THE INFINITE

EVERY CELL IN MY BODY IS A UNIVERSE OF ITS OWN.

IT IS INTELLIGENT, IT'S COMPLETE, AND IT'S PROGRAMMED TO BE WHAT IT IS.

TO EVERY CELL IN MY BODY-I AM GOD.

I COME FROM THE INFINITE.

YES!

Coffee junkies, rejoice: Drinking several cups a day (even decaf!) reduces the risk of deadly prostate cancer in men.
Forget toasting to good health. Clang your coffee mugs instead. Java may reduce risk of lethal prostate cancer in men, according to a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that men who drank six cups of coffee a day had a 60 percent lower risk of developing the deadly disease, while men who drank one to three cups had a 30 percent lower risk. Luckily, it didn’t matter whether they chose high-test or decaf, so I recommend switching to decaf once you’re sufficiently wired.
Other choices that may help lower your risk of prostate cancer: Avoid cigarettes and exercise regularly.

Good Ideas

You can’t have good ideas unless you’re willing to generate a lot of bad ones.

Growing

The acquisition of knowledge doesn’t mean you’re growing.

Growing happens when what you know changes how you live.

MBSR

Used to treat chronic pain and depression, mindfulness meditation is now said to be able to change your brain.
In years past, studies have suggested that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is good for your health for a variety of reasons.
MBSR uses mindfulness meditation, which focuses attention on breathing, to develop increased awareness of the present moment and of unconscious thoughts, feelings and behaviors, thereby reducing stress and controlling emotions in order to improve your health.
For example, MBSR is an effective treatment for chronic pain and stress-related elevations in blood pressure. It also helps strengthen the body’s immune system and has proved to be an effective therapy in preventing relapse from clinical depression. Now we can add another benefit: In a study published in January 2011, MBSR is being credited with increasing the brain’s gray matter concentration in regions involved in learning and memory, emotion regulation, self-awareness and how people perceive others in social and emotional situations.
Experts recommend doing mindfulness exercises for a few minutes each day versus packing it all in on the weekends, so that this practice becomes a part of your everyday life. Beginners should seek out a trained mindfulness meditation teacher to start.

When We Forgive

"We are most like God when we forgive."

Anonymous

Revealing

“If we look at the world with a love of life,

the world will reveal its beauty to us.”

Daisaku Ikeda

Mindset

The truth is that we change our mindset at any time. At any moment, we can focus solely on the experience of today, and decide that we deserve the joy and fulfillment of doing precisely what we want to do.
On any day, we can stop fixating on the ticking clock that we can’t possibly control, and make this day count, regardless of what we’ve done on the days that have passed. We are the only people who can decide that we are not powerless, and we are the only people who can use our power to make today count.

The Benefits of Tai-Chi

Why you should get Grandma to do tai chi: The low-impact exercise reduces stress and improves sleep, balance, mood and immune function.
Worried about your parents’ health? Offer to take a tai chi class with them. The mind-body workout is gentle and easy on the joints, which makes it a perfect fitness routine for seniors or people with chronic pain. The fluid movements help improve strength, balance and coordination — all extremely important in the over-60 set. The more sedentary you are, the less steady you become on your feet.
Falling can be particularly dangerous for those who are frail or already in poor health. The benefits of tai chi extend beyond the physical. The martial art, which combines yoga-like postures with deep breathing and relaxation, helps promote better sleep and emotional well-being too.

Excellence

"The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it."

Pearl Buck

Focusing On Creating Change

Occasionally we need to vent to express our feelings about things that trouble us, and sometimes it’s a proactive way to find solutions. Other times, it’s an energy drainer that brings other people down and saps both productivity and creativity.
Save your energy by focusing on creating change. If there is no fix, focus on doing what you do well. That way, you’re more likely to work your way to a viable solution instead of complaining your way further away from one.

Workout Motivation

Need workout motivation? Don’t focus on achieving the perfect body. Hinging exercise on weight loss can undermine efforts.
If you can’t seem to muster the motivation to hit the gym, it may be time to rethink your reasons for going. Working out for the sake of how you look can actually discourage you from exercise. Instead of viewing physical activity as a means to a better-looking body, think of it as a way to stay healthy and feel great. Though you will burn calories, melt fat and build muscle, regular physical activity can also reduce stress, banish bad moods, ramp up energy levels and boost self-esteem.

Resistance

"Resistance creates suffering.
Stress happens when your mind resists what is.
The only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds."

Dan Millman

"Do not attempt to conquer the world with force,
for force only causes resistance. "

Lao Tzu

Retreating

Occasionally, we need to pause - and step away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. One way to do this is to get away from our daily life and go on retreat. Far more than a vacation, a retreat offers us time to ourselves to rest, heal, reflect, and renew our spirit. It is a time to cocoon so that we may emerge renewed, refreshed, and ready to return to our everyday lives with a new perspective. A retreat gives us time for uninterrupted meditation so that we may go deep within and spend time with ourselves.
A retreat may offer quiet, solitude, and sometimes even silence. Retreats often take place in humble dwellings with simple fare so that our senses may be reawakened to the beauty of unadorned tastes and the sights and sounds of nature. When we spend days in contemplation, we can more easily hear our heart when it speaks to us. We also are able to really listen when a bird sings, deeply breathe in the smell of flowers, grass, or earth, and delight in a soft breeze blowing on our cheek. When we go on retreat we have time to connect to the sacred geometry of a labyrinth, discover epiphanies through asanas, or take a long, reflective walk through the woods where we can give each step our full attention.
Without the pull of deadlines, relationships, the Internet, or other media, we give ourselves time to go deep into our own solitude where we can fully reflect on our joys, sorrows, and fears, owning and releasing them as needed. We may even come to know and understand our life path more deeply. Hopefully, when we return home, we can take a little bit of this time alone back with us and create the space for deep reflection on a daily basis. We also may come back to our life renewed and ready to take on the world. The beauty of going on retreat is that no matter where you go or how long you stay, you’ll always meet yourself when you get there.

Healthy Weight Loss

In the long run, repeated episodes of unhealthy weight-loss attempts are more likely to cause damage to our body and outweigh the health benefits of short-term weight loss. That doesn't mean it's better to stay at an unhealthy weight. We just have to make sure that we are losing weight in a healthy way and are able to maintain that weight loss.
It takes about a 500-calorie deficit per day to lose about 1 pound per week. If you incorporate exercise that burns an additional 500 calories per day, then you can lose 2 pounds per week. My recommendation would be to aim to lose no more than 2 pounds per week on average. "On average" takes into consideration that the initial weeks may result in greater weight loss because of the loss of retained fluids from exchanging fatty, salty foods for a healthier, more balanced diet.
Overall, you should average out to about 2 pounds per week. If you are losing more than that, then you are more likely resorting to less-healthy methods of weight loss, which can hurt your metabolism and health in the long-term.

Indicates Fate

"What a man thinks of himself ,
that it is which determines,
or rather, indicates, his fate."

Henry David Thoreau

True Self-Worth

You can't be lifted up by anyone or anything any higher than you're willing to lift yourself up.
You can't be put down by anyone or anything any lower than you're willing to put yourself down.
No one will lift you up any higher than yourself.
No one will put you down any lower than yourself.
True self-worth stems from within , and when you're focused on an inspired purpose , neither praise nor reprimand can bump you off your course.

The Willpower Advantage

Tempted to give up? Don’t. Your beliefs about willpower determine how long and how well you’re able to work on a tough mental exercise.
Think you don’t have what it takes to finish a difficult project? According to researchers at Stanford University, your beliefs about willpower greatly influence how long and how well you’re able to perform a difficult task.
If you think of willpower as something that’s limited, you’re more likely to tire out when working on a challenge. Believing self-discipline is not easily depleted, on the other hand, will allow you to persevere for longer. The same holds true for procrastinating and taking breaks. Thinking that your brain needs a few minutes to recharge determines how long you’ll be able to stick with a task before losing focus.
According to procrastination expert Piers Steel, willpower has enormous reserves, and trusting in your ability will help you accomplish your goals.

After Awhile

After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul.
You learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company doesn't mean security.
You begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises.
You begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead, with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child.
And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans, and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to leave you flowers.
You learn that you really can endure;
You really are strong, you really do have worth.
And you learn, and you learn
With every goodbye you learn.

Showing Up For Ourselves

The way we show up for our lives today and tomorrow has an enormous affect on who we will be and what we will be experiencing years from now.
If we can remain fully engaged in the day at hand, enjoying all it has to offer and putting our energy into making the most of it, we will find that we are perfectly ready and capable to handle any future when it arrives.

The Sunshine

“If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm,

you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.”

Morris West

The Voice of Fear

Fear tells us to hold on for dear life or else something bad might happen.
Fear tells us to cling to the people we love so that we will not lose them.
Fear tells us not to share what we have or else we might not have enough.
Fear tells us not to spend any money because we might need what we give up.
Fear is the voice that says, “Don’t let go,” but it’s only when we release and free our arms that we’re ready to receive.
It’s not because giving always equals getting–it’s because we generally don’t open ourselves to what might be when we’re cowering in fear, clutching onto what is.

Happiness and Our Thoughts

To gain happiness, you must learn to enjoy that which you have. It is not how much you have. It is what we think about that which we have that produces happiness.
In building a happy, contented life, you must give happiness to others. No one living unto him or herself will ever be contented with his or her lot. Your happiness is reflected upon you through the service you give to others. And the thought you give to the creation of happiness will attract a happiness-service from others.
Start creating the happiness-habit by producing happy, love-filled thoughts. Happiness is an attribute of love; therefore, you can never be happy until you give your love to others.

Overweight and Dementia

Slim down now to stay sharp. Being overweight or obese in midlife may increase the risk of dementia by 80 percent.
Why you should mind your weight in middle age: Packing on the pounds now could up your risk of dementia later. People who were overweight or obese at midlife had an 80 percent greater risk of later-life dementia, compared to those with a normal body mass index. That’s according to a study published in the journal Neurology.
It can be especially difficult — and dangerous — to lose weight as you get older. Seniors may lose muscle and bone mass, along with fat, when they diet, which boosts their risk of frailty.
Getting your weight in check now can help ensure that your golden years are ones to remember. Incorporate at least 30 minutes of physical activity into your weight loss plan to boost your chances of success — and to keep bone loss to a minimum.

A Part Of Us

"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose.

All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. "

Helen Keller
(1880-1968)

Letting Go

To let go isn't to forget, not to think about, or ignore. It doesn't leave feelings of anger, jealousy, or regret.
Letting go isn't about winning or losing. It's not about pride and it's not about how you appear, and it's not obsessing or dwelling on the past.
Letting go isn't blocking memories or thinking sad thoughts, and it doesn't leave emptiness, hurt, or sadness. It's not about giving in or giving up.
Letting go isn't about loss and it's not about defeat. To let go is to cherish the memories, but to overcome and move on. It is having an open mind and confidence in the future.
Letting go is learning and experiencing and growing. To let go is to be thankful for the experiences that made you laugh, made you cry, and made you grow. It's about all that you have, all that you had, and all that you will soon gain.
Letting go is having the courage to accept change, and the strength to keep moving.
Letting go is growing up. It is realizing that the heart can sometimes be the most potent remedy.

To let go is to open a door, and to clear a path and set yourself free.

Fast Food Dangers

Tempted to swing by the burger mart? Don’t. Even one fast-food meal can pummel your arteries and put you on the road to atherosclerosis.
Did you just fall off the fast-food wagon? A steady high-fat diet can wreak havoc on the delicate inner lining of your arteries and leads to arterial disease, but even a single high-fat meal can spike triglyceride rich lipoprotein (TGRL) — a type of blood lipid that can incite inflammation within arterial walls. This inflammation can lead to atherosclerosis, the leading cause of heart attacks, stroke and peripheral vascular disease.
Just how many meals does it take? We can’t say for sure. But one recent study found that the effect of a high-fat meal on blood vessel walls can vary widely, depending on factors like waist size and baseline triglyceride levels.
If your triglycerides are already above normal (150 mg/dL) or your waist is wider than 32 inches, fatty meals may trigger increases in TGRL, which then cause the lining of the arteries to mount an inflammatory response that over time can result in vascular disease. This suggests that, for certain people, it takes a lot fewer stops at the drive-thru to do serious damage to your blood vessels.
Avoid playing Russian roulette with your heart and opt for healthy, whole foods instead.

Moving Forward

Everything you know is based on what has already happened in your life. And yet, your only influence right now is over things that have not yet happened. The things that have already happened have gotten you to where you are right now. What you need to be concerned with, however, is where to go from here.
Because you're so intimately familiar with your own past, it may seem that you have no choice but to continue moving in the same direction as before. But that is not true. Your future does not equal your past. Right now, there are an infinite number of paths which you can take. The one you're currently on is only one of them. Any of the rest are available to you.
If you're completely satisfied with where you're going, then by all means keep on going that way. But there is no reason in the world why you have to keep following that same path if it is not bringing you full and lasting fulfillment.
Every moment you have a choice, regardless of what has happened before. Choose right now to move forward, positively and confidently into your incredible future.

Advice Defined

"Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer
but wish we didn't. "


Erica Jong

Today-Part 2

Today, I want to contribute pleasantness whenever I meet someone, whether I know them or not. I don't have to wear a pasted-on smile in order to be pleasant, but I do have to avoid sarcasm or judgment. When people receive my pleasantness, it may be the first pleasantness of their day, so I'll try to be very pleasant.
I'd also like to contribute kindness to this new day. This means that I must use words that are kind and act in a kindly way, avoiding looks and actions and words that simply are not kind. Perhaps someone will appreciate this kindness and pass it on to someone else.

Being Gentle With Oneself

“Be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars.

In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.”

Max Ehrmann

Confidence

People often think confidence means knowing you can create the outcome you desire. To some extent it does, but this idea isn’t universally true for anyone. No matter how talented, smart, or capable you are, you cannot predict or control everything that happens in your life.
Even confident people lose jobs, relationships, and even their health.
Confidence comes from knowing your competence but acknowledging it’s not solely responsible for creating your world. When you take that weight off your shoulders and realize that sometimes the twists and turns have nothing to do with what you did or should have done, it’s easier to feel confident in what you bring to the table.

Muscle Loss As We Age

Muscle loss begins in your 30s, but older doesn’t have to mean flabbier. Preserve muscle mass with strength-training exercises.
I honestly am not trying to scare you into action, but sedentary people over the age of 50 lose muscle at a rate of 0.4 pounds per year. Though muscle loss gets worse as you get older, even young adults aren’t immune.
For people who spend more time on the couch than on their feet, muscle loss can kick in as early as your 30s. Luckily, you can combat flaccid biceps and gelatin thighs with regular strength-training activities.
Not only can strength training prevent muscle loss, it also builds bone density and boosts metabolic burn. A study in the American Journal of Medicine found that, in 18 to 20 weeks, people were able to increase their muscle strength by 25 to 30 percent and boost muscle mass by 2.42 pounds.
If you don’t have access to a gym or weights, do exercises that rely on your body weight for resistance, like squats, lunges, leg lifts, dips, planks and push-ups.

Today-Part 1

There are some things that I want to avoid trying to contribute.

I don't want to try to give someone else my way of doing things and expect them to do things that way.

I really don't need to share my opinions as often as I tend to, except when asked.

I really want to avoid sharing criticism and judgment, and I don't want to issue ultimatums to get people to do things I want them to do.

I don't need to express my anger or frustration all the time, and it probably would be helpful if I refrained from contributing what I know about other people--gossip never helps anyone.

What We Learn

We Learn...
10% of what we read,
20% of what we hear,
30% of what we see,
50% of what we see and hear,
70% of what we discuss,
80% of what we experience,
and 95% of what we teach others.


William Glasser

Self Acceptance and Body Image

Practice self-acceptance: People with a better body image are less likely to be emotional eaters and naturally have healthier eating habits.
Dieting to feel better about yourself? It’s no secret that many of us turn to dieting out of dissatisfaction with how we look. But research in the Journal of Counseling Psychology shows that those who felt comfortable with their body image had a slightly lower body mass index (BMI) and were less likely to be emotional eaters. These people were more likely to be “intuitive” eaters, that is to say that they ate when hungry and stopped when they felt full.
Ditch the crash diets and focus on self-acceptance. People who accept how they look are more likely to eat healthfully than those with a poor body image. What’s more, a study at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health found that body image is a greater predictor of mental and physical health than one’s BMI. In other words, your view of your body has a bigger impact than your actual weight on your health.
To improve your self-image, get moving.
Physical activity can make you feel better about how you look and build self-esteem.

As We Find It

''We win half the battle when we make up our minds to take the world as we find it, including the thorns.''

Orison Swett Marden

Success Intelligence

Success Intelligence recognizes the value of happiness.
It knows happiness is an important goal because happiness is a great teacher. The more you learn about happiness, the better you can distinguish between deep joy and fleeting pleasures.
True happiness is an inner guide that teaches a person how to live well. In particular, happiness can teach a person a lot about success. True happiness is valuable because, for example, it is a sign of authenticity, and it is a way of knowing you are on purpose.
Happiness also brings out the best in us. When we are happy we relate better with others. We feel more connected, we are less afraid, and we are more confident. Our inner happiness is attractive, literally, in that it attracts happy relationships. When we are happy we also work better.
Occupational psychology research confirms that if you can say “I am happy in my work,” you are likely to be more productive, more creative, and more successful and experience less stress, less depression, and less mental illness. True happiness enables us to be more successful.

The Cost of Liposuction

Considering liposuction? All fat removed during the procedure returns within a year. Save your money; invest in a personal trainer instead.
Daydreaming of the day you’ll be able to afford liposuction? Save your pennies or spend them on a personal trainer instead. A new study in the journal Obesity shows that all of the fat lost during liposuction returns a year later — and gets redistributed in different areas of the body.
For the study, a group of healthy, bottom-heavy women received liposuction on their thighs and lower abdomen. Another group, which served as the control, did not receive the procedure. Throughout the course of the study, all participants agreed not to alter their lifestyle habits. One year after surgery, all of the lost body fat had come back. While the thighs remained thin, the fat relocated to the arms and upper abdominal area. The body works to maintain its fat stores by replenishing what’s been lost. But the procedure may cause too much trauma for the cells to regenerate where they were removed.
If you don’t mind trading in one flabby body part for another, liposuction may still be for you. But if you want to be svelte from head to toe, my advice is to stick with your fitness routine.

SELF-LOVE

IMPECCABILITY OF THE WORD CAN BE MEASURED BY YOUR LEVEL OF SELF-LOVE.

IF YOU LOVE YOURSELF, YOU WILL EXPRESS THAT LOVE IN YOUR INTERACTIONS WITH OTHERS.

THAT ACTION WILL PRODUCE A LIKE REACTION.

A Newborn Child With No Name

"Do not say, 'It is morning,' and dismiss it with a name of yesterday.
See it for the first time as a newborn child that has no name."

Rabindranath Tagore

The Dangers of Saturated fat

Saturated fat isn’t just bad for the heart — it can increase the risk of diabetes, too. To limit your intake, avoid red meat and full-fat. Chew the right fat (in moderation, of course). We all know that saturated fat — found primarily in meat and dairy products — can send our cholesterol soaring like a hot air balloon. But that’s not the only trouble it causes.
A diet high in saturated fat is also a key contributor to type 2 diabetes. Here’s why: Saturated fat riles up the immune system, telling it to produce an inflammatory protein called interleukin-1beta. That protein then wreaks mischief of its own, telling our organs to give insulin the cold shoulder. Insulin is the hormone that removes sugar from the bloodstream and stores it as energy in our muscle and fat cells. When the body is insulin-resistant, those cells have a harder time taking in the sugar, or glucose. The body produces more insulin in response until finally the muscle and fat cells open their doors and take in the sugar.
Diabetes occurs when the body can’t produce enough insulin to convince the cells to absorb the glucose. This results in a high level of sugar in the bloodstream that the body doesn’t know how to use. Kind of takes all the fun out of eating bacon, doesn’t it?
Help reduce your chances of diabetes — and cardiovascular disease — by limiting your saturated fat to less than seven percent of your calories and by eating 100 percent whole wheat or whole grain foods in place of processed foods. Calculate how many grams that is by taking your daily calorie consumption and multiplying it by 0.07. Divide that number by 9 (the number of calories per gram of fat). As a rough guide, someone on a 2,000-calorie diet should eat no more than 15 grams of saturated fat a day.

Thank You

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, Thank you,

that would suffice."

Meister Eckhart

The HALT Technique

There is a very effective technique to stop emotional eating called HALT.
It reminds you to ask yourself if you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired before reaching for food as a comforting tool.
These emotions are strong binge triggers, so eating for the sake of eating while feeling them is not a good idea. Figure out what you are really feeling and distract yourself for a little while to address the problem mentally. Once you know why you want to eat and what the root cause is, do something about it or decide not to. Make it your choice, your decision and put things into your hands again.
You are now in control.

Allowing Ourselves To Be Conquered

"He who angers you conquers you."

Elizabeth Kenny

Hopes and Dreams

"Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential.
Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. "


Pope John XXIII

Interconnectedness

Accepting the importance of spirituality can be a healthy decision, because a spiritual practice tends to include habits that promote healthy living.
Take the time to carefully determine the action, thought, and ritual that most speaks to your soul. Remember that your most profound spiritual experiences may also come from the simple intricacies that make up your life. See the interconnectedness of all things.
As you explore your “inner work,” you will be walking your spiritual path and feeling your oneness with others and everything around you.

Lean Protein

Include lean protein in every meal to help keep late-night munchies at bay. Research shows it helps keep dieters satisfied and on track.
If you’re trying to cut back on calories and shed weight, getting adequate levels of protein will help you stay full for longer. Researchers at Perdue University found that dieters who derived 25 percent of their calories from lean protein felt more satisfied and had less desire to snack at night.
As a rule of thumb, dedicate one-quarter of your plate to healthful sources like fish, beans or poultry. As for the rest of your plate, give 50 percent of the real estate to veggies and the remaining 25 percent to whole grains such as quinoa or brown rice, or a starchy vegetable like sweet potatoes.

Having Peace

"If we have no peace,
it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

Mother Teresa

Taking Responsibility

There is one key factor that can do more to guarantee your success in life than anything else.
That key factor is RESPONSIBILITY.
Responsibility in its widest sense is extremely positive.
It means that YOU, and nobody else, has control of your life. If you have control, then YOU can change things. You have the power. It is not in somebody else's hands.
Responsibility is not a popular doctrine. Instead, the world is full of people who give away their power to others by refusing to accept responsibility in their lives. They make excuses and find someone else to blame for their misfortunes or failed dreams.