It’s true folks, October 24th marks the 7th annual Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day Oct. 24th!  In 2002, National Acupuncture Day was enstated to promote the positive benefits of Acupuncture and other Oriental Medical modalities to the public and get the word out.  This year, hopes to be the biggest and best ever, with events set up all over the country.  Organizations are setting up lectures & group events, private practices are giving great deals and even some free treatments!  Acupuncture seems to be gaining more recognition in the media and the healthcare systems these days and more and more people are using AOM (Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine) as a means of preventative and general healthcare.  If you are interested in learning more about AOM, I’ve included a couple of links to find an event near you.

• AOM Day.com Events
• Acupuncture Today.com Events
• Acufinder (A great resource for finding events and for finding a practitioner in your area)

Of course these links are not fully inclusive, if you don’t see an event in your neck of the woods feel free to ask your own acupuncturist if he/she has anything set up for the day or even the week!

If you have never had acupuncture and have any questions about it, make today your day to learn something new, or stop in for a treatment.  It’s really an amazing medicine and I’ve enjoyed every minute of my education thus far, I’m truly excited to continue learning and someday being able to really share my knowledge with my own clients, friends and family!  Ever since my first Acupuncture visit, I think I always knew I’d end up here, but it’s been quite the journey!  If you have a great story about Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, please share it!  I love hearing people’s stories, they are always so inspiring.  I know how important this medicine has been in my life and I hope that it becomes a part of yours too!

In other news October 24th also marks International Day of Climate Action which means: people in 181 countries are coming together for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet’s history. At over 4500 events around the world, people are gathering to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis. 

Here is a copy of a letter issued by the organization 350.org to give you a little more information:

We are a group of people from around the planet—young and old, scientists and writers and activists—who have one thing in common. We know the most important number on earth: 350. And we know how to use that number to finally get global action on the worst crisis humans have ever faced. But we can only do it if you help.

A year ago, our greatest climatologist—NASA’s James Hansen—and his team produced a landmark series of studies. They showed that if we let the amount of carbon in the atmosphere top 350 parts per million, we can’t have a planet “similar to the one on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted.”

The bad news is we’re already past that number—we’re at 390 parts per million, which is why the Arctic is melting, why drought is spreading across the planet, why people are already dying from diseases like dengue fever and malaria occurring in places where they’ve never been seen before.

The good news: that number gives us a target to aim for. When the world’s leaders meet in Copenhagen in December to reach agreement on a new climate treaty, we need them to go farther than they’ve planned to go: we need to make sure they’ll pay attention to the latest science and put forward a plan that gets us back to safety.

So here’s the plan. On October 24, we need you to organize an action in the place where you live, something that will make that most important number visible to everyone. People in more than 1000 communities around the globe have already announced plans—they’ll be school children planting 350 trees in Bangledesh, scientists hanging banners saying 350 on the statues on Easter Island, 350 scuba divers diving underwater at the Great Barrier Reef, and a thousand more creative actions like these.  At each event, people will gather for a big group photo that somehow depicts 350–and upload that photo to the web 350.org.  As actions take place around the world, we’ll link all the pictures together electronically via the web–by the end of the day, we’ll have a powerful visual petition linking together the entire planet that we can deliver to the media and world leaders.

So far more than 100 nations are taking part—it’s shaping up to be to be the biggest day of grassroots action on global warming ever. But we need it to be much larger—we need you, in your village or town or city, to take part.  It’s not hard—we can help you with materials and ideas. But you need to take the first step, by registering an action and starting to let your friends and neighbors know about it.

Involve groups that you’re in—everything from your church, mosque or synagogue to your local bicycle group. People want to help, especially if they see the chance for something that might actually matter. This is even more important than changing your lightbulb—this is your chance to help change the way the whole world operates. October 24 comes six weeks before those crucial UN meetings in Copenhagen. It’s a great chance to take a stand—maybe the last great chance, given what the scientists tell us about the momentum of global warming.

But it can only happen with the help of a global movement—and it’s starting to bubble up everywhere. Farmers in Cameroon, students in China, even World Cup skiers have already helped spread the word about 350. Churches have rung their bells 350 times; Buddhist monks have formed a huge 350 with their bodies against the backdrop of Himalayas. 350 translates across every boundary of language and culture. It’s clear and direct, cutting through the static and laying down a firm scientific line.

This is like a final exam for human beings. Can we muster the courage, the commitment, and the creativity to set this earth on a steady course before it’s too late? October 24 will be the joyful, powerful day when we prove it’s possible.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqof641pWys]

If you want to take action please visit www.350.org and see if you can take part in some event or set up your own!  I know it’s late notice, BUT, in the off chance that you were looking for something to do on Saturday, you now have TWO great options and if not Oct. 24th, then at least I’ve put the idea in your head to think about it!

Till next time,

Be well!

Sources:  350.org; Acupuncture Today.com; AcuFinder.com; AOM Day.com Oct. 23rd, 2009