The Big Swap

From the Fair Trade Australia website http://www.fta.org.au/thebigswap

Make The Big Swap and help make the world a better place.

Let’s get as many people as we can to swap as much as we can. Get active, challenge your friends and swap your usual stuff – your coffee, tea, bananas, chocolate – even your cotton tee shirt – to Fairtrade stuff.

The more we swap the bigger the impact we make on the lives of small-scale producers in developing countries. With 2bn people living on less than $2 a day - swapping your usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff helps create a better life for the coffee and cocoa growers, tea pluckers, cotton pickers and banana growers and their families. As well as a guaranteed minimum price, the extra Fairtrade Premium empowers growers to invest in the future for their communities and help themselves out of poverty. So get swapping!

What can I swap?

Fair Trade products are really taking off. It’s no longer just coffee on the shelves. There’s lot’s to choose from.

Refresh yourself with a Fairtrade hot drink and savour the thought that you’re helping to revitalise the local economy for the coffee growers, cocoa farmers and tea pluckers. Thanks to the Fairtrade premium they can send their kids to school or attend a new local clinic instead of having to walk for half a day for medical help. 

Look for the ever growing range of Fairtrade labelled products in your local supermarket or why not check out the great fair trade ranges from outlets such as Oxfam shops in Australia and Trade Aid stores in New Zealand. And even if your favourite shop doesn't stock Fairtrade, why not take one our 'Swap in Your Shop' postcards and ask them to consider swapping to selling some Fairtrade?

Centre for Reiki Research (by William Lee Rand)

A new web site has recently been launched that provides important resources for those interested in Reiki research. The site features a listing and summaries of all Reiki research studies published in peer-reviewed journals. The summaries have been produced using the Touchstone Process; a highly rigorous method of analyzing all the studies in a particular field. Its application to Reiki research is noteworthy. 

The Touchstone Process was developed by the CRR staff, a group of seven doctorally prepared researchers and five nurses and is unique to the field of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The site also includes articles on research study design, how to write case reports, documenting Reiki sessions, insurance reimbursement for Reiki sessions and the scientific basis of Reiki. A consultation service is also offered for those wanting to conduct Reiki research. In addition, the site contains detailed descriptions of the Reiki programs offered in 64 hospitals across the US. 

The site is free although it is necessary to register to use the information on the site.  http://www.centerforreikiresearch.org/

Inaugural youth mental health conference with Prof Patrick McGorry

Professor Patrick McGorry is to convene the First International Youth Mental Health conference, which will be held in Melbourne on 29–30 July 2010. This important event will bring together health practitioners, researchers, youth sector professionals and young people and their families, and will ‘showcase the best of youth mental health from around the globe’. 

In addition to Prof. McGorry, keynote speakers include Professor Max Birchwood, Clinical Director, YouthSpace; Dr Christine Bennett, Chief Medical Officer, BUPA Australia; Mr Richard Eckersley, Founding Director, Australia 21; and Professor Bob Illback, Director of Planning & Evaluation, Headstrong. 

Key streams will be youth health and mental health; education and vocational issues; health promotion; drug and alcohol issues; and service reform. It is hoped that this will be the first of many similar conferences. 

For conference details, more about the keynote speakers and to register your interest and be notified when registration is open, go to: http://www.iymhconference.com.au/ 

(Source: Yikes!, newsletter of the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria, v.8, n.2, 2010.)

Mercury in retrograde... say no more!

Mercury retrograde certainly manifest in a strong form over last few days.  Sunday and Monday found me cooped up in bed with a throat like golfballs (although I don't have tonsils), very sore ears and swollen glands.  Fortunately I don't have glandular fever; but this leads me to wonder what personal truth am I holding back?

The week leading up to this bout of ill health was a typically normal week: work, gym, taking my son to child care, spending time with relatives and seeing friends.  Maybe my rigorous gym routine of late has left my inner health depleted?  Perhaps the acupuncture session I had last week brought someting to the surface? Or maybe there was some interaction during the week that was so subtle that I cannot pinpoint in waking life?  Or is this just a coincidence that requires a simple acceptance of what is rather than searching for a spiritual meaning to ill health?

"Acceptance gives me the experience of being like an angel: never judging, never criticising and never worrying" thoughtfortoday.co.uk

Om Namah Shivaya!

Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi Devi)

"We must not complain about the darkness around. We have a lighted candle with us. Take each step with faith. That candle will shed light on the next step." Amma

I am truly grateful for the blessing I received this week from Ammachi. I meditated on the notion of peace whilst in Amma's presence and felt blissfully peaceful after darshan.

I send forth love and light to followers of Earth and Sea Holistic Therapies, and ask that you reconnect with the candle that burns within your heart. May the candle radiate with peace and bliss, rippling to every person that crosses your path.

Om Namah Shivaya!
Merryn

William Lee Rand's World Peace Card Meditation - 14 April 2010

World Peace Card Meditations
Wednesday, April 14, 7:30pm (based on local time in your time zone)

Future Dates
Wednesday, May 12, 7:30pm; Wednesday, June 16, 7:30pm; Wednesday, July 14, 7:30pm

You are invited to take part in the next World Peace Card Meditations. Please mark your calendar and forward this email to all your friends.

Thanks for your help!

Because so many of you forwarded this email to your friends, there have been almost 163,000 downloads of the World Peace Cards. This is a tremendous increase in the number of people using the cards. So far the total number of World Peace Card sets downloaded, received from our free offer and from our magazine has been almost 178,000! I hope you have been using your peace cards as their use brings blessings to the world as well as to you.

The next World Peace Card group meditation has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 14. This is local time in your time zone. This method has been chosen because of the special effect it produces. As people meditate in each successive time zone the energy builds like a wave which gets stronger and stronger as it circles the planet. Because of the higher dimensional nature of consciousness, the energy of peace will be transmitted for a full 24 hours and continue long after this.

Reports from those who took part in the previous meditations indicate many had powerful spiritual experiences. As they united with those taking part in the meditation a feeling of peace developed within that stayed with each for a long time. Some saw beautiful golden light surrounding the planet and others felt that a web of fear was dissipating and being replaced with trust in others and for our future.

All those who have received the cards are being asked to meditate on world peace at this time. By taking part in this group meditation, you’ll be joining thousands of people who will be using the cards to bring peace to the world. By joining together, the affect we have will be greatly multiplied. This powerful experience and will help shift the vibration of our wonderful planet into a higher state of consciousness. As you use the cards to meditate on world peace, you will be a beacon through which peace will spread around the planet which will have a positive uplifting effect on all people.

Please set aside this time to meditate with the cards. The suggested meditation period is 15 minutes, but of course you can meditate longer if you’d like to. The technique I’d like you to use is based on allowing yourself to be a beacon of peace. The World Peace Cards hold the vibration of the World Peace Grids which have been placed at spiritually significant locations and are relay stations for higher consciousness. By simply opening to their energy, you’ll become a channel for their love and peace which will flow through you to all the people on Earth. To do this, hold the cards in your hands or place them in front of you. Then simply meditate on peace.

We are entering a new era. Our entire planet including all the people and living things are moving into a place where it will be much easier to solve our problems and to create peace, prosperity and happiness for everyone. The World Peace Card meditation will quicken this process, making it easier for people to experience this new quality of higher consciousness and will provide great benefit for all people. Since this benefit will be flowing through you out to everyone on the planet, you'll be blessed by this experience as well.

Many have received the cards in the mail or in the Reiki News Magazine while others have downloaded them from our web site. If you would like additional copies of the cards, please download them using this link and print as many copies as you can use. Please feel free to give them to your friends. Also, forward this email to anyone you feel would like to take part in the meditation.

World Peace Card Download

http://www.reiki.org/WPCM.html

Note: This is a larger file and it may take several minutes for it to open, so please be patient.

When printing the cards from this file, print page 2 first, then place this page in your printer and print the image of the peace grids on the back.

Thank you for taking part in this group meditation.

Sincerely,
William Lee Rand
The International Center for Reiki Training

A Peaceful Mind

'Peace of mind comes not from wanting to change others, but by simply accepting them as they are. ' thoughtfortoday.co.uk