Lynn A. Anderson, Ph.D.

With a new year many of us make new years resolutions. Resolution by its definition means that there is some conflict to resolve. The resolving of this conflict brings about resolution. When we think of making New Year’s resolutions most of us think of goals or changes we establish and hope to accomplish. So to truly make a resolution we must look at our conflicts and how to resolve them.
Diet and exercise are the most prominent resolutions. The conflict is always between eating what we want and staying slim and healthy. Exercise becomes a conflict of time. Would we rather sleep or exercise? Read more…

Last week's blog was about the three gifts the wide men brought to the baby Jesus. The three most precious commodities of the day were the essential oils frankincense and myrrh, and the element of gold.

Myrrh comes from the same family of plants as frankincense; Burseraceae which means dry fire. Myrrh is a gum that it produced in Libya and Iran which is then distilled into an oil with a pleasant balsamic camphor-like, musty, incense smell.

Like frankincense, myrrh was a precious oil used in fumigations, embalming, unctions and liturgical practices. The Egyptian papyrus, the Vedas, the Bible and the Koran mention numerous uses of Myrrh in perfumery, ceremonies and medicine. Myrrh was an ingredient in many unguents, elixirs and other multi purpose antidotes. Read more…

In the Biblical story of the birth of Christ, the three wise men brought gifts of frankincense, myrrh and gold to the baby Jesus. Essential oils such as frankincense and myrrh were highly prized as medicinal substances used to treat all kinds of illness and injuries. Since the earliest times of humanity aromatic fumigations have been used daily in rituals, as medicine and during religious ceremonies as an expression of the sacred. Fragrances have been seen as a manifestation of divinity on earth. They established a connection between humans and Gods. Read more…

The stress and strain of the Holiday season can bring on sadness, anxiety, and mild bouts of depression. It is widely understood that our diet greatly influences our moods. Diet and poor eating habits are often the cause of depression and exhaustion.

There are three major neurotransmitters in our brains that affect our moods. These are dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. When the brain produces serotonin tension is eased and when the brain produces dopamine or norepinephrine we tend to think and act more quickly and we are generally happier.

Eating carbohydrates has a calming effect and eating proteins increase alertness. Protein meals such as Salmon and other fish are good choices because they are both protein and essential fatty acids. Read more…