Write for Your Health? Stress, in addition to being itself and the result of itself, is also the cause of itself. -Hans Selye "Is the Pen Mightier Than the Pill?" from Spirituality and Health magazine (Fall 1999): Please take out a pad of paper and a pen. Make that two pens, in case one runs dry. Find a place where you can have 20 minutes of privacy. Ready? Here's your... [read more]

Six Steps to Help a Religious Friend Who Is Ill...When You're Not Religious How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world. -William Shakespeare From "The Healing Power of Faith" by Harold G. Koenig, M.D: Steps for the Nonbeliever to Help a Religious Loved One Who is Ill 1. Contact your loved one's clergy and ask them to say special... [read more]

Decoding Life's Secret Messages \n"); document.write("\n"); if ( chkProp("curPage.ImageCaption") ) document.write(" \n"+ curPage.ImageCaption +"n"); document.write("n"); } // section for a sub heading in blue if ( chkProp("curPage.Header") ) document.write(""+ curPage.Header +"br /> "); ]]> How to tune in to the hidden meaning of coincidences,... [read more]

Your Happiness Will Bounce Back I've never stayed awake at night over a chance I took that failed, but I've stayed awake over chances I didn't take. -Garth Brooks From "Taking That Big Risk May Not Jeopardize Your Long-Term Happiness" reprinted from Spirituality & Health magazine (May/June 2005): A study recently published in the Journal of Personality and Social... [read more]

Finding Grace If you want to learn the meaning of faith, get down to a child's level. By Bob Perks "What could this possibly be?" I thought to myself. "Why would someone place that sign so low? No one could read it."   You see them everywhere. Small signs promoting yard sales, cars, and business opportunities are posted on poles and lobbies of stores throughout the... [read more]

Recipe for a Happy Life Figure out what your strengths and virtues are--then use them in key areas of everyday life. By Martin Seligman, Ph.D.   From "Authentic Happiness." Used by permission of The Free Press (a division of Simon & Schuster) In 1932, Cecilia O’Payne took her final vows in Milwaukee. As a novice in the School Sisters of Notre Dame, she committed the rest of her life... [read more]

Art Therapy: How Creative Expression Can Heal by Barbara Williams Cosentino RN, CSW Art therapy can be a way for people with physical or emotional pain to heal. Janette is six years old, her brown eyes weary with the haunted wisdom of a child who has seen more than any six-year-old should ever see. She witnessed her father, in the frenzy of an alcoholic rage, kick her pregnant mother in the... [read more]

Create the kind of self you will be happy to live with all your life. -Foster C. McClellan  [read more]

10 Earth-Friendly Ideas \n"); document.write("\n"); if ( chkProp("curPage.ImageCaption") ) document.write(" \n"+ curPage.ImageCaption +"n"); document.write("n"); } // section for a sub heading in blue if ( chkProp("curPage.Header") ) document.write(""+ curPage.Header +"br /> "); ]]> Easy suggestions for a greener lifestyle--and kids... [read more]

21 Ways to Celebrate Life Milestone: A significant point in development. Here on earth, a 21st birthday is observed as a milestone, a marker of transition when adulthood dawns with both intrigue and excitement, as well as the confirmation of childhood departed and responsibilities impending. Yet, when 21 is reached in a world beyond ours, where wisdom has been embraced and perspective is luminous,... [read more]

You Are Enough The root of most of our problems is a faulty self-image. But three little words can help us have a happier life... By David J. Walker Undoubtedly, the catalyst behind many successes in the world is a need to prove something because one feels inadequate, but the best path, the path that satisfies the soul, is one of completeness at every step of the way... [read more]

Finding My Right Work A woman who lost her job, and her sense of self, struggles to regain her spiritual bearings. By Gay Norton Edelman Twenty-two months ago I was laid off from a job I loved. I admit I had a pretty soft landing: a 20-week severance package and 99 co-workers in the same boat to commiserate with. But though it has been nice catching up with long-neglected... [read more]

Ten Sunny Ways to Make Your Day a Good One! A good day is when I wake up remembering that a good day happens by CHOICE not chance! A good day is when I live the day in the present, being grateful for the little things in life. A good day is a day that I look back on and smile, because I allowed myself to be open to something new without realizing it at the time. A good day is when I can feel... [read more]

Make Someone's Day   Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. -J.M. Barrie "Go Ahead, Make Someone's Day" from Spirituality and Health magazine by Louise Danielle Parker: Even though it only takes a moment to make someone's day, such a moment can actually make a life-and-death difference, discovered David Wagner, a beauty... [read more]

Money Talks...With Teens The problem isn't that kids want too much. It's that they dream too little   a year, our town sponsors a tag-sale day that turns our neighborhoods into one big flea market. People come from miles around to walk up and down our streets and pick through piles of rugs, vinyl records, baby clothes, books, dismantled Apple IICs, you name it. This year, we joined the sale... [read more]

How to Make Your Spending Spiritual \n"); document.write("\n"); if ( chkProp("curPage.ImageCaption") ) document.write(" \n"+ curPage.ImageCaption +"n"); document.write("n"); } // section for a sub heading in blue if ( chkProp("curPage.Header") ) document.write(""+ curPage.Header +"br /> "); ]]> Most money advice overlooks the spiritual side of financial... [read more]

10 Ways to Bring More Growth into Your Life It's spring planting season--and time to transform your life as well. Here's how to start 'repotting' to achieve your dreams. By Diana Holman and Ginger Pape   Just as gardeners look for ways to promote growth in their garden, so, too, do people look for ways to bring more growth into their lives. Repotting is our term for how those who... [read more]

The life of the individual only has meaning insofar as it aids in making the life of every living thing nobler and more beautiful. Life is sacred that is to say, it is the supreme value to which all other values are subordinate. -Albert Einstein  [read more]

Nature's Spring Miracle Those tough little crocuses poking through the snow proved to my family that we could survive anything. By Lauren Strouse Winter was a new experience after we moved to the farm from Black Lake.   It seemed colder, longer, and more isolating.  We couldn't run across the street to meet our friends for a day of ice skating or sledding.  There was... [read more]

Smile please   An 80-year-old-couple are having problems remembering things, so they decide to see their doctor to find out if anything is wrong with them. They see the doctor and explain the memory problems they've been having. After a check-up, the doctor tells them that they are physically fine but might want to start writing things down to help them remember things. They thank the doctor... [read more]

Be on the lookout for your guardian angel today, as someone does something extra special for you. But don't make the mistake of expecting something for nothing or you could inadvertently block the good deed before it is done.   *&*&*&*&*   The best way to be ready for a gift of assistance is to be as helpful as you can to others.   *&*&*&*&*   Love... [read more]

Airplane Angel A young, attractive woman I met on the plane taught me it's never too late to make a new start in life. By Paul Houston About ten years ago, I was on a plane going west, and a young woman boarded and sat across the aisle from me. I noticed her for two reasons. She was very attractive, and she was holding a teddy bear about half her size. After she sat down,... [read more]

Ten Creative Ways to Energize Your Prayer Life \n"); document.write("\n"); if ( chkProp("curPage.ImageCaption") ) document.write(" \n"+ curPage.ImageCaption +"n"); document.write("n"); } // section for a sub heading in blue if ( chkProp("curPage.Header") ) document.write(""+ curPage.Header +"br /> "); ]]> By Maureen Pratt As much... [read more]

Remember Who You Really Are Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. -Anaïs Nin From "A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles" by Marianne Williamson: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves,... [read more]

Never to suffer would never to have been blessed. -Edgar Allen Poe From "A Soul's Journey: Meditations on the Five Stages of Spiritual Growth" by Rabbi Terry Bookman: There are three times as many curses as there are blessings. Sort of like the news on television. Twenty-nine minutes of all the evil in the world and then one last human-interest story about a kind deed or someone... [read more]

Café Mom Café Mom is a Web site dedicated to bringing mothers and expectant mothers together! While anyone can use the site, to get the most use out of it, you’ll want to register. It's a simple process started by clicking on the green Join Now button. Fill out the form and click on the Sign Me Up button. You should get a confirmation e-mail almost instantly, as well as, a Welcome to Café Mom private... [read more]