idealawg

Once in a great while, I run into something I want to tell everyone about

Because I did a favor for her, a friend sent me a gift. What she sent is nothing short of terrific. In Colorado, at our high elevations, lips and skin can get very dry. She sent me the cure, dryness's antidote.

Up here in Denver, I've used Carmex® on my lips for many, many years. No more. Now I use the what my friend sent, Lip Dew made by Backyard Bees, and am delighted with the way it works. Leaves Carmex® in the dry, dry dust. I use two Lip Dew scents: Citrus Blossom and Prairie Grass. Click on their names to order them, and try them for yourself.

On my skin, I now use Backyard Bees' Honey Cream (also in Citrus Blossom). Another wonderful product that you may order by clicking.

Backyard Bees, the company that makes these fine products, has a story you will want to read. Click to learn about how they rescue bees, and treat them well.

Let me know what you think, once you use the products. And, no, I do not profit from the sales of these items; I do gain happiness when friends and blog readers are pleased with Backyard Bees.

Be willing to take on experts (including lawyers!)

This TED talk will probably make you think of the role of expertise in your life -- not only the expertise of acknowledged gurus but also your own. Click to watch now.

From the TED site:

We make important decisions every day -- and we often rely on experts to help us decide. But, says economist Noreena Hertz, relying too much on experts can be limiting and even dangerous. She calls for us to start democratizing expertise -- to listen not only to "surgeons and CEOs, but also to shop staff."

12 Reasons to Quit Your Job

What do you think of this list?

Twelve warning signs to leave (or coach someone else to leave . . .)

. . . Even in a bad economy, it will be costly to stay too long where you are distorting your behavior to fit in. Notice I don't ask if you are the problem person; most of us are not able to recognize our own flaws in the mirror. However, even if you are right, and they are wrong, and your intentions are pure, please consider that this is not a contest. The more items you check, the more you are hurting yourself by staying.

Click to read the list (from Pattern Research, Inc.).

In Denver on March 7 - "A More Perfect Union: Stories of Prejudice and Power"

Monday, March 7, 2011-Reception 6:30 PM-Show 7:30 PM
 
SEAWELL GRAND BALLROOM AT DENVER PERFORMING ARTS COMPLEX-1000 14th Street-Denver

Click for ticket information.

The storytellers are:

Pam Grier - Actor, Denver Native
Greg Walloch - Comedian/Performer
Dan Choi - Gay Rights Advocate/Iraq War Veteran
Reverend Leon Kelly - Anti-Gang Advocate, Denver Native
Ernesto Quiñonez - Writer

From the announcement:

A More Perfect Union: Stories of Prejudice and Power is a very special storytelling event to help combat prejudice and encourage greater tolerance. The evening will include five storytellers sharing a ten-minute, true story about an experience with bigotry or discrimination, without notes, from a

Prisoners learn mindfulness and creative writing: Meditation and writing both positive interventions

Carmela Hill-Burke teaches in an Oregon prison, in solitarty confinement. One of the methods she uses with her incarcerated students is writing. Seems they take to it with hunger. Is there any arena where writing cannot lighten one's life load?

From "Solitary confinement is cruel and unusual punishment" (Oregon Daily Emerald):

After responding to essays written by the 200 prisoners in the IMU [Intensive Management Unit] every week, Hill-Burke started seeing improvements. Instead of a few sentences, they were writing more than ten pages and asking for more paper.

"They starved for social recognition and attention," she said. "I just wrote them a few sentences, and they would just explode."

After consideration from the prison counselors, Hill-Burke was asked to teach a class to the prisoners. Showing up to individual cages, Hill-Burke taught a class to IMU inmates on meditation, mindfulness and creative writing.

"I just wanted to explore tools to deal with the violent social atmosphere they were living in," she said. "I wanted to teach them to act and not just react to situations."
She noticed improvements every day. ...

Click to read the rest.

Another lawyer who teaches yoga to add to my collection of yogadvocate stories

From "Teresa Drake, Domestic Violence Advocate" (Santa Fe College):

... Teresa served as assistant state attorney and division chief of the Office of the State Attorney, 8th Judicial Circuit, in the Domestic Violence Unit, and worked in Child Welfare Legal Services. The first case she tried -- and won -- was on behalf of a group of 25 adopted children who were criminally abused by their foster mother.

"She is an unsung hero. ... While we may never know how many victims and children's lives she affected, we are confident that our community is better and safer because of her hard work," writes Judge Denise Ferraro and Carole Zegel, retired from the Guardian ad Litem program.

In addition to her advocacy, Teresa is also a certified yoga instructor and teaches Wise Women's Yoga at Sanctuary Yoga Studio. She is married to attorney Steve Pennypacker - they fell in love working on a child abuse case ... .

 

The new HONEY movement: Hand-Originated Notes' Enthusiastic Yes

Ever since I wrote two blog posts about the value of hand-originated notes (links below), I have heard from a number of people telling me that they have snail mailed correspondence to friends and colleagues. From me, they get an enthusiastic YES!

I use the description "hand-originated" because I'm including typewritten notes and letters in this HONEY (Hand-Originated Note's Enthusiastic Yes) movement. They have many of the same lovely qualities as hand-written notes (e.g., long-lasting, tangible, requiring of energy—and often commitment or caring—to stamp and mail).

Although I have saved many hand-written cards and other articles of communication, some of my most treasured possessions are typed letters from my paternal grandfather; it matters not that the only handwriting is "Love, Gramps." How about you? Do you have typed letters that you have saved and appreciated over time? Let me know.

AND have you joined the HONEY movement by sending hand-originated correspondence? No? Why not start today . . .

Links to past posts about hand-originated notes and their benefits:

• Notes and letters that arrive in snail mail: Long may they live!
• Want your correspondence to be remembered? Some unique suggestions

Notes and letters that arrive in snail mail: Long may they live!

Brandy Fedoruk and Rebecca Dolen hold a monthly letter-writing club. (Click for more about the letter-writing club.) While reading "Please Mr. Postman" (Utne Reader), I learned of their effort to preserve and even increase typewritten correspondence. From the article:

Spurred by a joint love of writing and, especially, receiving letters, as well as a desire to make use of their typewriters, the two have hosted the events since the shop [in Vancouver] opened in August 2005. Fedoruk reports that the evenings draw anywhere from 10 to 30 people who enjoy the novelty of the typewriters and drum up quite a racket with them.

'It's nice to feel like we are helping the letter gain

Zen Brain 2011: Consciousness and the Fundamental Nature of Mind

Click to hear all the talks from the Zen Brain 2011 program. Here's an excerpt from the description of the third talk (given by Richard Davidson):

Buddhist philosophy and meditation practice distinguish between selflessness and fundamental mind, on the one hand, and mental states conditioned by the cognitive and affective distortion of self, on the other hand. In recent years, neuroscience has contributed new insights into the effects of meditation practice on the brain and behavior, as well as insights into how wholesome and unwholesome mental states and traits arise from and affect the workings of the brain and body.

Neuroscience also illuminates the brain systems underlying various modes of consciousness across the sleep-wake cycle, including waking states of perception, emotion, and memory, as well as dreaming, lucid dreaming, and deep sleep. In this retreat, prominent scientists and scholars will explore the koan of the basic or original nature of mind from the perspectives of Buddhist theory and practice, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind.

Blog Glob: "New Google only searches for sites that match your preconceived opinions"

Excerpt:

Internet giant Google has teamed up with the Daily Mail to develop a unique version of the online search engine which will confirm the enquirer’s prejudices.

Google-ThoughtAsMuch will effectively censor alternative views and second opinions. ‘Designed for the busy opinionate who hasn’t got time to think about things, Google-ThoughtAsMuch will make sure that your preconceptions are never challenged,’ runs the press release.

Click to read the rest of "New Google only searches for sites that match your preconceived opinions" (NewsBiscuit).