Writing/Editing

Besides my coaching and healing work, I keep up my writing and editing skills with regular projects. If you have need for writing, editing, copy editing, line editing, or proofreading, please message me and we’ll talk. I’m including a few articles from my portfolio that particularly fit with my Ageless Goddess System coaching and healing.

 

Blog Post:

Argan, Olive, or Rosehip? Which Oil is Right For You?

 

Let’s face it. The choices in skin care out there are enormous.  Do you go with organic skin care?  Conventional?  Use a tried and trusted brand or try something new?  Use the latest findings in ingredients? Or maybe you don’t worry about what’s in your product as long as your skin is soft, supple, and blemish-free.

Using oil on the face as part of a skin care regimen was out of favor when I was younger, but new oils and new ways of using oils on the face are making them more widely used these days.  I’ve chosen three oils currently available to profile for you, to let you decide which might be best for you.

I’m all about organic, so I suggest you make sure what you apply to your skin is pesticide-free, and as pure as possible.  It’s easier than ever to find what you want, whether your skin needs anti-acne treatment or anti-aging.  Not all oils are created equal. Some are to be avoided entirely, such as mineral oil.  Mineral oil is a byproduct after gasoline is distilled from crude oil.  Not something I want to smear on my face.  It clogs the pores and some sources say it can be downright harmful.  In any case there are some more human-friendly oils that can enhance your skin.

1.)  Argan–  Argan is a tree that’s found primarily in Morocco.  It produces nuts that are hand ground to express their oil, and you can search out both culinary and cosmetic grades.  While it’s new to most of us, it has been used for centuries by Mediterranean women to soften skin and bring health and shine to both hair and nails.  It’s packed with nutrients that feed your skin: vitamin E, carotenes, squalene, omegas 6 and 9, essential fatty acids, and more, as well as being high in antioxidants.

Regular Argan Oil users report that dry skin is hydrated, making it soft, and that oily skin was reduced.  As a matter of fact, Argan Oil seems to keep your skin from producing too much sebum, keeping your pores clear, and helping to eliminate acne.  Argan Oil has a balancing effect on the complexion, decreasing redness.

The drawback to Argan Oil is the aroma.  It has a nutty scent, stronger than we who have been using delicately scented products are used to, and that may be off-putting to some.  You can find products that blend Argan with other oils or ingredients so the scent is softer, or you can mix it with your own oils if you like.

2.)  Olive Oil has been used for centuries as a beauty treatment in ancient Egypt and Greece.  Most of us have cooked with Olive Oil and may not be so used to putting on the skin.  But it protects the skin from environmental irritants, absorbs UV radiation from the sun, and helps repair skin cells.  It helps make the skin more elastic, as it gives the skin a healthy glow.  You can buy organic Olive Oil at most stores, or you can buy ready-made skincare products.  

DHC makes a lovely skincare line using a fine grade of olive oil by a process that filters out anything that can clog your pores.  If you buy a bottle as is, be sure to choose Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  That will contain the most nutrient-dense value.

You can also give your hair a hot oil treatment with Olive Oil, massaging the oil into your skin, covering it with a warm towel and leaving it for 30 minutes or so before washing it out.  Want a great scrub for your face?  Mix Olive Oil with a couple teaspoons of sea salt and gently, gently apply it to the face.  No need for lots of scrubbing on this one.  Wash it off and see how soft your skin is!

3.) Rosehip Oil is made from the fruit of the rose.   Check the oil’s source and look for organic Rosehip Oil.  Much of it is made from Rosa Mosqueta and has built-in healing properties.  We all want our skin to be rose petal soft, so here’s a chance to use the power of the rose itself.  The oil contains a good dose of Essential Fatty Acids.  Rosehip Oil is great skin hydrator.  It absorbs quickly and can help reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles. It is particularly effective in soothing sunburn and reversing damage from the sun.

This is a great anti-aging oil, not only because it smooths wrinkles, but it’s also been found to fade brown spots that pop up as we age, because it stimulates cell membranes.  It is a source of vitamin A in a natural, accessible form and it also helps even the skin tone.  Do you have surgical scars, acne scars or scars from an accident?  I’ve seen pictures showing how much scars fade with the regular use of Rosehip Oil.  Try it on stretch marks, too!

Use it by simply massaging it into the skin where you want it — on your face, on a scar, on your sunburn, or whatever.  For scar reduction use it twice a day for several months.  Rosehip Oil can also soothe and relieve dry skin and conditions like eczema.

The drawback to it is that it increases sensitivity to the sun.  Make sure you use sun block.  It is also not recommended for acne.

There you have it.  Three powerful oils that can help bring out your innate loveliness. This brief synopsis of the qualities of Argan Oil, Olive Oil, and Rosehip Oil can help you decide which to try first.  All of them have healing properties, and can help you stay youthful looking longer,  but if you’re like me, you’ll want to sample all of them and see for yourself which one you love the best and which ones love your skin!

 

Fear of Public Speaking

By Allura Adelson

 

 

You are passionate about your cause. You have vital information the public needs to know in order to

1.) Protect the planet

2.) Avoid cancer causing chemicals or

3.) Whatever your particular aim is.

You get up to speak at a meeting, to convince everyone to come around to your point of view and …you choke.

Maybe the words don’t come out at all, orthey don’t come out the way you planned them, and you sit down, discouraged. What can you do?

Good speaking skills are crucial today, whether you’re interviewing for your dream job, convincing a bank to take a chance on your new business, or giving people information on how vital it is to eat organically grown foods.

Fear of public speaking is generally thought to be the number one fear, even over death, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

As a member of Toastmasters for fifteen+ years, I’ve gleaned some tips that can help you overcome your fear.

Thinking holistically, I suggest meditating regularly, doing breathing exercises, or doing Tai Chi — something that will settle your nervous system. With regular practice, you’ll find that a sense of calm will spread to all areas of your life. Grace Healing Arts formula for Freedom From Fear is designed to help you get over fears big and small, and can help with this one, too.

Additionally, thoroughly prepare your speech. Know your information; know the points you want to make, and practice, practice, practice. You’ll be more confident if you do.

Visualize your success. Visualize yourself giving your speech and everything going well. Visualize the approving looks on the faces of your audience. Know that 99.9% of the time your audience wants you to succeed.

Several hours before your speech avoid caffeine or sugar –- anything that hypes up your system. Drink Chamomile, or any of the calming tea

blends available. Drink enough to be hydrated, but not so much that you’ll end up squirming uncomfortably during your speech.

Take Bach’s Rescue Remedy or FES’ Five-Flower Formula (the same flower essence blend). Put a few drops in a glass of water and sip it over the hour before your speech.

Spritz yourself with Mists of Heaven’s Calm in Any Storm.

All these things are designed to help you take your first steps at public speaking, but the final thing is perhaps the most important of all.

 

Why Swim in a Chemical Soup With Your Skincare?  Choose Organic!

 

Allura Adelson

Ever come across a pool of murky water in the wild, muddy with greenish gunk bobbing on the surface? An inviting place to swim?  Or a scummy pond you’d run horrified from if someone splashed a drop of it onto you?

Why wouldn’t you want to wash your face in the gunk full of questionable pollution? Many people routinely slather their faces with all manner of similarly polluted creams and cleansers.  They may be clean, as in sterile, but the chemicals in them have an uncertain, at best, effect on us.

Whoa!  Am I seriously comparing conventional skin care with pond scum?  No.  But you have to admit that with ingredients like sodium hydroxymethyglycinate and chlorphenesin, what you’re putting on your face is just as much a mystery as the ingredients in that yucky pond.  That’s why I’m all for using the best organic beauty products available.

You ingest things — food, drink, etc. through your digestive tract when you eat.  Your skin is another intake mechanism, and whatever you put on the outside of your skin is absorbed and ends up on your inside.  It can either nourish, be inert, or harmful.  It’s no secret we want what will nourish us to be allowed in the body.

Using skin care and cosmetics formed of eight or ten syllable ingredients whose affects you don’t know is risky.  Is it worse than eating food chockfull of preservatives, artificial colors and flavors?  Sadly, no.  Both organic food and organic skin care are recommended.  Giving your body what nourishes it, from the outside and the inside will produce more vibrant health.

How does this sound?  “Let’s all have some diazolidinyl urea!”  Yummm!  No?  If you don’t want to put it in your body, think again about putting it on the skin.  This diazolidinyl urea is a preservative.  It can release formaldehyde in a very small amount, and can cause contact dermatitis.  I remember formaldehyde from when I dissected a frog in high school Biology class and I shudder at the thought of coming into contact with it again!

That’s one of the milder effects synthetic chemicals found in beauty care products can produce.  Synthetic fragrances often have phthalates.  These chemicals stabilize fragrances and have been found to be endocrine disruptors.  What does that mean?  According to Wikipedia endocrine disruptors are, “chemicals that interfere with the endocrine (or hormone) system in animals, including humans.  These disruptions can cause cancerous tumors.  Birth defects, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder and several other pretty scary things.

But do we need to worry?  It’s not as if we’re taking a bath in the stuff, right?  As a matter of fact  — wrong!  Any bubble bath or body wash made with synthetic ingredients could have the stuff in it.  One or two baths here or there probably won’t do us any harm our bodies can’t repair, but when you think of using that product every day for years, as well as all the other cleansers, lotions, hair care products, and so on that have these and other questionable ingredients, it’s no wonder the rates of the above listed conditions have skyrocketed over the years.  We can’t put our finger on any one thing, maybe, at least, I can’t, but the constant onslaught  of synthetic chemicals on our bodies is bound to have a negative effect.

I’m not a scientist.  I haven’t done lab research, though I have read about the subject.  But doesn’t it just make sense?  If you want improved health and well-being , put things that will nourish your body in, AND on it.

It’s not necessary to wait for 30 or 40 years to see what develops.  Avoid the danger in the first place, and use the best organic skin care, body care, hair care — the best organic beauty care products you can find.

 

You Can Have Joy in Your Life

 

By Allura Adelson

You can have joy in your life. Joy is all around you, if you are only open to it. It’s in the kitchen — Joy dishwashing detergent. Want a snack? Try Almond Joy. Countless books have been written on the subject: Joy of Cooking. The Joy of Sex. The Joy Luck Club. It’s everywhere if you will only choose to see it and be it.

You could choose to be a Scrooge or Mean Mr. Mustard, but since the whole purpose of creation is to be happy, why would you? Today I’m going to be giving you some practical tips to bring more joy into your life. I’ll give you an exercise you can do at home, and you will be open to greater, more profound levels of joy if you choose to be.

As a group you are outstanding, as individuals, exceptional. Many of you are already actively growing on many levels. You each have the potential to reach even more profound levels of happiness than ever before and live lives of even greater fulfillment. It takes attention and intention, but achieving it is going to be  easier than you might have imagined.

There are different levels of joy, from surface, fleeting happiness to a more profound, unshakeable bliss. You can do things at every level to live life in greater joy. I suspect you’ve heard of most of these, but as Bilbo Baggins says in “There and Back Again”, they are “nonetheless good for having been used before.”

• Do things you like to do as often as you can. Obvious, right?
• Surround yourself with positive people and consciously try to look at the bright side yourself.
• Take a walk, sit in a beautiful park, museum, or other place of beauty. For me, viewing a sunrise or a sunset brings joy to my heart every time.
• State a series of affirmations.

Affirmations are sayings, or sentences that

help us create the world we want from the outside in. The idea is if you say, “I feel happy,” many times during the course of the day, you will begin to believe it and to feel it.

What not to do: Say, “I’ll be happy even if the landlord raised my rent and that jerk I was seeing dumped me.” You may remember the old song, “Accentuate the positive …”

A better choice of an affirmation would be: “I choose to be happy.” or “I feel joy radiating from deep within. I bring that joy to everyone I meet.” Choose words that inspire and uplift you.

We are very susceptible creatures. Negative thinking will create more negativity in your life and positive affirmations have a good, positive effect.

Remember, it’s a choice. Just as it’s a choice to view the glass half empty or half full, we can choose happiness, choose to open to the joy that is all around us.

Abraham Lincoln said, “People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

If you are one of these people who sit in front of the newscast every evening, grumbling at the injustice, the pain, and inept blundering of those in power, I have a controversial, radical suggestion:

Turn off the news, or at least certain portions of it. I did it. I felt almost giddy, more buoyant, and happier. Not hearing the news did not adversely affect the world, but did have a positive effect on me. I’ve always heard the news I needed to hear.

Each of us has an effect on the world. When you are angry, you affect those around you. You may snap at others. Sometimes it’s as if you have a cartoon-like spiral of smoke coming out of your ears that is tangible to people who come close.

It uplifts no one and it’s catching. The more anger, negativity, or hatred there is in the world, the more negativity will be created. The same is true with feeling happiness. It’s an attracting, attractive quality. People enjoy being around us.

Look at kids. If a child sees someone laughing, he’ll start laughing, too, even if he doesn’t know what started it. It’s catching. The more joy and upliftment we experience, the more we can raise the vibratory quality of the whole world.

Individuals do make a difference.

Here are a few more things you can use:

Some herbs, … like St. John’s Wort will act against depression

• There are flower essences that are designed to bring us more joy, such as Borage,

Impatiens, and Zinnia.

• Aromatherapy provides more choices of essential oils to uplift us, especially in the citrus family.
• Exercise produces endorphins, and endorphins make us happy. A moderate amount regularly can have a great effect.
• B vitamins have been called the “happy” vitamin. Choose a balanced B-complex, take two or three with each meal, and watch your mood lighten over the next week or two.
• Then there’s chocolate, a yummy way to get a few nutrients and feel great. Interestingly, craving chocolate is a sign of a B-vitamin deficiency. If you take my suggestion for taking or increasing your intake of Bs, you may find that your chocolate cravings will fade away.
• Grace Healing Arts makes several tinctures and pendants specifically designed to aid us in our quest for joy, including: Joy of Life, Positivity, Laughter, and Bliss Divine Healing Drops, and our Joy or Awaken Joy in Others pendants.
• Meditation or yoga can create bliss. I’ve been a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation program for over thirty years, so I highly recommend it. But there are many forms of meditation. Choose one.

Experiencing more joy in your life doesn’t mean that you skip around in la-la land, ignoring the suffering of others. But when you suffer with those others, you only create more suffering. If you radiate joy, you create more joy in the environment and can uplift those who are suffering. Each of us has an influence, and it is our joy to make that influence one of good for all.

What if something bad, or sad happens to you, yourself? Do you just ignore it and blindly affirm, “I feel happy,” or “This isn’t really happening.”? Of course not.

Acknowledge it, and take whatever action is called for. If you’ve been regularly following some of these suggestions, your inner core of joy will be strong, and you’ll find joy uplifting you even in troubling times.

Choose to let the joy prevail.

We all have an influence, and each of us has the ability to influence the world in a positive way. In choosing joy, you have an opportunity to tangibly help those in your community, and beyond.

And guess what? When you’re radiating joy to those around you, that means you’re living your own life in joy. That can be downright fun!