Living with Lots of “Shoulds” and “Have to’s”?
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Have you ever set a goal and then struggled to achieve it—maybe because you made it so big that it scares you, or maybe because you think there is something wrong, and the goal is to fix it? Well, neither one of these formats for goal setting is particularly inspiring. It will make things far more difficult to attain because quantum physics responds most powerfully to things that come from inspiration, joy, and enthusiasm.
Are you scared forward or inspired from within? Here are a few examples of being motivated by fear:
• I make my kids their lunch every day—they’ll get sick if they eat the stuff at school.
• I have to exercise three times per week or I’ll get fat.
• Get the project done by this Friday or my manager will judge me and customers will be angry.
Get the idea? These are not inspired.
Let’s turn those around. Here they are, motivated by inspiration:
• I want to make my children lunch every day because I know that anything made with love helps their energy and focus—and it wouldn’t matter if it was Twinkies or vegetable soup.
• I want to work out three times per week because I love feeling the oxygen going through my body, it makes me feel alive, and it is so good to blow off steam from my day. It’s a great time to meditate.
• I am doing this project to use my creative abilities, to meet up with great people, to fulfill my customers’ needs and be pleased that they are happy, and to feel a sense of accomplishment.
If the purpose of life is to expand your experience of joy, then the goals you set must inspire you forward instead of motivating you from fear. You see, it’s the process of becoming that is joyful. The final acheivement of the goal is simply the cherry.
Time to come from inspiration today, my friend! What reasons can you find to do the things you are doing … reasons that feel good? Ask yourself, What perspective could I come from today, that feels better than “have to, need to, and should”?
Jennifer Hough
Age Schmage!
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You’re only getting old if you say so. Old is not a chronological state; it’s a psychological state. You are not your mother, you are not your grandfather… you are your thoughts.
Your cells follow your beliefs, not general societal norms. Is it time for an anti-aging thought makeover? Well if it is, then let’s call it a Pro Vitality Life Makeover. You get to say how it goes.
Your cells are your constituents, and you are the Mayor of Healthville. Your genetic coding can literally alter as a result of what you believe and put your attention on.
A great read: The Biology of Belief by geneticist Dr. Bruce Lipton. This is one of my favorites!
Jennifer Hough
10 Ways to Help Prevent Breast Cancer – Part 7
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7. Learn to do your own regular breast self-examinations.
A great majority of lumps are found by women themselves. A health care professional should examine any changes noticed.
Women are generally reluctant to do a breast self-exam and for many the experience is frustrating. You may feel things but not know what they mean. However, the more you examine your breasts, the more you will learn about them and the easier it will become for you to tell if something unusual has occurred.
Try to get in the habit of doing breast self-examinations at least once a month to familiarize yourself with how your breasts normally look and feel. Examine yourself several days after your period ends, when your breasts are least likely to be swollen and tender. If you are no longer having periods, choose a day that’s easy to remember, such as the first or last day of the month.
Dr. Alex Mostovoy
Evening Primrose Oil Controls Where Calcium Goes
Filed Under Dr. Zoltan Rona (MD) | Leave a Comment
Numerous factors such as hormonal levels and the presence of vitamin D and vitamin K will all play some role in determining the absorption of calcium from the gut into the bloodstream. However, when a person absorbs calcium, regardless of the amount, there is no guarantee that this same calcium will be deposited into the bones.
Calcium tends to gravitate towards areas of injury in the body. If the lining of the arteries is damaged, calcium deposits there and causes hardening of the arteries. This could make cardiovascular disease worse. If the kidneys are damaged, the result of calcium deposition could be kidney stones. Calcium also tends to deposit in other injured soft tissue areas like tendons and ligaments, causing stiffness or other disability.
Several studies in the past decade have shown that EFAs (essential fatty acids), when combined with calcium, can ensure that calcium deposition will take place in bone and not in the arteries, the kidneys, or other soft tissues. EFAs enhance the effects of vitamin D in the gut and improve calcium absorption from the small intestine, reduce the urinary excretion (loss) of calcium, increase calcium that is deposited in the bone, and improve the strength of bone.
The dosage required for evening primrose to do this in both men and women is 1500–6000 mg daily. Of course, calcium deposition also depends to variable degrees on the frequency of weight-bearing exercises as well as the presence of minerals such as magnesium, zinc, copper, strontium, silicon, manganese, and boron.
If your calcium supplement does not contain evening primrose oil, make sure you take an extra 1500–6000 mg of this omega-6 source of essential fatty acids each day to prevent or reverse osteoporosis with much greater assurance.
Dr. Zoltan Rona
REFERENCES
Horrobin K. “Calcium metabolism, osteoporosis and essential fatty acids: a review” Progress in Lipid Research, 1997; 36(2-3):131-151.
Papendorp D, Coetzer H, Kruger M. “Biochemical profile of osteoporotic patients on essential fatty acid supplementation” Nutrition Research, 1995; 15(3):325-334.
Tulloch I, Smellie W, Buck A. “Evening primrose oil reduces urinary calcium excretion in both normal and hypercalciuric rats” Urological Research, 1994; 22:227-230.
Claasen N, Potgieter M, Seppa M, et al. “Combination of evening primrose oil and fish oil influence bone resorption and bone calcium content” Bone, 1995; 16(Suppl):385S-392S.
What’s the Deal with Stress?
Filed Under Law of Attraction | 1 Comment
I was noticing this weekend how much stress I hold in my hips and lower back when I think about all the things I believe I have to do. The interesting thing is that I am the one that made up most of the things that I percieve I have to do. So is the solution to change my goals? Or is the solution to have a better perspective? Or both?
Here’s the deal, my friend: If you truly knew how limitless you were, you would not fret one moment about getting things done. You would feel so deserving of bliss that anything that felt like work would be kicked to the curb in an instant. If the purpose of life is joy, that means that it would be most productive to be focused on doing what we love, or figuring out ways to love more of what we are doing.
So what did I do when I felt the pain in my back? I remembered that this life is my current precious life, and I choose not to waste a single moment with tension. I am the one who makes up what I am doing every day. I choose not to follow the shoulds and musts of society, but to follow my own unique heart’s song. If something I am doing feels difficult, that’s because it is not my current heart’s desire, so my job is to take my attention off of it and move to something that feels better. Or at very least, play my favorite music while doing something that is slightly sub-optimal. (It happens sometimes, though not often.)
On the subject of following your bliss, know that you are capable of all the things you dream, but it does not mean that you need to do them all. You are not here to prove anything, or to earn a better seat in Heaven. You are here for the joy of the journey. Will you enjoy the journey of today?
Jennifer Hough
Does Age Affect Your Training?
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In a word, yes. Age does affect your training. That’s the short answer. But how it affects your training is really up to the individual.
If you are 20-something, you can train until you drop, and other than being tired and maybe a little sore, the effects wear off quickly and soon you are ready to hit it again. It’s not that easy if you are in your late middle age or early old age.
I am 64 years old. I worked out in the gym at least five days a week for about 15 years. My training, while vigorous, was never strenuous. My goal was always to stay fit. Then about three years ago, I got the outrageous idea that I could train to prepare myself to enter a bodybuilding contest. Now that’s an idea whose time had come. Imagine my wife’s reaction when I told her the news. But she was supportive, and so I proceeded.
Training for a bodybuilding competition required many hard hours in the gym, a strict diet and a totally different lifestyle. Here, age makes a difference and does have an affect.
Lifting heavy weights with “old” muscles can be dangerous if you don’t stay focused. It’s easy to pull, rip, tear, or stretch a muscle during an exercise that can stop you in your tracks and end your contest preparation on the spot.
I took great care in the gym to make sure I stretched my muscles before and after each set. I drank plenty of water during my workouts and I never continued a lift or pull if I felt the least twinge. I stopped the set at that point and didn’t continue the exercise. I also never lifted more than I should, just for the sake of lifting. My weight training was purposeful and therefore carefully planned. I always left my ego at the gym door.
To prepare for my first contest, I trained 45 minutes a day, five days a week for 10 months prior to the contest date. During that time, I worked progressively harder each week as I grew stronger. I never suffered a single injury nor did I miss a day of training, and my energy level remained very high. My fellow gym rats frequently gibed, “Old Navy is pumped today.” I entered my first contest ready to compete.
I continued to train vigorously for the next two years and entered a total of 26 bodybuilding competitions, winning 42 trophies, four Best Poser awards, and three Master Pro Cards—again, without sustaining a single training injury. I am currently training to enter my third Pro Show on June 14, 2008.
Simply put, if you are 20, it’s OK to act like you are 20. If you are 64, it’s not OK to act like you are 20.
Scott “Old Navy” Hults
Weight Loss Resistance: Why Mom Can’t Seem to Shed the Pounds
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You’ve been working out regularly for months now but can’t seem to see the scale number drop. It doesn’t seem possible or fair because you are putting in the time and feel like you don’t deserve to still look four months pregnant.
In our experience with clients, this happens for two main reasons. Read on and reflect on your practice to find out if this is the case for you.
The first reason is hidden eating. You may not even be aware of how much you are really eating during the day. If you are breastfeeding, you feel starving all the time and may be non-stop snacking day and night as well as eating three square meals. While breastfeeding is NOT the time to diet, it is not the time to gorge either. Nursing requires approximately 450-500 extra calories a day. That’s about the equivalent of one peanut butter and banana sandwich and a glass of orange juice. A muffin and latte will be well over this calorie count and likely contains a lot of sugar and fats. Many of our clients are surprised when they actually consider how much they are thoughtlessly eating during the day.
The second reason is lack of intensity in workouts. A 30-minute jog will not produce the weight loss that women are looking for. Workouts need to be strenuous, challenging to both muscles and heart, and need to be varied in order to produce results. Make sure your workouts include resistance training, which builds the muscles that eat the food you are eating and prevent it from being stored as fat. Your muscles should feel very fatigued at the end of these workouts. Push yourself each time you exercise and you will see the weight come off.
Cheers,
Andrea Page
Childcare Never Carefree
Filed Under Mom Talk | Leave a Comment
Finding childcare is one of the biggest challenges moms have to face in North America. In many other cultures, there is no worry—childcare is a family affair. Your mom or grandmother or aunt will pitch in to help if you have to work outside the home. Here, women have their children on waiting lists at top daycares as soon as they get pregnant! Other women work to sponsor help from outside countries, hoping to build a long-term relationship with one specific caregiver. But even if you manage to get into a great daycare, or find a perfect nanny, the challenges abound.
We’ve worked with thousands of women over the years and we’ve only met a handful who found the transition back to work an easy one. They didn’t like to leave their often crying child in a busy centre or with a relative stranger. Most women spent quite a bit of time crying themselves at the beginning!
Once the transition was over and the kids were settled in to their new routines, some of the challenges continued. If their child got sick—which they inevitably do a lot in the first year—they were scrambling to leave work to pick them up and then working late into the evenings to make up for time away.
Women with nannies also had other challenges. Some got the fit right the first time, others did not. Recently, my nanny quit, leaving me running a business and taking care of three boys, desperate for help and with little time to search for, interview and find the right caregiver.
Our experience is that finding, managing, and evaluating childcare largely falls to mom. Poll everyone you know about childcare they like. Put out the call for a nanny through your friends who have nannies they love. Talk to other moms about their experiences to learn some good tips and tricks on how to cope with finding and keeping good childcare.
If your child is suffering during those first few weeks, you are too. Call on a friend who has been there before and don’t be afraid to have your own meltdown. It’s totally normal and in a few months, it will be a distant memory.
Cheers,
Andrea Page
Wonderful Baking Soda 4: Laundry
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As if we haven’t already heard about how amazing baking soda is, there is even more to be learned. As a business owner, my time is limited; whatever I do needs to be incredibly functional and as time-saving as possible. So, I have invested some time to figure out how I can make doing my laundry less cumbersome.
I have learned, not to my surprise, that baking soda is also a huge helper when it comes to laundry. Per load, I started to add about a half cup of the magic stuff to my liquid detergent to help fabrics come out softer, fresher, and looking better (yes, it’s true!). Not only does it help liquid detergent, but it boosts whitening power as well! So I get whiter whites when I use the powerful powder in the wash.
I’ve also learned that it replaces fabric softener and act as an odor-eater if sprinkled in during the rinse cycle! There is nothing like the fresh smell of laundry, and baking soda really does help.
There have also been times where I don’t have the time to drop off delicates to be dry cleaned (even though I promise myself when I buy the garments that I will), and have to figure out a way to clean it myself so that it can be worn more than once. What I do is add about ¼ cup baking soda to about 4 liters of cold water. Of course, I do take the time to test for colorfastness before I do the whole garment. Once soaked, it can be rinsed and hung to dry.
As you can see, baking soda should be purchased in bulk and used as much as possible. I know I have taken quite well to this concept and love the results!
Melissa
Excellent News
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On the plane the other day, I was sitting next to a lovely professor who works as a scientist in fisheries. He talked to me about the hope he has for the planet, and the fact that he volunteers on committees that help enhance the environment, and that most of his colleagues do as well. It was inspiring. It got me thinking about the abundance of good people out there.
The Good News: My experience is that for every person doing harm in the world, there are thousands doing things from the goodness of their hearts. Volunteer earth heroes, crossing guards, advisory committee members for Global Peace projects, my client who cares for her ailing mother, my girlfriend who plants trees in parks. I like to rescue stray dogs and pick up garbage in the forest that I walk in. And what about the news that the resilient bushes and plants are coming back after the fires in LA, the hearts of the people re-building New Orleans, the new discoveries around clean fuels being made weekly, and the absolute abundance of Mother Nature? The good news each day outweighs bad news by a million to one. Isn’t that refreshing?
We forget that the reason we call it “the news” is that the norm, the way life is by default, is wonderful, joyful and filled with miracles. It’s news because bad things are truly not the norm.
Create your own news today! Collect evidence for what is right in the world today—not because you are avoiding the tragedies and wars, but because you simply want a realistic view of what is actually going on, instead of allowing someone else to tell you. (As a side bonus, by focusing on good things, you expand them, of course!)
Jennifer Hough
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