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GLOBETROTTING TENTH ISSUE-WINTER
2000 "THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE DEVOTION TO MOTION WORLD TOUR"DESTINATION - ISRAEL
Welcome friends as we
circle the globe in search of more effective ways to improve the
quality of life. During our journey we will explore various
forms of complementary medicines and share our findings with you.
We will also address accessibility issues and investigate more
convenient options to ease the never ending pressures of traveling.
In each issue, Globetrotting will have a special section created for
today's youth with an emphasis on educating children and teens on the
historical facts of each country. Finally, each issue will
contain two trivia questions and some popular words and/or phrases
from each country. For more updated news, diary entries,
in-depth research results, and pictures from our journey, please visit
our website, www.d2motion.com.
D2M TRIVIA QUESTION #1
(World Trivia)
What & where is the world's deepest depression?
COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
If you are seeking to discover the roots of complementary healing in Israel, we strongly recommend you travel to the northern part of the country to the mystical world of Galilee. There you will find a community of healers who have developed their own techniques based on the practices more commonly known on a global scale. The first stop in Galilee was to visit a well-known Beduin healer by the name of Ali El' Heibi, an older gentleman with a wonderful energy. As we entered his treatment and prayer room, we were quite impressed to see a picture he had taken with Israeli Prime Minister Barak who he has actually treated before. He began to discuss his type of healing which involves accupressure techniques, massage, and herbal treatments created around his home and the valleys of Galilee. He has one herbal treatment which he refers to as "the spirit and breath of the kidney," which I had the pleasure of experiencing during our visit. He rubbed this oil concoction on my legs, stomach and back. This treatment has been known to penetrate the skin quickly in some cases Ali informed us. He told us about one case, a boy's hand was paralyzed and after one minor treatment with the herbal oil, the child's hand was healed. Per Ali's suggestion, I spoke with the boy's mother over the telephone and needless to say, she was convinced that Ali had healed her son with his talents and herbal remedy. During my brief treatment, I was swept away by the wonderful fragrance of the herbal remedy and I became very spastic, but I was not sure if it was the treatment or lying down for a prolonged period of time. Bottom line, people of Galilee believe in Ali's abilities and people from around the world have heard of his patients' successes and have come to witness his techniques themselves. Next on our journey through the valley of Galilee was a visit with Shuley Label, a very gifted woman who has studied many popular complementary techniques and like Ali, has developed her own style. Her knowledge was acquired through studying reiki, acupuncture, body work, kinesiology, reflexology, and aromatherapy. But her true gifts lie in her intuitiveness and also her amazing self-healing story. Shuley was involved in a horrific traffic accident last year and has virtually healed herself. She stresses that she has not treated a patient with any technique that she has not already tested on herself. From the Yuvalin Village in Galilee, she has created a wonderful healing environment with the sounds and smells of nature and has generated much attention to her work by helping others with various diseases and illnesses. As an intuitive, she senses distress in the body and immediately begins to work on it while talking with you about the emotions connected with the body's disharmony. She demonstrated her techniques on Pat and showed her versatility by putting Pat in positions I had never seen before. Though Pat did not have any ailment, the treatment really seemed to soothe and relax her. That is her approach towards healing. Considering that Israel is a country where all cultures and religions are accepted, we thought we would explore a gift from the Arab land, Sabria. She is recognized by the community as a traditional Arabic healer. Once again, we noticed that she has developed her own style based on the principles of other known treatments such as body work, massage, and herbal treatments. She, too, has gathered her "healing" herbs from the fertile and plush lands of Galilee. In particular, she frequently uses olive oil, the most popular crop of Galilee and also known to have many positive effects on the body, inside and out. She also utilizes an unusual, yet common technique among many native healers in which she takes a tiny shot glass, lights a flame in bottom, and places it on a part of the body where there is pain or discomfort. Once again, Pat served as the guinea pig, and said she noticed some relief and heat in a portion of her shoulder that was bothering her. A suction effect is created by this glass and flame which she informed us draws the pain away from the body. Her commitment and loving energy keeps her very busy with the locals who experience various aliments. Have you ever heard a sound or a noise that instantly made you feel good? On the other hand, have you ever heard a sound or a noise that simply sent chills up your spine or made you nauseous? Welcome to sound therapy. Researchers of sound have determined that each part of our body responds to a different frequency. Many complementary medicine practitioners will tell that each chakra, other energy center, responds to a specific frequency. Let me introduce you to Niko Levy, a talented musician hidden in the land of Galilee. He composes beautiful music in the Hararit Village and believes that everyone benefits from the sound, some are even healed by them. Though he does not recognize himself as a healer, he has created a healing environment which also includes meditation sessions and relaxation techniques. Whatever instrument you can think of, I'm sure Niko has played it or could play it. He treated us to a twenty minute concert, as we laid down on our backs, closed our eyes and escaped to wherever we wanted to go. The sounds were our tour guides.
Our final day in Galilee
was spent with two very talented women. The first woman, Marilyn
Reis, was born in the United States and sought to do some traveling in
India, but ended up in Israel...and decided to stay there. She
learned the art of Tai Chi, an ancient technique developed in China,
and began teaching people in Galilee. Tai Chi, which means
supreme ultimate fist, combines the principal of yin and yang (male
and female energy) and places an emphasis on "chi" or the
body's life force energy. It is not about postures, rather a
gradual flow of movements to bring the body back into harmony or
preserve the body's harmony if one is healthy. Our second visit
was quite fascinating. We met with Miriam, an aura soma
practitioner, and explored the healing capabilities of colors.
It is almost the same principal as sound. When one views a
color, an energy is generated inside the body. For example,
one's favorite color says so much about one's personality. Our
colors relate directly to one's physical or emotional health. If
one dislikes a color, it is likely that he or she is suppressing
something in his or her life. While visiting Miriam, we noticed
small glass bottle, each filled with a different color. Each of
her patients is asked to select four colors that he or she likes the
most and two colors which he or she dislikes. Based on their
choices, Miriam begins her evaluation and take notice, the colors
never lie!!
There are so many "healers" spread out all over Galilee and while we did manage to visit many of the land's finest, there were still many whom we did not have time to explore. We wished that there was one organization that could bring all of these specialists together so that people, both locally and internationally, could locate and benefit from these gifted people. Our prayers seemed to be answered very quickly as we met with a young couple, Liat and Ben from northern Galilee, who have been studying and practicing acupuncture and Chinese medicine for four years. They are planning on forming a organization which could provide a network with all these practitioners. Needless to say, we offered to help them in any way we could and commended them on their vision. Our thanks are extended to Tzachi Kolumbus, our multi-lingual and multi-talented guide in Galilee, who arranged all of our appointments, and helped us bypass language barriers. We also extend our sincere appreciation to Tzachi, Rachael, Anat and Barak Kolumbus for sharing the Sabbath with us, and making us feel like family. Finally, we wish to thank all of the alternative practitioners in Galilee. Our visit was enriched by their insight and gifts that they continue to share with those in need.
NOTE: If you or anyone in
your circle of friends are connected with any healer or
complementary/alternative medical practitioner around the world who
you would like us to research or visit, please E-mail us at: chesney12@comcast.net
D2M TRIVIA QUESTION #2...
(Funny Trivia)
Which country has the highest number of cell phones (mobile) per capita?
ACCESSIBILITY
Question: What do you do when your voice as well as that of thousands of others like yourself, is not being heard? Answer: Stage a non-violent protest. Read on:
On the first morning, on
our way to breakfast, a gentleman asked Scott if he was one of the
guys protesting and causing a traffic jam. We laughed and told
him we were just tourists, but inquired about these protesters. Our
friend and "accessibility consultant" Eli Meiri informed us
that the disabled community in Jerusalem and surrounding towns have
been gathering each day for the past five weeks at the
government/parliament building. Day by day, political and media
attention has risen. The goal of this non-violent protest is to
raise awareness for the lack of funding that the disabled population
receives from the Israeli government. You see, in Israel as in
many other countries, those who are disabled as a result of war or
terrorist attacks are given better care and have a better quality of
life when compared to those who have cancer, paralysis, or are born
with a disability. The protestors were campaigning to receive equal
treatment no matter what the injury.
That same day, we visited the protestors who welcomed us to their temporary home within the government building. Here we saw people with old, broken down wheelchairs and dangerous assitive devices. They admired Scott's wheelchair and people said how lucky he was to be able to afford a nice wheelchair. I met a mother of two children both with cerebral palsy. Her husband died of cancer two years ago. She is the only one caring for the children with minimal funding from the government. Scott spoke with a young woman who simply said, "We're not just doing this to benefit us, we seek equality for our children, the next generation." The determination of the disabled to join together and be heard for almost 40 days was a success. Two days after our visit, they rejoiced after being informed that the proper steps were going to be taken by the government to "give the what they want." Scott and I were fortunate to meet these individuals and were delighted that such a sense of community has been formed here because daily people would just come to donate food, clothes, warm drinks. What an outstanding model set forth by these remarkable individuals. As far as accessibility goes here in the Holy Land, there are a number of hotels which have accommodations for the disabled, however, as we have found in many countries, this may mean a number of things. We stayed at the Four Points Sheraton in Jerusalem which had made attempts to make accessible rooms. The effort was worth noting, but it seemed as if no two accessible rooms had the same specifications. We recommend you stay at this facility, not only because of the suitable accommodations, but for a reasonable price. During our visit to Galilee, we stayed at a Zimer house. These are small bed and breakfast (B&B) homes run by families. Guess what? Eli was able to secure us a B&B that was actually accessible!! We stayed at the Moyal Family B&B in Western Galilee (Tal-El), close to the biblical lands of Tiberias, Nahariya and Nazareth. What a great family. Mr. Moyal is an engineer who designed the house and Etti Moyal prepares delicious all natural breakfasts. Believe me, you'll feel like you're home when you say with the Moyal family. There is even a pool, sauna and Jacuzzi for added relaxation. Yes, you did read this right, they have one of the most accessible rooms we've seen during our travels, especially the bathroom. To contact the Moyals call 972-4-9965543 or by mobile (it seems everyone in Israel has one) that number is: 052-668250. With respect to accessibility around town, you'll encounter the curb cuts, regular cars as taxis, inaccessible buses, etc. However, with the help of Eli, our disability expert in Israel, we were able to find a number of hotels that are stated to be accessible. The Royal Plaza Olive Tree is a very new hotel with moderate accessibility and the Hyatt Hotel and Caeser Hotel have accessible rooms to give you other options. The best rooms, with roll-in showers and other good facilities are at the Hotel Ramat Rachel (it's the only kibbutz hotel in Jerusalem with very good 4 star facilities). This hotel is not in the center of the city, but it is not too far. If you are considering visiting Israel, please contact Eli Meiri. He has been a consultant for accessible tourism in Israel for many year and our experience in Israel would not have been the same without his outstanding efforts. To contact Eli Meiri, please telephone: 972-6-6288059 or by mobile (of course) 972-54-508240. Our thanks go out to Eli Meiri for his initiative, guidance and pioneering e fforts by making accommodations for the disabled on the forefront of the tourism agenda. We also extend our gratitude to the Moyal family for making us feel like part of their family.
EDUCATION...
PROPER NAME OF COUNTRY:
State of Israel
Facts:
Historic dates:
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
Did you ever think about visiting the lowest point in the entire world? No, I don't mean the local pub where you go when your wife throws you out of the house. The lowest place on the face of the Earth is the mysterious Dead Sea. It is 400 meters below sea level, ten times more salty than any other ocean, and contains no living organisms. They don't call it the Dead Sea for nothing! Hey fellow American football fans, it just dawned on me that the depth of the Dead Sea is 437 yards...that's over four football fields. Now that's impressive! We decided to venture to this holy site, where millions flock each year to experience the healing effects of the mud produced at the bottom of the Dead Sea. The black mud is filled with mineral-rich soil which has been tested and approved by many dermatologists. Dead Sea products can be found all over the world, from body wraps, to make-up, to facial masks, etc. Anyway, we ventured into the waters of the sea at Mineral Beach, the most accessible place to enter the Dead Sea for my fellow wheelchair users, and immediately we felt as if we were bobbers on the end of a fishing pole. Until you have this experience, you can not imagine how buoyant you are in this warm, salty water. If you can't swim, don't worry because the water will support a hippo! No joke! On a serious note, please be cautious when you enter the Dead Sea because of the high contents of salt. Don't swallow the water or get any water in your eyes. Can you imagine a burning sensation beyond belief? I don't want to frighten you, just warn you. As we continued our Dead Sea experience, we decided to cover ourselves with mud and let it soak in and harden for about fifteen minutes. Then we were advised to wash it off in the sea and proceed to the showers. What a reinvigorating feeling this whole process was for both of us. Our skin felt like a baby's bottom. It was the highlight of our adventure to Israel and we are certain that it will be yours, too.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!!
We will be traveling to Australia, Malaysia, Philippines, and China. If you or any of your family, friends, and/or colleagues have contacts (alternative medicine practitioners, hotels, children, or simply friends and family) in these countries, please E-mail us and let them know we are coming! Thanks for your support!
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO
SAY??
Please E-mail us back your thoughts, questions, comments, and/or suggestions about our newsletter and world tour. In addition, if you know people who can benefit from receiving future issues of "Globetrotting," please forward their E-mail addresses to us or simply forward the newsletter to them. You can reach us at chesney12@comcast.net
NEXT ISSUE!!:
Click on that E-mail in two weeks, when we visit the ancient land of Egypt, home of King Tut, Mummies, the Sphinx, and the Nile River. See how we manage riding a camel named Moses, in front of the Pyramids of Giza. Until next time, keep globetrotting in your world!!
D2M TRIVIA ANSWERS...
Trivia Answer # 1 - The Dead Sea in Israel/Jordan - deepest depression [1312 feet below sea level (400 meters)]. Trivia Answer # 2 - Israel - we even met a family of four that had five cell phones (mobile) amongst them.
Thank you for listening
and we'll visit you again in two weeks.
Scott & Pratiksha Chesney |
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