By Miranda

I usually drive in silence, but if I spend any part of Sunday in the car, I like to listen to the stories told on public radio.

This past Sunday, I heard a great story about living with loved ones who are suffering Alzheimer's disease or dementia. The topic was: "what do you talk about?"

That's a decent question. You have a person who means a lot to you, who you've likely shared a lifetime with, and now you can't chose your normal conversational topics. You can't discuss family members, current events, nor even many past events. Beyond even coming up with something to talk about, there is the difficulty of holding a conversation when the person you are talking to forgets what/who/where in the middle of your few sentences together.

I do not have a family member with Alzheimer's or dementia, but I've had some as acupuncture patients. (Which, yes, acupuncture can help.) And I have known many friends who have dealt with this situation with their families. I think we all have.

The radio show covered one couple caring for their mother. The wife/daughter was looking for support, reaching out in books and online for ways to cope with these challenges. And one phrase changed everything: "step into their world."

This woman and her husband are both improv comedy actors. This was a lightbulb moment for her. "Step into their world" is a catchphrase used in improv to describe what you do when your acting partner has set the stage for your improvised scene. You step into their world, whatever it is they have created.

So, if she can do this for her acting, for her audiences, why can't she do this for her mother?

It changed EVERYTHING.

Instead of "no Mom, you can't go home, you live here now with us," it became "you want to go home? Tell me about your home."

Her mother became noticeably more agreeable and more relaxed. But the husband/son-in-law took it a step further. Instead of "no, mom, there aren't any monkeys outside the window," nor even "oh, monkeys? That's nice," it became:
"Monkeys? This time of year? It's a bit early for monkeys, don't you think?"
Mother replied "no, no they're out there now."
"Well, do you think we should catch one? Bring it inside?"
"No, we can't have a monkey in the house! That's ridiculous."
"Sure we can, if we put some pants on it."
And the conversation continued, with the mother laughing and having a good time, and even seeming to understand that they were just joking around as the conversation went on.

As the couple developed this new way of interacting with their mother, she became steadily more agreeable and easier to live with. And doesn't this make so much sense? Who likes having their reality questioned? Who likes being patronized?

And why must we all be so RIGHT all of the time? Why must we correct those who we think are wrong? How are we really helping the situation by insisting there are no monkeys outside the window? Maybe there ARE monkeys outside the window. Even if you can't see them, and really don't believe they are there, can't you allow someone else to see them without needing to assert your reality?

What a wonderful new paradigm this is for dealing with our loved ones who are suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia. Instead of trying to correct them or being frustrated by their "wrongness," try simply stepping into their reality. Allow THEM to tell YOU how it is. If you can let go of the need to impose your right way of knowing, you may find that they can relax and enjoy their lives if their reality isn't constantly coming into question. And isn't that what we want for our loved ones, anyhow? Not for them to be right about identifying places, people and time, but to merely be comfortable and happy?

For those of us who are not caring for loved ones with dementia, this can still be a great lesson for relaxing our boundaries on what is "right" and "wrong" with everyone we meet. If we want to truly understand anyone else's point of view, it will be a lot easier if we can drop our story and step into their reality in order to fully comprehend them.

So give it a try. Step out of your reality from time to time and meet someone else's. Stop and see the monkeys.

Fly forward into a healthy spring with some educational, empowering and inspiring health workshops from Radiant Family this March. Our workshops will be given at the Merging Rivers Zen Center on three Saturdays. See the flier below for more information.

We have tried to keep our workshops low cost in order to share this information with as much of the community as possible, so please share this flier with anyone you think would benefit! We hope to see you there.

By Miranda

We really underestimate the impact that light has on our bodies. This time of year in the Northern hemisphere brings less exposure to daylight. It is cold/rainy/windy, so we avoid spending time outdoors in the daytime. Most people spend their waking day indoors in their workplace. And due to the shorter days, it is less likely that any of us really encounter much daylight outside before or after work.

But we get plenty of light inside from light bulbs, though. Or from computer screens, phones, e-books, and other electronic devices. This light is less bright than natural sunlight, but much brighter than moonlight. So, let's call this artificial light "medium light."

The body reacts to light all of the time.

Our body produces melatonin and cortisol to create our "circadian rhythm", our cycle of being asleep and being awake. High melatonin levels at night help induce sleep. High cortisol levels in the morning induce wakefulness.

If we lived outside as the animals we are, we would be exposed to much daylight during the day, and only moonlight at night. In our cozy buildings, however, we get this "medium" light consistently throughout the day. This means not enough daylight during the day and too much light in the evening.

During the day, when our cortisol levels are prone to be their highest, we should be exposed to a great amount of light. In particular, the blue spectrum of light (short wavelength), like those obnoxiously bright headlights you see on cars from time to time. If we are exposed to this spectrum of light from 7am to noon, we produce as much as 50% more of the "awake hormone" at this time than we would without this bright light exposure. (1)

Can you imagine being 50% more awake in the morning? Doesn't that sound great?

But exposure to light at night has a negative effect. Exposure to this blue spectrum light in the evening results in a dramatic drop in melatonin production, even in small amounts of light exposure. This means more difficulty getting to sleep, a hard time staying asleep, or lower quality of sleep. (1)

Interestingly, exposure to light in the red spectrum (long wavelength) does not suppress melatonin production like blue light does. According to the research, there is no statistical difference between red light and darkness when it comes to affecting our melatonin levels. (1)

I have met very few people that don't have any difficulty with sleep AND also feel energetic in the morning. So please don't take light for granted. Some very simple changes in light exposure can make significant changes to your health, especially during the darker months.


1. Mariana G. Figueiro and Mark S. Rea. The Effects of Red and Blue Lights on Circadian Variations in Cortisol, Alpha Amylase, and Melatonin. 2 March 2010. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ije/2010/829351/

A profound shift is upon us in the world. 

Science, mind and heart are coming together to unravel the mystery of the healing arts.  Now, with enough conclusive research and concrete scientific data, vibration and light are being tied into the very fabric of this spectacular wonder we call the human body.   Its remarkable ability to act as a transceiving/receiving device for the facilitation of healing is beyond belief.

This is why Reiki, Qigong and other forms of vibration/light therapy are still regarded by misinformed or uneducated people as psychosomatic, placebo or belief based systems. (Systems or techniques that work only when believed in by the receiving participate.) 

Why are so many receiving the opposite of what they've been wanting in life?  Why do so many feel overwhelmed and sick all the time?

In my last issue, we covered much of the technical info on how and why the body and brain become inflamed, so now let's have some fun by delving into the solution and finding our long lost POWER and JOY!

First, we must take a deep look at our lives and find out how the link between systemic inflammation, malnutrition and the toxic compounds found in many foods literally rob us of our dreams. This link is so powerful that, when corrected, you may see a whole new outcome in your life in as little as several months!