Chopra Center Meditation Challenge – Day One

Every year since it has been offered, I have done the Chopra Center’s 21-Day Meditation Challenge.  Today was the first day for the 2012 Challenge and I thoroughly enjoyed today’s meditation and look forward to the days to come.

The Chopra Center gives us a great gift in offering these meditations and they are free to anyone.  Thousands of people all around the world do it from wherever they are and it is a wonderful thing to participate.

I do a regular daily meditation and during the Chopra Center’s Challenge, I simple add their meditation to what I am already doing.  This morning I did my morning meditation and this evening I began the 21-Day Challenge with the Chopra Center.  It’s easy, it’s relaxing, it’s beneficial and you have nothing to lose.  The meditations aren’t very long and everyone can benefit.

If meditation is something you have wanted to try, or if you have gotten out of the groove with your meditation practice and taken a break, perhaps this is a wonderful opportunity to start up again or add to what you are already doing.

So check it out at www.ChopraCenter.com and join me and thousands of others as we move forward into the adventure of the next 21 days!

Yours in health and happiness,

Dr. Elena ;-)

 

 

Doing A Vision Board – More Than What Meets the Eye

I finished my 2012 Vision Board yesterday morning at 2 AM and it was a wonderful and very fulfilling experience I’d like to share with you (you’ll see it, below)!

I usually start my Vision Board on December 31st and finish it by January 1st or 2nd.  This year was busy so it took an extra couple of days to get it done.  But I knew I wanted it done by the full moon!

I collect things all year long that strike me in some inspiring way and put them in a nice little box.  I like to think “outside the box” and find magazine photos, pictures from greeting cards, copies of photos and words from printed material and put them all go into the box until I am ready to create my “vision”.

I get a large 24″x36″ foam board (from an art supply store).  This year I chose black.  I had my scissors ready, my glue sticks and stick-on-stars nearby, lovely instrumental and uplifting music playing in the background and into “the zone” I went!

I don’t like to over-think or plan it…I just start cutting out images or parts of images and words that seem to resonate with me.  I put all of the cut and trimmed images in another container and then just start glueing them on the foam board.

This process usually takes me a few hours.  This year I was surprised at how quickly the time went by as what felt like about an hour was really about 5 hours spent on the project (that’s how I knew I was “in the flow”)!  Some of the pages I had collected and put in the box were just torn from magazines during the year, so I sorted through them and decided what worked for me to use.

As I spent this time, I noticed that I felt like I was in a hypnotic trance or meditative state.  It was a concentrated time spent focusing my conscious intention of what I wanted to occur in 2012.  That amount of time is longer than I usually spend in meditation so it was really a joy to give myself that gift of time, energy and focus to zero in on my goals.

It was also a statement to universal creative energy and the “powers that be” that this is what I plan to manifest.  My Vision Boards are always dense, without much blank space and with lots of words as well as images.  Some people just do images, some do just words, but I like doing both.

My friend recently showed me his Vision Board from last year and it was amazing to see how he had created it.  He took photos of his “wants” and put them all into a file on his laptop, creating a rotating group of images as his desktop “wallpaper” so the images were constantly in front of him.  I liked that idea because I hang mine up on the wall in my home office and then I don’t spend much time looking at it as the months roll by.

But then again, there is that theory that you can write down what you want and put it away and not look at it again until one year later to see what things on the list you have manifested.  You can’t make a mistake or do this “wrong”…whatever you do, is right for you!

Right now, my Vision Board is directly in front of the living room sofa (where I am now sitting) and it’s propped up against the wall at eye level.  It will probably stay there for a bit and then be put up on the wall like last year’s.

I look at last year’s Vision Board this morning, and several things did come into being.  I thought that was pretty darn cool!

So if you haven’t done something like this yet, you might want to set aside some time to give yourself this gift of stating your goals and dreams.  It’s a wonderful exercise…fulfilling, and fun!

Enjoy this full moon and visualizing your dreams in any what that seems right for you!

Yours in health, healing and happiness,

Dr. Elena ;-)

Vision Board 2012

Taking Down The Tree, Counting Blessings And A Gift For You

Today we took down the tree and all of the holiday decorations.  Soothing music played as I looked at each ornament, thought about how many years I’ve had it and where it came from, and the memories each ornament held for me.

I remembered when my boys were very little and we’d bought our first expensive (or so they seemed to me at the time) ornaments.  Some of those were still on the tree this year.  I lovingly removed and put away the little handmade wooden star ornament my daughter-in-law made for us when she first starting going out with our son.  It was their first year together as a couple and she gave it to us along with her amazing home-made pies.  She was by his side as he went through yet another reconstructive surgery that year, so dedicated and caring while he was in the hospital.  Now they are married and have a beautiful little girl.

I removed the cherished ornament that my other son made for me when he was 2 1/2 years old.  It’s the lid of a mason jar with a photo his Montessori preschool teacher took of him, which was glued inside the lid.  It had glitter and sequins all over the outside rim of the lid and hangs by a metallic cord.  I can’t believe how the years have gone by…it seems like yesterday that the little blond boy in in the picture was in my arms.

I packed away the little glass lamp we always have out during the holidays that was given to us by my husband’s mother.  She passed away in December several years ago and we always have it out and lit by the tree all during the holidays as we think about her.

I think about my 2 year old granddaughter looking at the tree and ornaments this year as she proudly told me that this one is a “star”, that one a “heart”, that one an “angel” and another one an “icicle” as she pointed her precious little finger at each one and looked at me, eyes sparkling and wide with wonder.

And I thought about the years that I was too sick to even put up a tree or any kind of decorations…the years I just lay on the sofa too tired, too weak to do anything like decorate, buy gifts or send cards.  I think about the times I wondered if I would ever see another Christmas holiday season…if I would make it through or not.  I give thanks for the years I had energy to decorate the tree, send cards, get into the holiday spirit and go to parties and spend time with friends and loved ones.

This year I feel great, inspired and motivated, full of life and ready for what’s next.  I have projects and messages I want to create and share, and people I want to help.  With each ornament I removed from the tree today, I gave thanks for the many blessings and true gifts in my life, for my health and the health of my loved ones, for the opportunity to hopefully be able to touch the lives of others in a deep and profound way, helping them to access their own inner power to manifest their dreams.

I intend for this year of 2012 to be a year of joy and celebration and I intend it to be that for you, too.  If you would like my special report, “10 Keys To Create More Joy in Your Day”, along with a short audio meditation, simply go to my website at www.DrElena.com and enter your email address in the box on the right side of the page.

In love and light,

Dr. Elena ;-)

 

 

My Favorite Tea For A Cold Night Or Whenever I Need Extra Balancing

Even though I grew up in Ohio and Pennsylvania on the edge of Lake Erie, I don’t like the cold weather.  I guess that’s why I moved to Southern California.  But it still gets cold here and is 48 degrees right now (that’s what my oracle, the iPhone says).  ;-)

So I thought I would share with you my favorite tea for a cold night.  I also make this tea when my throat feels scratchy, my stomach feels upset, I feel achey or anytime I just feel like I might not be as balanced as I want to be!

*  Grate frozen organic ginger root into a big mug.  I just put my flat grater over the top of the mug and go to it!   I do about a half tablespoon into the mug.

(I keep my organic ginger root, peel and all, in a little zip lock baggie in the freezer.  It’s easier and faster to slice and grate when it’s frozen.)

*  Pour boiling water over an organic ginger tea bag and steep until the temp is just right for drinking.

*  Add Sweetleaf Lemon Stevia to taste.

I sip this and my body just loves it…it also soothes my soul!

In the warmer weather I will do it in a tall glass and add cool purified water.  I add some boiling water and let it sit, then I add some ice cubes and sweetener.

I’ve also done this with sparkling water and I have also just used ginger juice by The Ginger People when I’ve felt lazy.  ;-)

When I make it cold and sweetened with the lemon stevia and I use sparkling water, it tastes like ginger ale.

This always brings back sweet memories as my grandmother used to give me a glass of ginger ale when I was a little girl and whenever I wasn’t feeling well.  This is just a healthier and no-sugar version of the Canada Dry Ginger Ale she used to give me.  This healthier version makes me feel nourished and cared for.  It’s something nice to do for myself.

Ginger is great for the immune and digestive systems and it’s a great anti-inflammatory herb.  It wonderful for autoimmune thyroid because it does not stimulate Th1 or Th2 (which can put an autoimmune thyroid person out of balance and initiate a flare up of symptoms).  So ginger (along with peppermint and rooibos) is a “go to tea” for me and I recommend it to all of my autoimmune thyroid clients.

And now, to sip…ahh–ahhh…

Yours in health, healing and happiness,

Dr. Elena ;-)

The Frustration of Trying to Get Bloodtests

I just came from the lab and had another frustrating experience trying to get the lab tests I needed ordered by my doctor so my insurance would cover them.

Because I know this frustration personally, I have set up a link on my site so people can quickly and easily get the labs they want, at a super discount and get their results directly.  Go to the “Services” tab at the top of my main page and you will see “Get Lab Tests” right under it.

I pay a lot each month for an insurance policy to cover all of my labs.  As an advanced stage cancer survivor, someone who has had cardiac issues and diagnosed with autoimmune thyroid, and a person who has a predisposition to various chronic diseases due to my family history, I need to have regular labs done.  So, I pay a good amount for this insurance coverage.

But what I’m finding out now, is that many doctors are resistant and in many cases actually refuse to order tests…even tests that are indicated.  I see this with my clients, as well.  It is becoming more and more difficult to get the lab tests done (regardless of whether or not you have health insurance) because of the restrictions put on the doctors by the insurance companies.

The answer is to order the tests ourselves, get the results sent back to us directly and then go over them in detail with someone who is trained in bringing the body back into balance (this is usually not your MD).  Only addressing the lab values that fall outside of the lab range (this is what your MD usually addresses) misses a huge part of why a person may not be feeling optimal.  Remember, the “normal” lab range on your lab report is only the average of everyone who went to that actual lab (and a lot of sick people get their blood drawn).

We are looking for optimal values and our goal is to address issues before they are diagnosed as chronic disease needing medication (or to reduce medication and the side effects that often come with using medication) and to see why you are having the health issues you are having.

To be clear here, I am NOT against using medication and I have had to be on medication myself at various times.  But I am FOR people taking responsibility for their health and well-being.  If we don’t do it, we cannot expect someone else to do it for us.

Through the month of December you can get a full chem panel for a super low and unheard of price of $59.00.  The normal price of this test is $535.00!  You don’t even have to use it by the end of this month.  Purchase it through the site before the end of December (some people purchase more than one so they can get their followup labs done at this super low price).  Just scroll down the “Get Labs Done” page and look for the December Special Test, the Comprehensive Wellness Profile (or CWP).

So after spending a good amount of time at the lab trying to get my doctor to order the tests that were indicated so my insurance would cover the cost, I ended up just ordering them myself (like you can do) without being able to utilize the insurance.

Yes, I had to pay for them myself, I wasn’t able to use my health insurance but it’s an “investment” in myself, a gift to myself and way that I can get done what needs to be done so I can stay healthy and well.  As a person who has been sick…really sick, feeling good is really important to me and I’ll do what I have to do to make it happen!

Save yourself the time and hassle of going back and forth with your MD.  Order the tests you need (and/or the tests we decide are relevant for you) and take control of your health by taking control of your blood!

Yours in health, healing and happiness,

Dr. Elena ;-)

Essential Oils – Are They Really Pure?

Here is a short (casual) video shot after having dinner with friends when someone asked me about labels that say “pure essential oils” which really aren’t pure.  That means that there may be some pure essential oil in the bottle but the entire contents of the bottle is not all pure essential oil.  They are obvious carriers/extenders/chemicals added to fill the volume of the bottle if the label states the warnings I talk about on this short video.  Be informed and be conscious of what you are buying and using especially if you are using the oils topically, inhaling them or using them with a child, elderly person or someone who is dealing with a health challenge!  Here is a link to the ones I have used for the past 15 years:

https://www.youngliving.org/elenamichaels

Yours in health,

Dr. Elena ;-)

A Salt Lamp, A Cat and A Dog

Hi,

The other evening we had guests over and they asked about a salt lamp we have.

I  often get asked about them by people who come to see me in the office.  They are lovely and soothing.

My cat and dog “helped” with the video.  Here is the link to the (very casually-recorded) video!

In  health,

Dr. Elena ;-)

Dr. Elena’s Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free, Soy-Free, Gluten-Free Hot Chocolate

Last night was chilly and I really wanted hot chocolate, so here’s what I made and it was delicious!  I thought I would share it with you!

Dr. Elena’s Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free, Soy-Free, Gluten-Free Hot Chocolate
(Fat-Burning from coconut milk and antioxidant rich from cocao)

1. Pour unsweetened, organic almond milk into a saucepan on low heat
2. As it’s warming up, whisk in organic fine-milled cacao powder (unsweetened)
3. Add a dash of cinnamon
4. Add liquid stevia to taste (I used 2 flavors – Sweet Leaf Chocolate and Vanilla Cream)
5. Keep whisking and tasting until it is as sweet and as “chocolate-y” as you like
6. Without shaking the can, open a can of organic coconut milk (make sure it has nothing but coconut milk in it…no additives)
7. Scoop out the super thick, dense coconut cream from the can (the canned coconut milk always settles and separates which can be very convenient! You can use the more liquid coconut milk for curries, or ???
8. Add liquid stevia flavor of Vanilla Cream or English Toffee to taste
9. Pour the cocoa/almond milk liquid into a mug and spoon over it the sweetened coconut “cream”

Enjoy this amazing and super creamy and healthy treat!

(Note: This contains nuts from the almond milk and is not suitable for those on a program that temporarily restricts nuts.)

Let today be a magic day!

Today is 11:11:11 and there has been much talk about this day and this number.  These numbers added up equal 6, the number of The Lovers, a major arcana card in the Tarot deck.  The Lovers card and the number 6 is a harmonious blending of male and female, yin and yang, in and out and “as above, so below”.  The Lovers card doesn’t always mean literally a “man and woman who are lovers”.  This card is a metaphor of the harmony and balancing that can be done within ourselves as we all have male and female attributes and other (appearing to be) opposites within us.  This card and this number is a reminder to be aware of us being all things and bringing ourselves into balance.  (This puts a new spin on criticizing another…that thing we may be criticizing and judging that other person about is in our own makeup as well.)

If you add up 11:11:2011 that number is 8, the number of Strength, another major arcana card in the Tarot deck.  I love the balance of the two zeros that make up the number “8″.  The number 8 and the Strength card reminds us that we have the ability for our higher mind to control our lower (animal) mind.  Our higher selves guide us to bring balance (those two “0′s” balanced on top of one another) and this number and card reminds us to use those intuitive, higher, soul-sourced faculties.

I also like that the number 8 on it’s side is this symbol:  ∞

You will find that symbol on my site in various places.  I have used it for years and it is the symbol of infinity…limitless ideas, thoughts and way of being.  Whenever I see it I am reminded to let go of the barriers and obstacles I may be placing on myself.

And now for a fun fact…

If you add the last two digits of the year you were born, to the age you will be at the end of the year 2011, you will get 111!  Try it…it’s rather amazing.

So the 11:11 is reminding us to look for the deeper meaning in all that is around us.  It is a “gateway” number, allowing us to be aware of the access we have to the higher vibrations of the unseen worlds.  It reminds us that there is more than meets the eye and unlimited energy available to us to create and manifest our dreams.

And at the root of it all are two “ones” (11) standing next to each other.  In the “standing next to each other” all of us single ones are stronger, more powerful and more united, allowing us to access greater good for the world.

Have a beautiful and magical day!

I am publishing this post at exactly 11:11 AM on 11:11!

Dr. Elena ;-)