Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift.

Written by an 83-year-old woman to her friend:

I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden.

I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time working. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the first Amaryllis blossom. I wear my good blazer to the market.

My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store and tellers at the bank.

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.

I'm not sure what others would've done had they known that they wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted. I think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, or for whatever their favorite food was. I'm guessing; I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and parents often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.

And every morning when I open my eyes, tell myself that it is special.

Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift.

Gratitude because.....

“We count our miseries carefully,
and accept our blessings without much thought."
~ Chinese Proverb

I have met countless people who can describe in detail why something is unpleasant for them, why something isn’t working or what is going wrong in their life, and yet their gratitude is only a single word or short phrase. Does being able to explain in detail the reason why you have gratitude for something make a difference in the energy behind it? I went on a quest for answers.

Some people I talked with had long laundry lists of gratitude,but they seemed to talk more about their problems and complaints. Others had shorter lists, and shared beautiful stories with me about each items on their list.

I met people who had similar items on their gratitude list and different responses to my question: “you are grateful for this because…..?”

One woman I met with had written “I am thankful for my health” on her gratitude list. When I asked her “You are grateful for your health because…..”, her answer was a sharp: “Well! Because I just am, and I am insulted to be asked why!.” It reminded me of when my parents would tell me do to something and when I asked why I heard: ” because I said so”. This answer didn’t help me to understand.

In contrast, I met with Nancy who also had written on her list “I am thankful for my health”. When I asked “she was grateful because….” what she told me was: “I am thankful I have my health, because that means I can take care of my kids. I brought these beautiful children in the world and they depend on me. When I have my health I can enjoy them and take care of them. And that make me feel such a deep feeling for love and life, that I call that a grateful feeling.” In order to feel the depth of her gratitude Nancy believes that she must be willing to know why she feels gratitude. Anything less, to her, is simply lip service.

I find that every time I do this exercise I find new feelings around each incident I list in Gratitude. Several other people shared with me how doing this exercise made a difference in their feelings of gratitude.

“He who knows others is learned;
He who knows himself is wise.”
~ Lao-tzu, Tao te Ching

For this Thanksgiving season, do this for yourself and see if there is any difference in the depth of your feelings of Gratitude.

Write down a few things on that you are Grateful for.
And then continue the sentence with: because…..|
See what you can discover with your because.

"The important thing is not to stop questioning our reasons
Never lose a holy curiosity.”
~ Albert Einstein

(c) 2009 excerpt from book: Stress Out, show stress who's the boss

Focus on the reasons to complain = stress

Focus on the reasons for gratitude = happy

More happy = less stress

www.StressOut-book.com

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Stress Out - show stress who's the boss

Stress is a constant in our lives, such a constant that we actually don’t realize we are under stress, we think it’s “just part of life.” Traffic jams, deadlines, eating on the run, we stress when we have bills to pay, job changes, endless chores and too many errands.

Our job has stress, not having a job has stress, it’s stressful maintaining your weight, having a relationship is stressful, not being in a relationship is stressful, family responsibilities are stress, and all those other demands on you can be huge amounts of stress. Not to mention those people who really get on your nerves.

Our energy is drained, and we feel helpless. Health surveys report that over 70% of people feel stress everyday. You are not alone.

But is there anything that can be done?

Yes! There is help!

Just like you, I needed answers. I certainly didn't have them all, in fact, on some days I didn't think I had even one. I searched.... listened to experts, created polls and surveys, talked to strangers - people like you and me.

This book is more than just my words or experience, it is a joint effort of several authors who share their expert advice and experience PLUS stories and testimonials from individuals interviewed during my extensive search for solutions to teach stress who's the boss.


Buy this book and benefit a charity
Read this book and benefit yourself

http://stressoutbook.com

Portion of proceeds benefit charity of your choice and you get to choose the charity and get the donation in your name.
Special discount through November 21st.

Helping children who lost a parent to breast cancer

Lorraine Jackson was diagnosed with very early stage breast cancer when she was 40. Because of the cancer’s early detection, she was able to be treated with radiation. Doctors explained that had this happened to her only 10 years earlier she would have needed a mastectomy.

At that moment Lorraine personally realized how important education and medical innovation are to effectively treating cancer patients.

Spark of Inspiration

During her treatment, Lorraine met other women undergoing treatment for cancer, many of these women were mothers. While fighting for their own health, these mothers were also concerned about their children, and their children's future, especially if they didn't survive the cancer.

This experience inspired Lorraine to start The Lorraine Jackson Foundation. Since 2005, the nonprofit has provided mentoring and college scholarships to children who have lost a parent to breast cancer through their Pearls of Hope Scholarship Program. All students who receive a scholarship from us are students who have a lost their mother to breast cancer. "One lost her mom when she was 11 months old, and another when he was 5. Some students have lost their mother while they were in high school, " Lorraine says.

To make the scholarship awards even more impactful, California Dollars for Scholars matches the amount of each scholarship awarded within their collegiate partner program. But the Lorraine Jackson Foundation doesn’t just provide financial support. It also pairs each student with a mentor who will stay in touch throughout their time in college and beyond.

Increased Need
There has been an influx of scholarship applicants this year, which Lorraine attributes to a growing need in the community to help children who have lost a parent to breast cancer. To date, scholarship recipients have gone on to matriculate at a variety of institutions from UCLA to the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

www.PearlsofHope.com

Pearls of Hope^® is a registered trademark of The Lorraine Jackson
Foundation, a California 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Pledge your donation to Pearls of Hope^®

Proceeds from Stress Out book benefit selected charities.

Buy the book -
benefit a charity
Read the book -
find benefit for yourself.

Contact us to get find out how to get your favorite charity in the Spotlight of the Week.

Life can be as sweet as you make it

How to find love in loss

Can we find sweet moments amid life changes? This month’s Spiritual Cinema Circle volume brings a message of love and hope within life’s difficult moments. Starring Kristen Stewart (Twilight) and Bruce Dern (Monster) the feature, Cake Eaters, is a coming-of-age drama all ages can relate to. This heart-felt story explores the new (and old) connections between two small-town families. A young woman with degenerative disease feels she has no time to lose in becoming a woman while a widower struggles to reconcile with his sons. Sparks fly as young love story begins and a longtime romance comes to light.

Now for a limited time only you can receive Cake Eaters and The Gift (the first original film series by Spiritual Cinema Circle, co-produced by Steven Simon) plus 2 additional films FREE* when you sign up for a trial membership of Spiritual Cinema Circle.

• Try the first month for FREE* and then pay just $21 (the price of 2 movie tickets) monthly!


• NO RISK — Keep the movies and cancel your membership at any time


• EXCLUSIVE — Get the filmmakers’ perspectives during engaging discussions with Stephen Simon (director and producer of Academy Award-winning What Dreams May Come)


• BONUS feature — Enjoy inspirational interviews with Louise Hay, Jack Canfield, Neale Donald Walsch and other thought-leaders, only available to club members

Start your free trial* now!

*You can cancel your membership at any time and the DVDs are yours to keep.

*Shipping and handling fees apply to Free Trial.
Membership is just $21 per month.

Spiritual Cinema, Inc. 833 W. South Boulder Rd. Louisville, CO 80027 Copyright ©2009 Spiritual Cinema Circle, A Gaiam Company

Happy National Women's Friendship Day

National Women's Friendship Month first began as National Women's Friendship Day in 1999 (celebrated the third Sunday in September each year).

Following the 10th anniversary of National Women's Friendship Day in 2008, it became apparent that one day just wasn't enough, so the celebration was expanded to the entire month of September beginning in 2009.

"All women find strength, comfort and inspiration from their girlfriends," said Melanie Schild, Executive Director of Kappa Delta and the brains behind the creation of the celebration. "In a time of increasing demands, we want to encourage women to take the time to nurture and celebrate these important relationships."

Plus a landmark study by UCLA suggests that friendships between women are special. They shape who we are and who we are yet to be. They soothe our tumultuous inner world, fill the emotional gaps in our marriage, and help us remember who we really are. But they may do even more. Scientists now suspect that hanging out with our friends can actually counteract the kind of stomach-quivering stress most of us experience on a daily basis.

"Until this study was published, scientists generally believed that when people experience stress, they trigger a hormonal cascade that revs the body to either stand and fight or flee as fast as possible," explains Laura Cousino Klein, PhD, now an assistant professor of biobehavioral health at Pennsylvania State University in State College and one of the study's authors. It's an ancient survival mechanism left over from the time we were chased across the planet by saber-toothed tigers. Now the researchers suspect that women have a larger behavioral repertoire than just "fight or flight.

"In fact, says Dr.Klein, "it seems that when the hormone oxytocin is released as part of the stress response in a woman, it buffers the fight or flight" response and encourages her to tend children and gather with other women instead. When she actually engages in this tending or befriending, studies suggest that more oxytocin is released, which further counters stress and produces a calming effect. This calming response does not occur in men, says Dr. Klein, because testosterone- which men produce in high levels when they're under stress- seems to reduce the effects of oxytocin. Estrogen, she adds, seems to enhance it. (Yay - finally estrogen is a good thing.)

The famed Nurses' Health Study from Harvard Medical School found that the more friends women had, the less likely they were to develop physical impairments as they aged, and the more likely they were to be leading a joyful life. In fact, the results were so significant, the researchers concluded, that not having close friend or confidante was as detrimental to your health as smoking or carrying extra weight!

Click these links to read more about the National Women's Friendship Month and the UCLA study.

Celebrate!!!!!

The Power of the Number 9

"Today is the ninth day of the ninth month in the year 2009, which means there's magic in the ethers all around you!

In Feng Shui, the number nine represents happy and prosperous conclusions that bring completion to certain cycles of our lives before embarking on a new path.

The reason that this number holds this mantle is because it's the last of the single digit integers before you get to double digits that can then be reduced back down to a single (10 = 1+0).

So, on the Feng Shui Magic Square called Lo Shui, the number nine is associated with transformation, recognition and rewards.

It's also the only number in calculation that will always reproduce itself. For instance, 9 x 2 = 18 with 1 + 8 hearkening back to the magic nine.

There's all sorts of mystery surrounding this number: on the ninth day the ancients buried their dead. The Romans honored their dead every ninth year and it was at the ninth hour that Jesus was said to have died. Hebrew teachings state the God has des cended to earth nine times. There are nine planets in the solar system and the nine is associated with mankind itself. It's the number of force and energy and its purest form denotes ambition and domination over all.

On this day try to do one or all three of these next things in order to gain the most magic you can from the energies swirling all around. Knock on your front door nine times, visualizing opportunities and advantages coming through that same space. Put nine yellow roses in the center of your home, and then light nine red candles in the 'Fame' area of your main floor.

Any one of these adjustments will put you in touch with the miracles surrounding this number, but enacting all three will put you in position of strength, power and fulfillment.

Here's to a day dedicated to the number nine, it's a total 10 in my book!

Ellen Whithurst
The (Self) Empowering Lifestylist
(one of the co-authors in the upcoming book: Stress Out)