4 Easy changes for a healthy, safer environment.

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Blue Angels
This post is excerpted from an article in the Melaleuca Journal
Team up with Melaleuca and together we can make all the difference

It’s one thing to desire to make the world a better, cleaner place. It’s another altogether to actually do something about it.

With Melaleuca’s EcoSense® products, you can make a real difference. A difference for the environment inside and outside your home. A difference you can share with others.

Water

Did You Know? 500,000 tons of pollutants pour into lakes and rivers each day in the U.S. alone.

The Problem: The household products you use can have harmful chemicals that end up down the drain. Those chemicals are not removed after passing through a water treatment facility and can end up in lakes and rivers.

The Solution: Only use cleaning products—such as Tub & Tile™, Sol-U-Guard® and Diamond Brite®—that are free from chlorine bleach, phosphates and other harsh chemicals to keep our waterways clean.

Energy

Did You Know? A whopping 90% of the energy used to wash clothes goes to just heating the water.

The Problem: Most regions are experiencing significant energy demand growth, which puts pressure on global fossil fuel consumption.

The Solution: Use cold water to wash clothes whenever possible to save over $10 a month on your electric bill. MelaPower® 6x is formulated specifically to perform in cold water. It’s so unique it’s patented.

Air

Did You Know? Vehicle exhaust contributes roughly 60% of all carbon monoxide emissions nationwide, and up to 95% in cities.

The Problem: Air pollution can cause a variety of environmental effects such as acid rain, haze, ozone depletion, forest damage, and climate change.

The Solution: Do your weekly errands in a single trip. Walk, bike or carpool whenever possible. And with concentrated products from Melaleuca, we don’t ship unneccessary water—reducing CO2 emissions.

Waste

Did You Know? Americans use approximately 1 billion plastic shopping bags every year, creating 300,000 tons of landfill waste.

The Problem: Every year, the U.S. generates approximately 230 million tons of trash—about 4.6 pounds per person, per day. Less than one-quarter of it is recycled; the rest is incinerated or buried in landfills.

The Solution: Buying concentrated products like EcoSense cleaning and laundry products helps reduce packaging that’s thrown away and cuts down on the need to manufacture new plastics.

How Melaleuca makes a difference

Melaleuca is striving to rid the world of dangerous products laden with harmful chemicals.

Many of us grew up in households where chlorine bleach, ammonia, and highly acidic products were the norm. But that doesn’t mean our children have to.

EcoSense is a smarter, safer alternative. More and more families are joining us in our mission to eliminate dangerous cleaning products from their homes.

And why not, when you can replace them with safer, more effective, concentrated, eco-friendly solutions from Melaleuca?

Safer-for-your-home products

Making smart choices every day adds up, and the easiest choice you can make is to buy Melaleuca products because they are safer for your home and friendlier to the environment.

Tranquility

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discover-tranquility

 

Somewhere inside all of us is the great escape: The restful place of untangled thoughts, where the ticking of time is silent and eternity whispers. A plece such as this awaits you.

A place such as this was not made for here….. here was made for you.

Close your eyes and picture a place where wildflowers grow along side a small stream, and as your eyes follow the stream they come upon a peaceful cabin. Notice how the plants and flowers are afforded a chance to peer into the water and hold a quiet celebration of their own beauty. Like a canopy of stars that shine on a blanket of dark in the nighttime sky, they too are having their glorious moment. And it is yours to keep and ours to share. This simple joy that stands before you is nature’s profound song to the soul; a place where dreaming is expected, quiet thoughts are inevitible and a refreshing perspective is certain.

Take your time….. enjoy this place of quiet tranquility. Like a treasure of diamonds yet undiscovered, there are riches you can easily miss along the way. Take your time, slow down and breathe in the beauty that is all around you.

As you travel the road of life you may be passing by the very destination that you have been longing to arrive at.

A place such as this… Our presence here can add nothing to its solitude, beauty or serenity. It was never really meant to be that way. Remembering again, you were not made for here… this place of solitude and serenity was made for you…

Walk slowly thru the moments of your life savoring every one as it unfolds; For every moment is the destination that longs to be remembered, and deserves to be remembered. for it is the moments that make up the day, which make up your life. Which will ultimately be remembered. Savor them as they arrive greet them with a smile as they can never be replaced or relived.  For as we look back upon the day(s) of our lives it is the moments that we remember most. That special feeling we had as the wind whispered thru the trees, or the smell of a flower caught our awareness. The way the sun felt upon our face on a warm summer day, or the way we felt when we listened to the heartbeat of the one we loved. We remember the small moments of joyous laughter we had when we were with dear friends who are no longer with us, or the sorrow at the loss of a loved one or relationship.

Walk slowly thru the path of your life -enjoy the meandering stream that are the moments that make up your day. Enjoy the people and animals as wildflowers that grow along the banks of your meandering stream, and when the day is done and you are sitting on the front porch in this place that was not made for here but was made for you. Smile and know that you are a special person who got thru the moments of your day with a smile on your face.

Until the next time take it slow and remember

“The light of the world is knowledge”

 

mywholehealthcenter

 

acceptance

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It seems that from the moment we wake up in the morning until the time we finally fall asleep at night, our minds are constantly bombarded with all kinds of thoughts, one right after the other – non-stop for the most part. Although there are times when we might experience silence in the external world, like taking a walk along the beach or taking a walk in the woods or reading a book or watching a movie, there is hardly a moment when we experience internal silence, or as the buddhists call it “A quiet mind”. Our minds are constantly chattering about this and that, and all the while bringing us thru the entire gamut of emotions that we are capable of feeling,  from — happiness to sorrow, to worry and fear, anger, jealousy and various other emotions that we are bombarded with.

Thoughts can be either positive or negative, depending on who we are and how those thoughts affect us. Positive and negative thoughts are both two sides of the same coin. It is always a  good thing to have as many positive thoughts as possible. But one of the things that we must realise about our thought processes,  is that they are rarely under our control and especially when faced with a problem or a crisis our mind automatically shifts into negative mode, imagining the worst and producing tremendous amounts of stress and anxiety within us. Many scientists attribute this to an evolutionary process, while still others attribute this to environmental factors. My take on it is, “Who cares what the source of it is”, when I am in the middle of my crap, I am in the middle of my crap.

Although we know that in tough times we should be positive, and think positive thoughts and even though everyone around us is telling us to be positive, in our hearts of hearts, our minds almost without exception turn to the negative first. Fearing the worst outcomes, and knowing that the worst is going to come to fruition.

Positive thinking is a wonderful thing and can bring about  magnificent changes in our lives, and should definitely be practiced on a daily basis. Science has actually shown how neural pathways are formed by our thought processes, whether they are negative or positive, or even neutral (the last part will show neural pathways atrophying when not in use).  But for most of us, and I most definitely include myself in this, it remains a fantasy, our minds gets drawn to negativities almost like a piece of iron gets drawn to a magnet.

Our mind has an almost hypnotic power over us, and easily leads us into the depths of negativity, depression and disillusion, when we are in serious trouble. It is good to advise others to remain positive, but when we are in any deep trouble, how many of us can really remain positive? Even the most optimistic person will move to negativity first, and then after sitting in it will then begin to weigh their options and decide which path to take.

If you had a bad day at work, or even just seemed to have a bad day ( I am not sure about you, but I have had days that as soon as I stepped out of bed, the day seemed to go from bad to worse), and even though you want your day or life to come back to normal, and even though you know that positive thinking is what is so desperately needed, you will still have a predominance of negative thoughts. Such is the human mind. And the harder we try to get out of our negativity, the worse the situation seems to become.

As an example, for you parents out there, If it is late at night and your son or daughter has not yet come home, and you can not contact them, how many parents would have positive thoughts and how many would be plagued by negative ones? It would be a very rare parent who can still maintain a positive outlook and remain calm, in this kond of situation and not let his or her mind imagine the worst.

Like many things which are good for us but which we struggle to achieve, positive thinking  is a great tool, but often remains a dream rather than a reality. I have been practicing positive thinking for years, and I think what it has enabled me to do, is not stay in my negative thoughts as long as I would have.

If a person is able to think positively most of the times, their life is likely to be filled with peace and happiness, as we used to say in Brooklyn they would be living in the land of LA-LA. But as sad as it may sound that is not reality for most people. For me what really helps and is probably a better idea is to accept situations and events and even life as they are, rather than trying desperately and unsuccessfully to think positively when circumstances are not going our way or going in the way we hope they would.  Once we are ready to accept life as it is,or events as they are and we are ready to let go of the results. Once we can accept the outcome after doing our best efforts, we can find a sense of inner peace that much easier. With acceptance, we know that we are can look at what is going on in our lives in an objective manner and be able to change iur circumstances or even the outcome of the event we are undergoing. We are not beholden to the first negative thought, or held hostage by paralysis by analysis which negativity seems to bring about. For the more spirtiually inclined we can say  we are getting the right lessons that we need right now, and all that is occurring in our lives is only happening to guide us, polish us and to push us forward on our evolutionary spiritual path.

Once I push past the negativity and arrive at the space where I can feel  acceptance it brings to me a deep calm, which even positive thinking cannot bring. For then I know that I am not controlled by outside circumstances (Sort of like your version of reality does not define who I am). Try and remain positive but if that is not possible, try acceptance and try to let go.

Integrity

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question of integrity

Integrity – adherence to moral and ethical principles. word that drive to the core of our being and define our moral and ethical behaviour. These are very interesting words, ones that everyone should live by, and most people do. However, as we grow older and sometimes wiser, we find that everything is not as black and white as we would like it to be.
For example, when I was young I was told not to steal, and this is something that I have carried forth into adulthood. However, I have often worndered if I were poor and hungry and did not have anything to eat;Would I steal to feed myself or my family? Would you? Or would you look and say I can not steal no matter what as that would impugne (word of the day ) my integrity.
Or if my children were sick, and I did not have a means to pay for medication, would I steal to pay for their medication.
On a more realistic note, if you were in a situation where you were told to lie about something, and if you did not, it would mean a loss of something valuable or someone close to you.
Would you lie?
Or how about if you told the truth about something that was so damaging that it would destroy a life, would you lie to save that life?
I have a friend that says that integrity is black and white, it is who you are. I agree that it is who you are and is ingrained in us. But the question becomes if we were put into an extraordinary circumstance would we uphold our integrity.
I am reminded of a scene out of “Sophies’ key”, which is an excellent movie.
Where one character looking at pictures of a scene from 1941 France shows the nazis rounding up Jews stated: “If I were there I would have hid the jews from the nazis”, and the reporter looks at him and says “That is a very easy thing to say sitting in a comfortable office 60 years later”.
So my question to you is: Would you be like so many heroes (who never saw themselves as heroes), and hide the Jews or would you be like the vast majority that turned them in?
Or, If you were put into the most extreme situation imaginable where your integrity was put on the line, would you be able to walk away and say that my integrity is still intact?
Able to close your eyes at night knowing you did the right thing, and did not have to rationalize it away.
Just some ponderings as I sit in the local public library waiting for the powere company to light my path in the wake of the hurricane that just passed my way.
Until the next time remember,
The light of the world is knowledge,
Gary

How far will your ripples go?

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We have all pretty much heard the story of how there is a butterfly in Asia that flaps its wings and sets off a series of events that leads to a tornado in Texas. At first glance we look at it and smile, saying there is no way that could possibly happen. Yet, upon closer examination, we find that it could happen, and that we take part in similar events on a daily basis.

It’s called the butterfly effect, and comes from  something called Chaos theory. In the hollywood version of Chaos theory, George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, changes the fate of his town when he wishes he had never been born. When good old George gets his wish, he sees how his not being born changes the whole makeup of the town and its people, and how his simple life brought meaning to so many other lives. Even those he did not know. In chaos theory, a small change in a system—like the flap of a distant butterfly’s wing—can dramatically change the system … leading to a tornado in Texas.

The whole idea sounds far-fetched, but mathematicians insist that it is real,and upon closer examination you can see how it works in a real life situation

So what is chaos theory anyway… I hear a number of you ask…… What the heck is this guy talking about.

Well, in its simplest terms it means that pretty much everything that we encounter in our daily lives; whether it is nature (rain, snow, heat, cold) or  society (how others act, what is going on in the world, etc), we can not control or predict. Pretty sad for the control freaks out there… LOL…

However, there is a loophole. According to chaos theory there are feedback loops that hold everything in place (society, people, etc) and that although individual persons can not control the larger events, each person on an individual basis has an enormous influence on these smaller loops that feed into the larger picture. Thus causing a ripple effect. So in effect although we do not have the power to control events in a traditional sense we all possess the “Butterfly power” of subtle influence.

So in a very real sense we are the butterflies, flapping our wings metaphorically and creating ripples that spread far beyond what we could ever imagine, and affecting the outcome and even altering the outcome of events that have yet to occur.

We are the butterflies

I don’t care how much you love your job; sometimes you don’t love it, and you crawl out of bed and wonder why. Why am I doing this, does any of this really matter? How could today possibly matter? How could a few more keystrokes at the computer mean anything?

The butterfly effect fascinates us because we want to find meaning in our actions. We want to be the self-aware butterfly in asia, flapping our wings just so and creating tornadoes wherever we please.

There’s no doubt about it. We are all small actors on the stage of the world, and in our communities. But even the smallest actions can create ripples that change the world. We can’t anticipate the ripples, but we can still flap our wings knowing that our actions might help create a storm of activity.

This means we need to take our actions seriously. A butterfly was made to flap its wings, suck nectar, and migrate thousands of miles with its brood.

What were you made to do? You can’t predict the effects of your actions, but you can take them seriously. You can develop your talents. You can work with diligence and faithfulness and integrity, and treat others no matter how far down they have fallen with the same dignity that you would want to be treated with.

If you want to change the world and yourself, take heart. Your small actions can and do have tremendous impact. Impacts far beyond what you could ever imagine.

How do you know the smile that you brought to the cashiers face when you were checking out didnt brighten her day just enough to help her when she was getting angry at her crying baby that evening?

How do you know the little snippet of conversation that you had with the stranger – that you forgot about as soon as you walked away, saved that persons life because they were in a depression, and you said just the right thing at the right time?

How could any of us possibly know how our ripples are affecting the lives of those we touch on a daily basis. Conversely speaking how many times has a smile come to your face when recounting something someone said, or giving somebody a snippet of advice that you heard years ago in a passing conversation. You see the ripples flow both ways… Pretty interesting when you think about it. Mataphorically speaking someone flapped their wings years ago, and the effects were finally felt in another part of your life..

We dont know and could never know the ripple effects that we have in the river of life.

But I find another truth at work in this mathematical parable. The hypothetical butterfly that flapped its wings in asia never experiences the Texas tornado. It doesn’t know the end of the story, and neither do we.

Who knows where the ripples of your small actions may lead.  We don’t and can not control that. Grandiosity doesn’t motivate us to be good stewards of the talents God gave us. No. We flap our wings because God gave us wings. Simply taking flight is reward enough. Simply serving the immediate good of our local community and the people we meet is reward enough. It has to be.

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. Edith Wharton

Until the next time, remember

the light of the world is knowledge.

Gary

 

 

Steps to change your life.

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How to Change Your Life for the Better

There are a few simple things you can do to improve everything. This post will show you, in simple terms, how to change your life for the better a little bit at a time.

How to Change Your Life Around

Whatever your current situation is in life,it may be a reflection of your most recent as well as your current thought processes, which in turn has led you to make decisions that moved you down the path that you are currently travelling. Those recent as well as  current thought processes have driven you to take actions “in a certain way” and that has dictated your current situation, whether that situation is success or struggle or somewhere in between. The cool thing is it is never too late to turn it around and start getting more of the good stuff in your life.

Steps You can take that will enable you to Change Your Life for the Better

1. Stop spending energy talking about or surrounding yourself with people that do not believe in you. Don’t give them energy and don’t complain about them, once you stop feeding them energy they will either a) go away or b) stop intruding.

2. Take control of your subconscious. Your subconscious is YOUR greatest employee but like most employees, if you don’t tell it what to do on a daily basis, you get whatever you get which, is not much. Left to our own design, your subconscious cannot help but reside in negativity as that is what the mass mediocre in this world puts out there. The media, news, and the masses are all focused on the bad things in the world, YOU need to consciously choose to be different if you are to have a different experience. Steps to accomplish taking control of your subconscious are: – Create an incantation or affirmation that you can repeat over and over while your mind is at rest, things like “I love making money”, “I love my body”, “Everything is perfect”, “I am a magnet for good”, “Thank you for my healing”, etc. – Watch your language like a hawk. That is your internal as well as your external language.  Don’t utter a word that doesn’t serve you. This is the toughest part. It greatly helps to have a partner. This means don’t sit at lunch and gossip about who is doing you wrong or how much money you lost or ANYTHING that doesn’t serve you. Stop focusing on where you are and instead start focusing on where you could possibly go.

3. Take altered and inspired action. For example, don’t chant “I love my lean body” while eating doughnuts or “I love making money” while watching Oprah, go do the things that could potentially build your success, make you money or help you lose weight. Doing steps one and two will vastly improve your results when it comes to number three but know that you DO have to take action. Some people watched “The Secret” with one eye closed and missed the parts in the movie and the book that told you to take action, take inspired action now.

Watch This Feeling…

If you wanna know how to change your life for the better, get used to a certain feeling. You ever make a decision and feel like your stomach was tied in knots? Or feel your alarm bells going off?  This is THE feeling that can change your life. You can change your life a little at a time but when you are about to make a BIG breakthrough you will most likely feel terrified to death! Know that you are a bringer of good in this world and you deserve happiness and that sometimes, or should I say a lot of times, those uncomfortable feelings occur right before your biggest breakthrough. Suspend your disbelief and believe that you are worthy of massive success, the alternative simply does not serve you, and we know what the alternative is!

Remember the light of the world is knowledge

Gary

 

life is beautiful -enjoy the ride

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Please click on picture for "life is beautiful" Thanks to Bronn Journey.....Please click on the picture for a beautiful slide-show….

So often in life we are distracted by our situation or mood that we forget to see what is most important. During these times we fail to see all the good things around us, focusing on typically insignificant negatives that have little to do with the facts of the situation at hand. “We find ourselves searching for weeds in a meadow of wildflowers”.
Rather than look at the beauty around us, we allow ourselves to focus on a single negative aspect thereby identifying a situation in a narrow perspective leading to an overshadowing of positive thought. All of us have been guilty of this at one time or another as it is a part of human nature.
Think for a moment about what it would be like if we could redirect these thoughts back to the flowing green grasses and flowers of the meadow. The process is simple yet somewhat difficult when our mind wants to focus on finding the negative weeds of the situation. The challenge is to just stop and give ourselves that little moment to take in the beauty around us rather than allow ourselves to be overwhelmed with the insignificant details.

Until the next time remember

“The light of the world is knowledge”

Gary

 

How to start your day with less stress and some more mental clarity and purpose

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How do you begin your mornings? Do you jump up ready to begin your day, singing your way to the shower? Or do you do as I do and hit snooze a few times on your alarm, then begrudgingly rouse yourself in the dark and trudge to the coffee pot, possibly turning on the TV or the radio on your way? With a few simple steps, you can start your day letting positive thoughts and meaningful insight stream through your morning window.

My phone used to double as my alarm. In the past, as soon as I would turn off my alarm, I would also check for any missed texts and scroll through new emails. It also seems that I would often experience a sense of mild disappointment, or maybe just a sense of immediate bombardment with emails and advertisements that sent me whirling into my day, chaotic from the start.

For me, these emails have never revealed anything extremely positive or pressing. It’s not like any potential employers have sent me an overnight email insisting upon meeting me immediately! Or the lottery telling me to contact me immediately as I may have won the previous nights lottery, and that I would not have to go to work. In fact, just the opposite: I have found a number of emails or from some british sounding lawyers telling me that a travel case with millions of dollars is waiting on me to give them my name and other pertinent information as someone that I had never heard of just died and left me their money via early morning emails, and for the most part the emails that I do get overnight are sale mail—for things I might want, can’t afford, and probably don’t need. But I am often lured into thinking I need them or believing that somehow, whatever product is advertised would make my life and morning better (yes, the whole point of advertising!). It’s like waking up to instant commercials—instant need for gratification and the desire for more STUFF.

I learned that without discretion, I was opening my mental window to whatever and whomever wanted in and allowing the world to dictate my morning mindset and mood.

If you don’t check your phone or email immediately upon waking, you might be listening to the radio or the news on TV. Almost certainly, whatever you hear or see will not be uplifting to your heart, mind, or spirit. At the least, it may bring a bit of sadness through your window for whatever catastrophes or tragedies have occurred while you were sleeping. At worst, it will stream anxiety and negative thoughts through your window that could continue throughout your entire day and become a pattern and cycle that is difficult to break.

A couple of years ago, I vowed to not listen to anything except music on my way to work because I tended to get riled up and feel somewhat discouraged over the antics and discussions of radio talk show politics and the mind-numbing banter of pop music constantly looking toward the party weekend. More recently, I discovered that I can really only listen to 106.7, classical music, or certain CD’s of my own that don’t disrupt my peaceful state of mind. No, I’m not becoming more intolerant; I am becoming more aware and attuned to what is worthwhile and worthy of what I am letting into my window, and likewise what is total garbage and will never be fulfilling I am letting go or trying to. It’s also why I prefer reading the news to hearing it or watching it. I feel that I have more control.

One of the most important thing that I have found is the importance of writing or journaling for a few minutes to begin each day. I would urge you to purchase a cheap notebook  and to schedule in time to study and write for a little while each day. Even if it is for 5 minutes, you will be amazed at some of the thoughts that you have, and also it is quite interesting to go back in time and see what your thoughts were. I also encourage you to take a few minutes every morning to sit down and consider your plan for the day.  Being ready to take on the day also goes beyond careful planning.

Now, I decide how I will start my day; I get my mind in the right place, and I proceed to succeed.

Since this past summer, I have been learning to think with my wise mind, to stay focused, and to not be distracted by everything that comes at me or floats through my head; I have been consciously working to not become stuck in negative thought patterns that can lead me to feeling bleak or blocked. I am an emotional thinker, and my reactions and responses have been shaped by how I have dealt with everything in my past. But I have also learned about the plasticity of the brain–it can be reshaped and retrained. Today, I read in the book, The Writer’s Devotional by Amy Peters that “Scientific research shows that there is a strong mind-body connection” (p. 18). She goes on to say, “In other words, you have the capacity, by affirming your goals, to effectively rewire your brain” (p. 18). Neuroscientists are now referring to this as neuroplasticity. This is something that I have been putting into action, rewiring my brain by controlling my own thoughts.

I am not a morning person. I don’t naturally wake up full of anticipation for the possibilities the day may hold. If anything, I awake thinking about the stuff I have to do that I don’t really want to do. In fact, some of the things that I schedule are things I should want to do, but that’s just not how I am; I look at them as requirements on a checklist for the day. I wouldn’t consider myself particularly sanguine, which might be due to the lack of sunshine coming through my window in New Milford, but since I can’t change that, I have found a new way to approach my mornings.

  • I now use a normal alarm.
  • Immediately, before I do anything, I thank God in my head for the day and ask to be prepared  for whatever I may encounter.
  • Before I start to think about what I have planned that could keep me under the covers or cause me dread, I get up.
  • I get my coffee and and take a few minutes for myself.
  • I objectively make a mental list of things that I have to do or should do for the day, and check off how long I think they should take.
  • I then check off what I absolutely do not have to do for the day.. Thereby lowering my stress level, since I now do not have to fit everything into one day.

Yes, you do have time to be positive.

Even if you feel like you don’t have time to sit down and read, you do have time to mentally prepare yourself by putting on something positive or inspirational while you get ready in the morning or while driving in your car.

I am careful about what I allow through my window.

Now, the window is obviously a metaphor, and it isn’t one that I can claim. This whole idea of how I start my day and what I allow to filter into my thoughts has been something I have wanted to blog about and something that I have consciously changed and continually consider as I gain spiritual insight. Last week while I was driving my car, I turned on the radio and heard a woman, Sheila Walsh (who has a lovely accent that makes you want to just hear her speak) describing her battle with depression and attempted suicide, and her eventual recovery. She mentioned that we need to be careful what we allow to enter in through our windows. I loved the metaphor. In fact, just while driving, I mentally pictured myself closing the window in my mind’s eye and drawing the shades on some negative thoughts that were trying to float into my focus. I am sure if you try it you too can close the window on negative thoughts and let in the sunshine.

Until the next time remember:

The light of the world is knowledge

Gary

 

How a second can change your life

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Isnt it amazing how a minute shift in perception can change a situation, an event or even a whole day? How many times have you sat slumped over staring off into space trying to figure out how you are going to make it thru the day or even your life. Your mind racing in all directions with aimless thoughts and negative outcomes spiraling out of control.

And then all of a sudden, as if by magic some tiny little event happens that snaps you out of it?  I have been in those ”funks”, those mindless skipping record thoughts that seem to go round and round and never seem to stop no matter how hard I try. When all of a sudden I will get the hint of a fragrant flower in the air, or I will notice the glint of sunshine as it makes its way thru the leaves of a tree, or the cool breeze that just seems to lightly touch my face.

I read somewhere it only takes one second to change your life… Think of that for a moment, literally one second can alter your perception of an event or a situation, and all of a sudden you see things in a new light and from a different angle. One that moves you in a totally new and unforeseen direction, that only a few moments ago did not and could not exist..

There is a saying that goes ” Even a decision not to make a decision is still a decision”, so it is up to you to decide which way you will want the seconds of your day to go. It sounds like a tall order, but if you think of the consequences, and the control that you can take back it will have a truly amazing outcome. One in which you will be able to look back and say. That was the moment when I truly started to take control of my life.

Exercise that I have tried with some good results:

1) When thinking about something – Notice if it takes up the whole of your head (you know what I mean, I visualize when I am thinking, as I believe most people do), and when I am thinking intensely about something it is large and bright. Try moving it back in you mind and making it less intense, and smaller. Lower the colors, and make it dimmer.  Give yourself some distance, and tone it down.

2) Lower the sound. If you are thinking about an argument you have had with someone. Lower the pitch and tone.

3) Stand up and move.. Square your shoulders. It is amazing how hard it is to stay in a funk when you are moving and standing erect.

4) Be determined to change… As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in your life”

“And above all watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who dont believe in magic will never find it.”  Roald Dahl

Until the next time remember

“The light of the world is knowledge”

Gary

High Blood Pressure

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High blood pressure is a medical condition that  if it is not checked in time, can be fatal. With high blood pressure, the pressure against the artery walls increases, making the heart work much harder to pump blood through the blood vessels. High blood pressure is also known as hypertension. It has two conditions, i.e., systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. When the heart contracts, the pressure exerted by blood while pumping into the blood vessels is more; this contraction is known as systolic blood pressure, and when the heart expands, the pressure exerted by blood is less and is called diastolic blood pressure. A person having 120/80  (systolic/diastolic) blood pressure is said to have a normal blood pressure, whereas blood pressure above 140/90  is termed as high blood pressure.
With high blood pressure or hypertension, the symptoms usually go unnoticed for long periods and there are no warning signs before your heart is literally hit with a  stroke. Hence, the reason why high blood pressure is widely known as the ‘silent killer’. Though its symptoms go unnoticed, there are nonetheless symptoms,with the most common symptom being a headache. People seem to always associate headaches with high blood pressure. But are the two really related to each other?


How Are the Two Related
About 90% of the headaches we experience are called tension headaches and are due to stress, but according to studies and research done centuries ago, it was believed that severe headaches have been a major symptom of high blood pressure. However, it cannot be assured that every other person who gets a headache at some time or  another has high blood pressure; however, the frequent occurrence of headaches is definitely a sign of high blood pressure. Most headaches originate from the blood vessels in the tissues underneath the skull. In these blood vessels, a phenomenon called autoregulation (a process that allows organs to determine their own blood supply) is caused due to increased blood pressure. This physiological process causes the blood vessels to constrict which is a major reason for headaches.

Some of the best preventative measures a person can take to keep their blood pressure normal, is to exercise on a consistent basis (thats right, it does not work if you stop and start), and to eat healthy(also on a consistent basis). Findings also show that potassium, magnesium, and fiber may also affect blood pressure. Fruits and vegetables are high in potassium, magnesium, and fiber and low in sodium. Also, nuts, seeds, legumes, lean meats, and poultry are good sources of magnesium.

A wonderful natural high blood pressure product to take is called Provex.   In a recent clinical investigation conducted at the University of Utah, ProvexCV was clinically shown to have a positive impact on healthy blood pressure. This double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study took place over a 10-week period. Results show that ProvexCV may help support a healthy, optimal blood pressure range, providing all-natural protection and support for a healthy heart. For more information on Provex Please click here for a detailed discussion and FAQ on Provex. I think you will be amazed as I was at the ingredients within Provex as well as the side by side studies done with some of the other health products on the market.

The above links for Provex and Provex FAQ will require Adobe Reader. If you do not have Adobe reader please click here

Until the next time take it slow.

Gary

Below are some of the more common causes of Morning Headaches and Cluster Headaches. Again, if you are experiencing frequent headaches please see your health care professional as soon as possible… Gary


Headaches in the morning

Many headaches that we have in the morning are caused mostly by a lack of sleep, improper sleeping position(s) and mostly stress.  Morning headaches and high blood pressure are very common in alcoholics, and it always seems that stress, depression and high blood pressure go hand in hand with headaches. If you are experiencing frequent headaches, then that should be setting off all kinds of alarm bells, and you should definitely be getting your blood pressure checked.


Cluster Headaches

Cluster headaches are severe headaches which keep recurring over a period of time. Men suffer from cluster headaches more than women, and smokers also experience a higher number of cluster headaches than non-smokers. Cluster headaches generally affect 1 in 1,000 people, and are cyclical in nature according to medical news today  article.http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/172387.php

Cluster headaches are like migraines, as  the attack may last for few minutes to few hours. They are caused due to allergies, stress, excessive smoking and drinking. The effects of these headaches may worsen due to a rise in your blood pressure.

There are a number of therapies as well as drugs on the market to lessen the effects of these types of headaches. One of the most promising is Oxygen therapy, where the patient places an Oxygen mask, this therapy can be so effective that it can stop a cluster headache dead in its tracks.