Nature – waiting to help when we’re ready

I read an article recently about a woman who turned to gardening to help her cope with the cancer diagnosis her husband had received, his ten year fight against it and eventual death.

Some might say the diversionary effect that gardening had on her was the key.  For others it may be writing, painting or some other activity.  I’m not so sure it’s as simple as that.

She focused a lot on the cycles of Nature: the autumnal death followed by winter planning knowing that life would spring forth again.  Every gardener understands the cycles of Nature and it’s not a huge step to understand our own human cycles follow similar patterns.  Although this understanding doesn’t make grief go away it does perhaps give some perspective to life and enhance our coping mechanism.

But even more than that I believe that being with Nature, in whatever form that takes, offers a unique advantage to us – much more than other hobbies.

A University of Essex (UK) 2010 study showed that just being outdoors for five minutes had a positive effect on our mental well-being.  Nature alerts our senses: the bright colours; the wind rustling through the trees; the scent of flowers; the feel of the ground under our feet – all of these prove our vitality and our ‘aliveness’.

But there’s more to experiencing Nature than just our five senses: our body’s natural vibration is in tune with the earth.  Remove ourselves from the higher vibrations from electrical appliances, overhead lines and phone masts and we get back to a frequency that our body and brain likes. 

Try taking your shoes off and connecting with the earth.  Just touching the soil with our hands or our feet will allow us to discharge into the earth, to ground ourselves.  If I’m feeling stressed nothing deals with it better than a little barefootedness: the stress is literally sucked out of you.  (Find out more about the health benefits of grounding: Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?)

Another bonus that comes from Nature is exposure to natural light.  Not only do we re-connect with the earth but we can feed from full spectrum light.  This is discussed more in my blog When is Light not Light?

It’s hardly surprising that this woman found her coping and grieving process through Nature.  It’s also a shame that others don’t know about the perfect ally they have right outside their doors – just waiting.

Jackie Notman is a copywriter, feng shui consultant and e-commerce retailer.  This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.

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Changing room rage – are shops missing a trick?

A new study shows that nearly 75% of women have suffered from the debilitating condition known as Changing Room Rage (CRR).  Women suffer feelings of anger, disappointment and bad temper.

As somebody who dislikes retail therapy (and yes I am a woman!) I can certainly put my hand up and admit I’ve probably felt all those things and more when trying on clothes in tiny, dirty, badly lit spaces that shops call changing rooms.

But in my saner moments it seems that most shops are not focusing on that crucial moment in the sales process that can mean a ‘No’, ‘Yes’ or even ‘Yes and I’ll have two’.

I remember when I was a teenager there was a little boutique in the town where I lived.  It was tiny.  One day I was in there and the sales assistant started pulling out clothes that she said would suit me.  I tried them on and then she gave me feedback, went out to the shop and got different options for me and, of course, I walked out after making a purchase and I went back there again.  I didn’t have lots of money to spend but she still took the time to treat me as if I was an individual.

Of course, it’s not just how we are treated that will help in our buying decision but also how the location sells to us.

Will a touch of Feng Shui in your changing rooms increase your sales?

Let’s take the size of the cubicle first of all.  A few extra inches so we don’t fall through the curtain in our everyday knickers whilst trying to negotiate the latest skinny jeans would be handy.  A curtain that fits and protects our modesty would also be good and surely not asking too much.

Somewhere to hang the clothes that we have taken off and a clean floor to place our feet and bag would also diffuse our mounting CRR.

And finally, the big two: lighting and mirrors.  Both are key Feng Shui elements. 

Most fluorescent lighting, because it doesn’t use the full light spectrum, will show our skin looking either sallow or drained and the colour of the items we are trying on will not be the same as in daylight.  Combine the two and I guarantee the depression will kick in as you realise how awful you look.  However, if the lighting was full spectrum we would see ourselves naturally and the colour of the clothes would be true.  Also, if the lighting was angled rather than directly overhead and throwing nasty shadows onto our face the finished result would be much more flattering and result in more sales.

For more information on the benefits of full spectrum lighting see my blog ‘When is Light not Light?’

So let’s look at mirrors.  These are extremely important in Feng Shui: a person’s mirrors can tell you a lot about the face they show to the world and can either support and motivate us or keep us down in the doldrums.  The right way to do it?  Full length, good quality, one piece (not tiled or joined), rectangular (not wavy edged or silly shaped) and either not frame or a simple one.  In fact, that’s such an ideal mirror that there should be two with the second one angled so we can see if our bottom looks big or not.

Come on retailers.  The changing room can make or break your sales figures, is not expensive to get right and could probably be the best investment you will make.

Jackie Notman is a business and feng shui consultant.  This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.

Business Energetics is based on classic Feng Shui principles and brings together your environment and your people into one harmonised and focussed profit machine. 

If you would like to find out more about how your business could benefit from living in harmony with your environment, and using energy to your advantage, contact Jackie Notman on 07920 461574 or through her website http://www.fs168.co.uk/businessenergetics

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Throwing some light on bone problems in kids

One in five children tested for bone problems have shown signs of rickets.  Full details of the story can be found here.  Rickets is a crippling disease, caused by lack of vitamin D and is recognisable by bowed legs and stunted growth.  It is a disease of a bygone era where a lot of people lived in slums and areas of poor air quality.  We synthesise vitamin D in our body through being exposed to sunlight.  It is thought that the children affected have inadequate diets and spend too much time indoors.

And the solution put forward to address this?  Add more synthetic vitamins to food.  Which overlooks the obvious solution which is to increase their exposure to fresh air and daylight.

I addressed the issue of lack of daylight and Seasonal Affective Disorder in my blog When is Light not light?  The tips for getting more light in our lives can easily be applied here.  It’s simple, doesn’t cost anything and makes a lot more sense than doctoring our foodstuffs.

Jackie Notman is a copywriter, feng shui consultant and e-commerce retailer.  This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.

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Colouring in a happy life

In a recent post When is Light not Light? I talked about the difference between full, real light and limited spectrum artificial light. If we look further into light and break it down into the wavelengths that we can perceive we have colours that we can consider individually.

You may think in business that colour isn’t particularly important or perhaps opt for the safe neutral colours that seem to be promoted on TV and in magazines.  But it’s worth considering colour in a little more detail, not just in what colour you paint the walls but also in your brand, signage and even the colour of the company vehicles you use.

As with light, individual colours can support your employees as well as your business:  its brand, its image and its relationship with customers.  If used correctly colour can stimulate, create the right ambience and support business objectives.  If no thought is given to colour then you could hinder the work of your employees, your brand and your business so it is worth considering and is a cost effective way of bringing positive changes to your business.

Individual colours have different psychological and physiological effects on us.  Perhaps you’re ‘in the pink’ or ‘feeling blue’.  These aren’t just sayings.  Studies have shown that different colours affect us and are the basis of Colour Therapy which uses colours to heal both physical and psychological symptoms.

In 1968 Dr Jerold Lucey at the University of Vermont successfully used blue light to treat jaundiced babies.  Blue light has also shown to be effective in treating pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis.  A recent study by Dr John Anderson showed red light to be effective in treating migraines and pink has successfully been used in prisons to calm violent prisoners.

If you are interested in finding out more about colour and its effect on our bodies I highly recommend Light: Medicine of the Future – How We Can Use it to Heal Ourselves Now

In your workspace it is important that you clarify the objective for each area before deciding on colour schemes.  As a general rule colours can be said to have the following effects:

Blue	Calming, relaxing, quiet Ideal for reflective or restful areas
Green	Creativity, study, optimism Ideal for training or research areas
Yellow	Sociable, interaction, communication Ideal for meeting rooms or customer service areas
Orange	Happy, active, extrovert Ideal for public areas, canteens or meeting places
Red	Stimulating, fast, hyperactive Ideal for transit areas and public areas where movement and activity are important

However, you can go even further with colour.  At Business Energetics we also use colour on a deeper energetic level than described above by taking account of the orientation of the building and the energy of particular individuals.  Using the right colours, not just in your environment but in your business branding, will help keep you one step ahead of your competition.

Jackie Notman is a business and feng shui consultant.  This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.

Business Energetics is based on classic Feng Shui principles and brings together your environment and your people into one harmonised and focussed profit machine. 

If you would like to find out more about how your business could benefit from living in harmony with your environment, and using energy to your advantage, contact Jackie Notman on 07920 461574 or through her website http://www.fs168.co.uk/businessenergetics

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You have permission to publish this article as long as the tagline (above) with links is included and no changes are made to the article. A courtesy copy of your publication or link would be appreciated.

When is light not light?

Here in the UK we’re moving towards Autumn.  If you’re an early riser like me you’ll feel a little nip in the air, see condensation on cars and notice it’s not quite as light.  If you’re especially sensitive you would have been able to smell the seasons change a few weeks ago.

I’ve always loved Autumn visually.  The reds, russets and golds put on a fantastic display before leaves fall and we get ready for the colder months.  However, for the last few years I’ve noticed that I don’t like moving towards Winter.  Darkness and cold do nothing for me.  I’m not sure that I could be diagnosed with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) but I know my energies lift when Spring makes a welcome return. 

SAD’s symptoms are depressive and bought on by lack of natural daylight.  People affected often find that light boxes help their symptoms.  These light boxes provide full spectrum lighting which mimics natural daylight.  For those not affected, or don’t believe they are affected, it may be hard to understand what all the fuss is about.  After all, light is light isn’t it?

Actually it isn’t.

Light is in fact a nutrient and as vital to us as air, water and food.  Just as the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat will affect our health and well-being, so too will the quality of light that we are exposed to.

You can't beat real, organic light

Our natural light comes from the sun and reaches us through a spectrum of waves.  The length of these light waves will determine whether we can visually see them or not and what colour they are:  The visible spectrum is seen as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.  The invisible are infra red and ultra violet.  When we receive full spectrum lighting with all these waves present it is a little like drinking pure water, breathing clean air or eating organic wholesome vegetables.  In other words, it’s good for us.

However, when we created artificial light, firstly in the form of incandescent light bulbs and then fluorescent tubes, we created a very poor second to what is naturally available to us.  For neither produces light that is full spectrum so, although we can see what we’re doing, we are not getting the full nutritional value of light as we would if we were outdoors.

If you work in any sort of office building you will probably be reliable on fluorescent tubes to provide your lighting.  If so, and you are carrying out any sort of creative work then the lighting will probably hamper your efforts because we are unable to see colours correctly unless we are seeing them in full spectrum light.  You may have experienced buying an item of clothing or cosmetics that looked the right colour in store but was very different when you got it home.  And, if you’ve ever been in a store changing room you’ll probably have noticed that your skin is either very pale or sallow.  These effects are all to do with the choice of lighting.

You may also find difficulties reading things printed on white paper because artificial light is not absorbed by white paper but bounces right back at you.

Of course, these problems are just minor compared to the health problems of spending a lot of time under artificial light.  I’ve already mentioned SAD but there’s a lot of research being carried out into the effects of full spectrum light deprivation:

• In 1980 Dr Fritz Hollwich studied the effects on the endocrine system. Whilst working under artificial (part spectrum) lighting levels of ACTH and cortisol (hormones produced when we are under stress) were secreted. For people working under full spectrum lighting these were absent.
• A ten year study at John Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore showed a positive effect of full spectrum light on the reduction of breast, rectal and colon cancer.
• In Russia, full spectrum lighting was used in a factory to address high incidences of colds and sore throats. After installation the bacterial contamination of the air was reduced by up to 70%. Furthermore, workers who did not receive full spectrum lighting were absent for twice as many days as those who did.
• Recent classroom tests have shown that students working in full spectrum light have a marked reduction in hyperactivity, absenteeism and an increase in academic achievement.

So, what do you do? 

1. Use daylight wherever possible.  If you’re in an office and you have a window turn the lighting off.  Not only will it help your health but it will also save energy.
2. Full spectrum lighting is available but it is more expensive than normal fluorescents or bulbs so choose with care where you use it.  For example, if you’re a business you don’t need full spectrum lighting for cupboards and corridors and other transit areas.  Prioritise the areas where people spend most of their time (ie, at their desk).
3. Have one full spectrum bulb at home, the area that you spend most of your time in when you come home from the office.  This way you can get some decent artificial light in the dark evenings of the winter months.
4. If you have a home office use a full spectrum bulb in there too.  It will allow you to work more effectively by reducing stress, minimising glare and seeing colours naturally.
5. Take a break in the day.  A twenty minute walk at lunch time will bring enormous benefits.  It’s not just the fact that you are getting away from your desk that is helpful, but the daylight will energise you.  If it’s not too cold try and expose some skin such as your forearms.  This will mean that you can take in a little more of the sun’s nutrients.
6. Get out and about as much as you can on your days off.  If it’s cold then wrap up well but go out and bathe in daylight.
7. If you find that you have symptoms that appear to be linked to the seasons then contact a health professional who is familiar with SAD and consider use of a light box.

Just being aware of the difference between artificial and natural daylight will help you enormously because you’ll be able to choose full spectrum light when you can.  And light, real light, will lead to a happier and healthier life.

Jackie Notman is a business and feng shui consultant.  This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.

Business Energetics is based on classic Feng Shui principles and  brings together your environment and your people into one harmonised and focussed profit machine. 

If you would like to find out more about how your business could benefit from living in harmony with your environment, and using energy to your advantage, contact Jackie Notman on 07920 461574 or through her website http://www.fs168.co.uk/businessenergetics

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You have permission to publish this article as long as the tagline (above) with links is included and no changes are made to the article. A courtesy copy of your publication or link would be appreciated.

The secret of healthy dog walkers

Dog walking is so good for you even the dogs are doing it

A recent study by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, D.C. concluded that the many benefits of dog walking included a lower body mass index, fewer chronic conditions and depressive symptoms.

Now, you could say that it is nothing to do with having a dog.  Just the walking will give you the same benefits.  However, the same study indicated that having a dog gave owners a sense of purpose so they were motivated to exercise.

But, in my experience, there is another aspect of dog walking that has been overlooked, perhaps even by the regular dog walkers that are exhibiting this wonderfully good health.  Could their wellbeing also be down to a once popular but now unfashionable practice known as heliotherapy or light therapy?

The basis of light therapy is that exposure to the sun provides many benefits.  Production of vitamin D is probably the most well known which gives us strong bones but also the healing of wounds, and to fight tuberculosis, internal cancers, psoriasis and even tooth decay.

Since the days of the ancient Greeks the therapeutic value of exposure to the sun has been known and used.  It was advocated in hospital design by Florence Nightingale and, until the mid 20^th century hospital windows and doors were opened each day and patients wheeled out into the light whilst the wards were cleaned.  MRSA was not prevalent at that time.

Many studies have been carried out using light therapy.  In 1877 Dr Arthur Downes and Thomas Blunt carried out a series of experiments to understand the effect the sun had on bacteria and other organisms and found it had a clear bactericidal effect.  In 1890 Robert Koch showed that sunlight killed the bacteria that caused tuberculosis.  He later won the Nobel prize for medicine in 1905.  Two years earlier the same prize went to Dr Niels Finsen who practised sunlight therapy at his Light Institute in Copenhagen.  His institute helped validate scientifically what had been practised for centuries in the Far East and Eastern Europe.

His work inspired Dr Oskar Bernhard who worked in the German military hospitals during the first World War to use sunlight to heal wounds and also Dr Auguste Rollier who used sunlight on his patients at his clinic in Switzerland in the early part of the 20^th century.  His method became known as the ‘Rollier Method’.

Apart from healing, the one aspect I have found particularly fascinating about light therapy is that sunlight, or light waves, is considered a nutrient, utilised by the pineal gland through sun gazing.  Many advocates of this say that their appetites decrease substantially when practising sun gazing regularly.

All this may sound like blasphemy in our current world where the sun is shunned and we are preached to that we must wear chemical sunscreen and we must cover everything.  However, the therapeutic use of sunlight, either bathing or gazing, should not be done when the sun is strongest.  It should be carried out early in the morning and/or later in the day when the light waves are longer and not so potent.  Which brings me back to dog walkers who usually walk their dogs in the morning and/or evening.  So, what really makes them healthier than the rest of us?

Note 1:  There are, of course, many more guidelines to follow in light therapy and, if you’re interested, you should seek the advice of a trained therapist or experienced sun gazer.

Note 2:  Many dogs’ homes and rescue centres need volunteer dog walkers so, even if you don’t have a dog and couldn’t possibly entertain the idea of having one why not pop along to your nearest centre and help out.  It won’t just do the dog good.

Jackie Notman is a copywriter, feng shui consultant and e-commerce retailer.  This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.

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