Even the country's most jaded physicians will admit that ancient civilizations made significant contributions to health science.

"A 4,000-year-old Sumerian clay tablet, one of the oldest medical manuscripts in the world, shows a series of astonishingly modern procedures," writes Dian Dincin Buchman, PhD, in her fascinating book, Ancient Healing Secrets. "Wounds were first washed with a kind of liquid soap made of beer and water, poultices or plasters applied, and finally bandages. In today's laboratories, time and again scientists find that ancient herbs used to treat wounds are usually effective against staphylococcus or E. coli bacteria, or both."

The holidays pose an interesting paradox: Our wallets shrink as our waistlines expand. But is it really possible to survive the decadent buffet lines at all of the season's parties and celebrations?

According to experts, you can indulge without acquiring a bulge. Just follow these basic guidelines, which should easily fit into your organic living lifestyle.

Years ago, the tea aisle at your local supermarket provided limited choices. Any box you picked up invariably contained black tea, and it probably carried the Lipton label.

Today the tea aisle has become a brewer's paradise for organic food shoppers. Black tea is still the favorite among consumers, but "herbal, fruit and green teas are growing in popularity at a much faster rate," says Judson Kleinman, president of Fairfield, New Jersey-based Corporate Essentials, a beverage service firm that caters to businesses in the New York metro area. "Black tea grew about 3% to 5% from 2002 to 2004, whereas specialty tea and herbal/fruit tea grew at 50% and 30%, respectively," he tells OrganicAuthority.com.

The Tibetan wish for humanity is 'May All Beings Be Happy'! This wish of goodness not only seeds loving kindness….it is a teaching about how each of us can be happy. The more we involve ourselves in caring for the world, the greater our ability to move off our self centered dime. So much of our own angst is caused by our self pre-occupation. Suzuki Roshi used to say that our finger is always pointing at ourselves.

I have a note above my desk about five simple ways to be happy. They work well for me and perhaps they may give you some insight about getting unstuck on your path to happiness.

Have you noticed that when you chase after something your stress level goes up?

Zen can help with the stressful gap between wanting things and how things actually are in your life. Zen can teach you how to live without much attachment to the outcome of your actions. This doesn't mean you are uncaring or don't plan for your life, or that you don't have some general intention or goal in mind. It means you become very interested in the quality of your mind when you do things.

If you become curious about your own stress, then your intention to understand it will teach you how to live with clarity and calmness. If you learn a few mindfulness practices like awareness of your breathing, living with alertness, and paying attention to your body, you can begin to fathom how you create your own stress.