“….the Road is Life.”
— Jack Kerouac
GREETINGS FELLOW ADVENTURERS!
Welcome to this month’s newsletter dedicated to Travel.
Travel just happens to be one of my favorite topics. For me travel is part of my spiritual path and personal growth experience. Whether it is a day trip to a new neighborhood or local destination, or a grand adventure abroad, travel offers us a unique opportunity to expand our lens of people and the world as well as refresh our perspective on our daily life.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
— Mark Twain
I have spent the great part of my last 15 years travelling in various ways. Whether it is visiting relatives, camping in national parks, touring with Rock Bands, or studying medicine in developing countries, I have come to realize the importance of preparing my health in body, mind and spirit for the journey. In this issue we will discuss some of the various health conditions that confront the traveler during the flight and while at the destination.
You can read about:
Jet Lag, Motion Sickness, Traveler’s Diarrhea, Travel Medicine and Conditions
“Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.”
— Paul Theroux
Preparing for your journey should include packing your essentials in a conscious manner while considering the place or culture you are going to. It is also good to begin preparing your health long before your journey starts.
You can read about special Travel Medicine Kit Essentials:
Dr. G’s Travel Medicine Kit, Melatonin, Jet Zone, Flight Spray
“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable.
It is designed to make its own people comfortable”
— Clifton Fadiman
In the section, Responsible Travel, we will touch on the philosophy of preparing our mind and spirit to adventure to a place with a conscious attitude about the culture we are visiting. This is not only an opportunity for us to experience an exotic way of life, but a way for us to educate others about ourselves. It is an opportunity to build bridges between people in order to plant seeds of peace. For when we use responsible travel we see that all people have more in common with us than we think. I have included articles from:
The Lonely Planet, Responsible Travel and Tourism, Tips for the Responsible Traveler
One’s destination is never a place,
but a new way of seeing things.”— Henry Miller
August is a great month where the entire world seems to be travelling. But for some people the situation or finances may not permit us to leave the city or country. I build into my month 2 days in which I do not schedule anything. I have these days as my Spontaneous Adventure days.
“A good traveler has no fixed plans
and is not intent on arriving.”— Lao Tzu
This is a great way to re-experience your neighborhood or another local place and see the people in our own cities with fresh eyes. Plus it is totally free. If you cannot make a trip this summer, I encourage your have a Spontaneous Adventure in your neighborhood.
“People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination,
the kind of people they ignore at home.”— Dagobert D. Runes
Whether you are travelling on a grand adventure abroad, reuniting with relatives or friends, or having a local spontaneous adventure… remember to be present with all your heart and senses. This is the only way to experience the wonder of travel and to appreciate the gifts and new perspectives that travel can bring to our lives. When we leave our expectations behind we can find the miracles and serendipity in the smallest encounters with people, culture and nature. Remember, it is the not the destination, but the journey that we will value the most.
“The journey not the arrival matters.”
— T. S. Elliot
Have a Safe and Healthy Journey…
Dr. Gabrielle Francis
Travel Medicine And Tips For A Healthy Journey
Introduction By Dr. Gabrielle Francis
Travel Conditions
Jet Lag
Motion Sickness
Help Prevent Travelers’ Diarrhea
Travel Medicine – Get the FAQs
Travel Remedies
Dr. G’s Travel Medicine Kit
Melatonin
JetZone
Flight Spray
Responsible Travel
The Lonely Planet
Responsible Travel And Tourism
Tips For Responsible Travel
Jet lag, also called desynchronosis, is a temporary disorder that causes fatigue, insomnia and other symptoms as a result of air travel across time zones.
Motion sickness is a very common disturbance of the inner ear that is caused by repeated motion such as from the swell of the sea, the movement of a car, the motion of a plane in turbulent air, etc. In the inner ear (which is also called the labyrinth), motion sickness affects the sense of balance and equilibrium and, hence, the sense of spatial orientation.
read more…
Travelers’ Diarrhea is a frequent menace for international travelers. The culprit may be bacteria, a virus or a parasite.
read more…
Even when traveling to a familiar location, packing a travel health kit can help you avoid inconvenience and discomfort should you need medications while on the road. read more…
Everything you wanted to know about melatonin… read more…
JetZone homeopathic was developed to help prevent jet lag in-flight safely without side effects. read more…
Flight Spray is the first natural nasal hydration spray formulated especially for airline travelers. read more…
I am an avid traveler. The guidebook that I know and love is The Lonely Planet. read more…
Responsible travel is a new way of travelling for those who’ve had enough of mass tourism. It’s about respecting and benefiting local people and the environment – read more…
When we visit beautiful places it’s natural to want our holidays to have a positive impact on local people and their environments. read more…
Let freedom reign.
The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.
— Nelson Mandela
Greetings Sun Worshipers
Happy Summer Solstice and Happy 4th of July
I hope this letter finds you enjoying your summer in a healthy and safe way.
I wanted to do an issue on Summer First Aid and Safety so that we could continue our sun worship in a safe way and enjoy all that summer has to give us.
Enjoy the first aid tips and facts as well as the recipes for summer first aid remedies.
The summer began on June 21st, the day we know as the Summer Solstice. I thought it would be interesting to share some lore on the summer solstice as we can always see the historical context that a lot of our daily rituals and practices have come from.
There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.
—Celia Thaxter
Summer Solstice
Sol + stice derives from a combination of Latin words meaning, “sun” + “to stand still.” As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky.
As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Northern Hemisphere celebrates in June, but the people on the Southern half of the earth have their longest summer day in December.
Summer Solstice Celebrations
Awed by the great power of the sun, civilizations have for centuries celebrated the first day of summer otherwise known as the Summer Solstice, Midsummer, St. John’s Day, and Litha.
The Celts & Slavs celebrated the first day of summer with dancing & bonfires to help increase the sun’s energy. The Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light.
Perhaps the most enduring modern ties with Summer Solstice were the Druids’ celebration of the day as the “wedding of Heaven and Earth”, resulting in the present day belief of a “lucky” wedding in June.
Today, the day is still celebrated around the world – most notably in England at Stonehenge where thousands gather to welcome the sunrise on the Summer Solstice.
Summer Solstice Fun Facts
- Pagans called the Midsummer moon the “Honey Moon” for the mead made from fermented honey that was part of wedding ceremonies performed at the Summer Solstice.
- Ancient Pagans celebrated Midsummer with bonfires, when couples would leap through the flames, believing their crops would grow as high as the couples were able to jump.
- Midsummer was thought to be a time of magic, when evil spirits were said to appear. To thwart them, Pagans often wore protective garlands of herbs and flowers. One of the most powerful of them was a plant called ‘chase-devil’, which is known today as St. John’s Wort and still used by modern herbalists as a mood stabilizer.
A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”
— St. Francis of Assisi
I hope you enjoy these folkloric facts as much as I do. I would like to wish you all a very safe and happy summer.
I would also like to wish my husband Ahmed a Happy Birthday this July.
You are the sun in my life.
