Rise From the Ashes

The legend of the phoenix can actually be found in several belief systems. It can be traced back to ancient Egypt, when it was then known as “Bennu” or Bynw”, a symbol of the sun god, Osiris. Osiris was resurrected to life from serving as ruler of the underworld.

Whether this mystical bird is attributed to the Chinese “Feng-huang”, the Jewish “Milcham” or even an emblem of Christ, the legend remains the same…

After serving its life cycle, the phoenix builds a nest and then by the sun and the friction of its own wings, is consumed by fire. It is inevitably reborn from the very ashes. The phoenix is therefore symbolic of resurrection, immortality, and my personal favourite - triumph over adversity.

I has been said repeatedly that there are two types of people in this world: “marathoners” and “sprinters”. Both are ambitious at heart. They set a goal and will pursue it zealously. The only difference is that a sprinter expects to see immediate results and if they do not receive those results, they may get discouraged and give up all together. A marathoner, on the other hand, can get side-tracked, knocked down, and trampled on but will refocus and redirect when necessary in order to meet their ultimate goal.

For example, a woman who had planned to lose 30 pounds in three months may be disappointed upon realizing that after the first month, she has only lost six. She had obviously expected to see faster results. But if that same woman takes into consideration that she is more toned or has more stamina, she may alter her end goal. She may decide “I want to go down a few dress sizes”, or “I want to be able to incorporate fitness and nutrition into my lifestyle permanently.” Along the way, she may miss a few morning jogs or go off her so-called diet, but above all, she is patient with herself and does not give up.

Patience is essential. It’s important to accept that results are not always immediate. Sometimes, they aren’t even tangible. But by just going through the necessary steps, you are on your way, whether you realize it or not. Afterall, the journey of 1000 miles begins with one step. By altering your original goal, you have not fallen short. You have simply become aware enough to realize when and how to strategize.

It was Benjamin Franklin who said, “Some people die at twenty-five and aren’t buried until they are seventy-five”. Some of us passively sit back and watch the rest of life go on because we feel we have had too many set-backs or let-downs to further pursue our dreams. Our patience has run out.

Each and every one of us knows what it's like to get side-tracked, feel knocked down, and even trampled upon by others.  Will you fall back when it comes to your current goals or will you RISE UP more determined to succeed than ever?

Pass It On: On Children

By:  Kahlil Gibran

[An excerpt from The Prophet"]

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Detox Teas: Are They Helpful For Detoxification?

With more and more people putting more concern on their health and wellness, detoxification products such as detox teas are becoming all the more popular.

Why Detoxify? The human body is created with its own detoxification system, which includes the skin, liver, kidney and the colon. The liver and the kidney filter out the toxins in the body which goes out through the urinary system, the digestive system or as sweat through the skin. The body's waste management system works well under normal circumstances, but given today's fast paced lifestyle and extensive exposure to waste and toxins, the body can only deal with so much. This brings us to the need to detoxify, or cleanse the body and get rid of toxins and waste.

Detox Teas Help Detoxification There are plenty of ways to detoxify the body and detox teas are just one of them. Regular consumption of these detoxification teas produce a number of positive effects on the body, and these include:

1.Healthier Organs. Drinking this types of tea help speed up the detoxification process, which lessens the pressure and the load on the liver, kidney and the colon. This, in turn, reduces conditions such as acne, bloating, indigestion, menstrual problems and other organ-related problems.

2.Better Bowel Movement. These teas wash away plaque and waste formation on the colon, making bowel movement easier. This also aids in the reduction of water retention and better weight loss results.

3.Better Skin and Hair. A body that is full of toxins manifests itself in numerous ways such as acne in the skin or brittle nails and hair. Drinking detox teas can help balance the body's system, and clears out the skin making you look better and giving you that overall glow.

4.Calm and Relaxation. These teas do not only detoxify the body and cleanse it, but also give you a feeling of calm and relaxation. This is very helpful especially if you are always stressed out.

Detox Teas To Use Choosing detox teas isn't really difficult as there are plenty of flavors and varieties in the market. Some types of herbal teas include green tea, ginger tea, chamomile tea, peppermint tea and Hawthorne berry tea. Each of these teas has its own distinct taste and has varying effects on the body, which is great considering the fact that you can try each of them for the purpose of variety.

If you're thinking of trying detox teas to cleanse the body, start with one variety first and drink just one cup a day. This is crucial so that you can see its effects on the body. When you have finally settled with a tea that you like, you can eventually amp up your intake to at least two to three cups. Drinking three cups is the maximum for herbal teas, so make sure that you do not go beyond that.

To make sure that your detoxification is a success, drink detox teas along with a healthy and sensible diet to make sure that you get the best effects of the cleansing and detox process.


About The Author

Kate Adams has spent the last five years learning all the inside secrets to improving her own health and well-being. To learn more information on detox teas. visit her website at http://www.detoxdiethq.com/detox-teas/.

Do You Need a Vision Board?

According to Wikipedia, "A vision board, also called a dream boards, mind map or goal map, is typically a poster board on which people draw, paste or collage images that represent their desires, objectives, dreams and goals. The intent is that vision boards be reviewed regularly to maintain focus on the depicted goals. Some users believe that regular use of focus boards also attracts superconscious aid via the Law of Attraction."

The Secret, a theory which attributes personal success to "positive thinking" and "the law of attraction" as a daily practice, is a driving force behind the recent popularity of the vision board. After all, the law of attraction is that our thinking creates and brings to us whatever we think about," When we keep our goals in clear view, they are forever on our mind.

My own vision board consists of fitness goals (my ideal body type), relationship goals (closeness/happiness with friends, family, and coworkers), as well as my ideal home office, living room, car, etc.

Creating a vision board is easy as well as fun. Simply select images and words/phrases from magazines that appeal to you. Cut them out and ask yourself the personal significance of each image (What attracted me to this image? What does it represent?). Choose your favourite cut-outs and paste them onto a board (bristol board works best). Place your newly created vision board in an area of your home or office visible enough to look at and "take in" every day.

Happy crafting!

The Evils of Caffeine

 
Charles Czeisler, a neuroscientist and sleep expert from Harvard Medical School explains: “When the nature of work changed from a schedule built around the sun to an indoor job timed by a clock, humans had to adapt. The widespread use of caffeinated food and drink—in combination with the invention of electric light—allowed people to cope with a work schedule set by the clock, not by daylight or the natural sleep cycle.” In addition, scientific studies have shown that the power boost of caffeine is connected with its interference with adenosine – a chemical in our bodies, which has hypnotic effect and works as a natural sleeping pill. Caffeine actually ceases adenosine and in this way our alertness gets increased and our sleep habits are disrupted. As we all know, there’s no such thing as a free lunch and we pay for this extra wakefulness.

Health concerns:

Experts from the FDA claim that our health is in danger as long as the consumption remains between 200 mg to 300 mg of caffeine per day, which is equal to around two or three cups of coffee. They also say that caffeine contains components such as Niacin, Magnesium and Potassium, which play a vital role for our health: Potassium is essential for nerves function, Magnesium is of importance in our bones and teeth and Niacin aids in the metabolism of sugars and has an essential role for the proper function of intestines. If consumed moderately, caffeine acts as an anti-oxidant, sucking up free radicals. Unfortunately, the refreshing effects of caffeine urge us to constantly increase consumption in order to eliminate brain fog and fatigue.

Caffeine is an addictive drug, which alters our brain’s natural state and stimulates it in a manner similar to mechanisms employed by cocaine and heroin: it provokes a release of adrenalin, so that the body remains active and alert. It also manipulates dopamine production and that’s how we experience temporary high levels of energy; our productivity improves and we become more coordinated. Caffeine affects our whole body, stimulating the cardiovascular system, raising our blood pressure and heart rate. This process speeds up our basal metabolic rate and we burn more calories. As a result we obtain a wakeup jolt, because caffeine evokes a stress response in our adrenal hormones, the so called “fight-or-flight” response. This is how our body prepares for action and remains in the state of alertness, no matter if we are sitting on our desks, or reading our newspaper on the sofa. When stress hormones remain elevated for long periods of time, our bodies experience chronic stress, which provokes exhaustion and craving for the next sip of coffee, coke or soda.

Exactly how caffeine affects us depends on many factors, including the amount ingested, our individual peculiarities (sex, weight and height, age) and whether we are smokers or non-smokers. Studies show that some people are more sensitive to its effects than others. However, when consumed frequently our body develops tolerance to caffeine and this represents a significant health risk. At doses of 600 mg, or 6 cups of coffee, caffeine can lead to:

- Restlessness and anxiety
- Heartburn – caffeine is alkaline, which spurs the stomach to react by dumping more hydrochloric acid as a neuralizer

- Severe headaches and sweating
- High blood pressure
- Heart problems and rapid palpitations

- Nausea
- Muscle stiffness – caffeine increases the loss of calcium and magnesium, which has a negative impact on muscle tissues, impeding their relaxation mechanism.

- Withdrawal symptoms may also occur, even when moderate amounts of caffeine are withdrawn for 18 to 48 hours. One may feel severe exhaustion, depression and poor concentration.

Strategies for reduction of caffeine intake and tips to give it up completely:

In order to gradually reduce the amount of caffeine intake a good tactic is to reduce the number of coffee cups by one every week (For example: 4 cups a day in the first week, 3 in the second, 2 in the third, 1 in the fourth). In this way the withdrawal symptoms will be much less severe.

Another strategy which can help our body get rid of caffeine addiction is to use less coffee. Every morning we should use put less teaspoons of coffee into our coffee machine, until it is so weak that we can live without it.

We can also switch to tea, as it has lower amounts of caffeine. Every day we can switch over one of our coffee breaks to tea. Once we achieve a successful transition to tea, we should repeat the process to transition to caffeine-free tea.

Sleep is a very important natural source of energy and that’s why we need to ensure a quality and regular sleep while we are transitioning to our caffeine-free state.

In addition we could include morning aerobic exercise, like cycling or running. This will make us feel full of energy, because sport unlocks the production of endorphins (one of the hormones of happiness) and we will be able to start our day on a natural high.

We also have to make sure that we don’t lose our connection with nature. In fact, many people suffer from depression because of the unnatural life our modern society leads us into. Thus, make it a ritual to go outside and deep breathe fresh air in the morning.

Change your diet. Drink orange Juice, or eat fresh fruits in order to nourish your body with vitamin C. Coffee is a habit. Replace it with a small glass of fresh pressed orange juice. Have a grain or oats based breakfast (with a low glycemic index). It will keep your brain nourished all morning. Avoid sugary breakfasts like donuts or high sugar cakes or muffins. They lead to a rapid buildup and slump in our blood sugar levels. Also, have an afternoon snack. Keep an apple or banana or a handful of cashew nuts ready for the mid-afternoon snack time instead of coffee. Finally, drink more water: carry a water bottle around and take sips regularly.

Source:   Nikoletta Ven for ArticleCity.com

Pass It On: Footprints

One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.

Each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand;

one belonging to him, and the other belonging to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,

he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of

footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his

life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the

way.

But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life,

there is only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The Lord replied: "My precious, precious child,

I love you and I would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering,

when you see only one set of footprints,

it was then that I carried you."

Source:  Unknown (Author of poem in dispute)

Denman Brush vs. Tangle Teezer

Question:
Sometimes I find that I cannot get all of the dust out of my daughter's hair by washing and combing through with a wide tooth comb. I am thinking that a brush would be good for this purpose, but I am not sure which brush will do the least damage to her hair....can you recommend anything?


Answer:

I've used the Denman D3 (with 3 rows removed) and the Tangle Teezer on my 5-year-old, who has 4B hair. The Tangle Teezer detangles faster than the Denman and seems to take the lint out more. The bristles on it are much shorter and closer together.

I try to work in small sections when detangling... I get less complaints from her when I use the Tangle Teezer, pain wise. I'm also worried about breakage so will probably continue to use it a couple of times a month until I start to see early signs of breakage or split ends.