A thought to consider...

This is a wonderful time to be alive. There have never been more possibilities and opportunities for you to achieve more of your goals than exist today. As perhaps never before in human history, you are actually drowning in options. In fact, there are so many good things that you can do, that your ability to decide among them may be the critical determinant of what you accomplish in life.

~ Brian Tracy

All Natural Bug Repellant Recipe!

Of course, your particular usage and body chemistry can potentially affect your results. Also, this product may be gentler than most commercial products, but you still should do a skin patch test before fully using it.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. clean spray bottle with a fine mist setting (do not use a bottle that previously contained cleaning products or hair products such as hair spray).
• 1.5 ounces of distilled water and 1.5 ounces of high-proof alcohol (vodka is suitable, isopropyl or rubbing alcohol is not). Alternatively, you may omit the alcohol and increase the amount of distilled water to 3 ounces.
• 15 drops Citronella Essential Oil
• 10 drops Lavender Essential Oil
• 10 drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil
• 5 drops Lemongrass Essential Oil

Directions: Fill the spray bottle with the choice of either 1.5 ounces of distilled water and 1.5 ounces of alcohol or 3 ounces of distilled water. (Even though a 4 oz. bottle is suggested, leave about 1 oz. unfilled so you can shake the bottle well between uses.) Then, add the essential oils.

To Use: Shake the bottle before each use. Essential oils do not fully dissolve in water and alcohol and will settle. If you do not shake the bottle, you risk having concentrated droplets of essential oil irritate your skin.

Mist onto your skin and clothing and reapply as necessary. Discontinue use if you feel sensitivity from the repellent. Be careful not to mist delicate fabrics or surrounding furniture that may be harmed by the ingredients in the repellent. Be especially careful not to allow the mist fall onto into open beverages.

Everyone and every situation is different. Although this recipe has worked well for me over many summers, there is no guarantee that this recipe will prevent you or other users from being bitten by insects and it hasn't been scientifically tested for effectiveness. You assume all responsibility for trying or modifying this recipe and seeing if it works for your particular needs. This recipe has not been tested for the prevention of ticks or their bites.

Source: Aroma Web

Enjoy the outdoors!

Dr. M

How you frame your problem, may be your problem!

Is there something in your life that you would like to see improve in some way? That could be anywhere from fixing something that is negative over to simply going from good to even better; from digging out of debt, getting a job, finding a more loving and caring relationship, becoming a more loving and caring person yourself, getting rid of the job you do have in favor of something better, to simply learning how to enjoy what you already have.

Clearly, there is any number of conditions in which you may find yourself ranging from fantastic to horrific. The question simply comes down to how satisfied you are with your current experience of life and what can you do about it.

Notice the question isn't about how much you have of anything in particular, but one of your level of satisfaction with what you have. And what can you do about it?

From time to time, people ask me what I do for a living. Depending on the circumstance and context of the question, I can answer in a variety of ways. Sometimes the answer is that I am an author, an educational psychologist, a management consultant, or a coach.

My favorite answer: I help people get what they think they want as fast as possible so I can ask, "Was that it?"

I'll bet you've been there; in fact, some of you may be there right this very minute. Did you ever want something, really long for it, work your butt off to get it and then wind up wondering why you ever wanted it in the first place? Again, most of us know what this is like first hand.

What makes this so interesting in my work is that people seem to want and need a combination of both. Surely physical circumstances make a difference and yet people can have "everything" and still find themselves wanting at several levels.

You Can Never Get Enough of What You Don't Truly Want

Eric Hoffer, the longshoreman philosopher is often quoted as having said: "You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy. Sometimes, he is quoted as saying, "You can never get enough of what you don't really want." Same thing, really.

If I am after the experience of being secure, free and at peace, is there any amount of money (or house, or car, or perfect relationship) that will produce the experiences I seek?

The obvious implication here is "NO!" People have been happy with next to nothing, miserable with all there is, and everywhere in between.

So, what is it that you want out of life and what's in the way? If your answer is on the material side of things (money, house, car, etc) and what's in the way is someone else (Bush, bankers, greedy capitalists), then we have a real dilemma. Especially if you have lost your job, house, car and most everything on the material levels of life.

Surely, there are many of us in trouble, having lost everything due to circumstances ranging from hurricanes and oil spills to manipulated financial systems. I know a bit of what it means to have lost everything having come through a period earlier in my life when I wound up living in my second hand car after my father died and our family went through our third bankruptcy in 10 years.

However, I was quite fortunate that in the midst of my turmoil while literally living on a dollar a day, I got some great coaching from some equally great people who encouraged me to take responsibility for my circumstances, figure out what I wanted to do about them, get off my poor-me mindset and get busy.

Of the many profound lessons I learned at the time, one stands out right now: how you frame the issue is the issue. This can also be stated as, how you frame the problem is the problem.

If you're out of work right now, and your mindset is that some dirty, greedy SOB is to blame, you may be right. The only problem with this framing is that as long as you stay focused on those dirty SOB's , you will continue to be at the mercy of SOB's who may not care all that much about your circumstances.

If your life circumstances and how you experience them are going to change for the better, how will they get better? Who is going to be at the helm, guiding the change? There's no question that improved external factors can help; however, what are you going to do regardless of what happens out there?

Sooner or later, it's going to come down to you and what you choose to do.

If you read these HuffPost pages enough, you may slide into that group that has become so very good at blaming everyone else. Surely, we have no shortage of culprits to blame, ranging from oil companies to bankers to misguided politicians.

However, we have always had culprits to blame. The real question comes down to what are you going to do about it? And, in particular, what are you going to do about it as it pertains to your circumstances.

If you frame the problem as something that somebody else created, then as surely as you are a victim of what somebody else did to screw things up, you will remain a victim to the next set of screw-up's.

What would happen if you reframed the problem as something that not only impacts you, but as something about which you can exercise some choice? I hope you have noticed that even as the job situation continues to be "bleak," some folks have managed to find their way through all of this, finding jobs, opportunities, and ways to make things better, even if only marginally.

How would you have to frame the situation in order to make things even marginally better? What could you do that might take even the smallest of steps forward? Is there anything at all that you could do that might help, even in the slightest?

Of course, the cynics out there will decry these questions with all their usual pablumesque rejoinders about drivel, etc. However, if you are going to experience any improvement whatsoever, sooner or later it is going to come down to you to get off your assets and do something about your current condition.

It's going to be pretty difficult to find that job if you don't go looking; it's going to be pretty difficult to improve that strife-filled relationship if you don't look at your own role in it; it's going to be pretty difficult to improve damn near anything if you don't start with the assumption that it can improve and that you do something about it.

Sure, small improvements are only small improvements. However, how does anyone ever get better without taking those first micro steps? And if things only improve marginally for the time better, are you better off doing nothing or doing what you can?

If you don't like this advice, then don't take it and see just how much things change for you as you sit there blaming everybody else out there for your situation.

Once again, there's no question in my mind that you will be right. There are many to blame; the only problem seems to be that blaming somehow isn't sufficient to change anything.

What can you do to help your own situation? What will you do?

***

Article by Russell Bishop is an Educational Psychologist, author, professional life coach and management consultant, based in Santa Barbara California. You can find out more about Russell athttp://www.lessonsinthekeyoflife.com. Contact Russell by email at: Russell (at) lessonsinthekeyoflife.com

***

Here's to you changing your life, for the positive!

Dr. M

How to Transform Your Lifestyle and Life!

This is a fabulous article by Dr. Dean Ornish that I just found and needed to share with all of you. Enjoy, Dr. M

***

"Listen, here's what I think. I think we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do. By what we deny ourselves. What we resist, and who we exclude. I think we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include." -- from the movie, Chocolat

* * *

Two days ago, after 16 years of review, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a proposed decision to provide Medicare coverage for thecomprehensive lifestyle program for reversing heart disease that my colleagues and I at the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute have developed and tested (www.pmri.org).

This is the first time that Medicare will be providing coverage for an integrative medicine program, so we are grateful to everyone involved in this decision. Since reimbursement is a major determinant of both medical practice and education, this is an important breakthrough. This is the first time that Medicare will be providing coverage for an integrative medicine program, so we are grateful to everyone involved in this decision. Since reimbursement is a major determinant of both medical practice and education, this is an important breakthrough. (The Pritikin Program also will be covered.)

So, in celebration of this, I'd like to share with you a brief summary of what my colleagues and I have learned so far about what really works to motivate people to make and maintain lasting changes in diet and lifestyle (part one):

1. You have a full spectrum of nutrition and lifestyle choices.

It's not all or nothing. Diets aren't sustainable because they're all about what you can't have and what you must do. If you go on a diet, sooner or later you're likely to go off it.

What matters most is your overall way of eating and living. If you indulge yourself one day, you can eat more healthfully the next. If you're a couch potato one day, exercise a little more the next. If you don't have time to meditate for 20 minutes, do it for one minute -- the consistency is more important than the duration. Studies have shown that those who eat the healthiest overall are the ones who allow themselves some indulgences.

2. Even more than feeling healthy, most people want to feel free and in control.

If I tell people, "Eat this and don't eat that," or "Don't smoke," they immediately want to do the opposite. It's just human nature, and it goes back to the very first dietary intervention that failed -- "Don't eat the apple" -- and that was God talking, so we're not likely to do better than that... And if their spouse says, "Honey, you know you're not supposed to be eating that," people sometimes start to feel a little crazy.

Nobody wants to feel controlled or treated like a child. Even my son, Lucas, doesn't like to be treated like a child. When he was four, I said to him, "No one can tell you what to eat, not even me. You don't ever have to eat anything you don't want." He feels regarded and respected, so he feels free to make healthful choices that are sustainable. He understands the reasons for eating this way rather than telling him, "Because I said so!" Paradoxically, he eats much more healthfully than most of his friends because he feels free to choose.

In our home, we serve mostly healthful foods. If he wants a treat, or some dessert, and he's eaten his meal, then he gets it. But since there isn't a charge around it, it's not a "forbidden fruit," so he doesn't feel compelled to pig out.

Whether you're six or sixty, if you go on a diet and lifestyle program and feel constrained, you're likely to go off it sooner or later. Offering a spectrum of choices is much more effective; then, you feel free and empowered.

3. Eating bad food does not make you a bad person.

The language of behavioral modification often has a moralistic quality to it that turns off a lot of people (like "cheating" on a diet). It's a small step from thinking of some foods as "bad" to seeing yourself as a "bad person;" at that point, might as well finish the pint of ice cream.

Also, the term "patient compliance" has a fascist, creepy quality to it, sounding like one person manipulating or bending his or her will to another. In the short run, I may be able to pressure you into changing your diet, but sooner or later (usually sooner), some part of you will rebel.

What's sustainable are joy, pleasure, and freedom.

4. How you eat is as important as what you eat.

When I eat mindfully, I have more pleasure with fewer calories.

If I eat mindlessly while watching television, reading, or talking with someone else, I can go through an entire meal without tasting the food, without even noticing that I've been eating. The plate is empty but I didn't enjoy the food -- I had all of the calories and little of the pleasure. Instead, if I eat mindfully, paying attention to what I'm eating, smaller portions of food can be exquisitely satisfying.

"Eating with ecstasy" is much more sustainable than "portion control." Here's a downloadable guided meditation: http://www.pmri.org/spectrum/guided_meditations.html

Also, when you pay attention to what you're eating, you notice how different foods affect you, for better and for worse. More healthful foods make you feel good -- light, clear, energetic. Less healthful foods make you feel bad -- heavy, dull, sluggish. Then, it comes out of your own experience, not because some doctor or book or friend told you.

5. Joy of living is a much better motivator than fear of dying.

When you make healthy diet and lifestyle changes, most people find that they feel so much better, so quickly, it reframes the reason for changing from fear of dying to joy of living. Joy and love are powerful, sustainable motivators, but fear and deprivation are not.

Trying to scare people into changing doesn't work very well. Telling someone that they're likely to have a heart attack if they eat too many unhealthful foods or that they may get lung cancer if they don't quit smoking doesn't work very well, at least not for long. Efforts to motivate people to change based on fear of getting sick or dying prematurely are generally unsuccessful.

Why? It's too scary. We all know we're going to die one day -- the mortality rate is still 100 percent, one per person -- but who wants to think about it? Even someone who has had a heart attack usually changes for only a few weeks before they go back to their old patterns of living and eating.

Once we accept fully that we're going to die one day, then we can start to ask, "How can I live more fully?" As Quincy Jones likes to say, "Live every day like it's your last, and one day you'll be right."

For the same reasons, talking about "prevention" or "risk-factor reduction" is boring to most people. Telling someone they're going to live to be 86 instead of 85 is not very motivating -- even when they're 85 -- for who wants to live longer if you're not enjoying life?

Sometimes, people say, "I don't care if I die early -- I want to enjoy my life." Well, so do I. That's the false choice -- is it fun for me or is it good for me? Why not both? It's fun for you and good for you to look good, feel good, have more energy, think more clearly, need less sleep, taste better, smell better, and perform better athletically--and sexually.

Ironically, some of the behaviors that many people think are fun and sexy -- like smoking cigarettes, overeating, abusing alcohol, and chronic stress -- are the same ones that leave them aging faster and feeling tired, lethargic, depressed, and impotent. How fun is that? (Check out Christy Turlington's site,www.smokingisugly.com.)

When you eat a healthier diet, quit smoking, exercise, meditate, and have more love in your life, then your brain receives more blood and oxygen, so you think more clearly, have more energy, need less sleep. Your brain can grow so many new brain neurons in only three months that your brain can get measurably bigger! Your face gets more blood flow, so your skin glows more and wrinkles less. Your heart gets more blood flow, so you have more stamina and can even begin to reverse heart disease. Your sexual organs receive more blood flow, so you may become more potent -- the same way that drugs like Viagra work.

For many people, these are choices worth making -- not just to live longer, but also to live better. Life is to be fully enjoyed.

5 Cleansing Tips for a Wellness Boost

By Jenny Nelson

Spring is a very traditional time for a cleanse. It’s an instinctive behavior that is deeply rooted in our bodies, as we tend to consume heavier, more acidic, and mucus forming foods in the winter months, so as the days lengthen and we transition to warmer weather, our bodies naturally want to lighten and expand. It’s a time to move toward the light, to stretch, grow, and shed our winter layers—both emotionally and physically.

It’s amazing how all of nature works to assist us in this expansion and lightening process. Everywhere we look there are new growths of bitter greens such as dandelion, nettles and purslane pushing up through the ground. Their detoxifying and liver-supporting properties make them absolutely perfect for a spring cleanse and a very simple and inexpensive addition to our salads and juices. One person’s weeds are another’s spring tonic!

We don’t have to necessarily jump into a full blown fast or detoxification program to experience the healing and re-energizing benefits of beginning to simplify. As we naturally begin to eat lighter foods, and probably even naturally lessen the amount of foods taken in, we can begin incorporating some simple steps into our daily routines for these same benefits.

1. Let go of salty, heavy foods, especially red meat.

Foods to avoid as they are acid (and mucus) forming: nuts and seeds (unless soaked and sprouted and always organic!), dairy products, alcohol, refined sugars and flours, red meat, and caffeine. This will be the most beneficial thing you can do as the weather begins to warm. And it should actually be the easiest since when we begin to really listen to our bodies, we might realize that the foods we crave in the spring are lighter and fresher—tending towards the new salad ingredients that have been absent all winter and feeling drawn to bright, vibrant, fresh foods to create changes in our internal environment that correspond to the changes in the outside world.

2. Incorporate all the green plants you can—especially local, organic, young, and fresh ones.

You can grow your own sprouts (for eating) and wheatgrass (for juicing). Add cleansing foods to your daily diet as much as possible, such as herbal tea, fresh lemon juice in water (warm or room temperature), fresh vegetable juices, raw fruits and vegetables (with the exception of bananas as they can be a bit more mucus forming and high in sugar), steamed vegetables (leafy and root), sprouts, sea vegetables (nori, wakame, dulse, hijiki, arame, kelp, irish moss) and wild blue green and micro algaes (spirulina, chlorella, crystal manna), filtered or spring water, vegetable broth, and cooked non-gluten grains (quinoa, amaranth, millet, brown rice).

All of these foods are nourishing and satiating while cleansing and alkalizing in our bodies. Raw onions and garlic have wonderful anti-microbial and anti-parasitic properties and can easily be added to any of your daily meals. Support the liver and gallbladder, which are the organs that are activated in the spring when winter fat and mucus begin to clear out of the system, with pungent herbs like mint, basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary, caraway, dill and bay.

3. Incorporate a daily probiotic

Taking probiotics daily creates healthy intestinal flora and boosts our overall immune system and serotonin production since 80% of our immune system resides in our gut and most of the serotonin production occurs there as well. To stay healthier and feel happier, a probiotic of at least 16 billion live organisms per serving will be incredibly beneficial.

4. Add in at least 30 minutes of some form of movement every day.

Walking, yoga or some form of stretching, jumping on a rebounder, doing somersaults or cartwheels in the new grass, climbing a tree, hiking a hill or a mountain, running, gathering dandelion greens, digging up new garden beds. . . the list goes on and on and doesn’t have to include an expensive gym membership or special equipment. Our bodies are the most effective cleansing tools we have. How we move them and get them to sweat creates space for toxins to move out of our system, we lose that extra winter weight, we feel lighter and looser, and our overall health improves immediately.

5. Lighten up your thoughts.

This is a simple one, but extremely important and often overlooked. As the winter darkness fades and everything begins to sprout, blossom and become new again, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to push our thoughts through the dark as well where they’ve been gathering strength and roots. This provides an inner detox with amazing benefits!

Five minutes of meditation in the morning when you wake up and again at night before going to sleep easily fits into our daily lives and can become one of the most life-changing habits. Take a moment to close your eyes and really be grateful for your meals—breakfast, lunch and dinner, no matter where you are. I was recently at a restaurant with friends and we joined hands and thanked the farmers, the chef, the servers, and each other for the food and energy that culminated in that meal. These things are simple but have enormous ripple effects. Laugh, be curious, learn something new whenever you can, teach someone else something new, put yourself in someone else’s shoes and give five different people a compliment every day. Remember that each of us is a unique, strong, compassionate and beautiful being, and we can make the biggest difference in the world by being authentic, hopeful, and kind (especially to ourselves). Creating vibrant health and peaceful thoughts become the greatest gift we can give to the world.

Happy Spring!

Jenny Nelson is a Wellness Specialist & Coach for Dr. Alejandro Junger’s Clean Program.

Synthetic Ingredients to ALWAYS Avoid…

Read your labels, and not just on your food. It’s important to be aware of the ingredients in your body care (soaps, lotions, sunscreens, etc.) because these ingredients have been shown to irritate the respiratory, immune, and digestive systems… and some even have been linked to cancers!

Here is my list of ingredients to always avoid:

CLEANSERS

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Sodium Laureth Sulfate

Sodium Myreth Sulfate

PETROCHEMICALS

Petrolatum

Mineral Oil

Paraffin

PRESERVATIVES

Parabens (all of them) (methylparaben, propylparaben, etc)

DMDM Hydantoin

CHEMICAL SUNSCREENS

Oxybenzone

Avobenzone

Octinoxate

MOISTURIZERS

Propylene Glycol

Butylene Glycol

Polyisobutene

Stay happy, be healthy!

Dr. M

Go Green this Spring!

Spring is a wonderful time for new beginnings. One thing I encourage you to do this spring is to start a garden. It's a way to get fresh food everyday, reduce your grocery bill, and it's eco-friendly!

Here are some of my "easy" ways for you to Go Green this spring...

Become a Green Consumer

Shop wisely: Buy green products whenever possible, avoid excess packaging, and look for biodegradable products.

Take your own cotton or canvas bags to the grocery store and market.

Replace your usual paper products with recycle ones, or use reusable products like cotton cloths instead of paper towels.

Buy locally. It’s good for your economy and saves energy in transportation.

Replace your personal care products with green alternatives.

Maintain a Healthy Home

Choose furniture made of natural fibers, whole wood, metal and glass.

Avoid using aerosols, such as hair spray and spray paint.

Use low-VOC paints and low-VOC adhesives.

Don’t use chemical pesticides on your lawn or garden. Plan your landscape so it needs less chemical help- ask the staff at your local nursery for advice. If you have garden pests, call in an army of parasites and predators.

Open up the windows and circulate fresh air through your house as often as possible.

Have your air-conditioning and heating systems professionally inspected annually. Make sure your furnace, stove, and other combustion devices are vented directly to the outdoors.

Select nontoxic bedding- most mattresses and bedding are made with a stew of chemicals, including chemical flame retardants and formaldehyde.

Conserve water. Fix leaky faucets and install low-flow toilets.

Become Energy Efficient

Turn down the heat at night to conserve fuel, or install a programmable thermostat.

Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Select a fuel-efficient, low-emissions car.

Walk or rid a bicycle instead of driving.

Community Action

Many household chemicals fall into the category of “suspected carcinogen.” If you know a product contains toxic chemicals, vote with your pocketbook and don’t buy it. Action is needed to keep these toxic chemicals out of consumer goods. Contact your representatives in Congress and tell them your concerns.

Help organize a neighborhood Dumpster Day or large-item disposal day.

Promote recycling. Start a paint exchange with your neighbors, or organize a Zero Waste even. Check out the Zero Waste Campaign here.

Contact a local environmental group and offer to work on local air and water pollution issues.

Start a community curbside composting program that sells compost to gardeners and nurseries.

Help make your community bicycle-friendly.

In the Workplace.

Bring your green habits to the office. First steps include using less paper, recycling, and conserving energy and water. Talk to your facilities manager about nontoxic, environmentally friendly cleaning solutions. Two website offering good ideas are here and here.

Tips are from the book Green Clean by Linda Mason Hunter and Mikki Halpin which I highly recommend. My favorite GO GREEN book is Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano. Enjoy

Live GREEN!

Dr. M