How familiar are you with depression as far as children and teens are concerned?  I know I wasn't until I started checking into it.  According to the statistics I read, 1 out of every 33 children and 1 out of every 8 teenager suffer some form of depression.  There are approximately 14.8 million adults in America suffering from depression in any given year.  I don't know about you, but that was a wake up call for me.  I had no idea that many children and teenagers were suffering, so that's why I've decided to do what I can to help as many of them as I can.   However, therein lies a really big challenge.  How do you find that 1 in every 33 child or 1 in every 8 teenager?  They may not even be aware of it themselves and the parents may not recognize it either.  That's where I come in, I'm going to do my best to, first of all educate as many people as I can about the signs and then explain how the work I do can help them so they don't have to take medication or sit week after week with a therapist, psychologist or whatever not caring, not wanting to, or even not knowing what to talk about.  Gotta go for now, more later...............

To continue with the letting go process.  How's it going for you?  I know this much, it's not as easy as it sounds, at least for me.  I work on it every day and am definitely having some success.  I believe the more I'm conscious of  "letting go" the more is given me to "let go" of.  It's kind of like praying for patience.  When I used to pray for  patience because something was happening in my life that required patience on my part, the more things would happen requiring my patience.  Does that make sense?  Needless to say, I stopped praying for patience and started asking for help with handling whatever the situation was.  It made a huge difference.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject, so please feel free to leave a comment.

A team of experts believe that they have found the essential ingredients to make a person's life happier. Based on best knowledge and research, the team came up with a 10-point plan for happiness listed below:
 
1.  Plant something and nurture it.
2.  Count your blessings - at least five - at the end of each day.
3.  Take time to talk - have an hour-long conversation with a loved one each week.
4.  Phone a friend whom you have not spoken to for a while and arrange to meet up.
5.  Give yourself a treat every day and take the time to really enjoy it.
6.  Have a good laugh at least once a day.
7.  Get physical - exercise for half an hour three times a week.
8.  Smile at and/or say hello to a stranger at least once each day.
9.  Cut your TV viewing by half.
10. Spread some kindness - do a good turn for someone every day.

How do you feel about these 10, do you think the list is complete?  What would you add if it was your list? Please leave your comments below.

Something that has been weighing on my mind for awhile now is the process of "letting go."  While I was talking with one of my best friends one day not to long ago, I was saying how I wanted to accomplish so and so.  I won't mention it here because it doesn't really matter.  She told me I was trying too hard and that it wasn't my fault that I had not been able to accomplish it so far.  That lead to quite a discussion, because, between you and me, sometimes it takes me a little while to "get it", if you know what I mean.  Why isn't it my fault, it's my goal, right?  I should be doing absolutely everything I can to make it happen.   Oops, there's that word, "make."  By George I think I've got it!  What she was telling me is that I can't "make" it happen, or anything as far as that goes.

The way I understand it, the simple answer is to state what your desired outcome or goal is, either in the form of prayer or meditation, or whatever you use for that purpose.  I, myself use prayer (not that that matters to anyone but me).  So, I pray about what I want, and then let it go, trusting that Heavenly Father will do his part and see that it happens.  I'm going to put a little caviat here, and say, if it's in my highest and best interest.  I know some of you are thinking why would we ask for something that is not in our highest and best interest.  That's a good question, but, again in my opinion, sometimes we don't always ask for something that is good for us.  I can't even give you an example, I just know it happens.   In the meantime, I can't just sit back and wait for it to happen, I have to do my part, whatever that might be. 

The part that I haven't been doing so swell at is listening to what that little voice inside me is telling me to do.  Some people call it intuition others call it something else, I call it the Spirit and then taking action.  I'm going to leave it at that for now and pick it up here next time.  In the meantime, my challenge to you (and myself) is to start writing down what that "little voice" is telling me and act on it.  Have a wonderful week and please be sure and visit my website:  www.theholisticway.net.

Are you familiar with muscle testing or it's formal name, Applied Kinesiology?  I personally use muscle testing every day for both my personal use and in my holistic practice.  There are a lot of articles out there about the subject, but I’m hoping to help you better understand not only about how it works, but how you can use it in your daily life from a layman’s point of view. 

First of all, to give you a little background on it.  A chiropractor by the name of George J. Goodheart  discovered Applied Kinesiology in 1964 and began teaching it to other chiropractors. The International College of Applied Kinesiology was founded in 1976 (or 1973.)  It differs from Kinesiology which is the science of human movement.  AK is a form of diagnosis using muscle testing as primary feedback to tell you how a person’s body is functioning by tapping into the subconscious.

Muscle testing is very easy to learn.  In fact, you can learn it in a matter of minutes.  The simplest way to see how this works is sometimes called the lean or sway test.  You simply stand with your feet slightly apart, relax by taking a couple of deep breaths and letting them out slowly and completely.  Ask yourself a question that can be answered by either “yes” or “no”, or simply state a fact.  Most people start by saying their name, like this “my name is Ginny.”  Simply feel your body react by leaning or swaying.  If this is your first time, it might take just a little bit, but something will happen.  Then say “my name is Robert”, or use a name other than your own and once again, you should feel your body lean or sway.  The other things you can use for testing purposes is to think yes, yes, yes, yes, yes to yourself and feel the movement and then no, no, no, no, no, and once again feel what is happening to your body.  Be sure and stop and relax in-between each statement or question, so your body can “reset” itself before going on to the next one.  Always remember to breathe and relax while you are doing this.

Typically your body will move slightly forward on “yes” or something positive or something that is the truth and back on “no” or something negative or something that is not the truth.  Sometimes it is the opposite, but not very often.  This could also mean that you're switched, but that's a subject for another time .  A statement that is good to use, say “show me my yes” or “show me my no” and you should get results, as well.

If you’re interested in using this form of “talking” to your subconscious, I suggest you practice, practice, practice.  I'll talk a little more about alternative ways of  muscle testing and what you can test next time. Until then, happy muscle testing.
 
If you have any questions, or would like a 30 minute consultation using this method, please contact me at holistichealing@sbcglobal.net

I have talked about how important "words" are in our everyday life and how they affect us.  It seems since I've been writing about this, it's more "in my face" than ever before.  Everywhere I go I hear people saying things like "I can't remember anything", "my Mom or whomever has ____, fill in the blank, so I'm going to get it", "I get headaches all the time" etc., etc., etc.  I told a lady the other day that she should be saying something like "I remember everything."  Does that mean she'll remember everything, probably not, but she'll remember a whole lot more than if she says the other, right?

 Then you have the people that say things like "be sure and put your coat on or you'll get sick", "be careful and don't fall, or you'll hurt yourself" and other similar statements about someone else.  Guess what that does?  You got it, it plants the idea in the head of the person hearing it.  They go out the door or in the other room thinking the exact thing that was just said to them......wow!  Now your words are having an affect on someone else.  I don't know about you, but I don't want that responsibility.

I personally have been practicing the "I remember everything" myself and can really tell a difference.  When I do have a challenge with remembering something, I simply say, "let me think about it a minute and I'll remember" and 9 times out of 10, I do.  So I'm not suggesting that you to do something I'm not doing myself. 

Do I do that all the time, no, I don't, but I am working at becoming more aware of what I say (or think) and the affects it has on my life, as well as others.  When I find myself saying or thinking something that is not in keeping with this, I stop and correct myself.  It gets easier the more I do it, so it will get easier for you, as well.

I challenge all of you to start really thinking about what you are saying and the affect it has on you or someone else, and turn the negative statements into positive ones.  I'd love to hear from you about the results you're having.

Have a great weekend.

As you can see, it's been quite awhile since I've written anything.  I'm going to do my best to post at least once a week, maybe more if I'm really good.

Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, was a day of great joy and of deep sorrow for me.  Talk about polar opposites, wow!  To start the day off, our 3rd granddaughter, Carlee Jo was born.  I got to see her when she was about an hour old.  Her Mom, Laura Jo, had a c-section, so only the Dad (Jason) was allowed in the OR with her.  What a joy it was to see (and later get to hold) that brand new, beautiful baby girl.  Both Mom and baby are doing very well.

I left to go home after spending most of the morning and early part of the afternoon with family and friends that were gathered because of Miss Carlee's arrival and do something that was extremely difficult for me, but necessary.

I had to take my beloved cat "Smokey", who was about 15+ years old, to the veterinarian to be put to sleep.  We had him since he was a kitten and he had always been in great health until a few weeks ago.  He went through a slump and I thought was coming out of it, but I'm now convinced he only got better for a little while to help me feel better and to prepare myself for what was to come. 

I realized the day before I took him that he was suffering and that is absolutely not what I wanted for my dear friend of so many years, so I did what was best for him.

I know he is in a much better place, running and playing with our other pets, Rambo (d-o-g), Michael (cat) and Sara (d-o-g) and having the time of his life, completely whole and happy and that's what's most important.

As the cycle of life goes, birth and death, I experienced it all in one day and what a day it was.

We just returned from 10 wonderful days in NorthWest Arkansas and Southern Missouri.   We spent the first few days in Branson, MO with my brother and sister-in-law, then back to Bella Vista, AR to spend some time with our oldest son and granddaughter, Mathilda.  That was really nice to be able to spend time with them.  We also got to see a lot of friends at church and meet up with some close friends and that was great, too. Then we finished off the 10 days with a visit to Hot Springs, AR and a soak in the natural hot spring/mineral water that they're famous for.  I have to tell you, that was wonderful.  I wish we had something like that around the Houston area, I'd be there every week.  It's certainly good for what ails you.  One of the best things about it, it only cost $18.00 a piece for as long as you want to stay.  Wow, what a deal!

After the long holiday weekend, it's going to be focus, focus, focus for me so I can get both my businesses up and running.  This one of course is my passion because I'm able to help a lot of people with their "health" challenges.  However, I have to say the other one is my passion too, because I'm able to help a lot of people with their "wealth" challenges.  Please check it out:  www.freegroceries4all.com.

I'm all about helping others get what they want.  I guess there's a little selfishness in that because the law of attraction says if you help enough people get what they want, you end up getting what you want.  Isn't that wonderful.  It's a win-win situation for everyone.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend.  Till next time.......