Winter

"There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you. In spring, summer, and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself."
-Ruth Stout, 1955

(From Daily Om)
Self-Body Scan
Blessing Our Bodies
As the living vehicles for our spirits, our bodies deserve loving attention and care. We can positively affect our health, prevent illness, and heal injuries by regularly focusing our mental and spiritual energy on the workings of our bodies. This can be done by performing a body scan on yourself.

Begin by lying in a comfortable position and taking three deep cleansing breaths. Imagine, if you will, a sunbeam entering the top of your head. Feel this light slowly scanning each part of your internal body. Allow it to scan every cell in your body and keep breathing. Every time you exhale, blow out negative energy you may feel. Notice any changes in your body. Sensations may vary from person to person. You may feel a shift in body temperature, see a color or flash of light, or hear a voice offering you guidance. If you feel a block in a certain area of your body, sit with that block and feel into it. Ask your body why that block is there and what you need to do to release it. Try not to judge or analyze the wisdom that comes to you. Often, we experience energy blocks in our body because our body is trying to tell us something. You may want to breathe into that area until you feel the block dissolving. When you have finished your scan, take one last deep breath and exhal! e any energetic residue that you are ready to release.

The body doesn’t lie, and it has much wisdom to share with us. Any injuries or blocks that exist in our bodies are there so that we can learn from having them in our bodies. An existing injury can teach us to slow down or help us recognize that something is out of balance in our bodies. The more you scan your body, the better you will become at it. If you sense that something is not right in your body, you may want to visit a doctor and tell them about your experience. When you have finished your scan, don’t forget to thank your wonderful, amazing body.

Eco-Gardening

Dear Eco-Gardeners,

Boy-o-boy, we have an exciting line-up of courses for you—long & short!

Co-Creative Gardening workshops based on my book, Ask Mother Nature

Free movie, make-&-take your own greens tray, and finding nutrient-dense food

Intensive university training: growing by the organic method


Check out all the details and registration at www.goodearthgardenschool.com

(See below for overall schedule)

YES, you can garden cooperatively with nature.

Slugs in your lettuce?

A wasp nest on your deck?

Weeds invading your yard?

Trees to cut down?

Is there is a way you might work with nature?

Yes! Come learn to consult the wise consciousness of nature itself. I am teaching courses based on my book, Ask Mother Nature, a Conscious Gardener’s Guide.

You’ll learn methods to talk directly to the wise consciousness of slugs, wasps, weeds, and trees themselves. Learn how to obtain the guidance from these Devas and Nature Spirits. Discover ways to reduce pests without battles, poisons, or force; and cut down a tree without trauma. (This focus is non-religious.) You’ll come away with new skills to heal the Earth—from the convenience of your own backyard! Choose the Co-Creative Gardening class in Anchorage or Palmer. Also advanced class. Please see attached flyers and schedule below.

YES, you have very sweet 2-hour options.

Get your hands in the soil-come plant a windowsill greens garden,

Watch and discuss a free movie,

Hear (and taste) how to select safe, good food you can trust.

All at Terra Bella Café & Bakery in Anchorage. See: schedule below, attachments, & website.

YES, there is still room for you in the Organic Gardening intensive.

Ready to produce more backyard food bonanza? Come join the fun, as we actually build a compost pile, learn what organic fertilizers to apply, and map strategies to ward off pests without poisons. All this in 5 evenings at Mat-Su College, plus a Saturday field trip! Personally tour actual greenhouse, vegetable, and fruit tree growing operations. Please see details in attachment and website.

Starts Friday Feb 20th at 6pm. Mat-Su College: Register now by calling 745-9746 for information or register on line at www.uaa.alaska.edu and follow Wolf Link for Agri 138,

Organic Gardening. (Potential for Thursday night section.)

Class Schedule for Feb-Mar 09

Tue Feb 17 ----identical & -----Grow Your own Windowsill Greens, Terra Bella, Anchorage

Wed Feb 18 ---repeated class-- Grow Your own Windowsill Greens, Terra Bella, Anchorage

Fri Feb 20------------------------Organic Gardening Agri 138 credit course starts, Mat-Su College

Wed Feb 25---------------------Sampling Foods You Can Trust, Terra Bella, Anchorage

Sat-Sun Feb 28 & Mar 1st -----------------Co-Creative Organic Gardening, Palmer

Sat-Sun March 7 & 8------repeated---------Co-Creative Organic Gardening, Anchorage

Sat March 14-------------------Advanced Co-Creative Organic Gardening, Palmer

Sat March 21--------------------------------Free Movie Matinee at Terra Bella, Anchorage

Gardening makes us feel rich and connected to our bounteous planet. I would love to see you in one or more of these opportunities. So come jump into the fun.

Ellen

As always, let me know if you want off this list.

Ellen Vande Visse
Good Earth Garden School
www.goodearthgardenschool.com

6 Reasons to Drink Green Tea

this information from www.realage.com

The steady stream of good news about green tea is getting so hard to ignore, that even java junkies are beginning to sip mugs of the deceptively delicate brew. You'd think the daily dose of disease-fighting, inflammation-squelching antioxidants -- long linked with heart protection -- would be enough incentive. But wait . . . there's more! Lots more.

1. Cut Your Cancer Risk Several polyphenols -- the potent antioxidants that green tea is famous for -- seem to help keep cancer cells from gaining a foothold in the body by discouraging growth and then suppressing the creation of new blood vessels that tumors need to thrive. Study after study has found that regularly drinking green tea reduces the risk of breast, stomach, esophagus, colon, and prostate cancer.

2. Soothe Your Skin Got a cut, scrape, or bite, and a little leftover green tea? Soak a cotton ball in it. The tea is a natural antiseptic that relieves itching and swelling. Try it on inflamed blemishes, sunburns, or puffy eyelids. But that's not all. Green tea has been shown to help block sun-triggered skin cancer, whether you drink it or apply it directly to the skin -- which is why you're seeing green tea in more and more sunscreens and moisturizers.

3. Steady Your Blood Pressure Having healthy blood pressure -- meaning below 120/80 -- is one thing. Keeping it that way is quite another. But people who sip just half a cup of green tea a day are almost 50% less likely to wind up with hypertension than nondrinkers. Credit goes to the polyphenols again (especially one known as ECGC); they help keep blood vessels from contracting and raising blood pressure.

4 . Protect Your -- or Your Mom’s -- Memory Green tea may also keep the brain from turning fuzzy. Getting-up-there adults who drink at least two cups a day are half as likely to develop cognitive problems as those who drink less. Why? It appears that the tea's big dose of antioxidants fights the free-radical damage to brain nerves seen in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

5. Stay Young The younger and healthier your arteries are, the younger and healthier you are. So fight plaque buildup in your blood vessels; the sticky stuff increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, adds years to your RealAge, and saps your energy. How much green tea does this vital job take? About 10 ounces a day, which also deters your body from absorbing artery-clogging fat and cholesterol.

6 . Lose Weight Oh yeah, one more thing. Turns out that green tea speeds up your body's calorie-burning process. In the every-little-bit-counts department, that’s good news!