Winter Solstice – 2020
December 21st is the Winter Solstice – the first day of winter. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day and the longest night of the year.
Today, we celebrate the annual rebirth of the sun.
People throughout our planet are falling ill with coronavirus. The numbers of sick and dying are so large and changing so quickly that it’s hard to keep up.
Find a few moments sometime today to reflect on our planetary need for rebirth, regeneration and renewal. Reflect for a few moments on how it will feel to live on a healthy planet where all beings experience wellness and coexist to honor and support one another.
What will it mean for wellness and healing to become real in the coming year. Expand your vision to include every living thing on earth.
Take a moment to release those things which no longer serve you. When you do this, you create space in your heart for healing, acceptance, and positivity in the new year.
Thank you for reading this meditation.
Please share this meditation with your preferred social media network. Forward it to your friends.
Thanks again
Thurman
What’re the best foods to eat on a diet?
What foods work well with losing weight?
Vegetables, that’s what! – the more the merrier.
When you finally get going on your diet, you’ll probably have a list of foods specific to your personal diet needs. However, that may not happen in your case.
This article is not about choosing your diet. Everyone has to make that decision. As soon as you decide to go on a diet, you have to decide: which diet?
That’s a personal choice that I’m not discussing now. What I’m discussing is foods that will work well for losing weight – generic diet foods.
Whatever diet you are on, a good guideline is this: Eat vegetables throughout your day.
When you first begin your diet, choose three non-starchy vegetables each day. Later on, work yourself up to five. Finally, make seven vegetables each day your new habit.
Begin with some vegetables at breakfast. A good example is scrambling veggies in your eggs: peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, for example.
At lunch, enjoy a large salad or vegetable soup.
Good snacks include hummus with your cucumber slices and bell pepper slices.
Carrots sticks and celery slices are easy at snacks and meals.
Fresh veggies are best, but you may use frozen if that’s what’s available.
Vegetables listed below should be good on most any weight-loss diet. You may find a few on this list that won’t work for you. Veggies to avoid are those served creamed, or with a cheese sauce. Breaded vegetables are not a good option. Anything in a creamy dressing is a bad choice. This also includes fried vegetables.
Overall, this list should be adaptable to your needs:
alfalfa sprouts, artichokes, asparagus, arugula
beets, bok choy, broccoli, butternut squash
cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, celery root, collard greens, corn, cucumbers
edamame, eggplant, green beans
Italian beans
kale
lettuce of all varieties, lima beans
mushrooms, mustard greens
okra, onion
parsnips, peas, peppers (all varieties), potatoes
radishes (all varieties), rhubarb
sauerkraut, snow peas, soy beans, spaghetti squash, spinach, split peas, summer squash, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard
tomato, turnips,
wax beans, winter squash
yams, yellow squash
zucchini
Fruits are not quite as easy. Some diets don’t include many fruits. Also, diabetics need to talk to a medical professional or dietitian before eating much fruit. Skip the canned fruits, even in their own natural juices. Dried fruits and fruit chips are not a good option. Fruits that have been processed are not a good option.
apples, apricots
bananas, blackberries, blueberries
cantaloupe, cherries, clementines
grapefruit, grapes
honeydew melon
kiwi
mango
nectarines
orange
papaya, peach, pear, pineapple, plum, pomegranate
raspberries
strawberries
tangerine
watermelon
Whatever your diet, if you eat more fresh fruit and vegetables and fewer processed foods, you’ll lose weight, clean out your arteries, balance your blood pressure, and reduce your health care costs.
Whatever diet you finally choose, I hope you’ll join this blog on your journey. I’ll be sending you tips, information, and tactics to help make your weight control easier.
I’m hoping you’ll find that eating well is not difficult but IS delicious. I’m also hoping that you’ll find your diet will be easier.
Thanks,
Thurman Greco
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Losing Weight – a secret you need to know about weight loss
Losing weight can be stressful and challenging for even the best of us. Whoever said that our spiritual journeys would all be a piece of cake?
But, it doesn’t have to be as hard as you thought it would be.
For many of us, the first few pounds are a lot like a miracle! Where did they go?
They disappear – just like the guy in the diet book said they would.
Then…the pounds stop disappearing even though there’s no cheating going on. What happened?
You hit a weight-loss plateau, that’s what. It’s like your body hit the pause button.
Well, whatever it feels like, this weight loss slow-down isn’t as bad as you think.
While your body doesn’t seem to be losing weight for the moment, keep on dieting.
Why?
Things are happening! Good things!
Your body is adjusting to its new journey.
Take your wins where you can! Celebrate them.
You may experience symptoms of better health. It doesn’t take all that many missing pounds to feel different.
You may have less discomfort after a meal, for starters.
Are your knees working better? Maybe you don’t have much knee pain anymore. This is good. This is what happens when you lose a few pounds.
What about your blood pressure? You may notice that you’ve lowered some numbers. Your BP scores may be lower now.
Are you Prediabetic? Diabetic? Shedding a few pounds helps those scores, too.
Are you sleeping better? When you lose a few pounds, your sleep generally becomes more restorative.
What about your energy? You should have more energy for the things you like to do. And, admit it, you’re feeling younger, too.
But, however you feel after losing a few pounds, stay the course! Everyone’s body is different. Stick with your diet and don’t give up.
In time, your numbers will move again. You’ll see, it will be worth the effort.
Thanks for reading this article.
Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Thanks
Thurman Greco
The Spirituality of Fear
Full-blown fear isn’t really in my personal vocabulary, so I don’t often feel it. But, when I do feel fear, I feel it 100%. I feel fear for us, and the earth. This is the spirituality of fear.
When I felt fear in my life, fear interfered with my grounding mechanism. And, that wasn’t all. It took control and moved and directed me throughout every single day.
That is not to say that I have not ever experienced fear. I have, definitely, lived with fear. But, this post is not about that fear. It is for us, our fear, and our Earth.
I feel in my spiritual core that fear is directing many of us nowadays. Through the guise of the Coronavirus, fear is totally in charge of many of us and our lives.
I am suggesting, no – pleading – that fear has no place in our lives at this moment. For one thing, when fear controls us, it wrecks our immune systems. Not one person on our planet today needs an immune system compromised in any way.
Instead of fear, focus on our planet. In my inner core, I feel that I need to focus on our precious planet earth because she’s the only planet we’ve got.
With all the cars, factories, ships, and planes grounded and parked, our Earth is getting a very much needed time-out.
During this time, our Earth’s streams, lakes, and oceans are cleaning themselves up.
The atmosphere surrounding our planet is cleaning itself out – finally! The humans on our planet are, for the moment, generating less smog.
We are using the dirt – fields, meadows, mountainsides – in different ways now.
So, while our medical, and governmental leaders are figuring out how to combat this pandemic, I can’t help but be grateful for this time out, this cleansing experience on and in our Earth.
In my spiritual center, I feel we are on the verge of a whole new world. I am not longingly looking back on the return of the old reality of the past. The past is gone – a memory which we can write, paint, and sing about in the future.
Instead, I look forward to our new world and its cleaner, healthier, reality.
Please join me.
Let us celebrate our future together.
Let us ponder things learned and create better ways to live our lives daily.
Let us rejoice in a cleaner, more beautiful tomorrow.
If you feel moments of fear, there are things you can do:
Meditate on a future you would like to see.
Seek grounding through bodywork.
Find gratitude in lessons learned and beauty to experience.
Thank you.
Thurman Greco
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please refer it to your favorite social media network.
Let us all embrace the beauty we will experience.
Thurman Greco
10 Ways to Cope with Stress
Everyone I know and meet is stressed out these days. Many are ill. Flu. Heart Issues. Rashes. Arthritis. You name it. Coping with current events can be challenging for all of us.
There are things that you can do to cope with the situation.
BOOK A REFLEXOLOGY, REIKI, OR CHAKRA HEALING SESSION. It may be that just one session is all you need to feel more relaxed, grounded. Or, it may be that one session won’t heal everything but one session is better than nothing. And, maybe you can find time in your schedule to book several bodywork healing sessions.
TAKE A NAP. I work. I know how hard this can be but I manage to schedule my naps for a few short minutes when I get home from work. These little power naps are crucial to my overall wellbeing. I also try to schedule a nap on my day off. Put your feet up for five minutes even. It will help.
SPEND SOME TIME WITH FRIENDS. Your connection to your community is a boost to your grounding and calm. Chatting with friends and acquaintances over a cup or tea or at a meeting of some kind can be very positive. This will give your mental health a boost.
DO YOU MEDITATE? If not, now is a good time to begin. I just read in a book that people who meditate live three years longer than those who don’t. If you do, now is a good time to pat yourself on the back. You’ve got a good habit. If you don’t meditate, now is a good time to begin the practice. This might be a good time to join a meditation group or class.
DEVELOP A NEW INTEREST. The opportunities to expand your horizon are limitless. Not all hobbies are expensive. Many are not costly at all. The important thing is that you find something new to do which you like. Your options are endless here.
CHANGE YOUR DIET! When you add new foods to your life, you’ll be on an adventure. Choose a new food each week. Bring it home and discover where the food comes from, how it’s cooked, stored, and eaten. You’ll enjoy these discoveries each week. This change will help you feel more alive, and energized. At the end of a year, your kitchen will be an entirely different place with all the new foods you’ll be eating. You’ll know and enjoy many new foods! Chances are, you will be more energized and happier overall.
DISCOVER SOMETHING EACH DAY THAT YOU CAN BE GRATEFUL FOR. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. But, finding something to be thankful for is important. Try to do this early in your day so you can enjoy this feeling all day long.
USE A DAILY PLANNER. This one small change in your life can give you a large shift as you relieve the stress caused by missed appointments and unscheduled events. Finally having your life schedule organized is a major stress reliever for many.
HONOR YOURSELF. We all experience setbacks of one kind or another. The important thing is to not allow them to control your life. Take a negative event and turn it into a strength-building exercise. This will help you overcome feelings of stress and negativity.
Thank you for reading this blog post! Please forward this article to your preferred social media network.
Thank you again for your interest in wellness for all.
Thurman Greco
Wellness, Our Planet, and the Winter Solstice
Today, on our Winter Solstice, or whenever you find a time that fits your schedule…
Sit quietly for a few moments and visualize a world where all beings know they belong.
See a world where we are all connected and work together in mutual respect , harmony, and honor.
Visualize a world where wellness for all is a reality.
Create a world in your spirit and your heart where balance is universal.
Focus on this vision of peace and food for all.
Thank you.
Thurman Greco
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Maintaining Your Good Health – Inner Fitness for Life
We each have an inner core, a spiritual center needing encouragement, support and protection. Your inner core lets you travel through life with minimal bumps. When encouragement, support, and protection are deficient in some way, you run a risk of developing a lack of self-confidence. There are ways to give yourself a boost. Life is easier with a strong inner core.
THINK POSITIVELY
Put yourself in a positive frame of mind before you even get out of bed. Ask yourself: “What can I be happy about? What makes me happy?”
CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
Volunteer someplace. Get a job. Read a local paper. Use your library. Get into your community.
INCLUDE EXERCISE OF SOME KIND…EVERY DAY
In 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon discovered the Fountain of Youth in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. The Fountain of Youth still exists and keeps people everywhere healthy. There is at least one branch of it in your neighborhood, located on the sidewalk or roadside where you can walk every day. If that’s not a good option for you, the other nearby branch is in your local fitness center. You’ll be healthier and your body will thank you if you visit one of these branches every day.
CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT
De-cluttering is a bit of a fad and it’s okay with me. This grounding and uplifting exercise has become part of my daily schedule. I spend fifteen minutes every day clearing out clutter in a room. There are books written about it. Reading one is a good idea if you need a starter boost. Whether or not you read a book about de-cluttering, your inner self will be more fit when you adopt this habit.
REVIEW YOUR SITUATION
Now might be a good time to journal about important events in your life. Or short stories. Or poems. Or anything that seems appropriate for you. You don’t necessarily need to focus on what happened to you. The important thing is what you did with what happened to you.
SUPPORT YOURSELF
Do something nice for yourself. Think nice thoughts about yourself. Your nice thoughts about yourself are a treat, a gift you give you give to yourself. You deserve it.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please share this article on your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
Kidney Infections should not be ignored. They are serious.
Kidney infections have many causes. If left medically untreated, they can be fatal. Kidney infections often begin in the lower urinary tract as bacterial infections or toxins in the blood and proceed up the body through the ureters. UTIs should be treated by a competent healthcare professional as early in the disease as possible.
Spiritually, kidneys are about balance as well as both building up and letting go. Kidneys help build red blood cells. They also are about letting go as they filter out unwanted substances, releasing those elements which are toxic or damaging in some way.
If your kidneys are bothering you, definitely seek competent medical help but also look at your life and ask: “How can I best release the negativity in my life?”
When working a kidney disorder, begin by working the immune system with emphasis on the spleen.
Work the endocrine system with emphasis on the adrenal glands.
Work the urinary system with emphasis on the kidneys, bladder, ureter, and urethra.
Work the lymphatic system.
Finish up the session by working the liver and the solar plexus.
Thank you for reading this book/blog.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Arthritis and Reflexology for the Spirit
The next two posts will concentrate on the issues of Arthritis.
Arthritis is a word used to describe over 100 diseases causing joint pain. It’s definitely a spiritual disease. It’s important for a person who seems to be suffering from arthritis to get a diagnosis from a rheumatologist. That’s the first step in going down the path to proper treatment.
An example of this would be that some arthritis sufferers (as with rheumatoid arthritis, for example) are dealing with an autoimmune condition and the Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner would reflex the feet a certain way based on the autoimmune disorder.
The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis. It’s a leading cause of pain and disability in older adults. This is caused by loss of articular cartilage in joints. The joints most affected are hands, wrist, neck, lower back, hips, knees. Risk factors include obesity, heredity, and improper diet.
The best way to combat arthritis, regardless of the kind, is to use a team approach. The arthritis sufferer’s team should include a rheumatologist, Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner, physical therapist, nutritionist, acupuncturist, and a primary medicine practitioner.
The next post will continue with the emphasis on arthritis.
Thank you for reading this post.
Peace and food for all
Thurman Greco
Ankle Break or Sprain and Reflexology for the Spirit
Our feet move us forward in life. And, of course, the part of the body which allows this to happen is the ankle. An ankle break or sprain is a spiritual event as far as the Reflexology for the Spirit practitioner is concerned. When a person breaks or sprains an ankle, the spiritual self is calling for a “time out”.
The person is having difficulties moving forward in life with either a special event or with life in general.
When working the feet of a person with a sprained or broken ankle, always include Reiki therapy, essential oils and gently use Reflexology for the Spirit skills to work the part of the foot which is visible outside the cast. The body part inside the cast is stressed because the muscles are not being allowed to move. If the person is in a soft cast or boot, do not remove it without the physician’s permission. This is a good time to offer Reiki therapy.
ESSENTIAL OILS FOR SPRAINS: pine, basil, Idaho balsam fir, wintergreen, spruce, cypress, peppermint.
ESSENTIAL OILS FOR BROKEN BONES: thyme, helichrysum, wintergreen, peppermint, spruce, Idaho balsam fir, pine.
In the next post, we’ll cover anxiety.
Thank you for reading this post.
Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
