THE ROAD OF PEACE IS OURS IN ONE STEP ~ ISSUE 200 ~ NOVEMBER 24, 2015

By Diane Gold

The road of peace is an ongoing mindset always to be acting, thinking, being peaceful and at peace. There are all kinds of strategies that cross our minds, our books and our conference tables. We are taught at a very young age not to be pushed around, to fight back, to go even the score.

We are taught that we can go to a one-time peace rally and smile or that we must do something violent to save face. Both of these actions side-step the road of peace. One is on the road to peace, a forward looking approach where peace is not achieved but is pondered. The other is an egomaniacal approach to life.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Just a note. The road of peace is now, present. The road to peace is a future state. I am of peace and at peace now.

OUR FOCUS

How can we focus on vengeance and believe it is justice? Why is every cops and robbers/hackers TV show about getting the perpetrator for purposes of seeing justice serviced, which is usually a disguise for getting revenge. Why do we not create entertainment that changes society’s vengeful side by displaying and embellishing stories whose main sentiment is forgiveness and understanding? Why don’t the greatest minds in entertainment come up with creative ways to show conflict resolution in comedic and dramatic properties? We learn much from entertainment and art. Let’s step it up.

Why are we not looking at peaceful solutions to political, religious and national turmoil, instead of war? Why are we always in the conference room with our finger on the trigger?

The answer to that is that we want to be alive in case someone else pushes the red button of war first. But, we can set up our systems to warn against that and think on the road of peace. We know war brings hardship to all, temporary glory to some and a new cycle to come, which, so far, has always repeated itself. We all lose if we do not further the cause of humanity by coming up with a sustainable solution that requires being peaceful now.

The New York Times Editorial Board wrote an article about the price of fear. I quote,

“In the reaction and overreaction to terrorism comes the risk that society will lose its way.”

THE REACTION TO VIOLENCE – REPEATING THE CYCLE – OR NOT

I say, often times, we have tunnel vision. Person A, from Tribe A, steps on your land, so you, from Tribe B, shoot her. Person A’s daughter shoots you to honor her mother whom you have shot.

What if Person A had taught her children not to kill in retribution but to negotiate a peace to sustain the future so that Tribes A and B could live together? What if Person A were the first generation to begin teaching this method of reaction? And the next 10 generations of that family taught the way, no matter how many times Tribe B became violent? Very hard to do since our lives would be at risk. But, as one French person answered his son who said they had to move after the Paris bombings of November, 2015; he said that they didn’t have to move, there are bad guys everywhere, and, when his son mentioned guns, the father replied,

“It’s OK. They might have guns, but we have flowers.”

When the son said that flowers don’t do anything, what he repeated after his dad replied to him was,

“The flowers and the candles are here to protect us,”

and then he said that now he felt safe.

At some point, others would mimic the same pattern. At a further point, this method would rub off on others from other tribes. At some further point, TV shows would reflect this theme, and comedic and dramatic shows would use the theme to teach future generations.

THE TRICK

Someone has to be brave enough not to kill killers. Someone has to be balanced enough to be at peace first. This starts with each of us.

The next time each of us decides to have a social experience, we can go dancing, rather than join some angry crowd calling for vengeance. The next time each of us decides to act to make ourselves feel bigger, let us choose a different behavior.

ACTION STEP – CHANGING OUR REACTION HABITS

Let’s say we want to become more refined, constantly more elevated beings who surpass our animalistic tendencies that have come from the combination of our innate survival instincts and habits developed through repetition of action. This same habit formation that is part of us from early on can be used to replace the habits we have created, to re-develop the habit of peaceful behavior. Just by planning to do so in advance.

Let’s say we are always working on sustainable solutions on the road of peace. This means we are willing to put our insecurities, our anger and our well ingrained habits aside.

HOW TO BE ON THE ROAD OF PEACE

1) THE PLAN

In advance, plan a behavior to do within 2-5 seconds of feeling angry, vengeful, toxic feelings that show themselves or give you a warning that they are about to show themselves.

2) THE BEHAVIOR

Physically leave the location where you are, even if it’s a small adjustment. If possible, run around the block one time or your corporate building or your school campus. This will change the mind because you are involving a physical act which will change the biology from many angles.

3) REPETITION

Repeat the behavior the next time angry, vengeful, prejudicial, toxic feelings show themselves or give you a warning that they are about to show themselves.

4) MORE REPETITION

And the next 100 times.

5) CONTINUING TO TAKE THAT ONE STEP, A HABIT IS BORN OR REPLACED, ON THE ROAD OF PEACE

All habits remain. Whether they are dormant or active, that is the question. For us to be peaceful, we must be peaceful. If we get in our own way, we can get out of our own way. If we act in peace, we will contribute to peace, the peace within and without.

CONCLUSION

The road of peace is a fertile road. We are on it if we decide to read the road sign.

It is not necessary to believe this will work.
It is not necessary to believe in ourselves.
It is not necessary to think happy thoughts.

These three things may come to us in time if we commit to follow the action step. Action is the key. New action that is not the vengeful action of our foreparents is the way. Most of us are not genocidists. We are not in need of annihilating others. Or, if we are, we take the one action step I propose to replace that need.

We are here to be kind and better our species, in creativity, productivity, to spread our message peacefully, to improve the way we gather our food and water, to be more educated about the way we enhance our health, to show love to each other, to care for the planet.

Being peaceful is the way and the road of peace. Becoming peaceful only takes one step.

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.

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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 that we can be on the road of peace in one step.
She says,

“We are developing habits all day long. Every day. Every time we repeat an action, we are one step closer to having an automatic habit. This means we are replacing habits, too. When we do something new in place of what we used to do to achieve the satisfaction of what made us act in the first place, we let go of some habits and let others shine through. Truthfully, we don’t really get rid of any habits. They stay with us forever. Some go dormant. Others stay at the forefront.

“To tie this in with peace, we develop habits when we feel certain things. When we itch, we scratch. What if we swam instead? We might replace scratching with swimming. The point is we can replace our habits of anger and vengeance which come from insecurity with those of being peaceful. In one step. We just have to plan the behavior we will do when we get the old feeling to become angry or vengeful.

“We don’t have to be ready, strong, a Democrat, believing it will work. None of that is even important. All we have to do is do a new action, and we will develop a new habit. It has worked with every human who is of sound mind so far.

“Do it. You will love it, and the world will thrive because of you and me.

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

HABITS FORMED BY OUR BELIEF SYSTEMS ~ ISSUE 198 ~ NOVEMBER 17, 2015

By Diane Gold

“Belief systems are the stories we tell ourselves to define our personal sense of ‘reality’,”

said Gerhard Adam in an October 3, 2011, in an article for Science 2.0.

We are taught value systems when we are young which we accept or reject as we get older. We are exposed to rituals that accompany value systems, which we accept or reject as we get older. We always have the impressions of this exposure, no matter whether we decide to follow these systems or not.

THE BEGINNINGS OF OUR BELIEF SYSTEMS

My very earliest memories are of being encouraged to speak up, speak out and question. I remember making trips to the library weekly where I had my own library card at 2 or 3 years of age. I also remember, later in life, at the ripe old age of 5 or, possibly, 6 or 7, getting The Gift Of Life, a booklet (I now know was created by Planned Parenthood in 1951) that described how a baby was born and being encouraged to ask about it.

My questions about almost everything were welcomed and answered in a way that was meant for me to understand the true nature of the answer, as opposed to some half-baked answer that would take limited effort on the part of my parents to insure my understanding.

From this, I developed a set of beliefs, mores, life concepts that have led me in this life.

Many of us do not experience the privilege of this open questioning forum that I had. We are brought up to acknowledge the beliefs of our family that are reinforced throughout the family day, through ritual, study of the specific belief system, regularly scheduled meeting with others who have the same belief system and the study of historic references to fortify the beliefs. Questions are often dismissed, discouraged or not permitted since the belief system has been established to be one way.

HABITS FORMED BY BELIEF SYSTEMS

Both for those of us who are encouraged to question and for those of us who are required to follow along, we form habits. If the system seems to agree with us, we may get a feeling of warmth when we go to perform a ritual related to the system. If it is an open system that we are developing for ourselves, we might automatically go study something when questions about the universe are asked. We use the teachings of our family and our ancestors, book knowledge, school knowledge, how we are accepted by others into specific groups of present day thinking, how we have groomed ourselves in terms of what we do with what we believe.

No matter which way our belief systems take us, we are convinced we are right. So much so that we break the code of not bringing the topics of politics or religion to discussions with friends or family. We are compelled to do so.

To enhance our belief and to share our customs and understanding of this belief system, we spread the word. We have studied it, we have repeated rituals that pertain to it, whether they are prayer, taking time to read or being active in some way, be it alone or in a group. We are so convinced about this way that it is our duty to spread the wealth of our knowledge.

SPREADING OUR BELIEF SYSTEMS, FORMING HABITS

When we repeatedly talk about our belief system, we are forming a habit. So, each time we encounter another person; it is easier and easier to slip into discussion about what we believe. And it happens that more frequently, we are in this discussion.

The more fervor we generate, the more passionately we share our knowledge.

The more we believe in a particular system, the less we tend to listen to someone else, even though, if it is our duty to communicate, it would seem to be our duty to listen, as well. Even though we think we are spreading knowledge, we often forget to see whether what we are being understood.

Then this talking at people becomes a habit. We may only be interested in talking to people who immediately get our point of view, in which case, we don’t have to stop much and listen. But, belief happens through understanding, so it would seem that listening would be a requirement.

CONCLUSION

We all care about our belief systems, what we have taken for our own from which to live and act. If we have made it this far, however far that is, and don’t have a name for the values and beliefs from which we act; we may not need one. If we do have a name for it, let us stand tall in our beliefs.

No matter what system we follow, advocate, take as our own; it is imperative that we respect the value of life. I am sure all belief systems have a place for this, although, it is hard for me to understand how the preservation of human life can take a back seat to principle in some belief systems when there seem to be other choices.

ACTION STEPS

To follow are some action steps that may open the mind or, at least, develop understanding of others.

1) Begin or continue to study yours and other belief systems. This will help in understanding each other.

2) Listen to others when offering a point of view, and do everything possible to see it someone else’s way.

3) Do not be closed to changing your mind.

4) Show forgiveness.

5) Don’t be prejudiced. We all get comfortable with stereotypes. Let’s make every effort to know that every person or group deserves freedom. If that freedom infringes on someone else, s/he has the responsibility to resolve conflict in the most harmless way possible.

6) Find the good in every belief system. When you find something intolerable, examine yourself.

7) When belief systems are involved, so are habits. Understand that creating harmony and bridging the gap between belief systems has to do with changing habits. Create small actions requiring new behaviors which will, in turn, cause habit change, which will, create harmony.

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 evolving on a daily basis through study, conversation, healthy work.
She says,

“The way we conduct ourselves in adversity shows our way, our belief system. If we show compassion, forgiveness and humility during unsettling times, our belief system has led us to be there. If we show aggressive behavior and vengeance, we may not have found a sustainable solution through our belief system.

“We always have a chance to grow and evolve, as long as we wake up. Let us learn why we act the way we do and listen to the heart of the world in the process.

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

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK
IS BELIEVING ENOUGH TO APPLY CHANGE.

THE SECRET OF VITAMIN D ~ ISSUE 198 ~ NOVEMBER 10, 2015

By Diane Gold

The Secret Of Vitamin D is not really a secret at all. But let’s keep this short and sweet so that everyone reads it.

Women have Vitamin D deficiency. Men have it, too. Children who don’t go out a lot also have it. Get out more, and don’t be so prissy. What do I mean by that? For me, it means every time I go out, I shower upon return; so I go out less. That’s what I mean by prissy, and, yes, I am talking to myself.

Think about it. (1) What happens when we work all day in the sun? We come home, and we take a shower. (2) What happens when we go out to the beach and sun ourselves? We come home and take a shower. (3) What happens when we go out and play basketball and get all sweaty? We come home and take a shower.

THE SUN AND VITAMIN D

Before we consider these 3 examples and their differences, let’s look at why I am talking about the sun. Humans require ultraviolet B rays of the sun to turn the naturally occurring cholesterol in our skin into Vitamin D. To make this skin Vitamin D useful, it has to travel to the liver where dietary fat will stimulate bile to help to break it down (Vitamin D, a fat soluble vitamin). It adds some oxygen and some hydrogen and becomes 25 hydroxyvitamin D or 25(OH)D. Then, it’s on to the kidneys for its last pair of oxygen and hydrogen which turns it into active Vitamin D called1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D or 1,25(OH)2D aka calcitriol. An amazingly cool thing is that excess Vitamin D is stored in the fatty tissue and the liver should we not get out in the sun every day.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

The body storage of Vitamin D is how we can maintain adequate levels throughout our lives without daily sun. This is similar to protein and amino acid storage and the very reason we don’t have to consume every single amino acid at every single meal. It’s because the body has its very own pharmacy so that, when an amino acid, a protein, Vitamin D, or another substance is needed, the body goes to its own pharmacy to get it. We can’t do that with water and various other things.

LEADING TO THE SECRET

So, now, the secret of Vitamin D.

I hear people talk about the supplements they take that don’t improve their Vitamin D levels, and we know that supplements may not work for a variety of reasons, the biggest being that nutrients do not work alone. They need other nutrients to work at all. Kind of the way we humans are: we need each other to co-exist.

1) When we work in the sun all day, we consistently get sun. This gives us a good chance to use the sun every day to stimulate production of Vitamin D. We always get the trigger.

2) When we go out to the beach and sun ourselves, we get sun for that period of time, providing our skin is exposed and sun screen (if used) allows those UVB rays.

3) When we go out and play basketball and get all sweaty, we get sun for that period of time, providing our skin is exposed to the sun, just as in 2).

THE SECRET

AT WHAT TIME WE TAKE OUR SHOWER IS KEY. When we take a shower immediately after outdoor exercising or sunning, we allow no time for the Vitamin D that has started to form in our skin fully to absorb. One of my students’ and good friend’s 80-year-old mom had said to wait two hours before showering to let it sink in. I wait 3 on a good day, sitting there working without a shower.

BAM! That’s the secret. The only thing that makes it great to sit around with no shower is to know that the Vitamin D is literally dripping into our bodies so that it can make it rounds and sustain our lives.

CONCLUSION

The secret of Vitamin D is not deep and dark. It is transparent and light. Wait 3 hours for the glorious substance from the surface of our skin to convert and drip down into our grateful body. Marvel at the idea that we can store it. Be diligent and experimental about how much sun is required, being careful to avoid high noon, unless screened in some way.

Good health! Be at peace.
ACTIONS STEPS

1) Learn the time of most direct sun in each season (if you have season changes), and avoid it since too much sun can contribute to skin cancer.

2) Go out in the sun with as little clothing as feels good to you, 3 hours before or 3 hours after most direct.

3) Stay out for 10-30 minutes, being careful not to get sun burn. If you don’t get out that often, 30 minutes might be better, making sure you are not out at peak sun.

SECRET EXERCISE WITHIN 4).

4) DO NOT RINSE OFF except for sand on the feet for beach goers. Or, a colossally great stretch is to bring the leg up, placing the foot on the wall, tree, pole. Make certain the back stays straight for the entire time and that the knee is perfectly straight. Lean forward and rub the sand off your feet.

5) Go home or somewhere, and drink water. Lots.

6) Work, play, create without taking a shower or washing off the face.

7) 3 hours after you are out of the sun, take a shower so you will have your best chance of making active Vitamin D.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

There is scientific evidence that people with Vitamin D deficiency are more likely to get cancer than those with their Vitamin D intact. Even though some don’t talk about Vitamin D deficiency to educate us (Think industry: Let’s sell more sunscreen, and forget about making Vitamin D! Let’s take supplements, even though most of them do not absorb ), let’s consider going out in the sun so that we don’t get cancer because our immune system is too Vitamin D deficient to shut the cancer cells off.

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 getting knowledge about our bodies and their health.

She says,

“It is important to drink in the sun. Just as plants need the sun to produce food, we need sun to stimulate us to produce Vitamin D. Are we taught to have mixed feelings about going in the sun? Yes. And with good reason. Since there is the risk of skin cancer. Yet, there is evidence that shows that low Vitamin D can cause cancer. So we have to be mindful and practical.

“In all this, why aren’t we educated about the fact that we can wash off the Vitamin D from our skin if we haven’t given it the time it needs to seep into our bodies? This is important information that, if known, could reduce supplement sales and reduce low levels of Vitamin D.

“Let’s spread the word. We never know what lives we will touch with this news.

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

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK
IS WAITING BEFORE SHOWERING AFTER SUNNING.

FOOD HABITS – CONTINUALLY UPGRADING TO GOOD ONES ~ ISSUE 197 ~ OCTOBER 27, 2015

By Diane Gold

FOOD HABITS

Food habits are developed in all of us. We consume the same foods or types of foods over and over again because we like the result. When we do a behavior repetitively to satisfy a certain desire, we have a habit. It becomes something we can do without thinking, and we find ourselves doing it almost automatically.
In fact, sometimes, we have already completed the behavior before we realize we have done so. All to get a reward!

HABITS, IN GENERAL

When we first do something, we are just doing it. We may be motivated to please someone or satisfy our curiosity; but we haven’t yet experienced the reward until the behavior has been done.

When we repeat a behavior a second time or any time after that, we are doing it to get some type of thrill, benefit, recognition, reward. Something triggers us to do the behavior, whether it is the scent of an orange making us want to eat an orange, the dryness of our throat urging us to drink, the sight of a red scarf reminding us to call our sister. These biological responses lead us immediately to psychological responses.

As with all habits or acts of human behavior, triggers cause us to act positively or negatively toward ourselves. It is frame of mind that helps us choose which.

COMMON FOOD HABITS AND HOW TO MASTER THEM

HABIT (1) (a) Eating when full is a hugely popular habit. Why? This to do with the brain’s not having told body it is full.

HABIT (1) (b) Eating too quickly is common. We may not have been trained (yes, trained, or schooled, or educated, or groomed) to eat slowly. Or we may have forgotten. Either results in (a) because we have eaten so quickly that the brain cannot tell the body it has consumed for 20 or 30 minutes.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE ON HUNGER HORMONES

The following information is very simplistic. There are many other substances that have crucial effect on the following two hormones. So the info below is useful and needs further research on all our parts.

Ghrelin is a hormone that signals hunger. It also has a lot to do with regulating how we perceive reward.

Leptin is another hormone that signals when we are full or satisfied. If our body is being cooperative, leptin levels will increase to tell us we are full.

Both ghrelin and leptin have affect on when we feel hungry. Because so many other body substances and functions interact with them, it is very difficult to regulate hunger by supplementing the body with one or the other, alone.

ACTION STEP 1

The action steps for both (1) (a) and (1) (b) are the same.

DRINK a FULL glass of water before eating, waiting 5-15 minutes after drinking before starting to eat. The more slowly you drink the water, the more full the body will feel.

HABIT (2) Continuing to eat food we know is hurtful to our bodies is another common habit. This ties in to our habit of putting off change. We may have been raised eating the wrong foods. Science may have proven that our diets are wrong, but we haven’t made the necessary changes to maximize our health.

ACTION STEP 2

1) Make a list of 10 items you eat that come in a package.
2) Eliminate the most unhealthy for one month.
3) At the end of the month, eliminate another from the list.
4) If you can, maintain the originally eliminated food with the new elimination.
5) If this is too intense, just go with the newly eliminated food.
6) If you are hard core and able to maintain this for one year, continue to eliminate another packaged food from the list every month.
7) If you can, maintain this elimination permanently, and think about the benefit of whole foods vs. packaged goods.

HABIT (3) Eating food that causes pain to others may be more common than any other. We like what we like, and it doesn’t matter who or what we hurt.

ACTION STEP 3

1) Watch a video about migrants kidnapped for the Thai fishing industry that feeds pets and livestock that Americans eat. Do you want to support this? I am going to research my cat food now. I am vegan so do not eat livestock fed with this fish. I wonder if the fertilizer used in my organic produce uses these fish?
2) Read about or watch children who are too tired to go to school because they have to help with milking cows, feeding livestock so they will grow big and strong for sale, fishing, aquaculture. It’s scary to think that aside from GMO and vegan labeling, we have to know who tended our produce and did they have free will.
3) Watch a video on animal agriculture. It will give insight into what responsibility is ours if we use animals for anything in this life. Also, watch Cowspiracy, a movie at cowspiracy.com, about the abuse in factory farming, raising animals free range and why no one talks about it.

CONCLUSION

We have the ability to choose how we behave. As someone in the prison system said,

“I will always be free.”

Of course, he was talking about his mind, his will, his ability to choose. We have that. Let us use it to benefit ourselves, our offspring, our communities.

Can we release some of our greed, eating animals because we like how it tastes? Can we be kinder to each other, sharing when it doesn’t make us a profit?

Most of all, let us not have too fast a life that we neglect our own health. Let us use the newest science about food to eat well (remembering to notice which science makes profit for the funders that funded the research to get the science). And let’s learn food habits that support our body, mind and spirit. We can all do it. All it takes is repetition and our finding the reward in repeating the behavior.

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 studies habits and the people who have them.

She says,

“Habits are little parts of us that arise through repetitive behavior. The way we develop them is the way we can change them. It’s no secret. We can change them 1 step at a time.

There’s a TRICK to the change that most of us don’t employ:

Look at the next step only. That’s it. Looking at the end of the highway will not show us the way to get there. That’s why it’s important to take one step only. Then, we can take the next one step only. Then, and only then, can we take the next one step only.

Once we have taken one step only many times, we will become familiar with this one step. It will become second nature to us, even if we have other habits lurking around in the shadows. And we always will. All habits are ours. We can make them dormant by repeating new behaviors.

But dormant habits are just that – dormant, out of the way. For those of us who have strong habits that always want to become undormant and come out, we need to keep our eye on the one step. Some people can relax after a while. Some people need to keep the focus or the dormant habit will arise and take over.

And it’s important to upgrade our habits when we get new information. That means daily so that we can live our best lives. Every day.

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

RECYCLING IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY ~ ISSUE 196 ~ OCTOBER 13, 2015

By Diane Gold

Recycling is our responsibility, a task that most of us choose to be environmental stewards and better our planet, present and future. We do it for ourselves, our families and our planet’s longevity. The amount of money companies make as a result of our actions is not of concern to most of us.

Preventing waste (by being more aware, recycling and composting), reducing air pollution (from waste incineration), reducing water pollution (from landfill dumps and soil leaching) and lowering gasses (that develop in landfills) are of concern.

WHY WE RECYCLE

Some of us consider it our duty to contribute to the health of our environment, almost as a give-back to Earth for being there for us to live. We do it as a labor of love, knowing it is our sacrifice in time, energy and effort. It is done without question. We also believe that our cities, counties, states and federal governments have a duty to allot budget to selfless recycling programs that look out for the welfare of our community, region, country, planet.

Others of us have reasons which directly relate to what we see and feel in our immediate environment. We want to live in a clean environment where we (1) don’t have to look at a pile of plastic at the end of our canal, (2) don’t see random plastic strewn all over the streets, (3) go to the beach and don’t see garbage in the sand or at the shoreline and (4) boast about how clean our community is.

And then, there are those of us who are involved in the business of recycling and do it for the money.

RECYCLING AND HOW IT HELPS

Last week, a journalist, for a major newspaper, wrote an article that questioned whether recycling helps. His slant mentioned nothing about our duty to do everything we can not to waste, so here I am. His article rightly questioned whether the amount of water we use to clean what we recycle wastes more than it gains. Of course, we need to consider water resources and money to pay for them vs. greenhouse gasses and landfill space if we don’t recycle.

But the essence of recycling lies on our responsibility to the human condition, to do it for benefit of our sisters, brothers, families, ourselves.

MONETARY VALUE OF RECYCLING

We, outside the recycling industry, don’t care about how much money the industry makes. We do care how much money we save in clean up costs for our land, rivers, lakes and oceans. And we certainly care about how clean our air supply is.

It’s a good thing if the town, county or state makes a great deal with the recycling industry, and campaigns for us to do more of it. It’s also superb when the recycling industry makes money. But, if there comes a time when recycling becomes unprofitable for the industry, it is time for the government to allot money for such a purpose.

WTE FACILITIES – FOR WHAT WE CAN’T OR DON’T RECYCLE

Waste-To-Energy facilities are those that burn our garbage and use the result to produce electricity. Some people are concerned with the toxic emissions that are released from this burning including the fly ash and bottom ash. Advocates of the WTE method see the other side: the increased greenhouse gas (GHG) and toxic chemical compounds that are released and leach from landfills for waste that has not been incinerated first. (FYI, after the incineration process, the resulting ash is usually put in the landfill.)

In Sweden, their use of incineration for electricity is working well. In Portland, Maine, ecomaine, a WTE since 1989, burns the community’s garbage and produces enough electricity for some of the community’s homes. http://www.ecomaine.org/electricgen/processdiagram.pdf

Advocates of burning refuse say that the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere from incineration is two-thirds less carbon than that released from landfill waste dumped without incineration. The discussion continues.

CONCLUSION

Recycling matters. It matters to each one of us, whether we think about the future of the planet or we think about our comfort level in the parks of our communities.
The first thing to keep in mind is that recycling is our responsibility for our home, whether it is a castle, a shack or the planet. We are not entitled to much after we become adults unless we work for it. As long as we put something in, we can create the best our situation has to offer. And, to prepare children to become responsible adults, recycling ed has to start immediately.

ACTION STEPS

Here are several action steps that will be helpful.

1) Find out what you are permitted to recycle in your community recycling bins. Only recycle those items.

2) If there are no bins provided at your individual homes, call the jurisdiction in which you live or the surrounding areas and find out what community facility allows free recycling. Make a schedule to use it.

3) Call your county to find out whether your county recycling facility has more choices than your local bin. If yes, plan to recycle what you can’t locally when you make a trip close to the county facility. Don’t consider the time you will use to do this. It is part of your duty. Do consider the gas you will use. If the facility is very far, plan a monthly trip with friends who will also recycle.

4) Educate your children as to what numbers (1) through (7) mean in the way of containers. Children enjoy memorizing numbers that represent objects. This identification process can become a fun game that will instill recycling in them. If you do not have children or grandchildren, educate an adult.

5) Explain to your children that each of us has a responsibility to account for our waste. Talk about using just enough and how recycling can benefit us right now and in the future. If you do not have a child to whom to talk, talk to an adult about this subject.

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.

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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 has been close to recycling since the 80s and, at one time, wanted to be the recycling coordinator of her town.

She says,

“It is very disturbing that we don’t approach certain things as responsibility. Recycling is something we have to do for our planet. Or we have to come up with another way to reduce waste. If there’s a better way, let’s hear it. Please shout it out.

In reading about the disposal of ash after waste management combustion, it seems hugely complicated to neutralize the toxins that are formed. Do we know how? Do they know how in Sweden?

“Let’s keep working to figure out the best method to recycle our waste, but let’s keep recycling and educating in the meantime. We need more. We need government support. We need it now. Not only if it benefits an industry but so that it benefits the longevity of the human race.

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

CONVENTIONAL PRODUCE – GMOS AND PESTICIDES ~ ISSUE 195 ~ OCTOBER 6, 2015

By Diane Gold

Just so we know, the term “conventional produce” is another way of labeling food that has pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and is made with seeds that are, more than not, genetically modified. The question becomes why are we accepting the term “conventional produce?”

Isn’t it just a term to deter us from questioning why we allow any kind of spraying that might be carcinogenic or dis-ease causing or genetically modified? This reminds me of sleight of hand except for the mind: talking about one subject to take the focus off another. Exactly the same as the discussion that we should label GMOs, why are we talking about labeling them when we should be preventing their use altogether until some large independent study not performed by a friend of the GMO industry is done for all to see. Should we not look at the European Union that has many restrictions against GMOs?

QUICK TIP: Kale is on the Environmental Worker’s Group list of the Dirty Dozen, meaning it is one of the pieces of produce that retains heavy pesticide residue. When buying kale, make it organic.

NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD

It’s bad enough that the NOSB allows hundreds of chemicals on its list of what is allowed and what is not. I thought it was 32, but there’s a huge list.

ACTION STEP

If you would like to make a comment before the annual meeting of the National Organic Standards Board, go to:
http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=AMS-NOP-15-0037-0001.
The cut-off date to comment is October 8, 2015 for the October, 2015 meeting, so the time is now.  Or just notice when the next meeting will be and get ready to make a comment.

MY NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD COMMENT

There are far too many exceptions on organic food. The idea of organic food was not to benefit the industry. It was to eat cleaner food. How can we, who are not farmers, live better lives, when those of you who are specialists are not strict enough to advocate on our behalf?

In the meantime, why isn’t it required that everything that has the USDA Certified Organic logo on it be labeled with EVERYTHING that has been used on it up until the point it reaches the retailer?

We deserve to know that bananas are gassed with ethylene, one of the less troublesome allowances. OR sulfur dioxide may be present. Why is not a sign required in every retailer’s store in full view of every counter that holds produce revealing that the produce has such and such on it or was treated with such and such even though it evaporated?

It’s our right to know.

The biggest problem with not having a labeling requirement for every showcase of every retailer of organics is that retailers have no idea what’s on the produce, so we can’t ask the retailer. Retailers are not required to give a phone number of a producer or finisher, so, most of the time, we have to go hunting the number down to call them and they end up saying they don’t even know what’s in the combination chemical they use from such and such a company. So the poor consumer who calls about only 1 piece of produce a day has to endure 5-10 phone calls to get one answer and rarely gets an answer at all.

What if we are allergic to xanthan gum? How will we know whether there is any present? OR what if we choose not to eat produce that has xanthan gum? How are we to know?

Please help by making producers pass on their pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, wax/coating list. And then there’s beeswax. Can’t we make a rule that animal product must be labeled as such so that we can choose our produce without 10 phone calls for one piece of produce a day?

Thank you for your help.

GMOs

Genetically modified organisms are those items that have been manipulated by science, not nature. GMOs are made using seeds that have had their DNA changed in some way. To slow the extinction of the human race, science may be needed at some time in the future when soil no longer produces. But, now, we have not researched its perils, and we put ourselves at risk for its side effects.

Modification of seeds and plants has occurred as a means to profit and success. I love profit and success. It shows some of the productivity and creativity of humankind. Unfortunately, genetic engineering has been done at the expense of our personal health. No viable tests have been conducted by non-interested science groups to show that the harmful effects from GMOs are real. Often,we rely on the industry study reports that favor their own agenda. Yes, we all do that, but this is about the food we eat, so why aren’t we taking better care?

PUBLISHER’S NOTE ~ PERSONAL HEALTH

Many industries profit by taking a toll on our personal health – the war machine, although I am soooooooooooooo grateful for my United States Military – I just don’t agree with creating war to sell military product; the pharmaceutical industry – creating drugs that are not necessary and giving medical personnel incentives for recommending said drugs; the food industry’s putting sugary, oily, salty ingredients in our food so that we buy more at the expense of our lives. One more example is the food industry’s convincing us we need meat and dairy at the expense of animal’s lives and, worse, our own good health.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE ~ SOILING AN ORGANIC FARM

Another tidbit I’d like to mention comes from a true story in 2009 from a 152-year-old farm that had been working on becoming organic. The farmers, 5th generation in their family, were in their 3rd (which is the final) year of working the land following organic guidelines – it takes 3 years of organic protocols to get certified.

One day, a crop duster came to spray non-organic pesticides on a neighboring major player GMO farm. Accidentally, the pilot forgot to turn off the spray. Unfortunately, that action pesticided the 3 years of work. Not sure if the certifiers discredited the 3 years or not. They should have (but lots of things slip through), and wow, how too bad.

CONCLUSION

When the word “Conventional” is on some sign in front of us, hopefully, we will take a good long look at it and realize it is another word for strong chemicals that can be more carcinogenic than the allowances on organic produce and genetically modified which is not permitted on organic produce. Let’s call it what it is,

“More-heavily sprayed & probably genetically modified stuff,”

and know that organic produce is

“Sprayed with different ills & probably not genetically modified stuff.”

Keep in mind that not all organics are sprayed, and not all conventional produce is a GMO. But let not the word “conventional” make us blind. Let us call it what it is. And do personal research.

ACTION STEPS

1) Don’t forget to go to http://whatsonmyfood.com. Pick your favorite produce, and go have a look.

2) Make a comment at the National Organics Standard Board website here: http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=AMS-NOP-15-0037-0001. If too late for this meeting, notice the next time you can comment.

3) Keep sharp. Conventional means more heavily sprayed. End of story. Buy organic food, and don’t forget to check out this video (remember that unsprayed crop that starts with GM seeds is not organic, even if you love the local farm from which it came): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtwZ8t5NS6c

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 is very aware of how marketers secretly enter the minds of their customers.

She says,

“Marketers have their jobs. And I love creativity in the making. I do know that the job of swaying the public is fun and continual. I also know that it’s my job to mention it to the public. Therefore, I am pointing out the term “conventional produce.” It’s only a convention because we have been duped into thinking that Big Food, Big Agro, Big Dairy are on our side. They are on their side as are most businesses that continue to operate.

“Let’s keep our eyes open and know that we are responsible for our own food research. Let’s figure a way to use organic produce, even if we have to sacrifice a new piece of clothing or a movie.

“Wouldn’t it be great if conventional were organic so that the norm would be organic? Until that time, let’s be aware of what’s on conventional produce and choose organic.

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

ABUSER – WHY WE ABUSE ~ ISSUE 194 ~ SEPTEMBER 29, 2015
By Diane Gold

As an abuser, we get something out of the pain of others. What is so spectacular that we forfeit our love for others, our reverence for the rights of others, our sense of right and wrong, even our own dignity at the blink of an eye?

FEELING SMALL

Feeling small or powerless is usually at the root of being an abuser. We see ourselves as less valuable than others, our self-esteem is in the toilet (much like some people who are abused and allow the abuse), we see ourselves as weak. This feeling of having no power makes us miserable, angry, juvenile or, even, infantile. Although we may act as adults in many (or most) areas of our lives, we act like children when it comes to pursuing balance of our anger issues.

UPBRINGING

When baby boomers were young, they were shown the new entertainment – television. For part of my childhood, thanks to my uncle, I was able to watch superman and cartoons on a color television. I can recall one character taking a giant gavel and slamming it down on another character. Usually, the squooshed character would pop back up and be fine, with birds flying above the character’s head or symbols floating out of the head to represent pain from the strike in the head.

When my kids were coming up, they watched an environmental hero who was fighting pollution and outsmarting big development. Was there violence? Yes. It was justified by environmental pollution. But violence was there. Many of the parents with whom I hung out when my children were young did not allow their kids to see violence. Today, we see violence as entertainment all the time. Does this justify our being abusers? No!

ACTION STEPS

So, what can we do if we think or if we know were are an abuser?

1) HAVE COMPASSION

Feel for others, and think about how you would feel if someone were treating you the way you treat your object of anger. Be compassionate with yourself, too.

2) BE UNDERSTANDING

Understand that it is possible that you are not in control of your emotions and that you may need support.

3) GET EDUCATION THROUGH SUPPORT

Educate yourself as to how talking to others can help you control you as well as get you to see the truth.

4) BE FORGIVING AND PLAN AHEAD

Be forgiving of yourself for everything. Begin today to see yourself as kind. As with any habit, it’s crucial to plan ahead. Here’s an example strategy for when you get angry.

a) Immediately leave the premises that contain a person to whom you might direct your anger.

b) After this, immediately call someone who is not an enabler who won’t talk out of your own realization that you may be out of control. The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 can suggest a certified intervention program for you or give you some resources that may help.

c) Notice your anger as you start to build the habit of walking away from the trigger environment. Forget this one until you actually have some success rate with walking away to protect everyone.

d) Feel hopeful that you are taking control of your circumstances.

5) BE REPETITIVE

a) If you are succeeding with the above strategy, keep going. Great.

b) If you are not, recall the hotline in 4) b) and tell someone you are in need of further help.

6) DO DAILY EVOLUTION

Every day, we have to take care of ourselves. This includes right food, good water, rest & relaxation, creativity & productivity and companionship. Here, I will mention activities that relax us: tai chi, dancing, chi kung, meditation come to mind. Doing one of these activities helps the body rejuvenate so that it has its best chance of doing well and helps us to lead a joyful, balanced life.

CONCLUSION

What makes us abusive can be varied: our childhood, how we think someone else is responsible (which is bogus because it’s on us), how someone triggered our anger. Whatever happened in the past, now is now. Right now. How we change our immediate behavior is the important thing.

When we begin to act in a new way, we are becoming familiar with how to do it. When we do it again, we get better at it. And we end up looking at ourselves in the mirror and saying,

“I can do this.”

We all have many qualities within us. The good news is, with new actions, when it is time for change, we can establish new habits that are supportive of our morality and our peace.

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

If you need habit help, go to
http://warriorsofweight.com/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 knows she has the ability to be an abuser within. We all do.

She says,

“When we feel angry, there are many things we can do other than abuse. Once we realize that being abusive shows weakness, it may not give us the feeling of control that it did. We may change our perception of the act of cruelty once we see that we look weak – since the act itself is about power.

“It is wrong to be an abuser because forcing others to bend to our will is wrong. Learning martial arts will teach us to balance the mind as it trains the body. That’s why this subject should be in every school curriculum.

“If we are the abuser, studying martial arts can level us out. We can use this study to stop our bullying. We can use the systematic approach taught to absorb the physical discipline as a training method for our anger and power struggles. All we have to do is begin. The control will come.

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

ABUSED AT HOME – WHY WE ALLOW IT ~ ISSUE 193 ~ SEPTEMBER 22, 2015

By Diane Gold

When we are abused at home, we make choices. Some of us remove ourselves from the situation, which seems sensible. Others do not or cannot. This essay talks about why we do not even want to remove ourselves from such a situation.

Aside from the very realistic fact that it might not be safe for us to remove ourselves, many of us do not want to remove ourselves from an abuse situation. Why?

1) WE’RE COMFORTABLE

We feel comfortable in our current position and know how difficult it is to change.

2) WE BELIEVE WE CAN’T FIND A BETTER SITUATION

We believe we can’t find a better situation than the one we have, which means we are not seeing ourselves as the worthwhile human beings we are.

3) THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER

We con ourselves into thinking things are getting better. Similar to forgetting the pain of pregnancy right after it happens, we forget the pain and reality of abuse until the next time. This helps us slip into the fantasy that things are getting better. They rarely are.

4) BLAME

We build up an entire list of blame. If we are the abused, this blame is usually directed at ourselves.

Personally, I do not believe that blame is helpful. People act the way they act based upon their principles. If our emotions from some event, person or ourselves cause us to act a certain way, we have chosen the course of action. Whether someone pulled our hair, called us names, was prejudiced because we were the wrong nationality is not relevant to the way we act, ultimately.

We make choices. They are ours alone. Pointing fingers may help us cope. There is no reality attached to the exercise.

5) FEAR OF FURTHER ABUSE

Fear of further abuse is another reason we freeze and stay after being abused. We may be afraid of anything from harassment to death from the abuser.

After speaking to the National Domestic Violence Hotline advocate, I am convinced that this is a huge issue and a stark reality that must be considered very carefully.

Unfortunately, the abuser is fixated on a pattern of anger and bullying. If the abused attempts to vacate the premises and the abuser sees this action, any tragically terrible thing might occur. So, caution must be used at all times.

6) FEAR OF KIDNAPPING

Fear for our children is common.

If there are children involved, we may maintain an abusive relationship so that we don’t put our children at risk of being kidnapped or hurt. However, anyone who lives a quality of life such as this is using despair as a motivator and needs to speak with a professional. As my comments in 5), it is very important to use the utmost caution.

7) OUR CULTURE DOESN’T SUPPORT PROTECTING US

Many cultures do not protect people from abuse. These cultures put certain demographics into slave-like positions, and speaking out or getting away might be deadly.

HOW TO GET OUT

Most readers, in the United States, anyway, are not in abusive situations. They would not choose a person consumed with anger in the first place. And, if they did, they would know that getting out would be the first preferred option at the first hint of such behavior. We all change all the time, though, and any one circumstance can make us lose our balance.

The moment we are abused is the moment for action. Everyone should know about it, including a therapist, our friends, a support group. Involving law enforcement is tricky because we may, deluded or not, not want to color someone’s record as an abuser or live in a place where the law does not protect us. (THINK ABOUT THAT! HOW LUCKY WE ARE WHO HAVE LEGAL PROTECTIONS.) And then there’s the reality of our abuser’s repercussions.

INTERVENTION

Most people who are abused find a way to remove themselves pronto (in protected countries, that is). But then there are those of us (even when the law is on our side) who hesitate, either because we are not safe or we deny we are abused.

But some of us who stay want to help our abuser or go for counseling together.

It’s important to know that we need to be separated first. We need to feel safe first. We need to know we are excellent before we can help someone else feel that way.

The only way we can help our abuser is to remove ourselves from the toxic situation. There is always time for looking at giving help once we have helped ourselves.

The most independent of us will walk out instantly from the smallest amount of abusive behavior (in protected countries). It is not to be tolerated in a mature and lasting relationship, and we see it and have the ability to leave. The less independent of us may cater to our feelings of disbelief, fear, poor self-worth, despair or the realities of financial instability, loving our lavish lifestyle, cultural pressure or not knowing where to go. Maintaining the status quo leads to continuation of abuse.

TRUE STORY

I lived with an abusive man (here in the United States, a protected country) with whom I also shared my livelihood. Everyone saw that I was treated as a dishrag, but I let it happen, in part, because I am hugely kind and compassionate and because it was easier to maintain the life than to change it.

I wanted to be understanding of this man’s brokenness. He had lived through his own wife’s paralysis from a drunken driver. Of course, this tragedy does not excuse abuse. And this, in part, was a great excuse on my part.

Having a martial arts school (which I had with the abuser), I was trained for combat. I thought I should be able to handle any physical abuse. Warrior training trains us for altercations, but abuse in the home is poisonous and must be removed.

I used excuse 1), being comfortable with what I had – or, at least, being comfortable enough to keep the status quo – and 3) things are getting better, which they clearly were not. Until, finally, the business was failing, and I did not resign the next lease. That helped me begin to be out.

ATTACHMENT

Attachment can truly entangle us. I am reminded of the Indian philosophy I studied at age 21 (Radha Soami). With that training and using what I have learned on the subject since then, I know attachment can consume us and hinder our ability to grow.

Picture a root system of a tree growing up around the tree and, ultimately, strangling the tree. Voila! Attachment. It may feel amazing, at times, like,

“Oh, honey. I can’t live without you,”

or it can be quite horrific when our honey treats us like a doormat, and we accept it.

Both of these examples are attachment. They both take a stranglehold.

CONCLUSION

We are wonderful. No matter what reasons we give ourselves for staying and being abused, put them aside, and work with professionals toward a situation in which you are safe. If we stay after one abuse, it will be harder to make a move after the second, after the third, and so on.

We CAN handle change, even if we think we can’t. We were born to withstand huge amounts of change.

We can do it!
We can do it!
We can do it!

ACTION STEPS

If abuse is happening or may be happening,

1) Call an advocate at the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 OR 1-800-799-SAFE.

2) Tell the advocate your situation.

3) If you are not safe, do not do anything quickly to add fuel to a possible angry fire that is brewing inside the abuser, including making a phone call as in 1). You may have to plan your step when your abuser leaves and speak with a trained professional at a center who has experience. SAFE HORIZON in NYC has experience and may be able to help, even if you are not in NYC. 1-800-621-HOPE (4673), just in case the National 24/7 hotline is backed up.

4) If you know you are fairly safe and there are no weapons to fear, you may want to leave your premises to go for a walk to test whether or not you are safe.

5) If you have gone for your walk and your abuser has not followed, it is a good time to use the local resource phone number you have obtained from the national hotline while you are outside and away from earshot of your abuser.

6) If you are still on your walk and your abuser has not followed, you can call your local police department non-emergency number or 911 and talk to law enforcement. You may wish to speak with them away from the house unless you are sure you wish to file a complaint. Different jurisdictions have different rules. You may be able to speak with someone without filing a complaint. Others will require they write down the name of the abuser and will take action again her/him. Before you talk, you certainly have the right to ask which rule applies in your local area.

For purposes of this article, I called my local non-emergency policy number, and they are willing to speak to someone without having to file a report. Not all departments are that way.

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 has fallen prey to complacency, fear, slanted thinking at times in her life.

She says,

“When I write about ways that I have been, how I have handled life; I can see my life more clearly. Having allowed an abusive partner to call me names, scream in the house, strike me (whether I struck back or whether striking back is acceptable is not the point here), push me, disrespect me does not seem like what I would do. But, here’s the secret. We all have the ability for emotions to tie us up or set us free. We feel different ones at different times, and some of us may never experience some of them. But, we are all capable of all of them.

“I am the first person to be compassionate because we deserve that in our fellow humans. I am also the first one to realize disrespect – when it comes to others. When it came to seeing disrespect thrown at me daily, I saw it, but I excused it and feared change more than I feared being chastized. I had that entire root system entwined around my thinking.

“Now, I don’t. But, I included my own true story in case it helps one of you cope, speak, make a move, gather information, see your own truth.

“We are full of life and deserve to be treated like royalty. I don’t mean we deserve to be spoiled, although those who love us may want to spoil us. But we deserve to be around people who value us, people who show us respect, people who go out of their way for us, people who enjoy us.

“Let’s keep that in mind so that we lead the best lives possible.

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

GOOD FOOD – THE MOST POTENT PART OF OUR DAY ~ ISSUE 192 ~ SEPTEMBER 15, 2015
By Diane Gold

Good food, the most potent part of our day, needs focus. Truly, love, creativity, productive, relaxation, rest, exercise come with it. But where would we be without good food? And what would the focus of our day be like if we didn’t have it?

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD FOOD

Like money or teeth, which only take priority when we don’t have them, we don’t think too much about good food unless we spend a part of our day nurturing ourselves with it

Most of us are in environments where we have to rush to eat, compromise by eating genetically modified, non-organic food every time we eat out or don’t grow our own food so trust whatever we get.

QUALITY OF FOOD

How good is the good food we eat? Even when purchasing organic food, the National Organics Standards Board allows a massive list of synthetic and chemical products to ward off various blights that can harm produce. Check here, if you dare: http://bit.ly/1BNhl2Q. There are just as many non-synthetic substances that might be displeasing to some. But who thinks about fish heads in our vegan produce or liquid fish products to ward off rice pests?

There is, at least, one product formulator who has changed the standard for organic by creating a trademarked super organic label. He has done so because he sees the USDA label as too permissive as the link above demonstrates. He has tightened the standard on what good food is.

HOW WE CONSUME OUR GOOD FOOD

How often do we think about how we consume our good food? The following considerations are ACTION STEPS, to consider and to act upon the consideration:

1) Is our food, at least, certified organic by the USDA?

2) Is our food non-genetically engineered?

3) Have we cooked out the nutrients by applying too much heat? Some beneficial phytonutrients are released when fire is applied since we, as humans, cannot break certain cellulose walls down ourselves. But, often, heat destroys the nutrition we think we are getting, and we end up eating nutrition-less (meaning less nutrition) than we originally thought we were consuming.

Cooking is cool, but be aware and learn to raw, too.

4) What about the cookware? I have spoken about this before. See: http://warriorsofweight.com/plastics-in-food-and-bloodstream. And, today, I had a very long conversation with the product developer of one of the all ceramic pot manufacturers. The great thing about the conversation was that this owner/developer had 30 years in the industry and had done the research on the subject of toxins in cookware.

It would be great to use a pan that did not weigh a lot, had no possible toxic glaze on it and was non-stick. That’s nearly impossible. So we take what we can get. I’ve been using a ceramic glass pot when possible, but may venture out into non-stick.

5) Then, what utensils do we use?

From the time I was about 21, I began using chop sticks. It was not part of my family’s culture, but now it is. I didn’t want to put metal in my mouth. What I discovered today in researching this article is this: most of the disposable chopsticks are dipped in sulfur dioxide to inhibit mold.

Consider this, too. The Center For Disease Control lists sulfur dioxide as potentially life-threatening, causing breathing problems and chronic inflammation. Isn’t it interesting that sulfur dioxide is one of the synthetic ingredients allowed on organic produce by the National Organic Standards Board (although only 100 ppm). But it makes me wonder.

I have been using wooden, sulfur-laden disposable chopsticks for over 40 years. I am not happy about putting plastics or polymers in my mouth, and, if I get organic chop sticks, they can have up to 100 ppm of sulfur dioxide. Imagine the variation per batch that chop sticks could have. Mind-blowing.

6) How have we educated ourselves on what to eat? Do we even know how to consume the right amounts of food to make it good for us?

CONCLUSION

Let us conclude by saying that good food is crucial to our sustained life. The earlier we learn good habits related to food, the more our bodies, minds and spirits will drink in the benefits. When we have health challenges, we often review what we eat. But, today is a great day for review food and avoid causing dis-ease.

It was only a few months ago that I became certified in whole-food-plant-based nutrition. The training fortified my knowledge of good food. It also reminded me of how much I enjoy the study of nutrition and how few of us really go through a training program to learn great nutrition.

Is there any better time?

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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 loves good food. She also enjoys reminding people that we need to learn about how to eat and that it is a skill like many others.

She says,

“So often, we go about our day, not realizing that good food fortifies us. And that every day we bypass eating well can forge the road to dis-ease.

“We need to study nutrition to know how to eat. What we may have learned from our grandmas may not take into account the science we have now. Eating well is fun. And, since we are always concerned with how we feel, it makes us feel gr-r-r-reat!

“A great way to study other than actually going to school for it, which wouldn’t be a bad idea for us all, is to make a new(or created) recipe every week or so, making sure it contains whole, organic ingredients that are not in a package. That does take away a lot of things, but it puts in their place an abundance of good food just waiting to be eaten.

“Know the value of good food and how beneficial it is for our lives.

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

HEALTH CARE MISTAKES: OUR BIGGEST ONE (ISSUE 171) MARCH 24, 2015

By Diane Gold

Health care mistakes: our biggest one is not being preventive, a topic very dear to my heart. The topic has been in my purview for some time. The rumblings of this article began with a simple conversation.

THE CONVERSATION

Harvey, a near and dear friend, and I were having this conversation, that I started, about being tested for vitamin, mineral, phytochemical levels. We did not decide to debate the topic; it evolved so innocently but actually spelled out the way many people in America look at medicine: from the diagnostic perspective.

I said that I thought a primary care physician’s job was to make certain the patient’s systems were in balance and that it was necessary to test whether a person’s nutritional intake was adequately fulfilling the needs of the body. And to discover if there were any imbalances, which would take extensive study; though not always accurate, we could have vitamin, mineral and phytochemical testing. And, as many specialists I have spoken with agree, we shouldn’t have to beg for these tests.

OUR BIGGEST MISTAKE

Harvey replied that when we go to the primary care doctor, we get tests done based on our diagnosis. He also mentioned that Medicare (which he and I both began within the year) only pays for tests that match our diagnoses.

I told him that this is the biggest mistake in all our healthcare system and that I consider it ludicrous. If we believe, and by we, I mean the physicians and dieticians who treat us, that we are asked to get sick and have a diagnosis before looking for weaknesses of which blood is a somewhat good predictor; we are propagating a disease care system, not a health care system. If we believe that it’s important to act well, sleep well, eat well, think well, move well, drink well and measure the result; we will prevent diagnoses often.

HOW TO CORRECT THE MISTAKE

I said to Harvey that I wanted him to think about my view because I realized he was one of the people who was raised as a patient of a Western medical system that professes to cure things through medication and intervention once an imbalance exists already.

I proposed,

1) ACTION STEP ONE

“What if we were to test our vitamin-mineral-phytochemical levels on a regular basis! We would confirm that we were eating well or that we would be wise to adjust a way of eating our nutrients through our daily routine of eating well.”

2) ACTION STEP TWO

(This is a What If Scenario, not because I support the way Big Pharma acts, but because it is powerful, organized, competent.)

Another suggestion to the world is to include Big Pharma to help spread the word about the importance of measuring and testing nutritional levels. Could we pay it to make everyone aware that it’s good health care to monitor nutrition through testing and have insurance pay for the tests?

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Since Big Pharma makes such a huge sum from drugs, many of which could be eliminated by nutrition; Big Pharma is not going to come along happily, unless paid. The government won’t regulate it because political campaigns run on its dollars. And its sister and brother (mostly brother) board members in Big Media, Big Petro-Chem, Big Agro, Big Food, Big Data, Big University, Big Finance would be affected and growling, too.

So, please someone who is brilliantly creative; use my scenario and develop a strategy to satisfy the monetary gap so we can use Big Pharma to fix our health care system.

The best creatives for this fix could actually be TV script writers, some of the most creative minds in the bunch.

3) ACTION STEP THREE

Finally, Western doctors have not been trained in the importance of doing preventive tests. They are trained to find a pre-existing condition. Their understanding has been reinforced by the fact that they know that any insurance system works on the disease model and each doctor is monitored for the tests s/he orders by how well they match the diagnoses that exist. Let’s change nutritional education in medical schools. And one way to do that is to employ ACTION STEP 2) which includes Big Pharma, where we give Big Pharma a reason not to hide nutritional findings.

BACKGROUND

In medical school, much funding comes from pharmaceutical companies, meat. There are also connections to meat, fish and dairy concerns, petro-chemical/pesticide companies, including bioengineering seed companies. What’s important about this is these companies want to sell their products. They want to make a good impression on soon-to-be-doctors who will be advocating care for the goodness of their future patients.

The industries mentioned above know that if they make donations to medical schools, including private donations from board members; school provosts will be more likely to keep industry information out of coursework.

School administrators, required to hunt down the almighty dollar for survival, may also allow industry donors to run seminars for doctors and medical students that are favorable to themselves. In fact, these companies control some of the slant on disease management (intervention) vs. health care management (prevention) by making it clear that their donations depend upon the school’s advocating their positive image.

Also interesting is that pharmaceutical reps as well as other company advocates are wooing medical students even before they graduate. The pharmaceutical budget donates most of the continuing education conferences for already graduated doctors, and, much as we think we are objective, we are wooed by those who buy us gifts.

THE TRUTH

At this time, Big Pharma does not emphasize disease prevention because it wants us to buy pharmaceuticals to contribute to its livelihood. It’s not that Big Pharma is heartless. But, in order to continue developing monumental drugs that can lengthen lives, of which there are many, and enhance life quality through various combinations of chemicals; the industry thinks it has to blind us rather than educate us.

The truth is, as I see it, that if Big Pharma were tasked to educate us properly, we would all do well. We would still need some of their life-lengthening drugs currently under development, and we could pay the industry for its expertise in marketing, management and an ally in the corporate jungle. We just couldn’t pay as much as they currently make.

INCENTIVIZING BIG PHARMA TO HELP WITH PREVENTION

Let me point out, again, that this is a what if scenario and something to think about or from which to create (rather than criticize).

Since Big Pharma’s marketing machine is in place, we could use it for good. Instead of working against an already built corporatocracy, why not figure out a way to subsidize it for helping to market preventive care in place of disease care with the money we save through the nutritional secrets that are revealed! Here’s why this philosophy could be beneficial to all of us.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, in 2010, Americans spent $20.4 billion dollars on prescription drugs for hypertension (about half of all treatment for hypertension). Let’s say Big Pharma or some independent concern, discovers a natural blood pressure fix, such as chewing turmeric root for 5 minutes a day; we can lower our blood pressure to (low) normal range.

If Big Pharma publicized this, freely and nurturingly, potentially it would be reducing its income by $20.4 billion dollars per year, since everyone could go chew turmeric instead of taking blood pressure lowering meds. In order to incentivize Big Pharma to disclose this nutritionally beneficially evidence; it needs to be given a supplement for its sacrifice. The turmeric association’s making an additional $750 million dollars is so very little compared to the cost of drugs, so any commission the turmeric growers could give to Big Pharma would be a small incentive.

The amount we save on health care, as a nation, would be significant. I do not have a statistic at this point, but I do know that the amount the government saves on sickness might leave room for the government to incentivize Big Pharma. If in 2010, we spent $42.9 billion on blood pressure sickness (according to AHRQ and according to the CDC in 2011, we spend $46 billion dollars), and we used turmeric instead of medicine; we would reduce spending of $20.4 billion on drugs and spend half a million on turmeric therapy. If the government gave 50% of its part of the $20.4 billion dollars being saved to Big Pharma, we might have an actual reality.

CONCLUSION

Health care mistakes are related to who benefits from what. We all want to lead a good life. This includes making enough money, being healthy and feeling abundant within ourselves.

Imagine if we had the powerful corporatocracy working to evolutionize health care system. Now, that would be something. The bottom line here is that we deserve to be able to test our nutritional values. If doctors, insurance companies, drug companies and all the other related industries that are part of the machine made just as much money from prevention as from sick care; we would be well on our way to honesty, integrity and removing health care mistakes, the biggest one.

Let us put our heads together, and think on how we can make this work. The example here is only food for thought. Much research and discussion is needed to find the most viable solutions to wellness. If we start today, we will have begun. Let’s take this health care mistake and convert it to health care strategy where we all win.

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 is always imagining a better way for us to serve ourselves health. She says,

“I come up with ideas that show how a particular infrastructure might work, in hopes that someone else will be able to build on my idea with a better idea that can create symbiosis for the world.

“I’m always looking for ways to improve the health care systems. In the meantime, let us all take good care of ourselves because we are so worth it!”