HABIT CHANGE IN ONE STEP ~ ISSUE 219 ~ MARCH 7, 2017

Habit change is alive and well. It happens every day, whether we are aware or not. The techniques we used to change habits years ago (I’m talking ten or a hundred or a thousand) are the same ones we use today. How this is possible is that the basic core of our psychology has not changed. We, humans, are who we are, and we react the way we react until we mold ourselves int humanitarians. New techniques are packaged differently, but they end up drawing from a small pool of possibilities that remain the same.

THE HABIT

The habit is a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition. We do it almost automatically. We have done it so many times that it no longer requires step by step thought.

As we know, there are several kinds of habits: 1) personal, 2) social (I am adding this one as of 2017, rather than combining it with the first) and 3) universal. They intertwine, but one affects our own body, another affects our self-perception and others. The other affects the outcome of the world.

1) Walking and exercise are personal habits. Once we have mastered them, we just do them! We no longer falter or wobble. We have trained our mind to focus on the activity and our environment; we have trained our muscles to perform the tasks.

2) On the other hand, there are flirtations with others we have developed to produce companionship or personas we embody to seem as if we are wealthy in the presence of the wealthy. For both of these, there is a fine line between habit and individual behavior. Sometimes, though, we act one way so often that it becomes “the” way we act. And, in this case, it is a habit.

3) Then we have prejudice or our habit of automatically going to war to fix conflict. These are universal habits. Once we know them, they are ours to own. We have trained our minds to embrace these habits. Every occurrence strengthens the habit. No matter how we came upon it, whether we were raised that way, hurt by someone of a particular group and turned our discomfort to the whole group, or told not to be a wuss so we lashed out; we have developed it.

HABIT CHANGE – THE GOOD NEWS

The good news is that habit change exists in ONE STEP. Have methods changed? Not really. Why? Because we still develop a habit the same way as one thousand years ago. The habit might be chronologically telling, but habits become ours through reacting to a trigger whose behavior gets us a reward, and repeating the reaction when triggered.

The simplest technique, and the one I always advocate, is based on the shortest road to success. The One Step Method (just beginning with the first step) is here for habit change. It’s always been there. Many have used it for many years without announcing they are using some technique to change a habit. Most have just responded to their trigger (a trigger such as an urge for something sweet, an urge to call someone an ethnic name, an urge to our protective of our country) by doing a new behavior over and over again. The result was that the urge for the sweet turned into an action to go eat a salad instead of going to eat ice cream, the urge to name call turned into self-reflection, the urge to protect the country turned into creating a framework to cause harmony rather than war.

CONCLUSION AND ACTION STEPS

Habit change in one step requires courage. We have to create a plan of action, immediately. Here are three behaviors as examples of what we might want to change with an action for each.

1) PERSONAL HABIT. If we want to combat eating ice cream when we crave sweets, our step would be to prepare salad with a few raisins, grapes, strawberries in it (this is an example) so that it is ready for eating upon our next urge. The same holds true if we desire a drink or a drug. We need to prepare a behavior beforehand, such as running around the block and saying hello to one neighbor. This running action will change perspective. It will give us a moment to see things other than our own existence, since we will be out in the world.  Eating the salad may also be a solution to change the urge to drink or drug.

2) SOCIAL HABIT. If we get the urge to fit in and act something other than we are, our step would be to prepare a one-line greeting that does not reflect someone we are not and reflects who we are. Instead of saying how much fun we just had at OUR country club (if this is untrue), we might say, and this takes guts,

“I spent a lot of time in self-reflection.”

And working on habit change is, in fact, self-reflection. This rehearsed statement would also be a way to remind ourselves we are working on ourselves. And once we repeat the new behavior enough, our trigger of being false to impress will change into something new, possibly one that urges us to relay who we really are.

3) UNIVERSAL HABIT. If we want to combat our urge to slur someone of a particular ethnicity, we can create a sentence we will immediately text to a friend,

“I want to make an ethnic slur. Can we talk about this?”

This act will satisfy the urge to take action upon seeing the particular ethnic person. It will not hurt anyone, and it will allow us to discuss this anti-social urge with a friend. Eventually, this self-exploration will cause our urge to change
___

Planning is the key action step. We have to be ready for our own selves because we have loads of habits, and all behaviors are triggered by the need for some reward. Let us prepare to elevate ourselves. Habits do not have to rule us. If we take a moment to temper ourselves, we realize we are in charge of habits and habit change.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, has been a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, has been a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying peaceful conflict resolution, habit replacement and has been certified in plant-based nutrition.

She believes in habit change. She says,

“When we have a method, we make great strides. When we randomly proceed to succeed, we are missing the very step that is required to create or re-create a habit: repetition. Using the one-step method is the simplest way to go. It allows for one pointed focus. No matter what.

“Think about it. Take one step. One step might not be simple, but it is less scary than two steps. And it is a success story in itself.

“Let’s consider that we can habit change. We choose when.

“By being aware of this, we can be kind of protective of ourselves and our fellow beings at all costs – and we are all always worth it.”

GETTING RID OF NAUSEA – MOVE IT! MOVE IT! ~ ISSUE 216 ~ OCTOBER 18, 2016

by Diane Gold

Getting rid of nausea is a wonderful thing. When nausea consumes us, we forget about all the time we have spent in our lives without it. But, it’s always heavenly if we can figure out a way like to get rid of it, even temporarily.

THE REVELATION

Quite by accident, I learned a sensational technique that may be helpful for everyone. Of course, it involved changing the biology through movement, which is the magic solution to so much.

I have been experiencing daily nausea and am not sure why. As of this writing, I have had some days without it, for which I am dancing and jumping for joy (WOO-HOO!). The point is it may come back, and many people have it daily even if I do not, at the moment. I wouldn’t have realized it is a new habit, but it becomes one if it shows up on a regular basis. Rather than get used to it, since it does not support my life, I look for a way to replace this habit with a new one.

So, I came upon this movement activity that replaced my habit as I was getting rid of nausea. I do tai chi and play the piano and even dance while nauseated. This is old news. But here is what’s new.

I was doing a physical therapy exercise by a doctor of physical therapy (thank you, Medicare) that I have been given to alleviate my left frozen shoulder. (I have already had right frozen shoulder which took a year to clear with no therapy due to no insurance or proper knowledge of technique.) Guess what happened?

The fairly severe pain I was causing myself as part of my so far successful regime to help my shoulder get back its mobility created chemical change in my body. This biological reaction caused the nausea to alleviate for a good long set of hours. I was amazed.

I immediately thought of the technique some teens use to alleviate the emotional pain of life: cutting. According to Michael Hollander, MD and author of Helping Teens Who Cut…, “This is an emotion-regulation strategy.” The methods I discuss below could be a positive replacement for this behavior.

Dancing, tai chi, stretching and playing music are hugely effective and positive activities; they can cause psychic trauma to relieve emotional pain. Who knew that these constructive exercises which can be painful when we are working hard could remove physical pain in this same way? I have led a wonderful life and have not experienced serious pain before. But, now, nausea has been my latest pain or my weight. And I am its warrior. (Get it? Warrior of Weight?) And causing a different kind of body pain made it go away, more than once.

THE BIOLOGY, WITH QUOTE FROM LEO WIDRICH

The presence of new physical pain can be called a distraction from the previous pain of nausea, but the alleviation of the nausea was caused by chemical changes in my body.

When we exercise, the body responds. So does the mind. I quote Leo Widrich, below, whose full article from 2/4/14 on exercise and happiness is available at fastcompany.com.

“Here is what actually happens:

If you start exercising, your brain recognizes this as a moment of stress. As your heart pressure increases, the brain thinks you are either fighting the enemy or fleeing from it. To protect yourself and your brain from stress, you release a protein called BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor). This BDNF has a protective and also reparative element to your memory neurons and acts as a reset switch. That’s why we often feel so at ease and things are clear after exercising and eventually happy.

At the same time, endorphins, another chemical to fight stress, [are] released in your brain. Your endorphins’ main purpose [is written by] researcher McGovern [as],

‘These endorphins tend to minimize the discomfort of exercise, block the feeling of pain and are even associated with a feeling of euphoria.'”

(Leo Widrich is the creator of Buffer.)

HOW TO USE POSITIVE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR NAUSEA

We can see how the above biology lesson follows what we experience when we move our bodies. When the body thinks it’s in stress, it produces feel good chemicals to help us cope. I never considered of getting rid of nausea other (constructive) physical pain.

I propose

ACTION STEP ONE: STRETCHING

as a great technique for getting rid of nausea, as long as we can move some part of our body. This activity is the exercise that gave me my revelation as I was stretching my shoulder to free its barriers.  In doing any kind of stretching, we could cause the body to alleviate pain by feeling stretching good.

ACTION STEP TWO: DANCING OR TAI CHI

Whether we dance or do tai chi for 15 seconds in our bed or chair or we do a full street event, either of these activity will do wonders for nausea. Even if we fake it to make it (I looked for the origin of this phrase online. I do know that my friends and I used the expression frequently in 1968, so the book written with a similar name in 1982 was not its beginning.), our bodies will product chemicals to make us cope with the activity and help our problem.

ACTION STEP THREE: PLAYING MUSIC

Playing music has the benefits of calming the mind (or exciting it, depending upon the music and the outcome desired). We release dopamine in both the dorsal and ventral striatum, which perceive reward. Some days after I had experienced the exercise trick for nausea, I played music while feeling nauseated. It did not have as instant a reaction, but it limited my discomfort after a longer period of time. As a music therapist, I was not surprised. I had never used music for my own physical pain, which was nausea, but it was effective.

CONCLUSION

When we go beyond our capacity, just a little, by stretching, doing tai chi, dancing, activating ourselves through music – either by creating it or being stimulated by it – we can heal ourselves. These action steps are a set of natural ways of getting rid of nausea and pushing through what comes our way.

If you are so inclined, if you know anyone who might benefit, please pass this on.

If you wish to share your story, leave it as a comment under an article at http://warriorsofweight.com/issues. or even better, write your own article and put it up on a free wordpress site (https://wordpress.com),
it, since most people are nice and want to connect with you.

FEEDBACK

We value your feedback very much.

Please leave a comment below.

Please LIKE us on the website and at

WarriorsOfWeight on Facebook.

You can comment on Twitter @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, has been a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, has been a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying peaceful conflict resolution, habit replacement and has been certified in plant-based nutrition.

She believes in looking on the bright side. She says,

“If you can move for 5 seconds, you will make a change. Pick something you like; for me, it’s dance, tai chi, stretching, playing music. Just do it a little, from a bed, from a chair, on the open track.

“You know what they say, ‘Move it, or lose it.’ True, true. Good for the mind, good for the body. Do it!

“This is one of the simple ways to care for ourselves. It is a way of loving ourselves. By passing it on, we care for and love our fellow beings at all costs – and we are all always worth it.”

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK:
MOVE IT!

Getting Rid Of Nausea

THE ONE STEP TECHNIQUE FOR IMPERFECT HEALTH ~ ISSUE 215 ~ AUGUST 30, 2016

By Diane Gold

AFTER 60

Diane Gold leading World Tai Chi Day 2016

In the past 7 years, I have gone from perfect health to imperfect health. For one day, 7 years ago, my heart was hurting, and my blood pressure went up.  That was for less hthan a day. I do believe I had an event, even though the tests that were run for 8 months after that with every Western specialty I approached did not find anything.  Aside from that, I did not have imperfect health and was in good shape.

AFTER AUGUST, 2015

6 years later, came nausea, dizziness (still here) and speeding (gone for now). This occurred several months after my taking the magic Hepatitis C curing medicine. Is this a set of side effects from the wonder drugs? Possibly. But no one is studying me to see.

The liver doc was thrilled to add me to his list of almost 500 undetectable Hep C virus patients who took the wonder drug (for which there is a short track record of people like me who are called “cured”). He referred me to various colleagues who had no answers, only smiles.

Then, as you may know, I was short of breath in January, 2016, and wrote my hello once more post. Scary, but a glimpse of the cycle of life and death. I can breathe well again now but don’t know why I couldn’t. Secular hallelujah!

CURRENTLY

Currently, I am in imperfect health, nauseated for longer periods than last year, usually daily, and feel like I’m going to crash from low blood sugar (although my glucose levels are fine) when I don’t eat often. Otherwise, I am great.

Could I have used up or did the Hep C drugs eat up all my stored up nutritional reserves? Possibly.

ACTION STEPS

There are a series of things we can do to go with the flow of our lives and maximize our perfect or imperfect health. Here are some.

1)  GRATITUDE UPON WAKING

I am grateful upon awakening. Even if there’s some discomfort, there is much for which to be joyful. I move the body, have beautiful organic food to eat (preparing wheatgrass juice pre-smoothie, play my new keyboard- thank you, kids), bond with the cats and notice the new things my body has to offer. A little frozen shoulder here, a little nausea there, good breathing here, strength of purpose there. Imperfect health, but mostly good things, looking at the whole picture.

2)  MY ONE STEP TECHNIQUE TO FEELING GOOD

Most of the day, I am not in stress. For me, that would mean nauseated, although there are hours at a time. The challenge is to move through the nausea. I use the same technique I always offer: TAKE ONE STEP and then repeat that same step over and over, as if there were no nausea.

Consider that being nauseated is like craving drugs. The fix (no pun intended) is to focus on the new task of running up and down the block, meeting with a friend, drinking a smoothie, rather than on,

“Oh, I still want to get high,”

or

“Oh, no. I am nauseated.”

The one step that I take could be eating or working or moving or playing music or doing some tai chi movement. These can settle the feeling and make me feel good. What chemical movement happens to change the feeling, I don’t know. I do know the habit of taking one step and repeating it is THE WAY. It forms a new habit of pushing through that may completely create a dormancy of the imperfect health. If now, at least, it will allow maximum bang for life’s buck.

3)  LEARNING THE HUMAN MACHINE

Our bodies and minds act in different ways throughout our lives. It is our job to roll with them and become new, daily. I am working on being new all the time. For now, that means remembering to eat by a certain time, or the body will start to crash, adding fuel before the fuel abruptly starts to run out.

CONCLUSION

I had 60 “perfect health” years. Now I’m having some imperfect health. Not so bad on the scale of things. Super, in fact; and I look forward to perfect health, even if it’s not all the time. I am forever grateful for all the gifts I have, and I am thrilled at imperfect health fixing using the one step technique that I always profess, that it is here for me now and it works well.

If you wish to share your story, leave it as a comment, or post it on a social media site. Share yourself.

If you need habit help, check out warriorsofweight.com/consulting.

Know that you can reach out to a fellow human, probably to the person right next to you. If that interaction works out poorly, do it again. It’s worth it, since most people are nice and want to connect with you.

FEEDBACK

We value your feedback very much.

Please leave a comment below.

Please LIKE us on the website and at

WarriorsOfWeight on Facebook.

You can comment on Twitter @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, has been a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, has been a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying peaceful conflict resolution, habit replacement and has been certified in plant-based nutrition.

She believes in taking the easiest and cleanest path. This means the one step technique. She says,

“I have professed the one step technique and have used it many times. Because of its simplicity, it works. It does not look to the future. It looks at now and developing a new habit by repeating one step again and again.

“Now, when it comes to walking proudly through my own imperfect health journey, I am using it. When I am nauseated, I go sit down to work. And I improve. When I am nauseated, I eat. And I shorten or eliminate the nausea. Also, to avoid the feeling of crashing, I eat early and frequently. Each of these actions is one step. By taking the steps over and over again, I am creating them as new habits. These habits can eliminate or override not feeling that perfect health I had experienced for so long.

“The one step technique for imperfect health is thrilling because as our health changes, we have this free method that only requires one step. An does not require a financial investment.

“This is one of the simple ways to care for ourselves. It is a way of loving ourselves. By passing it on, we care for and love our fellow beings at all costs – and we are all always worth it.”

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK:
EMPLOYEE THE ONE STEP TECHNIQUE FOR IMPERFECT HEALTH.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION EDUCATION ~ ISSUE 214 ~ AUGUST 2, 2016

By Diane Gold

DEFINING CONFLICT AND RESOLUTION

Conflict resolution education deals with how to handle a serious difference. We might call it an argument or a fight when people are using defensive language about their position. Depending upon how people were trained/schooled to proceed, this can lead to violence, which proper education can minimize.

Conflict is defined as fighting, contending, battling. Most of the time, clashing engagements such as these begin when we are young, from the very first toy we take out of the mouth of our play date or very first friend, continuing until the day we call our last.

Resolution is defined as coming to some harmonious position between two or more opposing views.

QUESTION

So how is it we only think it’s important to study conflict and its resolution in our third year of study in pre-law, political science, mediation training or debate? Did anyone ever think that if we began to educate our young about conflict resolution from early childhood and onward, we might have experience studying the studies, role playing the scenarios and discussing the value of the outcomes by the time we influence communities, plant seeds for our own children and make decisions that need temperance?

CONFLICT CLASS, BEGINNING EARLIER THAN KINDERGARTEN

If I were programming early public school – such as in New York – where there’s Kindergarten at 4 or when kids go to day care at 3, I would create a conflict resolution program. Of course, it’s a little dry to call it that for 3-year-olds, so What To Do When We Disagree might be a better title or WTDWWD or wu-tu-du-wu-wu-du. If I called it How To Conflict, that might be good, too. Then, everyone would have to learn the vocabulary word “conflict.”

We would discuss first that we are free minded people and may come to different conclusions about what to do in a certain situation. We would have to be calm, ourselves, in order to make a good decision. And, for that, we would introduce tai chi, a system of movement that teaches us to do slow, physical movement from every fiber of our body in order to bring the mind into a state of balance.

ACTION STEP ONE for conflict resolution is: bringing the self to a state of calmness. This ability serves to prevent sickness, enhance self-esteem, reduce the amount of times we feel stress.

CHOICES

The next thing would be to realize that we all have choices to make. If we are lucky and live in a land that is free, such as the United States, we decide what we will do. We can find it’s more important to get our way than it is to be kind. Or we can decide that we don’t have to get our way because we would have to hurt another person to do it. But talking about it from early on would give us FFF, food for thought. We would be stimulated to think and bring that thinking to school where others could respond. And the teachers, of course, would mediate, the way each student would do upon growing older.

Since we don’t have 5 years in which to study being calm or time to take a blasphemous weekend certification course in tai chi, chi kung, meditation when there is an immediate conflict, we would drill in making decisions quickly, to get good at making good decisions under pressure. It would be similar to target practice with moving targets, except with the mind.

PRIVATE PROPERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The example I like to use with groups is LAND PIRACY. This is a most common conflict, so we discuss what we would do when someone came to take our land.

There are not many options. We have what is morally right, legally right, egotistically right. Not much else. All these options are open to interpretation. But, if we have been considering them since 3 years of age, we may not have to panic and strike out or panic and run the other way. This gives great value to beginning conflict resolution education early.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Since our options are few, we have to decide what motivates us. Is it (1) who needs the land more, (2) who possesses the land because laws must be followed, (3) who will kill to get or keep the land, (4) who looks weak and who looks powerful or (5) something else?

Is it moral to have lots of land when others live in garbage cans?

Is land worth taking someone’s life?

Is land worth giving up our own life?

ACTION STEP TWO

Give these questions some thought and send in answers to [email protected]. We will read every one.

CONCLUSION

Conflict resolution education may be taught in school. Students may receive less biased information that is less home influenced at the source and learn to express themselves without family interference if they are not home schooled. Those who are may not be free to read a wide variety of world opinion, since family values may override the topic at hand.

Let’s be good citizens, all, and pass on the outcomes of history during conflict. Children can understand what happened in history. Discussion of this will develop thoughtful adults. Let’s not conceal any information in learning. Let’s put it all out there for new minds to choose for themselves. Why do we give people the skills to read and right but not to interact in debate until they are older? Hardly fair.

Let’s build conflict resolution education into every subject that is taught, because we need the skills that it teaches everywhere.

If you wish to share your story, leave it as a comment under an article at http://warriorsofweight.com/issues. or even better, write our own article and put it up on a free wordpress site (https://wordpress.com), or post it on a social media site. Share yourself.

If you need habit help, check out warriorsofweight.com/consulting.

Know that you can reach out to a fellow human, probably to the person right next to you. If that interaction works out poorly, do it again. It’s worth it, since most people are nice and want to connect with you.

FEEDBACK

Please leave a comment below.

Please LIKE us on the website and at

WarriorsOfWeight on Facebook.

You can comment on Twitter @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, has been a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, has been a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying peaceful conflict resolution, habit replacement and has been certified in plant-based nutrition.

She believes in conflict resolution education at an early age since we encounter its need as soon as we are born, or, certainly, upon socialization. She says,

“I don’t believe in hiding information from children. It is we as parents who have the responsibility to fill our children with the skills to decide how they will live and what they will believe.

“I do believe in creating circumstances that can teach children to see harmony instead of strife, to value kindness rather than property, to be productive in ways that make them happy and fulfilled.

“And I do believe it is just as important to role play social situations as it is to learn about other people’s history and crucial to start these lessons early. Think of how much more polished at handling conflict we would be. Think of how much more understanding we would be.

“Wouldn’t it be special to advance human evolution through the wisdom we would have from the longevity of this experience.

“This in itself would help take good care of each other and ourselves. It would demonstrate loving ourselves and our fellow beings at all costs – because we are all always worth it.”

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK:
CONSIDER HOW WE WOULD ACT IF SOMEONE PIRATED OUR LAND.

THE GREAT STRESS RELIEF TECHNIQUE~ ISSUE 210 ~ MAY 31, 2016 ~ FREE COACHING FOR EVERYONE WHO ASKS

By Diane Gold

The greatest stress relief technique is here. It is almost nothing. It can be done anywhere by anyone at any time. There are a few simple steps to get there, but not much has to be done.

First, remember that line in Boiler Room where Ben Affleck tells his new traders in training,

“Act as if.”

THE TECHNIQUE

For stress relief, let’s act as if we know tai chi and slow our movements so that whatever we do in the next minute has no jerky movement and is done at the speed of a snail.

Let’s loosen the joints in any way we know how because we will be placing our attention on a new activity in 7.5 seconds. We will be able to go back to whatever it was we were doing 7.5 seconds after that.

The technique involves standing up, or sitting or lying down, if standing up is not possible. If the body does not move, do it in the mind, as if.

ACTION STEPS

1) Separate the feet so they are shoulder width apart.

2) Slowly go from sitting to standing as if you only knew how to move like a snail or sloth. If you cannot stand, sit.

3) Lower the chin slightly as if someone were pulling to the rear the hairs at the bottom of your neck, in order to make your head straight.

4) Drop the arms so they hang down.

5) Relax the shoulders.

6) Lean slightly forward so that the shoulders are over the hips over the heels, while tucking the butt.

MOST IMPORTANT

7) Look 10 feet onto the floor/ground in front of you the entire time (or wherever 10 feet ahead is if you are not able to look forward). If there is a wall or other item in the way, look through it.

8) Place the tongue at the roof of the mouth, the top of the teeth.

9) Close the mouth.

10) Take one slow breath in and out through the nose while focusing on your ten-foot mark.

11) Very slowly, start to sit (If you are not able to sit, relax your gaze.)

12) When you are seated (or in whatever adjusted position due to physical boundaries), maintain the slightly lowered chin and recall the relaxation of the movement you have just done.

13) Keep silent for a few seconds.

14) That’s it – 15 seconds, most.

15) If you can, do it again the next day.

16) If possible, continue doing it every day, without increasing the time it takes to do it for, at least, a year.

17) At the end of a year, if you like, you can increase your time a little for another year. And so on.

THE PRINCIPLE

Consistent action of short duration is far more effective than short-term action of long duration. That is, if you do this stress relief ditty for 5 minutes for 7 days and get so burnt out that you never do it again, you have not added consistent focus to your day, which is the point. Better to do the technique for under 15 seconds, once a day, and keep going.

RESULTS OF THE STRESS RELIEF TECHNIQUE

1) In giving the mind a tiny task for less than 15 seconds, we teach the mind that we can command it to do a task.
2) In telling the mind to focus, we are giving it a mission.
3) The mission reduces stress.
4) We learn what consistency is when we repeat the task day after day, which is the way to develop knowledge of what to do and to develop a habit.
5) Positive consistency grows our inner foundation which stabilizes us, makes us strong, secure, safe, happy; even if we weren’t a moment before, even if we might not be in a moment.
6) The long term effect of this mission is that we develop the ability to feel our stability, strength, security, safety, happiness because our foundation which is being fortified is part of our core being; therefore we begin to feel stable, strong, secure, safe, happy, more and more after we are finished doing the technique. It becomes the way we are more consistently.
7) The biggest result is that we learn that we can go to a place of focus and stress relief in mere seconds, even in the middle of what used to be a hopeless stress on the mind or body.

CONCLUSION

Yes, the great stress relief technique is the most simple way for us to gather our focus together. The events of our day may lead us to scatter, stress and naturally prompt our minds to develop pinball action.

It is just as easy to develop the habit of focus, to smile when we see the first pinball drop down the shoot in our mind and replace it with focus. All we have to do is the instructions above.

CRUCIAL NOTE

Keep in mind that there is no need to consider whether this will work, before we do it or after we do it. It is enough to do it. And then, do it again and again. The act of being consistent, in itself, will develop the focus which will replace the stress. This exercise has the benefit of allowing the blood to circulate freely, allowing the lungs to respire well, allowing the spine to decompress, freely calling up our synovial fluid to reduce friction on our joints.

If you wish to share your story, leave it as a comment under an article at http://warriorsofweight.com/issues. or even better, write your own article and put it up on a free wordpress site (https://wordpress.com), or post it on a social media site. Share yourself.

If you need habit help, check out warriorsofweight consulting.

Know that you can reach out to a fellow human, probably to the person right next to you. If that interaction works out poorly, do it again. It’s worth it, since most people are nice and want to connect with you.

FEEDBACK

Please leave a comment below.

Please LIKE us on the website and at

WarriorsOfWeight on Facebook.

You can comment on Twitter @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, has been a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, has been a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying peaceful conflict resolution, habit replacement and has been certified in plant-based nutrition.

She believes we are the masters of our fate, more or less. She says,

“By repeating an action, we learn a new action. Should we continue to repeat the new action, we develop a habit. When we develop a habit, we make dormant our old habit.

“By doing the above technique we are going from not doing it, our old habit, to doing it, our new habit. With continued repetition, our new habit will serve us well.

“Do it, and have success. Contact warriorsofweight consulting for help.

“And, in doing so, we get to take overall good care of each other and ourselves – including loving ourselves and our fellow beings at all costs – because we are all always worth it.”

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK:
SEE ABOUT DOING THE GREAT STRESS RELIEF TECHNIQUE EVERY DAY. IT WILL TAKE LESS THAN 15 SECONDS.

EASTERN AND WESTERN MEDICINE – THE HOLE AND HOW TO FIX IT ~ ISSUE 209 ~ APRIL 26, 2016
By Diane Gold

THE HOLE

Eastern and Western medicine both have one goal: to help the patient. But a hole develops in each of us as a result of there being no meeting of the Eastern and Western medical minds.

“Oh, it’s WHOLE; it’s HOLISTIC. Let’s do it”

can be heard from the sidelines.

But, in reality, unless we create medical cooperation involving Eastern and Western doctors; we are offering an incomplete form of medicine worldwide.

Those who are knowledgeable in nutrition and prevention do not, for example, know about surgery or emergency medicine. And rheumatologists and lung doctors, as an example, do not have proper information about nutrition, prevention or skin grafting – usually.

CLOSING THE HOLE

So, before we continue, here’s what we can do to close the hole.

ACTION STEP

We need one Western and one Eastern medical provider together in the room at each appointment. This combo is the DOCTOR TEAM.

Every medical group needs the integrative medical approach, the real integrative medical approach, not a one-sided group of people who are all Western or all Eastern.

THE DOCTOR TEAMS AKA THE INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE DEPARTMENT

The integration of West and East is what is needed in medicine. A medical group where the patient doesn’t choose among different disciplines, but the patient gets the team of experts, and the TEAM meets and discusses the findings separately and then, with the patient, is the way. And thinking and creating this change in medical delivery system – the DOCTOR TEAM – is merely habit change. We, in the Western medical world, can realize and cooperate with the Eastern sector. We, in the Eastern medical world, can realize the value and cooperate with the Western sector.

EXAMPLE OF A GROWING PAINS ATTEMPT AT INTEGRATIVE MED

I saw a Western doctor, who had a broader perspective on Eastern med because he was raised as a vegetarian and knew the value of vegan nutrition, and because he was raised in a culture rich in yoga (and, subsequently, tai chi). Most integrative docs do not have this upbringing, but, even with this, the two other parts of his team, slanted westwardly which imbalanced the TEAM.
Slanting doesn’t get the job done since we need what we need when we need it and it’s hard to get a whole picture when there are holes and slanting.

The protocol for this integrative team was to consult with this main doctor, who was far more open and more qualified than most. Next we were to see the exercise physiologist. Unfortunately, her approach was quite Western as she gave formulaic movement that only moved the outer muscles and missed moving the bones, tendons, body organs and missed the inner energy. Finally, we were to see the nutritionist or dietitian, I can’t recall. I felt this was the most important part of the consult and was excited for this opportunity.

Unfortunately, the human with whom I had the appointment failed miserably. I informed her weeks in advance that I needed her expertise for my diet which is vegan and that I would require her to present me with information about what I ate and how it related to my health. Her lack of any effort to have come with any knowledge showed total disrespect for my health, I was astounded as she handed me a chart with meat at the top and said she didn’t know what to tell me about the principles of nutrition as it applied to a vegan.

This led me to consider that many groups slant one way or the other, rather than cooperate.

WHY CLOSE UP THE HOLE

Many of both Western and Eastern doctors know a good deal about their particular specialty. But most know very little about the other’s. This is true of all our expert knowledge, in general, since each discipline requires long-term study so much so that it is highly unlikely we will have time for a second. If we know how to play piano, it doesn’t mean we can play drums. If we know how to paint, it doesn’t mean we know how to do graphic art. If we know how to work with broken bones, it doesn’t mean we know how to do heart surgery.

But when it comes to medicine, we, the people, are whole beings and cannot afford for any holes in our medical treatment, any ego trips by those who treat us or anything less than a whole approach. So, this is the huge reason to close the hole, delete the gap, join hands together and make the DOCTOR TEAM with Eastern and Western doctors equally sharing the responsibility for the health of the patient.

FEAR, AN OLD HABIT

Hopefully, we can place our fears aside so that we can make progress coming together in medicine.

1) SHOWING IGNORANCE TO COLLEAGUES

Many health care providers fear showing ignorance, so they stay away from the very people in the other way of doing medicine who have the very knowledge they are missing. For many, even worse than showing a colleague ignorance would be showing a fellow health care provider from the opposite school how we lack knowledge. And then the patient suffers.

2) ADMITTING IGNORANCE TO SELF

Many health care providers do not want to admit they are ignorant. After so many years of whatever school to get an expert degree, we feel nervous to say to ourselves we are ignorant. So, we hide it and plod on at the patient’s expense.

3) BUILDING CREDIBILITY WITH COLLEAGUES

Both Western and Eastern health care providers are led to believe that the other’s approach is not real medicine, that one is all pills and the other is all hocus pocus; and that there would be no credible way to work together other than for one to be the boss and the other to be the assistant. This has to do with the schooling of each branch of study.

ACTION STEP

It’s time to have mandatory classes for all Eastern and all Western medical students that discuss integration and the value of the union of Western and Eastern work. The classes should include students from both schools of thought.

CONCLUSION

Eastern and Western medicine go together. Why? Because the body is one whole group of systems. One approach isn’t better than the other. And, yes, there are times when one way is needed more than the other. But our thinking on the subject is due to habit, which we can replace.

Yes, we need a cardiologist when we are about to die of heart failure. But, for the rest of our lives, before our crisis and after our crisis; we need a set of trained experts to show us the way to live a healthy life. That’s why we need the DOCTOR TEAM. For our health and understanding, to save on sickness costs, to develop the best medical system that exists, to lead lives that include a trusted complete WHOLE MEDICINE.

If you wish to share your story, leave it as a comment under an article at http://warriorsofweight.com/issues. or even better, write your own article and put it up on a free wordpress site (https://wordpress.com), or post it on a social media site. Share yourself.

If you need habit help, check out http://warriorsofweight.com/warriorsofweight-consulting.

Know that you can reach out to a fellow human, probably to the person right next to you. If that interaction works out poorly, do it again. It’s worth it, since most people are nice and want to connect with you.

FEEDBACK

Please leave a comment below.

Please LIKE us on the website and at

WarriorsOfWeight on Facebook.

You can comment on Twitter @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, has been a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, has been a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying peaceful conflict resolution, habit replacement and has been certified in plant-based nutrition.

She believes in cooperation and that we can replace old habits with new. She says,

“Even if we were raised to believe that the medical doctor is the queen of the health care providers, we can replace that when we find that the team approach with both Eastern and Western providers as the co-bosses.

“No one knows everything. And everyone can learn. Imagine placing our egos in a box while going into alignment with a Western doctor if we are Eastern and vice versa. When we are finished work, we can grab our egos, unless they are best suited to the box. What if we could provide 3 X the value to our patients? Wouldn’t that be worth it not to feel like the queen alone and share the title?

“And, in doing so, we get to take overall good care of each other and ourselves – including loving ourselves and our fellow beings at all costs – because we are all always worth it.”

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK:
LOOK FOR A DOCTOR TEAM WHERE BOTH EASTERN DOCTOR AND WESTERN DOCTOR ARE EQUALS AND WORKING TOGETHER. DOES THIS EXIST? ASK AROUND.

EXERCISE OF THE MONTH:
DO TAI CHI ON THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 30 AT 10 AM.
DETAILS HERE.

THE MYTH OF MEDITATION – AND THE MILLION DOLLAR SECRET ~ ISSUE 205 ~ MARCH 15, 2016

By Diane Gold

The myth of meditation is the “we can do it” myth. We hear talk about different kinds of meditation as well as unique results from various people. So, what’s the myth? Myth Of Meditation

DEFINITIONS

Let’s define meditation as taking the time to get the self to a state of chaoslessness. Others call it contemplation, but that is only part of the process which meditation is and, not starting with the clarity to contemplate, does not signify failure. We have to train in any discipline. The act of taking the time to begin is the process of meditation.

The definition of myth is a false idea that is widely held (such as the idea that the heart stops when we sneeze which resulted in our blessing each other because of the danger).

So the myth of meditation is a false idea about taking the time to get peaceful.

THE MYTH

Here is the myth of meditation: that all we need do to do meditation is one of many step-by-step procedures, and, if we do this, we will succeed. The reason I say it is the “we can do it” myth is that teachers tell meditators they can do it and give them a method. The glitch in that system is that the method prescribed often lacks a crucial element.

Yes, it’s a given that if we take time out to sit in a corner, listen to quiet music while lying on a couch, smell our favorite fragrance, sit on the beach in quietude, we will be enhancing ourselves at that very time. But, the myth prevails because many how-tos have the same weakness, the inability to lead the meditator to do one action at a time.

________________________________________________________

This article is dedicated to Sassy, a gentle spirit of a dog for whom I was given the privilege of part-time guardian. We miss you, Sassy Machine. Shout out to her human parents for bravely living the lesson that we must put the good of our honorable animals ahead of our own desires to keep them with us when it is time for them to go.

________________________________________________________

THE WANDERING MIND

What we remember when we are coming up with methods on how to meditate is that we are looking for the monk mind, the focused mind. What we forget is that it is our mind’s job to grab stimuli and explore, unless we train it otherwise. Therefore, to start, most of us will get distracted by every external thing. That includes being distracted by the very things that are part of our given how-to for the purpose of quieting the mind, like listening to temple music, saying a mantra (repeating a word over and over in the mind), picturing a color or image, all while we are breathing to sustain ourselves and get the self to a state of chaoslessness.

MINIMIZING THE CHAOS

So, we need some technique that immediately eliminates stimuli. That means the joy of learning something new, hearing a new sound, smelling a new smell, feeling a new feeling, seeing a new sight, tasting a new taste must be replaced with a technique that eliminates these things so that the hungry mind learns another way. Here’s something that might help.

ACTION STEPS – THE BASIC COURSE CORRECTION FOR ANY MEDITATION METHOD

1) Know that if you are doing anything other than watching your breathing, you are doing more than one thing at a time.

Here’s a cut and dry way of looking at doing one thing at a time: take the example that, while standing with no other supports, we cannot lift both legs at the same time without falling. We know that if we are standing on our L leg with the R knee raised high, we cannot lift the L leg off the standing surface because the L leg must remain as support. We know this because the body would react by falling if we did. Similar in concept is the example of breathing and doing some other meditate-y thing like saying a mantra. We actually cannot do breathing and something else and be attentive to both. Because we don’t fall down from breathing and doing something else, we don’t notice that we are splitting our attention in two. Many well-meaning meditation guides do not notice it either and build failure into their step-by-step how-tos. When our minds start wandering, we wonder what is wrong with us. The answer is: nothing; the method may need adjustment.

Can you ask your how-to mentor about this? Once you accept someone as your leader of how-to meditation technology, until you have done the step-by-step technique 1000 or more times, no matter what your question, you are not qualified to understand the answer. This is not because the teacher is grand, and you are not. It’s because it takes experiential training to have a framework from which to hear and understand what you are asking. Just keep in mind that the method may include splitting your attention, the opposite of the goal. If the teacher knows, the teacher may have some other opportunity in mind. If the teacher does not know, the method may be unworthy. Hard to know, since it takes 20 years to understand the ways of a teacher.

2) Know that doing any how-to method you trust will give you wonderful benefits, so begin now. If you are taking this time to do a meditation how-to, you are certainly not robbing a bank or selling your watch to buy crack. This is good. If you are taking this special time for meditation, you are quieting the mind in some way by the nature of your preparing and beginning. And you may work through any flaw in the how-to system as a result.

CONCLUSION AND MILLION DOLLAR SECRET

The myth of meditation exists because people do not talk about meditation as a process. They talk as if monkhood or pure concentration will arrive immediately. It could, but it most likely will require long term study and work to achieve such a state. And we prefer to talk about special spiritual music, special places in which to meditate or images as tools. And we rarely talk about the glitch in the method, because we don’t realize it or we are too busy.

To simplify things and the fastest way to dispel the myth of meditation along with getting some bang for your hard-earned buck (meditation work) is to focus on the air as it enters and leaves your body.

As you take a slow breath in, watch the air as it floats up to the top of the head, then down to the groin. As you slowly breathe out, watch the air as it goes up the body and comes out the front of the head.

If you wish to share your story, leave it as a comment under an article at http://warriorsofweight.com/issues or even better, write your own article and put it up on a free wordpress site (https://wordpress.com), or post it on a social media site. Share yourself.

If you need habit help, check out warriorsofweight.com/consulting.

Know that you can reach out to a fellow human, probably to the person right next to you. If that interaction works out poorly, do it again. It’s worth it, since most people are nice and want to connect with you.

FEEDBACK

Please leave a comment below.

Please LIKE us on the website and at

WarriorsOfWeight on Facebook.

You can comment on Twitter @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, has been a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, has been a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying peaceful conflict resolution, habit replacement and has been certified in plant-based nutrition.

She believes it’s important to share the truth. She says,

“What I mean by the truth is something that occurs the same way over and over again. So, with meditation, when I have watched all sorts of methods be too complex for people, I am choosing to come forward and simplify what is being said. Let’s have a success experience right away. It will not be the success of trance-ing out because we have become enlightened masters in a moment (although it could go that way). For most of us, it will be the success of beginning a journey where each time we take the time to jump into the meditation process, we know it is a process and this knowledge is a joy. We become more and more relaxed and more and more comfortable with whatever we are doing, knowing that the doing is the goal.

“Take a chance, watch your breath, and have a nice day. What could go wrong? If you don’t like it, you can choose not to do it. But there should be something glorious in every day. It just could be the meditation process.

“Please write and tell me your story, especially about meditation. I will drink it up, if you do.

“Finally, let’s take overall good care of ourselves – including loving ourselves and our fellow beings at all costs – because we are always worth it.”

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK:
STANDING, SITTING OR LYING DOWN, ALONE IN A BATHROOM OR OTHER PRIVATE PLACE, CLOSE YOUR EYES AND, SLOWLY, BREATHE IN AND, SLOWLY, BREATHE OUT. OPEN YOUR EYES. DO THIS ONCE. IF YOU LIKE IT, DO IT ONCE A DAY FOR A WEEK. IF YOU LIKE IT, CONTINUE.

DIANE GOLD – SICKNESS AND HEALTH – SAYING HELLO ONE LAST TIME ~ JANUARY 19, 2015
http://warriorsofweight.com

Dear Warriors,

I Come And Go In Peace.

It’s Diane Gold. I wanted to say hello one last time This may be my last mag, although I hope to write when I can.

Lots of love always. May you have good fortune throughout your life,

D aka Diane Gold of WarriorsOfWeight.com

DIANE GOLD – SICKNESS AND HEALTH – SAYING HELLO ONE LAST TIME ~ ISSUE 203 ~ JANUARY 19, 2016
By Diane Gold

Sickness and health are two very different states of being, so sayeth Diane Gold (I have to get in that keyword for ranking). When we are sick, there is little else to think about except working all the techniques we have learned in life to get us through stress, difficulty, panic, fear, sadness the biggest one, the feeling of feeling sick. Health is a completely different way of being, one that we often don’t think about. Or, if we are lucky, we realize there’s a reason to be grateful  for it.

SICKNESS

Unfortunately, I am sick. Don’t have a name for it yet, but I don’t see a way I will be recovering, or that is the logical conclusion. In seeing it this way, it is helping me adjust.

Everything was hunky dory, and then it wasn’t. As an aside, accidentally, Hep C was found in my blood 6 years back, although, like most liver problems, it wasn’t making any apparent difference in my life. But, because it can be life-threatening as it progresses, I took the new meds for it, Harvoni, for two months, and the Hep C virus cleared from my system. (Yay!) As I mentioned, I had no symptoms or abnormal liver functions before that. I have no liver abnormalities now. Coincidentally or possibly related to taking those meds (since all meds have side effects, even the ones that don’t), 4 months later, I started to feel constantly speedy and nauseated. Now I have diminished breath, too, and abnormal tests from other body systems.

HEALTH

I, Diane Gold, have been healthy for a beautiful 66 years and it’s two children later. I have had a joyous life, filled with many delectable experiences, the biggest being the privilege of having my children and watching them grow up to be respected, dynamic change makers in their own right. I have been able to be a mother, wife, friend, daughter, sister, mentor. Privileged. And, until now, I’ve experienced feeling super perfect health.

I have had the honor to make people smile and de-stress through teaching music and music therapy, through teaching tai chi and through giving general advice to the weary.

I have been able to learn to play the piano and play music with others.

I have lived by the ocean for a long time. Now, living a block from the beach, I have been able to smell the ocean air. A few days ago, I went to view the lovely ocean with my daughter. Just a moment ago, I got to walk on the beach with my son and breathe the full array of Atlantic Ocean air (stopping periodically to catch my breath).

I have done tai chi which has given me a way to flow through life, positioned to evolve through my last breath. I have also been able to pass this “way” on to others and have been privileged to be called “teacher.”

I have done 5 Rhythms Dance which is a freeing tai chi like dance that takes us through the cycle of our life within the dance. And, if we can see it, the 5 Rhythms lives within us as a method of cycling through life, similar to the tai chi.

I have fortified myself with martial arts.

I have shared my life with wonderful animals and currently live with my two amazing and loving cats.

I have been fortunate to be able to choose to minimize the amount of animals I have killed, as a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 40 years and since 2009, as a vegan. I believe it is the human’s duty to survive, but it is also our duty to be kind to all living things.

THE BIG CHALLENGE

Now it’s my turn to put to use all the knowledge I have received from training, from teaching, from movement, from creating. So much of this knowledge is part of me. I will have to recall it in the face of no longer good health.

One of my new jobs will be to call my skills to the forefront, since I will have a whole new set of norms in my life, which include NOT feeling strong as a truck or healthy as the strongest plant-based athlete or feeling completely healthy with all of my being. My new norm may also include pure discomfort.

I will recall how to breathe deeply, even if my body cannot.

I will recall how to quiet the spirit, even if my mind is in chaos.

I will create waves of balance for myself, even though part of me will not naturally go there.

I will walk my walk as graciously as I can, even if I have fear, pain, doubt.

I will reach out to my fellow humans who are familiar with me or my new path.

I am leaning on my children as I know they want.

I will go off into the sunset with a smile, and I will lean on these words as I am doing it.

ACTION STEPS

There are several action steps I want to mention which may be helpful or may show who I am, both.

Stay away from cigarette smoking at any age since its effects are timeless and its damage catches up with you even if you quit.

Stay away from crack and other drugs that are inhaled, since they take their toll on you, too.

Stay away from cocaine and other snorting drugs since they can affect your lungs, although studies that have been done cannot identify how much causes what damage. I’m not saying stay away from the drugs. I believe they should all be legal to provide comfort, when necessary, similar to drugs used in the conventional medical system. Only, find a safe delivery system to spare the lungs or other body parts.

Stay away from second hand smoke, and take your kids across the street to avoid someone’s smoking on your path. Your kids will appreciate it later in life.

Make lots of joy, in as many ways as you can.

Move your body around daily so that your organs get their exercise and stimulation. Picture moving the body with the freedom of octopus tentacles so that all organs get their workout.

Eat plants, as long as the ground grows them, to live longer and to be moral.

Eat fiber to please the gastrointestinal tract.

Juice green goodies, at least, once every day.

Adopt a pet from a shelter. There are many wonderful lives waiting to give you love.

Trap-Neuter-Return a feral cat. If s/he is just homeless, take her (him) in.

Care for others to be kind.

Don’t judge. Take action that is not prejudiced.

Make sure to train every customer service person to whom you speak that your time on the phone is not being reimbursed and that it is more valuable than 10 X the salary amount the rep might consider, since we don’t get a refund on time. Teach the rep to respect this time and do not allow one to ask you to call back at a later time. It is the rep’s supervisor’s job to call you back, even when the rep says it’s not allowed.

Get up if you fall. Don’t worry about being graceful. True dignity has nothing to do with how stylish we are. It is within, even if some people equate it with how kempt our appearance is.

Share yourself and your ideas by trusting others, forgiving them when they err. If people do bad or hurtful things, it is because they are afraid of being overrun, so nurture them in some way. Even the worst ones.

Create today since life is short.

Do not rush because life is long. (If you do tai chi, it will give you more time.)

Go say hello to someone new, just to make connection with the universe to which we are all connected through each other and all life.

Love as hard as you can wherever and whenever you can.

Think of me kindly, and know that I meant the best for you. I love you and am smiling with you.

Be at peace.

If you wish to share your story, leave it as a comment under an article at http://warriorsofweight.com/issues. or even better, write your own article and put it up on a free wordpress site (https://wordpress.com), or post it on a social media site. Share yourself.

If you need habit help, check out my articles at the link above. Know that you can reach out to a fellow human, probably to the person right next to you. If that interaction works out poorly, do it again. It’s worth it, since most people are nice and want to connect with you.

FEEDBACK

You can still leave comments here.

Please LIKE us on the website and at

WarriorsOfWeight on Facebook.

You can comment on Twitter @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, has been a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, has been a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying peaceful conflict resolution, habit replacement and has been certified in plant-based nutrition.

She believes in love, kindness, forgiveness, daily personal evolution. She says,

“Life is not forever, but it’s great if we live as if it is. I have always lived fully, not living in anticipation of my end, but being as much in the moment I am in. Like this very one.

“I have been so fortunate to have perfect health – up to now. For this, I am grateful. I am also grateful that I have had the ability to have this gratitude, to have forgiveness, not to hold anger or grudges. This is a true freedom.

“My mother didn’t hold grudges either. ‘Thanks. Ma.’

“Thank you for allowing me, Diane Gold (there’s that keyword again), to have readers such as you and to be able to interest and help people along the way, even for a moment. It means a lot to me.

“And, finally, let’s take overall good care of ourselves – including loving ourselves and our fellow beings at all costs – because we are always worth it.”

EXERCISE OF LIFE
IS TO BE KIND WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY,
KNOW YOU ARE WORTHY OF JOY AND
TREAT YOURSELF WITH REVERENCE AND FORGIVENESS. AND DON’T FORGET TO MOVE YOUR ORGANS AROUND THROUGH DANCE OR TAI CHI AND HUG AS MANY TIMES A DAY AS POSSIBLE.

If you’ve missed any articles or wish to review any, go to the ISSUES tab on the website to see them all.

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SEXUAL RIGHTS: THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ~ ISSUE 202 ~ DECEMBER 22, 2015
http://warriorsofweight.com

SEXUAL RIGHTS: THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ~ ISSUE 202 ~ DECEMBER 22, 2015
By Diane Gold

FOCUS ON THE RIGHT TO REFUSE

Sexual rights are human rights that pertain to sexual activity and sexual health. This essay focuses on the rights to have or not to have sexual activity, sharply stressing the right to have full freedom to consent to or refuse sex, including within marriage, without the risk of violence, kidnapping, position reducing or deprivation of any kind for having chosen to refuse.

[FACT: In the United States, marital rape is a crime in all 50 states.]

SEX ON DEMAND IN THE SCROLLS

There are many writings that do not share the philosophy that sexual refusal is a right. The way most are written is that it is a wife’s REQUIREMENT to satisfy a husband’s SUMMONING for sex. How sad that physical and emotional torture, which UNWANTED sex is, should be a requirement!

ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS I have found were written by men with a sexual slant that men are more important than women and that women are to serve men.

When we pick a jury for a trial, do we not question each juror to make sure s/he does not have a preconceived notion, a prejudice, that would damage objectivity? In the same way, we must look hard at any writings that pleasure one human’s rights over another, that violate women’s rights for the pleasure of men or that violate men’s rights for the pleasure of women.

SEX EDUCATION AS HUMAN PROGRESS

In the last several years, various countries have begun voluntary sex education classes or are planning them for refugees migrating to their country or those who are already there. Of late, many migrants come from countries that do not honor sexual rights of women. Norway is a leader, beginning nationwide programs in 2013. classes that will help newly arrived immigrants to see that women have the right to out, relax in bars in short skirts and go out without an escort. Hopefully, the class will teach that the following New York Times quote by a new immigrant to Norway shows that his current habit (revealed by his quote) is a violation of human rights and is illegal.

“Men have weaknesses and when they see someone smiling, it is difficult to control,” Mr. Kelifa said, explaining that in his own country, Eritrea, “if someone wants a lady, he can just take her and he will not be punished, ” at least not by the police.

PUBLISHER’S QUESTION ON SEX EDUCATION

When we teach about sexual rights, we are exposing the student to the idea that we have the right to refuse. We are not promoting consent or refusal, we are just talking about rights. If our familial belief system does not offer this right of refusal, what is wrong with hearing that some cultures allow it?

CONTAIN VIOLENCE THROUGH UNDERSTANDING

The best way to contain violence is through understanding. We know it is wrong to do violence to another person. However, to obtain power, land or get people to accept our thinking, we use it. To get revenge against someone who has hurt our ego, we use it.

Yet, developing a new habit in immigrants by showing them new behavior is precious. The new sexual education will allow them to assimilate the mores of their new country without frustration, misunderstanding or mistakes. Once their new habit – that of valuing humans as equals – takes hold, they will know the new rules. It is true their cultural connection to rights violation may take longer to change. But, at least, they will see there is another side to the way people act and respect; they will consider the rights of others and they will learn the rules of their new environment drastically differ from their old.

Hopefully, new understanding will reduce violence.

CONCLUSION

Sexual rights are inherent. We are not born as slaves, even if someone else says we are. We are not born as sex objects, even if someone else says we are. We may be relegated to act those positions by people who can deprive us or deprive our loved ones of food, water, shelter, clothing, work, creativity and rest and relaxation. But the rights are still ours.

It is important to give great thought to human rights, whether we have read about them in a special book or learned about them through living them. Should we focus on one part of an ancient scripture, such as a wife shall cater to her husband when in the same book doing so would violate the loving thy neighbor as thyself or thou shalt not steal edicts? How can we have a rule that does not apply to all humans?

Rights are rights. They apply to us all.

Let us give sexual rights education to those new to our territories. Let us be understanding of those who do not believe as we believe. And let us profess kindness, an easy activity to understand.

ACTION STEPS

1) Consider how you would explain sexual rights: the right to refuse, and post it by scrolling down to the comment section here.

2) Discuss the sexual right of deciding for yourself when and when not to engage in sex when a spouse asks for it. Before you start, agree to stop the discussion if anger enters.

3) Consider volunteering at a sexual abuse clinic once.

If you wish to share your story, please hit reply in your email program to be contacted.

If you need habit help, go to warriorsofweight-consulting.

FEEDBACK

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Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying peaceful conflict resolution, habit replacement and certified in plant-based nutrition.

She believes in freedom. She says,

“When we force a human being to do something s/he has not chosen, it is wrong. When we force a human being to do something sexual s/he has not chosen, it is worse because, not only does it involve bending the emotional will, it involves bending someone’s desire while touching her/his physical body.

“When we are forced to do something that involves our body, the memory of it lingers and lingers and lingers.

“When I think about a spouse forcing a spouse to have sex, I am sad. Why would any spouse care so little for her/his spouse as to force such an act? This sounds like abuse, not love. It also sounds exactly like rape. And, in the eyes of American law, it is.

“Our spouse is not our object and cannot be forced. (I know there are certain rituals in certain cultures that may be different from this. I ask us to look at them.) Even the prostitute, whose job it is to have sex for money, does not have the right to be forced. In the eyes of the law, if we say no, it is no.

“Let’s be conscious, kind and studious of sexual rights. It is only fair.

“And, finally, let’s take overall good care of ourselves because we are so worth it.”

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK
IS TO GIVE SOMEONE A HUMAN RIGHT.

SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPARENCY: APATHY NO MORE

~ ISSUE 201 ~ DECEMBER 15, 2015

By Diane Gold

Supply chain transparency may seem a far cry from my usual nutrition, world peace and habit change. However, it is something most of us have developed a habit to ignore. Whether we purchase a product, locally or globally, do we think about how the product is made?

When there’s a rally because someone points out that children are used as inexpensive labor, we join the crowd. We use social proof – viewing the enthusiastic behavior of others – to follow the herd. Do we let this mentality reduce how conscientious we are as consumers or users of product?

BUYING UNETHICALLY SOURCED GOODS

I do think about how companies serve their labor. I often teach customer servants to think for themselves, rather than keep their minds closed to the lessons taught by their employer alone. But, what if we need something and don’t have time to be kind, thoughtful, ethical, moral, independent?

Take yesterday, when I put my own comfort ahead of a persona debate I have been having. My umbrella, given to me at some convention for some network marketing nutritional product I gave up because it wasn’t vegan, took a turn for the worse. It went from shielding me from raindrops to being more likely to poke me or someone else in the eye. So, on my way back from seeing a friend, I stopped into a giant retail store that had a reputation of having used child labor.

I purposefully and purposely have avoided the store because of media coverage of child labor. However, I had a need. And the almighty “I” had to be satisfied. So, I bought an umbrella. I truly was thinking that this multinational company must have cleaned up its act, or we would be hearing continued stories about it. Maybe it has. Maybe it hasn’t. I don’t feel clean for having purchased there.

I was going to write that I would return the umbrella, but it started to rain, and I used it. And that’s how it goes. We get ethical when it’s convenient for us. I have since researched sustainable umbrellas, and I returned the questionable umbrella, even though it might have rained.

CALIFORNIA SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPARENCY

In 2010, California passed an act whereby, companies had to post certain details about their product chain by 2012. Although many have complied, some have not. Others, one of whom grows the fruit I might eat, say they are out of bounds of the act. Many companies have smaller divisions that are, themselves, incorporated. So, they do not fall into the financial sector required by the act.

The act requires that retail sellers or manufacturers that make over $100 Million dollars must post form an SB-657. Its purpose is to verify that human trafficking and slavery are not present in any part of the supply chain from which a product is made or from which gets it to market.

Each company that fills out the form (and we realize this leaves out loads of companies, but it’s a beginning) certifies that it:

1) Engages in verification of product supply chains to evaluate and address risks of human trafficking and slavery. The disclosure shall specify if the verification was not conducted by a third party.

2) Conducts audits of suppliers to evaluate supplier compliance with company standards for trafficking and slavery in supply chains. The disclosure shall specify if the verification was not an independent, unannounced audit.

3) Requires direct suppliers to certify that materials incorporated into the product comply with the laws regarding slavery and human trafficking of the country or countries in which they are doing business.

4) Maintains internal accountability standards and procedures for employees or contractors failing to meet company standards regarding slavery and trafficking.

5) Provides company employees and management, who have direct responsibility for supply chain management, training on human trafficking and slavery, particularly with respect to mitigating risks within the supply chains of products.

OUR ROLE

In reading the act, it makes me wonder why all companies in every state aren’t required, at least, do this much. It also makes me realize that we all have a role. It is our responsibility to think about ethics when we purchase. It is our responsibility to talk to others and ask what others are doing as consumers, producers and retailers. It is very nice to go march for awareness; it is better to take an ongoing active role.

It is best to lead by example. Buying an umbrella that was supplied by a company that has many divisions oversees brings to mind what supply chain transparency can avoid: humans forced to work in unseemly conditions. And makes me consider what other companies I support that do not treat workers fairly.

KNOWN OFFENDERS

Let me say first that I do not agree that we should be using meat, poultry, fish for food or product unless our environment does not support plant growth or our environment is so harsh that it would put our lives at risk to do so. But, here’s a reference to the Southeast Asian shrimp trade. According to much publicity, young people are kidnapped and brought onto fishing boats against their will and taken out to sea for several months. It is said they are given no wage, no time off, are beaten and abused. This is a story we know about. What if every other company from which we used goods or those whose goods our families used, at some point in the supply chain, used humanly trafficked slave labor?

The large multinational I mentioned earlier with the umbrella story and so many other manufacturers and retailers may think they know their supply chain. The people in direct contact with the sellers/manufacturers could be as ethical as could be. But, what if the next step in every chain violated these ethics?

CONCLUSION

Let’s hope that every state adopts a supply chain transparency act and that all companies are included. If small business is the way of the future, why would we not include all small business, no matter their economic size?

ACTION STEPS

1) To be ethical is to develop the habit of considering supply chain before we buy. Even if it means giving up something we love, it would make a statement. If it’s so important to us to buy a particular item, write to the seller/manufacturer saying you will be waiting until the supply chain is fixed or verified before continuing to buy.

2) Think of one product you use that could use child/slave labor for production, and change retailers/manufacturers. If one doesn’t exist or it’s too expensive, eliminate the need.

3) Have one discussion with one friend, group or family members about the importance of being diligent in making purchases.

We can only do so much. We may not have the funding to cut out everything, but we can certainly keep it at the top of our minds.

If you wish to share your story, please hit reply in your email program to be contacted.

If you need habit help, go to warriorsofweight-consulting.

FEEDBACK

We value your feedback very much.

Please leave a comment below.

Please LIKE us on the website and at

WarriorsOfWeight on Facebook.

You can also follow us on Twitter @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying peaceful conflict resolution, habit replacement and certified in plant-based nutrition.

She believes in facing it. She says,

“If we want not to think about what we cause, that’s our choice.

“I do want to face what I do, cause, effect, help, hurt. Imagine my surprise when I realized that most of the clothes in my closet were made from genetically modified cotton, possibly sourced from child labor. And the bedding on which I sleep, although cotton, is also GMO. since it would have cost me double to get organic, which would, by requirement, eliminate genetic modification.

“Let’s face it, whatever it is. Let’s stand, sit, lie, whatever we can do, face to face with ourselves. If we decide we are caring individuals, and most of us are; let’s consider choosing to become aware of how we get a supply. My telling the world that my $100 Million Dollar company (CA requirement for transparency) does its best not to use supplies or suppliers that deal in slavery or human trafficking. If we had to take out an ad in The New York Times confessing that we used vendors who deal in slavery and human trafficking every time we were caught, it might be more impactful. I would certainly like that more.

“Let’s be aware. Let’s do something, and let’s keep it up. Once is great, but continuity is best. In my eyes, we are our sisters’ keeper.

“And, finally, let’s take overall good care of ourselves because we are so worth it.”