Source: The Science of Happiness

• Map It or Scrap It: The Real Secret to Success
• Obesity is contagious?
• Find inner peace and gain world peace
• The Daily Love
• Set an intention
• Your resurrection begins with you
• 8 ways to join the local food movement
• How to fall in love with life again

• Even if you don’t eat at a fast food restaurant, you’re still eating food made for/within that system. [If you haven't already, read Fast Food Nation.]
• “Chickens never see sunlight. They’re pretty much in the dark all the time.”
• “This isn’t farming, this is just mass production.”
• “It doesn’t matter if the chickens get sick, all of the chickens will be sent for processing.”
• Learn about the industrial food system.
• 30% of the land in the US is used to produce corn.
• Farm-raised fish is eating corn.
• Average American eats over 200 lbs. of meat a year. Ugh. Do you know how long it takes for meat to leave your body??
• Reminder: there’s manure in your meat! Bon appetit!

• “We put faith in our government to protect us and we’re not being protected on a basic level.” <— this government protects highest bidders: the massively rich, corporations, and industries
• Consumer safety tip: FDA doesn’t protect consumers and was never designed to do so. Former FDA Commissioner Herbert Lay was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle of January 2, 1970 as saying, “The thing that bugs me is that people think the FDA is protecting them. It isn’t. What the FDA is doing and what the public thinks it’s doing are as different as night and day.”
• If cattle is taken off corn diet and put on [natural] grass diet, they shed 80% of e. coli in their stomachs.
• Hamburger meat filler treated with AMMONIA to kill the e. coli in the beef…in 20% of the market. Bon Appetit! [They project 100% in 5 years.]
• #foodinc is reminding me of why I became a macrobiotic practitioner and eventually a vegan.
• “Faster, fatter, bigger, cheaper!” is the motto of food industry.
• Being an adult who regularly eats fast food is like becoming a new cigarette smoker: way too much information out there to not know you’re asking for trouble. [But I'm assuming you care about your quality of life.]
• If you eat fast food because you don’t have time to cook: try slow cooking. Crock pots are AMAZING!
• I sincerely believe food/diet is responsible for [or a major contributor to] 95% of all health problems.
• Our current economic system KILLS souls. People doing menial, spirit-killing jobs for a wage. Shame.
• I was urged by @andrea_zak to read Kessler’s The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite to find out what happens to factory farmed meat and industrial veggies.
• Someone noted that it costs more to eat well than to eat poorly. Upfront, yes.
• Environmental, health, and social costs for “cheap” food are NOT cheap.
• No to US soy…90% of it’s Roundup Ready: can’t be killed by pesticide. [Roundup Ready products are "herbicide tolerant". To learn more about the effects of Roundup Ready products, check out Roundup Ready Nation: Dying for Profits.]
• Live by your principles. The law is not values-based, thus often lawfully unlawful. The prohibition of marijuana is proof of this. [Note: I am not promoting the use of marijuana, but I am in support of its legalization, especially alongside the legalization of alcohol and cigarettes, which kill an insanely large number of people annually.]
• Become a vegetarian, build an earthship and grow your own food. [Earthships are completely self-sustainable housing. Friggin awesome.]
• Genetically modified foods aren’t labeled. Meat from cloned animals isn’t either. Cheers!
• 70% of supermarket products contains some genetically modified ingredient.
• You can go to prison for criticizing beef in Colorado?!? What the…? [Yes, thanks to the veggie libel law, you can be sued by food producers for libel in thirteen states: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas.]
• Some solutions are to support local food. Farmer’s markets. Communnity supported agriculture (CSAs). Plant a garden.
• (y)our diet can change the planet. and your life. see?

I attempted suicides with my fifteen year old brother today. We were supposed to do two rounds. He quit before the first ended and I stopped after completing the first. The verdict: I need to get back in shape.

Am I alone?

Didn’t think so. I’m proposing a thirty day do-something-everyday fitness challenge to help everyone who’s fallen off get back on course. By the end of 30 days, that “I have to move” feeling should be well and active. Sometimes, we all need a little accountability, so if you’d like to join me, let me know. Shoot me a message here letting me know what you’re committing to. Me? Forty-five minutes of daily activity. You don’t necessarily need a gym or equipment., although it’s helpful.  It’s almost spring, the weather’s not so bad, and there’s always lots you can do indoors.

I’m starting Sunday, the 21st (equinox!). Perhaps you’ll join me.

Last week, I served as a facilitator for an all-girl middle school retreat and presented a workshop on joy. It was such an awesome experience that really lightened my heart. I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.

Considering my audience, I decided to create a workshop on happiness. Middle school was one of the most hellish phases of my life, with far-reaching ramifications that extended far beyond the secondary education phase. Well, it turns out middle school just might be hellish for a lot of folks. I wanted to share some of what I’ve learned with them in hopes of it being impactful, sticking, and prevent some of the self-esteem battering so many of us experience at that age.

Middle schoolers aren’t the only ones struggling to be happy, though, so I figured I’d post something about it.

One thing I’ve learned is that there is a correlation between self-love and happiness. Even if a lack of self-love should happen to not be the problem, actively loving oneself can certainly be a solution. Here’s the deal: we will always have to work on loving ourselves. Constantly. It’s a neverending quest, not a destination. This society breeds and feeds on self-hatred, so we’ll always have to protect our inner lives.

Start with being your own friend. Make a list of all the things that make you great. Then, make another list of all the things that would make any friend great, and start doing as many of those things as possible for yourself. Be loving, be patient, uplifting, kind, have your back and have a sense of humor, too.

Start using affirmations. Affirm your awesomeness to yourself. It may feel silly or sound like you’re being egocentric or lying to yourself, but keep doing it. They work. They’re especially powerful if you say them first thing in the morning, last thing at night, in the mirror, and write them down.

As far as we know, we’ve got one life; let’s treat ourselves…well. You may not need this message, but someone you know does. Pass it on. It’s short because it’s simple; we just make it complicated.

Wishing you love&light…
leandra

And don’t forget to smile!

Image source

In a country where at least 67% of the population is overweight or obese, body dissatisfaction is extremely common and indeed fuels the $50 billion weight-loss industry. Additionally, since eating disorders and body dissatisfaction are no longer only associated with women, it’s not often we hear, or maybe even say, the phrase “I love my body.”

However, that’s exactly what I said as I looked in the mirror today before exercising. The best part about it is that I’m not even where I’d like to be ideally, since I’ve been pretty lazy about working out for a whopping five months — pretty extreme considering the frequency I exercised the entire year prior to this lazy phase.

Having had pathological eating patterns and concerns for half my life, hearing this was and being able to honestly say it was no small delight. My figure alone wasn’t what prompted the statement; I really love the human body — it’s one of the most intelligent and fascinating things on the planet. When we take care of it, it takes care of us. My body responds so well to deliberate care that I can’t help but to appreciate it. Knowing this makes me hyperaware of the fact that when I don’t treat it well, my health and figure start to decline.

Take some time to appreciate this amazing vehicle we’ve been gifted and honor it by giving it the care it deserves.

Source: Jonathan Charles

Video source: jeanjeansl

Ahhh…the simple things in life. Two weeks ago, I walked into a grocery store greeted by the unexpected: Children’s Health Magazine. My bright eyes widened as my lips parted into a blinding smile. “YES!”

The alarming rates of obesity and diabetes among children are unfortunately rising, especially amongst groups of low socioeconomic status. As a whole, the health of children in this country could definitely improve, hence my excitement about a pubication geared towards that purpose. There’s some pretty good information in it. I’m hoping this isn’t a one-time deal and that the editors consistently provide useful and thought-provoking content.

Also deserving of attention is Healthy Schools Campaign, an organization working to create healthy school environments. One way they do this is through their Cooking Up Change program annual healthy cooking contest for Chicago Public Schools culinary students. Students create a healthy meal option designed to meet nutrition standards and a tight budget. The winning meal is then served in schools nationwide.

I see the tides changing. For tips on affordable healthy eating, go here.

I just finished watching Healing Cancer and it relit the torch of my passion for natural living and healing.  My life experiences have granted me a fundamental distrust for at least two things: the medical establishment and the government.

“You can fool some of the people all the time,
and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.”
- George W. Bush

Since the age of three, I’ve had migraine headaches.  They were much more frequent and more of a nuisance when I was younger, but as I got older, I got fed up with them and my tolerance to meds had grown to such that I had to start off with at least 4 of whatever over-the-counter drug I took.  I was definitely “over-dosing” thinking “at least I won’t have a headache.”

During my freshman year in college, I had a migraine for a week.  Disappointed with failing medicines and pointless doctor visits, I decided to take an alternate route.  It was then that I learned about macrobiotics and, more importantly, food as medicine…or poison.  After 15 years of suffering, I found out that all I had to do was eat real food and eliminate fake and harmful foods from my diet.  On my unemployed student budget, that translated into mostly eating short grain brown rice, vegetables, and scarcely fruit while avoiding meats, dairy, processed foods, sugars, preservatives, and additives.

My dietary changes eliminated my headaches and whenever I start getting them again, the first thing I examine is my food.  I read countless stories about the role diet played in people curing from various cancers and ther diseases, amazed at how much diet is overlooked or altogether ignored during the average doctor visit.

Fast forward a few years and I’ve lost a lot of my nutritional edge, so watching Healing Cancer brought me back to that place I was in during my freshman year.  It’s very important that people understand that healing is not the motive of the medical establishment; it goes against their business model.  Why do doctors insist on inducing women’s pregnancies despite it being unnecessary and potentially hazardous?  Why do they insist on using the same three methods to treat cancer that they’ve been using for the last 30 years despite results so ineffective that they all qualify as placebos?  Why prescribe daily birth control to mitigate three days of monthly pain?  Because the alternatives go against the current business model.  Let’s flip some beds and get some recurring customers!

The American Medical Association’s (AMA) purpose is to, as much as possible, decrease competition to MDs, who focus on treating symptoms rather than preventing illness.  The AMA  has plenty of financing from big business, and in fact, is its own brand of big business, so throwing its weight around is not a concern.  I respect the degree of intense training MDs receive, but not that they’re most qualified to cut me open and prescribe me pills after problems have manifested.  Gunshot wound, MD.  Chronic problem, I’m seriously investigating alternatives.

It’s increasingly important that we understand disease (dis-ease) and health.  At one point of time, migraines were my curse.  After a shifting my perspective from pain management to prevention, I learned so much.  Everyone isn’t the same.  We all have different levels of sensitivity.  I discovered my system won’t stand for a lot of things I forced upon it.  Some stand in my amazement to exhibit such willpower when it comes to how I eat, while I stand in amazement at some people’s refusal to make small shifts that can dramatically improve their quality and length of life.

Your health story is critical, as your body is your number one resource.  Pay attention to it.  Learn from it.  Find the good.  I now consider my migraines a blessing in disguise.  Who knows what my diet and lifestyle would be like if it weren’t for my headaches. 

What changes could life be directing you towards that you are fighting?

DATE: July 29, 2009
TIME: 8pm/9pm CST/EST
WHERE: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/TheThinkMovement
CALL-IN #: (347) 237-5362

TONIGHT’S TOPIC:  How long do you really want to live?  Tune in and join the discussion on why so many people maintain lifestyle habits they know aren’t beneficial.  Is it that they truly don’t want to live a long life?  Or maybe it’s something they think is unattainable because of their family’s history.

At first glance, it seems like an odd idea. Pollution tourism? But think about it…with the green movement in full effect, pollution tourism not only makes a lot of sense; it’s quite a brilliant idea. Come see some of the wrongs created by humans and their austere customs…or former austere customs if all goes right with the trip to some environmentally hazardous place where tourists learn about the current problem of the place, what went wrong, and perhaps how to avoid the problem from happening elsewhere. Take a visit to the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana to see one of the largest highly toxic Superfund sites or to the Eastern Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean to see a whirlpool of plastic trash. Take a look at Eric Smillie’s “Beautiful Messes: A Travel Guide to Man-made Disasters“.

Environmental NGO Blacksmith Institute works to decrease human health risks from environmental pollution in some of the developing world’s most highly polluted locations.  Their site lists the top ten polluted cities in the world and tons of information for pollution tourists.

The UN established Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as part of the Millennium Declaration adopted in 189 nations and signed by 147 state and government heads in 2000. Those eight goals are as follows:

• Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
• Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
• Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
• Goal 5: Improve maternal health
• Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
• Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

One company that understands the roles of corporate social responsibility and social enterprise is working to address a few of those MDGs. The name is Vestergaard Frandsen and they offer several innovative life-saving and quality-of-life-enhancing products that would make any social entrepreneur or human rights activist proud.

The product I fancy most at the moment is the LifeStraw, available for individual or family use. LifeStraw Personal filters a minimum of 700 liters, while the LifeStraw Family filters a minimum of 15,000 liters of water. It would take 40 faucet-mount Brita filters to treat the amount of water just one LifeStraw Family can. And how much is it? $15, half of the cost of one Brita filter. Awesome.

At any given moment, about half of the world’s poor are suffering from waterborne disease, of which over 6,000 – mainly children – die each day by consuming unsafe drinking water.

Today, more than one billion people of the world’s population are without access to safe drinking water, causing lack of safe water supply to rob women and young girls of dignity, literacy and time.

Safe water interventions have vast potential to transform the lives of millions of people. Water filtration tools not only provide safe drinking water but also have a positive health impact on the most vulnerable populations, including young children, pregnant women and those with debilitated immune systems.

Go here if you’d like to help end the safe water shortage by donating a LifeStraw Family. Read more about the LifeStraw here. Discover other portable water systems here.

Human-to-human contact

Check out PandemicFlu.gov/AvianFlu.gov for US government information.  Flu Wiki and Nature also have some valuable info.