Energy and Emotion Must Move

Excerpt from: Lola Jones' wonderful book, Things Are Going Great In My Absence


"Emotion, which is a form of energy, is supposed to move and flow through us. When emotion or energy can't flow through us, our experience of the Divine is pinched off. Every malady can be traced back to energy that was not allowed to move freely.

Too many spiritual people try to avoid negative emotions, transcend them, or deny them. They want to leap straight to love and peace when they feel a negative emotion. I call it the "spiritual bypass". Interestingly their spiritual development in stunted until they dive into the very human realm of emotions. Enlightenment requires fully embracing the whole human experience, not rising above it or escaping it.

"When we try to push negative feelings away, they last longer, because by focusing on what we want, we give them more life and they grow. When we try to hold onto positive feelings or experiences, we're operating as if there is a scarcity of them. When we realize that there is an endless supply, there is no need to try to freeze them and keep them. Stop trying to hold on to positive emotions or experiences, or trying to push away negative emotions or experiences, since doing either is trying to stop something that is innately designed to move.

"It's your birthday party and you open a fabulous gift, you savor it, you pass it around and enjoy it as long as you can, but the next gift you open will be different. It won't be the same as that one, but hopefully you can enjoy the next one, too, then move on to the next gift, and the next. Experiences are like that. They come and go, and there will be more. Source provides an endless supply of delights and experiences, and when we're open and relaxed, each one gets sweeter than the last, eternally."

"Don't hold onto the gift. Hold on to the Giver."

I invite you to go to Lola's website and learn more about this witty, wise and wonderful woman and the amazing work she is doing to bless and transform the world. Just click on the link below:
http://www.lolajones.com/
From the Newsletter: Blessings Experiment Update 08/29/07, Copyright 2007 Kate Nowak. All rights reserved

Stop, Count to Ten

When we enter into an intimate relationship, few of us escape visitations of insecurity and shame, of aversion and jealousy. Learning to bring an openhearted presence to these kinds of feelings, rather than reacting out of fear or hurt, is not easy. But when we are willing to stay put and pay attention at precisely the moments when we most want to lash out, cling tightly, or pull away, our relationship becomes a path of deep personal healing and spiritual transformation. As with any type of yoga, one of the blessings of the yoga of relationships is the profound inner freedom that comes from realizing the goodness and beauty of our essential Being.

Learning to pause is the first step toward transformation and healing. We pause by stopping what we're doing—we stop blaming, withdrawing, obsessing, distracting ourselves. In the space a pause creates, our natural awareness arises, allowing us to be mindful, to recognize what is happening inside us without judgment. By pausing, we begin to dismantle lifelong patterns of avoiding or distancing.

The Yoga of Relationships
http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/998_1.cfm

A More Perfect Union
http://www.yogajournal.com/views/1364_1.cfm

Lunar Eclipse Tonite, August 28, 2:52 a.m. Pacific

Well, if you missed it too bad, it was fantastic, and looked much like these photographs! J.D.

The event begins 54 minutes past midnight PDT (0754 UT) on August 28th when the Moon enters Earth's shadow. At first, there's little change. The outskirts of Earth's shadow are as pale as the Moon itself; an onlooker might not even realize anything is happening. But as the Moon penetrates deeper, a startling metamorphosis occurs. Around 2:52 am PDT (0952 UT), the color of the Moon changes from moondust-gray to sunset-red. This is totality, and it lasts for 90 minutes.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/03aug_dreamyeclipse.htm

Rise-and-Shine Cookies, from the American Heart Association

Serves 15; 2 cookies per serving

Cookies for breakfast? Sure—when they are rich in fiber and low in fat and taste like big chunks of granola. Make these ahead of time for a quick breakfast treat.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Egg substitute equivalent to 1 egg

3 tablespoons canola or corn oil

1 1/4 cups quick-cooking or regular rolled oats

1/2 cup wheat germ

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, stir together flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, egg substitute, and oil. Stir until well combined. Stir in flour mixture, oats, and wheat germ.

Drop dough by tablespoons about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. Flatten slightly to a 2-inch diameter with your hand or the bottom of a glass. Bake 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool on wire racks. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for one week or in the freezer for several weeks.

Nutrition Analysis (per serving)
Calories	116
Total Fat	4.0 g
Saturated	1.0 g
Polyunsaturated	2.0 g
Monounsaturated	1.0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Sodium	74 mg
Carbohydrates	18 g
Protein	3 g

This recipe is reprinted with permission from the American Heart Association Quick & Easy Cookbook, Copyright © 1995 by the American Heart Association. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. Available from booksellers everywhere.

http://www.goredforwomen.com/love_your_heart/recipe_of_the_month.html

Speaking from your heart...

"People have important things to communicate. Speaking from your heart allows the emotionally difficult, the ordinary, and the wonderful things in our lives to be communicated and received."

David McArthur and Bruce McArthur,
The Intelligent Heart




Burney Falls, CA
Photo by Janis Davies, 2007. All Rights Reserved
Institute of HeartMath. HeartQuotes is a trademark of Quantum Intech, Inc. Copyright © 2007

Study Shines Light On Benefit Of Vitamin D In Fighting Cancer

A new study looking at the relationship between vitamin D serum levels and the risk of colon and breast cancer across the globe has estimated the number of cases of cancer that could be prevented each year if vitamin D3 levels met the target proposed by researchers.

Cedric F. Garland, Dr.P.H., cancer prevention specialist at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and colleagues estimate that 250,000 cases of colorectal cancer and 350,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented worldwide by increasing intake of vitamin D3, particularly in countries north of the equator. Vitamin D3 is available through diet, supplements and exposure of the skin to sunlight.

The serum level recommended by the study would correspond to intake of 2000 International Units per day of vitamin D3 for a meaningful reduction in colorectal cancer. The researchers recommend 2000 IU/day, plus, when weather allows, a few minutes in the sun with at least 40% of the skin exposed, for a meaningful reduction in breast cancer incidence, unless the individual has a history of skin cancer or a photosensitivity disease.

Garland also recommends moderate sun exposure and use of clothing and a hat when in the sun longer than 15 minutes.

"The message is, depending on where you live, you may need to consider taking in considerably higher levels of vitamin D3 than those currently recommended," said Garland. "I'd recommend discussing vitamin D needs with a health care professional, who may order and interpret a simple blood test for a vitamin D metabolite [25(OH)D], and provide a dosage recommendation that's appropriate for the individual's needs."

The study was co-authored by Cedric F. Garland, Dr. P.H., Sharif B. Mohr, M.P.H., Edward D. Gorham, M.P.H., Ph.D., and Frank C. Garland, Ph.D., of the Division of Epidemiology at the UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and Moores UCSD Cancer Center; and William B. Grant, Ph.D., of the Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center, San Francisco.

Link to Complete Article: Click Here

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of California - San Diego.
Copyright © 1995-2007 ScienceDaily LLC — All rights reserved

Connections, Herman Melville

HeartQuotes is a trademark of Quantum Intech, Inc. Copyright © 2007, HeartMath LLC All rights reserved.

Why Memories Haunt Us

Whether Happy or Painful, Emotional Memories Resist Forgetting

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical News

"I have done it," says my memory. "I cannot have done it," says my pride, refusing to budge. In the end, my memory yields.

-- Friedrich Nietzsche

In memory everything seems to happen to music.

-- Tennessee Williams

Aug. 17, 2007 – Why do we remember things we'd rather forget? Emotion is the culprit, researchers find.

There are some things -- perhaps many things -- each of us would just as soon forget. Psychologists have proven that it's possible to intentionally forget things. So why can't we forget these things?

That's the question explored by University of North Carolina psychologists B. Keith Payne, PhD, and Elizabeth Corrigan.

You really can't simply erase memories from your mind, Payne and Corrigan note. But you can keep yourself from remembering things -- some things -- by using two simple strategies. First, you isolate the thing you want to forget from other memories. And then, if the memory tries to emerge, you block it.

That's very helpful when you want to keep the memory of where you parked yesterday from interfering with the memory of where you parked today. It might also be helpful if it worked to forget a painful or embarrassing event. But for some reason, that almost never works.

Exactly what makes such memories hard to forget? Emotion, theorized Payne and Corrigan. To prove it, they had 218 college students study two sets of pictures. There were 32 emotionally stirring pictures -- half pleasant and half unpleasant -- and 32 emotionally neutral pictures.

Students were told to study the first set of pictures. Half of the students were then told to forget the first set, and remember just the second set. The other students were told to remember both sets of pictures. Then both groups were asked to recall all of the pictures, regardless of what they'd been told before.

In earlier studies using word lists, researchers showed that people easily forgot the first list of items. And when they did, they were better at remembering the second list of items than those who tried to remember both lists. This is because the "forgetters" minds were less cluttered by the first list.

Payne and Corrigan found that their students were good at forgetting neutral pictures. But they did not manage to forget the emotionally stirring pictures, regardless of whether they were pleasant or unpleasant.

"Emotional memories were persistent, loitering even when they were asked to leave," Payne and Corrigan conclude. "The painful or unhappy memories people would most like to leave behind may be the ones that are most difficult to dislodge."

The researchers suggest that emotion makes intentional forgetting much more difficult. It's hard to isolate emotionally charged memories from other memories. And it's hard to suppress memories that are bright with emotion.

"Even a relatively mild emotional reaction can undermine intentional forgetting," Payne and Corrigan conclude.

The study appears in the September issue of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

SOURCES: Payne, B.K. and Corrigan, E. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, September 2007; early online edition. News release, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

© 2007 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.

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