Greedy Bastards

My God, the Thanksgiving and Christmas craziness in this country is cranking up again.

I don't know about you, but during this time of the year I often wish I lived alone in a cave in the mountains of Siberia or something.

Does Siberia have mountains?

Hell, I don't know.

But that doesn't matter anyway.

What does matter is the new stuff we have for you on our website.

We have two articles this week that I consider "must reading."

The first one is on the topic of sleeping positions, and I know you'll find it as interesting a read as I did.

We can thank Josh Day for writing that one.

We can also thank Josh for the second article, which deals with the most recent cynical attempt by the greedy bastards in the pharmaceutical and medical establishments to get even healthy people on prescription drugs for life.

Prescription drugs, I might add, that have dangerous side effects.

And if you don't believe me on that one, ask your doctor why you have to have your liver tested regularly when you're on their statins.

Duh.

You have to have your liver tested because statins are so toxic!

And if you still don't believe me, check out the excellent article devoted to statins side effects at The Weston A. Price Foundation website.

Anyway, I'm starting to rant, so I'll put a plug in it and instead let you scroll down to the links and descriptions of the new articles on our website this week.

How Sleep Positions Affect Your Slumber
Lack of sleep, as well as troubled or shallow sleep, can lead to health problems and fatigue during the day. Even if you don't have insomnia, you may not be getting adequate sleep due to your sleeping position.

Healthy People Should Take Statins, Media Says
So says a recent study, funded by the statin drug makers themselves. That's right, healthy people with "normal" cholesterol levels will benefit by taking their drug. Remember Vioxx, anyone?

Five Foods for a Healthy Digestive System
If you have G.I. problems, you may benefit from including one or more of the following five foods in your diet - all of which are rich in nutrients that are particularly important to the health of your digestive system.

Tim Russert: Would Fish Oils Have Saved His Life?
Dr. Jay Cohen writes, Russert had some signs of heart disease and was receiving standard medical treatment. Treatment included medications for reducing elevated blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. These therapies are not particularly useful in preventing sudden cardiac death.

That's it for now.

Chet "Sleep Positions" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com/blog

Talk to Yourself

This beautiful Monday morning I want to share an extract from a comprehensive self-improvement book that I've found useful in my life.

In this extract, you'll learn how to talk to yourself to improve your health.

Whoa!

The book's title is Five Steps to Personal Power and was written by a psychologist named Patrick Ryan.

Here's what Dr. Ryan has to say about self talk...

Even though there are twenty-four hours in a day, I don't believe that all time is created equal. I am convinced that what happens to us during both the first and last ten minutes of each day is inordinately important.

An athlete would not dream of starting a physical activity without first stretching and warming up. Similarly, we need to psychologically stretch and warm up each morning before starting our day. Following is the psychological warm-up that I use every morning.

Wake-Up Stretch

Set your alarm clock for five minutes before you actually need to get out of bed. Or, better, eliminate the need for alarm clocks by learning to auto-suggest a wake-up time when you go to bed at night. In any case, it is important to wake up gently, without feeling rushed. Before you get out of bed, ask (and answer) these three questions:

What do I have to be thankful for?

What do I have to look forward to today?

What can I do today to move me closer to my goals?

If you wake up in the morning and ask a question like "Oh God, another day: why me, Lord?" the super-computer will spend the rest of the day validating those questions. But the opposite is also possible. If you ask questions like, "What do I have to look forward to today?" the super-computer will make every attempt to validate that question. So the choice is really yours: you can either program your super-computer with garbage, or program it with empowering thoughts and questions.

Morning Pep Talk/Mirror Talk

This technique is simple, yet so very powerful, if you try it for even one week, I bet you will see results. Within the first fifteen minutes each morning, put yourself in front of a mirror. Your morning Pep-Talk should be very brief (10-15 seconds), should have some humor in it, and should be positive. You should also make certain that you establish unbroken eye contact with yourself in the mirror.

A sample morning Pep-Talk might go something like this: "Good morning, you good-looking devil. This is going to be a fabulous day, and I'm going to make the most of it. I am really looking forward to working on that project today. I'll be unbeatable."

Another idea is to use a water-soluble pen to write an inspirational or motivational word, sentence, or short quote on your mirror. This kind of "mirror talk" is a surprisingly powerful method to program your super-computer in a positive way.

Note from Chet: I use many of the simple but highly effective self-improvement techniques found in Dr. Ryan's Five Steps to Personal Power and I bet you'd find them helpful too.

Oh, if you have a self-improvement tip you'd like to share, scroll down a bit to the "Comments" link and give it a click and then type away to your heart's content.

Chet "I Talk to Myself Constantly" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com/blog

Right to Die

With my 61st birthday not too far around the corner, I find that lately I've been giving some thought to doing what I can to make sure I clock out of this life the way I want to clock out and not how somebody in a white coat thinks I should go.

I know I'm in a minority, but I've believed since I was like six years old that each of us has the natural right to choose how and when we die.

I've never written about the right to die in America before though I thought about doing so several years ago when my parents passed away.

I miss my mother and father and think of them often, but I feel lucky because both of them died without having to undergo the pain, expense, and indignities associated with protracted illnesses and hospital horrors and nightmares.

You see, I believe that each of us should have 100% control over when and how we die.

Sadly, most of us don't have that control here in America.

Even if we have living wills, audio taped directions, and loud, aggressive relatives who know what we want, the chances are if we end up in a hospital to die, the doctors and hospital lawyers are going to make the decisions about how we check out.

Well, today I want to tell you about an empowering book written by a lawyer named William H. Colby.

Entitled Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America, this book is the most sane and thorough presentation I've ever seen on the topic of death in America.

If you were as appalled as I was by the manipulation, political exploitation, and general insanity surrounding the Terri Schiavo case, you'll have a much better understanding of exactly what happened to her (and to others like her) by reading Unplugged.

The most frightening fact of the matter is that exactly the same thing that happened to Terri Schiavo could happen to most of us because we haven't made the proper "just in case" preparations.

You see, contrary to common belief, living wills are ignored all too often by the men and women in the white coats running the hospitals and making decisions for their patients.

Happily, the author of Unplugged provides in the appendix of his book a powerful supplement and/or alternative to living wills. Colby, you see, includes for your use a blank copy of his personal Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions, a legal document designed by a lawyer who has been involved in some of the major right to die cases of our times.

Colby represented the family of Nancy Cruzan in the first right-to-die case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. He has appeared on Larry King Live, Hardball, Frontline, Today, CBS This Morning, and many national news network programs.

David Milch, creator of Deadwood and NYPD Blue, writes,

"Unplugged's story-telling captures one's attention while its scope and clarity command thoughtful concern. As we seek to exercise control in some aspects of circumstances in which control is often hard-won or illusory, this book's ultimate message is both insightful and reassuring. It should be read by everyone at the risk for dying."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Click here to visit the publisher's website, where you can read a bit more about Unplugged and/or order a copy for your health library.

As far as I'm concerned, if you're interested in having some control when it's time for you to pass on, this is a must read.

If you have something you'd like to say on this topic, you can comment below.

Chet "I'll Check Out on My Terms" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com/blog