Shay is immersed in a three-week health enhancement program at the Optimum Health Institute in Quemado, California. OHI has been serving clientele since 1977 when the Hippocratic Health Institute merged with the Free Sacred Trinity Church (practicing the Essene beliefs). Bob Nees, Chairman of the Board of OHI, says, "One needs to take direct action in addressing both major and minor health challenges by detoxifying the mind of negative thinking and the body of toxins. The process is essential in building the golden bridge to one's spirituality and developing the balance needed for optimum health."

From the website, www.optimumhealth.org, a further description: "The Optimum Health Institute is a refuge, that offers a learning experience that is designed to retrain your mind, rebuild your body which will allow one to find their own spiritual path. The everyday, 'normal' secular practices that our society has adopted build overwhelming obstacles to our own holistic well-being. We believe that wholesome eating, therapeutic activities and peaceful redirection of our priorities can recapture the vitality and health that is our natural state which is necessary to achive optimum health."

Shay will be sending in regular reports via the blog, so watch for those. (By the way, you can now subscribe to our blog via email. Just enter your email address in the box on the blog).

Dear Readers,

"Our luminous body is the most incredible tool we have. The way we perceive our body is the center post of our perceptions. If you change your perception of the body, you can change your perception of reality." --Huang
I am here at the Optimum Health Institute in sunny, 70's, Quemado, California. It has taken me five days to settle in, as I will be here for three weeks, so blogging has commenced now. The quote above is my intention for being here, fasting, eating raw food detox meals, daily exercise and taking classes on digestion/elimination, food combining and so much more. I heard about this program from a friend and six months later I am here, and it could not be more perfect.
I have a shared room with a great woman from Taiwan named Ivy. She is leaving today for New York to visit her sister tomorrow and I will have a new roommate. One of the beautiful parts of this experience is the fellowship and reconnection to your source. This program is for Mind, Body and Spirit, so the people you meet all or many have the same intention. Cleanse the body and mind, and with that you have greater access to source, or your divine essence. Ivy and I have enjoyed each other's company and have shared the ups and downs around the raw food--some being better then others, and are happy to remind each other that it is a detox program.
The education and preparedness provided at OHI is fantastic. I look forward to sharing much of it in my blog over the next 17 days. I am so grateful to be here and to have this opportunity to cleanse, re-center, and acquire new and improved life skills--skills I can share with all of you on my personal journey of vibrant, healthy and joyful living.
More later, it is a promise!

In vibrant health,

Shay Arave
President
Pure Energy Rx

 

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MOVIE REVIEW

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We're proud to announce our affiliation with the Spiritual Cinema Circle, a movie subscription service that provides movies with a specifically spiritual theme. Such titles as "What the Bleep," "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," and "Whale Rider," as well as videos by such popular authors as Depak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsch, Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay are featured. For our part, we'll be doing monthly movie reviews of movies we've received from the Circle. This month we're featuring our experiences with "What the Bleep?." Meanwhile, please check out the Spiritual Cinema Circle!

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Featured Articles

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Our resident Feng Shui expert, Donna Stellhorn, talks about the Chinese New Year, and what it will mean to be living in the Year of the Dog--loyalties formed and tested, obedience and rebellion, running with the pack... Donna lays out how to get the most from this very energetic year. >>> MORE

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Feed your head...
The Mental Health Foundation in the UK, has embarked on a public information campaign to encourage people to use foods to combat mental illness. Based on recent research, the Foundation has provided a great resource that offers an alternative to sometimes dangerous psychoactive pharmaceuticals, especially for children. In one of their reports, the Foundation proclaims, "We know that the brain is made up in large part of essential fatty acids, water and other nutrients. We know that food affects how we feel, think and behave. In fact, we know that dietary interventions may hold the key to a number of the mental health challenges our society is facing. Yet we rarely invest in developing this knowledge, and a relatively tiny--but growing-- number of professionals are putting it to effective use. But there is a growing body of evidence, and a number of significant voices are championing the role of diet in the care and treatment of people with mental health problems. The potential of dietary interventions in treating depression and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, for example, are being increasingly recognised. We would be foolish to underestimate their importance." Additionally, their website provides an entertaining and very useful guide to what foods affect what mental disorders, such as green leafy vegetables for depression and anxiety, and fish for memory problems. >>>> MORE >>>> NUTRITIONAL GUIDE

When wine goes bad...
Wine may have the high-falutin' high society reputation, but it's vinegar that really gets the work done. Down through the ages, the lowly vinegar has racked up more uses than soybeans. Everything from disinfecting to curing migraines, not to mention seasoning, vinegar is one of the most under-promoted, and thus under-utilized of the ferments. It's extreme low cost coupled with it's extreme versatility, vinegar should occupy a hallowed place in every household. Scientific research shows that the vinegar contains 18 amino acids such as enzyme and lactic acid, and 17 kinds of micro-elements such as calcium, iron, zinc and manganese, needed by the human body. For cleaning it is unmatched, due to its ability to destroy on contact 99% of all bacteria and viruses; not to mention that water, vinegar and newspaper does better for windows than any other environmentally questionable, scientific designer formula sold for 10 times the price. Vinegar is unmatched for its versatility in and on the human body as well. Soak a rag in vinegar, and place it on the head for migraines, take two tablespoons internally with meals to cancel heartburn, use it for sunburn and insect bite relief, as well as for burns. Try vinegar for nail fungus, athelete's foot, or any other skin infection. Because of its high potassium content, use it for leg cramps, fatigue, dehydration, and exhaustion. Vinegar chelates (breaks down) calcium due to its high percentage of acetic acid, so use it when cooking down chicken bones for soup--the soup will have a very high, very assimilable calcium content. And, of course, don't forget about gargling with apple cider vinegar to cure hiccups! >>>> MORE

ACID: Too much of a good thing sometimes...
If you believe the commercials, gastric acid is bad. And if you suffer from chronic heartburn, you probably agree. But gastric acid is indispensable: you can't digest food without it. Problems arise when this acid makes its way into the esophagus, triggering heartburn, acid reflux and similar conditions.
But gastric acid isn't just a digestive tool; it also protects the stomach from a bacterium called Clostridium difficile (abbreviated as "C-diff"), which can trigger digestive inflammation and diarrhea so severe that some cases result in death. Suppress gastric acid, and the stage is set for C-diff to flourish.
A recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association carries a study from Montreal's McGill University. Using information from the United Kingdom General Practice Research Database, The McGill team identified more than 1,600 cases of C-diff and matched each case against ten control subjects. Results showed that people who used a class of drugs known as H2 receptor antagonists (such as Zantac and Pepcid) had twice the risk of C-diff infection compared to non-users. And the results were even more worrying for users of proton pump inhibitor drugs (such as Prevacid and Prilosec): They were three times more likely to experience a C-diff infection compared to those who used no heartburn medication. Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was also associated with an increased risk of C-diff infection. Overuse of antibiotics is already a known factor in the alarming rise in the number of C-diff cases.
And here's the kicker: If you don't use antibiotics or any of the popular heartburn medications, you're not out of the woods. A Washington Post article about C-diff offers this disturbing note: "It spreads easily through contact with contaminated people, clothing or surfaces."
In an interview with the Associated Press, lead author of the McGill study, Sandra Dial, M.D., noted that heartburn can often be treated with less potent drugs. She could have added that heartburn can be treated without using any drugs at all. Such simple solutions as proper hydration (drinking enough water), taking supplemental digestive enzymes and probiotics such as acidophilus, or add vinegar to your diet (see above).
Dr. Allan Spreen, M.D., notes: "Acidophilus supplements (powder form, the liquid tastes awful) protect the esophagus without killing acid (while killing the pain almost immediately). The hassle is, you have to keep it handy and take it often if you don't solve the whole problem, which involves tightening the gastro esophageal sphincter. That can be done by improving the environment of the stomach, which then tightens the junction on its own, but requires a bit more effort." (Thanks to HSI)

The Life and Science of Linus Pauling
by Madeline Moeller, Age 11
Linus Pauling is often considered the founding father of molecular biology, which provided the base for biotechnology (bio-tech). He is the only person ever to receive two unshared Nobel Prizes for Chemistry (1954), and for Peace (1962). At an early age Linus became obsessed with chemistry. Linus always remembered a trick his friend had done, in which he mixed some sugar and another chemical together, added a drop of acid, and the sugar burst into flame. "Changing substances into other substances is what impressed me," he remembered later. "In chemistry, things happen. Very striking things happen." These childhood memories helped him realize he had great ideas that later helped him win the Nobel Prize.
Linus was born in Portland, Oregon, on February 28, 1901. His dad died when Linus was nine years old. His mother had a blood disease, therefore, Linus spent a lot of time with his grandparents. Occasionally, he did experiments at his house, but he preferred to do them at his grandparents' house because they did not care about the fumes.
In 1922, he received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Oregon Agricultural College in Corvallis--now Oregon State University. In 1923, he married Ava Helen Miller, who had been a student in a chemistry course he taught. Dr. Pauling loved and had great respect for his wife, whom he frequently credited with the development of his stance on peace activities. Pauling said that his second Nobel Prize should have been shared between them.
Linus had many great ideas for the world. He discovered that Vitamin C is necessary for the human body. He wanted the government to require a minimum dose, which helps prevent diseases. Pauling proposed that mental illness might be successfully corrected with vitamins and other micronutrients as an alternative to the use of drugs. Amazingly, he studied the structure of crystals. This helped him become on of the two greatest chemists in the Twentieth Century.
After Linus won his first Nobel Prize, Pauling urged other scientists to get involved in politics and society. Many people and institutions disapproved of his anti-nuclear and international peace-promoting activities. He wanted to end nuclear weapon testing, which he believed would help prevent wars. He made peace speeches to groups throughout Europe and the United States. Unfortunately, these speeches were rejected by the government and universities in the United States. While many in the United States thought he was a traitor, they conveniently forgot that during World War II he devised explosives and missile propellants for the Navy. He also invented a meter that monitored oxygen levels in submarines and airplanes. This instrument later helped monitor oxygen levels for premature babies in incubators. Linus was a master at explaining difficult medical and scientific information in terms of understandable to intelligent laypersons.
Linus died on August 19,1994, at his ranch near Big Sur on the California coast. A memorial was held at Stanford Memorial Church in Palo Alto on August 29, 1994. At the age of 93, Linus was greatly respected and beloved from childhood, to his great ideas, to winning the Nobel Prize.

The Global 100 most sustainable corporations...
The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, wrapped up this week. Participants detailed new projects in disaster relief, hunger, anti-corruption, and financing for development and public-private partnerships. A part of this Forum was the report by Corporate Knights, Inc. who released their "Most Sustainable Corporations in the World" analysis. "Sustainable" has had two meanings in the corporate world: How sustainable are a corporation's profits; and, How sustainable are those profits considering factors such as environmental impact, social activism, and democratic values. The report focusses on the latter, noting that stockholders these days want to see their investments paying environmental and social dividends--not just cash.
Corporate Knights' press release for the Corporate Sustainability Report proclaims it is analyzing, "...'non-traditional' drivers of risk and shareholder value including companies' performance on social, environmental and strategic governance issues."
In the introduction to the report, it gets down to the bottom line: "In spite of greater acceptance of corporate social responsibility principles, there is a longrunning debate on whether managers should incorporate CSR policies into their tactical and strategic decisions. One intriguing question has been the source of this great controversy: Can a firm do well while doing good?"
For those of us down here on the street, a statement like that illicits a big, fat, DUH. But, behind boardroom doors, the tradition is to make that big profit for the shareholders even if it means raping the environment, abusing the workforce, and running the company like a facist state. The point the report makes is that investors are caring more and more about how their corporate investments get those cash profits. Stockholders are becoming more and more the environmental and social conscience for global corporations. So this is a good thing.
This year, 28 of the 100 companies on the list were first-time entries, including Canon Inc., Nike Inc. and General Electric Company. Great Britain (30), the United States (17) and Japan (10) had the most companies among the 2006 Global 100. Notably, Sweden, with a population of 9 million (one thirtieth that of the US), scored 8 companies on this year's Global 100.
For those of us with stock portfolios who want to make more than just money in the world, this list is for you. >>>> THE LIST

Hospitals may be hazardous to your health...
by Mike Adams, Health Ranger
The hospital is not a place of healing. Let's get that out right away. A hospital is a place where people go to die. A hospital is one of the most dangerous places you can be. If you are not sick before you go, you are likely to get sick while you are there. Where do you think they breed superbugs? They breed them in hospitals, even though they try to confine them to certain floors. There are no antibiotics that can deal with these superbugs. There are things in the natural health world, like colloidal silver, that can help, but organized medicine still won't acknowledge this.
How bad is the care in hospitals? Here's a true story. This is a little outdated, but true nonetheless. A doctor wrote a prescription for some drops to be put in a patient's right ear, and on the script, he wrote, "R-ear" and the nurse read this and proceeded to administer the drops to the patient's anus (thinking the instructions said "rear"). Who puts eardrops in a patient's anus and calls it medicine?
There was a trial in which people called nurses on the phone and pretended to be doctors. They asked the nurses to go get a certain drug and prescribe it to a patient down the hall. It turns out that the doses were fatal. Did the nurses notice that these doses were fatal? Of course not. They filled the prescription, marched down the hall to administer the dose, and the people who were running the experiment finally stopped them.
They were all ready to do it. Why? Because the doctor on the phone said so. What happened to common sense in medical training? Organized medicine is the leading cause of death in this country. Prescription drugs are the fourth-leading cause of death. There are more than 750,000 people being killed each year by conventional medicine.
My source for that is the document Death by Medicine, authored in part by Dr. Gary Null. These statistics have all been documented and published. Some of them have been published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. These are stats right out of organized medicine. >>> MORE