A star, a star, shining in the night…will bring us goodness in spirit, Love and light.
At anytime, we hear songs that highlight the stars in the sky and how they lead us into holy directions and toward holy destinations. They light our path, and lead us ‘home.’ Following your North Star is unique to you and an opportunity to create a year centered around what you feel most inspired by and for and by which you and your soul desire to be guided. Just as the other stars in the northern sky of our galaxy rotate around. . . .the North Star, your dream theme helps you by being your guidepost throughout the year.
You know how compasses work? Compasses are designed so that the needle points toward the Earth’s magnetic North Pole. The compass lets you know where you are, at any given moment, in relation to all points North. Technically, there are variations in the movement of true north on our planet, but you get the point. While the exact true North is somewhat fluid and always in motion, a compass remains a reliable tool to orient you when you are not sure where you are or where you may be headed.
When in doubt or uncertain about your next move in your career, your relationships, your health or hearth and home, you can always refer back to your dream theme for insights and just follow the star that is your heart. Lori A. Noonan
Lori is the author of the forthcoming book, The Bus Stops Here: Breaking Free from the Unhealthy Ties That Bind. Affectionately referred to as, “Little Miss Sunshine” meets “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” THE BUS STOPS HERE chronicles Lori’s life as a girl growing up with family trauma. With each chapter, Lori also provides a “Lesson Learned” section, while taking the reader along with her. . . on her personal development path.
Providing insights on how she successfully moved past the trauma. This book speaks to the possibilities of moving through family trauma and out the other side. If you are ready to break free from the unhealthy ties that bind, and write a new story for yourself, you’ll find hope in her book.
What does it mean to have a strong constitution?
When someone refers to someone else as having a “strong constitution,” they usually mean that the person is of strong mind and body. They see that person as having a grounded, centeredness about them – a hardy, stable core and of foundation, from which all else stems.
What Does Constitution Mean: It can mean the “physical makeup.” If someone has a strong constitution then they are solid or tough or have a lot of endurance. If and when conditions get tough on the outside, spirituality can play an even more important role from the inside: “In spite of all the enforced physical and mental primitiveness of the life in a concentration camp, it was possible for spiritual life to deepen.
Sensitive people who were used to a rich intellectual life may have suffered much pain (they were often of a delicate constitution), however, the damage to their inner selves was less. They were able to retreat from their terrible surroundings to a life of inner – riches and spiritual freedom.” (Man’s Search for Meaning.)
The same can be said with regard to this country’s Constitution. The United States (U.S.) Constitution dates back to 1787 and is the oldest formal national Constitution.
Presidential Oath
In Article VI, Section 1, Clause 8, the U.S. Constitution sets forth (and the one and only place where it does so) a word for word Oath to be taken by a member of the federal government. It is the Presidential oath, and it states, as written in the Constitution:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Many constitutional scholars contend that this oath was explicitly spelled out in the Constitution precisely. . . .so that the Office of the President and the person holding that Office would be different from a King – in both power and structure. This was by design. The oath was memorialized in the Constitution to remind future presidents that they are not royalty. Presidents are not to “rule over,” but rather to act as servants of, the people. This oath was written into the Constitution as a safeguard to ensure Presidential restraint.
All of this, of course, is to be done in service of (not denying), the Constitution and its tenets. Those tenets include: “Separation of Powers” and a predetermined set of “Checks and Balances.”
As designed, the Constitution established a separation of powers among the three branches of government: the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The triangular form of government was built upon the foundational belief that no one branch should have authority over another. And specifically with regard to the Executive: The Presidential Oath was designed to serve as a reminder and explicit “internal check” on what would otherwise also be unbridled power in the hands of a singular person at the helm of the Executive branch. It is important to note that the Presidential oath is the only oath that is spelled out in the Constitution itself. Having left behind a monarchy, our country’s founders felt strongly about limiting the powers of the President.
Cooperation and Collaboration
The framers of the Constitution also captured their thoughts and intentions in a series of essays known as The Federalist Papers. As made clear by James Madison in Federalist Paper No. 51 (entitled, The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances between the Different Departments):
“[T]he separation of powers frustrates designs for power and at the same time creates an incentive to collaborate and cooperate, lessening conflict and concretizing a practical community of interest among political leaders.”(Emphasis added).
The nation’s founders desired that the members of our government work together on behalf of the greater good. Collaboration rather than conflict was the message of the day.
In natural medicine what we term as our constitution generally refers to our bodily strengths and weaknesses. In the absence of a geneticist unravelling our individual biological code, the naturopathic fact finding mission digs into our family history & our medical history to date, lifestyle factors and sometimes alternative assessment tools such as iridology.
We might hear of someone who’s described as “having the constitution of an ox”, while another is referred to as having a delicate predisposition. Surprisingly in the overall assessment of our inherited strengths and weaknesses, neither needs to be a predictor of longevity.
While the person who “never gets sick”, thrives of an 80 hour week, runs a marathon on the weekend and boasts about relatives living to 100 years old – may assume their telegram from the Queen is a surety, this is not always so. Nor should the individual plagued with minor illnesses, is easily fatigued & make no plans for a long retirement. A good blueprint may give us a head start in life but things tend to even out by middle age.
The trick is to work with our constitution.
If your childhood was peppered with sick days, with the exception of congenital disorders or diseases requiring major intervention, it sometimes also gives you an incentive to understand what you need to stay well. Your less than average health may lead you to investigate food allergies, taking control of your diary so you have adequate time to recharge your batteries and maintaining a wholesome diet.
Compared to someone with a strong constitution who takes their body for granted – if they keep pushing the boundaries of their lifestyle with extremes, age becomes a great leveler. Being born with an innate physical strength. . . .doesn’t always future proof you. For example – smoking and having a high animal fat diet won’t necessarily be offset by how many kilometers you can run a week. A physically active lifestyle, while giving you cardiovascular benefits tends to increase your chances of injury & osteoarthritis, which ups the odds of orthopedic surgery.
Where possible, find out about the medical history of as many people in your biological family as you can. Some useful information includes their age and cause of death, chronic illnesses (allergies like asthma and eczema, psychiatric conditions, autoimmune diseases such as crohn’s and lupus) as well as the “big ones” – heart disease, stroke and cancer.
Ask your parents and siblings about your health as a baby and small child – did you ever have any trips to the hospital other than for scrapes and breaks, what was your attendance record like at school, were you a fussy eater who had a lot of digestive upsets, did a month not go by without having an ear, nose or throat infection. Was anything a regular feature of your well being ’til some miraculous point that you seemed to “grow out of it”?
Naturopaths love these clues; it helps us build a picture of your physical inheritance.
Once we have the blueprint we can see what alterations have been made to the original plan. While something dramatic like a childhood cancer with lifesaving chemotherapy may have seed future neoplasms in adulthood, something as simple as regular doses of cortisone as a child or teenager may lay the grounds for potential bone weaknesses or hormonal disorders. Knowing such things in advance gives us a head start in damage control.
Iridology, the study of the iris as a reflection of the body as a whole, is an interesting theory. It can also point a naturopath towards an area requiring further investigation. Personally, I find after over 15 years in practice my medical detective skills have been increasingly honed so that I gather most of my information from a detailed medical history.
Having seen thousands of irises, I believe they add some clues to the general strengths and weaknesses in the body, however, it generally confirms what a good history taking will uncover. But it won’t or doesn’t necessarily predict longevity. In most cases, there is little difference in lifespan between someone with a weak constitution but a clean, clear iris with little or no toxic accumulation, compared to the well structured constitution. . .who’s iris is muddied with ‘pollution’. It all depends on how they choose to live with it.
Although I don’t believe iridology should be used to predict actual diseases. It might suggest trends or areas of your diet and lifestyle you should work more on but I am both embarrassed and distressed to hear tales of health food store iridologists using this as a tool to sell a truck load of products or tell clients they will get major diseases.
What you do with your blueprint is up to you.
For example, if your father had high blood pressure leading up to a fatal heart attack in his 40’s you have a choice of ignoring it or having regular checks of your blood pressure and lipids. As “watchful waiting” alone only alerts you when things begin to you wrong, there are additional proactive options.
You might choose a heart friendly diet based around ‘vegan + fish’, take antioxidants, stop smoking, curb alcohol intake and exercise as a way of reducing stress. You might feel motivated to learn meditation. You could also use the lesson from your forebears as a reminder to live an authentic life, speak your truth and be happy.
Whatever your constitution, we always have an opportunity to make the most of what we’ve got.
Overcoming Obstacles and Pressure
There are people, you believe in, their are mask, fall down and You are disgusted by them. From beginning I had doubts about Lady gaga. I was absolutely wrong. The more I watch her, the more I am fascinated by her. She gave me faith, that modern music exist and have sense and beauty. Thanks.
However, from the first moment I heard Alicia Keys sing. . .I knew she was for real!!!