Hope & Change

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Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Hope & Change

Still I Rise - Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Today WE ALL RISE

PRAYER

The advice we provide here was originally written for a children's book. However, whether you are a child, young person or an adult, prayer is easier than you might imagine! Millions of people of every age pray every day.

You don't have to know any prayers if you want to pray - in fact, words can often get in the way. Picture Jesus, and then say what is in your heart, what you feel.

Remember!
God hears every prayer - but not all prayers are answered in the way we might expect or desire: we don't always pray for his will to be done!

'Arrow' Prayers
can be offered to God anywhere, at any time.

But thankfully we don't live all our lives in moments of extreme crisis. What about day-to-day praying? We need to come closer to God, to experience His love for us and to try to make sense of where we are in the world. Prayer is the way we do this.

How to start?

Use your hand.
Your fingers can be used to bring to mind different things to pray for.

thumb
this is the strongest digit on your hand. Give thanks for all the strong things in your life, like home and family, relationships that support and sustain you.

index finger
this is the pointing finger. Pray for all those people and things in your life who guide and help you. Friends, teachers, doctors, nurses, emergency services and so on.

middle finger
this is the tallest finger. Pray for all the important people who have power in the world, like world leaders and their governments, members of parliament and local councillors, the Royal Family, other world leaders and their governments.

ring finger
this is the weakest finger on your hand. It can not do much by itself. Remember the poor, the weak, the helpless, the hungry, the sick, the ill and the bereaved.

little finger
this is the smallest and the last finger on your hand. Pray for yourself.

When should I pray?

Traditionally, prayer times have been morning and evening, but you can choose a time which is best for you. It helps to be somewhere quiet, where you can have some time for yourself.

Do I have to kneel?

Kneeling is the traditional posture for penitence and standing for praise, but you can pray anywhere - walking, standing, sitting, whatever feels comfortable.

What else do I need to know?

Be creative - use music, a stone, a feather, a flower, or a candle to help you focus - if you are very young, or elderly, be careful with candles!

Prayer activity is a discipline - it can be difficult at times, just like keeping fit, being on a diet, or keeping weeds down in the garden! Little and often is best, but don't give up! No prayer, however inadequate you may feel it to be, is ever wasted or of no value.

What next?

Build up a collection of favourite prayers and sayings -anything that speaks to you. You can find them in greeting cards, cuttings in the press or bookmarks and prayer cards. You could make a scrapbook for them.

Visit your local church bookshop and have a browse. Most cathedrals have shops with good resources.

Here are some books you might find helpful. The first two are designed for children, young people and families, but they contain very powerful material which is ideal for adults who are new to praying.

Pocket Prayers for Children - Christopher Herbert, pub NS/CHP 1993,
When You Pray - Gilling/Evans, pub Darton Longman &Todd (1995)
Praying through Life - Stephen Cottrell, pub NS/CHP 1998
Confirmation Prayer Book - Stephen Lake, pub SPCK 2002

Stress Hygiene

All of us have been worried about the global economic situation, money, the weather as well as out own more personal issues. So revisiting stress seems appropriate.


on Waking coffee, some carbohydrate, a little conversation,
10:00am-11:00am Buy a bagel, some liquid and a pack of muffins -
Put your hands behind your head and stretch backwards clenching up the whole of your body breathing in to the count of five. Hold for one second and then slowly release while breathing out to the count of five. The re-orientate and go on with your day.

1:00pm: Do the seated exercise above Sit on seat with your hands on the seat of the chair. Pump your feet one at a time. Breathe in and tense up your body and push with your hands up and away from the seat. This can be done at any seat - including taking a break from driving

4:00pm: Eat a bran muffin breathe as at 10:00am

6:00pm thru 9:00pm: with dinner, conversation, mull over some weekend plans Watch TV go for a walk. Do the seated exercise while you watch TV as well as massage the back of your neck:


Bedtime: Take a shower, look at email/ read a book/ watch TV, then get into bed.
With light on or off put your body at a 45 degree angle. Put your hands behind your head and breathe in to count of five, hold for one and then breathe out to count of five. Repeat five times. Sleep

Think of a picture or event in your life that you can describe to someone you care about - try to do this before you ask any questions .... the idea is to get to talk with you about what has been experienced - to share.
Every other weekend plan a small outing that you could do.

NB Do not ask any question or seek any information that you can't handle. Concentrate on YOU becoming at home with yourself and establishing your own sense of home within.

Pick up on an activity that is just yours. And make a list of three things that you wished you had done before the age of 14yrs. Can be something as simple as back packing ..... don't be too thoughtful. This is about fun.

1. Remember, do some simple stretches several times a day. If you have time, say when watching TV, breathe in to the count of five while tensing muscles from fingers and toes up to shoulders - hold your breath for one second - then exhale, release breath, and let muscles relax for count of five. Let your shoulders slump forward. Slowly uncurl and notice how your body feels.

2. An easy quick exercise program - under twenty minutes a session at home with no equipment, 5BX. Adapt the more elaborate stretches to do under the massaging water of a shower. Start with hot water - stretch - and then gradually cool the temperature to a refreshing level.

Exercises

Death By Flu Med!!!

Many of us saw the Finale of House, when Amber dies, May 20th 2008. The science behind the show is accurate ~you CAN risk dying ........
Amantadine can result in serious complications, even if an overdose or poisoning was not to take place, the side effects alone are disturbing enough.

Amantadine, an antiviral drug that has been approved by the FDA in fighting influenz a, has many side effects and overdose effects.

So think carefully before you think of short term relief .......

Amantadine (flu medication) for anti-viral therapy blocks the M2 protein which prevent viral uncoating, which in turn inhibits the replication of the virus. Amantadine is a drug that is poorly regulated by the human body and most, approx 90% get excreted in its original form through the kidneys. However in patients with renal problems this can result in increasing circulation of the drug. As the toxicity leave is reached the symptoms include confusion, depression, aggressive, jittery, nausea, hypotension, and congestive heart failure. It is also noted that the patients may have exhibit ataxia, and hallucinations.Amantadine can cause Rhabdomyolysis, which I believe played a part in an earlier episode of House. Rhabdomyolsis is often a complication in crush/traumatic injuries, where muscle tissue breaks down causing an overload of myoglobin at levels that become toxic to the kidneys.

Treatment for Rhabdomyolysis is dialysis. Cut and dried, once diagnosed. The diagnosis is the tricky part.

Treatment for Amantadine poisoning is far more problematic, as it is an anticholinergic in some of its effects. Severe effects on the CNS are the results. Some effectiveness with intravenous physostigmine has been shown, but its dicey at best.

Declining effectiveness of amantadine

Early in the 2005/2006 flu season, the United States' Center for Disease Control [CDC] found rates of amantadine resistance to be much higher than in previous seasons. Looking at samples from 26 states yielded the following findings:

A total of 193 (92.3%) of 209 influenza A(H3N2) and 2 (25%) of 8 influenza A(H1N1) viruses analyzed contained point mutations resulting in a serine-to-asparagine change at amino acid 31 (S31N) of the M2 protein that conferred amantadine resistance.

A resistance rate of 92% for the major flu strain was called "alarmingly high". The CDC issued an alert to doctors not to prescribe amantadine any more for the season. Among some Asian countries, A/H3N2 and A/H1N1 resistance has reached 100%.

~Tamiflu .....

Tamiflu, the anti-viral drug manufactured by the Swiss Roche Holdings, is the only neuraminidase inhibitor approved for the treatment of influenza in the United States. Tamiflu treats influenza by trapping the influenza virus in cells that are already infected. It is approved for use on children over one year and on adults who have had symptoms for less than two days.

The first concerns raised about Tamiflu related to skin reactions. By December 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had received reports of severe, and sometimes fatal, skin reactions and allergic reactions. These included 24 cases of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a potentially fatal skin condition caused by an allergic reaction to a drug, and 14 cases of erythema multiforme, a similar condition. There were also several cases of anaphylactic reactions, including 17 cases of potentially deadly anaphylactic shock. These reactions caused three deaths in adults. On December 21, 2005, the FDA required an update to the Tamiflu label warning about these reactions.

So think carefully before you think of short term relief .......
Again, with all medical advice - seek professional care and information. Be aware - be safe.

Talk to your OB/GYN ~

A younger woman was talking to us about this ....... if you are suffering then consider it.


Say No More with the NovaSure procedure, the quick, safe and simple one-time treatment with No Hormones and No Hysterectomy. NovaSure can treat excessive bleeding so that you can go on with your life.

Breathing again .......

The Four Stages of Breathing in Yoga

1. Puraka (Inhalation)

A single inhalation is termed Puraka. It is a process of drawing in air and is expected to be smooth and continuous. If a person should pause one or more times during the process of a single inhaling, the process might be spoken of as a broken Puraka rather than as a series of Purakas.


2. Abhyantara Kumbhaka (Pause After Inhaling) Full Pause

Kumbhaka consists of deliberate stoppage of flow of air and retention of the air in the lungs, without any movement of lungs or muscles or any part of the body and without any incipient movements. A beginner may experiment by using some force to keep such pause motionless. Quite elaborate instructions and techniques have been worked out for this purpose.


3. Rechaka (Exhalation)

The third stage, Exhalation, is called Rechaka. Like inhalation, it too should be smooth and continuous, though often the speed of exhaling is different from that of inhaling. Normally, muscular energy is used for inhaling whereas exhaling consists merely of relaxing the tensed muscles. Such relaxing forces air from the lungs as they return to a relaxed condition. Muscular effort may also be used for both inhalation and exhalation. You can force air out with muscular effort like when you sit or stand erect with your abdominal muscles under constant control. When you deliberately smoothes the course of your breathing and hold the cycle in regular or definitely irregular patterns, you are also likely to use muscular energy at each stage, including the pauses. However, in a condition of complete relaxation, you should expect to exert some effort for inhalation.


4. Bahya Kumbhaka (Pause After Exhaling) Empty Pause

The Fourth Stage of Breathing, the pause after exhaling, is also called kumbhaka, especially when the stoppage is deliberate or prolonged. This empty pause completes the cycle which terminates as the pause ends and a new inhalation begins.