Healing and More

Welcome to my blog.

I will be uploading pictures and sharing my journal as I travel through Israel and Palestine with The Compassionate Listening Project.   I hope to set this up so that you can subscribe to receive notifications of a post and then check out the link at your convenience (and unsubscribe whenever you want!)

I am immersed in preparations for my trip. The outpouring of support has been tremendous and really moving.  Thanks so much to all of you for financial help and for prayers and well wishes.  I am really excited about this journey; I know it can’t help but be life changing.

Leah Green of TCLP has planned a magnificent itinerary and we will be meeting with all kinds of people-a whole spectrum of political views and personal experiences.  We will  be visiting positive projects, meeting with folks who are committed to the peace process, and listening to spiritual leaders.  It will be very moving and my intention is to share some of that inspiration with you.

I realize that I am most excited about making some deep and meaningful connections with individuals.   I treasure the connections that I have already- and appreciate how warmly I have been supported by them- I want to pass on that feeling of support and connection to people who are victimized by a situation that is hugely challenging.   The love that we experience in our life, the heart to heart channel of support and energy that can flow between connected people, is one of the most life giving things we can offer to each other.  In my experience, it has been easier to endure hardship and loss when I know that I am cared about.  Even if there is no immediate real solution to life’s challenges, just knowing that there are people who hold me in their heart, and who will act on my behalf when possible, it brings hope, lifts despair, eases suffering, makes life worth living.

Thanks to all who have helped me and I assure you, I will be passing on the gift.   If you are just hearing about this project for the first time, and you would like to make a tax deductible contribution, contact me and I will give you information: maria@healingandmore.com

Lots of love
Maria

Acupuncture added to conventional therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee improves function and reduces pain, according to a clinical trial conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. “We now have a result that suggests, in the largest, longest and most rigorously conducted study of acupuncture ever, that we have a new (add-on) therapy for millions of patients with degenerative arthritis,” Dr. Stephen E. Straus, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, said at a press conference. Read the rest of this entry »

Results of a randomised trial in this week’s issue of The Lancet suggest that acupuncture could reduce pain and improve joint functioning in the short-term for people with osteoarthritis of the knee.

Osteoarthritis most frequently affects the knee joint. Despite a limited evidence base, arthritis patients are increasingly turning to acupuncture, especially as side-effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are common and wide-ranging. Around 300 patients with chronic osteoarthritis of the knee were randomly assigned to acupuncture, minimal (sham) acupuncture (superficial needling at non-acupuncture points), or a waiting list control. Read the rest of this entry »