Welcome to the March issue of my Blog... www.TheUrbanShaman.blogstop.com

The theme for this month is:
Spring has Sprung

This month is in celebration of Spring... the season of rebirth. It is a great time for Cleansing not only your home but a natural opportunity to cleanse Mind, Body and Spirit...

Please pass this information to your friends and family... or email me to join the mailing list if you are not in my database @ TheUrbanShaman@aol.com ...

Life is not just a journey... make it an adventure!

Much love to you all...
Peace N' Blessings,
Gail Oliver






Spring is the season of birth and rebirth. It is the season when life and inspiration arise once again from the darkness of winter hibernation into the light of the sun. It is the time for new beginnings. It is the time for us to honor our inspiration and creativity. For inspiration, like breathing, needs faith and intent, before the beginnings of creativity can happen, and creativity is the essence of life becoming itself, in every form, again and again and again.

It may be easy for many to delight in the Energy of Spring, sometimes it seems difficult to empower the Spring within ourselves, especially when we seem burdened by the stress of our lives and responsibilities. But Spring is just the season to remind us to renew our commitment to the beauty and blessings of Life. It is the season meant to renew our Faith and Intent in our own New Growth, our own New Creativity, our own New Healing, our own New Risk-taking, our own New Love, our own New Paths, our own New Life, which, both physically and spiritually is always unfolding.

Spring requires that we replace complaints with intentions, despair with hope, stagnancy with movement, death with rebirth, then we can join in harmony with the natural life-affirming characteristics of the season. Spring is a time for cleaning out and ridding our lives of the things, clutter, people and situations that no longer honor Our True Divine Natures. It is a time for a renewed love of life, renewed confidence, new ideas, reinvention of self. It is a time of fresh starts, new relationships, new friends, it is a chance for the rebirth of a “new you”.
Welcome Spring with open arms and most importantly, an open heart.

And you thought Spring Cleaning was just about your house......






Spring is also the perfect time to cleanse your body. After the long winter, it is good to rid yourself of the toxins that have accumulated during winter. Colon Cleanses and Juice Fasting are very beneficial to better health and have a lightening effect on mind and spirit. During the transformative process of cleansing our body, the effects spread throughout many areas of our life. There is often improved clarity of mind that develops. Emotional cleansing and subsequent insights also happen. Spiritual awareness is sometimes profound. We are more sensitive to subtle vibrations of people, situations, emotions, and nature. Intuition is enhanced and procrastination disappears. With new energy and focus, we may want to clean up our room, our home, or office we may even want to reorganize and clean up our whole life.


Seasonal Eating in Spring

Diet therapy in traditional Chinese medicine is based on the principle that humans are an inherent part of nature. One way to align with nature is eating according to seasons, for as the natural world fluctuates with seasonal changes, so do we. Spring is the time for growth and renewal. As it approaches, Chinese diet theory suggests we should consume foods that help transition into this season:

Leafy green vegetables (chard, spinach, kale, mustard greens, bok choi)

Young plants such as asparagus, pea shoots and chives

Sprouted beans and grains (alfalfa, clover, mung bean sprouts, wheat grass)

Flavorful herbs like rosemary, dill, and basil

Light teas: green, white, rosebud or chrysanthemum

In Chinese medicine, such foods are filled with the energy of spring and particularly useful as we enter this season. Best ways to prepare these foods are lightly steaming or sautéing (cooking briefly over high heat), so they retain the most nutrients and are easier to digest.

It also is appropriate during spring to avoid heavy foods, since they tend to bring the body into a sinking, passive, inward-moving state. Foods to avoid in spring:

Heavy or fatty meats

Greasy or oily foods

Foods high in salt


Now Spring Clean the House!

Some commonly used household cleaning products may contain hazardous ingredients such as organic solvents and petroleum based chemicals. The EPA has found that these chemicals may contaminate our ground water and present a problem to waste water treatment facilities. Also, most often hazardous products are not disposed of properly and are land filled or incinerated where they release their toxins to the environment.

As a result of these concerns, many Americans are rediscovering the safer and just-as-effective natural household cleaning solutions that their mothers and grandmothers used. Natural cleansers are quite simple to put together and can be made in large quantities. You might want to store batches of these natural cleansers in gallon water jugs. Don't forget to label the jugs!

For the budget conscious, you’ll be happy to note that making your own cleansers from natural sources is going to lower your household bills by quite a few pennies. The ingredients are items you probably already have around the house. If you don't have these items handy, they are inexpensive and readily available in your supermarket or in any drug store.

Important: Just because these cleansers are natural doesn't mean you shouldn't wear gloves. Please slip on some rubber gloves - the kind you use when doing the dishes.

Natural Cleansers

All-purpose Cleanser: Mix 1/4 cup baking soda (or 2 teaspoons of Borax) with 1/2 cup white vinegar. The baking soda deodorizes, cleans and scours. It also softens hard water. The white vinegar cuts grease, stains and wax buildup and cleans mildew (see below). Note: this solution works great for water deposit stains.

You can also use straight Borax instead of the baking soda and white vinegar. In addition to cleaning, scouring and deodorizing, Borax disinfects.

Bathroom Mold Cleanser: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, mold can literally destroy the very thing these spores are growing on once they connect with a wet or damp spot. Mold spores cause allergy-like symptoms, and may exacerbate asthma.

To eradicate mold, mix one part hydrogen peroxide with two parts water in a spray bottle. Use the 3 percent hydrogen peroxide that is available for a few dollars at any drug store or supermarket. Spray the bathroom areas and leave to dry for an hour. Rinse the areas off.

Soap: Avoid using a soap containing phthalates, parabens, synthetics or petroleum distillates. Check the label. If you prefer a solid bar soap, go for a clear soap without perfumes.

If you prefer liquid soap, most health food stores carry liquid Castille soaps made with organic oils and mentha arvensis (the plant from which mint oil is extracted). Adding two squirts of this soap to two gallons of hot water will provide ample cleansing power.


Here are some other relatively common household problems and the accompanying cleaning regime:

Carpet shampoo - When it's time to give your carpet an overall "fluffing up" that only comes from fibers that are thoroughly shampooed, use cornstarch. Sprinkle liberally. Wait 20 minutes and vacuum your carpet.

Carpet stain removal - Mix equal parts white vinegar with water in a spray bottle. Spray directly onto stain for a minute or so. Let dry for about an hour. Wipe with a sudsy sponge. (Use the natural soaps mentioned above.)

Clearing away lime deposits - White vinegar will also wipe away lime deposits in your teakettle. (Lime deposits are scales and encrustations of calcium or magnesium compounds ground into powder.) To remove lime deposits, add 1/2 cup white vinegar and 2 cups of water to the kettle. Gently boil for a few minutes. Wait until the kettle cools down a bit. While it's still warm, rinse the kettle with fresh water.

Furniture polish - Add a few drops of natural lemon oil to a few cups of warm water and pour the solution into a spray bottle. Mix well and spray onto a soft cotton cloth that you've dampened slightly. Note: Do not leave the cloth sopping wet. It must be merely damp. Wipe your furniture with the dampened cloth. Wait a few minutes and wipe again with a completely dry cotton cloth.

Mildew remover - Mildew is a mold-like micro-organism that can grow on leather, clothing, the ceiling … even paper. And like mold, it often grows on bathroom stalls. You can safely remove mildew by using undiluted white vinegar. Use a sponge and don't wipe after applying.

Polishing vinyl and linoleum floors - To polish these floors safely and with noticeable results, pour a capful of baby oil to the cleaning water. (Most floor surfaces can be cleaned with a part white vinegar, part water solution.)

Rust remover - Sprinkle some salt directly onto the rust. Squeeze a lime over the rust until it is well soaked. Leave the mixture on for about three minutes and scrub off the residue with a piece of lime rind.

Toilet bowl cleanser - Pour 1/4 cup baking soda and 1 cup white vinegar into the bowl. Let mixture set for a few minutes. Scrub with toilet brush and rinse. You can also use two parts Borax and one part lemon juice.

If you have a basin that really needs scrubbing, you may use straight bleach, although bleach should never be mixed with any other solution, except water.

Water rings - If your lovely wood furniture is sporting spots, these rings have seeped into the layer underneath the topcoat, but not the finish. Use either mayonnaise or toothpaste applied to a damp cloth. Any brand will do. Once you've removed the water rings, buff the entire surface.

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