Changing Your Life 101 - The Starting Point
July 23, 2007
Changing Your Life 101 - The Starting Point
by: Carole Pagan
You dream of a better life, but you’re waiting for just the
right break? You could be waiting a very long time. In the
meantime, you can start changing your life today -
The Starting Point - Get control of what you can.
Getting your house cleaned up is essential. Living in chaotic,
messy, dirty conditions is about the most negative thing you
can do. Your home is your refuge. It’s the place where you
go to escape from the world, to rejuvenate, to plan. You
CANNOT replenish your spirit when you live in a chaotic
mess. Period.
Taking TOTAL care of yourself is also essential. It takes
a healthy and fit mind, body and spirit to accomplish
your goals.
You have to give your body good fuel so it can operate at
peak performance. Eat right and take your vitamins.
Don’t forget the water!
You have to give your body enough rest. Lack of rest
Losing Control
July 22, 2007
One of the most frightening things about melting from a normal, Solid, ego-based lifestyle, to a more Liquid, dynamic, spiritual one is that some concepts that you always assumed to be sound and good and true, start to lose their solidity. The very glue that holds together this solid, stable world begins to lose its cohesion. For example, take the simple concept of “self-control.” You have control of yourself. You are in charge of your Destiny, the Captain of your Fate, the Master of your Mind…
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Beyond these words lies madness. Madness to the Ego - Danger to the Me Story that you hold so dear. The very foundation of the dam is starting to crack. Do you really wish to stress it more? To destroy the dam will free the River of your Soul, but the dam, once in ruin, can never be rebuilt.
Control. A simple enough concept, but let us look a little closer, let us brush away the dust and cobwebs from this ancient box. Let us lift the lid and peer inside. Let us find the secrets hidden within. Let us look closely at an assumption that is as old as the hills - the assumption of self-control.
How Treadmills Compare To Other Types Of Home Fitness Equipment
July 21, 2007
When it comes to exercise, people like to walk or run. These are natural activities for us. They can have practical applications, such as getting from one place to another. They require less gear than many other forms of exercise (although you can spend a bundle on shoes, clothes and other accessories if you really wanted). And walking or running are great forms of exercise. They burn calories, work many muscle groups and strengthen cardiovascular components in the body. Walking is one of the best or perhaps the only feasible form of exercise for people with diseases such as osteoporosis, hypertension and chronic back pain. Walking doesn’t require a lot of technical know-how or instruction. We already know how to do it, and a few pointers about heart rate and breathing will at least get us on the road. In general, walking and running are easy and convenient ways to improve health and fitness and a home treadmill adds to this overall appeal.
According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, over 40 million consumers purchase treadmills each year and the number continues to grow. Treadmills account for over 1/3 of all home exercise equipment sales. So why do so many people choose treadmills and how do they compare to stair machines, stationary bikes and other home fitness equipment?
The Tragedy of Life
July 20, 2007
The Tragedy of Life
by: Gobala Krishnan
To quote Albert Schweitzer- “The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives”. I think he hit this one right on the spot, right where it hurts.
How many people really live life to the fullest? How many people really achieve the best they can, and fulfill their purpose? For each who does, there’s a thousand who never will. If killing your own dreams and god-given talents were a crime, the streets would be empty.
My personal goal in life is not to achieve perfection, but to be the best that I can be. My personal goal in life is not to chase impossible dreams, but to have one that I can live for. The sad part is that in my first three years of working as an employee, chasing the promotion that would never come, and the facade of importance and significance that consumed my better judgement, I let a part of me suffocate almost to the point of death.
Top 15 Reasons to Avoid Low Carb Diets
July 19, 2007
Low carb (carbohydrate), high protein diets are the latest
dieting craze. However, before you jump on the band wagon,
you may want to consider a few things:
1. Low carb (ketogenic) diets deplete the healthy glycogen
(the storage form of glucose) stores in your muscles and
liver. When you deplete glycogen stores, you also dehydrate,
often causing the scale to drop significantly in the first week
or two of the diet. This is usually interpreted as fat loss when
it’s actually mostly from dehydration and muscle loss. By the
way, this is one of the reasons that low carb diets are so
popular at the moment - there is a quick initial, but deceptive
drop in scale weight.
Glycogenesis (formation of glycogen) occurs in the liver and
muscles when adequate quantities of carbohydrates are
consumed - very little of this happens on a low carb diet.
Glycogenolysis (breakdown of glycogen) occurs when
glycogen is broken down to form glucose for use as fuel.
2. Depletion of muscle glycogen causes you to fatigue easily,
Anger — Lose Your Cool and Look Like a Fool
July 19, 2007
Anger — Lose Your Cool and Look Like a Fool
by: Gary Mosher
I recently witnessed a scene in a mall parking lot that has had a lasting effect on me - it was two middle-aged women arguing over a parking spot. They were both standing beside their cars and screaming at each other while waving their arms in a threatening manner. The argument eventually became a name-calling competition, with each trying to outdo the other. The sad thing was that the store wasn’t busy and there were plenty of empty spaces available. Their arguing became so heated that other shoppers began stopping to watch the spectacle. Meanwhile, the women’s children sat in their cars and witnessed the whole scene. How proud those kids must be!
The fact is that everybody gets angry. Whether it is at a family member, a co-worker or the stranger who took our parking spot, we all get angry. The problem with getting angry is that there is only a slim chance that it might solve the problem, but a much greater chance it’ll create new ones.
Leaving Storyville
July 18, 2007
One of the most difficult barriers to overcome on the path to spiritual growth is extracting yourself from the tenacious grip of the Ego Story. Unsuspectingly, many people are mesmerized and possessed by this mental illusion. Possessed like some demon possesses a poor, hapless soul. They are ignorant of their ignorance. They do not realize they are separate. They believe that they are the Story.
The robin, on an early spring morning, spies a worm burrowing into the soil. Two creatures - the bird and the worm. One sees the other. Two. One seeing the Other.
Finish this sentence: “I am a …”
Looking through the robin’s eyes - we see the worm. We see our beak, we feel the lust for something to eat, the warmth of the morning sun on our feathers. We experience all that the robin experiences. There are Two. We which see, and the robin’s experiences. Two. That which sees and That which is seen.
Did you finish the sentence? “I am a…” If you answered anything, then you too are possessed. You too are under the dark influence of the Story. You too are identifying with what you experience instead of that which is experiencing.
Four Big Weight Loss No-Nos
July 17, 2007
I’ve worked with hundreds of people who were interested in losing weight. Overthe years I’ve noticed four areas that I believe are particular hindrancesto weight loss. If your goal is to be successful at losing weight and keeping it off, avoid the “big 4″ no-nos.
#1 Big No-No: Not exercising on a daily basis. Daily exercise sends your metabolism through the roof! I have seen VERY FEW peoplewho are not very regular exercisers, loseweight AND keep it off.
Losing weight and maintaining that losscan be very difficult. However, both canbe made considerably easier with regularexercise, preferably in the morning.
If you’re interested in losing fat, you’reobjective is to create a daily caloricdeficit. For example, If you’re consuming1700 calories per day, and expending 2000calories per day, your caloric deficit is300 calories. Losing a pound of fat requiresa deficit of 3500 calories. So, to lose two pounds per week would require a dailydeficit of 1000 calories.
So, if you’d like to increase your daily caloric deficit, you have two options; 1. To decrease your caloric intake by eatingfewer calories, or..2. To increase your caloric expenditure via more activity / exercise.However, you cannot decrease your dailycaloric intake much lower than 1200 to 1500 or so without potentially creating health and metabolism problems.
The Importance Of Creatine In Building Lean Muscle
July 16, 2007
Creatine monohydrate can rightly lay claim to being the most popular and arguably most effective bodybuilding supplement currently available. The beauty of creatine is that it is 100% natural and occurs in many foods so it’s unlikely to be banned from any sports or competitions.
Let’s first establish what creatine actually is. In brief, creatine is produced naturally in our bodies to help supply energy to the muscles. It is produced in the liver, pancreas and kidneys before being transported in the blood to our muscles. It is then converted into phosphocreatine which is a powerful metabolite used to regenerate the muscles’ ATP source of energy.
From a bodybuilder’s perspective, creatine can significantly increase lean muscle mass quickly, improve performance in high intensity exercise, raise energy levels and speed up recovery rates. Creatine’s ability to raise energy in muscles is due to its muscle protein synthesizing action whilst reducing the breakdown of protein. This happens because creatine has the effect of super-hydrating muscle cells with water. It also improves muscle growth adding size and strength to muscle fibers.
You Can Have What You Want
July 15, 2007
You Can Have What You Want
by: Debbie Friedman
“You CAN have what you want, you know.”
Oh, how I love my friend CJ! He’s such a gift and a blessing. I had been running around for days trying to find a copy of the original “Layla” by Eric Clapton. Forget trying to find a copy of it on audiocassette in Los Angeles. I was going to have to go to CDs, which I don’t have in my car. But I was on a hunt.
I bought a shorter version at one store. When I asked the two very young people at the front desk for information on the long version of Layla they looked at me like I was from outer space. I bought the shorter version to walk out with some semblance of maturity and composure in my 50-year old body. I felt so incredibly old.
The short version was totally unsatisfying to me. I was thirsty for the original - the entire, long experience to savor. This urge - this craving - came on me when I went into a music store to buy recording equipment that I needed. Layla was playing on the store sound system and I found myself so joyful and playful. Hearing the song brought back such wonderful memories I felt like breaking out in a dance right then and there.
