Monthly Menu – March/April, 2005

Menu can also be viewed at www.cafeportmoody.com

This Month's Specials:

 

Inspiration Soup

     From the chaos of the Tsunami disaster comes an incredible tale from Jim France of the Pavilion Hotel Group in Bangkok:

     At a resort on Phuket, one of the most popular attractions was the elephant ride. As many as eight people would sit atop one elephant, who would escort the tourists into the surrounding forest, down to the beach, to lunch at a fresh water lagoon, and then back to the hotel. A team of nine elephants was kept chained to in-ground posts, not because they were dangerous, but because it made tourist mothers feel safer when their children fed the huge animals. 

      Twenty minutes before the first wave hit, the elephants became extremely agitated and unruly. Four had just returned from a tour and their handlers had not yet chained them. Suddenly the four helped their five peers tear free from their chains. Then they all climbed a hill and began to bellow; many people followed them up the hill. Then the waves began to crash. After the tsunami subsided, the elephants charged down from the hill and began to pick up children with their trunks. Once the kids were in place, the elephants ran them back up the hill to safety. When all the children were taken care of, they started helping the adults.

      The elephants rescued 42 people. Not until the task was done would they allow their handlers to mount them. Then, with handlers atop, they began moving wreckage.

 

Thoughts on a Half-Shell

Speaking of elephants, I am reminded of a story out of the San Diego Zoo. Quite some time ago, the zoo was preparing for their first captive birth of an elephant. Of course, the excitement was tremendous and the zoo's officials did all they could to ensure a successful birth. However, as soon as the birthing process began, it ceased. Baffled and frantic, the officials called an elephant reserve in Africa to ask for help. The reserve in Africa asked what the other elephants were doing. San Diego replied, "they are moaning and trying to break through the barrier set up to protect the elephant in labour." The reserve told them they were crazy for isolating the mother-to-be and told them to open the barrier, let the other elephants in, sit back and watch. The zoo's officials let the other elephants in and the birthing process began again, this time with comfort and love from the other elephants, which were caressing the mother-to-be with thier trunks. After the exhaustive ordeal, the new mother elephant laid down and rested while the other elephants pampered her and her newborn.

 

What more can be said, except, we can learn alot from animals!


Calendar

 

Sweet Web Pudding

The Spiritual Cinema Circle - Excellant product & service.  Everyone is jumping on the Circle's bandwagon - Deepak Chopra, the producers of "What the Bleep...", etc. , its an AMAZING service!  2 DVD's filled with in-spirational content.  Try one month and see what I mean.

Marianne Williamson - Thanks to Deborah for this link. A 25 minute video of Marianne speaking. Enjoy!! http://marianne.com/book/index.htm

After Dinner Reading

What About Those Pesky Symptoms?
By: Susan M. Brown, D.C.

I’ve had people say to me “I know you don’t want to hear about my symptoms, but.....” Enough people have said it lately that I thought an explanation of my view of symptoms was in order. It’s not that I don’t want to hear about symptoms or that you can’t tell me what they are, I just view them so differently. The current view of health holds that if we have symptoms, we are sick and if we are without symptoms then we are healthy. And so much of modem health care, especially that which is medical in its approach, is geared toward ridding the individual of their symptoms. Some of the sickest people are symptom free. They just don’t feel anything. Their bodies are so impacted with toxins and stress and injury (emotional and physical) that they have shut down. So lack of symptoms does not necessarily prove to be a healthy individual. As the reverse can also be true. A person with symptoms is not necessarily “sick”. Now at first, ridding the system of symptoms seems like a wonderful, noble thing. At least until you start to consider how the body functions. Many of the symptoms people experience are actually signs that the body is healing and stopping those symptoms can inhibit the healing process. For example, a normal fever rise is the body’s first line of defense against infection. Temperature goes up, which increases the body’s activity and signals the immune system to ‘turn on”. When we take something to decrease the temperature it compromises the body’s natural healing response. When we ingest something that the body considers to be toxic, nausea and diarrhea are healthy responses. When a joint is injured the body gives us pain to let us know to be careful, to avoid using it and re-injuring it. It swells to provide a natural splint to the area to protect the injured joint and gets hot as the body increases the circulation to repair and heal the injured tissue. The runny nose we get at the change of seasons is the body sluffing off the old respiratory lining, much like the trees sluff off their leaves and animals sluff off winter coats. Every symptom our body lovingly gives us is a message. The body can only speak to us in two ways, pain or pleasure, discomfort or comfort, ease or dis-ease. The words it speaks to let us know it is working or not working are what we have defined as symptoms. A heart that aches after years of abuse will signal us with chest pains. A stomach will flare up with an ulcer to let us know that we have let life get too stressful, that it is too much to bear. Our pulse will race with the anxiety forcing us to face the fears that have built up in our bodies. When symptoms occur, when our body is trying its best to communicate with us, do we listen to what it is trying to say? Or do we just try to shut it up, quite down or stop the symptoms. Do we ignore the body’s only voice and try to “shut it up” like putting our hand over the mouth of a screaming child. If our intention is just to stop the symptoms, then we miss the gift. It’s not that I don’t want to hear about the symptoms, it’s that my intention is not to treat them or silence them, it is to acknowledge them with something far greater than talking about them. My purpose and intent is to turn on the power of the body so that it can heal, and can integrate the experiences of life. Sometimes when the body is in flow with life it has no symptoms and sometimes it does. Sometimes we feel great, sometimes we feel the process of healing happening and sometimes we feel our body telling us that a change is definitely in order. Life is a process not an event and so is healing. When your body is speaking, listen to what it is saying, acknowledge it and answer it. Educate yourself as to the processes of the body so that you can help it to heal and understand the messages it is giving you. I think the body’s wisdom will amaze you and if you both listen and respond, the conversations you have will surely enlighten you.

 

News & Views

Big News - I have found an amazing person to help me out when times are busy at the Cafe. Some of you have already met her and some will be meeting her soon. So, without further delay... Please welcome Satu to the Cafe of Life and the community associated with it.

Satu Springer : Over the past 6 years or so Satu has been on a quest for health, truth, a deeper connection to the Divine and her life’s purpose. With the help of many healing and personal growth modalities, and 5 years training in Shamanic healing traditions Satu decided a year ago to leave her 15 year career in administration, to start walking her life’s true path.

Now Satu is taking her Masters in Transpersonal Psychology through the Practitioner’s Training Program at Clearmind International Institute in Langley . This program is guided by the principles of A Course in Miracles and incorporates the methodology of Family Systems Theory, Gestalt and NLP so that the student not only develops a thorough understanding of the complexity and intrigue of human dynamics, but comes face to face with his/her own dynamics. It is both experiential and instructional in nature emphasizing personal integration of the material for the purpose of acquiring a higher perspective and expanding the authentic self. Thus it is not only an academic adventure but an adventure of Mind, Body and Soul as well.

It is Satu’s goal, once she is finished the program, to start a private counseling practice, as well as to develop some workshops combining her Shamanic training and the transpersonal counseling approach to promote healing in families and the community as a whole.

Of Finnish decent, originally from Thunder Bay , Ontario , Satu lives in beautiful Port Moody, with her husband Ron. She enjoys hiking, camping, kayaking, gardening and entertaining, and is now truly blessed to be helping Dr. Kevin and all of you at the Café of Life.

Questions at the Café

 

Why doesn't Kevin tell me exactly when to come back and get adjusted again?

Answer will be given next month!

 

Any Questions, Comments or to subscribe yourself or a friend, please email:  kevin@cafeportmoody.com