We have lowered our over head and now we get to pass these savings along to you! A penny saved is a penny earned, in this case it's several dollars! WHOOP! We've figured out how to save $5 to $15 dollars per student tuition and so we have passed that along to you! We are excited to open up the opportunity to learn these life saving skills to more people in 2014! We are still offering group discounts and special contract rates as well! We are looking forward to continuing our goals of helping others save time, money AND lives! We wish you the most amazing and prosperous year to date! HAPPY 2014! FROM ALL OF US AT MYSTIC LOTUS HEALTH SAFETY SUCCESS 
 GO RED! The American Heart Association ROCKS!
Check out this link: https://www.goredforwomen.org/get-involved/show-support-for-go-red/multicultural-scholarship-fund/ Do the research... Find out if this is for you. Whoop! I love saving money almost as much as I love saving lives! :)  Question everything! :) My post on Facebook is almost more about using critical thinking than it is about honey so I found a bunch of interesting quotes about critical thinking to include below. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mystic-Lotus-Health-Safety-Success/238250799594152?ref=stream We consume tons of honey in the US yearly, that's not an exact measurement, just a guess, but we truly do consume a LOT of honey from all over the world and in many forms. I personally enjoy honey over white sugar and I consume more raw honey than not. But in research about honey I find like everything else there is more to learn than I have time. However, I do find that there is enormous amount of information that is critical to learn about as it may benefit or harm our health. Please do your research. You may safe a life, improve a life or in the least, become a more educated consumer. All good stuff no matter how you look at it. Please do your own research relevant to your lifestyle, consumption and health needs or concerns. Happy learning! And please remember to check out our Facebook post on honey and while you're there please take a moment to "like" us. Thank you friends. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey http://www.businessinsider.com/one-third-of-honey-in-the-us-may-be-an-illegal-and-dangerous-import-from-china-2012-2 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2013/mar/15/bees-value-pollination-farming-neonicotinoids Disclaimer: This is just a random selection of sites, sources, quotes and images found on the net. Mystic Lotus does not endorse these sites or sources and is not endorsed by these sources. Be sure to do your own research and check each source and the sources of the sources to make an educated decision on what you find in your search. TOOL #1 <3 Check out this great tool by the American Heart Association! http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/WeightManagement/BodyMassIndex/Body-Mass-Index-BMI-Calculator_UCM_307849_Article.jsp What is your BMI (body mass index)? Use this incredible link to help you discover where you are at with your body fat. Are you ready to invest in yourself and change your path? Are you ready to stop feeling bad and being at high risk for ill health, injuries or poverty? Each day we are faced with choices. We can choose to head to the fast food drive through or pack our own health lunch and snacks. We can choose to sit and watch TV for hours and talk about how we don't have time to prepare healthy meals or to work out. We can choose to work out while watching our shows or aim the TV into the kitchen and watch while preparing healthy snacks and meals for the day or for the week. Or, we can just watch a lot less TV and get out of the house and enjoy a walk or run in nature. We can go to the gym or work out in our living room, kitchen, office, garage or even the yard. We can complain about how healthy food is so expensive and too expensive for our budget or we can take an honest look at how much we eat, how often, the nutritional value of the foods we eat and do a true comparison. We can choose to invest in ourselves or we can choose to put on blindfolds of false beliefs (I'm not good enough, I don't have time, I am too tired, I'm in too much pain, etc) and false information (good food is too expensive and hard to find, etc) and we can take simple steps daily towards our self care. It's hard watching a loved one kill themselves slowly with toxic foods and beliefs and filling the air with their excuses and "I can't" statements. Are you that loved one that others are losing to poor choices? You can choose to look into the mirror and say "I love you, and I'll show you that I do" and get out there and commit yourself to daily acts of self love. You can focus on the why you want to achieve, succeed, shift, release, etc.... the "WHY" that pulls you forward. Or, you can focus on the "why I can't" statements that keep you stagnant, broke and in ill health. This why sits you down and leads to deeper depression, more physical and mental and emotional pain. This why keeps you broke, unhealthy and sets you up for failure. YOU are worth MORE than that! :) You can use the "instead of" mindset. One simple shift daily can make a HUGE difference in your overall health, safety and success. Instead of watching a movie or two hours of shows I'm going to watch a documentary relevant to my goals: career, health, wealth, etc. Or I'll listen to an audio book about wealth building, health, or something I've really been wanting to learn more about while I workout or clean or drive. Instead of eating that fast food, I'm going to bring a salad and some fruit and perhaps dried fruit and nuts or protein shakes. Instead of that soda for today I'll choose herbal tea, water, 100% fruit and/or veggie juice or 100% produce smoothie. Instead of complaining, I will invest that time in writing down all I am grateful for in my life. Instead of thinking about what's wrong with me or others I'll spend time looking for things that I CAN DO and do them. Just for today I will.... Tool #2 <3 Here is a tool that you can use... instead of fast food or high fat foods, choose this to help you loose or maintain your weight: http://jodygonzalez.bodybyvi.com/ Find what works for you and start stepping towards your goals. Have a happy healthy and wealthy day!!!  What do you turn to for comfort, to mask, hide or deny your emotions?
What do you turn to celebrate or reward yourself for an accomplishment? What do you fill in your time with when you are bored, lonely or tired? Are your "band aids" comfort foods, over sleeping, TV, alcohol or drugs? Are you turning to things that are unhealthy and counter productive and then complaining about the side effects of your actions? There is a way out. Start focusing your time, energy and money on healthy choices. Start with simple and affordable sources. Most exercises do not require any money: Walking, kata (martial arts), dancing, calisthenics, walking up and down stairs, yoga, etc. Some are low-cost: bands, light weights, good walking or running shoes, tonfa for tonfa kata, etc. The excuses and bad habits cost you FAR more than healthy choices. If you want to learn a better way to eat, a good way to work out, etc. google, youtube, community centers and community events such as the OMAS free Saturday class (Oregon Martial Arts Society). http://www.omas1000.com/class-info.html Fitness is energizing, increases self-confidence, and leads to a better attitude! Resources and options are abundant!  See beyond the drops of water and see the entire ocean. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
—Marianne Williamson Are you willing to do the work, to invest your time, energy, resources and energy into SEEING your greatness, into allowing your greatness to emerge and into being the best version of yourself that you can be? You are worth it!  Have you had those times in your life when you suddenly realize you stopped working towards your goals? You look back and see that more time has passed than you realized and you feel suddenly like you are a million miles from your goals. Have you had that sinking feeling that "there's no point now"? Have you stepped into the excuse making stage? The weather is bad. I don't have enough: time, money, energy, motivation, etc? Here are some simple solutions. Complaining, excuse making? Well stop it! :) Sometimes, it IS that simple. Just start from where you are with what you have. Fitness goals: Don't make a big production out of it or try to start where you left off/ Example: you used to run 10 miles but haven't ran in a year... Just start with walking a mile each day for two weeks and then increase your time or your speed or both... Start simple. Schedule 10 minutes a day to do something active with intention and meet that schedule. This will put you back into the pattern of focusing on your body and investing time in your health. If you're in a lot of pain or fatigued, start with small slow movements. Movement of any kind is often better than no movement at all. Of course; consult with your physician before starting a new fitness routine and take care that you don't over do it... but DO SOMETHING. You are not in a competition with anyone else and you are not trying to be who or how you were 10 years prior, simply do the work to be better today than you were yesterday. :) If it's financial goals, start again with small steps. Cut out fast food, expensive coffees, or eating out at least once a week or once a month and put that same amount into your savings account. If you barely have two coins to rub together, put one into savings. What can you spend a coin on now days anyway, you might as well save it. Stop focusing on what you don't have. Invest the energy in being grateful for what you do have and in finding creative ways to set yourself up for success and improvement. Don't just save for a rainy day, save during the rainy days, workout during the rainy days and discover that you have more in you and in your resources than you ever realized. All goals are similar: Any action towards your goals is better than no action at all. Stop investing time, energy and money working against your goals: complaining, being lazy, eating fast food, watching tons of TV, etc and start investing your time, energy and money towards your goals. It doesn't cost anything and it will not injure you to visualize and to give thanks. See yourself meeting your goals, living your dreams and celebrate your successes. This is a powerful way to spend moments of your day. YOU CAN DO THIS! The time is NOW o'clock!
 Living a holistic balanced healthy life helps us to not only have more fruits of our labor, but helps us to enjoy them more. Your body is one of your biggest investment, wouldn't you agree? Our wonderful bodies carry us through our days. When we want to walk to do something our bodies support us. When we want to stand and complete a task or watch an event, our bodies support us. When we want to do activities, fitness, fun stuff, make love, play, etc. our bodies support us. When we want to give someone a hug or write or email or do art, etc, our bodies support us. When we want to breath, sleep, think, create, rest, love, give, receive, etc. our bodies support us. In what ways do you support your body? Do you invest in your holistic health and well being? Have you thought about it much? If you looked at where you invest your time, energy, money and thoughts the most, would your investments match your goals or dreams or your core values? In all things in life; health and balance are essential for quality living. We have no way of knowing how long we will live, how or when we will die, but we do have a lot of say and a lot of control in how we will live. While we do not have absolute control in our lives, we are the ones in the driver seat. Life circumstances or world events may sit in the back seat and add to the navigation so to speak, but ultimately we ourselves are the ones in the driver seat. We can and do contribute to the ripple effect of the world, but we do not control the world, things do come up and challenges do happen. We do have choices and we do have control over ourselves, our attitudes and our daily investments. We can invest 10 to 60 minutes a day in our fitness, our fun, our education, our meditation, our spiritual practices and in our goals. We can make the choice to do less of the things that do not serve us like watching TV, a lot of social media, a lot of video games, movies, eating junk, complaining, etc, and replace them with investments that lead to our quality of living. We can chose to invest an extra 10 to 30 minutes a day to improve our nutrition and to set ourselves up for success, or we can be lazy and careless now and invest our time later by days, weeks or months in the hospital, nursing home or by ending up 6 feet under far younger from heart disease, lung disease or some other illness that we have caused or mostly contributed to. Maintaining balance in all areas of your life will help to set you up for success in living a longer more abundant and joyful life.
 Check out our blog post on blogger! Humor and attitude are a big part of learning, retention and getting a full return on your educational investments. :) Read about some ways that students lighten things up during training. Also learn a few tips on staying present and getting more out of your time in training. When you attend trainings, you invest time and money... money comes and goes... but time is one thing you will never get back. Make the most of every minute of your life. Learn, have fun, and apply your lessons to your life and to your career. Here's the link: http://mlhealthsafety.blogspot.com/ Let us know what you think. And remember to SMILE!   We are profoundly saddened by the loss of so many First Responders in these past several days. Our hearts and deepest condolences go out to the families of our First Responders and to the many injured First Responders just beginning their healing process in the wake of all these recent tragedies in our country. Our hearts also go out to all those injured or killed in Boston, Texas and MIT, etc... First Responders have diligently been working for countless years making our country, our communities and our homes safer. There are no words powerful enough to express our gratitude to all of you for all of your sacrifices and efforts. Please remember that during crisis everyone responding responds the best that they can with what they know and with what they have available. Sometimes people will second guess themselves. In hind sight there are often more options than in the moment, use this to condition yourself for future events (as a learning opportunity) and then let it go. Bring yourself back into the moment with confidence and new awareness. We cannot fully prepare ourselves for every event, it isn’t possible. Sometimes after an event we can feel depression, self-doubt and very strong grief. If things get overwhelming please reach out for help. There are family, friends, colleagues, crisis hot lines and therapist that can assist you. You do not have to deal with these emotions and thoughts alone. There are also techniques you can use to speed up recovery time of invasive thoughts, depression, physical pain, emotional and mental pain. EFT tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a highly effective healing practiced used in pain clinics, the VA hospital for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and for many other injuries and forms of suffering. Again, you are not in this alone. A note to families of First Responders: often times First Responders cannot share their feelings with their loved ones. Sometimes there is a strong need for them to keep things separate. Be patient; try not to take things personal. And continue to love and maintain safe and healthy boundaries within your relationships. You too are not alone. There are support groups, friends and family as well that can assist you in dealing with the tragedies that your loved one has witnessed or experienced. EFT tapping and other healing practices can assist you too. Be sure to take care of yourself. A note to First Responders: please understand that loved ones are not trying to be invasive when they ask over and over if you are ok, they are also not seeing you as weak or broken, but it is in our human awareness that when a person witnesses or experiences tragedies they can often be adversely impacted. Please don’t take their attention as negative, rather know that it is an act of love and compassion and a sign of their support. A note to all (First Responders and their loved ones): Keep communication as open as possible. If you need space, ask for it and also honor that the other person may need quality time. Try to find a healthy balance and do your best to heal yourself first, do daily acts of self-care and to be as compassionate with yourself as you are with your loved ones. While there truly is not such a thing as crime prevention and accident prevention there are numerous ways to greatly lower risks. If prevention were absolutely possible we would not have accidents or violence probably at all. But it’s important to know that most accidents and even much of the violence that occurs can be prevented or at least the damages can often be minimized. We are including some tips below as a reminder of things you can do before, during and after tragic events that could very well safe your life and or the lives of those around you, as well as prevent or lower other forms of suffering or loss. Before an event: · Practicing quality Martial Arts (especially traditional forms) can significantly increase your: awareness, response time, quality of your responses, focus, clarity, and your safety choices amongst many other benefits. (Try Oregon Martial Arts Society as a resource/school) https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Oregon-Martial-Arts-Society/183005635165174 · Keep up on current First Responder courses such as American Heart Association courses. (Check out our “Health & Safety” tab for courses). · Take courses such as: conflict resolution, inner-personal communication, assertive communication and how to deal with traumatized individuals; to name a few. (Check out our “Classes & Workshop” tab or go to your local community college or OSHA for classes) There are often many resources available in communities, some are even offered for free. · Find ways to stay current on your skills: you can take refresher courses, practice with other students from your classes or work place, and be mindful of your skill use during daily life situations. · Google: “safety tips” and find categories to pursue in your free time · Stay aware of your surroundings: don’t be paranoid, but calmly & wisely be aware · Do things that lower stress: meditate, do yoga, practice Ti Chi, practice Martial Arts, spend time in nature, spend time away from TV and other electronics. Spend time with positive people. · Other suggestions: play, have fun, if you’re an adult enjoy sexual relations with your partner (safe sex of course), laugh a lot and smile often · Do things that improve your health: take fitness classes, work out, eat healthy, prepare your meals at home, do stretches or sit ups during commercials or while waiting on food to cook. Drink more water. Eat more produce. Do the research and find what will fit you. · Stop doing things that risk your health, stress levels and your focus. Such as: stop smoking, stop eating fast food or at least eat way less of it, stop drinking soda or excessive alcohol, stop complaining and stop watching a lot of negative programming such as the news. · Make choices of what seeds you are planting in your life and what seeds you are nourishing. For example: if you want to increase your response time visualize an event where you need to respond quickly, see yourself responding appropriately and quickly, do activities each day that support those actions. Another example: if you want to see yourself responding to others more assertively, understand what that would look like to you, surround yourself with others that often respond assertively, read books and articles and things that constantly bring yourself into that mindset. · In other words: instead of inundating yourself with things you do not want, inundate yourself with things you do want. How you invest your time and your actions will make a huge difference in how safely and otherwise affectively you live you life. · For your work, community and events know what risks are possible: in your free time look up local policy & protocol for bomb threats, snipers, natural disasters and other possible local hazards. Don’t become paranoid or obsessed; simply become informed for what is relevant for your work or location. · Become and stay aware of your body, your abilities and your level of knowledge · Be willing to do simple steps daily, weekly or at least monthly to improving yourself. · The more your know yourself and the healthier and more aware you are, the safer you can be. · Remaining calm & confident are two of the keys to successful response During an event: · Check and make sure the scene is safe. · Stay aware of the scene at all times as it may change · Call for help · Utilize help when it is available · If the person or people trying to help are making things worse or increasing risks for other dangers; be assertive and ask them to stop, redirect them if possible. If you know what you are doing, take charge. · If you do not know what you are doing, do your best and when another more skilled responder comes along, be willing to follow directions. · If you don’t know what it is, don’t touch it. (Avoid chemical hazards or bombs or any other possible dangers) · Wear protective gear if it is available (1 second to put on protective gear can make a huge difference for all involved for years to come) · Never put yourself at risk when saving someone as this could then create two or more victims that will then need rescuing · Be aware of all safety hazards in the area: Chemicals, weapons, traffic, power lines, etc. · If there is a bomb threat stay off mobile phones & radios and use land lines. Follow the local plan for bomb threats. After an event: · Be mindful of substance use: after a tragedy addiction can easily sneak up on a person. Using substance as a form of coping can quickly lead to health issues, financial issues, relationship issues and ultimately more tragedies. · Be mindful of self-talk: how you talk to yourself and about yourself can lead to low self-esteem and to forms of self-sabotage. Everyone has “failures” and “successes” but those do not define you. They are learning opportunities but do not get caught up in them as a form of identity. Know that you are valuable exactly as you are. · Be mindful of how you talk to others: after tragic events emotions and energy can run strong and without much effort hurtful things can be said. We cannot take back our words or negative actions. We can be forgiven but our words and actions can have a lasting affect on others. · Return to life as usual as soon as possible. · Depending on the circumstances: slightly or seriously increase your self care and awareness of your resources and support system. · If you are struggling with flashbacks or invasive thoughts and do not feel that you can talk to your loved ones, be sure to contact a therapist, doctor, crisis hot line or if relevant your VA hospital. · Access resources as needed: trying to ‘be strong” can actually weaken you. Vulnerability, honestly and willingness to do the work towards healing are actually the strongest things you can do and will make you even stronger in the process. · Be willing to follow through on self-care no matter how inconvenient or silly it seems. There is always time when you prioritize your life. Make healing and strengthening yourself more important than watching TV, playing video games, or any other things that may be taking up a lot of your time. · Go back to doing the things included in the “Before an event” list. · It’s ok to struggle after a tragic event · It’s ok to ask for help · It’s ok to be fine and a long time down the road find that issues have come up… just deal with them when and if they come. · It’s also ok to be fine if you are really fine… some people just are fine Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to making our world a safer place. YOU make a differience! Your actions are turning negatives to possitive, one step at a time.  |
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