Category: Health

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Pills, pills, pills and more pills…

Going to doctors in the US yields a prescription drug per visit. If you dare to mention a given pain, then you walk out with a pain killer. You mention a stomach ailment, you walk out with another weird prescription drug.

If you undertake a surgical operation, you get to collect a bouquet of pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs.

You can tell already that I am not a big fan of medications. Have you ever tried to read the side-effects of the prescription drugs?

Imagine how many toxins the drugs release in your system. Imagine how much damage they incur while they help you with a given problem. What’s the risk of addiction when you take certain pain medications?

Have you tried mentioning alternative medicine or herbs to your doctor? They ridicule you and shun the whole alternative medicine approach.


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Infectious laughter recordings

Are you feeling down? Did you know that laughter is infectious?
I suggest you bookmark this page and return to it when you are feeling depressed. Listen to the laughter below and brighten up.

Enjoy!

Male laughing:

Male laughing hysterically:

Male giggling:

Female laughing:

Female laughing hysterically:

Female giggling:

All of them together:

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Different foods and their digestion times

It is a curious and helpful thing to know how much time the food we eat takes to digest. Digestion time is different than the time the food remains in our body before it gets expelled.

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What is the Macrobiotic diet? By Mariam Nour [Arabic Edition] – تعريــــــف المايكروبيوتيك

 
    هنالك العديد من الأفكار الخاطئة عن ماهية المايكروبيوتيك.
    بدون الفهم الصحيح لهذا العلم, فإن كثير من الناس سيجدون تعلمه وتطبيقه عبء يصعب عليهم تحمله ومع مرور الوقت فإنهم سينجرفون وراء النزعة الداخلية التي سترفضه وأيضا تعيبه كعلم.
    لقد شككت في صحة هذا العلم مرات عديدة قبل أن أصل إلى المعنى الحقيقي للحياة نفسها.
    الآن أنا أؤمن أن المايكروبيوتيك والحياة هما شئ واحد, فهما الدعامة لاستمرار الحياة.
    في محاولتي لتعريف المايكروبيوتيك, توصلت أن نظرة كل شخص و تفهمه للمايكروبيوتيك والحياة يعكس لنا أي مستوى من التحكيم الذي يحكم به على مجريات الأمور قد توصل إليه ذلك الشخص.
 

مستويات جورج أوشاوا السبعة للتحكيم

جورج أوشاوا, مولد علم المايكروبيوتيك الحديث, وصف سبع مستويات للتطور الإنساني و أسماها مستويات التحكيم السبع. هذا الترتيب عبارة عن أداة رائعة تساعد على معرفة ماهية المايكروبيوتيك الحقيقية.
هذه المستويات السبع هي كالتالي:
  • 1-   الميكانيكي
  • 2-     الحسي
  • 3-     الوجداني
  • 4-     العقلاني
  • 5-     الاجتماعي
  • 6-     التصوري
  • 7-     السمو
هنالك قصة قديمة من الهند تجسد لنا الصعوبة في محاولة تعريف أي شئ ومهما كانت المحاولة فإن التعريف سيكون شخصي أو غير موضوعي و ناقص.
يقال أنه طلب من ثلاث رجال كفيفي البصر تعريف الفيل .
الأول تحسس خرطوم الفيل ووصفه على أنه يشبه الحية, أما الآخر فقد تحسس جانب الفيل وقال أنه يشبه الحائط, و الأخير تحسس ذيل الفيل ومن ثم قال إنه يشبه الفرشاة.
أيهما أدلى بالوصف الصحيح؟

Continue reading “What is the Macrobiotic diet? By Mariam Nour [Arabic Edition] – تعريــــــف المايكروبيوتيك”

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3 Benefits of smoking cigarettes

This is a sarcastic post about the “benefits” of smoking cigarettes. While there are some positive benefits to smoking, the side effects outweigh the benefits. I got inspired to write this post after I listened to an educative video by Gauranga Prabhu entitled “The Joy of De-Addiction“. I used to be a former story myself, you can read the story of my very cigarette. Continue reading “3 Benefits of smoking cigarettes”

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Floatation tanks

Floatation tank, isolation tank or sensory deprivation tank mean the same thing. My first floatation tank experience was at B1 Yoga, and then at Urban Float (both places are in Washington State):

Quoting Wikipedia:

The isolation tank was developed in 1954 by John C. Lilly, a medical practitioner and neuropsychiatrist.[1][2][3] During his training in psychoanalysis at the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Lilly experimented with sensory deprivation. After 10 years of experimentation without taking any psychoactive substances, he tried floating in combination with a psychedelic agent, mostly LSD (at that time he was a researcher at NIMH, and LSD was legal in the US).

If you have watched “Stranger Things” on Netflix, in one episode, they show us Eleven being trained inside an sensory deprivation tank. Even in later episodes, they build an improvised floatation tank using an inflatable pool and lots of Epsom salt.

Floatation tanks have many benefits, to list them all is to repeat what others have said. I am going to mention just a few:

  • Energises, rejuvenates and revitalises
  • Promotes total calm and peaceful relaxation
  • Deepens meditation
  • Enhances hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis
  • Speeds up rehabilitation and recovery
  • Relieves pain (arthritis, migraines, injuries and so on)
  • Reduces blood pressure, pulse, heart rate and oxygen consumption
  • Increases creativity, problem solving

If you are still uncertain, I advise you to read this classic book about floatation written by Michael Hutchison on how floatation tanks changed his life and help him recover his health.


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The A-B-C-D Model – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

I am not a psychologist, but recently I learned about an interesting tool that can help one enhance their cognitive behavior. It is called the “A-B-C-D Model” or simply the “ABC cognitive model”.

It is developed by one of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) founders: Albert Ellis, PhD. This model can help one think and act more rationally, thus lead a stress free life.

The moment I learned about this model and understood how to apply it, it became an important tool in my daily life. Continue reading “The A-B-C-D Model – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy”

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The benefits of Onions (Arabic edition)

:اشتروا البصل وكلوه مهما أرتفع ثمنه

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حتى لوكنتم في شهرالعسل كلوه يقول الدكتور داود الربيعي صاحب الموسوعة العربية للعلاج بالاعشاب الطبية
كتبت عدة مقالات عن البصل وفوائده الغذائية والعلاجية 
وكلما قرأت تقريراً جديدا 
تحمست لكتابة المزيد عنه . 
ولما كان الحديث عنه يطول كثيرا فقد أرتأيت كتابته تحت عنوان هل تعلم : –
هل تعلم أن البصل من أغنى الخضار والفاكهة بمادة طبية مهمة تسمى الكوريسيتين ولا ينافسه بذلك سوى براعم نبات القبار .
وهل تعلم بأن مضاد الأكسدة (الكوريسيتن) في البصل تقاوم الالتهابات Inflammations حيثما وجدت وخاصة في الجيوب الأنفية والرئتين .
هل تعلم بأن تناول البصل يمنع تطور مرض السكري من النمط (2) الذي يعالج بالأقراص إلى النمط (1) الذي يتطلب حقن الإنسولين .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يحول بإذن الله تعالى دون الإصابة بسرطان الثدي ، البروستات ، الرحم والمبايض وكما يمنع نمو وزيادة عدد البقع ما قبل سرطانية precancerous lesions
هل تعلم بأن البصل يقاوم هجمات الربو .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يحمي الخلايا العصبية من التلف وما ينتج عن ذلك من أمراض مرتبطة بالجهاز العصبي .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يحول دون تلف الأوعية الدموية وإصابتها بالتصلب ويمنع حدوث الكثير من امراض القلب .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يعزز وجود وتكاثر البكتيريا الطبيعية في الأمعاء مما يحسن امتصاص العناصر المغذية، يعزز جهاز المناعة ويمنع انفلات زيادة الوزن المفرطة
هل تعلم بأن البصل يقتل كثير من انواع الجراثيم في الحلق والرئتين .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يميع الدم ويمنع حدوث الجلطات وخاصة عندما يكون مشوياً وأنه يحذر من تناول مميعات الدم الصيدلانية مثل الأسبرين والورافين مع البصل المشوي أو المقلي وذلك لأنه يسبب زيادة مفرطة في ميوعة الدم .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يخفض الضغط الشرياني لدى مرضى الضغط .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يجلب النعاس .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يمنع نمو جرثوم القرحة المعدية H. Pylori ويقضي عليها .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يخفض الكولستيرول والدهون الثلاثية .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يحول دون حدوث الأمراض المترافقة مع مرض السكري .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يمنع تكاثر فيروس الإيدز .
هل تعلم بأن البصل يمنع حدوث هشاشة العظام .
 هل تعلم بأن البصل يحتوي على كميات وافرة من المركبات الكبريتية التي تحافظ على نضارة البشرة وقوة وجمال الشعر والأظافر.
ملحوظات : -
يقول المثل الشعبي :-
 ( كل بصل وأنسى ما حصل )
 فعلا يعمل البصل على تحسين المزاج ويريح القلب ..
القشور الخارجية للبصل هي الأغنى بمضاد الأكسدة الكوريسيتين ..
لا يفقد البصل خصائصة الطبية في درجة الغليان .
وشوربة البصل نموذجية للحصول على جميع ميزات البصل .
جميع ما ذكر أعلاه هو خلاصة مئات الأبحاث العلمية التجريبية .
اللهم بارك
.. إن أمكن نشرها لتعم الفائدة للجميع .. جعلها الله في ميزان حسناتكم ..

 

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A universal grace prayer

Back in 2007, I went to India to do Dyan Yatra (a spiritual trek/pilgrimage to the foothills of the Himalayas to visit ancient temples). We were a group of 120 people traveling in 4 buses containing 30 people each. We would drive to the foothills of a mountain range, then hike up around 8 to 10 km to reach a small village and the temple we wanted to visit. We would sleep in the village and hike back down the next day and resume our pilgrimage.

One day, we got stuck in a village because of a landslide blocking the road. We stayed an extra day in the village and this is when I befriended an Indian who’s both a homeopathic doctor and a Yogi. I had an extensive chat with him and he ended up teaching me a few handy spiritual practices. One of the things that I still remember and practice to this day was the prayer he taught me to say before eating. It is akin to the Christians’ grace prayer that is recited before food is consumed.

If you follow my blog, you may have noticed that I love two things: Prayers and Stories. Anyway, his version of the prayer goes something like this:

Oh my creator and God, thank you for this food. May this food nourish my body, may it be converted into blood and energy that I can use to help and serve others.

This is a very short prayer and is almost devoid of any religious affiliations. It is not a Christian prayer, it is not a Muslim prayer and it surely not a Buddhist or Hindu prayer. It is a simple remembrance that we are grateful for the grace we have in our life and how we intended to return this grace by serving others.

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Tools for your neck and back

If you work a lot on the computer and sit in the office most of the day then you are bound to start to develop some neck and shoulder pain. To remedy that, you have to take breaks every hour to stretch. Additionally, regular daily exercise is also important. I also found that looking at stereoscopic pictures can ease the strain on your eyes.

For when back at home and if you want to relax, I can also recommend the following two items.

Neck pillow

I have been using the Real-Ease Neck and Shoulder relaxer.

This pillow is travel friendly and helps release neck, shoulder and jaw tension. It retails for no more than 24$.

Inversion Table

I discovered inversion tables a year ago. I found one for 100$ and figured I can try it out. The inversion table takes a bit of getting used to but at the end, you might end up loving it and using it every day.

The benefits of an inversion table are numerous, let me list a few benefits that I personally experienced:

  • Refreshing and energizing: if I am sleepy, a few minutes on the inversion table refreshes me and gives me more energy
  • Relieves neck and lower back pain: by inverting, the pressure is taken off my lower back, hips and shoulders. My joints decompress and relax
  • Boosts blood flow to the brain: due to the inversion effect and being upside down, the blood will rush towards your head and thus oxygenating more of your brain cells

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The most important organ – an anecdote

I read this nice anecdote while waiting at my friend’s business the other day:

One day, the body got together and decided to have a board meeting.

Here’’s what went on behind closed doors.

There was intense discussion to determine who was the most important part of the body.

The BRAIN was the first to speak: without me, nothing would be accomplished.”

Then, the HEART spoke up: without me pumping blood to your brain, you could not function.”

The ARMS laughed. “You’’re both wrong: without me to put food in the mouth, nothing would work.”

The STOMACH said: “without me, your food would not digest.”

The LUNGS bellowed back: without me, you could’nt breathe.”

The EYES blinked: “without me, you could not see.”

The KIDNEYS snorted: without me, you could not detoxify and eliminate.”

Then, the COLON meekly spoke up: I am important. You need me to eliminate all of the garbage from your systems.”

Everyone laughed and made fun of him. “How can you be as important as we are? You’’re just a smelly old sewer.”

The poor colon, —his feelings were hurt! He turned away and thought: I’ll show them. He then shut down.

Then, he sat back and watched what would happen:

  • The BRAIN was stupefied.
  • The HEART’s beat was weak and irregular.
  • The ARMS were weak and couldn’t move.
  • The LUNGS— their breathing was shallow.
  • The EYES became clouded.
  • The KIDNEYS quit.

Then, the COLON looked around and decided it was time to call another meeting. It wasn’’t too lively this time, but everyone was in total agreement.

THE COLON WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT ORGAN.

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A visit to the Saint Charbel Monastery in Annaya, Lebanon

Charbel Makhlouf, also known as Saint Charbel in Annaya Lebanon is very famous amongst Maronite and Catholic Christians. Charbel is famous for his numerous miracles such as healing partial paralysis or eradicating cancer from patients.
It is customary for me and my family to visit Saint Charbel’s monastery once a year at least. In this blog post, I share with you some of the photos I took.


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