15 Tips to Empower Yourself This Year

By Marian Buck Murray

Take control of your health and well-being. Empower yourself with nutrient-dense foods and strengthening habits. Gradual, consistent steps will get you where you want to go, sometimes quicker than you can imagine.

1. Reduce Sugar -- Sugar weakens you. Excess sugar leads to inflammation, reduced immunity, and the proliferation of harmful bacteria. In addition, refined sugar products deplete important minerals, such as magnesium and calcium, needed for strength and endurance.

2. Eat Mushrooms -- Mushrooms stimulate the production and activity of white blood cells, making them beneficial for fighting infection. Rich in B vitamins, vitamin D, and selenium, mushrooms will help keep you strong, happy and healthy. Delicious shiitake, maitake, cremini, and portabella mushrooms all contain immune-enhancing nutrients.

3. Detoxify -- Boost your body's natural detoxification system by incorporating seaweed, beets, greens, probiotic foods,and cruciferous vegetables into your diet. Releasing toxins will help you clear your focus, boost your energy, and strengthen your immune system.

4. Drink Tea -- Both green and black tea contain L-theanine, which helps strengthen immunity. By dunking your tea bag up and down during brewing, you increase the release of antioxidants.

5. Spice Up Your Diet -- Use immune boosters such as cinnamon, garlic, turmeric, clove, oregano and ginger. These spices, and many more, are a delicious way to protect yourself from illness.

6. Express Gratitude -- Writing a daily gratitude list will help you feel happier, and more optimistic about your life.

7. Use EFT Tapping -- EFT Tapping will help you release weakening thoughts and feelings. EFT is also effective for boosting feelings of courage and self-confidence.

8. Sleep -- Sleep deprivation is linked to lower immunity, inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and diminished brain function. 7-9 hours of sleep daily will help strengthen your entire body and mind.

9. Meditate -- Even if it's for 5 minutes a day. Regular meditation will help you tap into your inner source of power.

10. Spark Your Creativity -- Take creative breaks to explore your talents and abilities. Allow yourself time and space to express your creativity. Honoring your gifts will help you feel joyful and recharged

11. Create a Success Jar -- Keep a stack of scrap paper to write down your successes. Include small, medium and big successes in all areas of your life. Keep at it, and you'll begin to realize how successful you truly are! The more successful you feel, the more success you'll create for your life.

12. Move Your Body -- Move your body in a way that feels good. Get your limbs, muscles, joints, and lymph going. Regular physical activity will help keep you strong, and flexible.

13. Volunteer -- Volunteer your time for a meaningful project. Volunteering is an excellent way to develop your skills and talents. Volunteering in the way that's right for you, can give you a powerful sense that you really can make a difference in the world.

14. Enjoy Your Morning Ritual -- For a daily boost of power, enhance your morning ritual with activities such as meditation, yoga, journaling, or walking. Dedicate time to connect with yourself, before the onslaught of daily distractions.

15. Let Go -- Let go of activities, habits, circumstances, and worries which drain your power. Make a list, and begin today.

Marian Buck-Murray is a certified EFT Practitioner and Transformational Health Guide. She offers private sessions via skype, phone, and in person at her Maplewood NJ office. For a free Tame Your Inner Critic Mp3, visit http://www.marianbuckmurray.com
 

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marian_Buck_Murray

9 Tips to Practice Guitar Like a Pro

By Umang Bhat 

How to practice guitar like a pro
Most of us, at some point have considered practicing boring at some point in our time as a guitarist. Well, it turns out if you think practicing is boring, you're not doing it the right way. Correct practice, is fun and directed towards a particular goal of achieving or improving a certain skill. You must focus entirely on your practicing. Here are a few tips and guidelines towards fulfilling and useful practice sessions. Make sure that you follow all of them simultaneously.

#1 Know your current skill level
Practicing correctly involves proper knowledge of your current playing skill and what you hope to achieve with a certain exercise or practice session. You cannot play exercises designed for advanced players in a beginner stage or if you're an advanced player, playing an exercise made for a beginner might be a waste of time. Selecting exercises best suited to your playing skills is very important, and so is setting a realistic goal on what you hope to accomplish from a particular exercise.

#2 Set Realistic Goals
Set a proper goal on what you hope to achieve from a certain exercise. I mean, you can't become a guitar god by playing an exercise you find effortless at a slow tempo. You ought to know how much improvement there will be from a certain exercise or practice session. This will prevent disappointment caused by setting unimaginable goals.

#3 Practice with full Focus
The most common reason for finding guitar practice boring or ineffective is when you practice without focus and concentration. If you practice while watching TV, then change your ways immediately. Guitar practice is something that is to be done seriously, with one's full attention and concentration. Otherwise, you'll just be another weak guitarist who dreams of becoming a better player but does nothing to do so. Just make sure that whenever you practice, you do it with full vigour. So next time, don't slack off.

#4 Challenge Yourself
If you can play a particular exercise too easily and without much effort at a certain tempo, then you're not doing yourself any good. An exercise will only be useful, if it requires a certain degree of effort to play properly. Of course you don't have to play an exercise that is too difficult for your level, but you also can't play something that's too easy for you. Whenever you can perform an exercise at a reasonable level of ease, just increase the difficulty. Progressing as a guitarist is only possible if you constantly raise your level.

#5 Don't Rush Into Things
Don't rush into playing at higher BPMs or playing difficult exercises before mastering an easy one first. I've made this particular mistake and if you do the same, you'll just sound sloppy and will be disappointed by your playing. Ensure that you sound fluid and clean before moving on to faster tempos and tougher exercises. Patience is the key here. Moreover, don't compare yourself to other guitarists. Everyone learns at different speeds. In order to get the best from practice, ensure that you are comfortable by your learning pace.

#6 Always Practice With a Metronome
Make sure that you always practice with a metronome. It helps to establish a proper sense of rhythm and timing. Plus it's important to maintain the right tempo when playing a difficult exercise. Your playing must be consistent; otherwise, you'll just end up sounding sloppy. And yes, exercises do seem boring when played without a metronome.

#7 Playing Songs is Not Practicing
You'll have to understand this one properly. Playing songs is not practicing. Practicing does not include covering or playing songs. Playing songs when you are meant to be practice will only waste your time. You ought to have different time periods for practicing and playing the guitar. Understanding this difference will only do good.

#8 Spend more time playing exercises rather than searching for them
The internet offers a vast resource of exercises which can be easily looked up. But the problem is that many people follow an incorrect method of practicing and then, they blame the exercises. As a result, instead of improving their method and practicing, they look for more exercises, which ironically, they won't use properly either. So, focus more on practicing and playing exercises, rather than searching and searching for the so- called perfect exercise. You'll never find the perfect exercise, you'll just have to step up your game accordingly.

#9 Practice Daily
Always practice the guitar daily, even if someday you're busy and can only play for a short time. Practicing 10 or 15 minutes every day is better than practicing 60 minutes once a week. Try to follow a proper practicing schedule, and don't break that schedule.

Finally, I'd like to say, don't give up practicing just because you don't get the desired results. You just have to correct your method of practicing.

Happy Practicing.

For more tips, tutorials, tabs and guitar stuff, go to www.guitarcover.in
 

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Umang_Bhat

12 Great Facts About Coffee



By David R Huggett 

Coffee is an integral part of so many peoples' daily routine, we often don't give it a second thought. So we thought it would be amusing to put together a list of interesting facts about coffee that you might not know...

No matter what anyone tells you, caffeine cannot help you sober up, it's a complete myth. Shame.

Hawaii is the only US state that grows coffee.

Coffee was originally eaten and not drunk. It's said to have been discovered when goat herders noticed increased energy levels after their goats had been eating coffee cherries that had fallen on the ground.

Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world, after oil. To give you an idea of how widely consumed it is, Starbucks alone employs 151,000 people worldwide, while in Kenya, 5 million people are reliant on the coffee industry for their income.

The price of espresso served in bars and cafes in Italy is regulated by the Italian government because it is considered an essential part of their daily life.

All of the world's coffee is grown in the 'bean belt'. So specific are the conditions needed to successfully grow coffee that the northernmost coffee producing country in the world is Pakistan.

An epidemic of theft and violence is sweeping the coffee industry in Kenya, a country where a kilo of dried beans can be worth a week's wages. A special police force has been set up to deal with the problem, but raids by armed gangs are a daily occurrence. Coffee growers have being forced to sleep in their fields so they can fend off would-be thieves. The thieves aren't subtle, with reports of security guards at coffee factories being shot with arrows and beaten to death with branches. Villagers have taken to fighting fire with fire, and criminals caught in the act have been lynched in the street.

Over 500 billion cups of coffee are drunk each year, or around 1.4 billion cups per day. Over half of this is consumed during breakfast.

Coffee can be used to fuel a car. While the technology is still in its infancy, there is something reassuring in knowing that the same cup that gets you going in the morning could one day actually get you to work as well.

A little known fact, but worth knowing anyway - brewed espresso has 2.5% fat, while filtered coffee contains 0.6% fat.

The world's first webcam was invented at Cambridge University to let scientists in a technology group know if their coffee pot was full or not. In 1991, they aimed their camera at their coffee machine and streamed the footage live on the web to save themselves the disappointment of a fruitless trip. This picture is of the first ever broadcast.

Irish coffee was originally invented to warm up cold American airline passengers flying from Ireland.
If you have any more of your own to share, we'd love to hear them so please get in touch with us at Java Caffe.

Here at Java Caffe, we have a wealth of information about coffee, recipes, funny stories and other articles. Visit http://www.javacaffe.co.uk to take a look. We also stock coffee grinders at Mazzer Grinders Direct
 

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_R_Huggett

5 Ways To Start Your Day With A Bang

By Malcolm Clarke 

All of us have woken up to the sound of our alarm blasting us from a comfortable sleep and groaned at the prospect of getting out of bed. Once that initial feeling of tiredness passes, we must motivate ourselves to make the most of every day.

Here are five ways you can set yourself up for a productive and successful day.

1. Get Up Earlier And Read
Reading expands the mind. By trading thirty minutes sleep for thirty minutes learning you improve your knowledge, you become active more quickly and you invest time in yourself to become a better person. You become alert more quickly by exercising your mind in this time you would otherwise have spent sleeping.

2. Eat A Healthy Breakfast
Breakfast clubs for children in schools exist because it is well-known that a healthy diet ensures the body works at its optimal level. We learn, retain information and concentrate more effectively when we have had a healthy meal. If you miss breakfast you will be less alert and less able to concentrate during the day, so be sure to eat something healthy every morning.

3. Make Positive Affirmations
Having a positive mental attitude is vital to engaging with people effectively and dealing with the inevitable challenges we face each day. Start your day with positive affirmations and by doing so you will program yourself to be alert, energetic and in the perfect frame of mind to achieve everything you want to that day.

4. Make A List Of Tasks You Must Complete
With such a good mental and physical approach to every morning, having a clear list of exactly what you want to achieve will help you take advantage of this excellent frame of mind. You will easily achieve your list of tasks every day which will make you feel purposeful, successful and eager to achieve even more the next day.

5. Exercise Before Work
If you are fit enough you may wish to collect an endorphin boost by exercising before work. You will arrive at work feeling fantastic and be fully alert straight away. There will be no more losing one hour as you gradually wake up at work as you will arrive at work full of vitality and ready to grasp the opportunities of the day ahead.

It is called the present because every day really is a gift and these five steps will help you achieve as much as possible every day.

Malcolm Clarke is based in the North East of England and writes on a number of topics including Politics, Social Commentary, Sport and Gaming.

If you use Twitter then you can follow Malcolm by clicking here
 

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Malcolm_Clarke

10 Things I've Learned From Being a Mediator

By Vivian A. Scott 

I'm lucky that I've had so much training and experience mediating issues between others. It's impossible to be a part of the mediation community for so long and not learn a thing or two about oneself in the process. So, I'm going to share, in no particular order of importance, 10 things I've learned along the way.

1) Gossip is boring. I don't mind people sharing updates about family or friends with me, but when it turns into a conversation that has too many oohs, ahs, and smirky faces, I'm out. My threshold for listening to someone jabber on about others is low because I have learned that if they talk about other people like that, they probably talk about me like that. No thanks.

2) Everyone cares about something so much that they'll do crazy stuff to defend it. In the world of mediation those things are called core values. But, without going into too much detail about them, I now know that when someone reacts to a small situation in a big way, it's because something they value is being threatened. And now, rather than jump back at them, I'm curious to find out what that "something" is.

3) I don't have to like you. I struggled for years trying to find the good in others, feeling guilty for being too critical of some people, and beating myself up for not making more of an effort with difficult folks. Now? I'm good not to like every single person on the face of the planet.

4) I don't have to fix everything. It's okay, and I mean okay, for me to let other people work out their own issues on their own timeline. I'll just be over here focusing on my own life, thank you.

5) Everyone is a mess. I read a quote once that said something like, "everyone has a life and no one gets out of it", meaning that every one of us experiences sad, bad, and lousy events that mess with us. We all have issues and we're all trying to mask them, deal with them, or sometimes share them in the most inappropriate ways.

6) I can work things out when I'm ready. It's okay to lick to my wounds, think about things, vent to my trusted confidants, wait a while, think about things some more, and then resolve issues with others. It doesn't have to be on anyone else's timeline if it doesn't feel right for me.

7) Giving space to others doesn't mean I'm giving up. If I'm willing to give myself the time and space to think things through, it's certainly okay for me to do that for others. Everything doesn't have to happen right here, right now.

8) Sometimes it's not possible. Mental health issues, addictions, and things greater than all of us really can, and do, get in the way of mending relationships.

9) I truly can be happier walking away. After so many failed attempts to build a relationship that feels authentic and genuine, it's okay for me to let it go. I mean really let it go. I've discovered that the empty feeling I thought would be there is actually a space that gets filled with contentment and peace.

10) I can think whatever nasty thoughts I want. Over the years I've become much better at editing my critical thoughts about others. I've also become much, much better at editing how those thoughts sound when they exit my mouth. But, there are those days when I give myself permission not to edit anything rolling around in this brain of mine. I've learned that I can think whatever I want about whomever I want and that doesn't make me a bad person. In fact, last I checked, it makes me human.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vivian_A._Scott

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