Thursday, March 27, 2014

Who is Monsanto? Why should we care.

Roundup herbicide
Agent Orange
PCBs
GMO seeds

These may not seem related but they all have something in common:
Monsanto

Monsanto by the numbers:

2011 NET sales $11.8 billion

Top Products:
Roundup and Harness herbicides, corn seeds, soybean seeds, cotton seeds, vegetable seeds, insect-repellent cotton and corn

Global Facilities: 404 facilities in 66 countries across 6 continents
Global Reach: In 2009 Monsanto products were grown on more than 282 million acres worldwide with 40% of the US crops.

U.S. Political Campaign Contributions (2000-2012) $829,662
U.S. Lobbying Expenditures (2000-2012) $62,356,730.00

Monsanto has extensive patents on GE seeds and traits which ensures the companies legal rights to sure farmers for any assumed patent violations. Farmers who buy Monsanto seeds are "Locked into a technology use guide" agreement which stipulates that farmers may not save any seeds for commercial use. The agreement allows Monsanto to investigate farmers fields at any time and has filed lawsuits against American farmers as of 2010 400 farmers and 53 business's were brought to trial. They also have bedfellows in Congress who once worked exclusively for Monsanto. They are deciding the safety measures for our food sources and supplies freedoms to Monsanto against law suits from the known public who have been injured by their products by passing legislation protecting Monsanto. While many European countries have BANNED GMO's America is increasing the use every year. In 2009 93% of soybeans and 80% of corn was grown with GMO seeds.

Please pass this knowledge and your thoughts and outrage to the Congress who need to stand up to this monster company. Our lives and the lives of children and generations to come, not to mention the bee's and the birds and the water is at stake.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Be beautiful Safely/ A starters guide to avoiding toxins

The most frequent question I hear for people wanting to switch out from toxic over  the counter makeup, hair care and skin care is HOW? What ingredients should I begin to look for and avoid?

In this crazy toxic planet of ours Beauty products are some of the most toxic. We apply them to our skin (which breathes) our hair (hairspray being one of the worst!) because it is inhaled into our lungs and imagine how sticky that can be, and shampoos/ conditioners and foundations. Lipstick is chock full of chemicals and you will eat those off by noon. Toothpastes are another direct hit for the body.

So what's a girl to do?

Begin to swap
Look at your current products and if you see these ingredients THROW THEM OUT! They are KNOWN carcinogens and are still allowed in our everyday life. YOU MUST protect yourself and the health of your babies.

FORMALDEHYDE is hidden in preservatives and slowly released.  It is found most often under these names:
DMDM hydantoin
Imidazolidinyl urea
Diazolidnyl urea
Quaternium-15
Bronopl (2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol)
Hydroxymethylgycinate

Parabens
Ethyl, methyl, propyl, butyl parabens
Phyalates
Alpha hydroxyl acids
Sodium laurel sulfate
Resrcinol



Recourses for another way!

WWW.Essanteorganics.com/doctorlynn  is a company that I have partnered with because they are CERTIFIED ORGANIC and TOXICFREE. There are only 6 companies in the world to receive the seal             TOXICFREE.

For your makeup needs I found a line called 100% Pure. Fruits and Botanicals are what make the foundations, creams and colors.

Check out your cosmetics at ewg.org/skindeep

Education is the first step to greater wellness and beauty! Protect yourselves! It's a beautiful beginning!

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Live your life as if you are a miracle


This morning when I opened my eyes I groaned a bit with the first glimpse of the day before me. Outside my bedroom window lay a cloudy, grey, windy, cold, March madness. I lay long under the covers that tucked under my chin, lamenting another day of isolation and pain while I LONGED for spring. You know the sweet, gentle breeze of spring with yellow tulips and the Easter bunny, that  kind of spring. Butterflies flitting in the air while the strains of Mozart floated in across the garden of splendor and grace.  The spring of my imagination. The longing of my soul.
Reality and memory seem to clash in my "New normal" life. These days are not one of gentleness, nor are they what I would call peaceful or beautiful. They are in fact as rugged and raw as my emotions have been. Through the deaths of two family members, two dear friends and the loss of pets and home. In the process of losing those I love I also lost my health. I remember past springs of gardening under the grace of the sheer pleasure in the land around me. The flowers and grasses and tree's that we had so lovingly planted, the walkway to my beloved trolley which housed guests in bathrobes, sipping organic coffee and eating quiche made from the eggs of our happy hens, while Mozart did indeed float across the garden light. Now I look across a wide expanse of weeds and brown prairie with the winds throwing and stirring every single living being around. No garden, just tumbleweeds and rocks. I fell banished from life. Lonely and oddly forsaken.

Those are the thoughts of a mind allowed to run rampant. Without restraint, it will wallow and moan it's gloomy losses and glorify the past.

Then I know that I have been given a golden opportunity to practice what I preach and have preached for over 35 years to anyone who will listen. That joy and sorrow can walk hand in hand. That GOD is a mysterious love, one of divine and deep waters that carry me and if I resist too much, threatens to drown me in the magnitude and force of the rushing waves. Learning to walk on water. Walking on water for me is a mind set. A place of choosing to see the miracle of life around me instead of the obvious pain that is shouting "Look over here! This hurts like hell! When will it ever get better?" Doom, sadness, anger are as obvious as the brown landscape and windy cold. What is harder to sense but still just as real is the miracle of life. MY LIFE. The one that has survived the onslaughts of hell and come out walking and talking. The one that keeps getting beaten as hard as life can beat and rises again with words of glory for a GOD who giveth and a GOD who taketh away. Blessed be the Lord. I am a walking, talking miracle of Gods purpose and Gods grace. No power in hell can take that from me and believe me, they have tried.
So today, in the "reality" of this day I have a choice, to dwell in the cold, windy, barren land or raise my eyes up to the horizon and look for the joy in the midst of the sorrow, look for the tiny sprig of green that is straining to climb from dirt and mud to reach the sun. I can chose to know what a miracle my life is and think on those things. Chose to see what is remaining instead of what is lost. To remember clearly that we are a miracle. A living, breathing miracle. Cells without number. Created with love and just waiting to move onward and upward. Spring or no spring outside we can chose to be the spring inside. To bring warmth and light, joy and song, hope and gratitude.
To thank our maker for the days on earth. To believe in our destiny and our purpose. To dwell in the spirit that carries us and to look outside of our circumstances for that which is in need of us.
To recognize Jesus in every face we meet.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Simply love Organic: Mourning Doves

Simply love Organic: Mourning Doves: As some of you know I have lost both my brother and my Mother in the past year. With those losses also came the forced loss of my beloved ho...

Mourning Doves

As some of you know I have lost both my brother and my Mother in the past year. With those losses also came the forced loss of my beloved home through a pesticide/herbicide poisoning. With that came the collapse of my health. I can no longer be with people who wear perfume or hairspray or cologne. I am covered in rashes and I have been diagnosed with Ulcerated colitis. There have also been losses of friends. In death and indifference. All in all it has been a refining year, one that showed me clearly my weaknesses and fears. I have come close to the edge of myself, that place of "Where the wild things are." I have felt as wild as the wind on the desolate prairie where I now live...in an RV...without tree's. My emotions have become supersized. My faith has swayed and dropped and fallen into a crack. I have set my gaze to return to that faith time and time again. Without much change in..well anything but that is the very definition of faith I guess. The substance of things hoped for, not seen. Seeing something doesn't take faith, peering through tear stained and pain wracked eyes does. I also lost to cancer one of my dearest friends Tom and now another, beloved Elizabeth has months to live. I stagger with the load and when well meaning people say "Just give it to Jesus" I don't feel very Christian. It's this place of bewilderment, this wandering in the wilderness both literally and metaphorically that I am writing this. To share the meaning of suffering for me and to encourage you in yours. To feel crazy can be very normal during times of intense stress. To grow numb as Novocaine or understand the meaning of "postal" is also normal I am told. Pain brings anger. It is just the facts. Anger at circumstances we cannot control, anger at indifference or judgment from others who HAVE NO CLUE. It's the journey of loss and pain.
So this morning while fighting wind that threatens to flatten my 92 pounds of pain I was momentarily thankful to see two pair of mourning doves come to the feeders that I have hung up to nourish them. Those doves brought me a moment of grace. God used doves to bring peace in the bible. I am praying those visitors with the gentle voice and the black ring around their necks are bringing me a message of peace. To a dry and weary land. I am choosing to believe it is so. It is all I have this day among the pain, a choice. To keep the faith, and keep on keepin on. You too ok? Let's walk it out together.

The gift of Honey/ A lesson from the Bee

Honey is this amazing, golden, delicious and nutritious nectar that when properly gathered from those precious bee's and properly processed it brings so many healthy options for your life!
First of all honey has so many inflammatory properties that it heals skin conditions like magic! Burns, eczema, cuts are all helped. Acne is another skin issue that honey helps. People used to drive over 100 miles to my organic spa because it helped their skin so much. The spa secret ingredient? Honey! Honey and lavender are beautiful ways to soothe and bathe your aches and troubles away! Honey has been proven to be as effective as the more toxic cough suppressant dextromethorphan found in most over the counter cough medicine.
It works beautifully with lemon to ease a sore throat. Soothe a nervous stomach with ginger and honey. Honey is a beautiful gift to give as a hostess gift. Find local honey for allergies. Drizzle honey over organic cheese for a special dish. The only caution I have for the use of honey is to NOT feed honey to a baby under 2 years of age.
Look for honey that is in the raw state. It will be thicker and crystallized. The honey that is liquid and smooth is filtered and will lose many of the healing properties that make honey so valuable.

Remember those beautiful honey bee's this spring and summer. NEVER use ANY pesticides or herbicides in your garden or on your lawn. Plant some of these beautiful plants to nourish and strengthen those bee's.* Never be afraid of a honey bee. They are mild mannered and gentle. Nourish and protect them and they will continue to give us the gift of Honey for years to come.
* plants
Lavender
Mint
Bee Balm
Borage
Thyme


Also know that Honey from China has been found to be contaminated with antibiotics and heavy metals and 75% of honey sold in major supermarkets (Walmart, Target) is missing healthy elements of the honey and is untraceable as to the source. It is better to buy honey from local farmers markets, the bee keepers themselves.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Gardens and grace

I love a garden, any garden. Gardens bring me hope that any problem can be faced. They push through hard soil, freezing barren winters and light up the spring with their little hopeful shoots of glee straining for the light and the warmth. They inspire me, those shoots, they challenge me to care about them, to want to nurture them. In nurturing them, they nurture me. It's this amazing dance of life. When that little shoot becomes a plant and then a flower that has overcome so much to bring it's glory to the garden, to nourish the bees and the birds and the visual nourishment of color and light I am in awe of it's beauty. I will bury my face in it's petals and breath deeply of it's fragrance and marvel at the grace by which GOD grows his garden.