Aromatic root used to ease stress

LA Times
February 7, 2005
Aromatic root used to ease stress



by Elena Conis

The Vikings used the aromatic roots of Rhodiola rosea to fight infections, stimulate sexual appetite and enhance fertility. Alaska natives, such as the Inupiat Eskimo, used rhodiola as a medicine and a food: The flowers make a fragrant tea, and the leaves and stems can be turned into salad or sauerkraut. Like ginseng, R. rosea (also known as Arctic root or golden root) is considered an adaptogen — an herb that helps the body cope with stressors, such as anxiety, lack of sleep, extreme temperatures or environmental toxins.*Uses: Supplement makers' claims for the root are broad. It's reputedly an anticancer, cardioprotective energy booster and antidepressant that can improve exercise performance and kidney health and treat chronic fatigue syndrome. Dose: Recommended doses range from 50 to 250 milligrams one to three times a day, between meals. Look for products containing at least 2% to 3% rosavin (one of Rhodiola rosea's more important active ingredients, along with salidroside). Experts suggest starting with a low dose and gradually increasing the dose over several days. Precautions: High doses (1,500 milligrams a day or more) may cause restlessness and insomnia. Centuries of folk medicine use have produced no other warnings of side effects or contraindications, but some doctors caution that little is known about rhodiola's safety in children or pregnant or breast-feeding women. Research: Preliminary lab research suggests rhodiola might improve mental and physical performance by altering levels of certain chemicals in the central nervous system. Several controlled trials have shown that the root can improve cognitive function in people deprived of sleep. But studies on exercise performance have produced mixed results. Few strong human studies have proved rhodiola's effectiveness in treating depression or preventing heart disease or cancer, though a few animal and test tube experiments have provided some promising preliminary results.
Dietary supplement makers are not required by the U.S. government to demonstrate that their products are safe or effective. Ask your healthcare provider for advice on selecting a brand.*—

I starting taking Rhodiola two weeks ago, and have had quite an energy surge!

Quit Smoking-Acupuncture, Hypnosis, Laser Treatment

Getting the point
Debora Van Brenk, London Free Press Reporter
Feb 7, 2005

Smokers eager to kick the habit are finding relief through acupuncture, hypnosis and laser treatment. Free Press reporter Debora Van Brenk explains some of the alternatives to conventional ways of quitting.



ACUPUNCTURE

Often needled by others about their habit, smokers sometimes ask for needles -- acupuncture -- to help quit.

Shu Jun Chen of the Western Acupuncture Clinic in London says the painless procedure, in which she inserts 10 thin needles into a patient, stimulates hormones in the brain that reduce nicotine cravings.

"People feel the cigarette tastes differently. They don't taste as good as before. Some people feel nauseous if they take a cigarette."

Acupuncture can also be used to control weight gain and reduce irritability -- two big obstacles to quitting for good.

The first, hour-long treatment costs $50 and subsequent treatments (some smokers need as many as five) are $40 each at her clinic.

One client, who smoked two packs a day for 30 years, needed a single acupuncture session to quit.

The doctor suggests smokers help themselves by finding a buddy to lean on and taping to their refrigerator a list of their reasons to quit.

HYPNOSIS

You're getting sleepy. As you lie down, repeat to yourself, "I choose not to smoke."

That's not exactly how hypnosis works to end smokers' cravings. But it's a strategy favoured by John Doroshenko, a registered hypnotherapist based in St. Thomas.

It's an unconventional treatment and clinical studies show it has mixed results.

But Doroshenko and his patients think otherwise.

He said many people come to him motivated by their failures with other methods of quitting smoking.

"I'm usually the last-resort person," he said.

He recommends two private hypnosis sessions a week apart. Each lasts about an hour and costs $60. Some group insurance plans cover the treatment.

After the second session, Doroshenko hands them a card that guarantees they can come back for free group sessions if they resume smoking.

Last year, he said, only three people came to him for extra sessions.

He said an important element of his work is teaching self-hypnosis, in which patients program their subconscious minds, so they can get through the 10- to 15-second urge to smoke and become non-smokers.

He also teaches them how to modify their thinking and activities, so events that trigger having a cigarette -- like drinking coffee, talking on the phone or driving -- hold no more power over them.

"It blends with any other treatment that they're taking: the patch or gum or whatever," he says.

In most cases, Doroshenko places positive, smoke-free suggestions into their minds.

"Certainly, I can make it taste like burning rubber, but if they want to enjoy (smoking) they'll keep trying it."

Kathy Cottenie of London was a skeptic at first.

But 11 years ago, she walked into Doroshenko's office -- "I just all of a sudden said I've got to do something" -- and said she wanted to end her habit of more than 40 years.

She left the office about an hour later and is proud to say she hasn't smoked since.

She says hypnosis and determination did the trick.

Every Feb. 3, the anniversary of her quit date, she sends Doroshenko a thank-you card.

LASER TREATMENT

MT. BRYDGES -- Ex-smoker Pete Davelaar tells a visitor he has no grudge against the tobacco industry.

In fact, the farmer from Mt. Brydges was always fond of his smokes -- a four-pack-a-day kind of fondness -- until laser treatment six months ago stopped the habit cold.

He grew tobacco for 25 years, getting out last season because it didn't make financial sense any more, and he smoked for three decades.

He was a chain smoker, often lighting a cigarette off the glow of the previous one.

"You put one out and lit one up. That's the way I smoked."

But when he got diabetes, his wife insisted he quit.

"I like smoking, but I know it's not good for you," he said. "I've got a wife and three kids."

He tried Zyban pills, but they weren't for him.

"I tried getting hypnotized once. Didn't work. I had a smoke on the way home."

Davelaar decided to try the laser treatment.

Son Jeremy, 22, who had smoked as much as a pack a day for seven years, even when using a nicotine patch, quit at the same time, the same way.

"My mom said she'd pay for it, so I said I'd try it," he said.

The two said the procedure at Optimum Health Laser Centre in London lasted about an hour and was painless.

Centre owner and certified laser therapist Debra Taylor has treated about 200 smokers in the last year.

Taylor said laser treatment at 32 pressure points in the body stimulates the brain to produce endorphins, feel-good hormones similar to the natural "runner's' high" athletes experience.

Smoking cigarettes releases the same endorphins, she said.

"The nicotine hits your brain in three seconds, faster than mainlining heroin, and when it does, it releases massive amounts of endorphins in your body. You puff and your body says, 'Ahhhhh.' "

She said laser treatment triggers a similar response within two hours of treatment and lasts four to six weeks -- long enough to relieve a smoker's nicotine cravings.

Taylor also helps smokers relieve the psychological cravings.

She tells them, for example, that sipping water helps ease the hand-to-mouth habit. Deep breathing reminds them cigarettes are no longer starving them of oxygen.

If a smoker relapses after a single treatment, which costs about $300, Taylor offers free return visits.

For Taylor, who smoked for 27 years, this is personal. Two years ago, her mother and husband, both smokers, died within five weeks of each other.

Taylor said anecdotal studies show a 90-per-cent success rate for laser treatment, though she says practitioners don't have the cash drug companies do to spend on formal clinical studies.

Some quit-smoking experts say there's too little data to conclude how effective laser treatment is.

But the Davelaars say they don't need proof outside of their own success.

When Jeremy Davelaar left the laser centre, "I just didn't feel like smoking. It was really weird . . . I still don't get how it works."

He doesn't cough any more and says he has more energy. He is happy to have an appetite and to have put some weight on his lanky frame.

His father doesn't feel much health improvement so far, except he coughs less. When he feels like a puff, he drinks water instead.

"I never went without a smoke before. It just wasn't done. Now I go days without thinking of smoking."

Stopping didn't take determination, he says, but staying stopped does.

"When I have a craving for it now, that's willpower."





Copyright © The London Free Press

Hypnosis can lessen stress of medical examinations

Times Online.co.uk
Jan 24

Science Notebook by Anjana Ahuja

HYPNOSIS CAN lessen the stress and trauma associated with medical examinations, according to a study from Stanford University Medical Centre. The technique might also cut treatment times.
Dr David Spiegel looked at 44 children undergoing a painful catheterisation to check kidney function. Patients cannot be sedated during the procedure, called voiding cysto-urethrogram (VCUG), because they have to empty their bladder once the catheter is in place. Before the examination, half the children were given routine care, which included breathing techniques. The other half were coached in self-hypnosis, which included them visualising being attached to a balloon that could take them anywhere they wanted.
Spiegel reports in Paediatrics that VCUG took an average of 35 minutes for the hypnosis group, compared with 50 minutes for the other group. Parents accompanying the children in the hypnosis group reported that their offspring appeared to be less distressed, even though all 44 children reported similar levels of pain and fear. Researchers suggest that the children themselves may still report the episode as very painful in order to discourage future examinations.

Self Hypnosis

Hypnosis is not sleep but a heightened state of awareness similiar to day dream. In 1775 Franz Mesmer developed healing by animal magnetism which was later renamed hypnosis. Hypnosis is a state of mind which has been experienced by everyone at one time or the other. In fact everyone goes into hypnosis everyday of their lives. The time you are day dreaming you are in a form of hypnosis. The ability to achieve hypnotic state are already within us. It is simply a question of unlocking the secret.
When you are hypnotized your left brain goes to sleep and your right brain opens up to receive helpful and beneficial suggestions. Hypnosis is not mind control or sleep. You cannot control someone's mind with the use of hypnosis. A hypnotized person still thinks logically, he or she can make decisions. The hypnotized person does not loose contact with reality altogether. All hypnosis is self hypnosis. To go into hypnosis you must believe, focus, concentrate and participate fully. You must direct your attention 100% on the process and your' will' to cooperate.
To learn self hypnosis takes only a few minutes. If the technique is taught correctly the learning is quick and easy because everything about hypnosis is fascinating. Any ordinary person can be taught how to hypnotize or to be hypnotized. There is a major difference between hypnosis and meditation. Hypnosis can help resolve unconscious problems which arise from the past. People learn hypnosis in order to achieve relaxation, relief from pain, anger, anxiety, panic, fear and obsessive thoughts whereas Meditation helps you to achieve relaxation and an inner mental tranquility.
By learning self hypnosis you can increase your self awareness, inner harmony, positive thinking, love and compassion. You can relax and concentrate better. It is the best medicine to heal your inner self.
Exercise:
Sit comfortably in a chair. The light should be dim. Fix your eyes on some point. Stare at the spot until you close your eyes. Say to yourself my eyes are becoming heavier and heavier. Now they become so heavy and they want to close. With every breath I inhale, my eyelids are becoming heavier and heavier. I am becoming very limp and relaxed. As I become limp and relaxed my eyes are getting heavier and heavier and they just want to close. I am becoming more and more relaxed and all I want to do is sleep and relax. Keep repeating this until your eyes are closed. Now start from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head and relax every portion of your body. As you relax say that I am becoming more and more relaxed and I am going into deeper and deeper sleep. Continue for 10 minutes. You can also use classical music in the background.
Once the whole process is over. Say to yourself I am going to count from 10 to 1. As I count from 10 to 1, with each number my sleep will become lighter and lighter and when I reach no 1, I shall be wide awake. And when I awaken I shall feel completely relaxed. Do this for 10 minutes before getting up and for 10 minutes before going to bed.
Winston Saga is one of the world's leading sales legends. He is also the CEO of Sales and Motivation International. Winston has been acknowledged as a unique and distinctive authority in the field of sales and personal development. Last year International Biography Centre selected him ''International Man of the Year'' for his outstanding contribution to sales and Service. He has written 100's of articles to magazine, journals and websites. Visit http://www.telesalestips.com/ to know more about the Author.
If you are looking for a Home Business to become Financial Independent in the next 2 years please email us.
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Nothing More Powerful Than Your Words

by Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP


Telling yourself you have to "struggle with this weight issue for the rest of my life," is as good as telling yourself there's no point in trying. "Why bother? I'll just gain it right back. It's no use. I might as well eat more cake. Poor me. Life is hard. You know the drill. Life's a beach.

Stop the struggle by stopping the self talk that supports the struggle. You've heard it before - what you focus on is what you receive. No where is that more true than in believing it is a struggle to stay healthy. Who would want to be healthy if it's such a horrible struggle? Yet, you've probably seen people who are fit, healthy and happy? You might even know a few. They seem to bounce when they walk. They're animated, and excited about life, and no, if you asked them, they wouldn't say it's a struggle. "What do you mean," they'd ask? Struggle? Nah, I like it this way," and they'd mean it.

Forget the notion that you have to struggle and eat celery sticks for dinner. It's not true. Despite the fact that you've lost the weight before and gained it right back too, despite your belief that you can't even look at food without gaining weight. All of those thoughts are just more beliefs that are keeping you stuck. What you focus on becomes your reality.

What if You Never Got Hungry?

I'm a prime example. I don't struggle. Some days I eat a lot. Some days not so much. Some days very little. Yesterday I ate my usual breakfast and then, strangely, I just didn't feel hungry all day. I felt different somehow. Not ill, but I just didn't want to eat. "What's up with this?," I thought to myself, but I decided to just ride it out and see what happened. Well, I'm here to tell you that nothing happened. I lived to tell another story, see another day. Nothing fell from the sky and the world didn't stop spinning because I didn't eat much yesterday. It was just another day.

Today I ate a few handfuls of malted milk balls. No big deal to me, but I know many of you are thinking, "I'd never be able to eat just some, I'd have to eat them all," and that is my point. Telling yourself you can't eat "some," or as many as you want, but that you believe you'd be compelled to eat them all, no matter how many there were is a belief that is keeping you stuck. I don't believe that to be true, and so, for me it is not true.

Changing a Fundamental Belief with EFT

How do you change a fundamental belief? You start with basic EFT using it for everything that comes up, even though it may not seem related. Every worry, fear, doubt, struggle. Use it on everything, and those issues that do make a difference in your eating will start dissolving away. Try it - what have you got to lose but some weight?

What's EFT? It's Emotional Freedom Training and it's taking the world by storm as an easy, self administered practice to help reduce or eliminate the emotional issues that keep us stuck. Free information available at EmoFree.com. I added EFT to my toolkit as soon as I learned it because it's easy to learn, easy to use, and it's effective.

Remember those healthy folks I mentioned earlier? They don't view how they eat or how much they exercise as a struggle at all. They are active because they want to be active, and they eat foods that make them feel great. They probably eat a lot of the same things you eat too - I'm talking about everyday folks who have learned to feel good about themselves. None of them are perfect - despite the common belief that there is some "perfect" body, it's just not true. Everyone has a wrinkle here, extra skin there. Every single one of us is flawed in some way or another. It's what makes us unique.

Choose to focus on the benefits, rather than the sacrifice

Everything worthwhile takes effort - having a baby comes to mind. All mothers will likely agree that childbirth has its down side, but the ultimate reward makes it all worth it (yes, some women feel great while pregnant, but I wasn't one of them). Otherwise, everyone would be a single child. ;-) Think about it.

Becoming a professional musician or baseball player comes to many who played Little League and started practicing the piano when they were very small. Tiger Woods was only 3 or 4-years old when his father first taught him to hold a golf club. He also showed him videos of professional golfers when he sat in his high chair eating his dinner (his dad was a little odd, I'd say). Woods started playing golf at such a young age that he literally grew up playing the game. He wanted to play. His father undoubtedly drove him to work harder at it than most children would, but he had to have a strong drive of his own or he never would have made it. But what if he'd hit 6-year's old and suddenly said to himself, "I don't want to practice. I hate golf. I wanna play with my friends. I'll never be any good at his stupid game."

Maybe things would have turned out differently. The bottom line though is he did what he did because he wanted to (his parents obviously had a lot to do with it too), and the reward? Today he's considered the most gifted golfer of all time, and to what does he attribute his success? The practice and discipline of his mind. He learned from one of his primary coaches to harness the power of his mind - using NLP and hypnosis techniques (and likely he's since started to use EFT as well). Learn to use your mind to focus on the results you want - or conversely focus on avoiding what you do not want, and you'll win your prize, loving the process, instead of dreading it.

How to Get Started

Starting from right now, go get a box of toothpicks or something similar. Match sticks would work too, or marbles, or pencils, small rocks or twigs from the yard. Something small enough you can carry it with you. Whenever you catch yourself starting to say something negative like, "I don't want to ..., or, "I hate ...," or "I'm gonna strangle ..." Anything negative you catch yourself saying or beginning to say, whether towards yourself or someone else doesn't matter.

Start noticing how often you're feeding yourself negative energy. Then, apply the STOP technique as soon as you realize you are doing it, you yell (to yourself) STOP, and immediately replace what you were saying with something else. Here's what I mean:

"I hate having to wash the ... STOP ... it's nice getting a chance to stretch and bend while the car gets cleaned."

Yes, it's stiff and forced, at first. Anytime you attempt to change a behavior it will feel forced. Just allow yourself to learn to change your self talk, and that early discomfort with the process will pass. It will start to be fun to "catch" yourself. As soon as you start doing it, you'll realize how often you're been feeding yourself negativity, and you'll also see how easily you can change that habit.

Positive people tend to be happier people. I'm not suggesting you get a personality change, but I am suggesting, if you ultimately want to drop some weight and never see it again that you change your thinking from how much you'll have to struggle to how much better you're going to feel.

Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, author of Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com

Get the Daily Bites: Inspirational Mini Lessons Using EFT and NLP for Ending the Struggle with Weight Loss.

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Just Do It! Write Down Some Goals and Start Achieving!

by Robert Lee

You have a choice it would seem – you can float along on the river of the life, don’t worry about where it takes you and maybe disappear over a waterfall or go with the flow but steer your way towards your objective.

If you want a chance at achieving something you have to set goals. If you want to achieve your goals then there are a number of simple rules to follow.

Write them down! Only 5 % of the population writes down their goals! Take a wild guess whether they achieve them or not? If you don’t set goals then at the end of next year you will find your no further forward than you are now at the end of 2004! Writing down your goals involves imagining or visualizing them. Don’t write them on scraps of A4 paper and then throw them in the bin! Get a little notebook you can carry in your pocket and refer to on a regular basis. This sounds crazy but you need a kick up the **** on a regular basis and referring to your goals will do just that!

Make your goals detailed and specific, I want to live somewhere warm and nice is a bit vague even for the subconscious mind! Who, what where, why, when! If nothing else it’s pleasant and relaxing to visualize being in a situation where your dreams have come true. Having problems actually coming up with a goal? Imagine if money was no object and you could spend your time just enjoying yourself? What would you do tomorrow, next week? Next month? Where? Who with? How long for? Etc

Write your Goals in the present tense, for example “I do not smoke and I feel great”. Sounds like mumbo jumbo but if you keep telling your brain that you are a certain way it finds a way to ensure that your reality actually matches your view of reality!

Re write your goals……set a time each day to read them, a time each week to revue them and re write re word them. No this is not a progress report to your self. If you haven’t achieved your goal do not spiral into depression wondering why it’s not happening. The very fact that you have written and re written your goals ensures your mind is focused and moving towards success.

Now stop thinking about doing something, get a small note book and write down what you want to achieve…..let your imagination go wild…..just write it down!

Robert Lee is the webmaster and owner of http://www.2minutes2.com where he writes and offers information and advice on the everyday use of Hypnosis, NLP and Speed Learning.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Vitamins--Folate: the New Protector

Folate, one of the B vitamins, is the one supplement recommended for all women in the child-bearing years to protect against neural tube defects in their offspring. Commonly eaten foods such as flour, breads and breakfast cereals are now fortified by law to help ensure that women get enough. Here's the good news for middle age women: research now shows that folate (also known as folic acid or folacin) has other powerful protective qualities against the number one killer in Canada: heart disease. There is also convincing evidence that adequate folate intake protects against osteoporosis, colon cancer, dementia and depression.

The role of folate in disease prevention is linked to its involvement in a complex enzyme cycle that regulates cell and brain function. A by-product of this system is homocysteine, an amino acid that has been linked to cardiovascular risk. If your intake of folate is low, blood homocysteine levels rise.

Good sources of folate include legumes (dried beans), green vegetables and liver. Raw foods have greater folate than cooked, as it is a water-soluble vitamin. Interestingly, although bread, cereals and orange juice are not especially good sources of this vitamin, they contribute a significant amount of folate to the diet due to the quantities consumed. A woman's folate requirements are 400 mcg per day with an upper limit of 1000 mcg. Studies suggest that as women age, they are more likely to decrease their fruit and vegetable intake, major sources of folate, due to food avoidance and cooking or chewing difficulties.

Supplementation may be useful if you think that you do not consume enough. Most multivitamin and mineral supplements supply your daily folate requirements. Excess supplementation can lead to problems such as insomnia, fatigue, irritability and gastrointestinal distress. In addition, folate supplementation can mask vitamin B12 deficiency, which is characterized by numbness, tingling, burning of the feet, stiffness and general weakness of the legs - a dangerous deficiency if left untreated. It is important to ensure that if you take a supplement, it should include folate as well as B12. (See the nutrition column in the May/June 2004 issue for more information on B12.) Also, if you drink more than two alcoholic beverages per day, or take drugs that interfere with folate such as anti-convulsants and thyroid medications, you may need to increase your folate intake.

Speak to your health-care provider for guidance.

Susan Osher is a registered dietitian who has been practising in the Toronto area for more than seven years. In both hospital and private settings, Susan has worked extensively with women across the age spectrum, and specializes in women's issues including eating disorders, body image and menopause. susanosher@totalnutrition.ca

Copyright Initiatives for Women's Health, Inc. Jan/Feb 2005



Source: Friend Indeed

At this convention, it's mind over matter

I've used self-hypnosis for over twenty-eight years. It has been an incredibly powerful and useful as a tool for achievement.

I use the word "tool" and not "magic wand."

As with everything of value, beware of false and misleading claims and the empty promises of quack practioners.

This is a great article.

[published on Sat, Feb 5, 2005]

By ROY RIVENBURG
Los Angeles Times

LONG BEACH, Calif. — You are getting sleepy ... sleepy. When I snap my fingers, you will open your eyes, read this article and find it utterly fascinating.

Braving rain-splattered roadways, two dozen hypnotists invaded Long Beach last weekend as part of HypnotizeAmerica.com, a multi-city campaign billed as "the largest mass hypnosis event" in the world.


The nationwide series of free demonstrations and seminars was the brainchild of Wendi Friesen, a Sacramento hypnotist who has come under fire for claiming hypnosis can enlarge women's breasts, sprout hair on bald heads, make people taller and combat cancer.

None of the hypnotists in Long Beach went quite that far, but they still made some astounding promises.

At a table decorated with Egyptian mummy bead jewelry and a whirling disc with blinking red lights, Ron Nodvik trumpeted the romantic benefits of hypnosis.

"I've had various girlfriends, and I've hypnotized them so that when I winked, they'd go into full-blown orgasms," he confided. "It's extremely useful."

The ponytailed hypnotist also touted a trance state called hyperempiria: "Let's say you're married and your wife has a thing for Brad Pitt. She could go into hyperempiria and, for a weekend, she'd think you were Brad Pitt."

Other hypnotists offered to turn visitors into Tiger Woods or Donald Trump. At a lecture on "golfnosis," Doug Juola explained how hypnosis could improve a person's golf game. And mesmerizer Richard Rumble, wearing a black shirt with a "Mister Hypnosis" logo, sold tapes on becoming a "money magnet" through hypnosis.

Elsewhere at the daylong expo, which took place in several conference rooms at a Holiday Inn, visitors could buy CDs with such titles as "Mind Over Menopause," "Hypnobabies" (using hypnosis for painless childbirth) and "Tao of the Duck."

Some attendees took a break at the "relaxation station," a reclining chair where visitors could put on headphones, crawl under a pink blanket and listen to a soothing CD.

The overall scene was "a cross between (motivational guru) Tony Robbins and a New Age fair," said David Snyder, president of L.A. Sleepwalkers, the hypnotist club that organized the Long Beach expo (similar programs were held in Irvine, San Diego and cities across the United States).

Not all of the exhibit booths were run by hypnotists. A chiropractor hooked visitors up to a "biophotonic scanner" to measure their antioxidant levels. Another peddled "aurasticks," crystal wands that purportedly heal ailing auras.

But hypnosis was the main attraction. At a session on procrastination (which had trouble starting on time because people kept arriving late), Thomas Greenhalgh appeared to hypnotize the entire room, telling people to imagine a ball of positive energy filling their bodies "like Scrubbing Bubbles" to dissolve the habit of procrastination.

At a lecture on pain control, hypnotist Scott Sandland demonstrated his method on the arthritic knee of Gwendolyn White, a 42-year-old Los Angeles woman who learned about the expo on the Internet. Sandland didn't use a traditional hypnotic trance. Instead, as he touched various spots on White's arm, he asked her to think of a happy time in her life, identify the color of an audience member's sweater, count backward from five to one, and sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

At the end of the two-minute session, White said the pain from her rheumatoid arthritis had virtually disappeared. Hours later, the knee still felt fine, she said.

Attendance at the expo seemed sparse. Spokesman Richard Clark estimated the turnout at 200 people, but the guy manning the entrance said it was more like 40 or 50. (Perhaps the organizers should have consulted with hypnotist Cesar Vargas, whose booth claimed he can make Web sites and marketing materials "irresistible" through the use of "hypnotic copywriting.")

Many of those who showed up were seeking some sort of life-changing breakthrough. Cesar Duron of Huntington Park hoped for a psychological jolt to transform him into a super salesman. "I thought I would come in here and they'd go whap, and I'd be ready to go," he said. That didn't happen, but he was impressed enough to sign up for a $100 private session the next day.

Other visitors wanted help losing weight or quitting cigarettes, areas where hypnosis enjoys mixed success, according to scientific studies.

The most effective arena for hypnosis is reducing pain, studies show. It also has a proven track record in treating asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, phobias, anxiety and hemophilia.

Beyond that, the alleged benefits of hypnosis are mostly fantasy, according to hypnosis experts at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. Interviewed by e-mail, Dr. David Spiegel, associate chair of psychiatry at Stanford, and John Kihlstrom, a psychology professor at Berkeley, scoffed at many of the claims made by organizers of Saturday's expo:

— Height increase — Sacramento hypnotist Friesen, the woman behind the seminars, sells an "experimental" set of CDs designed to "energize" the pituitary gland to release growth hormones. But Kihlstrom was skeptical: "You'd get better results stretching someone out on a torture rack."

— Baldness — Placebos spurred hair growth in some men during tests of Propecia, so it stands to reason hypnosis can achieve the same effect, according to Friesen's Web site. Is she right? "If you could see my head, you would have the answer," Spiegel replied.

— Breast and penis enlargement — No way, Spiegel said.

— Charisma — A number of hypnotists say they can make people more persuasive, confident or successful. "There is no scientific evidence that hypnosis can produce permanent changes in personality," Kihlstrom said.

— Improved eyesight — Early research was hopeful, but recent studies cast doubt on the idea, Kihlstrom said.

— Better orgasms — "Maybe," Spiegel said.

— Cancer — Friesen offers a $99 CD set claiming it can spark the subconscious mind to "remove toxins (and) harmful cells," unblock the body's immune system and promote healing. "Expect a miracle," her Web site urges. Kihlstrom said hypnosis can boost the immune system by reducing stress, but "hypnotic suggestion will never be the treatment of choice for AIDS or cancer." Spiegel agrees: "There are mind-body links with hypnosis affecting gastric acid secretion, asthma, irritable bowel disease . . . but nothing indicating it can help heal cancer."

Event spokesman Clark conceded that some of the claims made by Friesen and others might sound outlandish. Hypnosis for breast enlargement or height increase "isn't something I'd sell," he said. But he stopped short of criticizing any of his colleagues, saying, "There's a grain of truth" to their claims, and "I don't want to rain on anybody's parade."

But at least one person working the tables at Saturday's event seemed to think hypnosis has some limits.

When Nodvik's daughter, recovering from jaw surgery, mentioned she had a headache, her father suggested treating it with hypnosis.

"No, that's OK, dad," she protested. "I'll just take a Tylenol."

Blogging: Hot Trend

Bloggies Recognizes New Trends in FormatWashington Post
By Leslie Walker
Sunday, January 30, 2005

Quick, what was the catchiest idea about blogs to sweep the Web last year: podcasting, food blogging parties, group photo captions or themed photo contests?
If you haven't even heard of those trends, you have until Thursday to check them out at the site of the 2005 Bloggies and to choose from five finalists for the "best meme" -- that is, a "replicating idea that spread about Weblogs." Twenty-nine other categories are also up for a vote in the Bloggies, which aim to celebrate the best in Web log publishing.
"The point of the Bloggies is to highlight the best blogs around, especially ones that are good but nobody's heard about," said Nikolai Nolan, the University of Michigan senior who created the contest (http://www.bloggies.com/) in 2000.
New categories this year include food blogging, added after chefs started going wild posting recipes and illustrating them with photos. Finalists include 101cookbooks.com, TastingMenu.com and CookingforEngineers.com. Also new is entertainment, which replaces music; L.A. gossip rag Defamer (http://www.defamer.com/) is a finalist in that category.
The meme nominees tend to reflect the biggest blogging trends, and this year they mirror the growing popularity of photos.
Meme finalist Photo Friday (http://www.photofriday.com/) organizes a themed contest every week, challenging bloggers to post links to their photos exploring such topics as "neglect" and "stop signs." The photo-album service Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/), another finalist, helps bloggers post photos and lets anyone index and publish captions for other people's images.
A popular food site is also up for best meme: Is My Blog Burning (http://www.ismyblogburning.com/) invites bloggers to publish recipes based on a different set of ingredients each month. Another meme finalist is Podcasting -- a buzzword to describe the new practice of recording one's thoughts, then posting the sound file so people can copy it to their iPods and other music players for listening on their commute.
The last meme finalist is the Grey Album, a reference to the protest staged online in February over the record industry's attempt to ban DJ Danger Mouse's "Grey Album," a remix of music from Jay-Z and the Beatles.
Honors for most-nominated site go to the South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog (tsunamihelp.blogspot.com), a finalist in four categories, including Weblog of the Year.
Winners will be announced March 14 at the South by Southwest conference in Austin. Nolan, the awards founder, said they won't be Webcast, just announced in an Internet Relay Chat channel. As for awards, winners mostly get contributions of coupons or $20 from their fellow bloggers. But the affair, Nolan noted, is more about pride than prizes.
AOL to Newsgroups: Goodbye!A blog forerunner of sorts is biting the dust at America Online. The Dulles-run online service notified users last week that it will soon stop offering access to Usenet newsgroups. These discussion forums predate the World Wide Web and once constituted the bulk of AOL's Internet capability. But over the past several years, they have been overshadowed by newer outlets, including Web message boards and blogs.
After AOL shuts down its newsgroup gateway sometime in February -- it hasn't announced a date -- subscribers will have to switch to such third-party services as Google's free Groups Web site (groups.google.com).
E-mail Leslie Walker at walkerl@washpost.com.
© 2005 The Washington Post Company

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The Power of Positive Thinking

"Positive imagery" can turn an employee's bad day into a good one... and do the same for you, said Dr. Shane Murphy. Murphy, a psychologist, has conducted several studies on the effects of positive thinking.
And just what is "positive imagery?"
"Before you initiate any action, your mind runs through what you're going to do," said Murphy. "We focus on two things: Developing a good image of performing well...and getting rid of negative images, which can really mess you up."
Murphy, who was the first sports psychologist at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, studied the effect of positive imagery on golfers. He instructed 30 players to each putt a golf ball into an aluminum cup. Murphy recorded accuracy rates. Then Murphy divided the golfers into two groups. He told one group to study the putt and imagine the ball rolling into the cup. But he told the second group to imagine the ball narrowly missing the cup. Then each group completed their putts, while Murphy again recorded their accuracy.
Affirmations Tiger Woods used to train himself in positive imagery:
I will my own destiny.
I believe in me.
I smile at obstacles.
I am firm in my resolve.
I fulfill my resolutions powerfully.
My strength is great.
I stick to it, easily, naturally.
My will moves mountains.
I focus and give it my all.
My decisions are strong.
I do it with all my heart.
The results: The group that used positive imagery experienced a 30.4% increase in accuracy. But the group with negative thoughts saw its accuracy rate drop 21.1%. Combing both results, Murphy established a 51.5% swing in putting accuracy, based on the change in their respective attitudes. Murphy conducted similar studies in which he had students use positive and negative imagery while shooting free throws on a basketball court and while bowling.
"We got similar results. There's just no doubt about it. Positive thinking really works," he said.
Murphy said employers and employees alike could use positive imagery to their advantage in the workplace.
"I have athletes I work with tell me how much these skills help them at school, for example. And I work with clients in many areas besides sport. Business, for example. Psychologically managing your performance is crucial in areas such as sales and in team performance, Murphy said.
Many U.S. companies are emphasizing teaching their staff these "self-help" type skills to improve their performance on the job.
"Positive imagery is a good way of preparing for unexpected setbacks or surprises," Murphy said. "Have a positive image of what you're going to do if the slide projector isn't available for your presentation or if a client or customer is antagonistic."
As you prepare for work, anticipate some of the situations you will encounter and develop a positive image of how you will react.
Will it lead to better production, better working conditions, better profits for you?
"All I can say is what I've said before," said Murphy. "It really works."
Researchers at the University of Kentucky suggested verbalizing positive imagery, a technique called affirmation. An affirmation is a positive thought that you consciously choose to put into your belief system to produce a specific desired result, according to assistant professors Darla Botkin and Sam Quick. They cited Earl Woods, father of golf phenom Tiger, who harnessed the power of personal affirmations as Tiger was learning the game.
When Tiger was six years old, Earl bought him motivational and inspirational tapes to improve his confidence on the golf course. Tiger listened repeatedly to them while swinging his golf clubs in front of a mirror, putting on the carpet, or watching videos of tournaments. He imagined himself in all sorts of golf scenarios and applied the messages to himself.
Peak performers make a point of mentally saying positive things to themselves. They also know that the pictures we hold in our minds draw us to the very things we're visualizing. So, they use their skills of visualization to create positive images.
Golfer Jack Nicklaus attributed 50% of his success to the mental imagery he used before he took each stroke.
An affirmation is always stated in the present time, as in "I am successful" -- not as I will, or I hope. Through repetition, it replaces the negative self-talk in your subconscious mind. These repetitions are key to positive thinking, according to the Kentucky researchers.
"You can re- program your brain for your own personal success," Botkin said.
Affirmations enhanced with imagery and good feelings usually reach the subconscious mind, because it is the brain's seat of emotions. Once accepted, these affirming statements continue to produce the same body reaction over and over. It is a form of autosuggestion. Affirmations give you permission to be or do what you want, according to Botkin and Quick.
Positive imagery facilitates self-directed, employee work groups.
High on the short list of fears, for almost everyone, is the fear of public speaking. Stage fright can scare off potential sales and can muddle important communications. Whirlpool Corporation used guided mental imagery to boost confidence levels for employees who struggled with high levels of Communication Apprehension.
Whirlpool identified the need for the program when employees who had previously not been given a "voice" were encouraged to contribute and communicate with the company and each other. They were asked to coach each other and facilitate meetings.
Problems arose. It became clear that the problem was communication anxiety. Whirlpool then intervened with coaching to overcome communication anxiety and develop communication skills. Within these coping techniques, visualization and goal setting were taught. The trainer measured a 29% reduction in scores measuring fear of communication, accompanied by an increase in willingness to communicate. The employees reported improved self-confidence and self-esteem. This translated to improved effectiveness of work teams directed by the employees themselves.
--Source: Coping with Speech Anxiety, Joe Ayres and Tim Hopf, Greenwood Publishing Group.
Copyright 2004 BizActions, LLC.

This article is from MoreBusiness.com

Self Discipline And Business Success

By Darrin Coe 


In his audio e-book, 10 Habits to Swell Your Bank Account, Mike Green cites “discipline” as one of the 10 bank-account-swelling habits. I once received an email from an online marketing friend, which stated something to the effect of “how hard do we work? If people think earning money online is easy their crazy. Don’t burn to much midnight oil.”

Self-discipline is a crucial factor in developing business success. Whether you are online or offline you’ll need to develop some level of self-discipline. As I was reading Mr. Green’s e-book I began to think about the factors or “disciplines” that make up business self-discipline.

I think the first discipline is developing an understand that you’re home business, your entrepreneurial project, your online part-time business is a job. It’s one more form of employment but you’re working for yourself, your family, your partners, or other shareholders. Those of use who work 8-5 or are employed by others get up every morning, go to work, do our job, and receive our paycheck. You need to view your self-employment in the same manner. There will be no profit without regular, sometimes monotonous effort.

The second discipline, I believe, is consistency. Have a time for everything and everything done in it’s time. Set a time to perform administrative tasks such as maintain the books; set a time to engage in management tasks such as meeting or being with employees and do it. Set times to develop goals and budgets and do it. Be consistent in your projects, endeavors, and campaigns. If you decide on a given marketing campaign be assured one of the factors that will determine the success of the campaign will be your willingness to be consistent in your marketing. Consistency develops brand awareness, product/service recognition, and credibility.

Consistency also means answering every business inquiry, every phone call, every email, every fax, every phone message in a timely and customer friendly manner. This builds trustworthiness and credibility which over the long term will serve you very well.

For those who work from their homes, consistency tends to be difficult thus it’s important to develop a work area and a work schedule that integrates with your family, friends, and other engagements. You then need to hold the line and be consistent with that schedule and area.

For example, I check my email in the early evening and I make sure to inform my kids that I’ll be with them when I’m done and not before. I also work on my website in the late evening hours and my wife know that rarely should I be interrupted. I also keep a fairly consistent schedule concerning how often and when I write articles; how often and when I visit online forums; and when I read articles and research pertaining to my online business.

Which brings me to the third discipline. I believe the third discipline making up self-discipline is ongoing learning. Whether you’re in business online, offline or both you should be making a disciplined effort to stay abreast of your chosen field of business. You should be reading articles, reading research, engaging in discussion with professional colleagues, and in generally always attempting to grow your knowledge base.

For my business, “Consumer Thinking.com” I read at least one academic journal article per week; I read at least one online business/marketing article per day and I read at least one ebook per week. This is in addition to the three hardcopy books I have going.

This practice provide me with several benefits.

1) I always have material for writing fresh articles;

2) I always have fresh information to use when I’m visiting online forums;

3) I always have fresh material for developing new information products; and

4) I am assured of quality, relevant content for my monthly ezine.

By always expanding your knowledge base and increasing your learning it helps you develop credibility and legitimacy in your chosen field, profession, or business.

The fourth and final discipline that I’ve identified is the discipline of sacrifice. Every successful entrepreneur and self-employed business person I know and know of have engaged in the discipline of sacrifice. They’ve given up entertainment for extra marketing; they’ve sacrificed sleep for quiet hours to be creative and productive; they’ve sacrificed leisure time for learning. If you plan on being successful in business you’ll need to give up a few hours in front of the television or fewer nights out at the bars and clubs. If your focus, vision, and business are worthwhile the sacrifice will be worth it.

There is no avoiding self-discipline if you plan on being successfully self-employed. You’ll need to sacrifice, be consistent, keep learning, and view your self-employment as a real job. Combining discipline with patience, focus, and passion tends to lead to success.

*************************************
Darrin F. Coe holds a masters degree in professional psychology specializing in consumer thinking. He publishes “The Darrin Coe Ezine” monthly with archives at http://www.consumer-thinking.com/dcezine.html.

Visit and consider subscribing.

You can contact him at darrinfcoe@consumer-thinking.com. *************************************

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Let It Be You

By Jim Rohn


Each and every day, there are people all around the country and world who are living their dreams. Millionaires are made every day. Families are experiencing tremendous relationships. People are becoming more and more healthy. Life-long learners are growing intellectually and improving their chances for success.

The fact is that living the life of your dreams is possible. People prove that every day. Someone somewhere is going to get rich, get healthy and improve their life. My recommendation is this: Let it be you!

Have you ever wanted to make more money? Have you ever looked at someone who has money and wished that it could be you? People think about getting wealthy all of the time, when only a small percentage actually does. But any of the masses could. Someone is going to start a business. Someone is going to make a great investment. Someone is going to begin the journey to great wealth. So why not let it be you?

Someone is going to decide to improve their relationships. Someone is going to enjoy love with their family. Someone is going to schedule some meaningful time with their friends. So why not let it be you?

Someone is going to go back to school to improve their life. Someone is going to become a life-long learner. Someone is going to set a goal to read a book or listen to a cd each week for the next year. So why not let it be you?

Someone is going to look in the mirror and see that they need to lose a little weight and they will make the decision to become healthy. Someone will run their first marathon. Someone will join an aerobics class and improve their health. Why not let it be you?

I think that by now you get the point: Everyday people are improving their lives. Whether you do or not doesn´t matter to those who do. They are going to do it, regardless. It is simply a matter of a decision being made. Let that person be you!

You may be asking, “Okay Jim, but how?’ Well, let´s cover the very simple actions.

The first and most important is to make a commitment to work on yourself. Are you going to improve or stay the same? No matter what you have achieved, you are at a certain point right now. What you have achieved in the past is fine, but it doesn´t make a difference for the future. The decision about what you will become is made each day and every day. Each day someone is making the decision to better him or herself. Let that person be you!

The second is to make a plan. Once you have decided to become better you will have to have a plan. It doesn´t have to be a long, intricate plan. It can be simple. Save a dollar a day. Walk a mile a day. Read an article a day. That is a simple plan with achievable goals. Someone is going to develop a plan that will take them into the future of their dreams. Let it be you!

The third is to begin to act. All of the great ideas, without action, become stale and useless. The key to turning dreams into reality is action. People who have great ideas are a dime a dozen. People who act on their dreams and ideas are the select few, but they are the ones who gain the wealth, wealth and wisdom that is available. Someone will act today. Let it be you.

My encouragement to you is to stop looking at others who live the good life, wishing that you were as well, and instead begin to commit to your improvement, develop a plan and act on it. Someone is going to. Let it be you!

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Reproduced with permission from Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine. Copyright 2005 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide. To subscribe to Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine, go to http://Jim-Rohn.InspiresYOU.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Listening Skills for Self Improvement and Success

Effective listening is almost certainly the most important communication skill, and essential to anyone serious about Self Improvement and Success.
Some people envy those who have the ‘gift of the gab’ and always seem to be the centre of attention. However, this does not mean that good talkers are good communicators; in fact they are often just the opposite.
When engaged in conversation, it is very easy to pay little attention to what the other person is actually saying. We can become easily distracted by countless other thoughts and things happening around us, or thinking about what we are going to say next.
Like most skills, we can learn to communicate and listen better if we really want to, and there are many Communication Experts available who can help. Despite what many people may think, good communication is not all about concentrating on getting across our own points of view and opinions. It has been said that we were given two ears and one mouth for good reason, and that when interacting with other people, we should spend at least twice as much time listening as we do talking.
The most basic - and important - communication skills are the ability to listen impartially, to try to absorb the essence of what the other person is saying, and to really understand their point of view. These are the skills that will make us better communicators, better friends and partners, and certainly help our overall happiness and success.
Self Improvement Quote of the Day:
“A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something.” - Wilson Mizner
Garry Zancanaro is the founder of Self Improvement Directory, a website dedicated to Self Improvement and Personal Development, and to helping people live more successful and fulfilling lives by providing a directory of the highest quality Self Growth resources available. Includes many FREE eBooks and much more. Visit http://www.selfimprovementdirectory.com/index.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/