BRAIN FOOD

Most people think of fish when the phrase, "Brain Food" is mentioned in a conversation.  Actually that's what I've been told and based on some research studies (keyword studies) fish can be very good for your brain.

Food is defined as any nourishing substance that is taken into the body to sustain life, promote growth, etc. But before we go any further, I think I'd better clarify this topic and let you in on a secret.., this post is NOT about fish, steak, chicken, veggies etc.

Have you ever wondered why you have a certain belief on or about something, but don't really understand why you believe it?  Or why you may dislike certain people/cultures or certain places, etc?

Well don't feel like the lone ranger, because some of these things have probably happen to lots of people, including yours truly.

In some respects, its almost as if we've been Brainwashed, and like the food we eat, these thoughts have been introduced inside our bodies, with an honest attempt at promoting growth mentally, physically, spiritually and financially.

During my younger years growing up, I can remember my parents who loved and cared for me, and who wouldn't consciously mislead or misguide me, nourishingly fed me their own personal fearful thoughts about  going to or near the ocean.  Until now, I have never really given those tidbits of information much thought, or questioned why I don't particularly enjoy the ocean.

After inspecting some of these injected thoughts a little closer, it reminds me of how a virus attacks you. The main goal of any virus is to inhabit or get inside you, so it can do a couple of things, like incubate or get busy and do damage.

Have you ever heard about people who have told young girls that, "you can't do this or that, because.. you're a girl".   Perhaps their intent was harmless and more about some unfounded safety issue. The problem lies in the fact that any girl being told this by someone she respects, is apt to retain this type of "brainfood" as gospel, and may grow up actually believing that none of the things she aspires to do or become is possible.  All based of the premise that she happens to be a girl and girls can't.

Personally speaking, I found myself staying away from swimming pools and water events, because I had people in my life who didn't swim and were very uncomfortable around anything wet and or anything splashing creating waves higher than their belly button. 

Remember its like getting a virus, because the next major thing a virus does is become lonely and then they multiply, multiply and multiply. Interestingly enough, a mental suggestive virus, just like any real virus, also becomes bored with its initial host and decides ummm...I want more. It genuinely wants to infect as many others as it possibly can. So guess what happen next with the phobia's I have about water stuff?

Simply put... I've attempted to pass it on to my own kids.  But thank goodness I found  a CURE or at least in my case an incredible and inexpensive form of preventative medicine...., introducing my wife...., The ANTI-VIRUS!

She decided that my raw and uncooked phobia's needed to stay with me and not be passed on to our youngest daughter Taylor.  My effective antivirus protection plan had Taylor swimming like a fish at age 3. Ironically, being a girl she has never been told that because she was "a girl"; soccer, basketball, football, or sports in general was only for boys. The best part is that she's very atheletic and actually excels at sports.

It was less about words of fear and doubt and more about exposure and positive reinforcement.

So if you're infected and are NOT being all that you could be or you have been told that you will never amount to anything and your life will always be limited and unfulfilled.

STOP!! GO IMMEDIATELY on a diet serving LIFE as the main course.

Then take a good look at the Brain Food you've been fed or are allowing yourself to mentally consume and then go on that diet and ..... LIVE!

        

WORDS CAN'T EXPRESS

Just within the last few days, we have all heard about, talked about, written about and seen through the media, that the country of HAITI, is no stranger to horrific forms of devastation and demoralizing tragic events.  Do the words, "When it rains, it pours", fit or express or shed light on the possibility that one of the worlds poorest nations maybe facing an unrecoverable existence... I pray with all my might that this will not remotely become a reality.

I'm personally somewhat at a lost for words to express the unmeasurable pain and state of hopelessness they must be feeling.

Sometimes, dispite even with the use of my limited education or the vast and useful capacities of Webster,Wikipedia, etc., there just simply are no words learned, known or uttered that can capture what the people of HAITI must be experiencing, physically, spiritually and emotionally.  So I have decided to just shut up and make a few needed adjustments in an effort to help.

One.. Never stop thanking God for all the many blessings I have received and those to come.

Two.. Pray harder for the people of HAITI, and also include those people living right here who's daily sufferings seem to still go unnoticed.

Three.. Get up and out and DO something in a positive (action) way to help the people of HAITI and others. After all, incomparison I really do have much more than they will or ever have. So yes, I have plenty to share.

Four.. Gather all my children and family members that I personally have influence over, and open their eyes and hearts to the plight of HAITIANS, here at home and abroad.
and last but not least... Pray for increase in my ability to.... Love Unconditionally.

  

I SAW WHAT YOU DID

Ever wondered as you were growing up, whether you would get caught do the unthinkable?  I use to think that my mom had eyes in the back of her head.  After all, I just knew I had planned everything correctly and covered all the bases,  Right?... but if thats the case, then why was I in trouble; she's pissed and yelling at me, and why dId I get the feeling that I was about to meet my maker?..  BUSTED AGAIN!

Well, as time passed and I grew older and a little wiser. I've come to understand that nothing really occurs and then goes unseen. It does not matter whether its done indoors, outdoors or behind doors, sooner or later it will be seen, heard, or talked about and ultimately exposed to all.

The reality of it all, is everyone of us should make decisions based on the fact that our lives are like that of the "fish in a bowl".  Everything said or done is never a secret, but just simply transparent.

If you're still doubting or think I'm blowing smoke, let's together look at a few examples of people or circumstances that have occured. Especially, the ones that nobody was supposed to find out about.

I can recall a particular situation (prior to my retirement), involving some of my coworkers, who normally performed their duties with nothing less than professionalism. Yet, on one particular shift under the "cloak of darkness", a motorist was stopped and instead of a possible warning; citation issuance etc., it resulted in a beating, injuries, death, lies, falsification of official documents, civil unrest, resulting in a costly riot.

Perhaps there's this person you know who always never gets in trouble or causes trouble, then for reasons known only to them, they decide that its easier today, to just take a few items that in their mind, nobody will miss, know about or even care about.  Of course, they probably would have been successful, had it not been for the store's hidden video camera... Darn it, hate when that happens!!!

To some people, thinking about and or committing the limitless list of unthinkables, is very adventuresous or just a mere game of cat and mouse.  To others, it an all out attack on their enlarged ego that says, "I can do anything I want and you can't stop me or catch me if you can".  Either way, with every choice there's always consequences. Some are unforgiving as well as irreversible.

The forever exisiting and all seeing eye phenomina is a huge reality. It sees those who sit high and those who sit low. 

I'm surely not blameless; pointing my finger at or attempting to justifiably sit in a position of judgement or anything like that. God knows I surely have a few skeletons in my own closet, but.... "I'M JUST SAYING"        

HEADED FOR THE SUPER BOWL

Are you ready... Are you really ready?.....Then let's get excited!! Stand Up!, and make some noiseee!!, because in just a few short days the SUPER BOWL will be here. I don't know about you but, I have my team already selected and I'm on board for nothing less than a huge WIN!!.

As with any major event such as this, you've got to have a ticket in hand to get in. Of course, there will be cheaters or scalpers around trying to sell people a bogus ticket.  I say, buyer beware, because you'll get exactly what you pay for.  Plus there's no refund, and you'll only hear about what happen verses being there as a full and sporting participant.

Now before we get all revved up and lose our minds, let me take a moment to enlighten you as to what this particular SUPER BOWL means to all of us.  Even if you're not a fan...you most certainly should be one or at least stick around to get informed.

As with any great team, you need smart, talented, dedicated, faithful and loyal players. They'll come from all walks of life, many have been battle tested, criticized and scorned. Some have had to walk away and give up the right for the wrong to make this team. Ultimate, many will and have tried out, but only a few of those will be chosen.  Some of them are considered skilled position players, who in comparison are like elders, decons and ministers of a congregation; yet what makes them unique is that no matter where they play on the team, they all think and play the game as One. WOW!, this team sort of reminds me of a team made up of  true believers.

 Of course, my SUPER BOWL team unlike many others, has been under the same management for over 2000 years.  This great owner is all powerful and also has an incredible head coach on board.

Trust me, all head coaches are not alike or come from the same mold. There are some who are hot heads, who curse, scream and yell at you, in fact they'll go as far to call you everything, but a child of God. They work day and night, to get you ready for a game you can't win, even if  it means you have to cheat.  Their playbook authorizes and encourage you to use drugs, drink, gamble, lie, maim or kill. It's a win at all cost mentallity.

Those tactics are necessary in order to get you hooked on their sinful game plan. These guys are evil and demonic and are not concerned with maintaining the integrity of the game.  

Or, in my humble opinion, you can have a team thats lead the right way and is coached from a different playbook; one that produces TOUCHDOWNS, with every single play thats called.  A coach who has a winning record; one who's a friend, when you're friendless; even if your teammates quit and join some other team, he'll be right there.  The coach of my SUPER BOWL bound team is known by many names... I just simply call him JESUS.

So, after playing through the rough and tough regular season down here on earth, my team just like all the other teams in the league, may find themselves at the crossroads of this life's games. 

Hopefully when the crossroads game is played, we would have had a winning season, because no one gets selected to play in the PRO BOWL of believers and saints game, if their hearts aren't right. 

So as we ponder and travel on this narrow road to the biggest game on earth called, "THE SUPER BOWL".... Will your team be playing to win a... Trophy or a Crown.
          

MORE THAN JUST ANOTHER NEW YEAR

Today, depending upon which time zone you live in, its New Years Day. If you're not overly excited about this worldwide event, perhaps you should have your blood pressure taken and retaken again.  Across the globe, there were countless numbers of parties and family gatherings taking place.  For this reason, "the new reason", people are more than just excited. They were more than just happy.  They were actually loving themselves and each other.  Its was a space in time, when telephone lines and social networks including the for ever busy internet ceased to function. Traffic and traveling sites were not spared either, as they too were at a standstill. 

Neighborhoods were packed with parked cars and homes filled with joyous celebration. Believer's filled churches, temples and synagogues; praising, praying, waiting and watching for the return of the Almighty.  Babies were being born and sadly, some were dying. Through it all, we were a happy people, destined to shed off the old and put on the new.

Our personal New Year, was by far, "MORE THAN JUST ANOTHER NEW YEAR'.  On this amazing an unforgettable day, we were blessed exceedingly beyond our own expectations, because not only did we have a family gathering in the traditional way at the emergence of 2010, we were witnesses to the marriage and union of our daughter Katrina and our new son and family member Aaron.

 It was a most beautiful and memorable ceremony that human eyes could behold. The wedding took place in the presence of God, right under the moon and the stars above. Although the sky was dark, there appeared to be a warm, loving and romantic glow, that halloed and set upon each of us in attendance. What a loving and darkened morning it was... just moments into the birth of a brand new, New Year and the union of two lives joined together for ever more.      

HAPPY NEW YEAR

As with every New Year, millions and millions of people will be making resolutions that they intend to keep. For many this is a huge challenge to undertake.  Of course I'm included in this number as well.  But, this year I will approach things a little differently. I intend to handle one situation at a time, and thats solely based of its priority in the big scheme of things.  Either way I will, without fail be successful in tackling my small list of resolutions this year.

Now I'm not sure if you are following my approach or fully understand what just happened in the above statements.  What I've done here is state my resolutions by way of affirmations. I stated them in the most positive and assuring way possible, with the aide of two little words.... I WILL.

Enough said on the subject. Nothing left for me to do but.. IMPLEMENTATION!  Try it this year, for yourself and accept nothing less.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!