America is a unique nation - founded on the recognition that all people have inalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. American government was founded to protect those rights. A land permitting the individual to grow is one where the laws and courts, and the culture of the people, respect and uphold those rights. Easy taxes and minimal bureaucratic and political interference are also necessary preconditions for the pioneer spirit to flower in us all.

The more we give "professionals" permission to control and manage our lives the less free, more dependent and less capable we become. Though necessary at times, the ultimate goal of all of our mentors - parents, teachers, doctors (and dare we say it - politicians and bureaucrats) - should be to give us the tools we need so we won't be dependent on them; so we may live as free and self-reliant individuals.

As the Elders of the Oraibi Arizona Hopi Nation remind us: "We are the ones we've been waiting for."
 
The world-renowned sociologist Ivan Illich, Ph.D. applied this understanding to health in his famous book Medical Nemesis:

A world of optimal and widespread health is obviously a world of minimal and only occasional medical intervention. Healthy people are those who live in healthy homes on a healthy diet in an environment equally fit for birth, growth, work, healing, and dying; they are sustained by a culture that enhances the conscious acceptance of limits to population, of ageing, of incomplete recovery and ever-imminent death.
Healthy people need minimal bureaucratic interference to mate, give birth, share the human condition, and die. (1)

May 2009 be a year of increased freedom from drugs and surgery, from sickness, weakness and dependency. May 2009 be a year of ever increasing physical, emotional and spiritual health and happiness for you and your loved ones.

The healing power of aromatherapy has been employed for thousands of years in nearly every culture. Recently Israeli researchers have discovered that the incense known as frankincense can be a very effective mood-altering tool. It affects the same part of the brain as anti-anxiety and anti-depression drugs.(2)

Essential oils and incense have been used to change mood, improve the immune system, heal and promote wellness. Why not add some aromatherapy to your life?

Water and high blood pressure

(You need to know this especially if you drink alcohol - happy holidays)

Your blood is mostly water. When you are dehydrated your blood thickens a little, making it a little more difficult for your heart to pump it through your body. Your heart has to pump harder and that raises your blood pressure.

According to a study that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association, two million children have high blood pressure. Could this be due to dehydration? Are your children drinking water or sugary drinks? (3)

Alcohol is dehydrating. Much of hangover pain is the result of dehydration. That's why one of the best ways to get rid of a hangover is to drink lots of water.

A study was reported in Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery of 300 children (ages 2-8) who were advised to have their tonsils out. Those who did not have them removed were ultimately healthier with fewer fevers, throat infections and respiratory illnesses. In all, they had fewer annual visits to doctors and lower resulting medical costs, and fewer fevers and throat infections.

The researchers concluded that removing the tonsils of children with mild or moderate throat infections is more expensive and has fewer health benefits than simply watching and waiting. (4)

Why would children who do not have tonsillectomies be healthier? It is because the tonsils (and adenoids) are part of the immune system that fights disease. It is normal for them to enlarge when a child is ill. Enlarged tonsils are generally a healthy sign that the child is fighting infection - and building a stronger immune system in the process.

All children with enlarged tonsils should have a chiropractic checkup so that their immune system and body are functioning without nerve interference.

Chiropractic frees you from a deep stress caused by a distortion in your body structure - the subluxation. Subluxations hold you back by interfering with your energy and preventing you from reaching your full potential.

Most people have subluxations in their bodies and don't know it. It can happen from a difficult birth, a fall or some other injury in infancy or childhood (or later in life), from pregnancy, emotional stress, chemical stress and even from sitting or working in the same position day after day (micro-trauma).

Chiropractors spend years learning how to free you from damaging subluxation stress. Chiropractic promotes improved nerve and energetic communication between your brain and spinal cord, and your organs, muscles, joints, glands and many body systems.

Chiropractic's purpose is to free you from nerve interference so you may live a healthier, happier life.

When your body is functioning at 100%, free of toxins and supplied with the nutrient dense foods it needs, the result is:

• A body making all the drugs and chemicals it needs.
• A healthy body - free of chronic illness and able to adapt to life's stresses.
• A healthy mind - able to adapt to life's ups and downs.
• A long life - may we all live to the Biblical ideal of 120 years. The Lord said...his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. (1a)
• Living to your potential: a happy, healthy, rich, creative, successful, long life.

With a foundation of physical, mental and spiritual wellness and growth, 2009 may be a wonderful year for us as we rise up to face the many challenges the year brings.

In a recent research paper in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers found increased incidence of breast cancer in women who got mammograms every two years compared to women who got mammograms every six years. In fact the women who decided not to get bi-annual mammograms had 22% less breast cancer!

HUMOR!

Love is...

A group of professionals asked a group of 4 to 8-year-olds, 'What does 'love' mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.' Rebecca - age 8

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.' Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.' Chrissie - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.' Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mummy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.' Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mummy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.' Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.' Bobby - age 7

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.' Nikka - age 6

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.' Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.' Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.' Cindy - age 8