This newsletter is a bit late this month, due to my taking a long deserved break: days spent at the ocean with a good friend; no musts, shoulds or ought-tos! A time to flush out the negative qi and let the wonderful negative ions refill my space. One editor said it should read 'positive ions. Alas, the ones we want are the negative ones - those are positive!

I will be speaking at the Co-op on Earth Day, so I thought it appropriate to expand a bit on things you can do to clear and clean your Earth (body/relationships/home) so Spring can really SPRING! Read on and I trust you will enjoy and use the information below. 7-9pm, Earth Day at the Coop's community classroom.

                                                                               SUGEET 

These two tie together in one beautiful package. It's too easy to forget that we are part of the Earth and, as such, we deserve caring just as much as Mother Earth does. So what to do?

Start by taking a look around and deciding what, within reason, deserves a good Spring cleaning. You know my emphasis on getting rid of the clutter, simplifying and allowing the new. But have you thought about putting Feng Shui to work on your relationships?

Try the following and see if your relationships don't improve:

1. Always speak as "I", never "you". "You" carries certain negativity, whereas "I" allows the listener to decide if what you say should be adopted or just does not apply. Allo wing the other to decide instead of you telling them what to do. That changes the relationship for the better

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2. Do you know what "But" does? It negates everything before it. The word But = No. Think about the following: "I'd like to come, BUT blah, blah, blah." Before you use BUT, think of how you can phrase your response in a non-hurtful way - "I already have an engagement that day, I'm so sorry I'll miss yours...."

3. Avoid the negatives, especially NOT. That's adding negative qi to your conversation. Say things in a positive way.

4. Avoid "should," "would," and "ought." These words carry a value judgment that may not be shared by the person you're talking to. This comes from the Mom/Teacher/Authority Figure and creates a power differential with you above and your listener below. Practice eliminating these from your vocabulary and notice how much nicer your conversations are.

5. Too often I hear people say "something makes me feel like blah blah." No one can make you feel anything. This is a way of avoiding responsibly for the way you feel. YOU decide how to feel. Own it.

  Change your vocabulary and watch how the world changes around you! You're cleaning up your side of the street and allowing positive things to happen.

Clean up your personal Environment.

You know about the physical clutter, but have you considered:

* What's the air quality in your home? Can you open your windows, even for a little while? Fresh air helps move negative qi out. If this is not possible, consider a good air purifier. Are you ready for this? Currently Amazon has over 33,000 items classed as air purifiers! That's more choice than anyone needs, but it does allow you maximum flexibility.

* What's your lighting like? Natural light is the best, but that's difficult after sundown! You now have an enormous range of choices between compact fluorescent, LED, and halogen. Be careful here. Light is measured in Kelvin. Each type of lighting has a range of Kelvin, which means either no color or cool or warm. I've seen "daylight" fluorescent bulbs that make me look pasty and sick. I don't care how balanced their spectrum is, I don't want those around me. Certain shades or colors of light are more flattering for women.  So, before you buy your next replacement bulb, find out what's going to look best and feel best for you and those around you. If you live in the Rogue Valley, Grover's has a row of identical photos of someone. Each separate box is lit with a bulb of a different Kelvin. OMG, some look like they were old photos, while others look black and white etc.,etc..

Bearded Iris in Quartz from Paradise in Bloom

I invite you to join me at the Ashland Food Coop's community classroom, at 7PM on Earth Day. That evening I'll be adding more things you can do this Spring to make your life richer, more nourishing, just plain better! The Coop will be celebrating too so you might want to see what else they will be offering.