Friday, April 30, 2004
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EmpoweredParent.com Journal
http://EmpoweredParent.com
Information For Today's Parent!
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VOL.VI : Issue 2 April 30, 2004
Editor: Joan Bramsch
E-mail: hijoan@joanbramsch.com
ISSN: 1526-2154
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Common sense solutions for Today's Parenting Challenges!
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Empowered Parents: Strong Families
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ENJOYING OUR SIXTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION!
KNOW THIS:
We are all one people, Mother Earth is our one country, LOVE is stronger than fear, and peace and freedom are the birthrights of all humanity. Chief Seattle
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"Sizzlers" to spark your Spring Evenings!
Give yourself a gift about love...
Classic Contemporary Romance Novels
By Joan Bramsch
Http://www.joanbramsch.com/store/romancebooks.shtml
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INSIDE YOUR EP JOURNAL
<*> Letter from Joan
<*> Letters from EP Parents
<*> Humor
<*> This 'n That
<*> Subscribe/unsubscribe Information r>
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"You do what you know how to do; and when you know better, you do better."
- Maya Angelou
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Letter from Joan
WELCOME
Hi dear Parent,
Here in St. Louis, Spring has arrived. Daffodils have bloomed. Likewise the tulips and lily of the valley. The trees have blossomed and leaves are sprouting. This time always reminds me of a little funny poem an English teacher, no less, taught me:
Spring has sprung,
The grass has riz
I wonder where the birdies is?
The birds is on the wing,
Not ain't that a silly thing?
Cuz everbody knows,
The wings is on the bird!
Soon it will be graduation for many high school and college students. I think the speech by a Pulitzer Price winner reprinted here is very appropriate.
I've been doing a great deal of research, as you'll be able to tell by the journal today, reading many types of books, listening and experiencing many types of CDs. I think, like many of my EP family members, I am searching for new tools to renew my life. Some information has been very helpful and has actually reconfirmed that I'm heading in the right direction.
NOTE: You may wish to save this Journal so that you can refer back to it. Lots of great information here. :) For example:
>> "What Flavor Is Your Personality?" By Dr. Hirsch proved to me that I have changed and evolved as evidenced by my changing food choices.
>> Then I read a great little book - "The Teen Code" - by Rhett Godfrey for Parents of Teens. A teen himself, he interviewed 1000 teens, asking how should parents talk to them to get them to listen. Fascinating!
>> "Sweat Your Prayers" by Gabrielle Roth goes with any of her CDs to dance your cares away. I love the voluptuous beat; makes my bones vibrate. http://www.ravenrecording.com/
>> "Hitty, Her First Hundred Years" by Rachel Field is a story for children or those of us who wish to revisit. Many of you collect Hitty dolls. She is a small, hand-carved wooden dolly. I have a friend who makes clothes and hats for her, and she travels in purse or pocket everywhere.
>> "Little People" is written by Dan Kennedy, award-winning journalist, whose daughter is a little person. This engrossing story explores dwarfism from ancient times to the present and how the public reacts. Education is an ongoing job, it seems.
>> Psycho-therapist Bobbie Sandoz has newly revised and expanded "Parachutes for Parents." She lists 12 new keys to raising children for a better world. This is a very helpful book.
>> "Signing Time!" is a training video to teach babies to sign before they can speak. They now offer more lessons. Http://www.signingtime.com/
>> http://www.wendi.com offers self-hypnosis tapes on dozens of topics. I'm reviewing the Weight Release program and have discovered some hidden reasons for holding extra weight. Quite amazing, really!
>> A CD called "Mind Stim"sounds like lovely rushing water; however, it purports to help severe dyslexics. A friend is testing it. Alan Hewitt can tell you more: alan@earthstar.com.au
>> I also have family members testing the Hemi-Sync CD program to help focus and retain information for ADD and ADHD symptoms. Learn more here: http://www.Hemi-Sync.com
>> For the older Baby Boomers among us, I love this book: "Put Old On Hold" by Barbara Morris, R.Ph. Http://putoldonhold.com/ can make the difference in getting old and creaky, and being Timeless, which is my age now. :)
>> Last, for simply beautiful flute music in many different musical forms, I recommend any of Mark Holland's CDs at http://www.cedarnsagemusic.com If you click on "recordings" you can sample all the Four Wind songs. Mark is also a member of my Flute Circle. Before he played my Native American flute I could not play a note. He started the Magic moving and now I can play melodies. Playing the flute is another healing tool for me and it gives me peace.
At my lake cottage this summer I shall love playing my flute and gazing at the heavens with my new telescope, a gift from my children.
Remember, dear one, I value you, right here, right now, in all you do. I'd appreciate hearing from you to let me know if I continue to provide helpful information for your "other" fulltime job of parenting.
Love,
Joan
P.S. Publication of this issue of the EP Journal represents 8 hours and 43 minutes of my life so you surely must know how much I love you. :)
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WILLIE NELSON:
"Whatever Happened To Peace On Earth?"
Http://www.kucinich.us/nelson_poe_song.php
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Nothing will change until you change. Everything will change when you change.
- Lou DiCaprio
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When those of us with sound body start whining, let us remember Dr. John Mehlville, not only a survivor, but a Striver. Bravo, John! You do real Angel work.
Http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/5407028.htm
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MEDICINE WHEEL FOR WORLD BALANCE AND PEACE
Here is a website with a very comprehensive rundown on the Massive Medicine
Wheel ceremonies scheduled for May 8. What a great Mother's Day gift for Mother
Earth! "We are the ones we have been waiting for." - the Hopi Elders
Http://www.chiron-communications.com/communique%209-2.html
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A STAR FACTORY in full living color, compliments of Hubble:
Http://stardate.org/resources/gallery/gallery_detail.php?id=283
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AND I KNOW HE WATCHES ME!
Http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_eye_of_god.htm
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AT LAST, the WWII Memorial on the Mall in DC
Http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=design.asp&subpage=highresimgs
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Don't use the past as an excuse to miss out on your future. - Alan Cohen
JOAN'S NOTE: There's always time to turn your life around!
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COME SEE A FAERY WORLD!
Http://www.duirwaighgallery.com/group_thumb_list_with_artist.php?section=17
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A SPEECH ABOUT WHAT'S _REALLY_ IMPORTANT AFTER GRADUATION!
Thanks to EP Parent Brenda for this; now I don't have to write it myself. Love, Joan
This speech was given by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anna Quindlen at Villanova University for their graduation ceremony. It has a fabulous message for everyone, not just graduates.
I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work.
You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree; there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life.
Your particular life.
Your entire life.
Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account but your soul. People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is a cold comfort on a winter night, or when you're sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've gotten back the test results and they're not so good.
Here is my resume:
I am a good mother to three children.
I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent.
I no longer consider myself the center of the universe.
I show up.
I listen.
I try to laugh.
I am a good friend to my husband.
I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say.
I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me.
Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cutout.
But I call them on the phone, and I meet them for lunch.
I would be rotten, or at best mediocre at my job, if those other things were not true.
You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are.
So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.
Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast?
Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in which you stop and watch how a red tailed hawk circles over the water or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Write a letter.
Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted.
Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beers and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister.
All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough.
It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the color of our spouse's eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again.
It is so easy to exist instead of to live.
I learned to live many years ago.
I learned to love the journey, not the destination.
I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal,
and that today is the only guarantee you get.
I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned .
By telling them this:
Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear.
Read in the backyard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy.
And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do,
you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.
-- Anna Quindlen
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Before you die, dare to walk the wildest unknown way.
- Bryce Courtney
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JOKE: A man walks into a doctor's office. He has a cucumber up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in his right ear. "What's the matter with me?" he asks the doctor. The doctor replies, "You're not eating properly."
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LETTER:
Regarding Boris, the mean as a snake macaw, and Creator's Software story.
Oh Joan: This was the most beautiful thing I read this week. Thanks for sharing. It was just the right thing at the right time. God Bless. Anick
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FYI - The Map of World Economic Freedom Distribution - see the difference between BLUE and RED. Http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/images/EconFreedomDistMAP.pdf
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BECAUSE I LIVE IN AMERICA where many of us fight to retain our right to free speech, I invite you to visit this web site and see why I believe this man has something very important to say about the US role on our planet. Thank you. Http://www.kucinich.us/video/index.php#listen
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WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I'd like to know if it causes you distress that our US news is managed so that we do not see how the military pays great homage to our fallen dead when they are brought back from Iraq? Isn't this high respect honoring not only the person, but also his/her family here at home? I think the government fears a daily dose of the war dead coming home in flag-covered coffins could turn the tide of citizen support. And perhaps they are absolutely right!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3652171.stm
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BUMPER STICKER - I love it!
"Too blessed to be stressed."
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SENIOR HOUSING
For those of us in the sandwich generation, we must care for our parents, as well as, our children. In some cases, we are double-decker sandwiches - grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren. Many EP Parents are grandparents raising their grandchildren. What Angel work!
How to Find Great Senior Housing: A Roadmap for Elders and Those Who Love Them (2nd edition) by Phyllis Staff. M.D.
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BLUE CEILING FOR HAPPY SLEEPING
For centuries Gypsies have painted their bedroom ceilings blue when they were not able to sleep beneath the stars. Now science tells us that it truly is condusive to quality sleep.I added glow in the dark stars, arranged in easy to identify constellations for my children.
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HERE'S A MIRACLE IN THE MAKING! Joe William and his Prayer Pager. A fabulous idea!
Http://www.fbctifton.org/JoeWilliam/Default.asp
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LETTER
"For Joan, who asked: how do you play without feeling guilty that you should be doing "work?"
You have to have been born to my Mom who always proudly proclaimed, "We are the greatest loafers in all the Delighted States!" Because we all spent so much time lying around reading, or just looking up at the sky to see shapes in the clouds, or day-dreaming (call that "creative imagery"), or talking to each other, or listening to Mom's tales about life, love, honesty, books,
movies, or anything that came to mind...we spent a LOT of time doing nothing. Totally without guilt! And Mom was a "multi-tasker", too. She could knit argyle socks while reading a Perry Mason mystery AND watching TV! We were all "champs" at goofing off. Sometimes she would send us on a quest to find all the change in her pockets to get enough for us all to go to town to see a movie, and as we drove, she'd say, "At least we're going to the poor-house in style!" Just lying around "thinking" was the accepted way to spend time. Aren't you all jealous?"
I, for one, am! Thanks for writing. Love, Joan
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ALTERNATIVE idea for AUTISTIC children
Avoid the color orange in clothing and room colors. It's an emotional color and may dredge up buried issues which could make life worse. Application on skin or in diffusor of "Peace and Calming" essential oil may be helpful.
ALTERNATIVE idea for ADD/ADHD children and adults.
Experiments have revealed that bright yellow sunglass lens help the person to focus and concentrate.A bright yellow wall by study area is also helpful.
ALTERNATIVE idea for WEIGHT LOSS
Tests show wearing bright blue lens make food unappetizing to see and the wearer doesn't want to eat too much.
If you try any of these, let me know the results, please.
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ACCORDING TO THIS TEST, people like me... They _really, really_ like me. :) Joan
The Official Dr. Phil Personality Test given to Oprah!
Http://www.superlaugh.com/view.php?go=1/drphil.htm&mid=3885559
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If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? -Stephen Wright
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The Rules for Being Human
1. You will receive a body.You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in an informal school called Life. Each day in this school, you will have the opportunity to learn lessons.You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons.Growth is a process of trial and error. Experimentation.
The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately "works".
4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you
have learned it. You can then go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons.
If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better than "here." When your "there" has become a "here," you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you either love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need.
What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie inside you. The answers to Life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust.
10. You will forget all this.
~by Cherie Carter-Scott~
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BULLETS The days of a cartridge expelling a bullet that will simply put a hole in a human is long past. Now they are packed with such compressed energy and power that they explode inside the body. See for yourself. This is reality, parents. And I am more upset than anybody.
Http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/bullets/
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PSHISHING! No, it's not misspelled... Very important - please read this and don't become a victim. The bad guys are getting too smart!
http://www.antiphishing.org/news/03-31-04_Alert-FakeAddressBar.html
In other words - if in doubt, close the current window, open a new window and then go to the site you're concerned about. Do not use their window - even if you manually type in the correct url. Your typing is being hijacked.
Sara, Joan's Webmama
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What is Phishing?
Phishing attacks use 'spoofed' e-mails and fraudulent websites designed to fool recipients into divulging personal financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames and passwords, social security numbers, etc. By hijacking the trusted brands of well-known banks, online retailers and credit card companies, phishers are able to convince up to 5% of recipients to respond to them.
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Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon
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ARE YOU MORE RATIONAL OR MORE INTUITIVE? TAKE THE SURVEY AND SEE.
Http://www.the-intuitive-self.org/website/home.html
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Dear Parent, we ALL know energy vampires. Here's some protection against them. Love, Joan
POSITIVE ENERGY: THE NINTH PRESCRIPTION. HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM DRAINING YOU
Judith Orloff, M.D.
Each millisecond of our relationships is governed by a give and take of energy. Some people make us more electric or at ease. Yet others suck the life right out of us. As a physician and intuitive, I want to verify that energy vampires roam the world sapping our exuberance, an epidemic that medical texts don't address. In my medical practice and workshops, I've seen their fang marks and the carnage they've strewn. But even my most caring traditional medical colleagues lack the conceptual framework to see what's all around them. Thus, alas, the public remains uninformed, and many of us mope around as unwitting casualties, enduring a preventable fatigue.
Here are some signs to watch for that you've encountered an energy vampire:
Consider:
ß Does my chest tighten every time a certain person enters the conversation?
ß Do I run for the refrigerator and stuff myself after an interaction?
ß Do I need a nap after hanging up the phone with someone?
ß Do I have a headache, feel queasy, or slimed when a guest at a party starts talking to me?
ß Does my energy bottom out at family dinners? At staff meetings? Or other social gatherings?
ß Do I feel attacked, criticized, or blamed in a relationship?
ß Is a person so needy or clinging she seems to stick to me like fly-paper?
There are many types of energy vampires to watch out for. There is the Sob Sister, who endlessly complains without solutions; The Drama Queen who wears you out with her breathy emotional dramas; The Constant talker who doesn't let you get a word in edgewise; The Blamer who criticizes. The Go For the Jugular Type who maliciously inflicts damage. Even your mates and children can be unwitting vampires. In each case you need to know what to do.
Energy Vampire Survival Strategies
1.Take an inventory of people in your life who give energy, and people who drain. Specifically identify the energy vampires, and begin to evaluate ones you'd like to limit contact with or eliminate. Plan at least one complete afternoon with people who give off positive energy and avoid drainers. Notice how this beneficially affects your physical and emotional well-being.
2. Set Clear Boundaries. It's crucial to limit the time you spend discussing a vampire's gripes or say "no" to unreasonable requests. When approaching her, remember: the difference between being a bitch and setting boundaries is attitude. Instead of saying, "You're selfish and self-obsessed, I can't take you anymore," which a part of you likely feels, take a breath and shift to your heart.
3. Meditate. Sitting in meditation is a life-line to your center, to the earth. it will ground you when you've been struck by a vampire. By calming the mind, you can re-align with your essence. Close your eyes. Focus on your breath. Then gently extend your awareness downward to strata, bedrock, minerals, and soil. From the base of your spine begin to feel continuity with the earth's core. Picture having a long tail that roots in that center. Allow the earth's energy to infuse your body and stabilize you. If you meditate for five minutes or an hour this is sacred time.
4. Walk away. If you feel your energy being zapped don't hesitate to politely excuse yourself from a killing conversation. Move at least twenty feet from the person, outside the range of his or her energy field. "I have to go to the bathroom" is a foolproof line. Most people are oblivious to how their energy impacts others. For years, reluctant to hurt anyone's feelings, I needlessly endured these types of situations and suffered. How many of us are so loathe to appear rude that a raving maniac can be right in our face, and still we don't budge for fear of offending? In a spot, physically removing yourself is a sure quick solution.
5. Build an energy shield around you. When you're with vampires you can't get away from visualize a protective shield of while light surrounding every inch of you. This lets positive energy in, but keeps negative energy out—particularly efficient for vampires at family dinners or social events where you're trapped.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
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WHO WANTS TO START TAKING 10,000 STEPS DAILY? Let me know.
Http://www.oriononline.org/pages/oo/curmudgeon/index_curmudgeon.html
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The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care. "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."
Charles Schultz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip
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Flexitarian - this appeals to me very much. It's being a basic vegetarian with some meat, fish and eggs added occasionally.
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SEE A LIGHT ECHO AROUND A STAR
Http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1205_1.asp
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If you can't pray a door open, don't pry it open. -Lyell Rader
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From: http://www.mountainwings.com
21 Wise Sayings
1. The best way to get even is to forget...
2. Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death.
3. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts...
4. Some folks wear their halos much too tight...
5. Some marriages are made in heaven, but they ALL have to be
maintained on earth...
6. Unless you can create the WHOLE universe in 5 days, then
perhaps giving "advice" to God, isn't such a good idea.
7. Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, and faith looks up...
8. Standing in the middle of the road is dangerous.
You will get knocked down by the traffic from both ways.
9. Words are windows to the heart.
10. A skeptic is a person who when he sees the handwriting on
the wall, claims it's a forgery.
11. It isn't difficult to make a mountain out of a molehill,
just add a little dirt.
12. A successful marriage isn't finding the right person-it's
being the right person.
13. The mighty oak tree was once a little nut that held its
ground.
14. Too many people offer God prayers with claw marks all over
them.
15. The tongue must be heavy indeed, because so few people can
hold it.
16. To forgive is to set the prisoner free, and then discover
the prisoner was you.
17. You have to wonder about humans, they think God is dead and
Elvis is alive.
18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again.
Just be sure to flush when you are done.
19. You'll notice that a turtle only makes progress when it
sticks out its neck...
20. If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you
can bet the water bill is higher.
21. And last but not least -- God gave the angels Wings, and He
gave humans CHOCOLATE!!!!!
Keep smiling, and ...if you see someone's missing one.... give them one of yours!!
~Author Unknown~
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A WORKER'S PRAYER
Dear Lord I pray: For wisdom to understand my colleagues Love to forgive them Patience for their moods Because Lord if I pray for Strength, I'll beat them to death!!
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AND NOW LITTLE KITTY will entertain you when you are feeling too tired to do anything else. Http://home.wanadoo.nl/annekebroenink/maukie2.swf
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War cannot be humanized, it can only be abolished.
-- Albert Einstein
The ultimate oxymoron: "Holy War"
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FEED THE HUNGRY:
http://www.thehungersite.com
http://www.heifer.org/
FOR PEACE ON OUR PLANET: We are not going to be able to operate our Spaceship Earth successfully nor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common. It has to be everybody or nobody. -Buckminster Fuller
NEXT ISSUE: More encouragement from EP Parents' Cheerleader!
* (\ *** /) * . *
. * ( \ (_) / ) * Guardian Angel
*. (_ / | \ _) . * .
* . /____\ * . . *
In the meantime, here is an angel sent to watch over you for me.
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FROM BILL: We are Angels born with but one wing,
In order to fly we must embrace one another. ===================================
Till next time, don't forget -- Parenthood is Wonder-filled!
Fondly, Joan
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Thank You For Reading! Have a Terrific Month!
Empowered Parenting Ezine is published solely by Joan Bramsch, founder and Director of http://www.EmpoweredParent.com and may not reflect the opinion of all Empowered Parent members. Copyright © 2004, all rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without the express written consent of the publisher or contributors. We accept no responsibility for your use of any contributed information contained herein. All of the information presented in the Empowered Parenting Ezine is published in good faith. Any comments stated in this publication are strictly the opinion of the writer or publisher. We publish all advertising in good faith but offer no guarantees. Please do your own due diligence in ANY transaction. We reserve the right to edit and make suitable for publication, if necessary, any articles published in this newsletter. We reserve the right to publish all reader comments, including the name of the writer. Reported survey results will NOT use the names of the contributors. Joan Bramsch, owner, EmpoweredParent.com
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© 1999-2004 Joan Bramsch/JB INFORMATION STATION.
All rights reserved worldwide.
ISSN: 1526-2154 - Library Of Congress, Washington DC, USA
Permission to download text is for personal use only. It is illegal to reproduce or transmit in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, any part of this copyrighted text without permission in writing from the publisher.
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http://www.EmpoweredParent.com
All material copyright © Joan Bramsch 1999--2004 (unless otherwise noted)
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EmpoweredParent.com Journal
http://EmpoweredParent.com
Information For Today's Parent!
<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>
VOL.VI : Issue 2 April 30, 2004
Editor: Joan Bramsch
E-mail: hijoan@joanbramsch.com
ISSN: 1526-2154
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Common sense solutions for Today's Parenting Challenges!
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Empowered Parents: Strong Families
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ENJOYING OUR SIXTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION!
KNOW THIS:
We are all one people, Mother Earth is our one country, LOVE is stronger than fear, and peace and freedom are the birthrights of all humanity. Chief Seattle
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Legal Stuff:
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"Sizzlers" to spark your Spring Evenings!
Give yourself a gift about love...
Classic Contemporary Romance Novels
By Joan Bramsch
Http://www.joanbramsch.com/store/romancebooks.shtml
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INSIDE YOUR EP JOURNAL
<*> Letter from Joan
<*> Letters from EP Parents
<*> Humor
<*> This 'n That
<*> Subscribe/unsubscribe Information r>
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"You do what you know how to do; and when you know better, you do better."
- Maya Angelou
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Letter from Joan
WELCOME
Hi dear Parent,
Here in St. Louis, Spring has arrived. Daffodils have bloomed. Likewise the tulips and lily of the valley. The trees have blossomed and leaves are sprouting. This time always reminds me of a little funny poem an English teacher, no less, taught me:
Spring has sprung,
The grass has riz
I wonder where the birdies is?
The birds is on the wing,
Not ain't that a silly thing?
Cuz everbody knows,
The wings is on the bird!
Soon it will be graduation for many high school and college students. I think the speech by a Pulitzer Price winner reprinted here is very appropriate.
I've been doing a great deal of research, as you'll be able to tell by the journal today, reading many types of books, listening and experiencing many types of CDs. I think, like many of my EP family members, I am searching for new tools to renew my life. Some information has been very helpful and has actually reconfirmed that I'm heading in the right direction.
NOTE: You may wish to save this Journal so that you can refer back to it. Lots of great information here. :) For example:
>> "What Flavor Is Your Personality?" By Dr. Hirsch proved to me that I have changed and evolved as evidenced by my changing food choices.
>> Then I read a great little book - "The Teen Code" - by Rhett Godfrey for Parents of Teens. A teen himself, he interviewed 1000 teens, asking how should parents talk to them to get them to listen. Fascinating!
>> "Sweat Your Prayers" by Gabrielle Roth goes with any of her CDs to dance your cares away. I love the voluptuous beat; makes my bones vibrate. http://www.ravenrecording.com/
>> "Hitty, Her First Hundred Years" by Rachel Field is a story for children or those of us who wish to revisit. Many of you collect Hitty dolls. She is a small, hand-carved wooden dolly. I have a friend who makes clothes and hats for her, and she travels in purse or pocket everywhere.
>> "Little People" is written by Dan Kennedy, award-winning journalist, whose daughter is a little person. This engrossing story explores dwarfism from ancient times to the present and how the public reacts. Education is an ongoing job, it seems.
>> Psycho-therapist Bobbie Sandoz has newly revised and expanded "Parachutes for Parents." She lists 12 new keys to raising children for a better world. This is a very helpful book.
>> "Signing Time!" is a training video to teach babies to sign before they can speak. They now offer more lessons. Http://www.signingtime.com/
>> http://www.wendi.com offers self-hypnosis tapes on dozens of topics. I'm reviewing the Weight Release program and have discovered some hidden reasons for holding extra weight. Quite amazing, really!
>> A CD called "Mind Stim"sounds like lovely rushing water; however, it purports to help severe dyslexics. A friend is testing it. Alan Hewitt can tell you more: alan@earthstar.com.au
>> I also have family members testing the Hemi-Sync CD program to help focus and retain information for ADD and ADHD symptoms. Learn more here: http://www.Hemi-Sync.com
>> For the older Baby Boomers among us, I love this book: "Put Old On Hold" by Barbara Morris, R.Ph. Http://putoldonhold.com/ can make the difference in getting old and creaky, and being Timeless, which is my age now. :)
>> Last, for simply beautiful flute music in many different musical forms, I recommend any of Mark Holland's CDs at http://www.cedarnsagemusic.com If you click on "recordings" you can sample all the Four Wind songs. Mark is also a member of my Flute Circle. Before he played my Native American flute I could not play a note. He started the Magic moving and now I can play melodies. Playing the flute is another healing tool for me and it gives me peace.
At my lake cottage this summer I shall love playing my flute and gazing at the heavens with my new telescope, a gift from my children.
Remember, dear one, I value you, right here, right now, in all you do. I'd appreciate hearing from you to let me know if I continue to provide helpful information for your "other" fulltime job of parenting.
Love,
Joan
P.S. Publication of this issue of the EP Journal represents 8 hours and 43 minutes of my life so you surely must know how much I love you. :)
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WILLIE NELSON:
"Whatever Happened To Peace On Earth?"
Http://www.kucinich.us/nelson_poe_song.php
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Nothing will change until you change. Everything will change when you change.
- Lou DiCaprio
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When those of us with sound body start whining, let us remember Dr. John Mehlville, not only a survivor, but a Striver. Bravo, John! You do real Angel work.
Http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/5407028.htm
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MEDICINE WHEEL FOR WORLD BALANCE AND PEACE
Here is a website with a very comprehensive rundown on the Massive Medicine
Wheel ceremonies scheduled for May 8. What a great Mother's Day gift for Mother
Earth! "We are the ones we have been waiting for." - the Hopi Elders
Http://www.chiron-communications.com/communique%209-2.html
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A STAR FACTORY in full living color, compliments of Hubble:
Http://stardate.org/resources/gallery/gallery_detail.php?id=283
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AND I KNOW HE WATCHES ME!
Http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_eye_of_god.htm
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AT LAST, the WWII Memorial on the Mall in DC
Http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=design.asp&subpage=highresimgs
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Don't use the past as an excuse to miss out on your future. - Alan Cohen
JOAN'S NOTE: There's always time to turn your life around!
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COME SEE A FAERY WORLD!
Http://www.duirwaighgallery.com/group_thumb_list_with_artist.php?section=17
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A SPEECH ABOUT WHAT'S _REALLY_ IMPORTANT AFTER GRADUATION!
Thanks to EP Parent Brenda for this; now I don't have to write it myself. Love, Joan
This speech was given by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anna Quindlen at Villanova University for their graduation ceremony. It has a fabulous message for everyone, not just graduates.
I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work.
You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree; there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life.
Your particular life.
Your entire life.
Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account but your soul. People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is a cold comfort on a winter night, or when you're sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've gotten back the test results and they're not so good.
Here is my resume:
I am a good mother to three children.
I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent.
I no longer consider myself the center of the universe.
I show up.
I listen.
I try to laugh.
I am a good friend to my husband.
I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say.
I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me.
Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cutout.
But I call them on the phone, and I meet them for lunch.
I would be rotten, or at best mediocre at my job, if those other things were not true.
You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are.
So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.
Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast?
Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in which you stop and watch how a red tailed hawk circles over the water or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Write a letter.
Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted.
Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beers and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister.
All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough.
It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the color of our spouse's eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again.
It is so easy to exist instead of to live.
I learned to live many years ago.
I learned to love the journey, not the destination.
I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal,
and that today is the only guarantee you get.
I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned .
By telling them this:
Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear.
Read in the backyard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy.
And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do,
you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.
-- Anna Quindlen
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Before you die, dare to walk the wildest unknown way.
- Bryce Courtney
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JOKE: A man walks into a doctor's office. He has a cucumber up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in his right ear. "What's the matter with me?" he asks the doctor. The doctor replies, "You're not eating properly."
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LETTER:
Regarding Boris, the mean as a snake macaw, and Creator's Software story.
Oh Joan: This was the most beautiful thing I read this week. Thanks for sharing. It was just the right thing at the right time. God Bless. Anick
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FYI - The Map of World Economic Freedom Distribution - see the difference between BLUE and RED. Http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/images/EconFreedomDistMAP.pdf
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BECAUSE I LIVE IN AMERICA where many of us fight to retain our right to free speech, I invite you to visit this web site and see why I believe this man has something very important to say about the US role on our planet. Thank you. Http://www.kucinich.us/video/index.php#listen
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WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I'd like to know if it causes you distress that our US news is managed so that we do not see how the military pays great homage to our fallen dead when they are brought back from Iraq? Isn't this high respect honoring not only the person, but also his/her family here at home? I think the government fears a daily dose of the war dead coming home in flag-covered coffins could turn the tide of citizen support. And perhaps they are absolutely right!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3652171.stm
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BUMPER STICKER - I love it!
"Too blessed to be stressed."
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SENIOR HOUSING
For those of us in the sandwich generation, we must care for our parents, as well as, our children. In some cases, we are double-decker sandwiches - grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren. Many EP Parents are grandparents raising their grandchildren. What Angel work!
How to Find Great Senior Housing: A Roadmap for Elders and Those Who Love Them (2nd edition) by Phyllis Staff. M.D.
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BLUE CEILING FOR HAPPY SLEEPING
For centuries Gypsies have painted their bedroom ceilings blue when they were not able to sleep beneath the stars. Now science tells us that it truly is condusive to quality sleep.I added glow in the dark stars, arranged in easy to identify constellations for my children.
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HERE'S A MIRACLE IN THE MAKING! Joe William and his Prayer Pager. A fabulous idea!
Http://www.fbctifton.org/JoeWilliam/Default.asp
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LETTER
"For Joan, who asked: how do you play without feeling guilty that you should be doing "work?"
You have to have been born to my Mom who always proudly proclaimed, "We are the greatest loafers in all the Delighted States!" Because we all spent so much time lying around reading, or just looking up at the sky to see shapes in the clouds, or day-dreaming (call that "creative imagery"), or talking to each other, or listening to Mom's tales about life, love, honesty, books,
movies, or anything that came to mind...we spent a LOT of time doing nothing. Totally without guilt! And Mom was a "multi-tasker", too. She could knit argyle socks while reading a Perry Mason mystery AND watching TV! We were all "champs" at goofing off. Sometimes she would send us on a quest to find all the change in her pockets to get enough for us all to go to town to see a movie, and as we drove, she'd say, "At least we're going to the poor-house in style!" Just lying around "thinking" was the accepted way to spend time. Aren't you all jealous?"
I, for one, am! Thanks for writing. Love, Joan
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ALTERNATIVE idea for AUTISTIC children
Avoid the color orange in clothing and room colors. It's an emotional color and may dredge up buried issues which could make life worse. Application on skin or in diffusor of "Peace and Calming" essential oil may be helpful.
ALTERNATIVE idea for ADD/ADHD children and adults.
Experiments have revealed that bright yellow sunglass lens help the person to focus and concentrate.A bright yellow wall by study area is also helpful.
ALTERNATIVE idea for WEIGHT LOSS
Tests show wearing bright blue lens make food unappetizing to see and the wearer doesn't want to eat too much.
If you try any of these, let me know the results, please.
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ACCORDING TO THIS TEST, people like me... They _really, really_ like me. :) Joan
The Official Dr. Phil Personality Test given to Oprah!
Http://www.superlaugh.com/view.php?go=1/drphil.htm&mid=3885559
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If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? -Stephen Wright
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The Rules for Being Human
1. You will receive a body.You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in an informal school called Life. Each day in this school, you will have the opportunity to learn lessons.You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons.Growth is a process of trial and error. Experimentation.
The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately "works".
4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you
have learned it. You can then go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons.
If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better than "here." When your "there" has become a "here," you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you either love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need.
What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie inside you. The answers to Life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust.
10. You will forget all this.
~by Cherie Carter-Scott~
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BULLETS The days of a cartridge expelling a bullet that will simply put a hole in a human is long past. Now they are packed with such compressed energy and power that they explode inside the body. See for yourself. This is reality, parents. And I am more upset than anybody.
Http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/bullets/
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PSHISHING! No, it's not misspelled... Very important - please read this and don't become a victim. The bad guys are getting too smart!
http://www.antiphishing.org/news/03-31-04_Alert-FakeAddressBar.html
In other words - if in doubt, close the current window, open a new window and then go to the site you're concerned about. Do not use their window - even if you manually type in the correct url. Your typing is being hijacked.
Sara, Joan's Webmama
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What is Phishing?
Phishing attacks use 'spoofed' e-mails and fraudulent websites designed to fool recipients into divulging personal financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames and passwords, social security numbers, etc. By hijacking the trusted brands of well-known banks, online retailers and credit card companies, phishers are able to convince up to 5% of recipients to respond to them.
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Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon
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ARE YOU MORE RATIONAL OR MORE INTUITIVE? TAKE THE SURVEY AND SEE.
Http://www.the-intuitive-self.org/website/home.html
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Dear Parent, we ALL know energy vampires. Here's some protection against them. Love, Joan
POSITIVE ENERGY: THE NINTH PRESCRIPTION. HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM DRAINING YOU
Judith Orloff, M.D.
Each millisecond of our relationships is governed by a give and take of energy. Some people make us more electric or at ease. Yet others suck the life right out of us. As a physician and intuitive, I want to verify that energy vampires roam the world sapping our exuberance, an epidemic that medical texts don't address. In my medical practice and workshops, I've seen their fang marks and the carnage they've strewn. But even my most caring traditional medical colleagues lack the conceptual framework to see what's all around them. Thus, alas, the public remains uninformed, and many of us mope around as unwitting casualties, enduring a preventable fatigue.
Here are some signs to watch for that you've encountered an energy vampire:
Consider:
ß Does my chest tighten every time a certain person enters the conversation?
ß Do I run for the refrigerator and stuff myself after an interaction?
ß Do I need a nap after hanging up the phone with someone?
ß Do I have a headache, feel queasy, or slimed when a guest at a party starts talking to me?
ß Does my energy bottom out at family dinners? At staff meetings? Or other social gatherings?
ß Do I feel attacked, criticized, or blamed in a relationship?
ß Is a person so needy or clinging she seems to stick to me like fly-paper?
There are many types of energy vampires to watch out for. There is the Sob Sister, who endlessly complains without solutions; The Drama Queen who wears you out with her breathy emotional dramas; The Constant talker who doesn't let you get a word in edgewise; The Blamer who criticizes. The Go For the Jugular Type who maliciously inflicts damage. Even your mates and children can be unwitting vampires. In each case you need to know what to do.
Energy Vampire Survival Strategies
1.Take an inventory of people in your life who give energy, and people who drain. Specifically identify the energy vampires, and begin to evaluate ones you'd like to limit contact with or eliminate. Plan at least one complete afternoon with people who give off positive energy and avoid drainers. Notice how this beneficially affects your physical and emotional well-being.
2. Set Clear Boundaries. It's crucial to limit the time you spend discussing a vampire's gripes or say "no" to unreasonable requests. When approaching her, remember: the difference between being a bitch and setting boundaries is attitude. Instead of saying, "You're selfish and self-obsessed, I can't take you anymore," which a part of you likely feels, take a breath and shift to your heart.
3. Meditate. Sitting in meditation is a life-line to your center, to the earth. it will ground you when you've been struck by a vampire. By calming the mind, you can re-align with your essence. Close your eyes. Focus on your breath. Then gently extend your awareness downward to strata, bedrock, minerals, and soil. From the base of your spine begin to feel continuity with the earth's core. Picture having a long tail that roots in that center. Allow the earth's energy to infuse your body and stabilize you. If you meditate for five minutes or an hour this is sacred time.
4. Walk away. If you feel your energy being zapped don't hesitate to politely excuse yourself from a killing conversation. Move at least twenty feet from the person, outside the range of his or her energy field. "I have to go to the bathroom" is a foolproof line. Most people are oblivious to how their energy impacts others. For years, reluctant to hurt anyone's feelings, I needlessly endured these types of situations and suffered. How many of us are so loathe to appear rude that a raving maniac can be right in our face, and still we don't budge for fear of offending? In a spot, physically removing yourself is a sure quick solution.
5. Build an energy shield around you. When you're with vampires you can't get away from visualize a protective shield of while light surrounding every inch of you. This lets positive energy in, but keeps negative energy out—particularly efficient for vampires at family dinners or social events where you're trapped.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
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WHO WANTS TO START TAKING 10,000 STEPS DAILY? Let me know.
Http://www.oriononline.org/pages/oo/curmudgeon/index_curmudgeon.html
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The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care. "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."
Charles Schultz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip
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Flexitarian - this appeals to me very much. It's being a basic vegetarian with some meat, fish and eggs added occasionally.
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SEE A LIGHT ECHO AROUND A STAR
Http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1205_1.asp
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If you can't pray a door open, don't pry it open. -Lyell Rader
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From: http://www.mountainwings.com
21 Wise Sayings
1. The best way to get even is to forget...
2. Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death.
3. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts...
4. Some folks wear their halos much too tight...
5. Some marriages are made in heaven, but they ALL have to be
maintained on earth...
6. Unless you can create the WHOLE universe in 5 days, then
perhaps giving "advice" to God, isn't such a good idea.
7. Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, and faith looks up...
8. Standing in the middle of the road is dangerous.
You will get knocked down by the traffic from both ways.
9. Words are windows to the heart.
10. A skeptic is a person who when he sees the handwriting on
the wall, claims it's a forgery.
11. It isn't difficult to make a mountain out of a molehill,
just add a little dirt.
12. A successful marriage isn't finding the right person-it's
being the right person.
13. The mighty oak tree was once a little nut that held its
ground.
14. Too many people offer God prayers with claw marks all over
them.
15. The tongue must be heavy indeed, because so few people can
hold it.
16. To forgive is to set the prisoner free, and then discover
the prisoner was you.
17. You have to wonder about humans, they think God is dead and
Elvis is alive.
18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again.
Just be sure to flush when you are done.
19. You'll notice that a turtle only makes progress when it
sticks out its neck...
20. If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you
can bet the water bill is higher.
21. And last but not least -- God gave the angels Wings, and He
gave humans CHOCOLATE!!!!!
Keep smiling, and ...if you see someone's missing one.... give them one of yours!!
~Author Unknown~
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A WORKER'S PRAYER
Dear Lord I pray: For wisdom to understand my colleagues Love to forgive them Patience for their moods Because Lord if I pray for Strength, I'll beat them to death!!
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AND NOW LITTLE KITTY will entertain you when you are feeling too tired to do anything else. Http://home.wanadoo.nl/annekebroenink/maukie2.swf
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War cannot be humanized, it can only be abolished.
-- Albert Einstein
The ultimate oxymoron: "Holy War"
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FEED THE HUNGRY:
http://www.thehungersite.com
http://www.heifer.org/
FOR PEACE ON OUR PLANET: We are not going to be able to operate our Spaceship Earth successfully nor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common. It has to be everybody or nobody. -Buckminster Fuller
NEXT ISSUE: More encouragement from EP Parents' Cheerleader!
* (\ *** /) * . *
. * ( \ (_) / ) * Guardian Angel
*. (_ / | \ _) . * .
* . /____\ * . . *
In the meantime, here is an angel sent to watch over you for me.
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FROM BILL: We are Angels born with but one wing,
In order to fly we must embrace one another. ===================================
Till next time, don't forget -- Parenthood is Wonder-filled!
Fondly, Joan
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Thank You For Reading! Have a Terrific Month!
Empowered Parenting Ezine is published solely by Joan Bramsch, founder and Director of http://www.EmpoweredParent.com and may not reflect the opinion of all Empowered Parent members. Copyright © 2004, all rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without the express written consent of the publisher or contributors. We accept no responsibility for your use of any contributed information contained herein. All of the information presented in the Empowered Parenting Ezine is published in good faith. Any comments stated in this publication are strictly the opinion of the writer or publisher. We publish all advertising in good faith but offer no guarantees. Please do your own due diligence in ANY transaction. We reserve the right to edit and make suitable for publication, if necessary, any articles published in this newsletter. We reserve the right to publish all reader comments, including the name of the writer. Reported survey results will NOT use the names of the contributors. Joan Bramsch, owner, EmpoweredParent.com
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© 1999-2004 Joan Bramsch/JB INFORMATION STATION.
All rights reserved worldwide.
ISSN: 1526-2154 - Library Of Congress, Washington DC, USA
Permission to download text is for personal use only. It is illegal to reproduce or transmit in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, any part of this copyrighted text without permission in writing from the publisher.
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All material copyright © Joan Bramsch 1999--2004 (unless otherwise noted)
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