Whats your Type?

Carl Jung

If you haven’t heard of Jung Personality test, or have and don’t know your type, take 20 minutes out of your day to complete the test. I completed the test and was amazed how accurate the outcome was. I found it also helpful doing it alongside someone who knows you really well to help you determine your answers, sometimes we aren’t the best judges of ourselves.

A little bit about the test: The Jung personality test created by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist was the founder of analytical psychology. He believed that the human psyche is “by nature religious” and explored it in depth. He was also well known for dream analysis. Jung's work on himself and his patients convinced him that life has a spiritual purpose beyond just material goals. Our main task, he believed, is to discover and to fulfill our deep innate potential, much as the acorn contains the potential to become the oak, or the caterpillar to become the butterfly. Based on his study of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, Taoism, and other religious traditions, Jung perceived that this journey of transformation, which he called individuation, is at the mystical heart of all religions. It is a journey to meet the self and at the same time to meet the Divine. Unlike Sigmund Freud, Jung thought spiritual experience was essential to our well-being and also our work environment.

When breaking down the test there are four temperament categories: Guardians, Artisans, Idealists and Rationalists. Then there are four sub categories for each key temperament. This will determine your personality on several different levels. You can complete the test by clicking on this link.

And when completed it will take you to various websites to find more information on your specific type. It’s an interesting reflection of how we perceive and act throughout life in our personal and business worlds. Please share below in the comment section your personality type.

Mine: ISFJ: The Guardian Protector

Quote: Mother Theresa is one of my famous guardian portraits and she is quoted saying, "Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person."

Lashing a Whip...

…at all of those "drug prescription-pushing" doctors right after you get a whiplash. For those of you who haven’t noticed, I have been a little absent from this blog for the past last few days. I was down in Los Angeles visiting my sister and the first night I was there, we were involved in a car accident. I have experienced whiplash before but had not been prepared with the right post-accident knowledge that I have now. I wanted to share some information regarding natural anti-inflammatory products that can be used for whiplash or any moderate trauma to the body before taking those "Percosets" or "Vicodin".  If you have a serious condition, PLEASE seek a health professional first. First of all, ice is so important for any part of the body that has been affected with trauma and will help with the natural anti-inflammatory process. Ice the area for 15-20 minutes and wait an hour before applying ice again. It is also important to get plenty of rest as your body will recover quicker if you allow yourself the appropriate healing time. For products topically and internally, it’s better not to consume over the counter drugs when possible...they simply cover up the symptoms allowing the underlying problem to continue to degenerate. Currently, I am in a considerable amount of pain but have eased it with the proper rest, icing, supporting of my back and neck and applying Traumeel on the affected areas. Traumeel is a homeopathic blend of Arnica and Calendula as well as several other homeopathic ingredients that help with muscular pain, joint pain, sports injuries and bruising. You can also take this sublingually, under the tongue a few times a day to help support the naturally inflammatory process. Another great product is by Aloe Life called Vanilla Heat rub, if you’re a fan of Icy Hot, you will LOVE this product. It has all the good stuff in it with great healing properties of Menthol, MSM, Whole Leaf Aloe Vera Juice, Arnica and other herbal extracts to help support the relieve of tension and soreness due to athletic injury, physical exertion, gardening, arthritic aches, broken bones, shoulder tension, old injuries, carpal tunnel, daily stress and fatigue. It smells great with the vanilla extract although it does have a strong smell of menthol, it works! You can also take natural herbs such as Turmeric or Ginger to help with any inflammation. There is a great product from New Chapter that has a combination of these two “miracle” spices called Zyflamend. In Zyflamend there is also a blend of herbs such as Holy Basil, which is great anti-inflammatory and Green Tea, promotes a healthy eicosanoid (EFA’s, which you can also find in Omega 3 and 6) balance and contains 51 phytonutrients to promote healthy inflammation. This product has been one of the few herbal medicines to be used in clinical studies and have shown amazing results. It has also been used to help treat prostate cancer.Their scientific studies has shown that an enzyme known as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) may affect the inflammation responses and may serve an important function in promoting normal cell growth in the colon, pancreas, breast tissue, and other organ systems. I have noticed in the first few days of taking this blend that it did cause my stomach to be a little upset because it heats up your internal sauna. Be sure to take it with food and a full glass of water and you should be fine. I have felt that it has been helping me tremendously so far. Aside from the slight muscle soreness from the accident, I am grateful that my sister and I are in one piece and are still able to enjoy the holidays.  Hopefully, I will be back to normal soon with some help of cranial sacral therapy, massage, yoga and lots of rest! If anyone has good recommendations for natural pain relievers and inflammation support feel free to comment below.

Products: Traumeel, Vanilla Heat Rub by Aloe Life and Zyflamend by New Chapter

Quotes:" He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."  ~Epictetus

"For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

Holiday Tokens

This day in age everything is digital: email, social networking, web searches and even your birthday or holiday “e-card”. I agree that the internet offers us amazing ways to connect, learn and share, just as I am doing with this blog, but I also think it’s nice to still receive some good old snail mail. What happened to the days of birthday cards, a thank you note or post cards from friends or family visiting exotic locations? Now that the holidays are upon us I think it’s nice to embrace the giving and receiving of holiday cards. It’s really the little joys of the holiday season when opening the mail box and receiving a handwritten card from a loved one. However, I do know the two advantages of e-cards, cost efficiency and they are also not consuming paper. On the flip side I found an awesome card company that I got my cards from this year called, Smock.  They are the first print shop in the United States to use bamboo paper. Bamboo paper is completely sustainable and from a renewable source. It’s the fasted growing plant without the use of any pesticides, uses minimal use of water and produces 35% more oxygen then hardwood trees! The ink is only vegetable-oil based and low-Volatile Organic Compound (VOC). They also recycle their photo chemistry, film, paper off cuts, and photopolymer printing plates. The retail packaging is biodegradable, tree-free, and even petroleum-free. It gets even better, not only do you have high quality beautiful cards, a portion is also donated to the Pesticide Action Network and the Amazon Conservation Association! They make everything from beautiful wedding invitations, holiday cards, announcements, gift wrap to even notebooks. Check out their website for more information on their products, www.smockpaper.com and take the time to write your friends and family during this holiday season and they will appreciate it more than you know. Happy Holidays!

Quote:“What a lot we lost when we stopped writing letters. You can't reread a phone call.”- Liz Carpenter

 

 

Get Cultured!

I am sure most of you have heard of probiotics, you know those friendly bacteria that can be found in yogurts, fermented foods or in pill form. Let me introduce to you a 100% natural dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and certified vegan probiotic that we can all enjoy, its called Inner-Eco. This is a young coconut water probiotic kefir that is created with fermented young green coconuts(at this state they have the most health benefits). If you’re familiar with Kombucha or drinking coconut water, this is a perfect harmony of both. The taste is a little shocking at first, kind of like a vinegar taste, but once you swish the liquid in the mouth for 30 seconds before swallowing, you naturally feel a surge of energy and that its working already! You only need about ½-1 ounce of the beverage a day and your getting trillions of healthy bacteria that is not only reaching your oral bacteria but working in your stomach and digestive system as well. These are the strains of probiotics that are in the drink: Lactococcus lactis subsp. Lactis,
Lactococcus, lactis subsp., Cremoris,
Lactococcus lactis ssp diacetylactis,
Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. Cremoris,
Lactobacillus kefyr
,Kluyveromyces marxianus var. marxianus,
Saccharomyces unisporus. These cultures help aid in the digestion and help control bad yeast (Candida) found in our body. The probiotic cultures have the ability to colonize and become established in the intestine allowing them to repopulate in the digestive track, giving you long term benefits. Drinking probiotics are especially important during the flu/cold season to help support your immune system. They also help anyone with suppressed immune systems already such as cancer, cardiovascular, severe candida, digestive disorders and more. There have been reports on this particular probiotic to also help children that are diagnosed with autism. My personal experience with it so far has been successful in suppressing my appetite and sugar cravings!I met the co-founder yesterday, Barb Vogel and she told me that the original flavor, Inner-Eco can be put on the skin to help with acne and it can also be feed to pets that have sensitive digestive systems. She also had the whitest teeth and hasn’t had them professionally whitened in years, and attributes it’s all from the keifer. Hopefully this is all reason enough for you to go out and buy some...$15.00 for 2-4 weeks worth is not bad, when you consider how much a cup of coffee costs. Oh and a little bird also told me that it can be a good hangover cure, perfect for the holidays;) So drink to your health!



Inner-Eco comes in Original, Berry and Tropical.My personal favorite is the berry, sweetened with a touch of Stevia (a natural sweet leaf plant).

Quote:
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
- Buddha

Cracked, Flakey, Itchy...

Borage Plant

Your skin is screaming for some moisture during these dry winter months and I know just the thing to help that! After spending hundreds of dollars on trying everything under the sun, I finally found something that is not only affordable (under $15.00) but works like a charm! What’s so special about this lotion? This particular brand has ingredients such as Borage oil and Oatmeal. Borage oil is extracted from the seeds of the borage plant and is a natural source of (GLA)Gamma-Linolenic Acid, a very important OMEGA-6 fatty acid which is required for healthy skin cell membranes. If you are not getting a sufficient amount of GLA, then your skin cells can’t retain enough of that moisture we all need ie. symptoms of dry, cracked, itchy skin to more serious cases of eczema or psoriasis. This oil naturally penetrates deep, and helps restore healthy skin cells. You’re left with feeling more moisturized and silky smooth! Best of all there are no harsh sulfates, perfumes, parabens or any of that garbage. I recommend this lotion as the perfect gift idea for anyone who suffers from dry skin! They also have an awesome hand cream and a Children’s specific lotion. See yah later Alligator skin ;)


 
Product: SHIKAI Borage Dry Skin Therapy
You can purchase this at most health food grocery stores such as Whole Foods or online

*****  5 Stars!

Quote: "Chop your own wood, and it will warm you twice."-Henry Ford

Green Up!

Not getting your daily dose of greens, antioxidants, fiber and pre/ probiotics? It’s easy and it tastes awesome! Just one scoop of this yummy green powder will give you that natural energy boost to help you jump start your day and also help your immune system fight off the cold season. There are many different brands of powders. I personally enjoy the Amazing Grass brand because it’s not only local to me but they use organic ingredients and even use Sambazon Acai berries. The powders come in several different flavors so you can get creative in your smoothies or juices, which makes it all more fun! This morning I am having a Cacao Tonic I created:

1 Heaping Scoop of Amazing Grass GreenSuperfood with Cacao

½ cup of Unsweetened Cacao Organic Almond Milk

½ cup of Sambazon Acai Juice

1 Banana

A handful of frozen organic strawberries

1 Tbs of Raw Cacao Nibs

I like to switch it up every morning, sometimes I just do a wheatgrass juice, or use my Amazing Grass Berry Blend with a blend of berries and an ounce of pure Mangosteen juice.

Just because I am drinking the Cacao blend today I thought I would let you in on a little secret…eating Chocolate is okay as long as its Cacao;) Cacao doesn’t have the added sugar and its the natural raw form of Chocolate. Cacao is no Ghirardelli Chocolate bar with its slightly bitter taste but you will soon be loving its benefits! It has a bunch of essential minerals including magnesium, sulfur, calcium, iron, copper, potassium and manganese. It can help with heart disease, macular degeneration, diabetes, cancer, aging and it’s a natural aphrodisiac! Recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry (December 3, 2003) is an article titled "Cocoa has more phenolic phytochemicals and a higher antioxidant capacity than teas and red wine". So Drink up!

Brands I recommend: 

Divine Organics Sacred Cacao ( I like the Nibs because I can munch on them or blend them)

Amazing Grass Powders

Genesis Today Juices- Acai, Noni, Mangosteen, Goji and more ( I will do a blog on them soon)

 Quote: 

"Too many of us are hung up on what we don't have, can't have, or won't ever have. We spend too much energy being down, when we could use that same energy - if not less of it - doing, or at least trying to do, some of the things we really want to do."Terry McMillan

Sip, Suck and Pull

These are the instructions that you’re meant to follow when swishing a tablespoon amount of cold pressed sesame seed oil in your mouth for 20 minutes every morning. I learned about this technique called Oil Pulling from a spa retreat in Tucson, Arizona four years ago. Its an Ayurvedic technique that advises oil gargling, "to purify the taste-buds and the entire system", as explained by Dr Deepak Chopra in Perfect Health. According to this life science, the tongue is mapped by organ-locations - that is, each section of the tongue is connected to the kidneys, lungs, spleen, liver, heart, pancreas, small intestines, stomach, colon, and spine. By doing this method it will help pull toxic waste, rejuvenate cells and help balance a healthy flora.

Anyone can do this and its less than ten dollars for a high quality bottle of oil. You just need 20 minutes a day for this ritual. It should be done in the morning before you consume any liquids or food or at night 4 hours after you have eaten or 1 hour after you have consumed liquids.

1) Consume 1 tablespoon of a cold pressed sesame seed oil or sunflower oil; I use the organic Spectrum brand from Whole Foods. Slowly swish the oil in your mouth, sucking and chomping the oil. Make sure your tilt your head back at times to let the oil reach your back molars, being sure not to swallow any of the oil. You want to do this for up to 20 mins. You may notice that you produce a lot of saliva, this is normal and this will help your enzymes draw out the toxins. MAKE SURE NOT TO SWALLOW any of the oil as it now toxic.

 

2) After 20 mins, it will be thin and when it turns white your ready to spit it out.  Make sure when your spit it out you do it in the toilet or a sink that you will wash right after you spit. People have taken the oil after pulling under a microscope and have seen toxic substances.

3) After you spit out the oil you can either swish with salt water or brush your tongue and teeth. Then drink 2-3 glasses of water to detox. Repeat everyday….for the rest of your life;)

I have done this method in the past for 3 weeks and noticed that I wasn’t craving sugar, my teeth looked whiter and my gums looked very light pink. I am now starting this method again but hoping to stick with it for a much longer period of time. I will do an update in a week and blog with any apparent changes.

From www.oilpulling.com:

Dr. Karach is supported in this view by other colleagues in the world. By means of this oil pulling treatment. it is invariably the result that diseases like migraine headaches, bronchitis, diseased teeth, arterio thrombosis, chronic blood disorders such as leukemia, arthritis and related illnesses, neuro physiological paralysis, eczema, gastro enteritis, peritonitis, heart disease, kidney disease, meningitis, and women’s hormonal disorders are completely eliminated from the organism. The benefit of Dr. Karach's method is that the oil therapy heals the whole body in perpetuity. In terminal diseases such as cancer, Aids and chronic infections this treatment method has been shown to successfully replace all others. Dr. Karach has successfully healed a chronic leukemia patient with 15 years of harsh treatment methods behind him. Acute arthritis in 1 patient who was totally bedridden was removed from his body in 3 days with no inflammation apparent.

Visit: www.oilpulling.com for more information or google OIL PULLING

 Quote:


"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. " ~Author unknown, commonly misattributed to Charles Darwin

Question...Everything...

Question everything…a motto that is important to live by. I created this blog to freely write down my thoughts, experiences and lessons learned from others in regards to alternative healing and medicine. I tend to question everything especially what doctors have to say in regards to diagnosing a condition. Instead of getting to the root of issues and why our body is reacting a certain way, they are prescribing  pills that are plastered like billboards throughout the examination room...their pens, note pads and flyers…just handing out “samples” like candy... trying to make us believe this will “cure” our “disease”. Never questioning or addressing whats really out of balance, just putting a band aid on the problem. Oh and the side effects are bizarre behavior; black or bloody stools; chest pain; confusion; decreased bladder control; decreased concentration; decreased coordination; exaggerated reflexes; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; fever; hallucinations; memory loss; new or worsening agitation, panic attacks, aggressiveness, impulsiveness, irritability, hostility, exaggerated feeling of well-being, restlessness, or inability to sit still; persistent or severe ringing in the ears; persistent, painful erection; red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin, seizures; severe or persistent anxiety or trouble sleeping; severe or persistent headache; stomach pain; suicidal thoughts or attempts; tremor; unusual bruising or bleeding; unusual or severe mental or mood changes; unusual weakness; vision changes; worsening of depression. Oh and you might DIE.. You get the point, this was taken from a common anti-depressant website, which is taken by what....the 27 million Americans, a number from a 2005 research, which has probably doubled...oh and might I add that 80% of the patients were treated by doctors other than psychiatrists.Interesting.

I am not here to claim that you will be cured from anything I write, this my disclaimer, but what I do believe is that you can cure every disease on this planet naturally…with a balanced diet, exercise, mediation, herbs, love and laughter. I have had this quote on my facebook book page for quite sometime and I believe that…”When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.” This blog was created just for that purpose. Believe it or not...In the end its all up to YOU to decide.