Seems strange that having spent years in San Francisco during the “Be Here Now” days that one can get so lost down the road anyway. We do have all the answers; why do we forget that? A friend put the following quote from Eckart Tolle on his Facebook page a couple of days ago; it’s a good way to start the day.

Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry — all forms of fear — are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of nonforgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence . . . ~ Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart is a spiritual teacher and author who was born in Germany and educated at the Universities of London and Cambridge. At the age of 29, a profound inner transformation radically changed the course of his life. The next few years were devoted to understanding, integrating and deepening that transformation, which marked the beginning of an intense inward journey. Later, he began to work in London with individuals and small groups as a counselor and spiritual teacher. Since 1995 he has lived in Vancouver, Canada.

Mr. Tolle is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (translated into 33 languages) and the highly acclaimed follow-up A New Earth, which are widely regarded as two of the most influential spiritual books of our time.

“I would do anything to be anywhere in the vicinity of Eckart Tolle.” ~ Jim Carrey

Now IS the time to start. Use whatever method makes you comfortable.

Of course, hundreds of Books, eBooks, CDs and Audiobooks are available for whatever you feel you want to fix in yourself: lose weight, stop smoking, change abusive behavior, self esteem . . .

During a random search, we came across The Ultimate Self-Help Book: 31 Days in Proverbs. It happens to be an eBook, which is timely given that we are probably going to give in a buy a NOOKColor. (Checked the NOOK out yesterday and it seems like a great idea — especially for travellers; we can now carry tons of guide books without stuffing the suitcases.)

Endorsed by many greats such as, Zig Ziglar, Gary Smalley, Josh McDowell, Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, and Truett Cathy (Chick-fi-a Founder), this devotional book includes many inspirational and motivational stories, as well as great nuggets of truth by Al Fike! All based on the Book of Proverbs.

The writings of King Solomon cover a vast range of human experience. His teachings, inspired by God Himself, will guide you on your personal, family and career journey.

At the end of each daily reading, the complete New Living Translation text of Proverbs is included and corresponds with that’s day’s reading.

You’ll discover: How to make better decisions; How to set and achieve your goals and dreams; How to establish new and better habits, and how to get rid of old ones; How to save your marriage and live in harmony with each other; How to reach your God-given potential; How to handle criticism and use it to your advantage; and finally, How to have and use God’s wisdom in every area of your life.

Everyone cares about how their hair looks. Men and women spend a great deal of time with their hair: products, style, self-assessment, self-judgement (i.e., “if only”).

Including choosing the best products for your hair, your food choices affect each of the 150,000 hair follicles on your head.

Here are eight top foods that feed your hair:

1. Fruit. Brightly colored fruit, such as peaches, strawberries, mango, kiwi, and tomatoes (yep, they’re a fruit!) are rich in vitamin C, which is essential for making collagen that gives structure to hair. Vitamin C firms skin, too.
2. Dark green veggies: Spinach, broccoli, and Swiss chard are great sources of vitamins A and C, which help produce sebum, the scalp oil that’s a natural hair conditioner.
3. Green tea, walnuts, and salmon. The polyphenols and omega-3s in these foods are good for more than your heart and brain. They also help make your hair shiny. (If you’re fighting dandruff, try rinsing with green tea. It helps prevent dandruff-causing fungus.)
   

   Grilled salmon is a superb choice . . . our family fishes during salmon season, so we generally have a splendid supply of freshly-caught salmon in the house and have family BBQs throughout the year.

4. Beans, whole grains, and other healthful B-rich foods. B vitamins (especially vitamin B6 and folic acid) ensure a good supply of blood and oxygen to your hair follicles, which encourages growth and may slow hair loss. Other B-rich foods include beans, peas, carrots, cauliflower, soybeans, nuts, and eggs.
   

   Note: Steamed whole soybeans are excellent; however we consider every other form of soy as highly processed and potentially dangerous food products and recommend avoiding soy products.

5. Avocados and avocado oil may prevent dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which kills hair follicles, from getting where it needs to go.
6. Dark sesame seeds. Chinese swear this keeps a man’s hair darker longer.
   

   In traditional Chinese medicine, black sesame seeds have sweet and neutral properties, and are associated with the Kidney and Liver meridians. They function to tonify yin jing and blood, moisten the intestines, and help build the spirit, or shen.

   Black sesame seeds are an extremely good source of calcium; studies indicate that one gram of seeds contains approximately 85 milligrams of calcium. Black sesame seeds also have high amounts of protein, phosphorous, iron and magnesium. Some practitioners recommend using black sesame seeds to keep a person’s hair looking rich and dark.

Foods to skip to keep your hair healthy

Pass on animal fat (the kind in red meat), especially if you’re losing hair. Animal fat can lead to more DHT production and hair-follicle damage. DHT shrinks hair follicles in men who are genetically predisposed to hair loss.

Our late Spring rains soaked seeds and now Golden Poppies are covering ground all over California. While the poppy is native to California, it is found along the entire western coast of the United States as far north as Washington State and as far south as Mexico, in addition it has also be found in southern France, Australia and Chile.

Botanical Name of California poppy: Eschscholzia californica.

Other Common Names: Golden poppy, copa de oro, khishkhash Kalifornia.

Of course it was named for its golden orange color: “golden poppy.” The receptacle has an expanded rim that holds the young bud with two sepals until it blooms. The stem of the flower grows to approximately 5 to 20 inches tall, with teal colored leaves sprouting from its base. The plant is prolific, with numerous dark colored seeds held in the center of the flower within slender, ribbed single celled seed capsules.

Medicinal purposes: Root, leaves and seeds. Bitter to the taste with subtle euphoric properties, the entire plant of the Californian poppy is harvested in maturity. It’s dried and used for medicinal purposes as diffusion, tincture and powder. The most common use of this herb is in diffusion for treating the various physical and psychological conditions including insomnia, anxiety and nervous tension.

The California poppy has been used as an herbal treatment for tooth pain. The odontalgic properties are found in the root of the plant, which is cut and applied directly to the affected area.

California Poppy (Eschscholzia Californica) Organic Liquid Extract Tincture 4 Oz (120ml)

• California poppy extract is most often employed to provide restful sleep without the side effects of benzodiazepine drugs.
• The California poppy extract anodyne, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, duretic, galactofuge, odontalgic.
• The advantage of California poppy extract is relief from tension without morning grogginess, nausea, vomiting, or constipation.
• An extract of the root is used as a wash on the breasts to suppress the flow of milk in lactating females.
• Not filtered – crude extract of first extraction!

A balanced life comes from managing your stress, getting quality rest and sleep, eating a healthful diet, and participating in regular exercise. Sometimes that seems overwhelming, in part because of the way we live and work. Often we are miles from our careers and spend too much time in getting to and from, generally by driving or taking public transportation.

Many people are interested in releasing emotions . . . presumably the negative ones.

Reasonable exercise will help in all areas of your life; consider starting a routine that will help release stress (and, of course, talk first with your doctor).

Water-related sports have the benefit of negative ions released from the water. Those ions are a natural relaxer/mood enhancer. Through the years I have gotten through tough spots by swimming, ocean kayaking, river rafting . . .

In addition to exercising, consider the following:

1. Thoughts and emotions are “created” unconsciously.

   You didn’t consciously choose to create that bad emotion, it happened automatically from a deeply-rooted fear and it’s that fear that needs to be erased so that it does not keep cropping up.

   Avoid disapproving of yourself for having that thought or feeling that emotion in the first place. Dwelling on the emotion is a waste of time. Because it has been there for years perhaps, it is seemingly outside of your control. You can change that.

   Acknowledge that once that thought or emotion pops up, you can’t take it back. It already happened. However, using appropriate tools and with repitition, you will ultimately change those automatic thoughts and emotions. At the moment, don’t worry. It’s already done and it’s past.

2. You have complete control of your actions

   You also DO have comtrol of your reaction to any thought, image or incident. Science shows that by taking a specific action, you can train your thoughts and emotions to be consistent with that action in the future.

   Let’s put this into practice: Suppose you’re craving a piece of chocolate cake but you’re on a diet. You want to release that craving. Acknowledge that the craving is automatic, it’s been there for a long time, and such cravings are part of being human.

   Now, use EFT to tap on the craving and make the choice to take action against eating the cake. Perhaps throw it away or give it to the neighbour . . . either will do. (Keep in mind that while we were trained thinking that throwing away food you don’t need is wasteful, it is just as wasteful to eat food your body does not need.)

3. Re-program your unconscious thoughts and emotions

   In order to make your life easier in the long run, you’ll want to get rid of those cravings. With consistent choices and actions to reframe your thought patterns, you will change your life. There’s been a lot said about this and that technique for changing beliefs or negative thought patterns and it is based on neuroscience.

   Start by acknowledging that changing an automatic pattern will probably take time and consistent effort. Whenever the undesired thought or emotion comes up tap on it using EFT (emotional freedom techniques) and make the choice to act in the way that you deem to be in your best interests in the long run.

   The EFT releases the emotion you focus on and the choices segment is there to cement in the new action. Take the chosen action.

By consistently applying these steps you’re rewiring you will be rewiring your neurology to unconsciously create thoughts and emotions that support you new desired action!

Does this work? Yes. But even if it didn’t, there is no harm to you in trying to change negative patterns. It is well worth the minimal effort it takes.

Additional Aids to Getting Unstuck

EFT visual and verbal aids include The Tapping Solution, a documentary film that explores Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). This method combines ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology with noted results! In this movie, featured are ten people from around the country with a variety of challenges, such as PTSD, chronic back pain, fear of public speaking, Fybromyalgia, abudance blocks, weight loss, smoking addiction and more. The movie follows their journey as they learn E.F.T. (and you do also just by viewing the film). You can then dive deeper into the keys to changing your own life. Learn how to release pain, how our emotions affect our bodies, releasing trauma, how our childhood is affecting us today, how to clear limiting beliefs . . . Use E.F.T. to make the Law of Attraction work for you. The movie includes many of the noted “stars” of The Secret, so it may be repetitive to some, but if you’re still searching for an “improved self,” this will open other doors.

This includes interviews with Joe Vitale, Jack Canfield, etc., who also played prominent parts in “The Secret,” thus the overlap. Repetitive or not, it is a valuable work.

The Passport Book: The Complete Guide to Offshore Residency, Dual Citizenship and Second Passports, Robert Bauman

Bob Bauman reveals why millions of people already have their second passports and how you can join them and become an independent, “world citizen” — free to live, work, and acquire property anywhere in the world.

After practicing law for over 40 years, the author of The Passport Book is convinced that you can have personal freedom and abundance by learning the latest strategies contained in his best-selling book.

Here are a few of the ideas in his 722+ page essential “field guide” to international traveling and living.

• Five ways to acquire dual citizenship (you may qualify just because of your ancestors!) and how to reap extraordinary tax, privacy and business benefits from it.
• The shortest and easiest ways to obtain an EU Passport so you can live and work permanently in any of 27 European countries without immigration troubles.
• Top websites for over 80 foreign embassies and consulates.
• Which foreign officials to contact to expedite all passport and citizenship documents.
• How to live tax-free in Canada for five years. (Corporations use this strategy to operate tax free in many countries. We saw this in Jamaica. When taxes are about to kick in, various hotel chains trade their operations and start all over again tax free.
• Discover the two beautiful Caribbean island nations that grant immediate citizenship (if you can afford a significant property purchase!
  

  We just “had” to know this, so looked it up. Since 1984, the St. Kitts & Nevis Citizenship Act has allowed foreign investors who acquire qualifying real estate to obtain citizenship and a passport. This makes it the oldest existing citizenship-by-investment program. To apply for citizenship, you must invest a minimum of US$250,000 in real estate. In addition, government fees of US$35,000 or more apply, depending on the number of applicants. But this is hardly a sacrifice, because St. Kitts & Nevis has some of the Caribbean’s most stunning beaches.

• The four best countries for starting and operating a business.
• Trade your “work” clothes for Bermuda shorts, bathing suits and white sand beaches of a little-known residential haven.
• Learn how a direct cash contribution to banana crops could provide a private and reliable way to travel — without a visa — to more than 100 countries and territories.

About Robert Bauman

After getting his juris doctor degree from the Law Center of Georgetown University, he practiced law and less than a decade later, he was serving as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1973-1981). The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The National Review, and many other publications have featured his work.

His work in Congress took him on trade and diplomatic missions around the world — from Beijing to Panama and points in between. Since then, as Legal Counsel to The Sovereign Society, he has led offshore banking expeditions to dozens of countries on five continents.

Bob still believes the United States to be one of the best countries of the world, it’s undeniable that the American way of life has continually gotten worse over the past 50 years. And the pace of decline is accelerating.

The Passport Book also includes:

• The four countries that are the most affordable for retirees who live on a fixed budget.
• Learn what nation provides the highest level of personal and business privacy in the world for investors.
• Learn to protect yourself from “international identity theft” while avoiding passport fraud and counterfeit travel documents.
• The five best countries for qualifying for government health programs and FREE prescriptions.
• Discover the nations that are ready to roll out the red carpet for you and offer you special financial and lifestyle incentives if you are a scientist, engineer, medical professional or other educated professional able to fill critical positions within their communities.
• Five countries that offer endless acres of pristine landscapes for all of your outdoor adventures . . . for less than one-third of what you’d pay in the US.
• Where you can live like royalty for less than $390 a week!
• How to own a resort rental just a few steps away from the beach in one of the world’s most exciting locations with tax breaks and 50% savings as part of the deal.