(As printed in Zachor Zot LÝaakov by HaRav Moishe Cohen)
Do you remember a pause in the wedding ceremony between the Groom giving Bride the ring and breaking the glass? It wasn’t just an excellent photo opportunity, the Ketubah (Marriage Agreement) was being read.
If you’re like most folks, you haven’t chatted in Aramaic lately, making the Ketubah reading hard to follow. If you have an English translation the wording sounds very sweet but the meaning seems obscure.
Dear Chayah,
Last time we talked, you were wondering why women, with their incredibly busy lives, should spend “more” time on healing themselves, no matter on what level, unless something is really “wrong”.
We all have a tape running inside our heads. All the information that we need to recall quickly is stored there, all our experiences, all our judgments. It is a really useful tape. You don’t need to sort all you know about color to come up with “blue”, you don’t need to sort all of your memories and knowledge to come up with “Grandma doesn’t like strawberries”.
Eco-Psychology is the art and science of reconnecting with your natural resources for personal growth, problem-solving and more….. As we rush through our lives, we are surrounded by an un-natural and un-supportive environment. We all know it and talk about natural foods, how good it is to have a plant, walk in a park….
Food is a critical life factor. It affects our basic physical health but also our emotions, memories and behavioral patterns. Who doesn’t feel better when they walk into a home with the smell of fresh bread baking? HaRav Yeshaya Horowitz, The Shlah HaKodesh, referred to food as the glue that holds your soul to your body, affecting both. With the advent of increased health consciousness, much of the focus on food has unfortunately become negative – what not to eat, cholesterol, fat, losing weight and more. Developing a negative image of food takes away one of our major comfort and social enhancement possibilities. Self-image and esteem can also suffer if we do not meet the food standards we set for ourselves, leaving us open to develop unhealthful behavioral cycles.
Affirmations are a wonderful way to program our sub-conscious for success, but sometimes we need to take small steps. If you have problems with the ones you are using, here are some “oldie but goodie” useful alternatives.
Sleep is a major requirement of the body for good health. Regeneration of tissues, psychological stability, cognitive function and more, are all impacted by lack of sleep. Certain disorders, such as fibromyalgia, are directly connected to improper sleep patterns.
The American-based National Sleep Foundation conducted a comprehensive survey of American sleep patterns. Their findings are similar for Israel. They found that 60 percent of the adults surveyed reported some sort of sleep problem and that thirty eight percent of all Americans sleep less now than five years ago.
The American Holistic Medical Association says, “Holistic medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses the whole person – body, mind, and spirit”.
The practice of holistic medicine integrates conventional and alternative therapies to prevent and treat disease, and most importantly, to promote optimal health. This condition of holistic health is defined as the unlimited and unimpeded free flow of life force energy through body, mind, and spirit.
Homoeopathy was developed in the early 1800’s by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Disaffected by conventional medicines, cures that were often as lethal as the disease process, Dr. Hahnemann searched for an application of medicine that was capable of “complete and gentle cure”. His researches lead to his development of homoeopathic potentized remedies and the homoeopathic system of medicine, based on several ‘Laws’. Read the rest of this entry »
