Trust

"It is a leader's responsibility to demonstrate what it means to keep your word and earn a reputations for trustworthiness." ~ Hank Paulson, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs

Chakras and Food

On Rejuvinating Lounge, they have posted information about a new book by Dr. Deanna Minich called Chakra Foods for Optimum Health. Some things they have gleaned from the book:



What to feed your root chakra (red):
Recipe suggestions - Nourishing bean soup, winter root vegetable soup, red whirl smoothy, grilled tuna steak with oven roasted red peppers.
Think protein, root vegetables and red – tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, apples, red cabbage and beets.

What to feed your sacral chakra (orange):
Recipe suggestios - Smoked salmon, carrots dipped in fresh almond and cashew nut butter, creative curry soup, grilled salmon with apricot orange sauce.
Think fats and oils (omega’s 3), fish, nuts and orange - sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, salmon and mangos.

What to feed your solar plexus (yellow):
Recipe suggestions - Brown rice pudding, steel cut oats, toasted rye bread and sunny corn salad
Think foods for power and transformation – low GI complex carbohydrate, fibre, whole grains and yellow, tan and golden foods – corn, ginger, banana’s, pineapples, yellow lentils, amaranth, quinoa, whole grain breads and cereals.

What to feed your heart chakra (green/pink):
Recipe suggestions – Hearty split pea soup, pesto pasta with broccoli florets, flax-zucchini muffins of joy.
Think sprouts, raw food, foods rich in chlorophyll and green - asparagus, mixed greens, spinach, kiwi fruit, avocado and green grapes.

What to feed your throat chakra (torquoise/blue):
Recipe suggestions – Vegetarian nori rolls, mango lassi, Asian miso-dulse soup.

Think – Chew food, try new food, mindful eating, sea plants, juices and fruits.

What to feed your third eye (indigo/purple):
Recipe suggestions – Ask your intuition! Of course there are recipes in the book.
Think purple-red foods – eggplant, blueberries, black berries and purple cabbage
Spices to stimulate and protect: cardamon, nutmeg, tumeric, wasabi, corriander


What to feed your crown chakra (lavendar/white):
Fresh air, sunshine, moonlight, prayer and love.
If you have an interest in chakras, this is an interesting look at how they work and how what we eat can balance them with food.

Animal Friendships

Animal friendships are simply wonderful.

Our dog, Cheeky is good friends with a number of different dogs in the neighbourhood. Her very best friend is Conan, a beagle. Cheeky and Conan love to run together. When I take Cheeky out and say we are going to get Conan for a walk she immediately turns toward his house.

The family of a former student of mine has a great dog that adopted a baby crow one summer. Their dog found the crow at the edge of their yard. She wouldn't come in the house, but instead stayed by the baby crow guarding it. She 'took care' of the crow for the entire summer. The family taught the crow how to fly and their dog let her go by the end of the summer.

There are many stories of animal friendships out there. This video tells the story of Tarra and Bella, a dog and an elephant.

Chartres, France

Chartres is about an hour southwest of Paris. The town is probably most famous for its more than 800 year old gothic cathedral. This cathedral was one that many people travelled to on pilgrimages during the Middle Ages.

Embedded in the stone pavement of the cathedral is a labyrinth. The pilgrims would end their journey by walking the labyrinth to the center and then retrace their steps to its outer edges. The Chartres labyrinth was also sometimes walked by pilgrims in place of an actual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. "People believed that if you walked the labyrinth with the full dedication of a pilgrim, you would be transformed, the old you will be grounded at the threshold stone a purified you emerging, ready to tackle new directions in your life's journey."

The Chartres labyrinth, like many cathedral labyrinths, draws upon ancient northern Celtic, middle eastern, and Classical Greek and Roman origins of the Christian faith. "The Medieval builders were careful to incorporate their understanding of sacred architecture into the design and location of the labyrinths, which were usually placed near the entrance at the west end of the nave, beside the baptismal font at the foot of the Church. This location symbolizes our first steps on the spiritual journey."

The current Chartres cathedral may be more than 800 years old, but it replaces five previous cathedrals also built on this site. The previous cathedrals were destroyed by war or fire.

During the French Revolution mobs destroyed parts of the sculptures that adorn building. The townspeople were able to stop complete destruction of the cathedral, one of the few cathedrals that was attacked but not demolished during the Revolution.

I visited Chartres for a brief afternoon a few years ago. While the cathedral is what the town is most famous for, the town itself is beautiful. Many of the other buildings also date back to the Middle Ages.  

Communication

"Listen or your tongue will make you deaf." ~ cited as a Native American Proverb

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey has been around for more than 25 years. I've heard Stephen Covey speak about this book. (What I write is from memory, not direct quotes) He has said that it came about from his research into the leadership and personal development literature of the last one hundred years. He notes in his talks that up until the mid 1950s or 60s, that these books focussed on the development of character. He noted, however, that by the mid 60s these books began focussing more on personality or even manipulation. This literature focussed more on getting people to do what you want, than to influence through personal integrity and intent.


The book is great, but I must admit what I love most is to be in a session learning its materials. If you ever get a chance to attend a workshop, the videos and participant materials are also amazing.

These are the things that I like so much about The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:

1. It requires you to think about who you are and what your purpose is.
2. It asks you to live your purpose and gives you skills to make it a reality.
3. It allows you to learn how to master your personal development so that you can become more effective with others.

We can all walk around with our own list of values and principles that we say guide us. The proof is in our living of them. This often takes courage. It's not that we are still teens who can submit to peer pressure. However, even adults sometimes get stuck in their concerns about what others think about us.


The test of true character is what we do when no one is watching. Are we able to be the same in moments of stress as we are in moments of ease?

This book really helps you discover what areas of personal leadership you need to develop and helps you to learn how to 'walk your talk.'


While each person is different, learns differently and needs different things, this book is one that can really help anyone. Whether people are leaders of large corporations, or just leading their own lives, there is so much that they can learn from this book. In the end, you need to apply it to yourself and you need to decide how these principles work for you.

Chakras

Chakras are energy systems in our body. According to traditional Indian medicine, tghey are the force centres of our bodies. These energy systems keep us balanced and healthy. They whirl in a clock-wise direction. A blocked chakra can inhibit energy from moving through our bodies.

Our bodies have many chakras, but there are 7 that are most well-known and the largest:

The root or base chakra is called the Muladhara and it sits at the base of our spine. It's colour is a deep red. Physically it governs sexuality, mentally it governs stability, emotionally it governs sensuality, and spiritually it governs a sense of security.

The next chakra is the sacral chakra and is called the Svadisthana. This chakra sits below our belly button and is orange. It is connected to family and relationships, emotional needs and pleasure. Physically, it governs reproduction, mentally it governs creativity, emotionally it governs joy, and spiritually it governs enthusiasm.

The third chakra, the solar plexus chakra, sits above our belly button. Sunshine yellow in colour, it is called the Manipura. This chakra is related to the metabolic and digestive systems. Key issues governed by Manipura are personal power, fear, anxiety, opinion-formation, introversion, and transition from simple or base emotions to complex. Physically, it governs digestion, mentally it governs personal power, emotionally it governs expansiveness, and spiritually, all matters of growth.

The fourth chakra sits at the centre of our chest at the level of your heart. This chakra is green, the colour if a new bud on a tree. This chakra is also called the Anahata. The Anahata, or heart chakra governs complex emotions, compassion, tenderness, unconditional love, equilibrium, rejection and well-being. Physically it governs circulation, emotionally it governs unconditional love for the self and others, mentally it governs passion, and spiritually it governs devotion.

The fifth chakra is the throat chakra. The throat chakra is a lighter blue colour. This chakra is also called the Vishuddha. The throat chakra relates to communication and expression. It is also connected to the thyroid. Physically, it governs communication, emotionally it governs independence, mentally it governs fluent thought, and spiritually, it governs a sense of security.

The sixth chakra is the brow chakra. This chakra is often referred to as the third eye and is found at the centre of your forehead. This chakra is generally associated with the colors violet, indigo or deep blue. This chakra is also known as the Ajna. This chakra's key issues involve balancing the higher & lower selves and trusting inner guidance. It relates to intuition, mentally to visual consciousness and emotionally to clarity on an intuitive level.

The seventh chakra is the crown chakra it sits at the top of your head. The crown chakra is also called the Saharara. This chakra is often associated with violet or white. The crown chakra deals with the release of karma, physical action with meditation, mental action with universal consciousness and unity, and emotional action with "beingness".

These chakras move energy through our bodies, balance and ground us. Many people who practice yoga know that there are certain poses that they do to help their chakras balance.



Chakra.com has some good information about chakras.