Welcome to the Carnival of Healing #66: Joy, Peace, Renewal.

It's hard to believe that 2006 will end in less than 2 days. Everyone I've talked to lately all seem to feel that this year has gone by particularly fast. It's certainly a big "milestone year" for me, personally and professionally. As the curtains of the year 2006 are drawing close, and I look back on everything that happened this year, despite many challenges, I'm truly grateful for all the things and people in my life. I hope you, too, find much joy and peace in your heart, and a great sense of renewal and hope for the New Year.

Edward Mills at Evolving Times shares the same sentiment in his beautifully written post Living Life For The Sheer Joy Of It. He reminds us to "give ourselves the time and space to experience these moments of pure joy" and say "yes" to life.

As we reflect on the year gone by, it's important to practice forgiveness and letting go of the past, so we can live in the present and move forward. Raymond David Salas at ZenChill.com - Power Tools for Mind, Body, and Soul shares with us his step-by-step approach in his post The Power of Forgiveness.

Caroline Latham at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution reminds us Tis Better to Give Than to Receive. Researchers have found that the mesolimbic pathway in the brain is activated by charitable giving. This area is one of the major pathways where you find the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is associated with the brain's pleasure system. Furthermore, donating also appears to increase the release of oxytocin, the "nurturing" hormone related to human bonding. In other words, giving enhances your mood and social relationships. Just another reason to be generous to others.

Tis the time for another round of New Year Resolutions. Most people make them, but few stick with them. A recent study from the University of Scranton, PA, shows that every January millions of American women resolve to lose weight and change their eating habits, but a quarter of them go back to their old ways within a week! The statistics is discouraging, but you do not have to give up.

Patricia at A Better You Blog has a proven method to Start A New Habit Or Break A Bad One: Ten Steps To Guarantee Success For Anyone.

Yesterday I was chatting with a nurse who resolves to lose weight and we joked that losing weight is a "perennial goal" for most people. Then I thought, wait a minute, there are other goals that deserve to be "perennial goals", such as personal development, spiritual growth, self-nurturing and healing, etc. The following posts focus on healing.

Journaling is a great tool to reflect the day and visualize the future. Isabella Mori at Change Therapy presents Journaling for Healing: 15 tips.

Our Carnival host Phylameana lila Desy at About Holistic Healing shares the experience of giving her son and daughter-in-law an ear candling session, as well as some animated (mostly on her son's part) photos in her post Ear Candling Session Photos.

Baphomet at BecomeNatural.com shares the many wonderous use of a special mushroom in The wonders of Kombucha.

Aparna at Beauty & Personality Grooming presents Home Remedies for tonsillitis.

David E. at Worldwide Success shares the story of how Augie Nieto used his "entrepreneurial spirit" to fight Lou Gehrig's disease and invites us to support his cause in Using an Entrepreneurial Spirit to Find a Cure for Deadly Diseases such as Lou Gehrig's.

Caroline Latham at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution presents Are cognitive abilities the same thing as intelligence?

Change is in the air. That's why I'd like to share a post I wrote a while ago titled Take the L.E.A.P. to Manage Life's Changes with Ease here at Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul.

That's all for this edition of the Carnival of Healing. Thank you all for participating and reading. You can read the past edition at Evolving Times, and the next edition will be at Wisdom of Healing.

Happy New Year!!!

Labels: Blog Carnivals, Carnival of Healing, healing, health, intention, making changes, New Year Resolutions