Table of Contents

BONUS ARTICLE! Lester Levenson – The Man Who Let Go

LeafSider Spotlight: Powering a Clean World & A Strong Self

Paradigms of Positivity, & Awakening Thanks

The 6 Universal Character Strengths & Virtues

Positive Psychology: The Science of Human Flourishing

Giving Thanks, With Nerdy Know-how 😁

Full-Body Qigong: Rise, Release, and Renew

The Care & Feeding of Your Gut-Brain-Axis

BONUS ARTICLE!
Lester Levenson: The Man Who Let Go

In 1952, Lester Levenson appeared to have everything. A gifted physicist, successful entrepreneur, and socialite in New York City, he’d climbed to the pinnacle of worldly achievement. Yet behind the polished exterior, he was crumbling — plagued by anxiety, chronic anger, and heartache. When a massive heart attack nearly killed him at 42, doctors gave him only months to live.

Confined to his apartment, Lester was forced into stillness — no distractions, no ambitions left to chase. What he discovered there would change not only his life, but the lives of countless others.

He began what he later called “the greatest experiment of my life.” Instead of running from his pain, he turned toward it. He noticed that each emotion had weight — fear constricted, pride puffed up, guilt burned, resentment poisoned. And he asked three radical questions:

Could I let this go?
Would I let this go?
When?

In those questions lay freedom. Slowly, his emotional storms quieted. His body began to heal. His racing mind softened into peace.

Over time, something remarkable emerged: the more he released, the lighter he became — mentally, emotionally, even physically. Joy returned, not as a fleeting mood but as his natural state. Thoughts no longer ruled him; they became optional background noise.

Friends noticed the transformation. His eyes shone with calm. He laughed easily. He lived simply. And he went on to thrive for another 42 years, radiating vitality and serenity until his passing in 1994.

🌅 From Manhattan to Sedona

In the 1970s, Lester moved to Sedona, Arizona, drawn by the red rock serenity that mirrored his own inner peace. It was here that he formalized his techniques into the Sedona Method. Today, the method is practiced in over 50 countries, with seminars, books, and coaching programs introducing people to one timeless idea:

“You don’t need to fix your emotions. You can simply let them go.”

🧘‍♀️ How It Works

The Sedona Method operates on a simple yet powerful principle:
When we fully allow a feeling to exist, without judging or suppressing it, it naturally dissolves.

Here’s the classic 3-step process:

  1. Welcome the feeling. Don’t fight it. Notice where it lives in your body.

  2. Ask the three questions:

    • Could I let this go?

    • Would I let this go?

    • When? (The answer can always be “now.”)

  3. Relax. Allow the release to happen naturally — often with a sigh, a breath, or a quiet smile.

Over time, this practice retrains the nervous system to return to peace faster. It dissolves emotional “charges” that fuel stress, reactivity, and negative self-talk.

👀📖Click here to read the 20 page PDF of Lester Levenson in his own words.

🌿 Backed by Modern Psychology

What Lester discovered intuitively in the 1950s is now supported by neuroscience and psychology:

  • Emotional suppression raises cortisol and blood pressure.

  • Acceptance and release activate the parasympathetic “rest and repair” response.

  • Letting go increases heart rate variability, a key measure of resilience and longevity.

Clinical studies show that mindfulness, emotional regulation, and self-compassion improve immune function, metabolism, and even sleep — echoing what the Sedona Method has taught for decades: peace heals.

🌞 A Global Ripple of Freedom

Over the years, the Sedona Method has touched lives in surprising ways — CEOs finding clarity, trauma survivors rediscovering peace, meditators deepening awareness, and ordinary people learning to live with lightness.

Lester’s students often describe the result as effortless happiness — a state of natural joy that doesn’t depend on circumstances. It’s not escape, but awakening.

“Letting go isn’t losing something,” Lester once said. “It’s gaining everything real.”

His message remains timeless: You don’t have to chase happiness. You can simply release the thoughts and emotions that obscure it.

🌞 The Ultimate Simplicity

Lester Levenson’s story reminds us that true transformation rarely begins with adding something new — but with letting go of what no longer serves. His message harmonizes perfectly with the science of health and wholeness: when we remove what blocks life, life heals itself.

In his own words:

“The only freedom there is — is letting go of the mind.”

And just as Lester discovered, when we loosen the grip of fear, pride, and control, what’s left isn’t emptiness — it’s peace, vitality, and the quiet joy of being fully alive. 🌿

LEAFSIDER SPOTLIGHT

Powering a Clean World & A Strong Self

By day, Joel H., 48, works to make the world 🌍 cleaner — an energy engineer helping reduce carbon emissions one system at a time. But when the workday ends, he trades equations for earth. In his backyard forest garden — a lush tangle of trees 🌲, herbs, and wild greens — he follows permaculture principles, moving stones, mulch, and water buckets up and down his sloped yard. “It’s my daily gym,” he laughs.

That same mix of purpose and discipline shapes how he eats. “I started eating whole food plant-based (WFPB) to avoid the heart ❤️ disease that has plagued my family for generations,” Joel says, “I don’t aim to live forever, but I hope to maintain a comfortable quality of life into old age.”

He found LeafSide as a way to stay consistent while traveling for work or skiing ⛷️ the snowy peaks of Colorado and Utah. “I pack LeafSide meals in my carry-on. They’re easy to make anywhere.”

Joel averages one LeafSide meal per day and uses them even more when life gets hectic. The results? His bloodwork shows it’s working. His white blood cell count is 2.7, indicating low systemic inflammation — a key marker of longevity. Unlike every male in his family, Joel takes no medication for cholesterol or blood pressure. ✅

“My younger brother started cholesterol and blood pressure meds at 37,” Joel says. “I’m more than 10 years past that point, and I’m still on none. That’s a big deal.” 👍

He’s quick to credit nutritional science and daily consistency for his results. “Years ago, I had dizzy spells from blood 🩸 sugar instability,” he says. “Now I wake up strong and stay that way all day.” 💪 Steady, smart, and sustainable — Joel is proof that when you fuel yourself with whole food, plant-based nutrition, your body thanks you and thrives.

Paradigms of Positivity, & Awakening Thanks

Despite today’s allopathic “healthcare” paradigm of treating symptoms in isolated body parts with drugs & surgery, we all know from experience and formal research, that the mind plays a powerful role in our health. Negative thoughts & emotions can certainly make you ill, physically and/or psychologically. And as billions spent on placebo-controlled studies have proven, positive expectations can certainly make you well. 💗

Thoughtful readers like you may realize too, that if placebo beliefs, thinking well of self or others, regular meditation, or other anomalies of mind can measurably “rewire the brain” — doesn’t that subvert the entire current paradigm/faith of mind=brain=computer? And raise deep questions of free will, and the nature of consciousness? 😉

This holiday season ‍, you’re invited to explore some relatively new frontiers of science-backed health & wellness. May you see & act beyond these mere squiggles on paper, to open your heart and mind to the wowness of being. 🤗

The 6 Universal Character Strengths & Virtues

Released in 2004 by two pioneers (Peterson & Seligman) in positive psychology, the landmark book Character Strengths & Virtues systematically organized virtues admired worldwide. Try the free VIA survey at viacharacter.org to know your own; then note & compliment others on theirs. By recognizing these strengths in and around you, you reinforce them in yourself. 💚

1. Wisdom
Use curiosity, creativity, and learning to see life’s patterns and expand perspective(s).

2. Courage
Act bravely, speak honestly, and persevere with energy and integrity despite challenges.

3. Humanity
Show compassion through kindness, love, and understanding — connecting deeply with others.

4. Justice
Champion fairness, teamwork, and leadership to strengthen community and the good.

5. Temperance
Practice humility, self-control, and forgiveness to keep balance and peace of mind.

6. Transcendence
Find joy in gratitude, hope, humor, and awe — connecting to greater meaning & purpose.

Positive Psychology: The Science of Human Flourishing

Much of 20th century psychology focused on dysfunction and a disease model, diagnosing problems and attempting fixes, with mixed success. But in the 1990s, psychologists 🧑‍⚕️️ like MartinSeligman wondered what would happen if we studied what makes people thrive? Building strengths, and measuring types, degrees, and interventions of and for happiness?

Thus began positive psychology, the science of human flourishing. Researchers started rigorously studying practices like meditation or giving thanks 🙏 ️; positive mental states like “flow”; and long-term outcomes like resilience, optimism, and life-satisfaction. A remarkable key finding was that 3 distinct forms
of happiness exist:

  • The pleasant life: Pleasures & their positive emotions, but they fade fastest.
  • The engaged life: Using your strengths to enter the timeless flow-state.
  • The meaningful life: Using your highest strengths for a larger purpose.

Check out UPenn’s authentichappiness.org Questionnaires for their free assessments of your strengths & happiness!

Full-Body Qigong: Rise, Release, and Renew

Qigong (“chee-GUNG”) is a Chinese healing art of mindful movement, breath 🌬, and balance ⚖ that has helped people restore calm and energy for millennia. Here’s a form you can do right now in your bedroom or backyard.* It’s called “Gathering Qi” and it’s a perfect complement to your daily gratitude rituals.

Bonus: If you subscribe to our Saturday emails, you may have read about the deep benefits (literally – it goes to your bones) of infrared light (IR). Try Gathering Qi in the rising or setting sun 🌞️ to stack it with a safe power-up of IR!

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and shoulders relaxed. Feet either pointed forward or flared out slightly. Start the Gathering Qi movement by squatting slightly to a comfortable depth.

2. When, straighten your legs to stand tall. While rising, inhale slowly through your nose as you lift your arms outward and up in a wide circle, palms facing the sky.

3. Continue the movement, bringing your hands together over your head. Feel your spine lengthening and chest opening. As you rise, say or think “receive.”

4. Exhale through your mouth and sink back into a squat while lowering your hands down the centerline of your body, palms facing the earth. As you lower, think “release.”

Return to step 1 and repeat the movement 3-5 times.

*Please consult with your healthcare professional before starting any new fitness program.

Giving Thanks, With Nerdy Know-how 😁

In the toolkit of positive psychology, gratitude is the Swiss Army knife — compact, seemingly simple, yet a surprisingly versatile & powerful tool 🛠. Gratitude practices can be done solo in your mind, or in a journal; 1-on-1, or to a group; in 2 minutes or 20. The benefits scale with effort, and
compound with time. Even more remarkable about gratitude is that as you consciously practice it, it measurably changes your brain, and body.

The Measurable Magic 🪄

Gratitude acts like a gentle anti-inflammatory, cooling the fires 🔥 of chronic stress. 😨 It reduces anxiety while simultaneously increasing motivation.

It blesses both giver and receiver, immediately and with lasting effects, like extra energy for your morning walk, patience with your partner or colleagues, and resilience when life throws curve balls. Plus you’ll sleep 😴 better tonight and think clearer tomorrow.

The timeline? Just 2-3 weeks of daily practice to see measurable changes. Gratitude is the compound interest of wellbeing — small deposits that multiply over time 📈.

The best part? It’s so easy to put the power of gratitude 🙏 to work for you. Here are three gratitude practices you can start today that will begin uplifting your health and well-being:

The Evening Three: Before bed, note three specific good things about your day. Not just “my health ♥️,” but “my knees didn’t ache on today’s hike.” Include why it mattered. This simple ritual plants seeds in your subconscious that bloom into better sleep.

Mealtime Gratitude: Before your next meal, LeafSide or otherwise, you can pause with intention: See the colors 🌈 of the food, feel the weight of the bowl. Consider the soil, the plants, the farmers 🚜, the choice you made to eat clean and consciously. It’s anchoring your healthy habits in appreciative awareness.

The Gratitude Letter: Write a 1-2 page letter 📬 to someone you want to thank. Surprise them with a visit or call, and read them the letter (have tissue handy). By combining multiple modalities, you’ll create a powerful experience with benefits lasting months or years.

The Power Of Now

At midlife and beyond, when the body can’t be taken for granted, and time feels more precious, gratitude enriches others and ourselves.

So here’s one more challenge: Notice three good things. Not tomorrow. Today. Now. 😉

That’s where transformation begins — in a single, grateful pause.

The Care & Feeding of Your Gut-Brain-Axis

While brains may not ultimately cause minds, the two are certainly correlated. Your microbiome (a legit 2nd brain), cardio & nervous systems, & brain make your “gut-brain-axis.”

At just 3 lbs of mostly fat, burning 20% of oxygen & calories, it’s obvious your brain needs clean & steady food as fuel, AND protective antioxidants, to avoid blood sugar yo-yo’ing 🪀️ and chronic inflammation. 🔥️ Cutting processed pseudo-foods, refined sugars, & saturated/trans animal fats cuts brain fog, mood swings, & depression.

To thrive, eat the rainbow 🌈️, i.e. high variety of whole plants. Only plants bring fiber for your good-gut friends to make direct brain, heart, & immunity inputs like short chain fatty acids, or 90% of your serotonin (the feel-good molecule). Plus phytonutrients & antioxidants like anthocyanin (e.g. blueberries 🫐️), carotenoids, etc. quench inflammation in your brain & body. Result? Steady energy, clear thinking, and better mood.

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