Discovery of Self

The key element towards discovery of self is a strong devotion or a desire towards finding our spiritual essence. Ultimately we are willing to forgo all else to have this experience. The misconception, for most people, is that this involves a solitary and impoverish life.

The truth is those who choose to live a solitary and simple life do not see themselves as suffering, but rather living in joy.  However, the alchemist knew that in order to continue their quest for the essence of life they must have gold (money) in order to survive. That is how alchemy came to be known as the transformation of base metals into gold.  In other words we don’t need to give up our earthly possessions to find our true essence. We simply need to use our wealth to make the world a better place.

 

We do not need to live an isolated and impoverish life to find the essence of life. The essence is found in the ability to give and receive with an open heart.

Spiritual Fitness

 

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com

A Recipe for Love - A Leek Song

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does the sound of a person’s voice attract us to them? How do you know someone loves you? Do you like to hear the words “ I love you?” The voice it seems is very important when it comes to mating and love. The tone of a person’s voice has a lot to do with the way we respond to another person. You can see an attractive person and the minute they open their mouth if the tone  of their voice is discordant to us we will find them less attractive.

It appears that a person’s voice can give us clues as to their ability to reproduce. A male with a deep voice is considered more attractive than a male with a high voice. Voice gives us other clues to physical characteristics. When tested, subjects were almost away able to match a voice with a photo of another person. 

A scientific study published in 2008 in the Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior revealed that fluctuation in voice changes during a woman’s cycle with their voice being more enticing during ovulation. The authors speculate that hormones influence our vocal tones. People also found confidant voices more attractive, however, levels of confidence can change over time and the change in confidence seems to change the tone and strength of our vocal chords.

Research has also shown that listeners can detect people’s socioeconomic status, personality, and emotional/mental state from their voice. They can also estimate age, height and weight about as accurately from voice clips as they can from photographs. So it seems when it comes to love the voice has a lot to do with attraction.

The Roman Emperor Nero, nicknamed the “leek eater”, believed that eating leeks improved his singing voice. Both the Romans and the Greeks favored the leek as a curative medicine for sore throats and believed that eating leeks improved one’s oratory ability. But, it is the country of Whales known as the country of song where the leek is a national emblem. The leek is a national flower and a symbol of Welch cuisine. Many recipes feature the leek for its curative powers, as well as, its ability to symbolize the strength and fortitude of the Welch people.

The Welch people were invaded by the Saxons. The battle took place in a leek field. The Welch soldiers adorned their helmets with leeks to identify them as Welch. They won the battle and the leek has ever since been a  significant Welch symbol.

Another tradition in Wales is to carve a wooden spoon with flowers, images and of course leeks as a symbol of love. Song, dance, leeks and carved wooden spoons bring the song of love to the Welch people.

Leeks belong to the same family as onions and garlic and therefore provide the same health benefits, such as, cardiovascular health, easing  arthritic pain and  fighting chronic low level infections. The polyphenols and most notably the kaempferol, among other things works to heal airway inflammation. Sounds like the Romans and the Greeks had it right when it comes to singing a great leek love song!

 
Doctor Lynn
http://www.doctorlynn.com

Yoga Today – Japa Yoga

 

 

 

 

 

 

Japa Yoga is using a mantra to quiet the mind and gain focus. We are not emptying the mind, but giving the mind something to focus on and this focus becomes our mantra. A mantra allows us to transcend thoughts and bring consciousness to a higher level. As you think you become.

Mantra means that which keeps the mind steady and produces the proper effect. Remember Karma Yoga – cause and effect. Life becomes what life does.

The greatest mantra of all is the OM – the first sound of the universe – the universal sound of peace. Words that we repeat to ourselves are very powerful. Repeat something enough times and you will begin to believe it is so. Words have the power to create and to destroy.

 What is it that you need to master in your life? Perhaps you need to remove anger, loneliness, resentment, fear, worry or lack of self-worth.  Perhaps you need to practice patience, gratitude and appreciation.  Here is a mantra to use. The mantra Hari-OM is the vibration of good. It removes all fear and affliction from your consciousness. It makes you courageous and fearless. It takes great courage to encounter your afflictions and remove them. Now close your eyes and begin to repeat or chant the Hari-OM over and over to yourself. Become absorbed in the vibration of the word and not so much the meaning. As you think you become.

Never forget the power of your words. Words can destroy and they can create. What you repeat to yourself is what you become. So practice Japa yoga by repeating to yourself   Hari-OM. It will remove your self-doubt and your fear and bring you peace and serenity. Because: as you think you become.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com

 

A Recipe for Happiness - Sunshine of Your Life

Think of sunshine and you might just think of a delicious freshly ripened and squeezed orange juice to toast to the morning sun. Americans consume about 5 million gallons of orange juice each year. Why? Because we can! We grow more oranges than any other country and because we get it fresh, it taste good. But, why do we drink it in the morning?

Just follow your nose. Orange juice and more specifically the peel is rich in essential oils. The scent has a cognitive effect on us. It invigorates and wakes us up. And since about 90 percent of what we perceive as tasting good comes from our sense of smell the sweet scent of orange has an uplifting effect on our mood.

The very smell of orange juice reminds us of happy moments. It is energizing. That is why it is used in aromatherapy as an uplifting modality. In 2005, the Washington Post wrote an article about a shopping mall using the scent of orange to infuse the common area of the mall. Shoppers reported feeling more energetic and perceived the mall to be cleaner and a more pleasant environment. In recent years, hospitals and other institutions have been using the scent of oranges and other aromatherapy products to produce an uplifting environment.

High in Vitamin C the orange is known for its anti-viral effect. We think flu or cold and we think a glass of orange juice. However, the juice of the orange needs to be squeezed fresh and must contain some of the white pulp because the white pulp is what we call bioflavonoid and vitamin C needs the bioflavonoid so the Vitamin C is absorbed into your body.

Oranges can be peeled and eaten or used in many recipes. The juice is sometimes used as marinate. In ancient times the juice was used for a variety of medicinal purposes. Orange blossom water was used to scent linens and as a perfume.

Oranges are suitable for everyone, but make sure that the intake does not exceed three a day. The best is one orange a day. The orange should not be eaten before a meal or on an empty stomach as the organic acids in the orange can stimulate the secretion of gastric acid which is not good for our stomach. Do not drink milk one hour before or after eating an orange as the protein in milk will be solidified when it meets with the acid and hence negatively influence digestion.

If at all possible, eat the whole orange. That way you’ll be getting the maximum nutritional benefit. Make sure the oranges are organic if eating the peel as oranges are often sprayed with pesticides. And be sure and take a moment and inhale the sweet scent of the orange oil as you cut into the skin.  Happiness starts when you take a moment and smell the oranges.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com

 

 

 

Meditation - Take Five

 

 

 

 

 

Sitting or lying quietly listen to the sounds around you. It is important to take in the sounds of the universe without judgement. Just simply learn to listen with a clear mind. The outside sounds will soon become one with the inside chatter of your mind. By simply listening you will soon be watching all that is inside of you and outside of you mesh.

The conscious act of breathing in and out is a vital part of meditation. Breathing is considered an involuntary action. To live we simply breathe and yet we can learn to control our breathing so that we can adjust both the physical and psychological aspects of our being. We have all been told when about to loose our temper, to take a deep breath and count to ten. A deep breath draws calmness deep into our inner self.

When you first begin to meditate you will notice that your breath seems to run freely. You will become aware of how your breath automatically happens to you without you consciously participating. By focusing on this concept we begin to see the division between what happens to what we can control and us. Like all things in life we can learn to control the nature of each and every breath we take. Focused control is merely a conscious process. By watching the voluntary and involuntary aspects of breathing we experience the flow of energy even when we are not conscious of it and at the same time learn to harness and control energy.

As you begin to focus on your breath you will discover that your breathing gets deeper and deeper. Envision a whirl of white light releasing out from the body and then returning as you breathe in and out. This slow deep rhythmic breathing allows us to enter the deeper states of meditation.

Quietly and calmly experience the sensation of breathing in and releasing out. Don’t hurry or fret about your progress. Simply experience the experience and connect for the moment.

 

Check out the Take Five Meditations download http://www.doctorlynn.com

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Free Will

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ancient Alchemist devoted their lives to finding the Philosopher’s Stone, a substance to be found in nature that was so pure it would reveal the great secrets of the universe. In their quest they discovered that the pure essence was really pure consciousness. It was the ability to make choices that would lead to divinity. The essence of the process of choosing was found in the gift of free will.

Divinity it seems gave humankind the gift of free will. The world and all its energy could be directed simply by exercising free will. We are not controlled and directed by the supreme power, but rather given the opportunity through all of our experiences to choose our own path. The results of these choices determine both the quality of our lives and the level of our connection with the divine or supreme energy of the universe.

Each time a choice of purification is made the body, the mind and the soul is cleansed of its sins and moved closer towards the pure essence of its being. It is much like the karmic exercise of cleansing over and over until one has corrected the karma.

Free will is a tremendous power. It means that we are free to be the directors of our own lives. True we are born into a particular family and take on a particular physical self; however at the spiritual level these too are choices we have made. We made these choices to correct a part of our spiritual selves. By correction we get closer and closer to our eternal self.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com

 

A Recipe for Sex – The Chicken Dance

To heat things up a rooster may dance in a circles around the hen closest to him often lowering his wing in an attempt to trigger a response from the hen and when she responds he will mount her and mate.  And you thought the chicken dance was something kids do on the play ground! The Chicken Dance ( Bird Dance) is actually a Swiss song that originated in the 1950s.

Chicken is probably the most widely eaten protein, crossing just about every culture. Chicken is a low fat protein and as such can actually help you to lose weight. It is filling and nutritious without all the cholesterol of red meat. The best chicken to eat is pastured chicken which mean the chicken is kept in a bottomless cage where they feed on the grass and insects that grow beneath their feet. Free range chicken just means the chicken is kept in a large cage where they are allowed to roam within the cage. Note pastured chicken is free of all hormones, arsenic and provides a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.

When I was in Morocco I ordered a chicken tagine. It was the sweetest and softest chicken I had ever eaten outside of my childhood where we eat chicken from my grandfather’s farm.( In those days the chickens roamed free throughout the pasture.) The next day I was wandering through the medina (market place) when I heard a chicken scream, a thud and silence. Suddenly, I realized that the chicken I ate the night before was pastured and killed fresh.

For those who don’t eat meat (chicken included) for either health or ethical reasons this whole episode might sound quite barbaric. But it is important to remember that each culture and each person has their own perspective on life and death. Being true to yourself, while allowing others to make their choices, (given that those choices do not harm you) is to be respected. Living a yogi life and practicing the yoga of eating simply means to not be wasteful and cruel. More than making a moral judgment about what one eats or doesn’t eat, is to be respectful of life and remember, waste not-want not.

But can chicken make me a hot chick and get my husband to get up and dance and crow like a rooster? Easy to digest, low fat protein, rich in our old friend niacin (the sex tingle vitamin) and a large variety of ways to prepare it with sauces and spices makes chicken a good choice when it comes to the dance of love .

Chicken is an excellent source of tryptophan and a very good source of niacin. Vitamin B-3 comes in two forms niacin and niacinamide. Our bodies make niacinamide from tryptophan which is found in animal meat and especially high in chicken. B3 helps the body to metabolize fat and improves circulation. B3 is also helpful as a supplement for treating anxiety and depression.

So, if we can get low fat, high protein and good circulation from such a sexy and versatile bird we might just want to get up, flap our wings and do the chicken dance and let the crowing begin!

 http://www.doctorlynn.com

What in Your Life Needs Balancing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

When an uncontrolled desire to receive for the self-alone occurs, an energy imbalance happens and the individual cuts self-off from the spiritual source of energy known as creation. In such a case a frenetic chase for satisfactions and pleasures takes place. In the frenetic chase of the so-called good things in life, people forget that these are only the outer trappings of the material world and never lead to true happiness.

Reality is not as clear and simple as we wish it would be. All spiritual disciplines lead to the same path of Truth. The essence and the search for wisdom are simply a choice of methodology.

Creating balance is all about the use of energy. The physical manifestations of the world are simply the creation of thoughts, concepts, and consciousness. Behind the concepts, thoughts and consciousness is the force of all energy. When we become aware of our ability to harness this force, we begin to create a reality that is about health, balance and harmony.  

Lesson - what in your life needs balancing? Hint – it is what is causing you to feel stressed.

 

http://www.doctorlynn.com

 

A Recipe for Health – Not so Mean Mr. Mustard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mustard seeds just like their relatives the crucifers family (broccoli, cabbage) are a powerhouse when it comes to health benefits. Mustard seeds are a very good source of selenium which has been shown to reduce the severity of asthma, decrease some of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and help to prevent cancer. Mustard seeds are also a good source of magnesium which also helps with asthma, lowers blood pressure, restores sleep to women who are experiencing menopausal symptoms, reduces migraine attacks and helps to prevent heart attacks.

Mustard seeds also qualify as a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids as well as a good source of iron, calcium, zinc, manganese, magnesium, protein, niacin and dietary fiber. With all the concern about eating fish mustard seeds can help to supplement your omega 3 –fatty acids.

There are three basic types of mustard seeds; black, white and brown. White which are actually yellow in color are used to make standard yellow mustard. The brown seeds are used to make Dijon mustard. Dijon mustard originated in 1856, when Jean Naigeon of Dijon substituted the acidic "green" juice of not-quite-ripe grapes, for vinegar in the traditional mustard recipe.

Mustard seeds date back to ancient Sanskrit writings and the bible. Varieties have been found in Asia, India and Europe. It is one of the most popular spices traded today. Most mustard is sold as seeds or power and used as a condiment for many dishes. When we think of mustard we think of  the yellow kind that goes on hot dogs. But the seeds and the powder have a variety of uses. Mustard seeds can be roasted and added to dishes or you can rub mustard powder into chicken and fish before cooking.

When I was a child I was given a necklace with a mustard seed pendant. I was told it was for good luck and would keep me safe. A mustard seed worn around the neck was supposed to keep demons away. In Biblical terms the mustard seed means that a small amount of faith can grow into the kingdom of heaven. I am not a religious person but it goes something like this;

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field: which indeed is less than all seeds, but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Biblical parable

Now selenium, tryptophan and omega 3 fatty acids make mustard a very good source for your health, but did you know that mustard can be used as a decongestant, for circulatory problems and as a digestive tonic. Mustard is warming and not only does it taste good, but it helps the digestive system digest foods.

Mustard can be used as a poultice, mixtured and plastered onto the chest to relieve congestion, aches and pains. Use mustard seeds in a  foot bath to relieve achy feet.

I guess Mean Mr. Mustard is not so bad after all!

 

 

http://www.doctorlynn.com

 

The Thousand Stair Climb - Why am I doing this?

First because everyone needs clean air and fresh water to live. Second because when I was recovering from cancer I could not climb even a few stairs for nearly two months. I told myself if I recovered I would never complain about climbing stairs again and gladly climb every chance I got. Third because it's a good cause and lastly because I'm part of a team!

Don't feel you need to donate. If you do - thank you! You can click below to give. Every little bit helps!

  

On April 11th, I’m participating in the Fight for Air Climb Los Angeles event to help raise money for lung disease research and education. As you may know, lung disease has touched my life and I strongly support the mission of the American Lung Association to prevent lung disease and promote lung health.

I would really appreciate your support, please know, any amount of donation helps:

$7 -  on behalf of the 7 million children living with asthma
$18 – to fund more research and increase the current 5 year lung cancer survivor rate of 18%
$22 – in honor of the 22,000 breaths an average human takes every 24 hours
$37 – because women are 37% more likely to have COPD than men and COPD is the third leading cause of death in the US
$50 - almost half of lung cancers in people under 50 occur in women
$80 – so we can prevent young adults to start smoking. Over 80% adult smokers started before age 21
$90 – because we all deserve to breath clean and healthy air, however 90 percent of Californians living in areas with unhealthy air
$110 – because lung cancer is the least research funded cancer and we have to give our 110% to change that

Your donation to the American Lung Association will sustain their commitment to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research.

You can make a donation by clicking here and then clicking on my name.

I would be grateful for your support as I challenge myself not only in participating in the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Climb event, but also by raising money for this very worthwhile cause.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Doctor Lynn

A Recipe for Health, Sex, Happiness and Love

Moroccan Stew

A tagine is a North African stew and also the name of the pot in which the stew is made. To make this dish you will need a tagine. You can buy one on line or at any good quality cooking store. Once you start using it, you will use it over and over again. Make sure you prepare it according to the directions – oil and slow cook. It is so easy to use and easy to clean.

To balance the sweetness of a fruit tagine start with a simple carrot salad

Shredded carrot salad

Whisk together about a tablespoon of Dijon mustard and about   2 tablespoon of olive oil.

 In a  mixing bowl

2 cups of shredded carrots

1 cup of shredded cabbage

Toss in a handful of  dark currants or dark raisins

Toss in a handful of chopped parsley

Add dressing and toss – serve as starter salad or as a side dish.

 

This is my husband’s favorite tagine. It’s made with lamb, fruit and spices.

Lamb tagine with prunes, apricots and honey

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of blanched almonds

1 large red onion finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 medium size carrot cut into bite size pieces

1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger peeled and chopped

A pinch of saffron threads

2 cinnamon sticks

11/2 teaspoons of coriander seed crushed

1 lb of lamb, from the shoulder, leg or shank, trimmed and cubed( I prefer the shank)

15 pitted prunes soaked for one hour and drained

10 dried apricots soaked for one hour and drained

6 strips of un-waxed orange peel

2 tablespoons of dark honey

A little sea salt and ground black pepper

A handful of fresh cilantro leaves finely chopped

Heat the oil in a tangine (can use a heavy based casserole dish),stir in the almonds and cook until tender. Add onion and garlic and sauté until they begin to color. Stir in saffron, ginger, cinnamon sticks and coriander seeds. Toss in the lamb and carrot making sure they get coated with all the spices. Sauté of about 2 minutes

Pour in enough water to just cover the meat and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the tagine with the top and simmer for about 1 hour until the meat is tender. Add the prunes, apricots and orange peel, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Stir in the honey, season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer for another 10 minutes. Make sure there is enough liquid in the pot so that the sauce is syrupy and slightly caramelized but not dry.

Sprinkle in some cilantro leaves and leave the rest to sprinkle over the top of the dish. Serve immediately with a side of couscous or with crusty bread.

Serve with a good red French wine such as Bordeaux. Morocco has a big French influence so a French wine goes well with Moroccan food.

For dessert you might want to make it a light sorbet. Lemon and a French macaroon for sweetness. My favorite macaroons – outside Lauderee’ in Paris where I first had them back in 2001 is Paulette’s. You can go to the website and order them in a variety of flavors.paulettesmacarons.com - They are close to the originals born at Lauderee’.

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