Welcome to Carnival of Healing #89: Journey to Wellness. For those who are unfamiliar with this carnival, the Carnival of Healing is a weekly round-up of personal Web sites and blogs on the topics of holistic health, wellness, spirituality, and self empowerment. While you are nurturing others, don't forget to nourish your body and heal your soul.

This week I received many wonderful posts from our regular contributors, as well as from some new (to me) blogs. Many posts are about making changes, whether in physical health, life style, habits, mindset, or beliefs, in order to achieve total well-being. It takes courage and commitment to change, and sometimes it also requires letting go. I think many of us are on a journey to wellness, or helping others on such a journey, hence the title of this week's carnival.

I'm sorry about the delay -- I've been having some computer problems. Let's dive right in, shall we?

First off, just in time for Father's Day, our Carnival of Healing host Phylameana lila Desy is calling for submissions for Tribute to Nurturing Dads (I LOVE the title!) at her About.com: Holistic Healing site. "A call for submission of photos of fathers along with tribute statement from their sons, daughters, wives, or co-parents. Submissions will be included in a photo gallery dedicated to fathers. The gallery will be featured at About Holistic Healing on Father's Day".


Health & Healing

Caroline Latham at SharpBrains presents Potential Nutritional Treatment for ADD/ADHD, saying "Our diet provides essential nutrients and cellular components to the body. It is an interesting area to consider for treating illnesses with fewer side effects." She cited an interesting study using a combination of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as potential ADD/ADHD treatment.

If you have difficulty sleeping, check out I Can't Sleep! - 4 Common Causes of Insomnia presented by FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog. "At the root of all healing is sleep. Sleep is our body's chance to heal itself without us interfering at all. Almost everyone, including myself, has had or is having trouble sleeping. Remember what it felt like to wake up feeling completely refreshed and eager to start the day? This article will help you identify the four most common causes of your insomnia AND what you can do to start sleeping more peacefully TONIGHT!"

Also presented by FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog is How to Literally Turn Back Time - The REAL Fountain of Youth. This post shares a fascinating study of a group of 25 healthy seniors (average age 70), "with just six months of (resistance) training twice a week, these formerly average old-timers had reversed their muscle tissue's gene makeup to levels similar to that of young whipper-snappers, ages 20-35! Not only that, the workout program boosted their overall strength by an average of 50 percent!" Guess it's never too late to start working out!

Silicone Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life presents 12 Cheap Ways To Keep Fit And Stay Healthy. A lot of these tips are common sense, but worth reminding yourself of. The point is, prevention is the best medicine.

Vahid chaychi at Healthoma.com presents What boosts memory in children and adults. According to a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience, "it may be possible to boost memory with a plant compound called epicatechin. This chemical compound is found in several foods and drinks like tea, cocoa, blueberries and grapes. The Research suggests that epicatechin could help spatial memory, especially when combined with an exercise routine."

Debra Moorhead at Debra Moorhead.com presents Not Worth the Calories. Sounds like an interesting post, but, sorry I can't give you more details. For some reason I couldn't access this post. Every time I tried it crashed my web browser. I hope you have better luck. Sorry Debra.

Aparna at Beauty and Personality Grooming presents Home remedies for excessive thirst. Excessive thirst could be a sign of diabetes. If you are sure you don't have it, then try some of Aparna's home remedies to quench your insatiable thirst.

Gal Josefsberg at 60 in 3 presents 60 IN 3 Healthy Eating Habits. This post is the part 5 of her Healthy Eating Habits series. Gal offers some great insights & tips on how to break the binge and guilt cycle.

Ion Zwitter at Avant News presents Study Suggests Soul Sale Obesity Panacea. A fascinating study that suggests that our soul weighs about 15% of our body weight. The researchers of this study developed a weight loss program claiming "quick, painless removal of up to 15% of body weight at no cost." Interesting concept, although they didn't explain how it works.


Life Lessons

Isabella Mori at Change Therapy presents Giving up, Efforts, and Trust. I love how she wrote it. Not giving up requires not just more efforts, it also requires imagination (what future might bring). She said that if you can't imagine what future might bring, then you need to have trust, which comes from wisdom you gain from past experiences. I also think that the level of trust (or faith) is reinforced by both positive and negative experiences, and how you have dealt with those experiences.

Virginia Simon at Centre for Emotional Well-Being shares her courageous journey of "dealing with PTSD and how I recovered from trauma and stress and survivor guilt and became 'normal'" in Lessons from Panic. What an inspirational story and attitude she has!

Rory Sullivan at hamelife asserted the importance of offering our children love, acceptance and a sense of security in Parents - Never Threaten Your Child With Abandonment. It's so true that we all need to feel loved and accepted, and rejection is one of human's greatest fears. Our children are even more sensitive to fear of abandonment and rejection. He pointed out a few common practices that parents use, and offered alternatives to better ensure a sense of security for children.


Life Coaching & Personal Development

Laura Young at Dragon Slayer's Guide to Life defines the true meaning of "wellness" in Wellness Coaching: Defining Wellness. She offers the wellness concept from both medical perspective and holistic perspective, and emphasizes that even for people with chronic medical conditions, wellness and healing is always within your reach. In conclusion, Laura wrote, "Wellness is mind-body-spirit integration that promotes self-care and self-understanding and connects your life to the larger world. It is a state of being joyfully and enthusiastically engaged with your life, even when it doesn’t turn out exactly as you had planned." I couldn't agree more. So many people have become so attached to (and dis-powered by) their medical conditions. They have forgotten that they are more than their body and illness, and that their mind has amazing healing powers. Even how you describe your health condition (the words you use) has direct impact on your body. I've found that your body tends to "comply" with your thoughts & beliefs. I can personally attest to that.

Brandon Peele at Generative Transformation presents Origin of Endeavor. It all comes down to choices. Whether you are conscious about it or not, we are always making choices. Brandon cleverly explains the underlying factors dictating the kind of endeavors we choose.

Another post by Brandon Peele is Psychology vs. Philosophy, posted at Generative Transformation. It's a good read.

Angela Lindenmuth at Chiromom's Soap Box presents 5 techniques for a happier YOU!!! She wrote, "We all need to find our own way to go through the adventure of life. Try a positive outlook and watch the healing process unfold before your eyes."

Paula Gregorowicz at Coaching4Lesbians presents Words are just words. In a nutshell, "We all know harsh words spoken can and do hurt us, sometimes deeply. Yet, it is never the words themselves that hurt us — it is what we make them mean." How we interpret the words (or event) determines how we feel and respond to them. It's what I call "reframe" of perspective.
Great post!

Tejvan Pettinger at Sri Chinmoy Inspiration shares some great tips in The Art of Happiness. The tips include minimize desires, avoid criticism, show appreciation, look after the body, be active.

Raymond David Salas at ZenChill.com presents How to Attract Your Desires Easily. In this post he introduces Al Diaz's book The Titus Concept, including daily exercises you can practice. In a nutshell, “The Titus Concept” is the idea that everything in your life, past, present, and future is there for your best and highest good. That’s right, EVERYTHING (no exceptions). I also recently came across Al Diaz's website and listened to his Teleclass. It's worth checking out!

The last post is Practice Detached Involvement, posted on my blog Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul. I think parenting (as well as nursing, medicine, coaching, etc) is "risky business" with very unpredictable ROI. Sometimes things just don't work out despite your best efforts. So, what can you do to save your sanity and inner peace? I learned this critical skill the hard way, back in my RN days...

OK, that concludes this week's Carnival of Healing. A heartfelt Thank You to everyone who participated in this week's Carnival. You can find last week's carnival at Mind Mart. Next week the Carnival of Healing will be at OptimistLab. Don't forget to submit your post. Until next time, please take good care of yourself. You are irreplaceable.

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