Q: I want to do some tricky hikes this summer. My partner and I plan to do some scrambles and I really need my reading glasses to see the maps. Is getting progressives worth it for this?
A: Your optometrist or optician can take a look at your prescription and records to see if it would work for you. I often tell my patients that progressive bifocals are built for convenience, so that you don’t have to keep switching between reading glasses and far distance glasses. Some newer designs of progressives are made for comfortable vision in difficult situations like steep stairs or uneven terrain, and they’re easier to get used to than ever. As a bonus, full-time glasses can not only enhance your vision, but also protect your eyes from ultraviolet light and become darker in bright conditions if you so wish.
Community News
Conversations with a Tree
Jane Warren Campbell, in her book “Conversations with a Tree”, states that, “Love is the unconditional appreciation for all life, it is the acceptance of who you are and the allowing of others to be who they are. Love is the foundation to happiness. If you do not truly love yourself, deep inside, you will not create the life you dream of.”
Trees have a bounty of love for all and are worth having a conversation with. Seek out a tree, hug it, talk to it, lay your back and head against its trunk, and you will receive love, wisdom, and healing.
Food as Medicine for Inflammation
In holistic healthcare, inflammation is often recognized as a root cause for many chronic and acute conditions. The four major signs of inflammation include redness, heat, swelling, and pain. For management of chronic inflammation symptoms, using food as medicine can be very effective. The first step is to minimize foods in the diet that promote inflammation, which include any type of sugar (including honey and high-sugar fruits), grains, and processed vegetable oils like canola oil and peanut oil. The next step is to focus the diet on high quality, nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, high quality animal protein, turmeric, and healthy fats.
Healthy Buildings and Wiring
Magnetic and electric fields of energy that occur as a result of electrical wiring errors is a known stressor of our immune systems. Our bodies are controlled by exquisitely small currents and voltages. These natural currents of energy are easily disrupted by the very large induced currents in our bodies that are a result of unnatural, manmade electricity. Humans have evolved and remained healthy as a result of welcoming natural radiations from the sun. Manmade energy, because it is so different from natural radiations, is not helpful for the function of our cells. Unfortunately, our bodies cannot identify bad electromagnetic energy and they welcome this energy into the cells, which may result in illness.
What You Don’t Hear
When someone has moderate hearing loss they will hear relatively well if you are talking to them face to face in a quiet environment but will not hear well if you are walking away from them, in a different room, or if noise is present. People with hearing loss may be unaware of the extent of it: that’s where loved ones come in. Family members who have grown frustrated with them not being able to hear are the ones to prompt them to get a hearing test. Encourage them to have their hearing tested, you will be doing them and yourself a big favour in the long run.
Self Care vs. Self Improvement
We are often on a quest for improvement, striving for an ideal of a better version of ourselves. What if we could feel good about how our skin and health feel right now? What if we were to shift our thinking and focus on honouring how our skin serves us so well, protecting us from external pathogens, yet sensitive enough to feel the light touch of a breeze. Focus on ways to view self care as something you find pleasure in, rather than a chore. By finding joy in the process of our daily routine, we can use it as a time to ease tension and gain acceptance of ourselves.
World Suicide Prevention Day
World Suicide Prevention Day Sept 10th Who thinks about suicide? It is estimated that 5% of the Canadian population has thoughts of suicide at one time or another (ASIST BC Crisis Centre). Loss of people we love, relationships, jobs and money are all possible reasons to want to escape a problem that seems insurmountable. We are wired to find solutions to our problems. Most of us naturally reach out, talk to someone, and together find solutions other than death. September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. I urge you to seriously listen to someone that is talking about suicide, ending it all, or not having a choice. Help them discover their choices and reasons to live.
Recipe for Fermented Dills
Fermented pickles provide healthy pro-biotic digestive enzymes, make the nutrients more bio-available and are easy to make. In a clean, 1 quart glass Mason jar, place a horseradish leaf in the bottom. Tightly pack with washed cucumbers, making sure there are no air pockets. Add sprigs of dill and cloves of chopped garlic evenly throughout the jar and top with bits of horseradish leaf. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of course sea salt and fill to top with clean, filtered water. Cover with a Mason jar lid and leave on the counter for 5 – 7 days to ferment and then store in the fridge.
A Place for Women to Gather
Are you a woman, feeling isolated, longing for the support of like-minded women? A monthly gathering for women lead by a Ladysmith clinical counsellor and psychotherapist will be starting in October. It will be safe and sacred space to share what’s in your heart, your joys and celebrations as well as your sorrows, burdens and pains. You can be witnessed and feel heard in a circle of mutual love, compassion and support. Come to help heal one another through the power of intent and sing songs for healing the planet. Attendance by donation; funds will be used for earth greening and sustainability projects. Contact: [email protected]
Using Essential Oil Around the House
Essential Oils are used for many things around the house. * Fix Smelly Shoes – put a drop or two of Purification into each shoe. * Get Rid Of Pests – deter spiders, mice, and other pests from coming into your home by putting a drop of peppermint oil onto a cotton ball and leaving it where the pests are coming in. *Make Your Home Smell Great- add a few drops of Thieves™ oil to a new furnace filter before installing it. The air will flow through the filter, and carry the scent of the oil throughout the house
Theatre Production: Glorious
Glorious, the outrageously hilarious comedy about the worst singer in the world, brings the story of Florence Foster Jenkins to life on the Chemainus Theatre Festival stage this fall. First premiering on London’s West End in 2005, this delightfully comedic play portrays the story of “An extraordinary woman who had the guts to follow her dream”. Known as ‘The first lady of the sliding scale’, Jenkins’ charm lies somewhere between Norma Desmond and Lucille Ball. During World War II, the amateur singer and flamboyant socialite was the squeaky soprano du jour, singing her way into the hearts of New York society.
