I had an interesting experience last weekend. I was in my bathroom brushing my teeth and I noticed a single medium sized ant walking up the wall beside my mirror. When I stopped to look at it, it stopped walking and looked at me. I was thinking to myself ‘where did this ant come from? where is it going and are there more ants to follow?’  The ant had stopped and lifted one of its legs up- almost like a yoga pose with its antennas quivering. It made me laugh initially but what really struck me about this little interaction that I had with the ant was that it was alone. It almost looked scared and lonely; like it had lost its ant hill.That got me reflecting on this time of year and how important it is to have community around you especially if you are on your own and don’t have a family that is in close proximity to you.

You need to find your own community or even build your own community of like minded souls around you. How do you do that? First of all start with your immediate neighborhood- get to know your neighbors- say hello to them when you go out to start your car if they happen to be outside. Find out about them- what do they enjoy doing with their weekend- do they have a significant other or do they have kids? Start to care about your neighbors by building a relationship with them. I am grateful because my sister invited me over to her annual neighborhood potluck block party. It is a potluck dinner so everyone including myself brought a dish of our choice to share with everyone. What a great way to get to know your neighbors! At the end of the night, I concluded that my sister lives in a warm and welcoming environment of people. We all have interesting people around us- we just have to find out about them and this is a way to open our hearts to others and receive love coming back from them. This honors the spiritual law of brotherhood.

I walk every weekend with one of my neighbor friends. We head out the door at 9 am for a walk. We both get our exercise and we both get a social interaction. One of my other friends in the neighborhood has a potluck brunch that she hosts probably four to six times a year. Another friend hosts A Course in Miracles night from time to time. There is something you can always bring to the table so to speak to build community. I invited an older woman that I see at the bus stop to a Christmas concert that my local church was hosting last weekend. She loved it. I asked her last year as well because I had found out that her husband died and she was missing him.

Another person that I ride the bus with occasionally mentioned a singles group that he attends that meets on Thursday nights and he invited me to come to the group about a month ago. I have been going regularly to this group and I appreciate it. Last week we put together Christmas hampers and delivered them for people that were alone and were in need. It felt great to be in the company of like minded souls. There are plenty of other ideas that I am sure you can come up with to build community. Host a book club or a prayer group, arrange to go snowshoeing with a group of people- open your hearts and minds and seek to build love in your community. Until next time, have a happy holiday with all the people that you love…XO

I was all ears for the Autoimmune Summit that was put on by Dr. Amy Myers, MD. It was a free week long summit and featured many experts in the autoimmune field. I will share with my blog readers some of the highlights so you can feel like you were listening right along with me! Autoimmune disease begins in the gut so focused healing must look at the gut. Somewhere in your past history you may have had an insult to the gut which compromised the integrity of your gut lining. The insult might be caused by repeated ingestion of foods that can contribute to increased permeability of the intestinal lining (e.g. sugar, dairy, gluten, soy, legumes, nightshade vegetables, legumes, grains). Because there are a lot of foods that you could be reactive to, I recommend food allergy testing along with testing for yeast for starters. Your autoimmune disease could be the result of an infection of some sort that you had or have (c.difficile infection in my past hx), yeast, bacteria or parasites could play a role here also. Whatever the cause was, it has essentially created a situation where your gut is leaky or more permeable than it should be; this means incompletely digested food proteins can be absorbed into your bloodstream across the intestinal lining triggering the immune system to go on high alert for these dangerous invaders. Molecular mimicry can then cause the immune system to react against your own tissues if the amino acid sequence in the food protein is similar to a sequence found in your own tissues. This is one theory as to how autoimmune disease gets started. The first essential step then is to remove the offending insults that you can control in your diet.

Remove any bad bacteria, yeast, parasites from the system through specific targeted eradication of infectious organisms. Replace any nutrient deficiencies that may be detected.You might uncover deficiencies in Vitamin A, Vitamin D, zinc, magnesium, or iron for example. Supplement enzymes as needed or phytogens to improve digestive function. Use aggressive probiotic and prebiotic factors to restore gut function. Repair integrity of intestinal lining using targeted support factors like glutamine and herbs like Vaccinium vitis-idaea. Foods that are supportive to the gut include kim chi, raw sauerkraut, leeks, garlic, Jerusalem artichoke and asparagus. Omega 3 from wild seafood sources and insoluble fiber from veggies contribute to healthy gut bacteria. If you can stomach it, try eating organ meat such as liver which has increased nutrient density and is a source of cobalamin (Vit. B12) as well as Vitamin A and D. These are a few ideas to start you eating in a more targeted way to balance your immune system. Please book into see Dr. Vinge if you want to find out more about treating your autoimmune disease using naturopathic medicine. Please google autoimmune summit if you want to purchase the seminars that were featured on the autoimmune summit.

At this time we are entering into a higher state of consciousness and with this ascension process, there can be ‘growing pains’. Look at any given news channel for the current headlines and you will know that the world is in a major upheaval process. There seems to be much conflict collectively and perhaps conflict on an individual level as well as we are all looking to embrace the light despite the darkness that seems to be out there at this time. The death of Robin Williams was a shock to many. I just found out about the death of someone by suicide that I knew, not someone I was close to, but it made me sad nonetheless that people are feeling at their breaking point and must feel the pressure is too intense for them to stick around.

Some of the symptoms of ascension that you may feel include feeling cold at times or else the opposite extreme feeling hot, feeling intense emotions that seemingly arise out of nowhere (these emotions can be sadness, anger, frustration- they are different for everyone- our hearts are opening and we are washing out emotions that are not in alignment to a higher state of being), feelings like elements of your life do not fit you anymore or you are not clear on your direction and where you are going, feelings of being in a pressure cooker, anxiety, panic attacks, disorientation or dizziness, changes in energy levels including extreme fatigue, lack of motivation, sleep disturbances whether it be insomnia or waking at a specific time in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep, stiffness in back and neck, extreme hunger or loss of appetite, weight loss or weight gain and many others. Certainly medical issues can be the cause of these symptoms and need to be ruled out but I am seeing a lot of these aspects in many people that I see.

We are looking to become our authentic selves. Letting go of old patterns that are not serving us or letting go of old beliefs that we have outgrown can be part of the picture. Releasing old programs that do not fit us anymore that don’t feel right for us. Realizing that separation is an illusion and that we are connected to a higher power or higher force of love even when we forget and go into fear about our lives.  We are releasing old attachments that prevent us from feeling like we are the empowered individuals that we are. We are feeling the death of our ego-ic self and seeing the emergence of our authentic self, one that is connected to the whole. We are experiencing more compassion and more love for those around us-again, part of our heart’s awakening. We need to have compassion for ourselves in this process as it does not always feel good especially if you are sensitive.

Some ways to assist this process or make it more manageable include getting out into nature. Being out in nature connects us to the earth element which is very grounding. Some people feel drawn to the mountains while others may feel more drawn to the water element. Go for a hike in Bragg Creek or spend more time around water whether it be a running stream or a body of water. The important thing is that you are breathing fresh air; being around plants that oxygenate the surrounding environment is vital. Leaving the city vibe behind so you are not exposed to the constant noise of construction, machinery or industry will make you feel like a new person. Do whatever feels grounding to you in terms of music, meditation, and self care. Bathing in epsom salts and baking soda can help release energy that you pick up throughout your day. Carrying pocket stones that are grounding can help as well. The Book of Stones by Robert Simmons & Naisha Ahsian is a good reference to read about the healing properties of stones. And lastly breathe! Focusing on your breath is key to making you feel more connected to yourself. All of these changes are positive and are supporting you being your most authentic, powerful and loving self.