Positive Frenzy!

Failure is Fruitful

2011-01-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

Failure: The Foundation for Success

¨ Don’t allow failure and disappointment to hold you back from realizing your dreams in life. Failure does happen but it happens to everyone and sometimes the most important discoveries come to us as a result of failure.

¨ Failure for many, has served as the impetus for reflection and innovation. Failure serves as a springboard to innovation when it is perceived or framed as an opportunity to make change and create progress. Stumbling blocks can serve as stepping stones. Obstacles can be opportunities.

¨ Johnson and Johnson have had many failed ventures that have resulted "placing bets on many potential opportunities -- most opportunities possibly fail, but the ones that do succeed, they succeed big" and these failures "are an essential price to pay for successful innovation and long-term growth”. Mr. Johnson himself is quoted as saying, "failure is our most important product".

Johnson & Johnson (2006).

Soar to New Heights

¨ Don’t let failure stand in your way. It happens, let your stumbling blocks be stepping stones, change your obstacles into opportunities.

¨ Celebrate your progress in healthy ways and recognize that change is happening in your life. We suggest that you create checkpoints for yourself. Every thirty days write down a list of how you are feeling, your short-term goals to accomplish, what you have accomplished at this point and then compare on a monthly basis what you have completed and brought into reality so that you will be able to highlight your transformation and pat yourself on the back. Do not be discouraged if you have not met all of your short-term goals from last month just move them forward to your new list.

NOW is YOUR Time!

8 Toxic Personalities to Avoid by Brett Blumenthal

2009-05-27T10:44:00.001-07:00

Although we like to think that the people in our lives are well-adjusted, happy, healthy minded individuals, we sometimes realize that it just isn't so. Personally, I've had moments where I'll be skipping through my day, happy as can be, thinking life is grand and BAM, I'll be blindsided by someone who manages to knock the happy wind out of my sails. Sometimes it is easy to write it off and other times, not so much.

Maybe you are a positive person, but when you are around a certain individual, you feel negative. Or, maybe you have an idealistic view of the world and when you are with certain people, you are made to feel silly, unrealistic or delusional. Or, maybe you pride yourself in being completely independent and in control of your life, but when you are around a certain family member, you regress into a state of childhood.

Some of these situations, and yes, these people, can have a tremendously negative impact on our lives. And, although we are all human and have our 'issues,' some 'issues' are quite frankly, toxic. They are toxic to our happiness. They are toxic to our mental outlook. They are toxic to our self-esteem. And they are toxic to our lives. They can suck the life out of us and even shorten our lifespan.

Here are the worst of the toxic personalities out there and how to spot them:

1. Manipulative Mary: These individuals are experts at manipulation tactics. Is a matter of fact, you may not even realize you have been manipulated until it is too late. These individuals figure out what your 'buttons' are, and push them to get what they want.

Why they are toxic: These people have a way of eating away at your belief system and self-esteem. They find ways to make you do things that you don't necessarily want to do and before you know it, you lose your sense of identity, your personal priorities and your ability to see the reality of the situation. The world all of a sudden becomes centered around their needs and their priorities.

2. Narcissistic Nancy: These people have an extreme sense of self-importance and believe that the world revolves around them. They are often not as sly as the Manipulative Marys of the world, but instead, tend to be a bit overt about getting their needs met. You often want to say to them "It isn't always about you."

Why they are toxic: They are solely focused on their needs, leaving your needs in the dust. You are left disappointed and unfulfilled. Further, they zap your energy by getting you to focus so much on them, that you have nothing left for yourself.

3. Debbie Downers: These people can't appreciate the positive in life. If you tell them that it is a beautiful day, they will tell you about the impending dreary forecast. If you tell them you aced a mid-term, they'll tell you about how difficult the final is going to be.

Why they are toxic: They take the joy out of everything. Your rosy outlook on life continues to get squashed with negativity. Before you know it, their negativity consumes you and you start looking at things with gray colored glasses yourself.

4. Judgmental Jims: When you see things as cute and quirky, they see things as strange and unattractive. If you find people's unique perspectives refreshing, they find them 'wrong'. If you like someone's eclectic taste, they find it 'disturbing' or 'bad'.

Why they are toxic: Judgmental people are much like Debbie Downers. In a world where freedom rings, judgment is sooo over. If the world was a homogeneous place, life would be pretty boring. Spending a lot of time with these types can inadvertently convert you into a judgmental person as well.

5. Dream Killing Keiths: Every time you have an idea, these people tell you why you can't do it. As you achieve, they try to pull you down. As you dream, they are the first to tell you it is impossible.

Why they are toxic: These people are stuck in what is instead of what could be. Further, these individuals eat away at your self-esteem and your belief in yourself. Progress and change can only occur from doing new things and innovating, dreaming the impossible and reaching for the stars.

6. Insincere Illissas: You never quite feel that these people are being sincere. You tell a funny story, they give you a polite laugh. You feel depressed and sad and they give you a 'there, there' type response. You tell them you are excited about something and you get a very ho-hum response.

Why they are toxic: People who aren't sincere or genuine build relationships on superficial criteria. This breeds shallow, meaningless relationships. When you are really in need of a friend, they won't be there. When you really need constructive criticism, they would rather tell you that you are great the way you are. When you need support, they would rather see you fail or make a fool of yourself.

7. Disrespectful Dannys: These people will say or do things at the most inappropriate times and in the most inappropriate ways. In essence, they are more subtle, grown up bullies. Maybe this person is a friend who you confided in and uses your secret against you. Maybe it is a family member who puts their busy-body nose into your affairs when it is none of their business. Or maybe, it is a colleague who says demeaning things to you.

Why they are toxic: These people have no sense of boundaries and don't respect your feelings or, for that matter, your privacy. These people will cause you to feel frustrated and disrespected.

8. Never Enough Nellies: You can never give enough to these people to make them happy. They take you for granted and have unrealistic expectations of you. They find ways to continually fault you and never take responsibility for anything themselves.

Why they are toxic: You will spend so much time trying to please them, that you will end up losing yourself in the process. They will require all of your time and energy, leaving you worn out and your own needs sacrificed.

All of these personalities have several things in common. 1) the more these people get away with their behavior, the more they will continue. 2) Unfortunately, most of these people don't see that what they do is wrong and as a result, talking to them about it will fall on deaf ears, leaving you wondering if you are the crazy one. 3) Most of these people get worse with age, making their impact on you stronger with time.

Frankly, life is too short to spend your time dealing with toxicity. If you can, avoid spending mucho time with people who are indicative of these behaviors and you'll feel a lot happier. Have you encountered these personalities? What have you done? Any personalities you would add?

This article was written by Brett Blumenthal

Stress, Perception, and Locus of Control

2009-04-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

Perception and locus of control are interrelated skills that determine how one handles stress and how resilient individuals are to crisis, chaos, and stressful events. People that believe they have less stress believe that they are in control of their own lives. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) believe “psychological stress is a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being” (as cited by McCauley, 2005). Clawson (2006) asks the question, how much do we live life inside-out versus outside-in? Are we living fully influenced by and reacting to our external environment (which creates a victim mindset) or do we feel that we have control or perceive that we have control over our external environment by exhibiting thoughtful responsive actions outward? Darwin (n.d.) states “it’s not the strongest of the species who survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change”. According to Senge (2003) when we live life with an external locus of control, “we are victims of a self-reinforcing crisis of perception – a crisis of our own making”.
References:
McCauley, C. (2005). Stress and the eye of the beholder. Leadership in Action, 25(1), 3.
Senge, P.M. (2003). Creating desired futures in a global economy. Reflections; Vol.5, Iss. 1. EBSCOhost Database.

Perspective is EVERYTHING!

2009-04-21T05:42:00.000-07:00

I hope you will watch this video and learn from a dying woman how we can better frame our own lives and be truly thankful and grateful for every breath we take! Turn up your volume and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StAQqsDAirk

Emotional Hijacking

2009-04-13T08:10:00.001-07:00

Whether frameworks are personal or professional, emotions can be helpful or hindering no matter the environment. Kouzes (2003) talks about contagion and leadership and that when in a group environment that an “emotional soup” is created with each adding their own flavor and how people take emotional cues from the top and the domino effect ripples downward creating the emotional climate. Kouzes (2003) also discusses emotional hijacking and how negative emotions hijack attention away from the task at hand, eroding mental abilities, and impairing social skill-sets. Negative emotions are just plain bad for business whereas positive emotions create a positive environment, contributing to job satisfaction and overall increased performance levels. One of the statements that really stuck from this writer’s perspective is that happy employees make happy customers and this ultimately increases revenue. There is a direct link between leadership to climate to business performance.

Reference:
Kouzes, J.M. (2003). Business Leadership. A Jossey-Bass Reader

Reducing Stress through Positivity

2009-04-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

I am a firm believer in positive perceptions, positive thinking, and that the battlefield of the mind is where we need to stand guard most vigilantly. We can lose the battle or accept defeat with “stinking thinking” before we ever make a physical move or a verbalization in any situation. Chiu et. al. (2005) believes that “locus of control can influence experienced stress by affecting one’s perceived ability to cope with and perhaps change a stressful environment” (p. 837). According to Sosik and Godshalk (2000) job stress is linked to health problems and illness, poor performance, waning effectiveness and waxing health care costs. Additionally, job related stress is reported as costing corporate America approximately $200 billion annually, or 10% of U.S. GNP (Sosik & Godshalk, 2000). Stress may be abated through communicating effectively, increasing efficacy expectations, clarifying performance expectations, participating in or developing support groups, strengthening relationships, and continuing to expand opportunities to learn and develop personally and professionally.

References:
Chiu, C., Chien, C., Lin, C. & Hsiao, C.Y. (2005). Understanding hospital employee job stress and turnover intentions in a practical setting: the moderating role of locus of control. The Journal of Management Development; Bradford: 2005, Vol. 24, Iss. 10.
Sosik, J.J. & Godshalk, V.M. (2000). Leadership styles, mentoring functions, a job-related stress: a conceptual model and preliminary study. Journal of Organizational Behavior; June 2000, Vol. 21, Iss. 4.

Global Business Opportunities

2009-04-06T01:04:00.000-07:00

I have recently become part of an international company that is literally changing peoples lives. The organization offers an unbelievable product in the health and wellness industry coupled with an unbelievable business opportunity. The company is based in the U.S. and active in more than 12 countries around the world and opening the European and Malaysian markets in the 4th quarter of this year. I am very excited about what this business has to offer! The top people in the company are making more than $7 million per year. The organization is just less than 4 years old and has already done more than $2 billion dollars! This is an opportunity to have your own business that will create multiple streams of income. They have taken this product to market through relationship marketing and it is growing like wildfire! Please check out the following link and watch the first and second video clips. This can truly change your life! I would love to have you on board! E-mail me for more information ashafer@cfl.rr.com
http://dev-brighart.com/about-brig-and-monavie

Cheers to health, wealth, blessings and freedom!

Global Crisis

2009-03-14T02:25:00.000-07:00

At the risk of being an arm-chair economist/politician I will offer my perspective. “[G]reat companies and great dynasties and great empires, most of those were not defeated externally….they were defeated from within” (CEO of JetBlue, cited by Fawcett et. al., 2008, p. 2). I realize that responsibility of destruction is a result of many years of corruption and poor decisions, simplistic but to the point. When the highest pursuit is to line one’s pockets, moral depravity has won. Democracy is dead and socialism is tantamount to communism. A ruling society seems to be taking shape, bankrupting more than the economy. Socialism according to Webster (2007): “any various economic and political theories or social systems based on collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods 2: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done” (p. 932). Communism according to Webster (2007): “a social system in which property and goods are owned in common; also: a theory advocating such a system 2a: a doctrine based upon revolutionary Marxism-Leninism that was the official ideology of the U.S.S.R. b: a totalitarian system of government in which a single party controls state-owned means of production with the professed aim of establishing a stateless society: (p. 190). Taxing a recession equals depression. Bailing out the economy and every big business does not save the economy or the business it creates government ownership. The stimulus package exceeds our GDP and I certainly don’t see how this is numerically, economically, or financially possible to stimulate anything hold bankruptcy. There is a loss of the individual to the collective and we are all being assimilated, so resistance is futile it seems.

I think there are going to be more and more people getting back to basics. Extended families may need to pool their resources in order to survive and live in a compound or community environment hearkening back to past eras where multi-generational family living was the norm. Many are and have been distrusting of government and big business. They feel a need to pull back and they are going to be doing business with the mom and pop businesses (if they survive) but new bartering systems will result from our crunch, and squeeze. There will be many phoenix’s rising from the ashes of this economic turmoil and consumers will want to spend their money with people and establishments where they feel they matter. Home-based businesses are going to boom and the cacooning trend will continue where people seek safety and comfort in the walls of their own home and if industry does not know to find the consumer in their home they will lose market share. However, technology and the internet has already been able to exploit this opportunity. But the bottom line is that with geographical boundaries receding and globalization upon us, the political and economic heat will continue to rise until the burn destroys one or more of the players. It is a time of political and economic arson and even though fire destroys, it also cleanses, so my hope is that even though things may appear grim, I am working to focus on my microclimate while being vigilant about the macroclimate and hope that the emergence of something worthy will transcend the inevitable destruction.

Reference:
Fawcett, S.E., Brau, J.C., Rhoads, G.K. & Whitlark, D. (2008). Spirituality and organizational culture: cultivating the ABCs of an inspiring workplace. International Journal of Public Administration; 31: 420-438, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from EBSCOhost Database.
Merriam-Webster (2007). Webster’s New Explorer College Dictionary New Edition. Federal Street Press.

YIKES! I've Become a Network Marketer!!!!

2009-03-06T04:14:00.000-08:00

Not in a million years did I ever think that this would happen TO ME! I was as the library with my children one day looking for a book for a paper I was writing on the thrilling topic of finance and economics, which turned out to be a rather interesting topic, but I digress. I had taken my precious little ones to the children's section first to load them up with books so they sat quietly looking at their books while I stood perusing the business section looking for my specific title. OK, I was minding my business looking for my book and another woman came to the same section. We began to chat casually (this is how it all starts :) and she brought up THE PRODUCT! On the inside, I was rolling my eyes, HARD! On the outside, I smiled and looked somewhat skeptical I suppose. I reluctantly gave her my e-mail and number and then thought to myself, what have I done! I have set myself up! I don't want in to one of those things! She did call me as I knew she would, I had objections and such but she was persistant, but pleasant. She finally nailed me down do an appointment when she would come to my home. I almost picked up the phone several times that day to cancel. The ONLY reason I did not is because the product was in the health and wellness industry and I am all about health and wellness and was a little interested to hear about that and I knew as a grad student in business that the health and wellness industry is trending like crazy and is only growing by leaps and bounds. OK, so she came over (with her upline), another eyeroll on my end. I watched the video while I allowed my children to run around like crazy, it was not important enough to me at the time to force them to be still. I listened to their compensation plan and I tasted the product. I thought it was yummy, hmmmmmm. I SIGNED UP!!!!!!! I could not believe I DID IT! So, I was on a break from class for a week and I consumed all the literature they left, researched every aspect of the product and the business seven ways to Sunday and I was actually IMPRESSED and kind of happy I did this. EVEN MORE SURPRISING TO MYSELF! WOW! One thing that really stuck with me is an article I read by Paul Zane Pilzer, who is a world renowned economist, multimillionaire entrepreneur, college professor, author, and economic advisor to two U.S. Presidents and a leading predictor of economic catalysts and trends........You want to know? OK, he said that the two HOT industries that we are going to see BOOM right now, even in the midst of our crazy economy, are home-based business (check), and the health and wellness industry (check, check). This company is smack dab in the middle of that!!!!! HELLOOOOO! From a business stance, the company is debt free, in 12 countries around the globe and opening the European market and Malaysia in the 4th quarter of this year and is just under 4 years old and has already done over a BILLION DOLLARS! I am impressed. It took Microsoft over 12 years to do a billion. I want in on this! So if any of you want to ride this vehicle with me, you are more than invited! The most successful in the company are doing over $7 million a year and I am not opposed to that! The company is featured in this months (March, 2009) Dupont Registry magazine at Barnes & Noble and has been featured on Rachael Ray, Fortune, and a host of news, media, publications etc. and the product itself is helping people with arthritis, diabetes, cholesterol, and nutrition. I know I sound like a raving lunatic, but I have never seen the right product, the right timing, the right leadership, and did I mention they are socially responsible giving back to the country where they harvest the fruit and produce the product? I mean, I just can't go on more about it. I am proud to be a part of it......I am excited to help others and to help myself at the same time! I would love to welcome others to be a part of this explosion of health and wealth! And my positive comment for the day is even if you are just barely making it in life, the upside is that you are still on top and you are still making it! So cling to the positive and be thankful and grateful for what we do have in life! Contact me if you would like to discuss more about my newest venture in life and if you would like to be a part of it together! The beauty of this organization is that we can live anywhere in the world and be a part of the same team! AHHHH The power of the internet! Have a blessed day everybody!!!

http://realhealthanswers.com/

Failure is our most Important Product

2008-10-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

Failure, for me, has served as the impetus for reflection and innovation in life and in business. Failure serves as a springboard to innovation when it is perceived or framed as an opportunity to make change and create progress. Johnson and Johnson has had many failed ventures that have resulted from J & J "placing bets on many potential opportunities -- most opportunities possibly fail, but the ones that do succeed, they succeed big" and these failures "are an essential price to pay for successful innovation and long-term growth" (Johnson & Johnson, 2006). Mr. Johnson himself is quoted, "failure is our most important product".

Johnson & Johnson (2006). Creativity and innovation driving business. Retrieved October 3, 2008 from http://creativityandinnovation.blogspot.com/2006/09/failures-and-stumbles-driving.html

Everyone can be Successful

2008-10-29T07:44:00.000-07:00

People are who they are based on genetics and environment. While we may not be able to change our genetics, we can change our environment and our thinking. I feel that people who have resigned to failure have just given up on themselves, they have a lack of self-confidence that can be restored if they are able to get into an environment of others that truly care and can encourage them to "keep trying" and "try again" and to get them to believe in themselves again and given opportunities where they can have success so they can restore the "damage". Success is built upon failure and nobody knows how many failures it takes to reach success but if they don't give up, they WILL reach success eventually, the key is to never give up and to never lose your enthusiasm. I read a really great article that lists 7 steps to overcome failure (and these are priceless!!): 1) rise up and don't regret; you have spent your time wisely; 2) understand that failure is there to bring you wisdom; 3) learn as much as possible from the failure; 4) don't give up; maybe you are only one step away from success; 5) maintain your enthusiasm; 6) keep dreaming big dreams; and 7) keep your confidence in yourself (Latumahina, 2007).

Reference:

Latumahina, D. (2007). 7 Powerful Tips to Overcome Failure. Retrieved October 3, 2008 from http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2007/11/07/7-powerful-tips-to-overcome-failure/

The Forgotten

2008-10-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

The Forgotten: For Scribbit's Write Away Contest, the topic: Ghosts

I was out walking as I did every evening and if I was tired I took a short-cut home through the woods. I lived in a rural area so when darkness falls, is falls quickly and hard. Everything is covered with a blanket of darkness, and you can only see the stars and the moon. One night when taking my short-cut I noticed a big dark structure through a patch of trees heavily draped in moss. I only had a small bit of light left in the sky illuminating my way home so I didn’t want to explore the abandoned house tonight. I would come back tomorrow when I had plenty of light.

I thought of the old house all night wondering why I had never seen it before and who may have lived there, why it was left to dilapidate into the ground. Funny how buildings seem to just fall apart when humanity has left; nobody running in and out the doors, no windows opening and closing, no breeze flowing through, no chatter among the walls, no electricity crawling through the wires.

The next day came and I was anxious to go back and discover what lay in the woods. I set out my front door and down my short-cut path to explore the old house. I walked back to the very spot on the path where I could look back through the patch of trees with the moss dripping from the limbs and I did not see a structure, no house, no building, nothing. I was puzzled, flabbergasted, and speechless. I spun around looking in all directions to see if I was in the wrong spot. I began to run up and down the path going back and forth looking everywhere and saw nothing. The morning was stretching into lunch time and I was hungry and returned home. I thought to myself, well, I’ll get some lunch, go into town to run some errands and go out on my walk tonight to see if I see things differently.

While in town I ran into an old man that might just be our oldest inhabitant. He has seen the growth and changes of our town and everyone in it over his eighty years of life. I asked him if he knew of an old house in the woods out past the edge of town and down the dirt road where I lived. He said that he did remember there used to be a house there when he was a child but that it was torn down about twenty years ago or so because the word was that it was haunted and nobody wanted to buy the place.

This new information really sent chills down my spine and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The old man didn’t ask me why I was asking about this old structure but gave me a sly grin that just added to my uneasiness.

When I went back home that afternoon I made a plan to return to the spot in the woods where I saw the house. I waited until dusk and I gathered up a flashlight, a camera, and leashed up my dog. We took the short-cut path to the patch of trees and the moss now looked spooky blowing in the wind, the daylight dwindled down and I started to take some photographs. My dog started to whimper. I tried to speak to him calmly but there was a quiver in my voice and I had a sick feeling come over me. There were noises coming from where the structure had been and it was now pitch dark. I clumsily snapped shot after shot after shot. The noises grew louder as if they were getting closer. I shone my flashlight out into the woods and the structure I had seen the night before loomed there before my eyes. I was frozen with fear. As I flashed my light back and forth I could see the porch, the door, the windows and ghostly apparitions glowing from inside the house. The noises seemed to shrill and scream and I dropped my flashlight, pulled my dog and ran the race of my life back out of the woods and toward my home. My heart was beating so fast I could feel it thumping inside my head, deafening my ears. I got back to my door and began to flip on every light in my house as if that was going to somehow calm me down and keep the spirits from following me home and entering my house. I didn’t sleep all night.

The next morning, I was exhausted and anxious। I drove into town to have my film developed. I was absolutely terrified about what might turn up in the photographs. I waited in agony as the camera shop carefully developed my film. When they were done the clerk had a funny look on his face and asked exactly what I had been photographing. I asked why and could I see the photos. He said that nothing really turned out; they seemed to be overexposed quite a bit but each photo had the same word scrawled across the grayish photo as if scratched by a fingernail. The word on each photo simply read “forgotten”.

http://www.scribbit.blogspot.com/

Overcoming Failure in Life

2008-10-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

My opinion from observation and experience, no matter the population, is that people are who they are based on genetics and environment. While we may not be able to change our genetics, we can change our environment and our thinking. I feel that people who have resigned to failure have just given up on themselves, they have a lack of self-confidence that can be restored if they are able to get into an environment of others that truly care and can encourage them to "keep trying" and "try again" and to get them to believe in themselves again and given opportunities where they can have success so they can restore the "damage". Success is built upon failure and nobody knows how many failures it takes to reach success but if they don't give up, they WILL reach success eventually, the key is to never give up and to never lose your enthusiasm. I read a really great article that lists 7 steps to overcome failure (and these are priceless!!): 1) rise up and don't regret; you have spent your time wisely; 2) understand that failure is there to bring you wisdom; 3) learn as much as possible from the failure; 4) don't give up; maybe you are only one step away from success; 5) maintain your enthusiasm; 6) keep dreaming big dreams; and 7) keep your confidence in yourself (Latumahina, 2007).

Reference:

Latumahina, D. (2007). 7 Powerful Tips to Overcome Failure. Retrieved October 3, 2008 from http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2007/11/07/7-powerful-tips-to-overcome-failure/

Relationships are What Life is All About

2008-09-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

In my life I have been blessed to have and to have not....What I have learned is that there is no set recipe for satisfaction in life, happiness cannot be bought, love cannot be purchased.....driving a Range Rover, wearing a Rolex watch, living in a ten thousand square foot home, and having a million in the bank will not bring you peace, wisdom, or bliss....The truth is.....that relationships are what life is all about....cultivating, maintaining, and growing your relationships with family, loved ones, and reaching out beyond your circle to others is truly where happiness and life are and what life is all about....I have less now than I have had in my life prior and I am happier, wiser, and have more peace....Would I like to have more....sure....does my happiness depend upon it? Absolutely NOT.....When we seek to love first, it becomes the most fulfilling to our spirit, mind, and body....The Bible says "seek ye first the kingdom of God"....."and all these things will be added unto you".....That is good enough for me....I don't want to live my life seeking everything under the sun only to feel exhausted and empty at the other end of this journey....I want to enjoy every moment, live in the present, and maintain flexibility to roll with whatever comes through the doors of my life...I want to enjoy God, my children, family, and friends and allow the love and joy of these relationships to sustain me through the mountain tops and valleys of life....Don't allow your circumstances to get you down, don't become muddled in the rut of status quo.....reach out, change your routine, smile at strangers, love your family, think positive thoughts, be thankful for what you DO have and do not focus on what you don't have......life is wonderful! Don't let your own pass you by!

Colors of Life: God's Painting - For Scribbit's Write Away Contest

2008-09-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

Morning’s magical transformation; the blaze of fire waxes fiercely into a perfect sphere of blinding light; sparkling crystal sands, azure-blue ocean, and the golden fiery sun. God’s canvas is painted so masterfully. He has created nature’s eye candy that changes with the open and close of each day. Mighty winds curl into gentle breezes and glide through the open sails of tiny boats in the distance, dotting the horizon and sitting atop cresting waves. The strange salty smells fill my nostrils. Dark green clumps of seaweed lie up and down the beach. A single pelican floats on what seems to be an invisible line above the ocean, suddenly, spiraling downward crashing into the water for fish or just cool pleasure. Puffy white pillowy clouds hang lazily in the sky making abstract formations against a backdrop of powder blue. The sound of the ocean is hypnotic in its auditory sense, the constant whir of the waves rolling into shore making beige frothy foam. I can hear the conversations of the black and white gulls in the distance. They chatter and laugh entertaining themselves, gossiping about their daily routines, how many fish they caught and how many got away. Long legged birds wearing tight black stockings stalk through the shallow waters with their bright orange beaks picking through the grains of sand for edible treasures. Millions of periwinkles bury themselves again and again in their life-long arduous task. The tear drop shaped shells painted so vibrantly with royal purple, scarlet red, sunny orange and yellow, like bright little rainbows in the wet sand. Colorful crabs scurry back and forth across the sandy expanse. Bright white mountains are the dunes on the beach peppered with tender green sea oats swaying gently in the breeze. Standing in forceful juxtaposition is the deep red brick lighthouse trimmed around top with a black wrought iron walk and cap-like dome; sternly built with purpose climbing into the blue and white swirled sky. From the top of the lighthouse one can see the entire island peninsula. The water sparkles in the sun like diamonds in all directions and the housetops look like small squares amidst a menagerie of bursting, frenzied color. Even when the sun dips behind the clouds and a hazy gray covers the canvas of color, the beautifully colored kites take center stage, swirling and diving, twisting and turning, cutting through the breeze like a hot knife in cool butter.The burnt orange sun finishes the day with a sunset of glorious proportion, covering the once blue ocean in a glaze of gold. It sinks slowly into a hazy pink horizon tinted delicately with hints of violet and baby blue. The water ripples gently across the river catching the reflected colors of the slowly dimming ball of fire slipping into the sky. Evening glides in slowly showing her twinkling glittery lights. Far in the southeast corner of our evening cover appears the glowing pearly moon. Over on the beach the water is peaceful with small waves caressing the sandy shore. Tiny fish break the surface of the glassy still waters in the distance as they jump out of the ocean and into the cool evening air. Their skins catch the moonlight making them shimmer and shine.

Full moon, starry night, through the sky they drip and shed their glowing light. To the corners of the earth from whence the darkness gave birth, casting shadows on earth’s floor, through depths of ocean and miles of shore. The crickets chirp, the frogs sing and a gentle breeze makes the wind chimes ring. Slowly, silently the night is still, its beauty and mysticism are at planetary will. Colors!
http://www.scribbit.blogspot.com/

See it in Your Mind's Eye; See it with Your Natural Eye

2008-08-27T04:49:00.000-07:00

Dreams are born out of our imagination, out of our desires, sometimes out of need...When we dream in life it keeps our hopes alive, it fuels our energy stores and feeds our positive thought process...Out of our dreams, our goals in life are birthed, the things we want to materialize and manifest...It is vital to begin to make a goals list and put this on paper to see it every day, post the goal list on the fridge or on your mirror, somewhere where you are able to reflect on it daily....Once our dreams become goals and they have made it to our goal list, we begin to think and dwell on these things, we begin to see them come to fruition in our mind's eye....Once we begin to see these dreams and goals become a reality in our mind's eye, they are able to manifest, it is as if we are creating a doorway between the imagination and our reality, and we then see them with our natural eyes....Nothing will come to pass in our lives if we do not literally "make it happen"....We make things happen by creating lists, reflecting and dwelling mentally upon these lists, seeing these accomplishments and material items in our mind's eye and then they are able to come through to us in our natural lives....Always remain in a state of thankfulness and gratitude, even for the struggles in life, where we learn important lessons about life and about ourselves...And in our positive attitudes we are able to remain clear about our decisions, about our direction, and about the things we want more of in our lives...Never leave God and talking to God out of the equation of your life....He is the most important factor in maintaining peace and focus in life....Allow Him to fine tune your focus and your direction....We are not able to have this happen when we focus on the negative, complain, are unthankful or ungrateful in life; God will not supercede our will....He does want the best for us but we must take part in working to create the best for ourselves as well....Clear your mental slate, make a list of all the things that we have to be thankful for....dream a little, make a list of your dreams, reflect on these and from this list start your goals list.....Begin to think and dwell thoughtfully on your goals....Strategize simple steps to accomplish these goals....See these goals coming to fruition in your mind's eye and the doorway will be created to usher these goals into your reality!

Success in Life

2008-08-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

Please enjoy!
http://www.success.com/lessonsonlife/

It is Always Darkest Before the Dawn

2008-08-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

Just like a tree that bears fruit needs to be pruned back so that the fruit will be sweet, juicy, healthy, and abundant, we also in life experience events and circumstances that leave us feeling as though we have been pruned....Our lives sometimes feel like a pruned tree that looks lifeless, leafless, and almost dead...It is in these times that we need to be fertilized and given time to gather our energy for a re-birth or a transformation...Patience with ourselves is extremely important, we can't live life in warp speed and always expect warp speed results....Just like gourmet cooking and fine wine take time to achieve delectable results, we many times experience what feels like a dead zone in life when we might not realize that this dead zone or depression or financial drought or however our hurdle presents itself, this time is in reality a time when we are being tested, to see if the wonderful, glorious, prosperous, joyful times in life are going to keep coming.....If we give up in this testing time when things seem dark then we never experience the beautiful dawn when the sun cracks the sky, colored hues streaking across, and the sweetness of life comes shining through our windows! Don't give up when your bliss is just around the corner! Remain thankful, grateful, positive, and hopeful......Have faith that God won't let you down now!!! or ever! It is sad when we lose faith and more difficult to get back on the right path, but it can be done!!! All things are possible, they might just take more work! It is always darkest before the dawn, but when your dawn breaks, it is just like new life has filled every corner of your being and nothing can hold you back from jumping with both feet into the glorious sun of you new day!

Flexibility is the Key to Sanity

2008-08-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

I continue to learn that less flexibility in life equals more stress and frustration...Whereas more flexibility equals more peace, happiness, and sanity....Whether in our personal or professional lives we need to increase the amount of flexibility we incorporate into our plans...I believe that almost nothing in life goes as planned and almost everything has unexpected glitches or hangups that come up out of the blue which increase our chances and our levels of stress in our lives unless we are able to be flexible and have the ability to change our strategies to overcome surprising obstacles and/or go with the flow.....not allowing the unexpected things in life to rock our boat and sink our ship....Even though smooth sailing is almost unheard of we can choose to steer our ship away from turbulent waters and dangerous weather if we are able to monitor our internal compass and change our course when necessary creating more flexibility in our lives...I continue to work towards having more flexibility in my life and to monitor my internal compass to keep my ship sailing as smoothly as possible!

First Kiss for Scribbit's Write Away Contest

2008-08-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

The year was 1981 when roller rinks were fun and the mirrored disco ball hung from the center of the ceiling। The floor was glossy blue; a mini block wall enclosed the rink and old dark Berber carpet stretched around the edges. The snack bar was filled with hot dogs and jelly doughnuts and mixing up a suicide soda was “the” drink. The girls all hung in groups giggling and pointing at the boys and if you could skate backwards it was pretty impressive. I was not impressive. I was thirteen, with braces, fly-backs, and wore Jordache jeans that were probably way to tight. With my skates on I felt so cool, so tall, and skated so fast to songs like “Play that funky music white boy” and just hoped that I never fell crossing over in the corners. When the lights dimmed, couples would skate to the likes of “Reunited”, the spotlight on the disco ball, and mirrored reflections would go spinning across the walls and the floor; raging hormones racing faster than the fastest skater in the building. The cover of dark created ample opportunity for couples to make out and many first kisses were born at the roller rink. At the end of the night, I was carrying my skates back to the rental room, (I was not cool enough to have my own tricked out skates), and my little boyfriend following behind me. We were the only two in room. He quickly planted his lips on mine and there in the skating rink rental room was my very first kiss, and it was not an American kiss. There were no fireworks to mention, just shock and surprise. I felt flushed with a hormonal rush of nervousness and excitement not believing it was happening, and then just as quick, it was over. I don’t remember the boys name or what he looked like, I only remember that it was my very first kiss and it was a strange experience that was my initiation into the world of kissing, boys, and roller rink romance.
http://www.scribbit.blogspot.com/

Luxury and the Art of Living

2008-08-01T06:20:00.000-07:00

Luxury from the latin word luxus which means abundant...Art can mean many things but among the meanings are the idea and production of beauty, creation, grandeur, and wonder....And living is having life, existence, experience, and time....
Abraham Maslow determined that self-actualization is the highest point to which people strive....to be mentally and psychologically healthy and able to experience life to the fullest without hesitation and hang-ups....and that we as human beings have an internal, natural, drive to become the best possible people that we can be.....

EIGHT WAYS TO SELF ACTUALIZE (cite reference below)
Experience things fully, vividly, selflessly. Throw yourself into the experiencing of something: concentrate on it fully, let it totally absorb you.
Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (out of fear and need for defense) and risk (for the sake of progress and growth): Make the growth choice a dozen times a day.
Let the self emerge. Try to shut out the external clues as to what you should think, feel, say, and so on, and let your experience enable you to say what you truly feel.
When in doubt, be honest. If you look into yourself and are honest, you will also take responsibility. Taking responsibility is self-actualizing.
Listen to your own tastes. Be prepared to be unpopular.
Use your intelligence, work to do well the things you want to do, no matter how insignificant they seem to be.
Make peak experiencing more likely: get rid of illusions and false notions. Learn what you are good at and what your potentialities are not.
Find out who you are, what you are, what you like and don't like, what is good and what is bad for you, where you are going, what your mission is। Opening yourself up to yourself in this way means identifying defenses--and then finding the courage to give them up.
(http://psikoloji.fisek.com.tr/maslow/self.htm)

Please take time to explore the above site as it contains a wealth of wonderful information that leads us to ponder the quality of our lives and I would like to continue to evolve in my mental and psychological life to extinguish neurosis, hang-ups, and negativity that keeps me from my own luxury and artful living! Staying positive, one thought at a time!

You Get Out What You Put In

2008-07-31T07:25:00.000-07:00

Like your bank account, your balance only reflects what you have deposited.....You cannot deposit ten dollars and expect to withdraw ten thousand....Likewise, you can't plant corn and expect to grow beans...In life, relationships, education, jobs, etc...we get out of these only what we are willing to sacrifice, deposit, and put into it....I personally want to get the very most out of everything I do and so I strive to put forth my very best efforts and I then can expect positive results....This is of course is still no guarantee that everything will come up roses...but we have a much greater chance for success in all that we do when we put forth our best efforts and there is satisfaction in knowing that I have done my best instead of leaving things in my life to chance....Every beautiful garden in life requires work at every stage...we must clear and prepare the ground, enrich the soil, plant the seeds, fertilize and water, and once we have results we must still continue the work of maintenance in weeding the garden and continue to fertilize and water to keep the beauty coming....I want beauty to continue to grow in my life and I am willing to do the work to get the most out of it!

The Mental Diet

2008-07-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

Just as we curb our food intake and exercise our body for better performance and health reasons, we should also exercise our minds and curb our thoughts and thought patterns to eliminate negative, taxing activity that has no benefit for us and only serves to deplete our energy stores and create stress....The mental diet is the way to go! Start by writing down all the positive messages that you would love to hear from others or that you might want to say to yourself and place them in view, tape them to your mirror or magnet them to your fridge....Look at these messages everyday, several times a day and read them aloud to yourself...Your brain believes what you tell it and when you are feeding yourself positive, healthy thoughts and words, your mind and body begin to react to this in a very positive manner....Just as your physical body reacts to good nutrition and exercise, your mind will do the same with nutritious words and thoughts! You have nothing to lose (except the negativity and the stress it creates) and EVERYTHING TO GAIN!

Reduce Your Expectations, Reduce Your Stress

2008-07-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

We should only have expectations for ourselves, and perhaps for our children...But when we put expectations on others I believe that we are only setting ourselves up for disappointment, possible heartache, and stress! Life is so much smoother when we truly "go with the flow", otherwise, when we place expectations on others of productivity, timeframes, events, places etc...we are putting pressure on them to perform to our expectations....there is not anything wrong with having expectations on others it just in our reaction when they are not able to meet our expectations....I continue to learn over time that I can only expect of myself and that I have less stress when I do not thrust my expectations off on others....I get along with them much more harmoniously, I do not create tension for myself or with them and I can just relax and let everything come as it comes, surprises and all....this is difficult to let go and just flow but let me tell you it is so much nicer to let people just be themselves and to be able to enjoy others and our environments without the added stress of unrealistic expectations!

Never Burn Your Bridges

2008-07-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

We spend our lives building pathways and bridges linking people and places throughout our journey...During our travels we are always working to propel ourselves forward, to progress, succeed, to learn and to grow.....but life, never predictable and always peppered with mishaps, disappointments, and failures, we sometimes re-visit our past and re-trace our steps due to these less than fortunate events that cause us to go backwards in our lives and perhaps back down the ladder which we have climbed and we sometimes need to go across some of those old "bridges" which we have built be it in friendships, contacts, or familiar places...We never know when we will be in need of something, anything that will be helpful to us, maybe not today...but someday...so, be wise in your choices and wise in your words...never speak unkindly to or about anyone because it may come back to haunt you when you least expect it....and you never know when you may need your bridges to carry you back to safety in your life so make sure you never burn them down...

Letting It All Roll Off

2008-07-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

If I spent my time "emotionalizing" about everything that could potentially sap my time and energy I would literally have nothing left for myself or for my family....Every frustration, big or small, gives us the opportunity to either go down the tubes with it or to stand above it and let it go and not allow it to take you with it....This morning I have already had the opportunity to get lost emotionally in something that is truly out of my control and so I stop and think to myself...what can I learn about myself from this situation....or just what can I learn period...Everything that happens in life is a potential learning experience and I want to progress and not regress....I don't want to waste my time worrying about other people, timeframes, money, or whatever it may be that pops up and creates "an opportunity" for us to grow, change, and progress in our lives...I have control only over my responses and only over my expectations....I don't have control over other people, nor do I want that responsibility or that burden....I don't want to set myself up for disappointment so I adjust my expectations to only include expectations for myself and to do my best to respond to stressful situations with grace, peace, and wisdom.....I then do a blessings count to restore a modicum of peace and joy to my core and work from that because if we truly ask ourselves about any situation......what is this going to mean in a hundred years....or even tonight....is it worth losing our peace over? Probably not! So I am going to move through this and stay focused on what is truly important to me, smile, and think positively.....I want to learn and grow in life and do it with grace and joy!

Blessings in Life

2008-07-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

This link is "visual therapy" coupled with words of wisdom....please enjoy and be blessed!
http://www.bettertobless.com/movie1.html

Feeling Overwhelmed and Letting Go

2008-07-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

I am reminded by myself that I frequently bite off more than I can chew and end up doing a little choking on my own self-inflicted schedule...We recently moved into a new house, so setting up house again the unpacking, the re-organizing, etc....both children home, my littlest is turning two in just a few weeks and my oldest is home for the summer between kindergarden and first grade....I just started my PhD program today....I really need a new computer as I have called the University tech support line three times since last night and the juggling of it all has been a little overwhelming today! I am reminding myself that I do love the crazy of it all and I have difficulty sitting still for anything but re-adjusting to a new environment and a new schedule with cooking, cleaning, dirty diapers, reading, writing, assignments again, working.....Calgon! take me away!!! Inhale.....Exhale.....Serenity NOW! I know that tomorrow will be a new day and I will clean my mental slate, take each moment as it comes and remain calm, thankful, and joyous! I made it through today and I will make it through tomorrow with a better attitude....Attitude is ninety %, and everything else can be conquered with a positive attitude....So I am taking inventory of all that I have to be thankful and grateful for and smiling....I am taking a deep breath and relaxing.....I am picturing a successful and relaxing evening and riding that on into tomorrow....I am letting go....Positive thoughts all around :-)

Giving is the Best Gift: A Servant's Heart

2008-06-27T04:36:00.000-07:00

When we do for others and give of ourselves it is rewarding for both parties...Having the heart of a servant is a beautiful gift to share....When we become consumed in our own lives and forget that we share our world with so many that are in need whether it be within our own family or reaching out beyond our boundaries it is important to share what we have whether it be time, money or gifts....Cooking a meal for others, sharing your home and your hospitality with another family or with friends is an important and enriching part of our lives that we should not neglect...and when we give our time and efforts to others it plants a seed to come back to us when we are in need....it is the beautiful cycle of life! Smile, think positive thoughts, share your talents and gifts with others, open your heart to love and be a servant to someone in need!

Don't Live in Chains When You Hold the Key to Set Yourself Free

2008-06-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

I think that many times we imprison ourselves due to our own thoughts or perceptions about things that have happened to us or because we are punishing ourselves due to poor choices that we have made....Why should we live a life of guilt and/or suffering? Is something good going to come out of this punishing behavior? Some freedom or revelation or epiphany? I will answer this with a resounding NO.....There is no reason that any human being should live their life in bondage of any kind and many times this bondage is self-imposed....Whether we are beating ourselves down for poor choices or because we have been deceived into faulty thinking that we are not deserving due to others mistreating us, let me urge you to set yourself free!!!! We need not live under the roof of someone else's mental constructs that create condemnation and boundaries to where we can go and what we can think.....Cut the chains whether you have put them on yourself or whether you have allowed someone else to create a cage for you, life is meant to be lived with joy in our hearts and minds, having hopes and dreams to look forward to and work towards....You hold the key to your own freedom, it begins in your own mind and with the thoughts that you think.....so think positive thoughts, don't punish yourself, let go of the past and start walking into your new future....start over from this moment....surround yourself with love and support and love and support yourself :-) Wishing you hope, love, joy and freedom!

Don't Look Back!

2008-06-22T05:34:00.000-07:00

In order to continue our forward progression in life creating growth and success through positive thoughts and positive actions we must ensure that we are always looking forward and not looking back! When we drive we must look forward to drive to reach our destination, we never "arrive" anywhere looking backward in reverse....Revisiting old pain, old frustrations and wishing we had done things differently in the past will not take us anywhere, we will just stagnate right where we are, growing roots fixing us in one location unable to break free and move forward in life.....So we need to cut the roots that tie us to our past, work through the pain and frustration if that is what needs to be done in order to set us free so that we can begin to grow and move in a forward and upright position so that we can experience life in the present and enjoy what we have now, not grieving over what was or what should have been or how terrible people or circumstances were to us, don't live life as a victim of your past, become a victor in your present.....Love yourself and give yourself permission to be set free from your past, stop looking back because you will surely wreck your present if you are not looking forward to see where you are going! Live in freedom, with joy and a positive purpose....look forward and embrace the good things coming into your life, let go of your past and don't look back! Smile and think positive thoughts!

Living the Good Life: Food for Thought

2008-06-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

The following food for thought gives us reminders about how important our thoughts are and how they are instrumental in bringing about success and the good life for us: please enjoy! References follow each section...
Creating SuccessHow To Be A Magnet To Success
In this issue I'm going to talk a little bit about creating success and how your own thoughts create an energy - which either attracts success or attracts failure. Most people aren't even aware that their thoughts are energy, and very few are aware of how they're own thoughts can create the failure they have in life when the really want success.
Whether you send out an energy that attracts success or failure really depends on the kind of thoughts that you have. Those who focus their attention on the good qualities that they have and take time to relish in their achievements, no matter how small they are - will inevitably attract success to them. They'll send out a positive success energy that in turn will attract more and more success.
One fact is clear - in life we will fail more often than we succeed। But those who continue to enjoy success - never give up and they always focus on their success - no matter how small that success is - they focus on it. And in so doing they don't look at the failures - thus creating a positive energy for them.
http://www.affirmationsforpositivethinking.com/creating-success.htm
"I never saw a pessimistic general win a battle." – Guiseppe Borghese
"The world is like a mirror; frown at it, and it frowns at you. Smile and it smiles, too." – Herbert Samuels
"There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them." – Clare Boothe Luce

A Positive Mental Attitude is indispensable to your success. You can be as positive as you want to be if you will simply think about the future, focus on the solution and look for the good. If you do what other successful people do, if you use your mind to exert mental control over the situation, you will be positive and cheerful most of the time. And you will reap the benefits enjoyed by all successful people.2
Become A Positive Person
To empower and motivate your employees, customers, your suppliers, your bankers and so on, you simply need to be a genuine, positive and cheerful person। You develop a positive mental attitude. You be the kind of person from whom, “never is heard a discouraging word.” You are easygoing, genial, friendly, patient, tolerant and open minded. You make people feel comfortable being around you.

Creating Inevitable Success: 5 Steps

Set your brain on the path toward achieving your goal so that it's working on it all day long – traveling the actual path will then become much easier... More
Choose To Be Happy
The only source of happiness – and unhappiness – comes from inside yourself.
Happiness is not something that comes to you. It is something you create now, today. Waiting for something to change in order to be happy is waiting to live your life. It is not what happens to you that counts. It is how you react to what happens to you. It is your attitude. When you adopt a positive attitude, life becomes a rewarding adventure instead of something to get through... More
Happiness Quotes
"Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." – Nathaniel Hawthorne... More
Positive Emotions Are the Key To Life
Positive emotional energy is the key to health, happiness and wellbeing. The more positive you are, the better your life will be in every area... More
A Leader's Mood: The Dimmer Switch of Performance
Take a hard look at your behavior in meetings, which are often "cauldrons of emotion." Do you model the way by setting a positive tone right from the start? Or do you impose your own "pace" based on how you feel at the moment? Aim for a calm, relaxed mood and a consistent, positive approach... More
Don't Focus on the Problem, Focus on Solution
You can become a positive thinker simply by focusing on solutions, not the problems।
Just remind yourself that "there are no problems – only opportunities."
Optimistic Thinking
Changing your perspective is the key to finding success in seeming failure. "Optimistic thinking has sometimes gotten a bad rap as being unrealistic, but research has found that we can indeed live happier, healthier, and more successful lives if we can learn to discover opportunities in problems."3 Due to optimistic positive thinking, problems will become merely challenging opportunities that you can turn to your advantage. They provide opportunities for personal growth and can stimulate your creativity for finding better ways to live.

Can you become more optimistic? Can you simply “choose” to think more positively? Yes, you can. The simplest way is to empty your mind, clear it of all fears and anxieties while replacing them with positive thoughts. Declare independence from negative thinking.7 Surround yourself with optimistic people because optimism is contagious. So is pessimism. Studies find that people who live with depressed people tend to become depressed themselves. Surrounding yourself with optimistic, supportive people will help you turn occasional optimistic thoughts into a habitual way of thinking.
Another powerful tool for optimism is "2P & 3P thinking."6 When good things happen to you, and when you accomplish your goals, try to understand why those events occurred in Personal, Permanent and Pervasive terms. If you manage a successful project at work, take credit for that success. Attributing it to your intelligence, for example, offers an explanation that is personal (you are intelligent), permanent (you’ll always be intelligent) and pervasive (your intelligence will help on other projects as well).
Living a Healthy and Successful Life
Researchers of two American Universities found that a positive thinking and attitude improved a persons health because it made it more likely that they would succeed in life.4 So not only will a positive attitude help you be healthy and live longer – but it also increases the likelihood that you will succeed.

Lead researcher Dr. Glenn Ostir explained it this way: "I believe that there is a connection between mind and body – and that our thoughts and attitudes/emotions affect physical functioning, and over all health, whether through direct mechanisms, such as immune function, or indirect mechanisms, such as social support networks." ... More
The Law of Expectations
Whatever you expect with confidence, positive or negative, becomes your reality. If you confidently expect to succeed, if you confidently expect to learn something from every experience, if you confidently expect to become wealthy as a result of applying your talents and abilities to your opportunities and you maintain that attitude of confident expectations long enough, it will become your reality. It will give you a positive optimistic cheerful attitude that will cause people to want to help you, and will cause things to happen the way you want them to happen... More
http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/thinking_positive.html

Living in the Moment Everyday

2008-06-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

We can become so distracted in life by our circumstances, by people, opportunities to become frustrated due to our circumstances or people whether it be friends, family or co-workers, neighbors or strangers....I need to remind myself that I am in charge of how I react to my external world and the people in it.....I truly want to enjoy my life to the fullest extent and in order to do this I believe that it is imperative to live in the moment everyday! By living in the moment we can allow the past to stay in the past and the future to take care of itself as it comes.....it frees us up to just BE ourselves and BE in each moment of each day....I want to be able to fully appreciate the blessings in my life which are my children, my family, the outdoors, cool breezes, sunny days, delicious food, music, playing and laughing, reading and learning, meeting new people and just expanding my horizons and enjoying the horizons I have already created! So each morning I want to start with a clean and clear mental slate and be able to take each moment as it comes and experience the joy therein....The simple things in life are almost always the most valuable and they are almost always free!

Intentions: The Undercurrents of Our Lives

2008-06-14T05:46:00.000-07:00

With everything that we do in life there are a myriad of reasons as to why we do what we do and how we go about doing it......the way in which we speak to people, the way we treat others, the way we raise our children, the way we react with strangers, the things we say, the words we choose, the relationships we establish and maintain, and on and on and on.....so in saying this, I think that it is important to think about and examine our intentions to determine whether what we are saying and what we are doing is lining up with a positive purpose in our lives.....I can look back and see why particular doors in my life closed because my intentions in going through those doors was wrong, perhaps selfish and I do believe that rejection is protection......protecting us from others and quite possibly from ourselves....We are not always aware of our intentions but in retrospect we can see more clearly why something did not work out and it may have been that our intentions were not in line with where they should have been.....the undercurrents in our lives can sometimes move us toward better shores or they can become the undertow that drags us under....I want to make sure that I examine my intentions with my words and actions to uplift myself and others in a positive way so that the undercurrent in my life is something that if brought above the surface I have nothing to hide or feel shameful or selfish but that I have made choices with good and healthy intentions....I want to move toward sunny, blissful shores with crystal waters and sparkling sands! So with the best intentions I want to move through life creating progress and not regress.

Kicking Worry to the Curb

2008-06-13T03:26:00.000-07:00

I know that we are to live by faith and not by fear and for me, worry is just a form of fear, it is negative and breeds stress in our lives....I am just as guilty as then next person to indulge myself in worry but I think that I have made strides to reduce this horrible indulgance! I would like to eliminate this worthless emotional wrecking ball from operating in my life all together but everything happens in increments....So I want to just kick worry to the curb for good and remember that all things will take care of themselves and that I know that if God will take care of the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, even more so will He take care of me.....This is always the scripture that comes to my mind when I feel worry trying to grip my mind and take me down like a predator takes its prey, but I don't want to go down like that anymore! God has proven to me over and over that He is in control and I only need to place my faith and trust in Him and He handles all things for my best and highest good...So I will make yet another attempt to lean on God and not on myself because clearly I am not able to change or control the universe with my worrying ways and I can only change and control the way in which I react to my own universe or circumstances and situations in my own little world.....I will replace negativity with positivity and reject negative thoughts when they try to creep in and I will kick worry to the curb!

The Simple Things in Life

2008-06-11T05:56:00.000-07:00

Please enjoy this amazing video about the simple things in life that bring us happiness and joy!
http://www.findingjoymovie.com/
have a beautiful, joyful day!

Creating and Maintaining Balance in Our Lives

2008-06-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

The following article provides excellent examples on how to create and maintain healthy, positive balance in our lives! Please enjoy! This article is sourced from the following website: http://www.naturalhealthbenefits.com/health-and-mind.html

The Spiritual Health Journey
Health Topics on this page
Time Out and Stress How can we get more Self belief?How do our emotions affect us? How does Anger affect our wellbeing?The Power of Meditation Religious Belief
There has been since the beginning of this century, a shift in health consciousness in the West. A growing number of people are beginning to see and treat their lives as, above all else, a spiritual journey.
These people are not particularly religious, hold down regular jobs, and probably don’t attend church, but they probably know instinctively there is something more to life.
Connecting back to nature can be a very uplifting thing to find meaning in life. There is nothing like the peace and quiet of a garden, the new leaves on a tree in spring, the sound of the sea, the sight of a carpet of bluebells in a wood.
It is also very reassuring and spiritually rejuvenating to realise that nature carries on with her cycles regardless of what we do or what is happening to us.
Making time for reflection in a garden or other kind of quiet place can help to root us in a very literal way-and for people who live in the city who may see nothing but concrete, a park or garden in some peace and quiet can provide real spiritual health and rejuvenation.
Time out is a much used phrase. We all know what it means, but not many of us take it seriously enough to make a space for it in our lives. This is a shame as you can only make real changes and progress in your inner life when you step out of ordinary life long enough to figure out where you want to go, and how you are going to get there.
By reflecting on a regular basis you will get the chance to imagine that maybe you COULD do something about what is troubling you – or maybe that you CAN follow your dreams. Sometimes it helps to look at problems in a different way by turning them on their head or looking at them from a different angle.
Time out and Stress
The most precious commodity we have now is time. It’s a fact that workers of this generation have less free time than any other time in history. The reason is the communications revolution. The speeding up of communications like emails mobile phones and faxes has given less spare time to workers – and a more unhealthy stressful working environment.
We are all very busy, on a tight schedule and stuck in more traffic jams than ever, but on the upside, our standard of living has become much better than it ever was years ago. Throughout your journey through life, stress cannot be avoided –all you need to do is change the way in which you deal with it.
Stress happens within us when our perceived demands threaten to outweigh our perceived resources. It is simply a reaction to a perceived inability to cope. I use the word perceived with an emphasis because that is a clue about the nature of stress; as no amount of rationalizing on my part will do anything - your stress is personal to you.
Stress is something that is highly subjective – what YOU may find stressful someone else will cope with, for instance. Stress can work for us or against us and we all have the power to determine the balance.
Anxiety stress before a job interview can go in one of two ways: it could motivate you into a shining performance or it could make you too nervous to show your best side. Therefore the answer is getting increased self belief in your abilities.Top of Page
How can we get more self belief?
We as a society are losing our sense of self-belief. A form of spiritual stress occurs with a lack of purpose and direction which drains our self confidence and hence our ability to cope with things. How can we increase our confidence?
Stress boils down to fear that we can’t cope with certain conditions. The stress we feel is not so much caused by the event as the feelings you’ve associated with it. When you repress feelings you may have felt at a stressful time and never work through them, they’ll eat away at you long after and cause more stress on an ongoing basis.
A classic scenario is someone who was hurt once in a relationship and refuses to get involved ever again. After a time, the problem now is not so much the breakdown of the relationship but the feelings that are associated with it.
At the end of a hard day, or before you go to sleep, give yourself a bit of space and quiet to just hear yourself deep down and re-contact the real you. Be in harmony with yourself. Through knowledge of ourselves and how we tick, and doing things that make us feel happy on a regular basis, we will all be much calmer, more healthy and able to cope.
Another very good reason to spend some time in reflection is that it does wonders for your health. Stressful situations can be managed better and this leads to a healthy mind. And a healthy mind leads to a healthy body. Our mind and body through our emotions and spiritual health are more closely linked than anyone may realise.
Whenever you feel stressed a good solution is to write things down! Get a diary or notebook and write down your feelings. Write out what you see the problem to be in a logical way and then what you can do about it.
Stress can so often be a case of making mountains out of molehills. The very essence of taming stress is to live a happier life.
Keep a focus on the big picture. Whatever happens in life, you will deal with it. You’ll adapt and prevail just like always, and problems often have a way of becoming opportunities.
If you are threatened with redundancy for instance, you may decide to do something that you’ve always wanted to do, like start a business instead of trying to find another job.
Whenever there is a big decision to be made ask yourself “Will this make me truly happy?” If you let this be your guiding light through the hard times and keep a clear procedure about how to go through life, stress will be in retreat.Top of Page
How do our emotions affect our health?
The simple act of smiling or laughing triggers the release of chemical messages that travel to the brain and promotes a sense of health and wellbeing.
Smiling also maintains harmony within oneself. Heart rate and breathing also come under the influence of our emotions. Laughter is a positive healthy and vital part of our inner lives and people who smile and laugh a lot often experience better health.
The reason for this is because the immune system is boosted by a positive and coping attitude. (And in reverse can be suppressed by stress and unhappiness). Therefore a person who is happy or elated can greatly increase the amount of NK (natural killer) cells into a healthy immune system to help fight infection.
The immune system “communicates” by hormone amd chemical messages to and from the brain. This can enhance or suppress the immune system according to a person’s mood state and are transferred by chemicals called endorphins. This “messenger service” is used by the immune system to communicate with the mind, so emotions are closely linked.
Learning how to breathe properly is a definite step to controlling stress. Many of us breathe either too much or too little. Tests show that people who have changed the way they breathe become much more at ease on a regular basis.
The correct way to breathe is long slow and deep. Picture and hear a clock pendulum and try to breathe along with it. When you inhale and exhale, let it be your stomach that expands and contracts. Do this first thing in the morning for five minutes in peace with your eyes closed.Top of page
Anger - How can it affect our health?
Anger is another emotion that affects us. There’s nothing wrong with being angry – it can be very healthy and therapeutic. What is a problem is denial about anger and this is what many people suffer from. I mean, you seem to take your life in your hands driving on the roads these days!
We need to get to the root of the problem in the first place, and expose anger for what it is – so when it affects you - you can cope with it better.
When you become angry, vengeful or say nasty things you don’t mean, you are seeing your "dark side". Recognising it when you see it is a way to diffuse anger. If you don’t, it is likely to leap out when you least expect it, jeopardizing home and work life, and stop you realizing your full potential.
When you repress anger it is like energy building up that has to find somewhere to go. The place is usually spills out onto is other people in the form that’s called “projection”. We all tend to do this as some point in our lives. Anger is born out of fear. When you understand that we tend to project our worst qualities onto others, it’s easy to see just why it’s born out of fear – because we fear our "dark side".
We’re frightened by it, but instead of facing that fear, we’d rather live in denial by putting the blame on to others. If someone’s reaction to someone else or you are over the top, remember that it takes one to know one. Were you criticized all the time when you were a child? How much of that was your parent projecting their own dark side on to you? If you think back, you’ll realise that that person was just angry!
When someone is venting their anger on you, think of the pointed finger they’re effectively pointing at you. Raise your hand now and point at someone or something – you’re pointing a finger at someone else but there are three fingers pointing back at you!
Vented anger towards you is just someone saying “Look at me!” How to deal with it? Keep this knowledge with you. Arm yourself with it at times you incur anger. Pity the other party and smile, by doing that it shows they are the weaker ones, not you.
You spiritual health is found through your emotions, positive or negative. By realising what your feelings are telling you, and understanding them for what they are -this is the route to happiness in your inner life.
If you really are going through a very difficult time in your life right now then consider counseling. This is an excellent way to get your emotional health back on track. I can really recommend this approach - it helps you come to terms with what's going on in your life and helps you to get through it. Everyone needs a helping hand in life from time to time, so don't be afraid to ask for helpTop of Page
The Power of Meditation
There’s no mystery about the powers of meditation. Some may want to dress it up in set exercises but you can take a moment of quiet reflection and look within yourself for direction and focus at any time you have a quiet moment. It gives your mind a rest from all the hustle and bustle of life and can work wonders for your overall health.
You’ve done it before at moments of leisure, but please make time for meditation, on your own, quiet, and in a pleasant environment. Everything that surrounds us has an effect on our wellbeing and is constantly sending information to our all- powerful subconscious.
We are all much more than the sum of our parts. Physicians will tell you that you are indeed surrounded by energy; but whether that energy is a negative or a positive force is up to you and your surroundings.
If you find it hard to meditate on your own, joining a Yoga class can help you physically and spiritually. The vast majority of our muscles are hardly used, so yoga is a solution to this health problem and it doesn’t matter how old you are or what physique you have. I have heard great things from other people about it even though I haven’t got round to doing it myself yet – so give it a try.
You are Special! There never has been and never will be another one of you ever again and your gifts are just as unique. Once you identify your reason for being, you will quickly realise two things: Working towards your goals, whatever they may be, reinforces the best within yourself, and you will learn a lot about what satisfaction in life really means.Top of Page

How Positive Thinking is Healthy and Beneficial for the Mind and the Body

2008-06-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

The following is an article I found that directly lines up with how I believe we are affected by our own thoughts and how they in turn affect our bodies..The authors are listed at the end of the article...It is an excellent read!

Positive thinking is an effective way to achieve mastery of bio-energy healing। Maintenance of a positive energy level in a healer's own bio-energy field reduces stress and emotional tension in the healer and in others। Positive emotions and feelings and a positive mental attitude can improve the quality of people's lives and heal their bodies of illnesses and stresses। On the other hand, negative emotions and feelings bring poisoning toxins to the organism. Strong negative emotions such as anger, spite, envy, jealousy, and fear make the endocrine system accumulate poisons in the blood. Anxiety, depression, and doubt can also cause poisoning of the blood. Passive and lengthy negative emotions are even more dangerous for health than active, sudden and momentary negative emotions. Negative emotions shorten the span of life. Treatment of physical symptoms with positive thoughts and statements was popularized in France a century ago, and it still has the power to overcome unwanted states (stress, tension, and unhappiness). Thoughts and feelings make up reality and add color to it. So, unhappiness brings a gray world and reality. To change a gray world and to overcome the feeling of unhappiness, anxiety, or tension, one needs to refocus the mind on positive, healing thoughts. When people predict that something is going happen to them, it is more likely to happen because negative thoughts will be reflected in their unconscious. Moreover, there could be developed psychosomatic illnesses (about 70% of all illnesses are psychosomatic, or caused by mental stress). Psychosomatic illnesses worsen when given special attention. Instead of paying direct attention to pain or illness, every time a negative thought occurs, say something like, " It will be better than I think." When a wish of any desired condition is established in the mind, somehow the unconscious mind leads the wish to realization-not magically, but through mental programming. Besides healing illnesses, positive attitudes help one to withstand troubles and problems, make correct decisions, and overcome obstacles. Do not focus on negative events; try to discover a positive perspective. For example, individuals should understand that they need to read more or think more of others in order to find ways of perfect communication. Because the thoughts of individuals are either positive or negative, they are reflected in their social or asocial behaviors. People should observe and conceive the world around them, as well as their inner worlds, with positive perceptions. Healers should have "a positive mind state" before they begin practicing bio-energy healing. Healers communicate with other people giving them energy. "Negative" energy cannot bring healing, only damage, and it is destructive for both a healer and a healee. Healing energy is "a positive" energy sent by "a positive mind."

Authors Bio,Michael Nudel and Eva Nudel, Ph।D।Energy Healing Specialists of Bio-energy System Services, Inc.Authors of how-to-do books "Health by Bio-Energy and Mind" and"21st Century's New Chakra Healing"Visit

The Mind, Body, Spirit Connection

2008-06-05T05:11:00.000-07:00

Balance in our lives is reflected from the interior to the exterior...The battlefield of the mind is where it all begins so we must be diligent to guard our thoughts and quickly reject the negative and replace it with a positive immediately....Do not give negative thoughts a fleeting chance to take up root in your mental garden, pluck it out quickly like the weed that it is! The following quote is one of many of my favorites and the author is unknown but undoubtedly wise....
"Watch your thoughts; they become your words. Watch your words; they become your actions. Watch your actions: they become your habits. Watch your habits: they become your character. Watch your character for it, WILL... become your destiny."
Unknown
When the mind begins to spin, we are in control of where it goes so we must purposely set ourselves on a positive path so that our body and spirit will follow suit....Our spirit needs nourishment just like our mind and our body and it should be healthy, another quote that comes to mind here is "we are a spirit having a human experience, not a human having a spiritual experience", so in thinking about this it is our spirit that comes to and leaves this earth inhabiting a body that will eventually wither and die and I do not think of myself as being some sublimely spiritual creature but I do love God and I believe in the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ as God's Son and I think that we all as human beings try to fill that empty spiritual hole in our lives with everything except His love and forgiveness and this leads to a whole host of other ailments, problems, addictions and sicknesses both mental and physical....In saying this I believe strongly that the health or illness of one segment of our lives: mind, spirit, or body, is always interrelated and connected intricately so we must be careful about the food we feed our thoughts, our spirit, and our bodies....So I want to live with thoughtfullness and purpose and to guard my mind from negative thoughts and to feed my mind, spirit and body with healthy food and healthy thoughts...."whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy meditate on these things" Philippians chapter four, verse eight....Wishing you all happy, healthy thoughts which lead to higher roads with beautiful views!

Don't Block Your Blessings

2008-06-04T04:35:00.000-07:00

Focus on the positive and the good in life and it keeps these things flowing into our lives...When we become negative, complain, moan and groan, we set up road blocks where nothing gets through and more negativity ensues...In this day and age where adults and children alike are constantly bombarded with the "next best thing" that needs to be purchased and consumed it is difficult if you don't center yourself and know not to be ovewhelmed by such marketing strategies to stay in a state of peace and satisfaction, of gratitude and thankfulness for the things we have in life and not always material things but the truly important things in life like love and relationships, family and all basic provisions such as food and shelter.....I try to impart to my son, who is six (my daughter is yet to young but she will get the same lessons) that we should always be thankful for what we have because not all people with whom we share this globe are afforded the same luxuries as food, shelter, clothing and certainly not air conditioning, electricity, toys etc....and so the other day when my son seemed to be dissatisfied with what he had, I sat down with him and we made a list of all the things that he is thankful for and I explained to him that when he is ever feeling dissatisfied that we will refer to his list to see how truly blessed he is for the wonderful things that he has in his life....We adults can benefit from this very same exercise so that we are always reminding ourselves how blessed we really are and how we should not act like spoiled brats or petulant children in life and realize that what we have is much more than those in other parts of our city, our country, and around the globe....and that happiness comes from within and not from external things...I want my children to learn this early in life so they are not constantly seeking for the next external stimilus in attempt to create some temporary happiness that is sure to expire when the next best thing is advertised or the buzz of other children tout some new something that is sure to bring excitement and joy when in fact it is just a constant set-up for dissapointment because the fun is not long-lasting and the price paid will not be refunded when the excitement dies....I want to find my happiness from within and be thankful and grateful for what I have and not constantly long for things that I have not.....I want to focus on the positive things in my life for myself and to set the right example for my children....Live life like people are watching! Because people are watching, both big and little whether you know it or not, but live life in a real and authentic manner doing what you feel is right for you and do it with a smile on your face....it takes more energy to be miserable and unhappy than it does to be happy, blissful and joyful! Be thankful and be blessed!

Anger: When You Raise Your Hands You Wound the Outside, When You Raise Your Words You Wound the Inside

2008-06-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

Anger is a very dangerous and powerful emotion that if not harnessed and controlled can destroy lives and relationships...We need to be able to have the proper tools in our emotional toolbox to be able to work on our anger and not explode on others or allow our anger to erupt on others like a volcano....The following is an e-mail that many of us may have read but it is the perfect analogy to the aftermath of anger and I think that if we become more aware of our emotions and begin to mentally reverse our thought patterns before they begin to take control of our tongue and/or our hands we can begin to create healing for ourselves and others in our lives....

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, 'You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Remember that family and friends are very rare jewels, indeed. YOU ARE MY FAMILY & FRIEND AND I AM HONORED! Please forgive me if I have ever left a 'hole' in your fence.

When You Reach Rock Bottom, You Can Only Go UP!

2008-06-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Life is like a beach.....there are always waves hitting our shores....some big, some small.....and a few tsunamis....We have peaks and valleys that give us contrast and flavor in life and sometimes the flavor is not so palettable but it is always part of the bigger picture and in some way, big or small, preparing us for our future and building in us the character and experience we need to deal with the adventures, good and bad, that lie ahead as our journey unfolds before us....There are times in life that we truly hit rock bottom and we fall to our knees and we think that we cannot possibly sink any lower and then before we know it, we are prostrate on the floor, it is at this very moment when we are forced to either accept our reality and make a change or just give up and give in to depression and failure....Complain and remain or praise and be raised! I believe that when we are thankful for everything in our lives that this positions us to continue to receive.....when we complain and grumble about life and our circumstances I believe that this squelches new growth and promotion in our lives....So the positive message about hitting rock bottom is that you can only go up from here! So make the changes that need to be made, lift your head, put a smile on your face and enjoy your ride as the views will just get better on your way back to health and success! Make the choice to move forward and be thankful for the lessons we learn in life because we may not understand the purpose for those lessons at this moment in time but it is true that hindsight is twenty-twenty and when we look back we will be able to see clearly how our life's lessons fit so perfectly into the fabric of our journey and purpose in life.

Forgiveness: The Gift We Give Ourselves

2008-05-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

I have found in life that one of the things that saps our energy, creates negative energy and keeps us in a place where we are not able to move forward is unforgiveness...I have had many unjustices in my life as I am sure we all have and many times we instinctually become offended or angered or hurt and these feelings then turn into unforgiveness...I need to always remind myself that the words and actions of others, whether they are directed at us or not, the words and actions of others is really a reflection of them and not about us at all, however, whether or not there is any truth to what they have done or said we still move into a defensive position and go through the steps of feeling offended, angered, hurt and then the result is likely unforgiveness...When we are able to truly look at "the offense" that occurred no matter how painful it may have been and see if there is a life lesson that we can gain as a result of this experience and create something positive out of a negative and possibly toxic situation then we can then move in a direction of forgiveness and give ourselves the gift of freedom...So if you are harboring unforgiveness in your life, don't allow it to poison your mind and body any longer, give yourself the gift of freedom today and forgive those that have done wrong by you...Take the high road and let it lead you to better places!

Fake It Till You Make It

2008-05-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in life we find ourselves in circumstances and situations that bring about negative thoughts and negative emotions that if we entertain, we could spiral down into a depressing stupor...It is in these times when we must dig deep within ourselves to reject the appearance of our situation and the feelings that we are emoting and make a decision that we will overcome, we will succeed, we will triumph and that everything is going to work out for our own good...It is in these times that we need to be our own cheerleader and we might just need to "fake it till we make it"! When we allow fear and doubt to take over our mindsets then we are cementing our own failure....there is a better way! We may not be able to control our circumstances or other people and their actions but we can control the way in which we react to these external sources...So start feeding yourself positive messages and words of encouragement whether you believe them yet or not, you cannot drive a parked car, so just put it in drive and start moving in a positive direction and you will be surprised to see that you begin to see and feel a change in your circumstances and the people around you just by changing the way in which you perceive yourself and your environment...Put a smile on your face, reject the negative, embrace the positive and begin to envision your own success as it will gloriously unfold!

Mommy, are you famous?

2008-05-19T05:30:00.000-07:00

The other day I was doing something on the computer (big surprise) as all my free moments (which is all you get with kids around :) I am sitting in front of this screen, which I guess makes me a "mouse potato"....Anyway, I was on my home page and my photo was there and my son walked up (he is six) and he saw my photo on the screen and he seemed to be amazed at seeing me there and his eyes grew big and he said "Mommy, are you famous?".....I was completely laughing on the inside and so I thought I would play with this for a minute so I said, yes I am honey.....he then squinted his eyes into a little glare and he said, no really Mommy, are you famous? did you put that picture up there or did somebody else take it and put it there? (because obviously he is so hip on fame and I guess he has figured out that other people take your pictures and post them up everywhere) so I said, yes babe I am....he thought about this with a dumbstruck look on his face and then he yelled, "Daddy! is Mommy really famous?"......so, needless to say, he found out that I'm not really famous :-) Kids.....they keep us filled with laughter!

Words for the Day

2008-05-19T04:48:00.000-07:00

Amalgamate - to unite or mix

Bombast - pompous speech

Walking the Walk: Short-Term Rewards vs. Long-Term Gains

2008-05-15T04:51:00.000-07:00

Starting our day the right way, every day: Daily commitments to ourselves, a positive perspective, healthy choices in our thoughts and actions are important mental steps first thing in the morning as well as throughout the day...When we are tempted to think negatively, consume unhealthy foods, speak negatively, we set ourselves up for failure and become stagnant; broaden the horizon to think of how these choices will effect the bigger picture of our lives...Mental and physical success is the culmination of many right choices that occur consecutively over a period of time....Even though we live in a drive-through society where immediate rewards seem to be the most popular choice, do these immediate rewards fit in with our long-term success strategy? In order to achieve health, happiness, success and in to reach our goals and bring them to fruition we need to be responsible for our actions and choose wisely when temptation enters our path.....Sabotaging our own efforts can sometimes be a life pattern that needs to be recognized in order to be changed, but this is an important step that is critical in order for success to happen in your life! Envision your success, what it looks like and what it feels like, be confident, change your thoughts and thereby change your actions, don't be diffident in your strategy for your life's success, it is attainable, it is achievable; remove your obstacles, or turn them into opportunities for you to stretch yourself in new directions and experience new growth in your life....Success is not esoteric!! It is there for us all, understanding yourself is the first step to creating a strategy that will work for you, there is no magic recipe but there are some common ingredients in the lives of those that have amassed success; positive thoughts equal positive actions, making healthy choices for mental and physical health, being confident, build yourself up, re-write your own hard-drive to contain programs for success, filled with files with positive affirmative statements.....You can do it! Have a blessed and successful day!

Words for the Day

2008-05-15T04:50:00.000-07:00

Diffident - lacking self-confidence, modest

Esoteric - intended for or understood by only a few

The Refiner's Fire

2008-05-14T05:31:00.000-07:00

We just returned from being evacuated due to the fires here in Florida..or as our six year old son put it..."we need to evaporate, hurry!"....the fire trucks and police came through telling everyone to leave immediately and the fires had reached the backs of houses on our street....We quickly gathered a few things and fled...Thankfully we had somewhere to go and we were allowed back into our neighborhood a few days later and I thank God that our homes were safe and I feel for all the families south of us that lost their homes and I can't imagine how devastating that must be for them and how they must feel...I am feeling so very grateful for our safety and that we still had a place to come home to and everything was in tact....
In life we experience fire with our circumstances whether it be through "natural causes or arsenists" the results can be equally damaging but how we react to this is the only thing we have control over...Fire is a cleanser, a destroyer, and while it is painful and wreaks havoc on everything in its path, what comes afterward is new growth, fresh greenery and changed perspectives...I would like to take this opportunity as such and cleanse my thoughts, hence, my actions, and cut out the things that are unhealthy, unneccessary and stressful...and remember that mercy and grace is new every morning and I should also give that to myself and others...Fresh starts are difficult but what we can learn from them is that we can create new beauty in our lives and broaden our horizons as a result...I hope and pray for all those that no longer have a home to return to and I wish for them that their communities will open their arms and create a safe haven for them to re-build their homes and their lives...

Attend to Your Thoughts or They Will Attend to You

2008-05-11T04:53:00.000-07:00

Have you ever given your attention to thought management? Like computer programs our minds are full of files that we may or may not have installed..Growing up our mental computer is written by programmers such as parents and other adults and they may or may not have been installing the most beneficial programs to help us to become healthy, successful adults..As adults, it is now our responsibility to delete the unhealthy, corrupt files and programs and remove all the mental viruses and begin to install healthy files and programs that will help us to reach our full, successful potential..We need to be thoughtful about what is going on in our mind and what messages we are playing over and over because if they are not contributing to our positive success in life then we need to delete them and install new, positive, life-giving, successful messages..We are now our own programmers and it is time to take charge of this responsibility for ourselves so that we can begin to make the choices that are going to result in our personal and professional success..Re-write your program, install the right files, create mental and physical success in your life, you are in charge!

Weight Loss and Faulty Thinking

2008-05-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

Weight Loss and Faulty ThinkingIn the battle of the bulge, false beliefs and negative self-talk may be far greater enemies than food or sloth. PT shows you how to fight faulty thinking.
By: Dennis Brabham, Melissa Hantman, William Whitney
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Americans are highly motivated to lose weight—as a growing list of best-selling books and highly trafficked dieting Web sites attest. We're just not approaching it the right way. The pressure we put on ourselves to succeed—and the self-criticism we indulge in when we fall short of the mark—can have dire emotional and dietary repercussions.
Consider that pair of jeans hanging reproachfully in the closet. You realize they don't fit, and you feel unattractive and worthless. This tendency to evaluate yourself too harshly will only make you give up altogether. You want to head to the fridge for solace.
You need to identify the things you're telling yourself that cause you to feel discouraged and to throw in the towel. Don't beat yourself up when you overeat. Accept that you acted in a self-defeating way, then establish better methods to meet your goal. Review what you'd like to do and work toward that goal.
Perhaps you're not (yet) berating yourself for failures, but putting inordinate pressure on yourself to succeed. When you tell yourself, "I must lose 25 pounds by Valentine's Day, or I'll never get a date," you're setting yourself up for emotional turmoil, as well as weight-loss failure. Losing weight in a prescribed amount of time is a worthy goal, but the perfectionist premise that sneaks into your thinking may well interfere with sensible eating and exercise.
In a perfect universe, the sight of those jeans, or the knowledge that Valentine's Day is around the corner, would elicit rational thoughts like, "I'm going to look great soon, and I'm going to enjoy the challenge of eating sensibly and exercising along the way." But few of us think that.
PT spoke with Nando Pelusi and Mitchell Robin, clinical psychologists in New York City, about what we really tell ourselves, sabotaging our own best efforts to lose weight—or meet any goal.
· "I must be thin."
This creates desperation, which undermines a healthy long-range approach to sensible eating. Also, perfectionism pervades this thinking (I must not only be thin, but also perfect).
· "I must eat until sated."
Early humans lived in an environment in which food resources were scarce. While our ancestors had to hunt down squirrels and eat them, we can supersize a Whopper meal and skip the workout.
· "I need immediate results."
The demand for immediate improvement undermines commitment to a long-term goal. Quick fixes are hard to pass up: "This cupcake will make me feel good right now." We think, why bother eating healthfully, when the reward is far off? Dieting requires present-moment frustration and self-denial with little immediate reward.
· "I need comfort."
People eat to avoid feelings of loneliness, depression and anxiety. Fatty and sugary food provides immediate comfort and distraction from other issues. Resolving some of these problems may help you overcome poor eating habits.
· "I feel awful."
"It's terrible being heavy." For some, being overweight is the worst thing imaginable; it can immobilize you and leave you dumbstruck. That's a reaction more suited to tragedy. Weight loss is best achieved without that end-of-the-world outlook.
· "It's intolerable to stick to a diet."
"It's just too hard to diet." This thinking renders you helpless. People who are easily frustrated want easy solutions. We're seduced by fad diets because they appeal to that immediacy. Yet people who rely on fads suffer high failure rates. When you diet with the short term in mind, you don't learn strategies that require patience and persistence.
· "I am no good."
"Because I am having trouble in this one area I am worthless." Being overweight can be viewed as a sign of weakness or worthlessness, and most people aren't motivated when they feel that way. Another form of worthlessness: "My worth is dependent on my looks." This idea confuses beauty with thinness, a concept played out endlessly in the media.
Get Moving
Now that you've thrown out your irrational thinking, a little motivation is key to change. But how do you make that leap? Psychologist and marathon runner Michael Gilewski has found that the brain can achieve a state of habitual behavior through small successes—turning a once extraordinary effort into mere routine.
"Even when someone climbs Mount Everest, it's usually not his first time climbing," he points out. Perhaps motivation may simply be the product of positive reinforcement and repeated success.

Experts on Motivation
PT asked five expert motivators—including an active-duty drill sergeant and a rock-climbing instructor—how they rally everyone from first-time dieters to hard-core soldiers.
Inspiration From Within
Deborah Low is a certified weight management and lifestyle consultant in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"We have an all-or-nothing attitude: If we don't do our full hour at the gym, we may as well sit around and eat junk food. If you feel guilty and punish yourself, you may eat 10 cookies instead of 2. If you criticize yourself, you'll never change.
"Motivation is something we get from other people; but inspiration swells within us. Thinking 'I'll lose weight and then I'll be happy' is not enough. If we respect and love ourselves, independent of our weight, it's easier to make healthy choices.
"We struggle because we're fixated on the end result. We force ourselves to go to the gym, restrict food, measure and weigh ourselves. You let that number on the scale determine how your day's going to go. I ask clients to remember what it was like to play as a kid. You ran around, climbed on things—your goal was not to lose weight, it was to have fun. Being active gave you a sense of freedom, excitement and amazement. You have to reconnect with that emotion."
Being a Team Player
Chris Broadway instructs an Outward Bound outdoor classroom on Hurricane Island, off the coast of Maine.
"I set the tone of team spirit in the beginning; I teach one person a skill, and his or her responsibility is to teach everyone else. We let the students make their own mistakes. We expect students to have problems, as the activities we construct are a challenge. Discouragement can occur, but we celebrate accomplishments. Students set their own level of achievement. Some have a focus on the end result, but not everyone is results-oriented. Some want to measure success by relationships they form, by the process itself.
"Another motivating factor is how their experience here connects to their lives. We create situations where there are actual risks and perceived risks, as in sailing. We let the group navigate ahead of a storm, deciding when to pull back and when to move forward. We show them how to apply these situations to their own businesses or personal lives—calculate the risk, know when to take it or when to step back.
"It's so much more powerful when another student steps up to deliver the message of leadership. As instructors, we're always building their tool kit so they have the means to do that. With a group of 12, it's difficult to hide in the background. Even if someone's in a slump, he or she absolutely needs to fill a role."
Savor Every Mountain
John Joline is a climbing instructor at Dartmouth College.
"Certain kinds of teaching are done from below—telling people what to do but being removed from the activity. I try to teach from above—I climb with my students, participating fully in the activity. I make my enthusiasm infectious.
"Even a climb well within your physical limits—if you strive to climb it beautifully—can be challenging and rewarding. Our culture puts emphasis on goals, on absolutes. We're taught to believe competition should be ferocious. But if we lose that sense of fun, of delight, all the haranguing in the world from an instructor won't give a student lasting motivation. The bottom line is to savor the movement, the physical sensation of moving up the rock and over the stone. That itself becomes a reward compelling enough to keep one involved.
"For someone in his or her mid-30s or older, climbing is still seen as a potentially dangerous sport, daring and terrifying. It's a mental construct that can be inhibiting. Plus, for white-collar workers, running hands and fingers over rough rock could be shocking to the system."
Coming Home Alive
Billie Jo Miranda is a U.S. Army drill sergeant in Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
"The goal is being prepared for war and coming home alive. The [desire to] drop out occurs in the first few weeks. Once they learn they have a comfort zone, get along and trust people, we're pretty much over the hump. We motivate through example; we do it next to, in front of and behind them. We tailor training around the weakest soldier. It may not be beneficial for the soldier who was a college athlete, but everybody is part of a team, they push each other.
"There will be those who do the minimum. Today's youth are Nintendo children. Training requires them to get out of bed and walk an extra mile. The more rigor you put into training, the more a soldier knows what he can accomplish in combat. They shouldn't enjoy training. It should hurt physically and mentally. And they hate it. But we want them to enjoy the accomplishment.
"If you have heart, you have the motivation and the desire to get through anything. It's a patriotic thought process: What we're doing is for the betterment of America. When they say, 'I don't want to do this anymore,' just give me 10 minutes with a soldier and she'll do a 180. We use their being volunteers as a motivational tool: 'Soldier, I didn't ask you to come here. You obviously joined the military for a reason, you wanted to do something for your country.'"
Think Like a Thermostat
Peter Catina is a professor of exercise physiology at Pennsylvania State University.
"Most elite athletes are already at the top of their sport, and to reach the next level is a challenge. But it's difficult to sustain your level when you're at your pinnacle—novice or expert. Everyone must have both physical and mental discipline.
"Self-regulation is key; you can make it simple by being your own monitor. You have to think like a thermostat—be able to detect a discrepancy between the environment and your internal standard. It's the difference between your current state and where your mind and body would like to be. You can then adjust—raise your standards to meet your expectations—through strategy and action. Some of us are born with high self-regulatory skills, but I can identify clients who lack the know—how and I teach them. Awareness is the first step: noting how many calories you've consumed, how effective your exercise is, how frequently and intensely you've exercised.
"Aerobics is no longer the panacea for losing weight. It's the change in body composition that makes you look better, and for that, strength training is more effective. Don't constantly weigh yourself, since muscle weighs more than fat. Instead, measure your body mass index—or even your waist—and only once every four to six weeks. I've had many female clients gain five pounds but go down three dress sizes."

Psychology Today Magazine, Jan/Feb 2004Last Reviewed 14 Apr 2008Article ID: 3212

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-3212.html

Take a Walk In Our Shoes: A Mother's Day Tribute

2008-05-09T05:51:00.000-07:00

Take a Walk In Our Shoes
---------------------------------------
If you peruse our shoes
You’ll find red, white and blues
And every shape, size and color in between

We mothers fill them all
From morning till night fall
And at times without ever being seen

With all of our duties
Darling babies in booties
We are there for our family and friends

With the many shoes we wear
Every style and every pair
Our brand of reality never ends

From soft cozy slippers to sexy stilettos
From the concrete jungle to green grassy meadows
Some live in mansions and some live in ghettos

But for the caring of others we deserve our own treat
We deserve to kick off our shoes
Relax and put up our feet

Never losing our flair or missing a step
Our sanity is sacred so we have it well kept
We are always on call even if we’ve not slept

So sit on back and put on comfy socks
And slide on into some world famous Crocs
‘Cause let’s all face it….. being a Mom really rocks!

So to the precious Mother’s covering our globe
Grab a mug of hot chocolate
And put on your robe

Because we invite you to take a walk in our shoes
You’ll have everything to gain and nothing to lose
It’s a well balanced artistry with bright colored hues

And although the end is never in sight
We never give up, we fight the good fight
So, on this ending note it is time to take flight
Happy Mother’s Day to All and to all a good night!

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

2008-05-09T05:12:00.000-07:00

Anyone can talk the talk, but do they walk the walk? It is easy to talk about change in your life and talking about change is an important step in the process..we think about change, create a strategy and a step by step plan, we might talk about it, and then we proceed to action...many people don't get to this last most critical step in their lives...and I think that the reason for this is that people are not changing for themselves, they are changing to propitiate others, which is for all the wrong reasons...People need to want change for themselves in order for long-term success or success at all to take place and transform lives...There is much more quiescence in our society than change actually happening in peoples lives, change is happening all around us and it passes us by...People feel safe and satisfied with their own status quo and we are lazy and continue plodding along in our own rut content in some ways but complaining because nothing good is happening...Remember, to have good things happen we must be an active participant in the "movement of good" and that starts and ends with US! Complain and remain!! Negative thoughts and negative actions only attracts more negativity..Fake it till you make it...don't allow circumstances to dictate your mood or your food because failure will surely ensue if you give in to the temptation of your circumstances or situations....we must have the strength and willpower to rise above what things "look like" to our naked eyes and change our mindsets and our perspectives...Start each day in a quiet place, meditate, pray, stretch your mind AND your body to get ready for the day this puts in a health state of mental and physical flexibility so that we can roll with the punches that the day will always throw! Also, I believe that it is helpful to give yourself a few good positive phrases and think about the things that we are thankful and grateful for so that we recognize and give focus to the positive things that are indeed happening to us or for us so that we can begin to truly SEE that there is positive action in our lives...Start today and make your actions line up with your words, lets make a plan for positive, healthy change in our lives and do it for ourselves! Smile! Inhale, relax and start to picture what your life success looks like, hold that focus and begin to watch that unfold! Success is coming, don't let failure keep you off track!

Words for the Day

2008-05-09T05:09:00.000-07:00

Quiescence - inactivity; stillness, dormancy
(kweshence)

Propitiate - to conciliate; to appease
(propishiate)

Seeing Obstacles as Opportunities - A New Perspective for a New Day

2008-05-04T05:02:00.000-07:00

The one thing that we can count on in life is change....and sometimes there is nothing scarier than change...instead of embracing change, we sometimes run from it...the thing we most times forget is that when one door closes, another door opens, but there is sometimes a limbo period between the closing of one and the opening of another..This period of limbo is a time when we are able to survey our situation and take inventory (if we use it in this way)..sometimes we are tempted to wallow in despair wondering why did the door close or why did these circumstances befall us?! I believe that the wallowing is a negative temptation to hold us stagnant and trapped in limbo and does not allow us to move forward..we never know what wonderful things lie ahead in our future if we constantly mourn our past...Life is about change! I think about baby birds in a nest, they are so cozy and safe in the nest, the mother bird cares for them, feeds them, protects them, but the day eventually comes when they must leave the nest....the baby bird is resistant to the fact that the mother bird moves them to the cusp of the only world they have known and pushes them over the edge and out of the nest and BEHOLD!!!! FLIGHT!! They did not know they could FLY! How glorious! Through the fearful experience of being pushed out of their nest they have gained a whole new world filled with new perspectives, soaring to new heights and having new experiences..This is synonomous to our lives when change just happens to us! Change will never cease to happen but how we handle it can make the difference as to how we embrace our new future as it continues to unfold..So, I may not understand my present situation, why it is the way that it is, how long I will be here and when it will be different, but I want to trust the process of change, enjoy where I am now and expect that things are going to get better and not worse and that it when I do look back I will see clearly how it all fits together..to create something pulchritudinous!! Keep a positive perspective and remember that something that might appear to be an obstacle can easily be seen as an opportunity with the right perspective!

Word of the Day

2008-05-04T05:01:00.000-07:00

Pulchritudinous - beautiful

How God Made Sand: The Ponderings of a Six Year Old

2008-05-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

Sand is a loose, fragmented, naturally-occurring material consisting of very small particles of decomposed rocks, corals, or shells,(http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Sand.html) While sitting outside today with one kiddie pool full of sand, one full of water and bubbles drifting through the air from my almost two year olds bubble wand, my six year old blurts out, "how did God make sand?" and before I could answer back "I'll get back to you on the details", he retorted, "He must have ground up a lot of sugar and put bad flavor in!" Is that classic or what?! The things that come from the mouths of babes....keeps us moms smiling....not to mention keeping the internet in business!

Words for the Day

2008-05-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

Sagacious - having a sharp or powerful intellect or discernment

Pusillanimous - cowardly, timid, or irreselute; petty

Don't Rain on My Parade

2008-05-02T06:02:00.000-07:00

In life we always come across misanthropes and they can truly rain on our parade.....if we let them...Unfortunately, life is always about passing tests and if we don't pass them gracefully, I believe that we must repeat them until we do....these tests come on every level of our lives from the small petty issues to big life issues and we must be ready and in the right frame of mind to be able to best handle our "challenges"...The trick is to be in that peaceful place mentally so that we are not bristled by people or circumstances and allow them to get us off of our path...and believe me sometimes we will handle things gracefully and then there are times when our heads may spin like the exorcist etc....need I say more?! OK, I believe that if we are able to have some down time first thing in the morning before we begin our day of "interactions" which usually begins the testing process we can build some inner peace, quiet confidence, meditate and pray, stretch our minds and our bodies to create that flexibility that we will need for the rest of the day...If we are able to start our day from a good and peaceful place and we are able to reflect upon that and draw from those reserves we have created for ourselves then we are bound to have more successful interactions throughout our day.....and if and when we don't, remember that the words and actions of others are reflections of them and their mental and physical state and not ours...when people are just unpleasant and nasty it is most likely a direct reflection of what is going on in their interior and not in any way a reaction to us, so don't take others words and actions personally because it isn't about us, it is about them! Let's stay on top of our game people, we can be successful and enjoy our own parade whether or not those around us are enjoying theirs! :-)

Words for the Day

2008-05-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Erudite - scholarly; displaying deep intensive learning

Misanthrope - one who hates people (they are always out there!)

Words for the Day

2008-05-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

Philology - love of words (I am a philologist!)

Taciturn - habitually untalkative or silent (definately NOT me! :)

The Day After.....

2008-04-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

After drowning my frustrations in cookie crumbs I feel......like I could eat some more cookies! But I need to get back on track, let go of the emotional drama and not allow my feelings to dictate my mood and my food!.....until next time, and there will be a next time and maybe I will deal with it more successfully than with this particular episode, although the cookies were quite delicious! We all need to be understanding of ourselves, I am not going to beat myself up for slipping in a really BIG way, I won't tell you just how many cookies I ate!! But it is in the past as is the emotional drama, I'm letting go and MOVING ON :-) After all, we can't live a deprived life, I am just shooting the the healthy life and occasionally that does include some of my favorite things....like cookies!

Whole Foods

2008-04-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

Whole foods information found at the following link: http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Excellent information!

Words for the Day

2008-04-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

Esoteric - intended for or understood by only a few

Irascible - prone to outbursts of temper, easily angered

Cookies For Dinner

2008-04-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

I know, you are thinking cookies for dinner?! YES! There are those days when you just need to embrace the unhealthy bad choices and rejoice! It could have been worse! I could have eaten pizza and then cookies, but instead I skipped the pizza (not that there was any pizza, but just go with me here) and just had more room for more cookies....as much as we try to be good and eat the right foods all the time it just isn't going to happen and my inner dialogue has been duck taped shut by my id who just wants what she wants and she wants MORE COOKIES! It has been one of those days and if you read my earlier blog you know where I have been emotionally and this type of distress is best relieved by large quantities of sugar and flour combinations such as found in cookies! My favorite monster is the Cookie Monster and I have apparently been abducted from the inside out and my belly is now plump and full of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and I feel fine about all of this! Milk anyone?!

How Much Protein Do I Need?

2008-04-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

Great information from the Weider Nutrition Site:
http://www.weider.ca/category/proteinpowders.htm#proteinrequirements

Daily Protein Requirements: How Much Protein Do You Need?
For those who are physically active, research has shown that between 1-1.5g of protein per pound of body weight is optimal. However, the amount of protein you need will vary depending on certain factors, such as weight, activity level, health and age.
The chart below gives approximate daily protein intake suggestioin for your weight and activity level...Check their site to see the chart!~

Did I Sign up for THIS?!

2008-04-29T05:45:00.000-07:00

Ever feel blindsided by someone or something that comes so far out of left field that the speed and force almost knocks you down?! Your immediate response is not a calm, relaxed, mature, intelligent or classy one but instead you just feel like spitting, kicking and screaming??!! Yeah, I have had them and it doesn't feel good....really gets you off track and it can wreck your day or your week depending on how long you let it drive you around...I am trying really hard to get back into the drivers seat and eject my feelings that are trying to emote me off the road and down into the ditch...your inner dialogue just keeps repeating, "how dare they" and "are you kidding me?!" and "what the #*@#!!!"...... I don't care how you rationalize with yourself, how educated you are, your age, how mature you are, there are times when we just feel like a baby fit is coming on and we want to stamp our feet, pull our hair,cuss and scream and let it all hang out...but then I think WHY?! I realize that none of these things are going to change the individual or the situation that has created this emotional response inside of me and only I can help myself get free from my own tangled emotions, which I sometimes HATE FEELING! How ANNOYING is it to FEEL ANNOYED?! Like a train wreck happening that you just can't stop and now you need to sift through the wreckage to make some sense of all this...I just want to be able to calmly walk away and buy a new train!! I don't think I signed up for THIS!!! Life really knows how to WOW me sometimes...and sometimes its a super sucky WOW! OK, SERENITY NOW!

Words for the Day

2008-04-29T05:43:00.000-07:00

Perfidious - deliberately treacherous; dishonest

Obdurate - hardened against influence or feeling; intractable

Sink or Swim

2008-04-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life feels black or white, and sometimes we live in those grey areas, not able to be decisive about our status or direction..Making a commitment to our projects, goals and/or strategies for personal and professional success must be renewed and refreshed daily..There are days when there is no doubt or question whatsoever about what we need to accomplish, we just continue undeterred on our mission..Then there are those days when we are being ruled or reigned by our feelings, our emotions and this is when we can be weak and give in to unhealthy tempations of thoughts and/or actions..This can be translated by giving in to negative lines of thinking, eating the wrong foods, making the wrong decisions, and sinking in the water which I promise will only make things worse..But if you do sink, if you do stumble, if you do fall, it only matters that you get back on track..We are always going to be tested by ourselves, others and our circumstances to determine whether our committments stay true to our original goals and if we will display the strength to carry out the positive thoughts and actions necessary to bring our end goals into fruition..Some days are just more work than others, this is when we build up strength, when it is difficult to do the right thing..Even though I may feel weary today, I want to swim!

Words for the Day

2008-04-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

Assuage - to make less severe; to appease or satisfy

Enervate - to weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of

Great Healthy Snacks - No cooking required!

2008-04-27T05:15:00.000-07:00

Create healthy snacks quickly with few items on hand and even though I love to cook, these two quickies require no cooking at all and are great for kids and adults alike! (these are two of my favorites ;-)

Fruit, yogurt, nuts and granola - I use vanilla yogurt, Yoplait or any brand you like, take it out of the container and put into a bowl, take some canned pineapple chunks in only pinapple juice, mix in about a handful of pineapple chunks with some of the juice, stir it in and then top it with Bear Naked brand granola in the Banana Nut flavor (again whatever your favorite is or try this one!) and then top with a few nuts of your liking, I love the almonds, walnuts and pecans. This is a healthy and delicious treat, filling, and gives you energy to go!

Orange Julius!! - This is a favorite of my childhood! Put all these contents in your blender: Juice some fresh oranges, 2 per serving, or use some OJ from a container about 1 cup, add a half cup of milk, add a tablespoon of honey, (4 spoons of sugar if you don't have honey, or you can substitute with splenda or stevia), and add about 3/4 cup of crushed ice. Blend until smooth and pour yourself a glass full of sweet goodness! Healthy and delicious!

Words for the Day

2008-04-27T05:14:00.000-07:00

Inchoate - in an initial or early stage; incomplete; disorganized

Ineffable - undescribable; inexpressable in words; unspeakable

Words for the Day

2008-04-26T04:38:00.000-07:00

Tyro - beginner; person lacking experience in a specific endeavor

Saturnine - having a gloomy or morose temperament

Detoxing from Fast Food and Poor Food Choices

2008-04-25T04:29:00.000-07:00

Detoxing is a painful event! The fillers and chemicals in the processed foods we consume are harmful and many times vacuous..When we stop eating these "food products" our bodies in the process of ridding ourselves of these toxins begin to experience real pain in the form of headaches, soreness and other bodily aches and pains..So if you know to expect this discomfort then perhaps you won't be tempted to revert back to the junk food intake and you can sweat it out until the battle has subsided! Drink lots of water to flush your system, another daily ritual of mine is to take acidophilus which is a probiotic promoting intestinal health via positive bacteria to help "move things along" if you get my drift :-)..You can also purchase thirty day cleanses from your health food store that can aid in detoxifying your system..Once you have been cleaned out in more ways than one, your body can begin to enjoy the right foods and you begin to crave healthier choices instead of McDonalds or Pizza Hut or chips or ice cream..Not that these things can't be added back in moderation once you have won the battle in this war you are embarking upon..I have found that in the beginning I would go to Pizza Hut or out for ice cream on my "cheat day" on the weekend..But as time progressed and I became healthier I really did not have the craving or desire to have these foods and I still enjoy pizza as my all time favorite food but I make it myself and I make it with whole wheat flour and make my own sauce etc...Acidophilus is also great for spastic colon or irritable bowel syndrome, so it serves so many fantastic purposes I incorporate it in with my daily vitamin which if you are a woman a pre-natal vitamin is excellent even if you are not expecting or nursing, it just incorporates everything you need in a single dose...
Skipping meals is not an option whether you are working to lose weight or not, it creates an imbalance in your body brain chemistry and it can send the message to the body that there is a shortage of foods and your body will then hold on to everything it has and not begin to process and release as it should..We need carbs, proteins and fat in a healthy diet and we can get these from the proper foods: there are great carbs in breads, rice, cereals, whole-grains, fruits and vegetables; there are great proteins in meats, eggs, dairy products, nuts, legumes and grains; healthy fats like the omega-३ oils are rich and healthy sources found in fish and oils that help with brain function, olive oil, coconut oil, and some meats and dairy products..The following information links particular foods to specific vitamins:
Thiamin
Thiamin is a B vitamin found in enriched grain products, pork, legumes, nuts, seeds, and organ meats. Thiamin is intricately involved with metabolizing glucose, or blood sugar, in the body. Glucose is the brain's primary energy source. Thiamin is also needed to make several neurotransmitters.
Alcoholism is often associated with thiamin deficiency. Alcohol interferes with thiamin metabolism in the body, and diets high in alcohol are often deficient in vitamins and minerals. Individuals with a thiamin deficiency can develop Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which is characterized by confusion, mental changes, abnormal eye movements, and unsteadiness that can progress to severe memory loss.
Vitamin B-12
Vitamin B-12 is found only in foods of animal origin like milk, meat, or eggs. Strict vegans who consume no animal-based foods need to supplement their diet with vitamin B-12 to meet the body's need for this nutrient.
Vitamin B-12 is needed to maintain the outer coating, called the myelin sheath, on nerve cells. Inadequate myelin results in nerve damage and impaired brain function. Vitamin B-12 deficiency can go undetected in individuals for years, but it eventually causes low blood iron, irreversible nerve damage, dementia, and brain atrophy.
Folic acid
Folic acid is another B vitamin found in foods such as liver, yeast, asparagus, fried beans and peas, wheat, broccoli, and some nuts. Many grain products are also fortified with folic acid. In the United States, alcoholism is a common cause of folic acid deficiency.
Folic acid is involved in protein metabolism in the body and in the metabolism of some amino acids, particularly the amino acid methionine. When folic acid levels in the body are low, methionine cannot be metabolized properly and levels of another chemical, homocysteine, build up in the blood. High blood homocysteine levels increase risk of heart disease and stroke.
Even modest folic acid deficiency in women causes an increased risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in developing fetuses. Folic acid deficiency also increases risk of stroke. Some studies suggest that folic acid deficiency leads to a range of mental disorders, including depression, but this concept remains controversial. Folic acid deficiency can lower levels of serotonin in the brain.
Niacin
The B vitamin niacin is found in enriched grains, meat, fish, wheat bran, asparagus, and peanuts. The body can also make niacin from the essential amino acid tryptophan, which is found in high-quality animal protein foods like meat and milk. Niacin deficiency used to be common in the southern United States but is now common only in developing countries such as India and China.Niacin is involved in releasing energy in the body from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. A deficiency of niacin produces many mental symptoms such as irritability, headaches, loss of memory, inability to sleep, and emotional instability. Severe niacin deficiency progresses to a condition called pellagra, which is characterized by the four D's: dermatitis (a rash resembling a sunburn), diarrhea, dementia, and ultimately, death. The mental symptoms in pellagra can progress to psychosis, delirium, coma, and death
Vitamin B-6
Vitamin B-6, also known as pyridoxine, is found in many plant and animal foods, including chicken, fish, pork, whole wheat products, brown rice, and some fruits and vegetables. In healthy individuals, deficiency of vitamin B-6 is rare, but certain drugs, including some antidepressant drugs, can induce vitamin B-6 deficiency. Vitamin B-6 is needed by the body to produce most of the brain's neurotransmitters. It is also involved in hormone production. Although rare, vitamin B-6 deficiency is characterized by mental changes such as fatigue, nervousness, irritability, depression, insomnia, dizziness, and nerve changes. These mental changes are related to the body's decreased ability to manufacture neurotransmitters with vitamin B-6 deficiency.
Just as vitamin B-6 deficiency causes mental changes, so does excess of vitamin B-6. Vitamin B-6 supplements are used by many individuals for a variety of conditions, including carpal tunnel syndrome, premenstrual syndrome, and fibrocystic breast disease. Doses of 500 mg per day or more can cause nerve damage, dizziness, sensory loss, and numbness.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that is plentiful in the diet, particularly in plant oils, green leafy vegetables, and fortified breakfast cereals. Vitamin E deficiency is very rare, except in disorders that impair absorption of fat-soluble vitamins into the body, such as cystic fibrosis, and liver diseases.
Vitamin E deficiency causes changes in red blood cells and nerve tissues. It progresses to dizziness, vision changes, muscle weakness, and sensory changes. If left untreated, the nerve damage from vitamin E deficiency can be irreversible. Because it is an antioxidant, vitamin E has also been studied for treatment of neurological conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Although results are inconclusive, vitamin E shows some promise in slowing the progression of Parkinson's disease.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin found in meats, fish and eggs. A form of vitamin A, beta-carotene, is found in orange and green leafy vegetables such as carrots, yellow squash, and spinach. Headache and increased pressure in the head is associated with both deficient and excess vitamin A intake. Among other effects, excess vitamin A intake can cause fatigue, irritability, and loss of appetite. Generally, doses must exceed 25,000 international units of vitamin A over several months to develop such symptoms.
Minerals and mental health
Iron
Iron is a trace mineral that is essential for formation of hemoglobin, the substance that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body. Iron is found in meat, poultry, and fish. Another form of iron that is not as well absorbed as the form in animal foods is found in whole or enriched grains, green leafy vegetables, dried beans and peas, and dried fruits. Consuming a food rich in vitamin C, such as orange juice, at the same time as an iron-containing plant food will enhance iron absorption from the food.
Iron deficiency eventually leads to anemia, with insufficient oxygen reaching the brain. The anemia can cause fatigue and impair mental functioning. Iron deficiency during the first two years of life can lead to permanent brain damage.
Magnesium
The mineral magnesium is found in green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and bananas. In areas with hard water, the water may provide a significant amount of magnesium. In addition to its involvement in bone structure, magnesium aids in the transmission of nerve impulses.
Magnesium deficiency can cause restlessness, nervousness, muscular twitching, and unsteadiness. Acute magnesium deficiency can progress to apathy, delirium, convulsions, coma, and death.
Manganese
Manganese is a trace mineral found in whole grains and nuts, and to a lesser extent, fruits and vegetables. Manganese is involved in carbohydrate metabolism and brain functioning. Although very rare, manganese deficiency can cause abnormalities in brain function. Miners of manganese in South America have developed manganese toxicity called manganese madness, with neurological symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease.
Copper
The richest sources of the trace mineral copper in the diet are organ meats, seafood, nuts, seeds, whole grain breads and cereals, and chocolate. In addition to other functions, copper is involved in iron metabolism in the body and in brain function. Deficiency of copper causes anemia, with inadequate oxygen delivery to the brain and other organs. Copper deficiency also impairs brain functioning and immune system response, including changes in certain chemical receptors in the brain and lowered levels of neurotransmitters.
Zinc
The trace mineral zinc is found in red meats, liver, eggs, dairy products, vegetables, and some seafoods. Among other functions, zinc is involved in maintaining cell membranes and protecting cells from damage. Zinc deficiency can cause neurological impairment, influencing appetite, taste, smell, and vision. It has also been associated with apathy, irritability, jitteriness, and fatigue.
Selenium
Good sources of the trace mineral selenium include seafood, liver, and eggs. Grains and seeds can also be good sources of selenium depending on the selenium content of the soil they are grown in. Selenium is needed for the synthesis of some hormones and helps protect cell membranes from damage.
Although selenium deficiency is very rare, selenium toxicity has occurred in regions of the world with high selenium soil content, such as China. Selenium toxicity causes nervous system changes, fatigue, and irritability.

Words for the Day!

2008-04-25T04:26:00.000-07:00

Garrulous - verbose, talkative; rambling (I personally am really great at this! :-)

Vacuous - empty; without contents; without ideas or intelligence

GIGO Theory: Food and Thoughts

2008-04-24T05:12:00.000-07:00

I am a firm believer in the GIGO Theory; Garbage In - Garbage Out..Whether it is mental or edible garbage, we must make the effort to be healthy on all levels of our lives and ensure that our input will create the best output..If we are intransigent in our thoughts which then equate to our actions, we can never progress forward in life to experience broader horizons..It is risky to change but that which does not change risks stagnation..Living in the rut of life harbors no safety..Regarding our food intake, we are effected by what we eat just as we are effected by what we think, it all effects our brain chemistry..Our food fuels our mind and our body just as our thoughts fuel our emotions and our actions..Our food intake effects our moods, our behavior, and our brain function..We need the proper nutrients for positive, balanced brain chemistry and nerve function..The chemicals in our brain, neurotransmitters, effect our moods, our sleep patterns, and our thought processes..When we don't nourish ourselves properly we are shortchanging ourselves..Why not optimize our opportunities? Whole foods are a strong factor in this equation along with the right vitamins and nutrients which are found in these foods..The following is a list of vitamins and how they contribute to our health..Tomorrow I will list what foods which vitamins! :-) Cheers to healthy living!

ESSENTIAL VITAMINS
Vitamin
What It Does For The Body
Vitamin A (Beta Carotene)
Promotes growth and repair of body tissues; reduces susceptibility to infections; aids in bone and teeth formation; maintains smooth skin
Vitamin B-1 (Thiamin)
Promotes growth and muscle tone; aids in the proper functioning of the muscles, heart, and nervous system; assists in digestion of carbohydrates
Vitamin B-2 (Riboflavin)
Maintains good vision and healthy skin, hair, and nails; assists in formation of antibodies and red blood cells; aids in carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism
Vitamin B-3 (Niacinamide)
Reduces cholesterol levels in the blood; maintains healthy skin, tongue, and digestive system; improves blood circulation; increases energy
Vitamin B-5
Fortifies white blood cells; helps the body's resistance to stress; builds cells
Vitamin B-6 (Pyridoxine)
Aids in the synthesis and breakdown of amino acids and the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates; supports the central nervous system; maintains healthy skin
Vitamin B-12 (Cobalamin)
Promotes growth in children; prevents anemia by regenerating red blood cells; aids in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins; maintains healthy nervous system
Biotin
Aids in the metabolism of proteins and fats; promotes healthy skin
Choline
Helps the liver eliminate toxins
Folic Acid (Folate, Folacin)
Promotes the growth and reproduction of body cells; aids in the formation of red blood cells and bone marrow
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
One of the major antioxidants; essential for healthy teeth, gums, and bones; helps to heal wounds, fractures, and scar tissue; builds resistance to infections; assists in the prevention and treatment of the common cold; prevents scurvy
Vitamin D
Improves the absorption of calcium and phosphorous (essential in the formation of healthy bones and teeth) maintains nervous system
Vitamin E
A major antioxidant; supplies oxygen to blood; provides nourishment to cells; prevents blood clots; slows cellular aging
Vitamin K (Menadione)
Prevents internal bleeding; reduces heavy menstrual flow

Vocabulary Words for the Day

2008-04-24T05:10:00.000-07:00

Intransigent - stubborn; immovable; unwilling to change

Laconic - using few words; terse

How I Lost One Hundred Pounds the Right Way

2008-04-23T02:21:00.000-07:00

Weight loss equals self-gain! There is so much to cover but I will just jump in with both feet..(The right way means SLOWLY, this did not happen overnight)
Why was I overweight? I believe that this is the first step for everyone..We need to ask ourselves why do we have all this extra weight? Are we stress eating? Are we bored? Are we covering emotional pain? We first need to get to the bottom of that question before we start the journey of weight loss or we won't have or sustain success..I personally had many issues including losing a house and a business while pregnant and having gestational diabetes..I was at the point where I did not care what I was putting in my mouth I was building a fleshy pillow between me and the world at my own expense..Let me say also, that I do love food, I love to cook and to eat and the Food Network is my favorite channel..Having said that, there are healthy ways to cook and consume exciting foods without going overboard..I had built up more than two hundred and twenty something pounds on my five foot four inch frame and it was really paining me..I got to the point where I was ready to face my issues, decompress, let go and cut back..BABY STEPS is the way to start this process..I began walking everyday, I could not walk far but I started and if the weather was bad I walked in the mall or a super Target, I was committed..I stopped drinking soda altogether and believe me that alone was HUGE for me, I really loved my soda! Before I cut it out entirely I just started gradually drinking less..Slowly, I began cutting out other unhealthy food choices and adding in healthier foods..I kept my eye on my goal, I had a specific weight in mind, I had a photograph of a woman's body that I really wanted to have and I was not deterred..Gazelle-like focus (like Dave Ramsey would say about finances, but that is a whole other blog post! and clearly I needed his advice!) Anyway, I slowly replaced my fried foods, sugar and white flour products with fruits, vegetables, yogurt, lean meats and so on....I once heard that sugar was the devil! and that must make white flour his best friend! Now, don't run because you think I'm a radical, I assure you that now that I have reached my goal I still have my sweet treats, just in moderation and not as an entire meal! :-) My theory about eating everyday is to eat like a King at breakfast, a Prince at lunch and a Pauper at dinner..Some of the specific foods I eat or that I have replaced are as follows: I don't eat regular bread anymore I eat Ezekiel Bread, it is sprouted grain and not made with flour, I substitute Splenda for sugar or Stevia for sugar and I make gallon pitchers of decaf green tea with Splenda and fresh squeezed lemons so that I have something somewhat healthy (green tea is full of antioxidants) and still sweet to fill me up and I drink it throughout the day..When I do have a crave for soda, I keep some Diet Coke with splenda in the fridge so that I can have something cold, somewhat sweet, and bubbly..I eat a lot of chicken and I bake it in the oven in a variety of ways to bring flavor to the table..I never read the labels of foods for fat content but I did pay attention to carb and sugar grams because this is what winds up "sticking to ya"! I also started substituting protein shakes for a meal, usually dinner, depending upon my schedule and my day..I buy Smoothie King Gladiator Vanilla protein powder which is a combination of whey and egg proteins..One serving (two scoops of powder) gives forty-five grams of protein, and many times I just use one scoop with a half cup of milk (I only drank skim milk, always organic!) some pineapple chunks with its juice, some fresh squeezed oranges (usually one or two), flaxseed oil, a little extra virgin organic coconut oil, a spoon full of royal jelly (a bee product suspended in honey, gives you energy and promotes acetylcholine in the brain along with lowering cholesterol and a host of other beneficial qualities) about a cup of ice and blend away, truly tasted delicious kind of like a pina colada and sometimes I throw in some frozen strawberries..The key to everything is to tailor the specific ingredients to your taste..But whole foods and not processed, organic milks, eggs, and meats if you can afford it and snack on fruits, nuts, vegies, and cheeses..For my sweet treat I love Stacy's Pita Chips in the sugar and cinnamon flavor or Hershey's dark chocolate nuggets with almonds..We do need something to feel like we have something to fulfill that sweet tooth..I started slow, gave myself cheat days on either Saturday or Sunday or rearanged if there was a party or special occasion..Eventually, after I started seeing my results I became less interested in the cheat days and more focused on seing more results..I kept walking, eating right, taking a good vitamin (important!), drinking lots of water and then I added in a yoga ball and a thigh master into my mix..This way I could do some stretching and work out in my living room (and no I don't love exercise but it is a necessary evil!!)..You can use the ball to do situps, stretches, push-ups and create your own routine..Many of the balls come with a DVD with some routines and you just use what works for you.. Another tip is that I never ate out, brown bag lunches and brown bag snacks so that you always have your own foods.. If you must eat out, order so you know exactly what you are eating like a ceasar salad with grilled chicken breast, light dressing and you don't need to be militant with yourself..If you cheat, be forgiving of yourself..It is a process not perfection! Once you reach your goal weight, celebrate and gradually add things slowly and with moderation..YOU CAN DO IT!!!! My process and journey of weight loss took me around twelve months and I am feeling awesome and weighing in the one twenties! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Words of the Day

2008-04-23T02:12:00.000-07:00

Lugubrious - weighty, mournful, or gloomy, especially to an excessive degree

Disabuse - to free a person from falsehood or error

Words of the Day

2008-04-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

Blandishment - speech or action intended to coax someone into doing something

Cadge - to get something by taking advantage of someone

Making it Happen Everyday

2008-04-22T05:06:00.000-07:00

There is beauty and joy that can be found in every day if we will only look..I think that our expectations and our perspective have much to do with how we see our world and our reality on a daily basis..It is easy to get mired down in the daily drudge of negativity and violence in this world that we all share but it is only because this kind of action is what seems to grab the spotlight..How much more uplifting would it be to see all the goodness and beauty in this world because it does exist out there..So for me, I want to narrow my focus on my own little corner of reality and look for the beauty unfolding around me because I don't want to allow the media to shape my perspective in my own life or about the lives of others as a whole..I still believe in human goodness and random acts of kindness..Just because channel two is not rushing out to cover something wonderful happening does not mean that it does not happen..I know in my heart that caring people are giving of themselves even if it is as small as a smile to a stranger..Don't underestimate the power of something as simple as a smile, because the person on the other end of your smile may desperately need do see that little bit of cheer..Start simple if you need to but look for joy and beauty everyday..We can make a difference!

Words of the Day

2008-04-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

Ambrosial - extremely pleasing to the senses, divine or delicious

Antediluvian - ancient, outmoded

Every Flood Starts with One Drop of Rain

2008-04-21T04:43:00.000-07:00

Every goal we have in life (and we should all have written goals) seems perhaps unattainable when we first conceive it in our heads..It is sometimes hard to wrap our minds around what we would like for our end result to be and we need to break it down into small increments or baby steps..It does not matter what the goal or goals are, they all start with small accomplishments that will eventually equal the goal being brought to fruition..When we write down our goals we should include absolutely everything that we would like to have, to do, or to accomplish, no matter how outlandish it may seem..We should have our goals in plain view to see daily..Sometimes we can get creative and create a goal poster to include photos of what our goal looks like, it could be a job, a house, a car, a spouse, children, it does not matter, we all have different desires and goals in life and we owe it to ourselves to work to bring them into our reality..Just like a mathmatical equation, goals need to be broken down into seperate entities so that we can create small wins and start to feel successful..We also need to realize that failure is a huge part of success..No human being on the planet has experienced any measure of success without first tasting or even drowning in failure first! It is all part of the experience, trust the process..Everything that happens in life, (even though we may not see it in the present moment), happens to build within us the ability to best handle our future..Hindsight is almost always twenty-twenty..I can certainly look back in my life and can see how particular travesties prepared me for even more difficult times so that I could handle them with more grace and sanity..Life is not easy and life is not fair and we need to understand that we need to make the very best of what we have to be peaceful, happy and successful..Our journey is not meant to reach a particular destination and then quit, the journey is the journey, and we need to mentally pack light, stay positive and enjoy the trip..I want to reach my goals and sometimes to reach goals we need to really STRETCH!!! Everything worth having comes with hard work and a price..I want to make things happen and enjoy the process, the journey and the experience..Many small wins over time ALWAYS equal big wins down the road and I look forward to getting there!

Indulging our Senses: The Beauty of our World

2008-04-20T06:07:00.000-07:00

Crystal sands, blue ocean, golden fiery sun..Mighty winds curling into gentle breezes and gliding through open sails of tiny boats in the distance..They sit atop cresting waves..The strange salty smells fill my nostrils..Clumped seaweed lie up and down the beach..A single pelican floats on what seems to be an invisible like above the ocean, suddenly, it spirals downward crashing into the water for fish or just cool pleasure.. Puffy white pillowy clouds hang lazily in the sky making abstract formations against a backdrop of powder blue..The sound of the ocean is hypnotic in its auditory sense, the constant whir of the waves rolling into shore. Long legged birds stalk through the shallow waters picking through the sand for edible treasures..Millions of periwinkles bury themselves again and again in their life-long arduous task. The tear drop shape shells painted so vibrantly, bright purple, orange and yellow, like bright little rainbows in the wet sand.. White mountains of sand are the dunes on the beach dotted with slender green sea oats swaying tenderly in the breeze..Standing in forceful juxtoposition is the red brick lighthouse trimmed around the top with a black wrought iron walk and cap-like dome..Sternly built with purpose climbing into the blue and white swirled sky..From the top of the lighthouse one can see the entire island peninsula..The water sparkles in the sun like diamonds in all directions and the housetops looke like small squares amidst a managerie of bursting, frenzied color......

The burnt orange sun finishes the day with a sunset of glorious proportion..It sinks slowly into a hazy pink horizon tinted delicately with hints of violet and baby blue..The water ripples gently across the golden river catching the reflected colors of the slowly dimming ball of fire slipping into the sky..Evening glides in slowly showing her twinkling glittery lights..Far in the southeast corner of our evening cover appears the glowing pearly moon..Over on the beach the water is peaceful with small waves caressing the sandy shore..Tiny fish break the surface of the glassy still waters in the distance as they jump out of the ocean and into the cool evening air..Their skins catch the moonlight making them shimmer and shine..The sweet aroma of gardenias growing in the woody park nearby tickle my nose..There is nothing more beautiful than a deep blue night, a glowing sky, sparkling waters, and a cool rustling breeze.

Go Green: Less is More

2008-04-18T06:44:00.000-07:00

Going green for me is keeping green growth paramount in my life....fresh, new positive perspectives for life on a daily basis... I think that one of the biggest deterrants to being green is complaining....complain and remain.....it takes work and effort to keep things fresh and new and why not use our energy to stay positive as opposed to allowing our energies to drain from negative thoughts and actions... Less is many times more when we are able to de-clutter, stay simple and focus on what is truly important in our lives and to not let negative energy, negative thoughts, and negative situations become overwhelming drains from our positive stores and our green growth turns to a dark demise.

Motherhood and mastitis

2008-04-17T05:06:00.000-07:00

Oh the things that happen to us as mothers! I finally went to the Dr yesterday because I have been feeling so horrible and I was registering a low-grade temp and I found out I have mastisis (flu-like symptoms, fever, just bliss I tell you!).......at least I'm curable! I started antibiotics and I am taking my probiotic and can't wait to return to normal! Being a mom has never brought so much joy and pain, but mostly just pure joy! My children are the lights of my life and I want nothing more than for them to be safe, healthy, and happy! I am thankful and grateful for both of my babies even though the oldest is now in kindergarten and my youngest is not yet two.......she feels so big when her brother is around she just doddles after him like his shadow, copying everything he does, so adorable! When you see newborns it ALMOST makes me think about more but whew!!!! not for this girl! Pregnancy was horrible for me, gestational diabetes both times and the last time I could not control it with diet and I had to needle in insulin every night, gained weight like an elephant balooning up to around 220 something lbs and I have worked hard over this past year with diet and exercise and lost one hundred lbs and I am very proud of myself! Except for the regular old aches and pains of a body almost forty, I am feeling pretty fantastic!! Happy to be getting better!!! Love being a mom, something I never aspired to be and I would not change it for the world, it has become the most positive experience of my life!

Domestic Bliss - Food Network Stalker!

2008-04-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

I am feeling better today and I think I woke up a carbivore! I just finished making and eating homemade buttermilk biscuits!!! They were amazing! I had one with syrup and one with mayhaw jelly! What did we do before Food Network? If I don't have kiddie programs on in the background it is on the Food Network। I LOVE to cook and to eat!! What would life be without amazing food? I could watch and cook all day, every day! The way to the heart is definately through the stomach and the kitchen is the heart of every true home। Domestic bliss for me is being able to attend to the needs of my children first, keeping good food coming for every meal, having beautiful flowers growing in the yard to clip and share and having a smile in my heart and on my face। Staying positive!

Is is live or is it memorex?

2008-04-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

blah blah blah, I am feeling very disoriented today and not like I am all here. I am not sure that I am in fact attending a live performance of my day or if I am "memorexing" on auto-pilot. We all have these days......up since 3am, horrible headache, my eyes feel as they are being squeezed out of their sockets.....prescription please! and no I don't have a hangover. I just took 2 extra strength tylenol and mixed a diet dr. pepper with a diet coke over ice and hope and pray that this helps me in some small way. I can't think about anything except please won't this headache just go away!! I am however very thankful for friends and family, they really pull you through the tough days. I don't mean just having a headache day but through those life draining days when your emotions are running the show and all perceived logic has been tossed out the window and you need someone to be your sounding board and to tell you that your possible crisis isn't going to lead to your fatal demise. I always go to the thought of what is the worst possible thing that will happen if I choose "option A" here and since death would be the worst possible thing to happen, if death will not ensue then perhaps it is a viable option! My optic nerves can't take the computer screen any longer so I am going to be alone with my diet soda over ice :-)

Pain gives birth to beauty

2008-04-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Life just happens without a script and without our consent or control things just happen for the good, the better, the bad or even worse. We don't always have explanations as to why things happen to us or around us that we would not wish upon our worst enemy but they happen anyway. We have opportunities with every hand we are dealt to either rise to the occasion or to just give up and give in. When I think of how natural beauty comes about I think of the grain of sand agitating the oyster and it eventually gives birth to a beautiful pearl, the stress and pressure on a lump of coal in a dark mine gives birth to the most sought after stone, the diamond, and most precious of all, after 40 weeks of sheer discomfort and untold hours of LABOR we give birth to our children. Anything worth having in life comes out of some kind of painful transformation or metamorphisis and sometimes we are the butterfly unfolding our wings emerging from our own cacoon. We don't always know why horrible things happen in life but they unfortunately do and the only control we have is in the way in which we respond or react. I hope that I can always rise to the occasion when I am challenged with horrible circumstances or situations and that I can deal with them in a manner in which I can be proud of myself. I am in awe of people that still move forward regardless of their own obstacles where others would have literally given up! I strive everyday to have the strength to monitor my thoughts and actions to make the best choices with the information I have at the time and remain in a positive mindset for the benefit of myself and my family.

Do I want to be bitter or better??

2008-04-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

I feel like everyday we have opportunities to grow, get stronger and be better people. With these opportunities we can certainly regress to go in the opposite direction. We can in essence be bitter about situations and circumstances that are perhaps unfair or not to our liking or that just plain super suck or we can choose to take the high road in our lives and use these potential stumbling blocks in our day or our life as stepping stones. I hope that I am always able to get better as opposed to becoming bitter about people or things in my life that are not going my way. Being bitter is just a way to keep us muddled down in perverbial quicksand not being able to move forward or to move at all. Bitterness eventually seeps into every fiber of your being and traps you inside yourself and poisons you from the inside out. We can obsess about hopes and dreams, think positvely and grow in life or we can choose to obsess on negativity, become bitter, stagnant, wither and die. I WANT TO LIVE BETTER!!!
:-)

The Good, the Bad, the Beautiful and the Ugly

2008-04-11T05:32:00.000-07:00

It seems that life is simultaneously juxtaposed with the good, the bad and the beautiful with the ugly. We can be experiencing the best of times and the worst of times all at the same time. We are never guaranteed a life full of peace and bliss. And how can we fully appreciate or experience the wonder and beauty in life without experiencing sorrow and pain as contrasting comparison? It is many times the depressing, trying, difficult and painful times in life where we learn some of our best lessons and are able to determine our own strengths and weaknesses. You never know the strength of a tea bag until you put it into hot water! I have tried to embrace the pleasure and the pain in my own life and look at my circumstances, my thoughts, and my perspective to gain my own life lessons on my journey here. I want to remain in an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness for all the blessings and to focus on the positives in my life so that I can press on and move forward. I want to start every day with a clean slate, frame my mental images with positive perspectives, focus on the good and the beautiful and appreciate the bad and the ugly for what it can give birth to in my life which is many times increased inner strength and the ability to face adversity with a quiet confidence. When we dig deeper in life we grow stronger!

Free your mind and the rest will follow....

2008-04-10T06:03:00.000-07:00

Every day I need to de-clutter my mental screen. I want to start fresh everyday so that I can attend to the present and not be distracted by past frustrations, circumstances, worries or fears. Unforgiveness, agravation, worry and fear can mentally drain the strongest and the best minds and these emotions serve no good purpose except to sap your energy leaving you drained and lifeless. I believe that attending to my thoughts are synonomous to weeding the garden in that if it is not done on a daily basis then the weeds will eventually choke out the beauty that is intended to be planted, grow and bloom. If I am able to free my mind of the negative energy and negative thoughts that will indeed make an effort to gain center stage then I will be able to be free to enjoy my present and experience an inner peace and joy. I want to be peaceful and joyful not only for myself but for those around me as well. I work to stay focused and attentive daily to pursue happines in every moment!

Life, Liberty and the "Pursuit" of Happiness!

2008-04-09T05:11:00.000-07:00

Happiness does not come as a natural by-product of life! We must actively PURSUE it! It takes work as everything in life does and it takes conscious living, and conscious thinking to obtain happiness. I think that many times peace and happiness seem elusive and that we live life on auto-pilot and get sucked into our circumstances instead of being "in each moment" of our day. We are all guilty at some point of not paying attention to our own lives and either get stuck in the trauma and drama of other's lives so we don't deal with our own issues or we are just exhausted and have tuned out to our own needs. We all need quiet time to ourselves to be able to think and re-fuel to live our lives effectively, with purpose and with the ability to pursue our own happiness! When we are happy in our own lives it is much easier to be there for our friends and family members in their times of need. Life is so DAILY! I want to try to make each day count and it takes work to get it right!

Failure is the foundation for success!

2008-04-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

Failure is the Foundation for Success

“It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures.”
Samuel Smiles

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
Winston Churchill

“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”
Oscar Wilde

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
Robert F. Kennedy

“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Thomas Alva Edison

"Watch your thoughts; they become your words. Watch your words; they become your actions. Watch your actions: they become your habits. Watch your habits: they become your character. Watch your character for it, WILL... become your destiny."
Unknown

Approaching 2007, what I thought would be the best and most successful year for us yet, I had a 4 month old baby, our business was on its last leg, our home was in pre-foreclosure, we sold my $50K Landrover, returned my husband’s Jeep to the bank, and we were forced to move in with my mother. I could not physically or emotionally afford to wallow in my own cesspool of failure as drowning was not a viable option. I want to have a breakthrough but I feel like I’m going to have a breakdown!

Perfection is overrated, control is just an illusion, and failure is the foundation for success. It is in the battlefield of the mind that we lose life’s battles. Life is like a beach, there are always waves hitting the shore, some big, some small, and a few tsunamis. We are constantly bombarded in life with either obstacles or opportunities; it is our perception that defines them and they can make us or break us. The tsunamis in our lives are the biggest test of the strength of our character and of our mental fortitude often revealing the truths of who we really are, stripped of the mundane trivialities of life that run amuck mentally and physically crowding our capacity to think and see clearly. It is in these times that we have the opportunity to emerge with real purpose, after experiencing the refiner’s fire, the phoenix rising from the ashes.

We learn life’s greatest lessons not on the mountain tops but in the valleys. Failure is not permanent; it should be embraced and celebrated for what it gives birth to in our lives. The lows in our lives are important ingredients in creating who we are and we can gain new life, wisdom, and new perspective with the pain that we suffer from failure, defeat, and even death. We need the lows and the highs of life to create the balance we experience as it also creates depth in our character that would otherwise leave us stagnant and one dimensional.

2008-04-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

Thank you for visiting! Together we journey through life seeking to find our purpose and experience peace and joy along the way. I have found through my own personal experiences that by guarding our thoughts is by far the most important task we have in life that will ultimately lead to our own personal and professional success or demise. If we each carefully guard our mind and pay attention to the thoughts that come across our mental prompter, we can either accept or deny their transmission and control where our paths lead. Thoughts lead to action! Therefore, positive thoughts lead to positive actions and positive actions lead to success!