Trust is a Strong Word

10:54 AM Jackie Mart 0 Comments



Trust- "assured reliance, truth, dependence."

What does trust mean to you?

Trust comes in many forms-

I trust that my paycheck will go into my bank account every 2 weeks.
I trust alarm will go off in the morning.
I trust that my credit card information will not be sent out across the world for anyone to see when I purchase items online.
I trust that my family loves me and will be there to support me even when times are bad.
I trust my car will start when I want to leave.
I trust I will make the right decisions concerning my future and where I am in life right now.

Trust is something I have had difficulty with for years. I've had alot of let downs from friends ditching me, employers not keeping their word about job opportunites, and definitely a lack of trust in my previous marriage. It is something that is easy to lose but takes threefold the effort to gain back once lost. Some people lie, cheat, and steal and I honestly wonder if most people feel guilty about it? It is hard to forgive and forget but sometimes that is what we must do. I am working on taking a leap of faith and trying not to doubt others.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

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Acne-Nutrient Deficiencies?

12:13 AM Jackie Mart 0 Comments

Here is what you need to know!!

In 2009, a study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology looked at 1,002 adolescents and found that both mental stress and sweet and oily foods were risk factors for moderate to severe acne.

It’s not just fatty foods that cause acne, however. We need healthy fats and essential fatty acids (EFA's) to produce hormones and other structural components of a healthy body. In particular, imbalances in the levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids create inflammation in the body. This means staying away from rancid oils like vegetable, canola and soybean oils, which are very high in omega-6 fatty acids.

A 1966 study published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology found that essential fatty acids found in flaxseed and fish oils help correct hormonal imbalances that lead to acne.

Food Sources of EFA's: Brazil nuts, pecans, pine nuts, sesame seed, walnuts and oily fish.


Your skin if your largest organ. Acne could be a sign that your body is highly toxic! Blemishes are a sign that your body is trying to remove these toxins!


Nutrient Deficiencies

Other nutrient deficiencies that may lead to acne include chromium, magnesium, selenium, vitamins A and B and zinc.

Chromium


Chromium helps to balance blood sugar levels and several studies have found a link between low chromium levels and acne outbreaks. Onions, romaine lettuce and tomatoes are good sources of chromium.

Selenium

When selenium is taken along with vitamins A and E, it can help reduce the severity of acne and the scarring that can occur afterwards. Selenium is also found in Brazil nuts, button mushrooms, cod, halibut, salmon and shiitake mushrooms.

Vitamin A and B2


Vitamin A is responsible for the conversion of fatty acids into the oil in skin and can help to balance hormones but it is toxic when taken directly by itself. Vitamin B2 converts the toxic forms of vitamin A into the forms our body needs and uses. Natural sources of vitamin A include carrots, cruciferous vegetables, leafy greens and yellow-orange fruits. Good sources of vitamin B2 are asparagus, broccoli, chard, collard greens, eggs, mushrooms, Romaine, spinach and turnip greens.

Zinc


Zinc is known to increase the production of male hormones and is also needed to renew skin cells on a daily basis. Zinc has brought “dramatic improvement” to acne sufferers, says author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Healing Mark Pritkin.

Zinc is present in Brazil nuts, mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, spinach and whole grains.

Magnesium

Magnesium is vital for the release of insulin, the creation of glucose receptors and the production of enzymes and proteins necessary for skin cells.

Good sources of magnesium are broccoli, halibut, mustard greens, blackstrap molasses, peppermint, pumpkin seeds, squashes and turnip greens. Celery, cucumbers, green beans and kale, along with other seeds are also good sources of magnesium.


Following a diet that DOES NOT include processed or refined foods, and dairy products like those common in the Western Diet will also help clear up acne. Choose meat and whole plant foods.


Acne doesn’t come from the surface of the skin!! Many acne face washes and lotions sold today are also highly toxic personal care products!

Here are a few products I like to use on my own skin:

Breakouts- apply Aura Cacia Pure Essential Oil Tea Tree on the pimple. Mix with a carrier oil (olive oil, jojoba oil, almond oil) if you have sensitive skin!

I love this bar soap from Wyndmere Naturals-Clearer Skin

I use Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel as a toner. If you go through my link to buy the tea tree oil or witch hazel at Vitacost.com you can get a $10 off coupon to use on your purchases!






International Institute of Nutritional Research (2001)

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2007)

Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2009)

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Thanksgiving- One Simple Thing I am Thankful For

3:05 AM Jackie Mart 0 Comments

With Thanksgiving only a little over a week away I have been thinking more and more about what I am thankful for in life. One of the top things on my list believe it or not is HUGS!! After being married and in a relationship for 8 years and getting one every day to being divorced and living alone; I can go days and sometimes weeks without that daily gentle embrace. Anyone who has ever met me knows I am a hugger!! haha ;-)

Opal, my adopted 99 year old grandma always told me, "you need at least 6 hugs a day!" :)

For decades we’ve known that babies won’t thrive without physical holding and affection. There is little that will comfort and settle small children as the warm embrace of their family. Yet it is still not uncommon for parents to stop hugging their kids as they reach puberty. And for many adults, the amount of physical nurturing we receive declines as we age, even as medical studies confirm that the health benefits of physical touch extend throughout our lives.

Research has shown that hugs can improve mental health, physical health and build a good immune system. A study by University of North Carolina researchers found that hugs increase the "bonding" hormone oxytocin and decrease the risk of heart disease. In fact, levels of the stress hormone cortisol decreased in women, as did their blood pressure.

"Hugging is an excellent tonic," said Dr. Harold Voth, senior psychiatrist at Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas. "It has been shown scientifically that people who are mentally run-down and depressed are far more prone to sickness than those who are not. Hugging can lift depression, enabling the body's immune system to become tuned up. Hugging breathes new life into a tired body and makes you feel younger and more vibrant. In the home, daily hugging will strengthen relationships and significantly reduce friction."

It's amazing how one simple hug seems to make everything better! Check out the FREE HUGS Campaign! :) I want to do this sometime downtown when it warms up again!

"A hug is a universal medicine, it is how we handshake from the heart." -Anonymous

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Goals!! Write Them Down!

8:23 PM Jackie Mart 0 Comments

My boss gave me a motivational CD to listen to by Brian Tracy. I loved his views and advice on goal setting! I re-wrote my life goals in the present tense and plan on going to test drive a Jeep so I can picture myself driving one soon! :)


Here is the basic seven-step model of goal setting. You can use this like breathing in and breathing out on a regular basis to accelerate your attainment of any goal you can imagine for yourself.

Step One

Step number one is for you to decide exactly what you want. This immediately moves you into a separate category of people because most people have no idea of what they really want.

Clarity is the most important single quality of goal-setting and perhaps the most important single quality of success. Decide exactly what you want in each area of your life. Instead of fuzzy goals like more money, better health and happiness, be specific about exactly how much more money you want to earn in a specific period of time and combine that with exactly what level of health and fitness you desire.

Most people are unconsciously preoccupied with the fear of failure. It is the greatest single obstacle to success in adult life. And the fear of failure can work on you unconsciously by blocking you from setting clear specific goals.

Why? Well, if you don’t set clear, specific goals, then you can’t fail to achieve them. So your subconscious mind is actually protecting you by helping you to avoid failure.

You must resist and overcome this tendency by having the courage to be bold and specific about exactly what you want.

Step Two

Write your goal down on paper.

Only three percent of living Americans, or adults anywhere for that matter, have written goals. Everyone else that thinks about a written goal and plans to write them down, someday. But they never get around to it. Most people spend more time making a list of groceries before they go shopping or planning a vacation than they do in planning their lives. But again, this is not for you. Success begins with a pad of paper, a pen and a few minutes of your time. One of the most important keys to success is to “think on paper.”

All successful people “think on paper.” And here are two important points. If you cannot write it down clearly and specifically on a piece of paper, then it means that you are not really clear about it yourself. Perhaps you don’t even want it. What is worse, it may be that you are afraid that you may not attain it. Nonetheless, a goal that is written down is merely a fantasy or a wish. A goal that is clearly written and described on a piece of paper takes on a power of its own, it is now something concrete that you can touch and feel and work with.

The second principle of writing goals down is that something miraculous happens between the head and the hand. When you actually write a goal down, it is as if you are programming it into your subconscious mind and activating a whole series of mental powers that will enable you to accomplish more than you ever dreamed of. By writing it down you intensify your desire for the goal and you increase your belief that the goal is possible.

You begin to expect to achieve the goal and you start to attract people and circumstances into your life that are consistent with the attainment of the goal. Writing your goal down is one of the most amazing of all goal-setting skills and it is a key to your success.

Step Three

The third step is for you to set a deadline. If it is a large goal, set a series of sub-deadlines. A deadline acts as a “forcing system” on your subconscious mind and begins to move you toward your goal rapidly while it moves your goal toward you.

Sometimes people ask me, “What if I set a goal and I don’t achieve it by the deadline?” The answer is simple. Set another deadline.

Remember, a deadline is a guess-timate of when you will achieve it. Sometimes you will achieve your goal well in advance of your deadline. Sometimes goals will take much longer than you expect. But you must have a target time before you set off.

It is like making a reservation at a restaurant. You may be five minutes early or five minutes late, but you always have a specific time for which your dinner is reserved.

Step Four

The fourth step is for you to make a list of everything you could possibly think of that you will have to do to achieve your goal. The more comprehensive your list, the more motivated you will become, the more intense will be your desire and the more you will believe it possible.

One of the things that hold people back is even if they get to the point of a written goal; they do not take the time to lay out a list of all the little things they will have to do to get there. And with additional experience, you will add new items to your list until it finally becomes complete.

Step Five

The fifth step of goal setting is for you to take your list and organize it into a plan. A plan is really quite simple. It is a list organized by priority and importance. You decide what you will do first and what you will do later. You decide what is more important and what is less important. And most of all, you decide upon the one thing that is more important than anything else that you can do immediately to begin moving more rapidly towards your goal.

Step Six

Step number six is for you to “take action!” This is the big killer for most people. They are procrastinators. They have great ideas combined with great hopes and dreams. They may even get to the point of writing down their goals. But when it comes to taking action, they always have a reason or excuse to procrastinate to put it off until a later time. However, as the Bible says, “Faith without deeds is dead.”

It is when you launch toward your goal that you begin to feel the desire and power that goes along with goal setting. And once you have launched toward your goal, it is much easier for you to continue moving in that direction.

Step Seven

Step number seven is for you to do something every day to move you toward your major goal. Never let a day go by without you engaging in some action that helps you move another step in the direction of what you really, really want in life.

Remember, you can’t hit a target that you can’t see. And if you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.

The simple seven step act of deciding exactly what you want, writing it down, setting a deadline, making a list, organizing the list into a plan, taking action on the most important item on your list and then doing something every day towards your goal will change your life and your future in ways that you cannot even dream of today.



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Negativity-No Room for it Here!!

8:03 PM Jackie Mart 0 Comments

Negative people are everywhere!! It's amazing how one person can drag down a whole group! It is very infectious. Sometimes I walk into a room and can feel the negative energy. I truly believe attitude is everything and that what you think about you will attract. Are you constantly worrying about not having any money, your crap job, how you hate yourself, feel like a failure, that your life stinks? You have programmed your mind to think negatively and it will spiral out of control! The power of positive thinking is amazing! I've had alot of ironic situtations where I have concentrated on removing my bad thoughts and all sorts of opportunities have come my way!!




Here are a few actions and tips to help you develop the power of positive thinking:

*Always use only positive words while thinking and while talking. Use words such as, 'I can', 'I am able', 'it is possible', 'it can be done', 'I like myself" and etc.

*Try to disregard and ignore negative thoughts. Refuse to think such thoughts, and substitute them with constructive happy thoughts.

*In your conversation use words that evoke feelings and mental images of strength, happiness and success.

*Before starting with any plan or action, visualize clearly in your mind its successful outcome. If you visualize with concentration and faith, you will be amazed at the results.

*Read at least one page of inspiring book every day.

*Watch movies that make you feel happy.

*Minimize the time you listen to the news and read the papers.

*Associate yourself with people who think positively and are happy!

* Write down your life goals in the present tense. For example: I earn X amount of dollars per year, I own X car, I weigh X amount, I live on a house by the ocean...

*Always sit and walk with your back straight. This will strengthen your confidence and inner strength.

*Walk, swim or engage in some other physical activity. This helps to develop a more positive attitude!!


I copied some of my favorite positive affirmations and hung them up on my door. I try to say them before I leave my apartment in the mornings!


This is a great book if you need ideas- Dancing with Divinity:Postitive Affirmations for Any Situation


Or subscribe to Brian Tracy's Newsletter and Blog!! He an amazing life coach!

"Change your thoughts and change your world!" -Norman Vincent Peale

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