Smooth skin is another interesting factor to consider with skin and sex appeal. Traditionally, men and women have appreciated the difference between their skin textures. Women’s skin is smoother and much less hairy than men’s. Vive la difference! Running hands over exposed skin is an early signal of liking. Feeling the smooth skin or the hairy skin is a socially acceptable step in the direction of seduction. Smooth skin feels softest to the touch. Men love women’s smooth silky skin. Many women enjoy stroking a man’s hand, beard or face and appreciating the mix of hairs and smooth skin, strength and softness.

A current fad is the shaved head on men. What does it say at a subconscious level? It is blatantly sexual, phallic, confident and aggressive. There seem to be three groups of men engaging in this historically unusual behaviour only made possible by the advent of the electric shaver:

• Those who are losing their hair and see total baldness as an easier road. These men are aged from the late 20s through to 50s. It takes confidence to handle the attention and remarks directed towards their newly naked head.

• Young, aggressive sportsmen who are not necessarily losing their hair but are members of a team wishing to instil fear in the opposition. This tactic may work well since the shaved head is an unashamedly confident ‘in your face’ gesture.

• Young men who want to look confident, be free of society’s traditional values, who desire to conform to a rebellious society and so opt for the easy care and inexpensive, or macho, look. The result is the shortest haircut imaginable with a soft fuzzy feel to it as it grows out. The message is aggression and raw energy.

Is the shaved head sexy? To some women yes, to others, no. It is certainly touchable and these men must have lots of appreciative hands run over their head. Touching a head, as we have seen, is one sign of intimacy. The positive aspect of having a shaved head is that it takes courage. The negative? It takes a hat or beanie in winter to keep warm.

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Purple and violet are powerful colours which people seem to either love or hate. It would be difficult even for the most ardent fans to live in a house full of purple and violet. To many they are spiritually uplifting colours, while to others they are depressing. Deep purple should be used sparingly by anyone prone to depression since it can inhibit the emotions in susceptible people.

Those who have chosen colours from the purple and violet spectrum, including mauve, lavender and lilac, have an imaginative bedroom where dreams and fantasy reign. You are a creative person who likes to be considered different and individual. You are also poised, refined and dignified with a set of strong values with which you are comfortable, even though they may be unconventional. Perhaps you are inclined to live in a fantasy world to hide the uglier side of the real world. Those with a penchant for purple and for the lighter tints of the purple family are often sensitive and intuitive. This can sometimes lead to moodiness if you spend too much time in your bedroom alone. You need to be treated with love and dignity in your intimate life as you continually yearn for emotional security.

So if you are partial to purple, lilac, mauve or pale violet are certainly better choices than bright purple or dark violet for a bedroom. They are softer and more romantic. Purple itself needs another colour with it, such as white or cream, or a soft green to

keep it emotionally balanced. It is better for you to use in small amounts as an accent rather than decorating an entire bedroom with purple, unless you absolutely adore it and don’t share your bedroom with anyone else.

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How does this type of decorating reflect the personality of the Town and Country man and woman? Natural finishes for me, they say. No polyester or plastic – let me be in touch with nature. Let me reflect on the lives of the early pioneers and their simple, functional and recycled furnishings. I can adapt all that to my city lifestyle. I can do a little creating of my own by, for example, rubbing back a table, or sifting through the discarded and pre-loved furniture in the many wonderful antique or old wares shops.

The out-and-out Town and Country person loves touching the textures. They run their hands over old furniture or fabrics and love the tactile sensation. And they wear textures themselves with style. No plain smooth fabrics – they are into comfort and easy style with textured cotton, linen, wool, silk.

When recognizing a Town and Country person away from their home environment, notice the height (often taller than average), the build (angular rather than curved) and the angles in the face. These tell you that comfort in clothing and shoes is very important to them. The overall impression is friendly and approachable. They laugh a lot. Sarah, the Duchess of York, Robert Redford and Clint Eastwood are good examples of Town and Country types.

With this understanding of the pure Town and Country man and woman, you can begin to identify the personality that flows so easily with their decorating style. It is friendly, welcoming, unpretentious, take me as you find me, and enjoy the bounty of nature. Here is a person who wants to feel comfortable and shows it.

In bed? Lots of pillows please because that’s generous and if they are feathered pillows, they are so comfortable. What about sex? Yes please. That is so natural, but it must be sensual and involve touching and more touching and appreciating the lovely smell of the fresh sheets, and the yummy natural smell of you.

Key words: cosy, casual, homely, comfortable, textured and natural country style.

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There are three basic types of Fantasy style:

1. The ethereal fairytale style of the past has lots of white and light pastel colours, in particular pale mauve, pink and blue.

Fabrics are sheer and voluminous and draped everywhere. Decorative elements include fairies, cherubs, dragons, stars, moons and clouds, all in excess. This bedroom becomes a world within a world, indicative of either the immature adult seeking to find the little girl in herself, or a highly imaginative person trying to escape from the ugliness of the real world.

2. The futuristic style of the idealistic space traveller is a more stylised decorating style, with elements relating to outer space such as robots and space ships or futuristic planes. It is the world of Star Wars. All elements to this design have streamlined, clean and clinical lines with much silver or chrome, grey and white used. Sometimes touches of red, black or yellow are also evident. Again, this is a person, usually male, trying to escape from their present reality, this time into a world of the future.

3. The impossible ideal style is the world of Hollywood movie stars, of famous entertainers and of wealth and fame. The person who has this style of bedroom imagines that the world of everyone else is much better than his or her own and that money and fame solve all problems. Of course they only see the romantic side of this other style of living and this is what they try to create in their intimate life. The interest in the lives of celebrities, whether living or dead, by the fantasy seeker is totally obsessive and unrealistic, and that is how they live their lives. To most of us, this is immature and unimaginable behaviour – we don’t understand or want to understand for that matter. It may be interpreted by many as too cult-like.

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Flair, style, unusual colour combinations and creative fabric are the elements which set the Creatives apart from the rest. These are the non-conformists among us. They tend to mix a little of everything to create their own individual style. Fabrics with patterns, fabrics with fringes and tassels, scarves and sarongs are basic decorating items to a Creative. Often they will decorate their homes with their own quirky and unusual art pieces, and they may even screen print their own fabrics to use in their homes and clothing. Admire their artwork, and ask them to explain it to you. They will love it.

Unusual restaurants are the norm for them, nothing classic and ordinary. Cult restaurants with eclectic colourful decor may well appeal. Unusual food combinations presented in a casual, relaxed style will seduce them. This doesn’t mean they don’t like traditional family cooking, they just like to experience different cuisine when they go out. If entertaining at home they may decorate the table with a mixture of odd cutlery, crockery and serviettes with many different shapes and colours. Table centrepieces may be created by combining unrelated items from their stock of odd collectibles. Unusual candles will nearly always be a feature. The food they serve may be non-traditional, or it may be traditional style with combinations you would not normally think to put together.

With seduction, think unique, different, unusual, new. Combine different elements. Be spontaneous. The more variety the better. Surprise them with your ingenuity.

Creatives don’t like habitual rituals. In the bedroom, ensure the bed looks comfortable and inviting. Ruffle the cover a little, throw a piece of fabric or a scarf over the lamps to mute the light and send colour throughout the room. Or use coloured light globes to throw a sensual glow throughout the room. Be aware of the different and unusual atmosphere you are creating.

The female Creative is the free spirit who often shocks the traditional Classics and Practicals. Be innovative when seducing her. Think of feathers and other titillating tools. Change your seduction style each time and vary the body positions. Surprise her, don’t bore her.

The Creative man loves spontaneity. Send him intriguing notes, seduce him with the unusual. Variety is the spice of life for him. As long as you do it with a sense of flair, anything goes. Don’t be shy with him. Drape yourself in seductive fabric. Let his imagination whirl.

Good news: unique, quirky, has colourful flair.

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When we place our awareness on Fear-Based beliefs and thoughts, our awareness is in the lower or ego-mind level. We are concerned only with getting our own self-interests satisfied. This means getting security; getting enough sex, food and stimulation; and getting power through being right, manipulating people, claiming territory or getting more possessions, prestige, fame, recognition or achievement. On this low level of consciousness—which is where most people in the world spend most of their time—we are primarily concerned with getting rather than giving. All of these positions are based on fear, the fear that there won’t be enough to go around, that we won’t get our fair share, that our rights may be violated, or that we won’t be accorded recognition or prestige. While beliefs and thoughts on this lower level of consciousness may appear to bring temporary pleasure, they almost never produce lasting happiness or satisfaction.

Keeping our awareness on fear-based beliefs and thoughts leads us to think about past memories which trigger either guilt or resentment. Alternatively, we may entertain concern or worries regarding problems that we imagine may confront us in future. We feel constantly threatened and fearful and we make plans to defend ourselves against every contingency that may arise from the hostile, threatening world we perceive around us. We tend to view other people as rivals and our minds are filled with constant chatter as we judge and condemn others.

Amid such chaos, inner peace is impossible. By perceiving everything in our lives through a filter of fear-based beliefs, we see everyone and everything as a threat to our comfort, security and possessions. We feel separated and alone from other people and we are at the mercy of the entire gamut of negative emotions.

These destructive feelings keep our fight or flight response constantly simmering. Our bodies exist in a state of tension and emergency with ail systems GO. Glucocorticoid secreted by the adrenal glands shuts down part of the immune system. Blood is also drawn away from the skin and mucosal areas in the nose and throat and directed to the large body muscles instead. When we feel negative, the mouth becomes dry and the acidity of the nasal mucosa is reduced, lowering our resisting to invading viruses.

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In 1970, Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling started a medical controversy with his book Vitamin C and the Common Cold. Few people today question that vitamin C and the Common Cold. Few people today question that vitamin C relieves symptoms and shortens the duration of the common cold. But both the public and the scientific community are concerned by the ever-increasing dosages being recommended by many contemporary practitioners.

For example, at first Pauling recommended 250 to 1,000 mg of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) daily to prevent colds and infections. Should a cold appear, he recommended increasing intake to 1 to 10 g daily, depending on one’s personal tolerance to vitamin C and on the severity of the infection. Nowadays, Pauling recommends 10 g a day as a prophylactic dose, while if you get a cold, the dose is 2 g per hour.

Meanwhile, other doctors have suggested amounts as high as 25 to 100 g per day to be taken during a cold. Some doctors find that 80 to 90 percent of the amount you can tolerate without getting diarrhea is effective.

During controlled trials, these enormous doses have shown little discernible advantage over smaller amounts.

As a result, many nutritionists today believe that, in their zeal to prove its cold-fighting properties, the pioneers of vitamin C therapy have overlooked two important factors. They are:

1. When tested under controlled conditions, relatively small daily doses of vitamin C (in the 3 to 5 g range) have achieved the same results as megadoses. Moreover, these very large doses may cause stomach gas, heartburn or diarrhea.

2. To achieve its maximum biological activity, vitamin C must interact with adequate amounts of other vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A and E, the B-complex and zinc. By focusing exclusively on vitamin

C, and ignoring the role of these other essential nutrients, vitamin C therapists arc failing to maximize the full benefits of vitamin C. By working synergistically with other essential nutrients, smaller amounts of vitamin C can enhance immunocompetence more effectively than can large doses of vitamin C alone.

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Other stress mechanisms triggered by beliefs, thoughts and emotional states can affect the central nervous system or the endocrine system, leading to vasomotor instability. When a person becomes enraged, angered or hostile, for example, the fight-or-flight response is invoked, causing constriction of arteries throughout the body. Within minutes, this condition can cut blood supplies to the heart muscle, precipitating sudden cardiac death, a heart attack or severe angina. The existence of this emotional link to heart disease has been thoroughly documented. But few researchers have bothered to investigate the fact that this same mechanism constricts blood vessels in nasal passages, reducing blood supply to the nose area and causing nasal congestion, and inhibiting the disease-resisting powers of nasal mucosa and of the cilia beating in nasal passages.

Gradually, piece by piece, the results of dozens of small scale studies are contributing to the total picture. We now know for example, that feeling lonely may also significantly suppress the immune system.

Other studies have demonstrated that positive beliefs, thoughts, emotions and attitudes can enhance immunocompetence. A number of studies have shown that antibody and helper T cell counts have been significantly boosted after subjects were given a few sessions of instruction in deep relaxation and creative mental imagery.

Basically, then, it has been found that prolonged stress, depression or other negative emotional states suppress the immune system while positive beliefs, thoughts, emotions and attitudes enhance our immunocompetence. While the benefits of Positivism have been most clearly identified in the link between emotions and immunity, strong and irrefutable evidence is also emerging to show that diet and exercise are also powerful tools for boosting immunity.

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Naturally, this advice applies only if you feel up to walking outdoors. You certainly should not walk if you have a fever or the flu or if you feel at all weak or fatigued. However, a brisk walk of three to four miles stimulates the entire immune system. It also accelerates the absorption and metabolism of nutrients essential to immunocompetence.

Continuous rhythmic exercise outdoors opens up the nasal passages and makes breathing easier. And it stimulates production of opiate-like endorphins in the brain that kill the pain and discomfort of cold symptoms.

Alternatively, you may practice any form of continuous rhythmic exercise such as jogging, bicycling, swimming in warm water, or local cross-country skiing. If you pedal a stationary bicycle, try to use it near an open window or on a porch where you can breathe fresh air.

Once the exercise is over, stay indoors and rest and relax for the remainder of the day.

Important Caution: walking or other exercise is suggested only to persons who are already physically fit and healthy, who regularly perform this same exercise at least several times each week, and who are able to walk or exercise without any ill effects. Do not suddenly begin to exercise if you are not already fit and healthy enough to complete the exercise without any risk to your health.

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A key element of the answer is a bask principle of modem psychology—that there are only two root emotions, fear and love. All fear-based feelings are negative, and they include anger, hostility, guilt, resentment, bitterness, frustration, envy, dissatisfaction, anxiety, helplessness, hopelessness and depression. All love-based feelings are positive, and they include joy, peace, generosity, forgiveness, compassion and contentment.

Applying this to Smith and Jones, we see that by viewing life through a filter of fear-based beliefs, Smith perceived a hostile, unfriendly and threatening world. Such a negative way of looking at things intensifies all forms of headache and all types of dysfunctions.

By contrast, Jones viewed life through a filter of love-based beliefs, as a result of which he perceived a friendly, loving and nonthreatening world. Consequently, be remained free of headaches and disease, he felt great, and he continued to enjoy a high level of wellness.

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