Smiling and socialising.

Red is the color of life and has been used since ancient times to ward off evil and illnesses. This is also true for the male version of this custom. In Italy people like to wear the corno rosso (red horn) to ward off evil. It looks like a small red chili pepper, a male phallic shape. Brighid/Brigid of Kildare Brighid is venerated as a goddess of divine light in witchcraft and has her holy day on February 1, also called Imbolc. I think, `My boss will notice that I'm too sensitive to the light. I move back to my seat, thinking the `problem' has been solved, but notice that my boss has a chagrined look on his face. Suddenly, I realise that's what I do in waking life: dim the light that comes from myself. Then, I wake up. When I understood the significance of this dream, I resolved in future to speak out or take action - a resolve that lit up my world in unexpected ways! Through our dreams and dreamwork, we may learn to recognise self-defeating thought processes or negative life patterns that can literally clutter our dreams. A dream that parallels this idea was had by a woman named Angela, with whom I had been working for a few months. She longed to declutter and simplify her life in order to free up her unrealised creativity. As she relates: I am in a room that is cluttered with all sorts of objects and debris. She did that and nodded and gave me a little smile. Imagine the whole evening again from start to finish, but at some point I want you to imagine that one of you knocks over a glass of water, and see what happens. She closed her eyes as before and after a few moments she blushed and burst out laughing. And the fuss and the embarrassment and joking about it sort of broke the ice.

Her imagination had shown her that while beauty and talent are attractive, it is very often our mistakes and our vulnerability that bring us together. Two people trying to be wonderful can easily turn into a competition. Two people being honest can turn into genuine connection. Nominalizations When we say, `I really want a relationship,' or `I have a long-term relationship,' the words imply that `a relationship' is some kind of `thing'. Of course, a relationship is not a thing. The effects of oxytocin on trust turn out to be quite sensitive to interpersonal cues, like those subtle signs that tip you off that another may be the gambling type or irresponsible in other ways. Rest assured, then, if oxytocin spray were to be aerated through your workplace ventilation system, you'd still maintain your shrewd attunement to subtle signs that suggest whether someone is worthy of your trust or not. Researchers have since moved on to examine the effects of oxytocin on people's sensitivities to the subtle social cues that signal whether or not trust is warranted. From this work, I can tell you that, under the influence of oxytocin, you attend more to people's eyes and become specifically more attuned to their smiles, especially subtle ones. Perhaps because of the closer attention you pay to peoples' smiles and eyes, you become a better judge of their feelings and view people on the whole as more attractive and trustworthy. You also become particularly sensitized to environmental cues linked to positive social connections--for instance, to words like love and kissing. Researchers who have combined the use of oxytocin nasal spray (versus placebo) with brain imaging have also learned that oxytocin modulates the activity of your amygdala, the subcortical structure deep within your brain linked to emotional processing. Specifically, under the influence of a single blast of oxytocin nasal spray, the parts of your amygdala that tune in to threats are muted, whereas the parts that tune in to positive social opportunities are amplified. Reflecting these negativity-dampening effects, a single shot of oxytocin can also help you glide through stressful social situations, like giving an impromptu speech or discussing a conflict-ridden topic with your spouse. If you were to face these difficulties under the influence of oxytocin, studies suggest, you'd have less cortisol, the so-called stress hormone, coursing through you, and you'd behave more positively, both verbally, by disclosing your feelings, and nonverbally, by making more eye contact and friendly gestures. Commentary: Long before the Bible, ancient wisdom revealed, As a person imagines and feels, so does she become. This ancient teaching is lost in the night of time; Pyotr Demianovich Ouspensky, a Russian mathematician and esoteric thinker, stressed the importance of inner speech or self-talk, because internal feeling gives rise to external behavior and demeanor. Is your inner speech pleasant?

Let your words, your inner silent thought and feeling agree with your desire. Nicols, Ouspensky's student, used to say, Watch your inner talking, and let it agree with your aim. Desire and feeling joined together in a mental marriage becomes answered prayer. Write Your Own Affirmation to Counter a Negative or Destructive Thought Commentary: Others may have planted negative, self-defeating thoughts in your mind over the course of your life, such as You'll fail. You haven't got a chance. Fast intuitions depend on the undermind taking a quick look at the situation and finding an analogy which seems to offer understanding and prediction. These unconscious analogies surface as intuitions. Whether they are right or not depends not on how `intuitive' they are, but on the appropriateness of the underlying analogy. Often we are absolutely right. But sometimes the undermind is fooled by appearances, and then it leads us off in the wrong direction. This example also demonstrates how the way of knowing you employ may give different answers to the very same question. D-mode and intuition may well draw on different processes, knowledge and beliefs, and thus may produce conflicting solutions. If you followed the mathematics in the notes, then you might be rationally persuaded that the gap is a foot, while intuitively you persist in believing it to be minute. Below the surface, some assumptions are being made that lead to one answer. Above the surface, so it seems, different premises lead to a different answer. Imagine if there was a period-pant graveyard for all the knickers we've ruined: RIP (Rest In Pants), thank you for being there for us, sorry we weren't very prepared to save you. As I write this, we are confirming the date of the wedding and I'm actually trying to work it around my period. With my cycle changing length every time, it's quite hard to predict, but I'm doing everything I can to make sure I'm not on my period because of the pain. Genuinely not wildly bothered about the blood and white dress combo, more so the way I feel and the lack of energy I have.

So I'm just going to have little words with my uterus, praying for her to listen, in the run-up to the wedding. Periods are something we should all be speaking loudly and proudly about. We're using our upstairs lips to talk about what's going on in our downstairs lips. We are taking back ownership of our periods. OH THE PAIN The way I try to explain it to Mat is that I've invited two sumo wrestlers into my body. Plant protein--in beans, grains, and vegetables--does not appear to have this effect. Both dairy and animal protein are acidic in your gut and require a buffering agent. The buffering agent of choice is calcium. Because your body is hardwired to survive, it strips calcium from your bones to buffer the steak and cheesy potatoes you just ate for dinner. Due to its inflammatory properties, dairy is especially bad for individuals who have acne, asthma, or cancer. Mixing alkaline and acidic foods is not good for you. So, the next time you go out for breakfast and the waiter asks whether you want potatoes or fruit with your omelet, say neither or ask for the fruit to go and eat it ninety minutes after you have finished your omelet. The basics of food combining are explained in detail in article 14. Remember, alcoholic beverages like wine, beer, rum, and fruity drinks can raise your blood sugar. If you have a glass of wine, please have a full glass of water before you have a second glass of wine or make a spritzer (mix wine with sparkling water). Remember that doctors have feelings, too. Be diplomatic. Say, I think I wasn't clear instead of, You don't understand! When you bring up chronotherapy, recognize that your doctor may know only a little about the field--you are teaching each other.

Our position is that if you have difficulties related to circadian rhythm disturbances, adjustment of the inner clock should be the first-line intervention, before recourse to drugs. If the clock is at the root of the problem, drugs are unlikely to fix it. Instead, drugs may simply mask the symptoms in ways that fool you into thinking you have found a solution. You will likely have to take the first step by persuading your doctor to give chronotherapy the attention it deserves. Your inner clock should work for you. It should, and can, help you gain more restful sleep, more energy, and an improved mood. Truthfully, in business only a few decisions are important. Realistic thinkers understand the difference between the important decisions and those that are merely necessary in the normal course of business. The decisions that matter relate directly to your purpose. James Allen was right when he wrote, Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. Realistic Thinking Is a Catalyst for Change People who rely on hope for their success rarely make change a high priority. If you have only hope, you imply that achievement and success are out of your hands. It's a matter of luck or chance. Why bother changing? Realistic thinking can dispel that kind of wrong attitude. Her special position is easy to see: she is venerated as a Christian saint as well as a Pagan goddess. Hers are the primal elements water and fire, but she is also a goddess of smithcraft, which links her to transformation and initiations. She is especially helpful if you feel that an illness wants to say something to you, to discover its deeper meaning. Also, if complaints tend to recur and you can't figure out why you have this particular susceptibility, you can ask Brighid for the crucial spark of insight.