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You’re a Flake and Dead Weight

Last week I had the one thing that really irritates me…Flakes. If you don’t know what the definition of a flake is one who says they will show up for an event, gathering, etc.. at a particular time and repeatedly does not show with no follow up.

The upcoming client was coming in for their consultation, and continually kept rescheduling (I should have seen it coming) and they finally said “I’ll meet you 6a.m”. At first, I was shocked at such an early time but any client willing to take the steps to build a “new you” I’m willing to meet them half way. I text the client to remind them 6am and they confirmed. 6:30am, 7:00a.m. no show, and no phone call. I was angry, and pissed. I text them “You’re A Flake” and went on with my day.

Later on that Day, I started to feel bad. Something could have happened to them (car trouble, overslept) trying to them the benefit of the doubt, yet even when I called to check up on them it went to voice mail. Till this day I still have had no explanation. In my prayer closet, I was reminded that in “redirection is God’s protection”. Later on I saw that person, and though I wanted to confront them, I just let it go. In speaking to another trainer, who described this same person, he let them go two weeks later due to their attitude.

Yes, we trainers do get sick and tired of funky attitudes.

I digress, the action of this subject is too remind you that when you see a flake (or if you have may of them) in your life. Let them go. How can you become better when you have dead weight?. Either people will uplift your vision or try to choke it. So you see how they are. They’ll get the picture when you have moved on and achieving your goals. If they change, they’ll be back. If they keep hanging around, drop the dead weight.

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We become what we THINK about most of the time

We become what we THINK about most of the time

by Elliot Hulse of Hulsestrength.com

All men of discernment would agree that… Our outer lives are a mirror reflection of our inner lives; or we become what we THINK about most of the time.

This fact has been repeated by men of wisdom for countless generations.  Jesus constantly scolded his students reciting, “Oh ye of little faith!”, every time they considered outer appearances and circumstances rather than their (and our) divine capacity to see God’s reality broadcast live directly into our very cells of existence via the most complex satellite dish ever created… The Brain.

Before I describe my position on brain conditioning and mental reprogramming for the purpose of fulfilling our TRUE life’s potential and bringing our Ideal into full existence, I will relay my convictions and position on the ever debatable topic of, God and The Station of Man.

What Is God and Who Are We?

God is Omnipresent, meaning that He is everywhere at once… not limited by time or space.   From the tiniest, most microscopic electron to the largest most magnificent and complex galaxies in the universe, EVERYTHING is infused with the esoteric power which I am referring to as God.

Because I am referring to this entity as “God” does not meant I am attached to names or forms any more than a nursing baby refers to her source of life as “Mama”or “Baba” (I’ve got a 1 year old at home).  If the name Mommy was preferred over Mama, it would have zero effect on the entity that gives life… it still exists and is not only the Creator but the Sustainer of vitality for the baby.   Call It what you will, but understand that our existence is intrinsically tied to It… It is us and we are It.

To further elaborate, as ridiculous as it would be for a fish to deny the existence of water would be for man to deny the existence of God.  Fish can not SEE the water, in fact there would be very little reason for fish to consider the existence of water, since for most of its life the water is in them and all around the fish.  It’s the life giver, sustainer and provider of life for the fish.  The only way the fish might know that water exists is if he is removed from it.

Because the entity which I describe as God is “closer to us than our life vein.”, it is very easy to take it for granted.  But the fact is that we are surrounded by God in the same fashion that the fish is surrounded by water, and we are constantly communicating with our Source and He is constantly responding (whether we’re satisfied with the response or not).  He knows what we need and want even before we can verbalize it.

To observe God and study his pattens, or to immerse yourself in the reading and research of “Wisdom Literature”, as can be found in several ancient texts including The Bible, will give you a better understanding of the Principles and Laws that govern our lives and the universe.

This, in my opinion is the most essential of all studies we can undertake.  As Albert Einstein propounded, “I want to know the mind of God, everything else it just details”, it is clear that this is the SCIENCE of life.  (everything else is just details)

As for “The Station Of Man”… well, we’re pretty cool! — You see, unlike the plants and animals who are governed by instinct and have a genetic blueprint for the pattern of their lives, we can choose. As we are “made in the likeness and image of God”, we are not only Creatures… we are Creators.  Our capacity to choose and create is bestowed by the direct communication with God that we have been granted through the spirit and into our bodies via The Brain (and nervous system).

The brain acts as a switching station that translates communication received from God and the spirit world, as well as a means of relaying our wishes and desires back to God and the spirit world. We benefit from listening to God because He wrote all of the rules to this game we are playing called Life.  When we listen to God, it’s like having the creator of the game and a coach that wants to see you win, all wrapped up in one, sitting by your side and constantly giving you tips and course corrections.

How do you know when your Cosmic Coach is talking to you?  — You FEEL it in your body!

How To Hear God Talking To You

Our nervous system and hormones shift to produce a contortion or feeling in our body that is consistent with the message being received from the spirit.  This explains why some people feel neck pain or clench their jaw when they experience repressive stress… the nerve bundle, called a vortex, that projects from the spinal chord into the neck, shoulders, and jaw is connected to an area in the brain or nervous system that is associated with creative communication and expression.

Your body has several of these “vortexes” and each acts as a messenger to the body with communication from your spirit or God,  each one associated with a particular feeling or emotion.  Another example is low back pain; the nerve vortex located in the low back and legs are associated with feelings of safety and security.  When our safety is challenged (which it is every day via fear mongering expressed on the TV and media) this nerve bundle will TELL you by restricting the positive and vital energies to that area… creating back pain that not even your surgeon can explain.

The most obvious “holler” that God shouts in our direction is that of Depression.  We all feel depressed at times and this is normal and natural.  But sustained depression in most cases can be traced back to one of 2 things that God is trying to relay to us.  First, consider that you may NOT be doing a thing that you know you should be doing –OR– you may be DOING a thing that you feel you shouldn’t be doing.  Examples of these could be anything from telling a friend the truth about his new girlfriend, to continuing in a job that you hate.

It is though “feeling” or intuition that God talks to us… not with some deep voice projected over a cosmic loud speaker when you are down on your knees reciting some sad, pathetic prayer.  The problem is that most of us have been numbed from these “feelings” due to: ignoring them for so long that they’ve grown faint, and being “high” on pain pills, SSRI medication, alcohol, drugs and caffeine.   Our communication systems are JAMMED!

The wonderful thing is that we can ALWAYS choose to become more receptive to the voice of God, and when we do we’ll once again have the creator of the game and coach that wants you to win guiding your every step.

How Do We Talk To God?

Whether you know it or not, you are constantly giving God feedback and demands via your thoughts.  One of the responsibilities that comes with our ability to choose is that God is pretty neural about your decisions.  He gives you warnings and advice about how to proceed in different circumstances but once you have launched a particular action (and thoughts are action) the steadfast rules will always apply.

Just like if you jump out of the 12th story window of an office building the LAW of gravity dictates that you WILL hit the ground… and hard!  — the law of “Sowing & Reaping” dictates that whatever you give, you will receive in equal fashion.  The only difference is that the law of gravity is immediate and obvious and the law of Sowing and Reaping (or The Law of Attraction) takes time to manifest… but, manifest it will!

So, if we are constantly communicating with God via thoughts the we SOW and he is ALWAYS prepared to answer, wouldn’t make sense that we should only THINK thoughts that are consistent with what we believe to be right and good?  Why then would we CHOOSE to focus our thoughts on fear, anxiety, doom and lack?

The answer is that we have been CONDITIONED to focus on fear.  If you pay attention to the Outer World (popular culture and media) you will be bombarded with messages convincing you that ” you don’t have enough”, “things are bad and only going to get worse”, “you should be worried for your children”, “you should be scared about the economy”, “you need to be afraid for your health.”

Fear is a powerful control mechanism, and world leaders, governments and marketers understand this.  The cry, “Something MUST be done about this!” is music to the ears of those who seek to control you.  Just look at all of the personal rights and liberties that were silently stripped from us post 9/11.  We (Americans) were scared and “something had to be done!”… and things aren’t much different now that “something must be done about the economy”.

We live in a fear-based world that is trying to control us with fear.  This is why it is ever so important to GUARD YOUR MENTAL INTEGRITY!  The first step in eliminating fearful and demeaning thought is to eliminate its source, and for most of us it means turning off the TV and stop talking with negative people.

If you don’t guard your mind from allowing those negative thoughts into your consciousness then you WILL be SOWING the very seeds of your deepest fears… and the God who has given us choices and responsibility will respond  by giving your EXACTLY what you are asking him for.

The next step is to consciously and purposefully plant positive seeds in your mental garden.  This is done in the from of Prayer, Mediation, Affirmation and Visualization.

As I’ve run out of mental gas — I will continue next time with the exact methods that I use to Guard My Mind and the consciously plant positive seeds so as to communicate and receive from God everything that I know to be right and good.

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5 Ways to Keep Your Cool When the Mercury Spikes

5 Ways to Keep Your Cool When the Mercury Spikes

If anything is certain in exercise science, it’s that each year, a study will come out that flies in the face of what athletes hold as gospel. Take, for example, the recent one about water consumption, from England’s University of Exeter. The sporting community has long assumed that drinking large amounts of H2O helps keep body temperature down when outside temperatures soar. Not so, say the British white coats. You can drink water until you’re blue in the face, but unless the water is cold to begin with, it won’t have the slightest effect on body temp. And that can have dangerous repercussions—more people die each year from heat stroke than from all natural disasters combined. So before you strap on a sweatband and brave the next heat wave, make sure you’ve cooled your heels with these five guidelines.

Check Yesterday’s Heat Index

Your risk of heat stroke rises sharply if the previous day was hot, according to a recent study by the U.S. Marine Corps. Researchers found that victims of heat-related illnesses often became dehydrated the day before they were stricken with heat stroke. “Being dehydrated not only prevents you from sweating efficiently, increasing your risk of overheating, but also causes your body to redirect blood from your muscles to your skin to aid cooling,” says David Martin, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at Georgia State University and marathon development chair for USA Track & Field.

Mind the Water Temperature

If you’ve heard the old tale about drinking room-temperature water to stay cool, disregard it, say researchers at the University of Birmingham, in England. They found that cyclists who consumed 39°F beverages while exercising in hot weather were able to work out longer and harder than those who drank 66°F beverages.

Don’t Overhydrate

Gauge your body’s hourly sweat rate by weighing yourself before and after an hour workout (1 pint of sweat = 1 pound lost), says W. Larry Kenney, Ph.D., a Penn State University physiologist. Aim to replace only as much as you’ve sweat during every hour of exercise.

Find Good Cover

Ditch cotton T-shirts in favor of fabrics that wick away sweat, ventilate the body, and block the sun. “Sunburned pores are less efficient at releasing sweat,” says Martin. So curtail your exercise routine if you’re sunburned, because your skin will not thermoregulate well. Cotton tees have an SPF of 5, but sun-blocking fabrics, such as Under Armour’s Red Line T-shirt ($40, underarmour.com), offer protection of SPF 30, thanks to their microfiber fabric construction.

Precool Your Core

If you’re competing in any endurance events this summer, take a cue from the U.S. Olympic track-and-field team. When temperatures topped 104°F in Athens, the marathoners donned vests containing frozen gel sticks to cool their cores prior to competition. In doing so, they were able to race harder without overheating and won two of the six medals in the competition. We recommend the Arctic Heat Cooling Vest ($180, arcticheatusa.com).

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10 Lies Every Parent Should Tell

(because the truth doesn’t always produce a positive outcome)

By Mike Zimmerman

1 “The tooth fairy called. She said the way you’re behaving, you might as well keep the tooth.” Parents threaten consequences all the time, but it helps to have a strong third party on call to bring perspective. From Halloween on, throw all your disciplinary needs onto Santa’s lap.

2 “Monsters like to eat dust bunnies. I bet you’re going to get lots of monsters in this room.” Call it a cleanliness incentive plan.

3 “Mommy and Daddy aren’t fighting; we’re rearranging the kitchen.” Kids might not buy this one, but in our desire to be right, we jump into fights even if it means exposing our kids to adult conflicts. Need to scream? Get ’em out of the house first.

4 “Mommy and Daddy aren’t fighting; we’re playing leapfrog. On the bed. Without our clothes.” In case the makeup sex gets out of hand.

5 “Reading books will make you a millionaire.” In today’s screen-dominated world, kids must grow up knowing that books, not blogs, will unlock the secrets of their universe.

6 “Don’t worry, sweetie, that can’t happen here.” Um, sure it can. Murder, terrorism, earthquakes—they can strike anytime, anywhere. But parents must be kiddie Pepto-Bismol: Coat them, soothe them, relieve them.

7 “I know everything.” Before teachers, coaches, and the kid down the street get their shot, parents must be a child’s go-to encyclopedia for all of life’s questions. The important thing is that your children, not you, believe it.

8 “That guy is homeless because he didn’t eat his vegetables.” If you really stretch it, there’s science to back this up, given the importance of nutrition to brain health. More important, this lie teaches cause and effect, and gives your child the power to determine his destiny.

9 “I’m not afraid.” Your smile is their Kevlar vest, your hug proof that everything will in fact be OK, no matter how bleak reality might be.

10 “This is Mommy’s special juice, and it’s poison to children.” Happy hour is sacred ground, folks.

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The Princess Diatribes

Use these eight expert-approved strategies to outsmart the marketers and nurture an engaging, resourceful, creative, curious, and considerate child.

by Paul Scott

Boost Your Kids’ Test Scores and Physical Health
Most doctors recommend no screen time for kids under 2 years old, and no more than two hours a day for everyone older. This includes computers, video games, and DVDs. But most parents inadvertently undercut this recommendation by putting TVs in their children’s bedrooms. Kids between 1 and 14 years whose bedrooms are TV-free have lower rates of obesity, score higher on standardized tests, go to sleep at least half an hour earlier each night, and fall asleep easier, according to research. “The best place for a TV and a computer is in a space shared by the whole family,” says Susan Linn, EdD, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School.

Build Immunity to Consumer Culture
Science has demonstrated a link between increased exposure to ads and increased rates of children consuming high-calorie foods, abusing alcohol, and smoking. “You can work with your child from the age of 4 or 5 to build up resilience to consumer culture,” says Tim Kasser, PhD, a psychology professor at Knox College in Illinois and a father of two boys, ages 9 and 11. When his family watches TV, Kasser mutes the commercials while his sons make up their own dialogue. “Now if you ask my children what an ad is, they will reply, ‘They want your money!’ ” he says.

Inspire Your Kids to Be More Active
Making a contract with your 8- to 12-year-old child to watch less television will make him or her more active, according to a study at the University at Buffalo. “Give your kids points for spending time outside,” says Leslie Sim, PhD, a child and adolescent psychologist at the Mayo Clinic. “Then let them exchange those points for special activities with Mom or Dad. Make the reward whatever is going to be meaningful to the child.”

Be a Player
Brain development research shows that infants learn best through human interaction, manipulation of their physical environment, and open-ended, creative play, says Michael Rich, MD, PhD, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Yet a host of “educational” videos and shows have been created for babies and toddlers. “Time in front of a screen takes away from more developmentally optimal activities,” says Dr. Rich. Sim offers these simple tips to enhance play: Don’t instruct, don’t question, do praise, do imitate, and be enthusiastic and verbal in how you describe the child’s play. In fact, fathers have a greater effect than mothers on their children’s language development in families with two working parents, according to a study in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.

Bond at the Dinner Table
Eating in front of the TV is associated with increased time spent watching TV, according to a University of Washington study. On the other hand, family meals are associated with smarter, healthier kids, says William Doherty, PhD, a professor of family social science at the University of Minnesota. To make family meals work, Doherty recommends the following: Involve kids in the preparation and cleanup, start and finish meals at the same time, keep the TV off, don’t badger the kids about finishing their peas, and talk about topics the kids feel good about.

Show the Love
The temptation is strong to give your children another hour of Nickelodeon or the latest Transformers model. Give them your time instead. “This is a particular problem for fathers,” says Joe Kelly, fathering author and anti-children’s marketing advocate, “because we are told that our primary role is as a provider, and we have a narrow definition of providing: money and stuff.” Follow your children’s lead and show them you’re interested in what they want to do. Studies show that kids who receive more one-on-one attention grow up more secure.

Free Your Child’s Inner Hemingway
At age 5, kids prefer timeless toys such as generic dolls, stuffed animals, and cars, yet only two years later, these preferences are replaced with brands such as Dora and SpongeBob, according to the child marketing research group KidSay. Licensed characters stifle the imagination and increase materialism, say child development experts such as Linn, who recommends buying only unlicensed products. “Inundating children with branded stuff deprives them of opportunities to create imaginary worlds and to develop a sense of self.”

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