We are posting this page so the residents can communicate with the advertisers in the Lotus Guide Magazine. There are many who are offering help for free or donations. If you need help please feel free to leave all your contact information and we will make sure it gets posted and someone will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

Until the word gets out to our advertisers, you can also find any of our advertisers in the Business Directory.

You can also visit our Online Calendar of Events for many community gatherings and support groups that are free or a donation. Calendar for Grass Valley/Nevada City or Chico/Paradise

Lotus Guide Advertisers: If you can help in any way, please leave your contact information here by filling out the Comment form below.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the wildfires happening right now in our backyard, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to the Local American Red Cross serving our region ( http://threerivers.redcross.org/) (Chico location: 1398 Ridgewood Drive,530-891-0885)

• The best local TV News Channel I’ve found is Channel 24 KNVN (Channel 4 on Comcast)

• Action News Video on the fire July 10th

• And if you’re listening to the radio, of course it’s KZFR Channel 90.1 FM

• The Chico ER has an excellent website to find out information also.

Important Links for Information:

Butte County Air Quality Management District

California Smoke Impact

Google Map showing evacuated areas, shelters, burn area, etc.

By Mary Katherine Woltman

See My Ad

When it comes to the esthetic industry and its anti-aging strategies, there are many choices. There are surgeries that lift, and lasers and peels that remove wrinkled and discolored layers of skin. All of these are effective, yet none is without risk. Each either traumatizes tissue to stimulate the body’s self repair mechanism, which has the potential for scarring, irregular healing that can cause contractures, or changes ones appearance in a way that may not have been anticipated and is not appealing to the client.

There are injections that fill those lines and still the muscles that create them. These too are effective, though it is not uncommon for lines that are filled to lift up one area, only to create another crease above it, as gravity continues its pull on the facial skin. Even Botox can have this ripple effect, necessitating either more Botox placement in adjacent areas, or the use of fillers or other procedures to counter this effect.

Though these procedures have worked for millions, for those who have experienced disappointing results and for those who would like to do something but prefer a procedure more natural to the body, now there is something for you.

One of the newest additions to the cosmetic industry is the non-surgical facelift. It utilizes microcurrent, which is known to have a healing effect, in contrast to other procedures that must first cause trauma to induce healing. Microcurrent stimulates circulation, which encourages collagen and elastin formation, and stimulates muscle tone to firm and lift. It is non-invasive, requires no down time, and produces immediate results, which increase with subsequent treatments and that can be maintained with a minimal maintenance program.

To better understand how this works, we look at one aspect of the aging process.

As we age our body loses some of its natural electrical energy, like a battery being drained. On a cellular level, this leads to the breakdown of collagen and elastin in our skin, which results in sagging, uneven skin texture, and wrinkles. Additionally, the facial muscles become overly contracted with years of facial expression, locking in creases. The non-surgical facelift utilizes microcurrent of near identical magnitude as the electrical current the human body produces on its own. Its application causes the body to become recharged back to its more youthful electrical state. With each treatment, the tissue stores more charge, and the tissue is able to hold the charge for longer periods of time. Muscle memory then kicks in, holding the charge and maintaining the results for up to 6 months. At the cellular level, there is increased metabolism resulting in increased protein synthesis, detoxification, and formation of collagen and elastin. At the visible level, there is improved firmness, reduced appearance of wrinkles when muscles are relaxed, and an overall lift. The face can look up to 10 -15 years younger.

HOW DOES IT HEAL?

For years prior, microcurrent had been known to advance tissue healing. First discovered in the 1830’s, it was proven that electrical current in the body was disrupted by wounds. Nearly 100 years later, the Japanese would rely upon this discovery to use microcurrent on soldiers during WWII to mend non-healing bone fractures. The technology became mainstream in orthopedics in the 1960’s. Now, after more than a decade of research and development by a team comprised of several physicians and a NASA engineer, the Beautiful Image Face and Body Sculpting machine has arrived.

WHO SHOULD DO IT

Men and women can begin treatments in their 30’s, when signs of aging begin, up to just about any age, as it improves appearance at most any age.

HOW SOON WILL I SEE RESULTS

Most people see results after just one treatment. Doing a series is recommended to achieve optimal results.

HOW MANY TREATMENTS WILL I NEED

Most people notice a change with just one treatment. The results will last from 24-72 hours. After 3-4 treatments, the results last about a week. By 8-10 treatments, muscle memory will hold for up to six months, though depending on age and skin damage, it may take up to 15 treatments for optimal results. It is recommended that booster treatments be done every 4-6 weeks to maintain results. Otherwise, the series would have to be repeated at the end of the 6-month period.

HOW LONG WILL THE RESULTS LAST

Results will last about 6 months. After that, muscle memory begins to fade and a new treatment series must be repeated. Doing booster treatments every 4-6 weeks will maintain results.

HOW LONG DOES A TREATMENT TAKE

Each treatment takes approximately an hour and 15 minutes.

IS THERE ANY PAIN OR SIDE EFFECTS DURING OR AFTER TREATMENT

None. Not only is the treatment painless, most people find it relaxing and euphoric, feeling refreshed afterwards. As it works by the current’s healing effect as opposed to many other treatment modalities that cause trauma to trigger healing, there is no inflammation, no redness, no swelling. The skin reveals the effect of increased circulation with a healthy glow.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS

As with any procedure, it is not recommended during pregnancy, and because it uses current, it is contraindicated in people with heart conduction problems, with pacemakers or who have a history of seizures.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST

Individual treatments are $120 per session. Package pricing reduces per treatment cost and is available in 5, 10, and 15-treatment packages. The bigger the package, the better the price.

Shifting Toward Wholeness

By Jim Self

We are in the midst a grand awakening, a shift. The duality of black and white, us and them, good and bad, male and female is changing. The dividing lines are becoming less distinct. We are moving from separation and extremes to a way of life that allows for many greater possibilities, connected community, and well-being. We are remembering how to live in our fifth-dimensional consciousness while we walk in this third-dimensional world.

You stand here right now for a specific reason. You are contributing to this expanding shift of consciousness. You have a task to accomplish that adds to All That Is. You are a significant player in this unfolding game and now is the time to step up and be the leader you came here to be. First, however, you must clear away false beliefs that keep you from your task. Many of these beliefs came from well-intentioned grown-ups along your way. These truths never aligned with who you are and have kept you stuck in the 3D game of limitation and fear.

Freeing yourself of limitations and returning passion to your task can be as simple as building awareness. Simply becoming aware of the situation you are in is 96 percent of making any change. Have a present-time curiosity about your habits and thoughts without doing anything about them. The next 3 percent of making that change is to laugh at what you just discovered. No self-judgment, just amusement. The final 1 percent toward succeeding is to do something different … something very easy. That 1 percent might be a smile, complimenting a stranger, or otherwise contributing to the well-being of another. Allow this new possibility to become the next step on your path.

As you build awareness, laugh at yourself and make slight movements toward new habits; the inner dualities and extremes will fall away. From this new perspective you will make new, clear, intentional choices to anchor the greater, wiser, higher part of yourself into your daily life. You can merge with the soul and operate from a place of ease, confidence, and grace.

A shift is occurring—a grand movement toward a life of integrity and well-being. The transition between where we are and where we are going may be bumpy and challenging but also very exciting. Regardless of whether we embrace the changes or resist them, we are moving forward to a way of being that is closer to who we truly are.

Jim Self is an international speaker, mentor, and teacher. His work is a cocreation with Archangels, Ascended Masters, and Teachers of Light. Free classes are to be offered in August and September in the Auburn and Sacramento areas. The weekend seminar “The Shift and Creating the Personal Power Field” will be held in Sacramento September 12-14. Jim is also presenting free teleclasses on “How to Enjoy the Shift.” Visit www.MasteringAlchemy.com

Reggae Rising

Why Sacred Ceremonies at World Music Festivals?

By Bret Lueder

From the shadows of Mt. Shasta to the rocky banks of the Eel River, Native peoples from many tribes have been performing sacred ceremonies at the beginning of several reggae and world music festivals in northern California and elsewhere.

I first witnessed this as Pawnee Seedsman Scott Walking Buffalo led an opening ceremony at the 2003 Renegade Reggae Festival at the Mt. Shasta Board and Ski Park. Along with sharing the general sentiments of peace and love, Walking Buffalo emphasized the need to propagate natural seed banks in opposition to the corporate practice of patenting seeds.

He also explained that because of the Original Migrations (according to Hopi tradition), many Natives recognized the Rasta musicians performing at these events as being of the “same people.” So they decided to join their brethren at the celebration in the spirit of joy, awareness, and thanksgiving. These types of positive messages and good vibes have also been delivered in ceremonial settings at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, the High Sierra World Music Festival, and Earthdance, among others.

The practice possibly got its start back in the mid-’80s with one of the world’s most well-known events, Reggae Rising (formerly known as Reggae on the River).

Since then Native elders from many tribes have participated in the opening ceremonies at this three-day-long concert. From the Yurok, the Hoopa, the Pawnee, the Pomo, among others, elders have come to pray, chant, drum, and dance in honor of the Eel River, the surrounding land and people, and the many who annually journey to this special place in the spirit of celebration and togetherness.

But no elders are more important and revered during Reggae Rising than the Kenneste elder Fred Downey, known as “Coyote”—the Kenneste are known to anthropologists as the Wailaki. “Kenneste” is their word for themselves, said Coyote. “It means ‘human being.’” The Eel River is part of the Kenneste homeland and hence, sacred land. So the elder makes a point to speak to the many attendees who are camping on hallowed ground and simply reminds them that they have certain responsibilities when visiting. Although Coyote recognizes that all human beings are of the same race—a tenet expressed in the Original Migrations metaphor—he does this not because of the Hopi knowledge but because it is the universal way in which to greet guests when they come to your home.

Said Downey in a soft, rusty voice, “As human beings we have certain responsibilities and that includes treating each other in nice ways, being respectful of one another, and we’ll all get along good.” I welcome them because this is my homeland. It’s a beautiful place. The river is a part of our life. We want to keep the river clean because a lot of our relatives like the fish; they come up that river and reproduce. We have [celebratory] ceremony for the salmon. It is a very important time. So if you must have your community-gathering on the river then treat the river with a lot of respect. That’s all we ask and you’re all welcome here.”

From my three visits with Downey, I am only beginning to get a glimpse of the Kenneste worldview: There is God’s law and there is man’s law. The Kenneste, he says, live by God’s law, that being that they always honor the four elements of creation: fire, wind, water, and earth. Downey reasoned that everything after these four elements is man’s law. An easy way to tell the difference, he says, is that man’s laws are complicated and God’s laws are simple.

It was going to take time for me to grasp the way in which Downey and the Kenneste saw reality. Complicating my understanding further was that he was adamant that words were merely a bridge to actually describing the Kenneste experience. I took this to mean that the map (words) is not the territory (experience).

However, he was able to sum up his message for Reggae Rising’s visitors with two words: “It’s love.” He paused to let me think about it and then continued. “Like when a baby gets milk from its mother’s breast, it’s the spiritual food where all humans begin. The love is what holds a community together.”

“So when they first asked me to come to Reggae on the River [now Reggae Rising], I came and gave an opening talk about who we are as a people. … This was a community of people coming together for just a few days. And so there was a lot of young people and our traditional elders tell us that whenever we talk we should be talking with the young people because they’re the ones who will be going on into the future. But what we are instructed to say, regardless of who we are talking to, is always the same: how to be a good human being and help each other by reminding ourselves who we are in simple terms.”

Fred “Coyote” Downey will be in attendance at Reggae Rising this year, as will a stellar array of roots reggae and world music artists. For more information go to www.reggaerising.com, www.covelo.net, or www.bretlueder.com

Interview with Amit Goswami

Dhara, Amit Goswami, and Rahasya

Lotus Guide: In your book The Visionary Window you say consciousness creates life and guides its evolution and in the process it resolves the intelligent design/neo-Darwinism controversy. This would be a controversy well worth resolving; could you explain this a little?

Amit Goswami: Yes. Darwinian evolution is slow and gradual, step by step. Such an evolution can explain micro-evolution but not macro-evolution, when a large number of components change, as in the development of a new organ. For example, how did the eye evolve? The idea behind Darwinism is that organisms adapt, and that nature selects only those genetic changes which are the mutations that serve a good purpose for adaptation. So taken this way, the eye cannot develop gradually because one-thousandth or one-millionth of an eye would be of no value for survival. So generally this question rules out Darwinism as an adequate theory for macro-evolution.

Intelligent design is a good idea in the sense that it makes sense of the idea of purposiveness in biology, which biologists have denied for a very long time. But that denial is based more on the inability of modern biology to explain purposiveness than to disprove it. Anybody who looks at a living organ sees that it’s built for the purpose of performing a function. If we see a kidney, it is impossible not to see the purposiveness of removing the garbage from the body to keep the body functioning properly. So in this light, intelligent design looks fairly attractive; however, it is not scientific in the sense that it does not fit into a scientifically verifiable part of a theory. It just concludes that God does it and God does it without evolution, but there’s an enormous body of scientific evidence in favor of evolution.

What I do, with the help of the new science within consciousness, and that quantum physics is allowing us to develop, is to show that the fossil record has a distinct record of very fast epochs where evolution is very quick. I found quantum leaps in evolution, literally. I show that consciousness is not only of the organism; consciousness is also of the species, and even larger elements than the species. And this is why such a creative leap is possible. There is much evidence in favor of this. The measure of it is that biological evolution moves from simplicity to complexity. When you look at evolution from a consciousness point of view you see this very clearly.

LG: This brings to mind conversations I’ve had with Bruce Lipton and Peter Russell on the topic of universal consciousness and the possibility that the universe itself is conscious. Indeed, if you research the underlying pattern of evolution you quickly see that it’s not only about survival; it’s about organisms evolving into higher states of complexity in order to perceive more and, in a sense, become more through forming relationships. What was once a loose collection of cells came together to form multicellular organisms and it seems that the directive of consciousness is to seek higher and higher forms of complexity. So correct me if I’m wrong, but when you say consciousness, are you trying to define it or put it in a box or call it God, or anything specific?

AG: This is an important question. I do, but it requires more explanation. I do, because consciousness is the ground of all being; everything is consciousness. Beyond that, definition is impossible because any way we may attempt to define it would limit consciousness. Also, in quantum physics, I find that consciousness has a causal power of choice. The problem with quantum measurement is finding how these quantum possibilities actually become actual events of experience when an observer is witnessing them. This has not been explained and quantum physics will always give you possibilities, never an actual event. So this was solved in my book, The Self-Aware Universe, by suggesting that it is consciousness that chooses, and this consciousness is not a dual consciousness because that would also have a paradox of how a nonmaterial consciousness interacts with material. But that’s where I made the breakthrough by suggesting that consciousness is the ground of being, or that being is consciousness, or that consciousness is choosing among all possibilities and it does not involve any dualistic interaction involving signals. Interaction is nonlocal, in other words. It’s just choosing from its own possibilities, without any signal or energy involvement.

LG: That’s a lot to process but it does explain, to some extent, why there seems to be a consciousness involved in the evolution theory. It seems to me that both sides of this argument are so rigid that they are failing to see that each side has a point that complements the other. I can see where this would be a good place to start finding a solution to this debate.

AG: Precisely, because with this solution, the idea of consciousness as a causal power comes in and we can call this quantum consciousness, or traditionally, this is what is called God. In other words, God is the causal power of consciousness as the ground of all being. So we can say that God is the causal power exerted in the creative experiences that we have. However, that causal power is usually very limited; we’ve become conditioned and that conditioning comes from what we call ego.

LG: Yes, and actually that definition works for me, as long as we don’t get into “whose God” is causing what. It’s the limited definitions of what we’re talking about that has needlessly divided us for millennia.

AG: There is no “who.” God is not a person; God is manifestation itself. We think that God is a superhuman person, but God is not a person. He is not a subject. We can never experience God in a subject/object experience. God is what makes a subject/object experience possible. We can never see God or experience God as separate from ourselves. God is a being but there is no division. In the being there is, however, a force, a choice, that brings in the pertinence of subject and object. The subject and object aspect that our consciousness divides into has to be illusory. It’s only an appearance. This idea was taught in Eastern thinking; they called it Maya. Maya is the force that causes the perception of separateness of subject and object.

Amit Goswami will be in Grass Valley on August 15 and 16. See ad on this page.

For more information visit www.dramitgoswami.com

Ken Grossman, the owner of Sierra Nevada Brewery, was one of the state’s first business owners to sign on to the California Climate Action Registry. As a member, Sierra Nevada works with the registry to annually track, report, and certify its greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main drivers of global warming. In 2005, Sierra Nevada installed four 250-kilowatt fuel-cell power units to supply electric power and heat to the brewery’s production processes—it’s one of the largest commercial fuel-cell projects in the United States. Also in 2005, Sierra Nevada installed a carbon dioxide (CO 2) gas–recovery plant to recover, clean, compress, liquefy, and place the gas into its 50-ton CO 2 storage vessel for reuse. Sierra Nevada also installed a $3 million wastewater treatment plant on-site. Additionally, in 2007, the company reduced landfill and liquid discharges by recycling 98 percent of the company’s waste streams: 48 million pounds of spent grains and hops, more than 1 million pounds of yeast, and 1.9 million pounds of glass, cardboard, office paper, and other materials. Ken Grossman also received the governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for preserving precious resources and for Sierra Nevada Brewery’s efforts in making California’s air, land, and water cleaner and safer.

It’s important to realize that government agencies and regulations can do very little by themselves. History has shown that most positive changes come from individuals at the grassroots level; this is why we want to introduce you to what one company and its owner are doing about our environment by playing a leadership role in being more sustainable.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

John Quincy Adams

Lotus Guide: When we listened to you speak here in the Sierra Nevada Big Room at the Kick-Off Conference for Sustainable Business Partnerships, you really caught our attention with the number of systems you have put in place to make your brewery more sustainable, such as fuel cells, heat and CO 2 recovery, recycling (including byproduct recycling), and water conservation. We could see that you were passionate about this—what was it that personally got you interested in this to begin with?

Ken Grossman: I’ve been interested in the world and the outdoors for almost my whole life. I used to spend a lot of time backpacking and hiking, climbing and bike riding and so I was certainly aware of the environment around me. As a manufacturer in industry and as a business owner who uses a lot of resources I thought it was an important part of our mission to figure out and do as good a job as we could to utilize our resources and recycle what we could as far as waste products.

LG: Since most business owners operate primarily on a profit-and-loss basis, how long will it take you to recover your expenditures in becoming more sustainable?

KG: Well, some of the projects have pretty reasonable paybacks. And for us, we’re a private company; we don’t need to focus on the next corporate financials to appease the stockholders, so we take the longer view of the return-on-investment kinds of numbers than so many corporations need to. But the advantages are anywhere from a payback within one year, like recycling or changing lighting. Other projects may be 10 years or more before, in fact we’re looking at an additional solar project that’s closer to a 15-year payback. Not a great return for the investment, but we’ll eventually get there and it’s doing something positive toward controlling our long-term cost.

Our big solar project we have in place has a calculated payback of about six and a half to seven years. And that was based on a more reasonable inflation rate than what we might be facing right now, so those numbers have dropped to five or six years. We put in our CO 2 collection plant a couple of years ago and at this point it doesn’t have a great return on investment but we are capturing carbon dioxide from our fermentation process and we’re getting a purer product to use in our operations because of that. So it’s a double benefit, really, though the payback is probably 10 years for that program.

LG: But at least you do get paid back and this is an important point for most business owners.

KG: Yes. Eventually we’ll get paid back although we have a couple of projects that we’re doing and they have no immediate return but it keeps some waste products out of the landfill.

LG: Right. We used to own a recycling center in San Diego, and that’s when I first got interested in recycling. It’s amazing the money you can save by recycling cans. The energy it takes to make one can is . . .

KG: We’ve tried to find ways to recycle as much as we can, and we’ve got some ways started (?) and it’s hard to find people who want it, but if you can find the right people, you can at least keep it out of the landfill and maybe you’re not getting money for it but you save landfill fees and you haven’t contributed to that.

LG: As a business owner myself I’m curious, as you look around right now, did you ever imagine this when you started?

KG: No. I never imagined it. When I started, almost 30 years ago, I had one employee and we were early in the whole renaissance of the brewing industry. There were about 34 companies left in the brewing business nationwide, and today there are 1,500. We really didn’t envision that that segment was going to grow the way it’s growing. Although we’ve grown to . . . I think we’re the eighth-largest brewery in the U.S. right now; we still produce just a fraction of the beer that’s sold.

LG: What advice or resources do you know of that would help other business owners to realistically start down this path in their own businesses? For instance, are there government grants or organizations that can help offset costs?

KG: There are lots of programs out there, and some of them are state programs and some of them are federal programs. And I think Chico State is working on a way to help businesses find a lot of that information. I’ve been involved with the advisory and environmental literacy program. We’re working with the professors to have students available who can be a resource that can come and do an audit of your business, and help you determine what’s available and what steps to take. Even PG&E has a pretty helpful website and they do offer quite a few programs that help you figure out what’s available for businesses. They also offer seminars, have field reps, and their account representatives, who manage the commercial and industrial customers, are helpful too. You call up and say, “I want to change my lighting; is there a program available?” And they’ll walk you through the steps. But if you go to the PG&E website there are some links to programs that will help offset costs.

LG: Chico State has been an excellent resource for us; we started the Lotus Guide as a college project through the journalism department, and we had a whole class involved in a start-up business.

KG: Yes. They’ve taken a serious leadership role in environmental education and literacy and programs and Paul Zingg has been a real advocate for moving the agenda forward and trying to have Chico and Chico StateChico is cranking up their efforts as well and they’ve signed on to the climate initiative to eliminate greenhouse gases and they’re taking some steps in how to understand what the issues are and how to handle them. be a leader in this area. So my hat’s off to both of them. The city of

Then there’s a federal tax credit which is part of the energy bill that’s 100 percent behind this; there’s also an investment tax credit that gives you a federal tax break on solar and fuel cell and some other technologies. That’s available to offset part of your cost. And then there are state programs that are similar that pay so much for power that you generate by solar. They’ve changed that program over the years but it’s still available and we’ve taken advantage of some of those.

LG: We meet a lot of people from Nevada City to Chico and Mount Shasta and so many say the same thing when we ask them what brought them to this area, and most of them say the same thing: “I just felt drawn to this area.” When did you move here and what originally brought you here?

KG: I moved here in 1972. I had graduated high school in Southern California and didn’t want to live in the big city any more. I had a couple of buddies who went to Chico State, so I traveled up here and got a job at a bicycle shop and worked for a while and then ended up coming to go to college, Butte College and Chico State.

LG: When people found out we were going to interview you, one of the main questions on their minds was, “Where do you get your water and how is it treated?”

KG: We have our own treatment facility on-site here, and we ultraviolet all the water coming in. We carbon filter all the water and depending on where we’re using it we have other filtration and treatments. So depending on where it’s destined in the brewery it’s treated different, but all the water is filtered and it comes from a deep-well system.

LG: Well Ken, thank you for your time and I’m sure this will be an inspiration for a lot of business owners trying to balance their profit and loss with their environmental responsibilities.

Peripheral Neuropathy: The Number One Doctor-Ignored Condition

By James D. Skaug

Too often in our office, we hear our clients say that their doctors have told them, “Sorry, nothing can be done,” for the pain, numbness, and burning associated with their peripheral neuropathy. Or “learn to live with it; it’s only going to get worse. Here, take some Vicodin.”

Unfortunately, too many people believe this. Why are doctors telling their clients that “nothing can be done”—when those of us in the massage, homeopathic, or nutritional fields know and have proven that there are alternatives to living with pain? Like most of us, doctors do not take the time to keep up with advances in every field. And neuropathies are too easily handled with a simple prescription for an addictive drug and a pat on the back while ushering the patient out the door.

But let’s step back a bit: What exactly is peripheral neuropathy—and what can be done for it besides addictive drugs? Simply put, peripheral neuropathy is damage to the long nerves radiating from the spine to the arms and/or legs from poor circulation.

There are many types of neuropathies—with many different causes. However, the bottom line is that nerves have “gone to sleep,” so to speak, because they have been deprived of oxygen … or, in other words, hypoxia (decreased blood flow/poor circulation) has occurred.

Diabetes leads the causes of hypoxia, with its high sugar levels causing the outer sheathing of the nerve cells to degenerate. Lower-back inflammations can also decrease oxygen to the extremities. In addition, many other factors, such as drugs for blood pressure, cholesterol, and arthritis, chemotherapy or toxins and free radicals, or complications from surgeries, food allergies, alcoholism, frostbite, repeated trauma, or simple aging can cause neuropathy. In my case, neuropathy was caused by damage to the L5 disc and piriformis (muscle) entrapment.

So what can be done? Of course, nutrition plays a major role. With all the processed foods we eat daily, it is no wonder that poor nutrition or food allergies could be at the root of a neuropathy. Today, in fact, it is almost impossible to eat as well as one should. This is where holistic treatments can help. But holistic treatment, although helpful in improving the immune system and removing toxins—can rarely address the cause of peripheral neuropathy.

Another alternative, vitamins, such as thiamine (B-1), can be very effective in reversing diabetic neuropathy. However, some vitamins cannot be stored in the body as they’re water soluble. B-6 is also helpful when used with certain neuropathy drugs. Vitamin B-12, B-3, folic acid, and Vitamins K and E have also shown usefulness in reducing pain and numbness. But some vitamins have actually been found to worsen a condition if taken in insufficient amounts. And unfortunately, a vitamin regimen is often “too long-term in continuation” for results. While vitamins help, they still do not come close enough in treating the pain, burning, and numbness of neuropathies.

So, what else can be done? Are there any physical treatments that might work as well or faster than vitamin or a holistic approach? Yes. Nerve rebuilding and muscle toning—a form of electronic massage.

Many have heard of TENS units to control pain, while others have heard of EMS units to help tone muscle. However, there are electronic-massage devices specifically designed for diabetics, which, while similar to the above-mentioned devices, actually “rebuild” the nerves’ synoptic junctions by bringing them closer together. At the same time, they reduce the myelin coatings, which may thicken through neuropathy and block healthy transmission of nerve signals. In addition, a pain-relieving and muscle-building signal is overlaid to relieve pain; it can have longer-lasting effects the more it is used. This signal emulates that of a healthy nerve signal—amplified many times so it can “jump,” so to speak, the widened/thickened synoptic junctions. It travels through the foot, up the leg, across the hips and lower back, and back down the other leg and into the opposite foot 7.83 times per second—before reversing direction. Numbness and pain relief is often felt immediately, and edema (swelling) is visually reduced.

Again, these effects accumulate through use—to reach a point at which pain medications may be reduced or eliminated, walking is easier because of less pain, and most important, falling is less likely as the calf muscles are strengthened through time.

More information on neuropathy and other conditions may be found at www.amassageplace.com

A Woman’s Moon

By Mother Maya

According to Ayurveda, a woman’s magic is irretrievably linked to the moon. The ancients called the dark days of the moon “woman’s moon” and “resting moon,” linking a woman’s physical, emotional, and spiritual state to the lunar wheel. The dark moon provides a cozy climate for a woman’s sadhana of rest, reprieve, and replenishment. Mother Moon takes to recharging her Shakti during this time, when a woman is advised to create a gentle space to conserve her feminine powers and inculcate her creative potential. The sight of the fresh new moon stood for the Mother’s act of resurrection—a metaphor for the woman’s menstrual cycle.

The Vedic culture recognizes that a woman’s blood preserves her Shakti—primordial feminine energies—and that this blood carries the Divine Mother’s potential for bringing new life and rebirth. When Shakti-prana (lunar life force of the womb) is strong, it acts as a magnetic lodestone, drawing the energy of the moon to revitalize the womb. For this reason, the blood ves­sels within a woman’s vulva carry the magnetic energies of the moon. How strongly is a woman affected by the constantly changing rhythm of the moon? The rhythm of the Shakti-prana also causes a woman to discharge her uterine lining at the appropriate cyclical time during the new-moon phase. As a result, her hormone levels are naturally reset. The process we call menses does not consider the far-reaching magic and miracle of a woman’s blood.

In the past, a woman marked the passing of the months by her monthly cycle, and the number of children to whom she gave birth roughly marked the annual cycles. Native cultures guided their daily affairs by the appearance of the moon. Individuals, families, and communities marked their calendars by the crescent moon and then again by the full moon. The visibly changing shape of the luminary in the night sky may count every moment of life. The moon itself was their sole calendar, and each culture named its nocturnal turn with names that sustained memory of their sacred relation to Mother Earth.

The time of the menstrual cycle is a very sacred and yet vulnerable period for a woman. Women who are menstruating are required to go at a slower pace and to allow the body to cleanse itself; you are also advised to pare your activities to the bare essentials so that body, mind, and spirit may experience the least degree of intrusion. Ayurveda recommends a mini­mum of bodily cleansing at this time. Quick, cool showers or wiping down of the body will do. Refrain from sexual activities and from all cooking activities. The latter mea­sure is to prevent the energies from the powerful menstrual blood to pervade the foods. Maintain a light, wholesome diet of salads, fresh juices, and light grains (basmati rice, millet, couscous, ama­ranth), pasta, tofu, leafy greens, and fresh fruits. Herbal teas such as raspberry, organic rose-flower peppermint, ginger, lemon balm, hops, and chamomile are also revitalizing during this time.

Mother Maya is an extraordinary spiritual teacher who has transformed thousands of lives with her healing presence during the past 30 years. Mother is also the spiritual head of Wise Earth School of Ayurveda—the first school for Ayurveda in the United States. Mother (Maya Tiwari) is the best-selling author of Ayurveda: A Life of Balance; Ayurveda: Secrets of Healing; the Nautilus-nominated The Path of Practice; Women’s Power to Heal through Inner Medicine; and her newest book, Abundance: From Feast to Fast.

Mother Maya will be providing an inspirational talk 7-8:30pm September 1 at the Spiritual Enrichment Center in Chico. A book signing will be held at 7pm September 2 at the Chico Barnes and Noble. Contact Blanca Colón-Simon for details at blancuz@pacbell.net or 530-893-4792. Mother will also be holding additional book signings, along with speaking and providing Darshana, at other venues in Northern California during August and September. For up-to-date information and locations please visit www.wisearth.org or www.motherommedia.com

2012: A Positive Choice

By Wisdom Teacher Sri Ram Kaa and Kira Raa

As our world rapidly escalates toward greater reconnection, each core essence (soul) is feeling the energetic shift that is happening globally. Many energies are coming into play now, and fear is only one of those energies, yet it is claiming a powerful front position. Many beings are now moving into greater intensity in all aspects of their life expressions, and many are aligned with their core essences for the first time. This is a great celebration that offers greater depth and understanding of the presence of fear!

Connecting with your core essence offers you the ability to feel things that you have not ever felt before. Arriving at your core essence brings forth the gift of being fully present to touch feelings, emotions, expressions, and spiritual connections you may have not ever touched before. Once you have arrived, learning how to navigate these core feelings will be influenced by your reactionary system, which is habitual.

As you begin to navigate these energies you must first release the habit of the habit of the pain of the pain. This pattern of navigating our world affects all beings on this planet and many will also notice shifts in their pets or other animals. (They are included too.)

Begin the process of loving shift by first asking yourself “What do I value most?” Pay careful attention to what comes up as your first response. You may be shocked. We encourage you to write your response on a piece of paper and keep writing until you find your core resonate truth. Bring this resonate truth to the top of your mind, and everything will become effortless. From there you can navigate the present energies with ease and abundant joy … even fear!

Remember you cannot navigate these energies for others. You must each navigate your own way. As you navigate your own way clearly, you will attract to yourself others who are navigating the same waters, thereby making the journey ever more pleasant. It is not difficult; it simply requires presence.

How and where is your future to go?

The real question is: Where do you want it to go?

Give yourself the gift of getting very clear. Wake up to your sacred mission and know peace. What would you need to shift in your current consciousness to integrate this powerful message? How would your life change if you truly embraced positive cocreative energies now available on the planet?

A simple exercise to begin regularly embracing positive energy is to call forth your core essence each morning by simply declaring, “Thank you,” upon arising. It takes practice to consistently embrace positive energy and create a new habit. One way to support the morning “thank you” is to recognize that your mind will want to lapse into forgetfulness and to place a Post-it note by your bed with the words “thank you” written on it. By choosing to do this one simple step, you will stay in the flow of positive memory.

Give yourself a gift by sharing time with a like-minded, positively oriented community. Teach your children that the harmony of peace energy is a true gift. Why not offer yourself “full immersion” into the gift of balance by limiting your exposure to all violence? Rather than defend what violence is teaching you, allow yourself to break free of the cycle of addiction to violence at any level.

What if you could allow yourself the freedom to see the gift in everything around you, as it is, right now?

This year we are witnessing a great rise in conscious gatherings and committed individuals who are standing in the space of divine recognition. We are ready to reorient the energy of the planet into a balanced spaciousness.

When we collectively enter the space of conscious gratitude, we effortlessly call forth the divine perfection of the energies of balance. May our hearts know that when you are in that moment, your choice has been declared. For together, we can all be joyously prepared for 2012 and beyond.

2012 visionaries, best-selling authors, and radio personalities Sri Ram Kaa and Kira Raa are premiering 2012 Mastery Training Events July 11-13 in Mountain View, Palo Alto, and San Francisco.

Visit www.SelfAscension.com and click the Appearances tab for details.