A Healthy Change of Attitude
by Dawn Greenwald, CBS

Complaining and other negative attitudes are a type of suffering: perceiving threats, living with fear, blame and resentments, worrying about the future and dwelling in the past. The result is reactive behavior, acting through blame and based on dependency, not feeling in control of your life but perceiving that there is insufficiency and lack. This unhealthy attitude, or pattern of thinking, can generate imbalances in body chemistry and blockages in tissues, promoting disease and inhibiting body growth processes (1, 2).

The opposite of a complaining, negative attitude is Gratitude or Thankfulness. Positive attitude removes blame and resentments and promotes a pro-active choice for living by taking control and responsibility for our thoughts and intentions. Positive attitudes tap into the higher aspects of ourselves, such as kindness, respect and love. These life-affirming attributes promote good health through a “growth response” mechanism at the cellular level (1).

It takes courage to decide to change your attitude. It is a responsible choice that cultivates quality awareness and higher consciousness, and is a life-changing decision. Although change is not easy, changing a complaining attitude to one of gratitude represents a personal decision to regain your health, open your life to receive more blessings, and open the door to more opportunities. Negativity always closes doors. The first step to changing your attitude is to become more aware of your thoughts and your speech. Note when you use words like “can’t” or ‘stupid”, etc., and choose life-affirming words or phrases instead, such as “I’d like to” or “getting better every day”. Guard your thoughts and choose to stop the chain of negative thinking. Engage in practices such as Mindfulness Meditation to help shift your thought patterns. Practicing in this way will assist you in taking the next step.

Second, compose a list of things/situations/people for which you are grateful, including your own personal attributes. Find the golden linings in your life. If you find difficulty in seeing the positive, try moving your perception to a higher level, looking at it as someone else might or as you might view it from a national or global level. For example, if you don’t like your job, think about the many unemployed in our country who would envy you for yours. If you don’t have a job but have good health, the use of your voice, two working arms or legs, remember that there are many that don’t. If your health is poor, do you have a roof over your head and food on the table? Many tornado and fire victims do not. You get the point.

The third action you can take to change from a complaining to a ‘gratitude attitude’ is to become the change you wish to see in your words, thoughts and actions. If someone asks how your road trip went, for example, instead of immediately saying it had rained the whole way, pause to find the positive, perhaps saying that you made it back safe and sound. When you feel resentments threatening, turn your mind and heart to a happy memory or thought. Bring it to life as much as possible. For example, if the smell of pumpkin pie brings fond memories of time spent with grandma, fill your personal space with pumpkin spice-scented candles. If you felt peaceful on the beach but are land-locked, listen to the sound of waves on an ocean relaxation CD. If gospel songs fill your heart with joy, play them often. Volunteer to help others in your community. Uplifting someone else is a sure way to bring lightness to your own heart. Embrace life with gratitude to receive blessings in your life and to enjoy healthy living.

References: (1) Bruce Lipton, PhD, 2008. The Biology of Belief; (2) Dawson Church, PhD. 2009. The Genie in Your Genes.

Dawn Greenwald is a certified biofeedback specialist, certified in stress and pain management through the Natural Health Certification Board, and a licensed Spiritual Health Coach. Contact her at 575-430-7522 or at dawng@tularosa.net.

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Innovative Health: Get Primal in the New Year

The Alamogordo Daily News
Gail Kelly
Posted: 01/08/2012

Back in late September, during a two-day road trip, my husband and I read an intriguing book by Mark Sisson titled "The Primal Blueprint." To all of you who are looking for the next popular diet fix, look no further and do yourself a favor -- fix it for good this time. After reading some of the following suggestions, you may even think I've delved too deeply into the eggnog over the holidays, but I believe there is a great deal of supporting science to make you think twice, do your own research, consider, and give it a try for a month. First it's about taking responsibility for your own health. If you don't want to do that, then you need not read further.

Millions of years of evolution have created the human form. And when you think about it, the human digestive system has not changed much from our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Our genes expected us to be lean, fit and healthy by eating meat, fish, fowl, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. In the last 70 years we've introduced sodas, fast foods, additives and preservatives, artificial colors, pesticides, GMO's and a great deal more sugar. Do you think our systems can adapt that quickly --in a few generations? No, of course not. Hence the number one business in America is medicine. As a health professional, I am appalled at the amount of medications people are taking and the ease in which people decide to have surgery to address lifestyle problems. We need to wake up and see what marketing and greed have done to society as a whole. It's time to be proactive, get back to basics and get primal.

Grains are totally unnecessary. Believe it or not, but try to stick with this thought process a little longer. Bread, rice and pasta are a cheap source of calories that easily convert to sugar and offer minimal nutritional value. They promote fat storage by raising insulin. They contain anti-nutrients that promote inflammation, compromise digestion and often interfere with immune function. By ditching grains and sugars, you can moderate insulin production and blood sugar levels, lowering inflammation by eliminating harmful man-made fats (inflammation is the precursor to all disease) and promote reduction of excess body fat. When I decided to put on my own critical-thinking cap, I thought about cows (four digestive stomachs/compartments) and they can eat grass (grain) all the time. A cat, however, will eat grass to settle their stomachs stimulating regurgitation. Humans cannot eat grass either, so should we be eating wheat, rye, barley and rice? I started thinking that all of the irritable bowel syndrome, crone's disease, gluten intolerance that people are experiencing just might be an allergic reaction -- or the body's way of refusing to absorb a toxin. Basically, any food that needs to be ground, boiled down or processed shouldn't be ingested. We are the only animals on the planet that cook our food.

Sisson offers us the brass ring. All we have to do is reach up and grab hold. Empower yourself by investigating, discussing and critically rethinking everything you've assumed to be true that others have told you during your lifetime. Sisson calls it "conventional wisdom," and we all know how that changes from year-to-year. For example, we were told by conventional wisdom that eggs were bad for us, they caused high cholesterol and now they're back on the good list. Guess what? Eggs are from nature and are not man made. So going primal means that we are no longer eating manufactured packaged foods. No cookies, crackers, chips, pretzels, dips, sodas, frozen meals, pizza or desserts.

You can reprogram your genes. Genes are responsible for directing the production of proteins that control your bodily functions every second of every day. Genes turn on or off in response to signals they receive from your environment -- what you eat and how you exercise (or don't), how much you're outdoors, sleeping habits, fun activities or stressful situations. How your body adjusts and navigates our busy modern life style depends on you and your choices. Before you say, "I could never go without bread or pizza," consider doing what we did. My husband and I decided to take the 30-day challenge and see how we felt afterwards. Everything changed for us. When you remove grains and sugar from your diet, you no longer have cravings or desires for them. Suddenly, I was sleeping soundly through the night and my husband's chronic sinus condition cleared up and his joints were less stiff. I feel calmer, my appetite is less, weight management is no longer a struggle, swelling and inflammation has been greatly reduced and we both have lots more energy, motivation and mental clarity. Our muscle mass and fat ratio has changed and we feel stronger. Now, when we ingest grains, we feel tired and bloated. Oh yeah, that's how we felt before going primal.

Read more: www.marksdailyapple.com . Gail Kelly, QBS, SHC, Life Force Energies and The Innovative Health Network, can be contacted at LifeForceEnergies@tularosa.net . Innovative Health Network is now accepting requests to receive their monthly newsletter. Those who are interested should email innovativehealthnetwork@gmail.com.

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