Here are ten little gestures, all of them easily within our grasp, that can spread goodwill in our own communities, as well as increase our own sense of mindfulness about the people around us and our relationship to them.

Tip generously: When you have great service in a restaurant, leave a tip greater than the usual 15% to 20%. Leaving a larger than usual tip for great service not only puts a little extra money in your servers’ pocket, it tells them that they’re appreciated, a message that often slips our minds in our demanding, service-now society.

Compliment someone: Tell someone how much you like the job they’re doing, their outfit or new haircut, whatever. Be honest and sincere. Don’t expect anything in return, just let someone know that something they’re doing is great and move on.

Be totally open with someone: Let someone know exactly how you feel about something on your mind.  We often keep too much to ourselves; letting someone into your thoughts can be a great way to show your trust and appreciation of them.

Give someone a book you’ve read: Making a gift of something you’ve read and enjoyed is more than just a nice gesture, it’s a way of showing someone that a) you think of them, b) you understand them, and c) you want to share something with them. The moment doesn’t end when they take the book – once they’ve read it, you can talk about your reactions together.

Make something for someone: Bake an extra batch of cookies, draw a picture, decorate an extra Christmas ornament, and give it to someone for no good reason. Like giving someone a book, it tells them that you were thinking about them and wanted to do something nice for them, and that it’s something you made adds a nice touch. Give without expectations – whether they return the favor or not, whether they like it or not, whether they’re nice to you or not, these are all irrelevant.

Send a letter, email, tweet, or text message out of the blue: Email someone you haven’t spoken with for a while, or text someone you see every day just to be nice. Maybe they’ll respond, maybe not – it’s beside the point. They just need to know that they’re important to you.

Commend an employee to their manager: It’s one thing to tip or compliment someone for their service, it’s another to contact their manager and tell them what a great job they’ve done. If you don’t have time at the time of service, note the employees name and call, email, or write a letter later.

Teach someone how to do something: Share your skill or talent with someone by showing them how to do something. Not so they won’t bother you with it, but so they can move a little bit towards improved mastery of the world around them. Have patience and respect for the person you’re helping – you’re giving them a gift, not compensating for some lack in their character.

Let someone shine: Put a spotlight on someone else’s talents by letting them take over a presentation, deferring to their wisdom, asking them advice, or otherwise flex their “talent muscles”. Especially if they are junior to you, giving them a chance to strut their stuff shows that you trust them and appreciate them, as well as allowing them to get the attention they deserve (and which might often be obscured by your own shadow).

Connect like minds: Introduce two friends or colleagues who you feel have something to gain from each other. You’ll be letting them know you value them – and maybe creating a partnership that will make everyone better off.

You’ve probably heard the saying “Practice random acts of kindness”, and that’s basically what I’m talking about here. Anything that shows people you care about them has the potential to make the world, or your small corner of it, a better place.

Have a great day!

Dr. Jason Gerard DC

Source: Lifehack.org

That being said, there are times in life when things don’t go as expected.  I know a lot of people who are under a tremendous amount of stress right now.  So I thought it might be helpful to talk about ways to handle the stress.  Here are a few tips you can use to improve how you feel when you’re under stress. 

1. Calm Yourself Down 

Before you do anything else, try to calm yourself down.  Don’t panic.  Take deep breaths and try to relax.  The rest of the tips below won’t help you if you aren’t calm.

2. Feed Your Mind With Positive Thoughts

When you’re under stress, it’s easy to fall into the vicious cycle of negative thoughts.  The problem with this is the negative thought cycle will actually make things seem worse than they already are.  It’s important that you break this cycle so you don’t become a victim of your own thoughts.

3. Think About The Good

When under stress, our minds tend to focus on the negative and not the positive.  So direct your mind to the positive.  Even when things are going bad, or things are stressful, there are good things happening in your life.  Think about the good people around you.  Try to balance out your perspective so that you don’t dwell on only the negative.

4. Look At The Big Picture

Something you’re stressed about might not seem as bad if you step back and look at the big picture.  Try to get another perspective on what’s going on.

5.  Believe That Everything Will Be All Right

What you believe has an effect on you, whether you like it or not.  That’s just the way it is.  So if you believe that things will go wrong, then that would usually be the case.  On the other hand, if you believe that everything will be all right, you have a much better chance of that actually happening.

6. Exercise

When you’re under stress, make sure you take the time to exercise.  Exercise is related to positive mental health and helps with depression and anxiety.

7. Forgive

Mahatma Gandhi said: “The weak can never forgive.  Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”  Sometimes in life, you need to forgive others.  Sometimes you need to forgive yourself.  Work on forgiveness.

8. Take Action

Things in your life aren’t going to get any better if you just sit around and do nothing.  Focus on solutions to improving your stress and any problems you have in life and then set up the action steps you need to take to make it happen.

9. Gratitude

Practice gratitude.  What are you grateful for?  Who are you grateful for?  Focus on what’s right in your life instead of what’s wrong.  Every day answer this question…”What am I grateful for?”  Focusing on gratitude regularly is very powerful.

10. Get Adjusted

Chiropractic care has a tremendous stress reducing effect on your body.  Make sure you take care of your body regularly when you are under stress.  Make sure you are eating healthy foods, getting plenty of rest, and keep your muscles and joints healthy with chiropractic care and massage therapy.

I hope these help you out.  If you know anyone who’s under a lot of stress, email them these tips to help them out.

Have a great day and I’ll talk to you soon,

Dr. Jason Gerard

Lakewoods Chiropractic

Resource: www.lifeoptimizer.org

In the past, there have been rumors about cell phones causing health problems like cancer.  But there was never any proof that this was true…until now.

A new research study from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) shows that many of the new cell phones assault your skull and brain with harmful electromagnetic waves.

They found that the electromagnetic waves penetrate your skull and can double your risk of getting a brain tumor.

They also found that if you use a cell phone for more than 10 years, which most of us will do, the risk of having a health problem goes up.  Researchers have discovered that people who use a cell phone for more than a decade have a significantly higher chance of developing a brain tumor.

What’s even scarier is what happens to kids that use cell phones on a regular basis.

Because young skulls have much less thickness than adult skulls, it is much easier for electromagnetic waves to pass through the skull and harm the brain.  Numerous studies confirm that young children absorb more radiation than adults do.

They’ve found that a 2 minute phone call on a cell phone can alter the natural electrical activity in your child’s brain for one hour.  So if your child uses their cell phone for just 20 minutes a day (600 minutes a month), that’s 5 hours of unnatural brain activity every month.

You may be thinking, “But I use a wireless ear piece.”  The problem is, the earpiece relies on radio waves for transmission, so it still negatively affects you.

So what should you do?  I’m not suggesting that you give up your cell phone.  That’s just not practical in today’s day and age.  But here’s what you can do:

* Get a cell phone that emits as little radiation as possible.  You can see a list of the best and worst phones at this link here:

http://www.ewg.org/cellphoneradiation/Get-a-Safer-Phone

* If you put your phone in your pants pocket, your coat, or your purse, TURN IT OFF if you don’t plan on using it for awhile.  If someone is trying to call you and your phone is off, you can call them back.  You don’t need to be “connected” 24/7, unless your job requires it.

* Use a wired headset instead of a wireless headset.  Make sure the wire is at least 12 inches long.

* Send text messages instead of calling.

* Keep your calls short.  If you plan on having a long conversation and you have access to a land line, then use the land line.

* Limit your child’s use of cell phones.  They won’t like it, but explain to them why this is important.  If you have a teenager, tell them to text more often than calling.  This will limit their electromagnetic exposure.

Hope you found this information informative.  Email me with your thoughts, comments, or questions.  I’d love to hear from you!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jason Gerard

Here are the references for the research studies that confirm this information:

Cell Phone Radiation – Science Review on Cancer Risks and Children’s Health – Environmental Working Group http://www.ewg.org/cellphone-radiation  

Khurana VG, Teo C, Kundi M, Hardell L, Carlberg M. “Cell phones and brain tumors: a review including the long-term epidemiologic data.” Surg Neurol. 2009 Sep;72(3):205-14

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) 2008; Lahkola 2007.

deSalles 2006; Gandhi 1996; Kang 2002; Martinez-Burdalo 2004; Wang 2003; Wiart 2008

According to Natural News (www.naturalnews.com), there are 10 key lies that continue to be told by the mainstream media about the swine flu and swine flu vaccines.  So let’s go through each one so you are better informed. 

Lie #1: There are no adjuvants used in the swine flu vaccines 

Truth: You may be wondering what adjuvants are.  Well, adjuvants are a crucial part of the vaccine recipe.  The problem is, they are toxic chemicals that can cause side effects, and they are in the swine flu vaccine.

Lie #2: The swine flu is more dangerous than seasonal flu 

Truth: The virus has shown to have a mild impact on the majority of people who have gotten it.  The swine flu has shown to be a mild flu, no more dangerous than a seasonal flu. 

Lie #3: Vaccines protect you from swine flu 

Truth: The media insists that getting the swine flu vaccine will protect you from the swine flu.  But that’s not true at all.  Even if the swine flu vaccine produces antibodies, that’s not the same thing as real world immunity from a live virus.  Also, if the virus mutates, as it often does, the vaccine will not protect people from the mutated virus strains. 

Lie #4: Swine flu vaccines are safe 

Truth: None of the swine flu vaccines have been subjected to real-world testing for any meaningful duration.  The simple fact of the matter is the vaccine manufacturers and the media have no idea if this vaccine is safe or not.

Lie #5: The swine flu vaccine isn’t mandatory 

Truth: You may hear people tell you that the swine flu vaccine shot is voluntary.  But is it?  Not if you work at a place where the vaccine shot is being mandated.  Millions of Americans are being told by their employers that if they don’t get the vaccine shot, then they will not be able to work at their job.  It’s especially true for health care workers, day care employees, and school teachers. 

Lie #6: Getting a swine flu vaccine shot is a good bet on your health

Truth: The reality of this is that a swine flu vaccine shot is more likely to cause harm to your body than help you.  Here’s why.  According to one viral expert, the actual mortality rate of the swine flu virus is estimated to be as low as .007 percent.  That means the swine flu will kill less than 1 out of 100,000 people.  They are saying the risk of the side effects of the vaccine will harm or even kill several people, so the net risk of death is increased by getting a swine flu vaccine.

Lie #7: The vaccine isn’t made with “attenuated live virus” 

Truth: The vaccines ARE made with attenuated live viruses.”  That’s how you make a vaccine: You take live viruses, then you weaken them (attenuate) and then inject them into people. 

Lie #8: Wash your hands multiple times a day to avoid exposure 

Truth: The virus is now so widespread that the majority of people are going to be exposed to it through the air and other means.  The idea that you will avoid exposure is not practical at this point.  Instead, focus on how to have a healthy immune system when you do get exposed. 

Lie #9: Children are more vulnerable to swine flu than adults 

Truth: This is not true.  Right now the swine flu has been very mild in children.  In fact, Dr. Marc Lipsitch of Harvard University says the swine flu, “Is the mildest in kids.” 

Lie #10: There is nothing else you can do besides get the swine flu vaccine and Tamiflu 

Truth: This is not true.  Vitamin D and anti-viral herbs helps fight the flu.  Chiropractic adjustments have been proven to boost the immune system.  So despite what the media may try to tell you, there are things you can do to strengthen your body naturally to fight the swine flu. 

Pass this information on to any family or friends that you have that you think could benefit from learning the truth regarding the swine flu and the swine flu vaccine.  It’s important that people know what’s really going on so they can make good decisions.

Jason Gerard, D.C.

The results showed that “hands on” treatments, led by chiropractic care, were the “top-rated” treatments for people suffering from back pain.  The massage survey also found that chiropractors were given the highest “satisfaction with care” ratings, well above those given to medical doctors who administered various forms of care to back pain sufferers.

The survey found that more than half of the respondents had pain that severely limited their daily routine for a week or longer, and 88% said it recurred throughout the year.  The report stated that while many go to a primary care physician for diagnosis and treatment, the majority were disappointed with the results.

On the other hand, the majority reported that they were “highly satisfied” with the care they received from chiropractors.  Respondents were also asked to rate the types of treatments they received.  Again, chiropractic/spinal manipulation got the top honors.

Dr. Orly Avitzur, a medical neurologist, said, “The survey showed “hands-on” therapies, which include chiropractic care, are “very successful” and I almost always recommend them.”

This is exciting news because Consumer Reports has a great reputation.  What’s also nice is that the positive comments are coming from people just like you and I, so no one’s trying to scam or manipulate what’s being reported.

So if you know someone who could benefit from chiropractic care but is skeptical or unsure of whether or not chiropractic care could work for them, please share this information with them.

I’m sure you are like me and hate to see your friends and family suffer with pain, so let them know that chiropractic care is a proven option to restore their health and relieve their pain.

Dr. Jason Gerard, D.C.
Forest Lake Chiropractor

“The wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings.  Let food be your medicine.”

-Hippocrates

Begin to consume foods that are non-processed, non-denatured, non-altered and watch what happens to your health, your weight, your energy, and attitude.  Commit to a diet that’s 80% natural and just 20% processed.

“” I lost 30lbs in 30 days by attending the Maximized Living Makeover and just changing one thing, what I put into my body.”  -Dave M.

Listen, we are all either fathers/mothers/brothers/sisters/ or cousins of someone.   Your health affects everone around you and impacts your contribution to society.  Commit today to getting one one of our Maximized Living makeover workshops, and watch the pounds fall of tommorrow.