The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” – Cicero, 55 BC March 2025 My Dear Colleagues, Friends and Supporters, Well, that old American shampoo saying of “wash, rinse, repeat” certainly applies today just as that Santanya/Churchill quote about “those who fail to [...]

Transformation into Hope and Optimism 15 February 2025 Dear Friends, Colleagues and Supporters, How quickly time flies when there is activity and transformation around us on a daily basis. And, especially when there is hope and optimism. The past years have been filled with so much challenge for those of us working with natural and biological methods of medicine. So much focus has been on COVID with all its related political, censorship, economic and in particular health and consequential issues that I and many others have simply lost sight [...]

15 January 2025 As usual the post-holiday time brings reflections along with the determination to make changes that improve our family, faith and professional lives. I promised myself I wouldn’t get all carried away with grand rhetoric and inspirational prose. And I will stick with that. Too many situations of chaos and uncertainty surround everyone politically, economically and professionally during this interesting but transformational time. For days, I have remained glued to the television watching the unfolding catastrophe that is the wildfire situation in southern California. Since our Okanagan [...]

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 [...]