The Little Dream

I would like to write about this great little book, The Little Dream that my friend Jeryl Tan Yu authored, and her sister Richelle Jerika Yu illustrated.

The Little Dream, relates the story of a little girl who struggles to find what she is good at. One day, listening to her heart, she discovers her dream and goes on to achieve it.

Very gently written, and warmly illustrated, this great inspirational children's book will open the heart of every kid and adult who reads it.

It is, for sure, an inspiration to me.

Now, this book is more than an inspirational story. It is also a vehicle of hope for cancer patients, as the money raised from this book will go to a non-profit organization for cancer support groups.

This book is like a little sunshine that will bring hopes and smiles to every child and adult who reads it, and to cancer patients in the Philippines. It goes on sale July 15th, 2010.

Shock, and Life Crisis

I just turned 27 a few days ago, and it broke me down. I am still a student, have no work, no money, no successes. I was ashamed of myself beyond measures I could have imagined. From black hopelessness, some of it turned into anger. I decided that by the time I was 30 I would be financially independent, and living my life with purpose.


A few days later, I needed a break from studying for finals, and went to Borders. There I stumbled upon a book by Jack Canfield, "The Success Principles."


Since I have nothing to loose, and I really want to turn my life over, I decided to apply some of his principles to my life.
Yesterday, I started with the "Total Truth Letter" exercise and had some success with it. It seems that it released a lot of energy since I later was able to finish a number of tasks without even being tired (Usually I give up in the middle of one of those "chores").


Today, I felt down and blue again, and I realized that there was still some anger and resentment, particularly towards myself. I really hate myself for all the undecidedness and fear that prevent me from moving and being able to make choices. While I don't think I have completely come to term with this issue, I decided to commit myself (100%, no exception) to remembering all of my past successes followed by "The Forgiveness Affirmation", everyday, for a period of 13 weeks.


Even if I do not know what I want, even if I do not know how to achieve anything, to the least, these affirmation should help break my self defeating habits, and empower me with more confidence!


I want to change, and I will make myself change!

"Life Energy"

I was reading some articles on the net about new technologies used for cell imaging, and techniques used to measure a cells vibrational frequencies (Read these two really interesting articles from MIT if you are interested in the subject: (3D cell imaging, vibrating cells).

Anyway, I stumbled upon a more theoretical question in physics, "Are we seeing energy changing into matter on Earth?"

Basically the answer is yes. Take a coin, flip it, measure its weight. The flipping coin has more weight than the resting coin. No matter has been "added", it is just heavier because of the higher energy.

I was about to look at other articles when I made the connection with something I was told some years ago.

Apparently (but I do not know if the experiment has been replicated) a physician measured the weight of patients before and right after they died. The results indicated that on average a human loses 21 grams the second it dies.

I was wondering if this loss of weight could be due to a loss of energy??? Nothing else changes at the instant of death, so could the change in mass be simply due to less energy? Could this be called "life" energy? (the energy that differentiates a living tissue from a dead one?)

Health Benefits of Bananas

Yesterday my mom sent me an article in French about the health benefits of bananas. I didn't know bananas could be that healthy!

(picture)

Here are some health benefits of bananas:

1. For Students

First and foremost, what interests me as a student relates to having good grades. A study was done in England on 200 students who had to eat bananas for breakfast, lunch, and as a snack. Apparently, the grade average improved, and the research argues that the potassium contained in the bananas could be the explanation. Potassium improves concentration and alertness. (I tried to find the study, but wasn't able too...)

2. Bowel Movement

This part actually surprised me a lot. I grew up being taught that bananas can really make you constipated. So when I read about the students who had to eat at least 3 bananas a day, I was really worried about their bowel movements.

Well, it seems that contrary to what I had been taught, bananas actually promote smooth bowel movements!

After further research on the internet I found that bananas are very often used as a mild laxative.

(An Indian suspect in India was enven forced to eat 50 bananas as a laxative. See this article from BBC).

3. General Health

Potassium in bananas also help with muscle growth and lowers blood pressure, vitamin B6 regulates blood glucose levels, and iron contributes to a good anemic number.

4. Mental Health

Bananas have been shown to reduce depression symptoms as well as seasonal disorders.

With so many health and mental benefits, I think that eating bananas is sure way to stay healthy could be the highlight of the day for anyone on a diet :-)

PS: Never put the bananas in the refrigerator!

What Should I Do with my Life

I was reading a book I found at the UCLA bookstore: What Should I Do with My Life, by Po Bronson.

I would like to quote a passage that I liked in answer to the question, "What is the good life?"

"To so many of the students coming through here, the good life is a house with a detached garage big enough for a Land Rover that can cary their three kids to the mall."

"Not to Aristotle. The good life wasn't something you owned, it was the skills you mastered. The good life wasn't to own a big home, but to aspire to being a master builder. Not to have three kids and a fluffy dog, but to aspire to be a great parent."

For some reason, I feel that living in such a way brings integrity back to work, and back to life.

Get Back in Shape

I am enjoying Kendo practice, but I think I would enjoy it much more if I could get back in shape first. Right now I have difficulty completing the arm up exercises. And then I am muscle sore for the next 3 days. I was thinking that it would be nice to finish the warm ups, and still have some energy left :-)

So, my goal for a while is to train until I am able to finish the warm ups.