7 Truths To Ponder November 5, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Life Balance.comments closed
1. Control your thoughts . . . or they will control you.
2. Money is a lousy way to measure success.
3. The best “Get Rich Quick” scheme? . . . Want Less.
4. Displaying credentials on the wall is not enough.
5. Our past influences who we are; we influence who we become.
6. Forgive yourself and others.
7. Life is like a mirror. Smile at it and it smiles back at you. ~ Peace Pilgrim
Related posts: The Goal Behind All Goals
NaNoWriMo #5 (Maggie Madly Writing) November 5, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, Word Play.comments closed
This list is “on the money.”
Whether you are a writer, know a writer, or intend to become a writer “some day,” you are apt to see the truth in this post.
Me? ~ 8, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 25
Enjoy!
Using Visualization to Ease Chronic Pain November 5, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Health & Wellness, Magick & Mystery.comments closed
If you suffer from Chronic Pain, I recommend reading the following article by Loolwa Khazzoom:
Drug-Free Remedies for Chronic Pain: Escape from Pain without Drugs
Using a compelling case study, Ms. Khazzoom, who blogs at Dancing with Pain, demonstrates how alternative medicine and visualization techniques got Cynthia Toussaint back on her feet again.
Before treatment:
“Bedridden and folded up in a fetal position, she was unable to brush her hair, shower, or use the bathroom unaided. She teetered on the verge of suicide.”
Treatment with Guided Imagery:
“When she first began working with a physical therapist, Toussaint was so sensitive that the slightest touch caused her intense pain. So the therapist, sitting at Toussaint’s bedside, used guided imagery, a deep-relaxation method scientifically proven to reduce pain levels.
In guided imagery, a therapist helps a patient imagine herself in a calming place. Many patients visualize going to the beach or the mountains. Toussaint conjured up a make-believe ballet class, where week after week the therapist followed Toussaint’s verbal cues to guide her through elaborate combinations that she “danced” in her head.”
After treatment:
“Her body quickly began unfolding. Within one month of starting the three-times-a-week guided-imagery sessions, she could sit up, walk around her condominium, and shower without help. Perhaps most significantly, she was able to receive hands-on physical therapy, which further reduced her pain.”
Cover of Guided Imagery for Self-Healing
Why does guided imagery and creative visualization work?
According to Martin Rossman, M.D., author of Guided Imagery for Self-Healing (New World Library, 2000):
Repeated thoughts and emotions create nerve pathways in the brain.
Chronic pain impulses travel along well-worn pathways.
By using techniques such as guided imagery to build new nerve pathways, “the pain pathways can become less active.”
Hmm . . .
If creative visualization works to ease chronic pain . . . think what it could do to improve your mood!
Related posts: What’s The BEST That Could Happen * Creative Visualization
Holiday Travel With Pets November 5, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Animals, Travel & Leisure.comments closed
If you’re traveling this Holiday Season and plan to bring pets along for the ride, here’s a list of tips to keep you on the “right track” and help you avoid “potholes.”
1. If you need pet friendly accommodations en route or at the end of the line, check out Pets On The Go, Pet Friendly Travel, and other sites focused on Traveling with Pets. More and more hotels, motels, and campgrounds are adopting pet friendly policies.
2. If you pets aren’t already “world travelers,” take short jaunts around your home to get them used to riding in the car. Small pets should ride in carriers, and larger pets should be restrained with harnesses.
Tigger, of course, says, “Nothing doing.” He rides on my lap, on a pillow.
3. Bring familiar bedding, food, toys, dishes, and treats so that your pampered pooch or cat feels “at home” in different surroundings.
4. Pack an up-to-date veterinary history and proof of vaccinations ~ especially rabies. Don’t forget any pet meds needed by your furry friend. If your pet gets car sick, or especially nervous, talk to your vet about possible solutions.
5. If your pet must fly the friendly skies, contact the airline early for details about requirements and fees. Smaller pets may be able to ride in a carrier under your seat. Larger pets must fly in USDA-approved kennels and need a current veterinary health certificate, issued shortly before the trip.
6. While driving, stop every few hours to let your dog stretch and relieve himself. Unless your cat is trained on a leash (like Tigger!), leave them in the car at rest stops. We put a litter box in his carrier so that he can take a potty breaks whenever he wants.
7. At your destination, give your pet adequate time to get acclimated to new surroundings before leaving them alone.
Happy Holidays from Tigger!!!
Related posts: 10 Tips for Safer Summer Vacations * Heaven (Or A Reasonable Facsimile)
QUIZ: Do You Get Enough Sunshine? November 5, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Exercise & Fitness, Food & Drink, Health & Wellness.comments closed
According to AARP magazine, as many as 75 percent of Americans may not be getting enough Vitamin D for optimum health.
To learn more, take this quick quiz:
1. Vitamin D is often called the ________ Vitamin because your body produces it when exposed to sunlight.
2. True/False: Vitamin D is good for bones, and for warding off cancer and heart disease.
3. True/False: Studies have found that Vitamin D reduces the risk of colorectal cancer, hip fractures, and tooth loss, and significantly increases muscle strength.
4. To get the Vitamin D value of ten minutes of sunlight, you’d have to eat:
a. Six shitake mushrooms
b. 10 shitake mushrooms
c. 15 shitake mushrooms
d. 6-7 pounds of shitake mushrooms
5. To get the Vitamin D value of ten minutes of sunlight, you’d have to drink:
a. 1 cup of fortified orange juice
b. 3 cups of fortified orange juice
c. 10 cups of fortified orange juice
d. 30 cups of fortified orange juice
6. To get the Vitamin D value of ten minutes of sunlight, you’d have to eat:
a. 1 egg yolk
b. 3 egg yolks
c. 10 egg yolks
d. 150 egg yolks
7. To get the Vitamin D value of ten minutes of sunlight, you’d have to eat:
a. 3 3/4 pounds of fresh farmed salmon
b. 30 servings of fortified cereal
c. 2 1/6 pounds of sardines
8. Between 1994 and 2004, average blood levels of Vitamin D declined because:
a. People aren’t eating enough eggs.
b. People aren’t drinking enough orange juice.
c. People aren’t getting enough sunlight.
d. People aren’t eating enough shitake mushrooms.
9. True/False: To get enough sunshine, doctors are recommending 10-15 minutes of sun exposure a few times a week.
* * * * *
Answers:
1. Vitamin D is often called the Sunshine Vitamin.
2. True. A team of Harvard scientists discovered that among 18,000 men they’ve been tracking since 1993, those with the highest blood levels of Vitamin D were the least likely to have heart attacks.
3. True.
4. D. 6 1/2 pounds of shitake mushrooms
5. D. 30 cups of fortified orange juice
6. D. 150 egg yolks
7. A, B, or C
8. C. We’re not getting enough sunlight because we’ve been told to cover up to avoid skin cancer.
9. True. If you don’t get 10-15 minutes of sunlight at least a few times a week, consider taking a vitamin D supplement daily.
Source: The Sunshine Vitamin: Are You Getting Enough? by Colleen Pierre, R.D., AARP Magazine.
Related article: Q & A on Vitamin D (the Sunshine Vitamin) * Vitamin D to the Rescue * Vitamins from A to Z
Spirit Lights The Way 