Getting a Healthy Living Make-Over

We all want to be forever young, not necessarily in our actions, but in our physical bodies and our mindset. Hopefully, we don't carry the live forever young philosophy too far and act like children when we're adults. However, having faith as a child and believing that life is good and can be good, even when it sometimes seems bad-is the ticket towards getting a healthy living make-over.

To be in total body health, we need to take care of our three parts. We are a spirit, we have a soul and we live in body. We need to always remember that if one of those parts is not in total health, it will bring the other two parts down as well. Getting a healthy living make-over, begins with getting the right positive mental and spiritual outlook in our lives. Some people look to faith in God as the answer. You need to find your own meaning and purpose to life. Once those two parts of your body are in order, then you need to take a look at the physical side.

We should begin the healthy living make-over by taking our own personal inventory or health assessment. If we're feeling sleep deprived, that could very well be because of stress. The lives we live today are so filled with multiple stressors and we don't know how to organize our daily routines without driving ourselves crazy. On top of that, we need to add daily exercise, at least three times a week, to our schedules. Exercising helps release the endorphins and serotonin which create a sense of overall well-being in our bodies. True, a good workout can create sore muscles, but that's good because you're working your body the right way. However, there's something nice about the satisfaction you get after a good workout.

Ridding our bodies of harmful toxins is a must for a healthy living make-over. Toxins negatively affect our thyroid and can shut down our metabolism. For a natural detox, drinking a cup of hot or cold green tea works really well as a natural detox. Some green tea does have caffeine so drinking it after the evening hours can hinder sleep. We should always pay attention to the labels on our foods.

We should take omega 3 supplements-they stabilize our moods and have few negative side effects. Taking probiotics is also important. They are natural bacteria that help our bodies maintain natural balance of organisms in the intestines. They increase our metabolism and balance our digestive system. Fiber is essential to a healthy diet. Many of us do not get the right amount of fiber in our daily diets. That's why if you don't, then taking a fiber drink or supplements is a good idea. Fiber is essential in lowering bad cholesterol, regulating blood sugar and lowering the risk of heart disease.

Staying hydrating is so vital to healthy living. Water keeps every part of our body working properly each day. It assists in flushing out waste and keeping our body at the right temperature. We lose water every day when we sweat, urinate, breath and have bowel movements. You can survive longer without food, but not that long without water. It's essential to drink enough every day, especially as we exercise and in the hot weather.

Eating a healthy diet is important, but it's also been studied that eating smaller meals, two to four, every day can help stimulate our metabolism and improve our health and body composition. Some people have a very good metabolism and they digest their food and this happens consistently and quickly every time they eat. However, not everyone has this great metabolism. So, if you do eat small meals, it will aid your body in properly digesting your food.

It's easier to let our bodies go and not take care of all our three parts. The harder factor is to live each day with the mindset that a healthy living make-over is obtainable. However, when we live with the mindset that we are taking care of our bodies, this prevention will be the best medicine because we'll be less susceptible to sickness and disease. Prevention is always the best medicine.

Joanne Troppello is an author of romantic suspense novels joannetroppello.weebly.com/blog.html. She is married and loves spending time with her husband and family. Joanne and her husband, John own and operate Mustard Seed Marketing Group, LLC mustardseedmarketinggroup.com, they are Ind. Distributors with Shaklee and they are Empower Network affiliate members. They are network marketing coaches who teach that you don't have to be an SEO guru or a social media specialist to make their system work for you. Providing quality counselling articles, hynotherapy writings and other mind help resources online.

Ignore Your Prophetic Dream At Your Own Risk

Premonitions, prophecies and precognition all refer to an experience, (dreams, waking thoughts, visions, etc.), which anticipate a future event that can't reasonably be gathered from information available by usual means prior to the event. These prophecies (or premonitions or precognitions) come to us most often through our dreams and are no more paranormal than are dreams themselves.

Since ancient times the belief that dreams are either warnings or prophecies has been very common. The Talmud, the Hebrew sacred book of practical wisdom, reveals that the Jews gave great importance both to the dream and the interpreter of dreams. There are at least fifteen references to dreams and prophecies in the King James Bible, and this idea has also been supported by non-religious texts, by oral traditions and in books such as the Artemidorus Oneirocritica written around 140 AD.

There are a number of recorded instances wherein prominent individuals have had prophetic dreams that have impacted history in one way or another. In some cases, like with Abraham Lincoln, the dream was ignored with dire consequences, while others were more cautious and heeded the nocturnal message.

About two weeks before John Wilkes Booth fired the fatal bullet that struck Abraham Lincoln in Ford's Theatre, Lincoln dreamt the details of his own funeral. In his dream, he entered the East Room of the White House where he saw a coffin lying on a platform. Soldiers, acting as guards, were stationed around it where a crowd of mourners were gathered. When Lincoln demanded to know who is dead in the White House, the soldier replied, the President. He was killed by an assassin. After Lincoln's assassination, his casket was placed on a platform in the East Room of the White House where it was guarded by soldiers.

One of the most dramatic examples of prophetic dreams, and dreams that would have had the power to change the world if only they had been taken seriously and acted upon, was a dream recorded on the morning of June 28, 1914, by Bishop Joseph Lanyi of Grosswardein, in Hungary. The bishop dreamt the entire scene and details of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife. This dream is of considerable historical significance because the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand set off World War I.

In 1959, Rita Dwyer was working for an aerospace company as a research chemist when an experimental rocket fuel exploded in her lab. She was instantly engulfed in flames and would have died if it weren't for the fact that a co-worker had had recurring dreams of the event and knew exactly what to do to save her life.

When the fuel exploded in Rita's laboratory in waking life, step by step, her co-worker re-enacted his dream. Heroically, he ran into the blazing laboratory, grabbed Rita by the only part of her body not on fire -her foot- and dragged her to safety. She's alive today only because her co-worker and friend remembered and took his dream seriously -and then acted on the information it contained. Had he dismissed the dreams, like so many do, his friend would not have survived.

Robert Van de Castle reported this heart breaking account in his book, Our Dreaming Mind: In October, 1966, in the Welsh mining village of Aberfan, a massive coal-tip slid down a mountainside killing 144 people, mostly school children. A young girl, Eryl Mai Jones, told her mother about a dream she'd had where she does to school but there's no school there. "Something black has come down all over it." "I'm not afraid to die," She told her mother, "I'll be with Peter and June." When the huge slag deposit slid down on the school two days later, Eryl Mai, Peter, and June were among the 118 children crushed or buried alive.

In 1999 a then, sixteen year old girl, woke up from a dream one morning terrified. In her dream she had hit and killed a young boy while driving her car on a back road. The dream so disturbed her that she related it to her mother, who, as do most people, dismissed it as just a dream. A few days later, the girl was driving down a quiet rural road when she had a nagging feeling that she should put her seatbelt on and slow down. She ignored her intuition. However, only moments later a voice told her to put on her seat belt and watch her speed. The voice was so loud and so strong that she buckled her seatbelt and kept an eye on the speedometer.

Before she knew what had happened, she saw a tuft of brown hair in front of her car. Horrified, she watched and heard a seven year old boy roll across the hood of her car, fly over the roof and land on the asphalt behind her. She stayed with the child as he died. After thirteen years, the young lady, who now has a son of her own is suffering from PTSD and is terrified to let her child out of her site.

Had she taken the dream seriously, or heeded its warning, she may have made different choices. Perhaps she wouldn't have driven down that particular road. Maybe she would have been more diligent and alert while driving. Or perhaps she might have asked someone else to do the driving for a while.

One dreamer had a recurring dream every night for a week. In the dream her mother, who was deceased, paid a visit and told her that she would not see her brother and sister-in-law again and that they would not be "here long." The dream was very disquieting and she wanted to warn her brother but her husband told her not to be so 'silly.' Two days after the last dream she picked up the local newspaper and on the front page were her brother and sister-in-law. They had been killed flying to Spain. The dreamer had had no idea they had even gone on holiday.

Although prophetic dreams can address anything from what you're going to wear to work next Wednesday to a devastating earthquake, they're generally classified into specific types or categories:

Apparitions: These are dreams wherein the dead appear in order to deliver an important message.

Clairaudient Dreams: These types of dreams involve hearing voices or sounds that are extremely distinct and clear. The voice seems to come from nowhere. You usually don't know the source of the voice or sounds. It's imperative that you pay attention to the message in this kind of dream.

Clairvoyant Dreams: These are dreams where you're dreaming of something that's happening in waking life at the same time as the dream.

Empathic Dreams: In these types of dreams you're generally moved by an event in the dream but aren't sure why. You experience clear and sympathetic feelings and sensations. You "feel" something is going to happen.

Telepathic Dreams: You're able to connect to someone else's thoughts through a dream. These dreams usually occur between close individuals.

Warning Dreams: As the description suggests, these dreams forewarn of impending danger, disaster or death. These types of dreams often give you the opportunity to alter the outcome.

In ancient Egypt several papyri have been discovered which relate to prophetic dream interpretation. They specifically note the appearance of 'opposites' in dreams. Thus, the suggestion is that to dream of a birth could refer to an imminent death. To dream of winning the lottery could signify a financial loss, etc.

In an ancient Indian book of wisdom, the Artharva Veda, dating from about 3000 years ago, it's stated that the time of night that the prophetic dream occurs gives a clue as to when the dream event will transpire. A dream occurring early in the night, for example, will be realized later than one occurring near dawn.

Psi researchers have discovered that prophetic dream information often comes to us in the form of some kind of publication such as a TV or radio announcement, broadcast or news flash, in a newspaper, email, or nowadays, a text message, etc.

There will always be exceptions to the rules, but generally, I've found that most people report prophetic or precognitive dreams as being very sharp and clear. In fact, it's often reported that the dreamer seems to be in the dream rather than just watching it. Colours are usually reported as being enhanced, crisp or bright. Sounds tend to be exceptionally clear and loud and the overall dream is often reported as being hard to distinguish from waking reality.

The best way to identify that you're having prophetic dreams at all, and the most effective method for recognizing the elements of a precognitive dream is, as I've said many times before, to keep a dream journal. As you start recording and re-reading your prophetic dreams you'll notice which elements are or aren't present in them. By doing this, you'll also encourage more prophetic dreams.

It's sad that in modern Western societies, we have fallen into the habit of speaking of dreams as "only" dreams, as something less than real. The materialists of the Victorian era dismissed dreams as uncivilized yearnings and repressed desires never to be discussed in polite society. The reductionist scientists of our era try to convince us that dreams are merely the product of random neuronal firings or the brain's way of cleaning out unneeded and unnecessary information picked up throughout the day. When I read research reports along these lines, I wonder how much time the authors have spent with their own dream journals.

More often than not, it takes something shocking or unbelievable to shake us out of our comfort zone and our entrenched belief systems. Many, many people refuse to accept that dreams are even "real," let alone able to change our lives. Thousands of years of data have proved that they are. However, no amount of evidence, or anecdotes, or reports will ever change a hard-nosed skeptic's mind. It takes a experience to alter concepts and beliefs, and this goes for dreams as well.

I believe that the majority of us have the ability to become practicing prophetic dreamers. We're all capable of receiving life changing information and assistance from our dreams for ourselves as well as for other. However, we must be willing to set aside self-limiting beliefs and practice.

Terry Gillis is a dream investigator, researcher and author and would like to invite you to participate in her ongoing research and become a part of the growing dream community by posting your dreams on her blog. Providing quality counselling articles, hynotherapy writings and other mind help resources online.

3 Reasons Why CrossFit and Farmers Markets Go Hand-In-Hand

I am sure no one will argue that the American local farmers markets are making a strong comeback due to various reasons affecting the majority of citizens. The American economic landscape has eroded over the last five years due to things that can be considered unnatural. The financial and agricultural industries have been injected with unnatural constructs and biological uncertainties. For this reason, the true long term effects have yet to be realized.

CrossFit, on the other hand, came from very humble beginnings with the purpose to bring fitness and overall improved physical health to the masses.

Greg Glassman introduced CrossFit to the world via the Internet by posting constantly varied, high intensity exercises. These exercises were functional in nature and performed at a level of intensity that very few individuals could handle, even seasoned athletes.

Strong communities like Law Enforcement, First Responders, and all branches of the Military embraced the CrossFit standards and rose to new levels of fitness. CrossFit participants (AKA: CrossFitters) began to standout in unit-level competitions.

The CrossFit standard began to catch on worldwide across cultures and industries alike. The CrossFit Community was formed by individuals helping individuals become more fit both mentally and physically.

So let us explore 3 reasons why the community effect of CrossFit and the local farmers markets are so closely related.

1. Eating and Drinking Clean Organic Foods and Beverages

The farm-to-market concept was how it all began before the technology of agri-business came into play. Big agri-business is more concerned with profits and shareholders not the quality of the products produced. Cutting corners and playing with God's genetic design has only led to decreased nutritional value for the earth and human being alike.

Part of the CrossFit fitness standard is nutritional health. So the most efficient way to get your nutrition is to eat as many high quality organic whole foods as possible. Which means foods that are not genetically modified (GMO) and foods that use minimal or no pesticides. The farmers that produce these foods use natural forms of composting for premium soil nutrients and, heirloom seeds that still retain high nutrient quantities from the pre-agribusiness timeframe.

Drinking clean filtered water is key to maintain proper hydration. The reverse osmosis method of filtration is the most trusted and reliable. Any beverage being produced should us filtered water of the same standard. Fermented beverages like Kefir and Kombucha contain life giving enzymes that help provide the harmony and balance your digestive system needs.

Last but not least, the consumption of pasture-raised animals that are grass feed and are allowed to feed off of their natural habitat. Feedlot animals are raised in harsh conditions which require artificial means to help them fight off infections (i.e. multiple vaccinations) and are fed the cheapest of food that is counterproductive to the animal's health and well being.

2. Supporting Locally-Owned Businesses

Strong communities are built on supporting local business. People-helping-people is where true community health and wealth is built. Building a tribal effect of truly caring for your neighbor and their family can only lead to prosperity. I always say, "you can truly see where someone stands when you take money or the pursuit of money out of the equation".

The CrossFit affiliate is a community entity that has a passion for helping people in their local community. Its members are a special group of people that believe in charitable giving that support local causes.

3. Growing Community Relationships

Knowing the name or names of the individuals who produce your food strengthens your bond with those folks and it gives them an incentive to continue to produce food at very high standard. As individuals benefit from the local produce, they spread the word. The local farmers market is usually a family affair with several generations that come out and visit.

CrossFitters, in the same way, receive such a great benefit from the workouts and members work hard to involve their entire family and close friends. Similar recommendations from CrossFit members show the strength of the movement which show no signs of slowing down.

The Bottom Line

For total health and wellness, support your local farmers market to fulfill your nutritional needs and visit your local CrossFit affiliate to fulfill your physical fitness needs.

Either way, you can't go wrong.

Duane Waits Owner/Head Trainer of CrossFit Revealed serving the North Austin, Cedar Park, Round Rock and Leander, Texas area crossfitrevealed.com "Get Physically Fit For God, Health, and Wellness"

Sign-Up for the; 1 Double Under Training Program In the World. EE Chapters and Videos available at: oubleundertraining.com

Good Nutrition from quality organic foods from your local farmers markets and good quality functional physical fitness will provide you with long lasting health.

Find and join your local CrossFit Affiliate. Providing quality counselling articles, hynotherapy writings and other mind help resources online.

How to Protect Yourself From Common Age-Related Health Concerns

Why do we fear old age so much? A Swedish sociologist Lars Tornstam describes this by asking what a 10 year old would say if we asked him what it would be like to be 20. It would be awful to him. There would be no play time. There would be no summer vacation. He would have to get a job! But at twenty he would look back at the age of 10 and say: "There's no way I'd want to be 10 anymore. I have so much more freedom now. I'm making money. I can do whatever I want." But what if you asked him what it would be like to be 40? "It would be awful. I'd be stuck in the rut of a job. I'd be stuck with a wife and kids." And so on. But the end of Dr. Tornstam's analogy is our concept of old age. For some reason our culture fears old age. In general we fear becoming elderly. Our concept of old age is associated with a lack of contentment with life.

Why is this? Why do we despise grey hair and wrinkles? Why do we fear those "golden years"? Why do we scramble to embrace the concept of youth? Why are we so quick to be associated with that insecurity and inexperience and foolishness of youth? How insecure, inexperienced and foolish of us! What do we think we will lose with old age? Is it the excitement of a new experience, or the opportunity of new tests and challenges? Is it the virility of sexual experiences?

It was a typical clinic day. I was seeing patients with diabetes and hypertension, colds, and a recent broken bone. The next patient on my schedule was Carl Fisk. I had never seen him before. He was scheduled to be in my clinic because his regular doctor was gone that day. The reason he was here was for a medication refill. I looked through his chart and found that he was 82 years old and about 3 years ago his wife of 51 years had died of breast cancer. "Oh no" I thought. "This is going to be a totally depressing visit". I had thoughts that his visit would be filled with discussions about depression and sadness. With this I took a deep breath and entered the room.

Mr. Fisk sat in the corner of the room reading a magazine. He had shiny grey hair and a bright smile. As I walked in he stood up to shake my hand. He wore circular glasses that shined in the light of the clinic room. He was well dressed with khaki pants and a tucked in, blue plaid shirt. I introduced myself, "so what brings you here today?" I asked, prepared for an onset of tears and a possible discussion of antidepressant medications.

"Well doctor", he began, with more energy than I had expected. Mr. Fisk had a strange smile on his face. Like a 10 year old who just got into a jar of cookies. "The last doctor I saw gave me a prescription for Viagra, and I wanted to see if I could get a refill."

Caught off guard I stammered and looked through his chart. He was in the clinic only 2 weeks ago and had a prescription for 10 Viagra pills. Did he use them up already? After regrouping, I continued on. In his chart there were no contraindications for him to take Viagra, and he had no adverse side effects. There was no reason he couldn't continue taking this medication. As I was writing his script (for twice the supply and refills), he said a peculiar thing. "You know doctor," he began. "People think that as you get older, you can't have sex anymore, but I haven't been this sexually satisfied in years."

We shook hands as he left and I moved on to my next patient. But I couldn't stop thinking about how happy he was. My initial notion was that he would be a sad lonely old man. But he was the exact opposite.

Over the next few months, I saw Mr. Fisk a few more times. Each time he was as friendly and happy as the time before. We began to get to know each other better. He had a new girlfriend, and was busy spending time with her and his daily golfing games. At the time, I was doing a Geriatrics Fellowship and it was exciting for me to find an elder so excited about life. We talked about this for a while, and he invited me over to his apartment to see for myself. I decided to take him up on the offer. After working around his busy schedule of golf, dating, and volunteer activities, we agreed to meet on a Saturday afternoon.

Mr. Fisk lived in a retirement community with a combination of houses and apartments, surrounded by wooded trees and the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. His apartment was on the first floor in the center of the community. He answered the door with the same smile he always had, and invited me in. Mr. Fisk was a humble man. His apartment was Spartan in its decoration. As I entered, the kitchen was on the right, and the living room on the left. There were only a few pieces of furniture in the living room. A comfortable old green couch and a soft matching arm chair opposite it. There was no television in the room. There was just an old stereo with a record player. Mr. Fisk invited me to sit down on his couch and he sat in the arm chair. I started by asking him how his girlfriend was. His smile immediately broadened and his eyes beamed. "Oh, you mean my sweetheart!" he suggested, "well, we just got engaged! You have to see a picture of her!" Mr. Fisk jumped to his feet and ran to another room. He returned with a 4x6 framed picture of himself standing next to a lady with his right arm wrapped around her shoulder. She looked about his age. They were both smiling broadly. Her name was Janet. As we continued our conversation, he could not stop talking about his "sweetheart". It was as if he were a teenager smitten by love. Even when the subjects of our conversation would change he would find something about his new fiancé to bring up in the conversation.

During the afternoon, we talked about other aspects of his life. He was a retired pastor, he played golf almost every day with a group of friends. He volunteered in the community at a Nursing Home. His previous marriage had been wonderful. He had three children who were spread all around the country, but he was still very close to them. I left his apartment that afternoon with a sense that his days were busier, and fuller than mine seemed to be.

Since that day, Mr. Fisk married Janet. His children, came from all over to be at the wedding and he had a honeymoon at a beach in South Carolina.

Carl Fisk is extremely happy with life. He is content, and the opposite of what we think old age has in store for us. We fear the onset of old age as if it is the first nail of our coffin. But with old age we don't have to lose our ability to enjoy sex, we don't lose the excitement to fall in love again. When we are older and full of experiences, by stepping back and looking at our life, we only change the paradigm of what happiness is. Maybe that is what we don't realize when we fear old age.

My name is Arsheeya Mashaw. I am a Geriatrician in a rural town in Virginia. If you are interested in reading stories about my experiences as a Physician please look at my blog doctormash.com. Providing quality counselling articles, hynotherapy writings and other mind help resources online.

How To Become What You Think About

Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle or just improve your cardiovascular health, the mind plays a huge role. The mind gets and keeps you motivated, it develops those good habits and it lets you see your goal before you achieve it. I believe the biggest reason for people failing to achieve their health and fitness goals is down to lack of knowledge of how the mind works. You either control the mind or it controls you!

The mind hates change. It has a world view which has been built up throughout your life. It knows pigs don't fly and money does not grow on trees. If you were to see a flying pig or a money tree, your mind would reject it instantly. Your mind would be racing to try and find a logical reason to justify why this can't be real, so it fits into its world view. That's why when we try to make a change our mind try's to resist it. Our habits are formed by our past experiences, family and friends. If you understand how this works then you can beat it! To change your bad habits you must replace them with good habits. How do you change a habit? You must repeat the new habit 30 times, so around a month for it to become a new habit. Your new habit will then be formed, replacing the old one.

Let me give you an example. I developed the habit of having porridge oats with kiwi fruit for my breakfast every morning but I wanted to add blueberries as well. To be honest I was not too keen on blueberries to start with but they have so many health benefits, I wanted to include them. It was hard at first to get used to eating them as part of my breakfast routine. I knew it would be at first. I knew if I did this for the full 30 days it would become a habit. After the 30 days it was formed as a habit. I now have blueberries every day with my porridge!

Our daily thoughts about our self, define who we become. They make up our self-image. What is a self-image? The self-image is your view of yourself. The person who you are and the person you think others think you are. You cannot outperform your self- image. If you don't think you can do something, I can guarantee you won't do it. If you don't think you are worthy of something you won't get it or keep it.

If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right. - Henry Ford

The good news is we can change our self-image. You need to spend about 5-10 minutes twice a day to picture how you want to be. Picture yourself with bigger arms, a six pack or a slimmer you. You have to feel it. Feel the emotion and the great feeling it gives you. You must do this daily. You need to train your mind daily, just like a sportsman would practice his sport daily. Every top sports person visualizes how they will perform. They see themselves winning and at their best. If you do this for just one day you will see a difference for just that day. If you do it every day you will see the difference for the rest of your life.

Most people see an old friend or a family member they have not seen in a while. The friend or family member say's your looking really well or they may say you have put weight on. The majority of people will take the compliment of looking well and feel good for a short while and forget about it. The very same people will take in the negative comment about putting on weight and hold on to that image. They spend the rest of the day feeling down. Looking in the mirror seeing themselves larger than they really are. They may head to the kitchen and grab some junk food to make themselves feel better because they can only picture themselves as being overweight so what is the point. If that one person thinks so then I must be. Right? THIS IS TOTALLY THE WRONG THINKING!

You must hold the picture of yourself with that body you desire. Remember you are doing this twice a day. When you look into the mirror see that new body you want. This will make you feel good. Hold on to that feeling throughout the day. That feeling will keep you on track. Don't allow any negative thoughts about your body enter your mind. If someone makes a negative comment just accept that it is only there view. Everyone one has different views. If you asked a hundred people there favourite food. Would they all say the same thing? No they wouldn't. So just accept that you will always get negative comments but you don't have to accept them! As soon as you feel yourself having a negative thought, think back to your image of that body you desire. This will make you feel good about yourself again. Once you build this momentum and learn to eradicate negative thoughts about your body, nothing will stop you!

You will feel more confident, you will feel in control. This thinking will smash through any of the training or nutrition obstacles you may come across. If you don't control your thoughts, the nutrition and training will always breakdown when those negative thoughts pop up and you hold on to them. So remember, "You Become What You Think About."

If you would like to read more articles about eating healthy, burning fat and building muscle please visit stripfatbuildmuscle.com. Providing quality counselling articles, hynotherapy writings and other mind help resources online.