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Sunday, December 29, 2013

Christmas 2013

Emily and I have had much discussion about family, priorities, holidays, and imagining what we would like to manifest in our lives.

In honor of Christmas, Emily and I have done a few things:
  1. bought an Ulu cutting board
  2. constructed this christmas presentation - which represents, hopefully, one more step in the direction of our vision for ourselves and our family.
Please, I welcome your reaction(s).

Jon

PS Amazon emailed me telling me that your ulu board has not shipped yet - apparently the sellers were out of stock despite what they claimed on Amazon. They're telling me that it should arrive before new years :(


PPS Santa told me to wait until after midnight to send this.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

20 Things the Rich Do Every Day

So what do the rich do every day that the poor don’t do?

Tom Corley, on his website RichHabitsInstitute.com, outlines a few of the differences between the habits of the rich and the poor.
1. 70% of wealthy eat less than 300 junk food calories per day. 97% of poor people eat more than 300 junk food calories per day. 23% of wealthy gamble. 52% of poor people gamble.

2. 80% of wealthy are focused on accomplishing some single goal. Only 12% of the poor do this.

3. 76% of wealthy exercise aerobically four days a week. 23% of poor do this.

4. 63% of wealthy listen to audio books during commute to work vs. 5% of poor people.

5. 81% of wealthy maintain a to-do list vs. 19% of poor.

6. 63% of wealthy parents make their children read two or more non-fiction books a month vs. 3% of poor.

7. 70% of wealthy parents make their children volunteer 10 hours or more a month vs. 3% of poor.

8. 80% of wealthy make Happy Birthday calls vs. 11% of poor.

9. 67% of wealthy write down their goals vs. 17% of poor.

10. 88% of wealthy read 30 minutes or more each day for education or career reasons vs. 2% of poor.

11. 6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% of poor.

12. 79% of wealthy network five hours or more each month vs. 16% of poor.

13. 67% of wealthy watch one hour or less of TV every day vs. 23% of poor.

14. 6% of wealthy watch reality TV vs. 78% of poor.

15. 44% of wealthy wake up three hours before work starts vs. 3% of poor.

16. 74% of wealthy teach good daily success habits to their children vs. 1% of poor.

17. 84% of wealthy believe good habits create opportunity luck vs. 4% of poor.

18. 76% of wealthy believe bad habits create detrimental luck vs. 9% of poor.

19. 86% of wealthy believe in lifelong educational self-improvement vs. 5% of poor.

20. 86% of wealthy love to read vs. 26% of poor.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Our 27th Anniversary

Our 27th Anniversary
1/1/2014


How fast these years have sped,
Filling my insatiable appetite for memories!

Older memories constantly merging with new experiences,
All serving as aids in sustaining my vitality and zest for life!

Together, we embark on quests to add quality to our lives,
Fueled by knowledge and guidance from Namaste Center.

Supporting each other’s freedom to be fully expressed,
Become aids to new discoveries and enriched intimacy.

While exploring endless possibilities held in our advancing years,
We remain vigilant to the perils and risks held therein.

Recognizing the good life we have co-created,
We celebrate the bounties and share them with others.

So, how about we embrace what we’ve accomplished,
Carrying their accumulations forward to new horizons?

Here’s to celebrating our joys and sorrows,
Carrying all we have into our 28th year of marital life!


Love eternal, Hubby Dear

Saturday, December 21, 2013

53 Quotes......

53 Quotes That Will Make You Rethink Everything

JUN. 11, 2013 
1. “Everything you can imagine is real.” ― Pablo Picasso
2. “I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.” ― Gilda Radner
3. “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” ― Isaac Asimov
4. “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.” ― John Lennon
5. “People aren’t either wicked or noble. They’re like chef’s salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.” ― Lemony Snicket
6. “Too many people spend money they earned..to buy things they don’t want..to impress people that they don’t like.” ― Will Rogers
7. “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” ― George Bernard Shaw
8. “To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.” ― Arundhati Roy
9. “Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man … living in the sky. Who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer, and suffer, and burn, and scream, until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you. He loves you and he needs money.” ― George Carlin
10. “Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren’t. I’m not surprised some people prefer books.” ― Julian Barnes
11. “People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that’s bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they’re afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they’re wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It’s all in how you carry it. That’s what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you’re letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain.” ― Jim Morrison
12. “The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.” ― Kalu Ndukwe Kalu
13. “There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be…” ―John Lennon
14. “Make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.” ― Jon Krakauer
15. “The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” ― Laura Ingalls Wilder
16. “If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.” ― Frank Zappa
17. “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” ― Paulo Coelho
You should like Thought Catalog on Facebookhere.
18. “I like to keep my issues drawn, it’s always darkest before the dawn.” ―Florence Welch 
19. “Our lives are not as limited as we think they are; the world is a wonderfully weird place; consensual reality is significantly flawed; no institution can be trusted, but love does work; all things are possible; and we all could be happy and fulfilled if we only had the guts to be truly free and the wisdom to shrink our egos and quit taking ourselves so damn seriously.” ―Tom Robbins
20. “When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part.” ― George Bernard Shaw
21. “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” ― Lao Tzu
22. “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” ― Marcus Aurelius
23. “The only position that leaves me with no cognitive dissonance is atheism. It is not a creed. Death is certain, replacing both the siren-song of Paradise and the dread of Hell. Life on this earth, with all its mystery and beauty and pain, is then to be lived far more intensely: we stumble and get up, we are sad, confident, insecure, feel loneliness and joy and love. There is nothing more; but I want nothing more.” ― Ayaan Hirsi Ali
24. “There are no random acts…We are all connected…You can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind…” ― Mitch Albom
25. “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” ― Woody Allen
26. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.―Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
27. “Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. What is it you would let go of today?” ― Mary Manin Morrissey
28. “Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that. It’s called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar.” ― Drew Carey
29. “You have wakened not out of sleep, but into a prior dream, and that dream lies within another, and so on, to infinity, which is the number of grains of sand. The path that you are to take is endless, and you will die before you have truly awakened.” ― Jorge Luis Borges
30. “I’ve come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.” ― Anthony Robbins
31. “To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.” ― Winston Churchill
32. “His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly’s wings. At one time he understood it no more than the butterfly did and he did not know when it was brushed or marred. Later he became conscious of his damaged wings and of their construction and he learned to think and could not fly any more because the love of flight was gone and he could only remember when it had been effortless.” ― Ernest Hemingway
33. “Pain is a pesky part of being human, I’ve learned it feels like a stab wound to the heart, something I wish we could all do without, in our lives here. Pain is a sudden hurt that can’t be escaped. But then I have also learned that because of pain, I can feel the beauty, tenderness, and freedom of healing. Pain feels like a fast stab wound to the heart. But then healing feels like the wind against your face when you are spreading your wings and flying through the air! We may not have wings growing out of our backs, but healing is the closest thing that will give us that wind against our faces.” ― C. JoyBell C.
34. “We have to create culture, don’t watch TV, don’t read magazines, don’t even listen to NPR. Create your own roadshow. The nexus of space and time where you are now is the most immediate sector of your universe, and if you’re worrying about Michael Jackson or Bill Clinton or somebody else, then you are disempowered, you’re giving it all away to icons, icons which are maintained by an electronic media so that you want to dress like X or have lips like Y. This is shit-brained, this kind of thinking. That is all cultural diversion, and what is real is you and your friends and your associations, your highs, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, your fears. And we are told ‘no’, we’re unimportant, we’re peripheral. ‘Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that.’ And then you’re a player, you don’t want to even play in that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that’s being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world.” ―Terence McKenna
35. “I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.” ― John Burroughs
36. “Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.” ― Langston Hughes
37. “Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content” ― Helen Keller
38. “Fate loves the fearless.” ― James Russell Lowell
39. “I think that we are like stars. Something happens to burst us open; but when we burst open and think we are dying; we’re actually turning into a supernova. And then when we look at ourselves again, we see that we’re suddenly more beautiful than we ever were before.” ― C. JoyBell C.
40. “You often meet your fate on the road you take to avoid it.” ― Goldie Hawn
41. “Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.” ―Graham Greene
42. “Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it…” ― Wilferd Peterson
43. “People do not die for us immediately, but remain bathed in a sort of aura of life which bears no relation to true immortality but through which they continue to occupy our thoughts in the same way as when they were alive. It is as though they were traveling abroad.” ― Marcel Proust
44. “Happiness is not the absence of problems; it’s the ability to deal with them.” ― Steve Maraboli
45. “Your cold mornings are filled with the heartache about the fact that although we are not at ease in this world, it is all we have, that it is ours but that it is full of strife, so that all we can call our own is strife; but even that is better than nothing at all, isn’t it? And as you split the frost-laced wood with numb hands, rejoice that your uncertainty is God’s will and His grace toward you that that is beautiful, and a part of a greater certainty, as your own father always said in his sermons and to you at home. And as the ax bites into the wood, be comforted in the fact that the ache in your heart and the confusion in your soul means that you are still alive, still human, and still open to the beauty of the world, even though you have done nothing to deserve it. And when you resent the ache in your heart, remember: You will be dead and buried soon enough.” ― P. Harding
46. “That’s how stories happen — with a turning point, an unexpected twist. There’s only one kind of happiness, but misfortune comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.” ― Haruki Murakami
47. “If other people do not understand our behavior—so what? Their request that we must only do what they understand is an attempt to dictate to us. If this is being “asocial” or “irrational” in their eyes, so be it. Mostly they resent our freedom and our courage to be ourselves. We owe nobody an explanation or an accounting, as long as our acts do not hurt or infringe on them. How many lives have been ruined by this need to “explain,” which usually implies that the explanation be “understood,” i.e. approved. Let your deeds be judged, and from your deeds, your real intentions, but know that a free person owes an explanation only to himself—to his reason and his conscience—and to the few who may have a justified claim for explanation.” ― Erich Fromm
48. “You couldn’t erase the past. You couldn’t even change it. But sometimes life offered you the opportunity to put it right.” ― Ann Brashares
49. “There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive. This ecstasy, this forgetfulness of living, comes to the artist, caught up and out of himself in a sheet of flame; it comes to the soldier, war-mad in a stricken field and refusing quarter; and it came to Buck, leading the pack, sounding the old wolf-cry, straining after the food that was alive and that fled swiftly before him through the moonlight.” ― Jack London
50. “Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That’s its balance.” ― Osho
51. “Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed.” ― Buddha Siddhartha Guatama Shakyamuni
52. “If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life; it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.” ― Mitsugi Saotome
53. “Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble.” ― Andrew Murray 

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

August @ Five

August at Five
11/27/2013
By Papa Nate


The time has come to again mark Augusts’ birthday,
Noting developmental progress and milestones along the way.

August has fully transitioned to ‘big-boy pants,’
No longer in need of toddler accessories.

August has learned to ride his bicycle on the nearby trails,
Not needing training wheels or parental assistance.

August has learned to swim more efficiently,
Now certified to swim in the deep end.

August now has a walking, talking one-year old sister,
With whom he has grown to love and protect.

August has shown improvement in his communication,
Now able to define and express his feelings.

August has been learning brain balancing skills,
Preparing him to transition into grade school, come next year.

Finally, I want to recognize August for being a special person,
Who is loved by his grandpa in far-away Mississippi!

Papa Nate


Hitch Hiking to California


Hitch Hiking to California
by Nate Bender
12/12/2013

If life isn’t a learning experience, it would likely be a bit boring, yes?  This short story captures my ever-growing learnings contained in new adventures. 

First, a little background surrounding my hitch hiking story. In May, 1963, I was graduated from Ellsworth Junior College, in Iowa Falls, Iowa, after less than a stellar level of academic and athletic performance.  Graduation held a bitter-sweet taste.  I was disappointed in my overall performance, yet was awarded the “E” Blanket in being recognized as the Athlete of the Year for having “given his all” while competing in football, basketball and baseball.  At that point I had advanced farther scholastically than anyone in my family’s history, yet did not feel ready to complete my undergraduate studies. 
During these two years I was strongly influenced by the election of President John F. Kennedy, who projected idealistic themes and their range of possibilities. His inauguration day admonishment to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” stirred up new energies for me outside of the realm of athletics, and far beyond the conservative underpinnings of my home community.  

During my last semester, I had come upon Peace Corps literature in the school’s library, and an inspiring possibility for fulfilling Kennedy’s call.  Promptly, I filled out the application forms and sent them off, consulting with no one, while following my own instincts. 
Not knowing if I had a chance to be accepted into the Peace Corps, I made plans to hitch hike to California with a fellow team mate from Boston.  Bob Wilcinski was a big city guy with a brash New England manner who had a friend attending California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena.  His proposal was for us to hitch hike to California; I would then help them drive his friend’s car back to Boston, dropping me off in Iowa. 

As my life kept unfolding, I went from the graduation ceremony to my room to secure my travel gear and check the mail.  Lo and behold, my Peace Corps envelop had arrived, notifying me to report to a three month training class at the University of Minnesota in two months!  Since I had committed to the cross country hike, I set out with Bob in the early afternoon of graduation day, and quickly hailed a farmer for our first ride.  A series of subsequent rides got us to Joplin, Missouri, late at night.  Standing along Route 66 for what seemed like hours into the early morning in Joplin, a blue Edsel car stopped and the driver offered us a ride.  George was his name and a friendly man he was.  He invited us to his house to catch up on our sleep, and offered to take us out to the road later that morning to resume our trek.

Being a somewhat sheltered, naïve country boy, and feeling safe in Bob’s more worldly ways, we accepted George’s invitation.  We quickly fell asleep in his guest room.  At some point later on, George came into our room and shared his sexual orientation.  I was completely unaware of the existence of homosexuality.  My perceptual field suddenly became more complex, shattering my innate trust of people’s good intentions.  Since George’s inclinations were not part of our agenda and interests, we asked George to promptly drive us out to the highway, which he did.  I have a vivid memory of George’s parting words:  “I’m sorry for having offended you guys, and for being the way I am.”  My anxiety and confusion were suddenly replaced with feelings of sadness and pity.

In the dawning of a new day and a fresh start, we quickly hailed a fortuitous new ride, which became the highlight of our journey.  A traveling businessman, en route to Phoenix, Arizona, driving a luxury Lincoln Continental car, found it beneficial to have company on his long trip.  He seemed to enjoy our company and even offered to pay for at least one meal along the way.  Conversations became long, covering a wide range of social, educational and political topics.  Not having ever ridden in a luxury car, no less driven one, it was with great enthusiasm that I jumped at his offer to share driving.  What an experience it was to shepherd this big, quiet car, down route 66!

Once arriving in Phoenix, we were offered a parting meal and then were deposited at a strategic location for securing our next ride.  In short order, a young man in a new, red Chevy offered us a ride to Barstow, California, a remote, desert town, but still not Los Angeles.  At night, Barstow seemed to be a daunting, unfriendly place, offering no chances for a ride to our final destination.  We discovered a bus depot near our drop off point, and promptly bought a ticket for the final leg of our journey.  Sleep came quickly in the cozy confines of a Greyhound bus.  We arrived at the Los Angeles terminal shortly after sun rise, feeling a sense of relief and satisfaction in having completed the first phase of our trip. 

I’d been to Los Angeles two years earlier, so the sights, sounds and even smells felt like coming home again. It would be a place to which I would eventually return six months later.  Our two day stay in the Los Angeles area suburb of Pasadena offered me time to complete my Peace Corps information forms and turn them in at the local Federal building.  In short order, Bob, his friend and I piled into a beat up 1953 Chevy, fully loaded with “stuff.”  We drove non-stop, alternating drivers every two hours, stopping only for gas and food, as well as for adding oil.  The car was on its last leg, exuding blue smoke fumes along the way. 

It seemed like we arrived in Iowa very quickly.  We bid each other farewell, each going his separate way, never again to have contact.  The Peace Corps experience awaited me, offering another stretch to my growth and development, and holding no clue of the eventual outcomes beforehand.  That’s another story into reaping rewards gleaned from setbacks.

What did I gain from this experience?  It anchored me in the meaning and value of adventure, something that holds true today.  It reinforced my self-confidence in finding a way, in making do with what comes my way, in being receptive to new and different opportunities.  And, I’m grateful to have lived in a more safe and trusting time, doubting my ability to duplicate this sort of excursion in today’s era.    

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Cinnamon & Honey

Cinnamon and Honey...! Drug companies won't like this one getting around. Facts on Honey and Cinnamon: It is found that a mix of honey and cinnamon cures most diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also note honey as very effective medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without side effects which is also a plus. Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, when it is taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm even diabetic patients. Researched by western scientists: 

HEART DISEASES: Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, put it on toast instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol and could potentially save one from heart attack. Also, even if you have already had an attack studies show you could be kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of cinnamon honey strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as one ages the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and the veins. 

ARTHRITIS: Arthritis patients can benefit by taking one cup of hot water with two tablespoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. When taken daily even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week (out of the 200 people so treated) practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain -- and within a month, most all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis now started walking without pain. 

BLADDER INFECTIONS: Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder....who knew? 

CHOLESTEROL: Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water given to a cholesterol patient was found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, when taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol-could be cured. According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol. 

COLDS: Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and, clear the sinuses, and it's delicious too! 

UPSET STOMACH: Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also is said to clear stomach ulcers from its root. 

GAS: According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is revealed that when Honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas. 

IMMUNE SYSTEM: Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacterial and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of Honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles (where DNA is contained) to fight bacterial and viral diseases. 

INDIGESTION: Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food is eaten relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

INFLUENZA: A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural 'Ingredient' which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu. 

LONGEVITY: Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Use four teaspoons of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder, and three cups of boiling water to make a tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans increase and even a 100 year old will start performing the chores of a 20-year-old. 

RASPY OR SORE THROAT: When throat has a tickle or is raspy, take one tablespoon of honey and sip until gone. Repeat every three hours until throat is without symptoms. 

PIMPLES: Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it off the next morning with warm water. When done daily for two weeks, it removes all pimples from the root. 

SKIN INFECTIONS:Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin Infections. 

WEIGHT LOSS:Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast and on an empty stomach, and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. When taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet. 

FATIGUE: Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, even when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, when taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M., the vitality of the body increases within a week. 

BAD BREATH: People of South America, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water first thing in the morning so their breath stays fresh throughout the day. 

HEARING LOSS: Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restores hearing.