Although a lot of wedding magazines and planning books will tell you that the bride needs to relax a lot on the wedding day, let’s not forget about the groom either.

Ways to relax when you don’t think that you can

The unfortunate part of getting married is that you will be pulled in many different directions on and leading up to the day. Not only will the planning seem to take up your free time, but family member may feel that they need to put in their two cents as well.

The combination can be torture.

But since you’ve gotten to the actual wedding day without major damage, why not have a little fun? For the women, have a little champagne at the salon when you get your hair done. Joke with your friends and laugh. This is supposed to be a joyous time. And really, anything that you would need to do at this point will be taken care of by someone else.

You just need to get dressed and to the church.

And for the men, why not spend the morning at the golf course with some of your groomsmen? This is the perfect time for you to kick back before you have to get ready. Since getting ready won’t be nearly as complicated as your soon-to-bride, why not sleep in too?

Other ideas to relax on your wedding day include joking (at non-serious times) a lot and smiling as much as you can. Funny enough, just the act of smiling triggers a reaction in your brain to relax. Seriously.

Passing the buck

A lot of letting you relax on your wedding day does come down to good planning. If you’ve delegated and thought of everything, there’s no need to worry and you can enjoy the moments as they come.

If something should go wrong (and honestly, something will), don’t worry too much about it. Your wedding party and family will want to make sure everything goes smoothly, so if something should happen, enlist one of them to take care of the problem.

This is your wedding day and you want to look happy in your pictures, rather than relieved. Take some time for yourself on the actual day. You can either step out of the room for a moment, or just sit down with a book for a few minutes. Find just five minutes of quiet, and you’re sure to have a relaxing wedding day.

Copyright 2005 strength-training-woman.com

It’s snowing here in Pennsylvania. The snow has covered the ground and the roads are getting slick. The falling snow is a sobering reminder that it is about to get real cold in the northeast! Many people have decided to throw their diets out the window until the New Year. With Thanksgiving past and the more holidays soon to come, it almost seems pointless to try and stay fit.

But it is my job to tell you otherwise. Actually one of the best things you can do for yourself this holiday season is to pay attention to your diet and fitness program. I realize that you may have parties to attend and holiday cookies to bake, but that does not mean you are destined to gain the winter 5- the five pounds of fat most of us will gain this holiday season.

Here are a few helpful hints to keep you on track this winter. The overall secret is to simply keep your eating habits healthy most of the time. We will all have times that we indulge a bit more than we had planned. We will drink a bigger glass of eggnog or we will have an extra slice of fruit cake. All sorts of unplanned overindulgences can happen at holiday parties! It’s almost a given.

The trick is getting over the guilt and getting back to normal. If you ate a bit more, forget about it and resume your normal diet. Skipping the next meal will not help you. It will actually hurt you. Your body does not understand the idea of banking calories or skipping meals for the sake of losing weight. Your body only knows that it must be fed every few hours or else it is not receiving the proper nutrients and glucose necessary for normal functioning. Eating every few hours keeps your blood sugar levels in check. Skipping a meal because you over indulged earlier in the day is not a smart idea.

On the reverse, if you know you are going to your holiday party at work and plan to eat until the cows come home, do not skip meals before hand. This is also considered banking calories and works against your metabolism. Once we set ourself up for failure, we can only fail. As soon as you begin to think about skipping meals so you can eat more later you are thinking about calories and weight, not nutrition and health. You are also mentally preparing yourself to eat a lot and lose control.

It would be more beneficial for you to eat regular meals throughout the day. This will leave you feeling satisfied and you are actually less likely to over eat at the holiday work party. Plan to succeed and not to fail.

Another way to be conscious of your diet through the holidays is to control your alcohol consumption. Yes, we all love our Kahlua and Cream, but drinking just a few of them can ruin anyone’s diet. Be realistic and know that even your beverages contain calories.

Lastly, be your own person. While it is true that many people will indulge in holiday food and drinks, that does not mean you have to follow. Set yourself apart and get started or stick with a great and effective fitness and nutrition program. The yo-yo dieting method is well known and the excuse to overindulge during the holidays only fuels more unhealthy and unrealistic expectations. In the long run, it hurts you more than helps.

Stay the course, stay strong, join a community of like minded people, join your gym’s fitness challenge, work with a personal trainer, meet with a nutritionist or simply search the web for some great ways to stay thin though the holidays. You will be glad you made it through the holidays without feeling guilty and without gaining an extra 5 pounds of fat.

Have you ever had to deal with a jealous husband or wife? Most marriages at some time or another go through a period of mistrust and jealousy when their spouse does something to merit mistrust. Maybe they flirted or maybe they had an affair or it could be that they didn’t do anything at all to warrant distrust.

More often than not when a spouse is jealous of the other without merit it means they do not trust them selves. If they don’t trust them selves they usually are jealous, suspicious, controlling, and insecure. This can be a living nightmare for the spouse who has to take this sort of abuse. But it doesn’t have to be like this.

Ask your self. Why am I jealous? Why do I not trust my spouse? What have they done to merit my suspicions of them? Maybe you have good reason to feel the way you do. But more than likely your misgivings about your spouse have gotten out of hand. We need to be honest with our self about the actions we take in life. The heart of the matter is, we either trust our spouse or we don’t, there is no in between here.

Where does trust come from? Having trust for your spouse is not just a feeling but an action as well. It is through our actions that we show our spouse that we trust in them. It means we feel confident and assured enough to regard them with our trust. Trust is actually a great virtue of character that a person holds.

Everyday and everywhere the issue of trust comes up, not just in marriage. Sometimes we just need to trust people otherwise we might not accomplish our goals in life, or believe with the faith that we are supposed to. There might be times when we will need to regain back trust for someone who has hurt us and this entails that we hold the virtue of trust within our character.

In marriage, unless otherwise merited, trust should already be an established commitment by both spouses. Without trust and faith in marriage there would be so much insecure behavior floating around such as, distrust, doubt, suspicions, lying, jealousy, possessiveness, and control issues that divorce would even start to sound good. Divorce over the issue of jealousy and mistrust?

It is important that couples get to the bottom of why a spouse feels suspicious of the other. I can tell you what I think and you’ll probably shrug it off. But I have to tell you anyway. When we do not know who we are, we have no purpose or connection to the source of who we are, we tend to live upon our own feelings, ideas, beliefs, and such; those things become our purpose, which is to gratify self. We don’t have any real wisdom and understanding as to why our feelings make us feel bad or why we do the things we do.

In a peapod we are connected to self and what our feelings tell us, and disconnected from our source and what our source tells us. But our source is where our life giving spiritual food and water come from. Our source is where we learn to grow out from the selfish person we are and into the loving person we were meant to be.

The inability to trust our spouse stems from the lack of Christ in our life. It is really that simple. We don’t have to be religious fanatics to be the loving people God meant for us to be. What we do need to do though is accept and allow Jesus Christ into our life by whatever means is easiest for us. What’s so hard about that?

Here is how it works. You give Jesus your vices and He will then give you the virtues of His nature. The fruits we bear come from the living spiritual Christ in our life. In other words a person’s moral fiber originates from what he believes, and what he does with those beliefs.

There are many great virtues a man can live by, and there are many bad vices a man can live by. What I’m trying to say is if you mistrust your spouse and often feel possessive and jealous over them it is because of your own insecurities taking over your mind. This doesn’t have to happen.

Where do insecurities come from? They don’t come from God that is for sure and they aren’t a fruit of the spiritual self either. They come from self. If we doubt self, we will ultimately doubt others as well. If I feel bad about who I am, I will often be critical, envious, judgmental and jealous of others. These are the insecurities that we create in our own mind.

It is not fair that we radiate our insecure behavior upon those we love. That is why God has given us a most special gift called the Holy Spirit. This is Christ’s Spirit within us. We have the choice. We can either choose to lean on our own understanding for guidance and behave selfishly, or we can grow out from the vices of self and become one with Jesus Christ. Jesus is the virtues of character that I have been talking about.

[The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the life. I warn you as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness, gentleness ands self control.] Galatians 5:19-22

The question we ought to ask our self then is would I rather doubt my spouse and feel bad about my self and marriage, or trust my spouse and feel good about my spouse, my self and my marriage? We have choices.

~~

Angie Lewis offers spiritual enlightenment tips for couples in marriage, and is the author of new release book JOURNEY ON THE ROADS LESS TRAVELED.

This unique book is about love, life, marriage, addiction, temptation, and understanding the power of spiritual awareness for your marriage.

In her book, Angie reveals her own journey of overcoming addiction and battling with her negative emotions that she allowed to embrace her life and marriage.

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http://www.heavenministries.com/

by Neal Walters. I first wanted to learn some introductory Hebrew for a tourist trip to Israel. The trip got postponed from 1990 to 1996 due to Desert Storm. Via a language catalog (there was no internet then), I discovered the FSI courses. I had used FSI for Brazilian Portuguese, and thus ordered it for Hebrew. At least Portuguese used the same alphabet as English, but Hebrew required learning 22 new characters, and reading at first was very slow. Back then, the FSI course included a large book and about 24 cassette tapes (today, you can find the book in PDF and the tapes are often on MP3 files). The course was designed for instructor-lead classroom use, and was definitely not designed for home-study. To this day, I have never finished that course. I remember being “wowed” by a huge Borders book store on a business trip to Indianapolis. Back then, the stores were all huge, typically two stories, and they had a wide selection of books – meaning a few book on Hebrew. I found a primer or “reader” that taught the Hebrew alphabet in a very step by step fashion, with lots of practice exercises. Attending synagogue and learning some of the Hebrew prayers really accelerated my understanding of Hebrew. The music, along with the weekly repetition, clearly helps with the learning the words and phrases. Each week, I would pick a favorite tune, and go home and break down the words of that particular prayer. I used Menahem Mansoor’s “Biblical Hebrew: Step by Step” to get an introduction to Biblical Hebrew. A few years later, a friend taught Biblical Hebrew to a small group using Jacob Weingreen’s “A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew”. This is a very serious book, which we finished a couple of years later, doing one lesson every week or two. A full exposur to Hebrew requires at least some Modern (“Modernit”) and Biblical (“Tanachit”). Two modern Hebrew books from bookstores includes 3 or 4 cassette tapes: “Hugo Language Course: Hebrew in Three Months” and also Eliezar Tirkel’s “Every Hebrew”. Listening to audio in the car is one of my favorite ways to learn any language; the trick is that the lessons don’t get too complex too fast. A few years ago, I signed-up for two semesters of an online Hebrew course offered by Boston’s Hebrew College. The textbook was “Hebrew From Scratch – Part II” (with 5 CDs available). There was a lot of homework required, and we met with our teacher online each week for practicing conversation. Later, I took classes in Aggadic Literature and Talmud, which introduced Medieval Hebrew and Aramaic. I still feel that I have just scraped the surface of learning the beautiful Hebrew language. By creating courses and teaching classes for others, I have continue to learn more each and every day. Children and adults both learn Hebrew the fast and easy way with the multimedia Hebrew courses created by Neal Walters.

You’ve married the woman of your dreams and the honeymoon is over. You’re confused because your dream has become a nightmare and your social life has vanished. You need a Marriage Makeover.

Friends have followed a post-wedding custom and left you to get to know one another without their interference.

Just when you could have done with their support and friendly advice.

With “that” argument.

The first one in your marriage. There’s no telling when it will happen. And there’s no telling why.

It may be the way you drive. It may be the way you hog the TV remote and constantly channel surf. This is a biggie. Watch out.

But when it does happen you learn the importance of the difference between a marriage based on a feeling only and one based on a choice with long term commitment and feelings. When you exchanged vows you “signed up” for the long haul.

Remember.

The world’s solution to settling such arguments is when the “feelings” between you sour a little you look for the fastest way out.

That never works.

You just take the biggest reason for the problem – you – off into a new relationship. It’s doomed to failure as you run your life on the cruel myth – If doesn’t feel good any more don’t do it.

You need to develop longsuffering and forgiveness to stay in any marriage.

Your Marriage Makeover begins with an Insider Secret. Wives hurl words that wound at their husbands. The key is to understand they often don’t really mean it. You have a special assignment here – should you choose to accept it.

And, yes, that is a two way street. Insults are flowing in both directions.

You’re special assignment is to be transformed by renewing your mind to the point where you can see wounding words as a cry for understanding and acceptance of a long held view. Such as it being wrong for husbands to monopolize the TV remote and surf through all the channels. Without first asking his wife if she minds.

Beginning your Marriage Makeover will bring a freshness to your relationship. And it will encourage you to get started on the next stage.

Copyright 2006 Kenneth Little

Kenneth Little is a writer, teacher, public speaker and the publisher of a re-released classic – in a revealing ebook- that will show you how to get the best of health and wealth out of all your future years. Find more on this at:
http://www.Young-at-Sixty.com

True success will be yours no matter what your age. Amazing “How I Became Young at Sixty” brings renewed strength to your body, hope to your mind and increased prosperity to your lifestyle.
You Can Get your Free ebook “How I Became Young at Sixty” by going to:
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Selection of auspicious dates 看日子
Auspicious dates are required for the chinese wedding, the betrothal and installation of the bridal bed. A chinese monk, a temple official or a fortune teller are able to advice on a suitable date based on the couple’s birth dates and times. Some may also refer to the chinese calendar or almanac for good days. Usually, even numbered months and dates are preferred and the lunar seventh month is avoided as it is the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival.

After the selection of the auspicious dates, wedding details such as types and quantities of betrothal gifts, return gifts, bride’s price 娉金, and number of tables at the wedding banquet provided by the groom’s parents for the bride’s parents’ guest are agreed.

Betrothal 过大礼/纳彩
Up to a month and at least three days before the wedding day, the groom and a friend or a matchmaker will deliver the betrothal gifts on the auspicious date chosen.

Western and chinese wedding cakes, peanut candies, together with two bottles of brandy, at least six tins of canned pork legs and even number of oranges are included in the wedding gift baskets. Two pairs of dragon and phoenix candles 龙凤烛are also included. Also included is gold jewellery from the groom’s parents to the bride such as the cantonese’s dragon and phoenix bangle 龙凤琢 or the teochew’s four items of gold四点金.

Some include the bride’s price with the betrothal gifts whereas some will only present it when the groom fetches the bride.

In the return gifts, the 2 bottles of brandy will be replaced with 2 bottles of orange syrup. An even numbered portion of all the other gifts are returned to the groom’s family together with the 2 phoenix candles. The bride’s side will light the 2 dragon candles and the groom’s side the phoenix candles on the morning of the wedding day.

Some hokkien family will also request for a bunch of bananas and red dates to be included in the return gifts. A red packet for the groom’s parents to buy shoes is required. The bride will also present towels to the parents, grandparents, aunt, uncles and groom’s siblings.

After the betrothal, the chinese wedding invitations are distributed.

Deliver the bride’s dowry 送嫁妆
The bride’s parents may include the bride’s dowry with the return gifts on the day of betrothal or deliver the dowry a few days before the wedding. The chinese dowry typically include

- beddings such as pillows, bolsters, comforter set, blankets, bed sheets, etc., all tied with red ribbons;
- new clothes in a suitcase for the bride (in the past, wardrobes or wooden wedding chests are used.);
- tea set for the wedding tea ceremony;
- baby bathtub, potty, face washbasin, tumblers, toothpaste and toothbrushes, mirror, comb;
- two pairs of red wooden clogs wedding slippers or bedroom slippers;
- sewing basket with even numbered rolls of colourful thread, needles, pincushion, scissors, and sewing wax with auspicious words on it;
- gold jewellery given by bride’s parents.

Install the bridal bed 按床
A good fortune woman will install the bridal bed in the bridal room up to 12 days before the wedding day on an auspicious date. New red or pink bedsheets are used and a plate of dried longans, lotus seeds, red dates, persimmons, sprig of pomegranate leaves together with 2 red packets are placed on the bed. A pair of bedside lamps is lit to symbolize adding sons to the family.

Hair combing ceremony 梳头
Good fortune women will conduct this ceremony for the bride and groom in their respective homes the night before the chinese wedding. After showering with water infused with pomelo or pomegranate leaves, the bride and groom will change into a new set of clothing and shoes. The good fortune women will bless them aloud as they sit in front of an open window with a visible moon or in front of the mirror.

The four blessings are:

一梳梳到尾，(First combing, together all your lives)
二梳百年好合，(Second combing, harmony in your marriage)
三梳子孙满堂，(Third combing, blessed with many children and grandchildren)
四梳白发齐眉。(Fourth combing, blessed with longevity.)

Sweet pink rice ball soup汤圆 will be served after the hair combing ceremony to wish the couple a complete and sweet marriage.

Chinese wedding decorations 大喜装饰
Double joy 双喜stickers will be placed on all wedding items such as the betrothal gifts, dowry, the couple’s toiletries and cosmetics. The bridal room furniture, especially the mirror and cupboards will also be decorated with the double joy or other wedding paper cutouts such as pairs of mandarin ducks, dragon and phoenix, etc. Such red wedding paper cutouts will also be put up on the main door, bridal room door and generally around the house.

A red banner 红彩帘 will be hung across the front doors of the two household to announce the joyous event.

Jina Boo is the editor of http://www.chinese-wedding-guide.com, a website dedicated to preserving chinese wedding customs and culture. The website features:

- significance of chinese wedding custom and traditions,
- the items and persons needed to perform them, and
- suggested timeframe for preparation of chinese wedding.

A guide for drafting your own chinese wedding invitation is also included.

Click on http://www.chinese-wedding-guide.com/ezinearticles to visit the site to learn more about chinese weddings.

Graduation Gowns

Graduation Regalia

Masters Gown

A masters gown has unique features like the deluxe hoods, flutings and self-repairing zippers. The gowns are sold together with the mortarboard and tassel. Most masters gown is made of a black fabric. The gowns normally have black as the main color while other pieces of clothe fitted to it are of varying colors. A masters gown is comprised of three types. The deluxe quality has fine superior velvet fabric, the standard faculty quality gowns that have nicely decorated collars. The student graduation gown is made of souvenir quality. The distinguishing feature of master’s gowns is their unusual sleeve designs extending down and forward.

Graduation Information On The Internet

Graduation information is available all over the internet. You’ll find multiple links which can assist you in your research. Gordon International offers a lot of information which can be useful to anyone ordering graduation regalia but if you’re looking for specific history please see the link provided below.
The Following Site Offers Great Information About Graduation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dress wikipedia provides the searcher with a great information source for any type of search. You can go to their search wiki and place an random search in the engine and you’ll come across a few useful sources & articles.

Grand Mondial offers three new games

If you haven’t caught on to gambling saloon gaming, you’re invited to learn more about it here…

For clarification, a gambling house is an edifice that caters to wagering. Patrons are invited to bet handling the slot-machines or alternative betting pastimes. Betting saloon games commonly include absolutely determined odds included which make sure the company preserves dominion against the gambling buffs.

A large number gaming establishment games can instigate you to get dependent very rapidly. Let’s meditate on the archetypal one-armed-bandit, a coin operated appliance with three discs that rotate when a lever on its flank is manipulated. This contraption in the main recompenses established by a series of images observable on the front of the machine. Deplorably, gaming establishment games present the delusion of influence, effectively conning the betting fan – the addressee is presented with decisions, but in actual fact they will not really match up the player’s long term handicap. That is caused by the the gambling saloongambling house not paying the full wager as expected. This systematic process is recurrently seen at work in popular casino games like straight poker, dice, roulette or blackjack.

Texas hold’em poker is genuinely an incredibly trendy casino pastime. The betting aficionados, studiously guarding their screened hands, make wagers into a principal pot that is given to the winning participant blessed with the best hand. (Of course, the shameless bluff can win too!)

Comparable to blind poker, blackjack is also an incredibly popular casino game. A substantial part of its popularity is based on the mix of chance and cleverness & decision making, not to forget a routine termed Card Counting. The aforementioned is an approach through which gamblers may actually reverse the winning odds of the game in their favor both by betting & strategy decisions correlating with the cards dealt.

Craps is a well-known wagering game using the throw of 2 dice. Gamblers bet on the end result of 1 roll, or on a sequence of cycles on two dice. Contrary to blackjack, there just isn’t any credible bona fide killer system people could profit by to boost the chances.

Roulette is an incredibly popular game of luck — a croupier twirls a roulette wheel that holds precisely thirtyseven (European roulette) or precisely thirtyeight (as in Vegas roulette) uniquely tagged chambers in which the rolling ball will settle, which determines the final winning number as well as the related odds. When our player happens to place chips on any given number which makes it i.e. they’ve got a lucky hand, the set ward will be thirty-five to 1, the original bet itself is returned. Therefore in total the initial stake is multiplied by 36.

Attempt to be very much careful under all circumstances because many of such betting house games may well be definitely addictive. Far too many lives have probably been demolished due to inordinate gambling + albeit it undeniably may be a lot of fun, venture to practise self governance.

Matches Fashion is presently a high ended clothes fashion store with a lot of great achievements. Seventeen years & Matches has seen themselves increase from 1 clothes fashion store to a string of fashion outlets in fabulous and fashionable Notting Hill, wealthy Richmond and alluring Wimbledon along with their incredible site now as well. Each and every single store has an assorted personality and chic style. All this has resulted in Matches Shops which are also as distinct & respected as their purchasing public. The Matches philosophy places huge importance on expression & creative chic style.

Like loads of other expensive designer fashion shops, Matches Fashion Fashion is constantly changing and bringing in new orginal fashion designers. The employees are able experts at seeking out the newest essential items for the particular time of year & consistently focus around the key fashion items from famous fashion creators such as Freda, Christian Louboutin and Chloe along with continued successful fashion designers and new up and coming ones. For Christian Louboutin hot off the catwalk visit Matches Fashion.

Both the fashion stores & the marvellous looking website has had a lot of achievement; the fantastic looking web site is like diving into an exceptional sleek designer fashion monthly magazine, it supplies the website surfers the inspiration they need to take in stylish clothes that could expression seductive and feel good Matches Fashion is always featured in chic desinger fashion mags such as Hello & The Times Magazine.

About 17 years ago, I consulted a Complementary Therapist for the first time. I had decided to take a different route and try out what was for me an unknown and unexplored alternative to the conventional medicine I had always relied on in the past. Why? Because I was pregnant for the first time, suffering chronic morning sickness (of the “all day” variety) and unwilling to risk harming my baby by taking conventional drugs. This experience was to be a revelation for me and my introduction to a totally new way of viewing my own health and wellbeing, as well as that of my child.

Priorities and values

Suddenly, with the prospect of being responsible for someone else’s life, my priorities had changed. No longer did my health come second to my availability to work and earn money. Some would say that my behaviour was a natural reaction to surging hormones – nature taking over and asserting itself. I prefer to see it, with hindsight anyway, as the start of a shift in my priorities and values.

When we choose to prioritise our quality of life above our money earning capacity, magical things can happen with respect to how we treat ourselves. For most who downshift, improving health and wellbeing take a driving seat, often where it has previously been denied or ignored. And for those who are forcibly downshifted through ill health, this change in circumstances can be very challenging indeed. For those who take the route of voluntary simplicity and decide of their own accord to slow down their pace of life and reduce their stress levels, miraculously, it seems, health issues suddenly seem to become less of a problem. How does this happen?

Trading money for time.

The answer is very simple. Downshifting involves deciding to accept a lower level of income in return for more time to spend as we want to spend it. In order to practice preventive medicine and optimise our health and wellbeing, time is exactly what is needed.

Spending more time on ourselves benefits our nutrition. Real food, home cooked, is higher in nutrients, lower in harmful additives and costs less than convenience food in money terms. Growing and preparing food can also be an enjoyable experience for many, rather than just a means to an end. Thus, the process of looking after ourselves in itself becomes a stress-relieving activity.

By reducing our stress levels, we strengthen our immune systems and are therefore less likely to succumb to infection or contract stress-induced chronic conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, depression, chronic fatigue states or diabetes.

When we spend more time on self-care, we are more likely to find a form of exercise that suits us and that we find enjoyable.

When we are ill, time gives us the opportunity to explore the options with respect to treating the illness. We can choose to take a more holistic approach through diet, exercise and rest, alternative or conventional therapy or lifestyle changes.

During the pregnancy that I mentioned above, one thing I came to realise was how incompetent I was as a patient! I was so lacking in self-awareness that I didn’t have the first idea how to answer my homeopath’s questions. Ok, to be fair to me, they did seem to be rather odd questions, like “How do you feel in a thunderstorm?” What on earth did that have to do with how long I could keep a meal down? I got impatient with her and wanted a quick fix, when really what was needed was my cooperation and thoughtfulness. Often I felt like cutting out the middle man and just throwing my carefully prepared platefuls of food straight down the toilet! I was afraid that I would not cope with the situation and that my baby would not survive. My anger soon dissipated when I realised the homeopathy was working and I was starting to benefit from giving myself time to be more self-aware rather than fighting my affliction or denying it existed.

What other aspects of downshifting are beneficial to our health and wellbeing?

Trading an unhealthy environment for a healthier one.

One of the parts of our lives that we attempt to optimise when downshifting is the way in which we earn a living. Hopefully we will take steps to modify our employment to suit our values and minimise stress levels. Looking at our working environment can be part of this. What effect does working in an air conditioned office have on our well-being? What about fluorescent lighting, noise levels, access to sunlight, fresh air and water? Trading an unhealthy environment for a healthier one can benefit our wellbeing by reducing the physicals stresses we have to endure and by bringing us into contact with fewer infections.

Reclaiming the responsibility.

In my experience, many downshifters discover during the process of changing their lifestyle that they feel more able to accept responsibility for their own health and wellbeing. They learn to face up to the challenges of making self-care a priority

One of the advantages of working from home (and home educating) that I’m personally very grateful for is that when I or my sons are ill, there’s no one putting pressure on us to return to work or school. When we need to rest, wrap up warm, take extra fluids or get more fresh air, we can adapt our day to incorporate this and recuperate in our own time.

Ultimately, it’s not up to our physicians, our bosses, our family or anyone else to keep us well. It’s up to us.

© Sally Lever 2005 http://www.sallylever.co.uk

Sally Lever is a Sustainable Living Coach who specializes in supporting those who are downshifting or otherwise moving towards a more sustainable way of life. She offers one-to-one coaching, teleclasses in “How to step off the Treadmill” and a free email newsletter.