The other two...
3. Protein
Protein is essential for growth and development. It provides the body with energy, and is needed for the manufacture of hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and tissues. It also helps maintain the proper acid-alkali balance in the body.
When protein is consumed, the body breaks it down into amino acids, the building blocks of all proteins. Some of the amino acids are designated nonessential. This does not mean that they are unnecessary, but rather that they do not have to come from the diet because they can be synthesized by the body from other amino acids. Other amino acids are considered essential, meaning that the body cannot synthesize them, and therefore must obtain them from the diet.
Whenever the body makes a protein-when it builds muscle, for instance-it needs a variety of amino acids for the protein-making process. These amino acids may come from dietary protein or from the body's own pool of amino acids. If a shortage of amino acids becomes chronic, which can occur if the diet is deficient in essential amino acids, the building of protein in the body stops, and the body suffers.
Because of the importance of consuming proteins that provide all of the necessary amino acids, dietary proteins are considered to belong to two different groups, depending on the amino acids they provide.
Complete proteins, which constitute the first group, contain ample amounts of all of the essential amino acids. These proteins are found in meat, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, and milk.
Incomplete proteins, which constitute the second group, contain only some of the essential amino acids. These proteins are found in a variety of foods, including grains, legumes, and leafy green vegetables.
Although it is important to consume the full range of amino acids, both essential and nonessential, it is not necessary to get them from meat, fish, poultry, and other complete-protein foods. In fact, because of their high fat content-as well as the use of antibiotics and other chemicals in the raising of poultry and cattle-most of those foods should be eaten in moderation.
Fortunately, the dietary strategy called mutual supplementation enables you to combine partial-protein foods to make complementary protein-proteins that supply adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids.
For instance, although beans and brown rice are both quite rich in protein, each lacks one or more of the necessary amino acids. However, when you combine beans and brown rice with each other, or when you combine either one with any of a number of protein-rich foods, you form a complete protein that is a high-quality substitute for meat.
To make a complete protein, combine beans with any one of the following:
· Brown rice.
· Seeds.
· Corn.
· Wheat
· Nuts.
Or combine brown rice with any one of the following:
· Beans.
· Seeds.
· Nuts.
· Wheat.
All soybean products, such as tofu and soymilk, are complete proteins. They contain the essential amino acids plus several other nutrients. Available in health food stores, tofu, soy oil, soy flour, soy-based meat substitutes, soy cheese, and many other soy products are healthful ways to complement the meatless diet.
Yogurt is the only animal-derived complete-protein source recommended for frequent use in the diet. Made from milk that is curdled by bacteria, yogurt contains Lactobacillus acidophilus and other "friendly" bacteria needed for the digestion of foods and the prevention of many disorders, including candidiasis. Yogurt also contains vitamins A and D, and many of the B-complex vitamins.
Do not buy the sweetened, flavored yogurts that are sold in supermarkets. These products contain added sugar and, often, preservatives. Instead, either purchase fresh unsweetened yogurt from a health food store or make the yogurt yourself, and sweeten it with fruit juices and other wholesome ingredients.
4. Fats
Although much attention has been focused on the need to reduce dietary fat, the body does need fat.
During infancy and childhood, fat is necessary for normal brain development. Throughout life, it is essential to provide energy and support growth. Fat is, in fact, the most concentrated source of energy available to the body. However, after about two years of age, the body requires only small amounts of fat-much less than is provided by the average American diet.
Excessive fat intake is a major causative factor in obesity, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and colon cancer, and has been linked to a number of other disorders as well. To understand how fat intake is related to these health problems, it is necessary to understand the different types of fats available and the ways in which these fats act within the body.
Fats are composed of building blocks called fatty acids.
There are three major categories of fatty acids-saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated.
These classifications are based on the number of hydrogen atoms in the chemical structure of a given molecule of fatty acid.
Saturated fatty acids are found primarily in animal products, including dairy items, such as whole milk, cream, and cheese, and fatty meats like beef, veal, lamb, pork, and ham. The fat marbling you can see in beef and pork is composed of saturated fat. Some vegetable products including coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and vegetable shortening-are also high in saturates.
The liver uses saturated fats to manufacture cholesterol. Therefore, excessive dietary intake of saturated fats can significantly raise the blood cholesterol level, especially the level of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), or "bad cholesterol. "
Guidelines issued by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), and widely supported by most experts, recommend that the daily intake of saturated fats be kept below 10 percent of total caloric intake. However, for people who have severe problems with high blood cholesterol, even that level may be too high.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids are found in greatest abundance in corn, soybean, safflower, and sunflower oils. Certain fish oils are also high in polyunsaturated fats. Unlike the saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats may actually lower your total blood cholesterol level. In doing so, however, large amounts of polyunsaturated fats also have a tendency to reduce your high-density lipoproteins (HDLs)-your .good cholesterol." For this reason-and because, like all fats, polyunsaturated fats are high in calories for their weight and volume-the NCEP guidelines state that an individual's intake of polyunsaturated fats should not exceed 10 percent of total caloric intake.
Monounsaturated fatty acids are found mostly in vegetable and nut oils such as olive, peanut, and canola. These fats appear to reduce blood levels of LDLs without affecting HDLs in any way. However, this positive impact upon LDL cholesterol is relatively modest. The NCEP guidelines recommend that intake of monounsaturated fats be kept between 10 and 15 percent of total caloric intake.
Although most foods-including some plant-derived foods contain a combination of all three types of fatty acids, one of the types usually predominates. Thus, a fat or oil is considered 'saturated" or "high in saturates' when it is composed primarily of saturated fatty acids. Such saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature.
Similarly, a fat or oil composed mostly of polyunsaturated fatty acids is called "polyunsaturated," while a fat or oil composed mostly of monounsaturated fatty acids is called "monounsaturated."
One other element, trans-fatty acids, may also play a role in blood cholesterol levels. Also called trans fats, these substances occur when polyunsaturated oils are altered through hydrogenation, a process used to harden liquid vegetable oils into solid foods like margarine and shortening.
One recent study found that trans-monounsaturated fatty acids raise LDL cholesterol levels, behaving much like saturated fats. Simultaneously, the trans-fatty acids reduced HDL cholesterol readings. Much more research on this subject is necessary, as studies have not reached consistent and conclusive findings.
For now, however, it is clear that if your goal is to lower cholesterol, polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats are more desirable than saturated fats or products with trans-fatty acids. just as important, your total calories from fat should not constitute more than 20 to 25 percent of daily calories.
(Compiled)
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Friday, September 29, 2006
Grandma’s Home Remedies..............
ASTHMA
Asthma is a serious condition that should always be checked by a doctor.
Here are some remedies to reduce the effect of asthma :
· Mix 10-15 drops of garlic juice with warm water and drink it for quick asthma relief.
· Mix 1/4 cup onion juice, 1 Tbsp honey and 1/8 Tbsp black pepper. And eat the paste.
· Mix licorice and ginger together. Take ½ tbsp in 1 cup of water for relief from asthma.
· Drink a glass of 2/3 carrot juice and 1/3 spinach juice, 3 times a day .
· Add 30-40 leaves of Basil in 1 liter water, strain the leaves and drink the water throughout the day.
· Take some Radish, Honey and Lemon juice, put them in a blender. Mix for 20 minutes and then put in a pan and keep on the stove on low heat. Take one teaspoon in the morning everyday.
· If you don’t have your medicine on hand when you sense an attack, drink a cup of coffee.
· Eat some honey or hold a jar of honey under the nose and inhale the air, you will start breathing easier and deeper.
· Three or four dry figs should be cleaned thoroughly with warm water and soaked overnight. Then eat them in the morning,
· The juice of one lemon, diluted in a glass of water should be taken with meals everyday.
· Take five grams of Indian Gooseberry mixed with one tablespoon of honey. It should be taken every morning.
· Buy wild cherry tree bark from your local herbal store. And make tea with the bark. You can drink it hot or cold everyday
· The roots of the bitter gourd plant is also used for the treatment of asthma. A teaspoon of the root paste, mixed with an equal amount of honey or juice of the tulsi leaves, given every night for a month, acts as an excellent medicine for this disease.
· Prepare a soup of drumstick leaves, by adding a handful of leaves to 180ml of water and boiling it for five minutes. Allow it to cool, add a little salt, pepper, and lime juice. Take once daily.
· A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction and honey, is very good for asthma. The decoction of fenugreek can be made by mixing one tbsp of fenugreek seeds in a cupful of water. Take this once in the morning and once in the evening.
· Take ten garlic cloves and boil in 30 ml of milk. This mixture should be taken once daily. Steaming ginger tea with two minced garlic cloves in it can also be taken every morning and evening.
· Safflower seeds are also beneficial in the treatment of bronchial asthma. Half a teaspoon of powder of the dry seeds, mixed with a tablespoon of honey, should be taken once or twice a day.
· Use a herb called ‘ginkgo biloba’, it contains ginkgolide B which is very helpful for asthma patients.
· Mix 1-2 ml eucalyptus essential oil in a 23 ml carrier oil(almond, sunflower or whaeatgerm oil) for a chest rub. Place a few drops on a pillow or handkerchief as an inhalant.
· Take some thyme leaves, mix with water and put on a stove. Inhale the steam.
Asthma is a serious condition that should always be checked by a doctor.
Here are some remedies to reduce the effect of asthma :
· Mix 10-15 drops of garlic juice with warm water and drink it for quick asthma relief.
· Mix 1/4 cup onion juice, 1 Tbsp honey and 1/8 Tbsp black pepper. And eat the paste.
· Mix licorice and ginger together. Take ½ tbsp in 1 cup of water for relief from asthma.
· Drink a glass of 2/3 carrot juice and 1/3 spinach juice, 3 times a day .
· Add 30-40 leaves of Basil in 1 liter water, strain the leaves and drink the water throughout the day.
· Take some Radish, Honey and Lemon juice, put them in a blender. Mix for 20 minutes and then put in a pan and keep on the stove on low heat. Take one teaspoon in the morning everyday.
· If you don’t have your medicine on hand when you sense an attack, drink a cup of coffee.
· Eat some honey or hold a jar of honey under the nose and inhale the air, you will start breathing easier and deeper.
· Three or four dry figs should be cleaned thoroughly with warm water and soaked overnight. Then eat them in the morning,
· The juice of one lemon, diluted in a glass of water should be taken with meals everyday.
· Take five grams of Indian Gooseberry mixed with one tablespoon of honey. It should be taken every morning.
· Buy wild cherry tree bark from your local herbal store. And make tea with the bark. You can drink it hot or cold everyday
· The roots of the bitter gourd plant is also used for the treatment of asthma. A teaspoon of the root paste, mixed with an equal amount of honey or juice of the tulsi leaves, given every night for a month, acts as an excellent medicine for this disease.
· Prepare a soup of drumstick leaves, by adding a handful of leaves to 180ml of water and boiling it for five minutes. Allow it to cool, add a little salt, pepper, and lime juice. Take once daily.
· A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction and honey, is very good for asthma. The decoction of fenugreek can be made by mixing one tbsp of fenugreek seeds in a cupful of water. Take this once in the morning and once in the evening.
· Take ten garlic cloves and boil in 30 ml of milk. This mixture should be taken once daily. Steaming ginger tea with two minced garlic cloves in it can also be taken every morning and evening.
· Safflower seeds are also beneficial in the treatment of bronchial asthma. Half a teaspoon of powder of the dry seeds, mixed with a tablespoon of honey, should be taken once or twice a day.
· Use a herb called ‘ginkgo biloba’, it contains ginkgolide B which is very helpful for asthma patients.
· Mix 1-2 ml eucalyptus essential oil in a 23 ml carrier oil(almond, sunflower or whaeatgerm oil) for a chest rub. Place a few drops on a pillow or handkerchief as an inhalant.
· Take some thyme leaves, mix with water and put on a stove. Inhale the steam.
THE LIGHTER SIDE...........
One liners .. Most of which are really true
1. Having one child makes you a parent; having two you are a referee.
2. Regular naps prevent old age... especially if you take them while driving.
3. Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right and the other is the husband!
4. I believe we should all pay our tax with a smile. I tried - but they wanted cash.
5. A child's greatest period of growth is the month after you've purchased new school uniforms.
6. Don't feel bad. A lot of people have no talent.
7. Don't marry the person you want to live with, marry the one you cannot live without... but whatever you do, you'll regret it later.
8. You can't buy love . . . but you pay heavily for it.
9. Forgiveness is giving up my right to hate you for hurting me.
10. Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.
11. Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
12. Marriage is give and take. You'd better give it to her or she'll take it anyway.
13. My wife and I always compromise. I admit I'm wrong and she agrees with me.
14. Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others.
15. Ladies first. Pretty ladies sooner.
16. A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
17. You're getting old when you enjoy remembering things more than doing them.
18. It doesn't matter how often a married man changes his job, he still ends up with the same boss.
19. Real friends are the ones who survive transitions between address books.
20. Saving is the best thing. Especially when your parents have done it for you.
21. They call our language the mother tongue because the father seldom gets to speak!
1. Having one child makes you a parent; having two you are a referee.
2. Regular naps prevent old age... especially if you take them while driving.
3. Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right and the other is the husband!
4. I believe we should all pay our tax with a smile. I tried - but they wanted cash.
5. A child's greatest period of growth is the month after you've purchased new school uniforms.
6. Don't feel bad. A lot of people have no talent.
7. Don't marry the person you want to live with, marry the one you cannot live without... but whatever you do, you'll regret it later.
8. You can't buy love . . . but you pay heavily for it.
9. Forgiveness is giving up my right to hate you for hurting me.
10. Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.
11. Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
12. Marriage is give and take. You'd better give it to her or she'll take it anyway.
13. My wife and I always compromise. I admit I'm wrong and she agrees with me.
14. Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others.
15. Ladies first. Pretty ladies sooner.
16. A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
17. You're getting old when you enjoy remembering things more than doing them.
18. It doesn't matter how often a married man changes his job, he still ends up with the same boss.
19. Real friends are the ones who survive transitions between address books.
20. Saving is the best thing. Especially when your parents have done it for you.
21. They call our language the mother tongue because the father seldom gets to speak!
What Is Job Burnout?
"Burnout is the gradual process by which a person, in response to stress and physical, mental, and emotional strain, detaches from work and other meaningful relationships.
The result is lower productivity, cynicism, confusion...a feeling of being drained, having nothing more to give," says Mark Gorkin, LICSW, a Washington, DC-based expert on stress.
"Burnout itself is a process. It develops through stages," says California executive coach and psychologist Sandra Paulsen, PhD.
Those stages are the following:
Physical exhaustion: reduced energy to maintain activity level
Emotional exhaustion: depression, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness
Changed perspective on the world: cynicism, negativism, irritability
Pervasive, global feelings of negativity: one is doing poorly in all areas of life or perhaps isn't a good person
What Causes Burnout?
Many employees find themselves constantly fighting to maintain a balance between their home and work lives. The combination of long hours, work and family pressures, increased job responsibilities, business travel, and a lack of boundaries between time on and off the job can all conspire to make even the most dedicated worker frazzled. And if you don't enjoy what you're doing, those factors can wreak even more havoc.
What's at Risk?
According to the Center for the Advancement of Health, various studies indicate a significant correlation between on-the-job stress and mental, emotional and physical problems, such as heart disease; absenteeism; and mental, immune system and musculoskeletal disorders—all of which affect quality of life and workplace productivity.
In sum, job burnout is a pervasive problem that individuals and companies can't afford to ignore.
The result is lower productivity, cynicism, confusion...a feeling of being drained, having nothing more to give," says Mark Gorkin, LICSW, a Washington, DC-based expert on stress.
"Burnout itself is a process. It develops through stages," says California executive coach and psychologist Sandra Paulsen, PhD.
Those stages are the following:
Physical exhaustion: reduced energy to maintain activity level
Emotional exhaustion: depression, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness
Changed perspective on the world: cynicism, negativism, irritability
Pervasive, global feelings of negativity: one is doing poorly in all areas of life or perhaps isn't a good person
What Causes Burnout?
Many employees find themselves constantly fighting to maintain a balance between their home and work lives. The combination of long hours, work and family pressures, increased job responsibilities, business travel, and a lack of boundaries between time on and off the job can all conspire to make even the most dedicated worker frazzled. And if you don't enjoy what you're doing, those factors can wreak even more havoc.
What's at Risk?
According to the Center for the Advancement of Health, various studies indicate a significant correlation between on-the-job stress and mental, emotional and physical problems, such as heart disease; absenteeism; and mental, immune system and musculoskeletal disorders—all of which affect quality of life and workplace productivity.
In sum, job burnout is a pervasive problem that individuals and companies can't afford to ignore.
The Source of Your "Gut-Level" Feelings
By Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler
"You actually have as many brain cells in your gut... as you do in your skull!"
Ever had a physical sensation something wasn’t quite right? Or perhaps an odd feeling that a situation was somehow dangerous? Or have you had “butterflies” in your stomach just before an important meeting or situation?
That was your second brain in action...
“My second brain?” you ask.
Yes. Unknown to most people, we actually have two physical brains.
You’re intimately familiar with the brain encased in your skull. But did you know you also have a second brain in your gut?
Actually, over one half of your nerve cells are located in your gut. And you may be even more surprised to learn that your second “gut brain” contains neurons and neurotransmitters just like those found in your skull.
And here’s something that may come as even more of a shock
Just like your primary brain, your “gut brain” is also able to learn, remember, and produce emotion-based feelings. The expression “gut-level feeling” isn’t just a “saying.” We really do have feelings in our gut.
Our two brains communicate back and forth via a major nerve trunk extending down from the base of your brain all the way down into your abdomen. Because of this connection, your two brains directly influence each other.
When one brain becomes upset, the other joins right in. That’s why your stomach might get “fluttery” because of anxiety before an important meeting. Or why a late night spicy snack that’s hard on your stomach might also give you some nasty nightmares.
The Mystery of the Second BrainHow do we happen to have two brains?
During early fetal development both your “gut” (esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon) and your primary brain started to develop from the same clump of embryonic tissue.
When that piece of tissue divided, one piece grew into your central nervous system (your brain and cranial nerves). The other section became your enteric nervous system (your “gut brain.”)
During a later stage of fetal development, these two brains then became connected via a massive nerve: the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the longest of all our cranial nerves, and creates a direct connection between your brain and your gut.
Because of this direct brain-gut connection, the state of your gut has a profound influence on your psychological well being.
How it WorksYour “gut brain,” known to scientists as the enteric nervous system (ENS), is embedded in the sheaths of tissue lining your esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon.
And, nearly every brain-regulating chemical found in your brain has also been discovered in your gut brain -- including both hormones and neurotransmitters.
In “The Second Brain,” Dr. Michael Gershon, a professor at New York City’s Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, refers to the entire gastrointestinal system as “the body's second nervous system.”
"The brain is not the only place in the body that's full of neurotransmitters,” Dr. Gershon explains. "One hundred million neurotransmitters line the length of the gut -- approximately the same number found in the brain."
Actually, the total of nerve cells in your gut is greater than the total nerves connecting the rest your body to your brain. This complex circuitry allows your “gut brain" to act totally independent of the brain in your skull.
Your “Sleep-Gut Brain” ConnectionAs research on the circuitry between our two brains progresses, neuro-scientists are understanding more and more about how we act and feel.
For example: Our brain and gut are so interconnected that both have natural 90-minute “sleep cycles.” In the brain, slow-wave sleep is interrupted by periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep during which dreams occur.
The gut has corresponding 90-minute cycles of slow-wave muscle contractions. But as with the brain’s REM sleep intervals, these cycles are interrupted by corresponding short bursts of rapid muscle movement.
Your “Stress-Gut Brain” ConnectionHardly anything needs be said about the connection between stress and our gut. In many ways, this may be the most visible brain-gut problem of our times.
Anyone who has ever become emotionally upset knows the immediate effect on their gut. Your stomach “ties itself in knots,” rumbles and growls, and stops digesting.
The results include chronic indigestion, ulcers, and a whole host of unpleasant conditions. And if the stress is chronic or intense enough, your colon may even go into spasms.
Your “Pain-Gut Brain” ConnectionBut our “gut brains” also help us in some amazing ways. They are a primary source of pain relief. The “gut brain” naturally produces chemicals (benzodiazepine) found in many pain relievers, and in anti-anxiety drugs like Valium.
And like your primary brain, your “gut brain” also has opiate receptors.
“Drugs like morphine and heroin also attach to the gut's opiate receptors,” pain management specialist Dr Michael Loes tells us. “And both brains can become addicted to opiates."
Mastering Your “Gut Brain”Many mystical and natural healing practices consider the belly to be a major center of energy and higher consciousness.
In China, the gentle arts of Tai Chi and Qigong emphasize the lower abdomen as a major reservoir for life energy and health. The belly is considered the “dantian” -- a key center for higher consciousness development.
It’s important to get your “gut brain” operating at its best. Start by paying attention to what’s happening in your digestive system. Remember, your gut is about a whole lot more than just digesting your food -- it also reacts to and digests your inward and outward “realities.”
"You actually have as many brain cells in your gut... as you do in your skull!"
Ever had a physical sensation something wasn’t quite right? Or perhaps an odd feeling that a situation was somehow dangerous? Or have you had “butterflies” in your stomach just before an important meeting or situation?
That was your second brain in action...
“My second brain?” you ask.
Yes. Unknown to most people, we actually have two physical brains.
You’re intimately familiar with the brain encased in your skull. But did you know you also have a second brain in your gut?
Actually, over one half of your nerve cells are located in your gut. And you may be even more surprised to learn that your second “gut brain” contains neurons and neurotransmitters just like those found in your skull.
And here’s something that may come as even more of a shock
Just like your primary brain, your “gut brain” is also able to learn, remember, and produce emotion-based feelings. The expression “gut-level feeling” isn’t just a “saying.” We really do have feelings in our gut.
Our two brains communicate back and forth via a major nerve trunk extending down from the base of your brain all the way down into your abdomen. Because of this connection, your two brains directly influence each other.
When one brain becomes upset, the other joins right in. That’s why your stomach might get “fluttery” because of anxiety before an important meeting. Or why a late night spicy snack that’s hard on your stomach might also give you some nasty nightmares.
The Mystery of the Second BrainHow do we happen to have two brains?
During early fetal development both your “gut” (esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon) and your primary brain started to develop from the same clump of embryonic tissue.
When that piece of tissue divided, one piece grew into your central nervous system (your brain and cranial nerves). The other section became your enteric nervous system (your “gut brain.”)
During a later stage of fetal development, these two brains then became connected via a massive nerve: the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the longest of all our cranial nerves, and creates a direct connection between your brain and your gut.
Because of this direct brain-gut connection, the state of your gut has a profound influence on your psychological well being.
How it WorksYour “gut brain,” known to scientists as the enteric nervous system (ENS), is embedded in the sheaths of tissue lining your esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon.
And, nearly every brain-regulating chemical found in your brain has also been discovered in your gut brain -- including both hormones and neurotransmitters.
In “The Second Brain,” Dr. Michael Gershon, a professor at New York City’s Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, refers to the entire gastrointestinal system as “the body's second nervous system.”
"The brain is not the only place in the body that's full of neurotransmitters,” Dr. Gershon explains. "One hundred million neurotransmitters line the length of the gut -- approximately the same number found in the brain."
Actually, the total of nerve cells in your gut is greater than the total nerves connecting the rest your body to your brain. This complex circuitry allows your “gut brain" to act totally independent of the brain in your skull.
Your “Sleep-Gut Brain” ConnectionAs research on the circuitry between our two brains progresses, neuro-scientists are understanding more and more about how we act and feel.
For example: Our brain and gut are so interconnected that both have natural 90-minute “sleep cycles.” In the brain, slow-wave sleep is interrupted by periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep during which dreams occur.
The gut has corresponding 90-minute cycles of slow-wave muscle contractions. But as with the brain’s REM sleep intervals, these cycles are interrupted by corresponding short bursts of rapid muscle movement.
Your “Stress-Gut Brain” ConnectionHardly anything needs be said about the connection between stress and our gut. In many ways, this may be the most visible brain-gut problem of our times.
Anyone who has ever become emotionally upset knows the immediate effect on their gut. Your stomach “ties itself in knots,” rumbles and growls, and stops digesting.
The results include chronic indigestion, ulcers, and a whole host of unpleasant conditions. And if the stress is chronic or intense enough, your colon may even go into spasms.
Your “Pain-Gut Brain” ConnectionBut our “gut brains” also help us in some amazing ways. They are a primary source of pain relief. The “gut brain” naturally produces chemicals (benzodiazepine) found in many pain relievers, and in anti-anxiety drugs like Valium.
And like your primary brain, your “gut brain” also has opiate receptors.
“Drugs like morphine and heroin also attach to the gut's opiate receptors,” pain management specialist Dr Michael Loes tells us. “And both brains can become addicted to opiates."
Mastering Your “Gut Brain”Many mystical and natural healing practices consider the belly to be a major center of energy and higher consciousness.
In China, the gentle arts of Tai Chi and Qigong emphasize the lower abdomen as a major reservoir for life energy and health. The belly is considered the “dantian” -- a key center for higher consciousness development.
It’s important to get your “gut brain” operating at its best. Start by paying attention to what’s happening in your digestive system. Remember, your gut is about a whole lot more than just digesting your food -- it also reacts to and digests your inward and outward “realities.”
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
THE LIGHTER SIDE...........
The Ten Commandments of Marriage
Commandment 1.
Marriages are made in heaven. But so again, are thunder and lightning.
Commandment 2.
If you want your wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.
Commandment 3.
Marriage is grand -- and divorce is at least 100 grand!
Commandment 4.
Married life is very frustrating! In the first year of marriage, the man Speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak andthe neighbors listen.
Commandment 5.
When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: Either the car is new or the wife is.
Commandment 6.
Marriage is when a man and woman become as one; The trouble starts when they try to decide which one
.
Commandment 7.
Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something You say. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish.
Commandment 8.
Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical,and a good cook. But the law allows only one wife.
Commandment 9.
Marriage and love are purely matter of chemistry. That is why the wife treats the husband like toxic waste.
Commandment 10.
A man is incomplete until he is married.After that, he is finished.
Bonus Commandment story.
A long married couple came upon a wishing well.
The wife leaned over, made a wish and threw in a penny.
The husband decided to make a wish too.But he leaned over too much, fell into the well, and drowned.
The wife was stunned for a moment but then smiled, "Wow! This stuff really Works!"
Commandment 1.
Marriages are made in heaven. But so again, are thunder and lightning.
Commandment 2.
If you want your wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.
Commandment 3.
Marriage is grand -- and divorce is at least 100 grand!
Commandment 4.
Married life is very frustrating! In the first year of marriage, the man Speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak andthe neighbors listen.
Commandment 5.
When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: Either the car is new or the wife is.
Commandment 6.
Marriage is when a man and woman become as one; The trouble starts when they try to decide which one
.
Commandment 7.
Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something You say. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish.
Commandment 8.
Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical,and a good cook. But the law allows only one wife.
Commandment 9.
Marriage and love are purely matter of chemistry. That is why the wife treats the husband like toxic waste.
Commandment 10.
A man is incomplete until he is married.After that, he is finished.
Bonus Commandment story.
A long married couple came upon a wishing well.
The wife leaned over, made a wish and threw in a penny.
The husband decided to make a wish too.But he leaned over too much, fell into the well, and drowned.
The wife was stunned for a moment but then smiled, "Wow! This stuff really Works!"
INSPIRING.......
Mother
This is a truly beautiful piece please read this at a slow pace, digesting every word and in leisure...do not hurry....this is a treasure...
The young mother set her foot on the path of life.
"Is this the long way?" she asked.
And the guide said: "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."
But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."
Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, “Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children," A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."
And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I've given them strength."
And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness.
And that night the Mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."
And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather.
At last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."
And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."
And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her but she is with us still.
A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence......." Your Mother is always with you.... She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well.
Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home; and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, not space... not even death!
This is a truly beautiful piece please read this at a slow pace, digesting every word and in leisure...do not hurry....this is a treasure...
The young mother set her foot on the path of life.
"Is this the long way?" she asked.
And the guide said: "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."
But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."
Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, “Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children," A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."
And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I've given them strength."
And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness.
And that night the Mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."
And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather.
At last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."
And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."
And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her but she is with us still.
A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence......." Your Mother is always with you.... She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well.
Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home; and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, not space... not even death!
The Four Basic Nutrients
Water, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are the basic building blocks of a good diet. By choosing the healthiest forms of each of these nutrients, and eating them in the proper balance, you enable your body to function at its optimal level.
1. Water
The human body is two-thirds water. Water is an essential nutrient that is involved in every function of the body.
· Water helps transport nutrients and waste products in and out of cells.
· Water is necessary for all digestive, absorption, circulatory, and excretory functions
· Water is needed for the utilization of the water-soluble vitamins.
· It is needed for the maintenance of proper body temperature.
It is recommended that you drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day.
2. Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates supply the body with the energy it needs to function. They are found almost exclusively in plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, peas, and beans.
Milk and milk products are the only foods derived from animals that contain a significant amount of carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are divided into two groups-simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates.
Simple carbohydrates, sometimes called simple sugars, include fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar), and lactose (milk sugar), as well as several other sugars.
Fruits are one of the richest natural sources of simple carbohydrates.
Complex carbohydrates are also made up of sugars, but the sugar molecules are strung together to form longer, more complex chains. Complex carbohydrates include fiber and starches.
Foods rich in complex carbohydrates include vegetables, whole grains, peas, and beans.
Carbohydrates are the main source of blood glucose, which is a major fuel for all of the body's cells and the only source of energy for the brain and red blood cells. Except for fiber, which cannot be digested, both simple and complex carbohydrates are converted into glucose. The glucose is then either used directly to provide energy for the body, or stored in the liver for future use.
When a person consumes more calories than the body is using, a portion of the carbohydrates consumed may also be stored in the body as fat.
When choosing carbohydrate-rich foods for your diet, always select unrefined foods such as fruits, vegetables, peas, beans, and whole-grain products, as opposed to refined, processed foods such as soft drinks, desserts, candy, and sugar.
Refined foods offer few, if any, of the vitamins and minerals that are important to your health.
In addition, if eaten in excess, especially over a period of many years, the large amounts of simple carbohydrates found in refined foods can lead to a number of disorders, including diabetes and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
Yet another problem is that foods high in refined simple sugars often are also high in fats, which should be limited in a healthy diet. This is why such foods-which include most cookies and cakes, as well as many snack foods-are usually loaded with calories.
Dietary fiber is the part of a plant that is resistant to the body's digestive enzymes. Only a relatively small amount of fiber is digested or metabolized in the stomach or intestines. Most of it moves through the gastrointestinal tract and ends up in the stool.
Although most fiber is not digested, it delivers several important health benefits. First, fiber retains water, resulting in softer and bulkier stools that prevent constipation and hemorrhoids.
A high-fiber diet also reduces the risk of colon cancer, perhaps by speeding the rate at which stool passes through the intestine and by keeping the digestive tract clean. In addition, fiber binds with certain substances that would normally result in the production of cholesterol, and eliminates these substances from the body. In this way, a high-fiber diet helps lower blood cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of heart disease.
It is recommended that about 60 percent of your total daily calories come from carbohydrates. If much of your diet consists of healthy complex carbohydrates, you should easily fulfill the recommended daily minimum of 25 grams of fiber.
next: Protein and Fats
1. Water
The human body is two-thirds water. Water is an essential nutrient that is involved in every function of the body.
· Water helps transport nutrients and waste products in and out of cells.
· Water is necessary for all digestive, absorption, circulatory, and excretory functions
· Water is needed for the utilization of the water-soluble vitamins.
· It is needed for the maintenance of proper body temperature.
It is recommended that you drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day.
2. Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates supply the body with the energy it needs to function. They are found almost exclusively in plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, peas, and beans.
Milk and milk products are the only foods derived from animals that contain a significant amount of carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are divided into two groups-simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates.
Simple carbohydrates, sometimes called simple sugars, include fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar), and lactose (milk sugar), as well as several other sugars.
Fruits are one of the richest natural sources of simple carbohydrates.
Complex carbohydrates are also made up of sugars, but the sugar molecules are strung together to form longer, more complex chains. Complex carbohydrates include fiber and starches.
Foods rich in complex carbohydrates include vegetables, whole grains, peas, and beans.
Carbohydrates are the main source of blood glucose, which is a major fuel for all of the body's cells and the only source of energy for the brain and red blood cells. Except for fiber, which cannot be digested, both simple and complex carbohydrates are converted into glucose. The glucose is then either used directly to provide energy for the body, or stored in the liver for future use.
When a person consumes more calories than the body is using, a portion of the carbohydrates consumed may also be stored in the body as fat.
When choosing carbohydrate-rich foods for your diet, always select unrefined foods such as fruits, vegetables, peas, beans, and whole-grain products, as opposed to refined, processed foods such as soft drinks, desserts, candy, and sugar.
Refined foods offer few, if any, of the vitamins and minerals that are important to your health.
In addition, if eaten in excess, especially over a period of many years, the large amounts of simple carbohydrates found in refined foods can lead to a number of disorders, including diabetes and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
Yet another problem is that foods high in refined simple sugars often are also high in fats, which should be limited in a healthy diet. This is why such foods-which include most cookies and cakes, as well as many snack foods-are usually loaded with calories.
Dietary fiber is the part of a plant that is resistant to the body's digestive enzymes. Only a relatively small amount of fiber is digested or metabolized in the stomach or intestines. Most of it moves through the gastrointestinal tract and ends up in the stool.
Although most fiber is not digested, it delivers several important health benefits. First, fiber retains water, resulting in softer and bulkier stools that prevent constipation and hemorrhoids.
A high-fiber diet also reduces the risk of colon cancer, perhaps by speeding the rate at which stool passes through the intestine and by keeping the digestive tract clean. In addition, fiber binds with certain substances that would normally result in the production of cholesterol, and eliminates these substances from the body. In this way, a high-fiber diet helps lower blood cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of heart disease.
It is recommended that about 60 percent of your total daily calories come from carbohydrates. If much of your diet consists of healthy complex carbohydrates, you should easily fulfill the recommended daily minimum of 25 grams of fiber.
next: Protein and Fats
Friday, September 22, 2006
Importance of Time
A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.
It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams.
There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr.. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday."
Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
"Jack, did you hear me?"
"Oh sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.
"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.
"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him.
He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.
Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.
"The box is gone," he said.
"What box?" Mom asked.
"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most, '" Jack said.
It was gone.
Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.
"Mr. Harold Belser" it read.
Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life."
A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover.
Inside he found these words engraved:
"Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."
"The thing he valued most...was...my time."
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.
"Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.
"I need some time to spend with my son," he said. "Oh, by the way, Janet...thanks for your time!"
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."
Think about this. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.
1. At least 2 people in this world love you so much they would die for you.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
4. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
5. You mean the world to someone.
6. If not for you, someone may not be living.
7. You are special and unique.
8. When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won't get it, but if you trust God to do what's best, and wait on His time, sooner or later, you will get it or something better.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good can still come from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world.
11. Someone that you don't even know exists, loves you.
12. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.
13. Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know and you'll both be happy.
14. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great.
"Thanks for your time."
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."
Author: Unknown
It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams.
There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr.. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday."
Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
"Jack, did you hear me?"
"Oh sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.
"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.
"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him.
He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.
Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.
"The box is gone," he said.
"What box?" Mom asked.
"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most, '" Jack said.
It was gone.
Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.
"Mr. Harold Belser" it read.
Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life."
A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover.
Inside he found these words engraved:
"Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."
"The thing he valued most...was...my time."
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.
"Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.
"I need some time to spend with my son," he said. "Oh, by the way, Janet...thanks for your time!"
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."
Think about this. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.
1. At least 2 people in this world love you so much they would die for you.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
4. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
5. You mean the world to someone.
6. If not for you, someone may not be living.
7. You are special and unique.
8. When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won't get it, but if you trust God to do what's best, and wait on His time, sooner or later, you will get it or something better.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good can still come from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world.
11. Someone that you don't even know exists, loves you.
12. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.
13. Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know and you'll both be happy.
14. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great.
"Thanks for your time."
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."
Author: Unknown
Ten Steps To True Happiness
A team of experts believe that they have found the essential ingredients to make a person's life happier.
The happiness team included psychologist Dr Richard Stevens, psychotherapist Brett Kahr, work place specialists Jessica Pryce-Jones and Philippa Chapman, social entrepreneur Andrew Mawson OBE and Richard Reeves, whose expertise spans philosophy, public policy and economics. Based on best knowledge and research, the team came up with a 10-point plan for happiness listed below.
The 10 steps to happiness
1. Plant something and nurture it
2. Count your blessings - at least five - at the end of each day
3. Take time to talk - have an hour-long conversation with a loved one each week
4. Phone a friend whom you have not spoken to for a while and arrange to meet up
5. Give yourself a treat every day and take the time to really enjoy it
6. Have a good laugh at least once a day
7. Get physical - exercise for half an hour three times a week
8. Smile at and/or say hello to a stranger at least once each day
9. Cut your TV viewing by half
10. Spread some kindness - do a good turn for someone every day
Source: BBC
The happiness team included psychologist Dr Richard Stevens, psychotherapist Brett Kahr, work place specialists Jessica Pryce-Jones and Philippa Chapman, social entrepreneur Andrew Mawson OBE and Richard Reeves, whose expertise spans philosophy, public policy and economics. Based on best knowledge and research, the team came up with a 10-point plan for happiness listed below.
The 10 steps to happiness
1. Plant something and nurture it
2. Count your blessings - at least five - at the end of each day
3. Take time to talk - have an hour-long conversation with a loved one each week
4. Phone a friend whom you have not spoken to for a while and arrange to meet up
5. Give yourself a treat every day and take the time to really enjoy it
6. Have a good laugh at least once a day
7. Get physical - exercise for half an hour three times a week
8. Smile at and/or say hello to a stranger at least once each day
9. Cut your TV viewing by half
10. Spread some kindness - do a good turn for someone every day
Source: BBC
Chat with God
One guy had a chat with GOD.
God : Hello. You called me.
Me : Called you? No, who is this?
God : This is God. I heard your prayers. So, I thought I would chat with you.
Me : Sure, I pray. Just makes me feel good. Actually, I am busy now. In the midst of something you know.
God : What are you busy with? Ants are busy, too.
Me : Don't know. But I can't find free time. Life has become hectic. It's rush hour all the time.
God : Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results. Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.
Me : But I still can't figure it out. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.
God : Well, I wanted to help you resolve your fight for time by giving you some clarity. I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.
Me : Tell me, why has life become so complicated?
God : Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.
Me : Why are we then constantly unhappy?
God : Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. You are worrying because the act of worrying has become a habit. That's why you are not happy.
Me : But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty.
God : Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.
Me : But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty.
God : Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
Me : If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?
God : Diamonds cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials. With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.
Me : You mean to say such experience is useful?
God : Yes. Experience is a hard teacher, though. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.
Me : But still, why should we go through such tests? Why can't we be free from problems?
God : Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons to Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you are free from problems.
Me : Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don't know where we are heading.
God : If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight, Heart provides insight.
Me : Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction.
God : Success is relative, quantified by others. Satisfaction is absolute, quantified by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you rode ahead.
Me : Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here? I don't know the answers.
God : Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.
Me : How can I get the best out of life?
God : Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.
Me : Sometimes my prayers are not answered.
God : There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.
Me : Thank you for this wonderful chat. I'll try to be less fearful.
God : Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Life is wonderful if you know how to live!
Me : Please keep blessing all of us!
God : Hello. You called me.
Me : Called you? No, who is this?
God : This is God. I heard your prayers. So, I thought I would chat with you.
Me : Sure, I pray. Just makes me feel good. Actually, I am busy now. In the midst of something you know.
God : What are you busy with? Ants are busy, too.
Me : Don't know. But I can't find free time. Life has become hectic. It's rush hour all the time.
God : Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results. Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.
Me : But I still can't figure it out. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.
God : Well, I wanted to help you resolve your fight for time by giving you some clarity. I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.
Me : Tell me, why has life become so complicated?
God : Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.
Me : Why are we then constantly unhappy?
God : Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. You are worrying because the act of worrying has become a habit. That's why you are not happy.
Me : But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty.
God : Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.
Me : But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty.
God : Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
Me : If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?
God : Diamonds cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials. With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.
Me : You mean to say such experience is useful?
God : Yes. Experience is a hard teacher, though. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.
Me : But still, why should we go through such tests? Why can't we be free from problems?
God : Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons to Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you are free from problems.
Me : Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don't know where we are heading.
God : If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight, Heart provides insight.
Me : Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction.
God : Success is relative, quantified by others. Satisfaction is absolute, quantified by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you rode ahead.
Me : Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here? I don't know the answers.
God : Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.
Me : How can I get the best out of life?
God : Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.
Me : Sometimes my prayers are not answered.
God : There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.
Me : Thank you for this wonderful chat. I'll try to be less fearful.
God : Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Life is wonderful if you know how to live!
Me : Please keep blessing all of us!
Pranayama: The Breathing Exercises of Yoga
Pranayama, as traditionally conceived, involves much more than merely breathing for relaxation. Pranayama is a term with a wide range of meanings. Patanjali defines pranayama as "the regulation of the incoming and outgoing flow of breath with retention." It is to be practiced only after perfection in asana is attained. Pranayama also denotes cosmic power, or the power of the entire universe which manifests itself as conscious living being in us through the phenomenon of breathing.
The word pranayama consists of two parts: prana and ayama. Ayama means stretch, extension, expansion, length, breadth, regulation, prolongation, restraint and control and describes the action of pranayama. Prana is energy, when the self-energizing force embraces the body. When this self-energizing force embraces the body with extension, expansion and control, it is pranayama.
With reference to yoga prana can be described as something that flows continuously from somewhere inside us, filling us and keeping us alive: it is vitality. In this image, the prana streams out from the center through the whole body. Pranayama is the measuring, control, and directing of the breath, and thus of energy within the organism, in order to restore and maintain health and to promote evolution.
When you are troubled, restless, or confused, you have more prana outside the body than within. When you feel unwell; the quality of prana and its density within the body is reduced. Too little prana in the body can be expressed as a feeling of being stuck or restricted. It can also show as a lack of drive or motivation to do anything; you are listless or even depressed. We may suffer from physical ailments when prana is lacking in the body. Yoga Sutra mentions disturbances in the breath, which can take very different forms. On the other hand, the more peaceful and well-balanced we are, the less our prana is dispersed outside the body. And if all the prana is within the body, we are free of these symptoms.
If prana does not find sufficient room in the body there can be only one reason: it is being forced out by something that really does not belong there-such as blockages caused by rubbish. When we practice pranayama, we try to reduce this rubbish and replace it with more and more prana within the body.
Whatever happens in the mind influences the breath; the breath becomes quicker when we are excited and deeper and quieter when we relax. In order to influence our prana we must be able to influence the mind. Our actions often disturb the mind, causing prana to exude from the body. Through daily pranayama practice we reverse this process, as a change in the breathing pattern influences the mind.
The link between mind and breath is most significant. The Yoga Sutra says that when we practice pranayama the veil is gradually drawn away from the mind and there is growing clarity. The mind becomes ready for deep meditations. Thus, pranayama is first and foremost awareness of the breath. Here, we focus our attention on the breath. In the practice of pranayama it is therefore very important to keep an alert mind, for the processes that are being observed are very subtle. There is no visible movement of the body as in asana practice; we must acutely sense and feel the movement of the breath within. The only dynamic process is breathing. Patanjali makes a few practical suggestions for keeping our attention on the breath. For example, we can focus on where it enters and leaves the body at the nostrils. It is also possible to listen to the breath, especially if you make a slight noise by gently contracting the vocal chords, a pranayama technique known as ujjayi. Or we can follow the areas through which the air passes through.
The breath relates directly to the mind and to our prana. Prana enters the body in the moment when there is a positive change in the mind. It is true that our state of mind does not alter with every in-breath or out-breath. The change occurs over a long period of time. If we are practicing pranayama and notice a change of mind, then prana has long before entered the body. The proof of the pudding is in our relationships with others. It tells us whether we had a positive changes in the mind and whether we actually understand ourselves better.
Benefits of Pranayama
Breathing is a normal part of our life, though we fail to pay attention to it. It is an autonomic function of the body that we perform even without concentrating on it. Why then do we have to learn yoga breathing? Here are some reasons why Pranayama is important:
Pranayama teaches us the proper way to breathe. We became used to breathing from our chest, using only a fraction of the lungs, not knowing that this unhealthy and unnatural way of inhaling may lead to several complications. With yoga breathing, we increase the capacity of our lungs, bringing more oxygen supply to the body to function well. We learn how to breathe slowly and deeply - the right way.
Pranayama reduces the toxins and body wastes from within our body. It prevents one from acquiring diseases.
Pranayama helps in one's digestion. With the proper way of breathing, one's metabolism and health condition will start to improve.
Pranayama develops our concentration and focus. It fights away stress and relaxes the body. Controlling one's breathing also results to serenity and peace of mind.
Pranayama offers a better self-control. Through concentration, one can better handle temper and reactions. Mind can function clearly, avoiding arguments and wrong decisions. Moreover, self-control also involves control over one's physical body.
Pranayama leads to spiritual journey through a relaxed body and mind.
The word pranayama consists of two parts: prana and ayama. Ayama means stretch, extension, expansion, length, breadth, regulation, prolongation, restraint and control and describes the action of pranayama. Prana is energy, when the self-energizing force embraces the body. When this self-energizing force embraces the body with extension, expansion and control, it is pranayama.
With reference to yoga prana can be described as something that flows continuously from somewhere inside us, filling us and keeping us alive: it is vitality. In this image, the prana streams out from the center through the whole body. Pranayama is the measuring, control, and directing of the breath, and thus of energy within the organism, in order to restore and maintain health and to promote evolution.
When you are troubled, restless, or confused, you have more prana outside the body than within. When you feel unwell; the quality of prana and its density within the body is reduced. Too little prana in the body can be expressed as a feeling of being stuck or restricted. It can also show as a lack of drive or motivation to do anything; you are listless or even depressed. We may suffer from physical ailments when prana is lacking in the body. Yoga Sutra mentions disturbances in the breath, which can take very different forms. On the other hand, the more peaceful and well-balanced we are, the less our prana is dispersed outside the body. And if all the prana is within the body, we are free of these symptoms.
If prana does not find sufficient room in the body there can be only one reason: it is being forced out by something that really does not belong there-such as blockages caused by rubbish. When we practice pranayama, we try to reduce this rubbish and replace it with more and more prana within the body.
Whatever happens in the mind influences the breath; the breath becomes quicker when we are excited and deeper and quieter when we relax. In order to influence our prana we must be able to influence the mind. Our actions often disturb the mind, causing prana to exude from the body. Through daily pranayama practice we reverse this process, as a change in the breathing pattern influences the mind.
The link between mind and breath is most significant. The Yoga Sutra says that when we practice pranayama the veil is gradually drawn away from the mind and there is growing clarity. The mind becomes ready for deep meditations. Thus, pranayama is first and foremost awareness of the breath. Here, we focus our attention on the breath. In the practice of pranayama it is therefore very important to keep an alert mind, for the processes that are being observed are very subtle. There is no visible movement of the body as in asana practice; we must acutely sense and feel the movement of the breath within. The only dynamic process is breathing. Patanjali makes a few practical suggestions for keeping our attention on the breath. For example, we can focus on where it enters and leaves the body at the nostrils. It is also possible to listen to the breath, especially if you make a slight noise by gently contracting the vocal chords, a pranayama technique known as ujjayi. Or we can follow the areas through which the air passes through.
The breath relates directly to the mind and to our prana. Prana enters the body in the moment when there is a positive change in the mind. It is true that our state of mind does not alter with every in-breath or out-breath. The change occurs over a long period of time. If we are practicing pranayama and notice a change of mind, then prana has long before entered the body. The proof of the pudding is in our relationships with others. It tells us whether we had a positive changes in the mind and whether we actually understand ourselves better.
Benefits of Pranayama
Breathing is a normal part of our life, though we fail to pay attention to it. It is an autonomic function of the body that we perform even without concentrating on it. Why then do we have to learn yoga breathing? Here are some reasons why Pranayama is important:
Pranayama teaches us the proper way to breathe. We became used to breathing from our chest, using only a fraction of the lungs, not knowing that this unhealthy and unnatural way of inhaling may lead to several complications. With yoga breathing, we increase the capacity of our lungs, bringing more oxygen supply to the body to function well. We learn how to breathe slowly and deeply - the right way.
Pranayama reduces the toxins and body wastes from within our body. It prevents one from acquiring diseases.
Pranayama helps in one's digestion. With the proper way of breathing, one's metabolism and health condition will start to improve.
Pranayama develops our concentration and focus. It fights away stress and relaxes the body. Controlling one's breathing also results to serenity and peace of mind.
Pranayama offers a better self-control. Through concentration, one can better handle temper and reactions. Mind can function clearly, avoiding arguments and wrong decisions. Moreover, self-control also involves control over one's physical body.
Pranayama leads to spiritual journey through a relaxed body and mind.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
THE LIGHTER SIDE...........
!!!Types of Marketing!!!
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say, "I am very rich. Marry me!"
That's Direct Marketing.
You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says, "He's very rich. Marry
him."
That's Advertising.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and get her telephone number.
The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm very rich. Marry me."
That's Telemarketing.
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl.
You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, and offer
her A ride, and then say, "By the way, I'm very rich. Will you marry me?"
That's Public Relations.
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl.
She walks up to you and says, "You are very rich..I want to marry you"
That's Brand Recognition.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say, "I'm rich. Marry me"
She gives you a nice hard slap on your face.
That's Customer Feedback !!!!!
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say, "I am very rich. Marry me!"
That's Direct Marketing.
You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says, "He's very rich. Marry
him."
That's Advertising.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and get her telephone number.
The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm very rich. Marry me."
That's Telemarketing.
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl.
You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, and offer
her A ride, and then say, "By the way, I'm very rich. Will you marry me?"
That's Public Relations.
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl.
She walks up to you and says, "You are very rich..I want to marry you"
That's Brand Recognition.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say, "I'm rich. Marry me"
She gives you a nice hard slap on your face.
That's Customer Feedback !!!!!
THE LIGHTER SIDE...........
TV Channel Fight
Dad, Rahul and Preeti loved watching television. The three of them always fought as to who will watch what. Their mother wouldn't interfere with their fights. Each one would snatch the remote and keep changing channels. Rahul wanted to watch the cricket match, Preeti wanted to watch the cookery show and Dad the Political news.
This is what their mother heard one day:
In the parliament today...Nehra bowled his first over...and is washed away in boiling water....The finance minister...went straight into the hands of Tendulkar...and is sliced into pieces.... Mr. Krishna visited...Anil Kumble who is now going to...break the egg and...the leader of the opposition party...is hit on the face...which will now turn red in two minutes...during the zero hour...both the umpires...are fried golden brown.
We now end the news bulletin...by calling Dravid...to peel the onion.
Dad, Rahul and Preeti loved watching television. The three of them always fought as to who will watch what. Their mother wouldn't interfere with their fights. Each one would snatch the remote and keep changing channels. Rahul wanted to watch the cricket match, Preeti wanted to watch the cookery show and Dad the Political news.
This is what their mother heard one day:
In the parliament today...Nehra bowled his first over...and is washed away in boiling water....The finance minister...went straight into the hands of Tendulkar...and is sliced into pieces.... Mr. Krishna visited...Anil Kumble who is now going to...break the egg and...the leader of the opposition party...is hit on the face...which will now turn red in two minutes...during the zero hour...both the umpires...are fried golden brown.
We now end the news bulletin...by calling Dravid...to peel the onion.
Junk Food Ads: The Culprit Behind Childhood Obesity
Researchers say that the advertisement on junk foods shown on television poses a real threat on the health condition on kids by tempting them to go for it thereby leading to overweight and obesity.
According to foodconsumer.org, previous studies have already associated childhood overweight with television viewing, but the common perception is that the link between childhood overweight and TV viewing is due to children’s physical inactivity associated with television viewing.
Children who spent more time watching TV were more likely to eat more of the calorie-dense, low nutrient foods advertised on television, indicating that the junk food ads play a role in the ever-increasing trend of childhood obesity. The study provides evidence that television is effective in getting kids to eat the foods that are advertised, and this drives up their total calorie intake .
For the study, 548 students in sixth and seventh grade in Boston were surveyed for their dietary patterns including use of the snacks and beverages such as soda, chips, fast food and baked snacks like cookies, which are commonly advertised on television, and their television viewing habits including the number of hours spent watching television each day of the week.
They did the survey again19 months later.
Longer television viewing was associated with higher intake of calories one hour television viewing increasing consumption of 167 calories - just about the amount of calories in a soda or a handful of snack food. In addition, each additional hour of television viewing was independently linked with increased consumption of foods commonly advertised on television, which were shown to be responsible for much of the calorie increase, according to the study.
The association between viewing time and sugar-sweetened beverages was the strongest.
Compared to their counterparts growing up 20 years ago, children and teens today are twice and three times more likely to be overweight respectively.
Childhood overweight increases their risk of developing obesity and obesity-associated diseases such as diabetes and heart disease in their adulthood.
Experts recommend that children's watching television should be limited to less than two hours a day to both lessen sedentary time, a risk factor for childhood overweight, and reduce exposure to content associated with negative consequences. The result of the current study reinforces the necessity of this limit.
The initiative to curb rising obesity rates by 2010 will fall flat on its face, unless our government takes a leading step in this area, according to a recent study . Though local level work is going on in good measure, governments need to sort out the confusion about the thrust given to this area.
(Compiled)
According to foodconsumer.org, previous studies have already associated childhood overweight with television viewing, but the common perception is that the link between childhood overweight and TV viewing is due to children’s physical inactivity associated with television viewing.
Children who spent more time watching TV were more likely to eat more of the calorie-dense, low nutrient foods advertised on television, indicating that the junk food ads play a role in the ever-increasing trend of childhood obesity. The study provides evidence that television is effective in getting kids to eat the foods that are advertised, and this drives up their total calorie intake .
For the study, 548 students in sixth and seventh grade in Boston were surveyed for their dietary patterns including use of the snacks and beverages such as soda, chips, fast food and baked snacks like cookies, which are commonly advertised on television, and their television viewing habits including the number of hours spent watching television each day of the week.
They did the survey again19 months later.
Longer television viewing was associated with higher intake of calories one hour television viewing increasing consumption of 167 calories - just about the amount of calories in a soda or a handful of snack food. In addition, each additional hour of television viewing was independently linked with increased consumption of foods commonly advertised on television, which were shown to be responsible for much of the calorie increase, according to the study.
The association between viewing time and sugar-sweetened beverages was the strongest.
Compared to their counterparts growing up 20 years ago, children and teens today are twice and three times more likely to be overweight respectively.
Childhood overweight increases their risk of developing obesity and obesity-associated diseases such as diabetes and heart disease in their adulthood.
Experts recommend that children's watching television should be limited to less than two hours a day to both lessen sedentary time, a risk factor for childhood overweight, and reduce exposure to content associated with negative consequences. The result of the current study reinforces the necessity of this limit.
The initiative to curb rising obesity rates by 2010 will fall flat on its face, unless our government takes a leading step in this area, according to a recent study . Though local level work is going on in good measure, governments need to sort out the confusion about the thrust given to this area.
(Compiled)
THE LIGHTER SIDE...........
"The doctor said he would have me on my feet in two weeks."
"Was he successful?"
"Yup, I had to sell my car to pay his bill."
-----------------------
A man with severe toothache went to a dentist and asked."How much to have this tooth pulled?"
"300.00 rupees Dentists said."
"300.00 rupees for just a few minutes work???"
"I can extract it very slowly if you like."
-------------------------------
Doctor: "I have some bad news and some very bad news."
Patient: "Well, might as well give me the bad news first."
Doctor: "The lab called with your test results. They said you have 24 hours to live."
Patient: "24 hours! That's terrible!! WHAT could be worse? What's the very bad news?"
Doctor: "I've been trying to reach you since yesterday."
--------------------------------------
"Do you say a prayer before you eat?"
"No, we don't have to. My wife is a good cook, no risk."
--------------------------------
"I have changed my mind."
"Thank heaven! Does it work better now?"
--------------------------------
"Do these stairs take you to the second floor?"
"No, you'll have to walk"
----------------------------------
"If crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire,
what do freedom fighters fight?">
"Was he successful?"
"Yup, I had to sell my car to pay his bill."
-----------------------
A man with severe toothache went to a dentist and asked."How much to have this tooth pulled?"
"300.00 rupees Dentists said."
"300.00 rupees for just a few minutes work???"
"I can extract it very slowly if you like."
-------------------------------
Doctor: "I have some bad news and some very bad news."
Patient: "Well, might as well give me the bad news first."
Doctor: "The lab called with your test results. They said you have 24 hours to live."
Patient: "24 hours! That's terrible!! WHAT could be worse? What's the very bad news?"
Doctor: "I've been trying to reach you since yesterday."
--------------------------------------
"Do you say a prayer before you eat?"
"No, we don't have to. My wife is a good cook, no risk."
--------------------------------
"I have changed my mind."
"Thank heaven! Does it work better now?"
--------------------------------
"Do these stairs take you to the second floor?"
"No, you'll have to walk"
----------------------------------
"If crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire,
what do freedom fighters fight?">
Friday, September 15, 2006
The Healing Power of the Mind and Visualization
Visualization Helps Foster Healing
A picture is worth a thousand words.
We have heard that saying before. This phrase is certainly true in the case of visualization. Visualization, a form of self-hypnosis, is a tool anyone can use to help foster healing. By providing positive pictures (creative imagery) and self-suggestion, visualization can change emotions that subsequently have a physical effect on the body.
Our belief system is based upon the accumulation of verbal and non-verbal suggestions that have been gathered throughout our life experience. Through patterns of repetition and its associated rewards and punishment we learn to create our own perception of reality. In essence, we therefore become what we think. In healing, repetitive use of positive visualization allows access to the mind-body connection.
This lets the mind and body work together to foster the healing process of the body on a physical level. What is the mind-body connection and how does it work? When we have an emotion it generates a feeling that turns into a physical sensation. For example: You are watching a horror movie, you feel frightened and then get a chill up your spine. In this case you were getting a negative suggestion through your sensory perception (sight and sound), that produced an emotion of fear which turned into the physical sensation of chills up your spine. Visualization uses positive images to produce positive emotions that manifest into positive physical sensations in the body.
Sounds simple, but does it work? Can what we think actually have an effect on healing? Bodies do react to the thoughts you make.
Our psychological/emotional state affects the endocrine system. For example, the emotion of fear is related to adrenaline.
If no feeling of fear exists there is no adrenaline and the same applies in reverse- no adrenaline, no fear. They work in relationship to each other. Wherever a thought goes there is a body chemical reaction.
The hypothalamus, the emotional center of the brain, transforms emotions into physical response. The receptor of neuropeptides, the hypothalamus also controls the body's appetite, blood sugar levels, body temperature, adrenal and pituitary glands, heart, lung, digestive and circulatory systems. Neuropeptides, the chemical messenger hormones, carry emotions back and forth between the mind and body. They link perception in the brain to the body via organs, hormones and cellular activity. Neuropeptides influence every major section of the immune system, so the body and mind do work together as one unit.
The brain is a highly efficient system that is connected to every cell in your body by billions of connections. It is divided into two sides ñ the left, logical side (words, logic, rational thought) and the right creative side (imagination and intuition). Day to day circumstances usually are met in a logical, left brain mode; however by yielding to the right, creative side of the brain we actually restore balance in the brain. This allows access to the mind-body connection to achieve what you want. The right side of the brain automatically steers you to your goal. It totally accepts what you want to accomplish without giving an opinion and acts upon it without judgment. That is why visualization targets the right, creative side of the brain and not the left, logical side.
Positive thought is essential to producing positive results. Negative thoughts and emotions lower the immune system, while positive thought and emotions actually boost the immune system. To maximize success of visualization as a support to the healing process, the following suggestions are offered:
Healing Power of the Mind
Define Your Specific Intention
Visualization puts your intention of what you want to work. The more specific the intention, the more specific the results. Remember whatever you believe is what your body will do. So when you are thinking of your intention make sure it is:
· Clear
· Specific
· Achievable
· You feel, know and trust it is being accomplished
Take Responsibility
Trying to do visualization without taking responsibility will prove to be futile experience. To accomplish what you want you must take action and responsibility. Visualization usually takes about 6 weeks to work. It is done once in the morning and before bedtime. Some people do see or feel results the very first time but remember everyone's body and mind are different and so is the way they process information so have patience.
Responsibility is:
· Be accountable to and for yourself
· Make a commitment
· Do visualization regularly
· Be persistent and patient
· Keep positive
Get Mentally Relaxed
A relaxed state puts allows you direct access to your subconscious mind. Here are some steps to help you relax:
· Find a quiet place. Relax in a favorite chair or lie down.
· Get comfortable and loosen clothing
· Uncross your arms and legs
· Get centered by focusing on the breath and breathing (this activates the vagus nerve which is the major quieting nerve in the body)
· Totally relax your body and mind
Visualize
Visualization for healing is a simple process. Once you are relaxed the next step is to actualize your visualiztion.
· Think of or speak your intention out loud.
· Close your eyes and imagine yourself in the healing process or as you want to be.
· Watch as your body heals you
· Feel the healing taking place
· Know the healing is being accomplished
If you have difficulty you may want to try one or more of these methods:
· Use creative imagery like seeing the cells in your body healing you; your immune system fighting off invaders; your pain being taken away by healing mud
· Imagine yourself in a very beautiful place whole, healthy and happy
· Try reading scripts from a visualization or self-hypnosis book
· Try making your own tape in your own voice
Visualization does work to help boost your body back to health. Don't just work on the body, add the mind to maximize your healing process with visualization.
About this Contributor; Linda Mackenzie is a Doctoral Clinical Hypnotherapist Candidate, psychic, radio host, author, speaker and President of Creative Health & Spirit Products, a company that provides formulated supplements for the body and audiovisualization tapes for the mind to promote self-healing and self-empowerment.
(Compiled)
A picture is worth a thousand words.
We have heard that saying before. This phrase is certainly true in the case of visualization. Visualization, a form of self-hypnosis, is a tool anyone can use to help foster healing. By providing positive pictures (creative imagery) and self-suggestion, visualization can change emotions that subsequently have a physical effect on the body.
Our belief system is based upon the accumulation of verbal and non-verbal suggestions that have been gathered throughout our life experience. Through patterns of repetition and its associated rewards and punishment we learn to create our own perception of reality. In essence, we therefore become what we think. In healing, repetitive use of positive visualization allows access to the mind-body connection.
This lets the mind and body work together to foster the healing process of the body on a physical level. What is the mind-body connection and how does it work? When we have an emotion it generates a feeling that turns into a physical sensation. For example: You are watching a horror movie, you feel frightened and then get a chill up your spine. In this case you were getting a negative suggestion through your sensory perception (sight and sound), that produced an emotion of fear which turned into the physical sensation of chills up your spine. Visualization uses positive images to produce positive emotions that manifest into positive physical sensations in the body.
Sounds simple, but does it work? Can what we think actually have an effect on healing? Bodies do react to the thoughts you make.
Our psychological/emotional state affects the endocrine system. For example, the emotion of fear is related to adrenaline.
If no feeling of fear exists there is no adrenaline and the same applies in reverse- no adrenaline, no fear. They work in relationship to each other. Wherever a thought goes there is a body chemical reaction.
The hypothalamus, the emotional center of the brain, transforms emotions into physical response. The receptor of neuropeptides, the hypothalamus also controls the body's appetite, blood sugar levels, body temperature, adrenal and pituitary glands, heart, lung, digestive and circulatory systems. Neuropeptides, the chemical messenger hormones, carry emotions back and forth between the mind and body. They link perception in the brain to the body via organs, hormones and cellular activity. Neuropeptides influence every major section of the immune system, so the body and mind do work together as one unit.
The brain is a highly efficient system that is connected to every cell in your body by billions of connections. It is divided into two sides ñ the left, logical side (words, logic, rational thought) and the right creative side (imagination and intuition). Day to day circumstances usually are met in a logical, left brain mode; however by yielding to the right, creative side of the brain we actually restore balance in the brain. This allows access to the mind-body connection to achieve what you want. The right side of the brain automatically steers you to your goal. It totally accepts what you want to accomplish without giving an opinion and acts upon it without judgment. That is why visualization targets the right, creative side of the brain and not the left, logical side.
Positive thought is essential to producing positive results. Negative thoughts and emotions lower the immune system, while positive thought and emotions actually boost the immune system. To maximize success of visualization as a support to the healing process, the following suggestions are offered:
Healing Power of the Mind
Define Your Specific Intention
Visualization puts your intention of what you want to work. The more specific the intention, the more specific the results. Remember whatever you believe is what your body will do. So when you are thinking of your intention make sure it is:
· Clear
· Specific
· Achievable
· You feel, know and trust it is being accomplished
Take Responsibility
Trying to do visualization without taking responsibility will prove to be futile experience. To accomplish what you want you must take action and responsibility. Visualization usually takes about 6 weeks to work. It is done once in the morning and before bedtime. Some people do see or feel results the very first time but remember everyone's body and mind are different and so is the way they process information so have patience.
Responsibility is:
· Be accountable to and for yourself
· Make a commitment
· Do visualization regularly
· Be persistent and patient
· Keep positive
Get Mentally Relaxed
A relaxed state puts allows you direct access to your subconscious mind. Here are some steps to help you relax:
· Find a quiet place. Relax in a favorite chair or lie down.
· Get comfortable and loosen clothing
· Uncross your arms and legs
· Get centered by focusing on the breath and breathing (this activates the vagus nerve which is the major quieting nerve in the body)
· Totally relax your body and mind
Visualize
Visualization for healing is a simple process. Once you are relaxed the next step is to actualize your visualiztion.
· Think of or speak your intention out loud.
· Close your eyes and imagine yourself in the healing process or as you want to be.
· Watch as your body heals you
· Feel the healing taking place
· Know the healing is being accomplished
If you have difficulty you may want to try one or more of these methods:
· Use creative imagery like seeing the cells in your body healing you; your immune system fighting off invaders; your pain being taken away by healing mud
· Imagine yourself in a very beautiful place whole, healthy and happy
· Try reading scripts from a visualization or self-hypnosis book
· Try making your own tape in your own voice
Visualization does work to help boost your body back to health. Don't just work on the body, add the mind to maximize your healing process with visualization.
About this Contributor; Linda Mackenzie is a Doctoral Clinical Hypnotherapist Candidate, psychic, radio host, author, speaker and President of Creative Health & Spirit Products, a company that provides formulated supplements for the body and audiovisualization tapes for the mind to promote self-healing and self-empowerment.
(Compiled)
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Negative Thoughts Make You Ill
BBC Health
Having negative thoughts really could make you more illness-prone, say scientists.
A study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences links "negative" brain activity with a weakened immune system.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied people with high levels of brain activity in a region linked to negative thoughts.
Those with the highest activity levels responded worse to a flu vaccine.
Scientists already knew that pessimists - people rated as more sensitive to negative events - show more activity in a part of the brain called the right pre-frontal cortex.
More activity in the left pre-frontal cortex is linked to positive emotional responses.
Happy thoughts
Dr Richard Davidson, who led the research, studied 52 people aged between 57 and 60.
Each of them was asked to recall one event, which made them feel very happy, and one, which left them feeling sad, afraid or angry.
Emotions play an important role in modulating bodily systems that influence our health
Dr Richard Davidson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The electrical activity in these parts of the brain was measured to check whether their left or right pre-frontal cortex was more active.
Afterwards, each volunteer was given a standard flu vaccine shot.
Vaccines work by eliciting an immune response, which should hopefully persist and help the body tackle a genuine infection threat if it should arrive.
Each research subject was tested over the following six months to gauge the success of the vaccine by measuring the levels of antibodies generated by the vaccine.
Those who had shown the most powerful right pre-frontal cortex activity also had the worst immune reactions.
The reverse was true for those who had the most powerful reactions in their left pre-frontal cortex, the side associated with happy reactions.
Dr Davidson said: "Emotions play an important role in modulating bodily systems that influence our health.
"We turned to the brain to understand the mechanisms by which the mind influences the body."
Having negative thoughts really could make you more illness-prone, say scientists.
A study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences links "negative" brain activity with a weakened immune system.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied people with high levels of brain activity in a region linked to negative thoughts.
Those with the highest activity levels responded worse to a flu vaccine.
Scientists already knew that pessimists - people rated as more sensitive to negative events - show more activity in a part of the brain called the right pre-frontal cortex.
More activity in the left pre-frontal cortex is linked to positive emotional responses.
Happy thoughts
Dr Richard Davidson, who led the research, studied 52 people aged between 57 and 60.
Each of them was asked to recall one event, which made them feel very happy, and one, which left them feeling sad, afraid or angry.
Emotions play an important role in modulating bodily systems that influence our health
Dr Richard Davidson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The electrical activity in these parts of the brain was measured to check whether their left or right pre-frontal cortex was more active.
Afterwards, each volunteer was given a standard flu vaccine shot.
Vaccines work by eliciting an immune response, which should hopefully persist and help the body tackle a genuine infection threat if it should arrive.
Each research subject was tested over the following six months to gauge the success of the vaccine by measuring the levels of antibodies generated by the vaccine.
Those who had shown the most powerful right pre-frontal cortex activity also had the worst immune reactions.
The reverse was true for those who had the most powerful reactions in their left pre-frontal cortex, the side associated with happy reactions.
Dr Davidson said: "Emotions play an important role in modulating bodily systems that influence our health.
"We turned to the brain to understand the mechanisms by which the mind influences the body."
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
10 Steps to Superior Health Using Mind Power
By Ben Sweetland
HOW WELL IS WELL? Perhaps you have never asked yourself this question. It will prove interesting to think about it a moment and doing so may start a train of thought which will carry you into a state of happiness you have not known before. When do you think of yourself as being well? When you are free from aches and pains? When you can do your normal work without exhaustion?
The questions which could be asked are numerous, but the big question is: Even if you are free from aches and pains and are able to do your regular work without exhaustion is it possible for you to feel still better?
The pinnacle of well-being is mental and physical vibrancy, when you can throw your entire enthusiastic self into anything you do whether work or play; when your mind is free from worry, because you accept the problems of the day as a challenge instead of approaching them with fear; when your heart is free from hatred because you have eyes which look only for the good in others; and when your todays are better than your yesterdays, and your tomorrows are looked forward to with joyous anticipation.
10 Simple Steps to Health Consciousness
Following are ten simple steps for radiant mental and physical health, which are all you need to develop a health consciousness:
1.Have an incentive to want to be actively alive—on top of the world.
We can do almost anything if we really want to. This applies to physical well-being as much as it does to anything else.
We might go through the motions of doing things intended for better health, but, unless our actions are backed by a burning desire to succeed, we need not look for spectacular and glowing results.
It's wonderful to feel good, to have that up-and-at-'em feeling, but before we can make progress in creating such a feeling, we must have a mighty good reason for doing so.
Step 1, therefore, is to acquire an incentive—a valid reason for wanting every fiber of your being to effervesce with vibrant energy.
Only a few suggestions will be offered as thought starters, but for the real incentives, explore that mind of yours to learn just what it is you would like to accomplish—or be.
Would you like to be a power in your community? Would you like to have the type of personality, which sways people? Forcefulness is not a question of how you pitch your voice, or how loud you talk. It is a reflection of a mind alert and a body dynamically alive and vigorous.
Would you like to have a large circle of admiring friends? Would you like to be the one singled out for your opinion and advice, because there is something about you, which spells authority?
Would you like to be elected to important posts in your lodge or club, because of your personal magnetism?
Perhaps your desires might run along the lines of personal accomplishment. You may have said: "I would take up the study of music, if I felt better." Or, it might have been painting or the mastering of one of the many crafts.
I may be a thousand miles from anything, which nearly approaches your own incentive. You may be single and give anything for the right mate, but feel you do not have the youth or physical attractiveness to interest the opposite sex.
But, regardless of what your desires are, get an incentive, which will give you a reason to want to be on top physically and mentally; then you will be in a position to get the maximum good from the steps, which follow.
2. Know you CAN gain better health and live longer.
The only people who have ever accomplished anything are those who knew they could. To approach any task with doubt in your mind about your ability to do it is a certain step toward failure.
Buoyant health is not something we acquire by luck. It is a reflection of the way we think and the way we live. Bodies, which creak with aches and pains, are not given to us by Fate as a punishment of some kind. We have them because of the way we live and think.
The mistake, which most people make, is to think that the price we pay for a joyous state of well-being is so high, the reward is not worth the effort. How utterly wrong!
One might say that sacrifice is part of the price we pay for a vigorously alive body.
But is it? Let us take a few habits as examples. Think of those who smoke to excess and whose hands shake if they are without a cigarette for a few moments. Would it be a sacrifice if they were to practice moderation to the extent that a smoke would be enjoyable, instead of a means to keep from suffering? Think of those who drink too much. Is the intense suffering from a hangover the reward they gain from the habit?
Would it be a sacrifice to suggest moderation that a drink could be taken now and then for sociability, instead of being the means of shearing one of all semblances of culture and refinement?
At first thought it may be hard to believe that we make more sacrifices with an ailing body than we do to have and maintain a glad-to-be-alive body. Think it over and you'll quickly agree. Reflect over the many things you could and would have done, had you felt like it. Think of the places you would have visited, had you the mental and physical spirit to do so. And think of the countless hours of feeling just "half fit."
Your judgment tells you that if you embark on a program aimed at glorious health, you can accomplish it. So, Step 2 is to know you can gain better health and live longer.
It may be necessary to resort to a bit of mental discipline in developing a better health consciousness. If, for years, you have been seeing yourself as one under par physically, it will take an effort to get yourself to the point where you know, beyond doubt, you can enjoy radiant health. Motion creates emotion, we learn, so, for a few days, hold to the thought: I CAN gain robust health. Of course, accepting the thought that you can gain better health is not enough. You must take the steps, which will make better health a reality. In other words, the realization that good health is within your grasp must be brought into reality by action.
3. Get your mind in order.
As you learned in the previous chapter, the word "psychosomatic" is now frequently heard in connection with illnesses of various kinds. Doctors are including many, many ailments in a long list of those which are originated in the mind.
This fact does not mean that a psychosomatically sick person is insane; it merely means that most psychosomatic conditions result from fear and worry.
Stomach ulcers are thought of as originating mostly in the mind; "strain" we call it, but what is mental strain other than worry over certain conditions, or our vivid fear that we will prove to be inadequate to cope with them?
My definition of worry is holding mental pictures of things we do not want, instead of things we do want. Think about this a moment, and you'll agree.
We might also say that worry is evidence of doubt in our ability to solve the problem, which is causing the worry. Perhaps if we look at it from this angle, we might stiffen our spines a bit and prove to ourselves and others that we are bigger than the object of our worry, and will do what is necessary to change it.
Realize that worry never helps anything. To the contrary, it impairs health and blocks happiness.
Self-mastery is a reward which comes to the one who can conquer fear and worry—and they are easy to conquer—if one will accept and act upon the truth:
"Worry prevents our doing the very thing which will provide the means to prevent the worry."
4. Learn the things you should and should not do!
A sage once said: "Success comes from doing the things you know you ought to do, and not doing the things you know you ought not to do."
It could wisely be said that invigorating health would result from following this sane advice. But, of first importance is to know exactly what you should and should not do. Where can this vital information be obtained?
The moment we become imbued with any thought, we become almost a magnet for information on that subject. We are attracted to books and periodicals covering various phases of it. Our minds and thoughts dwell upon it.
"A fault discovered is half overcome," I learned when just a boy. I believe if I were to take exuberant health as an objective, the first thing I would want to know is the condition of my body at present. I would, therefore, let my doctor give me a head-to-toe examination, so I would learn many of the things I should and should not do regarding my physical being.
An architect visualizes his ideas as they come to him. At his drawing board, and with his instruments, he develops his thoughts objectively. Since we are architects of our own beings and affairs, it would be well to begin by listing those things we should and should not do in our pursuit of glowing health.
A plan of action should be conceived which would include activity on the things we should do, and discipline in avoiding the things we should not do. Naturally our program of action will include supervision over the food we eat. But here and now let me say that eating for robust health does not mean giving up the things you like in favor of those you do not enjoy.
Vitamins and minerals are as essential to vibrant health as light and water are to plants. To have a deficiency of either vitamins or minerals means living in a body under par physically, one, which will break down many years before it should.
A startlingly large percentage of people suffer from malnutrition, not because they are eating too little, but because the foods they do eat are deficient in the elements necessary for health.
Selecting a diet of items recognized for certain vitamins and minerals is no assurance that they are being obtained. Good virgin soils hold an abundance of the minerals essential to good health but, in all parts of the country, these minerals are being used up much faster than nature or the farmer can put them back again. They are used up by over cropping, carried away by erosion, washed out by rains.
Vitamins are not food. They do not turn into blood, flesh and bone, or supply energy with their substance as foodstuffs do. They act instead as important links in the chemical processes by which the body turns food into tissues, removes waste products, and produces energy. Without vitamins these vital processes could not go on.
Selecting food with care is always a wise precaution, but the one determined to have scintillating, glad-to-be-alive health, will not risk getting all essential elements from foodstuffs presumed to contain them, but will make certain of a balanced diet by adding food supplements obtained from a reliable source.
5. Develop an ENTHUSIASM to do and not to do!
Acquiring the facts just given is essential in reaching our objective: Radiant Mental and Physical Health; but, merely acquiring this information is not enough. We must develop an enthusiasm for carrying through; for putting into operation the plans, which will insure radiant health.
There is one word, common to most of us, which has been responsible for many of our failures in life. That word is tomorrow. How often do we learn of something which would be of help to us, and we resolve to do it—tomorrow? And, of course, tomorrow never comes.
If you have been reading with a serious mind, you are enthusiastic—right now!
You are beginning to see vistas of thrilling happiness with a sparkling mind backed by a dynamic body. Problems, which have heretofore been worries to you, now, appear as challenges. But, as you peep behind the curtain and envision your new future, do not allow procrastination to make you think of tomorrow as a starting point. Start right now; the moment you lay this book aside. The start need not be a physical one, doing something the eyes can see. The start can be your resolve; your resolution that, since your rightful heritage is vibrant mental and physical health, you, from this moment onward, will do everything within your power to make it a part of your existence.
6. Take years off of your life through your actions!
Motion creates emotion. The men and women who make pals of their children and who enter into the activities of youth will remain young far longer than the parents who live like traditionally old-fashioned mothers and fathers.
We can't act young without feeling young, and when we feel young, we are putting the processes of Nature to work toward making us young.
Dancing, swimming, rowing, hiking, are a few of the activities, which promote physical well-being. But, right here, in connection with these pastimes, there is a thought of considerable importance. Do not do anything merely because you think it will be good for you. Since, as we learned in Step 2, there is a definite relationship between mind and body, learn to like the things you do. If you dance, enjoy it to the fullest extent, and you will gain from the combination of psychological and physiological benefits. This holds true with all other forms of exercise. The more you like them, the greater will be your benefit.
Our clothing plays an important part in the way we feel. If we wear drab garments, we do not feel as gay as when we dress colorfully. Although it is always imperative to use good taste, there is no rule against wearing clothes, which express our cheerfulness.
What did you enjoy doing ten, twenty or perhaps thirty years ago? Try to renew your interest in it. You may find the years literally rolling off your age as you do so.
7. Go on a mental diet.
Again referring to psychosomatic ailments, those physical conditions that emanate from mind, I would dare to say that a mental diet is more important than a physical one.
As you have been learning throughout this book, negative thoughts produce negative reactions. An old philosopher once said: "Seek thy comrades among the industrious, because the idle will sap thy energy from thee." Whether or not this is true, remember some of the visits you have had with those whose conversation is confined to subjects of gloom and disaster. Remember how gloomy you were when you left them? On the other hand, think of times spent with the optimistic, hopeful ones, and you will remember feeling inspired, and wanting to do big things yourself.
Discipline yourself to think in terms of health and happiness. Select reading matter, which will encourage you to climb to greater heights.
Do not indulge in negative conversation. When writing letters, see how much encouragement you can give, instead of making them dissertations of woe.
The secret of happiness is not in doing the things you like to do, but in liking the things you have to do. The acceptance of this thought will be a forward step in your mental diet.
In Step 5 you determined to abandon the word tomorrow from your vocabulary as far as procrastination is concerned. This definitely applies to your mental diet.
You are on it—right now.
8. Teach others how to have radiant mental and physical health.
It is true that happiness comes from giving happiness, and that to teach others how to gain radiant mental and physical health would make us extremely happy. There is, however, another reason for the suggestion given in this step.
We cannot successfully teach anything to others without setting an example. It would be incongruous to tell others how to be joyfully alive and exuberant, if we were to drag ourselves along looking only half alive. We want to show what life means to us, so that it will be an inspiration for others to follow our example.
Since charity begins at home, persuade the various members of your family to join with you in attaining radiant mental and physical health.
Start a movement among those with whom you work, not only for the good you will be doing them, but for what it will do for you.
Practically everything we do in life is based upon habit. We live according to the habit patterns we have created. Some habits are good; some are not. In following Step 8, you are unconsciously training yourself to create and live according to new and highly beneficial habit patterns.
9. Live correctly!
These two words could lead you into many different avenues of thought. They could refer to your food, to your habits, to your whole mode of living.
"Let your conscience be your guide" is the meaning I wish to convey. To talk about our relationships with others may seem a far cry from the rudiments of good health, but psychologists know that the things we do that challenge our self-respect are reflected in our physical condition.
A person who is not dependable never enjoys the vibrant health common to the one who is respected for his dependability. An unpunctual person is not on top of the world physically. Why? Because something psychological is disturbing him within. Subconsciously he loses a certain amount of self-respect, and a psychosomatic illness is usually the result.
In connection with Step 9, I cannot neglect disposition. One with a bad disposition never enjoys vigorous health. Pages could be written proving how a bad disposition undermines happiness and success, but for its effect on your health—ask your doctor. Ask him to explain how anger actually releases a poison in the blood stream, which retards the digestion and encourages any one of a long list of maladies.
Anger and reason do not go together, as evidenced by the fact that when we are angry, we say and do many things we later regret. You can see, therefore, that by giving in to anger, you are literally retarding your progress, and doing immeasurable harm to your physical being.
10. Be happy!
A prominent and successful doctor once said that a happy person is seldom ill, but that when he is, he responds to treatment much faster than other people. You will have no difficulty in agreeing with this doctor, if you will reflect a moment. You know you feel much better, physically, when you are happy than you do when you are sad and depressed. You also know that when you are not quite up to par, and something happens to cause great elation, you at once feel better.
This will show you why the two words Be Happy make a fitting conclusion to these
Happiness comes from within. You now have—and always will have—all the happiness there is. To be happy is merely to express happiness. And to express happiness is to take a great step forward toward acquiring inexhaustible, glowing health.
You now have the 10 Steps, but this is only the beginning. From this moment onward, they are to become a part of your daily routine. Think about them; practice them; live them. A new and incredibly joyous life awaits you.
HOW WELL IS WELL? Perhaps you have never asked yourself this question. It will prove interesting to think about it a moment and doing so may start a train of thought which will carry you into a state of happiness you have not known before. When do you think of yourself as being well? When you are free from aches and pains? When you can do your normal work without exhaustion?
The questions which could be asked are numerous, but the big question is: Even if you are free from aches and pains and are able to do your regular work without exhaustion is it possible for you to feel still better?
The pinnacle of well-being is mental and physical vibrancy, when you can throw your entire enthusiastic self into anything you do whether work or play; when your mind is free from worry, because you accept the problems of the day as a challenge instead of approaching them with fear; when your heart is free from hatred because you have eyes which look only for the good in others; and when your todays are better than your yesterdays, and your tomorrows are looked forward to with joyous anticipation.
10 Simple Steps to Health Consciousness
Following are ten simple steps for radiant mental and physical health, which are all you need to develop a health consciousness:
1.Have an incentive to want to be actively alive—on top of the world.
We can do almost anything if we really want to. This applies to physical well-being as much as it does to anything else.
We might go through the motions of doing things intended for better health, but, unless our actions are backed by a burning desire to succeed, we need not look for spectacular and glowing results.
It's wonderful to feel good, to have that up-and-at-'em feeling, but before we can make progress in creating such a feeling, we must have a mighty good reason for doing so.
Step 1, therefore, is to acquire an incentive—a valid reason for wanting every fiber of your being to effervesce with vibrant energy.
Only a few suggestions will be offered as thought starters, but for the real incentives, explore that mind of yours to learn just what it is you would like to accomplish—or be.
Would you like to be a power in your community? Would you like to have the type of personality, which sways people? Forcefulness is not a question of how you pitch your voice, or how loud you talk. It is a reflection of a mind alert and a body dynamically alive and vigorous.
Would you like to have a large circle of admiring friends? Would you like to be the one singled out for your opinion and advice, because there is something about you, which spells authority?
Would you like to be elected to important posts in your lodge or club, because of your personal magnetism?
Perhaps your desires might run along the lines of personal accomplishment. You may have said: "I would take up the study of music, if I felt better." Or, it might have been painting or the mastering of one of the many crafts.
I may be a thousand miles from anything, which nearly approaches your own incentive. You may be single and give anything for the right mate, but feel you do not have the youth or physical attractiveness to interest the opposite sex.
But, regardless of what your desires are, get an incentive, which will give you a reason to want to be on top physically and mentally; then you will be in a position to get the maximum good from the steps, which follow.
2. Know you CAN gain better health and live longer.
The only people who have ever accomplished anything are those who knew they could. To approach any task with doubt in your mind about your ability to do it is a certain step toward failure.
Buoyant health is not something we acquire by luck. It is a reflection of the way we think and the way we live. Bodies, which creak with aches and pains, are not given to us by Fate as a punishment of some kind. We have them because of the way we live and think.
The mistake, which most people make, is to think that the price we pay for a joyous state of well-being is so high, the reward is not worth the effort. How utterly wrong!
One might say that sacrifice is part of the price we pay for a vigorously alive body.
But is it? Let us take a few habits as examples. Think of those who smoke to excess and whose hands shake if they are without a cigarette for a few moments. Would it be a sacrifice if they were to practice moderation to the extent that a smoke would be enjoyable, instead of a means to keep from suffering? Think of those who drink too much. Is the intense suffering from a hangover the reward they gain from the habit?
Would it be a sacrifice to suggest moderation that a drink could be taken now and then for sociability, instead of being the means of shearing one of all semblances of culture and refinement?
At first thought it may be hard to believe that we make more sacrifices with an ailing body than we do to have and maintain a glad-to-be-alive body. Think it over and you'll quickly agree. Reflect over the many things you could and would have done, had you felt like it. Think of the places you would have visited, had you the mental and physical spirit to do so. And think of the countless hours of feeling just "half fit."
Your judgment tells you that if you embark on a program aimed at glorious health, you can accomplish it. So, Step 2 is to know you can gain better health and live longer.
It may be necessary to resort to a bit of mental discipline in developing a better health consciousness. If, for years, you have been seeing yourself as one under par physically, it will take an effort to get yourself to the point where you know, beyond doubt, you can enjoy radiant health. Motion creates emotion, we learn, so, for a few days, hold to the thought: I CAN gain robust health. Of course, accepting the thought that you can gain better health is not enough. You must take the steps, which will make better health a reality. In other words, the realization that good health is within your grasp must be brought into reality by action.
3. Get your mind in order.
As you learned in the previous chapter, the word "psychosomatic" is now frequently heard in connection with illnesses of various kinds. Doctors are including many, many ailments in a long list of those which are originated in the mind.
This fact does not mean that a psychosomatically sick person is insane; it merely means that most psychosomatic conditions result from fear and worry.
Stomach ulcers are thought of as originating mostly in the mind; "strain" we call it, but what is mental strain other than worry over certain conditions, or our vivid fear that we will prove to be inadequate to cope with them?
My definition of worry is holding mental pictures of things we do not want, instead of things we do want. Think about this a moment, and you'll agree.
We might also say that worry is evidence of doubt in our ability to solve the problem, which is causing the worry. Perhaps if we look at it from this angle, we might stiffen our spines a bit and prove to ourselves and others that we are bigger than the object of our worry, and will do what is necessary to change it.
Realize that worry never helps anything. To the contrary, it impairs health and blocks happiness.
Self-mastery is a reward which comes to the one who can conquer fear and worry—and they are easy to conquer—if one will accept and act upon the truth:
"Worry prevents our doing the very thing which will provide the means to prevent the worry."
4. Learn the things you should and should not do!
A sage once said: "Success comes from doing the things you know you ought to do, and not doing the things you know you ought not to do."
It could wisely be said that invigorating health would result from following this sane advice. But, of first importance is to know exactly what you should and should not do. Where can this vital information be obtained?
The moment we become imbued with any thought, we become almost a magnet for information on that subject. We are attracted to books and periodicals covering various phases of it. Our minds and thoughts dwell upon it.
"A fault discovered is half overcome," I learned when just a boy. I believe if I were to take exuberant health as an objective, the first thing I would want to know is the condition of my body at present. I would, therefore, let my doctor give me a head-to-toe examination, so I would learn many of the things I should and should not do regarding my physical being.
An architect visualizes his ideas as they come to him. At his drawing board, and with his instruments, he develops his thoughts objectively. Since we are architects of our own beings and affairs, it would be well to begin by listing those things we should and should not do in our pursuit of glowing health.
A plan of action should be conceived which would include activity on the things we should do, and discipline in avoiding the things we should not do. Naturally our program of action will include supervision over the food we eat. But here and now let me say that eating for robust health does not mean giving up the things you like in favor of those you do not enjoy.
Vitamins and minerals are as essential to vibrant health as light and water are to plants. To have a deficiency of either vitamins or minerals means living in a body under par physically, one, which will break down many years before it should.
A startlingly large percentage of people suffer from malnutrition, not because they are eating too little, but because the foods they do eat are deficient in the elements necessary for health.
Selecting a diet of items recognized for certain vitamins and minerals is no assurance that they are being obtained. Good virgin soils hold an abundance of the minerals essential to good health but, in all parts of the country, these minerals are being used up much faster than nature or the farmer can put them back again. They are used up by over cropping, carried away by erosion, washed out by rains.
Vitamins are not food. They do not turn into blood, flesh and bone, or supply energy with their substance as foodstuffs do. They act instead as important links in the chemical processes by which the body turns food into tissues, removes waste products, and produces energy. Without vitamins these vital processes could not go on.
Selecting food with care is always a wise precaution, but the one determined to have scintillating, glad-to-be-alive health, will not risk getting all essential elements from foodstuffs presumed to contain them, but will make certain of a balanced diet by adding food supplements obtained from a reliable source.
5. Develop an ENTHUSIASM to do and not to do!
Acquiring the facts just given is essential in reaching our objective: Radiant Mental and Physical Health; but, merely acquiring this information is not enough. We must develop an enthusiasm for carrying through; for putting into operation the plans, which will insure radiant health.
There is one word, common to most of us, which has been responsible for many of our failures in life. That word is tomorrow. How often do we learn of something which would be of help to us, and we resolve to do it—tomorrow? And, of course, tomorrow never comes.
If you have been reading with a serious mind, you are enthusiastic—right now!
You are beginning to see vistas of thrilling happiness with a sparkling mind backed by a dynamic body. Problems, which have heretofore been worries to you, now, appear as challenges. But, as you peep behind the curtain and envision your new future, do not allow procrastination to make you think of tomorrow as a starting point. Start right now; the moment you lay this book aside. The start need not be a physical one, doing something the eyes can see. The start can be your resolve; your resolution that, since your rightful heritage is vibrant mental and physical health, you, from this moment onward, will do everything within your power to make it a part of your existence.
6. Take years off of your life through your actions!
Motion creates emotion. The men and women who make pals of their children and who enter into the activities of youth will remain young far longer than the parents who live like traditionally old-fashioned mothers and fathers.
We can't act young without feeling young, and when we feel young, we are putting the processes of Nature to work toward making us young.
Dancing, swimming, rowing, hiking, are a few of the activities, which promote physical well-being. But, right here, in connection with these pastimes, there is a thought of considerable importance. Do not do anything merely because you think it will be good for you. Since, as we learned in Step 2, there is a definite relationship between mind and body, learn to like the things you do. If you dance, enjoy it to the fullest extent, and you will gain from the combination of psychological and physiological benefits. This holds true with all other forms of exercise. The more you like them, the greater will be your benefit.
Our clothing plays an important part in the way we feel. If we wear drab garments, we do not feel as gay as when we dress colorfully. Although it is always imperative to use good taste, there is no rule against wearing clothes, which express our cheerfulness.
What did you enjoy doing ten, twenty or perhaps thirty years ago? Try to renew your interest in it. You may find the years literally rolling off your age as you do so.
7. Go on a mental diet.
Again referring to psychosomatic ailments, those physical conditions that emanate from mind, I would dare to say that a mental diet is more important than a physical one.
As you have been learning throughout this book, negative thoughts produce negative reactions. An old philosopher once said: "Seek thy comrades among the industrious, because the idle will sap thy energy from thee." Whether or not this is true, remember some of the visits you have had with those whose conversation is confined to subjects of gloom and disaster. Remember how gloomy you were when you left them? On the other hand, think of times spent with the optimistic, hopeful ones, and you will remember feeling inspired, and wanting to do big things yourself.
Discipline yourself to think in terms of health and happiness. Select reading matter, which will encourage you to climb to greater heights.
Do not indulge in negative conversation. When writing letters, see how much encouragement you can give, instead of making them dissertations of woe.
The secret of happiness is not in doing the things you like to do, but in liking the things you have to do. The acceptance of this thought will be a forward step in your mental diet.
In Step 5 you determined to abandon the word tomorrow from your vocabulary as far as procrastination is concerned. This definitely applies to your mental diet.
You are on it—right now.
8. Teach others how to have radiant mental and physical health.
It is true that happiness comes from giving happiness, and that to teach others how to gain radiant mental and physical health would make us extremely happy. There is, however, another reason for the suggestion given in this step.
We cannot successfully teach anything to others without setting an example. It would be incongruous to tell others how to be joyfully alive and exuberant, if we were to drag ourselves along looking only half alive. We want to show what life means to us, so that it will be an inspiration for others to follow our example.
Since charity begins at home, persuade the various members of your family to join with you in attaining radiant mental and physical health.
Start a movement among those with whom you work, not only for the good you will be doing them, but for what it will do for you.
Practically everything we do in life is based upon habit. We live according to the habit patterns we have created. Some habits are good; some are not. In following Step 8, you are unconsciously training yourself to create and live according to new and highly beneficial habit patterns.
9. Live correctly!
These two words could lead you into many different avenues of thought. They could refer to your food, to your habits, to your whole mode of living.
"Let your conscience be your guide" is the meaning I wish to convey. To talk about our relationships with others may seem a far cry from the rudiments of good health, but psychologists know that the things we do that challenge our self-respect are reflected in our physical condition.
A person who is not dependable never enjoys the vibrant health common to the one who is respected for his dependability. An unpunctual person is not on top of the world physically. Why? Because something psychological is disturbing him within. Subconsciously he loses a certain amount of self-respect, and a psychosomatic illness is usually the result.
In connection with Step 9, I cannot neglect disposition. One with a bad disposition never enjoys vigorous health. Pages could be written proving how a bad disposition undermines happiness and success, but for its effect on your health—ask your doctor. Ask him to explain how anger actually releases a poison in the blood stream, which retards the digestion and encourages any one of a long list of maladies.
Anger and reason do not go together, as evidenced by the fact that when we are angry, we say and do many things we later regret. You can see, therefore, that by giving in to anger, you are literally retarding your progress, and doing immeasurable harm to your physical being.
10. Be happy!
A prominent and successful doctor once said that a happy person is seldom ill, but that when he is, he responds to treatment much faster than other people. You will have no difficulty in agreeing with this doctor, if you will reflect a moment. You know you feel much better, physically, when you are happy than you do when you are sad and depressed. You also know that when you are not quite up to par, and something happens to cause great elation, you at once feel better.
This will show you why the two words Be Happy make a fitting conclusion to these
Happiness comes from within. You now have—and always will have—all the happiness there is. To be happy is merely to express happiness. And to express happiness is to take a great step forward toward acquiring inexhaustible, glowing health.
You now have the 10 Steps, but this is only the beginning. From this moment onward, they are to become a part of your daily routine. Think about them; practice them; live them. A new and incredibly joyous life awaits you.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
INSPIRING.......
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." -- Mother Teresa
Unconditional Love
A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.
"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me."
"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."
"There's something you should know the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."
"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live."
"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."
"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."
At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.
The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are. Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.
Unconditional Love
A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.
"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me."
"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."
"There's something you should know the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."
"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live."
"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."
"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."
At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.
The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are. Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.
THE LIGHTER SIDE...........
Lost Balloonist
A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted,
"Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."
The woman below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."
"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.
"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is, technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip."
The woman below responded, "You must be in Management."
"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."
A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted,
"Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."
The woman below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."
"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.
"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is, technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip."
The woman below responded, "You must be in Management."
"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Configure your Priorities before it is too late!
It is a fact that due to the Industrial & IT revolution happening in our country, India, the life style, diet and eating habits of urban people has dramatically changed.
The stress at work, lack of exercise, excessive consumption of alcohol, smoking, use of recreational drugs, overuse of antibiotics, increase in obesity and low nutritional status of foods, all affect the immune system and are contributing to the increase in degenerative diseases in modern society.
The immune system is affected for better or worse by the food that is consumed. Foods such as Meat, Sugar, Salt, Saturated fats, Alcohol, Dairy products and processed foods all have a negative effect on the immune system.
Researchers say, people who consume large amounts of meat are likely to suffer from cancer in later life than those who do not are. Meat is high in saturated fats, hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and herbicides. All these compromise the immune system.
White sugar has around 90% of its minerals and vitamins removed which when consumed makes the metabolism becomes inefficient, contributing to weight problems, poor energy control and unbalanced blood sugar levels.
Alcohol abuse severely compromises the immune system. Alcoholics suffer from malnutrition due to the reduction of food, impaired metabolism leading to weight loss and suffer from toxicity of the intestine. Alcohol is linked to cancer, hypertension, cerebro vascular diseases and coronary heart diseases. Scientists and researchers say, regular heavy drinking can lose up to 10 years or more of a person’s life expectancy by ageing the liver, kidneys, heart and brain. Too much alcohol depletes the body of the mineral zinc, Calcium, Magnesium and also B vitamins.
Salt cause high Blood Pressure, irritates the stomach and retain fluids.
Our life style has a large bearing on our immune system. Pollution, smoking, work stress, lack of sleep, being overweight, lack of exercise all has a very negative effect on our immune system.
Stress, repressed anger, depression, and chronic worries depress our immune system by reducing the ability of immune cells to form antibodies. It is a known fact that when we are stressed we are more likely to get ill. Stress increases blood sugars and lipids, which contributes to heart diseases and cancer.
Overweight due to lack of exercise and excessive eating can increase the risk of hypertension and diabetes.
Smoking cigarettes uses up large amounts of vitamin C and other anti oxidants. This can leave smokers vulnerable to cancer and heart diseases. Smoking ages the lungs, skin, circulation, heart and can lead to early menopause and osteoporosis.
The lack of nutrition in our food with the addition of stresses of modern day lifestyles is suppressing our immune systems at a time when we need it more. This combination has lead to a rise in degenerative diseases despite the fact that our nations spending billions in health care.
Don't wait until you fall victim to the above to reconfigure your priorities.
Our one day workshop-" WELLNESS AND HOLISTIC HEALTH AT WORK" gives lots of information about healthy foods, tips and techniques to understand and manage your stress, various simple processes and methods to keep your body and mind healthy, trim and productive.
For further details please contact:
welhealth9@yahoo.co.in
The stress at work, lack of exercise, excessive consumption of alcohol, smoking, use of recreational drugs, overuse of antibiotics, increase in obesity and low nutritional status of foods, all affect the immune system and are contributing to the increase in degenerative diseases in modern society.
The immune system is affected for better or worse by the food that is consumed. Foods such as Meat, Sugar, Salt, Saturated fats, Alcohol, Dairy products and processed foods all have a negative effect on the immune system.
Researchers say, people who consume large amounts of meat are likely to suffer from cancer in later life than those who do not are. Meat is high in saturated fats, hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and herbicides. All these compromise the immune system.
White sugar has around 90% of its minerals and vitamins removed which when consumed makes the metabolism becomes inefficient, contributing to weight problems, poor energy control and unbalanced blood sugar levels.
Alcohol abuse severely compromises the immune system. Alcoholics suffer from malnutrition due to the reduction of food, impaired metabolism leading to weight loss and suffer from toxicity of the intestine. Alcohol is linked to cancer, hypertension, cerebro vascular diseases and coronary heart diseases. Scientists and researchers say, regular heavy drinking can lose up to 10 years or more of a person’s life expectancy by ageing the liver, kidneys, heart and brain. Too much alcohol depletes the body of the mineral zinc, Calcium, Magnesium and also B vitamins.
Salt cause high Blood Pressure, irritates the stomach and retain fluids.
Our life style has a large bearing on our immune system. Pollution, smoking, work stress, lack of sleep, being overweight, lack of exercise all has a very negative effect on our immune system.
Stress, repressed anger, depression, and chronic worries depress our immune system by reducing the ability of immune cells to form antibodies. It is a known fact that when we are stressed we are more likely to get ill. Stress increases blood sugars and lipids, which contributes to heart diseases and cancer.
Overweight due to lack of exercise and excessive eating can increase the risk of hypertension and diabetes.
Smoking cigarettes uses up large amounts of vitamin C and other anti oxidants. This can leave smokers vulnerable to cancer and heart diseases. Smoking ages the lungs, skin, circulation, heart and can lead to early menopause and osteoporosis.
The lack of nutrition in our food with the addition of stresses of modern day lifestyles is suppressing our immune systems at a time when we need it more. This combination has lead to a rise in degenerative diseases despite the fact that our nations spending billions in health care.
Don't wait until you fall victim to the above to reconfigure your priorities.
Our one day workshop-" WELLNESS AND HOLISTIC HEALTH AT WORK" gives lots of information about healthy foods, tips and techniques to understand and manage your stress, various simple processes and methods to keep your body and mind healthy, trim and productive.
For further details please contact:
welhealth9@yahoo.co.in
"WELLNESS & HOLISTIC HEALTH AT WORK" - One Day Workshop
1.Program Name:
“WELLNESS AND HOLISTIC HEALTH AT WORK”.
2. Duration:
1 Day (With Power Point Presentation)
3.What will the program accomplish?
The Program will expose learners in an informal and entertaining way the ‘basics’ of Holistic Health and ‘How’ one can keep Healthy- Physically, Mentally (Psychologically, emotionally and spiritually), by just some shift in one's understanding, eating habits and life style. It also open new awareness on how one can manage the day-to-day stress at work, maintain a balanced emotional and mental state.
4. WHO WILL BENEFIT?
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS:
Teachers, Administrators, Students in Schools, Colleges, Professional
Institutions etc.
PRIVATE SECTOR:
People on target jobs , spending long, odd working hours, who are prone to
'Centreitis'(repetitive voice injury), BOSS (Burn out Stress Syndrome). Working
in Call Centers, BPO’s, IT and Software organizations, Middle and Senior level
Managers in Industries, Corporate Houses, Banking sector etc.
GOVERNMENT:
Middle/ Senior level Officers and Managers.
In general People who are working ‘hard’ in offices and home with unknown
stress and tension.
5.WHAT ARE SOME SPECIFIC BENEFITS OF THIS POROGRAM?
Greater understanding of wellness and Health. Healthy Eating Habits, Effect Of foods on body, Acid/ Alkaline balance and Obesity, Managing weight, understand the effect of Mind on Body and Body on mind. Effect of Breathing on mental and physical health.
Improving the attitude & behavior at workplace, Reduces the attrition rate. Enhances learning ability Productivity - Increased efficiency, reduced absenteeism Reduced costs - reduced medical expenses, hospitalization expenses
6.WHAT WILL PARTICIPANTS LEARN?
Participants will learn-
(a) How to ward off most of the common illnesses just by some shift in their understanding, eating habits and life styles.
(b) What are healthy foods, supplements and adequate water intake,
(c) Simple physical movements/exercises, which keep the body in peak performance.
(d) Breathing techniques, Pranayam, Alpha Healing Meditation, Autogenic Conditioning.
(e) How to detoxify the body
(f) Effect of thought, belief, mental attitude on health and life. (g) What exactly are Stress, depression, panic disorder, lethargy, apathy, negativity and how to address and manage it?
(h) How to re-program thinking and life.
(i) How to enjoy work and job.
(j) How to apply all these knowledge in our day-to-day life.
For further details pl.contact:
welhealth9@yahoo.co.in
FAQ’s.
Frequently Asked Questions about our Program “WELLNESS & HOLISTIC HEALTH AT WORK PLACE ( one Day workshop )
Q. What is this Program all about?
This is a Wellness and Health awareness program. It is also a “wake up call“. This explains and makes the participants understand how they can continue to be healthy at work place, despite the fact that every job has its own tension, stress and strain. This gives awareness and focus on how they can take care of their physical and mental health by just some slight shift in their understanding, food habits and life style.
Q. How do you do it?
It is a simple program. This program provides information, insights, knowledge and teach some simple physical and mental processes. These processes may look simple but are very powerful. Theses processes can be done while at work or at home.
The workshop is also a very friendly interactive one.
Q. Our people are all young and healthy? Why do they need this workshop?
Excellent. This program is actually for such people. The people with illness need a ‘cure’ and for that they have to approach a medical practitioner or hospital.
Please see, we have taken our body for granted. Think a moment. You have bought a new vehicle. You are very possessive of it. You take it for regular maintenance check and service. If it makes some abnormal sound or noise, you are worried. You are careful about the quality of petrol and the oil to be used in it. Though it may sometime, be costly, you still go for it. You do not mind it.
But what are we doing with our physical body? We are not bothered about its care.
We insult and abuse our body with smoke, drinks, foods, unwanted /unhealthy thoughts, worries, stress, Depression, fatigue, strain etc.. This not only makes you physically unhealthy but mentally too.
We keep doing this till some thing serious manifest outside as high Cholesterol, Depression, Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Heart Problem, Cancer etc, etc. We wait till our systems fail one day and falls out of order. We are panicked.
Then we rush to some Doctor or gulp some tablets. Again the same attitude is repeated.
You will agree, in the first place, this could have avoided. Is not it?
I read somewhere this, which got my attention - “Most people don’t discover how to live until it is time to die. But by then it is too late” How true it is!
This program helps you to understand your amazing Human Physical Body. How the body can take care and heal itself if you are slightly attentive and tune your ears and senses to it.
‘Most of our bodies know how to heal a cut but some bodies know even how to heal cancer.’ That is what Dr. Deepak Chopra, the author of “Quantum Healing” says.
Illnesses & Mind
As most of the people do not know what is actually happening in their mind or about the thought processes, they are not aware how their mind is becoming a reason for causing various illnesses and diseases.
Scientists say most of the illnesses originate from mind.
This program also makes you understand how our marvelous mind works and what our thought processes are. Thoughts can change a person or break a person. Thoughts are so powerful but we know very little about them. It explains the great wonders of mind which most of us are not aware of.
Most of us are also not aware that we have already been programmed and conditioned for good or bad. Researchers say by the age of 2 years about 50% of our belief systems have been determined. When we are 6 this increased to 60% and by age 8 to about 80%.
Finally at the age of 14, approximately 90% what we think had been programmed into our mind. 85 to 95% of all the programming we received from external sources was negative while most of the remainder was neutral.
If that is the case, what is the way out?
We have to Re-Program ourselves- our mind, which is possible. That is science. There are very easy but powerful processes.
This program explains about it and also teaches processes by which how one can re-program his or her life.
In short, this program gives insights on-
What is healthy eating?
How to understand what foods are good for you.
What are the foods for people with certain illnesses?
What are ‘avoidable’ foods? What are acidic and alkaline foods?
How one can manage weight and keep your figure from bulging into obesity? .
How one can manage and cope with stress and strain of day to day’s work?
This program is about the “prevention” part of it. How one can prevent getting common illnesses, diseases. Prevention is always better than cure. All of us seem to know that.
Q. Now a day’s people are so busy and have very little time at their disposal. We are afraid whether they have time for all these things.
We are so busy; We have absolutely no time!
That is right, people are busy.
It is like saying “ Hey, I am busy driving, I have no time to fill petrol”
We have, unfortunately, only 24 hrs for our disposal in a day. It is the same for the President of US, President of India, Mr. Bill Gates, or Mr. Narayana Murthy and also for all of us.
It is for us to decide our priorities. We have to reconfigure our priorities before it is too late. We have to make time for our health or worry later.
If health is not a priority then we may not have time for that.
If ignorance is the reason that is not an excuse for us.
Without proper physical and mental health what are we going to achieve in life? Even if we achieve something, do you think you will be able to enjoy it fully?
Reflect on it please.
It reminds us of great Stephen Coveys words.
“When you are climbing the ladder of success, make sure the ladder is leaning on the right walls!”
Q. OK Let us ask you one selfish question. What way my company is benefited by providing this to our staff? The turn over in industry is so high and there is no guarantee that they would continue with us to morrow.
That is a good question. We appreciate.
We understand that one of the most sustainable competitive advantages for any organization will be developing a ‘culture of leadership’- because all performance is driven by that culture. Competitors can copy your products, services; brands but cannot the company’s culture.
People like to work for a good company- one that is not only well run but that does its part to build a better world. They want to feel good about the company they work for. They want to know that their organization- and the work they do-elevates lives and makes a difference.
The culture of the organization lets people know what are their values and its philosophy. One of the deepest psychological needs of a human being is the need for belonging. They want to work for an organization that values them, that promotes their personal growth and makes them feel that they are contributing to a dream or vision of the organization, which they are proud of.
People change work and organizations, for various reasons. One cannot stop people from moving out. But the great culture of an organization, if it is true to its philosophy, certainly makes them think twice before doing so and sometimes even hold them back. This is a fact.
----------------------------------------------------------------
If you have any further questions to ask, please feel free to do so. You can contact us on mail welhealth9@yahoo.co.in .
We would be happy to answer any of your queries.
Thank you.
“WELLNESS AND HOLISTIC HEALTH AT WORK”.
2. Duration:
1 Day (With Power Point Presentation)
3.What will the program accomplish?
The Program will expose learners in an informal and entertaining way the ‘basics’ of Holistic Health and ‘How’ one can keep Healthy- Physically, Mentally (Psychologically, emotionally and spiritually), by just some shift in one's understanding, eating habits and life style. It also open new awareness on how one can manage the day-to-day stress at work, maintain a balanced emotional and mental state.
4. WHO WILL BENEFIT?
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS:
Teachers, Administrators, Students in Schools, Colleges, Professional
Institutions etc.
PRIVATE SECTOR:
People on target jobs , spending long, odd working hours, who are prone to
'Centreitis'(repetitive voice injury), BOSS (Burn out Stress Syndrome). Working
in Call Centers, BPO’s, IT and Software organizations, Middle and Senior level
Managers in Industries, Corporate Houses, Banking sector etc.
GOVERNMENT:
Middle/ Senior level Officers and Managers.
In general People who are working ‘hard’ in offices and home with unknown
stress and tension.
5.WHAT ARE SOME SPECIFIC BENEFITS OF THIS POROGRAM?
Greater understanding of wellness and Health. Healthy Eating Habits, Effect Of foods on body, Acid/ Alkaline balance and Obesity, Managing weight, understand the effect of Mind on Body and Body on mind. Effect of Breathing on mental and physical health.
Improving the attitude & behavior at workplace, Reduces the attrition rate. Enhances learning ability Productivity - Increased efficiency, reduced absenteeism Reduced costs - reduced medical expenses, hospitalization expenses
6.WHAT WILL PARTICIPANTS LEARN?
Participants will learn-
(a) How to ward off most of the common illnesses just by some shift in their understanding, eating habits and life styles.
(b) What are healthy foods, supplements and adequate water intake,
(c) Simple physical movements/exercises, which keep the body in peak performance.
(d) Breathing techniques, Pranayam, Alpha Healing Meditation, Autogenic Conditioning.
(e) How to detoxify the body
(f) Effect of thought, belief, mental attitude on health and life. (g) What exactly are Stress, depression, panic disorder, lethargy, apathy, negativity and how to address and manage it?
(h) How to re-program thinking and life.
(i) How to enjoy work and job.
(j) How to apply all these knowledge in our day-to-day life.
For further details pl.contact:
welhealth9@yahoo.co.in
FAQ’s.
Frequently Asked Questions about our Program “WELLNESS & HOLISTIC HEALTH AT WORK PLACE ( one Day workshop )
Q. What is this Program all about?
This is a Wellness and Health awareness program. It is also a “wake up call“. This explains and makes the participants understand how they can continue to be healthy at work place, despite the fact that every job has its own tension, stress and strain. This gives awareness and focus on how they can take care of their physical and mental health by just some slight shift in their understanding, food habits and life style.
Q. How do you do it?
It is a simple program. This program provides information, insights, knowledge and teach some simple physical and mental processes. These processes may look simple but are very powerful. Theses processes can be done while at work or at home.
The workshop is also a very friendly interactive one.
Q. Our people are all young and healthy? Why do they need this workshop?
Excellent. This program is actually for such people. The people with illness need a ‘cure’ and for that they have to approach a medical practitioner or hospital.
Please see, we have taken our body for granted. Think a moment. You have bought a new vehicle. You are very possessive of it. You take it for regular maintenance check and service. If it makes some abnormal sound or noise, you are worried. You are careful about the quality of petrol and the oil to be used in it. Though it may sometime, be costly, you still go for it. You do not mind it.
But what are we doing with our physical body? We are not bothered about its care.
We insult and abuse our body with smoke, drinks, foods, unwanted /unhealthy thoughts, worries, stress, Depression, fatigue, strain etc.. This not only makes you physically unhealthy but mentally too.
We keep doing this till some thing serious manifest outside as high Cholesterol, Depression, Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Heart Problem, Cancer etc, etc. We wait till our systems fail one day and falls out of order. We are panicked.
Then we rush to some Doctor or gulp some tablets. Again the same attitude is repeated.
You will agree, in the first place, this could have avoided. Is not it?
I read somewhere this, which got my attention - “Most people don’t discover how to live until it is time to die. But by then it is too late” How true it is!
This program helps you to understand your amazing Human Physical Body. How the body can take care and heal itself if you are slightly attentive and tune your ears and senses to it.
‘Most of our bodies know how to heal a cut but some bodies know even how to heal cancer.’ That is what Dr. Deepak Chopra, the author of “Quantum Healing” says.
Illnesses & Mind
As most of the people do not know what is actually happening in their mind or about the thought processes, they are not aware how their mind is becoming a reason for causing various illnesses and diseases.
Scientists say most of the illnesses originate from mind.
This program also makes you understand how our marvelous mind works and what our thought processes are. Thoughts can change a person or break a person. Thoughts are so powerful but we know very little about them. It explains the great wonders of mind which most of us are not aware of.
Most of us are also not aware that we have already been programmed and conditioned for good or bad. Researchers say by the age of 2 years about 50% of our belief systems have been determined. When we are 6 this increased to 60% and by age 8 to about 80%.
Finally at the age of 14, approximately 90% what we think had been programmed into our mind. 85 to 95% of all the programming we received from external sources was negative while most of the remainder was neutral.
If that is the case, what is the way out?
We have to Re-Program ourselves- our mind, which is possible. That is science. There are very easy but powerful processes.
This program explains about it and also teaches processes by which how one can re-program his or her life.
In short, this program gives insights on-
What is healthy eating?
How to understand what foods are good for you.
What are the foods for people with certain illnesses?
What are ‘avoidable’ foods? What are acidic and alkaline foods?
How one can manage weight and keep your figure from bulging into obesity? .
How one can manage and cope with stress and strain of day to day’s work?
This program is about the “prevention” part of it. How one can prevent getting common illnesses, diseases. Prevention is always better than cure. All of us seem to know that.
Q. Now a day’s people are so busy and have very little time at their disposal. We are afraid whether they have time for all these things.
We are so busy; We have absolutely no time!
That is right, people are busy.
It is like saying “ Hey, I am busy driving, I have no time to fill petrol”
We have, unfortunately, only 24 hrs for our disposal in a day. It is the same for the President of US, President of India, Mr. Bill Gates, or Mr. Narayana Murthy and also for all of us.
It is for us to decide our priorities. We have to reconfigure our priorities before it is too late. We have to make time for our health or worry later.
If health is not a priority then we may not have time for that.
If ignorance is the reason that is not an excuse for us.
Without proper physical and mental health what are we going to achieve in life? Even if we achieve something, do you think you will be able to enjoy it fully?
Reflect on it please.
It reminds us of great Stephen Coveys words.
“When you are climbing the ladder of success, make sure the ladder is leaning on the right walls!”
Q. OK Let us ask you one selfish question. What way my company is benefited by providing this to our staff? The turn over in industry is so high and there is no guarantee that they would continue with us to morrow.
That is a good question. We appreciate.
We understand that one of the most sustainable competitive advantages for any organization will be developing a ‘culture of leadership’- because all performance is driven by that culture. Competitors can copy your products, services; brands but cannot the company’s culture.
People like to work for a good company- one that is not only well run but that does its part to build a better world. They want to feel good about the company they work for. They want to know that their organization- and the work they do-elevates lives and makes a difference.
The culture of the organization lets people know what are their values and its philosophy. One of the deepest psychological needs of a human being is the need for belonging. They want to work for an organization that values them, that promotes their personal growth and makes them feel that they are contributing to a dream or vision of the organization, which they are proud of.
People change work and organizations, for various reasons. One cannot stop people from moving out. But the great culture of an organization, if it is true to its philosophy, certainly makes them think twice before doing so and sometimes even hold them back. This is a fact.
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If you have any further questions to ask, please feel free to do so. You can contact us on mail welhealth9@yahoo.co.in .
We would be happy to answer any of your queries.
Thank you.
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