Bloggers for Health - It's a matter of life

Living a healthy life should be a daily habit.  It's not just a matter of going on a diet for one month and then going back to your old style of living with excessive eating of unhealthy food, drinking sugared drinks, and no exercise.  For me, it's a matter of life.  Either live healthy or risk getting a stroke and other diseases.

I was diagnosed with having high cholesterol in 2001.  My total cholesterol was 337 (normal should be below 200).  Some facts about cholesterol from Wikipedia here.

That really put me in shock.  I was not fat.  I didn't even think I was overweight.  I thought I was of just normal, average weight.

My weight at that time was 65 kg.  I wore size 12 - 14 clothes.  Not exactly fat, don't you think?  I was sort of flabby in the middle section of my body. When I sat, especially visible when I was wearing a t-shirt, you can see the folds of my body around the sides and front of my tummy area!  Yikes, that looked really awful!.

My diet before diagnosis in 2001:

• Fried chicken with skin and fried anything.
• Beef and lamb, prawns, crab (ooh, how I love seafood).
• Lots of gravy over my rice.  Our local Malay/Indonesian style of cooking contains ingredients using coconut milk and lots of oil to fry the ingredients.  That helps with the spread of fat in my tummy area!
• White Rice
• White Bread
• Cheese, cheesecake, peanut butter, butter
• Eggs
• Chicken liver and heart.
• Coca cola and other canned, bottled, gassy, sweet drinks.
• Loads of coffee or tea with condensed milk.
• Fried snacks - samosa, banana fritters, etc.
• More snacks - prawn crackers, potato crisps.

I was immediately put on medication to thin my blood and advised to change my diet.  I was given a list of what I can eat and what I should avoid.  The doctor also advised me to include exercise in my daily routine, at least for 20 minutes three times a week.

Do you know that high cholesterol means my blood is thicker and it can form plaque in the linings of my blood vessels?  These plaque sometimes fall off from the wall of the blood vessels thus forming a blockage that can prevent smooth blood flow to the heart and brain which can result in a stroke.

My action was immediate as I felt my life was threatened.  My son still needs me around and I would like to see him graduate and become successful, etc. etc. (what all mothers wish for).  I was not ready to leave yet.

1. Firstly, a complete 360 degrees change in my diet -- replaced all white bread and rice with wholegrain, low fat dairy, chicken with no skin on, more fish, cooking with less oil, eating more vegetables, fruits a must every day, less gravy, less rice, no coca cola or gassy, sweet drinks, 1 cup of coffee (black, with no sugar), no snacking and stopped buying snacks so that I can't eat them. (Just wait for my friends to buy and then take from them!)
2. I fasted twice a week.  This helped to trim my tummy and waistline.
3. I went for brisk walks once a week to my favorite place at the reservoir which is about 15 minutes walk from home.  I walked to the train station (also about 15 minutes walk) instead of taking the feeder bus service.
4. Watched television, read and researched on health related matters.

In the following year, 2002, my cholesterol went down to 242 - down from 337 but not good enough.   But, it was an improvement and I was encouraged that I can do it with changing my diet and living a healthy lifestyle.  I stopped taking the medication as I felt confident that I can do it by changing my diet and lifestyle.

My weight is now 57 kg (ideally should be 55 kg) and my BMI ( Body Mass Index ) is  20.6.  Have you checked your BMI yet?  You can calculate it here.

My Personal Health Plan 

• Brisk walk or jog three times a week.  As I can't do it in the mornings on weekdays, I'll have to squeeze it in the early evenings.
• Eat more fish.
• Less rice.
• Eat more vegetables.
• Eat more fresh fruits.
• Drink more plain water or freshly squeezed fruit juice when I have the time to do it.
• Portion control.
• Fasting 2 days a week.
• Correct breathing and breathing deeply.  (Read 18 Benefits of Deep Breathing and How to Breathe Deeply here.)

The Food Doctor program that I watched said that if you eat healthily for 80% of the time, the other 20% you can indulge in your "naughty" food once in a while.  By the way, I found this on Yahoo and want to share this with you -- 3 Healthy Ways to Reduce Food Cravings -- read here.

Come, join me in this health challenge and link up with Callie from Unladylike at        here.


How do you keep yourself and your family healthy?  How do you incorporate a healthy lifestyle into your daily life?

5 Minute Friday: Relevant

Love.

Love is relevant in my life. In everyone's lives, in fact.

Love not only for your family, friends, country, community, religion, but for all beings.

As a baby, we crave the love of our parents and would not make it if it's not for their love. Making sure that we have a roof over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our back and education to shape our minds.

Somewhere on this journey called life, when we meet the person who we want to spend the rest of our lives with will require a lot of love, a lot of giving and lots of sharing to make it to happily ever after. After the passion dies, it's the love that remains that will see you through till you're old and grey, together.

Having children, the choice of wanting and having children to nurture and continue on to the next generation, requires a lot of love.

Then, how about God's love for us? This very earth that we walk on, the air that we breathe, these eyes that see the world, how intricately our brains have been designed, and much, much more which even when the ink runs dry I may not be able to mention each and everyone of His love for us.

Last, but not least, self-love. That's super relevant. A person who loves herself/himself has so much to give to the world.  Read further "You are loved" here.

What's relevant for you?

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Won’t you join me?

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Most importantly: leave a comment for the person who linked up before you – encouraging them in their writing!

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on: 

Relevant…

 

Link up your post with the Gypsy Mama here.

When life feels hopeless

A fifth body was found on Tuesday, October 25 in the early hours of the morning in the waters of Bedok Reservoir, here in Singapore.

Read Fifth dead body found in Bedok Reservoir here.  Last month, a young woman who was fighting a custody battle with her ex-husband, ended her life in the reservoir, bringing her 3 year old son with her to a watery grave.

This is the place where I go for my brisk walk or slow jog every weekend.  It's about 15 minutes walk from my home.

It's a beautiful, green, wooded area with the reservoir in the center.  There is a running track for joggers, a walking path and a cycling path as well.  People can water ski or row a canoe in the reservoir.  This place is peaceful and calm.  I can feel all my stress, and cares and woes, all  melting away here.  I can hear birds chirping, crickets making whatever sound that they make, the leaves rustling in the wind as it blows and when the flowers are in bloom, I get high smelling the flowers as I jog by.

It's tragic that some people choose to end their lives here.  Perhaps, they feel the peacefulness and wanted to embrace it, leaving behind whatever troubles they had.

It is sad when you think that nobody cares, that nobody loves you and that there is no hope left.  That you are having a hard time and all your problems cannot be solved. 

At one time, when I was much younger and was working in Hong Kong, I went through some dark moments in my life.  At that time, some things in my life were not going the way I wanted it.  I was such a control freak and felt that the world must do my bidding!  How naive I was.  As I sat up there on the top of this high rise apartment building where I was living, a desperate feeling of being unloved and hopelessness came over me.  I felt all alone.  I wanted to punish all those people by jumping off that building.  Serve them right.  They'll be sorry that they are treating me this way.  These thoughts came.

Then another thought came.  Thoughts of my mother.  Thoughts of my sisters in Singapore.

And I wept.  I wept for myself.  I wept for the loser and the failure that I felt I had become.

Within three months of that night, I was awakened and I grew up.  I took back control of my life.  I decided I didn't have to put up with it anymore and that I am destined for better things in life.

I shake my head and shiver whenever I think of that night.  It still scares me even as when I'm writing this down.  To think that I was capable of having such dark thoughts.

What to do when life feels hopeless? 

• Talk to somebody -- your family, your friends.  They all care about you. Give them a chance to help you.  Reach out.  You are not alone. By talking to them perhaps, they can see whatever problem that you are having in another perspective, which you may not be aware of.  
• Call a help line.  Pick up the phone and call.  Sometimes, talking to a complete stranger feels more comfortable.  Whatever it is, talk to somebody.  Don't keep it all to yourself.  You'll be surprised that there are people who care for you, even complete strangers.
• Talk to a specialist - if it's something that requires a specialist expertise to resolve the problem.  Don't just do nothing!  Do something positive to resolve whatever you think the problem is.
• Pray -  this is the time for you to get on your knees and know that there is a greater power above all else.
• See whatever challenges that you are facing as part of your growth to your higher self.  Everybody has their own challenges and battles.  It is part of life and being alive.  
• Take control of your life.  Don't throw it away.  Don't give up on yourself.  Just don't ever, ever give up.  Cry, you can cry your heart out.  Then dry your tears.  Take a step forward.  As sure as there is the dawn that will appear after the night, you have another chance to make everything right again.  
• Know that you are worthy.   Trust yourself and believe in yourself. Everything will be alright.  As long as you are alive, you can make things right again.  
• Know that you are loved.  No matter what you are thinking in this moment of darkness, just know that you are loved.

How about you?  Have you ever feel unloved?  Hopeless?  How did you overcome that feeling?

Are You Having Fun Yet?

"We don't have enough fun in our lives ... It's not absolutely necessary that you have fun but life is better when you do." - Michael Bungay Stanier

Do you agree?

According to Michael Bungay Stanier from Twitter @boxofcrayons and author of "More Great Work," there are eight principles of fun.   Let's watch this video and see what they are.


Youtube Video by BoxofCrayonsMovies

Listed below and extracted from the above video the eight Principles of Fun are:-

1. Stop hiding who you really are --- take time to figure out what makes your DNA and be yourself.
2. Start by being intensely selfish --- get hungry for the things that are truly important to you.
3. Stop following the rules --- with the exception of gravity, almost all of the rules are negotiable ... someone just makes them up.
4. Start scaring yourself --- explore all edges, dip your toe in the bold, the outrageous and the unthinkable.  Seek out and have adventures.
5. Stop taking it all so damn seriously --- in 1 year, 10 years, will you remember what you're fretting about?  In 100 years, will anyone care?  So lighten up, this too will pass.
6. Start getting rid of the crap --- not just the things but also the habits, the memories, the attitudes, the people .... all the stuff that is weighing you down and getting in the way.
7. Stop being busy --- being busy is seductive --- just because you're going flat out doesn't mean you are on the right track.
8. Start something --- don't wait any longer for permission to do what you want to do.

I can easily relate to all the above points, especially points No. 3, 4, 5 and 6.  I have always followed the rules and didn't realize all this time that someone made them up and that they are negotiable!  I like the idea of scaring myself, to seek and have adventures --  I'm doing that by writing this blog, actually.  It's scary to write down my thoughts which are opened to the scrutiny of the whole world!  I worry over things which, come to think of it, who would really care or will remember in 1 year, 10 years?   Then all that crap that are weighing me down -- I have tons to get rid of!  This will take time and some working to do.

I have decided from now on that I should have more fun while getting on with this business of living.  Seeing the lighter side of things will make my burden seem lighter and my days much happier.  It will open up my vision to a different perspective and whatever burden I am carrying will seem manageable.

How about you?  Are you having fun yet?  What do you think of these principles of fun?  

5 Minute Friday: Beyond

You kissed my forehead for the last time. I felt numb.  I bit my lips to stop the tears from falling.  I showed you how strong I was, on that fateful day.  The world must have seen how strong I was.

Who was I fooling? 

I tried to forget. I tried to forgive. I surrendered to my fate.

I had to find my own way.  I was determined to make it. To live beyond you.  The song "I will survive" is my favorite.  I wonder why?

When you came into my life I thought you were Prince Charming -- tall, dark and handsome. I was your princess and we would live happily ever after in fairy land.

Alas, there were too many dragons to slay and bad, bad witches to run from. We just couldn't make it.

Unfortunately, love alone wasn't enough. Perhaps ours wasn't strong enough.  Or we didn't try hard enough.

The outcome was beyond my expectation.

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On Fridays around these parts we stop, drop, and write.
We write bold and beautiful and free. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.
Won’t you join us?

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Most importantly: leave a comment for the person who linked up before you – encouraging them in their writing!

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:

Beyond…

Come on! Join us and link here and meet many new friends as well.

Garfield Diet Tips

This is specially for all those who have been trying to lose weight and so far nothing has worked for you yet.

Perhaps these diet tips from Garfield might work.  Well, you've tried many others, why not Garfield's?  Let's take a look:

• Never go back for seconds -- get it all the first time.

• Set your scale back five pounds.

• Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.

• Never start a diet cold turkey (maybe cold roast beef, cold lasagna ...)

• Try to cut back.  Leave the cherry off your ice cream sundae.

• Hang around people fatter than you.

And, there's also a special prayer that you can say every night before going to sleep. You know, a prayer must be included in everything we do in order to achieve success, isn't it?  Er, this is not from Garfield, by the way.  

"Dear God, if you don't want to make me thin,
please make all my friends, fat.
Amen."

Give it a try and let me have your feedback at the comments section here.

He he! I hope this made you smile. This is just for laughs.

On a serious note, how do you keep yourself healthy?  I'll share mine in another post another time.  Share some of yours here.

Zen Habits: How I Changed My Life, In Four Lines

This original post was written by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. In this post, he showed how changing one's life can start with small, baby steps, just taking one step at a time. I believe in taking small, baby steps.  Since he has released his copyrights (read here) for all his posts and allowed it to be copied and be reproduced, etc., I have taken the liberty to reproduce it here (in its original form) to share with my readers.

Original Post written by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits:

‘What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.’ ~ C. S. Lewis

Changing your life can seem an incredibly tough and complicated thing, especially if you’ve failed a great number of times (like I did), found it too hard, and resigned yourself to not changing.

But I found a way to change.

And I’m not any better than anyone else, not more disciplined, not more motivated.  I just learned a few simple principles that changed my life.

I’ve written about them many times, but realized they’re spread out all over the site.

Here is how I changed my life, in a nutshell.

The four lines you’re looking for are at the bottom.

How I Started Running

In 2005 I was sedentary, and couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to make exercise a regular habit.  At the end of 2006, not only was I running very regularly, I finished my first marathon. These days I can run a half marathon race at the drop of a hat, have run several marathons.

How did I do it? I started with just 10 minutes of running a day. I focused not on how hard it was, but how much I enjoyed the movement and the outdoors. I increased slowly, until I could run 15 minutes, then 20, and later a couple hours. I was grateful for every run I was able to take.

I got healthier, fitter, slimmer, happier.

How I Started Eating Healthier
In 2005 I was overweight, and addicted to junk food. I ate fast food, chips and cookies, fried meats, anything fatty or sweet or salty … and I had no idea how to change. Today, I am 70 lbs. lighter, I eat almost all whole, real foods (almost nothing processed), I eat a sweet treat now and then but am happier eating healthy food.

How did I change? I started with small changes like drinking more water, eating more fruits and veggies, cooking at home more and preparing my lunches for work. One at a time. I gradually improved my diet, eventually cleared my fridge and pantry of junk, and stopped going to fast food places. I found healthy foods I really loved. I was grateful for every delicious healthy meal I ate.

I felt better about myself, trimmed down, and feel great every single day.

How I Got Out of Debt
In 2005, I was way over my head in debt — it was so bad, I had creditors calling me, and I would ignore my phone calls. I struggled to make it paycheck to paycheck, and sometimes didn’t even make it — I had to borrow money from friends and family. It was one of the most stressful times of my life. At the end of 2007, I celebrated with my wife Eva when we paid off our last debt and were free!

How did I do it?  I started one little change at a time: I started cutting back on expenses a little, saving a little at a time, paying off the little debts and then the bigger debts, found some breathing room, and saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I gradually changed my financial habits and got into better shape. I was grateful for every debt paid off, every dollar saved, every inch of breathing room.

I’m debt free and will never go back. It’s the most liberating thing ever.

And On and On
I was planning on writing the same capsules for how I decluttered and simplified my possessions, how I started focusing and accomplishing more, how I turned my passion into a living, and so on … but the truth is, the story starts to repeat itself.

I used the same principles, over and over. More on that in the nutshell below.

And Then I Gave Up Goals
About two years ago, I started to give up goals. Just as an experiment.

It turns out, I could still accomplish the same kinds of things, but I just didn’t plan it out. Instead, I just followed the same principles (more on those below). They still work, even without goals.

People say I can give up goals because I’ve already accomplished a lot … but the truth is, I can give up goals because I have learned a few things that work, and realized they work with or without goals. And if you follow these things, you can change your life, with or without goals.

The Nutshell Principles
So what are the principles that changed my life, repeatedly?

If you read the brief stories above, you already know:

1. Start very small.
2. Do only one change at a time.
3. Be present and enjoy the activity (don’t focus on results).
4. Be grateful for every step you take.

In programming, this is called an algorithm. It’s a series of steps that you can apply to make any change, no matter what your situation.

It works. This is the Zen Habits method, the Change Your Life App, in four lines. I hope it helps.

Leo Babauta of Zen Habits

My gratitude to Leo Babauta for his generosity in allowing his posts to be copied.  Something good just have to be shared.

Leo Babauta is a simplicity blogger and author.  He created Zen Habits which is a Top 25 blog with over 200,000 subscribers, mnmlist.com, and his best-selling books focus, The Power of Less, and Zen to Done.  He is a former journalist of 18 years and lives in San Francisco with his family.

He has awakened me to many simple, basic principles in life which I've forgotten or have been ignorant of. I hope that you too will find these life tips useful and will apply them in your life.

You can visit Leo Babauta's original post here.

What do you say? Do you think this will work for you?

P.S.  This sounds serious, doesn't it?  I'll post something funny for the next one, ok?  Look out for it on Wednesday.

Five Minute Friday: Catch

I remember one very old song that goes something like this:

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,
Never let it fade away.
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,
Save it for a rainy day.

Isn't that so sweet?  They don't write these kind of song lyrics anymore.  This is the IT era and you don't have time to go out into the moonlight and dream dreams, about catching a falling star or even to see the moon.

How many of us have looked out our windows and looked at the moon or the stars lately?  I haven't for a long time, come to think of it!  I think it should be full moon around this time.  I must take the time somehow to look up at the night sky, look at the moon, the stars, and dream.

If we can catch cold, catch flu, etc. how about catching enthusiasm, joy, cheerfulness, laughter, love, hope, contentment, gratitude ...  Here ... catch!

*** *** ***

On Fridays around these parts we stop, drop, and write.
We write bold and beautiful and free. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.
Won’t you join us?

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.  

3. Most importantly: leave a comment for the person who linked up before you – encouraging them in their writing!

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on: 

                                Catch…

 Ready? Catch me and link up here.

 

Farah's Story

She hopes one day to be a music composer, so when she was presented the chance, 15-year-old Farah Rosli created a music video (MTV) for her mother in January this year.

Farah, who has stage-four brain cancer, says the video expresses her appreciation of her family’s strong support for her during hard times.

Farah was diagnosed with giant cell glioblastoma last June and is not responding to treatment.

Read the rest of Farah's journey and watch the music video here.

Photo of Farah in hospital last year before and after her surgery.

"Smile and be happy, don't think so much.  It doesn't mean just because you have a sickness, you can't achieve what you want to do in life." Farah Rosli

We hope you will recover your full body movement, Farah.  We also wish you success in achieving your dream.

Let's take a lesson from this 15 year old warrior.  Do not wait a moment longer to go after our dreams, to do what is right for ourselves and for our lives.  Go after what we want to achieve while we are still healthy and strong.  Do not wait until we are sick to realize that we have not lived to our life purpose.

Please send your love to Farah Rosli.  She needs our prayers.

Photo Credit: Yahoosg

Inspiring Women: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, Tawakkul Karman

Congratulations to these three women!  You make us proud.  Who will champion the rights of women, if not the women themselves? 

Who are these three women?  Some of you may have heard about them. 

They are the 2011 recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize - see here.  Most Nobel Prize winners don't wear dresses!   This year, they did --- because they are women.  Three women shared the honor of receiving the Nobel Peace Prize this year on October 7, 2011.

These three women are, from left to right,  Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their contribution to the non-violent struggle for the safety of women and women's rights. 

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is Africa's first democratically elected female president.  Since 2006, she has made numerous contributions to securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women.

Leymah Gbowee contributed to the mobilization and organization of various ethnic and religious groups of women in order to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, as well as to ensure women's rights in elections.

Tawakkul Karman played a leading role in the struggle for women's rights, and for democracy and peace in Yemen.


Watch this youtube video by AlJazeeraEnglish  giving a brief background detail of these three women.

It is still a long way to bring an end to the suppression of women that occurs in many countries, especially in third world countries. In eastern society, it will be an uphill task.  But what is right and true will prevail.  Will win.

Aren't many of us lucky to be living in the USA, UK, Europe, Singapore -- where women's rights are taken for granted.   They have been fought for and given to our mothers and sisters before us, who had suffered and fought hard, and which we now enjoy the fruits of their labor.

This is part of history in the making and I want to remember it. 

Five Minute Friday: Ordinary

Ordinary means normal, usual, familiar, unexceptional.

Normal is good.

Usual is good.

Familiar is good.

Unexceptional is ok, I guess.

For someone living in war-torn countries like Palestine, Syria, etc. --  hearing bombs explode and guns fired, at any time of the day, when you least expect it -- would be ordinary.

For someone living in Africa, where they have to travel for miles, to get clean water every single day  -- that would be ordinary.

For someone living in Singapore, like me, getting up every morning, to the peace and calmness of the morning, then rushing to get ready for work and at the same time making sure that my son is also on time for his school, that is ordinary.

Ordinary is different for different people in different parts of the world.

I thank God for making my life ordinary.  This ordinary is a blessing.  There is peace.  There is love and there is stability.  With this kind of ordinary, I'll take it.

---  --- ---  ---  ---  ---

Want to join me in the fun of just writing and not worrying if it’s just right (or on time) or not?

 

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 

2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 

3. Go all out encouraging the writer who linked up before you.

This Friday's topic is "Ordinary."  Click here to enter.

Inspiring Men: Steve Jobs

He was a visionary and a creative genius like no other and a man like Steve Jobs will only appear every 100 years.

Steve Jobs passed away at the age of 56 in New York on Wednesday, October 5, 2011.

Tributes came pouring in from President Barrack Obama, Bill Gates and other industry players as well as the ordinary man in the street. All have been touched by this man in one way or another.  Out of the many tributes that came pouring in yesterday this one strikes a chord in my heart:

"The most inspiring thing about Jobs' life is that he taught me how to live from the heart.  The best quote I got from him is about not to being too calculating.  Jobs said that we were born naked and we will leave the world naked.  Thus, we should live from the heart.  The man has given us so many inventions.  But he had not lost his heart."  - Bob Abunda

 A look back at Steve Jobs' career in photos click here - from 1977 when he showed the new Apple II in Cupertino, California to 2003 when he was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer and began showing signs of weight loss and 2010 when he introduced the iPad.  Other than the obvious sign of weight loss, you would never have guessed that he was not well.

You can read about Steve Jobs' early life and childhood, to his passing --> here.


Steve Jobs' commencement speech at Stanford University, 2005

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.  Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking.  Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary. " - Steve Jobs

This is the way that I will always remember you, Mr. Steve Jobs.  Thank you for leaving the world a better place.




Photo: Yahoo
Youtube Video: peestandingup

Tips from Twitter ... on Health

How do you take care of your body ... physically, spiritually and emotionally?  It's not much of any use to have all the riches in the world but unable to enjoy your wealth because you have not been looking after yourself well.

Let's check out some of these tips from Twitter:

•  18 Benefits of Deep Breathing & How to breathe deeply via @ashtalks

• Video: Gregg Braden on curing cancer using our own technology of emotion

• The Story of Bottled Water

• The Practice of Ying/Yang Productivity via  Dumb Little Man

• Mindfullness, Oprah, and the smiling meditation of Thich Nhat Hahn via @CoachBarrie

• Healthy Heart 

I hope these health tips are of some use to somebody. Anybody? As for me, I like especially the tips on deep breathing and the article on Mindfullness.  I also find the video of Gregg Braden on curing cancer very interesting and mind-boggling.  It's a "must watch."

Let me know what you think of these tips.





Photo: istockphotos

Do nothing for two minutes

Can you?

Do nothing for two whole minutes.  Not two hours ... just two minutes.

Sounds easy?

If you're ready, click here to link you to the page.

Be still.  Don't touch your mouse or your keyboard.

Look at the scenery, the sun rising in the horizon.

Listen to the waves.

Relax .....

How many times did the "Fail" message appeared before you can complete the two whole minutes??

This is just for the fun of it.  Share here how your two minutes of doing nothing went.


Photo: freedigitalphotos.com

5 Minute Friday: On Friends

"Good friends are like stars; You don't always see them, but you know they are always there." -Unknown

Friends, good friends, are indeed like stars.   They too have a life of their own and their own battles to fight.  But you know, when you need them, they will be the first one to be there for you.  They'll put everything aside and be with you.  Just like that.  No explanation required.

They know all about you ... the good, the bad and the ugly ... yet they stick around.  They still love you.  You can be you.  You don't have to hide.

If they can be honest with you and tell you like what it really is ... and you can take it and see whatever lesson there is in it ... you are also a friend ... a very good friend.  And, you've got yourself a great friend.  Treasure this person!

That's what friends are for.  They lift you higher.  They let you grow to your highest potential and give you space to be you.

Are you a friend, too?

Tips from Twitter ... Money-Saving Ideas

Wouldn't it be great if we could just plant a money tree (perhaps, several money trees) and don't have to worry about balancing our accounts each month?

Do you ever wonder where your money went to at the end of each month?  Perhaps, like me, you may want to know the secret on how to cut down your expenditure each month and find ways on how to save more money. 

If you do have a money tree then you will not need to read these tips that I got from Twitter on the various ways you can save money as well as the mistakes to avoid in your usage of credit cards.  Just click on the title to link to the actual article.

• Sometimes the simple things can save the most money via mytwodollars.com
• Simple Hacks to Cut Your Cell Phone Bill in Half via @TIMEMoneyland

• The Big List: 1,019 different ways to save money via mytwodollars.com

• 7 Obstacles to Financial Success via @TIMEMoneyland

• Six Secrets to Saving Money When You Are Young via frugaldad

• 11 Credit Card Mistakes to Avoid via Kiplinger Magazine

Do you have other money saving tips or ideas that you may want to share with me?  Or, those with the money tree, perhaps you may want to share your secret here under comments.





Photo: istockphoto