Stepping up to take control
1.Hug somebody at least once every day.
2.Schedule a professional massage, facial or manicure.
3.If there is no one to touch, get a pet.
4.Go to a church where people embrace freely.
5.Consider whether your sex life is adequate.
6.Hold a baby, or comfort a toddler.
7.Volunteer at a day care center or animal shelter.
8.Discuss physical inhibitions with a therapist.
9.Plan a surprise romantic evening with partner.
10.Make a daily effort to be more affectionate.
11.Shake hands at every possible opportunity.
12.Take a Jacuzzi, hot tub or long, soothing bath.
13.Rub body with good-smelling lotion or oil.
14.Delight daily in the sensations of skin.
Colon Health
A clean colon can prevent a host of diseases. Look for ways to get and keep a healthy colon. The tips offered can be helpful. Following these detoxification suggestions may prolong your life.
Stepping up to take control
1.Eat fiber-rich foods, like raspberries, bananas, prunes, apples, oranges.
2.Eat vegetables, like broccoli, peas, celery and corn.
3.Eat grains, like brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa and whole wheat flour products.
4.Limit red meat consumption and steer clear of processed meats.
5.Hold the sugar.
6.Don’t hold it! If you feel a bowel movement coming, head for the bathroom and let it go. If you try to hold it in, built-up fecal matter can release toxins into your body, which has the potential to cause diverticulosis and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Regular bowel movements are one of the ways your colon keeps itself clean and health.
7.Drink your eight glasses of water a day to cleanse your body. Inadequate hydration can lead to a build-up of toxins in the body. As those toxins accumulate, the risk for constipation, bloating, gas, IBS and fatigue increases.
8.Vitamin D is considered advantageous to maintaining a healthy colon. You can get Vitamin D from 15-20 minutes of daily exposure to the sun and foods like bread, fatty fish, milk and cereal.
9.To keep your colon healthy, exercise is a huge part of the equation. By increasing the blood flow and circulation, your colon will get more oxygen.
Energy
Do you feel tired much of the time and lack the enthusiasm you used to have? Do you suffer from allergies, headaches, low-grade fevers, sore throats that won’t go away, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), irregular sleep patterns or pain or weakness in your muscles and joints?
These are all possible symptoms of energy drain—a condition that is running rampant in today’s society. Our 24-hour society is incompatible with anyone’s inborn energy level. The end result is that many are suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a psychosomatic illness, or just a persistent run-down feeling.
Each of you has an energy style. There are three energy styles. You use all of these on a regular basis: Initiator, Contributor and Follow-through. One of these styles is probably very compatible and feels comfortable, while the others may be stressful and draining for you.
Your Initiator energy is used when you take charge of a situation. These are situations where there is no taskmaster forcing you to do these things. Instead, you see a need or an opportunity, and you summon up your inner energy to make it happen.
The Contributor style is used when you are assisting others in getting a job done. You are a supporter and a contributor.
The Follow-through energy can be compared to a bulldozer or a locomotive: Once you get the engine started, it just keeps chugging along until it reaches the goal.
What is your most comfortable energy style, and how does it compare with the demands of your daily life? Are you spending most of your time on tasks that use the energy style that is most comfortable to you, or are you forcing yourself to use a different style—and therefore sapping your energy reserves?
Your energy can be frittered away by trying to be someone you are not or by using an energy style that doesn’t fit with “the real you.”
Your mind is the one tool you use no matter what you do. When it is skillfully managed, it can be an endless source of power, creativity and joy. When you let it run wild, it can create unhappiness, stress and disease.
Think of your mind as a spirited horse. With an alert and skillful rider in the saddle, the horse will go wherever you want it to take you. But if you let go of the reins, the horse will run around chaotically, possible pitching you off into a field or gully. Or it might head back to the barn to eat hay. In either case, you are no longer in control of your destination.
As Mark Twain said: “I am an old man with many troubles, most of which never happened.” You see, most of the time the things you worry about never take place. Even when your conscious mind understands that and tells you everything will work out fine, you still worry and spin your wheels. You place stress on your body and become irritable with your friends and family.
Continually judging yourself and other people is another exhausting and self-destructive mental activity that can be a major energy drain. Take a moment to do a quick review of the thoughts you have been entertaining in your mind in the past hour or two. Are they happy, constructive, energy-building thoughts? Or are they negative, fearful, self-critical thoughts?
Whether you are a high-energy or low-energy person, you probably find it stressful and tiring to be around someone who is at the opposite end of the energy spectrum.
If you are a high-energy person, other energy styles may seem sluggish, lazy and maddeningly slow. If you are a low-energy person, on the other hand, you may feel intimidated by individuals who have more horsepower. You think high-energy people are hyperactive, unpleasantly intense and very tiring.
It is also draining to be around people who are quick to criticize, have a fiery temper, or sow negative seeds in the people around them. When you notice your energy is being sapped by another person, try to determine whether you are overreacting or being too judgmental, or whether the person has this effect on other people as well. It may be an opportunity to stretch yourself a little and become more accepting. Or, if the energy drain is significant, you may decide that you just want to steer clear of the person.
You get energy from various sources, including food, sleep, sunlight, exercise, the love and affection of your partners and friends. But the most important source of energy is your breathing.
You can go without food for weeks and without water for a day, but you can live for only a few minutes without breathing. This alone makes breathing the critical power function for you. Your breathing has become so much a part of you that you take it for granted. As long as you are not smothered or suffocated, you pay little attention to your breath.
Most of you breathe shallowly, leaving stale air in your lungs and reducing the flow of oxygen in your blood. By breathing deeply, you can oxygenate your mind and body, nourish vital organs, purify your blood and reduce nervous energy.
Your energy level fluctuates throughout the day