Seeking Optimal Heath & Longevity? Look To The Value Of Friendship...

In a very interesting New York Times article by Tara Parker Pope, she discusses how your friends are an essential ingredient for a long, happy life. In a world that offers a dizzying array of remedies, it's comforting to know the simple healing power of having a cup of coffee ( with chocolate, of course) with a dear friend!

Here's more:

"Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship and social networks in overall health. A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk for obesity among people whose friends gained weight. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could promote brain health as we age.


“In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn’t terribly well appreciated,” said Rebecca G. Adams, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. “There is just scads of stuff on families and marriage, but very little on friendship. It baffles me. Friendship has a bigger impact on our psychological well-being than family relationships.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Chocolate and Yoga...a Blissful Blend!

Does yoga and chocolate heighten body awareness?

Kristina Markoff elaborates on beliefnet.com:

"...When asked to comment on how she first linked yoga and chocolate together, Katrina had this to say: "It's this ritual part of eating chocolate that lead me to first associate chocolate and yoga." All eating is associated with ritual, but chocolate holds a unique, if underestimated place in feasting because we eat it with our hands. While most food is eaten with a knife and fork, chocolate is held by the fingers and melts against the warmth of the body, leaving us with the impulse to lick its traces. This sensuous experience heightens our bodily awareness in a way that other foods don't."

It was following an afternoon yoga session that Katrina realized that eating chocolates post-yoga held spiritual value. "After class one day I decided-I am going to have chocolate," recalls Katrina....."It was amazing, the flavors that came out after that class. It led me to connect yoga, spirituality, ritual, and chocolate, to think that maybe in certain yoga poses you could hold on to certain textures, like flowers, or you'd be experiencing certain smells."

Read more about the yoga/chocolate connection here.

Ions Conference 2009

During astronaut Dr. Ed Mitchell’s space travel to and from the moon thirty years ago he had life changing personal realization of the interconnected, undivided nature of the universe. He founded the Institute of Noetic Science to deeply explore this insight and the promise it holds for mankind. He directed the institute toward the Noetic sciences to explore the "inner cosmos" of the mind (consciousness, soul, spirit) and how it relates to the "outer cosmos" of the physical world.

IONS is holding their 2009 Annual Conference and in the next few weeks we'll take time to cover some of the wonderful people and groundbreaking ideas being presented at this years Institute of Noetic Science International Conference 2009:

"Toward a Global Shift: Seeding the Field of Collective Change. The time is now, to join together in community, to share our dreams, celebrate and take action - co-creating a new vision for our shared future."

The conference explores the forefront of positive transformation, a sustainable future, penetrating insights from pioneers and engages in creative dialogue with people from all over the globe.

Below is a video from the Shift in Action Youtube channel about the IONS 13th International Conference.

Chocolate Calculator:

Don't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway –but the Intentional Chocolate Man will know!

YOUR AGE BY CHOCOLATE MATH












This is pretty neat.

DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!

It takes less than a minute .
Work this out as you read .
Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!

This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have chocolate (more than once but less than 10).
2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold).
3. Add 5.
4. Multiply it by 50 -- I'll wait while you get the calculator.
5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1759 If you haven't, add 1758.
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

You should have a three digit number

The first digit of this was your original number
(i.e., how many times you want to have chocolate each week).

The next two numbers are YOUR AGE!

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2009) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS.