How are you feeling?

"Everybody's Fancy" is a song by Fred Rogers which he performed on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood children's public TV show. He was gifted in imagination and in sharing it with others in person or through the new-fangled medium of television. He started in the very early days of programming. The song is about boys and girls and how our bodies are different but equally just great the way they are. I added a few stanzas for our modern times and think the song is still very relevant. I do not have Copyright permission but encourage you to sing along in the spirit of neighborliness and within the guidelines of Fair Use.

Russel L Blaylock, retired neurosurgeon, has recently published an overview of the COVID-19 policies and their effects on health and death. The details are grim and lengthy but will be familiar to those who have been following alternative news sources for the last two years. Others may be surprised by the devastating story as it is described. 

Truth is important, and making it available as an audio version seemed important to me, for people who would rather listen to a long article than read it. 

Let appetite become your educated guide towards good health. Our taste bud receptors are found not only on our tongue, but also in many organs and cell types throughout the body. They sense our body's nutrient levels and signal our brain to let us know we should be hungry for more of something. 

Bitter taste receptors also can perform medicinal functions when they are located in other types of cells than on the tongue. If we pay attention to what foods and tastes help us feel better we can learn over time to eat what we need in the amounts that our body needs and is satisfied with - because its needs were met - the hunger, the craving was fulfilled.

When we don't know what we are hungry for, specifically, we may end up over-eating, nibbling small amounts of many things as we subconsciously seek a food that will supply the nutrients we need at that moment. On a sweaty hot day it might be salt. After a difficult test or problem, it might be a sweet to replenish the brain energy levels. 

Ether may be the life energy known as Chi  or prana. It flows like water and is attracted to water. Ether is part of us and everything, and is throughout the universe. It has been measured in a few different ways by scientists in the area of astrophysics and in life sciences in humans and plants. It can be seen as blueish light in wet sand occasionally and may be the healing force in a wet sand or mud pack. 

Physics took a wrong turn in 1887 and is still on that wrong path of thinking that the long standing theory of ether filling space was proven wrong - null.  No, zero effect was not measured, simply a smaller force of energy was measured than the 1887 experiment hypothesis had stated - so null results. Null means hypothesis was not proven, it does not mean 'zero'. 

Ether energy fills our universe and us and everything. It may be the force behind gravity with two vectors of flow supporting a planet or moon in addition to the orbit path around the sun. Ether energy can be healing and is attracted to water and coalesces and spirals in a flowing water like pattern. We can see the path in spiral Nebula in outer space. 

Love and gratitude is appreciated, the energy force seems to also be our collective unconscious - universal oneness understood by many to be a loving god. Connection to others is love, is heaven-like, and disconnection, disruption, is the chaos of entropy - lack of coalescing and flow. Ether energy that is exposed to radiation can become sickening. Weather patterns include the force and flow of ether energy and drought is likely when it becomes stagnant or full or radiation effects. 

Fear in a fearful situation is sensible but can become disabling if it causes you to freeze into indecision or panic and make poor decisions. 

The current risk of infection from the novel SARS-CoV-2 strain of a coronavirus is real and fearful, especially for people working in essential services where there is a lot of interaction with others, and for people in high risk groups for having a more severe case if infected. The simple point that I find comforting is knowing that when well nourished the body's own defenses against infection are pretty good, and our immune function can be aided by additional nutrients and phytonutrients.

Fear of infection is instinctual. We have a natural reaction to get away from anything that seems disgusting - which includes slimy, sticky, yellowish-green things that may be reminding us of spoiled food which can be a risk of infectious disease, or of nasal mucus which can also be a source of infection. Fear may also tend to make us pretend there is no risk which wouldn't help us survive or a fear reaction of fighting might occur or trying to seek someone to blame - which also wouldn't necessarily help with survival if a problem is already present. What is the percent controllable - what can you directly do about a problem? 

Goal for the day - love forgiveness.  Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm keeping it brief for now, a trailer, and hope for everyone to have an enjoyable day, today and everyday!

Being allowed to be curious may help with problem solving. It takes trial and error, repetition with slight variations, to work on a solution. It can take persistence over years or even generations to work on solutions for long term problems. 

This Bonus section, Forest Bathing, Terpenes, and Stress Reduction, includes more about terpenes & the benefits of spending time in the forest, called forest bathing, "bathing" in the moist air of the forest, with the aroma of terpenes that vary with the types of trees. The terpenes are absorbed when inhaled and can help ill health or asthma and difficulty breathing. Terpenes also have stress reducing properties of the fragrant chemical group.

3 part episode:

Being allowed to be curious may help with problem solving. It takes trial and error, repetition with slight variations, to work on a solution. It can take persistence over years or even generations to work on solutions for long term problems. This episode expands on the story of my toddler appetite for houseplants - it may have been problem solving at a toddler level. Genetic screening was needed to help solve the problem for me.

Trailer: Curiosity, an overview. Is curiosity an emotion? What are emotions anyway? 

Bonus: UX Design focuses on improving user experience by planning user expectations and habits into software or product design. Curiosity types may help with design focused on what type of curiosity is motivating the consumer to seek out the product or website.

The feeling of curiosity may be similar to intrinsic motivation - an internal drive to explore, learn, practice and improve skills. We may have more intrinsic motivation or curiosity about something when we have two things: competence - the challenge is reasonably matched to our current skill level - it would be achievable with some effort, and autonomy - freedom to try without severe risks linked to any potential mistakes. Extrinsic motivation is an external force encouraging or coercing action - a school grade or job bonus is linked to the effort. Being allowed to be curious may help children and adults to achieve better success with grades, decisions, and even long term mental health.

Image Quote: "A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." - Lao Tzu

Email - jen@peace-is-happy.org

Crankiness from being overheated and thirsty or dehydrated may be bad for health, and for a good night's sleep - which might be part of the cause of the health risks. Our brain is cleared of toxins during sleep hours. During normal sleep the body and brain are cooler than during awake hours, and the brain is smaller in size which allows more fluid movement and white blood cell activity. The white blood cells' autophagy and apoptosis functions are more active in the brain during sleep hours. Autophagy and brain health was a topic discussed in the Hangry and Hanxious Part Two episodes.

Insomnia tips - cooling the forehead with a reusable freezer gel pack wrapped in fabric may help if insomnia is a problem. The body normally cools down before sleep and it doesn't happen as well with insomnia. Dimethyl-glycine (DMG) is an amino acid that has inhibitory effects in the brain. Taking a 1/2 teaspoon of the powder supplement DMG in a glass of water before bed might help slow down the brain activity and temperature to a point where relaxing and falling asleep might be easier.

This episode is in three parts. The Trailer includes an overview and hormones that may cause crankiness. The Main section gets into more detail about the potential negative effects for brain health of being chronically overheated, dehydrated, and unable to sleep well. The final Bonus section includes a few tips that might help you get to sleep if insomnia is a problem.

Image quote: "Be patient where you sit in the dark, the dawn is coming." - Rumi

Email - jen@peace-is-happy.org

Crankiness from being overheated and thirsty or dehydrated may be bad for our heart, brain, and kidneys, and for a good night's sleep - which might be part of cause the health risks. Our brain is cleared of toxins during sleep hours. The white blood cells' autophagy and apoptosis functions are more active in the brain during sleep hours. Autophagy and brain health was a topic discussed in the Hangry and Hanxious Part Two episodes.

Crankiness can be due to many reasons that are physical, internal, rather than an external reason like someone else is purposely rattling their silverware too loudly just to bother you - no, they are probably just eating normally and you are overly irritable right now and we tend to look for a reason for a feeling. Sometimes the reason is us - in our own body. Crankiness might be due to being too hot, too thirsty, or too hormonally out of balance. Female or male hormone balance can affect mood and steroid based medications can have similar affects on the mood because they are similar to steroid based hormones, including gender related hormones and vitamin D, a secosteroid which can be activated into a form with hormonal functions.

This episode is in three parts. The Trailer includes an overview and hormones that may cause crankiness. The Main section gets into more detail about the potential negative effects for brain health of being chronically overheated, dehydrated, and unable to sleep well. The final Bonus section includes a few tips that might help you get to sleep if insomnia is a problem.

Email - jen@peace-is-happy.org

Crankiness can be due to many reasons that are physical, internal, rather than an external reason like someone else is purposely rattling their silverware too loudly just to bother you - no, they are probably just eating normally and you are overly irritable right now and we tend to look for a reason for a feeling. Sometimes the reason is us - in our own body. Crankiness might be due to being too hot, too thirsty, or too hormonally out of balance. Female or male hormone balance can affect mood and steroid based medications can have similar affects on the mood because they are similar to steroid based hormones, including gender related hormones and vitamin D, a secosteroid which can be activated into a form with hormonal functions.

Crankiness from being overheated and thirsty or dehydrated may be bad for our heart, brain, and kidneys, and for a good night's sleep - which might be part of cause the health risks. Our brain is cleared of toxins during sleep hours. The white blood cells' autophagy and apoptosis functions are more active in the brain during sleep hours. Autophagy and brain health was a topic discussed in the Hangry and Hanxious Part Two episodes.

This episode is in three parts. The Trailer includes an overview and hormones that may cause crankiness. The Main section gets into more detail about the potential negative effects for brain and heart health of being chronically overheated, dehydrated, and unable to sleep well. The final Bonus section includes a few tips that might help you get to sleep if insomnia is a problem.

Email - jen@peace-is-happy.org

Emotions may have to do with motivation, and learning self control and perseverance along with the value of rewards and changing strategy as needed or correcting errors to increase reward. The dACC part of the brain, the dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex, may be a center for processing input from other areas of the brain that have to do with current physical sensations, thoughts, and emotional feelings. Happiness and positive emotions may be motivating us to do more healthy behaviors that might help reduce stress and infection.

Email - jen@peace-is-happy.org

Part two of Hangry and hanxious includes the effects of dietary glutamate and aspartate as possible causes for mood changes that might occur after a food or beverage was eaten, rather than being overly hungry for the next meal. An overview of the topic is included as the Trailer.  More neuroscience detail about NMDA receptors and mood is included in the main episode section. And more detail about the benefits of intermittent fasting for weight control and possibly protection against Alzheimer's dementia is included in the Bonus section along with cautions for who might be more at risk from an intermittent fasting or low carbohydrate meal plan, including people with mood swings or disordered eating concerns, or for pregnant people.  The amino acid, glutamate, and trace minerals magnesium, calcium and the mood stabilizing mineral lithium, and the role of NMDA receptors in bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's dementia, and in appetite control will be discussed throughout. The three sections add to the topic that was introduced in the last episode, Hangry and Hanxious.  

Image quote: "Good advice is not usually served in our favorite flavor." - Tim Fargo  

Email - jen@peace-is-happy.org

Part two of Hangry and hanxious includes the effects of dietary glutamate and aspartate as possible causes for mood changes that might occur after a food or beverage was eaten, rather than being overly hungry for the next meal. An overview of the topic is included as the Trailer.  More neuroscience detail about NMDA receptors and mood is included in the main episode section. And more detail about the benefits of intermittent fasting for weight control and possibly protection against Alzheimer's dementia is included in the Bonus section along with cautions for who might be more at risk from an intermittent fasting or low carbohydrate meal plan, including people with mood swings or disordered eating concerns, or for pregnant people.  The amino acid, glutamate, and trace minerals magnesium, calcium and the mood stabilizing mineral lithium, and the role of NMDA receptors in bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's dementia, and in appetite control will be discussed throughout. The three sections add to the topic that was introduced in the last episode, Hangry and Hanxious.

Image quote: "You cannot teach a man anything; you can help him find it within himself." - Galileo

Email - jen@peace-is-happy.org

Part two of Hangry and hanxious includes the effects of dietary glutamate and aspartate as possible causes for mood changes that might occur after a food or beverage was eaten, rather than being overly hungry for the next meal. An overview of the topic is included as the Trailer.  More neuroscience detail about NMDA receptors and mood is included in the main episode section. And more detail about the benefits of intermittent fasting for weight control and possibly protection against Alzheimer's dementia is included in the Bonus section along with cautions for who might be more at risk from an intermittent fasting or low carbohydrate meal plan, including people with mood swings or disordered eating concerns, or for pregnant people.  The amino acid, glutamate, and trace minerals magnesium, calcium and the mood stabilizing mineral lithium, and the role of NMDA receptors in bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's dementia, and in appetite control will be discussed throughout. The three sections add to the topic that was introduced in the last episode, Hangry and Hanxious.

Image quote: "These pains you feel are messengers, listen to them." - Rumi

Email - jen@peace-is-happy.org

Hangry is that angry feeling that can occur when you missed lunch and dinner is still a long way down the road. Some people may feel more anxious when overly hungry - close to tears unless a snack happens first - hanxious. Low magnesium and/or low blood sugar might be underlying factors. The short term solution for low blood sugar is a small amount of simple carbohydrates followed about 20 minutes later with a more substantial snack that includes protein and fats along with more complex carbohydrates - whole grains, nuts, beans, seeds, or whole fruit instead of fruit juice or concentrated sugar or white flour/refined starch. Topics include: Reactive hypoglycemia, magnesium deficiency symptoms, and snack ideas.

Image Quote: "Do unto others 20% better than you would expect them to do unto you, to correct for subjective error." - Linus Pauling, a nutrition scientist.

Negative emotions may help motivate us to change when old strategies are no longer working. Despair, worry, depression can lead to hopelessness and inaction. Words to describe a feeling can help with recognizing when it is happening and may help with having a coping action ready to use. Emotions can happen quickly, and may help with survival by having behavior patterns ready for running or fighting, or freezing. Freezing in plain sight might help against a predator that tracks motion but wouldn't be helpful to act against climate change. Koko is the gorilla who was taught American Sign Language. She had a message to share with humans about the need to fix the planet, quickly. 

How are you feeling? --Do people really want to know, when they ask you that? What should you say? Friendly exchanges can strengthen social bonding while negative moods can negatively affect other's good mood.

Email - jen@peace-is-happy.org

How are you feeling? -- That may be a difficult question to answer because feelings are wordless and we may imagine reasons for the feelings that are wrong. Physical and emotional feelings can be caused within the body and have nothing to do with other people or events. 

What are feelings and emotions, why do they occur, what do they mean?

Email - jen@peace-is-happy.org

How are you feeling? Simple question or complicated? 

Email - jen@peace-is-happy.org