The Language of Flowers

The “language of flowers" was originally brought to Europe in the early 1700's where many secret communications and love messages would be exchanged with flowers. A bouquet of flowers could hold an entire conversation. Each flower had its own meaning. The favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, was thought to be the red rose and came to represent true love.

Today when you send flowers you are in fact communicating something whether it be a birthday wish, anniversary, cheer you up bouquet or expressing your deepest sympathy. If you are like most people you know that flowers have meanings but could not tell you what they are. Though meanings of flowers have been mainly agreed upon there can be some dispute as to its accuracy. To help you with your flower purchases here are some of the more traditional meanings of the flowers that are the most commonly purchased:

CARNATION (GENERAL) - Fascination, Woman Love

CARNATION (PINK) - Undying love

CARNATION (RED) - Admiration

CARNATION (PURPLE) - Capriciousness

CARNATION (WHITE) - Sweet and Lovely, Innocence, Pure Love,

CARNATION (YELLOW) - You Have Disappointed Me, Rejection

DAISY - Innocence, Loyal Love, Purity

IRIS - Fleur-de-lis, Emblem of France, Your Friendship Means so Much to Me, Faith, Hope, Wisdom and Valor, My Compliments

LARKSPUR (PINK) - Fickleness

LILY (WHITE) - Purity, Majesty, It's Heavenly to be with You

LILY (YELLOW) - I'm Walking on Air, Gay

LILY (CALLA) - Beauty

LILY (TIGER) - Wealth, Pride

LILY OF THE VALLEY - Sweetness, Return to Happiness, Humility, You've Made My Life Complete

ORCHID - Love, Beauty, Refinement, Beautiful Lady, Chinese Symbol for Many Children

ROSE (PINK) - Perfect Happiness, Please Believe Me

ROSE (RED) - Love, I Love You

ROSE (TEA) - I'll Remember Always

ROSE (WHITE) - Innocence and Purity, I am Worthy of You, You're Heavenly, Silence

ROSE (YELLOW) - Decrease of Love, Jealousy, Try to Care

ROSEBUD (RED) - Pure and Lovely

ROSEBUD (WHITE) - Girlhood

TULIP (RED) - Declaration of Love

TULIP (YELLOW) - There's Sunshine in Your Smile

Online flower delivery is fast becoming the way to order flowers. Not only is it easy for you but most florists will give you a visual of the arrangements plus their price. Now armed with some of the meanings, happy hunting!


Cosmic Relief

The Universe as we know it, see it and experience it, is not all there is. The Universe is always in motion - it is a vibrating, pulsating, resonating, magnetizing force and at the molecular level everything is in motion. It is pure energy.

What we are talking about here is the pure formless substance of the Universe - we can think of this in spiritual terms as God, Higher Power, Spirit or the Universe, or address it mentally as Infinite Intelligence, Universal Mind. Or if we're brave, we can take a giant leap into the area of quantum physics, where it is known as the field of all possibilities.

That Power - however you conceive it - is the source of everything we desire. It is awaiting our recognition and will create, attract, guide us to inspired action, magnetize and mold itself to whatever form we desire if we align ourselves with it through law.

Mental and Spiritual Laws

Law? There are laws with which we are familiar. We know that there are laws of physics, laws of chemistry, etc. But most people are not aware of the mental and spiritual laws that govern our very existence. Or we may know something about them but don't know how to relate to them or how to use them. When we were born, no one gave our parents a manual on the laws of the Universe to hand down to us.

So how do we know these laws exist or that this Power exists (aside from any intuitive feeling that it does)? We know because of its responsiveness and the results we experience when we align ourselves with it.

So how do we align ourselves with it? We connect with this Power, this creative force of the Universe, within, through the channel of our subconscious minds. The subconscious mind is the most fantastic computer you could ever imagine. It keeps our heart beating, our lungs breathing, and has perfect memory of every cell in our body. It has also recorded and stored everything that we have ever heard, said, felt, and experienced. Unfortunately, that includes all of that "faulty programming", all of the acquired beliefs and negative patterns from others that we have acquired from the time we were very young through our lifetime.

Our thoughts and our feelings, our deepest beliefs are the key to connecting with the Power that responds to our desires. But first we must break through and overcome the negative thought patterns and beliefs that we have acquired since childhood.

Now, in answer to a recent query…does it ever go away? No, it doesn't. We cannot delete this information from the subconscious perfect memory like we can with a computer. However, here is the good news…

Invisible Means of Support

The subconscious mind does not like to change and will create resistance. But there are techniques and methods for influencing the subconscious in a way that does not create argument. I call this "friendly persuasion". We gently shift the consciousness to create a new dominant thought in the mind.

THAT IS THE KEY. The DOMINANT thought.

The dominant thought in our subconscious is what determines our circumstances. So we must shift our consciousness to a new dominant thought. When we do so, we then open ourselves to the influence of the creative power of the universe - our "invisible means of support".

The following excerpt from my program will help explain this:

"The subconscious mind acts on the dominant thought therein. The repetition of positive words will eventually replace negative patterns in the subconscious, which block our success and limit our income and our good.

If we persist in adding clean water, drop by drop, into a bucket of muddy water, eventually we will end up with a bucket of clean water. The good news is that we don't need to completely fill our mind bucket; the dominant thought is all that is necessary for the subconscious to respond and create our desired result. So we don't have to completely eliminate the negative thoughts. 51% positive and we get the golden ring.

I know you are asking, how long will this take? I believe it will depend upon how diligently you apply the techniques and use positive words. And just as importantly, how carefully you monitor yourself so that you don't counteract the good mental work you are doing. If you asked a taxi driver to take you somewhere but gave him two addresses, where would you end up? Certainly not at your destination."


Ayurveda Can Help Stop Hair Loss

Most hair loss sufferers seek solutions from Western medicine or turn to remedies derived from local traditions. Some experts however argue that the ayurvedic system of medicine has much to offer in dealing with hair loss conditions.

Ayurveda is the traditional system of medicine practiced in India and Sri Lanka. It is a complete approach to health care designed to promote a way of life rather than an occasional treatment. As a holistic system of medicine ayurveda focuses on our uniqueness and takes into account our mental attitude, lifestyle and spirit which should not be treated in isolation from each other.

According to ayurveda, the following principles are beneficial to healthy and plentiful hair:

- The scalp must be kept cool, so protection from sun and washing in cold or lukewarm water are paramount.

- Sound nutrition is key, so a hair-friendly diet should emphasize proteins, iron, zinc, sulfur, Vitamin C, Vitamin B-Complex and essential fatty acids.

- Use should be made of hair analysis to ascertain toxicity levels and nutritional deficiencies.

- Oils, for example sesame and coconut, should be applied to the scalp to nourish, lubricate and strengthen the roots. This will also improve circulation to the head.

You can find out more about alternative hair loss treatments by visiting the site listed below.


What Are The Common Hair Loss Causes?

One of the most worrying aspects of hair loss treatment is the tendency of so many people to seek solutions without first determining what has caused their loss in the first place.

At best, sufferers may waste money on inappropriate 'wonder cures' or even legitimate treatments that unfortunately are not suitable for their particular needs. At worst, some people may be risking their health by self-prescribing powerful pharmaceutical drugs. I don't have a problem with hair loss sufferers saving money by purchasing cheap generic drugs on the internet, but I feel strongly that they should at least seek confirmation from their physician that a given drug matches their individual needs.

Before examining the most common causes of premature hair loss we need to understand that some shedding of hair is perfectly normal. Hairs grow from follicles that are tiny organs in the skin designed to grow a single hair that follows this repetitive cycle:

1. Lengthy growth period (Anagen Stage) - this phase usually lasts between two and seven years with an average growth rate of six inches (15cm) each year.

2. Short transition period (Catagen Stage) - this period of transition lasts for roughly two to four weeks. During this phase the hair shaft becomes detached and moves upwards within the follicle.

3. Resting period (Telogen Stage) - this phase lasts about three months allowing the hair to detach itself prior to falling out.

At this point a new hair begins to grow thus repeating the normal cycle of hair growth. Unfortunately a number of factors can interfere with the natural hair growth process leading to forms of hair thinning or premature baldness.

Androgenetic alopecia is the most common cause of hair loss, probably accounting for as much as 95% of pattern hair loss for both men and women. It is usually associated with aging and develops in predictable stages over varying periods of time. Each follicle follows a genetically programmed growth cycle with some follicles coded to remain active for a shorter time than others. This results in the development of the hereditary baldness patterns that are so familiar to us all.

For this type of baldness to occur, the following factors must be present:

1. A genetic predisposition for hair loss to occur (as explained above).

2. The presence of male hormones.

3. Aging - in other words, enough time for the first two factors to exert an influence.

All men and women produce male hormones such as testosterone and DHT. These have a useful role to play in both sexes but obviously occur in widely differing concentrations. It is the higher levels of androgens found in males that explains why this form of hair loss affects men more than women.

In brief, these hormones affect the hair growth cycle as follows:

1. High levels of the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme occur in some cells of the hair follicle and sebaceous glands.

2. 5-alpha-reductase converts testosterone into DHT.

3. DHT causes the terminal hairs to miniaturize.

4. This leaves short, soft, fluffy vellus hairs that provide inadequate scalp coverage.

5. The growth phases gradually become shorter until these hairs are lost for good.

Alopecia areata is thought to be an immune system disorder that causes follicles to stop producing hairs in patches on the head. In severe cases it can advance to the stage where all hair on the head is lost (alopecia totalis) or even a complete absence of body hair results (alopecia universalis).

In most cases the hair will reappear on its own but until then, the condition can be very distressing to sufferers particularly as its cause can be difficult to determine. If you feel you may be suffering from this form of hair loss, seek the advice of your physician who will carry out a physical examination and conduct blood tests to help determine the cause.

Telogen effluvium is characterized by a general thinning or shedding of hair over a period of months and is most commonly found in people who have recently experienced trauma. Common causes include childbirth, major surgery, severe illness, psychological stress and chemotherapy. The good news is that the abnormal growth behavior associated with telogen effluvium is temporary and reversible.

There are numerous other less common hair loss causes that need to be discounted before a course of treatment is chosen. Traction alopecia is the loss of hair from constant pulling, usually as the result of hair styling. Broken hairs can result in thinning, often caused by excessive styling or exposure to chemicals and sun. Finally, severe illnesses or nutritional deficiencies can cause side effects that may include degrees of hair loss.

I hope this brief article has gotten across the message that diagnosing the real causes of hair loss is not always a straightforward process. Once you and your physician have identified a cause, then you can work towards restoring your hair to its former glory. And the good news is, most forms of hair loss can be treated successfully. The next article in this series will look at some of the best hair loss treatments currently available.