Part 07 - Moby Dick Audiobook by Herman Melville (Chs 078-088)

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Part 07 - Moby Dick Audiobook by Herman Melville (Chs 078-088)

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Quit Smoking: Why People Do Bad Things (Even When They Know They Shouldn't)

Do you do Bad Things? Even though you know you shouldn't?

It's not your fault. It really isn't. You know you should stop doing it, but no matter how much you know that, and how much you try, you just can't stop!

Everyone knows how to lose weight. Don't eat fattening foods. Exercise. Everyone knows how to give up smoking. Don’t light the cigarette. Yet having this knowledge just isn't enough. Sometimes even having the desire isn't enough! Time and again I hear about people who get really close to quitting smoking. They can get all the way down to one or two cigarettes a day, but just can't give up those last two. Many even make it all the way down to zero, but the cravings, oh the cravings! They are wretched, those cravings. Most will go back to smoking within the first few days. They can cut away most of the "stuff" that keeps them glued to the cigarettes, even not be addicted to nicotine anymore(!), but there is just something deep in their core that magnetically pulls them back in, like two lovers who know they are bad for each other but just can't help themselves.

What is this thing? What is at this core?

Let me take a step back for a moment. How many adults do you know who are happy? I mean really, truly happy? Think that question is foolishness? Let me ask you this. How many people do you know who love their work? I'm talkin' jump out of bed in the morning, can't wait to start. Sadly, the percentage is very small. Why is this?

We live in an interesting quick-fix culture. People don't really have to deal with their issues. We've got:

• television
• movies
• shopping
• toys
• and hitting the gym

to distract us and make us feel better. Even more than that, many people's issues are quite buried. Think of dreams that were squashed when we were young. "An artist? You could never make a living at that! You should be a doctor!" People often forget what their dreams once were.

As a result, I see an awful lot of unhappy, unfulfilled people walking around. They don't know what is bothering them, they just have that gnawing feeling that there must be more. Advertisers pray on this, selling us more and more bottles and gizmos to give us that ever elusive Happiness.

True inner needs? People either:

• think they're impossible to fulfill
• are too scared and resigned to fulfill them
• or are so disassociated from those needs that they don't even know what they would be even if they had to guess!

All those "bad" things -- smoking, overeating, gambling, alcohol, the list goes on and on -- are easy ways to fill the void. Smokers will be able to relate to this one -- if you've just had a fight with your family, what do you do? You go for a smoke. Smoking makes it feel like the problem goes away. (I call this the "smokescreen." Har har!)

I'll let you in on a little secret--the real reason it's so hard to quit is not the nicotine. It's this void-filling. When you quit smoking (or any bad habit), you're suddenly faced with real life. All those stresses and needs that you've been avoiding? There they are, pulling at your coat tails, yelling, "Pay attention to me! Pay attention to me!" If you got in touch with your real inner needs and took baby steps to start fulfilling them, you would actually have little desire for cigarettes. It's true! I see it happen time and again in my Stop Smoking Coaching practice.

How do you do that, you ask? Here are some baby steps that you can start trying out now:

• Next time, instead of taking that quick fix--stop.
• Have a little quiet time and listen to what your insides have been trying to tell you.
• Try journaling -- don't edit your thoughts, just write.
• Some people find meditation and yoga to be great accesses.
• Try deep breathing.
• Go for a quiet, leisurely walk by yourself.
• Personally, I find it easiest to just start noticing where in life I seem to be avoiding things the most, or if I want something more immediate and active, doing a mindmap (a word drawing) to figure out what I'm really thinking.

For each person, the key to figuring out your needs is different. Play around with it, don't give up! You'll be glad you did!

Jill Binder is a Stop Smoking Coach with a 90 day program to show people how to quit smoking forever, with a 100% success rate. She is the author of "What's Your Smoking Type?" and has appeared on the radio on "Radioactive Women" and the newspaper Metro Toronto Today.

You can sign up for her newsletter, "YourTurn - Turn Your Weaknesses Into Your Perfect Life" at http://www.StopSmokingCoach.ca.

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How To Hide A Pregnancy

For most couples, the joy of parenthood is the absolute delight. The birth of a new life, as it goes in the realms of hearsay, settles the foundation for ever-growing love in the lives of the parturient duo. But from the moment the pregnancy test or PT, as it is referred to in the common linguistics, comes out positive, the mother is more worried about the tummy pushing out of limits than anything else around her.

People expect a pregnant woman to be full of joy and be blooming at times, always looking forward to when that little angel would come to life, but it isn't that easy to hide nasty feelings creeping into your mind. Of all the thoughts that flood into an expectant's mind, one that lingers a while is 'how to stay fit' or 'how not to look pregnant'.

For first-timers though, the joy is too overwhelming and 'showing' occurs later. But, for ones that have gone through the process of birthing a child before, worries lie not so far off. Hormonal changes in the body tend to make the person a bit low and lazy oozed with tiredness and nausea. With such emotions treading into the bearer's head, they would prefer a cozy place to rest themselves upon all day long rather that to do exercise.

Here are three tips that are recommended for mothers-to-be to help hide their pregnancy:

1. Exercise: Do remember that the exercise is the key to staying fit and healthy. A brisk walk would always do more good in your baby's and your favor.

2. Eat healthy: Eating nutritious and healthy food not only ensures the birth of a healthy baby but also help your baby fight out the various post-natal diseases. A good metabolic rate is a better indicator that the mother and child are healthy.

3. Catnaps are not bad but slumping on the sofa is: Pregnant women get tired more often because of the enormous amount of hormonal processes occurring inside their body. Catnaps are good to doze off the lazy afternoons but slumping onto the sofa in front of a tube might do you no good and would cultivate more fat to your belly.

Suzan, 31, is a mother of an eleven month old boy, living in West London and is expecting another baby. The constant upsetting moments of handling a tot alongside her normal daily routine is becoming a nightmare for the lady, who herself happens to be a general practioner. She knows she should not burden herself with the toddler's tantrums. "Most of my day is spent either cleaning up the mess my child makes or arguing with my husband that he should be more responsible of the child," she says.

These constant upsets make a woman low and tends to bring her energy levels down to zero. She'd feel tired and exhausted, bringing her to a state where her fitness is always at stake. Pregnancy puts a woman at the receiving end of a lot of advice and mostly criticism as well from the others around. But in the end it is always important that you do what you presume is right for you. After all you are the one holding the baby.

Pregnancy is nonetheless a moment to cherish with your partner, a moment to live, a moment to rejoice, because at the end of it all lies the most wonderful gift you could have in store for him. Don't think of pregnancy as a burden rather think of it as a beautiful gift lapped into your womb.

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The Art of War Audiobook by Sun Tzu

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Lux Radio Theater: Border Town (July 3, 1939)

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Diabetes--What You Need to Know About This Hidden Danger

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose (sugar) for our bodies to burn to create energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, produces a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies. When you have diabetes, your body either doesn't make enough insulin or can't use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes large amounts of sugar to build up in your blood.

The actual cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity appear to play major roles. Diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations. According to the Center for Disease Control, diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. As of 2002, 18.2 million people in the U.S.--6.3 percent of the population--had diabetes, with 1.3 million new cases being diagnosed each year. The National Institutes of Health also estimate that an additional 5.2 million people have diabetes without actually being aware of it.

There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, which was previously called insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile-onset diabetes, accounts for about 10% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, which was called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes, accounts for the remaining 90%. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that only pregnant women get. If not treated, it can cause problems for both the baby and the mother. Gestational diabetes develops in 2% to 5% of all pregnancies, but usually disappears when the pregnancy is over.

Diabetes is a serious disease and phrases such as "a touch of diabetes" or "your blood sugar is a little high" tend to dismiss the fact that diabetes is a major killer of Americans. In addition to the lives that are lost, diabetes has a tremendous economic impact in the United States. The National Diabetes Education Program estimates the cost of diabetes in 2002 was $132 billion. Of this amount, $92 billion was due to direct medical costs and $40 billion due to indirect costs such as lost workdays, restricted activity, and disability due to diabetes. The average medical expenditure for a person with diabetes was $13,243, or 5.2 times greater than the cost for a person without diabetes. In addition, 11 percent of national health care expenditures went to diabetes care.

In response to this growing health burden of diabetes, the diabetes community has three choices: prevent diabetes; cure diabetes; and improve the quality of care of people with diabetes to prevent devastating complications. All three approaches are being actively pursued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Many government agencies, at all levels, are involved in educational campaigns in an attempt to prevent diabetes, especially type 2. Several approaches to "cure" diabetes are also being pursued: pancreas transplantation, islet cell transplantation (islet cells in the pancreas produce insulin), the development of an artificial pancreas, and genetic manipulation where fat or muscle cells that do not normally make insulin have a human insulin gene inserted and are then transplanted into people with type 1 diabetes.

While there is yet no cure for diabetes, healthy eating, physical activity, and insulin injections are the basic therapies for type 1 diabetes. For those with type 2 diabetes, treatment includes healthy eating, physical activity, and blood glucose testing. Many people with type 2 may require oral medication to control their glucose levels. People with diabetes must take personal responsibility for their day-to-day care, and keep blood glucose levels from going too low or too high. The key to living a long and healthy life with diabetes is to learn about the disease, exercise daily, follow a diabetes food plan (right portions of healthy foods, less salt and fat), stop smoking, take prescribed medications, get routine medical care, brush your teeth and floss every day, monitor your blood glucose the way the doctor tells you to and remain positive. Using the correct routines, thousands of people with diabetes have lived long, happy and productive lives.

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