Welcome to the Carnival of Healing #118
I’m absolutely delighted to be hosting the last for 2007. The Carnival is a weekly round-up of personal blog posts on the topics of holistic health, wellness, spirituality, and self-empowerment. It’s coordinated by About.com’s Guide to Holistic Healing, Phylameana Iila Desy.

Last week’s Carnival of Healing was kindly hosted by The Reiki Digest and next week it will be hosted by Intensive Care for the Nurturer’s Soul.

It’s my first time hosting a blog Carnival! I consider this one important because it has many wonderful articles with constructive suggestions you can take with you into 2008. People often make New Year’s resolutions but lose their resolve fast when they’re not prepared to make lifestyle changes. Last week I addressed why new year’s resolutions can hurt you. There are many articles in this Carnival that can help you make the lifestyle changes that can help make resolutions that stick.

In the spirit of making New Year’s resolutions that can lead to healthy lifestyle changes, I’ll include a resolution I think is valuable with each topic. I find that a more realistic way to get started on a new habit is to declare that “I am willing to try to….” Instead of saying “I’m going to lose weight,” say, “I am willing to try to eat more healthy and do more exercise.” It can make the resoluhtion feel less daunting.

Here goes with all the great advice:

“I am willing to try to become kinder to myself as I make my resolutions.”
Ananga at Ananga Sivyer’s Living by Design Blog gives some great tips for being more realistic and fair when you set and carry out resolutions, in her post, On Goals & Resolutions: Progress with Kindness.

“I am willing to try to become more conscious of whether my actions match my intentions.”
David B. Bohl at Slow Down Fast Today! says, “I’m always amazed at what people say about themselves sometimes, and how that really contrasts with what they do.” So am I. Often our actions contradicts the way we want to be. Awareness: How You Live is Who You Are, emphasizes the importance of being aware of making your deeds reflect the person you want to be.

“I am willing to try to CHOOSE to be happy.”
Happiness is a wonderful state to strive for yet it can feel illusive when life seems to be doing you wrong. Lorraine Cohen at Powerfull Living illustrates how to find reasons to be happy, even when circumstance aren’t going your way in Happiness Tip: Mining For The Gold. Lorraine inspires me with her story!

“I am willing to try to do what it takes to feel better.”
Many people suffer from pain but often resign themselves to living with it instead of being proactive to find a solution. Natural Pain Relief lists 19 Common Barriers to Effective Pain Control.

While you want to trust your doctor, sometimes you must be your own health advocate when the treatment you’re given doesn’t feel like enough. Chris Melton at Shoulder Performance & Rehab posted Shoulder Rehab, with suggestions for finding healing alternatives. It’s written by his business partner, Scott Kay. Scott’s desire to accelerate his rehab from a shoulder injury led him to invent the Rotater, a shoulder rehab and stretching device. It helped him recover so he and Chris offered it for sale and it’s getting support from many medical and sport professionals. He shows what a desire to take care of yourself can accomplish!

“I am willing to try to get more exercise.”
A popular New Year’s resolution is to get into better shape. Yet it’s one that gets passed on from year to year when it doesn’t happen. Often it’s because you see exercise as a tedious chore. Mike Remer at My Path To Fitness Blog has tips for reframing how you view exercise so it becomes an activity you happily choose to do in Wish Exercise Wasn’t so Hard?

“Push ups are one of the most simple and effective home exercises. There are many ways to do them. But there is one that stands out from the rest. With its technique and effects, it is the most “exotic” type of push ups,” says Stanimir Sotirov at All About Your Body And Spirit. His post, Hindu Push Ups includes a video demonstration is included. If you try them, be careful, as they look intense.

“I am willing to try to find more ways to relax.”
EVERYONE should make a resolution to practice relaxing more. Stress affects our well being on many levels. John at Where We Relax shares a ritual he’s found helpful for switching out of work mode into a mindset of play in Rumi For Relaxation.

“I am willing to try to be more open minded.”
Chris at Martial Development says, “According to the teachings of traditional spiritual schools, Subjective Reality theories may actually be holding you back! Learn why here at The Nondual Perspective on Subjective Reality.”

“I am willing to try to tap into the Law of Attraction.”
I live by the Law of Attraction and know personally how changing your thoughts can change your life. Akemi at Gratitude Magic
explains how energy can flow through you to make the Law of Attraction and Thought Energy more effective.

“I am willing to try to claim my power to feel better.”
Matthew Spears at Loving Awareness says, “One of the most fundamental aspects of any growth or spiritual path is the trust in one’s own perception. There is no question it is an incomplete perception; so long as you have a body, you will not see even a minuscule fraction of the totality of the universe, or that of your Self. But it is still your perception. It is your link to your soul. It is the basis for all growth, for if you rely on someone else’s eyes and intuition, you are not living your own life, discovering your own Truth, but are being a guinea pig for other’s experiments with Truth.” He gives details in Trusting Perceptions and Higher Communication.

“I am willing to try to change my thoughts to feel better.”
Aparna at Beauty and Personality Grooming addresses how many people convince themselves they have illnesses that their minds create and how the Internet is helping to feed a generation of cyberchondriacs by giving people too much food for thought in Hypochondriacs over the net.

“I am willing to try to pursue ways to help myself be healthier.”
Abdulrasool Sumar at Mesothelioma Cancer says, In 370 B.C., the father of Modern Medicine, Dr. Hippocrates quoted, ‘Let food be your medicine, and let medicine be your food.’ And he said the best types of foods that protect your body from cancer risk are fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains. Recent research by scientists has proven that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables through the course of one’s life greatly enhances one’s ability to avoid developing cancer and many other diseases.” Suggestions are give in Good Nutrition Cancer Risk – Importance of Nutrition in Preventing Cancer

Dr. Steven Dell at Keyboard Culture has an interesting series of articles that provide understanding and alternative medicine treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis. It begins with What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Andrew Michaels at Lifecrafting details his quest to repair his vision in Relearning to See: My Plan to Regain My Waning Eyesight and Hurl My Glasses Off A Cliff I relate to his mission. I’ve used good nutrition and eye exercises and amaze people that at my age (well out of my twenties!) I don’t even need reading glasses.

James Chambers at Hyperhidrosis provides insight about the problem of excessive sweating and has links to resources that can help curb the problem naturally in Hyperhidrosis Causes.

Lucynda Riley at Flower, Field, and Forest discusses Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus), a plant she found helpful for healing her cold.

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That’s it for this week’s Carnival of Healing. Remember to check out the one next week at Intensive Care for the Nurturer’s Soul. You can submit to this Carnival with the Carnival Submission Form.

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