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A Balanced Perspective Weekly 
on Health and Wellness
April 6, 2006

1. An Excerpt From First And Second Things by C.S. Lewis
2. Website Highlight Of The Week - Recipes
3. Cooking Classes 
4. Improve Your Relationship with Food and Your Body

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1. An Excerpt From First And Second Things by C.S. Lewis

Here is a wonderful, thought-provoking piece and
insightful piece by C.S. Lewis.  I know it is a bit longer
than my typical newsletters, but I have been wanting
to get it out to you for a few weeks now, and I
promise the read will leave you with a jewel at the
end.  It's actually only about 2 print pages if you were
reading it from the book.

I've included subheadings to make it easier to read
online

Enjoy, and let me know what it inspires in you.

~ Melissa

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I was standing today in the dark toolshed.  The sun was
shining outside and through the crack at the top of the
door there came a sunbeam.  From where I stood that
beam of light, with the specks of dust floating in it, was
the most striking thing in the place.  Everything else was
almost pitch black.  I was seeing the beam, not seeing
things by it.

Then I moved, so that the beam fell on my eyes. 
Instantly the whole previous picture vanished.  I saw no
tool shed, and (above all) no beam.  Instead I saw,
framed in the irregular cranny at the top of the door,
green leaves moving on the branches of a tree outside
and beyond, ninety-odd million miles away, the sun. 
Looking along the beam, and looking at the beam are
very different experiences.

Being In Love

But this is only a very simple example of the differences
between looking at and looking along.  A young man meets
a girl.  The whole world looks different when he sees her. 
Her voice reminds him of something he has been trying to
remember all his life, and ten minutes' casual chat with her
is more precious than all the favors that all the other
women in the world could grant.  He is, as they say, "in
love."  Now comes a scientist and describes this young
man's experience from the outside.  For him it is all an
affair of the young man's genes and a recognized biological
stimulus.  That is the difference between looking along the
sexual impulse and looking at it....

You get one experience of a thing when you look along it
and another when you look at it.  Which is the "true" or
"valid" experience?  Which tells you most about the thing? 
And you can hardly ask that question without noticing
that for the last fifty years or so everyone has been
taking the answer for granted.  It has been assumed
without discussion that if you want the true account of
religion you must go, not to religious people, but to
antropologists; that if you want the true account of sexual
love you must go, not to lovers but to psychologists....

Does The External Debunk Your Internal?

The people who look at things have had it all their own
way; the people who look along things have simply been
brow-beaten.  It has even come to be taken for granted
that the external account of a thing somehow refutes or
"debunks" the account given from the inside.  "All these
moral ideals which look so transcendental and beautiful
from inside," says the wiseacre, "are really only a mass of
biological instincts and inherited taboos."  And no one
plays the game the other way round by replying, "If you
will only step inside, the things that look to you like
instincts and taboos will suddenly reveal their real and
transcendental nature"...

The answer is that we must never allow the rot to begin. 
We must, on pain of idiocy, deny from the very outset the
idea that looking at is, by its own nature, intrinsically truer
or better than looking along.  One must look both along
and at everything.

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"I thought by going to Melissa I would get a few dieting tips, some
new recipes to try at home, maybe lose 2 or 3 pounds, and walk
away feeling pretty good about myself.  What I received from my
sessions with Melissa was so much more!  Melissa went to the root
of my "troubles" and concerns, she lead me to a place where I could
let go, forgive, and be more proactive about my dreams.  Since
Melissa, I have been dancing and performing more than ever and 
feeling much more positive about my life and career.  I sought out
Melissa to lose five pounds yet, in the end, I wound up gaining so
much more than anticipated.  I have filled my life with so much
meaningful matter that craving healthy foods has come naturally and
I desire them in order to support my lifestyle.  My achieved weight
loss ended up being just an added bonus."  -CB, Dancer, NYC

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2. Website Highlight Of The Week - Recipes

On the MyHeartDances website there is a page that lists
recipes made with whole foods.  Check it out!

http://www.myheartdances.com/resources/recipes.htm

I also teach private cooking classes.  Get a group of 5
people together, and you can book a class with me.  You
choose the date, time, AND MENU!

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4. Cooking Classes 
(located on the Upper West Side)

Organic Food, Organic FUN, and Good Company

"I truly enjoyed the cooking class. It was more than I expected.
I met some really interesting people, and Melissa was a great
instructor, patient and very informative. Not to mention the dish
we made (salmon burgers, quinoa,and our very own salad dressing)
were all so easy to make and very tasty and satisfying. I look
forward to taking another class soon" - Valerie-Saun Alerte 

Tues., April 11 (Full)
Soba Noodles w/ Sesame
Sweet Vegetables
Sautéed Mustard Greens
Brown Rice Crispy Treats (w/ Peanut Butter)

Mon. April 17 (Full)
Veggie Burgers
Hummus w/ Tortilla Chips
Mesclun Green Salad
w/ Parsley Ginger Dressing
Frozen Fruit Smoothies

Friday, May 12
Marinated Baked Tofu
Minty Green Lentil Watercress Salad
Garlic Sautéed Broccoli
Baked Bananas

Thurs. May 25
Soba Noodles w/ Sesame
Homemade Citrus Guacamole
Kenyan Style Collard Greens (You will be amazed!)
Brown Rice Crispy Treats (w/ Peanut Butter)

Tues. June 13
Veggie Burgers
Hummus w/ Tortilla Chips
Mesclun Green Salad
w/ Parsley Ginger Dressing
Frozen Fruit Smoothies

Pre-Register Today – Only $40 per class
All classes are held on the Upper West Side

Class is from 6:30 until 8:30p.m.
And includes all of the following

*Hands-on instruction
*Meet new people
*Learn cool facts and tips about the food you’re eating
*Get healthy tips
*Receive a copy of the recipe to take home
*Enjoy a DELICIOUS meal at the end of class!
 Made by The Fabulous You!

Please contact Melissa at Melissa@myheartdances.com for
more details and to register or call 917-689-6530

**Classes are fun, relaxed, and not intimidating!  They are
great for beginners!

**Private classes are also available, more details at:
http://www.myheartdances.com/services/cook_class.htm

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4. Want To Change Your Life and Be Challenged

You can make a change in your life.  Just decide!

Accountability and objective feedback from someone
experienced can really make a difference.