Supernatural Botanicals

As it turns out, meditation does more than relax the mind and body, it also kicks pain to the curb.  Wake Forest University School of Medicine confirms what we meditation-enthusiasts have known for years…that many of the body’s problems can be alleviated by meditation.  They concluded in a recent study that people who had a pain-inducing heating device placed on their legs were able to reduce the hurt by 40%, simply by meditating.  In comparison, morphine only decreases pain by about 25%.

Subjects in the study used the “focused attention” technique.  You can achieve this by closing your eyes, breathing through your nose, and concentrating on the air coming in and going out.  The more you practice, the better it works.  It also sharpens your focus, lowers your blood pressure, and zaps stress.

If you workout regularly, you’ve probably had an injury or two.  That, however, is not a reason to give up your workouts until you feel healed.  In fact, as you are healing from an injury, you should not stop exercising.  Activity delivers oxygen and nutrients that help your body repair itself. Sure, take it easier.  Consider training with less weight and intensity, but by all means, don’t stop exercising.

What is fiber?  Fiber, found mainly in the outer layers of plants, is an indigestible substance that passes through the body virtually unchanged, without being broken down into nutrients.

Why do we need it?  Fiber is an important of the digestive process from start to finish.  It slows digestion and absorption which keeps blood sugar levels at a more even level.  Fiber makes food more satisfying.  It makes contents of the stomach bulkier so they stay there longer, contributing to a “full” feeling, which in turn can prevent overeating and obesity.

Where is it found?  Only plants produce fiber.  You cannot find it in animal products.  The best food sources of fiber are whole grains breads, cereals, pasta, brown rice, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits and  vegetables.

Nothing improves your mood quicker than great music.  Jeff Gold’s Escapes Music for Relaxation is tranquil and relaxing comfort music, ideal for creative inspiration, music therapy, healing, massage, yoga, or just winding down.   We listen to this CD in Supernatural Botanicals’ workshop, and find it to be great music to work to, relaxing the mind and allowing the creative inspiration to flow.  It’s fabulous!  Check out Jeff Gold’s website to listen and purchase to his fantastic music.

A recent study at the University of Georgia Department of Kinesiology suggests that breakfast paired with 200 milligrams of caffeine (the average amount in a mug of coffee) improves the mood.

How sexy is your bedroom? Flannel comforters, over-sized tee-shirts and photos of your kids, or even worse, your parents, sitting on a nearby nightstand  does not make for a sexy bedroom.  Think ultra plush, think soft and sexy.  Ladies, be kind to your men and don’t make them sleep in the land of precious with your Laura Ashley floral-overload bedroom.  Sex it up, sister.  Be sure to equip your room with privacy….not having a lock on your bedroom door is a major no-no.  Take an assessment…how sexy is your bedroom?

The cardinal sin of skincare is sleeping with your makeup on.  No matter how tired you are, wash your face before bed.   Your skin collects pore-clogging oil during the day.  According to a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology, there’s also a link between air pollution and skin bumps…especially if you live in high pollution areas, like Los Angeles, Chicago and Cincinnati.

Get yourself into a good skincare routine.  It really only takes two minutes before bed to cleanse, tone and moisturize.  Don’t have a skincare regime yet?  Try Supernatural Botanicals Skincare System.

Color represents different feelings and emotions, and has the ability to evoke those feelings from us when we surround ourselves in them.   In fact, there’s an entire psychology behind what each color represents.  If your favorite color is orange, here’s what experts think it means….Orange, a close relative of red, sparks more controversy than any other hue.  There is usually strong positive or negative association to orange and true orange generally elicits a stronger “love it” or “hate it” response than other colors. Fun and flamboyant orange radiates warmth and energy. Interestingly, some of the tones of orange such as terra cotta, peach or rust have very broad appeal.  The color is a constant reminder of summer, and of the warm, radiant sun.
How the color orange affects us mentally and physically
* Stimulates activity
* Stimulates appetite
* Encourages socialization

We learn so much from our friends.  You gain so much more…more of everything… insight, knowledge, humor, empathy, etc., by connecting to others.  Enter my friend, Jennifer, from across the pond.  Manchester, specifically.  Her story is amazing!  Jennifer has the kind of Eat- Pray-Love courage, the Under-The-Tuscan-Sun type of courage that inspires you and makes you connect to her instantly.  Jennifer writes a wildy successful blog about the trials and tribulations of a girl who loves her life.  So connect to Jennifer through her journey.  Start here.  Let’s meet Jennifer.  

Who she is:   My name is Jennifer Grace Cook and in August of 2010 I launched my personal blog, An American Girl’s Guide to a Noble Manchester. A Noble Manchester is located at www.anoblemanchester.com

Why she started the blog

I am a 44 year-old screenwriter from Los Angeles and after 20 years in the entertainment industry I woke up one morning to discover that not only was I beaten down by the business but that I was heading straight into early onset menopaul.  At this young age I was experiencing all the signs of menopause, the hot flashes, irregular menstrual cycle, heart palpitations, sleep disruption. While surprising to my OBGYN it’s not unheard of for women my age to experience it and my family history suggested a predisposition to early onset, but I was absolutely blindsided. I was just learning to love the idea of being fabulous and 40.

Now, for me it wasn’t just a matter of can I have a baby? It was can I be in a loving relationship? Can I love and be loved by the kind of man I would want to have a baby with?  What I realized was that I had spent my 20s and 30s creating a career and a lifestyle and I was learning how to be in healthy, loving and empowering relationships but I was having trouble navigating between career and personal life. What I understood was, in an effort to get the things I wanted in my career, I couldn’t be vulnerable anymore. I had trained that quality out of myself, I was a cold and inaccessible woman, and so my ambition was counter intuitive to a healthy personal life. I had to find a way to change, to allow myself to be vulnerable to allow myself to be available to love.

I was living a third of the life I was capable of living and I knew I had to change. So I decided to force myself into a vulnerable place. I decided to combine my personal life with my career and I took an enormous 6-month risk and moved from LA to Manchester, England where I am documenting, via blog, my search for noble love and nobility of character. My belief is when Irecognize it in others, kindness, generosity, integrity, inspiration and passion; all the things that make up a noble character, those qualities will also become apparent in me. I endeavor to a lead with an authenticity, a purity, a kind of humanity that will then make me attractive to the kind of man I want to be with, the kind of man I’d want to raise a child with.

The journey across the pond

Living in England feels like something of a miracle. Even though we have similar social structures and so much of American culture, our entertainment etc dominates over here I’m suddenly paying very close attention to the experiences and people I encounter. So the miracle is that I pay attention to everything. People, interactions, and I engage in a very open way, without any kind of preconceived notion. I’m relying solely upon my gut.

It’s forcing a new perspective. I do this thing where, while writing, when I feel stuck, when I know I’m not exploring the whole possibility, what I’ll do is literally get up and stand on the kitchen table, or the desk or wherever I am and just take a look around the room. I feel like you have to constantly invite yourself to look at things from another angle. And so when you ask what it’s like to cross the pond, it 

And being here, well I am different than I thought I would be. England is actually kind of what I thought it would be, not a lot of surprises. But I am different. I’m not as smooth as I thought I would be. I stumble a lot, I’m off balance – quite literally, the cobblestones are hard to walk on and also figuratively, which is exactly what I intended. And my life lessons are happening quickly. I feel like I’m learning at that increased rate that babies learn at.

Americans are a very powerful breed and America became America in just over 200 years. That is impressive, all that has been built; the cities, the culture. Americans are forthright and ambitious and dynamic and we make our presence known. We have no trouble selling ourselves or finding the initiative or gumption to seize the day. So as an American I have that in me, that indomitable vision.

Since I came on this journey I often hear, “You are so brave.” And I don’t feel brave at all. I just feel like it had to be done. I had to change and I wanted to do it in this kind of large way. But I think there is a delicacy that I lack, that Americans lack.  It’s a delicacy that I’ve learned is actually necessary. The truth is, what I see is that America is about ‘result’ and England (and Europe to a large degree) is about ‘process.’ And the process sometimes requires delicacy and finesse. Neither of which are my “go to attributes.” So my largest lessons have been how to communicate with people in an authentic and sensitive way. How to initiate and fortify genuine friendships without expectation. How to just give. How to make a relevant and valued contribution. And all of this can be a little clunky. But I’ve become patient with myself and I’m paying attention, so my growth is quite rapid and I feel like the work I’m doing is so very important.

My writing is growing as well, the blog and journey began as a search for a man and it has evolved into a holistic willingness to see nobility in others. The lessons I’m sharing I think are valuable. And I am lucky that I’ve been able to come and do this, that I have the support and ability to take this time to revolutionize myself in this rather comprehensive and significant way.

Men, Foreign and American Men and Friends

Initially when I launched the blog here in Manchester, which was in January; content from August through December told the story of who I was and how I came to the decision to come to Manchester, but when I launched in January I had some local and regional press so I got a number of e-mails from men who wanted to date me. And I knew that the man I was looking for, the man I would end up with wasn’t going to be one of the men who contacted me straight out of the gate. I knew that I had a kind of spiritual connection to him and I had a journey to go on so finding him would probably happen at the end of it or pretty close to the end because I wasn’t ready for him just yet. I knew he wasn’t going to be the first guy who sent me an e-mail on day one.

And I learned pretty quickly that those men who contacted me had their own set of motives. A couple of them were married, one was interested in the attention I was getting in the press, another was caught up in the novelty of it all. These were not the guys I wanted to be on this journey with. And within a few weeks I decided I wouldn’t meet men who contacted me via the blog. This process is

Now men are men. Which really means they are people first and foremost. They have the same emotional capacity and same emotional needs as women, they just communicate differently. And every man I’ve ever known is different in that way. Some are super mushy and highly articulate when it comes to expressing themselves and some just can’t be bothered or would rather drive a hot poker through their forehead than talk about how they feel. Men are men no matter where you are. There is absolutely an English reserve, but a lot more sex and nudity, by the way, female and male, on TV, which is still a little confusing despite he reserve. I’ve noticed the people in Manchester are far more open than those in London. And also despite the reserve, because I’m so forthcoming people tend to just roll with it. I’ll talk about anything, again learning about delicacy, but I think my openness creates space for others, men and women to maybe abandon that reserve a bit. There are social constructs that are a little different here. Most people only date one person at a time and people tend to get into relationships quickly here. Marriage is not the end game target that it is in America. Often couples have children together and never marry. That is pretty common here in the UK. And they don’t refer to each other as a “girlfriend” or “boyfriend,” it’s “my partner” which was kind of confusing for me at first because in America gay couples make reference to their “partner”. I thought at first everyone was gay. It’s been funny learning those little nuances.

I think men and women can be friends easier here. And when I watch couples, particularly couples in their 20s they seem to be at such ease with one another, it’s a certain kind of respect and maturity, which is hard to explain. Maybe it’s that there’s not so much a tug of war between them. Men are men in the relationship and women are the women in the relationship and there’s not any kind of confusion that I think American men and women have about roles. I’m hoping to take home a few pointers on this particular subject, because I think we, Americans, have some learning to do in this area.

Where do you see yourself in five years

Well, I will be at the tail end of my 40s in five years, which I suppose will be a significant moment I think and I see myself living in a big city. I am a city girl. I see myself in a committed loving relationship that I will feel such gratitude for because it’s taken me some time to get to the place where I really wanted that or could be good at it. I don’t anticipate or desire perfection, because that’s just no fun. I’m excited to learn what the challenges will be in that relationship. I see myself gracefully working through the challenges. I see family. And maybe children, maybe not but family definitely, and family meaning a collaborative, an effort between my husband/partner, my parents, my immediate family, my friends all pursuing and supported in a common goal of living a good life. An inspired life.

Goals/aspirations?

I want to write a book. And then I want to write another book and then I want to write a couple more books after that just for good measure. Just so I know that the first two books weren’t a fluke and a lucky follow up to the fluke. I want to create a home that’s a sanctuary for those people I love, a place filled with lots of laughter and generosity and compassion, and inspiration. I want to read all

What does happiness mean to you

Happiness to me is the freedom to keep growing. No matter the environment, with family, with friends, in business. And to explain this I will tell you, I’m obsessed tulips. I’m not sure why because I grew up in south Florida and tulips won’t grow there, too hot. But I have for as long as I can remember simply adored them. And I am constantly buying tulips for myself. All spring long, tulips, tulips, tulips. They have a certain grace. They are a highly responsive and sensitive flower. When you put them in water, a friend once told me to always put a penny in the water with them and the tulips would straighten right up. There’s some kind of chemical reaction to the copper in the water and they just respond to the stimuli. And tulips actually continue to grow. They get taller and longer after they’re cut. And you can trim their stems, cut them, and they will grow. They are challenged and they stretch, they thrive. The freedom to do that, being in the environment that will encourage that; that makes me happy, that makes me grateful.

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