Life, Health & Home


Find Your Strengths and Use Them!


SANTA ROSA, CA. - Quick!


Think


of something you do right consistently! Have you driven a few years without a ticket or accident? Do you recognize and name people you haven’t seen in a long time? Do you have a flair for picking colors that go together? Are you the go-to-person when someone is having trouble with a loved one? Where are those places in your life where you regularly experience success?


Was that easy to do?


Often, when people are asked the question about strengths, we pause and seem dumfounded. But just ask me about my failings or weaknesses and I can blast off with generalities and specifics, right now.


Think about it: when someone says you look great do you quickly return the comple- ment (ricochet!) or lessen it by mentioning something that isn’t working (“I didn’t sleep well


last night” or “This ole thing, I’ve had this forever.”)? When some- one


comple-


ments your memory do you coun- ter with,


“I


locked myself out of my car again last week”?


Somehow we often find it


easier to acknowledge our fail- ings than to calmly and truthfully accept and relate those things we’re good at doing. Well let’s knock it off!! First


by Chance Massaro powcom@sonic.net


Worse, whenever we talk about an injury or difficulty in the past our brains signal the release of hormones identical to those we experienced when the problem originally occurred. So it’s pret- ty clear; talking about problems perpetuates the body’s “problem response”. It may bring some sympathy, but it doesn’t bring change or relief. Now the good news.


Whenever we talk about some- thing we do well, our brains can say, “Yep, that’s us,” and generate positive strengthening hormones for distribution to all parts of the body (happy body!). When you tell yourself you have strength, your brain will work consistently to insure that you have it. This switcheroo may not work immediately.


If the bad news.


Whenever you talk about a fail- ing or a weakness, your brain is listening. Since your brain just wants to do what you tell it, it will insure that those weaknesses continue. fat.


When you say, “I’m I hate being so fat,” your


brain says, “Yep, that’s us: fat and unhappy,” then it will encour- age you to have another fritter.


been telling himself


someone has for


forty


years that he just can’t remember names, his brain is busy doing everything it can to insure that that names are rarely remem- bered (get distracted, not hear the name, confuse the name with tomato soup or just refuse to hear it).


That’s right; the brain wants


to keep its owner being the same person he has always defined himself to be. So the first few times you say to yourself, “I have a great memory; I remember whatever I want.” Your brain may say, “Let’s be realistic; we’ve never remembered ______(keys, glasses, names, directions, name your favorite) before, so we must not be able to remember it now.” Your brain is not bad (so never admonish or criticize it!) or dete- riorating, it’s just acting like the well trained dog that it is. Keep telling your brain that you are terrific and before long it will say, “Yep, that’s us!” Now here’s a bonus; when you


begin to acknowledge a mental strength, other people will notice it too, and they will remark on it. Then your brain really gets it! So you meet someone at a party and then see her two days later at Community Market and you say, “Hi Alicia!” She will probably remark, “Wow, you remembered my name!


memory.” You say, “Thank you, I know.”


April 2013


UPBEAT TIMES • April 2013 • 18 Horoscopes


JOKES & Humor # 7 A customer wanted to ask his waitress for a date, but couldn't get her


attention. When he was able to catch her eye, she quickly looked away. Finally he followed her into the kitchen and blurted out his invitation. To his amazement, she readily consented.


by Yerevan


readingsbyyerevan@gmail.com Aries


(March 21st - April 20th) This is truly a month for you to


begin anew, Aries! It’s your birthday time and then some. You might find yourself fired up especially the first half of the month. Passion and your ambitions are strong now, so I hope you have outlets to express your enthusiasm and that you’re ready for a wild ride! Without you even trying, things and people are magne- tized to you whether they want your input, your company, your auto- graph, or to hear you laugh.


Taurus


(April 21st – May 20th) Although the past few months have been intense for you, there is a beautiful purpose emerging from your struggles. It may currently appear as a diamond in the rough, yet the sense that you hold some- thing valuable in an unlikely situ- ation is suddenly clear and strong. A lunar eclipse in your house of relationships this month indicates that you may finally be cutting ties with something or someone that no longer fits into your life. This birth- day, break free!


Gemini


You have a good And then thank your


brain!! It took the training and changed.


(May 21st – June 20th) What seems to grab most of your attention this month are your rela- tionships. During the first half of the month it will be the relation- ships you have to friends and com- munity, but during the second half you may desire to settle down more with a significant other or spend time nurturing yourself at home. It is an optimal time to plan for the future and invest in your own per- sonal hopes and dreams. Help and resources are available to you now.


18 • April 2013 • UPBEAT TIMES


He said, "Why have you been avoiding me all this time? You wouldn't even make eye contact." "Oh," said the waitress, "I thought you wanted more coffee."


Cancer (June 21st – July 22nd)


Don’t fret if things are moving like molasses the first half of April for you. The speed will pick up soon enough, and then you’ll need to make some big decisions around career, as well as what you deem important and valuable enough to spend your time and money on. There is a bit of restlessness in the area of romance, and you may feel a need to explore new options. This month make sure your heart is in whatever you commit to.


Leo


(July 23rd – August 22nd) There may be a surge of energy and vitality that inspires you to take bigger risks in creativity and love. This month you have great charm and attract a lot of attention from the opposite sex. Travel is favorable, and you may like to plan for a get- away with a loved one, or perhaps to enrich your own body, mind, and spirit with cultural and spiri- tual traditions. It’s as though you are focused on striking a balance between the old and the new.


Virgo


(Aug 23rd – September 22nd) There is an emphasis for you this month on business investments, loans, inheritances or other acquisi- tions of money. Much around the money you earn, manage or spend will likely revolve around your


family. Be careful not to jump to conclusions or to fritter away your energy in worry. Perhaps you will find the most satisfaction by tun- ing into the earthy sensual aspect of your sign this month, which will also help you to “ground” yourself.


...Continued on next page There is no wealth but life. ~John Ruskin


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