Should We Have Two Sleeps Rather Than One?

Around a third of the population have trouble sleeping, including difficulties maintaining sleep throughout the night. While night time awakenings are distressing for most sufferers, there is some evidence from our recent past that suggests this period of wakefulness occurring between two separate sleep periods was the norm.

Sound is an exceptionally powerful energy. It has the ability to stimulate the release of hormones in the body, to reduce the stress response and induce relaxation, to penetrate to body and affect us at a cellular level, to rearrange molecular structure, and to shape matter itself. 

In many places in the world when a person is ill, a song is sung to heal. The notion of singing a person to wellness and health may sound strange. You may think it irresponsible of me, a trained physician, even to mention it. But I am not talking about a New Age or alternative treatment. I am speaking of the medicine ways of my tribe...

Cancer may not be life-ending, but it usually is life-changing. A cancer diagnosis instantaneously turns life upside down for patients and families.

What if we could go back in time to heal an illness at an earlier, less-advanced stage? Or go back even further to the moment right before an illness took hold in our bodies? A number of researchers, Helmut Schmidt being one of the earliest, have studied the...

We are so conditioned to using our five physical senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell), that we expect intuition to be something equally tangible. It is not. Intuition, the "sixth sense," requires us to trust, not to know.

Most of us don't pay much attention to the connection between music and our well-being. It is just there. It has always been there. For some of us it hovers on the periphery of our lives. For others it is central to our daily moods and activities.

Throughout most of human history, there was no such thing as a psychiatrist or a refill of Ativan—and humans developed a thousand different ways of working with mental and emotional distress, many of which are just as effective today as they were in 612 BC.

It isn't possible to make good, conscious decisions in the midst of confusion and shock. Slow down and don't be rushed. Listen to your inner voice. Weigh the options and make decisions and choices based on what you feel is right for you. We stay far more empowered when we take charge and make decisions we feel good about.

Why does the body seem to betray you? It's a belief. You're fight­ing it mentally, but you haven't let yourself experience and feel  what it's like to absolutely be in your body. Just as the Earth is the body of this planet, your biology is the body of your soul. If you're aging, if you look in the mirror and say...

In ancient Greece, there were temples with rooms to which sick people could retreat. This was a time of quiet introspection, based on the understanding that illness is a sacred space where inner work can be done, so that healing may come from the core of our being.

Healing is not just about you. It is about healing the whole of humanity, which is currently suffering in unprecedented ways. The burden of humanity’s suffering includes the growing gap between the world’s richest and poorest people, which leads to severe economic disparity around the globe and poverty.

We cannot be truly healthy, have vitality and experience joy without being comfortable and at home in our bodies. As long as we are physical entities we might as well move all the way into our homes. The following fun exercises can help you get in touch with the earth and energize your body as well.

Our physical sufferings often have their own stories to tell. The mind and the body form an intimately integrated whole that is indivisible. Our thoughts (beliefs and emotions) dwell throughout our entire body.

Placebos have been found, at times, to work nearly as effectively as materialistic treatments. One series of studies covering more than one thousand patients showed that 35 percent reported significant relief from a variety of ailments after treatment with a placebo.

New research suggests that acupuncture may help patients suffering from certain esophageal disorders that make swallowing difficult.

Affirmations are statements of intention that can be used for anything: to attract wealth, for life changes, to find a perfect partner, for self healing -- from curing diabetes to losing weight to quitting smoking, etc...

Our latest research found that female doctors are better at empathy than male doctors, and this probably makes them better doctors.

"People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive..."

When our energy level is optimal, we become aroused and alerted to the world around us. Then, with a profound reciprocity, nature seems alerted to and connected to us. We experience energy as vigor and stamina...

Your body wants nothing more than to be loved. Like trying to drive an old broken down car or bicycle, it can be frustratingly difficult for a soul to work through a body that is unhealthy or uncared for. Of course, much of our...

There is a very tight connection between our energetic body and our physical body. When our energetic body is not healthy, we can be physically unhealthy. Our energetic system processes energy flowing through and uses the information contained in it.

As we grow and mature, our experiences as we relate to others take their effects on us, both positive and negative. We also begin to absorb the energies of these interactions. These energies can be light, dark, or anywhere in between and can have a powerful impact.

Innate is responsible for the seemingly mysterious and miraculous healings: accelerated recoveries, spontaneous remissions, and unexplained disappearances of incurable diseases. There is no mystery after all when the Innate is involved and can bridge the gap between quantum intelligent information and our bodies. It is not a force outside ourselves--it is something within all of us.

My body was crying out for healing and for me to allow my passion and purpose to come forward. This was not an easy task, and I will say that it did not happen overnight. It took time and patience.

Interest in electrical brain stimulation has skyrocketed in recent years, both in the popular media and scientific literature.

A health "crisis" whether a physical, mental, emotional, relationship, or financial crisis in our lives — forces us to reflect on, re-evaluate, and change our current routines and thought patterns. Any form of disease is ultimately an opportunity to...

Some argue that hypnosis is just a trick. Others, however, see it as bordering on the paranormal – mysteriously transforming people into mindless robots.

Obsidian asks us not to look upon the broken pieces that lay on the ground; rather, obsidian helps us to see ourselves as the perfection that is revealed from within when the unnecessary parts of ourselves are stripped away.

Heal­ing comes in all forms. It can be a simple awareness or a huge “aha.” It can be a mental realization, an emotional process, a spiritual catharsis, or a physical progression, but it is never only one of these; it is always a combination of...

“Being whole” is an experience or a state of being in which we are in touch with our deepest inner being. It is a lifelong process with many paths and one of these paths touches on the body and its organs. With what they have to tell us they enrich us...

Are you stressed-out, overweight, overworked, uninspired, or plagued by negative emotions? Don't worry — anyone can achieve greater health and happiness by trying out some new behaviors and attitudes, and working at it step-by-step. Here are nine proven ways to get there.

Healing can include dramatic, sudden physical cures, but is not confined to the 'miraculous' or the spectacular. Perhaps for most people, the healing power of faith involves a healing of the mind and emotions, the intangible spirit, and of relationships with others.

Have you ever wondered what Jesus Christ really meant when he said that heaven is within you? Dante's epic The Divine Comedy also suggests levels of heaven and hell that could be explored in a state of higher consciousness. It is not a physical journey, but a journey of spirit.

Preventative medicine has long used drugs to prevent the onset of disease. Those with symptoms such as high blood sugar or pressure are often diagnosed with the “pre-condition”, such as prediabetes or prehypertension, if their symptoms haven’t yet reached the levels which define the disease.

Most living things appear to be vitalized by the bright reds, oranges, and yellows of daylight -- and calmed and rejuvenated by the blues, indigos, and violets of the night. The origins of healing with color can be traced back to the mythology of Ancient Egypt and Greece.

Sound is third-dimensional. When the angels add their energy to sound it becomes a fast-frequency sonic emitted for specific high-vibrational purposes. We may not be able to hear it because it is beyond our auditory range and our understanding of it is limited but it has a powerful effect.

If you live near the sea, make frequent trips to the beach, or are planning an island holiday this summer, chances are you’re getting more out of it than just enjoyment.

It was not the splinter of wood from the sidewalk that healed him. It was his imagination aroused to an intense degree, plus the confident expectancy of a perfect healing. Imagination was joined to faith or subjective feeling, and the...

It’s time to clear the aura. Sweeping and clearing remove congested and diseased energy and cleanse, strengthen, and greatly facilitate the healing process. Many simple illnesses can be healed just by sweeping and clearing the aura.

Healing has always been a great mystery, especially when a cure works for one person but perhaps not for another. Part of the success or failure of any healing modality is how the recipient perceives and accepts the healing. Let’s face it. Some of us...

Most of us experience a level of social anxiety at some point in our lives. We worry about what people think of us, about being excluded, about being judged or humiliated.

Nathan Copeland, a 28-year-old man who couldn’t feel or move his lower arms and legs after a car accident, has regained the sensation of touch through a robotic arm that he controls with his brain.

A strong mind can cope with a weak body, while even a strong body is no use if you have a weak mind. Remember that your aura is simply an extension of you. When strong, it acts as a protective shield. When fragile or damaged, it can leave you drained, unwell, and feeling disconnected from yourself.

How you feel about yourself may actually affect the way your body defends itself against the various stresses and infective organisms that surround it. A high level of self-esteem, or a stronger sense of self, can lead to more vigorous immune response.

Careful histories of people who come down with serious illnesses almost always reveal earlier warning signs that were ignored or treated superficially. Symptoms are like warning lights or gauges in your car. When the oil light goes on in your car, would you tape over it so you can go about your business?

Psychoanalysis or psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a way of treating longstanding psychological problems that is based on the belief behaviours have underlying drivers which may be unrecognised and unconscious.

A report published in May from researchers at Johns Hopkins claims that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind only heart disease and cancer.

Ever since I was a child, I chased the sun. I was ecstatic in the summer and miserable in the winter. My parents would have to chase after me to wear a hat and long sleeves because I wouldn’t think about sunburns or skin cancer at all, all I could think about was JOY.

In this modern age, we tend to run from the sun due to what I believe to be understandable but overblown concerns about skin cancer. Since the time of the Greeks, heliotherapy (sun therapy) has been a valuable way to heal the body and balance the mind.

A few years ago, I gave conferences in Montreal regarding the healing properties of natural spring water. I was fascinated by the reports of people drinking natural spring water and stating that many of their illnesses vanished or greatly improved just by drinking such water.

A new TV show would have us believe a powerful hypnotist can make us do whatever he says while we are powerless to resist or even realise. Channel Nine’s new game show You’re Back in the Room debuted to high ratings on Sunday night.

With all the noise of society—busy highways, bustling cities, mass media, and television sets blaring everywhere—our minds can’t help but be highly agitated and polluted. I now avoid all this as much as humanly possible, especially the television. It’s now hard to believe that I was a reporter on television for more than two decades.

The words “stem cell research and therapy” evoke a number of responses. In emotionally vulnerable patients, a sense of hope. In scientists, a great deal of excitement about future prospects.

A healthy routine of ample, complete breathing replete with prana, which nourishes every cell, can revitalize your life. The yogis of India believe that proper breathing can annihilate all disease from this planet. In addition, the power of prana in breath can increase mental capacity, happiness, self-confidence...

Just as a disease can announce itself suddenly, healing can also arrive in an instant. A sudden illness is called unfortunate, while a sudden healing is called a miracle. However, both take part in the same essence: they are forms of the language of the subconscious.

I can’t promise perfect health any more than I could promise a life without problems. That’s not what life seems to be about. Instead, I am offering you another way to look at your health, and your life, that takes you out of helpless victim mode and reminds you that you are in charge.

I began experimenting with the tuning forks with a few of my massage therapy clients. I found that if a client was complaining of pain in a particular area, the fork would produce either a loud, sharp tone or a tone full of static and “noise.” After holding the fork over the area, I found that after a few moments the tone would become clear...

In my late twenties, I developed both forms of the autoimmune deficiency disease Lupus. My doctors advised me that, given the severity of both forms of Lupus, I would only live another six to eight years. After three years of suffering, yet functioning with my Lupus, I had an experience that changed my perception.

In my practice as a speech language pathologist and music therapist, I’m able to use music to serve a variety of patients with an array of needs. Children with autism tend to be more attentive to musical sounds than speech sounds. For cancer patients, I’ll use songs of hope and resilience. I’ve helped patients preparing for surgery...

You can trade massages with a friendly co-worker! Massage in the workplace is no longer reserved for just the wealthy, the weird, or the weary. In fact, individuals and corporations alike are finding it to be a practical and joyful way of increasing employee satisfaction and productivity.

A strong, centered aura can bring many magical experiences into your life. By following these simple ten steps to good auric health, you can significantly improve your chances of attracting what you really love to your life! The first five steps are part of a daily auric energy practice, and the last five are an ongoing, long-term energy practice.

While incense can be used to cleanse a place or fumigate a person, the range in effect varies from very mild to exceptionally strong. They can be very potent aids to maintaining spiritual purity and cleanliness in a home. To some extent, we might compare burning incense to sending up a beacon or flare to attract those spiritual forces we wish to call. Each odor appeals to a particular force, and the "force" answers the call.

A very powerful exercise to help you clear any accumulation of psychic stress and energetic pollution contained within your aura. This will help you to quickly regain balance and harmony in your vibration, restore your aura power, and increase your physical energy levels.

Rose summed up the heart of the day’s lesson: “The bad news is the body remembers and will hold something as true, even when the conscious mind does not. The good news is that you can create new memories for the body, new truths.”

The prevailing industrial age view of the human body as a machine whose parts occasionally break down, requiring repair only to that part without regard to the whole human being and the sources of the problem, is a health model that will increasingly be replaced by a more unified theory of what a human being truly is.

At the end of the day, less pain, anxiety, and nausea, better sleep and more energy add to quality of life. That is what people with cancer seek. Researchers measure this variable usually with a written questionnaire and sometimes an oral interview...

by Peter Bongiorno, ND, LAc. One group of researchers in Virginia suggests that hydro­therapy may be useful to treat cancer and chronic fatigue as well as depression. Cold exposure therapies may actually be the best choice for depressed patients. According to Hippocrates, water therapy "allays lassitude."

Fewer high school students smoked cigarettes in 2013 than in previous years, while more adults are delaying health care because they can't afford it. These are among the insights of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest annual report, released in May.

I often asked my patients three important questions before surgery: Why do you wish to live longer? Do you wish to be happier? and What does being happy mean to you? These queries gave me an opportunity to discuss spiritual matters as well as physical and emotional ones...

When art is expressed from the deepest levels of our being, profound healing occurs. Just as you may not consider yourself an artist, you may not think of yourself as a healer, either. You may have never used this powerful inner part of yourself consciously...

For the first time, I was experiencing my pain in a strange, new way. I stood in front of my canvas and was in control for the first time. I painted my emotions. The painting captured and contained a moment that was now past. The painting remained, though the emotion had passed...

Vinod Khosla has stirred up some controversy in the healthcare community over the last several years by suggesting that computers might be able to provide better care than doctors. “...the science of medicine is way too complex for human beings to do.”

When you go on the offensive and try to fight your symptoms, it only makes them stronger. Try this: whatever you do, do not think of an elephant. What happens? The harder you try not to think of it, the elephant's image becomes even more prominent...

The sensation of touch is one of the most profound and healing experiences humans share. Through touch, we can reconnect our mind and body, allowing relaxation and the unwinding of stress and tension. Most types of massage aim to release tension from...

A misbehaving bladder is a very common problem. Some people go to the loo unnecessarily often, or leak when laughing or stretching. If you are in the habit of going to the bathroom on the first signal, you will feel 'full' even when the bladder is car­rying only a small amount of liquid...

When you think about self-care, do you have visions of massages or pedicures and facials? Total self-care also includes eliminating self-criticism, not overscheduling, releasing the need to be perfect, saying no, refusing to do things out of guilt, and giving yourself much-needed...

“Now, ma’am,” he said to me, “are you a healer?” “No,” I said, “I am not.” Would I ever call myself a healer? I would not. The power that came from Ncumu, God, was what healed...

We always have two mind-sets to choose from: fear-based thinking and Life-centered thinking. Each of these mind-sets has its own distinct logic and view of cause and effect. Fear-based thinking constantly searches for past, cur­rent, and future experiences to reinforce its fearful perspective...

Your subconscious uses sequences for when you want to walk, drive a car or lock your own front door. Then it guards them. Every time your subconscious has to make a change to a sequence, it involves work. Be prepared for resistance, and just do it anyway...

Let’s be clear: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation can play an important role in cancer treatment. But with breast cancer, especially early-stage breast cancer, the benefits that conventional treatment may provide must be carefully weighed against the risks...

Sur­viving breast cancer is not simply about treating illness. It is primar­ily about creating wellness. I have come to this deeply held belief based on extensive surveys and interviews with more than sixteen thousand cancer survivors...

The truth of what we experienced is stored in the body. The body does not lie. Only the mind is capable of denial. A trigger can be any stimulus that was previously paired with a trauma, whether we remember it or not...

The benefits of massage — reducing stress, soothing overworked muscles, boosting our immune system, and meeting our emotional needs for touch — are in our own hands. When massage is done in the comfort and familiarity of our homes with the people we already trust and...

The jala neti, or nasal wash, is an old yogic technique. While the technique is very old, it has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, as research has shown daily saline nasal irrigation de­creases sinus symptoms and medication use in patients with frequent sinusitis and improves quality of life.

Water is essential in supporting proper functioning in the body. Water helps with the transportation of hormones, nutrients, oxygen, and antibodies throughout the bloodstream and lymphatic system. Water can also benefit our physical appearance by helping hydrate cells, making the skin look plumper and less saggy...

The first thing I would like is for you to demonstrate to yourself the power of awareness by creating an observable change in your body. By performing this striking exercise, you will not only get the simple basics for healing but you will also get a

Like most people, I was underprepared for a severe health challenge. I initially approached the news of my condi­tion in the same way I approached most things in life — with an "I can handle this" attitude. I attempted to push my more vulnerable feelings and thoughts away...

Every morning, I would awake early and anxiously look in on my husband. I needed to know he was still breathing. Would I lose him? Survival instincts began to kick in. I started praying and calling upon a higher power. We were both agnostics, but it did not matter...

The Great Healing is a time of huge paradigm shift: "...shaped by the feminine paths of cooperation, nonaggression, inclusiveness, noncompetitiveness, service rather than dominance, use of psychic and spiritual gifts as well as technology, and living in conscious harmony with nature's ways."

Yawning may be better than meditation! Despite the fact that we yawn spontaneously five to ten times a day, and that it is a highly pleasurable event, comparatively little effort has gone into understanding why we yawn. But much of what we do know is practical and can add to our practice with the breath.

One day, while lying in his hospital bed at Walter Reed, a Golden Retriever in a therapy dog vest entered his room with his trainer. Although Raymond could barely speak, the connection that he felt with the dog was immediate and profound. When the occupational therapist saw...

Think about how we normally consume. We usually choose to fill our shopping cart full of the foods we habitually buy. To choose new foods, even for a day, is to design a different sort of experience: it is the intention to experience something new...

Bathing in ice water is good for you? OK, if you say so! There is an ongoing tradition of people bathing in the sea or ocean throughout the winter or on New Year's Day. Here is...

The mere expectation of illness or death appears to lead to illness and death in voodoo and other such belief systems. This may be similar to a patient in a modern hospital who is told that they only have six weeks to live, and as a result, they die exactly six weeks later. Yet...

That prickly feeling with the body hair standing on end and the skin looking like “goose bumps” is usually associated or identified with chills, shivers, and certain emotional states. Less known, however, is that this prickle is informative and effective in the fields of health care and spirituality...

Skin brushing is a highly effective technique for cleansing the lymphatic system. Topics covered in this article: Benefits of Skin Brushing; What type of skin brush is the best to use; How to Brush Your Skin...