Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

Unless you live in the city of San Francisco (where the summers are brutally chilly), about the only folks who might not be happy about its arrival are professional skiers and snowboarders. Summertime is Yang within Yang, which means it?Äôs the warmest, most active time for life as we know it. Those with deficiencies truly [...]

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In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) the season of spring is associated with the Wood element, the Liver organ, the color green, the attribute of wind and the emotion of anger. This is the season we associate with the beginning of growth. Though it?Äôs easy to see the association with wind and the color green, it [...]

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In this part of the world December ushers in winter, showing daylight to the exit earlier every day until the winter solstice on December 22nd. It?s a tough month. It gets colder, the days shorten and the rains (usually) lengthen. Instead of taking it easy (like TCM suggests) many of us are caught up with [...]

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[tag]Traditional Chinese medicine[/tag], as presently practiced here and in China, uses the Five Element base. This paradigm includes Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. Each element is associated with an organ and a season (along with a larger list including emotion, sound, color, etc.). The element associated with winter is Water and its organ association [...]

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It wasn?t long ago that Halloween dominated stores in October. Thanksgiving was solemnly displayed on the shelves in November. And we all waited until Thanksgiving to see the lovely Christmas displays in the downtown department stores. So when I went to the local drugstore in the middle of October and saw the shelves already starting [...]

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You?ve probably already seen the huge Halloween candy displays in our local stores, and advertisements for it on television. Soon, gobs of it will be everywhere, especially if you?ve a few young ones in the house. Candy runs rampant through our society, as do sweet foodstuffs in general, but October dominates all other months for [...]

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According to the Chinese calendar, autumn will begin this year on September 23. This is a good time to contemplate your transition from late summer into fall; the time when children return to school, summer vacations are over, and much of the world becomes focused again on work and readying for winter. It?s harvest time, [...]

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It may come as a surprise to some that many of the medicines used at home and in their doctor?s office were originally derived from plants or animals. Research the origins of aspirin and you will find it derived from willow bark. Penicillin, a drug that treats bacterial infections, might be growing in your house [...]

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Years ago, when I was a little boy growing up in the midwest, whenever I got really ?sick? I was taken to see our family doctor. A very sweet and gentle man, I don?t recall ever receiving any treatment other than an envelop containing mysterious tablets upon which was written (in pencil) ?Acetaminophen- Two tablets [...]

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