Flip Your Script

I recently came across a series of video clips from a lecture by Raj Persaud about Happiness and How to Be Happy.  He has some interesting things to say about the topics of Type 1 (Hedonistic happiness) and Type 2 (Cognitive happiness). For instance: happiness is biologically wired into our brains to be a reward mechanism for activities that have an evolutionary purpose (think sex). He also says that the secret to happiness is pursuing mild contentment and that the pursuit of intense happiness experiences can actually be … Continue Reading

Life is full of simple things that make us happy. Exercise is one of those. Few things can clear you head and make you feel good all over than a good sweat from physical activity. Getting into a exercise regimen helps your body but also all other aspects of your life as you begin to feel better and get into a baseline level of fitness.

Even if you have not worked up a sweat from exercise since your freshman PE class you can start exercising today. Start off with small defined goals such as walking 1 mile 3 days a week for … Continue Reading

My cursory search of the phrase to “Keep your nose clean” made references to generally staying away from trouble and evolved from the British way of saying keep one’s hands clean by avoiding masturbation.

I have made my own simple interpretation from my experience being a father of young children. You see, babies don’t know to blow their noses when stuffed so you have to squirt saline solution then suction all the gooey stuff out. Not fun but basic care that must be taken.

So I  started using saline for allergy symptoms then expanded to nightly in the dry winter months. For … Continue Reading

If someone who is cold burns down an orchard to stay warm for a night, they will likely have to cope with hunger the next day…

“Since the bowl is exactly the right size, we always know just how much to eat. We never overeat, because overeating brings sickness to our bodies…. We see that people who consume less are healthier and more joyful, and that those who consume a lot may suffer very deeply…. Mindful consumption brings about health and healing, for ourselves and for our planet.”

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Dr. Mark Hyman is one doctor who is part of a movement that is on the cutting edge of an entire shift in our scientific model of disease. It is called systems medicine, or functional medicine.

First, we must understand how everything in our environment interacts with our genes to create health or disease, especially our diet and nutritional status. Air, water, microorganisms, exercise, trauma, psychosocial factors, environmental toxins and radiation also affect our genes and our health.

Second, we must understand how our hormones and brain chemistry influence nearly every aspect of our health, why they get … Continue Reading

Michael Pollen, author of “Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food” talks to Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! about the current food/health crisis.

The huge take-away from his latest book is “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.” This is a great mantra to live by each day. I try to eat something raw and fresh (fruits and veggies, not sushi) at each meal. I have found that eating an apple or grapefruit first cuts my appetite so I don’t overeat everything else. Plus it helps me avoid my main dietary weakness: White Cheddar Cheeze-Its!

See and hear Michael’s interview at … Continue Reading

I have 4 small children. This means I have no spare time for myself. This takes its toll primarily on my mind development and my physical fitness since I rarely get the chance to read or workout these days. I suppose I could get up at 5am for a run but as yet haven’t been able to set my body clock for fitness at that time of day. So I have to find creative ways of sneaking in a dash of cardio and a pinch of strength exercise. Here are a few things I do to (barely) maintain a decent … Continue Reading