MindHabits - Need A Little Boost To Your Self Esteem?

I grew more and more intrigued as I listened to a Public Radio broadcast about the power of our subconscious mind. What we think and don't even realize we are thinking shapes how we see the world. My subconscious thought processes help me decide what kind of world I live in and how I think people see me. Is the world a happy or cruel place? Do people like me or am I always left out of the fun? Interesting stuff, the games our mind will play with us.

So let's play a game with it and train ourselves to think more clearly and respond quickly to positive social feedback instead of focusing on and expecting negative reactions. MindHabits is an online game you can play for free or download the full version for a small fee. In just five minutes a day you can retrain your mind to boost your self-esteem and lower your stress levels. The researchers say that this game has been shown to lower stress producing levels of cortisol in the players blood, thereby helping us feel better.

I've been playing for the past few days and I can see a difference. All you have to do is focus finding the smiling face in the crowd and click on it as quickly as you can. I've cut my time in half and I've noticed that I hardly even see the frowning faces any more. It's like they have less value to me. The first few times I played I grew frustrated because all I saw were unhappy people staring at me but that is changing. Now I think of the smiling faces as my friends and I kind of have a crush on the peaceful looking guy in the hat...big smile.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

We Are Truly One - More Than The Sum Of Our Parts

While I was away on vacation something wonderful happened - America was reminded that we are a nation of people of all races, creeds, religions, and world view. We are a mixture of all of these. We, as a nation, are not black, white, red, yellow, green or blue. We are the most gorgeous hues of every color God created.

America was reminded that we do not all think alike and each school of thought has been labeled, boxed and sorted in an effort to keep America divided. But that's okay because under our box lids (in our hearts) we harbor the common goal of prosperity and fullness of life for all.

America was reminded that we are more alike that different, that we are all imperfect beings working for a more perfect union - a nation that reflects our goodness instead of our fears.

I listened to Barack Obama speak and read the full context of his speech with tears in my eyes. Never before have I been so touched by a politician's words. For so long I've railed against the smiling politicians who told me only what they thought I wanted to hear no matter their true convictions. For so long I've sneered at political figures as they spoke well crafted half truths as if they were afraid of and in love with everyone at the same time.

Today I am proud to be an American and look forward to the day when we have a president in office who speaks his/her mind with honesty and integrity, who tells me the hard truth in a gentle voice and who will mentally walk a mile in the other person's shoes instead of firing on them.

Even if Barack Obama does not make his way to the Oval Office in 2009 he has set the bar higher for the person who does. He's opened the door to an America I can wholeheartedly embrace. And now, no matter who our leadership, I recognize my power as a citizen. I live in a nation of beautiful people with love to give. I will not let go of that vision without a fight.

I heard my innermost thoughts spoken in Senator Obama's speech, thoughts that no one speaks outside of their close circle of friends but ideas that need so badly to be voiced. Here is the link to the full text of the speech. The networks are still playing clips but we, as Americans, owe it to ourselves to hear or read it in its entirety.

There are a few speeches and documents we should all be familiar with. I believe this is one of them. He is representative of our coming together as one people from many backgrounds and was uniquely positioned to lay out an extrodinary treatise on race. No matter the outcome of the upcoming election Senator Obama has found a place in history.

Will Bowen Wants A Complaint Free World

One day Will Bowen, the pastor of Christ Church Unity in Kansas City, MO, decided it was time to do something about the negativity he saw around him. So, being a minister, he laid out the problem and his plan from the pulpit.

The problem - too much complaining. "Negative talk produces negative thoughts; negative thoughts produce negative results," he told them. We don't even realize how much we complain and the effect it has on our emotions and the well-being of the people around us. If thought truly does create reality and all we do is complain, well? - ouch - that's a tough one to swallow.

Pastor Bowen put a challenge to his congregation - stop complaining, start being grateful and seeing the results in your life that you want. As the phenomenal performer Melissa Etheridge says in one of my favorite songs, "Love is what you get when love is what you speak."

The congregation that accepted the challenge were given purple rubber bracelets as a reminder of their pledge to stop complaining for 21 days. Pastor Bowen instructed that every time the caught themselves in a complaint they were to move the bracelet to the other arm. The hardest part- they were to being the 21 day count all over.

It took everyone some time, even Will Bowen, who says he moved his bracelets many times before he made it the entire time. He was stunned at how much he actually complained.

Because of national media exposure and the positive results of this challenge in their lives, the church started A Complaint Free World and to date has sent almost 5,000,000 bracelets to 80 countries.

Here are some words from purple bracelet wearers from around globe:

"Since I learned to live a life without complaining, I no longer have migraines." -Tom Alyea

"But by far, the greatest gift I have received is the freedom from depression! "-Patricia Platt

"In Mostar, we are "famous" because of war. And my goal is that my family and I will live without complaining. We are trying to live like normal people from all around the world and be happy for every new day. We try to smile because we have many fine years in our lives. ' - Zeljka Rubinic and family Mostar Bosnia/Herzegovina

If a woman and her family living in a war torn country can do it, certainly I can. I don't have a purple bracelet yet but a simple rubber band will do. I'm wearing it now. Wish me luck.