Redesigned Website Welcome to our newly redesigned website! As you can see the format has changed from our previous design with the intent of improving the ease of finding things and your overall experience. We have re-organized and improved the navigation, updated many of the resource links, and added some great new content.
If you’re in a hurry to find something and don’t have the time to look around, go straight to the Site Map — you can get to it fast right from the Home Page — it provides a birds-eye view of every single page on the website.
$25 HolEssence Gift Card – FREE As incentive for you to take a detailed look throughout the newly redesigned website, we are giving one $25 HolEssence Gift Card to the first person who sends Laurie an email with the exact location of the one and only use of the term “pro bono” in the entire website (not including the use in this paragraph).
Calendar of Events — 2008 The New Year has an amazing line-up of events. The list for the entire year is ready for viewing. The first two events are right around the corner:
Intuitive Readings with Debbie Jacob
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) with Susan Warris-Liepa
Please see the Calendar of Events for details. Note: registration is required.
Life Lesson My youngest friend Ellen Grace (aka Ellie, Cheeky, and Girlie Girl) is two years old. Not long ago we were both in a kitchen crowded with friends helping to prepare a meal. Ellie’s mother gave me permission to put some Goldfish crackers in her plastic cup. Once full, I instructed Ellie to hold her cup high as she returned to her chair. This way Amber and Tippy (German Shorthair Retrievers) wouldn’t be able to nab her loot. As Ellie made her way back to the table, the cup was instantly lowered to chest level and subsequently had brown muzzles in it. Ellie looked back at me and cracked up. In effect she was saying, ‘Life is so much more fun when held at chest level so you can give freely from the heart’.
Words To Live By I am surrounded by pilots — my sister, my nephew, my dad, my uncle, and my husband. Naturally, I am familiar with the old adage, ‘Plan your flight and fly your plan.’ Recently, I learned a wise new twist …
One of my friends, Barbara, was telling me about her 95 year old mother who fell during a nighttime visit to the bathroom. When she was recounting her story to Barbara she said, ‘I know exactly what happened. I forgot to plan my landing.’All pilots will tell you that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. ‘Remember to plan your landing’.
Now those are words to live by …
Crystal of the Month — Amethyst Amethyst has long been called the ‘Sobriety Stone’. In ancient Rome, crushed Amethyst was added to wine cups to prevent drunkenness. It is said to assist with healing alcoholism, compulsive behaviors, and addictions of all kinds. Amethyst brings energies of stability, peace, calm, balance, courage and inner strength. It is an excellent stone for meditation or dreamwork, and can help you see your path. It has also been used to help ease the pain of grief, and to promote joy.
Amethyst is reputed to be beneficial when dealing with legal problems, and money issues. This, in turn, can lead to prosperity.
Physically – Amethyst helps to ease the withdrawal symptoms of any sort of addiction, helps with headaches, insomnia, arthritis, pain relief, circulatory system issues, endocrine system problems, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, immune system deficiencies, and general healing. It can be used under the pillow to assist with sleep. It’s effectiveness as a sleep stone is enhanced when coupled with Rose Quartz.
Amethyst is associated with the crown chakra.
Frequently Asked Questions Can Stress Make Me Fat? Cortisol is a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands in response to stress, and research does suggest that there may be a tie between cortisol levels in women and the accumulation of excess weight in the abdominal area. A study at YaleUniversity in 2000 compared stress reactions among women who had a high waist-to-hip ratio (because their fat tended to be in the belly) with those among women with a low waist-to-hip ratio (indicating more fat storage in the hips than the waist).
The researchers noted that diseases caused by high levels of cortisol (Cushing's Syndrome is one) are characterized by excessive amounts of fat in the abdominal area, an unhealthy distribution that increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. In addition to the link to weight gain, elevated cortisol levels can have adverse effects on the immune system, memory, and sugar metabolism.
In the Yale study women were given tests (involving puzzles and speech designed to stimulate stress) to see how they responded. The researchers found that women with a high waist-to-hip ratio, whether they were overweight or slim, secreted more cortisol under stress and also reported more stress in their daily lives than women with low waist-to-hip ratios. Results of the study were published in the September/October 2000 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.
While these findings are interesting, it would be a mistake to blame all weight gain on cortisol. Heredity plays a role, as do lifestyle factors such as smoking, the consumption of alcohol, and lack of exercise. If you want to decrease the impact of stress in your life, which may result in lower cortisol levels, be sure to exercise regularly and get sufficient sleep. If you sleep with someone who snores, wear earplugs so you can sleep. Incorporate meditation and relaxation techniques such as breathwork into your daily routine — they will help bring calmness throughout your body. Don't just do them when you feel anxious; do them to prevent anxiety.
Capricorn A good portion of January is ruled by Capricorn. To learn more about this Zodiac sign simply click on the link.
Looking Ahead
February’s events are Radiesthesia — The Art & Science of the Pendulum, presented by Laurie Buchanan on Sunday, Feb 10; and Acupuncture presented by Craig Jadown on Sunday, Feb 24. For details about either event simply click on the links.
