by Todd Alan | Nov 28, 2010
This is a very good article about gratitude. Here is a link that you can follow to take an interactive test. Click Here
Being Grateful AFTER the Blessing
By MELINDA BECK
It turns out, giving thanks is good for your health.
A growing body of research suggests that maintaining an attitude of gratitude can improve psychological, emotional and physical well-being.
Adults who frequently feel grateful have more energy, more optimism, more social connections and more happiness than those who do not, according to studies conducted over the past decade. They’re also less likely to be depressed, envious, greedy or alcoholics. They earn more money, sleep more soundly, exercise more regularly and have greater resistance to viral infections.
Now, researchers are finding that gratitude brings similar benefits in children and adolescents. Kids who feel and act grateful tend to be less materialistic, get better grades, set higher goals, complain of fewer headaches and stomach aches and feel more satisfied with their friends, families and schools than those who don’t, studies show.
“A lot of these findings are things we learned in kindergarten or our grandmothers told us, but we now have scientific evidence to prove them,” says Jeffrey J. Froh, an assistant professor of psychology at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., who has conducted much of the research with children.
“The key is not to leave it on the Thanksgiving table,” says Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California-Davis and a pioneer in gratitude research. And, he notes, “with the realization that one has benefited comes the awareness of the need to reciprocate.”
Philosophers as far back as the ancient Greeks and Romans cited gratitude as an indispensable human virtue, but social scientists are just beginning to study how it develops and the effects it can have.
The research is part of the “positive psychology” movement, which focuses on developing strengths rather than alleviating disorders. Cultivating gratitude is also a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy, which holds that changing peoples’ thought patterns can dramatically affect their moods.
It’s possible, of course, to over-do expressions of gratitude, particularly if you try to show it with a gift. “Thanking someone in such a way that is disproportionate to the relationship—say, a student giving her teacher an iPod—will create resentment, guilt, anger and a sense of obligation,” says Dr. Froh.
Gratitude can also be misused to exert control over the receiver and enforce loyalty. Dr. Froh says you can avoid this by being empathic toward the person you are thanking—and by honestly assessing your motivations.
In an upcoming paper in the Journal of Happiness Studies, Dr. Froh and colleagues surveyed 1,035 high-school students and found that the most grateful had more friends and higher GPAs, while the most materialistic had lower grades, higher levels of envy and less satisfaction with life. “One of the best cures for materialism is to make somebody grateful for what they have,” says Dr. Froh.
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Michael Rubenstein for the Wall Street Journal
Gratitude researcher Jeffery Froh reads to his 4-year-old son, James, at bedtime, when James talks about his favorite things from the day.
The Juggle
Gratitude: The Wonder Drug
Much of the research on gratitude has looked at associations, not cause-and-effect relationships; it’s possible that people who are happy, healthy and successful simply have more to be grateful for. But in a landmark study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2003, Dr. Emmons and University of Miami psychologist Michael McCullough showed that counting blessings can actually make people feel better.
The researchers randomly divided more than 100 undergraduates into three groups. One group was asked to list five things they were grateful for during the past week for 10 consecutive weeks. The second group listed five things that annoyed them each week and the third group simply listed five events that had occurred. They also completed detailed questionnaires about their physical and mental health before, during and after.
Those who listed blessings each week had fewer health complaints, exercised more regularly and felt better about their lives in general than the other two groups.
Drs. Froh and Emmons conducted a similar study with 221 sixth- and seventh-graders from Candlewood Middle School in Dix Hills, N.Y., an affluent area on Long Island. Although the effects weren’t as dramatic as with the adults, the students in the gratitude group did report a higher level of satisfaction with school and more optimism than the students who listed irritations, according to the study in the Journal of School Psychology in 2008.
As simple as it sounds, gratitude is actually a demanding, complex emotion that requires “self-reflection, the ability to admit that one is dependent upon the help of others, and the humility to realize one’s own limitations,” Dr. Emmons says.
Being grateful also forces people to overcome what psychologists call the “negativity bias”—the innate tendency to dwell on problems, annoyances and injustices rather than upbeat events. Focusing on blessings can help ward off depression and build resilience in times of stress, grief or disasters, according to studies of people impacted by the Sept. 11 terror attacks and Hurricane Katrina.
Some Techniques To Help Kids Be Grateful
Can people learn to look on the bright side, want what they have and be grateful for it? Experts believe that about 50% of such temperament is genetic, but the rest comes from experience, so there’s ample opportunity for change. “Kids and adults both can choose how they feel and how they look at the world,” says Andrew Greene, principal of Candlewood Middle School, who says that realization was one of the lasting legacies of Dr. Froh’s research there.
Some experts believe that children don’t develop true gratitude until they can experience empathy, which usually occurs around age 7. But researchers at Yale University’s Infant Cognition Center have shown that infants as young as 6-months old prefer characters who help to those who hinder others. To help lay the groundwork for gratefulness, Dr. Froh says he asks his 4-year-old son, James, each night what was his favorite thing about the day and what he is looking forward to tomorrow.
—Harold Melnick
For older children and adults, one simple way to cultivate gratitude is to literally count your blessings. Keep a journal and regularly record whatever you are grateful for that day. Be specific. Listing “my friends, my school, my dog” day after day means that “gratitude fatigue” has set in, Dr. Froh says. Writing “my dog licked my face when I was sad” keeps it fresher. Some people do this on their Facebook or MySpace pages, or in one of dozens of online gratitude groups. There’s an iPod app for gratitude journaling, too. The real benefit comes in changing how you experience the world. Look for things to be grateful for, and you’ll start seeing them everywhere.
A Buddhist exercise, called Naikan self-reflection, asks people to ponder daily: “What have I received from…? What have I given to…? and What trouble have I caused…?” Acknowledging those who touched your life—from the barista who made your coffee to the engineer who drove your train—and reflecting on how you reciprocated reinforces humbleness and interdependence.
Delivering your thanks in person can be particularly powerful. One study found that fourth-graders who took a “gratitude visit” felt better about themselves even two months later—particularly those whose moods were previously low.
Adopting a more upbeat mind-set helps facilitate gratitude, too. Instead of bonding with friends over gripes and annoyances, try sharing what you’re grateful for. To avoid sounding boastful, focus on giving credit to other people, as in, “My mom took a whole day off from work to get to my game.”
Studies show that using negative, derogatory words—even as you talk to yourself—can darken your mood as well. Fill your head with positive thoughts, express thanks and encouragement aloud and look for something to be grateful for, not criticize, in those around you, especially loved ones. New York psychiatrist Drew Ramsey says that’s an essential tool for surviving the holidays. “Giving thanks for them helps you deal with the craziness that is part of every family,” he says.
Last, if you find you take too much for granted, try the “It’s a Wonderful Life” approach: image what life would be like without a major blessing, like a spouse, a child or a job. In a 2008 study in the Journal of Personal Social Psychology, researchers found that when college students wrote essays in which they were asked to “mentally subtract” a positive event from their lives, they were subsequently more grateful for it than students whose essays simply focused on the event. The “George Bailey effect” was modest, the authors noted, but even small boosts in positive emotions can make life more satisfying.
by Todd Alan | Nov 18, 2010
By Michelle May, M.D.
This holiday season, experience maximal pleasure from all the wonderful food and special occasions. By eating mindfully you’ll eat less and enjoy it more. The key to mindful eating is to notice the details. Pretend you’re writing an article about your Thanksgiving or other holiday meal for a gourmet magazine. The following tips are from Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle (http://www.amihungry.com/eat-what-you-love-book.shtml):
- Focus on the people you are sharing your meal with. Engage in interesting conversations. Ask questions and really listen to your companions.
- Notice how hungry you are. If you aren’t hungry yet, become aware of the reasons you feel like eating anyway. If it’s for social reasons, then be social for awhile longer, then eat when you get hungry.
- Decide how you want to feel when you’re done eating. Stuffed and miserable? Or comfortable and content? Fill your plate or order accordingly.
- Mentally describe the table setting and the ambiance. Notice the aromas, colors, textures, and presentation of the meal.
- Before eating, take a moment to be truly thankful about where your food came from, including all the people who invested their time, effort, and talent to get it from farm to plate.
- Choose food carefully by asking yourself what you want and need. Don’t waste your appetite on cranberry sauce shaped like a can if you don’t love it!
- Put one small bite in your mouth. You only have taste buds on your tongue so the flavors of a large bite of food are lost on your teeth, cheeks, and the roof of your mouth.
- Notice the texture and flavors of the food on your tongue then slowly begin to chew it. Breathe since flavors other than salty, sweet, bitter and sour actually come from the aromas.
- Set your fork down between bites. If you begin to load your next forkful your attention will be on the next bite, not the one you are eating now. And if you are focused on the next bite of food instead of the one you are eating, you won’t stop eating until there are no more forkfuls.
- Sit for a moment and let the flavors and experience linger before you take the next bite.
- Notice as the food gently fills your stomach. Pause for several minutes in the middle of eating to reconnect with your hunger and fullness levels and enjoyment of the meal.
- Food is abundant this time of year—actually all year for most of us. Remind yourself that you can eat more later or at another meal so there’s no need to eat it all now and ruin the experience by feeling stuffed.
Mindful eating is a great way to enjoy Thanksgiving and other meals more while eating less. You’ll be thankful that you did!
Michelle May, M.D. is the founder of the Am I Hungry?® Mindful Eating Program (LINK to http://amihungry.com/) that helps individuals learn to break free from mindless and emotional eating to live a more vibrant, healthy life. She is the award-winning author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle. Download the first chapter free. (LINK to http://amihungry.com/eat-what-you-love-book.shtml
by Todd Alan | Nov 15, 2010
We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. – Aristotle 384 B.C.-322 B.C., Greek philosopher and scientist, student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great
I love oatmeal. Today I read on the cylindrical canister of Quaker Oats, “Always a Value”
And I reflected on how true that statement really is in my relationship with Quaker Oats.
The quality of oats is perfect every time, the taste, the consistency. All exactly as I love it. And I love the oats because, when I started out liking them, this is the same taste I remember. Now I can add ingredients to make it taste even better and add a variety to the experience, but the foundation remains solid.
This connection of oats and value can be applied to our lives in how we seek value and create value in our world. I invite you to reflect in this reading, on what you value in your life, and what you do not.
If we find value in something we keep it. When we do not see value in something, we toss it, ignore it, cover it up under piles, or let it go in some form. We either have a purpose for investing our energies in something, or we no longer have a need for that thing, relationship, or mental image in our lives, and we eventually let it go.
As a Life Coach, and one that works with people of all backgrounds in many areas of their lives, I see how we either value things in our lives and honor there presence, or do not and sometimes force ourselves to hold onto extra baggage of things, relationships, and agreements that no longer serve us.
This baggage and how to release it to create and find value in those things that really matter to us is what I write about today.
If you are at a place in your life where I hear yourself saying things like:
“I want to simplify my life”, “I need to get away”, “People want too much from me”, “If I were just more organized then…”
These are signs of the Universal hand on your shoulder pointing out areas where you can release things that are weighing you down. Or revealing ways you can increase your value to the world and to your relationships so that you feel content in who you are.
In having done this process myself this very weekend, I suggest that you may have things in your life that you would love to let go of, shift, or repurpose and get back in touch with that you are tolerating and not taking the time to deal with.
Where are you walking around something in your consciousness that you need to handle?
Are you doing things as you always have but would like to make a change and fear that a chnage will upset more and cause more problems than you started out with?
Do you want to know how a client, a partner or a loved one thinks about you and how they feel but are too scared to ask fr fear of what may come?
All of these types of scenarios block the value and purpose we give into the world and that we take in. Opening the channels of truth and value will bring more into your life and open paths where you can be of value from your highest purpose.
Personal inventory
I invite you to ponder these simple questions:
1 – What do I truly value in my life? (relationships, home, career, talents, health, wisdom, abilities, possessions)
2 – What in my life feels like a burden to hold onto, to avoid, or to ignore?
3- What can I do to shift how things are in my life right now, today, to view the situation from a different angle?
4 – What do I truly need to let go of to feel more relaxed and at ease?
5 – Where am I doing what others think I should do and not hearing my own voice?
Taking a personal inventory allow us to open up to new possibilities that we may not be seeing. Asking the question, has the Universe guide us to the answers.
Assess the value you are to people in your life. What do you bring to the table? And do you bring it consistently?
1 – Where do you lift them up people you are in relationship with?
2 – How do they see the value you bring to them?
3 – Is the value you bring consistent and of the quality you hope to be known for?
If it has changed over the years, you may want to get back in touch with those relationships, and or agreements you have with your boss, with yourself, with your family and see how your value is being perceived right now.
Inventory for your friends, family, co-workers, clients, and bosses
You can copy and paste these questions into a note to them and see how they respond.
What do you value most about our relationship?
Have I kept up the level of value that you have found in our relationship?
Where can I create more value for our relationship? How can I better serve?
This type of understanding will help in all areas of your life, with your loved ones, friends, peers, co-workers, bosses.
When you create value for others, value comes into your world in magical ways.
Be open and ready to learn in the process. Here is to you creating value in your world.
Tina Marie
“The Evokateur”
by Todd Alan | Oct 19, 2010
OCTOBER 19, 2010Michael Inbar, MSNBC
Sandra Whitfield might have figured that her 50th birthday merited a celebratory toast — but her daughter-in-law Laura Hadland gave that term a whole new meaning. Instead of raising a glass, Laura fired up nine toasters and browned nearly 10,000 pieces of bread to transform Whitfield’s portrait into the world’s largest toast mosaic, certified by Guinness World Records.
Hadland, senior curator of history for the City Council’s Arts and Museum Services division in Leicester, England, wowed her mother-in-law on her big 5-0 by leading her into an art gallery in her English hometown of Warrington, where Whitfield beheld the massive portrait of herself in all its toasty glory.“It’s a treat for Sandra made with much love and a sense of randomness,” Hadland told London’s Daily Mail newspaper. “She’s certainly not a stereotypical mother-in-law; she’s one of my best friends, and I love her.”
Whitfield admitted to being a bit bemused at first, telling the paper, “I love toast, but it feels very strange seeing my face made out of it.” But she isn’t likely to forget it, especially now that she’s a part of history.
On Sunday, Guinness World Records officially logged the creation as the largest mosaic of its kind in the world. Toast of the town Hadland hatched the idea as part of a social networking experiment, enlisting 40 Facebook friends to help with the endeavor. She rounded up 600 loaves of bread and set about having her team toast 9,852 slices to varying degrees of doneness, utilizing nine toasters. Six hours later, Whitfield’s still-youthful face was emblazoned in toast.
The mosaic measured 32 feet, 8 inches by 42 feet, 2 inches — as big as some New York City apa
rtments. Along the way, it knocked a toast mosaic made at a school in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, out of Guinness World Records.
Hadland, 27, was proud to not only honor her husband Mike’s mom in an unusual way, but also to enter Guinness history.“It’s great to have broken the record — what an awesome day,” she told the Daily Mail. “I’m thrilled my best mates came together to make our mark on history and celebrate Sandra’s birthday at the same time — it’s a birthday card like no other.”
As for Whitfield, she recovered from her initial puzzlement and embraced her daughter-in-law’s toasty-warm gesture. “I’m really overwhelmed because they have gone to so much effort,” she told the Daily Mail. “Laura is really the best daughter-in-law you could wish for. “It’s been the best birthday present ever — and I’m now a world record holder.”
by Todd Alan | Oct 13, 2010
I have used the excuse of jet lag for far too many days now post my Italy trip and am thinking the static in my head has to do with the fact that I have moved from one home, which I lived in for 20 years to a new delightful home which I adore. Adorable or not, the shift in energy is palpable. It is as if I were one of those bobble dolls, my body steadfast and immovable and my head bobbing around at a hundred rotations a minute, all for not. I am sure you have had such experiences.
How to regain a feeling of center?
With the lure of a warm bed, cozy comforters and deep pillows beckoning for my afternoon attention, today I ventured out from behind the moving boxes, from the sorting things out, from the ‘which cabinet will these dishes go in” deep questioning that a far-too-organized type like myself gets trapped in and did something novel. I went outside. The weather has been gorgeous, cool and downright inviting here in Houston. I was amazed at how fast my over-worked body seem to regain a sense of humanness.
I did not need sleep, I needed movement.
A simple walk down the new street, time spent listening to the birds, a few hello’s with my new neighbors and I felt like a new woman.
We all get bombarded with life’s pulls and demands. Some of us regain our energy through a nap, others, like I learned today, by returning to nature for a while.
How do you regain your center? Share your thoughts with your fellow Holistic Living lovelies.
Blessings to you all!
Tina Marie
The Evokateur
by Todd Alan | Sep 11, 2010
Prior to September 11th, 2001, when the world witnessed one of the most unbelievable attacks of our age, the number sequence of 911, had a connection to emergency response. I grew up as a child thinking of the 911 sequence as one that would save my life if I ever needed help.
As an outcome of the 911 attack the number shifted its meaning from help and support to one of sadness with a seemingly global energy that could be felt anytime I saw the number or held it’s memory in my mind.
What comes of the number, nine years later? I woke this morning and set an intention to personally shift the meaning of the number in my own perception to one of love and gratitude, and this is how the shift for me unfolded.
For a number to have such a long lasting impact, one of similar energy as a birthday or anniversary, the energy in that thought process, I have found, can be captured and connected to, and utilized for transformation. Like shifting a memory by finding the good in a situation, we too, are being led to do so for the number sequence 911.
I find it hopeful and inspiring that one number, in this case ‘911’ can spark memory in a vast amount of people all on the same day. In combining our energies, I share this meditation with you, as we shift the memory of 911 from one of pain and despair to one of connection and love.
Mediation Connects
My 911 Meditation
as we are connected in spirit and in energy
as one planetary being breathing, living, witnessing
on this day marked with meaning that no longer
calls to our highest good and most revered truths
we send love, we send an embrace like no other
an embrace that reaches round the planet
arms out stretched in oneness and in harmony
gifting love, adoration, respect and forgiveness
we breath as one summoning all that has
stood in our way to love fully, with no reservations
to see with the eyes of our own God, a source that
brings us faith and knowing and peace
breathing in we take in the purest of divine light energy
into our being, into our tissues, into our cells,
and wash them clean with light
we breath out all prior thoughts and beliefs
that no longer serve our evolution to our highest becoming
we breath in love and exhale peace and understanding
and so it is.
– Tina Marie Jones, September 11th, 2010
by Todd Alan | Sep 2, 2010
I am reminded today by a share that my friend and mentor, Mary Morrissey sent to her subscription list of how very important it is to let go and put down those thoughts that no longer serve us. I have pasted in her share below for you to experience as well, but first, I invite you to dwell in the possibility that all around you, all that plagues your mind with worry or frustration today, originated first in thoughts that came into your perception.
Then consider that you have all the power to give or deny focus to any thought, any of them.
I had a client once tell me, but you do not know the power of the thoughts in my mind. “You do not know the worry that I have every day to feed my children, to keep the bills paid, to work harder that anyone so I do not lose my job. You do not know the level of pain I live with in this tired body. How can you say that all of this is but thoughts in my mind and that if I shift them, then it will not seem bad, but instead good?”
And I say to that, and the doubt, and the fear, and the not knowing in us that rises up and wants answers and immediate action “or else _____”, I say, “Do I know? YES, I Know.”
My very life, an experiment of grand proportions in pain, hurt, loss, betrayal, fear and agony, I know that when applied, the teachings of the power of thought, transform even the most close to death person, the full of despair and regret person, the person on the edge of taking their own life. I have seen it, I have lived it, I am now teaching it.
I know that as soon as you shift your perception of the situation and begin to ask, “What if?”, once you become curious about where you are, how you got here, what has formed this reality, once you get curious, Life changes. Life takes on the forms that you instill in it, so much so that you can mentally form a mold through which to pour the mix of a life so wonderful, you overflow with Gratitude.
So today, put down the thoughts that plague you, they will be there tomorrow. Today, exist in a field of wonder, of curiosity. Ask the questions today of “What if?”
What if I loved my job, what would that look like?
What if I absolutely was head over heels in love with my spouse? What would that feel like?
What if I received a check for 5 million dollars today? What would I do with my time?
What if my body radiated with ultimate health and well being? What would I go do with my body to appreciate it?
Ask What if today…. share your thoughts and your experiences with us.
—
Post from Mary Morrissey
There is an ancient teaching story about two Buddhist monks walking along a river in silence. They have a vow of chastity –which includes many vows, but one of these vows of chastity requires that they never speak to, or ever touch, a woman.
As they walk up the river, they come upon a woman who is desperately trying to get across the river because her child is on the other side. It is a fast-flowing river and she is frightened to cross the river by herself. The one monk walks over to her and says, “May I help you?” He picks her up and with the strength that he carries in his legs that walk mountains and valleys and streams as part of his work, he carries her across the river, sets her down, returns to join his fellow and they begin again to walk in silence.
About two hours later the second monk says to the first monk, “I can’t believe you carried that woman across the river. I can’t believe you touched her. I can’t believe that you broke your vows.”
The other monk simply looks at his companion and says, “I put her down two hours ago. You are still carrying her.”
It’s such a wonderful story about us simply learning to put something down.
Let’s consider what are we still carrying that really isn’t happening anymore. What are we still hanging onto that isn’t in our present moment?
Let’s put it down…And when we put that down, we now have our hands, our heart and our mind available to what’s here, right now.
—
Love to you all,
Tina Marie – The Evokateur
http://www.tinamarie.com
by Todd Alan | Sep 1, 2010
I appeal to your intuition, not your intellect. Through this article I hope to create a level of curiosity in you that has you research all the links below, or at least bookmark them and plan to visit in the next week.
Our world is on the verge of a major shift in human consciousness and understanding of our amazingly unique gifts… gifts that no other mammal, or life form seems to possess on our planet. Buckle you seat belts for this engaging show replay.
If you did tune in, play it again.
Listen to what is being proposed:
Humans possess energetic and mental faculties that far surpass anything we have ever witnessed or thought was possible.
The Human brain has power equivalent to vast power stations to create merely from focused and intended thought.
You can harness this thought power to create your own reality here and now.
But first you must train your brain and unleash its true potential.
I personally know these points to be very true, I would stake my life on them, and have.
That is why producing this show, the one you are about to replay, was so crucial for my and Todd’s passion.
I want each of us to own this power, learn to direct it, form our visual reality and move into it with reverence and authenticity.
We coach people every day who, upon applying the very teachings we provid access to – experience what they call miracles.
There are two ways to live your life – one is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle. – Albert Einstein
This is what you will hear on this show –
Doug Vermeeren, film producer, was featured today on Holistic Living as he shared about his new film coming out called How Thoughts Become Things. Ancient cultures knew this power and used it every day. Why do we not do the same? How can you become an affiliate of his work, and build a business spreading global awakening at a neurological level?
John Assaraf, from the Secret, shares his new Winning the Inner Game of Business program that allows you to systematically remap the very beliefs that no longer serve your greatness and wealth – all at the cellular level. That is right – remap the brain. You do it with your software on your computer – now do it with your own brain!
This is not science fiction, although in the past many movies were of this… now, we see and know how to do it for ourselves, right here and now.
Listen in….
http://holisticlivingshow.com/?cat=27
Then visit these links… learn how to harness your mind and reap rewards and benefits for a lifetime.
Yours, Tina Marie, The Evokateur
http://www.howthoughtsbecomethings.com/
http://www.johnassaraf.com/daily-neural-reconditioning/
http://www.yoga-age.com/modern/thoughtpower.html
http://www.yoga-mind-control.com/
http://www.creativepowerofthought.com/
by Todd Alan | Aug 27, 2010
Responding to the nationwide scare of the recent rash of bedbugs, for the conscious minded who do not want to resort to harmful chemicals and sprays that have residual toxic affects, here are a few natural alternatives to use to rid your home of bed bugs and prevent them from feeling at home in your home.
Bed bugs, the nighttime worry instilled by our parents are actually real.
Bed bugs are parasites that prefer to feed on humans. In lieu of human meals, bed bugs will feed on other warm-blooded animals, including birds, rodents, and our pets.
Types of Bed Bugs
There are two primary types of bed bug populations. One species Cimex lectularius, prefers colder climates and is most frequently found in the northern climates of North America, Europe, and Central Asia, although it occurs sporadically in southern temperate regions. The second species known as the tropical bed bug, C. hemipterus, prefers semitropical to tropical climates and is widespread in the warmer areas of Africa, Asia, and the tropics of North America and South America. In the United States.
The spreading of bed bug populations
Bed bug populations tend to rise in late summer, thought to be a result of moe travel and vacationing in hotels. Bed bugs hitch rides in luggage, clothing and bedding. Bed bugs have been known to infest airplanes, ships, trains, and buses. Bed bugs are most frequently found in dwellings with a high rate of occupant turnover, such as hotels, motels, hostels, dormitories, shelters, apartment complexes, tenements, and prisons. Such infestations usually are not a reflection of poor hygiene or bad housekeeping, but instead of great living conditions for this parasite that reproduces daily and lives an average 12 – 18 months.
How to tell if you have bed bugs
Bed bugs hide in the crevasses and folds on the edges of mattresses, furniture, luggage and drawers of clothing. The tell tale bites swell slightly, and are usually in rows of 2 – 3 bites. Some bite mark form patterns on the skin e=revealing the travel of the bed bug along the skin. Nocturnal eaters, they have earned there fierce reputation by only coming out for 2 – 3 hours at night while their hosts are in deep sleep. A bed bug infestation can be recognized by blood stains from crushed bugs or by dark rusty looking spots of feces on sheets and mattresses, bed clothes, and walls. Fecal spots, eggshells, and shed skins may be found in the vicinity of their hiding places. These bugs move fast, so catching them in the process is rare, but seeing the marks left behind are proof enough of their presence.
Travel precautions
Do not unpack you
r luggage into the drawers offered by your hotel room furniture. Keep your luggage up on the suitcase racks and zipped tight at night. Bring protective mattress covers that encase the entire mattress with a strong zipper. Bring your own zipper pillow covers too, even if you do not suspect bed bugs, protective covers also help with allergies to dust mites and pet dander. Carry a container of black walnut oil and sprinkle it on the edges of the mattress before your sleep. Carefully inspect your bags and items before you bring them back into your home. You can also use the large, and even giant size now, zip lock bags to store your items in.
Ridding your home of bed bugs
Sticky traps and glue boards tarp the critters as the travel. Place them under your bed toward the headboard. Covering your mattress in a tight zippered cover that encases the whole mattress (a holistic approach) and leaving it on for a year’s time frame prevents them from surviving in your mattress as they are not able to go for more than a year without blood meal.
The use of Boric Acid powder, a natural dehydrating agent – used in between mattresses, on the floor, in carpet, closets and drawers. Do not allow to come in contact with the surface you would lay on for it is a caustic product. Follow directions on the label provided by the manufacturer.
Diatomaceous Earth powder is another natural alternative to pesticides. The product we recommend is Mother Earth D an all natural product that is harmless to you. Mother Earth D is odorless and is most used when controlling bed bugs. Works well in cracks and crevices, useful in any area. Mother Earth D can be used indoors and outdoors. Mother Earth D’s mildness is safe for pets and children. When using Mother Earth D it is recommended if used with a Dusting Tool such as bellow bulb to get an even spread through out.
Other Sources to consider
Second hand furniture is another common source of bed bugs. Before bringing in the items to your home, be sure to inspect them throughly. Using the holistic approach to kill off any potential bed bugs is also prudent.
Remember these points
It is much easier to prevent bed bugs by following these easy steps:
- Wash all bedding, including pillows regularly in hot water.
- Vacuum regularly. Use the brush tool of your vacuum to vacuum your mattress. Use the crevice tool to vacuum crevices in the mattress and your baseboards periodically.
- If you purchase used furniture, examine it for bed bugs.
- Pay special attention to used mattresses and bed frames.
- Check your own bed for bed bugs from time to time. Catching them early will make getting rid of bed bugs easier.
- Keep natural products on that will help prevent the occurrence or recurrence of bed bugs.
And remember to not let the bed bugs bite.
Tina Marie, The Evokateur
www.tinamarie.com
by Todd Alan | Aug 23, 2010
A government for the people by the people, yet most Americans feel powerless over the very government they have empowered. I have a few questions for you at the end of the post. Please humor me and write back. ; )
I am usually calm, non-judgmental, and accepting of most behaviors, trust me my children have tried it all. But recently I have found I am more vocal in my opinions around the political scene, and not so much political opinion but opinion on how people are choosing to live based on their perception of politics and their roles in it.
My father raised me to stay connected to the community, to be active in my school as I attended many growing up, and to participate in what matters to me. He would say, “You can’t complain if you do not participate.”
We are in control of our own bodies, our own actions, our own thoughts and our own reactions.
I share with you a story to put you in touch with our power to decide. In 2007, I had found myself questioning the banking industry when I and my then husband were wanting a jumbo loan and the whole process seemed a bit shaky. I began to listen to the news more, pay attention to signs of what was happening in business and decided to vote with my money and I pulled out of the market. Not 50% – I went 100% out. Now I have made more money on the sidelines in private investments than my counterparts who have played the fluctuations in the market. I listened to my intuition, paid attention to the signs and made an informed decision based on my comfort zone and knowledge. The jumbo loan did not take, thank goodness, and I moved on.
I have no resentments because I too action.
In 2008, the State of Texas Education Agency was imposing a new ruling that would have affected home schoolers and the people who choose to educate their children in this manner. It mattered to me, as at the time, my daughter and I were in a home school relationship. I drove up to Austin Texas, our capital, met with the legislators, voiced my concerns and thanked them. I followed up prior to the vote and afterward as well. The bill died in committee with not enough votes to go to the House.
I felt empowered because I participated and ,again, took action.
Politics may seem scary, intimidating, unfamiliar and unwelcoming. Driving to the capital to oppose a bill that would have affected my life, was new to me. But I did it. I learned the lingo. I did so because it mattered. The banking industry may also seem scary but as a great and dear teacher told me recently, “Credit is faith of an institution in you and your abilities. If they did not have faith in you, you would not have the credit card balances to begin with. Invest in their faith and make more money with your skills to prove them right.”
We all make choices day in and day out because we invest our time in things that matter to us.
So what is Holistic Politics?
I made those decisions, to investigate the banking industry and make my own choices from my gut, and opposing a bill that would affect my family not through party lines, not to prove anything, not to join a right side of thought but to follow my heart, engage my mind and move my body toward the goal I sought to achieve.
Politics is not about party lines when we get down to its essence – it is about defending and having a voice in what matters to us. It is using our freedoms, our God given power, our Constitutional rights to form lives that empower us and support a government that was based on that very foundation of thought.
We are a country built on values, truth, justice, freedom and the faith that the people will lead the country to its highest good, its highest power and be a beacon unto the world for each individual has a pursuit of health, happiness and freedoms given to us by God.
How do you participate in our government?
What do you see possible for our country if more people get involved?
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Listen in to the show on Tuesday as we share more about Holistic Politics – we need your attention, we need your commitment, we need your passion to fill your life with purpose, and freedom from fear, from worry, from debt, from living an imprisoned life.
The choice is yours. Join us – Tuesday at Noon Central. Link below.
Tune in to hear what Holistic Politics is all about, and why you need to know. How will a holistic approach shape our country and our world? Tune in – Tuesdays 10 am Pacific, Noon Central on Voice America
Your friend,
Tina Marie, The Evokateur
www.tinamarie.com
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