December 2024 Dear Colleagues, Supporters and Friends, As this year comes to a close, we are all ready for the holiday break with a chance to spend time with family and to relax a bit. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for your support over this past year – and for many of you over many years. It is now more than six years since I closed the doors to Occidental Institute’s offices and moved into my small home office to continue this work [...]

Remembrance, Gratitude and Commitment 11 November 2024 This is always a solemn day. Always a grey day, with rain or snow accumulating like tears. Whether we celebrate Remembrance Day in Canada or Veterans Day in the USA, it remains another annual day of reflection. A day to experience and voice our gratitude for the many military personnel who have sacrificed so very much. That common American phrase “thank you for your service” repeated so often. Their patriotism, sacrifice and love of country reflect and support the beliefs all of [...]

15 October 2024 Dear Colleagues and Friends, Fall days have brought us election mania (in both the US and Canada) which opens the pandora’s boxes of politics, Covid, conspiracies and “disinformation”. I will admit during my mandated rest periods and evenings, I’ve spent waaayyyy too much time in front of the TV and the many news channels, all while perusing through the alternative newsletters and online posts. But I feel, we will not see a clearer picture of our future with alternative health methods until we see who will [...]

September 2024 My dear colleagues, supporters and friends, Yes, it has been several months since I last contacted you and filled in the changes and news occurring in this amazing field from my perspective as a “supposed-to-be” retired gal who is still devouring all those related journals and newsletters. I must admit I’ve been doing it mostly from the comfort of my easy chair, mixed in with a lot of naps. But the added benefits of stepping back from my desk with all it’s usual chores and duties, has [...]

May 2024 My dear friends and colleagues, As we travel through the lengthening sunny spring days and prepare for the summer months, I find myself facing a series of personal challenges as well as mental fatigue with the whole “virus” situation. I have repeatedly urged myself to pull away from all the information and research on COVID. There are other problems that our patients are facing. And then another newsletter or journal or article or study simply pulls my interest back in. Why am I so drawn to this [...]

April 2024 Dear Colleagues and Friends, Although we continue to see an avalanche of information and commentary as the pandemic and political narratives escalate, my commentary section will be a bit shorter this month. I will be participating in Dr. Simon Yu’s Acupuncture Meridian Assessment (AMA) standard workshop April 25-28, 2024 [see Dr. Yu’s website for current registration information]. For now I am busily updating my lectures since I last dusted them off for presentation. Although the history lecture changes little, we are seeing more and more information about [...]

Why does it always come back to politics? 12 March 2024 Another Part 1 on Politics Politics – eww – that’s a naughty word right? As time and the seasons march (pun intended by the way) past us, political repression and the popular perceptions continue to remain dark. As I daily go through my journals and newsletters, I frequently wonder how the acceptance and understanding of natural medicine has changed so markedly since the start of the so-called pandemic. A friend, a lady physiotherapist blind since birth and now [...]

12 February 2024 There’s no real theme for this month’s commentary – it’s more like a jumble of thoughts as all the journals and newsletters gear up for this new year and begin looking at necessary treatments for the secondary health issues post pandemic/vax. So, for this issue, in three parts here is a brief overview of some of the political aspects, and then– more importantly – for parts two and three “what can we do?” about all these pandemic “secondary illnesses”. Part 1 – The Political Commentary Current [...]

15 January 2024 January. Well, we made it through the holidays and all they represent – faith, hope, family, celebrations, beautiful and special meals – and have reached that time of reflection, a bit of loneliness, the rush to get back into the office/school and routine and of course, facing the bills. I will admit, it’s been difficult for me to get back into this routine of writing and translating for the monthly announcements, and the record cold temperatures in our part of the world has me wishing we [...]

16 January 2024 Dear Colleagues and Friends, Holidays, and winter illnesses, and the opportunity to get together with friends and family. It’s difficult to get back into the New Year routine, but exciting to look forward to another year of workshops, activities and research into our field. My report on the big A4M conference in Las Vegas is simple and one word: disappointing. Vegas is no longer “cheap” but rather exorbitantly expensive (even for food court meals) and the travel (even though winter had not yet struck in force) [...]