“Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die.”
-“Equal Rights” Peter Tosh
Are you healthy? Most people would answer yes - except for this pain, my arthritis or allergies, my high blood pressure, etc. As an industrialized nation most of us have come to define health as the absence of disease above a certain level of distress to our bodies. Below that level, we think we are healthy in spite of the pain, sleeplessness or other stressors that plague the happiness of life. Above that level is “disease”. Diseases have names, symptoms, and pills or surgery to counteract them and bring us back within the level we consider “healthy”.
One dictionary defines health as “soundness of body; freedom from disease”; another states that health is “optimal functioning with freedom from disease and abnormality”. Throughout our day we deny, accept, and live with our lack of health, yet, when we wake in the middle of the night feeling discouraged, in pain, and lost, we know we are not healthy.
Gwenio.com goes where few have gone before…seeking optimum health. Optimum Health is not just the absence of disease. It is soundness of body, a creative mind and stability of emotions. Pain, fear, and doubt are characteristics of the lack of optimum health. Gwenio will guide you toward optimum health by teaching you how to bring yourself into resonance with your environment.
Resonance occurs when two natural vibrations come into harmony with each other. When we are in resonance with our environment, micro-organisms cease to cause colds and flu. The stagnation of our energy and blood that causes pain is relieved. We wake in the morning rested and ready for our day knowing we are physically, mentally and emotionally ready for anything.
The name of this site is taken from the Seneca the name “Oh-yeas-seh-noh-ne-gi-wa-gwen-i-yoh” which means “She Who Restores Truth”. It is the responsibility of every individual to restore their own truth. With that restoration, optimum health is achieved.
However, Optimum Health is not a substitute for treatment of disease by trained medical practitioners. The idea of this website is to show how each of us can achieve Optimum Health ourselves so we can reduce the cost of medical care in America. With 75% of medical costs currently spent on diseases that result from life style choices such as poor diet, lack of exercise and stress; a simple, effective way to restore our own health is certainly indicated. Nowhere in the current money-driven debates has the concept of health education been fostered.
This is not another diet/exercise program. Gwenio is based on the knowledge of Traditional Chinese medicine. For over 5,000 years this knowledge has explained how the vibrations within our bodies interact with the physical, mental and emotional functioning of our bodies. Gwenio is also based in Seneca philosophy. The Seneca Nation of Indians have for centuries taught the concept of our relationship with the world around us. Like Taoism that is the well from which Chinese medicine drinks, Seneca philosophy is grounded in Motherearth. Combining these two great philosophies in simple to follow exercises allows us to move stagnated vibrations throughout our bodies so we choose healthier foods, exercise more effectively, and improve our relationships by simply speaking the truth.
We don’t have to be health practitioners to learn how to care for our own bodies. When Gwenio first began teaching over 20 years ago one of her students asked: “Why don’t we get a shop manual for how to fix our bodies when we are born?” Gwenio.com is that shop manual.
With Gwenio we explore two pathways to health: Optimum Health and Councils in Truth. Below is a chart of the discernments between the two. Throughout the site both pathways are linked to the other path so you can explore conveniently. You’re invited to explore both in your personal search for Optimum Health. 2 Pathways for Exploring Gwenio
| Discernments |
Optimum Health |
Council in Truth |
| What is this path? |
This is the path of our senses. |
This is the path of our thoughts. |
| How do I begin? |
Observation. |
Questioning. |
| Where is this material coming from? |
This approach is grounded in the earth. |
This approach is linked to our inner knowing. |
| How does it work? |
Through observation we find and process the dissonance between our individual vibrations and those of our environment. |
Through Entering into the Silence, we assess our relationship to our environment. |
| How do I measure change? |
Change occurs on the physical, emotional and mental levels and is witnessed by the release of tension, pain and distraction. |
Change occurs on the physical, emotional and mental levels and is witnessed by more energy, new ideas, and improved relationships. |
Our gracious Seneca guide, Twylah Nitsch - a Seneca Elder and woman of wisdom, explained the importance of gratitude in all aspects of life, including health. Read the following poem. It is based on the Seneca word, NYAH WEH, which means “thank you”.
N is for nature, the lessons she provides
Y is for youth, the threshold of our lives
A is for ages, the lessons we’ve learn
H is for harmony, we all strive to earn
W is for wisdom, to the summit we climb
E is for exaltation, the emotion sublime
H is for happiness, the fulfillment of time
Nyah-weh, one love
Gwenio |
Current Events
Council on Truth
Saturday, April 17th,
10 to noon
Transitions
Individual Counciling Sessions
By appointment, 978-263-4805
As always, individual counciling sessions are focused on the individual’s needs.
Individual M/F Re-balancing
The Individual M/F Re-balancing can be arranged through email: samabbottart@hotmail.com. Each session is half an hour long. The cost is $50. No review of symptoms is necessary. For more information, read the two articles on this page.
Contentment
In my recent attempt at journalism (Concord Journal Jan. 21 ‘10) I mentioned that some habits may lead us unknowingly into illness. We also discussed how, with the help of brain cells called astrocytes, it is easier to create a new habit than it is to change an old one. In other words, it is possible to create healthy habits by focusing on the benefits of accepting a pattern of new behavior. Today, let’s talk about one key to healthy habits – “contentment”.
A woman brushes her teeth twice every day for many years. She likes the taste and how it makes her gums tingle. Then she learns that longer brushing helps prevent tooth decay. She extends the time she brushes to 2 minutes. For two full minutes, twice every day, she brushes her teeth. To time herself, she counts seconds as chimpanzees – “one chimpanzee, two chimpanzees, etc”.
For those two minutes, she is content, her mind focused on counting and brushing. She is probably unaware that enhancing her contentment are her senses of smell, taste, and touch. Stimulated by the brushing, these sensations continue long after she stops counting chimpanzees. She is doing a better job so her gums are healthier and she is focused on the sensations she enjoys for four minutes of every day.
Contentment is a marvelous measure of health. Are you happy doing what you are doing? This simple question asks us to think about our lives. How many minutes of every day are we happy?
An activity that encourages the contemplation of contentment is walking. We’re not talking about a power hike, here. Our walk has no destination, no time clock, and no companions. It is simply a time alone to think about our level of contentment. The more natural the environment the more conducive it will be to positive contemplation.
As we walk, we are immersed in nature. The path we walk, the trees we pass, the birds we hear all conspire to draw us away from our whirling thoughts of work, family activities and other commitments. We scan the treetops for the squirrel chattering above us, wondering whether she knows how soon spring will come.
With our busy thoughts finally stilled by the beauty around us we are free to examine our lives from a quiet perspective. Beginning at this point in our walk we are able to see our lives with a calm sense of objectivity. Now when we ask: “Are we happy doing what we are doing?” we are able to scan our days for moments of contentment.
At this point we don’t need to find resolutions to obligations that rattle our contentment. All we need to do is notice what is working and what isn’t. While our senses are feeding the beauty of nature to our astrocytes, they also convey additional messages about our level of contentment.
Though our walk must end, the benefits continue. As we focus our minds on new tasks, we recall for a few moments, perhaps a few hours, the joy of being alive that we experienced during our walk
We all have moments in our lives when counting chimpanzees stills the rush of a hectic day. Why not take 2 minutes right now and just count a few chimpanzees? Believe it or not, that simple 2 minutes of contentment is another step toward Optimum Health!
By the way, on your walk did you notice any early signs of spring? They are subtle, the swelling of a bud on a sun-warmed branch, a few notes of a bird song, something soft in the air. Our senses remind us of summer though it is still months away. This is another of nature’s gifts of contentment that help us through this long, dark phase of the year.
Lynn Abbott
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