Courage

Succeeded

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children,
to leave the world a better place,
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived,
this is to have succeeded.


Ralph Waldo Emerson

Living Out Loud

Living out loud means having the courage to be exactly who you are without apology. It means admitting your mistakes without beating yourself up. It means not taking who you are and what you have for granted. Release all shame!
 You cannot live out loud if you are hiding behind what was. Living out loud means focusing on what is, right now.

Trans Fats

Slash trans fat from your diet — especially if you’re a postmenopausal woman. New research in the Annals of Neurology suggests that women over 50 who consumed the most trans fat (about six grams a day) had a nearly 40 percent increased risk of stroke, compared with those who ate the least.
 But don’t assume the fat is safe to eat if you’re a man or haven’t yet experienced the midlife change. Partially hydrogenated fat packs a double whammy against the heart, lowering “helpful” HDL cholesterol while raising “lousy” LDL cholesterol.
 Even if a product claims to be trans-fat-free, you still need to read the ingredients label. Food manufacturers can say their food contains no trans fat as long as there is only half a gram or less per serving. That means, if you eat three servings of a so-called trans-fat-free snack, you could potentially consume nearly 1.5 grams of trans fat in one sitting. Check ingredients for the words “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated,” and if either is present, don’t put the item in your shopping cart.

The Present Moment

Noticing

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.


Carl Jung

Compassion

 I can recognize that everyone is going through their own trials and realize that I can have no idea at all of what they’re feeling–what kind of pain they’re in, or what kind of sorrow they feel.

And I can feel and show compassion for them all.

Green Tea and Cholesterol

If you enjoy green tea, you may be able to get a modest cholesterol-lowering benefit from your habit. But don’t expect it to take the place of a statin or other doctor-prescribed treatment.

 Last year, a report in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition analyzed data from 14 studies on the effects of green tea on cholesterol. What they found was, compared with people who took placebos, those who drank green tea daily for several months saw their total and “lousy” LDL cholesterol fall. The green tea drinkers registered total cholesterol levels 7.2 mg/dL lower and LDL levels 2.2 mg/dL lower than when they started. While that’s not a huge improvement, every little bit can help. The researchers speculate that the cholesterol-lowering benefit may come from chemicals known as catechins, which decrease the absorption of cholesterol in the gut.
To boost the amount of catechins your body can use, you might want to add lemon juice to your mug. A separate study on tea found that squeezing the citrus into your brew helps preserve more of these compounds as they make their way through your digestive tract.

Imitation

Love and Fear

Love is what we were born with.

Fear is what we learned here.
Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love.
The real miracle is the love that inspires them.
In this sense everything that comes from love is a miracle.


 Marianne Williamson

Vision

How can you develop a self-concept linked to your untapped potential? First, you can decide on the kind of life you would like to lead in ten or fifteen years. This will give you a standard for making decisions about current activities and will reduce the inclination to compare yourself unfavorably to others. Learn to ask, "How would I handle this situation were I the person I hope to become?" And then take action in line with your vision.

If an activity has no relationship to your vision, you may realize that you don't want to choose it. Would the person that you want to be take on those extra tasks, drive a particular automobile, engage in particular business practices? Defining your vision will minimize your indecision in making choices about matters unrelated to your goals.

Sleep and Aging

A new study suggests that people sleep better — not worse — as they age.
 The study found that sleep quality seems to improve over a lifetime, with the fewest complaints coming from people in their 80s.

This challenges the notion that older people have more sleep issues, and it suggests that physicians should pay more attention to older patients who complain that they don’t sleep through the night.

True Enlightenment

Eyes

Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?


 Henry David Thoreau

Perspective

In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and
consider seven generations in the future
when making decisions that affect the people.


 Wilma Mankiller

Fitness Goals

There are a lot of reasons why so many of us drop out of an exercise routine. For starters, we jump into a program that’s too ambitious (read: unrealistic) to maintain. When we don’t stick with it, because it’s too demanding, we get discouraged and drop out completely. If you don’t work out at all, deciding that you’re going to exercise every day from now on is not a realistic goal. Instead, start with two days a week. Once you’ve gotten that down, tack another day of exercise on.
Setting goals that you can meet feels good and will empower you to keep going. Don’t take on a workout that leaves you sore for days. Boot-camp-style fitness may be all the rage, because it promises immediate results. But you’ll get those results only if you do it consistently. And for the majority of us, that type of workout isn’t one that we can do day in and day out. Instead, adopt a slow-and-steady philosophy with activities that you enjoy, and build your way up to tougher workouts when what you’re doing becomes easy.

Free

Accept, Then Act

Strength

Kindness

Loved

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength;
loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Lao Tzu

Loving Myself

My primary relationship is with myself--all others are mirrors of it.
As I learn to love myself, I automatically receive the love and appreciation
that I desire from others. If I am committed to myself and to living
my truth, I will attract others with equal commitment.
My willingness to be intimate with my own deep feelings creates the space for intimacy with another. As I learn to love myself, I receive the love I desire from others.

Shakti Gawain

Abdominal Breathing

Breathing is the basis for many different stress reduction techniques — as long as you take the correct approach. The best way to use your breath for relaxation is to breathe from your abdomen. A lot of people, however, take shallow breaths from their chest, especially when they’re under stress. This can make you feel short of breath and even more anxious.

Deep abdominal breathing, on the other hand, can help slow down the heart rate and stabilize blood pressure. But it does take practice. When you inhale deeply, the air should fully fill your lungs, and the lower belly rise.

To make sure you’re breathing from your belly, lie down and place one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Inhale and notice if the hand on your chest or stomach rises. Inhale again, this time trying to push up the hand on your stomach. Let out a slow breath and feel your abdomen move down again. Repeat this a few times and compare how you feel now with how you felt before this exercise. Once you get the hang of it, you can do this relaxation method any time you feel stress taking over.

Compassion

Portion

"The only gift is a portion of thyself".

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Defensiveness

Our first natural reaction in a disagreeable situation is to be defensive. Be careful. Keep calm and watch our for your first reaction. It may be you at your worst, not your best.

Citrus

A new study in the journal Stroke found that those who ate the most citrus — especially oranges and grapefruit — had a 19 percent lower risk of stroke than those who ate the least.

Compounds in these juicy treats, known as flavonoids, may help protect against blood-clot-related strokes by improving blood vessel function and lowering inflammation in the body.

While orange juice and grapefruit juice will work, it’s best to eat the whole fruit versions to keep your sugar consumption down and to reap all of the other nutritional benefits, like fiber.

BE You

Solitude

Language has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone.
And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.

Paul Tillich

Love Of Life

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

the world will reveal its beauty to us.”

Daisaku Ikeda

Predisposition

Just because chubbiness runs in your family doesn’t mean it’s your destiny too. Research suggests that daily physical activity can neutralize a genetic predisposition to gain weight. When researchers looked at people with inherited obesity genes, compared with couch potatoes, those who walked briskly for an hour a day had a lower body mass index.
While the weight difference in this study was just a few pounds, other research has shown a more considerable benefit. A 2010 study found that staying physically active could reduce one’s tendency toward obesity by 40 percent.
If you want to be successful in sticking with an exercise routine, find an activity or two that you enjoy and won’t mind doing daily.

Lights

Assumptions

"The problem with making assumptions
is that we believe they are the truth".

don Miguel Ruiz

Consent

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent".

Eleanor Roosevelt

Sea Salt and Sodium Intake

Sea salt is marketed as a healthier and all-natural alternative to conventional salt, so why wouldn’t you think it’s okay to douse it liberally on everything from potatoes to chicken? In fact, sea salt is nearly identical in chemical makeup to table salt, and they contain the same amount of sodium. Since Americans already devour more than twice the amount they need, there’s no reason to shake salt of any kind on your food. A pinch here and there may not seem like much, but they can add up quickly. Besides, what we shake onto our plates isn’t the only source of sodium in our diets. We get most of it from processed and prepared foods, like bread, soup, frozen entrees and fast food.

Dietary guidelines recommend that we limit our sodium to less than 2,300 mg a day; and even further to 1,500 mg if you’re age 51 or older, or of African descent, or have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease.

Necessities

Work

The trick is in what one emphasizes.
We either make ourselves miserable,
or we make ourselves happy.
The amount of work is the same.

Carlos Castaneda

Deserving

“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
Buddha

Fiber and Belly Fat

According to a study in the journal Obesity, you can zero in on visceral belly fat by exercising and chowing down on fruits, vegetables and beans that are high in soluble fiber.
The study found that for every 10-gram increase in soluble fiber a day, visceral fat was reduced by 3.7 percent over five years. You can reach that amount by eating two small apples, one cup of green peas and half a cup of pinto beans.

Meanwhile, working out vigorously for 30 minutes two to four times a week (think jogging or speed walking) slowed down the rate of fat accumulation by 7.4 percent over the same time period.

Becoming

Inner Peace

Choose Inner Peace.
Nothing is worth losing your inner peace.
Take action as circumstances require,
but never surrender your inner peace.
Stop. Breathe deeply.
Close your eyes and breathe deeply again.
Then, and only then, take action -
from a peaceful heart.

Jonathan Lockwood Huie

People

People come into your life either
for a reason,
a season,
or a lifetime.

Headphones and Exercise

Don’t let your workout be hazardous to your health. If you listen to headphones when you walk or run, you might want to rethink that habit — or choose a route less traveled. Using an MP3 player or iPhone can make people unaware of their surroundings; this can be especially dangerous in high-traffic areas.

According to a new report, injuries to pedestrians wearing headphones have tripled in recent years. More sobering: 70 percent of the injuries were fatal. Even if you have your volume turned down low, you can still be distracted. Play it safe and save the tunes for workouts in the park or at the gym.

Begin

Re-Framing Difficulties

"The less I take the difficulties of my life as personal affront,
and the more I use them as an opportunity to learn and grow...
the easier I sleep at night".

Mary Anne Radmacher

Cloud Watching Meditation

When was the last time you lay on the grass and watched the clouds float by in the sky above you? I’ll bet you did it as a child but haven’t done it nearly as much as an adult.
Cloud-watching clears the mind and brings calm to all your senses. Try it in the evening when sunset paints the clouds with pink and orange, on sunny days with a buzzing soundtrack of insects, or on a stormy day when you can watch 10 shades of grey roll past in just a few minutes.

Post Workout Massage

Getting a massage after your workout can help reduce muscle inflammation and pain and keep you from hobbling around the following day.

This is especially good news for people who don’t take over-the-counter pain relievers. According to the study, massages help stimulate cellular changes that deactivate inflammatory proteins, resulting in less pain.

Choosing

Rising

Finding peace and happiness doesn't depend on getting rid of all conflicts and problems in life.
Rather, finding peace and happiness depends on learning how to deal with those problems and conflicts and knowing how to rise above them to enjoy the good things.

Every Thought

Every thought is a fork in the road.

Overcooking

Eating broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage, to name a few) may help ward off cancer. But how you prepare them makes all the difference.
The plants contain chemicals known as isothiocyanates that hunt down cancer cells and kill them off quickly. Overcook your veggies, though, and those seek-and-destroy compounds fail to materialize. So, instead, lightly steam your broccoli for two to four minutes; this will help preserve the cancer-fighting agents as well as other heat-sensitive nutrients, like vitamin C.
To get the most cancer protection, aim for three to five servings of cruciferous vegetables a week.