Welcome to

Welcome to
SELFDEVELOPMENT.Biz JOURNAL
Number 37
I hope you will receive a fortnightly dose of motivation, inspiration, laughter and thought-provoking quotes. If you find yourself bogged down in our competitive, stressful work world, take a few minutes to read and then think about the positive messages you will receive.

1. Inspirational Quotes

2. The Light Within by Joe Mazzella

3. Find of the week

4. Wild Trivia

5. Metaphor

6. Ken Warren- Surviving rape

7. Your Forwarded Daily Motivation ~ Follow The Path Of Others To Success.?

8. Jokes

9. Motivational
No trees were destroyed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were significantly inconvenienced

1. Inspirational Quotes

Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.

Seen on "T" Shirts ~ thanks Lyn Macintosh

My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought he was God and I didn't!

I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.

Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.

I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

Don't take life too seriously, you won't get out alive.

You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me.

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

Quoting one is plagiarism. Quoting many is research.

I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.

God must love stupid people, he made so many.

The gene pool could use a little chlorine.

I took an IQ test and the results were negative.

Consciousness: that annoying time between naps.

Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?

Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew Up

Rehab Is for Quitters

My Dog Can Lick Anyone

Finally 21, and Legally Able To Do Everything I've Been Doing Since 15

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance

STUPIDITY IS NOT A HANDICAP. Park elsewhere!

He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead

POLICE STATION TOILET STOLEN ....Cops have nothing to go on.

HECK IS WHERE PEOPLE GO WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN GOSH

A PICTURE IS WORTH A 1000 WORDS, but it uses up a 1000 times the memory.

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

HAM AND EGGS - A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

2. Short Story ~ NEVER TOO OLD by Joseph J. Mazzella

I had a very strange experience looking into my mirror this morning. After I finished shaving I looked to see if I had missed any whiskers and noticed as usual the wrinkles on my face and grey hairs on my head. It seemed quite clear that my body was definitely getting older. Then when I stopped for a moment and took a second look something magical happened. I noticed that my wrinkles seemed more like laugh lines and that my eyes shone with joy and light. I looked a little deeper inside those eyes and saw my own soul laughing at me with kindness and love. I knew then that even though my body keeps getting older my spirit keeps growing younger with each passing day. I saw too that no matter how old this body gets I will still be able to choose and share the love and joy that truly makes life worth living.

It really doesn’t matter if your body is eight, eighteen, thirty eight, or eighty it is always the right time to love others, to share your joy, to celebrate being alive, to make this world a better place, and to live the life God meant for you to live. It is never too late to listen to your eternally young soul, your loving heart, and the thousand angel voices urging you to live, love, care, share, grow, and help others to do the same.

Take your body young or old then and begin to live today. Choose love like you have never chosen it before. Share joy like today is the only day of your life. Give laughter, smiles, kindness, and goodness to everyone you meet. Fill your days with beautiful, wonderful, loving acts. Take those you love in your arms, look them in the eyes, and tell them "I love you." Make your life worthy of the Child of God, the being of light, and the ageless, loving soul you are. This wonderful life of ours is a gift from God and you are never too old to open it and live it.

3. Find of the week

When I make the big switch to eating heart-healthy food, I worried about what was being served in eating establishments, but no more. I have yet to see a menu that didn’t includes healthy choices. Here are my top ten recommendations for those who are looking for a well-balanced diet:

1. For an appetizers, order a fruit cup or a prawn cocktail.

2. Ask that chicken breast or fish be grilled in olive oil (every restaurant has that).

3. Select marinara sauce over pasta – never cream sauces or anything “alfredo.” Leave off the cheese.

4. Always choose steamed rice instead of fried rice.

5. Order your salad with low-cal dressing on the side.

6. Ask for a baked potato, rather than mashed or fried.

7. Never choose anything fried – ask for it steamed, grilled, baked or broiled instead.

8. For desert, choose sherbet, sorbet, or even a fruit cup from the appetizer menu.

9. In a fast food restaurant, chose a grilled chicken sandwich or a salad.

10. Don’t hesitate to ask that your food be prepared in a special way. Just tell the waiter person, “My doctor has me on a special diet.”

Enjoy!

– Neil Eskelin

3. Gratitude Exercise

Thanks Lyn MacIntosh

Subject: Mrs Solomon
She is 92 years old, petite, well poised, and proud. She is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed, and her makeup perfectly applied, in spite of the fact she is legally blind.

Today she has moved to a nursing home. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making this move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, where I am employed, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she manoeuvred her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet curtains that had been hung on her window.

"I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room...just wait," I said.

Then she spoke these words that I will never forget:

"That does not have anything to do with it," she gently replied.
"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not, does not depend on how the furniture is arranged. It is how I arrange my mind. I have already decided to love it.”

"It is a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work or I can get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do work. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I will focus on the new day and all of the happy memories I have stored away...just for this time in my life.

4. Wild Trivia

Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand?

If a word were misspelled in a dictionary, how would we ever know?

If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?

Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?

Why does fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?

Why do 'tug' boats push their barges?

Why are they called 'stands' when they're made for sitting?

Why is it called 'after dark', when it is really after light?

Doesn't 'expecting the unexpected' make the unexpected expected?

Why are wise man and wise guy opposites?

Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?

Why is phonics not spelled the way it sounds?

If work is so terrific, how come they have to pay you to do it?

If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

If you're cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right?

Why do you press harder on a remote control when you know the battery is dead?

Why do we put suits in a garment bag and put garments in a suitcase?

How come abbreviated is such a long word?

Why do we wash bath towels? Aren't we clean when we use them?

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Why do they call it a TV set when you only get one?

People who work hard and walk a lot and spend most of the day in their shoes often end up with shoes that are, to be polite, a lot less than fresh.

Here's a good tip on how to keep the inside of your shoes fresh, clean, and the sort of covering you don't mind putting your feet into.

Rub the inside of your shoes with cotton wool that you've soaked in medical alcohol, which is, of course, available at any chemist.

Another technique that works involves dusting the inside of your shoes with baking soda. This not only helps to absorb moisture, but it also knocks that stinky ole shoe odour down many notches.

Thanks Elizabeth Bullock.

As a seventh grade student, Claire Nelson learned that di(ethylhexyl)adepate (DHEA), considered a carcinogen, is found in plastic wrap. She also learned that the FDA (Food and Drug Authority) had never studied the effect of microwave cooking on plastic-wrapped food. Claire began to wonder:

"Can cancer-causing particles seep into food covered with household plastic wrap while it is being microwaved?"

Three years later, with encouragement from her high school science teacher, Claire set out to test what the FDA had not. Although she had an idea for studying the effect of microwave radiation on plastic-wrapped food, she did not have the equipment. Eventually, Jon Wilkes at the National Centre for Toxicological Research in Jefferson, Arkansas, agreed to help her.

The research centre, which is affiliated with the FDA, let her use its facilities to perform her experiments, which involved microwaving plastic wraps and "found not just the carcinogens but also xenoestrogen was migrating (into the Oil)...." Xenoestrogens are linked to low sperm counts in men and to breast cancer in women. Throughout her junior and senior years, Claire made a couple of trips each week to the research centre, which was 25 miles from her home, to work on her experiment. An article in Options reported that "her analysis found that DHEA was migrating into the oil at between 200 parts and 500 parts per million. The FDA standard is 0.05 parts per billion." Her summarized results have been published in science journals.

Claire Nelson received the American Chemical Society's top science prize for students during her junior year and fourth place at the International Science and Engineering Fair (Fort Worth, Texas) as a senior.

The article "Carcinogens - At 10,000,000 Times FDA Limits" can be found in Options May 2000.

Published by People Against Cancer, 515-972-4444. On Channel 2 (Huntsville,AL) they had a Dr Edward Fujimoto from Castle Hospital on the program. He is the manager of the Wellness Program at the hospital.

He was talking about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers.

This applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxins into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Dioxins are carcinogens and highly toxic to the cells of our bodies. Instead, he recommends using glass, Corning Ware, or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results without the dioxins. So such things as TV dinners, instant saimin and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. Just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He said we might remember when some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

To add to this: Saran wrap placed over foods as they are nuked, with the high heat, actually drips poisonous toxins into the food. Use paper towel instead.

Correctly Spelling 'Potato'

If GH can stand for P as in Hiccough

If OUGH can stand for O as in Dough

If PHTH can stand for T as in Phthisis

If EIGH can stand for A as in Neighbor

If TTE can stand for T as in Gazette

If EAU can stand for O as in Plateau

Then the right way to spell POTATO should be: "GHOUGHPHTHEIGHTTEEAU" ====================

Thanks Irene Colville
More on bananas - Well – it seems like the perfect diet - what more would you want?!

If you want a quick fix for flagging energy levels there's no better snack than a banana. Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose - combined with fibre, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proved that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous
90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions making it a must to add to your daily diet.

Anaemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anaemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt making it the perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fibre, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heart-burn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body so if you suffer from heart-burn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronic ulcer cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer, tryptophan.

Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water-balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, there by reducing our potassium levels. These can be re-balanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in 'The New England Journal of Medicine' eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that, if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So you see a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

So maybe its time to change that well-know phrase so that we say, "A Banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

5. Metaphor

Do You Have These Symptoms of Affluenza?
There's an insidious disease that's affected far more people than the much talked about SARS epidemic. It affects people primarily unconsciously because it's woven into the very culture
that surrounds us.

What's this disease called? Affluenza

How do you know if you have it? You can't see its symptoms in the body because it's invisible - even under a microscope.

It has no known immunization - but it does have a cure.

So what is Affluenza and why is detecting it early so vitally important to your emotional and mental health? According to Dr. Jessie O'Neill, affluenza is defined as "dysfunctional relationship
with money, wealth or its pursuit."

But many people who may not even suspect they've been "infected" by affluenza actually have it without knowing it.

The symptoms?

According to John de Graaf, Producer of Affluenza - the PBS documentary, some symptoms of Affluenza are:

1. An epidemic of stress, overwork, shopping and debt caused by the "dogged pursuit of the American Dream".

2. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from one's efforts to keep up with the Joneses.

3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth.

According to O"Neill, here are a few of the symptoms that have been seen in people:

In corporations and businesses it manifests as a loss of personal and professional productivity; high turn-over rate among CEO's and employees, and an increase in
sick days.
In individuals, it takes the form of a dysfunctional or unhealthy relationship with money, regardless of one's socio-economic level. It manifests as behaviours resulting
from a preoccupation with --or imbalance around—the money in our lives.

Additional symptoms:

A loss of personal and professional productivity
A loss of future motivation
An inability to delay gratification or tolerate frustration
Low self-esteem
Low self-worth
Loss of self-confidence
Preoccupation with externals
Depression
Self-absorption
High regard for outer self/low regard for inner self
Sudden wealth syndrome
Sudden poverty syndrome
Workaholism
Addictions
Other compulsive-addictive behaviours: i.e. rampant materialism and consumerism

So, what if you have some of these symptoms? What do you DO about them?

First - Become aware if you have them. (Awareness is the key to living a full and joyous life)

Second: Clear the cause - instead of working on the symptoms.(i.e. instead of trying to make more money, lose more weight, get a bigger 401k account, etc, find what having these will do for you ahead of time). You may discover that you may not even need these like you've previously thought you did.

Third: Simplify your life. In other words, imagine being free of the need for the material way of life.

It's certainly ok to have things, but we know there's a problem if we're chained by debt to pay off the material objects that we thought would bring us the feeling of completion. In fact, no thing
can bring us fulfilment, only we can bring ourselves the kind of inner peace and joy that being connected to life can.

Like today's quote:

"The best things in life aren't things."
- Art Buchwald

There's an old Indian phrase called Koyaanisqatsi - which is the Hopi Indian word meaning "life out of balance". Our culture has been suffering from Koyaanisqatsi for decades, and it's time we wake up and get back to what matters most in our lives.

The "Chasing After" Syndrome

If the majority of our efforts are spent in pursuit of love, money, fame, recognition or any other fleeting emotion, we are chasing after things that will never last. Why? Because anytime we seek anything external to validate us or make us feel better, we've lost our true Spiritual power and Centre. This is because of the imbalance we see so much in society today. War. Corporate corruption. Divorce. Job dissatisfaction. The examples are many. The solutions are few.

One solution to the "chasing after" effect is to ask yourself: "Do Ireally need this in my life, or can I do without it?"

A Simple Exercise

Quiet your mind for a moment and get connected with your Heart. Place your hand on your Heart now and close your eyes and take three deep breaths....

Allow yourself to just feel connected to your breath - your Spirit.

Give yourself this moment to be just you - without the busy-ness, the expectations, the roles, the pressure. Just find that connection to your Spirit - and you won't need anything else to make you feel better...

Instead, you'll find it within...

And So It Is...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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- our newest product that will help you break free of the trap that holds you from earning more, living fully and being free.

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6. Ken Warren - Surviving rape

Rape is an unwanted sexual assault committed against the will of another by force, threats, bribes, manipulation, pressure, tricks or violence. It is a terrifying and often brutal crime where devastating effects are shared by both the victims and those who love them. It is a crime of violence, anger and power. Whether the assault is by someone unknown, by an acquaintance, or by a family member, it is the abusive use of power by one person over another.

Most commonly rape is perpetrated on females. Sometimes it is perpetrated on both young and adult males under various circumstances. Anyone can be assaulted, because victims are selected for their vulnerability and not their attractiveness, appearance or behaviour.

It can be hard knowing how to support someone who has survived sexual assault. It is important to believe the survivor’s account of the assault and not to blame her for what has happened. Don’t pry into the details. Just let the telling unfold at the person’s pace. Respond to what she says she needs, not what you think she needs. Explain that talking and expressing feelings promotes healing and that you are there to listen and offer support whenever she is ready. Reassure her that she is still loved by those who have always loved her.

Don’t pressure her to file a report – there can be good reasons for not reporting the assault. It is her choice to report or not and making her own decision can assist her to regain her own sense of power. Gently encourage her to call a sexual assault centre and to get medical attention. Offer to help by making phone calls for her and driving her to the police station, hospital or sexual assault centre.

Be very circumspect in disclosing anything about the occurrence of the rape. It is the survivor who decides what to tell and to whom. The survivor may be blaming herself, so reassure her that it is not her fault – the perpetrator is totally responsible for his actions.

It will be important for survivors to make time for the healing process. There will be a need to talk to people who are capable of being supportive, as there is likely to be some grieving to do and some anger to be released safely. It helps for survivors to resist dwelling on violent mental images, but to acknowledge these thoughts and feelings, and to practise mentally let go of them. Some survivors say it helps to think that the fact they survived showed they did the right thing during the assault.

Some survivors get involved with activities that restore their self-esteem such as creative work, self-nurturing, affirmations, new clothes, a holiday, etc. Some find it helpful to take a self-defence course for confidence or to increase their personal safety measures – changing door locks and considering their need to become more cautious. Some explore their spiritual self and come to the understanding they are much more than their bodies.

It is possible to heal, even after something as traumatic as sexual assault. It will be important, however, for survivors to trust their own intuition of what it is they need for their own healing.

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