John Wooden, Basketball Coach

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable."
- John Wooden, Head Coach

My local radio station interviewed coach John Wooden, retired Basketball Coach. I remember watching him (on TV) coach while at UCLA, he was quite a winning machine, coaching greats like Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton. I'm not sure how old he is now, but to me, he hasn't lost the ability to motivate. There I was in my car enthused by what he was saying about life and ready to be coached! What a guy. I looked him up on Wikipedia and he is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player (1961) and as a coach (1973). He is widely considered the greatest Basketball coach with an unsurpassed 10 NCAA National Championship wins while at UCLA.

This will keep life focused for you...This is John Wooden's Seven Point Creed, given to him by his father Joshua upon his graduation from grammar school:

• Be true to yourself.
• Make each day your masterpiece.
• Help others.
• Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
• Make friendship a fine art.
• Build a shelter against a rainy day.
• Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

Hugs,
Gin

P.S. Keep your focus, don't get lost in the distractions!

Remember to eat your veggies!

When you hear that phrase - who comes to mind? HA! We all have someone in our past who said to us "Eat your veggies!" Yes, eat them, but eat them as "living" foods rather than "dead" foods.

What's the difference you ask? A living food has not been cooked above 112 degrees and still has vital living enzymes intact that will help digest that food in your stomach and enzymes to nourish your body. Cooking food beyond that temperature devitalizes food and diminishes the nutrients still available. Ideally, 2/3 of your serving plate should contain "live" food whether it be 1/3 raw and 1/3 lightly steamed, then the other 1/3 could be a protein.

So, consider lightly steaming your organic veggies, and eating more organic raw salads. Your body will thank you.

Hugs,
Gin

P.S. Chew your food well...ahhh yes, that is another topic...

My frozen dinner...

"Take good care of your future because that's where you're going to spend the rest of your life." - K. Kettering

When I need a quick dinner, I keep a couple of frozen dinners in my freezer. (I minimize my daily microwave oven usage and splurge using it on a frozen dinner.) So, as I was eating my dinner - I began to read the back of the box and recalled why I chose this product in the first place. On the back of my Amy's Cheese Lasagna it says No GMO's - NO Bioengineered Ingredients and almost every ingredient is organic. Oh yes, I think it tastes great too! YUM!!!

Read the labels on what you are buying. Be careful of what you are putting into your body...and what type of corporation you are supporting with your hard earned money! There are so many healthy products to substitute for the items we are accustomed to putting on our grocery list. One good place to start is your local health food store, they will be happy to give you information and suggestions - some stores even have food sampling days...mine does, and I ink that in my calendar each month!

Also, I don't want to hear any gripes about the cost of organic products either, you know the saying - garbage in, garbage out? You will pay now or pay later with poor health and doctor/hospital bills. Why are we so reluctant to pay a little more for a healthier product now, that is better for our bodies, better for the environment, and better for the future of the next generation? Beats me, because I am committed to making a positive difference in this world!

What is your difference going to be?

Hugs,
Gin

Today is a holiday

Today is a holiday here...it's the 4th of July!!! Happy 4th!!!

Hugs,
Gin

See the big picture...

We can learn to read the messages our bodies send us through aches, pain, and illness. Don't ignore these "messages!" They will only get louder and more serious as they progress. In your learning process you will discover that lifestyle changes also encompasses the physical, emotional, spiritual and social connections between disease, illness, and health. Nurture your curiosity to learn about your body to deal effectively with your current health challenges and achieve a new level of whole body wellness.

The main focus should always be placed on wellness and health, rather than disease and illness. (What you focus on will manifest.) Think of yourself as a whole and try to get to the root of the problem. Don't be satisfied only looking at symptoms, once symptoms appear the imbalance has been there for a length of time. Your body naturally wants to heal once balance is restored - help the rebalance move along by developing your own plan of self-care. Who knows you better than YOU! Empower yourself!

Life has a pattern. Illness also reveals a pattern - old patterns that are no longer working...well your body is calling for a change. Here is the place for that old saying - insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Symptoms, disease, and life problems are a direct expression of how you are living your life. What is your path in life? Are you following your passion - or have you veered far off course? Isn't it time to lead a healthier more fulfilling life?

Ponder this - what are your life patterns that aren't working?

Hugs,
Gin

Listen to your body...

Have you ever been physically tired...so tired that your brain doesn't want to work either? That's me, right now! I am going to listen to my body's cry for sleep. Listening to your body is a good thing. Good night. Hope you take time out to do the same for yourself.

Hugs,
Gin

Think...ORGANIC Lawn Service

"Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his co-called scientific knowledge."
- Thomas Edison

Lawns...if you think about it, lawns without weeds - - - not natural. Through chemical management, we have made them the 'norm'.

Anyway, you might want to re-think that chemical lawn service you have employed, and change to an organic lawn service.

Why?

• the average lawn uses 6x the hazardous chemicals that a conventional farmer would use per acre of field- yikes!
• if just 10% of us would go organic, over 1/2 billion pounds of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides would be kept from entering the environment
• when the lawn is sprayed and your children then go play on that lawn, the neurotoxins enter their bodies - your children are not done developing yet - so this means they could have problems with the development of their brain or nervous system
• organophosphates (like Diazanon insecticide) work by targeting and disrupting the nervous sytem - our system is not much different...
• the Journal of National Cancer Institute reported in 1991 that with only one application of a chemical lawn treatment, dogs had a 130% increased risk for lymphoma! just think what that could do to humans!
  
• just think what you are bringing into your home on your shoes...what then collects on your carpet...then the whole family lays on the carpet - HOW DISGUSTING!
  
• it takes under 45 seconds for whatever is applied on your skin to be carried by the bloodstream and reach every major organ in your body (this would be great to do with your kids - take a slice from a clove of garlic and put it either between your toes or on the bottom of your foot and you will taste the garlic in your mouth, have a breath mint ready!)
• your pet is also bringing in toxins on their feet to spread throughout the house, or jumping onto and walking on the family'l beds, not to mention what they ingest from licking their paws!
  
• the neurotoxins in the lawn chemicals may be contributing to childhood learning disorders

If you are not already using an organic lawn service, give it some thought. Organic lawn services are safe for your children, pets, and are environmentally friendly!

When you know better, you do better.
- Maya Angelou

Hugs,
Gin