Posts Tagged ‘vacation’
Thanksgivoweenmas
Posted on: October 6, 2012
- In: Cats and Dogs | Cooking | Entertaining | Healthy Body | Healthy Home | veggie foods
- 1 Comment
I propose that for the sake of simplicity that the fall season just be declared one long holiday
Thanksgivoweenadanuchakmaszaa or something that helps roll all the holidays that occur around the world and keep one day aside – November 11 – for Remembrance and Memorializing those who gave their lives so that the rest of us might be here to enjoy whatever holiday we celebrate or just to work and play well with others – so that no one else need be asked to do such a thing again.
That’s the part we’re not supposed to forget.
You know. as we celebrate genocide of indigenous people through the north and south American continent…..
seriously, none of these are my holidays…….
okay Halloween. that’s like national everyone be queer day.
The Neuroscience of True Grit [Preview]
When tragedy strikes, most of us ultimately rebound surprisingly well. Where does such resilience come from?
By Gary Stix
Image: Photograph by Adam Voorhes. Photographed at The Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin
In Brief
- Convention held that psychological resilience to life’s stresses remained a fairly rare event, a product of lucky genes or good parenting.
- Research into bereavement and natural disasters has found in recent years that the quality of resilience is, in fact, relatively commonplace.
- People respond to the worst life has to offer with varied behaviors, some of which might be classified as narcissistic or dysfunctional in some other way.
- But these behaviors—coping ugly, as one researcher calls it—ultimately help with adaptation in a crisis.
- The question arises whether interventions to teach resilience—programs already instituted in schools and in the military—will really help if people cope naturally on their own.
In fall 2009 Jeannine Brown Miller was driving home with her husband after a visit with her mother in Niagara Falls, N.Y. She came upon a police roadblock near the entrance to the Niagara University campus. Ambulance lights flashed up ahead. Miller knew her 17-year-old son, Jonathan, had been out in his car. Even though she couldn’t make out what was happening clearly, something told her she should stop. She asked one of the emergency workers on the scene to check whether the car had the license plate “J Mill.” A few minutes later a policeman and a chaplain approached, and she knew, even before they reached her, what they would say.
The loss of her son—the result of an undiagnosed medical problem that caused his sudden death even before his car rammed a tree—proved devastating. Time slowed to a crawl in the days immediately after Jonathan’s death. “The first week was like an eternity,” she says. “I lived minute by minute, not even hour by hour. I would just wake up and not think beyond what was in front of me.”
full article – Scientific American – pay site
I read this issue when it first came out.
Dearest Readers of Living Well
Posted on: August 30, 2012
Agoraphobic Philosopher says:
People post a lot of things on facebook that reveal an awful lot about themselves as people. More often than not, far more than they ever release.
So I would like to share one of mine.
Today I learned that the absolutely most scary combination of words to say in the whole of the English Language, whatever version of English that you use.
I am scared and I need help.
And the reason I know that is because I just had a panic attack that was so mild and safe for me, that I was finally able to WHISPER THOSE WORDS in the safety of my bedroom, in my own house that I share with Rhonda K. Jackson and Lorne Szmek and their daughter Dayel.
Because Lorne has gone to work and Rhonda’s sleeping. So I am the responsible adult in the house for a nine year old child and I can’t be having crying sobbing screaming running around the house in a panic kind of attack under the circumstances.
So being responsible to other people in addition to being in a loving and supportive environment with Rhonda who I worked with 12 years ago at another abusive corporate culture department. I mean, I am at home on disability from Department number 7 of the ones that I worked at over 13 years.
That’s not blowing smoke nor being Pollyanna neither.
Although, Haley Mills was my first baby dyke crush before I discovered Kristy MacNicol in Little Darlings!
aaaaa Little Darlings……
Here’s the secret to True Love.
Posted on: August 23, 2012
That everything you tell the person you love is actually and specifically true.
Because there is nothing in the world like knowing that you can absolutely 100% rely on every word that you hear from the person you love is just as exactly true.
And really, if you can’t communicate with your partner in a comprehensible way, how can you really know if they love you?
so, it’s no wonder to me that in most couples, one or both people are always one foot out the door and scanning the horizon for new and better prospects.
Hole Options
Posted on: August 4, 2012
I was going to put the one liner version on the Shut In Stand Up Blog, but the later comment made me feel it was more appropriate on this Living Well in recovery blog.
the importance of reducing stress is your life and the quality of said life
Posted on: July 28, 2012
10 TIPS ON DEALING WITH STRESS IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
1. BREATHING AND EXERCISE: I know this sounds like common sense. However, are you really doing it… taking long, slow, deep breaths and taking the time to do this a few times throughout the day? What is your exercise routine? Exercise is probably one of the most important proven stress reducers. A recent article in Better Nutrition magazing recommends a weekly mixture of weights, aerobics and stretching. For me, it has to be fun. I love my pilates class. My local Curves offers a great Zumba dance class and I go to the gym twice a week for the heavy weights.
2. WHAT YOU EAT MATTERS: What are you eating? Try making a list of everything you put in your mouth this week. Be conscious and awake here. Sugars and starch can make you feel edgy, depressed and even angry… all leading to fatigue and irrational thinking, which directly leads to stress. Living foods can help reduce stress, give you energy and help create clarity. Try reducing the sugars and starch and increasing the greens and see what happens.
3. CONFIDENCE LOWERS STRESS: I interviewed Master Talent Teacher founder and 30 year commercial audition coach, Carolyne Barry. Her top tip on dealing with stress is “make a point of building your confidence.” Carolyne’s worked with thousands of actors and she feels that the proper training with the right people combined with dedicated preparation is paramount to helping build confidence. Feeling confident about yourself and your work will keep stress at bay. Find out more about Carolyne at www.mastertalentteachers.com or at www.carolynebarry.com.
4. HAVE A FULL LIFE: Carolyne also suggested that we make sure we have a full life. She’s all about mastering being organized so that “you can schedule in time for you!” She suggests that “We dance, lunch with friends, walk, read a good book… release from work.” “We’re alive to enjoy the ride” she says, ”so, how you treat yourself is important. Surround yourself with empowering people and celebrate and appreciate every success, everyday… big and small.”
5. MEDITATION: Meditation is an excellent stress reducer says Transformation Coach and Soul Notes founder Barbara Daoust. Even a few minutes a day at any time during the day is beneficial. However “the optimal times” Barbara suggests “are before bed and first thing in the morning when we are in our alpha state. These are the best times to generate positive affirmations and new patterns of thinking that you want to develop.” ”Silencing the mind will help you focus,” she says, “and focus leads to clarity and the more clarity we have the more the conscious we are. The more conscious we are the more we can distinguish our thoughts.” As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, if you are a beginner or if you feel you just don’t have time check out www.learningmeditation.com. And to check out Barbara’s site go to www.barbaradaoust.com.
6. THE PIVOTAL PROCESS: Barbara was telling me that of the over 50,000 random thoughts we have per day as many as 75 to 95% are negative! Does that blow your mind? Seldom do we question our thoughts and yet they determine our feelings. The more we focus on the negative the more the negative expands. That downward spiral leads to stress. Barbara feels that the pivotal process is a great tool to offset this. “Ask yourself… do I feel powerful or powerless? When you do this you can consciously raise yourself into a better feeling thought. When you’re feeling more powerful you’re managing your thoughts versus your thoughts managing you.”
7. TIME MANAGEMENT: A lot of our stress comes from having too much to do and not enough time to do it. One of the things that I did back when I started to experience stress was look at how I could improve my time management skills. I was very weak in this area. I took a time management workshop and the trainer suggested that we invest in a day planner or day timer. I love it and I believe it actually reduces my stress. Here are a couple of tricks that I use with my day planner. At the end of each work day I set up my list for the next day. That way I am not taking work home with me. It stays in the office. Also, I list my jobs numerically in order of importance. And I check them off as I go through the day which feels really good. If there are items still left on my list I move them to the next day. Give it a try.
8. WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE: Words have a direct effect on us both psychologically and physiologically so be careful what you say. My stress specialist told me to stop using works like ‘should’ and ‘must.’ Use preferences instead. For example, replace “I should have gotten that role,” with “It would have been nice if I had gotten the role and I certainly did my best.” It really does take the pressure off and you gradually learn to stop beating up on yourself.
9. CHANGE YOUR SELF-TALK: What are those voices in your head telling you? Most of the time we are on autopilot and thinking the worst is a tunnel we tend to go down. It’s called ‘catastrophizing.’ We predict that the worst is going to happen. My stress specialist back in the 80s gave me a great exercise for this. He had me keep a daily list of events that caused me anxiety. I had to write out a brief description of each item with a parallel category describing “what’s the worst that could happen?” I was always amazed and relieved to know that even the worse possible scenario was something I could handle and never life threatening. It’s a great exercise.
10. DO YOUR HOMEWORK: And like the quote says “Live like your life depends on it.” Like every topic today there are tons of resources available. Google stress and you’ll find a wealth of information. A couple of books that I found extremely helpful are Dr. David Burns “Feeling Good, the New Mood Therapy” and Dr. Albert Ellis’ “Rational Emotive Therapy – Self Help Techniques.” If you feel that you really need help, make an appointment with a stress specialist. Don’t let stress interfere with the joy and fun you want and deserve to have from life.
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You are what you eat after all
Posted on: July 17, 2012
And I think, not only in terms of what you nourish your body with, so it can renew and rebuilt, heal and maintain itself – but also is an an indicator of how adventurous your spirit is and how connected you are to your fellow humans and the rest of the world.
In many ways, the transportation system that allows us to sample the produce of the world from the convenience of your local grocery store is a wonderful way to have a shared experience with other people in other regions.
and not everyone lives within a 100 miles of where food is grown or produced.
urban sprawl and that for the first time in human recorded history, more people live in urban cities than in rural farm lands…….
not a good thing for that many people to be disconnected with nature and unconscious to how food is produced and it’s impact on the health of the planet.
climate change is natural but the human activity of slashing rainforest for grazing land, the manure and methane and chemicals – including hormone disrupting pesticides – produced by agriculture and industry -in addition to the radioactive pollution and expended nuclear rods created by the nuclear industry – which we do not manage well, when the best maintained and operated plants are in high seismic zones as is the case for Japan – or as the Chernobyl plant was caused by a head engineer who really did not understand the science or the procedures to use the equipment – and he ordered an unsafe test that caused that meltdown and cancer rates around the globe to increase….
we need to be more sustainable in our approach to both nutrition of ourselves and the planet – the only one we have and we have to learn to share it – work and play well with others.
Solar, wind and wave energy is perpetual – at least as long as the planet is around – best to tap into these sustainable sources – and create untold number of jobs – from research/development, construction, maintenance and operation.
Every home could have solar panels o their roofs to offset the power grid, instead of being a heat sink or merely reflective of the heat back into the atmosphere.
underwater turbines, made safe for wildlife would generate more reliable power than wind, being a constant source of motion – and really, we’d be tapping into connection between the earth and moon.
building agricultural density – towers with indoor farming instead of workstations – better pest control by moving farming indoors to high density – making it possible to grow food in city limits and control the pest by simply controlling the building access – beneficial insects like bees would also benefit from a secure from parasites and predators like wasps environment.
harmony with nature, understand the science and adopt a philosophy of curious compassion towards your fellow people, their cultures, alternative ways of living and be creative with living.
life is an an experiment and it’s up to each of us whether we are designing and operating the experiment of our lives or if we’re someone else’s lab rat.
Cat Naps: Pure Happiness
Posted on: April 9, 2012
Cat: Alley Kitten Rescue, 17 years this spring
Quilt: Martha Steward
Own Corner of the Room: Priceless
It’s the one in five to listen to
Posted on: April 6, 2012
In the western world, the average human life span is substantively lengthened by modern medicine.
A major part of that is dentistry – something that is not included in Canadian Universal Health Care. But it really should be.
A healthy mouth is the key to a healthy body.
Our mouths are the second point of contact with the external world – our skin being the first line of defense.
Here’s the toothpaste that my doctor recommended to me:
After my check up which confirmed that I have perfect teeth – and I use:
So, twice a day brushing with a soft toothbrush and gentle rubbing.
And twice a week, a professional high flouride toothpaste.
Because the only tar tar that I like is a sauce for grilled prawns and shrimp.
Living Well 