tag:www.naturalawakenings.com,2005:/categories/wise-words?page=14Wise Words Wise Words | Natural Awakenings Magazine Page 14Healthy Living Healthy Planet2019-08-28T16:07:38-04:00urn:uuid:491ead2a-6bbe-4b4c-8e94-d17a1b1ccb052019-08-28T16:07:38-04:002019-08-28T16:07:38-04:00Seeking Soulmates Online: Coach Evan Marc Katz’s Advice for Internet Dating2013-04-30 12:34:30 -0400Kim Childs<p>
<em><span class="dropcap">N</span>atural Awakenings</em> recently launched its own online dating site, which got us wondering… what does it take to find that ideal someone? We decided to call on dating coach Evan Marc Katz, author of <em>I Can’t Believe I’m Buying This Book: A Commonsense Guide to Successful Internet Dating</em>, for advice. Katz, who calls himself a personal trainer for love, coaches successful women in the art of successful dating. He says that while online dating simply makes sense in today’s world, it’s important to do it wisely.</p>
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<em><strong>Online dating is nearly the norm these days. What has changed?</strong></em>
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<p>
It’s a perfect marriage of technology and opportunity. There are about 100 million singles in the United States, and everyone has a personal computer and a phone, which allows us to connect immediately with people we’d never meet in the course of our day-to-day life.</p>
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Think about a woman in her 40s that wants to date and lives in a suburb with kids, has a full-time job and whose friends are all married; it can be hard for someone like that to meet men. Online dating allows her to essentially create a love life from scratch.</p>
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The problem is that most people think they can just go online and succeed, without realizing that there’s an actual skill to it. You can’t just shop for a partner the way you can order up other things on the Internet.</p>
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<strong><em>Can you share some tips for singles just starting out?</em></strong>
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<p>
I created an audio series called <em>Finding the One Online</em>, in which I share best practices and some key mistakes to avoid. For example, people sign up for online dating for a month and expect to fall in love in 30 days. That’s like being 50 pounds overweight, signing up for a one-month gym membership and quitting after only losing three pounds because you didn’t meet your goal.</p>
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The process of finding a good match is more like training for a marathon—you can’t log on and manifest a partner right away by talking to everyone on the site in a month’s time. That’s completely unrealistic, and yet it’s the number one reason people fail, because they expect too much too soon and don’t stick around long enough to learn how to use the system.</p>
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<em><strong>What are some best practices once you commit to the process?</strong></em>
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<p>
Don’t write an online profile that’s full of adjectives, activities and clichés. Telling a story that illustrates who you are is much more enticing. Post a picture taken within the past year, have a clever user name and write initial emails that are funny and confident.</p>
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I like the idea of flirting with a potentially special someone online, moving from email to the phone and making plans for a real-life date over the course of about a week. That’s a good, organic process. My preference is to meet for drinks on a Saturday night, but it doesn’t have to be cocktails if that’s not your scene. I just like the romantic atmosphere of meeting for drinks because dinner dates tend to be too static and coffee dates are too casual.</p>
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The goal is not to meet tons of people as quickly as possible. The goal is to build up trust and rapport via email and phone communications, so that when you do go on a first date, it’s comfortable and actually feels like a second date. I encourage my clients to go on real dates, not interviews.</p>
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<em><strong>Many people make a list of qualities they desire in a partner. What do you think should top that list?</strong></em>
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<p>
The things that sustain a marriage are kindness, consistency, compromise, laughter, shared values and trust. Those should be at the top of your list, instead of height, weight, age or income. The problem is that such qualities may not appear in someone’s online profile or even on the first date. Too many couples make decisions based on chemistry, and that can be a terrible predictor of success for a lasting romantic relationship.</p>
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<em>Connect with a health conscious, environmentally aware, spiritually evolved friend and mate at <a href="http://NaturalAwakeningsSingles.com">NaturalAwakeningsSingles.com</a>. Reach Evan Marc Katz at <a href="http://EvanMarcKatz.com">EvanMarcKatz.com</a>.</em></p>
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<em>Kim Childs is a writer and creativity coach in Boston. Visit <a href="http://KimChilds.com">KimChilds.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:350af972-156f-43b9-900f-f1250886f8952019-08-28T16:11:40-04:002019-08-28T16:11:40-04:00Healing the Ecosystem Within: A Conversation with Bioneers Co-Founder Nina Simons2013-03-29 11:18:13 -0400Brita Belli<p>
<span class="dropcap">B</span>ioneers are innovators from all walks of life, seeking to make the world a better place in ways that respect the Earth and all of its inhabitants. Their organization, considered a “network of networks,” connects people and ideas through their annual National Bioneers Conference, local community action groups and original multimedia productions, including the award-winning “Revolution from the Heart of Nature” radio series</p>
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Bioneers co-founder Nina Simons, co-editor of <em>Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart</em>, talked with <em>Natural Awakenings</em> about the role each of us plays today in creating a more sustainable tomorrow.</p>
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<em><strong>How can we be hopeful about the state of the Earth?</strong></em>
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<p>
I feel that we each need to cultivate a balanced view. It’s important to hold what I call a “both/and” awareness, which recognizes how seriously our planet’s life support systems are compromised and how intensive the demand is for us to engage in reversing their deterioration. At the same time, I remain deeply hopeful, because so many people are awakening to the urgency of the issues we face and many more are now mobilizing to act in positive ways.</p>
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<strong><em>Does this mean that you see a societal shift toward a better way of thinking?</em></strong>
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<p>
Our state of mind is directly affected by where we place our attention. If our primary source of information is mainstream media, then it’s easy to feel depressed and hopeless. Each of us would benefit from limiting our daily media intake, because it influences our inner story and impacts how we nourish our psyches, stories and visions.</p>
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One of the greatest medicines for despair is action. When we act on behalf of what we love and those in need, it can help restore gratitude, a sense of faith and a more balanced view. That’s why natural disasters often elicit the best kinds of responses human beings can offer: compassion, empathy and a desire to generously contribute to solutions.</p>
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<strong><em>To what extent does healing the Earth depend on healing ourselves?</em></strong>
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<p>
We co-created the current political, economic, energy, industrial and food production systems based on competition and hierarchies that are wreaking havoc on Planet Earth and on our collective quality of life and future survival. As long as we participate in them, we perpetuate them. We have an immense opportunity to reinvent our selves and society’s systems right now.</p>
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Our culture conditions us to be hard on ourselves, judging and comparing our talents and actions while often valuing ourselves primarily based on our work or relationships. To be the most effective change agents we can be, I believe we need to reverse these patterns and learn to consider ourselves and all of life as sacred and inherently worthy of love.</p>
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One of the most powerful things each of us can do at this pivotal point is to claim full responsibility for our inner “story-scape”—to shift our personal story about the impacts we’re capable of having, what our capacity for action really is and how bringing ourselves in service to life at this moment can be meaningful, joyful and effective.</p>
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<em><strong>Isn’t there often a conflict between what people believe and what they do?</strong></em>
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<p>
We each contain a complex ecosystem within us. The more we can become conscious of cultivating ourselves to be authentically and fully in heartfelt service to what we love, the better we can show up on behalf of the Earth and the people and creatures with whom we share it as home.</p>
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<em><strong>Do you see women playing a particular role in this transformation?</strong></em>
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<p>
While every person is a unique mix of both masculine and feminine qualities, I think that women as a whole have a deeply embedded coding that inclines us to be especially strong in caring, compassion and collaboration. As leadership capacities, I believe these three—and connecting across differences—may be among the most essential to resilience. Our future as a species will clearly benefit from more women finding their voice, truth and connections to power.</p>
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The more women that can articulate their individual experiences in support of an inclusive collective vision, the more we can begin to tip our institutions, culture and the men we love to increasingly value these “feminine traits,” which I refer to as relational intelligence. For a long time, we have perpetuated a fatally flawed culture that has put intellect first. It’s past time that we all put the wisdom of our hearts, bodies and intuition first, with intellect in a supporting role.</p>
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<em>Freelance writer Brita Belli is the editor of </em>E-The Environmental Magazine<em>. Connect at <a href="http://BritaBelli.com">BritaBelli.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:3f164fcc-9f98-476e-94de-c3e45acd55792019-08-28T16:12:00-04:002019-08-28T16:12:00-04:00Walking the Talk: Marlane Barnes Fosters Rescue Dogs2013-02-28 11:54:29 -0500Sandra Murphy<p>
<span class="dropcap">A</span>ctress Marlane Barnes recently made her feature film debut as Maggie of the Irish Coven, in <em>The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II</em>, building on a growing résumé of films, TV and theater credits. A current resident of Los Angeles, she actively supports the nonprofit Best Friends Animal Society, a local no-kill facility, and serves as national spokesperson for Spay First. To date, her foster dogs include India, Birdie, Archie and Wally, with more to come.</p>
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<em><strong>Why is fostering rescue dogs important?</strong></em>
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<p>
Fostering is a good way to find the right dog for your personality and circumstances. Dogs aren’t accessories, chosen on looks alone. Fostering allows you to see what breed, size, temperament and activity level works best. When India, the first dog I fostered, was adopted, she went to a home that suited her nature and needs. Birdie, a 6-year-old golden retriever-beagle mix, came to me when her shelter time was up. After two months, Birdie was placed with a family that was willing to deal with an older dog’s health issues, and it’s worked out well for all parties.</p>
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<em><strong>What do you try to teach the dogs to make them more adoptable?</strong></em>
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<p>
We take a lot of walks during our six to eight weeks together. Teaching them to sit, be petted, take treats gently and behave well on a leash all helps.</p>
<p>
I also expose them to new experiences. We visit the coffee shop, meet kids and take hikes; in these ways, I learn what the individual dog enjoys. It takes some of the guesswork out of the equation. Fostering is like a halfway house for dogs; after living with them, I can vouch for them, as well as voice any concerns about the family situation.</p>
<p>
I feel strongly that the dog must be treated as part of the family, whose schedule has to work with having a dog, and that dog in particular. It’s a matter of finding the right person for the animal. We want every adoption to be the best match possible.</p>
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<em><strong>Who takes care of your foster dog when you are at work?</strong></em>
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<p>
I have a group of creative friends who jump in to help. It’s easy to ask them to help with a foster dog because it lets them be part of the rescue. That way, they are doing a favor more for the dog than for me.</p>
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<strong><em>How do spay/neuter programs benefit shelter animals?</em></strong>
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<p>
When I was 10, I volunteered at the Humane Society in Fort Smith, Arkansas, so being the spokesperson for Spay First is a natural fit. High volume/low cost spay/neuter programs are the fastest way to reduce pet overpopulation and the number of animals ending up in shelters. Every year, taxpayers spend billions of dollars to house, euthanize and dispose of millions of animals. Spay/neuter is a commonsense way to permanently solve the problem. Spay First works to keep the cost less than $50, especially in rural and lower income areas, and actively campaigns to make this a community priority around the country.</p>
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<strong><em>How can caring people help?</em></strong>
</h4>
<p>
Donate money or items found on a shelter or rescue unit’s wish list. Walk a shelter dog to keep it social and active. Foster a dog to see if having a dog fits and enhances your life. The rescue group pays the bills, support is available and it’s a good way to explore the possibility of adoption. Once you know for sure, adopt.</p>
<p>
Also talk about the benefits of fostering and adopting dogs and the importance of affordable spay/neuter programs for dogs and cats in your community. Spread the word that it is not okay to buy a puppy or kitten in a store when we are discarding millions of shelter animals each year that desperately need homes. Puppies are cute, but older dogs already are what they’re going to be— what you see is what you happily get.</p>
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<em>For more information or to make a donation, visit <a href="http://SpayFirst.org">SpayFirst.org</a>.</em></p>
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<em>Sandra Murphy is a regular contributor to </em>Natural Awakenings<em> magazines.</em></p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:3a4adaf7-f1eb-4402-aa6b-109107862e7e2019-08-28T16:10:02-04:002021-03-22T14:14:08-04:00Courting Marriage Success: Relationship Expert Stephanie Coontz Shares Go-To Guidelines2013-01-31 12:03:13 -0500S. Alison Chabonais<p>
Stephanie Coontz, professor of history and family studies at The Evergreen State College, in Olympia, Washington, shares her learned perspective in an intriguing oeuvre of books—<em>Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage; The Way We Never Were; The Way We Really Are</em>; and <em>A Strange Stirring</em>. She’s also co-chair and director of public education at the University of Miami’s research-based nonprofit Council on Contemporary Families. As a speaker, she shares good news on marriage, based on her extensive study and observations.</p>
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<em><strong>Is marriage becoming passé?</strong></em>
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<p>
While marriage as an institution is less powerful than it used to be, people have higher expectations of marriage as a relationship. Precisely because most Americans no longer feel they have to marry, they are more specific about what they want from it. When a marital relationship works today, it is fairer, more intimate, more mutually beneficial and less prone to violence than ever before. Yet, individuals are less willing to stay in a relationship that doesn’t confer these benefits.</p>
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<em><strong>Which qualities do people most desire in a mate today?</strong></em>
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<p>
The old model of married love held that opposites attract. Men wanted mates that were pliable and nurturing; women wanted men that were ambitious, powerful and protective. The new model is based on similarities of interests and talents. While some women are still attracted to men that are richer, taller, more powerful and slightly scary, and some men still want an admiring, yielding woman, the trend favors valuing more individualized traits.</p>
<p>
In a reversal from 40 years ago, men are much less interested in a partner’s cooking and housekeeping than in her intelligence, humor and accomplishments. Women value a mate that shares household chores more than one that is a high earner. (See more results of a Pew Research Center survey at <a href="http://Tinyurl.com/PewTrends">Tinyurl.com/PewTrends</a>.)</p>
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<em><strong>What guidelines foster a rewarding marriage?</strong></em>
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<p>
Be truly interested in your partner’s ideas and activities; take pride in their achievements; use endearments or offer tactile affection without being asked; have a sense of humor about differences; and never let irritation or anger slide into contempt.</p>
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<em><strong>How can small, daily interactions contribute to intimacy?</strong></em>
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We all have moments when we are irritated, angry or emotionally or intellectually unresponsive. A mate will tolerate these as long as he or she trusts you to be loving and attentive most of the time. It’s an emotional line of credit— each partner needs to keep replenishing the reserves of trust and good will, rather than drawing them down.</p>
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Psychologist and researcher John Gottman, Ph.D., suggests people need about five positive interactions for every negative one in an intimate relationship. It’s less the occasional over-the-top gesture and more the regular, small deposits that count—a few words of appreciation, a loving touch, an expression of sexual attraction. If we have trouble remembering to regularly express appreciation, we may do better by asking, “What would have been harder about this day if my partner wasn’t in my life?”</p>
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<strong><em>Why do the new realities of marriage emphasize play over work?</em></strong>
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Successful marriages used to depend upon specialization. Men and women couldn’t substitute for one another in accomplishing tasks. A typical woman couldn’t support herself financially; a typical man didn’t know how to feed himself, do laundry or manage childrearing. Even if couples didn’t share many mutual interests, the partners often took pleasure in being indispensable.</p>
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Now women can support themselves and men cook and clean. Thus, shared interests and leisure activities, rather than specialized work roles, increasingly serve as the glue of marriage. Play takes people off the work-centric treadmill and introduces novelty into the relationship. Spending leisure time with others also produces higher levels of happiness than cocooning, according to the GallupHealthways Well-Being Index. So make it a double-date night.</p>
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<strong><em>How do current and potential partners benefit from game changers—from cell phones to the Internet?</em></strong>
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<p>
The Internet makes it easier to meet partners. Once in a partnership, technology can help daily tasks get accomplished efficiently, leaving more leisure time. It also allows us to check in with each other while apart.</p>
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But e-devices are no substitute for face time. The best way to nurture a relationship is to unplug from the grid and plug into real life. I see many couples reinvigorated by each other’s company after a few hours together engaged in a fun outdoor recreational activity.</p>
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<em>For relevant articles and interviews, visit <a href="http://StephanieCoontz.com">StephanieCoontz.com</a>.</em></p>
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<em>S. Alison Chabonais is the national editor of </em>Natural Awakenings<em> magazines.</em></p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:027c8b18-a59b-415a-a6d2-e43442cab2552019-08-28T16:08:11-04:002019-08-28T16:08:11-04:00GMO Truths and Consequences: Health and Safety are Question Marks2012-12-27 13:47:09 -0500Melinda Hemmelgarn<p>
<span class="dropcap">T</span>he food industry tells consumers that genetically engineered foods are safe. On university campuses, agriculture students learn that such genetically modified organisms (GMO) are both safe and necessary to feed the world. The Council for Biotechnology Information, a biotech industry-supported nonprofit, even created a coloring book to teach children about the many benefits of GMO crops, including improved nutrition.</p>
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Most GMO crops have been genetically engineered to withstand spraying with herbicides, such as Monsanto’s Roundup-Ready soybeans, or to produce their own pesticides, such as “Bt” corn and cotton. Bill Freese, a science policy analyst at the nonprofit Center for Food Safety, warns us to be leery of simplistic claims that don’t take into account unintended consequences. For example, he points out that, “GMO crops have nothing to do with feeding the world, because almost all genetically engineered crops are corn and soybeans... used to feed livestock in rich countries, or to feed automobiles.” Approximately 40 percent of corn currently is used to make ethanol.</p>
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Freese adds, “They don’t increase yields and they don’t increase nutrition.” But GMO crops have led to a staggering increase in herbicide use, putting both farmers and consumers at greater risk for exposure to these toxins and related diseases, according to the Center for Food Safety.</p>
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So the question is: Are GMOs the panacea industry wants us to believe, or are they contributing to chronic disease? Here are three claims commonly heard about GMOs, generally made by the biotechnology industry and their funded researchers.</p>
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<strong>Claim:</strong> GMOs are safe.</p>
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<strong>Fact Check:</strong> Little research exists on the long-term effects of consuming GMO foods. According to Douglas Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, safety assessments have left us with significant uncertainties about whether GMO food is safe or not. However, concerns voiced by the Center for Food Safety revolve around potential allergens and toxins from both herbicide and pesticide residues and new genetic material.</p>
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New research from the European Union published in <em>Food and Chemical Toxicology</em> adds to growing concerns about the risks. Researchers discovered that rats fed GMO corn and drinking water containing Roundup herbicide experienced negative health effects during their two-year lifespan, including mammary tumors and disabled pituitary function in females, and liver and kidney damage in males. These outcomes were attributed to the endocrine-disrupting effects of Roundup, as well as the genetic makeup of the engineered corn.</p>
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What makes this study unique and troubling is that it’s the longest such study period to date. Most studies funded and conducted by industry last just 90 days—not long enough to fully document potential harm.</p>
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Michael Hansen, Ph.D., a senior scientist at <em>Consumer Reports</em>, states in a memo to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Council on Science and Public Health, “Unlike all other developed countries, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not require safety testing for GE [genetically engineered] plants.”</p>
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Hansen explains, “In addition to the FDA not requiring any premarket safety testing, there is virtually no independent safety testing of these crops in the United States, due to intellectual property rights. When farmers buy GE seed in the U.S., they invariably must sign a product stewardship agreement that forbids them from giving such seeds to researchers.” Plus, “Researchers must get permission from the biotech companies before they can do research, which means there is a paucity of independent research.”</p>
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The good news is that last June, the AMA recommended mandatory pre-market safety testing to better characterize the potential harms of bioengineered foods.</p>
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<strong>Claim: </strong>GMO crops use fewer pesticides, and those used are safer than most others and break down quickly.</p>
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<strong>Fact Check: </strong>Roundup herbicide is increasingly sprayed on a growing number of herbicide-resistant GMO crops, including corn, soy, canola, sugar beets and most recently, alfalfa. By tracking the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s pesticide use data, Charles Benbrook, research professor at the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, at Washington State University, discovered that herbicide-resistant crop technology led to a 527-million-pound increase in herbicide use in the United States between 1996 and 2011.</p>
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With the growing presence of herbicide-resistant weeds, new GE forms of corn and soybeans have been developed to resist stronger and more dangerous herbicides, such as 2,4-D, one of the two ingredients in Agent Orange, a defoliant used in the Vietnam War. Benbrook projects that these new GMO crops could drive herbicide usage up by about another 50 percent.</p>
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According to Warren Porter, Ph.D., a biologist and environmental toxicology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Theo Colborn, Ph.D., president of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, glyphosate, the active chemical ingredient in Roundup, is an endocrine disruptor, meaning it interferes with hormone systems.</p>
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Porter says we can expect higher levels of herbicide residues in GMO food crops. A report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) found that glyphosate is now commonly found in rain, streams and air during the growing season. “Though glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world, we know very little about its long-term effects to the environment,” cautions Paul Capel, a USGS chemist.</p>
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A Canadian study showing that the Bt toxins from GMO corn are showing up in umbilical cord blood and the blood of pregnant women is another concern. Monsanto claims Bt is harmless and will break down in our digestive tracts. But we have no way of knowing the effect of these toxins on developing fetuses, says Marcia IshiiEiteman, Ph.D., a senior scientist with the Pesticide Action Network.</p>
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<strong>Claim:</strong> GMO labeling isn’t necessary.</p>
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<strong>Fact Check:</strong> Hansen believes that if there are unexpected adverse health effects resulting from consuming GMO foods, a product label would allow people to begin connecting symptoms with foods consumed. Until there is consistent, national GMO food labeling, everyone is just dining in the dark.</p>
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<em>Learn more and take action at <a href="http://JustLabelIt.org">JustLabelIt.org</a>.</em></p>
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<em>Melinda Hemmelgarn, aka the “Food Sleuth,” is a registered dietitian and award-winning writer and radio host at <a href="http://kopn.org">kopn.org</a>, in Columbia, MO (<a href="mailto:FoodSleuth@gmail.com">FoodSleuth@gmail.com</a>). She advocates for organic farmers at <a href="http://Enduring-Image.blogspot.com">Enduring-Image.blogspot.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:ad9a638b-2d75-4eee-b0d9-7ec6c02451532019-08-28T16:21:00-04:002019-08-28T16:21:00-04:00How Unconditional Love Harmonizes Our World: Marci Shimoff Explores its Transformative Power2012-11-30 13:10:09 -0500Judith Fertig<p>
<span class="dropcap">A</span> self-described “seeker from the get-go,” Marci Shimoff, is an expert at helping others effect greater personal fulfillment and professional success. The noted transformational leader, speaker and author has written two bestselling books on happiness and unconditional love—<em>Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out</em> and <em>Love for No Reason: 7 Steps for Creating a Life of Unconditional Love</em>, and co-authored six bestselling titles in the <em>Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul</em> series.</p>
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<em><strong>What is the old way of looking at love, versus the new paradigm shift you propose?</strong></em>
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<p>
We’ve been trained to think of love solely as energy between two people, usually experienced as conditional love—we feel love if the other person agrees with us, treats us a particular way or loves us back. But love is actually the essence of who we are, and when we live in a state of unconditional love, what I call “love for no reason,” we experience our essence that is love, which doesn’t depend on another person, situation or romantic partner. It is the core of every spiritual tradition.</p>
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<em><strong>Why do our ways of loving often seem inadequate?</strong></em>
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<p>
We each have a “love set-point,” the upper limit of our ability to give and receive love. We can’t feel more love by trying to change the outside—by relying on others to fill us up—because it will never work in the long run. We need to raise our love set-point higher; then we experience everything more through the eyes of love.</p>
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<strong><em>Do challenging economic times help us grow spiritually?</em></strong>
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<p>
We can use any life challenges to help us grow and find fresh avenues of lasting fulfillment. Success and money don’t guarantee happiness, and I know that from my own wake-up call.</p>
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In 1998, I had three of my <em>Chicken Soup for the Soul</em> books on <em>The New York Times</em> bestseller list at the same time. One day, I spoke to 8,000 people and autographed 5,432 books and felt like an author rock star. Yet when I returned to my hotel room that night, I burst into tears. All of the success was great, but it still hadn’t made me happy. That’s when I began my intensive study of happiness and love.</p>
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<em><strong>Does science support our capacity to daily experience and deepen a love for all things?</strong></em>
</h4>
<p>
Science is finding that there is a neurophysiology of love. Studies by researchers in major institutions worldwide show that we can do simple things like breathe more deeply, walk barefoot on earth, listen to uplifting music or practice meditation that will support us in experiencing more unconditional love. These activities create greater heart rhythm coherence and new neural pathways in the brain.</p>
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<em><strong>How does having a heart that’s open to unconditional love benefit us?</strong></em>
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<p>
The Institute of HeartMath has discovered that the magnetic field generated by the heart—what’s measured on a magnetometer—is 5,000 times stronger than that of the brain. HeartMath research has also demonstrated that when we’re in a positive emotional state, our hearts beat in a coherent rhythm that causes all the other systems in the body—including the brain, immune system and hormones—to work more efficiently and harmoniously. Their research shows that experiencing this regularly leads to better health, slows the aging process and brings us greater creativity, resilience and happiness.</p>
<h4>
<strong><em>What are the seven doorways to practicing unconditional love revealed by your own research?</em></strong>
</h4>
<p>
I’ve interviewed hundreds of people that are living examples of unconditional love. I’ve found seven access points to experiencing more love: safety, being grounded and present; vitality, energy and well-being; unconditional self-love, feeling empowered; openness, being comfortable giving and receiving love; communication, listening and speaking with love; vision, seeing through the eyes of love; and oneness, feeling connected with the greater wholeness of life.</p>
<h4>
<em><strong>How does one person’s loving larger bless our families, communities and world?</strong></em>
</h4>
<p>
The more we experience love, the more we spread love to others. Our feelings are contagious. This idea is beautifully expressed in an ancient Chinese proverb: “When there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. When there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. When there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation.</p>
<p>
“When there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.”</p>
<p>
<br>
<em>Connect with Marci Shimoff at <a href="http://HappyForNoReason.com">HappyForNoReason.com</a>.</em></p>
<p>
<em>Judith Fertig, of Overland Park, KS, is a regular contributor to</em> Natural Awakenings.</p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:bb8f3787-1a11-47f6-9558-8b9e92153dec2019-08-28T16:17:01-04:002019-08-28T16:17:01-04:00Overcome Obstacles to Achievement: Jack Canfield Shares Insights on Creating Success2012-10-31 12:49:28 -0400Linda Sechrist<p>
<span class="dropcap">J</span>ack Canfield is best known as co-author of <em>The New York Times</em> number-one bestselling <em>Chicken Soup for the Soul</em> series, which has sold more than 500 million copies in 47 languages. A featured teacher in the films <em>The Secret</em> and <em>Tapping the Source</em>, he also has been interviewed on more than 1,000 radio and TV segments. He currently serves as CEO of The Canfield Training Group and president and founder of the Transformational Leadership Council.</p>
<h4>
<em><strong>Even with a wealth of webinars, teleclasses, workshops and other tools advising everyone how to live the life of their dreams, why do so many still struggle to feel successful?</strong></em>
</h4>
<p>
Just having a map in your hands doesn’t mean that you will get to your destination. Understanding your fears and limiting beliefs does not necessarily give you the ability to overcome them. Humans also have built-in protective mechanisms that often override their efforts to achieve their goals in order to maintain the status quo.</p>
<p>
While ideas presented in programs and courses to help people achieve success can inspire and motivate positive change, many people get stuck when they have to apply them. In the past, many of the methods used to overcome obstacles to success have been tedious and time consuming, requiring months or years of intense concentration and relentless perseverance.</p>
<h4>
<strong><em>Why is it so challenging to make the changes necessary to succeed?</em></strong>
</h4>
<p>
The mind is divided into two hemispheres. One is responsible for rational, conscious thought and processes ideas sequentially, using language. The other is emotional, and processes ideas simultaneously, using pictures. The emotional, subconscious mind is far more powerful than the rational, conscious mind. It controls about 95 percent of our thoughts and actions and is motivated by the pull of pleasurable rewards and the push of negative emotions.</p>
<p>
To understand the challenge of change, think of the emotional mind as an elephant and the rational mind as the rider. As long as the elephant doesn’t have a strong desire to move in a particular direction, the rider can control the elephant. However, if the direction that the elephant wants to go in is different than what the rider has in mind, the chance of forcing the elephant radically diminishes.</p>
<p>
The reason that so many people fail to achieve success is that the elephantine subconscious is innately averse to the new action that needs to be taken. To make tasks much easier, the elephant must be motivated to move in a certain direction or, at the very least, remain neutral and not resist the rider.</p>
<p>
By applying some newer, cuttingedge tools that support change, such as tapping points along the body’s energy meridians, the approach used in the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), it is not only possible to get the elephant to cease resisting, but can also shave time off the journey to personal power and accomplishment. Tapping can transform the beliefs and emotions that cause selfdoubt, self-sabotage, procrastination and other roadblocks. It is being used around the world to help people minimize or eliminate issues as varied as fears, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, food cravings and chronic pain.</p>
<h4>
<em><strong>What do you consider ultimate success?</strong></em>
</h4>
<p>
Many people report that after applying my 64 recommended success principles, they have achieved outstanding results in one area of their life, although they didn’t meet their expectations in another. Ultimate success isn’t about having only financial success, yet poor relationships; it’s about having success in all areas of your life.</p>
<p>
So, as practitioners like my co-author Pamela Bruner, a business success coach and EFT expert, teach the tapping technique, they verbally introduce a powerful success principle and note the resistance people might encounter when trying to implement that principle. This can be done in person or self-administered, as demonstrated on the DVD included in our book, <em>Tapping Into Ultimate Success</em>.</p>
<h4>
<em><strong>How can we support our goals in everyday life?</strong></em>
</h4>
<p>
I’ve learned that few people actually study the principles of success as they relate to life. In college or business school, students are taught management skills that apply to business, but not the skill sets or mindsets needed for success in their personal lives. Students in educational institutions of any kind never learn that they control their life. We all need to understand that the books we read, the TV shows we watch and the social environment we choose to immerse ourselves in all either undermine our success or support it.</p>
<p>
<br>
<em>For more information, visit <a href="http://JackCanfield.com">JackCanfield.com</a>.</em></p>
<p>
<em>Linda Sechrist is a senior staff writer for </em>Natural Awakenings<em> magazine.</em></p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:1234efee-99c3-47e8-a302-c7a95c1063b92019-08-28T16:35:20-04:002019-08-28T16:35:20-04:00The Four Qualities of a True Statesman2012-09-28 12:34:44 -0400Brett and Kate McKay<h4>
<strong>What qualities should citizens look for in the next leader of the free world? What core criteria might voters consistently use to evaluate any legislative or other candidate running for political office?</strong><br>
</h4>
<p>
<span class="dropcap">P</span>rofessor J. Rufus Fears, Ph.D., sets a high standard in articulating the yardstick by which we should measure leaders of either gender. As a noted scholar specializing in the history of freedom (<a href="http://Tinyurl.com/TrueStatesman">Tinyurl.com/TrueStatesman</a>), he emphasizes that the role of a politician and a statesman are not the same. A statesman, Fears attests, is a free leader of a free people and must possess four essential qualities.</p>
<h3>
A Bedrock of Principles</h3>
<p>
The statesman builds a platform on a foundation of firm, unchanging, fundamental truths that he believes at his very core comprises his overarching philosophy. In the face of changing times, opposition and challenges, this foundation will remain intact. A statesman may change the details of his policies and his methods, but only inasmuch as expedient tactics serve to further his bedrock principles in the long run.</p>
<h3>
A Moral Compass</h3>
<p>
A statesman does not govern by public opinion polls, but instead makes decisions by following his own moral compass that is rooted in a sense of absolute right and absolute wrong. He is not a relativist. When he believes something is wrong, he plainly says it is so and does everything in his power to fight against it. When something is right, he is willing to overcome any opposition to preserve and spread it.</p>
<p>
The statesman is ambitious—he must be to obtain a position of power— but there are things he simply will and will not do to get to the top. He is a man of integrity; he speaks the truth. He leads by moral authority and represents all that is best in his countrymen.</p>
<h3>
A Vision</h3>
<p>
A statesman has a clear vision of what his country and his people can become. He knows where he wants to take them and what it will take to get there. Foresight is one of his most important qualities, because he must be able to recognize problems on the horizon and find solutions good for both the short term and long term. The statesman keeps in mind not only the here and now, but the world that future generations will inherit.</p>
<h3>
The Ability to Build a Consensus to Achieve that Vision</h3>
<p>
A politician may have a bedrock of principles, a moral compass and vision, but if he lacks the ability to build a consensus around them, his efforts to change policies, laws and the course of history will largely be in vain.</p>
<p>
In enlisting others in government that serve with him to support his initiatives, he knows that their willingness to do so is based on the pressure they feel from their constituents to align themselves with the statesman’s vision. Thus, success ultimately hinges on his ability to convince his country’s citizens of the soundness of his philosophy.</p>
<p>
To win their hearts, the statesman shuns media campaigns and instead harnesses the power of the written, and especially the spoken, word; he is a master orator. His lifelong study <img alt="Patriotic Stars" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/627283/Patriotic-Stars.jpg" class="image-align-right">of great books and the lessons of history allow him to speak to the people with intelligent, potent, well-reasoned arguments.</p>
<p>
Instead of tailoring his rhetoric to the public mood, he speaks to the very best that exists within people, understanding that powerful rhetoric can articulate, bring forth and activate sometimes deeply buried ideals. His authority derives from his belief in what he says. He does not make emotions soar and burn with empty promises, but instead keeps his word and does what he says he will do.</p>
<p>
Based on a professional lifetime of research, Fears believes that the three greatest statesmen in history are Pericles, of Athens, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill. Their bedrock principles rested on the ideals of freedom: democratic liberty, equality under the law and individual freedom—the freedom to live as we choose. Each embraced a vision of expanding liberty for citizens, yet all courted controversy in some of the measures they deemed necessary to achieve their vision.</p>
<p>
In Fears’ estimation, the ultimate measuring rod of any true statesman and what matters most is that their leadership ultimately led to more freedom for more people in the long run.</p>
<p>
<br>
<em>Authors Brett and Kate McKay of Tulsa, Oklahoma, founded <a href="http://TheArtOfManliness.com">TheArtOfManliness.com</a> blog in 2008 to help men become better citizens, fathers, husbands and friends. Its educational messages attract 8 million page views a month.</em></p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:df982092-7ca4-4b5e-8d1c-c45d37aa74ef2019-08-28T16:35:13-04:002019-08-28T16:35:13-04:00Julia Cameron Speaks from Her Heart: Creating a Life Beyond Need and Worry2012-08-30 15:02:49 -0400Linda Sechrist<p>
<span class="dropcap">J</span>ulia Cameron is an award-winning author, poet, playwright and filmmaker, perhaps best known for her precedent-setting works on creativity, including <em>The Artist’s Way</em>, <em>The Vein of Gold</em>, <em>Walking in this World</em> and <em>The Right to Write</em>. In her latest book, <em>The Prosperous Heart</em>, she presents a 10-week program that guides readers in developing a life that is as full and satisfying as they ever imagined possible.</p>
<h4>
<strong><em>How is unblocking creativity linked to having a prosperous heart and a life of enough?</em></strong>
</h4>
<p>
I have taught creative unblocking for 35 years. When I’ve asked my students about money, inevitably their responses are emotional exclamations: “Money is the biggest block to my creativity,” or “I feel like I can handle anything but money,” or “Do we have to talk about money?”</p>
<p>
I believe that every person is creative, and can use his or her creativity to create a life of “enough”. I have worried about money and found that having money does not end this worry. I have also discovered practical tools that have lifted my students and me out of money worries into a prosperous heart. Prospering is something we can do today, no matter how much money we have.</p>
<p>
Prosperity is not just about money, although our relationship to money must be brought out into the light, and we must be brave enough to look at it candidly. Having enough is having a life beyond need and worry. It’s about finding satisfaction in our lives, improving the lives we have, straightening out our finances and creating a life that is enough for us.</p>
<h4>
<strong><em>What led you to conclude that a prosperous heart is about a spiritual bottom line, rather than a financial one?</em></strong>
</h4>
<p>
My experience of this principle has been cumulative. When teaching <em>The Artist’s Way</em> through the years, I have sometimes been moved to give away memberships in a class in order to help creatively stymied individuals that felt they couldn’t afford the 12-week course. While this didn’t add to my bank account, I felt rewarded on a spiritual level as I watched those students blossom over the course of the class.</p>
<h4>
<strong><em>What tools do you offer readers in </em>The Prosperous Heart<em>?</em></strong>
</h4>
<p>
Morning Pages remain the primary tool of a creative recovery and for establishing prosperity. Three daily pages of longhand writing—strictly stream of consciousness—work to provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Counting is another bedrock tool of prosperity; keeping a small notebook tracking every penny in and every penny out puts us in touch with our true values, which is one of the first and finest fruits of prosperity.</p>
<p>
This daily writing, coupled with counting, brings emotional and financial clarity. Together, they help us discover our true values—both personal and monetary—and uncover the actions that will lead to a life that is truly our own.</p>
<p>
Abstaining from financial imbalance is simple when we stop debting. A commitment to practicing the tool of abstinence plugs the leaks and our personal lifeboat stops sinking. While this may seem severe, it leads straight to more prosperity.</p>
<p>
Walking at least twice a week for a minimum of 20 minutes works to put events into a healthier perspective. We may walk out with a problem and walk back in with a solution. Walking also offers the opportunity to encounter sights and sounds that fire the imagination and replenish our inner well of creativity. As we walk, we can experience the richness of the world, as well as our own inner prosperity.</p>
<p>
I recommend taking a time out once in the morning and once at night, for five minutes, to sit quietly and consciously count your blessings, or simply rest. Time outs also put us in closer touch with our own inner resources. Ideas often come to us during these periods, which prove to be time-efficient and guided by wisdom.</p>
<p>
Through many years of experience, I have seen how the tools explored in <em>The Prosperous Heart</em> help people from all walks of life come into contact with their true value system. When they act in alignment with their values, they naturally feel a sense of prosperity. When they do what they love and do it well, the money seems to take care of itself.</p>
<p>
<br>
<em>Find the next chapter on personal creativity at <a href="http://JuliaCameronLive.com">JuliaCameronLive.com</a>.</em></p>
<p>
<em>Linda Sechrist is a senior staff writer for </em>Natural Awakenings<em> magazine.</em></p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:6795f461-b44a-4e19-bfe6-55755991d0d42019-08-28T16:26:23-04:002019-08-28T16:26:23-04:00Balance Blesses Our Youth: Wise Parenting Insights from Wendy Mogel2012-07-31 12:36:20 -0400Meredith Montgomery<p>
<span class="dropcap">C</span>linical Psychologist and author Wendy Mogel, Ph.D., is known for the practical parenting advice featured in her books, <em>The Blessing of a Skinned Knee</em> and <em>The Blessing of a B Minus</em>. She is a leading expert appearing in Race to Nowhere, a documentary film examining the achievement-obsessed culture permeating America’s schools, and serves on the advisory board of Challenge Success, an organization that supports schools and families in reversing and preventing the unhealthy tolls assessed by our current educational system.</p>
<p>
Speaking from the perspective of her “compassionate detachment” philosophy, Mogel explores the educational challenges that students face today and offers some solutions.</p>
<h4>
<strong>Race to Nowhere <em>reveals the problems associated with America’s academic testing culture. What are the most critical weaknesses of today’s public school system?</em></strong>
</h4>
<p>
It is breaking my heart to see enrichment programs sacrificed on the altar of standardized testing and such extreme focus on the core academic skills. We certainly want our children to have these skills, but we are losing sight of how much is learned through play, imagination, art and music.</p>
<p>
High school students feel tremendous pressure to succeed. It seems that as a society, we are displacing our own anxieties about the unstable economy and the condition of the planet onto our children. As we try to arm them with a set of skills to face an uncertain future, we are also losing sight of who they are as individuals. Too often we overlook the reality that some young people are not natural scholars, athletes or gregarious leaders, but possess other equally worthy abilities.</p>
<h4>
<em><strong>How are such blind spots affecting our youths?</strong></em>
</h4>
<p>
Students are paying the price for the pressure being put on them on multiple levels: Heavy backpacks are damaging their spines, sleep deprivation interferes with their learning process and expectation of perfection can lead to girls with eating disorders and demoralized boys with a desire to give up.</p>
<p>
I routinely speak with students that feel compelled to personally end hunger in Rwanda while they must also score high grades in several advanced placement classes, excel in multiple extracurricular activities and maintain a slender figure. Some of these same high school kids tell me they fear that scoring a Bon a quiz may cause their parents to divorce or drive their mothers into depression, partly based on some sense that adult pride and security rest on their children’s accomplishment.</p>
<h4>
<em><strong>What can teachers do to facilitate healthy learning environments?</strong></em>
</h4>
<p>
While teachers can set an example of work-life balance, exuberance and involvement for young people, healthy teacher-parent relationships are vital, as well. Anxious parents can sometimes act like bullies to teachers when they are concerned about their child’s success. I encourage teachers to work with parents in a respectful and diplomatic way, without becoming defensive or taking anything too personally; I remind them that parents are often just nervous.</p>
<h4>
<em><strong>What advice do you have for parents of young children?</strong></em>
</h4>
<p>
Encourage learning via this wonderful, natural world. Children are natural theologians, biologists, seekers of social justice, artists, poets and above all, explorers and inventors. We serve children well if we see them as seeds that came in a packet without a label. Our job is to provide sufficient food and water and pull the biggest weeds. We don’t know what kind of flower we’ll get or when it will bloom.</p>
<h4>
<em><strong>How can parents foster learning and success in all of their children at home?</strong></em>
</h4>
<p>
A big piece of a parent’s responsibility is to clearly see each of their children for who they are, independent of parental preconceptions and dreams, and to foster that individual’s strengths and enthusiasm for life, instead of struggling to fit him or her into society’s narrow definitions of success. A snapshot taken of a child today should not be confused with the epic movie of his or her entire life.</p>
<p>
Good parents model balance; but the default position in our culture has become overindulgence, overprotection, overscheduling and expectations of perfection. When parents pick their kids up from school, instead of cross-examining them about test scores and who they sat with at lunch, a mom or dad can share something delightful about their own day; something interesting they saw or did or thought that reminded them of their son or daughter. Communicate that it’s a pleasure to be a parent and an adult. Show them that as grownups, we continue to learn new things. Inspire them to want to be happy adults and parents.</p>
<p>
<br>
<em>Meredith Montgomery is the publisher of </em>Natural Awakenings<em> Mobile/Baldwin, AL (<a href="http://HealthyLivingHealthyPlanet.com">HealthyLivingHealthyPlanet.com</a>).</em></p>
<p>
</p>
<h3>
<strong>Championing a Broader Vision of Success</strong>
</h3>
<p class="by-line">
by Meredith Montgomery</p>
<p>
<span class="dropcap">C</span>hallenge Success (<a href="http://ChallengeSuccess.org">ChallengeSuccess.org</a>), a project of Stanford University’s School of Education, works with schools, parents and youths to develop and institute customized action plans to improve student well-being and engagement. According to the nonprofit organization’s cofounder, Denise Pope, Ph.D., “We recognize the great pressure being put on today’s kids in regard to performance, tests and grades. Unfortunately, this is keeping many of them from becoming resilient, motivated, active contributors in society. Our initiative provides a voice of reason, translating research into actions that allow students to thrive.”</p>
<p>
Offerings include practical and engaging classes, online courses and videos for parents that help them learn best practices for their children. As one example, “We encourage parents to avoid overscheduling,” says Pope. “Every child needs playtime, downtime and family time every day.”</p>
<p>
For schools seeking reform, Challenge Success offers dynamic conferences in which a team of administrators, teachers, parents and students, led by a consulting coach, creates site-specific strategies for change.</p>
<p>
Proven tips for fostering balance at home:</p>
<p>
<strong>Have fun:</strong> Unstructured playtime for young children is important, as is free time for teens to socialize and pursue hobbies.</p>
<p>
<strong>Relax:</strong> Permit time for rest and rejuvenation. Encourage self-directed relaxation through reading and playing or listening to music, while moderating screen time.</p>
<p>
<strong>Connect as a family:</strong> Aim for at least 20 minutes of daily family time. Enjoy meals together, consider going for a family walk or designate an “unplugged” time for everyone.</p>
<p>
Ideas for schools and teachers to explore:</p>
<p>
<strong>Revise school schedules and homework policies.</strong> Consider block schedules, trimesters or a later start to the school day. Schedule quarterly “no homework” nights and/or “off weeks”, when no testing is allowed.</p>
<p>
<strong>Emphasize projects and problem-based learning.</strong> Achievement improves when students are engaged in hands-on learning. Make daily assignments relevant to students’ lives and try assigning a final project in lieu of a final exam.</p>
<p>
<strong>Explore alternative and authentic forms of assessment.</strong> Because not all students perform well on tests, multiple forms of assessment, such as narrative reports, writing assignments or creative projects, can augment scores to more effectively reveal where teachers need to focus attention.</p>
<p>
<strong>Enhance the climate of care.</strong> Encourage positive student/faculty relationships, so that teachers are approachable and accessible. Establish stress reduction and relaxation techniques, plus mindfulness activities.</p>
<p>
<strong>Educate students, parents and teachers to work together.</strong> Sponsor professional development workshops for faculty on the causes of student stress and coping strategies. Empower students to find the “right fit” college or post-secondary path, while debunking the myth that there is only one path to success.</p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>