Do You Eat While You Drive?

By John McGran, eDiets Editor-in-Chief

Time for a show of hands:Who here is guilty of DUIF,driving under the influence of food? Most all of us, right?

Well, I bet you didn't know that eating and driving puts you at an increased risk of an accident. It's true. In fact, one study calls driving while dining a worse offense than cruising and chatting on your cell phone.

Living life in the fast lane forces a lot of us to cut corners. And what better way to kill two birds with one stone than to have your cake and eat it too while you drive to or from work? The few precious moments you save may eventually cost you a lot more, according to researchers. These road worriers warn that the life you save may be your own.

That being said, it's time to look at the worst offenders. No, I am not talking about NASCAR driver wanna be Joe Jones, who can balance a Big Mac and a large drink while zooming down the interstate at 90 miles an hour. I am talking about the top 10 worst foods you should never eat while you drive.

NOTE: The info I am about to share comes from a report compiled by Hagerty Classic Insurance of Traverse City, Michigan. By listing the 10 worst foods, I am by no means approving the eating of all other foods while you got one foot on the gas and one hand -- or worse yet, one knee -- on the steering wheel Eating and driving is one "crash diet" we should all avoid.

While compiling stats on accidents caused by driver distraction, bean counters at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) discovered eating was a bigger distraction than using a hand held cell phone.

According to NHTSA, 26 percent of all traffic fatalities among America's 185,500,000 licensed drivers are caused by driver distraction.

The revelation led to the development of Hagerty's list of the "10 Most Dangerous Foods To Eat While Driving." Hagerty's researchers then rated common foods eaten in cars according to the degree of distraction, degree of difficulty in eating with only one hand on the wheel,and the food's popularity. They ranked the top 10 foods from bad to worst:

10. Chocolate! Whatever you touch -- steering wheels, gear shift, clothing, hair -- will get stained. Drivers' instinctive reactions are to clean up immediately and that distracts them from the road ahead.

9. Soft Drinks! Suddenly soaking up your soda as you pull out to pass could be a deadly distraction. Open containers of hot or cold liquids can cause a lack of concentration when spilled across a shirt or lap.

8. Jelly or Cream-Filled Donuts! Imagine the disaster as messy jelly oozes onto a driver's shirt or lap.

7. Fried Chicken! Greasy hands are a major distraction. And grease on a steering wheel is almost impossible to get off.

6. Barbecued Food: Always keep in mind, "If it can drip, don't eat it while you drive!"

5. Juicy Burgers! A $5 hamburger deluxe could turn into $5,000 worth of repairs if dripping condiments, special sauces or greasy meat juices distract the driver.

4. Chili! Steering chili-covered foods to your mouth while steering a car around a corner requires more dexterity than many of us are blessed with.

3. Tacos! It's tough enough to cleanly eat a crispy shelled taco at home. One good road bump and the seat of your car will look like a salad bar.

2. Hot Soups! Eating soup while trying to shift and steer can land you in hot water quick. It's the equivalent of a circus juggling act.

1. Coffee! Uncovered drinks are the worst offenders for distracting splashes and spills. Hot coffee is often served at lava-like temperatures. If it burns your mouth, you can imagine how badly it will feel as it rains down in your lap.

Additional food for thought:

• More food-related accidents happen in the morning. Why? Mainly because people are concerned about their appearance on the way to work. That little spill can easily distract and cause evasive actions that can lead to accidents.

• The odds of having a food-related accident doubles if the car, truck or SUV has a stick shift.

• The most hazardous situation: a combo of eating and gabbing on your cell phone.

(Jacques' Note:) John's findings are all extremely pragmatic and following them can surely save A LOT of pain, injuries, costly property damage ...most of all: LIVES!.
Wishing you a SAFE weekend! Your Friend,

Jacques

Fat America: Supersized Caskets!?

By John McGran, eDiets Editor-in-Chief

I hope the headline term "Fat America" didn't anger you. I thought it simply the best way to sum up a growing trend among U.S. businesses. From double-wide caskets to our XXXL clothing, these manufacturers are literally getting rich off the fat of the land.

For the most part, "Mr. Bad Food" (moi) can't blame the companies for catering to the massive-sized masses. The sobering truth, according to the Centers for Disease Control, is seven in 10 American adults are overweight. I am in the majority. Yes, I lost 32 pounds, but I could stand to drop another 20-25 to squeeze into the "normal" range on most height-weight charts.

So there really is a need for extra-large items such as car seats for our kids... doorways for our derrieres...clothes for all of us... and coffins for our corpses. Eek! That last one even sounded harsh to me!

Since spotting the news item referring to the wider coffins, I've been dying to share it with you. You see, while the common casket runs some 27 inches wide, these larger-than-life boxes now stretch up to 52 inches east to west. For the record, the thought of being buried six feet deep in a narrow, sealed box creeps me out
horribly. However, having a little elbow room in the hereafter eases that fright... well, just a little.

While obesity is a curse for nutritionists and health professionals, it is boon for others. Jo Weigel, director of communications for Batesville Caskets, says her company has seen a 20-percent growth in sales of oversized coffins in the past five years. Shrewd marketeers say it's "a little extra room for life's final journey."

According to one source, an oversized casket can cost twice as much as a regular casket. Mr. Bad Food could say the death industry is making a killing on our weight woes. But the big bucks don't stop there...

The AP story that caught my eye stated: "Doorways, furniture seat cushions, hospital examination tables and caskets are but a few examples from a long list of life's accoutrements that are getting bigger to accommodate bigger people.

"Even toddlers have joined the overweight ranks, with car seat manufacturers offering the 'Husky' -- which is 10 pounds heavier and 4 inches wider than the standard size." Hospital beds used to be built to hold up to 300 pounds; most now have a 500-pound load limit.

A clothes call

It wasn't that long ago that Lane Bryant held a choke-hold on the plus-sized clothing business. Not anymore. Mainstream retailers like Wal-Mart and Old Navy have seen the not-so-light and have begun rolling out fashions for the weight-challenged men and women.

A recent AP story proclaimed, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, is adding more racks of plus-size apparel in its George, Metro 7 and other lines because of increased demand, spokeswoman Linda Blakley said. And the larger sizes hang right next to the smaller sizes...

Other popular chains like Kmart and Kohl's -- and even a high-end clotheshorse Liz Claiborne -- have jumped on the broadening bandwagon to offer shoppers what they want and need: an assortment of plus-sized fashions.

While Mr. Bad Food applauds the initiation, he also can't help but sigh and shake his head over the need for this direction. The nation's health scale is so terribly unbalanced. Some 71% of us are overweight. Think about that number for a minute. In a room of 10 men and women, SEVEN will weigh more than they should. And some will weigh a lot more than what's considered healthy.

Here's my advice. Buy the larger-sized products, but please don't get too comfortable. Instead, come to grips with your plight and take action.
Heck, if a guy named Mr. Bad Food can drop 32 pounds, I KNOW you can too!

Tackling "Globesity"

And the Good (?) news is: You are Not Alone! : Tackling 'Globesity' One Small Step at a Time.

Experts Warn of Dangers of Worlwide Obesity Epidemic
By Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, LD
WebMD Medical News - Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD

Oct. 24, 2005 (St. Louis) -- Obesity is not only an epidemic in this country, it is a global explosion. Researchers say "globesity" is out of control, and the health care community has ideas to help stem the tide of expanding waistlines.

A panel of experts shared ideas at the American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Conference and Exhibition on how to put a dent in the obesity problem. Panel members Jim Hill, Ph.D., John Foreyt, Ph.D., and W. Phillip James, M.D., DSc, all agreed that the environment needs to change if we are to have an impact on the serious consequences of obesity and turn strategies into solutions. There is no simple solution to this very complex problem; taking small steps to tackle the problem is a great beginning.

Causes and Consequences

The trend of increasing numbers of adults with excess weight continues. According to the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), more than 64% of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese.

The U.S. is not alone: Australia, the U.K., Germany, Croatia, Greece, Finland, Mexico and many other countries have a high prevalence of overweight adults and children of all ages, according to the International Obesity Task Force web site.

"The cause of the obesity epidemic around the globe is multifaceted and complex," says James. "Developed countries have spent large sums of money to provide mechanical, electronic, and physical aids to remove the need to do any physical activity so people burn fewer calories each day."
According to James, "this is further compounded by intense marketing and availability of inexpensive food that is high in calories, fat, and sugar."

Well-known health consequences of obesity include type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, liver abnormalities, and negative psychological consequences.

These conditions are not limited to adults and are being seen in the growing number of overweight and obese children and toddlers. (SEE: "A TV commercial well worth noting" in an upcoming post.)

Excess weight has been associated with an increased risk of some cancers.

In men and women, being obese or overweight has been linked with an increased risk for kidney cancer. In women, breast, ovarian, cervical and uterine cancer risk all increase with excess body weight. According to NAASO, The Obesity Society, obese women have a 1.5-fold greater risk for endometrial cancer and a twofold greater risk for postmenopausal breast cancer.

One Small Step at a Time

"We need to focus our attention on health, well-being, and the improvement of the quality of life that small changes can achieve," says Foreyt. Don't think of a diet-and-exercise overhaul; think small steps to halt weight gain and then move on to weight loss.

"If we could simply stop gaining weight, it would be a substantial first step toward reducing globesity" says Hill, one of the founders of America on the Move, which popularized the pedometer. His advice: make small changes that add up to at least 100-200 fewer calories daily. Eat one less cookie, leave a few bites of the fast-food burger, and walk 2,000 more steps each day to help weight maintenance. Pedometers keep track of how far a person walks or runs. They also keep track of the number of steps a person takes. That -- plus advice to take 10,000 steps a day -- seems to help motivation for people who don't like to exercise.

Changing behavior is admittedly one of the most difficult tasks health care professionals face, panel members told the audience of registered dietitians. "Taking small steps seem to be the most reliant way for doctors and dietitians to help get people to change the way they eat and exercise," says Foreyt.
Everyone is looking for the magic bullet but it does not exist, he says. "It starts and ends with personal responsibility."

Changing the Landscape

Beyond small changes, we need to change the environment in which we live. "We have to create social change in our communities where eating healthy and physical activity are promoted and supported by everyone from health care, schools, local and state government, parks," says Hill.

People have to want social change; it cannot be forced upon them. "If they don't see the value of sidewalks to promote more walking, they won't support it with their tax dollars and it won't become a reality. " Healthy foods are being manufactured, as evidenced in the exposition at the meeting, but if consumers don't support the healthier options with their dollars, these healthier options won't be around for long."

Make it easy, convenient and start early to help kids develop healthy eating habits and the enjoyment of physical activity. "The secret sauce is making it fun so it does not feel restrictive or like some form of punishment," says Foreyt. "There will never be a magic bullet for successful weight loss so we need to alter behaviors slowly, gradually and encourage personal responsibility from an early age."

James encouraged food manufacturers and government to subsidize healthy foods and clearly label them so consumers will be more likely to purchase healthier foods. "Using the simple red/yellow/green stop-light approach is one that all consumers understand and would help when making decisions about what foods to purchase."

Things Take Time

Raising awareness is a great place to start to educate people about the perils of obesity and what they can do to improve their health, the panel members say. Beyond raising awareness, Foreyt is an avid believer in the power of keeping records to track food, activity, and weight. Dietitians at the meeting were challenged to look for ways to play key roles in changing the landscape of globesity and inspiring people to make sustainable changes that will not only reduce the incidence of obesity but improve the health of the world.
________________________________________
SOURCES: American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Conference, St. Louis, Oct. 22-25, 2005. Jim Hill, Ph.D., professor, University of Colorado Health Sciences; co-founder, America on the Move. John Foreyt, Ph.D., professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. W. Phillip James, M.D., DSc, chairman, International Obesity Taskforce; senior vice president, International Association for the Study of Obesity, London. International Obesity Taskforce web site, March 16, 2005. NASSO, the Obesity Society.

Remarks by Jacques Girard:

Elsewhere within this entire "Introduction" and Blog, I periodically insert related items of interest that were released in the News Media, after requesting permission to do so.

One of the more shocking ones was the fact that airlines had initiated a policy of charging obese passengers, whose derrieres are oversized, DOUBLE the regular fare!...This, due to the fact that they would be assigned TWO adjoining seats to accommodate their special needs...

Another was the report concerning the alarmingly growing numbers of fat infants and toddlers falling out of their now ill-fitting car seats, whose makers are now forced to redesign, retool, retest, remanufacture, get reapproved and charge accordingly.

In the following post, you'll find an article, one in a long series on the many scary consequences of Excess Weight/ Obesity I just found on the Internet. Perhaps this will help motivate enough candidates to go into Action!...

...which re-emphasizes the sad realities and urgent needs to CHANGE this epidemic world condition, starting with YOU...ONE person at a time. Shoulder to shooulder, YES,WE CAN DO IT!...

You don’t think so?...Then SOAK IN the forthcoming articles about the vast benefits of BELLY LAUGHTER brought to us by my renowned Friend and Collaborator, the late NORMAN COUSINS and make many hearty Hah, Hah sounds daily! :o)

Your Friend,

Jacques

...And the fat grows on....

"...And the fat grows on..and the fat grows on..( to the old tune of ‘..And the beat goes on..’ )...plus observations about "How reliable IS the ‘EXPERTS'’ advice"?...

Bad news/Good news

...First, the Bad:

Cancer News from Johns Hopkins Hospital

"JUST A REMINDER"...

NO plastic containers in microwave
NO plastic water bottles in freezer
NO plastic wrap in microwave

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in their newsletter: it's definitely worth noting...This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Dioxin Carcinogens cause cancer, especially breast cancer.

DON’T freeze your plastic water bottles with water, as this releases dioxins in the plastic.

Dr. Edward Fujimoto from Castle Hospital was on a TV program explaining this health hazard.(He is the manager of the Wellness Program at the hospital.)

He was talking about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers.

This applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxins into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.

Dioxins are carcinogens and highly toxic to the cells of our bodies. Instead, he recommends using glass, CorningWare or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results without the dioxins.

So, such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc.,should be removed from the container and heated in something else which is Microwave Safe.

Paper isn't bad, but you don't know what's in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc.

He said we might remember when some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

To add to this, Saran wrap placed over foods as they are nuked, with the high heat, actually drips poisonous toxins into the food; use paper towels.


"Vast majority of Americans likely to become fat":

Study suggests obesity an even more serious problem in U.S. than thought
(Updated: 10:32 A.M. ET Oct. 4, 2005...and it has worsened since then!)

BALTIMORE - Just when we thought we couldn’t get any fatter, a new study that followed Americans for three decades suggests that over the long haul, 9 out of 10 men and 7 out of 10 women will become overweight.

Even if you are one of the lucky few who made it to middle age without getting fat, don’t congratulate yourself — keep watching that waistline.

Half of the men and women in the study who had made it well into adulthood without a weight problem ultimately became overweight. A third of those women and a quarter of the men became obese.

“You cannot become complacent, because you are at risk of becoming overweight,” said Ramachandran Vasan, an associate professor of medicine at Boston University and the study’s lead author.

He and other researchers studied data gathered from 4,000 white adults over 30 years. Participants were between the ages of 30 and 59 at the start, and were examined every four years. By the end of the study, more than 1 in 3 had become obese.

The findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, show obesity may be a greater problem than indicated by studies that look at a cross-section of the population at one point in time. Those so-called “snapshots” of obesity have found about 6 in 10 are overweight and about 1 in 3 are obese, Vasan said. The statistics also re-emphasize that people must continually watch their weight, Vasan said.

The research subjects were the children of participants in the long-running and often-cited Framingham Heart Study, which has been following the health of generations of Massachusetts residents.

Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which supported the study, said the findings show “we could have an even more serious degree of overweight and obesity over the next few decades.”

Susan Bartlett, an assistant professor of medicine and obesity research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said the study was one of the first to look at the risk of becoming overweight. “The results are pretty sobering, really,” said Bartlett, who was not involved in the research.
While the health risks of being obese are much more severe than being overweight, those who are overweight are much more likely to go on to become obese, Bartlett said.

The study shows Americans live in an “environment in which it’s hard not to become overweight or obese. Unless people actively work against that, that’s what’s most likely to happen to them.”

Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, some cancers, diabetes and arthritis, and being overweight raises blood pressure and cholesterol, which in turn can raise the risk of heart disease.

The number of deaths linked to obesity has been heavily debated. Earlier this year the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said obesity caused only about 25,814 deaths annually in the United States — far fewer than the 365,000 deaths the agency had earlier reported. Other scientists have disagreed with the revised conclusion, while organizations representing the food and restaurant industry think weight-related ills have been overstated.

As for the Framingham study, Mark Vander Weg, a Mayo Clinic psychologist who researches obesity but was not involved in the study, said it is one of a few to track a group of individuals over an extended period.
“What’s particularly concerning is that these results actually may underestimate the risk of becoming overweight or obese among the general population” because minorities, who are at increased risk for obesity, were not included in the study, Vander Weg said.

"Recent trends also suggest that people currently coming into middle age may be even more likely to become overweight or obese than those who were studied", Vander Weg said. While more studies that include more diverse populations are needed, he said, the results “add to a growing body of evidence that makes it increasingly apparent that more effective prevention and treatment strategies are urgently needed.”

Motivate Yourself with Positive Input!

"What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can
achieve!" – (Napoleon Hill)

"We all have possibilities we don't know about. We can do things we don't even dream we can do." --
(Dale Carnegie)

"We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power. ...
We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen." –
(Calvin Coolidge)

"Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true." – (Napoleon Hill)

“The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those that fail.” -- ( Napoleon Hill)

‘Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.’ -- (Winston Churchill)

‘The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.’ (Swedish Proverb)

‘People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit.’ (George Allen, U.S. senator)


As indicated by its title, your Belief System could be said to be the headquarters of what and the way you think, speak, act like, do, or are too scared to say or do. In other words: it contains every element of your behavioral patterns…

The fact that, looking at these with a logical and analytical mind, a lot of these activities would soon clearly reveal themselves as being ludicrous, unrealistic, "impossible" and much more. Yet, we all go through life habitually acting out what we believe is or feels "right for us", based on what we are "fed" by our Belief System…

The late Walt Disney , in answer to many questions asked him about "How he become so successful" and "What did he have to do?"... "Was he thinking and creating with ease?...Did he have trouble coming up with good ideas?...Did he "hit slumps" and How did he handle them?", etc...had a relatively simple answer: his "success formula", if you will, and that was: "If you can imagine and dream it, Believe in its ultimate possibility and courageously PERSIST during tough periods, you cannot help but achieve it, and more!"

Have a Great Weekend!

Your Friend,

Jacques

The benefits of Forgiving

This slight departure from our series is well worth making.

" Consistently happy people are either in one of two conditions. Either no one has ever wronged or slighted them in any way. Or else they have forgiven those who have. Since it is almost impossible not to have been wronged or slighted, if you want to master happiness, you need to learn how to forgive.

Forgiving is like floating on water. You don't need to do anything. You just need to let go. When you were a young child of five or six, you became angry at your brothers, sisters, friends, and classmates. You might have even said, "I won't forgive you." Now when you look back at the vast majority of those situations, you will see that they were trivial.

It is, at present, easy for you to forgive someone for not giving you a bite of their ice cream, not letting you play with their toys, or grabbing your ice cream or toys.

Just as you have already forgiven them, you will be able to forgive others for more recent events when you realize that most things are trivial when compared to your emotional and spiritual well-being.

We all need our Creator's forgiveness. By forgiving others, we elevate ourselves and render ourselves more worthy of being forgiven. When you find it difficult to forgive, pray with your own words for the strength to forgive."

By Dr. Yehuda Lave.

------------

Monday, April 16: A sad Post Scriptum...

Starting at 7:00 A.M. this morning...then, restarted and horrifically concluded a couple of hours later, the shocking news has filled the media all day long...

What will go down as "the worst school campus gun violence massacre in U.S. History" occurred today at the heretofore "safe, serene" Virginia Tech.'s Engineering School.

A college age young shooter, armed with two guns and multiple 15-rounds clips opened fire and didn't stop until 33 students, faculty members and himself were slaughtered, and 29 injured...presently hospitalized or undergoing surgey. Not to make light of this infamous feat, nor to depress you by the following, it sends shivers down my spine to realize that these numbers pale compared to Iraq's daily inhuman suicide bomber-caused carnages.

"Our" mass murderer was not an Islamic terrorist, just a 23-year-old disgruntled Korean-born sociopathic college senior, Cho Seung Hui, an angry, confused, disturbed loner who "flipped out", cracking under the yoke of his own ongoing aberrant self-talk.

Eerily enough, today is also the sad Memorial of the Holocaust, respected by Jews around the World. One of the Virginia Tech. assassin's victims was a Roumanian Jew and Holocaust survivor, Professor Liviu Librescu, who chose the College town for its peacefulness!

NBC-TV just aired a Special hour-long report with Anne Curry and Bryan Willams interviewing surviving students still in a state of shock...and compared today's nightmare with that of the Columbine School massacre of just a few years ago.

One of their surviving students ("Craig"), now 24, vividly recalled the fright of crouching on the Library floor as bullets flew...hearing the agonizing moans and painful breething of the wounded and dying...amongst whom was his sister Rachel...

His advanced case of "Post Traumatic Syndrome" disorders caused him severe angers, outbursts, guilt, nightmares, fears, auditory and visual flashbacks for a couple of years.

One of the exercises he was given to practice in Therapy was "Forgiveness"...By doing this, he "began to feel tremendous relief" from all his problems.

The biggest revelation was the realization that "Forgiveness is like setting free a prisoner...then realizing that the prisoner was you..."

My deepest thoughts of sympathy, support and healing go to the innocent victims of this cataclism and their families.

Jacques

Your BELIEF SYSTEM...

...is another vital part of your complex Subconscious Brain’s network of "departments". These can inspire, guide, motivate, elevate, reduce, empower, de-energize, encourage, discourage, make you feel like a giant or like some worthless loser, depending on what is filed within them.

Your Belief System (B.S. for short!)...Don't laugh!, for as you accompany me on this exciting, eye-opening journey through your Subconscious brain, you will realize that the contents of your B.S. is a pot-pourri of the descriptives in the previous paragraph.

How You choose to allow the latter to affect your daily, moment-by-moment thinking, feeling, speech, actions and living as a whole is a dynamic directly influenced by your subliminal B.S., which is truly pivotal in steering your behavioral patterns throughout life. HABITS also enter into this highly complex equation, and much will be said about the latter as we go.

To put it simply: "What you Believe is so, especially if it is something you have gotten in the habit of thinking, saying, doing, feeling like...for you IS so !"...and you'd argue, insist, defend, justify, "prove", even defend to the death that it IS SO! Sounds familiar, hey what? :o)

Interestingly enough, if you’d cut out the ‘F’: BELIEF becomes BELIE..which bluntly tells us that our Belief System (too frequently) belies the truth and what IS truthfully so!... And, split in half, is but ‘BE + LIE’ or, as some would say : ‘it Be a Lie’...

For, Remember that all the "facts and figures" that were "fed" to us over the years, now and forever dwell in our subconscious "Belief System"... Unfortunately, the VAST majority of these messages are bald-faced lies, false, erroneous, dangerous, harmful, negative, destructive, demeaning, belittling, dehumanizing data of questionable origin... oftentimes passed on from generation to generation of, and by, uneducated, ignorant, misinformed, supersticious, fanatical, prejudiced, dim-witted, narrow-minded, even illiterate sources...and the further we reach back in time through our ancestry, the scarier it gets!

Think about it!...Realistically speaking, didn't most of the "stuff", such as advice, home remedies, dos and don'ts, die-hard "facts" (including lots and lots of them passed on by titled "Experts"), and the like originate ages ago, long before the wise men and women who came up with them had much, if any, schooling, scientific evidence, sophistication, culture, and the benefit of pragmatic, verifiable Knowledge?

Please believe that this is neither an indictment, nor a "call to arms", nor a rebellious, disrespectful, insulting, emotional outburst of sorts. We ARE indeed objectively talking about our own ancestors, family members, friends, strangers, teachers, lay and religious, neighborhood cops, laws and lawmakers, newcasters, and so on... passing along often unverified, unfounded hearsay and gossip which they themselves "inherited" generation by generation...

The manure pile got eventually mixed up with positive, reliable, sound, accurate, dependable fact-based, verifiable information having emanated from that precious ethereal reservoir of knowledge, and these, too, became a part of your B.S.

Your Belief System might be said to be the kinesthetic: the emotional portion of your Subconscious "Memory Bank" which has been "forever", and continues to be, a vital part of the Subconscious by means explained in our section on the Brain.

Just as it is commonly said that "You are what you eat"...in this instance: "You are, and will become, what you Believe you are, or will turn into!"...(Jacques Girard)

The Belief System is closely related to your Habits, which it strongly influences and directs (Be sure to SEE the sections devoted to Changing...getting rid of unwanted habits...and forming new "good" ones when these posts will be published)

Since it is a subliminal entity, you are not conscious or aware of all that it is doing for or against you in your moment-to-moment thoughts, decisions, feelings and consequential actions or reactions. It responds to the ways you think and talk to yourself, mentally, repetitiously ("Self-Talk")

Which is why it is YOUR duty to control the "garbage" portions which seep out and get you to act the negative, "strange" and self-defeating ways you do at times... then cannot understand what just took place...and become amazed or upset at yourself. Or that "stupid thing" you just said or did...sometimes hitting your forehead with your open palm...like in the "I could have had a V-8" commercial...
Remember some of the times this sort of thing happened?...

Beginning with this series of eye-and-mind-openers being warmly and gratuitously shared for your benefit and well-being, and expanded during our S.L.I.M. For Life © Seminars series, I suggest you relax and rest assured that we shall give you the solutions to the problems being aired, and the answers to those gnawing questions which may have been puzzling you!

All that is needed for you to do is to practice the indicated principles and short-cuts to Wellness, Happiness and Fulfillment, which we are sending you with love and supportiveness. For, the more mentally, emotionally and physically "sane and sound" people inhabit the planet, the safer and more secure our humankind shall be for future generations to come...

So, consider this our sincere contribution to this gigantic, world-wide effort to help improve the quality of life for millions of people around the globe. We humbly ask that you do your share by making these real, viable guidelines work for you, yours and then many others...virtually help spread a powerful epidemic of positive forces to help offset the daily strife, killings, deadly diseases and other evils. Let it begin with You!

It is also interesting to note that whatever it is that you Firmly Believe in, is, is so, Becomes so for you and all who are affected by you.

A few years ago, a fellow "invented" a "Magic...Powerful...Super-charged Mini"God" that you could hold in the palm of your hand...ask or pray to it for things to do or accomplish for you, and MANY users Believed and even reported that it "really worked".

This little, miraculous item, whose popularity spread like wildfire made a multi-millionaire of its creator, who had started the whole fad (See: "About FADS" in upcoming posts) with a strictly tongue-in-cheek attitude, and called it the "Pet Rock"!...It was a smooth, flat or slightly rounded garden or roadside variety, that he washed thoroughly and painted a Happy Face on. And "tons" of people spent $5.00 and up for each!...further proving that anything you choose to Believe, or Believe In, allow and welcome into your Belief System actually may or will "work" for you!


The great ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) and favorite student of another renowned Greek Master, Plato, left us much with which to help us live a better and happier life, one enhanced by the wisdom of the ages. I shall now share a small portion of his thinking on "habits" with you...

‘Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way’

‘Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.’

‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit’


Ponder these gems, and put them to good use during our "Promises...Promises...Promises: Make fewer of them and KEEP Every ONE !’ Series of Life-Altering exercises...More wonderous pathways to travel...

Our next post will expose you to a few awesome classics to "feed" into your Belief System. They are like doses of strong tonic, energizing vitamins for an anemic Self.

Getting Rid of Unfounded FEARS and WORRIES from your Mind

1. Get ALL the FACTS

2. EXAMINE All the FACTS (To help you do so: SEE (*) below)

3. Make a DECISION

4. If the DECISION is that ACTION is required: MAKE a PLAN OF ACTION

5. GO into ACTION...DO IT NOW!


(*) WRITE OUT and ANSWER the following questions:

1. WHAT IS the problem?

2. WHAT and/or WHO is/are the CAUSE(S) of the PROBLEM? (INCLUDE YOURSELF).
And, when "YOU" are the Answer, make sure you do NOT "beat yourSelf on the chest" Unjustifiably!

3. WHAT are ALL the possible SOLUTIONS?

4. Of ALL the possible solutions, WHICH is the BEST solution for YOU?

5. Ask yourself: "WHAT IS the WORST that can POSSIBLY Happen?"

6. Prepare to Accept the Worst while Planning for BETTER

7. Bravely DO ALL you Can to Improve the "Worst"

8. Bear in mind that WORRIES and FEARS cause Negative Stress (DIS-stress and Anxiety which CAN SEVERELY DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH!), and NOTHING is Worth That!

9. RELEASE...LET GO OF..."FORGIVE and FORGET" ALL Past Events, Disagreements,Failures, Mistakes, Resentments and other Negative, counter-productive memories

10. RECALL ALL the "Good", POSITIVE and SUCCESSFUL things YOU Have caused to Happen in Your life and that of others, and USE these recollections to offset your Fears and Worries of the moment

11. FILL YOUR MIND with thoughts of PEACE, COURAGE, SUCCESS, HEALTH, FULFILLMENT, HOPE and LOVE for YourSelf, Others and the Universe

12. In spite of EVERYTHING ELSE, KEEP ON CREATING THE OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES BETTER, HEALTHIER, HAPPIER and MORE SUCCESSFUL

13. RESPECT and LOVE YourSelf. REMEMBER that YOU ARE UNIQUE and have MANY Qualities, Capabilities and Talents which Are ADMIRED and even ENVIED by Others!...

14. ...Therefore, DO NOT concern yourself with what OTHERS have or are...
DO NOT IMITATE or Begrudge Others out of ENVY, GREED or JEALOUSY...Rather: transcend these and EMULATE out of an uplifting SENSE OF PURPOSE

15. Count ONLY your Blesings

16. Look upon your losses and mistakes as Opportunities from which to LEARN and GROW, yet NOT repeat...as "investments" which Life Challenges impose upon you occasionally to Earn Better and Bigger Rewards Ahead...And This Is Definitely So!


"One must think about a problem until it hurts...until it seems there cannot be another aspect of it that hasn’t been considered."
(Roy Herbert Thomson, entrepreneur)

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all!" (Helen Keller)


"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, lucky, blessed, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."


What you have just read was not written by me. It was written by Marianne Williamson and it is an excerpt from her book ‘A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles.’

While I did not pen the words just above, I believe in them and believe in the greatness that is ALREADY in You and me. There are some of you who have never had anyone believe in you and tell you this so, with your permission, may I be the first? There is greatness already in you and I believe in you!...

Your Friend,

Jacques

P.S.: “I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.” (Anna Freud, Psychologist)

(X) On Unfounded FEARS and WORRIES…

Exhaustive psychological tests have been conducted over the years by various groups and Institutions on the subject of "FEARS and WORRIES" which seem to preoccupy the vast majority of people and are constantly on their minds.

One of the most dramatic such findings occurred in the 1960s when a clinical study of more than fifty thousand random participants showed a common thead amongst the processes of the human brain (Conscious).

When briefly stopped on public streets and corners, and asked, "WHAT were you just thinking?" or "What was mainly on your mind in the last ten minutes?", a VAST percentage of interviewees admitted that the nature of their self-talk and preoccupations revolved around negative thoughts, such as
(1): " I’m running late!...I’ll arrive late at work again!...the boss will be angry with me!...I may lose my job!...etc.."
...or (2): "I forgot to pay my phone (or electric, gas, etc.) bill!... They’re going to disconnect my service!..." and like panic/ disaster stressors...
...or (3): A great variety of concerns with health matters...possible unwanted pregnancy... personal relationships...business, money, income issues, etc., etc...
-----

I will stop for a spell, to tell you a funny joke I heard a while back about two old friends, Eastern European emigrees who work in the same neighborhood : Sam and Henry. Every business morning, they’d meet in the street, greet each other, chit-chat for a few minutes, and the like.

One day, Sam brings up to Henry that "We have been meeting here for years, and each day, you ask me how are my wife, my children, my parents doing...but NOT ONCE did you EVER ask "how is by me da Business!".

So Henry says, "Oh! I’m so sorry, Sam!...SO, How’s by you da business?’...to which Sam shrugs...grimaces and retorts: "Oy!..Don’t ASK!" :o)
-----

Having taken down the phone numbers of the interviewees, the Research teams were able to further check the outcomes of the shared worrisome matters, and THIS is where it was found in about 98% of ALL fifty thousand+ cases, that what they had initially reported as fearing or worrying about NEVER MATERIALIZED!

(1) In work-related Fears of being yelled at, warned, reprimanded, fired, etc., in MOST instances, the TRUE end results were far more pleasant and non-threatening than had been anticipated mentally.
For instance: the boss either said or did nothing ‘bad’, or actually was in a good mood...greeted the stressed employee with a smile...paid him/her a compliment...or arrived later than they had!...etc. :o)

(2) When the delinquent customer called the utilities company, the latter actually, and without any pressure, gave them a time extension...and were very nice with them.:o)

(3) Health, relationships and other feared problems turned out far, far better than had been anticipated, again, in over 98% of ALL instances! :o)

Please remember that over fifty thousand people were surveyed !...and MANY other similar studies were made since with comparable results!...


The cost to your Health, Peace of Mind, Blood pressure and overall mood become ill-affected each time you worry and get stressed over something!...You become DE- energized, depressed, anxious, confused and far less capable of calmly facing and properly handling the less than 2% of the feared troubles...

This is NOT an effort to encourage or condone forgetfulness, irresponsible actions and other escapistic behavior patterns!

Simply weigh ALL the odds...DO Take whatever Action may or will help you cope with, overcome and resolve the impending danger or threatening situation, so that you may Live Happier, Healthier and Longer while fulfilling your obligations and commitments.

To further help you do so, I shall, in the next post, insert a very practical chart for your reference and use with my warmest, supportive Best wishes!


...which reminds me of this cute story about "SHELLY and the DRAGON"

Shelly had been having recurring nightmares. She dreamt every night that a Huge Dragon would chase her, fire shooting out of its nostrils...its sharp teeth-filled mouth wide open, allowing a long, split tongue to protrude, snake-like. It made constant, roaring, menacing, high decibel sounds which scared Shelly half to death.

The dragon kept coming closer and closer. Its savage noises made Shelly's heart beat so wildly, she thought it would choke her...the heat of the flames was starting to cause the nape of her neck to feel as if it was on fire. And then, the nightmare would stop, leaving Shelly in a sweat, filled with fear and horror.

One night, when the nightmare returned in full force, she decided to end this nightly torture by taking a chance and test her bravery. This time, as the dragon was getting uncomfortably close, she stopped running, turned around, facing her torturer, staring him in the eyes...

Shelly yelled at him angrily : "YOU!...WHY are you chasing and scaring me to death every night? WHAT do you WANT from me?", to which the dragon, after calmly shrugging his shoulders, answered: " Heck if I know, lady!...After all: It’s YOUR dream!" :o)
-----

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward."
(Robyn Davidson)

"If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fear."
(Glenn Clark)


Have a Happy, Fearless, Worry-Free Day!

Your Friend,

Jacques

More GLOSSARY terms and descriptives

BETA ( β ) ROOM

Symbolically represents the Conscious Brain in the shape of a rectangular room. It has a large door at one end, and a big window at the other.
When both are opened mentally, a strong, yet pleasant breeze is created, causing an invisible wall panel to move from the window side of the room towards the door... This air-tight panel goes from ceiling to floor, and from the left wall to the right. As it moves steadily and forcefully towards the door, it pushes, sweeps out of the door all undesirable elements in its path, such as:

(*) distracting thoughts...
(*) mental clutter...
(*) turmoil...
(*) disorder...
(*) confusion...
(*) agitation...(reminiscent of "an agitated, hyper, drunken monkey who was just stung by a scorpion"...or, as Douglas Adams would say: "His study was a total mess, like the results of an explosion in a public library")...
(*) blocks...
(*) worries...
(*) fears...(X: in an upcoming blog)
(*) concerns...
(*) pressures...
(*) stresses and all other negatives...

...OUT the door.!...When all the "garbage" is out, the door and window are mentally shut tightly, leaving the air and atmosphere in your Beta Room

(*) clean...
(*) clear...
(*) pure...
(*) serene...
(*) fresh...
(*) uncluttered and...
(*) calm...

Your Conscious Brain is now ready to contribute precise, positive, constructive, effective and productive directions to the Subconscious during your Modulations.

SCREEN OF THE MIND:

An oversize, wide movie theatre screen at some distance ahead of you, and at an approximate 45 degree elevation... You can use the screen to help you in your visualizations (guided imagery), to see sharp images and close-ups of whatever, or whoever you are scrutinizing at the moment by mentally zooming in and enlarging the item as much as you like or need to, in order to clearly view it/them in full detail...and empower you to give precise instructions to your Subconscious brain for actions of your choice.

NOTE WELL: 1-The latter will ONLY work for positive, benficial, healing, helpful, reconstructive (*) purposes. 2- REMEMBER that this and other items herein are clarifications of our proprietary GLOSSARY terms, NOT Techniques which you can put to immediate use without our advanced training...To the contrary: even if you have any degree of expertise in self-hypnosis or meditation, this disclaimer is to strongly urge you not to "experiment" with... "try" or use any of the potent proprietary methods being shared with you "strictly FYI and/or "enlightenment" or even "entertainment", if you will", at this point!

LAZER BEAM OF AWARENESS:

Two Beams emanate, one from the center of your forehead : your "third eye", or "root of your nose", which you can "see" by forcefully looking straight up, following the line of your nose, between your eyes...
The second one, from the center of your chest (at the base of your heart, also known as "your soul shakra").
Both join at some short distance from the Source, at which point they form a single beam, reminiscent of two smaller contributaries joining to form a large, powerful river.

You are taught how to use this beam to scan, lock in on, protect, analyze (physical or other entities), "destruct" (the first step in performing a "Reconstruction" (*): a three-stage technique for causing amelioration, healing and positive transformations taught to our advanced participants, as is also our "Control Center": another Theta Dimension entity developed by Dr. Girard).

(*) The "post-graduate" Trainings and techniques involving "Reconstructions" inspired the adoption of our logo, the PHOENIX, since they empower our Participants to emulate the awesome transformations perfomed by and related in the fascinating mythological tale of of the dynamic Bird.

THIN LINE OF DEEP RELAXATION


Another third dimensional metaphor developed by Dr.Girard for the simplification and increased, speedy effectiveness in both S.L.I.M. For Life © and The I.D.S. © Trainings' Modulations.

Whichever section, or "slice" of your anatomy that the THIN LINE OF DEEP RELAXATION has just passed on its way downward is instantly and automatically placed in a deep Inner Dimension of relaxation, improving, healing and revitalization...from the minutest inner single cell to the larger outer dimensions of skin, hair and nails...from the top of your head to the sole of your feet.

Wishing you and yours a Happy, Healthy Easter or Passover !
Your Friend,

Jacques

Your Peaceful Retreat

The importance of the depressing turmoil I shared with you earlier is to impress upon you that, regardless how bad and negative your own thoughts, problems, stresses, pressures, concerns may be (inside your "BETA room" described in an upcoming post), the fact that you now have a secret “valve” through which to let your inner oppressive “steam” escape prevents emotional “explosions” or “implosions”.

You now have a “Special Place”, a shelter strictly yours, to which you can “escape” for a refreshing, renewing while and work on resolving some problem, search for some answer, an inspiring or motivating “thought for the day…week...month”. This is your Peaceful Retreat !
Note Well: This process is NOT "being or going into denial!"

And, in case you may still feel uncertain as to exactly how to create the best possible one, perhaps my own may inspire you as to the diversity and freedom to let your Imagination “run with it”, even if it takes you, for instance, to one or more natural caves eroded over the centuries by the sea and “set up shop” inside, using the sand as your floor. Or you may want to decorate your cave…throw in a few lush carpets…furniture…connect electricity and lighting…Anything Your Imagination will come up with that makes you happy, comfortable and “ feels right”.

The night of the bombing of the next-door convent…as I squeezed my eyes in raw fear, I envisioned a room… clean, shiny parquet flooring, colors were oranges and bright browns…not a stick of furniture..roll-down thick beige window covers. One of the windows was partly open, letting in the soothing, peaceful, cheerful sounds of happily chirping birds in the nearby and of the gentle rustling of nearby lush green trees’ foliage. I did not have to struggle to "make it up"...it just "came to me", which is why I said, in an earlier post, that it was a "Gift from G-d"...

The room was bathed by the sun through the paper curtains, creating a warm atmosphere of earth tone reflexions on the beige plain walls of the room. The temperature was balmy. It all felt perfectly safe. I would lie down on the floor, which I found to be surprisingly comfortable. I was very relaxed and went off into a deep, deep, sound sleep…

…and never heard another sound until I awakened (in “real life”) and was told that the bombings, the flack from the anti-aircraft guns, the howling sounds of the danger warning sirens…all these, and more, has been going on all night long!

Throughout the war, I was able to instantly drift off and sleep through similar, threatening loud noises and the ground shaken by bombings or shellings.


My two other favorite Peaceful Retreats are: Yosemite National Park with its fabulous pine tree smells, blue and other birds, bears, deer, squirrels, majestic mountains , breathtatking waterfalls…nature in all its glory…
Ansel Adams photographed this “Paradise on Earth”, as I call it, for most of his professional life. I heartily recommend his books and films on the subject to those of you who may not yet have been privileged to experience this great Photographer’s Art.

My third is a white, soft, sandy beach not littered by obnoxious tourists’ disrespectful of the environment. Deep blue-and-green, almost transparent ocean waters with multiple foamy, graceful whitecaps and waves swimming to shore…making repeated, lulling, gently roaring, slushing sounds and imparting a lovely oceanic fragrance softly transported to my nostrils by a gentle breeze. Next to me are several tall palm trees whose fronds are gently rustling in the overhead, soft tropical air, the relaxing combination of which forms a totally aesthetic and reposing Peaceful Retreat..

While you are in your Peaceful Retreat, remember that you can work on problem solving, decision making, magnetizing yourself and your mind to attract Positive people, events, conditions, circumstances, set goals, and the like.

You always feel rested, refreshed and re-energized whenever you come out of your Peaceful Retreat, and are optimistic that worthwhile achievements are on their way to completion.

Finally, a delightful story and another possible viable Peaceful Retreat well worth reading was posted last March 15th...Enjoy!

Addendum to what happened at Tournai...

This period is when I first experienced the awesome magnificence of the Subconscious Mind at a time when I had not yet studied Psychology. Yet, I was “sent by G-d” or Nature the equivalent of a mental “safe zone”, which I, later, called “My Peaceful Retreat”…

During the bombings and the refugee “great escape” episode which took us through Belgium, then France, I was quite panicked by the constant, scary popping echoes of rifle and machinegun fire, plus anti-aircraft cannons shooting up loud, explosive shells, whose air displacement made ominous “WHOOOF” sounds and exploding bombs and artillery fire demolishing everything around us…

I could go on painting more grim images still in my memory but will stop instead and simply say that I am glad to have had this momentary catharsis (jokingly described in Psychology as “diarrhea of the mouth and constipation of the brain”...which could qualify me for being labeled a “crack(ed) pot”..or “psycho-ceramic”…:o)

I couldn’t think of a better time to “slip in” this story!...

THE CRACKED POT

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across
her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot
was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For some two years, this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream: "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?"…"That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them."

"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that, when used to our advantage, make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they
are and look for the good in them.

So, to all of my crackpot friends: have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path! Share this with any or all of your cracked Pot friends!!... and don't forget this cracked pot who told it to you!!! (also called “psycho-ceramic”, remember? :o)
(To be continued…)

A brief personal war story ...

As a young boy at the start of WWII, my family and I attempted to escape the rapidly advancing Nazi invaders who were speeding across my native Belgium, as they also were Holland and France. This was their “Blitzkrieg” (Lightning War).

The "Exodus" of packed-to-the-limit horse carriages, cars, trucks, wheelbarrows, bicycles, motorcycles filled every escape route to France: the first stop to England. The British M.P.s made progress difficult by redirecting civilians to facilitate the retreat of their own troops towards the French port of Dieppe.

This is how, instead of being in Northern France, our car ended up back in Tournai, in South-Western Belgium. It was a strategic town in which three major roads met. This made it a prime target for day and night bombings by the German Air Force (The Luftwaffe). They blasted all but the roads themselves, and bridges which their fast moving Armies would soon need to use.

I’ll never forget the piercing screams of trapped (and eerie moans of wounded and dying) children and nuns in an orphanage which had just been bombed by the German Luftwaffe. It was situated immediately next to a large building in which we had been invited to seek temporary shelter.

The Germans used incendiary bombs about the size of hand-held propane gas refill bottles. Yet, they were devastating, as they contained phosphorus which, after exploding, spread fire and choking smoke far and wide.

Oddly enough, the relatively small bombs could created havoc, mayhem, death and destruction. In this particular instance, they managed to collapse the solidly built roof and adjoining walls of the Orphenage, covering entirely the shelter: the cellars where the nuns and children had sought refuge and were now suffocating from the smoke and perhaps also from phosphorus fire that seemed to penetrate through cracks everywhere.

My own fears, panic and confusion could not be alleviated by the reassurances of my parents. The acrid stench of the smoke, burning flesh and buildings, the eerie howling of the air raid alarms and German planes, the shaking turmoil of each explosion in the midst of the gloomy night...all these became this ten year old's worst nightmare.

The mixed sounds of strafing “Stuka” planes, on which the Germans had mounted types of “windpipes” which, when the plane would dive, would forcibly suck in the strong wind created by the plunging aircraft, thus producing a shrill, deafening, high-pitch, dissonant pandemonium .

Like so many free-falling, ocean-bound, beak first, fishing pelicans or sea gulls, each plane, sporting a Bold Black Cross on both sides and Swastika on the tail, was “tuned” to a different note.

The sum total of the strident, eardrums-and-brain-piercing decibels of all the plunging aircraft succeeded in producing a most terrifying “screaming concert from Hell”. A most effective, terrifying, demoralizing tactic ingeniously concocted by the Nazis’ insidious Machiavellian minds, headed by the frightfully brilliant, evil Dr. Joseph Goebbels, Adolph Hitler’s propaganda minister.

I must confess that this earh-shaking experience so traumatized me that, since, one of my own "PTS" (post-traumatic syndrome) is that I detest and cringe at the shrill, high-pitched decibels of upset, crying babies, wildly screaming children, and many adults. In the U.S., this ear-piercing "custom" may have been invented by hysterical "Bobby Soxers" and fans of early Frank Sinatra...:o(

My family and I had left the comfort and security of our Brussels home in hopes of reaching England and, ideally emigrate to America, where my Mother had relatives. Mostly, escape the terrifying prospects of living under “the Nazi boot”. Obviously, especially a child could easily become overwhelmed by the sudden and difficult-to-comprehend traumatic onslaught of changes. (Later on in my posts, I'll share with you the scientific, psychological analysis of "change(s)" and their emotional consequences.)

FYI: our efforts failed, and we ended up being forced back to Brussels after the speeding German tanks and motorcycles+side-cars overtook us and hordes of other would-be refugees ...Totally demoralized, depressed, insecure, worried about what would happen next. Uncertain of impending multiple dangers…chaos… fears…fears…fears…(soon to come: powerful techniques on helping you eliminate unfounded fears and worries from your minds!).

P.S.: My dear friends, I want to assure you that today’s post was in no way an “April Fools” gag!... It is, however, a bit of very personal nostalgic memorabilia... A loving Memorial on the occasion of the wedding Anniversary of my late, favorite sister and brother-in-law: the ones mentioned in my blurb about when we joined the Belgian “Underground” - a misnomer, since we were in a village atop the High Ardennes Mountains. :o).. Wishing you and yours a Happy Day!... (To be continued)

Your Friend,

Jacques