Photo Credit:  Stanford - Wellsphere

It is estimated that over 5 million Americans are walking around with undiagnosed Diabetes. This means that they are experiencing damage to their blood vessels, eyes, heart, and kidneys that may be unrepairable.

Diabetes is defined as a disease that occurs when your body does not make enough or cannot metabolize insulin. A high level of glucose builds up in the blood, and it is very hazardous to your health. In its early stages, Diabetes has few symptoms, and a person can be suffering all kinds of serious health risks and not have a clue about it.

Often, the screening for this disease can only be done after the person fasts for 24 hours, and then the blood test used most often, right now, can be and sometimes is inaccurate. Blood sugar levels must be no higher than 125 milligrams per deciliter. Doctors recommend that each person have at least two tests done that show this high level of blood sugar, before making this diagnosis.

If you have tingling or some numbness in your hands and feet, extreme thirst, blurry vision, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, tiredness or any injury which will not heal; there is a possibility that you should be screened for diabetes.

A recent study has shown that people can go undiagnosed and be symptom free for about five years, and during this time, they are experiencing very damaging effects to their heart, kidneys, nerve damage, and many other serious complications.

Today it was announced that there is a new test for this dreaded disease. It is called the A1C blood glucose test and it measures blood sugar levels over a period of two to three months. No fasting is required and the results are more accurate than older tests, which have been in place for more than 30 years. Since blood sugar is very difficult to measure, and a test could have false results if a person had just exercised or if the sample of blood taken is kept in a room which has a cold temperature; the new process will give a much more consistent result in a more controlled environment.

If there is a history of diabetes in your family, or if you have had any of the symptoms that suggest a problem with your blood sugar, it would be a good idea to check with your doctor and ask to take this new test as well as the standard testing. Also, if you are overweight and rarely exercise, studies have shown that people who improve their diets, lose enough weight to be within the proper range for their age and body structure, and who walk or exercise for at least 30 minutes several times a week, can reduce their risk of getting diabetes by about 58 per cent.

Once again, being proactive, and getting tested if you want to have information that can protect your health, is within your power to do. It’s your life, your wellness, and your choice; and now there is better testing for a more accurate result.

Photo Credit:  mygardenblogs

In order to have less illness and be well more often, most of us seek knowledge and information about wellness programs, and we visit our physician for check-ups, with more regularity, because we know that being proactive about our health is one viable way stay healthy.

Recently diagnosed with a Vitamin D deficiency, a friend of mine was told that in the mid-west people do not get enough sunlight to sustain good levels of Vitamin D. In the winter months the sun is at the wrong angle to be a good source of this vitamin, and the few months of strong sunlight in the summer are just not enough for either children or adults to sustain the levels necessary to fight cancer, heart disease, and hormone imbalance, just to name a few health issues which this vitamin can affect.

People are staying out of the sun or using sunblock in order to avoid getting skin cancer, in every area of the country, and therefore optimal levels of Vitamin D are not being maintained by many of us. Doctors now report that 75% of our population is deficient in this vitamin, just at a time when research proves that D does fight colon, breast, prostrate and ovarian cancer.

If you are younger than age age 50, a healthy adult needs at least 400 to 800 IU’s of D daily, and older adults need up to 2000 IU’s, in order to effectively fight diseases, lower blood pressure, and regulate hormones that affect the blood vessels of the muscles in the heart.

You can get outside in the sun light for about 15 minutes, at least 3 times a week, if you have fair skin, and up to 30 minutes without sunscreen protection, if you have a medium or darker complexion. However, if you have a history of skin cancer in your family, it is best to find other sources of Vitamin D.

A safe option for everyone is to take Vitamin D as a supplement, and eat foods which are known to be D-rich such as milk, yogurts, soy, orange juice, mackerel, sardines, herring, egg yolks, and some cereals.

Each minute you spend in the sunlight allows your own body to produce 1,000 IU’s of Vitamin D. You would have to drink at least 8-10 glasses of milk to get that kind of dietary result, and it would not be nearly as effective against autoimmune disorders, or for building immunities against colds, moodiness and depression, or any of the other diseases that have been mentioned.

Now that you know what Vitamin D can do to help you maintain your good health, fight disease, stabilize your blood pressure, enhance your good mood, and strengthen your bones and immunities, what you must do is determine which source of this nutrient is safest for you. Sunshine is best, if taken in small doses, but supplements, and a Vitamin D rich diet are other viable sources too.

It would seem prudent to have your blood tested, periodically, to determine your level of D, and then supplement any low D number, with sun, nutritious foods, and in pill form.

Photo Credit:  Stillpoint

Recently, while filling my “always on empty” gas tank, I decided to follow a bright red YARD SALE sign, completely on an impulse, and found myself purchasing an old printing block drawer to hang on our home office wall and hold post-it notes, due dates, appointment reminders, receipts and more. The price was very reasonable, and I sold myself on the limitless potential of this truly charming antique.

Later, while hanging it over the old wooden desk, in the work space, another, more cogent thought occurred to me. Stepping down from the ladder and surveying the room, my senses were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of antiques and treasures that were taking up space in the room, and in my suddenly claustrophobic life.

There I was continuing to surround myself with things, relics, whimsy, fluff and stuff. Six months earlier I had made a pact with my family and resolved to de-clutter, purge, and downsize to a minimum any unnecessary belongings, in order to truly reduce stress, carbon footprints, and the work it takes to maintain whatever accumulates; to create more time for happiness, fun, family, and the priceless gift of an organized, shared life.  Friends, neighbors, co-workers, and peers of mine are all reaching for a better balance and more peace in their lives, along with gaining the time to focus on more loving relationships, and to accomplish something during the process of living, which brings not only a sense of purpose but of fulfillment.

Too much stuff, whether its material things, or emotional stress , dysfunctional interaction, or constantly worrying about money and the economy; all of these entities create chaos and rob us of the space needed for well-being.

Think back, I did, to the last time that you really felt good, centered, calm, focused and yes, truly blessed. It may take some time to recall these feelings. Remember the energy, enthusiasm and exuberance that accompanied them? I know that I need to count my blessing and begin to make more space for physical and emotional balance in my home and my head, don’t you?

Where does an uncluttered emotional life come from? People who possess it often write about it, probably because they want us all to feel it too!  Each person is unique and has different needs, goals and pursuits, but everything I’ve read suggests that a constant state on unrest, conflict and stress, which is internal, hinders and limits a person’s ability to find peace and well being.

Take these 5 Steps to identify and discern the kind of peaceful, centered life you desire and deserve:

1. Make time (even just a little in each day) to retreat from activity and “have-to’s” and just relax.
2. Communicate with others and truly listen. Talk with your kids about what’s important in life like:
   a. setting goals
   b. achieving them
   c. realizing that material things = just stuff
3. Live life in the present moment and don’t put off the activities that give you and those you love a sense of well being. Picnic, go camping, fly that kite, have movie night, be together.
4. Spend time when you are not working, on what MATTERS MOST to you. Define what helps you feel satisfied, whole, responsible, honest, and purposive. Self knowledge comes in many forms. You might realize that you need to be more spiritual, or mentoring. Maybe meditation will help you find contemplative peace of mind. Many people volunteer their time for charity work, others want to GO GREEN and raise awareness about global warming. Whatever gives you clarity, needs to be pursued.
5. Set boundaries that meet your core needs but give you a true balance for work, relaxation, interaction, and fun.

Letting go of things by donating, recycling or re-purposing, frees you and your family and makes the physical space and time to  focus on making your emotional space, as individuals and as a family, more balanced, healthy and happy. Everyone needs to feel whole and each of us takes a different path to find well being,

Making time to discover how to have a well balanced and organized life, physically and emotionally, that stimulates contentment with your work, relationships, home life, community and most importantly; teaching your children to be whole, truthful, caring, honest and how to lead lives that are purposive, healthy and happy, is really “HAVING IT ALL”, and everyone deserves this kind of clutter-free existence.

Photo Credit:  Picapp

Could things be more grim? You’ve had to take on some over-time work, if it’s offered, or maybe even a second job, if one can be found at all, to be able to pay your debts. Your Cd’s are earning about .03% , if that, and your 401K is no longer OK, and in fact it has lost all of its gains and then some.

Costs for food, fuel and fun are astronomical and continue to climb. Your mortgage is due and your pockets contain only some spare change. Your insurance premiums are rising along with your stressed out blood pressure. The government is printing money faster than the growth of ‘output’, which in effect devalues every penny. The term “hyper-inflation” is about to replace other over-used words that end in “ION” such as recession, depression and inflation.

All of these products of a bad economy lead you into having a rather shaky mind-set which imagines the onset of more catastrophes in the future. What good can be decried then, in support of any positive aftermath of this crumbling economy?

How can there be rainbows in an atmosphere in which rain drops continue to fall endlessly on your head? Well, psychologists and sociologists happen to have studied human behavior in times of adversity such as the ones we are experiencing today, and their results are awe inspiring. What they have found to be true is that the human psyche, when threatened by strong negative forces which are beyond its control, has a greater tendency to reinvent itself and become stronger, more vigorous, creative, healthier, and even more inventive and courageous during these events.

For instance, consider these 6 Good Things that happen in a floundering and Bad Economy:

1. Necessity stimulates invention. People make huge changes in their lives when they face job loss, or foreclosure, by re-training for new careers, cutting back on expenses, learning skills that will prepare them for future industry and market needs. Others start their own businesses, many of which are online and they can work from anywhere. Adversity stimulates the creativity needed to find new sources of income, and less expensive ways and places to live. Some families move in with extended family members or friends and begin to re-establish not only credit scores and bank accounts, but family ties and quality of living.

2. If you’ve managed to keep your job, you begin to destress and have a new found regard for the work you do, and your employer. You find yourself doing everything you can to make your worth felt by your boss and the company, in an effort to show that you’re committed to their success as well as your own. Your work ethics become stronger, and this can be mood enhancing, because you feel the blessing of being employed, and are able to feed your family, and pay your bills. What you once did routinely, takes on new value for you.

3. What you do for recreation may not be the “high-end” trip to Cabo San Lucas or nights out at fancy five star restaurants with your peers, or partner; but you now delight in reigning in the splurging behavior, to spend quality time with significant people in your life, perhaps at home or in peaceful, friendly, cost-effective environs.

4. Cutting back on your food bills by avoiding fast food restaurants, using coupons to stretch every dollar, cooking at home, and reducing your consumption of junk and processed foods, and rich and expensive desserts, forces you to eat more wisely and nutritiously. With conscientious shopping, you get more bang for your buck and your health improves when you cut calories and eat more fruits, vegetables, chicken and fish and soy products. Cooking and eating at home also have a positive effect on the quality of your family time spent together.

5. In an effort to save money and cut back on transportation costs, many people are walking, biking and car-pooling with friends and neighbors or co-workers. The exercise improves your health and the reduction in burned fossil fuels is good for the planet.

6. Going Green in an effort to squeeze the value out of every penny you do have, builds your confidence because you are taking control in an out-of-control economy. Dialing down the heat or up for the air conditioning, unplugging appliances that are not in use, cutting back on lawn watering and water conservation within your household, turning off lights in unoccupied spaces, and reusing or recycling wherever possible, will put your money to work for you while reducing your carbon footprint.

If you take the adversity which you are faced with and make it an opportunity to reinvent yourself with only great results in mind; rather than focusing on what has been lost, then there is a 98% chance that you will receive great benefit from the present “hyper-flationary” situation which you find yourself in right now.

Love, courage, self-confidence, education, faith, family, friendship,and health are all priceless possessions which belong to YOU, no matter what Wall Street or Washington D.C., or even the global economies are doing. There are many blessings and good things surrounding you, if only you make the time to take stock of your life, right now. It costs you nothing to count your blessings and be embraced by them. Adversity can be the seed for rebuilding and it definitely can lead to greater benefit.

Photo Credit:  wendybutlerberns

Are you finding yourself to be less than energetic as the small and beautiful miracles which a new day, experience, or season are offered up for your discernment? The it might be time for a little introspection. Taking five minutes or perhaps, 10, now and then, to examine the content of your “awake time”, can give you the information needed to lift your spirits and reduce the destructive and unnecessary stress in your existence, allowing for an improved quality of life, and big bursts of energy.

From the moment your feet hit the floor, in the morning, and the cozy comfort zone of your sleep-space is left behind; you get instantly called upon to perform chores, prep for work, interact with your significant other, kids, pets, parents and people in general. Ask yourself this question: “when in any 24 hour period of time, do you have a few minutes that are just for you?”

This is not a selfish question! Finding solitude and peacefulness for just a few minutes in each day, really does enhance your mood and enrich your life. Stress levels fall and physical as well as, mental health are improved. Solitude is a natural form of self-help that lets you sustain your happiness and improve your creativity without suffering from burn-out and losing the “YOU” in your lifestyle equation of : your work+your family+your obligations+your partner = Zero You.

Of course, the experience of togetherness at work and at home is not an unconscionable negative and life threatening element in your life. Togetherness, and working with others has many benefits, as long as you allow yourself short periods to take a physical and emotional TIME OUT.

The stress that accompanies never having time for yourself, is the culprit in this scenario. Consider these five factors and then see if you don’t crave a little solitude for yourself or some “me” moments.

1. Taking a brief break from the social stress of long working hours and the demands of a have-to lifestyle, significantly reduces stress levels that deplete your energy and lead to a diminished immune system.

2. Putting yourself first occasionally: a half hour walk, a five minute daydream, a quiet cup of coffee or tea consumed while you read your favorite Twitter or blog, will weaken the dreaded high stress levels you fight, and reinvigorate you.

3. Reducing the amount of mental bombardment you get 24/7, allows your mind to take a break from sensory overload. Being alone and quiet, allows your thinking to be less structured and rigid. Room is made inside your mind and body to decompress and unwind. You can become stifled by the pressures of living without release and solitude in your multi-tasking existence.

4. When you give yourself a short break from stuff….and stop problem solving whether it’s work related, social or emotional, balance is restored. Constantly meeting the needs which are ever present in your environment, without sufficient time to simply “vegetate”, will eventually make you inaccessible to everyone because you will be completely drained with nothing left to give.

5. Giving yourself a gift of “alone time”, whether it’s meditation, listening to music, napping, or whatever, and letting yourself “zone out” and relax, without having to concentrate at all, not only reduces stress levels; improves your physical and emotional state, rejuvenates you, and has long term benefits which allow for a healthy, happy YOU; it could just possibly add years to your life.

Stress produces a constant reaction from your body and mind. Your heart rate is elevated , as is your blood pressure. Over time, these factors can lead to serious health issues and interfere with the quality of your life. Hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses are not curable, only treatable. The emotional toll you take on your mental well being can lead to depression, and anxiety disorders. Choose to de-stress and avoid this needless suffering. Get to know yourself again by making the conscious decision to value yourself.

Those you work with will appreciate a happy and vigorous you, and you’ll be your best self for those you love, as well.

Photo Credit:  fivetowns

Research and the medical profession usually get the well deserved credit for the delaying, controlling or conquering of illness, or the onset of illness and diseases that plague us, and to that end, they extend and prolong our lives. Well trained doctors remove problematic growths, organs, and blockages with sharp scalpels; and they prescribe every conceivable type of vaccine, pill, laser or radiation procedure, as an arsenal for ridding our bodies of lethal virus, bacterial infection, and malignant growth, with ever-great accuracy and add years to our existence.

Many individuals who wish to benefit from a healthy and prolonged life without the help of our men of science and medicinal expertise, now more than ever, take it upon themselves to diet and exercise, with the same end result of prolonging their healthy lives; without the necessity of being diagnosed, prescribed pills, or subjected to scalpels, lasers and  miracle cures.

However, there is another “often overlooked” factor that recent research on aging has come to recognize, and it’s simply this: Being happy and having a positive attitude can literally add years to your life!

People who embrace life, smile, enjoy and accept others, wort’s, imperfections and all, are healthy and have stronger immune, circulatory and respiratory systems than people who are constantly stressed, angry, frustrated, and are awash with negativity. Studies of people which lasted well over 40 years, show that those who have a constant desire for unattainable wealth, fame, or possessions, or are frightened by the aging process, can seriously erode the number of years that they will live.

Positive people are sustainably happy, hopeful human beings who will gift themselves with longer and healthier lives. The gift of from 5-7 extra years on this planet to enjoy their cherished relationships, and have more sunrises and sunsets, and daily blessings and miracles, is due to their own choice and perception of approaching all challenges with a “can do” mentality.

What can you, or your naturally negative and stressed or hostile friends, neighbors, family members and co-workers do to get on the bright side to attain a longer life? Anyone can change their behavior patterns. There are many ways to make positive life-altering and relatively simple changes which will release you from high levels of stress, and help you to be more accepting of the things you cannot change; while you learn to accept the changes you must make to be happier, healthier and more productive.

Why not take these steps for a longer, better life:

1.VOLUNTEER and make a difference on the planet. Helping others not only helps you to increase the respect you feel for yourself; it actually works to stimulate your brain and immune system just as much as a good exercise program would do. If you enter into mentoring programs, such as teaching others to read, or some other skill, your own health and happiness will increase dramatically.

2. CREATE STRONGER SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. Having a connection to your community, neighbors, co-workers, extended family, and of course, within your nuclear family too, extends your happiness and improves the length of your life by years. People who get involved in projects that serve the greater good such as “going green”, Habitats for Humanity, Adopt-a-Pet, Clean Water for the World, and other programs that address social problems and try to resolve or at least improve them, have more personally satisfying longer lives.

3. BECOME MORE PEACEFUL AND SPIRITUAL. This is always a portal for longer life, happiness and contentment. Living a life of practicing a religion, meditating, or even if you just treat others as you would like to be treated, these good behaviors can add happy years to your life.

4. READ, STUDY, and LEARN a new skill or language, that challenges your mind with constant stimulation. Doing these activities is “a work-out for the brain”. The areas of your cerebral cortex that process language and imagery will remain strong and brain cell loss will diminish, when you are always testing yourself and making decisions that require cognitive reasoning skills.

When you engage in activities that are satisfying, interesting, challenging and which serve a greater purpose, you give yourself the gift of longevity. Putting your existence to the test by making a difference in the lives of others, is a behavioral change that will pay dividends for everyone.

Knowing that what you have accomplished will be of long-lasting value to others, even in very small ways, is enough to put a permanent and sunny smile on many faces. Your own positive behavior and attitudes can become gifts that you give to yourself and everyone you know.

Photo Credit :   teach-itc

Classrooms everywhere are embracing cyberspace to take advantage of the limitless learning possibilities, for our children. As early as the Kindergarten classroom, our little one’s are learning to use a mouse and a web browser. Teachers are showing their pint-size students the basics of simple searches, and of course, the children are enthralled with the graphics, color, interaction and virtual “magic” that is at their fingertips.

By Elementary School, nearly half of all students, grades 1-5, use the Internet for problem solving, math, science, and for developing the cognitive skills involved in following directions. Instructions for web browsing, file saving, e-mailing, bookmarking, and even the fundamentals of building a web site, have been methodically explained and explored. By age 8, our children are very much interested in surfing the web at home, to gain even more interaction and adventure. The home computer represents all kinds of possibilities to visit chat rooms, e-mail friends, and play on-line games. Often a tendency develops among cyber-savvy children, to spend hours on line rather than venturing out to the bricks and mortar playscapes of their own outdoor environment.

By Middle School, it is estimated that over 70% of all students are on line doing research , reading about current events, and completing assignments. There are more than 100 social networking sites available for them, and more are being developed every day. While computers are an incredible educational tool for teaching math, science, logical decision making, history, humanities, and an endless list of other subjects; without quality time spent in natural playtime and normal face-to-face interaction, a child’s normal development of cognitive and emotion skills, and physical strengths suffer.

Parents need to understand what the virtual world offers their children educationally, socially, and developmentally, and also, what risks children may be exposed to; and what they can do to make this experience a positive one.

These online safety basic tips should help to make the “information superhighway” a great place to share family time, and fun with interactive games and friends, while keeping children safe from unwanted and inappropriate subject matter and predators.

1. Every Service Provider of Internet Accessibility offers parental controls like blocking tools and filters that keep children safe. Find out about these tools and use them.
2. Place the computer in the area that the entire family uses, and make it a family activity.
3. Spend time with your children online and teach them the correct behavior, such as courtesy, kindness and respect for others. Never have them fill out personal profiles of themselves that could attract unwanted attention from predators.
4. Children need to know the dangers that exist in private chat rooms and on social web sites, just as they would out in the real world. Tell them that you will be monitoring their activities for their safety, and give them specific rules about where they can and cannot go online.
5. Do Not let your child download materials without your permission.
6. Keep a record of all screen/user names and passwords that your child uses.
7. Make the effort to supervise who they are interacting with online.
8. Keep the DO NOT TALK TO STRANGER’S RULE at work. Let children know that their online friends may NOT be who they say that they are.
9. Instruct your children to NEVER GIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION such as their age, sex, address, or phone number to anyone online.
10. Use the Internet Histories on AOL, Internet Explorer, and other browsers to see what your children have been doing on line. Put online accounts in your name, and know all pass words.

Understanding what is contained in your child’s, tween’s or teen’s virtual world is extremely necessary, for their well being. If you stay involved, and set clear guidelines of a proper and safe behavior, while giving him/her a fair amount of independence (for their age), cyberspace can be the incredible experience and teaching tool it was meant to be.

Parents must get involved and take the opportunity, now, to help their children balance their lives with the right mix of the virtual world; and the incredible dynamics that the real world, with its real “face time” with friends an family,  has to offer.

Photo Credit:  Treehugger

Need a better credit score in this chaotic and beleaguer economy? There is no “quick fix” for anyone. If you think that by reducing the number of credit card accounts you have “open”, you’ll instantly get into those illusive upper 700’s, the truth is that your score may actually decrease if you remove this source of proof that you are a good money-manager.

Perhaps you’ve decided that it’s time to be a money saver, and use very little if any credit. Although this is a wise idea, and we need to become a country of money savers, again; not using your credit cards will not improve your FICO score.

There are ways to improve your score:

1. Begin by getting your current credit score information. It may be obtained from Experian, Trans Union, Equifax or other reliable sources. If you do use Experian, remember that their version of this score is calculated by lower numbers.. representing a higher score (1-50’s is excellent). With Trans Union and Equifax, you will want 760’s and up, because if you’re looking for a good mortgage rate or even lower insurance premiums, you must be in the 760- and up range. The unattainable numbers these days are, of course, the 800’s.

2. Spend your money wisely. Creating a strong credit history is essential to gaining the lowest interest rates when you want or need to borrow money. To have a strong history you must pay off your debt, and credit card debt is looked at as a key indicator of your ability to manage money. Never use up or reach your maximum credit limit. In fact, stay as far from your limit as you possibly can. Today, people must begin to save, and live within their means. The less debt anyone has, the better their credit score will be.

3. Don’t miss a payment. Even if you can only afford to pay the minimum required amount and it will be eaten up by interest owed, pay and do not be delinquent, or your score will instantly fall at least 50-100 points. It can take a long time to repair and rebuild your score if you have fallen behind in your payments.

4. If you are considering borrowing money to purchase a new car, or if you want to apply for a mortgage in the near future, don’t open more charge accounts. This is a “red flag” to lenders that you have the intention to assign yourself with greater debt.

5. Do all that you can to keep your amount of money owed to less than 10% of the credit limit on any of your credit cards. Also, make wise choices about how and where you shop and use credit to pay for consumer goods. If you use your credit card to pay for groceries, you can lose between 20-30 points. Lenders would like to see that you allocate cash funds for these kinds of expenses. This is another key indicator of your money management skills.

It’s a good idea to sign up for e-mail alerts that remind you to track your payments and be aware of the due dates for monthly payments. If for some reason your interest rate is increased on your credit card, transfer the balance to a card with lower monthly payments and hopefully no transfer fees. This way more of your hard earned funds will be applied to the principle amount you owe, and your debt will be reduced in a much more timely manner.

The ability to boost your credit score can be yours if you: pay your bills promptly upon receipt, insuring that they will arrive well before the due date, stay in control of your debt and never run your charge accounts up anywhere near the limit, pay off debt as promptly as possible, and sign up to get your free credit reports several times a year and then review and correct any problems or inaccuracies.

Being a good money manager, and having a solid credit history and excellent credit score can help you to stretch your dollars, and get the best interest rates when or if you do have to borrow from a lender. Take the time to think through each purchase, and what effect, if any, it will have on your all-important FICO Score.

Photo Credit:  bodecology (da vinci)

Standing in line at my local pharmacy in order to ask the pharmacist a few questions about the generic equivalent for an expensive prescription that I was given, I inadvertently overheard a conversation between the pharmacist and another customer. This person was asking the pharmacist why he had gotten violently ill from taking pills for a sinus infection, from the remains of an old prescription that had not yet expired? The pharmacist said that many medications begin to lose potency at or near the expiration date, and can become ineffective and even dangerous if consumed.

When it was my turn, and I was receiving the information about generic medications, the pharmacist asked me rather rhetorically, “why don’t people ask their doctors more questions and get more informed to prevent mistakes, illness and suffering?”

After some thought, I decided to pass along to you, dear readers, these simple but effective actions which you can take to be part of your own sustainable wellness!

1. Maintain an updated list of the medications you take.

2. Discard old and unfinished prescriptions.

3. Maintain a personal list of your allergic reactions to food, medications and anesthetics.

4. Use one good pharmacy to provide your prescription needs/or show the pill provider a listof medications you are currently taking, to insure that there are no “problems” with bad drug-interactions.

5. Take your medications on a timely basis to get the “full benefit” of each dose. Either early morning or bedtime is best.

6. Take the entire prescription that your doctor has prescribed. Don’t self-diagnose. The strengthand number of doses are carefully calculated to cure your ills.

7. It you miss taking a dose, don’t just reach for twice as much medication. Check with your doctor.

8. Tell your doctor about all the medications you take, even the over-the-counter- stuff like sleep aids, antacids, vitamin supplements, herbs, and anything else.

9. Don’t ask for antibiotics as if they were a cure-all for every illness. Your doctor will know if you have a bacterial infection. If what you have is caused by a virus, antibiotics don’t work.

10. Know your family health history. If heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes were the cause of serious illness for your parents/grandparents, you are also at risk.

The best way to achieve sustainable wellness is to take the time to find a good Primary Care physician. Pick someone that you can establish good communication with and tell this person when you feel ill. Getting regular check ups, screenings, and any tests which allow you to prevent hereditary illness; and keeping copies of test results, inoculations, allergic reactions, and other pertinent information, will give you the tools you need to promote long-term wellness.

Your good health is worth the effort you make, and it’s also priceless for you!

Photo Credit:  artinyou

Simplicity is more than just a life style, or state of mind, it is a way in which you connect with the world. You know that you want to live life with more silence and less chaos and possessions that rob you of quality time. You strive for more than just ordinary participation, appreciation, and awareness of each daily experience in life. You crave and must have freedom from being over-committed, to work and the many other demands that 21st century living foists upon people.

Stress levels in peoples’ lives are intensifying along with anxiety, depression, loneliness, and the break down of relationships. The simplest ability you (all of us really) possess, no matter what your race, culture, or social background, is “to be kind” and live with an inner sense of well being. Living this way takes an understanding of how your own attitudes affect your reactions, values, behavior and emotions.

To learn more about how your behavior is impacting you and the people you interact with, is to gain self-knowledge, which lets you gain insight into how to be more positive, happy, enthusiastic, and kind.

You need to know :

1. Find out what matters to you the most: What do you dream about, wish for, what excites and satisfies you, and what makes you feel alive?

2. What generates deep happiness for you : What inspires, fascinates, and challenges you?

3. What affects your attitudes : What do you fear, dislike, feel angry and irritated about?

4. What can you learn from others: What do their different views, and ideas teach you?

5. What are you good at: What are your strengths, talents, innate abilities?

6. What does your being part of a group do to enhance, improve, or enlighten the other people? What effect do you have on the important people in your life?

Over time, if you put effort to amassing the answers to these questions, you will gain an enormous amount of introspection and self-awareness. It you want to bring simplicity, happiness and positive energy to your existence and other people’s as well, then it is necessary to know all that you can about yourself.

Self knowledge is the tool you need to gain the insights into your behavior that you can enhance and amend, in order to be more kind and caring, a better listener, and to have healthier and more successful relationships, friendships and passion for your work.

It also so teaches you to have a greater awareness of the small miracles that life offers you of a daily basis, such as unconditional love, freedom from want, a sense of being complete and a feeling of your own worth.

Once you begin to truly know who you are, what you believe in, and what it is that challenges and satisfies you,\; the behavior you engage in will become constantly more positive, sincere, kind, friendly, and appealing to others.

Many people fear self knowledge and don’t want to truly have insights into their behavior and emotions. They don’t understand that building a comfortable knowledge of yourself; changing what needs to become more positive, and learning to develop talents and gifts, leads a person away from negativity, and lets them be free to simply be who they really are.

Once you have a knowledge of yourself and your motivation, you learn to value yourself more, and can begin to gather the stimulus in life that helps you to be creative, and see the wonder and natural beauty that surrounds you in the world.

You will have more to give others and appreciate their insights and contributions to your life as well. You’ll begin to embrace and be more tolerant of differences among cultures, religions, and ethnicities, art forms, music and even silence will be more pleasurable, meaningful and absorbing.

When you begin to live more simply and know yourself in dept, with greater insights into your own identity; you and those you share your life with, will experience more honesty, act more intentionally, gain self esteem, see the good in others and be more loving encouraging and nurturing.

You will be living life with simple acts of kindness and happiness as your tools. They accompany a person who has self knowledge, courage and a need to be simply living each moment of life authentically.

Keep a journal of self discovery and begin to really know, like, appreciate and believe in the face you see in the mirror every day.