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Access the Miraculous With Jung's 'Active Imagination' Process
“Active Imagination” is a life-transforming process pioneered by famed psychoanalyst, Dr. Carl Jung. It is a powerful tool to gain access into one's own interior life and, in some cases, expand psychic functioning such as telepathy, synchronicity, and dream incubation. According to Jung, the unconscious wants to be known and experienced. We can enter the unconscious mind while sleeping, in a hypnotic state or in various artistic altered states. “Acting out” (often to get attention) is evidence of this wish of the unconscious to be known, so it’s in our best interest to become acquainted with this source of our deepest brilliance and unlimited abilities. We will often see miraculous results. The process of active imagination provides a tool to experience the brilliance that lives within. Anyone can do it, but Jungian analyst Robert Johnson believes that most people won't try it, because most of us don't really want to change. Moreover, he believes that while we can detail what we don't like about ourselves, we stubbornly resist the gold within. Johnson teaches that life’s issues generally appear in opposing pairs and the process of Active Imagination identifies these paradoxes and can work wonders towards deeper insight and resolution. I tried Active Imagination recently while away for a long weekend in Northern California. Two conflicting inner voices put me in an agitated state. One said to go home to Los Angeles and work on my business (that is, constantly produce results and earn money), and the second voice pushed me to stay in the Bay Area, rest, relax, play, and trust that more work would be available to me when I got home. In a notebook, I wrote down each voice and listened to what it had to say, encouraging dialogue. The Jungian model is to give each voice a venue to speak, to fully express itself without fear of being judged. That night my dreams gave me an image to further process this conflict: an unwatered plant that had grown beneath its pot – in effect, a new plant wanting to emerge despite the neglect. The plant came to symbolize the conflict between non-stop work and the need for a level of care that the intellect was ignoring. In writing this article, I followed the same process. While I'd normally send the first and all the successive drafts off to my friend and editor, this time I'm letting the article sit and then I come back to it. The process is teaching me to wait rather than rush, to allow myself to be with not knowing and imperfection. Johnson laments that most of us will not take the time to investigate our lives this way. He asserts that active imagination is a primary key for living a deeply fulfilling life. Certainly it is a safe, easy way to start strengthening ourselves, to become aware of what wants to express from inside, and to gain consistent access to the voices that determine our lives. Moreover, it teaches us how to be with our fears and discomforts without racing to alter or "fix" them. This allows us greater mind space and a wider range of actions that we might ultimately take. For this article I asked my fantasy version of Carl Jung what he would like you to know. His response: Everyone can do it and everyone should. Lorrie Kazan was chosen by the Edgar Cayce Foundation as one of the top Psychics in a worldwide audition. She offers a variety of expert-level readings designed to provide you with cutting-edge insights, advice and predictions related to specific areas of your life--including living your soul's purpose, experiencing love, enhancing relationships, advancing your career, creating abundance and transforming daily living challenges. Her website is: http://www.ilovemypsychic.com
Source: Lorrie Kazan	2008-04-17

Inuit Paradox: High Fat Diet, Rare Heart Disease
The health of the Inuit (hardy dwellers of frigid climates) poses a medical paradox, writes nutritional product developer and chiropractic health coach, Dr. Gerry Boheimier. Their traditional diet consists primarily of seal meat, fat and blubber with few or no greens, fruits or grain fiber. Yet cardiovascular disease (CVD) is rare. The paradox is…If high fat, high cholesterol diets cause CVD, what factors protect the Inuit against the disease? Boheimier believes it is the surprising amount of Omega-3 fats in seal and whale blubber and the unrecognized high content of Vitamins C, E, A, D and selenium in these foods. The essential Omega-3 fatty acids, EPA DHA, and DPA, in whale and blubber products prevent plaque, fight inflammation and normalize blood and tissue triglycerides. Omega-6 fats, prominent in Western diets, do not have these balancing ingredients. Omega-6 oils convert to Arachidonic Acid, a precursor to inflammatory processes in cells, explains Bohemier. Without sufficient Omega-3 oils to balance Omega-6 intake, the result will be increased inflammatory degenerative diseases such as CVD, asthma and arthritis. Seal meat, especially blubber, are found to be high in Vitamins A, D, E and selenium. Ordinary fish oils don’t have the same potency. The Inuit diet approaches an ideal 1:1 ratio of Omega-3 oils to Omega-6 oils, reports Bohemier. The typical Western diet ratio is about 20:1. In addition to eating more fish, Bohemier recommends taking 3 to 4 grams of seal oil per day. While Boheimier’s work has contributed valuable information on fish oils, research shows other factors implicated in cardiovascular disease, such as stress, lack of exercise and inadequate or negative human companionship. A holistic approach to optimal health seeks to balance all of these factors, researchers say.
Source: Natural News	2008-04-03