.

“Well son, I think you should dig ditches because you don’t have the smarts to do….”

You can fill in the rest.

I think a guidance counselor should be renamed to a dream counselor.  I know that is a way too lame name, but I couldn’t come up with anything else.

I think we as adults could use a dream counselor visit every 6 months.  I know that sounds like a MLM training class, but it could be useful.  I need help calling it something else, but the idea is sound.  Dream just conotates  something that isn’t really possible.  My dreams of flying aren’t going to happen.

A goal is often too vague, ie…I want a new car.
Lame… For starters it is too general.  What kind of car, make, model, color, year, MPG, trim, and when do you want it by and how are you going to obtain it.  It has to have a deadline.  I think you can skip this as well.

You son- need a mission.   What are you willing to die for.  That may be extreme, but you get the idea.  You need something that will get you out of bed and ready to take off.  If someone beat you to a pulp, what would give you reason to get back up.  If you have that kind of mission and desire nothing else will matter.  You will make it happen.  I wish my guidance counselor would have helped me find my mission.

Hiking your way to the future.

I love to hike in the mountains with my family.  The mountains along with the ocean really give me the perspective of being insignificant and humble.  I think that is why some of the best CEO’s still backpack.  It keeps you in perspective.  Your mission is like a long trail through the woods.

Pick a path and stay on it until it is complete, or you realize that you want a different path with a better view.  If you read the Robert Frost poem “The road not taken”, yesterday, he made the clear observation that “way leads on to way”.  You will never go back to who you were and will likely never go back to where you started from.

If you don’t have a trail, map, compass, or GPS, and are just going out in the woods for a 8 hour hike.  There is a good chance most people will be hopelessly lost.  Even if you have a trail, the more you wander off, the more likely you are to get lost.  This is you life.  What path are you walking on?  The more you wander the less likely you will complete your mission.

What is your direction?____________________

Your path?___________________________
Why are you getting out of bed?________________________________

Is that a good enough reason?______________________________

.

This is pretty bold to do but you can do it by the time you are done reading.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t apply to world peace or personal freedom for people living in North Korea.  But, many people feel the turmoil around them, whether that is personal crisis’s or a friend or coworker.  So many problems.

For your health, now more than ever, is a great time to start some new habits.  Depending on endless factors your personal peace could be tough to come by, but there is always one place to find it.  Your head.  Mine may be filled with rocks and sand.  But even sand can be at peace.  The interesting thing about your mind is that it has no boundaries and no weight.  You can’t see it or touch it.

It makes my head hurt just trying to think about it.  Your mind can be an instant escape to freedom.  It has been said that your mind can’t tell the difference between reality and something vividly imagined.  It has incredible power.  Let’s turn it on, or at least put some reigns on it.

    #1 Your mind controls everything you do.

    #2 Therefore everything is a choice.

An interesting insight to choice is the poem by Robert Frost “The Road Not Taken“.  Most people assume it is an inspirational poem based on the last few lines

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Go and read the whole thing and both paths “had worn them really about the same”.
The author / hiker just made a choice and followed it.  It is a poem of irony and really about making a choice.

For those of you who were at my last class, (thanks for all the kind “thank you’s”) in that handout was a daily menu from Ed Foreman.  His classes are about how to have a great day, everyday, no matter what.  He advocates “choice”  You really get to choose how you interpret the events of your life.  Next time you feel angry, stop for a moment and think about what your mind is doing.  Do you really have to spew out venom?

Unless you have some control over your thoughts Habits and Cravings will dominate.  If you put chocolate cake, ice cream, suckers, and broccoli in from of 100 kids and give them a choice of what they would like to eat.  I’ll bet 95% of them will not choose broccoli.  They are too young to really make good choices, their minds aren’t trained.  Unfortunately about 65% of adults are the same way.  What do you buy when grocery shopping?  Is your cart loaded with pop, and frozen dinners, or fresh fruit and veggies?

Your mind is the invisible extension of your body’s energy.  A strong healthy mind can give you a strong healthy body.  I often see patients under-appreciate this powerful asset to health.  If you believe that you are going to be sick, you are likely to get sick one way or another.  I’m getting pretty good at telling whether a patient will get better (no matter what they have) based on the first 5 minutes of talking to them.  Their mind power and desire to get better makes all the difference.  I am just a facilitator to health.  The real healing is done inside the person.

Your mind can’t do everything.  When a bone is physically knocked out of position by an outside force.  It takes an outside force (me) to put it back.  Once it is back in place, then the power of the person takes over.

Put your mind on the path to control.

#1 Put good things in, so you get good things out.  Read inspirational things, stop reading the newspaper.  Watch nice TV or NO TV.  Watching horror shows, constant killing, desperate people sleeping around, and terror (wait that’s just the news) doesn’t make a good mind.  T.V. commercials alone could give you nightmares.  Don’t watch that stuff before you go to bed.

#2 Monitor what comes out.  Until your mind is under control and filled with good stuff, don’t pollute the people around you.  No one else is inside your head.  You alone have a choice to live in a pigpen or paradise.

#3 Spend 5 minutes in quiet and let your mind roam and wander.  Just let it go and follow along.  It is amazing where it will take you.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart
the whispering of the hours turns to music.  To love
life through labor is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret.
All work is empty save when there is love, for work is
love made visible.
-Kahlil Gibran

Can you get up and smile about what you are doing tomorrow?

Are you loving what you do?  Can you feel the music of your work?

Kahlil calls this “life’s inmost secret”.  This is often hard to do and sometimes impossible at some moments.  I think if you work in Haiti right now this would challenge you.  Through out my life I haven’t always had the jobs I long for, but I have always worked towards that.

Life is too short to hate what you do for work.  Just think about spending 8 hours with mental negativity and mayhem going on in your brain everyday.  That is tough on the body.  Remember health comes from a good mind, body, and spirit.  So what do you do?

You only have two choices:

#1 Get going and do what you love to do.  The money will follow.  Your mind “health” craves this.

#2 If you can’t change your job right now, you must change how you “think” about it.  Don’t waste another minute hating it.

If you don’t do one of those two things you are sacrificing 1/3 of your health.  Would you throw 1/3 of your money away.  Get the matches and strike them up and start burning your dollar bills.  What if you’re stuck?  Can’t find a direction?  Can’t find your purpose?

A few tips for you:

#1 Change your routine.  Get off the treadmill of life and just sit still and be quite and keep your environment quite for just 5 minutes.  That’s it.  Let your brain run wild and let it go.  Don’t stop it, don’t control it, just let it wander.  Give it time and you’ll be surprised.

#2 Prepare for rain.  If you want to be a weather man, you need to study clouds.  If you want to be an artist, you need to spend some time drawing.  Spend some time everyday on what you want.  Watching T.V. doesn’t count unless you want to be a potato or a an actor.

When you are inspired by some great purpose,
some extraordinary project,
all your thoughts break their bonds;
Your mind transcends limitations,

….You discover yourself to be a greater person
than you ever dreamed yourself to be.
-Patanjali

Love what you do one way or another.  Your health depends on it.

The good news is that you are where you want to be.

Yes, you may not like it, or you may be saying, “ I know what you mean, I worked for it.”

Your mind and body have to be on the same page. You can’t expect a nice physique or abundant energy and reach for a piece of cake and the remote.

I learned something about people from one of our friends. He said his neighbor considered himself “fat and happy”. I never want to get older and feel like I don’t care anymore about my health or fitness. You can’t buy health over night or watch the pounds melt away. But if you are “fat and happy”—great!

Health in takes time. The longer you wait to start the longer it takes. So make a commitment to start something new today.

Some patients read this and gloss over the info as if they are immune or it takes too much work to be healthier. Some patients punch holes in the newsletter and save every issue and re-read them. The information is the same but their attitude is different.

Make a decision right now NOT to be part of the unhealthy epidemic coming to a neighborhood near you.

According to the CDC,

The US ranked 11^th in the world in life expectancy.

20 YEARS AGO

NOW……………………………..

We are ranked 42^nd in the world.

We have so many cool things now, but we know nothing about health. Don’t follow the crowd when it comes to health advice, because the majority is clearly wrong. Always remember you can never go wrong with the natural world.

Use chiropractic first, organic foods, Standard Process supplements, cod liver oil, and probably more fat in your diet. You’d be amazed how good you can feel.  Yes, I said fat.  The fat’s that is.

Good Fats:
These are the easiest to obtain and use
1. Butter
2. Lard
3. Extra Virgin Olive oil (Not “Pure”)
4. Coconut oil
5. Cod Liver oil (not for cooking)
6. Flax oil (just don’t cook with it)
7. RAW milk or cream (Not pasteurized)

If you have these go ahead and use them
8. Beef, chicken, goose or duck fat
9. Palm oil, sesame oils
10. Flax oil (just don’t cook with it)

 A few little bonuses for you.  Good fats can:

1. Slim your waist.   Fat doesn’t make you fat.
2. Help transport nutrients from your guts to your body.
3. Help your liver
4. Help your brain
5. Really help your immune system.
6. And most importantly, it will help your heart.

Stay tuned for more.  This heart stuff is so fantastic, I am having a hard time distilling it down for you.

A mini review of “The Power Of Positive Thinking”

By Norman Vincent Peale

1. Believe in yourself
Dr. Peale’s affirmation- “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
(Philippians 4:13)
An inferiority complex is nothing more than self-doubt.  Putting your faith in God will give you realistic faith in yourself.  Put this quote somewhere you can see it
“If ye have faith…nothing shall be impossible to you” (Matthew 17:20)

“Attitude is more important than fact”

2. A Peaceful Mind Generates Power

Don’t read the newspaper or watch the news, especially before bed.
Pray every night,  if you have a spouse you will be surprised how this will unite you.  It keeps you from drifting apart,  Many couples do without regular communication.
Try also to read the bible before bed.  Don’t go to bed with an ear full of trouble.  If you don’t feel up to the bible then something uplifting and positive.  Look this up (Romans 12:2) ____________________________________________
Words have power  — Remember— You are terrific!
Spend at least 15 minutes a day in silence…don’t think about anything

3. Constant Energy Can be Yours

If you think you are tired you will be, so focus on being alive and full of energy.
Guilt and fear suck the energy right from you
Become focused on something you believe in and you will never be short of energy.
Get out and do something.  Get involved in something bigger than yourself
Don’t sit around and moan and groan, and sure enough don’t be with those people.

4. Create Your Own happiness

“People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be” Abraham Lincoln
To be happy —have a clean soul, see romance in the commonplace, and a child’s heart.

5. Expect And Get The Best

“Throw your heart over the bar and your body will follow”
You can do anything with faith.  Faith in yourself and faith in God
Expect success to get success, expect failure and get failure

6. Don’t Believe In Defeat

Eliminate negative speech
You can no longer use the words “I can’t”
Life is only rough if you think it is

7. Don’t worry so much

This is the most useless habit known to man.  To eliminate it—empty your mind before you go to bed.  The last 5 minutes before sleep are crucial.  Put positive things in, read something uplifting.  Imagine your mind being dumped out daily.  Put so much positive thought in to your head all the bad stuff will come out the other side.
Be around hopeful positive people.

8. Health comes from you

Irritation, anger, hate and resentment produce ill health
Goodwill, faith ,forgiveness, and love produce health
Basically, don’t be a jerk to people, or be with them.

9. Make more people like you

#1 Be a comfortable, easy going person
#2 Act and THINK nice things about people
#3 Take a genuine interest in other people
#4 Unselfishly try and build them up

10. Draw From The Higher Power, It’s Free Energy

State your problem
Ask for a specific answer
Believe you will receive that answer with God’s help
The Higher Power can drive out fear, hate, sickness, weakness, and moral defeat and replace you with health and happiness.  Use it, it is free.  Just ask. Thanks to Norman Vincent Peale