Make laughter a natural habit. And there are good medical reasons for this.
When you laugh, the body releases hormones and other beneficial chemicals which can help alleviate anxiety, lighten depression, and heal the body itself.
Source: Susan Smith Jones, Choose to Live Each Day
Fully, Celestial Arts Publishing, P.O. Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707, U.S.A.
Being prone to anger is one of the toughest habits to overcome. It sometimes causes more problems than it solves. Here are seven steps in dealing with anger from The Complete Guide to Your Emotions and Your Health:
Source: Emrika Padus and the Staff of Prevention Magazine,
The Complete Guide to Your Emotions and Your Health. Rodale Press, Emmaus,
Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems we face today. Here are some suggestions you can teach your children:
Source: The Earthworks Group, 50 Simple Things You Can Do
to Save the Earth. Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., Mill Road, Dunton Green Sevenoaks,
Kent TN13 2YA, U.K.
Spiritual growth involves a process beyond our conscious mind and emotions. It runs deep and its effect is permanent. The changes are fundamental, and can sometimes be difficult to go through. Among other things, it involves character change, change of outlook, and change in the quality of one s consciousness.
In going through such growth, there are some characteristics in the process that may help a person if he or she is aware of them. Here are four characteristics identified by Dr. Susan Jeffers in her book End the Struggle and Dance with Life:
Source: Dr. Susan Jeffers, End the Struggle and Dance with
Life. St. Martin s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010, U.S.A.
Here is a reminder for perfectionists and those who dare not dare: If you haven t made any mistakes lately, you must be doing something wrong!
This is the advice of Dr. Susan Jeffers, who reminds us further that:
Source: Dr. Susan Jeffers, End the Struggle and Dance with
Life. St. Martin s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010, U.S.A.
Children are the hardest hit when parents separate or divorce. Couples should always take this into primary consideration and weigh it against personal needs and conveniences. But when the separation is inevitable, here are some suggested steps in minimizing emotional injury in children: From the book Stress-Proofing Your Child by Sheldon Lewis and Sheila Kay Lewis:
Sheldon Lewis and Sheila Kay Lewis, Stress-Proofing Your
Child. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10036, U.S.A.
Here are seven ways to manage stress according to the book Take Control of Your Life, A Complete Guide to Stress Relief:
SOURCE: Sharon Faelten, David Diamond & the Editors of
Prevention Magazine, Take Control of Your Life. Rodale Press, Emmaus,
Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
There are many tested approaches that will help if you find yourself arguing with another person over an issue. Here are three tips from Tom Rusk in his book, The Power of Ethical Persuasion:
Susan Smith Jones, Choose to Live Each Day Fully,
Celestial Arts Publishing, P.O. Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707, U.S.A.
How many times have you been in trouble just because you forgot something: where you kept an important document, what you want to say in a speech, names, errands, etc.
Here are some suggestions from The Complete Guide to Your Emotions and Your Health:
Source: Emrika Padus and the Staff of Prevention Magazine,
The Complete Guide to Your Emotions and Your Health. Rodale Press,
Emmaus, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Those who drive in congested cities are familiar with the feelings of frustration during a traffic jam. Famous peace advocate Thich Nhat Hanh says that such situations are ideal for practicing mindfulness or awareness.
While we are driving, he says, we think only about arriving. Therefore, every time we see a red light, we are not very happy. The red light is a kind of enemy that prevents us from attaining our goal. But we can also see the red light as a bell of mindfulness, reminding us to return to the present moment. The next time you see a red light, please smile at it and go back to your breathing. Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. It is easy to transform a feeling of irritation into a pleasant feeling. Although it is the same red light, it becomes different. It becomes a friend, helping us remember that it is only in the present moment that we can live our lives.
Source: Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step. Bantam
Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10103, U.S.A.
In looking at solutions for world peace, certain themes must be kept in mind that can simplify the issues and allow us to focus on the core problems. Here are themes that author John Huddleston considers important in his book Achieving Peace by the Year 2000:
Source: John Huddleston, Achieving Peace by the Year
2000. Oneworld Publications Ltd. 185 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7AR, United
Kingdom
Psychologists and doctors recognize loneliness as a serious cause of ill-health. Here are some steps in coping with loneliness according to Who Says You Can t.
1. Face your loneliness. When you find yourself alone, see it as an opportunity to discover yourself. The best way to cure it is to express yourself without embarrassment.
2. Take practical steps. Relax and chat about something not related to your work. Be involved in some small group that has a definite purpose. It could be church related, hobby or civic action.
3. Share. Try to share your thoughts with others.
4. Learn to develop close relationships and friendships with people you can trust.
Source: Who Says You Can t by Solar Publishing
Corporation, 3rd Floor, Quad Alpha Century Bldg., 125 Pioneer, Mandaluyong, Metro
Manila, Philippines
Try this experiment with your husband or wife.
Ask your spouse to give you a list of things that would make him or her feel more content. If your spouse is interested, give him your list too. Examples of things in the list can be: Help me wash my hair; open the door for me; take me out to dinner so I won t have to spend time in the kitchen.
Try to do at least 3 things in the list every day for your spouse. Acknowledge what your partner did also and show appreciation.
Susan Smith Jones, Choose to Live Each Day Fully,
Celestial Arts Publishing, P.O. Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707, U.S.A.
How many times have you been unhappy because you think someone insulted you?
Learn from a Chinese proverb that says it is better to ignore an insult than to have to respond to one.
You have the choice on how to respond to the negative attitudes of others. You can make it your own negative states or not.
This does not mean that you allow anybody to abuse you. But you may find that it s much more exhilarating to keep your head clear for contemplating the big picture, and not to sweat on the little stuff.
Source: Elaine St. James, Inner Simplicity. Hyperion, 114
Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011, U.S.A.
Oscar Hammerstein II, co-author of Oklahoma, The King and I, and South Pacific, inserted an advertisement in the Christmas issue of Variety where actors and producers display their successes. Hammerstein omitted all his triumphs. He only listed five failures before Oklahoma, stating at the bottom in big letters, I did it before and I can do it again.
J. Maurus, Anecdotes of the Great. St. Paul Publications,
2650 F.B. Harrison, Pasay City, Philippines
Certain words can stop listening and communication. When we deal with children, employees, friends and others, we should note that these words may deny validity to the feelings and self-esteem of the other person. Here is a list drawn up by Mendel Lieberman and Marion Hardie, in their book Resolving Family and Other Conflicts:
Source: Mendel Lieberman and Marion Hardie, Resolving
Family and Other Conflicts. Cymbidium Books, 13393 Souse Lane, Saratoga, CA
95070, U.S.A.
Here are some points on how to teach courage to our children from the book Teaching Your Children Values.
1. Praise their attempts. When a child takes a step and makes a try, he deserves bounteous praise, whether there was any success or not. Especially praise moral courage not going along with others who were doing something wrong, telling the truth when a lie would have been easier, and so forth.
2. Give your children a parental model for courage. Children are great imitators, so they want to behave as adults do, particularly if their models are their own parents.
3. Clarify the difference between courage and loudness, and between the lack of courage and shyness. Teach them to stand up for their own rights as well as others . Explain with them about quiet courage the courage to say no to something that is wrong, the courage to say hello to a child who has no friends.
4. Teach children to cope with their fears. Allow your children to have their fears, to identify the causes of their fears, but encourage them to believe they are brave and strong to live through these fears.
It is important for children to learn, to think through a problem, develop alternative solutions, analyze the potential consequences, and pick one that looks best.
Sources: Linda & Richard Eyre Teaching Your Children
Values Fireside, Simon & Schuster Building, Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the
Americas, New York, New York 10020, U.S.A.
A study in Utah State University found that exercise helps improve memory.
Three groups of people were tested. One did water aerobics three times weekly for nine weeks. The second one went on with their lives as usual. The third group socialized together, watching plays, basketball games, etc.
The people in the exercise group significantly increased their short-term memory, such as remembering names, phone numbers or directions.
Susan Smith Jones, Choose to Live Each Day Fully,
Celestial Arts Publishing, P.O. Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707, U.S.A.
How many times have you told your son or daughter about something and your message does not seem to get through?
Sometimes, it is best to allow natural consequences to take over and teach the child a lesson. A child who refuses to put his clothes in the laundry basket will one morning find that he has no clean shirts to wear.
Allow the child to experience the inconvenient consequence of not being responsible. They learn from their mistakes.
Susan Smith Jones, Choose to Live Each Day Fully,
Celestial Arts Publishing, P.O. Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707, U.S.A.
Every year millions of animals are killed and dissected in biology classes around the world. There is a growing trend among parents and students to protest the compulsory dissection of animals in schools.
Some American states have already passed laws requiring schools to provide alternatives for students who object to dissecting animals, whether alive or dead.
In 1987, the Argentinian government banned dissection in schools and stated that biology is the science of life and it is not consistent to teach it at the expense of other beings. It further pointed out that experiments on animals are part of a dangerous process which tends to desensitize the mind to pain and suffering.
One organization in the United States offers advice on how to deal with conflicts with schools on vivisection: Pat Graham, Dissection Hotline Director, Route 1, Box 541, Waynesville, North Carolina 28786, U.S.A. Tel. No. 1-800-922FROG or 1-704-452- 7159.
Sources: (1). Dr. Vernon Coleman, Why Animal Experiments
Must Stop. Merlin Press, 10 Malden Road, London NW5 3HR, UK. (2) Service Link,
9 Avenue de la Republique, 93420, Villepinte, France.
When you rise in the morning, say that you will make the day blessed to a fellow creature. It is easily done: a left-off garment to the man who needs it; a kind word to the sorrowful; an encouraging expression to the struggling trifles in themselves as light as air will do at least for the 24 hours.
And if you are young, depend upon it, it will tell when you are old; and if you are old, rest assured it will send you gently down the stream of time to eternity.
By the most simply arithmetical sum, look into the result. If you send one person away happy through the day, there will be 365 in the course of a year. And suppose you live 40 years only, after you commence this course of medicine, you have made 14,600 persons happy, at all events for a time.
Source: Anonymous, quoted in The Daily Journal of
Kindness compiled by Meladee McCarty and Hanoch McCarty. Health
Communications, Inc. Deerfield Beach, Florida, U.S.A.
When gratitude is expressed to a kind act, the giver of kindness may feel good, but it can, at times, take away a little of that pure pleasure that come from just the doing of it. Rabbi Moses Maimonides lists the levels of charity and he gave such a high place for acts done anonymously.
Notice whether we have the habit of collecting gratitudes. How do we regard another person who is such a collector? Plan to do a quiet anonymous kindness. Perhaps the most grown up thing we can do is to give kindnesses in ways that do not obligate or even slightly embarrass the receiver.
Source: Meladee McCarty and Hanoch McCarty, The Daily
Journal of Kindness. Health Communications, Inc. Deerfield Beach, Florida,
U.S.A.
If you are not a vegetarian, try and see what it feels like to be one for a day. Eat no beef, pork veal, lamb, fowl, or fish.
A Successful Individual . . . typically sets his next goal somewhat but not too much above his last achievement. In this way he steadily raises his level of aspiration. KURT LENIN
The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted. MOTHER TERESA
There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle. ROBERT ALDEN
Kindness . . . means loving people more than they deserve. JOSEPH JOUBERT
Of course there is no formula for success . . . except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings. ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN
Prepared by:
Peace Center
Theosophical Society in the Philippines
tspeace@info.com.ph