Obesity additives... the bane of processed foods

Many of the chemicals all too commonly found in today's foods can be just as addictive as alcohol, cigarettes, and even various street drugs.

The stuff they are putting in our food to keep it artificially "fresh" for years and even decades, can actually make changes in our brain chemistry...causing us to become addicted to gaining body fat. 

Furthermore, in order to make you crave what they have, the industry spikes your food with: Trans fats, caffeine, MSG, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, flavoring, extra salt, and sugar. What you get is a food time bomb disguised as a healthy treat. 

No wonder we all struggle so much... 

With all of this in mind, here are three ways obesity additives work to make our bellies bulge: 

1. Two of these obesity additives interfere with a hormone called leptin that tells the brain we are full while eating. 

2. Other obesity additives add fat by changing how our bodies use the calories we eat. They do this by increasing a fat-storing hormone called insulin. When this happens, calories are converted to fat instead of being stored as "muscle energy." This leads to fat deposits in all of our trouble areas—like under the chin, the backs of the arms, the belly, and the lower body. 

3. Still other obesity additives actually make us addicted to them and cause us to eat uncontrollably. They do this by altering brain chemicals called neurotransmitters—just like a highly addictive drug does. 

A Short List of Obesity Additives to Stay Away From... 

Stripped Carbohydrates (listed as sugar, flour, enriched white flour, white flour, enriched bleached flour, enriched wheat flour, wheat flour, semolina flour, white rice, maltodextrin, glucose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), fructose, sucrose, dextrose, and levulose)

Artificial Sweeteners (listed as Splenda (sucralose), NutraSweet (aspartame), Sunette (acesulfame K), and Sweet ‘N Low (saccharin). The scientists believe that artificial sweeteners may “short-circuit” the body’s natural ability to sense how much it has eaten.)

Added Caffeine in soft drinks and energy drinks (a few cups of green tea or coffee each day are fine)

High Saturated Fats (also listed as partially hydrogenated oils and trans fats)

MSG (also labeled as monosodium glutamate)

Excess Alcohol (if you must, one to two drinks per week)

Excess Salt/Sodium (in chips, crackers, canned food items, pickles, various cheeses, pretzels, condiments, and salted nuts.)


This note came from Michael Lovitch, Co-founder of The Hypnosis Network, describing information povided by Josh Bezoni in a new class he is offering. 09-30-10

Opportunity or Suffering

I deeply enjoyed this wisdom teaching offered by Richard Rudis, an expert Tibetan Singing Bowl healer, in his recent newsletter, Dharma Tapestry.  -jd An old beggar has been sitting by the side of the same road for thirty years asking for hand outs - for he had nothing. A stranger walked by: "Spare some change?" the beggar asked. "Sorry, I have nothing to give you," said the stranger, “ but what's that you're sitting on?" "Just an old box,” replied the beggar, “I've been sitting on it for as long as I can remember.” “It appears to me to be a curious thing - have you ever look inside?," asked the stranger. "No," said the beggar, "What's the point, there's nothing in there." "How can you be so certain," insisted the stranger. So the beggar, reluctantly, managed to pry open the lid and find, to his astonishment, it filled with gold. (based on a parable told by Eckhart Tolle) In my life, from time to time, I have been both the stranger and the beggar - I imagine we all have been. I sometimes find myself rooted in place, certain of my surroundings, my lot-in-life, my past - present & future, disregarding (or even worst un-recognizing) the many opportunities that are naturally presented to me daily. Recently I was confronted with a change that was unexpected, unwanted and undesirable. Fixed in my position I mentally ranted at the situation while physically accepting and halfheartedly moving forward. Life is a funny old place - isn’t it? I know better yet lost in the unwanted I attached myself to the apparent suffering of change and failed to ask myself; what treasure am I ignoring? How can I pry open this lid? I am still looking for the gift but hopefully now I’ll see it as it presents itself. Namaste, Richard Rudis (Karma Sonam Dorje)

Problem-solving, Norman Vincent Peale

"Believe that problems do have answers. 

Believe that they can be overcome. 

Believe that they can be handled. 

And finally, believe that you can solve them."

- Norman Vincent Peale

Letting Go, 10 affirmations by Melody Beattie

"EACH DAY, we can ask for and accept the healing energy of God and the Universe. Open your hearts and let that energy flow to you, through you, and on to others. When you live in the here-and-now, you can allow life to happen instead of trying to force outcomes. When you relinquish regrets over the past and fears about the future, you can truly make the most of each present day."

Here are 10 affirmations to help you let go and let life happen!

.... these affirmations take on such topics as change, fear, self-esteem, risks, forgiveness, peacefulness, & allowance. Here is one sample:

Today I will be open to the process of change. I will trust my Higher Power and believe that the place where I’ll be dropped off is better than the place where I was picked up. I know that change is necessary to take me wherever I need to go.

Melody Beattie - the best-selling author of The Language of Letting Go, has written 12 books.

© 2010 HAY HOUSE

Music is a powerful healing therapy

Take two concertos and call me in the morning-
Why music is winning a wider audience in medicine.

excerpt:

"For decades, psychotherapists have used music to treat people with psychological and behavioral problems. More recently, though, music-based therapy of the kind experienced by Richter has become a popular complement to surgery and drugs. In the U.S., doctors use music to help stroke victims relearn to talk. In Canada, it’s employed to make surgical procedures involving spinal anesthesia more bearable. German physicians use it to ease migraines. In Israel, it has been shown to improve cognitive function in schizophrenics. And in Switzerland, music is used as a treatment for geriatric patients with -cognitive problems.

Music and medicine share a long history. The oldest evidence of musical therapy goes as far back as the third millennium BCE, when Sumerians composed temple hymns to cure the sick. Healing incantations and musical instruments were also prescribed in ancient China and Egypt. In The Odyssey, Homer describes how a healer’s chant stopped a wound from bleeding. Music remained part of the curriculum for aspiring physicians until the 17th century, when it was employed to treat disorders. It was only in the 19th century that music lost its link to medicine.

But music’s physiological effects are as pronounced as its psychological effects..."

© Ode Magazine USA, Inc.

Read on, by clicking the title link, about the Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine (IMMM) and more innovative uses of music (both listening and active playing) as a path for healing.

Manage Stress with Love...

Quiet, Please...

A thoughtful article on the value of taking time in our lives to be quiet. Several people have approached me to provide meditation instruction and opportunity, only to drop it after a couple of classes. It is often not so easy to discipline ourselves to remember why we wanted meditation in the first place... until things get a little crazy, overwhelming, scattered. Then I think, if I had taken the time to be quiet, to listen to my insides, to my heart, to let the dust settle, this day could have been easier... ~jd

**********************

When was the last time you were quiet enough

to really feel your pulse, to notice the rhythm of your body,

and hear your heart's messages?

For most of us, it's been a long time, much longer in fact than is good for us. And as a result of not being quiet enough to pay attention to our inner world, we lose touch with the inner messages, both simple and profound, about what decisions are really good for our lives.

Unfortunately, the excuses for not taking the time to be quiet are many. Personally, my primary excuse is that I have too much to do... I'm too busy, there's too much on my plate. But I have recently made a new commitment (I had to re-commit to this one!) to take the time every day to stop, be quiet, and listen to my inner voice.

Which excuses do you use? Below are some typical "yes, buts that I and my workshop participants use to avoid or "forget" to be quiet during the day:

(1) I'm too busy to take time to be quiet, I can't afford the extra time.

Actually, you can't afford *not* to take the extra time. It will save you so much time later if you are still and quiet for a few minutes a day and if you listen to what is right for you.

(2) I don't know how to really be quiet and make it useful.

This is a common complaint - we weren't taught how to make "being quiet" useful for us, so we don't know "how" to be quiet and improve our lives. Sometimes we just need to practice being quiet, and notice the benefits later. In other words, be quiet every day, and don't focus on "usefulness" yet.

(3) It doesn't feel safe to be quiet, I don't like what I hear.

This is a wonderful "tappable" issue of course, because it means that at least one time in your life, when you were quiet, you were very uncomfortable with the "messages" you received. Tapping on this fear of not being safe will move you forward dramatically.

(4) I get bored being quiet. I need to be doing something more "productive."

Yes, this represents our societal value system to be "productive." If we could only realize how "productive" we could be by being quiet and still in our lives. Getting bored? No worries, that's a "tappable" issue as well.

(5) What's the point of being quiet -- I don't see the value.

There are so many "points" of being quiet, the main one being that it's good for your body and soul. Isn't that valuable enough?

(6) It seems like a waste of time, I don't expect it to help me be more successful in my business.

Again, this reflects the hurrying mode we are all in... so we feel compelled not to "waste" any time, and need every minute to be "productive" for our businesses. Nothing could be further from the truth - slowing down and being still and quiet couldn't be a better use of your time, regardless of the business you own.

What if we could actually feel inspired to take time to be quiet and listen to our heart every day?

What if we could start to look forward to these "quiet times" in our day, to cherish and protect these times of stillness and self-reflection.

What if we committed to ourselves that we would take a few minutes every day to listen to our heart... I wonder how much would improve in our lives...

Why aren't you already taking time

to be still and quiet every day to listen

and respect what your heart is telling you?

In spite of my sporadic commitment to "being quiet" -- I have found so many benefits of being quiet and listening to my heart's wisdom. Here is my "top ten" list of benefits of being quiet and listening to what's going on inside...

(1) Being quiet allows you to access your heart's wisdom.

We all have incredible wisdom available to us, but we can't access what we don't take time to hear.

(2) Being quiet slows down your racing energy from the tasks of the day.

We all need a rest, a break from the high intensity pace we move at during the day.

(3) Being quiet actually helps you solve the problems that are taking up so much of your energy.

If we don't listen to our inner wisdom, we can't solve the problems of our lives.

(4) Allowing yourself time to be quiet slows down your reactivity... helps you be more measured when there are crisis situations.

Wouldn't it be nice to be less reactive in your life? Wouldn't it be a relief to be more useful in a crisis situation?

(5) Taking time to be still and quiet gets your body's rhythms back in sync... you'll feel more calm, centered and strong.

Stress from all parts of our lives creates tension and we tend to override the messages we should be paying attention to. Taking the time to be still and quiet slows this process down so you can feel more centered physically and emotionally.

(6) Taking time to be quiet and listen to your internal wisdom raises your vibration immediately.

Remember, that's the name of the game -- we want to find new ways to raise our vibration so the Universe "notices" that we are joyful and can interpret what we want.

(7) Being quiet allows you to be able to access your creative voice which is good for your business and personal life.

I love being creative (see my newsletter from a few weeks ago, "More Creativity, Please...") because it helps me personally and professionally. I seem to "hear" better ideas, execute them more elegantly, and overall, feel more peaceful about my life.

(8) Being quiet helps you focus on what you do want, not what you don't want.

Sometimes in the busy day, we are more focused on what we are trying to fix rather than on what we want to manifest. Being quiet helps us remember what we do want.

(9) Allowing yourself time to be quiet gives you emotional relief from the daily static and stress of your life.

Any time we are adding "relief" to our day, we are raising our vibration and allowing ourselves to manifest more abundance.

(10) Being quiet... is, well, quiet and restful, and being quiet and restful is good for all the systems in your body and your mind.

When you take care of your immune system, your body/mind connection and the balance in your life, you will be more successful in every part of your life.

The important question is:

Are you worth it?

This "habit" of taking time to be quiet should be right up there with sleeping, brushing your teeth and tapping... so why isn't it on your daily schedule?

It's your choice...

Choose to put aside time to be still and quiet,

to listen to and respect your inner wisdom

and watch your vibration improve!

by Carol Look

The way we're working isn't working

"The first mistake most of us make is that we try to operate as if we’re computers -- at high speeds, for long periods of time, running multiple programs at the same time. In fact, human beings are meant to pulse – to move between spending and renewing energy. Our most basic survival need is to spend and renew our energy – to inhale and to exhale. We’re hardwired to make waves – to be alert during the day and to sleep at night, and to work at the highest intensity only for limited periods of time."

Tony Schwartz, author of The Way We're Working Isn't Working
Link:
THE ENERGY PROJECT