Low Intensity Lasers are quickly becoming the 21st century tool for health care and cosmetic care. Lasers go back to the 1960’s when they were used in the Eastern Block countries as an alternative to surgery utilizing a scalpel.  Surgeons found that patient’s had less bleeding. less swelling, and healed faster. Fast forward to the years 2000-2009. We now have Low Intensity Lasers used for rehab. that can speed up recovery from many types of injuries. An example is what happened to me this past summer. I was playing summer hockey and fell in front of the goalie on his stick. I felt a pain I had never felt before in my chest. Breathing was difficult. I had fractured a rib! This injury should have taken at least 4-6 weeks to heal. I used Low Intensity Laser ( Bioflex Laser)daily. I was back able to work in one week. I was still in some discomfort but was able to  perform all the duties I needed at work. The photon energy hits your cells and is converted to biochemical energy and speeds up cellular reactions. It decreases pain, decreases swelling and speeds up the healing process.

Lasers have now been developed to sculpt the body and lose body fat naturally. The Zerona Laser which just aired on the “The Doctors Show” in April showed that people can lose an average of  3.5 inches over a two week time frame. The patients were treated 3 times a week for two weeks for 40 minutes each session. This procedure  now backed by research  is a great alternative to Liposuction as there is no down time, no surgery, and no pain. Of course this is not a substitute for a good diet and exercise, because both must be followed during the two week program. Losing a few inches and a pant size can be a great motivation to start exercising. The 21 st century has arrived. Beam me up Scotty!!

What is Grapeseed Oil and how is it made?

Grapeseed oil is made from the grape seeds contained in pomace, which is the solid leftover after the juice has been expressed from grapes in wine making.  Extracting Grapeseed oil is more difficult than other oils because the Grapeseed itself is small, has a hard shell and contains only a small amount of oil (16-21% of the seeds).

The hard shell is a blessing in disguise since the seeds are well protected against chemicals (like agricultural sprays) or additives (such as sulphites) likely to be introduced at any stage in the grape growing or wine-making process.

Grapeseed oil is “naturally” cholestoral-free.  The smoke point for Grapeseed oil is over 485 degrees F.  Keeping the oil temperature below smoke point also prevents conversion to harmful trans fatty acids as does not reusing the oil again.  This is a major advantage Grapeseed oil has over other oils.

You can readily find Original Grapeseed oil but for a little added flavor for salads and stir frys, Watkins offers Garlic & Parsley Grapeseed Oil and Citrus & Cilantro Grapeseed Oil.

Darinka Wright, Independent Watkins Associate

To review last week’s post credit is REALLY important. As soon as you turn 19 apply for your own credit card. You may need to back it up with cash to start but it will be worth it. Then, get a small loan between $2000 and $5000. An RRSP loan in February is a good place to start. Might as well start investing in yourself sooner rather than later. Pick a two year payment plan. Banks want to see about two years of solid credit history.

Okay so enough said about credit. The second part of getting ready to buy a home is the down payment. There are three ways to get a down payment: borrowed, gifted or from savings.

Yes, you can still buy without a $0 down payment. One Canadian bank has a “Free down payment” mortgage. It is expensive though - you will pay a higher rate for this product. It is an option in certain circumstances.

Another option is to borrow the funds from yourself. A line of credit can be used but it will have to be debt serviced. Making the payments might be tough AND it will affect how much mortgage you qualify for.

Or, you can borrow the funds from your RRSP. Revenue Canada allows you to withdraw these funds without paying tax as long as you pay it back. CRA has pretty strict guidelines about this so you need to plan appropriately. There are other conditions as well so check with your Mortgage Professional or CRA to find out if you qualify.

Maybe you have parents that are willing to help. Gifted down payments are allowed from immediate family members. A mother or father or both sign a letter stating the funds are a “gift” and do not have to be repaid.

Or you can do it the old fashioned way - save the down payment! You can buy a home with 5% down. For a $200,000 condo you require $10,000. For a $300,000 town home you will need $15,000. Those are average prices here in the Fraser Valley.

As a first time home buyer especially if you are borrowing the down payment of having it gifted, banks and the Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation or CMHC, will have higher expectations of you as a borrower. Credit worthiness and employment will be scrutinized.

Review your situation with a Mortgage Professional before you start house hunting. Be prepared. It will significantly improve your home buying experience.

This book subtitled “The Power of Encouragement” is a collection of 28 short stories written by a variety of authors. Each of these stories is a metaphor for one or more aspects of living your life fully. Although a few of these stories are fictional, the majority of them describe the right thinking actions of someone or a specific life changing experience in the author’s life. The interesting aspect to the story in many cases is that the action, word or deed that was done was simple or small yet the results were large and long lasting. For some they were life changing.

In part, this book review is short because the book is small, and only 127 pages. I read the entire book in one afternoon. My copy even came with a DVD featuring the opening story in the book called “The Push.” The great thing about this book is that not only are the stories good, they are short so you can read a complete story in only a few minutes and then set the book down. The book would make a great bathroom reader. I suggest reading the book and sharing it with your kids. I have a friend with a teenage daughter whom I will be lending the book to, along with a request that both of them read the book.

The book is available from all the usual sources and from the authors. Treat yourself to a positive experience and get a copy of the book. Read it and then share it.

Larry Wilson is well known in training circles for his contribution to corporate and personal training and for his outstanding ability on the platform as a speaker. He is fortunate to have known some of the great minds in the study of the human condition. He took that knowledge to his first training organization and then to his second venture Pecos River®. It is the dedicated change agent team at Pecos River that jointly put this book together.

This is one of those books that has been around for sometime and I have just gotten to reading it. (I have a large collection of books to get through) Even though the book was written ten years ago, it is just as timely now as it was then. The subtitle of this book is “Choosing Growth Over Fear in Work and Life.” I found that much of the book was a review of a number of self-growth courses I had taken over the years. In fact, it left me thinking deeply about whether I am on track around my purpose and about the role of my ego-mind.

The book is a great read for anyone who wants to notch up his or her life. It is about how to begin living as a fully expressed being. Living your life to the fullest, being responsible for self and in alignment with your life’s purpose. If you want to waste your life as a couch potato, then this book is not for you. As the text so aptly puts it, we have only so much life to live. At a deeper level inside we want to die with no regrets knowing that we lived our life in the best possible way.

The book uses a mix of metaphors, thoughtful quotations, and straight talk in five areas. These five areas in the book address different aspects of being more. They include “The Adventure,” “Rethinking the Game,” “Thinking Differently About Thinking,” “Solving Problems and Creating Results,” “Work and Life Strategies,” “The Spiritual Adventure,” and “Choosing Growth.” Each one of these sections will leave you with new insights or things to ponder.

How many of us “Play Not to Lose” or “Have a Fear of Failure” or “Have Stopped Challenging Ourselves?” Read the book and you can choose to change all of those and more. Learn how to face our own personal dragon, and then slay it.

Even though it was first published a decade ago, the book is still available from Amazon, which is an indicator of the power of the message that Larry Wilson and his colleagues present.

My goodness, it is Thanksgiving again and time for Cranberry Festival in Fort Langley. The group at The Walnut Grove TRBN Chapter are all excited about setting up their booth this Saturday at the Cranberry Festival. They were all happy about the great gift basket they have created for some lucky winner of their free draw.

This years Cranberry Festival is different from past years. Because the ferry no longer operates to Maple Ridge, the festival committee is closing down Glover Road in downtown Fort Langley. Glover Road will now be lined with all sorts of booths, about 80 of them offering gourmet foods, crafts and merchandise. As in past years, there will be 7500 pounds of fresh cranberries available to buy. They look so great in those big bins all red and shiny, ready to be made into sauces or jellies.

The traditional Freybe’s pancake breakfast starts at 08:30. There is an extreme BMX show at 11:00 and 1:30 at Marina Park, a canoe regatta from 10:00 to 3:00 and mini-golf at the train station. A fun event for the adults is the Cranberry harvest Demonstration. There is a free trolley to the Fort Winery departing from the Historic Site from 9:00 to 4:00. At the winery is wine tasting, winery and bog tours and live entertainment.

The TRBN Walnut Grove Chapter will have a tent at the “Saturday Market” next to “The White House” just south of 96th on Glover Road. The chapter members will be having fun and look forward to talking to other business owners and salespersons visiting the Festival. Drop by and say hi! We would love to have you enter our free draw for the gift basket we have created. This year’s theme for the gift basket is “goodies for a date night” You do not have to be a business owner to enter.