A nice article of Martha Beck about facing fear on www.oprah.com:
“When you shoot,” my friend Jim, a hockey player, once told me, “you never want to look at the goalie. Look at the space around him. Where your eyes go, the puck goes.” A white-water kayaker warned me, “Look at the water, not at the rocks. Where your eyes go, the boat goes.” My riding instructor shouted, “Look where you want to go, not where you don’t. Where your eyes go, the horse goes.”
… Let’s just anticipate that we (all of us) will disappoint ourselves somehow in the decade to come. Go ahead and let it happen. Let somebody else be a better mother than you for one afternoon. Let somebody else go to art school. Let somebody else have a happy marriage, while you foolishly pick the wrong guy. (Hell, I’ve done it; it’s survivable.) While you’re at it, take the wrong job. Move to the wrong city. Lose your temper in front of the boss, quit training for that marathon, wolf down a truckload of cupcakes the day after you start your diet. Blow it all catastrophically, in fact, and then start over with good cheer. This is what we all must learn to do, for this is how maps get charted—by taking wrong turns that lead to surprising passageways that open into spectacularly unexpected new worlds. So just march on. Future generations will thank you—trust me—for showing the way, for beating brave new footpaths out of wonky old mistakes.
Fall flat on your face if you must, but please, for the sake of us all, do not stop. Map your own life.
For the preceding part of this wonderful article by Elizabeth Gilbert, go HERE
Interesting article on Oprah.com by Martha Beck:
There was a time when I thought such small-scale enjoyment, in a world so filled with suffering, was a crime in itself. It was hard to take a bite of my overabundant food, hug my healthy children, or drive one fossil-fueled mile without pangs of guilt. The only moral thing to do, I believed, was to sustain an attentive misery, honoring the pain and danger in this world. But over the years, as I’ve seen what leads to positive change and what doesn’t, I’ve become a sort of joy hound. I now agree with the poet Jack Gilbert: “We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world.” This isn’t narcissistic pleasure-seeking. It’s the way to make your own life work and give your best to the world.
An interesting article on Oprah.com about listening to your ‘vocation’. It’s written by Parker J. Palmer: author, educator, and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change.
‘I’ve come to understand vocation not as a goal to be achieved but as a gift to be received—the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation doesn’t come from a voice “out there” calling me to become something I’m not. It comes from a voice “in here” calling me to be the person I was born to be.’
The full article you can read HERE
Many different studies have shown that focused breathing not only reduces stress and anxiety, but is also good for your overall health.
For example, a study in the American Journal of Hypertension found that it helps lower your blood pressure. The same study also showed a 23% decrease in the use of antihypertensive drugs among people who practiced focused breathing (1). Another study in the British Medical Journal found that mind-body relaxation techniques significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks (2). While a Harvard study concluded that focused breathing can reduce pain and the production of the stress hormone, cortisol (3). That’s important because increased levels of cortisol are associated with abnormal aging.
How
• Find a quiet comfortable place to sit. Rest your hands in your lap and close your eyes.
• For the first few minutes, focus on the natural rhythm of your breath. Start by inhaling through your nose – holding your breath for a moment – and then exhaling through your mouth. While you’re doing this, feel your muscles starting to unwind and visualize these simple words: I’m letting go.
• As you continue to breathe slowly, focus your concentration on the muscles of your eyes. As you breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, imagine this feeling of comfort moving from your eyes up towards your brow, around your ears and over your head. As your face starts to relax, bring the corners of your mouth up into a gentle smile.
• Allow yourself to release everything you may be holding on to (fear, worry, constriction). Not by pushing them away, but by letting go of them a bit, with every exhale. If your attention drifts to other things redirect it to your breath.
Once a day
Try focused breathing at least once a day. Twice a day is even better. You’ll find that it not only improves your mental and emotional health, but it also improves your overall sense of well-being.
(Source: newsletter Al Sears, MD)
1 Schneider R.H., et al., “A randomized controlled trial of stress reduction in the treatment of hypertension in African Americans during one year,” American Journal of Hypertension 2005;18(1):88-98
2 Patel C, Marmot M.G., Terry D.J., et al., “Trial of relaxation in reducing coronary risk: four year follow up,” Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Apr 13;290(6475):1103–6
3 Nidich S, et al., “A randomized controlled trial on effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on blood pressure, psychological distress, and coping in young adults,” Am J Hypertens. 2009 Dec;22(12):1326-31
On Oprah.com I found an interesting article of Martha Beck on how power of thought can reduce stress and can make your life happier and more relaxed.
“Shortly after World War II, executives at Japan’s Toyota Motor Company made a decision from which, I believe, we all can benefit. They decided to make cars the way they’d make, say, sushi. Unlike most manufacturers, which bought and stored massive stockpiles of supplies, Toyota began ordering just enough parts to keep their lines moving, just when those parts were needed. This made them spectacularly productive, and turned the phrase “just in time” into business legend.
I know of the Toyota case because in my former life as an academic, I taught international business management. My students and I had some rousing discussions about just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing, as well as its alternative, which is known as just-in-case (JIC) inventory. These students were the first people who hired me as a life coach (perhaps because I could never resist applying business theory to everyday life). When we discussed JIT versus JIC management as a lifestyle strategy, we concluded that Toyota’s business innovation could positively impact all of our lives. If you feel overburdened, overstressed, and anxious, I’m betting the same is true for you.”
The rest of the article you can find HERE
Most regular sunscreens are cocktails of chemical agents that are not very good for your health. Since your skin is semi permeable, it lets through most of these agents. In the long run (and together with al the other toxic cosmetic products you might be using) they can intoxicate your body to a level of minor or even serious health problems.
A sample of what you’re likely to find on the label of your favorite sunscreen:
1. Parabens
‘Endocrine disruptors’ These gender-bending chemicals mimic estrogen, upset your hormonal balance, and can cause various reproductive cancers in men and women.
2. PABA (may be listed as octyl-dimethyl or padimate-O)
Attacks DNA and causes genetic mutation when exposed to sunlight
3. Mineral oil, paraffin, petrolatum
Coats skin like plastic and clogs pores, trapping toxins in, slows skin cell growth, disrupts normal hormone function, suspected of causing cancer.
4. Sodium laurel, lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate (sometimes listed as ‘from coconut’ or ‘coconut derived’)
Combined with other chemicals, it becomes nitrosamine, a powerful cancer-causing agent; penetrates your skin’s moisture barrier, allowing other dangerous chemicals to enter your bloodstream.
5. Phenol carbolic acid
Can cause circulatory collapse, respiration problems, paralysis, convulsions and even coma.
6. Acrylamide
Associated with (breast) cancer.
7. Octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC)
Kills skin cells.
8. Toluene (may be listed as benzoic, benzyl, or butylated hydroxtoluene)
Promotes anemia, low blood cell count, liver and kidney damage, birth defects.
9. Propylene glycol
Can cause skin irritation, dermatitis, kidney and liver abnormalities, prevents skin growth.
10. PEG, polysorbates, laureth, ethoxylated alcohol
Potent carcinogens containing dioxane.
SOLUTION
Buy sunscreen from your organic store or don’t stay in the sun for too long. To get your skin to produce the necessary vitamin D, half an hour of full sun exposure per day is enough (without using sunscreen, by the way, which prohibits the skin from producing vitamin D!).
Unless you have a very sensitive skin: if you use hydrating skin lotions and you don’t overexpose to the sun, you don’t really need sunscreen.
The ‘fat free’ mantra has been drilled into our heads for decades. ‘Fat phobia’ is still a part of mainstream popular consciousness despite overwhelming evidence that fat is not the evil it was once made out to be. In fact, you need healthy fats in your diet if you want to stay strong, vibrant and trim. But that’s only half the story…
Sugar instead of fat
The ‘fat free’ label also conceals a much more villainous deception. In most cases, fat free is just another way of saying ‘chock full of sugar’. The problem with that is that sugar spikes the hormone insulin. Insulin promotes fat storage, and it also locks existing fat into your fat cells.
In other words, trying to lose fat by eating low fat products that contain sugars, is not a very healthy or strategic way to lose fat….
Labels.
Labels that talk about fat free, ‘real’ fruit, gluten free, and whole grain, lots of times are put there to make sure you associate those foods with ‘healthy’ choices. But just because something’s fat free doesn’t mean it’s low calorie or healthy. Fat free salad dressing is a great example. If you look at the label, you’ll find that it probably contains a high quantity of sugar – sugar that adds an awful lot of calories to your meal. Also it raises insulin, which increases the likelihood that you’ll store energy as fat…
Fancy words
The same is true for terms like ‘whole grain’ and ‘gluten free’. It’s not that you should avoid these foods, but just make sure you read the labels. Watch for ingredients like dextrose, maltodextrin, cane sugar, dehydrated beet juice, agave syrup, etc. These are just fancy words for sugar.
Healthy dressing
Knowing this, you can make better food choices. Use extra virgin olive oil (never in see- through plastic bottles, only in dark, glass ones!) see salt and a little balsamic vinegar instead of ‘fat free’ dressing. Some creamy full fat dressings can be a good choice too. Just make sure you read the label and watch for hidden sugars.
Few ingredients
When choosing whole grain or gluten free products, check to make sure they don’t contain a pile of added sugar. Pick foods with the fewest ingredients on the label. The more ingredients, the more likely there’s stuff in it that is not very beneficiary to your body. If you eat them just once in a while, your body can cope with them, don’t worry. Just take very good care of yourself and don’t eat these ‘foods’ every (day of the) week 
.
The Balinese traditional healer Ketut Leyir wonders why people don’t smile more. He says: ‘Why they always look so serious in yoga? You make serious face like this, you scare away good energy. To meditate, only you must smile. Smile with face, smile with mind, and good energy will come to you and clear away dirty energy. Even smile in your liver.’
Harmony
It may sound strange, to ‘smile in your liver’, but Balians are taught that illnesses coming from inside the body are caused by disharmony. To create harmony, Ketut’s tradition teaches that in your work and daily routine you want to make sure you are doing something that helps other people. It’s also important to maintain and strengthen your relationships.
The way you begin creating this kind of harmony is to smile. It turns out there’s more to smiling that you might think. Scientific studies consistently show that smiling boosts immunity, increases positive emotions, reduces stress and lowers blood pressure.
Smiling exercise
To help you get all the benefits of smiling more, here’s a traditional Balinese exercise called ‘inner smile’. You can do it sitting up or lying down.
• Start by inhaling through your nose. Hold your breath for a moment, then exhale through your mouth. While you’re doing this, feel your muscles start to unwind, and simply visualize the word ‘smile’.
• As you continue to breathe slowly, focus your concentration on the muscles of your eyes. You tend to hold a lot of tension in the muscles of your face. Relax these muscles, and focus on how they feel when you smile.
• Now, imagine this feeling moving up towards your brow, around your ears and over your head. As your face starts to relax, bring the corners of your mouth up into a gentle smile.
• Direct this inner smile into every part of your body. If you feel tension anywhere, just concentrate your smiling energy there until all your fear and worries drop away. Continue until your smile reaches all the way down to your toes.
Do this often enough, and you’ll promote healing in your body, and you’ll smile more like Ketut does. Even in your liver
Are you going to talk about your dreams, or will you get down to work and live them?