Friday, November 25, 2011
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Unhealthy Diets Cause Depression in Women
Women who suffer from depression may be fuelling it with a diet of unhealthy, processed foods, a new study has shown.
Researchers from the University of Melbourne found that mood disorders were more common among women aged 20 to 93 who, over 10 years, ate primarily processed, refined, high-fat foods.
'There's no magic diet,' Dr Felice Jacka said, but added eating a diet mainly of vegetables, fruit, whole grain foods, low fat dairy products, and lean meat, and reserving processed and sweet treats to 'sometimes foods,' will aid physical health and may also support mental well-being.
Jacka's team assessed diet and psychiatric evaluations gathered over 10 years from 1,046 women.
A total of 925 women were free of mood disorders, whereas 121 had depressive and/or anxiety disorders, the researchers reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
When they assessed how diet might relate to mood disorders, they found that a 'Western' diet - eating primarily hamburgers, white bread, pizza, chips, flavoured milk drinks, beer, and sugar-laden foods - was associated with more than a 50 percent greater likelihood for depressive disorders.
By contrast, both depression and anxiety disorders appeared about 30 percent less likely among women eating a more 'traditional' Australian diet - mostly of vegetables, fruit, beef, lamb, fish, and wholegrain foods.
These associations remained when the research team allowed for a variety of factors including age, body weight, social and economic status, education, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol drinking habits.
But similar 'adjusted' analyses in women mainly consuming fruits, salads, fish, tofu, beans, nuts, yogurt, and red wine showed no similar associations.
The researchers said the findings highlighted the need for additional investigations to determine whether unhealthy eating leads to declining mental health or vice versa.
Friday, May 7, 2010
25 Minutes of Exercise Can Beat Depression
25 Minutes of Exercise Can Beat Depression
Just 25 minutes of vigorous daily exercise can help beat depression, claim doctors.
Researchers found that a workout reduces stress and anger and boosts the sense of physical wellbeing.
They claim physical exercise should be more widely prescribed as a treatment to tackle depressive or anxiety disorders.
Professor Jasper Smits, a psychologist, at the southern Methodist University in Dallas said that physical therapy could be prescribed instead of or as a supplement to medication.
"Exercise can fill the gap for people who can't receive traditional therapies because of cost or lack of access, or who don't want to because of the perceived social stigma associated with these treatments," he said.
"Exercise also can supplement traditional treatments, helping patients become more focused and engaged.
"Individuals who exercise report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, and lower levels of stress and anger.
"Exercise appears to affect, like an antidepressant, particular neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and it helps patients with depression re-establish positive behaviours."
The team from the university's Anxiety Research and Treatment Programme analysed past studies and found traditional treatments of cognitive behavioural therapy and drug treatments do not reach everyone who needs them.
However exercise could help relieve symptoms such as "fears of fear and related bodily sensations such as a racing heart and rapid breathing".
"The more therapists who are trained in exercise therapy, the better off patients will be," Prof Smits said.
Patients were subjected to either 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity.
He said: "Rather than emphasise the long-term health benefits of an exercise program – which can be difficult to sustain – we urge providers to focus with their patients on the immediate benefits.
"After just 25 minutes, your mood improves, you are less stressed, you have more energy – and you'll be motivated to exercise again tomorrow. A bad mood is no longer a barrier to exercise – it is the very reason to exercise."
As well as an exercise regime, patients also benefit from a daily schedule and targets which may also help in combating the mental illness.
The findings were presented at the annual conference of the Anxiety Disorder Association of America in Baltimore.
Just 25 minutes of vigorous daily exercise can help beat depression, claim doctors.
Researchers found that a workout reduces stress and anger and boosts the sense of physical wellbeing.
They claim physical exercise should be more widely prescribed as a treatment to tackle depressive or anxiety disorders.
Professor Jasper Smits, a psychologist, at the southern Methodist University in Dallas said that physical therapy could be prescribed instead of or as a supplement to medication.
"Exercise can fill the gap for people who can't receive traditional therapies because of cost or lack of access, or who don't want to because of the perceived social stigma associated with these treatments," he said.
"Exercise also can supplement traditional treatments, helping patients become more focused and engaged.
"Individuals who exercise report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, and lower levels of stress and anger.
"Exercise appears to affect, like an antidepressant, particular neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and it helps patients with depression re-establish positive behaviours."
The team from the university's Anxiety Research and Treatment Programme analysed past studies and found traditional treatments of cognitive behavioural therapy and drug treatments do not reach everyone who needs them.
However exercise could help relieve symptoms such as "fears of fear and related bodily sensations such as a racing heart and rapid breathing".
"The more therapists who are trained in exercise therapy, the better off patients will be," Prof Smits said.
Patients were subjected to either 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity.
He said: "Rather than emphasise the long-term health benefits of an exercise program – which can be difficult to sustain – we urge providers to focus with their patients on the immediate benefits.
"After just 25 minutes, your mood improves, you are less stressed, you have more energy – and you'll be motivated to exercise again tomorrow. A bad mood is no longer a barrier to exercise – it is the very reason to exercise."
As well as an exercise regime, patients also benefit from a daily schedule and targets which may also help in combating the mental illness.
The findings were presented at the annual conference of the Anxiety Disorder Association of America in Baltimore.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
25 Minutes of Exercise Can Beat Depression
25 Minutes of Exercise Can Beat Depression
Just 25 minutes of vigorous daily exercise can help beat depression, claim doctors.
Researchers found that a workout reduces stress and anger and boosts the sense of physical wellbeing.
They claim physical exercise should be more widely prescribed as a treatment to tackle depressive or anxiety disorders.
Professor Jasper Smits, a psychologist, at the southern Methodist University in Dallas said that physical therapy could be prescribed instead of or as a supplement to medication.
"Exercise can fill the gap for people who can't receive traditional therapies because of cost or lack of access, or who don't want to because of the perceived social stigma associated with these treatments," he said.
"Exercise also can supplement traditional treatments, helping patients become more focused and engaged.
"Individuals who exercise report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, and lower levels of stress and anger.
"Exercise appears to affect, like an antidepressant, particular neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and it helps patients with depression re-establish positive behaviours."
The team from the university's Anxiety Research and Treatment Programme analysed past studies and found traditional treatments of cognitive behavioural therapy and drug treatments do not reach everyone who needs them.
However exercise could help relieve symptoms such as "fears of fear and related bodily sensations such as a racing heart and rapid breathing".
"The more therapists who are trained in exercise therapy, the better off patients will be," Prof Smits said.
Patients were subjected to either 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity.
He said: "Rather than emphasise the long-term health benefits of an exercise program – which can be difficult to sustain – we urge providers to focus with their patients on the immediate benefits.
"After just 25 minutes, your mood improves, you are less stressed, you have more energy – and you'll be motivated to exercise again tomorrow. A bad mood is no longer a barrier to exercise – it is the very reason to exercise."
As well as an exercise regime, patients also benefit from a daily schedule and targets which may also help in combating the mental illness.
The findings were presented at the annual conference of the Anxiety Disorder Association of America in Baltimore.
Just 25 minutes of vigorous daily exercise can help beat depression, claim doctors.
Researchers found that a workout reduces stress and anger and boosts the sense of physical wellbeing.
They claim physical exercise should be more widely prescribed as a treatment to tackle depressive or anxiety disorders.
Professor Jasper Smits, a psychologist, at the southern Methodist University in Dallas said that physical therapy could be prescribed instead of or as a supplement to medication.
"Exercise can fill the gap for people who can't receive traditional therapies because of cost or lack of access, or who don't want to because of the perceived social stigma associated with these treatments," he said.
"Exercise also can supplement traditional treatments, helping patients become more focused and engaged.
"Individuals who exercise report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, and lower levels of stress and anger.
"Exercise appears to affect, like an antidepressant, particular neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and it helps patients with depression re-establish positive behaviours."
The team from the university's Anxiety Research and Treatment Programme analysed past studies and found traditional treatments of cognitive behavioural therapy and drug treatments do not reach everyone who needs them.
However exercise could help relieve symptoms such as "fears of fear and related bodily sensations such as a racing heart and rapid breathing".
"The more therapists who are trained in exercise therapy, the better off patients will be," Prof Smits said.
Patients were subjected to either 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity.
He said: "Rather than emphasise the long-term health benefits of an exercise program – which can be difficult to sustain – we urge providers to focus with their patients on the immediate benefits.
"After just 25 minutes, your mood improves, you are less stressed, you have more energy – and you'll be motivated to exercise again tomorrow. A bad mood is no longer a barrier to exercise – it is the very reason to exercise."
As well as an exercise regime, patients also benefit from a daily schedule and targets which may also help in combating the mental illness.
The findings were presented at the annual conference of the Anxiety Disorder Association of America in Baltimore.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Stop Waiting and Take Action To Achieve Your Goals
Do successful people have the genius of supreme achievement by an
accident of birth, a favorable environment or from their own individual
effort? Whatever the reasons, superstars are a different breed. They
must succeed and they will succeed. They have an amazing capacity
to dream big, strive even bigger and come through against all the odds.
Can we learn to become better achievers by looking inside the minds
of the big-time peak performers? Successful people do not wait
for something to happen; they take action to achieve their goals.
Successful people seem to have a make-it-happen way of thinking.
They take it for granted that they will succeed. They act as if it's a
done deal that they will win. They are infectious in their enthusiasm
for a project and enlist others easily to make it become a reality.
They are bursting with positive expectancy that everything will be
a smashing success. A successful person's motto is, "I will get it done."
Successful people take action. They start acting on an idea or plan
quickly and make room in their schedule for tangible, concrete
objectives that take them closer to their goals. They spend time
reflectively, but take action when action is required. They don't
waste time over-planning. They get down to it.
Successful people are often not one hundred percent happy with
their performances. They are not negative about them, but they
are realistic and demanding of themselves and often of those
around them. They continually seek improvement in even the
tiniest areas of their performance and regularly raise the bar as
each new ability level is surmounted. They hold their best all-time
performances as the ideal and seek to rise to that level always.
Successful people typically have superb organizational skills.
Successful individuals know how to break projects down into
manageable sizes. They know that many details placed together
in proper order lead to something big. They spend time planning
and keeping records to show progress and to stay on time
projections. They are in a hurry to succeed, but never rush.
Successful people are decisive. This is a characteristic of all successful
people. They gather information and quickly decide to act on it and
later make changes based on new information. They take advantage
of the windows of opportunities that arise and go for it. They have
confidence that they made the right decision and the confidence
that if they do not they can successfully change gear and recover
for a positive outcome.
Successful people know how to sacrifice to make something happen.
They know they often can't have it all and that they must have singular
focus to succeed. They are good at going into a zone where they are
able to block out all distractions so they can rapidly advance past their
objectives. They deny themselves those things that do not contribute
to making them successful. They know how to be self-disciplined and
stay on track.
The successful love the battle. They love the process. They love the
climb up the ladder. This is what it is all about for many of them. They
are excited pursuing their goals and take extreme pleasure in the
challenge to see what impossible obstacles they can leap on their
way to success. They want stories to tell, bragging rights as part
of the success trophy.
Achieving is a passion of the successful. Meeting objectives and
reaching goals is energizing to top achievers. They can't wait to get
to work and see the results of their efforts. They boost their self-esteem
and self-confidence as they finish a project or task that is highly
satisfying. They pour their entire passion into what they love to
do and complete it with all their energies and enthusiasm.
Some people look at successful people and think that they could never
do what they do. They get discouraged at the gap between what is
and what could be. Other people look to the superstars and are
inspired. They use the superstars as a template or benchmark and
use them as models for what they would like to achieve. They view
them as the best practices and measure themselves against the
successful. Rather than feel discouraged when you see a successful
person let it inspire you to be the same.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Blessings and Curses
All of us have our share of suffering and Christians are not exempted from them. We don’t welcome it but we seldom have much control. Father Henri Nouwen says:
“It is an on going temptation to think of our lives as living under a curse. The loss of a friend, an illness, an accident, a natural disaster, a war, or any failure can make us quickly think that we are no good and are being punished. This temptation to think of our lives as full of curses is even greater when all the media present us day after day with stories about human misery.
Jesus came to bless us, not to curse us. But we must choose to receive that blessing and hand it on to others. Blessings and curses are always placed in front of us. We are to choose. God says, ‘Choose the blessings!’” (Bread for the Journey, Sept 8)
“To bless means to say good things. We have to bless one another constantly. Parents need to bless their children, children their parents, husbands their wives, wives their husbands, friends their friends. In our society, so full of curses, we must fill each place we enter with our blessings. We forget so quickly that we are God’s beloved children and allow the many curses of our world to darken our hearts. Therefore, we have to be reminded of our belovedness and remind others of theirs. Whether the blessing is given in words or with gestures, in a solemn or an informal way, our lives need to be blessed lives.” (Bread for the Journey, Sept 7)
We bless ourselves:
· when we give thanks with a grateful heart.
· when we listen to the quiet, inner voice that says good things about ourselves.
· when we affirm ourselves and know that we have given the best of ourselves in whatever we have worked on.
· when we shut out the loud, busy outer voice that says we are being punished.
We bless others:
· when we speak good things about them and to them.
· when we show by our gestures that their presence is a joy to us.
· when we reveal to them their gifts, their goodness and their talents.
1. Our reactions immediately after an unpleasant event happens
When we lose our job, when we have an abusive boss, when a car accident happens, when we are robbed, when we are seriously ill, when we have cancer, the immediate question “Why?” emerges. “Why me?” “Why now?” “Why here?” “What have I done wrong?” “Why am I being punished?” It is so difficult to live without an answer to this “Why?” But, if we are too focused and obsessed with finding the answers to these questions of the causes of these events, we are more likely to end up being angry and bitter. Bitterness will turn us away from God and thus we curse ourselves.
In order to help me see my suffering and pain in a new light, I have to change my focus. Now that the unpleasant event has happened, what should my response be? By concentrating on my response, I am more likely to end up turning to God, trusting Him and blessing myself. How is this done? Mother Teresa advised, “Just accept whatever He gives and give whatever He takes with a big smile.” (The Wisdom of Mother Teresa, 42) Who can do that? I can’t do it. It is impossible for me to accept with a smile this suffering and adversity. Whenever I say anything is impossible, I have inadvertently put a curse on myself! I have shut out all possibilities. But I may be able to accept it with a smile, if I truly believe that “God loves me” (John 15:9 TEV) and that “I am precious to Him” (Isaiah 43:4 TEV). How? This requires a change in mindset and heart-set because if I am precious to God, then it stands to reason that He cares for me and knows my suffering and hardships and that He has permitted, allowed, sent or given them to me. Furthermore, I will surely be able to smile if I turn to God and wholeheartedly believe that with God’s help all things are possible as, “This is impossible with human beings, but for God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26 TEV). When I embrace this truth, I bless myself. Therefore, I must trust that God has allowed the suffering to be a means of discipline through which faith, love, patience and grace may be cultivated in my life. God will not allow my suffering and pain to be wasted and to be of no value to me. God will see me through my suffering and will carry me through it all but I have to keep reminding myself that, ”I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.” (Philippians 4:13 TEV) And “God has given us a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7 TEV). This belief, this constant repetition will help me to face my suffering and hardships in a new perspective. What I need to do is to turn to God, do my best under the circumstances and trust Him to turn it round for my good. God promises to take “all things” including suffering, abuses, evil things, and turn them round for good as “in all things God works for good with those who love Him”(Romans 8:28 TEV).
But what is for our good? This is for the individual to pray and with God’s help to discover. He needs to constantly search for himself answers to the questions: “What is the seed of equivalent good in my suffering?” “What is the seed of equivalent benefit in my adversity?” Some good traits which we may develop can be more patience, more consideration, less arrogance and less resentment.
Remember, all God requires of us is to come to Him in prayer and trust Him completely. Trust Him to turn our lives around. He will not fail us because we can trust God “who always keeps His promise.” (1 Peter 4:19 TEV) We do our part and give of our best and He will do His part. When we turn to God, God will work WITH us to turn the suffering and pain round for our good. The circumstances, the pain, the suffering, the hardship or the adversity may still be there and may not change much BUT our response and internal attitude towards them will certainly change. Yes, we can take God at His Word that He will help us, comfort us, strengthen us and support us through our pain and suffering. Then, suffering can become a turning point from which we take our greatest leap forward in our faith in God. When we trust God, God gives us the hope and courage to look suffering in the face and to go through it confidently with a renewed spirit and heart. Our suffering will, hopefully, turn us round to come in closer touch with the presence of God in our lives. The great secret in life is that suffering can become a source of new hope and new life. We will then learn to accept it with a smile. This is indeed a blessing.
2. Our memory of events long after they happened
How we recount these unpleasant experiences is also vitally important. When we constantly recount them:
· with blaming God,
· with blaming others,
· with cursing our fate,
· with anger,
· with fear,
· with regret,
· with the feeling of being victimised,
then we put these events under the curse. When we feel we are being punished, the feeling of being cursed comes easily. We will hear an inner voice calling us “bad,” “rotten,” “worthless,” “useless,” “doomed to sickness and death.” We darken our hearts and live our lives with bitterness and resentment. So, we unconsciously curse ourselves.
But blessing is nothing more than recounting positively these events:
· with what God has helped us to endure or overcome,
· with what patience our family and friends have stood by us,
· with what we have learnt out of the events, and
· with hope, courage and love.
Then we put these experiences under the blessing and we consciously bless ourselves.
Henri Nouwen says, “In Latin, to bless is benedicere. The word ‘benediction’ that is used in many churches means literally: speaking (dictio) well (bene) or saying good things of someone. That speaks to me. I need to hear good things said of me, and I know how much you have the same need. Nowadays, we often say: ‘We have to affirm each other.’ Without affirmations, it is hard to live well. To give someone a blessing is the most significant affirmation we can offer. It is more than a word of praise or appreciation; it is more than pointing out someone’s talents or good deeds; it is more than putting someone in the light. To give a blessing is to affirm, to say ‘yes’ to a person’s Belovedness. And more than that: to give a blessing creates the reality of which it speaks. There is a lot of mutual admiration in this world, just as there is a lot of mutual condemnation. A blessing goes beyond the distinction between admiration or condemnation, between virtues or vices, between good deeds or evil deeds. A blessing touches the original goodness of the other and calls forth his or her Belovedness.” (Life of the Beloved, 56)
Physical, mental or emotional pain lived under the blessing is experienced in ways radically different from physical, mental or emotional pain lived under the curse. Even a small burden, perceived as a sign of our worthlessness, can lead us to deep depression. But, great and heavy burdens become light and easy when they are lived in the light of the blessing. What seems intolerable becomes a challenge. What seems a reason for despair becomes a source of hope. What seems punishment becomes a gentle pruning from God. What seems rejection becomes a way to a deeper communion with God. And so the great task becomes that of allowing the blessing to touch us in our brokenness. Then our brokenness will gradually come to be seen as an opening towards the full acceptance of ourselves as the Beloved children of God. This explains why true joy can be experienced in the midst of great suffering. It is the joy of being disciplined, purified and pruned. Just as athletes who experience great pain as they run the race can, at the same time, taste the joy of knowing that they are coming closer to their goal, so also can the Beloved experience suffering as a way to deeper communion with God. Here joy and sorrow are no longer each other’s opposites, but have become the two sides of the same desire to grow to the fullness of the Beloved. For this blessed attitude to take root, we have to have deep faith that God loves us unconditionally and that we are the beloved children of God, very precious to Him.
God sent Jesus to bless us, “God. . . sent Him to bless you” (Acts 3:26 NJB) and Jesus himself has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, “our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings” (Ephesians 1:3 NJB). Jesus shows us by His Words and Deeds how to live a blessed life, “Blessed are those who do His commandments” (Revelation 22:14 NKJV). Jesus creates a whole new blessed environment for us to dwell in and, ”how happy are those who hear the word of God and obey it!"(Luke 11:28 TEV) We have to choose to stay in that place with Him and to hand His blessings on to others to make our blessings grow and multiply.
Remember, no one is brought to life through curses, blaming, gossips, accusations and punishment. But every one is brought to life through blessings, encouragement, affirmations, praises, rewards and forgiveness.
“It is an on going temptation to think of our lives as living under a curse. The loss of a friend, an illness, an accident, a natural disaster, a war, or any failure can make us quickly think that we are no good and are being punished. This temptation to think of our lives as full of curses is even greater when all the media present us day after day with stories about human misery.
Jesus came to bless us, not to curse us. But we must choose to receive that blessing and hand it on to others. Blessings and curses are always placed in front of us. We are to choose. God says, ‘Choose the blessings!’” (Bread for the Journey, Sept 8)
“To bless means to say good things. We have to bless one another constantly. Parents need to bless their children, children their parents, husbands their wives, wives their husbands, friends their friends. In our society, so full of curses, we must fill each place we enter with our blessings. We forget so quickly that we are God’s beloved children and allow the many curses of our world to darken our hearts. Therefore, we have to be reminded of our belovedness and remind others of theirs. Whether the blessing is given in words or with gestures, in a solemn or an informal way, our lives need to be blessed lives.” (Bread for the Journey, Sept 7)
We bless ourselves:
· when we give thanks with a grateful heart.
· when we listen to the quiet, inner voice that says good things about ourselves.
· when we affirm ourselves and know that we have given the best of ourselves in whatever we have worked on.
· when we shut out the loud, busy outer voice that says we are being punished.
We bless others:
· when we speak good things about them and to them.
· when we show by our gestures that their presence is a joy to us.
· when we reveal to them their gifts, their goodness and their talents.
1. Our reactions immediately after an unpleasant event happens
When we lose our job, when we have an abusive boss, when a car accident happens, when we are robbed, when we are seriously ill, when we have cancer, the immediate question “Why?” emerges. “Why me?” “Why now?” “Why here?” “What have I done wrong?” “Why am I being punished?” It is so difficult to live without an answer to this “Why?” But, if we are too focused and obsessed with finding the answers to these questions of the causes of these events, we are more likely to end up being angry and bitter. Bitterness will turn us away from God and thus we curse ourselves.
In order to help me see my suffering and pain in a new light, I have to change my focus. Now that the unpleasant event has happened, what should my response be? By concentrating on my response, I am more likely to end up turning to God, trusting Him and blessing myself. How is this done? Mother Teresa advised, “Just accept whatever He gives and give whatever He takes with a big smile.” (The Wisdom of Mother Teresa, 42) Who can do that? I can’t do it. It is impossible for me to accept with a smile this suffering and adversity. Whenever I say anything is impossible, I have inadvertently put a curse on myself! I have shut out all possibilities. But I may be able to accept it with a smile, if I truly believe that “God loves me” (John 15:9 TEV) and that “I am precious to Him” (Isaiah 43:4 TEV). How? This requires a change in mindset and heart-set because if I am precious to God, then it stands to reason that He cares for me and knows my suffering and hardships and that He has permitted, allowed, sent or given them to me. Furthermore, I will surely be able to smile if I turn to God and wholeheartedly believe that with God’s help all things are possible as, “This is impossible with human beings, but for God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26 TEV). When I embrace this truth, I bless myself. Therefore, I must trust that God has allowed the suffering to be a means of discipline through which faith, love, patience and grace may be cultivated in my life. God will not allow my suffering and pain to be wasted and to be of no value to me. God will see me through my suffering and will carry me through it all but I have to keep reminding myself that, ”I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.” (Philippians 4:13 TEV) And “God has given us a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7 TEV). This belief, this constant repetition will help me to face my suffering and hardships in a new perspective. What I need to do is to turn to God, do my best under the circumstances and trust Him to turn it round for my good. God promises to take “all things” including suffering, abuses, evil things, and turn them round for good as “in all things God works for good with those who love Him”(Romans 8:28 TEV).
But what is for our good? This is for the individual to pray and with God’s help to discover. He needs to constantly search for himself answers to the questions: “What is the seed of equivalent good in my suffering?” “What is the seed of equivalent benefit in my adversity?” Some good traits which we may develop can be more patience, more consideration, less arrogance and less resentment.
Remember, all God requires of us is to come to Him in prayer and trust Him completely. Trust Him to turn our lives around. He will not fail us because we can trust God “who always keeps His promise.” (1 Peter 4:19 TEV) We do our part and give of our best and He will do His part. When we turn to God, God will work WITH us to turn the suffering and pain round for our good. The circumstances, the pain, the suffering, the hardship or the adversity may still be there and may not change much BUT our response and internal attitude towards them will certainly change. Yes, we can take God at His Word that He will help us, comfort us, strengthen us and support us through our pain and suffering. Then, suffering can become a turning point from which we take our greatest leap forward in our faith in God. When we trust God, God gives us the hope and courage to look suffering in the face and to go through it confidently with a renewed spirit and heart. Our suffering will, hopefully, turn us round to come in closer touch with the presence of God in our lives. The great secret in life is that suffering can become a source of new hope and new life. We will then learn to accept it with a smile. This is indeed a blessing.
2. Our memory of events long after they happened
How we recount these unpleasant experiences is also vitally important. When we constantly recount them:
· with blaming God,
· with blaming others,
· with cursing our fate,
· with anger,
· with fear,
· with regret,
· with the feeling of being victimised,
then we put these events under the curse. When we feel we are being punished, the feeling of being cursed comes easily. We will hear an inner voice calling us “bad,” “rotten,” “worthless,” “useless,” “doomed to sickness and death.” We darken our hearts and live our lives with bitterness and resentment. So, we unconsciously curse ourselves.
But blessing is nothing more than recounting positively these events:
· with what God has helped us to endure or overcome,
· with what patience our family and friends have stood by us,
· with what we have learnt out of the events, and
· with hope, courage and love.
Then we put these experiences under the blessing and we consciously bless ourselves.
Henri Nouwen says, “In Latin, to bless is benedicere. The word ‘benediction’ that is used in many churches means literally: speaking (dictio) well (bene) or saying good things of someone. That speaks to me. I need to hear good things said of me, and I know how much you have the same need. Nowadays, we often say: ‘We have to affirm each other.’ Without affirmations, it is hard to live well. To give someone a blessing is the most significant affirmation we can offer. It is more than a word of praise or appreciation; it is more than pointing out someone’s talents or good deeds; it is more than putting someone in the light. To give a blessing is to affirm, to say ‘yes’ to a person’s Belovedness. And more than that: to give a blessing creates the reality of which it speaks. There is a lot of mutual admiration in this world, just as there is a lot of mutual condemnation. A blessing goes beyond the distinction between admiration or condemnation, between virtues or vices, between good deeds or evil deeds. A blessing touches the original goodness of the other and calls forth his or her Belovedness.” (Life of the Beloved, 56)
Physical, mental or emotional pain lived under the blessing is experienced in ways radically different from physical, mental or emotional pain lived under the curse. Even a small burden, perceived as a sign of our worthlessness, can lead us to deep depression. But, great and heavy burdens become light and easy when they are lived in the light of the blessing. What seems intolerable becomes a challenge. What seems a reason for despair becomes a source of hope. What seems punishment becomes a gentle pruning from God. What seems rejection becomes a way to a deeper communion with God. And so the great task becomes that of allowing the blessing to touch us in our brokenness. Then our brokenness will gradually come to be seen as an opening towards the full acceptance of ourselves as the Beloved children of God. This explains why true joy can be experienced in the midst of great suffering. It is the joy of being disciplined, purified and pruned. Just as athletes who experience great pain as they run the race can, at the same time, taste the joy of knowing that they are coming closer to their goal, so also can the Beloved experience suffering as a way to deeper communion with God. Here joy and sorrow are no longer each other’s opposites, but have become the two sides of the same desire to grow to the fullness of the Beloved. For this blessed attitude to take root, we have to have deep faith that God loves us unconditionally and that we are the beloved children of God, very precious to Him.
God sent Jesus to bless us, “God. . . sent Him to bless you” (Acts 3:26 NJB) and Jesus himself has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, “our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings” (Ephesians 1:3 NJB). Jesus shows us by His Words and Deeds how to live a blessed life, “Blessed are those who do His commandments” (Revelation 22:14 NKJV). Jesus creates a whole new blessed environment for us to dwell in and, ”how happy are those who hear the word of God and obey it!"(Luke 11:28 TEV) We have to choose to stay in that place with Him and to hand His blessings on to others to make our blessings grow and multiply.
Remember, no one is brought to life through curses, blaming, gossips, accusations and punishment. But every one is brought to life through blessings, encouragement, affirmations, praises, rewards and forgiveness.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Top 10 Strange Phenomena of the Mind
Source: The List Universe
The mind is a wonderful thing - there is so much about it which remains a mystery to this day. Science is able to describe strange phenomena, but can not account for their origins. While most of us are familiar with one or two on this list, many others are mostly unknown outside of the psychological realm. This is a list of the top ten strange mental phenomena.
We have all some experience of a feeling, that comes over us occasionally, of what we are saying and doing having been said and done before, in a remote time – of our having been surrounded, dim ages ago, by the same faces, objects, and circumstances – of our knowing perfectly what will be said next, as if we suddenly remember it! – Charles Dickens
10: Déjà Vu
Déjà vu is the experience of being certain that you have experienced or seen a new situation previously - you feel as though the event has already happened or is repeating itself. The experience is usually accompanied by a strong sense of familiarity and a sense of eeriness, strangeness, or weirdness. The “previous” experience is usually attributed to a dream, but sometimes there is a firm sense that it has truly occurred in the past.
9: Déjà Vécu
Déjà vécu (pronounced vay-koo) is what most people are experiencing when they think they are experiencing deja vu. Déjà vu is the sense of having seen something before, whereas déjà vécu is the experience of having seen an event before, but in great detail - such as recognizing smells and sounds. This is also usually accompanied by a very strong feeling of knowing what is going to come next. In my own experience of this, I have not only known what was going to come next, but have been able to tell those around me what is going to come next - and I am right. This is a very eerie and unexplainable sensation.
8: Déjà Visité
Déjà visité is a less common experience and it involves an uncanny knowledge of a new place. For example, you may know your way around a a new town or a landscape despite having never been there, and knowing that it is impossible for you to have this knowledge. Déjà visité is about spatial and geographical relationships, while déjà vécu is about temporal occurrences. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about an experience of this in his book “Our Old Home” in which he visited a ruined castle and had a full knowledge of its layout. He was later able to trace the experience to a poem he had read many years early by Alexander Pope in which the castle was accurately described.
7: Déjà Senti
Déjà senti is the phenomenon of having “already felt” something. This is exclusively a mental phenomenon and seldom remains in your memory afterwards. In the words of a person having experienced it: “What is occupying the attention is what has occupied it before, and indeed has been familiar, but has been forgotten for a time, and now is recovered with a slight sense of satisfaction as if it had been sought for. The recollection is always started by another person’s voice, or by my own verbalized thought, or by what I am reading and mentally verbalize; and I think that during the abnormal state I generally verbalize some such phrase of simple recognition as ‘Oh yes—I see’, ‘Of course—I remember’, etc., but a minute or two later I can recollect neither the words nor the verbalized thought which gave rise to the recollection. I only find strongly that they resemble what I have felt before under similar abnormal conditions.”
You could think of it as the feeling of having just spoken, but realizing that you, in fact, didn’t utter a word.
6: Jamais Vu
Jamais vu (never seen) describes a familiar situation which is not recognized. It is often considered to be the opposite of déjà vu and it involves a sense of eeriness. The observer does not recognize the situation despite knowing rationally that they have been there before. It is commonly explained as when a person momentarily doesn’t recognize a person, word, or place that they know. Chris Moulin, of Leeds University, asked 92 volunteers to write out “door” 30 times in 60 seconds. He reported that 68 per cent of his guinea pigs showed symptoms of jamais vu, such as beginning to doubt that “door” was a real word. This has lead him to believe that jamais vu may be a symptom of brain fatigue.
5: Presque Vu
Presque vu is very similar to the “tip of the tongue” sensation - it is the strong feeling that you are about to experience an epiphany - though the epiphany seldom comes. The term “presque vu” means “almost seen”. The sensation of presque vu can be very disorienting and distracting.
4: L’esprit de l’Escalier
L’esprit de l’escalier (stairway wit) is the sense of thinking of a clever comeback when it is too late. The phrase can be used to describe a riposte to an insult, or any witty, clever remark that comes to mind too late to be useful—when one is on the “staircase” leaving the scene. The German word treppenwitz is used to express the same idea. The closest phrase in English to describe this situation is “being wise after the event”. The phenomenon is usually accompanied by a feeling of regret at having not thought of the riposte when it was most needed or suitable.
3: Capgras Delusion
Capgras delusion is the phenomenon in which a person believes that a close friend or family member has been replaced by an identical looking impostor. This could be tied in to the old belief that babies were stolen and replaced by changelings in medieval folklore, as well as the modern idea of aliens taking over the bodies of people on earth to live amongst us for reasons unknown. This delusion is most common in people with schizophrenia but it can occur in other disorders.
2: Fregoli Delusion
Fregoli delusion is a rare brain phenomenon in which a person holds the belief that different people are, in fact, the same person in a variety of disguises. It is often associated with paranoia and the belief that the person in disguise is trying to persecute them. The condition is named after the Italian actor Leopoldo Fregoli who was renowned for his ability to make quick changes of appearance during his stage act. It was first reported in 1927 in the case study of a 27-year-old woman who believed she was being persecuted by two actors whom she often went to see at the theatre. She believed that these people “pursued her closely, taking the form of people she knows or meets”.
1: Prosopagnosia
Prosopagnosia is a phenomenon in which a person is unable to recognize faces of people or objects that they should know. People experiencing this disorder are usually able to use their other senses to recognize people - such as a person’s perfume, the shape or style of their hair, the sound of their voice, or even their gait. A classic case of this disorder was presented in the 1998 book (and later Opera by Michael Nyman) called “The man who mistook his wife for a hat”.
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