Prayer & Meditation: These two practices have been the most powerful means to finding the best answers to my life's many challenges. I make prayer and meditation the "food" that starts every day of my life. I ask that all my needs be fulfilled and expect they will be. I review both my blessings and my misfortunes. I am grateful for each of them as they both have strong positive messages.

I make it a daily ritual to get up early enough to spend at least an hour or more in this quiet, powerful practice. I am always amazed that it is almost always during that time that I become aware of what I must do to manage my own health concerns or living problems, and frequently get wonderful inspirations and understandings of things that have made my life a more peaceful, enriching experience.

The Power of Real Nourishment: When I discovered the power of traditional foods, I realized that they could restore and maintain my health, but I also slowly became aware of the timeless truth that: "The primary temporal task in my life is to properly nourish myself and those that I am responsible for." In doing this it meant giving up many established activities that consumed my time in endeavors that were not in line with making REAL nourishment a priority.

Traditional foods are restorative and life giving, and cooking them has never been easier, thanks to food processors, dehydrators, safe cooking dishes, and other modern day amenities. Traditional foods include enzyme-rich beverages fermented vegetables and fruits, grass-fed beef natural vitamin A-rich organ meats, bone broth rich in joint nourishment, pastured chickens, wholesome properly prepared nuts and grains, and many other wonderful foods that are full of the vitamins and minerals our bodies crave.

Physical Activity: It has helped that I do more physical work and do it outside as much as possible, in order that I get sufficient sunlight to maintain natural vitamin D levels. I make every effort to move often, even if I am working at a desk.

I especially like to go on what I call my "find interesting things walks" which requires me to walk normally looking for things which make me to stop and study some natures handy-work.

Other things that I've found to be very healthful exercise include: Deep cleaning my house, washing my own car, tidying up my garage and yard more often than I did in the past. There is also great satisfaction, and healthy movement in the process of emptying my cupboards or closets and clearing out unwanted items to make room for more for YES, more! This allows me to perform a more gentle and nourishing form of exercise, while allowing my body to stretch, bend, pull, and even lift weights. Oh, and by the way consider turning off your computer completely at least one day a week .

I also believe that unless you are a trained athlete, the nervous and structural systems of the body may actually interpret this latter form of exercise as physical abuse and begin to break down, and induce serious symptoms in order to send a message to please stop!

In closing, I believe that by including these RECOMMENDATIONS as a normal part of my day, Mother Nature has become kinder to me, than in my past. I have found that I am more self sufficient and spending less resources on trips to the doctor or alternative care providers.

If you sincerely would like to improve your over-all health, I and others can testify that there must first be a serious willingness to replace activities that do nothing to nourish the body, mind, and soul with those that genuinely do!

This commitment, may even mean reconsidering your career, working less hours, and of great importance in my case was too reduce my involvements in clubs, organizations and or other worthy but time consuming endeavors that had kept me from being able to focus on the five key things that would bring me to enjoy better health. Your path may be somewhat different, but in my humble opinion, it must encompass the first two recommendations.

~ Your friend Maria ~