The Caring Palms website (which was unveiled last month) has been updated to accommodate all types of web capable devices. When it was released, we found that the pull-down buttons did not work on touch-screen devices like smart phones and tablets. A purchase of some menu software and many hours work making it look like the original menu, and the problem is solved. So now you can navigate the website and request information with your iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Enjoy. 

As mentioned last month, there were some issues converting the over 800 Ethereal Journal entries to the new format for the new look of the website. We found that Dreamweaver (the program the site is now created in) did not like a space followed by another space (which customarily follows a period at the end of a sentence) as well as other grammatical symbols. Those entries affected show a capital 'A' with a caret (^) over it after many if not all periods. Other grammatical marks have strange symbols replacing them. This does not make it unreadable, just funky.

As of this writing, years 2000 through 2003, and 2010 through 2012 are clean (and more could be by the time this newsletter actually gets sent out. By the end of next month, I expect it will all be as it should be.

• September 8 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm Confirmed 
• October 13 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm
• November 10 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm  

Caring Palms is looking for a massage model for pictures for the Body Mechanics and Advanced Techniques manual. The manual is as descriptive as it can be using words to tell what each move is about. But, it needs to be better so that massage therapists taking the course will be able to remember the moves that they have been taught. So, we will be adding pictures. We are looking for a volunteer that is willing to lie on a massage table while pictures are taken depicting each move that will be taught. If anyone is interested, please call or e-mail.

What do you believe in?   How rooted are you in your beliefs?   Are you willing to change them?   No?   What if you are given information that contradicts your beliefs?   No?   What if that information is irrefutable?   I guess the real question is "Are we willing to learn, and change based on new information?"

We all have beliefs of varying degrees of depth.   Most of us believe in a god or a goddess, or of some deity.   Usually those beliefs are the most concrete.   Probably if someone presented other beliefs or evidence that differed from yours, you would not change your belief in your deity.   But what about other beliefs that we keep close to our hearts?

Most of us believe in Santa Claus, at least until a certain age.   We my fight to keep that belief, but we usually let it go.   

What about religion (another touchy subject)?   How many of us are willing to look at other religions and see what they offer and how they function?   Probably not too many, unless you were dissatisfied with what you currently have.   It is the person that is willing to look and learn that has the open mind.   

Over the last dozen years, I have had various beliefs in various things.   As I learned more about energy and energies, my beliefs changed, many times in fact.   I'm not just talking about little things that don't mean much matter.   I'm talking about everything I'm basing my abilities and being on.   I can't imagine how many times I've been positive about how things worked, only to have new information change what I believe.   The only reason it was able to change my beliefs was because I was open minded enough to look at the new information and decide if it was valid or not.

There are those that are rooted in their beliefs so much that they will not even entertain the idea of looking at new information.   Let's take a simple example.   We have someone that drives a Chevy.   They believe that Chevy is the best make of car ever.   Their Chevy gets recalled 15 times, and breaks down regularly once a month.   Does this person look at another brand of car, a Ford or Chrysler maybe?   No.   Their belief is so deeply rooted that they won't even think about looking elsewhere.   Someone else might maintain that there is a brand of car out there that is built better, maybe American, maybe Japanese, maybe others.   They might look at them and decide that they are better, or not.   Either way, they were open minded enough to look and learn.   And if they decide that another make is better, then they have learned enough to change their beliefs.   But our original owner will not get there because he loves his Chevy.

Now, that may be a simplistic example, but it can be true.   I know people that will never switch the brand of car they drive.   Just think, if they're that taken with their car, and that rooted in their beliefs there, how they might be with religion, politics, or what brand of margarine they like.

The point is that we need to look at what our beliefs are.   We need to see what is so deeply rooted that we won't allow anything else in.   Change is something that happens everywhere, whether we like it or not.   We are constantly keeping up with change.   To do that, we have to be open minded.   We have to be willing to look at other things, to see what else is out there.   We have to be willing to see how it fits into our lives, or not.   We have to be willing to make changes in ourselves to keep up with the changes outside.   

Oft times, we define ourselves.   Sometimes we redefine ourselves as we change.   In an era of change, we need to keep redefining ourselves as we need to keep changing.   The earth is changing.   We need to be ready for whatever our tasks will be in this change.   To do that, we need to keep changing.   

Look at the information around you.   Learn what you can.   Change what you need.

So, what do you believe in?

What's bugging you? No, really. What's bugging you? Is it... is it... is it bugs??!! Ok, here's another Kay-ism.

Now just for enlightenment, and totally off topic, I am coining the phrase Kay-ism as of now. I used to be a fan of the program MacGyver. This is the guy that used to create all types of things out of virtually nothing to help him escape whatever predicament he was in using only a Swiss army knife and duct tape. It got to the point where they named each creation a MacGyverism. So, in that vein, any story I pass on that my Reiki teacher Kay gave us, is a Kay-ism.   

At any rate, she had a way of keeping bugs out of the house.  Now, keep in mind that being in Florida, there are a lot more bugs than other places. Having lived in Maryland, it was a shock when we moved down here and learned that one actually has to hire a pest service to protect one's house. Otherwise there are bugs (and I'm not just talking about the ones in your computer). So, what do you do?  

Believe it or not, you draw a red line.  Yes, really. According to Kay, if you put a solid red line around your house (and I'm assuming that it has to be right up against the house rather than several feet away), the bugs will stay out. The line needs to be solid, and uncovered. She said that bugs will not cross red.

Now, I have to admit I've never tried this, and I'm not sure my wife wants a red line around the base of the house. However, if you do, send me a line and let me know if it truly works.

At Caring Palms, we pledge to do the best work we can at every session.  We not only do this to continue to earn your business, but because we believe that you deserve the best care possible every time you are here.  This is true whether it is massage, or energy work, or classes. This is our promise.  This is what we will continue to do.