Month: April 2012

I am thinking of new ideas for the blog……

I am in the process of racking my brain for new ideas for the blog. I know I generally post the “Doggie of the Day” and the “Special Kitty of the Day.” What I was wondering instead, how would you like it if I posted a “Daily Tarot Card” and “Daily Rune.” These would be no way similar to the Tarot & Rune for Divination each day. These would have a picture with them and also a description or meaning for each. I would start with the first card/rune and work my way through each respective set of Divination tools. Also I would start by giving you a brief history on the Tarot Cards and the Runes. It would be an on-line course for learning the Tarot & Runes. You would get the history, a picture of the card/rune and also the meaning. You could print these out and keep them for your own personal reference.

I think the “Special Kitty & Dog of the Day” are adorable. But I am not teaching you anything except how to recognize certain breeds of doggies! But it is up to you. I don’t want to do anything to run anyone off. I want to keep you all happy and do what the majority wants. Oh, these lessons would be posted were the “Special Kitty & Doggie” show up each day.

So what do you think? I will keep posting the Daily Kitty & Doggie till I hear from you. I just thought this other idea you might find beneficial especially if you want to learn the Tarot or Runes. I am waiting to hear from you. Let me know.

***If you don’t want to post a comment, just hit the hell out of the “Like” button, lol! And I will get the message loud and clear!***

Train Your Brain to Be Happy

Train Your Brain to Be Happy

  • Care2 Healthy Living Guest Blogger

By Elisha Goldstein, PhD

If you were sitting in a room and on the left hand in a cage you saw a growling lion and on the right hand side in a cage was a scenes of a beautiful beach, which would your brain be drawn to?

If you guessed the lion, you’re right. That is because we’ve been trained over thousands of years to focus on the negative at the expense of the positive. If our ancestors spent their days being mindful of the beautiful scenery while enjoying their lunch, odds are not too much later, they were lunch. They needed to practice focusing on where the danger was to survive. Centuries later we inherited this very well crafted brain that is more attracted to the negative than the positive. Since we aren’t often in physical danger today, how does this automatic negativity bias show up in our minds?

Here are 3 examples of some common “Mind Traps” that we frequently fall into that move us further away from happiness:

Catastrophizing: If you’re prone to stress and anxiety, you may recognize this habitual mind trap. This is where the mind interprets an event as the worst case scenario. If your heart is beating fast, you may think you’re having a heart attack. If your boss didn’t look at you while walking down the hall, you think you’re going to get fired. You get the picture. This style of thinking will support increased stress, anxiety, and even panic.

Discounting the positive and exaggerating the negative: The news is wonderful at supporting us with this one. This is where we habitually reject or minimize any positive feedback and magnify the negative feedback. The glass is always half empty. If you catch yourself saying something positive and then saying “but” followed by a negative, you are practicing this. “I got a 95 percent on this test, but I didn’t get a 100 percent.” Without awareness, this style of thinking will likely land you in a depressed mood.

Blaming: Be careful of this one. We all do it, pointing the finger at someone else for our woes or point the finger at ourselves for others woes. “If my boss wasn’t so hard on me at work, I wouldn’t be so anxious” or “It’s my fault my parents got divorced.” Just check in with yourself after noticing this style of thinking. It doesn’t cultivate any solutions and just makes you feel stuck, anxious, or depressed.

The question is how can we rebalance this automatic nature of our brains toward greater happiness?

There are some basic practices we can use to begin retraining our brain to get some space from these mind traps and refocus on what truly matters. We can change our brain to handle stress better, be more empathic, happier, less fearful, and even enhance our learning and memory. Learning theory teaches us that what we practice and repeat in life becomes automatic and neuroscience is proving that we can change the architecture of our brains by intentionally paying attention with greater mindfulness.

“See, Touch, Go” is a technique I talk about in my new book The Now Effect and it simply means when your mind wanders onto a mind trap for example, “see” where it wandered to, “touch” or notice the thought, and “gently go” back to the task at hand. Practicing “See, Touch, Go” with our common mind traps, will strip away any of the wasted attention on self-judgment or any other distracting thoughts and get you back to the task with greater focus, making you more productive and less stressed.

See, Touch, Go

The 3-minute video below is the first of 14 instructional videos that are woven throughout The Now Effect. I wanted to share the first one with you to give you an experience of “See, Touch, Go.” Give yourself a chance to practice it right now, then go ahead and bring it to the tasks at work, even your email.

(Note: The introduction in the video says, “thank you for buying The Now Effect” because the reader experiences this as the first video in the book.)

****You can find this video at http://www.care2.com/greenliving/train-your-brain-to-be-happy.html?page=2****

Come back to this to practice throughout the day and bring it informally to the tasks at home and work whenever you notice your mind wandering onto a mind trap or from what’s most important to pay attention to. You may even want to schedule a pop up in your calendar asking yourself “Where is my attention now?” When it pops up, take a breath and then answer the question. You may discover you were caught in a mind trap.

You may do this dance over and over again. The purpose isn’t to judge yourself if you’re distracted, but just become aware of it and gently refocus your attention. This mindful focus has been proven to help us become more flexible in our decision making, less stressed and happier at home and at work.

Try it out!

Managing Your Persistent Fears, Anxieties, and Stresses

Managing Your Persistent Fears, Anxieties, and Stresses

  • Eden, selected from AllThingsHealing.com

by Stanley Popovich, Contributor to Psychotherapy on Allthingshealing.com

Everybody experiences anxiety and depression in some form, however some people have a difficult time managing it. Here is a brief list of techniques that a person can use to help manage their most persistent fears and everyday anxieties.

When facing a current or upcoming task that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, the first thing you can do is divide the task into a series of smaller steps. Completing these smaller tasks one at a time will make the stress more manageable and increase your chances of success.

Sometimes we get stressed out when everything happens all at once. When this happens, a person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get her mind off of the problem. A person could get some fresh air, listen to some music, or do an activity that will give him a fresh perspective on things.

People should visualize a red stop sign in their minds when they encounter a fear-provoking thought. When the negative thought comes, people should think of a red stop sign that serves as a reminder to stop focusing on that thought and to think of something else. A person can then try to think of something positive to replace the negative thought.

Another technique that is very helpful is to have a small notebook of positive statements that makes you feel good. Whenever you come across an affirmation that makes you feel good, write it down in a small notebook that you can carry around with you in your pocket. Whenever you feel depressed or frustrated, open up your small notebook and read those statements. This will help to manage your negative thinking.

Learn to take it one day at a time. Instead of worrying about how you will get through the rest of the week, try to focus on today. Each day can provide us with different opportunities to learn new things and that includes learning how to deal with your problems. You never know when the answers you are looking for will come to your doorstep. We may be ninety-nine percent correct in predicting the future, but all it takes is for that one percent to make a world of difference.

Take advantage of the help that is available around you. If possible, talk to a professional who can help you manage your depression and anxieties. They will be able to provide you with additional advice and insights on how to deal with your current problem. By talking to a professional, a person will be helping themselves in the long run because they will become better able to deal with their problems in the future. Remember that it never hurts to ask for help.

Dealing with our persistent fears is not easy. Remember that all you can do is to do your best each day, hope for the best, and take things in stride. Patience, persistence, education, and being committed in trying to solve your problem will go a long way in fixing your problems.

National Stress Awareness Month

National Stress Awareness Month

  • Deborah, from HeartMath

April is National Stress Awareness Month and most of us are experiencing increasing stress levels. We know we should reduce our level of stress, but it can seem too hard to do when we’re just trying to keep up with everything we have to do. We may even be aware of the stress statistics like:

  • Chronic stress exacerbates health, communication and performance problems
  • Employees with high stress have 46% higher health costs (JOEM 2009)
  • 61% of the workforce is impacted by chronic stress, resulting in $300 billion of lost productivity (HERO).

We may even hear our inner voice whispering to change our ways or we may be the next statistic. It’s not surprising that Norman Anderson, CEO of the American Psychological Association said, “Stress could easily become our next public health crisis.” The APA’s Stress in America survey found that many Americans caught in a vicious cycle of managing stress in unhealthy ways, but lacking willpower and time to change.

I’m writing this on April 16th, National Stress Awareness Day, which is a day to focus on how stress is affecting our lives and to become pro-active about reducing our personal, family and work place stress.

There are simple, effective steps we can take, but first we have to be aware of how stress overload is affecting our attitude, relationships and health.

The American Psychological Association (APA) reported that stress is an increasing and on-going issue and many U.S. workers feel stressed out and undervalued.

Addressing the connection between stress, attitude and health has been my focus since studying psychology at the University of Chicago. Last year, I was invited to present HeartMath’s stress solutions, which are being used by thousands of health professionals, health care systems, businesses and the U.S. military, to a group of business leaders interested in addressing the “stress problem.”

These stress solutions are based on 20 years of scientific research at the Institute of HeartMath on the critical link between emotional self-regulation and cognitive performance. They empower people to reset their response to stress, increase their resilience and achieve behavior change.

Pre- and Post-assessments of over 5,000 employees and individuals found that, in just six to nine weeks, HeartMath’s stress solutions reduced these clinical stress factors:

  • 58% reduction in metabolic syndrome (three or more major risk factors)
  • 50% drop in fatigue
  • 46% drop in anxiety
  • 60% drop in depression
  • 30% improvement in sleep

Post-assessments after six months and then one year showed sustained improvements. An independent actuarial analysis of one self-insured employer showed a 2:1 ROI resulting in health care cost savings of $585 per HeartMath trained person in the first year alone, with a projected 4:1 ROI in the second year. A similar ROI has been achieved in other organizations.

Don Shaffer, President and CEO of RSF Social Finance writes about HeartMath solutions, “I feel we are at an inflection point in society at large. There is an incredible amount of uncertainty in the present and about the future. There is an unusual combination of factors going on now that are important in enabling people to see deeper into the very things that are most stressful right now, whether the economy, climate change and so on. I feel that what HeartMath is doing with stress reduction is part of what’s opening the field or opening a channel for people to be able to make progress in that path from being stressed out, uncertain, and anxiety-filled to a new level of personal and social responsibility. With HeartMath, I can take a step-by-step methodological approach to my own psycho-spiritual-biological health and see how that relates to the broader community and societal health. This is a unique time we are in, and because of the depth of the anxiety level, a broader number of the population is able to think about more radical and more far reaching solutions and HeartMath is able to be a bridge to that. HeartMath can speak in terms of biological health to spiritual health to community health.

To Become Open To New Relationships

Flower GraphicsTo Become Open To New Relationships

Items You Will Need:

Pink candle

Sunflower oil

Rose Quartz

The Spell:

Inscribe a pink candle with your name, then anoint it and the rose quartz with sunflower oil. Light the candle. Hold the stone in your hand, and visualize friendship and romance coming your way and new relationships forming.

Chant three times:

Open mind, and gain new life,

Gone from you, all stress and strife.

Open heart, gain life anew.

Accept all love that’s offered you.

Positive thought and word and deed

Enter now–of bane I’m freed.

Ancients, hear me–grant my plea

To new relationships, open me.

Place the stone by the candle and leave it there until the candle burns all the way down. Carry the stone with you.

 

Magickal Graphics

New Moon Report for April 16th – Mercury in Aries

Mercury in Aries

Monday, April 16, 3:42 pm PDT, 6:42 pm EDT

Mercury’s encore visit to rambunctious Aries emboldens speech and heats up ideas that cooled off when it backed out of this Fire sign on March 23. Now is the time to open channels of communication and pursue fresh fields of study. Patience could be lacking but the excitement of new perspectives provides enthusiasm and the motivation to put our words into action.

Calendar of the Moon for Monday, April 16th

Calendar of the Moon
4 Fearn/Elaphebolion

Alder Tree Month

Color: Crimson
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of crimson set a flaming brazier filled with charcoal and incense.
Offerings: Purification. Write what has been dragging your down, and place it in the fire.
Daily Meal: Hot, nourishing food.

Fearn Invocation

Call: Now is the time of the warming of Earth.
Response: Now is the time of the Sun’s first warmth.
Call: Now is the time when the waters of Spring are banished.
Response: Now is the time when fire dries the flood.
Call: Now is the time when the heat rises within us.
Response: Now is the time when our tears are dried.
Call: Now is the time when our inner floods give way.
Response: Now is the time when our inner fields are greening.
Call: Like the birds who build their nests in the Spring….
Response: Like the creatures of the woods who brave the open fields…
Call: As they brave the world….
Response: So we now brave the world.
Call: As they seek sustenance of the body….
Response: So we seek sustenance of the soul.
Call: As they are driven forth by need and the cycle of life…..
Response: So we are driven forth by need and the cycle of life.
Call: No house can contain our souls….
Response: As no house contains the foundation on which it is built.
Call: We will be the piles that lift the house from the water….
Response: And we will lift our spirits from the winter’s flood.
Call: We will be the island in the river….
Response: The islands where the future is told…
Call: And we will see that future running like the current….
Response: Knowing not where it will lead….
Call: Save by the grace of the gods.
Response: Save by the grace of the Gods.

Chant:
We gather at the river
We bring fire to the water
Our fire burns within us
The river parts before us

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for Monday, April 16th

Calendar of the Sun
16 Eostremonath

Iduna’s Blot

Colors: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of green place a bowl of apples in different colors, a horn of mead, a polished stone, a bowl of nuts, and many gardening tools such as hoes and spades.
Offerings: Today’s work should concentrate entirely on gardening, even in inclement weather. If there is an orchard, special care should be taken with it.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian. Serve fruit and nuts.

Invocation to Iduna

Hail to you, Lady of the Sacred Orchard!
Hail to you, gardener of Asgard!
Let the other gods quarrel
About who may sit higher than whom,
About whose sword is sharper
And whose spear is keener.
You, Lady, know your place,
And that place is indispensable.
You are the One Who Works,
The one without whom all the plans
And grandiosities of the others
Would simply come to nothing.
Giver of health and immortality,
Keep our bodies sound and strong!
Keep us healthy, that we may, like you,
Get up each and every morning
While the rest of the world quarrels
And go quietly to our tasks,
Working the Earth that you love so much,
Knowing that ours is the real work
And the real life, not some shell
Of unbodied, distanced work
Whose products we will never see.
Help us in our daily round of sacred labor,
Lady of the Sacred Orchard,
And may our gardens bloom as yours.

(The horn of mead is passed around, and the rest poured as a libation to Iduna. Each takes an apple and some nuts as a snack for their work-hours, and then each takes a gardening tool from the altar, thanks Iduna, and goes outside to work.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Monday, April 16th is a marvelous day for……

Fairy Comments & Graphics
April 16th

 

Cut Hair to Retard Growth, Mow to Retard Growth, Castrate Farm Animals, Dig Post Holes, Harvest, Wean, Quit Smoking, Potty Train, Jar Jams/Jellies, Wash Wooden Floors, Paint, Start Diet to Lose Weight, Kill Wild Onions and Weeds, Host a Party

 
~Magickal Graphics~

Your Correspondences for Monday, April 16th

Have a Great Day Images, Pics, Comments, Graphics
Correspondences for Monday, April 16th

Magickal Intentions: Psychic Sensitivity, Women’s Mysteries, Tides, Waters, Emotional Issues, Agriculture, Animals, Female Fertility, Messages, Theft, Reconcilliations, Voyages, Dreams and Merchandise
Incense: African Violet, Honeysuckle, Myrtle, Willow, Wormwood
Planet: Moon
Sign: Cancer
Angel: Gabriel
Colors: Silver, White and Gray
Herbs/Plants: Night Flowers, Willow Root, Orris Root, Birch, Motherwort, Vervain, White Rose and White Iris
Stones: Carnelian, Moonstone, Aquamarine, Pearl, Clear Quartz, Flourite, Geodes
Oil: (Moon) Jasmine, Lemon, Sandalwood

Monday belongs to the Moon. Monday’s energy best aligns itself with efforts that deal with women, home and hearth, the family, the garden, travel, and medicine. It also boosts rituals involving psychic development and prophetic dreaming.

Happy Monday, dear, dear friends! Here’s Today’s Affirmation, Thought & Meditation.

Monday Images, Pics, Comments, Graphics
Today’s Affirmation for Monday, April 16th

I am determined to live the full breadth of life’s road as well as its length. There may be important things nestling in the hedgerows or lying neglected on the verge.

 

Today’s Thought for Monday, April 16th

Once we have found the true path, destiny unfolds before us like a red carpet.

Author Unknown

 

Today’s Meditation for Monday, April 16th

Looking Both Ways

Janus, the Roman God of thresholds, provides an appropriate focus for reflection when you are embarking upon a new phase in your life. He is often depicted with two faces – one of a child looking forward into the future and one of a bearded old man looking back into the past. Visualize yourself standing in a doorway, on the threshold of your new venture. Standing beside you is Janus. Looking behind you, survey your past and ask the old face of Janus to recount the most important lessons you have gathered from your previous experiences. Then look forward and ask the young face of Janus for some positive energy for the future. Encouraged by his hopefulness, set out on your journey.

The Goddess’ Prayer

Goddess Comments & Graphics
The Goddess’ Prayer 

Gracious Goddess

Who art Maiden, Mother, and Crone,

Celebrated be Your Name.

Help me to live in peace

Upon Your EarthAnd grant me safety in

 Your arms.Guide me along my chosen path

And show me Your great eternal love

As I strive to be kind to those

Who don’t understand Your ways

And lead me safely to Your Cauldron of Rebirth

For it is Your Spirit that lives within me

And protects me

Forever and ever.

So Mote It Be.

 

  ~Magickal Graphics~

Tranquillity Tea

Tranquillity Tea

You Will Need:

2 tablespoons nettle

1 1/2 teaspoons St. John’s Wort

4 1/2 teaspoons oat straw

1 1/2 teaspoons skullcap

4 1/2 teaspoons chamomile flowers

1 1/2 teaspoon passion-flower

Combine the ingredients throughly and place three tablespoons of the mixture in the filter cup of the coffee maker. Add a full pot of water. As the tea brews and drips into the pot, chant:

Herbs, mix your energies

And flow now into harmony

To soothe and calm and bring new peace

With every sip I take of thee.

Drink the tea hot or over ice. Sweeten with honey.

Anti-Stress Charm

Anti-Stress Charm

Items You Will Need:

Small charm bag or pouch

1 small piece each of sodalite, malachite, amethyst, and orange calcite

1 tablespoon lavender

marker

Using the marker, draw a peace sign on the charm bag or pouch. Place the lavender inside. As you do, say:

Lavender for great protection.

Add the sodalite, saying:

Sodalite for psychic connection.

Add the malachite, saying

Malachite to bud and spout.

Add the amethyst saying:

Amethyst to calm throughout.

Add the orange calcite, saying:

To relieve stress and aggravation,

And calcite, orange, to amplify.

Their powers mix and unify

Racing heart and irritation.

Close the bag and grip it tightly in your dominant hand Say:

Bring me peace and calm relief

As I will, So Mote It Be!

Carry the bag with you.

Stress Relief Bath

Stress Relief Bath

Ingredients Needed:

3 tablespoons chamomile flowers

1 tablespoon oatmeal

1 tablespoon hops

1 tablespoon comfrey leaf

2 tablespoons Calendula

1 tablespoon comfrey root

Place the ingredient in the filter cup of the coffee maker and add a full pot of water. While the mixture brews, draw a warm bath. Pour the infusion into the bath water and chant:

Herbs into the water flow,

Soothe me now from head to toe.

Dissolve all stress and ease all tension,

Wash away woes an all dissension.

Cleanse me well with all your strength,

So I may now relax at length.

Soak in the tub for at least thirty minutes.

Chant for Physical Strength

Chant for Physical Strength

Hercules, Great Son of Zeus,

Half God, half human, please unloose

Your great strength and lend it to

me in this thing that I must do.

Grant me now Your nerves of steel

and Your physical strength for this ordeal.

So I can complete successfully

This task that’s set in front of me.