Recent natural disasters, home mortgage crises, stock market volatility and credit constriction are proving to be tremendously difficult for some of the most at-risk members of our society. New parents, particularly pregnant and postnatal women, feel naturally compelled to create a stable home environment for their babies. Rapidly fluctuating hormone levels and brain chemistry only elevate their increased stress levels.

Creating a stable home environment may be the “impossible dream” during rapidly changing world events. Parents may find themselves overwhelmed and underprepared, wanting to do right by their families but struggling to find the resources to do so. Babies and young children are acutely sensitive to the stress level in parents. Helping mothers and fathers find some mental and physical relief can provide a more secure, calming environment for the developing minds and bodies of their children. Here’s what to do:

1. Focus on the moment. There may be a hundred problems that you need to cope with. You cannot possibly tend to them all at once. Just focus on one at a time. Most importantly, check if you and your family are safe for now. If not, ask yourself what you need to do to assure the most basic needs are met, and follow through. If you are safe, even for the night, breathe and allow a moment of gratitude for even the smallest blessings.

2. Encourage Honesty. You may feel sad, mad, glad, scared, or some confusing combination of these. You don’t have to make sense of any of it right now. Whatever you feel is O.K. Supressing your emotions for any length of time can be hazardous to your health. Acknowledging whatever you feel from the inside out can free up vital life energy to allow you to move forward.

3. Connect with Someone. You may not realize it yet, but you are not alone. Connecting to share your story can bring back your sense of sanity. It can also comfort other people in need. Quantity doesn’t matter much, or even the means of connecting. The internet can provide a way to reach out to support groups if you haven’t found supportive people locally. A single, supportive human connection can do a world of good.

4. Nurture Yourself. Ask yourself what you love with each of your senses. What do you love to hear? What do you love to taste? What do you love to feel? What do you love to smell? What do you love to see? Write your answers down, and be creative. Spa days, massages and fancy dinners are great, but the object here is to find small but meaningful ways to nurture yourself every day. You may be surprised to find the variety of simple, inexpensive ways to bring pleasure through multiple senses. A cup of favorite tea or coffee can nourish your sense of taste, smell, touch, and even sight if you take the time to focus and enjoy it. Stroking a cat or dog can be tremendously soothing, nourishing your sense of touch and bringing a sense of connection at the same time. It is possible to become aware of beauty even in some of the harshest environments.

5. Cover the Essentials. Eating, sleeping, breathing and drinking water may not seem significant, but they are. Attending to these essentials each day will provide you with the energy to make it through to smoother times.

6. Let People Know What You Need. This is no time to try to survive on your own. The best way to increase the odds of getting the resources you and your family need is to ask for help. You would undoubtedly help someone else in any way you could, so give others a chance to help you. Check inside and as yourself if you require food, a safe place to sleep, someone to talk to, information or other resources. Then put your pride on the sideline and let people know what would make a difference in your life.

Why is it better to give than it is to receive? The more you give, the more you receive. Success and living life abundantly are rewards granted to unconditional givers.

An unconditional giver is someone who gives from the heart because they want to, not because they have to, or because they feel obligated to do so.

When you give unconditionally, you are putting the law of giving and receiving into action and will reap the benefits by drawing abundance and success to yourself.

The universal Law of Giving and Receiving is both spiritual and scientific.

The Spiritual basis of The Law of Giving and Receiving:
Whatever you sow, you will also reap. -Galatians 6:7

The Scientific basis of The Law of Giving and Receiving:
For every action, there will always be an equal or even opposite reaction -Isaac Newton’s Law of Motion.

Reasons People Resist Giving:
A lot of people will not give because they fear losing what they have; this is a feeling which comes from a sense of scarcity which is often not warranted by their circumstances.

As we see from the spiritual reasoning behind this universal law, you cannot reap what has not been sown.

The scientific reasoning is that there cannot be a reaction where there has been no action.

Some people give because they think they will be left with nothing if they give - but these people will not receive anything, finding themselves stagnant and failing to develop as human beings.

There are those that give a little because they fear if they give too much there won’t be enough left. Again, this comes from limited thinking and perceptions of lack and scarcity. The person that gives a little will only receive a little.

Still others understand the basis of the law of giving and receiving, but only give with the expectation of getting something in return.

If your reasons for giving are for selfish gain, you will learn the hard way that just as you cannot defy the laws of gravity, you also cannot defy the Law of Giving and Receiving. If your giving is tainted, what you receive will also be tainted.

Start Giving From the Heart:
When you implement the Law of Giving and Receiving in your daily life, you immediately experience a liberating awareness of abundance. You realize that you can give freely without fear of ever over extending yourself or experiencing lack and scarcity.

This is nothing short of a spiritual experience. You will begin to feel a kinship with the world around you and develop true empathy with others. This will enable you to truly love others as you love yourself.

You’ll be able to get in touch with what others need which will teach you to give of yourself freely and with out conditions or expectations.

Giving from the heart sets off a chain reaction of events including inspiring others to give also, which ultimately creates a circle of giving.

Giving Produces Spiritual and Personal Growth:
When you give unconditionally you build faith in yourself, in others and the entire world. Some describe it as a religious experience; it is certainly a spiritual feeling.

The more you give, the more you receive. You’ll see the benefits, which will include love and joy.

28thSeptember

Is Stress Harmful?

by Phil Beryl

Does your partner think that you are having a problem with stress management? Are you constantly being asked about your mental health status? Is this worrying you? Do you know how to manage and overcome stress?

If your stress levels are being commented on, friends and families might see you as a tense and stressed individual. Of course, this might be your personality or personal style. You might think that other people are far too relaxed, even sloppy in their attitudes. Whereas you are well-organized, responsible, efficient, and let’s face it - uptight!

If you believe that you have a certain personality type, you can actually have your personality tested. There are many tests that do this, the most common one being the Myer-Briggs. You have probably heard about Type A and B personalities. Friedman, a cardiologist, saw many people with heart conditions and he called them Type As.

We are stressed when a range of activities (stressors) in our daily lives present us with challenges, alternatives, decisions, complex or unpleasant events or interactions. From a technical point of view, a stressor is something that speeds up our reaction or response levels. Our body has been conditioned to fight or flee. Our physiological response is to pump adrenaline or cortisol into our system to prepare us for the challenges.

People respond differently to those factors that cause them stress. Some people are unable to handle financial difficulties while other people seem to be able to cope quite well with money worries. For some people the biggest stress occurs within their relationships. For others it is personal or family illness that makes them feel tired, worried and exhausted.

Everyone experiences stress. Some psychologists believe that stress can be good for you but only in small doses. There is a positive stress which is called eustress. Distress creates significant emotional and physical discomfort. If stress last for a long time, the negative effects can be dangerous.

When stress is positive (this is called eustress) we are motivated and/or compelled to act. When we respond to a horror movie, when we are excited into action by new productivity or sales targets at work, when we think about a particularly exciting date, when we compete in a track or field event, and even when we get ready for a picnic we are experiencing positive stress. Our body is getting pumped up and is responding psychologically, emotionally and physically to this new event so that we can perform at a high level. All of this is good; positive stress builds up our energy levels and our readiness to perform at a higher level and to respond to the stimulus event.

When we have too much negative stress, we can act quite differently. We might become short tempered, angry, irritable and confrontational. Our skin might get blotchy. Our heart rate might go up to very high levels. These are all signs of being burnt out or stressed.

Unfortunately very few people have been lucky enough to be taught practical and effective stress management strategies. In order to be able to reduce the stress in our lives, we need information and strategies. Both must have an evidence base so that we are reading accurate information and using well proven and effective strategies for stress management and reduction.

by Phl Beryl

Someone is sounding the alarm bell. We kick into high gear. Our stress is activated. We know the symptoms well enough: our hearts are pounding, our muscles are tense, breathing is increased to deal with our red alert. We step it up and deal with the event. That helps to offset some of the stress, but we need to blow off steam as they say. I need time to recuperate and refresh, like at a spa. However, we know stress means we do not have time. What if you could come home and get a relaxing massage from your own massage chair?

But how do we respond? Whether we know it our not our bodies respond. In fact we call it the fight or flight reaction. Either way our body prepares itself for the worst on autopilot. Our hands and feet are ready for action. The major organs divert activities that enhance immediate survival and we are bodily primed to do something. Trouble is with the new economy, our stress is mental and not physical. We get all pumped up for action and then take a seat! The issue with this is we just had a major chemical release in our bodies and we need an effective way to release it if we are not fighting or flighting.

As the new economic realities rear their ugly heads, the really good times have passed just as quickly as the came. Now we will not be able to avoid the new stress of modern times. But we do need to find ways to bring ourselves back in balance. Afterall, that is what is changing–balance. As our stress is taken to higher levels, so must our relaxation be taken to an equal and opposite level. We need to find the balance.

A massage has the attributes of the relaxation response. A massage helps your body to relax. Certain massages like a reflexology massage, for example, can actually reverse the stress reaction. Reflexology massage targets the trigger points in your feet or hands which help relax and calm the major organs. As the major organs relax, the rest of the body follows bringing total body relaxation. A massage also helps to bring greater mental awareness and clarity.

Swedish massage and Shiatsu massage are the two most universal massage therapies. They have different treatments for the body and different benefits. Both are effective and depend on what the user is looking for. Shiatsu has its origin in Japan. It uses pressure, kneading and tapping to increase awareness while relaxing the whole body. Swedish has its origin in Northern Europe. It uses a combination of 6 techniques to relieve and rejuvenate the muscles throughout the body.

One of the best tools in the arsenal of stress relief in one of the top massage chairs by Sanyo, Omega or Panasonic. These massage chairs have the capability to deliver shiatsu, Swedish, Hawaiian, deep tissue, sports, reflexology and more massage therapies. Have a particular problem area? Then zero in on that area. These robotic masseuses can cover you from head to toe.

We know our stress is going up, so we need to balance that we a higher level of relaxation. We need to periodically and effectively flush and release the stress form our bodies. A massage chair is the most economic and feasible way to do this. After all, with new challenges come new solutions. Your own massage chair is the ticket to finding the new balance in the new economy. Do you got stress? Get a jump on the new economy with a stress relieving and relaxation massage chair machine.

19thSeptember

Anger Management

Some people tend to become vengeful in a fit of anger. The fact about the matter is that vengeance never did anyone any good. The energy you exert being vengeful can be diverted towards a good cause.

The truth remains that there is nothing wrong with getting angry. What is wrong however is if you get angry without controlling the way you express it. Some people actually think that getting angry is wrong and do everything in their power to stuff the anger they feel deep inside. This will only make it worse and is not an effective anger management technique.

Don’t think that it is something of an evil thing to get angry because anger is normal. Anger is considered evil when it gives birth to other worse and negative actions and behaviors. It isn’t possible that you won’t get angry at all but the best thing will be to learn how to effectively control it so that it doesn’t wreak havoc on people around you.

Do you know that anger serves as a barrier when it is not routed properly? You can lose friends over your anger problem if you are not careful. If you are keen about keeping your friends close and not pushing them away, learn how to control your anger. It’s very important.

You can easily progress from feeling stumped by a certain problem to feeling extremely annoyed. To learn how to get angry less often, try and change your perspective. Look at every problem or obstacle that faces you as an opportunity for you to hone your problem solving skills. In other words, learn to use anger productively instead of destructively. This is a very smart thing to do as regards anger management.

You should bear in mind that anger is a highly volatile emotion that can create a lot of havoc if it isn’t controlled. If you have the tendency to be abusive for instance when you are angry, chances are people don’t like to be around you that much. You can loose friends and families over the matter of unrestrained anger.

You can do a lot of damage to yourself when you get angry unnecessarily. Anger unrestrained can lead to a host of health problems because of the strain it puts on the body. You should learn how to control anger for the sake of your health because you owe it to yourself to be healthy all the time.

It really does not matter which setting anger is negatively expressed. Whether anger is unleashed in the workplace, home or school, it can extremely be demoralizing to you and people around you. Anger can make you lose your self respect and confidence if you don’t rein it in properly.

by Phil Beryl

To begin with, meditation is an eminent factor in life; it’s connected with energy healing technique that’s just right for people who live with a great deal of trauma from workplaces or other areas of their lives.

When addressing many persons as a speaker, do not ever undervalue the power of wit as regards gaining the audience’s attentiveness, specially when the atmosphere is quite tense or unexciting while you’re speaking.

Negative feelings can obviously hold you confined if you pay attention to them; so when a damaging idea pops up, forget about it rather than focusing on it.

You need to discover that time should be managed systematically to contain what you yearn to achieve; this doesn’t imply just attainments as well as fame due to the fact that you need to include fun time also.

Through energetic coaching, people of firms can take up fair practices easily from their coaching leaders; so, this means that they can undoubtedly also be coaching leaders as well.

Self improvement involves reading the proper sorts of Information Products, looking at the proper sorts of educational and motivational materials and even working highly hard on yourself day after day.

A personal characteristic of optimistic men and women is keenness; they do not capitulate without a fight. Also they’re really open-minded on the ways to their targets; any person working to enhance his or her life has to aim to live like them.

Different teens are led to think that they’re of no worth and consequently, their confidence is dreadfully eroded and such a situation will truly not help any of them in any way; it is the exact opposite of self enhancement, instead, it is self destruction.

As a concludinge remark, by exercising self improvement, you will observe that you are very more in control of your life and you will be very more inspired.

by Phil Beryl

To open, it is of tremendous value that you discover what your personal fashion is, in addition to your own technique of having things done if persons are to spot your worthiness.

To converse extremely well, your audience ought to be kept attentive with an eye catching gaze as it makes them look compelled to listen; they get the feeling that they are advantageous and they are for the reason that you wouldn’t be speaking if they are not there. An incredibly fine self enhancement advice is this - do not shy away from optimistic physical contacts with companions as well as lovely family for the reason that it goes a surely long way; even a fine embrace has its own rewards.

Individuals are not born leaders or stars, individuals upgrade themselves by remaining positive, developing self conviction and entering into self improvement which will certainly take them a long way.

It is possible to elevate your inkling by meditating because it will truly help you clear your mind and even make it possible for you to discover the peace within yourself; it truly can be a fine self improvement strategy. Unlike negative people who have the tendency to believe in regular bad happenings, positive persons explain their situation in a highly varying mode in the sense that, to them, regret can be just transitory and victory will undeniably come.

A personal trait of optimistic people is enthusiasm; they do not surrender without a fight. Also they are really open-minded on the ways to their visions; any individual working to upgrade his or her life must aim to live like them.

Even teens can gain a lot from self improvement; as parents, try to constantly work on bettering every aspect of your children’s lives - their studies, their physical strength, their communication skills, etc.

In ending, in the aspect of self improvement, coaches are supposed to act as your guides and inspiration to push you as hard as it’s possible to go; a fine uplinewill truly not make life difficult for you just for the reason that you have not done much or you have not performed well.

by Phil Beryl

There are a great deal of things that we have to consider regularly which impacts our health. One very general thing that is felt by people in standard are Cephalalgia, or headaches. As a matter of fact, numerous people have Headaches so frequently that they simply learn to live with them and deal with the pain as best they can. Still others have Head Aches, such as migraines, which are almost intolerable to ignore and become a life altering because of their intensity. As a result of these Head Aches, several people have turned to acupuncture in order to find some succor from their distress.

There are in truth two different types of individuals who go to an acupuncturist in order to look for relief from their Head Aches. There are those who are currently experiencing a Cephalalgia, or headache and those that are trying to get some kind of preventative care in order to arrest the next Cephalalgia, or headache from occurring or to lessen its intensity. These are two very different situations and are treated differently from the acupuncturist’s standpoint. Depending on your situation when you enter their office will make a difference in how your treatment is taken care of.

The reason why this is the case is because acupuncture is a way of moving energy throughout your body and it also can increase blood flow to certain areas. The way of treating an existing Head Ache differs somewhat from the treatment that will assist in blocking future Head Aches. Your doctor will be able to make that determination and to adjust the treatment accordingly.

Numerous people try acupuncture treatments to stop their Head Aches but they are nervous whenever they enter into the office. Perhaps they have never known about acupuncture before and are curious about how it is going to feel or if it is dangerous. The fact is, acupuncture is one of the least dangerous medical treatments that is in existence. Although it is possible for problems to come about, it is very rare and if the doctor is renowned and utilises sterile means when inserting the needles there is little need for worry. The needles themselves rarely hurt whenever they enter into the skin and often make the individual feel either relaxed or even rejuvenated.

So, if you are going through Head Aches, the medieval Chinese art of acupuncture may be able to assist you in dealing with them. By bringing your body back into balance, you may be able to overcome your Headaches once and for all.

17thSeptember

Emotions In Gift-Giving

by Phil Beryl

What motivates you to buy? Whether it is a vacation to Fiji, or even Peoria, a brand new Mercedes, or perhaps a used VW Beetle, or a Gucci bag or a nice slightly used but gently worn sweater from the local Goodwill, it had to do with yours (and my) emotions.

It might be an item for yourself, or a gift for someone else, I find that a lot of motivations come into play when I buy or even decide on a movie. Now, at midlight, I notice it, but never did before. I would just impulsively spend. I tend not to buy as much for myself as I did in my younger more “show-off” days, that is, when it was important for people not only to know me, but know what I possessed (as if they cared….they were too busy buying things for self to make sure others new them and what all they possessed). The age of yuppie-dom. Those were the days, eh?

Nowadays, I find it “a hoot” to give gifts or cards or both, often for no apparent reason, and give them to those close to me. I won’t just buy any gift, or send any bouquet to my significant other. Today the gift has to really mean something of significance, though it need not break the pocketbook. It’s fun and appreciated by the recipient.

For instance, a very significant (female) other and I like to joke often about Victoria’s Secret merchandise. It is not that we have any kind of fetish or unnatural desire of their products; we just both find it funny how, at one time, it was such an “underground store”, not too unlike Frederick’s Of Hollywood, which, for whatever reason has decided to keep it’s “underground image”, whereas V.S. (as she and i like to call it), has become as mainstream as mom, apple pie, and sex toy parties.

My business is cartooning and I design a great many images onto a variety of products such as funny tshirts, key chains, aprons, mouse pads, etc. I recently decided to send her a variety of funny gift items with one of my Victoria’s Secret cartoons on them. The total order was less than $100 and it was a boxful. Had I sent this same gift to, say, a close male friend, my brother, my mean cousin, or my Uncle Fred, I truly don’t think any of them would have appreciated the gift as much, though they may have deemed it ridiculously funny.

Emotions, thoughts, and feelings are very important when buying a gift. Uncle Jack for instance loves fishing, so I find myself picking out some of my cartoon items such as mug, sweatshirt, or even fishing cap or whatever with various fish cartoons on them. I can assure you he appreciates them as much as my sweetie appreciates the Victoria’s Secret cartoon gifts, and appreciates it even more that I take the time to remember, he prefers fishing over wearing anything from Victoria’s Secret, unlike my significant other, which brings me back to emotions. I think V.S. is a gift for “us”, not just “her”.

16thSeptember

Stress Management

by Phil Beryl

Stress just seems to be part of our lives like eating and breathing. There are more demands placed on us over shorter time periods than perhaps ever in the history of mankind. In the days of old, stress was usually from physical danger. If you were a pioneer for example, then the seeing of Indians would definitely cause stress as the pioneer surely feared physical harm. This type of stress is called the flight or fight reaction. However, in modern times most of our stress is mental and not physical. Yet our bodies have the same reaction to mental stress as they do to physical stress.

This reaction to stress causes the body to kick itself into high gear. Our heart rate is increased, the major organs shut down all but the most basic functions and adrenaline is pumped out to boost our energy. There is a major redirection of chemical reactions in the body to get it immediately ready for action. However, with many of the stresses we encounter there is no physical release to all this redirection of energy. This can be problematic since many toxin are the by product of these chemical reactions and these stay in the body.

Stress comes from so many different situations, that we are not able to eliminate its causes. Rather we need effective stress management techniques. Professional athletes are able to redirect the build up of stress into ways to enhance their performance. This is a very positive way to deal with the build up of stress. The only downside for most of us, is where professional athletes have a physical release of the stress from their bodies with physical exertion, but we may not.

For those of us under stress at work or otherwise, we may not have the physical outlets that can effectively release this built up stress. Massage therapy is an excellent method to counteract the build up of these mental stresses. Massage therapy helps to relax the muscles by loosening them up. It helps to reduce the toxin build up in muscles and tissues. Reflexology massage targets the major organs for relaxation via the trigger points in the hands and feet.

Massage chair recliners have many effective massage therapies with proven beneficial effects. Massage chairs come equipped with Shiatsu massage, Swedish massage, Deep Tissue and many others. Each of these massage treatments target specific areas and have different benefits. In general, they all help induce relaxation and help to ease aches and pains. Massage helps to remove toxins from the body and enhances circulation of the blood and lymph. Both the blood and lymph clean the body of toxins and other potentially harmful substances.

Massage cannot eliminate the causes of stress. Stress comes in many forms and individuals all respond differently to them. However, massage therapy can be an essential tool in stress management. Especially massage chairs which offer unprecedented convenience and availability. These massage chairs offer full body massage capability. They can massage from head to toe. Many advanced massage chairs have stretching capabilities to elongate and relax the lower body. They also may have built in music players which help take your mind off the mental stresses impacting you.

Stress management is about having the right set of tools to effectively redirect, neutralize and release the affects of stress. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to sit down in a massage recliner. Let it start to ease your aches and pains. Release the build up of tension in the shoulder and neck areas. Take your mind off the stressful situation for 15 or 20 minutes. Give you a chance to regroup, rethink your situation with a fresh mind and body. A massage chair recliner can be a very effective and convenient tool in your stress management tool box.