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.

TAI CHI APP ~ ISSUE 208 ~ APRIL 12, 2016

By Diane Gold

BOCA RATON WORLD TAI CHI DAY APRIL 30 – 10 – 11:30 AM – DETAILS HERE!

TAI CHI APPS DEFINITIONS (AND CHI KUNG, TOO)

Tai chi is a system of movement that entails the ability to flow like water. We move our bones, muscles, tendons – from the inside out – in unison with the skin that covers them and the mind that accompanies them. The joy and the challenge are to notice the movement as are doing it. To do so requires us to experience the relaxation for which it is famous.

Chi kung is similar in nature; it moves the organs from the inside out through static posture and limb and body torquing.

Apps are applications; they are ways to apply method, often, but not necessarily always, digitally formatted.

THE APP

The tai chi and chi kung app to which I refer is the application of the principles of the systems and is not digital. There are some free or not so free apps that can be very helpful if you have a device that can stand upright on its own. If you have to hold it, you are doomed.

THE QUESTION

I have one question and one question only: if we could do a simple body movement for 30 seconds or more a day that could be done in any location, in any clothing, that could instantaneously take us to a joyful spot, could reduce sickness, develop health, provide youth while it lengthens life, is fun and makes us feel ecstatic and balanced; why would we not devote 30 seconds a day?

CONCLUSION

The question is for each of us to answer, whether to do it or not. Tai chi and chi kung make us better, happier, more well, stronger. Doing these arts for 30 seconds a day can matter. Doing any mind/body work on a consistent basis helps considerably.

Please consider the tai chi app, the one that is available to each of us just by moving slowly with arms extended to the side or to the sky.

ACTION STEPS: COOL EXERCISE!

1) Spend 30 seconds a day standing with feet shoulder width apart, each arm out to the side.

2) Bend the knees a little bit as you tuck the butt without leaning backwards or forwards.

3) Slowly extend the L arm further to the L.

4) Slowly, without stopping the movement, come through center.

5) Slowly, without stopping the movement, extend the R arm to the R.

6) Slowly, without stopping the movement, come through center.
7) Repeat steps 3 through 6 two more X.

8) Sink the elbows so that the arms hang to the sides.

9) Relax with knees bent for one slow breath in and out through the nose.

Bam! Energy With Tranquility!

Check out the roots of this type of exercise.

WORLD TAI CHI DAY, April 30, 2016, 10 – 11:30 am, http://dianegold.com, OR look up an event near you at worldtaichi.org.

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 tai chi can be a life changer. She says,

“Tai chi makes us pliable. Being plaible makes us flow like water. When we flow like water, we can adapt to what is and what is to come. How cool is that!

“It is one of the only arts that can be done with massive effect by taking a tiny amount of time consistently. Who wouldn’t do it? Access the tai chi app within.

“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:
DO THE INCLUDED ACTION STEP EXERCISE, AT LEAST, ONE TIME.

EXERCISE OF THE MONTH:
DO TAI CHI ON THE LAST SATURDAY OF APRIL.
DETAILS HERE.

REBIRTH – COMING BACK TO LIFE – SHE NOT BUSY BEING BORN IS BUSY DYING*** ~ ISSUE 206 ~ MARCH 22, 2016

By Diane Gold

The concept of rebirth here means coming back to life and daily evolution. My definition may be one of the lesser common ones. It has nothing to do with reincarnation. It has all to do with how we live our lives here and now.

Let’s start with birth. That’s when we begin a series of catharses from our mother’s womb to the end of breath as we know it. It is also when we begin a concept or project, a belief system or a phase.

Rebirth, therefore, is what happens when we take one step in a new direction. Some refer to it as born again. Others know it as transformation. This happens every day and can be noticed by being aware of everything – our minds, our bodies, our relationships, our talents, our intellect, our purpose – or nothing. It happens whether we are looking or not. It happens from one condition to a better one. It happens from one condition to a worse one.

Let’s look at Bob Dylan’s words which are really,

***He not busy being born is busy dying,

a lyric in the 1964 song It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding).

I feminized the lyric to represent a more universal approach, not to aim it at women, but to rebirth the male pronoun to a feminine one to include all of us.

The lyric refers to being in the moment of doing things, living, evolving – busy being born, as opposed to busy being in the moment of doing nothing, living in negativity, choosing to stagnate. I don’t believe the lyric refers to physical dying. Even when we know we are physically dying very soon, we have the opportunity to live well while we are still breathing. Not such an easy thing, but if we live that way when we are not soon to die physically, we have more experience opening up, living newness all the time.

How profound! Let’s be being born. It happens anyway. How many times in a lifetime do we say,

“I’m not the same person as I was then.”

As I see it, we are the same person; we are a conglomeration of the daily evolution of that being.

REBIRTH SCENARIOS

Rebirth can be anything:

from being sick to being well
from just mopping a floor to mopping a floor so well that it starts to shine with love
from not having kissed to kissing for the first time
from djing in our prime to djing for the last time
from being a child without the ability to give birth to giving physical birth
from not being dependent on a drug to being dependent on a drug
from being dependent on a drug to replacing the drug dependence with dancing
from having many visits with our kids to visiting with our kids one last time
from being sad to being accepting
from being too shy to reach out to doing it after years of shyness
from nice to nasty
from nasty to nice
from young to old
from old mind to young mind
from sitting on a bench hungry to eating a strawberry while sitting on that bench.

All these scenarios represent the rebirth experience: getting familiar with living and dying (shedding our former self) on a daily basis. Some happenings take us to what we would call favorable places. Others take us to new places that, on the surface, may seem undesirable. Even these can be evolutionary. We become from wherever we are.

REBIRTH ACTIVITIES

All activities give us new life, are evolutionary and can be instrumental in guiding us to change. Something dull and boring may become meaningful and evolutionary. Nothing has to be glamorous or look spiritual. If we are involved, this is part of our spirit, so it is spiritual. It can be cleaning feces off a wall, meditating with monks, creating an empire or teaching a child.

Take WATCHING A BASEBALL GAME. I am using this example because anything can be that one thing that causes a grand leap. So we are watching a game with the girls, and from this watching, we realize that we need to spend more time playing catch with our kids. So we get home and launch a full campaign to do just that. The result from our doing so brings us closer to our kids, seems to contribute to our middle daughter’s not acting out as much and we reduce our cholesterol. Triple header!

MY LIST

Here are the things I like to do. Although every time I interact with another person, I am aware of my own transformation; the following activities seem to be universally popular for rebirth, catharsis, dramatic change. Of course, this is from my view point. I really like each of these activities, and they transform. So is it possible that,

“THE MORE WE LIKE AN ACTIVITY, THE MORE WE WILL GO THROUGH REBIRTH, BLOSSOMING, EVOLUTION AND REPLACE OURSELVES IN THE DOING?”

TAI CHI is one of my transformers.
PLAYING PIANO & CREATING MUSIC have been a huge part of my life.
FREE DANCING and being surrounded by other beings who free dance has been amazing and is my newest love.
COACHING PEOPLE to be good to themselves brings a layer of growth to me.
LISTENING TO ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC is sooooooooooooooo relaxing.

CONCLUSION

Rebirth, as I mean it, is the process of our becoming new. It is the blossoming and shedding we do within ourselves daily and always. Kind of the way our skin sheds regularly. We all do it. We all become, even in our final days. Let us flow as we grow.

Even though flowing like water seems easy, we encounter much obstruction along the way; we have to maneuver. The journey is to find the flow, even in the harshest conditions. It is said that the ONLY time we know how balanced and flowing we are is in times of adversity.

Whatever we do for rebirth, change, growth has to be pure, because any impurities tag along and invade us. Hallucinogens can transform us. Most other drugs are too controlling. Plant-based food can be transformative. The animals saved by our eating this way certainly think so. There are many glorious choices out there. Most of them involve moving. So go move something. Feel the rebirth occur.

ACTION STEPS

Please make a list of, at least, 3 things that you love to do.
Notice how one of these activities transforms you.
If so moved, write about it and send it in so we can post it. We can share it anonymously or just read it privately.
Notice personal growth on a daily basis as you become new and then new again.

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 become new, to notice rebirth. She says,

“What I mean by rebirth is being born or changed into, a new person, each day, every day, more than once a day, just by being and noticing.

“I thought of it because I do this free dancing which creates in each of us a movement similar to birth where we go from a pile of rubble to a glowing ball of light that can heal inside us and outside us. And one of the participants used the word “rebirth,”to which I could not relate, wholeheartedly, at the beginning of the session. Toward the end, though, it was as if I were a continuum of myself,combination of myself a second ago, in the present and a minute from now. That, to me was rebirth.

“Pretty much fun. I recommend noticing any kind of change, replacement, renewal that occurs. Enjoy it.

“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:
CONSIDER ONE THING WE DID THIS WEEK THAT WE CONSIDER A CHANGE, A NEWNESS, AN EVOLUTION.

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.

PARTY TIME – SAYING HELLO AGAIN – FEELING GOOD – OUT OF DANGER – MARCH 8, 2016

Dear Everyone,

It’s doing well Diane Gold, 1000% better than last time I wrote. I wanted to say hello again, thank you for reading my last issue, and let you know I am feeling good. Breathing normally and strong. Still and forever living each moment as it comes. Don’t know why I’m better; don’t know why I was sick. Lovin’ it and grateful.

Lots of love always. May you have good fortune and love today,

Doing Well D

Diane Gold of WarriorsOfWeight.com

PARTY TIME – SAYING HELLO AGAIN – FEELING GOOD – OUT OF DANGER ~
ISSUE 204 ~ MARCH 8, 2016
By Diane Gold

Party Time is the best way I can express my attitude about what has happened to me. When I wrote my last article, it was to say hello with the probability that I would not be able to write again. As the universe would have it, here I am again, grateful and feeling great today.

BACKGROUND

I believe every day is a cause for Party Time. But, I more deeply agree with that now.

In August, I began speeding, feeling as if my body were shaking inside as if my adrenal glands were going crazy or my image of that, since I am not sure I really know what that feels like. It started out to be a level 2 on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst and increased all of a sudden to about a 6. I was learning to live with that feeling since I thought it was a new part of me.

During Christmas break, my daughter and I went to the movies, where we climbed 3 flights of stairs finally to get a seat in the very top row, my favorite. I got completely out of breath; it took, at least, 30 minutes of concentrated effort for me to catch my breath. I wasn’t normal, but I seemed to be able to breathe fairly well. I had never felt like this before.

The entire second half of my visit (with one of my two favorite people in the world) was an exercise in learning how to cope with a new level of lung capacity. A few days later, after packing my car and climbing the stairs again back up to my daughter’s, I got out of breath instantly, and had to sit for, at least, an hour. I went home determined to investigate what was happening. Yikes!

I made some medical appointments but they each had waiting periods, due to our health care system’s method of scheduling. While going through this period where the medical appointments were in the future, my breathing became so seriously limited that I ended up in the ER twice in a 7 day period. We all don’t know what is ahead, but it felt as if my time were short. Because I went to an ER without having had an internist admit me (boo hoo, still looking for Dr. House: http://ezinearticles.com/?Looking-For-Dr-House:-Finding-A-Diagnostician,-Part-I&id=5572902) and order specific lung tests, all the staff did was make sure I was not having a heart attack. I appreciated that very much, but not going deeper into my difficulty breathing did not help me. I was comforted that my heart was stable and appreciate the work of everyone involved.

I have to take the time to talk about the good that came out of this, since that is what I do. So here I go.

BENEFIT 1: REACHING OUT

I reached out to my kids. There were there for me and both arrived to hug me. My daughter, an animal doctor, even did an entire medical synopsis of my abnormal tests to make it foolproof for doctors to have an historical look at me from the inside since they would never read the 500 pages of reports and tests I had with me. My son made it all better by coming to tell me it would be all right. If you’ve ever met my son, you believe him instantly.

I reached out to my friends. They were there.

I told my cousins whom I see once a year or once every thirty years. They cared.

I reached out to all of you, and I got much love and appreciation back. Ah, the joy.

I am convinced that we, the people, like to reach back. All we need is for someone to be on the other end. When we reach, we will experience people who reach back, most of the time. This seems to work with strangers as well as familiars. So many of us are nurses, teachers and counselors who spend their lives reaching back and reaching out, whether we have those job titles or just take on those roles.

BENEFIT 2: FEELING FREE

When I reached out, it meant I was talking about what was happening to me. The interaction was liberating. Not that I was hiding or keeping my health to myself before. But I have good friends I love who are better talkers than they are listeners. I usually limit what I share with them about my health. Especially because some of them will only wonder how they will survive without me, and, this time, when I was sick, I could not help them with that dilemma because I was busy drawing my next difficult breath.

But I opened up to everyone, and everyone opened up back.

Having to share that, all of a sudden, my breathing capacity felt like 5 out of 10 or 3 out of 10, when, the day before, I was a picture of health, was not my favorite thing to do. But, I wanted to say one last hello. By sending my article to you saying hello one last time, I experienced a freedom that was a true gift. Thanks. Then I was able to open up to everyone else, and it was good.

THE TURNAROUND

I had started using inhalers as per the pulmonologist in Miami, while awaiting a pulmonology appointment at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Before, Jacksonville, I had a nuclear medicine test to search for abnormal serotonin secretion in the body, which might indicate tumors. Either the day before I got my good result or the day after, my speeding stopped and my breathing normalized. Some think the symptoms were only in the mind. I think not. But they are gone as of this writing, who knows for how long!

When I got to Jacksonville, the pulmnologist said he didn’t know if the inhalers were doing anything and suggested I stop. This made me chuckle since most doctors (including the one in Miami) err on the side of recommending continued usage for no reason rather than stopping medication that may be useless. True, in this case, the doc in Miami only met me when I was in crisis. So, she felt compelled to prescribe. I think she always does, though. But, I liked it that the doc in Jacksonville (very hunky) suggested that my recovery and inhaler use may have been completely coincidental. And he advised that I stop using the one I had left.

CONCLUSION: NEW VISION

Although I always take each day as a new experience and know that every day I awaken in good health, I am lucky; now, I see with clearer vision.

I know how it feels to be short of breath, a condition that changes the ability to function. Hearts out to everyone’s lungs. May they respire, work well and flourish!

Hey, we never know, but looks like I have some time. Wowie! So, it’s party time for me, and I am reaching out to share my good news. Having time is a relative term and can change in a moment. For now, I am here, breathing normally, not speeding and doing well.

Fantastic! Whoopie! Yay! Awesome! All right!
Party Time – I Wish You Bluebirds I wish you bluebirds in the spring, and I still love you all.

ACTION STEPS

1) Every day you wake up, rejoice within the first 5 minutes.

2) Every day, within the first 5 minutes of waking, decide to replace one non-vegetable thing you eat with a leafy green vegetable.

3) Every day, reach out to a stranger. That person is your sister or brother. If you don’t have the time and do have the money, pay a college intern or a social worker to do it for you.

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 people are good, great even and that they are ready to reach you when you put out your hand. She says,

“Life is still not forever, but I am feeling healthy now. When we are at the precipice of life, everything is different. Now that I am back from the brink, for many days, I hope, the impact of that brink is fading. My gratitude is not and remains high.

“Thinking I had one week to live and being here now able to function well, is a gift. Girl, do I love gifts.

“Let’s live in the moment because the moment is here now, and that is miraculous.”

“Please write and tell me your story. 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:
RATHER THAN SIDESTEPPING BAD ENERGY, IF WE CAN’T HELP THE EMITTER TURN THE BAD INTO GOOD, LET’S PUT OUT DOUBLE THE GOOD ENERGY SO THAT THE NEGATIVE STUFF GETS ABSORBED AND THE GOOD STUFF GETS TO LINGER.

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.

IF YOU’VE ENJOYED THIS, IT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO YOU FOR FREE AND OPEN ACCESS BY WARRIORSOFWEIGHT.COM. YOU ARE FREE TO SHARE IT.
We’d appreciate a link back to http://warriorsofweight.com.

Copyright © [2011-2016] by [WarriorsOfWeight.com] – All Rights Reserved.
Visit us online at:
http://www.warriorsofweight.com/

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

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 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.”

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.

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 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.