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Service over Self

It’s a lot better to help others.

“It is better to give than to receive,” they say. Everyone has heard that quote at some point in their lives. However, not everyone applies this age-old adage; instead, they follow the opposite. We all have been taught to put others first before ourselves. Although a healthy dose of self-love can be good every now and then, we all have to do our part in helping our fellow human beings out, especially in times of need.

Imagine yourself being in the shoes of someone in an unfortunate predicament, desperately in need of assistance. Just a simple act of kindness from a stranger can turn that person’s day from bad to good.

Giving is obeying God’s command. As with every command, it is given for the purpose of enhancing our lives. On top of that, giving also increases our happiness. Despite the pain it may entail, giving and sacrificing for the benefit of others is living the message of the Gospel in a small scale. It also expresses our faith and trust in God’s ability to provide for us and our families. The Lord loves and appreciates seeing His people actively providing for the necessities of His church and all His creations through opening their hearts and hands. He lauds individuals who devote themselves to fulfilling Gospel work.

Keep in mind that giving doesn’t only promote God’s work through us, it also shows our sanctification. As we give with the real intention to help, our sinful and selfish natures weaken every time. As God’s grace enters and spreads into our hearts, sin heads straight toward the exit.

The Lord has a big heart that just keeps on giving; His generous nature also displays His compassion. As human beings who live according to His will, for all the blessings we have received, we must return the favor by giving back to others. Helping others not only cleans out your conscience, but it also makes you a much happier person.

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The Bible Tells Us: “As a Man Thinks, So He Is”

These may be simple words, but its meaning is deeper than it seems. It is just a short proverb in the Bible, yet it sums up the condition of the human mind and body.

A person’s mind and body is a duality that is different, but similar at the same time. What we imagine—we try to recreate in the physical world. The things we dream of—we try to achieve in real life. Mere thoughts become physical words and actions. In other words, man becomes what he thinks of himself.

That is to say, positive thinking plays a major role in a person’s success and health. A person can only grow if he thinks he can grow. Not only that, it has been theorized that positive emotions enhance the ability to build skill sets and it enhances resourcefulness.

Barbara Fredrickson formulated the “broaden and build” theory, explaining that positive emotions broaden your sense of possibilities and open your mind, which then allows you to build new skills and resources that may be valuable to other aspects of your life. This only strengthens the idea that positive thinking gets you closer to your goals.

In addition, man has always been vulnerable to mental and emotional attacks, which eventually becomes physically damaging if we let it. Suffering a sickness will likely kill you only if you think it will. Thinking of stress will only make you stressed. A mild cough or flu can turn into something worse if you let your mind think it hinders your daily activities. Surely, medication and a healthy diet are essential to a healthy body, but a healthy mind also helps.

In terms of success, we can always defeat or overcome failure as long as we stay positive. There will always be setbacks that are unexpected, but if you let failure get to your head, you will never achieve greatness.

The popular mantra “mind over matter” is a mere rewording of Proverb 23:7, “As a man thinks, so he is.” It simply means overcoming physical problems with willpower. As long as we think we can do it, we can actually do it. There’s no complicated mathematical equation to solve life problems. Positive thinking may not be the only thing you need to achieve what you dream of, but it is what keeps you going.

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What You Should Be Doing to Prevent Cancer

As the cliché goes, prevention is better than cure. This simple tip is applicable to prevent cancer, one of the deadliest illnesses in this age. Taking medications or seeing the doctor entails expenses one should practically avoid.

By striving to follow these healthy behaviors, you will definitely reduce the chances of contracting cancer and other diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and many more. After all, cancer experts in the UK estimate that more than four in ten cancer cases could be prevented by changes in lifestyle.

Watch Your Diet

Concentrate on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and eat red meat to a minimum level. It’s also important to avoid bad fats (saturated and trans fats), cholesterol, refined carbs, and sugars, and select healthy fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats) more often. Also, buy good cooking oils, and take a multivitamin with folate every day, if possible.

Take Control of Your Weight

Keeping your weight in check is often not easy as you think, but there are a few doable tips that can help. So if you’re overweight, aim first on not gaining any more weight. This can better your health, and when you’re prepared, decide to lose some extra pounds for an even healthier you. And learn more about body mass index (BMI), a mathematical formula that considers a person’s height and weight in determining obesity.

Engage in Physical Exercise

You don’t need to go to the gym to be able to do this. Experts say it’s the frequency, intensity, and time that matter. While it can be difficult to find the time, especially if you’re busy, get to schedule at least thirty minutes of physical activity every day. This need not be consecutive. The more exercise you engage in, the better.

Stop Smoking

Quitting smoking may be a tough thing to do by many, but statistics shows that more than one thousand Americans end smoking for good every day. Yes, it may be hard, but it’s not impossible. The best thing you can do for your health is to stop smoking. A recent study concluded that smokers lose at least ten years of life expectancy compared with nonsmokers.

Drink Moderately, If at All

Though moderate drinking is good for the heart, it can also increase cancer risk. If you don’t see any reason to drink, don’t do it. If you already drink, for instance, less than one drink a day for women or less than two drinks a day for men, there may be no cause to stop. People who drink excessively, however, should lessen their alcohol intake.

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Knowing When to Seek Advice for Trapped Emotions

Emotions are as complex as the humans who feel them, for emotions are closely associated with mood, temperament, personality, disposition, and motivation. There are many different stimulants that affect emotions each day, and conflicting feelings lead to anxiety, depression, or both.

Anxiety, considered the affliction of the millennial generation, and depression are the haunting specters that loom over the stressed individual. These mental monsters creep into the psyche often undetected. Those afflicted usually cannot detect the symptoms and often suffer greatly before realizing what they have, and sometimes, realizations come too late.

This is the importance of self-evaluation and introspection. Assessing oneself constantly is key to a healthy physical and mental well-being. When the body is sick, the regular course of action is to go see a doctor, and it should also be the same mental process when one is feeling mentally strained.

More often than not, anxiety sufferers also have depression and vice versa. The victims are immobilized by the inability to express what they are feeling. This is why when one suddenly feels dread and a deadening feeling in the pit of the gut that does not go away, talking to someone about it can greatly ease the discomfort. Depression causes discouragement, sadness, hopelessness, and a feeling of detachment from life that leads to thoughts of suicide and shames many into keeping these alarming symptoms hidden. Mainstream society often looks down on people suffering mental disorders because it is deemed to be a manifestation of weakness and honesty about it results in being stigmatized. Shame and ridicule is the fear for those suffering, thus leading to trapped emotions.

These trapped emotions are toxic because their unprocessed nature becomes stressors in the body that can break down the immune system, exacerbating the problem. Not only will the anxious get depressed, they will also suffer a surfeit of physical maladies. Repression is also a factor, and when one denies experiencing a feeling (e.g., not admitting to feeling sad or angry), this blatant denial can trap the negativity inside the body, and that will show itself in physical manifestations.

People who find themselves acting out of character, like changes in appetite and lack of interest in activities one used to enjoy, and unwelcome fluctuations in sleeping patterns should invest some time in figuring out if these conditions are symptoms of events that one may have a hard time coping with. If these are reactions to stress, then they may be easily treatable by a vacation or maybe a heartfelt conversation with a good friend, but if, for no reason, such symptoms persist, it may be high time to consult a doctor.

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Planning Your Life and Taking Action

What do you want to be when you grow up? Or where do you see yourself in twenty years?

Adults throw questions like these that have encouraged you to shape the future according to how you want it to be. However, things didn’t go as you planned them—you become an adult who is not living the life that you wished to live ten or twenty years ago. Now you ask yourself, “Where did I go wrong?”

Here’s a possible answer: you have failed to set an effective plan that will help you achieve your goal. A long time ago, you may have decided to take a different trail, but you ended up safely treading on the same path that most people choose: study, learn, graduate, and get a job.

Now is the time to plan and take action about your goals in life. Here’s how.

Follow your heart’s desire. What is it that you sincerely dream about? It’s time to clearly distinguish the things that you like doing and the things that you want to accomplish in this lifetime. If you haven’t figured out what it is that you want to achieve, spend some time alone to think about the thing you genuinely love.

Be willing to take a risk. Rather than thinking that you are making a U-turn, think of it as moving closer to your dream. If you really think that this sudden change of mind will make you happy, own it. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are, what matters is that you know your goal and you are willing to take plausible steps to attain it.

Plan smartly. Write down small, realistic, achievable steps that you need to take to achieve your goal. Set a time frame for each step. Make a to-do list that you can go back to anytime you need to review your progress.

Take action and record your progress. Commit to your plan. Set priorities and focus on one step at a time. Don’t procrastinate. Aiming to start your plan in three months is a sign of procrastination. Start now and be diligent in monitoring and recording your progress.

The journey of making your dream come true will not always be a smooth ride. If things get rough, don’t give up. Persevere until you have grasped that dream. Because in the end, it is you who decide which path to take. Your future is at stake, so don’t play it safe.

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(via Amonita fosil - Villa de Leyva | ColArte | El Arte en Colombia)

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Corydalis solida, syn. C. halleri, C. transsylvanica (fumewort),

“ is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveracae, native to moist, shady habitats in northern Europe and Asia. Growing to 25 cm (10 in), it is a spring ephemeral, with foliage that appears in spring and dies down to its tuberous rootstock in summer. It is cultivated for its deeply divided, ferny leaves and narrow, long-spurred flowers which appear in spring. The flowers show color variation, and may be mauve, purple, red, or white.”

Improves memory ( excerpt from research:” Aqueous and methanolic extracts of 11 plants, used in Danish folk medicine for improvement of memory and cognition, and 3 Corydalis species were tested for acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity.. Significant inhibitory activity in dose-dependent manner was observed for extracts of Corydalis cava, Corydalis intermedia, Corydalis solida ssp. laxa and Corydalis solida ssp. slivenensis. “) * see research link 16280217

Research on Fumewort:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16280217

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Full moon in Capricorn - July 19th. Today marks the emergence of the full moon in Capricorn, and what a timely one it is. We have all been busy sorting through our emotional closets,facing our shadow selves, fighting the last of our demons, and clearing through karmic family debt, and perceptions of romantic love. Now, after a roller-coaster of emotional, and spiritual work, we are being thrust into the material plane with the direct, and forward energy of Capricorn. Rarely has there been a sign so openly, and blatantly masculine. The sign of Capricorn lends itself to planning, structure, long term plans, and investments, business goals, and financial liberation. If it were a life path, it would be the number 8. The directness of this full moon lends a hand to not only being honest with others, but also with ourselves. If we have been particularly lazy, lethargic, or avoidant of responsibilities, then now is the time for the full moon to shine a light on that, and we must accept, that we have nobody to blame but ourselves.

This is very much the father wound. Without a strong, secure father figure present, many children grow up internalizing the victim narrative of their mother – who also carries the psychological wound of abandonment, and passes this on. Even if a father figure was figure present, if he was not somewhat reliable, responsible, or stable, it is very likely that this individual did not inherit healthy masculine properties, such as consistency, and stability.. And this is exactly what this full moon in Capricorn seeks to challenge within us. Taking responsibility for your life and fathering yourself, not only places you in the position to be the best parent for your child, but also the best parent for your life, your business, and your project. FULL ARTICLE ON WORDPRESS. #fullmoon #fullmoonincapricorn #spiritual #empath #lightworker #writer #writing #astrology #astronomy #mystic #esoteric

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Corydalis solida, syn. C. halleri, C. transsylvanica (fumewort),

“ is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveracae, native to moist, shady habitats in northern Europe and Asia. Growing to 25 cm (10 in), it is a spring ephemeral, with foliage that appears in spring and dies down to its tuberous rootstock in summer. It is cultivated for its deeply divided, ferny leaves and narrow, long-spurred flowers which appear in spring. The flowers show color variation, and may be mauve, purple, red, or white.”

Improves memory ( excerpt from research:” Aqueous and methanolic extracts of 11 plants, used in Danish folk medicine for improvement of memory and cognition, and 3 Corydalis species were tested for acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity.. Significant inhibitory activity in dose-dependent manner was observed for extracts of Corydalis cava, Corydalis intermedia, Corydalis solida ssp. laxa and Corydalis solida ssp. slivenensis. “) * see research link 16280217

Research on Fumewort:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16280217

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Negative Emotions and Their Effects on Your Long-Term Health

The mind and body are irrevocably connected. The body reacts to everything the mind is going through. That’s why your thoughts and feelings have such a huge impact on your health. When you’re feeling stressed or anxious, your body may react in a negative way. For instance, going through a traumatic experience may cause you to develop high blood pressure or a stomach ulcer. That’s not all; negative emotions, when left unexpressed, may linger longer and cause you to develop unhealthy behaviors. Oftentimes, people who are stressed develop unhealthy eating patterns. To cope with their feelings, they either eat excessively or not at all. Since a well-balanced diet is crucial for maintaining your health, deviating from this practice can cause certain conditions to arise, which may lead to more fatal diseases.

Your general emotional health also plays a vital role in your body’s protection against illness. Your body’s immune system weakens when your emotional health declines, which leaves your body susceptible to illnesses like coughs, colds, and other infections. Negative emotions such as hate, anger, jealousy, anxiety, and more may manifest in physical symptoms including, but not limited to, headaches, stomachaches, fatigue, back pains, chest pains, palpitations, stiff neck, and insomnia. These symptoms can cause both your emotional and physical health to further deteriorate.

 How can you maintain your emotional health?

To help manage your physical health, you must also take charge of your emotional health. Take these tips to help you maintain your emotional well-being:

1.       Identify what you’re feeling and its underlying reason

Recognizing your emotions will help you identify them. Once you do, you can begin to determine the reason behind them. Whether you’re angry, apprehensive, or stressed, it’s important to find the root cause behind your feelings for you to know how to deal with them. Also, refusing to face what you feel will only cause the negative emotions to resurface over and over.

2.       Let your feelings out.

Silence can be beneficial, but self-expression can be a lifesaver. Emotions are not meant to be cooped up like chickens in a cage. They demand to be felt and expressed. Don’t go against the nature of emotions. Let them out before they begin to express themselves through negative physical symptoms. Of course, you have to keep in mind that although you have the right to let your feelings be known, hurting others is never the right way to do it.

3.       Look after yourself.

You only have one body and one mind. Don’t take it for granted. Let yourself do things that make you happy. Spend time, money, and effort to maintain your well-being. Don’t shortchange yourself, because, at the end, you’ll be the one who will be facing the results.

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How Eating a Well-Balanced Diet Fights Cancer Risk

You are what you eat. This adage has been the condescending advice of so many well-meaning aunts at family gatherings, but the joke is definitely on us—it’s true! We are what we make ourselves, and shoveling garbage down the proverbial gullet daily can really turn us trashy, pun definitely intended.

Aside from the obvious health detriments like carbonated soda causing type 2 diabetes and the sodium in fried food that can lead to high blood pressure and kidney problems, eating processed food and red meat (doubly processed red meat) has been proven to cause cancer.

Considering the amount of money needed for treatment versus the amount for fast food versus the amount for healthy organic food, the best choice here is the last one, and you don’t have to sacrifice taste for a healthier diet.

A diet is food that is regularly consumed for survival. In other words, it is your daily nourishment and not a way to lose weight. Fad diets like the silly werewolf diet or the equally ridiculous raw food diet are terrible as they are just made to help you lose weight temporarily but it doesn’t offer solutions for long term or for keeping it off. The goal is to create a well-balanced diet that suits you, is sustainable over time, and is healthy.

Sadly, a lot of people don’t know where to start when it comes to planning a well-balanced diet. Nutrition education isn’t very popular, and many grow up not knowing the importance of choosing the correct meals, which is probably the reason people eat so much junk.

Maintaining a well-balanced diet is an investment for the future, and that means eating a wide variety of the right food like organic vegetables as well as avoiding bad food like pork fat, soda, and white sugar. Fruits and vegetables, being the main source for vitamins and minerals, should be the majority food group in each meal. Those who turn full vegetarian are not necessarily healthier compared to their meat-eating counterparts, but those who have more vegetables and fruits in their daily meals are.

Carbohydrates are not bad for you (contrary to the low-carb diet fat) because carbohydrates are a source of energy. The key is portion control, so pasta or rice is fine as long as it’s limited to one cup or a similar equivalent. As for protein, the recommended portion is roughly the same size as your palm, so it should be easy, provided that you avoid deep-fried food and limit the consumption of burgers and other red meats.

Quality is also equally important, so if you can find organically grown fruits and vegetables, better choose that instead. Eating right also means sticking to locally sourced products, so if you can buy from your local fresh market—be it greens, grains, or meat—opt for that instead of imported products. You can usually get assurance from the vendor about the quality and freshness of the product.

Prevention is better than cure, and eating right can definitely help you avoid cancer as well as many other complications an unbalanced diet can give you. So read up on nutrition, and start your way to a better life. Happy eating!

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Red Lotus Lake, located in Kumphawapi, Thailand, is most beautiful in the low season between February and November, when the flowers are in full bloom. The water can only be visited on wooden boats which are hired out by the locals. This lake is also home to around 80 species of bird which includes the endangered grey heron, purple heron, and black kite.

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no shit!

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Exercise and Cancer

For years we’ve known that exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle by keeping us strong and reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes. It releases endorphins that make us feel better, physically and mentally – even if when we’re huffing and puffing we’re feeling a little tired.

We also know that physical activity is associated with reduced risk of colon, breast, uterine, lung and prostate cancers. But having cancer doesn’t change the equation. Indeed, for patients diagnosed with and treated for cancer, a life of regular physical activity can become even more critical to having a life with quality.

Physical activity is a critical component of energy balance, a term researchers use to describe how weight, diet and physical activity influence health. Indeed, researchers at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center are currently conducting a pair of studies to assess the effects of healthy diets and exercise programs on women at risk of breast cancer and breast cancer survivors. 

In a seminal series of papers published in 2012 in the journal Lancet, scientists from multiple institutions, including the UC San Diego, concluded that physical inactivity could explain more than 5 million deaths worldwide each year — a number comparable to mortality figures associated with smoking.

“A surprising finding was that inactivity explains 10 percent of deaths from both breast cancer and prostate cancer,” said Jim Sallis, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine and director of the Active Living Research program at UC San Diego. “Thus physical inactivity is a major contributor to common cancers of men and women.”

Regular exercise prevents obesity, which increases a person’s risk of a host of different cancers. It helps reduce inflammation, also linked to cancer, while boosting the body’s immune system function, which helps prevent cancer.

How much exercise do you need?The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention broadly recommends adults engage in “moderate-intensity physical activity for at least 150 minutes per week” (about 30 minutes per day) or “vigorous-intensity” exercise for at least 75 minutes per week. The former is defined as activities like walking briskly, dancing or riding a bike on flat terrain. The latter refers to stuff like race-walking, high-impact aerobics, robustly climbing stairs or participating in fast-moving sports like basketball or soccer.

The best time to begin a lifelong anti-cancer exercise program is today, right now. Once you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, the best time is still today, right now. Often, patients become sedentary after a cancer diagnosis and treatment. They’re going through or have been through a lot. It might seem too much to launch into an exercise regimen. People tend to slow down.

Don’t.

As contrary as it may seem, physical activity is the most effective long-term solution to fatigue, a common characteristic of cancer and its treatment. How and how much you exercise while undergoing cancer treatment depends upon you, your condition, treatment protocols and your doctor. You may need to take special care to monitor issues like blood counts, hydration or new or unexplained symptoms.

Exercise for some cancer patients can carry a slightly higher risk for heart problems. You’ll likely need to adjust your intensity — at least at first. You’ll have to adapt. For example, older cancer patients with impacted bones or problems like arthritis or peripheral neuropathy (numbness in hands or feet) should only do exercises with minimal risk of falling or injury. Patients undergoing radiation should not expose treated skin to excessive sunlight or chlorine in swimming pools.

Regular exercise boosts cancer survivorship. One study, for example, found that women diagnosed with breast cancer who exercised moderately (the equivalent of walking three to five hours per week at an average pace) had better survival rates than comparable sedentary patients. Physical activity has also been shown to help patients cope psychologically with the rigors of their disease and treatment.

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Colors of health

Rainbow of health

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Drink green tea - It increases the metabolism, it’s a good way to stay well hydrated, plus it’s packed with anti-oxidants that help prevent cancer. Read more…