Editorial
Volume 22 Issue 5 — January/February 2017
by Melva Armstrong

Another new year has started. Can you believe it? They are certainly going faster. It seems to be part of the times in which we are living. I believe 2017 will be the same or faster, so hang onto your hats as it may even get a bit bumpy along the way.

The past year was the busiest one I’ve ever had. There were many new things to take care of and I never stopped “doing” from January to December. I hardly had any time to just “be.” I think I was being tested to see if I could handle all the responsibilities. I did manage them and I’m grateful for these opportunities to grow and evolve. I wonder what 2017 has in store? We’ll soon find out. I trust your 2016 was a good one and that you had lots of events to look back upon with gratitude and joy. Perhaps there were some sad and hard times that happened, for which my heart goes out to you. May the good times help smooth out the rough ones and keep the positive energy flowing gently throughout each of your days. We always have choice in how we see life, which I believe is a gift. It’s up to us to use our choices wisely.

Last September, I joined the community choir and have enjoyed meeting new folks and sharing the love of singing with them. We had a Christmas concert on December 11. There was a good turnout and they were warm and welcoming. I am looking forward to joining again in the spring with a concert in June. I feel really good inside when I sing and I think it is a very healing activity that brings much joy to my heart and soul. I would hope that many of you will consider singing in whatever way you can to fill your soul with happiness and love. Even listening to music or singing along with the songs you enjoy is highly beneficial to your health. There are no wrong notes, so just get up and get going and have fun participating in some form of singing or music in your life. You will be amazed at how good it will make you feel!

I continue to have my daily walks with the three dogs—Polly, Charlie, and Laddie. This really makes my day! It is such a joy to watch these four-leggeds enjoy themselves sniffing, marking, and playing as we walk through the snowy field and up through the paddock where the horses are munching away at one of the hay bales. Along with music, being with animals also fills my soul with love and brings much joy to my heart. And being in nature is another key to feeding my soul from Mother Earth. Tuning into her energy and power allows me to feel connected to and with all life. Be sure to spend some time genuinely connecting with the great outdoors each day. It will feel wonderful!

As we start this new year, it is generally a time when people feel like embarking on new projects and committing to keeping their resolutions. Often these decisions are connected to having better eating habits. In this issue, we’ve been blessed with three articles on the subject. Stacey Tress’s article, Ayurveda: A Personalized Guide to Good Health and Nutrition (p. 8), says “Ayurveda is perhaps the oldest science of life, a system of diet, healing, and health maintenance that is deeply spiritual in origin. Stacey provides details of the three body types and a chart suggesting the foods that best suit each body type.” Shelly-Anne Mckay’s article, A Surprisingly Simple Solution to Weight Management: Mindful Eating (p. 14), says “Mindful eating is a clinically proven way to stop the cycle of overeat, beat yourself up, restrict, overeat, beat yourself up, restrict (otherwise known as yo-yo dieting). Mindfulness simply means a moment by moment awareness of our thoughts, the feelings in our body, our environmental surroundings, and the impact that these have on us.” Looking at eating and diet from another perspective, Rusty Dixson and Katherine Harriman say in their article, Achieve “Thinner” Peace (p. 12), that “Being set free from the struggle to control our weight doesn’t come from “the Right diet” or superhuman willpower.” To address eating concerns, they have come up with a program where people meet in a group to learn why the brain sends the messages it does and what can be done about it.

Much more inside to start your new year, so do read on!

Happy New Year! May peace prevail on earth!

Namaste
(The spirit in me honours the spirit in you)