Tag: Radiant Life

How Hormones Hinder Weight Loss Efforts

The human body is a miracle of form and function that can constantly adjust itself to different foods, temperatures, ailments, and imbalances. And yet, it is also vulnerable, especially in this era of denatured foods, chronic stress, and environmental toxins. Add to that an increasingly lonely and sedentary lifestyle, and you have the potential for…


What Is Healthy, Anyway?

Global interest in health has never been more pronounced than it is today. In much of America, and throughout the industrialized world, people are living in fear of getting sick—not just with COVID-19, but also with cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and more. At the same time, the majority of us suffer from significant health problems….


Requiem of Defiance

In his later years, my father joined a Welsh miners’ choir, composed of men that shared the daily hardships and very real dangers of digging coal hundreds of feet beneath the ground. They gathered on evenings and weekends to sing together, raising their voices in union as a celebration of community and brotherhood. I remember…


Don’t Smell the Roses; Breathe Them In

We’ve all heard that the human microbiome is critical for wellness. Among its many jobs, the gut microbiome helps digest your food, make nutrients, and ensure proper immune function. Both the type and quantity of microbes contribute to the overall health of your microbiome. For example, loss of microbial diversity plays a key role in the formation of diseases, such…


Beneath the Surface of Beauty

“At first glance so convincingly real, so archaeologically exact, so beautiful and innocent, ‘Spring’ turns out on closer examination to be illusionary, historically confused, and mischievously immoral.” — Louise Lippincott, former Curator of Fine Arts at Carnegie Institute and author of “Lawrence Alma Tadema: Spring” Masterful works of art are often multilayered and complex. What…


The Lost and Necessary Art of Silence

When was the last time you intentionally set aside time for silence? Silence is steadily disappearing from our lives. In today’s modern age, we are inundated with information, content, and opinions. The number of distractions available lead many of us to wonder what a life with silence even looks like. Whether it’s a notification alerting…


Finding the Republic of Molossia

The idea that would eventually manifest into the Republic of Molossia—a country within the United States—occurred to President Kevin Baugh when he was 15 years old and living with his parents in Portland, Ore. With his best friend, James, he watched “The Mouse that Roared,” the British satirical film starring Peter Sellars, based on Leonard…


Free Reads Through Community Deeds

From the time I learned to read, libraries have been a sanctuary. As an adult, I have made my way with words, writing magazine articles and a few books. So, when I recently moved to a small neighborhood in Southwest Portland, Ore., I became fascinated by the number and variety of boxes located throughout the…


Fresh Faced – an Interview With Entrepreneur Kirsi Kaukonen of Niki Newd

Radiant Life: How did Niki Newd come to fruition? Kirsi Kaukonen: The kernel of inspiration for Niki Newd was planted over 16 years ago, when I taught my friend a facial masque recipe that has been passed down from mother to daughter in my family for at least 200 years. The masque recipe is freshly blended…


De-Stressing Your Marriage

Each day, approximately 2,000 marriages in the United States end in divorce. The top reasons for marital splits include constant fighting and infidelity. But these problems don’t appear out of nowhere. They often start with a breakdown in communication. Fights, affairs, and eventual divorce are frequently the results of this breakdown. Fortunately, communication problems can…