The Greatest Mistake

"The greatest mistake you can make in life
is to be continually fearing you will make one."

Elbert Hubbard

Challenging The Status Quo

It’s often uncomfortable to challenge the status quo,

but it’s worth it.

Diet Soda Dangers

Time to nix the diet soda habit. Drinking diet soda every day may raise your risk of a heart attack, stroke and death.
Can’t get by without your daily fix of diet soda? You might want to rethink the habit. Research presented at the International Stroke Conference found that those who drank diet carbonated beverages every day had a 61 percent greater risk of a heart attack, stroke or other deadly cardiac event. This isn’t the first research to find a link between diet soda and health issues. A 2009 study found that diet soda was also associated with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome — a cluster of symptoms, including obesity, belly fat, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Though these studies do not prove that diet soda is the cause of these conditions, it does sound a warning bell. If you have a serious soda habit, you might want to think about cutting back and drinking water, or even seltzer, instead.

Responding

You can have a positive attitude about the events in your life, or you can come from a place of complaint and misery.

You decide.

You can consciously choose to respond in a positive way to almost any event or circumstance-a positive attitude is simply a choice you make.

Cutting Losses

Cutting your losses is often better than the alternative.

Salt

Ordinary table salt undergoes a great deal of processing. It is approximately 97.5 percent sodium chloride and 2.5 percent chemicals, such as iodine and moisture absorbents, dried at over 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit.
This high heat alters the natural chemical structure of the salt. By contrast, unrefined natural salt, such as Himalayan salt, is 84 percent sodium chloride and 16 percent other naturally occurring minerals, including many trace minerals like silicon, phosphorous and vanadium.

Mistakes

"There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth-
not going all the way
and not starting."


The Buddha

Poor Decisions

When you’re caught up in the moment and your emotions are soaring,

you’re bound to make poor decisions.

This is true when you are angry, tired, happy or sad.

Arthritic Pain

Regular physical activity is one of the best ways to reduce pain, improve function and keep you active.
You know exercise is good for your health — but did you know it’s the single best thing you can do to improve your quality of life if you have arthritis? Despite this, a study in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism found that more than 50 percent of women and 40 percent of men with arthritis are bona fide couch potatoes! Don’t give in to your condition. We know that having sore, achy joints doesn’t exactly make you want to leap off the sofa and run a marathon — and you don’t have to. Walking briskly around the mall, hiking nearby trails or swimming laps at your local pool can limber up stiff knees and hips.
Regular, moderate activity can lessen arthritis pain, help you feel in control of your condition and help you perform everyday tasks. It could even prevent disability. Find an activity that you enjoy, and don’t overdo it in the beginning. Prevent soreness and frustration by easing into your workout slowly. Remember that the best program is the one you can stick with.

Vacation!

I will be away on vacation! until September 27, 2011 in beautiful and amazing Sedona, Arizona; our second home.

I will see you all upon my return.

Be well. Be content. Be love.

Perspective

“It isn’t what happens to us that causes us to suffer;

it’s what we say to ourselves about what happens.”

Pema Chodron

Letting Go

Cutting your losses is often better than the alternative.

Lemons

Excellent liver detoxifiers, lemons contain high amounts of vitamin C, a vitamin needed by the body to make an important substance called glutathione.
Glutathione helps the liver detoxify harmful chemicals. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (not the bottled variety) to pure water to support your cleansing efforts on a daily basis.

Creating Self

''People often say that this or that person has not yet found him or herself.
But the self is not something that one finds.
It is something one creates.''

Thomas Szasz

Timing When Making Decisions

When you’re caught up in the moment and your emotions are soaring,
you’re bound to make poor decisions.
This is true for sadness,
anger
and joy.

Going Organic

Research at the Harvard School of Public Health found a 70 percent increase in Parkinson’s disease among people exposed to pesticides.

Choosing organic foods means that more people will be able to work on farms without incurring the higher potential health risk of Parkinson’s or other illnesses.

Inside

''As long as anyone believes that their ideal and purpose is outside them, that it is above the clouds, in the past or in the future, they will go outside themselves and
seek fulfillment where it cannot be found. They will look for solutions and answers at every point except where they can be found--in themselves. ''

Erich Fromm

Hmmmmm.....

Just because you can

doesn’t mean you should.

(Or, that the consequences will not far outweigh any short-term benefits.)

Performance

Overweight diabetic men can boost sexual desire and erectile function by losing just 5% of their body weight.
Overweight men with diabetes may be able to improve bedroom performance by losing a modest amount of weight by restricting calorie intake and improving the nutritional quality of their diet. A new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that dropping just 5 percent of one’s body weight (that’s 10 pounds for someone who clocks in at 200) led to fewer urinary voiding problems and better sexual performance within eight weeks. Men who lost weight saw their erectile function, sexual desire and voiding symptoms continue to improve over the course of a year.
This isn’t the first study to suggest weight problems can lead to trouble between the sheets. Obesity and physical inactivity both increase the risk of erectile dysfunction. Getting moderate amounts of exercise and proper nutrition may promote weight loss and boost cardiovascular health, both of which may help alleviate symptoms in the sack.

Acting "As If"

"All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this:
Act as if it were impossible to fail."

Dorthea Brande

Risking

There’s no such thing as ‘risk free.’

Everything you do or don’t do has an inherent risk.

Apples

Because apples are high in pectin, a type of fiber that binds to cholesterol and heavy metals in the body, they help eliminate toxic build up and to cleanse the intestines.

Self-Pity

"Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it,
we can never do anything wise in this world."

Helen Keller

Musings On A Thursday Morning...

Make your own needs and wants priorities.
Make time for the things you love to do, even if they feel silly, or superficial, or extravagant. If it’s within your means to do it and it doesn’t hurt anyone, don’t worry about justifying–just enjoy!
Use your gifts and talents in the way you want to use them–not the way you think you should.
Speak directly from your heart, without fear of reproach.
If you believe in something, stand behind it, even if you stand alone.
Keep your heart open to the world around you so you can be moved and inspired–and then use that internal illumination to create something that will move and inspire the people around you.

Legumes

Add a handful of cooked beans to your next meal since they are loaded with fiber that helps lower cholesterol, cleanses the intestines, and regulates blood sugar levels.
Legumes also help protect the body against cancer.

The Seed of Peace

In our noisy world, we often find ourselves longing for peace and searching to find it somewhere else. While it’s true that there are places we can visit where we can experience peace, such as sacred sites or buildings, we do not need to wait until we get to one of these places to feel at peace. Instead, we can learn to locate the seed of peace inside ourselves and cultivate it so that it grows into a reliable source of serenity that we can always access, no matter where we are.

We experience peace when we are in a state of mental calm and serenity. It might surprise you to notice how infrequently you allow yourself to be free from anxiety. Realizing this is the first step to inner peace. If you wait until all the details of your life are taken care of to allow yourself to experience peace, you will never feel peaceful because there is always something that your mind can grab onto to create anxiety. It is important to consciously set aside your worries and make time to cultivate inner peace.

Ideally, you could schedule time each day to meditate on peace and experience what it feels like to be calm and serene. It takes practice to learn how to let go of your worries, so give yourself some time. Inhale deeply, and feel your worries dissolve with every exhale. Remind yourself that soon enough you will be able to take care of everything you need to, but right now you are taking a break. As the clutter of your thoughts and concerns clear away, you will start to feel more serene. Allow yourself to move deeper into this state with each inhale. Realize that you have the power to free yourself from anxiety simply by deciding to do so. The more you practice feeling peaceful, the easier it will be for you to feel at peace.

Mistakes

No matter how smart you are,
you will make mistakes.

Celery

Celery and celery seeds are excellent blood cleansers and contain many different anti-cancer compounds that help detoxify cancer cells from the body.
Celery seeds contain over twenty anti-inflammatory substances. It is particularly good for detoxifying substances found in cigarette smoke.

Moving Forward

There is a lesson in everything you do,

and learning the lesson is how you move forward.

NOW

"There is only one time that is important - NOW!
It is the most important time because
it is the only time that we have any power. "

Leo Tolstoy

Pistachios

A study presented at the Experimental Biology conference in Washington, D.C. in April argued why pistachios may be the ideal snack for anyone looking to lose weight.
The research uncovered that not all of the nuts’ fat is absorbed by the body, making them lower in calories than was previously thought.
The findings work against the notion that nuts are too calorie-dense and high in fat to make them good weight-loss aids.

Hmmmm....

It’s usually only as good or bad
as you think it is.

Time To Relax

"The time to relax is when you don't have time for it. "

Sydney Harris



"Far from idleness being the root of all evil,
it is rather the only true good. "

Soren Kierkegaard

Weight Training

Resistance training increases your resting metabolic rate by about 7%, so you’ll burn more calories throughout the day, even while sitting on your duff, according to Tufts University researchers.

Aim for 30 minutes, three times a week.

Doing Our Best

"Simply do your best, and you will avoid
self-judgment, self-abuse and all regret."

Don Miguel Angel Ruiz

Worrying

When you spend time worrying,

you’re simply using your imagination to create things you don’t want.

Be Inclined!

Forget flat treadmill walking; crank up the incline and you’ll jack up the calories burned.

Walking at 4 miles per hour for 30 minutes blasts off 12% more calories on a 2% incline and nearly 35% more calories on a 5% incline!