December 1st, 2008 cate
It’s Cyber Monday, which is when online retailers offer awesome prices. This is the best time to stock up on your organic supplies that have a bit of a shelf life. For example, coconut oil and other stable oils for your kitchen or toiletries. Other things are dry goods like brown rice, whole wheat pasta and organic flours. I would also stock up on organic jams and jellies, spices, protein bars, vitamins – even things like toothpaste and other supplies you’ll need to take good care of yourself.
Don’t forget your self-help books, garden supplies and books, meditation/yoga DVDs, music and books, exercise equipment and kitchen appliances such as juicers, food processors and more. I’m sure you’ll find SOMETHING you need at a great price.
During this Cyber Monday, most online merchants offer free shipping too! Yay. Check out the deals by clicking below:
Organic and Health Related Products on Sale
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November 24th, 2008 cate
This playful, user-friendly guide to macrobiotics has become a well-loved classic (over 180,000 copies sold). A favorite repeat seller in natural food stores and alternative health care clinics, it has been used a textbook for college classes in Holistic Health, and as a handbook for nutritional counselors training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City.
Much more than recipes, The Self-Healing Cookbook gives fresh, heartwarming support to anyone aiming to prevent or recover from diet-related moods and health symptoms. A starter shopping list, food-mood charts, self-healer’s workbook, and healing foods glossary are included. Along with a wealth of wisdom on how to eat locally, think globally, cook with the seasons, lose weight naturally and nourish growing kids.
Word-of-mouth has carried this book to Great Britain, Canada, Singapore, Israel, and Australia. Over 21,000 copies have sold in the Japanese edition. In April, 2002, it will be published in Brazil, in a Portuguese edition. We’d love to hear from international readers where else it has found a home in your kitchens.
Get it now: The Self-Healing Cookbook: Whole Foods To Balance Body, Mind and Moods
Posted in body, books, depression, diet, eco living, garden, general, healing, health, healthy recipes, herbal medicine, inspiration, kids, lifestyle, medication / prescription drugs, online self help, organic, parenting, popular, real food, recommendations and favorites, safe products, self improvement, setting goals, success stories, you should know | No Comments »
October 24th, 2008 cate
In this lively collection
from an array of accomplished writers, readers meet an old woman who imparts an invaluable midnight message on a Greek island; brothers who heal old family wounds in Ireland; and travelers who awaken to the mystery of their souls in such disparate places as St. Peter’s in Rome and a dusty road in India. Contributors include Phil Cousineau, Kim Chernin, David Yeadon, Don George, and Jan Morris. The Spiritual Gifts of Travel reveals the myriad ways that travel renews the spirit. “The tales ring clear and loud with the universal need to travel the road toward self.” — Francesca de Grandis, author of Be a Goddess!
Read more about: The Spiritual Gifts of Travel: The Best of Travelers’ Tales
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September 2nd, 2008 cate
From pickthebrain:
“Do you have trouble getting things done? Have you ever decided to do something that was important to you, but later found you just weren’t making any headway at all? If you’re having trouble completing tasks that you want to do, and which you know you’re capable of doing, you might considering using a technique called benchmarking.
A benchmark is nothing more than a certain level of output that you’re establishing as your bare minimum. When using benchmarking, what you want to do is decide what your daily benchmark will be for a particular task, and accept nothing less than hitting that benchmark consistently.
For a benchmark to be realistic, it should be well below the maximum that you’re capable of, and substantially less than what you really want to do. You want to have an idea of what you’d ideally like to accomplish each day, but if you fail to hit your targets, you want to be sure that you at least achieve a certain minimum standard. Shoot for your goal, but accept no less than your benchmark.
An Example of Using Benchmarks
Let’s say you have a book that you’ve been meaning to read. You know it’s a book that will be very helpful, so you really want to read it in a reasonable period of time. But it’s a really big book and it requires a lot of concentration to fully understand it, so you’ve been procrastinating, hoping that you’ll find the time to read it someday. Of course, that day never comes, and the book continues to collect dust every day. How can you use benchmarking to ensure that you stop making excuses and actually read the book?
First, decide what your goal will be, how many pages you would like to read each day. How about 100 pages? No, that’s too much because it’s a fantasy. You might read that much on the first sitting, but you know the book’s material is too complex and you won’t make the time to read that much consistently. How about 20 pages? OK, you decide that you can shoot for 20 pages a day. That’s your goal.
But it’s OK if you don’t always reach your goal. Sometimes, life gets in the way. Even though you’ll try to read 20 pages a day, some days you might not have the time or the energy to hit your goal. And that’s fine; you’re allowed to sometimes fall short of what you’d like to get done. But you decide to set a benchmark of reading 5 pages a day. No matter what, you’re going to read a minimum of 5 pages a day, every day, without fail.
That means that even if the kids have soccer practice, or you get a flat tire, or you get sick, or you have a huge argument with your boss, or whatever, you still have to read those 5 pages. Your benchmark of 5 pages is considerably less than your goal of 20 pages, but that’s because things are bound to come up once in a while, and you’ll need to have some flexibility to slow down. You’re still shooting for your goal each day, but you’ll accept no less than your benchmark, no matter what.
Read the rest
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August 22nd, 2008 cate
From wikihow:
“Whether you’re nodding off during the afternoon slump at the office, working a double or a night shift, or fighting drowsiness while driving, a power nap can make you more alert and productive[1] but only if you do it correctly. Scientists have been studying the power nap–when to take it, how to take it, what to take before you take it, and so on; their findings suggest that the following steps will help you get the most power out of a power nap.
Find a good place to nap.
Napping at work – A survey by the National Sleep Foundation found that about 30% of people are allowed to sleep at work, and some employers even provide a place for employees to nap.[2] If your place of employment isn’t nap-friendly, you can take a power nap in your car.
Napping on the road – If you’re driving, find a rest area to park in. Don’t park on the shoulder. Always turn off the car and put on the emergency brake. If it’s nighttime, park in a well-lit area with plenty of people around and lock all of your doors.
Turn off your mobile phone and any other potential distractions. If background noise is unavoidable and distracting, or if you suffer from tinnitus, putting on headphones with relaxing music may help.
If you’re sleeping during the day and find that bright light inhibits your ability to sleep, wear sunglasses or use an eye mask to simulate darkness.
Have caffeine right before you nap. This may sound counterintuitive since caffeine is a stimulant, but it won’t kick in immediately. The caffeine has to travel through your gastro-intestinal tract, giving you time to nap before it kicks in. Taking a “caffeine nap” in which 200mg of caffeine are consumed right before a 20-minute nap will not only improve your performance, but it’ll also lessen how sleepy you feel once you wake up.[3] Skip the caffeine, however, if it’s late in the afternoon–you’ll have a hard time falling asleep later–or if you’re trying to quit caffeine.
When you’re close to finishing your coffee (or your green tea, or your caffeine jello shot, etc.), set an alarm to go off in 15 minutes. If you’re one of those people who has a habit of pressing the “snooze” button and going right back to sleep, put your alarm across the room so that you have to get up to turn it off. Immediately after consuming the caffeine, close your eyes and relax.
Even if you can’t sleep, close your eyes and meditate. You might not be used to napping, but if you incorporate short bouts of sleep into a daily routine (taking a nap every day after lunch, for example) you can “train” your body to expect a nap during that time and you’ll have an easier time falling asleep.[4]
What you’re doing during a power nap is capturing the benefits of the first two of the five stages in the sleep cycle. These first two stages take place in the first twenty minutes. In addition to making you feel more rested and alert, the electrical signals in your nervous system strengthen the connection between neurons involved in muscle memory, making your brain work faster and more accurately.[5]
After 15 minutes, not only will your alarm go off, but caffeine will also kick in and help since it blocks adenosine, the neurotransmitter that promotes fatigue.
Get up as soon as the alarm goes off. Sleeping for any longer than 20 minutes will be counterproductive. A half hour can lead to sleep inertia, making you feel sluggish and more tired than ever.[6]
Follow up with physical activity. Get your blood flowing with a few jumping jacks or push-ups, or a little bit of jogging in place.
Washing your face and exposing yourself to bright light (e.g. sunlight) can help you feel more awake as well.[3]
Remember that a power nap makes you more productive. Some people are reluctant to nap because it seems “lazy” but if that was the case, why would successful executives and athletes be power napping? Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison were power nappers, as well.
Warnings
A power nap can only help so much. If you’re sleep-deprived, you need to make up for your sleep deficit before you can realize the full benefits of power napping.”
Sources and Citations
Wired Magazine – Original source of this article. Shared with permission.
http://www.sleepdex.org/caffeine-nap.htm – Research source for “caffeine nap”
↑ The effects of a 20 min nap in the mid-afternoon on mood, performance and EEG activity. Clin Neurophysiol. 2003 Dec;114(12):2268-78.
↑ http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-072208-nap-main,0,2745098.story
↑ 3.0 3.1 The alerting effects of caffeine, bright light and face washing after a short daytime nap. Clin Neurophysiol. 2003 Dec;114(12):2268-78.
↑ http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/power-of-napping-feature?page=3
↑ http://www.mensjournal.com/healthFitness/0601/napping_power.html
↑ http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-072208-nap-main,0,2745098.story
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