Learning to recognise and act on your own intuition

We're all familiar with that little voice inside us that is chattering non stop as we go through this life journey that we call being human.

Every day we find ourselves having to make decisions on countless issues. Some decisions are of great importance while others are fairly trivial and mundane.

How would you like to tap into a higher, more enlightened source of wisdom when you need to make decisions by tapping into your inner wisdom?

Western society has taught us to critically analyse, to put things in columns that read - for or against, positive or negative, or we make decisions based on a sort of cost-benefit analysis. This left hemisphere thinking has served us very well. It has given us the ability to build 747 aircrafts, massive skyscrapers and to communicate on the internet and mobile phones.

As much as it has served us well, we have also paid a price for it. Our minds are simply too busy and many of us are becoming overwhelmed with information, data, choices and decisions to be made.

Often, there is absolutely no need to go into all this analysis. We have an "inner knowing" that we already know the right answer yet we find ourselves unable to trust that inner knowing and then act on it. This "inner knowing" is often referred to as our gut feeling.

I'll share with you some of the many methods to tune into this inner knowing or right hemisphere thinking using the wisdom that is already within you.

We'll start with the inner voice. Listening to this relentless chatter from that little voice can be very confusing, exhausting and frustrating. The reason for this is that the chatter is in fact the ego.

The difference between the chatter of the ego and deep inner knowing is simple. The ego messages are weak, wishy washy, all over the place, inconsistent and confusing.

Real inner guidance or divine guidance is solid, powerful and feels right.

You'll get a strong internal, direct, powerful message or a powerful "voice" saying - meet this person, go to this place, stop seeing this person, read this book, watch this movie, don't sign this contract, buy that house.

The gut feeling is a bit like a computer, you know the information is on the hard disk; it's just not always that instantly available and easy to locate.

Here are some easy, powerful ways to access this "inner knowing" "gut feeling" using the wisdom of your body.

Stand up straight in a relaxed way, preferably facing north with your knees slightly bent. Your body should be able to rock forward or backward very easily.

Ask your body, show me yes? Relax and notice if the body starts to lean forward or backwards. Most people lean forward in response to yes and backwards in response to no.

When you know which lean is your yes and which your no is, then you can ask for guidance about life questions. Should I sign this contract? Would it be in my best interests to date this person? Should I eat this food? Should I apply for this job? The answer is often a crystal clear yes or no. If you find that you don't lean either way and remain standing straight, it means that you don't have enough information and need to gather more.

Another method that can be used anywhere is to do the same exercise envisioning a set of traffic lights. Ask yourself a question or make a statement and notice if you see a red or a green light in your minds eye. Obviously, green means yes and red means no. If you see an amber light, it means that you don't have enough information for your decision.

Everything we have ever learned or experienced is stored in our bodies at the cellular level. Our bodies store profound wisdom that is available to us when we learn how to tap into it.

2011 the Year for your Sustainable Weight Reduction-
Slow & Steady wins the race

The latest advert for Panadol promotes ‘put your body first'.  Finally an advert that talks about looking after number one, if you do not put yourself first then you will not be able to be there for the people you want to be there for.

There is so much hype around about having to lose weight and the obesity epidemic. What do I do! Who should I ask! The internet is awash with supposedly helpful advice "Lose 5 kilos in the first week" "drop 2 dress sizes in a few days".  Just breath slowly, why are there so many crash diets and weight loss fads, because they do not work, sure you may drop 2 dress sizes or lose a few kilos in the first week but the weight returns and often with a few extra kilos. The stress and detriment to your health can be enormous.

If it has taken years to gain weight then it is not going to drop off and more important stay off in just a few weeks.

Sustainable weight reduction is a reality, but only slow reduction means your body and mind have time to readjust and the weight will stay off.

Prioritising and changing only one or two things per week has proven time and time again to be the only healthy, physical, emotional and socially, sustainable way to weight reduction.

It is important that you have people who support you when you are trying to change your life and that is why talking to a Nutritionist who specialises in helping people lose weight for life, not just a few weeks is the first step on your weight reduction journey. A Nutritionist will help you prioritize the changes to suit your health and lifestyle.

 Healthy(ish) VALENTINES DAY DINNER
By Susan Slonim Nutritionist

Scandinavian seafood platter
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

125g kipfler potatoes, washed
½  tbs olive oil
½  tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbs baby salted capers, rinsed, drained
1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced into ribbons
1 tsp white vinegar
Sprinkle  sea salt flakes
¼  tsp caster sugar
250g cooked tiger prawns, peeled, leaving tails intact, deveined
½  tbs finely chopped dill
4 slices smoked salmon
2 slices pumpernickel bread*
Baby butter lettuce leaves, to serve
Good-quality whole-egg mayonnaise, to serve

Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and with cold water. Bring to boil, simmer covered, for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Cut into 1cm-thick slices and place in a bowl. Add the oil, mustard and capers and gently toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine the cucumber, vinegar, salt and sugar in a small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes to develop the flavours.

Combine the prawns and chopped dill in small bowl.

Arrange the potato salad, cucumber salad, prawns, salmon, bread and lettuce on serving plates. Serve immediately with mayonnaise, if desired.

Greek Style Lamb Cutlets
Preparation: 30 minutes Marinate: 2 hours
Cooking: 10 minutes

Chocolate & Nut Pavlova
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

100g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
¼ cup (30g) walnut halves, coarsely chopped
¼ cup (40g) pistachios, coarsely chopped
¼ cup (45g) pine nuts
1/3 cup (100g) caster sugar
2 eggwhites
Double cream
Cocoa powder, to dust

Some Like it HOT...or not...

By Tanya Robinson Homeopath

Ahhh..... Valentines Day.

And does that mean that there is love in the air for you?

Is it the day for declaring your undying love for another?

Or the opportunity for intimacy with your partner?

Does it make you feel excited with the hormonal rush of a teenager, or is there that internal groan that says "if I never had sex again it would be too soon", or "if only I felt like sex"?

For an estimated 40% of women, a loss of libido is something that is experienced at least once during their lives. So invitations of intimacy may leave them feeling luke warm at best, or anxious about their diminishing desire for sex. Not surprisingly, a lack of sex drive in men is very rare.

Many women have no problems with having orgasms, but have no real desire to have sex and are not turned on by the prospect of love-making. Fortunately, for many women this lack of libido is only temporary, and will resolve without any interference.

Low libido is often first experienced during the greatest physical and emotional changes a woman may face - postpartum, perimenopause or menopause. The imbalances in hormones - oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone and lutinising hormone (LH) - are the predominant reason for changes at these times, but there may be other contributing factors.

After childbirth a cooling in desire is common, especially if there has been a birth trauma, but often it is mothers are too exhausted to contemplate sex - bed is for sleeping!

Beyond hormonal changes, other causations can be physical - anaemia, alcoholism, drug abuse (both prescribed and recreational), chronic disease e.g. diabetes, thyroid imbalances, or psychological - depression, stress at home or work, anxiety, unresolved issues from childhood, past sexual abuse or rape, relationship problems, or unsettled living conditions.

Although this is by no means a complete list of reasons, it does highlight that a loss of libido is not a simple problem that can be treated in a simple way, so it makes good sense that to resolve the lack of desire you need to address the causation to produce sustained results, rather than a ‘band aid' to temporarily increase desire.

Recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the world's second largest system of medicine, homeopathy is a method of treatment that supports the body's own healing mechanisms.

When a patient's case is taken, all mental, emotional and physical symptoms, including causations, are considered, and a prescription is given with the intention of stimulating these mechanisms. The important part of selecting the correct remedy is to 'match' the symptom picture of the medicine as closely to the symptoms being presented. Symptom pictures or descriptions of symptoms take into account the condition of the whole person, not just one symptom. Homeopathic medicines are also safe, and free from side effects.

There are many homeopathic medicines that can be used to treat, and they are chosen according to all your particular symptoms, not simply on a loss of libido. As an example, the remedy Sepia, has been used successfully in the recovery of many tired and exhausted mothers to discover they do still have a libido, but may not be so useful for someone whose libido has vanished due to the anxiety suffered with a hypothyroid condition.

In contrast, Western allopathic medicine has relied on testosterone as its primary treatment in stimulating libido even though long term benefits have been rare and psychological causations have not been the major consideration. Testosterone also has the very undesirable side effects of increased facial hair, deepening the voice, acne and clitoris enlargement.

If you have any concerns about your loss of libido or any of the causations mentioned, please feel free to speak to me confidentially and discuss how we can work together in finding a solution.

Tanya Robinson BHSc(Homeoapthy) AROH, AHA is a registered homeopath who believes that having good health impacts on how you relate to those close to you through to how you participate in your community.

Homeopathy -  an effective way to a healthy life.

Consultations claimable with major health funds.

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