Caring Palms currently has two treatment rooms for rent by some holistic arts practitioner.  This could be acupuncture, hypnosis, herbs, counseling, or others.  The rent for each room is $400 per month.  If you are a holistic arts practitioner, or you know anyone looking for space for their business at a reasonable rate, have them contact us.  We are looking for others to come and be part of our healing arts center.

High Tech World

by Brian Dean

I was at a restaurant the other week. I was making a reservation, and the hostess asked for my phone number. When I gave it to her, she told me that I would be texted when our table was ready. I thought, “Wow. This place is really high tech.” But then again, isn’t that the way of the world now?

How many people live by their computers? I know I am one. We can get information on what is going on anywhere in the world in seconds. We can search huge data bases of information to find out almost anything we want. We can watch videos of cats 24/7. Yes, everything is high tech. And those that can’t deal with technology struggle to understand the simplest things.

As an ex-computer programmer, I enjoy the gadgetry that I used to dream about when I was a child. I used to read a lot of science fiction wishing that I had some of the tools described, and now I do. But what have we lost in this high tech culture?

While we can send a text to anyone anywhere on the planet, we have lost the ability to truly connect and communicate with others. Most of our conversations are limited to words on a screen in a text message, in which we lose the true meaning and emotion behind what we are saying no matter how many emojis we put on it. We end up being the victims of "auto-incorrect", which swaps out words for what we’ve typed because it thinks it knows what we want to say, but truly doesn’t.

In this high tech world, we need to find a way to relax, and I don’t mean sitting by the pool reading our cell phones. We need to disconnect from technology and let go of everything. We need to do something low tech so we can unplug from the universe, even just for an hour or so.

There are many things we can do. Go sit by the ocean for a bit, or a pond, or lake (if you have access). Sit on the patio and read a book (and I’m not talking e-book). Meditate. Get a massage or an energy session. Walk around the block. Sit in the back yard and listen to the sounds of nature. Be bored for a little bit. Do something to change your plugged-in status, and breathe.

In a world of high tech everything, we need to spend a little time with low tech relaxation to survive. Take that time.

Old World Skills

by Brian Dean

Yes, we live in a high tech world, and with that comes new world problems. Sometimes it takes old world skills to solve new world problems.

At Caring Palms, I like to think that we are up with the new world, up with technologies. We have a website; a very extensive website where you can find any information you might be looking for on what we do. While we do have a landline to take your calls, we answer the phone up to 10pm because it forwards through to a cell phone. This gives us the ability to meet many of your needs even when we are out of the office. We have online scheduling so you can find a time that works for you even when you can not reach us.

Yes, we are up on all the new world technologies to make us available to you. But once you come in, we treat you to some old world skills.

Massage goes back to the Greeks when their soldiers used to receive bodywork to help them excel in battle. Energy work goes back forever. Even though many of the styles we do were developed in the last century, the basis for these styles go back centuries, back when we didn’t have this high tech society to distract us from the basics.

What we do is low tech and high tech at the same time as most of it based in science. We touch people. And in doing so, make them better. We actually work the body and the energies. We manipulate the skin, the muscles, the connective tissue and calm the energies in each person. Through this, we bring relief to problems whether they are new world related or not. We use the physical touch to let people know in this touch-starved society that they are loved, that someone cares.

We are a company that is equally new world technologies and old world skills. In that sense, I guess you could say we achieve balance. 

Recurring Themes

by Brian Dean

Not long ago, this country suffered another tragedy, a mass shooting in Orlando. Or should I say another mass shooting? This is starting to be a recurring theme in our country. Another recurring theme tends to be hatred of people that are different. Now I could talk about gun control. I could talk about hatred of diverse groups. I could talk about violence, and laws, and enforcement, and regulation, and politics. And I could talk on any of them for hours. But I want to talk about something else… love, and another recurring theme that has been stressed in this newsletter, and seems to keep popping up… being the source of light.

We live in troubled times. This has been said since the beginning of time, and troubles. We are surrounded by negatives. No matter how hard the journey, how rough the road, we must travel the path of positivity, of light. We must be the source of calmness, of logic, of sanity in times of insane occurrences. Only this way will these things end. We must extend ourselves, extend our love, our care through our speech, through our writings, through our energies. We must believe there is hope, and pass that hope onto others. Only this way can we truly affect change on the world.

And it takes time. It takes us extending reason to others, in whatever circumstances we meet them, in every gathering, whether that be community, religious, or other. We have to be the source of reason, of calm, of logic. However, we must also be aware of the people we are talking to. If those people are simply full of hate and unwilling to listen, walk away. Find those that will listen. It is those souls that will create the society where love is the motivating factor instead of fear.

There are too many groups that do nothing more than create hate and fear. Let me ask you… Does what they tell you to do... hate, fear, violence, feel right to you? Then why listen? If you belong to a group that does this, whether it be fraternal, community, political, religious, or anything else, then it is time to find another group.

Why can’t we just love one another? Sameness breeds carbon copies of people. It is the diversity in all of us that makes society unique. It is what each one of us brings to the table that when put together with everyone else’s creates that special whole.

Each of you has the strength to stand alone and stand tall. Each of you has a source of light within you. It is time to let that light shine to attract others so the light will increase. And when like people gather to you, you will not feel so alone.

Love. That is the message. It always has been. It just needs a little light thrown on it so people can see it again.

The more secure we feel with the people in our lives, the more secure we feel in ourselves. Not being sure of our place in a relationship, our boundaries, and even how to communicate in those relationships can easily destroy our self-esteem and self-confidence, or at the least, keep us off balance. When we have self-confidence issues, we don’t feel capable of doing what we need, or want, to do. More importantly, we don’t feel safe or able to protect ourselves. This leaks into every aspect of our lives, causing us to underperform, retreat into ourselves, and stress ourselves physically.

I have heard many people say that if you are following the right path, you will have the fewest obstacles in your way. This kind of makes sense, but it leaves out many elemental factors, like strength of will, and adaptability. The character of a person decides what they consider to be an obstacle. A determined person will wear away at anything that tries to stop them, like a river during rainy season that eventually pushes away all the fallen tree branches or boulders that tried to contain it. A flexible person will adapt to whatever is thrown their way, like the supple, young bamboo that bends with the wind. We are more likely to feel safe if our bodies feel strong and resilient. But if we are inflexible and have no determination, we give up easily and break under pressure. We become easy targets for whatever sees us as prey. We are more likely to get hurt physically, as well as emotionally. So we develop protective posturing.

Protective posturing is our body trying to curl up to protect our vital organs because our minds think we are in danger. It is how we react to constant stress, we go on the defensive, and it causes a number of unfortunate physical changes. Our ribcages start to shift, the muscles tighten in weird ways causing our ribs to change shape, forming humps and dislocations that shouldn’t be there, making it difficult to breathe. It spreads to the shoulders, pulling them forward, tightening the deltoids and pectorals and weakening our rotator cuff and the chest muscles that are responsible for lifting are arms above our heads. As the chest tightens, so do our abdominals, causing less room in our torsos for our digestive system to perform optimally. Our backs lengthen, and in effect weaken, so it is easier to injure ourselves during our daily routines. All these tight muscles are pulling on the bones, making it easier to dislocate or subluxate (a dislocation or misaligned bone that is interfering with a nerve). Not to mention what it does to our necks, arms and legs and the stress it puts on our hearts.

So exercise and massage really are important; to keep oxygen moving throughout the body, and also to flush the nasties out. The endorphins released while focusing on the body are wonderful for counteracting all the adrenaline the body produces in high stress situations. In addition to aiding the body in those jobs, massage helps produce oxytocin, which creates a sense of peace and well-being, and it can do what exercise alone can not. If a body has been in a defensive position for too long it gets stuck there, and needs help getting unstuck. It’s amazing how the social nature of mankind developed to increase odds of survival so much that the lack of touch from another person can actually make pain and illness more likely.

When we are in pain, we don’t always make the most clear-headed decisions. Pain affects the amount of sleep we get, and the quality. We toss and turn because we can’t get comfortable, and even if our bodies are so tired that we are able to just let go, our minds can’t seem to shut off. We never reach that state of sleep that is so important to us. The deeper our sleep, the better we are at functioning when we are awake. This isn’t just because we are well-rested, but because of our dreams. Science has shown that dreams aren’t useless flights of fancy. Dreams help us to prepare for high stress situations. They are practice, simulations, for our mind. This is why so many people who normally don’t remember their dreams will remember waking from a nightmare. Whatever you worry about comes out in your dreams, and the level of stress you feel toward that subject manifests in the intensity of your dreams.

The level of security we feel ultimately decides how comfortable we are with making life decisions. Not many people want to be in constant pain or worry. Many people will avoid risk because they are insecure with an unknown outcome. So few people pursue their goals because of their doubts and insecurities. It is overwhelming, all the responsibilities we have, with so few resources to meet the demand. When and where do we find the security we need to feel healthy and happy? Tailoring our interactions with other people is one way. We don’t necessarily need to change jobs or move to a place with more opportunity. If we change how we engage with people, drawing out interactions with people that make you feel uplifted and minimizing how much time we spend talking to those that bring us down, it will make us feel that much more secure. Setting your intentions before you go to sleep to direct your dreams will help you to feel less stress about changing how you behave around other people. Having a routine that involves exercise, outdoor activities, and stress-relieving hobbies or interests will also help to minimize stress. Shielding yourself spiritually can also help.

Go on the offensive.

Remember, confidence attracts positive change. Once we feel the security of our own bodies and minds, that feeling will follow you everywhere.

Stay confident and secure!