Last week, you walked with me through the labyrinth at Ontario’s Grail Springs in a video I shot during my healing weekend at the holistic health resort. If you don’t want to know how the labyrinth helps you solve your problems, then read no further. For those of you who would like to understand how the labyrinth works, well, let’s start off with…

Intuition

Wikipedia defines intuition as having “many related meanings, usually connected to the meaning `ability to sense or know immediately without reasoning’, and is often regarded as a divine or prophetic power, including,..” And Wiki lists them. But the one that’s most relative to our discussion is the, “understanding without apparent effort, quick and ready insight seemingly independent of previous experiences or empirical knowledge.”

It’s that gut feeling or hunch we sometimes get. It also comes in the form of “Eureka!” moments or epiphanies. Some people trust it even more than their rational mind and regularly practice methods known to strengthen it as if it were a muscle. Meditation has been known to be mind building exercise for centuries and science is finally catching up.

Meditation & Brainwaves

Tons of studies on Tibetan Buddhist monks prove that meditation activates and builds certain areas of the brain, some of which are responsible for focus and states of happiness and well-being. Some of these studies seem to suggest that consistent meditation can permanently alter a person’s brain chemistry, structure and functioning.

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In Wednesday’s post, I reviewed my healing weekend away at Grail Spring Health Resort up North in Bancroft, Ontario. One of the most intriguing aspects of this facility was the labyrinth. What’s this, you ask? A labyrinth is like an outdoor maze. They started cropping up all over the place in medieval times as a symbolic activity for the spiritual journey that the pilgrims took to the Holy City of Jerusalem.

The walk through the labyrinth is a focused walk, used for reflection and contemplation. As the Grail owner, Madeleine Marentette says in her book, Grail Springs Holistic Detox for Body, Mind & Spirit, “answers, revelation, and inspired thought were expected to come once the journeyers had reached inside their temple located in the Holy City of God.”

The center of the labyrinth symbolizes Jerusalem and the end of the pilgrim’s quest for enlightenment. After resting, Pilgrims would then prepare for the long journey home. Also used for contemplation, their walk home would be used to plan on how they would practically use their discoveries in their lives. Walking back out of the labyrinth is planning the action steps in real life for the inspiration found within the maze-like structure.

For your enjoyment, here is a 3½ minute walk through Grail Springs’ labyrinth (and my debut as a videographer!):

Interestingly, there is some scientific evidence backing the effectiveness of achieving clarity to our problems by walking a labyrinth. How ‘bout I promise that this’ll be a future article?

The Legend of the Holy Grail is an ancient tale dating back to at least the 12^th century. Some say it is based on even older Celtic mythology and nature cult folklore. If you’ve seen the excellent Spielberg and Lucas flick, Indian Jones and The Last Crusade, you’ll remember that the Grail holds mystical powers. According to the legend, it was the cup that Jesus used at the last supper. Anyone who drinks from it is blessed with eternal youth.

So for a holistic health resort featuring natural living and a focus on helping their guests recover their youthful appearance and vigor, Grail Springs Health Resort is aptly named. Even their message at the bottom of their new website (just launched on Sunday, the day I checked out) promises, “where the legend is alive and well…”

A vacation get-away for Hollywood stars (like Jim Carrey), wrestlers (like Trish Stratus), music moguls and top executives, Grail Springs is the perfect place to be pampered. It’s no wonder people travel from all over the world to get its guaranteed R & R. One American guest told me that Grail Springs was by far the best health spa he’s been to out of seven he’s encountered during his globe-trotting. Another guest traveled all the way from London, England to get the tonic served here in Bancroft, Ontario. Read the rest of this entry

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November 29^th marked the one year anniversary of Live Lighter (yay!) and since that time we’ve had a posting schedule of every second day. However, some exhilarating recent events, which I will share with you in just a moment, have led me to revise this schedule.

Starting today, you can look forward to Live Lighter posts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Monday posts will feature specialty holistic health content unique to Live Lighter, designed to help you along with your health journey. Wednesday posts will be industry-related reviews on books, articles, products and places. And finally, Friday posts will include healthy recipes or videos.

Stay tuned to this Wednesday’s post as I review the posh holistic health spa resort in Bancroft, Grail Springs, which my Mother and I had the pleasure to visit this past weekend!

And now for the ecstatic news which I’m just jumping out of my seat to tell you all. For the past month I’ve been helping a group of dedicated individuals create a social media website that will change the world!

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If you’ve been following Live Lighter, we’ve been on an elimination diet adventure. It’s a diet designed to help you find foods that irritate your digestive system because you’re either allergic to or sensitive to them. These foods include gluten, 3 types of nuts, dairy, sugar, nightshade veggies, soy, shellfish and catfish, several fruits, corn, caffeine, alcohol, and certain meats.

That list doesn’t leave much left! Even in my Allergy-Free recipe books, there are recipes that include several items on the “to avoid” list, like tomato or eggplant (both from the nightshade family) or lemon and limes (citrus fruits – not allowed). This makes creating tasty meals quite the challenge, let me tell you!

So I thought I’d share some of my recipes that I’ve found or created since I’ve been on this very restrictive diet. Even if you’re not on an elimination diet, these recipes are very healthy and extremely easy to digest – as long as you don’t wolf them down.

Here are 3 allergy-free recipes to try out:

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For those of you who don’t know, the X-Files and Californication actor David Duchovny recently checked himself in rehab for sexual addiction. In Tuesday’s Metro article, “Tackling `addiction’ ” journalist Josey Vogel isn’t convinced those obsessed with sex are addicts.

Based on my recent research into addiction and my own personal battles , I wholeheartedly disagree.

According to the Health A to Z website, they define addiction as, “a persistent, compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance.” Furthermore, they separate addiction into two categories: substance addiction and process addiction.

Substance addiction includes the abuse of chemical substances like alcohol and drugs, such as nicotine, marijuana and sedatives. Process addiction includes obsessive behaviour like gambling, spending, shopping, eating and sex.

Vogel disagrees that excessive people can be called addicts. She argues that behaviours like sex are a natural way to enjoy a full life. Sh e suggests that sex is, “just one of many appetite-related activities we have to learn to enjoy in a moderate and healthy way.”

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This smoothie is as luxurious as climbing into bed with clean sheets and freshly shaven legs. Ahhh…

Protein smoothies are one of the best ways to pack a lot of nutrients into a tiny meal. They are also one of the best ways to help you lose weight, ease your digestion and super easy to prepare, clean up and perfect for on-the-go.

Try this one on for size:

Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie

Ready in: 5 minutes
Makes 20 oz serving

Ingredients

1½ cup frozen raspberries
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 cup vanilla flavoured soy beverage (adjust to desired thickness)
½ serving Ruth’s hemp protein powder

Preparation

Throw ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Nutritional Information

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“Never Quit.” What a spectacularly bad piece of advice…Never quit wetting your bed? Or that job you had at Burger King in high school? …I think the advice-giver meant to say, `Never quit something with great long-term potential just because you can’t deal with the stress of the moment.’ Now that’s good advice.” Seth Godin, The Dip.

According to Godin, winners who quit are those who make “a conscious decision… based on the choices that are available to you.” It’s called strategic quitting and it’s different than failing. He thinks it’s a smart move to quit something when it becomes obvious to you that the effort exceeds the rewards. I have to agree.

Failing is when you give up on your dream, “when there are no other options, or when you quit so often that you’ve used up all your time and resources… Quitting smart, though, is a great way to avoid failing.” In effect, you’re preserving your resources so you can redirect them into a project that will help you accomplish your dream.

How does `Quitting Smart’ translate into healthy living?

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Many people take healthy living a little too seriously, including myself. We sometimes get too caught up in trying to achieve our goals that we forget about enjoying the present moment. Wise sages maintain that the most important part of living is the journey, not the destination.

Recently I was reminded that a good sense of humour about life and our obstacles can help us relax a bit. So grab a laugh with this 8 ½ minute, very different (and hilarious) Nutrition by Natalie YouTube video titled, “How to Feel Like Crap”:

Earlier this week I came across this fabulous Canadian Living article, “Practical Weight-Loss Strategies,” that I just had to share with you. It’s written by Kelly Anne Erdman, a registered dietician who helps people take control over their lives through healthier living. Right up Live Lighter’s alley!

I won’t bother reiterating the article but please take 10 minutes to review it as I believe it’s all very sound advice. There are a few items on the list that are debatable, though, and thought them worthwhile to discuss.

For instance, #4 on the list suggests accompanying meals with water. As you know, I’m currently on an elimination diet. My Naturopathic Doctor suggested that I avoid consuming water ½ an hour before, during and an hour after eating. According to the ND and other sources, water dilutes the enzymes in the stomach, along with stomach acid, needed to properly digest the food. However, this effect may only affect those with digestive problems.

As for #6, Ms. Erdman lists several low glycemic snacks, such as fruit and vegetables. But as far as I know, the ones she listed are simple and complex carbohydrates, which still have relatively high glycemic indexes. She does not mention combining these carbs with a protein source to further lower the glycemic index and I have to wonder why.

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