Friday the 13th Full Moon

Yesterday was Friday the 13th and it was a full moon. It’s an event that doesn’t happen too often, in fact the next one will be in thirty-five years. I used to acknowledge the full moon years ago by smudging my home, lighting candles and sending affirmations (burning them) to the Universe. I stopped doing it for a while choosing to join the “rat race” instead.

I recently started celebrating the full moon again. Last night’s moon seemed more special to me. I realized I probably won’t be around when the next full moon coincides with the infamous Friday the 13th. That got me to thinking (meditating) about time again and how time has become so important to me.

Every morning I set my intentions for the day and that includes how I wish to spend my time. It doesn’t always work out the way I planned but I give it a shot anyway. I am a planner by nature. I am so fortunate to be alive and healthy, I don’t want to waste a minute looking back. I want to experience the here and now. I want to live with my “eyes wide open” accepting (without judgment) whatever life sends my way.

How do you spend your time?

Namaste,

Inge

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Do You Know Your Body’s pH?

Do you know what your body’s ph level is? Do you know why it’s important to find out?

Your body functions like every other living thing on the planet. It works best when it is in balance. Maintaining balance includes keeping your ph level alkaline and a tiny bit acidic. Let me explain:

Our stomachs contain acid to break down foods so we can digest them. That’s a good thing. But most Americans eat the “Standard American Diet” (SAD) which is too acidic in the first place and they end up with heart burn or acid reflux. They either take over the counter antacids or get a prescription from their doctors for more powerful ones that end up diluting the important stomach acid, which causes the stomach to make more acid, creating a vicious cycle. If you find yourself suffering from heartburn, it’s better to take a spoonful of Manuka honey to get relief. Better yet is stop eating foods that create the problem.

Disease likes an acidic environment to live in. It can’t survive long in an alkaline one. Have you seen a swimming pool that is full of algae and gunk? That’s because it’s out of balance. If you own a pool you know it’s important to check the water’s ph. Another example is the water in your fish tank. If the water is acidic the fish die. It’s the same thing with your body. Too much acid over time and you will get sick.

Medications are acidic. If you have to take them for a chronic condition or are going through cancer treatment it’s super important to make sure you are eating alkaline foods to heal faster. Most treatments destroy the good bacteria in your body’s immune system so you want to build it up as fast as you can. Alkaline foods help. Ph strips monitor what’s going on inside you. `

The best way to find out if I am staying as close to alkaline as possible is to check my body’s ph level. I do that using ph test strips. Every few days I take a test strip and hold it under the flow of my pee. I wait for my second morning pee to get a more accurate sample. You can buy them just about anywhere but they can be super expensive. I found mine on-line from a company called Piping Rock. A box of forty strips cost me $6.00 compared to $17.00 at Sprouts which only contained twenty. Piping Rock accepts PayPal which is always a plus for me.

http://www.pipingrock.com/

I highly recommend you start checking where your ph level is and keep monitoring it so you know what foods keep you in a healthy balance.

Be well!

Inge

“Time” A Poem by Joan Sharp

Salvador Dali “Melting Clock”

I go to a writing class once a week at the local senior center. I learn a great deal about writing techniques and as part of the class our teacher has us read our work out loud. The other day, one of my class mates, Joan who is a poet, read her poem about “time.” It resonated with me.

My cancer diagnosis “woke me up” and changed my whole perspective about life and one of the main things I became aware of is — time. I think about it often. I begin each day deciding how I want to spend it (it doesn’t always turn out as planned though).

We may each have different amounts of money in the bank, but something we all share equally is time. We all get twenty-four hours in a day. Before I got sick I used to postpone doing things (some may call it procrastinating) thinking I had oodles of time to get whatever I needed to do done. Cancer changed that way of thinking. It showed me how precious time is and nobody knows when “our” time will be up. Listening to Joan read her poem, I knew she understood. I enjoyed it so much, I asked her if she would share it with you and she agreed.

 

Any thoughts?

Inge