Healthy Me Magazine PREVIEW

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HEALTHY Me Magazine

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January 2010 12:00 Noon

s e r u t a e Issue F

Healthy Me Spirit There are definite, simple ways you can pour out the healing power of love . ..You can become your own release made manifest, too.

Healthy Me Family U R H E A LT H P E R F E C T I N G YO Healthy Me features great taste and sensibility about what we eat, wear, and go healthy. Spotlighting Indigenous, Complimentary and Alternative healing methods, places, meetings, and restaurants, recommending and providing you with resources to reinforce your Healthy Me - Self.

Who is Reading HEALTHY eople who are mindful, seeking excellence in health through nature. The ones who qualify their purchase selections by how healing the choice will be in all domains.

Seekers for a healthy life, natural living and care of their families beyond the wellness band wagon industry hype.

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Professionals are reading HEALTHY ME. Stay at home moms and dads, active teens, athletes, community leaders, spiritual guides are reading HEALTHY ME. Those who care about healing, strengthening, enhancing, and beautifying their body, mind and spirit, increasing mental focus and clarity, aging more gracefully and living fully.

“In raising children and being around their friends, I have seen time and time again that we need to invest in our youth. They are full of so much potential waiting for someone to just take the time and help them find what they were born to do.

Healthy Me Food Recipes for good Dining my mother introduced a healthy alternative that has become one of my family's favorites.

I am sharing my recipe with you...enjoy:

Healthy Me Beauty Natural Skin Health increase our awareness and awaken us to be mindful, cautious even when selecting the personal care products we put on our bodies

Healthy Me Living Exercise and fitness Fitness can be defined as a holistic feeling or state of wellbeing.

one n es s we l l n e s s h e a l i ng art s g r o up

le p m e T Body

Essential Cleanser & Elixir Removes dirt, excess oil and perspiration.

Firms your skin improving texture and appearance while fighting pimples, outbreaks and discolorations.

Natural Organic

Oneness Wellness Skin Health System© Formulations created by Shifa to improve our overall health and well-being, increase our awareness and awaken us to be mindful, cautious even when selecting the personal care products we put on our bodies, as carefully as selecting the food products we put in our bodies.

Hair Grow Scalp Stimulator.

Have healthy, radiant, firm, ageless, beautiful skin all over our body temple.

Healing Effective results for rashes, eczema, discolorations, dryness, sagging and itching skin conditions.

Restoring Baths Eucalyptus & Myrtle

Essential Shea Butter Gold A blend of 97% unrefined Shea Butter, Grape Seed and therapeutic-grade essential oils to moisturize, soothe wrinkles, even skin tone and regenerate your skin with vitamins A, E, & F.

Developed to heal, offering a natural choice free of harmful synthetic chemicals, artificial fragrance, preservatives, and petrochemical laden personal care products.

Shifa Ahua, Al-Bey Creator of Oneness Wellness Skin Health

Alopecia is an inflammatory hair-loss disease that is the second leading cause of baldness in the U.S. The Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in Scotland found that certain essential oils were extremely effective in combating Alopecia.

Respiratory relief for congestion due to excess mucus and phlegm that causes breathing difficulty.

Lavender & Tea Tree Skin Care for beautiful soft skin helping to rid discolorations, rashes, dryness.

Wintergreen For the whole “itis” family of joint discomfort, gout, and muscle soreness.

For Natural Living Use

As part of our new Healthy Me Magazine launch later this month we are sending you our Healthy Me Healthy Skin Blasts as an introduction to this fabulous and useful resource. Heres a reprint of our first Blast. Enjoy and grow in wisdom.

We recently caught up with Shifa! and asked her about sharing some of her “youthful healthy skin secrets” well if you know Shifa you wont be surprised she went straight to the food...

5 acne-zapping foods 1. Whole grains. When it comes to thwarting acne-causing inflammation, fiber-packed whole grains work like a charm. “Whole grains carry a lot of antioxidants,” says Shifa. “They also stabilize blood sugar and prevent insulin spikes.” But be careful when perusing grocery store aisles for whole-grain items–crafty label lingo can make a loaf of bread or box of pasta seem like a healthy choice, when in reality it carries only a small percentage of whole grains. Shifa advises checking a product’s nutrition info to make sure it’s high in fiber and low in sugar. Even better: Forget wheat and give ancient grains like quinoa and millet a try.

There is a food-acne/outbreak connection Although a famous 1969 study of chocolate’s effect on skin debunked any connection between food and skin problems, dermatologists may have dismissed diet’s impact on acne too quickly.

Recent studies show that high-glycemic foods such as refined grains and processed sugars– the mainstays of a typical Western diet–may, in fact, trigger breakouts. Shifa says, “My skin definitely does not like chocolate, but I love it, so when I give in it shows”.

2. Fish (if you eat meat). Heralded as the premiere source of omega-3 fatty acids, coldwater, oily fish are loaded with antiinflammatory eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Shifa lauds oily fish such as mackerel, salmon, anchovies, and sardines as the most potent choices for blemish-free skin.

Here’s the problem: High-glycemic foods such as french fries, breakfast cereal, white bread, and soda boost blood sugar too quickly–and the pancreas responds by making extra insulin to bring those sugar levels down. As an unintended consequence, the insulin also signals the sebaceous glands to manufacture and secrete sebum, the oil-like substance that’s carried to our pores via hair follicles. In proper quantities, sebum is a good thing; it flushes out dead cells and keeps your skin lubricated. But too much causes the bacterium P. acnes to over-propagate and jam up the hair follicle. The result?

Whiteheads and blackheads on your forehead, chin, and cheeks.

4. Purple and deep red foods. According to Shifa, foods containing anthocyanins are high in antioxidants and help maintain blood flow to the skin, promoting optimum cell turnover (essential for keeping pores clear).

Mangosteen, pomegranates, purple carrots, black grapes, and beets are all great choices.

Look for high ORAC scores, Shifa suggests 3600 ORAC units a day as a minimum.

Now that you’ve figured out which foods to avoid, you may worry that you’ll face serious food deprivation. But rest assured there are plenty of delicious foods that also help fight acne and maintain healthy skin, including:

3. Green vegetables. Packed with inflammation-fighting nutrients and loads of antioxidants, most green leafy veggies contain plenty of fiber, which helps slow the rise of blood sugar after eating.

5. Green tea. Among its numerous health benefits, green tea also helps keep pimples from popping up. It’s chock-full of the antioxidant catechin EGCG, an effective antiinflammatory. But beware of bottled green tea drinks, which often contain scads of added sugar and calories.

Shifa says, add Forgotten Foods and Vemma for all your vitamins, minerals, mangosteen, aloe vera, and green tea then watch you hair, skin and nails perk up with life growth and luster. Also give yourself a natural facial treatment it’s mandatory for great skin for the long term to reduce and delay signs of aging at least twice a week.

For more info about any of our Oneness Wellness Natural Skin Systems see our catalog on page---

Excerpt from the new book, Get Fit To Live: Be Your Best You!

By Audrey Muhammad,

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certified aerobics instructor and fitness trainer.

et Fit To Live: Be Your Best You!

All of us were placed on this planet for a purpose. A person who is blessed to find his gift and his or her purpose is a truly blessed person indeed.

Sometimes we may find we have a gift, but we don’t know how to use it to help others and to be a testament to the Creator. A person may have a gift of selling, but uses it to sell drugs to his people.

Or a person may have a musical gift, but sprinkles it with vulgarity, making the music sour, not sweet. This book is about making ourselves better: mind, body and soul, so that we can be our best and do our best work.

According to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, “fit” means adapted or suited, appropriate, proper or becoming qualified or competent. The word “fitness” means being in a state of health.

How can we enjoy our family, our careers or nature if we are not healthy. We should be on a constant quest to improve ourselves. Celebrate and cultivate your talents and skills. Whatever you don’t like about yourself, work to improve it and watch how your love of self grows.

There is a saying that “there is nothing more powerful than a made-up mind.” Whenever we acquire some amount of success,

it is due to God blessing us. Once we have made up our mind to be dedicated to a particular goal. In many occupations, physical excellence is deemed important.

If you are going to be an astronaut, police officer or just want to join the army, some amount of physical mastery is expected.

Exercise is more than an activity to help improve physical fitness, it also improves our mental capacity. Adversity or difficulty helps to introduce us to our ability to endure. How strong are you?

When you are tired from jogging for 30 minutes, do you have the mental determination and spirit to keep jogging for another 5 minutes? Do you have the strength and discipline to turn away from a food or activity that is going to be detrimental to you.

Fitness competitors are some of the most disciplined people I know. They know that one wrong meal could mess up their “game” the next day.

What are some simple steps we can begin taking after we consult with a physican?

1. Practice praying and meditating on a daily basis. Prayers are “spiritual refreshments” that helps us to stay righteously energized.

Remembrance of God is “the greatest force.” Keep in my that our body is the temple that our “Godself” dwells in. Doesn’t the “God” within deserve the best? Pure thoughts help to give birth to pure actions.

2. Practice the principles of Fasting to rid your body of toxins and increase your mind and body’s ability to resist temptation.

3. Practice “eating to live.” Our bodies deserve the best and we should eat what is in line with our physical make-up. Our body is approximately 70% water and 30% solid, just like the earth. The earth has nine planets and we have nine systems in the body. The “eat to live” way of eating includes high water content foods like bean soup, salad and whole wheat bread is a meal that is about 70% liquid with about 30% solid. Eating a meal of chicken, mashed potatoes, bread and rice is like eating dry land and the food will get “stuck” in “no man’s land,” (the colon) and then we wonder why we have problems with constipation, etc.

4. Lastly, practice exercising which is good for the heart and mind because it helps to relieve stress.

Our bodies will function much better when we take care of it.

How dare us pay someone to walk our dogs, but we won’t walk ourselves.

Make up your mind today to become a better you! I am with you all the way!

May God bless us all with peace, love, health, wealth, and happiness.

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C om po ne nts of Ph ys i c al Fi t ne s s :

4 m o s t im p o r t a n t 1. Endurance 2. Strength

For instance, if we’re not able to devote 30 minutes a day for a complete workout, we give up on exercising altogether.

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3. Flexibility 4. Coordination Physical fitness is measured on the basis of four comp onents cardio respiratory enduran ce, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility.

Fitness can be defin ed as a holistic feeling or state of we llbeing.

Balance and Spirit

by Sister RitaRenee Muhammad

Balance and Spirit Healing ones-self is a multidimensional task. Every one of us has a system in place in our lives that we defer to in times of anxiety and stress that keeps us from falling apart ~ this saving grace has it’s base in our Spirit or subconscious mind. Whether the tool we use is prayer, meditation, exercise, crying or simply sitting down in a quiet place until we again feel in “control� or balanced ~ each and everyone of us ~ on a regular basis calls on our inner strength in time of need.

But what are we doing to strengthen our power base when we are feeling strong and in control?

It is in these less stressful times that we should recharge our Spirit self by cleansing our mind of negative thoughts ~

releasing toxic people and situations ~ eating food that nurtures our entire being ~ drinking plenty of water and getting enough rest ~ rewarding even the smallest successes~ Forgive others and ourselves.

Most importantly ~ thank God daily for waking us up and giving us another opportunity to express the who of who we are.

Humbly submitted, Sister RitaRenee Muhammad

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Love Works a Healing Power What you should do is fast from negative memories of the past – grudges, criticisms, spite, feelings of injustice and hurt, as well as other inharmonies. There are definite, simple ways you can pour out the healing power of love on your negative memories, so that you can be free of them forever. As you do become free of these destructive emotions, you cease crucifying yourself and others and you are then ready for resurrected good.

There are two special ways you can fast from negative attitudes, and tune in on the healing power of love, which makes you whole in mind, body and affairs. These special ways are the act of RELEASE, and the act of FORGIVENESS. Perhaps it surprises you to hear that release and forgiveness are part of love. Yet when you find that other phases of love have not healed some troublesome conditions in your life, you many discover that it is because you have not invoke the releasing, forgoing phases of love. When you do satisfying results will surely come.

Setting others free means setting yourself free. When you feel bound to other people, their attitudes, their behavior, their way of life, it is because you are (perhaps unconsciously) binding them to you. Then you begin to feel bound, chafing against the very bondage you have caused! Always you yourself hold the key to your freedom from bondage. You turn the key to that freedom when you release the personality, problem, or condition that you think is clutching you.

Remember you are the master, never the slave of circumstances.

You become victor instead of victim when you dare to speak the work of release to the person or thing you think is binding you. You are your own bondage made manifest. You can become your own release made manifest, too.

Humbly submitted, Sister RitaRenee Muhammad

Love Works a Healing Power

by Rita Renee

hat you should do is fast from negative memories of the past – grudges, criticisms, spite, feelings of injustice and hurt, as well as other inharmonies.

There are definite, simple ways you can pour out the healing power of love on your negative memories, so that you can be free of them forever. As you do become free of these destructive emotions, you cease crucifying yourself and others and you are then ready for resurrected good.

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There are two special ways you can fast from negative attitudes, and tune in on the healing power of love, which makes you whole in mind, body and affairs.

These special ways are the act of RELEASE, and the act of FORGIVENESS. Perhaps it surprises

you to hear that release and forgiveness are part of love. Yet when you find that other phases of love have not healed some troublesome conditions in your life, you many discover that it is because you have not invoke the releasing, forgoing phases of love.

When you do satisfying results will surely come.

Setting others free means setting yourself free. When you feel bound to other people, their attitudes, their behavior, their way of life, it is because you are (perhaps unconsciously) binding them to you. Then you begin to feel bound, chafing against the very bondage you have caused! Always you yourself hold the key to your freedom from bondage. You turn the key to that freedom when you release the

personality, problem, or condition that you think is clutching you. Remember you are the master, never the slave of circumstances.

You become victor instead of victim when you dare to speak the work of release to the person or thing you think is binding you. You are your own bondage made manifest. You can become your own release made manifest, too.

Humbly submitted, Sister RitaRenee Muhammad

A l ov e fas ti ng f e as t

H e a lt h y M e L o v e Perhaps it surprises you to hear that release and forgiveness are part of love.

Yet when you find that other phases of love have not healed some troublesome conditions in your life, you many discover that it is because you have not invoke the releasing, forgoing phases of love.

Fast from negativ e memories of the pa st – grudges, criticism s, spite, feelings of injustic e and hurt, as well as other inharmonies.

When you feel boun d to other people, their attitud es, their behavior, their way of life, it is because you are (p erhaps unconsciously) bind ing them to you.

Toure Muhammad is the chief creative strategist for Bean Soup Society, a marketing, public relations and entertainment company. For two and a half years, he served as the Communications Director and Press Secretary for Congressman Bobby L. Rush. Eager to share, he has conducted trainings and sat on panels with and for The SPIN Project, Community Media Workshop and the Black Public Relations Society.

A graduate of Morehouse College,

Toure is an activist, communicator, and comedy writer. Muhammad started his career as a journalist for The Final Call newspaper and since then, has ran national communication campaigns—including media outreach, website development, newsletter production for various organizations, causes, and individuals including organized labor, elected-officials (including President Barack Obama when he was a State Senator), religious and civil rights leaders, nonprofit organizations, and entertainers. He has landed articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the International Herald-Tribune, Dateline, Nightline, CNN, and many TV, radio and print media outlets. Muhammad is the creator of Bean Soup Times, a satire and entertainment news multi-media outlet and has produced live stand up and sketch comedy shows. He is a former board member of the Community Media Workshop. He’s also the publisher of the Chronology of Nation of Islam History. He’s been heard on Tavis Smiley’s radio show on NPR, on Chicago’s WBEZ (Chicago public radio) and for two years appeared weekly on Black Chicago’s historic WVON radio station. He’s also been featured in the Chicago Reader, Upscale magazine, rolling out newspaper, and N’Digo.

Toure Muhammad, Publisher, Bean Soup Times Post Office Box 2176, Chicago, IL 60690 * 773.260.1964 Street Address 712 E. 47th St. Suite 303E Chicago, IL 60653 Sign up for our eBlasts and stay up on humor, politics, and culture in Chicago, Atlanta, and D.C. click here <http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m11225418012> Get info on advertising with Bean Soup Times eBlast and by visiting http:// www.beansouptimes.com/newsletters

I hope something bad happens to you

By Toure Muhammad, comedian and journalist Beansouptimes.com

Let’s laugh and heal!

I thank God for tragedy; otherwise there would be a lot less to laugh at in the world. No, I am not crazy, but think about what makes you laugh. Oftentimes, your laughter is at someone else’s expense. Whether it’s as basic as a pie in the face or the more tragic theme of Richard Pryor setting himself on fire, tragedy is funny. Now, depending on the level of the tragedy, there needs to be some time in between the tragedy and the laughter. It’s all in the timing. Let someone miss the chair and sit flat on the ground or walk gingerly into a clear glass door. Sure, you check to make sure they are OK first (most people will), and then, once you know they are alright, you cannot help but laugh even if the person is bleeding and moaning while holding their nose or behind. LOL Now, granted, some events are clearly sad and tragic and not occasions for laughter. I just haven’t heard of one yet. No matter how tragic, over time, laughter can be mined from the occurrence. Joan Rivers and other Jewish comedians have made jokes about the Holocaust. Dave Chappell and other African American comedians have made jokes about slavery and various comedians have made jokes about 911.

Here’s a mathematical equation that highlights this phenomenon. I am not sure who the original author is but it goes like this: “Tragedy plus time equals comedy.” I have heard people say they don’t have a sense of humor. Well, maybe nothing tragic has happened in their life… yet. Just keep living Sourpuss, and

you’ll get something to laugh at.

More than likely, Sourpuss has allowed the challenges of life to steal their natural ability to deal with stress and pain.

Sure, tragedy can cause anxiety, anger, and bitterness. All these things can lead to physical problems. That’s why I think the ability to laugh at tragedy is a blessing. When we can la ugh at our misfortunes, it allows us to step back, reevaluate the situation and overcome. I watched this with my children when they were learning to walk. If, when they fell, I looked concerned and ran over to them, they would start balling their little eyes out, holding their injured body part and looking for a corner to sulk and cry. But if, when they fell, I laughed, they laughed too, sprang right back up and started walking again.

Humor is infectious. The sound of laughter is more contagious than Swing Flu, West Nile Virus, or ignorance (OK, maybe the ignorance one is debatable. Just how many young ladies in shorts over some bright white or purple tights am I going to see THIS summer! That trend is moving quicker than sweet potato soufflé at a soul food buffet. OK, I digress.

When laughter is shared, it increases happiness. If you are married and intend to stay married, then you better laugh at yourself and at each other. When you get so mad at each other that you are spitting and speaking incoherently WITHOUT alcohol because he left the toilet seat up or because she breathes too hard, that’s funny!

Laughter fights back stress, pain, and conflict. Laughter heals and best of all, you don’t need a HMO, PPO or some other expensive health care insurance to laugh. It’s fun, free, and easy to use.

When my grandfather accidentally hit me in the head with a sickle and blood was pouring from my head, I thought it was hilarious to walk into the health clinic and say, “I’ve got a little scratch on my head.” I had the entire emergency room laughing and blood spouted out of my head like water fountain. As I demanded a corkscrew, everyone in the emergency room forgot their pain, at least briefly.

One man laughed so hard that he didn’t even feel the two kidney stones he passed; before even seeing the doctor, he walked out the hospital laughing and shaking those kidney stones in his hand like dice.

Laughter brings your mind and body back into balance. It helps you forget pain, boosts the immune system and triggers endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemical.

So instead of using legal and/or illegal drugs, go to a comedy club, watch a funny movie, or just look at a family member and start laughing.

That ’s why I thank God for tragedy; otherwise there would be nothing to overcome. And I am hoping something bad happens to you real soon.

Is financial health really that important to one’s overall health, vitality and happiness? By Jennifer Muhammad Editors Note: This story was going to be over the next 2 or 3 issues however, is so timely and real we decided to run it in it’s entirety. Take heed and prosper.

We will address the last question, first: Is financial health really that important to one’s overall health, vitality and happiness?

When I was 21 and got laid off as a result of the latest Wall Street financial tool – Mergers and Acquisitions - I found myself living alone in my 52nd floor apartment on the North Side of Chicago, with 15 credit cards (I finally learned what they were officially called), $50,000 in debt, and no job. That was when I filed for bankruptcy the first time.

ABSOULTELY, YES. I would liken it to the body’s need for oxygen. Try living four minutes or more without oxygen and see what happens. Living without financial health is a sure way to the death and demise of a family unit.

Over the next twenty years, I went to Northwestern University, studied finance and accounting, collected a mountain of student loans without a degree, married, had three children, owned and operated four businesses that appeared to be thriving, and filed for bankruptcy for the second time.

That time it was not because I did not know the principals of sound financial management, I just refused to practice them consistently. Remember, my early childhood ‘training’ taught me to focus on getting my wants met now – because tomorrow was not promised. I didn’t learn the value of working and planning to meet shortand long-term needs; those needs that would well preserve my family unit long after my demise. Essentially, by not planning, we unconsciously planned to fail.

Being healthy simply means being in a state that is free of dis-ease or abnormality; sound, wholesome, hardy, vigorous, and well-preserved.

To know what is healthy, we must know what dis-ease looks like. What are some of the signs and symptoms of dis-ease? Dis-ease is working from paycheck to paycheck with no savings set aside to meet unexpected circumstances. Dis-ease is spending more money than you have – the in puts are less than the out puts and allowing credit cards or borrowing to make up the difference. Dis-ease is not having enough financial resources that can be readily liquidated (turned into cash) to meet daily living expenses and/or emergencies (these resources do not include credit nor credit cards). Dis-ease is operating in the dark – not knowing what is the family’s total indebtedness nor its total income receipts. Dis-ease is having only one person in the household bearing the weight of the management or control of the family’s financial affairs.

So I guess one would say that my prospective here is not solely from ‘book knowledge’. I got my Advanced Degree in Financial Health from the School of Hard Knocks USA. What is financial health? How is financial health achieved? How is financial health maintained? Is financial health really that important to one’s overall health, vitality and happiness?

What is financial health?

Finance deals with the science of the management of money and other assets. A lot of people think financial stuff and finances are only for the rich and affluent – involving money on a large scale, like banks, corporations, estates, or governments - not

individuals. But how did a corporation get to the point of dealing with large sums of money – it started with individuals that established rules and practices for handling their finances. Then these individuals joined on with other like-minded individuals and utilized sound, timetested, financial and business management skills and systems to develop and maintain businesses that made money.

Because it is a science, it implies that research must be done; theories must be established, tested and proved right or wrong. Experiments presuppose that mistakes will be made; things will need to be redone. The process must be documented and the results analyzed. Scientific processes take time and energy. There are no quick fixes. The errant habits that have been made can not be corrected

overnight.

How is financial health maintained?

It is absolutely great to make money.

However, it is absolutely sinful to not manage properly what you have been bestowed by God and His Universe.

Too often the family members do not have clearly defined roles and responsibilities nor do they have clearly defined policies and practices for managing the family’s resources – money, property, and people.

Everyone assumes the next person is going to do it – the children are going to take out the garbage, the woman is going to cook the food and clean the toilets, and the man is going to earn the money, etc. more on page---

Is financial health really that important to one’s overall health, vitality and happiness? By Jennifer Muhammad These are historical roles that do not necessarily have bearing in today’s modern households. Sometimes all adults are working and sharing in the responsibility of bringing home the milk and eggs. In family units like this, it is more important than ever to have clear and frequent communication regarding responsibilities and finances.

This leads to the importance of a budget – this is not a curse word!

The budget has such a negative connotation to most people. I guess most people think it means ‘cutting back’ on the things they want. It could mean that, but not necessarily.

A budget can be the salvation of a struggling, angry household that does not have peace because of financial mismanagement.

If you don’t plan, you plan to fail. A budget is the written blue print for the management of the family’s money. A budget requires planning in advance to meet the expenditures for a given period. A budget is an itemized breakdown of all of the monies coming in and all of the monies that must go out for a given period.

In order to put in black and white the written document, you must first put on your scientist hat: do some research. Look at the past six months of your household’s income and expenses. This process will be most enlightening. First you will discover how organized or disorganized you have been in regards to keeping records of your inflows and outflows. Are there chucks of money that you can’t seem to account for? This is not good.

Did you find that the checking account had been overdrawn at least once in this time period? This is not good. Did you find that you spent a lot of money on unnecessary things,

like coffee, movies, magazines, books, a cappuccino machine, golf balls? This is not good. Did you save any money? Did you spend the money you earmarked for savings?

Did you pay any bills late because you over spent on shoes or clothes that week? This is not good. You are a scientist, be sure to closely exam your findings. These findings will be the basis of your budget.

A budget should initially be written for a three month period. The budget must be reviewed monthly to see what actually happened versus what should have happened. After the budget is fine tuned, it can be written for a year. However, a good household financial manager looks at the expenditures and records what actually transpired weekly; sometimes daily if there are a great deal of transactions in and out of the account(s). The receipts must be constantly compared to the Bank’s records to ensure there are no discrepancies that could negatively impact the entire monthly budget.

This helps to protect against fraud and identity theft, also. You don’t want to wait until the end of the month to compare your check book register with the bank’s statement.

You could be overdrawn and not know it and make the situation worst by writing additional checks.

A budget must include everyone’s realistic needs and wants. Needs first. You must clearly know a ‘need’ from a ‘want’. Needs are food, clothing and shelter - the basics. For example, a car is a want; a Lexus is definitely a want. However, getting to and from work in reliable transportation is the true need, and the bus or train can meet that need and may be cheaper.

The budget must include everything – toothpaste, toiletries, household cleaners, dry cleaning, movies,

utilities, doctors’ visits, coffee, gas, hair cuts, nail care, shoes, and coats, etc. Everything should be carefully planned. From looking at the historical records, how often did you have to buy shoes for the children and how much did they costs? If it was every three months, a projected amount should be spread out over the next three months, so that when it is time to buy new shoes, the finances would be readily available.

Also look at what the monies have been spent on. Are you spending more than 40% of your take home pay on food, and there are only three people in the household? That is excessive – what are you eating? For help in developing a budget and savings plan visit http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/ economics/fsll/publications/nh/ Spending%20Savings%20Plan.pdf.

If you over spend in one area and under spend in another, the family unit must make the joint decision to reallocate those funds. After all, the reallocated money represents the needs of someone in the family.

Taking money from one person’s pot to give to another without their permission is stealing and is an infringement on the peace of mind of that person. Remember your goal here is financial health – being free of dis-ease.

A family unit must decide how it will practice sound financial management. There must be a keeper and recorder of the family’s financial affairs. That person may require that everyone present receipts for what ever has been spent (this practice is critical in gauging the feasibility and accuracy of your initial budget).

Everyone must cooperate and bring in their receipts, so that the record keepers’ job is not made difficult and frustrating. The record keeper must quickly and honestly, without emotion and judgment, discuss with the family unit any deviations in the budget that is negatively affecting or will negatively affect the family. Call a family meeting or conference call. The best defense is a well planned, cohesive offense.

As in any organism, too much stress will break down the organism.

Depression, anxiety, lack of sleep, hair loss, weight loss or gain, irritability, decline in libido is all signs of stress. Avoid stress at all cost. Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. Don’t be guilty of being insane. Embrace health.

Avoid thinking and verbalizing these old clichés that sentence you and your family unit to financial ruins: “You can’t get blood out of a turnip.”

“I am dead broke.”

“Times are tough.”

“I’m barely making it.”

“I’m never going to get ahead.”

These are all the words of those who are dead in faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen – YET. If you pray and don’t expect what you are asking for to come true, why pray? If you think positive, positive things will come to you. If all you do is speak negatively and entertain negative thoughts, please don’t be surprised when that dark cloud takes up residence above your home.

It does not take any more effort for the God of the Universe to allow you to make $1,000 as it does for Him to allow you to make $100.

The question here is: If there are six billion or more people on this planet, what are you doing to make yourself stand out and be recognized by the God of the Universe? Do you pray? Do you serve His children that are in need? Do you maintain a sunshiny spirit that reminds people of His grace and mercy? Are you a walking, talking vehicle of health, hope, inspiration and vitality or of misery and disappointment?

That which you are looking for, is also looking for you. Financial health is waiting for you. So put down this article and go embrace it.

Jennifer is a part time resident of Chicago, IL and Casa Grande, AZ. She lives with her husband and children. She home schools her children, while managing her husband’s companies, traveling the country, and finishing her degree work. She enjoys sharing with others those Divine experiences that have led to enlightenment.

Ralph and Denzel Mondy are raising 4 sons and 2 daughters in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. A large family, some would say. But it’s not the number of children that makes this family stand out. It’s how this family expresses its purpose, a purpose that involves a gift and a passion for creativity. And that the home is the launch pad for the fulfillment of purpose.

“I guess you could call us a home based enterprise: home business, home school and we’ve just launched our 3D studio from home. We decided to school at home, because it gave us a lot of one on one time with our children. Early on, we could see the children’s emerging talents. The children had a love of drawing and music.

Ralph began to steer them toward computers and programs that took their drawing skills to another level. Each child was given the musical instrument of their choice and they pursued ways to develop their love for music.

With a gift or a passion to do something, all you need to do is point them in the direction by giving them the tools to develop it. Their love for what they do will spur them on like fuel in a rocket ship.”

Ralph, a self-employed commercial property maintenance contractor has been in business for over 20 years.

“But the icing on the cake of a home-based business is having more time to spend with my family.” Being self employed allowed him to have time to help develop the vision he saw unfolding within his family.

Denzel Mondy received her B.A. in marketing at Chicago’s Columbia College. “When I graduated, got married and started a family, I thought I wouldn’t be able to use the marketing knowledge I learned. But when my husband and sons began doing 3D projects, everything I learned at Columbia really helped. We enjoy what we do in 3D. We love creating things. But we now want to create things to help and inspire, to use 3D to create messages about solutions instead of creating more junk that keeps propagating “the problem.”

With the launching of TriniStar 3D Studio (www.trinistarstudio.com), the Mondys offer computer generated imaging in architectural renderings, short films, and gaming models. Phinehas Mondy (19) composes music digitally and electronically for movie and gaming soundtracks. Micaiah Mondy (18) is one of the studio’s 3D modelers and has taught anime drawing classes at 2 public libraries in Chicago’s south suburbs. He is also a budding electric guitarist. Jeremiah (16), the backbone of the 3D department does anything from modeling to post production of 3D concepts. Daniel Mondy (15) has sold computer generated models on 3D websites like Turbo Squid and H2O2. Priscilla (13) is an aspiring acoustic guitarist and singer. She wants to sing messages that answer the problems that teens face today. And Angela (10) loves to compose piano songs and is an aspiring artist and fashion designer.

“In raising children and being around their friends, I have seen time and time again that we need to invest in our youth. They are full of so much potential waiting for someone to just take the time and help them find what they were born to do. Everybody is born with a purpose. The home is where family is to nurture individuals until they are birthed into society to be a productive part of a whole. And through their own unique expression, they benefit themselves and those around them.

need Pics

Instrumentation Niambi S. Muhammad - vocals, acoustic guitar (for nursery rhyme songs), rhythm instruments Auntie Niambi Genre: Children's Music Secondary Genre: Singer/Songwriter Expose your children to an educational yet fun show, where learning and music are right "at home." Niambi's House, a one-woman show, is a treasure chest filled with familiar and original songs, finger plays, stories, and movement!

Biography Niambi's House is the embodiment of Niambi Shalewa Byete Muhammad, affectionately known as "Auntie Niambi."

Given the name at birth, Niambi means "melody," Shalewa means "especially created for our home," Byete means "between God and man," and Muhammad (later acquired) means "one worthy of praise."

Auntie Niambi is a singer, songwriter, an educator (B.S. in Education with specialization in Early Childhood), and an all around entertainer - thus, Niambi's House is about providing quality educational experiences through song, music, movement, finger plays and storytelling.

Whether students are learning math, science, or history - Auntie Niambi has a song and/or story!

Auntie Niambi has a unique way of integrating music and learning with a soulful twist, as evidenced by the many performances for birthday parties and other events. It's just pure fun designed to have the whole family engaged. You will hear all genres of music at times, and will be able to relate because it comes from the heart and soul of Auntie Niambi.

By bringing Niambi's House to your event, you will inspire and enrich the lives of the families and children who attend.

Niambi's House mission statement: To enrich and inspire the lives of children and their families through positive, educational, uplifting, and fun musical experiences - forever providing "melody, especially created for our home" Born and raised in Saint Louis, Auntie Niambi now resides in Chicago with her lovely husband and three beautiful children. Besides songwriting and singing Auntie Niambi enjoys baking, dancing, and working out (thanks to the Boot Camp guy).

The Quest for Oneness

by Nathan Evans

I

almost get emotional just

thinking about it, Oneness that is.

That concept of completeness is what the word suggests, from a nondefined point of view. Oneness!

What is Oneness? I was asked to write something that was reflective of the type of magazine that talked about oneness and wellness. So, I thought it would be best that I write about the quest for oneness.

It seems that all of a sudden, people are talking about oneness in a way they had never spoken of it before.

Sometimes, it feels very chic and in.

Like this is a fad or trend that now is the language of the youth. That it’s the language of the cool, the people that are in power or the ones who want to be in power. I am asking does anyone understand oneness.

And what does it mean?

When you define oneness it will say something about the state of being one; the state of being that is complete; undivided. We live in a world that is of multiple things, there are: mountains, trees, humans, animals, air, water and fire. We live in an environment where the singular dominates. We live in a world where there are boarders and divisions and clubs and organizations and businesses that all stress the fact that they are different and individually separate from the other.

With that being true, we now are seeking oneness. And again I am forced to ask the earlier question, what is oneness? It will be my attempt to shed another view on oneness at this time. My view of oneness is more mental and spiritual than it is physical. But, the human mind can only really grasp the concept of oneness first through its

physical apparatus, the body. They are going to look at themselves and say well…I am one person, I am one being, and I am one thing. Therefore, it is easy for me to attain oneness because I am one.

In this concept of oneness is it possible to be one or to have oneness while having a total dependence upon things outside of self? Is it possible to only be sufficient to ones self? Oneness must be more than that! I feel that it is more than that. I feel a human being can not attain oneness on his or her own. I feel that oneness must be more expansive than its view of self and the possibilities that self can produce.

Oneness has larger ramifications.

Oneness must be. Oneness will be!

Oneness is that acceptance spiritually and mentally that all is one and one is all, which is a complicated subject for a singular minded individual.

The singular minded individual may not see himself the same as that of a dog or a rock or tree. His mind must be more open to the understanding that the molecular compositions only appear to be different but they are the same.

A singular minded individual must be more willing to accept that he is not estranged or on an island of life by himself. I am not suggesting that life is asking you to be partners with another human being, but what I am suggesting is that life is asking you to be partners with life, to be partners with the universe, to be partners with the earth, the elements and with the existence of all energy. And once this human being becomes interested in seeing himself larger than just a singular being, he opens himself to the energy and experiences that are outside his knowing.

Oneness? People who are singular minded think of themselves as “oneness.” They construct an environment that views all others as incomplete because they believe they have discovered “one-ness.” But oneness in most minds is the braking off of a complete thing building a perimeter or fence or force field around itself and calling itself one.

You are one but you are not oneness.

Oneness would be the total harmony that one thing or two things or twenty million things become when combined together. Restated oneness is all things existing harmoniously at the same time.

In trying to keep in theme of this marvelous and wonderful idea this magazine is offering, I am very interested in suggesting that all who are interested in oneness must first take a great look at the whole. After looking and examining the whole, we must find ourselves accepting this whole and by doing so we become apart of it. And it would be our idea to leave the description of oneness to a power much more magnificent, much greater and even more capable of determining what is one.

And what is oneness.

O n ene ss We ll ne ss He al i ng A rt s Gr o up

R e c ip e 4 L if e Devotional Onenes s

with Source

Drink enough wate r Get enough exercis e & rest

“What really matters is that we handle our wellbeing with Love first. After that we are fully available to serve and assist others with their needs.”

Eat nutritious food s Love Life Certainly volumes can be said for having a great life. just wanted to leave you with a sh ort list of daily action steps we all can focus on as we journey our paths of Life.

This bowl of soup looked so inviting and delicious to me I just had to share it.

Shifa Ahau Ali Al-Bey Indigenous Natural Healer

HEALTHY Me Magazine©

online 1234 Main Street Anytown, State 54321

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