Never Give Up --The Power of Prayer

Life is hard sometimes. But when problems hit close to home, it's even harder. When a close friend's relative lay in the hospital, close to dying, it was hard to accept. The doctor gave the grim news that the end was near, and all the signs were there. He was weak and barely able to speak. The priest was called to give the last rites.
Instead of accepting the inevitable, everyone close to the sick man, looked up and started to pray. I also sent healing prayers. Three days passed, a week passed and now it is almost a month, and the person whom the doctor said should be dead by now, is now sitting in a chair and eating.
It's a great thing knowing that a higher power has the power to heal. The Bible contains numerous examples of how people have been healed and survived after experiencing serious illnesses.
And yet the division between the medical community and spiritual healing seems to be wide. Doctors do not want to admit to a higher power and would probably not give much credit to the power of prayer in healing. They base a man's life span on his age, as though being 78 or 89 are reasons enough to have a man die. But why should be limit life to only the young? We should be allowed to live as long as God wills it.
It is about time that the hospital community woke up and embraced the fact that doctors do not decide when a patient will die. Sometimes, God, in his mercy, hears peoples' prayers and answers their prayers by extending the life of the patient.
This then is a true miracle provided by a higher power. Prayer will and can change a person's life. We are truly not alone.

Healing Prayers --Finding the Time to Pray for Others

We are sometimes too full of ourselves. It is when we become too self-absorbed that we don't notice other people at times. It is better for own inner growth to look upon other people and have empathy. Empathy makes us better people and helps us to look out for our neighbor, should he or she require this.
This is when healing prayers are very useful. In my previous blog, I discussed meeting a very inspirational person at a health seminar. His name is Dr. Zhi Gang Sha and he is the author of many books on healing, including Soul, Mind Body Medicine. At the seminar, he arrived to a packed audience full of people seeking spiritual wisdom and the power to learn about healing. His teachings are full of insight and requires several hours of deep concentration and quietness to learn about his thoughts of energy and healing. It is a very powerful, uplifting and positive way to treat disease. And his book provides techniques to channel love and forgiveness to the world.
While in Cuba recently, I felt badly that the country was facing a pretty dry heat spell and many parts of the city and countryside were facing very little rain. Feeling bad about this, I decided to send out a brief prayer to help bring rain, using some of the techniques I read about in his book. It wasn't about an hour or two later that I heard the sky fill with the sounds of thunder and lightning flashed across the sky. Rain soon pounded on the ground and the next day, I found pools of rain water that gathered at the resort where we stayed at.
Whether you agree with Dr. Sha's technique or not, praying for healing is important to do.
Caring for other people is a great way to bring the world closer together. Doing healing prayers is a wonderful way to provide assistance to other people who may need it more than ourselves.
And when we pray for others, we hope the world will be a better and safer place.

The Zen of Gardening

One can argue that the best part of Spring is gardening. It is a perfect way to say good-bye to the winter blues, and hello to the joy of gardening. Gardening is a perfect way to allow an individual to be in touch with nature. It is a perfect way to slow down, contemplate about life and demonstrate that whatever you sow, you definitely will reap.
Gardening allows us to enjoy the beauty that nature has to give and allows us to enjoy that nature also allows our empty stomachs to be full. We are given a lesson that life itself is fragile and every seed that one plants must be nurtured with love and care. Each time one  fails to water the plants, we also do ourselves a disservice by not allowing the plants enough nourishment. By the same token, each time we throw away a plastic bag into the garbage dump, we also add to the growing garbage problem and give a bigger strain on Planet Earth.
Gardening allows us to reach into ourselves and allows us to form a connection to the planet that is important.
Too often we are lead away to spend hours into habits that do not provide soul nourishment. We spend our lives driving to work and directly bring pollution into the planet. We do a lot of damage to the planet with acts of deforestation and the building of condos over ecological lands.
Gardening allows us to be patient. Practicing the art of patience is so important these days because too many of us do not know how to relax. We are always hurrying to go from place to place, and never really take the time to enjoy nature. Stress is a big killer to many people and we need to do more gardening -- it is a direct route to appreciating Mother Earth and being in touch with life itself.

Exploring Health and Wellness Without Going to the Doctor

On a recent beautiful Saturday morning, I joined a throng of people at the annual Wellness show held recently in Vancouver. I was there to meet a healing master, but along the way, I learned a great deal about the latest health remedies  and foods to help melt away the fat, keep the gums clean as well as stay fit.
While one of the draws was receiving a goody bag that contained samples of health beverages, snacks and coupons, the show also featured many booths offering samples for the skin, as well as numerous food and beverage samples. I always enjoyed the generous yogurt provided, and also eagerly took a sip of the latest cranberry juice (not from concentrate) and threw back a delicious soya chocolate drink.
I also found an entrepreneur selling  sets of pricey badminton rackets with the birdie that is made for playing outdoors, even in windy conditions.
I could have spent another hour or two sampling the food or watching famous chefs do what they do best --cook, but instead, I decided to listen to two lectures instead, something I have never done at a wellness show.
I was especially moved by a woman speaker who spoke of how her dying patients could often see a beautiful spiritual side during their final moments on earth. She spoke of how we, too, can reach a moment of discovering the beauty of the spiritual world through the avenue of medition.
All too often we live in a hurly burly world, a busy world where we live only to acquire things. Whether it be the latest gadget, or Iphone, there seems to be no limit to what a person can ever want.
And in this youth-obsessed world, our society finds very little time to deal with things that are spiritual. It is, I  believe because business is about making money and very few businesses will endorse spirituality as a product because it doesn't make them much money.
Thank goodness for the Wellness Show. It is a place where a person can learn about living well for the present, as well as preparing and training the mind to deal with things that are unseen and eternal. The spiritual world is indeed a place which more people should consider. In my  next blog, I will write about listening to a healing master.

A New Year and a New, Healthy Beginning

It's great to be back. Writing, that is. After a brief hiatus, I have returned to my writing with a new passion for ideas and action. Here is my  list of a few actions to be taken in the New Year. 
1. To be a kindler and gentler person on the environment. My good friend, Erica is always a big fan of the environment and pointed out to me  the benefits of going organic, even with things as basic as shampoo. I've come to agree with her and although products that are organic, are often a little more expensive than other things, in the long run, the earth and the user will all benefit from its uses. Consider the benefits: no harsh chemicals, no testing on animals, prevention of dangerous illnesses and diseases, which many articles say, can be received by using regular shampoos.
2. Having more empathy towards others. Empathy, I believe, is one of the distinguishing things that we can have as human beings. It is often easier to react with anger towards another person, without thinking about the consequences, or realizing why this person has acted the way they have.  I believe that the goal of the individual in society is to have empathy and to react with concern towards another person. The regular person is society can show empathy in every day life by not reacting with anger towards another person, whether in dealing with a driver who cut you off or a surly or rude waitress. It is easy to judge, but hard to understand what is underneath a person's skin.
3. Taking time to meditate. In our age where technology rules our world with a passion, it is often hard to tear ourselves away from things, such as the television or the Internet. We don't always take the time to breathe the air, to meditate on our good forturne, or to communicate with others. In our madness to buy the latest gadget, we don't always realize that the most important thing we have is something we cannot buy: time. The time we spend with our family is precious and yet how many of us only get to see our families once a year, or even several times a year. Precious is the time we have, and it seems that we are blinded by all the trappings that technology has given us.
4. To work less, and to spend time doing things that are meaningful. Whether it be volunteering for a cause, or finding an activity that is creative and personally satisfying, I believe that every one should have passion in one's life. To me, film-making and writing are personal passions of mine, and I feel life is more satisfying when you are doing something that is creative, and not wholly centered on work. I am always amazed when I see paintings in a local gallery done by our senior members of society.  It is unfortunately too bad that it is only when we retire it seems that some of us find the time to do expressive, fulfilling things. But I believe that  making time to do creative things may involve as simple a task as turning off your Internet or television for an  hour or so.
5. Focus on health. How many of us eat too much fat and too much of everything? I believe that the best way to be aware of the dangers of overeating is to be mindful that it is occurring.
To conclude, I wish everyone a great New YEAR, and a year that is safe, happy, healthy and environmentally friendly.