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UPDATE ON THE HOPI PROPHECY

July 23rd, 2010 by Leelja Baur-Davidson

I was doing some reading and research this morning and came across the HOPI Prophecies. As you may know, there is an extraordinary interstellar constellation coming more and more into focus. December 21, 2015 all planets of our sun system will align with the center of our galaxy. Multiple stories, predictions, from chaos to the change of the magnetic poles are looming around. Yours what you want to believe.


According to the Hopi Prophecy we are in the latter days of The Time of Purification. We are in the process of resolution of polarities we have caused through our limited comprehension of universal principles. The ancient prophecy of the Hopis provides us with a number of specific significant future events and their corresponding instructions. These instructions serve as a guide to our responses to these events. The Time of Purification began with the release of the first nuclear explosions in 1945. The event known in the Prophecy as the Third Great Shaking is our present point with which our attention must be focused. There are two eventualities to be considered.

The first phase, it states, could be the best case scenario and could conclude this cycle, known as the Fourth World, in harmony with the intention of Great Spirit (the Universe). It is said that at this time the polarities will be so extreme that it will appear that all things will seem to be opposite to the True Path of Life.

I was told that good would be called bad, right would be considered wrong, that wealth would become poverty, and that men and women would tend to choose living apart. We are obviously in that predicament now. The instructions accompanying this condition are very clear. We are to identify the polarities in our personal lives and to begin mitigation of our issues, those both contrived and inherited, with deep intention, practice, and patience.

On the universal scale, the polarities will become obvious as the physical world responds to this imbalance with severe disturbance of the natural cycles that have always maintained a solid state system within Nature. What we have recently termed “earth changes” will involve all four elements. Today we are suffering massive fires, especially in draught areas. The winds will intensify and become unpredictable. Floods will occur in areas where they are not typical. Earthquakes will become more frequent and increase in intensity. And the very polarity of the geomagnetic field and the resonant frequency fields of the earth will create global changes. Presently, the drift of the location of the North and South Poles is moving significantly faster than has ever been previously monitored.

Politically, human behavior, by its very nature, is demanding change. The old order principles by which we govern and are governed must be changed. Our economics is based upon exploitation ever since the industrial revolution. As our resources dwindle and populations increase such antiquated principles as Profit, Private property, Possessiveness, and competition must be replaced with their opposites. The prophecy urges us to gather ourselves and be good to each other. They warn that the time of the lone wolf is over. Our common problems have foreshadowed our common differences. We can only survive if we cooperate on achieving common goals.

On a spiritual/cultural level we must abandon all belief systems that maintain exclusivity. Religious chauvinism is the present excuse for waging war. Ideologies, such as democracy, oligarchy, pragmatism, socialism, etc. all reflect the antiquated forms devised to uphold the old principles of the Fourth World. Sectarian principles of governance and religious dogma must be replaced with a global holistic approach to preservation of the environment. The greatest spiritual polarity, the ultimate challenge, is reflected in the vast differences in the Eastern theology and that of the West.

The Western traditions foster mandates on behavior (i.e.: The Ten Commandments). A higher authority outside of us demands the nature of our thoughts and actions. Deviation is considered a sin and generates condemnation. It also implies that we are all, by our very natures deviants therefore condemned. Only the most righteous will earn a place in Heaven. The belief systems generated from this theology only require meeting the present circumstances and are seldom influenced by projected long term consequences.

The Eastern traditions reflect a very different, direct opposite point of view. The authority is not a conscious entity apart from us. It is an integral aspect of human nature, know as Mind. The purpose of life is to develop Mind so that it will lead us out of the collectively generated illusion known as Maya, and enter the expanded state of Mind known as enlightenment. Since everyone has the same opportunity and ability to reach this highest state a universal wisdom and compassion are generated and re-established with every successive generation.

Resolution of this polarity is the most challenging and necessary function of our evolutionary destiny. We must become one family, not next door neighbors. According to the Prophecy the Third Great Shaking creates the opportunity for such resolution. It states that the people of the red symbol, with red hats and cloaks will come first out of the East, small in number, bringing wisdom and knowledge to this land (The West). We are urged to accept these teachings and to integrate them into our present lifestyle, making the necessary adjustments to regain resolution. From the early sixties to the present we have seen the teachers arrive from the East, bringing their teachings to the West with great intention and vision. Many of us have adopted these teachings and are now practicing in our unique Western fashions. Some have already attained the enlightened state and are among the present generation of teachers and gurus. The teachings of indigenous peoples are included as Eastern in this regard. We Americans have become challenged by these Native American teachers to take the teachings to heart and to indigenize our way of life. Many seekers have responded, have become initiated onto the Red Road, and quietly go about their new lifestyle cautiously apart from the mainstream. I am one of those.

Grandfather David, my Hopi teacher, told me of this crucial time in these words. One day you will wake up and it will be too late to make your changes. I immediately perceived that we have all the time in the world and not a moment more. I refer to this Fourth World, a cycle with its own agenda in time and space.

After that moment we will lose our power over the outcome. We will become merely victims of that outcome, our survival contingent upon the quality of our hearts. In Eastern terms, we will become fused to our karma.

This marks the last moment of divine grace, our communion with our Source.

According to Prophecy, at this irreversible moment, the force of the red symbol will assume another form, with an opposite objective. We can anticipate that the red hat people will come out of the West. They will come large in number. They will fall out of the sky like rain and overtake the land in one day. They will have no mercy for anyone and will enforce a way of life on us that we would never choose for ourselves. When this message was finally delivered fifteen years ago to the Secretary General of the United Nations and sixteen delegates, they speculated that it might be the Chinese. The Elders, at that point, were dutifully retaining their options. They were warned not to speculate but to concentrate upon the instruction of preparation and compassion.

This occurrence will trigger the most crucial event in the Prophecy. It is where an ancient relative returns to the Hopi Mesas carrying a stone tablet that will complete the migrations and seal the cycle known as the Fourth World. He is known to the Hopi as The Pahana, The Purifier. His ancestor was of light complexion so he is also known as the Great White Brother. It is his function to purify the world of all the wicked people.

When I first heard this I immediately referred to the second coming of Christ, then to the Maitraya Buddha, then Nostradamus, and on into many end time mythologies. It is the Judgment Day taken literally as the Prophecy calls it the Day of Purification. It is said that the only survivors will be the “one hearted,” those paltry few who have hearts pure enough to qualify as seeds for the Fifth World. Even if there is only one pair of one hearteds, maybe a brother and sister, Great Spirit’s promise of a human presence in the Fifth World will be kept and Maasawu, the Great Spirit of the Fourth World will meet them and usher them into the Fifth World.

Our spiritual connection with our Mother Earth and a sense of a common destiny with her will be challenged. Each person will have to deal with that reality. Each will be tested. The prophecy instructions explain that our relationship with our Earth is fundamental to our being. We must embrace her spirit and take our instructions from her. Those that choose the other path will discover that they have been deceived. They will become the playthings of a heartless race, and yes, their life spans will be extended so they have longer to suffer.

The consequence of choosing to remain with our Mother will be an ever growing connection with all biological life forms. We will become true Terrans. Our newly awakened sense of oneness will evolve our deeper communication abilities and endow our relationships with ever more satisfying results. As the Hopi elders said, WE ARE THE ONES WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.

In conclusion, we are now being humbled to see that all our technology and our culture of science have led us into a belief that this sacrosanct culture possesses empirical knowledge of the world and its systems. Yet, upon reflection, we know that the generation of this “knowledge” was assembled by many generations of individuals who pursued the Truth with little or no accountability to the perceptions of our pre scientific ancestor cultures. This realization now could save us. The only stewards of this Earth with a track record of sustainability and harmony for thousands of years are these very ancestor cultures. The Hopis warn that annihilation of the remnants of those cultures will definitely eliminate human participation in the Fifth World.

If this radical divergence from our comfortable relationship with our culture of science seems outrageous, just note the statement given by Dr Micheo Kaku, quantum physicist, some years ago. He stated that the foremost physicists are now consulting every thirty days in order to consider all the new discoveries and conduct a complete revision of science.

This crisis is demanding that we employ a previously overlooked faculty of human nature, namely our Divinity. This faculty has always been active but almost completely ignored in this last century. It is through the filter of our hearts and emotions that we can reawaken this reliable source of Truth. This is a personal process and not an institutional one. The reason that religions have so much influence over our psyches is that we have sold our hearts, and our personal communion with Great Spirit to what the Hopis call the high priests of the two hearteds. Those would be the institutions of science and religion.

Grandfather explained to me, When Creator created the world he gave each life form a Way to be in harmony with all other forms. When humans were created, we too were given a Way. That Way is known as the True Path of Life. By returning to the adherence to Natural Law we will return to that Path, our birthright.

Astonishingly, not only the Maya singled out this 2012 date, now looming so close. Similar Last Days prophecies are found from the Hopi, Navajo, Cherokee, Apache, ancient Egyptians, Kabbalists, Essenes, Qero elders of Peru, Subsaharan Dogon tribe and the Australian Aborigines.

A WONDERFUL LIFE

July 22nd, 2010 by Leelja Baur-Davidson

 



 

Michael J. Fox, the incurable optimist

Lisa  Ocker  June 29, 2009

Michael J. Fox seems at peace, even grateful for lessons learned from Parkinson’s disease. He’s inspiring millions with a new book and hit TV special. But his journey has not been easy.

Michael J. Fox’s rock bottom came in the summer of 1992. Passed out on the sofa in his Manhattan apartment, a Coors tallboy toppled onto the rug next to him, he awoke as his 3-year-old climbed on top of him, prodding him to get up. Squinting through his hangover, he could see his wife standing in front of him. He slowly raised his gaze to meet hers.

“Is this what you want? This is what you want to be?” she asked.

Fox’s rock bottom wasn’t close to the tabloid Hollywood versions that end in a broken marriage, a car wrapped around a tree, an embarrassing YouTube video or worse.

Sure, he liked to tie one on with friends, especially before he got married. And with such a quick rise to superstardom—starring in the hit TV show Family Ties just three years after dropping out of high school, followed by the blockbuster Back to the Future trilogy—he had gotten a little lost in what he later described as the Hollywood fun house.

But by Hollywood standards, Fox remained a nice guy, a regular guy who was mindful of his working-class Canadian roots, a star who signed autographs. When he married actress Tracy Pollan, he cut back on his partying. He was a family man who loved his wife and young son more than life itself.

Fox’s drinking habits changed, though, after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991. Unlike his partying bachelor days, there was no pretense of celebration and camaraderie. “Joyless and secretive, I drank to disassociate; drinking was now about isolation and self-medication,” he writes in his 2002 memoir, Lucky Man.

His final binge came after shooting for the movie For Love or Money wrapped earlier than expected one evening. Even though he and his wife had seen little of each other that summer—while he was filming the movie, Tracy was appearing on Broadway—Fox was not inclined to go home. Instead, he figured there was more time for drinking before Tracy expected him. So he and some crew members spent the rest of the night downing margaritas, vodka shots and beer.

For Fox, rock bottom was having disappointed the people he loved most— particularly Tracy.

This is what you want to be? Tracy’s words were painful enough, but Fox writes that what really frightened him were the resignation and disappointment he saw in her face.

On that day, Fox made the choice to give up drinking. It was the first step in a long and difficult road toward taking control of his life. Giving up alcohol was the first instance among many for which he would be grateful to Parkinson’s disease, he later wrote.

In his best-selling memoir, Lucky Man, and the new release, Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, both published by Hyperion, Fox chronicles his journey to the place of gratitude and joy he occupies today. He also shared his insights and explored the nature of positive thinking in an ABC special, Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, watched by 10.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Fox’s story is poignant, funny. His fame, ironically, makes him more relatable—less the big superstar than someone we really care about, someone we watched grow up as Alex Keaton on Family Ties. But his down-to-earth qualities and his flaws—not the epic Hollywood variety, but the Everyman flaws—make his story and its lessons hit home.

With wit and great insight, Fox shows how easy it is—for all of us—to neglect what’s most precious. Little by little, the Parkinson’s disease that threatened to take everything away became the “gift” that ultimately made him aware of what he stood to lose.

After giving up drinking, there were other challenges, not the least of which was his relationship with Parkinson’s disease. Despite the doctors’ diagnoses and his increasingly violent tremors, Fox was in deep denial. “Bad enough I had allowed P.D. to own me, but by my silence—cutting my wife and family off from the experience—I had made them slaves to it as well,” he writes. It would be early 1994 before he made another appointment with a neurologist and started to take ownership of his disease.

He also had to grapple with his workaholic tendencies. For as long as he could remember, he writes that he possessed a “keep-your-head-down-and-keep-moving mentality.” Even after his early successes brought financial security, he remained obsessed with work and box-office success. Although Tracy encouraged him to be choosy and to take only the roles he really wanted, he rationalized that having a family necessitated his continued work, even if that meant lengthy periods away from home.

“It is one of the great ironies of my life that only when it became virtually impossible for me to keep my body from moving would I find the peace, security and spiritual strength to stand in one place,” Fox writes. “I couldn’t be still until I could—literally—no longer keep still.”

One of the first neurosurgeons he had seen—and rejected— had predicted Fox had a good 10 years left for acting. That was in 1991. By 1996, Fox was settling into the kind of job he had long envisioned—living and working in New York on the hit TV series Spin City. The situation was nearly perfect, he says, but, still, it had its stresses, especially as his disease progressed.

On New Year’s Eve 1999, the Fox family, which by then included twin daughters Schuyler and Aquinnah, was vacationing at St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Snorkeling in the crystalline waters, they spotted a sea turtle. As it glided effortlessly, grazing on sea grasses, Fox continued to swim a respectful distance behind it. He noticed a chunk missing from a flipper and wondered what kind of ordeals the turtle had survived.

When he got out of the water, he had a revelation that he still doesn’t completely understand. He told Tracy he would retire from his hit TV series Spin City. Just like that. Good, she said, and hugged him.


 

TEA OR DISH-WASHING-WATER?

June 7th, 2010 by Leelja Baur-Davidson

Part 1




The other day I was talking to my tribal friend Steve in Canada. You know how it goes we talked first business but after a while we ended up talking about tea.

Have you ever been to a restaurant – assuming you like to drink black tea – and ordered hot tea? What did you expect? What you get usually is a small pot of little more than lukewarm water and a teabag with some black stuff in it. You put that baggy in the teapot and after a while you pour yourself a brownish brew in a cold cup, dropping the temperature even more. Drinking it without any sweetener, milk or lemon is almost impossible because it tastes like heavily used dish-washing-water.

It is so easy to make a great cup of tea just need to know how to do it.

For a good cup of black tea take boiling hot water, pour it over the tea in a strainer or the teabag, and let the tea steep for 3-5 minutes. The longer you steep the tea the more bitterness will be in your cup of tea, and has nothing to do with good flavor. Important is that you move the strainer or the teabag in and out of the water draining the water out several times to get all the antioxidants in your brew.

The flavor of black and green tea depends on many factors. What you usually buy in cheap teabags is ground waste material from the production of higher quality teas.

No matter how expensive the tea you buy,
if you brew it wrong, it’s awful.

This is a lesson many beginners learn the hard way. Most people who claim that they “don’t like the taste” were repelled by an incorrectly brewed tea. This can create a terrible misconception that can last a lifetime… and can also be easily avoepided with better brewing techniques.

Most restaurants, cafés and households that serve tea try to cut corners by simply throwing all teas into the same temperature water and serving visitors without any direction. This makes about as much sense as opening a premium wine bar and serving white wines at room temperature, or opening a prime steakhouse and serving all steaks well done.

Steeping good tea does not take a PhD, but it is also not as simple as chucking it into boiling water and letting it stew. There are easy ways, however, to steep the perfect cup. In fact, there are nearly as many brewing methods as there are teas.

The trick to steeping tea correctly comes in five parts: water, weight, temperature, time and equipment.

So far for today – we will have more on water, weight, temperature, time and equipment next time. There will be an extra post on Green Tea, the science behind it and more. Preparing tea can even be celebrated in a ceremony. Have you ever heard of the Japanese “Tea Ceremony”?

I would love to hear from you, what are your experiences with tea, tea brewing, your tips and tricks.

SUCCESS MANIFESTORS

June 2nd, 2010 by Leelja Baur-Davidson

How Are Ordinary People Achieving Extraordinary Results?

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FREE 12-Week Teleseminar

Here is the link

This Teleseminar Series is every Tuesday & Thursday 4:00 PM Eastern (3:00 PM Central, 1:00 PM Pacific). Update your calendar now so that you don’t miss anything.

AFFIRMATIONS

May 29th, 2010 by Leelja Baur-Davidson

PART 2



The use of Releasing and/or Cleansing Affirmations is to let go of negative, unwanted, unneeded debris and to let go of resistance. They allow you to purify your system. These affirmations stimulate the release of toxins such as negative thought forms, repressed or suppressed emotions, old memories, negative bonds with others, karma, dark consensus reality, illusions of all types, and all negativity.

Here are a few examples:

  • I give myself permission to release toxicity from every level of my energy field.
  • I rescind outdated vows of poverty, celibacy, struggle, silence, and unworthiness.
  • I release resistance.
  • I let go of old programs that keep me stuck in old patterns.
  • I let go of everything I do not want or need for my highest good.

Powerful Affirmations

Affirmations allow something to be, creating goodness, blessings, manifestations from the Universe, from the Source.

Examples:

  • I live each day with passion and purpose.
  • I am a success in all that I do.
  • I easily achieve all my goals and dreams.
  • I am a powerful and resourceful creator.
  • I am wealthy and successful, every day, in all that I do.
  • I visualize all that I desire and have complete control manifesting it all.
  • I am very focused and persistent.
  • My business is a masterpiece.
  • I deserve to earn money easily and in abundance and to live totally paid in full and on time in all accounts. I am completely paid in full and in all accounts and money is flowing to me from expected and unexpected sources.
  • I am a master at what I do.
  • I accomplish my financial goals with ease.
  • I feel happy and at ease with myself.

As you work more and more with affirmations — written, spoken, read, chanted, meditated upon for at least 30 days in a row – they will be more and more part of your lifestyle – what it means is, you are re-wiring your brain. New beliefs, new habits are being installed and non-supportive ones are being broken.

You even can intensify the effect of re-wiring your brain with Neural Reconditioning. If you would like to learn more about it, just put your name and email in the box below. Find out how brainwave patterns affect your mental and emotional health, consciousness and performance. See how it synchronizes, balances for dramatically enhanced learning, creativity, mental/emotional health. Unlock your infinite potential. Here you get it free when you sign up on the left.


WHAT IS CLOUD COMPUTING?

May 13th, 2010 by Leelja Baur-Davidson

This morning I was listening to NPR and for the first I heard Cloud-Computing. Here is a short overview what it is.

Cloud computing is a technology that uses the internet and central remote servers to maintain data and applications. Cloud computing allows consumers and businesses to use applications without installation and access their personal files at any computer with internet access. This technology allows for much more efficient computing by centralizing storage, memory, processing and bandwidth.

A simple example of cloud computing is Yahoo email or Gmail etc. You don’t need a software or a server to use them. All a consumer would need is just an internet connection and you can start sending emails. The server and email management software is all on the cloud ( internet) and is totally managed by the cloud service provider Yahoo , Google etc. The consumer gets to use the software alone and enjoy the benefits. The analogy is, ‘If you only need milk , would you buy a cow ?’ All the users or consumers need is to get the benefits of using the software or hardware of the computer like sending emails etc. Just to get this benefit (milk) why should a consumer buy a (cow) software /hardware ?


Cloud computing is broken down into three segments: “applications,” “platforms,” and “infrastructure.” Each segment serves a different purpose and offers different products for businesses and individuals around the world. In June 2009, a study conducted by VersionOne found that 41% of senior IT professionals actually don’t know what cloud computing is and two-thirds of senior finance professionals are confused by the concept, highlighting the young nature of the technology. In Sept 2009, an Aberdeen Group study found that disciplined companies achieved on average an 18% reduction in their IT budget from cloud computing and a 16% reduction in data center power costs.

THE CLOUD COMPUTING OPPORTUNITY BY THE NUMBERS

May 13th, 2010 by Leelja Baur-Davidson

The Cloud Computing Opportunity by the Numbers
— How big is the opportunity for cloud computing? A question asked at pretty well every IT conference these days. Whatever the number, it’s a big one. Let’s break down the opportunity by the numbers available today.
By 2011 Merrill Lynch says the cloud computing market will reach $160 billion.
The number of physical servers in the World today: 50 million.
By 2013, approximately 60 percent of server workloads will be virtualized
By 2013 10 percent of the total number of physical servers sold will be virtualized with an average of 10 VM’s per physical server sold.
At 10 VMs per physical host that means about 80-100 million virtual machines are being created per year or 273,972 per day or 11,375 per hour.
50 percent of the 8 million servers sold every year end up in data centers, according to a BusinessWeek report
The data centers of the dot-com era consumed 1 or 2 megawatts. Today data center facilities require 20 megawatts are common, – 10 times as much as a decade ago.

AFFIRMATIONS

May 11th, 2010 by Leelja Baur-Davidson


Part 1

Affirmations support you in manifesting a powerful change. Work with affirmations concurrently, or focus on a different category each day or each week. An affirmation should resonate with you, feeling natural and appropriate. To experience this resonance, you may need to change words in the ones listed here (Part 2 ), or get inspired to create your own.

Many popular affirmations are beautiful, indeed, they are quite extraordinary! However an affirmation only works without resistance. If you don’t like it, don’t like it, don’t believe in it. Just stop reading here.

Here is an example how to create even more resistance.

Sam feels powerless. His catalog of negative experiences is endless. He is deep down convinced; his feelings and belief-system support him in his own powerlessness and unworthiness. An affirmation for instance “I am powerful” is less likely to erase his feelings of powerlessness. It may even prompt an emphatic reaction, such as, “Oh, no, I’m not!” As long as Sam does not deal with the resistance to an affirmation, he is carrying it with him as he lives his life.

It is an empowering process using affirmations. Your subconscious is in the process of being re-wired and to assist you in embracing an affirmation that you desire to believe in. Your intention and desire to believe “I am powerful,” starts by releasing powerlessness, limiting believes, and open up to the possibility of being powerful, affirming your intention and readiness to live in your power to the fullest, claiming your power, and let the idea of being powerful integrate into your daily life.


HAITI – WE ARE THE CHILDREN

February 16th, 2010 by Leelja Baur-Davidson

We Are The World 25 For Haiti – Official Video

Please go on with your support for the wonderful people in HAITI!

http://wearetheworldfoundation.org/


ROAD BLOCKS TO WEIGHTLOSS

January 15th, 2010 by Leelja Baur-Davidson

There are many possible reasons you aren’t losing weight: can’t lose weight, even though your diet is stellar. Here’s a brief overview of some additional possibilities for you to consider.

Dieting is complex: There are ways to screw up without realizing it. For instance, who would ever think that working out in the a.m. or cranking the AC might be the reason you’re not slimming down? Luckily, once you’ve identified these flubs, fixing them is nowhere near as hard as pulling on a pair of control-top hose.

Roadblock 1: Always a go-getter, you work out at 6 a.m.

What’s wrong with that? – Morning workouts are great — if you go to bed and get at least 7 hours. In a recent study in the American Journal of Epidemiology, women who slept seven or more hours a night were less likely to put on weight than women who didn’t. Those who slept only 6 hours a night were 12 percent more likely to gain substantial weight—33 pounds on average over the course of 16 years! (Women who slept a measly five hours had a 32 percent chance of gaining 30 or more pounds.) Other studies have linked lack of sleep to a higher BMI and have found that it negatively affects levels of the appetite-regulating hormones ghrelin and leptin.

Don’t sacrifice your snooze time – not even for an extra-long run. Quality matters more than quantity, so taking a siesta later won’t help. “In a 20-minute power nap you don’t get into the deep-sleep stage,” says Donna Taliaferro, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who conducts research on sleep and circadian rhythms. “You need to go through the cycles of sleep over a few hours to get the restorative rest that allows your body to work properly.” Bottom line: You’re better off sleeping through your workout every other day than stumbling to a sunrise Pilates class on too few z’s.

Roadblock 2: You’re a teetotaler (or a sot!).

What’s wrong with that? Alcohol may not be the diet kryptonite you thought it was. Recent research showed that those who have a single drink a couple times a week have a lower risk of becoming obese than either teetotalers or heavy drinkers. Those who consume more than four drinks daily, on the other hand, boost their odds of obesity by 46 percent.

Go ahead and have a drink; just avoid belly-busters like a 245-calorie piña colada. Instead, raise a glass of heart-smart Merlot (123 calories per 5 ounces), Bud Light (110 calories per 12 ounces), champagne (88 calories per 4 ounces), or sake (39 calories per ounce). Or mix a 100-calorie cocktail, like vodka and diet tonic or tequila and club soda. “Just make sure you drink it with some healthy food, such as raw veggies with low-fat dip or whole-wheat pita and hummus,” advises Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Eating slows the rise of alcohol in your blood.


Roadblock 3: You crank the AC.

What’s wrong with that? Al Gore wants you to lay off the thermostat to save the planet. Here’s how it can save (the shape of) your own butt, too: In a study published in Physiology & Behavior, researchers found that exposure to temperatures above the “thermoneutral zone” – the artificial climate we create with clothes, heating, or air conditioning decreases our appetite and food intake. “At a slightly uncomfortable 81 degrees, the women in the study experienced a 20 percent decrease in appetite and ate 10 percent less than at 72 degrees,” says lead author Margriet S. Westerterp-Plantenga, Ph.D., a professor of food-intake regulation in the department of human biology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

Instead of cranking the air conditioner every time you feel a little warm, learn to endure slightly steamier conditions. Hitting the “off” button is well worth a little discomfort if it helps you lose the saddlebags.


Roadblock 4: You log extra miles on the treadmill to make up for giant meals.

What’s wrong with that? When it comes to dieting, success isn’t 90 percent perspiration. You can’t achieve lasting weight loss via exercise alone. A new study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that dieting can shrink your fat zones just as effectively as dieting plus exercise.

If you try the diet-only approach, you need a clear idea of how much you should be eating. Multiply your weight by 10, then add your weight again to that sum: That gives you the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight without activity. For example, 135 pounds x 10 = 1,350 + 135 = 1,485 calories. Eat more than that regularly, and your “loose-fit” pants won’t anymore; eat less, and your muffin top will start melting away. But not so fast—before you burn your gym membership, read on about sarcopenia.

Roadblock 5: You ignore sarcopenia.

What’s wrong with that? Sarcopenia is age-related muscle loss—and it can start in your 30s. If you don’t take action now, you could begin to lose as much as 1 to 2 percent of your muscle mass by the time you hit 50. Less muscle means you burn fewer calories and store more of them as fat.

The key to stopping muscle meltdown is to strengthen your back, shoulders, arms, and thighs. “When you increase lean muscle mass, you burn more calories, even when you’re sitting down doing nothing.Secrets of the Nation’s Top Trainers” and start sculpting at least twice a week. And keep it up after you reach your goal weight: Studies show that if you don’t exercise regularly (60 minutes of moderate physical activity a day), the pounds can creep back on.

Roadblock 6: You’re shooting for a realistic size 6 instead of a near-impossible 2.

What’s wrong with that? We know size 2 jeans look like they were made for a 10-year-old, but, according to a study of 1,801 people published in the International Journal of Obesity, women who set unrealistically high weight-loss goals dropped more weight in 24 months than those who kept their expectations low.

The study authors concluded that having an optimistic goal motivated women to lose more weight. And the participants who failed to reach their magic number did not quit trying to drop the weight. Could aiming for Sienna Miller’s figure really help you reach your goal weight healthfully? “If you’re a driven person and a lofty goal motivates you,” says Blatner, “it can work.”

Roadblock 7: Ever since the recent headlines, you’ve been popping M&Ms like they’re Advil.

What’s wrong with that? You’ve heard the news: Cocoa can lower blood pressure; reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and dementia; and possibly even prevent cancer. But the research isn’t as delicious as it seems. The cocoa-bean products used in the studies are a far cry from the highly processed chocolate candy you find on the shelves of your local store. “Milk chocolate contains about 150 calories and 10 grams of fat per ounce,” says Campbell.

The key here is small doses. Dark chocolate, which retains more of the bean during processing, generally has slightly less fat and fewer calories than milk chocolate—plus, it’s richer, so less goes a longer way. We like CocoaVia’s Crispy Chocolate Bar (90 calories, 5 g. fat) or Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Stick (60 calories, 3.5 g. fat). If dark doesn’t do it for you, opt for low-cal choices such as a half-cup of Breyers French Chocolate Double Churn Fat Free Ice Cream (90 calories, 0 g. fat).

Roadblock 8: You think “water-rich diet” means more trips to the cooler

What’s wrong with that? Water in your glass is good, but water in your food can have serious slimming power. In a new American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study, obese women ages 20 to 60 were told to either reduce their fat intake or increase their intake of water-rich foods, such as fruits and veggies. Although they ate more, women in the water-rich group chose foods that were more filling—yet had fewer calories—so they still lost 33 percent more weight in the first 6 months than the women in the reduced-fat group.

Fill up on food that’s high in H2O. Some good choices in addition to fruits and veggies: broth-based, low-sodium soups; oatmeal and other whole grains; and beans. For other filling options, consult The Volumetrics Eating Plan: Techniques and Recipes for Feeling Full on Fewer Calories, by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D. (Harper Paperbacks, 2007).

Roadblock 9: You give up junk food today but put off joining a gym until January.

What’s wrong with that? Tackling one goal at a time is supposed to help you succeed. But new research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine bucks that conventional wisdom. In a study of more than 200 people who smoked, had high blood pressure, and weren’t extremely active, one group was asked to quit the butts, cut back on dietary sodium, and increase physical activity all at once. Another group addressed one bad habit at a time. The group that tackled all their problems simultaneously had the higher success rate after 18 months.

Combining your goals may work for the same reason job negotiations do: When you ask for everything, you’re more likely to get something. Put this thinking to the test by creating a healthy eating and exercise plan and throwing all your energy into following both.

Roadblock 10: You never think about potassium.

What’s wrong with that? A recent Canadian study concluded that getting more potassium might help lower your weight and blood pressure. Levels measured in study participants were proportional to their diet and weight. “That makes sense,” says Blatner. “The richest sources of potassium are beans, vegetables, and fruit, so the person with high potassium levels is consuming a lot of these foods, which are low in calories and are the most filling.”

You should aim for 4,700 milligrams of potassium each day. Supplements may help you hit that target, but doctors don’t recommend them for everyone. Try filling up on white beans (1 cup: 1,000 mg. potassium), winter squash (1 cup: 494 mg.), spinach (1 cup: 840 mg.), baked potato with skin (926 mg.), yogurt (1 cup: 600 mg.), halibut (4 ounces: 566 mg.), and orange juice (1 cup: 473 mg.).

Sometimes when people diet they do not take into account the actual way to lose weight, some people believe if they eat less they will lose weight, which is not necessarily true, if you do not eat enough or worse nothing then your body is basically saying to itself “I’m not getting any food” so what your body does is store any fluid and food in your body as fat, and this can cause you to become heavier, so make sure your not starving yourself and eat plenty of nutritious food.

Why Diet and Exercise Alone Don’t Work

That’s right, diets alone don’t work. I’m sure you’ve heard that to lose weight, all you need to do is “eat less and exercise more”. Easier said than done. This simplistic approach is a set up for frustration and failure. It ignores the psychological forces necessary to lose and keep the weight off (such as motivation, focus, and commitment). Also ignored are any secondary gains (payoffs/reinforcements) a person may have to keep a poor diet. Examples include food serving as relaxation when stressed, a relationship substitute when lonely, or as stimulation when bored. Have you ever caught yourself using food for any of these reasons? Me too. These factors have upended many a diet. The more powerful the secondary reasons to keep eating poorly, the more the poor eating will continue. Ignoring your mind’s role in weight loss makes the entire process so much more difficult.

Most formal “fad” diets don’t work either. Besides ignoring these same psychological factors, these diets usually promote such a different way of eating that it can be nearly impossible to maintain them. Also problematic are diet pills, powders, and other supplements that attempt to artificially suppress the appetite. I don’t recommend that you buy them. Besides the high, endless costs of buying these special products or foods, your old ways of eating will return as soon as you stop buying the products. Are you really supposed to buy these supplements for the rest of your life? I’m sure these companies would be happy with that. No way. As soon as you stop buying them, your appetite will come back, your old ways of eating come back, and so will the weight.

The “weight loss mindset” you’ll need to lose and keep the weight off includes focus, desire, common sense, self-discipline, commitment, and positive motivation. Of course, getting into this way of thinking is easier said than done. This is where the Dichotics come in. “Clinical hypnosis” (or “hypnotherapy”) is a psychotherapy technique where a subject (like you) incorporates powerful non-conscious tools for change to improve through the power of reinforced suggestion.

A combination dichotics/behavior change program is by far the best and most effective weight loss approach. This, of course, is the format of The Dichotics Weight Loss Mindset. Our mindset and beliefs about weight loss is what either allows us to quickly shed pounds or barely make any progress at all? You may have met people who hold the belief that weight loss is very easy. They have an optimistic outlook on losing weight and the activities required to succeed. Tell me, do these people usually get results or not. I have noticed that they do. Now look at a person who is resentful about having to lose weight and one who takes a negative attitude toward dieting and exercise. They look at it like it’s a burden that they should not have to carry. What kind of results do these people usually get? I have noticed that they are able to go for years without making any serious ground.

This points to something very powerful. Our thoughts and feelings prompt us to take certain actions. If your thoughts are positive they will tell you that dieting is easy and exercise is fun. If they are negative they will resent having to lose weight and will make everything seem overwhelming and difficult. These different thinking patterns will certainly yield different actions and different results. Don’t you think?

The trick is to notice any negative thought that arises and see what it is doing to you. Does it make you want to eat fattening food? Does it tell you to skip your workout routine? Now ask yourself, does this thought have my best interest at heart? The answer will almost always be a resounding no. By asking yourself this question the thought will lose its power to control your actions. You will be free to make your own choices and do as you see fit. This is the beginning of rapid weight loss that feels effortless.

As often as you can, try to notice the thoughts arising in your mind that feel even the slightest bit negative. Look deeply to see what they really bring into your life. This will reveal the truth and make weight loss easy. Start now and results are not far away.

Soon you’ll find here more exercises more information to change these toxic thoughts and patterns.

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