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10

It can’t happen here. But when it does…. 5 ways to find the silver lining in natural disasters

There’s a saying that everyone knows they’re going to die, but no one believes it. The same is true of natural disasters – everyone knows it could happen in their town, but no one believes it will.

And then it does. And the big question will be: were you prepared?

This is not the post I had planned for this week. I was going to write about “Earthing” – the healing benefits of standing barefoot on Mother Earth.

But this week, my life got interrupted by a natural disaster, and I felt there would be more benefit in a post on the unexpected lessons that occur when Mother Earth seems [emphasis on the word “seems”] to turn against us.

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Forest therapy: why a walk in the woods may be just what the doctor ordered

Once again, scientists are proving what indigenous people and nature lovers have always known: being outdoors is healthy! Specifically, new research shows that being surrounded by a forest environment, or “forest therapy” can improve your health. And may even help fight cancer.

In Japan, forest therapy, or shinrin-yoku, is standard preventative medicine. It’s not about being alone in the wilderness or extreme outdoor sports, it’s about allowing your body and psyche to hang out in the peace of the woods.

The term shinrin-yoku was coined by the Japanese government in 1982, but is based on ancient Shinto and Buddhist practices. [There’s that ancient wisdom again!] It’s also known as “forest bathing.”

It was just a few decades ago when people made fun of “tree huggers” — as a former “tree hugger” myself, I now feel thoroughly vindicated!

THE RESEARCH ON “FOREST THERAPY”

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8 reasons why I don’t text. And a few reasons why others should

Over 8.6 trillion text messages are sent across the world each day. And not one of them is from me.

I don’t text. And it’s not because I’m a technophobe.

As a writer, I spend most of the day on the computer and thank God regularly for the convenience it brings me.

And even though I love my iPhone, I have had texting disabled on it. Here are my reasons:

ONE: When one of my favorite T.V. character was asked why he doesn’t text, he replied “It’s for teenage girls.” I’m inclined to agree.

The average teen sends over 3000 texts per month. But the average teenage girl sends 4000. And these texts have a 100% open rate. How does that leave time for anything else?

TWO: People don’t talk to one another enough. Pick up the friggin’ phone and tell me what you want me to know.

THREE: Receiving texts interrupts you and keeps you from being in the moment. We live in a world full of distractions and it’s harder and harder to focus.

FOUR: In my opinion, texting is no easier than phoning now that smart phones can understand voice commands and make phone calls for us: “Siri, please call Jane” and, voila, I am connected to Jane.

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The Power of Prayer

The power of prayer can take many forms. Bear Heart said, “Let your every step be as a prayer.”

What does that mean to you?

To me it means walking the earth each day with respect. And it means being ready to offer a prayer at a moment’s notice.

And prayer can take the form of acts of kindness, because that carries the same energy as prayer.

LEARNING HOW TO PRAY

I was raised a Catholic and prayer was something one memorized: the Our Father or the Hail Mary were the two most popular prayers I learned.

When I started attending Native American ceremonies, I was in awe of how people prayed from their heart, in their own words. It took a year or so of being in that environment before I felt comfortable praying out loud in ceremony. Now it’s second nature.

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The Wind is My Mother

In continuous print since 1996 and translated into 12 languages, The Wind Is My Mother has struck a chord around the world with Bear Heart’s simple wisdom. “A compelling and important work. . . Bear Heart’s is a truthful, honest voice which has let us into his world, and our world is better for it.” […]

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Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail and How to Make Goal Setting Succeed

[quote]”Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” Fitzhugh Dodson[/quote] The concept of making “new year’s resolutions” has been a bit of a joke in our society for about as long as I can remember — the joke being that  “resolution” has become synonymous […]

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Why Is The Butterfly Effect Important for You?

I know how easy it is to feel powerless in today’s complex world. That’s why it’s really important for you to know about The Butterfly Effect.

The Butterfly Effect was first stated in 1963 by mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz, a pioneer in chaos theory.

It states that a butterfly could flap its wings on one side of the world, creating tiny changes in the atmosphere, that in turn set molecules of air in motion that eventually could create [or prevent] a tornado in another part of the world.

So what does that have to do with your life? A lot!

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Are you asking the right questions?

Are you asking the right questions? This occurred to me recently when I was feeling a bit sad for no apparent reason.

Instead of staying stuck there, I stopped and asked myself, “What am I really upset about? What’s really going on here?” And the answer came. There’s always a deeper reason affecting us.

In truth, some of the turning points in my life, and in the life of some of my friends, have come from asking the right questions.

Here’s a list of what I consider some of the best.

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3

Thanksgiving and The Magic of Family Meal Time

“The magic of family meal time comes not from the food on the plate but from who’s at the table and what’s happening there. The emotional and social benefits that come from family dinners are priceless,” said Elizabeth Planet, CASA’s Vice President and Director of Special Projects.

Christmas and Thanksgiving have always been my favorite times of the year: time with family and joyous celebrations. From my 20s on, I lived in California and my family was on the East Coast so I chose Christmas as the time to go East to visit, and spent Thanksgiving with friends in California.

It was always a great day, but there was one very interesting phenomenon that happened most years: everyone was very attached to having dishes from their childhood Thanksgivings. That meant we often ended up with multiple duplicate dishes, just made with different recipes.

I recall a Thanksgiving dinner for 8 that had two large turkeys, four different bowls of cranberries and an assortment of other dishes that could have fed 40. I knew at the time it was because each of us wanted to recapture the magic of our childhood Thanksgiving, but only recently did I start to give it more serious thought.

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Does the Energy in Food Matter?

Does the energy in food matter? Absolutely!

One thing that doesn’t get much attention in discussions of our food is how the animals we eat are raised and killed and the energy transmitted along with that.

In other words, what you eat affects more than just your diet.

MEDICAL MYSTERY OR CUTTING EDGE SCIENCE?

But first let me tell you about my friend Pete, who developed a sudden love of dark chocolate after receiving a heart transplant. It mystified his wife, but she heard similar stories in their heart transplant support group.

Unusual? Not at all. There are legions of anecdotal stories about organ transplant recipients taking on new interests and food cravings after their transplants:

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Forks Over Knives: What Does It Mean For Us?

Do you ever wonder why you try to follow the conventional wisdom of recommended dietary guidelines and your health still declines? The brilliant documentary “Forks Over Knives” and the book “The China Study” provide the answers.

“Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health” has been getting a lot of well-deserved positive press lately. The bottom line: we would all be healthier if we eliminated meat and dairy products from our diets.

The film presents excellent research to support the claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by eliminating animal-based and processed foods from our diets.

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Relationship with water — how to protect it and use it

“Pure water is the world’s first and foremost medicine.” Slovakian proverb

It seems to be an axiom of life that we take for granted those things that are always present. Our bodies are made primarily of water, as is planet earth. Yet how often do we think about our relationship with water? Or how to protect it and use it?

It is universally accepted that there can be no life without water.

It is the first thing we use every morning and the last thing we use each night. It comes to us in the form of lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, springs and sacred rain.

Ancient prophecy told of a time when we would have to buy our drinking water – that time is here. So that indicates to me it is time to stop taking it for granted.

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Hopi Prophecy, the Mayan Calendar and the Weather in 2012

Ancient Hopi prophecy warned of a time of “earth changes” – a great cleansing involving all four elements. The Mayan Calendar also calls this a time of transformation. Might they explain the interesting weather we’re having in 2012?

Is it a scary thing, or part of the natural evolution of the planet and our consciousness? Let’s take a look.

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The History of the U.S. Constitution We Weren’t Taught in School

If you’re like me, I learned in grade school that the U.S. Constitution was based on ancient Greek democracy. Which was nowhere close to the truth. The government of ancient Greece was not a democracy.

My research as to what children are taught today about the origin of our government is also disappointing.

Apparently the Founding Fathers simply created it out of thin air, or were influenced by European governments even though there was no democracy anywhere in Europe at that time.

THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

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The film classic “Psycho” and the value of clearing the clutter

Ever wonder how the classic Hitchcock thriller “Psycho” is related to clearing the clutter? Probably not, so read on.

If your nerves were on edge while watching “Psycho,” here’s why: every time director Alfred Hitchcock cut to the house on the hill, something was different.

In each shot he would change the location of the door, or the number or placement of windows, or the number of panes in each window.

The shots weren’t held long enough for the viewer to be conscious of what the changes were, only that something was “wrong” with that house. The result? An uneasy feeling throughout the film. That’s why Hitchcock was such a master director.

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How’s your cup? How to learn to be optimistic

Can we learn to be optimistic?

I believe so, and researchers agree.

But it will take some undoing of early programming.

The average fourth grade child has heard the words “no, you can’t do that” over 70,000 times. So we have to work to overcome that negative imprint.

THE RESEARCH

Not only are optimists happier than pessimists, research shows they are healthier, live longer and make more money.

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Stop the presses! Pessimists throughout history proved wrong!

Today I’d like to offer some historical anecdotes about all the times pessimists were wrong. Hopefully it will give you more inspiration to hold onto your dreams in spite of the naysayers:

For starters, remember how absolutely certain people used to be that the earth was flat!

In 1847, Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was the head of Vienna General Hospital’s First Obstetrical Clinic, which at the time had a mortality rate of 10-35%! When he suggested doctors and mid-wives wash their hands before attending mothers and newborns, he was ridiculed by the medical authorities of the time, and fired by the hospital that employed him. In 1851 he moved to Hungary where his theory was accepted and hand-washing reduced mortality to less than 1%!

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Can pessimism be helpful?

“Don’t ever let somebody tell you that you can’t do something. You got a dream, you got to protect it. When people can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you that you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.” Will Smith, actor

Can pessimism be helpful?

I think not.

Not that there’s anything wrong with critical thinking and trying to be aware of potential obstacles.

But I’m talking about people who are negative for the sake of being negative. Because they have not succeeded, they don’t want anyone else to succeed either.

AN EYE-OPENING COMMENT

I like to increase my odds of success by being a thorough researcher. So when I was working on The Wind Is My Mother, I took a class on how to get a non-fiction book published and did absolutely everything suggested. It worked.

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Social activism: the good, the bad and the ugly

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Gandhi

I’m a big fan of peaceful social activism. Having marched in the 1970s in opposition to the Vietnam War, I’m proud that my generation helped end it.

We have even more opportunity today, with the advent of online petitions that are getting lots of results, fast.

UGLY SOCIAL ACTIVISM

But there is also un-social activism that causes me concern. I’m thinking specifically of Spike Lee’s ill-advised re-tweet of the supposed address of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin.

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Expand your mind with meditation

Meditation is perhaps the easiest way to expand your mind, other than using drugs.

I played around with LSD and marijuana on my college weekends and it always gave me a good high. But I reached a point where I didn’t want to rely on something artificial to make me feel good. I wanted to feel good on my own. So I discovered meditation.

My meditation path was brought with ups and downs, which I’ve discussed elsewhere. But now that I’ve settled into a meaningful practice that’s the right one for me, it works like a charm.

Here are the ways it can benefit your mind, body and spirit.

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