All Things Anne Wondra

Positive Music Month

November is Positive Music Month. 

Do you have a favorite positive artist? 

What and who are your favorite Positive Music songs and artists - Songs that inspire and empower you, that bring you up when you need a lift, that shift your perspective, and add to your sense of happiness and confidence and well being?  Here is more on Positive Music from Jana Stanfield.  Below are a couple of my favorites of hers.  Listen and Enjoy.   - Anne :)

 

 

Soul Friends - a guide to surviving the Pit

Is there somone you love who feels like they are in a "pit" right now?

A colleague, Nancy Nicholas, wrote and created this workbook.  I read it recently, and my first thought was that this is so very much needed right now.   I was only beginning and I had to drop Nancy a note.

Nancy – I’ve only made it to the ‘close your ears’ part and I’m lovin’ it already.  Your style, what you write, and how you write it, and the artwork too, are so easy to relate to.  You’re very gentle and reassuring and inviting of one to continue reading.  Very nice.  I’ll be continuing that reading….

 Here's where you'll find the Soul Friends Guide to Surviving the Pit.  Scroll down to the bottom until you find it.  I've copied the beginning of Nancy's description here.  The SAMPLE link does work on HER page. Check it out. 

Anne :) 

Soul Friends Guide to Surviving the Pit:  A Workbook for Surviving and Thriving Through Tough Life Changes
Looking for support as you move through a life transition?  Ready to discover your authentic self and learn to follow your bliss? This step by step guidebook was written to help fellow “Soul Friends” navigate life’s crises. It walks hand in hand with the reader sharing helpful tips and insightful messages to bring them out of the “pit” and back to peace and wholeness. Each step includes coaching activities to try on your own.  It also uses humor and cartoon illustrations to help the reader along this journey.  To read the introduction, see the table of contents and read the first step~ SAMPLE.  This will open an Adobe PDF sample from the e-workbook. ...

Prevent swine flu, by Dr. Vinay Goyal

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , etc.. Presently, he is heading the Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know.

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

 

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

 

 1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

 

 2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).
   
 3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

 

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
 
6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Health Care Reform thoughts

We all know the current system isn't working.  And there's much debate on what 'should' replace it.

I still believe we need to play the games differently as consumers.

I also believe that we need a Consumers Bill of Rights, including privacy, personal choice in all matters involving our own body and well being, easily visible price tags at the point of sale--just like shopping anywhere else for any other services; and the option to opt out of traditional medical practices, even if that means our life ends sooner.

I believe we need to get employers OUT of the Insurance business--for a lot of reasons.  It's a huge added expense that is passed on to consumers (higher prices), adds no benefit to the employer's customers or product, and reduces worker wages.  Also, an employer needs your Social Security Number because you are paid wages and taxed.  That number should not be used with or connected with your medical records, in my opinion.  Health insurance policies should be owned personally, like car insurance or any other insurance a consumer purchases.   

Maybe insurance is in trouble because it's seen by more consumers as an expense we are seeing little ROI from.  Hmm.

There are proposals for change.

Here are a few pieces that have come across my desk recently.  We do need to become more informed and conscious consumers.  And perhaps take a stand on who gets our private health information, how it's used, and what other choices we want to keep for ourselves.  I share these to shed a light on some of the issues that directly impact our personal freedoms and information.

*********

Subject:  Health Care Reform Bill

This bill will do the following... included are the pages for you to check for yourself.

• All American citizens will be ordered to have a National ID Card (page 58)
• The government to have immediate access to every American citizen's bank accounts via electronic funds transfers (page 59)
• All property owned by the doctors in the United States to be determined by the government (page 317)
• All American citizens ordered to give the United States government power over their living wills (page 425)
• The United States government given a new power to determine who and how their citizens die (page 427)
• End of life plan for each American citizen ordered by the government (page 429)

Read more - link provided.  Then call your representatives. 

 

House-Health-Reform-Bill

(Note, link on original message was down; this is a working draft posted on the House website.  Pages might not be off slightly.)

 

This is not about right or left, republican or democrat, this is about our freedom and our freedom to manage our own lives and our own healthcare. 

 

Your thoughts?

 

Here's more...from a different perspective.

 

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Health Freedom ... information and organizations -

What are the issues?

What are your thoughts and opinions?

 

American Association for Health Freedom

 

Health Freedom USA

and Natural Solutions Foundation

 

Food Freedom eJournal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People are getting bigger

Kids are bigger and adults are bigger.  And I think the cause is directly related to the food we eat and the drugs we take.  That's coming from someone who grew up on a farm and common sense.

Think about it.

You're drinking milk from cows treated with Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH).  That drug makes cows grow bigger and produce more.  Guess what it does to people who drink the milk.  Any nursing mom can tell you that what she eats gets to her baby.   

And if you're a carnivore, you're also eating the cow...those hamburgers and steaks...

Chickens are also given drugs to make them grow faster and plumper.  Again, guess what drugs go into your system when you eat them...and what affect they have on your shape.

People in general are looking a little plumper.

There's a new movie out called Food, Inc. that's worth a look.  Not playing everywhere.  Maybe there's a reason for that. 

What are you eating?

The Right to Die of Natural Causes

Wausau - The defense has rested its case without calling any witnesses in the trial of a rural Weston woman who prayed instead of getting medical care for her dying daughter.

The charge was second degree reckless homicide.  The daughter died of untreated diabetes.

None of us gets out of this world alive.

As great as the human person is, we can not create life, or prevent death.  We can only postpone it. 

And why should postponing death be considered a higher value?

I have witnessed someone I love go through a lot of pain and sufferring while modern medicine took all of its medical care of him at one of the most well-know and respected medical facilities in the country.  He was finally brought home to die...and did so less than a week later. 

I'm the daughter of a man who, when learning what the next step in treatment of his disease would be, said no.  No more.  Enough.   He died several months later, at home, in hospice care. 

Allowing someone to die as they wish, allowing them measures that take the pain away, and allowing their body to take its inevitable course.  The quality, not the quantity, of life matters more.

And the mother chose to use prayer to help her daughter.  Perhaps she was a Christian Science practitioner or maybe that was her church of choice.  Prayer has helped many.  Will it heal and prevent death?  Will modern medicine? 

Just because a condition is given a label, a name, and called a 'disease' and is something the medical community has some treatments and drugs to use for it, is that reason enough to compel or require a mother to use those?  

My answer:  No. 

If it comes to courts and medicine and drug companies over-ruling our right to die of natural causes...or requiring 'medical' practices for conditions they put a label on and create treatments and drugs for...we have a much more serious issue.  Our health freedom to make choices, to handle our conditions as we deem most appropriate for ourselves and those we are responsible for. 

We each have the most vested interest in our own well being. 

No one else does... 

Resources:

Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney

Other healthy body stuff

Reiki, Bishops, and Superstition

The US Catholic Bishops find the practice of reiki to be superstition...dangerous, and not healthy to their catholic spirit....  Isn't that interesting.

I grew up Catholic.  I have a degree in religious studies, and I’ve experienced reiki…and I’ve worked in the church. 

The first thing I did when I heard this was laugh.  This, from an organization that teaches A LOT of stuff many consider superstition.   Faith, God, transubstantiation, immaculate conception, and purgatory, to name a few. 

Have they never read the gifts of the spirit, or heard of laying on of hands?   Reiki is pure channeled divine energy.  Do they not understand that their very breath and life is divine energy coursing through them, allowing them to walk, talk, think, create and be who they are?   (or they would be dead)  Once again, the church of my childhood is showing its lack of understanding and openness to the Spirit at work outside the confines of their rules.  Galileo comes to mind on that one.  How arrogant to think the Spirit of Life is limited to what some men on a Bishops’ Committee can understand….or that spirit is limited to act only in accord with the rules they’ve created.

So, it comes back to your well being.  And YOU have the most vested interest in that.

You have a brain, intelligence, access to a world of information, and a personal internal guidance system, a direct connection with your source.  You make good decisions every day.  You are very capable. 

Who's permission do you need?  Permission to do what you think and believe is healthy to your spirit, body, and well being?

My answer:  Your own.  It's your body, your soul, your life, and your well being.  You have the most vested interest in it.

If you want to learn more about reiki, visit the Kindred Spirit Center and talk to Sue or Susan.  Gather information.  Watch for informational classes.  Experience it for yourself.  Make your own choices. 

In my experience, reiki is a very spiritual practice...and it's a lot bigger, more inclusive, and open, and powerful, than the limits some bishops in a church organization want to put on it. 

Now what do they have a vested interest in, do you think?

 

 

What brings you JOY?

Two quick things today.  

First, think about what brings you JOY and allow your response to guide you.

Follow the muse...and start at Starbucks.  Seriously.  There is a new gift item on their shelves.  It's a small hardcover book with a 5 on it and it's called Where will you be five years from today?   The cover band--that could easily make a bookmark--says the following:

The greatest day

of your life is the one on

which you decide your life

is your own.  The gift of life

is yours--it is an amazing

journey--and you get to

determine the quality of it.

Live the next five years on

purpose.  Now is the time.

Imagine the possibilities.

Go places, have adventures,

make a real difference, do

what you love.  Follow your

dreams, they know the way.

Start the conversation.  The book is a great starting place.  Get a goal partner and help one another.  What's a goal partner?  And how do you find one?  Ask me  and I'll tell you.

I started this business with a five-year plan after a Franklin-Covey class called What Matters Most?   At minimum, the book at Starbucks will get you thinking and PLAYING with joyful possibilities.

The second FUN thing is NEATO PENS!  I love beautiful pens.  Nice Pens bring me JOY.  And I discovered the Colorado Pen Company this week.  If you're like me, you'll enjoy this site like a kid in a candy store.  Check it out.  Talk about a perfect gift playground for pen lovers. 

Take care.  Enjoy!

Anne Wondra - Muse and Life Coach

 

 

 

Lessons from Border Collies - Find yourself some work to do

We can learn a lot from animals.  Take border collies, for example.  These are working dogs, used to herd sheep.  An interesting thing about border collies:  Even when they don't have any sheep to herd, they are driven to find themselves some 'work' to do. 

My in-laws have a border collie.  Her name is Reba.  When my father-in-law was alive, his daily routine included a trip out to 'the property' where he had a 10-acre plot of land with a big garden.  Reba was his constant companion.  Whether she made it her work to herd him or keep the rabbits away, I'm not sure.  I just know Reba was always at his side.

When my father-in-law passed on, Reba found herself a new project...my mother-in-law.  Once again, Reba is a constant companion, always at my mother-in-law's side.  Reba will go walking no one else who might take her away from her 'charge.'

The lesson here?  We are each responsible to find ourselves some work to do.  If we are self-employed or have an employer, we have some defined work to do.  For those who are not employed right now?  Find yourself some 'work' to do, whether it's paid or unpaid.  If a border collie can do it...

Today, there are many good, able-bodied, intelligent, talented, creative people, with time on their hands, available to make a positive impact in their neighborhoods and in their communities.  You don't need permission to gather with your neighbors and make your neighborhood a clean and safe place.  You can contact your local United Way and find out where your talents could be used to help others.  You can follow your own passions, inspirations, causes of the heart, and be with people who share your interest.

Opportunity knocks in job loss.  It's not all about the money.  It's also about use of time and attitude, and living with intention.   Find yourself some work to do, paid or unpaid, something positive and constructive you and others can do with you time and abilities and connections and creativity.  Besides, who would you rather hire?   Someone you knew perhaps from a community project you both worked on?  Someone who sees possibilities in challenges perhaps?  Someone who chooses to be positive, and does something constructive with their in-between time perhaps?  Who would you rather hire?  Choose to BE that person.  The benefits far outweigh the alternatives.

On the lighter side, here's a Just for Fun page and a youtube clip of a talented border collie.  Find a way to make work feel like playing.  Enjoy.

 

Intention: Coaching available to Everyday People

Everyday people need coaches too, not just executives.

The  average hourly rate for coaches is $205; For now mine is $75. 

My intention is to make coaching available to everyday people--because I was and am one of those everyday people coaching made a difference for.   In times like now particularly, people need to see possibilities and opportunities and receive support in their strides to appreciate the NOW.

In a world of technology, traffic, and ready information, people still feel alone, energy-drained, unappreciated, and starved for affirmation and support to help them see opportunity, focus on what matters, and ENJOY living.  

And yes, we are tired of being sold to.  We want someone who sees us and what's good about us; the parts we've lost touch with, the essential elements of who we are and why we're here. 

Some have an employer who will fund coaching as a training or professional development investment.  (Never hurts to ask.)  Some prefer not to have their employer involved. 

Coaching is often about the personal side of success--our beliefs and world view about ourselves and those we work with.  We are masters in the roles we play.  And underneath, many still perceive themselves to be frauds and afraid of being found out.  We don't see our natural beauty or the talent we take for granted.  Our spirits are wounded, and we are trying to find our greatness and why we are here.  That's how I help.

I'm a farmer's daughter and I understand that a cost of living increases don't come for everyone each year.  And I have that business, entrepreneurial spirit with a mix of spirit, business, human resources, and education in my background.  And I have a heart, common sense, and a sense of fun.  And I'm a muse--all about art and soul and living well, a playful spirit. 

I choose to work with those who are changing and growing, or ready for a change; desiring to become more sure of themselves, confident, and beautiful in who they are, ready to step forward with intention. 

So no more excuses.  Are you ready for more?   Wellness Incentive coupons  are gifted to each new VIP News Notes member, and  I offer classes, group coaching, and home-study options to fit needs and budgets. 

Properties of Money to remember

Money is meant to flow, like water in a stream.  We exchange money for something of value.  And when we feel the exchange is fair, and we genuinely ENJOY and APPRECIATE the service or item or privilege we've received in exchange for that money, we FEEL GOOD about spending it.  Think about when you've really enjoyed spending money.  What did you buy?  Even paying your bills.  Do you appreciate the electricity you use every day?  How about the use of your phone or car or the internet?  Money is meant to flow.  And it can flow TO us just as easily.

Money likes being paid attention to.  Pay it GOOD attention.  What we resist, persists.  And what we think about, we bring about.  How many ways can you and a friend think of to have more money flowing to you?  Easily, enjoyably.  And spending money?  Easily, enjoyably.

Money is an exchange of value.  Feel good exchanging money for something you value.  Appreciate, and enjoy the benefits of it.  I want learning, personal growth time with a coach to be one of those exchanges you feel really good about.