Life is Short but Very Wide

"Become Like a Child and You Will Be New"-The Lord

Archive for July, 2011

Jul
30

We Have More Addictions Than We Realize

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

Addictions are habits or behaviors that control us. Some are good, some are harmful, some are just limiting. Some we don’t even realize.

Addictions seem to serve us. We adopt them because they seem to serve our purpose, give us comfort, security, identity, escape, or grounding. I am not a doctor or psychologist but I do observe and recognize my experiences.

The harmful addictions like drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, food, and anger can get a hold on our lives that we don’t realize and have trouble breaking. It is common that most alcoholics will not admit they are addicted and think they can stop at any time.

There are less harmful addictions that also get a hold of our lives that can be broken by substituting something else.  I would say the world is addicted to their cell phones. People will say it is important they stay in touch as they check Face Book while riding their bikes or driving their cars, but this is a serious addiction.

Many of us have an addiction to our computers or the internet; so much information, news, and excitement at the touch of a button. I get news, communicate, watch movies, and listen to music.  Where would we be without our cell phones and internet connections? The looney bins would fill up with twitching people.

I was addicted to watching CNN at 5 p.m. and as many football games as networks could broadcast for both college and pro. I realized TV was an addiction I could break and free up at least ten hours a week. In its place I feel more comfort and control and enjoy more reading.

I realized I didn’t have to carry my cell phone and my world would work just fine. I was addicted to an American diet with certain foods that maintained my heavy weight even though I worked out several times a week. I started taking the most harmful foods off my plate and putting healthy foods on and lost 45 pounds.

When I moved to the beach I was addicted to visiting Dairy Queen several times a week for a soft cone dipped in chocolate. I substituted Snicker bars, then granola bars and I was finally broken of the addiction.

I am addicted to surfing like some of my neighbors and there is a compelling need to get wet every day. When the surf is not up surfers get down. I get addicted to the feeling of exercise and I can run myself to over train and then I experience lethargy and exhaustion.

I am addicted to reading, but it seems to be a good thing. I love to learn and reading takes up hours that I might otherwise use to contemplate my navel, but I don’t feel up to the guru thing yet. I am addicted to writing in the mornings, but I don’t see the harm. I do see how it grounds me.

Realizing, analyzing, and contemplating our habits and behaviors might lead us to life saving new habits, life freeing new habits, and more enlightened new habits. Addictions can keep us in ruts and make life boring. The best way to add some zest is to take something off the plate. Something big might lead to a whole new attitude.

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Soon I will have a new website that will discuss our addictive habits and suggest cures or habit breaking alternatives to give us more freedom. Some habits require a stronger will than others to break but they all create a type of freedom and life change. It is part of my Mission of Creating Life Changing Ideas.

Kaalm Media Group  760-696-7149  Mark@KaalmMediaGroup.com  Oceanside, CA

Categories : Inspiration
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Jul
29

Congress Was Just as Chaotic in the 1700’s

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

I have recently read a few accounts of how Congress acted at the beginning of our country’s history under the new Constitution.

There were so many dynamics. Some people were still loyal to the King in England. We had forged a treaty with England in 1783 after the Revolutionary War that made war with France seem imminent. France had saved us against the British and now we had a treaty with their enemy as Napoleon took on all of Europe.

The Sedition Act passed in the late 1790’s over ran the rights of the First Amendment which were free speech and due process. The supporters were concerned about the French in our country trying to rally the citizens against the treaty. Only Jefferson and Madison saved us.

There was no Supreme Court in place to determine whether Congressional Legislation violated the Constitution. There was no national bank to raise money for the Union because the Constitution said it was illegal.

At the beginning there were no political parties. Those who thought they had a chance to be President ran and the Electoral College decided who was the winner. Then the candidate for President who came in second became the Vice President.

The Federalists believed the general population did not have the intelligence to decide on major issues and loved the Electoral College. The Federalists called the Republicans Democrats because the Republicans believed in the right of the people to make decisions.

The population was still trying to figure out the inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness. The Federalists liked that only men of property had a vote and the Republicans wanted all men to have a vote even though blacks, Indians, women and foreigners were still excluded.

Somehow we muddled through on our training wheels and a few hundred years later we haven’t gotten any smoother.

Categories : Public Policy
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Jul
28

Drive is an Asset that Can’t Be Purchased

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

What creates the drive that some use to propel their fortunes?

When I say fortunes, it doesn’t always have to be money. Sometimes a fortune is achievement. Sometimes no one really notices but a few in a person’s circle. Not everyone can be famous or notorious. Yes criminals have drive too.

Some grape vines in Germany are grown in rock strewn hills that make the vine struggle through hard ground for nutrition. These vines struggle and produce some excellent quality grapes. Unlike their lucky brethren that are nurtured in Napa Valley, these grapes have to work harder.

What creates the spark that makes the human will unbendable in a drive for recognition? Sometimes the drive is for self realization. Sometimes it’s for external acknowledgement of worth. It is the drive like a seedling to push through the earth and bask in the rays of the sun.

Seth Godin today writes about the mystery of success and how we like a story that creates the success and the legend. We like it better when the going was tough and faced seemingly unbearable obstacles.

I am currently entranced by the story of the Judds and how the single struggling mother Diana who became Naomi created the beautiful flower of two voices harmonizing in love, joy and triumph. It is also the story of Christina who became Wynnona and discovered a joy and talent at 12 that required years of polishing by expert stone cutters to become the diamond we enjoy.

Gabrielle Reese was abandoned by her mother at an early age and grew tall too fast to become an object of ridicule by her school mates starting at the age of 7. Always a rebel and fighting for some normalcy, her drive pushed her past normalcy to stardome.

There is talent, opportunity, hard work, and the need that creates some of the finest talent in all fields of endeavor. There are outstanding athletes, politicians, lawyers, musicians, chefs, writers, social workers, police, and parents that have stories to tell.

God felt no need to make things easy. Very few species on earth enjoy an easy life. The earth itself is continuously tormented with ground shaking rock eroding forces. There is a Will available in the Universe that can be harnessed to create mind bending, mythical, and legendary achievement. It’s more than caffeine.

We should never cast aspersions to achievement that people were born rich, they have looks, they were lucky. There may be all that, but there are just as many with these attributes whose pedals never see the light of day.

Categories : Inspiration
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Jul
27

Does the World Consider the U.S. Govt. Corrupt?

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

Very few governments would pass the scrutiny of non corruption on the world stage.

The most likely criteria for corruption is the dominance of special interests. We can assume that nations with dictators are most likely corrupt under this criteria. Nations in which banks have had to be rescued are most likely corrupt in that the legislation that allowed them to go unregulated was lobbied by them.

A government that looks to the private sector to provide campaign funds for politicians to get re elected is subject to corruption. A government where lobbyists can influence legislation for their benefactors is subject to corruption.

What is corruption?  I would deem it the status where money and power can influence how politicians vote.  It is natural that politicians will consider how their vote will influence their chances of re-election. This is part of how the system was designed.

The politicians run on a platform with an agenda and philosophy and the electorate will measure how faithfully they followed both. The voters feel entitled to have their agenda and philosophy represented by the person for whom they voted.

The electorate is rarely asked to vote on larger issues like government debt, banking laws, taxes, defense, and healthcare. They depend on their elected officials to follow the philosophy of their party in reaching decisions.

This is the area where special interests influence political votes that might cause politicians to vote against their conscience for the purpose of easier campaign funding. This is the arena in which corruption can cause major swings in areas of defense, health care, business regulations, taxes, and entitlements.

This is the arena that defense contractors, big pharma, banking, securities, the food industry, and the insurance industry to name a few can use money to sway the distribution of wealth in a capitalistic system.

**

Visit my other sites:

SurfBoardsOceanside.com

SkateBoardsOceanside.com

If you would like blogging for your site or a site that would take you to page one Google, contact me at Kaalm Media Group  760-696-7149

Mark Kaplan 118 S Pacfic Street, Oceanside, CA

See my other sites:

Research on Peak Performance and Flow
Mission: To Deliver Life Transforming Ideas

http://InnovationandFlow.com
http://InnovativeDownsizing.com
http://MarksHealthyEatingandFitness.com
http://NaturalFoodWebsiteSeo.com
http://InspirationisFreedom.com
http://NewCustomerDevelopment.com
http://EliteWebsiteSeo.com
http://FreightShippingSeo.com
http://Linkedin.com/in/markkaplan2
partner site http://Tossly.com

Categories : Public Policy
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Jul
26

What Are We Feeling About Washington These Days?

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

Everyone certainly feels frustration with the Democratic process and more likely feels we are the victims of self interested politicians.  I sometimes say, why don’t we just turn over the incumbents since they can’t govern.

While the topic is serious whether the people via the government stops paying its obligations, the process is just as serious. It is like we were in a family already burdened by expenses greater than our income and we had to charge more money to the credit cards to pay next months bills.

A revolutionary dialogue has been circulating on Twitter with the hash tag “#f*&%youwashington” sparked by Jeff Jarvis, a professor of journalism from the City University of New York.-Natural News. Twitter may have at this point removed the hash tag’s circulation. What is Twitter worried about?

I recently read a few books on our nation back in the early 1800’s when we also had serious issues. We were trying to unify a nation made up of states that often wanted their rights over national interests. We were worried about Britain, France and Spain wanting to dominate us. We were worried about whether Indians should have land and whether blacks should have rights.

Congress was pretty much grid locked like today. It took a war in 1865 to finally decide whether slavery should be allowed after fifty years of Congressional haggling. Our process isn’t pretty. It is often indecisive. The sides often can’t come together before a crisis develops.

In a marriage this dynamic winds up in divorce. In business we have partners buying each other out or businesses dissolving. At stake is the best process for survival and there are different views in a very unclear crystal ball of how that should happen.

We feel like the tail being whipped around by the dog. If one side or the other is right, they will never get their way. The result is usually a hodgepodge of both positions and the battle is left for another day.

We can say the system doesn’t work, but we never liked living under a monarch or dictator either.

**

Visit my other sites:

SurfBoardsOceanside.com

SkateBoardsOceanside.com

If you would like blogging for your site or a site that would take you to page one Google, contact me at Kaalm Media Group  760-696-7149

Mark Kaplan 118 S Pacfic Street, Oceanside, CA

See my other sites:

Research on Peak Performance and Flow
Mission: To Deliver Life Transforming Ideas

http://InnovationandFlow.com
http://InnovativeDownsizing.com
http://MarksHealthyEatingandFitness.com
http://NaturalFoodWebsiteSeo.com
http://InspirationisFreedom.com
http://NewCustomerDevelopment.com
http://EliteWebsiteSeo.com
http://FreightShippingSeo.com
http://Linkedin.com/in/markkaplan2
partner site http://Tossly.com

Categories : Public Policy
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Jul
25

Are Americans Going to Be Taxed into Healthy Eating?

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

(The quotes are from an article by Mark Bittman of the NY Times.)

Why the government can straighten out the mess they have made of our diet.

While a healthy diet is a willingness to eat healthy the economic reality is that as families pare their budgets to survive, healthy eating takes a back seat.

The government subsidizes corn and soy beans which often become high fructose and vegetable oil at very low cost. The food industry will chase profits more than health. So we have to change consumer habits and maybe stop the subsidies?

Fresh fruit and produce are expensive relatively speaking. I spent $2 for two peaches at my local farmer’s faire and somehow felt that was expensive. Coincidentally, an article I read subsequently said that a family could purchase a value meal for the same price as a few peaches.

“Rather than subsidizing the production of unhealthful foods, we should turn the tables and tax things like soda, French fries, doughnuts and hyper processed snacks. The resulting income should be earmarked for a program that encourages a sound diet for Americans by making healthy food more affordable and widely available.”

“The average American consumes 44.7 gallons of soft drinks annually.”

“And since the rate of diabetes continues to soar — one-third of all Americans either have diabetes or are pre-diabetic, most with Type 2 diabetes, the kind associated with bad eating habits — and because our health care bills are on the verge of becoming truly insurmountable, this is urgent for economic sanity as well as national health. “

“At least 30 cities and states have considered taxes on soda or all sugar-sweetened beverages, and they’re a logical target: of the 278 additional calories Americans on average consumed per day between 1977 and 2001, more than 40 percent came from soda, “fruit” drinks, mixes like Kool-Aid and Crystal Light, and beverages like Red Bull, Gatorade and dubious offerings like Vitamin Water, which contains half as much sugar as Coke.”

“Currently, instead of taxing sodas and other unhealthful food, we subsidize them (with, I might note, tax dollars!). Direct subsidies to farmers for crops like corn (used, for example, to make now-ubiquitous high-fructose corn syrup) and soybeans (vegetable oil) keep the prices of many unhealthful foods and beverages artificially low. There are indirect subsidies as well, because prices of junk foods don’t reflect the costs of repairing our health and the environment.”

“Other countries are considering or have already started programs to tax foods with negative effects on health. Denmark’s saturated-fat tax is going into effect Oct. 1, and Romania passed (and then un-passed) something similar; earlier this month, a French minister raised the idea of tripling the value added tax on soda. Meanwhile, Hungary is proposing a new tax on foods with “too much” sugar, salt or fat, while increasing taxes on liquor and soft drinks, all to pay for state-financed health care;”

“(The fast-food industry alone spent more than $4 billion on marketing in 2009; the Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion is asking for about a third of a percent of that in 2012: $13 million.) As a result, the percentage of obese adults has more than doubled over the last 30 years; the percentage of obese children has tripled.”

But let’s put in some real numbers:

“A study by Y. Claire Wang, an assistant professor at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, predicted that a penny tax per ounce on sugar-sweetened beverages in New York State would save $3 billion in health care costs over the course of a decade, prevent something like 37,000 cases of diabetes and bring in $1 billion annually. Another study shows that a two-cent tax per ounce in Illinois would reduce obesity in youth by 18 percent, save nearly $350 million and bring in over $800 million taxes annually.”

“Scaled nationally, as it should be, the projected benefits are even more impressive; one study suggests that a national penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages would generate at least $13 billion a year in income while cutting consumption by 24 percent. And those numbers would swell dramatically if the tax were extended to more kinds of junk or doubled to two cents an ounce.”

Read more at Taxing our Way to Healthy Eating NY Times by Mark Bittman

**

Visit my other sites:

SurfBoardsOceanside.com

SkateBoardsOceanside.com

If you would like blogging for your site or a site that would take you to page one Google, contact me at Kaalm Media Group  760-696-7149

Mark Kaplan 118 S Pacfic Street, Oceanside, CA

See my other sites:

Research on Peak Performance and Flow
Mission: To Deliver Life Transforming Ideas

http://InnovationandFlow.com
http://InnovativeDownsizing.com
http://MarksHealthyEatingandFitness.com
http://NaturalFoodWebsiteSeo.com
http://InspirationisFreedom.com
http://NewCustomerDevelopment.com
http://EliteWebsiteSeo.com
http://FreightShippingSeo.com
http://Linkedin.com/in/markkaplan2
partner site http://Tossly.com

Categories : fitness
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Jul
24

Why Chocolate is as Good as the Big O

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

Scientists have been studying the Big O to understand how people with impaired spinal cords or sexual dysfunction might still be awarded the pleasures of orgasm.

It is generally known that stimulus to the genitalia relays up the spinal cord to the brain and can lead to the desired result. What about people with injured spinal cords or people whose sensations get blocked in the spinal cord on the way to the brain?

Women have a vagus nerve system that leads from the brain to the sexual organs outside the spinal cord. Maybe this is why foreplay means more to them or may enhance their experience.  Women can have orgasms with thought alone.

It is one thing to understand how stimulation reaches the brain and another to determine what happens in the brain that causes the pleasure feeling. It has been discovered in lab tests that certain parts of the pre-frontal cortex shut down during this experience.

People with damaged pre frontal cortexes may have exaggerated sensual feelings. Asphyxiation with the plastic bag may shut down the pre-frontal lobe area of women that then leads to the enhanced experience. This addiction of course can cause death.

But if you ever wondered why you like nicotine, chocolate, cocaine and music consider:

“They found that orgasms elicit strong activity in the nucleus accumbens, the reward center, which also lights up in response to nicotine, chocolate, cocaine and music; in the cerebellum, which helps coordinate muscle tension; and parts of the hypothalamus, which releases oxytocin, the trust and social-bonding hormone.” Regina Nuzzo L.A. Times

Maybe a little more auto or mutual stimulation would relieve the need for harmful addictions.

Read the entire article

**

Visit my other sites:

SurfBoardsOceanside.com

SkateBoardsOceanside.com

If you would like blogging for your site or a site that would take you to page one Google, contact me at Kaalm Media Group  760-696-7149

Mark Kaplan 118 S Pacfic Street, Oceanside, CA

See my other sites:

Research on Peak Performance and Flow
Mission: To Deliver Life Transforming Ideas

http://InnovationandFlow.com
http://InnovativeDownsizing.com
http://MarksHealthyEatingandFitness.com
http://NaturalFoodWebsiteSeo.com
http://InspirationisFreedom.com
http://NewCustomerDevelopment.com
http://EliteWebsiteSeo.com
http://FreightShippingSeo.com
http://Linkedin.com/in/markkaplan2
partner site http://Tossly.com

Categories : Happiness
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Jul
23

Double Your Work Outs to Fitness

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

If we are not exercising to exhaustion on each work out, we are probably building reserves.

If I can run four miles a day and do it several times a week, after a while my body becomes capable of running more on a given day. If on a Friday, I were to run 6 to 8 miles I could probably do it without too much strain

That doesn’t mean I could run that distance every day. I should then either rest the next day or take my run down to two miles for the next two days. Then on Mon, Tues, and Wed I would run four miles and on Thurs run two miles.

On Friday I would then run 6 to 8 miles and rest on Saturday or take it back to two miles for two days. If we are enthusiastically trying to build our routine we can get into an over trained condition by thinking we are in better shape than we really are by virtue of that great Friday accomplishment.

Over training symptoms are generally lethargy and tiredness with no desire to exercise.

I use running as an example but you can apply it to any exercise routine you do. Your rate of growth will also depend on how many years of reserve exercise you have, your weight and your fuel and recovery nutrition.

If you have a good foundation, after a month you might be able to take your daily work out to five miles and then the Friday workouts to 8 to 10 miles. If it takes three months, that’s all right too. Rest between work outs is as important as the work out. It is good to attack each one fresh.

A person that has been exercising for years will have more reserves than the person who has just started after years of no exercise. Pushing too hard with no foundation leads to burn out, quitting, or injury. Build carefully.

**

Visit my other sites:

SurfBoardsOceanside.com

SkateBoardsOceanside.com

If you would like blogging for your site or a site that would take you to page one Google, contact me at Kaalm Media Group  760-696-7149

Mark Kaplan 118 S Pacfic Street, Oceanside, CA

See my other sites:

Research on Peak Performance and Flow
Mission: To Deliver Life Transforming Ideas

http://InnovationandFlow.com
http://InnovativeDownsizing.com
http://MarksHealthyEatingandFitness.com
http://NaturalFoodWebsiteSeo.com
http://InspirationisFreedom.com
http://NewCustomerDevelopment.com
http://EliteWebsiteSeo.com
http://FreightShippingSeo.com
http://Linkedin.com/in/markkaplan2
partner site http://Tossly.com

Categories : fitness
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Jul
21

Why the Government is Going to Control Obesity

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

Obesity is an indication the individual is not getting the nutrition that coincides with health and longevity.

The body stores acidic foods in fat. Acidic foods create an acidic balance in the blood. Acidic balanced blood does not take in the proper amount of oxygen as it passes through the lung barriers.

Cancer breeds in low oxygenated blood. Sickness and disease thrive in these bodies.

An obese body is an indication the brain thinks the body is starving based on the fact it does not recognize the food being consumed. If the body thinks it is starving, it will hold onto everything.

When the body is getting food it recognizes, it will develop an alkaline cancer resistant system that releases all food encapsulated in fat. What food does the body recognize? This is nothing new; fruits, vegetables, protein, nuts, grains, seeds, and good fats.

The reason the government feels the need to exert more control is that it is reeling under the entitlement programs funding healthcare. It is reeling under the social costs of sick people without insurance. Business is less competitive with other nations partly due to health benefits. Non competitive businesses lead to a balance of payment deficit and currency weakness.

A large portion of the population cannot afford health insurance and a large portion of the population is unable or unwilling to adopt a healthy life style. Does the government have to chew off its leg to save itself from a trap in which it is ensnared? Does it sacrifice people or start dictating?

The effort starts with making proper nutrition affordable. It leads to educating the populace on how to eat and stay fit. And if the population is unwilling to follow appropriate guide lines it leads to enormous health care debt that soaks up the capital that could be used for creating jobs.

The government has gone so far as to consider taking obese children away from parents labeling this condition as child endangerment. Obesity is also society and government endangerment because society cannot afford to take care of an increasingly unhealthy population.

The U.S. cannot fight China and India with a hand tied behind its back. At this point developing countries have few safety nets. Therefore they have very high saving rates and low consumption rates. Nations are going to have to meet in the middle to equalize production, consumption, capital, and currencies.

At what point does the government for the greater good and its own survival start demanding how we have to eat and even how to raise our children? The point may be arriving soon.

Categories : fitness
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Jul
20

Are You Fulfilling Your Role AS Predator?

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

Even though man is a meat eater, we don’t hunt our meat anymore.

We have a reptilian brain that reacts to fight or flight. Some predators are the prey of other predators and need to have offense and defense. Animals that are prey have only defense.

The world acts on us from the time we are little. I am reading a book about the Judds the mostly mom and daughter singing duo. Naiomi was a single mother and then a single mother with two girls. She never had money and had to fend for herself.

Her good looks were a boon and a disadvantage as it opened doors and then made her prey to male employers. She was a waitress in the day and studied to be a nurse which she was eventually at night. But she always had dreams of a better life. Music became her path so then she had three pursuits in addition to raising two daughters.

When I surf I feel I am the predator looking for the right waves. Sometimes I am the prey as big waves trounce me. On some days I win most of the battles and on some days I lose most of the battles. Then I go out again the next day to win.

The world acts on us with global warming, the economy, taxes, and life’s circumstances. We often get beat down by so many battering winds. The human will is indefatigable. In the army and marines, Special Forces personnel are trained to withstand the most trying circumstances that few humans could endure. They are trained to perform in the most exhausting and stressful situations.

We really have no idea of what we are capable of achieving. We often give up before we find out. We become prey and we stop acting like predators. Dreaming and visions are the light at the end of the tunnel. They are the path of the predator.

What ever you want may be worth pursuing even if you never reach it. It is part of the human spirit to be a predator; to chase dreams.

Categories : Flow
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Jul
19

Astaxanthin is What Salmon Eat

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

Astaxanthin is a red-orange carotenoid pigment derived from microalgae, fish, and crustaceans that can prevent and even treat conditions that progress from the negative effects of oxidative stress and antioxidant deterioration. Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant that has been shown to be ten times more powerful than other pigments and carotenoids including resveratrol. “ NaturalNews.com

I used to pooh pooh the anti oxidant battle that was fought with anti oxidant rich foods like blueberries and omega rich salmon. But I don’t anymore. The free radicals not only cause cancer, but help deteriorate eye sight and brain acuity; even leading to dementia.

I have found the more efficient, consistent, and less expensive way to get my omegas is with flax seed which I can put in anything including my protein shakes. Wal-Mart sells a pound of flaxseed for $3.50.

Then in researching information for my surfing and fitness writing I came upon astaxanthin. Salmon are rich in astaxanthin which they get in their 4.000 mile circle around the north pacific as they fatten up to return home to spawn. It is what gives their meat the pink color.

A firm in Hawaii called Nutrex sells the supplement as BioAstin  and a few tablets a day give you the recommended dosage. A monthly dose shipped is about $25. The added advantage for surfers is that astaxnthin is a higher dose of anti oxidant than most any other food and permeates the brain blood barrier to protect the eyes; even better than carotene from carrots.

A second advantage for surfers and people who spend a lot of time outdoors is that it builds in a protection to UV damage so that the most damaging of all exposures, the sun, is limited from hurting the skin.

Then the athletes and marathoners of Hawaii swear by its stamina producing qualities. Let’s face it, salmon may be the most powerful animals on earth. They propel themselves straight up a water fall so they are forcing their weight against the downward pressure of cascading water.

Other species that feast on salmon are sword fish, tuna, and bears.  Swordfish and tuna get them while the salmon are making their loops in the ocean and the bears wait for them as they spawn up rivers.

Free radicals cause so many other problems and now that the world is being radiated to an extent we are not allowed to learn, self protecting ourselves from cancer and life quality diminishing exposures is more crucial.

Categories : fitness
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Jul
18

How Far Can You Carry Stoked?

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

For the surfer, stoked means adrenaline. It’s the high before or after a session.

Before you go in your blood seems to be pumping and your adrenaline is active as you expect great things. After you have had a great session your adrenaline is pumping because life is great.

Gratitude is certainly at the core of stoked. You are so happy that you have the opportunity to experience what is going to happen. Afterward you are so happy that you are alive and have discovered a sport or recreation that gives you the greatest joy imaginable. The fact that you combine your physical capabilities with the forces of nature is a connection that certainly speaks of a higher order. It is certainly a feeling of unity with the cosmos or God or what ever your highest ideal of life on earth seems to merit.

I just watched “Surf School” on Netflix which is the Red Bull sponsored national high school team surf championship. Living in Oceanside, I felt the kinship as two out of the four final teams were Carlsbad and San Clemente. It is a great story about how kids raised with surfing and competition compete as teams and not individuals to bring glory to their schools.

But it is about the camaraderie of physically gifted teen agers developing a skill to their highest potential and throwing it into the ring to see how they match up against others doing the same. Surfing is a culture for each of them supported by family, schools, coaches and their peers.

Carissa Moore just won the ASP Women’s World Championship in France. She started surfing when she was about 5. At 18, she is the youngest champion ever. She has blended a skill, an aptitude, a passion, an attitude, and a drive to reach a high plateau.

She is all in. Isn’t that what makes life really special? When you become one with a passion and it becomes who you are and expresses what you can do? Flow or being in the zone is the highest form of emotional intelligence according to the expert Daniel  Goleman.

Flow is the result of engaging in an activity in which you have developed through practice a competency. The engagement is without distraction and without thought of reward or consequence in the midst of performing. It is being lost in the beauty and sensation of the moment. It is having just enough adrenaline and before being anxious. It is an arena from which you never want to emerge.

The term “stick it” can apply to your best performance when you are in the moment and you have fully focused your mind, body and soul to perform at your highest potential. It takes courage to risk being “all in”. It is an ultimate declaration of who you are and subjects you to judgment.

Going for it requires a suspension of concern for judgment. It is your declaration that you are going to put yourself on the line for yourself or maybe in front of others to see how much courage and how much talent you possess.

It is definitely being “stoked” and it can apply to anything.

Categories : Inspiration
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Jul
17

Elevated Radiation Should Make Us All Cancer Experts

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

Before nuclear power plants exploded in Japan, our population was already the victim of hazardous health conditions creating heart disease and cancer.

Now numerous reports say that there is elevated radiation in the air in Hawaii, Seattle, the entire West Coast of the U.S. I imagine it is also in the ocean and since I surf daily, I assume I am exposed. In that scientists warn about drinking milk and eating leafy vegetables, we can assume it’s on the ground.

Kelp or iodine is one remedy that support thyroid function which fights radiation. Edible clay will remove foreign objects like pesticides, metals, and radiation from intestinal tracts. Selenium is a tumor suppressor available in supplements or in especially garlic and broccoli.

But Greg Delaney has an article worth reading if you are willing to change your eating life style to possibly prevent cancer.

Cancer is the reaction of cells to various factors that will cause their death if they do not devolve to a lower, cancerous state.” Gregory Delaney Article Cure Cancer with Baking Soda

http://www.bamboo-delight.com/download/Cure_Cancer_with_Baking_Soda.htm

His article explains how the acid balance that exists in our systems resulting from the food we eat creates the environment for cells to devolve to cancerous cells so that they can survive. Alkaline systems result from eating natural foods like fruit and vegetables.

He quotes a newsletter from John Hopkins to the point;

“All naturopaths already know these things but because it was new to the physicians and oncologists, here briefly is what the Johns Hopkins Hospital newsletter stated:

1.“Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells.

2.“Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.”

3. “Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.”

4 “A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).”

5. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water – best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic. Avoid it.”

6. “Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.”

7. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body’s killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

8.“Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6 , Flor-ssence , Essiac , anti-oxidants , vitamins , minerals , EFAs, etc.) to enable the body’s own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body’s normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.”

9.“Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment.

10.“Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.”

And Delaney elaborates:

“And this ends the good advice that the Johns Hopkins Hospital tosses out … then forgets entirely about. Although they make some basic errors with their assertions because they don’t really understand natural nutrition, it does contain almost everything that naturopaths of all varieties have been practicing and teaching for many years.”

“One of the much-overlooked “minor” details of cancer cells is that they thrive in a low oxygen environment. When the body is not able to fully oxygenate, these cells must either die of asphyxiation and toxic build-up or they must devolve to a lower state of existence where they can live and grow without so much oxygen. They become cancerous because there is not enough oxygen for them to remain normally functioning.

But just like a toy balloon that cannot stick to the wall in wet weather, oxygen cannot stick to a blood cell if the ionic balance of the blood is acidic. This is what the physicians and oncologists are overlooking.

Oxygen cannot stick to blood cells if the pH of the blood is acidic. And rather than do everything that they can to raise the pH back up to a normal pH of 7.4 so that the blood can function properly, they prefer surgery. All of the advice that they have stolen from naturopathic medicine about  “deep breathing” will do them no good at all. You can breath pure oxygen until you catch on fire but if the blood pH is acidic, then the oxygen will not be able to be picked up by the blood cells. It is chemically impossible.”

So the cure is to make the body alkaline by eating natural foods and avoiding the acidic results of sugar, fats, processed foods, red meats etc.

Delaney also has a simple cure. Use a diet of baking soda to neutralize the acidic content of the body.

“So, yes, cancer can be cured with ordinary baking soda. Bicarbonate is found in the blood naturally for the very real purpose of neutralizing acids.”

http://www.bamboo-delight.com/download/Cure_Cancer_with_Baking_Soda.htm

Categories : fitness
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Jul
13

Cross Training Invigorates the Body and the Mind

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

Even though I surf everyday, there are muscle groups I am not affecting.

Yesterday I went stand up paddle boarding (SUP) for the first time. I shared my hour with my surfer neighbor who also wanted to give it a try. We went our local harbor in Oceanside and had a great time paddling in the channel on calm water.

Even though it caused us no problem, I could tell that if I did it for an hour on my own, I would feel it in my upper torso. Today I feel it in my quads. Surfing requires strong legs and it tells me I am not giving enough attention to my quad development.

So I began the morning inspired to do more exercises. I started with 60 squats and at the end I could feel my burn. It shows I need to do it more. I did some squat thrusts that include a push up and simulate a pop up on a surf board. I did my plank for two minutes. Then I added side planks which I have never done.

I could feel the balance stress. Then I lifted one leg and could feel the difficulty. It tells me I should do more of these. I did some core work on the large flex ball that I am used to and then did some regular crunches and bicycle leg lifts that I don’t do as often.

Each new exercise tells me I am reaching under used muscles. The stair running I often include in my morning routine of yoga and push ups doesn’t seem to build the quad strain the same as squats.

I placed a small object on the ground and jumped over it from side to side. I jumped on my small 21/2 foot wall from a standing squat landing with both feet on the wall shoulder width apart like I would land on my surf board after a pop up.

Once again, I felt the strain from my muscles not being used to the stress. Means I should add them until 20 to 30 repetitions are easy. Doing new activities is mentally and physically stimulating.  Now I have new exercises to liven up and reinvigorate my routine.

If we do the same things all the time, we are likely to start letting them slip all together. The exercising is like our daily living. We need to liven it up by putting in new things and taking some routines away. My daughter says she turned off Face Book for three days to break her addiction.

I told her she should try eliminating TV for a week and see how much time it opened up for reading or even going out for a run or swim. They say variety is the spice of life and we need to keep spicing up our diet, exercise, and daily routines.

**

Some Good Paddle Board Instruction  http://youtu.be/5-7rDavdJGs

Categories : fitness
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Jul
12

Why Paddle Boarding is the New Gym

Posted by: Mark Kaplan | Comments Comments Off

People are tired of the same old same old. They want to be fit, but they don’t want it to be a chore. They have been talking themselves into joining a gym and jogging, but it never seems to happen.

Enter paddle boarding. The gym on the water that creates exercise, muscle building, fat stripping, balance and exhilaration. It is an easy entry sport. People of any age can do it. People who are afraid, have given up, or don’t want to surf can do it and go to the same places as the surfers.

Beginners start with a 12 paddle board that any child or any “over the hill” 30+ athlete or non athlete can usually stand up on. One advantage is that you can start in calm water. It can be enjoyed on a lake, in a lagoon, a lazy river, or in a calm ocean.

Many lessons are combined with tours of inner water ways along calm ocean lagoons where from the stand up position, participants can see down into calm waters. The participants can enjoy the group camaraderie that surfing often doesn’t provide as participants are quickly split up by the surf.

Enterprising paddle board destinations are creating exercise classes on the boards in the water. They are stable enough to support your push ups, stretching, and leg raises in the atmosphere of a body of water in the sunshine. Get too warm and a quick dip takes care of that problem.

The core and muscle building advantage are best known and utilized by the likes of surfers like Laird Hamilton, big wave guru, for cross training and exercising when the surf is down. For the average Joe, it is a workout that transforms the crowded and old hat gym into a dynamic new process that can strip inches with vigorous application.

The more adventurous and athletic can take the board to the sea and paddle long picturesque distances solo or in groups that are forming to enlist the enthusiasts in social exercise. The boards can be surfed easier than regular surf boards.

The various sizes of paddle boards can facilitate the learning process for the beginner to the expert surfer. The longer boards have more wave catching ability and stability than even a long surf board. They will catch small waves easy and if you must, Laird Hamilton has been known to paddle into 30 foot waves. So don’t think there is a ceiling.

The World Paddle Association and others have created events for the competition minded. Hawaii has hosted contests for paddling between islands for the super fit. The boards offer a variety of small 8 foot boards for the surf minded to the 12 boards for those who never want to leave flat water.

Every coastal town that caters to surfers has meet up groups. It’s the new coffee clutch and maybe singles hang out. What a great way to find people with like interests. You have the desire for fitness, the love of outdoors, and varying degrees of adventure.

I am giving it the first shot this week with renting a few boards in a harbor with friends and then going to the World Paddle Associations event on Sunday in Oceanside where they will allow free ocean demos. I want in. You can watch some great videos on YouTube and get some easy start up instructions at TowerPaddleBoards.com.      http://youtu.be/zi-xncYFMrM

Categories : Inspiration
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