Vastu Shastra is India’s sacred science of architecture, and it is a sister science of Ayurveda, both dating back more than 6,000 years.  Vastu gives us guidelines for arranging our environments so that they are in alignment with the energy of the universe.  It can also help us to create altars for ourselves to attract or enhance certain energies in various areas of our lives.  In India, there are altars in just about every home, temple, or building.  I love the beauty and meaning behind altars, so I have placed one in my office, one in the entry way to my home, and one in my bedroom.  I was lucky enough to have Michael Mastro, a Vastu Shastra master, come to my home for a Vastu consultation.  It was fascinating!  He gave me lots of great tips, including having a representation of each of the 5 elements on each altar.  Michael and his wife, Robin, have written a beautiful book: “Altars of Power and Grace: Create the Life You Desire.” There are colors photographs throughout to illustrate how we can achieve harmony, health, fulfillment, and prosperity with personal altars based on Vastu Shastra.  They’re giving our subscribers a special offer, check the banner below for more details!

Most people, when asked what they look for in a partner, rank a “good sense of humor” right up near the top of their list.  In fact, you’ll often see the acronym GSOH listed in dating ads.  But “sense of humor” actually means something different when it comes to men and women.  Women are attracted to men who can make them laugh.  Men are attracted to women who laugh at their jokes.  The basic difference is that men tend to use humor to compete with other men, they show how witty and smart they are with barbs and taunts toward each other.  Women, on the other hand, use humor to bond with other people.  Studies show that men often use humor to kind of jockey for position with other men when they are in the company of women.  When a woman laughs at his jokes, males often perceive this as a sign of sexual interest, as a flirting behavior, and they are attracted.  However, when a woman is too aggressive with her own humor, taking a kind of male role, men are turned off.  Women like men who are funny because the humor helps them to relax, and they sense an ability on the man’s part to understand another person’s point of view.  In long-term relationships, men who appreciate their female partner’s humor are more secure and mature than the average man.  Humor plays a big role in diffusing tension and conflict in a relationship, and marriages last longer when couples appreciate each other’s playfulness.

We might think that the finer things in life will make us happy, but the truth is that it’s the mundane everyday things that have the most impact on our sense of well being.  A recent study from the University of Northern British Columbia came up with some interesting findings.  The technical term for how good we judge life to be is called our “subjective well being.” It turns out that situations we have some control over, like our job, education, or finances, account for only 10-15% of our subjective well being.  Happiness is mainly a factor of our personality traits and temperament, it doesn’t depend so much on the trials and victories that we encounter along the way.  More money doesn’t make us happier, but more time to enjoy ourselves does.  If we want to influence that 10-15% in our favor, here are some things we can do:

-Make friends.  Spending time with friends is a great mood lifter.  Develop social skills and learn how to approach people with confidence.

-Volunteer.  One study says that volunteer work generates more joy than anything except dancing.  There is a sense of accomplishment and social connection in doing something meaningful that also makes it fun.

-Spend time doing what you love.  Activities that combine socializing and physical activity are best.  Leisure time can be relaxing, but happiness comes more from being active.

When my son was in elementary school I knew that he had some learning differences, so I studied how people learn to better understand how to optimize his own learning process.  What is interesting is that I learned so much that applies to all of us!  For example, take a look at these statistics.  Students retain:

-10% of what they read -26% of what they hear -30% of what they see -50% of what they see and hear -70% of what they say and -90% of what they say and do.

So if we want to optimize our own learning, it helps to learn in a multi-sensory environment.  Read it, listen to it, say it out loud, experience it by doing it yourself.

Bach Flowers are named for the late Edward Bach of England, a homeopathic doctor who discovered the thirty-eight flower remedies and their method of treatment.  Dr. Bach believed that in this life we have two purposes: to work on our Divine Purpose (to grow spiritually) and to serve our fellow human beings.  His theory was that if you are not doing both of these things, then disease can set in.

This system of healing is based on shifting the emotional energy of an individual through the vibrations found in specific flowers.  The essence of these flowers has been potentized into drops that can be administered in a variety of ways.  By shifting the vibratory energy connected with our emotions, our physical condition has been found to respond accordingly.

Rather than focus on the disease, Bach Flowers looks at the emotional state that is the root cause of disease.  Under stress from a negative emotional state, the body loses its natural resistance to disease and gets sick much more easily.  By correcting the emotional state, the disease will have nowhere to flourish and will naturally go away.  In Dr. Bach’s own words: “There is no true healing unless there is a change in outlook, peace of mind, and inner happiness.

This is an excerpt from “The Healthy Family Handbook” e-book available in the coffeyshop.

And yet, each different color of rose has its own special message.

-Red roses mean true love.  According to Greek mythology, when Aphrodite, the goddess of love, rushed to the aid of her beloved Adonis, she scratched herself on the thorn of a white rose.  The rose stained the rose red, and it has signified romantic love since that time.

-White roses mean respect.  White represents purity and innocence.  Folklore has it that all roses were white until they were stained with color.

-Pink roses mean appreciation.  Pink represents platonic love.  The light pink indicates gentleness and elegance, and the darker shades signify gratitude.

-Orange roses mean passion.  Orange unites the joy of yellow with the romance of red, which, like fire, signifies burning desire.

-Yellow roses mean friendship.  Like sunshine, yellow is cheerful and warm, it brings joy and happiness.

-Lavender means new beginnings.  This could be the new start of a romantic relationship.  They also signify that the recipient is rare, and special.

-Red-and-white roses mean unification.  This is called the Tudor Rose, and it was created by Henry VII, who ended the conflict between the Yorks (whose symbol was the white rose) and the Lancasters (whose symbol was the red rose).  This combination colored rose symbolically joins the two colors, and families, together.

The body naturally eliminates toxins from the blood through the intestines, lungs, lymph nodes, liver, kidney and skin.  A detoxification program can help the body’s natural cleansing process.  There are a few different ways we can do this.  Drinking lots of pure water helps, as does stimulating the liver, improving blood circulation, promoting elimination through the intestines, kidneys and skin (a steam shower is great for this!)  My chiropractor has an “EB” machine where you soak your feet in warm salt water and a bio-energy device helps release unwanted waste through the pores on the feet.  You can really feel the difference after just one 20-minute session.  I like using it after traveling because it’s easy to accumulate toxins in the airplane and I want to release them and not get sick.  Now Gaiam has its own version of this called the D-tox Spa, so we can get the same treatment right in our own home!  You know it’s working because you can see the water turn this murky tea color.  Check it out, it’s pretty cool!

Ever notice how some people just naturally seem to have a high metabolism?  It could be fidgeting that keeps it that way.  Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have discovered something called NEAT, which stands for “NonExercise Activity Thermogenesis.”  Huh?  Basically it means the calories we burn while fidgeting.  All those little activities we do without even realizing we’re doing them, like moving around, fidgeting, doodling, foot tapping.  Turns out we can burn between 350-500 calories a day like this, which translates to about 50 pounds a year!  To up our NEAT habits, we can simply pay attention.  Take stretch breaks, walk around the block, get up and change the TV channel without the remote, dance around the kitchen making dinner.  It’s the little things that can add up to making a big difference in our lives!

We all know the impact that color has on our lives.  I found a really cool book that takes the science of color to another level.  Colorstrology uses astrology and numerology to look at the colors that vibrate on any particular day.  Looking at “our” particular color, we can see where we complement other colors, and where we might clash, what colors might make us feel more comfortable, or more energetic.  The book uses the Pantone system, the same system that artists use, so we can easily translate the colors into paint, or carry them with us to match fabrics.  It’s really fun!  My birthday color is “Azure Blue” and the description suits me, I think.  It’s great to have the book, because you can carry it around with you to stores as you decorate, and look up friends’ birthday colors to get some insight into their personalities.  And there’s a website where you can find your birthday color right now!

Colorstrology.com

Aromatherapy is the science of using the fragrance of essential plant oils in healing treatments.  Plants have been used for their healing properties for thousands of years.  In 4500 B.C. for example, Egyptians used perfumed oils derived from natural sources.  They knew that the aromatic quality of plants and herbs could improve digestion, and they used spices in their cooking.  Garlic also provided antibacterial properties and helped to prevent epidemics. According to a translation of the inscription on the Pyramid of Cheops, every morning each slave, who worked to build the pyramid, was given a clove of garlic because its aromatic properties would provide him with strength and good health.  Now aromatherapy is used with great success all over the world.

Aromatherapy is an energetic healing technique that uses the vibratory energy of various aromas to shift the body’s energy system and bring relief from physical symptoms.  The aromas used are distilled directly from plants and placed in an oil base, forming what is called essential oils.

This is an excerpt from “The Healthy Family Handbook” e-book.