Change: Ours. Yours?

I've had a lot of meetings lately with people about Lumigrate.  The first year was focused on getting core people on facebook to know about it/me.  The second year I focused on getting a nation-wide "net" cast of professionals and then as we headed to begin our third year I oped to bring things back to my 'home town' of Grand Junction, Colorado and focus on connecting the local 'homeys' with Lumigrate's nation-wide 'net'.  Then once we're al grouped up reasonably well, we'll be doing a marketing campaign to let as many people know as possible about Lumigrate.com and the progressive, valid information which we present in a streamlined way (link out to selected sources for people to further looking if they find something of interest to them).  And we add FUN, such as Yenta and The Grate Groove of the Grand Valley has some FUN people in it which we'll be including on Lumigrate.com for everyone else to get to be part of 'virtually'.  I'm blessed to live in such an amazing place -- not only is it beautiful and relatively clean and low stress, it has a collection of health providers and history of the last 30 years that I believe makes it the 'Mecca of Health Care'. 

In my meetings, most of the people have been essentially service providers of face to face medical/mental health services and use the Internet as the average person does.  Sometimes I'm lucky enough to find someone who has the vision of consulting nation-wide with people using technology and if I get REALLY lucky the person or company is already doing that.  As Lumigrate is more established, naturally we're appealing to more of the nation-widers. 

But for those who aren't that familiar with how the Internet business works for medical in the current and future, they think of the many bloggers are out there they see and think that's all I'm doing with Lumigrate.  They don't initially realize it's not ME writing about what I think about things, it's me literally going about finding qualified professionals who will fill each 'You Model' for the people who come to Lumigrate.com to learn.  A 'virtual integrative medicine center', in a way.  The first year of Lumigrate I was still covering medical seminars from the clinic I was 'under the roof of' for it's formative time when there were all the people that you see in the Lumigrate videos and I would regularly write in the blog about what I learned. 

I miss those days -- I look forward to having the time to 'blog' on a daily basis, and with this new 'phase' we are in, intend to get back to having something at least more regular than on major holidays, as it's been lately.  I was going to write a blog on Easter last weekend, even though it isn't a holiday for me, and decided instead to do one for May Day, just to be different.  Then May Day came yesterday and I was still making up sleep from the Royal Wedding on Friday and had the opportunity to go with interesting people to see Water for Elephants.  I was going to blog about how the movie inspired me to think about 'out with the old/in with the new' relative to what overall is going on in the world and got home and called someone to tell them about something on facebook and was told about Bin Laden's having been killed by US forces.  I decided to go to bed and write today.

I find it very interesting that I've had this sudden 'coming together' locally of many NEW providers of content who are going to be really a good addition to the information at Lumigrate.com, as well as a revitalization of some of the older providers.  But it is true that any system is changing all the time -- every person is changing all the time, so therefore something that was a win/win fit in the past is no longer in the present so the option is to "keep doing what you're doing and get what you got", or "do something different and get something different". 

Those aspects for Lumigrate.com -- which means they will be 'coming to YOU' soon, include another compounding pharmacist/pharmacy, a wine, beer and spirits business which expanded to include steaks and seafood, cheese, AND now gluten free.  When they took my input a while back to include gluten free then did so when a local woman started a business baking amazing gluten-free stuff, that just bonded us a bit more and from there more conversations unfolded.  (They are going to expand to include a water-sport area as their store is on the Colorado River, meaning they bring the FUN element too!) 

There is a new nutritionist-type who also has a history of fibromyalgia and remediation going about things from different but also similar way as I've found results.  AND a mental health type with all the credentials and background from the 'establishment' who is formulating a business with a vision of helping people nation-wide via the technologies available to us, bringing in very progressive ways of looking at treatment of the mental health conditions we experience.  She focuses on women, which is what my business advisor has suggested to me in the past!  (But I wanted to make things appealing to men as well and believe talking about beer and wine and surfing on water is going to be a draw for them as well as women.)

I appreciate that one of the people I met with last week, when the scope of what Lumigrate is and is on it's way to become in the future registered said 'does it feel overwhelming to you?'  Well of course it does -- but I've gone through tons of overwhelming things in my life -- I'm 'in shape for it'.  Actually, in reality, it works the opposite:  I've had life-long pituitary issues, I'm recently realizing, with adrenal fatigue symptoms that were requiring doctor's input (with nobody realizing what was going on, causing it, or knowing what to do).  So it's about balancing and getting masterful at balancing.  Not wanting to do more than I need to in order to stay well, I believe I've gotten masterful, like a tight rope walker, at balancing the things you ideally 'do' to be well with the things you enjoy doing but which are known to not be good for a person who has CFS and FMS.  I decided to write about this today when one of the longest-back supporters of Lumigrate was writing about getting back into her coffee habit after having some good coffee recently when out and about.  I've often joked that I need a 12 step group for coffee. 

When I met up with my people yesterday I noticed that they both looked bubblier than in the past.  "I've been unemployed so I'm rested" one said.  "I've been helped by (a new medical provider's recommending pharmaceuticals after much bloodwork testing and diagnostics)" the other, retired one said.  I told them I was taking the time to watch a movie I wanted to see with them and go to dinner and get to know someone new.  They are informated people so I relished the conversation about health care and hope the unemployed one might have gotten 'turned on and tuned in' to at least read/learn at Lumigrate if not also be one who contributes and writes. 

So that's what I've had for change and growth with Lumigrate to report here if You are interested.  I have plans for carrying the ball with it very much forward to create a lot of change in the health care world.  What are YOUR intentions and goals --this is the perfect time to create some time and be part of the change as well.  There's lots of information at Lumigrate to help you with that -- look at the Life/Health Coaching area in Forums for starters -- the piece by Gwen Pettit about New Years is applicable today and any day. 

Onward and upward, together we go! ~~ Mardy

The salad I made while thinking about aspects of this -- find the recipe fo the green onion EASY dressing (courtesy of Deirdre Rawlings, ND) in the recipes forum in Forums tab (scroll way down to the nutrition section, foods forum OR just type in at the Lumigrate search bar "green onion dressing".)  Enjoy!  VERY green and everyone who tries it LOVES it on everything -- it can replace mayo on sandwiches and used as a dip to encourage eating vegetables as it's thin and concentrated with taste.  Olive oil, which is something to encourage in the proper quantities.