Swiss Skincare Is Synonymous with High Quality and Efficacy

Switzerland, situated between France, Germany and Italy, benefits from the influence of all three cultures on its renowned skincare products and routines. The tiny town of Fleurier, in the French-speaking part of Western Switzerland, is famous the world over for its centuries old exacting haute horlogerie** watchmaking companies like Parmigiani, Bovet and Chopard. Fleurier is also home to PHYTO5 skincare’s Suisse Romande* manufacturing facility, Laboratoire Gibro, S. A.

The Fleurier name itself roughly means "Flowering Village," entirely apropos for a factory like Laboratoire Gibro which creates skincare products largely made from the essential oils of flowers. The factory is deliberately located very close to the Swiss Jura mountains*** near Neuchâtel and considering its rich history, it’s no wonder we say that Fleurier is ground zero for "Swiss-Made."

In the clean natural environment of this village and following extremely high European-regulated quality standards and procedures befitting the region and which honor the sanctity of the planet, Gibro, S. A.  has also earned coveted Ecocert and Cosmebio ecological and organic certifications (according to ECOCERT Standard).

PHYTO5 skincare is entirely produced in this uniquely situated factory in the district of Vals-de-Travers where the gorges of Poëta-Raisse, the grottos of Môtiers and the Gorges de l'Areuse are each an expression of the sheer power and purity of spring water endlessly flowing century after century carving narrow passages through the rocks. It is this water that is used in all three lines of PHYTO5 skincare (Five Element, Swiss Line–traditional phytoceutical skincare, Ageless La Cure).

Because the 'aqua' (water) in all PHYTO5 skincare comes directly from the sub-Alpine Swiss Jura mountains, we can say that its vibrational frequency is higher**** than the frequency in cosmetics manufactured near big cities using water that has been insulted from being forced through impersonal, transport piping networks. Before the water is added to a skincare formulation, Laboratoire Gibro additionally runs the water through high tech filters to "extra-purify" the water. Other skincare lines certainly purify their water, too, but because of their water source, it is probably is devoid of vital energy and beneficial vibration. All the purification equipment in a modern skincare lab located in an urban setting will never equate with the energetic purity of Swiss mountain water.

And vital energy and really important to us, because The New York Times recently reported something we at PHYTO5 have known all along: 

“… the cosmetics regulatory system in the U. S. operates in complete contrast to a number of substantial rounds of regulations imposed on cosmetics manufacturers in the European Union (E. U.) in the last 15 years.” 

In addition, the Swiss government plays a proactive ongoing role of factory supervision for Swiss-based manufacturers. This double layer of Swiss and European regulation and supervision provides a substantial level of protection for the American consumer who buys authentic Swiss-made skincare.

Keeping in mind that the skin absorbs much of what we put on it and what comes into its vicinity, and since the U. S. is largely unwilling to ensure that our skincare products are actually and totally safe for our health, it makes complete sense to buy 100% Swiss-made skincare such as PHYTO5 which has been subjected to a double layer of Swiss and European regulation and supervision. 

Beware of companies using the Swiss flag in their branding or catch phrases and titles using the word “Swiss.” In many cases, these products are merely Swiss-inspired or only a small percentage of the product is actually coming from Switzerland. 

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Endnotes:

* French-speaking part of Western Switzerland; as opposed to Suisse Alémanique, the German-speaking part of Central Switzerland

** High art of watchmaking

*** The Jura Mountains are a sub-alpine mountain range located north of the Western Alps, mainly following the course of the France–Switzerland border. The Jura separates the Rhine and Rhône basins, forming part of the watershed of each. The name "Jura" is derived from juria, a Latinized form of the Celtic stem jor- meaning “forest.” The mountain range gives its name to the Jurassic period of the geologic timescale from about 208 million to 146 million years ago. The Swiss Jura is one of the three distinct geographical regions of Switzerland, the others being the Swiss plateau and the Swiss Alps. In Switzerland, the range covers the western border with France.

**** "...We strenuously observed crystals of tap water, river water, and lake water. From the tap water we could not get any beautiful ones [crystals denoting high vibration] from rivers and lakes near big cities ... however from the water from rivers and lakes where water is kept pristine from development, we could observe beautiful crystals with each one having its own uniqueness". --Masaru Emoto,  (1943–2014), Japanese author, researcher, photographer, and entrepreneur who proved human consciousness has an effect on the molecular structure of water.

The Editorial Board. “Cosmetics Safety Needs a Makeover.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Feb. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/02/09/opinion/cosmetics-safety-makeup.html.

Essential Oils: Keys to Health and Well-Being

Using essential oils is a natural way to simultaneously support our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. They very elegantly support our total health and well-being.

An essential oil is a natural oil typically obtained by distillation and having the characteristic fragrance of the plant or other source from which it is extracted. Essential oils are now on trend and very accessible in the health and beauty aisles of stores everywhere however it is interesting to note that PHYTO5 has been formulating skincare products with high grade essential oils since the late 70s. 

“The most important argument for using essential oils in cosmetics has to do with their vital force and their naturalness. The life within us can be best cared for and healed with living things. We have a strong affinity for plants–particularly the flower oils–their blossoms are the ‘face’ of the plant that are used for facial care in essential oil cosmetics.

When the facial skin is treated with flower oils, it receives the entire stored solar energy and vital force of the essential oil.

The flower’s oils are easily dissolved by the sebaceous fat, and their molecules are so small that they can actually penetrate the skin to reach the lowest level and even affect the deeper tissue and organs.”

— Erich Keller, Aromatherapy Handbook for Beauty, Hair, and Skin Care: A Guide to the Use of Essential Oils for Beauty and Healing

OLFACTORY EXPERIENCE

Opening quality essential oils or skincare products containing them will immediately aromatically provide you with well-being benefits. Very often the light inhalation of their fragrance can help to balance emotions which is why PHYTO5 developed a skincare treatment called the Beauty of Emotions (offered by PHYTO5 trained professionals around the world). One of the principle products used in the Beauty of Emotions treatment is the essential oil rich Phyt’Ether serum which can be an excellent product to always have on hand at home. The serum can be lightly inhaled or applied to the face, skin, body and scalp.

INGESTION

Many essential oils can also be ingested such as in beverages or food preparation and cooking. The flavor of the food is elevated and the nutrition value raised.

The practice of oil pulling for oral and systemic health is an effective method of cleansing when an essential oil like myrrh is added to a carrier oil like coconut and swished in the mouth for then to five minutes before spitting out. Teeth become whiter, gums healthier and it is believed the oils work to pull toxins circulating throughout the body through the mucous membrane of the mouth.

TOPICAL USE

The topical use of essential oils helps treat various skin conditions. Each of PHYTO5’s five element lines of skincare, for example, treats a set of skin conditions according to traditional Chinese medicine and utilizing a synergistic formulation of specific blends of oils.

• The Wood line treats imbalances in the skin such as oiliness, blackheads, hyperpigmentation.

• The Fire line helps to balance redness, irritated, sensitive, blotchy or allergic skin, excessive heat and perspiration, and couperose.

• The Earth line treats imbalances in the skin such as blemishes, toxicity, acne, psoriasis, and enlarged pores.

• The Metal line assists to balance dry skin, surface flakiness, dull and lifeless skin.

• The Water line works to bring balance to dehydration, lack of tone, and wrinkles.

A WORD OF CAUTION: A good rule of thumb when using essential oils is to use no more than one or two drops. Many pounds of the plant itself are used to derive that one drop of oil so you can see just how potent that single drop is. Even when diffusing essential oil, you don’t want to diffuse more than two drops or your breathing air will become uncomfortable. Less is more when it comes to essential oils.

There are chemical substitute fragrances made to smell like their essential oil counterparts but they obviously are not natural essential oils. There is no system in place to categorize or grade essential oils, therefore anyone can arbitrarily label their product as ‘professional’ or ‘therapeutic.

As a consumer, it’s important to do your research and be discerning. Find a company you trust. An honest company will offer essential oils that align with the following high standards:

• The plants are grown in their indigenous regions.

• They list the botanical name of the plant on the product label.

• They use oils harvested from the correct species of the plant.

• The oils are derived from either a cold-press process or steam-distillation.

• The essential oils are undiluted and tested for purity.

• The essential oils are processed in a state-of-the-art facility with good manufacturing practices. (The Swiss government plays a proactive ongoing role of factory supervision for Swiss-based manufacturers like PHYTO5. A double layer of Swiss and European regulation and supervision provides a substantial level of protection for the American consumer who buys authentic Swiss-made skincare products such as PHYTO5 skincare.)

• The product is certified organic and non-GMO.

• No pesticides or herbicides were used to grow the plants from which the oils are extracted.

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Endnote:

Keller, Erich. Aromatherapy Handbook for Beauty, Hair, and Skin Care: a Guide to the Use of Essential Oils for Beauty and Healing. Healing Arts Press, 1992.

How to Honor and Harness the Energy of an Auspicious Time of Year: The Summer Solstice

The fiery sun is the source of all human life. The cycle of human life revolves around it. Many of us tend to take sun for granted and all too rarely pause to appreciate it and its unceasing life-giving nature. The Summer solstice event this year is an opportunity for us to honor and harness the energy of the sun and its aspects and to become part of and expand our consciousness of this energetic solar event.

Sunrise on the Summer solstice occurs this year precisely at 6:29 a.m. on June 21. On this day the sun is at its highest point in the sky and marks the longest day and shortest night of the year. This day marks the start of astronomical summer and the tipping point at which days start to become shorter and nights longer.

The word “solstice” comes from the Latin words “sol” (sun) and “stitium” (still or stopped). The ancients, even as early as the Stone Age, noticed that as Summer progressed, the sun stopped moving northward in the sky as it began to track southward again as Summer advanced to Autumn.

Approximately 800 years ago, Wyoming plains native Americans built the famed 80-foot wide Bighorn stone Medicine Wheel. It was built with 28 spokes one of which pointed to Summer solstice sunrise and another to the Summer solstice sunset.

Chumash Indians of California bored carefully placed holes in walls and ceilings of caves through which only the Summer solstice light would shine.

Anazazi Indians of New Mexico painted two spirals on a rock in Chaco Canyon. At noon on the Summer solstice a beam of light pointed to the center of one of the spirals.

In Central America, the Aztecs, Mayans and Toltecs built great temples aligned to the moment of the Summer solstice sunrise.

In the Mayan city of Chichén Itza in Mexico, the Spiral Tower is built with windows and doors that are oriented to the rising and setting sun at both solstices and equinoxes.

At the ancient Mayan observatory Uaxactún in the Guatemalan rainforest, present day viewers can welcome the Summer on a viewing platform to see the sun rise over a series of small pyramids, an astronomy cluster of four structures, built in exact alignment with the great solar event.

The Summer solstice was the most important day of the year in ancient Egypt when the waters of the Nile would begin to rise at this time. From the view of the Sphinx, the sun sets squarely between the Great Pyramids of Khufu and Khafre on Egypt’s Giza plateau on the Summer solstice.

The solstice was joyfully celebrated in ancient Europe with flower head wreaths, games and bonfires. It was believed that bonfires would boost the sun’s energy for the rest of the growing season and guarantee a good harvest for the Fall  And while the actual purpose, function and origins of Stonehenge, the neolithic megalith monument in the south of England, has been long debated by archeologists, the site happens to be aligned with the direction of the Summer solstice sunrise.

In ancient China, the Summer solstice was associated with yin, the feminine force. Festivities celebrated Earth, femininity, and the yin force.

According to some ancient Greek calendars, the Summer solstice marked the start of the New Year and also marked the one-month countdown to the opening of the Olympic games.

In the days leading up to the Summer solstice, the ancient Romans celebrated Vestalia to honor Vesta, goddess of the hearth. At this time married women left offerings in the temple of Vesta as pleas and prayers for blessings for their families.

Midsummer was a pivotal time of year for the Vikings, who would meet to discuss legal matters and resolve disputes around this auspicious time.

Cultures around the world still celebrate the day with feasts, bonfires, picnics and song. Today, people dance around bonfires that blaze on hilltops in Cornwall, Wales and Ireland. Yoga centers and spiritual circles around the world usher in the solstice with drumming and chanting.

Each one of us has the individual opportunity to dive deeper into life and the Summer season by becoming more deeply acquainted with the Summer solstice. One way is by intimately experiencing the darkness of the evening of June 20 to assist us to know and appreciate the light of the Summer solstice sun the next morning more fully.

Here is a list of simple yet powerful practices to help us usher in the Summer solstice more consciously.

• Eat simply throughout the day leading up to evening.

• In the evening, turn out all the lights in your home.

• Unplug your television, computer, and all electrical devices.

• Light candles.

• Go outside, outstretch your arms and breathe in the night air.

• The moon will be 92% full so take in its silvery moonlight by gazing not just at the moon itself but at the blue-silver light it casts on the ground.

• Take a long walk during this evening. Notice the stars and the clouds.

• Light a fire outside, if possible. If you don’t have a firepit, use a portable grill.

  • Play an instrument fireside if you can.

  • Sing or chant quietly and reverentially.

  • Bake potatoes in the fire you built.

  • Lay down on a blanket near the fire and doze.

• Go back inside and read a book by candlelight.

• Take time to sit in silence.

• Wake up before dawn (6:29 a.m.) to be ready to greet the rising sun.

  • Feel the energy and the presence of your ancestors.

  • Relish the power of the rising sun.

• Sing a song or whisper a prayer of honor of the dawn.

“I welcome the sun into my life

And give thanks for its daily bounty:

For its warmth to bless me,

For its strength to empower me,

For its light to illuminate my way.

I do this in the knowledge

That its light is also the light

Of wonder and holy wisdom,

Blessings I make welcome

In the pattern of my days.”  —John Matthews

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Endnotes:

Editors, History.com. “Summer Solstice.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 10 Aug. 2017, www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/history-of-summer-solstice.

Matthews, John. The Summer Solstice: Celebrating the Journey of the Sun from May Day to Harvest. Godsfield, 2005.

Photo by Tai's Captures on Unsplash

PHYTO5 Offers Natural Personalized Products and Methods for the Successful Treatment of Acne

The May 5, 2019 Skin Inc. newsletter and website brings up a prevalent skincare question of how to offer skincare consumers acne treatments that work. We agree when they say that treating acne requires a highly personalized treatment.

Acne itself has many different variations that make one cure-for-all far less effective than a personalized treatment that is designed to target the type of acne.

This may be a new question for many skincare companies but PHYTO5 has been providing the method and the tools all along since the late 70s.

Because the body is not only vital matter but vital energy as well, and because the skin is an organ with reflexive properties, it follows, as accepted in Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, that where a skin manifestation appears is just as important as what is appearing.

The 5–Element theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) teaches us the following:

a. Vital energy has five elements (also known as aspects or phases) that need to work together in balance for the harmony of the whole.

b. Each aspect of vital energy regulates both specific physiological functions and a pair of organs. Each pair is comprised of a yin organ and a yang organ.

c. The quality of the energy of these functions and organs is made apparent on the reflex zones on the skin, throughout the face and body. Since each of the five elements has a yin and a yang aspect, there are ten reflex zones that conveniently appear on the face representing the five pairs of yin/yang organs.

d. Any energetic blockage has consequences or manifestations that appear as imperfections on the skin or as certain body shapes. TCM outlines five groups of skin conditions. Each group is defined as an imbalance or blockage of one of the five elements or aspects of vital energy.

One of the manifestations of the aspect of vital energy called Earth is acne. If we want to address the root cause of an Earth manifestation, we must create a rebalance of the Earth element. PHYTO5 has three topical products that constitute the treatment phase of each PHYTO5 facial:

a. The Phyt’Ether serum of each of the five elements with a specific blend of natural essential oils that follows the formulation principles of TCM

b. The naturally colored Clay Mask of each of the five elements infused with the same essential oils present in the serum of the same element

c. The Oligo 5 spray that disperses five essential minerals essential to a healthy skin

PHYTO5 professionals in spas and wellness centers throughout the country are able to go beyond the standard acne treatment using these three products to personalize the treatment based on where the acne appears as we consider what are called the reflex zones of the face.

Acne as an Earth manifestation is treated first with one of our five Phyt’Ether serums (according to where the acne appears on the face) and then with Earth (yellow) Clay Mask.

• If it appears on the forehead, a Fire reflex zone, the Fire serum is used.

• If it appears in between the eyebrows, a Wood reflex zone, the Wood serum is used.

• If it appears on the cheekbones, an Earth reflex zone, the Earth serum is used.

• If it appears on the cheeks, a Metal reflex zone, the Metal serum is used.

• If it appears on the chin, a Water reflex zone, the Water serum is used.

We conclude the facial treatment phase with Oligo 5 spray over the entire face for any and all manifestations.

More than one skin condition can be treated at the same time by applying the particular Phyt’Ether serum according to which reflex zone is affected and then by applying clay masks of multiple color combinations (there are five for the five elements) according to what manifestation appears where. This is PHYTO5’s Five Clay Mask facial and it is totally unique in our industry.

PHYTO5 energetic products are very effective on their own, but if you are fortunate to live near a PHYTO5 trained professional you can receive treatments that are enhanced with PHYTO5 proprietary equipment, in particular, the light therapy machine (Chromapuncteur) and/or the Biostimulator, a unique tool that is the secret of many of the most advanced PHYTO5 practitioners.

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Endnotes:

Manzo, Robert, and Skinprint. “Personalized Acne Solutions.” Skin Inc., www.skininc.com/treatments/facial/acne/Personalized-Acne-Solutions-509510461.html

Photo by Ana Francisconi at Pexels

Best Practices for Living an Optimal Life During Hot Summer According to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda

Both Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have similar overlapping views on the effects of hot Summer and the Fire element on our overall well-being.

The dryness of the longer, bright sunshiny days combined with summertime lifestyle changes can wreak havoc on our energy levels. We may also become more prone to restless sleep and insomnia, digestive complaints, and even dryness depending on where we live. Our lack of a more consistent schedule, a tendency to be late-to-bed and later-to-rise, not getting enough sleep, consuming more cold and iced foods and drinks, increasing alcohol consumption and eating more erratically while consuming less nutritious food are all significant contributing factors.

Summer brings heightened nervous system activity so it is important to support our mental and emotional aspects with calming attention and practices. For example, Summer is not the best time for a cleanse. Rather it is the time to really hydrate ourselves and nourish the body very well. Simple practices such as getting adequate sleep, good hydration and proper nourishment can help keep our nervous system in balance.

An important key is to always consume the foods of the season. During Summer, eat light, nutrient-rich, easily digestible foods and beverages with a touch of spice. Both TCM and Ayurveda say to back off on the iced drinks and foods in order to keep our inner fire in balance. This practice combined with maintaining regular mealtimes and consuming smaller portions of food can help keep our inner fire balanced.

Summer is not the time to consumer bitter foods and drinks. Bitters can drain required heat from the body. Instead, consume more pungent foods during Summer which are supportive of our internal heat and our energy at this particular time of year. Garlic, onion and chilies are examples of such pungent foods. They will come out through our pores and even aid in repelling pesky insects!

Favor foods that make you feel lighter and are easy to digest. If you feel like you want to take a nap after eating during Summer, you’ve eaten food that is a little too heavy for the season.

Fluctuating weather patterns also can have a punishing effect on our well-being. Summer is the time we see sharp forceful winds including, in more extreme cases, hurricanes and more tornadoes. We are vulnerable to wind during Summer:

• on boats, bicycles and motorcycles

• in the draft of air conditioning and fans

Since the pores of our skin are naturally more open during Summer because of the heat, it is not good to place ourselves directly in the line of drafts because they have the potential to carry pestilential chi into the body. TCM advises that pathogens contacted in the Summer can actually linger on in our bodies into the Fall and Winter emerging as larger physical problems during those seasons.

TCM relates the Fire time of year to the king of organs, the heart, which circulates both chi and blood. The small intestine is the heart’s paired yang organ and acts like a reservoir for excess heart heat and since the small intestine meridian forms a single pathway with the bladder meridian, excess heart heat can affect the urinary bladder resulting in bladder infections.

Summer saps our energy and many people become more tired at this time of year. And while TCM indicates we are naturally more active, Ayurveda feels it is time for us to rest and take it easy. Many Summer activities we consider to be the norm are not natural or good for us according to Ayurveda. Examples are:

• boating on a hot Summer day (Boating during Autumn is ideal.)

• doing yoga in the park at noonor playing golf or tennis when the sun is at its peak. (Save your outdoor yoga practice or sports for very early morning or sunset.);

• running or hiking in the heat of Summer (Wait until the sun starts setting.)

• lying and baking our bodies on a hot beach in order to get a suntan (Be nice to your skin and sunbathe for very short periods of time and always wear sunscreen).

The external heat of the Summer months can negatively affect our bodies when we engage in activities that cause us to get overheated in the sun, when we exercise in the sun, sunbathe, eat spicy foods and consume more alcohol and caffeine than normal.

People tend to sweat more during Summer while they are at the same time decreasing their overall water consumption as they opt for Summer drinks other than water. Many even tend to purposely drink less water so they don’t have to urinate as often while they’re enjoying Summer outdoor activities. Now more than ever, we need to be very focused on keeping up adequate water consumption. 

Ayurveda urges to be wise with physical activity levels and don’t overdo. Summer is a time of natural dehydration and it can lead to serious sicknesses like heat stroke and sun poisoning. Sweat is the fluid of the heart and heart’s vitality can be depleted by too much sweating. Exercising in the sun provokes heart fire and depletes the body of fluids. Step up your room temperature water intake and increase your consumption of high water content produce.

Don’t be rigid with these guidelines. Feel your way through them and discern for yourself if your choices are healthy or if they are cravings coming from emotional neediness. If you identify a craving you may want to satisfy it briefly and then move on without judging yourself. In general, strive to make your choices healthy ones. Ayurveda says the greatest imbalance is to have knowledge and then go against it.

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Endnotes:

Shea, Bridgette. Handbook of Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda: an Integrated Practice of Ancient Healing Traditions. Healing Arts Press, 2018.

Photo by Tamara Bellis on Unsplash

8 Keys for Getting the Most Out of Summer Life... In Harmony with The Season

“The three months of Summer are called the period of luxurious growth. Everything is in bloom and begins to bear fruit.

After a night of sleep people should get up early (in the morning). They should not weary during daytime and they should not allow their minds to become angry.

They should enable the best parts (of their body and spirit) to develop; they should enable their breath to communicate with the outside world; and they should act as though they loved everything outside.

All this is in harmony with the atmosphere of Summer and all this is the method for the protection of one’s development.”

— from The Yellow Emporer’s Classic of Internal Medicine

In today’s verbiage what the Yellow Emporer’s Classic is saying is that we can take advantage of Summer for the greater development of ourselves. Here’s how.

Waking up early in the morning. Since the sun’s warmth is greatest in the Summer and since Summer is all about the sun, becoming attuned to the sun at this time makes sense. Ask your smartphone for tomorrow’s time of sunrise and set your alarm to wake up at daybreak. Even before you get out of bed admire the sunlight beginning to light up the environment. (If you haven’t been getting up this early, you’ll be amazed at how much more you accomplish in the day!) There’s a reason why Francis of Assisi called the sun and fire Brother. He saw his relationship with them as one of warmth, love, and support. Even if your Summer is extremely hot, learn to find the positive aspects of the sun’s heat and radiance as did Francis of Assisi.

Going to bed most nights at a decent hour. This is a must especially if you want to wake up early in the morning. It will happen naturally if you get in the habit of waking up with the sun.

Foregoing taking a nap during the day. The sun gives us energy both directly and indirectly. It pours its energizing rays into the fruits and vegetables we consume. When we enjoy Summer sunlight within reason, the light also has the potential to offer us energy right through the lens of our eyes and pores of our skin. Because of this, if we are harmonizing with and appreciating the Summer sun, we probably won’t need we feel to take a nap. If we forego taking an afternoon nap, it will also be that much easier to go to bed a bit earlier at night.

When anger bubbles to the surface, pausing and with positive intention diffusing it. Just a mere pause can be enough to keep us from reacting negatively to what happens around us. Everything happens around us but we don’t have to let it happen within us.

Being physically active. Summer is definitely the time for physical activity since the weather does not preclude us from participating in most sports or other activities. Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day help carry the Summer spirit forward. Take advantage of the warm weather and breezes, the flora that is gushing forth with color and life and the longer days in which we can accomplish and enjoy more than perhaps we do during other seasons.

Combining physical activity with spiritual practices such as meditation. Since physical activity is very grounding, meditation, contemplation, or prayer will help bring balance by uplifting our spirit. It will enable us to appreciate the beauty of the season even more.

Practicing pranayama, the yogic practice of breathing techniques, or just plain breathing consciously. Practice taking six breaths a minute which is a proven breathing technique for vitality. Even if we merely become aware of our breath it will assist us to deepen our breathing from the diaphragm for greater health and wellness. If at all possible, practice breathing outdoors.

Having fun and appreciating all the nature display Summer brings. Summer is synonymous with FUN and PLEASURE. And there’s nothing wrong with that! If we’re not in joy, if we’re unable to enjoy our lives, we can’t create much that is good, beautiful or true. We must give our creativity the fertile soil of joy and the way to joy is through appreciation of all the little (and the big) things in life… the birds that chirp at four in the morning, the bumblebee buzzing around your flowers, the breeze that brushed against your face while taking an evening walk or the playful shrief of a child in the park. The more we appreciate, the more joy we have and this Summer, the more balance we will experience in our lives all the way around.

This blog post, originally published May 21, 2016, has been updated on May 6, 2019 for freshness, comprehensiveness and accuracy.

A Mama By Any Other Name Might Not Be As Sweet: Exploring the Origins of the Names for Mother in Honor of Mother's Day

When a baby first suckles at its mother’s breast the mouth is closed as it takes in nourishment from the mother. The only sound the baby can make in satisfaction is the sound of ‘mmmm.’ The bilabial /m/ sound is very easy to produce and also quite natural. It’s a sound of comfort and satiation in the mother’s arms. How interesting that even as adults we say “mmmm” when we eat something delicious. (In Why Mama and Papa linguist Roman Jakobson notes that babies make the sounds for mama as a “slight nasal murmur” while breastfeeding.) It’s interesting to note that in Latin mamma means ‘breast’ and is the obvious root of the word ‘mammary.’

Add to this the bilabial open vowel /a/, another easily producible sound and we have ma. Ma is among the first word-like sounds made by babbling babies. And humans being true to form, it’s believed that parents tend to associate the first sound babies make with themselves, therefore we have the words mama and papa associated with mother and father—at least this is what historians and linguists say. (/p/ is another of only a handful of bilabial sounds.)

The syllable ma is nearly universal among the Indo-European languages. In the ten most widely spoken languages in the world, the word for mama (mother) is: māma, mama, maman, mamá, ma, mama, mamã, maa, mama, haha and mamī.

In Mandarin it’s mãma, and in Hindi it’s māṃ.

In non-Indo-European languages, we still notice similar sounding words that mean “mother.” In Navajo it’s amá, in Quechua it’s mama, in Ancient Egyptian it’s mut (similar to ‘mother’), in Korean it’s eomma and in Swahili it’s mama.

The modern English word mother comes from Middle English moder, deriving from Old English mōdor.

Some scientists believe that mama and papa were among the first words that humans spoke.

Mama was first historically recorded in 1707. The more English mum appeared in use around 1823, mummy in 1839, mommy in 1844, momma in 1852, and eventually, we come to mom around 1867.

The American colloquial momma can conjure visions of sweetness and loveliness when Urban Dictionary says, “My momma is the best woman in the world!”

Momma can be used with sexist intent while summoning an image of voluptuousness as in “Whoah, that chick in the short skirt is a real momma!”

It’s slang for one’s wife or girlfriend as in, “I need to talk to momma before I buy the car.”

In earth’s ancient history, the primal Mesopotamian mother goddess, known under many Sumerian names (Nintud, Nintur, Ninhursag, Belet-ili) is very often referred to as Ninmah meaning ‘magnificent [or ‘great’]  queen.’ (In Sanskrit, mah means ‘great.’) She appears as the mother of humankind and the gods on earth and was the matron of pregnancy and birth and queen of the birthing hut.

Her other names include Makh, Ninmakh, Mamma, and Mama. In iconography she is represented by a sign which resembles the Greek symbol omega accompanied by a knife representing the uterus and the blade used to severe the umbilical cord.

Ninmah is thought to be among the most likely candidates for the original mother earth figure since she is so prominently associated with fertility, creation, pregnancy, childbirth, and nurture. Still another of Ninmah’s early names was Ki or Kishar identifying her as mother earth. Again, we see a startling correlation to qi or chi, the unseen vital energy that sustains life. 

In the Sumerian tablets Ninmah is depicted as the consort of Anu and co-creator of the world. She was the Great Mother who presided over all, commoners and nobles alike.

Given the history of the syllable ma(h) evolving to mama, mamma, and momma, and its early associations with birth, sustenance and nurture, do we think these are all mere coincidences? Many historians like to say yes, but you can be the judge.

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Endnotes:

Shepard, Edward. “Why ‘Mama’ Has the Same Meaning in Almost Every Language.” Motherly, Motherly, 12 June 2018, www.mother.ly/parenting/mama-is-most-universal-word.

Mark, Joshua J. “Ninhursag.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 8 Apr. 2019, www.ancient.eu/Ninhursag/.

“Roman Jakobson.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Mar. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Jakobson.

Photo by Leandro Cesar Santana on Unsplash

American-Made Cosmetics Regulations Haven’t Been Updated Since 1938: Learn How Swiss-Made Skincare Ensures Your Protection

This month The New York Times Editorial Board wrote an article entitled, “Do You Know What’s In Your Cosmetics?” (Feb. 9, 2019) The article’s caption states: “Thousands of chemicals, in billions of dollars worth of products, are being governed by regulations that haven’t been updated in decades.”  The New York Times is making people aware of something we at PHYTO5 have known all along: 

“the cosmetics regulatory system in the U. S. operates in complete contrast to a number of substantial rounds of regulations imposed on cosmetics manufacturers in the European Union (E. U.) in the last 15 years.”

In addition, the Swiss government plays a proactive ongoing role of factory supervision for Swiss-based manufacturers. This double layer of Swiss and European regulation and supervision provides a substantial level of protection for the American consumer who buys authentic Swiss-made skincare products such as PHYTO5 skincare.

The New York Times article goes on to articulate the lack of U. S. governmental action:

“In a 1988 hearing, Congress took the cosmetics industry to task for a rash of health and safety problems. Cosmetologists were reporting serious respiratory and nervous system damage. And according to government data, nearly 1,000 toxic chemicals were lurking in countless other personal care products. Cosmetics companies were not doing enough to ensure that these products were safe, and the Food and Drug Administration did not have enough power to adequately police them… Legislative reform was clearly needed. That was 30 years ago. To date, no such reforms have been passed.”

The article further explains that the laws governing the role of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors run just two pages long and have not been updated since 1938 when they were first enacted. That office with an annual budget of just $8 million and 27 staff members is now facing a seventy billion dollar a year American cosmetics industry.

The article concludes that “such meager tools leave federal officials nearly powerless to regulate the makeup, lotions, toothpastes, deodorants and other elixirs that often are applied to the most intimate parts of the human body.”

The F. D. A. does not require companies to submit safety data before they market a product while in the European Union a product could never be put on the market without such basic documentation.

The F. D. A. does not monitor adherence to basic manufacturing standards while the Swiss government makes it its business to do so.

In the U. S., manufacturing companies are not required to report problems attributed to products while the E. U. has a central data bank responsible for distilling and coordinating all product documentation including skin and toxicity tests as well as any adverse events attributed to products.

Although the article states that the F.D.A. also does not ensure the safety of imported cosmetics which have doubled in volume in the past decade, it fails to state that Swiss- and E. U.-made products that are also marketed in Europe meet stringent regulations that already exceed whatever has been advocated by American consumer groups.

There are still many products manufactured overseas which are not subject to rules similar to those in force in the E. U. The F. D. A. inspects less than one percent of the three million or so cosmetics shipments that come in to the states every year. Among those that it does test, roughly 15% of products manufactured outside the E. U. are found to be contaminated or to contain dangerous ingredients.

Most consumers are against the idea of products being tested on animals. We remind all our clients that we have never tested PHYTO5 skincare on animals and nor are any of the ingredients we use tested on animals. Animal testing is, in fact, no longer necessary since by E. U. regulations, all products must pass independent toxicity tests to ensure no harm, irritation or toxicity to human skin. 

Both the state of California and federal government are considering tighter measures to regulate the production and distribution of skincare products made in the U. S. but the proposals are receiving substantial pushback from the industry and given the reluctance of the current administration to impose regulations on businesses the federal bill is likely to be defeated. If a bill were to pass it would be greatly diluted, therefore it remains that products made in Europe represent a far greater level of consumer safety.

An additional sad conclusion is that while the skincare product industry is booming, a recent industry survey found that 71% of consumers say their skin care needs are not being met. This is just one insight contained in an extensive 3-part report from Denise Herich of The Benchmarking Company, running consecutively in the March, April and May 2019 issues of Global Cosmetic Industry.*

Keeping in mind that the skin absorbs what we put on it and what comes into its vicinity, and since the U. S. is largely unwilling to ensure that our skincare products are actually and totally safe for our health, it makes complete sense to buy 100% Swiss-made skincare such as PHYTO5 which has been subjected to a double layer of Swiss and European regulation and supervision. Beware of companies using the Swiss flag in their branding or catch phrases and titles using the word “Swiss.” In many cases, these products are merely Swiss-inspired or only a small percentage of the product was actually produced in Switzerland. 

Rest assured that PHYTO5 skincare is 100% made in Switzerland. Combine this with our natural, holistic and vital energy concept and you will enjoy Swiss skincare capable of delivering benefits to you most other skincare lines cannot claim.

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* To gauge consumer’s thoughts and feelings on skin care, The Benchmarking Company surveyed more than 4,600 female beauty consumers about all things skin care.

• Part 1: March 2019: Consumer attitudes, generational concerns, unmet needs, what she’s using now and products she’d like to try.

• Part 2: April 2019: What they’re willing to spend, on what and where; key purchase influencers; consumer-approved trends; retail category picks.

• Part 3: May 2019: Generic skin care and skin care kits; the continued appeal of luxury and mass skin care; social media and beauty loyalty programs; natural and organic skin care product and brand appeal.  

Sources:

The Editorial Board. “Cosmetics Safety Needs a Makeover.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Feb. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/02/09/opinion/cosmetics-safety-makeup.html.

Lipton, Eric. "F.D.A. Has 6 Inspectors for 3 Million Shipments of Cosmetics." The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 Aug. 2017. Web. 16 Feb. 2019.

Gleason-Allured, Jeb. “New Skin Care Report Series: What 4,600 Consumers Think.” Global Cosmetic Industry, www.gcimagazine.com/marketstrends/segments/skincare/New-Skin-Care-Report-Series-What-4600-Consumers-Say-505218081.html.

This Is the Time of Year to Show Yourself Some Love, Nurturing and Self-Care

One of the four 18-day periods of the year that occur between energetic seasons in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has arrived. In TCM, each season is represented by an element and this “between seasons” period’s element is Earth. If you are out of balance with the energies of Earth, you may find that your skin is experiencing symptoms of toxicity likes blemishes, acne, enlarged pores and more. In Earth imbalance, you may also feel stuck or stagnant, perhaps unable to complete projects. You may also feel overly worrisome as you take care of other people to the detriment of caring for yourself. Aside from the usual admonition to get a massage, here are a dozen beautiful ways to give yourself some love, nurturing and self-care and get back in harmony with the Earth element. If practiced, these tips will serve not only your body, but your mind, emotions, and your very spirit as well!

• Be conscious of what you put in your body.

  • Learn to create a yin/yang balance through your food choices to promote your health and longevity and really, just show your body some love! Be sure to incorporate produce from all colors of the rainbow but, in particular, try to focus on consuming produce the color of the current energetic season. For example, during energetic Spring, eat lots of fresh green produce because green is the color associated with Wood, the element of the season according to traditional Chinese medicine.

  • Read food labels. Go conscious grocery shopping and see how great that feels! Don’t just buy food because you’ve always bought it or because it looks good. Know what you’re putting into your body. Love your body enough to understand the relationship between how you feel and your food choices. Buy more food in the produce department than from any other department in the store.

• Be conscious of what you put on your body. There is actually clothing being developed now that helps your body heal and sleep better.** Opt for quality rather than quantity and you'll feel so much better. Choose organic cotton if you can. Choose colors that resonate with you and cause you to feel at ease. PHYTO5 skin and haircare is another example of high integrity products you can put on your body and feel good about because they’re formulated and manufactured consciously with your safety and vitality of skin, body and emotions as the goal.

• Be conscious of what you allow into your mind.

  • Turn off the news and play beautiful music.

  • Take this time to do something creative. Contribute your creativity not your negativity to the planet. As you already know, it’s through giving that we receive.

  • When past memories or worry arises, catch it quick and be ready with a small arsenal of pleasant thoughts or ideas you can immediately divert your mind to. Make this a practice and notice the peace you’ll feel.

• Practice mindful fitness. Mindful fitness is today’s catchphrase and another way of saying, meditate.

  • Just take time every morning to be still and relax. Let the thoughts flow through the mind but don’t engage with them or judge yourself. Eventually, the thoughts will stop and you will be in the sublime place that goes beyond the concept of “nurture.”

  • Join a meditation group. You may enjoy the quickening benefits of plural meditation and make new friends as well.

  • There are many ways to meditate (e. g. mantra-based, focused attention). Use this time to explore them and find the methods that resonate with you. This can be a fun process of discovery for you.

  • Take time out in the middle of a stressful day to reconnect with your Self. Take this time to learn to slow down the breath to a maximum of six breaths per minute to achieve ultimate longevity and vitality. For more information on the six breaths a minute technique, visit our sister site’s blog at agelesslacure.com here.

• Practice yoga, a martial art, or weight training and cardio workouts. You will be amazed at how wonderful a newfound exercise practice can make you feel on all levels. You’ll breathe differently. Your posture and entire physiology will improve. Your confidence level will soar.

• Nature. Nature. Nature. Walk in it. Connect with it. Listen to the sounds. Be conscious while the breeze blows on your face and body. Literally hug a tree.

• Bring some green plants into your home. They’ll help transform the air you breathe and bring a sense of calm to your environment.

• Take a day trip. Get away from it all. Appreciate a change of scenery. It’s inexpensive and you’ll feel wonderful.

• Find three simple things you love to do, pastimes that are fun for you and then do them one by one.

  • It’s vitally important to have fun and experience pleasure as often as we can in life. Our ability to create what is good, beautiful and true becomes limited when we come from a place of chronic angst, worry, misery, or boredom.

• Enjoy natural fragrances and their healing benefits. (Check out our blog on the topic here.) When you squeeze an orange or chop fresh herbs, take a moment to really drink in the fragrance. Stop at the fresh flower bouquets in the stores and breathe in their healing essences. (Beware of synthetic essential oils sold in stores today. And did you know that very few perfumers actually use real flowers in their fragrance formulations?!) You’ll never have to worry when you make PHYTO5 Swiss-made skincare using pure high-grade essential oils part of your skincare regimen.

• Enjoy an alternative wellness therapy like Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) which is becoming increasingly practiced having now reached 183 countries and regions around the world. Based on the theory of the five elements and the five phases  TCM guides you to live in harmony with the earth and its energies. Enjoy TCM in action with PHYTO5’s five element lines of skin and haircare.

• Slow down. If you feel like you’re always in a rush or stressed and pressured to get somewhere or do something, you must start now to slow down. The alternative is burnout and compromised health on all levels and we know that’s not what you really want for yourself. By slowing down and enjoying as many of the preceding tips as possible, you’ll find you are able to get all you need to get accomplished perfectly.

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*  dharma: the principle of cosmic order

**(Under Armour’s Athlete Recovery Sleepwear enmeshes bio-ceramic technology into pajamas that absorb infrared wavelengths emitted by the body to reflect them back as far infrared energy which, in turn, helps the body recover faster and sleep better.

**Startup Lumiton offers light-energized apparel powered by laser technology that is designed to deliver multiple wellness benefits including producing red and near-infrared light whose wavelengths, they argue, increase collagen and muscle growth and reduce pain/inflammation.

**Some companies are weaving “ancient wellness” healing and herbal properties into fabrics and clothing. Venice, California footwear designer Astara has created negative ion earthing shoes, using crystals like black onyx and blue apatite to make the shoes resonate at the same vibration as Earth’s magnetic field (7.83 hertz). It’s said the shoes make you feel like you’re walking barefoot on grass or sand.

Photo by Doğukan Şahin on Unsplash

Countdown to Earth Day 2020: The 50-Year Anniversary of the Premier Global Earth Consciousness Raising Event

Just four days before Earth Day is celebrated on April 22, we enter the Earth energetic season, the period between energetic seasons according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)–the 18-day transition period between energetic Spring and energetic Summer. Each season, including the four 18-day between seasons periods, are associated with one of the five elements in TCM and the transition period beginning April 18 is associated with the element of Earth. With worldwide heightened consciousness surrounding Earth Day, there couldn’t be a better time to bring natural living in concert with the Earth into practice!

Earth Day is celebrated on the same date, April 22, every year since 1970 and next year 2020 is Earth Day’s auspicious 50-year anniversary. Founder Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995 for having founded the earth-conscious organization which was ultimately responsible for the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. At the time of founding, Nelson saw forming the Earth Day organization as a big gamble in an epoch of enormous civil unrest, escalating pollution, and a conservative establishment that had deeply dug in to the pursuit of progress at any cost. He persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair and recruited Denis Hayes from Harvard University to serve as the org’s national coordinator. At the time, Hayes built a national staff of 85 to promote Earth Day events all across the country on April 22, a day falling between college Spring break and final exams.

In 1990, Earth Day went global as Hayes involved 184 countries to reach out to hundreds of millions of people. By the time 2010 arrived, Earth Day organizers and supporters became faced with “climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, reticent politicians, a disinterested public, and a divided environmental community” according to earthday.org... Despite these challenges, Earth Day prevailed and Earth Day Network reestablished Earth Day as a relevant, powerful focal point.”

Earth Day is today the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year. It is a day that calls us to action by evolving our attitudes and behaviors to more conscious ones and through our collective numbers provoke our representatives in government to make policy changes.

The pursuit of a clean balanced environment urgently continues as we more and more obviously perceive the effects and ravages of climate change with each passing day. Earth Day’s agenda for it’s 50th anniversary next year in 2020 is enormous. To learn how you can get started in assisting the Earth Day organization to leverage the power and momentum of 50 activist years in a time that is near dire for our environment and very survival, visit their countdown to 2020 site here.

Making changes in our lives that will be kind to the Earth and to our bodies, minds and spirits begins with the simple everyday choices we make—changes like the products we choose to bathe in, the products we purchase to moisturize our skin or the manner in which we seek to uplift our emotions. 

PHYTO5 five element skincare is natural, holistic and is founded on principles based on the Earth’s natural cycles and rhythms. High grade essential oils of flowers and plants combined with natural extracts, vitamins, minerals and other oils coalesce in leading edge formulations designed to nourish, revitalize and uplift skin and hair. The unique proposition of PHYTO5 is the vital energy balance aspect of the energetic line products which contributes to our vital energy balance , a prerequisite to wellness. The unique formulation of these lines enhances the vibrational frequencies of PHYTO5 products to the quantum level. PHYTO5’s five element lines (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) are formulated to help bring balance to skin, scalp, body and emotions.

PHYTO5 does not test on animals nor have any individual ingredients we use in our formulations ever been tested on animals. We design our packaging with the environment in mind….

Image by spirit111 on Pixabay

Taking Walks In Nature: Prescription for Wellness

The 2019 Global Wellness Trends Report by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) cites eight practices they perceive as clearly on a significant rise for achieving all around wellness. Our blog post of February 19, 2019 summarizes one of them: "A Top Wellness Trend for 2019: Scent as Crucial for Physical and Emotional Well-Being." In this article, let’s explore GWI’s trend #4, “Prescribing Nature.”

Some doctors are beginning to literally write prescriptions for their patients to take a walk in nature. It may sound silly but in this world where people are nature-deprived for whatever reasons, writing prescriptions for regular nature walks just may be effective in helping people regain the peace of mind and body they seek.

Washington, D. C. Dr. Zarr, M. D. literally relies on a community health initiative compendium of 382 local parks in which parks and green spaces are mapped and rated based on accessibility, safety, and amenities when he writes a prescription. He chooses the park, length and frequency of the walks. (Be sure to visit our blog post of September 29, 2016 entitled, “Don’t Take Trees for Granted.” In it, you will find a number of enjoyable life-giving experiences you can have with trees on your nature walk.)

In an era free of cell phones and computers, the origins of health and healing may have been more primally understood when Paracelsus,* the 16th-century German-Swiss physician said:

“The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician.”

Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones, a book that examines the lifestyles of the world’s longest-lived people, finds that people who live to be over 100—have movement engineered into their daily lives—a practice that is quite contrary to the everyday American lifestyle.

Working in a year-round garden, cleaning the house, building a project, or walking to the store instead of driving are components of a vitality-promoting movement-oriented lifestyle that we can choose to move toward to lengthen our lives and strengthen our health.

The 1984 landmark study, “View through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery” by Roger Ulrich, PhD, proved what the title implies. Now, 35 years later, the American Society of Landscape Architects affirms that architects, doctors and nurses all agree that hospital gardens are a necessity for healing. Research shows that even just looking out a window at a garden burgeoning with life and color quickens recovery and healing.

Workplaces and hotels and spas are bringing nature not only inside their environments but are carefully designing their outdoor grounds with lush green architectural landscaping. Some destination hotels go even further: “Skylonda Lodge entices guests with programs built into the forests of Woodside, California. Many of their activities are held in redwood forests or, at least, with expansive views of the incredible landscape around them.” 

E.O. Wilson,** biologist, theorist, naturalist and author, says:

“We love nature because we learned to love the things that helped us survive. We are hard wired to affiliate with the natural world and just as our health improves when we are in it, so our health suffers when we are divorced from it… Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.”

We might term this trend of bringing more nature into our lives and workplaces biophilia, from the Greek meaning “love of life and the living world.” The more we love life and the living world, the more quality life we have.

Americans, on average, spend 90% of their time indoors, but in answer to this trend, biophilic design is now popping up in buildings and communities with the development of living green walls richly embedded with green ferns and plants that work to purify the air we breathe while helping to reduce stress and foster a connection to the natural world while indoors.

GWI’s report states: “According to a study by the University of Exeter, offices with plants ‘could increase productivity by 15 percent’ as well as ‘lower physiological stress, increase attention span and improve wellbeing.’ This focus on ‘greening’ our indoor spaces has an overall impact on how we feel about space, so we will likely be seeing more of this in shopping centers, schools, and hospitals in the future.”

Nature-deficit disorder (NDD) is an ad-hoc phrase used to describe the phenomenon that human beings, especially children, are spending less time outdoors. NDD seems to be pointing to the emergence or at least acceleration of a wide range of health problems—physically, mentally, behaviorally, emotionally and spiritually.

But truth is always very simple. In this case, it’s take frequent regular walks in nature or find some way to surround yourself with it. 

Here’s our list of 14 benefits anyone can achieve simply by taking a walk outdoors.

1. The quiet calm atmosphere of nature causes you to almost immediately relax and achieve calm yourself; high blood pressure may be lowered; a depressive or anxious state can be uplifted.

2. You breathe fresh pure air and oxygen to invigorate the body and mind. Walking in nature helps to clear mind fog and, as studies show, helps to increase short-term memory, mental energy and cognition.

3. The gentle consistent pounding of your feet on the ground helps detoxify your lymphatic system which, in turn, abates or slows the aging process.

4. You increase fluid circulation in the body so  necessary for physical and mental vitality.

5. You build the kind of physical endurance that positively contributes to heart health.

6. You become able to progress to more advanced levels of walking like hiking offering you greater physical challenges and strength building in the natural experience.

7. The fauna and flora reach out to you and share their natural brimming life energies with you; perhaps the frogs’ and tree toads’ songs offer you just the perfect sound healing you need or the hoot of your neighborhood owl soothes your weary soul.

8. You begin to more fully realize your symbiotic relationship with nature; you become more connected with the natural world of which you are an intrinsic part.

9. You become almost immediately contemplative and meditative; answers to your questions come spontaneously through your relaxed allowance.

10. You develop an appreciation for life in general; this appreciation brings more life and vitality into your existence.

11. You encounter new joyful experiences in nature along the way — the wonder of a type of butterfly you’ve never seen, cloud shapes that morph into interesting images or the moon that sheds her cool silvery soothing light upon you.

12. You increase your powers of imagination and creativity; nature gives you the safe and supportive space for unbridled imagination which may lead to manifesting your heart’s desires.

13. Through observation of nature, you become more deeply acquainted with the wonder of life’s inner workings thereby expanding your inner wisdom.

14. You begin to realize that flora and fauna are sources of inspiration for our everyday lives.

It is important to live in sync with the energetic changes of nature, principally the seasonal pattern, since seasons occur as a result of the movment of planet earth around the sun. Energetic changes have an influence on all life forms on Earth and our well-being depends in large part on our adapting to these changes.

This is the reason why PHYTO5 skincare products use natural essential oils to provide an energetic balance according to the five elements of traditional Chinese medicine (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and the corresponding five energetic seasons.

* (c.1493–1541), Swiss physician: born Theophrastus Phillipus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim. He developed a new approach to medicine and philosophy based on observation and experience.

** Wilson has been called "the father of sociobiology" and "the father of biodiversity” and he is known for his environmental advocacy.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

A Top Wellness Trend for 2019: Scent as Crucial for Physical and Emotional Well-Being

The 2019 Global Wellness Summit has published its Eight Wellness Trends Report for the year. The Summit’s sponsor, the Global Wellness Institute, summarizes the report this way: “The only wellness trends report generated from the insights of 650 industry leaders from 50 nations, the Global Wellness Summit’s annual trends forecast is a uniquely informed, detailed and global look at what’s ahead in wellness. For 2019 we’ll see the rise of a ‘dying well’ movement and wellness remaking the fashion industry to ‘meditation going plural’ and scent playing a more dramatic role in our emotional health.’” One trend, Fragrance Gets a Wellness Makeover: A new understanding of scent’s crucial role in our physical and emotional wellbeing, gets our particular attention.

PHYTO5 skin and hair care is formulated and manufactured in Fleurier, Switzerland. The Fleurier name itself roughly means "Flowering Village," entirely apropos for a company whose skincare products are largely made from the essential oils of flowers. We always bring light to the very basic premise of essential oil use in skincare—that flower blossoms, the “face” of the plant, store the sun’s solar energy and vital force and transmit these to the skin through its essential oil.

But perhaps just as important to our well-being is the scent a flower or plant conveys.

• In the molecules of natural essential oils, the scent of the flower is inhaled and the hypothalamus(1) in the brain produces hormones that provoke an appropriate reaction in the body. The hypothalamus controls the pituitary master gland of the body and plays a key role in connecting our hormonal (endocrine) system with the nervous system. 

• Located a mere inch or so away from the amygdala in the brain, the olfactory bulb (the neural structure involved in the sense of smell) has obvious intimate access to it. The amygdala is a roughly almond-shaped mass of gray matter inside each cerebral hemisphere.

Both of these, the hypothalamus and the amygdala, are part of the limbic system, the area of the brain most heavily implicated in emotion and memory. The hypothalamus plays a role in the activation of the sympathetic nervous system which is a part of any emotional reaction. The amygdala itself is primarily involved with the experiencing of emotions. 

Perhaps this is why philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche(2) is justified in declaring, “All my genius is in my nostrils.”

Further, biophysicist Luca Turin developed the quantum vibration theory in 1996 which suggests that olfactory receptors actually sense the quantum vibrations of odorants' atoms. It is in the arena of quantum vibration where we begin to move toward the deepest core of the mind-body system creating the space for spontaneous healing to occur.

Scent registers in our brains first—before sight, sound or touch.

“Until recently, smell has been the most underrated and underutilized of our five senses, but it’s turning out to be the most important,”

— said Joanne DeLuca of Sputnik Futures, a company that specializes in anticipating consumer trends.

Scent philosopher Annick le Geurér argued more recently that:

“Smell is revelatory not just of substances, but also of moods, climates, and even existential states. The sense of smell is a subtle tool of knowledge that allows for an intuitive and prelinguistic understanding.”

Fragrance has the potential to carry meaning in its aromatic quality. The scent of rose loves and heals, myrrh is prophetic and grounding, and frankincense evokes quietude and holiness.

After pausing to understand the interaction of scent, the brain and nervous system, taking time out to stop and smell the roses has more meaning for us now than ever before as we quest for authenticity and connection and strive to create more mindful lives.

“This focus on scent’s powerful connection to our brains and it’s potential to heal, soothe and delight is making consumers hungry to learn more about how it can be leveraged for health and wellbeing,”

— says Matthias Tabert of International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF).

Using scent to balance emotions and treat “disease” is actually an ancient practice and today large-scale medical studies are underway that will probably bring legitimacy to this healing modality. Because the brain produces memories in conjunction with smell, scientists are finding that scent can play a healing role in neurological disorders like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Treating Alzheimer’s with scent may prove effective since loss of the sense of smell is an early symptom of the disease. It is believed scent therapy can be effective with Alzheimer’s patients by triggering positive memories from their past.

The Eight Wellness Trends Reports indicates the following uses of scent trending for 2019:

• scent in mental wellness

• scent as flavor as in choosing a drink in a restaurant, for example, by its scent

• scent in branding where studies show customers will be more loyal if their experience involves scent

• scent of a place; the typical place might be a PHYTO5 spa where lingering scent of the products can trigger subtle changes in clients’ bodies and minds

• scent in art where large-scale multisensory art exhibits focus on the sense of smell

• scent as feel good fragrances in candles and bottles (perfume) and which incorporate a wellness aspect while transporting us back to fond memories 

• scent as functional/workplace wellness where scent is an invisible mood enhancer improving learning, cognition, function and productivity; a Japanese company found that diffusing a lemon scent in the air increased productivity by 54%.

“Rachel S. Herz, assistant professor of psychology at Brown University, writes that people who work in the presence of pleasant-smelling air set higher goals and are more likely to employ efficient work strategies. People are more creative in problem solving when exposed to a pleasant scent compared to an unpleasant one.”

— Beth McGroarty et al, 2019 Global Wellness Trends Report

The 2019 Global Wellness Trends Report finds that today’s consumers by and large want 100% natural ingredients, transparency and sustainability in the products they buy. While PHYTO5’s products are rich with bouquets derived from premium-grade all natural essential oils, extracts and flower waters, they also deliver all natural holistic products formulated without animal testing and with sustainability and kindness to the planet in mind.

(1) a region of the forebrain below the thalamus that coordinates both the autonomic nervous system and the activity of the pituitary, controlling body temperature, thirst, hunger, and other homeostatic systems, and involved in sleep and emotional activity.

(2) (1844–1900), German philosopher philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, philologist, and Latin and Greek scholar whose work has exerted a profound influence on Western philosophy and modern intellectual history

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Sources:

McGroarty, Beth, et al. 2019 Global Wellness Trends Report. Global Wellness Summit, 2019, 2019 Global Wellness Trends Report.

“8 Wellness Trends for 2019.” Global Wellness Institute, globalwellnessinstitute.org/global-wellness-institute-blog/2019/01/30/8-wellness-trends-for-2019/?utm_source=Global%2BWellness%2BInstitute&utm_campaign=a36e55f195-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_BRIEF_2019_1_30&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbb41a322d-a36e55f195-69763529.

Annick le Guerer, (2002) ‘Olfaction and cognition: A philosophical and psychoanalytic view’, in C. Rouby, B. Schaal, D. Dubois, R. Gervais, & A. Holly (Eds.), Olfaction, Taste, and Cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Photo by ChuXue Lu（@luchuxue1997） on Unsplash

What It Means to Live Consciously: Freeing Ourselves of the 'Problems Mindset'

In our blog of February 4, 2019, we addressed the meaning of living consciously and urged our readers to visit www.Liveconscious.com and, in particular, Jack Eagle’s article “Thrilled To Be Alive.” It is a topic I relate to deeply and enjoy commenting on with ideas, tools and skills that may be helpful to some in their quest to “rise in consciousness.” This arising in consciousness is a pre-condition to living more consciously for both our own benefit and the benefit of all the others around us. 

To live consciously has to do with awareness–awareness of self, of others and of our environment. It includes awareness of the effects we have on ourself, others and the environment.

Most people are overly self-absorbed with finding ways to meet their fundamental needs first, and beyond, to meet a multitude of perceived needs. That search generates fears, worries and tensions that fosters a climate of internal struggle as they look for solutions to their problems and ways to gain from opportunities. Jack Eagle refers to that state as living from a “safety consciousness.” The personal experience he relates in “Thrilled To Be Alive” led him at a time of great personal stress to an epiphany as he realizes the depth of his love for his wife, and as an extension, his love for life. He sees this as an opening of the heart and refers to his state of gratitude as living from a “heart consciousness.” In that shift there is the new awareness that the only problem he had was the thinking that there was a problem. He realized that the more he worked at addressing a problem as a problem, the more he validated the problem in his mind. This echoes the admonition of the spiritual teacher Joel S. Goldsmith (1892–1962):* 

“You cannot solve a problem at the level of the problem.”

Eagle goes on to explain that when we suffer from a negative emotion as a reaction to another person or event, that “primary emotion” is generally short-lived. What extends and magnifies our suffering is the “secondary emotion” that has to do with our reaction to our primary emotion–“the feelings we have about the feeling we had.” Those feelings are “internal dialogues and stories we tell ourselves about life events.” So long as we remain in a state of safety consciousness we prolong the agony. If we can rise to a state dominated by heart consciousness there is a shift in our perception that results in being “out of despair, into an awe of life.” 

This process creates an enhanced emotional maturity that brings us to the understanding that although “life includes problems, … it does not need to include suffering.” Suffering feeds our self-created life story bending toward a dramatic view of self and of life. It is a lack of awareness “of one’s authorship of one’s life and world where one flees.” But the opening of the heart feeds a fuller, truer, and more exalted view of self and of life that makes us both happier and more pleasant for others.

In short, “the awareness that there is the potential to be more fully our true self” is a jumping board toward a higher consciousness that improves our quality of life and of all the others (people, plants, animals and the environment) around us.

For whoever thinks that all this is new age mumbo jumbo, consider that The New York Times reported February 4, 2019 that the British government has announced 370 English schools will start to practice mindfulness—“relaxation and breathing techniques and other methods to help regulate emotions”—in a new initiative and study aimed at addressing the mental health crisis affecting young generations. The study which runs through 2021 is one of the largest of its kind in the world.

It has been said that His Holiness the Dalai Lama suggested that the purpose of life is

“to find happiness in an imperfect world.”

This statement leads us to see that the way to happiness requires a strong degree of conscious living.

We know that many people today are more stressed than ever before and that emotional imbalance has a very negative effect on both their health and their ability to reach and maintain a state of happiness.

We refer to PHYTO5 energetic skincare products and method as a modality of wellness and we see wellness as a part of a conscious living lifestyle. The reason is twofold: 

1. our energetic method promotes vital energy balance, a prerequisite to wellness, but

2. the quantum energetic level achieved by our unique products have the propensity to balance emotions as well.

We invite you to examine our conscious lifestyle skincare concept and to try our products at a 20% discount using promo code: WELCOME.

*Joel Solomon Goldsmith (March 10, 1892 – June 17, 1964) was an American spiritual author, teacher, spiritual healer, and modern-day mystic. He founded The Infinite Way movement, a spiritual teaching revealing the nature of God as one infinite power, intelligence, and love; the nature of the individual as one with God's qualities and character, expressed in infinite forms and variety; and the nature of the discords of this world as a misconception of God's expression of Himself in His universe.

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Sources:

“Thrilled To Be Alive.” Live Conscious, 13 Jan. 2018, liveconscious.com/2017/12/thrilled-to-be-alive/.

Magra, Iliana. “Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Feb. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/world/europe/uk-mindfulness-children-school.html.

Photo by Jimmy Chang on Unsplash

St. Patrick's Day Coincides with the Promise of Chinese Medicine's Spring Energy

St. Patrick's Day represents more than the ancient folklore of snakes and shamrocks and the color green. It also coincides with the promise of Spring which is always a welcome relief for those who have endured a long cold Winter. It is of particular interest that such a holiday is celebrated during the season of energetic Spring (according to traditional Chinese medicine [TCM]). The energy of energetic Spring is called “Wood” and it is represented by the color green. Wood energy cleanses, purifies, sprouts new life and has the potential, when used creatively, to help balance our emotional state.

“Until the 1700s, St. Patrick’s Day was a Roman Catholic feast only observed in Ireland—and without the raucous revelry of today’s celebrations. Instead, the faithful spent the relatively somber occasion in quiet prayer at church or at home. That started to change when Irish immigrants living in the United States began organizing parades and other events on March 17 as a show of pride.” —Jennie Cohen, St. Patrick’s Day Myths Debunked, history.com

The Color Green

The wearing of the color green which is so emblematic of St. Patrick’s Day may be traced to the eighteenth century when the backers of Irish independence took on the color to represent their cause.

The Man

"The modern celebration of St. Patrick's Day really has almost nothing to do with the real man," says Western culture professor Philip Freeman of Pepperdine University. 

Originally a Britt, Patrick was kidnapped and taken to Ireland to tend sheep as a slave in the chilly mountainous region of the country for seven years. Not particularly religious before, it was there that he got religion and became a devout Christian. He escaped his slavery to reunite with his family back home in England only to return to Ireland on counsel received in a dream. There he became a priest and later a bishop where he was “constantly beaten by thugs, harassed by the Irish royalty, and admonished by his British superiors,” according to John Roach, author of St. Patrick's Day Facts: Shamrocks, Snakes, and a Saint, National Geographic Magazine.

The Shamrock

According to St. Patrick's Day lore, St. Pat used the leaves of the shamrock as a teaching metaphor to describe the holy trinity, but the custom of wearing a shamrock comes from the eighteenth century when the shamrock emerged as a symbol of Irish nationalism during the 1798 Irish Rebellion against English colonialism. The shamrock seems to have been adopted as a symbol of St. Patrick’s Day when fervor for the holiday intensified at that time.

The Snakes

As for driving snakes out of Ireland, there is no evidence that a preponderance of snakes existed anywhere in the region. Perhaps the mythos is more metaphorical than literal where snakes were villains and non-believers at the time (fifth century A. D.).

As we can see, today the holiday celebration looks nothing like it did centuries ago.

 “For many people around the world, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a secular ode to Irish culture (or at least an oversimplified version of it), characterized by parties, music and iconic foods.” —Jennie Cohen, St. Patrick’s Day Myths Debunked, history.com

St. Pat’s Day merrymaking and revelry can bring a temporary lightness to our spirits during this time of year when hope springs and we look forward to the gushing forth of new life and new possibilities. In concert with that, be sure to check out our Spring seasonal/Wood element line of skincare. The Wood line addresses Wood imbalances in the skin such as oiliness, blackheads, hyperpigmentation. Essential oil-rich, it smells like invigorating Spring, clarifies the skin and can assist your emotional balance when you're feeling uncertainty, self-doubt and anger. Restore your confident true nature and march in those parades!

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Sources:

Cohen, Jennie. “St. Patrick's Day Myths Debunked.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 16 Mar. 2012, www.history.com/news/st-patricks-day-myths-debunked.

“St. Patrick's Day Facts: Shamrocks, Snakes, and a Saint.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 18 Mar. 2010, news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/100316-st-patricks-day-facts-shamrocks/.

Conscious Living: How Our Level of Awareness and the Choices We Make on the Local Level Affect the Global Planet

For many, our objective is to live a “conscious life.” The alternative of living an unconscious life is not attractive to most, but what is defined as conscious living? We suggest that it is living according to the highest level of awareness (mindfulness) we are capable of at any given moment. That means an active self-awareness at all levels of our being: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It also means we live with an awareness of the impact or the consequences of our being-ness on our own self, on others, and on the environment.

An awareness that what we think, feel, and do has consequences first on who we become but on other beings as well. “Others” means not only the people we are in direct contact with, but those we indirectly impact by the level of our awareness, choices and actions, namely, the entire world population. This extends not only to the population of humans but of animals and plants as well. And when we consider the environment, it is not simply the ground where we stand and the air we breathe—it encompasses from the local to the planetary levels. Yet that awareness as broadly defined as we can define it is of itself insufficient if we lack responsibility, accountability and compassion for the negative consequences we create, knowingly or not, on the “others.” Our awareness is insufficient if, in addition, we lack the desire to shift and remedy our attitudes as well as our actions in order to contribute to a more harmonious whole.

You may ask why is all this necessary. It is necessary because humans are naturally very self-centered, an attitude that immediately limits the scope of one’s awareness, causing us to become influenced by all kinds of ideas and values handed down from one generation to the next and blindly accepted. That collective consciousness subjects us unconsciously to a collective hypnotism that pushes us in preconceived directions robbing us of the exercise of our free will. Consequently, for a part of our lives we are likely sleepwalking—and not likely in the right direction—causing undesirable consequences for ourselves and others. When we sleepwalk through life we are not being our full selves—it robs us of part of our own living experience.

All this might sound ambitious and very challenging. How do we go about living consciously? The safety admonition air travelers are familiar with comes to mind: in case oxygen masks are released from the overhead compartment, apply yours first before helping others, even the ones we love. Indeed, we must take care of ourselves first if we want to be capable of helping others. In conscious living parlance it means that we must rise higher in consciousness and this starts with an enhanced awareness of our own selves.

The saying “think globally but act locally” is also appropriate, knowing that our actions engender consequences, both positive and negative, and well beyond ourselves. This is why self-awareness is the indispensible first step. It is neither obvious nor easy.

The Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875 – 1961), one of the first Western explorers of collective consciousness (a phrase he coined), taught that: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

How do we make the unconscious conscious?

Life itself points us in that direction all the time if we make the effort to notice.

Think of our life experience as the projection of the content of our consciousness, including all the parts of the collective unconscious that we have unconsciously as well as consciously accepted. The content we are neither in agreement with nor proud of is projected in discordant life experience. The only way to change the experience is to modify the content of our consciousness responsible for the undesirable experience.

Observation and introspection will cause us to identify some beliefs or values that we are not really in harmony with. Then we need to consciously dispense with them anytime they resurface. Both skill and patience are required. We must not condemn ourselves for our failing because the root cause is a set of beliefs that comes from the universal unconscious. In fact, it is cultivating self-love that will provide the necessary patience and awareness we seek.

More on the topic of how to live consciously will be addressed in a forthcoming blog. In the meantime, visit www.Liveconscious.com and go to Jack Eagle’s article “Thrilled To Be Alive.” It is one that I relate to deeply and would love to comment on with some very helpful ideas, tools and skills to help us “rise in consciousness,” a pre-condition to living more consciously for both our own benefit and the benefit of all the “others” around us.

Reference:

“Thrilled To Be Alive.” Live Conscious, 13 Jan. 2018, liveconscious.com/2017/12/thrilled-to-be-alive/.

Photo by Kristopher Allison on Unsplash

The Real Water Scarcity Crisis Happening Now

The lack of broad awareness of water scarcity on a world scale and its consequences for sustaining human life on the planet is a bona fide crisis.

Water, a gift from the sky, has been taken for granted for so long it is hard to fathom a radical, maybe permanent, absence of water in places that traditionally have been the agricultural-rich areas that produce food for the world population.

We have a case in point with the Ogallala Aquifer(1) in the U. S., one of the world's largest aquifers(2)  that underlies an area of approximately 174,000 square miles in portions of eight states across much of the central plains. It is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel. It has seen its water level drop significantly every year since 1969. In other words, the natural replenishment from rain and melting snow is insufficient to compensate for the amount of water used year after year. As a result, the water level has fallen about 40 feet.

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Large scale extraction for agricultural purposes started after World War II. Today, about 27% of the irrigated land in the entire U. S. lies over the aquifer which yields about 30% of the groundwater used for irrigation in the U. S. The aquifer is at risk for over-extraction and pollution. Once depleted, the aquifer would take over 6,000 years to replenish naturally through rainfall. And the problem is generalized as we learn from the worldwidelife.org website:

“Water covers 70% of our planet, and it is easy to think that it will always be plentiful. However, freshwater—the stuff we drink, bathe in, irrigate our farm fields with—is incredibly rare. Only 3% of the world’s water is fresh water, and two-thirds of that is tucked away in frozen glaciers or otherwise unavailable for our use.

As a result, some 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to water, and a total of 2.7 billion find water scarce for at least one month of the year. Inadequate sanitation is also a problem for 2.4 billion people—they are exposed to diseases, such as cholera and typhoid fever, and other water-borne illnesses. Two million people, mostly children, die each year from diarrheal diseases alone.

Many of the water systems that keep ecosystems thriving and feed a growing human population have become stressed. Rivers, lakes and aquifers are drying up or becoming too polluted to use. More than half the world’s wetlands have disappeared. Agriculture consumes more water than any other source and wastes much of that through inefficiencies. Climate change is altering patterns of weather and water around the world, causing shortages and droughts in some areas and floods in others.

At the current consumption rate, this situation will only get worse. By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages. And ecosystems around the world will suffer even more.”

What is really infuriating is that all this was predictable and mitigating measures could have been put in place decades ago but were not because of lack of will and of leadership in most major countries. Consider that as long ago as the late 80s, Malin Falkenmark wrote in Ambio(3) an article entitled: The Massive Water Scarcity Now Threatening Africa: Why Isn't It Being Addressed? The water crisis in Africa is, of course, more dire, however it signals problems the U. S. will have to confront if mitigation does not occur immediately.

In the 1989 article, Falkenmark writes:

“Nations depend on precipitation + inflowing waters (rivers and aquifers)— evaporation losses form vegetation and wet surfaces—outflowing water (rivers and aquifers). Self-sufficiency in food production relies on water from rain and technical supplies (irrigation). Continual population growth in Africa cause water consumption levels to go so high that many countries have already reached the water stress level (>500 persons/flow unit). By 2000, 12 African countries with a population of 250 million people will be water stressed. 150 million of these people will live in countries with absolute water scarcity. Tunisia will be beyond the water barrier. By 2025, the total number of water-stressed African countries will be 21 (1.1 billion people). Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Malawi will be beyond the water barrier. Population growth accounts for the difference between 2000 and 2025. Yet many engineers and economists do not accept the existence of water barrier. They do not consider the fact that many African leaders do not have the mechanisms and tools available to meet water demand. This man-induced water scarcity is exacerbated by the fact than many of these countries are in arid climates and at constant risk of intermittent drought… policymakers must develop sound water strategies and integrate them with land management.”

Another sad example of this worldwide crisis is outlined in The Independent’s article, India’s ‘worst water crisis in its history’ is only going to get worse, government think tank says.

“India is suffering from the worst water crisis in its history and around 600 million people face a severe water shortage.

Approximately 200,000 people die every year due to inadequate access to clean water and it’s “only going to get worse” as 21 cities are likely to run out of groundwater by 2020.

In the longer term, the under-supply will become even more acute in the South Asian nation, as demand increases with the 1.4 billion population growing at a rate of around 1 per cent.

By 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply the Niti Aayog report reads. “[This will cause] severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people.”

The water crisis is already directly affecting the U. S. though it is worse in many parts of the world. It affects the very sustainability of life for the population in many regions in the world and consequently makes an indirect impact on the U. S., not only financially from the production and distribution of food, but with pressures of immigration and its associated challenges, both on a scale we have never seen.

In short, water scarcity already experienced in many parts of the world is growing more dire as it directly and indirectly impacts the entire world population.

This is a full-fledged humanitarian crisis.

The general lack of leadership from national leaders focused on short-term political gains can only be offset by a massive engagement of the population. That is a difficult task in authoritarian regimes but is the very stuff that democracies can address. But first, for that to happen there must be a greater conscious awareness of the issues of water scarcity and its urgencies.

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(1) a vast groundwater resource under eight U. S. states, used especially for crop irrigation, that stretches from southern South Dakota to western Texas and eastern New Mexico

(2) An aquifer is a body of permeable rock that can contain or transmit groundwater.

(3) Ambio: A Journal of the Human Environment is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published eight times a year by Springer Science+Business Media on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It was established in 1972.

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Sources:

“Ogallala Aquifer.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Jan. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer.

“Water Scarcity.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity.

Falkenmark, Malin. “The Massive Water Scarcity Now Threatening Africa: Why Isn't It Being Addressed?” Ambio: A Journal of the Human Environment, vol. 18, no. 2, 1989.

Mattha Busby @matthabusby. “Worst Water Crisis in India's History Predicted to Get Much Worse.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 17 June 2018, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-water-crisis-shortage-niti-aayog-report-drought-mismanagement-a8403286.html.

Photo by Michael Bourgault on Unsplash

Love and Marriage: New Trends Propelled by Millennials, Gen X and Gen Z

Everyone is after love. We all inherently know that love truly is what makes the world go ‘round. We seem to know without being taught that love is a force that pervades the universe. We know that a world without love is a darker world and this drives us to seek and to share love in our lives. We’re even beginning to genuinely discover that we cannot truly love others unless we love ourselves first and most fundamentally.

Love is the subject most written about in novels and songs. We think about it often. It’s seems very simple to us yet mysterious at the same time. And while we feel that love comes naturally to us, we grapple with what it really means and how we express it when we’re in love relationships.

Our society has constructed all kinds of walls and barriers in the form of rules around love although both Generation Z and the millennials are chipping away at them. As many question exactly why we’re all expected and trained to conform to these norms most especially around marriage we’re beginning to see new ways of living and loving demonstrated by the freer and more mindfully thinking population.

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For example, millennials are rejecting traditional marriage in record numbers. The median age for a first marriage is now age 27 for women and 29 for men. In 1960, it was 20 for women and 23 for men.

Millennials are showing signs they’re wanting to allow the institution of marriage to evolve. And they’re tending to view marriage as an option rather than a necessity or that thing you just do. It isn’t that they’re not exploring love and relationships. They are. They’re merely recognizing more and more that marriage is a construct that boxes in their exploration of love and of themselves.

Says Brooke Genn, relationship coach, “It’s a fascinating happening, and an incredible opportunity for marriage to be redefined and approached with more reverence and mindfulness than ever before.”

“Today an unprecedented portion of millennials will remain unmarried through age 40, a recent Urban Institute report predicted. The marriage rate might drop to 70 percent—a figure well below rates for boomers (91%), late boomers (87%) and Gen Xers (82%).”

— Meg Murphy, NowUKnow: Why Millennials Refuse to Get Married

It isn’t so much that most millennials don’t want to get married although a significant number of them do not. It’s more that they’re choosing to do it wisely—once they have careers well established, have satisfied many personal needs and have created a firm financial foundation. They want to gain a more established individual adult identity prior to marriage complete with more emotional development and self-awareness. And for many, their idea of what constitutes this more holistic foundation very often is preventing them from ever marrying. 

Beyond finances, there’s a social component too. Millennials are beginning to perceive marriage as an outdated institution. Opting out of traditional marriage is their way of rebelling against institutions they do not entirely believe in. Moreover, national surveys show that half of American adults believe society is not adversely affected if people place other priorities above marriage and children, according to a recent Pew report.

Additionally, says Meg Murphy in Why Millennials Refuse to Get  Married,

“For some millennial couples, they’d rather avoid the term ‘spouse’ as well as ‘marriage’ altogether. Instead, they are perfectly happy to be lifelong partners without the marriage license.”

Marriage for legal, tax and economic, and religious and social purposes does not appeal to them as much as it did to their forebears. 

“Instead, they claim their relationship as entirely their own, based on love and commitment, and not in need of external validation.”

Millennials have also witnessed a high degree of divorce among their parents and this makes them skittish about marriage. In their parents’ and earlier generations, people just got married and then worked to figure things out. Millennials are more about certainty, being deliberate and making the right decision therefore they’re slower to pull the trigger.

Should it come to marriage, millennials and even their predecessor Gen-Xers tend to shun divorce. University of Maryland professor Philip Cohen has found that from 2008 to 2016, the U.S. divorce rate has dropped by 18%. He says that the overall drop is driven entirely by younger women.

As our world continues to evolve, we’re finding we’re having to make shifts in how we do things—how we live, how we do business, how we communicate and interact with each other and more. We’re being required to make these shifts more frequently than decades ago and to table our judgment of what we sometimes view as seismic metamorphoses in favor of a “wait and see” approach.  This begs an openness on our part to accept the winds of change making us more resilient beings and leaving our inner happiness and joy undisturbed. We’ll probably find that many of the evolutionary changes we’re witnessing today will eventually prove to work out just fine in the end.

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Source:

Murphy, Meg. “NowUKnow: Why Millennials Refuse to Get Married.” PreparedU View | Bentley University, 3 Jan. 2019, www.bentley.edu/impact/articles/nowuknow-why-millennials-refuse-get-married.

Miller, Ryan W. “Add Divorce to the List of Things Millennials Are Killing.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 26 Sept. 2018, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/09/26/millennials-blame-lower-us-divorce-rate-study/1429494002/.

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

The Chinese New Year Is February 5—Year of the Golden Boar

According to Taoism, the Chinese New Year falls on the second full moon of 2019–February 5—and brings with it the potential for peace, harmony, contentment and happiness.

Taoist culture was birthed thousands of years before the Christian era, yet the Taoist lunar calendar is used all over Asia and South East Asia even today.

The enigmatic Lao-Tzu (circa 500 B.C.) is the author of the Tao Te Ching which recaps all the precepts of traditional Taoism with a focus on the qualities of the heart, whereas his better known contemporary philosopher, Confucius, was a pragmatic moralist. Both approaches managed to coexist with Buddhism introduced to China from India in the first century A.D. This convergence shaped not only Chinese culture but the evolution of Chan Buddhism, better known as Zen Buddhism.

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Taoism sees mankind and all of earthly creation as subject to the energetic influences of Earth and of “heaven,” meaning the cosmos. Taoist astrology includes 12 earthly branches each represented by an animal each with its own mythical characteristics. Six of them are deemed yang (masculine energies) and six are yin (feminine energies). The 12 animals are also declined within the exposition of the five elements and the five element theory of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. This resulted in the creation of a massive cycle of patterns repeating themselves every 60 years.

The 2019 Chinese New Year is the year of the Golden Boar. 2019 ends in an odd number making it a yin/feminine year according to Taoism. (Years ending in an even number such as 2018 are designated as yang/masculine years.)

The color Golden in the phrase Golden Boar means it is the feminine version of the masculine “Yellow Boar.” Both animals are consonant with the Earth element.

In the book Taoist Astrology, a Handbook of the Authentic Chinese Tradition by Susan Levitt with Jean Tang, we learn that: “The year of the Boar is a time of self-indulgence and fun.” It is said to be a time when “people can be kinder to each other in everyday interaction and feel little need for competition.” The authors tell us that Gold Boar wants peace and harmony with others.

We can only hope for some favorable and well-needed energetic influence to bring more mutual respect for and kindness toward all sentient beings on earth during these troubled times, be they humans, animals, plants, trees or the entire environment of air and water. We dearly hope so!

In so doing, wouldn’t our personal aligning ourselves with the special energies of the Chinese New Year’s Golden Boar help to raise our collective sense of wellness, contentment and harmony? 

Perhaps we can keep the time honored and proven wisdom of the Taoist ancients in our hearts and minds in our contemplations, meditations and everyday lives as we experience a year that could prove to be one of the most pivotal years yet especially if we begin to return to our true nature—that of loving kindness.

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Source:

Levitt, Susan, and Jean Tang. Taoist Astrology: A Handbook of the Authentic Chinese Tradition. Destiny Books, 1997.

The "Cure for Everything:" How Gratitude Uplifts and Heals

On January 18 we entered the 18-day period between the end of the energetic season of the Water element (Winter) and the beginning of the energetic season of the Wood element (Spring) beginning February 5. That transitional period is one of the four 18-day seasonal energetic transitional periods of the year called Earth. Each energetic season has a set of energetic influences to which each one of us is more or less sensitive. For the people who stay very grounded and balanced during Earth, the 18-day period can be extremely creative time for them, but for those who have an Earth imbalance, the energetic influence exacerbates rumination enhancing worry and impeding decision making. 

In our Wei Chi series of blog articles beginning in March of 2017 we emphasized the teaching of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) concerning the importance of our emotional life on our state of health and wellness. Positive emotions have a favorable effect on our vitality while negative ones are very destructive to our physical and mental health in addition to damaging our emotional life. 

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In Dr. Mercola’s email newsletter of January 18, 2019 we are reminded that the key to enriching and nourishing relationships with other humans is an attitude of gratitude. It seems simple enough but given the load of concerns, if not outright worries most people experience in this trying time and age, it is easy to feel like we’re being attacked from various sides. We may even find little that immediately comes to mind for which we can sustain such an attitude of gratitude.

Some people are blessed with an innate predisposition to be thankful for almost all people and events in their lives but for most it requires a moment of deliberate reflection to focus on people, animals, things, conditions, and places for which to acknowledge and express appreciation. It is so important that Mercola refers to it as “a cure for everything,” and he adds: "It is free!”

A feeling of gratitude is a blessing but it needs to be expressed to be cultivated and to become fully beneficial in our lives. Appreciation is an even more profound aspect of gratitude. It causes us to go beyond the surface of “thank you” and feel more deeply.

Feeling gratitude for anything at all is a near instant remedy for feeling low. Feeling appreciation for anything at all causes us to truly pause and deliberately savor the beauty of life. It can begin with appreciation for the simplest of things such as a smile offered, a butterfly, a tasty bite of food, a hilarious television show or a beautiful color. Appreciation has the potential to take us to the more meditative state where healing begins to occur, “the junction point between mind and matter, the point where consciousness actually starts to have an effect,” according to Deepak Chopra.

It is this state of awareness and feeling that becomes the “best predictor of good relationships” in our lives. It contributes to a balanced and peaceful state of mind and it supports our chi energy helping us to maintain a stronger immune system and radiant health, vitality and sense of overall well-being.

Top Wellness Trend for 2019: SIMPLIFY

Well + Good has already listed their top wellness trends for 2019 ranging from simplification to CBD (cannabidiol) products, even more creative cauliflower product inventions and IV drips for wellness. Evidently, self-care has gotten too complicated and for many self-care is creating the very thing it’s intended to alleviate: stress!

 “When your wellness routine—AKA the rituals and habits you embraced to make your life better—is stressing you out, things need to change. And for so many people this year, the line between constructive self-care and pure anxiety trigger (as in, just another thing on your already-jammed to-do list) became blurrier than ever before. In 2019, it’s time to simplify, simplify, simplify. And get that wellness-loving mojo back,” says Well + Good Editors, December 4, 2018

Reducing everything we do to a simpler version of itself can be a relaxing key in a world that’s spinning faster and faster. We have to know and accept that we can’t do it all. Instead, pick a niche you love, dive into it and do it well. Just pick and choose.

Simplifying our lives is itself a form of self-care. It’s a pathway to reclaiming our time and our sanity.

Four ways Well + Good suggests to do that are:

Staying in. This one isn’t new but it’s interesting that it’s still at the top of many peoples’ lists. Rather than going out, more and more people are staying in and bonding over their mutual desire for a simpler life.

Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters (Riverhead Books, 2018), actually helps people create gatherings in their work and home lives that are transformative and meaningful for the people in them. Rather than seek perfection in activity and gathering together she advocates for finding profound meaning in the simple things.

As an example, when one of Parker’s students, a wife and mother, cried over the mere act of being fed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made for her by someone else, Parker helped her student identify how often all we need is to share our vulnerability with each other to help nurture our spirit. Her student conceived of the idea to contact her six closest friends and invite them over for an evening of food ordered in. She didn’t make dinner or clean the house. She did nothing fancy or special but the company was good.

Trendy diets like Keto and Paleo are being eclipsed by the simpler Mediterranean diet.

Home decluttering is becoming a thing and so is finding  beauty in all the imperfections of our home and lives.

Opting out of social media is going to have significance in the trending world for 2019. The perfect pictures and captions posted are not always honest and there is a freedom in opting out especially for those who feel they have to keep up with what they see on social media.

And here’s our own #5 self-care suggestion: 

Nothing could be simpler for your skin and self-care than PHYTO5 Swiss-made skin and hair care which is so potent that no matter what single product or collection of products you choose, they’re going to work for you. You’ll need less product and they’ll last longer. If you are really not into having a “skincare routine,” check out our HINT below.

HINT: If you want to choose only one cream from all of our product lines, Nourishing Cream is a sure bet or stick to the hydrating cream of each energetic season.

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Source:

Editors, Well+Good. “It's Time to Say Buh-Bye, ‘Performative Wellness’-and Hello, Sanity.” Well+Good, Well+Good, 4 Dec. 2018, www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/self-care-stress/.