Are you in or coming to L.A.? In this frenetically-paced city, Tikkun Holistic Spa is the ideal sanctuary of serenity and renewal within the urban jungle. You can order your individual treatments a la carte or as a combo - a relaxing green tea soak in a luxurious stone tub, an infrared Himalayan Salt Cave for detoxification, Korean mineral body scrub, Volcanic Clay Treatment, ultrasound facial, foot soak and jade stone massage treatment. Arrive early to enjoy the immense communal jacuzzi, the sauna, and steam rooms, sans a crowd! Street address: 1460 4th Street, Santa Monica Opening hours: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Daily Telephone: 310-319-1111 ©2013 Excerpt from ""L.A. Made Easy: From Iconic to Eclectic" by Terry Braverman All Rights Reserved 

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Andrew Carnegie was reputed to be a charitable man, but he also believed that people should work for what they got. After seven years as the sole supporter of his local symphony orchestra, Carnegie decided that it was time for the fund raisers to earn their keep. `You will no longer get your total budget from me, ‘he told the stunned representatives. `I will contribute only an amount equal to the donations you get from other sources.’ “The fundraisers departed in shock. But two days later, they returned with half the symphony’s budget, $3.5 million, already pledged. Carnegie was greatly pleased. `I hope this teaches you young fellows a lesson,’ he said as he wrote out a check for $3.5 million. `Surely two days was not an unreasonable investment of your time and efforts. May I ask, where you raised such a large amount in so little time?’ The head of the fund raising delegation smiled. He said, `We got it from Mrs. Carnegie.’”

If your head seems to be stuffed up with clutter and uncertainty, it’s time to stop what you’re doing, regroup, and either find a quiet place for yourself or solicit feedback from others to regain clarity. We all “hit the wall” from time to time, but it is essential to be conscious of those times and take appropriate steps to clear our heads.

Recently I was the luncheon keynote speaker at an annual conference. Leading up to the introduction as the speaker there are many things going on in my mind—setting up my back of the room products table, remembering to give my typed intro to the person introducing me, putting a glass of water on the podium box, loading the Powerpoint part of my presentation onto the laptop and testing it, testing the sound system in the room, checking the lighting, tweaking parts of my presentation, etc., etc. Something about the room logistically didn’t seem right, but with so many thoughts pinballing around in my brain I had to leave the room and find space to clear my head and determine what was awry.

The room I was to speak in was somewhat long and narrow, which meant that people in the back would feel more remote from the “action,” e.g., exercises I planned for the group. I asked the audio-visual and logistics people if we could move my stage area so I would be more central in the room and therefore closer to everyone. It took some rearranging of tables and running power cables, but it worked like a charm!