24 Toxic Skin-Care Ingredients + What To Use Instead (Infographic)

BY MARIE VERONIQUE NADEAU

                                                                                                                                            

Looking at a list of toxic ingredients to avoid in cosmetics, I realized the standard list needed a bit of an update. For example, while parabens are on the chart, a "paraben-free" label on products doesn't guarantee purity. Indeed, many natural and organic companies have replaced parabens with preservatives that are arguably worse. Some, like sodium benzoate, form benzene (highly carcinogenic) in the presence of ascorbic acid. Ethoxylated compounds like phenoxyethanol may be contaminated with 1,4 dioxane (another carcinogen).

And since companies need to use rather large amounts of these ingredients to achieve a preservative effect, you run a real risk of irritating your skin. If you find yourself reacting to a skin cream or serum, use this chart to see if the sensitizing culprit may be hiding in plain sight in the ingredients list. The chart also goes a step further than mere avoidance by offering alternative ingredients you can look for to make sure your products are safe and as "natural" as they claim.

The Most Intimate Relationship You’ll Ever Have

by Vidya McNeill

The one you are looking for,

is the one who is looking.
—Francis of Assisi

Life is not just a privilege – each person also contains the seeds for actualizing their potential. Considered to be the pinnacle of biological evolution, we human beings have the capacity for “self-awareness” – to be conscious of a self that “I” call “Me.” The Self is the most unique feature of experience. It is what makes us human. Establishing a relationship with yourself is, at your most vulnerable and deepest core, an invitation to discover and realize yourself.

Throughout the ages, most cultures and societies, East and West, have esteemed the process of self-knowledge. Today, we have available to us the many gifts of each Wisdom Tradition and can study, synthesize, apply and live practical, self-aware lives utilizing a variety of techniques and work-in technologies. From an Eastern point of view, pure consciousness is our spiritual essence and the personality and ego is what we identify with and present to others and the world.

The self we know is “self-conscious” and is instinctively aware of its own subjective existence, while the self we don’t know remains unconscious and hidden to awareness by the shadows of the personality. Both aspects are not mutually exclusive. Rather, together they constitute the paradoxical polarities that form the whole Self.

Through the miracle of wholeness, we are hard-wired with pure awareness that is intricately woven into the fabric of the universe. Consciousness is curious to experience itself in fullness through you. Cultivating an intention to understand and experience the Self fully, gives directionality to consciousness. With Consciousness at the center of ourselves, we have the capacity to direct and shine the light of awareness in any direction.

What we call Self is made up of a network of energy and information, which gives us the innate ability to identify with the unchanging and timeless aspect of ourselves. We naturally cycle through states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and sleeping each day. Within waking and dreaming states there are phenomenal states, which arise from interior sources such as bodily sensations, feelings and emotions, thoughts, ideas and imagination, memories, intuitive insights and spiritual inspirations. From exterior sources, the constant stream of information enlivens us through our senses: seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting.

To get to know your self, begin by asking the fundamental question, “Who Am I?” pausing to sink deeply into the center of yourself to listen attentively to your answer.

As you observe, ask:

• Who is asking the question?
• Who is listening?
• Who is the silent witness observing my experience moment-to-moment through what I’m sensing, feeling, thinking and intuiting?
• Who is judging?
• Who is criticizing?
• Who is championing my way?

As you aim your attention toward the Self you are learning how to remember that you are the Self. When you enter into dialog with your interior self you realize that you are always being guided toward the wellspring of lasting joy and happiness, even if the path is difficult and challenging. If you truly listen to what the body is telling you, what your dreams are showing you, what your core-desires feel like, you may discover the many clues toward your path that leads to mind-body healing, functional stress-free living and loving, actualization of your purpose and eventual spiritual transcendence. This is one of the great secrets of the world’s wisdom traditions.

One of my favorite models to help individuals get to know themselves and take responsibility for their creations is framed by mindfulness psychotherapist David Richo. His “5 A’s” – self-attention, acceptance, appreciation, affection and allowance– are the central elements that mindfully cultivate self-intimacy (in-to-me-I-see), genuine self-love and happiness.

As I’ve engaged myself with an inner focus on mining those hidden, un-owned sparkling jewels buried deep in the shadows of my unconscious, it’s taken time to peel back the layers to reveal which wounds were ready for transformation and which gifts are ready for liberation. By attending to what my body tells me and honoring my 4 Doctor needs by grounding myself in their values, I’ve been able to consciously change the quality of my experiences as I recreate myself in wholeness giving me a healthy self-respect for my life experiences.

My journey toward self-acceptance has led me to see others as they are with less projections of what I need them to be. As I have awakened to the vulnerable truth of who I am and who I am becoming, I’ve become more comfortable with accepting my flaws, faults and imperfections. It’s such a relief to come to home to oneself and be filled with a tangible sense of peace that I am just fine, not perfect, just that “I AM”. And, if this is true for me, it is certainly true for you. What is happiness but the joy of loving what is?

Appreciation softens my heart and increases my felt sense of self-worth and contribution. When I recognize and appreciate my own preferences, quirks, gifts, talents and differences, I become centered in my heart and I feel more generous in spirit. By expressing appreciation with myself I see others with greater appreciation for who they are, have compassion for their struggles and feel joy in their achievements.

Affection means different things to different people. How do you communicate affection to yourself? Do you speak kind, encouraging words? Do you give yourself a break when you are tired and over worked? Do you resist temptations that undermine your values? Understanding your own authentic love language and 1-2-3-4 stages of loving is essential to fully expressing and receiving healthy love. Sharing love awakens the luminous love-light of wholeheartedness.

Lastly, allowance gives me the freedom to pursue my own deepest needs, values and wishes while simultaneously allowing others to do the same. It may sound selfish, but when I discovered that I could put “I” before “WE” it was a liberating moment! Allowing yourself to be Selfulness means filling up your Self from the inside!

I have found through my own life journey that the emerging states of my experiences have allowed me to grow and transform, evolving in body, mind and spirit as I come to know myself at different stages of my life. The cumulative blessings of a life-long practice have genuinely supported my continued blossoming and integration as a human being.

As you connect to know yourself, seek to know by Love as well as by observation and thought. Plunge into greater participation with life. Go within. Breathe. Be a silent witness to what you behold.

Committing to a relationship of love with your Self is a never-ending process. As you willingly engage and peek into the shadows, become fearless to embrace your whole Self with Love. Through patience, facing your inner fears and acting with courage, you’ll emerge as a wise, mature, capable, loving and happy human being.

May I show all the love I have
In any way I can
Here, now, and all the time,
To everything and everyone, including me,
Since love is what we are—and why.
Now nothing matters to me more
Or gives me greater joy.

–David Richo

LET MOTHER NATURE TAKE CARE OF IT

Article written by Sarah Diedrick

“A relationship, or even a single conversation, with a tree, butterfly, cloud, heron, moose, or trout is going to fire up dimensions of your wildness, of your soul, that might not have been unleashed through association with even the most exotic human” – Bill Plotkin, Soulcraft

I had been home sick for almost four days when I decided a strong dose of nature would do me good. I wandered down to the lake and sat on a bench right on the edge of the water. I pulled my goddess oracle cards with the intention of bringing clarity to a sticky situation I have been steeped in for a few months. I pulled four goddesses: Blodeuwedd for betrayal, Lady of Beasts for relationship, Lakshmi for abundance and Amaterasu for beauty.

I don’t think the goddess could have been more on point. When I saw all the goddesses—their beauty and their meaning–staring back at me, something started to stir inside of me. I burst out into tears, weeping on the bench as I placed my hands over the cards. Then I turned toward the frozen lake and the robust mountains lining its far edges. I cried out to Mother Nature and started to speak to her. I said all the things I had kept inside of me all these months. I let out my shame and guilt. I faced exactly what had been sitting in front of me all along. I expressed myself—raw and real—letting words spill from me, words I had no idea were bubbling below my surface.

I was having an intimate conversation with nature. When I had nothing left to say, I stared out at her with teary eyes like I was staring into the eyes of a person and waiting for their response. She didn’t speak back. Instead, she did something much more powerful and healing than that. She simply offered me the space, the stillness and the silence to clearly see the truth of the situation, to speak it and to finally release it.

When I teach yoga I often say to my students, “Let the earth take it for you.” Mother Earth has a way of absorbing our wounds and recycling them into seeds of potential and incredible growth. I came home after that conversation and felt lighter. Something inside me had shifted. I was cleansed. All those thousands of little channels, those rivers, running through my deepest layers were no longer blocked. They flowed.

Speaking to nature, uninhibited, is incredibly healing. When we commune with Mother Earth, an exchange of energy happens. She lovingly accepts our truths, our untended wounds and our celebrations because she knows that all of it is valuable. All of it. She honors the entirety of our experience. And in ways—seen or unseen, felt or unfelt—she gives us back the gift of deeper connection. She allows us space to shed layers, debris and excess information so we can sort out the truth of the matter and come in closer contact with our highest truth. She speaks to our inner wise woman, to the voice of deep and ancient knowing. She is that voice.

Let the Earth take it for you. Be in constant conversation with her. Let her absorb your wounds. Let her celebrate you. Let her hold you in your laughter and your tears. Let her soften you in your pain so you can digest all the flavors of your experience. And always remember to listen back, to honor and give gratitude for her exquisitely healing powers. She knows you at your core. She is blended into all of your divine feminine qualities. The more we communicate with her, the more we can remember and illuminate those qualities.

What You Need To Know About Going Gluten-Free (Infographic)

What You Need To Know About Going Gluten-Free (Infographic)

Springtime Salad with Crispy Prosciutto and Creamy Lemon and Herb Dressing

During the long, cold dark days of winter, my family leans on sturdy roots, sweet butternut squash, and hearty soups and stews, so by the time the snows recede and the green shoots and buds of spring begin to emerge in the warming light, we’re ready for something decidedly lighter, fresher and brighter.

Springtime is for Leaves and 

Little Roots, Peas and Flowers

This is the time that I begin to lean more heavily on salads, huge salads dotted with young carrots, thinly sliced radishes, fresh peas and any other spring vegetables I come across at the market.  Herbs, too, make nice additions to salads, serving as a nice contrast to crunchy leaves of lettuce.

Fresh Herbs for Springtime Salads

Herbs pack powerful medicine.  Like all leafy greens, they’re rich in minerals, beta carotene, and folate.  They’re also rich in antioxidants, and various organic compounds that given them their perfumed aroma and assertive flavor.  Rosemary Gladstar’s book, Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health, is one of my favorite resources for accessible, practical recipes for using and understanding both the culinary and medicinal use of common (and some uncommon) herbs and spices.

When herbs grow in abundance, typically in the spring and summer in our area, I use them liberally – dropping them into salads, making heady herbal tisanes and sun teas, sprinkling roasts and braised vegetables with them.  In this salad, I used what I kept handy: chives, mint, flat-leaf parsley and feathery chervil.

A Dressing of Crème Fraîche,

 Lemon and Herbs

Thick creamy dressings stand up well to another springtime favorite: Buttercrunch lettuce, with its big, tender leaves.  Vinaigrettes seem to fall flat with this type of lettuce, dripping off into the bottom of the salad bowl rather than lightly coating the leaves like a good creamy dressing does.

Most creamy dressings rely on an emulsion of eggs and oil, much like mayonnaise, to achieve their thickness, but this dressing – always a favorite for its ability to come together in an instant of whisking – achieves its thickness from creme fraiche, whisked with a bit of oil and lemon juice and zest.

Like yogurt, creme fraiche is a cultured dairy product that you can make in your own kitchen with a bit of cream and starter culture.  You can purchase astarter culture here, or do what most chefs do and simply whisk a bit of buttermilk into cream, cover it, and leave it until thickened, about a day or so.

Crispy Prosciutto

I love to add something a little crispy, and a little salty to salads, as well as something that makes salads a touch more substantial and satisfying like walnuts added to roasted beet salad or pecans added to this autumn salad.  Prosciutto, crisped in a hot cast iron skillet, provides a lovely complement for the bright flavors of fresh herbs and sweet peas.

Naturally Cured, Antibiotic-Free 

and Humanely Raised Meats

I work with Applegate, and often pick up their natural deli meats as well as their traditional Italian charcuterie at the health food store a half-block away from my home. So while I tend to buy our family’s meat in bulk, straight from the nearby holistically managed ranch, they don’t (and can’t) offer deli meats or naturally cured, traditional Italian meats like prosciutto, pancetta or soppressata.   So it’s nice to head to the store and pick up some classic prosciutto from a company committed to animal welfare, to avoiding GMOs, and to avoiding the subtherapeutic use of antibiotics.

If you want to fully understand why the subtherapeutic use of antibiotics is one of the biggest issues facing agriculture, health and the environment, I recommend checking out the film A New Resistance.

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Springtime Salad with Crispy Prosciutto and Creamy Lemon and Herb Dressing

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Yield: Serves about 6

Delicate Buttercrunch lettuce pairs beautifully with creamy dressings like this one made of creme fraiche, herbs and lemon. Other hallmarks of spring, fresh herbs, green peas, radishes and edible flowers add color while crispy prosciutto provides salty notes and a bit of crunch.

Ingredients

For the Dressing
• 3 tablespoons creme fraiche
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (This is the kind I use.)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh mint
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh chervil
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
For the Salad
• 4 ounces thinly sliced Applegate Naturals prosciutto, sliced cross-wise into 1-inch strips
• 1 head buttercrunch lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 3 spring onions, white and light-green parts only, sliced thin
• 4 radishes, sliced thin
• 1 cup cooked, shelled green peas
• 1 cup edible flowers, such as snapdragons, rose petals, and pansies
• 1/4 cup loosely packed parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves

Instructions

1. Spoon the creme fraiche into a mixing bowl, whisk in the olive oil, chives, mint and chervil. Grate the lemon peel very finely into the bowl with the creme fraiche. Cut the lemon cross-wise, and then squeeze its juice into a bowl or small pitcher. Strain the juice to remove the pulp and pips, and pour the juice into a mixing bowl. Whisk the lemon juice, salt and white pepper into the dressing, and set it aside until you're ready to dress the salad.
2. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. When pre-heated, drop in the prosciutto, and cook it until crisped. Set it on a plate to cool while you prepare the other ingredients.
3. Toss the vegetables, flowers and herbs together. Toss in the crispec prosciutto, and dress with the creme fraiche dressing at the table.

About Jenny

Jenny McGruther is a wife, mother and cooking instructor specializing in real and traditional foods. She startedNourished Kitchen in 2007. Her work has been featured on CNN, the Globe & Mail, the Atlantic, the Christian Science Monitor, Denver Post and WebMD. You can find her first book, The Nourished Kitchenfeatures more than 160 wholesome, traditional foods recipes.

SPRING CLEANING FOR YOUR MIND

BY DANIELLE SCRUTON BOONSTRA OVER THE MOON MAG

I always landed at her doorstep. She was everyone I had ever known and all of those whom I still had yet to meet. She had eyes that knew, with irises that were nothing less than blue pools of compassion. You felt her heart first though, a warmth emanating right from her chest, welcoming and nurturing. She was in her late sixties, I think, her gray hair held loosely with pins at the nape of her neck, but she held herself with a youthful ease.

She already knew I was coming despite the fact that I had not called her to say so. Green tea was brewing. The bitter and herbaceous scent hit me the moment she opened her door.

“Well, come on in,” she said in greeting, shielding her eyes from the early morning sun.. “It’s not that warm out.”

As I entered her home, my senses were hit with a new mixture of smells… of sweet peas (gathered in a bouquet in a vase on the kitchen table) of patchouli (burning slowly in a tiny copper bowl) and of fresh-baked bread (cooling in a tea towel by the window sill). She motioned for me to have a seat on her orange corduroy sofa and I obeyed. I knew I had come to the right place.

“Your energy feels lighter,” she told me, looking me squarely in the eye. “You’ve beenshedding.”

I had been thinking a lot lately about clearing my head: A spring cleaning of the mind, so to speak. My practice has always been a wholehearted focus on looking at every little thought that seemed to disturb my peace. Anytime that I told myself those awful little lies, or lingered on judging someone else I stopped, breathed, acknowledged the thought and asked Spirit for help to see it differently. Recently I had felt the need to amp up that practice. I could no longer allow myself to play victim, at least not as often as I had been. I wanted and deserved freedom.

“Yes,” I replied.”I had to. I couldn’t keep carrying that weight.”

She nodded as she leaned forward and poured me a cup of tea. “But that’s not why you’re here, is it?”

“No,” I admitted as I sat back and crossed my legs in front of me. “I’m here because I’ve noticed something. I’ve noticed that as I’ve made a more consistent effort in questioning my thoughts and judgments, the clearer I become. Specifically, I notice that my empathic abilities have expanded. I’ve always been able to sense how a person is feeling and a few years ago I was able to really fine-tune that skill, but this is different. This was purer…like there was way less interference on my end.”

She smiled, her eyes urging me to continue as she raised her cup to her lips.

“I’ve been meeting a lot of new people lately and I’ve found these encounters effortless. I always pray before I meet anyone and it is always helpful, but lately it’s been even more so. I know a person, like I know what they need in that moment, what they need to hear, how to hold space for them, when to speak and when to keep quiet. What’s more is, I know that it’s not even me doing it, not really. It’s like this dance that we’re doing: a miraculous back and forth.”

“Yes,” she said. “I know that dance well.” She placed her cup on the table in front of me and paused for a moment before she spoke again. “Clearing all those cobwebs in your mind makes room for kindness and love. It clears space for Spirit to work once invited.”

I nodded as I drew noisy circles on her sofa with my fingernails. “I had lunch the other day with a man who works with addicts. He told me about a patient of his who was particularly resistant to treatment and had been fighting him for weeks calling himself a ‘lost cause’ who was not worth saving and who had nothing good to live for. This man, my friend, went on to say how just that day, his patient had a complete shift, something small, but significant. He told the group that he would be looking into becoming a Veterinary Technician. He had been searching his life for something, anything to live for and came up with animals. He always loved animals and so if he could find a way to work with them, he may have something to look forward to, a reason to heal.”

“Beautiful,” she said.

“Yes,” I agreed. “And I noticed my friend congratulating himself as this man’s therapist. I found it so incongruent with what I heard, but I said nothing. To my mind, this addict found willingness in a safe, supportive environment and it was his own decision to heal that was the headline to me.”

She smiled slowly, her eyes drawing me in, asking me to look again. “You’re missing something. Take a breath for a second. What are you missing?”

I did as she suggested. I took a breath. And then I felt it. “They helped each other.”

“That’s right.”

My belly felt warm at the realization. “They helped each other. In that moment, each was given and gave exactly what was needed.”

“Exactly,” she proclaimed with a smile. “And that’s what you have been noticing about your own experiences lately. There is no separation between you and the people you meet. You are simply allowing Love to move between you in order to heal all that needs to be healed.”

I reached for my tea and took a sip and felt nothing less than gratitude. By being kinder to myself, I was kinder to others. By honoring myself, I honored others. And by involving Spirit it was all done with ease. We were never alone. A choice for Love was a choice for Peace.