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March 23 OK, so I said I'd finished the publishing blogs. I changed my mind. I want to just talk with you about my experience with self publishing.
I really wanted to use Print on Demand for THIS PRECIOUS LOVE (HTTP://drjeannehounshell.com). It would have been so much easier. BUT, I would have had to sell my book for $25.00 to earn one or two dollars. I just didn't think that would work. So I had to go looking for something that wouldn't be so pricey.
So I self published. And as if that weren't going to be enough work, I learned that I couldn't do it in WORD. Now I had spent weeks getting it all set up in WORD just the way I wanted it to look. Now I had to learn a book design program (INDESIGN) and do it all over. I worked about 18 hours a day 6 or 7 days a week for 6 weeks to meet my printing deadline.
It isn't easy. It is extremely hard work. AND it looks great! I got a really quality book at a price where I actually can sell the books to bookstores and still have a royalty for me.
I am extremely proud of the job I did. Extremely proud of all I learned while writing and publishing THIS PRECIOUS LOVE. It's one of the most _________ experiences I've ever had. And I'll probably continue to publish my books this way.
In summary, if you're reasonably good at the computer, willing to work very hard, and want to retain all the rights to your book, this is the way to go.
I encourage any of my readers who have published a book, by whatever form, to contact me. I'd love to interview you or have you send me a guest blog so that my readers can get many different perspectives.
Bless you,
March 15 MARCH 11, 2007
ONE HUGE RED LETTER DAY
Our newest grandbaby joined our family.
There is no more wonderful day in any life, than the day a healthy beautiful baby comes into our lives.
Our daughter Laurie gave birth to our granddaughter on March 11. Her proud Uncle Mark sent us the first pictures o f her. To see her, go to my web site: http://drjeannehounshell.com and click on The Latest News. She's a darling.
Babies are so recently come from God, they are indeed precious. I'm sure there'll be more pictures soon and when I'm back on my feet and get income tax done, we'll make our plans to go hold her in our arms.
God bless her every day of her life!
March 07 PUBLISHIING TIPS--SELF PUBLISHING:
When you self publish, you do all the work and you reap all the benefits and headaches. That's the whole long and the short of it. You keep all rights, all profits and you have no help along any stop of the way. It is not for the faint of heart and it is truly rewarding.
Disadvantages:
--It’s unbelievably hard work
--You have to pay for it all
--You have to obtain the ISBN number and copyright.
--You have to do or hire the book cover done yourself and set the book up ready to print
--Marketing is totally up to you though many subsidy and POD publishers have packages you can buy even though you don’t publish with them—but they’re pricey!
--It is by far the hardest way and it’s all up to you.
Advantages:
--It’s quick. You can hold your book in your hand soon.
--You maintain all rights and total control
--By submitting bids to a whole bunch of companies, you can get it printed for a fraction of the cost any of the others would be so that your profit per book sold is much higher.
--Your travel and lifestyle is pretty much deductible
--A new author has to do most of the marketing anyway, why not reap the benefits.
If you’re going to do it, do it right. Dan Pointer’s book: Self Publishing is absolutely necessary. It will take you through the steps to do it right.
Book Design:
Hire the interior design done for you or get a good book design program
--InDesign is relatively friendly and does a good job.
--Quart is probably the best but also VERY hard to learn.
I recommend using one of these two. DO NOT use WORD or Word Perfect. I'm told no self respecting bookstore will accept a book done in either of those--ony in a professional book design program.
Bless you and keep writing,
Dr. Jeanne
March 05
 THIS PRECIOUS LOVE
Once in awhile we are given a gift that touches our very souls. I was given such a gift today. I’d like to share it with you.
A man in my writing group had purchased my book and read it. Today he handed me this card:
Thank You
For your courage to share
both pain and joy,
for your perseverance
in giving your book life,
for your inspiration
to motivate the shy
and for your willingness
to help us grow.
The parallels in our
Stories illuminates
Our truth
The contrasts provide
Lessons I have not
Lived.
If I touch one persona as
You have touched me,
I will have lived
A purpose.
Thanks,
Erv
Eloquent! Can’t wait to see more of his writing.
So, if you think THIS PRECIOUS LOVE is just for gals, think again. This one has a depth and breadth to touch every heart. And action enough to keep all reading.
Thank you, Erv, you made my day, my week and probably my year!
Bless each of you. It is feedback like this that keeps us writing. March 03 PUBLISHING TIPS:
PRINT ON DEMAND
Print on demand has become very popular with digital printing. You pay them to publish your book and as an order comes in, they print that number of books. So you don’t have a garage full of books to sell. They have promotional packages to help you sell your book.
They do not review or critique your book. You’re paying the entire cost so they will print whatever you send them.
They buy the ISBN number and usually take care of copyrighting. They have people available to design your book cover and will do the interior book design for a fee. But you may do these things yourself and send it to them.
This is really what I wanted to do--use a print on demand publisher. And I think it has great merit for shorter and nonfiction books. But when I looked into it, if I priced my book at 25.00, I might make 1.00 or 2.00 on each book. That’s because my book is 400 pages long and their charge to print it was very high. I couldn’t see me just making that little after 5 years of work. That didn’t allow me to sell it to any bookstores because they require a 40% discount—so to do that I’d have to have priced it at nearly 30.00 to just get what it cost me. And most people aren’t going to pay $30.00 for a paperback novel.
For a book of 150 pages that will sell for $19.95, this is a very good alternative.
For me it didn’t work. So I had to keep looking. And the only alternative left was to publish it ourselves.
Advantages of Print on demand:
Many!
You can get it published really quickly
Most do high quality work
You retain all the rights
You can choose the program that works for you
If you want to pay for it, they'll do almost everything but write the book
Disadvantages:
High cost. You pay for it all and you pay a premium cost for each book. Check this carefully as you may have to price your book higher than you can sell it.
Vanity publishing, and print on demand is considered a vanity publisher, is still looked down on by many. So there's not as much prestige as using a traditional publisher.
Bless you and keep writing
Dr. Jeanne
March 01 SUBSIDY PUBLISHING:
Subsidy publishing is a compromise between traditional publishers where the publisher pays the entire cost of getting your book in your hand and other forms where you pay for it all. In other words, the cost is split--not necessarily half and half. This differs from one company to another.
Subsidy publishers do not accept all books so you will have to write a query letter and submit your manuscript. They review them but are much more likely to accept them than a traditional publisher because you pay about half the cost of publishing and promotion. Since they are spending their money, they will only accept what they think they can at least break even on.
They still may demand changes and want to control your book because they have a large investment in it too. Again, the rights you will have to give up vary from company to company. If you want someone else to do the book design, deal with printers and do the publishing work and your book isn't accepted by traditional publishers, you may want to consider this route.
I looked at it and it didn't make financial sense for THIS PRECIOUS LOVE.
More publishing options coming soon so check back.
Bless you and keep writing!
Dr. Jeanne
February 27 PUBLISHERING TIPS
This series of articles will evaluate the pros and cons of the various publishing options availabe to you. This first blog discusses Traditional publishers.
You have written a great book and would love to see it in print. Where do you start? This series will give you some ideas of where you might want to start.
If you want to go the traditional publishing route, you start be deciding which publishers are most likely to publish your book. Writer’s Market lists almost all large and mid-sized publishers, the kind of books they publish, how many books they publish each year and usually how many books by new authors they publish. Small publishers
are more likely to take your book than large ones but they also have fewer resources to help you
market the book.
I advise you pick the ones you think would be the best fit for your book, go to their website
and download their submission guidelines as well as the name of the person to send them to. Do
your research. Send to those who publish new authors and publish your genre.
Almost all require that you send a Query Letter and depending on the Publisher you send a few
pages or your entire manuscript. Your query letter is the one thing they will read. Large
publishing companies receive up to thousands a day. So spend whatever time you need to, to make
that letter one that will pique their interest so they will read at least part of your book.
Some publishers almost never publish a new author’s work. Most prefer proven authors. Most
also give a new author minimal help with marketing their book.
If you're fortunate and they do accept your book, you will receive a check up front and they will do all the
work of publishing it for you. They will suggest (and since all the money to publish your book is coming from them, they expect you to take their suggestions) changes they think will make your book more
salable. They may demand you make changes you don’t want to make.
They are likely to keep most of the rights to your book. You lose control
My research shows that for most new authors it takes AT LEAST five years from the time you start
this process until you hold your book in your hand.
Advantages of traditional publishers:
1. You don't spend any money getting your book published. In fact, you should get a check, usually about what the sales over the first few months will being them.
2. All the details of getting ISBN numbers, copyrights, book design, type setting, editing,
cover design and printing are done by the publisher.
3. They will do some marketing for you. Probably not much but some and you will have access to
their experience in planning your own marketing.
Disadvantages
1. For a new author, the check will be small and the marketing they will do won't be much.
2. They may require you rewrite things you don't want to or in a way that you don't agree with.
3. You may give up most of the rights to your book.
4. Your royalty for each book sold is small.
5. You will do most of the marketing for your book. Their budget for a new author's book is usually small.
If you do decide to submit to a traditional publisher:
1. Write a dynamite query letter
2. Check out writer's market and submit to publishers that are accepting books from new authors
and who are publishing your genre.
3. Download their submission guidelines from their site
4. Follow those to the letter.
5. Send it off and wait to hear from them.
I'll be posting pros and cons of other publishing alternatives over the next few days. Check
back so you can compare and decide what is best for you.
Check back. Over the next few days I'll post information on your other publishing options.
Bless you and keep writing! It is your soul's work. February 19 WRITING: INSPIRATION OR PERSPIRATION?
Of course, it’s both. Our best writing comes from inspiration. And You must do the
hard work that’s required.
Let me tell you how I do both:
First of all, for inspired writing, I have to have a pen and paper. I can’t write my
best at a computer. I wish I could. I hate the time it takes to get my writing from paper to
computer. But the muse sings to me when I sit with pen and paper. So I still do it the old
fashioned way.
First Create the Atmosphere that inspires you to write: Set up a place where you always write.
Make it attractive and comfortable. Putting a flower or a something you love in front of you can
help.
I found that one piece of music let the words flow more easily for me. Now any beautiful music
(no words, those you have to come up with) works for me. But in the beginning, it was Mike
Rowland's AND SO TO DREAM.
It’s gotten much easier for me to get to inspiration. But in the beginning, it was rare and not
easy. I found that I needed to go to my special place and turn on that certain piece of music.
With this combination I could write—it flowed from deep within and sometimes—once in awhile it
was truly beautiful.
That’s still my favorite way to write but now inspiration may come as I sit waiting to see my
doctor or as I’m driving to town.
Commitment is the key to both inspiration and perspiration. Keep trying different things until
you find what works for you. But in the beginning you must set aside time to write and write.
Sometimes it will be awful and can only be thrown away. But when you write even a sentence or
two that sings, you know you’ve found the secret. All you have to do is keep writing and it
will come oftener and oftener.
Writing in a supportive writing group also seems to call forth my best writing so if there is a
supportive writing group here, join it.
I don't worry about polishing while I write. If I can't think of the right work, I leave a blank
line or I circle a word that means about the same thing. I'll come back later and go to the
thesaurus and pick the word I want. But when I'm writing, I don't slow down to do research of
any sort--I just let the story flow. Editing and polishing are different functions than writing.
Don't try to do them all at once. Just write. Maybe someday, we'll be experienced enough and
good enough to do it all together--but for now--just write.
Find your own style. Don’t slavishly follow what anyone tell you. Break new ground. Do it
your way. Try rewriting one scene three totally different ways. Which flowed best? Which do you
like best when you read it?
Buy my book. It is inspiring. It is different. It will give you MANY ideas—sometimes things
you want to emulate and sometimes things you want to avoid at all costs. But it will help you.
Read! then read some more. You'll learn how to write better by observing how others write.
Sometimes reading something truly beautiful (That is often poetry for me) just before you write
will help you jump start your writing.
Next blog on writing will talk about perspiration. For right now, just try to get to the inspiration for when you do, you will truly come soar with me in the land of the writer.
Bless you,
Dr. Jeanne February 15 THE STEPS IN CREATING DREAMS
1. Get clear on what you want.
2. God always wants you to have what you want--always says "Yes, Thank you for asking. It is my joy to give you whatyour heart desires!” So the gift is always given. ALWAYS! That’s not your job. It’s done!!! Whatever you want truly wants you.
3. Recognize the blocks and remove them. If you don’t see your dream immediately, somehow you're blocking it. The moment you truly believe you have it and have made the growth you want to make it will be there!
4. Release it in great gratitude knowing that whatever it is you want is already on the way or something even better. And you are willing to do the work involved.
They are simple steps but not easy. Often we don't take time to get clear on what we want. Go back to one my earliest blogs for some ideas on getting clear. Until we get clear, we can't move toward having it. When we're really clear, we're willing to develop the disclipline and skills needed to have it.
The gift is always given. As soon as we're really ready.
The hardest and most time consuming part of this process is the growth needed. This is where our work is--our personal work to become the person who can live with this dream gracefully, confidently, and lovingly. If our dream was truly selfish and not in our own best interest, it is in this step that we come to know this. Ultimately we learn that when we ask "What is the most loving thing I can do?" we are truly on our way. I'll spend many blogs with ideas for personal growth. It is a lifelong task. That's why we keep on wanting (asking for more) because it keeps us reaching for our full potential. A wonderful place to start is Debbie Ford's book, THE DARK SIDE OF THE LIGHT CHASERS. It is full of great information and helpful exercises that help you do your work.
Once we make a step in our growth, we own that. Then it's time to learn something else. Like I said, life is perfect. Our very natures constantly pull us forward toward our Divinity. Toward the best we can be. Toward being more at one with God. Toward heaven.
And once our work is done, we let it go with great joy and gratitude. Gratitude for all we have learned. Gratitude for all the growth we've made. Gratitude for our dream and for knowing that with God we are a majority of two and there is nothing we can't do.
So please, get clear on what you want and delve into the growth work needed then you'll come soar with me in joy and blessedness.
Love,
Dr. Jeanne
February 11
Just in time for Valentine's Day, Tips for finding the love of your life or keeping the romance in your love.
WHERE IS THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE?
Is your dream having a love in your life that knocks your socks off and makes your days and nights soaring joy? That's a great dream to have. I promised you, I'd give you some inside tips on how to find that love! And if you already have a partner, these tips will help keep you more interesting and make your life with another happier and more solid.
A few years ago, I was alone and lonely. My first husband was dying and I was facing living the rest of my life alone. Or finding a new love. How did I do it? Where did I look?
First and most important, look within yourself. EVERYTHING (health, wealth, success, writing, and living the life you want) starts with our thoughts--our attitudes. Too often we look for love to fill a hole in our lives. That doesn't work and when it does, usually the romance doesn't last.
The first step is to love yourself and to build a life that you love now. By yourself. You'll be more interesting and more whole. A much better partner. And then you'll attract a much better partner.
When Ken found me, I loved my life. As Jack's health deteriorated (he had Parkinson's Disease), I started planning my life alone--planning for living my dreams. For years and years I'd dreamed of living right ton the beach. The ocean is my healer, my joy, my heart's home and my path to God. I bought a condo right on the beach and I took a writing class. My life was GOOD. It didn't need a partner to have a joyful life. But I wanted one to make it better!
In later blogs I'll talk about good places to meet people. But before you go out there looking, become a person who is whole and complete by yourself. When we're needy, we find needy people and to have a life of sheer joy, both people must be whole on their own.
Look at what you love to do. Listen to good music? You can do that alone. Walking the beach or the mountains, biking or hiking? You don't need a partner to do that.
Do what you enjoy and start building your life around those things. You'll be more interesting, more fun and you'll be happier. All of these will make you more attractive and more likely to find that special love.
When you do this, you'll find it easy to come soar with me!
Bless you,
Dr. Jeanne
February 07 BUILD HABITS EASILY AND QUICKLY
My first creative writing teacher just visited. We had a great time critiquing each other's work and meeting with my writing group.
She has written an article entitled TEN BY TEN. I didn't get to read it but this is the idea:
Anything that you do for ten straight days will train your body to do that easily.
If you want to write regularly but just can't do it, pick a time and sit down and write for even five minutes for ten days in a row and your body will feel comfortable doing it so it become easier and easier. I've found this absolutely true.
If you want to lose weight, change your eating habits (eat less and especially less of the empty calories and more of the veggies) for ten days and it will be a habit and easier every day. I've proved this one too.
If you want to exercise and just HATE it like I do, pick the exercise you want to do (for me that would be walking) and do it for a few minutes at the same time every day for ten days. Your body will start to walk out the door at that time. Well, almost.
If you want to meditate or pray every day, do it for ten straight days. You'll wonder how you ever got by without it.
You get the idea. Now the bad news:
Stop doing it for ten days (less if you haven't been doing it for a long time) and the habit of not doing it will be back. So it's important once you build the good habit to keep it up.
Decide what area of your life you'd like ot improve and then go for it--begin doing it every day and keep it up for ten days and watch yourself grow.
Bless you,
Jeanne February 02 YOU GROW THROUGH REACHING FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT
I’m going to ask you to suspend judgment while you reaad this and then think about it. To
be open to the possibility that everything I tell you is true.
The good news is: Your hopes, your dreams, and your desires are the stairway to growth-
-to becoming more than you've ever been before. The stairway to deeping who you are.
AND there is a price tag.
Life is so perfect. When we ask or wish for something or dream it, it doesn’t matter how
selfish or materialistic that wish seems. We will have to grow to become the person who can
be/do/have that dream. In the wish or dream is impetus to do the work our inner all-wise being
wants us to do. Did you get that? It doesn't matter whether your desire seems to be selfish, it
will impell you to growth.
Do you know what the other absolutely wonderful thing is? The more we desire, the more
we grow. The more we wish for, the more unique experiences are brought to us and we become more
than we ever would have been without that wish. And then we ask for something else—more
experiences, more growth, more becoming and more trust and faith until the whole process becomes
easier, faster and our magnificence glows.
That means it’s our responsibility to want more and to accept more so that we expand and
the Universe expands. There is plenty of everything for everyone! None of you sit here saying,
“I’d better hold my breath now so my neighbor has enough oxygen. You just let your body breathe
and trust there is plenty. There’s plenty of oxygen, there’s plenty of love, there’s plenty of
good jobs, there’s plenty of money—there is abundance EVERYWHERE!
God/Spirit/The One/The Universe—whatever name you choose to call THE SOURCE is longing to
give you everything you want. Trust me. That’s true.
I know many of us were taught to desire was selfish, greedy, and thoughtless. Not true!
Our wanting takes us further on our path—ever more in alignment with our callings; ever toward
our Divinity. So keep wanting! Enjoy asking and be supremely grateful as the answers pour in.
Itworks! Every time! I’ve proven it over and over in my life and so have you. We are
such marvelous creators! Over the next months, I'm going to share with you the tools for
creating with more purpose—creating more of what we want and less of what we don’t want. We
create every MINUTE. Actually every second. Our every thought creates or at least moves us
toward creating something or blocks our creating what we want.
We’ve all asked for many things we don’t get. Does that mean this works for some and not
for others? Does it work sometimes and not other times?
NO! The laws of this world always work! I just think there is more to it—we have to
grow and become the person ready to have that or be that. We have to do the inner work that our
desires require of us. When you've digested this and are ready to learn the steps that help us
grow into our magnificence, come back. I will be telling you more about how to do this in future
blogs. In the meantime, enjoy figuring out what it is you really want!
Blessings,
Dr. Jeanne
I HAVE A BOOK INSIDE
You bet you do! Everyone has a story to tell. Some are true; some are fiction. But we all have a story worth telling and worth reading.
So how do you get it from your brain to the paper or computer?
1. Write about what you know. You're the expert when you do and your writing feels real. It takes less research, and for me, at least, research is not the most fun part of writing.
2. Write with passion. That means writing about something you are passionate about. I am passionate about writing. It is nmore than a job or oa hobby. It is a calling I MUST write.
I am passionate about good health--mine and yours. So much of this blog will be about health and about writing.
And I am passionate about love and romance. So I write novels about love--love that shines and makes life a joy.
It isn't just the book that must be about passion. You must be passionate--every episode must soar.
3. Add some humor. If you can make your readers laugh and cry, they'll love you. The more feeling you can impart to your characters, the richer they'll be.
4. Don't avoid the tough issues--they make a character real.
To sum it up, you write what you love to write. That's the only way you'll be willing to sit down and write every day. It has to be enjoyable.
Remember, this life is precious, so write about what you love.
Your first assignment is to decide what you want to write about. Not just the overall plot but how you will develop it. How will you keep passionate throughout the writing.
The only really important thing is that you begin. Take out a pen and paper or sit down at your computer and begin. Soon you'll be soaring with me as your book or article develop. You can never do anything that will bring you more satisfaction. So, dear friend, begin today and write!
Blessings,
Dr. Jeanne February 01 You asked me to blog on the benefits (or not) of chocolate. Here it is. (I'll take a sec here to remind you, I welcome your comments on my blog and will try to answer questions and research topics if you ask for them. Chocolate. Most of us adore it! And consider it sinful. So what is the truth about chocolate? Is it the latest greatest health food or is it all a hoax? The cocoa in dark chocolate is rich in flavenoids not easily found in any other food. Flavenoids are antioxidants which help neutralize those bad guys--free radicals. Free radicals are often the chief cause of damage in disease. In cancer, sometimes the free radicals do greater damage than the growth itself. And in heart disease it is often the free radicals that are responsible for the cholesterol being deposited in the arteries. We know that it is very important to eat foods high in antioxidants to maintain health. Possible benefits of eating chocolate include: - Flavenoids prevent cholesterol from clinging to the blood vessels probably decreasing the risk of heart attacks
- Small quantities have been shown to lower blood pressure
- May decrease insulin resistance (helpful to hypoglycemics)
These wonderful antioxidants also prevent aging in the skin and in every cell of every organ. So they are desirable. So go out and load up on chocolate, right? No, you knew that was too good to be true. It has some disadvantages too. So you have to weigh the two. - Chocolate is packed with calories so for anyone who is overweight or fighting to maintain weight, this may not be the best choice. At the least, you'll have to cut down on calories from somewhere else if you add chocolate.
- Usually loaded with sugar. Sugar is a destroyer of health. (I'll be doing a whole blog on all the undesirable things sugar does.) For now, suffice it to say that when you eat chocolate that has sugar in it, you're getting a really heavy load of calories. And though we say we love chocolate, I'm not sure that's true. We love SWEET chocolate. Cutting sugar from your diet would benefit you far more than eating chocolate.
- There are a couple of solutions to this. Chocolate is available sweetened with xylitol which has 40% less calories than sucrose and is digested very slowly so it doesn't affect the blood sugar very much. So it may be a good alternative for diabetics and hypoglycemics.
- Chocolate is also available with isomaltulose. It is manufactured from sucrose and has the same amount of calories so a bar of chocolate with isomaltulose is going to give you a heavy dose of calories. Like xylitol, it digests slowly so does not affect the blood sugar significantly probably making it a alternative for diabetics and hypoglycemics also.
- I know you've all read the horror stories on sugar substitutes like NutriSweet and saccharine. Enough of them are true that we should all avoid them like the plague. The jury is still out on Splenda. Best to stick to one of the other alternatives.
- Apparently milk blocks our ability to utilize the flavenoids in dark chocolate so no milk chocolate and no glass of milk with your dark chocolate. (Not even a cup of coffee with milk added.
So as you might of suspected, chocolate has some benefits and some risks. Here are my conclusions: - START SLOW. It takes time for our bodies to build the ability to utilize xylitol. By starting slow, if you're going to have a negative reaction, you'll find it out more gently. Begin with one small bite for the first day or two then you can add a little more every two days.
- One small bar of dark chocolate (without sugar) is probably beneficial to most of us. There are exceptions. I can't eat that much and feel good. So I save it for a special treat. Listen to your own body.
- Avoid dairy with your chocolate
- There are many foods rich in flavenoids and I recommend you try to get as many of them in your diet as you can: most fruits (especially berries) vegetables, tea (black and green) dark red wine, red grapes, and pecans to name a few. Chocolate does not contain all the different kinds of flavenoids we need, so eat a healthy diet. That means lots of fruits and vegetables.
- Some processing methods do destroy the flavenoids in chocolate. Maybe some of you have research on which processes and brand that would be. I'd welcome your input. I think, though, that you need not buy the most expensive chocolates. Your local health food store should have a good quality with one of the acceptable sweeteners and may be cheaper than on line companies. If you have trouble finding one, email me and I'll get what information I have to you.
I welcome your suggestions for future blogs. And encourage you to get an account so you can leave comments. So far I haven't found a place where I can post a blot and you can leave comments without being a member. Sorry about that. If you learn of one, let me know. Have a wonderful day and COME SOAR WITH ME while we both enjoy a chocolate treat. Dr. Jeanne To contact me, click here send me an email. January 29 IT'S ALL IN THE ATTITUDE
To be on the way to better health, start reducing that total stress load (see previous blog) by changing how you think.
Your attitude is the one biggest influence on your health. You've heard this before, but do you believe it? It is a scientific fact that every thought we have affects every cell in our body.
I'd like you to think about a lemon. In your imagination, pick it up. Smell it. Now take a knife and cut a slice off of it. Put it in your moth and bite down. I can't do that without saliva flowing. There's nothing in your mouth--just the thoughts cause a whole cascade of physical reactions. You may have even puckered your mouth or shivered. That's one example of the power of thought.
What man has not become aroused by seeing a beautiful woman. The thought is all it took.
Scientists know that there are hundreds of filters between what is outside of us and what we are conscious of. The hypothalmus is the organ which does this wonderful service for us. We couldn't begin to be conscious of everything around us. Right now, you're probably not conscious of the chair you're sitting on--until I reminded you. But if that chair were to catch on fire, you'd remember soon enough. Our mind filters out most of the sounds, smells and sights around us--anything it doesn't consider important.
BUT, there is NO filter from the brain to the body. Everything is considered important and every thought, every feeling goes right through to the body.
After the loss of a spouse, a large per centage of people have a serious health problem within the first year. The stress caused it.
What you think EVERY second affects your health. Want to live a long time? Watch your thoughts. How many times have you said, "I'm sick, I'm tired, or even I'm sick and tired of"
or "I'd rather die than_______" "I'll proably catch a cold." Each of these thoughts sends a negative message to the body. And guess what, it helps you make that statement true.
I've heard it said that dis-ease cannot live where love is. I believe that we'd all be healthier if more of our thoughts were loving. Especially we need to love ourselves. We're usually more critical of ourselves than anyone else; beat up on ourselves more.
Laughter is also a great healer. There are testamonies of those who have healed themselves of cancer with laughter. Laugher massages many muscles and we don't know what all the other benefits are. We just know that laughter improves health. So watch a funny movie, read a funny book, spend time with people who love to laugh or read some good jokes. Do anything that brings laughter into your life.
So for yourself and all those who love you: love yourself, laugh a lot, spend your time doing what you love and weed out those negative thoughts.
THINK HAPPY AND GROW HEALTHY and you'll come soar with me to a life of greater health and joy.
Bless you,
Dr. Jeanne January 27 EVERY PERSON HAS A SONG
Every person has a song (or a story). Wayne Dyer says the saddest thing that could happen is to die with our song still within us. (Not an exact quote but close.)
Every person has a story! Probably a lot of stories. Whether your story is about your life, the life of an ancestor, someone well know or whether it is a work of fiction doesn't matter. Each of us has something very important to tell and no-one can tell it as well as you can. No One.
Proably no-one else can tell your story at all. So it's up to you! I'll try and help you get started. And finished. And everything in between. So hang around. But while you wait for the next blog, start thinking about where and when you'd like to write and what your story is.
I can tell you, holding your book in your hand is a thrill like no other. It is a profound moment that you will always remember. Worth every minute, every oounce of sweat and every bucket of tears.
Come soar with me and get ready to write your story. You're in for the ride of a lifetime!
Bless you,
Dr. Jeanne I'm sorry, I posted the following blog twice by mistake. Pleas ignore until I can figure out how to delete it. Thank you. WELCOME TO COME SOAR WITH ME
Your guide to making your dreams come true, good health and better writing.
Let’s get right to the meat. You can’t create your dreams until you know what they are. So your first task is to get clear on what you want.
Ask yourself, “What would I really like to have/do/be?” Think about it. Don’t be afraid to reach for the stars! You CAN do/be/have more than you think!
Once you’ve come up with what it is you want, ask yourself, “Is there anything even better that I’d like?” Reach higher! Reach for more joy! You can do it! Right now, don’t worry about how. We’ll work on that later. You’ll never achieve anything you don’t set as a goal.
Now, write it out in a positive statement as though it’s already done—as an affirmation.
For example: My book is finished, or My book is published or I have a new job I love or I just got a raise, or My health is getter better and better every day or the love of my life has found me. Use your own words, but you get the idea.
When you’re satisfied with your affirmation, write it on a 3 x 5 card. Read it every morning when you wake up and every night before you go to sleep. I know it sounds too easy, but it has been proven thousands and probably millions of times, that it works. When we do this, something happens that brings that dream closer to reality. Just by doing this simple thing.
So do it, then get ready to COME SOAR WITH ME! We’ll take this trip together.
Blessings,
Dr. Jeanne
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