NATURAL HOMEMADE DEODORANT

Some months ago, I read about how bad regular deodorant is for us. It seems that the popular anti-perspirant deodorants contain aluminum chlorhydrate, a toxic compound linked to brain disorders and cancer. Some other new aluminum free anti-perspirants have appeared on the market. But whatever they have in them, if they work at all, stop up the sweat glands and that is also really bad for the immune system.
 

On the basis of this information, I refused to use any toxic deodorant ever again. I had two choices: go without or find a natural deodorant. I’d noticed that sometimes, in colder weather, I could go without using deodorant and not have any noticeable under-arm odor. But in summer and with heavy exercising, I needed some help to avoid a strong odor. I searched out the commercial natural products. It turned out that the natural deodorants that are commercially available are expensive.

There had to be a better way. I decided to make my own. So, I began to read the DIY blogs on the Internet. I tried a few of their recommendations. Some results of this initial experiments smelled strange or included essential oils that were expensive. Others just didn’t work and I ended up stinking. I didn’t give up. I kept on until I made something that was right for me. Eventually I succeeded.

And I’m sharing this effective (for me, at least) deodorant with you. I’ve never experienced any stains on my clothing. I’ve been using it once a day for a year now, and I swear by it. It’s easy to make, there are just a handful of natural ingredients, and it works.

Personal deodorant made from natural oils and cloves.

Clove and Oil Deodorant Recipe

One of those items in this easy homemade deodorant is clove. Cloves are very healthful. They have powerful antifungal, anitibacterial and antiviral properties.  The oils moisturize the skin. What's more, coconut oil is the 12-carbon Lauric Acid. When digested, it forms a monoglyceride called monolaurin. Both of these acids kill harmful bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Ingredients

1/8 cup organic coconut oil

1/8 cup organic olive oil

5 whole organic cloves

You may use a bit of essential clove oil, if you don't want the whole cloves in the jar. Also they may be removed after a couple of days. The nice clove odor will stay on.

Put the ingredients in a small glass jar. (I use old pimiento jars.) Seal with a lid and keep in your bathroom. The process should take you about 5 minutes.

Use your fingers to spread a pea-sized amount under each arm and rub in for a few seconds. On hot summer days it’s totally melted and in winter it somewhat thicker. It still works well, despite temperature fluctuations. 

Your underarms may go through a short detox period when you’re getting used to your new, chemical-free deodorant. Give the deodorant at least 2-3 weeks to decide if it’s working for you. If you sweat a lot throughout the day or during workouts, you may want to reapply the deodorant another time during the day or use a little after-bath talco or organic cornstarch in addition to this product.

I recommend that you try making your own natural deodorant. Look around for some recipes. I believe that you’ll find one you like. It may well be the simple one described here. Beyond that, you’ll feel much better knowing that you are using a deodorant that is healthy for you and not costly to make.

DEPLASTICIZE MY LIFE – BEGIN IN THE KITCHEN, PLEASE!

Plastic is a petroleum product that's part of oil extraction industries. It's everywhere and it's long-term effects are incalculably bad. If you've been reading almost anything current, you’ve heard that our continuous exposure to plastic lowers our immune defenses setting us up for infections and even cancers. And it’s not just in our homes.  Plastics from litter and landfills have fouled up our water where they act as carcinogens and artificial estrogens.  Leached plastic is killing all forms of life in our lakes and oceans. And when marine animals are being poisoned, so are we when we eat any of it.

The plastics industry spends a lot of effort telling us that plastics are OK - that they're recyclable. But that’s a theoretical statement. The reality is that only a fraction of them are recyclable. And most of those that could be reused don't make it to the right place. Also, plastic recycling is energy intensive and, therefore expensive. Beyond that, even after you use the recyclable stuff as a car bumper or a lumber substitute, when it's over, it's over. The next step is the landfill or directly into some river, lake or ocean bottom.

Luckily there are some ways to reduce plastic use – beginning in the home.  And that’s the main reason for my impassioned plea – “DEPLASTICIZE MY LIFE!” Obviously, no one is going to do it for me. I have to do it myself. And it’s not easy and is taking me many weeks. Summing up the deplasticizing strategy: * STOP THE PLASTIC PLAGUE BY REFUSING TO BUY THE STUFF.*  

So, here’s a bit more about my progress, and I’m sharing this to raise awareness (and anger, why not?) about plastic exposure in the home and point out some practical ways that we can reduce that exposure.

There’s even a blog about a woman who spent a whole year without using plastic.  Maybe you and I aren't ready for that yet. But we can minimize our plastic use – beginning today - and redoubling our efforts ASAP.

Beginning my kitchen deplasticizing saga

A year or so ago, I began my deplasticizing saga on a small scale. My new campaign redoublea my efforts. I've begun with the easiest steps and am tackling the harder ones as the days go by. As of now, absolutely, no more plastic shopping bags are brought in. I take my cloth shopping bags with me with a small one where I put all the produce items, together. They have to sort them out at the market check-out counter. But that’s their problem. If they provided small paper bags for those things, they wouldn’t have to do the extra work. I also don't buy products that are wrapped in plastic whenever there is an alternative. Farmers’ markets usually sell their products plastic free, so I do a lot of my shopping, there.

Currently, my kitchen is 80% plastic free. Of course, I may never reach  an absolute of 100% free because there are plastics lids on a lot of things – like, for example, my stainless steel pans and the lid and base of my blender. I wouldn't know where to begin to replace them right now. And, of course, I'm not ready yet to get rid of all electric kitchen items – although I've thought about it – at least for the foreseeable future. I've got an electric refrigerator and stove, all of which have plastic components. 

While I’m almost sure that it doesn't make sense to try to eliminate plastics entirely – even in the kitchen - I'm doing what I can to reduce our food’s exposure to plastic.  It’s a question of a redo organization in the kitchen!  I've read that the most healthy and safest canisters and refrigerator containers for food are glass or stainless steel. So, there’s where I began. All my storage containers now have a glass base. Some still have plastic tops, for now.

New steps on my deplasticizing campaign

After the initial efforts that I just outlined, I began to look around in my kitchen cabinets, drawers and on the counters. Some plastic could be found in all those places. What to do? The first thing I decided to do was to buy absolutely *NO NEW PLASTIC ITEMS*. The heaviest weight stuff  – melamine plates and bowls – the ones that I use frequently, I’m keeping right now. They are still useful for cold lunch items and salads. All the hot stuff and food to be stored is always placed in glass containers.

I also have recently changed out my cooking utensils and the salt, pepper, and spice shakers for stainless steel and glass. It didn't cost me a fortune to do. I shopped around and came up with low-cost substitute items, all for less than five dollars, each.

As for more expensive purchases, I've had to take my time – only one per month. Just last month, I changed out my non-stick (plastic) rice cooker for a stainless steel one. The non-stick pizza maker is next on my list for removal – probably by buying a new countertop oven that accommodates 12-inch pizzas. I need a new one, anyway, and that way I’ll be able to use just one electric product instead of two.

Well, soon, my kitchen may be deplasticized to my satisfaction. But, I'll not stop there and be looking around at other areas of the house that also need a redo. I've already got a start on that. I’ve done away with most plastic containers in other areas of the house – all but, for now, the large storage boxes in the closet. I’m not sure what I could be using – except for, maybe, metal trunks. That would be expensive. So, I'll have to pause on that issue – at least, for now. Finding substitutes for my laundry basket and the waste cans shouldn't be very difficult.

Trade out plastic for stainless steel items.

At the present time, I’ve given up on plastic throwaway pens, pencils, and feminine razors. I use the refillable metal ones and an electric razor. What’s more, all my personal and cleaning products are made from coconut oil, sea salt, vinegar, baking soda, cornstarch, and borax. The dry stuff comes in cardboard boxes and the other usually can be found in glass. If I can’t find something I need except in plastic and it’s in sufficient bulk and not expensive, I may choose it.  With these products, what I'm more concerned with is the use of non-toxic substances. Still, I transfer as much of these as I can to smaller glass containers. I currently buy a non-toxic bath soap bar, but I’d like to make my own soap bars sometime soon.

As you can see, deplasticizing is an adventure. It took us (people on this planet) less than 70 years – post 1950 – to get to this terrible state of affairs. But, I've challenged myself that before this year is out, my home will be 90% plastic free. Will you join me in this campaign?

YOU DON'T NEED A TOXIC BOMB TO STOP UNDERARM ODOR

Underarm odor. Now, that's a touchy subject.  And one that we've been taught to deal with by using the "right product."

Most of us women were told to begin using a store-bought deodorant when we reached puberty. It was a rite of passage, just like the introduction to sanitary pads (back-in-the-day) or tampons, more recently.

Times have changed.

Of course, we’re still concerned - most of us, anyway - with the possibility of offending someone with our potentially strong underarm odor. But, great news has been withheld from us for too long. We don't need a toxic bomb to stop the stench, and that’s what most commercially sold deodorants are. While the industrial DEO situation is grim, we can fight back by tackling our underarm odor naturally.

We don't need those commercial personal products that have so many harmful chemicals in them. We have the right to choose what we put on our skin. And it's about time we exercised that right. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't do much about the safety of personal care products and cosmetics. In the European Union, there are well over a thousand banned chemicals in personal products while in the USA, there are ten or so.

While most conventional antiperspirants work well, they are really a chemical overkill with numerous harsh and cancer causing substances - beginning with aluminum, parabens and chemical fragrances. Just read the scary ingredients printed on the labels of the store-bought deodorants. Those DEOs are bad news because whatever we put on our skin - anywhere on our beautiful bods - ends up in the bloodstream and then moves into our organs.

We can start our healthy - and sweet smelling - hygiene by eating a good diet,  drinking enough filtered water and taking a daily shower. That definitely cuts down on body odor. But, sadly, for many, it's not enough.  Luckily, for those of us who long for natural options, there is a way. We can make our own healthy deodorant.

Natural DEO is easy to make.

I demanded healthy armpits and found a recipe that absolutely beats B.O. And I have been using it for about as long as I can remember - with no major slip-ups - even during hot, stressed out and sweaty days.

This DEO offers a lot. It’s effective, non-toxic, costs only a few pennies, and has no wasteful packaging. (And, in my opinion, it’s awesome to have happy armpits and, at the same time, wield a blow to harmful consumerism.)

The best part is that it's made up of things that probably are already in your kitchen. These things go into your food. And, if it's found in good, healthy food, it's got to be the same when spread out over your skin.

Healthy Homemade DEO
3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil - organic is best

1 Tablespoon Baking Soda

3 Tablespoons Cornstarch - organic is best

Essential Oils (optional)

Small glass jar - recycled is best.

Just stir up everything in a bowl with a fork or spatula and transfer it into the jar. Then, take a small amount on your fingers and apply it to your underarms. It dries right away. And, like most commercial DEO's, it's best used once or twice daily, according to your needs.

This DEO works. The baking soda stops odor, the cornstarch absorbs moisture, and the coconut oil makes it stick together and offers antiseptic properties. Essential oils help it smell nice. You’ll be ever so pleased with this made-healthy-at-home DEO.

And, hey, just a few decades ago it was common to apply a deodorant cream. We can do that again, if that's what it takes to avoid harmful chemicals.

There are only two warnings that I can think of for your natural DEO. First one - try it first on a small area of your skin - to test for some kind of (highly unlikely) allergy. Second one - it's probably best to use up each batch within a calendar month.

Keep your homemade DEO at room temperature for easy application. If it gets too gooey (something that can happen in hot weather), leave it in the refrigerator between uses. You'll find that it won't be shockingly cold by the time you put it on your fingers. Another way to tackle the summertime goo problem is to add a bit more cornstarch - or small amount of beeswax - to the mixture.

MY (ALMOST ALL) HOMEMADE LIQUID DISH SOAP

Making your own household cleaning products isn't really such a big deal – but it may seem that way at first. The truth is that it’s actually easier than you may think. It’s all a matter of routines. That’s what I told myself when I began this adventure with homemade laundry detergent. And on my very first try, happily, it that turned out to be an excellent product - far superior and much cheaper than anything I could buy at the big box store.  .

After that, I felt that I could also make my own homemade liquid dish soap - something that I use a lot of  because I totally lack a dish wash machine. (And that's a condition that I've had most of my adult life, making me a more-than-experienced dishwasher by hand.) It turned out that all my early tries at making a homemade dish soap failed – for months. And all those trials were in contrast to my homemade laundry detergent that was a success from the very first.

The recipes for homemade dish soap – and there are many of them online - kept falling short of my needs. Most weren’t soap-like at all. Some were slippery and thin and others just didn’t suit me at all because they left a nasty oily scum on the dishes. After many tries, I finally came up with something that works for me.  The recipe that I’m following now leaves squeaky-clean dishes and glassware and rinses off without any residue. And I don’t hesitate to share with others.  It takes only a few minutes to make – in my case, that’s 5 minutes about twice a week. That's pretty good return for my time considering that I've lowered my dish soap bill to about 15% of what it was just a few months ago.

The best part of it is that this homemade dish soap is earth-friendly. We all know that most commercial dish soaps are loaded with toxins, and even some of the "green" cleaners contain harsh chemicals. Beyond that, the second ingredient in many popular store brands is sodium lauryl sulfate, something that is considered to be a health-hazard and a carcinogen. So, why continue using products that we know are bad for us and for the environment? And that, especially, when we come across a recipe for an eco-friendly liquid dish soap that is non-toxic and does a great job.

This dish soap is non-toxic, cheap and works! 

Ingredients
-1 and 1/2 cups of boiling hot water (with some lemon, orange and/or grapefruit peels thrown in, if you like a bit of pleasant odor).

- 3 heaping tablespoons of grated laundry soap

-1 teaspoons of super washing soda

- 1 teaspoons of borax

Using your homemade dish soap
I use a funnel to put all the dry ingredients in a glass 2-quart, recycled fruit juice bottle. Next, I dump in the almost boiling water - having removed the fruit peels - in the bottle and stir vigorously with a chopstick. Then, I add a quart of plain cool water and shake it all up.

So, as you  see, this recipe is super easy. You just make up the batch right in the bottle. It’s initially somewhat liquid but it thickens up after it cools. If it’s too thick later on, just shake it up,  add a little warm water, and give it a good shake. It'll do fine.

As to the dishwashing method, this may take a bit of a variation over what you usually do with commercial products. I transfer a quarter cup or so of the liquid to a plastic bowl and wash my dishes with the dish rag, separately – meaning that I don’t let the dishes soak together and rinse them, one-by-one. The soap suds up only the slightest bit on the rag and it's better not to add more water to the rag while washing a dish (or a few dishes at a time, depending on the amount of grease to be eliminated).

NOTES: The amount of thickeners needed - washing soda and borax - may vary some, depending on your water supply, so adjust accordingly. Although I wouldn’t want everyone to quote me on this, you may still have to throw in a couple of squirts of a commercial dish soap (the most natural one you can find) to be sure that you get great results. Sure, that’s an added expense but it may be the best way to go with very hard water - like I have.  I only have to buy one small bottle of commercial soap every three months. For me, it's well worth the extra few cents.

The homemade dish soap that I make doesn't hurt my hands. But, it may bother yours - washing soda and borax are fairly strong chemicals. So, be prepared to use gloves for dish washing if you notice any skin redness or itching.

Related post
HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT IS A NO-BRAINER

COOKING OIL SPRAYS: ANOTHER THING TO THROW AWAY - FOR GOOD.

A lot of foodie-consumer-products are touted to be natural-like and more convenient for you. And some of them are supposed to help you cut calories. The reality is that most of that is just BIG-FOOD manufacturers' hype. Less costly natural ingredients are almost always more healthy and don't have to seriously add to food preparation time. The case in point, here, concerns commercial cooking sprays in aerosol cans. They contain oils, an emulsifier and a propellant to create a fine mist of oil onto a surface making it nonstick for cooking. The sprays are expensive relative to regular cooking oils. They also use many more natural resources - particularly, the aluminum cans.

This post urges you to toss out the oil spray can and get cooking in a healthier way. And, if you still need convincing, here is some more bad news about aerosol cooking sprays.

Unhealthy additives.
The aerosols in use in these sprays tend to be toxic chemicals and, even in tiny amounts, can't be good for your health. Just one glance at the ingredients and you'll know that it isn't pure or natural. Yeah. Ugly things like soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, dimethylpolysiloxane, dimethyl silicone, and artificial flavors. The long-term effects of eating these chemicals on a regular basis are not well known but can't be good. As to lawful half-truths in advertising, some have simply listed a "propellant" as ingredient. Needless to say, they don't want to have to spell out what substances are in there. But word has it that the usual propellants are petroleum gas, propane, and butane. (Anyone in their right mind would want to avoid propellants.)

Genetically modified foods (GMO’s)
Most of the soy, corn, or rapeseed/canola commercialized in the US is GMO. (And that's as much as 90 percent according to some sources.) For years, scientific studies have shown that GMOs create health risks such as infertility, auto-immune disorders, diabetes, and changes in the gastrointestinal system. GMO foods also contain higher levels of pesticides than conventional crops.

Damage to the lungs
Because the aerosol particles are so tiny, you just can't stand back far enough to get away from them when you spray. So the cook - and any one else nearby in the kitchen - is always breathing in some part of the spray when they are in use. Over time, that kind of chemical exposure is a serious risk for respiratory disease.

Bad for the environment
Most cooking sprays contain propellants, all of which are greenhouse gases. That can't be good for the earth.  And the nitrous oxide, used in some, is particularly bad in that it doesn’t break down easily. That means they create environmental damage for many decades.

Unnecessary packaging
The manufacture of aluminum cans represents huge amounts of resources. Then, after use, most of the spray cans end up in landfills. Only a small fraction get recycled. But those also require a recycling, a process that involves a great deal of heat and electricity.

Help solve the oil spray can problem by not participating in it.
Don’t look to BIG-FOOD manufacturers to do you favors. Now that you know more about them, do you actually want to use cooking sprays? And the same can be said for many other foodie-consumer-products. Real food, in the form of fruits and veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, and good grade oils, bought as fresh as possible and prepared in the kitchen is what's best for you.

You can always do just what has been done for centuries by carefully using the right amount of oil for each type of food preparation. I remember that as a young girl, we used measuring spoons to add the oil. We also spread out the oil with our fingers onto the baking sheets. But, now-a-days, we tend to do our best to avoid such direct contact with the gooey oils. Fortunately, there are at least a couple of good ways to do spread out the oil without skin contact.

Solutions to the cooking spray can dilemma.
If you think you can't live without cooking sprays, there are some really good options to the commercial ones. And these alternative are less costly in the long run, more earth-friendly, and healthier.

First, you can always buy a hand-pump mister bottle at a big box store and fill it with your favorite cooking oil. But these misters tend to clog up and need a lot of unstopping. (I tried them a while back and decided it just wasn't worth all the fuss.) 

 

Second, you can do what I do now to avoid the use of commercial sprays. I dispense my regular cooking oils - sunflower, coconut and olive oil - with a drip pour spout. I drizzle a few drops of oil into the pan or skillet. If I need a more uniform way of spreading it out - like for baking tins - I use a small silicon spatula to baste the oil onto the cooking surface. I use two bottles - one for regular cooking oil and another for olive oil. The color-coded caps keep me from grabbing the wrong one in a rush.

The little bottles with drip spouts are recycled soy sauce containers. I bought the spatula at a big box store. They work well and clean up perfectly with warm water and regular dish washing suds.
 

DITCH YOUR FLUORIDE TOOTHPASTE, TODAY.

You've probably heard it somewhere (but may have overlooked it - thinking that it couldn't be so). Bad news. Yes, it's true. Fluoride is a poison. As a matter of fact it’s a highly toxic waste from certain industrial processes, and it’s first use was as a rat poison. But since it was cheap and huge amounts were sitting around in vats, someone had to come up with some novel use for it. And some genius said: “Let’s sell it as a mouth hygiene product”. After WWII, having run a few dubiously “scientific” experiments, there was the highly publicized news that fluoride treatments decreased cavities.  At first it was just a suggestion, and many people continued with their usual tooth care methods. But shortly thereafter, came the "last word" in tooth care: “Fluoride must be in your toothpaste. Otherwise, you'll lose our teeth”. Today, we even see toothpaste for children with fluoride – despite overwhelming evidence that little ones can poison themselves with it. (Of course, many people continue to have cavities and lose their teeth. They are told that they didn't follow the rules right - poor brushing technique, too few trips to the dentist, too much sugar, etc. )

So, how bad is the situation? Well, toothpaste with fluoride contains 1,000 parts per million of fluoride - or even more. That amount of fluoride will kill a small child if he/she decides to eat most of an entire tube. More shocking is the fact that no reputable laboratory study has ever shown that fluoride helps to prevent tooth decay. It’s not particularly good for your gums, either.

So, why have we been regularly buying and bringing this poison home for so long? Because, now, 99% of the toothpaste sold in the US has fluoride in it. And publicity about its merits has been pounded in at us through a non-stop publicity campaign - that along with the total complicity of the American Dental Association. It appears that US dentists want customers who return for all kinds of procedures (big profits) much more  than they want dental disease prevention.

(Oh, and by the way, over the years, fluoride treatments have also gotten into the municipal water systems in most of the country, too. And that great public health debacle has only been addressed and stopped by a minority of US communities. (Worldwide, the word about how harmful fluoridated water is out. Today, 11 countries - China, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, The Netherlands, Japan, Finland, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Hungary - have outlawed it.)

So what to do for cavity prevention?

OK. That stuff is really bad for you and worse for children. But you may not be sure of your options for good mouth hygiene. Well, the first thing is to brush the teeth at least twice a day – with an adequate technique - with whatever product you choose and to floss as needed. And while you might not find it in the BIG BOX stores, there are several brands of effective non-fluoride tooth paste in health food stores and available online.

Other non-fluoride teeth cleaning options that have been around for hundreds of years. Tooth paste was only popularized after WWI. Before that. people used tooth power. The principal ingredient in most tooth powder was/is baking soda. It’s a popular natural ingredient that helps deodorize the mouth and whitens teeth. You can just stick your toothbrush in the baking soda if you like. (I don’t like it to use it because the taste is too strong for me.)

Hydrogen peroxide is another option that’s used in some natural dental products. You can make your own mouthwash by mixing hydrogen peroxide and water.

Essential oils, such as tea tree oil, mint, and cinnamon, are good tasting flavorings in natural commercial and homemade toothpaste.  You can find some recipes for homemade toothpaste by searching online.

Now, I hope you're convinced that fluoride is both dangerous and ineffective at preventing tooth decay. And that you have options. Just say: “NO” to it and find the non-fluoride teeth cleaning routine that best suits you. And let other people know about your decision and why. Everyone should learn about how bad fluoride is, so that they can demand that it be removed from all toothpaste (and from water supplies, too, of course).

Note: I simply brush with a little salt water  (1/2 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt) swishing it around in my mouth before and after brushing - and dipping my brush in the mixture as needed.  I rinse my mouth out with simple water when I finish. That seems to clean my teeth pretty well and my entire mouth feels fresh. Of course, I've yet to convince my husband to do the same, so I'll soon be buying some non-fluoride toothpaste for him. I'll probably use it once a day and continue doing the salt water routine for the second brushing.

HEALTHY MEALS BEGIN WITH SAFE COOKWARE

As you may remember, I gave away my microwave oven a couple of months ago. Some time before that, I had already recycled (in favor of Pyrex) all those plastic pans that were supposedly micro-safe, but aren't at all. So, those were my first steps in having less toxic meal preparation. And just this past month, I decided to throw out the last Teflon skillet that I had continued to use long after I swore to myself that it had to go. All my other pots are now stainless steel and an enamel stockpot. And I have one large iron skillet.

To make life even more confusing, recently, I heard that all my aluminum baking sheets and tins aren't trustworthy either. So there’s another step that I’ll have to consider, very soon.

Even though, I can’t spend a lot of cash - at any one time - for expensive cookware, I've decided to completely revamp my kitchen with healthier cookware. You’ll want to, too, after you hear how dangerous those late 20th century pots and pans are for you.

Just how bad is it?
Non-stick cookware
Nonstick/Teflon cookware is the most popular cookware in the US. These kinds of pots and pans pose health risks. Names for this cookware include: Teflon (round since 1946), Silverstone, Tefal, Anolon, Circulon, Caphalon and others. The Environmental Working Group, reports that nonstick coatings can “reach 700 degrees Fahrenheit in as little as 3-5 minutes, releasing 15 toxic gases and chemicals, including two carcinogens (fluoropolymers).”

Want more health-related statistics? Over 90% of US people tested have been shown to have significant levels of toxic chemicals in their blood directly related to the nonstick coating used in cheap cookware. And newborns at birth already have measurable levels, too. At high heat the nonstick finishes release various toxic fumes, including cancer causing ones that are also associated with increase cholesterol and birth defects. When overheated, the nonstick finishes release fumes that cause illness in humans and are known to kill birds. Manufacturers have been forced to warn against use of these pans in homes with pet birds. It is also known that these substances cause tumors in rats and increased cancer rates in exposed workers.

Aluminum cookware
All those aluminum pans -some may be in your kitchen - are made from toxic heavy metals. Aluminum is a highly reactive metal that can leach into food, especially when you are cooking acidic foods. The metal-food reaction can form aluminum salts that are associated with impaired visual motor coordination and Alzheimer’s disease.

While improvements have been made in aluminum cookware with the advent of anodized aluminum (a process that covers the aluminum with less toxic substances on the surface of the pan). On the other hand, there are still environmental and worker health problems related to the mining and processing of aluminum.

Wood utensils help protect cookware surfaces.

Copper cookware
While not as interactive as aluminum, copper cookware may also cause metal migration into your food (especially with highly acidic foods). Beyond that, there are sometimes other metals fused with the copper. So, all in all, it's best to avoid possible risk in copper pots and pans.

Thank Heaven, there is some safe cookware. 

Yes, there is safe cookware and you'd do yourself a favor in using it. Here is an overview of the basic materials that make for kitchenware safe.

Stainless steel
With stainless steel, the cooking surface includes less risky materials (iron, chromium, and manganese). It is also less prone to leaching. The exception would be stainless steel pots and pans that have been damaged by harsh scouring with an abrasive material like steel wool. If you keep the cooking surfaces intact, stainless steel is an excellent choice.

Cast iron
Cast iron is versatile and easy care. It works on the stove top or in the oven and requires no detergent for cleaning. It can be used – literally - for centuries. Well-seasoned cast iron cookware has a coating of polymerized fat that creates a non-stick surface and serves as a barrier between the iron and your food. That means little or no leaching under normal use. But to be safer, avoid the cooking and storage of acidic foods in cast iron. Enamel coated cast iron has the added advantage of both naturally non-stick and non-porous surfaces that allow for the preparation and storing of acid foods.

Glass, ceramic and enameled cookware 
All of these allow for safe, non-toxic use. And depending on the quality and size, they can serve multiple functions. Breakage and cracking are the main problems. Cracking will often lead to metal leaching in ceramic and enameled pots.

Take the leap.
Now, that you've likely as not, decided to toss out all that old, toxic cookware, it’s best to choose wisely what pieces are going to replace it. Sets are expensive and for the most of us that’s an obstacle. Picking and choosing well thought-out individual pots and pans over time helps avoid unnecessary costs. Just get what you really need.

A few saucepans or pots with lids
Quality stainless steel is non-reactive with most everything except the highly acidic things cooked at high temperatures. So, for those things, you might like at least one that's ceramic, enameled or glass. With an enamel-coated Dutch oven, you can make do with just a couple of stainless pans.

A big stockpot
Every working kitchen needs a big stockpot. It’s a necessity for making stews and broth, and you’ll also use it for spaghetti and for all kinds of other home-cooked foods.

A couple of skillets 
For most of my skillet usage, a cast iron pan fits the bill. An 8” or 10-incher will do nicely for most everything. A 14" ceramic-covered, stainless skillet gets a big workout for most everyday stove top casseroles and serves as a fry pan. Skillet lids are essential.

Bake ware
You want to avoid bake ware with non-stick coating. Regular aluminum isn't good, either. So, keep that in mind and make plans to purchase stainless steel or ceramic baking pans. In the meantime, you don’t have to toss your aluminum. Parchment paper and paper baking cups (unbleached paper, please) can keep your bake goods away from the metals. Pyrex glass dishes are great bake ware. Some even come with lids. Those with lids do double duty as storage containers - a real plus in small kitchens..

FOUR EASY THINGS TO DO TO MAKE YOUR WASH DAY MORE EARTH-FRIENDLY

You can lower your wash day energy use and your carbon footprint, beginning today, by doing these four Earth-friendly things. And, the best part is that  you won't have to face any big struggle. I've done all this for months and years with great results. And I'm sure my laundry chores don't take much longer or more sweat than those of other people who follow the philosophy: “ I'm doing-what's-easiest-for me.” 

Stop using small to medium-sized plastic detergent bottles

One of the worst things that we've done to ourselves is to embrace the plastic age as if it were some miracle. It's not a miracle. It's a world-wide nightmare producing destruction of wildlife habitats and slowly poisoning everyone of us. The situation is really grave. Some studies show that there’s more plastic than plankton in parts of our oceans. So, reduction of our use of all kinds of plastic is an absolute necessity for both health and the ecology. And one of the worst plastic items that you can buy for home use is the detergent bottle.

Many people are buying small and medium plastic laundry soap containers several times a month. If plastic bags are a bad idea – which they are, those heavier plastic bottles are even worse. What's more, the liquid detergent in those bottles doesn't wash any better than the dry products and takes up a more space, on a wash-by-wash basis. Changing out from plastic detergent bottles to cardboard boxes or large plastic containers is a good place to start. You'll be doing Mother Nature, your own family, and generations-to-come a favor by refusing to buy small, plastic laundry bottles and keeping those items out of the trash, once and for all. And, if you want to, you can buy good laundry detergents in small or medium cardboard boxes. But, if you do industrial-sized laundry during the month, go ahead and buy the largest container - cardboard boxed or plastic - that you can find at the big box store. 

The plastic detergent bottles that you have right now can be easily recycled at home or given away to someone who'll use them. Recycle those huge plastic buckets  for use as a storage container for non-food items like for garden or barbecue tools. If you have some regular-sized plastic detergent bottles, recycle them as clothes pin holders or put small amounts of dry detergent in them so you won't have to carry about or dip into those larger detergent containers for every wash.

Hang some clothes on a line

Line-dried clothes smell better 

There's a big problem with tumble dryers that use electricity to generate heat. They require a lot of electricity and create a huge carbon footprint. How big are we talking about? More than you would imagine. One source says a tumble-dried load produces more than 5 pounds of CO 2 emissions when washed at 40°C. (That, of course, includes the major part that happened at the electric plant.) And, while gas dryers produce somewhat less carbon, the very best thing that can be done is line drying. And line-drying is doable most anywhere on a line or clothes rack. Not ready to hang up all the laundry? Then, start hanging up some part of it. It is super easy to hang up the towels and bed linen on a clothes line. Just doing this faithfully will eliminate several rounds of machine drying and save a lot on energy bills.

And, of course, with the mild to hot weather these days, the very best place is outdoors where the summer sun will dry them fast and leave them with a heavenly meadow-fresh odor. I hang up just about everything in the summer months, eliminating a lot of energy costs and enjoying the sweet smells of of line-dried laundry. Maybe, for some reason, you can't leave clothes hanging outside now or at other times of the year. Even so, you can hang up some lines, in the basement, in the garage or a breezeway and make good use of them. With a little ingenuity, even apartment dwellers can find space to line dry a part of their laundry.

Years ago, when we were kids and the family lived in an apartment, my Mom hung up the linens and towels all winter long in the kitchen to dry overnight. She had Dad hang the lines in such a way that we could walk around the clothes, if necessary. The small items were hung on a wood dowel drying rack near the gas stove in the living room. Most of the time, the laundry did dry by breakfast time. If not, she left them a few more hours. Slightly damp towels could be rehung in the bathroom, awaiting use there. 

While, these days, I don't need to follow closely the steps my Mom took to dry our laundry, I still swear by line drying. Thankfully, now, I have a nice outdoor area where I can hang up clothes and good drying weather almost year-round.

Wash the clothes with cold water

As you can imagine, the higher the water temperature of the wash, the more electricity you'll use. And, hot water wash is not good for clothes or for the ecology. The U.S. Department of Energy says that, in a conventional washer, more than 80% of the energy used for laundry  goes to heat up the water. So, save yourself some money and lower your carbon emission footprint at the same time. It turns out that cold water works great for regular loads. When you have oily or other stubborn stains, try a pre-soak with stronger detergent or stain remover and then use warm water wash.

There are plenty of special, cold water laundry detergents available that can wash your clothes beautifully without hot water. And most modern detergents, including the cheaper ones, work equally well on regular laundry – even if they don't say they're cold water products.

Run the washing machine to its full capacity

You'll get higher wash day efficiency if you load the machine to capacity rather than with just a few clothes. Fill your machine to its limits. For regular loads, you can use your eye to judge when the machine is full. Heavier weight stuff might need to be weighed – to know for sure. Remember, just one large load takes a lot less energy than washing two loads on a lower setting. If you need socks or underwear or a particular shirt for the next morning, wash it out by hand and hang it up somewhere where the air will get to it. It doesn't take long to do.

When I was a child, it was considered “good hygiene” to wash out your own underwear, socks, and handkerchief in the bathroom sink when you prepared for bed. I routinely did this and left the hand wrung-out clothes on a hanger on the back of my bedroom door. They could stay there as long as necessary to finish drying. Our towels were also hung on a towel bar on the back of our doors. Back then, it was considered unsightly to hang a lot of stuff around in the bath room. Although I don't do all of that, today, with just my husband and me at home, I think those habits were more than justified. When I visit in the homes of other people, I continue to do these simple things. And, if my hosts haven't put up hooks on the bedroom door, I hang up my towel and washed out underwear in the closet space that they've left for me. It keeps down on bathroom clutter and helps save on washing machine loads.

I GAVE AWAY MY MICROWAVE OVEN - WHYS AND WHEREFORES.

You may think that the microwave oven is your best friend in the kitchen. But, there's a dark side to your supposed friend. It's something like the Trojan horse of Greek history that looked like a gift, but brought tragic, unforeseen consequences. Here's the story.

Domestic microwave oven models were first offered in 1967. It didn't take too long before it became another item that brought "prestige" to consumer households who could pay what was initially a high price tag. Over the past decades, the much publicized microwave oven became much more affordable, and this led almost all U.S. householders to buy and use large and small units. And the younger generation probably believes that it's impossible to run any kitchen adequately without one. Hundreds of specialized cookbooks have added to the popularity of these ovens. It all seems to make sense – preparing and reheating food - in just a few seconds. It appears to be something that no "right-minded" man or woman would want to do without. But think again.

Big problems with microwave ovens.
First of all, it's been shown that microwave cooking breaks up proteins, vitamins, and minerals into much smaller molecules that the human body can't use as well for nutritional purposes. And its radiation effects create decomposed compounds that pose risks for cancer, reduced immune function, and impaired memory.

One study found disturbing changes in the blood of individuals consuming microwaved milk and vegetables for a few weeks. Study subjects ate combinations of the same foods cooked different ways. Those who ate foods processed through microwave ovens, compared with the controls, showed hemoglobin levels decreases and over all white cell levels and cholesterol levels increases. They also had important increases in leukocytes – signs of poisoning and cell damage - with the microwaved foods.

Second, these microwave ovens make up a substantial part of the cumulative problem of so much electromagnetic radiation in our homes, offices, and schools. It's the electromagnetic radiation that agitates the molecules generating an internal heat that "cooks" the food. At the same time, an unknown amount of the same radiation is escaping from the oven and going into the surroundings. That's why people with a pace-maker and pregnant women are supposed to stay aways from these ovens. The radiation leaks out of all of them – to some extent.

Another concern had to do with the fact that you shouldn't be using any type of plastic in these ovens. Plastic contains BPA and other substances that are released into the food with all that super heat. When the manufacturer says that it's microwave safe, that only means that it won't dissolve in the oven, not that it won't bleed toxic substances into your food.

 

The real deal - you really don't need it
Here, I'd like to tell you my experience and how I stopped being a convinced fan of  microwave cooking. Some months ago, my husband and I visited a friend for a few days. We cooked our food in her apartment. And with the first breakfast that we made, I noticed that the coffee was getting cold. I asked where the microwave was. She said she didn't have one. Well, I knew that my friend kept a rather Spartan apartment and had virtually eliminated all unnecessary items in it. But, I was amazed that she had no microwave. She told me about the negative health effects of having a radiation box in the home and that, microwaved food had a bad taste when compared with food cooked in a conventional way. More importantly, that it wasn't good for you, nutritionally. And that microwaving causes changes in the molecular structure of food, so that you don't get the same kind of nourishment from it as you would eating food cooked on a regular stove. While I was impressed by what she said, I didn't think enough about it, at the time, to stop using my microwave oven at home.

Some time later, I began to read about the negative effects of microwaves and that microwave cooked food was a health hazard. And after a time, I made a decision. I  gave away my microwave oven and bought a small, cabinet-top toaster oven to replace it. Now, several months have passed – sans microwave –and I'm satisfied that I did the right thing. Also the general quality and taste of our meals have improved – at least my husband tells me that. And, while, it may be due to any number of healthier changes in our lives, we both feel better, too.

Your chance to protect your family and the environment
You, too, can get along without that big monster hovering over your stove or hogging limited kitchen counter space. After all, those meals that you’re preparing for loved ones should be done in the best way you can. And, yes, things can get busy in the kitchen with everybody already hungry. But there are any number of ways that you can simplify your menus. Food can be served as salads or vegetables quickly steamed, in the conventional manner, during those hectic times. Tell your family that, yes, you're having to spend ten to fifteen minutes more in food prep time but that they're avoiding health risks and getting more nutrition in the process. Surely, they'll thank you for the extra effort made on their behalf.

And, why contribute to so many environmental problems created by the need for more and more electronic products? Just remember most families trade out out those big items - like microwave ovens - every few years or so. Our consumer-buying frenzy creates too much use of natural resources and leads to deadly levels of industrial smog. And it doesn't matter that the large part of that smog falls over Asian cities. It all comes back in the form of global ecological destruction - through acid rain and worldwide climate change.

Here's something that you can do right away. Take out your microwave and put it in the garage or in a closet for one month. Switch over to a toaster oven for warming your cooked food and heat up liquids in pots on the stove. Try this simple exercise. If it works for you, at the end of the month, I'm sure you'll be more than happy to give or throw away your microwave oven. At any rate, you will know that it's not such a good idea to use it and, if it reappears in the kitchen, your use will surely be less frequent.  

STOP USING THROWAWAY PRODUCTS, RIGHT NOW.

There are some things that we do without thinking because they've become a habit - at home, in the car, in schools, at our work places, even as part of our social life. They are so common that we don’t see them for what they are. We've even been made to believe that throwaway items are part of our "rights" to have an easier life and reduce unwelcome work. Well, think again. Those “disposable” products that you use almost daily have a rather small cost to you - or, at least, it appears at the time. But they have a huge cost for the environment and most will never be recycled, ending up at dumps where they take up space for years or centuries or getting incinerated where they poison the skies over our cities and farms. And some of them, especially the soft plastics, are a real danger to your health.

Say "no" to food-related plastics.*

Plastics are made from toxic substances that contaminate earth, air and water, both in their manufacturing and in their disposal as trash. Once created, plastics are non-biodegradable, and while they can be transformed, but they don’t go away. Only about 5% of plastics ever get recycled. Burning and putting them in landfills only removes them from our immediate vicinity, but their toxic waste will make it back into the environment. The presence of plastic trash around us, or anywhere they get to, continues to poison our air, water systems, rivers, and oceans. For everyone, plastics in the environment mean added risks of cancer and birth defects. For many species of animals and fish, it has already created much illness and is accelerating their extinction.

You'll want to have the least contact with soft plastics as possible. When people use plastic packages for foods, the chemicals tend to filter from the packaging to the foods they contain. It’s worse yet when plastic containers are heated in microwave ovens because that accelerates the migration of toxic substances.

The only way to reduce the damage that is done by plastics is to cut back on their use, and thereby, overtime, slowing their industrial production. You can do your part to overcome this problem by refusing to buy plastic products. That means trying to extend the lifetime of the useful existing plastic items that you already have and refusing to buy new ones, even if that creates some personal inconvenience. Start by saying "no" to throwaway products. You’ll save money, be healthier for it, and do good for the earth -- all at the same time.

- Tell the sales person that you want paper instead of plastic cups at the fast-food window. Stop going to places that only have plastic throwaway cups.

- Buy fresh food products, whenever possible, and carry your own paper or cloth bags to the markets. Ask the man behind the counter that you want your meat or cheese wrapped in paper instead of plastic.

- When you buy processed foods, search for those that come in glass bottles or metal cans. Buy larger-sized products so that the containers can be reused; recycle them when you're finished.

- Make sure your using as few cleaning products as possible. Look for large-size packages or containers for these products. That way you won’t have to buy so much plastic on a regular basis. Reuse or recycle all these containers.

- Don’t buy plastic bags or plastic wrap. Wax paper and butcher paper are excellent products for your temporary food storage and lunch bag needs. If you want neater packaging, you can use a bit of tape to hold the paper together.

- Whenever possible, use paper bags for the kitchen trash. Of course, someone in your family will occasionally come home with plastic bags. When that happens, reuse them for trash or as lunch bags. All extra plastic bags should be carried to the supermarket for recycling. None, except the dirtiest one, should go into the household trash. If you are required to use a large plastic bag for trash removal day, line your largest trash can with it, and make sure that is the only plastic bag you use during the week.

- Don’t buy plastic throwaway drinks. Always carry your own metal drinking container and water when you leave the house. When you have to buy or carry an occasional drink outside the house, look for the aluminum cans. Serve drinks from bulk containers or provide canned drinks at gatherings. Cans have a much better chance of being efficiently recycled than plastics.

- Don’t heat or store fatty or acid foods in plastic containers. You’ll heat and store just as well and avoid risks, using the glass containers that you've recycled

Say: "No." to excess paper use, too.*
Just a few years ago, almost nobody thought about the use of paper products in the home and office. We used a lot and wasted even more. Paper was cheap, and if anyone mentioned all that wood being used for paper, the easy answer was that trees were totally "renewable" resources. We know that that planned re-growth was mostly a fantasy and that our wasting of paper is inexcusable if we hope to save more of our forests. Clearly, it isn’t possible, or reasonable, to eliminate all paper usage in the home – we definitely need some toilet paper and paper for print outs from the computer. On the other hand, with a bit of effort, we can get “greener” on this issue and reduce our paper consumption a lot. Here are some of ways that you can cut back on or recycle paper products.

- At home, use dishes for food and not paper plates. Take your own dishes and utensils to picnics and other large-scale events. (You don't have to ask permission on this, just show up with your own and use them. If others don't understand, explain it to them.)

- Use rags and kitchen towels instead of paper towels. They're free or very cheap and completely re-usable. Kitchen towels don't need to be expensive or you can easily make them at home. Old newspaper is great for cleaning up spills and for cleaning windows glass and mirrors.

- Use cloth napkins and forget about paper napkins. Make your own napkins out of an easily washable fabric or buy small white terry-cloth towels – the kind that can be bought in bulk at the hardware store.

- For computer printing, be sure to print on both sides of your paper. Cut the paper in half if you needed only a small piece of it printed. Use the rest for printing or as note paper.

- Carry home and use scrap paper from work (or any other place where you can get it).

- Pay bills on-line (or by phone). Use email instead of writing letter and notes and get your news from the Internet rather than newspapers or magazines.

- Use washcloths instead of face wipes and cloth handkerchiefs instead of tissues. These last for many years. At home, use cloth diapers and plastic over-wraps. Paper diapers are justifiable only when the child is taken out of the house for several hours at a time. You can carry an extra paper diaper for quick changes.

- Carefully, unwrap gifts and save gift-wrap paper for future reuse. Also save cardboard boxes for storage or shipping containers. When possible, ship in paper envelopes instead of cardboard boxes and recycle crumpled paper as padding for shipping or storing fragile items.

- Save greeting cards and calendar art for craft use by cutting out shapes or pictures. And send e-cards instead of paper cards.

**These sections were adapted from earlier posts to Grandma Susan's Almanac Calendar, Dec. 2010.)

INDOOR PLANTS CAN HELP YOU HAVE THE ABUNDANCE GLOW.

The feeling that we live with shortages is a lie. Abundance is already here - starting today - when we are open to infinite creativity and refuse to compete for resources.

Plants are a marvelous creation - the very essence of our Earth. They were here long before us and we need them for survival. And remember they don’t need us. In fact, we have been their great destroyers, causing the extinction of millions of plants with our not-so-civilized ways of living. But plants are eternally forgiving and want to help us obtain the abundance that we long for. We just have to give them a chance. Having indoor plants is a good idea for everyone and especially necessary for those who live in cities where asphalt and concrete are most everywhere and green plants and trees are in short supply. This post outlines how to capture some plant-related abundance in our homes.

Unfortunately, for both our mental and physical health, the average US person spends about 90 percent of his/her time indoors. That means that we aren’t seeing much natural green except from out our windows at home or as we drive by. But when we bring some plants into our home, they give back to us some of the green-goodness that we are lacking. They not only lend beauty to our spaces, but also make us feel at ease and can even be a source of healing and food.

Plants can give your home the glow of abundance.

In fact, feng shui, a Chinese philosophy that spans thousand of years, points out how green plants not only improve the energy of indoor spaces but also are a remedy for other kinds of problems arising from being behind walls. And feng shui is not merely concerned with interior decoration or plant placement, but primarily with the flow of chi energy in man made and natural settings. This ancient philosophy also indicates that the healthier your plants, the more abundance they bring into the home. Fresh flowers bring luck and fortune into your home. For the same reason, dying and dried flowers are believed to bring bad luck.

Science today has proved what feng shui suggested centuries ago. Houseplants bring in beneficial oxygen and even lower electromagnetic pollution. Air conditioning, improved insulation, and other energy-saving innovations all reduce air exchange in buildings. We end up breathing the same polluted air again and again. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) created by man-made materials are also a major cause of illness. All these air-borne contaminants add up to a loss of concentration, depression and other diseases in what’s known as "sick building" syndrome. The good news is that indoor plants stimulate both the senses and the mind and help remove air-borne pollutants, making for healthier homes.

Two things to do improve your indoor air quality
First and foremost, if you want to feel better in your home, ventilate your rooms by opening windows. This should be done daily even if it can only be done for just a few minutes at a time.

Second, place some common household plants in the rooms of your home to increase air humidity and help your family to breathe easier. That's a real plus when it comes to fighting viral infections. And you don’t have to have a house full of greenery. NASA studies indicate that just one good-sized houseplant (6 to 8-inch diameter container) is enough to help clean up 100 square feet of your home. Of course, you need to keep the foliage dust free so that the leaves can do their job and keep the top of the soil free from debris.

Some useful houseplants for better air include three common household plants - areca palm, mother-in-law's tongue, and the money plant - all are effective in improving indoor air quality. Besides those mentioned, other research has shown that waffle plant, English ivy, variegated wax plant, asparagus fern and the purple heart plant are also good air purifiers. Some more great houseplants to consider are bamboo, palms, dracaena, peace lilies, jade plants, small ficus trees, rubber plants, and  weeping fig.

House plants can be food, too
Indoor-grown plants can also be a source of healthy food. A good way to grow these edibles is making a window or tabletop “farm.” Sprouts, cherry tomatoes, small citrus trees, and herbs - such as basil, mint, rosemary, dill, parsley, cilantro, and chives – all can be indoor-grown. In other posts, Grandma Susan wrote about growing sprouts and herbs in the home. (See related posts, below.) Today, homegrown microgreens - small garden veggies - have been added to indoor window and tabletop farms. Chia, cress, mustard greens, radish and arugula are some of the most common microgreens.

Larger than sprouts and smaller than baby salad greens, microgreens are harvested from two to five inches tall (about 2 weeks after sowing). At that time, they have a high quality taste and are most nutritious. And they add texture, flavor and healthy nutrients to all kinds of salads and sandwiches. They are also used as garnishes for a variety of dishes.

To grow microgreens, all you need are shallow, lightweight containers, soil, seeds and water and some sunlight. Seeds are soaked overnight, then sowed. Microgreens have short roots so the soil or mats that hold their roots have to be watered often but should not become soggy. Good sunlight and drainage are important to prevent rot and mold.

Related posts
SPROUTS SHOULD BE PART OF YOUR SURVIVAL KITCHEN
GREEN GARDENS: GOOD FOR FAMILIES AND FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
TAKE POSITIVE AND PEACEFUL ACTIONS TO CONFRONT FOOD SHORTAGES
LOOK FOR WAYS TO BE MORE AWARE OF THE NATURAL WORLD.
LIVING IT UP WITH LESS: DECORATION IN A SIMPLE HOME

YOUR VERY BEST DREAM IS WAITING FOR YOU

Grandma Susan sometimes writes about subjects that can best be labeled “New Age”. The description,  New Age, generally refers to that what was done by our ancient ancestors in the realm of the sacred. These practices can be revived and carried out by us in our times. Those principles still work. It shouldn’t be confused with witchcraft or magic. It’s a kind of self-care and reaching out in a positive way to the universe – carried out according to some ancient laws. Though only a few, comparatively, several of Grandma's most popular posts have been on New Age themes.

They say that most of the time we are using only a tiny fraction of our brains. New Age practices such as dreamwork, meditation and some other "altered" states often help heighten our mind/body capacities. The real question is whether we are prepared to let these experiences into our lives. Beyond that, we have to  be open to living better lives (expanded heart, greater service to others) on the basis of these practices.

 

Going for your dream

So, you want to remember more about your dreams?  And think, maybe, that your dreams might be useful to you, if  they didn’t slip away from you so fast after you wake up? Well, yes, they can. And there are some ways to go about dreaming with a purpose. And you (probably) don’t have to consult a dreamworker expert on how to do it.

I decided to keep a dream journal a while ago, then, put it down, now it's on my agenda again. It's all good. I write notes and draw rough sketches about these dreams and related topics in my journal. Reflections on these entries have many times have helped me make important decisions or changed how I feel about things, in general. So, keeping a dream journal is a good idea in my experience.

 

Here's an exercise that you can do to begin focusing on your dreams. It's one way to make that best dream – the one you’ve been wanting - happen to you.This is my own purposeful dream technique, based on New Age practice, that you might like to try.

Night time ritual to ask for the dream you want

Moon phases can have an influence on sleeping and dreaming patterns. Many people do this kind of exercise in the New Moon phase, which is a very good time for beginnings and changes in your life. On the other hand, thecloser we near the Full Moon phase, the more dreams tend to be more vivid and feel more consequential.

Take off everything on your night stand – except your lamp. Dust the stand with a sweet smelling, light oil on a cloth. A few fresh flowers in a small vase or petals in a bowl of water also then can be placed on your stand, if you like. 

Take out a piece of a nice note pad and a pen that you like. Sit down and reflect on something in your life that you wish to develop or change, something that, for you, would be a ‘dream come true.” Write it on the sheet of paper. Make it a short note, not an essay. Two or three sentences should be enough if you’ve been thinking about it. Be as specific as you can. Don’t be in a rush to get started. If you're not totally ready, tomorrow or the next day might be a better time to do this exercise. You don’t want to hurry through some part of the ritual or be interrupted.

 

Make sure you have mental clarity about what you’re aiming for before you look for your dream. If your request is imprecise, the answers you get can be fuzzy and disappointing. So, state your dream request as precisely as possible to ensure better results. Any intention that is mentally focused on, written down on paper, and spoken out loud carries power.

Read what you've written out loud. Place the note on the nightstand, face up. Lay some tiny thing that you treasure on top, if you think the note could be knocked off during the night.

Then, say a short prayer, out loud or silently, with words of your choice, asking for clarity on the matter. Clasping the hands together, vertically, is a good way to center your focus on prayer.

Go to sleep as quickly as possible - no TV or conversations - and wait for the dream you want. Your sleeping arrangements don't have to vary from the normal. If you have a customary bed partner, you'll maintain your regular sleeping and dreaming rhythms.

See what happens. If the dream doesn’t occur the first night, don’t think you had some kind of failure. Try variations on the same topic each night for a week or more - each night writing out a new version of your note on a fresh sheet of paper. You may have to go through a whole Moon cycle to get the result you’re looking for.

Sometimes, circumstances during our waking hours will change the importance that we attach to a topic, whether because our wishes were accomplished or because they turn out to be less important than we thought they were. Then, we could imagine that our dream-self has taken care of our needs without being remembered as a dream.

Remember, art, humor, and the future all arise from the unexpected. We can dream the unprecedented reality we want. Go for your best one, governed by love and light. Just be ready for the unanticipated twist that almost always comes with future events. It's almost impossible to imagine, beforehand, the particular ways in which good things come into our lives.

Related posts
THE NEW MOON CYCLE CAN HELP YOU MAKE LIFE
CHANGES PHASES OF THE MOON - MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU MAY THINK.
REDEFINE YOUR PRIORITIES, REMAKE YOUR LIFE
BENEFIT FROM NEW MOON FASTING
VISION BOARDS AND THE NEW MOON CYCLE.