Spirituality in Healing and Medicine

The emotion associated with heart attack is hostility.

I love this video. It makes so many important points.
The doctor says that the side-effects of Prolexa are the same symptoms for which it is prescribed.
He talks about a medical school course called the healing art ... and the healing power of Love. Well, call it unconditional positive regard.
He mentions Little Miss Sunshine --- listen to what Olive says. (It is her presence.)
Focus on one and it becomes still. We see things as they truly are. (Clear the clutter)
To see the cow in the snowball, be still. "Then you can connect with the beaty."
Some of the most powerful influences on health.
Spirituality in medicine ... touch on that which is somewhat fearful.
There's your absolute; there's my absolute.

Romantic Love is a Drive

Oh the pain, oh the suffering of love
Romantic love ...

Some quotes:

Plato: "The God of Love lives in a state of need."
She wants the medical and the legal communities to understand this.
Ethologists know that animals have preferences
Animal attraction can be instant
There is love at first sight
Brain center of intense romantic love still become active after 25 years
Why one person rather than another?
There will always be magic to love

What you MUST Know if You're Taking a Cruise

What You MUST Know If You’re Taking a Cruise (and boy are the rates going down now!)
Author: Susan Dunn, Personal and Professional Development Coach

Being a coach, I speak on cruises. I took my first cruise about 8 years ago. I asked a friend who’d cruised a lot what I needed to know and she said, "Nothing. Just have fun." I disagree. Having cruised many times since then, I’d like to pass on some tips to help you enjoy your cruise more.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL INSURANCE

Medicare doesn’t cover expenses incurred outside the US. Many insurance plans provide little or no coverage for international or out-of-network travel medical expenses. Find out about yours before you go. Then fill in the gaps with travel insurance.

The most expensive thing can be what's called "medi-vac" - say like taking you by helicopter from Belize to the US, or flying you (and you must have a nurse attendant) first-class on a plane back to the US.

Also investigate:

1.Insurance to cover cancellations and interruptions, and cost of delayed or lost baggage

2.Financial Default Coverage for financial failure of airline, cruise line or tour operator

3.Terrorism Coverage for reimbursement if you cancel trip due to terrorist incident in departure city or itinerary city

4.Medical Evacuation Coverage, Medical Reunion and Return of Mortal Remains, all of which can be very costly.

PACKING

Pack the "little" things because the lack of them gets "big" on a trip. Ear plugs, aspirin, hang-nail clippers, bandages or Neosporin will cost you 5 times as much and also waste hours of pleasure time while you search for them.

Take along a small basic first-aid kit and comfort kit. This should include something like DEET unless you fancy Dengue fever or such. Yes, the ship has an infirmary, but it’s a long trip down there, and an expensive one. Yes, these articles will be available in most ports, but the prices are really jacked up and -- again -- it's about time.

Think of things you use over a week’s time: antihistimine, eyedrops, lotion, aloe Vera, anti-diarrhea medication, hair dryer, needle and thread.

If it’s important to you, bring it. The last cruise I was on supplied numerous toiletries, but no hair dryer.

WARDROBE

Formal night! It’s the reason some cruise. It’s the reason some won’t.

Let me set your mind at ease. If you don’t want to go to formal night, you can avoid it. Most cruises have a casual buffet option with delicious food every night, 24 hour hot dogs and pizza, and 24 hour room service.

If you want to participate in formal night, tux rental is available – http://www.cruiselineformal.com . Most ships keep some inventory onboard, but it’s best to order early. There are usually tailors on board.

What will others be wearing? The last cruise I went on, I saw very few tuxes. What do you see? Everything. Western formal, including the cowboy hat and boots, dark suits, nice slacks and coats. Cocktail dresses for women, pantsuits, prom dresses. Total white zoo suits for men.

The Captain’s Cocktail Party or Reception is another chance to dress, mix and mingle if you like. It is also completely optional. Dress is generally dark suits for men, and cocktail dresses for ladies.

It’s slippery on deck, so bring some good gripping shoes. Don’t try and break in a new pair of shoes on your vacation. Some excursions require a lot of walking, and so does getting around on the ship. You will have forgotten how one good blister on your heel can ruin your vacation.

Day wear is resort casual. No need to spend a fortune on clothes unless you want to. Some cruise lines provide bathrobes, or bring your own for poolside and dining in buffet. Rarely does one see blue jeans for some reason, but anything else goes. Some people who cruise a lot, take along things they are about to get rid of. They wear them one day, then give them away to people at the ports. Then they have an empty suitcase for all the things they buy to bring back.

If you get a sunburn, or if you want protection, bring along a light shirt with long sleeves.

Hot tubs often contain enough bromide to bleach out your bathing suit and also relax the elastic. Bring an old suit, or an inexpensive one if you plan to sit in the hot tub a lot.

LUGGAGE

Between airline, dock and ship, it’s unrealistic to assume nothing will happen to your luggage. Common sense would dictate buying the most sturdy and least expensive baggage you can find, i.e., don’t give a crystal goblet to a toddler and then be "surprised" it gets broken. You'll also have to juggle this conundrum - strict limits to baggage on airlines, just about no limit to baggage on a cruise ship.

PHOTOGRAPHS: AN UNDERUSED OPPORTUNITY

They want to sell photos! Photographers are operating nightly, with various backgrounds (including traditional), black and white as well as color. They are pleased to photograph you as many times, in as many ways, as you like. If you’re in need of a new professional head shot, bring along your suit. (For your own photos, if you should happen not to have your camera you can buy one on the ship or shore - again at a pretty price.

HEALTH

You don’t have to gain 20 lbs. unless you want to. Cruises offer tracks, workout rooms, exercise programs, dancing, lite menus, low-calorie menu options, low-fat desserts, salad bars, and plenty of active excursions ashore, including just plain vigorous walking.

You can also do the thing you do at home to effortlessly increase your activity level. Take the stairs instead of using the elevators. Get up and get your own drinks. Offer to get people seconds at the buffet. Volunteer to go back to the room for forgotten items. If you consider the size of a cruise ship -- up and down as well as lengthwise, it should occur to you how long a walk it might be from your room to the pool. Then to the room to change. Then to the dining room.

Susan Dunn, MA, The EQ Coach, http://www.susandunn.cc . Coaching, distance learning courses and ebooks around emotional intelligence for your personal and professional development. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for free ezine. Susan is the author of "How to Get to Present on a Cruise," Become a certified EQ coach. Start tomorrow, no residence requirement.

Susan coaches by phone, email, and in her D. C. office which is conveniently located to all suburbs and the Metro.

The Erotic Love Letter

Bright Star - first love burns brightest? "Together they rode a wave of romantic obsession."

As someone who coaches people of all ages, and is also a Dating Coach, I would like to say that maybe the last love burns even brighter. Perhaps like a star moving on?

From a kids' astronomy site:

There are several different kinds of stars in the sky. Some are very big. A couple have been found that are 100 to 200 times bigger than the sun. At the end of their lives these large stars can stretch themselves out past the orbit of the planet Uranus.

If you are an older person in love, and feel like you are stretching out past the orbit of the planet Uranus, think of this compared to Keats writing that he felt he was "dissolving."

Keats agreed to teach Fanny Brawne poetry ... and a love affair began. The movie critics have noted that while it is "only words," the movie is "incredibly erotic."

They're having a contest for love letters. I love it because (1) you can enter a hand-written love letter OR (2) a tweet.

Enter and win! Love and win! If you're afraid to love, feel like you're holding back, have a commitment-thing, or just need dating coaching, email me - sdunn@susandunn.cc. I specialized in helping singles over 40 find their True Love. I coach by email, phone, and in my office in the D.C. area.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The UNempowered Parent

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The UNempowered Parent

Brain Cactus for the Brain Coach

Just got this from my sister - a brain cactus for Halloween. Perfect for me since my specialty field is emotional intelligence, aka, Neuroaffective Science.

Yes, Emotional Intelligence is about the triune brain - the reptilian brain, the limbic brain, and the neocortex. The neocortex is the one that has "the left brain" and "the right brain."

How these brains all work together is about balance ... is about wellness ... is about resolving internal conflict ...

Now, one word you've been hearing more about all the time is INTUITION. In fact I talked to a psychiatrist the other day about the topic - how it used to ALWAYS be linked with "female intuition." He sighed and said, "I wish I had it."

Well you hear that GPS is "intuitive" (actually it's more "right brain") and there's ow a perfume, and you name it. But what IS intuition? How do you get it? Does everyone have it? How do you differentiate it from wishful thinking?

It's important that you learn, develop and understand the emotional intelligence competencies, and believe you me, they are misunderstood. Take this clip about "positive thinking" I got in the email bad today:

Beware of too much positive thinking.

Focusing on what you want is great, but ignoring potential downsides will lead to trouble eventually. Most people didn't see the credit crunch coming - certainly not the banks or the government. So every so often, do a 'minesweep' of your plans. Ask yourself "What could go wrong? How can I minimise that risk?"

No! No! That's now what "positive thinking" is. "Learned optimism" is the facilitator of all the EQ competencies, but it isn't "positive thinking" and it isn't what this guy is talking about.

What is it? How can you increase your EQ? Take THE EQ COURSE. It's fascinating. In fact most people call it "the missing piece."

P.S. Learned optimism is about attribution. Want to learn more? email me at sdunn@susandunn.cc . You'll love learning neuroaffective science, learning more about how your brain works, and what to "do" about emotions.

The UNempowered Parent

Parenting coaching is often about empowering adults, empowering parents to get back in charge, and that's a sad fact.

The article about Astro Boy includes -- "another story about a boy who knows more than the adults around him." And we wonder why the problems with this generation!

I do volunteer work with at-risk teens, and beyond the obvious things you would imagine, I find their parents are often "clueless." More than that, sometimes "helpless and hopeless." Somehow they've lost control and it's gotten out-of-hand. For instance, instead of preventing fights between siblings, or stopping them, they call the cops. Teens -- since the beginning of time -- THINK they do know more than adults, but never until this time-period have we had children's literature that supports this ridiculous notion.

If a kid can't count on the adults in his/her life to guide him/her, then they are truly in never-never land. And usually very anxious. That's waaaaay too much power for a teen.

Brain science tells us that the neocortex, the part of the brain that allows us to THINK -- to problem-solve, to consider consequences, to delay impulses and gratification, to anticipate worst-case scenarios, to plan ahead, to be accountable -- is not fully developed in human beings until early adulthood - in the 20s.

Or put another way -- that part of the brain that keeps us lying awake at night worrying isn't there for teens. (Alert the press!) That's why it's called "the bullet-proof age."

I ask every young teen boy the old thing about 'If Mike Tyson made you that mad would you hit him?' and they jump right on it -- "Yes, for sure I'd hit him." And they go on and on about how they've been insulted, or their Mother's been insulted, and disrespect and all that.

Let's face it - all teens are defiant, rebellious, and oppositional. It's part of growing up. It's important that you maintain your position of authority and guidance so you can be there for your child at this critical juncture.

Do you monitor what your kid reads? What movies they see? That's part of it.

If you need Parenting Coaching, contact me - sdunn@susandunn.cc. It's one of the many types of coaching I do.

Check out the great new website by astrologer Nancy Fenn about zodiac trait sign compatibility. It's about zodiac-traits compatiblity - what sign works best for you and how the relationship will go. It's getting raves: www.zodiac-traits.com.

Can Emotional Intelligence Save Robin?

"Interestingly, this mirrors what is done in the most sophisticated research studies on emotional intelligence and empathy," says writer Jeremy Clyman, in Reel Therapy: Unraveling the Mind Through Film, talking about Robin.

Here's an excerpt from HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER:A CURE FOR NARCISSISM

When the time comes for intimacy with Robin his defenses flare up. A lifetime of doing this over and over again has led to an emotional IQ that is in the tank. Barney knows his own emotions as well as a distant, fourth cousin, twice removed. Here, is where the "cure" begins to surface. Ted attempts to raise the level of his emotional management abilities by teaching him how to identify what emotion is currently being expressed, both in himself and others. As far as others are concerned, the window into emotions is the human face. The better you can read the flashes of facial motions, the better you can mind-read the emotional state. Ted shows Barney pictures of Robin's emotional states, specifically the facial expressions. Interestingly, this mirrors what is done in the most sophisticated research studies on emotional intelligence and empathy.

If you'd like to improve your emotional intelligence (EQ), so it isn't a 4th cousin once removed ;-) contact me. Coaching on-site, in my D. C. office, by telephone, email. Interactive Internet courses available.

Learning EQ online is cheaper and more effective

As you know, my online EQ course was one of the first in the field to be offered. Emotional Intelligence is about common sense, and commen sense would tell you it is more efficient and less costly to take an online course. In this case it is also more effective.

With years of experience in delivering this material on the Internet (with email and phone support available), I KNOW that it works. My coach training and certification program is also totally long-distance.

But for those who doubt ... and maybe the bottom line is CHEAPER. If you're reading for online coaching and learning, and coach training and certification, email me now at sdunn@susandunn.cc .

Now, US Department of Education research shows that not only is online learning less costly it is more effective.

People are already waking up to the fact that they can learn online at a fraction of the cost of traditional means; the next realization is that they might be able to learn better. The U.S. Department of Education, with the help of research organization SRI, just completed a 12-year study on online education that concluded: “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” This is not yet commonly accepted wisdom, but things are changing quickly. What makes me so sure web-based instruction will eclipse more traditional methods? Three things: the web offers rich opportunities for collaborative learning, it allows for almost infinite customization, and it’s cheaper than pulling people into a physical classroom.

link: How Web Technology Is About to Change How We Learn – NYTimes.com

It's time for seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

Be Aware - It's time for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) affects about 5% of us severely and perhaps 25% of us more mildly. Women and young adults are more likely to suffer from it.

It’s a form of depression that, according to the National Mental Health Association (NMHA), is a real illness with sometimes severe symptoms. It’s worse in January and February, though starts as early as September.

SAD is believed to be caused by melatonin, a sleep-related hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain. Melatonin production increases in the dark, so in the winter, when the days are shorter and darker, production increases, causing symptoms of depression.

SAD is extremely rare for people living within 30 degrees of the Equator, where daylight hours are long and extremely bright.

THE SYMPTOMS?

Sleep problems, lethargy, overeating, depression, social problems, anxiety, loss of libido, mood changes, and a weakened immune system. For complete description, go here: http://www.sada.org.uk/symptoms.htm .

THE CURE?

Light suppresses the secretion of melatonin, so for lighter cases, get outside more, exercise outside, and arrange for more light at work and at home.

Phototherapy has been helpful in more severe cases. A light box can be used that emits very bright light through a filter.

Please check with your personal physician if you think you have SAD.

©Susan Dunn, MA, EQ coaching, http://www.susandunn.cc , mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc . Individual coaching, business programs, EQ Alive! #1 rated program to increase your EQ – simple, no memorizing, it works. Email for information, and free ezine.

Krispy Kreme: A Cautionary Tale

This article about Krispy Kreme, about McDonalds, about investing ... is full of "just plain common sense."

The tragedy of Krispy Kreme

From the article:

Krispy Kreme stock hit a high of about $49 in 2003. Then it started on a long downward spiral, losing about 90% of its value.

This company had problems that had nothing to do with its doughnut recipe. It over-expanded and took on crushing debt. There were allegations of management misconduct. Some franchises went bankrupt. Competition was fierce in the cheap eats category. More people started consuming healthy foods.

The company even got some good press recently, if you want to call it that. A new junk-food craze involves a bacon cheeseburger sandwiched between two Krispy Kremes (Original Glazed). It weighs in at 1,500 calories, give or take a few.

So, taking the common sense investing strategy to its illogical conclusion, what about McDonald’s (MCD)?

You hate it, right? Everybody says they do. Nutritionists condemn it as a major cause of the American obesity crisis. Fat teens have tried to sue it for damages. French farmers demonstrated when it started expanding its presence there. In India, people rioted -- all because of a little fib about what those French fries were fried in.

McDonald’s will announce its latest quarterly earnings on October 22, when it's expected to report earnings of $1.10 per share on revenues of $6.09 billion. The company’s sales grew 4.5% last year.

... the common sense investing strategy ... Forget about everything you understand, think is new or wonderful, or ought to take the world by storm.

Instead, watch what everybody else is doing.

Pretty soon, what they’ll be doing at The Louvre in Paris is eating at the city’s newest McDonald’s restaurant. They probably needed one because those on the nearby Rue de Rivoli and Champs Elysee are always overcrowded.

Falling into Fall in D. C.

It's great to be quoted in TIME magazine. Here's the article on HUGS.

Meanwhile, it's fall in the D. C. area. I can tell cuz my allergies are driving me nuts! Just moved here so I'm marveling at it all - a crisp wind, leaves falling from trees, colored leaves, pumpkin patches all over the place, and the great urge to make my homemade soup with homemade biscuits!

I am busy fixing up my D. C. Office and planning for a fall seminar on Emotional Intelligence. Let me know if you're interested!

Job Security and Emotional Intelligence

Author says emotional intelligence is key to job security

and we agree!

To learn more about emotional intelligence, take THE EQ COURSE or sign on for some EQ coaching. You won't regret it!

Some quotes from the article:

With the United States in an ongoing unemployment crisis, two authors have offered strategies to help you keep your job.

“Fifty-eight percent of job performance is affected by emotional intelligence,” said author Travis Bradberry during a telephone interview with The Herald-Mail.

Bradberry said emotional intelligence is more than just feelings. It involves understanding and managing your emotions and the emotions of others. This has an impact on many aspects of life, including working.

“A person with the ability to understand emotions in the moment, to use that awareness to manage behavior, to read the emotions of other people and use those things to manage relationships is someone who is highly emotionally intelligent,” Bradberry said. “It’s a skill that helps you hang onto your job these days.”

“Learning about emotional intelligence teaches you to roll with the punches, understand your emotions, understand the emotions of other people and how to approach tasks more efficiently,” Bradberry said, “It arms you with the tools to navigate those situations.”

Local managers contacted for this story agreed that customer service is important in their workplaces.

Bill Sonnik, director of the Human Resources Department of Washington County said he believes individuals who display higher emotional intelligence will be more successful in the workplace.

Karen Cook, assistant manager of Gap Outlet at Prime Outlet Center, south of Hagerstown, said she is more likely to hire an employee who is more emotionally aware and can read the people around them.

She said physical cues include smiling (indicating satisfaction), crossing arms (unhappiness or concern) or squinting eyes (unhappiness or concern).

“You can’t turn an emotion on or off. All you can do is choose what to do in response to it,” he said.