Author: Jean Kokus

Read about Home Coffee Bean Roasting.Coffee. It's a delectable word. It makes you follow the aroma especially with the great tasting roasted coffee beans. Coffee is a popular drink at home, in the office, or just about anywhere.

Tastes may vary depending on how the drinker wants the brew of the coffee and the type of coffee beans. Most drinkers, who are so picky about the flavor of their coffee, would consider home coffee bean roasting. We may think of home coffee bean roasting as a complicated process, but it is not. In fact, it does not require a special machine or equipment and any tools to produce the same professional tasting roasted coffee. What is even marvelous about coffee bean roasting is that you could do that with your popcorn popper or stove top pan, and you still get the same roasted coffee beans. But you could also use the help of coffee roasters.


The Process

The process of home coffee bean roasting may not be that difficult and time consuming. It also does not require expensive equipments. To begin with, you would need green coffee beans. You may try Guatemalan Antigua, Colombian Supremo, or Costa Rican Tarrazu. These are just some of the high quality coffee beans you can use. There are more, but of course, if you want to make the best tasting coffee, you have to make use of the right coffee beans.

The next thing is to roast your coffee beans in the coffee roaster, popcorn popper, or stove top pan, whichever you have at home. You will also need pot holders, a cookie sheet to pour the roasted beans out, and a bowl to catch the chaff. A small scale may be helpful to measure the right amount of coffee beans used in each batch and a digital timer to have the right timing for roasting. You might also want to consider roasting coffee beans outside your home, probably the garage or somewhere else to avoid blowing the chaff inside your home.

The whole process would take about 15 to 20 minutes for a cup of coffee beans. But the time would generally depend on how dark you want your green coffee beans roasted. You then drain the beans and let them cool. After which, you have to shake them to remove the outer skin and sift with the use of a mesh cooking screen. Depending on their preference, some would want freshly roasted beans cooled immediately while others would want to let it cool to release carbon dioxide from 4 to 24 hours to have the best tasting coffee. And that's it for home coffee bean roasting.

The Store

There is an increasing number of consumers who prefer home coffee bean roasting. And for these consumers, there are online stores like The Grape and Granary who specializes on supplies, equipment, and ingredients needed in beer brewing, wine brewing, liquor making, cheese making, or coffee bean roasting. You will be flabbergasted at their long list of available items.

About the Author:
The perfect home coffee bean roasting available only at http://www.thegrape.net/

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Enjoying the Aroma of Homemade Coffee

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Author: Trevor Mayes

Our Reaction to Colour - The Endocrine System.Colour affects us physically and psychologically, directly and indirectly and from a combined psychological, physiological, and spiritual perspective. From both the psychological and physiological perspective colour affects us directly when it enters the eye and is transmitted to the emotional centre of the brain the hypothalamus that in turn affects the pituitary gland the gland that controls the entire endocrine system the network of glands including pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal gland, pancreas, ovaries, and testes.

The thymus gland, pineal gland, and kidney are sometimes considered endocrine organs. They all release hormones into our bodies, hormones are protein messengers that help cells talk to each other. The endocrine system can affect moods and could account for Seasonal Affective disorder or S.A.D, it also affects sex drive, energy levels, and weight gain to name a few.

We are indirectly affected by colour as it can penetrate our bodies so that even blind people can benefit from colour therapy. This means that clothing, bed clothing, and diet can affect us the same way as the colours we actually see. It is commonly known that sunlight also has the effect of synthesising vitamin D through ultra violet radiation acting on the skin. However, photosensitive people can react to sunlight and develop a skin rash, but sunlight can be used to treat other skin conditions such as psoriasis.

The existence and purpose of the pineal gland has been a matter of long standing scientific debate. Recent scientific evidence shows that it is another master gland in addition to the pituitary, which acts as the body's light meter receiving light activated information from the hypothalamus. Its activity is activated by light changes and the earth's magnetic field and is part of our biological body clock that adjusts to varying lengths of daylight.

It is now recognised as the regulator of regulators controlling sexual function, growth, and aging, body temperature, blood

pressure, motor activity, sleep by the production of melatonin, tumour growth, and mood. The pineal gland has long been associated with spirituality and described as the third eye through which information to the body's energy centres are passed. When we get an imbalance of coloured light all the above bodily functions and our daily rhythms can be is thrown out of synchronisation with our needs to maintain our mental and physical health.

Warm and Magnetic Colours

Colour is sometimes referred to in terms of temperature, the red longer wavelengths colours are referred to as warm or magnetic colours while the shorter wavelengths towards to blue end on the spectrum are cool or electric colours. From the hottest red which has a lowest and slowest frequency but the most powerful penetrating affect, to orange and then yellow are generally taken to be the three main magnetic colours.

These colours are masculine and linked to action as they supply us with basic life force energies for action, they are warm, stimulating and energising, they are connected to the awareness of self and self-expression, physical and survival instincts, creativity and the mental processes. They are grounding colours that link us to the earth and discharge negativity from our system.

Complimentary Colours

Complimentary colours are colours that are directly across from each other on the colour wheel. They are called "complementary" because, when used together, they become extremely vibrant and have heavy contrast. Complimentary colours are useful when you want to make something stand out, for example, if you use a green background and have a red circle on it, the red will jump off the page and be almost blinding. In colour therapy, complementary colours reinforce each other and can be used in specific rations such as 755 red and 25% of its complimentary colour green.

The Aura

An aura is an envelope of vital energy, which radiates from everything in nature including minerals, plants, animals and humans. The aura is not visible to normal vision, but may be seen by using clairvoyance and specialized photographic equipment. The aura is often described as a multi coloured mist that has an assortment of boundaries and properties and binds our physical bodies to our spirituality; it is not in anyway separate from our physical body but they combine as one unit that makes up the whole person. The aura acts as a prism to divide white light into its component colours that are sent to different coloured layers around our bodies. These auric layers correspond to chakras or energy centres which in turn relate to major organs in our bodies. The aura is the way in which these chakras are energised and are the means by which we communicate with our aura and vice-versa.

This means we need a balance of all the colours in white light to remain healthy, an imbalance can affect our psychological well-being and cause physical illness; it is the task of the colour therapist to correct any imbalance present in the auric layers.

The Seven Main Chakras of the Spiritual Body and Their Respective Colours

Violet - Crown

Indigo - Brow

Blue - Throat

Green - Heart

Yellow - Solar Plexus

Orange - Sacral

Red - Root or Base

© Trevor Mayes 2007

About the Author:

Trevor Mayes is a qualified colour therapist and proprietor of Colour Counselling Therapy Healing which specialises in online diagnostic colour therapy and healing gemstones which is particularly suitable for stress relates issues. His interests are shamanism, the Runes, music, photography, growing vegetables, biking, mountaineering, sailing and canoe surfing.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - How Colour Therapy Works

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Author: Shine Music

Why is Music Important for Kids?

This question has been debated for as long as time has existed. Even the great Greek and Roman philosophers approached the question: is music something that should be taught and does it help the development of children?

Plato answered "I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for in the patterns of music and all arts are the keys to learning." And again “what then is the education to be? Perhaps we could hardly find a better than that which the experience of the past has already discovered, which consists, I believe, in gymnastic, for the body, and music for the mind.”


In all cultures of the world music plays an important role. While these roles may change depending on the culture it is impossible to separate music from the life of an individual. While some may argue the role of music in our lives it is impossible to escape it. Even in the popular culture of Australia it is impossible to go shopping without hearing music. Music provides a means of communication and expression of culture and individual identity.

Children are immersed in music from birth and will be for their entire life. If this is the case why teach it? Is not the constant immersion in music enough? To this I say; is the fact that we witness the results of scientific principals on a day to day basis result in the understanding of those scientific principles? No it does not and likewise for music it does not either. The day to day encounters we have with music can move us but the understanding of this music can help us grow as individuals.

In many cultures the family plays the main role in music education. Families are most commonly the ones that teach children the music of their culture. As young children, we are commonly sung nursery rhymes. These provide entertainment for the child and often information in small repeated fashion. Children learn through the repetition and structure that the information was delivered in. many nursery rhymes teach fundamental life lesson and therefore sets music up as a means of educating. Children learn from music from a young age and will continue to for the rest of their lives. In a world where globalization and consumerism are dominating cultural identities are drifting into the background and children are more likely to be sung pop songs as lullaby’s than nursery rhymes. The benefit of nursery rhymes and progressive learning has become an issue. Children are missing out on fundamental learning opportunities.

The Mozart effect which gained a large following in the 1990’s claimed that listening to Mozart as a baby will make a child smarter. While this movement was short lived and there is little proof that it works there has been no denying that children who learn music will achieve higher in other aspects of their academic life. In earning music children learn to express their identities, gain confidence and develop sense of time and space. A research team at the university of Munster in Germany discovered that students who study music have more developed abstract reasoning skills which are closely linked to learning in the areas of science and maths.

I do not believe that there is any argument to this question…music is a vital part of a child’s education and should be taken seriously. Listening to music is not enough! A child must learn to think musically and that is what will help assist the development of the child and their academic development.


written by Gemma Lee from www.shinemusic.com.au teachers of piano, saxophone, violin, singing, drums, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, flute and clarinet

About the Author:
shine music teachers of Piano, saxophone, violin, singing, drums, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, flute and clarinet

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Does Music Help Children?

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Author: Sarah Reddingworth
Do you need to get a good nights sleep when you go bed? Is insomnia plaguing you? Read this article and get back into the rhythm of a good nights sleep in bed. This article will help you accomplish that! Join me as we focus on a good nights sleep. Sleep is an essential factor.

Some can sleep in bed for 4 hours a night, others need a minimum of 8 hours, and sometimes we need more, especially to recover. With bad sleeping patterns, insomnia, etc, it really can affect our daytime life. So getting the right balance is essential. There can be a number of reasons why there is a problem in this area. If it is insomnia, then it generally is that we take our daytime problems to bed. We try to sleep while our minds are rushing around the problems in life. This is a major cause of insomnia. Ever tried sleeping the night before an interview or exam? We could be up till 4am, trying to sleep! We could try to figure out solutions we don't even know the questions to. Our mouths might get dry, and we get up to drink water 10 times in one night, rustling in bed and all that! The first step is to leave those thoughts out of your bed. Your bed is for sleeping in. So leave the problems. If you can't then a good idea is to say mind - deal with this or God - deal with this and leave it at that. If that doesn't work, then imagine a light bulb in your mind, and mentally switch off the lights, then have a good nights sleep. Your bed may also be an issue, if your mattress is old. Try turning the mattress over to even out and balance the springs or coils. Also consider buying a new bed or mattress. This is a great way to get major comfort. Memory foam mattresses are great if you have back problems. If you have a partner in bed and it is a small bed, consider getting a king size! This can be a great way to give you more room. Another solution is hypnosis. There are a lot of courses on CD that can help with insomnia. Play it back and it can have a major effect to program you to sleep peacefully. Another option is to look at your eating habits. Eating just before sleeping is not a great idea, however nor is an empty stomach. If you find yourself getting up at night for a snack, this is not a bad thing. I for example need to have something in my belly. Having something light before sleeping is a great idea, especially if like me, you just can't sleep on an empty stomach. Bananas are a great idea as it is very light, and gives you potassium which is good for the brain. Another solution is meditation, which works so well. Select the time you want to sleep, and half an hour before sit in a chair, in quietness, quiet the mind, and focus on silence. Make your mind be like still water, and if you can do this you will find that your brainwaves calm down which makes you feel tired, at which time get into bed and have a great blissful sleep. Then it becomes beauty sleep!About the Author:

Stop! Save as much as 50% and sometimes more for a memory foam mattress and bed! www.kingsizebedmattresses.us

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Getting A Good Nights Sleep

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Author: Knight Pierce Hirst

According to an August 2009 announcement by the American Heart Association, sugar – including high fructose corn syrup – is bad for the heart. Women should have no more than 100 calories daily from sugar that’s added to foods and drinks. Men should have no more than 150 of these calories daily.

Unfortunately, the average American consumes 375 calories from added sugar daily. In fact, about half the increase in calories in the past 30 years comes from beverages. Twelve ounces of regular cola have about 130 calories of sugar. Is seems Americans aren’t drinking to their health.

According to a study in the journal “Neurology”, people as young as 45 who have high diastolic blood pressure are more likely to have problems with memory. The diastolic number is the bottom number on a blood pressure reading. Blood pressure readings of 140/90 or above are considered high and every 10-point increase in the diastolic number increases the likelihood of memory problems 7%. Thus it’s thought preventing or treating high blood pressure could help prevent memory loss. Considering 1 out of 3 Americans have high blood pressure, 1 out of 3 could have difficulty remembering this.

According to a study published in the journal “Social Science & Medicine”, worry about losing a job is worse for peoples’ health than not having a job. In fact, chronic job insecurity was a stronger predictor of poor health than smoking or hypertension. It’s not just the loss of income that causes this stress; it’s also the loss of health insurance, retirement benefits and peace of mind. Previous research has shown that stress leads to a range of poor health conditions that can shorten life. Of course, other research has shown that job security in a stressful job can shorten life too.

According to Dr. Martin Wiseman of the American Institute for Cancer Research/World Cancer Research Fund, nearly 40% of breast cancer in the U.S. could be prevented. The report, which reviewed 81 new studies on the links between lifestyle and cancer, showed that 70,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented a year if women maintained a healthy weight, drank only 1 alcoholic drink a day, exercised at least 30 minutes a day and breastfed their babies. Breast cancer kills 400,000 women worldwide every year, with 40,000 dying in the U.S. While the government struggles with health care, women can help care for their own health.

About the Author:

Knight Pierce Hirst has written for television, newspapers and greeting cards. Now she writes a 400-word blog three times a week. KNIGHT WATCH, a second look at what makes life interesting, takes only seconds to read at http://knightwatch.typepad.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - What's Unhealthy For Good Health?

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Author: Sharron Myers

Music, they say, soothes the savage beast and this is so true when we consider how music in its magical way works on our body rhythms bring harmony, literally, back into the body.

A story is told in the Bible of a King named Saul, who had an evil spirit that would torment him and make him feel terrible. It was suggested that they find someone who could play he harp and then the evil spirit would leave and King Saul would feel better. So they searched and found a young shepherd boy named David and he was commissioned to play for Saul whenever the evil spirit came upon him.

Researchers have found that certain types of music are more uplifting to the soul than others. Although you may think that a way to relax would be to listen to your favorite rock band, you are sadly mistaken. This will only rev up your engines and make you more stressed than when you started out. No, the way to personal harmony must come from a very specific kind of music. Not all music relaxes, you must personally feel more relaxed, your breathing must become slower and deeper for music to have a relaxing effect on you.

Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. 1 Samuel 16:23(KJV)

According to composer and music researcher Stephen Halpern Ph.D., "Music is not all that meets the ear. If you were to have earplugs in your ears, you cold still 'feel the music'" he explains. "That's because music is vibrations. And these vibrations affect your heartbeat, blood flow, brain waves - your entire body chemistry.

So it is by our body responses that we can tell if music is truly relaxing us or not.

In order to truly enjoy the music it is best if you can get yourself focused on it by either sitting still or lying down and really soak it in.

I realize that there are times when you just can't do this and just listening while going about your work is better than nothing, but it will not have the same effect as actually absorbing yourself in it.

I personally love to just run a hot bath with my favorite aroma, lavender. Then I light candles around the bathroom and turn off all of the lights. This is my special time when I can relax and toss away the cares of the day. In the living room, right next to the bathroom, I have beautiful classical or new age music playing softly. As it permeates the room, mixed with the scent of my bath and candles, I am in another world, totally relaxed without a care in the world.

Music, in my view, is the most influential and powerful therapy that you can provide yourself. It not only affects your soul, but your body and spirit as well.

About the Author:

This article is bought to you by Sharron Myers
Sharron Myers has been a teacher of Spiritual Truth for over 30 years. She also is a Certified Aromatherapist and Personal Development Consultant. Be sure to check out her site: www.sharron-myers.com

To Live the Life You Want, Learn the Skills You Need www.sharron-myers.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Music Therapy

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Author: Trevor Mayes

Using candles as therapy has been around for thousands of years, and has been practiced by nearly every religion from the ancient Egyptians to the present day.

The candle flame provides a focus and candle therapy can be used to unite the powers of mind, body, and spirit. Candles have lit our way through many millennia not only as the only source of light but also symbolically as the flame of life in celebrations and ceremonies, proclamations and processions. Candle light creates an almost hypnotic and tranquil atmosphere that allows the mind to drift off into a very special place or retreat from the pressures of every day life.

A candle acts as a reflection of our selves as we would like to be and helps us plan how we can bring about positive change to make our dreams come true. On a spiritual level, the candle reflects the spiritual changes we would like to bring about in ourselves. The candle flame acts as a reminder and a symbol of our burning desires. Sometimes we have to allow our subconscious to take over and allow a force more powerful than we are to give us guidance. Simply lighting a candle of a particular colour or essential oil will assist in other therapy methods such as colour breathing and visualisation.

Candle therapy is important in colour therapy and to assist in meditation as it is the vibration of the flame that helps put you in touch with our spiritual or higher self. The colour of the candle and the aroma of scented candles is a way of including the colours you need to correct any imbalance in your aura or chakras. However, you do not need to light them as simply having them as a decoration to look at with also assist in the colour therapy healing process. You should never blow out a candle as folklore has it that it will offend the fire element and the spirits, candles should be extinguished using a snuffer or by dunking in the molten wax.

© Trevor Mayes 2007

About the Author:

Trevor Mayes is a qualified colour therapist and proprietor of Colour Counselling Therapy Healing which specialises in online diagnostic colour therapy and healing gemstones which is particularly suitable for stress relates issues. His interests are shamanism, the Runes, music, photography, growing vegetables, biking, mountaineering, sailing and canoe surfing.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Colour Therapy and Candle Therapy

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Author: Gerald Fitz

Many pregnant women get intense cravings, and studies show that the number one craving is for chocolate. You might be avoiding chocolate because it is “bad for you” or “bad for the baby.” However, chocolate is actually proving to have unexpected health benefits, and these benefits may be doubly important for pregnant women and the development of healthy babies.

We know that chocolate makes us naturally happier. It releases endorphins which act to dull pain and just make us generally feel better. It also stimulates the brain and body. Recent research has found that chocolate can also have positive effects on the fetus. The infants whose mothers ate chocolate regularly throughout pregnancy were found more inclined to smiling, laughter, and were more easily soothed. Strangely enough, it seems that chocolate can make both you and your baby happier.

Chocolate also has several health benefits when taken wisely. Chocolate, especially dark, is full of powerful antioxidants that protect against cell damage. This can be important especially when your body is under the stress of pregnancy. It can also help against fatigue and be preventative against future diseases. When you are pregnant you are more prone to exhaustion as your body supports the development of another person.

Gestational hypertension can happen because of the increased blood volume during pregnancy. Theobromine is a natural substance found in chocolate that fights against fatigue by stimulating the heart. It also increases circulation in the placenta to aid in fetal development. Magnesium is another element in chocolate that is important during pregnancy in the development of the fetus’ brain. Since chocolate has many good substances in it, it may be that when you are craving chocolate you are in fact craving something your body needs.

Obviously chocolate alone is not enough to give you all the vitamins you need during pregnancy. It would be impossible for you to get all you need in your diet alone, and that is why prenatal vitamins are so important. The prenatal vitamin and chocolate have actually now been combined so you have a good tasting prenatal chocolate. These are great because they have been specifically designed for health conscious women during their pregnancy. Taking a chocolate vitamin can allow you to give in to your craving while at the same time monitoring how much chocolate you eat. It is the perfect solution for someone who needs to take a daily vitamin anyway. There are also other “healthy” chocolates you can invest in such as dark chocolate or sugar free, or chocolates to boost energy, creating more ways to ease cravings without having to feel guilty after.

Chocolate has many benefits, but anything in excess is bad for you. Regular chocolate is high in sugar and not good for you in disproportionate amounts. Make smart choices about your chocolates, make sure you are moderate in your intake, and make sure you are taking care of yourself and keeping yourself healthy and then you can let loose and give in to some of those cravings.

About the Author:

For more info on delicious healthy chocolates, visit MyTopForm.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Healthy Baby, Happy Mother -- Prenatal Chocolates

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