How are your business and lifestyle choices impacting on
your health, your family and the ones you care about?

Amidst the pressures of this world to strive, to expand, to grow, to consume more and more, it is so easy to forget the whole reason you’re doing it all in the first place.

You may already have learned this powerful lesson and be right on track. If so, I applaud your alertness.

If not, I hope that the following 3 minute video, by New York Times best-selling author Mark Albion, will help you reconnect to a more wholesome perspective on all your activities.

Your whole being and those who love you,
will thank you for it when you do.

If you want to investigate this viewpoint further, have a listen to the the following 3 minutes interview with Mark Albion as he describes a broad outline of his book.

In his early days Mark’s message was introduced with “All of you here are going to make a living. The question here is, how are you going to make a life?”

This has now evolved into “You have the freedom to really be able to live a fulfilling life. How are you going to go about doing that?’

Mark’s book “More Than Money: Questions Every MBA Needs to Answer: Redefining Risk and Reward for a Life of Purpose” guides the reader to answering the above questions for himself.

Out of 25 reviews on AMAZON.com, Mark Albion’s book has received an average of a 5 STAR RATING .

To order “More Than Money: Questions Every …..” or to read the reviews on Amazon CLICK HERE.

In Support of Sustainable, Wholesome and Empowered Living.
Cheers, Sven

Were you also, (even a little) uncomfortably reminded, that there are billions of others living a lifestyle in stark contrast to your own? I certainly was.

Your heart goes out to them all, doesn’t it?

“Can I make a difference here?” you may wonder; but then so often life’s immediate pressures exert themselves and the thought is gone. Even if you do have time to consider longer, most of the time you feel powerless to affect any positive change. 

A couple of years ago I saw an inspiring documentary called “Ryan’s Well” really helped me to shift this feeling of powerlessness. I’ve included a clip (further down) of the first 10 minutes because I want you to be inspired too. 

Ryan Hreljak was only 6 years of age (!!!) when he was first inspired to action after hearing of the plight of so many in the world without access to clean water……. (my goodness, where was my head at when I was six!?)

He did extra jobs at home and inspired classmates and others, to eventually raise the total funds needed to establish a well in a small village in drought-stricken Uganda. His persistence and vision eventually inspired most of Canada to join with him. This was just the beginning of Ryan’s lasting legacy.

Take the 10 minutes needed to watch this and let your own vision for a healed world be nurtured and uplifted.

The full version of the movie can be seen online for 1 British Pound
 http://www.booserver.com/projects.php?ProjectID=1430

B.T.W. Ryan just completed Grade 11 and is now 17 years old and continues expanding his vision. 

The Ryan’s Well Foundation has to date 
established 432 wells in fifteen countries,
bringing clean water and sanitation
services to over 577,000 people.

I encourage you to check out the work of the Ryan’s Well Foundation at http://www.ryanswell.ca/

Additional Thoughts:
One of the main principles shared by natural healing, holistic health and systems focussed on sustainability, is that of considering much more than just any one, isolated part of a specific system.

Whether it is regarding the human body, humanity as a whole, or the environment, it’s about considering the entire system, because all are inter-related.

With this view, no one part of humanity can be hurting without the rest of the body of humanity being affected by it. That is why we are so moved when we become aware of the pain of others. That is why I believe it is so important to begin to shift the general concepts of separateness on the world stage, and move more towards focusing on what joins us together as one humanity.

Ryan’s story is a touching example reaching out in this way, and of how we each can make a difference when the desire and vision is there ….. one small step at a time. 

  “We thrive and survive on planet earth
as a single human family.
And one of our main responsibilities
is to leave to successor generations
a sustainable future.”
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi A. Annan

Isn’t it always the extremes in life that most stimulates that feeling of appreciation in your souls? It is the sharp contrasts that really grab your attention and cause you to feel; eg. you rarely see more clearly the value of something near and dear to you, than when it suddenly disappears.

The first step towards making any change towards something better, is waking up to the fact that a change is needed.

“Everyone understands that water is essential to life.
But many are only just now beginning to grasp
how essential it is to everything in life –
food, energy, transportation, nature, leisure,
identity, culture, social norms,
and virtually all the products used on a daily basis.”
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

Till next time …… may you have abundant, clean water in your life.
Cheers,
Sven

Here’s what happened to me less than an hour ago
that inspired the writing of this post
Can you relate ?

I’m generally a very positive sort of guy, with rare bouts of depression. But for whatever reason, I found myself in a downward, emotional spiral this afternoon. It felt like the sunshine around me had disappeared and I was enveloped in this thick, dark cloud. Not fun at all !!!

I moped around for a while, wallowing in a kind of “self-pity”, until my obviously-dimmed state attracted a questioning comment from Karen. So I relayed an account of what I was feeling to her.

As I did so, I sensed a part of me sitting back “watching” all of this and saying to himself, “Wow, isn’t THIS interesting !”

I said a couple of half-hearted sort of positive comments about how this was “just a passing cloud”, but really, in that moment it didn’t seem like it was ever going to end.

……

Interestingly, earlier in the day, I had made a note of a few real-life accounts of funny experiences submitted by medical staff. I decided to read these out loud to Karen, more for something to do than any conscious effort at therapy.

As she genuinely, roared with laughter, I found myself soon laughing too and you know what?

Within moments,
that “dark cloud” of depression
around me was gone !
My sunshine had returned !!

As I think back, I am still quite amazed at what took place during that experience.

What strikes me even more is the fact that it was only a couple of days ago that I posted an article about the the inspiring story of Nick Vujicic (the guy with no limbs) and how inspirational he was.

I was really uplifted by that and yet, here I was, LOST for a time, in this feeling of depression. While I was IN the experience, it FELT like I was very much, alone; but I know that that just comes with the territory. It is just part of the nature of that particular self-centered state.

It seemed important to share my story with you because I know that it is very likely that there are times when you go through similar experiences yourself (maybe you’re even in one right now?). If so, may this post empower you with some tools for moving through the process.

Perhaps I’ll even come back and read this myself as a reminder. In that case, my prescription for myself would be the following:

• 1. Remember that it IS possible for the “sunshine” to come back in an INSTANT and be willing for that to be the case.
• 2. Give yourself an opportunity to REALLY feel how bad you feel and let it be OK, (without being over indulgent about it)
• 3. Get into a “lighter” environment (physically) and read a few jokes to someone else. Then see what happens.

Just to give you an idea of what all the laughter was about, here are the three, real life, funny encounters that helped turn my lights back on. I’d like to acknowledge www.mercola.com as the source of these contributions.

Story #1: I was caring for a woman and asked, “So how’s your breakfast this morning?” “It’s very good, except for the Kentucky Jelly. I can’t seem to get used to the taste,” the patient replied. I then asked to see the jelly and the woman produced a foil packet labeled “KY Jelly.” Submitted by Dr. Leonard Kransdorf

Story #2: At the beginning of my shift I placed a stethoscope on an elderly and slightly deaf female patient’s anterior chest wall. “Big breaths,” I instructed. “Yes, they used to be,” replied the patient. Submitted by Dr. Richard Byrnes

Story #3: A nurse was on duty in the Emergency Room, when a young woman with purple hair styled into a punk rocker Mohawk, sporting a variety of tattoos, and wearing strange clothing, entered.

It was quickly determined that the patient had acute appendicitis, so she was scheduled for immediate surgery. When she was completely disrobed on the operating table, the staff noticed that her pubic hair had been dyed green, and above it there was a tattoo that read, “Keep off the grass.”

Once the surgery was completed, the surgeon wrote a short note on the patient’s dressing, which said, “Sorry, had to mow the lawn.” Submitted by RN no name.

Continuing with the medical theme, I was reminded of another humorous “take” on our life experience. “Life is a sexually transmitted disease with a 100% mortality rate.”

Click on this LINK to some interesting scientific studies on the Benefits of Humor and Laughter.  

May your laughter bring tears to your eyes and wiggle your belly button forth and back.

Cheers, Sven

I know that for those of you who are not living in North America, this celebration may not hold much significance in and of itself. However, the idea of consciously placing emphasis on true remembrance of those things that we’re thankful for, is a great orientation point for anyone wanting to move in a positive direction (towards sustainable, empowered, wholesome living).

Realizing the power of this idea is one major step, but actually remembering it and applying it consistently, is the beginning of a whole other journey. This is as applicable to health and healing as it is for anything else.

Just recently I became aware of 24 year old Australian who has provided one of the most inspiring stories that I have ever heard. (I have included a few video segments of one of his talks towards the end of this post)

To me, this man is an embodiment of the power of  “Thankfulness” …an inspiration of one who has looked for, and found, those unique gifts within himself, despite his circumstances. He has since risen up to be an increasingly powerful voice in the world. His example demonstrates the same potential that lies within each of us.

……

Applying his message to our daily living, it is easy to see that enjoying a  healthy, happy life is more than just eating the right foods, being free of  disease and having plenty of money in the bank.

It’s about equipping oneself with the tools that will carry you through those unexpected events in ones life journey that can leave you stunned to the core.

Nick is providing inspiration to millions

Just by telling his own story, holding his highest vision of himself and letting his own true nature shine, Nick is providing inspiration to millions. He says that one of the biggest gifts to arise out of his circumstances is that he gets so much joy from just being in a position to give hope to those who have lost it.

His message, brings a strong reminder that, yes, each of us too, has a unique story to tell, a unique contribution to make. It involves a process of moving beyond self judgment or external criticism and of focusing intently on the blessings that one DOES have in ones life, rather than on what one is lacking.

That being said, if you want a bit of support in getting things into perspective, I invite you to listen to Nick Vujicic share his unique story and insights. In the following short segments, Nick addresses the three key areas that he feels are at the core of helping to overcome any challenge we may be confronted with. They are:

PERSPECTIVE, VISION and CHOICES

(The 3 video screens below, each represent Part I, II and III respectively (15 min in total) of portions of Nick’s talk. The link following the three screens connects to part of another interview (10 min) given at a church gathering.

Part I: (5:06 min)

Part II: (9:57 min)

Part III: (7:02 min)

CLICK HERE For Mini Documentary Plus Testimonial – 10 min

More Coming:
As this site continues to evolve, we’ll look for every opportunity to air inspirational and uplifting videos. We’ll gradually build a page devoted especially to inspirational and uplifting videos of this kind, so it will be easier to tune in to a higher perspective when you need a boost.

In addition we’ll have useful and practical videos, tutorials, articles, notices and other information that we feel are useful Support for Healthy Living. I suggest subscribing to our special list (form top right of page) to be notified of further additions or special gifts.

QUOTE: Here’s  a special quote in line with the subject of today.

“The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence and educational advantages; the question is what he will do with the things he has. The moment a young man ceases to dream or to bemoan his lack of opportunities and resolutely looks his conditions in the face, and resolves to change them, he lays the corner-stone of a solid and honorable success.”
Hamilton Wright Mabie

Wishing you Good health and Prosperity,
Sven