Relaxation techniques to produce endorphins

I had my second session with the therapist, he's giving me relaxation techniques to produce endorphins to help my system cope with all the metabolic changes, neurological and autoimmune conditions.

Really cool, specially if it's going to spare me of some meds and prevent absence seizures.
Cortical damage affects emotions, so does thyroid disease and epilepsy, therefore turning the need of relaxation techniques quite important as you will understand you are fighting against unwanted emotions caused by the unbalance within your body.

We all know emotions affect our body and spirit. To target on our emotions is a great start to healing.

2 Timothy 1:7 Amplified Bible (AMP)
7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Regular acts of kindness or serving stimulate the release of endorphins improve mood and immune system

lower blood pressure, improves self-esteem, increases sense of well-being, lowers stress.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
Mother Theresa

Joyful Dancing

Modern behavioral psychology and medical science have learned much about the way we react dramatically to our rhythmic environment. We have learned how and why music, dance, laughter, touching hands, and happy social interactions combine in a mystic synergistic way to activate our hormones and neurotransmitters (such as beneficial “beta endorphins”, “enkephalins”, “dynorphins” and “oxytocins” (while reducing the harmful stress-related adrenal steroid hormones like cortisol - hydro­cortisone glucocorticoid, which detrimentally disables the human immune system and increases undesirable fat storage around the waist and hips). Stated simply, joyful dancing can reduce stress and depression, and make us feel happy and healthy all over.

The frontal lobe of our brain has more endorphin (“endogenous morphine” - opioid) receptors than any other portion of our body. This area is responsible for human creativity, personality and high-level social / cognitive thought processes. Endorphins, enkephalins and dynorphins are effective “analgesics”, which kill pain and allow us to experience the joy of the moment, which is further enhanced by synchronizing our biorhythms with the music.

The release of endorphins with the sight of familiar features.

I would define joy as an agreeable euphoric mental state accompanying the experience of some desired achievement or acquisition or both. Physical pleasure is at best transient, at worst, if overdone, potentially painful or harmful, and, as usual, gives diminishing returns over time. Women, more so than men, for some reason, seem to understand the significance of gift giving. Some joy is earned by dint of hard labor, but a gift allows the recipient to enjoy that same sensation without having to work for it, which makes it all the more precious, more so to women than men, apparently. As part of the natural maturation process, we gradually find ourselves depending more and more on mental and not physical components to happiness (described next). The release of endorphins associated with the sight of familiar features, the ability to create a satisfactory response from other human beings by doing things, like standing, singing, eating, potty performance, walking, recalling, performing in general, the (non-sensual) euphoria achieved from these achievements is what I want to describe as joy, although the word has been used differently, previously.

marathon of life: Healing Thyroid and emotions

marathon of life: Endorphin Cartel at Malecon La Paz B.C.S

marathon of life: ERK: learning , memory, stress, sleep and thyroid.

Lance Armstrong in Mexico

Pat Garcia at NowPublic

A great person I admire is in my country, he's seen as "the visible leader needed in the fight against cancer".

As he talked to our president Calderon who is a great fan, he stated "Cancer is not a death sentence" and took the opportunity to donate 300 bicycles to Mexican children.

Lance Armstrong has arrived in Mexico and his first order of business was a private meeting with President Felipe Calderon. Armstrong, who is in the country as the guest of honor for the 1,320 kilometer Vuelta Mexico bicycle race, said he hopes his visit brings more cancer awareness to Mexico and pledged to help the country in its battle against the disease. He also told Calderon that his first race took place in Mexico, a triathlon in Zihuatanejo when he was 15.

Calderon for his part, used the meeting with Armstrong to talk about the need to get Mexicans more physically fit. “Mexico is a country that urgently needs sports,” Calderon said after their meeting. “Mexico has the second highest obesity rates among adults and is first among children.”

Source: statesman.com

Amstrong in now on his way to Oaxaca where he will kick off the first leg of the Vuelta Mexico.
The competition will continue till March 8th with a total of 1.320 km diveded in 8 stages, being the last one in Mexico city.
A total of 20 teams from six countries will compete in this 2009 edition of Vuelta a Mexico.
Famous American ciclist Lance Amstrong will kick it off on Sunday at the south western city of Oaxaca.
Glen Chadwick (Rock Racing, U.S), Gilberto Simoni, and Floyd Landis will be racing.

La competencia, que se prolongará hasta el 8 de marzo, constará de ocho etapas con un recorrido total de 1.320 kilómetros, la última de ellas en Ciudad de México.

Un total de 20 equipos de seis países, la mitad de ellos extranjeros, competirán en la edición 2009 de la Vuelta a México, cuya orden de salida la dará el domingo el famoso ciclista estadounidense Lance Armstrong en la ciudad de Oaxaca (sudoeste).

El ganador del Tour de Francia 2008, el neocelandés Glen Chadwick (Rock Racing, E.U.), el italiano Gilberto Simoni, dos veces victorioso en el giro de su país, así como el estadounidense Floyd Landis, entre otros, serán algunas de las figuras que disputarán la prueba.

Source: eltiempo.com

I had the privilege to translate for The Diamond Fellowship group from Redding California. Wisdom, knowledge and experience all together. What a great joy to translate for these wonderful senior couples, the oldest lady named Betty a wonderful example of reaching old age with plenitude of joy, after several open heart surgeries she testifies the joy of the Lord is her Strength, she sparkles with joy and strength.
I learned valuable lessons from these beautiful group whose message is to keep pressing, things get better and better! Just keep pressing, holding on during life's up and downs.
I loved translating for them, knowing with certainty that my brain activity is improving and the words of a cruel doctor seem just like a nightmare from the past. He actually said my condition was progressive and irreversible and I wouldn't be able to translate eventually. I received words of wisdom knowledge and experience from this amazingly loving persons. I realized I never knew what a grandpa's love was like. I guess I could taste a little of what that is like being around them.

There is some evidence that with your brain, not unlike the muscles in your body, you’ve got to ‘use it or lose it’ as people who keep mentally active seem to be less likely to develop dementia. So, you may have heard of ‘brain training’, exercise for the brain. Well forget the maths, the puzzles, the colours and the problem solving; languages are the answer! Learning a second language is thought to boost brain power as it alters the brain’s grey matter,The act of learning is actually creating synapses in your brain.

for Deborah...., originally uploaded by RCastro.

Clouds of Yahweh

Birthday morning, originally uploaded by patgarcia.

The Cloud of Yahweh (the Lord) led Israel out of Egypt and throughout their journey to Canaan, the Promised Land (Ex 40:34-38).

Yahweh’s voice spoke the Ten Commandment Law from this Cloud as it sat on top of Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:16; 20th chp.).

This Cloud also resided between the wings of the cherubs above the Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle (Ex. 25:22; Lev. 16:2; Num. 7:89).

This Cloud also appeared to the prophets (Ezk 1:4, 28, 10:3-4).

Marcos Witt and Gadiel Espinoza.

You are the good shepherd I want to live doing your will........

After the Concert, originally uploaded by patgarcia.

The band my son was part of with singer Gadiel espinoza and producer Coalo Zamorano. Gadiel has his hand around my son Jaime.

lo mejor de mi vida - gadiel espinoza

Deborah.... Debora Lattimore

As I prayed for a lady in my dreams last night asking the Lord to grant her the greatest desire of her life in such a majestic manner there would not be any doubt about His Migthy Hand over her life. The lady faced me and said something I didn't understand about Deborah so I have been investigating about that name, people who know Hebrew know about the emphasis placed on the meaning of names. Devora is “the bee” that makes honey and defends itself when threatened in my quest I found a very brave Deborah, that has made an impact in my life, her boldness, her courage,her sweetness, her joyful attitude her art and desire to reflect that unto others, has left me speechless yet inspired me to write a simple and sincere recognition of her priceless life.

Pat Garcia

for Deborah...., originally uploaded by RCastro.

A strong woman,
A great friend....
Dedicated artist...

Now has its moment against breast cancer...

Visit
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Wake your women for early detection...

This woman is an example, a strong one...

Deborah Lattimore

by RCastro

Watch this awesome performance of the Swam Lake

Imagine how much more the Lord can sustain you, He holds you carefully and you can confide in Him, even when you feel you are falling, even when you are falling. He is holding you with His powerful hands. Knowing about His prescence helped me through fearful times of insecurity.

Cast your cares on the Lord,and He will
sustain you;He will never let the righteous fall.--Psalm 55:22

Love and Friendship weekend

What a wonderful weekend!
Starting since Thursday when the therapist told me he agrees I'm ready to wean off my meds. As a couple the therapist wanted to know what our feelings were about the terrible times we went through because of times of illness, first he wanted to know the possitive thoughts we had about each other and was surprised we had many. When he asked my husband " Now tell me what's wrong with this woman" He said I didn't see anything wrong wth her since I married her and I don't see it now, except for the syntoms of the illness she had face. My heart rejoiced tenderly!
On Friday My husband turned 50, so I went to buy his present, there I ran into my Sign Language teacher we hugged happily and I communicated with her using the little sign language that I know and remember. She thanked me for posting a story about her in my blog, she was surprised to google her name and find it, then she proceeded to introduced me to her mom.It was a wonderful happy experience.At night we went out for dinner to celebrate my husband's birthday with my son's best friends, We have gotten to be closer now that my son lives in Canada. They are always there with us to celebrate important dates, which is very nice of them.
Saturday night we went to a Valentine's Dinner and received a Diploma for our 26 years of marriage, I always thought we deserved one!
Sunday Night we celebrated the 72nd birthday of a man named Carreto, a construction worker, who suffered an accident working without insurance last year, he's recovering very well but can't work the way he used to. So a surprise birthday party was organized to honor him and bless him. It was so emotive, it really doesn't cost much to bless someone's life. Tears of gratitude were about to flow from his eyes at any minute, he's a quiet reserved man, so he held them back. The weekend of love was full of love with all kinds of expressions.

Photo The Spirit of Power, originally uploaded by believer9.

God has not given us the spirit of fear but of POWER, love, and SOUND MIND.

2 Timothy 1:7

My neurologist thinks it is time to wean me off some medications and recommended therapy to help me with the process so I had my first therapy this week. I loved it! As the heard about all the things I've faced and seeing how I have recovered, he asked me. What does Patricia tell herself to keep going? and my answer was, "when a Doctor from the government institution tells me my lesion is irreversible and progressive and I could eventually not be able to translate or I will forget things." I tell myself "that's not true, my brain is going to regenerate and I will translate better than ever!" I explained how I felt strong but my body had not reacted well and betrayed me, sending me into a descending spiral of despair.

So what did you do when that happened? I started painting, writing, photography, sign language classes. I'm persevering and patient but something out of my control has stopped me from reaching my goal.

If you had to give a name to that something what would you name it?" I have been thinking a lot about it lately and I would name it "fear". Fear has been manifesting itself in my dreams.

What would your next goal be? "To get rid of those dreams full of anxiety and the root of its cause."

He explained how the source of that fear came from all the physical conditions I have faced and in fact it was something out of my control. I had not had a proper treatment, until I seeked the professional private services of a Neurologist last year. The therapist assured me I'm just a few steps away from total recovery and perfectly fine and without meds in 10 sessions where he will coach me to increase my endorphin levels and activate my brain to work in a more balanced manner with different tips and techniques, with his help and the Neurologist's help united to my husband's support I will not have to carry the full load of it all and heal, the worst has passed he told me, so I have an appointment with the Neurologist next week and with the therapist in two weeks. I chose to go to my doctor's appointments on Thursdays, the day my husband can go with me. I use the government's social security services to see my general doctor, the endocrinologist, and the Alergyologist, of course they give me appointments months apart and not very frequently.

I want to point out all those times when I was spiraling down last year, the inner strength to tell Patricia to keep on came from an outer source that came to impart me with life instead of dead. The God I believe in, the God that has me carved in the palm of His hand, even when I looked down to the abyss of death, he kept me safe and showed me how to turn back to see his face again.
The words of blessing and encouragement of valuable people in my life, even confronting words were helpful.

I found the following post that speaks about finding the strength within to live. The Lord's love and guidance, the love of your family, the proper medical treatment together help you pursue the best life.

Finding the Strength Within
By Ashley

In general, life is not an easy journey, and having schizophrenia or any sort of mental illness does not make it any better. However, everyone must work with what they have and make the best of it by finding the strength within.

To cope with my illness I found peace in praising and meditating on the Lord, and also talking to my family. I would read the Bible, recite my favorite scriptures, and sing hymns and pray. I would call my mother and sister daily and tell them everything; what I ate, whether my relationships with friends was going well, and the status of my treatment. Instead, of being discouraged I told myself I would push on and not let my illness get the best of me, for me there was no other option, but to live.

Source: Overcoming Schizophrenia.

Color as disease therapy

Sir Isaac Newton created a sensation in 1675 with his paper, Hypothesis of Light, and the composition of white light. French scientist, Rene Descarte concluded that the pineal gland was ‘the seat of the soul’; the light meter for the body and the creating gland for the hormone melatonin and the ‘connector to God’.

In the late 1800’s Dr. Seth Pancoast and Dr. Edwin Babbitt both contributed significantly to the understanding of light’s ability to heal. Dr. Babbitt resurrected the ancient technique of solar elixirs (solar-charged liquids) in the treatment of many traditionally unresponsive conditions.

A 20th century physician, Dr. Dinshah Ghadiali, introduced color healing to the United States while Dr. Niels Finsen won the Nobel Prize for his landmark research on the healing ability of ultraviolet light in the treatment of tuberculosis of the skin. The works of Albert Einstein, Max Plank and Rudolph Steiner gave proof that sunlight and its composite color vibrations correct physical disease-causing imbalances. Dr. Harry Spitler, John Ott, Dr. Peter Mandel and Dr. Jacob Liebermann have further refined color healing modalities and added the influence of color treatments directly through the eye.
Color psychology has grown into a major marketing field for television, stage, movies and product sales as the influence of color on emotions began to emerge. Every product’s marketing campaign revolves around creating a color scheme that will elicit the proper response from the consumers. Hospitals, schools, factories and even prisons use colors to evoke more positive responses. Color is a constant part of our life.

Today there are many doctors and color therapy practitioners around the world treating patients with color and light. Endocrinologists, ophthalmologists, brain surgeons, bio-chemists, optical engineers, psychiatrists and philosophers are studying light and its effects on the brain, eye, physical, emotional and spiritual bodies. The evidence is overwhelming that the body has within it a divine network of inner light, emitting and receiving light.

While science actively pursues the influence of Light, the deeper and more significant quality of Light is coming from the divine source of which we are all a part.

Our Reaction to Colour - The Endocrine System.

Colour affects us physically and psychologically, directly and indirectly and from a combined psychological, physiological, and spiritual perspective. From both the psychological and physiological perspective colour affects us directly when it enters the eye and is transmitted to the emotional centre of the brain the hypothalamus that in turn affects the pituitary gland the gland that controls the entire endocrine system the network of glands including pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal gland, pancreas, ovaries, and testes.
The thymus gland, pineal gland, and kidney are sometimes considered endocrine organs. They all release hormones into our bodies, hormones are protein messengers that help cells talk to each other. The endocrine system can affect moods and could account for Seasonal Affective disorder or S.A.D, it also affects sex drive, energy levels, and weight gain to name a few.
We are indirectly affected by colour as it can penetrate our bodies so that even blind people can benefit from colour therapy. This means that clothing, bed clothing, and diet can affect us the same way as the colours we actually see. It is commonly known that sunlight also has the effect of synthesising vitamin D through ultra violet radiation acting on the skin. However, photosensitive people can react to sunlight and develop a skin rash, but sunlight can be used to treat other skin conditions such as psoriasis.
The existence and purpose of the pineal gland has been a matter of long standing scientific debate. Recent scientific evidence shows that it is another master gland in addition to the pituitary, which acts as the body’s light meter receiving light activated information from the hypothalamus. Its activity is activated by light changes and the earth’s magnetic field and is part of our biological body clock that adjusts to varying lengths of daylight.
It is now recognised as the regulator of regulators controlling sexual function, growth, and aging, body temperature, blood pressure, motor activity, sleep by the production of melatonin, tumour growth, and mood. The pineal gland has long been associated with spirituality and described as the third eye through which information to the body’s energy centres are passed. When we get an imbalance of coloured light all the above bodily functions and our daily rhythms can be is thrown out of synchronisation with our needs to maintain our mental and physical health.

Color enters the eyes through the lens into the rod and cone receptors on the retina. They send the color frequencies through the optic nerve to the brain and pineal glands. The pineal gland converts nervous system signals into endocrine signals. Colors can even affect the way in which the pineal glands determine endocrine function.

Excecution in La Paz Mexico

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By Pat Garcia at NowPublic.com

La Paz, Baja California Sur.-

With great sadness I report the execution of Hector Manuel Verdugo Talamantes "El Toby". An AK-47 "cuerno de chivo" rifle was used and 36 shots were found in his lifeless body. He was 38, a pilot and the son of Aero Calafia's owner, as well as a well known Off Road pilot always racing together with his brother Julio Verdugo Talamantes.

The Homicide took place around 10:00 am yesterday February 10th at the corner of Santo Domingo and La Paz at Bella Vista, just a block and a half away from his home in a nice quiet neighborhood, where my son went to pre-school and the place where people I know live.

I heard about it from my students in school some of them live there, this is getting too close.

My beautiful haven of peace as I call my beloved city is receiving the growing wave of violence that's causing so much damage in the country and the borderline.

My heart skiped a beat when I saw PGR officers a couple of weeks ago, dressed all in black, ski hoods and automatic weapons. What a sad impression it causes to have your peace interrumpted and violated. A sad impression to begin with...... I guess other countries have started with this slight skip of a beat, a slight sadness escalating to rude anguish and despair.

novedades-sudcalifornianas.blogspot.com
El piloto aviador tenia entre sus actividades la practica del automovilismo fuera del camino y estaba inscrito para correr este fin de semana en la primera fecha del campeonato estatal PROBAJA con el número 1205 habiendo quedado segundo de la parrilla de salida en la clase 12 compartiendo el volante con su hermano Julio Verdugo Talamantes, motivo por el cual la familia del off road sudcaliforniano se viste de luto con este asesinato siendo el primero que ocurre en este año en la entidad.

ThyroidDisease and Infertility

I had several problems to conceive my second child. At that time I didn't know I had problems with my thyroid and who knows how long ago the pituitary adenoma had been growing inside my head. At least something had to be working incorrectly to form a tumor or to affect the thyroid.
I gave birth to my first born baby in 1983, in the mist of all the happiness, I remember having severe edema after birth even my hands were swollen. It took me a very long time to get back into shape.
My second child came until 1989, five years later, just when I thought wouldn't conceive again. This pregnancy was what my doctor called a high risk pregnancy with risk of miscarriage since week 5.Homeopathy help me to control the bleeding and strengthen my womb to hold the child, my precious Nathy. I remember how careful I was to even stand up and walk, I wanted it so much.
After all these years I have understood, there was something wrong even since then, again the edema after birth was terrible and it took me a long long time to be back in shape. My sister wore a bathing suit a week after she gave birth! I couldn't even fit into some of my maternity clothes, I was huge!

Women with a fertility problem to have their thyroid gland examined.

The fetus depends on the mother's thyroid hormones, especially in the first weeks of pregnancy, Gaertner said. If the amount of hormones is insufficient, a miscarriage could result. Gaertner said that many women who had experience such miscarriages did not even notice they were pregnant.

Women with a condition called autoimmune thyroiditis are especially at risk of miscarriage. According to Gaertner, one in six women has a predisposition to the disorder, in which an inflammation of the thyroid gland causes the immune system to produce antibodies that attack and destroy thyroid cells.

Photo by stev1eb

I have dreamt about a white feather, beautiful diamonds and great treasures.

The treasure of healing is soft as an angels feather, as fresh rain of diamonds making you overwhelmed with joy and gratefulness to God.

Time is like gold. If you are trapped in past times you'll reach the land of never, never growing, never reaching....

Fear like a boulder hinders your path to healing................... Fear like darkness can surround you, make you timid, a coward, a cripple.

Healing will often involve radical changes in how you think, live and dream.

1. Old habits and attitudes that contributed to the development of the disease must be changed and be replaced by new ones that go with our new way of walking in the world. Don't linger on deception, don't feed yourself on bitterness.
   
2. Crisis in our body ultimately reflects expressions of underlying crises of the spirit and emotions
   
3. Healing requires letting go what is familiar and stepping into the unknown.
4. Healing may mean challenging belief systems and daring to break bondages.
   
5. Healing is about getting past the egocentricity, our culture is built on
6. Healing involves reconnecting with lost aspects of oneself, your treasures.
   
7. Healing involves letting go of hurtful past experiences, don't get stuck in neverland. It is not a story
   
8. Healing involves recognizing seasons and times in life.
   

Fire in Santiago Baja California Sur

One of my favorite places.It's so sad to know it has burned.

Post-ictal stage

I found the following article explaining about complex partial seizures and its post-ictal stage.People can have several of these during a day.

Dr. Spitz explained that to an observer, a complex partial seizure may appear as a brief staring spell or the sudden onset of confusion. It's closely followed by a long (up to 24 hour) recovery period. Because the seizure itself is so brief, the sufferer's loved ones seldom witness it; they tend to witness the post-ictal (post-seizure) stage, marked by fatigue and "an unexplained, abrupt deterioration in cognitive abilities." In children, recovery lasts only minutes to hours.

Dr. Spitz and Jim Lyons, Executive Director of the Florida Epilepsy Foundation at the Gainesville Florida site, shared other Senior-related epilepsy realities that often get lost in epilepsy discussions. Their insights may help you or your loved ones prevent or manage late-life epilepsy.

PREVENT IT?
Perhaps the most common cause of epilepsy in Seniors is atherosclerosis - the hardening of arteries that leads to strokes and transient ischemic attacks. Seniors with pre-existing cardiovascular disease, especially those who have suffered a stroke, have an increased risk for developing epilepsy. Dr. Spitz says that's why more Seniors are developing epilepsy.

Recommendation: Start walking, spend time with friends, eat a healthy diet and get that hypertension under control - lowering your cardiovascular disease risk may lower your epilepsy risk.

Post-ictal stages are different

My post-ictal stage tends to be anywhere from 5-30 minutes depending on the severity of the seizure. I am usually really good at hiding my seizures since they are generally just left sided facial and sometimes left arm.

I tend to have right sided headaches where it feels like someone is standing there stabbing me in the head with a knife and twisting it.

Then there is the confusion and slurring of the speech. My coworkers can usually tell I have had a seizure after the fact. One of the girls was asking me to come to her desk to help a person on her phone. I ended up going to someone else's desk completely. So there was some understanding of what I was supposed to do, but not completely. And that was already at least 10 minutes after my seizure.

I know that some of the patients I have dealt with at work have actually gotten upset because I mix up my words. When my coworkers see this happening, they tend to try to step in.