Rather, it is the inner condition of the body that determines whether an allergic response results from exposure to an allergen.

According to Maharishi Ayurveda, allergies result when the body has accumulated excess wastes, toxins and impurities. How does this happen? According to Ayurvedic theory, improperly digested foods (called ama), and impurities, such as chemical additives, are absorbed into the body, travel through the circulation and lodge in the respiratory tissues, skin and other tissues prone to allergy. These accumulated wastes and toxins block the channels, trapping the toxins inside the tissues, and activating the immune system. When additional allergens such as pollen or dust arrive on the scene, the already irritated immune system goes into “high gear,” creating the symptoms of an allergy attack.

Symptoms will vary depending on the tissue that has accumulated the toxic waste (ama visha.). If the tissue involved is the digestive tract, diarrhea can result. If in the skin, a rash or hives may occur. And if the respiratory tract is involved, sneezing, inflammation and mucous drainage will occur.

Since the source of allergies lies with our diet and digestion, adopting a proper diet and improving digestion are “job one” in the fight against allergies. Next, it is valuable to use internal cleansing regimens to reduce the clogging and accumulated impurities.

Recommended Diet for Allergies

The main dietary and eating guidelines for allergies are as follows.

1. Eat the largest meal of the day at lunch, between 12:00 and 1:00 PM, when your digestion is strongest. The sun– the heat element in nature– enlivens agni, the fire of digestion and metabolism, making our digestion strongest at the height of the day. Ayurveda recommends eating the largest meal when you are most capable of digesting it.

2. Avoid eating heavy meals in the evening. The single biggest contribution to toxins and clogging in the body comes from eating heavy evening meals, particularly after 7 PM. Since digestion is much weaker in the evening, it is vital to eat lighter, more easily digested meals at that time. Eat a warm, freshly cooked vegetarian evening meal without fried foods, desserts, cheese, yogurt or other curdled products, since these are heavy for digestion and cause more blockage, congestion and mucous.

3. Eat warm food. Warm food is much easier to digest than cold food. Ayurveda recommends we eat fresh warm food, freshly prepared. Avoid micro-waving, which has been shown to destroy over 90% of the protective antioxidants in the food. Also, avoid cold drinks, ice cream, frozen yogurt and other cold foods.

4. Avoid leftovers. Once food has been heated and then gets put back in the refrigerator it becomes hard to digest and very clogging in nature.

5. Avoid excessively hot spices, sour and acidic foods. These foods are irritating to the body and promote inflammation, according to Ayurveda. Many people experience their allergies become worse when they eat foods with chilis, tomato sauces, hard or aged cheeses, refined sugar and sweets, and acidic foods. Bell pepper, eggplant and potato should also be avoided due to their channel-clogging effects.

6. Do include detoxifying spices in your daily diet. Turmeric in particular has anti-allergy, immune-balancing effects. Coriander helps to detoxify on a cellular level; fennel cools and balances; ginger helps the digestion and dissolves ama, and black pepper clears the channels and increases bioavailability of nutrients. Make a spice mixture of 6 parts fennel, cumin and coriander, 4 parts turmeric and 1 part each of ginger and black pepper. Freshly grind the spices, sauté them in a pan without oil until lightly browned, and put in a small airtight container. Carry them with you and sprinkle _ to 1 tsp. on your food at each meal, and cook with them when at home.

7. Do sip boiled warm or hot water about every half hour during the day around the change of seasons, to help your body purify and to support good digestion.

Behavioral Approaches to Reducing Allergies

Diet is not the only consideration in allergies. Ayurvedic theory also recommends the following behavioral changes to help tone down the allergic response.

1. Go to bed by 10:00 P.M. Between 10 PM and 2 AM, the body performs a natural cycle of internal cleansing. If we stay up after 10 PM, we interfere with this metabolic “house cleaning” and toxins and impurities begin to accumulate. Worse yet, the metabolic activity of cleansing tends to trigger hunger, and we may be tempted to indulge in the proverbial “midnight snack.” Unfortunately, eating after 10 PM further compromises the cleansing process and leads to even more waste accumulation, and more allergy tendency. On the other hand, going to bed by 10 PM improves the overall rejuvenative quality of sleep. You will find that your early bedtime habit helps not only your allergies, but your energy and complexion as well!

2. Cleanse the body before the allergy season. The traditional Ayurvedic answer to allergies includes purifying the body of ama and toxins before allergy season begins to prevent symptoms from arising at all. This internal cleansing may be done at home or, more thoroughly, through in-residence cleansing treatments called panchakarma or Maharishi Rejuvenation Therapy.

3. Have a regular routine of life. Eating, sleeping, working and exercising at about the same time each day is very balancing and stabilizing to the immune system and to the body as a whole. Allergies tend to be aggravated when routine of life is hectic and scattered.

4. Practice Yoga asanas and meditation. Yogas asanas and meditation are very balancing to all aspects of mind and body and have been used by many people to reduce allergy symptoms. For meditation, I suggest the TM technique because of its ease of practice and scientific verification.

Summary

The best approach to allergies is to focus on good eating habits, practice stress reduction and do natural cleansing before the allergy season.

Note: This article is for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose or treat disease. Please consult your physician regarding any symptoms you have or before you make changes in lifestyle and diet.

Statements in this article have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended for the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of disease.

About The Author

Nancy Lonsdorf M.D. received her M.D. from Johns Hopkins and did her postgraduate training at Stanford. She has studied Ayurveda with some of the world’s most renowned Ayurvedic physicians in India, Europe and the U.S. Dr. Lonsdorf has 18 years of clinical experience with Ayurveda and is currently the Medical Director of The Raj Ayurveda Health Center in Vedic City Iowa.

Dr. Lonsdorf has authored two books on Ayurveda and women’s health:

1. A Woman’s Best Medicine (Penguin/Putnam 1995 ; ISBN 0-87477-785-2) describing the Ayurvedic approach to the major issues in women’s health

2. The Ageless Woman: Health and Beauty after Forty with Maharishi Ayurveda (MCD Century Publications 2004 ISBN#: 0-9721233-5-0) on anti-aging recommendations and longevity for women.

Doctor Lonsdorf’s contact information is:

Nancy Lonsdorf M.D.
1734 Jasmine Avenue
Vedic City, IA 52556
641-472-8246

web site url: http://www.ayurveda-ayurvedic.com/

e-mail address: info@ayurveda-ayurvedic.com

Dr. Lonsdorf photo for web at: http://www.ayurveda-ayurvedic.com/images/ayurveda%20physician.jpg