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August 28, 2010
Posted by Jose Antonio Ponce in: Creative Writing, Freelance Author, Latino & Hispanic, Life Experiences, Lifestyle, Marriage, Men's Issues, Personal Experiences, Relationships, Sex, Women's Perspective
 “Jesus, I’m late. I’m is so much trouble.” She says.
“What’s the problem?” I’m puzzled. She regularly works after hours to get things accomplished. We’re working on a project together, nothing earth shattering. “It’s like….seven o’clock. Does he expect you home at a certain time?”
“No. It’s you. He doesn’t like me hanging out with you.”
“But we’re not hanging out. I mean….it’s work. It’s not like we’re having dinner or anything.”
“It’s don’t know,” she says, “He gets all weird and moody and he won’t talk to me.”
“Wow. Sorry. I mean….I didn’t know. I’ll try to be more discreet next time. Less enthusiastic.” I say this with conviction, but inside I’m jazzed. I’m a threat. I have crossed that boundary into another man’s territory and he actually feels threatened by me. I’m the big dog. Continue reading Jazzed
August 24, 2010
Posted by Carla René in: Accountability, Advice, African-American, Attitude, Biography & Memoir, Book Marketing Online, Book Review, Books, Business, Business Management, Cancer, Cap and Trade, Children, China, Climate Change, Commentary, Comments & Discussion, Communications, Communism, Community, Computers, Congress, Contributor's Audio/Video, Creative Writing, Current Events, Democracy, Democrat, Diet, Economic Crisis, Economics, Education, Energy, Entertainment, Environment, Environmental Issues, Faith, Family, Fiction, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, Freedom, Freelance Author, General Topics, Geopolitical Events, Global Warming, Governance, Habit Change, Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Heroes, History, Homeland Security, Humor, Inspiration & Motivation, Internet, Internet Advice, Interview, Islam, Journalism, Latino & Hispanic, Legal, Life Experiences, Lifestyle, Literature, Marketing, Marriage, Medical, Men's Issues, Mental Health, Mexico, Military, Minorities, Morality, Motivation, Music, Native American, Nature/Wildlife, Non-Fiction, Nutrition, Opinion, Personal Experiences, Philosophical Genres, Poetry, Politics, Publishing, Question of the Day, Recovery, Relationships, Religion, Republican, Rhyme, Satire, Self-Help, Sex, Short Stories, Social Aspects, Social Classes, Social Issues, Sociology, Spirituality, Sports, Technology, Television, Terrorism, The Economy, The Media, The Pundit's Corner, The Writer's Corner, Travel, Uncategorized, Website Instructions, Weight loss, Wellness, Women's Perspective, Women's Rights, Working Women, Workplace, World Issues, Writing Essentials
Begun back sometime in 2001, this book was originally a fluke of an idea… [...]
August 18, 2010
The study suggested that we not only need to encourage healthy eating habits for young children, but also need to set a good example by refraining from making negative comments about people who are overweight. Children of course, are mirrors of us and they pick up our attitude, which results in bullying behavior. In effect, we indirectly teach our children to bully. However, there is a bigger picture. We need to remember that each and every person has habits about which he or she is not proud. The difference is that if over-eating is the habit, it cannot be hidden. It is on display for all to view. [...]
August 16, 2010
My favorite season is quickly drawing to an end. I live for summer. I relish my visits to the beach, the only place to get the best nature pedicure. The sand and the surf does wonders to one’s feet, all you need is a day at the beach and a bottle of nail polish. We grill almost daily; spend weekend evenings on the deck with bottle of wine, some Bruschetta made with the tomatoes and basil we’ve grown shared with good friends and family as we sit watching lake activities. Because this summer has been so memorably hot I haven’t been able to enjoy all the things I like about the warmest of the four seasons.
When it came time to plan and plant the garden last March I thought I would refrain this year. I didn’t think I was up for all the tilling and planting necessary for a vegetable garden that was until I went to the grocery store and stared in amazement at the price of tomatoes. So, by mid spring my husband and I decided that we would plant a summer garden after all. Continue reading A Few Determined Eggplants and I’m Debating
July 23, 2010
Posted by Michael Crumling in: Attitude, Creative Writing, Entertainment, Environment, Family, General Topics, Life Experiences, Lifestyle, Motivation, Nature/Wildlife, Non-Fiction, Personal Experiences
I arose from my tent early and found a mess left in the camp. The raccoons had found the cooler. They discovered that our breakfast of eggs could be found inside. Little hand prints were left as evidence of the burglary. The broken egg shells and disarray were not enough. The little marks noted their presence and also their prescience. They had no doubt watched us putting things away, or just somehow knew that they could find goodies in that box. I clean up then go about just sitting alone in my woodsy campsite. The kids are still sleeping, and so are the rest of the adults. You would think that I would be lonely without the company, but I am not. The breeze blows by my ears, my hair gently moving. The chirping of birds and bubbling of running water are comforting; downright relaxing. It seems that you see so much more when you take the time to just sit, put away your generated thought, and watch the world go by you. There are so many insects. Normally, I wouldn’t want them around, but they don’t seem to bother me so much today. Except for the flies, none are “on” me. On a boulder in the distance, I see a cardinal. It flits between rocks and gravel, in search of its’ daily sustenance. The red bird seems oblivious to anything not crawling on or under the dirt. He has identified his area of interest and actively pursues his objective. A few little pecks at the soil, and he flies into a nearby branch. It becomes obvious that he achieved his goal, a little breakfast du jour. Maybe a snack of flies would appeal to him? I suspect that he won’t get that close to me. At least he has had breakfast… Continue reading Wasting Time
July 21, 2010
So I’m sitting here in Spicewood Texas at a nice little place. There are plenty of trees, and a magnificent natural swimming hole with waterfalls and springs. My boss was calling and I didn’t want to talk to him, so I didn’t. I emailed him instead. It was a pretty lousy thing to do, but this is my once a year visit with my family, and it is only for a few days. I love my job, and will go back to working my six or seven days a week soon enough. There comes a time when you just have to decide what is most important to you. I chose to enjoy my family. I’ll deal with the consequences later. I did leave a few hours early, but I had tended to the needs of the company. If I had just said nothing, I would have been better off. I could still do the job by phone, and enjoy the time. My absence would hardly go noticed.
So why am I sitting here writing about it? Because this is a pleasure! I am surrounded by my loved ones, in a marvelous natural environment, and just enjoying some personal thoughts. I am sharing a few with you now… because I want to! Continue reading Healing Dose of Happiness
June 10, 2010
This past weekend was beautiful down in this part of the Carolinas. The sun was shinning and plants are in full bloom. Even the crape myrtles have begun to show off.
I’m an avid gardener. I love toiling in the soil, planting and waiting with eager anticipation for little seedlings emerge. Just about all of my life I’ve had a garden. I learned to love gardens and gardening because of my grandmother who planted a garden every spring. She always planted the same vegetables; yellow squash, waxed and green string beans, cabbage and turnip and collard greens. At the very back of her yard was a grape arbor that she cultivated and pampered so that in the fall she could make her delicious sweet wine. Her front yard, shaded by an enormous maple tree, was lush with shale loving lily of the valley and variegated hosta plants. Her side yard boasted a variety of red, yellow and pink roses, blue hydrangea, snapdragons and a lilac. My mother was also a gardener as are all three of my sisters and both of my children so, it’s in the blood. Continue reading Snakes and Wellies
May 17, 2010
Many Saturdays as a young girl I was given the reward of spending the afternoon with my dad at the paper where he was the city editor. It was more than the joy of getting away from younger siblings and the chores being the oldest brought me. It was a place that I got to get the news before anyone else. Before the national news made the paper it came through on the Associated Press machine, a ticking time-bomb in my dad’s office that printed out the news in a flash. I would go there and sit with a pile of paper in my lap that covered everything that was happening in the world. Sometimes I couldn’t believe all the things that were happening, and weren’t getting reported on in a daily black newspaper. In fact sometimes things weren’t reported in any of the local papers at all. It was as if keeping the public in the dark about some news was the best way to keep the country focused on national issues of importance.
Today we have our own buttons to leaking news with computers, instant news and messaging and cell phones that will alert you when a celebrity has a baby or when a celebrity takes a drink. It is news faster than the old AP machines could peck out. It’s too much news that brings us so much information. And a lot of that information is about war. Continue reading Too Much News, Too Much War
May 14, 2010
Posted by seamus in: Accountability, Advice, Attitude, Business, Cap and Trade, Commentary, Communications, Congress, Creative Writing, Current Events, Democrat, Economics, Entertainment, Finance, Freedom, General Topics, Geopolitical Events, Governance, Homeland Security, Humor, Journalism, Life Experiences, Lifestyle, Literature, Minorities, Morality, Motivation, Opinion, Personal Experiences, Politics, Recovery, Republican, Satire, Self-Help, Social Aspects, Social Issues, Sociology, Terrorism, The Economy, The Media, The Pundit's Corner, Women's Rights, Working Women, World Issues
Pick Your Reason 10. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies’ profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn’t.
9. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the [...]
April 23, 2010
My birthday present from my mom arrived yesterday, several days early. Of course I had to open it, there would be no waiting until next week. Mama had been telling me in our daily conversation that she had been creating something for me, and also a gift for my youngest who graduated early from college. Like a five year old I ripped into the box and pulled out a small notebook that had been turned into a book of sayings my mother had found. She had handwritten fifty of them for my daughter, decorated the cover with a beautiful fabric and opposite each saying was a tiny pastel envelope with a dollar bill inside. Then it was my turn to look at my gift and my heart stopped. My very creative mother had taken a painting that I had done when I was sixteen and trying to emulate the art of my father and that hung in the hallway of their home, a hallway that was like an art gallery, and had it made into note cards. On the back was a sticker that said: Artwork by Minnette Coleman.
What a lovely, personal gift, I thought. Then something else came to mind. My mother didn’t do things like this when we were little. My mother never let her star shine while my father was alive. It was the way of her generation. Continue reading A Gift from My Mother- Lessons from Her Generation
April 22, 2010
My wife was born in South Africa and is thus a South African citizen – or so you might think.
She certainly was once but not, apparently, any more. She is officially deemed to have lived outside South Africa too long and has had her citizenship withdrawn.
Fortunately she is not stateless. She is a naturalised British Citizen, a status obtained after four years of residency in the UK and reinforced by marriage to a British-born British citizen.
One of her ‘friends’ said she didn’t sympathise in the least with her loss of South African citizenship. She had made her choices.
And, let’s face it, a South African passport is one of the more useless ones on this earth. When we got married, the only country in the world which would accept a South African citizen without requiring a visa was Ecuador. We went on our honeymoon to Ecuador.
Maybe all this is unremarkable, but it does raise issues as to what citizenship really means and as to where it is headed. Continue reading Pick any country – and live there
April 5, 2010
I was asked what I did for a living. At the time I was in an off-off- Broadway show on The Ridiculous Theatrical Company. The theatre had a following in the gay world but was very popular in the theatrical circles. My picture and positive review made Theatre World Magazine and I got pats on the backs from actor friends. I was an actress. But when I replied to the what did I do for a living questions with “I’m an actress” I got: “Really? What movies have you been in? Are you some kind of star?” Continue reading Everybody is a Star!
March 26, 2010
I find myself in a quandary and am hoping for advice.
I would say that overall, I am a very relaxed sort of mom. We live in a very remote area, so when my kids have friends over, they often stay overnight. And of course, my girls stay in other children’s homes as well. It’s something we didn’t do much of when we lived close to our neighbours, but here, where everything is at least a ten minute drive away, it is the norm. We have all relaxed into the routine, and have gotten to know the kids around here very well. It’s been an educational experience, and a fun one.
We live in an area in which it is not uncommon to drive past a mansion, then drive past a neighbouring trailer decorated with rabbit ear antenna. We have people who work in offices, people who fish for a living, artists and writers, and lots of retired folk. A pot pourri of incomes, if you will. It makes for even more education on my side, since I grew up in a position of financial comfort. Continue reading Smokey Sleepovers – looking for advice!
March 2, 2010
“We are living in a time when it seems as if sex is used to sell everything. From laundry detergent to pancakes, from make-up to hair dye, sex sells. We are inundated with it.”
I was doing a seminar on Sex, Love, and Marriage. During a break a well-dressed, pretty but nervous woman came up to talk to me. She asked if I had ever encountered a person who was living in a celibate marriage.
“I don’t mean not having sex for long stretches of time because of certain problems that can be resolved. I mean never having sex, sleeping together in a bed but not being intimate for years.”
I nodded my head; I had heard about it. She was talking about a celibate marriage.
We see intimacy on daytime programming, loving couples in commercials, and nighttime shows filled with happy people either in the midst of, finishing, or seriously about to have, sexual relations. Sex sells because it is a part of our minds, our egos and our physical needs. Most people not only need it they want it. This is especially true in a marriage, where one of the great joys of being with the person you have chosen to spend your life with should be sexual intimacy. The harsh reality is of married sex is different from what we believe. 1 in 20 couples live their married lives in a marriage that lacks sex. Continue reading A Celibate Marriage: the pain and unhappiness in an era when sex sells
February 16, 2010
At one a.m. I was editing chapters of a book that I have written and re-written in hopes that the agent who asked to see it could get it published. In seven hours I had to leave for an early morning office meeting and hoped that I wouldn’t slip into a nod and drift off into my characters instead of paying attention. The job paid the bills but the writing filled my life. And even though two weeks later I got a response from the agent that she didn’t actually ‘love’ the book I was not in total mourning. My life would not be driven by what she wanted or what she thought. It would be driven by my passion to write. And a life driven by passion is one hell of a life.
Most mornings I hate going to work. I think I could sta Continue reading Life Should be Driven by Passion
February 15, 2010
Jesus was a Jew. He spoke the Jewish language, lived the Jewish life, and was very active in the Jewish community. Jesus studied and learned the Old Testament in His growing years, as well as celebrated the Jewish feasts and festivals. It makes sense that Jesus would use the culture, language, and traditions He was surrounded by, to send His new covenant message to the world throughout the ages. This is why it is vital, we as Christians, understand the full impact of His Jewish involvement. It should also be understood that the Jewish culture today is not the same culture of Jesus’ day. This is the reason we must study the complete context of the New Testament. The Jewish community has a way of understanding and interpreting scriptures Christians have not fully embraced. Understanding Jesus’ Jewish life reveals the fullness of His saving grace. He doesn’t want us to miss one syllable of His promise. Continue reading Jesus Was A Jew
February 13, 2010
What do you think of Body Piercing, Tattoos, and Branding?
We welcome your thoughts and comments.
February 8, 2010
Chapter 7 – Dealing with Schools
For most of us dealing with the teachers and administration at our child’s school can be a difficult process. Many of us approach this important task with needless trepidation or false conceptions.
We were once students ourselves and may have built up a habit of obeying or even expecting punishment or derision from teachers and administrators.
This is a non productive attitude for parents. Teachers are not gods, many of them are hardly even human. Before engaging in any discourse with your child’s teacher, ask yourself these questions:
- Did this person find teaching as a calling in kindergarten, dedicating the rest of their lives to the education of children? Or was this the only job they could find after graduating with a useless degree in Grecian philosophy?
- Is this person a master educator or a product of “if you can’t do, teach.”
- Does this slimy wanker think they’re in charge? Or do they recognize that theirs is to serve in a difficult task as best they can. Parents, always ask yourself, are they “the boss of me?” Continue reading How to get your child through school successfully – a parents guide
December 20, 2009
My daughter Elizabeth and I attended an open house at the college she decided to attend. The dean spoke to the students and posed this riddle to them. “Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. Question: How many are left?” We looked at each other thinking – duh – that’s pretty obvious, there’s only one left – but here is what he said. [...]
December 11, 2009
Posted by AngelaPoseyArnold in: Biography & Memoir, Education, Faith, Family, Freedom, History, Inspiration & Motivation, Life Experiences, Lifestyle, Non-Fiction, Personal Experiences, Relationships, Religion, Short Stories, Social Aspects, Social Issues, Spirituality, Women's Perspective
Christmas 1947-Alabama (Not so much unlike Christmas 2009–Alabama—same heart–same spirit)
By Angela Posey-Arnold
“What are you getting for Christmas this year, Jimmy? I think I’m getting a record player. I picked one out at Elmore’s.” Bonnie said to her friend and classmate at lunch.
Jimmy swallowed the last bite of apple, “A record player? That will be neat. I’m hoping to get the .22 Winchester I asked for. I need it for hunting. I think I will get it”.
“I can’t wait for the class Christmas party tomorrow. The best thing is being out of Haleyville Junior High School for the Christmas Holidays. Mother made some cookies for our eighth grade party. Oh, by the way, we want you to go with us to town this afternoon. And stay with us for the Tree Decorating Downtown tonight. Can you go if my Mom picks you up?” Jimmy asked. Continue reading Christmas 1947
December 10, 2009
Looking for something to help wind down at the end of a hard day clogging your arteries with Monster Pies? How about the McNuggetini? This festive drink (?) consists of a chocolate milkshake mixed with vodka, rimmed with barbecue sauce, and garnished with half a chicken nugget. “Hey bar-keep! Gimme a double will ya?” [...]
December 2, 2009
This time last year I was swimming in Christmas presents that I had purchased for my family and a few friends. I hadn’t spent that much since I am a careful shopper but I had more funds to do as I pleased. This year there is less money to spend all around and I am not halfway through my list. I am not disturbed by this change, I accept it as a challenge. You see I am eagerly awaiting the new because life moves on even when we don’t want it to. Continue reading Moving Forward with the Fantasy of Life
November 19, 2009
Like most artists I would prefer making a living from my art. For the majority of us that never happens and we have to make do with professions outside of the creative. Sometimes we get lucky and land a job we enjoy. Sometimes we land a position that is beyond rewarding. I know I am one of the lucky ones since I get to play Santa 52 weeks a year. Continue reading The Coolest Job
November 16, 2009
As a college student eager to explore the world outside the South I spent many winter breaks in New York City. My first was with my roommate Kaye who lived in Queens. I got to see a few of the sights and only visited Harlem once when we went to dinner at Copeland’s Restaurant on 145th St. The winters after that were more about expanding my horizons in the great city and making trips to Harlem, a place ravaged by poverty and violence of the turbulent ‘60s. Over the years things have changed but even with the explosion called gentrification something about Harlem remains the same. Continue reading The Truth About Harlem
October 21, 2009
Long before today, the first year anniversary of my father’s death, I contemplated what happens when we die. My thoughts weren’t just about going to the light or about resting in peace. I wondered how you prepare yourself when you know your time has come.
When the call came that my father had been admitted to a hospice and they didn’t give him more than 24 hours to live I dropped everything and headed for Atlanta. My father hung on for seven days in which he was surrounded by family, friends and a spiritual advisor my dad used to call “Fatboy”. Continue reading Afterthoughts on the Afterlife
October 20, 2009
The music came from a place I couldn’t see. Had I been a contestant on that old show “Name That Tune” I would have been a winner in less than five notes. A trumpet somewhere on the upper Westside of Manhattan was beautifully playing “My One and Only Love”. It was a pleasant distraction from the loud music emanating from passing cars. I have nothing against rap or salsa but I get enough of it in my daily diet further uptown. I tried to determine where the sweet notes were coming from but couldn’t so I just enjoyed them as I went about my shopping. Coltrane danced in my head as I remembered his version with Johnny Hartman and once again I was watching my parents and their friends sipping bourbon and cokes, the air filled with cigarette that they knew wouldn’t harm them or the children. A nice warm memory for a slightly cold day. Continue reading Street Story: A One and Only Love
October 13, 2009
My first day of Catholic high school I met Mary and Jessica (names changed) and we became fast friends. They were very religious girls who had attended the other all black Catholic grade school in Atlanta all the way across town. Each morning we met on the bus and walked together, our books clinched to our excited young chests and the half mile to the school from the stop. Once there we were joined by Lena, the smartest girl in my class in grade school and an outcast simply because of her intellect. She was cute and perky but when she opened her mouth no boy wanted to date her. I was feeling the strain of loneliness because I wrote poetry and devoured books whenever I could. I had just started caring about the opposite sex so if there was ever a group of female nerds it had to be us. We had no boyfriends or the hopes of having any.
Continue reading The Chapel Girls
October 11, 2009
Posted by maryepopkin in: Attitude, Habit Change, Inspiration & Motivation, Life Experiences, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Motivation, Non-Fiction, Opinion, Personal Experiences, Self-Help, Spirituality, Uncategorized, Wellness
HOW I LEARNED THE PHILOSOPHY THAT LIFE IS A SERIES OF MOMENTS IN TIME.
Many years ago when I was struggling with the death and dying of my Dad our Family was blessed with a priest who would come to visit us often. Father York, a Catholic Priest, and my Dad was close friends even though my Dad was Jewish. Their paths crossed because our Mom was Catholic and my parents decided to raise their children Catholic. My sister, and I went to Catholic School and Church with our Mom. Fr. York and my Dad’s paths crossed because my Dad fixed the school buses, nuns and priests cars free of charge. Popkin’s Auto and Truck Repair was his privately owned and operated business. My parents believed in the “Law of Comeback” and gave freely of their time and talents. They practice this belief and taught their children that when you give freely of your time, talent or money you don’t expect it to be repaid by the person you have freely given to but the universe would provide for you in your time of need. Now during my Dad’s time of need Fr. York gave freely of his Spiritual talents to aid my Dad and me through the process of death and dying. Continue reading When You See Life as a Series of Moments in Time You Can Create More Positive Moments.
October 7, 2009
Posted by TimKellis in: Advice, Book Marketing Online, Book Review, Books, Communications, Current Events, Education, Family, General Topics, Health & Fitness, Inspiration & Motivation, Lifestyle, Marriage, Men's Issues, Mental Health, Motivation, Non-Fiction, Philosophical Genres, Relationships, Self-Help, Social Aspects, Social Issues, Spirituality, The Media, The Pundit's Corner, The Writer's Corner, Wellness
 Carl Jung Now here is another brain teaser for your therapist, or should I say mind teaser, the notion of curing someone with depression. Sadly, this is one of the most common causes of problems in marriages, and while we look for help from the professionals they take advantage of that vulnerability with a platform that doesn’t get to the root causes of depression. All the while, we spend about $12 billion a year on therapy and $15 billion on pharmacology drugs to treat “mental illnesses”, particularly depression.
I even find it hilarious that there is an ad on TV promoting a drug called Abilify that begins by stating that 2/3rds of people suffering from depression still have depression symptoms after taking traditional “medicine”, in essence admitting the inability of the medical approach to curing people. After all, our “mental illnesses” are biologically based, hence the medical approach to a “cure”, and there is really nothing that can be done mentally.
But there was a psychologist who actually did cure people, the one-time heir apparent to Freud by the name of Carl Jung. I refer to Jung as the greatest psychologist who ever lived basically because of the fact that his objective was to cure his patients.
Let me relate to you one of his patients whom he did cure, a patient suffering from depression. Ironically, the professionals of his day actually diagnosed her with Schizophrenia. Boy I can imagine the response from the professionals if I would have titled this post “Curing Schizophrenia”, because as most people realize after 100 years of propagating the biology conclusion, Schizophrenia is incurable. Continue reading Curing Depression
September 29, 2009
Broken down to the most basic component – your life is simply a series of moments. Each one is precious. Some may be more exciting or memorable than others, but each one is important and brings you to the next…and the next. Each is a gift, a present, crafted specifically for you and comes directly from the hand of God! If some famous person gave you a valuable gift of some kind, you’d protect, admire and appreciate it constantly. How much more should we do that with today’s moments? [...]
September 23, 2009
The negative effects environmental noise has on your health including hearing loss, increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and increased appetite leading to weight gain are no secret. What I want to focus on today is quieting the inner noise, which is just as destructive to true health. “Internal noise” or the constant stream of self-talk that runs through your mind can greatly impact your health as well. [...]
September 23, 2009
Much like reframing an old picture can give it new life, so can reframing the situations that cause us stress. According to Dr. Don Colbert, author of The Seven Pillars of Health, the term “reframing” means learning to see the past, present and future in a positive light. [...]
September 21, 2009
Did you know, prayer is the most basic mind-body therapy known to man? In fact, even though some experts are only realizing how important your spirit is to your physical health now, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, believed that the moral and spiritual aspects of a person’s life affected their health. [...]
September 21, 2009
You take between 18 and 26,000 breaths every day! You require 88 lbs. of oxygen daily – it is the most critical chemical in your body. Your brain alone requires 25% of the oxygen you take in. Breathing is the only bodily function which can be done either consciously or unconsciously. The average person uses only twenty percent of their lung capacity. Increasing oxygen content in all the cells of the body can produce dramatic changes in general health and mood. [...]
September 21, 2009
We are so used to being surrounded by sound some of us cannot stand to be without some type of noise – whether it’s the television or radio in the background, a CD or static and nature sounds from a “white noise” machine. If you pay attention, you’ll find there are very few (if any) places where you escape intentional sound – stores, doctor/dentist offices, restaurants, gas stations, public rest rooms – they all seem to have music piped in. [...]
September 18, 2009
Posted by TimKellis in: Advice, Book Marketing Online, Books, Communications, Current Events, Education, Family, General Topics, Habit Change, Health & Fitness, Inspiration & Motivation, Life Experiences, Lifestyle, Marriage, Men's Issues, Mental Health, Non-Fiction, Personal Experiences, Philosophical Genres, Relationships, Self-Help, Social Issues, The Media, The Pundit's Corner, The Writer's Corner, Wellness, Women's Perspective
 Equality: The Quest for the Happy Marriage If you would like to get your therapist’s head spinning ask him or her what it means to be cured and watch as your therapist struggles to answer that question. The unfortunate reality is the psychology industry, with its biological foundation, has not yet defined what it means to be mentally cured. What makes this notion even more amazing, is the rest of us as a society knows the answer to this question, to be happy with yourself. To clarify, though, individual happiness has nothing to do with the level of wealth or looks, but is an internal quality where the individual finds balance in his or her perception of self against the backdrop of the rest of society.
I wanted to discuss one psychological problem to demonstrate my point, the notion of alcoholism. Modern medical definitions describe alcoholism as a diseaseand addiction which results in a persistent use of alcohol despite negative consequences. The Journal of the American Medical Association defines alcoholism as “a primary, chronic disease characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking.” According to Wikipedia it is estimated that 9% of the general population is predisposed to alcoholism based on genetic factors.
In other words, alcoholism is defined as a biological disease defined by the genetic makeup of the individual. Alcoholics Anonymous’ basic text, known as the “Big Book,” describes alcoholism as an illness that involves a physical allergy and a mental obsession. And of course the mental obsession occurs because of the biological makeup of the brain. Because of this definition there is no attempt on the professionals part to “cure” the alcoholic. In fact, the 12-step program in AA basically teaches people that they have a disease and must give their lives up to God to manage their disease, despite the fact that the fourth step involves clarifying those experiences from the past that have caused the mental problems in the first place, in what is called the “moral inventory”. Continue reading Curing Alcoholism
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Books by SWI Contributors
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School Daze, Plugged In and Zoned Out
School Daze, Plugged In and Zoned Out
By Alan Caruba
The older you get the faster time seems to speed by. One minute you’re talking about the Baby Boom generation, 1946 to 1964, and the next it’s Generation X, 1965-1983. If the Boomers thought the world owed them a living, the Gen X’rs were all about “relationships” and the “environment.”
Before you knew it, it was the Generation Y, often referred to as the Millennials, 1984-2002, that everyone was talking about and trying to sell crap to. The oldest of these are age 26 and the youngest age 8. Most young people think the world exists for them, but Generation Y has more reason to believe this than their parents and grandparents. Continue reading School Daze, Plugged In and Zoned Out