What would you like to do?  Do you have ambitions to change the world?  Do you aspire to make a difference? Start with yourself.  Make a difference in yourself today.  In previous posts I’ve talked about mindset and making changes.  What does that mean to you?  Does it mean that you have to learn something else before you can act?  Maybe, but taking the time to learn something else may be a distraction from the underlying need to simply do something else.

Taking action, doing something, being different, are all surefire ways of interrupting your routine of sameness.  Are you going to sit there and wish your life were different? Or are you going to take some different (only small) steps and make your life different?  Sameness in action leads to sameness in results.

After I got laid off from my last job in a successful 35 year career, I knew I had to do something different.  Indeed, I could well have just sat around and waited for the phone to ring.  I also knew that that wasn’t going to happen — at least at my age.  So I stepped out and did something different.  I acquired a new skill set and I created a business that I’m proud of.

You can do that, too.  You don’t have to go into it fulltime.  You can start small — just a couple of hours a week, but those will be very important hours that can change your life.  Follow this link and see if there’s something that speaks to you.  Click here now to open the door to new opportunities.  Make a difference — to yourself, to your family, to the world at large.

So, let’s say that you want improve the quality of your Family Life. That’s an admirable goal, but you have to be more specific. You know that there are lots of things you can work on when it comes to the family, so you have to get specific. You will need to think about what part of the family relationship that you need to work on and what it will take for you to bring the family closer to your own ideal.

The second part of the law of attraction is to learn how to let go of the negative energy and replace it with positive energy. Get everyone on board with the idea. Describe the vision as you see it.  In GREAT detail. Know what it will look like when you have accomplished it.  Get your family members to see it, too. A group change is easier if everyone in the group can see where this is going.

If you would really like to use the law of attraction in your family, then you will have to get everyone to give it a chance. Have every member of your family use the law of attraction in a way to achieve the family’s collective goal. You will want to make sure that no one’s goal conflicts with another because it will end up in conflict with the overall goal. You will want to make sure that you consider the way the family reacts to the law of attraction theory.

Moving on to the third step of the law of attraction, you all need to take action on the goal.  That is, act like a family. This means that you will need to schedule your family nights and learn how to share time with each other. You will need to accept the fact that the family needs to start acting like a family. For example, you need to all sit down and eat dinner together. Talk at breakfast, work together, spend time together, and have some fun together. This is the step where you will need to act like you are family.

You will want to consider that there is a lot to do when it comes to working as a family and it is a long way down the road before your family is “perfect”.  Achieving family togetherness and happiness is not (usually) a one-step process.

Be patient and remind each other of the vision with each other often.  Keep the vision alive.  It’ll work.  You’ll see.

If stress is a particular problem in your family, have a look here.

The first and the most important thing is that the parent take responsibility for his or her duty to making a solid family life for the children.  This means acknowledging the reality of the situation squarely.  If this is a new situation, the children are usually emotional, hurt, and disturbed about whatever has happened that has resulted in this type of situation.   They often blame themselves for the situation.  Whether it is due to death or divorce, the single parent needs to take into account the effects of such trauma on the kids.  Early on, it may be tough for the single parents to acknowledge, but they have to understand that their children harbor emotions that need to be dealt with.

A single parent can always help the kids grow into successful human beings by understanding their needs. Kids will demand more time than you may have or want to give, and they may well be a bit less understanding about the conflicts that you yourself are facing. Even so, you can make them feel loved and protected.

For a robust and healthy family life, you need to

• Make time for your children. You can arrange picnics and outdoor activities with your kids so that you can have fun together. This kind of fun will strengthen your family ties.
• Talk to them about their problems. If they are under the stress of the situation they will like to talk to you about it. Make them trust you. Once you develop this type of relationship with them you will be able to win their trust and overall you will be able to create a strong family unit for your children.

Deal with your stress or theirs.  Click here to find out how.

Regardless of your role in the family (father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or sister), you need to do everything in your power to be a good family member.  By concentrating on making yourself the best person you can be, you can singlehandedly be the difference that makes the difference in the family dynamics.

First and foremost, cut everybody some slack.  (Yes, even you control-freaks!) Learn to put up with some of the irritating things that your family does.  Rap music?  Classical? Heavy Metal?  Too loud? Not loud enough?  Just because you have needs doesn’t mean that you get to bully someone.  (That goes for parents and kids!)  We all have needs.  There are lots of ways to deal with this.  Check your attitude at the door. If the music is too loud, negotiate.  Compromise.  Make a deal.  Go where the music isn’t.  Heck, you could even learn to like it!

If your spouse has habits or preferences when it comes to cleanliness (or a lack thereof), start by acknowledging that you have differences.  Don’t expect him or her to change just because you want it so.  And don’t insist on being “right” or superior.  If you want the house to be cleaner, then do it yourself.  Maybe your spouse will catch on to your preference and agree to pitch in.  If he or she doesn’t, don’t turn it into a weapon to beat them with.

Take the time to become closer to your family and get to know them better. Plan family outings, and eat dinner together on a nightly basis.  Keep up with what is going on in the lives of your children and spouse. Take it all to heart, don’t just make empty small talk. Engaging in conversation over things that you find “trivial” may feel like a futile exercise, but by showing personal interest you will create bridges and make a stronger relationship.  And who knows, you may even learn how to care about those “trivial” things because they are important to someone you love.  Build some fun into your work activities, and build some work into your fun activities.

Family life is always something that can be improved.  If you have been having troubles lately, take steps now to prevent things from getting worse.  It may take some effort on your part, but you can get your family back to a healthy point, and from there you can live with your family in happiness and peace.  If you think that things are beyond your ability to act, talk to a family therapist or counselor to get some advice or guidance.

When your family life is not peaceful, disastrous results may be just around the corner.  It’s only common sense.  The possible outcomes include dysfunction, divorce, and trouble with the law, to name a few.   Stress is always a sign that something needs attention.  Click here to find out how to deal with stress.

So, exactly what is this “Law of Attraction”? The law of attraction is an ancient idea based on something that Buddha said. In a nutshell it is that you create your own reality through the energy (intention) you emanate.   Another way to say it is that you get in life what you’re looking for.

Some say that the idea that we create our reality is “preposterous”.  Others say that it cannot be proven.

I respectfully disagree.  The nature of my disagreement with such naysayers may split hairs, but they are important hairs to split.

We create our reality every moment of every day by the choices we make.  If I choose to act on one thing and not act on another, I’m taking steps that will have a direct (and potentially dramatic) impact on my life.  For example, if I choose to ignore a stop sign or red traffic light when I’m driving my car, I am creating a “high-probability” chance of a different reality from the alternate reality of coming to a full stop at the appropriate place.

Now, if I make an intention (an intention is nothing more than a pre-made set of choices), and if I take actions consistent with that intention I am creating a reality for myself.

At the level of the brain, we have what is called the reticular cortex.  The reticular cortex is our attention getter AND it is programmable.  For example, your reticular cortex is programmed to respond when it identifies that someone is calling you by name.  So, when you’re at a party and there’s lots of ambient noise.  You could be shouting through the din in an attempt to make conversation.  But if someone in the room whispers your name, your reticular cortex will have you up and looking around in an attempt to figure out who called you.  Your conscious mind may wonder, “Did I just hear something?” but you have already responded to it before that question was formed.

The cool thing about this is the programmable feature.  Have you ever noticed that when you decide that you want to buy a new car, say a SmartCar, you suddenly see them all over the place?  Or when you learn a new word, like “crepuscular”, suddenly you’ll hear it in two or three places.  That’s the newly programmed reticular cortex.  It’s not that the SmartCar or “crepuscular” weren’t there before, it’s that you hadn’t programmed yourself to respond to them.

SO… this means that once you’ve added a new pattern to your programmable reticular cortex, it’s going to be looking for things that match the pattern. Thus, if you want to improve your spiritual growth, or your relationships, or your money situation, or your family life, you drop it into your reticular cortex, and you’ll be seeing things that might have been there all along, but that you weren’t attuned to.

In the New Testament, in the 11th Chapter of Luke, Jesus says, “ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  Sure sounds like programming the reticular cortex to me.

Wherever you go in this world, the family unit exits. There are different family types in different parts of the world. Not all the parts of the world experience joint families through out their lives. For example in the developed countries of the west it is very common that as the kids grow and they complete their education, they move to the places where they want to live and work. They remain in connection with their siblings but they do not necessarily live at the same place. On the other hand, in many Asian countries you observe that family units exist for a much longer time frame. In these countries people live in the same house with their sons and their families.  So you see that although the concept of the “family unit” exists in all parts of the world and all the cultures promote it, different cultures define the time frame  and scope of the family quite differently.

Your family ties are very important. Your family life will shape you as a person. What what you become in the future is very much dependent on your family life.  Your family of origin shape your values, your beliefs, and indeed your whole world view.  A peaceful family life will promote one set of values and behavior, while a chaotic family life can produce something quite different.

When you know that you have your parents and the siblings on your side and that you are not alone on the rugged road of life, it becomes easier to bear all the pain. When you face the rough and tough of life together, you are able to understand each other in a better way. You are there to comfort each other in the time of need.  It can be a very comforting thing to know that even if you are in trouble and you are facing some rough times, there are people who care about you and who can accompany you.  Belonging to such a protective environments can give you courage when it comes to facing the difficulties of life.

Family life is a major factor which shapes your personality.  Your family life combined with your experiences and the way you interpret them are primary factors that affect your personality as you grow up.  Later, when you are the adult of the household, your childhood family experiences definitely influence how your own family will function (or not).

Obviously, many things influence the dynamics of a family.  These include:

• the relationship of the parents to each other – how they love and support each other will be a model for the children
• the number of children – each child will have a different perspective on any event.  Have you ever noticed the different way people recall a particular incident years later?
• the economic conditions prevalent at the time – Often the oldest child is born when the parents are young and just starting their adult life, when money is typically scarce.  Younger children are born later in life when maybe the parents are earning more money.
• the health of the family members – if a family member has a major health issue that requires a high percentage of attention or financial or physical resources, the family members will each deal with that differently.
• the physical environment – Obviously, someone who grows up in a city will have a different world view than someone who grows up in a jungle.
• the psychological environment – harsh judgments, sharp reprimands, and emotional distance will produce an effect different from compassion, forgiveness and unconditional love.

A history of stress doesn’t have to mean a destiny of stress.  To change your destiny, click here.

Below is a list of things you can do to get your stress to a functional level.

1. Acknowledge some stress is good – An appropriate burst of energy will enhance your performance at the right moment. Use stress wisely to push yourself that little bit harder when it counts most.
2. Avoid people who cause stress – Learn to identify stress in other people’s behavior.  Just because they are stressed doesn’t mean that you have to be.  Limit your contact with them.
3. Learn from people who have it figured out – Look at people manage their stress well and do what they do.  Look for people who stay calm in crazy times.  What do they do that’s different?  Don’t just figure it out on your own.  Ask them.
4. Breathe – Your body gives a relaxation response when you use deep breathing.  Breathe in slowly (on a five count).  Hold for a five count.  Breathe out on a five count.  Repeat this pattern until you feel your heart rate slowing and you feel yourself getting “normal”.
5. Stop negative thought patterns – Stress often happens because our minds create a worrisome situation for some time out in the future that our body responds to with a fear reaction.  It funny, but usually the very thing we worry about is the thing that does not happen.  Observe your thoughts.  Stop them when you start to create negative images.
6. Know what sets you off – What makes you explode?  What’s the trigger?  Where’s your hot button?  Knowing what causes you to stress is powerful information because you can take action against it and make it less powerful.
7. Take care of yourself PROACTIVELY – Get the proper amount of rest.  Eat well.  Take some exercise.  If you take care of yourself, your body will be able to defend you from stress even before you know it exists.  If you don’t take care of your body, you’re actually adding more stress into the system.

For a really good way to let go of stress fast, click here.

I needed to look up the formula for converting Fahrenheit to Centigrade.  Actually, I already knew.  I’ve known it since Mrs. Paul taught it to me in sixth grade.  What I really wanted was the precise value of one scale in terms of the other.  See, we’re in the middle of monster heat wave in Southern California (due to the Santa Ana winds) and my English wife doesn’t yet quite grasp our use of Farhenheit.  I took a pretty good guess at the converted value, but I wanted to be sure.

In an act of blind optimism, I typed “110 degress F in C” into my Google Search bar.  It instantly responded “110 degrees Fahrenheit = 43.3333333 degrees Celsius”.  The gang at Google had anticipated me yet again.

I was impressed that I didn’t have to be more specific, and my wife was impressed at how freakin’ hot it was (in terms that she could understand).

Google Search bar seems to have formulas for converting any unit pretty much into any other.

Way cool.

Because we are physical creatures with physical needs, we respond largely to what we put into our systems.  As with many medical issues, a diet is a great place to start as a way to manage or treat depression. A well-balanced diet is key to staying happy and healthy, especially where depression is concerned. How many times have you heard that we are all supposed to drink 8 glasses of water per day?  Yet how many of us actually do that?  Proper hydration is essential to proper brain function. This is simple, easy, and inexpensive to do.

What about fresh fruits and vegetables?  How many do you consume in any given day?  Some sources say that we need 5 or more per day.   Below are a number of natural remedies and home remedies for depression that are based on healthy foods.  The cool thing is that you don’t have to more fruit and veg (unless you want to).

Asparagus has a long history for aiding with depression. The root of an asparagus is the area that you will want to look at. Squeeze or crush the bottom root of a piece of asparagus. If properly done, a powder will appear. This powder should be consumed daily in amounts of one or two grams each day.

Another food item believed to provide some relief from depression is apples. Apples are known for their vitamin B and potassium, which are often provided clinically in cases of depression. Although eating an apple each day is sufficient for many, there are others who suffer from depression who recommend supplementing the apple with milk and honey daily.

Vitamin B can also help those suffering from depression. We’ve already covered apples. Other foods with vitamin B include eggs, green vegetables, whole grain foods, and fish. Vitamin B is easily absorbed from foods, yet you may also want to examine natural vitamin B supplements.  Using supplements can give you a well-calibrated dosage that is easily adjusted.

Rose petals are used in individual cases to treat depression. When using this natural remedy for depression, you can make a tea by taking a small number of rose petals and mix them in boiling water. Once cooled, drink the mixture. Add sugar if you like.  If you pick the petals yourself, make sure they come from plants that have not been treated with systemic insecticides.  Natural, herbal teas are another great alternative.

Another natural way to treat or manage depression is to use mediation. Meditation and relaxation are two proven successful ways to cope with depression. For many individuals, sitting in a quiet room with their legs crossed, simply inhaling and exhaling is enough. For others, they choose to first learn the proper ways to relax and meditate. This is easy to do online or with an instructional CD.

A relaxing bath is another way to get short-term relief from depression. Although a bath may not provide permanent relief, it is a pleasant experience that shouldn’t be overlooked. When using a bath to manage depression, many recommend a warm water bath. For the best chance of relaxation, baths should be taken in a quite room that is dimly lit.  Candles are a nice touch.  Enhance the relaxation with some soothing music.

These are only some of many natural and home remedies to use when you feel depressed.  Recommend them to any close friends or family members that you know. With that in mind, as previously stated, it is important to remember that depression can also be chronic. This is when professional assistance should be sought.

My personal belief is that stress is always behind and underneath depression.  You can learn a lot eliminating stress here. When that’s dealt with, you can find a great tool for helping with depression when you click here.

Okay, sarcasm aside, it only makes sense that with regular exercise you’ll experience that your quality of sleep is improved and that the transition between the cycles and phases of sleep become smoother and more regular. There’s also a separate benefit of exercise in that if you keep up your physical activity during the day, stress and worries may be easier to deal with.  They won’t loom so large, and so sleep is easier.

Research and studies indicate that there is a direct correlation between how much we exercise and how we feel after.  During exercise, the body releases endorphins (nature’s “feel good” chemical) and your spirits brighten.  So, if you increase your physical activity during the day,

1. You’ll feel good from the endorphins, and
2. You’ll burn off energy so that you aren’t buzzing with energy at night as you sleep.

You already know that your body requires a certain amount of physical activity in order to keep functioning in a healthy manner. (How many years have people been telling you this?) But the thing is that the timing of exercise is important, too.  You do not want to be exercising in the three or four hours before you go to bed.   It just messes with you.  The ideal exercise time is in the late afternoon or early evening. You want to make sure you expend your physical energy long before it is time for your body to rest and ready itself for sleep.

It’s very beneficial to exercise three or four times per week for a period of 30 minutes or so.  I would recommend setting a goal of 6 times per week every week. That way, even if you miss on or two, you’re still exercising four or five times, right? Stick with me here.  Let’s say you set a goal of exercising only once or twice a week and then something comes up (and it always does) to prevent one of your workouts.  With your goal set so low, you’ve lost 50 to 100% of your planned workouts. On the other hand, if you shoot for 6 workouts a week and you miss one, you’ve lost out on only 16%.

Exercise can be something simple — like energetic walking. If you prefer, you can include strenuous activities such as running as well.  Just do it.  The goal here is to increase your heart rate and strengthen the capacity of your lungs. In doing so, you will improve your overall health and help yourself emotionally as well.

Along with running and walking there are several other physical activities that you can add to your daily life to increase your level of physical activity. If you are battling insomnia, you’ll find aerobic exercise to be the best.

Your goal with exercise is to increase the amount of oxygen that reaches your blood stream. Overall, there are many types of aerobic exercise for you to choose from. The activities include running, biking, using a treadmill, dancing, and jumping rope.

There are some non-aerobic exercises that you may find beneficial to help you solve your insomnia.

Yoga
Yoga is a system of exercise that stimulates your nervous system, especially the brain. In yoga, breathing techniques and yoga postures increase the blood circulation to the brain, which in turn promote regular and restful sleeping patterns. The regular practice of yoga relieves tension and stress.

Tai Chi
Tai Chi is another ancient art of breathing and movement that was developed by the Chinese monks. The movements are slow, precise, and deliberate, which is ideal if you have joint pains or you are unable to participate in high aerobic exercises. Research has shown that Tai Chi help with insomnia by promoting relaxation.

Let’s say you don’t have any time to exercise on a regular basis, then play some games on yourself.  For example:

1. Sneak tiny moments of activity into your schedule. Whenever possible, you should take the stairs instead of the elevator, and you’ll find that little things like that will do wonders for your body.
2. You should also park your car around the corner and walk that extra block or two to get to your destination.

Get creative.  Heck, take the long way to the bathroom at the office.  Every bit helps.

The numerous small things can add up to increase the activity in your life. Your overall goal here is to have a healthy and well balanced life – with plenty of sleep.

For assistance with sleeping, check out the cool things you’ll find when you click here.