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Positive Thought

How Relaxing Music Can Help Your Health as Much as Your Mood

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Quote About Tranquility
I don’t have to tell you the benefits of relaxation – you’re too smart and they’re too obvious. If you’re like most people, though, you do need a reminder every now and again.

I just read on Everyday Health that listening to Mozart and/or Relaxation CDs at least 3 times a week could lower your blood pressure.

“In a study of 41 seniors living in retirement communities, researchers found that regularly listening to relaxation tapes reduced average systolic (the top number) blood pressure readings by 9 mm/Hg, while those who regularly listened to Mozart saw a 7 mm/Hg reduction in their blood pressure.” – HealthDay News, Everyday Health.com

When my daughter Brittany was 4 years old she was sick – and when Brittany’s sick, she’s completely sick. My dad, the typical doting grandfather came to visit and lovingly sat beside her on the couch. He asked, “How do you feel, baby doll?,” and she said, “A little bit good but a whole, whole bunch bad.”

That’s how it feels when we’re stressed out and anxious: A little bit good but a whole, whole bunch bad.

Relaxation feels like a tonic to a stressed out system. Not only does it make us feel better, relaxation strengthens our immune system, increases creativity, and stimulates our healing abilities. Relationship-wise, a relaxed person is much more pleasant to be around than a stressed out bundle of nerves.

Relaxation CDs and Classical Music are a couple of sure bets when it comes to unwinding. Everyone has his or her own favorite ways to unwind, but music is a universal favorite. Another one of my favorite ways is to grab my nearest cat and (depending upon the one grabbed) take part in one of the following escapes: Lie in the floor playing with her cat toys (Alexa), Rub and talk to her (Prissy, who turned 20 this month and lost her sight this year), sit and hold him like a baby (Bo), or listen to him sing while scratching his head (Svenn, and he really does sing well).

A word of caution about listening to relaxation or classical music cds: Be sure that you’re in a position where sleep would be a welcomed result and not a hazardous one. I was listening to a Relaxation tape once that featured sounds of a thunderstorm. Zzzzzzz. Fortunately I was at my computer desk and not in my car.

Finally, as Everyday Health points out, listening to relaxation cds and classical music is in NO WAY a replacement for blood pressure medications. It’s simply another way to help lower blood pressure.

And another avenue to feeling a whole, whole bunch good.

~ Joi

Quotes About Encouragement and Comfort

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Keep Going
Hurricane Ike has caused more damage and loss than any of us want to think about. He even reached us, here in Kentucky, this weekend with high wind storms that have left many without power for days. The worst tragedies, of course, are those who have lost their lives. A woman in a town nearby lost her life when a tree limb fell on her. She was outside making her three children come inside. One of the children broke his arm, and I wish with all my heart that were the only casualty that day.

Ironically, another tragedy involved people trying to save a young life. A man and his son drowned as they tried to rescue a ten year old boy. Like so many heroes, they didn’t walk away from their finest hour.

The local news wanted to tell me more stories, but my heart couldn’t take it. Suffice to say, you won’t hear me complaining about the damage done to our trees, roof, or about the time we were without power. I pretty much welcome the problems we’re having with cell phones and an internet connection that crawls at a snail’s pace. I know we’re amongst the very, very lucky ones.

My heart goes out to everyone who has been affected by the nastiness of Ike. And I guess that’s pretty much all of us in one way or another. If today doesn’t call for an extra dose of comfort and encouragement, I (literally) don’t want to see the day that does.  Below are a few quotes about encouragement and comforting others as well as yourself.

We live by encouragement, and we die without it – slowly, sadly, angrily. – Celest Holme

Count the garden by the flowers, never by the leaves that fall. Count your life with smiles and not the tears that roll. – Author Unknown

You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life. – Zig Ziglar

God is closest to those with broken hearts. – Jewish Saying

The heart is the only broken instrument that works. – T.E. Kalem

Sadness flies away on the wings of time. – Jean de La Fontaine

Sadness flies on the wings of the morning and out of the heart of darkness comes the light. – Jean Giraudoux

The more sympathy you give, the less you need. – Malcolm S. Forbes

To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own. – Abraham Lincoln

When love is lost, do not bow your head in sadness; instead keep your head up high and gaze into heaven for that is where your broken heart has been sent to heal. – Author Unknown

I’m Crazy About This George Bernard Shaw Quote

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George Bernard Shaw Quote
 

“Better Keep yourself clean and bright. You’re the window through which you must see the world.” – George Bernard Shaw

This George Bernard Shaw quote is an excellent reminder that everything – absolutely everything – begins and ends with us. It’s a reminder to keep our thoughts and hearts as clean and free from worries, anxieties, and negativity as we possibly can.

This is one of those great inspirational and motivational quotes that is worth – not just writing down…. but memorizing!

~ Joi

A Baseball Adage Worth it’s Weight in Gold

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I’m still somewhere over the moon over my beloved St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series.  It’s such a complete surprise – not because I didn’t expect it from the team.  You gotta love the chances of a team with Albert Pujols, Jim Edmunds, Scott Rolen, Chris Carpenter, and MVP David Eckstein.  Especially when they’re coached by a baseball guru like Tony La Russa.

No, I’m totally surprised because of the year I’d been having – I never expected or hoped for anything good to come out of it…. I didn’t think it was capable of anything right or good.  It’s just been one of those One D—… years – you know, one d— thing after another.  Forgive my language – I’m not a cusser except for the most extreme of circumstances, but some years beg for it.

This one did.

So how had 2006 been treating me? My mom moved on to Heaven without asking me (guess she knew what my answer would have been), we had a few shake-ups and near melt-downs in our home businesses, we lost two beloved cats, another one went missing for nearly a week, my van decided running wasn’t in its best interest, the dryer thought that looked like a sweet idea and followed the van’s lead, then – of course – there are the crazy little things that happen on the norm. The type of things you come to expect when you have a large family.

And a year without a sense of humor.

Last night – after the pit bull incident – I figured it out.  Life has simply forgotten how to be reasonable!  And a quick look at the news lets me know that it isn’t just my life – it’s life in general.  So if any of us look around for or long for that thing called normal, we’ll be sorely disappointed.

We’d be twice as likely to find the Easter Bunny.

I’ve been reading an amazing book by Buzz Bissinger.  It’s called Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager and it’s about the guru I mentioned earlier, Tony La Russa.  Kind of takes place inside his mind.  It’s a great, great book and I’d say so even if I didn’t bleed St. Louis Cardinal red.

At one point, Coach La Russa is talking about his line-up.  Due to a torn hamstring, the Cardinal’s gold glove winning Fernando Vina was sidelined for months. The Cards had to call up a young man named Bo Hart.  He filled in and did his best – his “heart” made Hart a fan favorite.  But he wasn’t Vina…. he was, well, far from it.

At the time the book was written, the Cards had an upcoming series with their rival, the Chicago Cubs.  The Cubbies had a really strong team led by Sammy Sosa who was still at the top of his game.

La Russa knew that Vina’s absence in the line-up, and on the field, was going to hurt.  Hart had no shortage of heart and determination, but he did lack Vina’s talent and experience. Which could be said of a lot of players. Vina was one of the best second basemen to ever play.

In one of the more telling paragraphs of the book, a lesson was given to all of us:

“….it’s another La Russa adage that you can’t dwell on what you don’t have and can take advantage of only what you do have, so Hart is starting and batting second.”

Spoken like a champion.

After the final game, as the celebration was taking part on screen and in our living room, I realized something pretty cool.  After my dad passed away, his favorite team in the world (and one of his reasons for getting out of bed in the mornings) the UK Wildcats won the championship the following season. I got my ridiculously HUGE love for the UK Wildcats from my dad and I know he would have been crying tears of joy just as I was.

My mom loved the Cardinal’s and she knew baseball terminology inside and out – she knew all the players and had a really good idea about their averages.  She also had a pretty healthy crush on Rolen.  And just like my dad, her beloved team won the very first season she was in Heaven.

And just like I did with my dad, I got to thinking, “What a shame she isn’t here to see it…”  – only to realize she had the best seat in the world.

Life goes on, doesn’t it? “You can’t dwell on what you don’t have… and can only take advantage of what you do have.”

Golden, Coach. Golden.

3 Nights in August

It’s Okay…

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Its OK to See things Your Way

….. to yell when your favorite team loses.

….. to yell when the team you hate wins.

….. to wear white during winter.

….. to cry whenever you feel like crying.

…..to laugh whenever you feel like laughing.

….. to swing at the park, whatever your age.

….. to sing out loud with the radio.

….. to lose your cool.

….. to look at the world differently from everyone else.

…..to let other people have their own opinions.

….. to disagree with those opinions.

…..to be headstrong.

…..to have a strong will. Seriously, how could it not be okay to be strong.

…..to say no for no other reason than you feel like it.

…..to simply say, “I don’t know.”

…..make mistakes.

…..waste a little time each and every day.

….. dress how YOU want to dress. Wear your hair how YOU want to wear your hair.

….. tell the world where you stand.

…..walk away from a fight.

….. spend more for clothes, jewelry, food, furniture, and shoes than others think you should.

….. take “me” time.

….. cherish “”me” time.

….. watch cartoons.

….. to see things your way.

….. sleep late.

….. not to go simply because you don’t want to.

….. ask for help when you need it.

….. to just be YOU.