Conscious Living Magazine Winter Issue 98

Australia’s Leading Magazine for Healthy Sustainable Living

Established since 1989 Issue 98

Nature Play Deficit Slow Clothing - Eat it Wear it PTSD Anxiety Therapies

Men & Boys

What they need and don’t get www.consciouslivingmagazine.com.au

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Living Well Radio is a new and exciting venture in partnership with Radio Edge. You can listen to the leaders of the health and wellness revolution speaking on a wide range of topics. They share their personal stories and inspiration that motivates them to be change agents.

Healing Power of Music Dorothy Coe, founder of

Echoes - a Sound & Vibration Therapy Training Centre explains what Sound Healing is and shares some of her journey with us.

Click here to listen

Julian Silburn from Sound

Alchemy is a pioneer in his field of vibrational healing. Julian is a Didjeridu teacher,healer and performer with a passionate interest in Aboriginal Culture and music. Click here to listen

Health and Wellbeing Dr Sandra Cabot -

medical doctor, researcher and bestselling author is a leading authority on nutritional and physical health. She has written several ground-breaking books which include Hormones – Don’t Let Them Ruin Your Life and The Liver Cleansing Diet. Today she is talking about Anxiety and Thyroid Health Click here to listen and a bonus interview - Living a Healthy Life with Dr Sandra Cabot Click Here To Listen

David Hobbs is the Director

of Sideffect, an organization that was formed to educate and make others aware of the fatal WINTER 2017

danger of taking synthetic drugs. David is passionate about sharing the message with other and getting the truth out about Synthetic Drugs. Click here to listen

Supercharged Foods with Lee Holmes click here to listen

Inspirational Stories Michelle Nazaroff has

Empowered Purpose with George Helou click here to listen

Ali Jardine, author of Colour

The Importance of Fathering with Darrell Brown click here to listen

overcome illness and injury to be a world champion and is now a successful life coach and entrepreneur. Click here to listen of Health Food For Life lost 25KG in weight and healed her body of arthritis, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. Today she is talking about Health Food for Life Click here to listen

Shoes for Comfort with Nikki Miller click here to listen

More Interviews …

Mystical Art of Music with Rupert Guenther click here to listen

Managing Mindfulness ith Gemma Calquhoun click here to listen

Creating ‘Me Time’ Space with Mary Choo click here to listen

Healthy Families with Dr Peter Dingle click here to listen

What we learn from Social research with Maggie Hamilton click here to listen

Body, Bullying and Image with Renae Cukrov click here to listen ISSUE 98

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From the Issue 98 Winter 2017 Publisher and Editor Patricia Hamilton patricia@consciousliving.net.au T: 08 9446 5883 Mobile 0418955396 Co Editor Jacqueline Walker jacquie@consciousliving.net.au T: 08 9446 5883 Mobile 0427 277803 Feature Editor Colleen Clay editor@consciousliving.net.au Exhibition & Advertising Sales National Patricia Hamilton patricia@consciousliving.net.au Tel (08) 9446 5883 mobile 0418 955396 Perth Liz Mulvey lizmulvey@consciousliving.net.au Subscriptions & Memberships Jacquie Walker subscribe2@consciousliving.net.au Contributing Writers: Darrell Brown, Dr Sandra Cabot, Colleen Clay, Maggie Hamilton, Patricia Hamilton, Lee Holmes, Rebecca Katz, Dr Daniel Lombardo, Jan Mawdesley, Jane Milburn, Stuart Morick, Steven North, Martin Oliver, Jeanne Prosser, Cyrus Roussilhes, Dr Sherrill Sellman, Jacquie Walker.

Graphic Design Zoran Maksimovic Images: I-stock, Pexels, Pixabay Publisher Conscious Living Co-Creations Pty Ltd ATF the PH Trust ABN 30 064 748 794 103 Paramatta Road, Doubleview WA 6018 Tel 61 8 9446 5883 subscribe2@consciousliving.net.au www.consciouslivingmagazine.com.au

Dear Readers

Editors

This month we celebrate families, relationships and healthy choices in style at the Living Well in WA Festival on the Celebrate WA long weekend.

A feast for foodies

As the wintry weather set in there is nothing better than a delicious hot bowl of soup to warm you up. Try Rebecca Katz’s simple, nourishing recipes for health and vitality: Moroccan Carrot Soup and Power Green Soup.

Planning what and when you eat can assist you to maintain healthy body weight and improve your gut health. Try these three delicious recipes from Lee Holmes latest best seller, Fast Your Way to Wellness - Mint and Ginger Prawns with Coleslaw, Baked Apple Pancake and One Pan Roasted Fish and Vegetables.

Children are our future and we love and care for them.

Martin Oliver’s article, Dangers in Nature Play Deficit shows that the wellbeing of our children may be at risk due to changes in lifestyle. Hence we see nature playgrounds springing up in our communities.

Mental Health is a rising concern

Enjoy the home comforts and warmth of your relationships this winter and open conversations with those you love. Maggie Hamilton shares an excerpt from her book What Men Don’t Talk About and Darrell Brown opens the conversation around fatherhood and sons. We all can learn to be more aware and mindful of societal attitudes and social mores and how they affect our lives and those of our loved ones. We can make conscious choices about how we relate and support each other.

Our New Living Well Radio

If you did not get the chance to attend the talks, seminars and workshops at Living Well in WA you can download the APP and tune in to Living Well Radio to hear interviews and podcasts with our keynote speakers.

Their topics address the key challenges individuals and families are facing in a rapidly changing economic and social environment. Health issues include: anxiety, depression and stress-related diseases, obesity, diabetes, addictions, and new therapies, supplements, mindfulness, meditation, relaxation and stress reduction.

Connect with a global community of individuals who are passionate about making a difference to the health and wellbeing of people and caring for our planet.

Love, blessings, joy and warm wishes

Patricia Hamilton & Jacquie Walker

Disclaimer The publisher and editor do not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed by individual writers or advertisers.

Editorial advice is nonspecific and readers are advised to seek professional advice for individual issues.

Conscious Living Purpose To facilitate the expansion of consciousness and to co-create a world of harmony, love and wellbeing Copyright Conscious Living Magazine 2017 All rights ISSN 10336826 2 reserved CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE

ISSUE 98

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 98 WINTER 2017

FEATURED 6 – 8

Dangers In ‘Nature Play Deficit’ - Guidance for parents and communities

9 - 11

What Men Need and Don’t Get - Maggie Hamilton tells us how the wellbeing of our menfolk requires a change in the demands our society places on them.

1 Living Well Radio - Listen to inspirational keynote podcast interviews

30-32

33 Create Your Own Retreat - Scotsdale Eco Paradise in Denmark WA is waiting for you

CONSCIOUS PARENTING 34 - 36 Raised by our Childhood Voices – successfully parenting our boys - book extract by Darrell Brown 37 -39

2 From the Editors Patricia Hamilton and Jacquie Walker

12 - 14 Clean Soup Recipes: Simple, nourishing recipes for health and vitality - Rebecca Katz 15 - 16 Three Tasty, Health Recipes from Holistic Nutritionist Lee Holmes 17 News: Australian Organic Trade

CONSCIOUS HEALTH 18 - 19 The Cholesterol Conspiracy and its effects on health - Dr Daniel Lombardo PhD 20 - 22 Therapies for PTSD and Anxiety - Dr Sandra Cabot 23 – 27 Missing Pieces Found in the Weight Loss Conspiracy – what we need to know to beat obesity - Dr Sherrill Sellman 28 - 29 Nutritional Strategies for Arthritis - Stuart Morick

How 21st Century Numbers Affect Children – book extract by Jeanne Prosser

CONSCIOUS ECO LIVING

4 Meet the Editorial Team

CONSCIOUS FOOD

Health Consumer - Boomers Vegan Protein; Vanquish Foot Pain with Springy Feet-

40 - 41 SLOW CLOTHING eases textile pollution by Sustainability Consultant, Jane Milburn 42 - 44 News: Clothing - and more - from Mushrooms - Eat it, wear it Live in it. Martin Oliver finds the designers uncovering the secret and powers of the humble mushroom.

45 -46

Relax in Nature at Yelverton Brook Eco Retreat

CONSCIOUS SPIRITUALITY 48 - 49 Sound Medicine Has Arrived - Steven North, composer of Heart Activation Music

CONSCIOUS ARTS 50 - 54 How to improve your nature photography in a few easy steps - Cyrus Roussilhes 55 Luca Jouel - Luxe Feminine Energy 56 -58

Winter 2017 Best Reads Book reviews by Jan Mawdesley

59 -60

Music Reviews

See More Articles ONLINE NEW Magazine Website www.consciouslivingmagazine.com.au WINTER 2017

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Behind the Scene Meet the people who help to create Conscious Living Magazine Dr Sandra Cabot

Dr Cabot is the Medical and Executive Director of the Australian National Health Advisory Service. She graduated with first class honours in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Adelaide in South Australia in 1975.

Dr Cabot began her medical career in 1980 as a GP Obstetrician-Gynaecologist and practised in Sydney Australia. During the mid-1980’s she spent 6 months working as a volunteer doctor at the Leyman hospital, which was the largest missionary hospital in Northern India.

Dr Cabot is the author of the award-winning Liver Cleansing Diet, the bestselling non-fiction book of the 90’s that still sells today! Dr Cabot has also written many other ground-breaking books.

Dr Sherrill Sellman ND.

Dr Sherrill Sellman is internationally known as an expert in women’s health and author of several self-care books including Hormone Heresy. She is a psychotherapist, health journalist and hormone wellness coach who teaches, lectures and consults worldwide. Her areas of expertise include: the dangers of electropollution, the myths and truths of menopause, hysterectomies, perimenopause, menstrual wisdom, practical holistic solutions for regaining hormonal balance, osteoporosis, breast cancer prevention, permanent weight loss, food as medicine, and stress management.

Martin Oliver

Martin Oliver, a writer and researcher based in Lismore (Northern NSW), researches and writes articles for Conscious Living and other publications, bringing us up-to-date on important health and environmental issues that impact us in our everyday lives. He is passionate about the environment and the health of the planet.

Jan Mawdesley – Book and Music Reviews

A journalist and newspaper editor for many years, Jan now enjoys writing for pleasure and has over the past ten years written many reviews for Conscious Living Magazine. She has also established what has become a well-respected website reviewing a wide genre of subjects from Australian History, general fiction, romance, young adult and children’s literature. Music has also become a popular review area featuring a wide ranging, eclectic mix of artists and their inspirational music.

Colleen Clay – Features Editor

Colleen has more than 30 years experience in print media publishing, covering newspaper and magazine journalism, sub editing and editing, book editing and ghostwriting. She assists writers to achieve their aim of producing a book, whether it be an instructive or self-help text, short stories, family memoir or a novel.

She has been associated with Conscious Living magazine for more than 20 years, including as an editor for one year. Currently, Colleen sub edits most of the text in each edition of the magazine.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who contribute and help us produce this wonderful magazine.

They are the backbone of our publication and we thank them for all their contributions.

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Dangers In ‘Nature Play Deficit’ Guidance for parents and communities

By MARTIN OLIVER

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n 2005, American author Richard Louv introduced the loss of outdoor play to a mass audience with his book Last Child in the Woods, and at the same time he coined the term ‘nature deficit disorder’ that has since embedded itself in popular culture.

Figures from the environment group Planet Ark show that one generation ago 73 per cent of children (aged 3 to12) played outdoors more than indoors. This figure has fallen dramatically and is now only 35 per cent.

HABIT FORMING APPS

Many young people in affluent countries have grown up immersed in technology. Most Australian children own a smartphone, a device that tops the addictive stakes due to its portability, interactive qualities, and habit-forming game apps such as Candy Crush Saga. Tablets and pads are not far behind.

A survey of American children aged between 3 and 12 found that 27 per cent of their time is occupied with electronic media, compared to 1 per cent spent outside,

‘Heavy electronic gadget use restricts access to fresh air, encourages obesity, can lead to anxiety and depression, and encourages short-sightedness… ’ 6

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which also includes structured and organised activities that have little in common with play. An Australian statistic shows children spending, on average, around five hours a day with technology.

This type of heavy electronic gadget use restricts access to fresh air, encourages obesity, can lead to anxiety and depression, and encourages short-sightedness unless it is balanced out by time spent in outdoor environments.

Obesity is on the rise in many developed countries, and in Australia the latest figures indicate that about a quarter of children are either overweight or obese.

For more hardcore users, there is a troubling issue of loss of connection with the real world, when fictitious entertainment, online and gaming worlds are considered more stimulating, and sometimes even more valid, than the reality outside the front door.

In 2015, the Oxford Junior Dictionary, a publication aimed at seven-year-olds, removed numerous words for plants and animals, while adding technological terms such as ‘broadband’, ‘cut and paste’, and ‘analogue’. The editors were trying to be values-neutral, reflecting a weakening connection between young children and nature. Worse, they were also hastening the disconnection. These are important issues, and there is an argument for taking a stand rather than being a passive observer.

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OUR RISK-AVERSION CULTURE

It is not just technology that is slanting the playing field against outdoors play in nature. Other factors include: • Unhelpful government attitudes. Where children are allowed to roam independently, some authorities consider this to be a form of neglect, a conclusion strongly rejected by many parents. Queensland law prohibits children under 12 from being unsupervised, and in Miles, two parents were fined for allowing their kids to walk to school. This is a sign of a culture that has been heavily infiltrated by risk-aversion.

• Access to natural areas is a challenge in Australia, given that it is one of the world’s most urbanised countries. Suitable natural spaces are often a car ride away, which acts as a deterrent for busy parents. This urbanisation trend is occurring worldwide.

• Children having less unstructured free time, often because of an increase in scheduled after-school activities.

• A media-driven fear of crime. Media saturation means a substantial exposure to negative news broadcasts that are watched by both children and adults. While risks to children should never be dismissed, the reality is that crime rates have been going down.

• The real risk of being sued has restricted the types of outdoor play that are permitted in some places.

• A change in attitude to very minor injuries such as scratches and bruises. Helicopter parents are more likely to want to protect their children from getting hurt, and the term ‘cotton wool kids’ is now in common usage.

• Neurotic attitudes towards cleanliness being projected onto children, or similar worries about their expensive clothes being damaged.

GET DIRTY, GET HEALTHY

Where these hurdles have been crossed, nature play offers children a wide range of benefits, including improved health and enhanced mental and emotional wellbeing. Being physically active outdoors aids aspects of development such as motor skills, flexibility and agility.

Concentration and academic performance are boosted.

Personal and social development are helped, creativity is encouraged, and ADHD symptoms are ameliorated. Best of all, it is enjoyable.

In recent years, it has become recognised that children who get dirty are also getting healthy. Exposure WINTER 2017

to dirt leads to the colonisation of the digestive system with beneficial bacteria, while overly clean and sterile environments inhibit this process. Children who have these bacteria are less vulnerable to conditions such as asthma and allergies. In addition, good bacteria also prompt the brain to release serotonin, a mood-enhancing neurotransmitter.

Children are naturally adventurous and curious, and the richness and complexity of nature has the scope to engage their innate sense of wonder in a way that the humanmade world cannot match. In terms of environmental awareness, appreciating nature as a child encourages a greater interest in the stewardship of the natural environment in later life. No longer a theory, this has been backed up by a recent University of British Columbia study.

Outdoor activity also has the effect of growing their resilience. Children who play in nature are less likely to be injured in the schoolyard, and would probably fare better if they unexpectedly found themselves having to survive in the bush.

‘Exposure to dirt leads to the colonisation of the digestive system with beneficial bacteria, while overly clean and sterile environments inhibit this process’ DESIGN A NATURE PLAY SETUP

There is an important distinction that emphasises playing with nature, as opposed to just playing in it. This means self-directed, unsupervised play, with adults taking a back seat, where kids can engage in hands-on interaction with what surrounds them.

Some nature play advocates recommend avoiding designing spaces that are too tame, unimaginative and risk-averse, resulting in natural play areas that resemble the local neighbourhood park. This is a world away from an area of wild bushland where children can largely do whatever they want, and can get messy in the dirt.

Green Hearts, an American group that promotes nature play, closed its doors recently but still has on its website a wealth of imaginative ideas for designing play spaces that children will love and want to engage with.

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that children can spy outwards from; shrubberies as hiding places; a log (fixed into position to prevent it from rolling); rocks; a large pile of dirt for digging; a hammock; and materials for children to do their own crude constructions, making structures such as cubby houses and forts. Other ideas include a sensory nature trail that can engage as many of the senses as possible.

For schools, local governments, and community groups interested in creating an outdoor nature play set-up of their own, the Western Australian authorities have created a suggested checklist, in the following priority order: • Work out the objectives.

• Do the planning, and know which regulations apply.

• Don’t be too risk-averse, as this robs children of engaging in challenging experiences.

• Consult with children and adults about what they are looking for.

• Consider the need for infrastructure such as toilets, parking, and signage.

• Plan ahead and ensure plants will be maintained into the future.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

In Australia, Dr Kathleen Bagot has been researching the goal of incorporating natural spaces into school playgrounds, as a means of improving academic performance and wellbeing. A link has been observed between the presence of vegetation in school grounds, and factors such as concentration, creative play, and the incidence of play involving both boys and girls.

One solution to a suburban existence where natural play opportunities are inconvenient to access, is to bring them home. Green Hearts suggests ‘kidscaping’ by transforming back gardens into more imaginative vegetated spaces that children will enjoy.

As play is a tactile experience, it is worth taking a few precautions by avoiding the use of chemical-treated timber in play areas, and educating kids about risks such as snakes and spiders, and other natural hazards.

AUSTRALIA’S NEW PLAY ZONES

State and territory governments, especially in Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and the ACT, are taking proactive steps to support outdoor play. In 2015, South Australia announced plans for 20 preschoolers’ outdoor play areas, and many other local initiatives are in the works.

Notable existing play zones include Naturescape, located inside King’s Park, West Perth. Opened in 2011, this covers about six hectares of bushland. Its range of features 8

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‘One solution to a suburban existence is… ‘kidscaping’ by transforming back gardens into more imaginative vegetated spaces that children will enjoy’ includes a running creek with rocky banks, log bridges, tree hides, a cubby building zone, bridges, and meandering paths. These are combined with an environmental learning centre. However, until 2018 Naturescape will be shut while works are carried out to enlarge it.

Another similar area in Melbourne is Nature Play in Royal Park, which in 2016 was awarded the prestigious title of Australia’s best playground by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. It provides children with some scope to take risks, and has a water play area where they can pump and dam water.

Meanwhile, it is important to continue spreading the nature play message to as many families as possible, and one way that this is being done is through International Mud Day, held on June 29th every year.

RESOURCES Last Child in the Woods - www.richardlouv.com/books/last-child Nature Play WA - www.natureplaywa.org.au Nature Play Queensland - www.natureplayqld.org.au Nature Play SA - www.natureplaysa.org.au Nature Play Canberra - www.natureplaycbr.org.au Children and Nature Network - www.childrenandnature.org Green Hearts - www.greenheartsinc.org Martin Oliver is a writer and researcher based in Lismore.

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What Men Need

But Don’t Get Author and social commentator MAGGIE HAMILTON tells us the wellbeing of our menfolk requires a change in the demands our society places on them.

S

everal years ago a number of incidents came in quick succession that prompted me to question the way I looked at men.

It began a journey that has forever changed the way I view the world of men and boys – a journey that was surprising, illuminating and at times shocking.

Needing to know more, I began looking at the lives of men. I wanted to get under their skin, to understand what made them tick, why they could be so frustrating sometimes. As I talked with men they kept saying ‘I’m not a typical man’. What I came to realise is that they were not as society sees them. Most men, I found, were not.

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‘EMOTIONAL MISEDUCATION’

To understand men we need to go back to their childhood, to see how parents treat boys. How parents want boys to be strong, to stand up for themselves, and how in the process parents stifle any sign of upset or weakness. Early on boys get the message they’re to keep their feelings to themselves, to appear strong at all costs. So begins what eminent psychologist Dan Kindlon calls the ‘emotional miseducation’ of boys, which impacts the lives of boys and men’s daily.

BOYS AND SENSITIVITY

If a little boy is repeatedly told to deny what he is feeling, he soon learns to push his emotional needs aside. He also becomes less interested in how others are feeling. As no ISSUE 98

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one is interested in his experience, he assumes that’s how the system works. Yet the irony is that boys are exquisitely sensitive, and that too often parents, families and teachers fail to see this sensitivity, to nurture and channel it into ways that serve boys well.

The result? Boys feel isolated from early on. ‘There was a time when my father would carry me around on the top of his shoulders,’ tells Tony 26. ‘It was great. Then there was the awkwardness, like he didn’t want to touch me any more.’ Each of us needs touch, needs connection. Why do we assume boys are different? Tragically for many boys this often acute sense of isolation will last a lifetime.

‘Each of us needs touch, needs connection. Why do we assume boys are different?’

ANGER CONTROL

When feelings are denied a boy, something inside him closes down. His emotions are buried deep. What then happens to these emotions, as emotions don’t go away?

Often they emerge as anger and, as these emotions have been stored up for some time, the anger is explosive. ‘It’s a struggle as a young boy,’ explains Jason, 22. ‘A lot of young boys find it hard to control their anger. They are in a pretty powerless situation – it can be very frustrating.’

What happens to the many boys who continue to suppress essential parts of themselves when they grow 10

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up? They struggle on. The last thing these men want is to ask for help. They’d learned early how important it was to appear capable, even when they were feeling vulnerable or unsure of what they were doing. So they battle on, never revealing their emotions, never seeking help, never showing weakness of any kind.

Sooner or later most men fall in love and everything changes. Often for the first time, they take a risk and reveal their true selves.

CUT OFF FROM FEELINGS

Sadly, women don’t realise what it takes for a teen boy or grown man to allow himself to be this vulnerable – especially when he’s spent his whole life cut off from his feelings, living in a world that doesn’t feel particularly safe or nurturing, that shows little regard for his feelings.

Then, when a relationship doesn’t work out, these men are devastated.

Because they’ve no idea how to deal with the hurt; they’re unable to express how they feel. Those around them then assume everything’s fine.

When I asked men what they wanted from relationships it was everything women seek. Many didn’t even mention sex. They talked of wanting to be ‘supported and held’, to have ‘somebody to share things with’, ‘encouragement’, ‘trust, honesty and a friend’, ‘loyalty, affection and love’, ‘forgiveness, admiration’, ‘shared goals, ambitions, hopes and values’, ‘a friend, soul mate, guide, partner and bed mate’, ‘a companion and a lover.’

It’s very easy to write men off as emotional cripples, never asking ourselves how they came to be this way.

INABILITY TO RESPOND

Often women talk at men, lecture men, make fun of them to try and get through to them. We talk to them in ways we’d never talk to girlfriends, because our girlfriends have feelings, and we’d never want to hurt their feelings. As one man observed about his partner, ‘she takes away my ability to respond’. Others admitted to letting the women in their lives think what they liked, even when they were wrong, because it was too hard to do otherwise.

Working with men and boys I’ve been amazed at how expressive they were, when they felt able to open up.

Harrison, 15, told of how his mum ‘helps give his dreams wings’, and Toby, 16, confessed to how important his dad was to him, how he idolises his father for the amount of support he gave. Other boys talked of how ‘sad’ it was for boys who didn’t have a dad, or a dad who’d been away a lot. ‘My daughter can still touch me like when she was born,’ said Ray, 50.

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Scratch the surface and you’ll be amazed at the tenderness of men. Time and again they told me things they’d never spoken of. New fathers talked about the physical ache they felt when they went back to work after having a new baby.

THE BREADWINNER

Others told of how much they wanted to make their relationships work, but how kind gestures were passed over or taken for granted. Others spoke of the huge responsibility of being the breadwinner, of keeping their partner and family safe.

Men need to be heard. We need to learn to listen, to understand that men have a different way of expressing themselves. So we need to pay attention to what men leave unsaid, as much as to what they do say. Even inappropriate jokes can be enlightening, hinting at a discomfort men have around certain issues.

Men also need time out. Time with male friends.

I was intrigued by how many men talked of how affirming time with good male friends was, time with men who’d let go the need to compete, opening up instead to true friendship.

‘AFFIRMED AS A MAN’

I came to see that men need time to be with other men, to go away with men and do men’s stuff. ‘Sometimes I feel a sadness when I get there (with my men friends),’ admitted Cameron. ‘I realise how much I’ve missed them. I feel enormously affirmed as a man (when I am with them).

It’s a wonderful thing to be.’

Bad things happen to men and boys who don’t have this level of support, when they can’t make the journey to greater wholeness. That’s when they descend into violence or risk-taking in everything from business to fast cars. Or they end up killing themselves, because they don’t see any other way out.

UNNECESSARY DEATHS

As a society we’ve become conditioned to the fact that so many men and boys die before their time, deaths that are unnecessary, that need not have happened.

‘Being male is now the single largest demographic factor for early death,’ says researcher, Randolph Nesse, of the University of Michigan. ‘If you could make male mortality rates the same as female rates, you would do more good than curing cancer.’

It’s important we realise that it isn’t just boys and young men who are at risk of suicide, so too are men in middle age, men facing separation and divorce, and older men.

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‘It’s time to honour the good men in our lives, to allow them to give voice to their stories, needs and concerns’ Most men aren’t ruling the world. They’re simply trying to get by. They’re fiercely committed to their families and communities, even if they find it hard to articulate how much they mean to them.

CONNECTION AND MEANING

We each want to belong, to have our lives count for something, to be useful, valued and loved. Men are no different. They ache for connection, for meaning. It’s time to honour the good men in our lives, to allow them to give voice to their stories, needs and concerns.

I owe a great deal to my dad who worked at backbreaking jobs to help put me through university, and to my wonderfully supportive husband. What do you owe to the men in your life?

Behind the cynicism and black humour is a great deal of frustration and pain. We need to keep moving, to keep broadening our view. There’s a lot to be done to break down the barriers that exist between men and women, between men and other men – to see men as they are, and not as we assume them to be. We can only do this by meeting men where they are at, so that together we can enjoy a more empowered future.

Maggie Hamilton gives frequent talks; is a media commentator and observer of social trends. Her books, published in Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Italy, China, Lithuania, Korea, the Arab States and Brazil, include What Men Don’t Talk About, which looks at the lives of real men and boys. www.maggiehamilton.org ISSUE 98

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CONSCIOUS FOOD

Clean Soups Simple, Nourishing Recipes for Health and Vitality

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njoy some recipes from Rebecca Katz new recipe book

Soups have similar healing capabilities to a big hug: warm, gentle and healing. Clean Soups is full of Simple, Nourishing Recipes for health and vitality.

Master soup-maker Rebecca Katz shows you how to use wholesome stocks and soups to detox naturally

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and stay energised all year round. Rebecca explains the building blocks for creating deliciously balanced soups, such as Moroccan carrot soup, Kale soup with coconut and lime, and simplest chicken pho.

With foundational broths, blended soups and traditional healing soups, as well as a two-day cleanse, Clean Soups show how one simple bowl can make a huge difference to how you feel.

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moroccan carrot soup

Makes 6 servings | prep time: 15 minutes | cook time: 30 minutes Saffron is one of my favourite spices to cook with. Yes, it can be a bit costly, but you really need very little saffron to get a huge bang for your buck. Here it gives a luscious, exotic taste to the carrots, which are naturally sweet.

Saffron is also a visual delight; in this soup the saffron looks like monksí robes tossed against a vibrant orange background. Consider this dish a treat for all your senses.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 brown onion, chopped Sea salt 1.5 kg carrots, cut into 2.5 cm pieces • 1 teaspoon ground cumin • ½ teaspoon ground coriander • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon • • • •

• Pinch of chilli flakes • ½ teaspoon saffron threads • 1.5 litres Nourishing Bone Broth (page 41), plus more if needed • 2½ teaspoons Meyer lemon zest (See Cook’s Note) • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice, plus more if needed (See Cook’s Note) • ¼ teaspoon dark maple syrup, plus more if needed • Chermoula for garnish (optional) Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes. Stir in the carrots, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, chilli flakes, saffron and ¼ teaspoon salt and sauté until well combined. Pour in 125 ml of the broth and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the remaining broth and another ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

Cook’s note: Meyer lemons are milder and sweeter than most shop-bought lemons. If you don’t have Meyer lemons, use 2 teaspoons of lemon juice combined with 2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed tangerine or orange juice. As for the zest, regular lemon zest is an acceptable substitute.

power green soup

Makes 6 servings | prep time: 15 minutes | cook time: 25 minutes If a soup could do push-ups, this one would. Nearly nuclear in terms of energy, there is hardly a vitamin or mineral out there that can it be found among the cavolo nero, silver beet, leek, fennel, garlic and shiitake mushroom base of the Immune Broth. The challenge here was making a green soup that tasted delicious. I think this one passes with flying colours, highlighted by the gremolata topper.

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling • 1 brown onion, chopped • Sea salt • 1 large leek, white parts only, rinsed and chopped • 1 all-purpose potato, peeled and diced small • 2 cloves garlic, crushed • ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes or freshly ground black pepper • 1.5 litres Immune Broth • 1 bunch silver beet, stemmed and coarsely chopped • 1 bunch cavolo nero, stemmed and coarsely chopped • 1 medium handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped WINTER 2017

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• 1 teaspoon lemon zest • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice • Kale Gremolata for garnish (optional) or Crunchy Kale Crumbles Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt and sauté until the onion is golden, about 10 minutes. Add the leek and potato and sauté for 3 minutes more. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and stir for another 30 seconds. Pour in 125 ml of the broth, stirring to loosen any bits stuck to the pot, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the silver beet, cavolo nero and another ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir well to combine so the greens will wilt. Then add the remaining broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the greens are just tender.

In a blender, puree the soup in batches until very smooth, each time adding the cooking liquid first and then the greens. Blend the parsley into the last batch. Pour the soup back into the pot, heat gently over medium-low heat, 14

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and stir in the lemon zest and juice. Taste; you may want to add a pinch more salt. Serve garnished with a drizzle of olive oil and topped with the gremolata, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Put the lemon zest in a blender and puree the soup in batches until very smooth, each time adding the cooking liquid first and then the carrot mixture. If need be, add additional broth to reach the desired thickness. Return the soup to the pot over low heat, stir in the lemon juice, maple syrup and a pinch of salt, and gently reheat. Taste; you may want to add another squeeze of lemon, a pinch or two of salt, or a drizzle of maple syrup. Serve with chermoula or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Recipes and photos supplied courtesy of Rebecca Katz from her book “Clean Soups”.

Note: * carvolo nero is also known as black kale or black cabbage. Read more page 56 WINTER 2017

Three Tasty

Health

Recipes From Holistic Nutritionist Lee Holmes

F

or Lee Holmes, the road to optimising health involves eliminating processed food and replacing it with the natural options. As well, physical activity is needed, and for Lee, yoga is ideal.

Internationally known, Lee has a big television, radio and blog following, and runs on-line e-courses, including her My Heal Your Gut eCourse. In Perth, at the Living Well in WA Expo, 3 to 5 June 17, at the Perth Conference and Exhibition

Centre, Lee will present a workshop titled Heal Your Gut and Fast Your Way to Wellness on Sunday, 4th June at 3pm.

Here are several of her delicious and nutritious recipes for you to try.

MINT & GINGER PRAWNS WITH COLESLAW Serves 2 202 calories per serve (846kJ)

Prawns are a delicious summertime food loaded with protein to fill you up. Did you know they have approximately the same amount of protein as chicken or beef, yet half the calories?

Ingredients

1 small carrot, grated 180 g (61/4 oz/1/4 small) cabbage, finely shredded 180 g (61/4 oz/1/4 small) red cabbage, finely shredded 2 kale leaves, stalks removed, roughly chopped or torn 1 spring onion (scallion), thinly sliced 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 150 g (51/2 oz/10 medium) peeled and deveined raw prawns (shrimp), tails left intact • mint leaves, to serve • • • • • • •

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Dressing • • • • • • •

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Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small jar, then seal and shake well.

Combine the carrot, cabbages, kale and spring onion in a serving bowl.

Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat.

Add the prawns and cook for 1–2 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

Place the prawns on top of the vegetables, pour over the dressing and serve topped with the mint leaves.

BAKED APPLE PANCAKE Serves 4 170 calories per serve (712kJs

Ingredients

• 2 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced • stevia, to taste • 1 teaspoon lemon juice • 3 medium eggs • 65 g (21/4 oz/1/2 cup) tapioca flour • 1 tablespoon coconut milk • 125 ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) almond milk • pinch of Celtic sea salt • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon • pinch of nutmeg

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a 21 x 9 cm (81/4 x 31/2 in) loaf (bar) tin with baking paper.

In a medium bowl, mix three-quarters of the apple slices with the stevia and lemon juice.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs, then mix in the flour, coconut milk, almond milk, salt and apple mixture. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes, then pour into the prepared tin. Top with the remaining apple slices, then sprinkle with the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, until set. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, cut into portions and serve warm.

Supercharged Tip: Letting the batter rest for 10 minutes before using is a good exercise in patience and results in a smoother mix and even hydration. This works for both baked and pan-cooked pancakes.

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ONE-PAN ROASTED FISH AND VEGETABLES

Serves 4 249 calories per serve (1043kJ) • 4 x 120 g (41/4 oz) thick white fish fillets (such as barramundi or cod) • juice of 1 lemon • Celtic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste • a few rosemary sprigs • a few thyme sprigs • 2 brown onions, cut into wedges (optional) • 4 garlic cloves • 2 zucchini (courgettes), thickly sliced lengthways • 1 small eggplant (aubergine), cut into large dice • 2 red capsicums (peppers), cut into wedges • 2 large orange or yellow capsicums (peppers), cut into large wedges • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil • 2 teaspoons dried oregano • 2 teaspoons dried thyme • 1 teaspoon ground cumin • 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes • thin lemon wedges, to serve (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).

Put the fish fillets in a shallow dish and pour over the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, then top the fillets with the rosemary and thyme sprigs. Cover and set aside at room temperature while you cook the vegies.

Put the vegetables in a roasting tin, season with salt and pepper, then drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle with the herbs and spices. Bake for 25–30 minutes, turning halfway through.

Rest the fish fillets on top of the vegetables and cook for a further 12–15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.

Serve the fillets on top of the vegetables.

Lee Holmes is a Holistic Nutritionist and wellness expert who runs online courses. She has written several books, including Supercharged Food: Eat Your Way to Health; Eat Yourself Beautiful; Supercharged Food for Kids; and Heal Your Gut. You can find Lee blogging at www.superchargedfood.com WINTER 2017

Because Australian law currently allows a product to be described as ‘organic’ regardless of its origin, certification is critically important.

CRITERIA MUST BE MET

Australia approves

new organic symbol

Australian certification requires at least 95 per cent organic content, and various other criteria must also be met. Standards across Australia’s different certification bodies were harmonised with the creation of a unified Australian Certified Organic Standard in 2006.

Each of Australia’s seven certification bodies, AUS-QUAL, Australian Certified Organic, Demeter, NASAA Organic, Organic Food Chain, Safe Food Queensland, and Tasmanian Organic-Dynamic Producers, uses a different logo. This makes identifying organic products a little confusing. The new symbol helps in the identification of organic products, and provides organic consumers with an added layer of confidence. Where used, it appears alongside the certifier’s own logo.

Another important role of the new simplified symbol is to serve as an international trademark for Australian organic produce, equivalent to USDA Organic (in the US) and the EU’s organic symbol. It will facilitate exports because companies in the organics industry will no longer need to obtain multiple certifications to access markets in different countries.

MARTIN OLIVER reports Latest available figures show that the Australian organic market is worth about $1.8 billion a year, and growing by about 15 per cent annually.

Australia now has its own mark for certified organic products that is increasingly finding its way onto products available on supermarket shelves. Look for a design featuring a white vertical gum leaf against a green background, together with the words ‘Organic Certified’.

Chosen in part because of its simplicity, this design was unveiled in August 2016, and had its official launch in November. It is voluntary, and free to use by those companies that qualify. A few dozen companies are now putting it on their packaging, and that number is growing.

The two driving forces behind this symbol were the Organic Federation of Australia (OFA) and the Organic Industry Standards and Certification Council (OISCC.) It is the culmination of 12 years of discussion within the industry.

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CONSCIOUS HEALTH

The Cholesterol

Conspiracy and its effects on health

By DR. DANIEL LOMBARDO PhD

T

he Oxford dictionary tells us the word conspiracy means “a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful”.

Thought to be the number one cause of cardiovascular disease, in recent years cholesterol has come under significant scrutiny.

Various health lobbyists, doctors and members of the pharmaceutical industry now tell us it is not the enemy. Rather, it is a vital component for health.

It is present in our cell membranes, is an essential building block for vitamin D, steroid hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, adrenal hormones such as aldosterone and cortisol, and plays a role in the communication of nerve cells.

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EFFECT ON ARTERIES

Cholesterol is merely a symptom of cardiovascular disease, rather than the underlying cause. To understand why a person experiences a heart attack or stroke; we must briefly delve into the arteries.

Loosely termed, low density lipoproteins (LDL) and high density lipoproteins (HDL) are produced in our liver.

The liver packages these proteins with cholesterol, various vitamins and triglyceride fats. Think of LDL and HDL as a taxi service; dropping passengers off at various parts of our body.

LDL runs the express service to our tissues and cells; delivering cholesterol. HDL acts as the night taxi service, returning the excess cholesterol safely to our liver to be recycled.

A problem occurs when pesky free radicals are lurking in our arteries. These cause havoc, targeting the small, helpless LDL taxis, causing them to break down (oxidise) in our arterial highway.

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MACROPHAGES AT WORK

Our bodies have their very own road-side assistance called macrophages that tow the LDL away to allow the arterial highway to continue to flow freely. If there are too many free radicals, this will lead a blockage of the immobilised LDL (plaque).

Our bodies’ road-side assistance simply cannot keep up with the number of breakdowns, and the outcome is a taxi pile-up in our arteries (refer to picture).

When this becomes too much to handle, the blockage bursts, resulting in the closure of the arterial highway.

Simply put, the person experiences a heart attack or stroke.

Two studies come to mind which prove that inflammation and oxidation are the underlying cause, and not the presence of cholesterol itself. The first was conducted in 2009 and showed that a whopping 75 per cent of patients that experienced a heart attack had “normal” LDL cholesterol levels.2

YOUR C-REACTIVE PROTEIN

The second study concluded that oxidised LDL levels had a “strong and graded association with the presence and extent of coronary heart disease”.3 The next time you visit your general practitioner, instead of asking for a standard LDL/HDL ratio test to determine your risk of a heart attack or stroke, request to monitor your oxidised LDL or C-reactive protein, the latter of which is an excellent marker for arterial inflammation.

Elevated levels of free radicals are a result of high stress and poor lifestyle choices. Diets rich in sugar, highly processed foods, cleaning products, treated water, smoking and heavy alcohol consumption are to blame.

The health industry may lead you to believe that statins are the answer to your cholesterol problems. Statins work by inhibiting the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme; lowering the amount of cholesterol produced in the liver. Remember, cholesterol is only the symptom: it is not the problem.

As a former academic and pharmaceutical representative, I have seen statin promotion significantly increase. In 2010, it was estimated that about 2.6 million people were taking a cholesterol-lowering drug in Australia.4 That equates to nearly 10 per cent of our population; with the sales from statin drugs amassing to billions of dollars.

Looking at this objectively, it is difficult to believe that the pharmaceutical industry does not have a hidden agenda.

The benefits of statins are minimal, in my opinion. If you do not believe me, request that your doctor share with you the product information of the statin you are administering. You might be surprised by the data.

Although statins have been shown to increase nitric-oxide production, which prevents platelets and white blood cells WINTER 2017

‘In 2010, it was estimated that… sales from statin drugs [were] amassing to billions of dollars’ from sticking to the arterial walls,5 this is greatly out-weighed by the adverse effects of amnesia, nausea, memory loss and at worst case, impaired kidney function. Not to mention that a person’s CoQ10 levels decrease when administered statins.6

YOUR HEART AND COQ10

We know that CoQ10 helps enzymes involved in energy production and plays a key role in protecting the heart against free radicals. Lowering CoQ10 actually increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

What is the alternative? Focus on changing your lifestyle.

Exercise, stress management and mindfulness is a great start. Supplementation, more specifically high quality fish oil, a multi-vitamin with vitamin C, E and a broad spectrum anti-oxidant along with probiotics should all be considered.

One of my favourite studies was a meta-analysis comparing fish oil to statins. Fish oil was shown to reduce cardiac mortality by 32 per cent, compared to statins which was only 22 per cent.7 Supplements and healthy eating cost cents a day while statins can cost dollars a day.

Supplements have minimal adverse effects, if any at all; statins have a plethora. The choice is yours. Just do not buy into the cholesterol conspiracy.

For further information: visit drdanlombardo.com, where you will find more information about supplements. Dr Daniel Lombardo PhD (Medicinal Chemistry).

This article is not medical advice, and only provides information designed for you to engage in conversation with your general practitioner about the best option for your health.

RESOURCES: Oxford dictionary; 2017 Sachdeva, A. et al. Am Heart J. 2009. 157, 111-117 Sotirios T. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 2005. 353, 46-57 The Conversation (derived from the Australian Government: Department of Health). Some things you should know about statins and heart disease. 2013.

Tousoulis, D. et al. Int. J. Cardiol. 2009. 123, 91-93.

Folkers, K. et al. Natl. Acad. Sci. 1990. 87, 8931-8934.

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Therapies for

Anxiety and PTSD P

By DR SANDRA CABOT

eople who have been subjected to prolonged physical and-or mental stress often go to see a doctor complaining of severe fatigue, lack of emotions, insomnia and anxiety.

The doctor may not realise that these symptoms are hiding the patient’s true diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Everyone knows PTSD occurs in war veterans but it can arise in many other settings. Think of someone who has been a shift worker for 30 years, a woman who has endured domestic violence, a parent with several autistic children, a full-time carer, or a person raised in a violent household.

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Therapies used to heal PTSD may include clinical hypnosis, counselling, anti-depressant drugs, yoga and Pilates.

ADRENAL GLANDS INVOLVED

We know that PTSD can affect the whole body and can have a sudden or gradual onset. It affects the endocrine system via the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. The adrenals become adversely affected and the symptoms become worse.

The adrenal glands can be compared to energising batteries in our body. The soft centre of the adrenal glands is called the adrenal medulla and it manufactures adrenalin from the amino acid tyrosine. The medulla secretes adrenalin into the blood stream to regulate heart rate and blood pressure and to stimulate our nervous system.

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If your adrenals are unable to produce adequate adrenalin levels, you will feel fatigued and probably depressed, just like a flat battery.

• Severe reactions to infections • Depression • Increase in severity of allergies

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

TESTING ADRENAL FUNCTION

Conversely, if your adrenals manufacture excess adrenalin you will feel like an over charged battery. Your blood pressure and heart rate will increase, you will feel ready for fight or flight and you may become restless. This is fantastic if you are just about to enter a competitive sport game or need to fight to survive but not if you are trying to relax on the weekend.

Some people crave stimulants such as cocaine or caffeine because these substances cause the adrenal glands to pump out more adrenalin. Cocaine hydrochloride is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant, which is indigenous to the Andean highlands of South America. In its purified form, it is one of the most potent stimulants of natural origin.

For thousands of years, the Native Americans in the Andean region have chewed coca leaves to relieve fatigue. North American Indians used cocaine to prepare themselves for fierce battles. Thus, you can understand how adrenalin can be addictive and why adequate blood levels are essential for good health, success and survival.

In our dog-eat-dog world, we really do need healthy adrenal glands!

CORTISOL AND DHEA

It is easy to check the function of your adrenal glands. A blood test to measure cortisol levels in the morning and evening are done, as well as levels of DHEA. If the cortisol levels are below the normal range a specialised test is done to diagnose adrenal failure. If the cortisol levels are within the normal range but are at the lower limit of the normal range, we can diagnose adrenal malfunction.

Adrenal malfunction needs to be monitored as it can progress to adrenal failure. Endocrinologists treat adrenal failure with synthetic steroids, namely hydrocortisone, fludrocortisone and this is life saving.

Causes of adrenal malfunction can include: • Chronic stress, especially PTSD • Chronic insomnia • Heavy smoking Adrenal gland dysfunction of mild to moderate degree is much more common than adrenal gland failure, however it too can produce crippling fatigue and emotional disorders, if left untreated.

Surrounding the adrenal medulla there is another part of the adrenal glands called the adrenal cortex.

The cortex manufactures steroid hormones from cholesterol; it turns cholesterol into the hormone pregnenolone, which is then turned into cortisol, DHEA and aldosterone, amongst other hormones.

Cortisol reduces inflammation that is produced by free radicals in the body and DHEA makes us physically and emotionally more robust.

‘We know that PTSD… affects the endocrine system via the adrenal axis. The adrenals become adversely affected and the symptoms become worse’

RECOVERY REQUIRES SUPPORT

Supplements to boost adrenal gland function include: • Vitamin C in a dose of 2,000mg daily - this is very protective of the adrenal glands. The highest concentrations of vitamin C are found in the adrenal and pituitary glands and that is because these fatty glands are prone to damage. The body stores vitamin C in these glands because it knows they need to be protected. Yes, the body knows these are our survival glands.

• Magnesium in a dose of 200 to 400mg daily • Tyrosine tablets or powder 500mg tablets, 2 twice daily • Beef adrenal capsules in daily doses ranging from 100mg to 300mg taken once or twice daily. The most important dose is the morning dose, so do not forget it!

The adrenal glands are high in fat and fat is easily oxidized by free radicals; thus, our adrenal glands are vulnerable to damage from many causes. I call our adrenal glands our “survival glands” and to recover from PTSD it is essential to support them.

The symptoms of underactive adrenal glands are: • Extreme fatigue, often worse in the mornings • Low blood pressure • Dizziness and light headedness • Excess inflammation anywhere in the body which may manifest as fibromyalgia, or other painful conditions WINTER 2017

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‘Adrenal gland dysfunction of mild to moderate degree… can produce crippling fatigue and emotional disorders, if left untreated’ Adrenal gland supplements are available in capsule form and are popular in the US, but are largely unknown in Australia. This is a pity, as these adrenal gland supplements can work very well. Adrenal gland capsules are available on the Internet from the US and vary in strength from 100 to 250mg per capsule. The Liver Doctor brand of adrenal gland capsules is derived from free range grass-fed Australian and New Zealand cattle.

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sleep hormone made in the tiny gland called the Pineal gland, which is situated at the base of the brain and communicates directly with the brain Supplementing with DHEA (Dehydro-epiandrosterone) can help people with adrenal gland exhaustion. In the US, capsules of DHEA are available over the counter or via the internet, but in Australia and New Zealand, DHEA is only available on prescription.

Dr Sandra Cabot is the Medical and Executive Director of the Australian Women’s Health Advisory Service.

Her ground-breaking books, including Hormones – Don’t Let Them Ruin Your Life, The Body Shaping Diet and The Liver Cleansing Diet. Her medical centres are at Camden, South Australia, and Merimbula, New South Wales. www.cabothealth.com.au WINTER 2017

Missing Pieces Found In Weight Loss Mystery

By SHERRILL SELLMAN, ND., Naturopathic Doctor

O

besity has gone prime time. We see evidence of its presence in every neighborhood, mall, school and workplace. Hardly a day goes by without a news report about the looming obesity crisis.

So what is going on? If people were to follow the advice offered by medical professional, public health officials and the experts from the weight loss industry, the problem should be easily solved.

Their call to action basically involves turning your back on all those sugary, high carbohydrate, processed, junk foods and switch to a low calorie diet fortified by plenty

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of exercise. They say it all boils down to a very simple equation: take in fewer calories and burn more.

Sounds logical. But this decades old approach is a dismal failure. For most people, it doesn’t work. Long-term success for attaining permanent weight loss is only achieved by only two to five per cent of those very determined and lucky dieters.

A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. The

‘Decades old dietary approaches, including taking in fewer calories and burning more, is a dismal failure…’

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‘Extra kilos… compromise areas of brain that impact the ability to follow through on any kind of planning’

traditional approach to winning the battle of the bulge does indeed seem insane.

It’s time to discover some of the missing pieces of the weight loss puzzle.

BELLY FAT DIMS THE BRAIN

Do you value your brainpower? The one faculty everyone wants to hold onto throughout all of life is a fully functioning, intact brain. Unfortunately, belly fat can deliver a serious blow to this aspiration.

Researchers set out to discover if being overweight posed a danger to the brain (using body mass index, an approximation of body fat based on height and weight).

Their results were shocking.

Their research showed that overweight people had four per cent less brain tissue than people of normal weight. And, for obese people, the findings were even worse. They had eight per cent less brain tissue than people of normal weight.

In addition, the study showed that as well as degenerating the brain, carrying extra weight accelerated its ageing.

The brains of overweight people looked eight years older than the brains of those who were lean, and 16 years older in obese people.

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Type 2 diabetes, which is common in the overweight, is known to accelerate the ageing of the brain and the onset of dementia.

Further studies indicate that those with the most belly fat (visceral fat mass) suffer the greatest mental declines over time.

Obesity causes changes to the immune system, which fan the flames of inflammation throughout the body.

This increased inflammation can impact the brain and lead to a vicious cycle of gaining more and more weight: obesity leads to inflammation, which damages certain parts of the brain, which in turn leads to more uncontrolled eating, and more obesity.

AFFECTS IMPULSE CONTROL

Here is the sad catch 22. Those extra kilos impair brain function and compromise the particular areas of brain that impact a person’s ability to have a keen memory, control impulses and follow through on any kind of planning.

It therefore becomes more difficult to successfully commit to any kind of program, especially a weight loss program.

Because the impulse control part of the brain is affected, controlling those urges to help yourself to another donut or a second helping of mashed potatoes is a Herculean effort, and generally doomed to fail.

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VITAMIN D AND METABOLISM

Vitamin D truly deserves the title of superstar. Vitamin D receptors are found throughout the body, including the brain. Optimal levels are absolutely necessary to ensure healthy bones, healthy arteries, a robust immune system, balanced moods, optimal cognitive function, protection from hypertension, allergies, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune conditions, fertility and PMS. Most significantly, vitamin D has been proven to be protective against 13 different kinds of cancer. Optimal levels of vitamin D are critical for health.

Although Australia is described as the ‘sun burnt country’ and is one of the sunniest countries in the world, a surprising number of its citizens severely lack Vitamin D. A recent report stated that as many as one in three Australians may have low Vitamin D levels.

For all those on a weight loss quest, Vitamin D is one of the missing pieces you have been serching for.

There is overwhelming evidence that confirms the importance of keeping your Vitamin D levels up to get your extra kilos down. In addition, while helping achieve weight loss, it improves other risk factorsm such as insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and blood sugar imbalances.

If you feel hungry all the time no matter how much you eat, you might want to have your vitamin D levels checked.

IMPORTANCE OF LEPTIN

What drives insatiable hunger is the relationship between low vitamin D levels and a hormone called leptin.

Leptin is a messenger molecule made in fat cells that communicates to the hypothalamus, letting it know how much fat is stored in the body. It is the hormone that communicates that you are full.

Low vitamin D levels interfere with the effectiveness of leptin.

Researchers at Aberdeen University, Scotland, found that obese people produced 10 per cent less vitamin D than people of average weight.

The study discovered that low levels of the vitamin in blood interfered with the function of leptin, which tells the brain when the stomach is full.

Overweight people, shirking the sun or not taking adequate vitamin D supplementation thwart their dieting efforts in another way. Low vitamin D levels have been shown to increase fat storage.

How much less vitamin D does an overweight person make?

As it turns out, increased fatty cells can decrease the ability to make vitamin D by a factor of four. That means that if you are carry extra weight, you may make only quarter the amount of Vitamin D, when compared with a leaner person.

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Vitamin D is also an important factor in diabetes. Low levels of vitamin D has been linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

After following more than 5000 people for five years, an Australian research team found that those with lower than average vitamin D levels had a 57 per cent increased risk of developing diabetes, compared to those within the recommended range.

Vitamin D also helps keep blood sugar levels under control. In type 2 diabetes the body can’t use the insulin it produces efficiently to control blood sugar levels. Vitamin D plays a role by increasing the release of insulin.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, it is critical to check your vitamin D levels. The higher your vitamin D levels the higher your leptin levels – and the more your blood sugar will remain balanced. Vitamin D helps your body respond to the correct metabolic messages.

High vitamin D levels increases the ability to lose weight and losing weight will increase vitamin D levels. All of which will reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, not to mention most chronic illnesses.

‘If you want to lose weight and keep it off, it is critical to check your vitamin D levels’ BLOOD TEST FOR VITAMIN D

It is critically important to check your vitamin D levels.

Taking a vitamin D supplement may not get you into optimal range, which is where you want to be. It is optimal blood vitamin D levels that count.

The proper blood test is called 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH), which is included in the basic blood workup. In Australia, optimal levels should be 150-200 nmol/L. In the US, optimal levels should be between 70-100 ng/mL Do not settle for less than optimal levels if your goal is the best health possible.

SLEEP AWAY THOSE KILOS

We all know about beauty rest but did you know about thinness slumber? Getting those zzz’s is another important piece of the weight loss puzzle.

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CONSCIOUS HEALTH sleep, you wake up ravenously hungry and want to devour everything in sight? Why? Because your lack of sleep actually triggers food cravings.

An expanding body of scientific evidence has shown that the less sleep you get, the more cravings you have, the more calories you eat, the more belly fat you have and the higher your BMI. Sleep-deprived people eat more carbohydrates than their more well-rested compatriots. Those with four hours of sleep were more likely to choose candy, cakes and cookies over fruit, vegetables or dairy products.

It was also found that their ability to process glucose (sugar) in the blood had declined – in some cases to the level of diabetics.

Brain scans of people who get fewer than seven hours of sleep a night show that they have lower activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain that is involved in impulse control, planning, judgment, and follow-though.

Decreased activity in this part leads to greater impulsivity, and more self-defeating decisions. It also

‘Obesity can be added to the list of health conditions caused by an overgrowth of harmful gut flora’ made it much more difficult to successfully stick to any plan, especially a weight loss program.

The relationship between obesity and sleep in not just an adult problem. Since 1992, 13 studies of more than 45,000 children have supported the inverse relationship between hours of sleep and risk of obesity. As children sleep less, they are more at risk of becoming obese. Short sleep duration at age 30 months predicts obesity at age seven years.

According to researchers, lack of sleep affects the brain in many ways, including impairing memory.

Educating yourself on why sleep is so important would be worthwhile.

To support deep and regenerative sleep, the following natural approaches are helpful: melatonin, chamomile, valerian, kava kava, passionflower, hops l-theanine, 5-http, B-Complex, phosphatidylserine and magnesium.

Be cautious: all prescription sleep medications have serious side effects.

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DO YOU HAVE FAT GUT FLORA?

It was once thought that we are what we eat. But, to be more accurate, we are what we digest and assimilate. And more accurately, research now tells us that we are what digests and assimilates our food.

This has to do with the thriving population of the one hundred trillion life-promoting gut bacteria that take up residence within our digestive track from the moment of our birth.

More than 99 per cent of microbes living in our intestinal tract are a diverse group of bacteria, numbering between 500 to 1000 different species.

In a healthy person, they live in our gut in a balanced ecosystem, with each species inhabiting its appropriate place. However, with the introduction of antibiotics, steroids, and birth control pills, that delicate balance is radically alterered, and this profoundly affects our health.

Obesity is now one more adverse health condition can be added to the list caused by an overgrowth of harmful gut flora.

We also know that there is a strong connection between what we eat, how much we eat, and the species of bacteria that inhabit our gut.

EFFECTS OF GUT MICROBES

It has been observed that there is a distinctive change in the gut microbial populations found in obese and lean humans and mice. The microbes in the guts of obese mice are different from the microbes in the guts of lean mice.

The gut microbes in obese humans differ from the gut microbes in lean (or even dieting) humans.

The bacteria in the gut of obese mice are more efficient in processing carbohydrates. Thus, obese mice get a ‘bigger bang for the chow’– ingesting calories from food that in lean mice would normally go unprocessed. So the fat mice get even fatter.

Obese people have a distinctive mix of bacteria in their digestive systems that also seems to make them prone to gaining weight.

MICROFLORA ECOLOGY

There appears to be a causal link between obesity and the type of microflora that inhabit the gut. The difference in the structure of microbial ecology of our digestive tracks may create greater susceptibility to obesity.

When mice with typically human gut bacteria were switched to a high-fat, high-sugar diet, lasting changes occurred in the microbes that promote weight and fat gain.

This altered the way food and drugs were metabolised.

Scientists took mice raised in a germ-free environment, which had no native gut bacteria of there own, and transplanted human gut bacteria in to their digestive tracks.

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The researchers then transplanted microbes from the guts of these mice into other germ-free mice. These animals also put on weight, even when fed a low-fat diet.

SOLVING THE PUZZLE

When these ‘humanised’ mice were placed on a highfat, high-sugar diet designed to mimic those common in Western societies, the contents of their gut bacteria changed drastically – literally overnight.

Switching from a low-fat, plant polysaccharide-rich diet to a high fat, high-sugar ‘Western’ diet shifted the structure of the gut microflora within a single day. The mice showed an increase in types of bacteria linked to obesity and also increased their body fat.

Your food choices have an instantaneous effect on the balance of gut flora. Feed you gut healthy, nutritious food and you will be adding yet another successful piece to your weight loss puzzle.

You can also add probiotic supplements to help support and enhance healthy gut flora.

Maintaining a healthy brain, ensuring you have optimal vitamin D levels, committing to a regenerative sleep routine, and supporting the growth of healthy gut flora are some of the new pieces that are helping us solve the weight loss puzzle.

Sherrill Sellman, ND., Naturopathic Doctor (Board Certified in Integrative Medicine), is an educator, women’s natural health expert, psychotherapist, international lecturer, host of two weekly radio shows, senior editor and contributing writer to numerous health publications and journalist in the field of women’s health. www.drsherrillsellman.com

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WINTER 2017

* Please visit our website for information, terms and conditions.

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CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE 27

CONSCIOUS HEALTH

Nutritional Strategies for

Arthritis

By STUART MORICK, Bachelor Health Science (Naturopathy), Member ANTA & AHA

A

mong the many treatments and therapies offered, nutrition plays a vital role in the management of arthritis.

At its most basic, arthritis is inflammation at the point where any two or more bones meet, such as in your knee joints or hands. There are more than 100 arthritic and related conditions, with the most common being

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osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

It can lead to pain, stiffness, joint weakness, inflammation and deformities. While most common in adults over the age of 65, arthritis can develop in people of any age, with symptoms appearing suddenly or over time. It is generally more common in women than men and in those who are overweight.

Some anti-inflammatory medications and painkillers used to treat arthritis can cause side effects.

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PREVENT FLARE UPS

Diet is important for alleviating symptoms and preventing flare ups.

Fish: Certain types of fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help fight inflammation. Look to eating salmon, tuna, mackerel and herring at least twice a week.

Oils: Good oils have a range of health benefits. Extra virgin olive oil has similar properties to certain anti-inflammatory drugs thanks to the presence of oleocanthal. Cholesterol lowering properties have been associated with avocado and sunflower oil and walnut oil is packed with omega-3 fatty acids – more than 10 times that in olive oil.

Red and purple fruits: Cherries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries contain anthocyanins, all of which have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Dairy products: Milk, yoghurt, cheese and other unpasteurised and unhomogenised dairy products contain calcium and vitamin D which can increase bone strength.

Leafy green vegetables: If you can’t eat dairy, go for the leafy green vegetables to increase your calcium and vitamin D intake.

Broccoli: Source of calcium, vitamins K and C and sulforaphane, which is thought to help prevent or slow the progress of OA. Green tea: The antioxidants in green tea are believed to reduce inflammation and slow cartilage destruction. It is also thought to assist with RA by blocking the molecules that cause joint damage.

Citrus fruit: The vitamin C in citrus fruit may help prevent arthritis and maintain healthy joints. Some clinical studies have associated the intake of vitamin C with a reduced risk for contracting RA. Choose whole foods rather than supplements, as some supplements have been associated with exacerbations of arthritis.

Whole grains: Oats and brown rice can lower the levels of inflammatory markers that are seen in the blood in association with RA. Beans: Including red, kidney and pinto, beans can also lower the levels of inflammatory markers, while providing fibre, protein, folic acid, magnesium, iron, zinc and potassium.

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Garlic, onion, leek: Studies show that regularly eating garlic, onion and leek can influence the development of OA, thanks to a compound they contain that limits cartilagedamaging enzymes.

Nuts and seeds: A good all-round food containing fibre, protein, calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin E and immuneboosting alpha linolenic acid (ALA). Try snacking on walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios or almonds. Sesame seeds are an excellent source of calcium, so regularly consuming Hommus or Tahini may be very beneficial.

Vitamin D: Shown to reduce the risk of both RA and OA. Other than sunshine, sources include wild salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, milk, and egg yolks.

Ginger, turmeric: To spice up your food, add ginger or turmeric, both of which seem to have an antiinflammatory effect.

‘The antioxidants in green tea are believed to slow cartilage destruction’ FOODS TO AVOID

Certain food groups can increase inflammation and should be avoided: Saturated fats: Found in feed lot fattened beef or pork, and poultry skin. Choose only grass fed meat and avoid packaged, premade foods.

Trans fats: Created to prolong the shelf life of foods – look at the nutrition label to see if they’re in foods you are considering.

Simple and refined carbohydrates: Found in ‘white’ foods: sugary products, white flour baked goods, white rice and other refined carbohydrates. Before embarking on any new treatment or dietary plan, it is always recommended you consult your naturopath.

Further Information: www.purehealthandwellness.com.au Tel: 08 9378 2774 ISSUE 98

CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE 29

CONSCIOUS HEALTH

Boom in Demand for

Protein Supplements

as family’s health mission goes nationwide

A

lmost 20 years ago, in Perth, Western Australia, the Headford family launched a nutritional business, Boomers Protein.

It is the longest running Australian protein company, and will celebrate its 20th anniversary in October this year.

Many Australian’s do not have sufficient protein in their diet.

The family’s mission was to help people achieve their health and fitness goals by providing the highest quality supplements at affordable prices. Boomers provides a cost effective, simple and convenient way to get more quality protein into everyone’s diet. Although Boomers’ range and clientele have expanded, the Headford family’s mission remains the same.

VARIOUS EFFECTS

Some of the reasons Boomers products can help those with insufficient protein in their diet include: • To decrease body fatGain lean muscle • Gain weight for underweight athletes • Increase alertness, energy and more Boomers products, both whey and vegan are: • Gluten free • Contain no refined sugar or sweeteners • Preservative free • Flavourless, and incredibly versatile Sources of all Boomers products are of the highest available standards. They are 100 per cent natural, there is no ‘aftertaste’ and cause no digestive issues.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

The Boomers’ team of Julie, Neil, Craig and Jack Headford make the business a truly family affair, with three generations actively involved, and with 100 years’ health experience between them.

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Founder of Boomers Protein, Neil Headford, is flanked by grandson Jack (L) and son Craig (R).

“We started out offering a whey product, which we still source from New Zealand dairy herds grazing on healthy green pastures,” spokesperson for the family, Craig Headford, said.

“All of our products are 100 per cent natural, unflavoured and additive free; have no fillers or bulking agents; are preservative free; and gluten free.”

Boomers now supplies pure protein supplements to many individuals and outlets nationwide, including hospitals, pharmacies, health professionals, health food stores and popular café chains.

Today, the product range covers the needs of vegans and vegetarians.

VEGAN RANGE

“When we began receiving enquiries from vegans and vegetarians needing protein supplements, we realised we’d have to expand our range,” Craig said.

“We take pride in sourcing only premium quality supplements that can help people of all ages to improve and maintain their health.

“For vegans, we strongly believe we supply the best vegan protein supplement available.

AMINO ACID PROFILE

“It’s manufactured with a delicate procedure to 1000 mesh, meaning it’s the finest vegan powder on the market and will mix up to be silky smooth. Its amino acid profile is the best, bar none. As well, this product’s organic certification means it’s great for you and better for the Earth.

“The list of what is not in the bag is quite long! You will not find dairy; soy; gluten; nuts; flavours; hexane; GMO; preservatives; sweeteners; or fillers.

“You will find 100 per cent organic sprouted brown rice protein; the highest amount of amino acids available from a vegan protein powder; and on the packaging you will see Quality Assurance International (QAI) certification.”

For all users of Boomers’ products, great recipes can be found on the Facebook page and website. You can buy Boomers protein at various stockists, or online.

For further information, visit: www.wheyprotein.com.au, E: boomers@wheyprotein.com.au, FB: www.facebook.com/boomerswheyprotein WINTER 2017

Vanquish

Foot Pain with Springy Feet

By DR NIKKI MILLER, PHD

T

here are many causes of plantar fasciitis, an excruciatingly painful condition involving a band of connective tissue underneath the sole of the foot.

I contracted the condition three years ago after increasing my exercise routine. Other causes include: being middleaged or older; weight gain; walking or standing on hard surfaces; non-supportive foot wear; flat footed or high arches and high impact activity.

Maintaining a regime of recovery was difficult, because I had two young children and was working in two

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Dr Nikki Miller Springy Feet Founder

Doctor Nikki Miller’s career began with extensive study of art history and theory resulting in a Doctorate of Philosophy in Communications from Murdoch University in 1988.

Dr Miller worked as a curator; art critic for The West Australian newspaper and art journals; and lectured in Art History at The University of Western Australia.

She managed the Not-for-Profit ArtSource, WA’s peak membership body for visual artists, and worked at a high level in the state government.

In 2004, Dr Miller joined Art Support Pty Ltd as a Senior Art Consultant.

A few years ago, Dr Miller developed the painful condition of plantar fasciitis. This eventually led her to find Z-CoiL shoes, and to her new mission of spreading the joy of pain free feet through her business, Springy Feet Pty Ltd.

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CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE

31

CONSCIOUS HEALTH businesses. I had no chance for staying off my feet long enough to give them the recovery time they needed. And they were demanding a lot of recovery time!

How it

Works

‘HIDEOUS’ PAIN

I went to a podiatrist and bought orthotics: both off-the-shelf and custom made. I followed all the podiatrist’s advice but the pain was hideous. I tried many types of ‘comfort shoes’ with no relief. Months passed.

I remember crying because it was too painful to stand and cook the family’s dinner. It was debilitating and depressing because the activities I enjoyed were no longer possible.

I tried Acupuncture, but the pain of the actual treatment was so severe (although short-lived) that I saw stars. I didn’t want to have to keep going back for more painful treatments.

More time passed without relief. All the while, I Googled and read everything I could about plantar fasciitis.

Finally, one night, on someone’s blog in the United States, I read that whenever their plantar fasciitis flared up they just put on their Z-CoiLs. Immediately, I Googled ‘Z-Coil’ and was stunned to read the incredible testimonials. The price nearly put me off because I had already spent a lot of money trying to fix my problem, but the testimonials and the 30-day trial period reassured me.

Shock Absorbers for Your Body

Upper

Built-In Orthotic

When my Z-Coils arrived, I put them on and loved them from the first step. One week later I was completely pain free in the shoes. The Z-CoiLs allowed me to make an active recovery: they worked much better than a week of complete rest!

I soon returned to the gym, and now there is nothing I can’t do. I look forward to big day trips and massive outings because I don’t get tired in my Z-CoiLs.

Nearly an inch of soft cushioning protects the metatarsal heads.

Coil A conical steel coil greatly reduces the rate of impact absorbed at heel-strike.

Flex Line & Rocker Bottom

A flex line and rocker bottom provide a natural rolling motion at the ball of the foot.

Heel Pad

For more information and styles visit:

PAIN-FREE AFTER A WEEK

Forefoot Cushioning

A rigid Z-Orthotic™ cradles the foot, equalizing pressure distribution to reduce your chance of developing heel spurs or plantar fasciitis (pain in the mid-foot).

www. z c o i l . com

Pain Relief Footwear

The Z-CoiLs put the spring back into my feet – and my life. Many people began asking me about the spring in my shoes and I enjoyed spreading the word about Z-CoiLs. Wanting others suffering the same condition to be pain free and get their lives back, like me, I launched my Springy Feet business in November 2016. I became the Authorised Australian Retailer of Z-CoiLs and I am only the second distributor outside of the US. The four special components in the shoe, including the spring in the heel that relieves the pain from impact, make it possible to achieve a perfectly comfortable fit and stride.

For further information: W: www.springyfeet.com.au; M: 0404877006; E: springyfeet@westnet.com.au FB: www.facebook.com/springyfeet

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WINTER 2017

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CONSCIOUS PARENTING

Raised By Our

Childhood Voices

By DARRELL BROWN

T

he time we have with our children is so precious and goes so quickly.

As parents, we spend a lot of our time running around after them. Feeding, cleaning and keeping them safe — it seems like a constant chore. Which is why every now and then we need to stop, take a breath and remind ourselves of the joy of being a parent. Those beautiful smiles, the first time they walk, and hugs for daddy as he walks in the door. Each day they get older is a day we can never get back.

Fathers need to remind themselves how precious those few hours a day can be with their kids.

Unfortunately, we are all working longer hours than ever before. Making the most of the hours before and after work with your children is vitally important. The weekends offer the greatest opportunity to bond and connect with them. Remember, they only stay small for a brief period of time, and their childhood is a time you can never get back.

Your work place, however, may be there forever.

‘… both wore their long hours as some sort of badge of honour’

BEING THERE

The clock on the wall was just about to tick over to 3pm.

Most guys I knew didn’t finish work until at least five; some didn’t get home until after seven. I was sitting in a boardroom listening to two men talk about the long hours they had been working. One was sharp and young, a partner in an advertising agency I was doing some work for. The other was his client, the chief executive of a company that manufactures kitchen stoves and associated appliances. The chief executive mentioned he had been starting work before 6am and not getting home until after 8pm. Not to be outdone, my agency friend explained that not only had he been working similar hours but he was also taking work home with him that he continued after dinner.

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TIME WITH MY BOYS

You could see they both wore their long hours as some sort of badge of honour. My… thoughts drifted off in the direction of my two boys, Cody and Taylor, and what they might be doing right now. I looked across at the chief executive and saw a picture of his family next to the computer on his desk. His wife had given him five beautiful children. Knowing how much time I spent with my two boys, I knew that five must have been a big responsibility. I wondered if he knew his children as well as he knew his business.

My agency friend was also married and had two young children of his own. He had arrived that morning in his WINTER 2017

new two-door silver sports car. I had asked him somewhat jokingly how he managed to squeeze his two kids into the back seat. He had replied with a smile: “Only just!” I remember thinking how difficult it would be for their little faces to peer out of those tiny windows — the world rushing by and no way to see it.

Sadly, today too many men are becoming more detached from their children when they are needed more than ever. So many men now put corporate success before their family.

Somewhere, our culture took a turn down the wrong path, and I think we’re way past that point when we should all realise we are going the wrong way.

The clock moved towards 3.15pm, signalling my favourite time of day.

POWER OF LOVE

I loved being home when the boys arrived back from school. It’s an experience shared by only a small group of extremely fortunate fathers. I could always hear their footsteps as they came running down the driveway and along the side of the house.

If I timed it right, I could walk out of my office just as they ran straight into my arms. “Daddy! Daddy!” they would scream. Their small, lightly framed bodies would catapult forward and collide into mine with a thud. Of course, it wasn’t the force of their little bodies that hit me; it was the power of love deep inside. Who would have thought love could be so strong?

It’s funny how nature can sometimes become a metaphor for your own life. Sitting outside on the back porch one night, I found myself staring at a couple of moths dancing around a light globe. The moths appeared totally mesmerised by the light, the warmth, the brightness and the glow. They would leave the light momentarily to venture off into the darkness, only to return quickly and slam right back into the shining globe.

That was me. I was the light… and my boys were the moths.

If there’s anything more powerful in this world than the love you feel for your children, I haven’t discovered it yet. As with all experiences, you can’t feel anyone else’s love, just your own. Someone can tell you how much they love you, but all you can ever feel is the love you have in return. Since the boys gave me the opportunity to feel the deepest love imaginable, it felt natural to want to spend most of my waking hours around them. To love this deeply is to find your life’s purpose. Anything beyond that is a bonus, and can only ever take second place. Even finding a cure for cancer wouldn’t measure up. Perhaps if WINTER 2017

we all could experience a love this pure, there wouldn’t be any cancer.

As a freelance cameraman, I usually would average about three to four days’ work a week. I liked it because I could make a good wage and still have plenty of time to spend with the family.

Some people used to ask me why I didn’t start my own production company or expand my talents into other areas. The truth is, I could never think of anything to do with my time that would be more valuable than being with my boys. Sure, the extra money would have been nice. But at the end of the day it seemed so insignificant compared with the responsibility I had taken on as a father.

Many years stretched ahead of me, years in which I could make money. But time with our children is lost with every passing day. Besides, I had never heard of any father lying on his deathbed saying, “If only I’d had made more money.” More often, their biggest regret was that they didn’t spend more time with their children.

‘Somewhere, our culture took a turn down the wrong path…’

HEARTS REMAIN THE SAME

Now going on 16, my boys will soon be getting their driver’s licences and heading off on their own life journeys.

The tiny frail bodies, so soft and subtle as little children, are now tall, strong and hardened with time. However, although their external frames have changed greatly, I feel their hearts have remained the same.

As their father, I still hug them as tightly now as I did back then. A handshake just won’t do. I still kiss them goodnight and tell them how much I love them, every day. Those big bright eyes and beautiful smiles still remind me how lucky I am to be a dad. I know I can’t get back those early years: changing their nappies and washing those tiny little bums; waking up on Christmas morning to see if Santa and his reindeer had come; climbing up into the tree house and watching the world go by; hearing them coming home from school and then feeling them thunder into my arms.

Even today, I can still hear the distant echoes of laughter from Cody and Taylor, chasing each other down the hallway as fast as their little legs could take them. I can see it as clearly as if it all happened just yesterday.

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CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE 35

CONSCIOUS PARENTING

‘I dearly hope [we] have given them a childhood voice that will serve them well in later life’ MANY GREAT YEARS

Is silence what lies ahead for us? In some ways, it doesn’t seem fair. They say we hold our children’s hands for a while but hold their hearts for eternity. This thought warms my own heart and allows me to breathe a bit easier. I think of the many great years ahead and the possibility of grandchildren. Surely, I will still have much to contribute as a grandfather? Maybe that’s another book.

One I have yet to live.

I dearly hope that in raising our boys the way we did, Jules and I have given them both a childhood voice that will serve them well in later life. There are no guarantees, but perhaps the constant loving voices of an adoring mother and a strong, emotionally available, doting father will be enough.

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As parents, Jules and I were more than happy to be their “best bet”. I think of two little boys running towards me crying, “Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home!” and how those little voices inspired me to live the greatest life I could.

CHOOSING TO CHANGE

As a father, I did my best to examine my own childhood and look at the things that didn’t work. I am now grateful for all those experiences, and at the same time, I have made a conscious choice to change the things that didn’t work.

In the end, it’s not what happens to us in life that counts, but how we deal with it. As new parents, we not only have the responsibility but also the opportunity to make sure our own children have the greatest start to life we can give them. Mostly, this comes from bathing them in unconditional love.

Edited extract from Raised By Our Childhood Voices: One Father’s Journey to Raise Confident, Connected, Compassionate Boys,

by Darrell Brown. www.darrellbrown.com.au WINTER 2017

How 21st Century Numbers

Affect Children Excerpt from Numerology and Your Child by JEANNE PROSSER and PENELOPE DITCHBURN of Perth, Western Australia.

N

umerologist and author Jeanne Prosser tells us the dramatic change in numbers that occurred when the clock ticked over into the 21st Century has brought with it a big energy shift.

As this energy continues to take form, possibilities of tapping into new kinds of learning are opening up. What is readily seen is that children born at the overlap of the two centuries are developing differently from their predecessors. Time will tell what impact this new generation will have on the future of mankind.

When my friend Penelope Ditchburn and I began to see the fascinating differences in the effects of the new numbers on the ‘Millenial’ children, we

knew we had to put our numerological observations into a book that would help parents understand them.

NUMEROLOGY AND YOUR CHILD

Raising children in today’s world can be a complicated and confusing process.

Our children live in a complex, fastpaced world, a world of extremes. It is said they have come to Earth to share their wisdom, and support a unified consciousness as we move from the third dimension into the fifth, and beyond. What is it about these ‘new

children’ that make them so different from any who have gone before?

Towards the end of the last century, there was an evolutionary leap with the new children arriving on our planet. The result was an influx of unique children with enormous potential that continues to the present day. These children are compassionate and heart-centred, creative and knowing. They are also non-conforming, easily frustrated and difficult to fathom.

One noticeable thing about the new children is that they have very

‘… these children began incarnating around 1982, in the lead up to a rare planetary alignment called the Harmonic Convergence’ WINTER 2017

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CONSCIOUS PARENTING short attention spans. They look at one thing, engage for a moment or two, then seemingly disinterested or bored, their minds quickly divert to something else. Their brains have evolved to enable them to absorb, receive, filter and process the massive amounts of information being relayed.

This group of children can multi-task like no other generation of the past.

HARMONIC CONVERGENCE

Who are the new children? Research suggests these children began incarnating around 1982, in the lead up to a rare planetary alignment called the Harmonic Convergence.

This means, in fact, that some of the new children are the parents of today’s children, leading the way into this new energy.

‘… there is a big difference between birth dates of the previous century compared with the present one’ Born into the 1980s and 90s at a time when the frequency of the Earth began rising, they paved the way for the new generation of children incarnating since the turn of the century, whose DNA is said to differ from our own.

Is it possible to find out through numerology why children born in the new millennium are so different from any who have gone before?

Although only just beginning to skim the surface in my search for understanding, I do have some answers gleaned from the numbers.

Before we delve into this a bit further, 38 CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE

let’s understand a little about what numerology is.

Numerology is the study of numbers, their cycles, patterns, vibrations and influence. It tells us about our personal characteristics and unique talents and abilities, provides insight and direction and helps us develop focus when we lose our way. It gives a wealth of information about personal characteristics and our unique potential in life.

LIFE PATH CALCULATION

Each number, although part of a cosmic field of energy, has its own individual vibration. To find out which number you are, simply take your date of birth and reduce it to a single digit between 1 and 9. This number doesn’t change over your lifetime and is called the Life Path.

The first step in obtaining the Life Path is to re-write the birth date, let’s say 24th May 2001, as 24/5/2001. Each individual digit is then added together 2+4+5+2+1 = 14. The final step is to reduce 14 to a single digit, 1+4 = 5.

Therefore, the Life Path is Number 5.

The Number 5 child is sociable, fun and freedom loving. Charismatic by nature, friendships are formed easily, often with children of different nationalities. In fact, the 5 gets on with people of all ages and from all walks of life.

FINDING THE MASTER NUMBERS

As with many things in life, there are exceptions to the rule of reducing the birth date to numbers between 1 and 9. If the numbers add up to 11, 22 or 33 before being reduced to a single digit they are called Master Numbers. As such, all the qualities of these compound numbers of 11, 22 and 33 apply, as well as the base numbers of 2, 4 and 6.

To explain about the Master Number 11/2 we can use the birth date of 21/5/2010. 2+1+5+2+1 = 11/2. The base number 2 gives ISSUE 98

sensitivity, intuition, diplomacy and patience. The compound number 11 has all these characteristics but works at a higher vibration, bringing special qualities and abilities such as psychic sensitivity and a deep understanding of the needs of others.

UNITY CONSCIOUSNESS

Looking specifically at children’s charts, at first glance their numerology is no different from ours. As with adults they have numbers that make up their birth dates. However, there is a big difference between birth dates of the last century compared with the present one.

Those of us born into the twentieth century have at least a single 1 in our birth date, giving us excellent powers of concentration and an ability to remain focussed. Number 1 is also about individuality and ego.

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It helps separate our identity from others. With the 2 leading the way into the twenty-first century, as in 2000, 2009 and so on, many children are missing a 1. Without a 1, there is no separation from others. For these children, life isn’t about the individual; it’s solely about Unity consciousness.

POSITIVE QUALITIES OF 2

As the current century unfolds, the 2 dominates, bringing to the fore positive qualities of compassion, cooperation, sensitivity and intuition.

The 2 energy is nurturing and heartcentred. Every single child born this century will have at least one 2, giving a deep connection and capacity for co-operation with others. The bigger picture is that this is part of the unifying consciousness of the fifth dimensional energy we’re moving into.

Another number frequently missing from the new children’s birth dates is 9. The 9 vibration gives us energy and drive. It is ambitious, dramatic and highspirited. Without a 9, children can lack physical motivation, and may need encouragement to participate in sport and outdoor play. As a result, we are seeing increasing levels of obesity.

The most important difference in numbers between those of the 20th Century and the current century relates to the zero. The zero represents an energising life force and as such has the capacity to unlock higher vibrationary energies.

When added to any other number it symbolises a perfection of that number. In a date of birth the zero magnifies and adds power and intensity to the number it falls beside regardless of whether this is the day, month or year of birth.

For those children born in 2006, the zero after the number 2 gives these insightful children a boatload of sensitivity and compassion, and WINTER 2017

‘The important dissimilarity in numbers between those of the past century and the current century relates to the zero’ adds potency to their naturally strong intuition. The zero before the 6 magnifies the need for harmony and balance in all things and augments natural creativity as these are characteristics of the number 6.

Millions of children born between 2000 and 2010 have birth dates containing three, four, or even five zeros, for example there are five zeros in the date 10th October 2000. In terms of numerology this means that children born in the formative years of the twenty-first century will, as they mature, have a powerful influence on future generations.

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RESPECT THEIR DIFFERENCES

Our new children are here to support us in aligning with the new Earth consciousness. We can, in turn, support them by recognising and respecting their differences and allowing them freedom. Freedom of expression and freedom to move beyond existing systems when they choose.

As parents, we need to be especially attentive to what they are communicating to us. Be gentle with them as they perceive life differently and are easily misunderstood. They bring with them a new kind of energy.

This energy is based on pure love and comes from the heart.

Through these new children who support us in opening our hearts, mankind is encouraged to tap into and embrace a higher consciousness.

Co-author of Numerology and Your Child, Jeanne Prosser is a numerologist and wellness practitioner.

Jeanne is available for workshops, and speaking engagements. www.numerologyandyourchild.com and www.facebook.com/jeanneprosserauthor

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‘Slow clothing’ eases textile pollution

By Sustainability Consultant, JANE MILBURN

F

ew people make their own clothes these days because factory-produced options are cheap and plentiful. But fast food and disposable clothing choices are not necessarily good for us or the ecosystem in which we all live.

Concern over textile pollution could be the push we all need to turn to natural fibres and make or up-style our own ‘slow clothing’.

Over centuries we’ve progressed from huntergathering food and wearing skins to sourcing daily needs from industrialized food and clothing supply chains.

Sewing, cooking and gardening are life skills often devalued in the drive for higher-order thinking and technological advance for contemporary lifestyles and improved living standards.

LOSS OF AUTONOMY

Although we have embraced this outsourcing, globalization and specialization, we are beginning to see it has come at the price of exploitation, burgeoning waste, poorer health, a loss of autonomy and self-sufficiency.

We are moving back into our gardens and kitchens, and preparing meals for ourselves, because we’ve learned that the fast options – although convenient – can be unhealthy and unsatisfying.

DISPOSABLE FASHION

The localization and self-reliance now visible in our food story has a mirror image in our clothing story. When we outsource our clothing needs, it is often to global brands churning out cheap, disposable fashion made in sweatshops, exploiting workers, which leaves us feeling uneasy if we stop and think about it.

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No matter how much of this cheap stuff we buy, we can still feel we have nothing we want to wear because it is not made for us: it does not reflect our personal kansei and we have no attachment to it.

Two generations of women and men in Western societies have missed out on learning the basic life skill of sewing. This has come about for many reasons, including feminism, busyness and availability of affordable commercial options.

Yet until we actually make something for ourselves to wear, we cannot appreciate the resources, time and skill that go into the clothes we buy.

The clothing wheel is turning full circle though, as feminists and opinion leaders such as Tara Moss rediscover and embrace the autonomy of making their own.

In a recent blog post, ‘Why I’m (finally) learning how to sew’, Moss said that over the years, it became clear she needed to learn how to mend and make her own clothing.

“I downplayed the importance of these skills in my younger years in part because sewing, mending and dressmaking have been considered ‘feminised skills’ in the 90s: my younger self would have been embarrassed to be seen with a sewing needle,” she said.

Moss now believes that to be fully functional, humans need a broad range of skills which may have once been regarded as being the exclusive domain of one gender or another. She said: “It is ironic, in a way, that a feminist woman

‘When we outsource our clothing, it is often to global brands churning out cheap, disposable fashion made in sweatshops, exploiting workers…’

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would avoid things precisely because they are considered feminine, and in doing so, become less self-sufficient.”

I established Textile Beat in 2013 as part of a journey into creativity, empowerment, sustainability, ecological health and wellbeing – woven with threads of childhood, education, professional expertise, networks and nature.

CREATING PERSONAL STYLE

My professional background is in agricultural science and rural communications, while on the home front I’ve raised three children, enjoyed cooking and creating my personal style by making clothes from natural fibres.

After doing leadership study with the Australian Rural Leadership Program through James Cook University, I began exploring our clothing story and how it impacts on our everyday lives.

‘Slow clothing is… about thoughtful, creative and sustainable ways to enjoy the garments we wear while minimizing our material footprint on the world’

I came to appreciate that our clothes do for us on the outside what food does inside. They protect and warm our body – and influence the way we feel.

As the clothing conversation usually revolves around seasonal fashion, the quantity and quality of what we wear has undergone a transformational shift in recent years.

The way we now buy, use and discard clothing has seen the global average apparel fibre consumption double in the past two decades from 7kg per person up to 13kg each – while the Australian average is twice that at 27kg per person.

MICRO PLASTIC PARTICLES

While food waste returns nutrients back to the soil, clothing waste is adding plastics to oceans and landfill because twothirds of clothing is now made from synthetic fibres. These synthetic fibres are derived from petroleum, which research has shown to be shedding micro plastic particles into the environment every time we wash them.

In the global context of limited resources and climate change, there is growing interest in these clothing impacts from teachers and schools, with local governments, community and sustainability groups.

Textile Beat is a platform to discuss ethical issues around contemporary clothing culture which include: escalating consumption; changing fibres; waste and pollution; modern-day slavery; and a loss of understanding and knowledge about how clothes are made.

JOY IN ‘SLOW CLOTHING’

Jane Milburn of Textile Beat in a white up-styled dress.

Photo by Fiona Lake.

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As a sustainability consultant doing values-based leadership work, I am pioneering a slow clothing philosophy as a way of thinking about, choosing and wearing clothes to ensure they bring meaning, value and joy to every day.

I present talks and workshops and explore upcycling options to influence a more sustainable clothing culture based on natural fibres and applying traditional skills in innovative ways.

I’ve created a framework to help individuals survive and thrive in a material world based on a Slow Clothing Manifesto that identifies 10 critical actions: think, natural, quality, local, care, few, make, adapt, revive and salvage.

Slow clothing is the opposite of fast fashion. It is about thoughtful, ethical, creative and sustainable ways to enjoy the garments we wear every day while minimizing our material footprint on the world.

Discover your creativity and live directly in the world by spending time playing by learning about stitching and sewing – or gardening, making, baking, creating – where you produce what you need with your own hands and heart.

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Clothing - and more - from

Mushrooms Eat it, wear it, live in it!

MARTIN OLIVER finds the designers uncovering the secret and powers of the humble mushroom.

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he design community has long been on the lookout for sustainable materials that will be needed in a future resource-constrained world.

During the past few years, attention has switched to mushrooms as a surprising choice of biological resource already being used for clothing, shoes, a leather substitute, home furnishings and even construction materials.

Fungal Futures is the name of a group of European artists and designers looking to develop, with scientific backup from academia, innovative materials from mycelium.

This material consists of the roots of a mushroom, a dense matrix of thread-like micro-filaments known as hyphae.

In 2014-2015, Fungal Futures was involved in a project known as Mycelium Design, which culminated in a 2016 exhibition at the University Museum in the Dutch city of Utrecht.

Fashion fabrics are associated with a range of issues, including as demand for land that could be otherwise be used to grow food, soil degradation, and chemical use.

When garments wear out, they frequently go to landfill, despite usually being recyclable.

SINS OF THE FASHIONISTA

Synthetic fabrics typically require non-renewable feedstocks and shedding microfibres into the environment. This is how fashionistas unwittingly commit environmental ‘sins’ when discarding clothing. Fungi steer clear of all these downsides, and instead involve the upcycling of a waste product from mushroom food production into higher-value items.

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Hoitink from the Netherlands, who has created a unique mushroom dress. Her material is known as MycoTEX, and originally consisted of a mixture of mycelium and textile elements. More recently, a design breakthrough has allowed MycoTEX to be created from mycelium alone.

For textiles, mycelium offers a range of useful qualities.

It is anti-microbial, water-repellent, and kind to the skin. On the downside, the notion of being dressed in mushroom parts seems weird to most people, so it is necessary to overcome the repellent reaction that some people feel about fungi – even though most of us are happy to eat them.

THE PETRI DISH DRESS

Hoitink’s revolutionary approach involves growing mycelium in petri dishes. According to Hoitink, she initially yielded 350 flexible circular shapes. These shapes were moulded onto a three-dimensional woman’s figure and stuck together during the drying stage without the need for sewing. Hoitink’s petri dish grown dress is a modular garment that can be adjusted to suit one’s taste.

Her work occupies a zone somewhere between making an interesting artistic statement, and coming up with something that could be adopted by industry.

Although her work may seem like science fiction, Hoitink has brought the space age to fashion. And it’s about time.

Fashion is a threat to the environment, because it has become increasingly disposable, with items rarely being repaired. Rather than work against this dominant trend, Hoitink’s preference is to embrace transience and put out a one-off garment that despite considerable time and effort spent in creating it, is expected to last for perhaps one to two years. She is keen to use her work to promote a zero waste ethos.

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TOXIC LEATHER TANNING

In a related area of fashion, a couple of companies have been hard at work developing mushroom ‘leather’.

Conventionally produced leather has some unsustainable aspects, including toxic tanning chemicals. In developing countries, leather workers can be harmed by these chemicals, which in addition are frequently allowed to enter the environment.

As a high-value animal byproduct, in some countries the leather industry is encouraging more cattle farming, and in tropical areas it can be a driver of deforestation.

Italian product innovation company Grado Zero Espace (best translated as Zero Degree Space) has created a brown mushroom leather with a suede feel that it calls MuSkin. Its feedstock is the cap of the Phellinus Ellipsoideus mushroom that is found attached to dead trees in China’s subtropical forests.

MuSkin is flexible, durable, water-repellent, and breathable. It is made solely from the mushroom, without any additional materials, and goes through a special eco-friendly tanning process. At present, the company is only able to produce small quantities for the boutique market, but it hopes to scale up. If this were to happen, there would probably be a need for a cultivation program to take pressure off the fungus in the wild. Pricey sample pieces can be purchased from www. lifematerials.eu/en/shop/muskin Elsewhere, MycoWorks in San Francisco is making its own special type of leather from the mycelium of the ganoderma lucidum (reishi) mushroom, combined with unidentified agricultural byproducts. It claims that this product is carbon negative, storing more carbon than is released during manufacture.

ZERO WASTE HIGH HEELS

‘One member of the Fungal Futures, Aniela Hoitink from the Netherlands, has created a unique mushroom dress’ compostable. In this regard, it is an excellent example of McDonough and Braungart’s ‘cradle-to-cradle’ design approach, with its concept of ‘biological nutrients’, a named given to organic materials that decompose without affecting the natural environment.

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In the footwear department, shoe designer Kristel Peters is another Fungal Futures associate who has created a high-heeled fashion shoe prototype.

This is made from mycelium and other natural waste materials including sawdust. Avoiding the environmental impacts from conventional shoe production, Peters has embraced several aspects of the circular economy with her creation; it is zero-waste, repairable, capable of being easily disassembled, and she would like see it offered as a footwear service rather than a product.

Danish product designer Jonas Edvard has combined mycelium with hemp and linen production wastes left over from clothing and rope production, to create a material known as MYX. This has so far been utilised to create a range ISSUE 98

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of forms including a lampshade and a stool. Grown rather than manufactured, its production involves cultivating edible oyster mushrooms on a textile fibre substrate moulded to the desired shape, and these can be eaten once the item is ready. Mycelium has the benefit of weaving the fibres together, resulting in durability, strength and flexibility.

A similar approach has been followed by Eric Klarenbeek, who has used a 3D printing technique to create a fantastical chair from mycelium, powdered straw and water. Mycelium feeds on the straw, eventually creating a dense finished product that is strong enough to sit on. This living mixture is enveloped in a thin layer of 3D-printed bioplastic.

SUITABLE FOR INSULATION

Even construction materials are receiving the same fungal treatment. American company Ecovative manufactures MycoBoard, a natural substitute for particleboard. Made from materials such as flax, canola, hemp, and wood, the mycelium is used as a glue to bind them together, and avoids outgassing the toxic formaldehyde emitted by regular particleboard. Another related product known as 44 CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE

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‘Dutch designer Eric Klarenbeek, has created a fantasy chair from mycelium, powdered straw and water’ MycoFoam is a styrofoam substitute that is suitable for packaging and insulation.

In the words of Amsterdam designer Maurizio Montalti, growing products using mycelium as an environmentally friendly alternative to manufacturing them could be the start of a ‘biotechnological revolution.’

RESOURCES Fungal Futures - www.fungal-futures.com Grado Zero Espace - www.gradozero.eu MycoWorks - www.mycoworks.com Kristel Peters - www.shoedesigner.be MYX - www.jonasedvard.dk/work/myx Eric Klarenbeek - www.ericklarenbeek.com Ecovative - www.ecovativedesign.com WINTER 2017

Relax in nature at Yelverton Brook Eco Spa Retreat and Conservation Sanctuary

W

estern Australia’s southwest is a green haven for tourists and escapees from the rush of city living.

Set on more than 40 hectares (100 acres) within the Margaret River wine region, award winning Yelverton Brook Eco Spa Retreat and Conservation Sanctuary is the ideal place to relax and re-connect with nature and is only 15 mins to Margaret River, Busselton and Dunsborough.

CONSERVATION ROLE

Ongoing self-funded conservation is part of the role of the family run Spa. So all guests who stay in chalets help support conservation of the critically endangered Woylie and Western Ringtailed Possum.

Be prepared to find local wildlife right on your doorstep.

Upon arrival, you will be given special species-appropriate feed for your new fur or feathered friends.

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PROTECTED FAUNA

Within Yelverton Brook, onsite in the sanctuary, there are meandering walk-trails and picnic areas. By appointment, Southwest Eco Discoveries offer Nocturnal Tours, which enable visitors to view protected Australian fauna within the sanctuary.

From Yelverton Brook, other delights of the southwest are within easy reach, including wineries and breweries, aweinspiring caves, white sandy beaches and towering Karri forests.

After a day of touring, guests at Yelverton Brook can return to their one or two bedroom chalets, where they can slip into a big, luxurious, warm outdoor spa and take in the surrounding scenery under the stars. This is an utterly soothing experience, although you may be privy to some nocturnal ‘entertainment’ by local fauna.

Glamping (glamour camping) is being considered for Yelverton Brook, which would offer the most ecofriendly option of treading lightly on the environment, but with all the comforts of home.

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‘Visit wineries, breweries, aweinspiring caves, white sandy beaches and towering Karri forests’

Guests can book a free Sisel skin care demonstration and can ask to ‘play’ with the makeup. According to Joy, Sisel offers a business opportunity and is now operating in more than 40 countries. Talk to her for more information, if interested.

LEARN TO DETOXIFY

Part of the Spa experience at Yelverton Brook is an option of learning how to de-toxify your life and optimise your level of wellness using Sisel International non-toxic products.

The personal care products include oral care for brushing and re-mineralising teeth, skincare that really works, mineral makeup with beautiful colours, plus a 30-minute Intrepid face lift.

OWNERS’ LIFE SAVED

Owners Joy and Simon Ensor have been running the Spa for more than 25 years. They bought the land in the 1980s and moved onto it in the 1990s, more than 25 years ago.

Only one year ago, Simon’s Naturopath warned him he was dying from toxic overload. Years of working as a mechanic and boat builder were to blame. The battle to de-toxify Simon began with world class Liquid Nutritionals and Sisel products. These products saved his life, helping him ‘rebuild’ at cellular level.

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For further information, Ph: 08 9755 7579; Location: 118 Roy Road, Metricup WA 6280 (only 15 mins to Margaret River, Busselton and Dunsborough). www.yelvertonbrook.com.au www.joyensor.mysisel.com E: retreat@yelvertonbrook.com.au or (follow on Facebook; Instagram; Twitter) WINTER 2017

Are you in business to make a difference?

Join a community that supports heart conscious business success

Network with inspirational leaders Make connections to grow your client list Gain skills in social media, marketing & public speaking Get published in a professional magazine Get FREE online marketing and promotion When: Join us on the first Thursday each month Where: Bendat Parent and Community Centre Telethon Speech & Hearing Centre 36 Dodd St, Wembley, WA

heartconsciousbusiness.com.au SUMMER 2017

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Heart Conscious Business Hub

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0427 277 803

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CONSCIOUS SPIRIT

Sound Medicine Has Arrived

By STEVEN NORTH, composer of Heart Activation Music

A

round the world, there is an increasing acceptance of sound therapy for healing and expanding the consciousness.

The sound used may be shamanistic drumming from Mongolia and Native America, singing bowls from Tibet and the Didgeridoo of the Indigenous Australian.

Interestingly, Indigenous Australians are the first known culture to heal with sound.

An extraordinary human being, Edgar Cayce once said: “Sound is the medicine of the future.” His words are now a reality. Sound Medicine has arrived.

He would not be surprised to see that a growing number of health professionals are using sound therapy as medicine, for ailments that include postoperative healing.

A STATE OF VIBRATION

‘Indigenous Australians are the first known culture to heal with sound’ Utilised since the beginning of recorded history in many cultures, in today’s world these ancient sound traditions are being used for group sessions. And for individuals, sound therapy is gaining new ground as an added tool for the restoration of wellbeing.

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The fundamental principle of sound healing is Resonance, a word used when describing the frequencies of vibration.

These frequencies are used as a transformative and healing modality. In every organ, bone, tissue, and so on, we are in a state of vibration.

With research into binaural frequencies, since their discovery in 1839 by German experimenter, Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, the application for sound therapy has exploded. Specialists are using it to treat ailments while students are using it to help with focus and study.

Today’s healing music modalities use various frequencies such as Solfeggio-Binaural Frequencies, and these are included in Heart Activation Music. There are also ‘brain wave entrainment’ frequencies, which assist with sleep and healing DNA: the list grows, as there is a wide range of these healing frequencies available today.

Binary sound frequencies are important within the Heart Activation Music because they help unlock something energetically, and this ‘something’ will be different for each person.

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PROFOUND RESULTS

It is widely known that sound therapy can be used for stress reduction or to facilitate meditation. But for some people, the effects may include unlocking deeply entrenched issues, memories or patterns, and may help them work through blocks that were previously unknown.

Results can be profound.

The latest quantum physics theory, known as String Theory, suggests that absolutely everything in the Universe, all the particles that make up matter and forces is comprised of minute vibrating fundamental strings.

All these objects have a Resonant pattern associated to them. In simple terms, the physical Universe is built of sound vibrations.

More than 100 years ago, Nikola Tesla referred to a non-Hertzian energy (without frequencies), Scalar, and in the 1920s, Albert Einstein referenced Scalar energy.

This energy is not electromagnetic and is comprised of pure zero-point energy. The Scalar energy form has the ability to carry information and is a field of energy systems that is alive. Scalar energy is vibrant and dynamic and has always been in existence within the Universe.

According to world renowned crystal expert, workshop leader, and author, Judy Hall: “Scalar waves activate the meridians and facilitate healing at the energetic interface between spirit and matter.”

In addition to sound therapy, crystals have been used in healing therapies throughout known history.

The energetic properties of crystals are harnessed to influence the energy field to return to a specific vibrational healthy frequency. Different crystals are used in these therapies because they each have a distinct unique consciousness as well as resonant frequencies. Sound therapy with crystals offers two layers of healing energy.

There are various sounds within sound therapy that can be utilised with other healing modalities.

‘Scalar waves activate the meridians and facilitate healing at the energetic interface between spirit and matter’- Judy Hall modalities, as well as the integration of natural Scalar energies. These energies are coded vibrations consisting of many messages that can help a listener transform his or her own life.

Through the facilitation of crystal energies, binaural frequencies, Scalar energies, coded vibrations and music sounds a person can experience a quantum and multidimensional healing.

Discover more about Heart Activation Music at Living Well in WA, 3-5June 2017, Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. Further information: www.stevennorth.com.au

CALL IN HIGHER POWERS

“Some will clear energy, some will assist with healing, and there are some that help open the mind.

Additionally, there are sounds that help call in higher powers, such as the Ascended Masters. These sounds will help with everything: healing, twin flame union, past life recognition, accessing higher consciousness: there is no end to what may be achieved with sound therapy.

In Heart Activation Music Therapy, there is an integration of many aspects of current sound therapy WINTER 2017

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CONSCIOUS ARTS

How to Improve Your

Nature Photography in a few easy steps

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By CYRUS ROUSSILHES, of Lighthouse Photography Studio, gives us the few simple rules we can all use for taking great photos.

H

ave you ever heard the expression: to heal and grow you must let things fall and break?

Nature demonstrates this perfectly. Nature heals but also destroys. Nature’s gifts are free, arriving at almost random times yet cyclical, repetitive and almost predictable.

Nature’s force is absolute pure power and unstoppable by human intervention.

Nature fixes all that is wrong and empty of meaning and eventually restores the right balance. Only those in tune with nature truly appreciate nature›s giving.

One of nature’s greatest gifts is beauty. Beauty in colours, in patterns and beauty in meanings. The most devastating winds, floods and storms can hold great beauty and be admired, even while feared by us.

Photography can capture versions of nature’s true beauty. Colours, patterns, movements and light can all be photographed and displayed in one’s home and office, so that a memory or feeling can return whenever you lose yourself in the visual.

PATTERNS

Simple and mesmerising patterns, symmetries and spirals can be found everywhere in the natural world. Shells, the proportions of fish, the structure of a leaf, flowers are examples. Many seemingly unrelated animals and plants follow the same mathematical equations, rules and universal truths.

Waves at the beach bubble white foam, the patterns of cracks in a dried river bed or the texture of bark on a tree.

Patterns are fascinating. Our lizard brain is excellent at recognising instinctively what patterns and colours mean in terms of dangerous or safe to eat or use, what is prey and what could be a predator.

COLOURS

Colours hold deeply ingraining meaning too. The colours of danger, anger and action are orange and red. Peace and trust are blue. Life-giving is young and light green, however a dark green signifies greed. (See colour guide below.}

MEANING IN LANDSCAPES

What does a particular landscape mean to you? Everyone will hold a different emotional response to an artwork, each of us holds individual life experiences.

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CONSCIOUS ARTS 2: Light and background

Once you›ve worked out a specific subject, position your camera so that the ambient light (from the sun, moon or streetlights) compliment your idea (subject).

Finally. make sure the background then matches and amplifies your message. Do you blur the background with an open aperture, or hold everything in focus? Maybe you want to capture a lone flower and you wish to highlight this lone flower in darker background with extreme background blur.

Did you sometimes take a camping holiday or go to the beach when you were a kid? Have you survived a bushfire in an isolated wilderness once, or been involved in a different kind of natural disaster? Did you experience a marriage proposal or an overwhelmingly happy event that’s dear to your heart? Your overall experience will obviously govern your emotional response.

To stir an emotional response, people respond to many contributing elements in the image.

As previously discussed, colour is the second most significant element, subject and light being the most significant elements. Other elements can include detail of texture, perspective and composition, patterns and lines, atmosphere and feeling, motion and energy.

Colours, patterns, movements and light can all be photographed… capturing a memory or feeling that can return whenever you lose yourself in the visual

THREE GOLDEN RULES

There are three simple ways to take a better landscape image, After 23 years as a photographer I have come to realise the three golden rules to taking better photos.

1: What is your subject?

Absorb yourself in the moment to get that all important ‘wow’ feeling before you start taking images.

A subject is not a person or a beach. A real subject is an interesting idea, memorable moment, something that evokes your ‘wow’ response. For example, maybe you love the reflection of the sky’s sunset colours on the flat beach as the waves roll back into the ocean. Once you’ve decided that is the focus of the image you need to compose and expose that scene to reflect only that. Anything that does not support this will end up being a distraction.

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3: Manual Settings Shooting with auto settings is telling the camera to create average images. A master of photography will see an image before it’s created and like a magician set the right settings to capture this version. Too many photographers do not realise the powerful raw magic their camera holds and how to tap into this magic.

Here’s an oversimplified guide to better photos using manual settings. When I teach kids and adults manual settings we usually need two hours to start getting the hang of it. The trick is not to let settings be complicated, so follow this over-simplified cheat guide as a good starting point – until you master the basics and can then break these rules.

Your first step is to understand that exposure is controlled by shutter speed, aperture and ISO. All three also control another potential element of your image.

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‘…follow this oversimplified cheat guide as a good starting point – until you master the basics and can then break these rules’

shake and a blurry image. Shutter speed also controls movement. If you want crisp photo of bees flying you may need to push to 1/800 of a second. This will make the image darker.

ISO

THE MAGIC BEHIND MANUAL SETTINGS

• Shutter speed (showing movement or freezing movement) • F-stop and Aperture (blurred backgrounds or everything is clear, crisp and in focus) • ISO (light sensitivity, shooting in darker settings possible, grain the higher it goes) • White balance (the secret fourth setting, aka colour temperature, 5400 is natural sunlight, less is cooler/ blue; more is warmer/yellow)

SHUTTER SPEED

Shutter speed minimum is 1.5 times the mm used in your lens. Therefore, if you use a 35mm lens, try not to go below 1/50 of a second. (commonly shown as ‘50’). Anything lower and you could have camera 54 CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE

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The ISO of 100 is standard for outdoors, you only need to raise to 200 then 400 if you are pushing the minimum shutter speed. The higher the ISO the more grain in the image.

F-STOP

F-stop (aperture) controls depth of field (to blur background, use f2 – or not to blur, use f-11).

Follow these simple tips and golden rules, and you’ll be able to take your photography to a higher level.

Find more advice on photography and photographic equipment at Cyrus’ website. Cyrus also teaches photography and sells his own works. His Landscape series is now available and can be viewed online. M: 0411166034 www.lighthousebycyrus.com WINTER 2017

Luca Jouel Luxe Feminine Energy Founded on a passion for creating beautiful heirloom quality jewellery with a modern sensibility, Perth boutique fine jewellery brand, Luca Jouel, combines ethically sourced diamonds, gemstones and mixed precious metals together with luxury hand finishes and a love of the details.

The brand recently launched their latest collection, Little Luca, which they will be showcasing at Living Well in WA. Inspired by exceptional women both past and present, as well as Mother Nature herself, the collection can be summed up as celebrating the qualities of beauty, complexity, strength, nature, ethics and sovereignty. The pieces are an exquisite mix of highly ornate floral motifs and pared back designs whose focus shifts to the beautiful gemstone settings and textures of the custom metal work. Each piece of jewellery is intended to serve as a petite talisman, a symbolic celebration of pure and undeniable feminine energy and made for everyday love.

The collection’s designs and colour palette are the perfect complement for the modern-day queen.

Since launching their distinctive aesthetic in 2015, Luca Jouel has enjoyed international recognition as an ethical fine jewellery brand. Luca Jouel has been awarded the prestigious Butterfly Mark Award powered by Positive Luxury, which is the sole trust mark that exists in the

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luxury industry today, and recognized as a guarantee of commitment to sustainability.

Designer Tereena Lucas is a fellow of the Gemmological Association of Australia (FGAA) and Luca Jouel is also a member of the Ethical Fashion Forum and proudly supports the Australian Childhood Foundation.

Luca Jouel fine jewellery is currently available online at these distinguished retailers: 1stdibs, The List, La Maison Couture, Runway 2 Street, Fancy, Jewel Street and FashionCompassion. Visit them online at www.lucajouel. com for more information.

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CONSCIOUS ARTS WINTER 2017 MUST READS

Clean Soups Author: Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson Publisher: Murdoch Books ISBN: 9781760522513 Web: www.murdochbooks.com.au Soup could very easily be considered as a staple in any style of culture or dietary regime and when a book of this calibre comes along, although we all feel we know all about soup, if pays to take note, because the reality is that really good soup is anything but simple. Following the instructions set out by Rebecca Katz there is a very excellent chance that you too will become a soup goddess or god, wondering why you had overlooked this wonderful, nourishing, addition to your life for so long.

The humble soup, or rather the not so humble soup, as portrayed throughout the pages, has properties that really do contribute to healthy body, healthy mind and in today’s world of fast food, fast lifestyle, this and that style of eating, nourishing healing food, with a little comfort built in, is to be lauded and applauded.

As always with any new skill, and get it right from the beginning, making seriously good soup is a skill, you first have to begin with the right equipment, the correct staples in the cupboard and a good serving of enthusiasm.

The reality is most people have a good percentage of what is required already, but just in case a very 56 CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE

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comprehensive list of pantry items and cooking equipment is provided. This is followed by storage, thawing and reheating information, to ensure you continue to get the best taste sensation out of your soup or broth.

Making a good soup comes down to the basic ingredient, that of good stock, not the shop bought stock, but the stock or broth you make in that very large pot, that can be used for the various soups you choose to create. Essentially you make a huge pot of stock, freeze what is additional to requirement and then, when ready for the next pot of soup, thaw, and you are already half way to a nourishing meal, a quick detox or simply comfort food on those days when you need a little something extra to get you through.

Broken up into various sections Blended Soups is a good place to begin this culinary journey, Traditional Healing Soups follow, focusing more on the hearty soups such as Mulligatawny Soup, Smoky Split Pea Soup or Simple Chicken Pho all of which have, if nothing else, comfort wrapped around them. Soup Toppers maketh the soup in some instances, with a lovely addition of a chermoula, kale crumble or parsnip chips adding that touch of something special to the dish.

Beautifully presented and well written, by the time you have read the book you are simply itching to get out the pots and pans, and get to making one of the many delicious soups featured.

Bon Appetite!

WINTER 2017

Reviewed by JAN MAWDESLEY

See more reviews at bluewolf-reviews.com

WHAT DO WE WANT?: THE STORY OF PROTEST IN AUSTRALIA

Author: Clive Hamilton, foreword by Germaine Greer Publisher: National Library of Australia ISBN: 9780642278913 Web: www.newsouthbooks.com Protest is nothing new in Australian society with the most historic occurrence being Eureka Stockade, in 1854, where the miners, having had more than enough of the taxes being applied with increasing brutality by the then governing body, decided to protest, to stand up for their rights. Many died, many where injured, but their protest set the precedent in this new country, that all peoples had rights, not just those who happened to be wealthy. This protest changed many things in early Australian politics, on the goldfields and also in society.

It was not until the late 1960’s, when the Menzies government decided to support American troops in Vietnam, bringing in the infamous National Service Act requiring all young men turning 20 years of age to register for the ‘Draft’, that protest came into its own and by doing so defined changing the face of Australia.

Society in Australia was very different, still existing in the shadow of the ‘Old Country’, Britain, massive fear of communism was prevalent, and people in general believed what they were told by the Government.

As the war in Vietnam dragged on people began to question what we were doing there, but it was not until 1963 when the ironically Eureka Youth Movement, an offshoot of the Communist Party, held the first protest against the Vietnam War. The youth of Australia began to realise they had a voice, a voice that could, with the right emphasis, make changes in a society that was perhaps a little bit to apathetic about what were considered by many, the new issues young people in Australia were facing.

Homosexuality was still considered to be a serious phobia, women had very few rights, indigenous Australians had little or no rights, and politics seemed to be stuck in a quagmire of British standards.

In this in-depth look at “What Do We Want”, the catch WINTER 2017

phrase of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s in Australia, Clive Hamilton takes a reflective look at the past and reminds everyone that the rights taken for granted today were once hard fought for, that every inch gained was considered a landmark.

Today we protest about the environment, an issue that concerns all Australians, but the changes in the way protest is carried out is significant. Occasionally people will gather at a predestined location and march, make a statement and in extreme cases chain themselves to bulldozers, gates or some other immovable or large object.

Is protest still as effective as it once was when thousands took to the streets to make a serious point against prejudice, intolerance and equality, demanding Peace; and along the way managed to change politics of the day, change the face of society in Australia; only time will tell.

This work is a colourful celebration of the commitment ordinary people, later to be termed activists, who turned out to protest for the rights of all. Accompanied by a vast range of photographs and newspaper front they joined thousands of others on the streets of Australia, during a time when Australia was finally coming of age.

TITLE: THE BEEKEEPERS YEAR

Author: Janet Luke Publisher: New Holland Publishers (NZ) Ltd ISBN : 9781869664565 Web: www.newhollandpublishers.com If you are thinking of, or planning to keep Bees this is the must have book for you. Created with the beginner or novice in mind, it is more of text book or guide to Bees and everything you ever need to know, to set up and keep a hive of bees successfully.

Clearly illustrated and set out, the first section deals with the main question of why keep Bees, setting out the pros and cons of doing so, then details very clearly what you need to get started, space requirements and legal responsibilities. It also address the issue of where, when and how to get your Bees.

As a fledgling bee keeper you do need to understand Bees and what consists as their life cycle, ISSUE 98

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CONSCIOUS ARTS

as understanding how a hive works will lead to a more mindful undertaking, rather than a ‘paint by numbers’ technique, which while a workable and often used method, is perhaps not always what you are looking to achieve, when you decide to become an urban keeper of Bees.

Case studies follow three new keepers with three different style of hive; Sarah with the Flow hive, Eric with a Warren and Sonia with a Top Bar hive, which a sets out the options of the different styles and their suitability or not, for the location you may have selected and how these hives can be made from pallets or purchased.

Once you have established your hive there are many hours of enjoyment to be had observing these amazingly intelligent creatures as they go about their daily lives, and in doing so you have added your little bit to helping keep the environment healthy, plus the bonus of lovely fresh honey .

As a beginner guide A Beekeepers Year is very easy to understand and follow. The use of clear and instructive illustrations as required, along with well set out chapters, makes this one book which will rapidly become your bible for keeping bees successfully.

TITLE: FAT YOGA

Author: Sarah Harry Publisher: New Holland Publishers ISBN: 9781742579313 Web: www.newhollandpublishers.com

Author: Joseph Polansky Publisher: Dodona Books ISBN: 9781780991993 Web: www.dodona-books.com

Spirituality, our zodiac or star sign and the idiosyncrasies that make up each one of us, makes for endless fascination and investigation, as many of us check our star signs to see what the day, the year and often the future may hold for us. But there is far more to understanding our star signs than is first apparent. Polansky presents another perspective to what really makes us who we are and, when coupled with meditations, colours, herbs and much more for each of the 12 star signs, enables a better, far more positive understanding of the strengths, and perceived weaknesses, of our fellow man.

TITLE: MASTERING THE MIND REALISING THE SELF

For many people who do not fit the modern stereotype of slim, trim, flexible and ‘fab’, exercising can be a considerable challenge, not just on a physical level but also emotionally. With Yoga, a very flexible, amendable form of exercise, you too can join the growing trend to exercising, hatha yoga style, under the guidance of Sarah Harry, a woman after many years of angst is now comfortable in her plus sized body. In her words, ‘Fat Yoga’ has something for everyone, so regardless of what size or shape you are in, welcome to the gentle world of Fat Yoga, step by step.

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TITLE: A SPIRITUAL LOOK AT THE 12 SIGNS

ISSUE 98

Author: Stephen Sturgess Publisher: O Books ISBN: 9781785355264 Web: www.o-books.com

To find inner peace and happiness is something we all desire, something we spend time, money and effort attempting to attain, often without success, often ending with a feeling of failure that, even though you have apparently done everything right, somehow what you are seeking is still out of reach.

Sturgess suggests, in this three part journey to inner peace, that through understanding the strong influence of the mind, self-knowledge and meditation, the workings of the mind can be understood, stilled and allowed to turn inward, where there is to be found true inner consciousness and understanding.

WINTER 2017

MUSIC REVIEWS

Reviewed by JAN MAWDESLEY

See more reviews at bluewolf-reviews.com

ETHEREUM

THE RECOGNITION

Haunting and evocative, this is one album that should immediately be considered one for pure meditation, as with the first track Wavelength, the mediative tones of the composition place you into a space of mellow contemplation. When followed by Ethereum, another piece deliberately created for meditation, you are now in the right place emotionally to enjoy the rest of the album.

Elements such as reincarnation, rub shoulders with past lives, definition of self, letting go of emotion and mental intimacy have all been interwoven with the beauty and eternal majesty that is to be found within nature.

Sheer, sublime, inspired use of harmonica, mixed with a little guitar and ambient sound, to create pure magic simply sums up the entire album; simple, easy and wonderful to listen to can also be added.

Haunting, unique and incredibly appealing, only a master of his instrument and craft could have created such a wonderfully different and rich palate of sound, in a world where, to create a different or unique sound, is something that all too often becomes mundane.

Coming from an R&B background he is well known as the man who can add rawness to his playing; playing which comes straight from the heart.

Joseph L Young Web: www.josephlyoung.com

Art Patience www.arthurpatience.com

LANDSCAPES OF THE HEART Gary Schmidt www.apianist.com

Beginning with the final track on this wonderfully elegant collection, is not the usual way of going about reviewing an album, but in this instance, makes the various pieces far richer and fuller. Solus comes from the Latin word translating into “a man alone with his thoughts”, which is the basis for the compositions formed and presented on this album.

Produced by the legendary Will Ackerman, his alchemy, added to the richness of the compositions, makes a very, very special mix which places what can be considered as contemporary new age piano, into a class of its own.

WINTER 2017

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ISSUE 98

CONSCIOUS LIVING MAGAZINE 59

Reviewed by JAN MAWDESLEY

See more reviews at bluewolf-reviews.com

SANCTUARY FOR THE SOUL

WHISPERS FROM SILENCE

Commencing with a delightful, classically infused duet of cello and piano, the scene is set for what is an enjoyable and inspiring album, compiled from a raft of various melodies ranging from classic to contemporary, then dancing about the edges of lightly jazzy compositions, returning once again to a more contemporary feel.

As a predominantly classical pianist and composer, in this her first album Janice Lacy has tapped into a wonderful, far reaching style of music which, while being contemporary, has also managed to combine emotion with a blend of ‘new age’ and jazz rhythms, to create a wonderful warm vibe which has its own appeal.

Tom Moore and Sherry Finzer have created a completely unexpected album which taps into the very essence of deep meditation, with wonderfully atmospheric combinations of ancient and modern instruments melded into a range of relaxing and yet challenging pieces.

Moore had already been working on the various sound tracks when he and Finzer decided to collaborate on this transcendental album. The melody of the flute enhances and enriches the electronic creativity of the synth, as the two instruments entwine, taking the tracks from ‘spacey’ to another dimension entirely, that of one relating to deep meditation and healing.

Janice Lacy Project www.janicelacymusic.com

Tom Moore & Sherry Finzer. www.heartdancerecords.com

WALKING TO YOU

Grow your Natural Health Business

Rachel Currea www.rachelcurrea.com

Delicate, dainty, and immensely peaceful, this album is one that trips gently across the earth bringing with it great sense tranquillity which seeps into the inner being; the tension within slowly dissipates as each of the tracks slowly blends into one offering.

Graceful is a word that can be easily used and related too as you slowly enjoy each of the pieces, beginning with the title track Waking to You, which is exactly what happens as you listen; the notes float delicately towards you, seeking and finding that special place within, that little bit of tension, stress and almost ethereally, touches, heals and soothes.

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