A Valuable Lesson

          So I never thought I could be so happy about my little girl being able to blow her nose. She developed a sever congested nose over night and woke on Friday not being able to breath through her nose whatsoever, and continued that way since then. She didn't have a cough or runny nose and her sinuses seemed fine, but she couldn't inhale or exhale even a little through her nose. This has made sleeping very difficult for her for the last week and Sean and I have had very little sleep as a result.
          I was finally convinced that she had a mucous plug (sorry for being gross) and thought that as long as I kept up the saline and used the bulb sucker that eventually I would get it out. Today, I finally did just that, and I got excited and teary eyed when she was able to finally blow her nose.
          The last week has been hard, I won't lie. My nerves are almost shot, but we have been optimistic and done our best to teach our little girl how to be optimistic in a time when all she wanted to do was get upset and crater. I know that if it is irritating and upsetting for an adult to not be able to breath well, then it must truly be disheartening for a child.
          She cried a lot at first. She complained and worked herself up and repeated, "I can't breathe!" over and over again at first. Sean and I continually explained to her that we already know she can't breath, so there is no use in her continually repeating it. We explained to her that when she says it, it makes her focus on it even more, and that perpetuates the problem. We continued to tell her that she is getting better and better every minute, and as long as she focuses on the idea of being well and breathing properly, she will continue to get better and better at breathing through her nose.
          She had her moments when she seemed to give up. She buried her face in her hands, began sobbing and cried, "I'm never gonna be able to breath right." We expressed that an attitude like that would never produce the results that she wanted. I told her she was making herself worse by giving up.
         I gave her a photo album of her first year and let her browse through her baby pictures. It took her mind off of her nose. I gave her a canvas and paints to create something for me and I made her watch funny movies. We read funny books. It seemed to help distract her. She was smiling all day yesterday and I knew it wouldn't be long before she would be able to breathe through her nose again. 
          This morning I pumped her up and made her yell, "I am getting better and better! I feel awesome!" She was in a positive mood and we had a relaxing and fun morning. Even when I had to suck the mucous from her nose little by little, she listened to my advice and focused on something else. Sometimes she sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow with her eyes closed while she imagined flying on the back of her Pegasus. I told her to think on all the things that made her happy. She really tried.
          Sean and I never used the words "ill," "sick," or phrases like "feeling bad," and "can't breath." We didn't want to contribute to feeding those negative ideas into her head. We told her that if she wants to be able to breath normally, she must visualize herself breathing normally and functioning as she normally does.
          Today, when the mucous broke free and she was able to blow her nose, I said, "See? Being positive does pay off!" She smiled so big and gave me a hug and said, "You're right, Mommy!"
          Now, I realize she doesn't fully understand the concept of the law of attraction, but she is learning. And I questioned why this happened to her at first, but I know that the only way for her to truly learn things is to be tested- to be put right in the middle of a trying situation. We have to have a REASON to choose, in order to choose which way we want to go and which way we want to think. No one ever learned endurance and how to be positive in the face of adversity by avoiding the storm.
          It sucked seeing my daughter in so much distress for a few days, but it gave her the opportunity to learn a really great lesson on a scale that she can handle... a lesson that most adults haven't even learned yet... and that is that thinking negatively, expecting the worst, and focusing on the problem instead of the solution never got anyone anywhere. Having a positive mindset can ONLY help you, and it WILL if you are determined to feel good and be well.
          My hope and belief is that by the time my children are teenagers they will have mastered their thoughts and emotions. They will understand that no one can make them feel any way they don't want to feel. They will know they have the choice to feel good or bad and have the choice of what to think. I have faith that they will be leaders and not followers and set a positive example for their peers; an example of true self control and peace of mind. They will reach for something and grasp it because they will realize that whether health, wealth, love or happiness, THEY have the power to create their lives how they want.

Attitude of Gratitude

          In light of it being Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a moment to share what I am thankful for. This is something that comes very easy to me, as I have been practicing an attitude of gratitude for some time now due to my belief in the Law of Attraction. I wake up every morning being grateful for all the things I have and people that are in my life, and as I lay my head on my pillow every night, I say in my mind, "Thank you for all that my life is."
          For starters, I am thankful for my parents, who provided a wonderful foundation for me to build on. Their example of love and marriage gave me standards that I did not waver from as I approached my teen years and began really paying attention to potential husbands. I am thankful for what each of them taught me and the love they showed me personally. I never doubted how proud they were of me growing up, even when I made mistakes.
          I am thankful for my one and only sister, who was my best friend growing up. She made me laugh like no one else did, and although we had our fights and moments of jealousy, I never doubted her love for me either. She stuck up for me when I needed someone to back me up, and she instilled a healthy level of competition in me that drove me to always try to do better and work harder at everything. And even though we are not as close now because our lives have become very different, I still look up to her and am thankful for the part she still plays in my life today.
          I am thankful for all the people that have come through my life that I have called friends. Most of them have come and gone. Many of them took advantage of me, took me for granted, back stabbed me, slandered me, or just outright dumped me with no warning whatsoever, but I am still thankful for them because without them, I would not know what people to be cautious of. Without them, I would not have worked on my own character as well to make sure I was never like them. Without them I would not have recognized the contrast and kept my eyes peeled for people with better character, thus finding the amazing friends I have in my life today, which I am even more thankful for...  they are friends that I now know truly love me and will be a part of my life for many many years to come.
           I am thankful for my husband, Sean, who has shown me a love that I didn't know before him. I am thankful for the unique relationship that we have. Others may not understand it, but it has allowed us to prove to each other in every way how much we really love, trust, and cherish each other. He has stuck by me and loved me even when I was so unlovable. He tried to see the best in me when I was at my absolute worst. I am thankful for his heart and that he has always had the ability to let criticism and ugliness roll right off his back. He has balanced me out over the years and has helped me to become the positive dreamer I am today. I am thankful for our deep talks and how he makes me laugh so much. He is so much fun and there is no one else I would rather spend time with. I am so proud of him for working so hard to show me he wants me, and I am proud of him for doing what was necessary to provide, care for and love our children. He is always striving to be better, and that is an amazing quality.
          I am thankful for my children, who teach me something new every day. They test my patience, and that is a good thing. I need more patience. They make me laugh and make me proud to be their mom. I learn from them in ways they will never understand until they have kids of their own. The mysteries of the universe are summed up in the minds and hearts of children, I believe, so although raising children is no walk in the park, being a mom is an opportunity to gain knowledge of how we are to truly live and what we are really capable of in this life. My kids show me how to love unconditionally and how to dream and find joy in the smallest things in life. I greatly appreciate that about them.
          I am thankful for my mind. I realize it is a little different and unique, but it has allowed me to achieve things that other people thought weren't possible. I am thankful for my intuitiveness and my ability to understand people even when they won't open up. I am thankful for the love I have instilled in me that allows me to reach out to people with a caring heart even when I know they don't really care about me back. The grace that I feel for people makes it very easy to forgive and not let others negativity bring me down. My hunches have kept me from making a lot of mistakes and have given me insight into situations, and I am thankful for that. My mind still boggles and mystifies me at times, but I am thankful for what I am learning every day about how to harness my own power to make my life exactly what I want it to be and to help others. It has already taken me so so far in life.
          I am thankful for what we call God and how the Universe works, for it has given me the power and ability to create my life how I want it. It has given me every good thing I have ever hoped for and allows me to achieve impossible feats. It has given me the ability to attain those things money can't buy and even the things that money can buy. My reality is what I say it is, and I am forming it every day. I am thankful that the creative power and balance of the universe lives within me and all I had to do was find it. I am thankful that everyone has this power within them so that we are not at the mercy of the world, but the world is at our mercy and we merely have to learn our capabilities. That knowledge is so relieving to know and understand because it gives me hope in humanity. I feel like people want to be better, and so I also believe that the world that we live in IS gradually getting better until one day we will all understand that we are in control of our destinies and will make this world a heaven for all by the positive thoughts we hold in our minds and the love in our hearts for each other. The gratitude I have for the source of our existence is so overwhelming, even if I don't fully understand what it is.
          I encourage you all to make every day thanksgiving within your minds. Every day upon waking, look at the day like you need to acknowledge what you are thankful for, just like many of you did this very morning. Make a habit of it, and I promise, if your life isn't what you want it to be currently, it will soon correspond to the feeling of gratitude and happiness that you maintain and "the Universe will open doors for you where there were only walls."


Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

Play by Play

          I firmly believe in Applied Imagination, which is otherwise known as the Law of Attraction. I know for sure it is true because one day I decided to accept it on faith and apply it to my life in detail and with purpose... not to see if it would work, but BELIEVING that it would, and it has proven to work as the law states every single time.
         In my home, we do not worry about being taken care of. We just believe that we always are, no matter what. Not only do we believe that all our needs are met, but we also believe all our wants are met. We realize all the things we want that money must buy have not been revealed to us just yet, but we know the Universe is holding them for us, waiting for the series of events to play out in order for us to receive them. This is something we just KNOW without a doubt. Call it unwavering faith. Around every turn something happens to open another door or set things in motion to get us to where we desire to be. Some of those things may be interpreted by some as UNfortunate and negative, such as getting laid off from a job, a car accident, "friends" deciding they want nothing to do with us anymore... or a tree falling on my car (Miracle Tree). Sean and I have learned over the years to interpret such things as stepping stones.
          Because we believe the Universe is in perfect balance, we realize that situations seen as bad (catastrophic, even) must happen for the Universe to function harmoniously as it should. Without evil, we would not understand good. Without darkness, we would not understand light. With anything, we must have a contrast to it to fully grasp the concept and appreciate it. Therefor it is easy for us to accept that there will be some trials in our life. We accept that those difficult circumstances must come to pass in order for us to achieve the things we have our mind set on. After all, fire refines, and we have come to appreciate those circumstances that inspire growth.
          I wanted to share something that recently happened as an example of the normal occurrences in our life that we have come to expect, but never take for granted...
          Almost two years ago, Sean and I made a goal list together. We divided it into short term, medium term, and long term goals. There are a couple of goals that we put on all three lists, one of them being "increase of income." At the time we wrote the list, Sean was working in the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Union. He had topped out at the highest pay level as a union journeyman electrician, so the only way his pay would increase in the union was to become a foreman, and that would likely take at least a few more years to achieve because the majority of union foremen have 10+ years experience. Despite this knowledge, we were hopeful that Sean would advance somehow with the company he was at, and we continued to meditate on that belief.
          At that time, Sean had only been working for the company he was with for a little under a year, but had made pretty good friends with his foreman. In fact, Sean and his boss became such good buddies that his boss invited Sean to join his rock band because they were in need of a lead guitarist (Sean is on lead guitar, keys, and partial vocals).  He was thrilled because he had been itching to start or get back into a band. He just missed it, and I was supportive of him.
          Sean worked his butt off on the job. He tried really hard to make a good impression because he wanted to show his boss that he wasn't just his friend, but a dedicated, competent electrician that he could count on to get the job done. Over time, his boss started letting him have more responsibility and work at sites alone. He gave him a laptop, company phone, and let him drive the company truck frequently, which saved us a lot of money on gas. Then one day he told Sean that he was going to start training Sean in instrumentation, which is a field that on average has a higher pay grade than electricians. Sean was stoked, of course.
          At the time, I didn't really understand what the big deal was, but he explained that basically he was going to get paid to be trained in a skill within his normal work hours that could eventually earn him more money. We both realized that our positivity and faith in what we wanted was paying off.
          We continued to visualize and meditate on what we wanted, which was a career advancement and increase of income, and Sean continued to learn instrumentation and work hard at his job. He more than proved himself to be someone who was capable, responsible, and knowledgeable enough to be a foreman even though he was only 25 years old. As much as Sean's boss wanted to pay him what he was worth, his boss also had a boss and couldn't get Sean the raise. The company ended up being sold, and after two and a half years with that company, Sean got laid off with several others.
          Now, most people would look at that as a set back. Most people would feel that all that hard work that Sean put into his job and going above and beyond what he was actually paid to do was totally in vain because the company let him go instead of giving him a raise. But not me. Not for a minute. As soon as Sean told me he got laid off I said, "This is it, Sean. THIS is the stepping stone we have been waiting for."
          I knew that this was exactly what Sean needed to get him out there looking for a better job. The job that would lead to a major career advancement for him. He wouldn't have been looking elsewhere had he not gotten laid off because he felt like he had worked so hard that surely they would give him the raise eventually. He had put too much into that company to just walk away on his own. But I kept thinking, "What THEN? If he gets the raise, what THEN? Where can he go from there?" And I knew he didn't have much more room for growth at that company. Getting laid off was just what was necessary for the major career advancement that was just around the corner.
          Sean was out of work for almost exactly a month. You might be thinking that was a brutal month for us, but it was actually quite the opposite. There had been some issues between Sean and our son that desperately needed to be fixed, pronto. Sean loves his boy more than words can describe, but by the time he was home from work each day, he was so beat from work that he had very little energy to put into time with the kids, and it was clear that it was taking a toll on our son. He felt like daddy didn't care about him (my daughter is older and more understanding), and as a result would act out. Being the tough disciplinarian that Sean is, he consistently disciplined our son for the bad behavior, and that seemed to make him afraid to approach Sean. Sean knew he couldn't just let bad behavior slide, but considering he wasn't spending much quality time with him during the week, it seemed that about half the time Sean was around him was spent just disciplining him. Sean grew frustrated and our son grew even more distant.
          We were desperate to resolve the problem. We didn't want what our son was feeling at 2 years old to form who he would be at 20 years old because that would forever be a wedge between him and his dad... something neither of us were willing to settle for. So during that month that Sean was out of work, he was obviously around a lot more. He ate lunch with them every day and because he wasn't being drained every day at work, he had energy to take the kids to do some free fun things several times a week. Some awesome memories were made with our little family. He paid close attention to working on his relationship with our son, and I am happy to report that by the time Sean got a new job, our son was attached to his daddy at the hip. When he was hurt or upset, he wanted dad, and his overall behavior improved drastically. I'm sorry, but money just can't buy that.
          We called bill collectors and had our bills deferred for a month. Because of our awesome credit, they all worked with us as much as they could. In the meantime, Sean drove to the union hall at the crack of dawn every morning to see if they would call his name for one of the several job calls. Some days if there were lots of job calls and lots of people showed up for roll call, he didn't make it back home until lunchtime. But with the economy as rough as it was, there were so many men signed on the book that they never got anywhere close to Sean's name for the first couple of weeks.
          Sean and I had already discussed it before his lay off, so we knew that he had more room for growth and pay increase outside of the union, so he applied, applied, applied all over the place at non union companies. He faxed and dropped off several resumes and drove to several companies to apply just so they would remember his face. He even called several times to follow up with companies he had already applied to so they would know he was serious about wanting a job. Not one day went buy that he didn't send out at least two resumes. About three hours a day was dedicated to just doing job searches, and any job that didn't pay at least what he was making at his former job, he didn't apply for. There were even a few that he wasn't sure what the pay was when he applied, but turned them down at the interview when he found out.
          One man in particular (we will call him 'Bob') was very intrigued by Sean's 2 year experience with instrumentation, and called him in for an interview. At the interview, the man was super impressed by Sean and wanted to hire him on the spot. When Sean found out that the company was going to pay him a little less than the job he was laid off from, Sean told him thank you but no thank you. He said he felt his knowledge, skills and work ethic were worth more than that, and he just knew the perfect job for him was just on the brink of being revealed to him. Well the man was so taken by Sean's resume and confidence that he told Sean he was going to keep an eye out for a job for him that would pay him what he wanted. Sean showed the man his gratitude and came home.
          The beginning of the last week of January, Sean got a call from one of the companies he had applied to asking him to come in for an interview, but the only time they could have him come in was the morning. Sean debated with himself whether he should go because he knew his name was nearing the top of the call list for the IBEW, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to miss roll call the morning of that interview and chance missing a job if they call his name. Sean decided to go ahead and schedule the interview and decided that the morning of, he would just call the union hall and find out how many job calls they had for that morning so he could determine what his chances are for getting a job. He had heard through the grapevine that a couple of really good union companies were looking for service truck drivers (something that pays well, is a gravy job, and Sean has experience with), and he was willing to go back to a union job if he could land one of those positions. So we made up our minds that if there were several calls at the hall that morning, that Sean would just call and cancel the interview and take the risk.
         So the morning of the interview arrived and Sean called the hall. He found out there is only ONE job call, and it was for an awesome position at a great company, working under a foreman that Sean knows and likes. He debated with himself right up until the time he had to leave for the interview and ultimately made the choice to ditch roll call because we both knew the chance of him getting that one call when there were still around 20 men ahead of his name was slim to none.
          Sean went to the interview and after discussing it with me, we determined that although it paid enough, it wasn't the job that was going to benefit our whole family (too many hours). No harm done, right?... until my dad called (who is also a member of the IBEW).
          I stood in the kitchen with Sean, staring at him while he held the phone to his ear and listened to my dad. I could hear the muffled murmur of my dad explaining something to him, and as he talked, Sean's expression slowly turned from happy, so disappointed. His head dropped, and his other hand lifted to his forehead to cover his face. After a minute I saw a tear fall from behind his hand and land on his shoe. And before he told me what was going on, I knew exactly what my dad had told him.
          None of the men whose names were ahead of Sean's showed up that morning at the union hall. If Sean would have gone, HE would have gotten the call for that awesome job. It was the ONE morning since Sean got laid off that he did not go to the union hall for roll call. After all the hard work he had put into finding a job that was perfect for his family and after us doing without so much for almost a whole month, he was devastated. He felt like he had failed his entire family. He hated himself for going to the interview instead of the hall, but what was done was done, and he could not take his decision back.
          He got off the phone and just stood there weeping. I began to cry for my best friend and the love of my life. To see him in emotional pain just kills me. I knew I had to be strong for him.
          I walked over to him, grabbed him in a bear hug and we held each other there in the kitchen. I told him, "There was no way you could have known. You did the very best you could, and I am PROUD of you."
          I let him cry some more, then I made him look at me. I still remember so clearly what I told him. I looked him in the eyes, and I said sternly, "No. You stop this. It is too perfect. It is too perfect the way this has all happened. You have worked your ass off. You have been dedicated and you have been up at that hall every single damn day waiting for a job, as well as applying all over the place and going to interviews, and the one morning, the ONE morning, you don't go, that job would have gone to YOU. No! You aren't supposed to have that union job! It isn't yours! It belongs to someone else. YOUR job, the one you really want, is still out there, right around the next turn and you need to be available for it! ...So stop this crying! Stop your doubt! We are going to be just fine because the Universe knows what we need and God saved us from a job that wasn't worthy of you! It isn't what we really desire and God knows it! Don't you believe that...???"
          He calmed down after that and looked at me with a gently expression of respect and love. He knew I was right. He just needed to be reminded. He hugged and kissed me softly and replied, "I know everything is going to be ok. Thank you."
          That evening we made a point to watch a comedy. We spent time together alone, just laughing and soaking up the love between us. I reminded him that money or no money, he would always have me and I would always be proud of him.
          The very next day, he got a call from a man that said he got Sean's number and resume from a guy that had interviewed Sean the week prior for a different company (remember 'Bob'). He said he was friends with 'Bob' and was told that Sean has a hell of a drive and thinks he would be good for his company. He asked Sean when he could come in for an interview, to which Sean answered, "Right now?" The man agreed, and Sean was on his way.
          Sean learned that the company was a contractor for Dow, and STARTING pay for journeyman electricians was the the same amount he topped out as a union journeyman. Looking great so far. Then the boss man told Sean that he was impressed that he had two years instrumentation experience. He said he doesn't find many young guys that are journeyman that can do instrumentation work. So he asked Sean if he would want to take an instrumentation test, that if passed, will give Sean his certification to be an Instrumentation Technician and allow him to continue training even further. He also added that if Sean passed the test, they will immediately give him a $2 per hour raise and the new job title.
          Sean accepted and came home to immediately start studying for the test. He didn't pass it the first time, but since he only missed it by a couple of points, they allowed him to retake the test the following week. The second time around he beyond passed it.
          Then we had to play catch up, and we were very optimistic. We had double the bills in February... those for the current month and those that were deferred from January. By no coincidence, they started Sean working a 4 10's schedule, but offered plenty of overtime, so his overtime was worked on Fridays and he still had the weekend completely open to spend doing fun family stuff with us. With the raise and all the overtime, Sean made almost twice the amount of money at his new job than he did at his union job just a month prior. Not only were we able to catch up rather easily, but we had more than enough money. We did more fun things and started paying more down on our debt. It was perfect.
          He worked at that company up until last Monday, when he started working for another contractor company at a different Dow plant. It was almost 10 months. That isn't that long to be with a company, but Sean went ahead and sent out a few resumes and applied for instrumentation positions at some other companies that paid higher salaries. He thought if he got a bite, awesome, if not, that's ok because he loves his job. Well, a company did call him and offered him an Instrumentation Technician job starting at $4 per hour more than his current Dow job. They didn't have many of the perks that his current job had... perks that really made going to work every day a real treat. We discussed it and Sean couldn't make up his mind initially. He liked his job so much but it was hard to pass up a $4 per hour raise working the same hours and having to drive the same distance. I expressed to Sean that I stood behind him whatever he decided, and that if he really loved his job then money isn't worth giving that up. Do you know how many people hate their job? I just want him to be happy with what he has to do every day.
          When it came down to it, he just couldn't pass up the money. He said the lack of perks really isn't that big of deal, and he would just have to learn to not be so spoiled. He was focused more on our goal of being financially free, and a larger salary allows us to achieve that goal faster. I fully supported his choice.
          Now here is the kicker... Sean found out just today from an inside source that all but six men got laid off at the company he just left a little over a week ago, and the six that remain got their hours cut to only 32 hours a week. Sean, nor any of his coworker buddies ever knew it was coming, but Sean was the only one who was saved from it, just in the nick of time.
          On top of the continual advancement in Sean's career for the last couple of years, I have actually been bringing in an income for the last year by selling my paintings, not to mention my grandma, bless her heart, insists on paying me a decent amount each month to come one day a week and clean her house for her, which is never that messy. Increase of income? I would say so!
          I DO NOT BELIEVE IN CHANCE. My life proves that there is no 50/50 shot that something will happen. What has happened every step of the way has been exactly what we willed to happen by our own mindset and choices. We wrote down our goals and did not back down. When people told us, "Yeah right, what are the odds of that?" we said, "Pretty good." We visualized what we wanted . We meditated on it in happiness. We BELIEVED it was already ours. We were diligent in pursuing it. We felt deep gratitude for it. And it manifested.
            The Law of Attraction is at work in each person's life whether they acknowledge it or not. And the Law puts all the responsibility on YOU. If you want your life to be a certain way, YOU have to think the right way, feel the right way, and act the right way. You can't just sit and hope that everything works to your advantage. You can't just be on autopilot, thinking that your thoughts and emotions can't be helped, and the solutions are going to come from some outside source that is separate from you, that you hope is looking out for you. The source of all the answers and blessings will only act in your life as far as you allow, therefore you have to take responsibility for your life. You have to think and feel with intention. You have to WILL the blessings to happen. You have to know that you know that you KNOW that the life you desire belongs to you already. You have to get rid of what the world deems "realistic" and think outside the box. Make big plans. Dream big dreams. And realize it is all doable. It is all attainable.Tough times don't have to get you down. Not if you realize you need them to reach your goal. NOTHING is too great for you to achieve. NOTHING is too great for you to overcome. NOTHING is too great for you to master. Nothing.
    
         

My Daily Consumption Routine

          I had a couple of people request that I blog about what I eat and the products I use on a daily basis as a healthy example to model their schedules after, so I thought I would give that a whirl. Please keep in mind that all the products I use are things I have settled on using only because of my own extensive research on health, and not based on any doctors suggestions.
          If you have not read any of my past posts about health, I recommend you do that first to fully understand why I have chosen the diet, schedule and products I have chosen for my life. Then I Guess I'm A Quack, The Con-Artist Named Cancer Treatment, and  Big Pharma: A Wolf In Sheeps Clothing will give you enough of my research to get a thorough understanding of my consumption choices.
          For starters, I am a stay home mother, so I have 2 small children that I must cater to in addition to myself. My choices take them into consideration, however, I feel pretty confident that even if it was just me that I was catering to, my schedule and consumption choices would be the same, or at least very similar.
          We are not on the 3 meal a day plan. Instead, we eat several small snacky meals a day and one larger meal at dinner time usually. There are exceptions, of course, like on days when I know we are going to be out and about for several hours or be somewhere where we can't snack. In that case, I will usually make a larger, more filling breakfast. On weekends, when Sean is home during the day, if we ate at a restaurant and had a large lunch, we will usually have a smaller dinner. So as you can tell, we are flexible, but the schedule I share with you is the routine we follow the majority of the time.
         
          When Sean leaves for work at 5:30 a.m., I get up and drink my 8 oz. glass of  water (not tap) with 2 drops of Lugol's iodine solution mixed in before returning back to bed. Between 8 and 9 a.m. the kids wake up and we all sit down to our breakfast. This usually consists of a small bowl of organic whole grain cereal (Cascadian Farm's Honey Nut O's or Kashi Cinnamon Harvest ) with Almond Breeze milk alternative, which you can also get in vanilla and chocolate, and Riceplex SRB powder sprinkled on top, followed by a whole organic banana and about 4 oz. of Bolthouse Farm's Green Goodness.
          Right after breakfast, we brush our teeth with Kiss My Face organic aloe vera toothpaste. It is free of sodium laurel and laureth sulfate and fluoride.
          For the rest of the day until about 4:30 p.m. we snack and drink water. 4:30 is the cut off time for snacks so that they will be hungry for dinner at 6:30. They are only allowed to drink water between their last snack and dinner time. Snacks are as follows:

• Half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (whole wheat whole grain bread with NO high fructose corn syrup, Cascadian Farms Fruit Spread, and MaraNatha Organic Peanut Butter)
• Half of an avocado, lightly salted
• Organic apple or pear slices
• Raw organic baby carrots
• Organic peach or strawberry slices in probiotic organic yogurt.
• Back to Nature Organic Stoneground Wheat Crackers with organic cream cheese spread.
• Raw organic cucumber slices
• Whole raw peanuts, lightly salted

          Usually around noon, right after eating a snack, I drink a 16 oz. glass of water with 3 drops of Cellfood and take my herbal supplements. These consist of Olive Leaf and a probiotic such as Acidophilus. At that time, I will usually brew some herbal tea for the kids. I choose to give them Traditional Medicinals Organic Cold Care PM Tea because the ingredients are good for the whole immune system, and although it is a PM tea, it does not make them drowsy. Right after boiling the water, I add one drop of Cellfood to the water and mix, then I pour about 3 oz. of water over each tea bag in a cup and let steep for 5 minutes. Lastly I mix a teaspoon of Organic Raw Honey into each cup of tea to sweeten, and serve.
          At dinner time, our meals typically consist of:

• 1 starch, such as organic wheat pasta, organic rice, or organic potatoes.
• A combination of at least 2 lightly steamed organic vegetables. We ALWAYS have at least 1 green vegetable such as asparagus, broccoli, or raw salad.
• Beans 2 to 3 days out the week.
• We include cooked organic vegetables periodically to our meals such as fresh sweet potatoes, corn, or green beans.
• Meat only 1 day a week, and is usually organic lean chicken or fish that is baked, grilled or pan seared, never fried. Once every few months we will eat a beef steak, roast, or organic hamburgers. We never ever eat pork.
• We use fresh organic herbs for seasoning, organic butter, raw sea salt, organic cheeses, and organic extra virgin olive oil for select meals and salads.

          Right before bedtime, everyone gets bathed. We stick to using products that have as little ingredients as possible and as many organic ingredients as possible. We wash and condition our hair with John Master's Organics and wash our bodies with Zum Bar Goat's Milk Soap in oatmeal-lavender. After baths, we moisturize our skin with Organic Unrefined Virgin Coconut Oil.  Before teeth get brushed, the kids each get a half teaspoon of Sambucus Elderberry Syrup to aid in immune system defense. If they are experiencing cold symptoms or a fever, they get a half teaspoon 3 times a day.
          You may not think of your bath and skin products as being used for consumption, but believe it or not, what you put on your skin is also being absorbed into your body and blood stream. Granted, it is small amounts being absorbed gradually, but over time, toxic chemicals can cause all kinds of health problems, so what you put ON is almost as important as what you put IN.
          Well, I guess that about does it. That's a typical day of consumption habits in my household. It may sound difficult to some of you, but for us, it is second nature because we are accustomed to this lifestyle, and we are happy and healthy. Food truly is our medicine around here. Hopefully others will make the effort to get healthier and be more conciencious about what they are putting in their bodies as well. It would definately make for a higher quality of life and longer life expectancy over all.

Stay tuned for a blog post that will be healthy breakfast combinations, vegetarian meals and salad recipes that we eat in OUR home, complete with pictures!

Life is a closet

          A few days ago, Sean and I decided that it was finally time to clean out our closet. We figured it to be a grueling task since there were still unpacked boxes from the move into our house 3 years ago in there, as well as an accumulation of additional crap over that time span. When we needed to store stuff or had something that we didn't know what to do with it, we just shoved it into any available nook and cranny we could find in the closet, and it began to just pile up. I wasn't looking forward to the task initially. I mean, our closet isn't exactly small. It's a deep walk in closet with lots of shelves at the back that were chocked full and weren't even visible due to the piles of other junk in front of them. But I was excited to some degree that we had decided once and for all to just do it and be done with it. It was long overdue, and I knew the feeling of accomplishment once it was done would feel like a burden lifted.

          So we put on some good music, rolled up our sleeves at about 8:45 that evening and started attacking it. An hour into cleaning, it seemed like we hadn't even made a dent in the mess. In fact, it appeared to be growing. The disaster that once lived in the closet, was gradually becoming the disaster of our bedroom. But we had some good laughs. We came across some funny pictures, hillarious birthday cards, and even our old disassembled sex chair in its carry bag. We had some hysterical memories with that thing. "Remember this?!..." Sean blurted out. We both started giggling.

          We focused most of our attention on going through boxes of old photos, keepsakes, mementos, and high school memories... things that we hadn't touched since we got married 6 1/2 years ago. As I was sorting old greeting cards, Sean chimed in, "Hey take a look at these..." He had found a shoe box full of hand written notes and greeting cards from me to him from high school and college. I started going through them. Most of them were sappy, but as I was reading one, tears began to well up in my eyes. It took me back to when I was so in love with Sean, yet didn't know him nearly as well as I know him now. It was so surreal to recall how I felt about us back then. I was so innocent, needy and thrived off of attention and affection from him. Thinking about it was like remembering a movie I had watched in the past. It felt like those kids weren't us.

          I laid the note down on the bed in front of Sean, and he began reading it. He sniffled and then turned his head to look at me. We stared at each other in amazement for a moment, then he leaned in and gently kissed me.

          "I love you one hundred times more now than I did then," I said. "I know. I feel the same about you, baby," he replied. I broke focus and looked around at the massive mess that was around us. It was getting late. Boxes, trash and piles of items filled our bedroom. It felt a little overwhelming to see how much we still had left to do, and yet the reminiscing made it enjoyable. I shared with Sean how happy I was to be there with him going through memories of our past. Despite the task at hand, we were on cloud 9. Just seeing visuals of our growth and the stages we have gone through to get where we are now was remarkable.

          Sean went in the closet and brought out another box that was sealed. I cut it open and immediately broke down in tears. I pulled out the crib quilt that I sewed by hand for our first born while I was pregnant with her.  We felt at the time like she would never arrive, and now my baby is 5 years old. And my youngest already 3. Neither of them are much of babies any more. We looked at pictures of my oldest when she was new born. There is no feeling that compares to bringing home your first baby with the person you are madly in love with. Looking at the child and knowing the two of you made that in love is just mind boggling and gives you chills. We were so clueless at the time, but we figured it out together. That moment was so pure, and it is gone from us now. It is but a memory. We are at a new place, and everything that has occurred between then and now has grown us up as individuals and as a couple.

          Sean walked over to the computer and changed the music over to a James Taylor album, a favorite of both of ours. He suggested we take a little break and I agreed. Our bedroom light is on a dimmer switch, so I dimmed it for some mood lighting and we came together in an embrace. There we began to dance.

           One slow song played. Then another. And another. And another. We didn't exchange one word. Rather we just soaked up that tender moment right there in the midst of the chaotic clutter. We read each others thoughts and anticipated each others moves. He led and I followed in silence, and there in that moment nothing else mattered, no one else existed, and time just stopped for us. As we were finishing up our last dance, we kissed. Then we turned up the light to finish cleaning and organizing. The rest of it seemed to go rather quickly. We hauled the bulging bags of trash out, returned the newly organized containers back to the closet, looked over the closet with approval, and quickly settled into bed.
          It was 1:30 in the morning when we finished up, and we were exhausted. It felt good to have accomplished all that with Sean, and I actually felt like I would sleep better. By the time I crawled into bed and cuddled my body up to his, he was fast sleep. I pulled his arm over me and laid there, thinking about the evening... and then it dawned on me how our closet is exactly like life.
          Life gets cluttered and even dirty sometimes because we don't care enough in the moment to be wise about what we do with our stuff, and before you know it, you have one huge overwhelming load to have to deal with. Life in general is overwhelming. Whether you like it or not, you have to deal with it because it doesn't just go away. Messes don't clean up themselves, and if you aren't making a point of keeping things in order and filtering through things daily, it will certainly pile up on you and make sorting through it an even harder task when you do finally get to it.  But when you have someone helping you stay focused and encouraging you, it makes dealing with it a lot easier. Along the way, there will be a lot of garbage you encounter, but a lot of truly amazing things as well. If you focus on the good points and keep a happy way about you inspite of the difficulty that is life, it makes the journey worth while. You will seem to not mind the difficulties because you realize without having to sift through the trash, you would have never found the treasures. It may have taken longer than you were anticipating to get it to your liking, but when you finally do, you find that the things you kept were the things that truly mattered the most to you. You can move around much better in life and find the answers nearly effortlessly IF you do a good thorough job. You will stand back and look at your work, and before the light goes out, you will evaluate the job you have done. Maybe you can sigh a sigh of relief that it is finished and you are pleased with what you have created, thus allowing you to rest peacefully. But maybe you cannot. I suppose it would be a rather dissappointing feeling to not be pleased with the job you did... to have the light go out knowing there was still more work that needed to be done. I imagine there wouldn't be much sense of accomplishment or rest that would follow. You would be likely to feel like all the hard work was in vain which would be rather depressing.
          The moral... You only have so long before the light goes out and you have to be laid to rest. Don't wait too late before you start cleaning up your closet. And remember, if you focus on the treasures and not the garbage, it makes the journey easier and worth all the hard work.
     

What are YOUR beliefs? Take the poll.

          For the next couple of weeks I am conducting a poll on my blog. Three different polls to be exact, and as different as the topics seem to be from each other, they are actually all connected. I will be using them for an article that I am in the process of putting together for December. I'm going to need your help getting it out there so I can get as many votes on the polls as possible, so feel free to share this link with others that you think will participate. The more people that participate the more accurate the results will be. Even if you don't follow my blog and plan to never read it again, I would still like to hear your opinion on these topics, so please take part in the polls. The poll questions are in the right hand side bar of my blog. Just scan down a little ways and you will find them. Thank you so much! Have a wonderful day!

Heavenly minded?... or head in the clouds?

     

          As of lately, I have noticed that a few people I know have been preaching a turn or burn message that promotes and encourages others to not concern themselves with ANYTHING of this world, and by anything I mean career and monetary success, establishing and reaching personal goals, working on relationships, etc.  It seems to be a trend among certain religious groups. Mainly the 18 to 23 crowd or the one's that hold firm beliefs that the rapture will be occurring very soon. These same people teach that nothing but serving the lord matters, and usually use this belief as provision from God for them to not have to work a lot (or at all), to not have to be their own sole monetary support, or to not have to spend a lot of time catering to their spouses and children. (I know a guy that actually neglects being home to work at his church and spend time with his worship band buddies playing music, and uses Deuteronomy 33:9 and Matthew 10:37 as justification for it.) Needless to say, the people in this group more times than not have mainly things that others have donated to them out of charity or have given to them on loan, and have fairly shallow or dysfuctional relationships with others.
          I might also point out that they usually do not encourage this way of living to the people they depend on the most. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that even those that claim their way of life is due to the fact that Jesus is returning soon, are merely using religion as an excuse to be lazy because they know that many people would feel guilty to refute something that is supposedly what God told them to do. I, however, have no problem not catering to people like that. After all, didn't David Koresh engage in polygamy and statutory rape and Jim Jones lead a mass suicide of 909 church members all in the name of God? As insane as those men were, they had followers who whole heartedly supported them in their fanaticism.

There Were Two Roads...

          The low road. We have all found ourselves traveling on it at least once in our lives. You know the one I'm talking about... the one filled with nagging, nitpicking and faultfinding. The road laden with sadness, jealousy, and resentment. Packed to the hilt with spite and negativity. Where backstabbing your supposed friends is a regular occurrence, and maliciously soiling the reputation of your enemies is something you strive for. It's a place where trashing those we hardly even know is widely accepted. It is a miserable, wretched, pot-hole riddled road.
        When was the last time you found yourself walking down that low road? Or are you traveling down that road right now? You're out there judging and condemning all kinds of people, mostly for things you know very little about. You're insulting your teachers and college professors to other classmates, tearing down coworkers behind their backs, even slandering and belittling your own family members just to make yourself look better. You're overflowing with pride and arrogance, criticizing practically everyone in sight just to prove a point.
          And I don't think you really want to be there, do you? You honestly don't like what you're doing, but you're doing it nonetheless. It seems easier to let it perpetuate than to stop it. Stopping it takes will power and restraint, and that is just too much work for you. But you are absolutely, positively 100% MISERABLE.  And since misery just adores company, the cycle continues. The mess just keeps rolling down hill and the problem snowballs.
          Hey, it's easy to find fault in others. Very easy. It's easy to continually point out flaws and criticize the weaknesses of others in a demeaning way. But it's wrong and will never get you anywhere but alone. Let's face it, trashing and tearing down others is no way to make progress in your life. It's certainly no way to keep or make friends. And it definitely isn't the way to make yourself happy. It doesn't bring one iota of value to anyone.

Miracle Tree

          About 3 o'clock this morning I was woken up by a loud sound. I sat up in bed and thought, "What the heck WAS that?" But since it didn't appear to have woken anyone else in the house, I assumed it was only in a dream, so I laid down and went back to sleep.
          5:15 rolled around and Sean's alarm went off. He hit the snooze a couple of times before jumping out of bed in a panic. While Sean got ready for work, I rode the line between sleep and awake until he came in the bedroom to kiss me goodbye. Typical morning so far.
         And then a shift. Just as I was drifting back into sleep, Sean walked back into the bedroom, woke me up, and VERY calmly said, "Babe, I need you to get up and get dressed. Don't freak out when I tell you this, ok?... ya know that tree in the front yard that we thought was dead?... it fell on the car."
          Despite his efforts to make sure I didn't freak out, I inicially jumped out of bed with, "You've got to be kidding me?!"
          Honestly, I wasn't upset about our new car being damaged really. I was just pissed off that I had fun plans today with the kids and my mom that would now have to go on hold because I was going to spend the whole day dealing with phone calls to our insurance company, cleaning up the huge mess, getting the car to the dealership for repairs (if they can even fix it) and getting a rental.
         We knew Sean couldn't afford to miss a day at work, but he assured me that he would make the phone calls to our insurance company as soon as he got to work. He also said to just have my mom pick us up and go on and have fun today, and he would let me know when I needed to get the rental. That lightened my load and I admitted he was right. No sense in letting this mess up my plans.
         So now I am just waiting for Sean to call me in a couple of hours to tell me what to do first, and as I sit here and think about the whole situation, it really is amusing.
          I'm actually kinda happy and excited and part of me just wants to laugh. Not because this has driven me to insanity, but because in the past, every time something seemingly bad has happened (that is, it appeared on the surface to be unfortunate), it actually benefited us in the long run and we ended up coming out way ahead.
          It isn't a total shocker. Obviously, we knew the tree was on it's last leg. Every time the wind has blown hard over the last year, small limbs have broken off that tree. You can look at it and tell it's dead, but we just hadn't gotten out there and chopped it down yet. Usually when a dead tree comes down, it's because it breaks in half or splits down the middle. We weren't ever worried about that with this tree though because it isn't top heavy, it isn't very tall, and the trunk itself looked pretty solid. Main thing we were concerned with was a limb falling off and landing on someone, but considering we rarely do anything in that part of the yard, we didn't make an issue of it.
          Here's the funny part. We have been hoping and praying for rain in our area for some time, and we were finally blessed with 2 days of constant showers, which seemed to saturate our yard pretty decently. Apparently the ground was so soft where that dead tree was standing that it was actually uprooted and the ENTIRE tree (yes, roots and all) toppled over. What are the chances of that happening? Any normal dead tree that looks like that one, wouldn't have fallen over until chopped down. As I said, it wasn't tall and wasn't top heavy because hurricane Ike had already wiped out all of the large branches and most of the small ones. We never ever suspected that the ground wouldn't hold the large roots of the tree, but there it was clear as day when we woke up this morning.
          The tree could have fallen in any direction. In fact, based on the shape of the tree, it would have made more sense for it to fall a different way, but instead, it came right down on top of our new car, smashing in the back part of the roof and shattering the rear windshield. So there is glass all over my driveway and yard, as well as thousands of splintered tree parts and a massive rut in the ground where the tree roots use to be. And can't miss the tree itself laying across my front yard. That should be fun to clean up. But hey, a little work never killed anyone. In fact, this is just what i need to get my butt in gear doing the landscaping I've been wanting to do.
          Anyway, it's just too perfect how it happened. As if someone or something purposefully made it happen. And quite frankly, I believe that whole heartedly. I believe we needed this to happen. I don't know why yet, but I believe something awesome is going to come out of all this.
          No, this is not wishful thinking because I'm just trying to be positive when I really want to get my panties in a twist. I mean, I truly do KNOW that this is going to benefit us. I just can't look at this situation as something negative because I know it's not. The past has proven to me that my faith in our security, well being and blessings ensures that we will always be benefited from everything that happens in our life. So while other people are going, "Man, that sucks. I'm so sorry," I'm thinking the whole time, "I'm not!" I'm just anxious to see how this pans out for us.
          I can deal with a little inconvenience of having to clean up and remove the tree and get a rental car while our car is being fixed. Or who knows, maybe they can't fix it, and our gap insurance will pay it off, leaving us the opportunity to get an even better car. It wouldn't surprise me one bit.
         I have come to expect all the best things out of life. Things that most people view as road blocks are always detour signs for us that lead us down the shorter, more scenic route. I'm really beginning to enjoy it. It may seem coincidental to others, but I don't believe in coincidence and I don't believe in luck. I believe in knowing without a doubt that your life holds blessings and greatness and your faith manifests what you believe. I guess you could say the powers that be in the universe knows what we need and want and did what was necessary to bring it into our life in the quickest way possible.
        A tree falling on our new car a bad thing? Please... I bet we just hit the jackpot.

Put On The Breaks

          Life sure does get busy, doesn't it? Whether it's work, play, family life or college life, whatever it is that is keeping our days busy seems to make us age so quickly. We look up and years have gone by. We need to stop, be still, close our eyes and just reflect. As the great Ferris Beuller once said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." Boy, was he right.        
           For a lover of music like me, certain songs help me to slow my pace. I think most of us have that one song that turns us to putty and just totally mellows us out no matter how crazy the day has been. I just wanted to share mine. I hope it causes the same amount of peace and reflection in others that it has in me.

21 Day Candida Cleanse

I decided to post this upon request of a few of my readers.

Herbs to take are as follows: Olive Leaf, Acidophilus, Caprylic Acid

When it comes to herbs, you usually get what you pay for, so try not to go the cheapo route. You want the most potent olive leaf you can get, the sustained release caprylic acid, and the enteric coated acidophilus. If you go to GNC or another vitamin/supplement shop, there should be a vitamin/herb professional who will be able to help you find these things and can tell you which brands are going to give you the best bang for your buck. I might add that you will probably not be able to find caprylic acid on a shelf. You can order it online however. Check out the Vitamins and Supplements link under My Fave Links in the left hand column of my blog.

• Nothing but water to drink for the full 21 days, and drink LOTS of it.
• No sugar if possible. If you must sweeten something, use either raw honey or raw unrefined sugar and use it sparingly. Sugar is what feeds the candida.
• No white bread at all. Only whole wheat bread, but try to avoid yeast foods if possible.
• Eat as many raw fruits and veggies as possible during the cleanse, but don’t overdue it on the fruits. It’s best to balance your fruits and veggie intake.
• Only lean meats that are  grilled or baked. No fried foods.
• Take herbs with food and a large glass of water.
• Get at least 20 minutes of direct sun per day without sunblock, and exercise to move the lymphatic system.

Expect to have loose frequent bowel movements and MINOR stomach upset. If major upset stomach occurs or you get the Herxheimer reaction, cut back on herb intake by 1 at each time of day and increase it slowly. But don't worry, this reaction is normal when your body is trying to rid itself of toxins from the candida. You will likely feel bad before you feel great. How bad you feel is going to depend on how much the candida has over grown.

Day 1-5         Morning- 1 olive leaf, 1 caprylic acid, 1 acidophilus

                       Noon- ditto

                       Night- ditto

Day 6-10      Morning- 2 olive leaf, 2 caprylic acid, 1 acidophilus

                       Noon- ditto

                       Night- 2 olive leaf, 1 caprylic acid, 2 acidophilus

Day 11-16    Morning- 3 olive leaf, 2 caprylic acid, 2 acidophilus

                       Noon- ditto

                       Night- 2 olive leaf, 2 caprylic acid, 2 acidophilus

Day 17-21    Morning- 3 olive leaf, 3 caprylic acid, 3 acidophilus

                       Noon- ditto

                       Night- 3 olive leaf, 3 caprylic acid, 4 acidophilus

After the cleanse, keep taking 1 olive leaf and 1 acidophilus a day as maintenance, throwing in an occasional caprylic acid to keep the candida from overgrowing again.Typically by the end of the cleanse, people crave a lot of water all the time. Don’t hesitate to feed your craving. Drink up! Water is good for you!

Cheers to your health!

Errors

I just discovered that several of the links in my posts are not working. I'm not sure why that is, but I will try to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, you may have to do your own search on the topics or names that are highlighted as links if you want to further read about them. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Big Pharma: A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing

          As a follow up to my post The Con-Artist Named Cancer Treatment, I wanted to offer some more information, some of which I feel I really should have included in that post.
          There is so much evidence out there that clearly shows a conflict of interest between the American Cancer Society, the FDA, Big Pharma and Big Food, and I could show it all to you right here, but the truth is, I'd rather ignite a fire in you for truth enough that you start digging for it yourself.
         When we have been shown our ignorance, and doubt is sparked in us for the establishments we have long trusted, it pisses us off, but most of all, it scares the hell out of us. The thought of the people in control of our country lying to us freaks us out because then we are left feeling helpless... at first, and only at first because you eventually recognize that "we the people" are really the ones in control.
         Like they say... you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Big business can tell you how to eat, how to live, or how to think. They can tempt you with appetizing pictures on their food packaging, and they can feed you lies about health, but they cannot make you do anything. That is YOUR choice and your choice alone. And it takes a lot of will power and commitment, but who said life was easy, right?
          Big business is in the market to make it SEEM like they make your life easier. They portray their products as being convenient and making life "better." They know that the masses are weak minded sheeple who just follow the crowd and do what the media and pop culture tells them to do. That is why the advertising industry is booming... because it actually works.
          Watch the clip below from an infomercial that I recently saw for a new weight loss solution.

           Notice that they make a point of saying that you don't have to change anything about your diet. It caters to a large percentage of Americans who are obese and unhealthy that do not want to deny themselves the foods that got them there in the first place. The weight loss "solution" offers them an opportunity to shed pounds while still being able to consume whatever they want. Boy, that sounds awesome doesn't it?
            Except there's one massive problem here. This infomercial tries to convince you that skinny people are healthy people and the AMOUNT that a person eats is what is unhealthy, not WHAT you eat. This is just plain false though.
           While portion control is important and can help you lose weight, WHAT you are consuming is the main factor in your overall health. But this infomercial promises that you don't have to change one thing about your diet because it actually tricks the brain chemicals (just what we need, another brain altering substance) into thinking you have eaten more than you have. It assures you that you don't have to be a responsible adult and have any will power, which Americans just love, ya know. This is a prime example of how Big Pharma caters to the greed, laziness and lack of self control of consumers. They understand that most people want something for nothing, and they figure, hey, if you're not willing to control your own mind, we don't have one problem controlling it for you.
          So let's say it works (I'm sure it does)... you look good now, but your body is still toxic and your chances for getting cancer haven't dropped. And on top of that, you have given more control of yourself to the pharmaceutical companies. They got you right where they want you. In my opinion, this is not a good solution at all.
          There is something else I would like to point out about Sensa...  they recommend you sprinkle it on everything, even fruits and raw veggies. WHY? Why would you need to sprinkle something that tricks the brain into portion control onto foods that don't make you gain weight? That's right, raw fruits and veggies do NOT contribute to significant weight gain. If you have ever done the Weight Watchers diet and counted calories, you know that raw veggies do not equal any points at all, and only 1 point per cup of fruit. So literally, you can stuff yourself full by eating a whole massive bag of baby carrots and celery and not consume one calorie. You can eat a combination of 12 apples, bananas and oranges throughout the day (that's a lot of food!) and only accumulate 12 points, which is only half of the allowed points for a whole day on the typical Weight Watchers plan.
          If you stick to eating whole unprocessed foods, you can literally eat all day long and not gain weight as long as you're being physical in some way (walking, bending over, etc). In contrast to the diet you're allowed to maintain with taking Sensa, it is is actually beneficial to your overall health and reduces your risk for cancer and other diseases significantly. But as I said, the whole point of marketing is to convince the consumer that they shouldn't have to sacrifice or make hard choices because their product makes it easier to have a better life. It eliminates having to make tough decisions while still allowing the consumer to consume all the same junk they always have. After all, the same companies and associations who funded Dr. Alan Hirsch's (http://smellandtaste.org/?action=about#popup3) research doesn't want you to put them out of business.
            According to studies in 2008 (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008), $57.5 billion was the total amount spent on pharmaceutical promotion in 2004, the latest year in which information was available. 2004 studies show that the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spent 24.4% of their sales on advertising and promotion, versus only 13.4% for research and development. That ought to tell us something. We have all seen the legal commercials. How many FDA approved drug recalls due to cause of extreme side effects and deaths have we seen? Several. Obviously, they were in more of a hurry to make sure people were buying them than they were to make sure it was actually safe to take.
          The United States is the largest market for pharmaceuticals in the world, representing approximately 43% of global sales and global promotion expenditures. If we exclude direct-to-consumer marketing, of the $57.5 billion spent on pharmaceutical promotion in 2004, it's estimated that a whopping 80% of that is spent on physicians. That means, that with approximately 700,000 practicing physicians in the U.S. as of 2008 (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2008), Big Pharma spent nearly $61,000 per physician for marketing and promotion. As a side note, I would like to add that according to the 2003 U.S. census, the real median household income was $43,318.
          How does the pharmaceutical industry depend on physicians for marketing and promotion, you ask? That's a great question. It's a question I have been contemplating myself. Supposedly physicians do not get kickbacks for prescribing drugs. I'm not saying I don't believe that, but if that is true, then what is $61,000 being spent on exactly? Posters placed in clinics? Drug samples? Some of that money goes toward that for sure, but not $61,000 worth.
           While it is illegal for a pharmaceutical company to give a direct payment to a doctor for prescribing a particular medication, there are ways around those laws, and some pharmaceutical companies and physicians have found the loopholes.
          One of the most popular is to hold "information seminars" regarding a particular drug. These medical seminars are invariably held in vacation and touristy locations such as Las Vegas, the Bahamas, New York etc (http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story). Basically, the doctor receives an all expense paid trip to a nice destination and is required to attend a 3 to 6 hour seminar or class. The rest of the week is free golf, mixers, and relaxation. Often times even spouses and senior nurses are invited. The doctors invited are typically the ones who have been the most successful in pushing the pharmaceutical company's drugs. To make it worse, these companies use the "educational business trip" as a tax deduction. So really, we end up with licensed "pushers" sending their dealers on vacation and we tax payers pay for it – all with the sanctioning of the government. The government a-okaying this is the only difference between these Big Pharma CEO's and the dealer on the corner. How's that for the war on drugs?
          I, in no way, am saying that there aren't well intentioned doctors out there that truly care about the health of their patients. My own OBGYN is a perfect example of a doctor that truly cares for her patients. She has always told me the pros and cons of all my options and been honest about certain "solutions." She has never ever treated me like a patient, but got to know me personally and talks to me as a friend would. I know without a doubt that she is truly looking out for my overall health and well being. But she is the ONLY doctor I have ever experienced that from. As I said, I'm sure many of them start out meaning well, but trust me, when it comes right down to it, the majority of them care more about their career and monetary success than they do about your health. The American Medical Association has most physicians on a short leash, and if they do discover alternatives, it is frowned upon for them to offer these alternatives to their patients because the FDA has not approved of them. In fact, it is actually ILLEGAL in most states for a doctor to treat cancer patients with anything other than chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Here is an article that appeared in The Wall Street Journal in 1997 about fighting the FDA over personal choice of cancer treatment: http://forhealthfreedom.org/Publications/Monopoly/wsj-970602.html
          This is absolute proof that the FDA is not in the business of looking out for the best interest of the people. Even after evidence that these cancer treatment alternatives had worked better and safer that chemotherapy and radiation, they still fought tooth and nail to incriminate this brilliant doctor for merely trying to save people's lives.
          Like most regulatory agencies, the Food and Drug Administration operates with fees collected from the very companies it is mandated to scrutinize. In 1992, Congress passed the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, which exchanged industry fees paid with each new drug application for a promise that reviews would speed through the agency.
          There's more. In it's request to Congress last year, the Obama administration sought after even more user fees (http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents), 1 for generic drug applicants and 3 for food processors.  User fees will surpass $600 million a year in agency funding if the administration has it's way. Let's be honest, being financially dependent on the firms that the FDA is supposed to oversee, can indeed cloud the judgement of the council members testing and approving of those firms' products.
          To fund the grueling tasks of the FDA, Congress appropriates a total of $2.5 billion, which comes out to about $8 per person, per year. You're likely to spend more on a club sandwich than the FDA is issued by Congress in your name to make sure the lettuce on your sandwich doesn't have e coli. That is why legislators from both political parties turned to user fees to fund the FDA, which comes with strings attached of course. If I'm the only one that thinks this whole system is messed up, I will eat my shoe.
         Addressing the issue of conflict of interest with the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry, PBS's FRONTLINE published interviews of Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, Steven Galson, acting director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Raymond Woosley, vice president of the University of Arizona's Health Sciences Center, and John Kelly, spokesman for PhRMA, the industry's lobbying organization. These interviews are eye opening.
          According to a survey by the Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General, about two-thirds of Food & Drug Administration scientists are NOT fully confident in the agency's monitoring of the safety of prescription drugs now being sold. That is coming from the FDA drug scientists themselves! ...Doesn't that just make you feel all warm and cozy?
          Based on the 2003 medical report Death By Medicine, by Dr. Gary Null, Dr. Carolyn Dean, Dr. Martin Feldman, Dr. Debora Rasio and Dr. Dorothy Smith, 783,936 people in America die every year from conventional medical mistakes.  Of those deaths, about 106.000 are from prescription drugs alone! These are medical "mistakes?" Ok, that's like our banks wrongly making 20,000 withdrawals from bank accounts every day, every year. It would be an outrage and the people would not stand for it! So why are we tolerating this kind of behavior from our health care system?
          So here's the problem in a nut shell... prescription drugs do not cure disease, they only keep symptoms in check. American physicians are trained to provide allopathic health care only. That is, they care for DISEASE, not health. So the prescribing of drugs is designed to care for disease rather than prevent it. Prevention is YOUR job. And because there is such a huge array of drugs available to treat literally anything and everything (the AMA comes up with new "illnesses" every year), adverse drug reactions and side effects are all too common. Note that these figures were before the infamous Vioxx scandal. Cox-2 inhibitor drugs could very well result in thousands of more deaths.
            That doesn't mean that prescription antibiotics don't cure infections. They absolutely do, but they also eliminate the good bacteria that your system needs to be healthy, thus, causing multiple other health problems and weakening your immune system, causing you to be more susceptible to future infections. Antibiotics, in my opinion, are in a totally different category than all the other disease and disorder treating drugs. There is a huge difference between an infection and an illness. And there are indeed some prescription drugs that have for sure seemed to cure one thing, only to cause problems in another area of the body.
          Dr. Gary Null's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Null) report points out the 5 most important aspects of health that conventional modern medicine overlooks: Stress, lack of exercise, high calorie intake, over-processed foods, and environmental toxins. All of these factors are putting people in such terrible health that they run to their doctor for answers, and rather than treating the CAUSES of their deteriorating health, such as putting them on a diet and exercises regimen or suggesting detoxing cleanses, they just load them up on prescription drugs to tone down their symptoms. Consequently, they are not really getting better because as long as they want their symptoms to stay away they must continue to take the medicine.
          It is no wonder so many Americans die from prescription drugs. And that's not even the biggest killer! Believe it or not, the Center for Disease Control has heart disease, which is always a result of clogged arteries (because of WHAT people eat), at the top of the list as the #1 cause of death in the U.S., followed by cancer at a close 2nd, then stroke. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats
          Currently the CDC stats show that 1 of 2 men and 1 of 3 women will develop cancer in their lifetime. That doesn't look good, but you're future isn't decided. Your choices will determine your outcome. If you want to be genuinely healthy, use the health care system and pharmaceuticals as an absolute last resort. I guarantee you will find that if you try every other natural option (healthy diet being the first), you will rarely, if ever, have to resort to modern medical methods. Physical accidents and emergencies are, of course, the exception.
          And by no means am I telling you that if you are currently on prescription drugs, to quit taking them cold turkey. I am no doctor, so your best bet would be to find a holistic physician that can accurately diagnose your problems and help you wean yourself off your medications in a safe way.
          Society needs to get back to the basics. Our bodies are meant to consume certain things and be self sustainable in our health. You get a cut, your body is meant to heal it back together. You get a bug your body is meant to go through a natural progression and then dump it. You get an infection, there are things in nature to help your body fight it off naturally. Iodine, which derives from kelp, and Oleuropein, which derives from the olive leaf are just a couple of perfect examples of this.   
          Do yourself a favor, and treat your body right. It will thank you and not fail you. And remember, the holistic approach works best with the right foundation. Nutrition is solid ground.