ANSWERS & ENCOURAGEMENT

HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS

ABOUT ANGER ...

~ By Russell Bishop ~

Anger Is Not a Primary Response

 

Have you ever been upset with someone and told them off - in your mind? You know the drill - you imagine talking to the person, perhaps rehearsing what you might say were you to actually talk to them, and you wind up filling in the blanks for what they might say as well. That, in turn, leads to how you would respond to what you just made up for them to say. And on it goes.

 

How often do we start with something that has some basis in fact, and then add elements to the story that we just make up? If you rehearse the scene enough, it will begin to take on its own element of truth. If you tell the story with enough conviction, you can wind up with very real feelings, both emotionally based and even physically based. You can scare yourself by what you tell yourself, and you can become angry by what you tell yourself.

 

What makes this practice so difficult is that by the time you have added emotional and physical feelings to the story, they actually begin to take on an element of reality - after all, you are feeling these feelings, aren't you. For some, the presence of the feelings suffices for proof that the situation and their response is, in fact real. The Truth, as it were.

 

When we started a series on the differences between positive thinking, positive focus, and positive action, we suggested that a positive focus (not wishful thinking, but focus on a realistic, positive outcome) can help you discover choices you can make that can help lead you forward. That's a form of telling yourself a story, albeit a story that might prove useful in terms of encouraging you to move forward.

 

Many of us know the opposite version of this kind of storytelling. Have you ever imagined yourself about to embark on a new experience and started to tell yourself all the things that might go wrong? That could be anywhere from the time you were on a high diving platform and scared yourself thinking about all the things that could go wrong, over to imagining a conversation with your boss and imagining how badly that might go. Instead of a raise, they might fire you.

 

If you're like most people, you have engaged in this kind of negative storytelling, either about someone else, or about your own self. The latter is the most interesting. As my mentor used to say to me when I would give voice to my negative thinking: "Russell, if you're going to indulge in a fantasy, why would you choose to lose in it? After all, it's your fantasy!" The great thing is that everyone's right! If you find this approach to self-awareness useful, then it's useful! If you don't, then it's not.

 

One reader shared an interesting
awareness about anger:

 

"Russell, Looking at the comments, your article got some people thinking. The part on fantasy conversations reminded me a recent occurrence. Perhaps you'll find this interesting. I'm not at all good at putting things behind me. Often I'll engage in fantasy conversations, reliving and revising events from the past, or inserting events into the past. Usually they're negative, instances where I felt mistreated or dismissed. And emotions get stirred up, often anger.

 

"The other day I was having such an adventure, and feeling angry, and I thought "as if being angry will change anything." Then there was a brief glimpse, with the sense that this was a glimpse into something that was really there, that at some lower level I really think this way - that being angry will change it. Or that the fantasy conversations will change what has occurred. An insight, and like I said, I trust that I was seeing something that's really there.

 

"It makes me wonder how much we operate on the basis of something irrational, that we know is irrational. This one - that I can change the past by replaying it or emoting on it - doesn't come from upbringing or past experience; it's something I conjured up myself. Creating my own little world which is preferable to the real one, and refusing to accept, on some lower level, that the real world isn't going to be changed. I'm pretty sure this is far from unique to me; I'd guess we all do something like this. But it's very difficult to notice. Those little glimpses don't happen very often." --Chip

 

Nice awareness, to be sure. I know I have found myself trying to change the world, the situation or someone else by being angry. I have tried expressing the anger to get someone or something else to change, I have tried keeping it bottled up, I have tried seething inside, telling myself stories about how unfair life is, or how the other person should be different. I've tried all kinds of approaches with anger. Not terribly effective in my experience.

 

Have you ever been angry about
something you don't care about?

 

Careful, now - this could be a trick question. I have posed this question to thousands of people. Most, after considering the question for a few moments, realize that indeed, the only things they get angry about are things they care about. After all, if you don't care, you simply do not care. As in, no caring. Doesn't matter. Zip.

 

I have learned that the often unspoken message in the anger has to do with how much something matters. For many, the underlying message in the anger goes something like this: if you cared about (me, others, the situation), you would be different (do it my way, not do it your way, etc). It's as though the anger is supposed to make the situation change, or the other person behave differently. Sometimes it appears to work, at least in terms of intimidating someone else. Then there are all the other times.

 

While far from easy, I do my best these days to look past the anger and inquire into the caring. I try to approach the situation with this internal thought process: Clearly, this is upsetting to you and it matters deeply. What is it that is important to you here? Is there something that I'm doing that goes against what you care about?

 

Obviously, these pretend words are a bit clinical, but perhaps you get the idea. I'm trying to understand what's behind the anger. It's pretty difficult to deal with the emotion of anger in any meaningful way, yet if I can understand the underlying message of caring, there just may be something that I can address.

 

Have you ever been upset with your husband/wife/lover or other stranger, and then gone about your day "showing them" just how upset you are by remaining angry? Even when they're no longer present? That's just great isn't it? They're supposed to be different because you're angry? Or at least they should feel punished by us staying angry? We've all heard the old saying about "stewing in your own juices." This is one version of stewing.

 



 One of my favorite quotes, attributed to many,
ranging from St. Augustine to Nelson
Mandela, goes something like this:

"Resentment is like drinking poison
and hoping the other person dies."

 

I've previously shared a turning point in my life, on a strike line at UC Berkeley many years ago. I was hit by a tear gas canister, picked it up to throw it back (no one told me how hot a canister can be), and had a brief moment seemingly outside my body where I could see and hear myself. I was clearly very angry, and I heard myself screaming, "why don't you a**holes love us?" Then, boom, right back in the old body. This time, with wave after wave of awareness washing over me: my message was one of peace, love and caring while my strategy was to yell, scream and throw things.

Are you trying to create a better life, experience or world through your anger? If so, what is it you care about so deeply that you would take that poison into yourself? What would you like to have change or be different? How could you work more directly or effectively to produce that kind of change? Some good advice might be found from Alexander Solschenizyn who said something to the effect of: if you would put the world to rights, with whom would you begin? Yourself or others?

 

A great question, to be sure. Of course, you could always come to the realization that the other person or situation will not change. Then you get a choice: accept what's present, change your reaction, or perhaps just leave. Winston Churchill had an interesting thought on the subject. I'm pretty sure this will not pass the muster of historical context, but it's revelatory in some ways, with a twisted sense of humor:

 

Lady Nancy Astor to Churchill:

"Winston, if you were my husband,
I'd poison your tea."

Churchill's reply:

"Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it."

 

 

Russell Bishop is an Educational Psychologist,
professional life coach and management consultant,
based in Santa Barbara California. You can find out
more about Russell at http://www.russellbishop.com/
Reprinted from HuffingtonPost.com



FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Let Your Heart
Talk to Your Brain
~ By Sara Childre ~

Did you know that the heart contains a brain in its own right? What do researchers mean when they talk about heart-brain interactions? Why is it important to you? Researchers at the Institute of HeartMath and other organizations have shown that the human heart, in addition to its other functions, actually possesses the equivalent of its own brain, called the 'heart brain,' which interacts and communicates with the 'head brain.'

 

When I first heard about this, it intuitively made sense. Then as I delved into the research, it really confirmed what I have felt for a long time: that the heart has its own way of KNOWING. Until recently, scientists assumed and most of us were taught that it was only the brain that sent information and issued commands to the heart, but now we know that it works both ways. The heart and head communicate via a number of pathways. Between them they continually exchange critical information that influences how the body functions.

 

Dr. J. Andrew Armour first introduced the term 'heart brain' in 1991. Armour showed that the heart's complex intrinsic nervous system qualified as a "little brain." This heart brain, explains Science of the Heart, published by Institute of HeartMath, "is an intricate network of several types of neurons, neurotransmitters, proteins and support cells, like those found in the brain proper.

 

Research has shown that the heart communicates to the brain in four major ways: neurologically (through the transmission of nerve impulses), biochemically (via hormones and neurotransmitters), biophysically (through pressure waves) and energetically (through electromagnetic field interactions)." Its elaborate circuitry enables it to act independently of the cranial brain — to learn, remember, and even feel and sense.

 

Heart-Brain Communication Pathways Diagram

The diagram above shows the neural communication pathways between the heart and the brain. The heart's intrinsic nervous system consists of ganglia, which contain local circuit neurons of several types, and sensory neurites, which are distributed throughout the heart.

 

The intrinsic ganglia process and integrate inflowing information from the extrinsic nervous system and from the sensory neurites within the heart. The extrinsic cardiac ganglia, located in the thoracic cavity, have direct connections to organs such as the lungs and esophagus and are also indirectly connected via the spinal cord to many other organs, including the skin and arteries.

 

The "afferent" (flowing to the brain) parasympathetic information travels from the heart to the brain through the vagus nerve to the medulla, after passing through the nodose ganglion. The sympathetic afferent nerves first connect to the extrinsic cardiac ganglia (also a processing center), then to the dorsal root ganglion and the spinal cord. Once afferent signals reach the medulla, they travel to the subcortical areas (thalamus, amygdala, etc.) and then to the cortical areas.

 

"Communication along all these conduits significantly affects the brain's activity," Science of the Heart says. "Moreover, research shows that messages the heart sends the brain can also affect performance."

 



One important way the heart can speak to and influence the brain is when the heart is coherent - generating a stable, sine-wavelike pattern in its rhythms. When the heart is coherent, the body, including the brain, begins to experience all sorts of benefits, among them greater mental clarity and intuitive ability, including better decision-making.

 

Although the heart and brain are in constant communication, each of us also has the capacity to consciously and intentionally direct our heart to communicate to the brain and body in beneficial ways.

 

When we intentionally experience sincere positive emotions, such as caring, compassion or appreciation for someone or something, the heart processes these emotions and the heart's rhythm becomes more coherent and harmonious. The heart then sends this harmonious information throughout the entire body via the processes mentioned above — neurologically, biochemically, biophysically and energetically.

 

We've all had the experience of feeling the uplifting and harmonizing effects of sincere positive emotions. Now that we understand why, we can create those experiences more of the time. I often use one simple tool, called the Quick Coherence® technique, to shift into a positive feeling and coherent heart rhythm in less than a minute. It can take a little practice, but it gets easier and quicker the more you do it.

 

 

Quick Coherence® Technique
(go here for details)



 

Heart Focus: Shift your attention to the area of the heart and breathe slowly and deeply.

Heart Breathing: Keep your focus in the heart by gently breathing — five seconds in and five seconds out — through your heart. Do this two or three times.

Heart Feeling: Activate and sustain a genuine feeling of appreciation or care for someone or something in your life. Focus on the good heart feeling as you continue to breathe through the area of your heart.

 

By Sara Childre, President and CEO of the non-profit Institute of HeartMath. Since 1991, Sara has helped oversee and develop HeartMath trainings, educational products and scientific programs. She was appointed vice president and CFO of the
institute in 1992, then president and CEO in 1998.

 

Reprinted from Care2.com

 

ANSWERS & ENCOURAGEMENT: Finding Bliss

TEN SIMPLE WAYS

 TO EXPERIENCE BLISS

... By  Debbie Gisonni ...
 

The beautiful photos on this page were taken by my friend  Laurie Sutherland  ( See More Here  - LogIn to Facebook) "Each of the transformational steps below miraculously  'appeared' in the early stages of my own spiritual path. Starting in 1986, I suddenly learned to laugh at my mother's cruel words — because it dawned on me that her caustic comments were ridiculous enough to make them more hilarious than hurtful.  Later, I was drawn to Develop My Intuition, Slow Down, Surrender to Life, and to discover the other tips shown here, long before this article was written. The process completely changed who I thought I was, and led me to take a huge Leap of Faith into a new and infinitely more rewarding life." ~Chelle Thompson   If I asked you what you wanted most out of life, either for yourself or your family, you'd probably say "happiness." You might say "money," but only because you think money will make you happy, which we all know doesn't. In the 24/7 technology-centric environment in which we live and work, true happiness seems to be less attainable than ever before, yet it's the one thing everyone seeks. Here are 10 ways that can help you bring more happiness into your life:   1. FIND THE HUMOR:  Don't you love being around someone who makes you laugh? There is humor to be found in just about anything that happens, even if it's just isolated moments within a grim situation. Put your comedian hat on and allow yourself to laugh. Laughter helps lighten the darkest of days, and as an added bonus, studies show that it helps boost the immune system. If you're healthier, you'll naturally be happier.   2. ACCEPT YOURSELF AND YOUR LIFE: Accept yourself, with all your imperfections, and accept your life with all its ups and downs. Imperfections are what make you interesting. Life's ups and downs are what make it exciting. Wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same and nothing ever changed? Next time you're down, find something positive for which to be grateful and focus on that. 3. PRACTICE NEUTRALITY:  Neutrality keeps stress to a minimum and happiness to a maximum. It enables you to allow others to have completely different beliefs and opinions than yours without your judgment. You never have to be right, correct a wrong, control another person or prove a point. What others do and think or how they live their lives is really no business of yours, so just let it be.   4. TAKE TIME TO PLAY: There are 24 hours in a day. If you spend 18 of them working and the remaining six sleeping, like many people do, you can't possibly be happy. Be sure to schedule some play time every day. That could be spending quality time with your family, a spa treatment, a hobby, a vacation, a sport or even sex! Play gives you a much-needed break so that when you do return to work, you're more refreshed and productive.   5. DEVELOP YOUR INTUITION:  Believe it or not, tapping into your natural insight and intuition will make life much easier and happier. It can save you lots of time agonizing over decisions, and in some cases, it can even save your life. The best way to develop your intuition is through some kind of meditative practice. That could be as simple as taking a mindful walk, a yoga class, or practicing a few deep breaths every day. It's anything that helps clear your mind so you can connect within for a few moments. 6. NURTURE YOURSELF: You must remember to nurture all of you — the physical, emotional and spiritual you. On the spiritual side, this means giving yourself time to connect with your higher self to create inner peace and awareness. On the emotional side, it means doing things that make you feel good as long as you're not harming another person — quality time with loved ones, eating chocolate, gardening. The physical side is about honoring your body with nutritious food and exercise.   7. SLOW DOWN:  Let's face it. We're all in a big fat rush all the time. When you move quickly, you push aside all the things that give your life meaning, like being generous, thankful or kind to people. At the end of your life, it doesn't matter how much you got done in record time. What matters most is how many people you impacted positively and how much of your time was spent lovingly.   8. LIVE IN THE PRESENT: In order to enjoy life, you must live in the present. We spend a lot of time in regret about what has already happened or in fear about what might happen, rather than enjoying what's happening right now. The past is done and therefore cannot be changed. The future is unknown, so why worry about it? The present is now and the only time in which you can truly participate.   9. SURRENDER TO LIFE:  We are so hard-wired to control — to make things happen with our will. Surrendering doesn't mean giving up your power, but rather empowering the spirit within you to take over the controls once in a while. It means going with the flow, even though you don't know the outcome. It means taking a different turn even though it wasn't part of your plan. It means accepting that sometimes you don't have all the answers.   10. MAKE SOMEONE ELSE HAPPY: Think about how many ways you can make someone happy. It could be a pleasant smile, a compliment, a gift, a favor or anything else that brings joy to another. When you live your life with compassion and kindness for others, it gives you a natural "high" on happiness. Try it today. I guarantee you'll like it. By Debbie Gisonni, author, speaker and business leader. After a series of family tragedies that occurred while she was an executive in the high tech industry, Debbie embarked on a mission to help others navigate the ups and downs of life through her books, articles and talks. Debbie is the  President and CEO of Stillheart Institute, an educational retreat center and sanctuary in Woodside, CA, where organizations conduct programs for personal, professional or spiritual growth and development.  Her clients range from spiritual gurus to corporate leaders. Reprinted from HuffingtonPost.com

ANSWERS & ENCOURAGEMENT: Appreciation Season

The Science of

Thanksgiving Gratitude:

4 REAL BENEFITS

Thanksgiving Day in the United States and — did you know? — in Brazil is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November as a day of gratitude for the nations’ harvests. The holiday dates back nearly four centuries to the pilgrims in America, and just four decades in Brazil, where in 1949 the Brazilian ambassador in Washington D.C., so liked the holiday that he took the idea home, where it was promptly adopted.

Thanksgiving was celebrated in Canada on the second Monday of October this year, as it has been since 1957, to offer thanks at the end of the harvest season. Chung Ch’ui in China and Chuseok in Korea are major three-day national thanksgiving harvest festivals whose date of celebration varies slightly each year during the nations’ harvest seasons. Among other countries that celebrate a national day of thanks are Australia, part of India, Japan, Liberia and Malaysia. Many other nations hold a variety of events to express gratitude for their nations’ harvests.

Measuring someone’s gratitude is quite literally possible with today’s cutting-edge science and technology. So how exactly do you measure gratitude — scientifically?

LEVEL OF COHERENCE




Offering some food for thought this Thanksgiving, the Institute of HeartMath® (IHM), a recognized leader in researching the physiology of emotions, is serving up a belt-buster when it comes to the latest understanding of gratitude. The institute has been studying human emotions for nearly 20 years — among them gratitude and appreciation — emotions that are at the heart of an American holiday whose roots date back to 1621.

According to research at IHM, true feelings of gratitude, appreciation and other positive emotions can synchronize brain and heart rhythms, creating a bodywide shift to a scientifically measurable state called coherence. In this optimal state, the body’s systems function more efficiently, generating a greater balance of emotions and increased mental clarity and brain function.

The level of coherence you experience during feelings of appreciation can be measured by sensitive instruments. Coherence also can be measured using heart-rate variability (HRV) “the naturally occurring beat-to-beat changes in heart rate, which can be see in an electrocardiogram (ECG).

 This method of measuring appreciation is much more precise than attempting to guess by observing how much someone is smiling. Measuring coherence can accurately show heart, brain and nervous-system interactions that are sensitive to changes in emotions.

While an individual — smiling or not — is experiencing coherence, the heart rhythm appears as a smooth wavelike pattern on an HRV graph. Contrast coherence with incoherence, created by negative emotions such as frustration and anger, which can often disrupt the synchronization of the body’s systems and create jagged or chaotic patterns on a graph.

THE BENEFITS OF GRATITUDE

Advanced research at the Institute of HeartMath and elsewhere has provided evidence that gratitude is not simply a nice sentiment or feeling. Sustained feelings of gratitude have real benefits, including the following 4 benefits:

• Biochemical changes - Favorable changes in the body’s biochemistry include improved hormonal balance and an increase in production of DHEA, the “anti-aging hormone.”

• Increased positivity – Daily gratitude exercises can bring about a greater level of positive feelings, according to researchers from the University of Miami and the University of California, Davis who studied this process in 157 individuals over 13 days.

• Boost to the immune system – The IgA antibody, which serves as the first line of defense against pathogens, increases in the body.

• Emotional “compound interest” – The accumulated effect of sustained appreciation and gratitude is that these feelings, and coherence, are easier to recreate with continued practice. This is because experiencing an emotion reinforces the neural pathways of that particular emotion as it excites the brain, heart and nervous system. The downside is that you also can reinforce negative emotions.
 

This figure shows the significant reduction in the stress hormone cortisol and significantly increased levels of DHEA after practicing the HeartMath techniques for 30 days.

Thankfully, gratitude and appreciation can create their own positive psycho-physiological holiday in your body — without the necessity of a feast.

For some on this holiday, the appreciation equation might be something like gobble + gobble = thank you and naptime. Sincere self-evoked feelings of gratitude and appreciation, however, are the only ingredients needed, as explained by IHM founder Doc Childre and Director of Research Dr. Rollin McCraty in their e-book, The Appreciative Heart: the Psychophysiology of Positive Emotions and Optimal Functioning.

HELPFUL APPRECIATION EXERCISE

The Institute of HeartMath is helping more people experience the benefits of the sincere feelings that Thanksgiving celebrates by providing the following helpful Appreciation Exercise:

• Instructions: Take a few short appreciation breaks during the day. During each break take one or two minutes to breathe deeply through the area of the heart. While doing so, try to hold a sincere feeling of appreciation in your heart area. This can be appreciation for a family member, friend who helped you with something or even a wonderful vacation, etc.

• Why it works: The exercise of activating a positive feeling like appreciation literally shifts our physiology, helping to balance our heart rhythms and nervous system, and creates more coherence between the heart, brain and rest of the body.

Gratitude is a simple and effective practice and the benefits are real and attainable. Many of us know this in our hearts, but now it's proven by modern science. Gratitude creates a healthier, happier and more fulfilling state of being for anyone who takes a few moments to feel and reflect on it.

Here in America, where the nation prepares to celebrate its 124th “official” Thanksgiving Day, co-writer of the Nourishing the Heart, Deborah Rozman, and I would like to wish you and your families a happy Thanksgiving — wherever, whenever and however you celebrate your bounty.

"The Appreciative Heart," which can be downloaded by clicking this special link and liking IHM's Facebook fan page, explains how emotions are reflected in heart rhythms, and how creating a change in those rhythms can result in quick and substantial changes in whatever emotional state you may be experiencing. If you are not on Facebook, simply e-mail us at: info@heartmath.org and say “Send me a free copy of The Appreciative Heart.”


By Sara Childre, President and CEO of the non-profit Institute of HeartMath. Since 1991, Sara has helped oversee and develop HeartMath trainings, educational products and scientific programs. She was appointed vice president and CFO of the institute in 1992, then president and CEO in 1998.

BEING THE CHANGE: Beyond the Bottom Line

 Maryland Man Starts Fair Trade

Business For Nepali Women...

Making the rounds during the Internet start-up craze in the '90s, Potomac, Maryland, resident Ed Edmondson worked to help develop the product marketing and business development strategies of convergence communication companies such as Eatel and Geocities.


Now, Edmondson is one man in a growing trend of entrepreneurs working make the world a better place through the business of fair trade. But Edmondson takes that trend one step further — he hasn't pocketed a dime in eight years.

After the dot-com bubble burst in the mid-1990s, Edmondson wanted to start a business on his own terms. Ten years after his self-imposed exile from the corporate world, Edmondson now spends his days designing handbags while sipping coffee and overseeing stock orders from his phone, before picking up his daughter from school.

"I was just burned out," Edmondson said. "I was exhausted — I wanted to do my own thing and I wanted to stay in the Internet space, and I needed something that was portable." His answer was Earth Divas, a fair trade business that imports handmade, natural fiber accessories "made by women for women" mostly from Nepal.

The purpose of fair trade businesses are to foster better working conditions and promote job sustainability for workers in developing countries. The movement aims to pay workers real wages for the back-breaking labor they often do.

From a purchaser's perspective this often means higher prices for goods, but a balance is found in knowing that the money paid goes back to feed families in developing countries rather than into the pockets of a corporate giant.

Edmondson purchased the business, originally named Hemp Sisters, in 2004 and grew it from a family hobby business to a website dedicated to wholesale fair trade. Earth Divas was certified by the Fair Trade Federation in December 2011.

Ed Edmondson, founder of the fair trade wholesaler Earth Divas,
displays one of the many colorful bags made by artisans in Nepal.

Edmondson works directly with his artisans to collaborate on his product and pays them as much as possible on an hourly wage. On top of paying out typical wages, Edmondson doesn't take a salary and returns 100 percent of the business's profits to the workers, taking what he does beyond the realm of typical fair trade practices.

"Once I started doing this, it was like this is not going to be anything that's ever going to make me rich, and I can't take money, I don't want the money," he said. "I don't want to be 65-70 years old and be ready to call it a day and look back a say that I didn't do anything worth while in my life."

Earth Divas products are carried everywhere from local mom-and-pop health food stores to national chains like college bookstores and even Whole Foods Market. You might see the brightly colored, handmade bags on the shoulder of a college student or on the arm of a soccer mom on a grocery run.

Taking what he sees in the streets and magazines, Edmundson designs and sends ideas back to Nepal to recreate trends in natural and recycled fibers, such as cotton, wool, hemp and recycled silk. Though Edmundson’s background includes no mention of an eye for design, having graduated from Louisiana State University in 1988 with a degree in history and from Tulane business school in 1990 with an MBA, he’s developed into a something of a fair trade Michael Kors.

His passion for his business makes the effort a success, but for at least five years Edmondson said he's been losing money. To get buyers interested, Edmonsdon had to price products well below what they cost to produce.

"I've had to kind of buy my way in," Edmondson said. "They just weren't ready for this product. They weren't used to it." His slow build to profitability started to pay off in 2008 when the company made a profit for the first time.

He then sent all of that money back to Nepal as a holiday gift to his workers. According to Edmondson, about $7,000 was paid back to his artisans as a holiday bonus and as regular bonuses throughout the year. He also hosted a holiday party that year for the workers to celebrate their success.

But then everything went south. Fuel charges went up, the dollar went down and material costs for hemp, cotton and wool doubled. Backed partially by his wife, who works to support the family, Edmondson says Earth Divas has only made a profit one year since he began the business in 2004.

"I've said that if it doesn't happen this year I'm done. And I've been saying that every year for the past five years. For some reason I keep doing it," Edmondson said.

"I know that when this business reaches $1 million a year it will be self-sustaining and that's my goal in life — to get it to the point where I don't have to put money into it, that it will be able to function on its own without me doing everything. And we're getting there."

With just a laptop and a cell phone, Ed Edmundson, can conduct all affairs of his business, from design to accounting. Edmundson spent four years building the back end system of his business, incorporating business concepts from larger corporations into his ultra fair trade model.

From a business perspective these losses may be because Edmondson was early to the start-up fair trade game. From Walmart to Overstock.com, fair trade is just beginning to hit major online retailers everywhere.

"The whole concept of fair trade products is moving into the main-stream and eventually it will be carried by the mainstream retailers," Edmondson said.

"I look at handbags now all the time," Edmundson said.
"I get my wife's fashion magazines and I'm looking at the handbags."

It's not just the concept of fair trade that's making a movement into mainstream acceptance and support, according to Melissa Carrier, director of Venture Investments and Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland business school. The do-gooder theme of social entrepreneurship and nonprofit ventures is increasingly visible in the for-profit realm.

Known as social enterprises, these businesses continue to have defined social objectives like environmental protection or reducing poverty, but operate as a for-profit business. Common methods of incorporating the social objective into a business model include the give-back strategy like TOMS Shoes, which donates a pair of shoes for each pair sold, and workforce development.

Patrick FitzGerald, MBA Lecturer for the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Huffington Post blogger, recently suggested that all potential social entrepreneurs look at the questions of profitability and business sustainability.

Multiple recently-launched and socially-conscious businesses have proven that a non-profit mission running under a for-profit model have excited investors and consumers alike, FitzGerald wrote. "The world needs many more social entrepreneurs for sure," FitzGerald said. "After all, it is actually possible to serve two masters: the mission and the bottom line."

On January 25, 2012, Ed Edmondson was chosen as Huffington Post's Greatest Person of the Day.


REPRINTED FROM:

http://potomac.patch.com

ANSWERS & ENCOURAGEMENT: Be Happy

Shortcuts to Daily Bliss

 And Other Tips 

Sure, the ancient yogis found inner bliss by stretching in their yoga poses and sitting on their cushions for hours on end. But we live in the real world-frequently too busy treading water to spare that kind of time!

Fortunately, after digesting tons of spiritual books and attending myriad workshops, then experimenting with what works, here are some Reader's Digest-ish shortcuts to daily bliss. To connect to your elevated interior, try (as best as you can) to sprinkle these simple steps throughout your day...

1. Sing in the shower:

          One thing the ancient yogis were right about: Set a good tone first thing in the morning and you float through the day. But I often can't drag myself out of bed early enough to meditate, so my solution is, I sing in the shower. Rather than fixate on problems and to-dos, I send my thoughts skyward via song. I learned this technique from a healthy and joyful 99-year-old man, whom I'm convinced got that way because he belted out "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning" with every shampoo. I prefer Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten."

2. Listen for the bird chirp (or the dog bark):

          Several years ago, I read the old Aldous Huxley novel, Island, where the Mynah birds on his Utopian Pala constantly shout, "Attention, attention," to remind the natives that here-and-now is most important. I decided to use the occasional chirping of the birds outside my window as my own prompt to pause; I stop and take a long, deep breath, and am immediately pulled into the present moment-the only place we can access our higher selves. If you don't have regularly cacophonous fowls, any vocal animal, or even a neighbor's crying baby, are equally wonderful cues.

3. Stop whining:

          The biggest problem with our chronic complaints: They keep the mind fixated on what's going wrong, rather than on the higher-vibration, fabulous things that are working. Next time you're ready to criticize or complain, stop and ask, "What is this unhappy situation making me desire?" Then turn your whole focus to that.

4. Stretch your arms up:

          As a longtime, big-time fan of yoga, I know the value of sneaking even a couple of poses into the day. The stretches make you feel great physically, and, equally important, they expand your mind. My favorite micro session when I can't do a full class: A boat pose (aka Superman), a full forward bend, and a half spinal twist. (If you're at your desk: raising your arms and arching backward and holding a minute, folding forward down to your ankles for another, then twisting around to the right side, then the left.)

5. Sit on your rump:

          I'm not talking about all those hours we spend on the computer. I'm talking about meditation. Not necessarily the 15 to 30 minutes twice daily that experts recommend. (Of course, do that when you can.) Ten, or even five, minutes once or twice anytime in the day can be sufficient. By focusing the mind on one thing (a word like "peace," a sound like "om," the flicker of a candle…), you're training it to release the worries about the past or fears over the future that keep us from fully experiencing the present. I adore my 10 minute mini-meds, and, more important, the way they spill into the rest of my day.

6. Fantasize:

          No, not about sex-although you're welcome to do that, too. Fantasize about what you're wanting for your life. The teachings about the law of attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks make clear that you get what you think about. I used to spend much of my day pondering things as they were (what the Hicks' call "tell-it-like-it-is-itis"). But if our thoughts create, it behooves us to shift to those that make our hearts sing: the desired job, financial state, health status, dream trip, romantic partner, experience and/or situation in the world. Ponder your desires in great detail, until you feel enthusiasm stirring.

7. Kiss your pillow (and your partner, too):

          Before going to bed each night, think about 5 people, events, and/or objects you appreciate. Begin with the easiest: items right in your delicious bed (including your scrumptious pillow and, if someone is there, your mate). How better to end your day than by connecting to your highest self, which, as pure love, always appreciates? You will drift off with ease, and, more important, set a glorious vibration to wake up in tomorrow morning.

By Meryl Davids Landau, author of the new spiritual women's novel, Downward Dog, Upward Fog, which ForeWord Reviews calls "an inspirational gem that will appeal to introspective, evolving women." The novel was recently recommended by Yoga Journal's Blog and Spirituality & Health. Read excerpts at www.DownwardDogUpwardFog.com.

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10 Things Unhappy People

 Have in Common

~By Sara Novak, Planet Green

We all want to be happy in some way or another. We strive each day to find the path of happiness whatever we think it is. But some of us come up way short. Some of us make mistakes day in and day out that take us away from the shining beacon of happiness at the end of the tunnel.

Are you striving to find peace? Are you striving to locate that inner glow that you know must exist? Are you coming up short or finding happiness that's always fleeting? Life is a journey and on it we find what works and what doesn't work. However, the most unhappy people tend to have a few things in common. If you're looking to find peace, balance, and joy in your life, here's what NOT to do. These people have it all wrong:

1. They Hate Their Jobs

          You spend eight hours, sometimes much more at work. If you hate your job you can't help but hate your life because you're spending 40 out of the 168 hours in a week doing something you can't stand. What's worse, we often take our anger from work home with us, bringing that disgruntled attitude into our homes. I'm not saying go out and quit your job tomorrow. Instead, take an aerial view of your life. Why don't you love your job? What's missing? Is it the career itself? Is it your boss or your company? What's your passion? What are you good at? Take time to answer these questions and then make a plan to move towards change, however long it takes.

2. They're Constantly Worried About Money

          Studies have proven that being rich won't make us any happier. A Princeton University study showed that people needed an annual income of $75,000 per year per household and no more to be happy. Above that amount, more cash has no effect on "emotional well-being." What this really means is that you need to be able to comfortably pay bills and save without worrying about finances. On the other hand, financial uncertainty does make us unhappy so this is another chance for evaluation. Are you overspending? What can you downsize? How can you minimize your life so that you can afford it? This is in no way an easy question, but it's part of the journey.

3. They Don't Have Any Active Hobbies

          Happiness is linked to activity level. You have to move to feel good. What about yoga, hiking, swimming, surfing, biking, or running? Happiness is also linked to doing what you love, so find active hobbies that make you happy and get to it.

4. They Have Wandering Minds.

          According to Science News, "a wandering mind often stumbles downhill emotionally. People spend nearly half their waking lives thinking about stuff other than what they're actually doing, and these imaginary rambles frequently feel bad, according to a new study." The more you can focus on what you're doing when you're doing it, the happier you are. Meditation allows you to learn to focus on the present moment so you can actually live the life you've been given.

5. They Commute a Long Distance

          A long commute can take a toll on your life and after a while it can really bring you down. How much of your life are you losing in commute? It's hard on a relationship as well. A recent Swedish study found that divorce rates were higher the longer the commute.

6. They Think "Stuff" Will Make Them Happy

          Unhappy people are constantly trying to fill the void by consuming, whether it be alcohol, food, or shopping. But the problem is happiness can't be consumed, it's cultivated from within. Meeting desires only brings fleeting happiness.

7. They're Lonely

          Cultivating relationships is important for both your health and your happiness. And that doesn't just mean how good you are at social networking. Unfortunately nowadays more than a few of us view our laptop as our very best friend. Single or not, married or not, it's important to always strive both to make friends and to keep them while also keeping close ties to family.

8. They Don't Like Their Town

          So often we feel stuck in our lives. We live in a town that we no longer love and aren't sure how to feel better about the situation. This is another opportunity to take a step back and ask why you feel the way you do. Is it the town or is it you? Get the newspaper and look into new events, volunteer some place new, or, well, move. Who says you have to live in the same place your whole life? I certainly haven't. I've already tried out Charlottesville, Athens, Washington DC, Florence, Charleston, and Columbia and I'm just getting started.

9. They Don't Have Pets

          Pets serve as support and provide unconditional love that we grow to depend on but at the same time, they don't disrupt other human relationships, according to a new study. If you're considering pet ownership, adopt a pet in need and follow this guide to responsible pet ownership.

Related: 6 Health Benefits of Having Pets

10. They Don't Like Themselves

          We make ourselves happy by the way we view life and by learning to enjoy the moment. We make ourselves happy by the way we view ourselves. By opening our hearts we find peace but that peace has to first start off with you. If you dislike yourself, you can never be happy so give yourself a break. Learn to love yourself, you deserve it!

By Sara Novak, Planet Green

BOTH ARTICLES REPRINTED FROM:
http://www.care2.com/