Symbols can act in two ways:

First, they can be used to focus and project your own personal energy. Second, a symbol can function as a magnifier and transmitter, in order to bring various energy forces into your everyday life.

1. Circle: The Circle is one of the most potent symbols. It represents Eternity, Completion, Unity, the Universe, Perfection and the Sacred Female.

2. Triangle: The Triangle relates to the combined power of the Body, Mind and Spirit; Mother, Father and Child; and of the Past, Present and Future.

3. Square: The Square represents the four elements- Wind, Water, Fire and Earth - and the four directions.

4. Pentacle (Five-Pointed Star-pointing up): Represents the four basic elements (Wind, Water, Earth and Fire), with the 5th point representing the Spirit. The pentagram is a powerful sign, used for protection from dark forces.

5. Infinity: The symbol for infinity looks like the number eight laid on its side. In ancient India and Tibet, it represented Perfection, Dualism, and Unity between male and female. In the occult tarot, it’s linked to magic and represents equilibrium or the balance of various forces. This is a very powerful and cosmic symbol to use in your home.

Sources: Sacred Space, by Denise Linn (Ballentine Wellspring, 1995)
Picture: The Three Gongs of Initiation -AllPosters.com

There are symbols found in the human unconscious that mean similar things to all of us. By understanding these symbols, it is possible to analyze our dreams and to learn from them.

Various life experiences influence the interpretation of these symbols, thus each individual’s dream is unique in both context and analysis. These common images, symbols and definitions are designed to assist in your analysis.

Remembering Your Dreams
“A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read.” ~The Talmud

There are a number of ways to remember our dreams to uncover their obscured meaning. Many experts will tell you to talk to yourself during the stage between waking and sleeping. Tell yourself, to remember your dreams. If it doesn’t work immediately, keep repeating the suggestion each night.

According to dream researchers, if you develop a habit of recording your dreams, in time you will gain a clearer vision of your life and your development in the past, present and future.

It is helpful to do some research on the various methods of dream work or dream analysis to focus your mind as well. After you begin to remember your dreams, it is important to record them immediately after waking. The longer you wait to record your dreams, the fewer details you will retain.

Learn more at Dream Symbols and Meanings

What You Should Know

Studies show that when children’s exercise and fitness needs are met, children are more able to learn and achieve.

Given the growing epidemic of obesity and the link between physical activity and academic performance, parents and schools must work together to make quality daily physical education a priority in schools and to give children more opportunities to be physically active throughout the school day.

Unfortunately, the trend is that children are becoming less physically active:

1. In 1969, 42 percent of children ages 5 to 18 walked or biked to school; in 2001, only 16 percent did.

2. Almost all public elementary schools schedule physical education for their students, but only 17 to 22 percent (depending on grade level) provide physical education on a daily basis.

3. About two-thirds of young people in grades 9 to 12 are not engaged in recommended levels of physical activity. Daily participation in high school physical education classes dropped from 42 percent in 1991 to 33 percent in 2005.

4. In 2005, only about half of students in grades 9 to 12 attended physical education classes on one or more days in an average week when they were in school.

5. In 2005, more than a third of high schoolers reported watching three or more hours of television per day on an average school day.

This inactivity is not only harming children’s health but affecting children’s academic success. Physical activity improves children’s academic performance.

6. Studies show that providing more time for physical activity (by reducing class time for academics) can lead to improved test scores, particularly in the area of mathematics.

Physical activity programs have also been linked to stronger academic achievement, increased concentration, and improved reading and writing
test scores.

8. Children who have daily physical education classes exhibit better attendance and have a more positive attitude about school.

9. Children who spend less time in other subjects in order to allow for regular physical education have been shown to do equally well or better in academic classes.

Adapted in part, with permission, from Action for Healthy Kids, “Building the Argument: The Need for Physical Education and Physical Activity in Our Schools,” www.ActionForHealthyKids.org.

Eating breakfast is an important part of powering-up your body for the day. Eating a balanced breakfast can help keep your family alert, improve mood and reduce mid-morning food cravings.

We spend the majority of our waking hours at work, therefore the workplace is an excellent venue to begin focusing on prevention and wellness.

Half of all mortality in the U.S. is linked to changeable behavioral factors such as smoking, poor diet, alcohol use, physical inactivity and careless accidents. Yet less than 5% of the total health care burden is spent on reducing these risks.

Wellness programs can effectively engage employees in health care decision making and encourage them to take a proactive role in improving their health status.

Using workplace driven initiatives and incentives to promote healthy lifestyles, holds great promise for improving employee and dependent health as well as stabilizing overall health care costs in the United States.

Last week was National Breastfeeding Awareness Week. Now is an appropriate time to revisit this important topic.

from the National Women’s Health Report: Women & Pregnancy

When Amber McCracken, 32, had her first child three years ago, she was all set to breastfeed. She figured it was a perfectly natural process that would come easily. Instead, she had such a terrible time with it that she gave up before her daughter was six weeks old.

“Because I couldn’t provide my first child with the important nourishment of breast milk, I felt like a failure as a mom even before I left the hospital,” she notes. What so many women don’t realize, Ms. McCracken now knows, is that breastfeeding must be learned–by both mother and child.

Nonetheless, American women are getting better at breastfeeding. A 2001 survey found that nearly 70 percent of babies are breastfed in the hospital; about 46 percent exclusively breastfed. Six months later, 33 percent of babies were still breastfed, 17 percent receiving breast milk only.

Those figures, part of the Ross Mothers Laboratory Survey (RMLS), which has been tracking breastfeeding in the U.S. since 1954, represent a record high, say researchers. Even better–groups that were historically less likely to breastfeed, such as women who are African-American, younger and those with only a high school education, also showed significant increases.

But it’s taken a lot of work to get there, the RMLS researchers note. They attribute increases to programs such as the peer counseling programs that target low-income women, and the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, a joint effort by UNICEF and the World Health Organization. Hospitals in the initiative agree not to accept free or low-cost breast milk substitutes, feeding bottles or nipples, and implement 10 specific steps to support successful breastfeeding.

What these and other programs like them show, says Michelle Collins, CNM, a certified nurse midwife at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, is that there’s a lot of preparation to breastfeeding. “It’s not as simple as putting the baby on the breast, and it goes smoothly from there.” She also notes that while the 70 percent figure nationwide looks good, the figures differ dramatically throughout the country. In southern Illinois where she used to live, for instance, barely one in three new mothers tried nursing and half quit by six weeks.

“It’s a cultural thing,” she says. “If your mom didn’t breastfeed you, you probably won’t breastfeed your baby, because your mother may not be as supportive of you nursing.” Having a support system–whether your family, husband or friends–is also critical, she says.

Just as important is learning how to breastfeed. That involves everything from how to hold the baby and how often to feed the baby, to how to tell if the baby is getting enough milk (hint: wet diapers and weight gain). It also means being prepared for problems, like breast infections or sore nipples. In fact, the most common reasons for stopping breastfeeding are sore nipples, not having enough milk, problems with the baby nursing or feeling that the baby wasn’t getting enough to eat.

All those problems can be addressed by a certified lactation consultant, which most maternity wards and some pediatric groups have, notes Ms. Collins. “And expect that it’s a learning process,” she says. “It may take a good two weeks before you feel comfortable.”

Ms. McCracken knows that now. “I was so disappointed to miss out on one of the first opportunities to bond with my baby,” she says of her first pregnancy. She’s pregnant again, however, and hopes now that she knows more about breastfeeding her attempts to nurse will be successful. “I’m hopeful I have that chance again.”

Resources

International Lactation Consultant Association
919-861-5577
www.ilca.org
Provides database of lactation consultants by zip code who provide breastfeeding support and information.

La Leche League
847-519-7730
www.lalecheleague.org
Provides breastfeeding support and educational materials.

National Association for Postpartum Care Services
1-800-453-6852
www.napcs.org
Offers national database of contacts to assist with practical responsibilities and personal needs of families during the post-delivery period.

© 2006 National Women’s Health Resource Center, Inc. (NWHRC) All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from the NWHRC. 1-877-986-9472 (toll-free). On the Web at: www.healthywomen.org.

The short-term results of unprotected exposure to UV rays are sunburn and tanning. Long-term exposure causes prematurely aged skin, wrinkles, loss of elasticity, dark patches and actual skin cancers.

• have numerous or irregular moles
• were previously treated for skin cancer
• work indoors all week and then get a tan on weekends
• have freckles and burn before tanning
• have fair skin; or blond, red, or light brown hair
• have a family history of skin cancer
• live or vacation at high altitudes
• spend a lot of time outdoors
• take certain medications (see prescription information)

ERGONOMICS AND POSTURE

The term “ergonomics” is derived from two Greek words: “ergon”, meaning work and “nomoi”, meaning natural laws. Ergonomists study human capabilities in relationship to work demands.

In recent years, ergonomists have attempted to define postures which minimize unnecessary static work and reduce the forces acting on the body. All of us could significantly reduce our risk of injury if we could adhere to the following ergonomic principles:

• All work activities should permit the worker to adopt several different, but equally healthy and safe postures
• Where muscular force has to be exerted it should be done by the largest appropriate muscle groups available.
• Work activities should be performed with the joints at about mid-point of their range of movement. This applies particularly to the head, trunk, and upper limbs.

Be Ergonomically Correct: Tips for Computer Users

Repetitive and prolonged use of a computer keyboard and/or
mouse can lead to muscle aches and discomfort. Try to incorporate the following tips into your work style to avoid problems.

• Sit all the way back in the chair against the backrest. Keep knees equal to, or lower, than hips with feet supported.
• Keep elbows in open angle with wrists in straight position.
• Avoid overreaching. Keep the mouse and keyboard within close reach.
• Center the monitor in front of you at arm’s length distance and position the top of the monitor 2” to 3” above seated eye level.
• You should be able to view the screen without turning or tilting your head up or down.
• Place source documents on a document folder positioned between your monitor and keyboard or place documents on an elevated surface close to your screen.
• Use good typing technique. Float arms above the keyboard and keep wrist straight when keying. If you use a wrist-rest, use it to support palms when pausing, not while keying.
• Hit the keyboard keys with light force. The average user keys four times harder than necessary.
• Customize computer settings. The screen font, contrast,
  pointer size, speed, and color can be adjusted to maximize comfort and efficiency.
• Reduce glare. Place monitor away from bright lights and windows. Use an optical glass glare filter when necessary.
• Take eye breaks and intermittently refocus on distant objects. Try palming eyes in your hands to reduce eye fatigue.
• Work at a reasonable pace and take frequent stretch breaks. Take 1 or 2 minute breaks every 20-30 minutes, and 5 minute breaks every hour.
• Life style and physical fitness affect how you feel at work.
  Stay in shape by stretching and exercising regularly.

Source: UCLA Ergonomics Website and University of Texas Website

Provided courtesy of www.wellnessproposals.com

Make Yourself Available
Men are taught to hide their feelings as a sign of strength and masculinity. But when it comes to loving and being loved, that belief is a sure fire guarantee of isolation, loneliness, and
depression. Show up, because only what you show is available to be loved.

Honesty is Your Trump Card
Love can be trusted only when you know you are being loved for who you really are—for your excellence and shortcomings, your toughness and tenderness–all of you. Honestly letting your partner know what you think, what you feel, what you want and need opens the way for her to know you and love you. Deceit is a child’s game. Don’t play it.

Genuine Love Requires….
As simple as it may sound, a relationship takes two. Both people must feel seen, heard, appreciated, and valued. If you are the only one that counts, your partner is as good as invisible. And if only your partner counts, what’s the point of being in a relationship? A real life, satisfying relationship grows out of your willingness to work with your partner, especially when she has the better point of view.

Differences are Critical
No matter how much two people have in common, when they enter into a relationship they soon discover all the ways they are different from one another. How you treat those differences will either make or break your relationship. Trying to change your partner leads only to resistance and rejection. Opening to your partner as different from you sets the stage for a love that is real, trustworthy, and secure because she will know that she is being loved for who she is and not for
some idea or image of who you think she’s supposed to be. And that’s the only love that lasts.

Fear is Natural
No one receives any formal training for intimate relationships. So you may expect that loving is going to be trouble- free. But once two people move beyond the bliss at the beginning, their
differences become apparent. Then it’s natural to be anxious and fearful that maybe who you are isn’t going to be enough. That’s normal. Deepening intimacy entails the risk of revealing
yourself, discovering yourself, and allowing your partner to do the same.

Intimacy is not Automatic
You can have attraction, curiosity, and even sexual desire at first sight, but intimacy takes time. Intimacy results when two people share their affection and their fear, their desire and their upset, their willingness to be known and know one another. Be patient with love, it is a garden worth seeding and weeding, watering and pruning for the rest of your life.

Contact:
James Sniechowski, Ph.D.
Co-Author of Be Loved For Who You Really Are
http://www.themagicofdifferences.com
Men’s Health Network, Co-Founder